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the sound producing accessory is constructed of a flat strip of thin , flexible plastic material . the stiffness of the material is such that it can be bent easily by hand but is stiff enough to emit a snappy sound when it is impacted by the spokes of the bicycle wheel . typically , the strip of material is approximately 50 millimeters ( 2 inches ) wide and 0 . 76 ( 0 . 030 ) to 1 . 52 millimeters ( 0 . 060 inches ) thick and preferably made from a durable plastic such as polypropylene , high density polyethylene or polyester to withstand constant flexing over a long period of time . however , other materials such as nylons , acetals , polycarbonate , vinyl , polystyrene , laminated fibrous materials or various plasticized materials , cardboard , paper , etc . could be utilized for its construction . fig1 and 2 show a typical embodiment of a sound producing accessory 12 attached to a horizontal rear fork element 16 of a bicycle 10 at 12b on fig1 and generally at 12 on fig2 . the sound producing accessory 12 is constructed of a single piece of material but consists of four functionally different regions . a flat region or blade 32 approximately 57 millimeters ( 21 / 4 inches ) long is the sound producing , vibrating member . it is joined to an &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 having at least two oppositely directed bends which provide additional flexibility for a long usable life . the &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 is adjacent to a semi - tubular region 30 which is formed into a diameter of about 19 millimeters ( 3 / 4 inch ) for the purpose of attaching to fork element 16 on bicycle 10 . the continuation of tubular region 30 as it wraps around fork element 16 is bent outward slightly at the end to form a handle $ 4 to aid in attaching or detaching device 12 from bicycle 10 . the inside surface of semi - tubular region 30 is lined with hook fastener strips 26 generally known as velcro brand , available from velcro u . s . a . inc . of manchester , n . h . or the like . the bicycle fork 16 is wrapped with adhesive backed loop fastener material 24 at the location where the sound producing device 12 is to be attached . this is also known as velcro brand and supplied as a mate to hook fastener material 26 . loop fastener material 24 should preferably be about the same width as the with of sound producing device 12 and be applied continuously around bicycle fork member 16 , however hook fastener 26 may be applied in at least two strips across the width of semi - tubular region 30 as illustrated in fig2 and fig3 . additional embodiments are shown in fig4 and 5 ; in fig4 semi - tubular region 30 has been replaced by a semi - oval region 36 to suit an oval front wheel fork cross section 14 . as seen from this example , the semi - tubular region 30 can assume various shapes to adapt to different or unusual cross - sectional shapes of wheel fork elements , if required . in fig5 the rectangularly shaped blade 32 has been modified to a tongue shaped blade 38 with angular sides and a rounded end . it also is shown with holes punched through it . many other possibilities exist in varying the width , length and shape of the blade 32 to alter the sound characteristics of the device as well as its visual appeal . the &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 may be altered in that the number of convolutions may be varied or eliminated entirely . one such embodiment is shown in fig7 where semi - tubular region 30 is joined directly to flat region 32 without the intervening &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 . an additional top handle 42 has been added for convenience of installing the device on the bicycle . this type of configuration , without the &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 is limited to a very few flexible materials such as polypropylene to achieve an acceptable product life . handle 34 may also be altered in shape , angle of protrusion or it may he eliminated entirely with consequences which will become obvious from the following description of operation . another embodiment is shown in fig8 where blade 32 is centrally located on semi - tubular region 30 and where two centrally located handles 34 and three strips of hook fastener 26 are provided . a further embodiment is shown in fig9 where the &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 has been replaced by a convoluted region 44 having at least two oppositely directed bends . the device may be constructed of various colored materials , including fluorescent or luminescent shades and it may be adorned by colorful labels to make the product more appealing to youngsters . fig1 illustrates sound producing accessory 12 attached to bicycle 10 in two alternate locations ; front fork location at 12a and horizontal rear fork location at 12b . the locations illustrated are on the left side of the bicycle , however , the right side of the bicycle may he used as well , provided that accessory 12 in its preferred embodiment shown in fig2 and 3 is mounted in such a way that spokes 22 always approach blade from above , as indicated by three long arrows in fig3 to deflect blade 32 to a position shown at s2a . to install sound producing accessory 12 on bicycle 10 , select a convenient location on one of the wheel forks , observing that the spokes 22 in the circumferential path of blade 32 will not contain other spoke mounted accessories such as reflectors etc . which may impact blade 32 as the wheels 18 and 20 rotate . apply self - adhesive backed loop fastener 24 completely around the fork element and cut off excess . grasp the width of the device at &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; bend 28 with one hand and handle 34 with the other hand and spread semi - tubular region 30 enough to pass over a front fork element 14 or a rear fork element 16 . position blade 32 at approximately right angle to the path of wheel spokes 22 so that blade 32 is in a direct path of spokes 22 and press hook fasteners 26 in contact with mating loop fastener 24 . as bicycle wheel 20 ( fig1 ) rotates , each spoke 22 deflects blade 32 to position 32a , shown in fig3 before the blade 32 snaps back and impacts the next approaching spoke . the impact produces the characteristic slapping or rumbling sound as the wheel rotates . &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; bend region 28 provides the necessary flexibility and distributes stresses induced by the repetitive flexing to a much greater area thereby greatly increasing the usable lifetime of the device . when blade 32 flexes , it imparts a force to the adjoining area of semi - tubular region 30 . this force is directed inward as shown by the four short arrows in fig3 and causes hook and loop fasteners 24 and 26 to engage more deeply , resisting rotation around circularly shaped wheel fork element 18 . due to the flexibility and springiness of the material , the semi - tubular region 30 may he opened to at least a diameter of 8 millimeters ( 11 / 2 inches ). fig6 shows the device spread open and mounted to a large diameter wheel fork 40 , whereas fig4 illustrates attachment to an oval front wheel fork 14 . thus fig4 and 6 show that the sound producing device may he installed on a variety of bicycle wheel fork sizes and configurations . other embodiments of the sound producing accessory are shown in fig5 , 8 and 9 . fig5 illustrates a tongue - shaped rounded end blade 38 with optional holes through it . the shape of the blade and the holes alter the quality , or timber , of the sound produced . many different sizes and shapes of the sound producing blade are possible . fig7 shows an embodiment which omits &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 . in this configuration of the device , a second handle 42 is added at the top surface of blade 32 to aid installation . fig8 shows another embodiment which is of symmetrical design and can thus be installed in identical fashion on either right or left side of bicycle 10 without regard to the direction of travel of spokes 22 . the convoluted region 44 shown in fig9 is an alternate means of providing flexibility to blade 32 for a long use life of the product . it is evident that the sound producing accessory described may he easily attached to or detached from a bicycle by even very young children . the construction of the device is such that a child need not use any tools nor need additional articles of hardware , to securely install the device . the device will not loosen or detach itself during use . furthermore , the fingers of the installer need not he near the spokes of the wheel while attaching the device , in its preferred embodiment , to the bicycle , thus the installation is safe . the device may be attached to a variety of bicycle wheel fork sizes and configurations at several locations on the bicycle frame , including a vertical rear fork location ( not shown ). the accessory will in its preferred embodiment have an almost unlimited life , providing many hours of a motorcycle - like sound to the amusement of youngsters . the accessory may be inexpensively produced in volume by using well established plastic processing techniques such as heat forming , profile extrusion , or injection molding . while the above description contains many specific features of the invention , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof . many other variations are possible , for example , the width , length or shape of the blade 32 may be altered to assume a configuration which is triangular , elliptical , trapezoidal , rounded etc . the &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; shaped region 28 may be altered to have larger or smaller bend radii , or the convolutions may be longer or shorter ; the number of them may be increased to three , four , five , or more . semi - tubular region 30 may be larger or smaller in diameter , or assume oval , rectangular , triangular , or any other shape . handle 34 may have a shallow or a sharper bend or be eliminated entirely . the strips of hook and loop fasteners 24 and 26 may be longer , shorter , wider , narrower or have any other convenient shape , or they may have their positions reversed , loop fastener 24 replacing hook fastener 26 and vice versa . the hook and loop fasteners 24 and 26 may be replaced by other methods of attachment such as adhesives , double - sided adhesive tape , etc . which will serve to attach the accessory securely to the bicycle . the cross sectional area of the strip of material that the accessory is made of may be uniformly thin and rectangular , or tapered to suit the manufacturing process used . color , material , texture , etc . may be changed to suit any particular taste , and labeling may be added to enhance appearance . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated , but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents .	1
certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the whole description of the present invention , the same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements across various figures . the related art elements or their detailed description will be omitted if it is determined that they impede the subject matter of the present invention . in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a transition trigger is used when frequency components of source signals are not spaced apart from frequency components of dc drifts within a great range and when various link frequencies of the source signals and various line - coding modes need to be satisfied . fig2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a baseband receiver using a transition trigger according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the baseband receiver 200 includes a transition filter 210 , a switch 184 , a threshold comparator 220 , and a transition converter 230 . the transition filter 210 maps transition waveforms between signal levels with new symbols and carries out filtering in reference to the symbols . in detail , the transition filter 210 filters trigger waveforms during falling edge from rising edge or rising edge from falling edge , as shown in ( a ) of fig3 , with respect to a first symbol input from a synthesizer 180 , and outputs a second symbol as shown in ( b ) of fig3 . therefore , the output waveform shown in ( b ) of fig3 is mapped with new symbols . in this case , mapping allows the output waveform shown in ( b ) of fig3 , i . e ., new symbols , to correspond to the original symbols shown in ( a ) of fig3 so as to obtain the output waveform shown in ( c ) of fig3 . the switch 184 switches to connect the transition filter 210 with the threshold comparator 220 to deliver the second symbol output from the transition filter 210 to the threshold comparator 220 . the threshold comparator 220 compares the presence or absence of transition for the second symbol input from the transition filter 210 based on a threshold value and outputs a transition symbol . in other words , the threshold comparator 220 compares whether transition points a ′- j ′ belong to a transition region or a non - transition region in the output waveform shown in ( b ) of fig3 . for example , if the transition points a ′- j ′ belong to the transition region , the threshold comparator 220 recognizes that transition occurs in a corresponding transition point . therefore , the waveform of the transition symbol shown in ( c ) of fig3 is output from the threshold comparator 220 . the transition converter 230 recovers waveforms corresponding to the original symbols shown in ( c ) of fig3 in accordance with the transition state of this aspect of the present invention based on whether transition occurs in a corresponding transition point after the transition filter 210 maps the transition waveforms between symbols with new symbols . fig3 is a view illustrating waveforms of the first symbol , the second symbol and the transition symbol . referring to fig3 , ( a ) represents a waveform of the first symbol r ( t ) generated by synthesizing white noise signal n ( t ) to the received signal si ( t ) in a receiver such as an rfid reader that includes a baseband receiver . as shown in ( a ) of fig3 , the waveform of the first symbol r ( t ) has a rising trigger at a point “ a ”, a falling trigger at a point “ b ”, a rising trigger at a point “ c ”, a high value ( no trigger ) at a point “ d ”, a falling trigger at a point “ e ”, a rising trigger at a point “ f ”, a falling trigger at a point “ g ”, a low value ( no trigger ) at a point “ h ”, a rising trigger at a point “ i ”, a high value at a point “ j ”, a falling trigger at a point “ k ”, a rising trigger at a point “ l ”, and a falling trigger at a point “ m ”. the first symbol r ( t ) having the above waveform is input to the transition filter 210 . the transition filter 210 filters the first symbol r ( t ) to output waveform of the second symbol z ( t ) as shown in ( b ) of fig3 . at this time , an impulse response h ( t ) of the transition filter 210 is expressed as equation 5 , and a frequency response h ( f ) of the transition filter 210 is expressed as equation 6 . h ( t )= u ( t )− 2 u ( t − t )+ u ( t − 2 t ) [ equation 5 ] in equation 5 , t is greater than or equal to 0 and is smaller than or equal to 2t . h ( f )= t sinc ( ft )( e − jπft − e − 3jπft ) [ equation 6 ] meanwhile , ( b ) of fig3 represents a waveform of the second symbol z ( t ). the second symbol z ( t ) output from the transition filter 210 generates the output waveform shown in ( b ) of fig3 whenever the transition trigger is generated . more specifically , in the waveform shown in ( b ) of fig3 , the second symbol represents a rising point of a high level at a point “ a ′” if the first symbol is a rising trigger at a point “ a ”. the second symbol represents a falling point of a low level at a point “ b ′” if the first symbol is a falling trigger at a point “ b ”. likewise , the second symbol represents a rising point of a high level at a point “ c ′” if the first symbol is a rising trigger at a point “ c ”. the second symbol represents a zero state at a point “ d ′” if the first symbol is maintained at a high level having no transition at a point “ d ”. the second symbol represents a falling point of a low level at a point “ e ′” if the first symbol is a falling trigger at a point “ e ”. the second symbol represents a rising point of a high level at a point “ f ” if the first symbol is a rising trigger at a point “ f ”. the second symbol represents a falling point of a low level at a point “ g ′” if the first symbol is a falling trigger at a point “ g ”. the second symbol represents a zero state at a point “ h ′” if the first symbol is maintained at a low level having no transition at a point “ h ”. the second symbol represents a rising point of a high level at a point “ i ′” if the first symbol is a rising trigger at a point “ i ”. the second symbol represents a zero state at a point “ j ′” if the first symbol is maintained at a high level having no transition at a point “ j ”. the second symbol represents a falling point of a low level at a point “ k ′” if the first symbol is a falling trigger at a point “ k ”. the second symbol represents a rising point of a high level at a point “ l ′” if the first symbol is a rising trigger at a point “ l ”. finally , the second symbol represents a falling point of a low level at a point “ m ′” if the first symbol is a falling trigger at a point “ m ”. therefore , the output of the transition filter 210 is classified into two regions , i . e ., a transition region that detects the rising edge or falling edge and a non - transition region having no transition . in fig3 , ( c ) represents a waveform of the transition symbol generated depending on transition after the second symbol z ( t ) is compared with the threshold value through the threshold comparator 220 . if a transition greater than the threshold value exists in the waveform of the second symbol z ( t ) shown in ( b ) of fig3 , for example , if transition such as trigger of + 1 or − 1 exists , the transition symbol is in a high level state . if no transition exists in the waveform of the second symbol z ( t ), the transition symbol is in a low level state . in this case , the low level of the transition symbol means a zero level . as shown in ( c ) of fig3 , the output signal of the transition filter 210 , i . e ., since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of + 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ a ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . also , since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of − 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ b ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of + 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ c ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . and , since the transition symbol corresponds to no transition if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ d ′”, the transition symbol is in a low level state . since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of − 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ e ′”, the transition symbol is in a low level state . and , since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of + 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ f ”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of − 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ g ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . and , since the transition symbol corresponds to no transition if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ h ′”, the transition symbol is in a low level state . since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of + 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ i ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . and , since the transition symbol corresponds to no transition if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ j ′”, the transition symbol is in a low level state . since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of − 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ k ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . and , since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of + 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ 1 ′”, the transition symbol is in a high level state . also , since the transition symbol corresponds to transition of − 1 if the second symbol corresponds to a point “ m ′”, the transition symbol is in a low level state . fig4 is a view illustrating the transition state used in the transition converter . the transition converter 230 recovers the transition symbol shown in ( c ) of fig3 to the original first symbol based on the transition state diagram of fig4 . in the transition state diagram shown in fig4 , if the symbol 1 of a high level is converted into the symbol 0 of a low level , transition occurs . also , even if the symbol 0 of a low level is converted to the symbol 1 of a high level , it is regarded that transition occurs . meanwhile , no transition occurs if the symbol 1 of a high level is maintained as it is . also , no transition occurs if the symbol 0 of a low level is maintained as it is . therefore , the transition converter 230 recovers the transition symbol shown in ( c ) of fig5 to the original first symbol shown in ( d ) of fig5 in accordance with the transition state . fig5 is a view illustrating output waveforms of the first symbol , the second symbol , the transition symbol , and the transition converter . referring to fig5 , ( a ) represents the original first symbol input to the transition filter 210 , and ( b ) represents the second symbol output from the transition filter 210 . since the first and second symbols have been described as above , their description will be omitted . ( c ) of fig5 represents the transition symbol output from the threshold comparator 220 . since the transition symbol has been also described as above , its description will be omitted . ( d ) of fig5 represents the original first symbol recovered from the transition symbol by the transition converter 230 in accordance with the transition state . as shown in ( d ) of fig5 , since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ a ”, the output signal of the transition converter 230 , i . e ., the first symbol represents a rising trigger like a point “ a ′”. and , since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ b ”, the first symbol represents a falling trigger like a point “ b ′” since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ c ”, the first symbol represents a rising trigger like a point “ c ′”. and , since the transition symbol is maintained at a low level having no transition at a point “ d ”, the first symbol is maintained at a high level corresponding to a prior level . since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ e ”, the first symbol represents a falling trigger like a point “ e ′”. and , since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ f ”, the first symbol represents a rising trigger like “ f ′”. since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ g ”, the first symbol represents a falling trigger like a point “ g ′”. and , since the transition symbol is maintained at a low level having no transition at a point “ h ”, the first symbol is maintained at a low level like “ h ′”. since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ i ”, the first symbol represents a rising trigger like a point “ i ′”. and , since the transition symbol is maintained at a low level having no transition at a point “ j ”, the first symbol is maintained at prior high level like “ j ′”. since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ k ”, the first symbol represents a falling trigger like a point “ k ′”. and , since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ 1 ”, the first symbol represents a rising trigger like “ l ′”. also , since the transition symbol is maintained at a high level having transition at a point “ m ”, the first symbol represents a falling trigger . therefore , the original first symbol can be recovered by the aforementioned procedure . as described above , in the present invention , complex and high performance dc drift estimator is not required . also , since dc drifts can stably be removed along with white noise among noise components , it is possible to improve ber . the foregoing exemplary embodiments 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 exemplary 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 .	7
the preferred embodiment is a sheet of insect netting sewn to a sturdy cloth valance strip . standard curtain hooks are inserted into the seam of the valance strip spaced appropriately and hung onto corresponding eye screws inserted into the outer face adjacent to the ceiling of a porch . the curtain is cut long enough to either drape past the flooring or to rest on the flooring with some excess . alternative embodiments ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) are those that alter the valance strip to accommodate alternative methods of attachment of the mosquito curtain to covered structures . alternative embodiments ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) alter the netting material to allow for a passageway through the mosquito curtain . an alternative embodiment would be to sew a velcro or comparable velcro - like strip to the valance strip . this embodiment would allow for an alternative form of attachment and would still be removable and washable . an alternative embodiment would be to secure the insect netting directly to a velcro or velcro - like strip whereby the velcro or velcro - like strip itself is the valance . the velcro or velcro - like valance would be secured to the insect netting either by a machine washable adhesive , or by sewing , or both . an alternative embodiment would be to make a vertical cut from the base of the curtain , up to , but not including , the valance to allow passage through the curtain much like a doorway . the cut sides of the doorway could be fastened together in a manner such to secure the fabric edges together when desired to re - seal the desired space from mosquito exposure . such fastening might be accomplished by attaching a velcro or velcro - like strip to the sides of a doorway for re - sealing , or might be accomplished in some other effective manner such as fastening a zipper or cloth ties that would allow for opening and closing of the doorway . an alternative embodiment would be to attach two overlapping sheets of insect netting to a single valance . the sheets would overlap at a point where a passageway through the curtain might be desired . the overlap would extend from the point of attachment to the valance strip to the base of the curtain . the amount of overlap would be sufficient to maintain an effective seal when said doorway is closed . from the description above , a number of advantages of my mosquito curtain are evident : a ) it can be easily removed and reinstalled when desired ; and , b ) it can be washed while removed from operation such as in a washing machine , or hand washed in a tub ; and , c ) it can be offered in light colors such as , but not limited to , bright white and still be practical ; and d ) it can span linearly around any shaped fixed outdoor covered structure ; and e ) it can be installed easily ; and , f ) it is simpler requiring few materials and less expensive than fixed screened - in structures ; and , g ) the valance will provide a sturdy material for attachment ; and , h ) when stretched around at least one corner , will create integrity of form such that no bottom attachment will be necessary ; and , i ) can act as a limited barrier to direct sunlight , wind and rain ; and , j ) can accommodate a vertical slit doorway ; and k ) is unavailable in the current market place . the mosquito curtain is hung into place , as described in ( fig4 ) of the diagram . in the preferred embodiment , the valance is attached to the outer edge of the portico ceiling using standard curtain hooks and standard eye screws . in alternative embodiments ( 1 and 2 ), the valance is attached to the outer edge of the fixed covered outside structure ceiling using a velcro or velcro - like strip . unlike framed screening that is taught spanning a relatively small frame , the mosquito curtain is pulled taught only at the valance . the bottom of the mosquito curtain effectively becomes sealed at its base when the top valance is stretched across at least one angle and the insect netting length is cut appropriately . the sides of the curtain can either overlap the portico walls or can be fastened to the wall by sandwiching the netting with a strip of molding , or some other practical method such as a velcro strip . once in place , it requires no further operation until the owner wishes to remove it for any reason . periodically , the curtain is removed and the curtain hooks are pulled from the valance seam . to wash , the curtain is put into an appropriate sized washing machine or hand washed in a tub . the curtain is drip dried and the valence can be hand ironed if so desired . the curtain may either be stored or re - hung for use . accordingly , the reader will see that the mosquito curtain is a cheap alternative to a screened - in covered structure and will create an effective barrier to mosquito exposure . in addition , it is removable and washable . it is much more flexible in its use , maintenance , and aesthetic appeal than current options . this invention is unavailable in the current market place and an important prophylactic to mosquito - borne health risks particularly for individuals with limited budgets . furthermore , the mosquito curtain has the additional advantage that it is washable and therefore practical to use light colored mosquito netting such as “ white .” it is aesthetically more pleasing than other alternatives . it provides an effective prophylactic to flying insects such as mosquitoes . it is easy to install and easy to remove . it can span around any shaped fixed covered outdoor structure . it is more free flowing and snag resistant . it provides for a limited barrier to direct sunlight wind and rain . it is currently unavailable in the marketplace . although the description above contains several specifications , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing some illustrations of some of the preferred embodiments of this invention . for example , the valance may be made of various sturdy cloth materials or made of a velcro or velcro - like strip . also , colors other than bright white may be used as well as multiple colored netting or netting with design patterns . also , while throughout this document i have referred to a “ porch ,” this invention can be used for a variety of covered structures . also , while i have referred to mosquitoes , this invention can be used as a barrier to most flying insects .	4
a description will be made below of a received signal phase detecting circuit according to the present invention based on an embodiment thereof . fig5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention . a received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises : a demodulating circuit 1 ; a frame synchronization detecting circuit 2 ; a frame synchronizing signal generator 3 ; and in addition to those , delay circuits 41 and 42 configuring a block for detection of a received signal phase ; a 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 ; cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 ; a 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 ; and a phase determining circuit 49 . that is , in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , outputs avi ( 8 ) and avq ( 8 ) from the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 are supplied to the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 to receive phase rotation ; and the phase rotation outputs rvi ( 8 ) and rvq ( 8 ) are supplied to the phase determining circuit 49 to obtain a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ). herein , the received signal phase determining circuit 47 with table conversion using a rom in a conventional example is replaced with the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 configured by a multiplier , an adder or the like , and a phase determining circuit 49 configured by a determining circuit or the like , such as a comparator or the like . the other parts of the configuration are same as the conventional example . with such a configuration , in the received signal phase detecting circuit according the embodiment of the present invention , outputs avi ( 8 ) and avq ( 8 ) from the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 are supplied to the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 and a phase rotation of an angle 22 . 5 ° is performed according to the following equations ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). it should be noted that operations of the demodulating circuit 1 , the frame synchronization detecting circuit 2 , a frame synchronizing signal generator 3 , the delay circuits 41 and 42 configuring a block for detection of a received signal phase , the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 , and the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 are respectively same as those in the conventional case and therefore , descriptions thereof are omitted . outputs of phase rotation according to the equations ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) are input to the phase determining circuit 49 ; phase rotation angles thereof are determined in the phase determining circuit 49 ; and a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ) is eventually output . a description will be made of phase rotation and phase determination by the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 and the phase determining circuit 49 using fig6 and 7 . conventionally , a received signal phase angle has been determined from ( avi ( 8 ) and avq ( 8 )) input using threshold angles of φ = 22 . 5 °+ 45 °× n , wherein n is an integer selected from n = 0 to 7 , which is shown in a received signal phase determination table of fig4 thereby obtaining a rotation phase signal rt ( 3 ). however , in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , since the outputs ( avi ( 8 ) and avq ( 8 )) are phase rotated by 22 . 5 °, it may apparently be applied that φ = 22 . 5 °+ 45 °× n , wherein n is an integer selected from n = 0 to 7 , while giving a phase rotation of 22 . 5 ° to a threshold angle , which is shown in fig6 . as a result , the outputs ( rvi and rvq ) of the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 are input to the phase determining circuit 49 and then , it is only required to determine which of phase areas shown in fig6 the inputs ( rvi and rvq ) resides in . therefore , determination of a received signal phase angle can simply be performed using the input signals ( rvi and rvq ) with a comparator or the like without using table conversion . determination of which of 4 quadrants on the i - q vector plane shown in fig6 the received signal phase angle resides in can be obtained from a sign of a signal ( rvi and rvq ). further , in order to perform determination in connection with threshold angles of 45 °× n , where n is an integer selected from n = 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 , at which each quadrant is divided into two , for example , determination on a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 )= 0 or a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 )= 1 , magnitudes of absolute values of the respective signals ( rvi and rvq ) are used for the purpose . determination on a phase angle shown in fig6 can be realized using the phase determining circuit 49 that performs determination shown in fig7 based on the above described relations . according to the procedures as describe above , the received signal phase determining circuit 47 conventionally configured so that table conversion is performed using a rom is replaced with the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 configured by a multiplier and an adder and the phase determining circuit 49 configured by a simple determining circuit , thereby largely reducing a circuit scale when incorporated into an integrated circuit . then , a description will be made of a first modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according the embodiment of the present invention . in the first modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig8 cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a substitutes for the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 and the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , and outputs di ( 8 ) and dq ( 8 ) of the delay circuits 41 and 42 are supplied to the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a . when a bit stream of a reproduced frame synchronizing signal output from the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 is logic “ 1 ”, corresponding symbols in symbol streams output from the delay circuits 41 and 42 are respectively processed in cumulative addition over the section of a flame synchronizing signal section signal ; when the bit stream of a reproduced frame synchronizing signal output from the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 is logic “ 0 ”, corresponding symbols in symbol streams output from the delay circuits 41 and 42 are respectively processed in cumulative subtraction over the section of a frame synchronizing signal section signal . in the same circuits 45 a and 46 a , subsequent to the cumulative addition operation or cumulative subtraction operation , an averaging processing is performed and outputs avi ( 8 ) and avq ( 8 ) from the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a are supplied to the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 . at this point , when an operation of the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention is considered , 180 ° phase rotation is equivalent to inversion of a code on each of the respective axes . therefore , cumulative addition of a received symbol phase - rotated by 180 ° on each axis is equal to cumulative subtraction thereof on each axis . therefore , the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 and the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 can be replaced with the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a . the reason why the results of cumulative addition and subtraction receive averaging processing is that a signal point arrangement can be obtained in a stable manner even when a minute change in phase or a change in amplitude of a received base band signal due to deterioration in c / n ratio in reception occurs . therefore , if the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 is constituted of table conversion using rom , a memory capacity 128 k bytes (= 2 16 × 16 bits ) of rom constituting the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 can be saved and a circuit scale can be further reduced in the first modification as compared with the case of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention . next , a description will be made of a second modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention . in the second modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig9 phases of demodulated base band signal outputs from the demodulating circuit 1 receive a phase rotation of 22 . 5 ° by the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 in the first modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , phase rotation outputs from the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 are sent out to the delay circuits 41 and 42 , outputs from the delay circuits 41 and 42 are supplied to the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a and outputs from the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a are sent out to the phase determining circuit 49 . that is , in the second modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 in the first modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention is shifted to a stage preceding the delay circuits 41 and 42 . in the second modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , since the above described configuration is adopted , outputs rvi ( 8 ) and rvq ( 8 ) that are obtained by performing a phase rotation of 22 . 5 ° in the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 on outputs from the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a in the first modification shown in fig8 of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention are equal to outputs avi and avq that are obtained by performing a cumulative addition / subtraction averaging operation in the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a on 22 . 5 ° phase - rotated frame signals that have been obtained by performing phase rotation of 22 . 5 ° on demodulated base band signals i ( 8 ) and q ( 8 ) in the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 . therefore , the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 shown in fig8 may be arranged to be at a stage preceding the delay circuits 41 and 42 without any problem as shown in fig9 . there is a case where a circuit that performs 22 . 5 ° phase rotation on demodulated base band signals i ( 8 ) and q ( 8 ) is included in the demodulating circuit 1 of fig9 and in the case , outputs therefrom can be used , thereby making a configuration of fig9 further simple . according to the second modification of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention , the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 and the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 that have conventionally been used are replaced with the cumulative addition / subtraction averaging circuits 45 a and 46 a . further , if the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 has table conversion using rom , a memory capacity of 128 k bytes (= 2 16 × 16 bits ) can be saved , thereby enabling a circuit scale to be smaller . it should be noted that in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention and the first and second modifications thereof , it is exemplified that determination can be performed in a simple circuit configuration by using the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 instead of table conversion that performs determination on an actual received signal phase , while an angle by which phase rotation is performed may be not only 22 . 5 ° but also the following angles : 67 . 5 °, 112 . 5 °, 157 . 5 °, 202 . 5 °, 247 . 5 °, 292 . 5 ° and 337 . 5 °. in the cases , a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ) in the received signal phase determining circuit is only required to be changed according to a phase rotation angle that is desired to be implemented . phase rotation angle signals rt ( 3 ) in cases of rotations of the above described 67 . 5 °, 112 . 5 °, 157 . 5 °, 202 . 5 °, 247 . 5 °, 292 . 5 ° and 337 . 5 ° are shown in fig1 . fig1 is a block diagram showing configuration of a received signal phase detecting circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention . a received signal phase detecting circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention comprises : a demodulating circuit 1 ; a frame synchronization detecting circuit 2 ; and a frame synchronizing signal generator 3 and in addition , a 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 constituting of a block for detection of a received signal phase ; delay circuits 41 and 42 ; a code inverter 59 ; a phase determining circuit 49 ; a gray code converter 51 ; majority determining circuits 52 a to 52 c ; and a binary code converter 53 . that is , in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention , base band signals demodulated in the demodulating circuit 1 are supplied to the frame synchronization detecting circuit 2 , a frame synchronizing signal is detected in the frame synchronization detecting circuit 2 and a frame synchronizing pulse based on the frame synchronizing signal is supplied to the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 . a frame synchronizing signal period signal and a reproduced frame synchronizing signal are respectively sent out from the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 that have received the frame synchronizing pulse to the delay circuits 41 and 42 , and the code inverter 59 . on the other hand , base band signals i ( 8 ) and q ( 8 ) demodulated in the demodulating circuit 1 are supplied to the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 and the signals receive 22 . 5 ° phase rotation there . phase rotation outputs ri ( 8 ) and rq ( 8 ) from the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 are supplied to the delay circuits 41 and 42 . description will first be made of the 22 . 5 ° phase rotation of the base band signals i ( 8 ) and q ( 8 ). the phase rotation in the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 is effected according to the following equations ( 4 ) and ( 5 ): the delay circuits 41 and 42 that have received a frame synchronizing signal section signal delay a symbol stream of a frame synchronizing signal that is multiplexed into base band signals that have received 22 . 5 ° phase rotation from outputs ri ( 8 ) and rq ( 8 ) phase - rotated according to the equations ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) in the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 so that the symbol stream of a frame synchronizing signal that is multiplexed into base band signals , and a bit stream of a reproduced frame synchronizing signal that is sent out from the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 coincide with each other in timing at the input end position of the code inverter 59 . the base band signals di ( 8 ) and dq ( 8 ) that have been delayed by the delay circuits 41 and 42 are input to the code inverter 59 . the output gates of the delay circuits 41 and 42 are opened only during a symbol stream section of a frame synchronizing signal with 16 symbols by a frame synchronizing signal section signal output from the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 . further , a reproduced frame synchronizing signal output from the frame synchronizing signal generator 3 and the symbol stream of the frame synchronizing signal , as described above , are made to coincide with each other in timing by the delay circuits 41 and 42 at the input of the code inverter 59 . then , in the code inverter 59 , in a case where a bit of the reproduced frame synchronizing signal is logic “ 0 ”, the corresponding symbols of symbol streams di ( 8 ) and dq ( 8 ) of frame synchronizing signals input to the code inverter 59 are output after inverted respectively , while in a case where the bit of the reproduced frame synchronizing signal is logic “ 1 ”, the corresponding symbols of symbol streams di ( 8 ) and dq ( 8 ) of frame synchronizing signals input to the code inverter 59 are output unchanged without inversion . therefore , while the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 with table conversion using rom has conventionally employed , the circuit can be replaced with the code inverter 59 since an operation of the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 is equal to a code invert operation on each of the axes . outputs rvi and rvq from the code inverter 59 are input to the phase determining circuit 49 and phase determination is performed using threshold angles as shown in fig6 . the phase determination in the circuit is different from the conventional phase determination shown in fig4 and since input signals to be determined have received a 22 . 5 ° phase rotation in the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 arranged at the preceding stage , it is apparent that threshold angles , which are used for reception phase determination , may also be phase rotated by 22 . 5 ° and thereafter set so that the angles φ = 45 °× n , where n is an integer selected from n = 0 to 7 . this is shown in fig6 . as a result , inputs rvi and rvq are only required to be determined in the phase determining circuit 49 on which of the phase areas shown in fig6 the inputs resides in . therefore , similar to the embodiment shown in fig5 the conventional received signal phase determining circuit 47 with table conversion using rom is replaced with the phase determining circuit 49 comprising the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 configured by a multiplier and an adder and a simple determining circuit , thereby reducing a circuit scale when incorporated in an integrated circuit by a great margin . a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ) that is based on a phase rotation angle determined in the phase determining circuit 49 is supplied to the gray code converter 51 to be gray coded according to fig1 ( a ). bits g 0 to g 2 of a gray coded output are respectively input to the majority determining circuits 52 a , 52 b and 52 c and majority determinations on whether a bit is “ 0 ” or “ 1 ” during a predetermined period are performed in the circuits . such processings are replacement of cumulative averaging in the conventional example performed on symbol streams vi ( 8 ) and vq ( 8 ) which have been effected so that signal arrangements can be obtained in a stable manner even when there occurs a minute change in phase or a change in amplitude of a received base band signal due to deterioration in c / n ratio in reception . the outputs g 00 to g 02 from the majority determining circuits 52 a , 52 b and 52 c are input to the binary code converter 53 and inversion of the conversion effected by the gray code converter 51 is performed according to fig1 ( b ). an output from the binary code converter 53 is output as a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ). each of the majority determining circuits 52 a to 52 c can be constituted , for example , only of one 4 bit counter if a section for majority determination is a frame synchronizing symbol period , that is 16 symbols . for example , when an input signal g 0 is input to the enable terminal of a counter and an output qd in the highest place of the counter is employed as a majority determination output g 00 , a majority output “ 1 ” is obtained if the number of bits “ 1 ” in a bit stream g 0 exceeds 8 . however , processing when the numbers of bits “ 0 ” and bits “ 1 ” are same as each other and other processings are required to be separately performed but a circuit scale does not become larger due to requirements for such separate processings . in the majority determining circuits in the received signal phase detecting circuits according to the second embodiment of the present invention , since determination operations are performed on respective bits of the 3 - bit phase determination output r ( 3 ), three 4 - bit counters and peripheral circuits for the above described processings are sufficient for the purpose . the term “ section for majority determination ” is meant by a set of symbols of a frame synchronizing signal . that is , the above description associated with the term has been such that 16 symbols is a base and majority determination is performed during a predetermined period . however , according to other thoughts , different ways of processings can be available : one arbitrary symbol is taken out from the 16 symbols of each frame synchronizing signal and such arbitrary symbols are subjected to majority determinations over several frames ( predetermined frames ); several arbitrary bits are taken out instead of one arbitrary symbol and , likewise , the majority determinations are performed over several frames ( predetermined frames ); and in order to delete the code inverter 59 shown in fig1 , the output gates are opened only when a bit of a reproduced frame signal is “ 1 ”, and a portion of a bit “ 0 ” is discarded . on the other hand , in the conventional example , the base band signals i and q each with 8 bits are necessary to respectively receive cumulative addition in 16 times . when sets of 8 bits are summed to perform cumulative addition in a total of 16 times , a resulted number amounts to 12 bit wide one as the maximum , which requires an adder with 12 bits as the lowest number of places and at least 12 latch circuits . the set is required for each of the base band signals i and q , thereby increasing a circuit scale . it is same as in a conventional way that , in signal processings in stages after the binary code converter 53 , the base band signals i ( 8 ) and q ( 8 ) are subjected to opposite phase rotation so as to be in absolute phase based on a phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ) signal that is an output from the binary code converter 53 . in the above description , it is also acceptable that the output r ( 3 ) of the phase determining circuit is directly input to the majority determining circuits and outputs from the majority determining circuits are adopted as the phase rotation angle signal rt ( 3 ). however , since the difference in bit between two adjacent phase determination values is 1 bit by one time gray - coding , even when a false determination is effected in phase determination because of a minute change in phase or a change in amplitude of a received base band signal due to deterioration in c / n ratio in reception , an influence thereof can be suppressed to its minimum . that is , a combination of the gray code converter 51 and the majority determining circuits 52 a , 52 b and 52 c can attain more of improvement on reliability of operation . further , there is also a case where a circuit in which demodulated base band signals i ( 8 ) and q ( 8 ) are phase - rotated by 22 . 5 ° is included in the demodulating circuit 1 and in this case , outputs from the circuit can be used and the configuration of the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention becomes simpler . further , while the output r ( 3 ) from the phase determining circuit 49 are converted in the gray code converter 51 to g 0 to g 2 , the outputs from the phase determining circuit 49 may directly be g 0 to g 2 . phase determination in this case performed by the phase determining circuit 49 may be determination shown in fig1 . it should be noted that , while , in the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention , it is exemplified that determination by a simple circuit configuration is enabled instead of table conversion in which an actual received signal phase is determined by using the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 , angles by which phase rotation is performed may , in that case , be not only 22 . 5 ° but 67 . 5 °, 112 . 5 °, 157 . 5 °, 202 . 5 °, 247 . 5 °, 292 . 5 ° and 337 . 5 °. in the cases , a phase rotation angle signal r ( 3 ) in the phase determining circuit 49 is only required to be changed . phase rotation angle signals r ( 3 ) are shown in fig1 for cases where the above described 67 . 5 °, 112 . 5 °, 157 . 5 °, 202 . 5 °, 247 . 5 °, 292 . 5 ° and 337 . 5 ° are employed in phase rotation . according to the received signal phase detecting circuit according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the phase determining circuit 49 comprising the 22 . 5 ° phase rotating circuit 48 configured by a multiplier and an adder and a simple determining circuit are substituted for the phase determining circuit with table conversion using rom , thereby enabling great reduction in circuit scale when being incorporated in an integrated circuit . further , since the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 which has conventionally used is replaced with the code inverter 59 , when the 0 °/ 180 ° phase rotating circuit 43 has table conversion using rom , a memory capacity of 128 k bytes (= 2 16 × 16 bits ) can be saved . further , the majority determining circuits 52 a to 52 c each with a 3 - bit width are used instead of the cumulative averaging circuits 45 and 46 each with an 8 - bit width , which are operated on the respective axes , thereby realizing great reduction in circuit scale . as described above , according to a received signal phase detecting circuit of the present invention , there can be enjoyed effects that a circuit scale can be reduced and a chip area can be effectively used in a case of incorporation of the received signal phase detecting circuit into an integrated circuit .	7
previous attempts to utilize increased heat in a conventional extrusion die to improve the gloss appearance have failed . additional heat incorporated into a conventional extrusion die has caused burning of the polymeric material and degradation of part quality and appearance . in our preferred embodiment , a pvc extrudate is first made by extrusion coating a pvc resin composition onto a continuous length reinforcing metal substrate through a conventional cross - head extrusion die and immediately thereafter , passing the extrudate through a gloss controlling auxiliary die . this is shown in fig1 where a conventional extrusion die 10 is mounted on extruder 20 . a gloss controlling auxiliary die 30 is mounted to the extrusion die 10 with insulating material 14 in - between . cartridge type heaters 32 inserted in the auxiliary die 30 are used to provide heat to the auxiliary die through a temperature controller 40 . the insulating material 14 in - between the extrusion die and the auxiliary die can be made of an asbestos material or any other heat - insulating material that is efficient in preventing substantially any heat flow between the extrusion die 10 and the auxiliary die 30 . an enlarged perspective view of the gloss controlling auxiliary die 30 is shown in fig2 . it can be seen that the auxiliary die 30 is assembled together of two die halves , the upper die 44 and the lower die 42 by bolts ( not shown ) through assembly holes 34 . in this specific embodiments , four cartridge heaters 32 are utilized to heat the auxiliary die 30 . a thermocouple 38 is installed inside the lower die block 42 for accurate control of the die temperature . the auxiliary die 30 is mounted through four mounting holes 36 to the conventional extrusion die 10 as shown in fig1 . the die opening 28 in this specific embodiment was cut one ten - thousandths of an inch larger than the opening in the extrusion die 10 . this is desirable to prevent any type of drag phenomenon which may cause extrusion defects such as shock lines on the surface of the extrudate . we have discovered that a 20 to 50 percent increase or decrease in gloss level can be obtained by using our novel gloss controlling auxiliary die . conductive heat by contacting with the auxiliary die on the surface of the extrudate provides a wide range of gloss levels obtainable . it should be emphasized that a good insulation between the auxiliary die and the extrusion die must be provided such that substantially no heat flow can occur between the two dies . in our preferred embodiment , the auxiliary die 30 is constructed of 440 stainless steel with thermostatically - controlled heating cartridges 32 and independent temperature controller 40 . the length of the die 30 is approximately 2 . 5 inches . we have discovered that the length of the auxiliary die required is dependent on the extrusion line speed and the gloss level desired . if higher extrusion line speed and higher gloss level is desired , the length of the auxiliary die can be as long as five inches . at lower extrusion line speed and lower gloss level , an auxiliary die length as short as one inch may be sufficient . the interior surface of the die opening 28 is a matched profile to the extrusion die with one ten - thousandths of an inch additional part clearance . the inner surface of the die opening 28 in our auxiliary die 30 comes in contact with the pvc extrudate is highly polished to an 8 to 12 micron finish . the gloss readings on the surface of the extrudates were performed by using a glossgard ® ii 60 ° glossmeter manufactured by pacific scientific gardner / neotec division . we have discovered that there is a linear relationship between the gloss level and the temperature of the extrudate surface . both heat and length of the auxiliary die contribute to the surface characteristics of the finished extrudate . we have discovered that by using a 2 . 5 inch long auxiliary die , a 25 percent increase in the temperature of the auxiliary die ( of the melt temperature of pvc ) will produce an 80 gloss surface . the effect of the auxiliary die temperature on the gloss level obtained on pvc material is shown in fig3 . a linear relationship between the die temperature and the gloss is observed up to a die temperature of approximately 410 ° f . at temperatures above 410 ° f ., the pvc material has a tendency of burning and degradation . at the temperature range we have experimented , i . e ., between 350 ° f . to 410 ° f ., the surface gloss level of a pvc extrudate can be accurately controlled between 40 to 100 gloss readings . it is , therefore , possible to use our novel gloss controlling auxiliary die by either increasing or decreasing the temperature setting of the die to obtain the exact gloss level required . for instance , to increase the gloss levels from 60 to 80 , the auxiliary die temperature needs to be increased from 370 ° f . to 390 ° f . similarly , when a mat finish or non - glossy surface is desired , the temperature of the auxiliary die can be decreased accordingly by following the chart in fig1 . the method of the present invention has been described in an illustrative manner . it is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation .	1
referring now to fig1 through 6 the essential components of the first preferred embodiment of this invention will be described , it being understood that a typical dock leveler has other constructional features which need not be illustrated here . a loading dock is shown with a driveway approach 1 , a dock face 2 , and a dock floor 3 with a recessed pit 4 . a transport vehicle 5 is shown positioned in front of the dock . the dock leveler 10 is typically mounted in the pit 4 . it will be understood that this invention is not limited to any particular type of dock leveler , whether pit or vertically storing , or the mode of powering the deck and lip . the pit type is most common and will be used for purposes of explanation . a frame 12 has horizontal members 13 and a vertical brace 14 both of which rest in the pit . the leveler frame also has stop blocks 15 and lip keepers 16 at the forward end of the horizontal members 13 . the leveler 10 has a deck 20 which has a top plate 21 , a bar 22 that forms a front header and a bar 23 that forms a rear header . a recessed ledge is formed at the front of the deck by a plate 24 and a spacer bar 25 . beams 26 attached to the top plate , ledge and header bars provide structural strength to the assembly . the deck 20 is pivoted to the frame at pivot 27 . a lip assembly 30 having a lip plate 31 and hinge tubes 32 is pivoted to the deck on a pin 28 inserted in hinge tubes 29 attached to the front header bar 21 and hinge tubes 32 attached to the lip plate 31 . the leveler is held horizontal in the stored position with the lip 30 in the pendant position and retained in the lip keepers 16 . the lip illustrated is of a configuration known in the industry by various names such as “ barrier lip ”, “ safety lip ”, “ run - off guard ” or “ post office lip ”. the characteristic feature of each is that lip 31 has an upper portion 33 which extends above the deck 20 when the lip is pendent . the purpose is to prevent wheeled vehicles from inadvertently running off the edge of an open dock . when the lip 30 is extended , the “ run - off guard ” portion 33 of the lip rests in the recess of the deck 20 formed by the plate 24 as shown on fig6 . while preferred , the lip need not be a barrier type but may be simply one hinged at one end to the end of the deck , as is also conventional in loading docks . as illustrated in fig7 and 9 , slotted holes 34 are cut through the lip plate 31 . these will be explained herein for the first embodiment of this invention . fig1 illustrates the configuration of a typical hydraulic system used to operate the dock leveler . an arm 34 is attached to the lip 30 . mounting brackets 36 and 39 are attached to the deck 20 , and mounting brackets 17 are attached to the frame 12 . a main cylinder 37 is pinned at one end to the brackets 36 and at the other end to the brackets 17 . when hydraulic fluid is supplied to the cylinder the deck 20 will be lifted . similarly the lip cylinder 38 is pinned at one end to the lip arm 33 and at the other end to the deck bracket 35 . when hydraulic fluid supplied to either port of the cylinder 37 the lip 30 will be extended or retracted . a hydraulic system suitable for controlling the dock leveler of this type is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 641 , 388 . fig2 illustrates the configuration of the retractable dock bumpers when the dock leveler is in the stored position . a bumper assembly 40 has a beam 41 and bumper segments 42 . a plate 43 and mounting brackets 44 are attached to the rear of the bumper assembly . a resilient member 45 is attached between the front and rear sections of the bumper assembly 40 to absorb the impact force of the transport vehicle 5 backing into the dock . fig4 illustrates a perspective view of the bumper assembly 40 . referring now to fig2 and 3 , the bumper assemblies 40 are mounted for linear axial movement in the deck 20 . an opening for each bumper is cut into the front header bar 22 and guide brackets 50 and 51 are attached to the deck 20 . as illustrated in fig2 the bumpers 42 are extended outward and project through the lip to block rearward movement of the vehicle even when the lip is in the pendant position . a cylinder anchor bracket 53 is also attached to the deck 20 . a hydraulic cylinder 55 having an extendable rod 56 is pinned at one end to the anchor bracket 53 and at the other end to the brackets 44 on the bumper assembly 40 . the rod 56 can be extended or retracted by supplying hydraulic fluid to either of the two ports on the cylinder 55 . fig3 and 6 show the condition of the bumpers at different phases of leveler deployment . fig3 illustrates the leveler stored and the bumpers 42 retracted to allow the leveler to raise unimpeded by interference with the transport vehicle . fig5 illustrates the deck 20 raised with the lip 30 partially extended . fig6 illustrates the leveler in the operative position with the lip 30 extended and supported by the bed of the transport vehicle . the bumpers 40 are extended to limit the position of the transport vehicle 5 . alternatively , the bumper can be mounted to the end of the deck to always protrude through the slots in the lip whenever the lip is in the pendant position such as illustrated in fig2 and 7 . this will protect the deck and the lip . when the lip is raised the bumper will still protrude beyond the end of the deck as shown in fig6 to protect the deck when the lip is supported by the bed of the parked vehicle . this is a modification of the first preferred embodiment to simplify the structure yet still protect the deck and lip at various stages of operation . in this configuration , the bumper may be resiliently mounted to the deck to absorb shock loads . fig7 and 8 are perspective views of the first preferred embodiment which better illustrate the relationships of the bumper segments 41 and the slotted openings 34 in the lip plate 31 . the hydraulic circuit that controls the extension and retraction of the bumper beams will preferably be designed so that when hydraulic pressure is applied to the main cylinder 37 then it is also applied to the retract port of the bumper cylinder 55 . thus whenever the weight of the deck 20 is supported by the hydraulic cylinder 37 , the bumpers will then be retracted . when there is no hydraulic pressure applied to the main cylinder 37 then the deck must be supported either in the stored position by the lip keepers 17 or in the operative position by the lip resting on the bed of the truck . therefore the bumpers may be extended whenever there is no hydraulic pressure exerted on the main cylinder 37 . such an hydraulic circuit is not shown but will be readily understood by those skilled in this art as easily implemented . fig9 illustrates a second preferred embodiment of this invention . the dock leveler 210 is of a similar configuration to the first embodiment except that the deck assembly 220 does not have hinge tubes to carry a pivoting lip . the lip 60 is mounted to extend and retract linearly along the top of the deck 220 . the dock leveler is shown with the lip 60 is fully extended and supported by the bed of the transport vehicle 5 . the bumpers 40 are extended to limit the position of the transport vehicle 5 . a third preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated by fig1 through 14 . fig1 shows a dock leveler 110 mounted in a conventional pit 4 . the deck 120 has a conventional hinged lip 130 supported by lip keepers 16 . a guide track 90 is mounted to the dock face 2 and may be supported by a bracket 91 attached to the floor of the pit 4 . a bumper carriage 95 is mounted in the guide track 90 . the bumper carriage 95 has vertical plates 96 that carry conventional a dock bumper 98 . the bumper carriage 95 is biased upward by springs 97 so that the top of the bumper 98 is at a suitable height for the highest transport vehicle . the lip 130 has a lip plate 131 with slotted openings 134 that allow the lip to fit in the cavities formed by the vertical support plates 96 . this is illustrated by fig1 , a partial front view of the dock with a section cut through the left bumper to show the vertical plates 96 and slotted openings 134 . thus the lip 130 can be stored behind the bumpers and the width of the lip is not limited by the spacing of the bumpers . a transport vehicle may impact the bumpers with very high force when the dock leveler is stored . the bumper carriage may be constructed so that excessive force on the bumper will cause the bumper carriage to deflect until it contacts the dock leveler and transfer force through the dock leveler to the dock floor . fig1 illustrates the dock leveler with the lip 130 extended and supported by the bed of the transport vehicle 5 which is higher than the top of the bumper 98 . fig1 shows a transport vehicle with a bed height lower than the dock floor 3 . when the lip 130 is resting on the bed of the transport vehicle it also rests on top of the bumper 40 and depresses it to the proper height . thus this embodiment will accommodate transport vehicles of varying heights . fig1 shows the dock leveler installed in a low dock with the top of the bumpers 98 above the dock floor 3 to accommodate transport vehicles that are higher than the dock floor . this configuration of bumper mounting will work with dock levelers of all configurations including vertically stored with rigid lip , horizontally stored with pivoting lip or linearly retracting lip . a fourth preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in fig1 and 16 . it is similar to the third preferred embodiment except that the dock bumpers 98 are mounted to vertical plates 97 that are mounted directly to the dock face 2 . fig1 shows the bumpers with a pit leveler and fig1 shows the bumpers with an edge - of - dock leveler mounted directly to the dock face 2 . with this embodiment a dock leveler with a lip of any width may be used to service transport vehicles that are not lower than the top of the bumpers 98 . lower transport vehicles may be raised to floor level with a truck leveler or wheel ramps . a fifth preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated by fig1 and 18 . fig1 shows conventional dock bumpers 98 mounted directly to the dock face 2 . a pit 100 formed behind the dock face forms a wall 101 to provide structural support to the bumpers . a recessed cavity is formed in the front of the pit to store the lip when it is retracted . a dock leveler 110 of conventional construction is mounted in a recessed pit and in the operative position the end of the lip plate 130 is supported by the bed of the transport vehicle 5 . as in the case of the fourth embodiment , this embodiment allows a dock leveler with a lip of any width to be used to service transport vehicles that are not lower than the top of the bumpers 98 . lower transport vehicles may be raised with a truck leveler or wheel ramps . fig1 shows a dock of the same configuration as fig1 except the dock leveler 210 has a lip 60 which is retracted and extended linearly . thus the pit does not require the deep recess to store the lip . while this invention has been described with respect to the preferred embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that modifications of this invention may be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention . for example the bumpers may be extended and retracted by mechanical linkages or electric or pneumatic actuators rather than hydraulic cylinders . similarly , the function of the resilient member 45 may be achieved by fitting a relief valve to the bumper cylinder 55 so that the energy of impact is dissipated through the hydraulic fluid .	1
hereinbelow , modes for carrying out the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig3 shows the silicon dioxide solar cell according to embodiment 1 , which is obtained by improving the silicon dioxide solar cell shown in fig2 . in fig3 , numerals 11 and 17 represent glass substrates having a transparent conductive layer 12 made of fto or the like and a transparent conductive layer 16 made of fto or the like , formed thereon respectively . the transparent conductive layer 12 and transparent conductive layer 16 function as an electrode for extracting electric power . the glass substrates 11 and 12 are arranged so that the transparent conductive layer 12 on the glass substrate 11 and the fto layer 16 on the glass substrate 17 are facing each other . numeral 20 represents a silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) calcinated material having the thickness of 0 . 15 to 0 . 20 mm , which is disposed on the glass substrate 17 on the side where light does not enter . on the transparent conductive layer 16 on the silicon dioxide side , a platinum ( pt ) layer 15 is formed as an electrode for extracting charges . numeral 14 represents an electrolyte . in contrast to the prior art silicon dioxide solar cell shown in fig2 in which the electrolyte is mixed into silicon dioxide , the space between the silicon dioxide calcinated material 20 and the glass substrate 11 on the light incident side is filled with the electrolyte . numeral 18 represents a sealing material , and numeral 19 represents an external load . in the electrolyte 14 , there used an electrolyte obtained by adding 0 . 1 mol of lii , 0 . 05 mol of i 2 , 0 . 5 mol of 4 - tert - butylpyridine , and 0 . 5 mol of tetrabutylammonium iodide to 0 . 5 mol acetonitrile solvent . with respect to the silicon dioxide calcinated material 20 , there is used a material obtained by immersing synthetic quartz which is crystalline silicon dioxide , or glass particles of quartz glass , non - alkali glass , borosilicate glass , soda - lime , or the like , which are amorphous , in a 5 % aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid for 5 minutes , washing the particles with water , drying them , and then pulverizing the resultant particles so that the particle diameter becomes 500 nm or less . with respect to the aqueous solution in which the silicon dioxide is immersed , hydrochloric acid can be used as halogen acid other than hydrofluoric acid . the synthetic quartz particles having the particle diameter of about 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 mm can be used , and those which are not calcined but are mixed with ethanol and applied onto the platinum electrode 15 and dried can also be used . the light entered from the light incident side glass substrate 11 enters the silicon dioxide 20 to cause electric generation . using a solar simulator , the solar cell according to embodiment 1 was irradiated with the light at 1 kw / m 2 which is a solar constant . when the particle diameter of the synthetic quartz was 0 . 2 mm or less , a short - circuit current of 85 μa and an open circuit voltage of 470 mv were obtained . when the particle diameter was 500 nm or less , a short - circuit current of 348 μa and an open circuit voltage of 620 mv were obtained . these values have been drastically increased with respect to both the short - circuit current and open circuit voltage , as compared to the values of the prior art silicon dioxide solar cell shown in fig2 , although the measurement conditions are different from those for the embodiment . in addition , with respect to the synthetic quartz solar cell which is a silicon dioxide solar cell , the present inventors measured a short - circuit current at the illuminance almost equivalent to that of direct sunlight using a 300 w incandescent lamp which is a light source containing no ultraviolet region component . as a result , an open circuit voltage of 400 mv and a short - circuit current of 0 . 5 μa were obtained , which has confirmed that the silicon dioxide solar cell causes electric generation using solely the infrared light . from the above , it is apparent that the silicon dioxide solar cell causes electric generation also using the light containing no ultraviolet region component , where it is impossible for a dye - sensitized titanium dioxide solar cell which is a typical wet - type solar cell . embodiment 2 is described with reference to fig4 . the solar cell according to embodiment 2 is a combination of the silicon dioxide solar cell according to embodiment 1 and the conventional titanium dioxide solar cell shown in fig1 ( a ) in a tandem configuration . in fig4 , numeral 11 represents a transparent substrate made of glass or a resin , forming on one surface thereof a transparent electrode layer 12 made of fto or the like , which serves as an electrode on a light incident side . numeral 3 represents a porous titanium dioxide solidified by a method , such as sintering . numeral 14 represents an electrolytic solution , where an iodine electrolyte having iodine dissolved in an aqueous potassium iodide solution is generally used . numeral 20 represents synthetic quartz particles having the particle diameter of 0 . 2 mm or less , which are mixed with ethanol and applied onto an electrode 25 made of platinum or the like and dried . numeral 16 represents a transparent electrode made of fto or the like , and numeral 17 represents a substrate made of glass or a resin . numeral 18 represents a sealing material , and numeral 19 represents an external load . the ultraviolet light entered from the transparent substrate 11 on the light incident side enters the porous titanium dioxide 3 to cause electric generation , and the ultraviolet light and visible light which do not contribute to the electric generation enter the silicon dioxide 20 to cause electric generation . thus , the solar cell according to embodiment 2 can utilize light in the region from the ultraviolet light through the visible light in electric generation . when the solar cell according to embodiment 1 is irradiated with light at 1 kw / m2 , which is a solar constant , using a solar simulator , a short - circuit current of 20 μa and an open circuit voltage of 417 mv are obtained . embodiment 3 is described with reference to fig5 . the solar cell according to embodiment 3 is a combination of the silicon dioxide solar cell according to embodiment 1 and the conventional dye - sensitized titanium dioxide solar cell shown in fig1 ( b ) in a tandem configuration . in fig5 , numeral 11 represents a transparent substrate made of glass or a resin , forming on one surface thereof a transparent conductive layer 12 made of fto or the like , which serves as an electrode on a light incident side . numeral 10 represents a porous titanium dioxide which is solidified by a method , such as sintering , and which has adsorbed thereon a sensitizing dye , such as a ruthenium complex dye . numeral 14 represents an electrolytic solution , and an iodine electrolyte having iodine dissolved in an aqueous potassium iodide solution is generally used . numeral 20 represents pulverized synthetic quartz particles having the particle diameter of 500 nm or less , which are mixed with ethanol and applied onto an electrode 15 made of platinum or the like and dried . numeral 16 represents a transparent electrode made of fto or the like , and numeral 17 represents a substrate made of glass or a resin . numeral 18 represents a sealing material , and numeral 19 represents an external load . among the ultraviolet light through infrared light entered from the transparent substrate 11 on the light incident side , the ultraviolet light through visible light enters the dye - sensitized porous titanium dioxide 10 to cause electric generation , and the ultraviolet light through infrared light which does not contribute to the electric generation enters the silicon dioxide 20 to cause electric generation . as mentioned above in connection with embodiment 1 , the silicon dioxide 20 causes electric generation using even light in the region from the visible light through the infrared light , where the titanium dioxide and sensitizing dye do not cause the electric generation . thus , the solar cell according to embodiment 3 can utilize the light in all the region from the ultraviolet light through the infrared light in electric generation . by the solar cell according to embodiment 3 , a short - circuit current of 285 μa and an open circuit voltage of 510 mv are obtained . fig6 shows the voltage - current characteristics of the dye sensitized solar cell when varying the silicon dioxide and the voltage - current characteristics of the conventional dye sensitized solar cell . in fig6 , the voltage is taken as the abscissa , and the current is taken as the ordinate . the characteristics are results of the measurement of a voltage and a current between the fto electrodes using a solar simulator at the incident light energy of 1 - sun ( i . e ., 1 kw / m 2 ) on the solar cell . fig6 shows voltage - current characteristics curves of 6 samples a to e and g and a conventional dye sensitized solar cell f which is a comparative sample . character a indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve obtained when using the synthetic quartz particles pulverized so as to have the particle diameter of 50 to 200 nm , in which the short - circuit current is 3 , 067 μa and the open circuit voltage is 660 mv . character b indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve obtained when using the synthetic quartz particles having the particle diameter of 0 . 2 mm , in which the short - circuit current is 2 , 340 μa and the open circuit voltage is 680 mv . character d indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve obtained when using fused quartz , in which the short - circuit current is 1 , 293 μa and the open circuit voltage is 680 mv . character c indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve obtained when using non - alkali glass , in which the short - circuit current is 1 , 850 μa and the open circuit voltage is 690 mv . character e indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve obtained when using borosilicate glass , in which the short - circuit current is 930 μa and the open circuit voltage is 700 mv . character f indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve of the conventional dye sensitized solar cell of fig1 ( b ) , in which the short - circuit current is 733 μa and the open circuit voltage is 680 mv . character g indicates a voltage - current characteristics curve obtained when using soda - lime glass , in which the short - circuit current is 626 μa and the open circuit voltage is 670 mv . as can be seen from these voltage - current characteristics curves , the dye sensitized solar cells using the silicon dioxide in a to e can extract the larger current , comparing to the conventional solar cell . further , even in the case using soda - lime glass which generally seems to be poorer than the conventional solar cell , in some voltage region , the solar cell can extract the larger current than that achieved by the conventional solar cell . in embodiment 1 shown in fig3 , the pulverized synthetic quartz particles to be used have the particle diameter as small as 500 nm or less , and , when the synthetic quartz particles applied onto the platinum electrode are dried and brought into contact with an electrolytic solution , the particles may be dispersed or suspended in the electrolytic solution as indicated by numeral 22 in fig7 . the current - voltage relationship of the silicon dioxide solar cell is not strongly affected even in such the state . in embodiment 2 shown in fig4 , the pulverized synthetic quartz particles to be used have the particle diameter as small as 500 nm or less , and , when the synthetic quartz particles applied onto the platinum electrode are dried and brought into contact with an electrolytic solution , the particles may be dispersed or suspended in the electrolytic solution as indicated by numeral 22 in fig8 . the current - voltage relationship of the silicon dioxide solar cell having a porous titanium dioxide sintered material combined is not strongly affected even in such the state . in embodiment 3 shown in fig5 , the pulverized synthetic quartz particles to be used have the particle diameter as small as 500 nm or less , and , when the synthetic quartz particles applied onto the platinum electrode are dried and brought into contact with an electrolytic solution , the particles may be dispersed or suspended in the electrolytic solution as indicated by numeral 22 in fig9 . the current - voltage relationship of the silicon dioxide solar cell having a dye - sensitized porous titanium dioxide sintered material combined is not strongly affected even in such the state . fig1 shows the silicon dioxide solar cell according to embodiment 6 which is obtained by improving embodiment 5 . in embodiment 6 , the pulverized synthetic quartz particles dispersed or suspended in the electrolytic solution have the particle diameter as small as 500 nm or less and are a poor conductor in essence , and therefore , may possibly penetrate into the pore portions of the porous titanium dioxide to inhibit the ability of the titanium dioxide to generate electricity . for preventing the occurrence of such the above accident , using a separating membrane 23 permeable only for the electrolyte , the electrolyte in which the silicon dioxide 22 is suspended and the electrolyte in which the silicon dioxide 22 is not suspended are separated from each other . fig1 shows the silicon dioxide solar cell according to embodiment 6 which is obtained by improving embodiment 6 . in embodiment 6 , the pulverized synthetic quartz particles dispersed or suspended in the electrolytic solution have the particle diameter as small as 500 nm or less and are a poor conductor in essence , and therefore , may possibly penetrate into the pore portions of the porous titanium dioxide to inhibit the ability of the titanium dioxide to generate electricity . for preventing the occurrence of such the above accident , using a separating membrane 23 permeable only for the electrolyte , the electrolyte in which the silicon dioxide 22 is suspended and the electrolyte in which the silicon dioxide 22 is not suspended are separated from each other . in the invention of the present application , with respect to the substrate , transparent conductive layer , counter electrode , electrolyte , and the like , various arrangements and materials other than those described in the aforementioned embodiments can be used . in each of the embodiments , with respect to the container containing therein the solar cell material and electrolyte , a light transmissive material is used on the light incident side , and a light transmissive or non - transmissive material is used on the side to which no incident light enters . as a light transmissive material , glass , plastics , amorphous silicon , or a polyester film can be used , and , as a light non - transmissive material , a metal plate of stainless steel , nickel , or the like is used . almost all the glass and plastics used as a light transmissive material have no electrical conductivity , and , when using a material having no electrical conductivity , it is necessary to impart electrical conductivity to the material . as a light transmissive material having electrical conductivity , in addition to tin oxide , such as fto or ito , azo ( al — zn — o ), a carbon material , such as carbon nanotubes or graphene , or a conductive pet film is used , and an electrode formed on a transparent material of glass , plastics , or the like is used . the transparent electrode is provided inside the solar cell . with respect to the side of the solar cell container opposite to the light incident side , when it is required to transmit the light , a transparent electrode made of fto , ito , carbon nanotubes , graphene , or the like formed on a transparent material of glass , a plastic , or the like is used , and , when it is not required to transmit the light , a metal plate forming thereon a conductor for extracting charges made of carbon nanotubes , graphene , or the like is used . the conductor for extracting charges is provided inside the solar cell . when conductive plastics is used as the plastics , the transparent conductor can be omitted . the halogen acid - treated crystalline synthetic quartz particles or amorphous glass particles are prepared as follows . synthetic quartz which is crystalline silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ), or glass particles of quartz glass , non - alkali glass , borosilicate glass , soda - lime , or the like , which is amorphous silicon dioxide , are immersed in an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid , and the resultant synthetic quartz particles or glass particles are washed with water and then dried , followed by pulverization . hydrochloric acid is used as halogen acid other than hydrofluoric acid , but hydrofluoric acid is preferred . when the silicon dioxide particles are not treated with halogen acid , a sample of the silicon dioxide particles is pulverized so that the average particle diameter of the particles becomes several 10 nm . the treatment of the silicon dioxide particles with halogen acid can be performed after the pulverization but not before the pulverization . with respect to the silicon dioxide layer , there can be used a layer obtained by mixing synthetic quartz powder with ethanol together with platinum powder and subjecting the resultant mixture to calcination . the silicon dioxide particle calcinated material having the particle diameter of up to about 0 . 5 mm can be used . with respect to the electrolyte , as a supporting electrolyte , various types of electrolytes , e . g ., cations , such as lithium ions , or anions , such as chloride ions , are used , and , as oxidation - reduction pair present in the electrolyte , an oxidation - reduction pair , such as an iodine - iodine compound or a bromine - bromine compound , is used . 0 . 4 mol of 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium iodide , 0 . 4 mol of tetrabutylammonium iodide , 0 . 2 mol of 4 - tert - butylpyridine , and 0 . 1 mol of guanidine isothiocyanate are dissolved in propylene carbonate liquid as a solvent to prepare an electrolyte . when the concentration of halogen molecules in the electrolyte is 0 . 0004 mol / l or less , the electrolyte is almost colorless and transparent in the visible light region . 0 . 5 mol of lithium iodide ( lii ) and 0 . 05 mol of metallic iodine ( i 2 ) are dissolved in methoxypropionitrile , and thickener is added to the resultant solution , and further 4 - tert - butylpyridine is added thereto for improving the open electromotive ability and fill factor . when the composite glass plate needs neither be colorless nor transparent , colored electrolytic solution , such as the iodine electrolytic solution , can be used . organic acid , such as acetic acid or citric acid , can be used as the colorless electrolyte . by using sensitizing dye , the titanium dioxide solar cell can utilize light in the ultraviolet light and visible light region in electric generation . when the silicon dioxide solar cell satisfactorily causes electric generation using the light in the visible light region , it is not necessary to use expensive sensitizing dye having a short life . with respect to the sensitizing dye other than the ruthenium complex dye , cobalt complex dye , porphyrin , cyanine , merocyanine , phthalocyanine , coumarin , riboflavin , xanthene , triphenylmethane , azo , quinone , c60 derivative , bts ( styryl benzothiazolium propylsulfonate ), indoline , or dye derived from a plant , such as hibiscus or american cherry , can be used , and , by choosing from the dye having different electric generation properties , the light usable in the electric generation can be appropriately selected . with respect to the semiconductor layer as a counter electrode , other than the zinc oxide ( zno ), titanium dioxide ( tio 2 ), copper oxide ( cuo ), magnesium oxide ( mgo ), strontium titanate ( srtio 3 ), carbon nitride , graphene , or the like can be used . in all the embodiments described above , the silicon dioxide calcinated material is disposed on the side to which no incident light enters . there is no absolute reason for this arrangement , and therefore the silicon dioxide calcinated material can be disposed on the side to which the incident light enters . according to the invention of the present application , combining further a silicon dioxide solar cell in a tandem configuration in a titanium dioxide solar cell container , there can be obtained a solar cell which is advantageous in that it can utilize light in all the region from the ultraviolet light through the infrared light in electric generation .	7
a preferred embodiment of a bandpass limiting apparatus for a receiver according to the present invention is described in detail below , with references made to fig1 to fig4 . [ 0038 ] fig1 is a system block diagram of a radio receiver for ssb ( radio signal type ; j3e or r3e ) according to an embodiment of the present invention . in this radio receiver , first a received signal ( in this case , in the 10 - mhz band ) from the antenna 1 is amplified by an rf amplifier 2 and input to a first frequency mixer 3 , at which it is mixed with a local oscillation signal ( 80 mhz ) from a first local oscillator 3 a , thereby resulting in a first intermediate - frequency signal ( 70 mhz ) using a first intermediate - frequency filter ( bpf ) 4 . next , the first intermediate - frequency signal is input to a second frequency mixer 5 , at which it is mixed with a local oscillator signal ( 59 . 3 mhz ) from a second local oscillator 5 a , so as to obtain a second intermediate - frequency signal ( 10 . 7 mhz ) using a second intermediate - frequency filter ( bpf ) 6 . additionally , the second intermediate - frequency signal is input to a third frequency mixer 7 , at which it is mixed with a local oscillator signal ( 10 . 245 mhz ) from a third local oscillator 7 a , so as to obtain a third intermediate - frequency signal ( 455 khz ) using the third intermediate - frequency filter ( bpf ) 8 . then , the third intermediate - frequency signal is input to a fourth frequency mixer 9 , at which it is mixed with a local oscillator signal ( 444 . 76 khz ) from a fourth local oscillator 9 a , thereby converting it to a fourth frequency signal at 10 . 24 khz . this is done because it is not possible to apply the data processing speed of dsp 11 to a signal at 455 khz . however , if it is possible to capture and process the third intermediate - frequency signal ( 455 khz ) using the dsp 11 , it is possible to eliminate the fourth frequency mixer 9 and the fourth local oscillator 9 a . the converted fourth frequency signal has ( 10 . 24 khz ) is converted to a digital signal by the a / d converter 10 and then input to the dsp 11 , which has a digital filter function ( 11 a ), digital detection being done of a signal bandlimited by the passband thereof using a detection function ( 11 b ), so as to obtain a demodulated signal ( digital signal ). in the dsp 11 , the carrier - frequency signal for demodulation is generated internally and a detection function is executed . the audio signal that is demodulated from the received signal is therefore output from the dsp 11 as a digital signal , this being converted to an analog signal by the d / a converter 12 , after which this signal is amplified by the audio amplifier 13 , and output as a played back audio signal from the speaker 14 . in this radio receiver , similar to the case of the radio receiver shown in fig5 the microcomputer circuit 21 , based on an adjustment signal from the adjustment operation part 22 adjusts the various local oscillation frequencies of the first local oscillator 3 a , the second local oscillator 5 a , and the third local oscillator 7 a , and sends control data to the dsp 11 , enabling variation of the bandwidth characteristics of the associated digital filter . that is , in addition to performing a control of the if width an if shift , in the intermediate - frequency circuitry , the filter function ( 11 a ) of the dsp 11 is also configured to perform bandwidth limiting , the amount of limiting of these bandwidths being set by a control program that causes storage beforehand into the rom 21 b of the microcomputer circuit 21 and a control table . the cpu 21 a , in response to an adjustment signal from the adjustment operation part 22 , performs variation of the bandwidth , by transferring control table data from the interface 21 c to the various local oscillators 3 a , 5 a , and 7 a . taking the example of the intermediate - frequency circuitry , in the case of varying the frequency of the first local oscillator 3 a from 18 . 001 to 18 . 0015 mhz , varying the frequency of the second local oscillator 5 a from 59 . 299 to 59 . 300 mhz , and varying the frequency of the third local oscillator 7 a from 10 . 2450 to 10 . 2455 mhz , it is possible to vary the if width over a maximum bandwidth of 3 khz and a minimum bandwidth of 2 khz with the third if frequency of 455 khz as a center frequency , and further possible to vary the if shift a maximum of 500 khz . the above - noted if width and if shift control is perform using the cutoff characteristics of the if filters 4 , 6 , and 8 , which are analog filters provided in each stage of the if circuitry . therefore , as shown in fig2 the shape factor of the virtual filter fl ( if ) of the overall if circuitry becomes relatively large , so that the deviation passband of the frequency characteristics thereof widens , thereby increasing the possibility of the intrusion of noise such as interference into the deviation passband . in the prior art , as shown in fig5 after the detection circuit 57 , a dsp filter 59 is provided . however , as shown in fig6 when detecting the if signal , if the carrier frequency for demodulation is within the deviation passband , there is intrusion of wraparound noise , and it is impossible to eliminate this using the dsp filter 59 . however , with a radio receiver according to this embodiment of the present invention , even if noise such as interference enters the deviation passband of the virtual filter fl ( if ) of the overall if circuitry , in the dsp filter function ( 11 a ), bandwidth limiting is already perform using a filter characteristic having a shape factor that is nearly 1 , after which demodulation is performed by the detection function ( 11 b ), so that this noise does not enter the passband . in this radio receiver , there is a linking between the bandpass limiting amount by if width and if shift control and the bandpass limiting amount by the dsp filter function ( 11 a ). in this case , it is possible , such as in a radio receiver of the prior art , to vary the various bandwidth limiting amounts by equivalent amounts , in response to a control adjustment signal from the adjustment operation part 22 , although it is alternatively possible to adopt a control method whereby the bandwidth limiting amount of the if circuit 3 is set so that it is larger than the bandwidth limiting amount of the dsp filter functions ( 11 a ), and bandwidth limiting by if width and if shift control is applied with priority , as the bandwidth limiting by the dsp filter function ( 11 a ), is gradually applied . in addition , because the bandwidth control of the dsp 11 filter function ( 11 a ) and control of the shift factor thereof are performed independently without mutual correlation , as shown in fig3 in the initial adjustment stage , the bandwidth limiting amount by if width and if shift control and bandwidth limiting amount by the dsp filter functions ( 11 a ) are made equivalent (& lt ; 1 & gt ;) and at a stage at which the bandwidth has been somewhat limited so that noise is assumed to attenuated , control is performed so as to bring the shape factor only of the dsp filter function ( 11 a ) close to the value 1 (& lt ; 2 & gt ;), thereby enabling the removal of noise components within the deviation passband to outside the passband , without performing excessive bandwidth control , facilitating perception of the adjustment condition as an additional advantage . in either case , as shown in fig2 noise that enters deviation passbands of the virtual filter fl ( if ) of the overall if circuitry is eliminated by the filter characteristics of the dsp filter function ( 11 a ) which have a sharp shape factor , after which the signal is subject to detection processing , so that there is no possibility of a problem occurring with wraparound noise at the detection stage , thereby making it possible to play back an audio signal with a high s / n ratio . in the above - noted embodiment , the dsp 11 has both a filter function ( 11 a ) and a detection function ( 11 b ), this functions being executed by means of digital signal processing . however , it will be understood that it is alternatively possible , as shown in fig4 to impart only a filter function ( 11 a ) to the dsp 11 , the output signal from which is converted to analog form by the d / a converter 12 , and demodulated to a audio signal by the analog detection circuit 15 , thereby providing an audio signal for playback . in this case as well , because detection is performed after bandwidth limiting done by the filter function ( 11 a ) of the dsp 11 , even if the frequency of the carrier for demodulation from the bfo 16 falls within the passband of the virtual filter fl ( if ) of the overall if circuitry , it is possible to avoid the introduction of noise such as interference into the passband . by adopting the configuration described in detailed above , a bandpass limiting apparatus for a radio receiver according to the present invention achieves a number of effects . according to the present invention as recited in claim 1 of the accompanying claims , a digital signal processing means is provided before a detection means , and bandwidth limiting by a digital signal processing means is done linked to if circuitry bandwidth limiting performed by means of if width and if shift control . the result is that , even if noise enters the deviation passband of the virtual filter characteristics of the circuitry , this noise is eliminated by the sharp shape factor of the digital signal processing means , after which detection is performed , thereby solving the problem of noise wraparound of noise such as interference into the passband , as was a problem in the past , and enabling playback of received audio signal with a high s / n ratio . another effect of the present invention is that , because noise entering the deviation passband such as in the past is eliminated , there is no need to perform excessive band pass limiting . according to the present invention as recited in claim 2 of the accompanying claims , it is possible to use a conventional dsp , as opposed to a dsp with a fast data processing speed , as the digital signal processing means , thereby enabling a reduction in cost of the radio receiver . according to the present invention as recited in claim 3 of the accompanying claims , the detection function is executed by digital signal processing and both the filter function and the detection function are incorporated into the dsp , thereby simplifying the circuit configuration .	7
fig2 a is a diagram showing a display driving circuit 2 according to a first embodiment of the invention . it includes a data driver 21 , a scan driver 22 , a pixel matrix composed of four ( for example ) display cells 231 ˜ 234 , and two switches 241 and 242 . the data driver 21 outputs data signals for the display cells 231 ˜ 234 through a data line 25 . the scan driver 22 outputs scan signals s 1 and s 2 through scan lines 261 and 262 . the display cells 231 and 233 commonly receive the scan signal s 1 through the scan line 261 , and the display cells 232 and 234 commonly receive the scan signal s 2 through the scan line 262 . the display cells 231 ˜ 234 respectively receive the corresponding data signals commonly through the data line 25 . the switches 241 and 242 are respectively coupled between the data line 25 and the display cell 233 , and between the data line 25 and the display cell 234 . the display cells 231 and 232 in the odd columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 21 and a capacitor c 21 , and a transistor m 22 and c 22 . the transistor m 21 and m 22 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 261 and 262 , drains commonly coupled to the data line 25 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 21 and c 22 . the display cells 233 and 234 in the even columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 23 and a capacitor c 23 , and a transistor m 24 and c 24 . the transistor m 23 and m 24 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 261 and 262 , drains respectively coupled to the switches 241 and 242 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 23 and c 24 . the switches 241 and 242 are transistors m 25 and m 26 respectively . the transistors m 25 and m 26 have gates coupled to receive a signal swing and drains coupled to the data line 25 . fig2 b is a diagram showing signal timing of the driving circuit in fig2 a . the scan period when the scan signal s 1 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 1 and t 2 . during the period t 1 , the signal swing is asserted ( has a logic high level ) and turns on the transistor m 25 ( closes the switch 241 ). the display cell 233 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 21 through the data line 25 . during the period t 2 , the transistor m 25 is turned off ( the switch 241 is opened ) by the signal swing . the display cell 231 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 21 through the data line 25 . it is noted that although the display cell 231 also receives the data signal for the display cell 233 during the period t 1 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 2 . the next scan period when the scan signal s 2 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 3 and t 4 . during the period t 3 , the signal swing is asserted ( has a logic high level ) and turns on the transistor m 26 ( closes the switch 242 ). the display cell 234 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 21 through the data line 25 . during the period t 4 , the transistor m 26 is turned off ( the switch 242 is opened ) by the signal swing . the display cell 232 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 21 through the data line 25 . it is noted that although the display cell 232 also receives the data signal for the display cell 234 during the period t 3 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 4 . fig3 a is a diagram showing a display driving circuit 3 according to a second embodiment of the invention . it includes a data driver 31 , a scan driver 32 , a pixel matrix composed of four ( for example ) display cells 331 ˜ 334 , and two switches 341 and 342 . the data driver 31 outputs data signals for the display cells 231 ˜ 234 through a data line 35 . the scan driver 32 outputs scan signals s 1 and s 2 through scan lines 361 and 362 . the display cells 331 and 333 commonly receive the scan signal s 1 through the scan line 361 , and the display cells 332 and 334 commonly receive the scan signal s 2 through the scan line 362 . the display cells 331 and 332 respectively receive the corresponding data signals commonly through the data line 35 . the display cells 333 and 334 respectively receive the corresponding data signals via the switches 341 and 342 . the switches 341 and 342 are respectively coupled between the data line 35 and the display cell 333 , and between the data line 35 and the display cell 334 . the display cells 331 and 332 in the odd columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 31 and a capacitor c 31 , and a transistor m 32 and c 32 . the transistor m 31 and m 32 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 361 and 362 , drains commonly coupled to the data line 35 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 31 and c 32 . the display cells 333 and 334 in the even columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 33 and a capacitor c 33 , and a transistor m 34 and c 34 . the transistors m 33 and m 34 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 361 and 362 , drains respectively coupled to the switches 341 and 342 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 33 and c 34 . the switches 341 and 342 are transistors m 35 and m 36 respectively . the transistor m 35 has a gate coupled to the scan line 362 and the transistor m 36 has a gate coupled to the scan line for the next row . fig3 b is a diagram showing signal timing of the driving circuit in fig3 a . by comparing the signal timing shown in fig2 b and 3b , it is noted that the signal swing is integrated into the scan signals s 1 and s 2 shown in fig3 b . that is to say , the scan driver 22 outputs the scan signal comprising the signal swing . during periods t 1 and t 2 , the signal s 1 respectively carries a logic high and low level controlling the switches in a previous row ( not shown ) of the pixel matrix . the signal s 2 stays at the logic low level . therefore , the display cells 331 ˜ 334 are not yet activated . the scan period when the scan signal s 1 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 3 and t 4 , and the signal s 2 is used as the signal swing for the switches 341 and 342 . during the period t 3 , the signal s 2 has a high logic level to turn on the transistor m 35 ( closes the switch 341 ). the display cell 333 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 31 through the data line 35 . during the period t 4 , the transistor m 35 is turned off ( the switch 341 is opened ) by the signal s 2 . the display cell 331 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 31 through the data line 35 . it is noted that although the display cell 331 also receives the data signal for the display cell 333 during the period t 3 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 4 . the next scan period when the scan signal 52 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 5 and t 6 , the scan signal ( not shown ) for the display cells in the next row of the pixel matrix is used as the signal swing . the transistors m 31 , m 35 , m 33 are turned off during the periods t 5 and t 6 . during the period t 6 , the transistor m 36 is turned on ( the switch 342 is closes ) by the next scan signal . the display cell 334 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 31 through the data line 35 . during the period t 6 , the transistor m 36 is turned off ( the switch 342 is opened ) by the next scan signal . the display cell 332 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 31 through the data line 35 . it is noted that although the display cell 332 also receives the data signal for the display cell 334 during the period t 6 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 6 . fig4 a is a diagram showing a display driving circuit 4 according to a third embodiment of the invention . it includes a data driver 41 , a scan driver 42 , a pixel matrix composed of four ( for example ) display cells 431 ˜ 434 , and two switches 441 and 442 . the data driver 41 outputs data signals for the display cells 431 ˜ 434 through a data line 45 . the scan driver 42 outputs scan signals s 3 and s 4 through scan lines 461 and 462 . the display cells 431 ˜ 434 respectively receive the corresponding data signals commonly through the data line 45 . the display cells 433 and 434 receive a signal swing via switches 441 and 442 respectively . the display cells 431 and 432 in the odd columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 41 and a capacitor c 41 , and a transistor m 42 and c 42 . the transistor m 41 and m 42 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 461 and 462 , drains commonly coupled to the data line 45 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 41 and c 42 . the display cells 433 and 434 in the even columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 43 and a capacitor c 43 , and a transistor m 44 and c 44 . the transistor m 43 and m 44 have gates respectively coupled to the switches 441 and 442 , drains commonly coupled to the data line 45 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 43 and c 44 . the switches 441 and 442 are transistors m 45 and m 46 respectively . the transistors m 45 and m 46 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 461 and 462 and drains coupled to receive the signal swing . fig4 b is a diagram showing signal timing of the driving circuit in fig4 a . the scan period when the scan signal s 3 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 1 and t 2 . the transistors m 41 and m 45 are turned on ( the switches 441 is closed ) during this scan period . during the period t 1 , the signal swing is asserted ( has a logic high level ) and turns on the transistor m 43 . the display cell 433 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 41 through the data line 45 . during the period t 2 , the transistor m 43 is turned off by the signal swing . the display cell 431 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 41 through the data line 45 . it is noted that although the display cell 431 also receives the data signal for the display cell 433 during the period t 1 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 2 . the next scan period when the scan signal s 4 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 3 and t 4 . the transistors m 42 and m 46 are turned on ( the switches 442 are closed ) during this scan period . during the period t 3 , the signal swing is asserted ( has a logic high level ) and turns on the transistor m 4 . the display cell 434 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 41 through the data line 45 . during the period t 4 , the transistor m 44 is turned off by the signal swing . the display cell 432 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 41 through the data line 45 . it is noted that although the display cell 432 also receives the data signal for the display cell 434 during the period t 3 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 4 . fig5 a is a diagram showing a display driving circuit 5 according to a fourth embodiment of the invention . it includes a data driver 51 , a scan driver 52 , a pixel matrix composed of four ( for example ) display cells 531 ˜ 534 , and two switches 541 and 542 . the data driver 51 outputs data signals for the display cells 531 ˜ 534 through a data line 55 . the scan driver 52 outputs scan signals s 3 and s 4 through scan lines 561 and 562 . the display cells 531 ˜ 534 respectively receive the corresponding data signals commonly through the data line 55 . the switches 541 and 542 are respectively coupled between the scan line 562 and the display cell 533 , and between the scan line for the display cells in the next row ( not shown ) of the pixel matrix and the display cell 534 . the display cells 531 and 532 in the odd columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 51 and a capacitor c 51 , and a transistor m 52 and c 52 . the transistor m 51 and m 52 have gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 561 and 562 , drains commonly coupled to the data line 55 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 51 and c 52 . the display cells 533 and 534 in the even columns of the pixel matrix are respectively composed of a transistor m 53 and a capacitor c 53 , and a transistor m 54 and c 54 . the transistor m 53 and m 54 have gates respectively coupled to the switches 541 and 542 , drains commonly coupled to the data line 55 , and sources coupled to the capacitors c 53 and c 54 . the switches 541 and 542 are transistors m 55 and m 56 respectively . the transistors m 55 and m 56 has gates respectively coupled to the scan lines 561 and 562 to receive the scan signals s 3 and s 4 , and sources respectively coupled to the scan line 562 and the scan line for the next row . fig5 b is a diagram showing signal timing of the driving circuit in fig5 a . by comparing the signal timing shown in fig4 b and 5b , it is noted that the signal swing is integrated into the scan signals s 3 and s 4 shown in fig5 b . that is to say , the scan driver 52 outputs the scan signal comprising the signal swing . during periods t 1 and t 2 , the signal s 3 respectively carries a logic high and low level controlling the switches in a previous row ( not shown ) of the pixel matrix . the signal s 4 stays at the logic low level . therefore , the display cells 531 ˜ 534 are not yet activated . the scan period when the scan signal s 3 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 3 and t 4 , and the signal s 4 is used as the signal swing for the switches 541 and 542 . the transistors m 51 and m 55 are turned on ( the switches 541 is closed ) during this scan period . during the period t 3 , the signal s 4 has a high logic level to turn on the transistor m 53 . the display cell 533 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 51 through the data line 55 . during the period t 4 , the transistor m 53 is turned off by the signal s 4 . the display cell 531 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 51 through the data line 55 . it is noted that although the display cell 531 also receives the data signal for the display cell 533 during the period t 3 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 4 . the next scan period when the scan signal s 4 is asserted ( has a logic high level ) is divided into two sub - periods t 5 and t 6 , the scan signal ( not shown ) for the display cells in the next row of the pixel matrix is used as the signal swing . the transistors m 52 and m 56 are turned on ( the switches 542 is closed ) during this scan period . during the period t 6 , the transistor m 54 is turned on by the next scan signal . the display cell 534 in the even column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 51 through the data line 55 . during the period t 6 , the transistor m 54 is turned off by the next scan signal . the display cell 532 in the odd column of the pixel matrix receives the data signal from the data driver 51 through the data line 55 . it is noted that although the display cell 532 also receives the data signal for the display cell 534 during the period t 6 , it is refreshed by the data signal received during the period t 6 . in conclusion , the present invention provides a display driving circuit with fewer data drivers . each pair of display cells is equipped with a switch for data terminal sharing . thus , the switching frequency of the switches is lowered to the frame rate , which eliminates the reliability issue in the conventional display driving circuit . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of this invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of this invention and its practical application to thereby enable those skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . all such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly , legally , and equitably entitled .	6
one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings . referring to fig1 a cylindrical photosensitive drum 10 is rotatably mounted inside an electrostatic copying apparatus as an image forming apparatus . the photosensitive drum 10 is driven by a motor 12 to rotate counterclockwise . a charger 14 , a developing unit 16 , a transfer unit 18 , a cleaning unit 20 , and a discharger 22 are sequentially arranged around the photosensitive drum 10 in the rotating direction thereof . the cleaning unit 20 has a fixed cleaning blade 24 which is in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 10 along the axial direction thereof . the cleaning blade 24 is made of a resilient polyurethane rubber and is urged against the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 under its resilient force . the photosensitive drum 10 has a drum - shaped base 26 , as shown in fig2 . a recess 28 constituting a lubricant feeding section a is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the base 26 along the axial direction thereof . a photosensitive layer 30 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the base 26 except for its part corresponding to the recess 28 . a lubricant 32 to be described later is held in the recess 28 . the recess 28 is defined by an arc - shaped curved surface smoothly extending from the outer circumferential surface of the base 26 , as shown in fig3 . if a distal edge 24a of the cleaning blade 24 falls into the recess 28 with only little or no lubricant remaining therein , the distal edge 24a may not be damaged due to the curved contour of the recess 28 . the impact of fall of the cleaning blade 24 into the recess 28 may not be given to the photosensitive drum 10 . therefore , undesired developing due to the asynchronous rotation of the photosensitive drum 10 may be prevented . the solid lubricant 32 may be a polypropylene - type resinous wax , carnauba wax , cotton wax , paraffin wax or stearic acid of a suitable hardness . the driving operation of the motor 12 is electrically controlled so that the distal edge 24a of the cleaning blade 24 is brought into contact with the lubricant 32 held in the recess 28 when the photosensitive drum 10 is stationary . as shown in fig4 first and second timing discs 34 and 36 which are rotated synchronously with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 10 are coaxially mounted with a separation between them at one end of a support shaft 10a of the drum 10 . a projection 38 is formed to extend from the outer periphery of the first timing disc 34 , as shown in fig4 . a first photocoupler 40 is arranged around the first timing disc 34 . the first photocoupler 40 has a first light - emitting element 40a , and a first light - receiving element 40b for receiving light emitted by the element 40a . the first light - receiving element 40b is connected to a first control device 42 which is , in turn , connected to the motor 12 . when the first light - receiving element 40b receives light , it supplies a drive signal for the motor 12 to the first control device 42 . on the other hand , when the first light - receiving element 40b does not receive light , that is , when the projection 38 is located between the elements 40a and 40b , it supplies a stop signal for the motor 12 to the first control device 42 . the first timing disc 34 is so attached on the support shaft 10b that the projection 38 thereof may be located between the first light - emitting element 40a and the first light - receiving element 40b in the noncopying state . at least four slits , first to four slits 44a to 44d , in this case , are formed on the outer periphery of the second timing disc 36 , as shown in fig5 . the first and second slits 44a and 44b are formed adjacent to each other to make up a charge position detector b , while the third and fourth slits 44c and 44d are similarly formed adjacent to each other to make up a transfer position detector c . a second photocoupler 46 is arranged around the outer periphery of the second timing disc 36 , as shown in fig4 . the second photocoupler 46 has a second light - emitting element 46a , and a second light - receiving element 46b for receiving light from the element 46a . the second light - receiving element 46b is connected to a second control device 48 which is , in turn , connected to the charger 14 and the transfer unit 18 . the charge position detector b and the transfer position detector c are formed on the second timing disc 36 so that they are spaced apart from each other through an angular distance the same as that between the charger 14 and the transfer unit 18 . the second timing disc 36 is so fixed on the support shaft 10a that the charge position detector b may reach the second photocoupler 46 when the recess 28 of the photosensitive drum 10 opposes the charger 14 , and the transfer position detector c may reach the second photocoupler 46 when the recess 28 opposes the transfer unit 18 . when the first slit 44a reaches the second photocoupler 46 to establish a light - receiving state of the second light - receiving element 46b , the second light - receiving element 46b supplies an off signal for the charger 14 to the second control device 48 . on the other hand , when the second slit 44b reaches the second photocoupler 46 to establish another light - receiving state of the second light - receiving element 46b the second light - receiving element 46b supplies an on signal for the charger 14 to the second control device 48 . further , when the third slit 44c reaches the second photocoupler 46 to establish still another light - receiving state of the second light - receiving element 46b , the second light - receiving element 46b supplies an off signal for the transfer unit 18 to the second control device 48 . when the fourth slit 44d reaches the second photccoupler 46 to establish still another light - receiving state of the second light - receiving element 46b the second light - receiving element 46b supplies an on signal for the transfer unit 18 to the second control device 48 . the angle between the first and second slits 44a and 44b and that between the third and fourth slits 44c and 44d are set to equal that of both edges of the recess 28 along the outer circumference of the photosensitive drum 10 . referring to fig1 reference numeral 50 denotes a separation roller for separating a copying paper from the photosensitive drum 10 ; 52 , a conveying path for the copying paper ; and 54 , a fixing unit . the mode of operation of the copying apparatus of the construction as described above will now be described . the photosensitive layer 30 of the photosensitive drum 10 is charged by the charger 14 while an original is illuminated with light from a light source ( not shown ). light reflected from the original becomes incident on the surface of the photosensitive layer 30 as indicated by arrow d to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image of the original . as the photosensitive drum 10 rotates , the electrostatic latent image formed thereon reaches the developing unit 16 to be visualized with a developer such as toner . the visualized image is transferred onto a copying paper by the transfer unit 18 . the copying paper with the transferred image thereon is separated from the photosensitive drum 10 by the separation roller 50 . thereafter , the separated copying paper is fed to the fixing unit 54 , and the transferred image is fixed onto the copying paper . on the other hand , the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 10 which has not be transferred onto the copying paper is scraped off by the cleaning blade 24 of the cleaning unit 20 . the scraped toner is recovered to the developing unit 16 . the charge on the photosensitive drum 10 is discharged by the discharger 22 for the next copying cycle . in this manner , one copying cycle is completed . before one copying cycle is initiated , the cleaning blade 24 of the cleaning unit 20 is in contact with the lubricant 32 held in the recess 28 formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 , so that a small amount of the lubricant 32 is constantly applied to the distal edge 24a . for this reason , the frictional force acting between the cleaning blade 24 and the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is small , providing the same effects as a cleaning blade having a small coefficient of friction . as the photosensitive drum 10 rotates , the lubricant 32 applied onto the distal edge 24a of the cleaning blade 24 is uniformly supplied over the entire outer circumferential surface of the drum 10 to form an extremely thin film of lubricant thereon . due to the presence of this thin film of lubricant , the photosensitive drum 10 itself will also have a small coefficient of friction . the thin film of lubricant moreover serves as a protective film . in this manner , the lubricant is constantly present between the cleaning blade 24 and the photosensitive drum 10 , so that frictional stress acting therebetween may be significantly reduced . the distal edge 24a of the cleaning blade 24 is formed with an edge precision of about 3 to 6 microns , and has a proper resiliency and a blade hardness of about 60 ° to 80 °. therefore , the film thickness of the lubricant 32 on the photosensitive layer 30 of the photosensitive drum 10 may be kept constant . further , the film thickness of the lubricant may also be finely controlled by suitably selecting the hardness of the lubricant 32 , the contact pressure of the cleaning blade 24 , and so on . the thickness of the lubricant film formed on the photosensitive layer 30 tends to decrease as the hardness of the lubricant 32 increases , that is , the molecular weight thereof increases to several thousands to several hundred thousands and as the blade pressure ( linear pressure ) increases to 1 . 5 to 4 . 0 g / mm . the thickness of the lubricant film is hard to measure , in practice . however , if the blade pressure is 1 . 5 g / mm or less , the film thickness is assumed to be too great and deteriorates the image quality . the fact that a wax film of a non - uniform thickness is formed with the blade pressure being less than 1 . 5 g / mm may also be confirmed from irregular gloss on the surface of the photosensitive layer 30 . in summary , according to the one embodiment described above , an extremely thin film of the lubricant can be formed on the photosensitive layer 30 , and its thickness can be kept for a long period of time within a range such that the electrostatic characteristics of the photosensitive layer 30 may not be adversely affected . according to the one embodiment described above , the lubricant 32 is fed to the cleaning blade 24 to form a uniform film thereof on the photosensitive layer 30 . the frictional stress acting between the photosensitive drum 10 and the cleaning blade 24 may be reduced to the minimum without interfering with the functions of either part . conventional apparatuses are subject to various problems including turning up of the cleaning blade 24 , damage to the surface of the photosensitive layer 30 and filming , which are caused due to a great frictional stress acting between the cleaning blade 24 and the photosensitive drum 10 ; degradation in the image quality due to static electricity resulting from friction between the cleaning blade 24 and the photosensitive drum 10 ; or filming due to incomplete cleaning which results from a significant drop in the blade pressure for the purpose of reducing the frictional stress acting between the cleaning blade 24 and the photosensitive drum 10 . however , the copying apparatus according to the present invention avoids these drawbacks . according to the one embodiment , the problem encountered in application of the lubricant 32 such as wax on the entire surface of the photosensitive layer 30 , that is , control of the film thickness ( precision and uniformity ) may also be eliminated . for this reason , factors which might adversely affect the electrostatic characteristics of the photosensitive drum 10 and which are encountered during application of the lubricant 32 may also be eliminated . since the lubricant 32 is fed to the cleaning blade 24 every time the photosensitive drum 10 rotates once , the advantageous effects as described above may be maintained for a long period of time until no more lubricant 32 is available . since the recess 28 for holding the lubricant 32 has an arc shape , the distal edge 24a of the cleaning blade 24 may not be damaged even if there is only little or no lubricant 32 remaining in the recess 28 . accordingly , the copying machine may be used until no more lubricant 32 is available . furthermore , the problem of shift in the position of the photosensitive drum 10 is eliminated which is caused by an impact which acts on it when the cleaning blade 24 passes over the lubricant feeding section a . the 1ubricant 32 used in the present invention is a semiconductor having a resistance of 10 6 to 10 14 ω · cm or a resistor having a high resistance and is held in an average depth of 0 . 5 to several mm . if the lubricant 32 is subject to charging by the charger 14 or the fixing unit 18 in this state , the surface of the lubricant 32 is charged and is then developed to degrade the image quality . however , according to the one embodiment , the charger 14 and the transfer unit 18 are electrically controlled through the second control device 48 so that the lubricant feeding section a may not be subject to charging . therefore , the above problem is also prevented . irrespective of whether the photosensitive drum 10 is stationary or rotating , the cleaning blade 24 is in constant contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 . when the photosensitive drum 10 is stationary , the cleaning blade 24 is in contact with the lubricant feeding section a . therefore , the cleaning blade 24 may not be brought into contact with the image formation region of the photosensitive layer 30 and may not deform it when the photosensitive drum 10 is stationary . as a result of this , the cleaning blade 24 need not be spaced apart from the photosensitive layer 30 when the photosensitive drum 10 is stationary . other problems of degradation in the image quality , contamination of the interior of the copying apparatus by toner , imprecise contact between the cleaning blade 24 and the photosensitive layer 30 , and the driving means of the cleaning blade 24 are also eliminated . cleaning blade : polyurethane blade ( 74 ° hardness , 2 mm thickness , about 6 μ edge precision ) using the materials as described above , 20 , 000 copies were produced with blade linear pressures of 2 . 0 and 4 . 0 g / mm acting on the photosensitive layer 30 , respectively . during the time period for reproducing these copies , no adverse effects on the image quality and electrostatic characteristics due to incorporation of the lubricant feeding part and application of the lubricant were observed , as may be seen from the table below . good results were obtained with respect to ease of cleaning , lack of filming on the photosensitive drum 10 and so on . better results were also obtained with regard to damage to the photosensitive layer 30 and so on than with the conventional copying machine . table______________________________________ after reproduction of 20 , 000 copies copying apparatus copying machine of of one embodiment prior art 2 . 0 g / mm 4 . 0 g / mm 2 . 0 g / mm 4 . 0 g / mm______________________________________filming o o o δ by blade damagecleaning ability o o o δ by blade damageelectrostatic o o o δ degradationcharacteristics due to scratchesdrum scratch o o δ xblade outer o o δ xappearance______________________________________ o : good δ : normal x : bad the present invention is not limited to the one embodiment described above . for example , fig6 shows a first modification wherein the lubricant feeding section a comprises a recess 54 formed in the outer circumferential surface of the drum 10 . the recess 54 is defined by a first flat surface 54a extending toward the center of the drum 10 and a second flat surface 54b perpendicular thereto . a solid lubricant 56 is held within the recess 54 . according to the first modification , the solid lubricant 56 may not be inadvertently removed from the drum 10 . the solid lubricant 56 may be inserted into the recess 54 from the end surface of the photosensitive drum 10 , improving the serviceability such as exchange of the solid lubricant 56 . the second flat surface 54b of the recess 54 is formed along the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 10 so as to reduce an impact which may act upon contact with the cleaning blade 24 . fig7 shows a second modification wherein a lubricant support plate 58 for fixing the lubricant 56 in the recess 54 is arranged . the support plate 58 is arranged tightly inside the recess 54 so as to facilitate serviceability and exchangeability of the lubricant 56 . fig8 shows a third modification wherein a plurality of small projections 60 , of 20 to 100 microns size are arranged behind the lubricant feeding section a of the photosensitive drum 10 along the rotating direction thereof . according to the third modification , the amount of the lubricant 32 attached to the cleaning blade 24 may be more precisely controlled . it is also possible to prevent removal of the lubricant 32 from the recess 28 by forming indentation at the interface between the recess 28 and the lubricant 32 which is shown in fig3 .. depending upon the type of lubricant used , the lubricant 32 may function until the lifetime of the drum expires . as described above , the cleaning blade 24 can be used as a feeding means for the lubricant 32 or 56 . however , the present invention is not limited to this construction . fig9 shows another embodiment which uses a cylindrical brush 62 for feeding the lubricant 32 . the reference numerals shown in fig9 which are common with those shown in fig1 - 8 , denote the same members , and , thus , descriptions thereof have been omitted . the cylindrical brush 62 as a feeding means of the lubricant 32 rotates in contact with that portion of the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 10 which is between the cleaning blade 24 and the discharger 22 . the thickness of the lubricant film formed on the photosensitive drum 10 may be controlled according to selection of hardness , length , rotational frequency and so on of the brush .	6
the ester derivatives of the present invention may be prepared by methods known in the art . illustrative of such methods are the reaction schemes shown below . ## str18 ## in general , the esters of the present invention may be prepared by acylation of scirpentriol or the 3 - tetrahydropyran - protected derivatives 2 and 3 . to prepare 3 - tetrahydropyran ( thp )- protected derivatives 2 and 3 , the 3α - oh group of anguidine is protected as by conversion to a tetrahydropyranyl ether 1 and this 3α - othp derivative is then subjected to partial basic hydrolysis to give a mixture of the 4β - oh ( 3 ) and 4β , 15 - oh ( 2 ) derivatives . in scheme 2 , scirpentriol may be acylated in accordance with conventional methods with a suitable acylating derivative of a carboxylic acid r -- cooh to produce a mixture of the various mono -, di - and triacylated derivatives . the desired product is then separated from the product mixture as by silica gel column chromatography . the acylation is typically carried out with an acid halide or acid anhydride , preferably in the presence of an organic base such as pyridine or lutidine . an inert organic solvent such as methylene chloride may be employed or the organic base may also serve as a reaction solvent . scheme 3 shows the acylation of diol intermediate 2 with two or more equivalents of acylating agent followed by hydrolysis of the 3α - othp group to give 4 , 15 - diacylated esters of formula iiia having r 2 = r 3 . the acylation procedure is carried out by conventional procedures such as described for scheme 2 . scheme 4 illustrates a procedure for preparing a 4 , 15 - diacylated ester of formula iiia where r 3 is -- coch 3 . in this procedure starting material 5 is acylated as described above to give a 3α - thp derivative which is hydrolyzed to produce the desired product . if diol intermediate 2 is acylated with less than two equivalents of acylating agent as in scheme 5 , there may be produced after the usual de - blocking step a mixture of 4 - and 15 - monoacylated products . these products can then be separated as by chromatography . scheme 6 shows that the monoacylated 3α - thp intermediate as produced in scheme 5 can be treated with a second acylating agent to give after the de - protection step a diacylated ester of formula iiia where r 2 ≠ r 3 . finally , scheme 7 illustrates epoxidation of a 15 - monoacylated ester with metachloroperbenzoic acid to give the corresponding 9 , 10 - epoxide . representative compounds of the present invention were tested for antitumor activity against the transplantable mouse tumors p - 388 leukemia , l - 1210 leukemia and lewis lung carcinoma and the results of these tests are shown below in tables i - xviii . the methodology used generally followed the protocols of the national cancer institute ( see , for example , cancer chemotherapy rep . part 3 , 3 : 1 - 103 ( 1972 )). the essential experimental details are given at the bottom of the tables . table 1______________________________________effect of compound of example 1e on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorscompound mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 * 0 . 4 15 . 5 172 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 5 139 + 0 . 8 6 / 6nsc - 141537 0 . 8 12 . 5 139 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 0 . 4 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 5 100 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 9 . 0 100 - 0 . 3 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 18 . 5 206 - 0 . 3 6 / 6example 1e 3 . 2 16 . 0 178 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 1 . 6 14 . 0 156 - 3 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 5 139 + 1 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 4 12 . 5 139 + 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 5 117 0 . 4 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- + 0 . 7 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment qd 1 → 9 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . * nsc38270 used in this and the following tables is a crude (˜ 40 %) preparation of olivomycin a which is used as a reference in screening of anguidine derivatives . table ii______________________________________effect of compound of example 1c on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 14 . 0 156 + 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 5 139 + 0 . 8 6 / 6nsc - 141537 1 . 6 16 . 5 183 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 0 . 8 15 . 0 167 + 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 11 . 5 128 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 0 122 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 05 9 . 5 106 + 0 . 8 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 14 . 5 161 - 0 . 5 6 / 6example 1c 3 . 2 14 . 5 161 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 1 . 6 12 . 5 139 + 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 4 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 10 . 0 111 + 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 0 111 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 025 9 . 0 100 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 0125 9 . 0 100 + 0 . 8 6 / 6control 0 . 5 9 . 0 -- + 0 . 5 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells imp1anted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment qd 1 → 9 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table iii______________________________________effect of compound of example 9 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorscompound mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 13 . 0 144 - 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 2 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 5 6 / 6nsc - 141537 3 . 2 17 . 5 194 + 0 . 6 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 1 . 6 17 . 5 194 + 0 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 8 15 . 0 167 + 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 4 14 . 5 161 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 2 13 . 5 150 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 05 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 2 5 / 5 0 . 025 9 . 5 106 + 0 . 5 6 / 6compound of 3 . 2 16 . 5 183 + 0 . 8 6 / 6example 9 1 . 6 16 . 0 178 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 8 16 . 0 178 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 4 14 . 5 161 + 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 1 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 025 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 0125 10 . 0 111 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 00625 10 . 0 111 + 0 . 8 6 / 6control dmso - hpc 9 . 0 -- + 0 . 4 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment qd 1 → 9 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control = 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table iv______________________________________effect of derivatives on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorscompound mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 12 . 5 139 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 11 . 0 122 + 1 . 3 6 / 6nsc - 141537 1 . 6 17 . 0 189 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 0 . 8 15 . 0 167 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 5 150 + 1 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 2 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 0 122 + 1 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 05 11 . 0 122 + 1 . 8 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 14 . 0 156 + 0 . 9 6 / 6example 1d 3 . 2 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 1 . 6 12 . 5 139 + 2 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 5 139 + 2 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 4 11 . 5 128 + 1 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 5 117 + 1 . 2 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 17 . 5 194 + 1 . 2 6 / 6example 1b 3 . 2 14 . 0 156 + 3 . 0 5 / 5 1 . 6 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 0 133 + 1 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 4 12 . 0 133 + 1 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 0 111 + 1 . 4 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 16 . 0 178 - 0 . 9 6 / 6example 8 3 . 2 14 . 0 156 - 0 . 6 6 / 6 1 . 6 13 . 0 144 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 0 133 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 4 12 . 5 139 - 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 2 11 . 5 128 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 13 . 0 144 - 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 5 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 025 10 . 0 111 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 0125 10 . 0 111 - 0 . 4 6 / 6control saline -- + 0 . 5 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment qd 1 → 9 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table v______________________________________effect of compound of example 1a on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorscompound mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 13 . 0 144 + 0 . 1 5 / 5 0 . 2 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 3 6 / 6nsc - 141537 3 . 2 17 . 5 194 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 1 . 6 17 . 0 189 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 8 14 . 0 156 + 1 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 5 150 + 1 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 0 122 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 05 11 . 5 128 + 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 025 10 . 0 111 + 1 . 3 6 / 6compound of 12 . 8 tox tox tox 2 / 6example 1a 6 . 4 tox tox tox 2 / 6 3 . 2 17 . 5 194 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 1 . 6 17 . 0 189 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 8 14 . 5 161 + 1 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 4 16 . 0 178 + 1 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 2 14 . 0 156 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 1 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 05 13 . 5 150 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 025 12 . 5 139 + 1 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 0125 10 . 5 117 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 00625 10 . 5 117 + 1 . 7 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- + 0 . 6 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 mice . treatment daily , qd 1 → 9 . tox toxicity & lt ; 4 / 6 survivors , day 5 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table vi______________________________________effect of compound of example 2 on p - 388 leukemia effect average dose mst mst weight survivorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 13 . 0 153 + 0 . 4 6 / 6a649 0 . 2 10 . 0 118 + 1 . 2 6 / 6nsc - 141537 1 . 6 16 . 0 188 + 1 . 0 6 / 6anguidine 0 . 8 14 . 0 165 + 0 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 0 153 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 141 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 0 129 + 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 0 118 + 1 . 1 6 / 6compound 6 . 4 18 . 0 212 - 0 . 3 5 / 6of exam - 3 . 2 16 . 5 194 + 1 . 0 6 / 6ple 2 1 . 6 15 . 5 182 + 1 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 8 14 . 0 165 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 0 153 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 2 13 . 0 153 + 0 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 5 135 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 05 12 . 5 147 + 0 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 025 10 . 0 118 + 1 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 0125 9 . 0 106 + 2 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 00625 9 . 0 106 + 2 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 003125 9 . 0 106 + 3 . 1 6 / 6control saline 8 . 5 -- + 3 . 1 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment qd 1 → 9 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table vii__________________________________________________________________________effect of compound of example 2 on p - 388 leukemia effect average dose , ip mst mst weight survivorsmaterial treatment mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5 ( 30 ) __________________________________________________________________________nsc 38270 days 1 → 9 0 . 4 11 . 5 128 - 1 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 0 111 - 0 . 9 6 / 6anguidine day 1 only 20 tox tox tox 0 / 6nsc 141537 16 tox tox tox 0 / 6 12 tox tox tox 2 / 6 8 tox tox tox 3 / 6 days 1 → 5 5 tox tox tox 3 / 6 4 15 . 0 167 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 3 14 . 0 156 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 2 13 . 0 144 + 0 . 2 6 / 6 days 1 → 9 2 . 4 16 . 0 178 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 1 . 6 16 . 0 178 + 0 . 6 5 / 5compound of day 1 only 60 tox tox tox 0 / 6example 2 45 tox tox tox 0 / 6 30 tox tox tox 1 / 6 20 tox tox tox 0 / 6 days 1 → 5 12 tox tox tox 2 / 6 10 tox tox tox 1 / 6 8 13 . 0 144 - 1 . 5 5 / 6 6 . 4 13 . 5 150 - 0 . 8 4 / 6 days 1 → 9 9 . 0 tox tox tox 3 / 6 6 . 4 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 3 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- + 2 . 2 10 / 10__________________________________________________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . tox & lt ; 4 / 6 survivors day 5 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ) × 100 . criteria % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor activity . table viii______________________________________effect of compound of example 2 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / inj days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 141537 1 . 6 11 . 0 183 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 0 . 8 8 . 5 142 + 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 4 8 . 5 142 + 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 2 8 . 0 133 + 1 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 1 7 . 0 117 + 1 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 05 7 . 0 117 + 2 . 6 6 / 6compound of 12 . 8 8 . 5 142 - 0 . 9 4 / 6example 2 6 . 4 10 . 5 175 - 0 . 2 6 / 6 3 . 2 9 . 5 158 + 1 . 0 6 / 6 1 . 6 9 . 5 158 + 1 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 8 8 . 5 142 - 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 4 8 . 5 142 - 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 2 7 . 0 117 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 7 . 0 117 + 0 . 3 6 / 6control saline 6 . 0 -- + 2 . 5 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host bdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment daily , qd 1 → 9 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table ix______________________________________effect of compound of example 4 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 ( a - 649 ) 0 . 2 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 4 6 / 6nsc - 141537 1 . 6 17 . 0 189 + 1 . 3 5 / 5 ( anguidine ) 0 . 8 14 . 0 156 + 1 . 7 5 / 6 0 . 4 14 . 0 156 + 1 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 133 + 1 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 5 128 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 0 111 + 0 . 3 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 tox tox tox 1 / 6example 4 3 . 2 20 . 0 222 - 1 . 9 5 / 6 1 . 6 17 . 0 189 - 0 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 8 14 . 5 161 + 0 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 0 144 + 0 . 2 5 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 5 139 0 6 / 6 0 . 1 13 . 0 144 0 6 / 6 0 . 05 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 025 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 0125 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 4 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- + 0 . 3 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host cdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment daily , qd 1 → 9 . tox toxicity , 4 / 6 survivors day 5 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table x______________________________________effect of compound of example 4 on l - 1210 leukemia effect average dose , ip mst mst weight survivorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5 ( 30 ) ______________________________________anguidine 2 . 0 11 . 0 157 - 0 . 8 6 / 6nsc 1 . 6 11 . 0 157 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 ( 1 / 6 ) 141537 1 . 2 11 . 0 157 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 8 11 . 0 157 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 4 10 . 0 143 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 0 129 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 ( 1 / 6 ) compound 1 . 6 12 . 0 171 - 0 . 8 4 / 6 ( 2 / 6 ) pf exam - 0 . 8 10 . 0 143 - 0 . 3 6 / 6ple 4 0 . 4 9 . 5 136 - 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 0 129 - 0 . 3 6 / 6control saline 7 . 0 -- + 0 . 9 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host bdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment qd 1 → 9 . tox & lt ; 4 / 6 mice alive on day 5 . evaluation mst = median survival time . effect % t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ) × 100 . criteria % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor activity . table xi______________________________________effect of derivatives on l - 1210 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________anguidine 2 . 0 6 . 0 86 - 0 . 9 4 / 6nsc 141537 1 . 6 6 . 0 86 - 1 . 3 6 / 6 1 . 2 11 . 0 157 - 1 . 1 5 / 6 0 . 8 11 . 0 157 + 1 . 0 5 / 6compound of 4 . 0 tox tox tox 0 / 6example 4 3 . 2 tox tox tox 0 / 6 2 . 4 tox tox tox 2 / 6 1 . 6 tox tox tox 3 / 6compound of 2 . 4 6 . 0 86 - 1 . 5 5 / 6example 3 1 . 6 6 . 0 86 - 1 . 3 6 / 6 1 . 2 8 . 0 114 - 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 0 171 - 2 . 6 6 / 6compound of 0 . 6 tox tox tox 3 / 6example 6 0 . 4 10 . 0 143 - 1 . 1 5 / 6 0 . 3 10 . 5 150 - 1 . 0 4 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 0 143 + 0 . 1 5 / 6control saline 7 . 0 -- + 2 . 4 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascitic cells implanted ip host : bdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 tox : & lt ; 4 / 6 survivors day 5 evaluation : % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria : % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table xii______________________________________effect of compound of example 3 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vormaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 12 . 5 139 - 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 2 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 3 6 / 6nsc - 141537 1 . 6 15 . 0 167 - 0 . 2 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 0 . 8 14 . 0 156 + 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 4 17 . 0 189 + 0 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 2 16 . 5 183 - 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 1 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 6 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 7 . 0 78 - 2 . 0 5 / 6example 3 3 . 2 7 . 5 83 - 1 . 0 6 / 6 1 . 6 20 . 0 222 - 0 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 8 19 . 5 217 + 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 4 17 . 0 189 + 0 . 5 / 66 0 . 2 15 . 5 172 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 1 14 . 5 161 + 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 05 13 . 0 144 + 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 025 12 . 0 133 - 0 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 0125 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 6 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- 0 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host : cdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 . tox : toxicity , & lt ; 4 / 6 survivors , day 5 . evaluation : mst = median survival time . effect : % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria : t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table xiii______________________________________effect of compound of example 5 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 11 . 0 122 - 0 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 5 106 + 0 . 1 6 / 6compound of 6 . 4 15 . 0 167 - 0 . 4 5 / 6example 5 3 . 2 14 . 5 161 0 6 / 6 1 . 6 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 5 5 / 6 0 . 8 10 . 0 111 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 4 9 . 0 100 + 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 5 106 + 2 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 1 10 . 0 111 + 2 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 05 9 . 0 100 + 3 . 1 6 / 6nsc - 141537 1 . 6 15 . 0 167 + 1 . 5 6 / 6 ( anguidine ) 0 . 8 15 . 0 167 + 1 . 6 6 / 6 0 . 4 14 . 0 156 + 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 1 10 . 5 117 + 1 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 0 111 + 1 . 5 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- + 3 . 7 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host : cdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 . evaluation : mst = median survival time . effect : % t / c = mst treated / mst control × 100 . criteria : t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table xiv______________________________________effect of compound of example 6 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc - 38270 0 . 4 11 . 0 138 - 1 . 0 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 0 125 - 0 . 2 6 / 6anguidine 1 . 6 15 . 0 188 + 0 . 6 6 / 6nsc 141537 0 . 8 13 . 0 163 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 4 13 . 0 163 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 150 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 1 10 . 0 125 + 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 0 125 + 0 . 4 6 / 6compound of 12 . 8 tox tox tox 0 / 6example 6 6 . 4 tox tox tox 0 / 6 3 . 2 tox tox tox 0 / 6 1 . 6 tox tox tox 0 / 6 0 . 8 6 . 0 75 - 1 . 9 4 / 6 0 . 4 18 . 0 225 - 1 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 2 15 . 5 194 - 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 1 14 . 0 175 - 0 . 7 6 / 6control saline 8 . 0 -- - 0 . 4 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascitic cells implanted i . p . host : cdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment : daily , qd 1 → 9 . tox : & lt ; 4 / 6 survivors day 5 . evaluation : mst = median survival time . effect : t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ) × 100 . criteria : % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor activity . table xv______________________________________effect of compound of example 10 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5______________________________________nsc 38270 0 . 4 10 . 5 117 - 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 5 117 - 0 . 8 6 / 6anguidine 1 . 6 17 . 5 195 - 0 . 7 6 / 6nsc 141537 0 . 8 15 . 0 167 + 0 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 4 14 . 0 156 + 0 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 133 - 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 05 10 . 5 117 + 0 . 4 6 / 6compound of 12 . 8 16 . 5 183 - 0 . 8 6 / 6example 10 6 . 4 15 . 0 167 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 3 . 2 16 . 0 178 + 0 . 8 6 / 6 1 . 6 12 . 0 133 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 8 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 4 11 . 0 122 + 0 . 7 6 / 6control saline 9 . 0 -- - 1 . 8 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascitic cells implanted ip host : cdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 . tox : & lt ; 4 / 6 survivors day 5 evaluation : mst = median survival time effect : % t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ) × 100 . criteria : % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor activity table xvi______________________________________effect of compound of example 7 on p - 388 leukemia effect average survi - dose , ip mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / inj days % t / c change , g day 5 ( 3 ) ______________________________________nsc 38270 0 . 4 9 . 0 100 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 0 100 + 2 . 8 6 / 6anguidine 1 . 6 14 . 5 161 + 1 . 4 6 / 6nsc 141537 0 . 8 13 . 0 144 + 1 . 7 6 / 6 0 . 4 12 . 0 133 + 1 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 2 10 . 0 111 + 1 . 4 6 / 6 0 . 1 9 . 0 100 + 2 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 05 9 . 0 100 + 2 . 6 6 / 6compound of 12 . 8 tox tox tox 0 / 6example 7 6 . 4 tox tox tox 0 / 6 3 . 2 tox tox tox 0 / 6 1 . 6 18 . 0 200 - 1 . 3 4 / 6 0 . 8 17 . 5 194 - 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 4 15 . 0 167 - 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 2 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 12 . 0 133 + 0 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 05 11 . 0 122 + 1 . 2 6 / 6 0 . 025 10 . 0 111 + 1 . 1 5 / 6control saline 9 . 0 - + 4 . 0 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted i . p . host : cdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 evaluation : mst = median survival time . effect : % t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ) × 100 . criteria : % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor effect . table xvii______________________________________effect of compound of example 7 on l1210 leukemia effect average survi - dose , ip mst mst weight vorsmaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change , g day 5 ( 3 ) ______________________________________anguidine 2 . 4 12 . 0 200 + 1 . 0 6 / 6nsc 141537 2 . 0 11 . 0 183 + 1 . 9 6 / 6 1 . 6 10 . 0 167 + 1 . 4 6 / 6 1 . 2 10 . 0 167 + 0 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 8 10 . 0 167 + 0 . 9 6 / 6 0 . 4 9 . 0 150 + 0 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 2 8 . 0 133 + 1 . 3 6 / 6 0 . 1 8 . 0 133 + 0 . 8 6 / 6compound of 2 . 4 tox tox tox 1 / 6example 7 2 . 0 7 . 0 117 - 1 . 2 3 / 6 1 . 6 10 . 0 167 - 1 . 7 5 / 6 1 . 2 9 . 5 158 - 1 . 1 6 / 6 0 . 8 10 . 0 167 - 0 . 5 6 / 6 0 . 4 10 . 0 167 - 0 . 8 6 / 6 0 . 2 9 . 0 150 - 0 . 5 5 / 6 0 . 1 8 . 0 133 + 0 . 5 6 / 6control saline 6 . 0 - + 2 . 6 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 ascites cells implanted , ip . host : bdf . sub . 1 ♀ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 . evaluation : mst = median survival time . effect : % t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ). × 100 criteria : % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor activity . table xviii______________________________________effect of compound of example 7 on lewis lung carcinoma effect average survi - dose , ip mst mst weight vors daymaterial mg / kg / day days % t / c change 5 ( 60 ) ______________________________________anguidine 1 . 6 21 . 0 124 + 2 . 2 10 / 10nsc 141537 0 . 8 21 . 0 124 + 1 . 8 10 / 10 0 . 4 23 . 0 135 + 1 . 4 10 / 10compound of 2 . 0 21 . 5 126 - 0 . 5 6 / 10example 7 1 . 5 21 . 5 126 - 0 . 3 10 / 10 1 . 0 22 . 0 129 + 0 . 5 10 / 10 0 . 5 22 . 0 129 + 1 . 2 10 / 10control saline 17 . 0 -- - 0 . 6 10 / 10______________________________________ tumor inoculum : 10 . sup . 6 tumor brei cells , ip . host ; bdf . sub . 1 ♂ mice . treatment : qd 1 → 9 . tox : & lt ; 6 / 10 mice alive on day 5 . evaluation : mst = median survival time . effect : % t / c = ( mst treated / mst control ) × 100 . criteria : % t / c ≧ 125 considered significant antitumor activity . each of the 14 derivatives of the present invention was evaluated in mice against p388 leukemia ( ip ) in parallel with anguidine itself , using a qd 1 → 9 dosing schedule ( ip ). the compounds were all found to be active and comparable to anguidine with respect to this tumor system . the compound of example 2 was evaluated twice against p388 leukemia ( tables vi and vii ). as can be seen , the compound for some as yet unexplained reason appeared significantly more active in one test than the other . five compounds were evaluated in mice against l1210 leukemia ( ip ). all of them were active with maximum t / c values of between 150 % and 175 % using a qd 1 → 9 dosing schedule . the compound of example 7 was also evaluated in mice against lewis lung carcinoma ( ip ). it produced a maximum t / c of 129 % when given qd 1 → 9 . the following examples are not limiting but are intended to be illustrative of this invention . skellysolve b is a commercially available petroleum solvent ( skelly oil co .) comprising isomeric hexanes and having a boiling point of 60 °- 68 ° c . the main component of skellysolve b is n - hexane . unless otherwise indicated , all melting points below are uncorrected , all temperatures are in degrees celsius and all solvent percentages are by volume . the silica gel used in the examples ( unless otherwise indicated ) is silicar cc - 7 ( trademark of mallinckrodt chemical works ). a mixture of 4β , 15 - diacetoxy - 3α - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 12 . 81 g , 35 mmol ), 2 , 3 - dihydro - 4h - pyran ( 17 . 5 ml , 189 mmol ), and p - toluenesulfonic acid ( 70 mg , 0 . 35 mmol ) in 150 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was stirred at room temperature for 2 h . after addition of 2 . 1 g of k 2 co 3 , the reaction mixture was diluted with 400 ml of ch 2 cl 2 and washed with saturated nahco 3 solution and brine . drying over k 2 co 3 and removal of the solvent gave a colorless oil which crystallized slowly from petroleum ether to give 11 . 30 g ( 72 %) of solid . m . p . 93 °- 94 ° c . ; ir ( kbr ): 2976 , 1746 , 1249 , 1080 , 1040 , 988 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 24 h 34 o 8 : c , 63 . 98 ; h , 7 . 61 . found : c , 64 . 35 ; h , 7 . 58 . 4β , 15 - diacetoxy - 3α - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 15 g ) was stirred for 20 minutes in 300 ml of methanol with 900 ml of 0 . 3n sodium hydroxide ( sigg et al . helv . chim . acta , 48 , 962 - 988 ( 1965 ). the solution was placed on a column containing 1 kg of dowex 50 ( h + cycle ) prepared with 20 % methanol in water . the column was eluted with 3 l of the same solvent , the eluate concentrated , and the residual aqueous solution freeze - dried . the powder was dissolved in methanol , mixed with 10 g of silica gel , and dried in vacuo . the dry silica gel mixture was placed on a column of fresh silica gel ( 2 . 5 × 100 cm ) and eluted with methylene chloride with increasing amounts of methanol . fractions appearing homogeneous on tlc plates were dried and crystallized from ethyl acetate . yield : 7 . 3 g , m . p . 194 °- 195 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 3490 , 3450 , 3390 , 2990 - 2900 ( four peaks ), 1675 , 960 and 950 cm . sup . - 1 . [ α ] d 22 =- 15 . 4 ° ( c = 1 , acetone ). anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 15 h 22 o 6 : c , 63 . 81 ; h , 7 . 86 . found : c , 63 . 71 ; h , 7 . 80 . alternatively , the 3 - o - tetrahydropyranyl derivative ( preparation 3 below ) ( 1 g ) was stirred for four hours in 115 ml of 95 % ethanol and 23 ml of 1n hcl . the solution was azeotropically distilled with the addition of absolute ethanol , the concentrated ethanolic solution diluted with diethyl ether , and the resulting title product separated from ethyl acetate as a gum . to a solution of 4β , 15 - diacetoxy - 3 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 1 . 067 g , 2 . 37 mmol ) in 40 ml of tetrahydrofuran and methanol ( 5 : 3 v / v ) was added 20 ml of 0 . 3n naoh solution . after 2 . 5 h of stirring at room temperature , an additional 20 ml of 0 . 3n naoh solution was introduced , and stirring was continued for 18 . 5 h . the resulting solution was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 200 ml ) and washed with water . the aqueous layer was reextracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 2 × 50 ml ). the combined ch 2 cl 2 layers were washed with brine and dried over k 2 co 3 . removal of the solvent gave 891 mg of foam , which was subsequently chromatographed on silica gel . elution with 1 % methanol - ch 2 cl 2 gave 46 mg ( 5 %) of 15 - acetoxy - 4β - hydroxy - 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene . a further elution with 5 % methanol - ch . sub . 2 cl 2 gave 808 mg ( 93 %) of the title compound as an amorphous solid . ir ( kbr ): 3457 , 2943 , 1445 , 1135 , 1125 , 1078 , 1035 , 1020 , 978 , 957 cm - 1 . to a solution of 4β , 15 - diacetoxy - 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 31 . 14 g , 69 . 2 mmol ) in 800 ml of methanol and tetrahydrofuran ( 1 : 1 v / v ) was added 400 ml of 1 . 31n nh 4 oh solution . after 3 days stirring at room temperature , 10 ml of concentrated nh 4 oh solution was added to the reaction mixture . stirring was continued for an additional 4 days . the volume of the resulting solution was reduced to 500 ml . extraction with ch 2 cl 2 , washing with brine , and removal of the solvent gave 37 g of a slightly yellow oil . chromatography on silica gel ( elution with 1 % methanol - ch 2 cl 2 ) gave 10 . 65 g ( 38 %) of the title compound as an oil . the nmr and ir spectra of this material were consistent with the structure of the title compound . ir ( kbr ): 3430 , 2970 , 2950 , 2875 , 1744 , 1720 , 1270 , 1248 , 1126 , 1080 , 1040 , 972 cm - 1 . scirpentriol ( 3α , 4β , 15 - trihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ) ( 7 g ) was dissolved in 30 ml . of 2 , 6 - lutidine and treated with 10 . 75 g of chloroacetic anhydride . after 18 hours the solution was poured on ice . the product of the usual isolation procedure was chromatographed on a column of silica gel ( 2 × 75 cm ) by gradient elution with methylene chloride / methanol . the emerging ( rf 0 . 1 , 0 . 35 , 0 . 58 , 0 . 80 , 0 . 90 ) fractions were analyzed on tlc plates appropriately combined , dried and crystallized from ethyl acetate - ether - hexane . fractions , rf 0 . 35 gave 0 . 640 mg of title product . m . p . 173 °. ir ( kbr ): 3520 , 3380 , 3800 - 2900 ( 4 peaks ) 1725 , 1295 , 1060 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 17 h 23 o 6 cl : c , 56 . 91 ; h , 6 . 46 ; cl , 9 . 88 . found : c , 56 . 85 ; h , 6 . 39 ; cl , 9 . 65 . fractions rf 0 . 58 from example 1 , part a , gave 480 mg . of title product ; m . p . 170 °. ir ( kbr ): 3500 , 3000 - 2900 ( five peaks ) 1758 , 1745 , 1210 , 1170 , 1055 , 918 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 17 h 23 o 6 cl : c , 56 . 91 ; h , 6 . 46 ; cl , 9 . 88 . found : c , 57 . 03 ; h , 6 . 46 ; cl , 9 . 85 . fractions rf 0 . 8 from example 1 , part a , gave 1 . 5 g title product ; m . p . 161 °. ir ( kbr ): 3480 , 3060 - 2840 ( seven peaks ) 1765 , 1735 , 1295 , 1200 , 1165 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 19 h 24 o 7 cl 2 : c , 52 . 18 ; h , 5 . 99 ; cl , 16 . 21 . found : c , 52 . 41 ; h , 5 . 55 ; cl , 16 . 44 . fractions with rf 0 . 68 from example 1 , part a , gave 205 mg of title product . the structure of the product was confirmed by pmr spectroscopy . fractions with rf 0 . 9 from example 1 , part a , gave 95 mg . of title product . the structure of the product was confirmed by pmr spectroscopy . a mixture of 4β , 15 - dihydroxy - 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 808 mg , 2 . 21 mmol ), chloroacetic anhydride ( 1 . 132 g , 6 . 62 mmol ) and pyridine ( 894 mg , 11 . 05 mmol ) in 100 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was stirred at room temperature for 14 h . the reaction mixture was diluted with 200 ml of ch 2 cl 2 and washed with saturated nahco 3 solution , 1 % hcl solution and brine . drying over k 2 co 3 and removal of the solvent gave 1 . 058 g ( 92 %) of foam which was homogeneous on tlc . a portion of this material was purified by silica gel chromatography ( elution with 0 . 5 % methanol - ch 2 cl 2 ) to furnish an analytical sample of title product . ir ( kbr ): 2955 , 1762 , 1740 , 1290 , 1186 , 1172 , 1129 , 1080 , 1039 , 977 cm - 1 . to a solution of 4β , 15 - bis ( chloroacetoxy )- 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 858 mg , 1 . 65 mmol ) in 100 ml of 95 % ethanol was added 19 ml of 1n hcl solution . the resulting solution was stirred at room temperature for 24 hours . the reaction mixture was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 300 ml ) and washed with saturated nahco 3 solution and brine . drying over k 2 co 3 - na 2 so 4 and removal of the solvent gave 600 mg of foam . chromatography of this material on silica gel ( elution with 1 % methanol - ch 2 cl 2 ) gave 524 mg ( 73 %) of 4β , 15 - bis ( chloroacetoxy )- 3α - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene . an analytical sample was obtained by recrystallization from chloroform - diethyl ether , m . p . 139 °- 141 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 3450 , 2970 , 2913 , 1758 , 1742 , 1327 , 1293 , 1192 , 1173 , 1083 , 1008 , 967 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d . for c 19 h 24 o 7 cl 2 : c , 52 . 42 ; h , 5 . 56 . found : c , 52 . 31 ; h , 5 . 34 . elution of the silica gel column with 2 % methanol - ch 2 cl 2 gave 110 mg ( 15 %) of 15 - chloroacetoxy - 3α , 4β - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene . a mixture of 15 - acetoxy - 4β - hydroxy - 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 785 mg , 1 . 92 mmol ), chloroacetic anhydride ( 492 mg , 2 . 88 mmol ) and pyridine ( 0 . 309 ml , 3 . 84 mmol ) in 100 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was stirred at room temperature for 28 . 5 h . the reaction mixture was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 200 ml ) and washed with saturated nahco 3 solution and brine . drying over k 2 co 3 and removal of the solvent gave 931 mg ( 100 %) of a white foam . the nmr and ir spectra of this material were consistent with the structure of 15 - acetoxy - 4β - chloroacetoxy - 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene . to a solution of 15 - acetoxy - 4β - chloroacetoxy - 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 900 mg , 1 . 98 mmol ) in 100 ml of 95 % ethanol was added 19 ml of 1n hcl solution . after 10 h of stirring at room temperature , 200 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was added to the reaction mixture . the aqueous layer which separated was extracted with 25 ml of ch 2 cl 2 . the combined ch 2 cl 2 layers were washed with saturated nahco 3 solution and brine . drying over k 2 co 3 - na 2 so 4 and removal of the solvent gave 662 mg of foam . chromatography on silica gel ( elution with 0 . 5 % methanol - ch 2 cl 2 ) gave 350 mg ( 44 %) of the title compound . recrystallization from diethyl ether furnished the analytical sample ; m . p . 166 °- 167 . 5 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 3500 , 3040 , 3020 , 2989 , 2918 , 1754 , 1736 , 1378 , 1330 , 1260 , 1208 , 1167 , 1074 , 1052 , 960 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 19 h 25 o 7 cl : c , 56 . 83 ; h , 6 . 29 . found : c , 57 . 12 ; h , 6 . 29 . a solution containing 366 mg ( 1 mmol ) of 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 4β , 15 - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene and 395 mg ( 5 mmol ) of dry pyridine in 50 ml of ch 2 cl 2 ( previously dried over 4 å molecular sieves ) was cooled at 5 ° c . to the stirred solution was added dropwise 261 mg ( 2 . 5 mmol ) of trans - 2 - butenoic acid chloride and , after completion of the addition , the mixture was stirred for 1 hr at 5 ° c . and for 16 h at ambient temperature . the solution was diluted with 50 ml of ch 2 cl 2 and was successively washed with saturated aqueous nahco 3 , brine , 1 % aqueous hcl and brine . the organic phase was dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure to provide 360 mg of a gum . this was dissolved in 50 ml of 95 % ethanol and to it was added 5 ml of 2n hcl . after the solution had been stored at room temperature for 22 h , it was diluted with 100 ml of ch 2 cl 2 and was washed successively with h 2 o , saturated aqueous nahco 3 and brine . the organic phase was dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure to provide 260 mg of gum . this was chromatographed on 20 g of silica gel using 1 % methanol in ch 2 cl 2 as the solvent . the first product eluted was 4β , 15 - bis -( trans - 2 &# 39 ;- butenoyloxy )- 3α - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 26 mg ) followed by 22 mg of 4β ( trans - 2 &# 39 ;- butenoyloxy )- 3α , 15 - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene and then 147 mg of the title compound which was crystallied from chcl 3 - skellysolve b as a white solid of mp 83 °- 86 °. ir ( kbr ): 3440 , 2970 , 1725 , 1190 , 1110 , 1085 , 965 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 19 h 26 o 6 . 0 . 5h 2 o : c , 63 . 49 ; h , 7 . 57 . found : c , 63 . 54 ; h , 7 . 43 . repetition of the above experiment using 6 equivalents of trans - 2 - butenoic acid chloride gave the title compound as a hygroscopic white foam . ir ( kbr ): 3420 , 2970 , 1720 , 1310 , 1260 , 1185 , 965 cm - 1 . in addition , there was obtained 4β ( trans - 2 &# 39 ;- butenoyloxy )- 3α , 15 - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene as a cream solid of m . p . 60 °- 62 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 3460 , 2960 , 1710 , 1315 , 1190 , 1105 , 1080 , 955 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 19 h 26 o 6 . 0 . 25h 2 o : c , 64 . 30 ; h , 7 . 53 . found : c , 64 . 19 ; h , 8 . 06 . to a solution of 366 mg ( 1 mmol ) of 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 4β , 15 - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene and 395 mg ( 5 mmol ) of dry pyridine in 50 ml of methylene chloride ( dried over 4 å molecular sieves ) was added with stirring 261 mg ( 2 . 5 mmol ) of freshly distilled 2 - methylpropenoic acid chloride . the solution was stored at 22 ° c . for 17 h and was then treated with an additional 261 mg ( 2 . 5 mmol ) of the acid chloride . after a further 22 h at 22 ° c ., the solution was worked up as described in example 4 and the residue was chromatographed on 20 g of silica gel . 2 - methylpropenoic acid anhydride was eluted using 1 % methanol in ch 2 cl 2 . the solvent was changed to methanol to elute 230 mg of white foam which was hydrolyzed as described above ( example 4 ) to give 189 mg of a foam . this was chromatographed on 20 g silica gel using 1 % methanol in ch 2 cl 2 as the solvent . minor products were eluted and the solvent was changed to 20 % methanol in ch 2 cl 2 to afford 116 mg ( 33 %) of the title compound as a foam which crystallized from ch 2 cl 2 - skellysolve b as a pale pink solid of m . p . 79 °- 81 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 3440 , 2960 , 1715 , 1165 , 1080 , 955 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 19 h 26 o 6 . 0 . 5h 2 o : c , 63 . 49 ; h , 7 . 57 . found : c , 63 . 36 ; h , 7 . 40 . a solution containing 3 . 66 g ( 0 . 01 mol ) of 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 4β , 15 - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene , 3 . 95 g ( 0 . 05 mol ) of pyridine and 2 . 61 g ( 0 . 025 mol ) of freshly distilled 2 - methylpropenoic acid chloride in 250 ml of dry methylene chloride was stirred for 16 h at 22 ° c . an additional 2 . 61 g ( 0 . 025 mol ) of the acid chloride was added and stirring was continued for 6 h . the solution was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 and was washed in succession with saturated aqueous nahco 3 , brine , 1 % aqueous hcl and brine . the organic phase was dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent evaporated under reduced pressure to give 5 . 36 g of an oil . this was chromatographed on 100 g of silica gel using 1 % methanol in ch 2 cl 2 as the solvent . 2 - methylpropenoic acid anhydride was first eluted , followed by 615 mg of a foam which was hydrolysed as before ( example 4 ) in 67 . 5 ml of 95 % ethanol and 13 . 5 ml of 1n hcl . the usual work - up gave 590 mg of gum from which , by chromatography , 198 mg of 4β , 15 - bis -( 2 &# 39 ;- methylpropenoyloxy )- 3α - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene was isolated as a hygroscopic foam ir ( kbr ): 3500 , 2960 , 1720 , 1165 , 1080 , 960 cm - 1 ; which was identified by its nmr spectrum . the next fraction from this chromatography afforded 4β -( 2 &# 39 ;- methylpropenoyloxy )- 3α , 15 - dihydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene as colorless crystals of m . p . 175 °- 176 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 3510 , 3460 , 2500 , 1690 , 1330 , 1300 , 1170 , 1080 , 1060 , 910 , 900 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 19 h 26 o 6 . 0 . 25h 2 o : c , 64 . 30 ; h , 7 . 53 . found : c , 64 . 24 ; h , 7 . 14 . from the chromatographic separation of the tetrahydropyranyl ethers ( above ) there was next obtained 810 mg of a foam which was re - chromatographed on fresh silica gel ( 20 g ) using the same solvent system to provide 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 15 -( 2 &# 39 ;- methylpropenoyloxy )- 4β - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene as a foam . to a stirred solution of 164 mg ( 0 . 38 mmol ) of 3α - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- tetrahydropyranyl )- 15 -( 2 &# 39 ;- methylpropenoyloxy )- 4β - hydroxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene in 25 ml of dry ch 2 cl 2 were added in succession 36 mg ( 0 . 46 mmol ) of pyridine and 78 mg ( 0 . 46 mmol ) of chloroacetic anhydride . the solution was stored for 17 h at 22 ° c . the solution was worked up as before and hydrolysed as usual with 27 ml of 95 % ethanol and 5 . 4 ml of 1n hcl . after work - up as before there was obtained a gum which was triturated with skellysolve b to provide a hydroscopic solid of m . p . 58 °- 60 ° c . ir ( kbr ): 2960 , 1755 , 1715 , 1320 , 1295 , 1165 , 1085 , 955 cm - 1 . anal . calc &# 39 ; d for c 21 h 27 clo 7 : c , 59 . 08 ; h , 6 . 38 . found : c , 60 . 48 ; h , 6 . 66 . to a mixture of scirpentriol ( 1 . 12 g ) in 2 , 6 - lutidine ( 10 ml ), there was added with cooling 1 ml of 2 - chloropropionyl chloride . after 24 hours at room temperature the solution was poured on ice , and the mixture was extracted with 3 × 15 ml of ethyl acetate . the organic layer was washed with water and dilute sodium bicarbonate . after evaporation of the dried solvent , there remained 1 . 1 g of an oil . this was dissolved in 8 ml of benzene and placed on a silica gel column ( grace , 1 . 5 × 49 cm ). the column was eluted with benzene containing increasing proportions of methanol . the title compound emerged with 2 . 5 % methanol and appeared homogeneous on tlc plates ( sio 2 ) developed with ethyl acetate - toluene ( 3 : 1 v / v ). yield : 28 . 8 mg . the nmr spectrum ( cdcl 3 , 100 mhz ) of the product showed the following peaks : ______________________________________ppm______________________________________0 . 7 ( s , 3h ) c - 141 . 7 - 2 . 0 ( m , 10h ) c - 16 , c - 7 , c - 8 , ch . sub . 3 chcl2 . 8 - 3 . 1 ( dd , 2h ) c - 133 . 7 ( d , 1h ) c - 23 . 9 - 4 . 1 ( dd , 2h ) c - 154 . 3 - 4 . 5 ( m , 3h ) c - 3 , c - 4 , c - 114 . 4 - 4 . 6 (( g , 1h ) chclch . sub . 35 . 5 ( d , 1h ) c - 10______________________________________ nmr showed that c - 15 was acylated ( c - 15 protons appeared at 3 . 9 - 4 . 1 ppm ); protons at c - 3 and c - 4 appeared approximately at 4 . 5 ppm indicating that they were not acylated . 3α , 4β , 15 - tribenzoyl - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene ( 1 . 4 g ) was hydrolyzed for 4 . 5 hours in a solution of 230 ml of methanol , 19 ml of concentrated ammonium hydroxide and 31 ml of water . the mixture was concentrated and extracted with benzene ( 3 × 50 ml ). the volume was reduced to 25 - 30 ml which was placed on a silica gel column ( grace , 2 × 49 cm ) and eluted with benzene containing increments of methanol . the fractions were monitored on tlc plates ( sio 2 ) with benzene - methanol ( 188 : 12 v / v ) as developer . spots were visualized with an alkaline permanganate spray . the fraction emerging at 2 % methanol yielded 56 mg of the pure 4β , 15 - dibenzoate ; at 3 % methanol 221 mg of the title compound was obtained . ______________________________________ppm______________________________________0 . 8 ( s , 3h ) c - 141 . 7 ( s , 3h ) c - 162 . 0 ( m , 4h ) c - 7 , c - 82 . 7 - 3 . 0 ( dd , 2h ) c - 133 . 9 - 4 . 3 ( m , 3h ) c - 3 , c - 4 , c - 114 . 0 - 4 . 4 ( m , 2h ) c - 155 . 5 ( d , 1h ) c - 107 . 1 - 8 ( m , 5h ) benzoyl______________________________________ c - 3 and c - 4 protons appeared at 3 . 9 - 4 . 3 ppm indicating that they were not acylated . the starting material , 3α , 4β , 15 - tribenzoyloxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 - ene , in this experiment was prepared by acylating scirpentriol with benzoyl chloride according to the following procedure : to scirpentriol ( 840 mg ) dissolved in 6 ml of pyridine , there was added 1 . 3 g of benzoyl chloride . after 24 hours at room temperature the solution was added to ice . the usual work - up gave a solid which was crystallized from ether - hexane to give 350 mg of 3α , 4β , 15 - tribenzoyloxy - 12 , 13 - epoxytrichothec - 9 , 10 - ene . the nmr spectrum ( cdcl 3 , 100 mhz ) of the product showed the following peaks : ______________________________________ppm______________________________________1 . 05 ( s , 3h ) c - 141 . 75 ( s , 3h ) c - 162 . 10 ( m , 4h ) c - 7 , c - 82 . 95 - 3 . 25 ( dd , 2h ) c - 134 . 2 ( d , 1h ) c - 114 . 5 - 4 . 8 ( m , 2h ) c - 155 . 5 - 5 . 6 ( d , 1h ) c - 105 . 7 ( m , 1h ) c - 36 . 2 ( d , 1h ) c - 47 . 3 - 8 . 2 ( m , 15h ) ( benzoyl ) ______________________________________ the compound contains 3 benzoyl groups ; protons at c - 3 , c - 4 and c - 15 are on carbons bearing acylated hydroxyl groups . a solution containing approximately equimolar amounts of the bis - ester of example 5 and m - chloroperbenzoic acid in ch 2 cl 2 was stirred at room temperature for 72 hours . the resulting solution was washed in succession with 10 % aqueous na 2 so 3 , saturated aqueous nahco 3 and brine . the organic phase was dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure to give the title product , m . p . 83 °- 85 ° c . anal . calc &# 39 ; d . for c 19 h 26 o 7 0 . 5h 2 o : c , 60 . 78 ; h , 7 . 25 . found : c , 60 . 52 ; h , 7 . 25 .	2
the apparatus arrangement shown in fig1 includes a cpap - unit here generally identified by reference numeral 1 and a humidifying apparatus 2 which can be connected thereto in modular relationship . here the cpap - unit 1 has a substantially block - shaped or box - shaped housing 3 which has a front end face 4 , two side faces 5 , 6 which are arranged in pairs in mutually opposite relationship and which are in substantially parallel relationship with each other , and a rear side 7 which is arranged in the rearward region of the housing 3 in relation to the front end face 4 , as well as an upper top face 8 . provided in the region of the front end face 4 is a connecting device 9 which , in the embodiment illustrated here , has a respiratory gas connecting portion 10 , a pressure - measuring tube connecting portion 11 and an electrical connecting device 12 . the respiratory gas connecting portion 10 and the pressure - measuring tube connecting portion 11 are arranged recessed substantially completely in an opening 13 which is only indicated here . the contact elements of an electrical connecting device 12 are also accommodated in an opening or recess so that those connecting members also do not project or do not project substantially beyond a surface defined by the front end face 4 . in the embodiment illustrated here the front end face 4 is of a slightly curved configuration , thereby affording particularly effective assistance in terms of centering the humidifying apparatus 2 . the respiratory gas connecting portion 10 and the pressure - measuring tube connecting portion 11 are oriented in such a way that they extend substantially parallel to the joining direction which is indicated in simplified form by the arrow 14 . in its bottom region the cpap - unit 1 has support or erection members ( here support feet 15 ) which are such that the connecting members of the connecting device 9 are held at a predetermined vertical heightwise level which is matched precisely to the corresponding heightwise level of the connecting members of the humidifying apparatus 2 . the humidifying apparatus 2 includes a base body 16 and a liquid storage container 17 which is accommodated therein . the liquid storage container 17 can be removed from the base housing 16 for example for refilling it with humidifying liquid . the base housing has a connecting surface portion 18 which is of a correspondingly complementary configuration to the front end face 4 of the cpap - unit 1 and in which are disposed the connecting members described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to fig2 . on a side which is in opposite relationship to the connecting surface portion 18 the base housing 16 is again provided with connecting members which in terms of their structure and their arrangement substantially correspond to the connecting device 9 which has already been described with reference to the cpap - unit 1 . in that way it is then possible for the hose connecting plug provided for example for connection to the cpap - unit 1 also to be connected directly to the humidifying apparatus 2 . in that case connection of the pressure - measuring tube is achieved at the same time . the humidifying apparatus 2 also has support feet 20 which provide that the connecting members on the humidifying apparatus in the region of the connecting surface portion 18 are held at a vertical heightwise level which corresponds to that of the connecting device 9 . as can be clearly seen from fig2 the connecting device 9 on the cpap - unit 1 is of a complementary configuration to the connecting device 21 on the humidifying apparatus 2 . as indicated by the arrows 22 the two connecting devices 9 and 21 can be moved into the joined position in relation to each other . particularly effective pre - positioning of the connecting members , in particular the respiratory gas connecting portion 10 and the corresponding counterpart portion 23 , is achieved in this embodiment by the counterpart portion 23 also being centered by the inside wall 24 of the opening 13 . the respiratory gas connecting portion 10 and the counterpart portion 23 on the humidifying apparatus 2 are disposed at exactly the same vertical heightwise level . provided on the output side of the humidifying apparatus is a connecting structure which in terms of its essential dimensions corresponds to the connecting structure provided on the cpap - unit . the respiration tube connecting plug 25 illustrated here can thus be coupled if required directly to the cpap - unit 1 or to the humidifying apparatus 2 . by virtue of a pressure - measuring connecting conduit which is indicated into the humidifying apparatus , a communication is afforded between the pressure - measuring tube 26 and the pressure - measuring tube connecting portion 11 , when the respiration tube connecting plug 25 is connected to the humidifying apparatus 2 . the cpap - apparatus arrangement described hereinbefore with reference to fig1 and 2 can be used as described in the following example of use . it is firstly assumed that the cpap - unit 1 is already set up on a table top , and now the respiratory gas being conveyed by the cpap - unit 1 is to be humidified . for that purpose , as indicated in fig1 , the humidifying apparatus according to the invention is also set up on the table top and is fitted on to the cpap - unit in a joining direction which is parallel to the surface of the table and substantially perpendicular to the front end face of the cpap - unit 1 . when that is done , the connecting devices 9 and 21 which are provided on the cpap - unit 1 and the humidifying apparatus 2 come together in the joining position . in addition , a voltage supply to a heating device provided on the humidifying apparatus 1 is also afforded by way of an electrical connecting device 12 which is only shown in fig1 . as soon as the two connecting devices 9 , 21 have moved completely into the joined position , the two modules are fixed in that joined position by a latching device ( not shown ) so that the humidifying apparatus 2 is reliably coupled to the cpap - unit . the respiratory gas tube which is originally connected directly to the cpap - unit 1 and which has an integrated pressure - measuring conduit can be connected directly to the humidifying apparatus by way of the respiratory gas connecting plug identified by reference numeral 25 in fig2 . that also affords a corresponding coupling between the pressure - measuring tube 26 and the pressure - measuring tube connecting portion 11 provided on the cpap - unit 1 . for the purposes of introducing humidifying water into the liquid storage container 17 , the latter is removed from the base housing 16 of the humidifying apparatus . after the liquid storage container is filled it can be fitted into the base housing 16 again . the cpap - apparatus system formed from two modules which can be laterally coupled , with a refilling unit which can be removed cartridge - like , is now ready for operation . the view in fig3 shows a longitudinal section through an apparatus for humidifying a respiratory gas ( referred to hereinafter as the humidifying apparatus ), in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention . here , the illustrated embodiment of the humidifying apparatus includes a refilling unit 203 which is formed from a trough element 201 and a cup portion 202 coupled thereto and which can be easily removed from a support or installation housing 204 which here is of a multi - part nature . the trough element 201 and the cup portion 202 are coupled together in sealing relationship . the trough element 201 and the cup portion 202 are coupled by way of a sealing structure 206 which , in the embodiment illustrated here , has a first sealing ring 207 and a second sealing ring 208 . the two sealing rings 207 and 208 are accommodated in peripheral grooves provided in a separating element 209 . the separating element 209 has a separating wall 205 which is here of an integral nature . the separating wall 205 separates the internal region of the cup portion 202 from the internal region of the trough element 201 . formed in the cup portion 202 , in conjunction with the separating wall 205 , is a liquid storage space 210 in which initially the predominant part of the liquid provided for humidifying the respiratory gas is stored . formed in the trough element 201 arranged beneath the cup portion 202 is a separate humidifying region in which only a partial amount of the humidifying liquid is accommodated . the level a of the liquid accommodated in the trough element 201 is maintained at a predetermined filling height by way of a quantitative control device . in the course of gradual consumption of the fluid in the trough element 201 , fluid is supplied as a make - up flow successively or continuously from the liquid storage space 210 . a preferred embodiment of a quantitative control device which is provided for that purpose will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to fig3 . here the trough element 201 is of a substantially shell - like nature and has a respiratory gas feed opening 211 and a respiratory gas discharge opening 212 . the respiratory gas which is conveyed by a cpap - unit ( not shown here ) can flow into the trough element 201 by way of the respiratory gas feed opening 211 , according to the respiration activity of a patient . by means of a direction - changing device 213 which is only shown here in simplified form the feed flow of respiratory gas is directed on to the liquid in the trough element 201 . in that situation the respiratory gas supplied thereto is enriched with moisture . the correspondingly humidified respiratory gas can then flow away , by way of the respiratory gas discharge opening 212 . in the embodiment illustrated here the trough element 201 can be heated by means of a heating device 214 . the heating device 214 comprises a heating element which is arranged in the support housing 204 in such a way that the bottom region of the trough element 201 can come into intimate contact therewith . in order to increase the transmission of heat between the fluid in the trough element 201 and the heating device 214 the bottom region 215 of the trough element 201 is formed from a material of high thermal conductivity , for example metal . in the last - mentioned embodiment the above - mentioned bottom region 215 can be formed for example by the insert molding method in the actual main body of the trough element 201 . the trough element 201 is of such a configuration that it can be inserted as an easy fit in self - positioning relationship into the support housing 204 . in that case the respiratory gas feed opening 211 and the respiratory gas discharge opening are aligned with conduits or openings provided in correspondingly complementary manner in the support housing 204 . in the region adjacent to the respiratory gas feed opening 211 the support housing 204 is provided with a connecting portion 216 which , in the embodiment illustrated here , can be fitted directly on to a connecting portion of a cpap - unit , which is of a correspondingly complementary configuration . provided in the immediate proximity of the connecting portion 216 is a further connecting portion 217 which can be coupled to a pressure - detecting connection provided on a cpap - unit . the connecting portion 217 forms part of a conduit system which ultimately communicates with the pressure - measuring connecting portion 218 provided on an opposite side of the humidifying apparatus . in particular a pressure - measuring tube can be connected to that pressure - measuring connection 218 for detecting the pressure in the region of the respiration hose , a gas change valve or possibly also directly in the mask region . beneath the pressure - measuring connecting portion 218 the support housing 204 is provided with a respiration tube connecting portion 219 . the tube connecting members formed at the outlet side on the humidifying apparatus are identical to that of a cpap - unit , in such a way that corresponding connecting tubes or hoses can be optionally connected either directly to the cpap - unit or if necessary , when using the humidifying apparatus , only to the outlet side of the humidifying apparatus 2 . provided beneath the connecting portion identified by reference numeral 216 is a plug connecting device ( not shown here ) by way of which it is possible to make an electrical connection between the heating device 214 and a voltage supply device provided on the cpap - unit . optionally it is also possible for electrical signals , for example pressure - measuring signals , to be transmitted by way of that plug connecting device . the support housing 204 is further provided with a fixing device 220 , by way of which the humidifying apparatus can be mechanically comparatively rigidly coupled to a cpap - unit . a preferred embodiment of a quantitative control device for quantitative metering of the amount of fluid in the trough element 201 will be described hereinafter with reference to fig4 . the liquid storage space 210 and the humidifying region formed in the trough element 201 are separated from each other by way of the separating wall 205 . the fluid stored in the liquid storage space 210 can be passed if required into the humidifying region by way of a fluid conduit device 221 . in this case control of the make - up flow of fluid is implemented by control of the make - up introduction of air into the liquid storage space . in the embodiment illustrated here regulation of the make - up introduction of air is effected by way of a quantitative control conduit device 222 which , similarly to the above - mentioned fluid conduit device 221 , passes vertically through the separating wall 205 . the quantitative control conduit device 222 has a first mouth opening 223 and a second mouth opening 224 . the first mouth opening 223 is arranged at the height of the desired or reference level a . as long as the first mouth opening 223 is closed by the fluid in the trough element 201 , no make - up flow of air can pass into the liquid storage space 210 so that in turn no fluid can flow away out of the liquid storage space 210 by way of the fluid conduit device 221 . as soon as the level a falls below the level of the first mouth opening , a make - up flow of air can pass into the liquid storage space , whereby in turn fluid can pass out of the liquid storage space 210 into the trough element 201 or the separate humidifying region formed therein . the fluid conduit device 221 has a discharge mouth opening 225 which is somewhat below the reference level identified here by the letters a . in the embodiment illustrated here the fluid conduit device 221 , the quantitative control conduit device 222 and the separating wall 205 are formed by an integral member . for the purposes of introducing the liquid into the liquid storage space , it is possible for that integral member to be withdrawn from the cup portion 202 . the cup portion 202 can optionally also be provided with a corresponding refilling opening which can be sealingly closed . the cup portion 202 , the integral member having the separating wall and the trough element can each be cleaned separately . the quantitative control conduit device 222 is of such a design configuration that the second mouth opening 224 provided thereon is above the maximum filling level of the liquid storage space 210 . fig5 is a perspective view of the humidifying apparatus described hereinbefore with reference to fig3 and 4 . the cup portion which is preferably formed from a transparent material can be seen here in the form of a bowl of substantially cylindrical configuration . that bowl is fitted in a receiving portion which is also cylindrical and which is formed in the support housing 204 . in the region of the cup portion 202 the support housing 204 is of such a design configuration that the cup portion can be gripped with one hand . the connecting portion 217 and the pressure - measuring connecting portion 218 which have already been described with reference to fig3 are provided in the region of the rear side 226 of the humidifying apparatus . provided beneath those connecting portions is the fixing device which is identified by reference 220 in fig3 and which can provide particularly rigid coupling of the humidifying apparatus to a corresponding cpap - unit . provided in a receiving recess beneath the connecting portion 216 is an electrical plug connecting arrangement ( not shown here ) for providing an electrical connection for the heating device to the associated cpap - unit . provided in the lateral region of the outer housing are switch members 227 , by way of which it is possible to set on the one hand the temperature of the liquid in the trough element 201 and the switch - on time for the humidifying apparatus . the rear side 226 of the humidifying apparatus is of a configuration corresponding to the front side of a cpap - unit described hereinafter with reference to fig6 a so that the humidifying apparatus can be connected in a modular manner virtually without any intermediate space to the cpap - unit . the cpap - unit shown in fig6 a has a substantially cuboidal housing , in the upper region of which is provided a gripping arrangement 330 , by way of which the cpap - unit can be gripped in an ergonomically advantageous manner . provided in a front end region are connecting members 331 , for the connection of at least one respiration tube or hose . the illustrated embodiment has a respiration hose connecting projection 332 and a pressure - measuring tube connecting projection 333 . the arrangement of those connecting members substantially corresponds to the arrangement of the connecting members 216 and 217 described with reference to fig3 . the connecting members 231 are further of such a configuration that the connecting members 216 , 217 on the humidifying apparatus ( fig3 ) can be directly fitted on or fitted in . also provided in the bottom region of the cpap - unit are engagement structures which can be brought into engagement with engagement portions of a complementary configuration , on the humidifying apparatus . the connecting members 331 are here arranged in recessed relationship in such a way that they do not project beyond an outside surface and in particular a front surface of the housing . fig6 b shows the humidifying apparatus described hereinbefore with reference to fig3 and 5 , viewing on to the front region thereof . the connecting portions 216 and 217 are arranged in recessed relationship , similarly as also in regard to the cpap - unit . the connecting portions are surrounded by a plug - receiving space 234 into which can be inserted a plug preferably formed from a soft material , in particular silicone rubber . the plug - receiving space 234 is preferably of such a nature that a corresponding plug slides both on the respective projection 216 , 217 and also along the wall of the plug - receiving space 234 . the invention is not limited to the embodiments by way of example described hereinbefore . for example it is also possible for the described humidifying apparatus to be integrated directly into a corresponding cpap - unit . it is also possible to fit into the support housing which can be docked in a simple fashion to a cpap - unit , refilling units which deviate in respect of their structure and the humidifying principle involved , from the described humidifying apparatus . it is also possible for the trough element of the humidifying unit to be so designed that it can be connected directly to the cpap - unit , omitting the support or installation housing . the described humidifying apparatus can also be connected to a respiratory gas source , with the interposition of a hose conduit . the refilling unit can also be arranged in the form of a substantially trough - like unit under the cpap - unit . the respiration tube or hose 301 shown in fig7 is provided in its end region with a connecting device 302 which here has a base body 303 formed from an elastomer material , in particular silicone rubber , with two coupling portions 304 , 305 formed therein . the two coupling portions 304 , 305 are formed integrally by mutually parallel tube zones which are of circular cross - section . the inside diameter of the respective tube zone is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the connecting projections which pass into the two tube zones when the plug is connected thereto and in that case is slightly enlarged . formed in the region of the base body , which is towards the hose or tube , is a fixing portion 306 in which the respiration tube 301 is fixed by way of a ring element 307 . the ring element 307 is here also formed from an elastomer material and is secured by adhesive to the outside surface of the respiration tube . an additional tube — here a pressure - measuring tube 308 — is guided in the interior of the respiration tube 301 . the pressure - measuring tube 308 opens into the coupling portion 305 by way of a passage duct 309 formed in the base body 303 . the pressure - measuring tube 308 is secured by adhesive or vulcanisation in the base body 303 . the passage duct 309 is of such a configuration that the pressure - measuring tube 308 is only slightly curved . the angle α between the longitudinal center line of the coupling portion 304 and the longitudinal center line of the passage duct 309 is preferably less than 35 °. the transition of the inside wall of the pressure - measuring tube 309 into the coupling portion 305 is effected here substantially steplessly . a corresponding shoulder 310 is provided at the end of the passage duct 309 , for that purpose . the respiratory gas conduit region 311 formed in the base body 303 in this case also forms a substantially stepless transition into the inner region of the respiration tube 301 . with suitable elasticity of the tubes 301 , 308 , it is possible for them to be passed to the end face 312 of the base body 303 so that the coupling members on the unit side can pass directly into the tubes 301 , 308 . the external configuration of the base body shown in fig7 will be described in still greater detail with reference to fig8 a and 8 b . as can be clearly seen in particular from fig8 a , the coupling portion intended for the connection of the additional tube is arranged at a radial spacing from the respiratory gas conduit coupling portion 304 in a region 314 of the base body 303 , which projects radially outwardly in a nose - like configuration . that provides for effective preliminary positioning of the base body in a recess provided in the unit . that region which extends radially outwardly in a nose - like configuration decreases continuously towards the end of the base body 1 , which is towards the respiration tube . provided in the region of the end towards the tube is a peripheral bead or ridge 315 , by way of which a flow of forces between the hose and the plug structure , which is advantageous from mechanical points of view , is achieved . fig9 , for explanatory purposes , shows a preferred embodiment of a connecting structure on the unit , which connecting structure is of a substantially complementary configuration to the coupling portions 304 , 305 provided in the base body 303 of the plug . the projection portion which is identified here by reference 316 passes into the coupling portion 304 in the joined position of the assembly . the projection portion identified by reference numeral 317 comes into engagement with the coupling portion in the joined position . the two projection portions 316 , 317 are arranged in recessed relationship in a recess 318 . the inside wall which defines the recess 318 , in conjunction with the external contour of the base body 303 shown in fig8 a , provides for pre - positioning thereof . the connecting structural component shown in fig1 includes a respiratory gas conduction device which is here in the form of a tube projection portion 401 . a further tube projection portion 402 is arranged adjacent to that tube projection portion 401 , leaving an intermediate space . the tube projection portion 402 forms a pressure - measuring tube connecting device . the two tube projection portions 401 , 402 are arranged in recessed relationship in a recess 403 . that recess is surrounded by a front cover plate 404 . the cover plate 404 and the wall defining the recess 403 are formed in one piece . in a region remote from the end of the tube projection 401 , which is towards the tube , it opens into a base plate 405 which here forms a cover plate for a labyrinth arrangement . this labyrinth arrangement which is not described in greater detail here forms a prolonged respiratory gas guide path for the absorption of any odors produced by a blowing device . the base plate 405 is coated with a sound - absorbing material , in particular foam , on the rear side which is not visible here . provided in a region between the base plate 405 and the cover plate 404 is a connecting duct 406 , by way of which the interior of the tube projection 402 can be coupled to a pressure transducer arranged on a control board . the connecting structural component is further provided with fixing devices 407 , 408 , by way of which that component can be fixed in a cpap - unit in an easily interchangeable manner . more particularly but not exclusively the conduit devices shown in fig1 a , 11 b and 11 c can be connected to the illustrated connecting structural component . in this respect fig1 a shows a compact plug which is advantageous in terms of handling , from ergonomic points of view , with an integrated pressure - measuring tube passage configuration . fig1 b shows a respiration tube 409 and a pressure - measuring tube 410 which is independent thereof , both of which can be connected without a plug arrangement directly to a corresponding cpap - unit , by way of the connecting structural component according to the invention . fig1 c is a greatly simplified view showing a coupling portion of a humidifying apparatus which can be fitted directly to a cpap - unit by way of the structural component according to the invention . in that case the projection portion identified by reference numeral 411 engages with the tube projection 401 and the bore portion 412 with the tube projection 402 .	0
as illustrated in fig1 the slip case package 20 according to the invention which comprises a slip case 21 having a book 22 inserted therein appears from the outside to be quite similar to conventional slip cases . if desired , the slip case 21 can be wrapped in clear plastic . referring to fig2 in which the book 22 is removed from the slip case 21 leaving a first space 23 , and to fig7 a floppy disk 24 shown in phantom in fig2 is secured in the slip case in a second space 25 ( see fig7 - 9 ) between a first exterior panel 26 of the slip case and a further or interior panel 28 which are attached together . the floppy disk 24 as a result cannot simply be removed from the slip case after the book 22 has been removed and accordingly makes theft of the floppy disk difficult in a retail store environment while a perspective customer is examining the book . the interior panel 28 includes weakened portions 30 , embodied in fig1 by perforations , in an area overlying the floppy disk 24 so as to define part of an at least partially severable section 32 . the perforations 30 define two sides of a generally triangularly - shaped section 32 . however , the perforations 30 can define other figures as shown for example in fig1 - 17 . an opening 34 is provided in the interior panel 28 at a vertex formed by the perforations 30 . this opening 34 defines engageable structure adjacent the vertex which enables the section 32 to be grasped by a finger , as illustrated in fig3 and 4 . to remove the floppy disk 24 from the slip case 21 , the section 32 is grasped as shown in fig3 and a severing force is applied in a direction away from the interior panel 28 to partially sever the section 32 from the panel 28 along the perforations 30 and expose the second space 25 and the floppy disk 34 as illustrated in fig4 and 8 - 9 . the interior panel 28 includes a weakened portion 36 , embodied in fig2 - 4 by perforations , which with perforations 30 , define the three sides of the triangular section 32 . weakened portion 36 may include scoring in place of or in addition to the perforations . the weakened portion 36 facilitates bending of the section 32 away from the interior panel as shown in fig4 . when weakened portion 36 is embodied by perforations , the section 32 can be severed from the interior panel 28 along the perforations 36 as shown in fig5 . in either case , the remaining portion of the interior panel 28 forms with the exterior panel 26 a pocket ( second space 25 ) for the disk 24 . to accomplish this , the weakened portions are disposed so as to leave enough of the interior panel 28 unsevered to hold the disk between the interior and exterior panels after severing section 32 . the section 32 includes further weakened portions 38 , also embodied in fig4 by perforations , which facilitate bending , rolling or severing of the section 32 within the relatively confined first space 23 contained in the interior of the slip case 21 as the section 32 is being severed from the interior panel 28 . weakened portions 38 may include scoring in place of or in addition to the perforations . the opening 34 in interior panel 28 is disposed spaced from the entrance 39 of the slip case so that the section 32 must be severed along substantial parts of weakened portions 30 before the floppy disk 24 can be removed from the slip case 21 . this prevents a prospective purchaser from simply severing section 32 adjacent the entrance 39 which would permit easier removal of the floppy disk 24 . referring now to fig1 , a one - piece cardboard blank 40 is depicted from which the slip case 21 is fabricated . materials other than cardboard may also be used , for example other types of paperboard , plastic materials , etc . the blank 40 , which is made from a unitary , integral sheet of material by die cutting , includes first weakened portions referred generally by 42 which are embodied in fig1 by scoring . the scoring 42 extends to form four main exterior panels 44 , 26 , 45 , and 46 , and the further or interior panel 28 . main panel 44 includes a section 47 defined by a weakened portion 48 embodied in fig1 by scoring which facilitates bending of section 47 so that it can be overlayed the edge portion of panel 46 and adhered thereto when the blank is erected into the slip case . when the blank 40 is assembled into the slip case 21 , the four main exterior panels 44 , 26 , 45 and 46 define four sides of a rectangular prismatic enclosure forming first space 23 , i . e ., these four main panels form four exterior sides of the slip case 21 . scoring 42a - d facilitates folding of the blank 40 into the slip case 21 . scoring 42a facilitates folding of the further or interior panel 28 into a facing relationship with the first main exterior panel 26 to define a relatively narrow space 25 ( fig7 ) therebetween which can accommodate a relatively flat recorded product such as the floppy disk 24 . the blank 40 also includes flaps or panels 50 , 51 , 52 and 53 disposed adjacent main panels 44 , 26 , 45 and 46 , respectively , with scoring 42b extending between respective main panels and flaps to facilitate folding of flaps 50 - 53 into a fifth side 55 of the slip case 21 ( fig2 ). adjacent flaps 50 - 53 are slit at 56 to enable these flaps to be individually folded into the fifth end 55 . the blank 40 further includes flaps or panels 57 , 58 and 59 disposed adjacent main exterior panels 44 , 45 and 46 , respectively , with scoring 42a extending not only between panels 26 and 28 but also between flaps 57 and main panel 44 , flap 58 and main panel 45 , and flap 59 and main panel 46 . triangular slits 60 are provided adjacent flaps 57 , 58 and 59 to enable these flaps to be individually bent . scoring 42a facilitates folding of flaps 57 , 58 and 59 into a facing relationship with main panels 44 , 45 and 46 , respectively , so that these flaps can be adhered to respective main panels , to make portions of the sides of the slip case 21 of double wall thickness to reinforce the main exterior panels adjacent the entrance 39 to the slip case 21 . the further or interior panel 28 includes a flap 66 extending between scoring 42a and perforations 36 which is adhered to main panel 26 so that the portion of the side formed by main panel 26 adjacent the entrance 39 is also of double wall thickness and accordingly reinforced . the embodiment of the interior panel 28 shown in fig1 includes the generally triangularly - shaped section 32 and opening 34 described in connection with fig1 - 6 . panel 28 also includes a flap 70 disposed at the edge of the panel 28 opposite from flap 66 defined by a weakened portion 72 , embodied in fig1 by scoring , which facilitates folding of flap 70 . flap 70 is adhered to one or more of flaps 50 - 53 to close off the second space 25 for the disk and form part of the fifth side 55 of the slip case 21 ( see fig1 ). sheet material for blank 40 can be conventionally printed and die cut on conventional platen or rotary die cutters as are used to make folding cartons to form printed blanks . printing of the sheet material from which the blank 40 is formed can be accomplished by letter press , lithography , gravure or flexography as well as other printing processes . adhesive can be used to affix or adhere parts of the blank as described above and can be applied conventionally on right angle carton gluers as in adhering folding cartons . the one - piece blank 40 ( die cut and preprinted ) is assembled into the slip case 21 as follows ( not necessarily in the order described ). a suitable adhesive or glue is applied to flaps 57 , 66 , 58 and 59 ( and / or to portions of main panels 44 , 26 , 45 and 46 adjacent the respective flap ). adhesive is also applied to section 47 of main panel 44 ( and / or to the free edge of main panel 46 ). adhesive is also applied to some or all of flaps 50 - 53 and flap 70 , or parts thereof , so they can be adhered together and formed into the fifth side 55 of the slip case . the flaps 57 , 58 and 59 are folded onto the main panels 44 , 45 and 46 to adhere these flaps to the main panels , and the interior panel 28 is folded onto the exterior panel 26 and flap 66 adhered to panel 26 . the blank is folded into a rectangular prismatic configuration and flap 47 adhered to the edge of panel 46 . the slip case 21 now has the configuration depicted in fig1 in which the flaps 50 - 53 and flap 70 are free and not as yet adhered to form the fifth side 55 of the slip case . as a result , the second space 23 between the interior panel 28 and the exterior panel 26 is accessible so that the floppy disk 24 can be inserted therein , as illustrated in fig1 . after the floppy disk 24 has been inserted into space 23 so that it underlies the section 32 of interior panel 28 as depicted in fig1 , the fifth side 55 of the slip case is formed by first folding the flap 70 , as depicted in fig1 , followed by folding of the flaps 50 and 52 , followed by folding of the flaps 53 and 51 , with all or some of the contacting surfaces of flaps 50 - 53 and 70 being adhered together . the flaps 50 - 53 and 70 can be folded in other orders and printing on the flaps will take into consideration the order in which the flaps are to be folded . in the partially assembled configuration of the slip case 21 depicted in fig1 , with the floppy disk 24 either not yet inserted or fully inserted , the slip case 21 may be folded flat so that it may be shipped flat to an assembly point where the slip case is fully erected and the book 22 and the floppy disk 24 , if it was not inserted earlier , are assembled into the slip case . referring to fig1 through 17 , alternate embodiments of slip cases are depicted in which the severable section has modified configurations . as in the embodiment of fig1 - 6 , severing of the severable section from the interior panel in the embodiment of fig1 - 17 leaves enough of the interior panel to form a pocket for the disk . in the slip case 21 depicted in fig1 , the severable section 32a is in the form of a narrow strip defined by weakened portions 80 ( perforations ) disposed in the interior panel 28a adjacent the entrance 39 . an opening 34a is disposed at one end of the strip 32a to enable the strip to be grasped and torn to provide an elongated opening through which the floppy disk can be removed . the elongated strip 32a preferably includes weakened portions 82 to enable it to be bent or rolled as it is being severed . in the slip case 21b depicted in fig1 , weakened portions 86 , 87 ( perforations ) define two approximately equally spaced intersecting lines . the intersecting lines 86 - 87 define four parts 89 - 92 of the section 32b , with parts of adjacent intersecting lines defining two sides of a triangle . an opening 34b is disposed at the intersection of the lines 86 and 87 to enable one &# 39 ; s finger to be inserted therein for partially severing each of the parts 89 - 92 relative to the section 32b and to each other . a weakened portion 93 can be provided between each of the section parts 89 - 92 and the remainder of the interior panel 28 to facilitate bending of each part of section 32b and / or severing of an entire part or parts from the panel 28 . in the embodiment of fig1 , when all parts 89 - 92 are bent or removed , a rectangularly - shaped opening is provided into the second space 25 in which the floppy disk is retained . in the slip case 21c depicted in fig1 , weakened portions 95 ( perforations ) define three sides of a generally rectangular section 32c . another weakened portion 96 ( perforations ) can be provided to define the fourth side of the section . an opening 34c is disposed at one of the sides of the section , preferably the side spaced more distantly from the entrance 39 to the slip case . positioning the opening 34c away from the entrance to the slip case makes severing of the section 34c from the slip case more difficult . in the slip case 21d depicted in fig1 , the section 32d is similar to section 32c and includes weakened portions 97 ( perforations ) which facilitate bending of section 32d as it is being severed from the interior panel . in the slip case 21e depicted in fig1 , weakened portions 99 ( perforations ) define a generally rectangular or somewhat elliptical section 32e , and an opening 34e is disposed at a location of the perforations away from the entrance 39 to the slip case 21e . as in fig1 , the section 32e can be provided with weakened portions ( not shown ) to facilitate bending of the section 32e during severing . certain changes and modifications of the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , the severable section may have shapes other than those specifically described herein and the weakened portions may be embodied by means other than perforations and / or scoring . in addition , parts of the severable section other than those specifically described herein may be bent , folded or severed . also , the slip case itself may have configurations other than those specifically described herein . moreover , the slip case may be fabricated in ways other than those specifically described herein and the blank itself can be made in ways other than those specifically described herein . as to the contents of the package , the slip case may be used to house many different types of sheet material and generally flat products . it is the applicant &# 39 ; s intention to cover by the claims all such uses of the invention and all those changes and modifications which could be made to the embodiments of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	1
in this invention , the selection of dyes which can make up for the color fading of other dyes by their change of the hue , for example , can be carried out as follows : as a method evaluating the color change and fading of dyed products with respect to each dye , a visual evaluation by means of a gray scale for the color change and fading as provided by jis - l0804 is usually employed . furthermore , as a quantitative evaluation method , there is a computer color matching method ( hereinafter referred to as ccm ) as described in the japanese patent application ( opi ) no . 191522 / 82 ( the term &# 34 ; opi &# 34 ; as used herein refers to a &# 34 ; published unexamined japanese patent application open to public inspection &# 34 ;). this method evaluates both an exposed area and non - exposed area . that is , for example , in the case that the dye has a blue color , the color change after the exposure is represented by the color change to yellow and red , and each degree is calculated by the following equation : ## equ1 ## also , the degree of color fading of blue component is calculated by the following equation : ## equ2 ## thus , the color change and color fading after the exposure in light resistance test can be predicted from the color change ( ratio ) and color fading ( ratio ) of each dye obtained , and it is possible in the combination dyeing to combine dyes which can make up for the color fading of other dyes by the color change thereof . the method of this invention is advantageous to dye polyester fiber house interior materials or car interior materials which are required to have a superior light fastness . in the case of dyeing such polyester fibers , for example , the following examples of the three primary colors selected by the above method can be illustrated as combinations of compounded disperse dyes . that is , as blue disperse dyes , an anthraquinone dye represented by the general formula ( 1 ): ## str1 ## wherein x 1 is a halogen atom or a hydrogen atom , and one of z 1 and z 2 is a nitro group and the other is a hydroxy group , and an anthraquinone dye represented by the following formula ( 2 ): ## str2 ## wherein one of y 1 and y 2 is an amino group and the other is a hydroxy group , x 2 is a halogen atom , and n is an integer of from 0 to 3 , can be combined . as yellow disperse dyes , at least one dye selected from the anthraquinone dyes represented by the general formulae ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ): ## str3 ## wherein r 1 is an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a phenyl group ; x 3 is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom ; y 3 and y 4 are each a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom ; r 2 is a hydrogen atom or an alkoxycarbonyl group ; the ring a may be a naphthalene ring ; and x 4 is a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms , or an alkoxy group having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms , or a mixed dye of at least one selected from anthraquinone dyes of the general formulae ( 3 ), ( 4 ), and ( 5 ) and a dye represented by the general formula ( 6 ): ## str4 ## wherein x 5 and x 6 are each a halogen atom , r 3 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , or a methyl group , and r 4 is a cyanoethyl group , an acetoxyethyl group , a benzoyloxyethyl group , or a phenoxyethyl group , can be employed . as red disperse dyes , anthraquinone dyes represented by the general formulae ( 7 ) and / or ( 8 ): ## str5 ## wherein r 5 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group , in which examples of the substituent include a phenoxy or phenyl group which may be substituted with a hydroxy group or a halogen atom ; r 6 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a substituted or unsubstituted alkoxy group , a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group , an alkyl - substituted aminosulfonyl group , or an acyloxy group which examples of the substituent for the alkoxy group include an acetyl group , a carboalkoxy group , a phenylalkyl group , a phenoxyalkyl group , and a cyano group , and examples of the substituent for the alkyl group include a carboalkoxy group and a lactam group ; and r 7 is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group can be used . in this invention , the dyes stated above can be properly used , however , suitable schemes of combination of dyes are as follows : a combination of the dye of the general formula ( 1 ) with the dye of the general formula ( 2 ) can be used as a blue disperse dye . in compliance with a desired hue , a combination of dyes of the general formulae ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) with at least one selected from yellow disperse dyes , i . e ., the dyes of the general formulae ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ), or with a mixed dye of at least one selected from dyes of the general formulae ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) and the dye of the general formula ( 6 ) can be employed as a compounded dye having two primary colors . further , as a compounded dye having two primary colors , a combination of the dyes of the general formulae ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) with red disperse dyes , i . e ., dyes of the general formulae ( 7 ) and / or ( 8 ) can be used . as a compounded dye with three primary colors , a combination of the blue disperse dye with the yellow disperse dye and the red disperse dye above can be employed . to perform dyeing in a combination of these two or three primary colors , the dyes can be added to a dyeing bath individually , or prior to the dyeing , a dye composition having two or three primary colors is prepared , and the dye composition can be added to a dyeing bath . a combination ratio of 5 to 95 % by weight of each one primary color dye to the weight of the dye composition can be employed . if the dyeing is performed in a combination of the three primary color components selected from the dyes of the general formulae ( 1 ) and ( 3 ), ( 4 ) or ( 5 ), and ( 7 ), the light fastness of the dyed product is superior in blue hue , but in red hue such as beige , brown , or crimson , the color fading of red component is prominent and it is difficult to obtain a sufficient light fastness . however , by combining a proper quantity of the compound of the general formula ( 2 ) with the compound of the general formula ( 1 ) as a blue component , the light fastness which is insufficient in red hue up to now as stated above , is extremely improved . this fact shows that color shade of dyed material with the compound of the general formula ( 2 ) used changes to a reddish color by exposure for a long period of time at 83 ° c . to make up for the color fading of red component and the color fading proceeds keeping a ratio of the three primary color components nearly same . thus , the color change after the exposure is little and , apparently , an extremely superior light fastness can be obtained . a combination ratio of the compounds of the general formulae ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) used as the blue component is not specially limited , but a preferable ratio of the dyes of the general formulae ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) is from 20 : 80 to 95 : 5 . similar to the blue component , with respect to the yellow component , by combining the compound of the general formula ( 6 ) with at least one of the compound of the general formulae ( 3 ), ( 4 ) and ( 5 ), color shade of dyed material with the compound of the general formula ( 6 ) changes to a reddish color to make up for the color fading of the red component , and a harmony of the color fading in the blue and red components can be maintained . also , with regard to the red component , by combining the compound of the general formula ( 8 ) with the compound of the general formula ( 7 ), color shade of dyed material with the compound of the general formula ( 8 ) becomes more bluish color and can make up for the color fading of the blue component . as can be seen , by making up for the color fading of some dye by the color change of other dye , a component ratio of the three primary colors is kept nearly the same before or after the exposure in the light resistance test , and the lowering of the color density can be minimized after the exposure . thus , an extremely superior light fastness can be obtained . in the dyeing of polyester fibers , by using an ultraviolet light absorber jointly , dyed products having a more superior light fastness can be obtained . examples of the ultraviolet light absorber used in this invention include 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxyphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 39 ;- methylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 39 ;- ethylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 3 &# 39 ;- tert - butyl - 5 &# 39 ;- methylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 3 &# 39 ;, 5 &# 39 ;- di - tert - butylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- dihydroxyphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 39 ;- propylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 39 ;- methoxyphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 39 ;- ethoxyphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 4 &# 39 ;- propoxyphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 5 &# 39 ;- methylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 5 &# 39 ;- ethylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , and 2 -( 2 &# 39 ;- hydroxy - 5 &# 39 ;- propylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole . these compounds may be used alone or in mixture . the addition amount thereof is not specially limited but preferably is from 0 . 5 to 5 % to weight of a material to be dyed . in this invention , the dyeing per se can be carried out according to known methods . in the case of dyeing polyester fibers , firstly disperse dyes in an amount required to obtain a desired hue and if desired , an ultraviolet light absorber are added to a dyeing bath , and the ph of the dyeing bath is adjusted at 4 to 5 by the addition of a ph buffer aqueous solution comprising acetic acid or acetic acid and sodium acetate . if desired , proper amounts of a metal ion blockading agent and a leveling agent are added to the dyeing bath , and the material to be dyed is then put in the dyeing bath . the dyeing bath is heated with stirring ( for example , at a rate of 1 ° to 3 ° c . per minute ), and the dyeing is performed at a prescribed temperature of 100 ° c . and over ( for example , 110 ° to 135 ° c .) for 30 to 60 minutes . the dyeing time may be shortened by the condition of the dyeing . after the dyeing , the dyed material is cooled and washed with water and if desired treated by reduction cleaning , washed with water , and then dried to complete the finishing . specifically , the method of this invention is advantageous to dip dyeing . this invention will now be explained in more detail by reference to the following examples , and the term &# 34 ; part &# 34 ; means weight part and the term &# 34 ;%&# 34 ; means weight percent . a dyeing bath was prepared from 1 , 000 parts of a dye dispersion comprising 0 . 9 part of a yellow dye represented by the following formula ( 9 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str6 ## 0 . 9 part of a yellowish orange dye represented by the following formula ( 10 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str7 ## 2 . 5 parts of a red dye represented by the following formula ( 11 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str8 ## 1 . 35 parts of a blue dye represented by the following formula ( 12 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str9 ## and 0 . 65 part of a blue dye represented by the following formula ( 13 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str10 ## ( a mixture of the compounds wherein one of x and y is an amino group , and the other is a hydroxy group ), and the ph of the dyeing bath was adjusted at 5 by the addition of acetic acid and sodium acetate . 100 parts of a polyester fiber - raised fabric was put in the dyeing bath , the temperature of the dyeing bath was elevated from 60 ° c . to 130 ° c . at a rate of 1 ° c . per minute , and the dyeing was conducted at 130 ° c . for 60 minutes . the dyed fabric was treated by reduction cleaning by usual manners and dried . the dyed product thus obtained had a dark brown color . as comparative example 1 , a dark brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was changed to 1 . 35 parts . as comparative example 2 , a brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ) was changed to 2 . 7 parts . each of the dyed products obtained was backed with a urethane foam and irradiated for 600 hours by means of a fademeter ( temperature of black panel : 83 ° c . ), and then was evaluated for color change and fading by means of a gray scale . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . as is shown in table 1 , the light fastness of the dyed product in example 1 was extremely superior as compared with that of the dyed products in comparative examples 1 and 2 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) formula ( 9 ) formula ( 10 ) formula ( 11 ) formula ( 12 ) formula ( 13 ) light ( yellow ) ( yellowish orange ) ( red ) ( blue ) ( blue ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 1 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 1 . 35 0 . 65 grade 3 - 4comparative 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 -- 1 . 35 grade 2example 1comparative 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 2 . 7 -- grade 2 - 3example 2__________________________________________________________________________ a dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the dyes of the formulae ( 9 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) were used with the formulation shown in table 2 . as comparative example 3 , a dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 2 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was not used . the dyed products obtained in example 2 and comparative example 3 were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 2 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) light hue formula ( 9 ) formula ( 11 ) formula ( 12 ) formula ( 13 ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 2 ivory 0 . 09 0 . 17 0 . 4 0 . 1 grade 3 - 4comparative ivory 0 . 09 0 . 17 0 . 6 -- grade 2 - 3example 3__________________________________________________________________________ dyed products were obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that a red dye represented by the following formula ( 14 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str11 ## was added to the dyes of the formulae ( 9 ), ( 10 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) and these dyes were used with the formulations shown in table 3 . as comparative examples 4 to 6 , dyed products were obtained in the same manner as in example 3 or 4 except that the dyes of the formulae ( 10 ) and ( 13 ) were not used ( comparative example 4 ), the dyes of the formulae ( 10 ), ( 12 ) and ( 14 ) were not used ( comparative example 5 ), and the dyes of the formulae ( 10 ), ( 13 ) and ( 14 ) were not used ( comparative example 6 ), respectively . the dyed products in examples 3 and 4 and comparative examples 4 to 6 were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 3 . table 3__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) formula formula formula formula formula formula light hue ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 ) ( 12 ) ( 13 ) ( 14 ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 3 crimson 0 . 45 0 . 45 1 . 5 0 . 36 0 . 18 1 . 5 grade 3 - 4comparative crimson 0 . 9 -- 1 . 5 0 . 72 -- 1 . 5 grade 2 - 3example 4comparative crimson 0 . 9 -- 3 . 0 -- 0 . 36 -- grade 2example 5example 4 dark blue 0 . 25 0 . 25 0 . 45 1 . 35 0 . 65 0 . 45 grade 3 - 4comparative dark blue 0 . 5 -- 0 . 9 2 . 5 -- -- grade 2example 6__________________________________________________________________________ dyed products were obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that 2 parts of an ultraviolet light absorber represented by the following formula ( 15 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 40 % of the ultraviolet light absorber , 20 % of an anionic surfactant , and 40 % of water ): ## str12 ## was added to the dyes of the formulae ( 9 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) and the formulation was changed as shown in table 4 . as comparative examples 7 to 9 , dyed products were obtained in the same manner as in example 5 or 6 except that the dye of the formula ( 13 ) and the ultraviolet light absorber of the formula ( 15 ) were not used ( comparative examples 7 and 9 ) and the ultraviolet light absorber of the formula ( 15 ) was not used ( comparative example 8 ), respectively . the dyed products obtained in examples 5 and 6 and comparative examples 7 to 9 were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results are shown in table 4 . table 4__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) formula formula formula formula formula light hue ( 9 ) ( 11 ) ( 12 ) ( 13 ) ( 15 ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 5 gray 0 . 12 0 . 2 0 . 4 0 . 1 2 . 0 grade 4comparative gray 0 . 12 0 . 2 0 . 6 -- -- grade 2 - 3example 7example 6 beige 0 . 4 0 . 21 0 . 2 0 . 1 2 . 0 grade 4comparative beige 0 . 4 0 . 21 0 . 2 0 . 1 -- grade 3 - 4example 8comparative beige 0 . 4 0 . 21 0 . 3 -- -- grade 2 - 3example 9__________________________________________________________________________ crimson - dyed products were obtained in the same manner as in example 3 except that each of dyes shown in table 5 was used in place of the dye of the formula ( 10 ). the dyed products were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 5 . table 5______________________________________ lightdyes used in place of fast - dye of formula ( 10 ) ness______________________________________ex - am - ple 7 ## str13 ## grade 3 - 4ex - am - ple 8 ## str14 ## grade 3 - 4ex - am - ple 9 ## str15 ## grade 3 - 4ex - am - ple 10 ## str16 ## grade 3 - 4______________________________________ crimson - dyed products were obtained in the same manner as in example 3 except that each of dyes shown in table 6 was used in place of the dye of the formula ( 14 ). the dyed products were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 6 . table 6______________________________________ lightdyes used in place of fast - dye of formula ( 14 ) ness______________________________________exam - ple 11 ## str17 ## grade3 - 4exam - ple 12 ## str18 ## grade3 - 4exam - ple 13 ## str19 ## grade3 - 4exam - ple 14 ## str20 ## grade3 - 4exam - ple 15 ## str21 ## grade3 - 4exam - ple 16 ## str22 ## grade3 - 4exam - ple 17 ## str23 ## grade3 - 4______________________________________ by using a disperse dye composed of the same amounts of the dyes of the formulae ( 10 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) as used in example 1 , 0 . 9 part of a yellow dye of the following formula ( 16 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str24 ## the dyeing was conducted , followed by reduction cleaning and then drying in the same manner as in example 1 . the dyed product thus obtained had a dark brown color . as comparative example 10 , a dark brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 18 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was changed to 1 . 35 parts . as comparative example 11 , a brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 18 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ) was changed to 2 . 7 parts . the dyed products were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 7 . table 7__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) formula ( 16 ) formula ( 10 ) formula ( 11 ) formula ( 12 ) formula ( 13 ) light ( yellow ) ( yellowish orange ) ( red ) ( blue ) ( blue ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 18 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 1 . 35 0 . 65 grade 3 - 4comparative 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 -- 1 . 35 grade 2 - 3example 10comparative 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 2 . 7 -- grade 2 - 3example 11__________________________________________________________________________ by using a disperse dye composed of the same amounts of the dyes of the formulae ( 10 ), ( 11 ), ( 12 ), and ( 13 ) as used in example 1 , 0 . 4 part of a yellow dye of the following formula ( 17 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str25 ## the dyeing was conducted , followed by reduction cleaning and then drying in the same manner as in example 1 . the dyed product thus obtained had a dark brown color . as comparative example 12 , a dark brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 19 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was changed to 1 . 35 parts . as comparative example 13 , a dark brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 19 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ) was changed to 2 . 7 parts . the dyed products were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 . the results obtained are shown in table 8 . table 8__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) formula ( 17 ) formula ( 10 ) formula ( 11 ) formula ( 12 ) formula ( 13 ) light ( yellow ) ( yellowish orange ) ( red ) ( blue ) ( blue ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 19 0 . 4 0 . 9 2 . 5 1 . 35 0 . 65 grade 3 - 4comparative 0 . 4 0 . 9 2 . 5 -- 1 . 35 grade 2 - 3example 12comparative 0 . 4 0 . 9 2 . 5 2 . 7 -- grade 2 - 3example 13__________________________________________________________________________ a dark brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that 0 . 8 part of a blue dye represented by the following formula ( 18 ) ( prepared by finely granulating a mixture of 30 % of the dye bulk and 70 % of an anionic surfactant and drying ): ## str26 ## was used in place of 1 . 35 parts of the blue dye of the formula ( 12 ). as comparative example 14 , a dark brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 20 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 18 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was changed to 1 . 4 parts . as comparative example 15 , a brown dyed product was obtained in the same manner as in example 20 except that the blue dye of the formula ( 13 ) was not used and the amount of the blue dye of the formula ( 18 ) was changed to 1 . 4 parts . the dyed products were evaluated in the same manner as in example 1 except that the irradiation time was changed to 400 hours . the results obtained are shown in table 9 . table 9__________________________________________________________________________ formulation of compounded dye ( part ) formula formula formula formula formula light hue ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 ) ( 13 ) ( 18 ) fastness__________________________________________________________________________example 20 dark brown 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 0 . 65 0 . 8 grade 4comparative dark brown 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 1 . 4 -- grade 3example 14comparative dark brown 0 . 9 0 . 9 2 . 5 -- 1 . 4 grade 2 - 3example 15__________________________________________________________________________ while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof .	8
fig1 a is a cross sectional schematic drawing illustrating some basic components for a floor plate including a plate structure 1 comprising two rail members 2 in between which a plate element 3 is provided . in order to support the plate element 3 , a support profile 4 is attached to the underside of the plate element 3 . fig1 b illustrates in greater detail a cross section of the support profile 4 . it is largely of rectangular cross section with an upper side 5 , sides 6 and an underside 7 . the upper side 5 is provided with a recess 8 for accommodating glue for fastening the support profile to the plate element . the recess is provided with a corrugated or otherwise rough surface . the underside 7 is provided with a corrugated surface 11 or otherwise rough surface in order to have an improved grip on the glue used for fastening the support profile as part of a floor plate to the bottom of the interior space of a vehicle . the support profile 4 is provided with two circular partly - open channels 9 , which are used as bushings for accommodating the threads of screws in a fastening manner . the channels 9 have a partly - open region 10 to the side of the partly - open channel 9 over an angular interval of 60 degrees in order not to brake when screws are screwed into the partly - open channels 9 but , on the other hand , to be sufficiently stable to let the threads of the screw be fastened in the channel . these partly - open channels 9 are used for fastening a straight , rigid profile as an end - profile to the plate structure 1 , therewith providing lateral stability to the floor plate 32 , which will be explained in greater detail below . in order to increase the grip , the partly - open channels 9 are provided with a plurality of ribs 39 . fig1 c shows the rail member 2 is greater detail . the rail member 2 has an underside 12 provided with a corrugated surface 13 or otherwise rough surface in order to have an improved grip on the glue used for fastening the rail member 2 as part of a floor plate to the bottom of the interior space of a vehicle . between the sides 14 of the rail member 2 , three chambers are provided , a central chamber 15 and two side chambers 16 , each chamber having a partly - open channel 9 for accommodating the winding of a screw . on the upper side , the rail member is provided with a two parallel rails 17 with a substantially flat upper surface 18 and forming an elongated slot 19 there in between . each rail 17 comprises a flange 20 that extends in a direction laterally away from the slot 19 . each of these two flanges 20 are part of a groove 21 formed largely by the upper side 22 of a side chamber 15 the outer side of the rail 17 and the flanges 20 that extend laterally from the rail 17 . this groove is used for accommodating the plate element , as seen in fig1 a . inside the groove 21 , an end stop 23 is provided for the plate , defining the depth into which the edge region 24 ( see fig1 a ) of a properly dimensioned plate element 3 can be pushed under normal circumstances . further , an upper protrusion 25 is provided , the protrusion 25 pointing downwards from the lateral flange 17 and defines thereby a distance between the protrusion 26 and the upper side of the side chamber 17 ; this distance corresponds to the thickness of the plate element that fits best into the groove 21 for stable conditions . the side chambers 16 are each provided with a recess 27 on their upper side 22 for accommodating glue for fastening the plate element 3 to the upper side 22 of the side chamber 16 . the recess 27 in the side chambers and / or the recess 8 in the support profile are also provided with a corrugated or otherwise rough surface . such recesses yield a larger surface area resulting in better attachment strength with the glue . however , these recesses could be smooth , alternatively . in order to increase the grip , the partly - open channels 9 are provided with a plurality of ribs 39 . when a properly dimensioned plate element 3 is provided in the groove 21 , as illustrated in fig1 a , a further hollow 26 , extending from the end stop 23 to the protrusion 25 around the edge 24 of the plate element 3 , is used for accommodating glue around the edge 24 of the plate element 3 . between the two rails 17 , below the slot 19 , a cavity 28 is provided with access to the cavity 28 from above through the slot 19 , which is narrower than the cavity 28 . different types of fasteners can be used in connection with such cavity in order to fasten seats rail member 2 . for example , a bar with threaded screw holes can be used inside the cavity for fastening of seat supports , if the seat supports are provided with bolts to be screwed into the threaded screw holes . fastening the screws or bolts would urge the bar towards the underside of the rails 17 inside the cavity . alternatively , a bar with a number of bolts extending from the bar can be inserted into the cavity to cooperate with corresponding screw holes and nuts . the advantage of such systems is that loosening of the screws / bolts allows a seat support , while still loosely fastened to the bar , to be freely pushed along the rail 17 and then finally tightly fastened to the rails 17 by tightening the screws that extend into the cavity 28 . the cavity 28 is shown as rhombic but could have other shapes , for example , rectangular or oval . alternatively , inserts can be inserted into the cavity , the inserts having a shape that is largely as an inverted t fitting into the cavity . examples are shown in the above mentioned european patent application ep1028885 . a further alternative is a dovetail insert , where two dove tail parts as forces apart and toward the sides of the slot 19 , for example , as illustrated in european patent application ep1034969 . an alternative possibility for fastening is illustrated in fig3 b , where the rails 17 are provided with corrugations 29 such that the slot 19 repeatedly alternates between narrow and wide areas . this allow insertion of an insert through the wide part of the slot 19 and prevents escaping of the insert from the cavity 28 if the insert is pushed half a period of the corrugations 29 and then fastened , for example , if the insert has a shape largely of an inverted t . this is helpful for quick fastening and release of a chair . the latter is desired in case that high flexibility is desired with respect to moving of seats in a vehicle , especially when the vehicle is periodically being used for transport of wheel chairs , for which the ordinary seats have to be removed or displaced . different cross sectional shapes can be used for the cavity and the inserts , where the main principle is a cavity 28 with a narrowing slot 19 for withholding an insert having dimensions fitting into the cavity 28 but larger than smallest width of the slot 19 . once a plurality of rail members 2 , plate elements 3 and support profiles 4 have been cut into the correct dimensions according to the desired shape for the bottom of the vehicle , and the components as shown in fig1 have been assembled into a plate structure 1 as shown in fig3 a , for example , there is still a need for providing structural stability if the final floor plate has to be lifted into the vehicle . for this reason , the edges 30 a , 30 b at the two ends of the plate structure 1 with the rail members 2 and support profiles 4 and the plate elements 3 are provided with a stabilizing straight , rigid profile 31 . this is illustrated in fig2 b , which is a side view of the floor plate 32 comprising the plate structure and the straight , rigid profiles 31 with a viewing direction perpendicular to the rails 17 . fig2 a shows an enlarged cross section of the straight , rigid profile 31 . the straight , rigid profile comprises two flanges 33 , 34 ( an upper flange and a lower flange ) extending on one side so as to form a concavity as a horizontal u - shape . the distance between the flanges 33 , 34 corresponds to the height of the plate structure 1 , for example , 10 to 20 mm , or 20 to 40 mm , or 25 to 35 mm , or 40 - 60 mm , or 60 - 80 mm . the first , upper flange 33 of the two flanges abuts the plate elements 3 on the upper side of the plate structure 1 and the second , lower flange 34 abuts the underside 7 of the support profiles 4 and the underside 12 of the rail members 2 . the straight , rigid profile 31 further comprises an inclined flange 35 onto which a ramp profile can be mounted with a flat upper side . such ramp profile along the straight , rigid profile 31 extends in an inclined angle from the upper side of the floor plate for providing a smooth inclined ramp in the vehicle to the upper side of the floor plate . in fig3 b , it is shown that the rails 17 are shorter than the rail member 2 itself in order for the straight , rigid profile 31 to extend across the rail members 31 and to abut the plate elements 3 on the upper side 37 of the plate structure 1 . the plate element 3 is covered with a cover material 38 , typically a carpet / textile or polymer sheet , such as vinyl . this is illustrated in greater detail on fig3 c , showing a part of the rail member 17 and the plate elements 3 on either side of the rail member 17 . as shown , the protrusion 25 , which forms part of the groove for the plate element 3 functions as an end stop for the cover material 38 . during the assembly phase , the plate elements 3 , optionally , are already provided with such cover material 38 . this eases assembly as compared to covering the floor plate with the cover material after assembly , especially when tapes with glue on both sides are used for the mounting of the cover material , because such tapes makes it difficult to push such carpets under the lateral side flange 20 against the end stop 25 . similar problems exist on other prior art systems , for example , the system of european patent application ep1028885 , such that the invention with the covering of the plate elements before assembly solves a further general problem . especially , in the case of the floor plate being delivered to a customer for point - of - use assembly , such pre - covering of the plate elements 3 before assembly is a great advantage . for sake of illustration , it is pointed out that the embodiment in fig3 c differs slightly from the embodiment of fig1 in that the recesses 27 in the side chambers 16 do not have a corrugated or rough surface , but are smooth , and the partly open channels 9 are not provided with internal ribs . for example , the plate element 3 is a plywood plank or a polymer plank that has been cut into the correct width according to specific demands for distances between the rail members . as illustrated , the sides of two parallel rail members 2 that are facing each other are not abutting each other but have a space in between , for example , of at least 2 cm or at least 5 cm , or more . fig4 a shows a rail member 2 in side view , and fig4 b in top view . fig5 a shows a floor plate 32 with a seat 40 in an overview perspective . details of the ramp profile 42 are shown in an enlarged view in fig5 b . the ramp profile 42 comprises an inclined ramp section 42 a , which is fastened to the inclined section 35 of the straight , rigid profile 31 . a flat ramp section 42 b is configured to find support on the bottom of the vehicle space . the invention also concerns a vehicle with a floor plate as described herewith in addition to the use of such a floor plate for a minibus . as noted above , assembly of the floor plate comprises the steps of assembling a plate structure from a plurality of plate elements and with at least one plate element between each two parallel rail members . for example , if there are only two rail members , a single plate element with a specifically adapted width is sufficient to be provided to keep a desired distance between the rails , although it is possible to provide a plurality of plate elements between two parallel rails . for example , by providing the plate elements as plywood planks , the distance between the rails can easily be adjusted , as the plywood plank can be quickly and easily cut longitudinally at low cost to provide exactly the desired distance between the rails . this is a first important feature of the invention . for example , the plywood plank is then glued to the rails in order to provide a first solid connection . however , it is also possible , especially when using polymer plate elements , to provide the plate elements and the rail members with mutual tongue and groove connections or clamp connections that fasten the plate elements to the rail members . such a connection makes the assembly faster . once , a pair of rails has been assembled with one or more plate elements in between , further plate elements are provided on either side of the pair of rails . often , a second pair of rails is provided parallel to the first pair of rails . correspondingly , plate elements are provided not only between the rails in each pair of rails but also between the two or more pair of rails . the method of the invention has the advantages summarized in the background above . 8 recess in upper side 5 of support profile 4 9 channels for screws in rail member 2 or support profile 4 26 hollow around edge of plate element 3 in groove 21 28 cavity in the rail member 2 between the two rails 17 and below the slot 19 32 floor plate including plate structure 1 and straight rigid profile 31	1
the present application discloses compounds useful as potent , yet selective modulators of adenosine receptors , with activity as a 3 antagonists , and in some cases , a 3 agonists , and methods of preparation and use thereof . the compounds can be used in a method for modulating adenosine a 3 receptors in a mammal , including a human . the methods involve administering an effective amount of a compound of formula i sufficient to moderate adenosine a 3 receptors to the mammal . the compounds can be used in a pharmaceutical formulation that includes a compound of formula i and one or more excipients . various chemical intermediates can be used to prepare the compounds . as used herein , a compound is an agonist of an adenosine a 3 receptor if it is able to fully inhibit adenylate cyclase ( a 3 ) and is able to displace [ 125 i ]- ab - meca in a competitive binding assay . as used herein , a compound is a partial agonist of an adenosine a 3 receptor if it is able to partially inhibit adenylate cyclase ( a 3 ) and is able to displace [ 125 i ]- ab - meca in a competitive binding assay . as used herein , a compound is an antagonist of an adenosine a 3 receptor if it is able to prevent the inhibition due to an agonist and is able to displace [ 125 i ]- ab - meca in a competitive binding assay . as used herein , a compound is selective for the a 3 receptor if the ratio of a 1 / a 3 , a 2a / a 3 and a 2b / a 3 activity is greater than about 50 , preferably between 50 and 100 , and more preferably , greater than about 100 . as used herein , the term “ alkyl ” refers to monovalent straight , branched or cyclic alkyl groups preferably having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , more preferably 1 to 10 carbon atoms (“ lower alkyl ”) and most preferably 1 to 6 carbon atoms . this term is exemplified by groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , iso - propyl , - butyl , iso - butyl , n - hexyl , and the like . the terms “ alkylene ” and “ lower alkylene ” refer to divalent radicals of the corresponding alkane . further , as used herein , other moieties having names derived from alkanes , such as alkoxyl , alkanoyl , alkenyl , cycloalkenyl , etc when modified by “ lower ,” have carbon chains of ten or less carbon atoms . in those cases where the minimum number of carbons are greater than one , e g ., alkenyl ( minimum of two carbons ) and cycloalkyl , ( minimum of three carbons ), it is to be understood that “ lower ” means at least the minimum number of carbons . as used herein , the term “ substituted alkyl ” refers to an alkyl group , preferably of from 1 to 10 carbon atoms (“ substituted lower alkyl ”), having from 1 to 5 substituents , and preferably 1 to 3 substituents , selected from the group consisting of alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , cycloalkyl , substituted cycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , substituted cycloalkenyl , acyl , acylamino , acyloxy , amino , substituted amino aminoacyl , aminoacyloxy , oxyacylamino , cyano , halogen , hydroxyl , keto , thioketo , carboxyl , carboxylalkyl , thiol , thioalkoxy , substituted thioalkoxy , aryl , substituted aryl , aryloxy , heteroaryl , heteroaryloxy , heterocyclic , hydroxyamino , alkoxyamino , nitro , — so - alkyl , — so - substituted alkyl , — so - aryl , — so - heteroaryl , — so2 - alkyl , — so2 - substituted alkyl , — so2 - aryl , — so2 - heteroaryl , and mono - and di - alkylamino , mono - and di -( substituted alkyl ) amino , mono - and di - arylamino , mono - and di - heteroarylamino , mono - and di - heterocyclic amino , and unsymmetric di - substituted amines having different substituents selected from alkyl , aryl , heteroaryl and heterocyclic . as used herein , other moieties having the prefix “ substituted ” are intended to include one or more of the substituents listed above . as used herein , “ alkaryl ” refers to an alkyl group with an aryl substituent . attachment to the core molecule is through the alkyl group . “ aralkyl ” refers to an aryl group with an alkyl substituent , where attachment is through the aryl group . as used herein , the term “ alkoxy ” refers to the group “ alkyl - o —”, where alkyl is as defined above . preferred alkoxy groups include , by way of example , methoxy , ethoxy , n - propoxy , iso - propoxy , n - butoxy , tert - butoxy , sec - butoxy , n - pentoxy , n - hexoxy , 1 , 2 - dimethylbutoxy , and the like . as used herein , the term “ alkenyl ” refers to alkenyl groups preferably having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms and more preferably 2 to 6 carbon atoms and having at least 1 and preferably from 1 - 2 sites of alkenyl unsaturation . preferred alkenyl groups include ethenyl (— ch ═ ch2 ), n - propenyl (— ch2ch ═ ch2 ), iso - propenyl (— c ( ch3 )═ ch2 ), and the like . as used herein , the term “ alkynyl ” refers to alkynyl groups preferably having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms and more preferably 2 to 6 carbon atoms and having at least 1 and preferably from 1 - 2 sites of alkynyl unsaturation . as used herein , the term “ acyl ” refers to the groups alkyl - c ( o )—, substituted alkyl - c ( o )—, cycloalkyl - c ( o )—, substituted cycloalkyl - c ( o )—, aryl - c ( o )—, heteroaryl - c ( o )— and heterocyclic - c ( o )— where alkyl , substituted alkyl , cycloalkyl , substituted cycloalkyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl and heterocyclic are as defined herein . as used herein , the term “ acylamino ” refers to the group — c ( o ) nrr where each r is independently hydrogen , alkyl , substituted alkyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , or heterocyclic wherein alkyl , substituted alkyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl and heterocyclic are as defined herein . as used herein , the term “ aryl ” refers to an unsaturated aromatic carbocyclic group of from 6 to 14 carbon atoms having a single ring ( e . g ., phenyl ) or multiple condensed ( fused ) rings ( e . g ., naphthyl or anthryl ). preferred aryls include phenyl , naphthyl and the like . unless otherwise constrained by the definition for the aryl substituent , such aryl groups can optionally be substituted with from 1 to 5 substituents and preferably 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxy , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkyl , substituted alkoxy , substituted alkenyl , substituted alkynyl , amino , substituted amino , aminoacyl , acyloxy , acylamino , alkaryl , aryl , aryloxy , azido , carboxyl , carboxylalkyl , cyano , halo , nitro , heteroaryl , heteroaryloxy , heterocyclic , heterocyclooxy , aminoacyloxy , oxyacylamino , thioalkoxy , substituted thioalkoxy , thioaryloxy , thioheteroaryloxy , — so - alkyl , — so - substituted alkyl , — so - aryl , — so - heteroaryl , — so2 - alkyl , — so2 - substituted alkyl , — so2 - aryl , — so2 - heteroaryl , trihalomethyl . preferred substitkients include alkyl , alkoxy , halo , cyano , nitro , trihalomethyl , and thioalkoxy . as used herein , the term “ cycloalkyl ” refers to cyclic alkyl groups of from 3 to 12 carbon atoms having a single cyclic ring or multiple condensed rings . such cycloalkyl groups include , by way of example , single ring structures such as cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclooctyl , and the like , or multiple ring structures such as adamantyl , and the like . as used herein , the terms “ halo ” or “ halogen ” refer to fluoro , chloro , bromo and iodo and preferably is either fluoro or chloro . as used herein , the term “ heteroaryl ” refers to an aromatic carbocyclic group of from 1 to 15 carbon atoms and 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of oxygen , nitrogen and sulfur within at least one ring ( if there is more than one ring ). unless othenvise constrained by the definition for the heteroaryl substituent , such heteroaryl groups can be optionally substituted with from 1 to 5 substituents and preferably 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxy , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkyl , substituted alkoxy , substituted alkenyl , substituted alkynyl , amino , substituted amino , aminoacyl , acyloxy , acylamino , alkaryl , aryl , aryloxy , azido , carboxyl , carboxylalkyl , cyano , halo , nitro , heteroaryl , heteroaryloxy , heterocyclic , heterocyclooxy , aminoacyloxy , oxyacylamino , thioalkoxy , substituted thioalkoxy , thioaryloxy , thioheteroaryloxy , — so - alkyl , — so - substituted alkyl , — so - aryl , — so - heteroaryl , — so2 - alkyl , — so2 - substituted alkyl , — so2 - aryl , — so2 - heteroaryl , and trihalomethyl . preferred substituents include alkyl , alkoxy , halo , cyano , nitro , trihalomethyl , and thioalkoxy . such heteroaryl groups can have a single ring ( e . g ., pyridyl or furyl ) or multiple condensed rings ( e . g ., indolizinyl or benzothienyl ). “ heterocycle ” or “ heterocyclic ” refers to a saturated or unsaturated carbocyclic group having a single ring or multiple condensed rings , from 1 to 15 carbon atoms and from 1 to 4 hetero atoms selected from the group consisting of nitrogen , sulfur and oxygen within the ring . unless otherwise constrained by the definition for the heterocyclic substituent , such heterocyclic groups can be optionally substituted with 1 to 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , substituted alkyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , aryl , substituted aryl , aryloxy , halo , nitro , heteroaryl , thiol , thioalkoxy , substituted thioalkoxy , thioaryloxy , trihalomethyl , and the like . such heterocyclic groups can have a single ring or multiple condensed rings . as to any of the above groups that contain 1 or more substituents , it is understood , of course , that such groups do not contain any substitution or substitution patterns which are sterically impractical and / or synthetically non - feasible . as used herein , “ carboxylic acid derivatives ” and “ sulfonic acid derivatives ” refer to — c ( x )— n ( r 1 ) 2 , — c ( x ) or 1 , — c ( x ) sr 1 , — so n r 1 , — so n or 1 , — so n r 1 , or — so n — n ( r 1 ) 2 , where x is o , s or nr 1 , where r 1 is hydrogen , alkyl , substituted alkyl , aryl , or substituted aryl and activated derivatives thereof , such as anhydrides , esters , and halides such as chlorides , bromides and iodides , which can be used to couple the carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid derivatives to the 5 ′- amine using standard coupling chemistry . “ pharmaceutically acceptable salts ” refers to pharmaceutically acceptable salts of a compound of formula i , which salts are derived from a variety of organic and inorganic counter ions well known in the art and include , by way of example only , sodium , potassium , calcium , magnesium , ammonium , tetraalkylammonium , and the like ; and when the molecule contains a basic functionality , salts of organic or inorganic acids , such as hydrochloride , hydrobromide , tartrate , mesylate , acetate , maleate , oxalate and the like can be used as the pharmaceutically acceptable salt . the term “ protecting group ” or “ blocking group ” refers to any group which when bound to one or more hydroxyl , amino or carboxyl groups of the compounds ( including intermediates thereof such as the aminolactams , aminolactones , etc .) prevents reactions from occurring at these groups and which protecting group can be removed by conventional chemical or enzymatic steps to reestablish the hydroxyl , amino or carboxyl group . preferred removable amino blocking groups include conventional substituents such as t - butyoxycarbonyl ( t - boc ), benzyloxycarbonyl ( cbz ), and the like which can be removed by conventional conditions compatible with the nature of the product . the following abbreviations are used herein : [ 125 i ] ab - meca , [ 125 i ] n 6 -( 4 - amino - 3 - iodobenzyl ) adenosine - 5 ′ n - methyluronamide ; ( r )- pia , ( r )- n 6 -( phenylisopropyl ) adenosine ; dmso , dimethysulfoxide ; i - ab - meca , n 6 -( 4 - amino - 3 - iodobenzyl ) adenosine - 5 ′- n - methyluronamide ; ib - meca , n 6 -( 3 - iodobenzyl ) adenosine - 5 ′- n - methyluronamide ; ki , equilibrium inhibition constant ; neca , 5 ′- n - ethylcarboxamido adenosine ; thf , tetrahydrofuran ; tris , tris ( hydroxymethyl ) aminomethane . those skilled in the art of organic chemistry will appreciate that reactive and fragile functional groups often must be protected prior to a particular reaction , or sequence of reactions , and then restored to their original forms after the last reaction is completed . usually groups are protected by converting them to a relatively stable derivative . for example , a hydroxyl group may be converted to an ether group and an amine group converted to an amide or carbamate . methods of protecting and de - protecting , also known as “ blocking ” and “ de - blocking ,” are well known and widely practiced in the art , e . g ., see t . green , protective groups in organic synthesis , john wiley , new york ( 1981 ) or protective groups in organic chemistry , ed . j . f . w . mcomie , plenum press , london ( 1973 ). the compounds are preferably prepared by reacting a compound of formula ii below with a suitable carboxylic acid , sulfonic acid derivative , isocyanate of precursor of an isocyanate using known chemistry . compounds of formula ii can be prepared using the following schemes i and ii , illustrated where r 3 is furan . reagents : a ) triethyl orthoformate ; b ) 2 - furoic acid hydrazide , 2 - methoxyethanol ; c ) phoph , 260 ° c . ; d ) 10 % hcl , under reflux ; e ) cyanamide , ptsoh , n - methylpyrrolidone reagents : f ) furoic acid hydrazide , diphenyl ether ; e ) cyanamide , ptsoh , n - methylpyrrolidone . the compounds of formula ii can be prepared through either an indirect route described in scheme i or a direct route described in scheme ii . suitable starting materials for both schemes are the heterocyclic ortho - amino nitriles of formula iii , generally prepared according to synthetic procedures known in literature and reported in the book by e . c . taylor and a . mckillop ( vol . 7 of the series advances in organic chemistry , ed . interscience , 1970 ). ortho - amino nitrites ( formula iii ) are transformed into the corresponding imidates of formula iv by reaction with an excess of ethyl orthoformate at the reflux temperature for 8 to 10 hours . the reaction , after evaporation of the ethyl orthoformate , leads to the substantially pure corresponding imidates iv in a high yield as evidenced by the ir and 1 h nmr analysis on the crude reaction products . the imidates of formula iv are then subjected to a sequence of two reactions to obtain the tricyclic structures of formula vi in a high yield . the reaction sequence includes : a ) reaction with 2 - furoic acid hydrazide in a 2 - methoxyethanol solution at the reflux temperature for 8 - 10 hours , to obtain the intermediate compounds of formula v ; b ) thermal cyclization of the latter to corresponding compounds of formula vi , by heating in diphenyl ether at the temperature of 260 ° c . for 0 . 5 to 1 hour . the tricyclic compounds vi are then hydrolyzed with hcl at reflux for 1 to 3 hours to give triazoles vii , which are finally cyclized to desired compounds ii with cyanamide in n - methyl pyrrolidone at reflux and in the presence of para - toluenesulfonic acid ( scheme i ). in some cases , triazoles vii can be obtained by directly heating in diphenyl ether ortho - amino nitrile iii with 2 - furoic acid hydrazide . triazoles vii are then cyclized as described above in scheme ii . in the following schemes iii , iv and v , the synthesis of the compounds of formula ii in which a is a triazole ring are reported in more detail . finally , the 5 - amine - containing compounds ii are reacted with carboxylic acids , sulfonic acids , activated carboxylic acids , activated sulfonic acids , thiocarboxylic acids , activated thiocarboxylic acids , isocyanates , isothiocyanates and the like , to form the desired compounds . activated carboxylic acids include acid halides , esters , anhydrides and other derivatives known to react with amines to form amides . activated sulfonic acids include sulfonyl halides such as sulfonyl chlorides . it is not necessary in all cases to use activated carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid derivatives . the acids themselves can be coupled to the amines using standard coupling chemistry , for example , using dicyclohexyl diimide ( dci ) and other routinely used coupling agents . suitable coupling conditions for forming amide linkages are well known to those of skill in the art of peptide synthesis . similarly , it is not necessary in all cases to use the desired isocyanate or isothiocyanate directly . the desired isocyanate or isothiocyanate may be prepared in situ from the corresponding acyl azide by curtius rearrangement , well known to those skilled in the art . alternatively the desired isocyanate or isothiocyanate may be prepared from the corresponding amide or thioamide by hofmann rearrangement , a method also known to those skilled in the art . in still another alternative , the desired isocyanate or isothiocyanate may be prepared in situ by a lossen rearrangement of the corresponding o - acyl hydroxamic acid or o - thioacyl hydroxamic acid . generally , the chemistry above can be used to prepare 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 - 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines when 3 - cyano - 2 - aminopyrazoles are used as starting materials . the 3 - cyano - 2 - aminopyrazoles can be reacted with an alkyl halide ( rx ) in a polar aprotic solvent such as dimethyl formamide ( dmf ) to provide an r group on one of the ring nitrogens . the resulting compound can be refluxed with triethyl orthoformate to provide an imine ethyl ester , which can be reacted with furoic hydrazide , preferably using a dean - stark trap for the azeotropic elimination of water produced in the reaction , to provide 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines . the products can be purified by chromatography , for example , in ( etoac / hexane 1 : 1 ), for use in subsequent chemistry . the product of this reaction can be reacted with a suitable acid , such as hcl , at reflux , followed by reaction with cyanamide in a solvent such as n - methyl pyrrolidone with catalytic para - toluene sulfonic acid at elevated temperatures to provide 5 - amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines . these amine - substituted compounds can be reacted with appropriate isocyanates to form urea compounds , activated carboxylic acids such as acid halides to provide amides , activated sulfonic acids such as sulfonic acid halides to form sulfonamides , or other reactive carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid derivatives to form other desired compounds . the isocyanates used to react with the amine - substituted compounds can be those commercially available or synthesized by means known in the art . for example , the isocyanate 4 -( n - morpholino )- phenyl isocyanate can be synthesized by reacting commercially available 4 - morpholinoaniline with phosgene or diphosgene in an appropriate solvent . similarly , the phenyl - isocyanates of a sulfonyl amine , sulfonyl piperazine , substituted sulfonyl amine or substituted sulfonyl piperazine can be synthesized by reacting the respective amine with diphosgene or phosgene . benzene , ethyl acetate and the like are useful as the solvent in such reactions . other isocyanates can be prepared by first synthesizing the corresponding acyl azide and then forming the isocyanate during thermal decomposition . such decomposition was originally reported by curtius and further described by others ( see , for example , r . lo scalzo et al ., gazz . chim . ital . 118 , 819 ( 1988 )). acyl azides can be formed by contacting a hydrazide with a solution of sodium nitrite in hydrochloric acid . triazolo - triazolo - pyrimidine compounds can be prepared using similar chemistry , but starting with a suitably functionalized azide , and reacting the azide with 2 - cyanoacetamide to form the initial heterocyclic ring , followed by reaction of the amide group with a dehydrating agent such as pocl 3 to form a nitrile . the resulting cyano - aminotriazole can be reacted in the same manner as the 3 - cyano - 2 - aminopyrazoles discussed above to prepare triazolo - triazolo - pyrimidines . the compounds can be labeled with any suitable radiolabel . examples of suitable radiolabels include 3 h and 14 c , but any substantially non - toxic radiolabel commonly used in pharmacokinetic studies can be used . means for incorporating radiolabels into organic compounds are well known to those of skill in the art . when the compounds are 5 -[[ substituted phenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine compounds or 5 - amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine compounds , incorporation of a tritium label is fairly straightforward . in one embodiment , a suitable starting material is a compound in which the ( ar ) alkyl group at the 8 - position includes a double bond , the double bond can be reacted with tritium in the presence a suitable catalyst , for example , palladium on charcoal or other known hydrogenation catalysts . for example , 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 1 , 2 - ditritiopropyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( radioligand of compound 108 ) can be prepared by adding tritium across the double bond of 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 2 - propen - 1 - yl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 100 ). the radioligand of compound 108 is discussed below with respect to various binding affinity studies on jurkat cancer cells . alternatively , the tritium label can be present on the compounds used to react with the 5 - amino group to form the amides , ureas or other groups at the 5 - position . for example , the isocyanates used to prepare the 5 - aminocarbonylamino compounds described herein can include a tritium or other radiolabels , and can therefore be easily incorporated into the final product . in another embodiment , the radiolabel can be incorporated into the molecule while the ring system is being put together . as discussed above with respect to the synthesis of the compounds of formula ii , various tricyclic compounds of formula vi are hydrolyzed with hcl to give triazoles of formula vii , which are cyclized to with cyanamide at reflux in the presence of para - toluenesulfonic acid , as shown in scheme i . it is relatively straightforward to incorporate a 14 c label at this step in the synthesis using 14 c labeled cyanamide . iodinated compounds can be prepared , for example , by incorporating a radioactive iodine into the aromatic compound used to react with the 5 - amine group . incorporation of iodine into aromatic rings is well known to those of skill in the art . it is straightforward to incorporate an iodine atom into the aromatic compounds used to react with the 5 - amine group to prepare the compounds described herein . accordingly , using no more than ordinary skill in the art , suitable radiolabeled analogues can readily be prepared . as with the radiolabeled compounds , the synthesis of fluorescently - labeled compounds is relatively straightforward . preferably , the fluorescent groups are present at the r 2 - position , although substitution at the r 3 position is also feasible . in one embodiment , the fluorescent group ( s ) include a furan ring which can be attached at the r 3 position . alternatively , other aromatic rings can be used . fluorescent labels are well known to those of skill in the art , and can readily be attached to the compounds described herein using known chemistry . the compounds can be used for all indications for which agonists and antagonists of the a 3 receptor may be used , including : treating hypertension ; treating inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis ; treating allergic disorders such as hay fever and allergic rhinitis ; mast cell degranulation ; antitumor agents ; treating cardiac hypoxia ; and protection against cerebral ischemia ; as described , for example , in jacobson , tips may 1998 , pp . 185 - 191 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . a preferred use for these compounds is in the detection and / or treatment of cancer . as discussed below , tumor cells have been shown to express the a 3 receptor . it is believed that the a 3 receptor protects the cells from ischemic damage when they do not receive an adequate blood supply . however , agonism of the adenosine a 3 receptors can bring about a protective effect , preventing tumor cell death while the cells are not receiving an adequate blood supply . by administering antagonists of these receptors the protective effect that a 3 receptors provide will be lost . the compounds can be administered to a patient via any medically acceptable means . suitable means of administration include oral , rectal , topical or parenteral ( including subcutaneous , intramuscular and intravenous ) administration , although oral or parenteral administration are preferred . the amount of the compound required to be effective as a modulator of an adenosine receptor will , of course , vary with the individual mammal being treated and is ultimately at the discretion of the medical or veterinary practitioner . the factors to be considered include the condition being treated , the route of administration , the nature of the formulation , the mammal &# 39 ; s body weight , surface area , age and general condition , and the particular compound to be administered . however , a suitable effective dose is in the range of about 0 . 1 μg / kg to about 10 mg / kg body weight per day , preferably in the range of about 1 mg / kg to about 3 mg / kg per day . the total daily dose may be given as a single dose , multiple doses , e . g ., two to six times per day , or by intravenous infusion for a selected duration . dosages above or below the range cited above are within the scope of the present invention and may be administered to the individual patient if desired and necessary . for example , for a 75 kg mammal , a dose range would be about 75 mg to about 220 mg per day , and a typical dose would be about 150 mg per day . if discrete multiple doses are indicated , treatment might typically be 50 mg of a compound given 3 times per day . in another embodiment , the radiolabeled compounds can be administered to a patient for purposes of performing an assay to determine the presence or absence of cancerous tumor , cells expressing a 3 receptors . the compounds described herein as having a relatively high affinity for the a 3 receptor subtype are advantageously administered to a patient , and after the compounds bind to the a 3 receptors present in the tumor cells , the location of the tumor cells can be determined by determining the location of the radiolabeled compounds . devices for determining the location and density of radiolabeled compounds are well known to those of skill in the art . the use of radiolabeled and / or fluorescently labeled compounds during surgery for removal of cancerous tissue can also be advantageous . often , surgeons need to ensure complete removal of the cancerous tissue . the radiolabeled or fluorescently labeled compounds can be administered to a patient either before or during the surgery , and will bind to the cancer cells present in the patient . the time of administration will vary , depending , among other factors , on the uptake of the particular compound for the particular tumor cells , and the location of the tumor in the body . the surgeon then has a relatively straightforward assay for determining the presence of residual cancer cells after removing the tumor . the presence of residual tumor cells can be determined by measuring fluorescence or radioactivity at the operative site , using analytical devices well known to those of skill in the art . detection of cancer cells in vitro can be performed by administering the compounds to a suspension of cells in cell culture media , allowing the compound to bind to the adenosine a 3 receptors on the cancer cells , and detecting the label . the compounds described above are preferably administered in formulation including an active compound , i . e ., a compound of formula i , together with an acceptable carrier for the mode of administration suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are known to those of skill in the art . the compositions can optionally include other therapeutically active ingredients such as antivirals , antitumor agents , antibacterials , anti - inflammatories , analgesics , and immunosuppresants . the carrier must be pharmaceutically acceptable in the sense of being compatible with the other ingredients of the formulation and not deleterious to the recipient thereof . the formulations can include carriers suitable for oral , rectal , topical or parenteral ( including subcutaneous , intramuscular and intravenous ) administration . preferred carriers are those suitable for oral or parenteral administration . formulations suitable for parenteral administration conveniently include sterile aqueous preparation of the active compound which is preferably isotonic with the blood of the recipient . thus , such formulations may conveniently contain distilled water , 5 % dextrose in distilled water or saline . useful formulations also include concentrated solutions or solids containing the compound of formula ( i ) which upon dilution with an appropriate solvent give a solution suitable for parental administration ; for enteral administration , the compound can be incorporated into an inert carrier in discrete units such as capsules , cachets , tablets or lozenges , each containing a predetermined amount of the active compound ; as a powder or granules ; or a suspension or solution in an aqueous liquid or non - aqueous liquid , e . g ., a syrup , an elixir , an emulsion or a draught . suitable carriers may be starches or sugars and include lubricants , flavorings , binders , and other materials of the same nature . a tablet may be made by compression or molding , optionally with one or more accessory ingredients . compressed tablets may be prepared by compressing in a suitable machine the active compound in a free - flowing form , e . g ., a powder or granules , optionally mixed with accessory ingredients , e . g ., binders , lubricants , inert diluents , surface active or dispersing agents . molded tablets may be made by molding in a suitable machine , a mixture of the powdered active compound with any suitable carrier . a syrup or suspension may be made by adding the active compound to a concentrated , aqueous solution of a sugar , e . g ., sucrose , to which may also be added any accessory ingredients . such accessory ingredients may include flavoring , an agent to retard crystallization of the sugar or an agent to increase the solubility of any other ingredient , e . g ., as a polyhydric alcohol , for example , glycerol or sorbitol . the compounds can also be administered locally by topical application of a solution , ointment , cream , gel , lotion or polymeric material ( for example , a pluronic ™, basf ), which may be prepared by conventional methods known in the art of pharmacy . in addition to the solution , ointment , cream , gel , lotion or polymeric base and the active ingredient , such topical formulations may also contain preservatives , perfumes , and additional active pharmaceutical agents . formulations for rectal administration may be presented as a suppository with a conventional carrier , e . g ., cocoa butter or witepsol s55 ( trademark of dynamite nobel chemical , germany ), for a suppository base . alternatively , the compound may be administered in liposomes or microspheres ( or microparticles ). methods for preparing liposomes and microspheres for administration to a patient are well known to those of skill in the art . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 789 , 734 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference , describes methods for encapsulating biological materials in liposomes . essentially , the material is dissolved in an aqueous solution , the appropriate phospholipids and lipids added , along with surfactants if required , and the material dialyzed or sonicated , as necessary . a review of known methods is provided by g . gregoriadis , chapter 14 , “ liposomes ,” drug carriers in biology and medicine , pp . 287 - 341 ( academic press , 1979 ). microspheres formed of polymers or proteins are well known to those skilled in the art , and can be tailored for passage through the gastrointestinal tract directly into the blood stream . alternatively , the compound can be incorporated and the microspheres , or composite of microspheres , implanted for slow release over a period of time ranging from days to months . see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 906 , 474 , 4 , 925 , 673 and 3 , 625 , 214 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . preferred microparticles are those prepared from biodegradable polymers , such as polyglycolide , polylactide and copolymers thereof . those of skill in the art can readily determine an appropriate carrier system depending on various factors , including the desired rate of drug release and the desired dosage . the formulations may conveniently be presented in unit dosage form and may he prepared by any of the methods well known in the art of pharmacy . all methods include the step of bringing the active compound into association with a carrier which constitutes one or more accessory ingredients . in general , the formulations are prepared by uniformly and intimately bringing the active compound into association with a liquid carrier or a finely divided solid carrier and then , if necessary , shaping the product into a desired unit dosage form . in addition to the aforementioned ingredients , the formulations may further include one or more optional accessory ingredient ( s ) utilized in the art of pharmaceutical formulations , e . g ., diluents , buffers , flavoring agents , binders , surface active agents , thickeners , lubricants , suspending agents , preservatives ( including antioxidants ) and the like . the activity of the compounds can be readily determined using no more than routine experimentation using any of the following assays . male wistar rats ( 200 - 250 g ) can be decapitated and the whole brain ( minus brainstem , striatum and cerebellum ) dissected on ice . the brain tissues can be disrupted in a polytron ( setting 5 ) in 20 vols of 50 mm tris hcl , ph 7 . 4 . the homogenate can then be centrifuged at 48 , 000 g for 10 min and the pellet resuspended in tris - hcl containing 2 iu / ml adenosine deaminase , type vi ( sigma chemical company , st . louis , mo ., usa ). after 30 min incubation at 37 ° c ., the membranes can be centrifuged and the pellets stored at − 70 ° c . striatal tissues can be homogenized with a polytron in 25 vol of 50 mm tris hcl buffer containing 10 mm mgcl 2 ph 7 . 4 . the homogenate can then be centrifuged at 48 , 000 g for 10 min at 4 ° c . and resuspended in tris hcl buffer containing 2 iu / ml adenosine deaminase . after 30 min incubation at 37 ° c ., membranes can be centrifuged and the pellet stored at − 70 ° c . binding of [ 3 h ]- dpcpx ( 1 , 3 - dipropyl - 8 - cyclopentylxanthine ) to rat brain membranes can be performed essentially according to the method previously described by bruns et al ., proc . natl , acad . sci . 77 , 5547 - 5551 1980 . displacement experiments can be performed in 0 . 25 ml of buffer containing 1 nm [ 3 h ]- dpcpx , 100 μl of diluted membranes of rat brain ( 100 μg of protein / assay ) and at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of examined compounds . non specific binding can be determined in the presence of 10 μm of cha ( n 6 cyclohexyladenosine ) and this is always ≦ 10 % of the total binding . incubation times are typically 120 min at 25 ° c . binding of [ 3 h ]- sch 58261 ( 5 - amino - 7 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ) to rat striatal membranes ( 100 μg of protein / assay ) can be performed according to methods described in zocchi et al ., j . pharm . and exper . ther . 276 : 398 - 404 ( 1996 ). in competition studies , at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of examined compounds should be used . non specific binding can be determined in the presence of 50 μm of neca ( 5 ′-( n - ethylcarboxamido ) adenosine ). incubation time is typically 60 min at 25 ° c . bound and free radioactivity can be separated by filtering the assay mixture through whatman gf / b glass - fiber filters using a brandel cell harvester ( gaithersburg , md ., usa ). the incubation mixture can be diluted with 3 ml of ice - cold incubation buffer , rapidly vacuum filtered and the filter can be washed three times with 3 ml of incubation buffer . the filter bound radioactivity can be measured , for example , by liquid scintillation spectrometry . the protein concentration can be determined , for example , according to a bio - rad method ( bradford , anal . biochem . 72 : 248 ( 1976 )) with bovine albumin as reference standard . binding assays can be carried out according to methods described in salvatore et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . 90 : 10365 - 10369 ( 1993 ). in saturation studies , an aliquot of membranes ( 8 mg protein / ml ) from hek - 293 cells transfected with the human recombinant a 3 adenosine receptor ( research biochemical international , natick , mass ., usa ) can be incubated with 10 - 12 different concentrations of [ 125 i ] ab - meca ranging from 0 . 1 to 5 nm . competition experiments can be carried out in duplicate in a final volume of 100 μl in test tubes containing 0 . 3 nm [ 125 i ] ab - meca , 50 mm tris hcl buffer , 10 mm mgcl 2 , ph 7 . 4 and 20 μl of diluted membranes ( 12 . 4 mg protein / ml ) and at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of examined ligands . incubation time was 60 min at 37 ° c ., according to the results of previous time - course experiments . bound and free radioactivity were separated by filtering the assay mixture through whatman gf / b glass - fiber filters using a brandel cell harvester . non - specific binding was defined as binding in the presence of 50 μm r - pia and was about 30 % of total binding . the incubation mixture was diluted with 3 ml of ice - cold incubation buffer , rapidly vacuum filtered and the filter was washed three times with 3 ml of incubation buffer . the filter bound radioactivity was counted in a beckman gamma 5500b γ counter . the protein concentration can be determined according to a bio - rad method ( 3 ) with bovine albumin as reference standard . inhibitory binding constant , k i , values can be calculated from those of ic 50 according to the cheng & amp ; prusoff equation ( cheng and prusoff , biochem . pharmacol . 22 : 3099 - 3108 ( 1973 )), k i = ic 50 /( 1 +[ c ]/ k d ), where [ c ] is the concentration of the radioligand and k d its dissociation constant . a weighted non linear least - squares curve fitting program ligand ( munson and rodbard , anal . biochem . 107 : 220 - 239 ( 1990 )) can be used for computer analysis of saturation and inhibition experiments . data are typically expressed as geometric mean , with 95 % or 99 % confidence limits in parentheses . the expression of the human a 1 , a 2a , a 2b and a . sub . 3 receptors in cho cells has been previously described ( klotz et al ., 1998 ). the cells are grown adherently and maintained in dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium with nutrient mixture f12 without nucleosides at 37 . degree . c . in 5 % co 2 / 95 % air . cells are split two or three times weekly and then the culture medium is removed for membrane preparations . the cells are washed with phosphate - buffered saline and scraped off flasks in ice cold hypotonic buffer ( 5 mm tris hcl , 2 mm edta , ph 7 . 4 ). the cell suspension is homogenized with polytron and the homogenate is centrifuged for 30 min . at 48 , 000 g . the membrane pellet is re - suspended in 50 mm tris hcl buffer at ph 7 . 4 for a 1 adenosine receptors , in 50 mm tris hcl , 10 mm mgcl 2 at ph 7 . 4 for a 2a adenosine receptors , in 50 mm tris hcl , 10 mm mgcl 2 , 1 mm edta at ph 7 . 4 for a 3 adenosine receptors and are utilized for binding and adenylate cyclase assays . human cloned a 1 , a 2a , a 2b and a 3 adenosine receptor binding assay binding of [ 3 h ]- dpcpx to cho cells transfected with the human recombinant a 1 adenosine receptor is performed according to the method previously described by klotz and coworkers ( klotz , k . n . ; cristalli g . ; grifantini , m . ; vittori , s . ; lohse , m . j ., “ photoaffinity labeling of a1 adenosine receptors ,” j . biol . chem ., 260 , 14659 - 14664 , 1985 ). displacement experiments are performed for 120 min . at 25 ° c . in 0 . 20 ml of buffer containing 1 nm [ 3 h ]- dpcpx , 20 μl of diluted membranes ( 50 μg of protein / assay ) and at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of examined compounds . non - specific binding is determined in the presence of 10 μm of cha and this is always 10 % of the total binding . binding of [ 3 h ]- sch58261 to cho cells transfected with the human recombinant a 2a adenosine receptors ( 50 μg of protein / assay ) was performed according to varani et al . ( varani , k ; cacciari , b . ; baraldi , p . g . ; dionisotti , s . ; ongini , e . ; borea , p . a ., “ binding affinity of adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists at human cloned a 3 adenosine receptors ,” life sci ., 63 , 81 - 87 , 1998 ). in competition studies , at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of compounds are used and non - specific binding is determined in the presence of 50 μm neca for an incubation time of 60 min . at 25 ° c . binding of [ 3 h ]- dpcpx to hek - 293 cells ( receptor biology , inc ., beltsville , md .) transfected with the human recombinant a 2b adenosine receptors is performed essentially to the method described by varani and coworkers ( mol . pharmacol .). in particular , assays are carried out for 60 min at 25 ° c . in 0 . 1 ml of 50 mm tris hcl buffer , 10 mm mgcl 2 , 1 mm edta , 0 . 1 mm benzamidine ph 7 . 4 , 2 iu / ml adenosine deaminase containing 40 nm [ 3 h ]- dpcpx , diluted membranes ( 20 μg of protein / assay ) and at least 6 - 8 different concentration of tested compounds . non - specific binding is determined in the presence of 100 μm of neca and is always 30 % of the total binding . binding of [ 3 h ] mre3008 - f20 ( radioligand of compound 108 ) to cho cells transfected with the human recombinant a 3 adenosine receptors was performed according to varani et al . ( mol . pharmacol .). competition experiments are carried out in duplicate in a final volume of 250 μl in test tubes containing 1 nm [ 3 h ] mre3008 - f20 , 50 mm tris hcl buffer , 10 mm mgcl 2 , ph 7 . 4 and 100 μl of diluted membranes ( 50 mu . g of protein / assay ) and at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of examined ligands . incubation time was 120 min . at 4 ° c ., according to the results of previous time - course experiments ( mol . pharmacol .). non - specific bindings is defined as binding in the presence of 1 μm of mre3008 - f20 and is about 25 % of total binding . bound and free radioactivity are separated by filtering the assay mixture through whatman gf / b glass - fiber filters using a micro - mate 196 cell harvester ( packard instrument company ). the filter bound radioactivity is counted on top count ( efficiency 57 %) with micro - scint 20 . the protein concentration is determined according to a biorad method ( bradford , m . m ., “ a rapid and sensitive method for the quantification of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein dye - binding ,” anal . biochem . 72 , 248 , 1976 ) with bovine albumin as reference standard . membrane preparation is suspended in 0 . 5 ml of incubation mixture ( 50 mm tris hcl , mgcl 2 10 mm , edta , 1 mm , ph 7 . 4 ) containing gtp 5 mu . m , 0 . 5 mm 4 -( 3 - buthoxy - 4 - methoxybenzyl )- 2 - imidazolidinone ( ro 20 - 1274 ) as phosphodiesterase inhibitor , 2 . 0 lu / ml . adenosine deaminase and pre - incubated for 10 min . in a shaking bath at 37 ° c . the ib - meca or antagonists examined plus atp ( 1 mm ) and forskolin 10 μm are added to the mixture and the incubation continued for a further 10 min . the potencies of antagonists were determined by antagonism of the ib - meca ( 100 nm )- induced inhibition of cyclic amp ( camp ) production . the reaction is terminated by transferring to a boiling water bath . boiling is for 2 min ., and then the tubes are cooled to room temperature and centrifuged at 2 , 000 g for 10 min . at 4 ° c . supernatants ( 100 μl ) are used in competition protein binding assay carried out essentially according to varani et al . ( mol . pharmacol 2000 ). samples of camp standards ( 0 - 10 pmol ) are added to each test tube containing the incubation buffer ( trizma base 0 . 1 m ; aminophylline 8 . 0 mm ; 2 - mercaptoethanol 6 . 0 mm , ph 7 . 4 ) and [ 3 h ]- camp in a total volume of 0 . 5 ml . the binding protein , previously prepared from beef adrenals , is added to the samples previously incubated at 4 ° c . for 150 min . and , after the addition of charcoal are centrifuged at 2 , 000 g for 10 min . the clear supernatant ( 0 . 2 ml ) is mixed with 4 ml of atomlight in a ls - 1800 beckman scintillation counter . the following examples illustrate aspects of this invention but should not be construed as limitations . the symbols and conventions used in these examples are intended to be consistent with those used in the contemporary , international , chemical literature , for example , the journal of the american chemical society (“ j . am . chem . soc .” ) and tetrahedron . 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines were prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme vi . in the preparation of compounds 18 - 25 , a solution of compound 1 ( 10 mmol ) in 40 ml of dmf cooled to 0 ° c . was treated with nah ( 60 % in oil , 12 mmol ) in several portions over 10 minutes . after 45 minutes , the appropriate ( ar ) alkyl halide ( 12 mmol ), was added and the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to 25 ° c . and stirred for 3 - 5 hours ( tlc : etoac 1 : 1 ). the reaction was quenched by addition of h 2 o ( 80 ml ), and the aqueous layer was extracted with etoac ( 5 × 25 ml ). the organic layers were recombined , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated at reduced pressure , to afford the alkylated pyrazole ( compounds 2 - 9 ) as inseparable mixture of n 1 and n 2 isomers ( ratio approximately 1 : 4 ). this mixture of n 1 and n 2 - substituted - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino pyrazoles ( compounds 2 - 9 ) was then dissolved in triethyl orthoformate ( 60 ml ) and the solution was refluxed under nitrogen for 8 hours . the solvent was then removed under vacuum and the oily residue constituted by the mixture of imidates ( compounds 10 - 17 ) was dissolved in 2 - methoxyethanol ( 50 ml ) and 2 - furoic acid hydrazide ( 13 mmol ) was added . the mixture was refluxed for 5 - 10 hours , then , after cooling , the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the dark oily residue was cyclized further in diphenyl ether ( 50 ml ) using a dean - stark apparatus for the azeotropic elimination of water produced in the reaction . after 1 . 5 hours , the mixture was cooled and poured onto hexane ( 300 ml ). the precipitate was collected by filtration and purified by chromatography ( etoac / hexane 1 : 1 ). in this way , the major product ( n 6 alkylated ) ( compounds 18 - 25 ) are obtained in a good overall yield . 8 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 18 ) yield 45 %; yellow solid , m . p . 155 - 156 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1615 , 1510 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 4 . 1 ( s , 1h ); 6 . 32 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 25 ( m , 1h ); 8 . 06 ( m , 1h ); 8 . 86 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 38 ( s , 1h ). 8 - ethyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 19 ) yield 50 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 188 - 189 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1620 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 1 . 67 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 53 ( q , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 59 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 23 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 34 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 10 ( s , 1h ). 8 - propyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 20 ) yield 60 %; yellow solid m . p . 189 - 190 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1600 , 1505 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 0 . 98 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 2 . 03 - 2 . 10 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 41 ( q , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 24 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 32 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 10 ( s , 1h ). 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 21 ) yield 50 %, pale yellow solid m . p . 245 - 247 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1610 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 0 . 9 ( m , 3h ); 1 . 3 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 9 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 5 ( t , 2h , j = 7 . 2 ); 6 . 2 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ); 8 . 0 ( m , 1h ); 8 . 9 ( s , 1h ); 9 , 4 ( s , 1h ). 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 22 ) yield 54 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 235 - 237 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1635 , 1510 , 1450 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 1 . 0 ( d , 6h , j = 6 . 2 ); 1 . 5 - 1 . 9 ( m , 3h ); 4 . 6 ( t , 2h , j = 7 . 4 ); 6 . 6 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 8 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 1 ( s , 1h ). 8 -( 2 - isopentenyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolol [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 23 ) yield 48 %; yellow solid m . p . 210 - 212 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1625 , 1500 , 1430 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 1 . 79 ( s , 3h ); 1 . 87 ( s , 3h ); 5 . 05 ( d , 2h , j = 6 ); 5 . 55 - 5 . 63 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 24 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 34 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 10 ( s , 1h ). 8 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 24 ) yield 56 %, m . p . 268 - 270 ° c . ; ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1660 , 1510 , 1450 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 3 . 32 ( t , 2h , j = 6 . 7 ); 4 . 72 ( t , 2h , j = 6 . 7 ); 6 . 73 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 23 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 95 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 41 ( s , 1h ). anal . ( c 18 h 14 n 6 o ) c , h , n . 8 -( 3 -( phenyl ) propyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 25 ) yield 63 %; yellow solid m . p 165 - 166 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 1630 , 1500 , 1440 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 2 . 34 - 2 . 48 ( m , 2h ); 2 . 67 ( t , 3h , j = 7 . 5 ); 4 . 43 ( t , 2h , j = 7 . 5 ), 6 . 61 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 16 - 7 . 32 ( m , 6h ); 7 . 64 ( d , 1h , j = 2 ); 8 . 29 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 02 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme vii . in the preparation of compounds 34 - 41 , a solution of the mixture of pyrazolo - triazolo - pyrimidine ( compounds 18 - 25 ) ( 10 mmol ) in aqueous 10 % hcl ( 50 ml ) was refluxed for 3 hours . then the solution was cooled and neutralized with a saturated solution of nahco 3 at 0 ° c . the compounds compounds ( 26 - 33 ) were extracted with etoac ( 3 × 20 ml ), the organic layers were dried with na 2 so 4 and evaporated under vacuum . the obtained crude amine ( compounds 26 - 33 ) was dissolved in n - methyl pyrrolidone ( 40 ml ), cyanamide ( 60 mmol ) and p - toluene sulfonic acid ( 15 mmol ) were added and the mixture was heated at 160 ° c . for 4 hours . after cooling , cyanamide ( 60 mmol ) was added again and the solution was heated overnight . then the solution was diluted with etoac ( 80 ml ) and the precipitate ( excess of cyanamide ) was collected by filtration ; the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and washed with water ( 3 × 30 ml ). the organic layer was dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and evaporated under vacuum . the residue was purified by chromatography ( etoac / light petroleum 2 : 1 ) to afford the desired product ( compounds 34 - 41 ) as a solid . 5 - amino - 8 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 34 ) yield 53 %; yellow solid m . p . 167 - 168 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3500 - 2950 , 1680 , 1645 , 1610 , 1560 , 1455 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 4 . 12 ( s , 3h ); 6 . 70 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 99 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 18 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 81 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 42 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 - ethyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 35 ) yield 65 %, - yellow solid m . p . 249 - 250 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3430 - 2950 , 1680 , 1655 , 1620 , 1550 , 1450 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 1 . 46 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 30 ( d , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 72 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 18 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 93 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 93 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 62 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 - propyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 36 ) yield 57 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 209 - 210 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3400 - 2900 , 1660 , 1645 , 1610 , 1545 , 1430 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 0 . 83 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 1 . 81 - 1 . 91 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 22 ( d , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 71 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 19 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 63 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 93 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 61 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 37 ) yield 47 %; white solid m . p . 200 - 203 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3500 - 2900 , 1685 , 1640 , 1620 , 1550 , 1450 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 0 . 9 ( t , 3h ); 1 . 2 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 8 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 2 ( t , 2h ); 6 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 2 ( m , 2h ); 7 . 6 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 0 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 6 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 38 ) yield 60 %; off - white solid m . p . 212 - 213 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3500 - 2850 , 1670 , 1650 , 1615 , 1560 , 1455 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 0 . 96 ( d , 6h , j = 6 . 4 ); 1 . 59 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 86 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 32 ( t , 2h , j = 6 . 4 ); 6 . 58 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 72 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 21 ( d , 1h , j = 4 . 2 ); 7 . 63 ( d , 1h , j = 1 . 2 ); 8 . 10 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 -( 2 - isopentenyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 39 ) yield 58 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 178 - 179 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3520 - 2950 , 1665 , 1640 , 1610 , 1555 , 1450 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 74 ( s , 3h ); 1 . 77 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 87 ( d , 2h , j = 7 ); 5 . 43 - 5 . 46 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 72 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 18 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 62 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 93 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 55 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 40 ) yield 45 %; white solid m . p . 183 - 185 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3500 - 2900 , 1670 , 1645 , ( t , 2h , j = 6 . 4 ); 6 . 7 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 1 - 7 . 4 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 65 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 93 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 45 ( s , 1h ). 5 - amino - 8 -( 3 -( ph nyl ) propyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidin ( compound 41 ) yield 57 %; yellow solid m . p . 168 - 170 ° c . ( etoac - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3510 - 2950 , 1665 , 1640 , 1615 , 1520 , 1455 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ 2 . 14 - 2 . 21 ( m , 2h ); 2 . 54 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 29 ( t , 2h , j = 6 . 4 ); 6 . 71 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 14 - 7 . 32 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 64 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 93 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 64 ( s , 1h ). 5 -[[ substituted phenyl ) carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme viii . in the preparation of compounds 42 - 57 , the appropriate amino compound ( compounds 34 - 41 ) ( 10 mmol ) was dissolved in freshly distilled thf ( 15 ml ) anu the appropriate isocyanate ( 13 mmol ) was added . the mixture was refluxed under argon for 18 hours . then the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue was purified by flash chromatography ( etoac - light petroleum 4 - 6 ) to afford the desired compounds 42 - 57 . following this general procedure the following compounds have been prepared : 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 42 ) yield 98 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 142 - 145 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3210 - 2930 , 1660 , 1630 , 1610 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 4 . 21 ( s , 3h ); 6 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 11 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 13 - 7 . 28 ( m , 2h ): 7 . 55 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 65 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 78 ( d , 1h , j = 2 ); 8 . 22 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 61 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 24 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 43 ) yield 99 %; yellow solid m . p . 193 - 195 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3200 - 2900 , 1664 , 1625 , 1600 , 1500 cm − 1 , 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 20 ( s , 3h ); 6 . 61 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 85 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 26 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 55 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 65 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 21 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 59 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 96 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8ethyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 44 ) yield 98 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 204 - 205 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3220 - 2930 , 1660 , 1620 , 1600 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 71 ( t , 3h , j = 7 ); 4 . 50 ( q , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 67 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 20 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 31 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 61 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 70 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 84 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 30 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 67 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 30 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - ethyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 45 ) yield 99 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 200 - 201 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3250 - 2950 , 1665 , 1620 , 1610 , 1520 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 71 ( t , 3h , j = 7 ); 3 . 85 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 49 ( s , 3h ); 6 . 65 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 88 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 26 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 58 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 69 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 28 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 63 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 99 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - propyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 46 ) yield 95 %; white solid m . p . 138 - 139 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ): ir ( kbr ): 3210 - 2920 , 1655 , 1615 , 1600 , 1510 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 71 ( t , 3h , j = 7 ); 2 . 04 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 36 ( q , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 62 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 12 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 27 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 56 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 66 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 80 ( s , 1h ; 8 . 24 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 62 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 08 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - propyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 47 ) yield 98 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 146 - 148 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3230 - 2950 , 1660 , 1620 , 1600 , 1530 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 0 . 98 ( t , 3h , j = 7 ); 2 . 04 - 2 . 08 ( m , 2h ); 3 . 82 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 35 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 61 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 89 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 25 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 56 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 65 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 23 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 59 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 95 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 48 ) yield 97 %; white solid m . p . 210 - 212 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3240 - 2970 , 1650 , 1610 , 1510 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 00 ( t , 3h , j = 7 ); 1 . 39 - 1 . 41 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 99 - 2 . 03 ( m , 2h ); 4 . 41 ( q , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 63 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 14 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 29 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 56 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 80 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 25 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 63 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 26 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 49 ) yield 96 %; white solid m . p . 197 - 198 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3250 - 2960 , 1665 , 1610 , 1600 , 1520 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 0 . 98 ( t , 3h , j = 7 ); 1 . 38 - 1 - 42 ( m , 2h ); 2 . 02 - 2 . 05 ( m , 2h ); 3 . 82 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 39 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 63 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 92 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 25 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 57 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 23 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 60 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 95 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 50 ) yield 97 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 199 - 200 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3230 - 2950 , 1655 , 1600 , 1510 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 01 ( d , 6h , j = 7 . 5 ); 1 . 49 - 1 . 51 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 88 - 2 . 03 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 42 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 62 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 13 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 34 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 57 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 80 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 24 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 63 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 25 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 51 ) yield 98 %; white solid m . p . 192 - 193 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3230 - 2970 , 1660 , 1615 , 1600 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 0 . 99 ( d , 6h , j = 7 . 5 ); 1 . 58 - 1 - 22 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 87 - 1 . 97 ( m , 2h ); 3 . 82 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 40 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 62 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 91 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 23 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 58 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 66 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 23 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 59 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 94 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ]] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 2 - isopentenyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl ) pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 52 ) yield 99 %; white solid m . p . 204 - 205 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3245 - 2960 , 1650 , 1600 , 1510 cm − 1 , 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 84 ( s , 3h ); 1 . 88 ( s , 3h ); 5 . 01 ( d , 2h , j = 8 ); 5 . 57 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 62 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 12 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 29 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 56 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 66 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 80 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 26 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 60 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 26 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 2 - isopentenyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 53 ) yield 96 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 198 - 199 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3235 - 2950 , 1665 , 1620 , 1600 , 1510 cm − 1 , 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 1 . 83 ( s , 3h ); 1 . 87 ( s , 3h ); 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 97 ( d , 2h , j = 7 ); 5 . 57 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 61 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 93 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 24 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 54 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 66 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 25 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 58 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 96 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 54 ) yield 98 %: white solid m . p . 186 - 187 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3250 - 2970 , 1660 , 1610 , 1515 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 33 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 62 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 19 - 7 . 35 ( m , 7h ); 7 . 57 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 61 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 81 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 89 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 63 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 27 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 55 ) yield 99 %; white solid m . p . 180 - 181 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ); 3245 - 2960 , 1660 , 1615 , 1600 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 42 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 3 . 82 ( s , 3h ); 4 . 60 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 93 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 09 ( m , 2h ); 7 . 20 - 7 . 28 ( m , 4h ); 7 . 56 ( d , 2h , j = 8 ); 7 . 60 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 89 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 59 ( bs , 1h ); 10 . 96 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 3 - chlorophenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 3 -( phenyl ) propyl )- 2 -( 2furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 56 ) yield 99 %; pale yellow solid m . p . 183 - 184 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ); 3245 - 2960 , 1665 , 1610 , 1515 cm − 1 , 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 2 . 46 ( m , 2h ); 2 . 73 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 43 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 66 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 19 - 7 - 40 ( m , 8h ); 7 . 59 ( d , 1h , j = 8 ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 85 ( m , 1h ); 8 . 25 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 67 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 30 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[[( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 3 -( ph nyl ) propyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazol [ 4 , 3 -] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 57 ) yield 98 %; white solid m . p . 174 - 175 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3240 - 2950 , 1665 , 1615 , 1600 , 1510 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 2 . 46 ( m , 2h ); 2 . 73 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 42 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 6 . 67 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 96 ( d , 2h , j = 9 ); 7 . 22 - 7 . 41 ( m , 6h ); 7 . 60 ( d , 2h , j = 8 ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 25 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 65 ( bs , 1h ); 11 . 16 ( bs 1h ). 5 [[ benzyl ) carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme ix . in the preparation of compounds 58 - 59 , the appropriate amino compound ( compound 38 or 41 ) ( 10 mmol ) was dissolved in freshly distilled thf ( 15 ml ) and the appropriate acid halide ( 13 mmol ) and triethylamine ( 13 mmol ) were added . the mixture was refluxed under argon for 18 hours . the solvent was then removed under reduced pressure and the residue was dissolved in etoac ( 30 ml ) and washed twice with water ( 15 ml ). the organic phase was dried on na 2 so 4 and concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by flash chromatography ( etoac - light petroleum 4 : 6 ) to afford the desired compounds 58 and 59 . 5 -[( benzyl ) carbonyl ] amino - 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 . e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 58 ) yield 85 %, pale yellow solid m . p . 144 - 145 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ): 3255 - 2930 , 1673 , 1620 , 1610 , 1520 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 0 . 98 ( d , 6h , j = 7 . 5 ); 1 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 91 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 40 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 53 ( s , 2h ); 6 . 60 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 18 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 26 - 7 . 39 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 22 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 11 ( bs , 1h ). 5 -[( benzyl ) carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( 3 -( phenyl ) propyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ( compound 59 ) yield 95 %, pale yellow solid m . p . 116 - 117 ° c . ( et 2 o - light petroleum ); ir ( kbr ); 3250 - 2900 , 1675 , 1625 , 1600 , 1500 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 2 . 39 ( m , 2h ); 2 . 67 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 37 ( t , 2h , j = 7 ); 4 . 53 ( s , 2h ); 6 . 61 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 16 - 7 . 43 ( m , 11h ); 7 . 65 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 64 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 12 ( bs , 1h ). according to the procedures described in j . org . chem . 1956 , 21 , 1240 ; j . am . chem . soc . 1956 , 78 , 784 and the references herein cited , the following compounds are prepared , starting from commercially available ethoxy - methylene malonodinitrile and n1 - substituted hydrazines , which are also commercially available : these compounds can be used as intermediates to prepare pyrazolo - triazolo - pyrimidine compounds as described herein . starting from 4 - cyano - 5 - aminopyrazole , prepared according the procedure reported in chem . pharm . bull . 1970 , 18 , 2353 or in j . heterocyclic chem . 1979 , 16 , 1113 , 1 - substituted 4 - cyano - 3 - aminopyrazoles can be prepared by direct alkylation with the corresponding alkyl halide in dimethyl formamide at 80 ° c . for 1 to 2 hours in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate . from the reaction mixture , containing the two n1 and n2 alkylated position isomers in an about 1 : 2 ratio , the n2 isomer can be isolated by a single crystallization or column chromatography on silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate and petroleum ether mixtures . using these procedures , the following compounds were prepared : these compounds can be used as intermediates to prepare pyrazolo - triazolo - pyrimidine compounds as described herein a ) a suspension of anhydrous potassium carbonate ( 30 mmols ) in dmf ( 50 ml ) is added with 3 - amino - 4 - cyano pyrazole ( 20 mmols ), heating to a temperature of 80 ° c . for 30 minutes . the suspension is added with phenethyl bromide ( 25 mmols ) and is heated to 80 ° c . for 2 hours . after cooling to room temperature , the mixture is evaporated to dryness under vacuum and the resulting residue is taken up with distilled water , ( 100 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 50 ml ). the combined organic extracts are dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness under vacuum . the resulting residue consists of a 1 : 3 mixture of 1 - phenylethyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - aminopyrazole ( 20 %) and of 1 - phenylethyl - 4 - cyano - 3 - aminopyrazole ( 60 %) which may be used as such in example 9 or chromatographed on silica gel column eluting with an ethyl acetate / hexane mixture to give : 1 - phenylethyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - aminopyrazole m . p . 172 - 173 ° c . ; ( 20 %); 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 04 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 12 ( t , 2h ); 5 . 85 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 21 - 7 . 30 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 41 ( s , 1h ); 1 - β - phenylethyl - 4 - cyano - 3 - aminopyrazole m . p . 98 - 100 ° c . ( 60 %); 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 3 . 07 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 10 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 23 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 17 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 00 - 7 . 28 ( m , 5h ). b ) a solution of 1 - β - phenylethyl - 4 - cyano5 - aminopyrazole ( 20 mmol ) in triethylorthoformate ( 40 ml ) was refluxed under nitrogen for 8 hours . the excess orthoformate was evaporated to dryness under vacuum and the residual yellow oil is dissolved in ethyl ether and percolated onto silica gel to give the corresponding iminoether ( 87 % yield ). the residue obtained after orthoformate evaporation is practically pure and is directly used in the following step . a solution of the iminoether ( 20 mmol ) and 2 - furoic acid hydrazide ( 2 . 5 g , 22 mmol ) in 2 - methoxyethanol ( 50 ml ) was refluxed for 5 to 10 hours . after cooling , the solution is evaporated to dryness to give an oily residue which is subjected to thermal cyclization in diphenylether ( 50 ml ) using a dean - stark apparatus so as to azeotropically remove water formed during the reaction . after 1 . 5 hours , the reaction is checked by tlc ( ethyl acetate : petroleum ether 2 : 1 ) and when the starting compound is completely absent , the mixture is cooled and added with hexane . the resulting precipitate is filtered and crystallized to give 7 -( β - phenylethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ]- pyrimidine m . p . 174 - 175 ° c . ( 20 %) 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 23 ( t , 2h ) 4 . 74 ( t , 2h ); 6 . 75 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 14 - 7 . 17 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 28 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 98 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 53 ( s , 1e ); 9 . 56 ( s , 1h ). in a similar way , starting from 1 - β - phenylethyl - 4 - cyano - 3 - aminopyrazole , 8 -( β - phenylethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl ) pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo ( 1 , 5 - c )- pyrimidine was prepared ; m . p . 268 - 270 ° c . ( 600a ) 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 32 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 72 ( t , 2h ); 6 . 73 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 23 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 95 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 9 . 41 ( s , 1h ). c ) a suspension of the product of step b ) ( 10 mmol ) in 10 % hcl ( 5 . 0 ml ) is refluxed under stirring for 3 hours . after cooling , the solution is made basic with concentrated ammonium hydroxide at 0 ° c . and the resulting precipitate is extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ), dried and evaporated to dryness under vacuum , to give the corresponding 1 -( β - phenylethyl )- 4 -[ 3 ( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 5 - yl ]- 5 - amino pyrazole m . p . 175 - 176 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 15 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 48 ( t , 2h ); 5 . 78 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 37 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 68 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 1 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 27 - 7 . 28 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 82 ( s , 1h ); 14 . 51 ( bs , 2h ): in a similar way 1 -( β - phenylethyl )- 4 -[ 3 ( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 5 - yl )- 3 - aminopyrazole ( m . p . 205 - 206 ° c . ); 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 12 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 46 ( t , 2h ) 5 . 75 ( s , 1h ); 14 . 41 ( bs , 2h ) is obtained . d ) cyanamide ( 60 mmol ) is added to a suspension of the amine of step c ) ( 10 mmole in n - methylpyrrolidone ( 40 ml ) followed by p - toluene sulfonic acid ( 15 mmol ). the mixture is heated to 160 ° c . under stirring . after 4 hours a second portion of cyanamide ( 60 mmol ) is added and heating is continued overnight . the mixture is then cooled and treated with hot water ( 200 ml ) and the precipitate is filtered , washed with water and crystallized from ethanol to give the corresponding 5 - amino - 7 -( β - phenylethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine m . p . 225 - 226 ° c . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 21 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 51 ( t , 2h ); 6 . 65 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 1 - 7 . 44 ( m , 6h ); 7 . 78 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 89 ( bs , 2h ); 8 . 07 ( s , 1h ). in a similar way 5 - amino - 8 -( β - phenylethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ]- pyrimidine m . p . 212 - 213 ° c . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 21 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 53 ( t , 2h ); 6 . 7 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 1 - 7 . 4 ( m , 5h , arom and 1h ); 7 . 65 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 93 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 45 ( s , 1h ) was obtained . a suspension of potassium carbonate ( 0 . 23 mole ) in dmso ( 70 ml ) is added subsequently with cyanoacetamide ( 70 mmols ) and p - fluorobenzylazide ( 54 . 5 mmols ). the resulting solution is stirred at room temperature for 1 h and then poured into a large volume of water ( 1 . 5 1 ). the separated solid is filtered , washed with water and dried in oven at 70 ° c . to give 1 -( p - fluorobenzyl - 4 - carboxamido - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ( 96 . 1 % yield ). m . p . : 198 - 199 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 7 . 5 - 7 . 1 ( m , 6h ); 6 . 4 ( s , 2h ); 5 . 4 ( s , 2h ). an amide suspension ( 0 . 005 mole ), stirred and cooled to 0 ° c ., in dmf ( 5 ml ) is added with phosphorous oxychloride ( 0 . 01 mole ). the resulting solution is stirred for 5 minutes at 0 ° c ., 10 minutes at 25 ° c . and 15 minutes at 80 ° c . after cooling to room temperature , 5 ml of n hcl are added and the mixture is refluxed for 5 minutes . i -( p - fluorobenzyl )- 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole separates from the cooled solution ( 90 % yield ). m . p . 185 - 186 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 7 . 3 - 7 . 0 ( m , 6h ); 5 . 5 ( s , 2h ); ir ( kbr ): 3400 , 3220 , 2220 , 1655 cm − 1 . 1 - or 2 - benzyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - or 2 -( o - fluorobenzyl )- 4cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - or 2 -( p - fluorobenzyl )- 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - or 2 - butyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - or 2 - isopentyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - or 2 -( 2 - methoxyethyl )- 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - 2 - heptyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole 1 - or 2 - octyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole . these compounds can be used as intermediates to prepare the triazolo - triazolo - pyrimidine compounds as described herein . the preparation of ethoxymethyleneamino heterocycles of formula iv is formed by refluxing the respective ortho - aminonitrile with ethyl orthoformate . by way of example , the preparation of 4 - cyano - 5 -( ethoxymethyleneamino )- l - butylpyrazole is reported . a solution of 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - l - butylpyrazole ( 20 mmols ) in triethyl orthoformate ( 40 ml ) is heated to the reflux temperature under nitrogen atmosphere for 8 hours . the orthoformate excess is evaporated to dryness under vacuum and the residual yellow oil is dissolved in ethyl ether and eluted through silica gel to give the pure compound ( 87 % yield ). in many cases , the residue obtained after evaporation of the orthoformate is substantially pure and is used as such in the subsequent step . ir ( nujol ): 3140 , 2240 , 1640 cm − 1 ; 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 8 . 4 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 9 ( s , 1h ); 4 . 5 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 3 ( q , 2h ); 1 . 8 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 5 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 4 ( t , 3h ); 0 . 9 ( t , m ). a solution of the ethoxymethyleneamino heterocycle ( 20 mmols ) and 2 - furoic acid hydrazide ( 2 . 5 g , 22 mmols ) in 2 - methoxyethanol ( 50 ml ) is refluxed for 5 to 10 hours . after cooling , the solution is evaporated to dryness to obtain a residual oil which is subjected to thermal cyclization in diphenyl ether ( 50 ml ) using a round - bottom flask fitted with a dean - stark apparatus , to azeotropically remove the water formed during the reaction . after varying times ( 3 to 5 hours ) the reaction is checked by tlc ( 2 : 1 ethyl acetate : petroleum ether ) and when the whole starting product has disappeared , the mixture is cooled and hexane is added . the resulting precipitate is filtered and crystallized from the suitable solvent . in some cases , a viscous oil separates from the solution , which is then decanted and subsequently extracted . the oily residue is then chromatographed on silica gel , eluting with ethyl acetate / petroleum ether mixtures , to give the tricyclic compound vi . by way of examples , the analytical and spectroscopical characteristics of some compounds prepared by these procedures are reported : 7 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo -[ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 9 . 6 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 6 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 0 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 4 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 5 ( t , 2h ); 1 . 9 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 3 ( m , 2h ); 0 . 9 ( t , 3h ). 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 9 . 4 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 9 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 0 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 2 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 5 ( t , 2h ); 1 . 9 ( m , 2h ); i . ; ( m , 2h ); 0 . 9 ( m , 3h ) in the 2d - nmr ( noesy ) spectrum , the n - ch 2 signal resonating at 4 . 5 shows cross peaks with the c9 - h signal resonating at 8 . 9 . 7 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 9 . 1 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 6 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 6 ( t , 2h ); 1 . 18 - 1 . 7 ( m , 3h ); 1 . 0 ( d , 6h ). 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine . 9 . 1 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 6 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 6 ( t , 2h ); 1 . 9 - 1 . 5 ( m , 3h ); 1 . 0 ( d , 6h ). 7 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 -( 2 - chlorophenyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - phenylethyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - tert - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 -( 2 -( cyclopentyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 -( 2 - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 -( 4 - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 -( 2 - methoxy ) ethyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - heptyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 7 - octyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 -( 2 - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 -( 4 - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - isopentyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - hexyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - heptyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 8 - octyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 9 - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 9 -( 2 - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine 9 -( 4 - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine these compounds can be used as intermediates to prepare the triazolo - triazolo - pyrimidines and pyrazolo - triazolo - pyrimidines as described herein . a suspension of the amines of formula vii ( 10 mmols ) in n - methyl - pyrrolidone ( 40 ml ) is added with cyanamide ( 60 mmols ) followed by p - toluenesulfonic acid ( 15 mmols ). the mixture is heated to 160 ° c . with magnetic stirring . after 4 hours , a second portion of cyanamide ( 60 mmols ) is added and heating is continued overnight . the mixture is then cooled and treated with hot water ( 200 ml ) and the precipitated solid is filtered , washed with water and crystallized from ethanol . if no precipitations take place , the solution is extracted with ethyl acetate ( 4 × 100 ml ), the extracts are washed with brine ( 2 × 50 ml ), dried and evaporated to dryness under vacuum . the residue is then chromatographed on a silica gel column eluting with ethyl acetate . in the following , the analytical and spectroscopic data of some compounds prepared by this procedure are reported : 5 - amino - 7 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine . m . p . 157 - 158 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) 8 . 1 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 0 ( s , 2h ); 7 . 9 ( m , 1h ); 7 . 2 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 2 ( t , 2h ); 1 . 9 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 5 ( m , 2h ); 0 . 9 ( t , 3h ). 5 - amino - 8 - butyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine m . p . 183 - 185 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 6 ( s , 1h ); 8 . 0 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 6 ( s , 2h ); 7 . 2 ( m , 1h ); 6 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 2 ( t , 2h ); 1 . 8 ( m , 2h ); 1 . 2 ( m , 2h ); 0 . 9 ( t , 3h ). 5 - amino - 7 - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine . m . p . 295 - 297 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 5 ( s , 2h ); 8 . 0 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 3 ( m , 6h ); 6 . 7 ( m , 1h ); 5 . 7 ( s , 2h ). 5 - amino - 7 - o - fluoro - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine m . p . 310 - 312 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 5 ( s , 2h ); 8 . 0 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 3 ( m , 5h ); 6 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 5 . 75 ( s , 2h ). these compounds can be reacted with a suitable acid or sulfonic acid derivative to arrive at the compounds of formula i disclosed herein . p - fluorobenzylazide ( 15 . 1 g , 0 . 1 mole ) and cyanacetamide ( 10 . 8 g , 0 . 13 moles ) are added in this order to a suspension of powdered potassium carbonate ( 57 . 5 g , 0 . 42 mole ) in dimethylsulfoxide ( 150 ml ). the mixture is stirred at room temperature , for 1 hour . the mixture is poured into 3 liters of water and the solid which separates is filtered and washed thoroughly with water to give 22 . 47 g ( 96 %) of 1 - p - fluorobenzyl - 4 - carboxamido - 5 - amino 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole m . p . : 198 - 199 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 7 . 5 - 7 . 1 ( m , 6h ); 6 . 4 ( s , 2h ); 5 . 4 ( s , 2h ). 2 - fluoro - 6 - chlorobenzyl - 4 - carboxamide - 5amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 230 - 231 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso d 6 ): 5 . 40 ( s , 2h ); 6 . 52 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 12 - 7 . 45 ( m 5h ). 3 - fluorobenzyl - 4 - carboxamido - 5 - amino1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 211 - 211 ° c . 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 5 . 46 ( s , 2h ); 6 . 47 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 00 - 7 . 52 ( m , 6h ). 1 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 4 - carboxamido - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 181 - 183 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 04 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 35 ( t , 2h ); 6 . 30 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 20 - 7 . 47 ( m , 7h ). a suspension of 1 - p - fluorobenzyl - 4carboxamido - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ( 23 . 4 g , 0 . 1 mole ) in dmf ( 100 10 ml ), magnetically stirred at 0 ° c ., is added with 20 . 8 ml ( 0 . 2 mole ) of pocl 3 . the solution is stirred for 5 h at 0 ° c ., 10 h at room temperature and finally 15 h at 80 ° c . after cooling , 1n hcl ( 100 ml ) is added thereto and the resulting solution is refluxed for 5 h ; upon cooling the following is obtained : 1 , 5p - fluorobenzyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ( 18 . 54 g , 90 %) precipitates . m . p . 185 - 186 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 7 . 3 - 7 . 0 ( m , 6h ); 5 . 5 ( s , 2h ); ir ( kbr ): 3400 , 3220 , 2220 , 1655 cm − 1 . 2 - fluoro - 6 - chlorobenzyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 181 - 185 ° c . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 5 . 40 ( s , 2h ); 7 . 26 - 7 . 50 ( m , 5h ). 3 - fluorobenzyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 195 - 197 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 5 . 44 ( s , 2h ); 7 . 00 - 7 . 43 ( m , 6h ). 1 -( 2 -( phenyl ) thyl )- 4 - cyano - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 149 - 150 ° c . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 04 ( t , 2h ), 4 . 36 ( t , 2h ); 7 . 03 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 23 - 7 . 28 ( m , 5h ). a suspension of 1 - p - fluorobenzyl - 4 - cyano - 5 - amino -, 2 , 3 - triazole ( 20 mmols ) and 2 - furoic acid hydrazide ( 22 mmols ) in diphenyl ether ( 30 ml ) is stirred and heated to reflux ( 260 ° c .) with a dean - stark apparatus until the starting compound disappears ( tlc , 1 to 2 hours ). after cooling , the mixture is diluted with petroleum ether and the resulting precipitate is either filtered , or separated by decantation and chromatographed on a silica gel column eluting with 2 : 1 ethyl acetate and petroleum ether to obtain : 1 -( p - fluorobenzyl )- 4 -[ 3 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 5 - yl ]- 5amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ; m . p . 266 - 268 ° c . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 14 . 5 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 4 - 7 . 1 ( m , 5h ); 6 . 6 ( s , 1h ); 6 . 5 ( s , 2h ); 5 . 5 ( s , 2h ). analogously , 1 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 4 [ 3 ( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 5 - yl ]- 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ( 50 %); m . p . 200 - 202 ° c . 1 h - nmr ( dmso d 6 ): 3 . 07 ( t , 2h ); 4 . 16 ( t , 2h ); 5 . 50 ( bs , 2h ); 6 . 61 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 95 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 2 - 7 . 4 ( m , 5h ); 7 . 78 ( s , 1h ); 13 . 8 ( bs , 1h ) is obtained . a suspension of 1 -( p - fluorobenzyl )- 4 -[ 3 -( 2 - furyl ) 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 5 - yl - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole ( 0 . 325 g , 1 mmols ) in n - methyl - pyrrolidone ( 4 ml ) is added with cyanamide ( 6 mmols ) followed by p - toluenesulfonic acid ( 1 . 5 mmols ) the mixture is heated at 160 ° c . with magnetic stirring . after 4 hours , a second portion of cyanamide ( 6 mmols ) is added and heating is continued overnight . the mixture is then treated with hot water ( 20 ml ) and the precipitated solid is filtered , washed with water and crystallized from ethanol . if no precipitations take place , the solution is extracted with ethyl acetate ( 4 × 10 ml ), the extracts are washed with brine ( 2 × 5 ml ), dried and evaporated to dryness under vacuum . the residue is then chromatographed on a silica gel column eluting with ethyl acetate to give 105 mg ( 30 % yield ) of 5 - amino - 7 - p - fluoro - benzyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine m . p . : 266 - 268 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 5 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 95 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 4 - 7 . 1 ( m , 6h ); 6 . 7 ( s , 1h ); 5 . 7 ( s , 2h ). 5 - amino - 7 -( 2 - fluoro - 6 - chlorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 triazolo -[ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - tiazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ; m . p . 218 - 220 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 51 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 98 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 55 - 7 . 28 ( m , 4h ); 6 . 77 ( m , 1h ); 5 . 73 ( s , 2h ). 5 - amino - 7 -( m - fluorobenzyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl ) 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ; m . p . 280 - 283 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 45 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 98 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 4 - 7 . 1 ( m , 5h ); 6 . 76 ( s , 1h ); 5 . 75 ( s , 2h ). 5 - amino - 7 -( β - phenylethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- i . 2 , 3 - triazolo [ 5 , 4 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidin ; m . p . 269 - 271 ° c . ; 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 4 ( bs , 2h ); 7 . 98 ( s , 1h ); 7 . 3 - 7 . 15 ( m , 6h ); 6 . 8 ( s , 1h ); 4 . 71 ( t , 2h ); 3 . 31 ( t , 2h ). compd . r 2 r 60 h h 61 h 4 - meo - ph - nhco 62 h 3 - cl - ph - nhco 63 t - c 4 h 9 h 64 t - c 4 h 9 4 - meo - pn - nhco 65 t - c 4 h 9 3 - cl - ph - nhco 66 ch 3 ph - nhco 67 ch 3 4 - so 3 h - ph - nhco 68 ch 3 3 , 4 - cl 2 - ph - nhco 69 ch 3 3 , 4 -( och 2 o )- ph - nhco 70 ch 3 4 -( no 2 )- ph - nhco 71 ch 3 4 -( ch 3 )- ph - nhco 72 ch 3 ph -( ch 2 )— co 73 c 2 h 5 ph - nhco 74 c 2 h 5 4 - so 3 h - ph - nhco 75 c 2 h 5 3 , 4 - cl 2 - ph - nhco 76 c 2 h 5 3 , 4 -( och 2 — o )- ph - nhco 77 c 2 h 5 4 -( no 2 )- ph - nhco 78 c 2 h 5 4 -( ch 3 )- ph - nhco 79 c 2 h 5 ph -( ch 2 )— co 80 n - c 3 h 7 ph - nhco 81 n - c 3 h 7 4 - so 3 h - ph - nhco 82 n - c 3 h 7 3 , 4 - cl 2 - ph - nhco 83 n - c 3 h 7 3 , 4 -( och 2 — o )- ph - nhco 84 n - c 3 h 7 4 -( no 2 )- ph - nhco 85 n - c 3 h 7 4 -( ch 3 )- ph - nhco 86 n - c 3 h 7 ph -( ch 2 )— co 87 n - c 4 h 9 ph - nhco 88 n - c 4 h 9 4 - so 3 h - ph - nhco 89 n - c 4 h 9 3 , 4 - cl 2 - ph - nhco 90 n - c 4 h 9 3 , 4 -( och 2 — o )- ph - nhco 91 n - c 4 h 9 4 -( no 2 )- ph - nhco 92 n - c 4 h 9 4 -( ch 3 )- ph - nhco 93 2 -( α - napthyl ) ethyl ph -( ch 2 )— co 94 2 -( α - napthyl ) ethyl h 95 2 -( α - napthyl ) ethyl 4 - meo - ph - nhco 96 2 -( α - napthyl ) ethyl 3 - cl - ph - nhco 97 2 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - tribromo - h phenyl ) ethyl 98 2 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - tribromo - 4 - meo - ph - nhco phenyl ) ethyl 99 2 -( 2 , 4 , 5 - tribromo - 3 - cl - ph - nhco phenyl ) ethyl 100 2 - propen - 1 - yl 4 - meo - ph - nhco 108 n - c 3 h 7 4 - meo - ph - nhco 109 c 2 h 5 4 - meo - ph - nhco sulfonyl phenyl isocyanates can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme x . a suspension of the appropriate , commercially available amine is reacted with diphosgene using ethyl acetate as the solvent . the resulting isocyanate is then available for use as an intermediate in the synthesis of compounds of the present invention . following scheme x the following phenyl - isocyanates may be produced , many of which are also commercially available : 4 -( diethylamino ) phenyl isocyanate ( used as intermediate in the production of compounds 101 - 102 ). 4 -( dimethylamino ) phenyl isocyanate ( used as intermediate in the production of compound 103 ). 4 -( n - morpholino ) phenyl isocyanate ( used as intermediate in the production of compound 104 ). phenyl isocyanates can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme xi . acetanilide ( 20 g , 145 mmol ) was added gradually to chlorosulfonic acid ( 48 ml , 725 mmol ) at 0 - 5 ° c . after the addition is complete , the reaction mixture was heted to 60 ° c . for 2 h after cooling to room temperature , the reaction mixture was poured slowly , with stirring onto 300 g of ice . the sulfonyl chloride that precipitated was collected by filtration , washed with water , then recrystallized from acetone at 35 ° c ./− 10 ° c . a suspension of 4 - acetylaminobenzene sulfonyl chloride ( 4 . 5 mmol ) in anhydrous ch 2 cl 2 at room temperature is treated with 1 - methyl piperazine ( 4 . 5 mmol ) and triethylamine ( 4 . 5 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour , water was added , and the product extracted with additional ch 2 cl 2 the combined organic extracts were dried ( na2so4 ), filtered , and evaporated under reduced pressure , affording the desired n -[ 4 -( 4 - methylpiperazine - 1 - sulfonyl ) phenyl ] acet - amide . mp : 184 ° c . ; yield 41 %; 1h nmr ( dmso d 6 ): δ 2 . 09 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 15 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 40 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 85 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 63 - 7 . 68 ( d , 2h , j = 10 hz ), 7 . 80 - 7 . 84 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 10 . 41 ( s , 1h ). n -[ 4 -( 4 - methylpiperazine - 1 - sulfonyl ) phenyl ] acetamide ( 2 g , 6 . 7 mmol ) was dissolved in 3 n hcl ( 50 ml ) and 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 12 ml ). the reaction mixture was refluxed for 1 h , evaporated under vacuum , and the rsulting mixture made basic with 30 % nh4oh . the desired product was extracted with ch2cl2 , dried ( na2so4 ), filtered , and evaporated under reduced pressure to obtain 4 -( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - sulfonyl ) aniline as a white solid . mp : 210 ° c . ; yield 53 %; 1h nmr ( dmso d 6 ): δ 2 . 22 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 50 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 82 ( m , 4h ), 6 . 10 ( bs , 2h ), 6 . 62 - 6 . 67 ( d , 2h , j = 10 hz ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 36 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ). 4 -( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - sulfonyl ) aniline ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 96 mmol ) dissolved in anhydrous benzene was added dropwise to a solution of trichloromethylchloroformate ( 0 . 3 ml , 2 . 35 mmol ) in anhydrous benzene at − 10 ° c . the mixture was warmed to room temperature for 10 minutes , then heated to 90 ° c . for 2 h the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure to provide 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) sulfonyl ] phenyl isocyanate as a solid , used as an intermediate in the production of compound 105 ir : 1166 , 1339 , 2265 cm − 1 . preparation of 5 -[[( substituted phenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine urea ( compounds 101 , 104 , 105 , int . 103 ) 5 -[[ substituted phenyl ) carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidines can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme xii . [[( substituted phenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine urea ( compounds 101 , 104 , 105 , intermediate for compound 103 ) in the preparation of compounds 101 , 104 , 105 and intermediate for compound 103 , the appropriate amino compound ( compounds 34 - 41 ) ( 10 mmol ) are dissolved in freshly distilled tea and dioxan , then the appropriate isocyanate ( 13 mmol ) is added . the mixture is refluxed under argon for a minimum of 3 hours then the solvent is removed under reduced pressure and the residue is purified by flash chromatography ( etoac - light petroleum 4 - 6 ) to afford the desired compounds 101 , 104 , 105 and intermediate for compound 103 . in the case of compound 101 and the intermediate for compound 103 , n - methyl pyrrolidone is also added with the isocyanate . following this general procedure the following compounds have been prepared : pharmaceutical salts of the present invention may be prepared in any method known in the art , including the method depicted in the following scheme xiii . starting with 100 mg of a pryrimidine urea compound of the present invention ( for example , compound 101 , int . 103 ), the hydrochloride salt is prepared by exposing the urea to 10 ml of methanol that has been saturated with hcl gas . temperature is held at 0 ° c . while stirring is continued for approximately 1 hour . the solvent is then evaporated under vacuum to obtain a solid compound . the solid is purifed by resuspension in ethanol with subsequent solvent evaporation under vacuum . following this general procedure the following compounds have been prepared : 5 -[( pyridinyl ) amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ureas can be prepared according to the synthetic strategy shown in the following scheme xiv . in the preparation of compounds such as 106 the appropriate amino compound ( for example ; compounds 34 - 41 ) are added after the curtius rearrangement of the acyl azide has occurred . to a solution of 13 . 8 sodium nitirite in 30 ml of aqueous hcl solution , 13 . 7 g of hydrazide is slowly added , keeping the temperature between 0 ° c . and 5 ° c . the mixture is stirred at 0 ° c . for an additional 0 . 5 hours . the reaction was extracted with etoh , the organic layer washed with naco 3 solution having a ph = 8 . 0 and then washed with water . the solution is then dried over na 2 so 4 and concentrated a r . t . the white solid was filtered using petroleum ether to obtain the pyridineacylazide ( m . p . 45 ° c .). next , 1 . 5 g of pyridineacylazide and 30 ml toluene are stirred at 80 ° c . for 2 hours , allowing the curtius rearrangement to occur . then 0 . 5 g of the tricyclic amine ( compound 34 ) are added and the mixture stirred at 100 ° c . for 5 hours ( controlling on tlc between 95 ° c . and 105 ° c .). ( ch 2 cl 2 — ch 3 oh ). the solvent is evaporated and the product dissolved in scalding hot ch 3 oh ( heated to approx 60 ° c . ), adsorbed on silica gel and purified by chromatography to yield 0 . 9 g of a white solid . ( m . p . 195 - 197 ° c .). following this general procedure the following compound was prepared : starting with the urea compound 106 , a corresponding pharmaceutical salt was obtained as follows : 50 mg of compound 106 is added to 5 ml of dioxan and 5 ml of methanol that has been saturated with hcl gas and held at 0 ° c . while stirring is continued for approximately 1 hour . the solvent is then evaporated under vacuum to obtain a solid compound . the solid is then separated by filtration , and washed with etoh . following this procedure the following was prepared ; n -[ 2 -( 2 - furyl )- 8 - m thyl - 8h - pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ][ 1 , 2 , 4 ] triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidin - 5 - yl ]- n ′- pyridin - 4 - ylurea hydrochloride ( compound 107 ). m . p . & gt ; 300 ° c . ; soluble in water . several of the compounds described above have been tested for their affinity at rat a 1 and a 2a and human a 3 receptors using the following assays . male wistar rats ( 200 - 250 g ) were decapitated and the whole brain and striatum dissected on ice . the tissues were disrupted in a polytron homogenizer at a setting of 5 for 30 s in 25 volumes of 50 mm tris hcl , ph 7 . 4 , containing 10 mm mgcl 2 . the homogenate was centrifuged at 48 , 000 for 10 min , and the pellet was resuspended in the same buffer containing 2 lu / ml adenosine deaminase . after 30 min incubation at 37 ° c ., the membranes were centrifuged and pellets were stored at − 80 ° c . prior to freezing , an aliquot of homogenate was removed for protein assay with bovine albumin as reference standard . binding assays were performed on rat brain and striatum membranes respectively , in the presence of 10 mm mgcl 2 at 25 ° c . all buffer solutions were adjusted to maintain a constant ph of 7 . 4 . displacement experiments were performed in 500 μl of tris hcl buffer containing 1 nm of the selective adenosine a 1 receptor ligand [ 3 h ] cha ( n 6 - cyclohexyladenosine ) and membranes of rat brain ( 150 - 200 μg of protein / assay ). displacement experiments were performed in 500 μl . of tris hcl buffer containing 10 mm mgcl 2 , 0 . 2 nm of the selective adenosine a 2a receptor ligand [ 3 h ] sch58261 ( 5 - amino - 7 -( 2 -( phenyl ) ethyl )- 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ]- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine ) and membranes of rat striatum ( 80 - 100 μg of protein / assay ). to determine ic 50 values ( where ic 50 is the inhibitor concentration displacing 50 % of labeled ligand ) the test compound was added in triplicate to binding assay samples at a minimum of six different concentrations . separation of bound from free radio ligand was performed by rapid filtration through whatman gf / b filters which were washed three times with ice - cold buffer filter bound radioactivity was measured by scintillation spectrometry after addition of 5 ml of aquassure . non specific binding was defined as binding in the presence of 10 μm r - pia ( n 6 -( phenylisopropyl ) adenosine ) and 10 μm neca ( 5 ′-( n - ethylcarboxamido ) adenosine ), respectively , and was always 10 % of the total binding . incubation time ranged from 150 min . at 0 ° c . to 75 min at 30 ° c . according to the results of previous time - course experiments . ki values were calculated from the cheng - prusoff equation . all binding data were analyzed using the nonlinear regression curve - fitting computer program ligand . an aliquot of membranes ( 8 mu of protein / ml ) from hek - 293 cells transfected with the human recombinant a 3 adenosine receptor was used for binding assays . fig1 shows a typical saturation of [ 125 i ] ab - meca ( n 6 -( 4 - amino - 3 - iodobenzyl )- 5 ′-( n - methylcarbamoyl ) adenosine ) to hek - 293 cells . inhibition experiments were carried out in duplicate in a final volume of 100 μl in test tub containing 0 . 3 nm [ 125 i ] ab - meca , 50 nm tris hcl buffer , 10 mm mgcl 2 , ph 7 . 4 , 20 μl of diluted membranes ( 12 . 4 mg of protein / ml ), and at least 6 - 8 different concentrations of typical adenosine receptor antagonists . non - specific binding was defined in the presence of 50 μm r - pia and was about 30 % of total binding . incubation time was 60 min at 37 ° c ., according to the results of previous time - course experiments . bound and free radioactivity was separated by filtering the assay mixture through whatman gf / b glass - fiber filters using a brandel cell harvester . compounds 34 - 59 were tested in radio ligand binding assays for affinity at rat brain a 1 , a 2a and human a 3 receptors , and the results are summarized in table 1 . similarly , other compounds were tested in radio ligand binding assays for affinity at human a 1 , a 2a , a 2b and a 3 receptors , and the results are summarized in table 2 . the data demonstrate that compounds lacking bulky ( compounds 38 , 40 and 41 ) groups at n 5 position show great affinity for a 2a adenosine receptors with low selectivity vs . a 1 and low affinity at human adenosine a 3 receptor subtype , and that compounds with a substituted phenyl carbamoyl chain at the n 5 position possess affinity in nanomolar range at h 3 receptor subtype with different degrees of selectivity vs . a 1 and a 2a receptor subtype . in particular , the 4 - methoxyphenylcarbamoyl moiety ( compounds 51 , 55 and 57 ) confer higher affinity , of about three order of magnitude , than the 3 - chlorophenylcarbamoyl moiety ( compounds 50 , 54 and 56 ). the introduction , at the n 8 position , of chains with different steric characteristics permits the design of derivatives with high potency at human a 3 adenosine receptor and better selectivity vs . a 1 and a 2a receptor subtypes . fig1 shows a saturation curve of [ 125 i ] ab - meca to adenosine a 3 receptor and the linearity of the scatchard plot in the inset is indicative , in our experimental conditions , of the presence of a single class of binding sites with k d value of 0 . 9 ± 0 . 01 nm and bmax value of 62 ± 1 fmol / mg protein ( n = 3 ). fig2 shows the capability of compounds 66 , 67 , 106 and 107 to block c1 - ib - meca induced inhibition of camp production . it is seen that the potency of adenosine a 3 antagonism is comparable among compounds 66 , 106 and 107 , while potency is 2 orders of magnitude less for compound 67 . the data demonstrates that small chain ( c 1 - 3 ) substituents at the 8 - position of the 5 -[[ substituted phenyl ) amino ] carbonyl ] amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine compounds described herein , in particular , methyl , ethyl and propyl groups , are preferred over larger chains such as pentyl and hexyl groups . in particular , compounds 45 and 47 , the 8 - methyl , 8 - ethyl and 8 - propyl , 5 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) substituted compounds showed the high affinity and selectivity . the methyl , ethyl and propyl chains can be substituted with phenyl or substituted phenyl groups and still show rather high affinity and selectivity for the a 3 receptor subtype , but the affinity is reduced by a factor of between 10 and 100 . however , the compound with a β - phenylethyl chain at n 8 and 4 - meo - phenylcarbamoyl chain at the n 5 position ( compound 55 ) showed a relatively good value in terms of affinity and selectivity ( k i ha 3 = 1 . 47 nm , ra 1 / ha 3 = 872 , ra 2a / ha 3 = 951 ). even with the relatively large pentyl groups present in compounds 50 and 51 , the compounds show a relatively high affinity for the a 3 receptor subtype ( 81 . 10 and 29 . 57 nm , respectively ), although the selectivity falls by a factor of about 10 to 100 . previous studies demonstrated that the affinity of 5 - amino - 8 -( ar ) alkyl - 2 -( 2 - furyl )- pyrazolo [ 4 , 3 - e ] 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolo [ 1 , 5 - c ] pyrimidine compounds for the adenosine a 2 receptor subtype tended to increase with the size of the group at the 8 position . it appears that the opposite trend is true for affinity of the compounds described herein for the a 3 receptor subtype . c 1 - 3 substituents appear to represent the ideal steric and lipophilic characteristics for interaction with the a 3 receptor subtype . a series of binding experiments were performed on various tumor cell lines , using 0 . 5 nm [ 125 i ]- abmeca , with unspecific binding determined in the presence of 50 μm r - pia or 200 μm neca , on cell membranes of the cell lines . specific binding was determined by substracting unspecific binding from total binding . the cell lines were the hl 60 , nb4 , skn - mc , skn - be2c , skn - sh and jurkat cell lines . the results of the binding experiments are shown below in table 3 the results are shown in graphical form in fig3 . jurkat cell lines appeared to provide the best results of the cell lines tested . a saturation experiment was performed using jurkat cell lines at 37 ° c ., with a one hour incubation period , using [ 125 i ]- abmeca ( 0 . 125 - 1 . 5 nm ), with nonspecific binding measured using rpia ( 50 μm ). the kd ( nm ) was 4 , and the bmax ( fmol / mg protein ) was 290 . another assay was performed to determine whether a1 receptor were present . a displacement assay was performed at 0 ° c . for 150 minutes on jurkat cells using [ 3 h ] dpcpx , a specific a 1 antagonist ( 0 . 5 nm ), with nonspecific binding determined using r - pia ( 50 μm ). the total binding was 13208 , the nonspecific binding was 2997 , and the specific binding was 10211 ( 77 %). accordingly , a significant amount of a 1 binding was observed . the following experiments are described for the first time , i . e ., the characterization of a 3 receptors in some human tumor cell lines such as hl60 , a promyelocytic human leukaemia , and jurkat , a human t - cell leukaemia , by using the new selective antagonist ( radioligand of compound 108 ) is described herein . in these studies , membranes ( 0 . 5 mg protein / ml ) from jurkat and hl60 cells were incubated with 10 - 12 different concentrations of the radioligand ranging from 0 . 2 to 15 nm and 0 . 1 to 10 nm for jurkat and hl60 cells , respectively fig4 shows a saturation curve of the radioligand binding to adenosine a 3 receptors in jurkat cell membranes and the linearity of the scatchard plot in the inset is indicative of the presence of a single class of binding sites with a kd value of 1 . 9 ± 0 . 2 nm and bmax value of 1 . 30 ± 0 . 03 pmol / mg protein ( n = 3 ) fig5 shows a saturation curve of the radioligand binding to adenosine a 3 receptors in hl60 membranes and the linearity of the scatchard plot in the inset is indicative of the presence of a single class of binding sites with a a kd value of 1 . 2 ± 0 . 1 nm and bmax , value of 626 ± 42 fmol / mg protein ( n = 3 ). these results show that many cell lines contain relatively large numbers of adenosine receptors . because compound 108 is known to bind a 3 receptors with a high affinity and selectivity , it is likely that there is a relatively large presence of a 3 receptors in tumor cells . the active compound and the starch are granulated with water and dried . magnesium stearate is added to the dried granules and the mixture is thoroughly blended . the blended mixture is compressed into tablets . ( c ) injection - for 1000 , 1 ml ampules ingredients amount active compound 10 g buffering agents q . s . propylene glycol 400 mg water for injection q . s . 1000 ml . the active compound and buffering agents are dissolved in the propylene glycol at about 50 ° c . the water for injection is then added with stirring and the resulting solution is filtered , filled into ampules , sealed and sterilized by autoclaving . ( d ) continuous injection - for 1000 ml ingredients amount active compound 10 g buffering agents q . s . water for injection q . s . 1000 ml . although the present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments , various substitutions of materials and conditions can be made as will be known to those skilled in the art . for example , medicaments prepared from the compounds of the present invention may incorporate other excipients and color identifying means as well as be modified in accordance with desired potency and patient administration methods . other variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are meant to be included herein . the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims :	2
in preparing a fuel cell assembly from individual solid electrolyte unit fuel cells , a bonding force is applied only to the peripheral edges of the manifolds during bonding , which may lower the strength of the bond and reduce fuel cell durability . for fuel cell assemblies adapted for vehicular use , frequent starting and stopping or rapid acceleration or deceleration may input vibration or impact to the fuel cell assembly . in addition , because the separator plates may be thin in order to reduce the thermal capacity and electrical resistance of the overall fuel cell stack , the strength of the separator plates may be reduced and the strength of the bond between the joined separator plates may also be compromised due to flexing of the separator plates . the separator plates may also shift position due to vibration or impact , thereby increasing the resistance between adjoining unit fuel cells or causing electrical short circuits . according to some embodiments of the present invention , a fuel cell assembly is provided in which one or more ribs are positioned adjacent the porous support member in the chamber formed between two separator plates . at least one section of each rib may be bonded to an electrically conductive separator plate so in addition to bonding the porous support member to the electrically conductive separator plate by pressing firmly , the bonded section of the rib may function as a beam which reinforces the separator plate . various embodiments of the present invention will be described with respect to the following figures and examples . other embodiments are within the scope of the claims , and it is understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the following detailed description of the invention , but includes these embodiments , as well as all embodiments encompassed by the claimed elements and their equivalents . the fuel cell assembly of the present invention features a plurality of solid electrolyte unit fuel cells arranged in a stack . the unit fuel cells are separated by thin , electrically conductive separator plate that are reinforced and joined to the surface of the solid electrolyte layers by a plurality of ribs formed on a surface of the separator plates and / or the solid electrolyte layer . a chamber may be formed between adjoined separator plates . in some embodiments , a porous support member occupies at least a portion of the chamber . the porous support member ( porous pyroelectric member ) is preferably made of an electrically and thermally conductive material , such as a metal . the separator plates and the porous support member may be joined by bonding ribs on the surface of the porous support member to adjacent ribs on the surfaces of the separator plates . joining may , for example , be carried out using any joining means , including laser welding , resistance welding , seam welding , dispersion welding , soldering , brazing and bonding . bonding may be achieved using one or more of a wax , a paste or an adhesive . the strength of the bonds between each bonded separator plate and each porous support member may thereby be increased . as a result , it may be possible to manufacture lower cost solid electrolyte fuel cells and fuel cell stack assemblies that are effective at reducing the contact resistance between the separator plates and the porous support member . it also may be possible to prevent a shift in the position of the porous support member relative to the separator plates caused by vibration or impact , thereby reducing short circuits and increasing fuel cell assembly reliability . the shape of the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention is not particularly limited , and the fuel cell and fuel cell components may , for example , exhibit a generally rectangular or a generally circular cross - section . the ribs of the porous support member may be formed by applying pressure such as that in a press . the solid electrolyte fuel cells according to certain embodiments of the present invention may also feature a structure with a gas distribution function for gas passing through channels formed between bonded ribs of the porous support member and the separator plate . in this case , it may not be necessary to position a gas distribution manifold within the chamber , thereby maintaining the overall thinness of the unit fuel cell and a fuel cell stack assembly . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention may exhibit improved strength of the separator plates and at least one of the separator plates may have a fluid manifold . the fluid manifold may be formed by compression of two or more separator plates in a press . additionally , to reinforce the strength of the separator plates , there may be a structure positioned where a rib of the porous support member is aligned with the manifold in the separator plate . for example , with a structure that makes it possible to engage the rib of the porous support member with the manifold of the separator plate via an indentation in the rib of the porous support member and a rib in the rib of the porous support member , it is simple to align the porous support member with the separator plate during assembly of the solid electrolyte fuel cell . in this case , the shape of the manifold on the separator plate is determined by the gas distribution properties and the strength needed for the separator plate . for example , if the separator plate is round , the manifold is formed as a partition in the radial direction that should have a separator plate reinforcing effect . in this case , if the manifold with the partitioning function divides the gas intake opening side from the outlet side , the gas distribution properties are enhanced . if the manifold is positioned around the separator plate , the bonding strength with the porous support member and the strength of the entire separator plate can be enhanced . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention may have a plurality of channels formed between the bonded sections on the rib of the porous support member bonded with the electrically conductive separator plate on one side , and the electrically conductive separator plate on the other side , and these channels may provide a path for flow of fuel cell working fluids , for example fuel gas and oxidant gas , to the solid electrolyte layer of the fuel cell . the channels and manifold formed on the separator plates may also provide a working fluid conduit between unit fuel cells in a fuel cell stack assembly . in certain embodiments , fuel cell working fluid ( e . g . fuel gas or oxidant gas ) dispersion and distribution may be enhanced . for example , if the separator plate is round , the flow of gas may be directed radially outward toward the outer circumference of the unit fuel cell from the center manifold of the separator plate using a plurality of ribs directed radially outward from a position proximate the center of the separator plate to a position proximate the outer circumference of the separator plate . as the gas may be released to the surface of the solid electrolyte layer along this radially outward path , the gas dispersion and distribution may be improved . if the channels are formed so the gas flows towards the fuel cell periphery and gas is released in the appropriate positions along the face of the solid electrolyte layer , an unequal distribution of gas may be prevented , which may result in a more uniform temperature distribution within the solid electrolyte layer . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention may be constructed such that the bonded section on the rib of the porous support member bonded with the electrically conductive separator plate on one side is bonded with the electrically conductive separator plate on the other side , and the ribs provide a conduit for passing gas through the chamber between both separator plates . in this case , there may be no need for a porous support member mounted in the chamber between separator plates to increase gas dispersion and distribution . for example , if formed so the separator plate is round , the step on the separator plate manifold may increase and when bonding with the rib of the porous support member in this position , the pressure loss in this bonded section may increase . thus in some embodiments , a porous support member may be mounted between separator plates , for example , within a chamber formed between joined separator plates . in certain embodiments , a step may be formed by the manifold of both separator plates , which may enable the ribs to be formed near the center of the cell and may allow the ribs of the porous support member to be bonded to the manifolds of each separator plate . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention may be constructed such that there is a porous support member inside the chamber between two separator plates , and the porous support member may be joined to the solid electrolyte layer at a position outside of the chamber when inserted between the electrically conductive separator plates . in this case , the anode and cathode sides of the solid electrolyte layer are secured from both sides to the separator plates , so both ends of the solid electrolyte layer can be secured together , which simplifies processing . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to these embodiments may be constructed such that the porous support member has a shape that is a mesh , a non - woven shape or a metal foam , or the like , and may be produced from a heat resistant alloy ( such as sus430 , sus310s or inconel 750 , 718 ) with the primary element of fe or ni , and containing cr , or a metal such as ni , pt and ag . if the porous support member is a mesh , the wire diameter may be about 100 ˜ 200 μm to impart flexibility . the porous support member may not require a thermal expansion coefficient matching the thermal expansion coefficient of the cell material , but the conductivity of the surface is preferably high , and the material preferably resists hardening due to repeated thermal shock . additionally , this porous support member may reduce the contact resistance between both sides due to the contact area applied to each cell so the shape of each cell surface may be flexible or elastic to fit the shape of the surface of each cell . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention is constructed such that the bond between the porous support member , solid electrolyte layer and / or the electrically conductive separator plates is formed using any joining means , including laser welding , resistance welding , seam welding , dispersion welding , soldering , brazing and bonding . bonding may be achieved using one or more of a wax , a paste or an adhesive . preferably , bonding may be achieved using one or more of an electrically conductive wax , an electrically conductive paste , or an electrically conductive adhesive . if the bonded section between the porous support member and the electrically conductive separator plates functions as a beam , the bond should not be intermittent but linear . if bonding the porous support member , the solid electrolyte layer and the electrically conductive separator plates via welding , pressure may be applied while heating . if bonding by diffusion bonding between the porous support member and the electrically conductive separator plates , bonding may be performed by applying a load of about 110 kg f / cm 2 on the ribs at a high temperature of less than about 1000 ° c ., preferably under vacuum conditions . if bonding with waxes , conductive pastes or adhesives , force may be applied to the ribs and there may be an indentation in the manifold of the separator plate to act as a receptacle for the bonding material . preferably , the bonding material is in a fluid state at the time of bonding , but converts to a solid - like state upon completion of the bonding step or at a time shortly thereafter . with wax application , the wax may be determined in conjunction with the operating temperature of the solid electrolyte fuel cell . for example , if the fuel cell operating temperature of about 700 ° c . is desired , the wax is preferably selected to have a melting point above that operating temperature , for example above about 705 ° c . wax bonding may be performed at or above the wax melting point ( for example , 780 ° c .) and fuel cell operation should therefore be limited to a lower operating temperature . although many conductive waxes , pastes and adhesives may be selected in this manner according to the fuel cell operating temperature , assuming an operating temperature of about 700 ° c ., pt and ag pastes may be suitable conductive paste materials , and heat - resistant ceramics or stainless steel putties may be suitable adhesive materials . the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention may be constructed such that there is no increase in the heat capacity and mass from the perspective of starting or operating so the electrically conductive separator plates may be formed in a thickness of 0 . 05 ˜ 0 . 5 mm . materials for the electrically conductive separator plates can be used with stainless rollers but if installing a high temperature cell , the material for the electrically conductive separator plates is preferably a stainless steel such as sus316l , sus430 or an alloy of fe — cr such as smg or fecrw . in certain embodiments , it may be desirable to use a ni alloy such as inconel , and it is preferred that the separator plate material have a thermal expansion coefficient that is close to that of the fuel cell component materials . in certain additional embodiments , a fuel cell assembly may be manufactured by stacking a plurality of unit fuel cells with a separator plate assembly between each unit fuel cell . the fuel cell stack assembly may then be bonded together to form a laminate structure , with bonding occurring between the separator plates and the adjacent porous support member . in certain preferred embodiments , the individual unit fuel cells have the structure of a solid oxide fuel cell . with this structure , the strong thermal shock when starting or stopping fuel cell operation may be avoided , thereby increasing the structural durability of the fuel cell assembly over a range of operating conditions . the unit fuel cell of a solid oxide fuel cell may be either an electrode supported type or an electrolyte supported type . additionally , since electrically conductive separator plates are used , the fuel cell operating temperature may be selected to be relatively high , but should preferably remain less than about 700 ° c . to prevent degradation of the bonding materials used to join the separator plates . the following detailed discussion of the figures provides a detailed description of the present invention using certain exemplary embodiments but the present invention is not limited to those embodiments , but includes all embodiments within the scope of the claim elements and their equivalents . fig1 - 3 show one embodiment of a solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , a separator plate for one side 2 may be configured with eight ribs 23 defining fluid flow channels formed via press processing that run in the radial direction while the donut shaped porous support member 6 is also equipped with bonding bands 61 formed via press processing that run in the radial direction . as shown in fig2 , a solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 is equipped with a separator plate for one side 2 that is a round thin plate and has a gas intake opening 21 and a gas discharge opening 22 in the center as well as a cell mounting hole 25 ; a separator plate for the other side 3 that is a round thin plate just like that in the separator plate for one side 2 and has a gas intake opening 31 and a gas discharge opening 32 in the center ; a central flow channel part 5 for gas supply and gas discharge inside the chamber s formed between both of the separator plates 2 , 3 that is equipped with a gas inlet 51 and a gas outlet 52 linked with gas intake openings 21 , 31 and gas discharge openings 22 , 32 on both separator plates 2 , 3 ; and a porous support member 6 formed in the shape of a donut that can bond with the separator plate for one side 2 in the chamber s . these separator plates 2 , 3 face each other so the peripheral areas 2 a , 3 a can be bonded . the central flow channel part 5 is positioned in the center of both separator plates 2 , 3 facing each other for bonding and is equipped with a gas intake part 5 i formed of the gas inlet 51 that is linked with the gas intake opening 31 of the separator plate 3 as well as a gas discharge part 50 formed of the gas outlet 52 that is linked with the gas discharge opening 22 of the separator plate 2 . as shown in fig3 , in this embodiment , the rib 23 on the separator plate 2 engages with the slot 62 formed by the rib bonding bands 61 on the porous support member 6 to form a bond and the rib bonding bands 61 may also bond with the other separator plate 3 . the pressure loss in this bonded section increases so channels 41 and 42 may be formed between ribs 7 are formed between the rib bonding bands 61 of the porous support member 6 and the ribs 23 of the separator plate . thus , there are four fluid discharge channels 41 and four fluid intake channels 42 formed on the same surface as the fluid discharge channels 41 . the four fluid discharge channels 41 formed by the eight of the solid electrolyte layer mounted between ribs 7 supply gas to reach the periphery of the separator plate for chamber s via the gas intake opening 31 of the separator plate 3 and the gas intake part 5 i of the central flow channel part 5 . the four fluid intake channels 42 circulate gas that reaches the periphery of the separator plate for chamber s to the gas discharge part 50 of the central flow channel part 5 as well as the gas discharge opening 22 of the separator plate 2 ( refer to the arrows in fig1 ). in this case , the cell mounting holes 25 are positioned in eight locations around the center of the separator plate for one side 2 ( in fig2 , only two cell mounting holes 25 are shown ), and the solid electrolyte layer mounted between ribs 7 are positioned on the eight cell mounting holes 25 where the cell is secured . in this embodiment , a ferrite sus round plate with a thickness of 0 . 1 mm was used for the separator plates 2 , 3 . the separator plate 2 may be manufactured , for example , with eight ribs 23 extending about 1 . 2 mm from the surface of the separator plate . in some embodiments , the ribs may be formed in the radial direction using a press device capable of applying a high pressure . the porous support member 6 is formed of a woven mesh to a density of about 1 g / cm 3 using inconel 750 wire in a thickness of 2 mm . this porous support member 6 is subject to pressing to form eight rib bonding bands 61 with thicknesses of 0 . 8 mm , the density of the bonding bands 61 has become three or four times higher than the other part of it by process of pressing . the bonding bands 61 become stronger because the high density part is not transformed easily . therefore , the bonding part 61 increases the bonding strength between the separator and the pyroelectric plate . by forming these rib bonding bands 61 , the separator plate 2 ribs 23 are engaged with the porous support member 6 slots 62 and the solid electrolyte layer mounted between ribs 7 are formed by laser welding the rib bonding bands 61 and the ribs 23 . these solid electrolyte layer mounted between ribs 7 are bonded with the separator plate for the other side 3 via laser welding , which bonds each of the peripheral areas 2 a , 3 a on the separator plates 2 , 3 . the laser welding conditions were 1 , 064 nanometers wavelength , 580 watts power , 3 milliseconds pulse delay , 20 hz repeat cycle , and exposure rate of 1 m / min . in addition to the convenience of using a jig , conducting laser welding from the press side provides superior operability and it is also possible to control the occurrence of welding distortion . from a functional perspective , laser welding from the non - press side is similar and if laser welding is performed from both sides , there may be an increase in the bond strength as well as an additional level of reinforcement . with this solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 , the gas fuel is introduced into the chamber s between both separator plates 2 , 3 that forms a manifold via the gas inlet 5 i on the central flow channel part 5 . as shown by the arrows in fig1 , fuel cell working fluid ( e . g . oxidant or fuel gas ) reaches the peripheral areas 2 a , 3 a of the separator plates via the fluid discharge channels 41 formed by the porous support member mounted between ribs 7 . in the same manner , it is discharged from the gas outlet 52 on the gas discharge part 50 of the central flow channel part 5 via the fluid intake channels 42 formed by the porous support member mounted between ribs 7 . the gas flows between the layers of the laminated solid electrolyte fuel cell . with the solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 , since porous support member mounted between ribs 7 are joined by bonds produced , for example , using laser welding , between the rib bonding bands 61 of porous support member 6 and the rib 23 from the separator plate 2 in the chamber s formed between the separator plates 2 , 3 . alternatively or additionally , the porous support member 6 may be bonded by strong pressure to the electrically conductive separator plate 2 and the porous support member mounted between ribs 7 . the porous support member 6 may perform the function of preventing collapse of the chamber s formed between the separator plates 2 , 3 during assembly of a fuel cell stack . porous support member 6 may reinforce the separator plates 2 and enhances the strength of the bond between the separator plates 2 . additionally , with the porous support member 6 mounted between ribs 7 by forming joints or bonds between the rib bonding bands 61 and the ribs of the porous support member 6 and the ribs 23 from the separator plate 2 as described above , four fluid discharge channels 41 and four fluid intake channels 42 positioned on the same surface as the fluid discharge channels 41 may be formed . thus , there may be no need to use a plate for partitioning the gas flow to the solid electrolyte layer , and therefore there may be greater gas dispersion and distribution to the unit fuel cell . with the solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 , the ribs 23 on the separator plate 2 engage with the slot 62 formed by the rib bonding bands 61 in the porous support member 6 to form a bond . as a result , in addition to reinforcing the separator plate 2 , it becomes simple to align the porous support member 6 with the separator plate 2 during assembly of the solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 . in this case , the shape of the manifold of the separator plate 2 is determined by the gas distribution and the strength required by the separator plate 2 . for example , as indicated above , if the separator plate 2 is round , as shown in fig4 , in addition to ribs 23 that function as beams in the radial direction , there are press lines 23 a that act as manifolds for the peripheral areas of the separator plate . additionally , if there are rib bonding bands 61 a that are ribs installed on the porous support member 6 that is aligned with this , it may be possible to increase the bonding strength between the separator plate 2 and the porous support member 6 as well as the strength of the actual separator plate 2 . with the solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 , the rib bonding bands 61 in the porous support member 6 that bond with the ribs 23 of the separator plate 2 bond with the flat surface of the electrically conductive separator plate for the other side 3 . for example , as shown in fig5 , there may be a rib 33 on the separator plate for the other side 3 that faces the rib 23 on the separator plate for one side 2 . additionally , there may be a slot 63 on the porous support member 6 that can engage with this rib 33 as well as the rib 23 on the separator plate 2 that engages with slot 62 on the porous support member 6 . the rib 33 on the separator plate 3 engages with the slot 63 on the porous support member 6 and the rib bonding bands 61 can bond with each of the ribs 23 , 33 on both separator plates 2 , 3 to bring an additional level of reinforcement to the separator plates 2 , 3 . fig6 and 7 show other embodiments of a solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig6 , in this solid electrolyte fuel cell 101 , the separator plate for one side 102 may be equipped with four curved ribs ( manifolds ) 123 formed in a press while the donut shaped porous support member 106 also may be equipped with four curved bonding bands 161 , for example , compression formed bonding bands formed in a press . in this embodiment , as shown in fig7 , the rib 123 of separator plate 102 engages with the slot 162 created by forming a bonding bands 161 in the porous support member 106 for a bond . there may be a gap between the bonding bands 161 and the electrically conductive separator plate for the other side 103 . this gap creates a gas flow channel 104 within the chamber s between both of the separator plates 102 , 103 . the remainder of the structure is identical to the solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 from the previous embodiment . with this solid electrolyte fuel cell 101 , there may be a bond created by laser welding between the bonding bands 161 that is the rib of the porous support member 106 and the rib 123 from the separator plate 2 in the chamber s formed between the separator plates 102 , 103 , the porous support member 106 can be bonded by strong pressure to the electrically conductive separator plate 102 and the bonding bands 161 have the function of being a reinforcing material for the separator plate 102 . this reinforces the separator plate 102 and enhances the strength of the bond between the separator plate 102 and the porous support member 106 . as indicated above , a gas flow channel 104 may be created in the direction from the center to the peripheral areas . if gas is released along the way , there may be no need for ribs and the gas dispersion and distribution may be improved . with the solid electrolyte fuel cell 101 , the rib 123 on the separator plate 102 engages with the slot 162 formed by the bonding bands 161 in the porous support member 106 to form a bond . as a result , in addition to reinforcing the separator plate 102 , it becomes simple to align the porous support member 106 with the separator plate 102 during assembly of the solid electrolyte fuel cell 101 . with the solid electrolyte fuel cell 101 , the flow of gas may be toward the peripheral areas from the center along the gas flow channel 104 , and as shown in fig8 , if the separator plate is round , a gas flow channel may be formed around the circumference of the rib 123 on the separator plate 102 and the bonding bands 161 a of the porous support member 106 . if gas is released in the appropriate position around the edges , an unequal distribution of gas will be prevented , which contributes to uniform temperature distribution within chamber s . in the embodiments , the description was for bonding via laser welding between the rib bonding bands 61 ( 161 ) that is the rib of the porous support member 6 ( 106 ) and the rib 23 ( 123 ) from the separator plate 2 ( 102 ), but other bonding means such as wax application can be employed . in this case , as shown in fig9 , an indentation 223 may be formed in the separator plate 2 ( 102 ) as the manifold , which can function as a well for the wax material . also , in the embodiments , the description was for ribs 23 ( 123 ) formed on the separator plate 2 ( 102 ) as manifolds that were subject to bonding between the rib bonding bands 61 ( 161 ) that is the rib of the porous support member 6 ( 106 ) and chamber s on the ribs 23 ( 123 ). however , other configurations such as that shown in fig1 are acceptable , with a porous support member 6 ( 106 ) and an electrically conductive separator plate 2 ( 102 ) in the chamber s and a porous support member 8 bonded with the compression formed rib bonding bands 81 from outside this chamber s . in this case , the anode side porous support member 6 ( 106 ) and the cathode side of the porous support member 8 are secured from both sides to the separator plates 2 ( 102 ) so both ends of the solid electrolyte layer can be secured together , which simplifies processing and forms a flat plate which may enhance the strength of the separator plate 2 ( 102 ). the shape of the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention is not particularly important , and as shown in fig1 , the solid electrolyte fuel cell 201 can be equipped with square separator plates 202 , 203 as well as a square cathode side porous support member 206 a containing ribs 261 and a square anode side porous support member 206 b containing similar ribs 261 . fig1 shows an embodiment for the fuel cell stack for the solid electrolyte fuel cell according to certain embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , this fuel cell stack assembly 300 may be created by bonding an electrically insulating gas seal to each central flow channel part 5 of the solid electrolyte fuel cell 1 . for example , it may be possible to employ a method that uses a ceramic adhesive and a gasket constructed of glass and ceramic fibers inserted for fusion , and bonded to the insulation using a wax . with this fuel cell stack assembly 300 , high temperature gas may be introduced and heated during starting and in this upstream area , there may be a tremendous thermal shock due to the high temperature gas but due to the lamination of the solid electrolyte fuel cell , it may be appropriate for vehicular use due to the strength against thermal shock during startup and stopping as well as high structural durability . the present invention is not limited to the previously described embodiments . thus , it may be possible to make a variety of modifications and changes within the scope of the technological disclosure and claims of the present invention , and these modifications and changes are equivalent to the present invention . for example , while straight ribs may be shown in certain embodiments , other shapes , for example curved ribs may be advantageously used . in addition , the number and shapes of the unit fuel cell components may be varied from the disclosed embodiments , and the number and type of unit fuel cells used in a fuel cell stack assembly may vary from the disclosure without departing from the scope of the claimed invention . various materials have been described for producing fuel cell components , unit fuel cells and fuel cell assemblies according to the described embodiments , but other equivalent materials may be freely substituted for the disclosed materials . various embodiments of the invention have been described . these and other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	7
before beginning a detailed description of the subject invention , mention of the following is in order . when appropriate , like reference numerals and characters may be used to designate identical , corresponding , or similar components in differing drawing figures . furthermore , in the detailed description to follow , example sizes / models / value / ranges may be given , although the present invention is not limited thereto . still furthermore , any clock or timing signals in the drawing figures are not drawn to scale but rather , exemplary and critical time values are mentioned when appropriate . when specific details are set forth in order to describe example embodiment of the invention , it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without , or with variations of , these specific details . lastly , it should be apparent that differing combinations of hard - wired control circuitry and software instructions may be used to implement embodiments of the present invention , that is , the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software . [ 0032 ] fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a hand - held gps unit 100 which may be used in accordance with an embodiment of the topographical data display technique of the present invention . as illustrated in fig1 an entry device 110 , such as a keypad or touchpad , is connected to a cpu ( central processing unit ) 130 of the hand - held gps unit 100 . an antenna 151 is connected to an rf front - end 150 whose output is connected to a gps dsp ( digital signal processor ) 120 . radio frequency signals from a plurality of satellites ( not shown ) are received by the antenna 151 and processed by the rf front - end 150 and the gps dsp 120 . the cpu 130 , in addition to receiving an output from the gps dsp 120 , is connected to a memory card or other memory device 140 , a code ram ( random access memory ) 160 , a system ram 165 , and a vram ( video random access memory ) 170 . the output of the vram 170 is fed to a vctrl ( video controller ) 190 , which in turn feeds the display screen 180 , which is normally an lcd ( liquid crystal display ) device . in operation , data corresponding to a topographical map of a particular area is stored in a compressed form in the memory card 140 . the total amount of data is limited only by the capacity of the memory card 140 . the area that is covered by the given amount of compressed topographical data is determined by the compression ratio of the data compression algorithm used . in the present invention , the compression ratio is effected by the resolution of the initial dem data ( size of the data grid step ), the desired range of zooms when the topographical data needs to be presented , an acceptable level of data degradation — lossy compression , and a size of the screen . since the present invention allows one to achieve a very high data compression ratio , it provides the largest area of coverage for a given memory card size . the gps dsp 120 , in conjunction with the cpu 130 and the code ram 160 and system ram 165 , determines the exact location of the hand - held gps unit 100 . the cpu 130 , in conjunction with the memory card 140 , code ram 160 , system ram 165 , vram 170 and vctrl 190 , display that portion of the stored topographical map including the exact location of the hand - held gps unit 100 on the display screen 180 . the various features of the present invention are discussed in detail below . these features may be effected with the hand - held gps unit 100 illustrated in fig1 . topographic information is available in different digital data formats and provides coverage of large areas . the most common is a digital elevation model where elevation values of the earth surface are recorded and stored at the vertices of a regular grid , usually rectangular . this is the input elevation data format that is used by the present invention . many other digital elevation formats can be converted into dem by knowledgeable in the art by using many commercial tools , e . g . arcview from esri . such grids can take a lot of memory , and thus data compression is required even for desktop computers . high compression ratios can be achieved only by using lossy compression algorithms . that is , the restored decompressed elevations differ from the original ones . to provide a fast local access to the compressed data , the original grid is divided into cells ( relatively small rectangular pieces ) such that each cell can be decompressed independently from the others . to the overall time that is required to restore elevation values for the area that is shown on the unit display the cell size is selected such that its size is comparable with the actual area that can be displayed at a particular range of zooms . therefore , at most only 4 cells , for example , need to be decompressed for every screen for a particular range of zoom level . it is clear that digital map displays at different zoom levels can have different resolution of the underlying data . when a device displays 10 mi width across the screen , for example , the effective feature resolution that is available to the user is much less than when the same screen covers only a 100 m width across the screen . therefore , to allow the same device to efficiently and quickly display topographical data for a large range of zoom levels , cells of different size and different resolution that cover the same area are used . for example , a cell with the most detailed resolution may be based on a topographical grid with 10 m grid steps and have 128 × 128 grid points . the next level of cells will have also 128 × 128 grid points but with a grid step of 100 m , and another level of cells will have the same number of points , but with a 1000 m grid step . therefore , with the same speed of decompression , different cell levels cover area 100 times larger with an appropriate reduction in resolution of only 10 times . there are many lossy image and data compression techniques that control average degradation of data quality by controlling rms ( root mean square ) value of the introduced data error . however , a compression of an elevation data also requires controlling the maximum compression / decompression error as well . otherwise , a user can encounter deep ravines or steep cliffs that are not correctly shown on a decompressed topographical map , even though the rms error value of the total compression is relatively small . similarly , during compression of the depth data , it is important to control a relative error of compression , since an depth error of 10 m is not important at an depth of 1000 m but is very important at the actual depth of 10 m . in addition to the common procedure of controlling the rms error value of lossy compression , the topographical data display technique in accordance with the present invention also controls the maximum and / or relative error of compression / decompression . to provide good quality of compression , both the root mean square error ( rmse ) and the maximum error must be controlled . the rmse directly depends on the compression ratio , and a required rmse can be obtained by changing the compression ratio . however , the value of the maximum error is quite arbitrary . after the desired rmse has been obtained , all cell points are checked for deviation . if a deviation is greater than an acceptable level , the values of deviation and point positions are written into an archive . during decompression , the restored decompressed elevation data of a point is corrected by using deviation value stored in the archive . the format of the correction values table can be as follows . the table is written to the end of the each cell archive and consists of the deviations and coordinates of the points with the deviations equal or greater than d . the initial cells must be compared with the cells restored from the archive . let c be a counter of elements . its value is initially 0 . a linear search is effected ( along the rows , over the whole cell ) for elements with large deviations ( that is , the absolute value s of the difference between the original elevation data and the restored data from the archive is greater than d ). if s & lt ; d , then c is incremented and the search continues . otherwise , c is written into the archive , then 2 ( s − d ) if s & gt ; 0 , and 2 ( s + d )+ 1 else . after that , c is set to 0 and the process goes on . the value of d is to be coordinated with the rms error value , such that the number of points to be stored is small . after a cell is decompressed , the additional correction table is checked , and if its size is & gt ; 0 then the correction is applied to a decompressed cell . first , d is read from the archive . then , on each step , values c and v are read . if v is odd , s =( v − 1 )/ 2 − d , otherwise s = v / 2 − d . the pointer in the cell is moved to the c elements and s is added to the pointed element . the process goes on until the correction values are exhausted . the correction algorithm can be performed for any lossy compression algorithm . the amount of information loss is usually controlled by the size of the resultant archive . one can obtain the required rms error value by changing this size . an example of such an algorithm is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 764 , 807 , issued jun . 9 , 1998 , and entitled : data compression using set partitioning in hierarchical trees . any data that is loaded into a nonvolatile memory of a portable device must be prepared off line and then used in real time . an important difference between the present invention and any other method is that other methods are generally symmetric in terms of processing complexity . compression and decompression with the tiff method takes about the same computing power . the only difference is that off - line , a large amount of data can be prepared while on - line only a small amount of data is decompressed at every given time . therefore , while the total time that is required to compress or decompress the entire data set is about the same , user experience is positive since , due to the limitation of the viewing screen area , the user is working only with a small amount of data at every moment . in the present invention , the amount of time and processing power that is used for compression and decompression of the same tile of data is vastly different . compression of each tile is done recursively many times to achieve the best possible compression ratio under the given limitation on error rms and maximum error . in particular , in the process of off - line compression , each tile is compressed and decompressed many times to make sure that the error rms is close to the allowed value but is not too small since a value smaller than the allowed rms value will produce a larger data set — that is , unnecessarily poorer compression . also note , that since the corrections for the excessive errors are stored as an explicit list , there is a danger of having a very high compression ratio that is based only on rms values , only to have the total size of the archive too large because too many point corrections need to be stored to avoid having points with excessive errors . then , it is quite possible that by reducing the rms value and , therefore slightly increasing the size of the compressed data , one however , can get rid of most of the large error points and , therefore , will reduce the overall size of the archive . such an iterative nature of the compression algorithms makes it unsymmetrical but very well suited to be used on small hand - held devices with limited processing power . an additional elevation buffer ( grid ) may be used to increase the processing speed and reduce the required memory size for small map scales . it is actually a sub - grid of the original grid . its size should be greater than the size of any of the following requests . the number of nodes is fixed , and the step is chosen according to the intended zoom scales at which this grid will be used . the elevations of the nodes are exactly the same as for the corresponding original nodes . the elevation buffer scrolls over the map according to elevation requests . to reduce calculations it is organized as a torus . during scrolling only the origin of the buffer is shifted , but not the data itself . thus , only new nodes are to be filled . this feature , in addition to the use of a cell compression structure where it each cell can be decompressed independent of the others , helps to increase the dynamic range of the zoom scales of data presentation without an undue increase in the processing speed of decompression . a screen grid , in its turn , simplifies the topographical lines calculation , map turning , seamless lines drawing when the map scrolls and so on . its sides are parallel to the screen . the step determines speed and quality of the topographical lines . a small step provides better quality , but slower speed . the screen grid should be larger than the screen itself ( for scrolling ). note that the screen sides are not necessarily parallel to the sides of the cells ( that is , the original grid ), due to rotation . moreover , after translation to original coordinates , the screen rectangle is generally transformed to a parallelogram ( because of the fact that the x and y axes can be changed disproportionately , for example , being specified as longitude and latitude respectively ). as illustrated in fig2 the original grid in shown as dashed lines , the above - described intermediate grid in shown as thin black lines , and the screen grid border as thick black lines . first , the elevation values of a decompressed cell are written to the intermediate grid and then the elevations of the screen grid are calculated using the intermediate grid . let the step of the intermediate grid mesh be a unit of measurement , and let the grid nodes coordinates ( x , y ) be integers . the elevation of the screen grid nodes can be calculated by the following elevation formula : f ( x , y )=( 1 . 0 − c x )( f ([ x ],[ y ])( 1 − c y )+ f ([ x ], [ y ]+ 1 )* c y )+ c x ( f ([ x ]+ 1 , [ y ])( 1 − c y )+ f ([ x ]+ 1 ,[ y ]+ 1 )* c y ), where [ z ] denotes an integer part of z , c x = x −[ x ]; c y = y −[ y ]; and for integer n 1 and n 2 one denotes by f ( n 1 , n 2 ) the elevation of a node ( n 1 , n 2 ). this formula is uniquely defined by the following condition : elevations of nodes are kept unchanged and elevation values are linear along the coordinate lines within a mesh . the advantage of this formula is that it uses only the 4 nearest nodes of the grid . as shown in fig3 the above - noted formula represents a hyperboloid surface on the mesh . there can be other surfaces ( including quadrics ) that are defined on the mesh and have the exact values on its corners . topographical lines ( isolines , elevation or contour lines ) are imaginary lines that join points of equal elevation on the surface of the land above or below a reference surface such as mean sea level . when referring to isolines , one usually means a family of isolines with elevations that are divisible by a step of isolines . with regard to building topographical lines using a grid of elevations , that is , the screen grid described above , each screen grid mesh is divided into 4 triangles by its central point . the elevation of the central point is supposed to be the average of the corner elevations . elevation lines are built for each of the triangles independently ( as if the terrain surface was consist of such flat triangles ). the lines are parallel within the triangles and attach with each other on sides of adjacent triangles . this is illustrated in fig4 . isolines for the horizontal triangle are not displayed . for the rest of the triangles , elevations of the vertices are sorted in ascending order ( in the picture , a 1 , a 2 and a 3 have elevations h 1 , h 2 and h 3 respectively , and h 1 & lt ;= h 2 & lt ;= h 3 ). then the isolines intersecting a 1 a 2 and a 1 a 3 , are determined and then — a 2 a 3 and a 1 a 3 . in both cases , it is necessary to calculate a ratio in which the isoline with elevation h , h 1 & lt ;= h & lt ;= h 3 divides corresponding intervals . this is illustrated in fig5 . the elevation value can be determined in real time for any map location , using the elevation formula noted above . to provide better consistency with elevation lines one can calculate the elevation using the screen grid and the same formula or to determine elevation using the triangulation technique described above . all these methods provide similar results . as noted above , in accordance was an object of the present invention , the user can view an elevation profile of a selected road , street , trail , track , or any other line feature and can view an elevation profile along the line of travel or perpendicular to the line of travel or at any arbitrary angle with respect to the line of travel and at any distance from the current position . all of the elevation profiles noted above can be represented as a polygonal line . such a line can be divided by a set of points to polygonal lines of equal length ( this length should be small enough depending on the required profile resolution ). then one can calculate the elevation of each point from the set as noted above and build the graph of the profile . fig6 - 8 illustrate display screens for various elevation profiles . this concludes the description of the example embodiment . although the present invention has been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof , it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this invention . more particularly , reasonable variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and / or arrangements of the subject combination arrangements within the scope of the foregoing disclosure , the drawings , and the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention . in additions to variations and modifications in the component parts and / or arrangements , alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art .	6
the plastic closure according to this invention is labeled as a whole with the reference numeral 1 . this plastic closure comprises a bottom part 2 and a top part or cover 6 . the plastic closure 1 can comprise two parts or multiple parts . in this context , a “ two - part closure ” is understood to relate to a closure in which the bottom part and the cover are produced of one piece and the as yet undescribed support surface is a separate disk . but if the bottom part and cover are produced separately and the above - mentioned disk is also provided , then this is referred to as a “ multipart plastic closure ”. fig1 and 2 show a multipart plastic closure , while fig4 shows a two - part plastic closure in which the bottom part 2 and the cover 3 are produced of one piece . the bottom part 2 contains parts that are essential to this invention and the bottom part 2 can have practically any shape or embodiment , as known from plastic closures according to the prior art . correspondingly , the bottom part 2 is shown only in a symbolic , simplified fashion . the bottom parts are shown here without the features that are intrinsically required but , nonessential with regard to an embodiment of this invention . for example , the bottom part 2 has a fastener for fastening the plastic closure 1 to a container . as shown in the drawings , the fastener can be embodied in the form of threads , but there are also other possible fasteners such as retaining beads or retaining cams . such plastic closures can also have tamper - evident bands . one particularly simple embodiment of this invention is shown in fig1 and 2 . as mentioned above , these drawings show only a simplified embodiment of the bottom part 2 . as mentioned above , they are shown without the fastener for fastening the bottom part 2 to the container neck and without the means with which a cover , not shown here , is to be fastened or affixed to the bottom part 2 and possibly , corresponding sealing means . the bottom part 2 has a surrounding circumferential wall 3 and its upper end is completely closed by a top surface 4 , with the exception of a pouring opening 5 . in the embodiment shown , the top surface 4 has a raised area 7 . the raised area 7 , which can be cylindrical as shown , contains one pouring opening 5 in the embodiment shown . an annular groove 9 around the pouring opening 5 is provided in the surface of the raised area 7 and forms a spout 8 that extends through the top surface 4 ′ of the raised area 7 and has an extension 18 on the underside . the top surface 4 has an annular retaining bead 10 formed onto its underside . the retaining bead 10 is larger in diameter than the diameter of the raised area 7 . between the annular retaining bead and the circumference wall 3 , there is a gap into which a bottle neck comes to rest . the bottle neck can be sealed toward the outside by the circumference wall 3 while the inside of the bottle neck can be sealed either by the annular retaining bead 10 or , a separate annular wall for sealing can be provided between the annular retaining bead 10 and the circumference wall 3 . the annular wall , not shown , would be situated concentric to the circumference wall 3 . other sealing means can be provided between this circumference wall or the annular retaining bead 10 and the top surface 4 . a disk 11 that constitutes or forms a support surface 12 is inserted into the region defined by the annular retaining bead 10 . the disk 11 or support surface 12 is secured in the annular bead 10 by form - locked and / or frictional , nonpositive engagement . the annular retaining bead 10 can with have additional means for improving the form - locked engagement . the means can be embodied , for example , in the form of annular retaining beads or a plurality of cams that are oriented toward the center and hold the disk 11 in the correct final position . the annular retaining bead 10 positions the disk 11 in the axial direction . an alignment in the radial direction is not required . the disk 11 has a plurality of through openings 13 . if the disk 11 is a circular disk , then for logical reasons , the through openings 13 are arranged in a circle . the through openings 13 are offset enough radially so that they are situated outside the region of the inner diameter of the exit opening 5 . the through openings 13 are also extended in a spout - like fashion up toward the raised area 7 . the extensions 14 , however , end beneath the extension 18 of the spout 8 of the pouring opening 5 in the raised area 7 . the spout - like extensions 14 form a kind of central raised area on the disk 11 . at the same time , a central recess 15 remains which is achieved if the spout - like extensions 14 touch one another and transition into one another and thus , for all practical purposes , constitute or form a star - shaped annular wall 16 . the central recess 14 formed by the star - shaped annular wall 16 is situated directly beneath the pouring opening 5 . a chamber 17 remains between the top surface of the disk 11 that constitutes or forms the support surface 12 and the underside of the top surface 4 ′ of the raised area 7 . if no raised area 7 is provided in the top surface 4 , the chamber 17 can also be formed by having the annular retaining bead extend further downward in the axial direction and having the support surface 12 or the disk 11 be secured in a position further down . in any case , the presence of the chamber 17 is assured . the disk 11 is referred to as the support surface 12 because the static hydraulic pressure of the non - newtonian fluid rests against it when the bottle onto which the plastic closure is placed is standing on its head . even if the pouring opening 5 is not closed , the thixotropic fluid cannot flow out . but if a pressure is exerted on the flexible bottle , then the thixotropic fluid flows through the through openings 13 into the chamber 17 in the axial direction , which causes a first direction change of the flow from the axial direction to the radial direction . the chamber 17 is filled and the thixotropic fluid moves radially toward the center and upon an additional direction change , the thixotropic fluid exits through the pouring opening 5 . during this flow movement , shearing forces occur in the fluid , which cause the thixotropic fluid to become less viscous , thus improving its flow behavior . between the two direction changes during the flow from the bottle into the chamber 18 and during the flow out of the chamber 18 between the disk 11 and the top surface 4 or the raised top surface 4 ′, there is precisely one constriction 21 that produces an increase in the flow speed . this constriction could be produced by an annular aperture . in the present case , however , the constriction is embodied in a preferable , particularly simple form if the extensions 14 and 18 of the spouts 13 in the disk 11 and the spout 8 of the pouring opening extend toward one another . in this case , the spout edges can only approach one another , but the free radial passage must remain open . as soon as the pressure on the flexible bottle is released , then as the flexible bottle returns to its original shape , a vacuum builds up in the bottle , the outflow jet stops abruptly , and the fluid contained in the spout 8 is sucked or drawn back into the chamber 17 and sucked or drawn back into the bottle via the through openings 13 with the spout - like extensions 14 . the cross - sectional constrictions cause a bernoulli effect to occur both in the pouring opening and in the through openings 13 and correspondingly , the chamber 17 is emptied according to the venturi principle . tests have shown that this first embodiment of this invention permits an absolutely drip - free flow , the jet stops immediately after the pressure on the bottle stops , and for all practical purposes , a suction back into the pouring opening 5 is produced in the region close to the pouring opening . as a result , the mouth of the pouring opening remains absolutely clean . the venturi principle also completely empties the chamber 17 , consequently also preventing residues from drying in the chamber 17 and thus clogging the closure . this effect can only be achieved with a sufficient flow speed , which in turn can only be assured by avoiding the use of a labyrinth seal . consequently , one object of this invention is completely attained by embodying a plastic closure that does not have a silicone rubber membrane , but does have all of the advantages of such a closure , with a significantly more reasonably priced , reliable implementation . in addition , the disk 11 functioning as a support surface 12 is a very simple plastic part that can be inexpensively produced and , by virtue of its strength , is also significantly easier to install than a membrane of silicone rubber . the cross - sectional area of the pouring opening can be smaller than the sum of the cross - sectional areas of the through openings 13 . fig3 shows an additional embodiment . by contrast with the embodiment described above , in this case , the disk 11 has only one central through opening that is labeled with the reference numeral 13 ′. this through opening 13 ′ can also have a spout - shaped extension 14 . also , the top surface 4 can have a raised area with a corresponding top surface 4 ′. by contrast with the above - described embodiment , the top surface 4 ′ contains a multitude of pouring spouts 8 ′. at least two pouring spouts 8 ′ situated approximately diametrically opposite each other can be provided . however , any number of these spouts can be arranged in a circle . the central recess 21 in the top surface 4 ′ of the raised area essentially serves to form a spout . this chamber can , however , also be embodied as filled with material . finally , merely for the sake of completeness , fig4 shows a two - part closure mentioned at the beginning . in this case , the bottom part 2 and the cover 6 are connected to each other by a film hinge 20 and tautening bands 19 so that the closure as a whole constitutes or forms a snapping hinged closure . the top 6 has a sealing pin 6 ′ formed into it , which can engage in the pouring spout 8 , thus producing a largely hermetic seal .	1
a fitting 1 designed to serve as a detent fitting for a vehicle seat 3 is provided with a lower fitting part 5 that is fixed to structure of the seat part of the vehicle seat , and an upper fitting part 8 that is fixed to structure of the backrest of the vehicle seat . the lower fitting part 5 includes two basically flat plates that are assembled to define the construction space of the lower fitting part 5 . the upper fitting part 8 is at least partially arranged inside the construction space of the lower fitting part 5 . the upper fitting part 8 is rotatable around a backrest bolt 10 relative to the lower fitting part 5 . the vehicle seat 3 has two mirror - image lock fittings 1 bearing the inclination - adjustable and pivotable backrest of the vehicle seat 3 . a locking device 11 of the fitting 1 includes a gear wheel rim 12 and a locking pawl 15 . the gear wheel rim 12 is on the upper fitting part 8 . the gear wheel rim 12 is curved around the backrest bolt 10 in the area facing away from the backrest on the upper fitting part 8 . the locking pawl 15 is arranged inside the construction space of the lower fitting part 5 , and is pivotably supported on a pawl bearing bolt 13 . the locking pawl 15 , as a first locking element , and the gear wheel rim 12 , as a second locking element , cooperate by meshing depending on the relative position of the fitting parts 5 and 8 . a securing device 21 is provided for the locking device 11 . the securing device 21 has , as a first securing element , a generally flat loading eccentric 23 that is pivotably supported on a bearing bolt 25 of the lower fitting part 5 on that side of the locking pawl 15 that is facing away from the gear wheel rim 12 . when the fitting 1 is in a locked position , a pre - loaded spiral spring 27 presses the loading eccentric 23 against a control cam 29 that is rotationally fixed to the locking pawl 15 , so that the teeth of the locking pawl 15 are pressed into the gear wheel rim 12 ( e . g ., the locking pawl 15 and the control cam 29 can be collectively referred to as a locking element , which is for meshing with the gear wheel rim 12 ). in addition , the securing device 21 has , as a second securing element , a generally flat catch element 31 that is also pivotably supported on the bearing bolt 25 . when in a normal position , the catch element 31 is arranged at a distance from the locking pawl 15 that is small compared with the height of the teeth , and is pressed against a lower fitting part - fixed stop 35 that is fixed to the lower fitting part 5 . the catch element 31 is pressed against a lower fitting part - fixed stop 35 by means of a pre - loaded , helical - like closing spring 33 that is arranged in a receiving groove of the catch element 31 and acting between the loading eccentric 23 and the catch element 31 . in the event of a crash , a torsional moment acts on the upper fitting part 8 , having an opening effect of the locking pawl 15 and attempting to press the loading eccentric 23 shut . the locking pawl 15 , however , after a minimal pivoting movement , supports itself on the catch element 31 in such a way that meshing between the locking pawl 15 and the gear wheel rim 12 is maintained . the loading eccentric 23 and the catch element 31 are coupled by means of a slot - and - bolt guide . this slot - and - bolt guide consists of an unlocking bolt 37 on the catch element 31 and a slot 39 formed in the loading eccentric 23 . the slot 39 is curved around the bearing bolt 25 . when unlocking the fitting 1 , the catch element 31 is pivoted back against the spring loads via the unlocking bolt 37 , so that the closing spring 33 becomes compressed even further . if the spring force built up by this is larger than that of the spiral spring 27 or , at the latest once the unlocking bolt 37 reaches the end of the slot 39 , the loading eccentric 23 is pulled along , i . e . is opened against its spring load . as soon as the catch element 31 comes to bear against a radially protruding carry - along area of the locking pawl 15 , the catch element 31 carries along the locking pawl 15 , thereby opening the locking pawl 15 and unlocking the fitting 1 . for the loading eccentric 23 and the catch element 31 to pivot easily during operation in all tolerance positions , they are sitting on the bearing bolt 25 with little clearance . the consequences arising from this are now going to be explained in detail using the loading eccentric 23 for an example . the bearing bolt 25 is positioned in a hole 43 of the eccentric 23 , whereby the eccentric 21 sits on the bearing bolt . the hole 43 has a slightly larger cross - section than the bearing bolt 25 . the bearing bolt 25 has a circular cross - section . in normal conditions , the relation of forces is determined both by the closing force of the tangentially acting spiral spring 27 and the reaction force in the contact point k between the loading eccentric 23 and the control cam 29 . a resulting force f then acts in the area of the hole 43 , running at an oblique angle from the line connecting the contact point k and the center of the bearing bolt 25 and defining the point where the loading eccentric 23 bears against the bearing bolt 25 . in the event of a crash , major crash forces are transferred via the contact point k which greatly determine the relation of forces , so that a resulting force f is then acting in the area of the hole 43 , approximately running along the line connecting the contact point k and the center of the bearing bolt 25 . in a conventional securing element with a round bearing hole r , the location a of the securing element bearing against the bearing bolt 25 would also change due to the change in the resulting force f , by a sliding and rolling movement . thereby the center of the securing element would be shifted by something close to 10 % of the depth of the meshing . according to the present invention , the hole 43 does not have a circular cross - section but has four additional enlargements of the radius that can also be seen as strongly rounded corners of a square , there occurring no jumps in the gradient and the hole 43 therefore having a smooth rim around its convex cross - sections . given the chosen shape of the holes 43 , the loading eccentric 23 bears against the bearing bolt 25 in two touch points b , “ touching ” meaning tangential contact . one of the touch points b seen from the bearing bolt 25 lies approximately in the direction of the contact point k with the control cam 29 , i . e . eventually in the direction of the locking pawl 15 . thanks to this double support , there is no rolling movement or shifting of the center even in the event of a change in direction of the resulting force k ( over a sector of approximately 90 °), i . e . the loading eccentric 23 that continues to bear against the bearing bolt 25 in the two touch points b functions in a case - independent manner . the conditions are analogous when a force is applied to the backrest , for example by seizing and pressing on the upper edge of the backrest . in this case , the direction of the force f changes as well , but the loading eccentric 23 continues to bear on the bearing bolt 25 in the two touch points b , so that the play of the backrest is almost reduced to zero . for the catch element 31 , which has a corresponding hole , the same conditions apply as for the loading eccentric 23 . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the present invention has been discussed above with reference to exemplary embodiments , various additions , modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims .	1
referring to fig1 , a restaurant or commercial fryer 10 of known type is illustrated schematically . fryer 10 is a generally shallow fryer used to fry items such as battered fish filets in hot oil . fryer 10 has a front face 11 , a cooking surface 12 , some or all of which is typically flat , a rear edge 14 , sides 16 , and a raised front edge 18 . cooking surface 12 is often angled or tapered downwardly from front edge 18 to rear edge 14 , so that the oil is deeper toward the rear of the fryer and shallower toward the front of the fryer . this allows the cook to adjust the cooking depth for different pieces of food . in some fryers the raised front edge 18 might comprise an oil - redirecting channel at the front edge of cooking surface 12 as shown in fig1 a , rather than a raised wall as illustrated in fig1 , and it should be understood that the invention is applicable to both types , since the front of the fryer would still have a raised front edge 18 raised relative to the bottom of any such channel . the thickness of the front edge 18 of the fryer may vary . a pan holder according to the present invention is generally shown at 20 , configured to hold a batter - dipping pan 120 of known type against the front edge of fryer 10 . batter - dipping pan 120 is typically formed of stainless steel or similar food - safe metal , has a peripheral lip or flange 121 extending around its upper end , and may hold a quantity of batter on the order of several quarts or more . pan holder 20 in the illustrated example is formed from a similar food - safe metal such as stainless steel . as best shown in fig2 , the pan holder 20 includes an opening 23 sized to receive the body of pan 120 therethrough , and a pan - holding frame 22 forming a generally flat horizontal support for the upper flange 121 on pan 120 . frame 22 includes a rear edge 24 , sides 26 , and a front edge 28 with an optional downturned lip 29 . frame 22 and opening 23 are illustrated as rectangular in the example , corresponding to the shape of typical batter - dipping pans such as 120 , but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations in the shape of the pan and holder are possible . pan holder 20 further includes a rear fryer hook edge 30 , comprising a downturned flange of metal spaced from the innermost end 24 a of rear edge 24 of frame 22 and generally at right angles to the horizontal plane of frame 22 . fryer hook edge 30 generally has a height equal to or less than the front raised edge 18 of the fryer 10 with which it is used , for example on the order of two inches . the spacing of rear hook edge 30 from the rear edge 24 and / or the side bracing panels described below may vary according to the thickness of the front edge 18 of the fryer . pan holder 20 further includes side brace panels 40 , in the illustrated example having a generally triangular shape , with longer bases 42 tapering toward a point or shorter front edge 44 to provide clearance for a cook &# 39 ; s legs when standing near the fryer . the rear edges of side braces 40 are spaced from the fryer hook edge 30 a distance corresponding approximately to the distance between the raised front edge 18 and the front face 11 of fryer 10 , in order to brace frame 22 as closely as possible to actual horizontal when attached to the fryer . due to the differences in the dimensions of different fryers , in particular the thickness of front edge 18 , there may be some variation from horizontal in the attached position of the frame 22 , provided that batter does not spill over the sides of the pan 120 in holder 20 . the upper horizontal sides 26 of frame 22 are provided with finger holes 50 , in the illustrated example openings or depressions cut or stamped from the metal of the frame . whether finger holes 50 are formed as depressions or actual holes through the upper surface of sides 26 will depend on preference and on the thickness of the metal . sides 26 have a width greater than the width of the corresponding side portions 121 a of flange 121 on pan 120 , such that each side includes an inner pan - holding portion 26 a shown to the inside of the dotted line p marking the edge of pan flange 121 , and an outer free portion 26 b shown to the outside of dotted line p . finger holes accordingly 50 have inner ends 52 that extend into the inner pan - holding portions 26 a of frame sides 22 , and outer ends 54 that extend into the outer free portions 26 b of frame sides 22 . inner ends 52 of the finger holes may be extended to interrupt the inner side of the frame side 22 , although it is preferred that the holes leave a significant width of uninterrupted metal on either side so that the strength of the sides 22 is not compromised . when pan 120 is held in frame 22 , as best shown in fig1 , the outer ends 54 of finger holes 50 are exposed so that a finger or utensil can be inserted under the flange 121 of the pan . this allows a cook to easily and evenly lift pan 120 from holder 20 , even with gloved or mitted fingers , without having to tilt the pan and possibly spill batter . it will be understood that while two finger holes 50 are illustrated in the example , one hole on each side of the frame , the number and size of finger holes 50 can vary . as shown in fig1 - 4 , side braces 40 are equipped with utensil holding tabs or hooks 60 , in the illustrated example formed by bending three - sided tabs cut from the sheet metal of the side braces and remaining attached at their base ends 60 b . hooks 60 are generally upwardly - bent , - angled , or - curved members sized to receive and hold utensils commonly used for frying . the preferred , illustrated construction leaves a large opening 61 in the brace metal directly underneath each hook 60 , and only a relatively small area of connection between the body of hook 60 and side brace 40 , helping the hooks 60 and any utensils therein to stay cool . referring to fig4 and 5 , in the preferred form pan holder 20 is stamped , cut , and / or formed from a flat blank of metal 100 shown in fig5 . referring next to fig6 - 8 , pan holder 20 is shown with modified fryer hook edges 130 ( fig6 ) and 230 ( fig7 ) at the rear of the pan holder 20 . fryer hook edge 130 in fig6 has a continuous lower edge 32 , while the body of the hook edge includes a plurality of perforations or holes 34 that do not interrupt lower edge 32 . fryer hook edge 230 in fig7 is provided with a discontinuous lower edge 32 interrupted by alternating openings 38 between tabs or portions of metal 36 . in the illustrated example , interruptions 38 are formed by generally rectangular open - ended slots removed from the metal of hook edge 230 . the size , spacing , and shape of the interruptions may vary , however , and may include rounded , triangular , and other shapes of varying contour and depth such as waves or scallops , which can all be considered “ slots ” or removed portions of the metal in between solid portions of metal at the lower edge 32 . holes 34 and interruptions 38 reduce the surface area of hook edges 130 , 230 exposed to expanding hot oil at the front edge of the fryer , as shown for example in fig8 , and help keep the metal pan holder 20 cooler . for example , the metal surface area of the hook edge 130 , 230 should preferably be significantly reduced by the slots / discontinuous edge / perforations 34 , 38 , for example on the order of 25 % or more . also , the slots and / or perforations should extend over a majority of the height of the hook edge 130 , 230 from its lowermost edge toward the junction with rear holder edge 24 , without weakening the junction . further , lower edge interruptions 38 help drain oil from hook edge 230 as the hot oil in the fryer cools and contracts , or when the pan holder 20 is lifted from the fryer . in operation , pan holder 20 is used by attaching it to the front edge 18 of fryer 10 , by securing hook edge 30 over the raised front edge 18 on the fryer , and lowering the rear edges 42 of side braces 40 into contact with the front face 11 of the fryer . batter - dipping pan 120 can then be placed in frame 22 for convenient access to the batter when frying food . utensils used for frying can be handily stored on utensil hooks 60 on the sides of holder 20 . when it is desired to replace or refill batter - dipping pan 120 , it is easily removed from holder 20 without tilting by inserting fingers into the outer exposed portions of finger holes 50 in the sides 26 of frame 22 , and evenly lifting the pan from the frame . it will finally be understood that the disclosed embodiments represent presently preferred examples of how to make and use the invention , but are intended to enable rather than limit the invention . variations and modifications of the illustrated examples in the foregoing written specification and drawings may be possible without departing from the scope of the invention . it should further be understood that to the extent the term “ invention ” is used in the written specification , it is not to be construed as a limiting term as to number of claimed or disclosed inventions or discoveries or the scope of any such invention or discovery , but as a term which has long been conveniently and widely used to describe new and useful improvements in science and the useful arts . the scope of the invention should accordingly be construed by what the above disclosure teaches and suggests to those skilled in the art , and by any claims that the above disclosure supports in this application or in any other application claiming priority to this application .	0
fig1 - 4 illustrates one embodiment of a motorcycle front end 10 and specifically the steering / suspension system 50 , viewed generally from the front in fig1 and 2 , the left side in fig3 , and the rear in fig4 . the front end includes a tire 12 mounted on a wheel 14 and equipped with brake rotors 16 and brake calipers 18 . a fork bottom 20 includes a fork bottom body coupled to the axle 22 and to a pair of male lower fork tubes 24 which slide in a pair of female upper fork tubes 26 . in other embodiments , conventional fork tubes are used , without fork bottoms . a lower triple clamp 28 and an upper triple clamp 30 are coupled to the upper fork tubes and couple them to a steering stem assembly ( not visible ) which rotates within a steering tube 32 which is part of , or coupled to , the frame ( not shown ) of the motorcycle . the front end 10 thus pivots or rotates about a steering axis which is coaxial with the steering tube 32 . this invention differs from the prior art in that at least one of the spring ( suspension ) and / or shock ( damping ) components is coaxially disposed within the steering tube . in one embodiment , a monoshock 34 provides both spring support and damping for the front end , while in other embodiments , a more conventional cartridge system ( not shown ) could be employed within the fork tubes . the bottom end of the monoshock is coupled to a fork buttress 36 . the fork buttress may be coupled to the lower fork tubes or to the fork bottoms . in one embodiment , the fork buttress comprises two halves , each of which is integrally formed with a respective fork bottom , as shown . fig5 illustrates the steering / suspension system 50 of the motorcycle front end 10 , viewed generally from the front and shown in an exploded view . for ease of illustration , only a single fork will be described . the upper fork tube 26 threads into the upper triple clamp 30 . a fork cap 52 seals the open end of the fork tube to prevent gross contamination of the sliding components , but is not necessarily an airtight seal . a stationary fork bushing 54 and a seal 56 fit within the lower end 48 of the upper fork tube , and are held in place by a snap wire 58 . a sliding fork bushing 60 mates with the upper end 62 of the lower fork tube . the stationary and sliding fork bushings provide a low - stiction but tight - tolerance sliding fit of the lower fork tube within the upper fork tube . in practice , the components may need to be assembled in a slightly different manner than suggested by this exploded view , as the bushings are not generally able to slide past each other , and their interference is part of what keeps the telescopic forks from telescoping completely to disassembly . a shock tube 66 rotates within the steering tube 32 on an upper bearing 68 and a lower bearing 70 . a jam nut 72 and washer 74 secure the upper bearing onto the shock tube . a top bolt 76 threads into the shock tube and secures it to the upper triple clamp . the lower end 78 of the lower fork tube threads or otherwise couples to a hole 80 in the upper end 42 of the fork bottom 20 . the upper end of the monoshock 34 fits up into and engages the shock tube , while the lower end of the monoshock engages the fork buttress 36 at the upper end 42 of the fork bottom . the lateral stiffness of the fork bottom is controlled by a tension cable 82 . the lower end 84 of the tension cable engages the fork bottom , while the upper end 86 of the tension cable is engaged and tensioned by a tension adjuster 88 . the tension adjuster and a washer 90 engage a tension adjuster block 92 which fits into a hole 94 in the upper end of the fork bottom . a detent ball 96 retains the tension adjuster within the tension adjuster block and , in some embodiments , provides “ clicker ” adjustment feedback as is commonly present in other motorcycle suspension adjustments such as compression and rebound damping . for aesthetics and aerodynamics , a fork bottom inner cover 98 may be coupled to the inward portion of the fork bottom , covering the tension cable and other components . fig6 illustrates further details of one embodiment of the steering / suspension system 50 , with a cutaway for visibility into the coaxial alignment of the suspension components within the steering tube 32 . the suspension components are illustrated somewhat generically and in a much simplified configuration omitting many details which are not essential to understanding this invention but which are well within the abilities of those of ordinary skill in the art . the suspension components may include one or more load - bearing components such as a coil spring 110 , and one or more damping components 112 . as such , the suspension components may be quite similar to a conventional rear shock such as is conventionally used in modern sportbikes , with the addition of a suitable mounting mechanism 114 adapted for coupling or mating with the fork brace ( not shown ) or other lower mounting component . the suspension components are disposed coaxially with the steering tube 32 , or , more precisely , coaxially with the steering axis . the shock tube 66 is disposed coaxially within the steering tube , and rides on an upper bearing 68 and a lower bearing 70 . the jam nut 72 is threaded onto the shock tube . the top bolt 76 threads into the shock tube and coaxially locates the upper triple clamp 30 with respect to the steering axis . the top bolt is provided with , in one embodiment , an internal hex socket 116 by which the top nut is tightened . in one embodiment , the top bolt is further provided with a passage 118 and the shock tube is provided with a passage , through which a tool ( not shown ) can be inserted to adjust various settings of the suspension components , such as compression damping , rebound damping , preload , ride height , and so forth . again , for ease of illustration , these various adjustment mechanisms are not shown on the monoshock . one noteworthy feature of this system is that the ride height of the front end can be adjusted by screwing threaded rod 120 up and down in the shock tube , and this is completely independent of the coupling of the forks to the triple clamps . this represents a marked improvement over the conventional fork systems , in which the rider must loosen the upper and lower triple clamps , slide or pound the upper fork tubes up and down in the triple clamps until a desired amount of protrusion is achieved , then retighten the triple clamps , while hoping that the fork tubes have not shifted and that the two fork tubes are set at exactly the same height . the coaxial monoshock adjustment of this invention enables the rider to adjust the ride height without fiddling with the triple clamps or fork tubes , and it guarantees a single , consistent setting without the possibility of maladjustment between the two forks . the same monoshock principle applies to other adjustments , as well , such as compression damping , rebound damping , and so forth . fig7 illustrates a motorcycle 150 having a front end with the coaxial steering / suspension system of this invention . the skilled reader will readily appreciate that having the suspension components mounted coaxially with the steering head provides several significant advantages . for example : the moment of rotational inertia of the front end is reduced , versus that of a conventional front end in which the suspension components are located out in the fork tubes ; only a single set of suspension components is required , and yet the suspension has the same effect at each side of the front axle , whereas putting a single set of components in e . g . only the left fork of a conventional front end would produce disastrous results ; preload , rebound damping , compression damping , and ride height adjustments can be made with a single adjustment each , versus the two adjustments each that are required in a conventional front end , and can be done without loosening the forks in the triple clamps ; suspension settings cannot accidentally be different on the two sides of the front end , whereas this is a constant danger with a conventional front end ; stiction is reduced ; and yet the familiar and desirable look and feel of a conventional dual fork front end are retained . furthermore , it may often be the case that the total mass of the required suspension is lower when using the present invention , than when using a conventional front end . while the invention has been described with reference to its use in a motorcycle , the invention is not limited to motorcycles , but can be used in bicycles , automobiles , and other vehicles . and while the invention has been shown as using an “ upside - down ” fork , it may alternatively be used with a “ right - side - up ” fork . some components have been illustrated as being of monolithic construction , while other components have been illustrated as being separate components coupled together . the skilled reader will readily appreciate that the designer may elect , within the scope of this invention , to split some components into separate sub - components , or to combine various components into a monolithic whole . the skilled reader will further appreciate that the invention may be practiced in a “ single - sided ” front end , such as that found on some bicycles which have only a single fork . the term “ triple clamp ” should not necessarily be interpreted to mean that two forks are required with the steering tube . the presence of one or more suspension components coaxial with the steering axis does not necessarily prohibit the additional presence of one or more suspension components elsewhere , such as within the forks . the sliding - tube forks may be empty , containing neither springs nor dampers , and may thus be said to have substantially inert suspension characteristics . in some embodiments , the suspension components could be located externally to the outer steering tube , rather than inside it . while it might , at first glance , be assumed to be a negative that the steering tube must , in the present invention , be significantly larger than in a conventional front end , the opposite is actually true . having a very large diameter steering tube , with very large diameter bearings and so forth , reduces frame torque and makes the frame stronger , especially at the points at which the rest of the frame joins the steering tube . when one component is said to be “ adjacent ” another component , it should not be interpreted to mean that there is absolutely nothing between the two components , only that they are in the order indicated . the various features illustrated in the figures may be combined in many ways , and should not be interpreted as though limited to the specific embodiments in which they were explained and shown . those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will appreciate that many other variations from the foregoing description and drawings may be made within the scope of the present invention . indeed , the invention is not limited to the details described above . rather , it is the following claims including any amendments thereto that define the scope of the invention .	1
an embodiment 1 of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating the constitution of the embodiment 1 of the present invention . in fig1 an internal combustion engine or an engine 1 is provided with an intake pipe 2 for taking the air in and an exhaust pipe 3 for exhausting the exhaust gas after the combustion . though not diagramed here , the intake pipe 2 is provided with a throttle valve for adjusting the intake air amount qa and injectors for injecting the fuel . the engine 1 is provided with combustion chambers in which the mixture is compressed , spark plugs for exploding the mixture in the combustion chambers , and a crank shaft for transmitting the output of explosion to the drive wheels of a vehicle . various sensor means ( crank angle sensor , rotation sensor , air flow sensor , intracylinder pressure sensor , cooling water temperature sensor , air - fuel ratio sensor , catalyst temperature sensor and the like sensors ) are provided around the engine 1 , three - way catalyst 4 and electrochemical catalyst 5 , to collect the data related to the operating conditions of the engine 1 . the sensor data are input to an electronic control unit ( ecu ) that is not shown . right under the exhaust pipe 3 is provided the three - way catalyst 4 for purifying the exhaust gas g , particularly , at the time of start . on the downstream of the three - way catalyst 4 , there is provided the electrochemical catalyst 5 for purifying nox contained in the exhaust gas g . the electrochemical catalyst 5 contains at least either a nox occluding member or an hc adsorbing member as well as an electron conducting substance and an ion conducting substance , promotes the oxidizing reaction and the reducing reaction owing to the conduction of ions and electrons , and electrochemically purifies the exhaust gas in the exhaust system . on the downstream of the electrochemical catalyst 5 , there is provided another three - way catalyst 6 for purifying , in large amounts , the three components , i . e ., nox , hc and co in the exhaust gas g in the stoichiometric air - fuel ratio operating condition ( stoichiometric mode ). a reducing agent feeding device 7 is provided between the three - way catalyst 4 and the electrochemical catalyst 5 just on the upstream of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . in response to a control instruction from reducing agent feed judging means 10 ( described later ), the reducing agent feeding device 7 feeds the reducing agent necessary for purifying the nox from the upstream of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 estimates the amounts of the components ( nox emission amount gnox , hc emission amount ghc , co emission amount gco ) in the exhaust gases g ( nox , hc , co ) discharged into the exhaust pipe 3 depending upon the operating conditions of the engine 1 . the data of operating conditions which the exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 uses for estimating the amounts of the exhaust gases , include at least one sensor data such as engine rotational speed ne , intracylinder pressure pe representing the load condition , intake air amount qa , and cooling water temperature tw . electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 judges the active state h of the electrochemical catalyst based on the temperature data ( catalyst temperature tcat and activating temperature trect ) of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . reducing agent feed judging means 10 estimates the reaction condition of the electrochemical catalyst 5 with nox based upon the active state h , reaction rate and the exhaust gas storage condition of the electrochemical catalyst 5 , and judges the necessity for feeding the nox reducing agent hc based upon the values ghox , ghc and gco estimated by the exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 . namely , based upon the active state h of the electrochemical catalyst 5 , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 estimates the nox and hc storage condition of the electrochemical catalyst 5 and the nox purifying reaction rate ( reaction condition ) of the electrochemical catalyst 5 from the occluding and adsorbing performance ( maximum nox adsorbed amount snox and maximum hc adsorbed amount shc ) of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . based upon the active state h of the electrochemical catalyst 5 and the estimated values ( nox emission amount gnox , hc emission amount ghc and co emission amount gco ) of the exhaust gas amounts , further , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 judges whether it is necessary to feed the reducing agent hc for purifying nox . when it is judged that the nox reducing agent must be fed , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 calculates the required reducing agent feeding amount , and drives the reducing agent feeding device 7 depending upon the required feeding amount . the exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 , electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 and reducing agent feed judging means 10 are constituted by ecus which are microcomputers like the engine control means . concretely described below is a principle of the oxidizing / reducing reaction based upon the migration of ions in the electrochemical catalyst 5 through a solid electrolyte and upon the migration of electrons through the electron conducting substance . in the electrochemical catalyst 5 , the surface of a noble metal selectively occluding nox is joined to the surface of a noble metal selectively adsorbing the nox reducing agents ( hc , co ) through the solid electrolyte and the electron conducting substance . ions and electrons are conducted across these noble metals to promote the oxidizing / reducing reaction . here , to trigger the electrochemical reaction , the nox and the nox reducing agent hc must be selectively occluded and adsorbed by the surfaces of separate noble metals . to realize this , it is necessary to provide both the nox occluding member and the hc adsorbing member . next , properties of the electrochemical catalyst 5 are described below while clarifying differences from the above - mentioned nox occluding catalyst and the nox selectively reducing catalyst from the standpoint of control and performance . when the electrochemical catalyst is compared with the nox occluding catalyst , the electrochemical catalyst 5 maintains a nox purifying performance higher than that of the nox occluding catalyst in an oxygen rich atmosphere ( lean mode ). unlike that of the nox occluding catalyst , therefore , the electrochemical catalyst 5 needs not occlude the nox in a lean air - fuel ratio state or needs not release the nox in a rich state to purify the nox by reduction . therefore , the air - fuel ratio needs not be greatly shifted toward the rich side . that is , unlike purifying the nox by the nox occluding catalyst , the electrochemical catalyst 5 does not require the air - fuel ratio to be frequently shifted to the rich side , and the consumption of fuel can be suppressed . when the electrochemical catalyst 5 is compared with the selectively reducing catalyst , the electrochemical catalyst 5 exhibits a purifying efficiency higher than that of the selectively reducing catalyst and makes it possible to add a reducing agent adsorbing function . therefore , the reducing agent needs be fed in a small amount in a lean atmosphere , and the fuel efficiency is not deteriorated . in the case of the electrochemical catalyst 5 , the nox reducing agent can be fed by the conduction of electrons and ions even on the catalyst surfaces which are not the same . accordingly , the nox can be reduced to a sufficient degree even with a reducing gas of a concentration lower than that needed for the selectively reducing catalyst . accordingly , the electrochemical catalyst 5 functions to a sufficient degree even when it is installed on the downstream of the three - way catalyst , and the reducing agent feeding device 7 of a simple constitution suffices for the need . next , concrete operation of the embodiment 1 of the present invention shown in fig1 will be described concerning a processing for purifying the nox that varies depending upon the operating conditions right after the start of the engine 1 with reference to fig2 . fig2 is a timing chart illustrating a change in the air - fuel ratio and a change in the amount of emission of exhaust gas components right after the start of the engine 1 . in fig2 the ordinate represents a change in the concentrations cnox and chc ( cco ) of the components in the exhaust gases ( nox , hc , co ) with the passage of time and a change in the air - fuel ratio a / f of the engine 1 ( weight ratio of the intake air amount qa and the fuel amount fed to the engine 1 ) with the passage of time . the nox emission concentration cnox increases as the engine 1 is warmed up ( as the combustion temperature rises ), while the hc emission concentration chc and the co emission concentration cco exhibit nearly the same tendency , i . e ., sharply rises immediately after the start and , then , decreases . in the start region ( operating condition right after the start ) in fig2 the operation is conducted in a rich air - fuel ratio mode so will not to deteriorate the driveability and to realize a stable combustion while maintaining starting performance of the engine 1 . in the start region , therefore , the hc and co emission concentrations chc and cco are high in the exhaust gases , and the nox emission concentration cnox is low . under a temperature condition in the start region , the temperature of the electrochemical catalyst 5 has not been raised up to the activating temperature trect at which the nox purifying reaction occurs , the hc adsorbing member added to the electrochemical catalyst 5 is adsorbing hc only , and no electrochemical reaction for purifying the nox takes place . in the start region as is obvious from fig2 however , the amount of nox emission is very small and there arises no particular problem . then , as the engine 1 is warmed up and the air - fuel ratio becomes lean to a stoichiometric air - fuel ratio ( stoichiometric mode ), the electrochemical catalyst 5 enters into an active region and becomes active . in the active region in which the engine 1 has been warmed up , the nox emission concentration cnox becomes high , the hc stored in the start region is used as a reducing agent , and the reaction is conducted for purifying the nox by reduction . when the operating condition in the active region is further continued , the stored reducing agent hc is all spent for the reaction for purifying the nox , and the hc and co emission amounts ghc and gco emitted from the engine 1 are not enough for purifying the nox . therefore , the reducing agent feeding device 7 is driven to additionally feed the nox reducing agent such as hc to the electrochemical catalyst 5 . when the engine after having been warmed up enters into a lean operating region after the passage of a time t , the nox emitted from the engine 1 is occluded by the nox occluding member added to the electrochemical catalyst 5 and is electrochemically reduced and purified with the nox reducing agents ( hc , co ) contained in the exhaust gas . in the same manner as in the case of the active region , further , when the nox reducing agent ( hc , co ) emission amounts ghc and gco emitted from the engine 1 are not enough for purifying the nox even in the lean operating region , the reducing agent feed device 7 is driven to additionally feed the nox reducing agent such as hc to the electrochemical catalyst 5 . the following advantages are exhibited upon providing the exhaust pipe 3 of the engine 1 with the three - way catalysts 4 , 6 as well as the electrochemical catalyst 5 exclusively for purifying the nox as shown in fig1 . that is , the electrochemical catalyst 5 reduces the nox relying upon an electrochemical purifying mechanism , and is capable of purifying ( reducing ) the nox in the lean operating condition while efficiently using hc and co as the nox reducing agent . therefore , the lean / rich control operation needs not be repetitively executed unlike that of when the nox occluding catalyst is used , and the fuel efficiency is not deteriorated . when the electrochemical catalyst 5 is used , further , the reducing agent feeding device 7 is necessary like when the selectively reducing catalyst is used . owing to a high purifying efficiency , however , the nox reducing agent needs be fed in small amounts without deteriorating the fuel efficiency . next , the operation of the embodiment 1 of the invention shown in fig1 will be described more concretely with reference to fig3 . fig3 is a flow chart illustrating the control operation of the reducing agent feeding device 7 for functioning the electrochemical catalyst 5 , and explains a procedure of processing by the exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 , electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 and reducing agent feed judging means 10 . here , in order to avoid complexity , fig3 illustrates a case where attention is given to performance of , typically , the hc adsorbing member only for adsorbing the nox reducing agent hc ( unburned fuel ) among the exhaust gas absorbing members added to the electrochemical catalyst 5 . in fig3 first , the exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 in the ecu receives an engine rotational speed ne , an intracylinder average effective pressure pe , cooling water temperature tw and intake air amount qa as operating conditions of the engine 1 ( step 101 ). the exhaust gas amount estimating means 8 , then , retrieves and operates the nox emission concentration cnox , hc emission concentration chc and co emission concentration cco from the input data representing the operating conditions by making a reference to , for example , an exhaust gas concentration map ( step 102 ). based on the intake air amount qa , further , the emission concentrations are converted into emission gas flow rates ( masses ) to estimate the nox emission amount gnox , hc emission amount ghc and co emission amount gco ( step 103 ). the electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 and the reducing agent feed judging means 10 in the ecu receive the data representing the purifying performance of the electrochemical catalyst 5 , in order to judge the active state h of the electrochemical catalyst 5 and to estimate the reaction condition for purification ( step 104 ). that is , the electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 receives the temperature data ( catalyst temperature tcat , activating temperature trect ) of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . the reducing agent feed judging means 10 receives exhaust gas release temperatures ( nox release temperature tnox of the nox occluding member , hc release temperature thcs of the shc adsorbing member ) and maximum adsorbing amounts ( maximum nox occluding amount snox of the nox occluding member , maximum hc adsorbing amount shc of the hc adsorbing member ) of the exhaust gas absorbing members in the electrochemical catalyst 5 , and further receives a conversion coefficient crect , a reaction rate coefficient f ( tcat ) and a release rate gev . then , the electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 compares the catalyst temperature tcat with the activating temperature trect , and judges whether the catalyst temperature tcat has reached the activating temperature trect ( whether the electrochemical catalyst 5 is active )( step 105 ). when it is judged at step 105 that tcat & lt ; trect ( i . e ., no ) at step 105 , the electrochemical catalyst 5 has not been activated and , hence , the electrochemical catalyst condition judging means 9 renders the signal level of the active state h to be “ l ”. when it is judged that tcat ≧ trect ( i . e ., yes ), the electrochemical catalyst 5 has been activated , and the signal level of the active state h is rendered to be “ h ”. when the judged result at step 105 is no ( the active state h output from the electrochemical catalyst state judging means 9 is of the l level ), then , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 compares the catalyst temperature tcat with the release temperature thcs (& lt ; trect ) of the hc adsorbing member , and judges whether the catalyst temperature tcat is higher than the release temperature thcs ( step 106 ). when it is judged at step 106 that tcat & gt ; thcs ( i . e ., yes ), the hc adsorbing member in the electrochemical catalyst 5 is in a state of releasing hc . accordingly , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 executes the processing of release operation step 117 ( described later ) to get out of the processing routine of fig3 . further , when it is judged at step 106 that tcat ≦ thcs ( i . e ., no ), the hc adsorbing member is in a state of adsorbing hc . therefore , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 adds the hc emission amount ghc estimated this time to the hc amount gshc adsorbed up to the previous time , and updates the added value as the hc adsorbed amount gshc that is estimated this time ( step 107 ). then , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 judges whether the hc adsorbed amount gshc updated at step 107 has exceeded a maximum hc adsorbed amount shc ( step 108 ). when it is judged that gshc ≦ shc ( i . e ., no ), the program gets out of the processing routine of fig3 . when it is judged at step 108 that gshc & gt ; shc ( i . e ., yes ), the reducing agent feed judging means 10 limits the hc adsorbed amount gshc to the maximum hc adsorbed amount ( step 109 ) to get out of the processing routine fig3 . when the judged result at step 105 is yes ( active state h is of the h level ), on the other hand , the electrochemical catalyst 5 has been activated , and the reducing agent feed judging means 10 calculates the amount r of the reducing agent required for reducing the nox in the electrochemical catalyst 5 depending upon the nox emission amount gnox in the exhaust gas in compliance with the formula ( 2 )( step 11 ), where crect is a conversion coefficient for finding the amount of the reducing agent needed for purifying the nox , and f ( tcat ) is a reaction rate coefficient expressed by a function of the catalyst temperature tcat . in the case of the electrochemical catalyst 5 , the reducing / purifying reaction takes place not only on the same catalyst surface but also between the distant catalyst surfaces and , hence , conversion coefficient crect becomes smaller than that of the ordinary surface - reaction - type catalyst . therefore , the required amount r of the reducing agent found from the formula ( 1 ) can be decreased to be smaller than that of when an ordinary catalyst is used . next , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 judges whether the required amount r of the reducing agent is larger than the hc emission amount ghc and the co emission amount gco in the exhaust gas ( whether the amount of the exhaust gas is in short supply ) ( step 112 ). when it is judged at step 112 that r ≦ ghc + gco ( i . e ., no ), the purification by reduction can be accomplished with the exhaust gas amount only . therefore , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 executes the processing of release operation step 117 ( described later ) to get out of the processing routine of fig3 . when it is judged at step 112 that r & gt ; ghc + gco ( i . e ., yes ), the purification by reduction cannot be accomplished with the exhaust gas amount only . therefore , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 judges whether there exists the hc adsorbed amount gshc ( step 113 ). when it is judged at step 113 that gshc = 0 ( i . e ., no ), there exists no hc to be released , and the reducing agent feed judging means 10 executes the processing of release operation step 117 ( described later ) to get out of the processing routine of fig3 . when it is judged at step 113 that gshc & gt ; 0 ( i . e ., yes ), there exists hc that can be released and , hence , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 judges whether the required amount r of the reducing agent is larger than the amount of the nox reducing agent after hc is released ( whether the reducing agent is still insufficient despite of adding it for releasing hc )( step 114 ). that is , a value obtained by adding hc released from the hc adsorbed amount gshc to the exhaust gas amount , is compared with the required amount r of the reducing agent to judge whether the following formula ( 2 ) is satisfied , where δt is an operation period , and gev is a rate of hc released from the hc adsorbing member per a unit time δt . when it is judged at step 114 that r ≧ ghc + gco + gev · δt ( i . e ., no ), the purification by reduction is possible with the exhaust gas amount and the hc release amount only , and the reducing agent feed judging means 10 executes the processing of release operation step 117 ( described later ) to get out of the processing routine of fig3 . further , when it is judged at step 114 that r & gt ; ghc + gco + gev · δt ( i . e ., yes ), the purification by reduction is not still possible despite of adding the hc release amount to the exhaust gas amount . therefore , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 finds an additional hc feed amount phc from the reducing agent feeding device 7 ( step 115 ) in compliance with the following formula ( 3 )( step 115 ), next , the reducing agent feed judging means 10 drives the reducing agent feeding device 7 depending upon the additional hc feed amount phc to feed the additional hc feed amount phc from the upstream of the electrochemical catalyst 5 and to compensate for the lack of the reducing agent ( step 116 ). thus , the nox in the exhaust gas from the engine 1 is purified by reduction neither too much nor too little irrespective of the nox emission amount gnox . finally , the amount of hc (= gev · δt ) released and consumed as the nox reducing agent is subtracted from the hc adsorbed amount gshc in the electrochemical catalyst 5 , to update the hc adsorbed amount gshc ( step 117 ) and to get out of the routine of fig3 . the above embodiment 1 did not refer to the concrete constitution of the reducing agent feeding device 7 . however , it is also allowable to feed the atomized gas of fuel from the fuel tank into the exhaust system as the nox reducing agent . fig4 is a diagram illustrating the constitution of the periphery of the reducing agent feeding device 7 according to the embodiment 2 of the invention using the atomized gas of fuel as the nox reducing agent . the same portions as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals but are not described here again in detail . in fig4 the exhaust pipe 3 of the engine 1 is provided with a reducing agent feed port 70 which is located just on the upstream of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . the fuel tank 71 is provided with a canister 72 for adsorbing the main component hc of fuel ( gasoline ). the canister 72 is communicated with the reducing agent feed port 70 through a reducing agent feed control valve 73 in order to feed the atomized fuel hc from the fuel tank 71 as the nox reducing agent into the exhaust pipe 3 under the control of the reducing agent feed control valve 73 . the amount of feeding the nox reducing agent hc is adjusted by controlling the time in which the reducing agent feed control valve 73 is opened depending upon the additional hc feed amount phc ( see step 115 in fig3 ). in the above embodiment 2 , the atomized gas hc of fuel from the fuel tank 71 was used as the nox reducing agent . however , fuel itself in the fuel tank 71 may be used as the nox reducing agent . fig5 is a diagram illustrating the constitution of the periphery of the reducing agent feeding device 7 according to the embodiment 3 of the invention using the fuel itself as the nox reducing agent . the same portions as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals but are not described here again in detail . in fig5 a fuel pump 74 is installed at an upper part ( or inside ) of the fuel tank 71 so as to feed the fuel which is adjusted to assume a predetermined pressure . a reducing agent feeding injector 75 is communicated with the fuel pump 74 , and is provided in the exhaust pipe 3 so as to be located just on the upstream of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . the reducing agent feeding injector 75 feeds , as the nox reducing agent , the fuel hc of which the pressure is adjusted from the upstream side of the electrochemical catalyst 5 . in the case of the reducing agent feeding device 7 constituted as shown in fig5 the feeding amount of the reducing agent is adjusted by controlling the time for driving the reducing agent feeding injector 75 depending upon the additional hc feed amount phc ( see step 115 in fig3 ). in the above embodiment 3 , the fuel itself in the fuel tank 71 was used as the nox reducing agent . it is , however , also allowable to reform the fuel hc into h 2 to use it as the nox reducing agent . fig6 is a diagram illustrating the constitution of the periphery of the reducing agent feeding device 7 according to the embodiment 4 of the invention using the fuel that is reformed as the nox reducing agent . the same portions as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals or by attaching “ a ” to the ends of the numerals but are not described here again in detail . in fig6 a fuel pump 74 a installed at an upper part ( or inside ) of the fuel tank 71 feeds the fuel adjusted to a predetermined pressure to a fuel reforming device 76 . the fuel reforming device 76 reforms the fuel hc that is fed into h 2 and feeds it , as the nox reducing agent , to the reducing agent feed port 70 through the feed amount control device 77 . the feed amount control device 77 adjusts the amount of feeding the nox reducing agent h 2 after reformed depending upon the additional hc feed amount ( see step 115 in fig3 ). according to the above - mentioned embodiments 2 to 4 , the nox emission amount can be efficiently decreased in the lean mode operation of the engine 1 like in the above - mentioned embodiment 1 .	8
[ 0010 ] fig1 diagrammatically illustrates pertinent portions of exemplary embodiments of an rf communication receiver according to the invention . as shown in fig1 the received signal rx_in is input to an lna ( low noise amplifier ) whose output is applied to a phase splitter 12 . the in - phase and quadrature signals provided by the phase splitter 12 are applied to if mixers at 13 . these mixers mix the rf signal down into the if range . the if signals output from the mixers at 13 are then applied to respective channel filters 14 . these channel filters include filter portions and amplifier portions as shown in fig1 . the amplifier portions include control inputs for setting the filter gain of the channel filters . the outputs of the channel filters are combined at 11 and applied to an if amplifier 15 whose output drives a demodulator 17 which can employ , for example , 2 fsk or 4 fsk demodulation . the if amplifier 15 is capable of providing an rssi measurement at 16 . all of the above described components of fig1 are well - known in the art and can be readily combined in conventional fashion to implement the structure illustrated at 11 - 17 in fig1 . [ 0012 ] fig1 further includes a control portion 19 which implements a hardware control loop according to the invention . the hardware control loop receives rssi information from the if amplifier at 16 , and provides in response thereto a high / low gain switching signal 8 for switching the lna between low gain operation and high gain operation . the logic control portion 19 also provides at 7 a digital signal which is converted into analog format by an a / d converter 18 whose output provides a filter gain control signal to the amplifiers of the channel filters . the logic control portion 19 receives from the baseband processor information at 10 indicative of the desired bias level of the if amplifier 15 , and also receives from the baseband information at 9 indicative of a threshold power level above which the lna should be switched to low gain operation and below which the lna should be switched to high gain operation . the logic control portion 19 also provides to the baseband processor the rssi information received at 16 from the if amplifier 15 . the baseband processor can also perform other well - known conventional functions in support of the communication operation of the receiver of fig1 . according to exemplary embodiments of the invention , the logic control portion 19 compares the rssi measurement from the if amplifier to the desired bias level of the if amplifier , and uses the deviation of the rssi measurement relative to the bias level to update the channel filter gain . the logic control portion 19 also estimates the total front end rf power based on the rssi measurement and the actual front end gain setting , which gain setting includes the current channel filter gain and the current lna gain . this estimated total front end power is used in combination with the threshold power level information received from the baseband processor to decide whether or not to update the lna gain setting from low to high or high to low . the above - described operations in support of updating the channel filter gain and lna gain are repeated , in some embodiments , until one of the following occurs : ( 1 ) the total variable gain , obtained by adding the lna gain to the channel filter gain , reaches a predetermined upper or lower limit ; or ( 2 ) the aforementioned deviation of the rssi measurement relative to the desired bias level is within a predetermined range . if either ( 1 ) or ( 2 ) above occurs , the current lna gain and the current channel filter gain are accepted and the control loop is frozen until receipt of the next communication burst . [ 0015 ] fig2 illustrates the above - described agc operations according to the invention . at 21 , the rssi measurement is obtained from the register 16 ( see also fig1 ). at 22 , the deviation ( delta ) of the rssi measurement relative to the desired bias level is obtained by subtracting the desired bias level ( mid ) from the rssi level . at 23 , the front end power ( pwrrf ) is estimated by subtracting the channel filter gain ( gfilt ) and the lna gain from the rssi level . at 24 , the total variable gain ( vargain ) is calculated by adding the channel filter gain to the lna gain . at 25 , if delta ( rssi − mid ) has an absolute value less than or equal to a maximum allowed limit ( res ), then the agc operations end at 26 . otherwise , it is determined at 27 whether the total variable gain is at the upper or lower limit of a selected range . if so , then the agc operations end at 26 . otherwise , the channel filter gain is updated at 28 by adding delta to the current channel filter gain to obtain the new ( updated ) channel filter gain . at 29 , the estimated front end power is compared to the threshold power level . if the front end power exceeds the threshold level , then an lna status bit is set to 0 at 30 , thereby indicating that a low lna gain level has been selected . if the front end power does not exceed the threshold level at 29 , then the lna status bit is set to 1 at 31 , thereby indicating that a high lna gain level has been selected . at 32 , the lna status bit is used to set the lna gain , and at 33 , the new channel filter gain is updated to the channel filter . the above - described operations at 21 - 33 are repeated until the absolute value of delta is within the limit res , or until the total variable gain reaches the upper or lower limit of its range . [ 0018 ] fig3 diagrammatically illustrates exemplary embodiments of the logic control portion 19 of fig1 . the logic control loop of fig3 can perform the exemplary operations illustrated in fig2 . the rssi measurement information from rssi register 16 is input to a summing gate s 1 and a summing gate s 2 . the desired bias level mid for the if amplifier is input to the summing gate s 2 from the bias level register 10 . the summing gate si also receives the output of a multiplexer m 1 which selects either a high lna gain level value or a low lna gain level value from a pair of registers 35 and 36 . the summing gate s 1 also receives as input the current channel filter gain value gfilt . the multiplexer m 1 is controlled by the lna status bit . the summing gate s 2 performs the operation at 22 in fig2 and the summing gate s 1 performs the operation at 23 in fig2 . the output of multiplexer m 1 is also input to a summing gate s 3 , along with the current value of the channel filter gain gfilt . the summing gate s 3 performs the operation illustrated at 24 in fig2 . the output of summing gate s 3 is applied to a window comparator c 1 , along with an upper limit value for the variable gain ( maxvargain ) from register 37 and a lower limit value for the variable gain ( minvargain ) from register 38 . the comparator c 1 outputs a logic 1 if the output of summing gate s 3 has reached either the upper limit in register 37 or the lower limit in register 38 , and otherwise outputs a logic 0 . the value of delta is applied to a window comparator c 2 , along with values of + res and − res which are respectively provided by registers 39 and 40 . the window comparator c 2 outputs a logic 1 if the value of delta is within + res and − res inclusive , and otherwise outputs a logic 0 . a logic gate 41 , for example an or gate , determines whether either of the window comparators c 1 and c 2 has output a logic 1 . if so , the logic gate 41 outputs a logic 1 , which signals a control unit to freeze the control loop until the next communication burst is received . if the logic gate 41 outputs a logic 0 , then the hardware control loop continues operation . it can therefore be seen that window comparators c 1 and c 2 , gate 41 and the control unit perform the operations illustrated at 25 - 27 of fig2 . the value of delta is also input to an accumulator a 1 whose output is the channel filter gain gfilt . this channel filter gain is fed back as a second input to the accumulator a 1 . thus , the accumulator a 1 can perform the operation illustrated at 28 in fig2 . the accumulator a 1 can incorporate a limiter that prevents the value of gfilt from exceeding desired positive and negative limits . the estimated front end power pwrrf is input to a window comparator c 3 which compares this value to the threshold power level provided in register 9 . the output 45 of comparator c 3 is the lna status bit described above . thus , the comparator c 3 can perform the operations illustrated at 29 - 31 of fig2 . in the example of fig3 the summing gates s 1 and s 2 are operable and the rssi register 16 is read during a first clock cycle designated by a , the summing gate s 3 is operable during a second clock cycle designated by b , the comparators c 1 and c 2 are operable during a third clock cycle designated by c , and the accumulator a 1 and the comparator c 3 are operable during a fourth clock cycle designated by d . in some embodiments , the clock cycles a , b , c and d are consecutive clock cycles which occur in the timewise order a , b , c , d . in other exemplary embodiments , the operations of all of the summing gates s 1 - s 3 and the read of register 16 can be performed during clock cycle b , where clock cycle c immediately follows clock cycle b and clock cycle d immediately follows clock cycle c . the values in the registers at 9 , 10 and 35 - 40 can be provided by the baseband processor , for example via a serial interface , while the receiver is being initialized for operation . these values can be determined , for example , empirically from experimentation under expected operating conditions . assuming an rssi dynamic range of 20 db or more ( which is common ), the control loop of fig3 realizes a quickly converging agc algorithm . for example , only four or five clock cycles may be necessary to cover an 80 db dynamic input level range . this is well within the time occupied by a training sequence of a communication burst , so the agc is set before the payload bits of the burst are transmitted . such a quickly convergent control loop can advantageously provide a high intermodulation free dynamic range , resulting in increased system robustness to interfering signals , which can be important in license free bands . the quick convergence also advantageously permits fast antenna diversity control for low cost ( and / or fast moving ) systems . finally , because the agc algorithm is implemented entirely in a hardware loop without participation by the baseband processor , neither baseband processing power nor user software development are necessary to implement the agc . although exemplary embodiments of the invention are described above in detail , this does not limit the scope of the invention , which can be practiced in a variety of embodiments .	7
as illustrated in fig1 a watercraft 10 comprises a hull 11 for carrying passengers . an outboard motor 12 is attached to the rear part of the hull 11 . in preferred embodiments , communication between the hull 11 and the outboard motor 12 is provided by a controllable area network compatible ( can - compatible ) lan cable 14 constructed in accordance with the controllable area network specification for vehicles . the cable 14 can also be constructed and operated in accordance with work specifications . the hull 11 comprises an oil tank 15 that stores and supplies oil to the outboard motor 12 . an oil sensor 16 detects the amount of oil in the oil tank 15 . a battery 17 supplies electrical energy to components in the hull 11 and to the outboard motor 12 . a battery sensor 18 detects the voltage of the battery 17 . a control unit 20 is located proximate an operator &# 39 ; s seat and is thus located remotely from the outboard motor 12 . the control unit 20 includes a control lever 24 that is operable by an operator to enable the operator to perform throttling and shifting operations . as illustrated in fig2 the control unit 20 includes a start - stop switch 21 , a lever position sensor 22 that senses the position of the control lever 24 , and a trim - tilt switch 23 . the hull 11 also includes a steering wheel 30 positioned proximate to the operator &# 39 ; s seat . the steering wheel 30 includes a steering wheel angle sensor 31 . the control unit 20 and the steering wheel 30 enable the operator to control the direction and velocity of the watercraft 10 and are referred to as “ navigation - related ” devices . an active monitor 41 , a global positioning system ( gps ) 42 , a wireless transmitter 13 , a fuel level meter 51 , and a fuel flow rate meter 52 are also positioned proximate to the operator &# 39 ; s seat so that the devices can be readily observed by the operator . the active monitor 41 advantageously comprises a cathode - ray tube ( crt ) or a liquid crystal display ( lcd ). as discussed below , the active monitor 41 provides the operator and other persons in the watercraft with information regarding the operation of the watercraft . the gps 42 receives signals transmitted from a plurality of satellites and processes the signals to determine the position of the watercraft 10 . as further illustrated in fig2 a fuel hose 54 connects the outboard motor 12 to a fuel tank 53 positioned on the bottom of the hull 11 . similarly , an oil hose 54 connects the outboard motor 12 to the oil tank 15 . a power cable 56 provides electrical energy from the battery 17 to electrical components in the hull 11 and to the outboard motor 12 . the outboard motor 12 comprises an engine 62 that generates rotational torque by combustion of the fuel from the fuel tank 53 in combination with atmospheric air introduced into combustion chambers at a predetermined air / fuel ratio . the engine 62 transfers the rotational torque to a transmission mechanism 63 , which selectively transmits the rotational torque to a thrust generator ( e . g ., a propeller ) 64 in accordance with the enabled shifting operation ( e . g ., forward , reverse or neutral ). the propeller 64 interacts with the surrounding water and converts the rotational torque into a propulsion force to move the watercraft 10 on the water surface . the outboard motor 12 further comprises an engine control unit ( ecu ) 61 . as discussed below , the ecu 61 controls the operating parameters of outboard motor 12 . although not shown in fig2 the ecu 61 advantageously comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ), memory devices ( rom , ram , etc . ), auxiliary memory devices ( nonvolatile ram , hard disk , cd - rom , magneto - optic disk , etc . ), and a clock . the ecu 61 communicates with a plurality of feedback sensors , such as , for example , a throttle opening sensor 71 , a shift position sensor 72 , a steering angle sensor 73 , and an engine speed sensor 74 . the sensors inform the ecu 61 of the operating parameters of the engine 62 . for example , the engine speed sensor 74 detects the speed of the engine 62 and transmits the detected engine speed information to the ecu 61 . the ecu 61 controls the operating characteristics of the outboard motor 12 via a plurality of actuators such as , for example , a throttle actuator 81 , a shift actuator 82 , a steering actuator 83 , and a trim controller 84 . as described herein , the transmission mechanism 63 includes performs a plurality of functions related to the control and the conversion of the rotational torque produced by the engine 62 . in particular , the transmission mechanism 63 includes a gear mechanism ( not shown ), a clutch mechanism ( not shown ), a throttle valve ( not shown ), a shifter ( not shown ) and a turning mechanism . the throttle actuator 81 opens and closes the throttle valve of the engine 62 according to the lever angle signal from the lever position sensor 22 . the throttle valve regulates the amount of an air / fuel mixture supplied to the combustion chambers of the engine in accordance with the degree to which it is opened by the throttle actuator 81 . the speed of the engine 62 is responsive to the amount of the air / fuel mixture . thus , the speed of the engine 62 varies in response to the angle of the control lever 24 . the throttle opening sensor 71 detects the opening state ( e . g ., the percentage or angle of opening ) of the throttle valve of the engine 62 and outputs throttle opening information to the ecu 61 . the shifter and the clutch mechanism operate in response to the shift actuator 82 to change the operational mode between the forward , neutral and reverse modes . the turning mechanism operates in response to the steering actuator 83 to change the direction of the thrust generated by the propeller 64 . the start / stop switch 21 operates as an on - off switch that communicates an engine start signal and an engine stop signal to the ecu 61 in response to manual activation by the watercraft operator . the engine 62 may be started from a non - running still state and may be stopped from a running state based on start and stop signals communicated to the ecu 61 from the start - stop switch 21 . the ecu 61 triggers a starter ( not shown ) to start the engine 62 when a start signal is received . when an engine stop signal is received by the ecu 61 , the ecu 61 stops the ignition to the engine 62 , stops the fuel delivery to the engine 62 , or stops both the ignition and the fuel delivery . the shift position sensor 72 detects the various states ( position ) of the transmission mechanism 63 , whether it is in the neutral , forward , or reverse position , and outputs the detected shift position information to the ecu 61 . the lever position sensor 22 detects the position angle of the control lever 24 of the remote throttle 20 . the lever position sensor communicates an output signal to the ecu 61 to control the throttle actuator 81 and the shift actuator 82 . the shifter ( not shown ) in the transmission mechanism 63 changes the state of rotation of the propeller 64 in response to the power generated by the engine 62 . the rotational states of the propeller include a neutral state ( non - rotation of the propeller 64 ), a forward state ( rotation of the propeller 64 in a direction that propels the watercraft 10 in the forward direction ), and a reverse state ( rotation of the propeller 64 in a direction to propel the watercraft 10 in the reverse direction ). for example , when the control lever 24 is moved toward the bow or stem of the watercraft 10 , a signal is communicated via the lan to the ecu 61 . when the control lever 24 is moved from a neutral position towards the bow by more than a predetermined angle , the ecu 61 signals the shift actuator 82 to shift the transmission mechanism 63 to the forward state to drive the propeller in the direction that propels the watercraft 10 forward . likewise , when the control lever 24 is moved from a neutral position towards the stem by more than a predetermined angle , the ecu 61 signals the shift actuator 82 to shift the transmission mechanism 63 to the reverse state to drive the propeller in the direction that propels the watercraft 10 backward . in addition to controlling the direction of rotation of the propeller 64 , when the control lever 24 is tilted toward the bow or toward the stem by more than a predetermined angle , the ecu 61 gradually opens the throttle valve of the engine 62 to allow more air / fuel mixture into the engine 62 . opening the throttle valve results in an increase in propeller speed to thereby increase the velocity of the watercraft . as fuel is supplied from the fuel tank 53 to the engine 62 , the fuel level meter 51 detects the remaining fuel amount in the fuel tank 53 and outputs a fuel amount signal to the ecu 61 . the fuel flow rate meter 52 detects the flow rate of fuel flowing from the fuel tank 53 to the engine 62 by measuring the amount of fuel flowing out of the fuel tank 53 per unit time . the fuel flow rate meter 52 outputs the fuel flow rate ( fuel consumption rate ) information to the ecu 61 . the steering wheel angle sensor 31 detects a turning angle of the steering wheel 30 and outputs a steering angle control signal to the ecu 61 . the ecu 61 controls the steering actuator 83 according to the signal from the steering wheel angle sensor 31 . for example , when the steering wheel 30 is turned , the ecu 61 signals the steering actuator 83 to actuate the turning mechanism of the transmission mechanism 63 . the turning mechanism changes the direction of the outboard motor 12 with respect to the hull 11 and changes the direction of the watercraft 10 . the steering angle sensor 73 detects the direction ( angle ) of the outboard motor 12 relative to the hull 11 and outputs the detected steering angle information to the ecu 61 . the trim control device varies the horizontal plane surface of the watercraft 10 with respect to the surface of the water in the direction of travel of the watercraft 10 . the trim - tilt switch 23 enables the operator to adjust the trim and tilt of the outboard motor 12 with respect to the stem of the hull 11 to allow the operator to optimize the performance and fuel economy of the watercraft 10 . the trim - tilt switch provides the ecu 61 with signals representing an operator request , and the ecu 61 controls the trim controller according to the signals from the trim - tilt switch 23 . for example , when the watercraft 10 is moving forward , setting the trim - tilt switch 23 in the upward direction increases the inclination of the outboard motor 12 toward the tilt range , which raises the bow of the watercraft 10 . similarly , setting the trim - tilt switch in the downward direction decreases the inclination of the outboard motor 12 toward the trim range , which lowers the bow of the watercraft 10 . the trim / tilt adjustment enables the operator to choose the most efficient ( in terms of fuel economy ), stabilized , and well - balanced operational state of the watercraft 10 . when the bow rises too high , performance and fuel economy deteriorate due to the increase in the water resistance against the bottom of the hull 11 . when the bow lowers too much , although watercraft acceleration from the standing state improves , the watercraft 10 can become unstable or difficult to maneuver at high speeds . fuel efficiency and stability at a particular velocity improve when the bow is raised by a predetermined angle measured between a keel line and the water surface . how much the bow is raised or lowered to achieve optimal efficiency depends not only on the trim angle but also on the watercraft speed and load ( number of people and amount of equipment in the watercraft ). therefore , an efficient watercraft operating state is realized by choosing a trim angle that correctly corresponds to watercraft speed and load . as illustrated in fig2 the lan cable 14 comprises a hull - side lan cable 141 with a connector 142 and a motor - side lan cable 144 with a connector 143 . the connector 142 and the connector 143 are mechanically engaged to electrically or optically interconnect the hull - side lan cable 141 and the motor - side lan cable 144 . the hull - side lan cable 141 is connected to the start - stop switch 21 , the lever angle sensor 22 , the trim - tilt switch 23 , and the steering wheel angle sensor 31 to receive the control signals responsive to the operator commands . the control signals from each sensor or switch are transmitted from the hull - side lan cable 141 to the ecu 61 via the connectors 142 and 143 and the motor - side lan cable 144 . the ecu 61 is responsive to the control signals to generate the signals applied to the actuators of the outboard motor 12 , as discussed above . the hull - side lan cable 141 is also connected to the gps device 42 , to the fuel level meter 51 , and to the fuel flow rate meter 52 . the feedback signals from the gps device 42 , the fuel level meter 51 and the fuel flow meter 52 are transmitted to the ecu 61 via the hull - side lan cable 141 , the connectors 142 , 143 , and the motor - side lan cable 144 . similarly , information to be displayed on the active monitor 41 is transmitted from the ecu 61 to the active display 41 via the motor - side lan cable 144 , the connectors 143 , 142 and the hull - side lan cable 141 . the lan cable 14 ( comprising the lan cables 141 and 144 ) serves as a control information transmission path to communicate control signals to the outboard motor 12 . the lan cable 14 also serves as an information transmission path to communicate information to the active display 41 to inform the operator of the operating conditions of the watercraft 10 , such as , for example , parameter information from the sensors and navigational information . unlike previously known watercraft , the hull 11 and the outboard motor 12 of the watercraft 10 of fig1 and 2 are interconnected via a single communication cable such as the lan cable 14 . thus , no moving actuator wires or actuator cables are needed between the hull 11 and the outboard motor 12 to communicate control forces from actuators in the hull 11 to components in the outboard motor 12 . therefore , control signals ( e . g ., information related to the control of the outboard motor 12 ) and display information ( e . g ., signals representing operating conditions that are not related to the control of the outboard motor 12 ) can be sent through the single cable 14 . [ 0047 ] fig3 illustrates the connectors 142 and 143 of the lan cable 14 in more detail . as discussed above in connection with fig2 the hull - side lan cable 141 originates in the hull 11 , and the motor - side lan cable 144 originates in the outboard motor 12 . when the outboard motor 12 is mounted to the hull 11 , the connector 142 of the hull - side lan cable 141 and the connector 143 of the motor - side 143 are mechanically engaged in one simple operation to quickly interconnect the cables 141 and 144 and thereby enable communication of control signals and information between the hull 11 and the outboard motor 12 . in the illustrated embodiment , the connector 142 has a female ( recessed ) shape , and the connector 143 has a male ( projecting ) shape . the outside diameter of the male connector 143 has a size and shape corresponding to the inside diameter of the connector 142 . in preferred embodiments , the connector 142 is mounted at a fixed location on the side of the hull 11 . after the outboard motor 12 is mounted to the stern of the hull 11 , the lan cable 14 is connected by inserting the connector 143 of the motor - side lan cable 144 from the outboard motor 12 into the connector 142 of the hull - side lan cable 141 . in particularly preferred embodiments , the connectors 142 and 143 are provided with a quick - fit ( e . g ., a push and turn ) type of locking mechanism . in preferred embodiments , the outside diameter of the hull - mounted connector 142 has a dimensional limit of , for example , 40 millimeters to enable easy installation of the connector 142 into the hull 11 . the hull - side lan cable 141 is usually inserted into a preformed passage in the side of the hull 11 . thus , the outside diameter of the connector 142 should be sufficiently smaller than the inside diameter of the preformed passage . preferably , the dimensions of the motor - side lan cable 144 are also selected to be of similar size and shape as the hull - side lan cable 141 . the active monitor 41 displays many types of useful information to the watercraft operator , including , for example , boat speed s , fuel consumption e , fuel consumption rate f , fuel amount fa , navigation range l , navigation time t , a return - to - port warning , an optimum trim position ( angle ), and engine conditions . the ecu 61 performs a plurality of calculations ( described below ) based on position information from the gps device 42 , the fuel amount from the fuel level meter 51 , and the fuel flow rate from the fuel flow rate meter 52 . the ecu 61 transmits the calculated results via the lan cable 14 to the active monitor 41 to show the results to the watercraft operator . the boat speed s ( in km / h or knots ( nautical miles / h )) is calculated as the traveled distance of the watercraft 10 divided by the travel time . in the preferred embodiment , the traveled distance is based on the position information from the gps device 42 . the fuel consumption e ( in liters / km or liters / nautical mile , etc .) represents the amount of fuel consumed per unit of distanced traveled . the fuel consumption e is calculated from the watercraft speed s using the following equation : where f represents the amount of fuel consumed per unit time ( fuel consumption rate in liters per hour ). the fuel consumption rate f is determined according to the fuel flow rate information from the fuel flow rate meter 52 and the watercraft speed s . the fuel consumption e depends on the speed of the watercraft 10 . the fuel consumption e generally decreases as the speed of the watercraft 10 approaches the most efficient speed of the watercraft 10 . the most efficient watercraft speed can be defined as a speed where the outboard motor trim angle is set to allow the watercraft to travel in the water with the least possible resistance . the fuel amount fa is the amount measured as a unit of volume of fuel remaining in the fuel tank 53 . the fuel amount fa can be calculated from the fuel amount information from the fuel level meter 51 . the fuel amount fa can also be calculated from the following equation : where v0 is the maximum capacity ( in liters ) of the fuel tank 53 , and where v1 is the amount of fuel ( in liters ) consumed by the engine 62 . v1 can be calculated from the fuel flow rate based on the fuel flow rate information from the fuel flow rate meter 52 . the navigation range l is the maximum distance that can be traveled from the current position and can be calculated from the residual fuel amount fa and the fuel consumption e using the following equation : since the fuel consumption e varies with the boat speed s , the navigation range l calculated using the equation l = äv × e depends on the watercraft speed s . for example , the navigational range l represents the distance that can be reached when the watercraft 10 is assumed to maintain the current boat speed for a predetermined amount of time . the navigation time t is the period of time that the watercraft can navigate at a current watercraft speed s . the navigational time t can be calculated from the navigation range l and the watercraft speed s using the equation : the trim angle is closely related to watercraft efficiency . displaying an optimum trim angle corresponding to a watercraft speed that enables maximum efficiency is convenient for the operator . the operator can operate the trim - tilt switch 23 to set the trim angle of the outboard motor 12 to the displayed optimum trim angle . a conversion table showing the relationship between the watercraft speed s , watercraft load , and the optimum trim angle can be provided in the auxiliary memory device of the ecu 61 . if the conversion table is provided in the auxiliary memory device of the ecu 61 , the optimum trim angle can be found by referring to the conversion table and to a parameter such as the watercraft speed s . when parameters cannot be measured automatically within the watercraft 10 , the parameters can be entered manually by the operator while referring to the optimum trim angle displayed . finding an optimal operating setting for various possible watercraft parameters can also be accomplished , for example , by using tables or graphs showing the relation between the watercraft load and the optimum trim angle corresponding to watercraft designs . optimum trim angles corresponding to watercraft speeds can be obtained by a boat builder or by the operator through watercraft testing . these tests can involve operating the watercraft 10 to measure fuel consumption and stability compared to other watercraft with different trim angles , operational speeds , and loads . engine parameters can also be displayed on the active monitor 41 to inform the operator of engine condition . for example , the displayed parameters advantageously include engine speed from the engine speed sensor 74 , fuel flow rate information from the fuel flow rate meter 52 , and cooling water temperature from an engine coolant temperature sensor ( not shown ). if the engine 62 experiences a malfunction , the specific malfunction along with a repair suggestion can be displayed on the active monitor 41 . a malfunction of the engine 62 can be detected when the engine parameters representing the state of the engine 62 are outside the boundaries of respective normal ranges . parameters requiring maintenance and attention can be displayed by referring to a corresponding table showing an engine maintenance schedule . the engine maintenance schedule can include specific service areas of the engine 62 along with repair suggestions to possible engine problems stored in the auxiliary memory device of the ecu 61 . for example , if the cooling water temperature rises due to a cooling water suction port being blocked , a high cooling temperature can be sensed by a engine coolant temperature sensor ( not shown ) and displayed on the active display 41 to assist the operator in diagnosis and prevent watercraft damage . when plural outboard motors are provided , the individual operating states of each engine 62 may collectively be displayed on the screen of the single active monitor 41 . the above - described information may be displayed not only with characters but also with graphics of the engine 62 to provide easier understanding by the operator . the operator can also be informed of the state of the watercraft by audible aids in addition to the visual information . in accordance with the embodiments described above , a plurality of actuators such as , for example , the throttle actuator 81 , the shift actuator 82 , and the steering actuator 83 , are disposed in the cowling of the outboard motor 12 . the operation system and sensors in the hull 11 along with the engine sensors are connected through the lan cable 14 to the ecu 61 in the outboard motor 12 . as a result , the conventional wires and cables for the throttle device , shifting device , and steering device interconnecting the hull and the outboard motor in previously known watercraft configurations can may be eliminated so that the work of attaching the outboard motor can be accomplished easily and quickly using the embodiments described herein . according to the present invention as described above , actuators for driving various mechanisms that function in response operator requests such as throttling , shifting , and steering are disposed in the outboard motor . the operation system and sensors in the watercraft are connected through a communication cable to the ecu 61 controlling the actuators of the outboard motor 12 . the configuration of the lan connection between the watercraft 10 and the outboard motor 12 provides a significant reduction in the number of wires and cables between the hull 11 and the outboard motor 12 in comparison to a conventional watercraft and outboard motor . therefore , mounting of the outboard motor 12 to the hull 11 is simplified and improved . although the present invention has been described in terms of a certain preferred embodiments ; other embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art also are within the scope of this invention . thus , various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . moreover , not all of the features , aspects and advantages are necessarily required to practice the present invention . accordingly , the scope of the present invention is intended to be defined only by the claims that follow .	1
embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . [ 0034 ] fig1 is a schematic constitution view of an image input - color conversion - image output system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied . an image - input device 10 reads an original image 11 recorded on a reversal film and produces colorimetric image data represented by colorimetry values of xyz . the colorimetric image data of xyz produced by the image - input device 10 is fed to a personal computer 20 . the personal computer 20 converts the colorimetric image data obtained by the image - input device 10 into image data for printing representative of dot % for cmyk suitable for a printing system 30 , which will be described later . the image data for printing is fed to the printing system 30 . the printing system 30 performs a printing so that a print image 31 is formed . an aspect as an embodiment of the present invention in the system shown in fig1 resides in processing contents to be executed inside the personal computer 20 . hereinafter , there will be described the personal computer 20 . [ 0037 ] fig2 is a perspective view of the personal computer 20 shown in fig1 . fig3 is a hardware structural view of the personal computer 20 . the personal computer 20 comprises , on an external appearance , a main frame unit 21 , an image display unit 22 for displaying an image on a display screen 22 a in accordance with an instruction from the main frame unit 21 , a keyboard 23 for inputting various sorts of information to the main frame unit 21 in accordance with a key operation , and a mouse 24 for inputting an instruction according to , for example , an icon and the like , through designation of an optional position on the display screen 22 a , the icon and the like being displayed on the position on the display screen 22 a . the main frame unit 21 has a floppy disk mounting slot 21 a for mounting a floppy disk , and a cd - rom mounting slot 21 b for mounting a cd - rom . the main frame unit 21 comprises , as shown in fig3 a cpu 211 for executing a various types of program , a main memory 212 in which a program stored in a hard disk unit 213 is read out and developed for execution by the cpu 211 , the hard disk unit 213 for saving various types of programs and data , an fd drive 214 for accessing a floppy disk 100 mounted thereon , a cd - rom drive 215 for accessing a cd - rom 110 mounted thereon , an input interface 216 connected to the image - input device 10 ( cf . fig1 ), to receive image data from the image - input device 10 , and an output interface 217 to transmit image data to the printing system 30 . these various types of elements are connected via a bus 25 to the image display unit 22 , the keyboard 23 and the mouse 24 . the cd - rom 110 stores therein a color processing program for causing the personal computer 20 to operate as a color processing apparatus . the cd - rom 110 is mounted on the cd - rom drive 215 so that the color processing program , which is stored in the cd - rom 110 , is up - loaded on the personal computer 20 and is stored in the hard disk unit 213 . [ 0041 ] fig4 is a view showing an embodiment of a color processing program storage medium according to the present invention . the color processing program storage medium shown in fig4 represents storage medium such as the cd - rom 110 shown in fig3 and the hard disk in the hard disk unit 213 . a color processing program storage medium 300 stores a color processing program 310 comprising a first conversion section 320 , a second conversion section 330 and a parameter computing section 340 . the first conversion section 320 comprises an rgb data creating section 321 and a cmy data creating section 322 . operations of the respective sections of the color processing program 310 will be described later . when the color processing program 310 is stored in the cd - rom 110 shown in fig3 the cd - rom 110 corresponds to an example of a color processing program storage medium of the present invention , and when the color program 310 stored in the cd - rom 110 is loaded onto the personal computer 20 and stored in the hard disk unit 213 , the hard disk storing the color processing program 310 corresponds to an example of a color program storage medium of the present invention . further , when the color processing program 310 within the hard disk is down loaded onto the floppy disk 100 shown in fig3 the floppy disk storing the color processing program 310 also corresponds to an example of a color processing program storage medium of the present invention . [ 0044 ] fig5 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of a color processing apparatus according to the present invention . a color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 is implemented when the color processing program 310 shown in fig4 is loaded onto the personal computer 20 and is executed by the personal computer 20 . the color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 comprises a first conversion section 420 , a second conversion section 440 , and a parameter computing section 430 . the first conversion section 420 comprises an rgb data creating section 421 and a cmy data creating section 422 . the first conversion section 420 , which comprises the rgb data creating section 421 and the cmy data creating section 422 , the second conversion section 430 , and the parameter computing section 440 in the color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 comprise the combinations of the first conversion section 320 , which comprises the rgb data creating section 321 and the cmy data creating section 322 , the second conversion section 330 , and the parameter computing section 340 , which are shown in fig4 as software parts , with the hardware of the personal computer 20 and the operating systems ( os ), respectively . [ 0048 ] fig6 is a flowchart useful for understanding an embodiment of a color processing method of the present invention . in the explanation of the flowchart of fig6 there will be explained the color processing program shown in fig4 and the color processing apparatus shown in fig5 . in the flowchart of fig6 there are shown a first conversion process ( step ( a )) which is executed when the color conversion processing is carried out , a second conversion process ( step ( b )), and a parameter computing process ( step ( c )) which is a preparatory process before the color conversion processing is carried out . the first conversion process ( step ( a )) comprises an rgb data creating process ( step ( a 1 )) and a cmy data creating process ( step ( a 2 )). in the rgb data creating process ( step ( a 1 )) of the first conversion process ( step ( a )), xyz values represented by the colorimetric image data produced by the image - input device 10 are converted into rgb values in accordance with formula ( 1 ) as set forth below . incidentally , as typical examples of a color system representative of colorimetry values , there are , for example , l * a * b * and the like other than xyz . however , they can be converted into xyz , and thus here it will be explained assuming that xyz are dealt with . [ r g b ] = [ a 11 a 12 a 13 a 21 a 22 a 23 a 31 a 32 a 33 ]  [ x y z ] ( 1 ) here , elements a ij ( i , j = 1 , 2 , 3 ) of the matrix ( a ij ) is determined in the parameter computing process ( step ( c )), and thus , first , the parameter computing process ( step ( c )) will be explained hereinafter . each of fig7 to 9 is a view showing x - y chromaticity view . in fig7 there is shown a color reproduction area 710 in an entire color area 700 surrounding the whole area of the existing colors . the color reproduction area 710 is an area in which a color chart consisting of a large number ( for example , 729 colors ) of color patches , which is the maximum capable of being represented as color on a reversal film having the same characteristic as a reversal film on which the original image 11 ( cf . fig1 ) is recorded , is created , and a large number ( for example , 729 colors ) of points on the x - y chromaticity view , which are determined from colorimetry data for xyz obtained through reading by the image - input device 10 , is encircled . a relationship between the colorimetry data for xyz and coordinate points ( x , y ) on the x - y chromaticity view is as follows . a z chromaticity value is expressed by the following formula ( 3 ). while the z chromaticity value is not necessary for a notation of the x - y chromaticity view of fig7 to 10 , it is necessary for the latter computation . next , as shown in fig8 a predetermined white point is determined on the x - y chromaticity view . according to the present embodiment , the following point ( x w , y w ), which represents the chromaticity value of light d 50 of the auxiliary standard of cie , is defined as a white point 720 . ( x w , y w )=( 0 . 3 4 5 7 , 0 . 3 5 8 6 ) ( 4 ) next , let us consider on the x - y chromaticity view three straight lines 721 , 722 and 723 , which couple the white point 720 with the coordinate points 711 , 712 and 713 ( vertexes of roughly triangle of the color reproduction area 710 ) corresponding to the primary color of the color reproduction area 710 , respectively , and in addition , as shown in fig9 a triangle 730 having its vertexes on the three straight lines and including the color reproduction area 710 . it is desirable for the triangle 730 that it is set up in such a manner that the triangle 730 includes the color reproduction area 710 and the area is minimum . according to the present embodiment , the vertexes of the triangle 730 thus set up are denoted in form of primary color points 731 , 732 and 733 , which are representative of chromaticity values of primary colors of g , b and r , respectively . from the white point 720 and the three primary color points 731 , 732 and 733 thus determined , elements a ij of the matrix ( a ij ) of the transformation formula shown in the formula ( 1 ) are determined as follows ( cf . “ foundations of color engineering ” by mituo ikeda , pages 125 to 130 , ( kabushiki kaisha ) asakura bookstore ). here , x y z chromaticity values ( x , y , z ) of the white point 720 are represented by ( x w , y w , z w ). x y z chromaticity values of the primary color points 731 , 732 and 733 are represented by ( x g , y g , z g ), ( x b , y b , z b ), ( x r , y r , z r ), respectively . ( a ) with respect to the white point ( x w , y w , z w ), a 11 x w + a 12 y w + a 13 z w = 1 a 21 x w + a 22 y w + a 23 z w = 1 a 31 x w + a 32 y w + a 33 z w = 1 ( 6 ) ( b ) with respect to primary color point ( x g , y g , z g ) of g , a 11 x g + a 12 y g + a 13 z g = 0 a 31 x g + a 32 y g + a 33 z g = 0 ( 7 ) ( c ) with respect to primary color point ( x b , y b , z b ) of b , a 11 x b + a 12 y b + a 13 z b = 0 a 21 x b + a 22 y b \| a 23 z b = 0 ( 8 ) ( d ) with respect to primary color point ( x r , y r , z r ) of r , a 21 x r + a 22 y r + a 23 z r = 0 a 31 x r + a 32 y r + a 33 z r = 0 ( 9 ) taking notice of formulas including for example , a 11 , a 12 , a 13 in the expression ( 6 ) to ( 9 ), the following three formulas exist . a 11 x w + a 12 y w + a 13 z w = 1 a 11 x g + a 12 y g + a 13 z g = 0 a 11 x b + a 12 y b + a 13 z b = 0 solving those three simultaneous equations makes it possible to determine a 11 , a 12 , a 13 . likewise , there exist three formulas including a 21 , a 22 , a 23 , too , and there exist three formulas including a 31 , a 32 , a 33 , too . solving those simultaneous equations makes it possible to determine all elements a ij ( i , j = 1 , 2 , 3 ) of the matrix ( a ij ) of the formula ( 1 ). in the present embodiment , those elements a ij correspond to the parameter referred to in the present invention . in the present embodiment as mentioned above , the white point and the primary color point are rather strictly determined . however , it is acceptable that those points are empirically determined in some extend , without passing through such a strict step , and the elements of the matrix of the formula ( 1 ) are determined in accordance with coordinates of those points . in this case , however , as compared with a case where those points are strictly determined as mentioned above in accordance with the present embodiment , there is a possibility that an accuracy of the final color processing is lowered , or an operator is obliged to have a load in order to avoid such a matter that an accuracy of the final color processing is lowered . in the parameter computing process of the step ( c ) of fig6 in the manner as mentioned above , parameters ( in the example as mentioned above the elements a ij of the matrix ( a ij ) of the formula ( 1 )) are computed . the parameters thus computed are saved for the purpose of color conversion processing for the actual image ( the original image 11 shown in fig1 ). in the color processing program 310 shown in fig4 and the color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 the parameter computing section 340 and the parameter computing section 440 serve to perform processing of the parameter computing process of the step ( c ) of fig6 respectively . next , there will be described color conversion processing for the actual image . when the image - input device 10 ( cf . fig1 ) is used to read the original image 11 recorded on a color reversal film , colorimetry data ( xyz values ) on the respective points of the original image are obtained . the colorimetry data ( xyz values ) are converted into rgb data in accordance with the formula ( 1 ) in the rgb data creating process ( step ( a 1 )) of the first conversion process ( step ( a )) shown in fig6 and then in the cmy data creating process ( step ( a 2 )) of the first conversion process ( step ( a )), cmy data are determined from rgb data determined in the rgb data creating process ( step ( a 1 )) in accordance with the following formula ( 10 ). in the color processing program 310 shown in fig4 and the color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 the rgb data creating section 321 of the first conversion section 320 and the rgb data creating section 421 of the first conversion section 420 serve to perform processing of the rgb data creating process ( step ( a 1 )) of the first conversion process ( step ( a )) shown in fig6 respectively . further , in the color processing program 310 shown in fig4 the cmy data creating section 322 of the first conversion section 320 serves to perform processing of the cmy data creating process ( step ( a 2 )) of the first conversion process ( step ( a )) shown in fig6 . and in the color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 the cmy data creating section 422 of the first conversion section 420 serves to perform processing of the cmy data creating process ( step ( a 2 )) of the first conversion process ( step ( a )) shown in fig6 . the second conversion process ( step ( b )) of the flowchart in fig6 is a process of obtaining cmyk data through applying the color conversion processing with great accuracy for each image utilizing skills of an operator . in the first conversion process ( step ( a )), the colorimetry data are converted into cmy data in the manner as mentioned above . consequently , in the second conversion process ( step ( b )), it is possible to perform the color processing based on the cmy data . thus , it is possible to perform the color conversion processing with great accuracy using technique familiar to an operator . in the second conversion section 330 constituting the color processing program shown in fig4 and the second conversion section 430 constituting the color processing apparatus shown in fig5 there is constructed an algorithm useful for performing a color conversion from cmy data into cmyk data . an operator controls various sorts of parameters to define the algorithm , so that the color conversion from cmy data into cmyk data is performed in accordance with the parameters after controlled . the fundamental algorithm of the second conversion section ( the second conversion process ) is well known . however , here , applicants introduce an example of the recent algorithms ( cf . japanese patent application serial no . hei . 11 - 353006 ). [ 0083 ] fig1 is a block diagram of a color processing section which is an example of the second conversion section 430 of the color processing apparatus 410 shown in fig5 . here , in order to mutually distinguish cmy data , cmy data , which is determined in the first conversion section 420 and is transmitted to the second conversion section 430 , is addressed as color data cmy 0 . the color data cmy 0 , which are entered to a color processing section 520 , is first fed to a range set up section 521 . the range set up section 521 designates a range width in accordance with a designation value of dye density in the highlight on the original image and a designation value of dye density in the shadow on the original image , applies a normalization according to the range width to the color data cmy 0 , and outputs the normalized color data cmy 1 . the color data cmy 1 , that is outputted from the range set up section 521 , is fed to a gradation conversion section 522 and a k - plate creating section 525 . the gradation conversion section 522 is set up with tone curves for c , m and y three colors corrected by a correction coefficient of the highlight of the tone curve , a correction coefficient of the shadow , and a correction coefficient of the middle . the gradation conversion section 522 determines color data cmy 2 by a gradation conversion of the color data cmy 1 using those tone curves . the color data cmy 2 determined by the gradation conversion section 522 is fed to a ucr section 523 for performing a ucr operation to determine gray component values cmy u , which are to be subtracted from the color data cmy 2 , in accordance with parameter values set up by an operator . the gray component values cmy u thus determined is subtracted from the color data cmy 2 outputted from the gradation conversion section 522 , so that color data cmy 3 is created . the color data cmy 3 , which are subtracted in the gray component , are fed to a gray balance section 524 in which a gray balance of the color data cmy 3 is corrected to a gray balance of dot % values based on the color characteristic of the printing ink . correction of the gray balance of the color data cmy 3 makes it possible to convert the color data cmy 3 into dot % values of c , m and y three colors of dot % values of c , m , y and k four colors . on the other hand , the k - plate creating section 525 , which receives the color data cmy 1 outputted from the range set up section 521 , determines the minimum value of the dye density value c 1 , m 1 and y 1 represented by the color data cmy 1 , so that a gray component value k a of a color represented by the color data cmy 1 is determined . and the gray component value k a , which is determined by the k - plate creating section 525 , is fed to a k - plate curve section 526 in which a k - plate curve , which represents the percentage of components to be replaced by a k - plate in the gray component as a function of the gray component value k a , is used to convert the gray component value k a into a dot % value for the k - plate . the color processing section 520 shown in fig1 is provided with further a color correction section 527 for performing a color correction operation . the color correction section 527 is set up with color correction coefficients for controlling color variations in color directions of r , y , g , c , b and m for each of divisional plates of c , m , y and k four colors . the color correction section 527 receives the color data cmy 2 determined by the gradation conversion section 522 , and determines color correction data δcmyk representative of correction quantity of dot % values for c , m , y and k four colors , which correspond to color variations according to the color data cmy 2 and the color correction coefficient . of the color correction data δcmyk , c , m and y three colors component is added to the dot % values outputted from the gray balance section 524 , so that c , m and y three colors of dot % values cmy 4 are created for reproduction of a color after the color conversion . on the other hand , of the color correction data δcmyk , the black component is added to the dot % values for the k - plate outputted from the k - plate curve section 526 , so that dot % value k 4 for the k - plate is created for reproduction of a color after the color conversion . the c , m and y three colors of dot % values cmy 4 and the dot % value k 4 for the k - plate thus created are fed to %-% conversion sections 528 and 529 , respectively , to be subjected to a fine correction for dot % values and be outputted in form of dot % values cmy p and k p for printing , respectively . the dot % values cmy p and k p thus outputted are transmitted to the printing system 30 ( cf . fig1 ) in form of printing image data . the printing system 30 creates divisional plates for printing in accordance with the transmitted printing image data and performs a printing , so that a preferable color is reproduced on a printed matter . the color processing section 520 ( the second conversion section 430 shown in fig5 ) shown in fig1 is set up with a large number of various parameters and performs color conversion processing according to the set up parameter . the set up of the parameters is deeply involved in technique of an operator . the color processing section 520 ( the second conversion section 430 ) are to perform a conversion from the conventional cmy data to the cmyk data . thus , an operator can perform a great accuracy of color conversion processing making good use of one &# 39 ; s experience . as mentioned above , according to the present invention , colorimetry data are once converted into cmy data , and color processing is performed on the converted cmy data . this feature makes it possible to make good use of one &# 39 ; s property for performing a great accuracy of processing accumulated , that is , the former color processing apparatus , technique of color processing and technique of an operator . and thus , it is possible to perform a great accuracy of color processing . while the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments , it is not to be restricted by those embodiments but only by the appended claims . it is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and sprit of the present invention .	7
the present invention provides a method and apparatus for preventing unauthorized modification of flash memory . for purposes of explanation , specific embodiments are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will be understood by one skilled in the art , from reading this disclosure , that the invention may be practiced without these details . further , although the present invention is described through the use of flash memory , most , if not all , aspects of the invention apply to memory in general . moreover , well - known elements , devices , process steps and the like are not set forth in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present invention . in addition , references will be made to encryption schemes such as the rivest , shamir , and adleman ( rsa ) public - key cryptographic system , which can be used for both encryption and digital signatures . however , any cryptographic system which allows for the authentication of the source and content message can be used without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention . in essence , the public key cryptography as used a secure system to verify the source and content of secure software and to protect keys used in bulk cryptography . reference is also made to one other technique called “ hashing .” this is similar to a checksum operation , but mathematically more rigorous , reducing the possibility of the same checksum on two different blocks of data to negligible proportions . hashing is an element in the key and verification and the signature . a hash value will be a number that is unique to a block of information so that if any part of the information is modified in that block of information , a subsequently generated hash value will be different . whether a checksum or hash operation is used , and physically which hash algorithm is used , is not relevant to the invention described here . such decisions are intended to be left to the implementors of whatever secure software system operate on the secure platform . a “ signature ” is generated for a block of information by a sender generating a hash value using the data in the block of information and then encrypting the generated hash value with the sender &# 39 ; s private key . thus , the encrypted hash value is the signature of the vendor for that block of information . to validate that the block of information originated from the vendor and also to determine that no change has been made to the block of information , the recipient first generates a hash value over the block of information , and then decrypts the signature using the vendor &# 39 ; s public key to obtain the hash that was originally generated . if the hash value generated by the recipient matches the decrypted hash value distilled from the signature attached the block of information , then the received block of information can be relied on as originating from the vendor and received without change . [ 0038 ] fig2 illustrates a system configured in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , including : a processor 102 , a memory controller 104 , a system memory 106 , a flash memory 108 , an memory address / window detector 110 , a system memory access enable register 112 , a memory window control 114 , a flash memory programming logic 116 , a flash memory programming enable register 118 , a first and - gate 120 , an or - gate 122 , a second and - gate 124 , and a not - gate 126 . as illustrated in fig2 processor 102 is coupled to memory controller 104 through a data signal line 202 and an address signal line 204 . memory controller 104 is coupled to system memory controller 106 through the use of a memory data signal line 206 and a memory address signal line 208 . memory controller 104 is also coupled to flash memory 108 through the use of memory data signal line 206 and memory address signal line 208 . memory window control 114 is also coupled to memory data signal line 206 . memory window control 114 also provides an output over range signal line 214 to memory address / window detector 110 . memory controller 104 and processor 102 is coupled to memory address / window detector 110 through the use of a cache enable signal line 210 and address signal line 204 . memory address / window detector 110 is also coupled to first and - gate 120 , the output of which is coupled to system memory access enable register 112 , to control the writing of values into system memory access enable register 112 . the output of system memory access enable register 112 and an access enable output from memory address / window detector 110 is fed through or - gate 122 and is received by memory controller 104 through the use of an access enable signal line 212 . the output of system memory access enable register is also fed into not - gate 126 . the output of not - gate 126 is fed into memory window controller 114 and second and - gate 124 , respectively . the output of second and - gate 124 is fed into flash memory programming enable register 118 , the output of which is also connected to flash memory programming logic 116 . flash memory programming logic 116 is coupled to flash memory 108 . memory controller 104 translates the addresses in the address space used by processor 102 into whatever addresses are needed by the other system components . thus , for example , whether processor 102 is trying to execute instructions or access data from flash memory 108 or system memory 106 , all data and commands will go through memory controller 104 . memory controller 104 can prevent processor 102 from accessing system memory 106 by not translating the requests pertaining to the address space used to access system memory 106 . memory controller 104 is capable of operating in a mode that does not cache anything . in the preferred embodiment , memory controller 104 will allow access to system memory 106 while it is receiving an access enabled signal over access enable signal line 212 . further , memory controller 104 has a mode where access to an off - processor cache ( a level 2 cache ) will not be processed . this mode is controlled by memory address / window detector 110 , as described below . system memory access enable register 112 is used to generate the access enabled signal over access enable signal line 212 during normal operations . by modifying system memory access enable register 112 , access to system memory 106 is either enabled or disabled — i . e . all requests to access system memory 106 is controlled by the value contained in system memory access enable register 112 . however , access to system memory 106 can be allowed , regardless of the value contained in system memory access enable register 112 , by memory address / window detector 110 , as described below . in a preferred embodiment , system memory access enable register 112 contains a single bit and can be implemented as a flip - flop . when system memory access enable register 112 contains a logical value of “ 0 ”, memory controller 104 will not allow processor 102 to access system memory 106 unless memory address / window detector 110 generates a logical “ 1 ” to or - gate 122 to provide a logical value of “ 1 ” to memory controller 104 over access enable signal line 212 . thus , in the preferred embodiment , the access enabled signal is represented by a logical value of “ 1 ”. in the preferred embodiment , on startup , such as when there is a hardware reset , system memory access enable register 112 is disabled — i . e ., system memory access enable register 112 contains a logical “ 0 ”, thus disabling access to system memory 106 . thus , only the bios program in flash memory 108 can be accessed for execution . during the system initialization process , the reset vector goes in and starts executing in the bios , one of the first things it would do is write into system memory access enable register 112 to enable all accesses to system memory 106 . memory address / window detector 110 , which has the ability to monitor the addresses accessed by processor 102 through the use of address signal line 204 , provides that only a program running within flash memory 108 can modify system memory access enable register 112 to allow memory controller 104 to provide access to system memory 106 . thus , a program operating in system memory 106 could not modify system memory access enable register 112 as memory address / window detector 110 will only allow access to system memory access enable register 112 if it detects that processor 102 is executing from the program contained in flash memory 108 . memory address / window detector 110 operates based on the fact that in a linear address map , typically the upper 64 kilobytes in the first megabyte of the original pc architecture is allocated for bios and any extensions to the bios is contained in a region below the 64 kilobytes allocated to the bios , along with any other “ program memory ”. thus , the bios extensions for interrupt controllers and other programs and data are in a different memory range from the program contained in flash memory 108 . if a machine is truly pc compatible , then the address ranges from which the bios will be executing are known . in addition , as described above , memory address / window detector 110 can “ override ” the disabling of access of system memory 106 by system memory access enable register 112 through the use of generating a signal with a logical value of “ 1 ” to or gate 122 . memory address / window detector 110 will override the disabling of access of system memory 106 for the addresses contained in memory window control 114 , as described below . further , memory address / window detector 110 can disable a cache either local to processor 102 ( a level 1 cache ) or an off - processor cache ( a level 2 cache ) through the generation of a cache disable signal over cache enable signal line 210 to processor 102 and memory controller 104 , respectively . thus , memory address / window detector 110 can send a control signal that enables caching on memory controller 104 and processor 102 , and memory address / window detector 110 can also send out an enable signal that enables a write signal to pass through to system memory access enable register 112 . memory address / window detector 110 can monitor addresses to detect when the cpu is executing in the appropriate range . memory window control 114 opens up a range of “ valid ” memory addresses where processor 102 can access the update program by memory address / window detector 110 sending out the access enable signal that re - enables memory controller 104 to provide access to system memory 106 during certain points . in a preferred embodiment , memory window control 114 contains a base register ( not shown ) and a limit register ( not shown ) memory window control 114 is only accessible only when the system memory access enable register 112 is set to the disabled state . [ 0052 ] fig3 illustrates a series of operations for reprogramming flash memory 108 in accordance with the present invention . in block 302 , a flash memory upgrade program containing a new flash memory image ( e . g ., a new bios image ) for flash memory 108 ( containing the current bios ) would be loaded into system memory 106 and executed . the flash memory upgrade program would incorporate a digital signature which is “ signed ” by the private key of the vendor ; the digital signature being the original hash value of the flash memory upgrade program after the original hash value has been encrypted with the vendor &# 39 ; s private key . operation would then continue with block 304 . in block 304 , after the flash memory upgrade program begins execution , the flash memory upgrade program would call a special function in the current program contained in flash memory 108 , requesting to install the new flash memory image . this call would specify the address and size of the flash memory upgrade program located in system memory 106 . therefore , when the flash memory upgrade program ( containing the new bios image ) begins execution , it transfers control to the program contained in flash memory 108 ( the current bios ), requesting to update the current bios . the address and size of the flash memory upgrade program would be stored into the base register and the limit register , respectively , contained in memory window control 114 . as mentioned above , memory window control 114 can contain more than one pair of the base register and the limit register to provide for situations where the flash memory upgrade program is not contained in one contiguous address space . in block 306 , after processor begins operating according to the current program contained in flash memory 108 , memory address / window detector 110 first disables caching by processor 102 and memory controller 104 by sending out a cache disable signal over cache enable signal line 210 . it is to be noted that caches do not necessarily have to be disabled during all phases of the update . caches just have to be flushed ( i . e ., cleared of all data and instructions ) until after the flash memory upgrade program ( and the enclosed new flash memory image ) is authenticated . processor 102 fetches an instruction from the program in flash memory 108 ( e . g . the bios ), and that instruction is a register i / o write instruction . the bios wants to write to system memory access enable register 112 to disable access to system memory 106 . when the write instruction is sent on a bus write cycle , memory address / window detector 110 determines that the previous instruction fetch that precipitated the register i / o write instruction was from within the bios ( in flash memory ), and memory address / window detector 110 allows the register i / o write instruction to complete as the register i / o write instruction came from the bios . if processor 102 is executing a program contained in system memory 106 and issued a register i / o write instruction to modify system memory access enable register 112 , the bus write cycle for the register i / o write instruction would be blocked as memory address / window detector 110 determines that the register i / o write instruction precipitated from processor 102 executing from the program contained in system memory 106 . therefore , only the program contained in flash memory 108 can modify the state of system memory access enable register 112 . also , as memory address / window detector 110 senses that processor 102 is executing from a physical address space in flash memory 108 — i . e ., processor 102 is executing code from the current bios , memory address / window detector 110 generates a signal representing a logical “ one ” to first and gate 120 to allow system memory access enable register 112 to be disabled by writing a signal with a value of logical value of “ 0 ” to system memory access enable register 112 . as system memory access enable register 112 contains a logical value of “ 0 ”, the output of or gate 122 will be a logical value of “ 0 ” unless memory address / window detector 110 outputs a signal with a logical value of “ 1 ”— i . e ., access to system memory 106 will only be allowed if memory address / window detector 110 outputs a logical value of “ 1 ” to or gate 122 . as mentioned above , memory window control 114 contains registers which define a set of accessible address spaces in system memory 106 after system memory 106 has been “ locked down .” memory address / window detector 110 will allow access to a portion of system memory 106 defined by memory window control 114 , “ overriding ” the total ban on accessing system memory 106 caused by the setting of system memory access enable register 112 , by reading the registers contained in memory window control 114 . when processor 102 requests to fetch data or instruction from this set of accessible address spaces , memory address / window detector 110 sends out an access enable override to allow accesses to the accessible address spaces even though system memory access enable register 112 has otherwise “ locked down ” system memory 106 . specifically , memory address / window detector 110 will only allow memory controller 104 to provide access to system memory 106 — i . e ., memory address / window detector 110 will only output a signal over access enable signal line 212 with a logical value of “ 1 ” to memory controller 104 , if the access requested is within the address space defined by the registers in memory window control 114 . thus , the current program in flash memory 108 would first place memory controller 104 to operate in a “ restricted ” rode , which disables system memory 106 , so processor 102 cannot access anything in system memory 106 . then , the current program in flash memory 108 would enable extended memory access to the portion of the system memory containing the flash memory upgrade program . in block 308 , the current program in flash memory 108 would then verify the source and content of the flash memory upgrade program ( which includes the new flash memory image ) by : ( a ) decrypting the digital signature using the vendor &# 39 ; s public key stored in the current program to obtain the original hash value ; ( b ) independently calculating a hash value for the flash memory upgrade program which is resident in main system memory ; and ( c ) comparing the original hash value obtained from decrypting the digital signature with the independently generated hash value to find a match . if the hash values match , indicating that the flash memory upgrade program contained in main memory originated from the authorized creator and has not been modified , then operation will continue with block 310 . if the hash value does not match , the upgrade will be aborted . in an alternate embodiment , the user can be notified of the failed upgrade in another step ( not shown ). in block 310 , the current program contained in flash memory 108 would enable reprogramming of flash memory 108 by setting flash memory programming enable register 118 with a programming enable signal and transfer control of processor 102 to the flash memory upgrade program contained in system - memory 106 at a predefined entry point . as described above , as long as system memory access enable register 112 is in the enabled state , it has an interlock back to flash memory programming enable register that will not allow reprogramming of flash memory 108 . to set system memory access enable register 112 to the disabled state , which enables access to flash memory programming enable register , it is required that processor 102 be executing the original authorized program ( e . g ., the bios ) contained in flash memory 108 . in this system , only the original program in flash memory 108 can authorize itself to be replaced . in block 312 , through the use of flash memory program logic 116 , the flash memory upgrade program erases flash memory 108 and copy the new flash memory image into flash memory 108 . the new program code would contain the same special functions as the current program , including a copy of the public key of the vendor , to support future field upgrades . operation will then continue with block 314 . in block 314 , the flash memory upgrade program , still executing from system memory 106 , transfers control of processor 102 to the program contained in the new flash memory image , now in flash memory 108 , which in turn would return memory controller 104 to normal operation and begin its normal initialization sequence as if a reset had occurred . the update operation would then end . in normal operation , the program in flash memory 108 ( e . g ., the bios ) gets control immediately after a hardware reset . the bios then initializes all the hardware and then loads the operating system before transfering control to the operating system . the present invention functions according to the normal situation by being able to start up in a non - secure mode of operation , and then switch into a secure operating mode in order to update the bios and then go back and re - initialize and start over . therefore , the protection scheme does not require the system to come up initially in a secure mode . although the flash memory update program starts the whole flash memory update function , the real key to the security in the system is to ensure that only when processor 102 is executing instructions from flash memory 108 is it possible to change into a secure operating mode — i . e ., only when processor 102 is executing instructions from flash memory 108 is it possible to modify system memory access enable register 112 . in addition , the system protects against circumvention attempts where a rogue interrupt is added to the bios extension , because by enforcing that processor 102 can only be executing from the particular physical range of memory that is occupied by the authorized flash memory programs , no other software can have access to the registers that control the ability to make that update . it is also to be appreciated that although in the preferred embodiment , key checking is done “ strictly ” in software i . e . the decryption of the signature and the independent generation of the bash value for the update program is performed through the use of processor 102 executing code from flash memory 108 , it is to be appreciated that decryption and comparison of the hash value can be performed through the use of other methods , including an application specific integrated circuit . while the present invention has been particularly described with reference to the various figures , it should be understood that the figures are for illustration only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention . many changes and modifications may be made to the invention , by one having ordinary skill in the art , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	6
a carry select adder structure 20 as shown in fig1 comprises a carry generation network 21 with two carry lookahead trees 22 , 23 . the first carry lookahead tree 22 is based on generate and propagate boolean operations , and the second one 23 is based on kill and not - generate boolean operations in order to achieve orthogonal signals for controlling a multiplexer 24 . pre - calculating the sums sum 0 and sum 1 of a byte 25 , 25 ′, 25 ″ as well as selecting a particular sum sum 0 or sum 1 via the multiplexer 24 is done by feeding the multiplexer 24 with the orthogonal signal levels of the hot - carry signal provided by the two carry lookahead trees 22 , 23 at the same time , wherein each signal level is fed to an individual input of the multiplexer 24 . in fig2 a to 2d four boolean equations are shown that are preferably used in a carry - select adder structure according to the invention . the so - called generate - based carry function in fig2 a is a boolean and operation . both operands a and b have to have a value of ‘ 1 ’ in order to generate an output with a value of ‘ 1 ’. the so - called propagate - based carry function in fig2 b is a boolean or operation . at least one of the operands a or b has to have a value of ‘ 1 ’ in order to generate an output with a value of ‘ 1 ’. the so - called inverse - generate - or not - generate - based carry function shown in fig2 c is a boolean nand operation . all combinations of operands except both operands having a value of ‘ 1 ’ generate an output value of ‘ 1 ’. in fig2 d a so - called kill - based carry function is shown . it is a boolean nor operation , wherein an output value of ‘ 1 ’ is generated only if both operands a and b have the value ‘ 0 ’. it is important to mention , that for a specific implementation the groups of bits can be of any size and it is not required to be a byte . for the following examples and the chosen technology it is of advantage to choose a byte as a unit . this is due to the available gates like e . g . ai2 / oi2 nand / nor or complex gates of type aoi / oai . in general the output signals cyi_kill and cyi_gen ( where i is the index of the particular bits 25 , 25 ′, 25 ″) of the kill - based carry lookahead tree 23 and the generation - based carry lookahead tree 22 are orthogonal to each other and thus able to gate the correct sum sum 0 or sum 1 through the multiplexer 24 ( see fig1 ). applying a pseudo - ling approach and looking at byte 1 of a 64 bit operand the formulas for the select signals at the multiplexer for result byte 0 are following ( notice ; p 8 / g 8 is factored out , furthermore e . g . pipj is the abbreviation of ( pi and pj ) sometimes also pi * pj ; the sign + is the placeholder for an or ): c 8 = g 8 + g 9 + p 9 p 10 ( g 10 + g 11 + p 11 p 12 ( g 12 + g 13 + p 13 p 14 ( g 14 + g 15 + p 15 p 16 c 16 ))) ( i ) c 8 — n = k 8 + k 9 + g 9 g 10 ( k 10 + k 11 + g 11 g 12 ( k 12 + k 13 + g 13 g 14 ( k 14 + k 15 + g 15 g 16 c 16 ))) ( ii ) to clarify : p16c16 and g 16 c 16 in equation ( i ) and ( ii ) are replaced by the actual carry - in ( cy_in / cy_in ) if the least significant byte is considered ( byte n in fig1 ). looking at byte 1 as in equation ( i ) and ( ii ). c16 is the carry - in from byte 2 but with p16 factored out . as in ( i ), where p8 is factored out , p16 is factored out in c16 . so in a later level p16 must be factored in to c16 again . example : in order to simplify the description , all examples assume only an operand length of 16 bits ( i . e . bit 0 to 15 ). to show the regular structure of the schematic an operand bit a & lt ; 16 & gt ; and b & lt ; 16 & gt ; is added . in a real implementation the actual carry - in ( cy - in ) would replace the operand bits 16 . for wider operands the same structure is used for higher bytes , but the tree to get the cy_gen / cy_kill increases in height . fig3 and fig4 show schematics of orthogonal carry lookahead trees 32 , 33 , implemented with ai2 ( nand ) and oi2 ( nor ). thereby fig3 shows the generate - based carry lookahead tree 32 and fig4 the kill - based carry lookahead tree 33 . in the carry lookahead tree 32 the g0815 and p0916 terms are used to select the next bytes carry select . the signal cy 0 _gen is the generate - based hot - carry for multiplexer control . a16 and b16 are placeholders for a carry - in of a neighboring byte . in the carry lookahead tree 33 the k0815 and g0916 terms are also used to select the next bytes carry select . the signal cy 0 _kill is the kill - based hot - carry for multiplexer control . in both trees 32 , 33 based on generate and kill have similar path delay . compared to the state of the art , the inverter stage required to control the multiplexer is avoided ( compare fig9 ). doing so , the main aspect of the invention is fulfilled without restrictions . to change the logic level in fig4 a complex gate 34 is applied . more particularly the kill based carry lookahead tree in fig4 is implemented with ai2 / oi2 gates , and an oai21 34 and an oi2 35 to achieve orthogonality . fig5 and fig6 show schematic views of simplified orthogonal carry lookahead trees 42 , 43 , implemented with complex gates like aoixy and oaixy . thereby fig5 shows the generate - based carry lookahead tree 42 and fig6 the kill - based carry lookahead tree 43 . in the carry lookahead tree 42 the g0815_c and p0916_c terms are again used to select the next bytes carry select . the signal cy 0 _gen is the generate “ based hot - carry for multiplexer control . in the carry lookahead tree 43 the k0815 and g0916 terms are also used to select the next bytes carry select . the signal cy 0 _kill is the kill - based hot - carry for multiplexer control . both trees 42 , 43 based on generate and kill have similar path delay . compared to the state of the art , the inverter stage required to control the multiplexer is again omitted ( compare fig9 ). thereby the problem arises , that the output signal level of the schematics according to fig5 and fig6 is the same , although the logical functions cy 0 _gen and cy 0 _kill_c are orthogonal . this is due to the fact , that the aoi gates do an inversion at every level . as there are an odd number of levels both signals cy 0 _gen and cy 0 _kill_c are either both ‘ 0 ’ or both ‘ 1 ’. in order to achieve orthogonal signal levels at the output cy 0 _gen / cy 0 _kill it is suggested to replace an aoi / ai2 stage in fig6 by an ai2 - ai2 / ai2 - i stage or to replace an oai / oi2 stage in fig6 by an oi2 - oi2 / oi2 - i stage , respectively , as indicated in fig7 . thereby an ai2 - ai2 stage is arranged either in the kill - or in the generation - based carry lookahead tree , in order to achieve orthogonal signal levels at multiplexer level . in fact , an aoi21 stage would be replaced by an ai2 - ai2 stage and a parallel inverter , or an oai21 stage would be replaced by an oi2 - oi2 stage with a parallel inverter . to explain oai21 replacement , the following is considered : ( x _ + y _ ) ⁢ z _ _ = z + xy ( x _ + y _ _ ) + z _ _ _ = z + xy _ . this achieves inversion of the function . the other gates of the chosen level of the tree , either ai2 gates or oi2 gates are replaced by ai2 - inv or oi2 - inv , respectively ( fig7 ). the replacement can take place at any appropriate level of the carry tree structure . fig5 and 7 show a simplified implementation of a carry lookahead tree 52 based on complex gates . ai2 - ai2 / oi2 - oi2 stages replace a complex stage aoi21 / oai21 to avoid the problem mentioned above . from that stage down to the end of the tree aoi21 / oai21 have to be exchanged ( fig7 ). it is now also possible to choose either a kill - based or a gen - based function and start at an appropriate stage with an ai2 - ai2 / oi2 - oi2 combination in parallel to an aoi21 / oai21 stage ( fig1 ). from that point down the tree it is possible to build the parallel schematic tree 53 according to fig8 . thereby it is important to mention that it the starting gate outputs a true level signal the next gate down the tree is an aoi21 gate . if the starting gate outputs a complement value the next gate is an oai21 type . the starting point of the parallel and logically orthogonal carry tree can start at every stage depending on what offers best performance . it is further important to mention that the disclosed solution applies standard static cmos gates and is geared towards the usage of complex gates of aoi / oai type . for further explanation , fig1 shows the graph structure 62 of a generate - based carry generation network as shown in fig5 , and fig1 the graph structure 63 of a kill - based carry generation network as shown in fig7 . according to the invention , in addition to the well known generate ( g ) and propagate ( p ) term an additional kill ( k ) function ( fig1 ) is applied in parallel to the generate and propagate functions . a graph structure 64 of a partially duplicated carry generation network according to the invention with kill - based and generation - based boolean operations is shown in fig1 . thereby fig1 shows the graph structure of a partially duplicated carry generation network as shown in fig8 . the invention has the advantage over the state of the art , that it allows to replace the highly loaded inverter stage at multiplexer level by a parallel structure , and that it thus offers performance improvements . while the present invention has been described in detail , in conjunction with specific preferred embodiments , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives , modifications and variations as failing within the true scope and spirit of the present invention .	6
in fig1 , a mounting apparatus in accordance with an embodiment seats a data storage device 100 . the mounting apparatus includes a bracket 200 , a locking member 40 mounted on the bracket 200 , and an operating assembly 300 . referring to fig2 , the data storage device 100 includes two tabs 120 extending from a side of a front portion of the data storage device 100 . the bracket 200 includes two parallel side plates 20 and a bezel 30 . two rows of support pieces 22 perpendicularly extend inwardly from the side plates 20 , supporting opposite sides of the data storage device 100 . two flanges 24 extend perpendicularly in opposite directions from front ends of the side plates 20 . the flanges 24 define a plurality of mounting holes . one of the flanges 24 defines two cutouts 243 corresponding to the tabs 120 of the data storage device 100 . referring to fig3 , the bezel 30 defines an opening 32 , through which the data storage device 100 passes . a plurality of through holes corresponding to the mounting holes of the flanges 24 of the side plates 20 are defined in the bezel 30 around the opening 32 . the bezel 30 defines two cutouts 34 on a side of and communicating with the opening 32 , corresponding to the cutouts 243 of the side plate 20 . the bezel 30 defines a through hole 36 below a side of the opening 32 . the through hole 36 includes a round part 362 and a square part 364 communicating with the round part 362 . the bezel 30 defines two slots 37 on one side adjacent to the through hole 36 , and a mounting hole 38 at the opposite side . the locking member 40 is longitudinal and defines a plurality of oval apertures 42 along its axis . two flanges 43 extend perpendicularly from opposite sides of the locking member 40 . two cutouts 44 are defined in one of the flanges 43 . a sliding portion 46 extends from a lower portion of the flange 43 defining the cutouts 44 . a fin 462 extends perpendicularly from a bottom of the sliding portion 46 . the operating assembly 300 includes a lock 50 , a cover 60 , a tab washer 70 , an n - shaped fragment 82 , a washer 84 , and a nut 86 . the lock 50 includes a screw 52 and a hexagon - shaped nut 54 . the screw 52 includes a head and a shaft extending from the head . the nut 54 is firmly fitted about the shaft . a keyhole 522 is defined in the head of the screw 52 , and a crisscross - shaped projection 524 protrudes from the shaft , opposite to the head . the cover 60 includes a body 61 , and three sidewalls 63 extending from two opposite lateral sides and a bottom side of the body 61 . a through hole 62 is defined in the body 61 . two parallel flanges 622 extend from the body 61 at a top side and a bottom side of the through hole 62 . two hooks 64 extend from one of the sidewalls 63 extending from a corresponding lateral side of the body 61 , and a tab 66 perpendicularly extends from another sidewall 63 extending from the opposite lateral side of the body 61 , opposite to the hooks 64 . the tab 66 defines a mounting hole . a bent plate 68 perpendicularly extends down from the sidewall 63 extending from the bottom side of the body 61 ( shown in fig3 ). tab washer 70 defines a cross - shaped through hole 72 corresponding to the projection 524 of the screw 52 of the lock 50 . two projections 74 protrude from a circumference of the tab washer 70 , perpendicular to each other . referring to fig4 through 6 , in assembly , the locking member 40 is attached to the bezel 30 , opposite to the side plates 20 . the sliding portion 46 is received in the square part 364 of the through hole 36 of the bezel 30 . the fin 462 extends to a rear side of the bezel 30 through the round part 362 . the cover 60 is attached to the bezel 30 and the locking member 40 . the hooks 64 engage the slots 37 of the bezel 30 , and the tab 66 is fixed to the bezel 30 via a screw through the mounting hole of the cover 60 to be engaged in the mounting hole 38 of the bezel 30 . the bent plate 68 of the cover 60 resists the bezel 30 . the shaft of the screw 52 of the lock 50 passes through the through hole 62 of the cover 60 , with the nut 54 engaging the flanges 622 of the cover 60 . the fragment 82 fits about the nut 54 of the lock 50 , attached between the bezel 30 and the cover 60 . the shaft of the screw 52 of the lock 50 further passes through the round part 362 of the through hole 36 of the bezel 30 . the tab washer 70 fits about the projection 524 of the screw 52 of the lock 50 . the fin 462 of the locking member 40 is located between the projections 74 of the tab washer 70 . the washer 84 fits about the shaft of the screw 52 and abuts the tab washer 70 , opposite to the bezel 30 . the nut 86 engages a distal end of the shaft of the screw 52 . the bezel 30 is fixed to the flanges 24 of the side plates 20 via screws pass through the apertures 42 of the locking member 40 , the mounting holes of the bezel 30 and the mounting holes of the flange 24 . the locking member 40 can move relative to the bezel 30 . referring to fig6 through 8 , for installation , a key inserted into the keyhole 522 of the lock 50 of the operating assembly 300 rotates the shaft of the screw 52 . one of the projections 74 of the tab washer 70 moves the fin 462 of the locking member 40 upward , driving the locking member 40 up the bezel 30 , until the cutouts 44 of the locking member 40 misalign with the cutouts 243 of side plates 20 , the cutouts 34 of the bezel 30 , and the tabs 120 of the data storage device 100 . thus , the data storage device 100 is fixed in the mounting bracket . referring to fig4 , 5 and 9 , for removal , the key inserted into the keyhole 522 of the lock 50 of the operating assembly 300 rotates the shaft of the screw 52 , with the other projection 74 of the tab washer 70 pushing the fin 462 of the locking member 40 downward . the locking member 40 is moved down on the bezel 30 . when the cutouts 44 of the locking member 40 align with the cutouts 243 of side plates 20 , the cutouts 34 of the bezel 30 , and the tabs 120 of the data storage device 100 , the data storage device 100 can move out of the bracket 200 through the opening 32 . it is understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof . thus , the present example and embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein .	6
the following detailed description represents the best currently contemplated modes for carrying out the invention . the description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention . referring to fig1 and 2 , a contract execution system and process 10 may have a central operating and data base element 20 that may be operated by a bank , escrow company , lending institution , funds handling entity or like business or service organization . a user 12 that may be a contractor 40 , a subcontractor 42 , a buyer 44 , a lender 46 , a bank examiner or the like contracting entity who may then interact with the central element 20 to enter into contractual agreements and to execute elements of contractual agreements , for example , payment for work performed , execution of lien waiver documents , documenting changes to a contract , payment for change orders as well as other contractual elements . the user 12 may access the central element 20 from system terminals 14 that may be remote and that may be data terminals at banking or other business entities , remote terminals linked to the internet or other network systems , telephone system terminals or voice devices , blue tooth communication systems and the like . these remote terminals 14 may be linked by wire , radio wave , satellite , infrared or other transmission methods . mail and courier type services may also be used for some elements of a contract process 10 where electronic methods may not be available or efficient for a particular user 12 or system operation . in use the contract execution system and process 10 may have a distributed central operating and data base element 20 as for example a bank and an escrow company may manage certain portions of the process and coordinate maintenance of the data base for various contract processing functions . an example of a use of the system may be the funding of a construction process as illustrated in fig2 . a contractor 40 may obtain funds 50 from a lending institution such as a bank 46 or may be self funding . the contractor 40 may hire subcontractors 42 to perform work 52 on the construction project . once the subcontractor 43 has completed the work a bill for payment 54 may be submitted . these steps or actions may all be taken without the parties meeting . for example , the contractor 40 may have a relationship or agreement with a bank 46 to prepare loan documents electronically at a terminal 14 that may then be processed and approved at the bank 46 . the subcontractor 42 may be on an approved list of companies for work for the contractor 40 and a work order or contract may be electronically transferred from the contractor 40 to the subcontractor 42 who may then use an electronic signature to sign the contract . the approved list may be based on a rating system reflecting a subcontractor &# 39 ; s 40 performance history , as an example , lien waiver completion action and job performance . once the work is performed the subcontractor 42 may submit the bill 54 electronically to be received electronically 56 by the contractor 40 who may normally be the payer of the bills , or other entities 58 that may be designated , such as , an accountant , a bank 46 , or an escrow company . all of these transactions may be maintained in a database 22 of the central operating and data base element 20 . the contractor 40 may authorize payment of funds 56 by the contractor &# 39 ; s bank 46 , an accountant or other designated entity based on the work performed and conditioned on the subcontractor 42 signing a lien waiver . the contractor 40 may prepare a lien waiver document with instructions 60 to be transmitted electronically to the subcontractor 42 . the contractor 40 may authorize payment of funds 56 to the subcontractor 42 conditioned on receipt of a signed lien waiver 64 . the instructions 24 and lien waiver document 26 may be as illustrated in examples in fig3 and 4 . the instructions 24 may contain an electronic address such as an internet web site and user identification that may be a pass code or password to allow access to the central element 20 for the subcontractor 42 to review the lien waiver 26 and to electronically sign or agree to the document 62 . if an electronic notary may be necessary , this may also be accomplished with the signing . while the embodiment discloses the contractor 40 as preparing documents and verifying payments , other entities may also be authorized to do so , for example , if a lender such as a bank 46 , title company , escrow company or the like may be involved in the transaction , they may prepare lien waiver forms and signing instructions and transmit them as well a verifying receipt of documents . if the subcontractor 42 may not have their own terminal access for performing 62 , they may have access arranged through their own bank or an escrow type entity , they may use the bank 46 that may be part of the system , or they may use other types of electronic service providers . other types of execution methods may also be used , for example , the lien waiver and instructions 60 may be transmitted by mail or courier to the subcontractor 42 with user identification information and the subcontractor 42 may then use a voice or text system such as a telephone to authenticate themselves and execute the lien waiver 26 . the transaction data may be entered in the database 22 by a contract execution system manager that may be a bank 46 , an entity that may operate contract execution type systems , or a contractor 40 , by personnel conversing with the subcontractor 42 . for more sophisticated voice systems , as an example , a voice recording may be used to authenticate acceptance of a lien waiver 26 that may eliminate personal contact with contract execution system manager personnel . other electronic identification may also be used , for example , biometric identification may be used that may be electronic fingerprint or eye identification type systems . when the subcontractor 42 signs the lien waiver 62 the central element 20 may recognize this event 64 and depending on the remote terminal 14 capabilities of the subcontractor 42 , an electronic check may be produced or enabled at a local terminal that may be printed , an electronic funds transfer or direct deposit may be effected , a check may be mailed , or other manner of payment initiated 66 . receipt of payment 68 may be confirmed 70 electronically or by return of a canceled check , receipt or other document . the completion of the subcontractor 42 transaction may then be entered 72 in the data base 22 . this process may be used with multiple subcontractors on one or more construction projects for the contractor 40 , lender 46 , inspectors and others to monitor progress of projects and correlate payments to lien waiver status . depending on the control of the central element 20 , that is , contractor 40 , lender 46 , or other entity , access to date in the database 22 may be authorized for users on a need to know basis . for example , a contractor 40 may be allowed access to data associated with its subcontracts as a means for tracking work progress , payments , lien waiver history and other information . examples of possible types of reports are illustrated in fig5 through 8 . referring to fig1 and 9 , the contract execution system and process 10 may be used for other elements of contracting to develop documents and confirm execution of agreements or performance to validate payment for work , services or products . a party wishing performance such as a buyer , a seller or a payer wishing a performance may contact a provider such as a contractor 80 . the provider may create a contract document 82 as for example a change order for a construction contract or purchase order on the central element 20 . the contract document may be transmitted with instruction 84 for the buyer to review and sign 86 the contract document , for example , change order or purchase order similar to steps 60 and 62 as described herein for the lien waiver process . once the contract may be performed by the provider a bill may be submitted to the buyer 88 and payment may be released by the buyer 90 similar to step 66 as described herein for the lien waiver process . contract performance payment between the parties may involve other than money payments , for example , the provider may perform and the buyer may pay by performing an agreed service or commodity exchange as payment . the users of the central element 20 may control or establish reports to provide contract status information similar to that described for use in the system for the lien waiver process . the results of the transaction may be entered in a data base 92 . while this embodiment has been described for a transaction involving a contractor performance , the provider 80 may be a seller or other entity wishing to contract with a party wishing a type of performance , for example , a joint venture , a sale or other type of transaction in which the electronic contract system and method may be applied . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to the illustrated 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 .	6
as may be seen first of all from the side view of the apparatus shown in fig1 this apparatus comprises an upper clamping beam 1 and a lower clamping beam 2 which are secured in a frame ( not shown in detail ) and are positioned at an angle of at most 5 ° from each other which opens towards the right - hand side . between these clamping beams 1 and 2 , there is positioned a rocker 3 which is mounted so that it may pivot at the left - hand end about a horizontal axis 4 and may be moved up and down in the region between the two clamping beams 1 and 2 by means of a driving rod 6 which engages the rocker 3 at the right - hand end 5 thereof and by means of a crank mechanism 7 which is diagrammatically illustrated . a plurality of strip - shaped rubber samples 101 to 116 and 117 to 132 respectively are clamped parallel to each other between the rocker 3 and the upper clamping beam 1 on one side and between the rocker 3 and the lower clamping beam 2 on the other side . these rubber samples correspond in each case to the rubber sample which is shown in two views in fig8 especially with regard to the size and shape thereof . these samples 10 have a rectangular cross - section in their middle region 11 and they merge at their ends into two cylindrical thickenings 12 and 13 which act as clamping points . only the length p represents the actual test body , along which length the cross - section of the rubber sample 10 is constant . fig3 shows in more detail the arrangement and clamping of the rubber samples at the right - hand end of the apparatus in the region of the sectional line iii -- iii for the position of the rocker which is shown in fig1 . this section also shows that the rubber samples may be positioned on both sides of the clamping beams 1 and 2 and of the rocker 3 , so that according to the embodiment which is shown , a total of four rows of , in each case , 16 rubber samples , i . e . a total of 64 samples may be tested at the same time . to this end , fig3 shows that the rubber samples 101 to 116 are clamped by their upper thickening 12 between two clamping strips 14 and 15 which are attached to the upper clamping beam 1 by screws 16 . the lower thickenings 13 are secured laterally to the rocker 3 in a corresponding manner between clamping strips 17 and 18 . in the same way , the lower row of rubber samples 117 to 132 is fixed to the rocker 3 between suitable clamping strips 19 and 18 , and to the lower clamping beam 2 between clamping strips 20 and 21 . in a symmetrical manner , the right - hand rows of samples 133 to 148 and 149 to 164 are attached to the upper claping beam 2 between clamping strips 22 and 23 , to the rocker 3 between clamping strips 24 and 25 and 26 respectively , and to the lower clamping beam 2 between clamping strips 27 and 28 . the individual rubber samples are clamped at their end regions approximately at an angle of 45 ° to the actual tensioning direction of the samples , as is shown at the lower end of the rubber sample 164 , the significance of which will be explained later on . moreover , in the free space between the upper clamping beam 1 and the rocker 3 and between the rocker 3 and the lower clamping beam 2 light barriers are positioned in the vicinity of each rubber sample , such that the ray path of each light barrier is at least occasionally interrupted by the relevant unbroken rubber sample . as may also be seen from fig3 u - shaped bows 30 are attached to the lower side of the upper clamping beam 1 and they each support a light source 31 and a photocell 32 on their free sides . these bows 30 having a light source 31 and a photocell 32 are positioned in the same way on the side of the lower clamping beam 2 facing the rocker 3 . as may also be seen from fig3 the rubber samples , in this case 132 and 164 , will interrupt the ray path of a light barrier 31 , 32 when they are stretched whereas when they are relaxed , as is shown in the case of the upper rubber samples 116 and 148 , they arch laterally out of the ray path . this arching which always takes place outwards is obtained due to the fact that the samples are clamped at an angle of 45 °. if during the next stretching procedure , a rubber sample should fail , the two remaining sections will always project laterally outwards because they are clamped at an angle of 45 °, and they will no longer interrupt the ray path of the relevant light barrier . the operating method of the present invention will be described below . first of all , it is assumed that all 64 measurement points are occupied by rubber samples . as a result of the upward and downward movement of the rocker 3 corresponding to the diagrammatically indicated path of the crank mechanism 7 in fig2 which may be driven by an electric motor ( not shown ) having a speed of , for example , 720 r . p . m ., corresponding to 12 hz for the rocker 3 , the rubber samples 101 to 164 are alternately stretched and relaxed . as the samples are stretched intermittently , the rocker 3 describes a path corresponding to the sine curve a shown in broken lines in fig2 . the force acting on a rubber sample which may be stretched to a maximum is shown by the curve b drawn in a solid line . the force path is illustrated using the rubber samples 116 and 148 at the right - hand end of the clamping beam 1 . the position shown in fig1 and 3 corresponds to the point of the curve &# 34 ; 12 = 0 &# 34 ;. since in this case , the force path b is horizontal , but the rocker is at point &# 34 ; 12 = 0 &# 34 ; of the broken curve a , this means that in this position the rubber samples 116 and 148 and all the other rubber samples of the two upper rows are relaxed , as may also be seen from fig3 . when the rocker 3 moves downward again and approximately reaches the point &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; of the curve and thus reaches a position corresponding to fig4 the samples 116 and 148 are stretched out straight to their normal length , without a tensile force acting thereon . a tensile force acts on the rubber samples only when the rocker moves further downwards , which tensile force reaches its maximum value in the lower position at the point &# 34 ; 6 &# 34 ; of the curve a and b corresponding to the position in fig5 and causes an extension of 200 % in the embodiment which is shown . then , when the rocker 3 moves upwards , the extension is reduced again up to the upper relaxed position . the path for the rubber samples 117 to 132 and 149 to 164 of the two lower rows is then exactly reversed . the conditions at the left - hand end of the apparatus in the vicinity of the fulcrum 4 of the rocker arm 3 are illustrated in fig6 in the region of the rubber samples 102 , 118 , 134 and 150 . in the upper position of the rocker 3 which is shown , the rubber samples 102 and 134 are relaxed only to a slight extent due to the short stroke of the rocker in this region , whereas the lower samples 118 and 150 are extended by a maximum of 50 %. this shows that each rubber sample is subjected to a different extension depending on its position in the apparatus or on its spacing from the fulcrum 4 of the rocker 3 , which extension amounts to from 50 to 200 % in the embodiment which is shown . consequently , a large number of rubber samples having an identical or different quality may thus be subjected to different extensions and thus different strains in one test with the apparatus according to the present invention , so that the successive series of measurements which have been conventional heretofore for different strains are unnecessary and may be combined into a single series of measurements . if the rocker 3 is driven at 12 hz , the prescribed 10 6 load alternations are achieved within 23 hours , so that , including the time required for removing the old samples and inserting new samples , a daily cycle for conducting one test for 64 rubber samples is possible in each case . reference will again be made to the function of the light barriers according to fig1 and 3 , in order to determine the number of load alternations which are endured by a rubber sample , or to determine the time when a rubber sample breaks . as may be seen in particular from fig3 the individual rubber samples , for example 116 and 148 , arch outwards to the side when they are relaxed because they are clamped at an angle of 45 ° , and thus they fall outside the ray path of each light barrier 31 , 32 . when the sample is stretched , as may be seen in the lower half of fig3 in the case of the samples 132 and 164 , these samples again breach the ray path of the light barrier . if one of the samples breaks , the two free ends will no longer return into the ray path because the samples are clamped at 45 °, but they move out sideways , so that the ray path is no longer interrupted thereby . since each photocell of a light barrier is connected to a corresponding counter which registers the respective interruptions in the ray path , it is possible to exactly determine when the respective sample has broken if this interruption does not occur and thus if the counter fails to respond . the stress - cycle diagram for individual samples and the corresponding different extensions may then be easily recorded therefrom at the end of each series of tests . fig3 shows a clamping arrangement of the rubber sample which causes the samples to bulge out to the side when they are relaxed and causes a brief interruption in the ray path only when the samples are stretched . in contrast thereto , fig7 illustrates another possibility of arranging the rubber samples and of the influence on the ray path of each light barrier . this figure shows a lateral view of the right - hand end of an apparatus according to fig1 comprising the upper clamping beam 1 , the lower clamping beam 2 and the section of the rocker 3 which lies within this region . the upper clamping beam 1 has a slit 35 , which emanates from its lower side and is inclined at an angle of 45 °, and a suitable circular expansion 36 at the end of the slit , which correspond to suitable slits 37 and expansions 38 in the rocker 3 . rubber samples 115 &# 39 ; and 116 &# 39 ; are then laterally inserted into these openings and they may be further secured with a cover strip which is not shown in detail . in the same way , the two lower rubber samples 131 &# 39 ; and 132 &# 39 ; are fixed between the rocker 3 and the lower clamping beam 2 . in an arrangement of this type and with the rubber samples clamped in this manner , the samples will always bulge out to one and the same side when they are relaxed since they are clamped at 45 °, as may be seen in the case of the two upper relaxed samples 115 &# 39 ; and 116 &# 39 ;. thus , in an arrangement of this type and with the rubber samples being clamped in this manner , each sample always lies in the ray path of a suitably positioned light barrier 31 , 32 . if one of the rubber samples breaks which , according to experience , happens in most cases in the vicinity of a clamping point , then in this case as well , the free ends of the samples will extend to one side , in the present case to the right - hand side , since they are clamped at 45 °, so that the ray path of a light barrier 31 , 32 is no longer interrupted thereby , but is unbroken . thus , the counter connected to the respective light barrier receives a corresponding signal , from which the number of load alternations which have been endured may then also be determined . with the apparatus according to the present invention which has been described above , it is thus easily possible to subject a large number of identical or different samples which are positioned parallel to each other to different extensions , and to determine the exact number of load alternations which have been endured by each sample . of course , suitable modifications , in particular with respect to the number of rubber samples to be measured in parallel , and the specific arrangement thereof , as well as the use of just a single clamping beam are possible within the scope of the present invention .	6
referring the drawings generally and in particular to fig1 there is shown a multi - layer water soluble film 10 composed of a relatively thick first layer 12 composed of a cold water soluble film and a relatively thin second or barrier film layer 14 that is a barrier layer for the chemical to be contained in a bag made from film 10 . generally , layer 12 of the multi - layer water soluble or dispersible film 10 is relatively thick , sufficiently thick to provide the necessary structural strength for use as a bag to contain the desired chemical . depending on the type of cold water soluble film , typical thicknesses will be in the range from about 10 to about 500 microns or greater , for example and more typically about 20 to about 75 microns . the actual thickness will be dependent on the type of application , including the type of water soluble material , the size of the bag and the density and amount of the material to be stored therein . the thickness of second film layer 14 of barrier material is generally relatively thin , typically in the range of from about 0 . 25 to about 25 microns or more and preferably about 0 . 05 to about 15 microns . generally , the purpose of second layer 14 is to provide a barrier so that chemicals contained in a bag formed from film 10 contacts barrier layer 14 and does not contact first layer 12 of cold water soluble film . in this manner , film barrier 14 is impervious or resistant to the chemical contained in the bag . consequently , it is important that second layer 14 be continuous or at least substantially continuous for storing and containing certain chemicals that would be particularly aggressive in attacking the cold water soluble film of first layer 12 . for aggressive agrichemicals , a continuous second layer 14 becomes more important or even necessary to properly function as a barrier between the agrichemical and first layer 12 composed of the cold water soluble film or dispersible . fig2 and 3 illustrate a bag 16 in accordance with the present invention that has been sealed and contains an agrichemical 18 therein as shown in fig3 . bag 16 is composed of a sheet of multi - layer water soluble film 10 that has been folded over and has a hot bar heat seal 20 along the four peripheral sides of bag 16 , as best shown in fig2 . as is well known to those skilled in the art , the equipment for and methods of making bag 16 are well known to those skilled in the art . consequently , a detailed disclosure of such is not provided . any bag design or construction can be utilized in accordance with the invention as long as the bag can be formed with multi - layer water soluble film 10 in a desired fashion , filled with an agrichemical and sealed closed with the material therein any suitable method of sealing the bag and type of seal can be utilized including hot bar , impulse or other heat seal , solution seal , adhesive seal and ultrasonic seal . generally , a heat or a solution seal is preferred . many types of water soluble films are suitable for use as the first layer 12 of multi - layer film 10 in accordance with the invention . for example , suitable water soluble films include polyvinyl alcohol , polyoxyethylene ( such as 15 polyoxyethylene ), cellulose derivatives such as methylcellulose ( mc ), methylhydroxyethyl cellulose ( mhec ), methylhydroxpropylcellulose ( mhpc ), hydroxypropyl cellulose ( hipc ), cellulose monoacetate , hydrophobically modified cellulose derivatives , sodium polyacrylate , polylactic acid , lactic acid ethers or esters of polyvinyl alcohol , lactic acid ethers or esters of cellulose derivatives , lactic acid grafts on polyvinyl alcohol , carrageenan , pectin , combinations of the foregoing and combinations of the forgoing and starch . for example , suitable hydrophobically modified cellulose derivatives include c - 16 modified hec , mhpc and hipc . all of the foregoing materials can be cold water soluble . starch may be added and used in combination with the foregoing water soluble materials to make first layer 12 . for example , suitable starches include unmodified or modified corn , potato , rice and wheat starches . suitable materials for the generally relatively thin barrier layer 14 generally can be selected from three categories : ( 1 ) cold water soluble , but with at least less reactivity or susceptibility to interaction with the agrichemical ( or other material to be contained in the bag ) than the outer layer ; ( 2 ) hot water soluble ; and ( 3 ) dispersible barriers . in addition , the barrier layer must have good adhesion properties to , and otherwise be compatible with , relatively thick first layer of water soluble film 12 , and also be chemically and physically compatible with the material to be stored in the resulting container made with film 10 . in one embodiment , the barrier layer is a polymer present as a thin continuous layer that does not dissolve in water at temperatures above 50 ° c . suitable polymers can be selected from cellulose derivatives in which the degree of substitution is sufficient to prevent solubility above 50 ° c . such as , for example , cellulose acetate lactate , cellulose lactate , methylhydroxybutyl cellulose and hydrophobically modified cellulose derivatives . in accordance with another embodiment , the inner layer or barrier 14 is a continuous , thin polymer layer that does not dissolve in water at temperatures below about 50 ° c . suitable materials for this embodiment include polyvinyl alcohol that does not dissolve in water at temperatures below 50 ° c ., including between 97 % and 99 . 99 % hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol . generally , such hot water soluble films will be utilized as a thin layer , usually from about 0 . 25 to about 15 microns thick , so that the barrier disintegrates once the outer cold water soluble film dissolves . in still another embodiment of the present invention , barrier layer 14 can be composed of a polymer film material that dissolves in water but is less or substantially less reactive than the material of first or outer layer 12 of film 10 to the agricultural composition or other material to be contained within a bag constructed of such material . generally , such barrier layers are not suitable for aqueous solutions containing free water . generally , such barrier layers are suitable for packaging organic solvent - based materials and solids . generally , cold water soluble materials can be utilized for the inner barrier layer when the cold water soluble barrier material is not as susceptible to interaction with the agrichemical or material to be packaged as the material of the outer layer . for example , when the outer layer is cold water soluble polyvinyl alcohol , suitable cold water soluble materials , depending on the material to be packaged , include cellulose derivatives having a degree of substitution ( ds ) or moles of substitution ( ms ) that provide solubility in water in the range of 5 - 60 ° c . or greater , such as methyl cellulose , methylhydroxyethyl cellulose , methylhydroxpropyl cellulose , methylethyl cellulose , methylhydroxybutyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , carboxymethyl cellulose , hydrophobically modified cellulose derivatives , cellulose monoacetate , cellulose acetate lactate , cellulose lactate , karaya gum , guar gum , carrageenan , pectin , gum , tragacanth , sodium alginate , gum arabic , xanthan gum , sodium acrylate and ammonium acrylate . in another embodiment , inner layer or barrier 14 can be selected so as to disperse or disintegrate in water , provided that it exhibits the proper resistance and other properties with respect to the agrichemical or other material to be contained in a bag constructed of such a film . suitable materials for the inner barrier layer 14 for this embodiment include acrylic acid polymers , acrylic ester polymers , acrylic acid copolymers , acrylic ester copolymers , copolymers of acrylic acids and esters , crosslinked polyvinyl alcohols , crosslinked cellulose derivatives , ethyl cellulose , nitrocellulose , cellulose butyrate , cellulose acetate butyrate , ethylene vinyl alcohol , ethylene vinyl acetate , polyvinylidene chloride and alkali soluble waxes and polyurethanes . other materials may be known to those skilled in the art for barrier layer 14 . any suitable method of making multi - layer water soluble film 10 can be utilized . for example , the inner barrier layer can be laminated to the outer water soluble film layer in a manner well known to those skilled in the art . in addition , the inner layer can be co - extruded by a thermal process to the outer water soluble film layer , such as by blown film or slot die extrusion . further , the inner barrier layer can be coated onto the outer water soluble film layer . other suitable techniques of fabricating the multi - layer water soluble film 10 in accordance with the invention known in the art could also be utilized . some agrichemicals are generally unsuitable for storage in cold water soluble polyvinyl alcohol bags , namely ciba hst . the following are examples of multi - layer film in accordance with the invention matched with agrichemicals and other materials to be contained by containers made from such film . open - topped , heat sealed water soluble or disintegratable bags are produced from a two - layer film composed of a 38 micron outer cold water soluble polyvinyl alcohol ( pvoh ) ( 88 % hydrolysis , 25 cps ) layer and a 1 . 0 micron cold water dispersible polyvinylidene chloride barrier layer and are manually filled with from 10 grams to 2300 grams of a pesticide , which is not compatible with the outer cold water soluble pvoh layer , in the form of a wettable powder or water dispersible granule . in the absence of the barrier layer , this incompatibility would result in loss of desirable physical properties ( puncture resistance , tear resistance , drop impact resistance , water solubility etc .) of the water soluble layer upon exposure to the pesticide . the pesticide composition of the wettable powder on a % by weight basis is 50 % active ingredient , 3 % wetting agent , 5 % dispersant , and 42 % diluent , where the wetting agent is typically an anionic surfactant such as alkyl sulfonate ( e . g . sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate ) or an alkyl naphthalene sulfonate ( e . g . sodium isopropyl naphthalene sulfonate ); the dispersant is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; and the diluent is an inert inorganic material , such as a kaolinite clay , or an alkyl naphthalene sulfonate ( e . g . sodium isopropyl naphthalene sulfonate ); the dispersant is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; and the diluent is an inert inorganic material , such as a kaolinite clay , or an inert organic material such as starch . the pesticide composition for a water dispersible granular composition on a % by weight basis is 35 % active ingredient , 3 % wetting agent , 7 % dispersant , 1 % bonder , and 54 % diluent , where the wetting agent is typically an anionic surfactant such as alkyl aryl sulfonate ( e . g . sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate ) or an alkyl naphthalene sulfonate ); the dispersant is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; the binder is a water soluble polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone ; and the diluent is an inert inorganic material such as a kaolinite clay or an inert organic material such as starch . after the bags are filled , they are manually or automatically heat sealed at the top by the two sealing jaws of a thermoplastic bag hot bar heat sealer that heats the polymer under pressure until a heat seal is formed . the heat sealed bags are placed in a outer package which is suitable for storing the water soluble bags for acceptably long periods of time before being removed from the outer package and introduced into the main tank ( typically 50 to 600 gallons in size ) of a spraying system which has water residing in it . tank agitation is started and in a reasonably short period of time the water soluble bags dissolve with disintegration of the barrier layer and the pesticide dissolves or disperses in the water , creating a spray solution which is then typically sprayed on a growing crop . two layer water soluble bags are produced on a form - fill - seal machine and filled with a pesticide in the form of a flowable or emulsifiable concentrate or gel . these water soluble bags are produced from a two - layer film composed of a 50 . 8 micron outer cold water soluble polyvinyl alcohol layer having an 88 % degree of hydrolysis and a viscosity of 23 cps . and a 0 . 7 micron layer of ethylene vinyl acetate . the flowable suspension concentrate composition on a % by weight basis is 40 % pesticide active ingredient , 2 % wetting agent , 3 % dispersing agent , 5 % antifreeze , 0 . 1 % anti - foam , 0 . 2 % thickening agent , and 49 . 7 % water , where the wetting agent is typically a nonionic surfactant ( e . g . polyalkoxylated nonylphenol ); the dispersing agent is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; the antifreeze is a water soluble polyhydroxy material such as ethylene glycol or glycerin ; the anti - foam is a poly ( dimethylsiloxane ); and the thickening agent is a polymeric organic material such as carboxymethycellulose . the emulsifiable concentrate composition on a % by weight basis is 25 % pesticide active ingredient , 8 % emulsifier system , and 67 % solvent , where the emulsifier system is a mixture of an anionic surfactant ( e . g . calcium dodecylbenzenesulfonate ) 3 - 4 % and a nonionic surfactant ( e . g . polyalkoxylated castor oil ) 4 - 5 %; and the solvent is typically a petroleum based aromatic solvent ( which depending on the solubility characteristics of the active ingredient may be partially or wholly replaced by a more polar solvent such as an alcohol or a ketone ). the two - layer water soluble film in roll form is mounted to a form - fill - seal machine . the thickness of the outer cold water soluble polyvinyl alcohol layer of the film is typically 20 to 76 microns and the inner barrier of eva is from 0 . 25 to 1 . 25 microns . the two - layer water soluble or dispersible film is formed into an open ended bag by conveying the film over a forming shoulder and heat sealing simultaneously with the bottom and side of the bag using hot bar or impulse sealing methods . the flowable or emulsifiable concentrate or gel product is then introduced into the open ended bag ( typically in the range of 5 ml to 2000 ml ). each filled bag is heat sealed at the top following dispensing of the pesticide into the bag . each bag is then loaded ( either manually or automatically ) into an outer package that is distributed and used as discussed in example 1 . following procedures similar to those outlined in examples 1 - 2 , two layer bags are made from the following components : an example agrichemical formulation of wettable powder is by weight 50 % active ingredient , 3 % wetting agent , 5 % dispersant , and 42 % diluent , where the wetting agent is typically an anionic surfactant such as alkyl sulfonate ( e . g . sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate ) or an alkyl naphthalene sulfonate ( e . g . sodium ispropyl naphthalene sulfonate ); the dispersant is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; and the diluent is an inert inorganic material , such as a kaolinite clay , or an inert organic material such as starch . an example agrichemical formulation of water dispersible granule is by weight 35 % active ingredient , 3 % wetting agent 7 % dispersant , 1 % bonder , and 54 % diluent , where the wetting agent is typically an anionic surfactant such as alkyl aryl sulfonate ( e . g . sodium dodecyibenzenesulfonate ) or an alkyl naphthalene sulfonate ( e . g . sodium isopropyl naphthalene sulfonate ); the dispersant is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; the binder is a water soluble polymer such as polyvinylpyrrolidone ; and the diluent is an inert inorganic material such as a kaolinite clay or an inert organic material such as starch . an example agrichemical formulation of flowable suspension concentrate is by weight 40 % active ingredient , 2 % wetting agent 3 % dispersing agent , 5 % antifreeze , 0 . 1 % anti - foam , 0 . 2 % thickening agent , and 49 . 7 % water , where the wetting agent is typically an nonionic surfactant ( e . g . polyalkoxylated nonylphenol ); the dispersing agent is typically a sodium lignosulfonate ; the antifreeze is a water soluble polyhydroxy material such as ethylene glycol or glycerin ; the anti - foam is a poly ( dimethylsiloxane ); and the thickening agent is a polymeric organic material such as carboxymethyl cellulose . an example agrichemical formulation of emulsifiable concentrate is by weight 25 % active ingredient , 8 % emulsifier system , and 67 % solvent , where the emulsifier system is a mixture of an anionic surfactant ( e . g . calcium dodecylbenzenesulfonate ) 3 - 4 % and a nonionic surfactant ( e . g . polyalkoxylated castor oil ) 4 - 5 %; and the solvent is typically a petroleum based aromatic solvent ( which depending on the solubility characteristics of the active ingredient may be partially or wholly replaced by a more polar solvent such as an alcohol or a ketone ).	1
an iip 10 according to the present invention is shown in fig5 - 13 . iip 10 in the present invention includes a reservoir structure 16 , preferably in the form of a bellows 22 and metering system 60 as described above . iip 10 also includes a bulkhead 50 . fig5 - 8 shows a particular embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , the outer periphery 56 does not have a protrusion 96 . instead , outer periphery 56 has an annular recess 108 that extends around the outer periphery 56 at the lower edge 110 of outer periphery 56 . recess 108 has a recess top 112 that is closer to the top surface 52 of bulkhead 50 than is the lower edge 110 . a recess vertical wall 116 connects the recess top 112 to the lower edge 110 . lower edge 110 transitions to recess vertical wall 116 at 118 . recess top 112 has a width about equal to the thickness of lower case 82 . recess top 112 is preferably not perpendicular to recess vertical wall 116 . instead , recess top 112 is preferably obtuse to recess vertical wall 116 for a purpose to be explained hereafter . the side wall 92 near the terminal end 94 of the lower case 82 is modified as follows . an inward bend 120 is formed so that the ultimate end 122 of sidewall 92 near terminal end 94 is substantially parallel , although inwardly displaced , to the side wall 92 of lower case 82 opposite inward bend 120 . the amount of displacement of the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 is about equal to the thickness of the upper case 80 . to assemble iip 10 , the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 is placed in recess 108 so that the terminal end 94 is located approximately at the recess top 112 ( fig5 ). in this position , the inner surface 124 of side wall 92 near the terminal end 94 is in contact with the recess vertical wall 116 . in addition , as described above , because recess top 112 is obtuse to the recess vertical wall 116 , the recess top 112 also forms an acute angle with respect to the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 . as a result , there is a space 125 between the terminal end 94 and the recess top 112 . as described above , the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 is placed in recess 108 to so that the terminal end 94 is located approximately at the recess top 112 . terminal end 94 is attached to bulkhead 50 , preferably by welding , so that a weld 127 fills the space 125 between the terminal end 94 and recess top 112 ( fig6 ). preferably , when space 125 is filled with the weld 127 to connect terminal end 94 to bulkhead 50 , the weld 127 should be about co - linear with the outside surface 126 of the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 . the weld 127 in space 125 forms a seal between bulkhead 50 and the lower case 82 . after lower case 82 has been attached to bulkhead 50 as described above , the upper case 80 is attached to lower case 82 . this is done by moving the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 into contact with the outer surface 126 of the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 so that the inside surface 128 of upper case 80 is in contact with the outside surface 126 of terminal end 94 ( fig7 ). further , the terminal end 88 is moved to approximately the location of inward bend 120 . this produces a space 130 between the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 and the material of lower case 82 near the inward bend 120 . upper case 80 is attached to lower case 82 , preferably by welding upper case 80 to lower case 82 in space 130 by a weld 131 ( fig8 ). since space 130 extends entirely around the iip 10 , upper case 80 is attached to lower case 82 by the weld in space 130 entirely around the outer periphery of iip 10 . also , the weld in space 130 should attach upper case 80 to lower case 82 and thereby entirely fill space 130 but should not extend above the outer surface 132 of upper case 80 and outer surface 134 of lower case 82 . as a result , upper case 80 is attached to lower case 82 through a single seal formed by the weld in space 130 instead of the two seals 104 , 106 required by the prior art iip 10 . a variant of the invention described above is shown in fig9 . in this embodiment , bulkhead 50 is modified so that the annular recess 62 that extends into bulkhead 50 toward top surface 52 does not have an outer vertical wall 67 connected to the horizontal wall 65 at 68 . instead , horizontal wall 65 extends from the inner vertical wall 64 to the ultimate outer periphery of bulkhead 50 . in this embodiment , recess 108 is shorter than in the embodiment described above . in all other ways , recess 108 and upper and lower cases 80 , 82 are as structured and connected as described above . in another variant of the invention described above , as shown in fig1 - 13 , upper case 80 is attached to bulkhead 50 and lower case 82 is attached to upper case 80 . again , in this embodiment , the outer periphery 56 does not have a protrusion 96 . instead , outer periphery 56 has an annular recess 136 that extends around the outer periphery 56 at the upper edge 138 of outer periphery 56 . recess 136 has a recess bottom 140 that is closer to the bottom surface 54 of bulkhead 50 than is the upper edge 138 . a recess vertical wall 142 connects the recess bottom 140 to the upper edge 138 . upper edge 138 transitions to recess vertical wall 142 at 144 . recess bottom 140 has a width about equal to the thickness of upper case 80 . recess bottom 140 is preferably not perpendicular to recess vertical wall 142 . instead , recess bottom 140 is preferably obtuse to recess vertical wall 142 for a purpose to be explained hereafter . the side wall 86 near the terminal end 88 of the upper case 80 is modified as follows . an inward bend 148 is formed so that the ultimate end 150 of side wall 86 near terminal end 88 is substantially parallel , although inwardly displaced , to upper case 80 opposite inward bend 148 . the amount of displacement of the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 is about equal to the thickness of the lower case 82 . to assemble iip 10 , the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 is placed in recess 136 so that the terminal end 88 is located approximately at the recess bottom 140 ( fig1 ). in this position , the inner surface 152 of side wall 86 near the terminal end 88 is in contact with the recess vertical wall 142 . in addition , as described above , because recess bottom 140 is obtuse to the recess vertical wall 142 , the recess bottom 140 also forms an acute angle with respect to the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 . as a result , there is a space 154 between the terminal end 88 and the recess bottom 140 . as described above , the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 is placed in recess 136 to so that the terminal end 88 is located approximately at the recess bottom 140 . terminal end 88 is attached to bulkhead 50 , preferably by welding , so that a weld 155 fills the space 154 between the terminal end 88 and recess bottom 140 ( fig1 ). preferably , when space 154 is filled with the weld 155 to connect terminal end 88 to bulkhead 50 , the weld 155 should be about co - linear with the outer surface 156 of the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 . the weld in space 154 forms a seal between bulkhead 50 and the upper case 80 . after upper case 80 has been attached to bulkhead 50 as described above , the lower case 82 is attached to upper case 80 . this is done by moving the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 into contact with the outer surface 156 of the terminal end 88 of upper case 80 so that the inside surface 150 of lower case 82 is in contact with the outer surface 156 of terminal end 88 ( fig1 ). further , the terminal end 94 is moved to approximately the location of inward bend 148 . this produces a space 157 between the terminal end 94 of lower case 82 and the material of upper case 80 near the inward bend 148 . lower case 82 is attached to upper case 80 , preferably by welding lower case 82 to upper case 80 in space 157 . since space 157 extends entirely around the iip 10 , lower case 82 is attached to upper case 80 by a weld 159 in space 157 entirely around the outer periphery of iip 10 ( fig1 ). also , the weld 159 in space 157 should attach lower case 82 to upper case 80 and thereby entirely fill space 157 but should not extend above the outer surface 134 of lower case 82 and outer surface 132 of upper case 80 . as a result , lower case 82 is attached to upper case 80 through a single seal formed by the weld 159 in space 157 instead of the two seals 104 , 106 required by the prior art iip 10 . the description contained herein is intended to be illustrative of the invention and not an exhaustive description . many variations and alternatives to the disclosed embodiments will occur to one of ordinary skill in this art . all these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the attached claims . those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto .	8
in particular , according to a first aspect of the present invention , it was found that the pharmaceutical formula of thyroid hormones ( in particular of t3 and / or t4 or their salts , preferably their sodium salts ) in a uniform matrix of soft - gel which can be taken by mouth without chewing ( and that is in which the uniform matrix is composed of a three - dimensional body having the form and dimensions of a normal tablet or intense capsule for taking orally ), said matrix comprising , in the dried state , 30 %- 68 % in weight of gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , and characterised in that they comprise , in the dried state , 31 - 60 % in weight , preferably 32 - 55 % in weight of glycerol and 1 - 10 % in weight of water , offers considerable advantages in relation to normal administration in the known pharmaceutical forms which did not have an acceptable shelf - life . by the term dried state is meant , preferably , the state reached by the pharmaceutical formula after drying at a temperatures of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is reached , that is until two weighing operations carried out at a distance of 24 hours do not vary by more than 1 %. the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention comprise t3 and / or t4 or their salts , preferably their sodium salts , in pharmaceutically acceptable quantities , preferably 0 . 001 - 1 % in weight . optionally , the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention may be provided on the outside with enteric layers formulated according to known techniques so that they decompose substantially in the environment of the small intestine which is the principal site of absorption of thyroid hormones . besides ( or instead of ) enteric layers , the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention may optionally present also further layers that facilitate ingestion , that is which are composed of excipients that reduce friction between the capsule and the patient &# 39 ; s oesophagus . the materials used to obtain the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are the so - called type a or b gelatines of bovine , pig and fish origin usually used in pharmaceutical technique for making capsules . in the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention , the gelatines are present , in the dried product , from 30 % to 68 % in weight . a representative , but not exclusive example of a gelatine that may be used in the present invention is a gelatine with the following amino acidic profile : glycine : 26 %, alanine : 9 %, isoleucine : 1 . 5 %, leucine : 3 . 4 %, valine : 2 . 5 %, serine : 3 . 5 %, threonine : 2 %, proline : 16 %, phenylalanine : 2 . 4 %, tyrosine : 0 . 8 %, tryptophane : 0 %, methionine : 0 . 8 %, histidine : 0 . 8 %, arginine : 9 %, lysine : 5 %, aspartic acid : 6 %, glutamic acid : 11 %, hydroxyproline : 13 . 5 % and hydroxylysine : 1 %. preferably , the gelatines that may be used in the present invention have a grain size between 4 and 100 mesh and a ph between 3 and 10 . the solvent used necessarily in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention is glycerol , which must be present , in the dried product , with 31 - 60 % in weight , preferably with 32 - 55 % in weight , even more preferably with 32 . 5 %- 50 % in weight . a further solvent used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention is water , which remains present , in the dried product , in a quantity of 1 - 10 % in weight . a further solvent that may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention is ethanol which , when used , remains present , in the dried product , in a quantity of 0 . 5 - 5 % in weight . further solvents which may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are other polyhydroxy or polyether alcohols , such as for example sorbitol / sorbitans , 1 , 2 - propylenglycol , polyethylenglycols and mannitol or mixtures thereof . when these further solvents are used , they or their mixtures are added in quantities such as to remain present , altogether , in the dried product , in a quantity of 3 - 10 % in weight . further components that may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are excipients , for example all the usual pharmaceutically acceptable solid additives which may be used to modify the characteristics of the release of thyroid hormones from the resulting uniform matrix of soft - gel . further excipients that may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are colouring agents and / or preservatives such as parabenes , preferably methylparahydroxybenzoate , ethylparaoxybenzoate or propylparahydroxybenzoate . according to a particularly advantageous aspect of the present invention , the pharmaceutical formulae of thyroid hormones in uniform matrices of soft - gel can be obtained with two different procedures which both use the so - called “ rotary die ” machines commonly used in the pharmaceutical technique for producing soft capsules with a liquid or semi - liquid content . the specific contrivances proposed by the procedures of the present invention mean that , instead of the classic two - phase capsules , comprising a casing and a content of different consistency , “ full ” capsules are obtained , that is uniform matrices of soft - gel which are perfectly single - phase . according to a first procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention , all the necessary components for obtaining the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel of the present invention are mixed and the mixture is fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which then forms “ full ” capsules without injected material . these “ full ” capsules constitute the pharmaceutical compositions in uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention . according to a first variation of the first procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention , all the necessary components for obtaining the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel of the present invention are mixed , obtaining a medicated gelatinous mixture , the medicated gelatinous mixture is brought to melting point and fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which then forms “ full ” capsules without injected material . these “ full ” capsules constitute the pharmaceutical compositions in uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention . in particular , according to the first variation of the first procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention , to prepare a pharmaceutical composition of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel , the following steps are performed : preparation of a medicated gelatinous mixture comprising 10 - 50 % in weight of type a or b gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , 10 - 50 % in weight of glycerol , 0 - 10 % in weight of ethanol , 20 - 80 % in weight of water and 0 . 001 - 1 % in weight of t3 and / or t4 or their salts , melting of the medicated gelatinous mixture at a temperature between 30 ° and 55 ° c ., preferably between 35 ° and 45 ° c ., feeding of the medicated gelatinous mixture into the cavities of the shaping cylinders of a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , cutting and taking the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel thus formed from the “ rotary die ” machine , and preferably , the “ rotary die ” machines are operated in an environment having a temperature between 20 ° c . and 24 ° c . and a relative humidity between 5 % and 35 %, preferably around 20 %. preferably , the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel obtained as above is dried at a temperature of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %. if contemplated , further solvents , such as polyhydroxy or polyether alcohols , excipients , preservatives and / or colouring agents can be added to the medicated gelatinous mixture obtained in the first step . according to a second variation of the first procedure concerning the first aspect of as the present invention , some of the necessary components for obtaining the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel of the present invention are mixed , among which gelatine , obtaining a gelatinous mixture , the gelatinous mixture is brought to melting point , a medicated composition containing the active principle is added to it , obtaining a medicated gelatinous mixture and it is fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which then forms “ full ” capsules without injected material . these “ full ” capsules constitute the pharmaceutical compositions in uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention . in particular , according to the second variation of the first procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention , to prepare a pharmaceutical composition of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel , the following steps are performed : preparation of a gelatinous mixture comprising 10 - 50 % in weight of type a or b gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , 5 - 45 % of glycerol , 0 - 10 % in weight of ethanol and 20 - 60 % in weight of water , melting of the gelatinous mixture at a temperature between 30 ° and 80 ° c ., preferably between 40 ° and 65 ° c ., when it is completely melted , lowering of the temperature of the gelatinous mixture to 45 °± 5 ° c . and addition of a medicated mixture comprising t3 and / or t4 or their salts as required and glycerol , the quantity of the medicated mixture corresponding to 5 %- 10 % in weight of the gelatinous mixture , obtaining a medicated gelatinous mixture , feeding of the medicated gelatinous mixture into the cavities of the shaping cylinders of a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , cutting and taking the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel thus formed from the “ rotary die ” machine , and if contemplated , further solvents , such as polyhydric or polyether alcohols , excipients , preservatives and / or colouring agents can be added to the gelatinous mixture obtained in the first step and / or to the medicated mixture added in the third step . preferably , the “ rotary die ” machines are operated in an environment having a temperature between 20 ° c . and 24 ° c . and a relative humidity between 5 % and 35 %, preferably around 20 %. preferably , the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel obtained as above is dried at a temperature of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %. a second procedure ( which is particularly preferred ) for obtaining pharmaceutical formulae of thyroid hormones in uniform matrices of soft - gel according to the first aspect of the present invention , contemplates the dissolving / suspension of the active principle and of any excipients in a liquid vehicle to give the so - called “ medicated injected material ” which is then injected into the gelatinous mixture at the time of forming the matrix . the components of the gelatinous mixture and respectively , of the medicated injected material , are particularly calibrated to allow the uniform diffusion of the medicated injected material in the matrix , without altering its single - phase structure . consequently , also with the second procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention , the usual soft capsules filled with a liquid , semi - liquid or pasty phase are not obtained , but rather a matrix of uniform soft - gel comprising the active principle . in particular , to prepare a pharmaceutical composition of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel according to the second procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention , the following steps are performed : preparation of a gelatinous mixture comprising 10 - 50 % in weight of type a or b gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , 10 - 50 % in weight of glycerol , 0 - 10 % in weight of ethanol , 20 - 80 % in weight of water , melting of the gelatinous mixture at a temperature between 30 - 80 ° c . preferably between 40 - 65 ° c ., feeding of the gelatinous mixture into the cavities of the shaping cylinders of a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules ; injection , at the time of closing the cavity , by means of the special injector , of a quantity of medicated injected material corresponding to from 1 % to 50 % in weight , preferably to from 5 % to 30 % in weight , of the quantity of gelatinous mixture placed in the cavity , said medicated injected material comprising cutting and taking the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel thus formed from the “ rotary die ” machine , and preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 50 %- 90 % in weight of glycerol , 0 %- 30 % in weight of ethanol , 0 %- 45 % in weight of water , 5 %- 20 % in weight of gelatine , and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . even more preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 60 %- 90 % in weight of glycerol , 5 %- 15 % in weight of water , 5 - 10 % of gelatine and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . even more preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 50 - 70 % in weight of glycerol , 25 %- 30 % in weight of ethanol , 5 %- 10 % of gelatine and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . even more preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 50 - 70 % in weight of glycerol , 25 %- 45 % in weight of water , 5 %- 10 % of gelatine and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . if contemplated , further solvents , such as polyhydroxy or polyether alcohols , excipients , preservatives and / or colouring agents can be added to the gelatinous mixture obtained in the first step and / or to the medicated injected material added in the third step . preferably , the “ rotary die ” machines are operated in an environment having a temperature between 20 ° c . and 24 ° c . and a relative humidity between 5 % and 35 %, preferably around 20 %. preferably , the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel obtained as above is dried at a temperature of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %. as has already been said , in the working conditions indicated above , the medicated injected material never remains a liquid or pasty phase , distinguishable from the gelatinous phase , but is spread uniformly in the gelatinous mixture , to give a uniform matrix of soft - gel which can be taken by mouth . moreover , according to a second aspect of the present invention it was found that the pharmaceutical formula of thyroid hormones ( in particular of t3 and / or t4 or their salts , preferably their sodium salts ) in a uniform matrix of soft - gel which can be taken by mouth without chewing ( and that is in which the uniform matrix is composed of a three - dimensional body having the form and the dimensions of a normal tablet or intense capsule for taking orally ), said matrix comprising , in the dried state , 30 %- 70 % in weight of gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , and characterised in that they comprise , in the dried state , 20 - 60 % in weight , preferably 25 - 55 % in weight of sorbitol / sorbitans and 1 - 10 % in weight of water , offers considerable advantages in relation to normal administration in the known pharmaceutical forms which did not have an acceptable shelf - life . by the term dried state is meant , preferably , the state reached by the pharmaceutical formula after drying at a temperatures of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is reached , that is until two weighing operations carried out at a distance of 24 hours do not vary by more than 1 %. the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention comprise t3 and / or t4 or their salts , preferably their sodium salts , in pharmaceutically acceptable quantities , preferably 0 . 001 - 1 % in weight . optionally , the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention may be provided on the outside with enteric layers formulated according to known techniques so that they decompose substantially in the environment of the small intestine which is the principal site of absorption of thyroid hormones . besides ( or instead of ) enteric layers , the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention may be optionally provided with also further layers that facilitate ingestion , that is which are composed of excipients that reduce friction between the capsule and the patient &# 39 ; s oesophagus . the materials used to obtain the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are the so - called type a or b gelatines of bovine , pig and fish origin usually used in pharmaceutical technique for making capsules . in the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention , the gelatines are present , in the dried product , from 30 % to 70 % in weight . a representative , but not exclusive example of a gelatine that may be used in the present invention is a gelatine with the following amino acidic profile : glycine : 26 %, alanine : 9 %, isoleucine : 1 . 5 %, leucine : 3 . 4 %, valine : 2 . 5 %, serine : 3 . 5 %, threonine : 2 %, proline : 16 %, phenylalanine : 2 . 4 %, tyrosine : 0 . 8 %, tryptophane : 0 %, methionine : 0 . 8 %, histidine : 0 . 8 %, arginine : 9 %, lysine : 5 %, aspartic acid : 6 %, glutamic acid : 11 %, hydroxyproline : 13 . 5 % and hydroxylysine : 1 %. preferably , the gelatines that may be used in the present invention have a grain size between 4 and 100 mesh and a ph between 3 and 10 . the solvent used necessarily in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention is a mixture of sorbitol / sorbitans , which must be present , in the dried product , with 20 - 60 % in weight , preferably with 25 - 55 % in weight , even more preferably with 25 - 50 % in weight . a further solvent - used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention is water , which remains present , in the dried product , in a quantity of 1 - 10 % in weight . a further solvent that may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention is ethanol which , when used , remains present , in the dried product , in a quantity of 0 . 5 - 5 % in weight . further solvents which may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are other polyhydroxy or polyether alcohols , such as for example glycerol , 1 , 2 - propylenglycol , polyethylenglycols and mannitol or mixtures thereof . when these further solvents are used , they or their mixtures are added in quantities such as to remain present , altogether , in the dried product , in a quantity of 1 - 10 % in weight . among the further solvents as above , glycerol is particularly preferred . further components that may be optionally used for obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are excipients , for example all the usual pharmaceutically acceptable solid additives which may be used to modify the characteristics of the release of thyroid hormones from the resulting uniform matrix of soft - gel . further excipients that may be used in obtaining the uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention are colouring agents and / or preservatives such as parabenes , preferably methylparahydroxybenzoate , ethylparaoxybenzoate or propylparahydroxybenzoate . according to a particularly advantageous aspect of the present invention , the pharmaceutical formulations of thyroid hormones in uniform matrices of soft - gel can be obtained with two different procedures which both use the so - called “ rotary die ” machines commonly used in the pharmaceutical technique for producing soft capsules with a liquid or semi - liquid content . the specific contrivances proposed by the procedures of the present invention mean that , instead of the classic two - phase capsules , comprising a casing and a content of different consistency , “ full ” capsules are obtained , that is uniform matrices of soft - gel which are perfectly single - phase . according to a first procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , all the necessary components for obtaining the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel of the present invention are mixed and the mixture is fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which then forms “ full ” capsules without injected material . these “ full ” capsules constitute the pharmaceutical compositions in uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention . according to a first variation of the first procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , all the necessary components for obtaining the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel of the present invention are mixed , obtaining a medicated gelatinous mixture , the medicated gelatinous mixture is brought to melting point and fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which then forms “ full ” capsules without injected material . these “ full ” capsules constitute the pharmaceutical compositions in uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention . in particular , according to the first variation of the first procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , to prepare a pharmaceutical composition of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel , the following steps are performed : preparation of a medicated gelatinous mixture comprising 10 - 50 % in weight of type a or b gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , 10 - 50 % in weight of sorbitol / sorbitans solution , 0 - 10 % in weight of ethanol , 20 - 80 % in weight of water and 0 . 001 - 1 % in weight of t3 and / or t4 or their salts , melting of the medicated gelatinous mixture at a temperature between 30 ° and 55 ° c ., preferably between 35 ° and 45 ° c ., feeding of the medicated gelatinous mixture into the cavities of the shaping cylinders of a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , cutting and taking the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel thus formed from the “ rotary die ” machine , and drying of the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel . solutions of sorbitol / sorbitans are available on the market , for example anidrisorb 85 which contains a mixture of sorbitol / sorbitans and 15 % of water . preferably , the “ rotary die ” machines are operated in an environment having a temperature between 20 ° c . and 24 ° c . and a relative humidity between 5 % and 35 %, preferably around 20 %. preferably , the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel obtained as above is dried at a temperature of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %. if contemplated , further solvents , such as polyhydroxy or polyether alcohols , in particular glycerol , excipients , preservatives and / or colouring agents can be added to the medicated gelatinous mixture obtained in the first step . according to a second variation of the first procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , some of the necessary components for obtaining the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel of the present invention are mixed , among which gelatine , obtaining a gelatinous mixture , the gelatinous mixture is brought to melting point , a medicated composition containing the active principle is added to it , obtaining a medicated gelatinous mixture and it is fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which then forms “ full ” capsules without injected material . these “ full ” capsules constitute the pharmaceutical compositions in uniform matrices of soft - gel of the present invention . in particular , according to the second variation of the first procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , to prepare a pharmaceutical composition of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel , the following steps are performed : preparation of a gelatinous mixture comprising 10 - 50 % in weight of type a or b gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , 10 - 50 % of sorbitol / sorbitan solution , 0 - 10 % in weight of ethanol and 20 - 60 % in weight of water , melting of the gelatinous mixture at a temperature between 30 ° and 80 ° c ., preferably between 40 ° and 65 ° c ., when it is completely melted , lowering of the temperature of the gelatinous mixture to 45 ± 5 ° c . and addition of a medicated mixture comprising t3 and / or t4 or their salts as required and glycerol , the quantity of the medicated mixture corresponding to 1 %- 5 % in weight of the gelatinous mixture , obtaining a medicated gelatinous mixture , feeding of the medicated gelatinous mixture into the cavities of the shaping cylinders of a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , cutting and taking the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel thus formed from the “ rotary die ” machine , and solutions of sorbitol / sorbitans are available on the market , for example anidrisorb 85 which contains a mixture of sorbitol / sorbitans and 15 % of water . if contemplated , further solvents , such as polyhydroxy or polyether alcohols , excipients , preservatives and / or colouring agents can be added to the gelatinous mixture obtained in the first step and / or to the medicated mixture added in the third step . preferably , the “ rotary die ” machines are operated in an environment having a temperature between 20 ° c . and 24 ° c . and a relative humidity between 5 % and 35 %, preferably around 20 %. preferably , the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel obtained as above is dried at a temperature of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %. a second procedure ( which is particularly preferred ) for obtaining pharmaceutical formulae of thyroid hormones in uniform matrices of soft - gel according to the second aspect of the present invention , contemplates the dissolving / suspension of the active principle and of any excipients in a liquid vehicle to give the so - called “ medicated injected material ” which is then injected into the gelatinous mixture at the time of forming the matrix . the components of the gelatinous mixture and respectively , of the medicated injected material , are particularly calibrated to allow the uniform diffusion of the medicated injected material in the matrix , without altering its single - phase structure . consequently , also with the second procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , the usual soft capsules filled with a liquid , semi - liquid or pasty phase are not obtained , but rather a matrix of uniform soft - gel comprising the active principle . in particular , to prepare a pharmaceutical composition of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel according to the second procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention , the following steps are performed : preparation of a gelatinous mixture comprising 10 - 50 % in weight of type a or b gelatine of bovine , pig or fish origin , 10 - 50 % in weight of sorbitol / sorbitans solution , 0 - 10 % in weight of ethanol , 20 - 80 % in weight of water , melting of the gelatinous mixture at a temperature between 30 - 80 ° c . preferably between 40 - 65 ° c , feeding of the geltinous mixture into the cavities of the shaping cylinders of a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules ; injection , at the time of closing the cavity , by means of the special injector , of a quantity of medicated injected material corresponding to from 1 % to 30 % in weight , preferably to from 5 % to 15 % in weight , of the quantity of gelatinous mixture placed in the cavity , said medicated injected material comprising cutting and taking the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel thus formed from the “ rotary die ” machine , and solutions of sorbitol / sorbitans are available on the market , for example anidrisorb 85 which contains a mixture of sorbitol / sorbitans and 15 % of water . preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 50 %- 90 % in weight of glycerol , 0 %- 30 % in weight of ethanol , 5 %- 45 % in weight of water , 0 %- 20 % in weight of gelatine , and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . even more preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 60 %- 90 % in weight of glycerol , 5 %- 15 % in weight of water , 0 - 50 % weight of gelatine , and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . even more preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 50 - 70 % in weight of glycerol , 25 %- 30 % in weight of ethanol , 5 %- 10 % of gelatine and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . even more preferably , the medicated injected material comprises 50 - 70 % in weight of glycerol , 25 %- 45 % in weight of water , 0 %- 10 % of gelatine and as much as necessary in weight of t3 and / or t4 . if contemplated , further solvents , such as polyhydric or polyether alcohols , excipients , preservatives and / or colouring agents can be added to the gelatinous mixture obtained in the first step and / or to the medicated injected material added in the third step . preferably , the “ rotary die ” machines are operated in an environment having a temperature between 20 ° c . and 24 ° c . and a relative humidity between 5 % and 35 %, preferably around 20 %. preferably , the pharmaceutical composition in a uniform matrix of soft - gel obtained as above is dried at a temperature of 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and a relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %. as has already been said , in the working conditions indicated above , the medicated injected material never remains a liquid or pasty phase , distinguishable from the gelatinous phase , but is spread uniformly in the gelatinous mixture , to give a uniform matrix of soft - gel which can be taken by mouth . consequently , the pharmaceutical compositions of thyroid hormones in a uniform matrix of soft - gel according to both aspects of the present invention can be easily divided by the patient — unlike the normal soft capsules with a liquid or semi - liquid content — to make an adaptation of the individual dose prescribed by the doctor . below are given some examples of formulae according to the present invention : the following formulae concern the first aspect of the present invention and were obtained according to the second procedure of the present invention : the first three columns refer to the initial situation , that is before injection : first column : percentage composition of the medicated injected material and of the gelatinous mixture . second column : total quantity of medicated injected material and of gelatinous mixture . third column : quantity of each ingredient in mg / uniform matrix of soft - gel for the newly formed matrix . fourth column : percentages of each ingredient in the newly formed matrix of soft - gel . fifth and sixth column : percentages of each ingredient in the dried matrix of soft - gel . in the dried matrices ( at a temperature between 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %) the weight is reduced on account of the almost complete elimination of water and ethanol which remain linked to the gelatine in the specified quantities . initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 85 . 70 138 . 00 118 . 266 27 . 43481 gelatine 5 . 00 138 . 00 6 . 9 1 . 600631 water 9 . 00 138 . 00 12 . 42 2 . 881136 t4 0 . 30 138 . 00 0 . 414 0 . 096038 0 . 096038 0 . 1 gelatinous mixture gelatine 42 470 . 00 197 . 4 45 . 79196 42 . 6926 42 . 7 glycerol 23 470 . 00 108 . 1 25 . 07655 52 . 51137 52 . 5 water 35 470 . 00 164 . 5 38 . 15997 4 . 7 4 . 7 weight of uniform 608 431 . 08 matrix of soft - gel [ 0134 ] 1 . 2 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 64 . 70 50 . 00 32 . 35 9 . 500734 gelatine 5 . 00 50 . 00 2 . 5 0 . 734214 water 30 . 00 50 . 00 15 4 . 405286 t4 0 . 30 50 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 044053 0 . 044053 0 . 045 gelatinous mixture gelatine 42 470 . 00 197 . 4 57 . 97357 52 . 90778 52 . 9 glycerol 23 470 . 00 108 . 1 31 . 74743 41 . 24816 41 . 25 water 35 470 . 00 164 . 5 48 . 31131 5 . 8 5 . 8 weight of uniform 520 340 . 5 matrix of soft - gel [ 0135 ] 1 . 3 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 64 . 70 50 . 00 32 . 35 9 . 500734 gelatine 5 . 00 50 . 00 2 . 5 0 . 734214 ethanol 30 . 00 50 . 00 15 4 . 405286 2 . 00 2 . 0 t4 0 . 30 50 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 044053 0 . 044053 0 . 045 gelatinous mixture gelatine 42 470 . 00 197 . 4 57 . 97357 52 . 70778 52 . 7 glycerol 23 470 . 00 108 . 1 31 . 74743 41 . 24816 41 . 25 water 35 470 . 00 164 . 5 48 . 31131 4 . 00 4 . 0 weight of uniform 520 340 . 5 matrix of soft - gel the following formulae were obtained according to the first procedure concerning the first aspect of the present invention . gelatine 56 . 58 % 56 . 60 % 60 . 55 % glycerol 37 . 07 % 37 . 09 % 32 . 68 % t4 0 . 06 % 0 . 023 % 0 . 029 % water 6 . 29 % 6 . 287 % 6 . 741 % the following formulae concern the second aspect of the present invention and were obtained according to the second procedure of the present invention : the first three columns refer to the initial situation , that is before injection : first column : percentage composition of the medicated injected material and of the gelatinous mixture . second column : total quantity of medicated injected material and of gelatinous mixture . third column : quantity of each ingredient in mg / uniform matrix of soft - gel for the newly formed matrix . fourth column : percentages of each ingredient in the newly formed matrix of soft - gel . fifth and sixth column : percentages of each ingredient in the dried matrix of soft - gel . in the dried matrices ( at a temperature between 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %) the weight is reduced on account of the almost complete elimination of water and ethanol which remain linked to the gelatine in the specified quantities . initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 50 . 00 20 . 00 10 4 . 54 4 . 54 4 . 5 gelatine 35 . 00 20 . 00 7 3 . 18 water 10 . 00 20 . 00 2 0 . 91 t4 0 . 30 20 . 00 0 . 06 0 . 03 0 . 03 0 . 027 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 42 330 . 00 138 . 6 52 . 95 56 . 80 56 . 8 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 330 . 00 75 . 9 34 . 47 29 . 30 29 . 3 water 35 330 . 00 115 . 5 52 . 46 9 . 373 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 349 . 06 220 . 175 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 48 . 00 50 . 00 24 9 . 81 9 . 81 9 . 8 gelatine 35 . 00 50 . 00 17 . 5 7 . 15 water 10 . 00 50 . 00 5 2 . 04 t4 0 . 30 50 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 06 0 . 06 0 . 061 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 42 330 . 00 138 . 6 56 . 63 57 . 40 57 . 2 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 330 . 00 75 . 9 31 . 01 26 . 36 26 . 2 water 35 330 . 00 115 . 5 47 . 19 5 . 739 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 376 . 65 244 . 765 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 50 . 00 20 . 00 10 5 . 85 5 . 85 5 . 9 gelatine 35 . 00 20 . 00 7 4 . 10 water 10 . 00 20 . 00 2 1 . 17 t4 0 . 30 20 . 00 0 . 06 0 . 04 0 . 04 0 . 04 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 42 250 . 00 105 61 . 43 58 . 97 59 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 250 . 00 57 . 5 33 . 64 28 . 59 28 . 6 water 35 250 . 00 87 . 5 51 . 19 6 . 46 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 269 . 06 170 . 935 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 29 . 75 60 . 00 17 . 85 9 . 25 9 . 25 9 . 25 gelatine 35 . 00 60 . 00 21 10 . 89 water 35 . 25 60 . 00 21 . 15 10 . 96 t4 0 . 30 60 . 00 0 . 18 0 . 09 0 . 09 0 . 09 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 42 250 . 00 105 54 . 43 58 . 79 58 . 8 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 250 . 00 57 . 5 29 . 81 25 . 34 25 . 3 water 35 250 . 00 87 . 5 45 . 36 6 . 56 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 310 . 18 192 . 905 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 27 . 75 150 . 00 41 . 625 9 . 80 9 . 80 9 . 8 gelatine 50 . 00 150 . 00 75 17 . 65 water 27 . 25 150 . 00 40 . 875 9 . 62 t4 0 . 30 150 . 00 0 . 45 0 . 11 0 . 11 0 . 11 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 42 500 . 00 210 49 . 43 60 . 38 60 . 4 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 500 . 00 115 27 . 07 23 . 01 23 water 35 500 . 00 175 41 . 19 6 . 69 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 657 . 95 424 . 825 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 85 . 00 20 . 00 17 7 . 72 7 . 72 7 . 7 gelatine 0 . 00 20 . 00 0 0 . 00 water 15 . 00 20 . 00 3 1 . 36 t4 0 . 30 20 . 00 0 . 06 0 . 03 0 . 03 0 . 03 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 42 330 . 00 138 . 6 62 . 95 56 . 65 56 . 7 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 330 . 00 75 . 9 34 . 47 29 . 30 29 . 3 water 35 330 . 00 115 . 5 52 . 46 6 . 27 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 350 . 06 220 . 175 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerine 85 . 00 20 . 00 17 8 . 00 8 . 00 8 gelatine 0 . 00 20 . 00 0 0 . 00 water 15 . 00 20 . 00 3 1 . 41 t4 0 . 30 20 . 00 0 . 06 0 . 03 0 . 03 0 . 03 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 38 330 . 00 125 . 4 58 . 99 53 . 09 53 . 1 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 25 330 . 00 82 . 5 38 . 81 32 . 99 33 water 37 330 . 00 122 . 1 57 . 44 5 . 87 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 350 . 06 212 . 585 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated injected material glycerol 57 . 00 20 . 00 11 . 4 9 . 90 9 . 90 gelatine 0 . 00 20 . 00 0 0 . 00 water 43 . 00 20 . 00 8 . 6 7 . 47 t4 0 . 30 20 . 00 0 . 06 0 . 05 0 . 05 gelatinous mixture 0 0 . 00 gelatine 38 175 . 00 66 . 5 57 . 75 51 . 98 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 25 175 . 00 43 . 75 37 . 99 32 . 30 water 37 175 . 00 64 . 75 56 . 23 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 195 . 06 115 . 1475 the following formulae were obtained according to the first procedure concerning the second aspect of the present invention . the initial composition refers to before drying , while the final composition refers to after drying according to the conditions defined above ( at a temperature between 20 ° c .- 24 ° c . and relative humidity of 20 % with a continuous change of the surrounding air until a constant weight is obtained , that is until two weighing operations carried out at an interval of 24 h do not differ by more than 1 %). initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated gelatinous material 0 gelatine 42 330 . 00 138 . 6 59 . 47 59 . 5 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 330 . 00 75 . 9 30 . 76 30 . 8 glycerine 2 330 . 00 6 . 6 3 . 15 3 . 1 t4 0 . 0075 330 . 00 0 . 02475 0 . 012 water 33 330 . 00 108 . 9 6 . 6 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 330 . 0 209 . 7 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated gelatinous material 0 gelatine 38 330 . 00 125 . 4 56 . 48 56 . 5 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 330 . 00 75 . 9 32 . 28 32 . 3 glycerine 3 330 . 00 9 . 9 4 . 95 5 t4 0 . 0075 330 . 00 0 . 02475 0 . 013 water 36 330 . 00 118 . 8 6 . 187 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 330 . 0 199 . 8 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated gelatinou material 0 gelatine 38 330 . 00 125 . 4 58 . 37 58 . 4 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 23 330 . 00 75 . 9 33 . 36 33 . 4 glycerine 1 330 . 00 3 . 3 1 . 71 1 . 7 t4 0 . 046 330 . 00 0 . 1518 0 . 013 water 38 330 . 00 125 . 4n 6 . 487 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 330 . 2 193 . 4 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated gelatinou material 0 gelatine 38 330 . 00 125 . 4 62 . 24 62 . 2 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 14 330 . 00 46 . 2 21 . 66 21 . 7 glycerine 5 330 . 00 16 . 5 9 . 10 9 . 1 t4 0 . 046 330 . 00 0 . 1518 0 . 08 water 43 330 . 00 141 . 9 6 . 92 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 330 . 2 181 . 3 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated gelatinou material 0 gelatine 30 330 . 00 99 47 . 78 47 . 8 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 30 330 . 00 99 45 . 12 45 . 1 glycerine 1 330 . 00 3 . 3 1 . 77 1 . 8 t4 0 . 01 330 . 00 0 . 033 0 . 02 water 39 330 . 00 128 . 7 5 . 28 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 330 . 0 186 . 5 100 initial final % mg / matrix mg / matrix final composition % medicated gelatinou material 0 gelatine 24 330 . 00 79 . 2 35 . 21 35 . 1 sorbitol / sorbitans 85 % 38 330 . 00 125 . 4 52 . 65 52 . 7 glycerine 5 330 . 00 16 . 5 8 . 15 8 . 1 t4 0 . 046 330 . 00 0 . 1518 0 . 07 water 33 330 . 00 108 . 9 4 . 03 weight of uniform matrix ( mg ) 330 . 2 202 . 4 100 obtaining formulae for thyroid hormones in uniform matrices of soft - gel according to both aspects of the present invention , in particular according to the first variation of the first procedure : introduction , in a stainless steel reactor , equipped with a heating system , mixer and equipment for operating in a vacuum and under pressure , of a medicated gelatinous mixture as defined above ; the mass thus obtained is brought to melting point around 50 ° c ., stirring all the time and working in a vacuum . when it is completely melted the mixture is transferred to suitable thermostat - controlled stainless steel containers , where it is kept at about 45 ° c . from there , the mixture is fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , for example a “ mksj encapsulating machine ( sen jin sdn . bhd )”. in particular , the hot gelatinous mixture feeds two dosing devices on the machine , which form two gelatinous films of a determined and constant thickness on two air - cooled rollers . the two films pass through two capsule - shaping cylinders which turn concentrically , on top of which is a particular heated wedge , called injector segment , which is not used in this procedure . passing through the cylinders , the capsule - shaping cavities form uniform matrices of soft - gel from the two gelatinous films . the cut uniform matrices of soft - gel fall below the shaping cylinders in rotating baskets from which , after staying there several hours , they are turned out onto trays for drying . if starting from a non medicated gelatinous mixture , that is in the second variation of the first procedure , the procedure is similar , but the melting temperature is higher , around 65 ° c . when it is completely melted the mixture is transferred to suitable thermostat - controlled stainless steel containers , where it is kept at about 45 ° c . for the desired time . then the medicated mixture is added , homogenised , and from there , preferably within one hour , the mixture is fed into a “ rotary die ” type machine for forming capsules , which completes the shaping of uniform matrices of soft - gel as described above with relation to the first variation of the first procedure . obtaining formulae for thyroid hormones in uniform matrices of soft - gel according to both aspects of the present invention , in particular according to the second procedure : the procedure corresponds to the second variation of the first procedure , without adding the medicated substance to the mixture before feeding it to the machine . the hot gelatinous mixture feeds two dosing devices on the machine , which form two gelatinous films of a determined and constant thickness on two air - cooled rollers . the two films pass through two capsule - shaping cylinders which turn concentrically , on top of which is a particular heated wedge , called the injector segment . the medicated injected substances is fed directly to a dosing pump that has precision syringes which , sliding alternately , feed the injector segment through small pipes , injecting a quantity of medicated injected substance into the gelatinous mixture contained in the cavities of the two shaping cylinders . the medicated injected substance spreads through the gelatinous mixture , thus forming the uniform matrices of soft - gel which are cut and fall below the shaping cylinders in rotating baskets from which , after staying there several hours , they are turned out onto trays for drying . the following compositions were obtained according to the first procedure concerning the first aspect of the invention ( preparation without injection of a medicated solution ; matrix with high glycerol content , sorbitol / sorbitans - free ). the table displays the final composition in the dried state , as herein defined . composition % batch ingredient 100 104 116 127 130 133 134 gelatin 61 . 1 56 . 59 59 59 . 25 58 . 89 59 . 25 58 . 89 glycerol 32 . 3 37 . 069 35 34 . 95 34 . 73 34 . 95 34 . 73 water 6 . 5 6 . 309 6 5 . 75 5 . 72 5 . 75 5 . 72 titanium dioxide 0 . 60 0 . 60 t4 0 . 029 0 . 023 0 . 046 0 . 046 0 . 046 0 . 023 0 . 023 respective stability studies were conducted according to ich guide lines in two different packaging conditions stability studies were carried out in glass bottles with a stopper including silica gel , in order to guarantee the highest moisture barrier . stability data : 25 ° c ./ 60 % rh and 30 ° c ./ 60 % rh (% of drug substance ) 25 ° c .- 60 % rh 30 ° c .- 60 % rh time batch ( days ) 100 104 116 127 130 133 134 100 104 116 127 130 133 134 initial 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 30 94 . 60 98 . 63 94 . 86 — — 94 . 16 99 . 17 93 . 50 98 . 44 97 . 38 103 . 44 96 . 87 91 . 43 96 . 17 60 97 . 50 96 . 43 94 . 11 — — — — 96 . 60 92 . 77 94 . 29 92 . 21 100 . 62 90 93 . 80 95 . 70 97 . 10 104 . 50 94 . 13 99 . 81 99 . 69 92 . 60 92 . 50 94 . 95 95 . 95 101 . 96 97 . 86 99 . 59 180 96 . 60 97 . 53 98 . 32 99 . 19 99 . 71 94 . 06 91 . 75 95 . 20 95 . 79 94 . 76 97 . 16 95 . 89 89 . 48 97 . 62 270 96 . 30 100 . 00 96 . 28 360 94 . 30 for the blisters packaging , 2 different types of plastic materials have been tested : bilayer pvc - pvdc and pentapharm aclar ®. the stability controls carried out on development batches yield good results with no significant differences between both kind of plastic materials : coupled pvc - pvdc and aclar stability data : 25 ° c .- 60 % rh (% of drug substance ) pvdc aclar time batch ( days ) 100 116 127 133 134 104 116 127 133 134 initial 100 . 00 100 . 00 98 . 7 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 30 96 . 50 97 . 44 — 95 . 42 97 . 41 99 . 63 97 . 42 95 . 33 97 . 62 60 97 . 00 97 . 35 — 95 . 33 99 . 62 90 98 . 50 97 . 25 103 99 . 32 99 . 48 93 . 41 99 . 71 98 . 58 98 . 73 98 . 96 180 94 . 80 91 . 75 92 . 02 96 . 89 94 . 78 98 . 57 98 . 48 92 . 41 95 . 96 270 97 . 44 97 . 71 97 . 90 360 92 . 20 [ 0161 ] stability data : 30 ° c .- 60 % rh (% of drug substance ) pvdc aclar time batch ( days ) 116 127 130 133 134 116 127 130 133 134 initial 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 100 . 00 98 . 7 102 . 3 102 . 7 96 . 6 30 96 . 87 102 . 94 100 . 3 93 . 57 97 . 1 96 . 76 102 . 23 97 . 94 92 . 31 97 . 62 60 96 . 02 — — — — 97 . 52 — — — 90 97 . 91 101 . 82 100 . 1 97 . 17 97 . 22 98 . 09 96 . 05 96 . 28 96 . 11 97 . 1 180 95 . 92 98 . 09 98 . 28 96 . 28 90 . 79 270 360 the following compositions were obtained according to the second procedure concerning the first aspect of the invention ( manufacture through injection of medicated solution which spreads uniformly across the matrix without affecting the single - phase structure thereof ; matrix with high glycerol content ; sorbitol / sorbitans - free ). the table displays the final composition in the dried state , as herein defined . batches 141 / ib - 79 , 142 / ib - 79 and 143 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 12 . 5 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0061 0 . 0125 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0915 12 . 488 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 [ 0163 ] batch 144 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 25 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0122 0 . 025 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0854 12 . 475 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 [ 0164 ] batch 145 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 50 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0244 0 . 05 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0732 12 . 450 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 [ 0165 ] batches 146 / ib - 79 , 147 / ib - 79 , 148 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 75 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0366 0 . 075 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0610 12 . 425 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 [ 0166 ] batch 136 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 100 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0488 0 . 1 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0488 12 . 400 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 [ 0167 ] batch 149 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 125 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0610 0 . 125 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0366 12 . 375 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 [ 0168 ] batches 150 / ib - 79 , 151 / ib - 79 , 152 / ib - 79 composition for levothyroxine soft gelatin matrices 150 μg percent unitary formula amount name of the components ( w / w ) mg / sgm active ingredient sodium levothyroxine 0 . 0732 0 . 15 excipients hydrolyzed gelatin 8 . 5366 17 . 5 gelatin 80 bloom 1 . 2195 2 . 5 glycerol 85 % 8 . 5366 17 . 5 anhydrous glycerol 28 . 0488 57 . 5 gelatin 150 bloom 47 . 5610 97 . 5 purified water 6 . 0244 12 . 350 total 100 . 0000 205 . 0000 with the formulations according to example 8 , stability testing was conducted as specified herein below : t4 soft - gel matrices - batch n o 141 / ib - 79 , dosage : 12 . 5 μg ; manufactured february 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 96 . 7 % 96 . 2 % * 96 . 4 % * 95 . 6 % * 95 . 8 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 198 . 1 mg 197 . 7 mg 200 . 2 mg 196 . 6 mg 195 . 9 mg dissolution ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not test performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 65 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0170 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 141 / ib - 79 , dosage : 12 . 5 μg ; manufactured february 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 96 . 7 % 96 . 0 % * 96 . 2 % * 95 . 6 % * 95 . 8 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 198 . 1 mg 198 . 8 mg 199 . 8 mg 198 . 8 mg 199 . 4 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 65 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0171 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 142 / ib - 79 , dosage : 12 . 5 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 5 % * 0 . 6 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 95 . 4 % 94 . 9 % * 95 . 3 % * 94 . 8 % * 95 . 0 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 196 . 3 mg 201 . 3 mg 199 . 6 mg 195 . 6 mg 196 . 8 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 40 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0172 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 142 / ib - 79 , dosage : 12 . 5 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 95 . 4 % 94 . 8 % * 95 . 4 % * 93 . 5 * 95 . 1 * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 196 . 3 mg 200 . 0 mg 200 . 7 mg 197 . 8 mg 197 . 5 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 40 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g moulds and absent / g yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0173 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 143 / ib - 79 , dosage : 12 . 5 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 4 % 0 . 5 % * 0 . 5 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 94 . 4 % 94 . 1 % * 94 . 3 % * 93 . 5 % * 94 . 2 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 197 . 6 mg 200 . 8 mg 200 . 9 mg 197 . 8 mg 199 . 3 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 35 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0174 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 143 / ib - 79 , dosage : 12 . 5 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 4 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 94 . 4 % 94 . 0 % * 94 . 3 % * 93 . 5 % * 94 . 0 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 197 . 6 mg 202 . 7 mg 201 . 4 mg 198 . 1 mg 198 . 8 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 35 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0175 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 144 / ib - 79 , dosage : 25 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c .± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 8 % 0 : 3 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 91 . 8 % 90 . 8 % * 91 . 0 % * 89 . 5 % * 90 . 5 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 203 . 0 mg 206 . 7 mg 207 . 2 mg 202 . 4 mg 200 . 0 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 60 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0176 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 144 / ib - 79 , dosage : 25 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies . complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 8 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 91 . 8 % 91 . 3 % * 91 . 6 % * 91 . 0 % * 91 . 4 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 203 . 0 mg 205 . 4 mg 206 . 5 mg 204 . 1 mg 204 . 5 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 60 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0177 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 145 / ib - 79 , dosage : 50 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 3 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 6 % 97 . 0 % * 97 . 0 % * 97 . 0 % * 97 . 5 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 208 . 4 mg 205 . 7 mg 206 . 0 mg 203 . 9 mg 203 . 4 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 35 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0178 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 145 / ib - 79 , dosage : 50 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 3 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 1 . 4 %) ( lod = 1 . 4 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 6 % 96 . 7 % * 97 . 4 % * 95 . 0 % * 97 . 0 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg 208 . 4 mg 205 . 3 mg 205 . 7 mg 204 . 6 mg 202 . 3 mg ± 10 % dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 35 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0179 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 146 / ib - 79 , dosage : 75 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 3 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 9 %) ( lod = 0 . 9 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 94 . 0 % 92 . 3 % * 93 . 9 % * 92 . 8 % * 92 . 4 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 199 . 4 mg 200 . 1 mg 201 . 3 mg 198 . 6 mg 198 . 4 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 25 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0180 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 146 / ib - 79 , dosage : 75 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 3 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 9 %) ( lod = 0 . 9 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 94 . 0 % 93 . 4 % * 93 . 9 % * 92 . 6 % * 93 . 5 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 199 . 4 mg 200 . 0 mg 200 . 5 mg 198 . 7 mg 200 . 2 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 25 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0181 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 147 / ib - 79 , dosage : 75 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 9 %) ( lod = 0 . 9 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 94 . 9 % 90 . 6 % * 94 . 6 % * 93 . 5 % * 91 . 4 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 201 . 5 mg 201 . 0 mg 201 . 6 mg 198 . 4 mg 199 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 10 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0182 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 147 / ib - 79 , dosage : 75 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 9 %) ( lod = 0 . 9 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 94 . 9 % 92 . 0 % * 94 . 1 % * 92 . 1 % * 93 . 3 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 201 . 5 mg 199 . 6 mg 201 . 6 mg 198 . 7 mg 201 . 3 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 10 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0183 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 148 / ib - 79 , dosage : 75 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 3 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 9 %) ( lod = 0 . 9 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 96 . 5 % 92 . 5 % * 96 . 5 % * 92 . 1 % * 92 . 8 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 201 . 0 mg 200 . 5 mg 200 . 8 mg 198 . 8 mg 199 . 4mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 10 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0184 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 148 / ib - 79 , dosage : 75 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 3 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 4 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 9 %) ( lod = 0 . 9 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 96 . 5 % 91 . 7 % * 95 . 2 % * 91 . 4 % * 92 . 7 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 201 . 0 mg 200 . 8 mg 200 . 5 mg 198 . 9 mg 199 . 3 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 10 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0185 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 136 / ib - 79 , dosage : 100 μg ; manufactured february 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 7 %) ( lod = 0 . 7 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 6 % 96 . 1 % * 96 . 5 % * 94 . 0 % * 94 . 6 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 205 . 3 mg 204 . 5 mg 203 . 5 mg 202 . 4 mg 201 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 & lt ; 5 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0186 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 136 / ib - 79 , dosage : 100 μg ; manufactured february 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 4 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 7 %) ( lod = 0 . 7 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 6 % 94 . 9 % * 97 . 0 % * 93 . 1 % * 97 . 0 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 205 . 3 mg 203 . 0 mg 203 . 2 mg 203 . 9 mg 206 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 & lt ; 5 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0187 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 149 / ib - 79 , dosage : 125 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 1 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 6 %) ( lod = 0 . 6 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 3 % 99 . 6 % * 99 . 5 % * 97 . 6 % * 97 . 8 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 198 . 7 mg 200 . 4 mg 199 . 5 mg 198 . 6 mg 197 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 5 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0188 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 149 / ib - 79 , dosage : 125 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 1 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 3 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 6 %) ( lod = 0 . 6 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 3 % 99 . 5 % * 99 . 7 % * 97 . 1 % * 98 . 5 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 198 . 7 mg 200 . 1 mg 199 . 3 mg 200 . 4 mg 198 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 5 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0189 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 150 / ib - 79 , dosage : 150 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 1 % 0 . 2 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod & lt ; lod product ( t 3 ( lod = 0 . 5 %) ( lod = 0 . 5 %) content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 99 . 2 % 94 . 4 % * 96 . 1 % * 95 . 7 % * 96 . 6 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 200 . 8 mg 201 . 1 mg 201 . 4 mg 199 . 8 mg 198 . 5 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 25 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : & lt ; 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0190 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 150 / ib - 79 , dosage : 150 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 1 % 0 . 3 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) product ( t 3 content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 99 . 2 % 94 . 5 % * 97 . 5 % * 94 . 1 % * 96 . 2 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 200 . 8 mg 199 . 6 mg 201 . 2 mg 200 . 1 mg 198 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 25 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0191 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 151 / ib - 79 , dosage : 150 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 1 % 0 . 2 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) product ( t 3 content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 2 % 94 . 3 % * 97 . 7 % * 95 . 5 % * 96 . 9 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 200 . 4 mg 201 . 7 mg 201 . 7 mg 198 . 1 mg 198 . 7 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 30 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0192 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 151 / ib - 79 , dosage ; 150 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 1 % 0 . 2 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) product ( t 3 content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 97 . 2 % 95 . 0 % * 97 . 9 % * 92 . 9 % * 95 . 2 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 200 . 4 mg 200 . 3 mg 202 . 4 mg 200 . 2 mg 200 . 9 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 30 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0193 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 152 / ib - 79 , dosage : 150 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in glass flacon 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 2 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) product ( t 3 content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 96 . 3 % 96 . 2 % * 96 . 5 % * 95 . 9 % * 96 . 7 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 200 . 0 mg 201 . 7 mg 202 . 7 mg 198 . 5 mg 197 . 3 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 10 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g [ 0194 ] t4 soft gel matrices - batch n o 152 / ib - 79 , dosage : 150 μg ; manufactured march 2003 - start stability march 2003 - contained in blister acclar 3 months 6 months stability 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 30 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ 25 ° c . ± 2 ° c ./ test specifications t0 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . 60 % ± 5 % r . h . characters round biconvex complies complies complies complies complies matrices , amber - coloured degradation ≦ 4 % 0 . 2 % 0 . 2 % * 0 . 2 % * & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) & lt ; lod ( lod = 0 . 5 %) product ( t 3 content ) average assay 90 - 110 % of the 96 . 3 % 96 . 0 % * 97 . 0 % * 95 . 8 % * 96 . 3 % * theoretical value average weight 205 . 0 mg ± 10 % 200 . 0 mg 202 . 5 mg 202 . 5 mg 198 . 6 mg 199 . 2 mg dissolution test ≧ 70 % in 45 minutes complies not not not performed performed performed microbial aerobic complies : not not not controls : bacteria : ≦ 1000 10 cfu / g & lt ; 5 cfu / g performed performed performed cfu / g absent / g moulds and yeasts : ≦ 100 cfu / g escherichia coli : absent / g	0
the inventors have developed a method of organizing the storage of dna profile information which minimizes the time required to locate all dna profiles within the database that satisfy a set of user - selected criteria when compared against a target dna profile and therefore match the target . the match criteria allow for the possibility of missing allele or locus data , the inexact match of allele information at a specified locus , an error tolerance in the number of base pairs in matching alleles from rflp dna locus data , and the specification of equivalent alleles . the match criteria can also define groups of loci that must be present in matching dna profiles and a maximum number of matching profiles to be returned to the requesting user . a “ directed graph ” is a pair ( n , b ), where n is a finite set and b is a binary relation on n . elements of the set n are called the nodes of the directed graph . a “ node ” is an element of a set n in a directed graph or tree , such element having connections with branches that either originate from or terminate to the element . the binary relation b is a set of elements of the form ( n , n 2 ) where n , and n 2 are elements of n . elements ( n , n 2 ) of the binary relation b are called to branches or edges of the directed graph and specify a path from node n 1 to node n 2 . for a directed graph , a “ path ” is a set of branches {( n 1 , n 2 ), ( n 2 , n 3 ), - - - ( n i − 1 , n i )}, containing at least one branch , that connects node n 1 to node n 2 defines a path from the originating node n 1 to the terminal node n 2 . the path is said to go from node n 1 , to node n 2 . for a directed graph , a node n 2 is “ reachable ” from node n 1 if a path exists that originates at node n 1 and terminates at node n 2 . a “ tree ” is a directed graph that satisfies two properties : ( 1 ) for any two nodes n 1 and n 2 , a path exists from node n 1 to node n 2 , or a path exists from node n 2 to node n 1 , ( the graph is connected ); and ( 2 ) no two nodes n 1 and n 2 exist for which paths exist from node n 1 to node n 2 and from node n 2 to node n 1 ( the graph is acyclic ). for purposes of the invention , a tree can be either a directed graph or an undirected graph . the “ root ” or “ root node ” is the unique node of a tree that is not a terminal node for any path in the tree . a “ non - terminal ” or “ non - terminal node ” is a node of a tree that is an originating node for at least one path in the tree . a “ leaf ” or “ leaf node ” is a node of a tree that is not a non - terminal node . a “ subtree ” of a tree ( n , b ) is defined uniquely by any node n r of the tree , and is the tree ( n s , b s ) formed of the set n s containing the node n r , and all nodes nεn that are reachable from node n r , and the set b s containing all branches that are in paths in the tree that originate at node n r . node n r is the root node of the subtree ( n s , b s ). as referred to herein , a “ node ” can be a carrier of information or data . for purposes of the invention , any information or data may be optionally contained in , referenced by , attached to , or associated with any node or branch of a tree or directed graph . when a node has a specific structure which determines how information may be contained in , referenced by , attached to , or associated with the node , the node is referred to as a node object or node ( capitalized ). additional background information about directed graphs and trees can be found in reference 1 at pp . 86 - 97 . it is intended that the claimed invention can be used with any appropriate database . the application of the invention to databases containing dna profile information is preferred . in the description that follows , the codis system is used by example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention . estimates of the relative frequency of occurrence of each possible allele at each locus are known for various population subgroups . the relative frequency distribution is typically not uniform . the current invention exploits this nonuniformity to improve the efficiency of dna profile databases . a table can be created of the known alleles that may be present at a specific locus and their relative frequency . one such table for the d13s17 locus , based upon fbi codis data , is shown in table 1 . for this locus , there are two alleles ( 11 and 12 ) that have significantly larger fractions ( frequencies of occurrence ) than the others . this is easily seen in fig1 . non - uniform allele frequency structure is apparent at several loci . the database search engine described here exploits such non - uniformity using a “ divide - and - conquer ” strategy . a tree - structured information storage scheme is shown in fig2 . at each node of the tree , beginning at the top ( root ) node , a test is made upon dna profile information ( either used as a target for a search request or to be stored in the database ). based upon the test results , one or more branches are selected that originate from the node and terminate at child nodes where a new test is conducted . in this manner , portions of the database are ruled out of consideration at each level , narrowing the scope of the search . the complexity of the search method that results is on the order of log ( n ), where n is the number of dna profiles stored in the database . for this to be effective , test results associated with the database tree &# 39 ; s nodes need to depend upon information at more than one locus of the dna profile . in addition , the tests need to be chosen in a manner that causes the resulting tree to be balanced . this means that all paths from the root to leaf nodes where dna profiles are stored are roughly the same length . this causes the portions of the database contained in the subtrees rooted at nodes at each level of the tree to be roughly the same size , as is shown in fig2 where the percentage of dna profiles in the database referenced by each node of the tree is shown at that node . the tree structure of the database has the additional benefit of being parallelizable . each branch leading from a node that is chosen as a result of a test can be assigned to an independent computer host or processor , allowing exploration of the tree during a search to proceed on multiple computer hosts in parallel . in the illustrated database in fig2 , each of the three bottommost nodes can be assigned to a different computer , resulting in three roughly equal search problem sizes . a unique feature of the method described here is its use of a priori information about the statistical distribution of dna profile information to ensure that the database tree is balanced . the multivariate statistical clustering method and information storage and retrieval methods that utilize this can be applied to other forensic science applications . these applications include the categorization and classification of any forensic evidence sharing one or more attributes . for example , these methods can be used to compare the events and construction technologies describing improvised explosive and incendiary devices ( bombs ). the multivariate statistical clustering method will reveal similar cases presented to an existing bomb incident database . in this embodiment , clusterable variables include the presence or absence of various types of explosives , methods of construction , and ancillary devices such as timing devices and other triggers . this type of database is beneficial for determining patterns in similar bombs constructed by the same individual ( s ) as well as circumstances surrounding their placement , the target , and the motive of the bomber . other forensic applications include psychological and personality profiles of criminals , descriptions of stolen artwork , indexing , storage , and comparison of forged documents , linguistic content of threatening communications , image comparisons of spent bullet and cartridge cases , photographic images of crime scenes , determination of authorship of copyrighted works , and the content of computer hard drives . beyond forensic applications , these methods are applicable in any domain of knowledge where information to be stored , indexed , retrieved , and compared can be characterized by the presence or absence of common features . suitable application domains include maintenance of image databases , such as arrest photos and catalogs of identifying marks ( scars , marks , blemishes , and tattoos ). in agriculture , image databases are maintained of crop pests , and an important application is the rapid identification of pests on samples of infested plants . in planetary science , image databases are maintained of landforms and features taken from both space and air platforms , and the rapid identification of an image of a location on the earth &# 39 ; s surface is important . in these application domains it is possible to extract image features that can be coded by their presence or absence , allowing the utilization of the multivariate statistical clustering method and related database methods . within each category of feature , the features may be typed by degree , such as physical size , color attributes , and texture . this typing admits the application of entropy / adjacency partition assignment methods as a mechanism for partitioning a collection of information in order to facilitate rapid comparison , access , and retrieval . another application domain is the storage of references to textual information . representation of text documents by vectors indicating the presence or absence of words and phrases , which may then provide indexing structure through the use of multivariate statistical clustering and data access methods . locations of words and phrases within a document , as well as the relative positions and frequencies of these words and phrases , enable the utilization of the entropy / adjacency partitioning method and related database indexing structures . these types of representation have to been utilized with singular value decomposition and qr factorization for text storage and retrieval [ 14 ]; however , the methods described herein use clusters derived from multivariate statistical analysis to partition the database and form a database tree . wherever the application provides a natural association of the representations of quantities such as measurements of word positions and frequencies with a distance or similarity measure of association between data records , database trees utilizing entropy / adjacency partitions can provide highly efficient methods for identification of records most similar to a target record referenced by a search request . in these and other applications where a binary encoding of information relating to the presence or absence of data features is appropriate , database trees utilizing clustering based upon multivariate statistical analysis can provide highly efficient methods to implement database indexing , search , and retrieval strategies . in most applications , a combination of these methods can be utilized . the above disclosure generally describes the present invention . a more complete understanding can be obtained by reference to the following specific examples , which are provided herein for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . a key to implementation of the search specification on a tree - structured database is what occurs at the nodes of the database tree . these nodes can be c ++ objects and can contain partition objects used to describe how the database is segmented at each node . two types of partitioning at the nodes are illustrated : entropy - adjacency partition assignment and data clustering using multivariate statistical analysis . the database is implemented using a search queue and one or more search engines in each computer host in a single or parallel computer environment . the search queue holds search requests and additional information such as requests to store or delete dna profile information in the database . the search engines take elements from the search queues and perform the requested activities . during this process , additional search requests may be generated , which each search engine places in the search queue . the codis search engine communicates with clients that request service across a network interface , and returns the requested information to these clients . this process is shown schematically in fig3 for the single host case . multiple hosts in a parallel computing environment are accommodated using multiple communicating copies of this process . the hosts can either all operate on the same database , or each can contain a portion of the database ; a mixture of the two methods can also be used . as an example , communicating groups of processors may operate where all members of each group are assigned the same portion of the database . in fig3 , the client initiates a request for service with the server , which is a computer process whose sole function is to broker exchanges between clients and the codis search server . upon receipt of a connection request , the server instantiates a server client , which is a computer process or thread dedicated to servicing the client . if the client is initiating a request to search the database , information necessary to define the search request is transmitted from the client to the server client , and the server client assembles a search request and inserts it in the search queue ( labeled “ queue of search requests ” in fig3 ). a search engine removes the topmost ( oldest ) search request from the search queue when it becomes available . the search request specifies an identifier for the requesting client , an associated node of the database tree at which the search is to begin , and a set of target dna profiles and related information specifying the context of the search . if the database tree node is not a leaf node ( has descendents ), the search engine can use one of the available partitioning methods to determine which nodes at the next lower level of its database tree must be searched . if the node is a leaf node , the search engine searches the set of dna profiles stored at the node for matches . this process may either generate additional search requests or matching dna profiles . search requests are placed on the search queue , and matching dna profiles are returned to the client . the search engine can follow one branch to a next lower node and repeat the process in order to achieve higher performance rather than insert the corresponding search request onto the search queue . the search engine block in fig3 is schematically shown as a single process or thread , but it should be understood to represent one or more search engines on a single computer host . various methods can be utilized to balance the loads of the computer hosts so that the average waiting times for service and computation in search queues and search engines across all hosts are equalized . for example , blocks of search requests can be exchanged among hosts from hosts with relatively long average waiting times to hosts with shorter waiting times . a stochastic scheduling method can be utilized , causing hosts with relatively short waiting times to , on average , receive more exchanges than hosts with longer average waiting times . the sizes of the blocks exchanged can be adjusted to accommodate the relative speeds of the processors and the inter - processor communications protocols and hardware . either of two software packages used for parallel computing , mpi [ 5 ] and pvm [ 7 ], or other similar packages , can be used to implement the balancing method . the main block shown in fig3 starts the execution of the server , search queue , and search engines on a computer host and initialized the environment to allow these processes to communicate with other hosts participating in the parallel computer environment . in addition , various log files can be generated to aid in debugging problems and tracing utilization of the codis search server ; two of these are shown in the figure . to minimize worst - case search time , division of the database into n roughly equal portions at each level of the database tree is highly desirable . a simple and fast test is needed to accomplish this . one test method that can be used to accomplish this is entropy - adjacency partition assignment . this method assigns members of the set of possible allele pairs at a specified locus to groups . the goal is to choose these groups so that their expected sizes are roughly equal , and so that alleles with indices that differ by a small number ( corresponding to the number of repeated sequences for str dna profiles and the number of base pairs for rflp dna profiles ) have a high probability of being assigned to the same group . by preferentially assigning alleles differing by a small number of base pairs to the same group , the growth of the number of generated search requests due to a client &# 39 ; s specification of equivalent alleles will be less than would be the case for other assignments . the set of possible allele pairs at a locus can be viewed as a two - dimensional grid , where each row or column corresponds to an allele . since the pair ( allele 1 , allele 2 ) is the same as the pair ( allele 2 , allele 1 ), any partition assignment on this grid is symmetric . thus , only half need be shown . a partition assignment that minimizes the entropy of the resulting partitions is shown in fig4 for the d16s539 locus . in the figure , different shadings of gray ( colors can also be used ) correspond to different partition membership assignments . the axes are labeled with the sequence numbers of the d16s539 alleles ; the alleles range from 5 to 15 inclusive . entropy is a concept from information theory , and for the partition assignment problem minimum entropy is equivalent to creating a partition whose members are as close as possible to the same size ( expected number of elements ). from the figure , it is apparent that minimum entropy assignment does not tend to assign adjacent allele pairs to the same partition member . the partition assignment problem can be solved by a global optimization procedure based upon simulated annealing . in this method , an initial random assignment is chosen , and its cost ( entropy ) is calculated . the assignments are represented by non - negative integers . in the figure , a division of the allele pairs into six partition members is desired , and the members are labeled with the integers 0 through 5 , inclusive . the optimization procedure randomly chooses an allele pair to modify and randomly chooses a proposed new assignment for that pair . the change to in cost that would result if the new assignment were used is calculated , and if the cost decreases the proposed change is accepted . if the cost increases the proposed change is accepted with a probability p that begins with unity and declines monotonically with iteration number as the optimization process proceeds . an exponentially decreasing probability of acceptance ( a geometric sequence ) has been found to work well in practice . the optimization procedure terminates when either the cost has not been further decreased over a specified number of iterations or a maximum number of iterations has been achieved . the last computed assignment is used as the solution to the problem . a variation of this procedure , which is used in the examples , is to maintain a copy of the best ( lowest cost ) assignment achieved through the current iteration , updating this as better assignments are found , and to use the last best assignment as the optimal assignment . preferential assignment of adjoining allele pairs can be achieved by introducing a cost associated with the absence of adjacency . for every allele pair ( a ), the four ( less on the boundaries ) assignments for allele pairs that differ by one index in one allele are examined , and a count variable is initialized to zero . for every assignment that differs from the assignment of allele pair ( a ), a one is added to the count variable . the count variable is then scaled by the probability of the allele pair &# 39 ; s occurrence , and these scaled values are summed over all possible allele pairs to form the adjacency cost . an allele pair with zero probability of occurrence can allow the assignment of that pair to be arbitrarily made without regard to adjacency . to avoid this problem , a small number can be added to the probabilities of occurrence , or to those that are zero , causing the assignment to affect the cost . the results reported herein utilized a value of 0 . 005 added to all allele pair probabilities of occurrence . the resulting adjacency cost is linearly combined with the entropy cost , and the combined cost is minimized using the global optimization procedure . this can be expressed by the equation where entropy is the cost due to the non - uniform size of the partition members , adjacency is the cost due to the existence of adjacent allele pairs having different assignments , and weight is a non - negative number defining the relative importance assigned to the adjacency cost . for certain linear combinations , this cost function results in adjacent groups of allele pairs being assigned to the same partition member without drastically impacting the entropy ( measure of non - uniform partitioning ) of the result . this effect can be seen visually in fig5 , where the allele pairs of locus d16s539 are partitioned into six groups . for this partition assignment the entropy is 1 . 01201 , whereas for the assignment shown in fig4 the entropy is 1 . 0111 . this process can be carried to an extreme by weighting the adjacency cost too heavily . in this case , the number of partition members decreases with some members containing zero elements . this effect is visible in fig6 . at the present time a precise way to select the “ best ” trade - off between entropy and adjacency is not known . if minimization of entropy cost is too heavily favored , search performance using equivalence and rflp error tolerances will be adversely affected . if adjacency is too heavily favored , the database tree will be become unbalanced , resulting in “ long legs ” and poor worst - case performance . “ engineering judgment ” can be used to select a partition map ( via the weight ) from many computed solutions that will yield acceptable performance . this can be done by computing optimal solutions to the assignment problem for a variety of non - negative weights . if the weight is too large not all partitions will contain assigned allele pairs . if the weight is too small assignments similar to those shown in fig4 will be observed . iteration may be required to determine suitable values . a schematic representation of the database tree was presented in fig2 . in that figure , each node of the tree is represented as being implemented using an entropy - adjacency partition . in practice , this is only one of two methods that may be used at a node , and the tree may contain a mixture of the two cases . the implementation of the tree nodes using entropy - adjacency partitions will be discussed in detail in this section ; however , the implementation of the tree nodes can also be accomplished using data clustering . a decision tree node can be implemented by a c ++ node object , as shown schematically in fig7 . the object can contain a unique identifying integer stored in the thisnode parameter . a node object may be either a leaf or non - leaf ( non - terminal ) tree node , as specified by the node data element isleaf . if it is a leaf , the node can store dna profile information located at that portion of the tree in a storage data structure . as dna profiles are being stored into the database , a threshold is utilized to determine at what point a leaf node should be converted to a non - terminal node , resulting in two or more nodes one level below the node . nodes can track the total number of dna profiles they reference in the nmembers parameter . the offset parameter can be used when stored dna profiles are located out of processor memory , for example on a disk drive to locate the information relative to the start of the storage media . non - terminal node objects can maintain a list of nodes ( nextnode ), referenced by the locations of the corresponding node objects in an array , that can be reached by branches from the nodes and are one level below the nodes in the database tree . nodes based upon entropy - adjacency partitions can contain a pointer to a c ++ partition object ( ppart ), which can implement the data structures and methods necessary to utilize the partition information . for each allele pair associated with a partition , a count of dna profiles matching that allele pair can be maintained by the node object in the allele_cnt map . this information can be utilized to avoid searches along branches from the node that contain no dna profiles capable of matching a target dna profile . a c ++ partition object can be used to store entropy - adjacency partition assignment information . a partition object defines which subset of the database associated with the database tree node a profile belongs in . these objects are represented schematically in fig8 . a string identifying the locus used for the partition can be stored in a name entry . a nmembers entry can specify the number of groups in the partition . missing allele pair values can be accommodated ; a probability of the occurrence of missing data can be maintained in a pmissing entry . a vector of probabilities of occurrence , one for each possible allele , can be maintained in a popstat structure . the table of partition assignments , along with the probabilities of occurrence of each allele pair , can be maintained in a table map . each entry of this map is a partentry object containing the assignment and probability . partitions can be used by many database tree nodes and are therefore not usually included within the node objects . rather , a pointer in the node objects can be maintained to the appropriate partition object . the nodes can be stored in an array in a predetermined order which is consistent across all hosts participating in the parallel machine , allowing search requests to be exchanged across host boundaries . the codis system provides detailed specifications [ 11 ] governing how two dna profiles may match . a matching algorithm used with codis must correctly account for : pcr allele equivalence , rflp measurement error , match stringency on a per - locus and per - profile basis , mismatch on a maximum allowed number of loci , matches on a minimum number of loci , completeness , and the maximum number of dna profiles to be returned in response to a search request . most of these specifications can be interpreted using locus partition and search state information . search requests can be evaluated by the c ++ node objects . the node can use the search request &# 39 ; s stored information , along with the partition information referenced by the node , to generate results , which are returned to the requesting client , or new search requests . results are only generated when the node object is a leaf node and contains dna profiles . if pcr alleles at a locus are declared equivalent , then a dna profile target provided by a search request that contains one of these alleles must match all of the equivalent alleles as well . this is shown in fig9 where the search request contains a target profile with allele information for locus d13s17 ( alleles 3 and 5 ), and declares that alleles 2 and 4 are equivalent to allele 3 . the yellow ( lighter ) “ x ” in the figure corresponds to the allele pair ( 3 , 5 ) and is located in the partition assignment designated by the blue shading . the pink ( darker ) “ v &# 39 ; s in the figure correspond to the allele pairs ( 2 , 5 ) and ( 4 , 5 ), both of which also match ( 3 , 5 ) because of the declared equivalence . since the allele pair ( 4 , 5 ) is assigned the partition designated by the yellow ( light ) shading , two new search requests are generated ( assuming the allele_cnt table entries are positive ) for the “ blue ” ( dark ) and “ yellow ” ( light ) partitions . the search behavior induced by rflp measurement error is similar to the case of pcr allele equivalence . measurement error in codis is represented by percent relative error bounds on the stored values of rflp bands . the result is a region ( represented by a square in the next figure ) within which a band is required to match rflp dna target information . any squares representing ranges of stored rflp data that intersect this region can cause new search requests to be generated , as shown in fig1 . dna profile loci can contain more than two alleles due to the presence of mixed samples ( dna material from multiple individuals ). in this case all pairs that can be formed from the alleles that exist at a locus are used to reference partition cells . in fig1 the dna profile target contains the alleles 3 , 4 , and 6 at the d13s17 locus . as a result , the allele pairs ( 3 , 4 ), ( 3 , 6 ), and ( 4 , 6 ) are used to determine new search requests . codis defines the concept of match stringency . high stringency matches require the presence of exactly the same alleles at the locus in the target and retrieved samples . medium stringency allows additional alleles to be present in the retrieved samples and some loci , and low stringency allows a partial correspondence between the alleles to trigger a match . work on implementation of the medium and low stringency match methods is in progress ; however , conceptually these cases are very similar to what is required for equivalent alleles and rflp error bounds . in order to discuss how thresholds on the maximum number of allowed misses and the minimum number of required matches are handled , it is necessary to describe a representation of search request objects . misses due to the absence of information for a locus can be handled in a similar fashion . these thresholds affect the number of node objects in the tree that must be evaluated and can lower search performance if they are chosen poorly . a search request object can maintain the following information : node : the node number in the database tree where the search is to occur ( initially zero , indicating the root node ) ppartprfl : a pointer to the search information ( partition profile ) presult : a pointer to a place to put search results mismatch : a count - down counter of mismatches allowed . the mismatch counter is an example of the search request object &# 39 ; s ability to carry search state information . this counter specifies the number of misses that may be accumulated from the current point on in the search . every time a miss is allowed at a node the mismatch counter is decremented and stored in the new search request object . a missing allele is equivalent to the homozygous case . missing locus data can be handled using either of two approaches . the first uses a special partition entry to reference profiles with no information for the locus . the second stores profiles with missing alleles in all partition entries of the partition corresponding to the locus which would be capable of matching the profile if an allele were present . the first method increases the size of the database tree ; the second method increases the number of nodes that must be searched . because the second method essentially removes the ability to avoid searching partitions having no entries , the first method is preferred . a constraint can be placed on the maximum number of matching dna profiles . search queue objects can provide the search engines with an indication that the maximum number of targets has been returned for a specific search request , causing the search engines to ignore subsequent search requests with the same identifier . the search queue objects receive this notification from the server client , which receives matching dna profiles as they are generated . the codis completeness condition is fairly complex , requiring the determination that specific combinations of loci data are present in matching dna profiles . this condition is evaluated only at leaf nodes of the database tree to exclude profiles that fail the requirement . this section provides a description of a method that uses multivariate statistical methods to determine clusters that can be utilized to partition portions of a database into groups of roughly equal size . as a result , this method generates partition information that can be incorporated within or associated with an arbitrary node object in a database tree . the application of this method to dna profile data based upon amplification of short tandem repeat ( str ) dna locus data is presented . for this case , a clear binary encoding of the alleles present at a str locus is available . for other data types , such as dna rflp allele ( band ) data , the proper choice of a binary encoding scheme is not as easy to determine , and at the present time the binary encoding is necessary . the dna str profiles in the database are first represented in a binary form , using a ‘ 1 ’ to denote the presence , and a ‘ 0 ’ to denote the absence of an allele at a locus . based on the allele distribution patterns among two chosen str loci , clusterable patterns are discernable after principal component analysis of the data matrix . distinct clusters , usually less than 10 , can be established using a clustering method , such as k - means [ 12 ]. the membership of each cluster is then identified and recorded . each dna str profile belongs to one and only one of these clusters . thus , the entire set of dna profiles in the data base can be partitioned into these clusters , based on the allele distribution at these two chosen loci . when searching for matching profiles to a target profile , the target &# 39 ; s dna profile can be classified into one of these clusters , based on its allele distribution information at these two loci . thus , a subsequent search can be restricted to members within this cluster . this reduces the search problem by approximately one order of magnitude . the search process continues by examination of the target &# 39 ; s allele distribution at other pairs of str loci , resulting in classification to a subsequent pca cluster and reduction of the number of possible matches by another order of magnitude at each level of the database tree . partitions based on pca clustering can be inserted into a nonterminal node object of the database tree at any point and freely intermixed with partitions based upon entropy / adjacency partition assignment . the str profiles are first converted into a binary format , with a ‘ 1 ’ representing the presence and a ‘ 0 ’ the absence of an allele at each locus . thus the binary representation of a collection of dna str profiles is a sparse matrix of mostly zeros and some ones . each row of this matrix is the representation of one dna str profile . the maximum number of 1 &# 39 ; s for each profile ( for samples that are not mixtures of material from two or more individuals ) is two times the number of loci , assuming heterozygous presence of alleles at each locus . the minimum number of ‘ 1 ’ s is equal to the number of loci used for each profile , assuming homozygosity at all loci . principal component analysis ( pca ), a popular method of performing multivariate statistical analysis , represents a matrix of high dimension , consisting of correlated information , with a much lower dimensional matrix , without sacrificing significant information contained in the original data matrix . pca involves a rotation from the original frame of reference to a new frame of reference , whose axes are given by the principal components from the pca . the first principal component represents the direction along which the variance exhibited by the original data points is maximized . the second principal component , orthogonal to the first , represents the direction along which the remaining variance is maximized . additional principal components are defined in a similar fashion . to implement pca , the preferred method is to use the singular value decomposition ( svd ) [ 9 ] to decompose the data matrix , x , into the product of three matrices , in which the columns of the matrix , v , are referred to as the “ principal components ” of the pca of the data matrix , x . other methods known in the art may be used to obtain equivalent information . thus , where u and v are orthogonal matrices , and σ is a diagonal matrix with positive elements arranged in descending order . the columns of v , being the principal components , represent the coordinates or basis of the axes of the new frame of reference . the ratio of the square of each singular value to the total sum of squares of all the singular values represents the percentage of the total variation contributed by each principal component . a screen plot can be developed to show the cumulative ratio of this measure ; an example is shown in fig1 . since the original data are assumed to be heavily correlated , and the singular values are arranged in descending order , one can make a decision as to how many principal components to keep in building the pca model to represent the original data . the discarded data along the remaining principal components are regarded as less important and are ignored . each principal component is of unit length and orthogonal to all other principal components . the principal components are the columns of the right singular matrix , v , of the svd of the data matrix , x , above . each principal component is expressed as a linear combination of the original variables , with the entries of the principal component expressing that particular linear combination . the absolute values of all entries are less than or at most equal to 1 . therefore , those entries with relatively large values indicate the heavier weight their corresponding original variables occupy in making up this particular principal component . the variables with correspondingly heavy weights are also the ones being correlated in the original data set . if the columns of the data matrix x are not first mean centered , such that the mean of each treated column is zero , then the first principal component reflects the average values of the variables represented in the new principal component frame of reference . it is then the next few principal components that serve to differentiate between profiles . therefore , mean centering is an optional step which provides no additional capability and is not performed here . after the principal components are found , each data profile can be projected onto each principal component . the projected vector is referred to as the scores vector . the length of the scores vector indicates how closely aligned that data profile is to that principal component . the bigger the projection , the better this principal component represents this data profile . thus , data profiles with comparable projections onto this principal component can be regarded as “ similar ” to each other , with respect to this principal component . those profiles with high projected values onto this principal component indicate that these profiles are highly aligned with that of the principal component , therefore representing more of the 15 original variables which are heavily weighted in that principal component . similarly , projections of data profiles onto each of the succeeding principal components can be carried out to get the scores and their projections onto those principal components . because of the different degree of variation exhibited by the data profiles along the different principal components , normalization is necessary , such that normalized distances from the origin to each projected point can be compared meaningfully to each other . therefore , the mahalanobis distance measure [ 12 ] is employed , in which each projection is divided by the corresponding singular value . the mahalanobis distance scores are calculated as follows : mahalanobis_scores = xvσ − 1 =( uσv ′) vσ − 1 = u ( eq . 2 ) where x represents the original data matrix , and u , σ and v are from the svd of x , as shown in eq . 1 . postmultiplying x by v performs the projection of the rows of x ( profiles ) onto the principal components , with the projected vectors represented with respect to the principal component axes . postmultiplying xv by σ − 1 scales each column of xv by the corresponding singular values contained in σ . a two dimensional plot can be used to show the scores onto principal components pc 2 and pc 3 . in plotting the scores plot in , say pc 2 and pc 3 , it is the row entries from the second and the third columns of the mahalanobis_scores matrix ( the u matrix in eq . 2 ) that are plotted in a 2 - d plot . from henceforth , the mahalanobis_scores shall simply be referred to as the scores . an example of such plot is shown in fig1 , which shows the scores for 10000 dna str profiles in the ds13s17 and d16s539 loci onto the 2nd and 3rd principal components . it is in such a scores plot that to clusterability of the sample points is examined . a clustering algorithm can be employed to perform clustering of the scores projected onto a 2 - d principal component space . k - means [ 12 ] is selected because of its wide use and simplicity . however , with k - means the number of clusters has to be specified before the algorithm can begin . this is not a problem because the choice of the two loci , the two principal components on which to project the data , as well as the number of clusters associated with the scores , are all identified by a priori visual inspection and recorded . k - means clustering starts with an arbitrary set of n points , where n denotes the number of desired clusters , to serve as the center of each cluster . each data point is assigned to that cluster to which it is “ closest ” using a distance measure of the user &# 39 ; s choice . the standard euclidian distance measure is used here . this is followed by a calculation for the new center points of the resultant n clusters . then , in the next round of iteration , clusters are re - formed by assigning to each of the new centers points that are now closest to each . iterations continue the cluster centers no longer change or a specified number of iterations is reached . after clusters are formed , the membership of each cluster can be identified and the corresponding dna str profiles can be extracted from the original database for future study . projection of new dna str data set onto the principal components of another the dna str profiles of one group can be compared to that of another by comparing the corresponding scores patterns onto a principal component reference frame . to do the comparison , the projections of the profiles of the second set may be normalized by the inverse of the singular values of the first set . the projection and the normalization to arrive at the mahalanobis scores of the second data set is carried out as follows : m_scores denotes the mahalanobis scores , which shall simply be referred to as the scores . in plotting the scores plot in , say pc 2 and pc 3 , it is the row entries from the second and the third columns of the m_scores matrix that are plotted in a 2 - d plot . study of clustering by pca was carried out with two sets of data . the first was a synthetic data set , generated from the known allele frequency distribution for each of sixteen str loci . the distribution is from the codis data base . a binary set composed of 10 , 000 profiles with allele specifications at 16 loci was thus generated . this data matrix has the dimension of 10 , 000 by 202 , and is sparse with all entries either 1 or 0 . each row denotes the str profile in all 16 loci for one individual ; each element of a column represents the presence ( 1 ) or absence ( 0 ) of the corresponding allele in the each of the 10 , 000 individuals . the second set of data studied was compiled from human population studies and released by b . budowle [ 10 ] of the fbi , and is composed of dna str information of six ethnic groups with about two hundred samples in each group . a pca model was developed with the large synthetic data set , and the small real data set was projected onto the principal components derived from the former . relative percentages of membership profiles in the clusters were also compared between the large and the small data sets in order to compare the corresponding allele frequency distributions . the locus pair of d13s17 and d16s539 was chosen for illustration of the pca to analysis and clustering study . the columns corresponding to the alleles of these two loci from the 10 , 000 by 202 synthetic data set were extracted , and subjected to singular value decomposition ( svd ) to obtain the principal components ( the columns of the v matrix in eq . 1 ) and the mahalanobis scores vectors ( the columns of the u matrix in eq . 1 ). the corresponding columns of the data matrix , x , extracted are columns 11 through 19 ( corresponding to alleles 7 - 15 of the d13s17 locus ) and columns 20 to 30 ( corresponding to alleles 5 - 15 of the d16s539 locus ) for a total of 20 columns . the svd of this submatrix of size 10 , 000 by 20 was computed . first , the number of principal components to retain to build the pca model was ascertained . fig1 is the scree plot showing the cumulative contribution made by the principal components . the plot shows that the first three principal components together capture about 60 % of the total variation exhibited by the original data matrix . it further shows that the rank of the matrix is 14 , meaning there are only 14 independent columns among the total of 20 columns of x . note that each successive principal component contributes less to the overall data variation , as foreshadowed by the decreasing magnitude of each successive singular value squared of the data matrix , x . the 10 , 000 profiles with alleles at d13s17 and d16s539 were projected onto the second and third principal components , followed by normalization by the inverse of the corresponding singular values to arrive at the mahalanobis scores . the entries of each row after projection and normalization were plotted in a 2 - d scores plot . fig1 shows the result . nine distinct clusters were observed . the clusterability of other 2 - loci combinations was also studied . there are a total of 16 loci available for analysis . therefore , a total of 120 2 - loci combinations ( 16 * 15 / 2 = 120 ) were analyzed . table 2 shows those 2 - loci combinations and the corresponding supporting principal components that yield good and distinct clusters . the reason that only certain 2 loci combinations yield good clusters is further analyzed so as to understand the role the alleles at each locus play in determining the clusterability of the profiles . the following subsections present the rationale . briefly , however , those loci pairs with allele probability densities concentrating at just a few of alleles tend to yield good and distinct clusters . the allele frequency distributions for the 2 - loci combinations that yielded good clusters were examined to discover the reason behind their clusterability . it was found that those loci with allele probability concentrated at just a few alleles ( 2 to 4 ) are good candidates to give good clusters . the main reason is that with just a few alleles possible , the joint 2 - loci allele distribution tends to concentrate in those allele pairs with relatively high probability of occurrence . thus less but more distinct clusters tend to be formed . fig1 and 15 show the relative frequency of occurrence of the alleles at the d13s17 and d16s539 locus , respectively . notice that alleles 11 and 12 in both loci have a much higher probability of occurrence . fig1 and 17 show the joint 2 - allele frequency distribution for the d13s17 and d16s539 locus respectively . it is noted that only a few of the allele pairs have relatively high probability of occurring . this distribution pattern is to be contrasted with one where the majority of the allele have some probability of occurring but none is much higher than others . fig1 shows the joint 2 - loci allele - pair probability density for the d13s16 and d16s539 loci . again , it is observed that most probability densities are concentrated at a few selected allele pairs , corresponding to those alleles with relatively high probability of occurring within each locus . consider the allele distribution patterns in a large dna str data set . if for a specific locus , the probability densities concentrate in only a few , for example 3 out of 10 , alleles , then the majority of the profiles in this data set will have alleles for that locus , corresponding to those with high probability densities . however , some , though in the minority , will still have alleles with low probability densities . thus , the variance among the profiles associated with this locus will be higher than those where a large number of alleles have comparable but low probability densities . the large variance exhibited by this part of the data will be picked up by the leading principal components of the original data matrix . recall that the principal components of a matrix x are given by the right singular vectors of x , after svd ( the columns of the matrix , v , from eq . 1 ). for a matrix without any column mean centering , the first principal component generally gives just the average of the overall data , and therefore is not useful in differentiating between the points . the second principal component , therefore , is the one that gives the direction along which the variance exhibited by the original data matrix is maximum ; the third principal component gives the direction that captures the next maximum variance , after the component along the first and second principal component have been subtracted off from the original data matrix . as a result of the above reasoning , the first few leading principal components after the first , should be contributed heavily by those original variables ( i . e ., the alleles ) that have the concentrated allele probability densities . fig1 and 20 show the make up of the second and the third principal components of the 10 , 000 profiles at the d13s17 and the d16s539 loci . it is clear from the fig1 and 20 that the most significant alleles in principal component 2 are alleles 11 and 12 of d13s17 , and the most significant for principal component 3 are alleles 11 and 12 of d16s539 . alleles 11 and 12 of d16s539 also contribute some to pc 2 , and alleles 11 and 12 of d13s17 also contribute some to pc 3 . notice the opposite signs of alleles 11 and 12 of each locus in each pc . what this means is that , if a cluster of the scores of the dna profiles projects highly onto the positive direction of pc 2 , then most members within this cluster have the presence of allele 12 ( the second tall bar of fig1 ) of d13s17 , the presence of allele 11 of d16s539 ( the first tall bar of d16s539 of fig1 ), the absence of allele 11 in the first locus , and the absence of allele 12 in the second locus , respectively , since the signs associated with the latter pair are negative . it was observed that cluster 9 from the scores plot of fig1 projects highly along the positive direction of pc 2 . in fig2 it is evident that in cluster 9 , “ all ” of the members have allele 12 of the d13s17 locus , as well as allele 11 of the d16s539 locus . further , none of the profiles has allele 11 of the first and allele 12 of the second locus . with similar reasoning , it is observed that cluster 7 projects heavily along the negative direction of the third principal component . this is interpreted to be that the members in this cluster would have allele 11 of both loci , and the absence of allele 12 in both loci . in fact , 100 % of the members are this way . notice that cluster 5 projects almost to the dead center of the origin . this is to interpreted to be that members in this cluster either have both alleles or neither allele for each locus , so that the effects of the elements of the principal components for each locus cancel . as seen in fig2 , this is the case . the nine distinct clusters can be established analytically by the k - means cluster algorithm . clusters identified by k - means were validated by visual inspection . memberships within each cluster were analyzed to get at the similarity among the members . fig2 shows a plot of the fraction within each cluster possessing each allele . it is observed that clusters differ in the combination of alleles at each of the 2 loci that are dominant ( allele 11 and 12 of both loci ). for instance , members of cluster 1 all have the 5th allele of the d13s17 locus ( allele 11 ) and the 8th allele ( 17 − 9 = 8 ; d13s17 has 9 alleles ) of the d16s539 locus ( allele 12 ). from the make up of the principal components , the projections of each clusters onto each principal component can be predicted by looking at the presence or absence of these alleles in the members of the clusters . because the most probable alleles for the d13s locus are alleles 11 and 12 , and the most probable alleles for d16s539 are alleles 11 and 12 ( or index number 16 and 17 in fig2 below ), the clusters correspond to profiles with various combinations of presence or absence of these dominant alleles at these four positions . table 3 shows the combinations of these four dominant alleles in each of the nine clusters , based on the plots shown in fig2 . the assignment of the allele distribution in these four dominant alleles in each of these nine clusters as well as the factor that caused the points to cluster this way is further elaborated below . from table 3 , boolean expressions can be written that form logical tests on the data to determine cluster assignment . for example , a boolean expression testing for membership of a dna profile in cluster 1 is “( d13s17 - allele 11 ) and not ( d13s17 - allele 12 ) and not ( d16s539 - allele 11 ) and ( d16s539 - allele 12 )”, where the terms in parentheses are logical variables that are true if the corresponding allele is present and false otherwise . a more complex example is the boolean expression testing for membership in cluster 5 : “((( d13s17 - allele 11 ) and ( d13s17 - allele 12 )) or not (( d13s17 - allele 11 ) or ( d13s17 - allele 12 ))) and ((( d16s539 - allele 11 ) and ( d16s539 - allele 12 )) or not (( d16s539 - allele 11 ) or ( d16s539 - allele 12 )))”. this expression requires both alleles from each locus to be either present or absent in order to be true . boolean expressions can be rewritten in various forms and simplified according to methods that are well known and practiced in the fields of boolean algebra and logic circuit design . table 3 can also be utilized to form a decision tree that sequentially applies tests for the presence or absence of alleles at specific loci using the methods of inductive inference that were pioneered by j . ross quinlan [ 13 ] and are well known and practiced in the fields of computer science and engineering . in this case , each node of the database tree that utilizes clusters derived from the multivariate statistical analysis method would contain a decision tree specifying the sequence of tests to be applied to dna profile targets at that node , and the database tree can be rewritten by expanding these nodes and incorporating the decision tree &# 39 ; s nodes into the database tree . the sequence of having the allele probability densities concentrated in just a few alleles of a locus is now analyzed . as presented previously , the svd of a matrix decomposes a data set into its mutually orthogonal components arranged in decreasing order of the amount of variance carried . each scores vector is obtained by multiplying each dna profile ( a row of the data matrix , x ) by the columns of the v matrix of eq . 1 above . the columns of v are the principal component vectors . the ith element of a scores vector represents the inner product of that profile with the ith column of v . table 4 shows the make up of the v2 and v3 vectors ( the second and third principal components ). note that the 5th and 6th ( allele 11 and 12 of d13s17 ) as well as the 16th and 17th ( allele 11 and 12 of d16s539 ) components in each vector are dominant ( but have opposite signs with each other ) with the highest absolute values among all the elements . the significance of this was explained in the previous sections . during the projection step , the inner product of a row of the dna profile to matrix with each of these v column vectors is formed to produce the scores vector associated with that dna profile . recall that a row of the dna profile consists of 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s , with a 1 indicating the presence of that allele whose position the 1 occupies . therefore , in forming the inner product , if a 1 is present at the 6th and 16th positions ( corresponding to allele 12 of the d13s locus and allele 11 of the d16s locus ) and a 0 is present at the 5th and the 17th positions ( corresponding to the absence of allele 11 and allele 12 of d13s and d16s respectively ), then the resultant inner product is going to be the highest in the positive sense , of all possible allele presence / absence pattern . the other elements of the v vector are insignificant because their magnitudes are significantly smaller than these four dominant ones . in contrast , if the opposite is true in that the patterns of 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s are reversed in these four alleles , then a score with the highest value in the negative sense will result . if a 1 is present in only one of the four dominant alleles then an intermediate number will be formed upon taking the inner product . the inner product with v2 gives the projection onto the 2nd principal component , and thus the x - axis coordinate in the 2 - d scores plot . the inner product with v3 gives the projection onto the 3rd principal component , and thus the y - axis coordinate in the same plot . therefore , all profiles with a similar distribution of 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s among these four dominant allele positions will be projected close to each other , forming a cluster . profiles with 1 &# 39 ; s present in only one of the four dominant alleles will be projected into separate and distinct groups intermediate between the two extreme clusters . profiles with 0 &# 39 ; s present at all four of these dominant allele positions will project into a cluster close to the origin . the non - dominant components of v2 and v3 contribute “ noise ” that causes diversity among the points in each cluster . cluster assignment is determined by the dominant components . these dominant components correspond to specific alleles whose presence or absence determine cluster membership . a manual or automated procedure can be utilized to determine which loci pairs will exhibit good clusters . the preferred pairs of loci are those that have few dominant components in v2 and v3 . a second discovery is that the pca method tends to produce clusters of roughly to equal size . this is a consequence of the relative magnitudes of the probability densities over the alleles at each locus and the grouping of patterns of the alleles that correspond to the dominant components . the pca method tends to produce groupings of allele patterns that result in clusters of roughly equal size . this property is important because it leads to the generation of balanced database trees , and thus tends to minimize average and worst - case search times . the center of each cluster is the center of gravity of the swarm of points in that cluster . table 5 shows where the centers are with respect to the 2 - d scores plot of fig1 . based on the above rationale for formation of the clusters , the approximate centers of the nine clusters as observed in the scores plot of fig1 can be predicted from the set of all possible 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s distribution among the four dominant allele positions . the prediction can be checked against the true centers of the clusters . this is explained in the following section . table 6 shows all the possible 1 - 0 distribution patterns at the four dominant allele positions . the approximate predicted x and y coordinates for the cluster centers are calculated by multiplying the corresponding 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s at the four dominant allele positions with their counterpart values in the v1 ( to get the x coordinate ) and v2 ( to get the y coordinate ) vectors which were shown in table 3 previously . this is followed by a normalization step in which the previous products are multiplied by the scaling factors shown at the bottom of table 5 , in order to arrive at the mahalanobis scores . these scaling factors correspond to the reciprocals of the 2nd and 3rd singular values of the svd of the original data matrix , x . the predicted approximate coordinates for the cluster centers are shown at the rightmost two columns of table 5 . these points are plotted as the ‘ o ’ points in fig2 . the true cluster centers are also plotted in fig2 , as the ‘’ points . it is evident that the two sets are very close . all profiles in the original 10 , 000 profile set with identical allele distribution pattern in these four dominant allele positions will map to the same cluster . they will differ from each other somewhat , due to the presence or absence of alleles at other allele positions , which play a minor role in determining the coordinates of the corresponding profile in the 2 - d scores plot . all possible allele distribution patterns in the four dominant positions fall into a total of nine clusters , as shown in table 3 above . this experiment supports the explanation rendered above in regard to the formation of clusters in the 2 - d scores space . in summary , loci with allele probability densities concentrating at just a few alleles will give rise to v vectors with preferentially big values ( in the absolute value sense ) at just a few positions corresponding to the allele positions with high densities . ( the fact that both alleles 11 and 12 in the d13s and d16s loci are the dominant alleles are just a coincidence .) as a result , distinct clusters will form , separable by the presence or absence of alleles at these dominant allele positions . all the work reported above was done with 10 , 000 synthetic data profiles , generated based on the allele frequency distribution data for caucasians as given in the codis data base . recently , budowle [ 10 ] released the str profiles of six ethnic groups , each of which has around 200 samples . we tested whether pca clusters from these data would project to the same clusters as that of the synthetic data , using the principal components from the latter to do the projection , and if the relative sizes of the clusters were maintained . therefore , a small caucasian sample data set from one of the six real dna sample set was chosen for further analysis . this was done to determine whether or not new data inserted in the database would tend to degrade the balanced structure of the database tree and thus adversely affect mean and worst case search times . the sample set was first converted to the binary representation format , with 1 &# 39 ; s and 0 &# 39 ; s . the corresponding allele information in the d13s17 and d16s539 loci was extracted . this was followed by computing the scores matrix onto the 2nd and 3rd principal components of the large synthetic data set . fig2 and 24 show the results . in fig2 , the scores points from the large data set are overlaid on top of the scores points from the small data set . fig2 shows the same thing except in this plot , the scores from the small sample set are overlaid on top of those of the large sample set . the black points depict the scores from the small sample set . since there are only 176 of them , they do not completely cover the 10000 score points from the large data set . it is evident that the plotted scores from the small data ( which are mapped to the same 2 - d coordinates in a cluster as the scores from the large data set and are plotted as darker dots ) are completely covered by those of the large data set ( the dark gray points ). this was interpreted to mean that there is no profile present in the small real dna sample set that is not present in the large synthetic data set . this complete coverage is not always the case . studies using other 2 - loci combinations sometimes yield incomplete coverage . in all instances studied to date , however , the plotted 2 - d coordinates for points in the small datasets were easily associated with clusters identified using the synthetic data set . next , estimates of the probability densities associated with the various clusters are derived . we identified which profiles from the small sample data set are in each of the nine clusters . we then calculated the fraction of the sample population that are within each of the nine clusters . fig2 shows the comparison between the two data sets . the first bar of each pair of bars represents that from the small sample set , while the second bar denotes that of the large data set . to a first level approximation , the relative fractions are comparable between the two sets . the fraction of people in each cluster indicates the approximate fraction of people possessing the particular combination of the alleles at the dominant allele positions , thus the relative frequency of the occurrence of those dominant alleles in the associated locus . note that the trend of the variation of the height of the bars for both sets are similar , except for that of the last cluster . it was concluded at this point that the two data sets have similar allele frequency distribution at these two loci . an important observation is the relative frequencies indicate that the sizes of the clusters are balanced in both data sets . this implies that addition of the data from budowle to a database containing the synthetic data will not cause a database tree that utilizes clustering for the ( d13s17 , d16s539 ) locus pair to be unbalanced . thus , search times will not be adversely affected . summary for the clusterability of profiles by the principal component analysis approach this method can be extended by either ( a ) using more than two loci or ( b ) using more than two principal components ( or both ) to form clusters . it is possible , however , to utilize too much information , in which case clustering will not be achieved . for example , the use of pca methods to analyze allele information for 16 loci simultaneously does not exhibit clustering . thus , an important discovery of the inventors is that it is advantageous to limit the application of pca methods to a portion of the available information to achieve good clustering results . in the work illustrated here , the information was limited to allele data for two loci . in this case , 40 out of 120 possible two - loci combinations exhibited good clustering properties , as listed in table 3 . it is firmly established that dna str profiles can be partitioned into distinct clusters using the pca approach . the partition is based on the allele distribution pattern at 2 loci . certain 2 - loci choices yield much better clustering than others . the factors that determine good clustering and the reason for the clustering have been presented and discussed . successive partitioning using a different 2 - loci combination approach at each round will reduce very quickly the members present within each resultant cluster . partitioning by pca clustering can be inserted into a suitably chosen non - terminal node object of the database tree structure , for searching for matching profiles against a target profile . after passing through this node , it is expected that the number of candidate profiles for search will be reduced by approximately one order of magnitude . ( seven to nine clusters usually result from pca clustering in which the clusters are about equal in size .) the existing fbi codis database search engine requires approximately 5 seconds to search 100 , 000 dna profile records for matches . in comparison , a database of synthetic dna profile data was created using the statistical information provided with the fbi codis database . this database contained 400 , 000 dna profiles and required a database tree with 13 levels and 13 , 180 node objects . the memory required to store the tree was 218 mbytes . the time required to load the database from an ascii file that contained descriptions of the dna profiles was 19 minutes 22 seconds . search times for the test cases that have been run to date on the 400 , 000 profile database range from 1 , 200 microseconds to 4 , 200 microseconds , an improvement of greater than a factor of 1 , 000 over the codis implementation . these times are for searches for exact matches . additional tests were made using a database of 100 , 000 dna profiles . for each test a dna profile was randomly selected from the database and used to construct a search request . exact matches were required . over 5 , 019 runs the mean time required to complete a search and retrieve the matching sample ( s ) was 2 , 132 . 6 microseconds . of the 5 , 019 runs , 98 . 5 % of the searches completed in less than 5 , 000 microseconds . a histogram showing the distribution of times required to perform the search is shown in fig2 . when locus data are missing the search times increase . for a single target dna profile match times increased from approximately 1 , 700 microseconds to 4 , 200 microseconds on a database of 10 , 000 samples . when matching is allowed on all but a single locus search times increased by approximately an order of magnitude to 17 , 000 microseconds . tests were also conducted when equivalent alleles were defined , but are not directly comparable to the base case because a database of 1 , 000 dna profiles was used . searches required approximately 2 , 300 microseconds . the method of database construction maintains a well - balanced database tree . fig2 shows the graph of the tree for a database holding 100 , 000 dna profiles with a maximum of 100 profiles stored at any leaf node . the tree has a maximum depth of 11 ( levels 0 through 10 ) with most branches having a length of 7 to 9 . similar results have been obtained for 400 , 000 stored dna profiles where the tree &# 39 ; s 20 maximum depth was 13 . the balanced characteristic of the tree is important because it determines average and worst case search time . if the tree becomes unbalanced then a substantial fraction of search requests will require the descent of relatively long branches and will therefore require additional time . the database tree methods described above can also be implemented in parallel or by using multi - threaded software . the parallel implementation executes search engine and search queue objects on each host , with at least as many search engine objects as there are processors on a host . a root host is used to accept client requests and create a search client object to handle each request . a critical component of the parallel implementation is the method used to balance the work load across the set of available hosts and processors . this method is distributed ; it must run on each host . the method also responds to changing load patterns on the hosts , giving faster hosts more work . the method is reconfigured in the event of host failure ( s ). preferably , each host is allowed to maintain information on the population of available parallel virtual machine ( pvm ) hosts , measurements of their current loads ( search queue lengths ), and measurements of their capacities . each host is responsible for gathering its statistics and broadcasting this information to the other participating hosts . as search queues become unbalanced , unprocessed search requests are exchanged to bring them back into balance . this exchange occurs randomly with a stochastic selection method utilized to determine the recipient of each exchange . in this manner control of the load balancing method equates to control of the probabilities of host selection . these probabilities are preferably proportional to the difference between that host &# 39 ; s capacity and its load , weighted by the total of these differences over all hosts . a time constant is utilized to avoid excessive oscillations in host loading . two hardware platform options can be employed as hosts for the parallel database implementation . one utilizes generic pc hardware operating under the linux operating system ; the other utilizes a sun microsystems hpc 10000 server and the solaris operating system . both utilize the parallel virtual machine ( pvm ) software [ 7 ] package to coordinate interprocess communications and synchronization . an asynchronous transfer mode ( atm ) interconnect can also be used for the generic pc implementation , utilizing oc - 12c ( 622 mbps ) connections between equipment racks and oc - 3c ( 155 mbps ) connections within each rack . the configuration is scalable from 8 to 128 processors , with two additional control processors , in increments of 16 processors . a control rack houses a high performance atm switch , such as the fore systems asx - 1200 , configured in a star topology with oc - 12c links to the pc racks . the control rack also houses the control processors , a tape backup subsystem , a video and keyboard switch , and dual uninterruptable power supplies ( ups ). a variation of this implementation is to replace the atm interconnect with fast ethernet , gigabit ethernet , or another networking approach . combinations of networking approaches may be used . performance is dependent on the approach . the approach described is preferred . the generic pc implementation can contain from one to eight pc racks , each housing eight rack - mounted dual processor pcs , a midrange atm switch such as the fore systems asx - 200 , and an ups . all pc processors are specified as 500 mhz pentium ills , although it is preferable to use the fastest chipset available at the time for construction of the system . each pc is configured with 512 mb to 1 gb of ram , and 54 gb of hard disk space . performance figures of merit for the system include 3 . 5 tb ( terabytes ) of disk storage , 64 - 128 gb aggregate memory , maximum sustained aggregate interprocessor bandwidth of 10 gbps ( non - blocking ), with a maximum per pc bandwidth of 155 mbps and rack - to - rack of 1 . 24 gbps ( non - blocking in each case ). the estimated peak floating point performance on the linpack parallel benchmark is 40 - 60 gflops , with an estimated peak aggregate instruction rate of 64 gips , assuming 500 mhz processors . this implementation strategy is similar to the linux beowulf supercomputer clusters pioneered by nasa [ 8 ]. the sun hpc 10000 server scales from 4 to 64 400 mhz sparc processors , with a configuration of 4 processors per board and a maximum of 16 boards . input / output subsystems are attached to each processor board , and a 102 gbps processor interconnect is utilized with 10 gbps bandwidth to memory . in excess of 60 tb of disk space can be configured . the hpc 10000 supports clustering with up to 4 hpc 10000 &# 39 ; s in a cluster . the platform supports both pvm and mpi . linpack - parallel benchmark results for a 64 processor sun hpc 10000 have been reported at 43 . 8 gflops . sun claims a peak instruction rate of 100 gips . each configuration has its merits and disadvantages ; however , either configuration can achieve the necessary performance for the national codis database . the sun solution is probably substantially more costly ; however , sun offers maintenance and support contracts . a potential disadvantage of the sun configuration is the shared memory architecture with a 10 gbps memory bandwidth limitation . the fully distributed generic pc implementation provides local memory for each processor ; however , a disadvantage is setup latency across the atm switches and contention for the 10 gbps non - blocking bandwidth of the fore asx - 1200 switch . a substantial long - term advantage of the generic pc solution is that processors can be readily swapped out at will and upgraded with newer technology . replacement of failed units with spare rack - mountable computers is also easy , allowing repair as time and resources permit . the generic pc solution has the advantage of being able to track the continuing evolution of processor performance , which has historically provided a rough doubling of performance every 18 months . it is unclear whether similar upgrade paths will be available for the sun hpc 10000 architecture . referring to fig2 , there is shown an example of a fully developed parallel architecture implementation of the present invention . panels 2800 - 1 to 2800 - m are fully modular and can grow in increments of one panel to a full complement of m panels ( eight of which are shown ). moreover , each panel 2800 comprises two or more processors 2820 such that a first panel may be built and additional panels added in stages as the architecture grows to meet increasing database size and traffic demand of queries and retrievals of the database . panel 2801 is a control panel and provides control operations for panels 2800 - 1 to 2800 - m using one or more control hosts 2811 . central module 2810 - 1 to 2810 - m of each panel comprises a bus control module providing data linking capabilities and bus control for coupling computer hosts on its panel to bus control module 2821 on control panel 2801 and through bus control module 2821 to control hosts 2811 and all other computer hosts 2820 of panels 2800 - 1 to 2800 - m . each panel 2800 - 1 to 2800 - m comprises n processors 2820 - 1 to 2820 - n . 1 . cormen , thomas h ., charles e . leiserson , and ronald l . rivest , introduction to algorithms , mit press ( cambridge , mass . )/ mcgraw - hill ( new york ). 1990 . 2 . guttman , a ., r trees : a dynamic index structure for spatial searching , acm , 1984 , 47 - 57 . 3 . sellis , t ., et . al ., the r - tree : a dynamic index for multi - dimensional objects , tech . rept . umi - acs tr 87 3 , cs tr 1975 , university of maryland , february 1987 , 1 - 24 . 4 . agrawal , r . and j . c . shafer , method and system for performing proximity joins on high - dimensional data points in parallel , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 884 , 320 , mar . 6 , 1999 . 5 . message passing interface forum , mpi : a message - passing interface standard , version 1 . 1 , june , 1995 . also at http :// www - unix . mcs . anl . gov / mpi /. 6 . universal data option for informix dynamic server , version 9 . 14 for windows nt and unix . also at http :// www . informix . com / informix / techbriefs / udo / udo . pfd 7 . geist , a ., a . begnelin , j . dongarra , w . jiang , r . manchek , v . sunderam , p v m . parallel virtual machine : a users &# 39 ; guide and tutorial for networked parallel computing . mit press . 1994 . 8 . beowulf project at cesdir , http :// cesdisl . gsfc . nasa . gov / linux / beowulf /, center of excellence in space data and information sciences , nasa goddard space flight center . 1998 . 9 . strang , g ., linear algebra and its applications , 2nd ed ., academic press , new york . 1980 . 10 . budowle , bruce and tamyra r . moretti , “ genotype profiles for six population groups at the 13 codis short tandem repeat core loci and other pcr based loci ,” forensic science communications , fbi laboratory division publication 99 - 06 , u . s . department of justice , federal bureau of investigation . july 1999 , v . 1 , n . 2 . 11 . codis 5 . 1 gdis searching specification ( draft ), u . s . department of justice federal bureau of investigation . jul . 23 , 1998 . 12 . tou , julius t . and rafael g . gonzalez , pattern recognition principles , addison - wesley , reading , mass ., 1992 . 13 . quinlan , j . r ., induction of decision trees , machine learning 1 : 81 - 106 , 1986 . 14 . berry , michael w ., zlatko drmac , and elizabeth r . jessup , “ matrices , vector spaces , and information retrieval ,” siam review 41 : 335 - 362 , 1999 .	8
fig1 shows the overall structure of the step - and - repeat type exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment . an illumination light source 1 , such as a super - high pressure mercury - vapor lamp , excimer laser or the like , emits illumination light il having a wavelength ( exposure wavelength ) that can expose a resist layer . examples of illumination light il include g - rays , i - rays , ultraviolet pulsed beam ( e . g ., frf excimer laser beam ), etc . the illumination light il enters a fly - eye lens 2 . the fly - eye lens 2 makes the illumination light il uniform and reduces the spectrum prior to guiding the illumination light il to a first mirror 4 . the illumination light il is reflected by the mirror 4 , passes through relay lenses 5 a , 5 b and is reflected by a second mirror 7 . the illumination light il reaches a main condenser lens 8 and illuminates the pattern area on the mask m 1 with uniform illuminance . the fly - eye lens 2 , the mirrors 4 , 7 , the relay lenses 5 a , 5 b and the main condenser lens 8 constitute the illumination optical system . a variable blind ( field stop ) 6 is positioned between the relay lens 5 a and the relay lens 5 b and is driven by a variable blind driving unit 6 a so as to block an area outside of the pattern area on the mask m 1 , whereby illumination light il illuminates only the pattern area of the mask m 1 . the blocked area is defined by the pattern areas formed on the respective masks m 1 - m 4 . the illumination light il , which has illuminated the pattern area of mask m 1 , penetrates the mask m 1 , passes through a projection lens system pl , and forms a pattern image of the mask m 1 on the photosensitive substrate p . a light beam reflected by the photosensitive substrate p passes through the mirror 4 and enters the photodetector ( reflection monitor ) 3 . the photodetector 3 photoelectrically detects the quantity of reflected light and outputs optical information ( e . g ., intensity ) ps to a controller 12 . the optical information ps is used to obtain fluctuation in the imagery characteristic of the projection lens system pl . the mask stage ms , which serves as a mask holder , is supported on a base 21 and is movable in the direction a on the base 21 . a plurality of mask tables mt are positioned on the mask sage ms , each of which supports one of the masks m 1 , m 2 , m 3 and m 4 , respectively . a leveling holder 17 a holds the photosensitive substrate p through a known adsorption mechanism ( not shown ). a z - leveling stage 17 b is positioned under the leveling holder 17 a and moves in the z direction . an xy stage 17 c is positioned under the z stage 17 b and moves in the x and y directions . one of the masks m 1 - m 4 on the mask tables mt is registered under the illumination light il so as to cross the optical axis ax of illumination light il . the height ( vertical position ) and the inclination of the registered mask are measured by sets of detection light emitting units 11 a and light receiving units 11 b . the detection light emitting unit 11 a emits detection light ( laser beam ) al to a reference surface of the registered mask ( m 1 ). the light receiving unit 11 b receives , through a parallel planar glass 20 , the reflected detection light al that was reflected from the reference surface of the mask . the detection light emitting unit 11 a and the detection light receiving unit 11 b are positioned so that the distance from the projection lens system is constant . the level of the detection light al received by the detection light receiving unit 11 b corresponds to the distance between the mask pattern and the projection lens system . fig2 illustrates an arrangement of the detection light emitting units and detection light receiving units for detecting the height and the inclination of the mask . a first detection system includes a detection light emitting unit 11 a and a detection light receiving unit 11 b , a second detection system includes a detection light emitting unit 11 a ′ and a detection light receiving unit 11 b ′, a third detection system includes a detection light emitting unit 18 a and a detection light receiving unit 18 b , and a fourth detection system includes a detection light emitting unit 18 a and a detection light receiving unit 18 b ′. the four pairs of the detection systems detect the height of four points p 1 - p 4 in the mask m 1 ( or one of m 2 - m 4 ). based on the detection result , displacement , if necessary , in the height and the inclination from the optical axis ax are determined with respect to a reference position . to detect the height in the z direction of the photosensitive substrate p mounted on the leveling holder 17 a , a horizontal position detection system ( 13 a , 13 b ) and a focal point detection system ( 14 a , 14 b ) are provided . light sources 13 a and 14 a emit illumination light that strikes the surface of the photosensitive substrate from an oblique direction with respect to the optical axis ax . light receiving units 13 b and 14 b receive the light reflected from the surface of the photosensitive substrate p . half mirrors 31 and 32 are positioned on the optical path , and a parallel planar glass 30 is positioned in front of the receiving unit 14 b . an image - forming luminous flux of the illumination light emitted from the light source 13 a forms a pin - hole image or a slit image . a plate controller 15 controls a leveling driving unit 16 a and a z - axis driving unit 16 b based on photodetection signals s 1 and s 2 that are supplied from the receiving units 13 b and 14 b . the driving units 16 a and 16 b drive the leveling holder 17 a and the z - axis stage 17 b , respectively , under the control of the plate controller 15 to adjust the position of the photosensitive substrate p by adjusting the height in the z direction and the inclination with respect to the optical axis ax , thereby positioning the photosensitive substrate p in the optimum image - forming plane of the projection lens system pl . the plate controller 15 also controls the xy stage 17 c based on a direction from the controller 12 , which will be described below . in this embodiment , the angle of the parallel planar glass 30 is adjusted in advance so that the optimum image - forming plane becomes the zero level in order to calibrate the focal point detection system . at the same time , the horizontal position detection system is also calibrated so that when the photosensitive substrate p is aligned with the image - forming plane , the parallel luminous flux from the light source 13 a is focused on the center of the light - receiving element , which is divided into four sections and forms part of the light - receiving unit 13 b . the controller 12 controls the overall exposure apparatus as well as the variable blind driving unit 6 a , the mask stage ms and the plate controller 15 . the controller 12 sets the illumination area by changing the size of the aperture of the variable blind 6 through the variable blind driving unit 6 a corresponding to pattern data of the masks m 1 - m 4 . the controller 12 determines the position of the mask through the mask stage ms based on alignment data of the masks m 1 - m 4 detected by the alignment optical system ( not shown ). the controller 12 also directs the plate controller 15 to control the position of the xy stage 17 c in a stepwise manner based on the mask pattern data . the controller 12 supplies the detected displacement of the mask m 1 ( or is one of m 2 - m 4 ) with respect to the height and the inclination relative to the optical axis ax to the plate controller 15 . the plate controller 15 then drives the leveling holder 17 a and the z stage 17 b through the driving units based on the displacement so that the photosensitive substrate p is positioned in a conjugate position with respect to the mask m 1 ( or one of m 2 - m 4 ). fig3 illustrates a plurality of masks m 1 - m 4 mounted on the mask stage ms , which are successively aligned with the optical axis ax by the controller 12 . the respective patterns ( referred to as unit patterns ) formed on the masks m 1 - m 4 are successively exposed onto the predetermined areas on the photosensitive substrate p . the controller 12 sets the aperture of the variable blind 6 through the variable blind driving unit 6 a based on the mask pattern data . the controller 12 repeatedly moves and stops the photosensitive substrate p , through the plate controller 15 , to expose the unit pattern a 1 formed on the mask m 1 . the controller 12 then transfers the unit pattern b 1 formed on the mask m 2 onto the photosensitive substrate p adjacent the unit pattern a 1 . the unit patterns a 1 and b 1 transferred onto the photosensitive substrate p are connected through stitching jn 1 . the controller 12 further controls the plate controller 15 to transfer the unit pattern c 1 formed on the mask m 3 onto the photosensitive substrate p adjacent the unit pattern b 1 , and the unit patterns b 1 and c 1 transferred onto the photosensitive substrate p are connected with each other through stitching jn 2 . similarly , the unit pattern d 1 formed on the mask m 4 is transferred adjacent the unit pattern c 1 . the transferred unit patterns c 1 and d 1 are coupled through stitching jn 3 . the unit pattern d 1 is further connected to the unit pattern a 1 through stitching jn 4 . in this manner , the unit patterns a 1 , b 1 , c 1 and d 1 of the masks m 1 - m 4 are successively exposed onto the photosensitive substrate p so that the unit patterns a 1 - d 1 are connected through stitching jn 1 - jn 4 . these divided areas form a layer ( the first layer designated ly 11 ). each of the unit patterns a 1 - d 1 has an overlap area . the projection image in the overlap area of a unit pattern is combined with the projection image in the overlap area of another unit pattern , thereby connecting the unit patterns at the stitching portions jn 1 - jn 4 . the width of the overlapped ( double - exposed ) area is preferably about 2 μm . the controller 12 changes the masks on the mask stage ms and transfers the second layer on the photosensitive substrate p on which the first layer image has been formed , using masks m 11 , m 12 , m 13 , m 14 for the second layer , as shown in fig4 . the controller 12 successively aligns the plurality of masks m 11 , m 12 , m 13 , m 14 mounted on the mask stage ms with the optical axis ax , and successively exposes the patterns formed on the masks m 11 - m 14 ( unit patterns ) onto the photosensitive substrate p on which the first layer ly 11 has been formed . the controller 12 controls the variable blind driving unit 6 a and the plate controller 15 so as to expose the unit pattern a 2 formed on the mask m 11 onto the photosensitive substrate p . the unit pattern b 2 formed on the mask m 12 is then transferred onto the photosensitive substrate p adjacent the unit pattern a 2 , and the unit patterns a 2 and b 2 transferred on the photosensitive substrate p are connected with each other through stitching jn 11 . the controller 12 then controls the variable blind driving unit 6 a and the plate controller 15 so as to expose the unit pattern c 2 formed on the mask m 13 onto the photosensitive substrate p adjacent the unit pattern b 2 , and the unit patterns b 2 and c 2 transferred on the photosensitive substrate p are connected with each other through stitching jn 12 . the unit pattern d 4 formed on the mask m 14 is then transferred adjacent the unit pattern c 2 , and the unit pattern c 2 is connected to the unit pattern d 2 through stitching jn 13 . finally , the unit pattern d 2 is connected to the unit pattern a 2 through stitching jn 14 . in this manner , the unit patterns a 2 , b 2 , c 2 and d 2 of the masks m 11 - m 14 are successively exposed onto the photosensitive substrate p on which the first layer ly 11 has been formed , thereby forming the second layer ( the second layer designated ly 12 ) including the unit patterns a 2 , b 2 , c 2 and d 2 connected to one another through stitching jn 11 , jn 12 , jn 13 and jn 14 . the dimensions of the unit patterns a 2 , b 2 , c 2 and d 2 formed on the masks m 11 , m 12 , m 13 and m 14 for the second layer ly 12 are different from those of the unit patterns a 1 , b 1 , c 1 and d 1 formed on the masks m 1 , m 2 , m 3 and m 4 for first layer ly 11 . consequently , the stitching portions jn 11 - jn 14 in the second layer ly 12 are offset from the stitching portions jn 1 - jn 4 in the first layer ly 11 by a displacement amount d ( 2 mm in this embodiment ), as shown in fig5 . fig6 shows the cross - sections of the first layer ly 11 and the second layer ly 12 formed on the photosensitive substrate p . the unit patterns d 1 and c 1 are connected with each other through stitching jn 3 in the first layer ly 11 . in the second layer ly 12 , which is formed over the first layer ly 11 , the unit patterns d 2 and c 2 are connected with each other through stitching jn 13 . the stitching jn 13 in the second layer ly 12 is offset from the stitching jn 3 in the first layer ly 11 by a distance “ d ”. if the unit pattern d 1 in the first layer ly 11 is transferred with an offset - δx from the target exposure position , and if the unit pattern d 2 in the second layer ly 12 is transferred with an offset + δx from the target exposure position , then the overlay error of the unit pattern d 2 in the second layer ly 12 becomes + 2δx relative to the unit pattern d 1 in the first layer ly 11 . if the unit pattern c 1 in the first layer ly 11 is transferred with an offset + δx from the target exposure position , and if the unit pattern c 2 in the second layer ly 12 is transferred with an offset − δx from the target exposure position , then the overlay error of the unit pattern c 2 in the second layer ly 12 becomes 2δx relative to the unit pattern c 1 in the first layer ly 11 . accordingly , the overlay error of the second layer ly 12 relative to the first layer ly 11 becomes 2δx in the first area ar 1 in which the unit pattern d 2 of the second layer ly 12 covers the unit pattern d 1 of the first layer ly 11 , while it becomes − 2δx in the third area ar 3 in which the unit pattern c 2 of the second layer ly 12 covers the unit pattern c 1 of the first layer ly 11 , as shown in fig7 . because the stitching portion jn 13 in the second layer is formed offset from the stitching portion jn 3 in the first layer by a distance d , the overlapped area ( second area ) ar 2 with a width d is formed between the first area ar 1 and the third area ar 3 , in which the unit pattern d 2 of the second layer ly 12 overlaps the unit pattern c 1 of the first layer ly 11 . in the second area ar 2 , the unit pattern c 1 in the first layer ly 11 is offset + δx from the target position , and the unit pattern d 2 in the second layer ly 12 is offset + δx from the target position . as a result , the overlay error between the first layer and second layer becomes zero in the second area ar 2 . in the aforementioned case , the unit patterns d 1 and c 1 were exposed in the first layer ly 11 offset in opposite directions , and the unit patterns d 2 and c 2 were exposed in the second layer ly 12 offset in opposite directions , and an error occurs in the exposure position such that the difference between the overlay error in the first area ar 1 and the overlay error in the third area ar 3 is maximized . however , since the second area ar 2 is defined by shifting the stitching portion jn 13 of the second layer ly 12 from the position of the stitching portion jn 3 of the first layer ly 11 by a distance d , the resultant patterns in the first layer ly 11 and the second layer ly 12 offset in the same direction in the second area ar 2 . as a result , the overlay error between the first and second layers ly 11 and ly 12 is canceled out in the second area ar . the difference between the overlay error in the second area ar 2 and the overlay error in the first area ar 1 becomes 2δx , and the difference between the overlay error in the second area ar 2 and the overlay error in the third area ar 3 also becomes 2δx . fig8 illustrates the overlapping areas ( pil 1 , pil 2 , pil 3 ) of the drains dr formed in the second layer ly 12 over the gates ga formed in the first layer ly 11 in thin film transistors . the overlapping area is minimized in the first area ar 1 ( pil 1 ), while being maximized in the third area ar 3 ( pil 3 ). the overlapping area pil 2 in the second area ar 2 is in - between . in other words , an area having all intermediate contrast level ( the second area ar 2 ) is formed between the first area ar 1 and third area ar 3 , which have a large amount of contrast gap . in contrast with the case in which the first area ar 1 is directly connected to the third area ar 3 , the change in the contrast becomes smooth , and the contrast gap is prevented from being conspicuous in each unit pattern . in this embodiment , the maximum differential of overlay ( i . e ., the maximum difference between the overlay errors of adjacent unit patterns on the photosensitive substrate ) becomes almost half of that with the conventional method . in this embodiment , a unit pattern is formed in a mask , and a plurality of masks are successively aligned with the optical axis ax of the projection lens system pl for exposure ; however , the invention is not limited to this arrangement , and a plurality of unit patterns may be formed in a mask . if this is the case , a necessary unit pattern is defined by the variable blind 6 and separately exposed . fig9 illustrates a mask m 21 on which first layer unit patterns a 1 , b 1 , c 1 , d 1 , e 1 , f 1 , g 1 , h 1 and i 1 are formed . the first pattern layer is exposed onto a photosensitive layer using the mask m 21 , then the second pattern layer is exposed over the first layer using a mask m 22 ( shown in fig1 ). the dimensions and arrangement of the unit patterns a 2 , b 2 , c 2 , d 2 , e 2 , f 2 , g 2 , h 2 and i 2 of the second layer mask m 22 are slightly different from those or the unit patterns a 1 , b 1 , c 1 , d 1 , e 1 , f 1 , g 1 , h 1 and i 1 of the first layer mask m 21 . consequently , the stitching portion jn 22 of the unit patterns in the second layer is offset from the position of the stitching portion jn 21 of the first layer by a distance d , as shown in fig1 . similar to the embodiment shown in fig5 the contrast gap that occurs at the stitching portions jn 21 and jn 22 between two adjacent unit patterns can be reduced . in this embodiment , an exposure apparatus that aligns a single mask with the optical axis ax and illuminates a necessary unit pattern using a variable blind 6 may be used in place of the exposure apparatus of fig1 which has a mask stage ms . although the offset of the stitching portions between the first and second layers is set to 2 mm , the offset amount is not limited to this value . according to experimental data , an offset d of at least 1 . 5 mm can sufficiently reduce the contrast gap in practical use . in the above - described embodiment , a single projection lens system pl is used in the exposure apparatus ; however , a scanning - type exposure apparatus , which has a plurality of projection lens systems , may be used . although two layers ( ly 11 , ly 12 ) are formed photosensitive substrate , the invention is not limited to two - layer exposure . the invention can be broadly applied to cases in which three , four or more layers are formed , as long as the stitching portions of different layers offset from one another . a second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to fig1 - 14 . fig1 illustrates an example of a projection exposure apparatus used in the projection exposure method according to the second embodiment . fig1 is a perspective view of a scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 having a plurality of projection lens systems and forming an erecting positive image with a magnification of one as a whole . in fig1 , the coordinate system is defined such that the x axis extends along the direction that a reticle 102 , on which a predetermined circuit pattern is formed , and a glass substrate 104 coated with resist are driven , the y axis extends perpendicular to the x axis within the plane of the reticle 102 , and the z axis extends vertical to the reticle 102 . an illumination optical system 103 uniformly illuminates a reticle 102 positioned in the xy plane . the illumination optical system 103 has a trapezoid field stop ( not shown ) so that adjacent optical pattern images overlap each other by a predetermined amount . the illumination optical system 103 makes luminous flux emitted by the light source ( not shown ) uniform through the lens system , which includes a fly - eye lens . the luminous flux is then shaped by the field stop so as to have a trapezoid profile and illuminates the circuit pattern on the reticle . the projection exposure area on the reticle 102 becomes trapezoid - shaped . the reticle 102 is mounted on the reticle stage ( not shown ) and moves in the x and y directions along with the movement of the reticle stage . a plurality of projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g are positioned under the reticle 102 , each of the projection lens systems being located so as to correspond to one of the apertures of the field stops . each of the projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g is preferably constituted by pairs of dyson optical systems . the projection optical systems 105 a - 105 g , each having two dyson optical systems , are arranged in two rows ( upper row and lower row ) so that the projection lens systems 105 a , 105 b , 105 c and the projection lens systems 105 d , 105 e , 105 f , 105 g are alternately positioned . when illumination light 106 a - 106 g having a trapezoid profile is guided onto the reticle 102 , the patterns on the reticle 102 are exposed in the trapezoid projection areas 107 a - 107 g through the projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g . the glass substrate 104 is mounted on the x - y stage ( not shown ) and moves in the x and y directions along with the movement of the x - y stage . the reticle stage and the x - y stage are synchronously moved in the x direction relative to the projection lens system , thereby transferring the pattern of the reticle 102 onto the glass substrate 104 with uniform exposure distribution over the entire area because the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 has a plurality of projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g , a large exposure area can be ensured without increasing the exposure area of each projection lens system . fig1 is a plan view of the glass substrate 104 in which the exposure projection areas 107 a - 107 g are formed through the projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g . the projection areas 107 a - 107 g are formed in a trapezoid shape so that the sum of the widths of the projection areas 107 a - 107 g along the scanning direction ( x direction ) becomes constant at any y position . the projection areas 107 a - 107 g are arranged alternately in two columns so that the top of the trapezoids of one column are disposed facing a direction opposite to that of the trapezoids of the other columns . the trapezoids in the two columns are also arranged so that the y positions of the trapezoids in one column overlap the y positions of the trapezoids in the other column by a predetermined amount ( e . g ., 5 mm ). when the glass substrate 104 is exposed , the total exposure amount of the overlapped portions of the projection areas 107 a - 107 g becomes equal to the exposure amount of the other portions , which do not overlap in the y direction . accordingly , the exposure distribution becomes uniform over the entire area of the glass substrate 104 . although , in this embodiment , the shape of the projection areas 107 a - 107 g is trapezoid , it is not limited to a trapezoid . for example , the projection area may be hexagonal . a plurality of the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 are used for exposure , each being used to form one of the pattern layers of a tft . the projection exposure method according to the second embodiment will be described in conjunction with fig1 ( a )-( c ), using an example in which a gate electrode layer and a source / drain electrode layer are formed . the scanning - type projection apparatus and the associated elements used for forming the gate electrode layer bear the same symbols as in fig1 , and another scanning - type projection exposure apparatus and the associated elements used for forming the source / drain electrode layer bear symbols with the designation (′) to clarify the explanation . the same applies to the projection areas 107 a - 107 g shown in fig1 . a reticle 102 on which a gate electrode pattern is formed is mounted on the reticle stage ( not shown ) in the scanning - type exposure apparatus 100 used for forming a lower layer ( gate electrode ). the pattern image is divided into a plurality of sections by the projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g , which are then projected into the projection areas 107 a - 107 g ( fig1 ) formed on the resist layer ( not shown ), which covers the glass substrate 104 . the reticle 102 and the glass substrate 104 are synchronously moved relative to the projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g , so that the entire area of the gate electrode pattern is uniformly exposed onto the resist layer of the glass substrate 104 . fig1 ( b ) shows the projection areas 107 a and 107 e formed on the glass substrate 104 by the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 , which overlap each other in the y direction . in fig1 ( b ), the projection lens system 105 a , which forms a pattern image in the projection area 107 a , has an imagery characteristic that causes the image - forming position to shift δp in the + y direction . the projection lens system 105 e , which forms a pattern image in the projection area 107 e , has an imagery characteristic that causes the image - forming position to shift δp in the − y direction . the resist layer is developed after the exposure and is then used as a mask for patterning the lower metal interconnect layer , thereby forming a gate electrode . subsequently , a gate insulation film , a channel layer and the like are formed , and another scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 ′ ( different from the exposure apparatus 100 used for forming the gate electrode ) is used to form source / drain electrodes defining an upper layer . a reticle 102 ′ on which a source / drain electrode pattern is formed is mounted on the reticle stage ( not shown ). the source / drain electrode pattern formed in the reticle 102 ′ and the glass substrate 104 are shifted by a predetermined distance in the y direction relative to the multiple apertures of the field stop ( not shown ) of the illumination optical system 103 ′ and the multiple projection lens systems 105 a ′- 105 g ,′ which are provided corresponding to the apertures . the y direction is perpendicular to the optical axes of the projection lens systems 105 a ′- 105 g ′ and to the moving direction of the reticle 102 ′ and the glass substrate 104 . assuming that the source / drain electrode pattern is formed in the reticle 102 ′ at substantially the same position as that of the gate electrode pattern formed in the reticle 102 , the reticle stage of the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 ′, which supports the reticle 102 ′, is moved so that the position of the reticle 102 ′ shifts in the y direction by the predetermined distance from the position of the reticle 102 that was mounted on the reticle stage of the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 . at the same time , the x - y stage that supports the glass substrate 104 is also moved in the y direction by the predetermined distance . the pattern image of the reticle 102 ′ is divided into a plurality of sections by the projection lens systems 105 a ′- 105 g ′, which are then projected into the projection areas 107 a ′- 107 g ′ on the resist layer ( not shown ) covering the glass substrate 104 . fig1 ( a ) shows the projection areas 107 a ′ and 107 e ′ formed on the glass substrate 104 by the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 ′, which overlap each other in the y direction . as shown in fig1 ( a ), the projection lens system 105 a ′, which forms a pattern image in the projection area 107 a ′, has an imagery characteristic that causes the image - forming position to shift δp in the − y direction , and the projection lens system 105 e ′, which forms a pattern image in the projection area 107 e ′, has an imagery characteristic that causes the image - forming position to shift δp in the + y direction . because the reticle 102 ′ and the glass substrate 104 are shifted a predetermined distance relative to the projection lens systems 105 a ′- 105 g ′, the projection areas 107 a ′ and 107 e ′ for the source / drain electrode overlap each other in the y direction in the area b ′. the overlapping area b ′ shifts in the y direction from the overlapping area b , in which the gate electrode projection areas 107 a and 107 e overlap each other by the predetermined distance . in this embodiment , the predetermined distance is equal to the width of the overlapping area b ′ for the projection areas 107 a ′ and 107 e ′. the reticle 102 ′ and the glass substrate 104 are then synchronously moved in the x direction relative to the projection lens systems 105 a ′- 105 g ′ to expose the entire area of the source / drain electrode pattern onto the resist layer of the glass substrate 104 . the resist layer is developed after the exposure and is then used as a mask for patterning the metal interconnect layer to form source / drain electrodes . fig1 ( c ) shows the overlay error between the gate electrode layer and the source / drain electrode layer . the horizontal axis represents a y position , and the vertical axis represents an error . the dashed line a indicates the positional shift of the gate electrode formed in the lower layer , and the solid line b indicates the positional shift of the source / drain electrodes formed in the upper layer . the bold solid line c indicates the overlay error ( c = b − a ) between the gate electrode and the source / drain electrodes . the overlay error equals the offset of the upper source / drain electrodes relative to the lower gate electrode . therefore , the overlay error of the source / drain electrodes with respect to the gate electrode becomes − 2δp in the area a . the overlay error of the source / drain electrodes with respect to the gate electrode becomes 2δp in the area c . the stitching portion ( area b ) of the gate electrode layer and the stitching portion ( area b ′) of the source / drain electrode layer are adjacent each other , but do not overlap each other . accordingly , the overlay error changes from − 2δp to zero ( 0 ) in the area b , corresponding to the positional shift of the gate electrode . similarly , the overlay error changes from zero ( 0 ) to + 2δp in the area b ′, corresponding to the positional shift of the source / drain electrode . the total change of the overlay error in the areas b + b ′ becomes 4δp . in this embodiment , the position of the stitching portion in tie upper layer ( i . e ., the source / drain layer ) is offset from the position of the stitching portion in the lower layer ( i . e ., the gate electrode layer ) by a distance equal to the width of the stitching portion . accordingly , the change of the overlay error in the stitching portion can coincide with the change in the positional error of the stitching portion . although the largest possible error is 4δp , which is the same as in the prior art , the rate of change ( i . e ., the slope of the bold line c ) in the tft characteristic at the stitching portion becomes one half ( ½ ) of the prior art method , because the width of the area in which the overlay error changes is doubled . several tfts are formed between two tfts that have different characteristics , so that the tft characteristics change gradually . as a result , the screen separation caused by the variation in the imagery characteristics of the projection lens systems can be considerably reduced . the scanning - type exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention will now be described referring to fig1 ( a )-( c ). the structure of the exposure apparatus of this embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment , and the explanation thereof will be omitted . the imagery characteristic of each projection lens system used in the exposure apparatus is also the same as that shown in fig1 . fig1 ( a ) and 15 ( b ) show the positional relationship among the projection areas 107 a ′, 107 e ′ for source / drain electrodes and the projection areas 107 a , 107 e for gate electrodes . in this embodiment , the positional shift of the projection areas 107 a ′ and 107 e ′ in the y direction , with respect to the position of the projection area 107 a and 107 e , is set to b ′+ b ″, which is greater than that of the second embodiment . each of the widths of the area b ′ and the area b ″ is equal to that of the stitching portion b . fig1 ( c ) shows overlay errors that occur in the projection exposure method of the third embodiment . the gate electrode ( lower layer ) is formed on the glass substrate 104 using the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 , and the source / drain electrodes ( upper layer ) are formed using the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 ′. the horizontal axis represents a y position , and the vertical axis represents an error . the dashed line a indicates the positional shift of the gate electrode formed in the lower layer , and the solid line b indicates the positional shift of the source / drain electrodes formed in the upper layer . the bold solid line c indicates the overlay error ( c = b − a ) between the gate electrode and the source / drain electrodes . the overlay error equals the offset of the upper source / drain electrodes relative to the lower gate electrode . therefore , the overlay error of the source / drain electrodes with respect to the gate electrode becomes − 2δp in the area a . the overlay error of the source / drain electrodes with respect to the gate electrode becomes 2δp in the area c . the stitching portion ( area b ) of the gate electrode layer and the stitching portion ( area b ″) of the source / drain electrode layer do not overlap each other . accordingly , the overlay error changes from − 2δp to zero ( 0 ) in the area b , corresponding to the positional shift of the gate electrode . the overlay error in the area b ′ located between the lower layer stitching portion ( area b ) and the upper layer stitching portion ( area b ″) becomes zero , because the imagery characteristics of the projection lens systems 105 e and 105 a ′ that form the projection areas 107 and 107 a ′, respectively , are the same , and the gate electrode formed in the projection area 107 e and the source / drain electrode formed in the projection area 107 a ′ contain a positional error of the same direction and the same magnitude . the overlay error changes from zero ( 0 ) to + 2δp in the area b ″ corresponding to the positional shift of the source / drain electrode . in this embodiment , the position of the stitching portion in the upper layer ( i . e ., the source / drain layer ) is offset from the position of the stitching portion in the lower layer ( i . e ., the gate electrode layer ) by a distance equal to twice the width of the stitching portion . accordingly , the change of the overlay error in the stitching portion can coincide with the change of the positional error of the stitching portion . the positional shift of the stitching portion is set to be greater than the width of the stitching portion , so that the stitching portions of the upper and lower layers do not adversely affect each other . consequently , the change of the overlay error is reduced to 2δp from 4δp which is the conventional maximum overlay error . moreover , the overlay error changes in two steps because of the extra area b ″, and the rate of change ( i . e ., the slope of the bold line c ) can be made more gradually than in the second embodiment . several tfts are formed between two tfts , which have different characteristics , so that the tft characteristics change gradually in this area , thereby reducing the screen separation caused by the variation in the imagery characteristics of the projection lens systems . the maximum overlay error can be reduced by half , as compared with the conventional method , and thus , screen separation is not recognizable even if the stitching portions increase because of shifting the position of the stitching portions . the pattern and the glass substrate are shifted in the y direction relative to the projection lens system of the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus by a distance twice the width of the stitching portion b . this arrangement can prevent screen separation from being conspicuous , which is caused by a change of the tft characteristic in stitching portions due to the overlay error between the gate electrode and source / drain electrodes . screen separation is a phenomenon wherein differences in the image quality of the left and right halves of the screen become visible because of abrupt changes of the overlay accuracy in the stitching portion . according to the projection exposure method of this embodiment , the overlay error that occurs in the stitching portion changes gradually , as compared with the conventional method , and screen separation can be sufficiently suppressed . the present invention is not meant to be limited to the embodiments described above , and those of ordinary skill in the art will contemplate many modifications and substitutions that fall within the scope of the invention . for example , the positional shift of the stitching portion is set equal to the width of the stitching portion ( area b ) in the second embodiment , and it is set to about twice the width of the stitching portion in the third embodiment . the positional shift of the stitching portion , however , may be less than the width of the stitching portion , as that amount of position shift can also change the overlay error in the stitching portions so as to suppress screen separation . although a gate electrode layer and a source / drain electrode layer are exposed , as an example of layers that affect screen separation , the invention can be applied to the case in which an accumulated capacitive line and a display electrode are exposed and layered . in the second embodiment , the position of the upper layer reticle 102 ′ in the reticle stage is shifted in the y direction with respect to the position of the lower layer reticle 102 by a predetermined distance in order to shift the stitching portion of the upper layer . the invention , however , is not limited to this method , and any method can be used as long as the stitching portion of the upper layer is offset from the stitching portion of the lower layer . for example , the position of a source / drain electrode pattern formed on a reticle may be shifted a predetermined distance in the y direction , with respect to the position of a gate electrode pattern formed on another reticle . the position of the apertures of the field stops and the position of the projection lens systems 105 a ′- 105 g ′ of the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 102 ′ can be shifted a predetermined distance in the y direction with respect to the positions of the field stop aperture and the projection lens systems 105 a - 105 g of the scanning - type projection exposure apparatus 100 . alternatively , one of the layers that may affect screen separation may be shifted in the + y direction , while the other layer may be shifted in the − y direction during exposure so that the patterns on the layers relatively offset from each other by a predetermined amount . in the second embodiment , the reticle 102 and the glass substrate 104 are held within a horizontal plane , as shown in fig1 . however , a scanning - type projection exposure apparatus with a vertical stage may be used , in which the reticle 102 and the glass substrate 104 may be held within a vertical plane ( along the z axis ). thus , according to the invention , the overlay error can be sufficiently suppressed , and screen separation that deteriorates the image quality of a tft / lcd can be reduced .	6
the first embodiment of the present invention is an invention relating to a transdermal absorption preparation containing aripiprazole organic acid salt formed in preparation system by aripiprazole and an organic acid . the “ aripiprazole ” referred to in the present invention means 7 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] butoxy }- 3 , 4 - dihydrocarbostyryl ( 7 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 3 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] butoxy }- 3 , 4 - dihydro - 2 ( 1h )- quinolinone ). the “ organic acid ” referred to in the present invention means aliphatic monocarboxylic acid , aliphatic dicarboxylic acid , aromatic carboxylic acid , organic sulfonic acid and the like . examples of the aliphatic monocarboxylic acid include short chain fatty acid having a carbon number of 2 - 7 such as acetic acid , butyric acid , hexanoic acid , cyclohexanecarboxylic acid and the like , middle chain fatty acid having a carbon number of 8 - 11 such as octanoic acid , decanoic acid and the like , long chain fatty acid having a carbon number of 12 or more such as myristic acid , stearic acid , isostearic acid , oleic acid and the like , short chain fatty acid substituted by a hydroxyl group , an alkoxy group or an acyl group such as glycolic acid , lactic acid , methoxyacetic acid , mandelic acid , levulinic acid , 3 - hydroxybutyric acid and the like , and the like . examples of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid include sebacic acid , adipic acid , malic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid and the like . examples of the aromatic carboxylic acid include substituted or unsubstituted aromatic carboxylic acid such as benzoic acid , p - hydroxybenzoic acid , salicylic acid , acetylsalicylic acid , cinnamic acid and the like . examples of the organic sulfonic acid include alkylsulfonic acid such as methanesulfonic acid , ethanesulfonic acid , methyl sulfonic acid and the like , aromatic sulfonic acid such as benzenesulfonic acid , toluenesulfonic acid , dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid and the like . preferable examples of the organic acid include those having a logp value of − 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 , preferably − 1 . 5 to 0 , as aliphatic monocarboxylic acid . examples thereof include short chain fatty acid substituted by a hydroxyl group , an alkoxy group , or an acyl group such as glycolic acid , lactic acid , methoxyacetic acid , 3 - hydroxybutyric acid , mandelic acid , levulinic acid and the like , benzenecarboxylic acid such as benzoic acid , p - hydroxybenzoic acid , salicylic acid , acetylsalicylic acid and the like . more preferable examples of the aliphatic monocarboxylic acid include lactic acid , methoxyacetic acid , and glycolic acid wherein the logp value is − 1 . 1 to − 0 . 7 . examples of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid include substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic dicarboxylic acid such as adipic acid and sebacic acid , wherein the logp value is within the range of − 0 . 2 to 2 . 5 . more preferred is aliphatic dicarboxylic acid within the range of 0 to 2 . 5 . examples of the aromatic carboxylic acid include those having a logp value of 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 , such as benzoic acid and salicylic acid . more preferred are benzoic acid and salicylic acid . examples of the organic sulfonic acid include those having a logp value of − 0 . 5 to 1 . the amount of the organic acid to be added needs to be not less than 0 . 5 - fold molar amount relative to aripiprazole as 1 , so as to form an effective amount of an organic acid salt of aripiprazole in a solution . when an organic acid is added in excess , the dissociation equilibrium of the salt tilts to the salt , and therefore , when not less than 3 - fold molar amount of an organic acid is present , the transdermal absorbability reaches the upper limit as shown in fig3 . thus , a 5 - fold molar amount of an organic acid is sufficient . furthermore , the amount of an organic acid to be added is preferably not less than an equimolar amount and not more than 3 - fold molar amount . the “ aripiprazole organic acid salt formed in the preparation system ” in the present invention means that a preparation contains a salt formed by a reaction of aripiprazole with an organic acid , or an equilibrium mixture of aripiprazole and an organic acid . particularly “ formed in the preparation ” means that a salt or an equilibrium mixture of aripiprazole and organic acid is formed in an organic acid or a solvent , and diluted or dispersed by mixing with a base of a dermal preparation . the “ transdermal absorption preparation ” in the present invention refers to liquid , ointment , cream , patch and the like . the patch means poultice and plaster ( tapes ). the transdermal absorption preparation of the present invention may contain a solvent suitable for forming a salt , so as to form a salt of aripiprazole in the preparation system . as this solvent , an ester solvent , an alcohol solvent and an amide solvent can be preferably used . depending on the dosage form thereof , moreover , an additive known to and generally used by those of ordinary skill in the art can be appropriately added to this solvent . examples of such additive include transdermal absorption promoter , base , surfactant , suspending agent , thickener , inorganic particle , stabilizer , buffering agent , ph adjuster , colorant , flavor and the like . the “ non - aqueous ” in the present invention means absence of water as an essential element . that is , the “ non - aqueous transdermal absorption preparation ” of the present invention is an external preparation without water as an element , wherein water normally attached to or stored in a substance or solvent is not considered . for example , among transdermal absorption preparations , poultice containing water as an element is not a non - aqueous transdermal absorption preparation but tapes are . the “ ester solvent ” in the present invention means , for example , ester of long chain fatty acid such as oleic acid , caprylic acid , caproic acid , myristic acid , palmitic acid , stearic acid and the like and monovalent aliphatic alcohol ( for example , myristic acid esters such as isopropyl myristate , ethyl myristate and the like , palmitic acid esters such as isopropyl palmitate , ethyl palmitate and the like , stearic acid esters such as isopropyl stearate and the like , oleic acid esters such as decyl oleate and the like ), medium - chain triglyceride such as caprylic acid triglyceride , caproic acid triglyceride , peanut oil , olive oil , castor oil , cacao oil , hydrogenated fats and oils ( e . g ., hydrogenated castor oil etc .) and the like , ester of polyvalent carboxylic acid such as adipic acid , sebacic acid and the like and monovalent aliphatic alcohol ( e . g ., sebacic acid esters such as diethyl sebacate , diisopropyl sebacate and the like , adipic acid esters such as diethyl adipate , diisopropyl adipate and the like ), carbonic acid esters such as propylene carbonate etc . and the like . preferred are , for example , myristic acid esters such as isopropyl myristate , ethyl myristate and the like , medium - chain triglyceride such as caprylic acid triglyceride , caproic acid triglyceride , peanut oil , olive oil , castor oil , cacao oil , hydrogenated fats and oils ( e . g ., hydrogenated castor oil etc .) and the like , sebacic acid esters such as diethyl sebacate , diisopropyl sebacate and the like , and propylene carbonate . more preferred are , for example , isopropyl myristate , medium - chain triglyceride , diethyl sebacate , and propylene carbonate . the “ alcohol solvent ” in the present invention means , for example , higher alcohols such as benzyl alcohol , lauryl alcohol , myristyl alcohol , cetyl alcohol , stearyl alcohol , cetostearyl alcohol , 2 - octyldodecanol and the like , lower alcohols such as ethanol , 2 - propanol , 1 - propanol and the like , polyvalent alcohols such as ethylene glycol , glycerol , propylene glycol , 1 , 3 - butanediol , polyethylene glycol etc . and the like . preferred are , for example , lower alcohols such as ethanol , 2 - propanol , 1 - propanol and the like , polyvalent alcohols such as ethylene glycol , glycerol , propylene glycol , 1 , 3 - butanediol , polyethylene glycol etc . and the like . more preferred are , for example , 2 - propanol , ethylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , propylene glycol , and 1 , 3 - butanediol . the “ amide solvents ” in the present invention means , for example , n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , 1 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - imidazolidinone , 2 - pyrrolidone , ε - caprolactam , formamide , n - methylformamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , acetamide , n - methylacetamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide , n - methylpropaneamide , hexamethylphosphoric triamide and the like . preferred are , for example , n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and the like . more preferred is , for example , n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone . in the present invention , a combined use of an ester solvent and an amide solvent from among these solvents is preferable for improving the transdermal absorbability , and particularly , use of an ester solvent and an amide solvent at 1 : 1 - 1 : 4 is preferable for enhancing the transdermal absorbability - improving effect thereof . the “ transdermal absorption promoter ” in the present invention means a reagent generally and widely used in the field of patches to promote transdermal absorption of a drug . examples of thereof include the above - mentioned organic acids , alcohol solvents , ester solvents , amide solvents , as well as essential oils such as menthol , limonene etc ., and the like . furthermore , the same organic acid as that used for an organic acid salt of a basic medicinal ingredient may also be used as a transdermal promoter , or a different organic acid may also be used . in the case of acetate , lactate and the like of a basic medicinal ingredient , for example , the same acetic acid and lactic acid may be added as a transdermal absorption promoter , or oleic acid , levulinic acid , myristic acid , stearic acid , isostearic acid and the like may also be added . preferred are menthol , n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone , low volatile fatty acids such as lactic acid , oleic acid , levulinic acid and the like . as a base of a non - aqueous transdermal absorption preparation in the form of a liquid , the above - mentioned alcohol solvents , ester solvents and amide solvents can be preferably used together with general reagents . for ointment preparations , for example , oils such as petrolatum , cetanol , beeswax , white beeswax , lanolin , purified lanolin , liquid paraffin , paraffin wax , plastibase containing liquid paraffin and polyethylene , silicone oil , medium - chain triglyceride , squalene , microcrystalline wax , whale wax etc . and the like can be mentioned . for plasters ( tapes ), examples of the elastomer include rubbers such as natural rubber , isoprene rubber , polyisobutylene , styrene - isoprene - styrene block copolymer , styrene - butadiene - styrene block copolymer , styrene - ethylene - butylene - styrene block copolymer , ( meth ) acrylic acid alkyl ester ( co ) polymer , polybutene , liquid polyisoprene and the like . examples of the tackifier include polyterpene resin , polyolefin resin , polystyrene resin , hydrogenated petroleum resin , hydrogenated rosin and the like . examples of the softening agent include petroleum softening agents such as process oil , low molecular weight polybutene and the like , fatty acid softening agents such as palm oil , castor oil and the like , purified lanolin and the like . as other components , for example , fillers and antioxidants such as zinc oxide , titanium oxide , calcium carbonate , silicic acids and the like can be added as necessary . the “ good transdermal absorbability ” in the present invention means that the transdermal absorption preparation of the present invention is superior in the transdermal absorbability ( skin permeability ) to transdermal absorption preparations containing aripiprazole in a free form and without coexistence of an organic acid . among the same transdermal absorption preparation compositions , therefore , a transdermal absorption preparation containing a fatty acid salt , which is superior in the transdermal absorbability ( skin permeability ) to a free form , corresponds to the present invention . as a surfactant that can be added to a transdermal absorption preparation , a known surfactant can be used as appropriate where necessary . examples of the suspending agent or thickener that can be added to a transdermal absorption preparation include polysaccharides such as gum arabic , tragacanth , pullulan , locust bean gum , tamarind gum , pectin , xanthan gum , guar gum , carageenan and the like , methylcellulose , carmellose , carmellose sodium , polyvinyl alcohol , polyvinylpyrrolidone , acrylic acid copolymer , carboxyvinylpolymer , colloidal microcrystalline cellulose and the like . as the inorganic particles that can be added to a transdermal absorption preparation , for example , talc , silicic anhydride , calcium carbonate , magnesium carbonate , colloidal silica , bentonite and the like can be used . addition of these enables control of tactile sensation on the skin by the preparation . as a stabilizer that can be added to a transdermal absorption preparation , for example , preservative , antioxidant and the like can be used . examples of the aforementioned preservative include p - hydroxybenzoic acid esters such as methylparaben , propylparaben and the like , alcohols such as chlorobutanol , benzyl alcohol , phenylethyl alcohol and the like , thimerosal , acetic anhydride , sorbic acid and the like . examples of the aforementioned antioxidant include sodium bisulfite , l - ascorbic acid , sodium ascorbate , butylhydroxyanisole , dibutylhydroxytoluene , propyl gallate , tocopherol acetate , dl - α - tocopherol and the like . in addition to these additives , a pharmaceutical product containing other drug can also be added as long as the action effect of the transdermal absorption preparation of the present invention is not prevented . the additives exemplified above are appropriately selected according to the dosage form of the transdermal absorption preparation of the present invention . in addition , the amount thereof to be added is also selected as appropriate from the range generally used for each dosage form . the second embodiment of the present invention is an invention relating to a production method of a transdermal absorption preparation with good transdermal absorbability , comprising forming an organic acid salt of aripiprazole ( including equilibrium mixture ) to be contained in the preparation system . the production method of the present invention permits utilization of known conventional means as appropriate , and is particularly a production method of a transdermal absorption preparation , comprising forming an organic acid salt of aripiprazole to be contained in the preparation system by the following steps . a production method of a non - aqueous transdermal absorption preparation with good transdermal absorbability , comprising a ) forming an organic acid salt of aripiprazole by using aromatic carboxylic acid or aliphatic carboxylic acid as an organic acid , and adding a 0 . 5 - to 5 - fold molar amount of the organic acid to aripiprazole as 1 , b ) diluting the above - mentioned organic acid salt with at least one selected from an ester solvent , an alcohol solvent and an amide solvent , and c ) dispersing the above - mentioned diluted solution in a base of an external preparation . the definition of the above - mentioned terms and other additives are the same as those described for the aforementioned first embodiment . the present invention is explained in more detail in the following by referring to examples , which are not to be construed as limitative . the present invention can also be changed and practiced as appropriate , all of which changes are encompassed in the technical scope of the present invention . aripiprazole ( 200 mg , 0 . 446 mm ) and an equimolar amount of an organic acid described in the following table 1 were weighed , and dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 1 ml ). tetrahydrofuran was evaporated under reduced pressure to give an organic acid salt of aripiprazole as crystals . furthermore , the crystals were recrystallized from ethyl acetate or thf . the melting point of the obtained crystals was measured by a micro melting point measuring instrument . in infrared absorption spectrum , the absorption band near 1700 - 1720 cm - 1 of the starting monocarboxylic acid disappeared , and the absorption of carboxyl ion considered to have been produced overlapped with ir absorption of aripiprazole and could not be identified . since the pka value of aripiprazole is 7 . 6 and almost neutral , the equilibrium of salt tends to easily move toward dissociation into acid and base . in addition , aripiprazole has good crystallinity , and its free form tends to easily precipitate as crystals . therefore , use of substituted aliphatic carboxylic acid containing one or more hydroxyl groups and / or ketone groups as substituent ( s ) is considered to be appropriate for forming a salt to enhance solubility in a solvent . aripiprazole ( 20 mg , 0 . 045 mm ) and each equimolar amount of an organic acid shown in the following table 2 were weighed in a sample container . a solvent with the solvent composition in a mass ratio of diethyl sebacate : medium - chain triglyceride : n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone : propylene glycol ( 65 : 20 : 7 . 5 : 7 . 5 ) was added . the total amount was adjusted to 1000 mg to give a liquid containing an aripiprazole . organic acid salt ( containing 2 w / w % aripiprazole ) in the system . the transdermal absorbability was evaluated using the skin of a rat and a franz diffusion cell and according to the method of experimental example 1 . the results are shown in table 2 , fig1 and fig2 . since aripiprazole is highly lipophilic ( logp : 4 . 6 ), when monocarboxylic acid was used as a usable organic acid , carboxylic acid having lower lipophilicity than hexanoic acid ( logp : 1 . 9 ) was found to show good transdermal absorbability ( skin permeability ). furthermore , when dicarboxylic acid was used , dicarboxylic acid having lipophilicity not higher than that of sebacic acid ( logp : 2 . 1 ) and higher than that of maleic acid ( logp : − 0 . 3 ) showed good transdermal absorbability . thus , it has been clarified that the optimal range of logp of organic acid varies between monocarboxylic acid and dicarboxylic acid . to a 2 w / w % aripiprazole solution of example 2 was added lactic acid in the molar amount described in table 3 to give a liquid containing lactate of aripiprazole . the liquids were subjected to franz diffusion cell according to the method of experimental example 1 and transdermal absorbability was evaluated . the results are shown in the following table 3 and fig3 . as shown in table 3 above , the transdermal absorbability of a liquid containing lactate of aripiprazole was found to hit the ceiling when lactic acid was present in not less than 3 - fold molar amount relative to aripiprazole . since the pka value of aripiprazole is 7 . 6 , a 3 - fold molar amount of lactic acid was considered to be necessary for shifting the dissociation equilibrium of acid and base toward salt . as organic acids having a pka value lower than that of aliphatic carboxylic acid , and salt dissociation equilibrium tending to shift toward salt formation , aromatic carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid were selected . an organic acid salt of aripiprazole was produced in the same manner as in example 2 . first , the organic acids shown in the following table 4 were used , each equimolar amount was added and the mixture was stirred to give liquids containing an aripiprazole . organic acid salt containing 2 w / w % aripiprazole in the system . the transdermal absorbability was evaluated in the same manner as in example 2 . the results are shown in table 4 and fig2 . since the acidity of benzenesulfonic acid ( pka : − 2 . 5 ) and methanesulfonic acid ( pka : − 2 . 0 ) is high , the dissociation equilibrium of the sulfonate of aripiprazole is considered to be shifted toward salt . however , even when the equilibrium is shifted toward salt , and the concentration of ion pair is high , the transdermal absorbability has not increased much . it has been found that the transdermal absorbability is not good unless the lipophilicity of the ion pair is adequate , even if the concentration of the ion pair ( sulfonate ) formed in the preparation system is high . these demonstrate that the lipophilicity of the ion pair ( organic acid salt ) of aripiprazole formed in the preparation greatly contributes to the transdermal absorption of aripiprazole . influence of solvent composition and aripiprazole concentration in liquid containing lactate of aripiprazole to a 2 w / w % aripiprazole solution ( solvent composition : diethyl sebacate ( hereinafter des )/ medium - chain triglyceride / n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone ( hereinafter nmp )/ propylene glycol = 65 / 20 / 7 . 5 / 7 . 5 , hereinafter solvent a ) of example 3 was added a 2 - fold molar amount of lactic acid to give a liquid containing lactate of aripiprazole . furthermore , liquids containing aripiprazole , a 2 - fold molar amount of lactic acid and a solvent as described in table 5 were produced . these liquids were subjected to franz diffusion cell according to the method of experimental example 1 and the transdermal absorbability was evaluated . the results are shown in the following table 5 and fig4 . as shown in the above - mentioned table 5 , the transdermal absorbability of the liquid containing lactate of aripiprazole was shown to drastically increase by changing the solvent composition to fatty acid ester and amide solvent alone ( no . 1 ), and using aripiprazole at a high concentration ( no . 2 ). liquids with solvent compositions changed as described in table 6 were produced , based on the liquid of no . 2 ( 10 w / w % aripiprazole , 2 - fold molar amount of lactic acid ) in example 5 . these liquids were subjected to franz diffusion cell according to the method of experimental example 1 and the transdermal absorbability was evaluated . the results are shown in the following table 6 and fig5 . as shown in the above - mentioned table 6 , the transdermal absorbability of liquids containing lactate of aripiprazole changed according to the mixing ratio of fatty acid ester and amide solvents in the solvent composition and , as shown in fig5 , depicted a bell - shaped curve . it has been found that the transdermal absorbability is improved within the fatty acid ester / amide solvent range of 50 / 50 - 20 / 80 . particularly , the transdermal absorbability was found to reach the maximum when the composition of fatty acid ester / amide solvents is near 25 / 75 . for comparison examination of the transdermal absorbability of the transdermal absorption preparations containing an aripiprazole organic acid salt formed in the preparation system , the liquids of examples 2 - 6 ( each 100 μl ) were separated , and applied to a transdermal absorbability evaluation test using franz diffusion cell ( permeation area : 1 cm 2 , receptor liquid volume : 8 ml ) at test temperature 32 ° c ., as shown below . a commercially available rat abdominal frozen skin ( 5 - week - old wistar rat ) was sandwiched between vertical diffusion cells ( effective diffusion area : 1 cm 2 ), and each sample described in table 5 was applied to the stratum corneum layer side and a physiological saline / ethanol ( 10 : 1 ) solution was applied to the dermic layer side . at 3 hr , 6 hr and 9 hr from the start of the experiment , physiological saline ( 100 μl ) was sampled , the concentration of the drug that permeated through the skin was measured by hplc , and the cumulative permeation amount of the drug at each time point was measured . as a result , the transdermal absorbability of organic acid salts of aripiprazole could be evaluated as shown in fig1 - 5 . using the production method of the transdermal absorption preparation of the present invention , a transdermal absorption preparation superior in the transdermal absorbability of aripiprazole can be produced . to be specific , an appropriate organic acid ( organic acid with low lipophilicity ) is selected based on the combination of the lipophilicity of medicinal ingredient ( logp : 4 . 6 ) and the lipophilicity ( logp ) of organic acid , and an organic acid salt of aripiprazole with good transdermal absorbability can be formed in the preparation system . that is , by appropriately combining organic acids having lipophilicity within the range of − 1 . 5 to 2 , preferably − 1 . 5 to 0 , an organic acid salt of aripiprazole with good transdermal absorbability can be produced in the preparation system . furthermore , an external preparation composition showing desired transdermal absorbability can be produced by appropriately selecting and using an organic solvent , a transdermal absorption promoter , a surfactant and the like with the organic acid salt of aripiprazole or an equilibrium mixture thereof obtained in the present invention to dissolve or disperse aripiprazole in a base of the external preparation composition . thus , the present invention provides a transdermal absorption preparation of aripiprazole , which shows good transdermal absorbability .	0
the present invention is described below in detail according to the embodiments shown in the drawings . however , the present invention is not restricted to the embodiments . fig1 shows an embodiment of the data processor of the present invention . the data processor 100 has a cpu 110 , which preferably includes a copy back cache 115 . a memory controller 130 connected to cpu 110 controls access to a main memory 120 . memory controller 130 is also connected via a system bus 105 to io control sections 140 , 150 and 160 . of course , additional controllers can be connected to the system bus 105 . the io controllers 140 , 150 and 160 have control over respective io elements or devices through respective io buses . for example , io controller 140 has an io bus 149 to which io devices 200 , 201 and 202 are connected . similarly , io controllers 150 and 160 have respective io buses 159 and 169 with io devices 210 , 211 and 212 connected to io bus 159 and io devices 220 , 221 and 222 connected to io bus 169 . a dma request data structure is stored for each of the io controllers . the details of the data structure or arrangement of storing the dma request data is made with reference to io controller 140 . main memory 120 stores dma request data structure 310 for io controller 140 . specifically , the dma request data structure 310 has dma command data structures 301 , 302 and 303 for one or more of the io devices 200 , 201 and 202 . the main memory also includes a dma buffer 330 for holding data transferred from or to be transferred to the io devices 200 , 201 and 202 in accordance with a data transfer command . also includes within main memory 120 is a completion list 320 that holds identification data for each io device to enable the dma processing status of the device to be determined . a completion list 320 is provided for each of the io controllers 140 , 150 and 160 , although only one completion list 320 is shown for io controller 140 . preferably , the dma request data structure and dma command data structures are stored as blocks of data in main memory 120 of a block size equal to or an integral multiple as large as the block size of the data read operation performed by the cache memory 115 when a cache miss occurs . also , the size of data blocks to be transferred over system bus 105 is preferably an integral multiple of the block size of the cache memory 115 in order to permit efficient transfer of data between main memory 120 and the io control sections 140 , 150 and 160 . as a further consideration , in some instances , the information of the dma processing may be of a sufficient size so as to fit within or be solely represented by the data block for the dma start request quad . for example , all of the data required to complete a particular dma processing could be provided as part of the argument 311d of quad 311 in fig2 . in this case , providing corresponding dma command data for the start request quad would be unnecessary and the efficiency of the dma processing would be improved as a result . each of the io control sections has an address register and a start register . for example , the io control section 140 has an address register 141 and a start register 142 . the address register 141 can hold the address of the dma request data structure 310 set in the main memory 120 . this address can then be used by the io control section once the dma processing is commenced . the start register 142 is used to start the dma processing of the io control section 140 . such registers are usually provided for a conventional io controller , but start register 142 may be unnecessary if the io control section is awakened or selected by the cpu in another manner , for example when the address for the dma request data structure is written to the address register 141 by the cpu , or when , according to one preferred embodiment , the cpu writes a dma request data structure to the io control section 140 . preferably , each of the io control sections is configured similarly , and therefore further description of io controllers 150 and 160 is unnecessary . fig2 shows a link between the address register 141 of the io control section 140 on the one hand and the dma request data structure 310 and the dma command data structures 301 , 302 , and 303 of the main memory 120 on the other . the address stored in the address register 141 of the io control section 140 designates a dma start request quad 311 at the head of the dma request data structure 310 of the main memory 120 . information concerning the start of a dma processing for a particular io device is stored in the respective dma start request quads . each io control section is referred to a chain of dma start request quads by the start address 141 . as shown in fig2 the dma start request data structure 310 for io control section 140 is exemplary and has a chain of the dma start request quads 311 , 312 , 313 , . . . corresponding to dma start requests . each dma start request quad comprises a pointer 311a for the next dma start request quad , io identification data 311b for identifying an io element for the dma start request concerned , a local pointer 311c for designating the corresponding dma command data structure 301 ( specifically the first block command quad 400 ), if one is present , and an argument 311d . the argument can be of any length , up to several bytes , if desired , and it may include all of the information necessary for the dma processing , in which case there would not be any corresponding command data structure . when a dma start request quad , e . g . 311 , is prepared for each io element and each dma start request quad is stored in a continuous memory area , the dma request data structure does not always need to be a linked chain of dma start request quads as shown in fig2 . rather , the io control section can be instructed to read a plurality of the dma start request quads one by one in sequential order , for example . each of the command data structures 301 , 302 and 303 that are identified by the local pointers of the corresponding dma start request quads 311 , 312 and 313 have a chain of dma command quads or blocks . fig2 shows the dma command data structure 301 in detail , and dma command data structures 302 and 303 are similar . although the quad structure is disclosed as being preferred , alternative data structures other than quad structures can be used . the dma command data structure 301 has a chain of dma command quads , such as a first command quad 400 , a second command quad 401 , a third command quad 402 and an nth command quad 405 . the details of the command quads are the same , and are exemplified in fig2 by command quad 400 . command quad 400 has a pointer 400a for providing an address of the next dma command quad in the chain , a dma command 400b and first and second arguments 400c and 400d , respectively . the structure of the command quads 401 , 402 , etc . are the same , so further detail of these quads is omitted from the drawing . in fig3 the data structure or arrangement of the data stored for each entry in completion list 320 is disclosed . specifically , each entry has a pointer 3200 for holding an address for the next entry of the completion list , an io identification data holding entry portion 3201 and a state or status of dma processing entry portion 3202 . since each entry includes io identification data 3201 , a status inquiry for a specified io element can be performed to determine the status of the processing of a dma transfer operation from the corresponding state entry data 3202 . each of the io controllers or control sections preferably has a design like that of io controller 140 , shown in detail in fig4 . io control section 140 has a start request analysis section 143 that analyzes the dma request data structure 310 which is retrieved from main memory by the address 141 subsequent to the initiation of dma processing , which begins with the cpu writing to the start control register 142 . the io controller 140 further includes a dma processing section 144 for executing dma control for all io elements , and a local memory 145 that can be used to store dma start requests and dma command data retrieved from main memory 120 , as needed . fig5 shows a flow chart of a start request analysis performed by the io controllers . the description refers to the start request analysis section 143 of io controller 140 , and the description applies equally to the other io controllers 150 and 160 . first , start request analysis section 143 reads a dma start request quad from the dma request data structure 310 of the main memory 120 by fetching the data on the basis of the addresses written in the address register 141 ( step 5001 ). unless the section 143 detects a dma start request quad 311 , 312 , 313 , etc ., it terminates the processing ( step 5002 ). when the section 143 detects a dma start request quad , it stores the quad in the local memory 145 and analyzes the quad ( step 5003 ). then , the section 143 judges if the io element designated by the dma start request quad can accept dma processing ( step 5004 ). if so , the section 143 requests the dma processing section 144 to execute the dma processing ( step 5005 ). in this case , the section 143 , for example , sends address data for reading a dma command data structure to the dma processing section 144 . thereafter , the section 143 judges if the local memory 145 has sufficient space to store the dma start request quad ( step 5006 ). if so , the section 143 restarts the step 5001 and reads the next dma start request quad from the dma request data structure . then , the following step 5002 is executed and so forth . thereby , efficient dma performance of the io devices can be fully attained . fig6 is a flow chart of dma processing by the dma processing section of the io controllers , specifically for the io controller 140 . the dma processing sections for each of the controllers is the same as that for the dma processing section 144 shown in the figure . the dma processing section 144 copies the address data received from the start request analysis section 143 to a local pointer 311c ( step 6001 ). then the section 144 reads a dma command quad 400 of the dma command data structure 301 designated by the local pointer 311c ( step 6002 ) and judges if there is a dma command present . if so , the section 144 starts the step 6004 . if not , the section 144 starts the step 6005 . in the step 6004 , the section 144 analyzes a dma command designated by a dma command quad 400 for example , executes dma processing for a designated io element device 200 for example , and then increments the pointer 311a to designate the next dma start request quad 312 , and restarts the step 6002 . in the step 6005 , which is executed when no dma command is found to be present , the section 144 clears the processed dma start request quad from the local memory 145 and increases the allowable number of dma processings by one , i . e . the number of dma processings that can be handled by the section 144 . then , the section 144 judges if there is a request for dma processing . if so , the section 144 restarts the step 001 . if not , the section 144 terminates the processing ( step 6006 ). fig7 is a flow chart of the steps followed when the dma processing section 144 accepts dma processing . when the dma processing section 144 accepts one dma processing , it decreases the acceptable number of dma processings by one ( step 7001 ). then , the section 144 judges if there is a dma command currently processed . if so , the section 144 restarts the processing . if not , the section 144 starts the dma processing in fig6 in order to execute the dma processing just accepted ( step 7002 ). as an example of dma processing that can be accomplished according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the following is a description of executing a dma transfer from io element 200 to the buffer 330 . first , the cpu 110 generates a dma command quad for designating data transfer to the dma buffer 330 in the dma command structure arranged or set in the main memory 120 . the dma request quad , having the pointer for the dma command quad and the io identifier indicating the io element 400 , is stored in the dma request data structure of the main memory 120 . then , after the io control section 140 terminates all dma processing , the cpu 110 dynamically provides the dma start request quad to start the io control section 140 , which recognizes the quad as a request for executing a dma transfer for the io element 200 on the basis of the io identification data written in the dma start request quad . moreover , the io control section 140 reads the dma command quad ( s ) designated by the pointer written in the dma start request quad and recognizes the processing for data transfer to the dma buffer 330 from the dma command written in the dma command quad . then , dma transfer is started from the io element 200 to the dma buffer 330 . the io control method and data processor of the present invention do not require any additional hardware cost because an address register and start register are usually provided for an io control section . moreover , because only an address space for two registers is necessary , the number of input / output devices to be connected is not limited by the size of the address space of the io control section . furthermore as a result of the invention , it is possible to minimize the number of times a cpu accesses the io control section . this prevents the system throughput from decreasing . furthermore , the io control method and data processor of the present invention allow an input / output device to execute dma processings in parallel . in particular , the system configuration permits a plurality of dma requests to be handled simultaneously for one io device and alternatively simultaneously for a plurality of io devices by the same io controller . to accomplish this , for example , the dma request data structure for an io controller can have more than one dma start request quad for one io device . then , while the dma processing is executed according to one start request , the next start request is prepared by reading the next start request quad referred to by the pointer . the next dma processing may be executed by multiplexing the data transfer of the requests , if necessary . for example , the io controller can have a buffer memory for storing the io blocks of memory to be transferred , and when the transfer is complete between the io devices and the controller , these blocks can then be transferred to memory by the io controller over the bus . this is possible because the rate of data transfer over the system bus is performed at a much higher rate than that of the bus connecting the io controllers , which is higher than that for the io devices . as a result , a highly efficient operation of dma transfer among a plurality of io devices and main memory of a data processor or similar system is provided by the present invention . in a further embodiment of the invention , shown in fig1 , a plurality of io elements or devices are connected to a sub controller that is in turn connected to a main io controller . in this embodiment , several sub controllers can be connected to one of many main io controllers to increase the io devices that can be supported by the system without degrading the dma processing performance . specifically , the data processing system of the embodiment set forth in fig1 has a cpu 1100 with a copy back cache memory 1115 connected to a memory controller 1130 that is in turn connected to a memory 1120 , in an arrangement similar to that shown in fig1 for the corresponding components . the memory controller 1130 is connected via system bus 1105 to a plurality of main controllers 2000 , 3000 , etc . each of the main controllers has a plurality of sub controllers connected thereto by a bus . since it is contemplated that each main controller performs essentially the same function with respect to processing dma , the remainder of the description of this embodiment refers only to the details of two sub controllers 2140 and 2150 connected to one main controller 2000 . a system constructed according to this embodiment may include the connection of additional main controllers to system bus 1105 with corresponding sub controllers connected to each main controller , as desired . the sub controllers 2140 , 2150 are similar to the io controllers of the first embodiment and sub controller 2140 is connected via bus 2149 to io devices or elements 2200 , 2201 and 2202 , whereas io devices 2210 , 2211 and 2212 are connected to sub controller 2150 via bus 2159 . of course , additional io devices or elements could be connected via the respective buses to the corresponding sub controllers . in operation , the cpu 1100 writes to main controller 2000 to initiate a data fetch from memory 1120 . the retrieved data is stored in local memory and analysis section 2010 . since main controller 2000 provides the dma request data structures for each of the io devices connected to each sub controller , the data 1121 , 1122 , etc . retrieved from memory 1120 includes the dma request data for each io device arranged in a data structure divided by sub controller . the section 2010 analyzes the retrieved data to extract a start control address that is written to the start control register 2142 , and to extract a start address that is written to the start address register 2141 . then , the dma processing proceeds with the sub controller accessing the memory and analysis section 2010 instead of main memory , as in the previous embodiment . specifically , fig1 shows the arrangement of data structure 1121 , for example , retrieved from memory 1120 and stored in local memory and analysis section 2010 . the data structure includes the dma request data structure 2011 , 2012 , etc . for the corresponding sub controllers 2140 , 2150 and so forth . for each sub controller , there is a dma request data structure for each io element , arranged in a manner similar to that of the dma request data structure 310 , wherein each io device start request quad and corresponding dma command data is structured or arranged like that shown in fig2 . in particular , the data structure 2011 stored in local memory and analysis section 2010 includes a dma request data structure 2310 having dma start request quads 2311 and 2312 , etc . for io elements 2200 and 2201 , respectively . as shown further , dma start request quad 2311 includes a local pointer for addressing corresponding dma command data 2301 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the first embodiment of the invention . as a result of the configuration shown in fig1 , the main controllers can efficiently access main memory 1120 for dma processing without requiring an inefficient accumulation of system access times that might be required if a large number of individual sub controllers were designed to individually access main memory 1120 directly through the system bus 1105 . in other words , the configuration permits the use of main controllers that access the system bus and slower speed sub controllers and corresponding buses that have a slower transfer rate without degrading the overall efficiency of the system . further , since the io devices have a relatively low transfer rate , as compared with the buses and controllers , multiplexed dma processing can be performed to permit parallel dma processing for several io elements simultaneously for each sub controller . fig1 shows a completion list that is suitable for use with the data processing system of fig1 in that each element 1300 of the completion list includes a device number 1301 and a sub controller number 1302 in order to uniquely identify each io element or device of the system shown in fig1 . for each io device , a status or termination state entry 1303 reflecting the status of the termination of dma processing is included . accordingly , the status of dma processing for each io element or device of the overall system can be determined from the completion list shown in fig1 . of course , each of the io devices would have a completion list entry 1300 , but only one such entry is shown in detail . in each of the io control method and data processor embodiments of the present invention , it is possible to quickly find an input / output device that has terminated dma processing even if a large number io devices are connected to the system and undergoing dma transfer operations . this is because the completion list has a data structure in which io identification data for identifying an input / output device to be controlled and state data for showing the state of the input / output device are written by an io control section . further , if desired , a 1 / 2 completed status or any fraction thereof can be included within the command data quad to instruct the io controller or sub controller to write to the completion list with the specified status update , such as 1 / 2 completed . this may be beneficial for some systems in the efficient management of the dma processing for io devices . while preferred embodiments have been set forth with specific details , further embodiments , modifications and variations are contemplated according to the broader aspects of the present invention , all as determined by the spirit and scope of the following claims .	6
before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . a common problem encountered in developing and producing fluidic oscillators or inserts for use in automotive windshield applications is designing a fluidic circuit which can give the desired spray characteristics ( e . g ., at flow rates of 400 ml / minute and operating pressures of 9 psig , uniform coverage with spray droplets of a target area located approximately 25 cm in front of the sprayer and having a target area width of approximately 80 cm ) and which can be fitted into a housing which is very limited on its allowable size . because such housings often are situated in locations on an automobile &# 39 ; s hood that are quite visible , their allowable dimensions are often dictated by aesthetic considerations ( e . g ., typical acceptable widths are on the order of 10 - 12 mm ). the consequence of this is that the spray from the windshield washers situated in such housings must have , what is referred to as , a large horizontal fan angle , φ ( i . e ., defined by the lateral or horizontal boundaries of the region wetted by the spray ). since such inserts and their enclosures are typically made by plastic injection molding methods , those knowledgeable with such manufacturing methods will understand that such manufacturing methods impose further constraints on the geometry of such inserts and their enclosures . for example , a 12 mm wide housing can only accommodate a fluidic insert having a maximum width of about 9 mm since the wall thickness of such housings must typically be about 1 mm or larger . in striving to improve the performance of various types of fluidic sprayers , we have discovered that there are significant opportunities to create and introduce new enclosures for these fluidic oscillators that appreciably improve their performance . we have also found that still further novel designs can be provided for a generalized fluidic oscillator which can increase its performance a preferred embodiment of the present invention 2 takes the form of a housing 10 which has a front portion 12 into which has been molded one or more elements 14 of the fluidic circuit 32 which is inscribed or molded into the fluidic insert 30 that is inserted into the housing from an opening 18 that exists in its rear face 16 . see fig1 a - 1b which show an embodiment in which this fluidic circuit element is a three - part throat followed by separate expansion passages and exits ( i . e ., a single upper and two lower throats , etc .) which provide multiple spray outputs from the housings front portion or face . an indication of the nature of the sprays from this embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig2 . a word needs to be mentioned regarding the novelty of this embodiment . for those knowledgeable in the design of fluid nozzles and advanced fluid dynamic principles , it should be noted that it was not an obvious matter that the situation shown here , in which multiple throats are fed by a single , relatively larger scaled fluidic circuit , would actually yield oscillating flows from each of the downstream throats . the fluid flow is these passages is very complicated and is not amenable to a theoretical solution ; thus , extensive experiments had to be conducted to better understand these types of flows . it was only as a result of these experiments that it was discovered that the flow geometry shown in fig1 would actually produce the desired oscillating flows from each of the multiple throats . it can be seen in fig1 a - 1b that this embodiment has an outer surface which has a portion 20 that is spherically shaped . this housing is configured as such so that it can be used as the secondary housing which is inserted into the primary housing , previously referenced in fig3 a - 3b of the present assignee &# 39 ; s usppn 2006 - 0226266 , so as to yield an adjustable nozzle . the slots 22 in this housing &# 39 ; s front face are used to receive the prong / s of a tool that is used to adjust the orientation angle and direction of the sprays that flow from the housing . a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is the fluidic insert or oscillator 4 shown in fig3 and which is seen to be an improvement of the generalized “ front loaded ” fluidic insert that was previously referenced as being shown in fig1 of the present assignee &# 39 ; s u . s . pat . no . 7 , 014 , 131 . fig3 shows as a rectangular member 40 that is molded or fabricated from plastic and has an especially - designed liquid flow channel or fluidic circuit 42 fabricated into , in this instance , a first portion of its broader top surface 44 ( i . e ., it could have been its bottom or side or some combination of these ) and into which liquid flows from an inlet 48 in the insert &# 39 ; s floor 46 . this fluidic insert is of the type that is to be inserted into the cavity of a housing whose inner walls are configured to form a liquid - tight seal around the sidewalls of the insert . this insert is seen to have a second portion with a novel front wall 50 into which are molded multiple throats : two lower throats 52 a , 52 b with their adjoining , downstream expansion passages 54 a , 54 b and a single upper throat 52 c and its downstream expansion passage 54 c . pressurized liquid enters this insert and oscillating liquid sprays issue from each of its three throats . in this embodiment , the upstream elements of the fluidic circuit shown in fig3 are two especially configured and cooperating power nozzles 56 a , 56 b that direct flow into an especially configured interaction chamber 58 . however , other fluidic circuits have been found to be equally satisfactory at yielding separate oscillating sprays from multiple throats that have been placed in a front wall that forms the downstream boundary for the oscillator &# 39 ; s interaction chamber . these other fluidic circuits are , by previous references , considered to come within the scope of the disclosure of the present invention . a third preferred embodiment of the present invention that is similar to that shown in fig3 is shown in fig4 . it is a generalized “ front loaded ” fluidic insert with fluidic circuit 42 fabricated into its broader top surface 44 . its front end has a dual throat 52 that is formed with a vertical cylinder 60 that intersects what would otherwise be a single wider throat . it can be noted that the present invention was discovered and created as a result of the continuing pressures to minimize the size of the fluidic spray devices for a wide range of applications , including those for windshield washers . the herein disclosed split or multiple throat housings are seen to allow for the use of only a single fluidic insert , with its advantageous larger flow passages , to be used with such housings . the advantages of using a single insert or oscillator , over the multiple inserts , previously referenced as being shown in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 062 , 491 , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 111 , 800 and usppn 2006 - 0108442 , to achieve the same spray coverage have been experimentally found to be : ( a ) better high viscosity or low temperature operating performance , ( b ) less chance of insert clogging , ( c ) higher possible flow rates for a given size or space restriction , and ( d ) higher potential exit velocities . the prior state of the art for better spray distribution from automotive windshield washer devices often involved the use of “ double spray ” inserts or nozzles ( i . e ., two fluidic circuits on one insert , with the bottom circuit distributing fluid over a wide pattern toward the lower portion of the windshield and the top circuit distributing the spray over a smaller pattern toward the upper portion of the windshield ). the limits of available fluid flow and pressure on automotive vehicles often required that each of these circuits have smaller dimensions than those of the single circuit devices which they were replacing . however , this type of configuration presented performance problems since such smaller oscillators cannot perform as well as larger oscillators in higher viscosity fluids , such as cold washer fluid . an advantage of the present invention is that it allows for the use of a larger dimensioned insert or oscillator ( e . g ., such as would be used in a single spray application ) to distribute fluid like the smaller oscillators used in the double insert housings that were previously referenced in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 062 , 491 . the larger dimensioned inserts of the present invention offer significantly improved spray patterns . the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents of the present disclosure may be resorted to and still considered to fall within the scope of the invention as hereinafter set forth in claims to the present invention .	8
fig1 illustrates an essential part of an optical system for detecting a working distance as an embodiment of the invention . in fig1 a reference symbol e indicates an eye to be examined ; ef indicates an eye - fundus or retina ; and ec indicates a cornea . in this particular embodiment , the fact that the surface of the cornea acts like a convex spherical mirror is utilized . reference numeral 1 indicates a light source such as a lamp ; 2 indicates a condenser lens ; 3 indicates a slit plate provided with an annular opening , the light source 1 and the slit plate 3 being conjugate with each other in relation to the condenser lens 2 ; 4 indicates a perforated mirror which is provided with an aperture ; and 5 indicates an objective lens . the perforated mirror 4 is obliquely arranged in relation to an optical axis of the objective lens and serves to direct the light of the light source 1 to the rear side of the objective lens 5 . a reference numeral 6 indicates an image surface of the objective lens 5 . an image of the eye fundus ef of a normal eye is formed on the image surface of the objective lens 5 . a reference numeral 7 indicates an aperture stop ; 8 indicates an image forming lens ; 9 indicates an image surface ; and 10 indicates a quick return mirror . the image forming lens 8 serves to image the image of the image surface 6 on the image surface 9 . the aperture stop 7 is conjugate with the slit plate 3 in relation to the perforated mirror 4 . a view finder and an adjustment mechanism of the device are omitted from the illustration . a symbol p indicates an index of a given shape . the index p is either a miniature lamp or a projected image of a miniature lamp and is disposed at a position which is determined as follows : the rays l3 emitted from the index p is converged by the objective lens 5 and comes to be incident upon the cornea ec . regular ( specular ) reflection of these rays takes place at the cornea ec and the reflected rays come to be incident upon the objective lens to be converged thereby . the position of the index p is set in such a manner that a converging point p &# 39 ; of these rays l3 comes to coincide with the image surface of the objective lens 5 when the distance between the objective lens 5 and a human eye e satisfies an optinum condition . referring to fig1 the rays l1 from the light source 1 is converged on the annular slit of the slit plate 3 by the condenser lens 2 . the converged rays l1 pass through the slit and then are reflected by at the perforated mirror 4 to diverge . following this , the objective lens 5 causes the rays to converge on the cornea or in the vicinity of the iris of the human eye e to form an image of the annular slit there and the eye fundus ef is illuminated thereby . the eye fundus ef then diffusedly reflects rays l2 , which , after being emitted from the cornea ec , are imaged by the objective lens 5 on the image surface 6 ( a first conjugate face of the eye fundus ). then , the rays l2 pass through the aperture of the perforated mirror 4 and the aperture stop 7 one after another to be imaged on the image surface 9 by the image forming lens 8 . the image surface is a second conjugate face of the eye fundus . the mirror 10 which is obliquely arranged between the image forming lens 8 and the image surface 9 reflects the rays to guide the rays to an unillustrated view finder . this allows an observer looking into an eyepiece of the view finder to see an image of the eye fundus formed by the image forming lens 8 . in fig1 the optical paths l1 and l2 indicated by broken lines respectively correspond to an illumination optical path and a photographing optical path of ordinary ophthalmoscopic optical system . then , the rays l3 emitted from the index p are converged by the objective lens 5 to be incident upon the cornea ec ; and are regularly reflected by the surface of the cornea into the reverse direction to be incident upon the objective lens 5 . these rays form an image p &# 39 ; of the index p . if the distance between the eye e and the objective lens 5 is coinciding with a preset distance , the image p &# 39 ; then appears on the image surface 6 ( or the first conjugate face of the eye fundus ). further , the rays l3 pass through the aperture of the perforated mirror 4 , the aperture stop 7 and the image forming lens 8 to form an image p &# 34 ; of the index p on the image surface 9 ( or the second conjugate face of the eye fundus ). accordingly , there appear the image of the eye fundus and the image p &# 34 ; of the index on the second conjugate face as illustrated in fig2 . when the images of the eye fundus and the index are observed by the observer looking into the view finder , if the distance between the eye e and the objective lens is equal to the preset distance , the image p &# 34 ; of the index appears sharp and crisp . if not , the image p &# 34 ; of the index appears blur and diffuse . if the observer finds the image p &# 34 ; blur and diffuse , he adjusts the position of the whole device by moving it in the direction of the optical axis until the image p &# 34 ; becomes sharp . the optimum distance is met when the image p &# 34 ; of the index p is made to be sharp through such adjustment . further , the image p &# 34 ; of the index p is larger when it is blured than when it is sharp . on the other hand , the device also permits adjustment of alignment . although there is indicated only one index , a plurality of such indexes may be symmetrically arranged around the optical axis in such a manner as to permit the use of it as auxiliary means for making the optical axis of the objective lens coincide with the optical axis of the eye being examined for a person whose cornea has a normal curvature . fig5 illustrates an example wherein four indexes are employed and wherein the optical axis of the objective lens coincides with that of the eye being examined . with the optical axes of the objective lens and the eye coinciding with each other , the images p &# 34 ; of these indexes symmetrically appear having the middle part of the observation field at the center of their configuration . if these optical axes are not coinciding with each other , these images of indexes asymmetrically appear or some of them do not appear at all , so that the status of alignment between the eye being examined and the objective lens can be readily detected . normally , these indexes are arranged in positions slightly away from the optical axis so as not to hinder observation and photographing . however , in cases where the working distance and the alignment are to be adjusted through the use of only one index , the index may be arranged on the optical axis . fig3 is an illustration of an eye - fundus camera to which the present invention is applied . in this embodiment example , an invisible light such as infrared rays is used for focusing and a light which is emitted from an end face of each glass or plastic optical fiber is employed as an index . as for focusing means , the same means as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 925 , 793 may be employed . in fig3 a reference numeral 41 indicates a tungsten filament lamp ; 42 indicates a condenser lens ; 43 indicates a filter which transmits infrared or near infrared rays but shuts off visible light ; 44 indicates a strobo tube ; 45 indicates a condenser lens ; and 46 indicates a slit plate provided with an annular slit therein . the tungsten filament lamp 1 and the strobo tube 4 are conjugate with each other in relation to the condenser lens 2 while an image of the tungsten filament lamp 1 and the strobo tube 4 are conjugate with the slit plate 6 in relation to the condenser lens 5 . a reference numerals 47 and 12 indicate relay lenses ; and 13 indicates another slit plate provided with an annular slit . it is possible to use only one of the slit plates 6 and 13 while the other may be dispensed with . a reference numeral 14 indicates a perforated mirror provided with a circular aperture therein ; 15 indicates an objective lens ; 17 indicates an aperture stop which shuts off all light fluxes but a photographing light flux ; and 18 and 18a indicate image forming lenses . the lens element 18a is movable in the optical axis direction for focusing . a reference numeral 19 indicates a film , 20 indicates a quick return mirror ; 21 indicates a field lens the flat face of which is conjugate with the film 19 in relation to the quick return mirror 20 ; 22 indicates a photographing lens ; 23 indicates a pick - up tube which is sensitive to infrared rays , the photo detecting surface of the pick - up tube 23 being conjugate with the bottom face of the field lens 21 in relation to the photographing lens 22 ; and 24 indicates a cathode ray tube such as a braun tube . a reference symbol p indicates an index which is provided at the tip of an optical fiber . a reference numeral 25 indicates the optical fiber ; 26 indicates a tungsten filament lamp ; and 27 indicates a filter which allows infrared rays to pass through it but shuts off visible rays . the rays emitted from the lamp 26 pass through the filter 27 and come to be incident on one end face of each of the optical fibers 25 and passing through the fiber come out of the other end of the fiber . a reference numeral 30 indicates a tungsten filament lamp ; 31 indicates another filter which transmits infrared rays but shuts off visible rays ; 32 indicates a condenser lens ; 33 indicates a slit plate having a rectangular slit provided therein , the slit plate 33 and the lamp 30 being conjugate with each other in relation to the condenser lens 32 ; and 34 indicates a bi - prism . fig4 illustrates the bi - prism 34 and the slit plate 33 in a state of being separated . however , actually , they are closely adjacent to each other . a numeral 35 indicates a relay lens ; 36 indicates a transparent flat plate and is provided with a partial mirror 36a ; and the partial mirror 36a is conjugated with the slit plate 33 in relation to the relay lens 35 . the above stated parts 30 through 36 are combined into one united body , which is movable in the optical axis direction of the relay lenses 47 and 12 in an interlocked relation with the element 18a . as a results of such arrangement , the film 19 and the slit plate 33 are maintained to be conjugate with each other in relation to the eye fundus ef . a reference symbol m indicates a mechanism which carries a housing containing the optical system of the eye - fundus camera therein and which permits adjustment of the position of the camera by moving it left and right and back and forth . with arrangement made as mentioned in the foregoing , when the lamp 26 is lighted , each of the four end faces of the optical fibers 25 emits infrared rays . the rays emitted from one end p of each of these optical fibers forms an image p &# 39 ; on the first conjugate face 16 of the eye fundus through the same process as described in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 . in this example , however , the infrared rays emitted through other fibers also form their point - like images on the first conjugate face . when the element lens 18a is set in such a manner as to make the image surface 16 and the film surface 19 conjugate with each other in relation to the lenses 18 and 18a , a sharp image p &# 34 ; is formed , on the second conjugate face of the eye fundus , from each of the point images p &# 39 ;. in an eye - fundus camera , while distance to an object only slightly varies with the movement of the element lens 18a , the reflection image p &# 39 ; of each index shifts to a great extent in the optical axis direction as the working distance varies . therefore , the element lens 18a does not have to be set into a preset position each time , because the error in the adjustment of the working distance arises only to a negligible degree . next , when the lamp 30 is lighted , only infrared rays among the rays emitted from the lamp 41 are allowed to pass through the filter 31 . then , the infrared rays which have passed through the filter 31 come to illuminate the eye fundus ef through an illumination optical path l1 . a flux or beam of light reflected at the eye fundus ef comes through the photographing optical path l2 to form an image of the eye fundus on the second conjugate face of the eye fundus . when the lamp 30 is lighted , the infrared rays which pass through the filter 31 are caused by the condenser lens 32 to converge on the slit plate 33 . then , the rays which have passed through the slit plate 33 are divided by the bi - prism 34 into two beams of light . each of the divided light fluxes is caused by the relay lens 35 to converge on the partial mirror 36a , which reflects it toward the relay lens 12 . the two light beams are converged by the relay lens 12 and are reflected by the perforated mirror 14 to converge on the image surface 16 . then , the lens 15 causes the two beams of light to converge on the eye fundus ef . at this moment , if the eye fundus ef is conjugate with the slit plate 33 , an image of the slit 33a appears on the eye fundus ef as it is . however , if not , the image of the slit 33a appears there being split into two from the middle part of the images . this is because : if they are not in a conjugate relation , the eye fundus ef shuts off the light fluxes before these beams of light come to coincide with each other . in such a case , the position of the slit plate 33 is shifted to make the split half images into one image and thus to make the slit plate 33 conjugate with the eye fundus ef . such shifting of the slit plate 33 is effected by moving it together with the other members of the system 30 - 36 including the slit plate 33 . since this system 30 - 36 is interlocked with the element 18a , conjugation or non - conjugation of the eye fundus is conjugate with the film 19 can be also found through the shape of the image of the slit 33a . further , the beam of rays which has formed the image of the slit 33a is reflected by the eye fundus ef and then passes through the optical path l1 to form another image on the second conjugate face of eye fundus ( bottom face of field lens 21 ). therefore , the images p &# 34 ; of the indexes p , the image of the eye fundus and the image of the slit 33a are formed on the light receiving face of the pick - up tube 23 through the lens 22 and then are displayed on the cathode ray tube 24 . fig5 illustrates a visible image displayed on the tube 24 showing the image of the eye fundus , the images p &# 34 ; of the indexes and the image 33a &# 39 ; of the slit 33a . the observer who is watching the display surface of the tube 24 sees the images as shown in fig5 . he adjusts the mechanism m to make the images p &# 34 ; of the indexes sharp to effect adjustment of the distance between the eye e and the objective lens 15 to the optimum distance ; and also , in the same manner , adjust the position of the element lens 18a until the split halves of each images 33a &# 39 ; are united into one image . when the images of the indexes are adjusted to their preset positions in the field and they are made to be sharp and when each of the split images are brought back into its original state , an unillustrated release button is operated to pull the transparent flat plate 36 and the quick return mirror 20 away from the optical path ; and the strobo tube 4 is caused to emit light to expose the film 19 to a reflected light coming from the eye fundus . in the foregoing embodiment example , the tip of each optical fiber arranged close to the perforated mirror 14 is used as an index . however , such arrangement may be replaced with provision of a miniature lamp or a light emitting diode , or an image of a light source may be projected onto the same position . fig6 and fig7 respectively illustrate examples wherein images of light sources are employed as indexes . fig6 illustrates a part of the illustration made in fig3 . in fig6 a tube 106 is attached to a light shielding part provided in the middle of a slit plate 46 which is provided with an annular slit 6a . at the tip of the tube 106 , there is provided an infrared filter 107 for the purpose of preventing visible rays from passing through there when light is emitted from the strobo tube . when the slit plate 46 is illuminated by an observation light beam or flux which is not illustrated , the beam of light which has passed through the filter 107 form an image p near to a perforated mirror 14 . this image p corresponds to the index p shown in fig1 . the filter 107 may be replaced with a lamp . in fig7 which illustrates another projection system arrangement , a reference numeral 108 indicates a half - transparency mirror ; 109 indicates a relay lens ; and 0 indicates either a miniature lamp or an aperture of a preset shape , the aperture 0 being illuminated . a beam of light coming from the light source or the secondary light source 0 is converged by a lens 109 and is reflected to form an image p , which is used as an index . at the position of 0 , if there is provided an annular aperture to form an image of the aperture on a plane on the extension of the optical axis of an objective lens 15 , an annular index appears in the field of view . in other words , with such arrangement , a bright ring appears encircling the split image 33a &# 39 ; shown in fig5 . the image of the index is arranged close to the image 33a &# 39 ; of the slit for the purpose of permitting simultaneous observation of the two .	0
as shown in fig1 the device includes a housing comprising a back wall 11 and side walls 12 , 13 , 14 and 15 . this device is adapted to be mounted on a motor vehicle for example on the side of a pickup truck . situated within the housing is the soil sampling apparatus including a sample probe 2 which is fixed to a swivel plate 22 in such a manner as to prevent relative movement between it and the swivel plate . the sample probe is shown in fig1 in the sample discharging position . the probe includes an inside hollow cylindrical core or bore which is somewhat narrowed at the cutting tip to facilitate movement of the soil sample within the bore . toward the outside circumference of the swivel plate 22 there is mounted a rotatable connector 16 which serves to pivotally connect one end of piston rod 20 to the swivel plate 22 . the other end of the piston rod 20 is attached to a piston positioned within hydraulic cylinder 4 . connected to the cylinder 4 on opposite ends of the piston are flexible hydraulic lines 23 and 24 which are adapted to conduct hydraulic fluid to and from the hydraulic cylinder 4 to control movement of the piston rod 20 . hydraulic lines 23 and 24 are connected to an electrically controlled hydraulic value unit 25 which in turn is connected to a source of hydraulic pressure via lines 37 and 38 . the cylinder 4 is pivotally attached to the back wall 11 of the housing by means of pivoted connector 27 . a microswitch 3 is mounted on a bracket attached to the back wall . the microswitch 3 is positioned so as to be contacted by the sample probe 2 when it is in the sample discharging position shown in fig1 . the microswitch 3 is electrically connected to the hydraulic valve unit 25 to prevent operation of hydraulic cylinder rod 30 when the sample probe 2 is not in the discharge position . a second rotatable connector 17 is mounted on the swivel plate approximately diametrically opposite to the connector 16 . connector 17 is attached to one end of guide rod 21 so as to provide a pivotal connection between the guide rod 21 and the swivel plate 22 . the guide rod 21 is slidably positioned within guide tube 9 permitting linear reciprocal movement relative thereto . a tension spring 8 is attached at one end thereof to a bracket 18 on the guide tube and at the other end , to bracket 19 on the guide rod . the tension produced by the spring 8 tends to return the guide rod 21 to the position within the guide tube 9 as shown in fig1 with a stop 36 ( fig2 ) on the guide rod 21 contacting the bottom of the guide tube 9 to prevent further upward movement of the guide rod 21 . still referring to fig1 there is shown a second hydraulic cylinder 5 which is attached at one end thereof to the back wall 11 . a piston rod 30 is attached to a piston within cylinder 5 . hydraulic lines 28 and 29 which are connected to a hydraulic source via hydraulic valve control 25 and lines 37 and 38 are adapted to conduct fluid to and from the hydraulic cylinder to control movement of the piston rod 30 . hydraulic valve unit 26 controls the flow of hydraulic fluid in lines 28 and 29 by means of electrically operated valves therein . the switches controlling the valves in the control unit 26 as well as the control unit 25 are located at the drivers station in the vehicle upon which the unit is mounted . a piston rod 30 is attached to a piston within the cylinder 5 and is capable of substantially horizontal reciprocal movement along the axis of the sample probe 2 when the sample probe is in the sample discharge position . a bushing 7 on the end of the piston rod has an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of the bore of the sample probe 2 and serves to eject the sample from the probe 2 upon the outward movement of the piston rod 30 . a microswitch 6 is adapted to be contacted by the rod 30 to sense when the piston rod is in the fully withdrawn position . the microswitches 3 and 6 are electrically connected to the hydraulic valve unit 25 to control the flow of fluid to the cylinders 5 and 4 . specifically microswitch 3 prevents extension of the piston rod 30 except when the probe 2 is in the horizontal sample discharge position . microswitch 6 prevents extension of piston rod 20 except when the piston rod 30 is in the fully retracted position . sample collecting container 1 is removably mounted in the housing so that the opening 31 in the container 1 is adjacent the forward end of the probe 2 when the latter is in the sample discharge position . the apparatus according to the present is adapted to be mounted on the side of a truck or other vehicle with the controls situated in the cab to provide access by the operator . during transportation from one sampling site to another the probe is carried in the horizontal position as shown in fig1 . when a sampling site is reached the vehicle is stopped and the operator initiates the sample taking cycle by actuating an electrical switch situated at the drivers station which operates valves within the control unit 25 . the operation of the valves serves to connect hydraulic lines 23 to the high pressure input line 37 and connects hydraulic line 24 to the hydraulic fluid return line 38 . this causes downward pressure on the piston in cylinder 4 as a consequence of which there is downward movement of the piston rod 20 . the tension on spring 8 tends to prevent movement of guide rod 21 as a result of which the pivot plate 22 and the attached probe 2 are caused to rotate in a clockwise direction about rotatable connector 17 . as the pivot plate 22 and probe 2 continue to rotate the probe 2 contacts a stop 35 on the pivot plate 22 as shown in fig4 thereby preventing further rotation of the plate 22 and probe 2 . at this point the probe 2 is in the vertical position . as piston rod 20 continues to extend , the pivot plate 22 and attached probe 2 , being constrained against further pivotal movement by the contact of the rod 20 against stop 35 , commence downward vertical movement . the direction of downward movement at this stage is controlled by the guide 9 and guide rod 21 and is entirely a linear movement due to the fact the pivot plate is constrained against pivotal movement by contact of the rod 20 against stop 35 and the guide rod 21 is constrained by the guide 9 to move in a linear direction . as this movement continues the probe contacts and pierce the earth thereby collecting a sample of the earth in its core . as the plate 22 and probe 2 move downward the spring attachment bracket 19 on guide rod 21 also moves downward thereby increasing tension in the spring 8 which tends to continue to press the stop 35 against the rod 20 and to maintain the probe 2 in a vertical position . when the probe has penetrated the earth a sufficient distance to obtain the necessary sample , the valves in control unit 25 are operated to cause hydraulic line 24 to be connected to the high pressure input line 37 and line 23 to be connected to the hydraulic fluid return line 38 . this causes upward movement of the piston rod 20 together with the swivel plate 22 and probe 2 . the tension on spring 8 maintains probe 2 in contact with stop 35 and hence maintains probe 2 in a vertical position . as the plate 22 and probe 2 move upward the guide rod also continues to move upward until the stop 36 on the guide rod 21 contacts the bottom of the guide 9 . at this point upward movement of the guide rod 21 is stopped and the continued retraction of the piston rod 20 causes the guide plate 22 to rotate in a counter clockwise direction about connector 17 which is now stationary . this counter clockwise movement of the guide plate 22 and probe 2 continues until a stop 40 on the outside of connector 16 contacts the guide rod 21 at a point which corresponds approximately with the end of the stroke of the piston rod 20 . the probe is now in a substantially horizontal position wherein its cutting end is adjacent the opening 31 in the sample collecting container 1 . with the activation of micro switch 3 the operation of piston 5 is no longer inhibited . in order to expel the sample from the probe , solenoid operated valves in controller unit 25 are operated to connect line 28 to the high pressure hydraulic input line 37 and to connect line 29 with the hydraulic fluid return line 38 . this causes outward pressure on the piston in the cylinder 5 and movement of the piston rod toward the probe . stop 40 is positioned so as to terminate upward movement of the probe 2 when its major axis is in alignment with piston rod 30 . thus the continued outward movement of the piston rod 30 causes bushing 7 thereon to enter the bore of the probe and to expel the sample in the bore into the sample container 1 . following expulsion of the sample from the core of the probe 2 the valves of controller 25 connect line 29 to the high pressure hydraulic fluid input and connect line 28 to the low pressure return line thus causing piston rod 30 to withdraw from the bore of the probe . when the piston has been fully withdrawn the rod 30 no longer contacts micro switch 6 and the valves to lines 28 and 29 are closed . the apparatus is then ready to commence its next cycle . it will be appreciated that the entire sequence of steps in the soil sampling cycle may be automated so that it is only necessary for the operator to initiate operation and the apparatus will complete the cycle without further action by the operator . it will also be appreciated that with this apparatus , once the probe has been withdrawn from the soil , the operator is able to start moving the vehicle to the next sampling site while the device completes the sequence without interfering with such movement .	4
fig1 shows the arrangement of a reproducing apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the input terminal of a display device is grounded to have no signal supplied to the display device unitl a reproducing head is correctly positioned relative to a recording track selected out of a plurality of recording tracks on a recording medium . the illustration of fig1 includes a rotary magnetic recording disc 1 which serves as a rotary type recording medium with a center core 1a disposed in its central portion ; a disc rotating motor 2 which is arranged to drive the disc 1 in the direction of arrow with the center core 1a of the disc 1 attached to the rotating shaft 2a of the motor 2 at a coupling hole provided in the center core 1a ; a disc motor control circuit 3 which makes the motor 2 rotate at a prescribed rotary speed ; a magnetic head 4 ( hereinafter the reproducing head ) which individually and selectively reproduces frequency modulated picture signals recorded in the recording tracks discretely arranged in a concentric manner on the recording surface of the disc 1 ; a bimorph electric - to - mechanical converting element 5 ( hereinafter called the bimorph element ) which carries the reproducing head 4 at its free end in such a way as to shift the head 4 in the direction of crossing the recording tracks on the disc 1 ; a head carriage 6 which has the other end of the element 5 secured thereto ; a head shifting motor 7 ; and a screw shaft 7a which is arranged to be rotated by the motor 7 and has the head carriage 6 in screwed engagement therewith . the head carriage 6 is thus arranged to be moved in the direction of the arrow by virtue of the lead of the screw shaft 7a as the shaft 7a rotates . with the head carriage moved in this manner , the reproducing head 4 is shifted on the disc 1 from one recording track to another . a reference numeral 8 denotes a head shift control circuit which controls the shifting of the head &# 39 ; s position by the motor 7 in response to a head the shift instruction . the embodiment includes a reproduction amplification circuit 9 which amplifies a reproduced signal coming from the reproducing head 4 ; and an envelope detection circuit 10 which detects an envelope of a signal ( rf signal ) produced from the reproduction amplification circuit 9 . the output of the envelope detection circuit 10 is supplied to a tracking control circuit 11 , the positive input terminal of a comparison circuit 12 and a peak - to - peak detection circuit 13 . the tracking control circuit 11 is arranged to control the bimorph element 5 in such a way as to accurately adjust the tracing position of the reproducing head 4 to the selected recording track of the disc 1 on the basis of the output of this detection circuit 10 . the peak - to - peak detection circuit 13 is arranged to detect a difference level between the maximum and minimum levels of the signal detected by the envelope detection circuit 10 . the output of the peak - to - peak detection circuit 13 is supplied to the negative input terminal of a comparison circuit 14 . a reference potential v1 produced from a reference potential source 12a is supplied to the negative input terminal of the comparison circuit 12 . another reference potential v2 produced from a reference potential source 14a is supplied to the positive input terminal of the comparison circuit 14 . the outputs of the comparison circuits 12 and 14 are supplied to an and circuit 15 . the output level of the and circuit 15 becomes high when the output of the envelope detection circuit 10 is above the reference potential v1 and the output of the peak - to - peak detection circuit 13 is below the reference potential v2 . the signal ( rf signal ) produced from the reproduction amplification circuit 9 is demodulated at an ordinary fm demodulation circuit 16 . the demodulated signal is then processed by a known signal processing circuit 17 into a standardized picture signal . under a stable reproducing condition , the picture signal thus obtained is supplied to a display device 19 via the input terminal a and output terminal c of a switch circuit 18 . this display device 19 may be an ordinary crt ( cathode ray tube ). however , an lc ( liquid crystal ) or el ( electro - luminescence ) display device is also usable as the display device 19 . in the case of the apparatus shown in fig1 the display device 19 is arranged to have no signal supplied thereto under a condition in which the reproducing head 4 has not been firmly positioned for a specific recording track on the disc 1 , such as a condition which obtains during the operation of automatic tracking correction means formed jointly by the elements 5 - 11 . the reproduced picture signal is thus arranged to be supplied to the display device 19 only when the reproducing head 4 is correctly positioned relative to the recording track after completion of a tracking correction process or the like . more specifically , the output of the envelope detection circuit 10 is supplied to the comparison circuit 12 to be compared with the reference potential v1 . if the level of the envelope detection output is higher than the reference potential v1 , the reproducing head 4 is determined to have been correctly positioned relative to the recording track . the reproducing head 4 is determined not to have been correctly positioned when the envelope detection output is lower than the reference potential v1 . to ensure a further accuracy of determination , the difference between the maximum and minimum levels of the envelope is compared with the reference potential v2 in addition to the above - stated comparison . for this purpose , the apparatus of fig1 is provided with the detection circuit 13 which is arranged to make peak - to - peak detection of the envelope of the signal . the output of the detection circuit 13 is compared with the reference potential v2 at the comparison circuit 14 . a condition in which the output level of the envelope detetion circuit 10 is above the reference potential v1 and that of the peak - to - peak detection circuit 13 below the reference potential v2 is arranged to be determined by a high output level of the and circuit 15 . when the output level of the and circuit 15 becomes high , the position of the switch circuit 18 is shifted to the terminal a thereof to allow the reproduced picture signal to be supplied to the display device 19 . if the output level of the and circuit 15 is not high , the switch circuit 18 is shifted to a grounding terminal b to have no signal supplied to the display device 19 . the embodiment is thus arranged to inhibit any reproduced picture from being displayed before a reproducing operation on a selected recording track of the disc 1 becomes ready to display no disagreeably reproduced picture . fig2 shows a reproducing apparatus as a second embodiment of the invention . this embodiment is arranged to supply a specific picture signal to the display device until the reproducing head is correctly positioned relative to a selected recording track of the recording medium . in fig2 the elements indicated by the same reference numerals as those used in fig1 are of the same arrangement and functions as the corresponding elements shown in fig1 . therefore , description of these same elements is omitted here . the second embodiment includes a picture signal producing circuit 20 which is arranged to produce the above - stated specific picture signal . the specific signal may be any signal that represents a specific pattern or picture . for example , the circuit 20 is arranged to produce a pattern signal such as a character signal representing words &# 34 ; please wait for a while &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; head in access process &# 34 ; prepared by means of a micro - computer , a character generator or the like . in this embodiment , the output of the signal processing circuit 17 is arranged to be supplied via the switch circuit 18 to the display device 19 only after the output level of the and circuit 15 has become high . the signal produced from the picture signal producing circuit 20 is supplied to the display device to have the above - stated specific picture displayed there before the output level of the and circuit 15 becomes high . as described in the foregoing , the first embodiment ( fig1 ) is arranged to supply a reproduced picture signal to the display device only when the reproducing head is properly positioned for a desired recording track by a tracking correction operation or the like in shifting the reproducing head from one recording track to the desired recording track , so that the observer can be saved from having a disagreeable feeling due to an unstably reproduced picture . in addition to the same advantage mentioned above , the second embodiment ( fig2 ) is arranged to give another advantage which resides in that a specific picture is displayed at the display device before the reproducing head is properly positioned for the recording track . this arrangement effectively prevents the interest of the observer in the picture to be displayed from fading away during the waiting period . in accordance with the invented arrangement as shown in fig1 and 2 , whether the reproducing head is correclty positioned for the desired recording track or not can be detected and the supply of a reproduced picture signal to the display device can be controlled accordingly with simple circuit arrangement . further , in the specific embodiment described , the invention is applied to a magnetic disc reproducing apparatus using a magnetic disc as recording medium . however , the invention is not limited to such application . the invention is applicable also to a magnetic drum reproducing apparatus adapted for use of a magnetic drum or to an optical disc reproducing apparatus using an optical disc . as regards the signals to be handled , the signal usable in accordance with the invention is not limited to a picture signal such as a tv signal but may be such a data signal that is used in a floppy disc device . the advantageous effect of the present invention is also attainable in reproducing a still picture as seen in the case of a video cassette player . the applications of the invention is , therefore , not limited to reproducing apparatuses of the kind using a rotary recording medium . the display device may be arranged either as a part of the reproducing apparatus or as a discrete device . in the specific embodiments given in the foregoing , the automatic tracking means is used in positioning the reproducing head for a desired recording track . however , in accordance with the invention , any other means may be employed in place of the automatic tracking means for that purpose so far as the reproducing head can be correctly positioned relative to the desired recording track by such other means .	6
the heat exchangers have first delimiting elements 1 , through which a hot exhaust gas flows , and a second delimiting element 2 , through which a liquid coolant flows . the delimiting elements 1 run substantially parallel to the main direction of extent of the delimiting element 2 ( not illustrated ) and are arranged inside the delimiting element 2 . at the heat exchangers shown in fig1 and 2 , the exhaust gas enters the first delimiting elements 1 from the right and emerges to the left or upward , respectively . the separating element 3 is arranged substantially orthogonally to the main direction of extent of the second delimiting element 2 . in a front end region , the separating element 3 is connected in a sealing manner to the second delimiting element 2 , the sealing connection being formed by a cohesive connection 10 using the first or second connecting material . the separating element 3 has openings which substantially correspond to the cross sections of the first delimiting elements 1 and into which the first delimiting elements 1 are fitted , so that they are each surrounded , in a substantially positively locking manner , by the separating element 3 in one of their end regions . the first delimiting elements 1 are connected to the separating element 3 in a sealing manner in their end regions , the sealing connection being formed by a cohesive connection 11 using the first connecting material , since the cohesive connection 11 is exposed to the full temperature of the exhaust gas and the corrosive action of the exhaust - gas condensate . in the region of the rear end , at the opposite end from the separating element 3 , of the second delimiting element 2 , the heat exchanger apparatus shown has a further separating element ( not shown ), the further separating element preferably being surrounded in a substantially positively locking manner in a similar way to in the front region , by the end region of the second delimiting element 2 and being connected thereto in a sealing manner by a cohesive connection . similarly to in the front region of the heat exchanger , there is a sealing connection between the first delimiting elements 1 and the further separating element in the rear end region of the first delimiting elements 1 , the connection being made to the further separating element ( not shown ), which surrounds them in a substantially positively locking manner . in their rear regions , the heat exchangers shown in fig1 and 2 have a fourth delimiting element 5 . between the fourth delimiting element 5 and the second delimiting element 2 there is a sealing connection which is formed in a cohesive connection 12 . depending on the strength of the corrosive and / or oxidizing action of the exhaust gas flowing through the first delimiting elements 1 on the connecting materials of the cohesive connections between the respective separating elements , the delimiting elements and the respective connection pieces , and depending if appropriate on whether and to what extent the connecting materials of the cohesive connections are exposed to the exhaust - gas condensates , these cohesive connections may be produced using the first and / or second connecting material . in the region of the cohesive connection 12 between the fourth delimiting element 5 and the second delimiting element 2 , the connecting material which forms the cohesive join is exposed to exhaust gas which has already cooled down , and consequently this sealing connection can be made using the second connecting material . however , since the corrosive action of the exhaust - gas condensate may still be present , here too it is preferable to use the first connecting material . fig1 shows the third delimiting element 4 in the form of an illustration which is taken from the second delimiting element 2 . the third delimiting element 4 touches the end region of the second delimiting element 2 in a substantially positively locking manner ; it is cohesively connected in a sealing manner to the second delimiting element 2 by the joining process . depending on the extent to which the material which forms the cohesive join in the region of the connection between the third delimiting element 4 and the second delimiting element 2 is exposed to the exhaust gas , the cohesive connection 12 between the third delimiting element 4 and the second delimiting element 2 is produced using the first or second connecting material . the third delimiting device 4 and the fourth delimiting device 5 are connected in a sealing manner to first and second connection flanges 6 , 7 . the sealing connection between the first and second connection pieces 6 , 7 and the third or fourth delimiting element 4 , 5 is formed as a cohesive connection 13 or 14 , respectively . the cohesive connections 13 and 14 may be welded or soldered ; in the latter case , it is preferable to use the second connecting material for cost reasons and because the connections are not directly exposed to the flow of the first fluid . in its rear , lower region and in its front , upper region , the second delimiting element 2 has third and fourth connection pieces 8 and 9 , respectively , which are connected in a sealing manner to the second delimiting element 2 . the sealing connections between the connection pieces 8 , 9 and the second delimiting element 2 are designed as cohesive join 15 , 16 , the material which forms the cohesive join being the second connecting material , since it is not exposed to the flow of the exhaust gas , and therefore there are no particularly high demands as regards resistance to corrosion and / or oxidation imposed on the connecting material in the region of the connections 15 , 16 . the exhaust gas which flows through the heat exchanger flows through the connection piece 6 , which is connected to the third delimiting element 4 , into the first diffusor space , which is formed by the third delimiting element , and then out of this first diffusor space through the first delimiting elements 1 , which are designed in the form of rectangular tubes . after the exhaust gas has flowed through the first delimiting elements 1 along first flow paths , in the rear region of the heat exchanger it passes into the second diffusor chamber , which is delimited by the fourth delimiting element 5 , and it then flows out of the second diffusor chamber through the second connection flange 7 . the coolant at least partially flows through the heat exchanger illustrated in a direction of flow which is substantially parallel or parallel but opposite to the direction of flow of the exhaust gas . in the situation in which the coolant flows parallel to the exhaust gas , the coolant flows through the fourth connection piece 9 , which is flow - connected to the second delimiting element 2 , into the second flow path , which is delimited by the second delimiting element , and then back out of this second flow path through the third connection piece 8 . if the coolant flows parallel but opposite to the exhaust gas , the coolant flows into the second flow path through the third connection piece 8 . in the front region of the heat exchanger , the coolant , after it has taken up heat from the exhaust gas as it flows through the second delimiting element , emerges again from the second flow path through the fourth connection piece 9 , which is flow - connected to the second delimiting element 2 .	5
preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the figures , like numerals being used to refer to like and corresponding parts of the various drawings . [ 0037 ] fig1 shows one embodiment of the scalable wdm optical ip router architecture for data packet switching of the present invention . optical switch 10 can take as inputs from 1 to n input wdm fibers 12 , where n is an arbitrary number whose value is determined by switch size and technology constraints , as discussed more fully below . input wdm fibers 12 can carry optical data packets consisting of payload data bits and data packet header information . header information can be extracted and processed electronically via control unit 20 . the remainder of a data packet can pass through optical switch 10 in an entirely optical format , and output from optical switch 10 on one of n output wdm fibers 48 . control unit 20 can direct the operation of the various components of optical switch 10 to ensure the ip data packets are routed to the correct output . control unit 20 can perform this function by processing the data packet &# 39 ; s header information to generate control signals . control unit 20 can then continually update the control signal information for space switch blocks 18 and broadcast and select switches 26 based on incoming header information . electrical - to - optical converters 70 are used to convert the generated control signals from an electrical to an optical format for controlling the operation of space switches 18 and broadcast and select switches 26 . the number of electrical - to - optical converters 70 can be from 1 to n , the number of input fibers 12 . space switches 18 and broadcast and select switches 26 will be discussed more fully below . input wdm fibers 12 carry input wdm signals 11 . input wdm signals 11 can contain data packets assigned to and carried along different wavelengths . input wdm signals 11 arrive at preamplifiers 14 where the signals are amplified and forwarded to input splitters 16 . optical switch 10 can have from 1 to n preamplifiers 14 and from 1 to n input splitters 16 , one each corresponding to each of the 1 to n input wdm fibers 12 . input splitters 16 are 1 × n splitters that split each of the incoming input wdm signals 11 into n identical signals and forward these duplicate signals to each of the n space switch blocks 18 . each of the n space switch blocks 18 thus receives as inputs each of the 1 to n input wdm signals 11 . the main function of space switch blocks 18 is to resolve potential wavelength conflicts among the incoming data packets . each input wdm fiber 12 can carry up to n wavelengths that can be assigned to incoming data packets , where n is an arbitrary number determined by the capacity of currently available switching technology . these wavelengths carried along the different input wdm fibers 12 can possibly overlap between different input wdm fibers 12 , resulting in a potential conflict if one or more data packets on different fibers are assigned the same wavelength . when these data packets are routed through an optical ip router , they can potentially conflict with one another . because there are up to n input wdm fibers 12 , and each input wdm fiber 12 can have up to n wavelengths assigned to it , the total number of possible wavelengths is n × n . currently , each input wdm fiber 12 can have up to 32 wavelengths . space switch blocks 18 can prevent conflicts that may exist when two or more data packets are destined for the same output . if each of two or more input wdm fibers 12 simultaneously carry data packets whose output destination and wavelength are the same , there exists a potential for a conflict to occur as the data packets are routed to their intended output wdm fiber 48 , with the corresponding potential loss of data . to avoid these potential conflicts , space switch blocks 18 , under the control of control unit 20 , can direct each data packet on each of the 1 to n input wdm fibers 12 to a specific , and possibly different , broadcast and select switch 26 . [ 0042 ] fig2 is a close - up block diagram of an optical space switch block 18 of fig1 . as shown in fig2 each optical space switch block 18 contains from 1 to n space switch splitters 51 . space switch splitters 51 split each of the incoming wdm input signals 11 into up to n identical signals and route these signals , one each , to each of 1 to n space switches 19 along signal lines 52 . each of the 1 to n space switches 19 within each space switch block 18 thus receives as an input each of the 1 to n input wdm signals 11 . each space switch 19 within each space switch block 18 will process the 1 to n input wdm signals 11 and output a selected wavelength data packet . the wavelength selected for output from each of the space switches 19 can change as determined by control inputs from control unit 20 . within each space switch 19 , the 1 to n input wdm signals 11 are each received at a different signal semiconductor optical amplifier ( soa ) 53 . each signal soa 53 acts as an on / off switch that can either pass a signal when “ on ” or can block a signal from passing when “ off .” signal soas 53 can be controlled by an input signal from control unit 20 . each signal soa 53 can have a driver to control its operation . for example , if the current through a signal soa 53 is one value ( e . g ., 200 milliamps ), then the signal soa 53 can become transparent and pass an incoming signal . alternatively , if the current value through a signal soa 53 is a lesser value ( e . g ., 50 milliamps ), the signal soa 53 can become obscure and absorb the optical signal , preventing transmission . signal soas 53 can provide the capability for fast data packet switching . signal soas 53 can thus be used to select within each space switch 19 one or more input wdm signals 11 to forward to a signal coupler 54 . each signal coupler 54 couples together the selected signals within each space switch 19 and forwards them to a space switch signal demultiplexer 56 . each space switch signal demultiplexer 56 separates the coupled signals forwarded from an input coupler 54 into their component wavelength data packets . each space switch signal demultiplexer 56 forwards the separated data packets to a second bank of soas , space switch wavelength soas 58 , that can select one or more wavelengths to forward to a space switch output multiplexer 62 . each space switch output multiplexer 62 can multiplex the selected one or more wavelengths for output from its respective space switch 19 . space switch wavelength soas 58 operate in the same manner as signal soas 53 , as discussed above . the output data packets from each space switch 19 are forwarded to input wavelength converters 22 of fig1 . each space switch 19 within each space switch block 18 performs the same function . each can select a different wavelength data packet to forward , or one or more of the space switches 19 can select the same wavelength data packet to forward , to a different broadcast and select switch 26 . in this way , optical switch 10 of the present invention can provide for a much higher level of utilization of each of the broadcast and select switches 26 . space switch blocks 18 can , under the control of control unit 20 , select and forward particular data packets on a given wavelength to a broadcast and select switch that at a given point in time is underutilized . for example , some broadcast and select switches 26 may be receiving a high level of data traffic , while other broadcast and select switches 26 may be receiving a very low level of data traffic . control unit 20 can provide a control input to optical switch blocks 18 to control the routing of incoming data packets and maximize the efficiency and utilization of broadcast and select switches 26 . although optical switch 10 is an optical switch architecture , a separate layer of electronics , in the form of control unit 20 , can be used to control data packet routing in optical switch 10 . control unit 20 can provide control information to space switch blocks 18 based on extracted header information from each data packet carried on the n input wdm fibers 12 . control unit 20 can also provide control input to each of the broadcast and select switches 26 . control unit 20 provides these control inputs directly to the soas in each of space switches 19 and broadcast and select switches 26 . header information is extracted from each data packet before the data packet arrives at preamplifiers 14 of fig1 . the header information is forwarded to control unit 20 through input optical - to - electrical converters 50 , which convert the header information from an optical to an electric format . control unit 20 can determine from the extracted header information what wavelengths are being used within each input wdm fiber 12 . control unit 20 can route data packets based on their header information so that each of the data packets reaches its intended switch output without conflict or loss / corruption of data . if the possibility of conflict between data packets exists , control unit 20 can issue an appropriate control signal to properly route the data packets , as discussed above , to avoid the potential conflict . returning now to fig1 each optical switch block 18 can output from 1 to n data packet signals . the data packets output from an optical switch block 18 at a given time can be different data packets along each of the 1 to n outputs , or two or more data packets along two or more of the 1 to n outputs can be the same , or any combination of same and different data packets can occur within the capacity of the switch block 18 . all of the outputs from the space switches 19 of a space switch block 18 will be assigned the same internal wavelength by input wavelength converters 22 . for example , all of the outputs from the first space switch block 18 , whether identical data packets or not , might be assigned to internal wavelength λ 1 , and so on for the second , third , etc ., optical switch blocks 18 . the present invention can have from 1 to n internal wavelengths λ 1 . . . λ n . in this way , optical space switch blocks 18 can provide a great deal of routing flexibility for the data packets carried along input wdm signals 11 . an incoming data packet can be routed to a single broadcast and select switch 26 , or can be sent to two or more broadcast and select switches 26 . the broadcast and select switch to which a data packet is sent need not be fixed , and thus any of broadcast and select switches 26 can be used to carry any given data packet . the 1 to n outputs from each of optical space switch blocks 18 are forwarded to individual input wavelength converters 22 . input wavelength converters 22 can convert the wavelength of the data packets they receive to a new , and potentially different , wavelength . input wavelength converters 22 are fixed wavelength converters that convert incoming data packet wavelengths to the same new wavelength each time . the output wavelength of the input wavelength converters 22 can be different for each input wavelength converter 22 , but the output wavelength for a given input wavelength converter 22 will always be the same assigned wavelength . each broadcast and select switch ( bss ) 26 has n input wavelength converters 22 , one for each of the 1 to n internal wavelengths . each bss 26 can thus process all of the n internal wavelengths used by optical switch 10 . from input wavelength converter 22 , each data packet with newly assigned internal wavelength is forwarded to a fixed wavelength filter 24 . a fixed wavelength filter 24 can filter out ase ( broadband ) noise generated by the fixed wavelength input wavelength converters 22 . as opposed to tunable wavelength converters , fixed wavelength converters generate ase noise in a narrow band . a narrow band pass filter , like fixed wavelength filters 24 , can thus be used to filter and reduce the ase noise generated by the fixed wavelength converters . by filtering out and reducing the ase noise in the data packet signals , the architecture of optical switch 10 can be scaled to allow for a very large number of input / output ports . the noise generated by input wavelength converters 22 does not significantly limit the scaling capacity of optical switch 10 of this invention , as is the case in prior art optical switches employing tunable wavelength converters . the architecture of the present invention can thus be used in multi - terabit per second optical ip packet switches . the data packets output from each of the fixed wavelength filters 24 are forwarded to a broadcast and select switch 26 . optical switch 10 can have up to n broadcast and select switches 26 , one each for each of the possible wavelengths carried on input wdm fibers 12 and output wdm fibers 48 . the total number of ports in optical switch 10 is thus n × n , the number of internal wavelengths ( n ) multiplied by the number of bsss 26 ( n ). broadcast and select switches 26 can route data packets received as inputs to a desired output wdm fiber 48 and resolve any time ( space ) domain conflicts . an optical fiber delay line ( fdl ) buffer bank 74 is used in each broadcast and select switch 26 for optical “ memory ” to minimize or prevent conflicts and reduce the data packet loss rate and enhance the statistical multiplex gain . each of the n outputs of each broadcast and select switch 26 is connected to a different one of n output multiplexers 32 through a shuffle net connection . each broadcast and select switch 26 can resolve conflicts among data packets in the time domain , and can provide for multicast / broadcast function in the time domain , as opposed to space switch blocks 18 , which can provide multicast / broadcast function in the wavelength domain . [ 0055 ] fig3 is a close - up block diagram of a broadcast and select switch 26 of fig1 . each bss 26 takes as inputs at a broadcast and select input multiplexer 70 data packets assigned to each of the 1 - n internal wavelengths by input wavelength converters 22 . each broadcast and select internal multiplexer 70 combines the 1 - n internal wavelength data packets into a combined signal 71 . each combined signal 71 is forwarded to a broadcast and select input splitter 72 , which can split the combined signal into 1 to b identical signals that are then forwarded to an fdl buffer bank 74 . any of the n internal wavelengths coming into a broadcast and select switch 26 can potentially carry the information that will eventually be output along any one of ( or all ) output wdm fibers 48 . logically , the fiber delay line buffers 75 of each fdl buffer bank 74 are each an output queue for output wdm fibers 48 . control unit 20 of fig1 can provide a control input to each bss 26 in the same manner as previously described . in this way , different broadcast and select switches 26 can be controlled in parallel to route data packets to particular output wdm fibers 48 based on their destination address . since each input port for each bss 26 carries only a single wavelength , it is thus possible to avoid the use of tunable wavelength converters in favor of fixed input wavelength converters 22 . each fdl buffer bank 74 receives as inputs the 1 - b identical split signals from its respective broadcast and select input splitter 72 . each fdl buffer bank 74 can have up to b fdl buffers 75 . the number of fdl buffers 75 in each fdl buffer bank 74 can be scaled to any number , but is limited by cost of components . this is because as the number of fdl buffers 75 increases , the number of broadcast and select signal soas 78 in each bss 26 also increases . fdl buffers 75 within each fdl buffer bank 74 can each provide an increasing level of delay , with the first delay level being a zero delay . each subsequent fdl buffer 75 can insert an additional unit level of delay , where a unit level of delay can be the average data packet length . once each of the b combined signals 71 has been delayed by the necessary amount in an fdl buffer 75 , the now delayed signals are forwarded to delay splitters 76 . each of delay splitters 76 split their respective delayed combined signal 71 into n identical signals and forward each of these signals to a separate broadcast and select signal soa 78 , such that the b differently delayed signals output from a fdl buffer bank 74 are each forwarded to a broadcast and select signal soa 78 within an soa bank 79 associated with each of 1 to n broadcast and select signal couplers 80 . there is thus one broadcast and select signal soa 78 for each of the n copies of each of the b delayed signals . broadcast and select signal soas 78 operate in the same manner as previously described for signal soas 53 and space switch wavelength soas 58 . based on a control input from control unit 20 , broadcast and select signal soas 78 can selectively block or transmit a signal forwarded from an fdl buffer 75 . the signals that are not blocked by a broadcast and select signal soa 78 are forwarded to their respective broadcast and select signal coupler 80 . there is one broadcast and select signal coupler 80 in each bss 26 for each of the n output wdm fibers 48 . the signals selected by the broadcast and select signal soas 78 in each soa bank 79 and forwarded to the respective broadcast and select signal coupler 80 are then forwarded to a broadcast and select signal demultiplexer 82 associated with that broadcast and select signal coupler 80 . a broadcast and select signal demultiplexer 82 separates the selected delayed signal ( s ) from its respective broadcast and select signal coupler 80 , into their component 1 to n assigned internal wavelengths . each of the assigned wavelength data packet signals output from each of the 1 to n signal demultiplexers 82 can be forwarded to a broadcast and select wavelength soa 84 . there is a broadcast and select wavelength soa for each of the 1 to n wavelengths output from each of the n broadcast and select signal demultiplexers 82 in each bss 26 . each broadcast and select wavelength soa 84 performs the same function in the same manner as previously discussed for space switch wavelength soa 58 . each broadcast and select wavelength soa 84 within each bss 26 operates to select and forward a single wavelength data packet to a broadcast and select output multiplexer 86 . each broadcast and select multiplexer 86 combines the selected ones of the 1 to n internal wavelength data packets forwarded from its respective broadcast and select signal demultiplexer 82 into a combined signal forwarded to an output wavelength converter 28 . the data packets forwarded from the broadcast and select output multiplexers 86 of each bss can be distinct or can be duplicates of one or more of the input converted wavelength data packets . in this manner , the n broadcast and select switches 26 can each output up to n data packet signals having any one of the n different wavelengths , and which , together with one or more of the output signals from one or more of the other bsss 26 , can comprise , in whatever combination , up to n complete output signals along the output wdm fibers 48 . returning now to fig1 the selected wavelength data packets output from each broadcast and select output multiplexer 86 are forwarded to and received by an output wavelength converter 28 . optical switch 10 can have up to n × n output wavelength converters 28 , one each for each of the n signals that can be outputted by each of the n broadcast and select switches 26 . output wavelength converters 28 operate in the same manner as input wavelength converters 22 to convert whatever wavelength data packet they receive to a fixed output wavelength . each output wavelength converter 28 therefore always converts its input wavelength to the same output wavelength , regardless of the input wavelength received . each of the 1 to n output wavelength converters 28 associated with each of the broadcast and select switches 26 forward their wavelength converted data packets to one of the 1 to n output multiplexers 32 . each output multiplexer 32 combines the data packets it receives as inputs into a single output signal that it then forwards as an output along its respective output wdm fiber 48 . broadcast and select switches 26 can thus select which , if any , input wavelengths they will forward as output wavelengths to each of the output wdm fibers 48 . using control inputs from control unit 20 , broadcast and select switches 26 can therefore be used to broadcast a given signal to a selected output wdm fiber 48 , to all output wdm fibers 48 , or to some in between number of output wdm fibers 48 . the outputs of each broadcast and select switch 26 are thus multiplexed together through a shufflenet connection and sent to their intended output wdm fiber 48 . unlike prior art electronic switching routers , the present invention does not require a dedicated delay buffer for every data packet along every input fiber coming into optical switch 10 , and can thus avoid the additional cost and reduced speed of prior art such systems . instead , in the architecture of the present invention , the total number of internal wavelengths only depends on the number of input / output wdm fibers 12 or 48 . each fdl buffer bank 74 can handle a signal carrying from 1 to n ( the number of input wdm fibers 12 ) internal wavelengths . because of the limitations of current buffer technology and the limitations of current soa technology which allow only a single wavelength to be passed by each soa , the architecture of the present invention currently requires one broadcast and select switch 26 and a corresponding fdl buffer bank 74 , per input wavelength . if soa and fdl buffer technology develop to the point that an soa switch can handle , for example , two wavelengths at a time , the architecture of the present invention permits scaling up or down the number of components . if , for example , each soa can block or transmit two wavelengths instead of the current one wavelength , then space switch blocks 18 could forward along each output two wavelengths instead of the current one , and the number of broadcast and select switches 26 could be reduced by half . this scaling could be accomplished for any increased number of wavelength capacity per soa and fdl buffer bank 74 . the optical ip switching router architecture of the present invention avoids the problems of optical - to - electrical data packet conversion of prior art systems by tapping a single channel ( wavelength ) on each input wdm fiber 12 . this channel can contain all of the control information for the input wdm fiber 12 . additionally , the entire process , except for the header information extraction ( control information extraction ), is entirely optical . the header information , furthermore , is a much smaller amount of data compared to the data packet as a whole . the present invention can therefore allow multiple data packets to be processed together in an all optical format . this can provide the capability for much faster speeds than are possible with current switching technology . the present invention , for example , can process data throughputs of up to 40 gigabits per second or more . the scaleable wdm optical ip router architecture of the present invention is also transparent , meaning that optical switch 10 can operate independently of data transmission speed . returning now to fig1 extracted header information can be reassembled with the remainder of the data packet at the output of optical switch 10 . electrical - to - optical converters 60 , at the output of control unit 20 , can convert the header information back to an optical format to be reassembled with its associated data packet . the present invention thus can reduce the number of optical - to - electrical conversions ( and vice versa ) from that of the prior art ( one conversion for each wavelength ) to just a single conversion for each input wdm fiber 12 of optical switch 10 . each broadcast and select switch 26 provides as an output one or more data packets selected by that broadcast and select switch 26 . these data packets are converted by the output wavelength converters 28 associated with a bss 26 to a single wavelength assigned to that broadcast and select switch 26 . however , although all of the data packets coming out of a given broadcast and select switch 26 &# 39 ; s broadcast and select output demultiplexers 86 , each assigned the same wavelength , they are routed to different output wdm fibers 48 . furthermore , the data packets , although having the same wavelength , can contain different payloads . the architecture of the present invention provides an important advantage by reducing the number of internal wavelengths needed to a number equal to the number of input wdm fibers 12 . because there is an upper limit on the number of wavelengths that each input wdm fiber 12 can carry and that can pass through each soa , by reducing the number of internal wavelengths used , the total number of wavelengths that can be carried through optical switch 10 is increased . the number of input wdm fibers 12 can therefore likewise be increased . this is accomplished by using a number of broadcast and select switches 26 equal to the maximum number of wavelengths that a single input wdm fiber 12 can carry . broadcast and select switches 26 allow the scaling of the architecture of the present invention to handle a large number of wavelengths . as opposed to prior art methods that required n × n total internal wavelengths , the requirement of the present invention of only n internal wavelengths allows scaling to a much greater number of wavelengths , and hence to a greater number of input wdm fibers 12 . a broadcast and select switch 26 and its corresponding fdl buffer bank 74 is used for each wavelength carried by an input wdm fiber 12 . thus , if the number of wavelengths that an input wdm fiber 12 can carry increases , the architecture of the present invention allows scaling up to meet this new capacity by simply adding an additional broadcast and select switch 26 for each additional allowed wavelength . this is similar to the idea discussed above that if the capacity of buffers and soas increases , the number of broadcast and select switches 26 can be decreased . the combination in the architecture of the present invention of space switch blocks 18 with broadcast and select switches 26 provides a mechanism by which conflicts between data packets can be avoided and fiber capacity can be increased . space switch blocks 18 can be used to increase the capacity and throughput of broadcast and select switches 26 by optimizing , using a control input from control unit 20 , the routing of data packets to those broadcast and select switches 26 that at a given time are being underutilized . in broadcast and select switches 26 , the first wavelength conversion that occurs at input wavelength converter 22 is used to prevent conflicts between data packets at fdl buffer banks 74 . this is because data packets coming from different input wdm fibers 12 may have the same initial wavelength and , since they are being combined to be input into fdl buffer banks 74 , they can conflict . to avoid such conflicts , input wavelength converters 22 convert the wavelengths of the data packets being combined to be processed by a single fdl buffer bank 74 . the fdl buffers 75 within each fdl buffer bank 74 are used to prevent conflict at the output of broadcast and select switches 26 , and hence at the output of optical switch 10 . by inserting an appropriate amount of delay into the signals received within a single broadcast and select switch 26 , fdl buffers 75 can be used to prevent conflicts in time at the output of optical switch 10 . space switch blocks 18 are thus used to route incoming data packets to appropriate broadcast and select switches 26 to maximize the utilization of broadcast and select switches 26 , and broadcast and select switches 26 are used to buffer and route the wavelength converted data packets to their designated outputs . broadcast and select switches 26 can provide broadcast and multicast functions at the switch level in a more efficient manner , and with less possibility of data corruption and / or loss , than prior art systems . as previously discussed , the architecture of the present invention can be scaled down if it becomes possible to carry two wavelengths per output from each space switch 19 . in such a case , savings in components can be accomplished because the number of signals output from space switch blocks 18 is less , and hence the number of broadcast and select switches 26 required would be less . the outputs from space switch blocks 18 would be reduced by a factor equal to the number of wavelengths that would be processed by each of the space switches 19 . the architecture of the present invention permits scaling to a capacity of up to 10 terabits per second . current existing state of the art routers only have a capacity of up to 100 gigabits per second . the architecture of the present invention thus permits a data throughput speed up to 100 times faster than currently existing technologies . for example , if the transmission speed of the data coming through an optical switch 10 of the present invention is 10 gigabits per second , and each fiber can carry 32 wavelengths , the capacity of the architecture of the present invention can be in the range of 10 terabits per second . although the present invention has been described in detail herein with reference to the illustrative embodiments , it should be understood that the description is by way of example only and is not to be construed in a limiting sense . it is to be further understood , therefore , that numerous changes in the details of the embodiments of this invention and additional embodiments of this invention will be apparent to , and may be made by , persons of ordinary skill in the art having reference to this description . it is contemplated that all such changes in additional embodiments are within the spirit and true scope of this invention as claimed below .	7
fig1 illustrates , in the schematic illustration through a longitudinal section , the manner of operation of a first exemplary embodiment . a pair of expansion units 10 , 12 is realized by means of a magnetic shape - memory alloy material ( for example nimnga ( as a mono -, multi - or polycrystal ), magnetic field strength of approximately 11 ). materials of this type are known from the prior art and are distinguished in that they experience a change in length in response to an applied magnetic field ; in practice , this change in length is typically approximately 4 % to 6 %, up to approximately 10 %, of the elongation of such a material in relation to the extension direction . as shown in fig1 , the shape - memory alloy material 10 can be expanded by a magnetic field ( group of arrows 14 ), this magnetic field being generated by a coil pair 16 in response to an electrical activation . analogously , a second coil pair 18 generates a magnetic field ( group of arrows 20 ) for the second expansion unit 12 . as can additionally be seen in fig1 , the ( initially linear ) actuating action of the expansion units is coupled to a tilting and / or pivoting lever 26 , which is mounted such that it can tilt and / or pivot about a stationary rotary shaft 28 and serves as a drive element for an output partner ( that is to say , for example , an air - control valve for a vehicle interior ), against the force of a respectively associated compression spring 22 ( for setting a force or movement operating point ) and in a manner mechanically coupled by means of a tappet unit 24 which extends in the expansion direction of the units 10 and 12 . in response to , for example , power being supplied to the coil unit 16 , the shape - memory alloy material of the first expansion unit 10 would , during operation of the unit according to fig1 , carry out a predetermined expansion movement in the direction of arrow 30 , with the result that , by force being applied to the lever 26 , said lever is moved into a pivoted position , indicated by the dashed line according to reference numeral 32 . in this operating state , the coil unit 18 is preferably not supplied with power , and therefore a magnetic field is not applied to the expansion unit 12 ; instead , said expansion unit is contracted by the mechanical action of force along arrow 34 by the lever 26 ( in its position 32 ). a corresponding reversal in polarity or exchanged activation would then analogously cause a tilting and / or pivoting of the lever 26 in the opposite direction of rotation . fig2 illustrates the tilting or lever geometry of an arrangement of this type : said figure again shows how the pair of expansion units 10 , 12 mechanically interact with the tilting lever 26 ( requisite magnetic field means are not shown in fig2 ) and it can be seen that , in order to realize an effective tilting and / or pivoting movement a ( of , for example , 60 °, as shown in fig2 ), this geometry is determined firstly by a magnetic field - induced change h in length of each of the expansion units , and secondly by a free limb length d of the pivoting lever 26 , measured from the pivoting shaft 28 up to the effective point of contact with one of the expansion units ( the extension , illustrated in dashed lines , of the units 10 , 12 illustrates the expanded , stretched operating state ). in addition to the geometry shown in fig2 , an expansion or stretching force of the units 10 , 12 , which ( in a manner induced by the physical behavior of the shape - memory alloy material used ) is approximately proportional to the material cross section of the respective expansion units perpendicular to the stretching direction , is important for dimensioning . the combination of the expansion force , which can be dimensioned in this way , in conjunction with the lever geometry d therefore permits a desired torque about the rotation shaft 28 to be measured and set up . as illustrated in the above description of fig1 , the use of compression or return springs 22 is not necessary in principle . however , an operating mode of an arrangement according to fig1 , according to which both coils are supplied with power at the same time ( but at different levels ), and therefore proportional behavior of the rotary actuator can be achieved , that is to say any desired intermediate angle is achieved , by means of suitable power regulation ( and therefore setting of the magnetic fields 14 , 20 ), is feasible . the above description also shows that the arrangement is bistable when power is not supplied , that is to say , the tilting lever 26 , as the drive element , remains in a respective end position ( that is to say , for example , with a stretched first expansion element and contracted second expansion element , and vice versa ), without a magnetic field needing to applied and therefore without power needing to be supplied to the coil units 16 and / or 18 in one of these end positions . a second exemplary embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to fig3 and 4 . a pair of expansion units 40 , 42 comprising a magnetic shape - memory alloy material again interacts with a drive element 26 , which is pivotably mounted as a tilting lever , with the interposition of tappet units 24 ; the respective ( intermediate ) positions are controlled in a stable manner without power being supplied or with reduced power . however , in contrast to the exemplary embodiment of fig1 , the pair of expansion units are jointly acted on by a coil pair 44 with an electrically induced magnetic field , indicated by the group of solid - line arrows 46 . in addition , the permanent magnetic field of permanent magnets 48 and 50 acts on each of the expansion units , said permanent magnets being associated with the expansion unit 40 or 42 in the shown manner and each exerting a permanent magnetic field on the shape - memory alloy material , said permanent magnetic field being indicated by the arrows 52 ( for the permanent magnet 48 ) and 54 ( for the permanent magnet 50 ) which are illustrated in dashed lines . the manner of operation of this arrangement is explained below with reference to the movement / magnetic field graph in fig4 , where it is assumed that a permanent magnetic field of field strength b 0 is generated by the permanent magnets 48 and 50 . the polarity , which alternates due to current pulses , can now be achieved in that the expansion units alternately expand and contract again in the extension direction ( arrow direction 56 for expansion , 58 for contraction ), the springs 22 which are again indicated schematically generating an intentional mechanical prestress . therefore , under the permanent magnetic biasing fields + b 0 and − b 0 , the units 40 and 42 are in their starting position : the right - hand expansion unit 42 is extended ( position 60 in fig4 ), the left - hand expansion unit 40 is compressed ( position 62 ). a power supply pulse for the coil pair 44 , which generates a coil field of field strength b sp ≈ b 0 , leads to a field of strength − b 0 + b sp ≈ 0 being applied to the unit 42 , and , in contrast , a field of strength b 0 + b sp ≈ 2b 0 being applied to the unit 40 . accordingly , unit 42 moves , in the direction of arrow pair 64 in fig4 , from position 60 to position 66 , and unit 40 moves from position 60 to position 68 . this has the effect that the unit 40 ( due to the action of the prestressing spring 22 ) is compressed , whereas unit 42 is extended at the same time , with the result that , after the end of the pulse , an inverse movement state 70 , 72 , which is pivoted in an opposite end state , is achieved compared to the initial state 60 , 62 . analogous behavior in the opposite direction is achieved , with the hysteresis pattern shown in fig4 , by virtue of a current pulse to the coil unit 44 , this current pulse producing a coil field b sp =− b 0 . the actuator is again stable in both end positions without any power being supplied at all , as long as , for example , material - specific force limits are not exceeded . further modifications , in particular the arrangement according to fig3 , are possible within the scope of the present invention . according to an additional development ( not shown in the figures ), it is feasible for the coil field which is to be produced by electrical activation to be realized with just one coil ( which may then have to be larger ). equally , the permanent magnets 48 and 50 provided in fig3 do not have to be equally strong and / or have the same dimensions , and in the same way the units 40 and 42 do not have to have the same actuation - related dimensions or symmetrical hysteresis behavior . instead , it is possible , for example , to replace the shown pair of permanent magnets with a ( common ) permanent magnet which is suitably positioned centrally or asymmetrically between the pair of expansion units , in the same way that asymmetry of the permanent - magnetically or electromagnetically generated field can be deliberately planned . according to the development , it is not necessary , for example , to set the permanent magnetic field strength ( in the sense of biasing ) such that it is central or symmetrical with respect to the hysteresis of fig4 . if , for example , the permanent magnetic field strength is selected to be smaller ( for example of the order of magnitude of the half of b 0 ), one of the expansion units can then advantageously be shortened during the current pulse as early as at a lower field strength and therefore take place earlier than the expansion of the other unit . depending on the desired switching behavior , advance switching or gradation can be achieved : if , for example , a stable position of the actuator switches off the flow through a driven locking valve against a pressure , the reduction in the holding force can initiate the switching process by virtue of the excess pressure before the other expansion unit actively assists the switching process . in addition , an application requirement that , in addition to the spring prestress , different torques and / or forces act on an extended expansion unit in both stable actuating positions can be effectively counteracted by selecting or setting up ( permanent magnetic ) fields ( bias fields ) of correspondingly different magnitudes ; switching in the direction with greater loading is therefore simplified compared to the reverse process and the effect of an asymmetrically acting force is compensated for by the output partner .	8
as shown in fig1 acoustical projector 1 is basically a cylindrical core 2 having a central insulated bobbin 4 , which core 2 optionally is surrounded by a boot or sheath 11 . various internal configurations shown in fig2 , 8 and 9 can be used . in a first present preferred embodiment , shown in axial cross - section in fig2 acoustic projector 1 , which employs variable reluctance transduction , consists of a double - slotted ferromagnetic projector core 2 which is energized by a multi - turn electrical coil 3 wound upon an insulated bobbin 4 . when an electrical signal is introduced into coil 3 , projector 1 vibrates . in general , the shape of core 2 is characterized by a preselected asymmetry configured to create two volumetric mode shapes occurring at widely - spaced resonance frequencies . spring - like retainer clips , 5 , are used to locate and attach bobbin 4 relative to a centrally - located core stem 6 which extends through the throat of bobbin 4 . the base of core stem 6 diverges into two , tapered , scythe - like segments , forming a left - side acoustic radiator 7 and a right - side acoustic radiator 8 . the acoustic radiators are disposed around the core stem such that two longitudinally - disposed axial slots are formed . it is preferred that the base of one radiator 7 be thicker than the base of the other radiator 8 . core 2 can be comprised of insulated metal laminae , such as , for example , a stack of insulated steel punchings , that are held together by fasteners , 9 , such as , for example , threaded rods , bolts , screws , or rivets , which perpendicularly pass through fastener apertures 10 in the laminae . however , instead of steel punchings , core 2 could also be fabricated by machining ferrite or by sintering iron powder . in this present preferred embodiment , the entire core 2 may be surrounded by a suitable sheath or boot 11 which is composed of rubber , preferably of buna or rho - c type , and can be affixed to core 2 by means of an adhesive . it is preferred that the rubber boot is acoustically transparent . it is further preferred to entrap within boot 11 a gas , such as , for example , air or an inert gas , to fill the interior cavity 12 of the device . the pressure of gas may be adjusted to provide hydrostatic depth compensation via pressurization to less than or equal to the ambient pressure at operating depth . boot 11 can prevent the escape of such gas into the environment and the inrush of the acoustic medium , typically sea water , into interior cavity 12 . also , it may be desirable to fill cavity 12 with a fluid such as castor oil . in this circumstance , the boot also prevents the escape of the fluid into the external environment . in addition , boot 11 can acoustically couple vibrating surfaces to the acoustic medium and can isolate interior cavity from a corrosive , external environment , thereby protecting electrical components within projector 1 . in fig3 acoustic projector 21 is illustrated in profile . laminations are often used in magnetostrictive materials to ameliorate the effects of eddy currents within the transducer materials . spacers 25 separate the projector core into core lamination stacks 22 . core stacks 22 are energized by electrical coil 23 wound upon bobbin 24 . spacers 25 can decrease mechanical q by simultaneously increasing the active surface area of the core and decreasing the effective inertia per unit surface area of the core . by decreasing mechanical q of a transducer , the bandwidth of the vibrational frequencies of acoustic projector 21 becomes increased . it is preferred that spacers 25 be fabricated of material which has both a lower mass per unit volume than , and a very low magnetic permeability relative to , the material of which core stacks 22 are fabricated . materials suitable for spacer material can include , for example , aluminum , titanium , plastics , carbon fiber composites , or chopped fiber composites . in the case of electrically - conductive materials , spacers 25 could have an electrically - insulative coating . such coatings may include , for example , rubber , varnish , or flame - or plasma - sprayed refractory oxides such as aluminum oxide , zirconium oxide , or beryllium copper oxide . typical coating thicknesses may range from 0 . 0001 to 0 . 015 inch , and it is preferred that coating thickness be between 0 . 002 to 0 . 010 inch . it is also preferred that spacers be approximately of the same size in each projector , with preferred thickness ranging from 1 / 20 to 1 / 3 of the axial diameter of projector 21 . in addition , it is preferred that the thickness of each lamina of stacks 22 is substantially less than the thickness of each spacer 25 . for example , in the presently preferred embodiment , each lamina of core stacks 22 may range from about 1 / 10 , 000 to 1 / 100 of the axial diameter of projector 21 with a typical lamina thickness of between 0 . 002 to 0 . 016 inch . it is preferred that each of the lamina in each of stacks 22 be of the same thickness . each of core stacks 22 are composed of multiple layers . each layer may consist of as many as 10 , 000 laminae , with a typical stack having between fifty ( 50 ) and one - thousand ( 1 , 000 ) laminae . although it is preferred to do so , there is no requirement to create each of stacks 22 with an identical number of laminae . also , the operating frequency , bandwidth ( q ) and acoustic power output characteristics of acoustic projector 21 may be selected by selecting the number of core stacks 22 used to construct projector 21 . it also is preferred to provide compressive preloading to stacks 22 by applying an amount of torque sufficient to ensure that the static friction load , which would be required to delaminate stacks 22 is less than the maximum dynamic loading encountered during operation . accordingly , core lamination stacks 22 and spacers 25 are preferred to be disposed between upper clamp plate 26 and lower clamp plate 27 . it is preferred that spacers 25 have a layout identical to core stacks 22 including the location and diameter of apertures 34 , 35 created for the insertion of compressive fastener 28 and closure fastener 33 , respectively . plates 26 , 27 may be held in approximation by a plurality of compressive fasteners 28 . in fig2 such fasteners can be represented by fastener 9 . compressive nuts 29 can be attached to either end of compressive fastener 28 to impress a force upon clamp plates 26 , 27 . it is preferred to provide recesses 48 , 49 to accommodate nuts 29 . it also is preferred to interpose washers 30 between nuts 29 and plates 26 , 27 . the desired compressive preloading imposed upon stacks 22 is achieved by applying a preselected torque to compressive nuts 29 which are attached to fastener 28 . in order to accommodate coil 23 and coil bobbin 24 , as they wrap around the assembly of core stacks 22 and spacers 25 it is preferred to provide recess 31 in plate 26 and recess 32 in plate 27 . it is desirable to provide hydrostatic depth compensation to projector 21 . therefore , in this present preferred embodiment , it is preferred to enclose one end of projector 21 by attaching end cap 36 to upper clamp plate 26 , distal to core stack 22 . similarly , it is preferred to enclose the other end of projector 21 by attaching end cap 37 to lower clamp plate 27 , distal to core stack 22 . closure fastener 33 can maintain end caps 36 , 37 in respective relative approximation with plates 26 , 27 by passing through core stacks 22 , spacers 25 , clamp plates 26 , 27 and end caps 36 , 37 . to either end of closure fastener 33 can be attached closure nuts 38 , 39 to provide the desired amount of compressive force to effect the desired clamping force . note that recesses 40 , 41 can be provided in end caps 36 , 37 , to accommodate nuts 38 , 39 , respectively . end caps 36 , 37 make positive contact with clamp plates 26 , 27 , respectively , by means of lands 46 , 47 , each of which has been machined on the interior faces of end caps 36 , 37 , respectively . this contact between end caps 36 , 37 and plates 26 , 27 , occurs in a region where core motion is effectively zero , but simultaneously provides clearance to allow high velocity of the core stem 6 , left - side radiator 7 , and right - side radiator 8 , as seen in fig2 to proceed substantially unimpeded . lands 46 , 47 act to distribute the compressive force exerted by nuts 38 , 39 on closure fastener 33 across a greater amount of the surface of plates 26 , 27 . to prevent environmental intrusion via circumferential leakage about fastener 33 within recesses 40 , 41 , hermetic seals 42 , 43 can be attached to the exterior surfaces of end caps 36 , 37 , which are distal to plates 26 , 27 , and are superior to recesses 40 , 41 , respectively . sheath , or boot , 44 preferably made of buna or rho - c rubber , enshrouds the circumference of projector 21 , covering the exterior circumferences of end caps 36 , 37 , plates 26 , 27 , spacers 25 and core stacks 22 . similar to fig3 core stacks 52 of fig4 can be separated by spacers 55 . however , as shown in fig4 coil 53 passes through stacks 52 and spacers 55 with coil 53 supported on bobbin 54 . bobbin 54 and coil 53 can be positioned around the projections of core stem 75 and spacer projections 76 . a spacer stem projection 76 can be interposed between each adjacent pair of core stem projection 75 . similar to the regime in fig3 compressive preloading of stacks 52 in fig4 can be effected by compressive forces exerted along compressive fastener 58 by compressive nuts 59 as distributed by clamp plates 56 , 57 , in conjunction with washers 60 , respectively . end caps 66 , 67 provide for closure of the ends along the longitudinal axis of projector 51 . sheath 74 provides a hermetic seal against environmentally - induced damage around the circumference of projector 51 . the resonant action of a vrt core can be actuated by applying to a projector core a variable magnetic force . turning to fig5 electrical coil 3 , supported on bobbin 4 , provides a source of magnetomotive force which can act as a driving potential for circulation of magnetic flux 90 within core 2 of projector 1 . flux 90 travels through the core stem 6 , bifurcates at the core stem base 5 , flows up through the respective left - side radiator 7 and right - side radiator 8 , across gaps 89 and back into core stem 6 . the actuating force may be applied perpendicularly to the surfaces of gaps 89 which are defined by the core slots 91 , respectively . the actuating magnetomotive force is attractive , pulling left - side radiator 7 and right - side radiator 8 toward stem 6 . coil 3 can be energized by an ac current or ac voltage waveform which is applied to terminals of coil 3 . fig6 a and 6b illustrate the mode shapes for a 4 . 5 inch diameter device . these mode shapes were determined by constructing two - dimensional finite element model of the vrt core with a finite element analysis computer program . in fig6 a , the deflected core profile outline 100 characterizing a low - frequency volumetric mode shape is illustrated as well as the undeflected core profile outline 101 . similarly in fig6 b , the deflected core profile outline 110 characterizing a high - frequency volumetric mode shape is illustrated as well as the undeflected core profile outline 111 . in the low - frequency model of fig6 a , the low - frequency mode occurs at approximately 933 hz in vacuo . in this model , both left - side radiator 102 and the right - side radiator 103 move in phase in a direction which is away from the stem portion . at the same time , the core stem portion 104 bends toward the left - side radiator 102 , with an effective &# 34 ; hinge &# 34 ; point located near base 105 . because , in this embodiment , a rubber boot may encase the core , thereby entrapping compressible gas within the device interior , the in - phase motion of both radiating sides 102 , 103 may result in a net change in volume for the entire acoustic radiator 106 . this net volumetric change would be responsible for producing the critical monopole content of a low - frequency acoustic radiation field which would be generated when acoustic projector 106 is completely submerged in water and energized . in the high - frequency model of fig6 b , the high - frequency mode occurs at approximately 1460 hz in vacuo . in this model , only left - side radiator 112 moves outward , out of phase with the bending motion of stem portion 114 , while right side radiator 113 remains virtually motionless . as in the model of fig6 a , a rubber boot may encase the core and the deflection of the left - side radiator 112 results in a net volumetric change for the entire acoustic projector 116 , thereby generating an acoustic radiation field with a dominant monopole content . in the models of both fig6 a and 6b , increased inertial loads , resulting from submergence in water , would act to decrease both resonance frequencies by several hundred hertz below the in - vacuo values , but would not significantly alter the mode shapes . turning to fig7 a second present preferred embodiment of the invention herein is illustrated . this embodiment can employ variable reluctance transduction to generate the desired active sonar signal . certain similarities may be noted between the resonator in fig2 and acoustic projector 121 in fig7 . projector 121 consists of a double - slotted ferromagnetic projector core 2 which is energized by a multi - turn electrical coil 3 wound upon an insulated bobbin 4 . in general , the shape of core 2 is characterized by a preselected asymmetry configured to create two volumetric mode shapes occurring at widely - spaced resonance frequencies . spring - like retainer clips 5 , are used to locate and attach bobbin 4 relative to a centrally - located core stem 6 which extends through the throat of bobbin 4 . the base 15 of core stem 6 diverges into two , tapered , scythe - like segments , forming a left - side acoustic radiator 7 and a right - side acoustic radiator 8 . it is preferred that the base of one radiator 7 or 8 is thicker than the base of the other radiator . core 2 can be comprised of insulated metal laminae , such as , for example , a stack of insulated steel punchings , that are held together by fasteners 9 such as , for example , threaded rods , bolts , screws , or rivets , which perpendicularly pass through fastener apertures 10 in the laminae . however , instead of steel punchings , core 2 could also be fabricated by machining ferrite or by sintering iron powder . in this present preferred embodiment , the entire core 2 may be exposed to the operating environment . in this case , interior cavity 12 may be free - flooded with the acoustic medium and gas - filled bladders 131a , 131b may be inserted within interior cavity 12 between core stem 6 , and left - side radiator 7 and right - side radiator 8 , respectively , to provide internal cavity compliance . it is preferred that each bladder 131a , 131b is composed of rubber , preferably of buna or rho - c type . it is further preferred to entrap within bladders 131a , 131b a gas , such as , for example , air or an inert gas , which may be pressurized to produce the desired cavity compliance within the interior cavity 12 of the device . the pressure of gas in bladders 131a , 131b may be adjusted to less than or equal to the ambient pressure at operating depth so that depth - dependent resonance frequency changes may be reduced . individual bladder volume may be changed to control cavity compliance , thereby providing greater control over resonance frequency values . fig8 illustrates a third present preferred embodiment of the present invention . with the exception of bladders 131a , 131b shown in fig7 acoustic projector 141 of fig8 possesses similar components and features . as in fig7 interior cavity 12 can be allowed to free - flood with the acoustic medium . however , unlike in fig7 where internal cavity pressure release is provided by bladders 131a , 131b , in fig8 internal cavity pressure release can be accomplished by compliant tube packs 151a , 151b being located between core stem 6 and left - side radiator 7 and right - side radiator 8 , respectively . it also is preferred that each compliant tube pack 151a , 151b is composed of a semi - rigid but at least partially resilient material such as , for example , plastic or aluminum . in addition to variable reluctance transduction , piezoceramic transduction may be used as a means of generating acoustic signals . fig9 illustrates a fourth present preferred embodiment of acoustic projector 161 according to the invention herein . piezoceramic resonator 162 is fitted into slotted projector support 163 . similarly , central projector insert 166 is fitted into resonator 162 . it is preferred that the outer diameter of resonator 162 closely approximate the inner diameter of support 163 and that the outer diameter of insert 166 closely approximate the inner diameter of resonator 162 . it is also preferred that support 163 , resonator 162 , and insert 166 are bonded together to form a unimorph bender . the resulting topology of this embodiment is similar to the topologies shown in fig2 and 8 . the unimorph bender has a core stem 165 , the base 176 of which diverges into two scythe - like segments each of which form an acoustic radiator . as with the variable reluctance embodiments , the acoustic radiators are disposed around the core stem such that two longitudinally - disposed axial slots 175 are formed . the structure of acoustic projector can be enclosed by a sheath or boot , 171 , which may be composed of rubber , preferably of the buna or rho - c type . as shown in fig1 , whose plane is in the direction of the line x -- x of fig9 piezoceramic acoustic projector 181 is enclosed on either longitudinal end by end caps 186 , 187 . end caps 186 , 187 may be attached near the base 182 of central projector insert stem 165 . compressive preloading of the piezoceramic resonator , however , would be provided by inward deflection of the composite structure due to hydrostatic pressure applied against boot 185 . it is preferred that piezoceramic resonator 183 , slotted projector support 184 , and central projector core insert 188 are sized to position the neutral surface of insert 188 such that no stress inversion occurs within the piezoceramic material of resonator 183 . fig1 illustrates eight geometric parameters which may be used to characterize the topology of the resonating structure of the presently preferred embodiments which have been presented herein . it is preferred to enforce structural asymmetry in order to achieve two volumetric mode shapes . the eight geometric parameters illustrated in fig1 include : left - side radiator 191 internal radius ( irl ), right - side radiator 192 internal radius ( irr ), core stem 193 width ( w ), left core gap ( gl ), right core gap ( gr ), outer diameter of the assembly ( oda ), center point offset along y - axis for left - side radiator ( ycol ), and center point offset along y - axis for left - side radiator ( ycor ). structural symmetry exists where irl = irr , ycol = ycor , and gl = gr . in the case of absolute symmetry , the resulting projector would have a single volumetric mode shape similar to that of a split cylinder , such as that found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 020 , 035 . instead , structural asymmetry can be achieved , for example , by enforcing at least one of the following geometric design shapes : irl & gt ; irr , ycol & gt ; ycor , or gl & gt ; gr . tapering may be necessary to satisfy certain resonance frequency requirements . tapering may be achieved by making ycol & gt ; 0 , or ycor & gt ; 0 , or both . the invention provides an unitary acoustic projector that can transmit acoustic signals in two frequency ranges which uses may include active sonar signal transmission . sonar signal transmission in more than one frequency band can enable one surveillance system to operate in more than one acoustic environment . traditionally , this would entail multiple transmitter designs and an associated increase in the amount of transducer hardware , system cost , and difficulty of deployment . acoustic projectors according to the invention herein are unitary structures that can be resonated to generate acoustic signals with predominant monopole content in two frequency bands which are distinctly separated in the frequency domain . such acoustic projectors can be scalable over a range of frequencies such as , for example , vlf and lf frequency ranges . in addition , the acoustic resonator structure may be resonated by either piezoceramic or variable reluctance transducers . present preferred embodiments of the invention include an acoustic projector structure which can be resonated to generate acoustic signals with predominant monopole content in two frequency bands which are widely spaced in the frequency domain . the topology of the structure exhibits two different volumetric mode shapes in the lf regime . although acoustic projectors having a slotted , split cylinder transducer have been used in the prior art to transmit active sonar signals , such projectors have a single volumetric mode shape , possess only one slot in the projector cylinder , and lack a central stem region which lies along the projector &# 39 ; s plane of symmetry . although the embodiments herein feature geometric topologies based upon circular arcs , the topologies of dual frequency acoustic projectors according to the present invention may be derived from a myriad of mathematical functions including spline functions . in general , the aforementioned topologies provide for accommodation of a wide range of packaging envelopes , operation over a wide range of operating frequencies , and sufficient separation of both volumetric modes in the sub - kilohertz frequency domain to achieve true , two - band signal transmission instead of signal bandwidth augmentation . while specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure . accordingly , the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limited to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the following claims and any and all embodiments thereof .	1
before describing the embodiments of the invention the terminologies used in the description are introduced . an example optical communication network is shown in fig1 . the network consists of six ne &# 39 ; s : n 1 102 , n 2 104 , n 3 106 , n 4 108 , n 5 110 , and n 6 112 . a ne is connected to its two neighboring ne &# 39 ; s through optical links . multiple wavelength instances each of which is identified by a separate channel id can be used in such a network , with each wavelength instance flowing through a particular network segment . fig1 for example , shows three instances of the wavelength λ 1 : λ 1 instance 1 , λ 1 instance 2 and λ 1 instance 3 . each wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network by a head ne , is forwarded from one intermediate ne to another by intermediate nes and is dropped from the network by the tail ne . for the λ 1 instance 1 in fig1 for example , the head ne is n 1 102 , the tail ne is n 4 108 whereas n 2 104 and n 3 106 are the intermediate nes . the set of ne &# 39 ; s that include the head ne , the tail ne and the intermediate nes that lie between the head ne and the tail ne constitute the path for the wavelength instance . the wavelength instance that is added to the optical communication network by the head ne is forwarded by the intermediate nes until it reaches the tail ne where it is dropped from the network . three embodiments for the invention are described . the embodiments differ from one another in terms of the degree of resilience they provide . all the embodiments deploy optical seams for preventing a wavelength instance to be transmitted in unspecified directions . note that an optical seam used in the embodiments is on the optical channel ( och ) layer and not on the optical multiplexing section ( oms ) nor the optical transmission section ( ots ) layers . the first embodiment ensures a single optical seam for the avoidance of ase loops whereas the second ensures two optical seams so that if one of the optical seams fails due to a fault in the network the second is still able to prevent an ase loop . in addition to the two optical seams the third embodiment provides a facility for continuous monitoring of the wavelength instance such that ase gain loops due to mis - provisioning or device failure can be avoided . the continuous monitoring technique is also useful after service creation when a collision among wavelength instances that may accrue from a mis - provisioning or a device failure and can lead to an ase loop is detected . upon detection of such a collision the third embodiment provides a method and system for taking corrective actions such that ase loops are avoided . a detailed discussion of each of the embodiments is presented next . as discussed earlier the wavelength instance is added to the network by the head ne , transmitted to a tail ne where it is dropped from the network . the first two embodiments are based on the creation and advertisement of optical seams : by the head ne in the first embodiment and the by both the head ne and the tail ne in the second embodiment . such an advertisement may be provided by an existing technique such as ospf - te opaque lsas described in katz d . et al . “ 3630 traffic engineering ( te ) extensions to ospf version 2 ”, september 2003 ( format : txt = 27717 bytes ) ( updates rfc2370 ) ( updated by rfc4203 ) ( status : proposed standard ). a short description of the first embodiment is presented next . the method deployed by the head ne for the wavelength instance is illustrated with the help of fig2 . upon start ( box 202 ) the head ne receives an add - request for adding a specific wavelength instance to the optical communication network ( box 204 ). the head ne performs the add operation and then creates an optical seam for the wavelength instance that does not allow the wavelength instance to propagate in unspecified directions . for the example network shown in fig1 , the optical seam created at the head ne n 1 102 will not allow the wavelength instance , λ 1 instance 1 , to reach n 6 112 . after creating the optical seam the head ne advertises the optical seam creation to all the other nes in the network ( box 208 ) and exits ( box 210 ). nes ( e . g . n 5 110 and n 6 112 in the example of fig1 ) that do not lie in the path that spans from a head ne to the tail ne and includes the intermediate nes for the wavelength instance record this information but do not process it . an intermediate ne that lies in the path processes the advertisement when it receives a through - request for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next ne in the path for the wavelength instance . the method deployed by an intermediate ne is explained with the help of the flow chart presented in fig3 . upon start ( box 302 ) the intermediate ne receives a through - request ( box 304 ). the procedure then checks whether or not an advertisement for optical seam creation is received from the head ne of the wavelength instance ( box 306 ). if the advertisement is not received the procedure exits no and loops back to the entry of box 306 . if the advertisement is received the procedure exits yes from box 306 and completes the through - request ( box 308 ) and exits ( box 310 ). the operations performed at the head ne and the intermediate nes are asynchronous and can occur in any order . the creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in fig4 . the optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six nes : n 1 402 , n 2 404 , n 3 406 , n 4 408 , n 5 410 and n 6 412 . the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance are n 1 402 and n 4 408 respectively whereas n 2 404 and n 3 406 are the intermediate nes . the wavelength instance is added at the head ne n 1 402 and is dropped at the tail ne n 4 408 . the sequence of events that lead to the creation of service is presented next . the event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within the gray circles in fig4 . 1 — through - request received at n 3 406 . completing the through - request is held off since the optical seam advertisement is not received . n 1 402 creates optical seam and performs the add operation . since optical seam advertisement is already received , n 2 completes the through - request immediately . the method of the second embodiment is based on the creation and advertisement of optical seams by both the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance . the advantage of creating a second optical seam during the creation of service is the added resilience : if one of the optical seams fails , an ase loop is still prevented by the second optical seam . the method deployed at the head ne is exactly the same as the one depicted for the first embodiment in fig2 . the method deployed by the tail ne is explained with the help of the flow chart in fig5 . upon start ( box 502 ) the head ne receives a drop - request for dropping a specific wavelength instance to the optical communication network ( box 504 ). the tail ne performs the drop operation and then creates an optical seam for the wavelength instance that does not allow the wavelength instance to continue in unspecified directions ( box 506 ). for the example network shown in fig1 , the optical seam created at the tail ne n 4 108 will not allow the wavelength instance , λ 1 instance 1 , to reach n 5 110 . after creating the optical seam the tail ne advertises the optical seam creation to all the other nes in the network ( box 508 ) and exits ( box 510 ). nes that do not lie in the path ( e . g . n 5 110 and n 6 112 in the example of fig1 ) record this information but do not process it . an intermediate ne that lies in the path between the head ne and the tail ne processes the advertisement when it receives a through - request for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next ne in the path . the method deployed by an intermediate ne is explained with the help of the flow chart presented in fig6 . upon start ( box 602 ) the intermediate ne receives a through - request ( box 604 ). the procedure then checks whether or not advertisements for optical seam creation are received from both the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance ( box 606 ). if both the advertisements are not received the procedure exits no and loops back to the entry of box 606 . if both advertisements are received the procedure exits yes from box 606 and completes the through - request ( box 608 ) and exits ( box 610 ). as mentioned earlier , the operations performed at the head ne , the tail ne and the intermediate nes are asynchronous and can occur in any order . the creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in fig7 . the optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six nes : n 1 702 , n 2 704 , n 3 706 , n 4 708 , n 5 710 and n 6 712 . the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance are n 1 702 and n 4 708 respectively whereas n 2 704 and n 3 706 are the intermediate nes . the wavelength instance is added at the head ne n 1 702 and is dropped at the tail ne n 4 708 . the sequence of operations that lead to the creation of service is captured in the sequence of events presented next . the event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within gray circles in fig7 . 1 — through - request received at n 3 706 . completing the through - request is held off since the optical seam advertisements are not yet received . n 1 702 creates optical seam and performs the add operation . n 4 708 creates second optical seam and performs the drop operation . since both optical seam advertisements are already known , n 2 completes the through - request immediately . in addition to the two optical seams used in the second embodiment , the method of the third embodiment introduces a step of checking the valid channel id for avoiding ase loops that may occur as a result of a number of mis - provisioning operations . this is explained with the help of fig8 . consider a set of nes x 802 , z 804 , b 806 , c 808 and a 810 . the desired path for a given wavelength instance with a channel id α is shown in bold in fig8 ( a ) with x 802 as the head ne and z 804 as the tail ne . consider a mis - provisioning event in b 806 that resulted in connecting b 806 to a 810 instead of z 804 . in the absence of channel id monitoring , even if both optical seams are advertised , this error can lead to an ase loop shown in fig8 ( b ), the loop including a 810 , c 808 and b 806 . this is because as soon as both optical seams are advertised a 810 , b 806 and c 808 will comply with the through requests that can lead to the ase loop . the third embodiment that ensures that a valid channel id is observed at the ne before completing a though - request prevents the formation of such an ase loop . in this example , since the expected channel id α is absent on the interface to b 806 at a 810 , a 810 will not complete the through - request . similarly due to the absence of channel id α at the provisioned interfaces , b 806 and c 808 will not complete their through - requests . this prevents the formation of the ase loop shown in fig8 ( b ). the channel id is incorporated by using the wavelength tracker technology that is discussed next . tropic network &# 39 ; s wavelength tracker technology is useful in monitoring of optical networks that carry wavelength instances . monitoring of the path followed by a wavelength instance is achieved by deploying wavelength tracker that identifies the path . the wavelength tracker technology applies a unique optical signature to each wavelength instance at the dense wavelength division multiplexing ( dwdm ) layer . the unique optical signature includes a low frequency modulation of one or more dither tones onto the wavelength instance , which uniquely identify the wavelength instance . this optical signature ( also called a wavekey ) is applied to the wavelength instance at the head ne for the wavelength instance . the optical signature is detectable at intermediate nes on the path via inexpensive decoders present on line cards . detection of the optical signature is accomplished without an optical - electrical - optical ( oeo ) conversion at intermediate nodes , thus resulting in a cost - effective solution . wavelength tracker technology is used for a variety of applications including optical power monitoring and loss of light avoidance . the technology for generating and detecting wavekeys has been described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 963 , 501 by obeda , p . d ., et al , entitled “ topology discovery in optical wdm networks ”, filed on 27 sep . 2001 . as discussed earlier the wavelength instance is added to the network by the head ne , transmitted to a tail ne where it is dropped from the network . the methods deployed in the third embodiment by the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance are the same as depicted in fig2 and fig5 respectively . the method used at the intermediate nes is explained with the flowchart presented in fig9 . upon start ( box 902 ) the intermediate ne receives a through - request ( box 904 ). the procedure then checks whether or not advertisements for optical seam creation are received from both the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance ( box 906 ). if both the advertisements are not received the procedure exits no and loops back to the entry of box 906 . if both advertisements are received the procedure exits yes from box 906 . the next step is to check whether or not a valid channel id for the wavelength instance is received at the intermediate ne ( box 908 ). if a valid channel id is not received the procedure exits no from box 908 and loops back to the entry of box 908 . once a valid channel id is received the procedure exits yes from box 908 , completes the through - request ( box 910 ) and exits ( box 912 ). the creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in fig1 . the optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six nes : n 1 1002 , n 2 1004 , n 3 1006 , n 4 1008 , n 5 1010 and n 6 1012 . the head ne and the tail ne for the wavelength instance are n 1 1002 and n 4 1008 respectively whereas n 2 1004 and n 3 1006 are the intermediate nes . the wavelength instance is added at the head ne n 1 1002 and is dropped at the tail ne n 4 1008 . the sequence of operations that lead to the creation of service is captured in the sequence of events presented next . the event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within the gray circles in fig1 . 1 — through - request received at n 3 1006 . completing the through - request is held off since the optical seam advertisements are not yet received . n 1 1002 creates optical seam and performs the add operation . 4 — n 2 1004 observes valid channel id . wavelength instance is blocked because through - request is not yet received . n 4 1008 creates second optical seam and performs the drop operation . since both optical seam advertisements are already known and valid channel id is received , n 2 1004 completes the through - request immediately . since both optical seam advertisements are already known , n 3 completes the through - request . it is possible for ase loops to occur even after a service is created . such ase loops can be caused by a mis - provisioning event or a device failure . consider for example the example system presented in fig1 ( a ). the system consists of six nes : n 1 1102 , n 2 1104 , n 3 1106 , n 4 1108 , n 5 1110 and n 6 1112 . two wavelength instances are considered . the head ne and the tail ne for λ 1 instance 1 are n 1 1102 and n 4 1106 whereas the head ne and tail ne for λ 1 instance 2 are n 5 1110 and n 6 1112 . fig1 ( b ) describes a situation in which an error or failure has occurred at ne n 4 1108 in the example system of fig1 ( a ). as a result and this ne forwards λ 1 instance 1 onto n 5 1110 . a collision between λ 1 instance 1 and λ 1 instance 2 will occur . such a collision is indicative of an ase loop that spans all the nes in the example system . continuous monitoring of the wavelength instance is performed at each ne in the third embodiment to avoid such a problem . whenever a collision of multiple wavelength instances occurs , multiple channel ids instead of the single valid channel id will be observed at nes . as soon as a collision is detected , the detecting ne forces a break that disables the ase loop . the systems used in the embodiments of this invention include computing devices and network interfaces for inter - communication between the nes . a computing device has a memory for storing the program that performs the steps of the method for avoiding ase loops in optical communication networks . the invention deploys effective methods that provide resilience . for example , two optical seams are used in the second and third embodiments . thus , in the event of the failure of one optical seam , the other optical seam can still prevent an ase loop . an important advantage of the invention is that it provides effective solutions to the problems that that include mis - provisioning events and device failures . such problems are handled effectively both during service creation as well as during normal operation . numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . for example , instead of broadcasting an optical seam creation advertisement to all the nes in the network , the advertisement can be multicast to only those nes that lie in the path for the wavelength instance . moreover , instead of using ospf - te lsa broadcast , a path - based approach implemented via generalized multiprotocol label switching ( gmpls ) for example , can be used for advertising the optical seams . in the case of the third embodiment , once a collision is detected , a break can be forced only at one ne . also , the on - going monitoring approach could be achieved by careful use of optical spectrum analyzers ( osa )/ optical performance monitoring ( opm ) on either side of the wsxc device . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein .	7
before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . the use of “ including ,” “ comprising ,” or “ having ” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items . unless specified or limited otherwise , the terms “ mounted ,” “ connected ,” “ supported ,” and “ coupled ” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings , connections , supports , and couplings . further , “ connected ” and “ coupled ” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings . a fluid level switch 10 of a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . the fluid level switch 10 includes a mounting plate 12 fastened to a vertical wall 14 of an engine by mounting screws 16 . any conventional fastener can be employed to secure the mounting plate 12 to the vertical wall 14 as just described , such as screws , nails , rivets , pins , posts , clips , clamps , inter - engaging elements , and any combination of such fasteners . the mounting plate 12 is l - shaped to include a support portion 18 . as shown in fig2 , the support portion 18 includes three apertures 20 , however , the number of apertures 20 can vary . as better illustrated in fig2 , the support portion 18 comprises two electrical contacts 22 , 24 . the first electrical contact , such as a ground contact 22 , is made from a piece of the support portion 18 that has been bent upwardly a distance from the surface of the support portion 18 , thereby forming an aperture 23 . the second electrical contact is an ignition contact 24 that is made up of a conductive material and that extends through an aperture 26 in the support portion 18 . although the second contact of the illustrated embodiment is described as being an ignition contact , the second contact in other embodiments can alternatively be any live or hot contact not necessarily electrically connected to the ignition . in the illustrated embodiment , an insulator 28 supports the ignition contact 24 and is press - fit into an aperture 29 of the support portion 18 . however , the insulator 28 can be coupled to the support portion 18 in various ways such as the use of fasteners or molding . the insulator 28 acts to prevent electrical contact between the ground contact 22 and the ignition contact 24 . the fluid level switch 10 also includes a cylindrical float housing 30 with protrusions 32 that line up with the apertures 20 for coupling the float housing 30 to the support portion 18 . the float housing 30 has an open end 34 where the protrusions 32 are located and a closed end 36 having a centrally located aperture 38 . in other embodiments , the aperture 38 could be located anywhere on the closed end to vent for air . a gap or cutout 40 in the float housing 30 provides clearance for the insulator 28 when the float housing 30 is coupled to the support portion 18 and allows for a snap - fit assembly . the insulator 28 is partially located within the float housing 30 to reduce the size of the fluid level switch 10 . the location of the insulator 28 can vary and is not limited to the placement shown in fig2 . specifically , the insulator 28 does not have to be located partially within the float housing 30 . a cylindrical float 42 made of a buoyant material is shown in fig2 and 3 . the float 42 is held in a retaining member 44 having a cage structure . both a bottom portion 46 and a top portion 48 of the retaining member 44 are open . the retaining member 44 has a plurality of tabs 50 on the top portion 48 that can retain the float 42 within the retaining member 44 . the float 42 rests on a first lip 52 that includes an outer diameter 54 equal to the upper portion 48 of the retaining member 44 and an inner diameter 55 smaller than that of the float 42 . the first lip 52 thereby supports the bottom 57 of the float 42 . a plate 56 can be positioned between the float 42 and the bottom portion 46 of the retaining member 44 . the plate 56 sits on a second lip 58 on the bottom portion 46 of the retaining member 44 . the second lip 58 is spaced from the first lip 52 a distance d to allow movement of the plate 56 ( having a thickness t ) relative to the float 42 within the retaining member 44 . the plate 56 is disc - shaped and has apertures 60 for weight adjustment . a centrally located , raised portion 61 of the plate 56 helps to prevent the plate 56 from becoming stuck to the float 42 due to viscous properties of the fluid . the raised portion allows only a small portion of the plate 56 to contact the float 42 . the plate 56 , also referred to as a contact plate , is not limited to the illustrated shape , but can take on a plurality of shapes and sizes such that it can provide electrical communication between two contacts . it is preferable that the plate 56 be more dense than the fluid , however it is not required . in the preferred embodiment , gravity pulls the plate 56 down on the contacts 22 , 24 . fig3 illustrates the internal structure of the fluid level switch 10 . the plate 56 rests upon the second lip 58 of the retaining member 44 . between the top of the plate 56 and the bottom 57 of the float 42 is a space 62 . the space 62 allows linear and angular motion of the plate 56 to help improve switching characteristics . the bottom 57 of the float 42 rests upon the first lip 52 of the retaining member 44 , and is held at the top portion 58 of the retaining member 44 by the tabs 50 . in combination , the float 42 , plate 56 , and retaining member 44 define a float assembly 64 ( fig2 ). the float assembly 64 fits within the cylindrical float housing 30 . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the protrusions 32 of the float housing 30 engage the apertures 20 to cover contacts 22 , 24 . the gap 40 in the float housing 30 prevents interference from the insulator 28 when the float housing 30 is coupled to the support portion 18 . a first side of the float housing 30 is defined below the float 42 , and everything located below reference line 63 is considered to be below the float 42 . a second side of the float housing 30 is defined above the float 42 , and everything located above reference line 65 is considered to be above the float 42 . as illustrated in fig3 , both contacts 22 , 24 are below the float 42 and on the first side of the housing 30 . one embodiment of the present invention can be located in the crankcase of an engine . the crankcase is a relatively turbulent environment and the level of fluid , such as oil , may fluctuate greatly depending on a number of factors , such as slight tilting or changes to the orientation of the engine and the crankshaft or other moving parts splashing the oil . other embodiments could be used on pumps , transmissions , or any other machine with moving parts and a fluid reservoir . as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , the fluid level switch 10 allows oil to flow into and out of the float housing 30 through the apertures 23 , 26 , 38 . the protrusions 32 of the float housing 30 may have apertures 66 as well to allow for fluid flow into the float housing 30 . since the float 42 is made of a buoyant material , the float 42 will cause the float assembly 64 to rise and fall with the oil level . when oil is added to the engine , the float assembly 64 will rise with the level of the oil . as oil is used in the system , the float assembly 64 will lower with the oil level . as the level of oil nears an undesired low level , the float assembly 64 and hence the plate 56 move increasingly closer to the contacts 22 , 24 , as shown in fig3 . when the oil reaches a predetermined level that would be considered a “ low oil ” condition , the plate 56 touches the contacts 22 , 24 . because the plate 56 is more dense than the fluid being monitored , the plate 56 will tend to stay in relatively the same position although the plate 56 , in most situations , is submerged in fluid . as shown in fig4 , the space 62 between the plate 56 and the float 42 is intended to be large enough to allow the plate 56 to remain in contact with electrical contacts 22 , 24 even while the float 42 and retaining member 44 move and tilt inside the cylindrical float housing 30 caused by misaligned contacts 22 , 24 or agitated fluid from normal engine vibration or operation . the illustrated embodiment uses an “ engine shutdown ” method by grounding the primary ignition current when the plate 56 is touching both contacts 22 , 24 . for example , the operator of a lawnmower or snow blower can be alerted of such a situation through the engine being shut - off during operation . upon the operator adding enough oil to the system whereby the plate is not touching either electrical contact 22 , 24 , the engine can be restarted and regular operation can resume . an alternate design for the fluid level switch 10 uses an “ indicator method ” to alert an operator of the low oil situation . when the plate 56 touches both contacts 22 , 24 , an electrical circuit can be completed to alert the operator of a low oil situation through an indicator such as a “ low oil ” light or a “ low oil ” alarm or buzzer . when the “ low oil ” indicator is activated , the operator knows that a low oil situation is occurring . in that case , the operator can choose to continue operating the machine while in a state of low oil and risk damaging the engine , or can add oil until the plate 56 is no longer touching the contacts 22 , 24 . in the engine shutdown method , a latching module 68 ( illustrated in fig4 ) can be used to prevent intermittent or false shutdown due to switch bouncing caused by engine vibration and turbulence of the fluid surrounding the float assembly 64 . false shutdown occurs when vibration and turbulence of the engine and fluid do not allow the float to ground the ignition long enough to completely shut down the engine . the latching module 68 operates to ground the ignition even after the plate 56 bounces out of contact with the first and second contacts 22 , 24 . in one embodiment , the latching module 68 includes a capacitor and a silicon controlled rectifier (“ scr ”) electrically connected to the capacitor . when the plate 56 electrically connects the first and second contacts ( i . e ., when the fuel level switch closes ), the ignition pulse from the engine &# 39 ; s ignition system charges the capacitor . when the charge of the capacitor reaches a voltage value that is sufficiently high to switch the scr “ on ”, the primary winding current is shunted through the scr to ground , thereby shutting down the engine . the scr remains “ on ”, using the energy stored in the capacitor as the engine rotates during coastdown . as long as the scr is “ on ”, the primary winding current will remain shunted through the scr regardless of whether the fluid level switch re - opens due to vibrations . a fluid level switch 110 according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig5 . the fluid level switch 110 is adapted for mounting to a horizontal surface 114 using mounting fasteners 116 . a mounting plate 112 can be fastened to the horizontal surface 114 in the same manner that the first embodiment of the mounting plate 12 can be fastened to a vertical surface 14 . mounting plate 112 is similar to the support portion 18 as shown in fig1 and the fluid level switch 110 operates similar to fluid level switch 10 . another embodiment of a mounting plate 212 is illustrated in fig6 . the mounting plate 212 is adapted to be fastened to a vertical surface 14 similar to the mounting plate 12 illustrated in fig1 . the mounting plate 212 has a support portion 218 that comprises three electrical contacts 222 , 268 , 24 ( shown in fig2 ). the electrical contacts , such as ground contacts 222 , 268 , are made from pieces of the support portion 218 that have been bent upwardly a distance from the surface of the support portion 218 thereby forming apertures 223 , 270 . the electrical contact 24 is made of conductive material and extends through an aperture 226 in the support portion 218 . the mounting plate 212 used with the float assembly 64 is similar to the mounting plates 12 , 112 illustrated in fig1 - 5 . in other embodiments , the mounting plate 212 can be reconfigured to be fastened to a horizontal surface 114 similar to the mounting plate 112 illustrated in fig5 . a fluid level switch 310 of another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig7 . the fluid level switch 310 includes a mounting plate 312 that can fastened to a wall of an engine by inserting fasteners through apertures 316 . the mounting plate 312 includes a support portion 318 that has two electrical contacts 322 , 368 . the electrical contacts 322 , 368 can be ground contacts and are made from pieces of the support portion 318 that have been bent upwardly a distance from the surface of the support portion 318 thereby forming apertures 323 , 370 . the fluid level switch 310 also includes an electrical contact 324 that extends through an aperture 326 in the support portion 318 . the electrical contact 324 can be an ignition contact and is made from a conductive material . the ignition contact extends through the aperture 326 in the support portion 318 such that the ignition contact does not contact the mounting plate 312 . in the illustrated embodiment , a shield 328 supports the ignition contact 324 and is coupled to the mounting plate 312 by the protrusions 332 of the float housing 330 . specifically , the protrusions 332 of the float housing 330 extend through the apertures 320 of the mounting plate 312 and into apertures 334 of the shield 328 to couple the mounting plate 312 between the float housing 330 and the shield 328 . the shield 328 reduces the effect of oil turbulence within the oil reservoir on the operation of the fuel level switch 310 . specifically , the shield 328 resists the flow of oil through apertures 323 , 370 making the operation of the plate 56 and float 42 less affected by the turbulence outside the float housing 330 . the shield 328 is made of an insulating material . in addition , the shield 328 replaces the insulator 28 , 128 of the previous embodiments ( fig1 - 6 ) to support the ignition contact 324 and to prevent electrical contact between the ignition contact 324 and the ground contacts 322 , 368 and between the ignition contact 324 and the mounting plate 312 . the fluid level switch 310 also includes a float assembly 364 similar to the float assembly 64 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig2 except that the protrusions 332 of the float housing 330 are slightly extended to capture the shield 328 . the reference numbers used to describe the float assembly 64 of fig2 are used to describe the corresponding components of the float assembly 364 in fig7 . the constructions and aspects described above and illustrated in the drawings are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention . as such , it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art , that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims .	7
as shown in fig1 the present invention provides a duplicating receiving device 10 that can be selectively placed into a learning mode allowing the receiver to determine and learn the incoming frequency of a signal 12 transmitted by a remote transmitter unit 14 to be duplicated . as described below in connection with fig2 an exemplary embodiment of receiving device 10 includes an arrangement for storing the learned frequency information , as well as the data content of the transmitted signal , in a memory . the stored frequency information can then be used to self tune an on - board transmitter . the on - board transmitter will then be able to duplicate the same signal , for example , coding and frequency , when desired . this allows the duplicating transceiver to emulate the duplicated transmitter unit by retransmitting the same data and frequency as the original transmitter unit . referring now to fig2 an exemplary embodiment of a duplicating transceiver 100 is shown . transceiver 100 includes a receiving antenna element 102 having an output fed to a pre - scaler 104 . pre - scaler 104 is arranged to divide the frequency of a received signal by a predetermined factor n . the pre - scaler 104 provides an output 106 to a data demodulator 108 , and an output 110 to a counter 112 . data demodulator 108 operates in accordance with known demodulation principles to demodulate the data content from the received signal . this same device will either compare the received rf / mf frequency information received to a look - up table within the microprocessor to determine the exact frequency it should be and tune the on board transmitter to this frequency , or it will simply take the rf / mf frequency data as it is received and re - transmit this information at the frequency received . this device can be used to sense if the received data was of an amplitude shift keyed ( ask ) or frequency shift keyed ( fsk ) format and re - transmit the data in the same ask / fsk format . after this device has determined what carrier frequency it needs to re - transmit , it can also store the data carried by the carrier frequency for re - transmissions , or it can look at this data and compare it to data stored inside the processor to determine what it should be and re - transmit the prestored data from its memory in place of the data received . this is useful if the incoming data is of a rolling code or encrypted type . the preferred method for achieving this auto - frequency learn and auto frequency re - transmission is as follows : step 1 : the transmitter 14 that is intended to be duplicated is placed very close to duplicating receiver 10 as in fig1 . step 2 : circuit 100 is placed into a learn mode by the activation of a switch 116 as in fig2 . step 3 : when the learn switch 116 has been activated , the transmitter intended for duplication is continuously activated . step 4 : the data sent by this transmitter is received by the receive portion of circuit 100 . the receive portion is a prescaler 104 that takes the incoming frequency divides it by any number then outputs the results . these results will be passed on to two blocks of the circuit : the first to learn the carrier frequency , the second to learn the data on the carrier frequency . the portion that learns the carrier frequency consists of a counter 112 that when enabled by the microprocessor 114 , will count the edges of the incoming signal for a pre - determined period of time . this value will be used to determine the frequency of the carrier . step 5 : after the carrier is determined , the microprocessor 114 will monitor the demodulated data input 118 to determine the data type , period and modulation format , then store it in memory . once this is accomplished , the user will be instructed by the unit ( led or other means ) that the process is complete . step 6 : at this point , the unit will make a decision to re - measure the transmitter intended for duplication if it did not recognize the data information recorded in step 5 . this will instruct the user to repeat the continuously transmit mode to verify that the data received the first time is constant or changing . if it is constant ( fixed code ), the user will be notified that the process was a success by led or other visual means . if the data is changing ( rolling or encrypted type that is not pre - stored in the circuits memory ), the user will be notified that the system cannot be programmed to that particular transmitter , again by led or other visual means . step 7 : once the circuit determines that it has a successful learn , it will turn on the on board transmitter and start transmitting . it will at the same time turn on the same prescaler used in the learn section described earlier and monitor the number of edges seen by the transmitter . the microprocessor will then electronically tune the transmitter until the number of edges seen match the number of edges determined during the learn section of the transmitter intended for duplication . once the number of edges match , the tuning setting is stored and fixed in memory . this is how the self tuning of the transmitter is accomplished . this process can be repeated periodically automatically if chosen to do so in software . while embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention . rather , the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation , and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
a particularly important aspect of the method of the invention resides in the use of mixing devices with which the reaction mixture , which passes through various consistency stages in the course of the reaction , can be comminuted as intensively as possible and thoroughly mixed . devices with kneading and / or grinding action have proven to be especially useful for this purpose . examples are trough kneaders or mixers with oppositely directed kneading blades and agitator ball mills . in kneaders , the kneading surfaces should always be covered by the sodium placed in the receiver ( in the initial stage of the reaction ) and by the initial product formed , which is colored dark to grey , ( in the continuing reaction ) in order to avoid corrosion of equipment by the aggressive reaction mixture . the reactor contents passes through various characteristic stages of consistency and coloration during the carrying out execution of the method of the invention : the initial starting material consists in the first method stage of liquid , silver - colored sodium at 100 °- 150 ° c . if solidified sulfur melt is used , it is broken into particles of 10 - 100 mg by weight and the scraps of broken material are dosed into the receiver in such a manner that a reactor temperature of 120 °- 250 ° c . can be maintained , with exterior cooling if necessary . after a charging of approximately 10 % of the stoichiometrically required amount of sulfur , the reactor contents exhibits a gritty consistency and is colored dark grey . after charging of approximately 25 - 30 % of the required sulfur , the reactor contents exhibit a pudding - like consistency and is colored medium grey . after charging of approximately 50 % of the required sulfur , the reactor contents exhibits a crumbly consistency and is colored light grey . during the charging of the remaining sulfur , the reactor contents becomes powdery and its color turns to dark to bluish - black . in the second method stage , the heating to 250 °- 480 ° c . with continued comminuting mixing , the powdery nature of the reactor contents remains and the color turns from bluish - black to white . the method of the invention purposely accepts the accumulation of non - molten solid substance in the initially liquid reaction medium , in contrast to the initially discussed methods for preparing low polysulfides . the reaction of the invention between the elements sodium and sulfur is controlled so as to obtain conversions up to approximately 97 % of theory at temperatures which are far below the melting point of the final product ( about 1200 ° c .). of course , any desired polysulfide can also be obtained from the high - percentage sodium monosulfide obtained by means of melting it together with the appropriate amounts of sulfur . the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an illustrative embodiment . a laboratory kneading machine with a trough of v4a formed from two semicylinders with polished inner walls was equipped with two polished blades of v4a in sigma form mounted in each instance on its own drive shaft . the lower trough part was equipped with a double jacket for receiving a heat conducting medium . the screwed - on cover of v4a was provided with a connecting piece which was able to be closed with a screw cap and with an introductory tube for the protective gas argon terminating immediately underneath the cover . both sodium and sulfur were filled in and the initial product removed through the connecting piece . the blade speed could be varied between 40 - 60 rpms . a temperature sensor protective tube consisting of v4a was introduced into the trough or the reaction space through one of the four side walls parallel to the shafts on which the blades were mounted . the clear interior length of the trough was 100 mm , its clear width 117 mm and its clear depth 110 mm . the useful volume of this trough was 750 ml . accordingly , this trough was able to receive approximately 500 g of initial product . prior to the start of the batchwise production , the trough was heated , whereby its lower part was loaded with heat - conducting oil with a temperature of 160 ° c . the trough was washed with approximately 20 l argon per hour . thereafter , 176 . 9 g liquid sodium were charged in . sulfur was dosed in small pieces of solidified melt into the liquid sodium through the connecting piece closable with a screw cap . at the start , the amount of sulfur per portion was approximately 100 mg . it was increased during the course of the reaction to approximately 1 g per portion . the dosing of the sulfur was regulated in such a manner that the temperature in the reaction space did not rise higher than 160 ° c . the temperature of the heat conducting oil was lowered to 150 ° c . the blade speed remained constant at 50 rpms during the portion - by - portion addition of a total of 123 . 1 g sulfur over a period of approximately 3 . 5 hours . after the addition of approximately 40 g sulfur , the reaction mixture thickened visibly and swelled up . the reaction mixture retained this consistency until shortly before the end of the dosing of sulfur . after approximately 110 g sulfur had been added into the reaction mixture , the mixture became dry and assumed a bluish - black coloration upon the addition of the remaining , stoichiometrically required amount of sulfur . a specimen was taken after the initial product had cooled off . of the total sulfur , 37 . 2 % sulfur is present in the initial product in the form of the sulfide . the determination of sulfide was performed iodometrically . the total sulfur content was determined after oxidation of the sulfur with h 2 o 2 in an alkaline medium to the sulfate gravimetrically as baso 4 . the total sodium content was determined with flame photometry . sodium which had not participated in the reaction was detected gasometrically . an amount of 2 % by weight relative to the reaction mixture was found hereby . the initial product , which contained more than 90 % by weight sodium monosulfide , was placed in a laboratory reactor which was able to be heated up to approximately 400 ° c . for the postreaction of the constituents sodium and sulfur which had not yet reacted to the sulfide . the cylindrical laboratory reactor consisting of the aluminum alloy almg3 with a bottom plate comprised of a flanged - on cover , likewise of almg3 , with a connecting piece closable by a screw cap , with an introductory tube for the protective gas argon terminating under the cover , with a temperature sensor protective tube and a stuffing box in the cover for running through the vertically standing blade agitator shaft which was jacketed with almg3 and on which the agitator blades of almg3 were fastened . the reactor exhibited a clear height of 150 mm and a clear width of likewise 150 mm . in order to achieve an optimum agitator action in the laboratory reactor , the amount of 300 g initial product had to be doubled . therefore , the same amount was prepared once again in the manner just described in the laboratory kneading machine . after 600 g of the black , powdery product from the 2 batches had been charged in , the reactor , provided with a heat insulation jacket , was placed on an infinitely variable electric heating plate and evenly heated to 370 ° c . during the course of 1 . 5 h . the initial product was intensively agitated during the heating . the agitator speed was adjusted to 100 rpms . a strong agitating motor was required for this since the initial product tended to form clumps after 300 ° c . the reactor was washed during the heating and the postreaction with a current of inert gas of 30 l per hour . after cooling , the final product , which was now white , was removed from the reactor and sieved . the mesh size of the sieve was 0 . 355 mm . approximately 75 % of the sieved reaction product was recovered thereby as homogeneous , white powder . the coarse - grained fraction ( sieve retainings ) exhibited the composition na 2 s ; however , it was inhomogeneous as regarded the sulfur content of the individual grains , that is , the grains contained in part slight amounts of polysulfide ( approximately 1 - 5 % by weight ). the following quantitative balance results from that which has just been described : the inhomogeneous grain fraction & gt ; 0 . 355 mm from the method of preparing na 2 s was collected and supplied to the kneader for the first conversion stage . after one hour of grinding at 50 rpms under an atmosphere of argon , a fine powder was obtained which can be placed in the kneader and used for a new batch . further variations and modifications of the foregoing will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to be encompassed by the claims appended hereto .	2
fig1 shows a work vehicle 10 having a lifting structure 12 that includes an arrangement of structural members and actuators controllable by an operator ( not shown ) to manipulate an implement 14 to perform work . work vehicle 10 further includes an enclosure or enclosed space , such as a cab structure 15 to surround and protect the operator . as further shown in fig1 , cab structure 15 supports a door assembly 16 that is pivotably connected along one side of the door assembly about a pair of hinge assemblies 22 ( fig2 a ) to cab structure 15 to provide operator ingress / egress to work vehicle 10 . door assembly 16 includes a handle and latch to maintain the door assembly in a closed position in a manner that is well known and will not be further discussed herein . fig2 a and 2b show different views of an exterior surface 52 of a substantially transparent door 20 of the door assembly . fig3 a and 3b show different views of an interior surface 54 of substantially transparent door 20 of the door assembly . as further shown in fig2 a and 2b , the door assembly includes a pair of hinge assemblies 22 that are secured to substantially transparent door 20 . for purposes of the disclosure , the terms door and door assembly may be used interchangeably . fig4 a and 4b show respective exploded views of the door assemblies of fig2 b and 3b . for purposes of clarity , two exemplary embodiments will be discussed based from fig5 , which is taken from region 5 of fig4 a . in one embodiment , as shown in fig5 , which permits an operator to manually remove the door assembly from interior of cab structure 15 ( fig1 ), facing an interior surface 54 of door 20 is securing device 28 , such as a thumb screw or threaded fastener with a knurled and / or otherwise easily grasped head for manual installation or removal of the securing device with respect to the door . it is to be understood that the term manual , manually and the like , such as manual installation , manually removeable and the like refers to the ability of an individual to install , remove and the like of the securing device without requiring hand tools . securing device 28 includes a shank portion or shank 29 that extends through a washer 30 and a resilient spacer 50 that is positioned in an opening 48 formed in substantially transparent door 20 . shank 29 further extends through an aperture 40 formed in a resilient member 38 that abuts exterior surface 52 of door 20 and then is threadedly inserted into a threaded opening 36 formed in receiving member 32 . in another embodiment , shank 29 can engage opening 36 such as in the form of a ball - lock or other type of manually actuated engagement therebetween , i . e ., without either shank 29 or opening 36 being threaded . although threaded opening 36 may extend through receiving member 32 , shank 29 is sized so as to only partially extend into ( and not entirely through ) receiving member 32 . in a yet further embodiment , shank 29 may extend through receiving member 32 and threadedly engage an aperture 27 formed in a hinge member 24 , also commonly referred to as a hinge wing . as will be discussed in further detail below , it is to be understood that with this further embodiment , the door assembly would be manually removable only from interior of cab structure 15 . fig5 shows hinge wing or hinge member 24 that is included as part of hinge assembly 22 . one end of hinge wing or hinge member 24 includes a hollow cap 46 that pivotably engages a hinge pin ( not shown ) forming a hinged connection that is well known and not further discussed herein . as further shown in fig5 , hinge member 24 includes a support feature 42 a , such as an opening that corresponds with a mating support feature 42 b , such as a protrusion configured to receive the opening formed in frame 18 of door assembly 16 ( fig1 ). in another embodiment , support features 42 a and 42 b may be reversed . the purpose of support features 42 a and 42 b is to support the weight of the door assembly in response to inadvertent removal of at least one of securing device 28 ( i . e ., having respective heads positioned interior and / or exterior of the cab structure ). that is , in order for the door to be removed or separated from the cab structure subsequent to removal of securing device 28 , sufficient force , typically applied in a direction parallel to the protruding portion of support features 42 a and 42 b , is required . fig5 shows an embodiment that permits removal of the door from exterior of cab structure 15 ( fig1 ). in this embodiment , securing device 28 having a shank 29 , such as previously discussed is inserted through a washer 30 and then through an aperture 26 formed in hinge member 24 . shank 29 further extends and is threadedly engaged with a threaded opening 34 formed in receiving member 32 . in another embodiment , shank 29 can engage opening 34 such as in the form of a ball - lock or other type of manually actuated engagement therebetween , i . e ., without either shank 29 or opening 34 being threaded . similar to a previous embodiment , shank 29 is of insufficient length to extend through threaded opening 34 of receiving member 32 . hinge member 24 includes support features 42 a and 42 b as previously discussed above . in operation , to remove the door from exterior of the cab structure without actuating the door handle from its latched position , shank 29 of each of the pair of securing devices 28 having respective heads positioned exterior of the cab structure and facing exterior surface 52 of door 20 is sufficiently rotated in a direction to remove the securing device 28 from threaded opening 34 , followed by a sufficient force directed at least partially , if not substantially parallel to the direction of a protrusion of support features 42 a and 42 b , resulting in separation of hinge member 24 from both frame 18 and receiving member 32 . similarly , to remove the door from interior of the cab structure without actuating the door handle from its latched position , shank 29 of each of the pair of securing devices 28 having respective heads positioned interior of the cab structure and facing interior surface 54 of door 20 is sufficiently rotated in a direction to remove the securing device 28 from threaded opening 36 , followed by application of a sufficient force directed at least partially , if not substantially parallel to the direction of a protrusion of support features 42 a and 42 b , resulting in separation of receiving member 32 from door 20 and separation of support features 42 a and 42 b between hinge member 24 and frame 18 . it is to be realized that in view of the above , one having ordinary skill in the art would recognize that for an embodiment in which each shank 29 of respective securing devices 28 having respective heads positioned interior of the cab structure , extending through threaded opening 36 and then threadedly engaging apertures 27 of hinge member 24 , removal of securing devices 28 having respective heads positioned exterior of the cab structure would not result in removal of the door . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims .	8
referring to fig2 , a series - shunt switch 200 in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention will now be discussed in terms of its structure . an rf terminal 201 is coupled along a series path 211 through a series n - fet group switch 210 to an antenna 202 , and is connected along a shunt path 221 through a first blocking capacitor 241 in series with a shunt p - fet group switch 220 to an ac ground or shunt terminal 203 . the series n - fet group switch 210 is made up of a plurality of n - type fet transistors , while the shunt p - fet group switch 220 is made up of a plurality of p - type fet transistors . each fet group switch 210 , 220 is connected in series with the respective path from the rf terminal 201 to the antenna 202 or from the rf terminal 201 to the shunt terminal 203 . each fet group switch 210 , 220 also has a respective associated group of source / drain resistors 215 , 225 . each n - fet of the series n - fet group switch 210 , except for the last n - fet on the rf end of the series n - fet group switch 210 and the last n - fet on the antenna end of the n - fet group switch 210 has a respective resistor of the associated source / drain resistors 215 coupled across its source and drain . each p - fet a the shunt p - fet group switch 220 , except for the last p - fet on the shunt end of the p - fet group switch 220 has a respective resistor of the associated source / drain resistors to 25 coupled across its source and drain . the gates of the n - fets of the series n - fet group switch 210 are biased by a series gate biasing terminal 212 with a voltage v g , and the gates of the p - fets of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 are biased by a shunt gate biasing terminal 222 with a voltage v g ′ which is set equal to the voltage applied to the series gate biasing terminal 212 , namely , v g . although the value of v g will change as the switch 200 changes mode , the same value v g or voltage values substantially similar to v g will always be simultaneously applied to both the series gate biasing terminal 212 and the shunt gate biasing terminal 222 i . e . either v g = v g ′ or v g ≈ v g ′. at all times and in any mode of the switch &# 39 ; s 200 operation , the backgates of the n - fets of the series n - fet group switch 210 are biased by a series backgate biasing terminal 214 with a voltage v lo = 0 . 0v , while backgates of the p - fets of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 are biased by a shunt backgate biasing terminal 224 with a voltage v hi = 2 . 5v . in the embodiment depicted in fig2 , the antenna 202 and rf terminal 201 are both pulled to 0 . 0v . the shunt terminal 203 is set to a voltage of v shunt which is set to v hi = 2 . 5v and serves as ac ground . to connect the rf terminal 201 to the antenna 202 and put the switch 200 into series mode , the series gate biasing terminal 212 and the shunt gate biasing terminal 222 are both set to v g = v g ′= 2 . 5v . setting v g = v g ′ to this value ensures that the n - fets of the series n - fet group switch 210 are fully on while the p - fets of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 are fully off , within the reliability / breakdown limits of operation . it is noted that as a result of this biasing configuration , all of the sources / drains of the n - fets and of the p - fets of the fet group switches 210 220 are biased at 0 . 0 v , with only the exception of the source / drain of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 adjacent the shunt terminal 203 . to connect the rf terminal 201 to the shunt terminal 203 and put the switch 200 into shunt mode , the series gate biasing terminal 212 and the shunt gate biasing terminal 222 are both set to v g = v g ′= 0 . 0v . setting v g = v g ′ to this value ensures that the n - fets of the series n - fet group switch 210 are fully off while the p - fets of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 are fully on , within the reliability / breakdown limits of operation . it is noted that as a result of this biasing configuration , all sources / drains of the n - fets and of the p - fets of the fet group switches 210 220 are biased at 2 . 5 v , with only the exception of the source / drain of the series n - fet group switch 210 adjacent the rf terminal 201 and the source / drain of the series n - fet group switch 210 adjacent the antenna 202 . as with the configurations of the prior art , this embodiment according to the invention fully biases each fet group switch in the forward or the reverse direction ensuring respectively low insertion loss and high isolation which are very important when dealing with high - power signal transmission . moreover , the drawbacks of negative voltage generation and blocking capacitors along the series path are mitigated . unlike the series - shunt switch 100 of fig1 a which utilizes a negative power supply , the series - shunt switch 200 of fig2 utilizes only positive voltage supplied at 2 . 5v or 0 . 0v . the drawbacks of the series shunt switch 100 of fig1 a , namely that it requires oscillators , charge pump circuitry , a negative voltage regulator , large area occupying negative supply filtering , and pseudo - random bit sequence ( prbs ) generator are avoidable . the absence of additional components means that noise , spurious tones , and spurious spectral emissions that they create , the large percentage of ic ( integrated chip ) die area they tend to occupy , and the extra dc power they would consume are also avoided . unlike the series - shunt switch 150 of fig1 b , which utilizes blocking capacitors along the series path 181 , the series shunt switch 200 of fig2 utilizes blocking capacitors only to isolate rf terminal 201 and the antenna 202 from the nonzero effective biasing of the source / drains of the n - fets of the series n - fet group switch 210 and the p - fets of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 which occurs in shunt mode . since a signal traversing the series path 211 does not encounter a blocking capacitor , the insertion loss along the series path 211 of the series - shunt switch 200 of fig2 is less than that of the series path 161 of the known series - shunt switch 150 of fig1 b . the absence of blocking capacitors along the series path typically also improves switching times . the blocking capacitors 241 , 243 of the switch 200 of fig2 also do not bear the full brunt of any esd event since the source / drain breakdown of the n - fets at the ends of the series n - fet group switch 210 clamps the voltage of the blocking capacitors 241 , 243 so as to protect them . as such , the switch 200 is much more robust to forms of esd event damage . the switch 200 also does not require a dc - dc boost converter circuit as required by prior art configurations . in addition to requiring fewer blocking capacitors , the switch 200 of fig2 may use blocking capacitors 241 , 243 which are not as large as those 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 of the known switch 150 of fig1 b . reduction in both the size and number of blocking capacitors translates to reduction in ic die area usage for integrated blocking capacitors and / or reduction in board area and cost imposed by the use of off - chip capacitors . the switch 200 in addition to reducing or avoiding altogether the various drawbacks of known switch architectures described above also is controllable in an elegant and uncomplicated manner , namely , by control of the gate biasing voltage v g = v g ′. when it is desired that the switch 200 function in series mode , v g = v g ′ is set to 2 . 5v and when it is desired that the switch 200 function in shunt mode , v g = v g ′ is set to 0 . 0v . since isolation along the shunt path 221 is not as important as that along series path 211 , the p - fets may be used along the shunt path without any serious detriment to the circuit &# 39 ; s 200 performance . as long as the p - fet transistors are situated along the insertion loss insensitive paths , and as long as they provide a relatively low impedance to an ac ground , they may be advantageously used to allow biasing voltages on the drain and source of the various fet group switches to move between supply and ground . although each embodiment has been described as utilizing fet group switches comprising n - type and p - type mosfets it should be understood that other implementations may utilize any suitable number and combination of complementary n - type and p - type transistor switches , including unipolar devices such as standard cmos , soi cmos , mos with depletion mode devices , phemt , mesfet , jfet , etc . although in the embodiment of fig2 , the same voltage v g is shown as being applied to all the gates of the fets of the various fet group switches , in some embodiments the bias voltage applied to the gates of the p - fets of the shunt p - fet group switch 220 , namely , v g ′ may only be substantially similar or approximately equal to the voltage applied to the gates of the n - fets of the series n - fet group switch 210 , namely , v g , i . e . v g ′≈ v g . although in embodiments described above the high voltage level for biasing has been chosen to be 2 . 5v , other values of positive voltage for v hi and the gate biasing voltages may be appropriate in specific instances . the embodiments presented are exemplary only and persons skilled in the art would appreciate that variations to the embodiments described above may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . the scope of the invention is solely defined by the appended claims .	7
in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 , the abacus 10 comprises a frame 3 that holds six bars or columns or rods 4 a - 4 f . each of the bars 4 a - 4 f is immobilized in the frame 3 by being sunk into depressions or holes ( not shown ) in the frame 3 . alternatively , each of the bars 4 a - 4 f can be attached to the frame 3 by nails , screws , welds , glue , or any other means for attaching one object to another . on each of bars 4 a - 4 f is mounted or positioned a group comprising at least 18 independently , axially slideable beads 5 a - 5 f , respectively . the reason that each group comprises at least 18 beads 5 a - 5 f is because , in a based 10 numbering system , 9 is the maximum number that can be present at any place value position . accordingly , when two numbers having the number 9 at the same place value position ( e . g ., 394 plus 194 ) are added , the sum obtained for that place value position is 18 . since 18 = 8 + 10 , 8 will occupy the place value position of the numbers being added and the remaining 10 will be carried or regrouped and placed in the place value position located to the immediate left . to illustrate : accordingly , a minimum of 18 beads 5 a - 5 f per group is required for each functional column 4 a - 4 f ( as opposed to any decorative or merely structural column ( not shown )) of the abacus 10 of the present invention . for the same reason , only 18 beads 5 a - 5 f per group need be present on each functional column 4 a - 4 f . the abacus 10 preferably comprises one or more means to help identify the magnitude of each group of beads 5 a - 5 f located on their respective bars 4 a - 4 f or to count the number of beads 5 a - 5 f either present at the bottom portion of any of the bars 4 a - 4 f or required to be moved . for example , at the bottom and top of the frame 3 of the abacus 10 are preferably located a first set of numbers 6 that represent the order of magnitude of each of bars 4 a - 4 f . for example , the six bars 4 a - 4 f of the abacus 10 of fig1 have the respective magnitudes ( going from left to right ) of 1 , 10 , 100 , 1 , 000 , 10 , 000 , and 100 , 000 . in addition , on the left - and right - hand sides of the abacus 10 are preferably present a second set of numbers 7 that range from 1 through 18 . the second number set 7 aids in counting any beads ( such as beads 5 a on column 4 a , beads 5 b on column 4 b , and beads 5 c on column 4 c ) located at the bottom portion of the abacus 10 . to illustrate , as shown in fig1 , the beads 5 a , 5 b , and 5 c that are respectively present at the bottom portion of one column 4 a , ten column 4 b , and hundred column 4 c represent the number 473 . also , it is preferred that a third set of numbers 8 ranging from 1 to 10 be located on the left - and right - hand sides of the frame 3 above the second number set 7 . this third number set 8 helps to count the number of any beads 5 a - 5 f that are to be moved to the lower portion of the abacus 10 . for example , at the start of any math problem , all the beads 5 a - 5 f should be initially located in the upper portion of the abacus 10 . when so located , the bottom - most bead of any group of beads 5 a - 5 f is located at the beginning of the range of the third number set 8 . accordingly , depending on the initial amount of beads to be moved , a person can simply look at the third number set 8 located on the right - or left - hand side of the frame 3 to quickly determine the location of all the beads required to be initially moved . after the initial amount of beads 5 a - 5 f have been moved , any remaining beads 5 a - 5 f can be moved to their respective reference line 9 as done with the remaining portion of beads 5 b located on column 4 b . it is also preferred that the beads 5 a - 5 f be coded with some form of indicia to denote their respective place in the 3 - member sequence of the base 10 numbering system . for example , as shown in fig1 , the beads 5 a , and 5 d representing ones and thousands , respectively , have substantially the same first color blue , the beads 5 b and 5 e representing tens and ten thousands , respectively , have substantially the same second color white , and the beads 5 c and 5 f representing hundreds and hundred thousands , respectively , have substantially the same third color red . alternatively ( but not shown ), beads representing ones , tens , and hundreds , can be coded using other indicia or marking systems such as systems based on either different patterns ( e . g ., the beads representing ones displaying dots , the beads representing tens displaying stripes , and the beads representing hundreds displaying diamonds ), or different shapes ( e . g ., the beads representing ones being spherical - shaped , the beads representing tens being pyramid - shaped , and the beads representing hundreds being diamond - shaped ), etc . the abacus 10 contains a minimum of least two bars . generally , the number of bars will range from 3 to 9 . ( whenever a closed range of numbers is stated in the specification or claims , each number within the closed range should be considered as though it is specifically stated . for example , the above stated closed range of 3 to 9 should be considered as having explicitly stated the numbers 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , and 9 .) because the abacus 10 is intended for use by children just learning place value , addition ( including carrying ), and subtraction ( including borrowing ), the abacus 10 preferably has just 3 or 4 bars ( such as bars 4 a - 4 c or 4 a - 4 d , respectively ). unlike the japanese soroban ( including the pacchi soroban ) and the chinese suan pan , the abacus 10 of the present invention does not contain a reference bar . in fact , the presence of a reference that divides the beads on the bars into an upper group and a lower group would constitute a material change in the basic and novel characteristics of the abacus 10 of fig1 . therefore , as used in the claims , the phrase “ consisting essentially of ” excludes the presence of a reference bar from the claimed abacus . optionally , a ruler 20 ( such as shown in fig2 ) can be used to count any of the beads 5 a - 5 f needed to be added to or subtracted from any column 4 a - 4 f . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , the ruler 20 is divided lengthwise into 10 substantially equal parts by lines 21 . the length of each segment 22 is substantially equal to the height of the individual beads 5 a - 5 f , with the segments 22 being sequentially numbered with numbers 23 from 1 to 10 . during use , the abacus 10 of the present invention should be positioned so that the beads 5 a - 5 f move along their respective bars 4 a - 4 f towards and away from ( as opposed to the right and left of ) the user . the abacuses 10 of the present invention can be made by techniques well know to those skilled in the art ( e . g ., injection molding , forged or cast metal , carpentry , etc .) using plastic , metal , and / or wood . due to their length , the bars 4 a - 4 f should be preferably made from a very sturdy material such as stainless steel . while the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above in detail , some modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention . for example , in a modified embodiment of the present invention , the beads of a prior art abacus are coded with some form of indicia to denote their respective place in the three - member sequence of the base 10 numbering system . for example , as illustrated in fig3 and 4 , respectively , a modified saun pan 30 and a modified soroban 40 within this alternative embodiment of the present invention comprise a frame 3 , a horizontal reference bar 31 , and a plurality of vertical bars 4 a - 4 f . the modified saun pan 30 shown in fig3 further comprises two beads 5 g - 5 l located above the reference bar 31 in the upper field 32 and slideably mounted on each of the vertical bars 4 a - 4 f , respectively , and five beads 5 m - 5 r located below the refe lower field 33 and slideably mounted on the vertical bars 4 a - 4 f , respectively , while the modified soroban 40 shown in fig4 has one bead 5 s - 5 x located above the reference bar 31 in the upper field 32 and slideably mounted on each of the vertical bars 4 a - 4 f , respectively , and four beads 5 aa - 5 ff located below the reference bar 31 in the lower field 33 and slideably mounted on the vertical bars 4 a - 4 f , respectively . like those of the prior art , the number of vertical bars 4 a - 4 f present in the saun pan 30 and the soroban 40 can vary , with the number of vertical bars 4 a - 4 f on the saun pan 30 usually ranging from 6 to 21 , more typically from 9 to 18 , and the number of vertical bars 4 a - 4 f present in the soroban 40 usually ranging from 12 to 30 , more typically from 15 to 27 . like the beads 5 a - 5 f of the abacus 10 of fig1 , the beads 5 g - 5 r of the saun pan 30 of fig3 and the beads 5 s - 5 x and 5 aa - 5 ff of the soroban 40 of fig4 are also coded with some form of indicia ( e . g ., color , shape , pattern , etc .) to denote their respective place in the three - member sequence of the base 10 numbering system . for example , in the saun pan 30 of fig3 , the beads ( i ) 5 g and 5 m and ( ii ) 5 j and 5 p representing ones and thousands , respectively , have substantially the same first color blue , the beads ( iii ) 5 h and 5 n and ( iv ) 5 k and 5 q representing tens and ten thousands , respectively , have substantially the same second color white , and the beads ( v ) 5 i and 5 o and ( vi ) 5 l and 5 r representing hundreds and hundred thousands , respectively , have substantially the same third color red . similarly , in the soroban 40 of fig4 , the beads ( i ) 5 s and 5 aa and ( ii ) 5 v and 5 dd representing ones and thousands , respectively , have substantially the same first color blue , the beads ( iii ) 5 t and 5 bb and ( iv ) 5 w and 5 ee representing tens and ten thousands , respectively , have substantially the same second color white , and the beads ( v ) 5 u and 5 cc and ( vi ) 5 x and 5 ff representing hundreds and hundred thousands , respectively , have substantially the same third color red . in another alternative embodiment of the present invention , both interactive and non - interactive software programs can be written by those skilled in the art so that virtual images of the abacuses of the present invention can be displayed on a monitor of any suitably programmable electrical apparatus ( such as a television screen , computer screen , liquid crystal display , etc .). accordingly , the foregoing alternative embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention .	6
fig1 discloses the invention in an exploded perspective view . the invention 10 is characterized by a combination of a powered pumping assembly 12 and a keg tapping valve 4 . keg tapping valve 4 includes a bayonet mount 16 for selective complementary mounting to a keg fitting of a beer keg . the keg fitting is provided with a spring loaded valve which must be depressed to open communication with the interior of the keg . such connections are commonly used for fastening probe fittings to keg openings and are well known in the art . the keg tapping valve 4 further includes a dispensing hose 18 , terminating in a manually operated dispensing valve 20 of the commonly used variety , the dispensing hose 18 being communicative with the down tube of the keg to permit beer to pass therethrough when keg tapping valve 4 is installed on the keg and dispensing valve 20 is opened . a nipple 7 is provided upon top 32 of beer keg tapping valve 4 through which air may be passed through an air passageway 60 within beer keg tapping valve 4 to the interior of the keg to which beer keg tapping valve 4 is attached . pumping assembly 12 comprises an electric motor 5 , an air pump 28 driveable by motor 5 , operatively connected to a pressure regulator 2 . the pump assembly 12 is enclosable within a close fitting unitary shroud 1 of pleasing shape which overlies base 3 and protects motor 5 , pump 28 and pressure regulator 2 from liquids or other contaminants . base 3 is fixed by adhesive or other suitable means to top 32 of keg tapping valve 4 . atmospheric air is drawn into air pump 28 at port 8 where it is compressed and transmitted out port 9 and along first tube 20 and second tube 22 to nipple 7 . a t - connector 26 is placed in series with first tube 20 and second tube 22 to allow connection of third tube 24 therewith such that the passageways within each of tubes 20 , 22 , and 24 are intercommunicative . third tube 24 interconnects t - connector 26 to pressure regulator 2 which detects air pressure levels in tubes 20 , 22 , 24 and is preset to selectively interrupt electric power to motor 5 when a selected pressure exists in tubes 20 , 22 , 24 , it being determined that 4 ± 2 psi is the desired range of pressure within the keg to adequately cause flow of liquid beer through dispensing hose 18 without causing foaming of the dispensed beer . in the preferred embodiment , tubes 20 , 22 and 24 are of flexible synthetic hose . air pump 28 is chosen to be capable of delivering two liters of air per minute at 4 ± 2 psi . motor 5 is selected to preferably be a 12 vdc motor such that it may be powered by battery means or by ac / dc converter means . pressure regulator 2 is chosen such that when air pressure within air tubes 20 , 22 , and 24 reaches 6 psi , the electric power to motor 5 is interrupted and motor 5 stops driving pump 28 . electricity for activation of motor 5 is provided by wiring 30 which electrically couples motor 5 to pressure regulator 2 and to electric plug 6 , each being in series with the others . electric plug 6 is selected to receive the mating socket associated with a 12 vdc power supply such as a 110 vac to 12 vdc transformer - rectifier as shown in fig3 or a socket which may be coupled to a 12 vdc battery source such as a car battery or a self contained battery pack such as battery pack 90 shown in fig4 . it is contemplated that a car cigarette lighter socket may be employed with an appropriate cable to provide 12 vdc from the car battery to plug 6 . it should be understood that motor 5 may be substituted by a motor capable of operation from an ac voltage source if a battery power option is not desired . in the preferred embodiment , base 3 includes a front wall 33 having opening 34 therein wherein plug 6 may be mounted , such that plug 6 is accessible without removal of shroud 1 for selective attachment therewith to 12 vdc electrical sources . floor 35 of base 3 includes aperture 37 through which nipple 7 of valve assembly 4 may extend for coupling to duct 22 . reference is directed to fig1 and 2 . valve 4 comprises an elongate probe body 48 having a distribution head 36 at its upper end . distribution head 36 includes relief valve assembly 38 which is coupled to air passageway 60 within body 48 . distribution head 36 also includes port 40 which is communicative with the liquid passageway 62 of body 48 and is conveniently mounted on the side of distribution head 36 . port 40 may be coupled to fitting 19 of dispenser assembly 42 . dispenser assembly includes dispensing hose 18 and dispensing valve 20 . lower end 50 of probe body 48 is provided with keg valve probe foot 52 which engages the spring loaded valve of a keg to which invention 10 is mounted . annularly surrounding probe body 48 along a segment of its length is hub 44 . hub 44 is provided with diametrically opposing handles 46 which extend from hub 44 to provide means to manually rotate valve 4 as it is engaged with the bayonet fitting of the keg to be tapped . annular shoulder element 54 is vertically fixed upon probe body 48 such that hub 44 may impose downward forces on shoulder element 54 . probe housing 64 coaxially surrounds the lower end of probe body 48 and is provided at its lower end with keg bayonet mount 16 . a cup 66 is counterbored within upper end 70 of probe housing 64 and receives ring 68 . lower end of coil spring 56 bears on ring 68 . as hub 44 is rotated , a cam follower within hub 44 follows cam 74 of probe housing 64 causing hub 44 to further overlap probe housing 64 and thereby exerting compression forces on coil spring 56 which helically surrounds probe body 48 . washer 72 isolates the liquid passageway 62 from the air passageway 60 of probe body 48 . it may be understood that invention 10 may be mounted to a bayonet fitting equipped beer keg . the clockwise rotation of hub 44 locks bayonet mount 16 to the keg . further clockwise rotation of hub 44 forces probe body 48 downward against the resistance of coil spring 56 such that probe foot 52 depresses the valve within the keg . a 12 vdc power source is applied to plug 6 and motor 5 begins to operate to compress air by pump 28 into passageway . motor 5 continues to operate until approximately 6 psi is exceeded in ducts 20 , 22 , and 24 whereupon pressure regulator 2 disconnects electric power to motor 5 . as beer is dispensed from the keg , the pressure within the passageway 60 declines causing pressure regulator to sense lower air pressure in ducts 20 , 22 , and 24 and to react by closing the electric circuit to motor 5 . in an alternate embodiment , powered pumping assembly 12 may be provided as part of a retrofit kit for existing keg tapping devices which are provided with top mounted hand pump apparatus , typically of the reciprocating type . in such existing keg tapping devices , the existing hand pump apparatus is mounted to the top of the valve such as keg tapping valve 114 of fig5 . keg tapping valve 114 is substantially similar to valve 4 of fig1 and 2 except no distribution head is provided for keg tapping valve 114 . a collar 144 surrounds body 148 and is provided with handles 146 which are useful to rotate collar 144 which causes body 148 to rotate as it is mounted to the bayonet fitting of a beer keg having a down tube coaxial with the bayonet fitting thereof . after being fixed to the keg &# 39 ; s bayonet mount , the collar 144 is further rotated to force body 148 downward against a spring loaded valve above the down tube of the keg . keg tapping valve 114 is provided with a liquid passageway therethrough which terminates at its upper end in spout 140 to which a dispensing hose 118 may be attached . keg tapping valve 114 is also provided with an internal air passageway therethrough which is isolated from the liquid passageway therethrough . the upper end of the air passageway terminates in a counterbore 112 within upper end 149 of body 148 . counterbore 112 is provided with internal threading from which the preexisting hand pump apparatus has been removed . with the existing hand pump apparatus removed , the upper end of the air passageway would be exposed within counterbore 112 . a top plate 104 is provided with nipple 106 mounted therein , nipple 106 having therethrough an axial passageway 102 . nipple 106 includes a threaded fitting 108 having external threads 110 thereon . threads 110 are matable with the internal threading of counterbore 112 of upper end 149 of body 148 such that top plate 104 may then be mounted to the top 151 of the valve member 114 in place of the previously - removed hand pump apparatus . the passageway 102 through nipple 106 is intercommunicative with the air passageway within body 148 . second tube 22 of pump assembly 12 as illustrated in fig1 and 2 would then interconnect to the upper end 107 of nipple 106 . the preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described but changes may be made to the precise structure without departing from the invention as described in the following claims .	1
the operational principles of the invention will now be explained with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic camera 10 according to the present invention . the electronic camera 10 includes a movable object lens 12 , a second lens 14 , an image plane 16 , a ccd 18 , a ccd driver 20 , an image processor 22 , a lens drive motor 24 , a diaphragm 32 , a diaphragm drive motor 26 , a field 28 of a viewer , and a sound reproducing element 30 . the movable object lens 12 focuses an image of an object ( not shown ) in cooperation with the second lens 14 onto the image plane 16 , which coincides with the light sensitive surfaces of the array of light sensitive sensors of the ccd 18 . the image recording of the ccd 18 is controlled by the ccd driver 20 that enables and disables integration of light by the ccd light sensors . the ccd driver 20 also controls shifting of the accumulated charges out of the ccd 18 thereby forming the electrical signals . the electrical signals are received by the image processor 22 that composes a digital image based on the electrical signals and also calculates quality parameters of the image . these quality parameters may include , for example , a focus parameter value and a brightness parameter value . based on a focus parameter value , the lens drive motor 24 is controlled to move the objective lens 12 to focus the image . based on a brightness parameter value , the diaphragm drive motor 26 is controlled to adjust the aperture of the diaphragm 32 , and the integration time period of the ccd is controlled for optimum exposure of the next image . the field 28 of the viewer is controlled by the image processor 22 to display an image , and may display a value of the calculated quality parameters , or at least a warning signal when at least one of the calculated quality parameters is outside predetermined respective desired ranges . the warning signal displayed may vary in accordance with which quality parameter is outside a respective desired range , as well as the degree to which the quality parameter is outside the respective desired range . the sound reproducing element 30 is also controlled by the image processor 22 , and emits an audible sound when at least one of the quality parameters is outside a predetermined desirable range . the audible sound emitted by the sound reproducing element 20 may vary in accordance with which quality parameter is outside a respective desired range , as well as the degree to which the quality parameter is outside the respective desired range . in other words , a plurality of distinguishable sounds may be related to specific respective qualities of the image . the audible sound may be , e . g ., a single distinct sound (“ bip ”) of a specific frequency , a modulated sound , a swept sound , a series of distinct sounds of a specific frequency or of different frequencies , such as a tune , etc , as is well - known in the art of mobile telephones . for example , a sound swept from a low frequency to a high frequency may signal that the recorded image is over - exposed , while a sound swept from a high frequency to a low frequency may signal that the recorded image is under - exposed . the quality factors may be calculated from a histogram of a recorded image as illustrated in fig2 and 3 . for example , in an over - exposed image , the histogram - distribution will move to the right and pixels will be missing at the low end of the histogram , and , in an under - exposed image , the histogram - distribution will move to the left and pixels will be missing at the high end of the histogram . the user may select only part of the image to be analyzed by the image processor 22 . this selection may be performed on the field 28 of the viewer . thus , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , an image processor in an electronic camera may calculate an image quality parameter based on a histogram for the image . the image processor may control the output a perceptible warning signal to a user when the image quality parameter is outside a predetermined range . this perceptible warning signal may be , for example , visible or audible . the perceptible warning signal may indicate at least one of a degree and direction from which the image quality parameter deviates from the predetermined range . exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed herein , and although specific terms are employed , they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation . accordingly , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims .	7
referring to fig1 a receptacle housing 100 includes a release lever 105 and a receptacle opening 110 . the opening 110 includes an exterior threaded section 115 . a movable element , such as a spring carrier 120 , is positioned in opening 110 and movable along an axis of the opening . spring carrier 120 includes a channel 125 having a closed inner circumference and an open outer circumference . a pair of slots 130 on an inner circumference of the channel communicate with a sleeve region 132 that is defined between a receptacle connector 134 and spring carrier 120 . a blocking element , such as a garter spring 136 , is positioned under tension within channel 125 so that it protrudes from the slots 130 into the sleeve region 132 to reduce an outer diameter of the region at the slots relative to the rest of the region . a semicircular axial ridge 137 extends from the spring carrier 120 into the region 132 and serves to orient the plug properly with respect to the receptacle connector 134 . referring to fig2 receptacle housing 100 also includes a shaft 138 and a pair of spring carrier lock plates 140 and 142 , with lockplate 140 being shorter than lockplate 142 . shaft 138 is connected at one end to release lever 105 and at an opposite end 144 to a switching mechanism 143 that selectively supplies power to receptacle conductor prongs 145 of the receptacle connector 134 . as discussed below , when a plug is inserted into receptacle 100 , the prongs of the plug connect with receptacle conductor prongs 145 to form an electrically conductive path between the receptacle and the plug . spring carrier lock plates 140 and 142 are attached to shaft 138 in a middle region 146 . although plates 140 and 142 are flush at a first end 148 , plate 142 extends beyond plate 140 at a second end 150 . spring carrier 120 surrounds receptacle connector 134 and sleeve region 132 . a thicker upper region 154 of spring carrier 120 has a stop ledge 156 . a lower region 158 of spring carrier 120 has a plate - receiving slot 160 and a spring retaining channel 162 . spring carrier 120 slides between a locked position and an unlocked position . fig2 illustrates spring carrier 120 in the unlocked position , which is characterized by the spacing between stop ledge 156 and a ledge 166 , lower region 158 and a base edge 168 , and plate 142 and slot 160 . in addition , a spring 170 is in an uncompressed state . in the unlocked position , a second spring 172 exerts a rotational force on plate 142 that forces the plate into contact with spring carrier 120 . the spring 172 , which surrounds the shaft 138 , is attached to the receptacle housing 100 at a first end 174 and to the plate 142 at a second end 176 . due to the force exerted by spring 172 , and as described below , plate 142 slides into slot 160 when the spring carrier is depressed into the receptacle housing 100 . in the locked position ( fig9 ), the spring carrier 120 is depressed into the receptacle housing 100 so that stop ledge 156 is in contact with ledge 166 , lower region 158 is adjacent to base edge 168 , and spring 170 is compressed within channel 162 . depressing the spring carrier 120 also moves slot 160 toward plate 142 . when they are adjacent , the plate 142 is forced into the slot 160 by the rotational force of spring 172 . referring to fig3 and 4 , a heavy duty plug 200 includes a housing 205 , a plug sleeve 210 , an alignment channel 215 , a pair of detent slots 220 , a gasket 225 , and a threaded cap 230 . the alignment channel 215 runs the length of plug sleeve 210 and passes over ridge 137 in the receptacle housing 100 when plug 200 is inserted into the receptacle . the ridge 137 and alignment channel 215 align the plug 200 and receptacle housing 100 to ensure that receptacle conductor prongs 145 mate with appropriate plug conductor prongs 235 and that the spring 136 protrudes into detent slots 220 . after insertion , gasket 225 rests against the top of threaded section 115 , and threaded cap 230 , which has threads 233 on an inside circumference , may be connected to threaded section 115 to form a watertight and explosion - proof connection . referring to fig5 the heavy duty plug 200 also includes four plug conductor prongs 235 that conduct electrical current from the receptacle 100 to wires ( not shown ) installed in the plug . the prongs 235 are positioned relative to the alignment channel 215 and detent slots 220 to ensure mating with the receptacle conductor prongs 145 during plug insertion . fig6 - 9 illustrate the interaction between the spring carrier 120 and plug 200 when the plug is inserted into the receptacle housing 100 . fig6 shows plug sleeve 210 of plug 200 inserted into sleeve region 132 just until it encounters the portions of the garter spring 136 extending through slots 130 , which block a portion of the sleeve region 132 until pushed aside by sleeve 210 . plug sleeve 210 has a bevelled end 240 that assists sleeve 210 in sliding over garter spring 136 . fig7 shows the plug sleeve 210 further inserted into sleeve region 132 . although garter spring 136 is in tension and therefore tends to protrude into sleeve region 132 through slots 130 , an outer surface 245 of plug sleeve 210 displaces the spring 136 into channel 125 and against a wider region 246 of opening 110 . further insertion of the plug sleeve 210 moves a bottom surface 247 of the sleeve toward a top surface 250 of spring carrier 120 . there is little movement of spring carrier 120 as plug sleeve 210 is inserted because spring 170 resists the downward movement of spring carrier 120 . fig8 shows plug sleeve 210 further inserted into sleeve region 132 until bottom surface 247 rests against top surface 250 of spring carrier 120 . before inserting the plug sleeve to this point , the spring 136 remains displaced within channel 125 by the outer surface 245 of the plug sleeve 210 . then , when plug sleeve 210 is inserted deep enough that the pair of detent slots 220 are adjacent to the pair of slots 130 , spring 136 again protrudes through slots 130 and into detent slots 220 . because the bottom edge 247 of the sleeve 210 already rests against edge 250 of the spring carrier 120 , further insertion of the plug sleeve 210 moves the spring carrier 120 and compresses the spring 170 within the spring retaining channel 162 . when the spring carrier 120 is completely pressed into receptacle 100 , plate 142 aligns with plate receiving slot 160 and is forced by the spring 172 into the slot 160 . movement of plate 142 and corresponding rotation of shaft 138 turns on power to conductor prongs 145 . this locked position is shown in fig9 . in the locked position of fig9 the spring carrier is locked in place by interaction between plate 142 and slot 160 . plug 200 is held in place by interaction between garter spring 136 and detent slots 220 . in particular , garter spring 136 is blocked from being pushed back into channel 125 so that plug 200 may not be pulled out past the position at which the bottom of slots 220 engage the garter spring . once the plug 200 is locked into place in the receptacle housing 100 , threaded cap 230 may be threadably attached to threaded section 115 . attaching the cap 230 forces gasket 225 against the top of threaded section 115 . the force of the cap 230 against the threaded section causes the gasket 225 to expand against sleeve 210 and the inside surface of cap 230 , thereby forming a watertight seal . to disengage plug 200 from receptacle housing 100 , threaded cap 230 must be removed and release lever 105 must be moved to the power - off position in which power is no longer supplied to the receptacle conductor prongs 145 . moving the release lever 105 to the power off position pulls plate 142 out of slot 160 , which permits movement of the spring carrier and removal of the plug 200 . removal of the plug 200 is resisted by the interaction between garter spring 136 , detent slots 220 , and outer surface 245 . this resistance continues until spring carrier 120 moves far enough that channel 125 is adjacent to wider region 246 , at which point the spring 136 can be displaced far enough into channel 125 to allow the plug to be removed . receptacle housing 100 may be made , for example , of a metal , such as aluminum or an iron alloy , and fabricated by casting . it also may be made of a polymer , such as glass filled polyester . the receptacle conductor prongs 145 may be made of a conductive material , such as brass . the gasket 225 may be made of a flexible polymer , such as neoprene . referring to fig1 and 11 , a receptacle housing 1100 includes a release lever 1105 and a receptacle 1110 having a threaded section 1113 and covered by a receptacle cover 1115 . receptacle cover 1115 is hinged at a spring - mounted hinge 1120 so that it tends to move to a closed position covering the receptacle 1110 . electrical lines 1125 supply power to the receptacle 1110 through an opening 1130 . referring to fig1 , receptacle 1110 includes receptacle conductor prongs 1133 , which are connected to electrical lines 1125 . prongs 1133 reside in an insulator 1135 . a sleeve region 1137 is defined between insulator 1135 and an inner circumference 1139 of receptacle 1110 . a guide pin 1140 is positioned on the inner circumference 1139 , and a cam hinge lock 1141 is positioned adjacent to insulator 1135 in an opening 1143 of inner circumference 1139 . cam hinge lock 1141 is generally l - shaped and includes a detent tab 1145 on a top end 1146 and a pair of trigger tabs 1147 on a bottom end 1148 . on a lateral end away from the trigger tabs 1147 , the cam hinge lock includes a square channel 1149 and a cam hinge 1151 . the cam hinge 1151 fits into a cam opening 1153 formed by a pair of hinge tabs 1155 . positioning cam hinge 1151 within cam opening 1153 allows cam hinge lock 1141 to pivot along a shaft 1157 . the cam hinge lock 1141 is shown in greater detail in fig1 - 16 . referring to fig1 , shoulders 1159 are adjacent to detent tab 1145 . fig1 and 15 show the cam hinge lock 1141 in a lower position relative to a square segment 1161 of shaft 1157 . in this position , the square segment 1161 is adjacent to square channel 1149 and rotated relative to square channel 1149 so as to not fit within square channel 1149 . instead , square channel 1149 surrounds a round segment 1162 of shaft 1157 . fig1 shows the cam hinge lock 1141 in an upper position relative to the square segment 1161 . in the upper position , the square channel 1149 is aligned with and surrounds square segment 1161 . referring again to fig1 , a pair of springs 1163 and 1165 resist both up and down movement of the cam hinge lock 1141 . spring 1163 resists downward movement of cam hinge lock 1141 because the spring is compressed between cam hinge lock 1141 and a surface 1167 within receptacle housing 1100 . pushing cam hinge lock 1141 downward causes additional compression of spring 1163 thereby resisting downward movement . spring 1165 indirectly resists the upward movement of cam hinge lock 1141 by resisting the movement of release handle 1105 , which is attached to and controls the movement of shaft 1157 . spring 1165 is positioned around shaft 1157 and fixed at one end to receptacle housing 1100 by a restraining screw 1169 and at another end by an interlock arm 1171 . moving release lever 1105 rotates shaft 1157 and causes interlock arm 1171 to move a corresponding amount about the axis of shaft 1157 . the movement of interlock arm 1171 tightens the degree to which spring 1165 is coiled , and , therefore , is resisted by spring 1165 . springs 1163 and 1165 function together to move the cam hinge lock 1141 to the upper position . with cam hinge lock 1141 in the lower position , as shown in fig1 , spring 1163 is compressed by the cam hinge lock . upward movement of the cam hinge lock 1141 is prevented by the positioning of square segment 1161 of shaft 1157 , which is not in alignment with the square channel 1149 . moving release lever 1105 against the force of spring 1165 rotates square segment 1161 into alignment with square channel 1149 . the compressive force within spring 1163 then pushes cam hinge lock 1141 up so that square channel 1149 surrounds square segment 1161 . the upward movement of cam hinge lock 1141 is limited by a pair of edges 1175 against which shoulders 1159 abut as cam hinge lock 1141 moves up . referring to fig1 , to insert the plug 200 in the receptacle 1100 , the release lever 1105 must be in a disengaged position as illustrated in fig1 . the release lever 1105 is manually rotated to the disengaged position when the plug 200 is removed from the receptacle 1100 and stays in the disengaged position until the plug is again engaged in the receptacle . rotating the release lever 1105 to the disengaged position causes square channel 1149 to surround and engage the square segment 1161 as described above with reference to fig1 . as described in greater detail below , the release lever is automatically moved to an engaged position by the interaction between cam hinge lock 1141 and plug sleeve 210 , illustrated in fig1 , when the plug 200 is engaged in the receptacle . fig1 - 21 illustrate the interaction between the cam hinge lock 1141 and plug 200 when the plug is inserted into the receptacle housing 1100 . this interaction controls the forces exerted by springs 1163 and 1165 . referring to fig1 , release lever 1105 is in the disengaged position illustrated in fig1 and plug sleeve 210 is partially inserted into sleeve region 1137 so that it is adjacent to insulator 1135 . the square channel 1149 of the cam hinge lock 1141 partially surrounds the square segment 1161 of shaft 1157 . spring 1163 exerts a force to maintain the cam hinge lock 1141 in this position while at the same time spring 1165 exerts an opposing force that tends to rotate the release lever to rotate the shaft 1157 . because of the engagement of square segment 1161 with square channel 1149 , however , the cam hinge lock 1141 remains in this position . referring to fig2 , the plug sleeve 210 is further inserted into sleeve region 1137 . detent slot 220 is adjacent to detent tab 1145 and bottom edge 240 is adjacent to , although not in contact with , trigger tabs 1147 . the opposing forces of springs 1163 and 1165 remain restrained by the engagement of square segment 1161 with square channel 1149 . referring to fig2 , the plug sleeve 210 is fully inserted into sleeve region 1137 as characterized by the insertion of detent tab 1145 in detent slot 220 and the contact between bottom edge 240 and trigger tabs 1147 . when bottom edge 240 contacts trigger tabs 1147 , cam hinge lock 1141 pivots down along shaft 1157 from square section 1161 to round segment 1162 . this movement releases the opposing forces of springs 1163 and 1165 which causes release lever 1105 to rotate to an engaged position . rotating release lever 1105 also rotates shaft 1157 so that interlock arm 1171 is rotated to activate a switch to supply electrical power to receptacle conductor prongs 1133 . after fully inserting the plug 200 into the receptacle housing 1100 , threaded cap 230 may be threadably attached to the threaded section 1115 . attaching the cap 230 forces gasket 225 against the top of threaded section 1115 . the force of the cap 230 against the threaded section causes the gasket 225 to expand against sleeve 210 and the inside surface of cap 230 , thereby forming a watertight seal . the plug 200 is secured in the receptacle housing by the insertion of detent tab 1145 in detent slot 220 . thus , to disengage plug 200 from receptacle housing 1100 , the detent tab 1145 must be pulled out of the detent slot 200 . this is accomplished by rotating release lever 1105 from the engaged position described above with reference to fig1 to the disengaged position described above with reference to fig1 . moving the release lever 1105 to the disengaged position moves interlock arm 1171 so that power is no longer supplied to the receptacle conductor prongs 1133 . receptacle housing 1100 may be made , for example , of a metal , such as aluminum or an iron alloy , and fabricated by casting . it also may be made of a polymer , such as glass filled polyester . the receptacle conductor prongs 1145 may be made of a conductive material , such as brass . referring to fig2 , a receptacle housing 1200 includes a release lever 1205 and a receptacle 1210 having a threaded section 1213 and covered by a receptacle cover 1215 . receptacle cover 1215 is hinged at a spring - mounted hinge ( not shown ) so that it tends to move to a closed position covering the receptacle 1210 . electrical lines 1225 supply power to the receptacle 1210 through an opening 1230 . the receptacle 1210 also includes receptacle conductor prongs 1233 , which are connected to electrical lines 1225 . prongs 1233 reside in an insulator 1235 . a sleeve region 1237 is defined between insulator 1235 and an inner circumference 1239 of receptacle 1210 . a guide pin 1240 is positioned on the inner circumference 1239 , and a cam hinge 1241 is positioned adjacent to insulator 1235 in an opening 1243 of inner circumference 1239 . cam hinge 1241 has a flat plate shape . a receptacle detent 1245 is slidably mounted in a channel 1247 cast within receptacle housing 1200 . the cam hinge 1241 includes a square channel 1249 and a cam hinge end 1251 . the cam hinge end 1251 fits against a housing bend 1253 and a trigger end 1255 fits against an upper end 1256 of opening 1243 . positioning cam hinge 1241 between housing bend 1253 and upper end 1256 allows cam hinge 1241 to pivot along a shaft 1257 . the receptacle detent 1245 is shown in greater detail in fig2 - 25 . referring to fig2 and 24 , receptacle detent 1245 includes a tab 1259 and a channel 1261 passing through the receptacle detent . channel 1261 includes three lobes 1263 and an angled stop 1265 . referring to fig2 , receptacle detent 1245 may include an oval end 1267 instead of the tab 1259 . referring to fig2 , plug 200 is partially inserted in receptacle 1210 . receptacle detent 1245 is in an extended position in which oval end 1267 is adjacent to plug sleeve 210 . shaft 1257 passes through opening 1261 and an upper square segment 1269 of the shaft rests against angled stop 1265 . upper square segment 1269 includes four corners 1271 , two of which rest against two of lobes 1263 in the extended position . referring to fig2 , plug 200 is fully inserted in receptacle 1210 and receptacle detent 1245 is in an inserted position characterized by oval end 1267 being inserted within one detent slot 220 , thereby retaining plug 200 within receptacle 1210 . in the inserted position , shaft 1257 is rotated approximately 45 ° relative to the extended position within opening 1261 such that one of the corners 1271 of upper square segment 1269 affirmatively pushes receptacle detent 1245 forward . to move between the extended and inserted positions , the corners 1271 slide along the lobes 1263 within opening 1261 . further movement of shaft 1257 is limited by the contact between oval end 1267 and plug 200 within detent slot 220 and between the corners 1271 and lobes 1263 . fig2 shows the cam hinge 1241 in an upper position in which a lower square segment 1273 of shaft 1257 is aligned with and surrounded by a square channel 1275 of cam hinge 1241 . fig2 and 30 show the cam hinge 1241 in a lower position in which a round segment 1277 of shaft 1257 located below lower square segment 1273 is surrounded by square channel 1275 . in this position , the lower square segment 1273 is above square channel 1275 and rotated relative to square channel 1275 so as to not fit within the square channel , which prevents cam hinge 1241 from moving back to the extended position . referring again to fig2 , a pair of springs 1278 and 1279 resist both upward and downward movement of the cam hinge 1241 . spring 1278 resists downward movement of cam hinge 1241 because the spring is compressed between cam hinge 1241 and a surface 1280 within receptacle housing 1200 . pushing cam hinge 1241 downward causes additional compression of spring 1278 thereby resisting downward movement . spring 1279 indirectly resists the upward movement of cam hinge 1241 by resisting the movement of release handle 1205 , which is attached to and controls the movement of shaft 1257 . spring 1279 is positioned around shaft 1257 and fixed at one end to receptacle housing 1200 by a restraining screw 1282 and at another end by an interlock arm 1284 . moving release lever 1205 rotates shaft 1257 and causes interlock arm 1284 to move a corresponding amount about the axis of shaft 1257 . the movement of interlock arm 1284 tightens the degree to which spring 1279 is coiled , and , therefore , is resisted by spring 1279 . springs 1278 and 1279 function together with a plug 200 to move the cam hinge 1241 to the lower position and move receptacle detent 1245 into the inserted position . with cam hinge 1241 in the extended position , as shown in fig2 , spring 1278 is in an uncompressed state . downward movement of the cam hinge 1241 is resisted by spring 1278 . rotational movement of the shaft 1257 is resisted by the contact between angled stop 1265 and upper square segment 1269 , which is under the rotational force exerted by spring 1279 on shaft 1257 . referring to fig3 , the plug 200 is partially inserted in the receptacle 1200 . the release lever 1205 has previously been manually rotated to a disengaged position when the plug 200 was removed from the receptacle 1200 . the release lever 1205 stays in the disengaged position until the plug is again engaged in the receptacle . rotating the release lever 1205 to the disengaged position causes square channel 1275 to surround and engage the lower square segment 1273 as described above with reference to fig2 and 30 . as described in greater detail below , the release lever is automatically moved to an engaged position by the interaction between cam hinge 1241 and plug sleeve 210 , illustrated in fig3 and 33 , when the plug 200 is engaged in the receptacle . fig3 and 33 illustrate the interaction between the cam hinge 1241 , receptacle detent 1245 and plug 200 when the plug is inserted into the receptacle housing 1200 . this interaction controls the forces exerted by springs 1278 and 1279 . referring to fig3 , plug sleeve 210 is partially inserted into sleeve region 1237 so that it is adjacent to insulator 1235 on one side and to oval end 1267 of receptacle detent 1245 on another side . bottom edge 240 is pressed against cam hinge 1241 such that spring 1278 is in compression . when bottom edge 240 is pressed against cam hinge 1241 , cam hinge 1241 pivots down shaft 1257 around lower square section 1273 toward round segment 1277 . the square channel 1275 of the cam hinge 1241 partially surrounds the lower square segment 1273 of shaft 1157 . spring 1278 exerts a force to maintain the cam hinge 1241 in this position while at the same time spring 1279 exerts an opposing force that tends to rotate the release lever to rotate the shaft 1257 . because of the engagement of lower square segment 1273 with square channel 1275 , however , the shaft 1257 remains in this orientation . referring to fig3 , the plug sleeve 210 is fully inserted into , and interlocked within , sleeve region 1237 as characterized by the insertion of the oval end 1267 of receptacle detent 1245 in detent slot 220 . when bottom edge 240 pushes cam hinge 1241 down along shaft 1157 from lower square segment 1273 to round segment 1277 , the opposing forces of springs 1278 and 1279 are released . this causes shaft 1257 to rotate , which moves release lever 1205 to rotate to the engaged position . in addition , upper square segment 1269 is rotated approximately 45 °, which moves receptacle detent 1245 such that oval end is inserted into detent slot 220 . finally , shaft 1257 rotates interlock arm 1284 to activate a switch to supply electrical power to receptacle conductor prongs 1233 . after fully inserting the plug 200 into the receptacle housing 1200 , threaded cap 230 may be threadably attached to the threaded section 1213 . attaching the cap 230 forces gasket 225 against the top of threaded section 1213 . the force of the cap 230 against the threaded section causes the gasket 225 to expand against sleeve 210 and the inside surface of cap 230 , thereby forming a watertight seal . the plug 200 is secured in the receptacle housing by the insertion of the oval end 1267 of receptacle detent 1245 in detent slot 220 . thus , to disengage plug 200 from receptacle housing 1200 , the oval end 1267 must be pulled out of the detent slot 200 . this is accomplished by rotating release lever 1205 from the engaged position to the disengaged position . moving the release lever 1205 to the disengaged position moves interlock arm 1284 so that power is no longer supplied to the receptacle conductor prongs 1233 . receptacle housing 1200 may be made , for example , of a metal , such as aluminum or an iron alloy , and fabricated by casting . it also may be made of a polymer , such as glass filled polyester . the receptacle conductor prongs 1245 may be made of a conductive material , such as brass . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . for example , the blocking element ( i . e ., garter spring 136 ) may be a flexible rod or a set of bearings that encircle at least a portion of the spring carrier 120 and can be displaced into channel 125 .	7
illustrative embodiments and exemplary applications will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to disclose the advantageous teachings of the present invention . while the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications , it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto . those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications , applications , and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which the present invention would be of significant utility . reference is directed to fig1 , which is a drawing of a cordless and wireless facsimile apparatus according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the apparatus is capable of communicating voice and facsimile data over either a wireless telephone network , or a cordless telephone system . in addition , the apparatus is capable of automatically registering on either system , based on a user preference . single and multiple handset cordless systems are supported , and , the apparatus can act as a host to a cordless system when the primary telephony resource is a wireless telephone network . in host mode , voice and facsimile services are fully supported . a compact enclosure 2 is provided , which enables portability while traveling , yet still allows sufficient space for user - friendly controls and full - sized paper handling , such as us letter paper or a4 din sized paper . a wireless telephone antenna 4 and a cordless telephone antenna 6 are present on the exterior of the enclosure 2 . the antennas 4 , 6 are flexible and can be oriented to optimized radio performance . in an alternative embodiment , both antenna elements are enclosed in a single ray dome . in another alternative embodiment , the antennas 4 , 6 are disposed within the housing 2 , which yields a very clean appearance . a scanner paper feed slot 8 is present on the top of the housing 2 near the rear , and provides a location for the user to insert documents that are to be scanned and transmitted by facsimile . note that in an alternative embodiment , a multiple sheet paper feeder may be provided for the convenience of sending multiple pages in a single operation . a received document paper output slot 10 is also present in the top of the enclosure , which is where received documents are output from the apparatus . a sharp edge is provided along one or both sides of the slot 10 , to enable the user to cleanly tear pages from a roll of paper ( not shown ) disposed inside of the housing 2 . the housing 2 in fig1 presents the user interface for access and operation of the apparatus by a user . a conventional telephone - style keypad 18 is provided for entering telephone numbers , programming alphanumeric characters , and operating various functions of the apparatus . a liquid crystal display 12 is provided , which presents the current status of the apparatus , as well as date , time , telephone number , and function menu information . such menu displays are understood by those skilled in the art . also , other display technologies , such as led or plasma displays , may be employed , as are understood by those skilled in the art . a multiple - position rocker switch 28 is provided to enable the user to navigate through a function menu display in the apparatus . an on / off switch 26 is provided for powering the apparatus on and off . several dedicated function keys are provided in the user interface , to provide convenient access to frequently functions . a fax / start key 20 enable the scanning and transmission of a document to a predetermined telephone number . a stop / ext key 22 terminates any operation in progress , including facsimile reception and transmission . a menu key 24 causes the user interface to enter the aforementioned menu mode for access and control of various machine functions . a pause key 30 is used to temporarily pause various functions , without terminating the operation completely . a set key 32 is provided for selecting from a menu of choices in the various function menus . a copy key 34 is provided , which enables a stand alone copy mode , where documents can be scanned and printed locally , without facsimile transmission . the housing 2 in fig1 also presents an ac power adapter connector 14 , which allows the user to draw current from a wall - plug transformer - adapter when such power is available . in addition to powering the apparatus , the connector 14 allows the user to recharge internal storage batteries ( not shown ). an external rj - type connector 16 is provided , which enables the connection of a local corded telephone handset to the apparatus . the corded handset ( not shown ) enables the user to conduct voice communications with the apparatus . the illustrative embodiment of fig1 includes utilization of industry standard subscriber identity modules (“ sim ”). a sim is a postage - stamp sized integrated circuit device that includes random access memory . the sim card 17 is basically a tiny computing device that accesses stored data and computer functions . within the sim card 17 is stored a user &# 39 ; s unique identity and various parameters of personal information . also includes , is personal data , such as a telephone book list of names and numbers , etc . the sim cards are portable and enable each user to transfer their identity from one telephone device to another . the sim card 17 is inserted into a compatible receptacle 15 disposed on the front of the housing 2 , which enables any given user to transfer their identity and personal information . sim card technology is known to those skilled in the art . reference is directed to fig2 , which is a section view of the cordless and wireless facsimile apparatus according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the section view is cut through the housing 2 and reveals various internal components as well as the paper handling paths within the apparatus . the key actuators 30 , 32 , 34 are visible , as well as the display 12 , which are disposed on the top of the housing 2 . within the housing , a package of electronics 54 is disposed beneath the user interface . a rechargeable storage battery 56 is provided to power the apparatus during portable operation . an access cover ( not shown ) is provided on the bottom of the housing to enable changing of the battery 56 . the cordless and wireless telephone transceiver circuits 58 are also disposed within the housing 2 . emr shielding is provided around the transceivers 58 to reduce radio interference issues . the paper handling paths are apparent in fig2 . in the illustrative embodiment , a roll of thermal paper 36 is supported within the housing 2 on a spindle 38 . a set of drive rollers 46 transport the thermal paper 36 across a thermal print head 48 , which is driven under control of the electronic circuits 54 . the design and operation of thermal printers is known to those skilled in the art . as documents are printed , the thermal paper is ejected from the print slot 10 in the housing . as each page of a facsimile or copy is completed , the user tears the page along the edge of the slot 10 . the paper scanning mechanism is also visible in fig2 . the original document 51 is fed into the paper input slot 8 . a set of drive rollers 50 grip the document 51 and drive it past a scanner head 52 . document scanners are known to those skilled in the art . as the document 51 is driven by the drive rollers 50 , it is ejected from an exit slot 9 at the back of the housing . reference is directed to fig3 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the apparatus 2 of the present invention functions as a cordless telephone facsimile terminal in fig3 . a typical application of this mode of operation would be where a user is at their home or office and wireline pstn access is available , yet cordless portability is desired . a cordless telephone base unit 61 is coupled to the pstn 60 via a conventional twisted pair metallic connection . the cordless base unit 61 may be any of those known to persons skilled in the art , including open protocol standards as well as proprietary systems and protocols utilized by particular manufacturers . this generalization respecting cordless telephone protocols is applicable to all the functional embodiments described herein . in fig3 , a single channel , single terminal cordless system is illustrated . cordless radio signals 62 couple the cordless base unit 61 to the cordless antenna of the apparatus 2 . the wireless antenna 4 is not used in this mode of operation . facsimile messages are received and transmitted from the apparatus 2 to the pstn 60 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the cordless base 61 , the cordless antenna 6 , and the cordless radio signals 62 as a communications channel . a corded handset 70 is coupled to the apparatus 2 so that the user can access voice communications through the cordless environment when desired . reference is directed to fig4 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention where that apparatus functions as a terminal unit in a multiple handset cordless telephone system . a cordless base unit 61 establishes a cordless telephone radio network 63 that supports multiple terminal units . the cordless base unit 61 is coupled to the pstn 60 via a conventional twisted pair metallic connection . plural cordless telephone handsets 68 communicate using cordless radio signals 66 into the cordless network 63 . the plural handsets 68 can communicate amongst each other or into the pstn 60 . the apparatus 2 of the present invention functions as a single cordless terminal in the multiple terminal cordless network 63 , which communicates via cordless radio signals 66 through the cordless antenna 6 . the wireless antenna 4 is not used in this mode of operation . facsimile messages are received and transmitted from the apparatus 2 to the pstn 60 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the cordless base 61 , the cordless network 63 , the cordless antenna 6 , and the cordless radio signals 66 as a communications channel . a corded handset 70 is coupled to the apparatus 2 so that the user can access voice communications through the cordless network 63 when one of the plural handsets 68 isn &# 39 ; t otherwise available . reference is directed to fig5 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention where the apparatus 2 functions as a cordless terminal in cooperation with a wireless and cordless node 67 . the wireless and cordless node is the device described in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 781 , 105 to liu , the inventor of the present invention , for wireless node multiple handset cordless telephone system . the wireless node 67 communicates wireless telephone signals 65 with a wireless telephone network 64 , which are the telephone resource available to the apparatus 2 of the present invention . the wireless node 67 communicates cordless telephone signals 62 through the cordless antenna 6 of the apparatus 2 . the wireless antenna 4 is not used in this mode of operation . facsimile messages are received and transmitted from the apparatus 2 to the wireless network 64 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the wireless node 67 , the cordless radio signals 62 , and the cordless antenna 6 as a communications channel . a corded handset 70 is coupled to the apparatus 2 so that the user can access voice communications through to the wireless network 64 when desired . reference is directed to fig6 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention where the apparatus 2 functions as a cordless terminal in cooperation with a wireless and cordless node 67 . the wireless and cordless node is the device described in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 781 , 105 to liu , the inventor of the present invention , for wireless node multiple handset cordless telephone system . the wireless node 67 communicates wireless telephone signals 65 with a wireless telephone network 64 , which are the telephone resource available to the apparatus 2 of the present invention . the wireless node 67 establishes a multiple terminal unit cordless telephone network 63 . plural cordless telephone handsets 68 communicate using cordless radio signals 66 into the cordless telephone network 63 . the plural handsets 68 can communicate amongst each other or into the wireless telephone network 64 . the apparatus 2 of the present invention functions as a single cordless terminal in the multiple terminal cordless network 63 , which communicates via cordless radio signals 66 through the cordless antenna 6 . the wireless antenna 4 is not used in this mode of operation . facsimile messages are received and transmitted from the apparatus 2 to the wireless network 64 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the wireless node 67 , the cordless radio network 63 , and the cordless antenna 6 as a communications channel . a corded handset 70 is coupled to the apparatus 2 so that the user can access voice communications through to the wireless network 64 when desired . reference is directed to fig7 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention where the apparatus 2 functions as a stand - alone wireless telephone facsimile terminal unit . the apparatus 2 communicates using wireless telephone signals 65 through its wireless antenna 4 with a wireless telephone network 64 . the cordless antenna 6 is not used in this mode of operation . facsimile messages are received and transmitted from the apparatus 2 to the wireless network 64 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the wireless telephone signals and the wireless antenna 4 as a communications channel . a corded handset 70 is coupled to the apparatus 2 so that the user can access voice communications through to the wireless network 64 when desired . reference is directed to fig8 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention where the apparatus 2 functions as a wireless and cordless node in addition to a wireless facsimile machine . the apparatus 2 communicated wireless telephone signals 65 with a wireless telephone network 64 via wireless antenna 4 . the wireless telephone network is the pstn telephone resource in this embodiment . facsimile messages are transmitted and received from the apparatus 2 to the wireless network 64 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the wireless telephone signals 65 as a communication channel . in this mode of operation , the apparatus 2 functions as a wireless and cordless node device as described in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 781 , 105 to liu , the inventor of the present invention , for wireless node multiple handset cordless telephone system . a cordless telephone handset 72 communicates with the apparatus via cordless telephone signals 62 via cordless antenna 62 . reference is directed to fig9 , which is a system diagram of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention where the apparatus 2 functions as a multiple handset wireless and cordless node in addition to a wireless facsimile machine . the apparatus 2 communicated wireless telephone signals 65 with a wireless telephone network 64 via wireless antenna 4 . the wireless telephone network is the pstn telephone resource in this embodiment . facsimile messages are transmitted and received from the apparatus 2 to the wireless network 64 according to the ccitt g3 protocol , using the wireless telephone signals 65 as a communication channel . in this mode of operation , the apparatus 2 functions as a multiple handset wireless and cordless node device as described in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 781 , 105 to liu , the inventor of the present invention , for wireless node multiple handset cordless telephone system . the apparatus 2 sets up a cordless telephone network 63 using cordless telephone signals 66 . multiple cordless telephone handsets 68 communicate within the cordless telephone network , and can communicate amongst one another or into the wireless network 64 via the apparatus 2 using both the cordless antenna 6 and the wireless antenna 4 . reference is directed to fig1 , which is a functional block diagram of a cordless and wireless facsimile apparatus 2 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . a wireless antenna 4 couples signals to and from a wireless transceiver 80 . the wireless transceiver 80 modulates and demodulates encoded wireless telephone signals to the base - band . a wireless processor 88 converts the base - band signals to a wireless audio signal portion and a wireless control signal portion . the signals are duplex signals . these portions may be analog or digital depending on the radio technology employed , which may be any of those known to people skilled in the art . the wireless control signals are coupled to a controller 90 . on the cordless side of the apparatus 2 , a cordless telephone signal antenna 6 couples cordless telephone radio signals to a cordless transceiver 86 . the cordless transceiver 86 modulates and demodulates the encoded cordless signals to the base - band . a cordless processor 92 converts the cordless signals to plural cordless audio signals and cordless control signals . in the case of a single channel cordless implementation of the present invention , then there is a single connection between the cordless processor 92 and the switch 82 . the signals are duplex signals . the cordless control signals are coupled to the controller 90 . the controller 90 operates to provides functionality by execution of suitable source code that is programmed into a memory portion of the controller 90 . control signals to and from both the wireless processor 88 and the cordless processor 92 enable the call progress functions of the apparatus 2 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of processors , microprocessors , controllers , microcontrollers , asics ( application specific integrated circuits ), signal processors , or other programmable devices may be used to embody the wireless processor 88 , controller 90 and cordless processor 92 . in fact a single such device may embody all three , or discrete devices may be used for each , and so forth . the wireless audio signals and the plural cordless audio signals are coupled to switch 82 , which serves to cross connect any two of these signals upon command of the controller 90 . the technology utilized in the switch 82 will depend on the nature of the audio signals , which are controlled by the protocol and technology of the transceivers . analog signals lend themselves to circuit switching , while data signals lend themselves to multiplexed switching . a telecommunications cross - point switching device may be used , or a digital switching device . in fact , the controller 90 can be used as the switch 82 in certain applications . those skilled in the art are familiar with various technologies suitable for implementing the switch 82 . in operation , as voice calls are processed , the controller 90 directs the switch 82 to couple calls from the wireless side to the cordless side or from different audio signals on the cordless side depending on the nature of the call . in the case where a corded handset 70 is in use , then the switch 82 couples the duplex audio to an audio circuit 84 , which is coupled to the handset 70 . the audio circuit 84 adjusts signal levels and impedances to match the handset 70 requirements . call switching is at the control of controller 90 , which operates in accordance with the aforementioned object code and user selections through the user interface 96 . the facsimile machine functions of the apparatus 2 are implemented using a page scanner 100 and a thermal printer 94 , both of which are coupled to the controller 90 . various scanner and printer technologies known to those skilled in the art can be applied to the teachings of the present invention . the two principle characteristics preferred are compact size and low power consumption for battery operation . the modem functions required in the ccitt g3 protocol convert the modulated tones and signals through the analog audio channel into digital data . these modulation and demodulation functions are carried out in the wireless processor 88 or cordless processor 92 depending on the channel in use for facsimile transmission in each given facsimile call . in the illustrative embodiment , these functions are implemented as digital signal processing code , so the same code can be executed in the both processors 88 , 92 . inn an alternative embodiment , the modem functions are carried out in the controller 90 , the choice of which is a design decision . those skilled in the art are knowledgeable in the area of ccitt g3 modulation and demodulation coding schemes . the user interface 96 is provided in accordance with the design described with respect to fig1 herein . the components include contact closure actuators for user access , indicators and a display . the implementation of such a user interface is known to those skilled in the art . a storage battery 58 is coupled to provide power to the various circuits in apparatus 2 . a battery charging terminal 14 is present to allow connection of an external power supply for charging the battery 58 or for directly powering the apparatus 2 and its various circuits . the apparatus 2 in fig1 also includes a sim card interface circuit 98 with a sim card interface slot to accept a sim card 17 . the slot ( not shown ) accepts a discrete sim card , and the interface 98 is coupled to transfer sim card data with the controller 90 and wireless processor 88 . reference is directed to fig1 , which is a diagram of a cordless telephone handset 68 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the cordless handset 68 illustrated is suitable for use with the wireless and cordless facsimile apparatus of the present invention . the handset 68 includes a cordless antenna 102 that communicates cordless telephone radio signals with the cordless antenna on the facsimile apparatus ( not shown ). a earphone 104 is provided to couple audio signals to the user . a display 106 provides visual feedback to the user . a cordless telephone keypad 108 is provided , and is of the type known to those skilled in the art . a microphone 110 is used to couple user audio into the system . battery charging contacts 112 couple with battery charging terminals 116 disposed on a charging cradle 114 . the charging cradle 118 receives primary power though a connector 118 that couples with a cable 120 to a wall - plug transformer 122 . the internal functions and circuitry of the cordless telephone 68 comply with the specifics of the cordless protocol implemented with the wireless and cordless facsimile apparatus of the present invention . fig1 is a diagram of a corded telephone handset 70 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the telephone handset 70 is suitable for corded connection to the wireless and cordless facsimile apparatus of the present invention . the handset includes the earphone 124 and microphone 130 that are typically employed in a telephone handset . in the illustrative embodiment , a data signal is coupled through the cord 132 in addition to the audio signals . the data signals are coupled to the controller in the apparatus of the present invention and enable the communications of data to the display 126 and telephone keypad 128 in the handset . this is a convenience feature , so the user can use the wireless and cordless facsimile apparatus of the present invention in the same manner as a voice telephone , when such service is desirable in addition to facsimile service . reference is directed to fig1 , which is a process flow diagram illustrating the telephone resource preference and selection processes according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the process begins at step 140 and proceeds into an idle loop 142 , from which all of the software processes flow . at step 144 , at test is made to determine what resource preference has been specified . the specification of cordless or wireless resource can be by default programming or by a user specified preference . in the case the preference is set to “ cordless ”, then the process is biased to access the cordless service for facsimile communications by proceeding to step 146 . at step 146 , the process attempts to register the apparatus with the available cordless resource , which may be a single or multiple handset cordless base of a wireless node . if the registration succeeds , then flow proceeds to step 150 where the mode of the apparatus is set to cordless facsimile mode . the cordless mode is displayed at step 152 , such as by illuminating a cordless icon on the display , and flow returns to the idle loop at step 154 . on the other hand , at step 148 , if the cordless registration attempt fails , then flow proceeds to step 156 . at step 156 , the process attempts a wireless registration , since the cordless service is not presently available . if the wireless registration fails at step 158 , then flow proceeds to step 162 where the mode is set to off - line , and , the status is displayed at step 164 . on the other hand , at step 158 , if the wireless registration has succeeded , then flow proceeds to step 160 . at step 160 , the mode is set to wireless node and facsimile terminal , and flow proceeds to step 164 where the status is displayed . in fig1 at step 144 , if the resource preference is set to “ wireless ”, then flow proceeds to step 168 , where the wireless preference bias is implemented . at step 168 , the apparatus attempts a wireless network registration . if the registration succeeds at step 170 , then flow proceeds to step 152 where the status is displayed , such as by illuminating a wireless icon on the display . the process then returns to the idle state at step 154 . on the other hand , at step 170 , if the wireless registration attempt fails , then flow proceeds to step 174 . at step 174 , the process attempts a cordless registration , since the wireless service is not presently available . if the cordless registration fails at step 176 , then flow proceeds to step 162 where the mode is set to off - line , and , the status is displayed at step 164 . on the other hand , at step 176 , if the cordless registration has succeeded , then flow proceeds to step 178 . at step 178 , the mode is set to cordless facsimile terminal , and flow proceeds to step 164 where the status is displayed . from step 164 , regardless of how this step is reached , a timer is set at step 166 . the purpose of the timer 166 is to cause the resource preference selection process to be re - executed at a later time , because the preferred resource was not available for registration . in a practical environment , the apparatus may move of the preferred resource may later become available . the timer 166 causes the process to be re - executed so that the preferred resource can later be accessed and set as the default mode . reference is directed to fig1 , which is a process flow diagram showing the cordless system incoming call processing according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the process in fig1 is entered when the resource is set to cordless and a call is received by the wireless and cordless apparatus of the present invention . the process starts at step 180 and proceeds to step 182 , which is the aforementioned idle loop . at step 184 , a test is mode to determine if a call is being received from the cordless system . if not , flow loops to step 182 and further waits for an incoming call . if a call is incoming at step 184 , then flow proceeds to step 186 . at step 186 , a cordless system handshake is executed to answer and connect the incoming call . at step 186 , the ccitt g3 ced tone and v . 21 synchronization processes are executed . these processes are understood by those skilled in the art , as a proper answer sequence for and incoming facsimile message call . at step 190 , a test is made to determine if the calling facsimile machine has properly replied under the ccitt g3 protocol . if not , then the call is not from a facsimile machine . accordingly , flow proceeds to step 192 where the user is alerted that the call is a voice call and flow proceeds to step 196 where the audio is routed to the handset of the apparatus . a voice call is then in process . at step 200 , a test is made to determine if the call has been terminated , such as be one of the telephones hanging up . if the call has not been terminated , then flow returns to step 196 and the call continues . if the call is terminated at step 200 , then flow proceeds to step 202 where the apparatus returns to the idle state . on the other hand , at step 190 , if the calling facsimile does respond according to the ccitt g3 signaling protocol then flow proceeds to step 194 . at step 194 , the facsimile message is received , stored and printed on a page - by - page basis . at step 198 , a test is made to determine if the call is terminated . if not , flow returns to step 194 and further pages are received . if the call is terminated at step 198 , then the apparatus returns to the idle state at step 202 . reference is directed to fig1 is a process flow diagram of the cordless mode outgoing call process according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the process begins at step 210 and proceeds to the aforementioned idle loop at step 212 . at step 214 a test is made to determine if the user has initiated a facsimile transmission operation . if not , flow returns to the idle state at step 212 . if the user has initiated a facsimile transmission operation at step 214 , then flow proceeds to step 216 . at step 216 , the scanner is enabled and the currently loaded document page is scanned into memory for subsequent transmission . at step 218 , a test is made to determine if another document page has been presented from transmission . if another page is ready , then flow returns to step 216 and that page is scanned to memory . on the other hand , at step 218 , if there are no more document pages , then flow proceeds to step 220 . at step 220 , a call request is processed in the cordless system . if a cordless system resource is not available at step 222 , then flow proceeds to step 237 where the user is alerted , and the error is suitable handled at step 238 , such as setting a retry timer , etc . on the other hand , at step 222 , if a cordless resource is available , then flow proceeds to step 224 . at step 224 , a call is placed to the predetermined destination telephone number . if the call is not answered at step 226 , flow proceeds to steps 237 where the user is alerted and a suitable error handler processes the state at step 238 . on the other hand , at step 226 , if the call is answered , then flow proceeds to step 228 . at step 228 , the ccitt g3 handshake is executed with the answering facsimile machine . if the facsimile machines do not connect at step 230 , then the user is alerted at step 237 and the error is handled at step 238 . on the other hand , as step 230 , if the facsimile machines do connect , then flow proceeds to step 232 . at step 232 , the document pages are transmitted to the receiving machine . at step 236 , as test is made to determine if the call has been terminated . in not , flow returns to step 232 for continue transmitting pages . on the other hand , at step 236 , if the call has been terminated then flow returns to the idle state at step 239 . reference is directed to fig1 , which is a process flow diagram showing the wireless network incoming call processing according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the process in fig1 is entered when the resource is set to wireless and a call is received by the wireless and cordless apparatus of the present invention . the process starts at step 240 and proceeds to step 242 , which is the aforementioned idle loop . at step 244 , a test is mode to determine if a call is being received from the wireless network . if not , flow loops to step 242 and further waits for an incoming call . if a call is incoming at step 244 , then flow proceeds to step 246 . at step 246 , the wireless network call is answered and a test is made to determine what the preferred answer mode of the apparatus is . the two options are facsimile answer or voice answer , based on the user &# 39 ; s preference . if the preference is voice answer , then flow proceeds to step 258 , which will be more fully discussed below . on the other hand , at step 246 , if the answer mode preference is set to facsimile answer , then flow proceeds to step 248 . at step 248 , the call is coupled to the facsimile process in the apparatus . at step 250 , the ccitt g3 ced tone and v . 21 synchronization processes are executed . these processes are understood by those skilled in the art , as a proper answer sequence for and incoming facsimile message call . at step 252 , a test is made to determine if the calling facsimile machine has properly replied under the ccitt g3 protocol . if not , then the call is not from a facsimile machine . accordingly , flow proceeds to step 254 where the user is alerted that the call is a voice call and flow proceeds to step 258 where the audio is routed to the handset of the apparatus . a voice call is then in process . at step 262 , a test is made to determine if the call has been terminated , such as be one of the telephones hanging up . if the call has not been terminated , then flow returns to step 258 and the call continues . if the call is terminated at step 262 , then flow proceeds to step 264 where the apparatus returns to the idle state . on the other hand , at step 252 , if the calling facsimile does respond according to the ccitt g3 signaling protocol then flow proceeds to step 256 . at step 256 , the facsimile message is received , stored and printed on a page - by - page basis . at step 260 , a test is made to determine if the call is terminated . if not , flow returns to step 256 and further pages are received . if the call is terminated at step 260 , then the apparatus returns to the idle state at step 264 . reference is directed to fig1 is a process flow diagram of the wireless mode outgoing call process according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention . the process begins at step 270 and proceeds to the aforementioned idle loop at step 272 at step 274 a test is made to determine if the user has initiated a facsimile transmission operation . if not , flow returns to the idle state at step 272 . if the user has initiated a facsimile transmission operation at step 274 , then flow proceeds to step 276 . at step 276 , the scanner is enabled and the currently loaded document page is scanned into memory for subsequent transmission . at step 278 , a test is made to determine if another document page has been presented from transmission . if another page is ready , then flow returns to step 276 and that page is scanned to memory . on the other hand , at step 278 , if there are no more document pages , then flow proceeds to step 280 . at step 280 , a call is placed in the wireless network . at step 282 , if the call is not answered , flow proceeds to steps 290 where the user is alerted and a suitable error handler processes the state at step 294 . on the other hand , at step 282 , if the call is answered , then flow proceeds to step 284 . at step 284 , the ccitt g3 handshake is executed with the answering facsimile machine . if the facsimile machines do not connect at step 285 , then the user is alerted at step 290 and the error is handled at step 294 . on the other hand , as step 285 , if the facsimile machines do connect , then flow proceeds to step 288 . at step 288 , the document pages are transmitted to the receiving machine . at step 292 , as test is made to determine if the call has been terminated . in not , flow returns to step 288 for continue transmitting pages . on the other hand , at step 292 , if the call has been terminated then flow returns to the idle state at step 296 . thus , the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application . those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings will recognize additional modifications , applications and embodiments within the scope thereof . it is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such applications , modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention .	1
the figure illustrates an engine mounting and chassis arrangement of a vehicle in accordance with the present invention . in order to highlight the features of the present invention details of the engine and body structure , such as wheels and steering apparatus are not shown in the drawing . the chassis structure of the vehicle illustrated in the figure includes longitudinal frame members 1 and 2 . the front sections 3 and 4 of frame members 1 and 2 are attached to a transverse frame member 5 , which may be the bumper of the vehicle . front sections 3 and 4 , together with transverse structural member 5 comprise energy absorbing members in the front section of the vehicle which absorb impact energy in the event of a frontal collision . in addition to these structural members , the entire front end of the vehicle , including the body , contributes to energy absorption upon a frontal collision . behind the energy absorbing arrangement comprising members 3 , 4 and 5 , there is located an engine 6 and its associated transmission 7 which form an engine / transmission unit . in the disclosed embodiment the engine / transmission unit is attached to the chassis of the vehicle by mounts 8 , 9 and 10 . mounts 8 , 9 and 10 are designed to prevent the transmission of engine vibrations to the chassis of the vehicle . such mounts are well known to those skilled in the art and also have the feature that in the event of a frontal collision with sufficient impact , the inertia of the engine / transmission unit will be sufficient to destroy mounts 8 , 9 and 10 , releasing the connection of the engine / transmission unit to the chassis . in accordance with the present invention there is located between the energy absorbing members 3 , 4 and 5 at the front end of the vehicle , and the engine / transmission unit , a tension strap 11 which serves as a means for restraining the forward motion of the engine after destruction and release of the engine mounts 8 , 9 and 10 . tension strap 11 is connected between frame members 1 and 2 and spaced a short distance in front of engine 6 so that during normal operation of the vehicle there is no force transmitting connection between frame members 1 and 2 and engine 6 . vibrations of engine 6 are therefore not transmitted to the chassis of the vehicle by strap 11 . tension strap 11 must be made sufficiently strong and connected to longitudinal members 1 and 2 well enough so that following the destruction and release of engine mounts 8 , 9 and 10 , strap 11 prevents the engine / transmission unit from continuing in a forward direction and impacting the obstacle into which the vehicle has collided . by restraining the forward motion of the engine / transmission unit , the unit is prevented from being deflected off the obstacle into which the vehicle has collided and thus being driven back into the passenger compartment 12 of the vehicle and injuring its occupants . tension strap 11 may comprise a band suspended between structural members 1 and 2 . where the tension strap has sufficient flexibility it may be connected to engine 6 by fixture 13 in such a manner that slack in the strap prevents transmission of engine vibrations to the chassis . it is an important feature of the invention that the restraining means are not designed to absorb energy , as is the case in the device described in german patent disclosure ( offenlegungsschrift ) no . 2 , 213 , 725 . while the present invention prevents a forward motion of the engine unit with respect to the chassis after release of the mounts , the known device needs such relative motion to produce energy absorption . in a vehicle equipped with the present invention the engine unit , in the event of a collision with a stronger vehicle , is prevented from hitting the engine unit of the stronger vehicle and being &# 34 ; reflected &# 34 ; therefrom towards the passenger compartment ; this happens with the known device . in one embodiment described in said disclosure , there also occurs energy absorption during this reflection , but the energy absorbing means are supported by the chassis , and there results the undesirable further deceleration of the passenger compartment . while there has been described what is believed to be the preferred embodiment of the invention , those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made thereto without departing from the true spirit of the invention , and it is intended to claim all such embodiments which fall within the true scope of the invention .	1
referring to the drawings for a more complete understanding of the invention , it may be seen that our invention resides in a locking mechanism for a fifth wheel . in the description the fifth wheel or fifth wheel assembly 11 will refer to the top plate 12 and a peripheral flange 13 , which are generally formed to define a receiving throat 14 in which a kingpin 16 depending from a trailer . fifth wheel assembly 11 further includes the gussets and flanges necessary to give strength and support to the top plate and peripheral flange , and includes the bumper sub - assembly 17 and the knock - out sub - assembly 18 , as well as the mounting means for mounting the fifth wheel to the tractor . the locking mechanism which constitutes the improvement to the fifth wheel art is cooperatively mounted to the fifth wheel assembly 11 . as may be seen in fig1 an operating handle 21 has a first end 22 pivotally mounted to fifth wheel assembly 11 proximal throat 14 at pivot axis 23 by means of a conventional bolt , spacers , and fasteners . operating handle 21 is an elongated operating handle member extending past the throat 14 and operatively connected to the bumper sub assembly 17 for concomitant motion therewith relative to pivot axis 23 . bumper sub - assembly 17 is pivotally mounted to operating handle 21 and supported conventionally in the fifth wheel assembly 11 . a coil spring 24 biases the bumper assembly toward a closed position relative to the throat 14 . operating handle 21 is also connected to a wedge member 26 by a pin 27 , which may be formed on the wedge member 26 or inserted therein . pin 27 is received in a slot 29 formed in operating handle at an angle offset from the longitudinal axis of the operating handle 21 to allow the wedge 24 to move in a straight line as the operating handle 21 pivots in an arc about axis 23 . a timing lever 31 has a first end 32 mounted to pin 27 such that the timing lever 31 may pivot about the pin 27 as the wedge 26 moves linearly . timing lever 31 has a second end which has a camming surface 33 formed thereon and a follower pin 34 extending therefrom . it should be noted that the operating handle 21 , wedge 24 , and timing lever 31 are all generally plate like members and are in stacked relation to one another about their common connection at pin 27 . follower pin 34 extends from timing lever 31 in the direction of operating handle 21 and is designed for cooperative engagement with an edge 21 &# 39 ; thereof during the operation of the locking mechanism . extending from timing lever 31 on the opposite side thereof is a spring bracket 36 which is connected to one end of an extension spring 37 . spring 37 is secured at its other end to fifth wheel assembly 11 at a bracket 15 , such that the timing lever 31 is biased for pivotal rotation about pin 27 toward throat 14 . a camming pin 38 is mounted to fifth wheel assembly 11 intermediate bracket 15 and the camming surface 33 on timing lever 31 . timing lever 31 also has formed therein an elongated slot 39 which is spaced from and extends radially from pin 27 . slot 39 receives therein a pivot pin 41 which extends from a jaw member 42 . jaw member 42 is cooperatively positioned with wedge member 26 in accordance with the known operation of fifth wheels such that when a king pin is received in throat 14 , wedge member 26 abuts and urges the jaw member into locked engagement therewith to lock the kingpin against fixed jaw 15 . jaw member 42 is connected to operating handle 21 only through pin 41 , timing lever 31 , and pin 27 . extension spring 37 biases timing lever toward the throat such that the lever 31 is urged about pin 21 against pin 41 as seen in fig1 . operating handle 21 has a second end 25 which carries a locking and indicator assembly 51 . assembly 51 is pivotally connected to end 25 by a pin 52 for pivotal motion in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of motion of operating handle 21 . end 25 has a transverse arcuate slot 53 formed therein , which receives a stabilizing pin 54 extending from assembly 51 . assembly 51 is essentially a plate having a pawl 56 extending from and forming one margin thereof and a dog 57 extending from and forming an opposite margin with pin 54 intermediate the margins . also intermediate pawl 56 and dog 57 and extending radially away from pin 54 is an indicating vane 58 which extends beyond the peripheral flange of assembly 11 . dog 57 is connected by a pin and clevis or other suitable connection to an end of a rod 59 of a linear actuator 61 mounted to fifth wheel assembly 11 and connected to a remote source of fluid for selective activation . in some instances actuator 61 may be replaced with an extension spring or may have an internal return spring such that retraction of rod 59 urges assembly 51 about pin 54 toward dog 57 . pawl 56 is pivotally connected to a pull handle 62which extends beyond the fifth wheel assembly 11 as is commonly known , however , the pawl 56 and handle 62 are biased inwardly by actuator 61 such that pawl 56 is seated behind a stop 63 formed on the fifth wheel assembly 11 . accordingly , it may be seen in fig1 that rotation of operating handle 21 about the pivot axis 23 due to an attempt of the wedge 26 to squirt , will result in pawl 56 abutting against stop 63 . therefore , it may be seen that the operating handle 21 can only be moved to the open position shown in fig4 after assembly 51 has been pivoted by actuator 61 or handle 62 to move pawl 56 such that it will not engage stop 63 . the operation of the mechanism can be understood by considering the drawings . in fig1 the wedge 26 and jaw 42 are in the closed locked position and operating handle 21 is in its proper closed position . assembly 51 is rotated to the closed position by the retracted rod 59 . with reference to fig2 either actuator 61 or handle 62 has been used to apply force to assembly 51 to rotate it toward pawl 56 , thereby moving the pawl to clear stop 63 . further force on the assembly begins moving the operating handle 21 about pivot axis 23 , causing wedge 26 to move linearly away from its locking position . as wedge 26 moves , extension spring 37 urges the second end of timing lever 31 toward camming pin 38 until camming surface 33 abuts the pin 38 . as operating handle continues to move to the open position wedge 26 and pin 27 move concomitantly , carrying the first end of lever 31 outwardly and now pivoting the lever 31 on camming pin 38 causing jaw 42 to begin disengaging the kingpin 16 , until side 21 &# 39 ; of the operating handle engages follower pin 34 to carry the lever wedge and jaw to the fully open position of fig4 . it will be understood that the bumper assembly 17 moves and operates in the conventional manner . it should also be noted that the displacement of the wedge from the locked position is greater than in the prior art devices , thus insuring less likelihood of damage , yet requiring less force to open . an alternative embodiment is shown in fig5 and 6 . operating handle 21 at second end 25 carries a locking extension 151 . extension 151 is pivotally connected to end 25 by a pin 152 for pivotal motion in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of motion of operating handle 21 . end 25 has a transverse flange 125 extending normal to the plane of motion adjacent extension 151 . extension 151 is essentially a bar like plate 153 pivotally mounted a first end 153a by pin 152 and having a free end 156 . a locking pin 154 extends perpendicularly from plate 153 . fifth wheel assembly 11 has a transverse gusset 111 formed thereon with a stop 168 formed thereon and extending parallel to the plane of rotation . locking pin 154 is positioned on plate 153 and extends therefrom such that it abuts gusset 111 . free end 156 is connected by a pin and clevis or other suitable connection to an end of a spring 162 or a linear actuator mounted to fifth wheel assembly 11 and having an internal return spring such that the spring urges extension 151 about pin 152 toward gusset 111 . free end 156 is also pivotally connected to a pull handle 166 which extends beyond the fifth wheel assembly 11 as is commonly known , however , the free end 156 and handle 166 are biased inwardly by spring 162 such that pin 154 is seated behind stop 168 formed on the fifth wheel gusset 111 . accordingly , it may be seen in fig5 that rotation of operating handle 21 about the pivot axis 23 due to an attempt of the wedge 26 to squirt , will result in pin 154 abutting against stop 168 . therefore , it may be seen that the operating handle 21 can only be moved to the open position shown in fig6 after extension 151 has been pivoted by handle 166 to move pin 154 such that it will not engage stop 168 . that is to say , pin 154 is located at a distance from pin 152 such that rotation of plate 153 about pin 152 by handle 166 carries the pin over and past stop 168 . continued rotation of plate 153 brings a transverse flange 159 into abutment with flange 125 such that further movement of rod 166 urges operating handle 21 toward the open position with the results as described hereinabove to release the king pin . when the king pin is released and the tractor is to be displaced from the trailer , it will be appreciated that spring 162 will urge free end 156 toward stop 168 thereby partially retracting handle 166 and thereby diminishing any interference between the handle and the truck frame or tires . when a king pin is subsequently engaged spring 162 urges the pin to the locked position relative to stop 168 . while we have shown our invention in one form , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof .	1
fig1 schematically shows the arrangement of a viewfinder mirror movably mounted in a known single lens reflex camera . the mirror 1 is rotatable between the working position indicated by the solid line and the retracted position suggested by the phantom line . in the working position for viewing , the mirror 1 is disposed 45 degrees inclined relative to the optical axis between a photographing lens 2 and photosensitive film 3 . the object light beam transmitted through the photographing lens 2 is reflected upwardly by the mirror 1 to form an object image on a finder screen 4 . the operator can view the object image through a penta - roof prism 5 and an eyepiece 6 . in an interlocked relation with an exposure starting operation , the mirror 1 is turned up to the retracted position outside of the optical path of the object light beam . the structure of the rotatable mirror 1 in accordance with the invention will be described with reference to fig2 and 4 . the mirror 1 comprises a reflecting mirror 11 and a support plate 12 . one end the mirror - supporting plate 12 is mounted on a shaft 20 for rotation about the shaft . one end 21 of the shaft 20 is received in a hole formed on a wall 7 forming a mirror box within the camera . the other end 22 of the shaft 20 is received in a hole 81 formed on a fixed base plate 8 within the camera . the shaft is rotatable in the bearing holes . fig3 shows the form of the hole 81 . as seen in the figure , the inner diameter of the hole 81 is larger than the diameter of the shaft 20 . therefore , the shaft end 22 is allowed to move in the plane containing the base plate 8 . the hole 81 , therefore , constitutes a half bearing for the shaft 20 . as clearly seen in fig4 a torsion spring 9 is disposed on the shaft 20 at a part near the shaft end 22 . one of the arms of the torsion spring 9 bears on a pin 82 fixed on the base plate 8 and the other arm of the spring 9 bears on a pin 13 fixed on the mirror - supporting plate 12 . in this disposition , the torsion spring 9 has a biasing force tending to rotate the support plate 12 counter - clockwise about the shaft 20 . when the mirror 1 is in its working position for viewing , the two arms of the spring 9 are substantially parallel to the mirror - supporting plate 12 . therefore , in this position , the shaft 20 is biased toward the lower portion at the right side of the inner circumferential surface of the hole 81 and the shaft end 22 is held in contact with the inner surface of the hole at that portion . at its free edge side , the mirror - supporting plate 12 lies on an adjustable eccentric pin 83 extending from the base plate 8 . the function of the pin 83 is to keep the mirror 1 correctly in the working position for viewing against the biasing force tending to rotate the mirror 1 counterclockwise . to perform the function precisely , the pin 83 is adjustable by turning . in conjunction with an operation for film exposure , a mirror - driving mechanism ( not shown ) is driven to turn the mirror 1 up to the phantom position in fig2 and the mirror is held in the retracted position . in time with the completion of the film exposure , the mirror is allowed to rotate counter - clockwise under the action of the bias spring 9 . in the course of turn - down , the mirror runs against the stopper pin 83 . at this moment of collision , a portion of the torque about the shaft for the counter - clockwise rotation of the mirror 1 changes over to a torque for the counter - clockwise rotation of the mirror about the contact point between the mirror 1 and the stopper pin 83 . as a result , the shaft end 22 moves up away from the right - hand lower portion of the inner circumferential surface of the hole 81 as shown by the phantom line in fig3 . in other words , at the moment of collision the shaft 20 swings , with the shaft end 21 received in the wall 7 serving as the supporting point of the swing movement . it is desirable that the hole 81 be so large as not to hinder the floating of the shaft end 22 in the hole . simultaneously with the lifting of the shaft end 22 in the hole 81 , the mirror - supporting plate 12 springs back by restitution after the collision and lifts up floating apart from the pin 83 . preferably the distance between the shaft 20 and the pin 83 is determined considering the restitution coefficient of the pin 83 , the inertial moment of the mirror 1 , the biasing force of the spring 9 etc . in such manner that the amount of lift of the mirror - supporting plate 12 from the pin 83 becomes approximately equal to the amount of lift of the shaft end 22 in the bearing hole 81 at that time . the spring 9 acts on the mirror 1 and shaft 20 in the direction against their floating . consequently , it accelerates early attenuation of the rebounding of the mirror 1 . in this manner , according to the illustrated embodiment , the rotational or turning energy of the mirror 1 is dispersed toward two opposite ends of the mirror , which has an effect to decrease the amplitude of the rebounding even if energy loss is neglected . in fact , however , there is caused an increased amount of energy loss by the dispersion of the turning energy . since the energy loss is increased and the amplitude of the rebounding is decreased , a sufficiently large effect for restraining the rebounding of the mirror can be obtained in total . many modifications are possible in the above - shown embodiment . for example , the spring 9 may be replaced by two separate springs , one for storing the turning force of the mirror 1 and the other for biasing the shaft 20 in the hole 81 . also , as a modification , the hole 81 may be formed in the mirror - supporting plate 12 while providing the shaft 20 on the base plate 8 . this arrangement of hole 81 and shaft 20 is opposite to that shown in the above embodiment , but it will be apparent that the manner of operation of the modification is entirely the same as that of the above embodiment and that the same effect can be attained . this second embodiment is additionally provided with means for restraining the rebounding of the mirror produced at turn - up . in a fixed wall member 107 there is formed also a hole 108 in a form similar to that of the above - mentioned hole 81 . one end 21 of the shaft 20 is received in the hole 108 , passing through it , and is biased by a spring 109 which tends to move the shaft end 21 upwardly . a stopper 110 is provided on the stationary wall 107 to position the mirror 1 at the retracted position . when the mirror 1 runs against the stopper 110 in the course of turn - up movement , the mirror 1 rebounds . however , according to the same principle as previously described , the rebounding of the mirror is damped to a great extent .	6
referring initially to fig1 , a schematic diagram of a coolant system in implementation of the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 10 . the coolant system 10 may be a vehicle coolant system , which is designed to absorb heat from a propulsion system 12 , such as an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell stack , for example , which propels a vehicle . the propulsion system 12 is disposed in fluid communication with a coolant inlet line 28 , which distributes a liquid coolant into the propulsion system 12 , and a coolant outlet line 30 , which distributes the coolant from the propulsion system 12 . as used herein , the term “ downstream ” refers to the direction of coolant flow through the coolant inlet line 28 or coolant outlet line 30 of the vehicle coolant system 10 . a coolant heater 14 is typically provided in the coolant outlet line 30 , downstream of the propulsion system 12 . a heater core 18 is provided in the coolant outlet line 30 , downstream of the coolant heater 14 . a heater temperature sensor 16 is typically provided in the coolant outlet line 30 , between the coolant heater 14 and the heater core 18 . the heater core 18 provides for the thermal exchange of heat from coolant flowing through the coolant outlet line 30 to air which flows into the cabin of the vehicle , as is known by those skilled in the art . in operation of the vehicle coolant system 10 , the heater temperature sensor 16 senses the temperature of the coolant in the coolant outlet line 30 prior to entry of the coolant into the heater core 18 . the inlet port of a three - way valve 20 is provided in fluid communication with the coolant outlet line 30 , downstream of the heater core 18 . the coolant outlet line 30 extends from one outlet port of the valve 20 , whereas a radiator bypass line 24 extends from the other outlet port of the valve 20 . the inlet of a radiator 22 or other heat exchanger is disposed in fluid communication with the coolant outlet line 30 , downstream of the valve 20 . the coolant inlet line 28 is disposed in fluid communication with the outlet of the radiator 22 and with the coolant inlet of the propulsion system 12 . the radiator bypass line 24 is confluently connected to the coolant inlet line 28 , between the radiator 22 and the propulsion system 12 . a valve temperature sensor 26 is provided in the coolant inlet line 28 , typically between the radiator bypass line 24 and the propulsion system 12 . in operation of the vehicle coolant system 10 , the valve temperature sensor 26 measures the temperature of coolant flowing through the coolant inlet line 28 prior to entry of the coolant into the propulsion system 12 . in operation of the vehicle coolant system 10 , coolant ( not shown ) is pumped from the coolant inlet line 28 , through the propulsion system 12 and into the coolant outlet line 30 , respectively , to absorb heat from the propulsion system 12 as the propulsion system 12 propels the vehicle . under many circumstances , the heater 14 is not operated as the coolant flows through the heater 14 and the heater core 18 , respectively . however , under circumstances in which a “ heating situation ” arises , as will be hereinafter described , the heater 14 is operated to augment heating of the coolant prior to distribution of the coolant into the heater core 18 . a “ heating situation ” includes circumstances in which heated air is required for the cabin interior or for windshield defrosting purposes , for example . accordingly , in a heating situation , the coolant heater 18 initiates heating of the coolant in the event that the heater temperature sensor 16 determines that the temperature of the coolant , referred to herein as the heater temperature , falls below a threshold value , referred to herein as the heater set point temperature . depending on the position of the valve 20 , coolant flowing from the heater core 18 is distributed either through the radiator 22 , in which case heat is dissipated from the coolant , or through the radiator bypass line 24 , in which case heat is retained by the coolant , or a combination of the two . in the event that the temperature of the coolant as measured by the valve temperature sensor 26 , referred to herein as the valve temperature , meets or exceeds a threshold value , referred to herein as the valve set point temperature , the valve 20 distributes some or all of the coolant through the radiator 22 . on the other hand , in the event that the valve temperature falls below the valve set point temperature , the valve 20 distributes the coolant through the radiator bypass line 24 , such that heat is retained by the coolant . the coolant then enters the propulsion system 12 to absorb heat from the propulsion system 12 . under many operating circumstances , the valve temperature of the coolant at the valve temperature sensor 26 exceeds the valve set point temperature . consequently , the valve 20 distributes some or all of the coolant through the radiator 22 , thereby ensuring that the temperature of the coolant as it enters the propulsion system 12 is sufficiently low to facilitate absorption of heat from the propulsion system 12 . this , in turn , may facilitate optimum energy efficiency and / or performance of the propulsion system 12 . in certain vehicle coolant system 10 operating conditions , the heater set point temperature , which controls operation of the coolant heater 14 , is set higher than the valve set point temperature , which controls operation of the valve 20 . therefore , during a heating situation , the coolant heater 14 heats the coolant to such a degree that the heater temperature of the coolant , as measured by the heater temperature sensor 16 , rises to the level of the heater set point temperature . this ensures that sufficient thermal exchange is conducted in the heater core 18 between the coolant and air to meet the heated air demands of the vehicle cabin . because the heater set point temperature is higher than the valve set point temperature , however , the valve temperature sensor 26 causes the valve 20 to distribute the coolant through the radiator 22 in order to dissipate heat from the coolant and lower the temperature of the coolant down to the valve set point temperature . therefore , the valve temperature of the coolant , as measured by the valve temperature sensor 26 , is less than the heater temperature of the coolant as previously measured by the heater temperature sensor 16 . as the coolant emerges from the propulsion system 12 , the actual temperature of the coolant is typically still below the heater set point temperature . consequently , the heater 14 is required to consume energy in order to subsequently raise the temperature of the coolant distributed from the propulsion system 12 back up to the heater set point temperature prior to distribution of the coolant through the heater core 18 . referring next to fig1 , in conjunction with the flow diagram of fig2 , the method of the present invention is carried out by initially establishing a heater set point temperature for operation of the coolant heater 14 , as indicated in step 1 of fig2 . throughout operation of the vehicle , the heater set point temperature may change depending on the need for heated air inside the vehicle cabin for example . a valve set point temperature is also established for operation of the valve 20 , as indicated in step 2 . in step 3 , in the absence of a heating situation , the vehicle coolant system 10 is operated according to the valve set point temperature . accordingly , the valve 20 normally distributes the coolant through the radiator 22 to dissipate heat from the coolant . therefore , the valve temperature of the coolant , as measured by the valve temperature sensor 26 , drops and approaches or meets the valve set point temperature prior to distribution of the coolant into the propulsion system 12 . in the event that the valve temperature of the coolant falls below the valve set point temperature , the valve 20 shunts the coolant through the radiator bypass line 24 to maintain the valve temperature of the coolant as close as possible to the valve set point temperature . in the propulsion system 12 , the coolant absorbs heat and then is distributed through the coolant outlet line 30 . the valve set point temperature ensures that the valve temperature of the coolant flowing into the propulsion system 12 is such that absorption of heat from the propulsion system 12 by the coolant is sufficient to facilitate optimal energy consumption and / or performance from the propulsion system 12 . in the absence of a heating situation , the coolant heater 14 is typically not operated to facilitate heated air demands inside the vehicle cabin . therefore , in the absence of a heating situation , vehicle energy is typically not consumed by the coolant heater 14 . at the onset of a heating situation , however , the heater set point temperature requirements must now be met to facilitate the increased demand for heated air inside the vehicle cabin . accordingly , the coolant heater 14 is operated to realize the heater set point temperature , which is typically higher than the valve set point temperature , as indicated in step 4 of fig2 . accordingly , the coolant heater 14 augments the temperature of the coolant such that the heater temperature of the coolant rises and approaches or meets the raised or modified heater set point temperature . this heating of the coolant by the coolant heater 14 ensures that thermal exchange between the heated coolant and air in the heater core 18 is sufficient to meet the increased heated air demands inside the vehicle cabin . as indicated in step 5 , at the onset of the heating situation , the valve set point temperature is raised to establish a modified valve set point temperature , which substantially matches the heater set point temperature . consequently , the valve 20 distributes the coolant substantially through the radiator bypass line 24 rather than substantially through the radiator 22 . as a result , the valve temperature of the coolant remains at an elevated level as the coolant is distributed through the propulsion system 12 , coolant outlet line 30 and coolant heater 14 , respectively . therefore , the heater temperature of the coolant , as measured by the heater temperature sensor 16 , substantially meets the heater threshold temperature . consequently , the coolant heater 14 either need not be operated at all , operated at a significantly reduced power , or only intermittently in order to maintain the heater temperature at or close to the heater set point temperature . this substantially reduces the consumption of vehicle energy by the coolant heater 14 throughout the heating situation . when the heating situation is over , the heater set point temperature is no longer used to control the coolant temperature entering the heater core . therefore , the coolant heater 14 is typically no longer operated to heat the coolant . as indicated in step 6 of fig2 , the valve set point temperature returns to the original value . consequently , the valve 20 again distributes the coolant through the radiator 22 to dissipate excess heat from the coolant prior to distribution of the coolant into the propulsion system 12 . this again facilitates optimum absorption of heat from the propulsion system 12 by the coolant , contributing to optimum energy consumption and / or performance of the propulsion system 12 . it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction and method which has been previously delineated , but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as delineated in the following claims .	5
fig1 is a simplified block schematic which illustrates part of a cellular mobile telephone system , for instance a time division multiple access system ( tdma ) which includes a mobile telephone services switching centre msc , a base station bs and a number of mobile stations ms1 , ms2 , . . . msn . the system may comprise a large number of mobile stations n and a mobile telephone switching centre may serve more than one base station . each base station bs is connected to the switching centre by means of four wires for instance , and is comprised of a pcm - connection , i . e . the signals are sent to respective base stations in the form of pcm - words &# 34 ; pcm1 &# 34 ; in a direction towards the base station , and &# 34 ; pcm2 &# 34 ; in a direction away from the base station bs1 to the switching centre msc . each pcm - word is comprised of a number of time slots , for instance 32 time slots 0 - 31 , where each time slot can be used to transmit messages to a base station . for instance , when four base stations are connected to the switching centre , 32 / 4 = 8 channels can theoretically transmit simultaneously in each direction between the switching centre msc and a base station bs . however , some of these eight channels are reserved for controlling and checking purposes and also for another purpose which is utilized by the present invention in the manner described below . the mobile services switching centre msc includes a central processor cp and an exchange terminal circuit etc . the processor cp stores the signalling messages that are to be used for the mobile radio communication , among others those that are used when practicing the inventive method , and the terminal unit etc receives incoming traffic information ( data , speech ) from a public switched telephone network pstn and includes this information , together with any control information from the processor cp , in a pcm - bit stream of words pcm1 to the base station . naturally , solely control information can be sent from the processor cp , and similarly solely traffic information can be sent from the public switched network pstn to a base station , although in the latter case control information from the processor cp is almost always interleaved with traffic information from the pstn network . similarly , signalling information and / or traffic information is received as a stream of pcm - words pcm2 from a base station to the switching centre msc and is there divided in accordance with the same principles as those applied for a transmission exchange - base station . in the fig1 illustration , a base station bs includes a multiplexor unit mux which receives in one direction the information in those time slots in a pcm - word pcm2 from the switching centre that have been allocated to the base station bs , for instance eight channels . the base station can therefore , in principle , serve eight mobile stations simultaneously . a number of channel modules m1 - mn are disposed downstream of the multiplexor . each of these modules includes a control unit cu and a transceiver unit tru . when the system is an analog system , a pcm - channel k corresponds to a channel module mk . these modules , however , can have different characters , for instance one module in a base station may be comprised of a control module for transmitting solely control messages , and the remaining modules may be traffic modules for transmitting solely traffic information ( speech , data ). when communicating with a mobile station by radio , one channel module mk communicates with a mobile station msk in both directions . when the system is a tdma - system , which in this case corresponds to the adc system planned in north america , the channel modules are so configured that the time - divided information messages can be transmitted and received as bursts in frames having , in this case , three time slots per frame . fig2 illustrates the configuration of one such frame . the planned japanese tdma - system ( jdc ) will also have a similar structure . the inventive method will primarily be applied in such systems . according to the aforegoing the time division on the radio side means that if a channel module is able to operate with eight time slots per carrier wave , it is possible , in principle , for eight mobile stations to be served by one channel module . in turn , this means that a further seven pcm - connections can be established or set - up with a base station from the mobile services switching centre msc . fig2 illustrates the structure of a tdma - frame according to the north american standard is - 54 , which is also applicable to the japanese standard . each frame is comprised of three time slots ( full rate ), of which the first time slot is occupied by a control channel cc and the two remaining slots are occupied by traffic channels tch . when applying the present invention , one time slot is used for a traffic channel tch instead of for a synchronizing burst in a known manner . according to the japanese standard , such a synchronizing burst is comprised of the following words ( the number of bits shown in parenthesis ): fd = a word field which includes three arrays of each of the following : colour code of the intended mobile station , burst identity , bits for burst time alignment , and counter setting of the superframe ( 63 ); a first embodiment of the inventive method uses primarily the synchronizing field sw of the above word field , while a second embodiment of the inventive method uses the colour code in the field fd . fig3 is a signalling diagram ( arrow diagram ) which illustrates one embodiment of the present invention for forced disconnection of an established connection . it is assumed that a mobile station ms1 has a connection established with the base station bs over a given traffic channel tchk , and that the mobile station has moved with the result that this traffic channel has been impaired . however , it is not necessary for the channel tchk to have been impaired , since other reasons may occur as to why the network desires the mobile station to relinquish this particular radio resource , for instance because the call is ended , the connection setup is unsuccessful or handover is unsuccessful . a worsening or change in channel quality is detected by the processor cp in the mobile services switching centre msc , since the base station bs measures the signal strength of the connection to the mobile station ms1 ( over sacch ) continuously , and reports the result of this measuring procedure to the switching centre msc . when the network , in this case , the switching centre msc , detects an impaired channel or an interruption in a normal signalling sequence , or that an expected signal has not been received , a re - synchronizing procedure is commenced in accordance with fig3 . a first synchronizing burst sb1 with a synchronizing word sw in the word field illustrated in fig2 is sent to the base station bs over a pcm - channel and also to the mobile station ms1 , in a known manner . the synchronizing word sw is included in the synchronizing burst which , according to the aforegoing , replaces a standard burst in the traffic channel between the base station bs and the mobile station ms1 . upon receipt of the burst sb1 , the mobile station ms1 sends a synchronizing burst sb2 back to the switching centre msc , via the base station bs , in acknowledgement and , at the same time , begins a time monitoring or time supervising process , which is described in more detail herebelow with reference to fig4 . the time monitoring process monitors the arrival of a second synchronizing burst sb3 from the switching centre msc . in normal cases , when the quality of the channel is acceptable , such a synchronizing burst sb3 is sent back to the mobile station ms1 , whereby the time monitoring process is stopped and the radio channel retained . according to the present invention , no such burst is sent back to ms1 in this case . the time limit to which the time monitoring process is set is thus exceeded , which in turn gives an indication that the mobile station ms1 shall relinquish the allocated radio channel tchk . when the burst sb3 is sent from the switching centre msc and arrives at the mobile station ms1 , the mobile station sends an acknowledgement or confirmation burst sb4 back to the switching centre msc and , at the same time , begins a second time monitoring process while waiting for the arrival of a communication burst over the allocated traffic channel tchk . if this communication burst does not arrive within a given space of time , determined by the time monitoring process , the mobile station ms1 will relinquish the allocated traffic channel tchk , which is therewith released for other users . the two signalling procedures over the traffic channel tch shown as a continuation ( broken line in fig2 ) relates to the normal case when forced disconnection of the mobile station is not desired by the network . according to another embodiment of the inventive method , the forced disconnection or release of the traffic channel in use is effected with the aid of the so - called colour code included in a synchronizing burst sb according to fig2 . upon receipt of the synchronizing burst sb3 , which is assumed to contain an erroneous colour code dvcc , the synchronizing burst is rejected by the processor unit of the mobile station . this means that the aforesaid time monitoring process is not stopped and will therefore run out and the allocated traffic channel tchk will be left , similar to the first described case . a further embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the signal format illustrated in fig4 . this figure illustrates in more detail the division of a burst down - linked in a traffic channel tch , where sf = flag indicating whether or not the data field comprises an facch ; and this embodiment no longer uses the synchronizing burst sb illustrated in fig2 and instead bit errors are introduced into the standard traffic channel ( fig4 ) allocated to the mobile station ms1 . bit errors can be introduced by : a ) changing the correct colour code dvcc of the mobile station to an erroneous colour code ; b ) sending in the data field tch speech information bits which are incorrect with regard to the coding standard ; c ) sending signal information bits ( facch , sacch or rch ) which are incorrect with regard to the coding standard and / or error in crc ( cyclic redundancy check ); or d ) changing the synchronizing word ( sw ) to an erroneous synchronizing word for the connection concerned . the aforesaid bit errors can be introduced into one of the fields illustrated in fig4 or into a number of these fields . a mobile station , for instance the aforesaid mobile station ms1 , will now be described in more detail with reference to fig5 . the block schematic shown in fig5 merely illustrates those units which are relevant to the inventive method . the mobile station has a transmitter side and a receiver side . the antenna a of the mobile station is connected to a duplex unit when the mobile radio system is a combined fdma / tdma - system , in which the carrier frequency of an incoming tdma - signal to be received differs from the carrier frequency of a tdma - signal transmitted from the transmitter side . the transmitter side includes a sound recording unit ( microphone ) 11 which is connected to a speech coder - channel coder unit 12 . analog signals from the unit 11 are converted to digital signals and are speech - coded in accordance with known principles . in addition , the speech - coded digital signals are channel - coded to protect said signals against error and imperfections in radio transmission . so - called speech frames are obtained in this way . the speech signals are divided in the unit 12 into tdma - bursts in a known manner , with one burst in each tdma - frame . however , one speech frame may be dispersed between several time slots of the tdma - frames . the tdma - signals from the speech coder - channel coder unit 12 , and channel - coded tdma - signals from a facch - generator 14 are received by an interleaving unit 13 . the unit 13 therewith interleaves the tdma - speech signals with the facch - signals so that when a facch - signal is to be transmitted in the form of a burst , the burst will replace a standard tdma - speech burst from the unit 12 . a burst generator 15 receives the tdma - signals from the interleaving unit 13 , together with the following signals : a synchronizing word sw plus a colour code dvcc ( see fig4 ) for the mobile station from the unit 16 , which is only activated when such a word shall be transmitted in accordance with fig2 . the confirmation signals from the mobile station as described with reference to fig2 are sent from this unit . an interleaved ( 22 bursts ) sacch - message from the unit 17 , which is activated over a traffic channel tch according to fig4 for transmitting such messages , e . g . measuring signal strength . a control channel message from the unit 18 according to fig2 over a control channel cc . this applies to the digital american system adc and also to the japanese system jdc , in which systems the present invention is intended to be applied . the burst generator 15 is connected to an rf - modulator / amplifier unit 19 for modulating the tdma - bursts with a radio frequency carrier wave and subsequent amplification . prior to radio modulation , there is carried out a base band modulation , for instance a so - called qpsk - modulation in the american system , which converts the pulse - shaped tdma - bursts from the burst generator into signals which are suitable for radio modulation in the modulator / amplifier unit 19 . in correspondence with its transmitter side , the mobile station receiver side includes an rf - demodula - tor unit corresponding to the rf - modulator in block 19 , and also an if - demodulator for base band demodulation of the radio modulated signals arriving from the duplex unit 10 and corresponding to the tdma - bursts base band modulated on the transmitter side . for the sake of simplicity , these two demodulators have been combined in a single block 21 . the block 22 includes an equalizer and a symbol detector . the purpose of the equalizer is to compensate for the multipath propagation and time dispersion caused by the radio medium . subsequent to equalization , the symbol detector detects the symbols transmitted to the receiver , so as to obtain a stream of tdma - bursts which correspond as far as possible to the tdma - bursts transmitted from the burst generator in the transmitter side of the base station bs . the symbol detector in block 22 detects the various symbols in the incoming tdma - bit stream and forms and separates the tdma - bursts that belong to the traffic channel tch and the control channel cc . the latter tdma - bursts are delivered to a detector 23 for detecting the messages in the control channel cc and for further transmission of these messages to the mobile station control unit , in accordance with the following . the symbol detector also distinguishes between those tdma - bursts that contain a sacch - message , and delivers these bursts to a sacch - detector 25 , through a deinterleaver , 24 ( 22 bursts ). a deinterleaving unit 26 , corresponding to the interleaving unit 13 on the transmitter side separates out or distinguishes between any facch - message channels , which as earlier mentioned have been replaced with a traffic channel within a tdma - frame . the major part of the tdma - bursts from the unit 26 , these bursts belonging to the traffic channel tch allocated to the mobile station , are delivered to a block 28 which includes a channel decoder , a speech decoder and an analog - digital converter . the block 28 thus produces analog signals , which are delivered to a sound reproducing unit 29 , for instance a loudspeaker . the mobile station control unit 20 is a microprocessor , which stores the data and software required for the aforedescribed transmitting and receiving units . the arrows pc shown in fig5 mark those units which are controlled by the microprocessor 20 ( arrows pointing inwards to respective blocks ) or which deliver the message words ( arrows pointing outwards from respective blocks ), which have been recovered from incoming radio signals to the microprocessor pc for further evaluation and possible calculation . when applying the inventive method to a mobile station ms1 of this kind , whose transmitter - receiver units are shown in fig5 there is also provided in the microprocessor 20 a first and a second counter 201 and 202 . these counters may possibly already be incorporated in the microprocessor for other purposes . the two counters are used to time - monitor the synchronizing bursts incoming to the mobile station ms1 , as before mentioned . the signalling procedure according to fig2 will now be described in more detail with reference to fig1 and 5 . should the mobile telephone switching centre msc desire the mobile station to relinquish the used traffic channel for some reason or another ( poor channel quality ), a synchronizing signal in the form of a burst is sent in a pcm - time slot belonging to a control channel or synchronizing channel in the pcm - word pcm1 ( fig1 ). this signal burst arrives at the base station bs and is assigned by the multiplexor mux and is allocated one control channel module mk of the illustrated modules m1 - mn by the multiplexor mux . the synchronizing burst sb1 is then transmitted in a known manner over the radio medium to the mobile station ms1 , where it is received . subsequent to reception , demodulation , equalization and symbol detection in respective units a , 10 , 21 and 22 , the synchronizing burst is assigned to the control channel detector 23 , since the burst has been transmitted over and belongs to the logic control channel cc . this detector essentially performs channel decoding of the same nature as that employed with standard traffic channels , and a synchronizing word field which includes , among other things , a synchronizing word according to fig2 is delivered to the microprocessor 20 . the first synchronizing burst sb1 is thus passed to the microprocessor 20 and to the first counter 201 in said processor , said counter being activated by this burst . the counter 201 thus begins to count from a first value ro to a given counter value rk constituting a time - out threshold for the second synchronizing burst sb3 from the mobile telephone services switching centre msc . this burst is sent from the switching centre msc after a given period of time has lapsed , this time lapse depending on whether the switching centre wishes the channel to be relinquished or not . the latter case ( the channel shall be retained ) is the normal case and is not discussed here . if the switching centre msc wishes the mobile station to relinquish or release the channel , the synchronizing burst sb3 is either not sent or is sent wrongly or is sent after a time lapse which exceeds the time for indexing forwards the counter state rk . when the counter state rk + 1 is reached , a signal c is sent from the counter 201 to those units in the microprocessor 20 which disclose that the used channel shall be disconnected and which are responsible for this disconnection of the channel . this is effected in a known manner and will not therefore be described here . the synchronizing signal sb1 can be transmitted continuously from the very beginning , until the time monitoring period has expired . upon receipt of the synchronizing burst sb1 , the process 20 commands the message generator 18 to form and deliver the acknowledgement signal sb2 to the burst generator 15 and also to transmit this signal back to the mobile telephone services switching centre msc from the mobile station ms1 . this acknowledgement signal is received by the base station bs in a control channel receiver module and is sent further to the switching centre msc over the control channel in a pcm - word pcm2 according to fig1 . if the synchronizing burst sb1 has not been received ( poor channel ), the burst sb3 is not accepted and the counter 201 is not activated . the switching centre is then forced to retransmit the synchronizing burst sb1 . the processor 20 may be provided with a second counter 202 . this counter may be intended to receive the second synchronizing burst sb3 , particularly when the synchronizing burst sb3 has stopped the counter 201 and when a further check is desired to ascertain whether or not a channel shall be disconnected . when the second synchronizing burst sb3 has arrived , an acknowledgement to this effect is sent from the mobile station by means of a synchronizing burst sb4 , in the same manner as that applying to burst sb2 . the second counter 202 is activated by the synchronizing burst sb3 and , in principle , counts in the same manner as the counter 201 , although possibly with another threshold value rk . similar to the case of counter 201 , a signal d is produced at time out , i . e . when the counter setting rk has been exceeded , thus indicating that the allocated radio channel has been relinquished . if the switching centre msc desires the mobile station to relinquish the channel , no signal is sent back to the mobile station and time measuring runs out . this results in the allocated channel being relinquished by the mobile station . on the other hand , when the switching centre desires the mobile station to retain the allocated channel , signalling is effected normally over a traffic channel tch to stop the time count .	7
the following examples further describe the present invention in details but do not limit the scope of the present invention . one of ordinary skill in the art knows how to make modifications based on the examples without departing from the scope of the present invention . 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 4 g ), toluene ( 57 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 91 g ) and potassium carbonate ( 1 . 96 g ) were added into the reactor , the mixture was refluxed for 7 hours , the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 100 ml ) and toluene ( 10 ml ) were added . the organic phase was separated , and washed with hcl ( 1 m , 20 ml × 3 ) at 50 ° c ., then organic phase was stirred at 5 ° c .- 10 ° c . for one hour . filter and obtain 4 . 58 g cinacalcet hydrochloride , the yield is 82 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 14 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with toluene ( 30 ml ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine , 0 . 33 g . cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this implement is confirmed by tests : hplc purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %; ms ( esi ): m / z = 358 [ m + h + ]; 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 1 . 97 - 1 . 99 ( d , 3h ), 2 . 21 - 2 . 32 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 46 - 2 . 57 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 72 - 2 . 79 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 17 - 5 . 21 ( t , 1h ), 7 . 16 - 7 . 27 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 31 ( d , j = 7 . 2 hz , 2h ), 7 . 54 - 7 . 65 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 88 - 7 . 98 ( m , 3h ), 8 . 23 - 8 . 25 ( d , j = 7 . 2 hz , 1h ), 10 . 07 - 10 . 09 ( d , j = 7 . 2 hz , 1h ), 10 . 61 ( s , 1h ); 13 c nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 21 . 32 ( ch 3 ), 27 . 30 ( ch 2 ), 32 . 51 ( ch 2 ), 45 . 49 ( ch 2 ), 53 . 53 ( ch ), 121 . 26 , 122 . 62 , 123 . 09 , 124 . 88 , 125 . 03 , 125 . 33 ( cf 3 ), 126 . 13 , 126 . 27 , 127 . 35 , 128 . 04 , 128 . 85 , 129 . 51 , 129 . 56 , 130 . 19 , 130 . 69 , 131 . 55 , 132 . 10 , 133 . 87 , 140 . 78 . the structure of r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine as recovered is confirmed by the test result of ms ( esi ): m / z = 172 [ m + h +]. r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 0 . 33 g recovered from example 1 , + 2 . 58 g ), toluene ( 57 ml ), 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 4 . 0 g ), and potassium carbonate ( 1 . 96 g ) were charged and refluxed for 10 hours . the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 20 ml ) and toluene ( 20 ml ) were added . organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 1 mol / l , 20 ml × 3 ) at 50 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 0 ° c .- 5 ° c . for one hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride at 4 . 50 g , and confirmed as example 1 to have hplc purity ( purity ) at 99 . 2 % and chiral purity ( purity ) at 99 . 0 %. r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 4 g ), toluene ( 65 ml ), 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 4 . 86 g ), and potassium carbonate ( 1 . 96 g ) were charged and refluxed for 16 hours . the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 30 ° c ., water ( 150 ml ) and toluene ( 10 ml ) were added . organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 2 mol / l , 20 ml × 3 ) at 60 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 10 ° c .- 15 ° c . for one hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 4 g , 79 %, and confirmed that hplc purity ( purity ) is 99 . 0 % and chiral purity ( purity ) is 99 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 13 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with acetonitrile ( 12 ml × 3 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine , 2 . 0 g . the results were confirmed as in example 1 ms ( esi ): m / z = 172 [ m + h +]. 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 5 . 1 g ), dimethylbenzene ( 32 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 91 g ), and potassium hydroxide ( 0 . 80 g ) were charged and refluxed for 5 hours , the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 30 ° c ., water ( 20 ml ) and dimethylbenzene ( 32 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 2 mol / l , 10 ml × 3 ) at 40 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 0 ° c .- 5 ° c . for one hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 24 g , 76 %. cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 12 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with acetonitrile ( 20 ml × 4 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine , 3 . 8 g . the r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine recovered in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 . 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 4 . 8 g ), toluene ( 16 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 91 g ), and potassium hydroxide ( 1 . 14 g ), was charged and refluxed for 6 hours , the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 20 ml ) and toluene ( 20 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 1 mol / l , 20 ml × 3 ) at 50 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 20 ° c .- 25 ° c . for 1 hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 4 g , 79 %. cinacalcet hydrochloride obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 14 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with toluene ( 30 ml × 4 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine , 0 . 34 g . the r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine recovered in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 . 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 4 . 0 g ), toluene ( 50 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 7 . 28 g ), and potassium hydroxide ( 1 . 96 g ), was charged and refluxed for 16 hours , the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 50 ml ) and toluene ( 50 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 3 mol / l , 20 ml × 3 ) at 80 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 0 ° c .- 5 ° c . for 1 hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 9 g , 89 %. cinacalcet hydrochloride obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 13 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 5 ml ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine , 4 . 4 g . the r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine recovered in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 . 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 4 g ), toluene ( 32 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 4 . 86 g ), and potassium carbonate ( 3 g ) was charged and refluxed for 16 hours , the mixture was cool to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 30 ml ) and toluene ( 30 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 1 mol / l , 50 ml × 3 ) at 70 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 0 ° c .- 5 ° c . for 1 hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 7 g , 85 %. cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this example is tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 14 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with toluene ( 15 ml × 2 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine , 2 . 1 g . the r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine recovered in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 . 1 -( 3 - bromopropyl )- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzene ( 3 . 8 g ), toluene ( 30 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 91 g ), and potassium carbonate ( 3 . 92 g ) was charged and refluxed for 7 hours , the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 100 ml ) and toluene ( 30 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 1 mol / l , 40 ml × 3 ) at 50 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 5 ° c .- 10 ° c . for 1 hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 6 g , 83 %. cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 98 . 7 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 13 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with toluene ( 15 ml × 3 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine 0 . 33 g . the r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine recovered in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 . 1 -( 3 - chloropropyl )- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzene ( 3 . 15 g ), toluene ( 50 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 91 g ), and potassium carbonate ( 1 . 96 g ) was charged and refluxed for 15 hours , the mixture was cooled to 15 ° c .- 20 ° c ., water ( 50 ml ) and toluene ( 50 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 2 mol / l , 10 ml × 3 ) at 60 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 5 ° c .- 10 ° c . for 1 hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 g , 73 %. cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 97 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 98 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 12 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with toluene ( 20 ml × 1 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered and concentrated to afford recovered r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine 0 . 3 g . the r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine recovered in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 . 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 4 . 0 g ), toluene ( 50 ml ), r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 42 g ), and sodium bicarbonate ( 1 . 53 g ) was charged and refluxed for 16 hours , the mixture was cooled to 20 ° c .- 25 ° c ., water ( 50 ml ) and toluene ( 50 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated and washed with hydrochloric acid ( 2 mol / l , 10 ml × 3 ) at 80 ° c ., chilled and stirred at 0 ° c .- 5 ° c . for 1 hour . solid was collected by filtration to afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 4 . 1 g , 73 %. cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %. the aqueous layer was combined , adjusted to ph = 14 with naoh ( 10 %) and extracted with toluene ( 20 ml × 1 ). the organic layer was dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate , distill and remove toluene , basically no r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine was recovered . 3 -( 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) propyl methanesulfonate ( 4 . 0 g ), toluene ( 50 ml ), of r -(−)- 1 - naphthyl ethylamine ( 2 . 0 g ), and sodium carbonate ( 3 . 0 g ), was charged and refluxed for 16 hours , the mixture was cooled to 5 ° c .- 10 ° c ., water ( 50 ml ) and toluene ( 50 ml ) were added , organic phase was separated . extract water phase with toluene 30 ml × 3 , combine the organic phases and dry with anhydrous sodium sulfate , filter and distill the solvent , then cinacalcet is obtained . add 30 ml of 2 mol / l hydrochloric acid , stir to formulahydrochloride , distill the solvent , afford cinacalcet hydrochloride , 3 . 0 g , 55 %. cinacalcet hydroxide obtained in this example was tested and confirmed with the same method as used in example 1 : hplc purity ( purity ): 88 . 0 %; chiral purity ( purity ): 99 . 0 %. the result of the example shows that the contents of dialkylation compound ( formula iv compound ) and carbamate impurity ( formula iii compound ) in the product are respectively 10 . 0 % and 1 . 5 %, the cause is that the excessive amount of formula ii compound will result in the large amount of dialkylation impurity ( formula iv compound ) existing in end product of alkylation reaction , which is hard to be separated from cinacalcet because it &# 39 ; s an alkaline substance . in another aspect , excessive formula ii compound results in the formation of large amount of carbamate impurity ( formula iii compound ), finally increase the hardship of separation and purification in the post treatment , the yield decreases .	2
the preferred embodiment will be described with reference to the drawing figures where like numerals represent like elements throughout . an embodiment showing the amplitude balancing system 17 of the present invention is shown in fig2 where two bi - phase modulated signals 19 are input 21 i , 21 q . quantizing is the process of measuring the intensity of a signal in each sample and assigning a digital number to that measured value . each time the sampling circuit samples the signal , it measures the intensity of the varying analog signal at that discrete moment in time . the input 23 i , 23 q data streams represent the discrete samples of data assembled into finite words each having a plurality of bits . the number of bits that define each word determine the total quantization of each sample or symbol . for example , six - bit quantization : with n equal to 6 would yield a resolution of 63 levels . desired signal resolution determines n . each signal 23 i , 23 q component , i and q , is coupled to an input of an amplifier 25 i , 25 q which has an adjustable gain . the output 27 i , 27 q of the amplifiers 25 i , 25 q are coupled to an absolute value processor 29 i , 29 q to obtain the relative magnitudes of each incoming symbol 23 i , 23 q . the output 31 i , 31 q of the absolute value processors 29 i , 29 q are coupled to inputs of respective low pass filters 33 i , 33 q . the low pass filters 33 i , 33 q time - average the received component symbols 23 i , 23 q , giving additional weight to recent samples and decreasing weight to previous samples . in the present embodiment 17 , iir ( infinite impulse response ) filters 33 i , 33 q with one pole are used , however , other types of filters or different order iir filters can also be used without deviating from the principle of the invention . the low pass filter outputs 35 i , 35 q present averaged estimates of the sample amplitudes output from the absolute value processors 29 i , 29 q . a summer 37 obtains the difference from the outputs 35 i , 35 q of the low pass filters 33 i , 33 q producing an error reference signal 39 . if the i and q components of an input signal 23 i , 23 q are orthogonal to each other , the error reference signal 39 will have zero magnitude , indicating a balanced symbol . if the error reference signal 39 produces a value other than zero , the symbols are not amplitude balanced . a non - zero - value error reference signal 39 becomes an error correction value . the reference signal 39 is coupled to an input of a hard limiter processor 41 . the hard limiter 41 outputs a signal 43 smaller in magnitude , either positive or negative , in dependence upon the error reference signal 39 . the hard limiter processor 41 clips the error reference signal 39 magnitude thereby making the sign of the error reference signal 39 a correction factor . this is done for simplifying the implementation , the hard limiter is not essential to the invention . the output 43 of the hard limiter processor 41 is coupled to a leaky integrator which is an accumulator 45 . the accumulator 45 adds the present value input with an accumulated value from previous input values and outputs 47 a sum . since the accumulator 45 has a finite bit width , over time , the accumulated value will self - limit in magnitude and plateau if errors persist and are great . the accumulated plurality of error reference signals 39 in the internal accumulator of the accumulator 45 will average to zero when the system reaches stasis . the output 47 from the accumulator 45 is coupled to a gain input 49 i , 49 q on each adjustable gain amplifier 25 i , 25 q . the amplifiers 251 , 25 q balance the amplitudes of the received i and q symbols 23 i , 23 q , increasing or attenuating their gains in dependence with the accumulator 45 output signal 47 . as can be seen , the reference signal 39 is negative feedback to the upstream amplification stages 25 i , 25 q . a positive control voltage at the gain input 49 i , 49 q indicates a gain increase for that amplifier ; a negative control voltage indicates attenuation . if the amplitudes of the input signals 23 i , 23 q are not balanced , the system will adjust the variable amplifiers 25 i , 25 q ( attenuating one component while boosting the other ) according to the accumulator 45 output signal 47 until the i and q symbol amplitudes are within a predetermined tolerance . if the symbol gains are equal , but vary between received symbols , the system 17 will not effect correction . a downstream automatic gain control ( agc )( not shown ) equalizes the system output 51 i , 51 q for further signal processing ( not shown ). an embodiment showing the phase correction system 61 of the present invention is shown in fig3 . two bi - phase modulated signals 19 are input 63 i , 63 q into the system 61 . the input 63 i , 63 q data streams 65 i , 65 q for the i and q symbols are coupled to a first input 67 i , 67 q of parallel summers 69 i , 69 q . the output 71 i , 71 q of each summer 69 i , 69 q are the system output 73 i , 73 q and feedback for the phase correction system 61 . both feedback lines 71 i , 71 q are coupled to a mixer 75 for correlation . the mixer 75 cross - correlated output signal 77 is coupled to an integrator 79 . the integrator 79 time - averages the cross - correlation product 77 . the integrator output is coupled to a hard limiter processor 83 . the hard decision processor 83 limits the magnitude of the integrated cross - correlation product . the hard decision processor 83 output 85 retains sign . the hard limiter processor 83 output 85 is coupled to an accumulator input 87 . the hard decision processor 83 reduces implementation complexity , one skilled in this art would recognize that it is not essential . as previously discussed , the function of an accumulator is to accumulate , over - time , the present input value with previous inputs . the sum is output as a correction signal . the correction signal 89 is coupled to a first input 91 i of a variable gain amplifier 93 i coupling the q input 65 q with the i input 63 i . the correction signal 89 also is coupled to a first input 91 q of a variable gain amplifier 93 q coupling the i symbol input 65 i with the q input 63 q . the correction signal 89 adjusts both amplifiers 93 i , 93 q increasing or decreasing their gain . the amplifier outputs 95 i , 95 q are coupled to a second input 97 i , 97 q of the input adders 69 i , 69 q . the phase correction is shown as a vector representation in fig4 . the adders 69 i , 69 q subtract the portion of q component 63 q from the i component 65 i ; and the portion of i component 63 i from the q component 65 q ; in order to remove the cross correlation contribution from each . once the parts of the signals that result in the cross correlation are removed , the outputs 71 i and 71 q of the adders 69 i , 69 q become uncorrelated i , q and orthogonal in signal space . an alternative embodiment combining both systems correcting amplitude 17 and phase 61 imbalance is shown in fig5 . the system 101 is a simple series connection outputting 103 i , 103 q a symbol corrected in both amplitude and phase . another combined embodiment where the amplitude balancer 17 follows the phase balancer 61 is also possible . while specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , many modifications and variations could be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the above description serves to illustrate and not limit the particular form in any way .	7
referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a principal portion of a tape recorder with a mode selector assembly according to the present invention , especially in the stop mode . on a main chassis 1 there is mounted an actuator lever 2 ( since this lever is a play actuator lever in the illustrated embodiment , this lever is called a play actuator lever ) and a stop lever 3 . by inserting upstanding guide shafts 1f and 1g into guide holes 2a and 3a formed in the main chassis 1 , both the lever 2 and 3 are made to be slidable between a non - actuated position ( in stop mode ) and an actuated position in the directions of the arrows c and d . furthermore , both the levers are constantly urged into the non - actuated position in the direction of the arrow d by means of springs 15 and 16 extending between pins 1k and 1l standing on the main chassis 1 and pins 2b and 3b . of these levers , the play lever 2 has a lock pin 2c and the stop lever 3 has an unlock pin 3c . the play lever 2 further includes a projection 2d in an extension of its rear end . a lock plate 4 is held to be slidable in directions ( as denoted by the arrows a and b ) normal to the sliding movement of the respective levers 2 and 3 by inserting a guide hole 4a about a guide shaft 1h seated on the main chassis 1 . moreover , the lock plate 4 is constantly biased in the direction of the arrow a due to a spring 17 extending between a pin 4b and a pin 1m seated on the main chassis 1 . the lock plate 4 is further provided at its side edge facing against the play lever 2 with a lock portion 4c which engages with the lock pin 2c of the play lever 2 and holds the play lever 2 in the actuated position , and at another side edge facing against the stop lever 3 with an inclined portion 4d which engages with the unlock pin 3c of the stop lever 3 . a trigger arm 5 is made of a &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; shaped member pivoted about a support shaft 1c of the main chassis 1 , which has a horizontal segment or a pressure member 5c held in contact with the rear end of the play lever 2 and a vertical segment carrying a projection 5b at its rear end . a spring 18 extending between the pin 5a and the pin 1n on the main chassis 1 biases the trigger arm 5 in the direction of the arrow f while the span of the rotating movement of the trigger arm 5 is limited by a pin 18 seated on the main chassis 1 . when the pressure portion 5c is depressed upon actuation of the play lever 2 , the trigger arm 5 rotates by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow e against the force of the spring 18 . a stop arm 6 is of an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; configuration and a spring 19 extending between a pin 6a at the tip portion of a horizontal segment of the stop arm 6 and a pin 10 on the main chassis 1 urges the stop arm 6 in the direction of the arrow f . the stop arm 6 also bears a projection 6b at the bottom of the tip portion of its vertical segment . while the stop arm 6 is constantly held in contact with the pin 1t under the influence of the spring 19 , it will rotate in the direction of the arrow e by a predetermined amount against the force of the spring 19 upon actuation of the stop lever 3 . a subchassis - actuating arm 7 is made of an &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; shaped member pivoted about the support shaft 1b on the main chassis 1 . the subchassis - actuating arm 7 includes a sliding hump 7a at the bottom of the central portion of its horizontal segment traversing the top surfaces of the vertical segments of the trigger arm 5 and the stop arm 6 and a bearing surface 7c . a spring 20 extending between the pin 7b and a pin 1p seated on the main chassis 1 constantly forces the subchassis - actuating arm 7 to rotate in the direction of the arrow f . the spin of such rotating movement of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 is limited by a pin 1v . the subchassis - actuating arm 7 pivotably carries , at a shaft 7d on the top surface of its horizontal segment , one end of a link arm 12 more closely to the pin 7b than the sliding hump 7a . the projection 2d of the play lever 2 is snugly fitted into an elongated slot 12a at the other end of the link arm 12 . when the subchassis - actuating arm 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow e against the force of the spring 20 with rotation of a cam gear 8 to be discussed below , the play lever 2 slides toward the actuated position . the cam gear 8 is pivoted about the support shaft 1a on the main chassis 1 , which gear has at its periphery a tooth - free portion 8a and at its top surface a cam 8b of an annular strip with a radius of curvature varying gradually about a third hump 8f removably engaged with the projection 6b of the stop arm 6 and about the support shaft 1a . the cam 8b in its inner surface 8c consists of a maximum diameter portion 8c 3 in the furthermost position with regard to the tooth - free portion 8a , a minimum diameter portion 8c 1 somewhat forward of the maximum diameter portion 8c 3 in the direction of the rotating movement of the cam gear 8 and an inclined portion 8c 2 intermediate the minimum and maximum diameter portions . the sliding hump 7a of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 slides on the cam inner surface 8c of the cam 8b so defined . especially in the play mode , ( including record mode ) the sliding hump 7a slides on the minimum diameter portion 8c 1 , rotating the subchassis - actuating arm 7 in the direction of the arrow e against the spring 20 and bringing a subchassis to be discussed below back to the play position . otherwise ( including stop mode ), the maximum diameter portion 8c 3 is aligned with the sliding hump 7a to place the subchassis - actuating arm 7 into contact with the pin 1v under the influence of the spring 20 . defined on the periphery of the cam 8 are first and second projections 8d and 8e which extend upwardly and radially from positions front and behind the maximum diameter portion 8c 3 with regard to the direction of the rotating movement of the cam 8 . the first projection 8d is removably engaged with the projection 5b of the trigger arm 5 and , when in such engaging relationship , is also engaged with one end of a starter spring 22 wound around a support shaft 1r on the main chassis 1 , so that the starter spring 22 is compressed and maintained in an energy storage state with the aid of a pin 1u on the main chassis 1 . at the moment where the first projection 8d is disengaged from the trigger arm 5 , the starter spring 22 in the energy storage state gives a kick at the first projection 8d due to its restoring force , enabling the cam gear 8 to rotate in the direction of the arrow . moreover , the second projection 8e is removably engaged with the projection 6b of the stop arm 6 . a driving gear 9 is pivoted about a support shaft 1e on the main chassis 1 by means of a pulley 9a which is driven by a driving motor 10 via a conveyor belt 23 bridging the distance between the pulley 9a and a pulley 10b attached to a motor shaft 10a , thus driving the cam gear 8 under the engaging relationship where it is in meshing with teeth in the cam gear 8 . it is noted that in the stop mode the cam gear 8 is positioned against the tooth - free portion 8a due to the engagement between the projection 5b of the trigger arm 5 and the first projection 8d . the subchassis 11 is movable forward and backward on the main chassis 1 by inserting upstanding guide shafts 1i and 1j on the main chassis 1 into guide holes 11a and 11b formed therein , which chassis carries an erase head 13 and a record / play head 14 mounted thereon . when the subchassis is moved in the directions of the arrows c and d , a magnetic tape in a cassette not shown comes into or out of contact with the respective heads . the subchassis is constantly biased toward the stop position by the action of the spring 21 in stop mode and then , upon rotation of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 in the direction of the arrow e , moves upward from the stop position toward the play position in the direction of the arrow c against the spring 21 by the action of the arm 7 . the mode selector assembly as discussed above will operate in the following manner . stop mode will be described by reference to fig1 . in stop mode both the play and stop levers 2 and 3 are forced into the forward or non - actuated position under the influence of the springs 15 and 16 . the subchassis 11 , on the other hand , stands in a stop position where the erase and record / play heads are out of contact with the magnetic tape in the cassette under the influence of the spring 21 . the cam gear 8 is in engaging relationship with the projection 5b of the trigger arm 5 with its first projection 8d in contact with the pin 1a ( this is referred to as &# 34 ; first position &# 34 ;) so that the rear end of the tooth - free portion 8a ( the end of the cam gear 8 in the direction of its rotation ) is positioned opposite the driving gear 9 and the maximum diameter portion 8c 3 of the cam inner surface 8c is in contact with the sliding hump 7a of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 . because the maximum diameter portion 8c 3 in the cam inner surface 8c is faced against the sliding hump 7a , the subchassis - actuating arm 7 is drawn into contact with the pin 1v under the influence of the spring 20 with its bearing surface 7c spaced away from the subchassis 11 ( this is referred to as the &# 34 ; first position &# 34 ; of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 ). the stop lever 6 is in contact with the pin 1t ( this is referred to as &# 34 ; first position &# 34 ; of the stop arm ) and ready to engage with the third projection 8f of the cam gear 8 . change of mode takes place from stop mode to play mode as best shown in fig1 and 2 . when the play lever 2 is actuated in the direction of the arrow c against the spring 15 in the stop mode , the trigger arm 5 turns in the direction of the arrow e against the spring 18 . the projection 5b on the trigger arm 5 is disengaged from the first projection 8d on the cam gear 8 at a point in time where the lock pin 2c is about to contact the inclined surface 4c &# 39 ; of the lock portion 4c of the lock plate 4 . as a result , the cam gear 8 immediately rotates in the direction of the arrow f under the influence of the starter spring 22 , previously held in an energy storage state , and comes into engagement with the driving gear 9 . this results in further rotation of the cam gear 8 . afterward , the play lever 2 is locked with the lock portion 4c of the lock plate 4 by means of the lock pin 2c and held in an actuated position . since the diameter of the cam inner surface 8c in contact with the sliding hump 7a with the rotating movement of the cam gear 8 gradually decreases , the subchassis - actuating arm 7 rotates in the direction of the arrow e against the spring 20 and enables the subchassis 11 to move slowly backward of the stop position via the bearing surface 7c . as soon as the cam gear 8 makes substantially a complete revolution and the forward end of the tooth - free portion 8a is aligned with the driving gear 9 or immediately before the first projection 8f reaches the projection 6b on the stop arm 6 , the cam gear 8 is no longer driven by the driving gear 9 . furthermore , since the sliding hump 7a comes into contact with the minimum diameter portion 8c 1 of the cam inner surface 8c and then into the inclined surface 8c 2 , the cam gear 8 is given the rotating torque , as denoted by the arrow f by the spring 20 via the sliding hump 7a , to rotate to some extent . the cam gear 8 , however , discontinues rotating as soon as the third projection 8f engages the projection 6b on the stop arm 6 . at the same time the subchassis - actuating arm 7 shifts the subchassis 11 to the backward or play position and holds the same in this position where the erase and record / play heads 13 and 14 are in contact with the tape ( this is referred to as &# 34 ; second position &# 34 ; of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 ). under this circumstance the tape is driven to travel at a normal speed by a normal speed driving mechanism ( including two reels ) which becomes operative when the play lever 2 is locked in the actuated position ). the trigger arm 5 is still rotating in the direction of the arrow e in association with the play lever 2 in the actuated position , with its projection 5b being out of a path for the rotating movement of the cam gear 8 ( this is referred to as &# 34 ; second position &# 34 ; of the trigger arm ). the above procedure places the tape recorder completely into the play mode . the following aspects of the present invention should be emphasized in connection with transition from stop mode to play mode . provided that the play lever 2 is actuated to disengage the projection 5b on the trigger arm from the first projection 8d on the cam gear 8 and thereupon the cam gear 8 rotates in the direction of the arrow e to cause the rotating movement of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 in the direction of the arrow e , the subchassis - actuating arm 7 during rotation draws the play lever 2 in the direction of the arrow c against the spring 15 via the link arm 12 so that the play lever 2 is locked with the lock portion 4c of the lock plate 4 by way of the lock pin 2c when the subchassis - actuating lever 7 reaches the second position . in other words , as long as the play lever 2 is actuated , the projection 5b of the trigger arm is disengaged from the first projection 8d of the cam gear to rotate the cam gear until the lock pin 2c of the lever 2 is locked with the lock portion 4c of the lock plate 4 . since the play lever 2 is forcedly brought toward the actuated position in response to the rotating movement of the cam gear , the play lever 2 is shifted to the actuated position automatically , even if the play lever 2 is released from depression or actuation force before the lock pin 2c of the play lever is locked with the lock portion 4c of the lock plate 4 . accordingly , the tape recorder is placed as a whole into play mode as well as the play lever 2 . in the play mode as shown in fig2 the stop lever 3 is depressed in the direction of the arrow c against the spring 16 so that the unlock pin 3c of the lever 3 comes into contact with the inclined surface 4d of the lock plate 4 and the lock plate 4 moves in the direction of the arrow b against the spring 17 . thus , the play lever 2 is unlocked from the lock portion 4c and comes into contact with stop arm 6 in the first position due to engagement between the third projection 8f of the cam gear 8 and the projection 6b . this results in rotating the arm 6 in the direction of the arrow e against the spring 19 and moving the arm out of its engaging position with the third projection 8f . the stop arm moves to the position where it is at an engageable distance with respect to the second projection 8e of the cam gear 8 ( this is referred to as &# 34 ; second position &# 34 ; of the stop arm ). as soon as the stop arm 6 is disengaged from the third projection 8f , the cam gear 8 , which is in contact with the sliding hump 7a of the subchassis - actuating arm 7 at the inclined surface 8c 2 of the cam inner surface 8c , is prevented from rotating under the influence of the spring 20 but will restart rotating in the direction of the arrow f . since the sliding hump 7a is aligned with the maximum diameter portion 8c 3 of the cam inner surface 8c with rotation of the cam gear 8 , the subchassis - actuating arm 7 returns to the first position by the force of the spring 20 and at the same time the subchassis 11 returns to the stop position under the spring 21 . the spring 15 forces the play lever 2 , unlocked from the lock plate 4 , back to the non - actuated position . at the point in time where the subchassis 11 returns to the stop position and the play lever 2 returns to the non - actuated position , the projection of the stop arm 6 engages with the second projection 8e of the cam gear to stop rotation of the cam gear 8 temporarily and the trigger arm returns to the first position . under this circumstance the projection 5b of the trigger arm 5 is ready to engage with the first projection 8d . it is noted that the starter spring 22 is in an energy storage state . the above events occur when the stop lever 3 is actuated ( see fig3 ). then , if the stop lever 3 is released from the actuating force , the lever 3 returns to the non - actuated position under the spring 16 and the stop arm 6 returns to the first position under the spring 19 . because the projection 6b is out of engagement with the second projection 8e due to the returning movement of the stop arm 6 and the cam gear 8 is given a rotational torque in the direction of the arrow f by the starter spring 22 in energy storage state , the cam gear 8 starts rotating in the direction of the arrow f in response to the starter spring 22 and then stops rotating when the first projection 8d comes into contact with the projection 5b of the trigger arm 5 , already in the first position . through the above procedure the respective components are now in the stop mode as shown in fig1 and the normal speed driving mechanism is rendered nonoperative because of the play lever in the non - actuated position . 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 are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	6
embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows the shape of a cpu board . fig1 ( a ) is a perspective view of the upside of the cpu board . fig1 ( b ) is a perspective view of the underside of the cpu board . fig1 ( c ) is a cross - sectional view taken along line a - a of fig1 ( a ). in this document , a module board on which at least a cpu is mounted is referred to as the cpu board . referring to fig1 ( a ), a cpu 2 , memories 3 , and a controller element 4 are mounted on the upside 5 of the cpu board 1 . referring to fig1 ( b ), the memories 3 are exposed to view from the underside 6 of the cpu board 1 . the reason is that the memories 3 are mounted on both the upside 5 and the underside 6 of the cpu board 1 as shown in fig1 ( c ). fig2 is a perspective view illustrating a motherboard on which a large number of units of the cpu board described with reference to fig1 are mounted . referring to fig2 , a large number of units of an optical module 10 and a large number of units of the cpu board 10 are mounted on the motherboard 7 . the motherboard 7 can be inserted in an insertion direction 11 from the front end 12 and extracted . thus , the rear end 8 of the motherboard 7 is provided with an optical connector 14 , a signal connector 9 , and a power connector 13 and is to be connected to another motherboard . the motherboard 7 is to be inserted in the insertion direction 11 from the front end 12 . the cpu board 1 can be accessed for maintenance when the front end 12 of the motherboard 7 is extracted . fig3 is a partial top perspective view illustrating how the motherboard 7 described with reference to fig2 is mounted on a rack 19 . referring to fig3 , a power supply unit 16 is mounted on both sides of the rack 19 for power feeding purposes . a thermo - siphon 17 is mounted on the motherboard 7 . a thermal highway 18 is mounted in the power supply unit 16 to provide thermal transport by means of vaporization heat . the thermo - siphon 17 is capable of collectively cooling four units of the cpu board 1 . in other words , one unit of the thermo - siphon 17 covers four units of the cpu board 1 while maintaining thermal contact with them . as eight units of the thermo - siphon 17 are disclosed in the present embodiment , there are a total of 32 units of the cpu board 1 . one unit of the thermal highway 18 is extended to cover the width of two units of the thermo - siphon 17 in order to provide thermal transport for the two units of the thermo - siphon 17 . in the present embodiment , thermal transport is provided by using one unit of the thermo - siphon 17 for four units of the cpu board 1 and by using one unit of the thermal highway 18 for two units of the thermo - siphon 17 . however , the number of units may vary with an employed structure . in fig3 , the reference sign 12 denotes the front end . fig4 is a side perspective view illustrating the rack 19 described with reference to fig3 . referring to fig4 , an infinite number of units of the motherboard 7 are vertically mounted on the rack 19 . a power supply busbar 30 is disposed on the rear end 8 of the rack 19 in order to efficiently feed electrical power to each motherboard 7 . no structure is mounted on the front end 12 so as to facilitate the unmounting and remounting of each motherboard 7 . a heat exchanger 20 is disposed on the top of the rack 19 and thermally connected to the thermal highway 18 mounted on a lateral surface of the rack 19 . the above - mentioned thermal connection is made , for example , by vapor on the side toward the thermal highway 18 and by the single liquid - phase of the heat exchanger 20 on the top . in fig4 , the reference sign 12 denotes the front end . fig5 is a front view illustrating a section around the motherboard before the insertion of the cpu board . referring to fig5 , a flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 ( hereinafter referred to as the metal plate 23 ) is mounted on the top of the motherboard 7 . the thermo - siphon 17 is mounted above the metal plate 23 with a space 23 b provided in - between . a thermally - conductive sheet 31 is disposed on opposing surfaces of the metal plate 23 and thermo - siphon 17 and on protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 . the vertical distance between the motherboard 7 and the thermo - siphon 17 is fixed . the metal plate 23 moves between the motherboard 7 and the thermo - siphon 17 . fig6 is a front view illustrating the section around the motherboard after the insertion of the cpu board . referring to fig6 , screws 25 are attached to the thermo - siphon 17 . the screws 25 are positioned to oppose the protrusions 23 a , which protrude upward from the metal plate 23 below the thermo - siphon 17 . the thermally - conductive sheet 31 described with reference to fig5 is disposed in contact with the upside or underside of the cpu 2 , memories 3 , and controller element 4 ( not shown ) mounted on the cpu board 1 . more specifically , first of all , the metal plate 23 is disposed in the space 23 b between the motherboard 7 and the thermo - siphon 17 as shown in fig6 . the metal plate 23 has the protrusions 23 a , which form the space 23 b having a predetermined height . the cpu board 1 is then inserted into the space 23 b . the screws 25 fasten the protrusions 23 a to the thermo - siphon 17 . therefore , when the screws 25 are tightened , the protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 become attracted to the thermo - siphon 17 , and the cpu 2 and memories 3 on the upside of the cpu board 1 come into thermal contact with the thermo - siphon 17 . meanwhile , the memories 3 on the underside of the cpu board 1 come into thermal contact with the metal plate 23 through the thermally - conductive sheet 31 . fig7 is a front view illustrating the section around the motherboard after the mounting of the cpu board 1 in the first embodiment . referring to fig7 , tightening the screws 25 moves the metal plate 23 from the motherboard 7 toward the thermo - siphon 17 . through the thermally - conductive sheet 31 attached to the thermo - siphon 17 and the thermally - conductive sheet 31 attached to the metal plate 23 , the upper surface ( upside ) of the cpu board 1 is thermally joined to the thermo - siphon 17 and the lower surface ( underside ) of the cpu board 1 is thermally joined to the metal plate 23 . further , the protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 thermally join the metal plate 23 to the thermo - siphon 17 . as is obvious from the above , the heat of the semiconductor elements ( cpu 1 , memories 2 , and controller element 4 ) on the upside of the cpu board 1 can be thermally transported to the thermo - siphon 17 . further , the heat of the semiconductor elements ( memories 2 ) on the underside of the cpu board 1 can be thermally transported from the metal plate 23 to the thermo - siphon 17 through the protrusions 23 a . according to the present embodiment , the heat of the memories 3 mounted on the underside of the cpu board 1 can be transferred from the metal plate 23 to the thermo - siphon 17 through the protrusions 23 a as described above . therefore , the memories 3 can be efficiently cooled while a simple structure is employed . when the cpu board 1 is to be replaced or extracted for maintenance purposes , loosening the screws 25 moves the metal plate 23 downward to enlarge the space 23 b . when the space 23 b is enlarged , the cpu board 1 can be extracted with ease . fig8 ( a ) is a front view of the section around the motherboard according to a second embodiment of the present invention . fig8 ( b ) is a side view of a clip . referring to fig8 ( a ), the second embodiment is configured so that the clip 26 is disposed to thermally connect the thermo - siphon 17 to the metal plate 23 . as shown in fig8 ( b ), the clip 26 is shaped like a u - shaped hair pin and used to hold the thermo - siphon 17 and the metal plate 23 together . the cpu board 1 , which is sandwiched between the thermo - siphon 17 and the metal plate 23 , is then pressurized . the thermally - conductive sheet 31 is attached to the surface of the thermo - siphon 17 that comes into contact with the semiconductor elements ( cpu 1 , memories 2 , controller element 4 ) on the upside of the cpu board 1 . the thermally - conductive sheet 31 is also attached to the surface of the metal plate 23 that comes into contact with the semiconductor elements ( memories 2 ) on the underside of the cpu board 1 . fig9 is a front view illustrating the section around the motherboard after the mounting of the cpu board according to the second embodiment . referring to fig9 , inserting the clip 26 in a horizontal direction moves the metal plate 23 from the motherboard 7 toward the thermo - siphon 17 . as is the case with fig7 , the present embodiment is configured so that , through the thermally - conductive sheet 31 , the thermo - siphon 17 and the flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 thermally join the upper surface ( upside ) of the cpu board 1 to the thermo - siphon 17 and thermally join the lower surface ( underside ) of the cpu board 1 to the flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 . further , the protrusions of the flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 thermally join the flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 to the thermo - siphon 17 . as is obvious from the above , the heat of the semiconductor elements ( cpu 1 , memories 2 , and controller element 4 ) on the upside of the cpu board 1 can be thermally transported to the thermo - siphon 17 . further , the heat of the semiconductor elements ( memories 2 ) on the underside of the cpu board 1 can be thermally transported to the thermo - siphon 17 through the flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 . according to the present embodiment , the heat of the memories 3 can be transferred from the metal plate 23 to the clip 26 and then transferred from the clip 26 to the thermo - siphon 17 as described above . therefore , the heat of the memories 3 can be efficiently dissipated . further , the present embodiment is configured so that the clip 26 provides the thermal connection between the thermo - siphon 17 and the metal plate 23 . this not only makes it extremely easy to attach and detach the clip 26 , but also permits the use of a low - cost configuration . in the present embodiment , the clip 26 is u - shaped . however , the present invention is not limited to the use of a u - shaped clip . the clip 26 may alternatively be in horizontal u shape . fig1 ( a ) is a front view illustrating the section around the motherboard according to a third embodiment of the present invention . fig1 ( b ) shows the shape of a leaf spring . referring to fig1 ( a ), the third embodiment is configured so that the leaf spring 27 is inserted between the metal plate 23 and the motherboard 7 . the leaf spring 27 is disposed on the entire surface of the metal plate 23 or on a portion corresponding to the protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 . further , as is the case with fig6 , the thermally - conductive sheet 31 described with reference to fig5 is disposed to face the upside or underside of the cpu 2 , memories 3 , and controller element 4 mounted on the cpu board 1 . as shown in fig1 ( b ), the leaf spring is prepared by bending an elastic metal plate into the shape of a mountain . as the flat metal plate 23 needs to be pushed upward in the present embodiment , the leaf spring 27 has a flat portion 27 a that comes into planar contact with the metal plate 23 . as the leaf spring 27 is compressed when it is inserted between the metal plate 23 and the motherboard 7 , the metal plate 23 is constantly pushed upward . the shape of the leaf spring 27 is not limited to the one shown in fig1 ( b ). the leaf spring 27 may be of any shape as far as it pushes up the metal plate 23 . fig1 is a front view illustrating the section around the motherboard after the mounting of the cpu board according to the third embodiment . referring to fig1 , when the metal plate 23 is pushed up from the motherboard 7 toward the thermo - siphon 17 due to the elasticity of the leaf spring 27 , the protrusions 23 a come into contact with the thermo - siphon 17 . the thermally - conductive sheet 31 attached to the thermo - siphon 17 and the thermally - conductive sheet 31 attached to the metal plate 23 thermally join the upper surface ( upside ) of the cpu board 1 to the thermo - siphon 17 and thermally join the lower surface ( underside ) of the cpu board 1 to the metal plate 23 . further , the protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 thermally join the metal plate 23 to the thermo - siphon 17 . as is obvious from the above , the heat of the semiconductor elements ( cpu 1 , memories 2 , and controller element 4 ) on the upside of the cpu board 1 can be thermally transported to the thermo - siphon 17 . further , the heat of the semiconductor elements ( memories 2 ) on the underside of the cpu board 1 can be thermally transported to the thermo - siphon 17 through the flat heat pipe or metal plate 23 . according to the present embodiment , the leaf spring 27 pushes up the metal plate 23 . therefore , the protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 come into contact with the thermo - siphon 17 to dissipate the heat of the memories 3 . fig1 is a top view illustrating the section around the motherboard after the mounting of the cpu board according to the first , second , and third embodiments . referring to fig1 , which does not depict the screws 25 , clip 26 , and leaf spring 27 in the first to third embodiments , a thermal connector 29 is a joint between thermo - siphon 17 and the protrusions 23 a of the metal plate 23 . the signal connector 9 and the power connector 13 provide a signal or power connection between the cpu board 1 and the motherboard . the signal connector 9 , the power connector 13 , and the thermal connector 29 are oriented so that they do not interfere with each other in the insertion direction 11 of the cpu board 1 . thus , the cpu board 1 can be unmounted and remounted with ease . when the above - described configuration is employed , a cooling system that facilitates the unmounting and remounting of a module board can be provided for a computer that is used , for instance , in a server , a storage device , or a network device and formed of a large - size circuit board on which the module board having a cpu , memories , and controller element for processing is mounted . according to the present invention , which has been described above , the cooling system and the computer provided with the cooling system do not have a cooling fan . this makes it possible to provide increased energy savings and reduce fan - induced noise . further , the heat of the semiconductor elements on the underside of the module board can be transferred to the thermo - siphon in order to cool the entire module board . furthermore , the present invention provides the computer that makes it easy to unmount and remount the module board because it can be unmounted and remounted by removing or reinstalling the screws , the clip , or the leaf spring . moreover , the present invention facilitates the unmounting and remounting of the module board included in a computer that is used , for instance , in a server , a storage device , or a network device and formed of a large - size circuit board on which the module board having a cpu , memories , and controller element for processing is mounted .	7
as indicated above , composites of ferromagnetic material in a polymer matrix are currently used to attenuate surface currents that produce coupling between adjacent antennas . the present invention employs an alternative to magnetic rf absorption , viz ., electrical absorption , in which rf energy induces current in an electrically conductive material and energy is then dissipated as heat by ohmic effects . the wavelength of the rf energy in the composite is inversely proportional to the square root of its permittivity and , to be absorbed , the rf energy must flow as a guided wave within the composite . the invention overcomes a basic problem with this general approach by providing composite wherein the permittivity of the composite is high enough that the rf wavelength is small but wherein the permittivity is small enough to be confined within the composite . moreover , the dielectric loss of the composite is modest but nonzero , so the composite surface does not resemble a metal which would support a new surface wave . the path length of the composite is long enough that modest absorption per unit length is sufficient to yield substantial antenna isolation . in accordance with one aspect of the invention , electrically absorptive , very small metal coated tubes or microtubules are provided in the form of an insulating polymer carrier or matrix . the nature of the microtubules is discussed in more detail below . a further aspect of the present invention concerns the phenomenon of electrical percolation and the production thereby of dielectric effects which can be used for traveling wave attenuation . percolation occurs in composites in which the density of electrically conductive particles has been raised to a point at which the composite itself becomes conductive , thereby resulting in electrical conduction over large ( macroscopic ) distances due to contact between adjacent particles . this contact can either be direct between adjacent particles or by virtue of capacitative coupling . the onset of conductivity in such a composite is a second order phase transition , and the permittivity tends to diverge or become very large at the threshold of percolation and the behavior of permittivity at this threshold therefore resembles that of a critical point . adding electrically conductive particles or microtubules to an insulating polymer increases the permittivity and conductivity of the resulting composite coating . when sufficient particles are loaded the composite itself will begin to conduct electricity over macroscopic distances . as indicated above , percolation is the onset of this transformation process , and the volume loading of conducting particles is termed the percolation threshold , p c . percolation is accompanied by substantial changes in dielectric properties . for instance , the real and lossy permittivities both increase as the density of conductive inclusions is raised and at percolation threshold they are about equal over a broad frequency range . by providing volume loading close to the percolation threshold , the present invention increases the permittivity of the polymer matrix without having to use large amounts of metal particles and thus large particle weights . further , this effect is significantly increased by using metal particles , i . e ., the aforementioned microtubules , which have a high aspect ratio and which produce an entangled , conducting network at lower loading densities . this is indicated in a highly schematic manner in fig2 wherein the insulating polymer matrix is denoted 24 and the microtubules are denoted 26 . as indicated above , it is necessary that the particle lengths are small relative to the rf wavelength , even when the wavelength is reduced by the high permittivity of the composite . considering the aforementioned microtubules in more detail , these microtubules are preferably a system of biologically - derived , high - aspect ratio , rods or tubes of microscopic dimensions , and are made electrically conductive by electroless plating as discussed above . as indicated above , the microtubules are incorporated into the polymer matrix at loading densities near the percolation threshold and due to the critical divergence of the dielectric properties , the system of microtubules can competitively attenuate rf with about 60 % reduction in composite weight relative to the magnetic material currently being used , i . e ., the magram material mentioned hereinbefore . the microtubules are based on research done a number of years ago , wherein researchers at the naval research laboratories in washington , d . c ., discovered particles with the size and shape appropriate for percolation . these microtubules are biologically derived , hollow organic cylinders of half - micron diameter and lengths of tens to hundreds of microns . the cylinders are coated with metal to render them conductive by an electroless process . once metallized , the microtubules can be dried to a powder and dispersed into polymer matrices at varying loading densities to form the composite . in a preferred embodiment , the microtubules are formed from diacetylenic lipid ( 1 , 2 bis ( tricosa - 10 , 12 - diynoyl )- sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine ), or dc8 , 9pc . see , for example , a . n . lagarkov and a . k . sarychev , phys . rev . b 53 , 6318 ( 1996 ) and f . behroozi , m . orman , r . reese , w . stockton , j . calvert , f . rachfold and p . schoen , j . appl . phys . 68 , 3688 ( 1990 ). the lipid is dissolved in alcohol at 50 ° c ., water is added , and the temperature lowered to room temperature . the lipid self - assembles itself into microtubules and subsequently precipitates . the particles are rinsed and coated with a palladium catalyst and mixed with metal ions and reductants . in contact with the catalyst , the metal ions - are reduced to neutral metal on the surface of the microtubules and coat the structure with a conductive layer of metal of several tenths of a micron thickness . several metal species are available for use in this process , but nickel and copper appear to be of greatest potential usefulness for the present invention . once the microtubules have been metallized , they can be dried and subsequently mixed into a polymer matrix . the choice of polymer is dependent upon the properties desired for the resulting composite . among the desirable properties are flexibility , strength , both chemical and environmental stability , and appropriate viscosity to properly disperse the metal powder . as indicated above , the dielectric properties of composites with rod - shaped inclusions near the threshold are of particular interest here . recent literature has disclosed the behavior of composites containing high - aspect ratio rods , and has included consideration of the effect of excluded volume . see , for example , i . balberg , n . binenbaum and n . wagner , phys . rev . lett . 17 , 1465 ( 1984 ); j . lodge , s . browning , p . loschialpo and j . schelleng , “ magneto - percolation materials for lo applications ,” have forum low observables symposium proceedings , vol . 1 , apr . 8 - 10 , 1997 ( classified ); and 1 . balberg , c . h . anderson , s . alexander and n . wagner , phys . rev . b 30 , 3933 ( 1984 ). lagarkov and sarychev ( see a . n . lagarkov and a . k . sarychev , phys . rev . b 53 , 6318 ( 1996 )) have developed a formalism termed the effective - mean field theory for conducting stick composites ( emtsc ) which predicts permittivities as a function of the loading density of high - aspect ratio particles . in brief , when the volume loading of such composites is increased beyond the percolation threshold , the real permittivity displays a sharp maximum and then tails off to lower values . the lossy permittivity rises quickly in the vicinity of the threshold and continues to rise towards a saturation value for higher loads due to the increase in conductivity of the composite . it is noted that with spherical conducting particles , the threshold for percolation is above 20 volume percent or 33 volume percent according to effective - mean field theory ( see a . celzard , e . mcrae , c . deleuze , m . dufort , g . furdin and j . f . mareche , phys . rev . b 53 , 6209 ( 1996 )), but with higher aspect - ratio particles such as the microtubules of the invention , the threshold drops significantly . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a dielectric material is provided having absorption in the peak region which is several times greater than that of magram , but is less than half the weight of magram . sufficient material to produce electrical percolation is expected at microtubule volume loads of less than 20 %, or a few tens of grams in a panel one foot square by 0 . 05 inches thick . the whole panel including polymer and metal particles weighs approximately 200 grams , which is 60 % less than an equivalent panel based on magnetic attenuation . at low loading densities , the weight , flexibility and other mechanical properties of the composite are essentially those of the polymer matrix , and these are desirable composite qualities . the theory for the attenuation performance of such panels is not well developed , but does suggest that panels near percolation should absorb substantially over a narrow bandwidth , whose center frequency would depend on the panel thickness and loading density . varying these parameters within a panel can be used to broaden the bandwidth . although the invention has been described above in relation to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be effected in these preferred embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .	8
the embodiments of the present invention are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , which form a part hereof , and which show , by way of illustration , specific exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be through and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . among other things , the present invention may be embodied as systems , methods or devices . the following detailed description should not to be taken in a limiting sense . throughout the specification and claims , the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein , unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . the phrase “ in one embodiment ” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment , though it may . furthermore , the phrase “ in another embodiment ” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment , although it may . thus , as described below , various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined , without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . in addition , as used herein , the term “ or ” is an inclusive “ or ” operator , and is equivalent to the term “ and / or ,” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . the term “ based on ” is not exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not described , unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . in addition , throughout the specification , the meaning of “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural references . the meaning of “ in ” includes “ in ” and “ on ”. the term “ coupled ” implies that the elements may be directly connected together or may be coupled through one or more intervening elements . further reference may be made to an embodiment where a component is implemented and multiple like or identical components are implemented . while the embodiments make reference to certain events this is not intended to be a limitation of the embodiments of the present invention and such is equally applicable to any event where goods or services are offered to a consumer . in an embodiment of the present invention , an apparatus for preparing phosphoric acid from a fume exiting the kiln in a kiln phosphoric acid process , the apparatus comprises a hydration tower and an acid solution cyclical spraying system , a fume inlet of the fume exiting the kiln is disposed at a lower portion of the hydration tower , a fume outlet after hydration and absorption is disposed at the top , a spraying device is disposed in a cavity of the hydration tower above the fume inlet , a liquid inlet of the acid solution cyclical spraying system is disposed on a bottom of the hydration tower , a liquid outlet of the acid solution cyclical spraying system is connected to a liquid intake pipe of the spraying device . in an embodiment of the present invention , a phosphoric acid mist capturing tower and a mist removing and separating tower are connected with the hydration tower , in an embodiment of the present invention , a body of the hydration tower is a spraying empty tower . in an embodiment of the present invention , an acid solution storage tank and a circulating pump are further disposed in the acid solution cyclical spraying system . in an embodiment of the present invention , the apparatus further comprises cooling system , the cooling system comprises the following structures a and / or b : a , a water - cooling system is provided around an outer wall of the cavity of the hydration tower ; b , an acid cooler is disposed at a position of the acid solution cyclical spraying system adjacent to the fluid inlet . in an embodiment of the present invention , the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower mainly comprises a washing pipe and a separation tank , a fume outlet of the hydration tower is communicated with an inlet of the washing pipe via a pipe , an outlet of the washing pipe is communicated with a middle portion of the separation tank , a top portion of the separation tank is provided with the fume outlet , an acid solution outlet is disposed on the bottom , the acid solution outlet is communicated with a nozzle in the washing pipe via a circulating and delivering pipe with the circulating pump . in an embodiment of the present invention , the fume outlet of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower is communicated with a lower portion of a mist removing and separating tower through a pipe , a top of the mist removing and separating tower is provided with the fume outlet , a bottom of the mist removing and separating tower is provided an acid solution outlet , and the acid solution outlet is communicated with an acid solution inlet of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower via a pipe . in an embodiment of the present invention , an online water - washing device is disposed in the mist removing and separating tower . in an embodiment of the present invention , an upper portion of the mist removing and separating tower is mounted with a wire mesh demister , a lower portion is designed as a phosphoric acid solution droplet capturing structure like a cyclone deduster , and the online water - washing device is mounted above the wire mesh demister . in an embodiment of the present invention , the fume outlet of the mist removing and separating tower is communicated with a fluorine absorbing device , the fluorine absorbing device is a primary fluorine absorption tower as the main body , the primary fluorine absorption tower employs a liquid - state reverse - flow washing tower , and mainly comprises a fluosilicic acid washing pipe and a fluosilicic acid separating tank . in an embodiment of the present invention , the fume outlet of the mist removing and separating tower is communicated with an inlet of the fluosilicic acid washing pipe via a pipe , an outlet of the fluosilicic acid washing pipe is communicated with a middle portion of the fluosilicic acid separating tank , a fume outlet is disposed on top of the fluosilicic acid separating tank , a fluosilicic acid solution outlet is disposed on the bottom , the fluosilicic acid solution outlet is communicated with a nozzle in the fluosilicic acid washing pipe via a circulating and delivering pipe having a circulating pump , the fluosilicic acid solution outlet is additionally connected with an external fluosilicic acid refining apparatus or a villiaumite processing apparatus via a pipe . in an embodiment of the present invention , the fluorine absorption device further comprises a secondary fluorine absorbing tower , the secondary fluorine absorbing tower employs a liquid - state reverse - flow washing tower , and mainly comprises a secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe and a secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank . in an embodiment of the present invention , the fume outlet of the primary fluorine absorption tower is communicated with an inlet of the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe , an outlet of the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe is communicated with a middle portion of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank , a despumation layer and a fume outlet are disposed on top of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank , a fluosilicic acid solution outlet is disposed on the bottom , and the fluosilicic acid solution outlet is communicated with the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe and the fluosilicic acid separating tank of primary fluorine absorbing tower via the circulating and delivering pipe having a circulating pump . in an embodiment of the present invention , a fluosilicic acid cooler is further provided on the circulating and delivering pipe of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower , an outlet of the fluosilicic acid cooler is communicated with a nozzle in the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe and a spraying layer at the top of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank . in an embodiment of the present invention , the fume outlet of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower is further connected with an exhaust gas absorbing tower which is a spraying empty tower , a fume outlet is disposed at the top of the exhaust gas absorbing tower , a spraying layer is disposed at an upper portion in the tower , a bottom in the tower is provided with a alkali absorption liquid box whose outlet is connected with the respective spraying layers of the exhaust gas absorbing tower via the circulating and delivering pipe having the circulating pump . in an embodiment of the present invention , the spraying device comprises at least two spraying layers located at different heights of the cavity of the hydration tower , the at least two spraying layers comprise a dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer and a concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layer , and the concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layer is disposed above the dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer ; a liquid intake pipe of the concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layer is communicated with the acid solution cyclical spraying system , a liquid intake pipe of the dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer is communicated with a circulating and delivering pipe of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower . the delivering pipe of the acid solution cyclical spraying system after the circulating pump is connected to an acid solution inlet of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower via a branch pipe . in an embodiment of the present invention , the branch pipe is provided with a filler filtering device , an acid inlet of the filler filtering device is communicated with the acid solution cyclical spraying system via the branch pipe , a filtering outlet of the filler filtering device is divided into three paths : one path is communicated with the acid solution inlet of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower , a second path is communicated with an external phosphoric acid refining apparatus , and a third path is communicated with the acid solution storage tank ; a bottom flow outlet of the filler filtering device is connected to a feed port of a filter - pressing device via a pipe , an overflow port of the filter - pressing device is communicated with the acid solution storage tank in the acid solution cyclical spraying system via a pipe . an phosphoric acid preparing apparatus from a fume exiting the kiln in a kiln phosphoric acid process as shown in fig1 - 3 . the apparatus comprises a hydration tower 1 and an acid solution cyclical spraying system . the material of the hydration tower 1 is hastelloy or graphite brick building . a fume inlet 11 of the fume exiting the kiln is disposed at a lower portion of the hydration tower 1 , a fume outlet 12 after hydration and absorption is disposed at the top , a spraying device 13 is disposed in a cavity of the hydration tower 1 above the fume inlet 11 , a liquid inlet 14 of the acid solution cyclical spraying system is disposed on a bottom of the hydration tower 1 , a liquid outlet 15 of the acid solution cyclical spraying system is connected to a liquid intake pipe of the spraying device 13 , and an acid solution storage tank 16 and a circulating pump 2 are further disposed in the acid solution cyclical spraying system . a water - cooling system 17 is provided around an outer wall of the cavity of the hydration tower 1 of the present embodiment , and the cooling water in the water - cooling system 17 enters from bottom and exits from top . in addition , an acid cooler 18 is disposed at a position of the acid solution cyclical spraying system adjacent to the fluid inlet 14 ; an outlet of the acid cooler 18 is connected with an inlet of the acid solution storage tank 16 , an outlet of the acid solution storage tank 16 is connected with the liquid intake pipe of the spraying device 13 via the circulating pump 2 to thereby form an acid solution cyclical spraying system . in the phosphoric acid preparing apparatus of the present embodiment , a phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 , a mist removing and separating tower 4 , a primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 , a secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 , an exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 and a blower 8 are connected with the downstream of the hydration tower 1 in turn . specifically , the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 is an efficient fluid - state reverse - flow washing tower which mainly comprises a washing pipe 31 and a separation tank 32 , the fume outlet 12 of the hydration tower 1 is communicated with an inlet of the washing pipe 31 via a pipe , an outlet of the washing pipe 31 is communicated with a middle portion of the separation tank 32 , a top portion of the separation tank 32 is provided with the fume outlet 12 , an acid solution outlet 33 is disposed on the bottom , the acid solution outlet 33 is communicated with a nozzle 35 in the washing pipe 31 via a circulating and delivering pipe with the circulating pump 2 ( see fig3 ), and the separation tank 32 also serves as an acid circulating tank of the circulating and delivering pipe of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 . to achieve acid crossflow of the hydration tower 1 and the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 , the spraying device 13 of the hydration tower in the present embodiment is provided with three spraying layers located at different heights of the cavity of the hydration tower 1 , the three spraying layers comprise one a dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer 25 and two concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layers 24 ( see fig2 ), and the two concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layers 24 are disposed above the dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer 25 ; a liquid intake pipe of the concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layer 24 is communicated with the acid solution cyclical spraying system of the hydration tower 1 , a liquid intake pipe of the dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer 25 is communicated with the circulating and delivering pipe of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 so as to achieve crossflow of the acid solution in the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 to the hydration tower 1 . in addition , the delivering pipe of the acid solution cyclical spraying system after the circulating pump 2 is connected to an acid solution inlet 34 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 via a branch pipe . for coherence with subsequent filtration and refining step of phosphoric acid , a branch pipe is provided with a filler filtering device 22 , an acid inlet of the filler filtering device 22 is communicated with the acid solution cyclical spraying system via the branch pipe , a filtering outlet of the filler filtering device 22 is divided into three paths : one path is communicated with the acid solution inlet 34 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 , a second path is communicated with an external phosphoric acid refining apparatus 23 , and a third path is communicated with the acid solution storage tank 16 ; a bottom flow outlet of the filler filtering device 22 is connected to a feed port of a filter - pressing device 21 via a pipe , an overflow port of the filter - pressing device 21 is communicated with the acid solution storage tank 16 in the acid solution cyclical spraying system via a pipe to sufficiently achieve recovery and use of the phosphoric acid and ensure a high recovery rate of phosphoric acid . in addition , the fume outlet 12 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 is communicated with a lower portion of a mist removing and separating tower 4 through a pipe , a top of the mist removing and separating tower 4 is provided with the fume outlet 12 , a bottom of the mist removing and separating tower 4 is provided an acid solution outlet 33 , and the acid solution outlet 33 is communicated with an acid solution inlet 34 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 via a pipe . an online water - washing device 41 is disposed in the mist removing and separating tower 4 , water added to the online water - washing device 41 meanwhile may serve as replenish water for the whole process for manufacturing phosphoric acid by absorbing phosphorus by hydration , and is replenished level by level back to the upstream phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 and hydration tower 1 via a pipe . an upper portion of the mist removing and separating tower 4 is mounted with a wire mesh demister 42 , a lower portion is designed as a phosphoric acid solution droplet capturing structure like a cyclone deduster , and the online water - washing device 41 is mounted above the wire mesh demister 42 . in addition , the fume outlet 12 of the mist removing and separating tower 4 is communicated with a fluorine recovery apparatus . the fluorine recovery apparatus used in the present embodiment comprises a primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 and a secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 . the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 and the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 both employ a liquid - state reverse - flow washing tower . the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 mainly comprises a fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 and a fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 , the fume outlet 12 of the mist removing and separating tower 4 is communicated with an inlet of the fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 via a pipe , an outlet of the fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 is communicated with a middle portion of the fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 , a fume outlet 12 is disposed on top of the fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 , a fluosilicic acid solution outlet 53 is disposed on the bottom , the fluosilicic acid solution outlet is communicated with a nozzle 35 in the fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 via a circulating and delivering pipe having a circulating pump 2 , and fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 also serves as an acid circulating tank of the circulating and delivering pipe . the fluosilicic acid solution outlet 53 is additionally connected with an external fluosilicic acid refining apparatus 54 ( or a villiaumite processing apparatus ) via a feed pipe having a feeding pump , filter - pressing treatment is performed first through the filter - pressing device 21 prior to the fluosilicic acid refining apparatus 54 , and an overflow port of the filter - pressing device 21 is then connected to the fluosilicic acid refining apparatus 54 via a pipe . the structure of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 is similar to the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 , the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 mainly comprises a secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 and a secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 , the fume outlet 12 of the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 is communicated with an inlet of the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 , an outlet of the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 is communicated with a middle portion of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 , a despumation layer and a fume outlet 12 are disposed on top of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 , a fluosilicic acid solution outlet 53 is disposed on the bottom , and the fluosilicic acid solution outlet 53 is communicated with a nozzle 35 in the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 via the circulating and delivering pipe having a circulating pump 2 . a fluosilicic acid cooler 63 is further provided on the circulating and delivering pipe of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 , an inlet of the fluosilicic acid cooler 63 is connected with the circulating pump 2 and its outlet is divided into two paths : one path is communicated with the nozzle 35 in the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 , the other path is communicated with a spraying layer at the top of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 , and the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 also serves as an acid circulating tank of the circulating and delivering pipe . an outlet of the circulating pump 2 of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 is connected with a liquid inlet of the fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 of the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 via a branch pipe , thereby allowing redundant fluosilicic acid solution of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 to crossflow to the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 . to achieve emission of all pollutants by standard , an exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 is finally connected in the fluorine recovery apparatus according to the present embodiment , the fume outlet of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 is communicated with the fume inlet 11 of the exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 via a pipe . a bottom in the tower is provided with an absorption liquid box ( sodium hydroxide solution ) whose outlet is connected with the respective spraying layers of the exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 via the circulating and delivering pipe having the circulating pump 2 to thereby form an exhaust gas absorbing , cyclical spraying system . a fume outlet 12 is disposed at the top of the exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 , the fume after washing by the exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 is discharged outward from the fume outlet 12 to funnel via a blower 8 . the operating principle of the phosphoric acid preparing apparatus of the present embodiment is as follows ( seen fig1 - 5 ): 1 absorption of p 2 o 5 by hydration in the hydration tower the fume ( specific example is the fume exiting the kiln in a kiln phosphoric acid process , which temperature is over 500 and content of p 2 o 5 is 80 g / nm 3 ) containing p 2 o 5 and fluorine is introduced into the tower through the fume inlet 11 in the lower portion of the hydration tower 1 , the circulating pump 2 of the acid solution cyclical spraying system is started previously , so that concentrated phosphoric acid solution in the hydration tower 1 is sprayed through upper and intermediate concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layers 24 , partial nozzles of the uppermost concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layer 24 spray towards an inner wall from slantly underneath and remaining nozzles spray vertically downward , nozzles of the intermediate and lower spraying layers spray vertically downward , the sprayed concentrated phosphoric acid solution is in full contact with fume reverse flow entering the tower and containing p 2 o 5 and fluorine for mass transfer and heat transfer , p 2 o 5 in the fume is subjected to chemical reaction with water in the concentrated phosphoric acid solution to produce phosphoric acid , more than half of the produced phosphoric acid is absorbed into the spraying liquid , the remaining portion forms phosphoric acid mist and remains in gas phase ; it is very difficult that fluorine ( such as sif 4 and hf ) in the fume is absorbed in the spraying liquid under the condition of concentrated phosphoric acid and a higher temperature ; the temperature of the fume , after passing through heat transfer with the cyclically - sprayed lower - temperature concentrated phosphoric acid solution and the cooling by the water - cooling system 17 in the hydration tower 1 , drops to 75 - 130 , and the temperature of cyclic concentrated phosphoric acid solution exiting the hydration tower 1 is raised to 70 - 95 . according the moisture content in the fume , a mass percentage concentration of the cyclically - sprayed concentrated phosphoric acid solution is selected from a range 60 %- 90 % ( phosphoric acid solution with 70 %- 85 % concentration is employed in the present embodiment ), the temperature of the concentrated phosphoric acid solution upon entering the hydration tower is controlled in a range of 50 - 80 , and a spraying liquid - gas ratio is controlled in a range of 3 l / m 3 - 20 l / m 3 . the fume exiting the tower entrains much phosphoric acid mist exiting in the form of mist , which cannot settle in the hydration tower 1 and is carried out of the hydration tower 1 along with the fume . the hydration tower 1 has double functions of cooling fume and absorbing p 2 o 5 by hydration , wherein a chemical reaction mainly occurring is as follows : the concentrated phosphoric acid solution sprayed and falling down in the hydration tower 1 finally enters the acid solution cyclical spraying system through the liquid inlet 14 , then flows in the acid cooler 18 , the acid cooler 18 is structured in a way that several heat exchange plates made of stainless steel pipe are arranged in an agitation tank , cyclical cooling water is introduced in the pipes ; through agitation , the phosphoric acid solution entering the acid cooler 18 forms forced convection and heat exchange on the heat exchange plates , thereby improving the heat transfer efficiency ; a caloric content portion in the concentrated phosphoric acid is transferred to the cyclic cooling water of the acid cooler 18 , and the cyclic cooling water constantly transfers the heat of the cyclic concentrated phosphoric acid solution . the cyclical acid solution flowing out of the outlet of the acid cooler 18 enters the phosphoric acid storage tank 16 and sent by the circulating pump 2 again to respective nozzles of the upper and intermediate concentrated phosphoric acid spraying layers 24 for cyclical spraying . the gas phase substance ( namely fume ) discharged out of the fume outlet 12 at the top of the hydration tower 1 enters the washing pipe 31 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 . the tower is a fluid - state reverse - flow washing tower . the cyclical dilute phosphoric acid solution is sprayed from down to up in the washing pipe 31 , the dilute phosphoric acid solution impinges and contacts with the up - down high - speed fume flow to form a strong turbulence area at a gas - liquid interface area , fluid momentum , after reaching balance , establishes a stable foam area ( foam column ) having a certain height , the fume passes through the foam area and contacts a large - area phosphoric acid liquid surface which updates constantly , capture , polymerization and growth of particles and heat transfer occurs in the foam area , a majority of phosphoric acid mist entrained in the fume is transferred to the cyclical dilute phosphoric acid solution , a fume appearance flow rate in the absorption area is 10 m / s - 30 m / s , and the liquid - gas ratio is 3 l / m 3 - 25 l / m 3 . the temperature of the fume , through evaporation of moisture content in the cyclical dilute phosphoric acid solution in a heat insulation manner , further falls to 60 - 75 . as compared with a conventional heat - method phosphoric acid venturi demister , to achieve the same mist removing effect , the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower according to the present invention substantially reduces loss of dynamic pressure head and decrease energy consumption of the acid collecting device . the cyclically sprayed acid solution in the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 employs dilute phosphoric acid solution with 10 %- 50 % mass percentage concentration , gas and liquid in the washing pipe 31 enters the separating tank 32 in the lower portion of the tower for gas - liquid separation , the cyclical acid solution falls into the bottom of the separating tank 32 , the separating tank 32 of the tower meanwhile serves as a cyclic acid tank , and the dilute phosphoric acid solution at the bottom is delivered back from the circulating pump 2 to the washing pipe 31 or crossflows into the dilute phosphoric acid spraying layer 25 of the hydration tower 1 according to needs . 3 capturing of the phosphoric acid mist in the mist removing and separating tower the fume discharged out of the fume outlet 12 in the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 enters the mist removing and separating tower 4 for further gas - liquid separation to further remove phosphoric acid mist in the fume , the lower portion of the mist removing and separating tower is designed a phosphoric acid liquid droplet capturing structure 43 similar to a cyclone deduster , a centrifugal force is utilized to capture already grownup phosphoric acid droplets from the fume , a wire mesh demister 42 is mounted at an upper portion of the mist removing and separating tower to further capture not - yet - grownup phosphoric acid mist droplets in the fume to ensure a direct recovery rate of p 2 o 5 of the apparatus ; fume from which phosphorus is absorbed by hydration , discharged out of the mist removing and separating tower 4 , is delivered to the fluorine recovery apparatus for fluorine recovery treatment . since water is consumed to chemically combine p 2 o 5 in the fume during absorption of phosphorus by hydration , and furthermore , partial moisture content is evaporated from the spraying acid solution in the course of reducing the temperature of the fume , water needs to be replenished constantly during absorption by hydration . the quantity of water to be replenished in the process system in the present embodiment is totally replenished from the fume outlet 12 of the mist removing and separating tower 4 . at this time , the online water - washing device 41 not only serves as a water replenishing device and meanwhile serves as a washing device of the wire mesh demister on the upper portion of the mist removing and separating tower 4 . since all the replenished water is added to the mist removing and separating tower 4 , and the bottom liquid in the mist removing and separating tower 4 flows through the acid solution inlet 34 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 back into the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 , so the concentration of the cyclic acid solution in the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 will gradually falls . on the other hand , since p 2 o 5 in the fume is constantly absorbed in the hydration tower 1 , the concentration of the cyclical acid solution therein gradually increases . hence , crossflow of acid is needed for the cyclic acid solution system of the hydration tower 1 and the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 to keep concentration of respective cyclical acid solutions stable . the acid crossflowing from the hydration tower 1 to the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 is clarified and filtered in the filler filtering device 22 and then introduced to the phosphoric acid capturing tower 3 , and acid crossflowing from the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 to the hydration tower 1 is directly introduced out from the outlet of the circulating pump 2 of the phosphoric acid mist capturing tower 3 . the excess phosphoric acid ( acid production corresponding to the mass balance ) in process system is introduced out from the supernatant outlet of the filler filtering device 22 thereof into the refining step , active carbon , diatomite and barium salt are added , color and so 4 2 − of the crude phosphoric acid are removed , and then a plate - and - frame filter - pressing device is used to remove impurities and perform purification to obtain the concentrated phosphoric acid product . additionally , the majority of the dust and other solid particles in the fume are transferred to the cyclic phosphoric acid solution and enriched in a bottom flow of the filler filtering device 22 , the bottom flow is discharged to the filter - pressing device 21 for filtering , filtrate is back into an acid solution storage tank 16 , filter residue is discharged to the external system . the fume after absorption of phosphorus by hydration is delivered to the fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 of the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 , the fume goes from up to down and comes into sufficient gas and liquid two - phase contact with the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution ( mass percentage concentration is 8 %- 20 %) sprayed in from down to up and performs mass transfer , heat transfer and chemical reaction , most fluorine ( mainly , silicon tetrafluoride ) in the fume reacts with water to produce fluosilicic acid , and meanwhile the fume , through evaporation of moisture content in the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution in a heat insulation manner , further falls to 50 - 70 ; a chemical reaction mainly occurring in this step is as follows : the product finally obtained in the fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 is totally transferred to the fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 for gas - liquid separation , gas after separation enters the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 through the fume outlet of the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 , liquid after separation stays in the fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 and is delivered through the cyclical delivering pipe having the circulating pump back to fluosilicic acid washing pipe 51 to perform operation in the above step 4 . the fume entering the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 goes from up to down and comes into sufficient gas and liquid two - phase contact with the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution ( mass percentage concentration is 0 . 5 %- 5 %) sprayed in from down to up and performs mass transfer , heat transfer and chemical reaction , a remaining fluorine - containing substance ( mainly sif 4 ) in the fume is reacted with water to produce fluosilicic acid , meanwhile caloric content in the fume is , through heat transfer , mostly transferred again to the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution ; a temperature of the product after treatment in step ( 3 ) further falls below 60 ; the chemical reaction mainly occurring in this step is identical with that in step 4 . the product finally obtained in the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 is totally transferred to the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 for gas - liquid separation , a demisting unit is disposed on top of the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 to remove mist entrained in the fume to improve the absorption rate of fluorine , and the demisting unit is cleaned by spraying in cyclical fluosilicic acid solution from the top . the separated gas goes through the fume outlet of the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 into the subsequent exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 for treatment . the separated liquid stays in the secondary fluosilicic acid separating tank 62 and is delivered back to the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 via the cyclical delivering pipe having the circulating pump 2 to perform the operation in the above step 6 , the cyclical delivering pipe is mounted with a fluosilicic acid cooler 63 so as to remove partial heat in the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution so that fluorine absorption reaction is performed at a more suitable temperature . the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution entering the secondary fluosilicic acid washing pipe 61 is subjected to the cooling treatment of the fluosilicic acid cooler 63 ; partial redundant cyclical fluosilicic acid solution may be directly discharged into the fluosilicic acid separating tank 52 of the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 . the cyclical fluosilicic acid solution in the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 and the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 is accumulated as absorbing fluorine in the fume , concentration of fluosilicic acid in the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 increases as absorbing fluorine - containing substance in the fume , the redundant cyclical fluosilicic acid solution in the secondary fluorine absorbing tower 6 is discharged into the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 to maintain its concentration constant , finally the redundant cyclical fluosilicic acid solution in the primary fluorine absorbing tower 5 is delivered via a feeding pump to the filter - pressing device 21 to perform filter - pressing to remove solid substances such as silica gel therein , the filtrate goes through the fluosilicic acid refining step to produce fluosilicic acid final product or is processed into villiaumite product ; the filtration residue is silica gel and cleaned to remove impurities to serve as a by - product . the fume entering the subsequent exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 comes into reverse - flow contact with downwardly - sprayed naoh solution during upward movement of the exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 , an absorption liquid tank on the bottom of the exhaust gas absorbing tower 7 is connected with respective spraying layers in the tower via the circulating pump 2 to form a cyclical spraying system ; to keep the absorbing capability of the absorption liquid , ph value of the absorption liquid is maintained above 8 , and dilute alkaline solution ( naoh solution ) needs to be added constantly . however , the absorption liquid is accumulated as the dilute alkaline solution is added and impurities in the fume such as p 2 o 5 and fluorine are absorbed , it needs to be discharged constantly for sewage treatment , and water recovered from the treatment may be used to the raw material step of the kiln phosphoric acid production process ; the remaining pollutants in the fume such as p 2 o 5 , sif 4 and dusts are absorbed by the spraying liquid , the fume is further cleaned and purified to reach the state emission standard ( the fluorine content in the gas falls below 9 mg / m 3 ), and then discharged by an induced draft fan to the chimney for emission . chemical reactions mainly occurring in this step are as follows : 3sif 4 + 6naoh = 2na 2 sif 6 + na 2 sio 3 + 3h 2 o what are described above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention . equivalent modifications , variations and improvements made on the basis of the above technical solutions all fall within the protection scope of the present invention .	1
fig1 depicts an overall plan view of a completed sectionalized flooring system 100 with two post anchor base assemblies 200 shown in phantom . each post anchor base assembly and post support 204 thereof is aligned along center line 120 . as shown in fig1 planar flooring system 100 is appropriately marked to provide the playing surface for a basketball court . however , it should be understood that post anchor base assembly 200 may be used with any portable sectionalized flooring suitable for volleyball or the like , and that such use is not limited , for example , to the playing surface or sectionalized flooring construction of fig1 . sectionalized flooring system 100 is assembled from a plurality of separate floor sections or panels falling into either of two size groups having respectively different lengths . the first group consists of large panels or sections 102 while the second group is made up of small panels or sections 104 . for purposes of panel fabrication and subsequent floor assembly at the site , the large sections 102 are preferably 4 feet × 8 feet while the small sections are preferably 4 feet × 4 feet . as may be easily appreciated from the plan view of the panels shown in fig1 by appropriately positioning large and small sections 102 and 104 in the rows of the flooring area 100 , the joints between the ends of the longitudinally aligned sections can effectively be staggered between adjacent rows . such flooring construction , including panel - to - panel connectors , is described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 538 , 392 of which the description therein is hereby incorporated herein . obviously , anchor assembly 200 may be used with portable sectionalized flooring having different dimensions , markings , construction or other different structural characteristics than the flooring described above . fig4 illustrates anchor assembly 200 secured to a post receiving panel 170 . the basic construction of each panel includes an upper flooring layer 108 and a lower flooring layer or layer of underlayment 110 which together form a substantially planar member . upper flooring 108 defines a flooring surface 106 , while underlayment 110 defines the panel undersurface ( not designated ). each panel also includes a plurality of spaced elevation members 112 which extend transversely along and are attached to the panel undersurface for supporting layers 108 and 110 above a base surface . post receiving panel 170 further includes post receiving hole 172 and cover plate 210 therefor . in the closed position , cover plate 210 is flush with floor surface 106 . fig3 and 4 may be referred to as illustrating cover plate 210 closed from a top planar and cross - sectional view , respectively . fig5 and 6 show cover plate 210 in an open position from a cross - sectional view . referring to fig3 cover plate 210 includes lid 216 pivotally mounted to flat ring 214 by hinge 212 . flat ring 214 is received in a ring shape groove in upper surface 106 and secured to panel 170 by fasteners f . returning to fig4 post anchor base assembly 200 includes a support plate 202 having a hole therethrough , a hollow tubular post support 204 inserted in the plate hole and secured to plate 202 by weld w or other suitable means , and two pieces of hollow rectangular tubing 206 , each extending along the entire width of panel 170 . hollow rectangular tubing 206 is fixedly secured to support plate 202 along opposite edges thereof by suitable means . tubing 206 is further secured to the undersurface of panel 170 by fasteners f , such as screws , so that the axis of tubular support plate 204 and the center of post panel post hole 172 are substantially aligned . as seen in fig2 support plate 202 also is preferably secured to the undersurface of panel 170 by fasteners f . referring to fig4 and 5 , it can be seen that diametrically disposed pins p which extend radially into the bore of post support tube 204 are intended to engage with detents d provided in diametrically disposed bayonet type slots 308 of volleyball net post 300 and thereby connect post 300 to post anchor base assembly 200 . fig2 shows the full span of anchor base assembly 200 fixedly secured to the undersurface of five floor panels arranged in three rows . the interlocking finger joint between the ends of panels 150 and 160 , which are provided with projecting fingers 114 , is aligned with the corresponding joint between panels 180 and 190 . obviously , the panel ends may be joined by other suitable means . these joints are staggered with respect to the ends of post receiving panel 170 . therefore , both rectangular tubing members 206 are fixedly secured to post receiving panel 170 while only one rectangular tubing extension 220 is fixedly secured to each remaining panel 150 , 160 , 180 and 190 . after the rectangular tubing is fastened to respective panels by fasteners f , the panels are operatively associated , tubing members 206 for a first pair of tubes which aligns with second and third pairs of tubes formed by tubing extension 220 . a solid or hollow rectangular stiffening tube 208 , having a length corresponding to approximately three panels widths , is inserted into each channel defined by rectangular tube 206 and one extension tube 220 at each end thereof . thus , tube 208 not only connects or couples , but stiffens , each group of three tubes which extend over three panel widths , thereby further stabilizing the orientation of tubular post support 204 . such construction enables the post when inserted into the post anchor base assembly to remain substantially in the upright position without the necessity of inserting or otherwise anchoring the post to the subfloor . that is , the construction of anchor assembly 200 results in a support base that extends over an area of three panel widths , and in the preferred embodiment , is connected to five panels . such an anchor assembly readily absorbs moments placed on the post by a net . an alternate embodiment of support assembly 200 is illustrated in fig2 a . this embodiment provides additional stability , particularly in the lengthwise direction of the court , by coupling two additional panels to the assembly . in this embodiment , one additional tubing member 221 is secured to post receiving panel 170 , another tubing extension 222 is attached to one longitudinally adjacent panel 171 and an additional tubing extension 222 is attached to the other longitudinally adjacent panel 172 . the tubing member 221 , which is attached to panel 170 is also preferably attached to support plate 202 and the ends of tubing members 206 . tubing extensions 221 , which are attached to panels 171 and 172 , preferably , but not necessarily , extend along the entire length of the panels . when panels 171 and 172 are connected to one another , tubing extensions 222 align with tubing member 222 . a solid or hollow rectangular stiffening tube 208 , having a length corresponding to approximately the total lengths of tubing extensions 222 and tubing member 221 , is inserted into the aligned tubing to form an interconnecting structure which rigidly connects three longitudinally adjacent panels to post anchor support plate 202 . in this embodiment , since tubing member 221 segments tubing member 206 into four sections , four tubes 208 are used to connect tubing members 206 to tubing extensions 220 , rather than the two tubes 208 used in the first embodiment . in the embodiment of fig2 a , this additional support structure minimizes anchor base assembly rotation about an axis perpendicular to the length of tubing extension 221 to thus provide additional support in the lengthwise direction of the court . the association between the post and anchor base is best understood from fig5 - 7 . referring to fig5 volleyball net post 300 has an annular flange 302 and diametrically disposed bayonet type slots 308 . flange 302 abuts with shelf 205 defined by an end surface of tubular post support 204 and thereby provides a vertical stop and support mechanism . post receiving hole 172 thus has a first diameter and hollow cylinder 204 has a smaller inner diameter . alternatively , flange 302 could abut with ring 214 if desired and appropriate dimensional changes made . slots 308 cooperate with pins p to provide a bayonet fastening mechanism between the post and anchor assembly . fig7 shows the basic construction of flange 302 . substantially inelastic core 306 provides the necessary rigidity for supporting post 300 . resilient casing 304 , which may be made from elastomeric materials , encapsulates core 306 and develops a spring bias between pin p and detent d . fig6 depicts a further embodiment of the volleyball post . posts 303 and 305 form post assembly 301 . post 305 is essentially the same as post 300 but substantially shorter . securement means for fixing post 303 to post 305 may be advanced through opening 307 . referring to fig8 an alternate embodiment of tubular post support 204 &# 39 ; is shown . support 204 &# 39 ; is fixed to support plate 202 so that it is angled toward hinge 212 and therefore angled in a direction transverse to the length of the playing court and away from the center of the court . the amount support 204 &# 39 ; is angled is small , preferably approximately two and one - half degrees , and is accomplished by using weld w as a shim on one side of its connection to support plate 202 as shown on the left side of fig8 . accordingly , when post 300 is inserted into post support 204 &# 39 ;, post 300 initially assumes the same orientation . therefore , after the panels are assembled to form a volleyball court or the like , each post 300 is inclined away from the center of the court . as a result , when a volleyball net is secured to the posts and tensioned , the net tensioning causes posts 300 to bend from their slight inclination and assume positions generally perpendicular to the playing surface . the parts of post anchor base assembly 200 also form an apparatus or system for converting a existing portable sectionalized flooring system into a flooring system for use as a volleyball court or another type of floor requiring posts . the apparatus would include support plate 202 , post support 204 , and tubes 206 , 220 and 208 . the apparatus could also include post support 204 &# 39 ; and tubes 221 and 222 . obviously , the sizes and materials used in the components making up the post anchor base assembly may be selected from a wide variety of sizes and / or materials . merely to exemplify a preferred makeup of these components the following example is recited . support plate 202 can be 9 inches by 22 inches with a 5 / 8 inch thickness . rectangular tube 206 and tube extension 220 have similar dimensions . these tubes can be 2 inches × 5 inches with a 1 / 8 inch wall thickness and have an approximately 47 inch length . tubes 221 and 222 can have similar dimensions , except that their lengths are adjusted to accommodate this lengthwise orientation on the panels . stiffening tubes 208 would have approximately a 12 foot length to extend across three panel widths . stiffening tubes 208 are shown as tubes having a cross - sectional shape slightly smaller than the inner cross - sectional shape of tubes 206 , 220 , 221 , and 222 . however , any configuration of stiffening member can be used long as the member fits securely within the outer tubes . for example , a pair of side - by - side tubes could be substituted for the single tube 208 . when tubes 221 and 222 are used the lengths of tubes 208 are adjusted to accommodate the various lengths of the tubes to be joined . post support tube 204 should be appropriately dimensioned to receive and support a post or a post adapter having a 3 to 5 inch outer diameter , depending on the type of post used . support plate 202 , tubes 206 , 208 and 220 , and post support tube 204 may be aluminum , a relatively lightweight metal , to improve portability . post anchor hole cover 210 should be brass . having described a preferred embodiments in detail , it will be recognized that the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction , materials , assembly , etc . shown and described . accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to the extent that they fall within the scope of the invention and claims appended hereto .	4
turning now to fig1 of the drawing , a series of eight television cameras , 1 - 8 , are set up to monitor eight different locations in a surveillance operation in a bank , for example . these cameras generate composite video signals which are applied by a set of gates , g1 - g8 , to a summing network 12 . the output of network 12 is applied to a video tape recorder 14 and to a conventional television monitor 16 . recorder 14 is a standard one having an instant playback capability and its output can be displayed on the monitor 16 if the recorded pictures are to be viewed subsequently . gates g1 to g8 are enabled in sequence by signals p1 to p8 from a sequencing section indicated generally at 22 . the video signals from the cameras 1 - 8 are thus applied in continuous rotation to recorder 14 and monitor 16 . preferably , the system includes provision for superimposing on the video signals from the cameras additional signals reflecting the instantaneous time and date , so that each recorded picture can be pinpointed exactly in time . a particularly suitable arrangement of that type is disclosed in my copending application ser . no . 396 , 797 filed sept . 13 , 1973 titled tv display system , now u . s . pat . no . 3 , 898 , 644 . in order to indicate the camera location of each recorded picture , the present system includes a character generating section , indicated generally at 24 , which generates character signals which are summed with the composite video signals in the summing network 12 . thus , the display on monitor 16 includes a character 26 which identifies the camera location where the picture 18 on the monitor 16 originates . in the illustrated example , the display of the numeral &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; indicates that the picture 18 was taken at the location of camera 2 . thus , if the viewer sees something amiss on the monitor 16 , he can immediately pinpoint the location of the potential trouble and take the necessary steps . furthermore , when the picture information recorded on tape is used later , for example , as evidence , the source - indicating character displayed with each picture eliminates any possibility of conflict over the camera angle or the position of the subject of the picture . by appropriately manipulating various front panel controls on the switching system , one can control the intensity of character 26 , relative to picture 18 , as well as its position on the picture . impairment of the picture quality by the presence of the character can thereby be avoided . other front panel controls allow the user to regulate the dwell time at each camera location in the sequence to best suit the prevailing conditions . also , the system can be placed in a manual mode to select the output of any camera continuously by means of a series of eight front panel switches s1 to s8 . the operation of these various panel controls and switches will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the various circuit elements they control . referring to fig3 a conventional raster - scan character generating arrangement is used to generate the characters 26 in the form of a seven - bar - segment display . each character 26 is formed in a 4 × 7 matrix or envelope 27 which is four columns wide and seven lines high . each of the horizontal display lines of the character corresponds to two consecutive scan lines of the television raster . the video display first sweeps across the display line 1 to form the top portion of the character and in succession it sweeps across lines 2 to 7 to complete the character display . the times during which the electron beam traces the respective lines are designated v1 to v7 . similarly , the system has time divisions corresponding to the horizontal movement of the electron beam along each of the display lines . these divisions are indicated as horizontal times h1 to h4 . thus each horizontal and vertical element in the envelope 27 is defined by a pair of horizontal and vertical time intervals h and v . referring again to fig1 the composite video signals from the cameras are fed to a sync separator 32 in character generating section 24 to extract the horizontal and vertical sync pulses . these pulses are coupled to variable horizontal and vertical delay units 34 and 36 . these can be conventional one - shot multivibrators with variable time constants . a bcd code for each camera - identifying character 26 , from a counter - register 62 , is applied to a character generator 44 by way of a bcd - to - seven segment converter 52 . generator 44 combines the output of converter 52 with horizontal timing signals h1 and h4 ( corresponding to intervals h1 to h4 ) and vertical timing signals v1 - v7 ( corresponding to intervals v1 to v7 ) to provide video character signals that are applied to the summing circuit 12 . the signals h1 - h4 come from a counter 42 that counts pulses from an oscillator 38 , which in the present example , has a frequency of 2 . 1 mhz . the counter 42 is reset and enabled to count upon receipt of the delayed horizontal sync pulse from the horizontal delay unit 34 . the vertical timing signals v1 to v7 come from a count - of - seven vertical counter 46 . counter 46 is incremented by the output of counter 42 after the horizontal intervals have passed . it is cleared and enabled to count by the delayed vertical sync pulse from the vertical delay unit 36 . an intensity - adjusting variable amplifier 48 is connected between the output terminal of character generator 44 and ground . a front panel knob allows the user to adjust amplifier 48 to raise or lower the signal level applied to network 12 from generator 44 and thereby control the intensity of the character 26 . also , a front panel switch 53 is connected so that the signal from generator 44 can be grounded , thereby eliminating the character 26 from the display entirely . sequencing section 22 , which accomplishes the sequential switching between cameras 1 to 8 , includes an oscillator in the form of a conventional variable frequency , free running multivibrator 54 . the multivibrator 54 is synchronized by the vertical sync pulses from sync separator 32 so that its output pulses come during vertical retrace intervals . the output of the multivibrator 54 is applied via an or circuit 58 to a binary counter 62 which responds to the trailing edges of these pulses . the contents of counter 62 appear on four output lines a to d which provide the four inputs to the converter 52 just described above . three of these lines , a to c , are also connected to a decoder 64 having eight output lines c1 - c8 that provide correspondingly designated ground - assertation - level selection signals c1 - c8 . a series of eight inverting amplifiers 66 convert the c1 - c8 signals to positive - assertion - level signals p1 - p8 that enable the gates g1 - g8 controlling the connections between cameras 1 - 8 and the summing network 12 . thus , in response to the output of the multivibrator 54 , the c1 - c8 outputs from decoder 64 enable the gates g1 - g8 in sequence so that the outputs of cameras 1 - 8 are selected in sequence . the on time or dwell time of each camera is determined by the frequency of multivibrator 54 , which is adjustable by means of a front panel knob that controls a frequency determining element in a conventional manner . in practice , the multivibrator frequency is adjustable so as to provide a camera dwell range of from one to thirty seconds . still referring to fig1 the illustrated system has two modes of operation , namely , a sequence mode in which the system automatically cycles among the cameras 1 - 8 and a manual mode in which the user can select and record any one of the eight cameras for as long as he wishes . the mode of operation is determined by the setting of a two - position mode select switch 72 connected to the multivibrator 54 . when switch 72 is in its sequence position , the multivibrator 54 output increments counter 62 as described previously . on the other hand , when switch 72 is in its manual position , it grounds an appropriate terminal of the multivibrator 54 and the output from multivibrator thereupon ceases . the signals c1 - c8 from decoder 64 are applied to a series of eight manual selection switches s1 - s8 , these switches , in turn , being connected together to a gate 76 . the other input to gate 76 is developed by a differentiator 78 which differentiates the vertical sync pulses from sync separator 32 . the output of gate 76 is passed by an or circuit 82 to be one input of a second gate 84 . the other input to gate 84 consists of pulses from oscillator 38 . the output of gate 84 is an input to or circuit 58 . switches s1 - s8 are conventional momentary pushbutton switches . when actuated , they are held down long enough for the operation of the camera - selection circuitry about to be described . this requires only a few milliseconds . accordingly , when a manual selection switch , say switch s2 , is actuated , if a camera other than the selected camera 2 is at that time connected to the summing circuit 12 , the actuated switch applies an enabling signal immediately to gate 76 . the very next vertical sync pulse from separator 32 is thus passed by gate 76 to or circuit 82 to enable gate 84 so that the oscillator 38 pulses are applied to or circuit 58 to rapidly increment counter 62 . the counter 62 continues counting until the decoder 64 selects the desired camera , i . e . camera 2 , at which time a ground - level c2 output signal from the decoder disables gate 76 . this , in turn , disables gate 84 , thereby cutting off the oscillator 38 pulses from counter 62 . at this point , a p2 signal is being applied to gate g2 , so that the output of camera 2 is being passed through to the recorder 14 and monitor 16 . also , the count in counter 62 is applied to converter 52 so that the character generator 44 causes insertion of the numeral &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; into the recorded and displayed pictures . because of the high frequency of oscillator 38 , e . g . 2 . 1 mhz , all of the foregoing steps , from the beginning of the vertical sync pulse to the connection of the selected camera 2 to the summing circuit 12 , take place well within the duration of the sync pulse , i . e . during vertical retrace time of the picture , thereby avoiding &# 34 ; rollover &# 34 ; due to the switching . in this connection , it should be noted that the time constant of the differentiator 78 should be sufficiently long , e . g . 50 μsec ., to ensure passage of the required number of oscillator 38 pulses to the counter 62 . if , when a manual selection switch is actuated , the corresponding camera is already connected to the summing circuit 12 , the switch output will be at ground level and the gate 76 will remain disabled . if the operator should now actuate another manual selection switch , say , switch s8 , the next vertical sync pulse will enable gate 84 . resultantly , oscillator 38 pulses will rapidly advance counter 62 until decoder 64 generates a c8 signal , causing the disablement of gate 84 . also , the c8 signal is inverted and applied as a p8 signal to gate g8 , so that the output of camera 8 is now recorded and displayed on monitor 16 . when the system is placed in its sequence mode by means of switch 72 , it automatically skips unused cameras or cameras whose output signals are so weak that they produce no useful pictures . more particularly , the video signals from cameras 1 - 8 are applied to a series of identical skip detectors 88 whose outputs are gated by the decoder 64 output signals c1 - c8 . when the video signal from one of the cameras is unduly weak or entirely absent , the detector 88 associated with that camera generates a skip signal when gated and this signal is coupled to or circuit 82 . the output of or circuit 82 , in turn , enables the gate 84 to pass oscillator 38 pulses to counter 62 until the system advances rapidly to the next camera in the sequence which is producing a normal video signal . accordingly , there is no delay between the usable camera signals being recorded by recorder 14 . so too , there is a minimum amount of tape waste and , more importantly , no gap or break in the surveillance being conducted at the particular installation . again , the skipping operation is completed during vertical retrace so as to avoid rollover . fig2 shows a typical skip detector 88 in greater detail . the video signal from camera 1 , for example , is applied through a coupling capacitor 92 and a series resistor 94 to the base of a transistor 96 . the transistor 96 is connected as an emitter - follower amplifier whose output is applied to the gate g1 . this amplifier stage also includes an emitter resistor 98 and a resistor 100 connected between base and emitter . the skip detector 88 further includes a transistor 102 whose emitter is connected to the junction between the capacitor 92 and resistor 94 and whose collector is connected to a resistor 104 , which , in turn , is connected to a positive voltage source , as indicated ( illustratively 5 volts ). the collector of the transistor 102 is also connected to the base of a transistor 106 whose collector is connected to the positive voltage source and whose emitter is connected to one end of a voltage divider comprising a pair of resistors 108 and 110 . a smoothing capacitor 111 is connected in parallel with the divider 108 - 110 . the junction of the resistors 108 and 110 is connected to the base of a transistor 112 whose emitter is connected to ground along with the other end of the voltage divider 108 - 110 . the collector of the transistor 112 provides the output signal of the skip detector 88 . the base of the transistor 102 is connected to a suitable source of positive voltage , e . g . 2 volts . in the absence of an input from camera 1 , this maintains a dc level of about the same voltage on the right of the capacitor 92 . moreover , there is base - emitter current in the transistor 102 and a resulting collector current in that transistor , with a corresponding voltage drop across the resistor 104 . the collector voltage of the transistor 102 , less the base - emitter drop in the transistor 106 , is applied to the voltage divider 108 - 110 . the voltage divider reduces this voltage to a level , e . g . 0 . 50 volts , insufficient to cause the transistor 112 to conduct . on the other hand , if there is a video signal from camera 1 , the negative - going portions of that signal will cause the capacitor 92 to be charged essentially to the sum of the peak ( negative ) portions of the composite video signals and the two volts applied to the base of the transistor 102 . this effectively cuts off the transistor 102 whose collector voltage increases correspondingly . this , thus , increases the voltage across the divider 108 - 110 so that , in the absence of an inhibiting signal discussed below , the voltage at the base of the transistor 112 is sufficient to provide conduction of this transistor , thereby essentially grounding the collector of the transistor 112 . with further reference to fig2 the collector of a gating transistor 114 is connected to the base of the transistor 112 so that when the camera 1 is not selected , a positive voltage is applied to the base of the transistor 114 thereby effectively grounding the base of the transistor 112 and inhibiting conduction by that transistor . when the camera 1 is selected , however , the resulting ground level of the c1 signal turns off the transistor 114 . if the camera 1 is at that time connected and operating , the resulting positive voltage at the base of the transistor 112 causes conduction in that transistor 112 as described , and thereby prevents transmission of a skip signal from the skip detector 88 . on the other hand if the camera 1 is not operating , the transistor 112 will , as described above , not conduct , thereby asserting the skip signal . referring back to fig1 a series of eight panel lights in the form of light - emitting diodes l1 to l8 are connected to the output terminals of the decoder 64 so as to be turned on by the c1 - c8 signals . accordingly , by observing which of the lights l1 - l8 is lit , the user immediately knows which camera is on line . it will be seen from the foregoing , then , that the present sequential video switching system has several advantages which make it a particularly useful surveillance tool . it is constructed of standard digital components and , therefore , should be reliable and have a long , useful life with minimum maintenance . further , it is quite flexible in that it can be operated manually using front panel controls or arranged for automatic operation , in which case the system automatically sequences through all of the active cameras in the installation . furthermore , the camera dwell - time can be varied over a relatively wide time range to suit the needs of the particular user . finally , no time or tape is wasted recording information at unused locations where surveillance is not needed or from a location whose camera is producing a useless signal . rather the system rapidly advances to the next active camera in the sequence so that there is no likelihood of gaps in the surveillance record . it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above , among those made apparent from the preceding description , are efficiently attained and , since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described .	6
with reference now to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 through 5 thereof , a new non - slipping shoulder strap assembly embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described . as best illustrated in fig1 through 5 , the non - slipping shoulder strap assembly 10 generally comprises an elongate shoulder strap 20 for resting on a first shoulder of the wearer and having a shoulder resting portion 22 and a pair of end portions 24 to which a load 1 may be attached . an elongate armpit strap 40 is coupled to the shoulder resting portion 22 and extends around the torso of the wearer under a second shoulder . a waist strap 50 is coupled to the shoulder strap end portions 24 and extends around a waist of the wearer underneath the second shoulder . as illustrated in fig1 the shoulder strap 20 has a shoulder resting portion 22 positioned between a pair of opposite shoulder strap end portions 24 . the shoulder resting portion 22 is designed to rest on the first shoulder , which is preferably located on the same side of the body of the wearer as the load 1 to be carried . also preferably , the shoulder resting portion 22 is detachably attached to each shoulder strap end portion 24 . preferably , the length of the shoulder strap 20 is adjustably extendible . ideally , as shown in fig1 an adjustment slide clip 39 permits adjustment of the effective length of each shoulder strap end portion 24 thereby providing adjustable extension of the shoulder strap 20 . the adjustment slide clip 39 is designed such that an end of a shoulder strap end portion 24 opposite a load attachment means 60 , 62 is looped around a buckle and back into contact with itself such that it is held from slipping by friction . preferably , the shoulder resting portion 22 is detachably attached to each shoulder strap end portion 24 . ideally , the adjustment slide clips 39 provide for the detachable attachment of the shoulder resting portion 22 to the shoulder strap end portions 24 . preferably , the shoulder resting portion 22 includes a pocket 25 . ideally , as shown in fig4 the shoulder resting portion upper surface 28 has a closeable opening 26 into the interior of the pocket 25 . even more ideally , the opening 26 is closeable with a zipper 27 . the shoulder resting portion lower surface 29 rests on the first shoulder of the wearer . ideally , as illustrated in fig5 the shoulder resting portion 22 consists of a strap 32 . coupled to the bottom of the strap 32 is a first layer 34 made of firm padding such as relatively hard foam rubber . coupled to the bottom of the first layer 34 is a second layer 36 made of soft padding such as relatively soft foam rubber . surrounding the strap 32 and first and second layers 34 , 36 is a covering 38 made of a durable material such as nylon . as seen in fig1 and 5 , a shoulder wrap member 70 is disposed around the shoulder resting portion 22 to provide additional padding . ideally , the shoulder wrap member 70 is detachably attached to the shoulder resting portion 22 by a fastener such as velcro or a zipper . the armpit strap 40 is designed to extend around the torso underneath the second shoulder of the wearer to assist in keeping the shoulder resting portion 22 from sliding off of the first shoulder of the wearer . the armpit strap 40 has an armpit resting portion 42 positioned between a pair of opposite armpit strap end portions 44 which are coupled to the shoulder resting portion 22 . preferably , the armpit resting portion 42 is detachably attached to one of the armpit strap end portions 44 . preferably , the armpit resting portion 42 has an inner surface 48 and an outer surface 49 . the inner surface 48 abuts against the torso of the wearer . preferably , the armpit resting portion 42 has a pocket 45 disposed within it . ideally , as shown in fig3 the armpit resting portion has an outer surface 49 with a closeable opening 46 into the armpit resting portion pocket 45 . even more ideally , the opening 46 is closeable with a zipper 47 . preferably , the length of the armpit strap 40 is adjustably extendible . ideally , the effective length of armpit strap end portion 44 is adjustably extendible , such as may be provided by means of an adjustment slide clip 39 . also preferably , as illustrated in fig4 the armpit strap end portions 44 are detachably attached to the shoulder resting portion upper surface 28 by a detachable fastening means 43 . for example , a hook and loop fastening means such as is sold under the trade name velcro may be employed as the fastening means . the waist strap 50 is designed to be extended around the waist of the wearer under the second shoulder to assist in keeping the load 1 close to the body of the wearer . the waist strap 50 includes a waist resting portion 52 positioned between a pair of opposite waist strap end portions 54 . each waist strap end portion 54 is coupled to a shoulder strap end portion 24 . preferably , the length of the waist strap 50 is adjustably extendible . ideally , each waist strap end portion 54 is mounted to the waist strap in a manner permitting the effective length of the end portion 54 to be extended or contracted according to the size of the wearer &# 39 ; s waist . also preferably , the waist resting portion 52 is detachably attached to each waist strap end portion 54 . adjustment slide clips 39 may be used to achieve both extendibility of the waist strap 50 and detachable attachment of the waist resting portion 52 to the waist strap end portions 54 . a first load attachment means 60 is coupled to a shoulder strap end portion 24 for attaching a load 1 to the shoulder strap end portion 24 . likewise , a second load attachment means 62 for attaching a load 1 to a shoulder strap end portion 24 is coupled to the other shoulder strap end portion 24 . ideally , as illustrated in fig1 the shoulder strap assembly 10 includes a bag 1 . the bag 1 is coupled to one shoulder strap end portion 24 by the first load attachment means 60 and to the other shoulder strap end portion 24 by the second load attachment means 62 . in such an embodiment , the bag 1 forms a portion of a loop of the shoulder strap 20 and also forms a portion of a loop of the waist strap 50 around the wearer &# 39 ; s body . in use , the shoulder strap resting portion 22 is placed over the first shoulder of the wearer . the armpit strap 40 is attached to the shoulder strap resting portion 22 and extended around the torso underneath the second shoulder of the wearer , with the armpit resting portion 42 beneath the underarm of the wearer . the waist strap 50 is attached to the shoulder strap end portions 24 and extended around the waist of the wearer under the second shoulder . a load 1 such as a bag 1 is attached to the first and second load attachment means 60 , 62 . as to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention , the same should be apparent from the above description . accordingly , no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .	0
fig3 shows an embodiment of the basic structure of the present invention . as shown in the figure , a pwm controller 11 outputs a pwm signal which controls at least one power transistor in a power stage 12 through a driver circuit 15 , to convert an input voltage vin to an output voltage vout . the driver circuit 15 outputs a driver signal whose high level ( i . e ., the driving voltage of the power transistor ) is determined by the operation voltage vd of the driver circuit 15 . a feedback circuit 13 generates a feedback signal related to the output voltage , and inputs the feedback signal to the pwm controller 11 to generate the pwm signal . the power stage 12 may be a synchronous or asynchronous buck , boost , inverting or buck - boost converter as shown in fig2 a - 2j . different from the prior art , the switching regulator of the present invention detects an input current iin by an input current detection circuit 14 to generate an input current detection signal , and inputs the input current detection signal to the pwm controller 11 . the pwm controller 11 adjusts the operation voltage vd of the driver circuit 15 according to the input current detection signal , such that the power transistor in the power stage 12 operates in an optimized condition to reduce power loss . when the load circuit is in light load condition , i . e ., the output current is low , the input current iin will correspondingly drop . therefore by detecting the input current iin , the present invention can dynamically adjust the operation voltage vd to reduce the power loss . furthermore , an advantage of the present invention over the prior art is that , the present invention can be embodied with a simpler hardware circuit in a multi - phase switching regulator . fig4 shows a more specific embodiment of the present invention . as shown in the figure , the pwm controller 11 includes a pwm signal generator 111 , which is coupled to the feedback circuit 13 , for generating the pwm signal according to the feedback signal and sending the pwm signal to the driver circuit 15 ; and a driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 which is coupled to the input current detection circuit 14 , for dynamically adjusting the operation voltage vd according to the input current detection signal . in this embodiment , the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 receives the input voltage vin and converts it to the operation voltage vd , wherein the conversion ratio of the input voltage vin to the operation voltage vd is determined by the input current detection signal . fig5 shows another embodiment of the present invention , which illustrates more specific details . as shown in the figure , the power stage 12 is ( for example but not limited to ) a buck converter as shown in fig2 a , which includes an upper power transistor 121 , a lower power transistor 122 , and an inductor l . the correlation of the input power and the output power is : wherein η is the conversion efficiency . from the equation , it can be understood that the input current iin also relates to the load , so the detection of the input current iin can be used as a reference for adjusting the gate driving voltage of the power transistor to optimize the operation of the power transistor . still referring to fig5 , the feedback circuit 13 includes two resistors r 1 and r 2 connected in series . one end of the resistor r 1 is coupled to the output voltage vout , and one end of the resistor r 2 is coupled to ground . in other words , the resistors r 1 and r 2 form a voltage dividend circuit which samples the output voltage vout by the resistor r 2 . the input current detection circuit 14 includes a resistor r 3 and an error amplifier 141 , for detecting the input current iin , and generating the input current detection signal . the pwm controller 11 includes the pwm signal generator 111 and the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 . as shown in the figure , the pwm signal generator 111 includes an error amplifier 1111 and a comparator 1112 . the error amplifier 1111 is coupled to the feedback circuit 13 to receive the feedback signal , and compares the feedback signal with a reference signal vref 1 . the output of the error amplifier 1111 is inputted to the comparator 1112 . the comparator 1112 receives the output from the error amplifier 1111 , and compares it with a ramp signal to generate the pwm signal . the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 includes a comparator 1121 , a selection circuit 1122 , an error amplifier 1123 , a transistor 1124 , and resistors r 4 and r 5 . in the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 , the error amplifier 1123 , the transistor 1124 , and the resistors r 4 and r 5 form a linear regulator which generates the operation voltage vd and supplies it to the driver circuit 15 . the comparator 1121 receives the input current detection signal from the input current detection circuit 14 , and compares the input current detection signal with a reference signal vref 2 . the comparison result of the comparator 1121 determines whether the selection circuit 1122 selects the voltage signal v 1 or v 2 as the reference signal to be inputted to the error amplifier 1123 . the error amplifier 1123 controls the control terminal of the transistor 1124 according to the comparison between its two inputs , i . e ., the voltage across the resistor r 5 and the reference voltage v 1 or v 2 , and generates different operation voltages vd at the output terminal of the linear regulator as the reference voltages are different . the operation voltage vd is inputted to an upper driver gate 151 and a lower driver gate 152 to drive the upper power transistor 121 and the lower power transistor 122 . if the number of the power transistors in the power stage 12 is different ( for example , an asynchronous buck convertor has only one power transistor ), the number of the driver gates in the driver circuit 15 should be modified accordingly . fig6 illustrates the conversion efficiency of different input currents at different driving voltages . in this example , when the input current is lower than 1 . 1 a , if the driving voltage is switched from 12v to 8v , the conversion efficiency will be better . the present invention can achieve this . in the aforementioned embodiments , the reference voltage of the linear regulator is determined by the input current detection signal ; the operation voltage vd is the output of the linear regulator ; and the regulator input voltage of the linear regulator is the input voltage vin . however , the regulator input voltage of the linear regulator does not have to be the input voltage vin , but can be any voltage instead . in fact , it suffices as long as the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 can provide two different voltages as options for the operation voltage vd , and the operation voltage vd is switchable according to the input current detection signal . for example as shown in fig7 , the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 may include the comparator 1121 and the selection circuit 1122 wherein the selection circuit 1122 determines whether the voltage v 1 or v 2 is provided as the operation voltage vd according to the output of the comparator 1121 . for another example , as shown in fig8 , the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 may include the comparator 1121 and a variable multifold charge pump circuit 1125 , wherein the selection circuit 1122 determines the output - to - input ratio of the variable multifold charge pump circuit 1125 according to the output of the comparator 1121 ( the ratio of the charge pump output voltage to the charge pump input voltage does not have to be larger than 1 , nor does it have to be an integer ), and the output of the variable multifold charge pump circuit 1125 is provided as the operation voltage vd . those skilled in this art can readily conceive variations and modifications of the driver voltage adjustment circuit 112 within the spirit of the present invention , which should be interpreted to fall within the scope of the appended claims . fig9 shows an embodiment of a multi - phase switching regulator according to the present invention . as shown in the figure , the multi - phase switching regulator includes multiple pwm controllers 11 and multiple corresponding power stages 12 . this embodiment shows that one input current detection signal generated by one input current detection circuit 14 is inputted to every pwm controller 11 , that is , only one input current detection circuit 14 is enough . compared to the prior art which needs multiple output current detection circuits , the present invention simplifies the circuit design and saves the circuitry area . the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof . it should be understood that the description is for illustrative purpose , not for limiting the scope of the present invention . those skilled in this art can readily conceive variations and modifications within the spirit of the present invention . for example , a device which does not substantially influence the primary function of a signal can be inserted between any two devices in the shown embodiments , such as a switch or the like . for another example , the positive and negative input terminals of the error amplifiers or comparators are interchangeable , with corresponding amendment of the circuits processing these signals . in view of the foregoing , the spirit of the present invention should cover all such and other modifications and variations , which should be interpreted to fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents .	7
with reference to the drawings , and initially to fig1 it can be seen how the fixed corner sections 10 join with the straight sections 11 in a way that ensures the squareness of the canvas stretcher &# 39 ; s structure . it can also be seen that the optional long and butting bracing members 14 and 15 , respectively , are transverse to each other across the back of the canvas stretcher and that their intersection is supported by a cross bracing member 20 . the long bracing member 14 covers the length or width of the canvas stretcher in a single span . the other butting bracing member 15 spans about half of the canvas stretcher &# 39 ; s length or width and butts against the long bracing member 14 . as seen in fig1 , an alternative embodiment of this invention has four butting bracing members 15 whose intersection is supported by a cross bracing member 20 . fig2 , and 4 are detail drawings of the fixed corner sections 10 . the fixed corner sections 10 have a fixed corner upper surface 30 , a fixed corner lower surface 32 , a fixed corner interior surface 34 and a fixed corner exterior surface 36 . the fixed corner sections also have two fixed corner end surfaces 38 . this invention comprises a plurality of protrusions extending from at least one of the fixed corner end surfaces 38 . fig3 shows an embodiment having a circular dowel 12 and a rectangular peg or tenon 13 which are formed on each fixed corner end surface 38 of the fixed corner section 10 configured in a way to frictionally join with the straight section 11 . the fixed nature of the fixed corner section 10 is also illustrated in fig2 and 4 . fig2 and 4 show that the corner need not be formed by joining a number of structural elements . rather , it can be formed in essentially a single piece construction , and can be made from , for example , a molded or extruded material such as plastic , although it can also be formed from a natural material such as wood . the fixed corner sections 10 are also formed with a fixed corner raised surface 44 formed on the fixed corner upper surface 30 near the fixed corner exterior surface 36 . the fixed corner upper surface 30 slopes down towards the interior edge such that the fixed corner interior surface 34 is thinner than the fixed corner exterior surface 36 . fig5 and 6 show the straight section 11 having a straight section interior surface 25 , a straight section exterior surface 26 , and two straight section end surfaces 40 . the embodiment shown in fig5 and 6 also shows a plurality of cavities located on at least one of said straight section end surfaces 40 . this embodiment exhibits a circular aperture 17 formed in the straight section end surfaces 40 configured to accept the circular dowel 12 . the straight section 11 also has a notch or mortise 16 formed into the straight section interior surface 25 . the straight section 11 is also formed with a straight section upper surface 27 having a straight section raised surface 28 near the straight section exterior surface 26 and slopes down towards the interior edge such that the straight section interior surface 25 is thinner than the straight section exterior surface 26 . fig7 shows that the circular aperture 17 and notch 16 are formed throughout and along the entire length of the straight section 11 , respectively . fig8 and 9 show how the fixed corner section 10 and straight section 11 are joined together . the rectangular peg or tenon 13 is received into the notch or mortise 16 formed on the straight sections 11 and the circular dowel 12 is received into the circular aperture 17 formed in the straight section 11 . fig8 and 9 also show a fastener 18 which may be driven through the straight section 11 in a way which fixes it to the rectangular peg 13 of the fixed corner section 10 . the fastener may take the form of fastening devices known in the art , such as nails , screws , staples , or other known fasteners . fig1 , 11 , and 12 show how the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 may be joined with the notch 16 formed in the straight sections 11 , by simply frictionally fitting them into the notch 16 in the straight section . these figures also show a fastener 18 which may be driven through the straight section 11 in a way which fixes the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 to the straight sections 11 . finally , fig1 shows the intersection of the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 . fig1 shows an embodiment of the invention utilizing four butting bracing members 15 . as shown in fig1 an alternative embodiment has both a long bracing member 14 and two butting bracing members 15 . in either embodiment , the intersection of the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 is supported by a cross bracing member 20 which is affixed to the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 with one or more fasteners 18 . the optional bracing members 14 , 15 are provided to enhance the overall strength of the stretcher and to prevent , for example , warping of the straight sections 11 of the canvas stretcher resulting from the stress applied by a taut canvas . in the embodiment illustrated in fig8 and 9 , the straight sections 11 and fixed corner sections 10 are adjustably butted together such that one or more fastening devices 18 could be utilized and removed . the straight section 11 may be adjusted by simply removing fastening device 18 , and by moving along the circular dowel 12 and rectangular peg 13 and refastening by replacing the fastening device 18 . this procedure provides a mechanism by which the canvas stretcher may adjust for any expansion of the canvas due to environmental conditions . in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 179 , 830 , and 4 , 144 , 660 , canvas stretching devices with adjustable corners are disclosed . however , these patents disclose multiple piece construction with complicated and heavy mechanical joinery involving nuts , threaded bolts and rods , and internally threaded grooves used to adjust the canvas stretcher . the instant invention provides an adjustable canvas stretcher with a mechanically simple , lightweight , and relatively inexpensive means to adjust the tension on the canvas . as described above , the present invention may be adjusted by merely altering the position of the straight section 11 on the rectangular peg 13 and circular dowel 12 formed on the fixed corner section 10 and reattaching fastening device 18 . a particularly unique and advantageous aspect of the present invention is the design of the fixed corner sections 10 . as can be seen in fig2 and 4 , the fixed corner sections 10 are not comprised of two members which join together at a 45 ° joint as in commercially available canvas stretchers . this type of joint is susceptible to moving out of square during the canvas stretching process . the one piece fixed corner sections 10 of the instant invention are not susceptible to this problem . when stretching canvas over the canvas stretcher , the canvas is draped over the canvas stretcher , stapled , tacked , or otherwise attached along one edge , pulled taut , and affixed to the other edges of the canvas stretcher . this process requires the application of a significant amount of force to the canvas stretcher . comer sections composed of multiple pieces are likely to shift during this process resulting in a final product which is not square . the fixed corner sections 10 of this invention are of one piece construction which give them the strength and rigidity to remain in a square orientation and reduce torsional stress which ensures the squareness and non - warping of the frame . two other important elements of this invention are the rectangular peg 13 and circular dowel 12 formed on each fixed corner end surface 38 of the fixed corner section 10 shown in fig3 . the circular dowel 12 is configured to provide for the proper alignment of the straight section 11 and fixed corner section 10 . the rectangular peg 13 also provides for proper alignment of the straight section 11 with the fixed corner section 10 . the rectangular peg 13 has the additional purpose of preventing any torsional movement of the straight section 11 . another unique and advantageous aspect of the instant invention is the ease with which the size of the canvas stretcher may be adjusted . as shown in fig6 and 7 , the notch 16 and circular aperture 17 configured to receive the rectangular peg 13 and circular dowel 12 , respectively , are formed preferably continuously along either the entire length of the straight section 11 , or a substantial portion of that section . this allows the artist to merely make a simple straight cut , using , for example , an ordinary saw , across the straight section 11 in order to alter its length and accordingly alter the size of the canvas stretcher . this operation may be performed simply and requires no knowledge of sophisticated woodworking techniques . the fact that the notch 16 and the circular aperture 17 are formed along and throughout the entire length , or a substantial length , of the straight section 11 means that the straight cut will expose a similar cross - section of the straight section 11 , having a similar notch 16 and circular aperture 17 receptive to rectangular peg 13 and circular dowel 12 , allowing a virtually unlimited amount of flexibility as to the size and shape of the canvas stretcher disclosed here . every cut of a straight section yields the notch 16 and circular aperture 17 configured in a manner to join with the rectangular peg 13 and circular dowel 12 of the fixed corner sections 10 . also , by providing a means to adjust the size of the canvas stretcher with a simple straight cut , this invention is less wasteful than commercially available canvas stretchers . creating a mitered 45 ° joint requires that extra material be cut away to form the joint that need not be removed from the straight sections 11 in the current invention . this is particularly advantageous considering the cost of materials as well as environmental concerns . this simplified process is a drastic contrast to the complicated means that are available for altering the size of commercially available canvas stretchers . the comers of commercially available stretchers have sophisticated mitered joints or involve heavy , mechanically complex systems with multiple components . u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 179 , 830 , 4 , 144 , 600 , and 4 , 050 , 498 disclose canvas stretchers with multiple piece corner construction and / or canvas stretching frames made out of numerous components joined together by complicated mechanical means involving nuts , threaded bolts and rods , and internally threaded grooves . in order to alter the size of the canvas stretcher , the artist must add or remove components or manipulate the heavy , complicated mechanical journey between each component . the instant invention provides a simpler , lighter , and more economical means of adjustment requiring only a simple straight cut of the straight section 11 . the degree to which the size of the prior art canvas stretchers may be adjusted is inherently limited by the size of the components which make up the canvas stretcher . the user is limited to incremental alterations which are defined by the size of the components comprising the prior art devices . the size of the instant invention may be altered with more flexibility . the user may adjust the length of the straight section 11 by nearly infinitely small increments . another advantage of the present invention is the minimization of the areas of the canvas stretcher that make contact with the canvas . in conventionally known canvas stretchers , the canvas is stretched directly over the face of the canvas stretcher . this results in a relatively large area of canvas in intimate contact with the material of the canvas stretcher . it has been found that over time this contact causes deterioration of the canvas . this is particularly true for conventional canvas stretchers which are made of wood , because of the resins and acids which may be released by the wood . as seen in fig5 the instant invention minimizes this problem by having a relatively thin straight section raised surface 28 on the straight section upper surface 27 of the canvas stretcher which minimizes the canvas &# 39 ; s contact with the canvas stretcher . a similar fixed corner raised surface 44 is also formed on the fixed corner sections 10 so that the canvas is raised off the canvas stretcher over the entire perimeter . the canvas stretcher of this invention also alleviates the canvas deterioration problem because it may advantageously be easily constructed of a synthetic product or plastic , such as high impact polystyrene , polyethylene , or pvc . conventional canvas stretchers are constructed from wood . it is known that acid migration from the wood into the canvas causes deterioration of the canvas . constructing a canvas stretcher from a synthetic product or plastic may reduce or eliminate this problem . it is possible to formulate a synthetic product which is acid free creating an acid free canvas stretching device which is greatly desired by the industry . the use of a synthetic or plastic material is particularly appropriate here as the simple structural elements of this invention are amenable to extrusion or molding type manufacturing techniques . ease of construction using plastic is a further advantage considering the increased cost of and environmental concerns relating to the traditional use of wood in canvas stretcher construction . similarly , the use of molding or extrusion - type construction techniques eliminates the finishing steps required in wood construction to form the notch 16 and circular aperture 17 in the straight section 11 . use of plastic as a construction material does not affect the ease with which the user may cut the straight sections 11 easily to create a canvas stretcher of the desired size . the notch 16 formed continuously in the straight section 11 is not only formed to receive the rectangular peg 13 of the fixed corner section 10 , it is also configured to receive the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 in a way that keeps the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 from extending beyond the back of the canvas stretcher . these optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 may be used to counteract the inward forces exerted on the canvas stretcher by the taut canvas that would otherwise warp the straight sections 11 of the canvas stretcher . conventional bracing elements are ordinarily tacked onto the back of the canvas stretcher creating a canvas stretcher which cannot be hung flush against a wall . the instant invention allows the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 to be inserted into the interior notch 16 formed on the straight section interior surface 25 of the straight sections 11 such that they do not protrude from the back of the canvas stretcher . the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 may be affixed to the straight sections using a fastener 18 . this invention further contemplates a cross bracing member 20 placed at the intersection of the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 . as shown in fig1 this cross bracing member 20 allows the long bracing member 14 to span the entire length or width of the canvas stretcher while the butting bracing member 15 which is perpendicular to the long bracing member 14 is bisected into two sections which butt against the long bracing member 14 . fig1 shows how the cross bracing member 20 is affixed to the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 using one or more fasteners 18 . specifically , fig1 shows that in one embodiment of this invention four optional butting bracing members 15 may be used . the cross bracing member 20 is affixed to the optional bracing members 14 , 15 in the same manner if four butting bracing members 15 are used or if a long bracing member 14 and two butting bracing members 15 are used . the cross bracing member 20 improves the strength and rigidity of the canvas stretcher while also allowing the use of optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 that are flush with the body of the canvas stretcher . the cross bracing member 20 allows the butting bracing member 15 to butt against the long bracing member 14 . otherwise , one bracing member would have to ride over the top of the perpendicular bracing member creating a profile which extends beyond the main body of the canvas - stretcher . from the description above , it will be seen that the present invention provides a unique canvas stretcher . the canvas stretcher is composed of a small number of simply designed elements which represent a real advance over the prior art . the fixed corner sections 10 ensure the squareness of the canvas stretcher throughout the canvas stretching process . the straight sections 11 with a notch 16 on the straight section interior surface 25 and circular aperture 17 formed along and through the entire length , or a substantial length , of the straight section 11 provides the user with the ability to alter the canvas stretcher by making a single , simple straight cut . the straight section raised surface 28 and fixed corner raised surface 44 provide clearance for the canvas to minimize deterioration . finally , the optional long and butting bracing members 14 , 15 allow the final work of art to be hung flush against a wall . while particularly preferred embodiments have been shown , it should be expressly understood that such embodiments have been given for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention as further defined by the appended claims . for example , the fixed corner sections 10 discussed above are fixed at 90 ° angles and thereby limiting the canvas stretcher to square or rectangular shapes . fixed comers having different angles may be used without departing from the underlying concept of the invention . similarly , the embodiment discussed above relates a notch 16 and circular aperture 17 configured to receive the rectangular peg 13 and circular dowel 12 , respectively . these elements need not be rectangular or circular . other shapes may be used without departing from the underlying concept of the invention . fig1 , 15 and 16 illustrate a further alternative embodiment of the present invention having extended fixed corner sections 46 . the extended fixed corner sections 46 have a shorter leg 68 terminating in a first shorter end surface 48 and a longer leg 70 terminating in a second longer end surface 50 as well as a longer leg interior surface 60 , extended fixed corner exterior surface 62 , extended fixed corner upper surface 64 and extended fixed corner lower surface 66 . the resulting extended fixed corner section is substantially “ l ” shaped in this embodiment . the first shorter end surface 48 has formed on it a plurality of protrusions which may include a shorter leg circular dowel 52 and a shorter leg rectangular peg or tenon 54 . the second longer end surface 50 and the longer leg interior surface have formed in them a plurality of cavities which may include a longer leg circular aperture 56 and a longer leg notch or mortise 58 . the longer leg circular aperture 56 and longer leg notch 58 are configured in a way to receive the shorter leg circular dowel 52 and shorter leg rectangular peg 54 . it is apparent that for a rectangular construction a four piece construction may be used and the size of the frame , adjusted in a manner analogous to the other embodiments described which have separate fixed corner sections 10 and straight sections 11 . this embodiment does not depart from the underlying principles of the instant invention .	1
with reference to fig1 the invention includes a flagpole 10 , an adjustable flagpole bracket 12 for receiving and holding the base of the flagpole relative to a supporting surface s , and a pair of spring clips 14 for hanging a flag f from the flagpole so that the flag will not become fouled relative to the flagpole . flagpole 10 is provided with a plurality of circumferential grooves 16 along its length for accepting and retaining spring clips 14 in manner to appear , the grooves being appropriately spaced along the pole so as to be aligned with the grommets g of flag f . a sufficient number of grooves 16 is provided along the length of flagpole 10 so that it may accept flags of various sizes . spring clips 14 are formed from stainless steel or any corrosion resistant , resilient spring - type metal adapted for easy deformation and are coiled to form a helix having a pair of adjacent coils 18 and 20 each having a tail 22 and 24 respectively depending therefrom . tail 22 is deformed adjacent its lower end with a reverse bend as at 23 to form a depending , somewhat semi - circular appendage 26 , while tail 24 is deformed adjacent its lower end with a reverse bend as at 25 to form a depending , somewhat semicircular appendage 28 , the appendages 26 and 28 being mirror images of each other and being oppositely - facing relative to each other . coils 18 and 20 are of appropriate diameter as to be slidable along flagpole 10 and into one of the grooves 16 therein when appendages 26 and 28 are grasped by the fingers and spread to the expanded position of fig3 . when the appendages 26 and 28 are released , coils 18 and 20 rest in groove 16 . however , coils 18 and 20 have an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the groove ; thus , the coils are freely rotatable through a full 360 degree arc relative to the groove and flagpole . also , when the appendages 26 and 28 are moved to an expanded position , they may be easily inserted into the grommet g of flag f and , upon release , since they face in opposite directions , will firmly hold the flag against disengagement therefrom , even when the flag is whipped by a strong wind or is rotated relative to the flagpole . fig5 - 8 illustrate a second form of clip 114 formed from stainless steel or any corrosion resistant , resilient spring - type metal adapted for easy deformation and engageable in the grooves 16 of flagpole 10 . clip 114 is coiled to form a helix having a pair of adjacent coils 118 and 120 each having a tail 122 and 124 respectively depending substantially vertically therefrom . tail 122 is deformed adjacent its outer free end to form a curved , somewhat semi - circular appendage 126 , while tail 124 is deformed adjacent its outer free end to form a somewhat circular appendage 128 having a free tab end 130 which overlaps tail 124 . coils 118 and 120 are of appropriate diameter as to be slidable along flagpole 10 and into one of the grooves 16 therein when appendages 126 and 128 are grasped by the fingers and spread to the expanded position of fig7 . when the appendages 126 and 128 are released , coils 118 and 120 rest in groove 16 . however , coils 118 and 120 have an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the groove ; thus , the coils are freely rotatable through a full 360 degree arc relative to the groove and flagpole . clip 114 may be attached to flag f by spreading the tab end 130 slightly away from tail 124 of appendage 128 and threading said tab end through grommet g to the position shown in fig6 and then inserting the free end of appendage 126 through the grommet and moving the clip to the position shown in fig5 . such positioning of appendages 126 and 128 insures positive attachment of the flag to the clip while permitting full rotation of the clip relative to groove 16 of the flagpole to preclude fouling of the flag relative to the pole . clear plastic tubular locks 132 are sleeved on tail 124 of appendage 128 and are slidable relative thereto to the position shown in fig9 to lock appendages 126 and 128 together to prevent accidental dislodgement of clips 114 from engagement with grommets g of flag f . either the clips 14 of fig1 - 4 or the clips 114 of fig5 - 9 offer positive attachment of flag f to flagpole 10 while permitting full rotation of the flag relative to the flagpole without fouling . with the clips 14 , reverse bends 23 and 25 provide a positive locking feature of clip to flag . with the clips 114 , the locking feature is provided by tubular locks 132 . with reference to fig1 - 14 , adjustable flagpole bracket 12 includes an l - shaped base 30 having a tubular flagpole support 32 releasably and adjustably secured thereto . l - shaped base 30 has a horizontally disposed bottom wall 34 and an integral side wall 36 rising vertically upwardly therefrom along a side edge thereof , there being a plurality of openings 38 in bottom wall 34 through which bolts 40 or the like may be inserted to fasten base 30 to any supporting surface s . side wall 36 of base 30 has a first central opening 42 therethrough and a second opening 44 therethrough spaced from opening 42 and horizontally aligned therewith . tubular flagpole support 32 may be secured to base 30 by a first bolt 48 which extends through central opening 42 in side wall 36 and through a first pair of aligned openings 48 &# 39 ; in the walls of flagpole support 32 , best seen in fig1 , and has a cap nut 50 threaded thereon and bearing against a side of flagpole support 32 . a second bolt 52 extends through second opening 44 in side wall 36 of base 30 and through a second pair of aligned openings 54 in the walls of flagpole support 32 spaced from the first pair of openings 48 &# 39 ;. a wing nut 56 is threaded on the free end of second bolt 52 and bears against a side of flagpole support 32 whereby one end of the flagpole support is fixed to base 30 and the flagpole support extends substantially horizontally outwardly therefrom as shown in fig1 with the free end of flagpole 10 being receivable therein so as to be sleeved by the flagpole support . third and fourth openings 58 and 60 respectively are provided in side wall 36 of base 30 , with third opening 58 being disposed at an angle of approximately forth - five degrees relative to central opening 42 and with fourth opening 60 being disposed at an angle of approximately ninety degrees on an arc relative to central opening 42 . thus , if it is desired to angularize flagpole support 32 and flagpole 10 relative to base 30 , wing nut 56 is removed from second bolt 52 and the second bolt is removed from second opening 44 in wall 36 of base 30 and from second openings 54 of flagpole support 32 permitting the flagpole support to be rotated relative to base 30 upon first bolt 46 to an angularized position whereupon second bolt 52 is reinserted into either third opening 58 or fourth opening 60 in side wall 36 of base 30 and through second openings 54 of flagpole support 32 and wing nut 56 reengaged therewith to fix the flagpole support in an angularized position relative to base 30 and support s .	6
as described above , pulse width modulation control of electric motor speed is accomplished by varying the width of pulses of voltage that are supplied to the electric motor over time . when the pulse duration is short , a smaller amount of current is supplied to the motor over time , while increasing the duration of pulses supplies more current to the motor , thereby increasing the power supplied by the motor . fig1 is a graph depicting idealized pulse width control of motor power over time . as understood by persons of skill in the art , actual pulse width modulation controllers do not provide perfect square wave pulses . however , it also will be recognized that the depiction of such pulses as perfect square waves herein is sufficient to illustrate principles of operation so that persons of skill in the art may make and use the present invention . turning to fig1 , along interval 102 voltage is in the full “ on ” condition less than half the time , as indicated by the width 106 of the narrower pulses in interval 102 , while along interval 104 , perhaps responsive to increased displacement of the throttle by the user , voltage is in the full “ on ” condition more than half the time , as indicated by the width 108 of the broader pulses in interval 104 . because more current is delivered to the motor in interval 104 than in interval 102 , the motor will deliver more power in interval 104 . by modulating the width of pulses of voltage supplied to the motor over time , the controller enables the user to control the power supplied by the electric motor and thereby to control speed and acceleration of the vehicle under motor power . as discussed earlier , limiting current in general serves to keep the performance of the vehicle within a power curve that conserves available charge , enabling tuning the performance of the vehicle to an optimized power curve . however , it is desirable to limit the current supplied to induction motors over time in a number of other circumstances . as understood by persons of skill in the art , when the armature of a direct current motor is at rest it has very little resistance , and so if normal working voltage is applied , a large quantity of current can flow which may damage the commutator or armature windings . current limiting functionality can prevent such excessive surges in current which could harm the motor and control circuitry . heat generated by handling large quantities of current by the controller power transistors or by the motor can , if unchecked , result in damage to the controller or to the motor itself . current limiting circuitry can be engaged when abnormally high temperatures are detected in the controller or motor , thereby preventing component damage . when available charge has become very low , operation of the motor at higher levels of current will result loss of all available charge in short order . current limiting circuitry can be engaged when it is determined that available charge is low , in order to maximize remaining operating time or cruising range . for these and other reasons , pulse width modulated direct motor controllers generally have some form of current limiting circuitry that is called into play when conditions merit limiting current supplied to the motor over time . turning now to fig2 , depicted is a graph illustrating an embodiment of pulse width control in which current is limited . in interval 202 , the current usage is within the current limit set in the controller , and so no current limiting action has been taken . in interval 204 , however , a current limit has been reached . even though , as depicted , the user has not changed the throttle setting , in interval 204 the normal width 208 of pulses is clipped , resulting in pulses of narrower width 210 . as depicted for this embodiment , pulse 208 is clipped by cutting voltage at the trailing edge 212 of pulses in interval 204 . the result of clipping pulses in interval 204 is that the current delivered to the motor over time in interval 204 by pulses of narrower width 210 is limited below the current that would be delivered over time by pulses of broader width 206 , 208 . while clipping pulses at the trailing edge is a commonplace practice for limiting current in pulse modulated controllers , persons of skill in the art understand that current limitation may be effected in manners not depicted herein , such as by clipping leading pulse edges or by simply eliminating certain sets of pulses in the pulse width modulation waveform altogether . the principles of the present invention apply to all such means and are not limited to any particular embodiment of current limiting functionality in pulse width modulated controllers . fig3 contrasts a standard current limit with an elevated current limit resulting from user selection of enhanced mode operation according to the present invention . in interval 302 , current limitation is in effect . as previously discussed in reference to fig2 , current limitation in interval 302 entails clipping the trailing edge 307 of the modulated pulse 308 , resulting in a narrowed pulse width 306 that delivers limited current over time . in interval 304 , enhanced mode operation has been selected . the result is that a higher current limit is set in interval 304 than was set in interval 302 . within enhanced mode interval 304 , the portion 312 of waveform 308 that is clipped for current limitation is less than the portion 307 of waveform 308 that is clipped in standard mode interval 302 . accordingly , pulses 310 in interval 304 are wider than pulses 306 in interval 302 , and thereby more current is delivered over time in interval 304 than in interval 302 , resulting in enhanced performance of the motor and the vehicle . as will be understood by those of skill in the art , means of providing an enhanced current limit to the motor , other than that depicted in fig3 , are possible in keeping with the teachings of the present invention . for example , standard mode current limitation may clip both leading and trailing pulse edges , while enhanced mode current limitation may clip only one of the leading or trailing pulse edges . in other embodiments , current limitation in standard mode may entail eliminating a certain regularly occurring set of pulses in the waveform altogether , while enhanced mode operation may eliminate only a subset of such pulses . as will be clear to those of skill in the art , these and other means of applying a plurality of current limits to pulse width modulated direct current motor control are within the scope of the present invention . turning now to fig4 , depicted is the placement of the hyper - drive switch in relation to the vehicle handgrip in an embodiment of the present invention . as depicted , handgrip 402 is a conventional motor scooter handgrip familiar to those of skill in the art . hyper - drive switch 404 is a switch , placed to be convenient to the user &# 39 ; s thumb , which , when actuated , switches the vehicle &# 39 ; s performance curve from the standard power curve to the enhanced power curve . preferably , switch 404 is a momentary switch requiring pressure to activate , whereby the vehicle operates along its standard power curve unless the user is actually depressing switch 404 to engage enhanced mode operation . fashioning the user interface in this manner enables easy user selection of elevated power when it is needed while encouraging the normal operation of the vehicle along its standard power curve , whereby the dissipation of remaining available charge resulting from operation in the enhanced mode occurs only when the user has determined that power elevation is actually needed . as generally implemented in mosfet based pulse width modulating direct current motor controllers , the current delivered at peak voltage is limited by circuitry which thereby determines the applicable power curve . as understood by those of skill in the art , and as exemplified in embodiments depicted in post supra , current usage in such systems is regulated by comparing voltage drop between power mosfet drain and source electrodes , indicative of mosfet current flow when the power mosfets are conducting , with a reference voltage corresponding to a desired current limit . comparator circuitry then limits the duty cycle of the power mosfets so that mosfet current flow , as indicated by drain - source voltage , does not exceed the current limit indicated by the reference voltage . turning to fig5 , illustrated is circuitry for an embodiment of the present invention that selectively provides one of two reference voltages , one such voltage being a reference for the current limit for standard operation , the other such voltage being a reference for the current limit for enhanced operation . in the depicted embodiment , hyper - drive switch 502 is a normally open spst type switch , in communication with the base of transistor 504 . in normal operation with switch 502 open , the base of transistor 504 is supplied with voltage and therefore transistor 504 normally conducts current through standard mode variable resistor 506 , thereby supplying normal voltage to comparator 508 . comparator 508 in general supplies reference voltage 510 to circuitry limiting current supplied to the mosfet power transistors , as described above . in normal mode , the reference voltage signal 510 supplied by comparator 508 is based on voltage supplied by transistor 504 through standard mode variable resistor 506 . variable resistor 506 is tuned so that the reference voltage 510 supplied by comparator 508 normally corresponds to the current limit required for standard mode operation , which in preferred embodiments in turn corresponds to providing an optimized power curve for system performance . when hyper - drive switch 502 is closed , base voltage to transistor 504 is grounded , thereby switching off voltage supplied by transistor 504 through standard mode variable resistor 506 to comparator 508 . in such case , voltage supplied to comparator 508 instead derives from enhanced mode variable resistor 512 . variable resistor 512 is tuned so that the reference voltage 510 , supplied by comparator 508 when hyper - drive switch 502 is closed , corresponds to the elevated current limit employed in the enhanced mode of system operation , corresponding in turn to a power curve wherein system performance is elevated . in the depicted embodiment , because switch 502 is normally open , the enhanced mode of operation will occur only when the user depresses the switch . the default , normal operation of the system will be in standard mode . as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art , embodiments of the present invention differing from that depicted in fig5 may be constructed which accomplish the same end of supplying one of two distinct reference voltage signals based upon user selection of operating mode . for example , switch 502 may simply be an spdt type switch that switches electromechanically between two reference voltages supplied to the current limiting circuitry , one such voltage corresponding to standard mode operation and the other such voltage corresponding to enhanced mode operation . it is to be understood that the present invention encompasses all such embodiments . what is needed is simply that the invention supply one of two reference voltages , one of which is normally supplied and corresponds to standard mode operation , and the other of which is supplied only when selected by the user and corresponds to enhanced mode operation . as will be further appreciated by those of skill in the art , the present invention as described does not exclude the limitation of current supplied to the power mosfets for reasons other than user selection of operation mode . for example , as discussed above , it is desirable to limit current when the motor is started because of the low resistance of the armature and the risk of motor damage from current surge . by way of further example , for purposes of safety and system protection , it may be desirable to limit mosfet current based on measurements of the operating temperature of system components , such as controller circuitry or the motor itself . yet further , it may be desirable to limit mosfet current based upon a determination of low voltage in the system power supply in order to conserve available charge , effectively changing the power curve to favor such conservation . as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art , embodiments of the present invention do not prevent these and other additional controls limiting mosfet current . as will be further appreciated , embodiments may be constructed wherein some such other controls ( such as those directed toward safety and system protection ) override the user &# 39 ; s selection of enhanced mode operation . rather than excluding such controls , the present invention is complementary to such additional controls , enabling embodiments accommodating the user &# 39 ; s need for temporarily enhanced performance when appropriate . although the detailed descriptions above contain many specifics , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . various other embodiments and ramifications are possible within its scope , a number of which are discussed in general terms above . it is intended that the scope of the present invention encompass all means known to those of skill in the electronics arts to provide a temporarily enhanced power curve for vehicles employing pulse code modulated commutator motor controllers as generally described in the foregoing . while the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity , it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein , but on the contrary , it is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications and equivalents as can be reasonably included within the scope of the invention . the invention is limited only by the following claims and their equivalents .	8
first , in which circumstances the accumulated rounding errors as described in the “ related art ” occur must be considered . an example of an image sequences encoded by coding methods which can perform both unidirectional prediction and bidirectional prediction such as in mpeg . 1 , mpeg . 2 and h . 263 is shown in fig5 . an image 501 is a frame - coded by means of intraframe coding and is referred to as an i frame . in contrast , images 503 , 505 , 507 , 509 are called p frames and are coded by unidirectional interframe coding by using the previous i or p frame as the reference image . accordingly , when for instance encoding image 505 , image 503 is used as the reference image and interframe prediction is performed . images 502 , 504 , 506 and 508 are called b frames and bidirectional interframe prediction is performed utilizing the previous and subsequent i or p frame . the b frame is characterized by not being used as a reference image when interframe prediction is performed . since motion compensation is not performed in i frames , the rounding error caused by motion compensation will not occur . in contrast , not only is motion compensation performed in the p frames but the p frame is also used as a reference image by other p or b frames so that it may be a cause leading to accumulated rounding errors . in the b frames on the other hand , motion compensation is performed so that the effect of accumulated rounding errors appears in the reconstructed image . however , due to the fact that b frames are not used as reference images , b frames cannot be a source of accumulated rounding errors . thus , if accumulated rounding errors can be prevented in the p frame , then the bad effects of rounding errors can be alleviated in the overall image sequence . in h . 263 a frame for coding a p frame and a b frame exists and is called a pb frame ( for instance , frames 503 and 504 can both be encoded as a pb frame ). if the combined two frames are viewed as separate frames , then the same principle as above can be applied . in other words , if countermeasures are taken versus rounding errors for the p frame part within a pb frame , then the accumulation of errors can be prevented . rounding errors occur during interpolation of intensity values when a value obtained from normal division ( division whose operation result is a real number ) is a half ( ½ ) integer ( 0 . 5 added to an integer ) and this result is then rounded up to the next integer in the direction away from zero . for instance , when dividing by 4 to find an interpolated intensity value is performed , the rounding errors for the cases when the residual is 1 and 3 have equal absolute values but different signs . consequently , the rounding errors caused by these two cases are canceled when the expectation for the rounding errors is calculated ( in more general words , when dividing by a positive integer d ′ is performed , the rounding errors caused by the cases when the residual is t and d ′- t are cancelled ). however , when the residual is 2 , in other words when the result of normal division is a half integer , the rounding error cannot be canceled and leads to accumulated errors . to solve this problem , a method that allows the usage of two rounding methods can be used . the two rounding methods used here are : a rounding method that rounds half ( ½ ) integers away from zero ( 0 ); and a rounding method that rounds half ( ½ ) integers towards zero ( 0 ). by combining the usage of these two rounding methods , the rounding errors can be canceled . hereafter , the rounding method that rounds the result of normal division to the nearest integer and rounds half integer values away from 0 is called “ positive rounding ”. additionally , the rounding method that rounds the result of normal division to the nearest integer and rounds half ( ½ ) integer values towards zero ( 0 ) is called “ negative rounding ”. the process of positive rounding used in block matching with half ( ½ ) pixel accuracy is shown in equation 3 . when negative rounding is used instead , this equation can be rewritten as shown below . hereafter motion compensation methods that performs positive and negative rounding for the synthesis of interframe prediction images are called “ motion compensation using positive rounding ” and “ motion compensation using negative rounding ”, respectively . furthermore , for p frames which use block matching with half ( ½ ) pixel accuracy for motion compensation , a frame that uses positive rounding is called a “ p + frame ” and a frame that uses negative rounding is called a “ p − frame ” ( under this definition , the p frames in h . 263 are all p + frames ). the expectation for the rounding errors in p + and p − frames have equal absolute values but different signs . accordingly , the accumulation of rounding errors can be prevented when p + frames and p − frames are alternately located along the time axis . in the example in fig5 , if the frames 503 and 507 are set as p + frames and the frames 505 and 509 are set as p − frames , then this method can be implemented . the alternate occurrence of p + frames and p − frames leads to the usage of a p + frame and a p − frame in the bidirectional prediction for b frames . generally , the average of the forward prediction image ( i . e . the prediction image synthesized by using frame 503 when frame 504 in fig5 is being encoded ) and the backward prediction image ( i . e . the prediction image synthesized by using frame 505 when frame 504 in fig5 is being encoded ) is frequently used for synthesizing the prediction image for b frames . this means that using a p + frame ( which has a positive value for the expectation of the rounding error ) and a p − frame ( which has a negative value for the expectation of the rounding error ) in bidirectional prediction for a b frame is effective in canceling out the effects of rounding errors . just as related above , the rounding process in the b frame will not be a cause of error accumulation . accordingly , no problem will occur even if the same rounding method is applied to all the b frames . for instance , no serious degradation of decoded images is caused even if motion compensation using positive rounding is performed for all of the b frames 502 , 504 , 506 , and 508 in fig5 . preferably only one type of rounding is performed for a b frame , in order to simplify the b frame decoding process . a block matching section 1600 of an image encoder according to the above described motion compensation method utilizing multiple rounding methods is shown in fig1 . numbers identical to those in other drawings indicate the same part . by substituting the block matching section 116 of fig1 with 1600 , multiple rounding methods can be used . motion estimation processing between the input image 101 and the decoded image of the previous frame is performed in a motion estimator 1601 . as a result , motion information 120 is output . this motion information is utilized in the synthesis of the prediction image in a prediction image synthesizer 1603 . a rounding method determination device 1602 determines whether to use positive rounding or negative rounding as the rounding method for the frame currently being encoded . information 1604 relating to the rounding method that was determined is input to the prediction image synthesizer 1603 . in this prediction image synthesizer 1603 , a prediction image 117 is synthesized and output based on the rounding method determined by means of information 1604 . in the block matching section 116 in fig1 , there are no items equivalent to 1602 , 1604 of fig1 , and the prediction image is synthesized only by positive rounding . also , the rounding method 1605 determined at the block matching section can be output , and this information can then be multiplexed into the bit stream and be transmitted . a prediction image synthesizer 1700 of an image decoder which can decode bit streams generated by a coding method using multiple rounding methods is shown in fig1 . numbers identical to those in other drawings indicate the same part . by substituting the prediction image synthesizer 211 of fig2 by 1700 , multiple rounding methods can be used . in the rounding method determination device 1701 , the rounding method appropriate for prediction image synthesis in the decoding process is determined . in order to carry out decoding correctly , the rounding method selected here must be the same as the rounding method that was selected for encoding . for instance the following rule can be shared between the encoder and decoder : when the current frame is a p frame and the number of p frames ( including the current frame ) counted from the most recent i frame is odd , then the current frame is a p + frame . when this number is even , then the current frame is a p − frame . if the rounding method determination device on the encoding side ( for instance , 1602 in fig1 ) and the rounding method determination device 1701 conform to this common rule , then the images can correctly be decoded . the prediction image is synthesized in the prediction image synthesizer 1703 using motion information 202 , decoding image 210 of the prior frame , and information 1702 related to the rounding method determined as just described . this prediction image 212 is output and then used for the synthesis of the decoded image . as an alternative to the above mentioned case , a case where the information related to the rounding method is multiplexed in the transmitted bit stream can also be considered ( such bit stream can be generated at the encoder by outputting the information 1605 related to the rounding method from the block matching section depicted in fig1 ). in such case , the rounding method determiner device 1701 is not used , and information 1704 related to the rounding method extracted from the encoded bit stream is used at the prediction image synthesizer 1703 . besides the image encoder and the image decoder utilizing the custom circuits and custom chips of the conventional art as shown in fig1 and fig2 , this invention can also be applied to software image encoders and software image decoders utilizing general - purpose processors . a software image encoder 600 and a software image decoder 700 are shown in fig6 and fig7 . in the software image encoder 600 , an input image 601 is first stored in the input frame memory 602 and the general - purpose processor 603 loads information from here and performs encoding . the program for driving this general - purpose processor is loaded from a storage device 608 which can be a hard disk , floppy disk , etc . and stored in a program memory 604 . this general purpose processor also uses a process memory 605 to perform the encoding . the encoding information output by the general - purpose processor is temporarily stored in the output buffer 606 and then output as an encoded bit stream 607 . a flowchart for the encoding software ( recording medium readable by computer ) is shown in fig8 . the process starts in 801 , and the value 0 is assigned to variable n in 802 . next , in 803 and 804 , the value 0 is assigned to n when the value for n is 100 . n is a counter for the number of frames . 1 is added for each one frame whose processing is complete , and values from 0 to 99 are allowed when performing coding . when the value for n is 0 , the current frame is an i frame . when n is an odd number , the current frame is a p + frame , and when an even number other than 0 , the current frame is a p − frame . when the upper limit for the value of n is 99 , it means that one i frame is coded after 99 p frames ( p + frames or p − frames ) are coded . by always inserting one i frame in a certain number of coded frames , the following benefits can be obtained : ( a ) error accumulation due to a mismatch between encoder and decoder processing can be prevented ( for instance , a mismatch in the computation of dct ); and ( b ) the processing load for acquiring the reproduced image of the target frame from the coded data ( random access ) is reduced . the optimal n value varies when the encoder performance or the environment where the encoder is used are changed . it does not mean , therefore , that the value of n must always be 100 . the process for determining the rounding method and coding mode for each frame is performed in 805 and the flowchart with details of this operation is shown in fig9 . first of all , whether n is a zero ( 0 ) or not is checked in 901 . if n is 0 , then ‘ i ’ is output as distinction information of the prediction mode , to the output buffer in 902 . this means that the image to be coded is will be coded as an i frame . here , “ output to the output buffer ” means that after being stored in the output buffer , the information is output to an external device as a portion of the coded bit stream . when n is not 0 , then whether n is an odd or even number is identified in 904 . when n is an odd number , ‘+’ is output to the output buffer as the distinction information for the rounding method in 905 , and the image to be coded will be coded as a p + frame . on the other hand , when n is an even number , ‘−’ is output to the output buffer as the distinction information for the rounding method in 906 , and the image to be coded will be coded as a p − frame . the process again returns to fig8 , where after determining the coding mode in 805 , the input image is stored in the frame memory a in 806 . the frame memory a referred to here signifies a portion of the memory zone ( for instance , the memory zone maintained in the memory of 605 in fig6 ) of the software encoder . in 807 , it is checked whether the frame currently being coded is an i frame . when not identified as an i frame , motion estimation and motion compensation is performed in 808 . the flowchart in fig1 shows details of this process performed in 808 . first of all , in 1001 , motion estimation is performed between the images stored in frame memories a and b ( just as written in the final part of this paragraph , the decoded image of the prior frame is stored in frame memory b ). the motion vector for each block is found , and this motion vector is sent to the output buffer . next , in 1002 , whether or not the current frame is a p + frame is checked . when the current frame is a p + frame , the prediction image is synthesized in 1003 utilizing positive rounding and this prediction image is stored in frame memory c . on the other hand , when the current frame is a p − frame , the prediction image is synthesized in 1004 utilizing negative rounding and this prediction image is stored in the frame memory c . next , in 1005 , the differential image between frame memories a and c is found and stored in frame memory a . here , the process again returns to fig8 . prior to starting the processing in 809 , the input image is stored in frame memory a when the current frame is an i frame , and the differential image between the input image and the prediction image is stored in frame memory a when the current frame is a p frame ( p + or p − frame ). in 809 , dct is applied to the image stored in frame memory a , and the dct coefficients calculated here are sent to the output buffer after being quantized . in 810 , inverse quantization is performed to the quantized dct coefficients and inverse dct is applied . the image obtained by applying inverse dct is stored in frame memory b . next in 811 , it is checked again whether the current frame is an i frame . when the current frame is not an i frame , the images stored in frame memory b and c are added and the result is stored in frame memory b . the coding process of a frame ends here , and the image stored in frame memory b before going into 813 is the reconstructed image of this frame ( this image is identical with the one obtained at the decoding side ). in 813 , it is checked whether the frame whose coding has just finished is the final frame in the sequence . if this is true , the coding process ends . if this frame is not the final frame , 1 is added to n in 814 , and the process again returns to 803 and the coding process for the next frame starts . a software decoder 700 is shown in fig7 . after the coded bit stream 701 is temporarily stored in the input buffer 702 , this bit stream is then loaded into the general - purpose processor 703 . the program for driving this general - purpose processor is loaded from a storage device 708 which can be a hard disk , floppy disk , etc . and stored in a program memory 704 . this general - purpose processor also uses a process memory 605 to perform the decoding . the decoded image obtained by the decoding process is temporarily stored in the output frame memory 706 and then sent out as the output image 707 . a flowchart of the decoding software for the software decoder 700 shown in fig7 is shown in fig1 . the process starts in 1101 , and it is checked in 1102 whether input information is present . if there is no input information , the decoding process ends in 1103 . when input information is present , distinction information of the prediction mode is input in 1104 . the word “ input ” used here means that the information stored in the input buffer ( for instance 702 of fig7 ) is loaded by the general - purpose processor . in 1105 , it is checked whether the encoding mode distinction information is “ i ”. when not “ i ”, the distinction information for the rounding method is input and synthesis of the interframe prediction image is performed in 1107 . a flowchart showing details of the operation in 1107 is shown in fig1 . in 1201 , a motion vector is input for each block . then , in 1202 , it is checked whether the distinction information for the rounding method loaded in 1106 is a “+”. when this information is “+”, the frame currently being decoded is a p + frame . in this case , the prediction image is synthesized using positive rounding in 1203 , and the prediction image is stored in frame memory d . here , frame memory d signifies a portion of the memory zone of the software decoder ( for instance , this memory zone is obtained in the processing memory 705 in fig7 ). when the distinction information of the rounding method is not “+”, the current frame being decoded is a p − frame . the prediction image is synthesized using negative rounding in 1204 and this prediction image is stored in frame memory d . at this point , if a p + frame is decoded as a p − frame due to some type of error , or conversely if a p − frame is decoded as a p + frame , the correct prediction image is not synthesized in the decoder and the quality of the decoded image deteriorates . after synthesizing the prediction image , the operation returns to fig1 and the quantized dct coefficients is input in 1108 . inverse quantization and inverse dct is then applied to these coefficients and the resulting image is stored in frame memory e . in 1109 , it is checked again whether the frame currently being decoded is an i frame . if the current frame is not an i frame , images stored in frame memory d and e are added in 1110 and the resulting sum image is stored in frame memory e . the image stored in frame memory e before starting the process in 1111 is the reconstructed image . this image stored in frame memory e is output to the output frame memory ( for instance , 706 in fig7 ) in 1111 , and then output from the decoder as the reconstructed image . the decoding process for a frame is completed here and the process for the next frame starts by returning to 1102 . when a software based on the flowchart shown in fig8 - 12 is run in the software image encoders or decoders , the same effect as when custom circuits and custom chips are utilized are obtained . a storage media ( recording media ) with the bit stream generated by the software encoder 601 of fig6 being recorded is shown in fig1 . it is assumed that the algorithms shown in the flowcharts of fig8 - 10 is used in the software encoder . digital information is recorded concentrically on a recording disk 1301 capable of recording digital information ( for instance magnetic disks , optical disk , etc .). a portion 1302 of the information recorded on this digital disk includes : prediction mode distinction information 1303 , 1305 , 1308 , 1311 , and 1314 ; rounding method distinction information 1306 , 1309 , 1312 , and 1315 ; and motion vector and dct coefficient information 1304 , 1307 , 1310 , 1313 , and 1316 . information representing ‘ i ’ is recorded in 1303 , ‘ p ’ is recorded in 1305 , 1308 , 1311 , and 1314 , ‘+’ is recorded in 1306 , and 1312 , and ‘−’ is recorded in 1309 , and 1315 . in this case , ‘ i ’ and ‘+’ can be represented by a single bit of zero ( 0 ), and ‘ p ’ and ‘−’ can be represented by a single bit of one ( 1 ). using this representation , the decoder can correctly interpret the recorded information and the correct reconstructed image is synthesized . by storing a coded bit stream in a storage media using the method described above , the accumulation of rounding errors is prevented when the bit stream is read and decoded . a storage media with the bit stream of the coded data of the image sequence shown in fig5 being recorded is shown in fig1 . the recorded bit stream includes information related to p +, p −, and b frames . in the same way as in 1301 of fig1 , digital information is recorded concentrically on a record disk 1501 capable for recording digital information ( for instance , magnetic disks , optical disks , etc .). a portion 1502 of the digital information recorded on this digital disk includes : prediction mode distinction information 1503 , 1505 , 1508 , 1510 , and 1513 ; rounding method distinction information 1506 , and 1512 ; and motion vector and dct coefficient information 1504 , 1507 , 1509 , 1511 , and 1514 . information representing ‘ i ’ is recorded in 1503 , ‘ p ’ is recorded in 1505 , and 1510 , ‘ b ’ is recorded in 1508 , and 1513 , ‘+’ is recorded in 1505 , and ‘−’ is recorded in 1511 . in this case , ‘ i ’, ‘ p ’ and ‘ b ’ can be represented respectively by two bit values 00 , 01 , and 10 , and ‘+’ and is ‘−’ can be represented respectively by one bit values 0 and 1 . using this representation , the decoder can correctly interpret the recorded information and the correct reconstructed is synthesized . in fig1 , information related to frame 501 ( i frame ) in fig5 is 1503 and 1504 , information related to 502 ( b frame ) is 1508 and 1509 , information related to frame 503 ( p + frame ) is 1505 and 1507 , information related to frame 504 ( b frame ) is 1513 and 1514 , and information related to frame 505 ( p − frame ) is 1510 and 1512 . when coding image sequences are coded using b frames , the transmission order and display order of frames are usually different . this is because the previous and subsequent reference images need to be coded before the prediction image for the b frame is synthesized . consequently , in spite of the fact that the frame 502 is displayed before frame 503 , information related to frame 503 is transmitted before information related to frame 502 . as described above , there is no need to use multiple rounding methods for b frames since motion compensation in b frames do not cause accumulation of rounding errors . therefore , as shown in this example , information that specifies rounding methods ( e . g . ‘+’ and ‘−’) is not transmitted for b frames . thus for instance , even if only positive rounding is applied to b frames , the problem of accumulated rounding errors does not occur . by storing coded bit streams containing information related to b frames in a storage media in the way described above , the occurrence of accumulated rounding errors can be prevented when this bit stream is read and decoded . specific examples of coders and decoders using the coding method described in this specification is shown in fig1 . the image coding and decoding method can be utilized by installing image coding and decoding software into a computer 1401 . this software is recorded in some kind of storage media ( cd - rom , floppy disk , hard disk , etc .) 1412 , loaded into a computer and then used . additionally , the computer can be used as an image communication terminal by connecting the computer to a communication lines . it is also possible to install the decoding method described in this specification into a player device 1403 that reads and decodes the coded bit stream recorded in a storage media 1402 . in this case , the reconstructed image signal can be displayed on a television monitor 1404 . the device 1403 can be used only for reading the coded bit stream , and in this case , the decoding device can be installed in the television monitor 1404 . it is well known that digital data transmission can be realized using satellites and terrestrial waves . a decoding device can also be installed in a television receiver 1405 capable of receiving such digital transmissions . also , a decoding device can also be installed inside a set top box 1409 connected to a satellite / terrestrial wave antenna , or a cable 1408 of a cable television system , so that the reconstructed images can be displayed on a television monitor 1410 . in this case , the decoding device can be incorporated in the television monitor rather than in the set top box , as in the case of 1404 . the layout of a digital satellite broadcast system is shown in 1413 , 1414 and 1415 . the video information in the coded bit stream is transmitted from a broadcast station 1413 to a communication or broadcast satellite 1414 . the satellite receives this information , sends it to a home 1415 having equipment for receiving satellite broadcast programs , and the video information is reconstructed and displayed in this home using devices such as a television receiver or a set top box . digital image communication using mobile terminals 1406 has recently attracted considerable attention , due to the fact that image communication at very low bit rates has become possible . digital portable terminals can be categorized in the following three types : a transceiver having both an encoder and decoder ; a transmitter having only an encoder ; and a receiver having only a decoder . an encoding device can be installed in a video camera recorder 1407 . the camera can also be used just for capturing the video signal and this signal can be supplied to a custom encoder 1411 . all of the devices or systems shown in this drawing can be equipped with the coding and / or decoding method described in this specification . by using this coding and / or decoding method in these devices or systems , images of higher quality compared with those images obtained using conventional technologies can be obtained . the following variations are clearly included within the scope of this invention . ( i ) a prerequisite of the above described principle was the use of block matching as a motion compensation method . however , this invention is further capable of being applied to all image sequence coding and decoding methods in which motion compensation is performed by taking a value for the vertical and horizontal components of the pixel motion vector that is other than an integer multiple of the sampling period in the vertical and horizontal directions of the pixel , and then finding by interpolation , the intensity value of a position where the sample value is not present . thus for instance , the global motion compensation listed in japanese patent application no . 8 - 60572 published as japanese patent application laid - open no . 9 - 252470 and the warping prediction listed in japanese patent application no . 8 - 249601 published as japanese patent application laid - open no . 10 - 98729 are applicable to the method of this invention . ( ii ) the description of the invention only mentioned the case where a value integral multiple of ½ was taken for the horizontal and vertical components of the motion vector . however , this invention is also generally applicable to methods in which integral multiples of 1 / d ( d is a positive integer and also an even number ) are allowed for the horizontal and vertical components of the motion vector . however , when d becomes large , the divisor for division in bilinear interpolation ( square of “ d ”, see equation 2 ) also becomes large , so that in contrast , the probability of results from normal division reaching a value of 0 . 5 become low . accordingly , when performing only positive rounding , the absolute value of the expectation for rounding errors becomes small and the bad effects caused by accumulated errors become less conspicuous . also applicable to the method of this invention , is a motion compensation method where for instance , the d value is variable , both positive rounding and negative rounding are used when d is smaller than a fixed value , and only positive rounding or only negative rounding is used when the value of d is larger than a fixed value . ( iii ) as mentioned in the “ related art ” section , when dct is utilized as an error coding method , the adverse effects from accumulated rounding errors are prone to appear when the quantized step size of the dct coefficient is large . however a method is also applicable to the invention , in which , when the quantization step size of dct coefficients is larger than a threshold value then both positive rounding and negative rounding are used . when the quantization step size of the dct coefficients is smaller than the threshold value then only positive rounding or only negative rounding is used . ( iv ) in cases where error accumulations occur on the luminance plane and cases where error accumulations occur on the chrominance plane , the bad effects on the reconstructed images are generally more serious in the case of error accumulations on the chrominance plane . this is due to the fact that rather than cases where the image darkens or lightens slightly , cases where overall changes in the image color happen are more conspicuous . however , a method is also applicable to this invention in which both positive rounding and negative rounding are used for the chrominance signal , and only positive rounding or negative rounding is used for the luminance signal . as described in the “ related art ” section , ¼ pixel accuracy motion vectors obtained by halving the ½ pixel accuracy motion vectors are rounded to ½ pixel accuracy in h . 263 . however by adding certain changes to this method , the absolute expectation value for rounding errors can be reduced . in h . 263 that was mentioned in the related art , a value which is half the horizontal or vertical components of the motion vector for the luminance plane is expressed as r + s / 4 ( r is an integer , s is an integer less than 4 and not smaller than 0 ), and when s is 1 or 3 , a rounding operation is performed to obtain a 2 . this operation can be changed as follows : when s is 1 , a rounding operation is performed to obtain a zero “ 0 ”, and when s is 3 a 1 is be added to r to make s a “ 0 ”. by performing these operations , the number of times that the intensity values at positions 406 - 408 in fig4 is definitely reduced ( probability that horizontal and vertical components of motion vector will be an integer become high ) so that the absolute expectation value for the rounding error becomes small . however , even if the size of the error occurring in this method can be limited , the accumulation of errors cannot be completely prevented . ( v ) the invention described in this specification is applicable to a method that obtains the final interframe prediction image by averaging the prediction images obtained by different motion compensation methods . for example , in the method described in japanese patent application no . 8 - 3616 published as japanese patent application laid - open no . 9 - 200763 , interframe prediction images obtained by the following two methods are averaged : block matching in which a motion vector is assigned to each 16 × 16 pixel block ; and block matching in which a motion vector is assigned to each 8 × 8 pixel blocks . in this method , rounding is also performed when calculating the average of the two prediction images . when only positive rounding is continuously performed in this averaging operation , a new type of rounding error accumulates . this problem can be solved by using multiple rounding methods for this averaging operation . in this method , negative rounding is performed in the averaging operation when positive rounding is performed in block matching . conversely , positive rounding is used for the averaging when negative rounding is used for block matching . by using different rounding methods for averaging and block matching , the rounding errors from two different sources is cancelled within the same frame . ( vi ) when utilizing a method that alternately locates p + frames and p − frames along the time axis , the encoder or the decoder needs to determine whether the currently processed p frame is a p + frame or a p − frame . the following is an example of such identification method : a counter counts the number of p frames after the most recently coded or decoded i frame , and the current p frame is a p + frame when the number is odd , and a p − frame when the number is even ( this method is referred to as an implicit scheme ). there is also a method for instance , that writes into the header section of the coded image information , information to identify whether the currently coded p frame at the encoder is a p + frame or a p − frame ( this method is referred to as an explicit scheme ). compared with the implicit method , this method is well able to withstand transmission errors , since there is no need to count the number of p frames . additionally , the explicit method has the following advantages : as described in the “ related art ” section , past encoding standards ( such as mpeg - 1 or mpeg - 2 ) use only positive rounding for motion compensation . this means for instance that the motion estimation / motion compensation devices ( for example equivalent to 106 in fig1 ) for mpeg - 1 / mpeg - 2 on the market are not compatible with coding methods that use both p + frames and p − frames . it is assumed that there is a decoder which can decode bit streams generated by a coding method that uses p + frames and p − frames . in this case if the decoder is based on the above mentioned implicit method , then it will be difficult to develop an encoder that generates bit streams that can be correctly decoded by the above mentioned decoder , using the above mentioned motion estimation / compensation device for mpeg - 1 / mpeg - 2 . however , if the decoder is based on the above mentioned explicit method , this problem can be solved . an encoder using an mfeg - 1 / mpeg - 2 motion estimation / motion compensation device can continuously send p + frames , by continuously writing rounding method distinction information indicating positive rounding into the frame information header . when this is performed , a decoder based on the explicit method can correctly decode the bit stream generated by this encoder . of course , it should be more likely in such case that the accumulation of rounding errors occurs , since only p + frames are present . however , error accumulation is not a serious problem in cases where the encoder uses only small values as the quantization step size for the dct coefficients ( an example for such coders is a custom encoder used only for high rate coding ). in addition to this interoperability between past standards , the explicit method further have the following advantages : ( a ) the equipment cost for high rate custom encoders and coders not prone to rounding error accumulation due to frequent insertion of i frames can be reduced by installing only positive or negative rounding as the pixel value rounding method for motion compensation ; and ( b ) the above encoders not prone to rounding error accumulation have the advantage in that there is no need to decide whether to code the current frame as a p + or p − frame , and the processing is simplified . ( vii ) the invention described in this specification is applicable to coding and decoding methods that applies filtering accompanying rounding to the interframe prediction images . for instance , in the international standard h . 261 for image sequence coding , a low - pass filter ( called a “ loop filter ”) is applied to block signals whose motion vectors are not zero ( 0 ) in interframe prediction images . also , in h . 263 , filters can be used to smooth out discontinuities on block boundaries ( blocking artifacts ). all of these filters perform weighted averaging to pixel intensity values and rounding is then performed on the averaged intensity values . even for these cases , selective use of positive rounding and negative rounding is effective for preventing error accumulation . ( viii ) besides i p + p − p + p − . . . , various methods for mixing p + frames and p − frames such as i p + p + p − p − p + p + . . . , or i p + p − p − p + p + . . . are applicable to the method of this invention . for instance , using a random number generator that outputs 0 and 1 both at a probability of 50 percent , the encoder can code a p + and p − frame when the output is 0 and 1 , respectively . in any case , the less the difference in probability that p + frames and p − frames occur in a certain period of time , the less the rounding error accumulation is prone to occur . further , when the encoder , is allowed to mix p + frames and p − frames by an arbitrary method , the encoder and decoder must operate based on the explicit method and not with the implicit method described above . accordingly , the explicit method is superior when viewed from the perspective of allowing flexibility configuration for the encoder and decoder . ( ix ) the invention described in this specification does not limit the pixel value interpolation method to bilinear interpolation . interpolation methods for intensity values can generally be described by the following equation : [ equation ⁢ ⁢ 5 ] r ⁡ ( x + r , y + s ) = t ⁡ ( ∑ j = - x x ⁢ ∑ j = - x x ⁢ h ⁡ ( r - j , s - k ) ⁢ r ⁡ ( x + j , y + k ) ) ( 5 ) where , r and s are real numbers , h ( r , s ) is a function for interpolating the real numbers , and t ( z ) is a function for rounding the real number z . the definitions of r ( x , y ), x , and y are the same as in equation 4 . motion compensation utilizing positive rounding is performed when t ( z ) is a function representing positive rounding , and motion compensation utilizing negative rounding is performed when the function representing negative rounding . this invention is applicable to interpolation methods that can be described using equation 5 . for instance , bilinear interpolation can be described by defining h ( r , s ) as shown below . then an interpolation method different from bilinear interpolation is implemented but the invention is still applicable . ( x ) the invention described in this specification does not limit the coding method for error images to dct ( discrete cosine transform ). for instance , wavelet transform ( for example , n . antonioni , et . al , “ image coding using wavelet transform ” ieee trans . image processing , vol . 1 , no . 2 , apr . 1992 ) and walsh - hadamard transform ( for example , a . n . netravalli and b . g . haskell , “ digital pictures ”, plenum press , 1998 ) are also applicable to this invention .	6
fig2 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a lamp driving apparatus for a back - lighted display such as a liquid crystal display ( lcd ). referring to fig2 , the lamp driving apparatus comprises a plurality of lamps 410 , an inverter unit 450 for applying a driving voltage to the plurality of lamps 410 , and balance circuit units 460 and 470 for supplying a uniform current to the plurality of lamps 410 . each of the plurality of lamps 410 comprises a lamp tube and electrodes formed at both ends of the lamp tube . further , the lamp tube comprises a body , a fluorescent substance layer , and a discharge gas . if a voltage is applied to the electrodes of the lamp , invisible light generated when the discharge gas is changed into plasma in the lamp tube excites the fluorescent substance layer so that visible light can be emitted to the outside , each of the lamps 410 may be a cold cathode fluorescent lamp ( ccfl ), a hot cathode fluorescent lamp ( hcfl ), an external electrode fluorescent lamp ( eefl ) or an external and internal electrode fluorescent lamp ( eifl ). the inverter unit 450 comprises a dc / ac inverter 453 for converting a dc voltage supplied from the outside into an ac voltage , a transformer 455 for converting the level of the ac voltage output from the dc / ac inverter 453 , and a controller 457 for controlling the operation of the dc / ac inverter . the transformer 455 comprises a first winding t 1 connected to output terminals of the dc / ac inverter 453 , a second winding t 2 for providing a first phase voltage , and a third winding t 3 for providing a second voltage with a second phase , the first and second voltages having phases opposite to each other . the plurality of lamps 410 are connected in parallel with the transformer 455 of the inverter unit 450 . first and second electrodes are formed at both ends of each of the plurality of lamps 410 and the balance circuit units 460 and 470 are connected to the electrodes , respectively . further , one ends of the second and third windings t 2 and t 3 of the transformer 455 are connected to the balance circuit units 460 and 470 , respectively , and the other ends are connected to the controller 457 . the balance circuit units 460 and 470 are connected to the electrodes formed respectively at the both ends of each of the plurality of lamps 410 so that they can perform the function of controlling load characteristics of the lamps not to vary according to temperature and an ambient environment , thereby adjusting a current balance such that a uniform current flows to the plurality of lamps 410 . a first voltage output of winding t 2 of transformer 455 is applied to one electrodes of the lamps via the balance circuit unit 470 , and the second voltage output of winding t 3 of the transformer 455 is applied to the other electrodes of the lamps via the balance circuit unit 460 , so that the plurality of lamps 410 can be stably driven using the single transformer 455 . fig3 is a schematic view showing a configuration of balance circuit units of a lamp driving apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , the balance units 460 and 470 of the lamp driving apparatus have a plurality of capacitors c bn and a plurality of coils bc n . the plurality of lamps 410 comprise eight lamps l 1 to l 8 . as described above , first and second electrodes are formed at both ends of each of the lamps . the capacitor c bn is connected to any one of the first and second electrodes of the lamp and the balance coil bc n is connected to the other electrode , thereby constructing the balance circuit units 460 and 470 simultaneously using capacitors and balance coils . the plurality of lamps 410 are composed of a first lamp group l 1 , l 3 , l 5 and l 7 , and a second lamp group l 2 , l 4 , l 6 and l 8 . further , capacitors c b1 , c b3 , c b5 and c b7 are connected in series to the first electrodes of the lamps belonging to the first lamp group l 1 , l 3 , l 5 and l 7 , and balance coils bc 1 , bc 3 , bc 5 and bc 7 are connected to the second electrodes , any one of first and second coils of each of balance coils bc 1 , bc 3 , bc 5 and bc 7 is connected to the second electrode of the lamp , and the other coil of the first and second coils is connected to form a loop . balance coils bc 2 , bc 4 , bc 6 and bc 8 are connected in series to the first electrodes of the lamps belonging to the second lamp group l 2 , l 4 , l 6 and l 8 , and capacitors c b2 , c b4 , c b6 and c b8 are connected to the second electrodes , any one of the first and second coils of each of balance coils bc 2 , bc 4 , bc 6 and bc 8 is connected to the first electrode of the lamp , and the other coil of the first and second coils is connected to form a loop . in the plurality of lamps 410 , the lamps belonging to the first lamp group and those belonging to the second lamp group are alternately arranged one by one . further , the balance circuit units 460 and 470 further include balance coils bc 9 and bc 10 , respectively . furthermore , the balance coil bc 9 connects capacitors c b2 , c b4 , c b6 and c b8 and balance coils bc 1 , bc 3 , bc 5 and bc 7 , which are connected to the second electrodes of the plurality of lamps 410 , to the output terminal of the third winding t 3 of the transformer 455 , and the balance coil bc 10 connects capacitors c b1 , c b3 , c b7 and c b9 and balance coils bc 2 , bc 4 , bc 6 and bc 8 , which are connected to the first electrodes of the plurality of lamps 410 , to the output terminal of the second winding t 2 of the transformer 455 . thus , a single transformer , eight capacitors and ten balance coils are required to drive eight lamps . as described above , since the balance circuit units are constructed by compositely using ballast capacitors with a relatively low price and balance coils with superior reliability , the cost of the lamp driving apparatus can be reduced and the reliability thereof can be improved . although this embodiment has been described in connection with the configuration in which the eight lamps can be simultaneously driven in parallel using the single transformer , this is only for convenience of illustration . the number of lamps and the numbers of capacitors and balance coils depending thereon are not limited thereto . fig4 is a schematic view showing a configuration of balance circuit units of a lamp driving apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention . in the balance circuit units of the lamp driving apparatus according to the second embodiment shown in fig4 , the arrangement of capacitors and balance coils is different from that in the first embodiment . a different configuration will be mainly described below . the balance circuit units 460 and 470 of the lamp driving apparatus have a plurality of capacitors c bn and a plurality of coils bc n . the plurality of lamps 410 comprise eight lamps l 1 to l 8 . as described above , first and second electrodes are formed at both ends of each of the lamps . the capacitor c bn is connected to any one of the first and second electrodes of the lamp , and the balance coil bc n is connected to the other , thereby constructing the balance circuit units simultaneously using capacitors and balance coils . the plurality of lamps 410 are composed of a first lamp group l 1 , l 2 , l 5 and l 6 , and a second lamp group l 3 , l 4 , l 7 and l 8 . further , balance coils bc 1 and bc 3 are connected to the first electrodes of the lamps belonging to the first lamp group l 1 , l 2 , l 5 and l 6 , and capacitors c b1 , c b2 , c b5 and c b6 are connected to the second electrodes . capacitors c b3 , c b4 , c b7 and c b8 are connected in series to the first electrodes of the lamps belonging to the second lamp group l 3 , l 4 , l 7 and l 8 , respectively , and balance coils bc 2 and bc 4 are connected to the second electrodes . that is , the lamps belonging to the first lamp group l 1 , l 2 , l 5 and l 6 and those belonging to the second lamp group l 3 , l 4 , l 7 and l 8 are alternately arranged one by one , and the two lamps belonging to the same lamp group are adjacent to each other . further , the balance coil bc 5 is connected to the balance coil bc 1 and capacitors c b3 and c b4 , and the balance coil bc 7 is connected to the balance coil bc 3 and capacitors c b7 and c b8 . in addition , the balance coil bc 9 connects balance coils bc 5 and bc 7 to the output terminal of the second winding t 2 of the transformer 455 . similarly , the balance coil bc 6 is connected to the balance coil bc 2 and capacitors c b1 and c b2 , and the balance coil bc 8 is connected to the balance coil bc 4 and capacitors c b5 and c b6 . in addition , the balance coil bc 10 connects balance coils bc 6 and bc 8 to the output terminal of the third winding t 3 of the transformer 455 . thus , in the balance circuit units of the lamp driving apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention , a single transformer , eight capacitors and ten balance coils are also required to drive eight lamps in the same manner as the balance circuit units according to the first embodiment . fig5 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a lamp driving apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig5 , a balance circuit unit of the lamp driving apparatus according to the third embodiment shown in fig5 is different from that of the first embodiment in that a voltage is applied only to any one of the first and second electrodes , and the balance circuit unit is also connected only to any one of the first and second electrodes . since the configuration and arrangement of the balance circuit unit is identical with that of the first embodiment , a different configuration will be mainly described below . the lamp driving apparatus comprises a plurality of lamps 410 , an inverter unit 450 for applying a driving voltage to the plurality of lamps 410 , and a balance circuit unit 460 for supplying a uniform current to the plurality of lamps 410 . the inverter unit 450 comprises a dc / ac inverter 453 for converting a dc voltage supplied from the outside into an ac voltage , a transformer 455 for converting the level of the ac voltage output from the dc / ac inverter 453 , and a controller 457 for controlling the operation of the dc / ac inverter 453 . the transformer 455 includes a first winding t 1 connected to output terminals of the dc / ac inverter 453 , and a second winding t 2 for inducing a voltage by means of a winding ratio thereof to the first winding t 1 . the plurality of lamps 410 are connected in parallel with the transformer 455 of the inverter unit 450 , and first and second electrodes are formed at both ends of each of the plurality of lamps 410 . the balance circuit unit 460 is connected to any one of the first and second electrodes , and the second winding t 2 of the transformer 455 is connected to the other electrode to which the balance circuit unit 460 is not connected . the balance circuit unit 460 is connected to only any one of the first and second electrodes formed at the both ends of each of the plurality of lamps 410 so that it can perform the function of controlling load characteristics of the lamps not to vary according to temperature and an ambient environment , thereby adjusting a current balance such that a uniform current flows to the plurality of lamps 410 . accordingly , the plurality of lamps 410 can be more stably driven in parallel . fig6 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a lamp driving apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . a balance circuit unit of the lamp driving apparatus according to the fourth embodiment shown in fig6 is different from the second embodiment in that a voltage is applied only to any one of the first and second electrodes formed at the both ends of each lamp and the balance circuit unit is also connected only to any one of the first and second electrodes . the configuration and arrangement of the balance circuit unit is almost identical with those in the first embodiment . fig7 is an exploded perspective view of a direct type lcd having a lamp driving apparatus according to the present invention . referring to fig7 , the lcd comprises a top chassis 300 , an lcd panel 100 , driving circuit units 220 and 240 , a mold frame 800 , a plurality of optical sheets 710 , a diffusion plate 720 , a lamp unit , and a bottom chassis 900 . the driving circuit units 220 and 240 are connected to the lcd panel , and comprise a gate - side printed circuit board 224 having a control ic ( integrated circuit ) mounted thereon to apply a predetermined gate signal to gate lines of a tft substrate 120 , a data - side printed circuit board 244 having a control ic mounted thereon to apply a predetermined data signal to data lines of the tft substrate 120 , a gate - side flexible printed circuit board 222 having an exposed ground pattern to connect the gate - side printed circuit board 224 to the tft substrate 120 , and a data - side flexible printed circuit board 242 having an exposed ground pattern to connect the data - side printed circuit board 244 to the tft substrate 120 . the gate - and data - side printed circuit boards 224 and 244 are connected to the gate - and data - side flexible printed circuit boards 222 and 242 to apply a gate driving signal and an external image signal . the gate - and data - side printed circuit boards 224 and 244 may be integrated into a single printed circuit board . further , a driving ic ( not shown ) is mounted on the flexible printed circuit boards 222 and 242 so that it transmits rgb ( red , green and blue ) signals generated from the printed circuit boards 224 and 244 and digital power to the lcd panel 100 . although a tape - automated bonding ( tab ) mounting method has been described by way of example in the embodiment of the present invention , otherwise , it is also possible to employ a chip on glass ( cog ) mounting method in which a driving ic is not mounted on the flexible printed circuit boards 222 and 242 but is installed on a thin film transistor substrate . the top chassis 300 is formed to take the shape of a rectangular frame with a plane portion and sidewall portions which are bent perpendicularly to one another so that the lcd panel 100 and the driving circuit units 220 and 240 cannot come out therefrom and can be simultaneously protected against an external impact . the lamp unit comprises lamps 410 , lamp sockets 430 in which the lamps 410 are seated , and a printed circuit board 480 on which the lamp sockets 430 and a lamp driving apparatus ( not shown ) are mounted . as described above , the lamp driving apparatus mounted on the printed circuit board 480 comprises an inverter unit for applying a driving voltage to the lamps 410 , and a balance circuit unit for supplying a uniform current to the plurality of lamps 410 . further , the plurality of lamps 410 are connected in parallel with the inverter unit , and the balance circuit unit has a plurality of capacitors and a plurality of balance coils . the plurality of optical sheets 710 , the diffusion plate 720 , at least one lamp unit and a reflection plate ( not shown ) are sequentially stacked from the bottom of a storage space defined at a lower portion of the mold frame 800 , and the bottom chassis 900 is coupled to the mold frame 800 to support the aforementioned components thereon . as described above , according to the present invention , there is provided a lamp driving apparatus , wherein a balance circuit unit comprising capacitors and balance coils is connected to one end or both ends of each of a plurality of lamps so that the plurality of lamps can be stably driven with a single transformer . as a result , the number of parts required for the lamp driving apparatus is reduced , thereby obtaining an advantage of cost reduction . the foregoing is merely exemplary embodiments of a lamp driving apparatus and a liquid crystal display having the same according to the present invention , and the present invention is not limited thereto . it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the technical spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims .	7
the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein . rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . like numbers refer to like elements throughout , and prime notation is used to indicate similar elements in alternative embodiments . the present invention improves the overall efficiency of a dc - to - dc converter system because zero voltage switching may be used for non - isolated high input voltage , and low output voltage power converters , for example , “ buck converters .” there exists a need for decreasing the size of power converter , along with the need for higher power densities . this need implies an increase of switching frequency used in the power converters . the use of high switching frequency , however , leads to switching losses , imparted stresses on the power components , and emi generation . to overcome this disadvantage , soft switching zero voltage switching is used in the present invention . fig1 depicts a fragmentary , block diagram of a portion of the multiphase “ buck ” converter 30 as a dc - to - dc converter that includes an output inductor 32 coupled between the load for vout and a node where the high and low side power switches ( mosfets ) 34 and 36 are connected together . high and low side power switches 34 and 36 are also termed upper and lower power switches , respectively . different phase circuits 40 , 40 a , . . . , 40 n are cascaded and terminate at phase n as illustrated , to form phase circuits 40 , 40 a , . . . , 40 n . phase circuits 40 , 40 a , . . . , 40 n include appropriate inputs and outputs 42 and 44 . pulse - width modulation ( pwm ) drivers 50 are operative with power switches 34 and 36 and may each include a feedback signal processing circuit 52 . capacitors 54 and 55 may be placed in parallel with the power switches 34 and 36 as illustrated , including an output capacitor 56 connected in parallel across the load . power switches 34 and 36 may have intrinsic capacitance , and capacitors 54 and / or 55 may not be required . in accordance with the present invention , to have zero volt switching , an input inductor 60 is placed in front of switching circuits 40 , 40 a , . . . , 40 n , as illustrated , and receives input voltage from an input voltage source 61 . the control scheme is also changed to detect zero voltage , as will be discussed hereinafter . input inductor 60 resonates with capacitors 54 of upper power switches 34 in each of the n phases . fig9 depicts a schematic diagram similar to that of fig1 , but showing in greater detail first and second phase structures on circuits 40 and 40 a , which are cascaded . also , each of power switches 34 , 34 a , 36 , and 36 a is a power mosfet , which includes a diode . these diodes 62 , 62 a , 63 , and 63 a are labeled d 1 in first phase circuit 40 and d 2 in second phase circuit 40 a , and given the designations “ up ” for upper power switches 34 and 36 , or “ low ” for lower power switches 34 a and 36 a . diodes 62 and 63 could be body diodes . power switches 34 , 34 a , 36 , and 36 a , realized as mosfets , would have some intrinsic diode capability , but additional diodes 62 and 63 may be added as necessary for achieving desired inductance as discussed hereinafter . fig9 a depicts an equivalent circuit structure to that of fig9 , but without the output and showing currents io 1 and io 2 in the respective phase circuits 40 and 40 a . upper and lower switches 34 , 34 a , 36 , and 36 a are given the designations “ up ” and “ low ,” with first phase circuit switches 34 and 36 designated s 1 _up and s 1 _low , respectively , and second phase circuit switches 34 a and 36 a designated s 2 _up and s 2 _low , respectively . in a similar manner , upper and lower capacitors 54 , 54 a , 55 , and 55 a are designated cr 1 _up , cr 2 _up , cr 1 _low , and cr 2 _low , respectively , and upper and lower diodes 62 , 62 a , 63 , and 63 a are designated d 1 _up , d 2 _up , d 1 _low , and d 2 _low , respectively . fig2 depicts a timing diagram of the present invention using input inductor 60 for n phases with on time and off time shown relative to the number of phases . the total time within a duty cycle is equal to the number of phases n times the on time , ton , plus the number of phases n times the off time , toff . fig3 depicts a graph wherein the vertical axis shows vout over vin , and the horizontal axis shows the number of phases on the right and theta , θ , the on time ton divided by the off time toff , on the left . thus , fig3 shows that the voltage out vout divided by the voltage in vin is a function of theta θ and the number of phases n . fig4 depicts in greater detail vout over vin as a function of theta θ and the number of phases n . fig5 depicts a conceptual schematic diagram demonstrating the function of input inductor 60 of fig1 in mode 1 with upper capacitor 54 and showing a flow of current io . fig6 depicts a similar conceptual schematic diagram demonstrating a mode 2 operation . fig7 depicts a graph showing zero volt switch points ( zvs ) as predetermined times , and the various switching voltage vsw points and upper_drive switching relative to different phases . fig8 depicts the simulation results for three phases , all shown switching at zero voltage . with reference again to fig1 through 9 a , assume that there are n phases , such as shown in fig1 , and that input inductor 60 is large enough so that input voltage source 61 appears as a constant current source . at a time t = 0 , the cycle starts . upper power switch 34 of phase 1 is on , and lower power switch 36 is off . coincidentally , for the ( n - 1 ) other phases , upper powers switches 34 a , . . . , 34 n are off , and lower power switches 36 a , . . . , 36 n are on . the operation will differ depending on the modes and the time , t . with mode 1 , at t = t on , the phase 1 upper power switch 34 will be turned off , and body diode 63 of lower power switch 36 will be turned on . as a result , lower power switch 36 of phase 1 would be turned on at zero voltage . after that time , all lower power switches 36 , 36 a , . . . , 36 n of the n phases would be on and upper power switches 32 , 34 a , . . . , 34 n would be off . at mode 2 , the n capacitors 54 , 54 a , . . . , 54 n will start resonating with input inductor 60 , and the resonant time is toff , when input switching voltage vsw_vin and switching voltage vsw are equal phase 2 may be turned on at zero voltage . the cycle continues for all n phases . when upper power switches 34 , 34 a , . . . , 34 n are off and all lower power switches 36 , 36 a , . . . , 36 n are on , the next mode of operation may start . fig5 and 6 depict functional circuit representations of a single phase circuit 40 , 40 a , or 40 n . fig8 depicts a simulation graph of the three phases . as may be seen from the simulation graph , the three phases shown all switch at zero voltage . the steady state analysis of converter 30 shows that : vout vin = 1 n × θ + n ( 1 ) where θ = ton / toff , for example , as shown in fig3 , for a higher input voltage vin and lower output voltage vout . it is possible to use more phases to achieve a practical duty cycle without the requirement for the down stage . a two - phase ( or stage ) converter 30 is shown in fig9 , and an equivalent circuit of two - phase converter 30 is shown in fig9 a . two phase structures 40 and 40 a are shown with the addition of diodes 62 ( d 1 _up ) and 63 ( d 1 _low ) and diodes 62 a ( d 2 _up ) and 63 a ( d 2 _low ) for each power switching phase structure 40 and 40 a , respectively , in parallel with capacitors 54 ( cr 1 _up ), 56 ( cr 1 _low ), 54 a ( cr 2 _up ), and 56 a ( cr 2 _low ), respectively , and in parallel with power switches 34 ( s 1 _up ), 36 ( s 1 _low ), 34 a ( s 2 _up ), and 36 a ( s 2 _low ), respectively . for phase structure 40 , cr 1 _up capacitor 54 is in parallel with d 1 _up diode 62 . for phase structure 40 a , cr 2 _up capacitor 54 a is in parallel with d 2 _up diode 62 a . upper and lower switches 34 and 36 or 34 a and 36 a are illustrated in each phase structure 40 and 40 a , respectively . functional operation of the circuit prior to mode 1 , when t & lt ; t 0 , is shown in fig1 . at t 0 , as shown in fig1 , s 1 _up switch 34 is turned on for mode 1 with the following initial condition : i lr ⁡ ( 0 ) = i ro ( 2 ) v cr1_up ⁡ ( 0 ) = 0 ( 3 ) i lr ⁡ ( t ) = vin l ⁢ ⁢ t + i ro ( 4 ) at t 2 , the inductor current reaches the output current ( mode 2 ), which is reflected in the functional drawing of fig1 a . this condition may be explained by the formula shown in fig1 b . at mode 3 , both switches 34 and 36 are on , as best shown in the functional circuit diagram of fig1 a , with the initial condition explained by the formula shown in fig1 b . a state plane diagram is shown in fig1 . this diagram shows the various centers of operation for mode 2 and mode 3 . the present invention allows zero voltage switching . referring again to fig1 and 9 , an example of a two - stage converter 30 ( fig1 ) with zero voltage switching and the function of converter 30 may be expressed as : when the mode of operation is t & lt ; t 0 = 0 , the mode of operation may be expressed as a circuit function depicted in fig1 . the voltage across upper switch 34 of phase 1 ( s 1 _up ) is zero . this may be expressed as : switch 34 ( s 1 _up ) off ; switch 34 a ( s 2 _up ) off ; switch 36 ( s 1 _low ) on ; switch 36 a ( s 2 _low ) on ; diode 63 ( d 1 _low ) off ; and diode 63 a ( d 2 _low ) off . mode 1 of operation , when 0 & lt ; t & lt ; t 1 , is depicted in fig1 . this may be expressed as : switch 34 ( s 1 _up ) on ; switch 36 ( s 1 _low ) off ; switch 34 a ( s 2 _up ) off ; switch 26 a ( s 2 _low ) on ; diode 63 ( d 1 _low ) on ; and diode 63 a ( d 2 _low ) off . for purposes of this example : z = l r c r ( 8 ) ω o = 1 l r ⁢ c r ( 9 ) i r ⁡ ( 0 ) = i r1 ( 10 ) i ⁡ ( t ) = i ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ ⁢ z v in ( 12 ) mode 2 of operation , when t 1 & lt ; t & lt ; t 2 , is depicted in fig1 . this may be expressed as : switch 34 ( s 1 _up ) on ; switch 36 ( s 1 _low ) off ; switch 34 a ( s 2 _up ) off ; switch 36 a ( s 2 _low ) on ; diode 63 ( d 1 _low ) off ; and diode 63 a ( d 2 _low ) off . at an initial condition : i r ⁡ ( t 1 ) = io 2 v cr ⁡ ( t1 ) = 0 ( 15 ) mode 3 of operation , when t 2 & lt ; t & lt ; t 3 , is depicted in fig1 . this may be expressed as : switch 34 ( s 1 _up ) off ; switch 36 ( s 1 _low ) off ; switch 34 a ( s 2 _up ) off ; switch 36 a ( s 2 _low ) on ; diode 63 ( d 1 _low ) off ; and diode 63 a ( d 2 _low ) off . the initial condition is : the state plane diagram for this type of function is depicted in fig1 . points are shown for the center of operation of mode 2 , a graph for mode 2 during on time , the center of operation for mode 3 , a graph when tie is off , and a point for mode 1 during inductor 60 charge . analytical solutions are : simplified equations for the circuit functions may be expressed as using : i r1n = 2 ⁢ ( cos ⁡ ( β ) - cos ⁡ ( θ 2 ) ) sin ⁡ ( θ 2 ) ( 33 ) i r2n = 2 ⁢ ( cos ⁡ ( θ 2 ) ⁢ cos ⁡ ( β ) - 1 ) sin ⁡ ( θ 2 ) ( 34 ) i on = 2 ⁢ 2 ⁢ ( cos ⁡ ( θ 2 ) ⁢ cos ⁡ ( β ) - 1 ) sin ⁡ ( θ 2 ) - 2 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( β ) ( 35 ) v mn = 1 − cos ( β ) ( 36 ) tsω o = 2β + 2 θ + i on − i r1n ( 37 ) p in_n = 2 ts ⁢ ( ∫ 0 o ⁢ i rn ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ ∂ t = ∫ 0 1 ⁢ i rn ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ ∂ t ⁢ + ∫ 0 ts ⁢ i rn ⁡ ( t ) ⁢ ∂ t ) ( 38 ) p out — n = i on d ( 39 ) v o v in ⇔ duty ⁢ ⁢ cycle ( 40 ) using the conservation of energy , it is possible to obtain d as a function of β and θ : a graphical example of this conservation of energy is depicted in fig1 , where l r = 10 nh , c r = 10 nf , n = 2 , and toff = 90 ns . generalized solutions for the duty , on time , and number of phases n are depicted in fig2 . this three - dimensional graph shows duty on the vertical axis y and the number of phases n and on time on the lower axes x and z . the spice ( simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis ) result is depicted in fig2 . this graph shows on time on the horizontal axis and voltage on the vertical axis . the v - switch , gate drive , and next phase gate drive are shown . a spice model set - up circuit is depicted in fig2 . the spice model set - up shows various integrated circuits as u51 and u50 operative with various components and ic &# 39 ; s . the spice model , of course , is a computerized modeling technique for the design of integrated circuits . by entering details of the circuit using the spice model as illustrated , it is possible to check for frequency and phase response of the circuit and check the circuit response over a set period of time as a transient analysis as compared to an ac analysis . there are also different analyses to check effects of temperature variations and noise . by using the spice model as shown in fig2 , the design was tested “ on paper ” and then prototyped . a graph showing a state plane full load is depicted in fig2 . this graph shows modes 1 , 2 and 3 . a no load state diagram is depicted in fig2 . fig2 depicts an efficiency comparison between hard and soft switching . many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and having the benefit of the teachings presented herein . therefore , it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed , and that modifications thereto and alternative embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims .	8
in fig1 and 2 is shown a trailer 10 having body 12 mounted on frame members 14 and 16 , and having wheel assemblies 18 and 20 . it will be understood that trailer 10 is shown as an example only and that body 12 may accommodate passengers , cargo or both , and can also be a free standing human shelter or a storage facility . body 12 defines a rectangular opening 22 in which fits expansion unit 24 , the expansion unit shown in a retracted position in fig1 and shown in a deployed position in fig2 . the expansion unit &# 39 ; s lateral wall 40 is rigid and optionally defines openings such as windows 42 . the expansion unit &# 39 ; s roof panel 44 is also preferably rigid so as to add structural strength to expansion unit 24 , but panel 44 may optionally be made of pliable or flexible material . the rear panel 46 and opposed front panel 52 ( not shown in fig2 ) are similar to each other and each has a flexible or pliable outer wall 48 that folds along folds or pleat lines 50 when expansion unit retracts from the fig2 position to the fig1 position . it may be preferred that outer wall 48 have more pleat lines than are shown in fig2 so that wall 48 has a smaller width and protrudes less from the general plane defined by racks 26 and 28 when the wall is in a folded configuration . expansion unit 24 is laterally translatably mounted to trailer 10 by upper toothed racks 26 and lower toothed racks 28 , these racks also being shown in fig5 . racks 26 and 28 are fixed to expansion unit 24 and serve as part of the frame of the expansion unit . as best seen in fig5 each upper rack 26 has an inboard end 30 and an outboard end 32 and each lower rack has an inboard end 34 and an outboard end 36 . the racks are engaged and translated by gear 38 rotatably mounted inside trailer 10 at the four corners of rectangular opening 22 , the gears being shown in fig3 and 5 . fig5 shows the positional relation between racks and gears when the racks and expansion unit 24 are in their most outboard , fully deployed positions . fig5 is a view of front panel 52 as seen from inside expansion unit 24 , panel 52 being on the opposite end of expansion unit 24 from rear panel 46 in fig2 . panel 52 has an outer flexible wall 54 bordered by rack 26 , rack 28 , an elongate outboard upright 58 and elongate inboard upright 60 , wall 54 being foldable on pleat lines 56 . outboard upright 58 is a rigid rod fixed between racks 26 and 28 at the outboard ends thereof , whereby upright 58 acts as a frame member at an outer corner of expansion unit 24 . inboard upright 60 is fixed to a trailer structural member 62 , which typically is disposed along one side of rectangular opening 22 . upright 60 is attached to structural member 62 by brackets 64 , by welding , or by other known suitable means , whereby rack 60 is fixed relative to trailer 10 . racks 26 and 28 are slidingly engaged respectively to the upper and lower ends of upright 60 . the details of the sliding engagement between upright 60 and the racks are omitted from fig5 in order to simplify that figure , but these details are shown by fig8 and 9 . the sliding engagement allows racks 26 and 28 to translate inboard and outboard respectively during retraction or deployment of expansion unit 24 . between uprights 58 and 60 are translatable intermediate uprights 66 and 68 , which are slidingly engaged to racks 26 and 28 in the same fashion as inboard upright 60 . uprights 66 and 68 , unlike upright 60 , are mobile relative to trailer 10 . still referring to fig5 it will be seen that all of the uprights are connected by a linkage subassembly 70 . subassembly 70 comprises a parallelogram formed by four elongate , bar - shaped linkage members 72 connected pivotally by joints 74 , 76 , 78 and 80 at the corners of the parallelogram . joint 74 is attached to upright 58 so that the pivot axis of joint 74 is fixed relative to upright 58 but the members 72 connected by joint 74 can move relative to upright 58 . likewise , joint 78 is attached to upright 60 so that the pivot axis of joint 78 is fixed relative to upright 60 , but the members 72 connected by joint 78 can move relative to upright 60 . subassembly 70 further comprises elongate carriages , as at 82 , attached to intermediate uprights 66 and 68 and slidable therealong . members 72 are swingably connected to the carriages by pivot pins such as that shown at 84 . alternatively , it is possible to have carriage members 82 slidingly mounted to members 72 and pivotally connected to the intermediate uprights . the connections between linkage member 72 , carriage 82 and upright 68 are shown in greater detail in fig6 and 7 , where it can be seen that upright 68 acts as a rail upon which rides carriage 82 . carriage 82 has the general shape of an elongate rectangular channel closely but slidingly fit onto upright 68 , carriage 82 held on the upright by flanges 86 . the shank of pivot pin 84 is press fit into recess 88 defined by carriage 82 , but pin 84 may alternately be threadingly engaged to carriage 82 or bonded to the carriage by adhesive . as seen in fig7 axis 90 is both the longitudinal axis of pin 84 and the pivot or swing axis of linkage member 72 as that member pivots on pin 84 . an alternate for the connection between member 72 and upright 68 is shown in fig1 and 11 , wherein linkage member 72a is analogous to member 72 and upright 68a is analogous to upright 68 . upright 68a defines an elongate oval slot 91 in which closely and slidingly fits a circular boss 92 . boss 92 may be fixed to member 72a by any conventional means and may be integral with member 72a as shown in fig1 and 11 . optionally , the elongate slot can be defined by member 72a and the boss can be on upright 68a . details of the sliding engagement between intermediate upright 68 and rack 26 are shown by fig8 and 9 , the sliding engagement between upright 68 and rack 28 being the same as shown by these figures . likewise , the sliding engagement between the ends of intermediate upright 66 or inboard upright 60 and the racks are the same as the sliding engagement between the upright 68 and the racks . the sliding engagement is accomplished by means of a cross - sectionally t - shaped key way 94 defined by and running along upright 68 . an elongate , complimentarily cross - sectionally t - shaped terminus or key 96 of upright 68 fits closely within key way 94 and slides along the key way . as shown in fig8 the length dimension of key 96 is parallel to the key way . in fig3 is shown the location within trailer 10 of the components of the driving mechanism which translates expansion unit 24 outboard or inboard respectively for that unit &# 39 ; s deployment or retraction . the preferred power source is a reversible electric motor 98 located inside trailer 10 at the bottom edge of rectangular opening 22 . motor 98 turns transfer shafts 100 and 102 , which are connected to the gears 38 disposed at lower corners of opening 22 . the gears at the lower corners drive the lower racks 28 , the outboard ends 36 of the lower racks being visible in fig3 . coaxially fixed to the gears at the lower corners are lower stub shafts 104 and 106 that are connected to analogous upper stub shafts 108 and 110 by drive loops 112 and 114 , which can be conventional drive belts or drive chains . upper stub shafts 108 and 110 are coaxially fixed to the gears 38 located at the upper corners of rectangular opening 22 , and these gears are solidly connected together by control shaft 116 so that these gears rotate in unison . because of drive loops 112 and 114 , the gears 38 at the lower corners of opening 22 rotate in unison with the gears 38 at the upper corners of opening 22 . normally expansion unit 24 is supported only by gears 38 when the expansion unit is in the fig1 retracted position or when the expansion unit is translating outboard during its deployment . after expansion unit 24 is deployed , it will be vertically supported by any suitable means , such as removable stanchion post 118 in fig4 . it may be desired in some cases , however , to provide support in addition to gears 38 either when unit 24 is being deployed or retracted , or when unit 24 is in the fully retracted ( fig1 ) position . means for supporting expansion unit 24 during deployment are illustrated in fig4 wherein one or more guide beams 120 are disposed between and parallel to lower racks 28 , one of racks 28 omitted from fig4 in order to more clearly show beam 120 . guide beam 120 is positioned so that expansion unit 24 rests on and slides along the beam as the expansion unit deploys or retracts . typically , inboard end 122 of beam 120 is not affixed to trailer 10 and need not contact trailer 10 , although abutting contact between end 122 and the trailer may be preferable . outboard end 124 of beam 120 is solidly fixed to truss 126 , which is detachably fastened to frame member 16 at truss flange 128 by bolts or other removable fasteners . from the foregoing , it will be realized that guide beam 120 is a cantilever beam extending from truss 126 toward trailer 10 . additional support for beam 120 may be provided by a stanchion assembly comprised of stanchion post 118 , a bracket 130 fixed atop the post and adjustable foot 132 at the bottom of the post . bracket 130 is detachably fastened to truss 126 by bolts or other removable fasteners . bracket 130 optionally is detachably fastened to beam 120 instead of truss 126 . shoe 132 is threadingly engaged to the lower end of post 118 , whereby rotating shoe 132 raises the shoe or lowers it so as to accommodate variation in level of surface 134 upon which trailer 10 rests . a means for supporting expansion unit 24 in the retracted position is shown in fig1 , this means also supporting unit 24 during deployment . in fig1 , lower rack 136 is in all respects the same as lower rack 28 except for modified inboard end 138 , which terminates in slide foot 140 . engaging foot 140 is rail 142 , which is disposed at least along the most inboard portion of the translational path of rack 136 , whereby foot 140 rests upon rail 142 at least when expansion unit 24 is in its fully retracted position . rail 142 is fixed to floor 144 or other structural member of trailer 24 . during inboard or outboard translation of expansion unit 24 , foot bears upon and slides along rail 142 . i wish it to be understood that i do not desire to be limited to the exact details of the construction shown and described herein since obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the relevant arts without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims .	1
the surgical prosthetic device of this invention comprises two components forming an integral structure : ( i ) a main body or core , and ( ii ) a biological substrate . the main body or core is of a predetermined size , shape and material , depending upon the prosthetic device properties desired , as subsequently described below . the biological substrate forms a long lasting biological bond or anchorage between the surface of the surgically implanted prosthetic device and the host tissues . the biological substrate , which comprises advantageously a polymeric matrix in which collagen fibers are embedded , is secured to the main body or core to form a number of layers anchored together , thus forming an integral structure . although the biological substrate forms an integer , for the purpose of describing the present invention , a structure having three layers is set out by way of example in the following : ( a ) an inner layer of about 0 . 5 to about 3 mm thickness , preferably a plastic polymer . during fabrication of the biological substrate , the plastic polymer is bonded , either mechanically or chemically , to the core of the prosthetic device . ( b ) an intermediate layer 0 . 2 mm to about 5 mm thick composed of the same plastic polymer as in ( a ) and of collagen fibrils , 0 . 1 - 1 u in diameter which are arranged either in a three - dimensional mesh or in bundles 0 . 01 to 1 mm thick . the spaces between the collagen fibrils forming such mesh or bundles being occupied by the plastic polymer . moreover , during the processing of the biological substrate , the plastic polymer infiltrates each of the mesh fibrils . that means that the micro - fibrils and possibly the molecules of the collagen fibrils and fibers are impregnated with the plastic polymer . this collagen polymer interaction is achieved by the unique process of production of the biological substrate as described below . ( c ) an outer layer 0 . 5 to 2 . 5 mm thick consisting of either a mesh of collagen fibers or bundles of collagen , the fibrils of which are a continuity of the fibrils in the intermediate layer . thus , the same collagen structure is embedded within the polymer matrix of the intermediate layer of the biological substrate and it constitutes the outer layer of the substrate . the special relation between the plastic polymer and the collagen fibers in the intermediate layer described in ( b ), provides an extremely strong anchorage for the collagen fibers of the outer layer . experiments performed in order to test the bond strength between the collagen mesh and the plastic polymer indicate that the collagen fibers rupture before they can be separated from the plastic polymer when push - out mechanical force is applied . the outer layer of the biological substrate is adapted to serve as the means by which the substrate is biologically anchored to the surrounding host tissues . this is made possible due to the fact that the collagen structure of the outer layer forms a biological matrix that stimulates the host tissues which it makes contact with , to ingrow between and to bind to its collagen fibers . the practical meaning of the biological bond is that the collagen fibers of the collagen mesh become an intergral part of the host tissues with which they interact . since the same collagen fibers are also strongly secured to the polymer matrix , the biological substrate of this invention becomes biologically affixed to the host tissues . it is evident from the above that the biological substrate is used as an unique means to biologically anchor the novel prosthetic device to host tissues . in the long term , it is expected that the collagen fibers of the outer layer of the biological substrate that form an integral structure with the host tissues will be replaced by collagen fibers produced by the host tissue cells . however , experimental work indicates that the continuity between the newly formed collagen fibers of the outer layer and the collagen fibers in the intermediate layer will be preserved . thus , the biological anchorage of the prosthetic device of this invention to the host tissue will be also preserved during the process of collagen replacement . moreover , this preservation is made possible despite the fact that the &# 34 ; anchorage ropes ,&# 34 ; that is , the collagen fibers of the outer layer are continuously renewed consequent to the physiological turnover of the host tissues . the biological anchorage of the prosthetic device of this invention to the host tissue is superior to the mechanical anchorage of the prior art . further , the biological anchorage overcomes the weakness problems associated with prior mechanically bonded artificial implants . the two reasons for this are : first , the host tissues identify the outer layer of the biological substrate as a biological material . consequently , this material -- namely , the collagen fibers , are incorporated within the host tissue and becomes an integral part with same . since these collagen fibers are continuously renewed during the physiological turnover of the host tissue and are also embedded within the plastic polymer of the biological substrate as described above , a long lasting biological bond is formed between the artificial implant and the host tissue . second , the shear forces that develop at the implant - tissue interface are attenuated and translocated within the host tissue by the collagen fibers of the biological substrate of the prosthetic device of this invention . therefore , the main factors that cause the loosening of the mechanically secured artificial implants are eliminated as a result of the novel biological properties of the prosthetic device of this invention and a long lasting function of the implant is made possible . materials which can be used for the production of surgical prosthetic devices of the invention are : a . for the production of the main body of the prosthetic device ( its core ): metallic materials are used when the implant must withstand stress , shearing and torsion forces of considerable magnitude . examples of such metallic materials are : austenitic stainless steel , titanium , titanium alloys and cobalt alloys . metallic materials are used for the fabrication of orthopedic and dental implants . plastic materials are used to answer special biophysical demands . for example : ( a ) the main body of a surgical ophtalmic implant is made of a plastic material like polymethymethacrylate that enables light to pass through ; ( b ) high density polyethylene is used for the fabrication of articular surfaces of joint implants in order to answer low friction demands . examples of suitable plastic materials are : acrylics such as like polymethylmethacrylate ,-- aromatic acrylics , cyanoacrylate ; silicone rubbers ; polyethylene derivatives ; polyacetal derivatives . ceramic materials are used for the fabrication of articular surfaces of surgical joint implants when low friction and low wear surfaces are requested . fiber reinforced plastic polymers are an alternative to the metallic materials for the fabrication of the main body of the surgical prosthetic device . examples of these are : carbon reinforced polymers , carbon reinforced carbon , glass fibers reinforced polymer , plastic fibers reinforced polymer , collagen fibers reinforced polymer . b . materials used for the fabrication of the biological substrate of the prosthetic device examples for the plastic polymers used for the fabrication of the biological substrate are : acrylate derivatives , silicone rubber derivatives , polyethylene derivatives , polyacetal derivatives . when required , such plastic polymers can be reinforced by fibers like : carbon fibers , glass fibers , plastic fibers , collagen fibers . examples for collagens used for the preparation of the biological substrate are collagen type i , collagen type ii , collagen type iii . fibronectin , platelet deriving growth factor , bone morphogenetic proteins , vitamin d and its metabolites , growth factors , hormones , collagens types iv , v , vi , vii , viii , ix , x . required properties of the materials used for the fabrication of surgical prosthetic devices of this invention biological properties -- the material of the main body should be a biocompatible material without cytologic or toxic effects on any of the body tissues . mechanical properties -- the main body should have adequate mechanical strength to withstand forces that develop consequent to the long lasting implant function either within the main body or at the interfaces between the main body and other movable or non - movable parts of the prosthetic device . physico - chemical properties --( a ) the main body should be insoluble in any of the body fluids , thus preventing its degration when implanted into the host . ( b ) the main body should not absorb body fluids nor change its dimension when implanted within the host . biological properties -- the plastic polymer should be a bicompatible material without cytologic or toxic effects on any of the body tissues . mechanical properties -- the plastic polymer should have adequate mechanical strength to withstand forces that develop consequent to the long lasting implant function either within the polymer itself or at the interfaces of the biological substrate with the main body of the implant . ( this property is required to ensure the safe securing of the biological substrate to the main body of the prosthetic device when the linkage between the components is mechanical .) physico - chemical properties --( a ) in its solid state , the plastic polymer should be insoluble or non - resurbable in any of the body fluids , preventing its degradation when implanted into the host . ( b ) the plastic polymer should not absorb body fluids nor change its dimension when implanted within the host . ( c ) in order to allow for the embedding of the collagen fibers within the plastic polymer , it should be possible to convert the latter from a liquid monomer to a solid polymer . the conversion should be preferably performed at a temperature not exceeding 38 ° c ., thereby preventing the denaturation of the collagen fibers . ( d ) the plastic material in its liquid state , and during its conversion to the solid state , should have the property of chemically binding to a solid surface of either the same material or similar plastic materials . ( this property is required to enable the chemical linkage of the biological substrate to the main body of a prosthetic device made either of similar or of the same plastic materials as that of the biological substrate .) mechanical properties -- the collagen fibers of the collagen mesh and / or bundles should be strong enough to withstand the forces that develop during the function of the implant . the mechanical strength of the collagen depends on three factors : ( a ) the width of the individual collagen fibers ; ( b ) the cross - linking between the collagen molecules within a fibril and the cross - linking between the microfibrils and fibrils ; and ( c ) the density of the mesh and / or bundles ( the number of collagen fibers per unit volume ). the mechanical strength of the collagen of different implants varies according to the variation in stress and shear forces that exist at the tissue implant interface . for example , the required magnitude of the mechanical strength of a collagen component that is part of a surgical prosthetic lens should be smaller than that of a surgical prosthetic tooth . it is possible to control and regulate the mechanical strength of the collagen component of the biological substrate , when this is prepared in vitro from a molecular solution by regulating the process of fibrilation and the degree of intermolecular and interfibrillar cross - linking . biological properties -- the collagen fibers should preserve their well known biological properties following the partial embedding of the collagen and / or bundles within the polymer matrix of the intermediate layer of the biological substrate . biologic substances for the enrichment of the collagen mesh of the third layer of the biological substrate : collagen is known to bind different biologic substances . these substances are used to modulate the events at the implant host tissue interface during the development of the biological bond . the biological substances should be non - toxic for any of the body organs or tissues . the preparation of the biological substrate and its binding to the main body of the prosthetic device :-- general considerations the preparation of the biological substrate of this invention is performed simultaneously with its binding to the main body . in this respect , the main body may consist of two types of material : ( a ) material that can form chemical bonds with the plastic polymer of the biological substrate . examples of such materials are different biocompatible plastic polymers that have the required physico - chemical properties for being used for the fabrication of a specific implant ; and ( b ) material that cannot form chemical bonds with the plastic polymer . the surface of artificial implants made up of this type of material should be designed to enable the mechanical binding of the plastic polymer of the biologic substrate . examples of such materials are different metal alloys . the first step of preparation of the biological substrate is to bind a layer of the plastic polymer to the surface of the solid core . this layer constitutes the inner layer of the biological substrate described above . to accomplish this , the plastic component of the biological substrate is applied in either its liquid state or as a paste to that surface of the implant that is designated for the anchorage of the implant to the host tissues . there , the plastic polymer of the biological substrate is converted to its solid state . the hardening process may be initiated either by a chemical or physical catalyst such as peroxide , ultraviolet light or heat . during the hardening process , the plastic material of the biological substrate becomes bound to the material of the main body consequent to the formation of either mechanical or chemical bonds . the second step is the preparation of the collagen structure . a collagen mesh is prepared from a molecular solution of collagen . the type ( collagens type i , type ii or type iii or any combination of these ) and source of collagen can be varied according to the type of the recipient host tissue and the desired characteristics of the biological bond . by varying the ph and the temperature of the solution , its ionic composition and concentration , it is possible to control the size of the collagen fibers . a structure of type i collagen bundles is obtained from a tendon . individual bundles are obtained by enzymatic ( trysin and hyaluronidase ) followed by mechanical separation . the individual collagen bundles are trimmed to a length of 1 - 5 mm , subjected to enzymatic treatment ( trysin , hyaluronidase ) in order to remove glycoproteins and proteoglycans , washed and dialyzed against distilled water . the collagen mesh is stabilized by changing the aqueous solution in which it was prepared with 70 % ethyl alcohol . the mesh of collagen fibers is thus gradually dehydrated , and can be preserved in a solution of an organic solvent such as ethyl alcohol , either , chloroform or a mixture of such solvents . the third step is the partial embedding of the collagen aggregate within the polymer matrix of the biological substrate ; that is , the preparation of the intermediate and the outer layers of the biological substrate . in order to do this , the collagen mesh or the collagen bundles are immersed in a solution of monomer of the plastic material of the biological substrate . this is done in order to imbue the collagen fibers with a monomer , thus replacing the organic solvents in the mesh . then a layer of paste of the plastic material is applied to the previously prepared layer of solid plastic polymer . the thickness of this second layer may vary according to the width of collagen structure that has to be embedded within the plastic polymer , this depending upon the biomechanical properties required to be obtained . while the plastic material is still in the liquid state , the collagen mesh and / or bundles are removed from the monomer solution and partly embedded within the paste of the plastic material . then the plastic material is cured . during the process of hardening , the outer part of the collagen mesh and / or bundles is washed continuously with an organic solvent to remove the excess plastic monomer . the temperature of the plastic material should not exceed 38 ° c . during the hardening process in order to prevent the denaturation of the collagen fibers . prior to and following the embedding procedure , the fibers of the collagen - containing structure may be subjected to a process of intermolecular and / or interfibrillar cross - linking . this can be achieved by exposing the collagen fibers to either vapors of gluteraldhyde , to ultraviolet irradiation or to gamma wave irradiation . a mold is prepared which is according to the shape of the collagen mesh before this is partially embedded in the polymer matrix . a solution of collagen i , prepared as set out above is cast into the mold , and after fibrillation and formation of the collagen mesh the collagen structure is fixed , dialyzed exhaustively , dehydrated and dried at the &# 34 ; critical point &# 34 ;, i . e . under conditions of temperature and pressure where the collagen undergoes no appreciable shape change . a polymer paste is prepared and applied to those parts of the collagen mesh which are to be embedded therein . by varying the viscosity of the polymeric composition it is possible to vary the depth of penetration into the mesh . at this stage the polymer is cured so that part of the collagen fiber protrudes from the surface . collagen is the basic biologically active material of the biocompatible substrate of this invention . one prominent quality of the biological substrate is its ability to serve for the attachment and growth of cells . this property of the biological substrate was tested in an in vitro system . it was found that the ability of the collagen mesh of the biological substrate to serve as a substrate for cell attachment and growth has been preserved during the preparation of the substrate and that it is identical to that of demineralized collagen of either bone or teeth . ( a ) prosthetic devices of the invention may be used as artificial implants designed and designated to replace non - functioning auditory ossicles of the middle ear . the main function of such implant is to transmit the vibrations elicited by the tympanic membrane to the perilymphatic fluid of the inner ear . to perform this function , the implant must be affixed at its opposing extremities to the inner side of the tympanic membrane and either to the base of the stapes bone or to the oval window of the bony vestibule . the implant consists of a main body and the biological substrate of this invention , which may either cover the entire surface of the implant or may be located at the opposing extremities of the implant where the biological substrate serves as its biological anchorage to both the inner side of the tympanic membrane and the base of the stapes bone . in the event that the implant cannot be affixed to the base of the stapes , but instead is attached to the oval window , then the biological substrate is located only on that part of the implant that must be anchored to the tympanic membrane . in the event that all of the implant surfaces are covered by the biological substrate , the implant is covered by a thin layer of connective tissue and epithelium that binds to the collagen mesh of the biological substrate . these tissues are continuous at the extremities of the implant with the tissues of the recipient sites . thus , the implant becomes an integral part of the host tissues . this type of biological anchorage enables the lifelong function of the described implant which has superior properties as compared with prior used artificial implants that were mechanically anchored . ( b ) an additional use is in the ophthalmologic field . two types of artificial implants were introduced in this field : artificial lenses and artificial corneae . both are mechanically secured to the recipient site . failure of these implants , particularly the cornea , are consequent to their detachment from the recipient tissue . to date , surgical artificial lenses are the main implant in this field and implantion of artificial cornea has been abandoned . generally , the artificial cornea and lens of this invention are either biconvex or concave and convex discs . the disc , which is the main body , is made of a material that has the required optical properties , like polymethylmethacrylate and , or glass . the peripheral rim of the disc is indented and comprises the biological substrate , which is chemically bound to the equatorial periphery of the disc by the process described above . the peripheral indentation serves as the mechanical retention of the implant until the biological bond between the artificial cornea or the artificial lens and the connective tissue of the sclera or the posterior capsule of the lens , repectively is formed . the biological anchorage , once formed safely secures such implants to the surrounding supporting tissues . ( c ) prosthetic devices of this invention can be used in the field of dental implantology . three types of implants are presented : ( 1 ) artificial implants designated to provide additional support to teeth that become mobile as a result of periodontal disease . such implants are conically - shaped and are implanted into the periapical bone through the root canal of the tooth . in order to receive the implant , both the root canal and the periapical bone are mechanically trimmed with the use of an adequate set of reamers and files . the main body of the implant is made of a metallic material like cobalt alloy , vitallium ( trade mark ), titanium or titanium alloys . the implant is secured to the tooth by the cementation of that part of the implant main body located within the root canal of the tooth . that part of the implant main body which extends beyond the apex of the tooth into the periapical bone comprises on its outer surface a biological substrate . the collagen fibers of the outer layer of the biological substrate are enriched by biological substances known to enhance the migration , attachment and proliferation of fibroblasts . these cells migrate from the apical periodontal ligament and from the adjacent bone to colonize the collagen mesh of the outer layer of the biological substrate to form a ligament - like structure between the surface of the implant and the surrounding periapical bone . since the collagen fibers of the collagen mesh become an integral part of the fibrous component of this ligamentous structure and since this component is also embedded within the periapical bone , a fibrous anchorage of the implant to the periapical bony socket is obtained . this anchorage has similar properties to that provided by the periodontal ligament which is the tissue that normally anchors and supports the tooth in its socket . the additional support gained by the use of the implant of the invention assists in stabilizing the mobile tooth and prevents its loss . ( 2 ) a second type of novel artificial dental implant of this invention is designated to replace : ( a ) teeth that are extracted as a result of loss of tooth material due to caries or to endodontic failure ; and ( b ) teeth that are avulged as a result of trauma . a prerequisite for the use of this type of dental implant is the existence of sufficient supporting alveolar bone to which remanents of vital periodontal ligament was left following either the extraction or avulsion of the tooth . this type of implant has the shape of a root of a single rooted tooth or roots of multirooted teeth . the implant main body is made of a metal that has the required properties mentioned above . the peripheral part of the main body supports the biological substrate . following either the extraction or avulsion of a tooth , an adequate implant of this type is implanted within the alveolar socket . a ligamentous structure similar to that described in ( c ) ( 1 ) biologically anchors the implant to the bony socket and to the gingival connective tissue . the occlusal part of the implant is designed to accommodate a post that bears a supragingival crown - shaped structure prepared for receiving a prosthodontic restoration . this structure is used to secure the implant to adjacent teeth until the biological anchorage is formed . similar dental implants have been used in prior art suggestions . however , these implants are made only of a metallic material . thus , the nature of the anchorage of the implant to the periapical bone was mechanical , relying on the adaptation and adherence of the bone tissue to the surface of the implant . as discussed above , the failure of these prior suggested implants is due to the shearing forces exerted at the implant bone interface by the micromovements performed by these implants during the function of the tooth . these forces cause the resorption of bone adjacent to the implant surface , its replacement by connective tissue and consequently the loss of anchorage . the ligamentous anchorage obtained by the use of implants of the invention allows micromovements at the implant - ligamentous tissue interface . moreover , these micromovements are considered to be a prerequisite for the maintenance of homeostasis of the ligament and of the bone into which the implants are anchored . ( 3 ) the third type of novel surgical dental implant of this invention is designated for implantation in edentulous areas . this implant has an adequate design for implantation in areas where the amount of bone available for supporting the implant is limited . the implant consists of an infragingival part and a supragingival part . the infragingival part comprises the biological substrate of the invention and is designated to provide the biological anchorage of the implant to the bone and gingiva . the properties of the collagen of the biological substrate stimulate the rapid growth of bone towards the implant surface . consequently , the free collagen fibers of the substrate are embedded within newly formed tissue , thus securing the implant to the surrounding bone and gingiva . the supragingival part is designed to receive a non - surgical prosthesis . the main body of the implant consists of a metallic material as described above . ( d ) novel surgery prosthetic devices of the invention can be used in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery . three types of implants are presented by way of example : ( 1 ) artificial implants designated to replace relatively thin hard matrix of tissue such as cartilage of the ear and cartilage and bone of the nose . ( 2 ) artificial implants designated to be added to the body tissue thus creating new appearance of the organ or the body . ( 3 ) artificial implants designated to replace inner body hard structures such as parts of cartilage of trachea and / or bronchi of the respiratory tract system . the implant must be affixed with its entire outer surface to the surrounding tissue . the main body of the implant can be made of a plastic polymer such as polymethylmetacrylate and is completely covered by the biological substrate . as a result of the development of the biological anchorage , the implant is incorporated within the host tissues . the biological anchorage of the implant to the surrounding tissues prevents the encapsulation and cyst formation around the implant as is the case when implants of prior arts are used . the design of the implant is made according to functional , aesthetical and anatomical demands . the implant can be designed to replace a missing nose or can have a tubular or part of a tubular wall configuration in order to replace part of the trachea , thus keeping the airways open . it can also be designed to replace part of the sclera following its surgical resection or traumatic perforation . ( e ) novel surgical prosthetic devices of this invention are used in the field of orthopedic surgery . three types of implants are presented as example : ( 1 ) implants designated to replace parts of bone . the main body can be made either from metallic materials or from plastic or plastic composite . the main body is covered completely by the biological substrate allowing the surrounding tissues to bind biologically to all of its outer surface . the incorporation of the implant into bone tissue is full and complete . ( 2 ) implants designated for the total or partial replacement of joints . generally , the implants main body is constructed in accordance to the up - to - date state of prior art . the artificial implant consists of two parts with articulation between them to form a joint . each part exhibits an extrabony and an intrabony aspect . the extrabony aspect bears the articular surface . the part of the main body incorporated into the bone is covered by the biological substrate which enhances the bone surrounding the implant to grow and fill the defects produced during the preparations of the recipient site . the free collagen fibers of the biological substrate are embedded within the newly formed tissue , thus securing the implant to the surrounding bone . ( 3 ) implants designated to enable the activation of a non - surgical limb prosthesis attached to the remanent of an amputated limb . the implant is implanted into a muscle of a remanent amputated limb . the implant consists of either a plastic or metal material covered completely by the biological substrate . the biological substrate enables the securing of the implant to the muscle connective tissue . either a plastic or metal rope emerging from the implant transfers the contraction forces to the non - surgical limb prosthesis enabling its activation . the biological anchorage of the device to the muscle tissue withstands the tensional forces applied on the implant during the activation of the non - surgical limb prosthesis . this novel type of implant allows for a simple and physiological activation of a non - surgical limb prosthesis that can mimic physiological limb movements . ( f ) novel surgical prosthetic devices of this invention may be employed to connect internal tubular systems of the body to external treatment devices . the implant consists of either a metal or a plastic ring that is partly embedded within the body and partly projects above the skin . the biological substrate is bonded to the peripheral surface of the embedded part of the ring and to its internal rim . the biological substrate ensures the biological securing of the tissue of the tubular systems and those of the skin and of other tissues of the body wall to the ring surface . the biological securing of the device is required in order to obtain a complete sealing at the host tissue - implant interface and thus preventing ( a ) leakage of body fluids and or materials from the tubular systems into the surrounding tissues ; ( b ) loosening of the implant ; and ( c ) the development of inflammation and infection at the site of implantation . this example illustrates the formation of a surgical prosthetic device designated to withstand load . a femoral metal stem of a knee joint prosthesis made of vitallium that exhibits a rough surface ( similar to pca prosthesis ) is degreased , cleaned and dried . a commercial radiolucent polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ) ( simplex p . by northill plastics inc ., england ) is used . 20 cc of liquid monomer of this material is mixed with 40 gr of powdered partial polymerized pmma and the obtained loose paste is centrifuged for 3 min at 3000 rpm . the centrifuged mixture is held in a mould around the rough surface of the femural stem and let to harden for 10 days . all of these steps are carried out at 4 ° c . thus a 3 mm thick uniform layer of pmma bonded to the metal stem is obtained . a gelatinous mesh of type i human collagen in a 20 ml aqueous solution is prepared according to the method described by williams et al . ( 1978 , 1979 ). the concentration of collagen is approximately 3 . 5 - 4 mg / ml . the gel is transferred into a dish so that a 5 mm thick layer is obtained . this layer is irradiated with a 100 w ultraviolet lamp for 60 min and then dehydrated in a series of ethanols ( 50 , 70 , 80 , 90 , 95 , 100 % solution for half an hour in each solution ). the absolute ethanol is replaced by liquid monomer of methyl methacrylate that contains 90 ppm of hydroquinone . the layer of collagen gel is removed from the liquid monomer and placed onto a flat surface . a 2 - 3 mm thick layer of pmma paste , prepared as described above , is applied on the surface of the collagen layer and let to stay for 10 min at 4 ° c . then , the side comprising the paste of the composite preparation of pmma and the partly embedded collagen is applied to the surface of the pmma coated metal stem . the product is immediately immersed into a shacking bath of absolute ethanol at 21 ° c ., for 1 hour . using this procedure one can obtain a biological substrate having a thickness of 7 - 8 mm . the free collagen layer is 2 - 3 mm thick , the pmma layer comprising the embedded collagen is 2 - 3 mm thick and the layer of pmma attached to the femural stem is 3 mm thick . following the hardening of the pmma paste , the product is preserved in absolute ethanol until used . this example illustrates the preparation of a prosthetic device that consists of a plastic core to which the biological substrate is attached . a commercial artificial lens made of acrylic can be used . the peripheral rim of the lens is conditioned with liquid methyl methacrylate monomer for 5 min . a 0 . 5 mm layer of loose paste of pmma prepared as in example i is applied to the peripheral rim of the lens . a 1 mm thick layer of collagen mesh is prepared , dehydrated , and maintained in absolute ethanol as described in example i . a strip of collagen mesh having the same width as that of the peripheral rim of the lens is cut out from the 1 mm thick layer of collagen and is applied to the 0 . 5 mm thick layer of pmma paste immediately after this has been applied to the peripheral rim of the lens . following completion of the polymerization , the solid pmma is bonded chemically to the acrylic lens and its superficial part ( 0 . 5 mm in thickness ) comprises part of the collagen mesh of the biological substrate . a 0 . 5 mm thick layer of free collagen mesh attached to the peripheral rim of the lens is obtained using this procedure . this example illustrates an implant that penetrates through the body wall -- gingiva , and connects an internal part of the body -- the bone of the jaw , to an outer device -- a dental prosthetic device . a metallic core made of titanium is used to prepare the implant . the core is prepared as one integer using a routine casting procedure . the core consists of three parts : ( 1 ) an horizontal suprabony plate , the dimensions of which are 10 - 20 mm by 3 - 5 mm by 0 . 5 - 1 mm ( 2 ) a wedge - shaped infrabony part , the bases of which is continuous with the lower aspect of the suprabony plate . the dimensions of the wedge are : the length and width of the wedge at its base are 1 - 2 mm less than those of the suprabony plate to which it is attached ; the height of the wedge is 5 - 10 mm . the angle of convergence of the lateral aspects of the wedge is 75 ° relative to the plane of the suprabony plate . the tip of the wedge exhibits a round shape . the surface of the internal part of the core is indented . ( b ) an intermediate part which is cylindrical having a diameter of 3 - 5 mm and a height of 3 - 4 mm . the cylinder is located in the center of the superficial aspect of the horizontal plate of the internal part . the peripheral aspect of the cylinder exhibits two types of surfaces : the deeper part ( 2 - 3 mm ) is indented , and the superficial part ( 1 - 2 mm ) is highly polished . ( c ) a supragingival or intra - oral part is directly continuous with the intermediate part . it has a truncated conical appearance . the larger base of the truncated cone has the same diameter as that of the cylinder of the intermediate part and the diameter of the smaller base is 0 . 5 - 1 mm less . a 0 . 5 mm thick layer of either pmma paste or of a commercial composite of bis - gamma methyl acrylate and glass fibers are attached to the indented surface of the titanium core using the method described in a 1 mm thick layer of collagen mesh in liquid monomer of one of the above mentioned plastics is coated with a 1 mm thick layer of paste of the same material previously attached to the titanium core and is attached to the core as described in example i . using this procedure , a 2 . 5 mm thick biological substrate attached to the titanium core is obtained . the collagen free layer of the substrate is about 0 . 5 mm thick , the layer of plastic material comprising the collagen is 1 mm thick and the deepest layer of pure plastic material is 1 mm thick . it should be mentioned that the peripheral surface of the intermediate part of the implant serves two purposes : ( 1 ) the deepest part bearing the biological substrate is designated to serve for the biological attachment of the connective tissue of the gingiva to the implant surface . ( 2 ) the superficial part that exhibits a highly polished surface is designated for the attachment of the epithelial component of the gingiva to the implant surface . the development of a long standing attachment of both the epithelial and mesenchymal components of the gingiva to the implant surface is a prerequisite for the development of a perfect seal at the site where the implant penetrates through the body wall to communicate to the external environment . this seal is required in order to prevent infection and inflammation at the implant - lost tissue interface and thus to ensure the long standing function of this type of implant .	0
the following non - limiting examples show the flexibility of the invention as applied to magnesium / air battery / fuel cells : magnesium am60 alloy sheet anode ( 94 % magnesium and 6 % aluminum content by weight ) was submerged together with an air cathode in a seawater electrolyte with and without the addition of 0 . 0001 molar dithiobiuret containing p - tolyl and phenyl r and r ′ functional groups , respectively . the cell was operated at a discharge current of 5 amperes ( 32 mamp / cm 2 starting anode current density ) without replenishment of the electrolyte until the cell voltage dropped to zero due to dissolution of magnesium plus aluminum . the electrolyte was initially at room temperature . the average cell voltage , power density ( watts per liter , w / l ) energy density ( watt hours per liter , wh / l ) and average anode utilization efficiency ( 100 %— hydrogen production efficiency ) for a single - cell system are summarized below : magnesium am60 alloy sheet anode was submerged together with an air cathode in a 13 % by weight sodium chloride electrolyte with and without the addition of 0 . 0001 molar dithiobiuret containing p - tolyl and phenyl r and r ′ functional groups respectively . the cell was operated at a discharge current of 5 amperes ( 32 mamp / cm 2 starting anode current density ) without replenishment of the electrolyte until the cell voltage dropped to zero due to dissolution of magnesium plus aluminum . the electrolyte was initially at room temperature . the average cell voltage , power density ( watts per liter , w / l ) energy density ( watt hours per liter , wh / l ) and average anode utilization efficiency ( 100 %— hydrogen production efficiency ) for a single - cell system are summarized below : magnesium am60 alloy sheet anode was submerged together with an air cathode in a 24 % sodium citrate , 12 % sodium sulphate , 1 % sodium chloride ( all % by weight ) electrolyte with and without the addition of 0 . 003 molar sodium stannate ( na 2 sno 3 ). the cell was operated at a discharge current of 5 amperes ( 32 mamp / cm 2 starting anode current density ) without replenishment of the electrolyte until the cell voltage dropped to zero due to dissolution of magnesium plus aluminum . the electrolyte was initially at room temperature . the average cell voltage , power density ( watts per liter , w / l ) energy density ( watt hours per liter , wh / l ) and average anode utilization efficiency ( 100 %— hydrogen production efficiency ) for a single - cell system are summarized below : the experiment in example 3 above was repeated with the further addition of a quaternary ammonium salt , tricaprylmethylammonium chloride ([ ch 3 ( ch 2 ) 7 ] 3 ch 3 n + cl − , aliquat ® 336 ) to the electrolyte at 0 . 0001 molar concentration . the average cell voltage , power density ( watts per liter ), energy density ( watt hours per liter , wh / l ) and average anode utilization efficiency ( 100 %— hydrogen production efficiency ) are summarized below : this experiment clearly shows the beneficial interaction between tin and quaternary ammonium salt additives in improvement of the metal / air battery performance with anodes containing magnesium or its alloys . the experiment in example 4 above was repeated with the removal of the tin additive ( i . e . stannate ) from the electrolyte , while retaining the quaternary ammonium salt additive aliquat 336 . the average cell voltage , power density ( watts per liter , w / l ), energy density ( watt hours per liter wh / l ) and average anode utilization efficiency ( 100 %— hydrogen production efficiency ) are summarized below : although the addition of the quaternary ammonium salt additive improved the cell performance , the combination of tin containing additives with the quaternary ammonium salt and magnesium containing anodes , was clearly superior to that of a quaternary ammonium salt alone , as shown by the energy density and anode utilization efficiency comparison with example 4 . the combination of a tin additive and a quaternary ammonium salt suppressed hydrogen evolution on a magnesium containing anode to a greater extent than either additive used alone . in order to investigate the effect of the additives in conjunction with zinc - containing magnesium alloys experiments were performed using az31 alloy sheet anode submerged with an air cathode in an electrolyte mixture composed of 24 % by weight sodium citrate , 12 % by weight sodium sulfate and 1 % by weight sodium chloride . experiments were performed with and without additives present in the electrolyte . the additives were either 0 . 0001 molar aliquat 336 or a combination of 0 . 0001 molar aliquat 336 and 0 . 003 molar sodium stannate . a discharge current per cell of 5 a was applied ( anode current density at start of 35 mamp / cm 2 ) and the experiment was continued until the cell voltage dropped to 0 . 8 v . the electrolyte was initially at room temperature and it was used without replenishment . the average cell voltage , power density ( watt per liter , w / l ), energy density ( watt hours per liter , w / l ) and anode utilization efficiency ( 100 %— hydrogen production efficiency ) per single cell are summarized below : the above example shows that using the combination additive ( i . e . quaternary ammonium salt aliquat 336 and stannate ) in conjunction with the az31 alloy , improved all 4 performance factors of the magnesium - air fuel cell containing a magnesium - aluminum - zinc alloy . accordingly , while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications of the illustrative embodiments , as well as other embodiments of the invention , will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this description . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the scope of the invention .	7
as can be seen in fig1 of the drawings , a building 10 is illustrated having a wall 11 with a floor and ceiling . a doorway 12 allows access to the building 10 which is divided by a temporary wall 13 to form a work space 14 in which asbestos is being removed and which may be contaminated with airborne particles . a negative air pressure ( sub - ambiant pressure ) is maintained within the work space 14 by use of an air exhaust device 15 including a blower equipped with a hepa filter 16 ( high efficiency particulate air ) which exhaust to atmosphere generally referred to as 17 . make - up air enters the work space 14 via a decontamination enclosure 19 which communicates with the work space 14 and the rest of the building 10 . the decontamination enclosure 19 is made up of multiple rigid doorway frames 20 , best seen in fig2 and 8 of the drawings having a door opening 21 and a transom opening 22 within . additionally , each of the doorway frames have three depressions 23 adjacent the door opening 21 and four spaced assembly depression openings 24 one each located at respective corners of said doorway frame 19 both of which will be discussed in greater detail later . referring now to fig4 and 8 of the drawings , each doorway frame 20 is comprised of two identical registering contoured frame panels 25 and 26 that are secured to one another along their respective abutting flared flange edges 25a and 26a by welding defining a hollow interior area 26 around the door and transom openings 21 and 22 respectively . a solid door 28 is positioned within said door opening 21 and is formed by securing two registering contoured door panels 29 and 30 together along their respective abutting edges 31 and straight flange edge 32 , as best seen in fig5 of the drawings . the solid door 28 is mounted to a continuous self - closing springe hinge 33 by multiple fasteners 34 which in turn are secured to the door frame 20 inwardly along the door opening 21 by fasteners 35 . it will be noted that the solid door 28 once mounted will &# 34 ; seal &# 34 ; against the respective flared flanges 25a defining the perimeter of said door opening 21 hereinbefore described . referring now to fig3 and 4 of the drawings , a transom panel 36 can be seen comprised of a single contoured panel section 37 having a flat perimeter flange 38 . the transom panels 36 are generally rectangular and are positioned within the transom openings 22 by a hinge 39 secured to the door frame and to an upper portion 40 of the perimeter flange 38 by a plurality of fasteners 41 . an adjustable counter - weight 42 is attached to one transom panel 36a adjacent its perimeter flange 38 in oppositely disposed relation to said upper portion 40 hereinbefore described only in the doorway frame 20 entering the enclosure 19 . by adjusting the relative position of the counter - weight 42 in relation to the transom panel 36a it will vary the airflow pressure required to move the transom panel 36a from a closed position to a open one as seen in broken lines in fig3 of the drawings and thereby adjust the negative air pressure within the work space 14 given the constant operation of the air exhaust devices 15 at a given rate of exhaust to atmosphere . referring now to fig6 of the drawings , a portion of the doorway frame 20 can be seen wherein the openings defined by the respective assembly depressions 24 provide for attachment with sections of pvc tubing 44 having fittings 45 and 46 which are secured in the ends of each of the tubing sections 44 . each fitting 45 has a threaded bore therethrough and the fitting 46 which are registering nipples are positioned in the bores in the fitting 45 in one of the ends of each of the tubing sections 44 so as to extend outwardly therefrom . the tubing sections 44 are positioned between the rigid doorway frames 20 with the fittings 46 extending through the openings in the hereinbefore described depressions 24 thus interconnecting and supporting the multiple doorway frames 20 in the aligned configuration generally seen in fig2 of the drawings . plastic sheeting 47 is wrapped around the assembled doorway frames and tubing forming the decontamination enclosure 19 having multiple decontamination chambers 48 , 49 and 50 within . the plastic sheeting 47 is secured to the respective edges of the doorway frames 20 by an elongated inverted u - shape clip 51 that engages over the flared flange perimeter edges 25a and 26a efficiently sealing the plastic sheeting 47 to the doorway frames 20 . a hepa filter unit 52 is positioned within an opening in one of the depressions 23 in each doorway frame 20 as best seen in fig2 of the drawings . the hepa filter unit 52 can allow for filtered outflow of air through the decontamination chambers 48 - 50 from the work space 14 should the negative air pressure be lost thereby effectively activating the closing of the transom panels 36a by the counter - weight 42 . in operation , the temporary wall 13 can be formed of plastic sheeting material of any type secured to the respective building surfaces defining the work space 14 . the assembled decontamination enclosure 19 is set up so that the first two rigid doors 28 ( defining decontamination chambers 48 and 49 ) within said doorway frames 20 open outwardly from the work space 14 . the remaining solid doors 28 defining decontamination chamber 50 and access to the work space 14 open in the opposite direction or towards the work space 14 by reversing the doorway panel 20 and respective transom panel 36 so as to open in the opposite direction thus maintaining the &# 34 ; towards the work space direction &# 34 ;. since all the doors 28 are spring urged to close regardless of the relative air pressure and the direction of opening , they will , in theory , remain closed at all times except for access and exit from the work space . the weighted transom panel 36a respectively mounted in the first rigid doorway frame 20 will always open towards the work space under the inflow pressure of clean outside air and will close automatically upon the loss of negative air pressure within the work space 14 . a reversed doorway frame 20a assembly closest the work space 14 as shown in fig8 of the drawings has two of the remaining depressions 23 within opposite said hepa filter open for the insertion of auxilliary vacuum hose assemblies 52 and 53 which can be used for the external cleaning of a worker ( not shown ) within the decontamination chamber 50 . it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the auxilliary vacuum hose assembly 52a and 53 will be in communication with one of said blower assemblies 15 equipped with the hepa filter so as to provide the workers the ability to vacuum themselves when initially leaving the work space 14 within the confines of the initial decontamination chamber 50 often referred to in the industry as the dirty side of a multiple chamber enclosure . by the utilization of the hepa filters 52 within each of the rigid doorway panels 20 it will be impossible to maintain a sealed work space 14 upon loss of negative air pressure within , but rather a vented work space 14 in which any contaminated air within will be filtered through the respective multiple hepa filters 52 which are directionally mounted within the doorways to allow filtered airflow in only one direction thus eliminating any possibility of contamination to the environment upon failure of the negative system hereinbefore described . referring now to fig9 of the drawings , a transom manifold cover 54 can be seen that is removably positioned on the reverse doorway frame 20a over the transom opening 22 and hinged transom panel 36 facing the work space 14 . the manifold cover 54 is of a contoured one - piece molded body configuration with multiple apertured attachment tabs 56 extending therefrom to secure same to the frame 20a . an annular duct attachment flange 55 extends from said cover 54 defining an apertured access within the cover . in use , a flexible duct , ( not shown ) is attached to said flange 55 and a secondary hepa exhaust unit ( not shown ) which is positioned within the work space 14 . the increase air flow through the decontamination closure 14 delivered by the hepa exhaust unit through the manifold cover 54 and associated covered transom opening 22 reduces stagnant air areas within the enclosure and insures maximum ventilation therethrough . thus it will be seen that a simple lightweight portable negative air pressure control system enclosure has been illustrated and described and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention , therefore ,	1
as best shown in fig1 a weapon 10 includes a barrel 12 which is slidably mounted in a carriage 14 that is mounted on a pivot 16 . the angle of the gun barrel 12 can be either elevated above horizontal or depressed below horizontal . the gun barrel will , of course , recoil due to the reaction force from the round that is fired from the gun barrel when it approaches or is at its forward position . it is thus necessary to cushion or bring the recoiling parts to rest in a controlled manner to avoid damage to the gun barrel , to assure that the gun barrel reaches a rearward loading station and to provide the proper forward velocity to maintain the automatic firing cycles . for this purpose and as shown in fig2 the gun barrel 12 is rigidly linked to a pair of piston rods 18 coupled to pistons in cylinders 19 . in the preferred embodiment the gun barrel is also rigidly linked to the stem of a variable orifice parabolic valve 20 . this parabolic control valve is of a conventional type the size of whose orifice a o changes as a parabolic function in response to the remaining distance in recoil left to bring the gun barrel to a complete stop . the pressure drop across this parabolic valve 20 is called the signal pressure and at any instant is approximately 10 percent of the pressure required to bring the gun to a stop with a constant force in the remaining distance of recoil . hydraulic pressure downstream of the parabolic valve enters a pilot operated throttling valve 24 which is shown in a preferred form in fig3 . the throttling valve restricts flow of the fluid from the cylinders 19 dependent upon the signal pressure to slow down the gun barrel if its velocity is too fast or to allow greater flow if the gun barrel is traveling too slow . it is important , of course , to assure that the gun barrel does not excessively recoil and damage the weapon as well as to see that it recoils sufficiently to reach the loading station . fluid from the throttling valve 24 passes through a check valve 26 and thence to an air - oil recuperator 28 . the recuperator is generally pressurized from air bottles 30 in a conventional manner . a conventional pressure relief valve 32 is provided to limit excessive pressure in the system caused by malfunction . as best shown in fig3 the throttling valve receives a δp differential ( p 1 - p 2 ) developed across parabolic valve 20 caused by oil flow from the movement of the combined areas a 1 of piston rods 18 to the left ( the opposite ends of the cylinders are vented ). this δp signal pressure is applied to equal areas a 3 , a 5 on the left and right sides of spool 42 via lines 40 and 41 and passage 48 . notches 44 decrease the sensitivity of the spool in a conventional manner as the fluid passes the spool into port 46 . the line 41 also applies pressure via line 47 to the far lefthand end of the spool which is of a cross - sectional area a 2 of approximately ten percent of the main spool cross - sectional area a 3 or a 5 acted on by the δp differential pressure . it should be understood , however , that the schematic valve shown in fig2 could also be separate valves and valve cores as well as the integral valve shown in fig3 . basically , in the throttling valve 24 the signal pressure in lines 40 and 41 is applied across the large cross - sectional area of the spool 42 and the upstream pressure from the parabolic valve is applied to the ten percent cross - sectional area ( a 2 ) of the reduced size of the spool . the opposite side of the ten percent area is vented to atmosphere . these combined pressures to this valve as is conventional will throttle the flow from the cylinders 19 to control the recoil velocity of the gun barrel . in accordance with this invention , there is added to the throttle valve 24 of fig3 springs 50a and 50b that engage opposite sides of a sliding link 50c . link 50c is connected to an arm 51 . the arm 51 forms part of a linkage 52 that pivots in direct relation to pivotal movement of the gun barrel such as by being coupled to the pivot axis 16 of the weapon . the linkage also has an upper arm 53 . the lower arm 51 is positioned to move clockwise as the gun barrel is elevated . this pushes on the spring 50a pushing the spool 42 to the left in fig3 thus retarding flow from the cylinders . if the gun elevational angle is φ , then the spring rate of each spring is equal to : where a 2 is the small cross - sectional area of the spool 42 , a 1 is the net rod end piston areas of the recoil piston rods 18 , w is the weight of the recoiling parts and r is the length of the lever arm 51 . the forces of the two springs cancel at 0 ° elevation and the net force on the spool from the springs = as is readily understood , therefore , the gravitational component in the direction of recoil which would add to the velocity of the gun barrel is compensated for by corresponding resistance to flow out of the cylinders . likewise , the arm 51 moves counterclockwise in the direction of gun depression angles and the spool 42 will be allowed to move to the right in fig3 thus increasing flow . the arm 53 is connected to a spring 54 that is coupled to the spool of a pressure regulating valve 56 . the pressure regulating valve directs flow from the recuperator through a check valve 58 directly to the cylinders 19 to provide counter recoil force to the gun barrel . as the arm 53 moves clockwise for elevational increases in the gun , the valve spool is moved to increase pressure from the recuperator . similarly , when the arm 53 is moved counterclockwise for depressive angles of the gun barrel , the valve restricts flow to reduce the counter - recoil force on the gun barrel . a graphic illustration of the forces acting through a typical cycle of operation is shown in fig4 . starting at point &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; with a round in battery waiting to fire at standstill and at 0 ° elevation , the round is fired causing the barrel to recoil against a force developed by the sum of the recuperator pressure and the throttling pressure necessary to bring the barrel to rest at point &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; shown as fa . the barrel then reaches its rearward position and pressure p 3 starts the barrel forward in counter - recoil reaching point &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; with pressure p 3 being regulated by the pressure drop across valve 56 to prevent excessive velocities . at point c the round is fired in soft recoil and the force rises to point d initiating recoil again to point e . the cycle repeats itself now through path b , c , d , e until firing ceases . as also can be seen from fig4 increases in elevation angle require greater throttling in recoil and less pressure drop across valve 56 in counter - recoil , whereas negative elevation angles require the opposite corrections . for purposes of completeness fig5 illustrates a known variable parabolic orifice - type valve 20 . the parabolic orifice a cross sectional area : ## equ1 ## where : a 1 = combined area of piston rods 18 while the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , it should be understood that variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art without departing from the principles herein . accordingly , the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments described in the drawings .	5
the first tool 2 of an embodiment of a tool set according to the invention for producing a pre - formed half shell from a blank 4 , shown in fig1 , comprises a first bottom die 6 and a deep - drawing top die 8 . the general shape of the inside 10 of the bottom die 6 is similar to the shape of the outside of the finally formed half shell to be produced with the tool set . in the transition region 14 between the body region 16 and the flange region 18 of the bottom die 6 and in the base region 12 , the inside 10 of the bottom die 6 deviates with respect to its shape , however , from the shape of the outside of the finally formed half shell to be produced with the tool set . thus , the inside 10 of the bottom die 6 in the base region 12 has an undulating shape . alternatively , a simple concave or convex shape or another shape deviating from the intended shape of the base region or the finally formed half shell is also conceivable . furthermore , the flange radius in the transition region 14 and the height of the shape , in other words the distance between the base region 12 and the flange region 18 , is increased . alternatively , a bottom die is conceivable , in which the flange radius is reduced , but the height is not increased . the deep - drawing top die 8 has a shape adapted to the shape of the bottom die 6 , so the blank 4 is deep drawn by lowering the deep - drawing top die 8 into the bottom die 6 to form a pre - formed half shell . fig2 shows a pre - formed half shell 24 after deep drawing with the first tool shown in fig1 . the outside 26 of the pre - formed half shell 24 substantially corresponds to the inside 10 of the bottom die 6 , but deviates through spring - back from the precise shape of the inside 10 of the bottom die 6 . in the transition region 30 between the body region 32 and the flange region 34 , the pre - shaped half shell 24 has an enlarged flange radius 36 . the base region 28 of the pre - formed half shell 24 is undulating in accordance with the shape of the base region 12 of the bottom die 6 . the second tool 42 shown in fig3 of a tool set according to the invention comprises a second bottom die 44 , a calibration top die 46 and a holding - down device 48 . a pre - formed half shell 50 , which was produced by the tool shown in fig1 , is inserted into the bottom die 44 . the shape of the inside 52 of the bottom die 44 corresponds to the shape of the outside of the finally shaped half shell to be produced . the half shell 50 therefore does not rest completely on the inside 52 of the bottom die 44 , but stands away from the inside 52 of the bottom die 44 , in particular , in the base region 54 owing to its undulating shape and , in the transition region 56 between the body region 58 and flange region 60 and in the flange region 60 owing to the greater flange radius in the transition region 56 . the height of the pre - formed half shell 50 is thus greater than the height of the finally formed half shell to be produced . the pre - formed half shell 50 , owing to these regions standing away , has excess blank material which is distributed during the lowering of the calibration top die 46 by a material flow on the half shell and leads to a high dimensional accuracy of the finally shaped half shell . the calibration top die 46 has a shape corresponding to the inside of the half shell to be produced . a cutting top die 62 with a cutting edge 64 is integrated into the calibration top die 46 . when lowering the calibration top die 46 , the pre - formed half shell 50 is thus trimmed in the flange region 60 by the cutting edge 64 on the edge 65 of the bottom die 44 to the intended size . the bottom die 44 , in the region of the cutting top die 62 , has a recess 66 , so the cutting die 62 can be lowered and the cut - off piece of the pre - shaped half shell can fall down . the pre - formed half shell 50 in the flange region 60 is fixed by the holding - down device 48 and this leads to a very clean trim of the pre - formed half shell 50 by the cutting edge 64 . in a preferred manner , the calibration top die 46 with the cutting top die 62 is firstly positioned at an adequate height above the pre - formed half shell 50 in the bottom die 44 . it thus has no contact with the base region and the flange region of the pre - formed half shell 50 . the holding - down device 48 is then moved down , for example , by means of sleeves let into the calibration top die and fixes the pre - formed half shell 50 in the flange region 60 . when using a pre - formed half shell 50 with the greater flange radius this leads to an arcuate deformation of the pre - formed half shell 50 in the flange region . with a pre - formed half shell 50 with a smaller flange radius no such deformation occurs and there is therefore a cleaner trim . this is advantageous , in particular in the case of greater sheet metal thicknesses . finally , the calibration top die 46 and the cutting top die 62 move down completely . in the process , the cutting top die 62 firstly cuts off the projecting flange region of the pre - shaped half shell 50 and blocks the material flow of the blank material to the outside during the further downward movement . the pre - formed half shell 50 is compressed over its entire cross - sectional area by the calibration top die 46 into the finally formed half shell by the excess blank material in the transition region 30 as well as in the base region 54 and in the flange region 60 or in the base region 54 and in the body region 58 of the half shell 50 . said half shell can only change with respect to its sheet metal thickness during the compression process and is therefore formed with good dimensional accuracy . fig4 shows the second tool 42 from fig3 . a pre - formed half shell 72 produced by means of a second embodiment of the first tool of a tool set according to the invention is inserted into the bottom die 44 . the pre - formed half shell 72 differs from the pre - formed half shell 50 shown in fig3 in that the transition region 74 between the flange region 76 and the body region 78 has a smaller flange radius than the bottom die 44 . furthermore , the height of the pre - formed half shell 72 coincides with the height of the finally formed half shell to be produced and therefore with the depth of the bottom die 44 . owing to the smaller flange radius , the pre - formed half shell 72 in the transition region 74 does not rest on the inside 52 of the bottom die 44 . thus , excess blank material is available at this point owing to the extended curvature region during the lowering of the calibration top die 46 . the second tool of a tool set according to the invention shown in fig5 , in contrast to the second tool 42 shown in fig3 , has no holding - down device and no cutting edge . instead of a cutting top die , the calibration top die 86 has a blocking wall 88 . a pre - formed half shell 92 is inserted into the bottom die 90 . in contrast to the pre - formed half shell 50 shown in fig3 , the pre - formed half shell 92 in the flange region 94 already has the size of the finally formed half shell to be produced . this is achieved , for example , in that a pre - formed half shell produced by a first tool is trimmed in a separate working step before insertion into the bottom die 90 . in this manner , the structure of the second tool and the method sequence are simplified , as no holding of the calibration or cutting top die in an intermediate position is necessary to lower the holding - down device . the second tool 102 of a tool set according to the invention shown in fig6 differs from that shown in fig5 in that the blocking wall 104 is configured as a separate part from the calibration top die 106 and can be moved independently of the calibration top die 106 . a finally formed half shell 112 produced by a tool set according to the invention is shown in fig7 . in particular in the transition region 114 between the body region 116 and flange region 118 as well as in the transition region 120 between the base region 122 and flange region 118 , it has high dimensional accuracy and great stability .	1
while the following description is directed towards mt optical ferrules , the embodiments described may be applicable to other ferrule types as well . as represented in the embodiments of fig1 a , 1 b , 2 a and 2 b , a ferrule may have a main body 110 or 210 that defines a front , insertion end 112 or 212 , that may be inserted into an adaptor 9 ( shown in outline in fig5 ), as well as a rear end 114 or 214 . the rear end may typically be engaged in or with a fiber optic connector housing ( not shown ). in an embodiment as represented in fig1 a and 1b , the ferrule body 110 may be a tapered - body , as shown in greater detail in fig3 , 3 a , 3 b and 3 c , and may have a frusto - pyramidal shape , or define a rectangular frustum . in an alternative embodiment , as represented in fig2 a and 2b , the ferrule body 210 may be cuboid with essentially parallel opposing faces , as shown in greater detail in fig4 , 4 a , 4 b and 4 c . the rear end 114 or 214 may include an opening 11 configured for receiving an end of a multi - fiber optical cable 13 , that may be , for example , a ribbon cable of a plurality of individual optical fibers 15 . the front end 112 or 212 may have a connection end face 116 or 216 that may include a plurality of optical fiber insertion holes 17 arranged in at least one row , or as shown , two rows . individual ones of the optical fibers 15 of the multi - fiber cable 13 may be disposed in the holes 17 to terminate at the connection end face 116 , 216 . in an embodiment , the front end 112 , 212 of the ferrule body 110 , 210 may be formed to have a rectangular cross - sectional shape . the rear end 114 , 214 of the ferrule main body 110 , 210 may be provided with a flange 19 . the optical fibers 15 may be inserted , via the opening 11 , through the flange 19 , and into the optical fiber insertion holes 17 . a top face 118 , 218 of the insertion end 112 , 212 may include an access opening 21 for guiding the optical fibers 15 into the holes 17 . the optical fibers 15 may be fixed in place by use of an adhesive that may be injected into the ferrule body 110 , 210 via the access opening 21 and / or the cable opening 11 . guide pin insertion holes 25 , described in greater detail below , may be provided through the body 110 , 210 , extending from the connection end face 116 , 216 out through the rear end 114 , 214 . in an alternative embodiment , guide pin insertion holes 25 may be configured only at the front ends 112 , 212 . guide pins , such as guide pins 27 shown in fig5 , may be inserted into the guide pin holes 25 for precise alignment of a pair of ferrules as shown in fig5 and 6 . fig3 shows a top plan view of the tapered - body ferrule 110 , and fig3 a shows a side view . in an embodiment , a ferrule 110 may have at least one side wall having a first wall end at the connection face 116 and extending from the connection face to a second wall end adjacent the rear end 114 of the ferrule . the at least one side wall may taper outwardly away from a longitudinal axis of the ferrule in a direction from the connection face 116 towards the rear end 114 . in an embodiment , the at least one side wall may include a top face 118 , bottom face 120 , and side faces 122 , and the faces may each taper outwardly in a direction from the connection face 116 towards the rear end 114 . the use of ‘ top ’, ‘ bottom ’ and ‘ side ’ are provided for reference only and are relative to the figures , wherein the figures could have essentially been drawn with any orientation showing any of the faces 118 , 120 or 122 as the ‘ top ’ for example . as depicted , faces 118 and 120 are opposite one another , and faces 122 are opposite one another and orthogonal to faces 118 and 120 . the flange 19 extends laterally away from the top face 118 , bottom face 120 , and side faces 122 . a reference line 130 orthogonal to the flange 19 is also shown . in an embodiment , as shown , the side faces 122 may be disposed at an angle α from the orthogonal , and the top face 118 and bottom face 120 may be disposed at an angle β . in an embodiment , the angles α and β may be the same . in various embodiments , the angles α and β may have a value of about 1 °, about 1 . 5 °, about 2 °, about 2 . 5 °, about 3 °, about 3 . 5 °, about 4 °, about 4 . 5 °, and about 5 °, and any value between any of the listed values . in an embodiment as represented by fig3 and 3a , the angles α and β may be about 3 °. the amount of angular taper may be limited essentially only by design . for example , it may be desirable for the tapered sides to remain external to the guide pin holes 25 . in alternative embodiments , the angles α and β may be different from one another , or in further embodiments , each of the side faces 122 may be disposed at different angles α , and the top face 118 and bottom face 120 may be disposed at different angles β . due to the angular taper , the cross - sectional area of the ferrule body at the connection face 116 is less than a second cross - sectional area adjacent the flange 19 , and the flange has a third cross - sectional area that is greater than the second cross - sectional area . fig7 a , 7 b , 8 a , and 8 b , provide a representation of a panel structure 300 with mated ferrules 110 a , 110 b . each of the ferrules 110 a , 110 b may be a component of an optical fiber connector assembly 302 a , 302 b with some parts represented schematically . an adaptor 9 , as also represented in fig5 , may be mounted with the panel 300 and may be configured for receiving the connector assemblies 302 a , 302 b , via opposing openings 9 a and 9 b , into a longitudinal passage 9 c . the adaptor 9 may define a first longitudinal axis 9 d . each of the connector assemblies 302 a , 302 b may include a housing 304 that define an internal passage 305 , and a second longitudinal axis 305 d . the first longitudinal axis 9 d and the second longitudinal axis 305 d may generally be parallel when no external lateral forces are applied to a connector assembly 302 a , 302 b . the ferrules 110 a , 110 b may be configured so that the front ends 112 a , 112 b extend out of connector assemblies 302 a , 302 b for mating of the connection end faces . guide pins 27 may be provided as components of a pin block 308 that may be inserted through guide pin holes 25 through the back end 114 of a ferrule body to extend forwardly of the connection end face 116 to enter into guide pin holes 25 of the opposing mating ferrule body . a biasing force for maintaining the ferrule 110 a , 110 b in engagement with one another may be provided by a biasing member , such as a spring 310 and spring retainer 312 . the spring 310 may be compressed between the pin block 308 and the spring retainer 312 to bias the pin block away from the retainer and forwardly through the connector housing 304 for engagement with the opposing ferrule . the ferrules 110 a , 110 b may be retained within the connector housings 304 by configuring the flange 19 to have a dimension that is greater than an internal dimension defined between the shoulders 320 . the flange 19 may be biased into engagement with the shoulder 320 . similarly , the housing 304 may be retained within the adaptor 9 by providing an engagement projection 322 on the exterior of the housing and an engagement shoulder 324 internally within the adaptor so that the engagement projections define an external dimension that is greater than an internal dimension defined between the engagement shoulders 324 . with an embodiment as shown and described , the tapered body ferrules 110 a , 110 b , are configured as ‘ floating ’ ferrules and may be floatably mounted within their respective housings 304 , wherein the ferrule and housing are movable relative to one another , so that the ferrule may tilt through a conical range of movement within the housing . in an embodiment as illustrated in fig7 b , housing 304 may be displaced laterally relative to the ferrule 110 b so that the longitudinal axis 305 d moves through an angle of about θ 1 with respect to the longitudinal axis 9 d . in an embodiment , the angle θ 1 may be an amount approximately the same as the previously described angle α . application of a lateral force f , for example , may therefore cause the housing 304 to mover relative to the mated ferrules , thereby reducing possible breakage of a connector 302 a , 302 b , and allowing for the mated connection surfaces to remain aligned and mated within the adaptor 9 . in an embodiment , a stop 330 may be provided to prohibit movement beyond the maximum displacement angle θ 1 , thereby reducing potential damage to a ferrule . a multifiber connector 302 may be designed such that the clearances between the inner sidewalls 305 of the connector housing 304 and the tapered ferrule sides are increased in a manner which maintains the alignment of the ferrule relative to the connector housing , while at the same time permitting the ferrule to freely float within the connector housing as lateral forces are applied to the multifiber connector , thereby maintaining low optical attenuation as lateral forces are applied . in particular , it has been determined that the clearance between the inner sidewalls of the connector housing and the forward end of the ferrule are particularly critical to the freedom with which a ferrule floats within the connector housing as the multifiber connector is subjected to lateral forces . in an additional embodiment , not shown , the side walls 305 may also taper outwardly from the shoulder 320 towards the front end 306 to provide additional relative angular movement between the housing 304 and the ferrule 110 . fig8 a and 8b provide a similar depiction to the illustrations of fig7 a and 7b except from a side view of the mated ferrules 110 a , 110 b . in a similar manner as discussed , the connector housing 304 may move up and down relative to the ferrule through an angle θ 2 . in an embodiment , the angle θ 2 may be an amount approximately the same as the previously described angle β . as represented in fig8 c , in an alternative embodiment of the engagement surfaces of flange 19 and shoulder 320 , one or both of the surfaces 19 a of the flange and surface 320 a of the housing shoulder , may be angled . as such , under the bias applied by the spring 310 the ferrule 110 may self - center within the internal passage of the housing . for comparison , fig7 b depicts an embodiment having squared shoulders for the engagement surfaces of flange 19 and shoulder 320 , and fig8 b depicts an embodiment having an angled surface for the engagement surfaces of flange 19 and a squared shoulder 320 . in an alternative embodiment , as represented in fig9 a and 10a , by providing the body 110 with tapered faces , a degree of angular freedom may be provided during insertion of the ferrule into an adaptor 9 . fig9 a shows a representative top / bottom view of a ferrule body 110 after a partial insertion into an adaptor 9 , while fig1 a shows a representative side view . the representations of fig9 a and 10a are provided as examples only , to illustrate an approximation of the angular leeway during an insertion , and other variants and configurations may also be provided . in comparison , fig1 depicts the insertion of the ferrule body 210 ( rectangular - cuboid or non - tapered , insertion end ) into an adaptor 9 . prior to insertion of a ferrule into an adaptor , with no obstacles near the opening of the adaptor , there might be essentially angular freedom of movement within approximately hemispherical confines as the ferrule is brought into the vicinity of the adaptor . however , as shown in fig1 , after a partial insertion of the cuboid housing 210 into the adaptor 9 , there is essentially no remaining angular freedom of movement for the ferrule body within the adaptor , thus requiring there to be essentially completely unrestricted access directly in front of the adaptor 9 for a straight - in insertion . if a forced bending is required during insertion , strain may be applied to the other components of an mpo connector containing the mt ferrule , and damage , or a reduction in the quality of the connection , may result . for example , the mpo fibers may break if the mpo connector is forcibly bent for insertion into the adaptor 9 . as shown in fig9 a and 10a , however , if the insertion end 112 is tapered , the ferrule may still be movable side - to side ( fig9 a ) within an angular displacement of about θ 1 and may still also movable up - and - down ( fig9 b ) within an angular displacement of about θ 2 . the values for θ 1 and θ 2 may be the same , or may be different . the extent of θ 1 and θ 2 may vary based on the taper angle of the sides , as well as the internal configuration within the opening of the adaptor 9 . for example , in an embodiment as shown in fig9 a and 10a , portion 140 a and 141 a , and portions 142 a and 143 a of the internal guide walls adjacent the opening may be parallel to provide a larger internal cavity adjacent the opening at least for about one - half of the insertion length . the remaining portion of the guide walls 140 b and 141 b , and portions 142 b and 143 b may be tapered to provide alignment of the ferrule body 110 into its final seated position ( shown in fig9 b and 10b ). other internal configurations may also be provided . in an embodiment as depicted in fig6 , ferrule housings 110 with tapered bodies may include cylindrical guide pin holes 25 . to provide for an improved face - to - face connection of connection surfaces 116 , 216 , ( as shown for example in fig6 and 13c ), the connection surfaces should be free of foreign material that may inhibit contact between the surfaces and the optical fibers terminated therein . one area in which an accumulation of foreign material may result is at the base of the guide pins 27 ( see for example 60 - 1 in fig1 a ). for example , the foreign material may accumulate here in the formed ‘ corner ’ when the connection surface is wiped . also , in order to attain precise alignment of ferrules , very little tolerance is provided between the external diameter of the guide pins 27 and the internal diameter of the guide pin holes 25 . as such , if any foreign debris is present on the guide pin 27 the debris may be pushed along the pin as the pin is inserted into the pin hole 25 so that the debris remains as an accumulation at the base of the pin on the surface 116 , 216 . this accumulation may prevent proper contact between adjoining contact surfaces and thereby result in a poor transmission between ferrules . one manner in which to inhibit an accumulation of foreign material at the base of the pins 27 from being a hindrance to good surface contact between surfaces 116 , or surfaces 216 may include providing a fluted internal surfaces within the pin holes 25 , or providing a plurality of longitudinal grooves along the internal surface of the pin holes . in an embodiment as shown in fig3 b , 3 c , 4 b and 4 d , for example , and enlarged detail in fig1 , guide pin holes 25 may include at least three raised ridges 50 - 1 , 50 - 2 and 50 - 3 , offset circumferentially from one another at about 120 °, and having a radially inward surface for contacting the guide pin 27 . in addition , between the ridges 50 - 1 , 50 - 2 and 50 - 3 there may be provided intervening grooves 52 - 1 , 52 - 2 and 52 - 3 , offset circumferentially from one another at about 120 °. a cross - sectional view taken through a guide pin hole 25 is represented in fig4 a . as represented in fig5 , and shown in detail in fig1 b , the configuration of ridges and grooves in one ferrule housing 210 a may be arranged in opposition to the configuration of ridges and grooves in the abutting ferrule housing 210 b so that the ridges of one housing align with the grooves of the other housing . this is represented by the end view shown in fig1 b , taken in a direction of arrow x in fig5 , wherein the ridges 50 - 1 b , 50 - 2 b and 50 - 3 b of the housing 210 b are visible at the ends of the grooves 52 - 1 a , 52 - 2 a and 52 - 3 a of the housing 210 a . the circumferential ( angular ) length of the ridges 50 - 1 , 50 - 2 and 50 - 3 may be at most about 60 °, and the circumferential ( angular ) length of the grooves 52 - 1 , 52 - 2 and 52 - 3 , may be at least about 60 °. in an embodiment , the angular length of the grooves should be greater than the angular length of the ridges so that when mated the ridges of one ferrule do not overlap with the ridges of the mating ferrule at the edges of the ridges . since it may be common with some ferrules , as shown in fig5 , to connect ferrules by inverting one ferrule housing 210 a of one cable connector in relation to the other ferrule housing 210 b to which it is to be connected , a configuration of ridges and grooves , such as is illustrated in fig4 b , 4 c and 5 may provide for such an opposition alignment . referring to fig4 b , for example , guide pin holes 25 may each have a groove 52 disposed upwardly , and therefore , when inverted , an additional housing will have the same groove disposed downwardly . with such a fluted configuration of guide pin holes 25 , any accumulated foreign material that occurs on the connection surface 216 at the base of a guide pin 27 will thereby end up , when adjoining an adjacent ferrule , in a groove 52 of the guide pin hole of the adjacent ferrule . this is represented in fig1 a - 13c , depicting a connection of ferrules by means of an alignment guide pin 27 . in the depiction as shown , ferrule housing 210 a has a groove 52 a at the top and a ridge 50 a at the bottom , while the inverted ferule housing 210 b has a ridge 50 b at the top and a groove 52 b at the bottom . guide pin 27 , previously inserted into housing 210 a , as shown in fig1 a , has foreign material particles 60 on the surface , with an accumulation of particles 60 - 1 on the connection surface 216 a at the base of the pin 27 . as represented in fig1 b , as the housing 210 b is inserted onto the guide pin 27 , the upper ridge 50 b of the guide pin holes pushes the foreign material particles 60 - 2 along the guide pin in a direction to the left in the figure toward the opposite housing 210 a , while any foreign material 60 - 3 , on the bottom side remains in place within the lower groove 52 b . when connection surfaces 216 a and 216 b abut , particles 60 - 2 are pushed into the opposing groove 52 a , while the particles 60 - 1 likewise enter into an opposing groove 52 b , thereby allowing for the surfaces 216 a and 216 b to cleanly abut one another , resulting in reduced insertion loss and return loss , and thereby resulting in reduced network failures . in alternative embodiments , the number and configuration of ridges and grooves may vary . for example , as shown in fig1 , an internal fluting within the guide pin holes 25 may include fours ridges 53 separated by four grooves 55 , also configured so that when one housing is inverted for mating the ridges align with grooves of an opposing housing . alternatively , there may be five ridges / five grooves , six ridges / six grooves , seven ridges / seven grooves or eight ridges / grooves , or any configuration of ridges and grooves that may be accommodated by the internal dimensions of the guide pin holes . in general , the pin holes 25 may have n longitudinal ridges separated by n longitudinal grooves . the n longitudinal ridges may be disposed equidistantly from one another on the interior surface and spaced at 360 °/ n from one another along the internal circumference of the pin hole , and each ridge may extend in a circumferential direction at most about 360 °/ 2n along the internal circumference of the pin holes . similarly , the n longitudinal grooves may be disposed equidistantly from one another on the interior surface and spaced at 360 °/ n from one another along the internal circumference of pin hole , and each groove may extend in a circumferential direction at least about 360 °/ 2n along the internal circumference of the pin holes . this disclosure is not limited to the particular systems , devices and methods described , as these may vary . the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only , and is not intended to limit the scope . in the above detailed description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings , which form a part hereof . in the drawings , similar symbols typically identify similar components , unless context dictates otherwise . the illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description , drawings , and claims are not meant to be limiting . other embodiments may be used , and other changes may be made , without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein . it will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure , as generally described herein , and illustrated in the figures , can be arranged , substituted , combined , separated , and designed in a wide variety of different configurations , all of which are explicitly contemplated herein . the present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application , which are intended as illustrations of various aspects . many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope , as will be apparent to those skilled in the art . functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure , in addition to those enumerated herein , will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions . such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims . the present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims , along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods , reagents , compounds , compositions or biological systems , which can , of course , vary . 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 . as used in this document , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art . nothing in this disclosure is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this disclosure are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention . as used in this document , the term “ comprising ” means “ including , but not limited to .” while various compositions , methods , and devices are described in terms of “ comprising ” various components or steps ( interpreted as meaning “ including , but not limited to ”), the compositions , methods , and devices can also “ consist essentially of ” or “ consist of ” the various components and steps , and such terminology should be interpreted as defining essentially closed - member groups . with respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein , those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and / or application . the various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity . it will be understood by those within the art that , in general , terms used herein , and especially in the appended claims ( e . g ., bodies of the appended claims ) are generally intended as “ open ” terms ( e . g ., the term “ including ” should be interpreted as “ including but not limited to ,” the term “ having ” should be interpreted as “ having at least ,” the term “ includes ” should be interpreted as “ includes but is not limited to ,” etc .). it will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended , such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim , and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present . for example , as an aid to understanding , the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “ at least one ” and “ one or more ” to introduce claim recitations . however , the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “ a ” or “ an ” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation , even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “ one or more ” or “ at least one ” and indefinite articles such as “ a ” or “ an ” ( e . g ., “ a ” and / or “ an ” should be interpreted to mean “ at least one ” or “ one or more ”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations . in addition , even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited , those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number ( e . g ., the bare recitation of “ two recitations ,” without other modifiers , means at least two recitations , or two or more recitations ). furthermore , in those instances where a convention analogous to “ at least one of a , b , and c , etc .” is used , in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention ( e . g ., “ a system having at least one of a , b , and c ” would include but not be limited to systems that have a alone , b alone , c alone , a and b together , a and c together , b and c together , and / or a , b , and c together , etc .). in those instances where a convention analogous to “ at least one of a , b , or c , etc .” is used , in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention ( e . g ., “ a system having at least one of a , b , or c ” would include but not be limited to systems that have a alone , b alone , c alone , a and b together , a and c together , b and c together , and / or a , b , and c together , etc .). it will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms , whether in the description , claims , or drawings , should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms , either of the terms , or both terms . for example , the phrase “ a or b ” will be understood to include the possibilities of “ a ” or “ b ” or “ a and b .” in addition , where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of markush groups , those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the markush group . as will be understood by one skilled in the art , for any and all purposes , such as in terms of providing a written description , all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof . any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves , thirds , quarters , fifths , tenths , etc . as a non - limiting example , each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third , middle third and upper third , etc . as will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “ up to ,” “ at least ,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above . finally , as will be understood by one skilled in the art , a range includes each individual member . thus , for example , a group having 1 - 3 cells refers to groups having 1 , 2 , or 3 cells . similarly , a group having 1 - 5 cells refers to groups having 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , or 5 cells , and so forth . various of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be combined into many other different systems or applications . various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art , each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments .	6
hereafter , a service providing apparatus , a service providing program and a service providing method according to the present invention will be described concretely with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a first embodiment of a short - range communication system including a service providing apparatus according to the present invention and a service receiver , which get service provision from the service providing apparatus . the short - range communication system shown in fig1 includes a service providing apparatus ( hereafter referred to as bluetooth apparatus ) 2 connected to an electronic cash register ( hereafter referred to as ecr ) 1 , and a service receiver ( hereafter referred to as bluetooth portable terminal ) 3 to conduct wireless communication with the bluetooth apparatus 2 according to bluetooth specifications . the bluetooth apparatus 2 includes a local communication unit 11 to conduct ordinary wireless communication according to the bluetooth specifications , a short - range communication unit 12 to conduct wireless communication in a range narrower than a communication area of the local communication unit 11 , a communication controller 13 to control the local communication unit 11 and the short - range communication unit 12 , a connection information generator 14 to generate connection information required for communication with the bluetooth portable terminal 3 , an authentication unit 15 to conduct authentication with the bluetooth portable terminal 3 , a short - range detection sensor 16 to determine whether or not the bluetooth portable terminal 3 is in a proximity range , and a host communication unit 17 to conduct communication with the ecr 1 serving as a host . the local communication unit 11 includes a bluetooth device and an antenna , which are not illustrated . the short - range communication unit 12 includes a bluetooth device , an output attenuator , which is not illustrated , and a directional antenna . by the attenuator , the communication area of the short - range communication unit 12 is adjusted so as to become narrower than that of the local communication unit 11 . incidentally , it is not always necessary for each of the local communication unit 11 and the short - range communication unit 12 to separately have a bluetooth device , but the local communication unit 11 and the short - range communication unit 12 may share one bluetooth device . in this case , an output of the bluetooth device is switched to the antenna of the local communication unit 11 or the antenna of the short - range communication unit 12 by a high frequency switch , which is not illustrated . the bluetooth portable terminal 3 includes an application unit 21 , which stores a program to control operation of the bluetooth portable terminal 3 , a wireless communication unit 22 to conduct wireless communication with the bluetooth apparatus 2 according to the bluetooth specifications , a connection information generator 23 to generate connection information required for communication with the bluetooth apparatus 2 , and an authentication unit 24 to conduct authentication with the bluetooth apparatus 2 . the wireless communication unit 22 includes a local communication unit 22 a to conduct communication with the local communication unit 11 in the bluetooth apparatus 2 , and a short - range communication unit 22 b to conduct communication with the short - range communication unit 12 in the bluetooth apparatus 2 . the short - range detection sensor 16 is formed of , for example , an infrared light sensor . its subject detectable area nearly coincides with the communication area of the short - range communication unit 12 . on the basis of a result of detection conducted by the short - range detection sensor 16 , therefore , it can be determined whether or not the bluetooth portable terminal 3 is located in the communication area of the short - range communication unit 12 . fig2 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the short - range communication system . if the short - range detection sensor 16 in the bluetooth apparatus 2 detects existence of a subject ( step s 1 ), the short - range communication unit 12 comes in a reception ( scan ) mode of a search signal from the bluetooth portable terminal 3 ( step s 2 ). subsequently , it is determined whether or not the short - range communication unit 12 has received the search signal ( inquiry ) ( step s 3 ). after the search signal has been received , connection information of the short - range communication unit 12 is replied ( inquiry response ) ( step s 4 ). subsequently , it is determined whether or not there has been a remote name acquisition request from the bluetooth portable terminal 3 ( step s 5 ). if there has been an acquisition request , a link for the short - range communication unit 12 is established ( step s 6 ). thereafter , connection information of the local communication unit 11 is generated ( step s 7 ). and the generated connection information is transmitted to the bluetooth portable terminal 3 via the short - range communication unit 12 as a remote name ( step s 8 ), and the link is disconnected ( step s 9 ). as this connection information , for example , address information and authentication information of the bluetooth device in the local communication unit 11 are given . subsequently , the local communication unit 11 is brought into the connection request reception ( scan ) mode ( step s 10 ). if a connection request from the bluetooth portable terminal 3 is received ( step s 11 ), bi - directional entity authentication is executed ( step s 12 ). if the authentication has failed , the processing returns to the step s 10 . if the authentication has succeeded , then a link for the local communication unit 11 is connected ( step s 13 ), data required for application is transmitted and received ( step s 14 ), and finally the link for the local communication unit is disconnected and the processing is finished ( step s 15 ). thus , in the first embodiment , only in the case where the user holding the bluetooth portable terminal 3 brings the own terminal close to the bluetooth apparatus 2 and requests connection , the short - range communication unit 12 in the bluetooth apparatus 2 is set to the search signal reception mode . therefore , a fear of making an answer to a search signal sent from a bluetooth portable terminal 3 located outside the proximity area is eliminated . furthermore , after the short - range communication unit 12 has transmitted connection information of the local communication unit 11 , the local communication unit 11 is set to the connection request reception mode . therefore , a connection request from a bluetooth portable terminal that has not acquired regular connection information transmitted from the short - range communication unit 12 is not accepted , resulting in high degree of security . in a second embodiment , the fact that the operation mode of the bluetooth apparatus 2 has changed is notified by a message . fig3 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a short - range communication system including a service providing apparatus ( bluetooth apparatus 2 ) according to a second embodiment of the present invention . the bluetooth apparatus 2 shown in fig3 includes , besides the configuration shown in fig1 , a message generator 18 to generate a message to the effect that the bluetooth portable terminal 3 has approached , and a display device 19 to display the message . the display device 19 may be a character display device such as a lcd , or may be a light emitting device ( diode or the like ) that switches the display form according to the operation mode of the bluetooth apparatus 2 . fig4 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the short - range communication system shown in fig3 . hereafter , processing operation of the short - range communication system shown in fig3 will be described featuring the processing differing from that shown in fig2 . the short - range detection sensor 16 in the bluetooth apparatus 2 detects proximity of a subject ( step s 21 ). the short - range communication unit 12 makes a transition to the search signal ( inquiry ) reception mode state ( step s 22 ). then , a first message corresponding to that state transition is generated by the message generator 18 , and displayed on the display device 19 ( step s 23 ). thereafter , the short - range communication unit 12 transmits the connection information of the local communication unit 11 ( step s 29 ), and the local communication unit 11 makes a transition to the connection request reception mode . then , a second message corresponding to that state of the bluetooth apparatus 2 is generated , and displayed on the display device 19 ( step s 30 ). thereafter , after authentication has succeeded in the local communication unit 11 ( step s 34 ) and connection for the local communication unit 11 is completed ( step s 35 ), a third message to give notice of connection completion is generated and displayed on the display device 19 ( step s 36 ). thus , in the second embodiment , notice that the operation mode of the bluetooth apparatus 2 has been switched is given by using the first to third messages . therefore , it becomes easy for the user to grasp the operation state of the bluetooth apparatus 2 and the connection state of the bluetooth portable terminal 3 . by the way , at least one of the generation and display of the first to third messages may be conducted . in a third embodiment , the number of bluetooth portable terminals 3 each of which has sent a connection request to the bluetooth apparatus 2 is measured . originally , the bluetooth apparatus 2 should be designed so as to establish a one - to - one connection with a bluetooth portable terminal 3 carried by a nearby customer who is conducting settlement for purchased commodities at the ecr 1 and execute application . if in such application connection requests are issued to the local communication unit 11 simultaneously by two or more bluetooth devices , ( 1 ) there is a fear that a connection request from another customer being around or from another bluetooth portable terminal 3 of the same customer might be received , or ( 2 ) there is also a fear of being attacked by an illegal connection request . in the third embodiment , therefore , the number of the bluetooth portable terminals 3 each issuing a connection request is checked , and wireless communication is conducted with only a desired bluetooth portable terminal 3 . fig5 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a short - range communication system having a service providing apparatus ( bluetooth apparatus 2 ) according to the third embodiment of the present invention . the bluetooth apparatus 2 shown in fig5 includes , besides the configuration shown in fig3 , a counter 31 to measure the number of bluetooth portable terminals 3 each of which has issued a connection request , and a timer 32 to measure the time . fig6 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the short - range communication system shown in fig5 . hereafter , processing operation of the short - range communication system shown in fig5 will be described featuring the processing differing from that shown in fig4 . the link for the short - range communication unit 12 is disconnected ( step s 51 ), and thereafter values of both the timer 32 and the counter 31 are reset to zero , and timer measurement is started ( steps s 52 and s 53 ). subsequently , the local communication unit 11 is set to the connection request reception mode ( step s 54 ), and it is determined whether or not the timer value is less than a predetermined value tmax ( step s 55 ). if the timer value is less than the predetermined value , it is determined whether or not there has been a connection request from a bluetooth portable terminal 3 . if there is no connection request , the processing returns to step s 55 . if there is a connection request , the counter value is incremented by “ 1 ” ( step s 57 ). subsequently , device information of a bluetooth portable terminal 3 that has issued a connection request is stored ( step s 58 ), and then the processing is returned to the step s 55 . processing of the steps s 55 to s 58 is repeated until the measurement time in the timer 32 reaches a predetermined time ( step s 57 ). if the measurement time in the timer 32 has reached the predetermined time , it is determined whether or not the counter value is “ 1 ” ( step s 59 ). if the counter value is “ 1 ,” the authentication procedure with the bluetooth portable terminal 3 that has issued the connection request is carried out ( step s 60 ). if the authentication has failed , the processing returns to the step s 55 . if the authentication has succeeded , the local communication unit conducts connection processing ( step s 61 ). at this time , a fourth message is generated to indicate that connection for the bluetooth portable terminal 3 that has issued the connection request is permitted , and the fourth message is displayed on the display device 19 ( step s 62 ). subsequently , data is transmitted and received with the bluetooth portable terminal 3 via the local communication unit 11 ( step s 63 ). if data transmission and reception are completed , the local communication unit 11 is disconnected ( step s 64 ). on the other hand , if the counter value is judged not to be “ 1 ” at the step s 59 , a decision is made whether or not the counter value is greater than “ 1 ” ( step s 65 ). if the decision is negative , i . e ., the counter value is zero , the processing is finished . on the other hand , if the decision is affirmative , i . e ., the counter value is at least “ 2 ,” a fourth message is generated to indicate that there are a plurality of bluetooth portable terminals 3 each of which has issued a connection request , and the fourth message is displayed on the display device 19 ( step s 66 ). subsequently , pin authentication described later is conducted and it is determined whether or not a bluetooth portable terminal 3 that can be connected exists ( step s 67 ). if a bluetooth portable terminal 3 that can be connected does not exist , the processing is finished . if a bluetooth portable terminal 3 that can be connected exists , the processing of the step 60 is conducted . thus , in the third embodiment , the number of bluetooth portable terminals 3 each of which has issued a connection request in a predetermined time is measured , and a bluetooth portable terminals 3 to be connected is determined according to the number . even in the case where each of a plurality of bluetooth portable terminals 3 has issued a connection request , therefore , wireless communication can be conducted with an optimum bluetooth portable terminal 3 among them . in a fourth embodiment , authentication is conducted by using a pin code and thereby the opposite party of communication is restricted more certainly . fig7 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a short - range communication system having a service providing apparatus ( bluetooth apparatus 2 ) according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention . the bluetooth apparatus 2 shown in fig7 includes , besides the configuration shown in fig5 , a pin generator 33 to generate a pin code . fig8 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the short - range communication system shown in fig7 . hereafter , processing operation of the short - range communication system shown in fig7 will be described featuring the processing differing from that shown in fig6 . if the counter value is not “ 1 ” at step s 89 in fig8 , it is determined whether or not the counter value is greater than “ 1 ” ( step s 95 ). if the counter value is greater than “ 1 ,” a variable i is initialized to “ 1 ” ( step s 96 ). subsequently , a pin code is generated by the pin generator 33 ( step s 97 ). the generated pin code is shown to a user of an ith bluetooth portable terminal 3 by the display device 19 . the user is urged to input a pin code . communication is conducted between the ith bluetooth portable terminal 3 and the local communication unit 11 ( step s 98 ), and pin authentication is conducted ( step s 99 ). if pin authentication has succeeded , the authentication procedure at the step s 90 is conducted . if pin authentication has failed , the variable i is incremented ( step s 100 ). until i reaches the counter value ( step s 101 ), the processing of the steps s 95 to s 100 is repeated . in the case where there are a plurality of bluetooth portable terminals 3 each of which has issued a connection request , pin authentication is conducted with each of the bluetooth portable terminals 3 and connection with only a bluetooth portable terminals 3 which has succeeded in pin authentication is permitted . thus , in the fourth embodiment , therefore , the degree of security can be further improved . in a fifth embodiment , the distance from a bluetooth portable terminal 3 is measured . only in the case where the measured distance is less than a predetermined length , connection information of the local communication unit 11 is transmitted to the bluetooth portable terminal 3 . fig9 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a short - range communication system having a service providing apparatus ( bluetooth apparatus 2 ) according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention . the bluetooth apparatus 2 shown in fig9 includes , besides the configuration shown in fig7 , a distance measurement unit 34 to measure the distance from a bluetooth portable terminal 3 . more specifically , the distance measurement unit 34 may be a radio wave intensity measurement unit to measure a radio wave intensity and thereby measure a distance , may be a unit to measure a distance by using infrared light or the gps or the like , or may be a unit to measure a distance on the basis of a phase shift . in other words , there are no specific restrictions in a concrete distance measurement technique in the distance measurement unit 34 . fig1 is a flow chart showing an example of a processing procedure of the short - range communication system shown in fig9 . hereafter , processing operation of the short - range communication system shown in fig1 will be described featuring the processing differing from that shown in fig8 . after the short - range communication unit 12 in the bluetooth apparatus 2 has conducted link connection with a bluetooth portable terminal 3 , the distance measurement unit 34 measures the distance from the bluetooth portable terminal 3 ( step s 118 ). if the measured distance is longer than a predetermined threshold , the link is disconnected ( step s 120 ) and the processing returns to the step s 116 . if the measured distance is equal to the predetermined threshold or less , connection information of the local communication unit 11 is generated ( step s 121 ), and the generated connection information is transmitted to the bluetooth portable terminal 3 ( step s 122 ). subsequent processing is similar to that shown in fig8 . fig1 is a flow chart showing a variant of a processing procedure of the short - range communication system shown in fig9 . in the processing procedure shown in fig1 , upon a connection request from a bluetooth portable terminal 3 to a local communication unit 11 ( step s 166 ), the distance from the bluetooth portable terminal 3 is measured ( step s 167 ). if the measured distance is longer than a threshold , the processing returns to the step s 165 , a connection request from another bluetooth portable terminal 3 is waited for . if the measured distance is equal to the threshold or less , the value of the counter 31 is incremented by “ 1 ,” device information of a bluetooth portable terminal 3 that has issued a connection request is stored ( step s 170 ), and then the processing is returned to the step s 165 . thus , in the fifth embodiment , the connection information of the local communication unit 11 is transmitted to a bluetooth portable terminal 3 only in the case where the distance from the bluetooth portable terminal 3 is equal to the threshold or less . therefore , connection to only a nearby bluetooth portable terminal 3 can be conducted , and there is no likelihood that the service is provided to an unintended opposite party . the service providing apparatus described above in the embodiments may be implemented by hardware , or may be implemented by software . in the case where the service providing apparatus is implemented by software , a program to implement the function of the service providing apparatus may be stored on a recording medium , such as a floppy disk or a cd - rom , or may be read by a computer to be executed thereby . the recording medium is not limited to a portable medium such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk , but may also be a stationary recording medium such as a hard disk device or a memory . furthermore , a program for implementing the function of the service providing program may also be distributed via a communication line ( including radio communication ) such as the internet or the like . in addition , the program may be distributed in such a state that the program is encrypted , modulated or compressed , via a wired line , such as the internet , or a radio line , or in a form stored in a recording medium . note that the present invention is by no means limited to the above embodiments and may be embodied by modifying the components thereof within a range that does not depart from the gist of the invention . other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and example embodiments be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following . further , the components of different embodiments may be appropriately combined .	7
this application discloses a modular lighting system that utilizes light emitting diodes ( leds ). a led is a semiconductor diode that efficiently converts electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation at visible wavelengths by electro - luminescence . examples of known leds include inorganic leds , organic leds ( both polymer ( pleds ) and flexible ( fleds )), as well as phosphor - based leds and quantum dot leds . in general , leds are very durable and have very long lives , making them an ideal solution for a modular self - supporting lighting system with integrated electrical connections . the modular led assembly utilizes a selection of components to create a system of interlocking components that may be combined to form a wide variety of desired shapes and configurations . additionally , the components are designed so as to be structurally and electrically self sufficient , so that no external support or additional electrical coupling is required . moreover , the modular led assembly disclosed herein eliminates substantially all visible wiring between lighting elements . fig1 illustrates an exemplary assembled led tubular light diffusing assembly 100 . tubular light diffusing assembly 100 includes of a tube section 101 for diffusing light emitted by one or more internally mounted leds . the tube section 101 may be baffled ( or otherwise textured ) to better diffuse light across the tube . an end cap 102 is positioned on each end of the tube section 101 . end caps 102 preferably have electrical port openings 103 for receiving an electrical plug connection . in the preferred embodiment , electrical port openings 103 are designed as female openings for receiving a male electrical plug connection . fig1 a illustrates the end cap 102 , which is generally cylindrical with an open end 102 a and a closed end 102 b . as mentioned above , end cap 102 preferably has an electrical port opening 103 in its closed end 102 b for receiving an electrical plug connection . end cap 102 may also have protrusions 104 a , 104 b , which releasably lock end cap 102 ( and the tubular light diffusing assembly 100 in turn ) to a locking ring ( described later below ). fig1 b is a cross section view of end cap 102 , which illustrates locking tab 105 . locking tab 105 may be an internally projecting circumferential surface or flange of end cap 102 , which acts as an interlocking component with a raised , externally projecting circumferential surface or flange of tube section 101 . locking tab 105 is preferably includes a seat 109 defined by an inwardly projecting , circular wall 109 a formed on the interior side of the closed end 102 b to facilitate securing the end cap 102 to tube section 101 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end cap 102 to the tube section 101 . the seat 109 receives an end of the tube section 101 . fig1 c is a cross section view of an end cap 102 installed on an end of tube section 101 . as mentioned above , tube section 101 may include texturing 106 to evenly diffuse light across the tube . texturing 106 may be baffling , fluting or any other pattern suitable for light diffusion . texturing 106 may be , for example , internal ( as shown ), external or built into the physical structure of tube section 101 . tube section 101 preferably includes a raised , outwardly projecting circumferential surface 105 a , which interlocks with the raised , internally projecting circumferential surface 105 of the end cap 102 to mount the end cap on the end of the tube section . electrical connector 108 is provided to supply electrical continuity to the led mounting rail 107 . led mounting rail 107 preferably physically supports at least one led light , and contains electrical pathways to provide all mounted leds with power and / or data . led mounting rail 107 may also include bypass electrical pathways so that electrical continuity is not interrupted across the tubular light diffusing assembly , or to other leds in the event of single or multiple led failure . electrical connector 108 is preferably received within the end cap electrical port opening 103 . the electrical connector 108 is preferably recessed with the opening 103 so that the connector is not flush with the closed end 102 . fig2 illustrates a section of a locking ring 201 for a modular led assembly . locking ring 201 may be formed from two sections 201 a and 201 b . the sections 201 a , 201 b may be joined together by inserting pins 201 d projecting from one section into corresponding indents or openings 201 c formed in the other section . the surface of locking ring 201 is preferably part textured and part flat for easy manual handling . texturing 203 provides a gripping surface for handling of the locking ring 201 . one or more flat regions 202 are preferably provided between textured regions 203 to provide alternative regions of grip , or the ability to use a tool ( e . g ., a wrench ) to rotate or otherwise turn the locking ring 201 . locking ring 201 also preferably includes an inwardly projecting circumferential flange 204 on its inner edge for releasably engaging a corresponding indent or recess on another component of the modular led assembly . locking ring 201 may also include a t - shaped or l - shaped groove 205 on its inner surface for receiving another component of the modular led assembly . groove 205 is preferably defined by a narrow channel that extends from an edge of locking ring 201 and terminates in a perpendicular channel set parallel to the edge of the locking ring . for example , protrusions 104 on end cap 102 ( from fig1 a ) may slide into a respective groove 205 of locking ring 201 and then twist to releasably lock tubular light diffusing assembly 100 ( with attached end caps 102 ) to the locking ring . fig3 , 3 a and 3 b illustrate an intermediate connector 301 for a modular led assembly . intermediate connector 301 preferably includes a cylindrically shaped housing having at least two protruding male electrical connectors 302 a , 302 b protruding from opposing sides of the intermediate connector 301 . electrical connectors 302 a , 302 b are preferably electrically coupled via internal electrical junction 303 . internal electrical junction 303 may be wiring , circuitry , or any other suitable connection for communicating electrical power and / or data between connectors 302 a , 302 b . intermediate connector 301 preferably facilitates the electrical connection between two components of the modular led assembly by allowing standardization of all electrical connectors of the other components of the modular led assembly . for instance , if one wished to connect two tubular light diffusing assemblies , each assembly would need a male and female electrical port . this would limit the permutations in which one could assemble the modular led assembly . by utilizing the intermediate connector 301 , the electrical ports or connectors on tubular light diffusing assemblies may be standardized ( e . g ., all female connectors ). this would then allow other components of the modular led assembly to be arranged in any configuration desired . fig4 illustrates an illustrative conical power supply connector 401 for a modular led assembly . conical power supply connector 401 preferably provides the ability to supply electric current and data to the modular led assembly . an electrical port 402 may provide electrical power and / or data to the conical power supply 401 . the illustrative conical power supply connector 401 may include a raised edge with an external circumferential flange or groove 403 . the circumferential flange or groove 403 may releasably engage the internally projecting circumferential flange 204 of the locking ring 201 ( from fig2 ), or an internal circumferential groove ( as described above ). fig4 a is a cross section view of the conical power supply connector 401 for a modular led assembly . conical power supply connector 401 is preferably adapted to receive an external power connector 406 through connector port 402 . external power connector 406 may be fastened to the body of conical power supply connector 401 in a conventional manner , such as ( but not limited to ) using indent tabs , friction of the plug body , magnets , etc . conical power supply connector 401 may also receive electric power and / or data through another component of the modular led assembly , in which case it may act as a central hub , rather than a power supply . as an alternative , conical power supply connector 401 may also include symmetrical top and bottom ends ( preferably formed from two interlocking sections ) to allow for two connections to other components of the modular led assembly . an electrical port opening 405 may be provided in top cover plate 404 for mounting an electrical connector ( not shown ), which is preferably electrically connected to the external power connector 406 . a locking mechanism may also be provided to secure conical power supply connector 401 to a locking ring 201 ( from fig2 ), and subsequently , for instance , to a tubular light diffusing assembly 100 . longitudinally extending members 407 may project from the interior surface of the conical power supply connector 401 to provide rigidity for conical power supply 401 and to support the cover plate 404 . members 407 may also provide mass with which to attach fasteners for various components ( such as the top plate 404 , as shown ). conical power supply connector 401 may also include other external power / data outlets ( not shown ), preferably aligned along the external circumferential wall to deliver electrical power and / or data to more than one device at a time . fig4 b illustrates a power supply attachment 408 . power supply attachment 408 is adapted to provide additional mating surfaces for attaching other components of the modular led assembly to the conical power supply ( as will be described below ). power supply attachment 408 preferably includes a raised circular flange 409 that allows for fastening to a locking ring 201 ( from fig2 ). the power supply attachment 408 may also include a conical recess 410 that allows for the use of an intermediate electrical connector 301 ( from fig3 , 3 a ). openings 412 are provided at the bottom of recess 410 to provide access for electrical connection to the conical power supply connector 401 ( from fig4 ). the inside surface of power supply attachment 408 is preferably curved to match or otherwise correspond to the exterior surface of a conical power supply connector 401 . securing tabs 413 may be used to hold the assembly together , as described below . fig4 c illustrates an assembled hub 414 , which includes of a central conical power supply connector 401 mounted within a configuration of power supply attachments 408 . the raised flange 403 ( from fig4 ) of conical power supply connector 401 is preferably elevated above the top surface of hub 414 , allowing a top connection to another component of the modular led assembly via a locking ring 201 ( from fig2 ). ports 412 and 405 ( from fig4 ) may be provided to enable electrical connection of modular led assembly components to electrical power supply / data provided by hub 414 . securing tabs 413 preferably align laterally with one another when hub 414 is assembled . one may secure hub 414 by inserting a fastener ( e . g ., screw , nut and bolt , etc .) through the securing tabs 413 . although hub 414 is depicted as consisting of one conical power supply connector 401 and four attachments 408 , it is understood that this configuration may readily be modified or adapted to allow additional connections , angles and shapes , as required by the end - user . fig5 illustrates a freestanding base 501 for a modular led assembly . freestanding base 501 is preferably supported by four legs 503 , which extend downward from freestanding base 501 . freestanding base 501 preferably includes a centrally located , cylindrical fitting 502 projecting upward from the base . the fitting 502 is preferably defined by a central opening 502 a , a locking slot 502 b , and a pair of aligned pinholes 502 c . central opening 502 a is preferably configured to receive a conical power supply connector 401 ( from fig4 ). locking slot 502 b is preferably l - shaped and is configured to receive an external power connector ( from fig4 a ) inserted within a conical power supply connector 401 ( from fig4 ). the conical power supply connector 401 may be inserted into the central opening 502 a by aligning the external connector 406 with the locking slot 502 b . rotation of the conical power supply connector 401 caused the external connector 406 to move into the perpendicular section of the locking slot to releasably secure the conical power supply connector 401 to the freestanding base 501 . a locking pin 504 may then be removably inserted with the aligned pinholes 502 to prevent rotation and subsequent removal of the power connector 401 from the base 501 . fig5 a depicts a conical power supply connector 401 , locking ring 201 and tubular light diffusing assembly 101 mounted on freestanding base 501 . tubular light diffusing assembly 101 is preferably connected to conical power supply connector 401 via locking ring 201 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end tubular light diffusing assembly 101 to conical power supply connector 401 . external power connector 406 may be plugged into or otherwise electrically connected to conical power supply connector 401 to provide the modular led assembly with electrical power and / or data . the coupled tubular light diffusing assembly 101 , locking ring 201 and conical power supply 401 are preferably inserted into the raised fitting 502 so that the electrical power connector 406 enters the vertical section of locking slot 502 ( from fig5 ). afterwards , the coupled tubular light diffusing assembly 101 , locking ring 201 and conical power supply 401 are preferably turned so that the electrical power connector 406 reaches the terminal end of the horizontal section of locking slot 502 ( from fig5 ). locking pin 504 is then preferably inserted into pinhole 502 c ( from fig5 ) to releasably secure the assembly to the base 501 . the end caps 102 , locking ring 201 , intermediate connector 301 , power supply connector 401 , power supply attachments 408 , base 501 and other components of the modular led assembly may be made from plastic or any other suitable material . these components may be made by injection molding or in similar manufacturing process . an illustrative assembled modular led assembly 601 is shown in fig6 . tube sections 101 ( from fig1 ) are all connected to an assembled central hub 414 ( fig4 c above ). an additional conical power supply 401 may be attached to one of the light diffusing assemblies 101 and preferably receives power and / or data through external power connector 406 . electrical power and / or data are preferably transmitted ( via the electrical pathways described above ) throughout the entire modular led assembly 601 , illuminating the leds within each light diffusing assembly 101 . in this manner , the central hub 414 preferably includes one power / data integrated connection for multiple light diffusing assemblies 101 . fig6 a is an enlarged view of the central region of the illustrative assembled exemplary modular led assembly 601 ( from fig6 ). tube sections 101 ( from fig1 ) are preferably connected to the central hub 414 via locking rings 201 ( from fig2 ), which attach to the tube sections 101 via end caps 102 ( from fig1 b ). alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the tubular light diffusing assembly 101 to central hub 414 . fig6 b is a cross section view of the central hub 414 ( fig6 ), with respective attachments 408 ( from fig4 b , 4 c ). electrical continuity is provided through central hub 414 via internal electrical coupling 602 , which may take the form of wiring , circuitry , or any other suitable electrical connection . electrical couplers 602 a , 602 b are provided for transmission of electrical power and / or data to other components of the modular led assembly affixed to central hub 414 . there is preferably one electrical coupler for each attachment ( although only two are shown in fig6 ). intermediate connectors 303 ( fig3 , 3 a ) are preferably positioned between central hub 414 and the affixed component of the modular led assembly to provide electrical continuity between them . fig7 illustrates another illustrative configuration of the modular led assembly in which six tube sections 101 ( with corresponding end caps 102 ) are releasably connected to one another via a central hub 701 . each tube section 101 is preferably connected to the central hub 701 via a connector or locking ring 201 ( from fig2 ) having an opening for receive the end cap 102 . the connector 201 is connected to the central hub 701 and preferably includes one or more recessed internally circumferential grooves ( e . g ., l - shaped or t - shaped groove ) on its inner surface of the opening for releasably engaging a corresponding pin or protrusion 104 projecting from the end cap 102 , so that the pin or protrusion 104 may slide into the groove and then twist to releasably lock the end cap 102 to the connector 201 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end cap 102 to the connector 201 or directly to the central hub 701 . referring to fig7 a , an intermediate connector 301 is preferably provided within the opening of the connector 201 to electrically connect each light diffusing assembly 101 to the central hub 701 . as discussed above , the intermediate connector 301 preferably includes a cylindrically shaped housing having at least two electrical connectors 302 a , 302 b protruding from opposing sides of the intermediate connector 301 . electrical connectors 302 a , 302 b are preferably electrically coupled via internal electrical junction 303 . internal electrical junction 303 may be wiring , circuitry , or any other suitable connection for communicating electrical power and / or data between connectors 302 a , 302 b . fig7 b illustrates a cross section of central hub 701 with an insert 702 for providing an internal electrical connection within the central hub . the insert 702 is shown in fig7 c and includes a plurality of electrical connectors 703 for engaging and electrically connecting to a corresponding electrical connector 302 of each intermediate connector 301 . electrical connectors 703 are preferably electrically coupled via internal electrical junction 704 . internal electrical junction 704 may be wiring , circuitry , or any other suitable connection for communicating electrical power and / or data between connectors 703 . a power supply 401 may be attached to the central hub 701 or to one of the light diffusing assemblies 101 to provide power and / or data through external power connector 406 . electrical power and / or data are preferably transmitted ( via the electrical pathways described above ) throughout the entire modular led assembly , illuminating the leds within each light diffusing assembly 101 . in this manner , the central hub 701 preferably includes one power / data integrated connection for multiple light diffusing assemblies 101 . fig8 illustrates another illustrative configuration of the modular led assembly in which two tube sections 101 ( with corresponding end caps 102 ) are releasably , linearly ( i . e . at an angle of 180 °) connected to one another via a central connector 801 . the central connector 801 is preferably cylindrical shaped and includes an openings for receiving an end cap 102 from tube section 101 . an electrical connector is preferably mounted in the opening of the central connector to engage and electrically connect to the corresponding electrical connector 108 ( fig1 c ) located within the end cap 102 . the electrical connectors within the central connector 801 are preferably electrically connected to one another so that electrical power and / or data is preferably transmitted ( via the electrical pathways described above ) throughout the entire modular led assembly , illuminating the leds within each light diffusing assembly 101 . like the locking ring 201 , the central connector 801 preferably includes one or more recessed internally circumferential grooves ( e . g ., l - shaped or t - shaped groove ) on its inner surface for releasably engaging a corresponding pin or protrusion 104 projecting from the end cap 102 , so that the pin or protrusion 104 may slide into the groove and then twist to releasably lock the end cap 102 to the central connector 801 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end cap 102 to the central connector 801 . fig9 and 9a illustrate another illustrative configuration of the modular led assembly in which two tube sections 101 ( with corresponding end caps 102 ) are releasably connected at an angle which , as shown , is approximately 90 ° to one another via a 90 ° connector ( e . g ., elbow ) 901 . the connector 901 preferably includes a pair of openings for receiving an end cap 102 from the tube sections 101 . an electrical connector is preferably mounted in each opening of the central connector to engage and electrically connect to the corresponding electrical connector 108 ( fig1 c ) located within the end cap 102 . the electrical connectors within the connector 901 are preferably electrically connected to one another so that electrical power and / or data is preferably transmitted ( via the electrical pathways described above ) throughout the entire modular led assembly , illuminating the leds within each light diffusing assembly 101 . like the locking ring 201 , the connector 901 preferably includes one or more recessed internally circumferential grooves ( e . g ., l - shaped or t - shaped groove ) on its inner surface for releasably engaging a corresponding pin or protrusion 104 projecting from the end cap 102 , so that the pin or protrusion 104 may slide into the groove and then twist to releasably lock the end cap 102 to the connector 901 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end cap 102 to the connector 901 . fig1 and 10a illustrate another illustrative configuration of the modular led assembly in which three tube sections 101 ( with corresponding end caps 102 ) are releasably connected to one another via a three - way connector 1001 . the connector 1001 preferably includes openings for receiving an end cap 102 from each tube section 101 . an electrical connector is preferably mounted in each opening of the connector 1001 to engage and electrically connect to the corresponding electrical connector 108 ( fig1 c ) located within the end cap 102 . the electrical connectors within the connector 1001 are preferably electrically connected to one another so that electrical power and / or data is preferably transmitted ( via the electrical pathways described above ) throughout the entire modular led assembly , illuminating the leds within each light diffusing assembly 101 . like the locking ring 201 , the connector 1001 preferably includes one or more recessed internally circumferential grooves ( e . g ., l - shaped or t - shaped groove ) on its inner surface for releasably engaging a corresponding pin or protrusion 104 projecting from the end cap 102 , so that the pin or protrusion 104 may slide into the groove and then twist to releasably lock the end cap 102 to the connector 1001 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end cap 102 to the connector 1001 . fig1 illustrates another illustrative configuration of the modular led assembly in which four tube sections 101 ( with corresponding end caps 102 ) are releasably connected to one another via a four - way connector 1101 . the connector 1001 preferably includes openings for receiving the end cap 102 from the tube sections 101 . an electrical connector is preferably mounted in each opening of the connector 1101 to engage and electrically connect to the corresponding electrical connector 108 ( fig1 c ) located within the end cap 102 . the electrical connectors within the connector 1101 are preferably electrically connected to one another so that electrical power and / or data is preferably transmitted ( via the electrical pathways described above ) throughout the entire modular led assembly , illuminating the leds within each light diffusing assembly 101 . like the locking ring 201 , the connector 1001 preferably includes one or more recessed internally circumferential grooves ( e . g ., l - shaped or t - shaped groove ) on its inner surface for releasably engaging a corresponding pin or protrusion 104 projecting from the end cap 102 , so that the pin or protrusion 104 may slide into the groove and then twist to releasably lock the end cap 102 to the connector 1101 . alternatively , a clip , pin , fastener or the like ( not shown ) may be used to connect the end cap 102 to the connector 1101 . by a combination of some or all of the above - described modular led assembly components , a wide variety of shapes and configurations may be created . for instance , if one wished to use the system to decorate the entrance to a social venue , a modular led assembly may be configured in the shape of an arch or a doorway to frame the entrance . alternatively , if one wished to decorate the ceiling of a large hall , stars and other desired shape configurations of modular led assemblies may be formed , using different angled connectors and can be suspended from the ceiling . it should be understood that the components disclosed herein might be altered in design or shape to suit the needs of the end user . for instance , the tubular light diffusing assembly may be curved instead of straight as depicted in fig1 . this would enable a user to create circular or rounded shapes as well . alternatively , the interlocking components between the tubular light diffusing assemblies may be curved as well , enabling a user to lock components together at different angles . the modular led assemblies described herein may utilize one or more hub assemblies or connectors having one power / data integrated connection with multiple ports for interconnected light diffusing assemblies . in addition , the end caps 102 on each light diffusing assembly 100 may be wired or strung together to provide an electrical connection for the distribution of power and / or data to a multiplicity of tubular light diffusing assemblies with all wiring being readily concealed , even in cases where the tubular light diffusing assemblies are deployed vertically ( such as ( but not limited to ) lining a runway , stairs or the like ). similarly , an end cap on the tubular light diffusing assembly may be recessed within a structure or surface ( such as ( but not limited to ) a stage , wall , display case , or any other structure or architectural application ) where concealed wiring is desired . in this manner , the recessed end caps of tubular light diffusing assemblies may be wired or strung together through the opposing or non - viewable side of the structure or surface to conceal the wiring . in this manner , custom artistic creations of tubular light diffusing assemblies may be created , such as , for example , recessing thirty light diffusing assemblies into a globe using shallow angles between the tubular light diffusing assemblies to create a “ sea urchin ”- like concept or recessing seven light diffusing assemblies into a small half circle table mount to create a custom centerpiece for a special event . the independent units may also be controllable as well , to enable variation of the lighting display . for instance , the tubular light diffusing assemblies may be coordinated to blink on and off in a pattern , creating an illusion that light is traveling through the assembly . the control communication mechanism is preferably a wireless mechanism , such as a wireless data interface . alternatively , it may be a wired electrical connection as well , preferably built into the power and / or data delivery mechanism . the lights may be controlled via a dedicated console or other similar hardware . alternatively , a computer with a software program may control them . having described and illustrated the principles of this application by reference to one or more preferred embodiments , it should be apparent that the preferred embodiment ( s ) may be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the principles disclosed herein and that it is intended that the application be construed as including all such modifications and variations insofar as they come within the spirit and scope of the subject matter disclosed herein .	5
referring to fig1 , an exemplary exercise apparatus . the arrangement comprises a base 102 having supports 104 extending generally perpendicular relative to the base 102 . the supports may be height adjustable via a catch mechanism ( not shown ) whereby depressing a button 106 causes release of a member extending into the upper portion 108 of the support 104 such that the relative height of the upper support 108 to the lower part of the support 104 can be adjusted . this provides adjustability for different sizes and shapes of user . it will be appreciated that any type of mechanism whereby the upper part of the support 104 or in particular the portion at which the user contact member 110 is connected to be height adjustable relative to the base 102 . the user contact member if clamped between the upper portion of the support 104 . in one embodiment of this aspect of the present invention , a plurality of user contact members are provided which may be releasably connected to the upper support 108 . the user contact members are made of a elastically deformable material such as elastic which provided some support to the midriff area of a user for performing exercises such as in particular press - ups . user contact members 110 having different elastic properties can be utilised an releasably connected to the upper supports 108 as necessary . it will be appreciated that user contact members having lower values of elasticity make the exercise easier as more support is provided for the user . this is particularly beneficial for a user who is potentially less fit , or alternatively is recovering from injury . again , however , a user who is performing an exercise against their own mass rather than against weights or similar thereby improves a user &# 39 ; s core stability rather than solely individual muscle groups . again referring to fig1 , the user contact member in a more preferred embodiment is fixed to one of the upper supports 108 and is drawn across to the opposing upper support 108 . a releasable clip mechanism is provided on the opposing support such that the user contact member can be extended to the tension as required . it is clear that increasing the tension in the user contact member 110 will reduce the subsequent elastic property of the user contact member and as such will provide more support to a user . releasing the user contact member reduces the support provided to the user . the user contact member may extend from one of the supports 108 to the opposing support 108 to extend therethrough and may be clamped via a hinged clip which will clamp the user contact member between two surfaces thereby preventing movement . it will be appreciated that a variety of clamping means may be utilised however provided that the tension in the user contact member is adjustable then the object of the invention will be achieved . it is also envisaged that the user contact member could be used to support a user &# 39 ; s back during a sit up exercise . for this reason , it is envisaged that the user contact member may be tilted to provide the devised angle for supporting a user when performing an exercise . referring to fig2 , a second embodiment of an exercise apparatus is provided of the comprising a user contact member 110 that may or may not be deformable but is arranged to be mounted on a support comprising means to enable the user contact member to move relative to the base 102 . the user contact member may comprise a rigid body having a soft covering thereon shaped and configured to receive the generally midriff area of the user to provide support . the support 104 enables the user contact member 110 to move relative to the base and may have a spring 112 or any alternative resilient biasing member which may be deformed when a force is applied to the upper surface of the user contact member 110 . if a spring is used as the biasing member , the spring 112 may be removable such that the restoring force against the weight of the user may be altered as required . a further preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in particular with respect to fig3 and 4 . referring to fig3 and 4 , a support onto which the contact member 110 is mounted comprises a biasing means which can be generally referred to as a gas strut or a gas spring . a suitable arrangement is shown in more detail in fig5 but generally comprises a sleeve portion 120 and a piston portion 112 which locates within the sleeve portion 120 . it will be appreciated that with reference to fig3 and 4 the piston portion 122 is arranged to support the user contact member 110 however the arrangement could simply be reversed such that the sleeve 120 supports the user contact member 110 and the piston portion 122 is connected to the base 102 . referring back to the drawings , the piston portion 122 is moveable with respect to the sleeve portion 120 and is moveable against a sealed gas compartment which provides resistance to movement of the piston relative to the sleeve . a sealing arrangement 124 ensures that no gas can escape from the sleeve 122 as the piston portion 122 is forced down into the sleeve 124 . it is important in the present invention that there is not an increasing resistance to downward movement as generally downward movement of the piston occurs as would happen with a simple spring arrangement . accordingly , a valve system ( see fig5 for example ) ensures that constant resistance through the movement of the piston within the sleeve is maintained . this is important for a user performing an exercise as will ensure that the user does not rely on the increased resistance provided by the biasing means to perform the exercise successfully . accordingly , a user will be forced to contract their pelvic muscles , for example , in a press up position in order that the user can return to the starting position . as shown in fig4 , protrusions 126 are arranged to extend from the sleeve 120 to enable further exercises to be carried out , for example to provide support for a user &# 39 ; s feet for completing a sit up . the protrusions may be fixed to the sleeve 120 via any suitable means , and as can be seen in fig4 , the protrusions may comprise a single piece which clamps to the sleeve 120 . referring to fig5 , a suitable gas strut 130 is generally indicated comprising a sleeve 120 and piston 132 . the piston moves up and down within the sleeve 132 and the head is provided with a sealing arrangement 134 which prevents release of gas from the chamber 136 out of the system . the head of the piston comprises a protrusion 136 which is arranged such that it will come into contact with the corresponding stopper 138 located at the upper end of the sleeve which acts as a stopper to prevent further movement . when in use , as the piston is forced through the chamber 136 via the weight of the user , movement past the position in which the protrusion 136 contacts the stopper 138 is therefore prevented . an important feature of the present invention is that a valve system 140 is provided which controls the pressure within the chamber 136 such that a constant opposing force is applied against the movement of the piston . this is important as movement of the piston through the chamber 136 will be at a consistent speed ( with a constant mass on the piston ) and the valve system 140 enables the restoring force to remain substantially constant irrespective of the position of the piston 132 with respect to the sleeve 120 . as such , the resistance against movement of the piston 132 through the cylinder 120 will not increase as the protrusion 136 approaches the stopper 138 . it is further appreciated that the pressure within the chamber 136 may be varied as provided for by alternative gas struts currently available . a control or dial may beneficially be provided as indicated in fig3 , with reference numeral 118 , which can be varied for different user weights , and / or depending on the pressure causes the exercise to be made more difficult as the pressure is lowered , to being easier as the pressure and thus the support increases . benefits of the apparatus is significant and enables a user to perform press ups under range of core body weight exercises by providing support in a generally weak pelvic area . the apparatus provides the necessary support to allow the user to get into the anatomically correct position . it also enables the user to slow down the exercise thus enabling the user to perform the right technique and forces the user to contract the pelvic muscles thus ensuring muscle strengthening and continued progress . the present invention has been described by way of example only and it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of protection afforded by the amended claims . it will also be appreciated that aspects of the invention may be combined to form arrangements having features of both first and second aspects of the present invention . for example , the invention as defined with respect to the first aspect may be combined with one or more features of the invention as described in the second aspect to provide an exercise station .	0
referring now to fig1 , an ipv4 packet 100 with a classification rule to match an ip address to ab with the remark to set the differentiated services code point ( dscp ) to 5 . dscp is a 6 - bit field used to identify the level of service a packet receives in the network . this action would result in cam and fastpath . hence , if an ipv4 packet comes with source address equal to ab , it will be classified by cam and a dscp value of 5 will be written in the ipv4 packet . the present invention provides a modified action structure for an ipv6 cam entry . with the present invention , a cam lookup can be performed in parallel if multiple rules are able to result in matching criteria , as would be the case where ipv4 and ipv6 co - exist . as noted , ipv4 addresses have a 32 bit address structure , while ipv6 addresses have a 128 bit address structure . hence , an ipv4 address can easily fit into an ipv6 address structure . as seen in fig2 , the new modified action structure 200 of the present invention has more information ( future lookup list ) to trigger a parallel lookup to determine the right match . the normal action will still denote the action to be taken on the matched packet . assume an ipv6 classification rule is required to match a packet with address “ abcd ” and set its dscp to 5 . “ abcd ” will match in two lookups . the first lookup will match “ ab ” and result would be to continue the lookup with the modified key which has the rest of the address “ cd ” and rule number 1 . the second lookup will result in a match and the appropriate action will be taken . these two lookups result in an ipv6 address match . that is , “ abcd ” will be matched in two lookups as one of the two cam entries are designed to store an ipv6 filter while one stores an ipv4 filter . so two keys will be used — one for “ ab ” and the other “ cd ” for finding the right match for the ipv6 address . fig3 illustrates actions 300 which occur when another ipv6 rule is added wherein the matching address criterion is “ efgh ” and the action is to set dscp to 10 . various scenarios are now discussed to demonstrate the advantages of the present invention and its ability to support both ipv4 and ipv6 filters . note , from fig3 , that packet “ abgh : will not match anything as only those entries will be looked at which will correspond to filter rule 1 . to overcome this limitation , fig4 illustrates an extension 400 of the situation by adding another classification rule which provides that “ abxx ” is to be matched and dscp set to 15 . as seen therein , the future lookup list is utilized . two cam entries are added to correspond to rule “ abxx ”. note that “ ab ” cam entry has “ 3 ” now in the future lookup list which indicates that there is another “ ab ” rule down in the cam which is identical in all aspects except that it is part of a different ipv6 rule . this future lookup list can have more than one element , depending on the number of identical rules . hence , “ abde ” will match as follows . in step 1 , “ ab ” will match cam entry 1 . the result is rule number 1 and future lookup list 3 . then , two keys are prepared : 1 , “ de ” and 3 , “ de ”. in step 2 , two simultaneous lookups are performed based on the above 2 keys — the first key will result in a miss and the second key will result in a match and the appropriate action will be taken . as will be recognized by those skilled in the art , the innovative concepts described in the present application can be modified and varied over a wide range of applications . accordingly , the scope of patented subject matter should not be limited to any of the specific exemplary teachings discussed above , but is instead defined by the following claims .	7
fig2 shows an environment in which the present invention can be fruitfully applied . the drawing shows an assembly of a source unit 20 for a digital colour image , for example an electro - optical scanner 10 for scanning a document or a storage unit 11 with scanning data , a preprocessing unit 21 according to the present invention , which extracts information elements , and one or more interpretation units , in this example a lay - out analysis unit 22 which establishes a mutual connection of information units and a character recognition unit ( ocr ) 23 which converts the text image thus found into text code , which can further be processed digitally . the units 21 , 22 and 23 can be implemented in a suitably programmed computer 12 . the results can , for example , be stored in a memory unit 13 . characters cannot always be recognised easily in a scanned colour image . a colour scan in fact frequently contains many different colours , even if the scanned image has just a few ( main ) colours . printing errors in the scanned document as a result of register errors in the printing process , and scanning errors as a result of noise and the limited resolution of the scanner may cause pixels of deviant coloration or small pixel areas which cannot be recognised and removed without difficulty . these areas having deviant coloration cause interpretation errors , and it is the function of the preprocessing unit 21 to extract information elements which are devoid of such disturbances . the various parts of the preprocessing unit 21 are shown in fig3 and comprise the following modules : a colour quantisation module 31 for reducing the number of colours in the image to a limited number , a classification module 32 for inventorisation ( making an inventory ) of the connected components occurring in the image and dividing the same into types , a selection module 33 for selecting the connected components of specific types , a division module 34 for dividing the selected connected components into background connected components and non - background connected components and grouping the latter in islands of contiguous connected components , an allocation module 35 for allocating the connected components of an island to the foreground and the background , and a combination module 36 for combining the connected components of an island which belong to the foreground , to form an information element . the colour quantisation module 31 is intended to allow a division into foreground and background elements . colour alone for this purpose , of course , is an inadequate criterion and hence each connected component must be considered as potentially information - bearing . since 24 bits are used for describing a colour in a digital colour image , a scanned colour image will very quickly contain a large number of different colours . the number of colours is greatly reduced by colour quantisation . there are various methods of quantising colours . the commonly - assigned netherlands &# 39 ; 669 patent application ( mentioned above ) describes a method wherein the colour space is divided up into a small number of compartments each containing a concentration of colours present in the image . all the colours in a compartment receive the same colour code . in sobottka , k . et al . ( also mentioned in the background section ): “ identification of text on colored book and journal covers ”, fifth international conference on document analysis and recognition , september 1999 , pp . 57 – 62 , it is proposed to prepare a three - dimensional histogram of colours . for each histogram cell a pointer to the highest neighbouring cell is then established . in this way , around each local maximum in the histogram there is defined an area which is allocated a colour code in its entirety . only two colour quantisation methods have been described here , but more are known . the choice of the method is arbitrary and does not represent a point of novelty per se of this invention . the colour quantisation module 31 delivers a digital image with a limited number of colours to the classification module 32 , which classifies all the pixels of the digital image into connected components and divides the connected components up by type . a connected component is a group of contiguous pixels with the same colour code . a bounding box is placed around each connected component , said box being the smallest rectangle fitting around the connected component . the co - ordinates of the top left - hand corner ( x 0 , y 0 ) and the bottom right corner ( x 1 , y 1 ) of the bounding box , the size ( the number of pixels of the connected component ), the colour code of the connected component , and the average value and the standard deviation sdev of the ( actual ) colours in the connected component . the following properties of the connected component are calculated from these attributes : the width , the height , the area a , the largest dimension b (= max ( width , height )), the smallest dimension s (= minimum ( width , height )), aspect ratio ar (=( largest dimension )/( smallest dimension )), and the degree of coverage c , i . e . the covered part of the bounding box (= size /( width x height )). using the properties thus calculated , a connected component is divided up into one of the following types : the classification is performed by a decision tree shown in fig4 . this drawing is largely self - explanatory . use is made of a preselected threshold value t in a number of steps . the value of this can be determined experimentally . the value 3 . 5 mm , a character size frequently used in documents , appears to be quite satisfactory . the other threshold values indicated are also intended solely as an example . only connected components of predetermined types are selected for the further processing . the choice of these types is dependent on the specific interpretation processing which follows . in this example , character recognition is applied as interpretation processing . this requires only those connected components which can themselves be a character or a part thereof , namely char , noise , small and unknown . also , the connected components of type backgr are selected . the selection concerned is performed by the selection module 33 , which passes the selected connected components to the dividing module 34 . the dividing module 34 groups connected components that are not of the background type into what are known as “ islands ”, an “ island ” being an entity of contiguous connected components . the “ islands ” are passed to the allocation module 35 , which establishes which connected components belong to the information element . an “ island ” of course usually contains a number of connected components of which part belongs to an information element and another part to the background . the allocation module 35 performs a procedure shown in fig5 and based on a predetermined allocation criterion with respect to the colours of “ island ” and surrounding background . according to the allocation criterion , a connected component is allocated to a foreground ( information - bearing ) or the background ( non - information - bearing ). in a first step s 1 , the rgb value of the background component surrounding the “ island ” is determined . if the “ island ” is situated just at the boundary of two or even more background components , then in this step the average rgb value of the surrounding background components is calculated , for example by simple averaging of the r , g and b values respectively . it is also possible in this case to use a weighted average , for example by area . in step s 2 the average rgb value of the connected components in the “ island ” is then calculated , for example simply by averaging the r , g and b values respectively . here again a weighted average can be used , for example by area . for each connected component ( steps s 3 , s 8 , s 9 ) the actual allocation procedure ( s 4 – s 7 ) is then performed . in step s 4 , the distances in the colour space between the rgb value of the investigated connected component , and the ( possibly average ) rgb value of the background and the average rgb value of the “ island ”, respectively , are then calculated . these distances are compared ( s 5 ) and the investigated connected component is allocated to the foreground if the distance from the “ island ” value is less than the distance from the background value ( s 6 ), and to the background in the other case ( s 7 ). in this example , the rgb value of an element refers to the rgb value of the quantised colour thereof . in an alternative form , the average rgb value of the original colours of all the separate pixels of an element of this kind could also be used for this purpose . finally , the results of the allocation are passed to the combination module 36 , which combines the foreground connected components into separate information units . these are passed with their positions to the interpretation units . now that all the elements in the digital image have been divided into two categories , namely foreground and background , the conventional interpretation processing operations can be applied , in this example lay - out analysis , followed by character recognition . lay - out analysis is described , for example , in ep 0 629 078 b and in other documents , some of which are mentioned in the introduction of ep 0 629 078 b . this processing does not represent a point of novelty per se of the present invention . examples of the operation of the preprocessing unit 21 as described above are shown in fig6 a , b and c and fig7 a , b and c . fig6 a shows a highly magnified portion of a scanned image . the grey tints in the drawing indicate different colours , some of which differ from one another only slightly . it is not possible for an automatic machine to determine a priori what pixels are information - bearing and which are not , although a human observer has no difficulty whatsoever in this connection . if all the pixels with a colour deviating from the background were to be allocated to the foreground , hence to the information element , the three imaged digits would form an entity , because there are “ bridges ” ( 51 , 52 ) of pixels with a transition colour between the separate digits . these transition colours are the result of the limited resolution of the scanner , so that at the edges of the digits , pixels are generated with a grey tint which correspond to the average grey value of the partially white and partially black pixel . furthermore , the optical system of the scanner causes blurring of the transitions between the foreground and the background , resulting in the said “ bridges ”. the scanning data are then subjected to a colour quantisation in the module 31 , and the result of this is shown in fig6 b . the different grey tints in this figure correspond to different quantised colours . it is clearly visible that the boundaries of the digits still contain different colours and that the quantisation in this case has also not resulted in elimination of the “ bridges ” 51 , 52 . despite the limitation in the number of colours further automatic interpretation is still not satisfactorily possible . fig6 c shows the result of the modules 32 – 36 , from which it will be clear that all the disturbances have now been removed so that the scanning data are now suitable for further interpretation . fig7 a shows another disturbance of the scanning data . in this , colour differences are present in the characters , for example as visible in the top part of the letter “ a ”, which includes two differently coloured parts 53 , 54 . during the subsequent colour quantisation , these different colours appear to be quantised in different colour codes 55 , 56 ( fig7 b ). this division can occur when the average colour of a character is just at the boundary of two quantised colours . very small colour differences in the scanned image of the character can then just exceed the limit and then cause first one and then the other quantised colour to be selected . this effect makes automatic interpretation completely impossible , because there are now not even any basic forms available in a single colour . however , during the processing in the modules 32 – 36 , the differently coloured fragments nevertheless appear to be combined to the correct character forms ( fig7 c ). although the invention has been explained by reference to the above description , it is not limited thereto . the skilled man will realise that alternative embodiments are possible within the scope of the following claims . these alternative embodiments are considered as coming within the scope of protection of the patent .	6
a flow visualization study was made of water flow over grooved surface models with air injection into surface grooves . the effects of groove geometry and surfactants were examined as well as air flow rate . the results show that the grooved surface geometry acts to hold the injected airstream near the wall and in some cases , results in a tube of air attached to the wall . groove dimension and the presence of surfactants were shown to greatly affect formation and stability of the air tube in the grooved surface . deeper grooves , surfactants with high contact angles , and angled air injection increased the stability of the attached air tube . convected disturbances and high shear were shown to increase the interfacial instability of the attached air tube . if the air tubes are maintained in turbulent high speed flows , skin friction of marine vehicles would be reduced . referring now the drawings , fig1 shows the primary testing facility which consisted of a small open - circuit water tunnel 11 with a clear plexiglass test section 12 , which was four inches long and had a one - half inch by one - half inch cross - section . the tunnel configuration is shown in fig1 . the tunnel was fed by municipal water and throttled by controlling two three - quarter inch sections of honeycomb with one - quarter inch cells , a compressed section of air conditioner filter to break up the incoming jet and a 16 : 1 contraction section . dye injected upstream of the test section showed the flow 13 through the test section to be relatively smooth and laminar . the bottom wall of rectangular test section 12 was replaced by flush mounted test model 14 . test models 14 were made of four inches long by one inch wide aluminum plate , one - half inch thick . see fig2 . the surfaces of the models which were exposed to the flow were machined with triangular longitudinal grooves 15 of varying depth and width dimensions . surfactant coatings of a hydrocarbon base , anti - wetting agent were either topically applied to the aluminum groove surface 15 or the entire model was constructed of teflon ® , which is available commercially and which has anti - wetting properties . in order to more clearly understand the action of surfactants to alter the interfacial tension or change the surface energy , the contact angle ( which corresponds to the relative strength of the solid / liquid and gas liquid interfaces ) of a sessile water drop was measured on each of the surfaces tested . each model 14 had an air injection hole 16 drilled in the valley of the center groove . the injector diameter was nominally one - half groove width . air was supplied by a regulated compressor and throttled with a needle valve . because the flow rates were relatively low ( between 0 and 200 cc / min . ), the volumetric flow rate was measured by displacement of water over a period of one minute in a graduated cylinder . the overall experimental set up is shown in fig3 . flow visualization was conducted with a telephoto lens 17 mounted to an image intensifier system 18 with the output image coupled to a vidicon video camera 19 . the image intensifier 18 produced a high enough effective gain to allow the video system to operate in low light level stroboscopic conditions . data were recorded on a sony u - matic editing , three - quarter inch format vcr . framing rate was 60 - fields per second . lighting consisted of a strobotach 20 operating at 3600 hz and less to allow recording of the dynamic bubble sheet behavior . lighting frequency was synchronized to flow phenomena such as eddies shown by dye injection or bubble emission frequency . air was supplied by source 21 ( e . g ., a regulated compressor ), throttled by needle valve 22 , to air supply post 23 . initial tests were conducted at a water free stream velocity of 4 - ft / s . this velocity was chosen because simple laminar flow conditions were desired to better observe the mechanisms of groove / air interactions . the freestream water velocity was also varied in several model tests up to 8 - ft / s in order to briefly examine the sensitivity of the groove / air interaction to velocity . velocity was measured with a pitot tube which equated dynamic pressure to hydrostatic head . length reynolds number at the end of the model was on the order of 90 , 000 . a test run consisted of injecting air at various flow rates and observing the trajectory and dynamics of the bubble sheet / grooved surface interaction . volumetric flow rate was determined throughout the study at discrete settings which corresponded to groove / air interaction phenomena . in several test sequences , a small diameter cylinder was placed upstream of the model to produce von karaman eddies that swept the model surface to simulate the effects of flow unsteadiness and turbulence . the variation of contact angle θ for different surface materials is illustrated in fig4 . base aluminum 24 has a contact angle θ of 77 ° as measured by the drop method . a topical surfactant applied to the surface 25 increases the contact angle θ to between 86 ° and 93 ° teflon ® 26 , depending on the roughness thereof , can have a contact angle θ varying from 80 ° to 149 °. using the contact angle θ as a measure of wetability , it is clear that surfactants can be used to favorably alter the surface tension ( or surface energy ) relative to bare aluminum . referring now to fig5 air injection from a bare aluminum flat plate with an 0 . 010 inch diameter injector showed that at all airflow rates the injected bubble stream exhibits no tendency to remain near the wall . see fig5 a . air injection from the flat plate with a 0 . 020 inch diameter injector angled 45 ° downstream showed the bubble path line to be closer to the plate initially , as the bubbles exited the ejector , but again indicated no tendency for the bubble stream to remain near the wall . air injection for nearly every grooved model configuration ( with and without surfactant coating ) produced a bubble emission path line differing from that of a flat plate and , for some conditions , a continuous tube of air confined in the rib valley . the air tube structure normally ran from the injector downstream to the end of the model . this tube structure was characterized by three different phases of behavior which were a function of air injection rate . see fig5 b , 5c , and 5d . these phases consist of air tube fracturing ( 5b ) when the air injection rate was too low , a stable tube structure within a discrete airflow range ( 5c ), and an erupting behavior ( 5d ) caused by an air injection rate that was too large . air injection for a 0 . 010 inch wide by 0 . 020 inch deep grooved surface with an 0 . 008 inch injector showed that the model has a slight attractive effect on the stream of bubbles as they are emitted from the ejector . see fig6 . this appears to be due to the attractive force of the grooves causing the bubbles to exit the injector at a lower angle -- an effect similar to that achieved by angled injection on the flat plate . adding surfactant had no major effect for this geometry . line 27 represents a stream of bubbles from a flat plate ; line 28 , a stream of bubbles from a flat plate with an angled injector ; line 29 , discrete bubbles from a grooved surface ; and line 30 , a captured air tube in a grooved surface . air injection from a 20 × 20 ( groove dimensions will be abbreviated hereinafter by showing width followed by height in thousandths of inches ) model with a 0 . 010 inch injector showed the same tendency to redirect the emission angle , but no continuous air tube would attach . for this geometry , coating the surface with a non - wetting surfactant resulted in the ability to trap a continuous air tube in the groove . fracturing occurred up to volumetric flow rates , q , of 2 cc / min ., and erupting behavior at 6 cc / min . a 20 × 20 model made of slightly roughened teflon ® was able to hold a stable tube over a wider range and flow rates from q = 3 cc / min . to q = 17 cc / min , without applying surfactant . air injection from a model 20 × 40 with a 0 . 010 inch injector produced a stable tube of air from q = 3 cc / min . to q = 44 cc / min . the increased depth apparently increased the surface tension sufficiently to hold the air tube without surfactant . upon adding surfactant , the surface resulted in the lower threshold of stability , raising to q = 14 cc / min ; this appears to be caused by enhanced fracturing due to the greater surface tension provided by the surfactant . air injection from a 40 × 20 model with a 0 . 020 inch injector diameter did not result in an attached air tube without surfactant . adding surfactant resulted in a stable tube being established between q = 18 cc / min . and q = 59 . 5 cc / min . the greater width of this model caused a more pronounced interfacial instability than was observed for the previous models . for the 40 × 80 model series , two injection configurations were investigated : one with a standard 0 . 020 inch injector normal to the surface , and one with the same diameter injector , but angled approximately 45 ° downstream . the 40 × 80 model with normal injection exhibited no separation of the air tube at low q values , but rather a series of convecting air tube segments . increasing the airflow rate resulted in a merging of the tube segments , and , finally , erupting behavior began at q = 237 cc / min . the model with 45 ° angled injection showed similar behavior to the normal injection at low airflow rates , but the onset of erupting was delayed until q = 366 cc / min . as expected , the injector bulge was also noticeably more diffuse than with normal injection . the normal injector model with surfactant maintained a stable tube from q = 15 cc / min . to q = 164 cc / min . the angled injector model had the same lower threshold , but the upper threshold was delayed until q = 234 cc / min . tests conducted with an eddy shedding cylinder showed a significant effect of flow unsteadiness on the grooved surface / air interaction . in all the models but the 40 × 80 series , eddy disturbances prevented the attached air tube from establishing -- both with and without surfactant . the addition of surfactant coating to the 40 × 80 model stabilized the tube to such an extent that the region of tube stability was only slightly smaller with than without the eddy disturbance . the normal injection model was stable from q = 30 cc / min . to q = 150 cc / min . and the angled injection model from q = 30 cc / min . to q = 218 cc / min . the action of surfactant coatings appears to be quite significant . the ability of surfactants to stabilize the air tube is clear from their action in the 0 . 020 inch wide model series and also their stabilizing effect on the 40 × 80 model in the presence of eddy disturbances . the action of surfactants was influenced by smoothness of application and thickness of coating . rough and / or thick coatings of surfactant could detrimentally affect the air / groove interaction by altering the groove dimensions and / or affecting the airflow through the attached tube . while the majority of the comparative tests were run at a water velocity of 4 ft / s , most models showed the ability to hold a stable air tube at least up to a water velocity 8 ft / s . this required that the increases in water velocity be matched with an increase in injected airflow . an attempt was made to optimize the groove / surfactant combination using the 20 × 40 teflon ® model . see fig7 . the modified air injector was a transverse slot 31 , one - eighth inch long in the streamwise direction and running nearly the width of model 14 . the slot 31 was covered with a plastic film 32 which slightly overlapped the top of the grooves 15 downstream so that the air was injected parallel to and inside of the grooves 15 . it was thus possible to fill the entire exposed groove surface 15 with adjacent air tubes . the resulting stability range extended from very low air flow ( with slight fracturing ), up to nearly q = 80 cc / min . per individual groove . eddy disturbances appeared to have no effect for this configuration . a summary of the experimental program is shown in fig8 as a bar graph of air tube stability range for the various models tested as a function of average airflow velocity through the groove ( using the measured volumetric flow through a groove of given dimensions , and assuming the groove volume is filled to the tips with air ). the figure does not include model configurations where a stable air tube was unable to form . flow visualization studies of injected air / grooved surface interaction with surface coatings at a mean water velocity of 4 ft / s and injected airflow rates varying from zero to nominally 200 cc / min . have shown that grooved surfaces alter the local surface tension to such an extent that an injected air sheet is attracted and held to the surfaces over a discrete range of airflow rates . the ability of such a grooved surface to hold an air sheet was found to depend on groove geometry and surfactant coating . the general trend uncovered was that the deeper the groove , the stronger the attraction , and the smaller the width , the more stable the gas / liquid interface . grooves too wide , too shallow , or both , did not hold the injected air in a sheet ; grooves too narrow apparently require a larger force to push the airstream into the groove than was locally available from dynamic pressure or interfacial friction . anti - wetting surfactants boosted the surface tension force of the grooves to such an extent that an air sheet was held in otherwise unstable conditions . teflon ®- surfaces enhanced the surface tension attraction of the basic groove geometry even without a topical surfactant , in accordance with the high observed contact angle . using teflon ® also avoided problems associated with topical surfactant application . as expected , changing the angle of injection so that the momentum of the injected airstream is more nearly tangential to the flow extended the range of air sheet stability by distributing the bulge in the air tube caused by injection , thereby delaying the erupting phenomenon . the wide stability range and uniform air sheet covering produced on the surface of the 20 × 40 teflon ® slot model with a plastic shroud over the injector further showed the virtues of decreasing or , in this case , eliminating the injector bulge and directing the injected air in a more tangential direction . several models tested at various freestream velocities showed that air sheet stability depends on a balance between water flow rate and airflow rate . it is important to note that the results of this study show only the relative effect of groove geometry , surfactants and injection angle ; the absolute parameters for air sheet stability will change with liquid velocity ( magnitude of interfacial shear ) and flow conditions . the effect of eddy unsteadiness disrupting the attached airflow in most configurations gives a clue to the potential problems for such conditions as turbulent boundary layer flow . as velocity is increased , the groove angle will most likely need to be reduced to increase the surface tension force , and perhaps the peak to peak distance must be decreased to address the interfacial stability . the present invention has been described in detail with respect to certain preferred embodiments thereof . as is understood by those of skill in the art , variations and modifications in this detail may be effected without any departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention , as defined in the hereto - appended claims .	8
fig1 is a schematic block diagram of a dc squid fll in accordance with the prior art . see &# 34 ; principles and applications of squids &# 34 ; by john clarke in proceedings of the ieee , august 1989 . in this prior art system , a 100 khz oscillator 10 supplies a modulating flux to a dc squid 12 , which is kept on the cold side of the equipment at about 4 . 2 degrees kelvin . the signal from the dc squid is applied to the primary coil of a transformer 14 , and from the secondary of the transformer the signal is applied to the input of a preamplifier 16 , which is on the warm side of the equipment ( at room temperature ). the amplified signal from preamplifier 16 is applied to a lock - in detector circuit 18 , which is also supplied with a version of the 100 khz signal from oscillator 10 . the lock - in detected signal is then sent to an integrator 20 for low - pass filtering . the resulting filtered signal is provided across a resistor 22 as the output v o of the system , representative of the ambient flux through the dc squid , and is also provided by feedback to a modulation and feedback coil 24 , which controls the modulation of the ambient flux through the dc squid . this is all thoroughly explained in john clarke &# 39 ; s cited article . fig2 is an equivalent circuit , showing an approximation of the frequency - affecting tangible and intrinsic components between the dc squid and the preamplifier , which affect the frequency response of the system . in this equivalent circuit , r s represents the intrinsic dynamic resistance of the dc squid ( approximately 2 to 10 ohms , depending on the dc squid ). c z and l z represent the values of tangible components used in the impedance - matching network , which are chosen to be resonant at the modulation frequency . c t1 , l t1 , c t2 , l t2 , r t and c t3 represent the intrinsic values inherently present in the transmission line connected to the input of the preamplifier . r a represents the intrinsic resistance across the input of the preamplifier . these , and other impedances of a lesser order of magnitude which are ignored here , combine to affect the transfer function as to frequency between the dc squid and the preamplifier , and therefore the frequency response of the system . fig3 is a schematic block diagram of a channel - equalized dc squid flux - locked loop according to the present invention . a dc squid 100 is positioned to be affected by magnetic flux from an input coil 102 , although in practice it is more likely be affected by flux from some ambient source which it was desired to measure . an alternating reference flux is applied through coil 104 , as excited by square wave generator 106 . the resulting dc squid output current on line 108 represents some function of the square wave frequency from generator 106 modulated by some function of the magnetic flux from coil 104 . this output current is applied to an impedance matching circuit 110 before application through a warmside transformer 112 to a preamplifier 114 . within the matching network , a constant current source 116 of about 100 μa applies a current through a variable resistance 118 to drive the dc squid 100 . in the matching network , capacitor 120 and coil 122 complete the impedance matching . we have added a compensation network 124 between preamplifier 114 and phase sensitive detector 126 . the output of the compensation network is fed to the input coil of a transformer 128 , the output coil of which connects to a full - wave rectifier 130 . the output of the rectifier 130 is fed to one coil of a transformer 132 , which is also center tapped to provide an input to one input of an integrating loop compensation amplifier 134 . the output of amplifier 134 provides the system output , and is also summed through a resistor 136 with the output from square - wave generator 106 provided through a resistor 138 to form the excitation current for reference flux coil 104 . the various circuitry between the dc squid 100 and the input of amplifier 114 has a frequency transfer function h ( ω ), which is nonlinear with respect to frequency , as was explained in connection with fig2 . the object of the compensation network 124 is to introduce another frequency transfer function k ( ω ) which is a bandlimited inverse of h ( ω ), that is to say h ( ω )= 1 / k ( ω ) over a finite range of frequency . it will almost always be impossible to create one circuit which has exactly the inverse frequency transfer function of another , but the closer the approximation , the closer the overall frequency transfer function of the fll will be to linearity . in other words the bandwidth of the input channel to the demodulator will be increased . hence , the compensated signal will have a greater resemblance to the original signal applied to the input of the dc squid , and in particular , this effect will be enhanced if one uses a square - wave modulation and demodulation process . correction of distortion through the use of compensation circuits is not uncommon in communications systems , but appears to be new in the field of dc squid fll systems . it is impossible to specify one set of values for the compensation network without knowing what has to be compensated . one set of values for one set of conditions was presented in our paper &# 34 ; high slew rate channel equalized dc squid flux - locked loop : concept and stimulation &# 34 ; presented on aug . 24 , 1992 at the 1992 applied superconductivity conference in chicago , and submitted for publication in the conference papers of that conference . under the set of conditions used in a simulator for that paper , amplifiers 140 , 142 , 144 , and 146 were differential operational amplifiers , resistors 148 , 150 , 152 , 154 , and 156 are 10kω , resistors 158 and 160 are 560ω , resistor 162 is 100ω , resistor 164 is 1032ω , resistor 166 is 160ω , and resistor 168 is 1060ω , and capacitors 170 and 172 are each 1 . 61 nanofarads . the compensation network 124 shown in fig3 implements a band - limited approximation to the inverse transfer function of the impedance matching network 110 , as it is more clearly shown in fig2 . operational amplifiers 142 and 146 , with their associated impedances , provide a second order ( expressed in terms of s ) integrator transfer function in the form k /( s + s o ) 2 . a constant gain factor is provided by operational amplifier 140 and its associated impedances , and operational amplifier 144 provides a weighted sum of the outputs from amplifiers 140 and 146 . this does not provide the optimal value of the inverse transfer function of the input impedance , but merely a fairly good approximation . if desired , a more accurate approximation could be provided by using a more complicated network , providing a weighted sum of zero , first , and second order integrators . if needed , a 30 mhz low - pass filter would be placed immediately after the compensation circuit to limit the loop gain at high frequencies . however , the filter would not often be needed , because the frequency dependence of the ordinary operational amplifiers would accomplish the same purpose . a series of simulations were run of the responses of a compensated and uncompensated dc squid fll . in this simulation , the effect of the intrinsic impedances of the transmission line were not considered , and the impedance of the lc matching network was the only impedance considered as h ( ω ), or compensated for by the inverse impedance k ( ω ) represented by the compensation network . the transmission line impedances were considered to have lesser effect on the frequency response than the impedance of the lc matching network , and therefore to be of lesser importance . the results of these simulations are shown in fig4 - 7 . fig4 shows plots of the circuit gain versus frequency for both compensated and uncompensated systems . clearly the compensated system has a much wider and flatter amplitude response . the phase change in the vicinity of the modulation frequency is also important , and fig5 compares the compensated and uncompensated open - loop phase responses as a function of frequency . the phase of the compensated system in the vicinity of the modulation frequency is much more linear than that of the uncompensated system . fig6 shows the open - loop group delay ( derivative of the phase ) for compensated and uncompensated systems as a function of frequency . introduction of the compensation network reduces the group delay beyond the modulation frequency for several mhz . the improvement in the fll frequency response implies a corresponding improvement in the time - domain performance . fig7 illustrates a closed - loop response to a step input signal for both the compensated and uncompensated version of the system . the gain for both systems was set to yield approximately the same percent overshoot when a 0 . 3 φ o step is applied to the dc squid input . this was done to allow the two systems to be compared on an equal basis . clearly , for approximately the same percentage overshoot , the compensated system has a much faster response .	8
referring now to the drawings , decorations 10 made according to the method of the present invention are shown operatively located on the icing 12 of a foodstuff 14 in the form of a cake . in this regard , it will be noted that the decorations 10 appear to be integral with the icing 12 and are decoratively arranged in a manner determined by a user . in the exemplification depicted in fig1 the user selected decorations 10 in the form of hearts 10 a which the user placed alignably around the side of the cake , and further placed pre - printed lettering 10 b which is specific to an occasion ( in this case a twenty - first birthday ) to the top of the cake . in order to accomplish the aforesaid decorative effect on the foodstuff 14 , the user utilized a reinforced edible film 16 composed of an edible film 18 which is releasably attached to a flexible substrate 20 ( see fig5 ). the edible film has been cut and the edible film printed upon to provide the decorations 10 a , 10 b depicted in fig1 . the edible film 18 is itself sufficiently gossamer so as to unobtrusively meld into the icing 12 , while the substrate 20 provides sufficient structural integrity for the edible film so that it may be easily and effectively processed into a decoration , such as for example printing and cutting thereof . the edible film 18 is preferably a water soluble polymer film , such as that manufactured by dow chemical company of midland , mich . under the trademark methocel . methocel encompasses a range of both methylcellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in a wide range of viscosities , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose being preferred . however , other kinds of edible films known in the art may be used . the substrate 20 is a food product compatible , flexible sheet which has the properties of releasably adhering to the edible film 18 in a manner that admits of hand peeling and further of providing mechanical handling integrity for the edible film so that the edible film may be processed , such as by printing and cutting , into a decoration . an example of an acceptable substrate 20 is mylar , preferably 3 mil dupont eb - ii mylar sheet . other food product compatible substrates may be used . a preferred method of preparing the preferred edible film 18 is as follows . firstly , a solution 21 of edible film material must be provided . in the case of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , the following steps are suggested by dow chemical company which makes use of the principle that hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is insoluble in hot water : disperse in water the hydroxypropyl methylcellulose product using ⅕ to ⅓ the required total amount of water as hot water ( 176 to 194 degrees f .) while agitating the water , upon thorough wetting of the hydroxypropyl methylcellulose particles , the remaining water is added as cold water while continuing agitation , after a smooth solution has been obtained at less than 77 degrees f . the agitation is continued for approximately 20 minutes . the ratio of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose to water is predetermined to arrive at a preselected viscosity of the resulting edible film . additional ingredients may now be stirred into the solution , one at a time , so that the final properties of the edible film formed therefrom are as desired . for example , the following additives may be added to the solution . a plasticizer , such as propylene glycol may be added to control elasticity of the edible film , to control adhesion of the edible film to the substrate , and to provide variation in surface sheen of the edible film . starch may be added to build edible film body , to control opacity thereof and to provide variation of surface sheen of the edible film ( it tends to create a matte finish ). a colorant in the form of an approved food color controls the color of the edible film . a flavoring in the form of an approved food flavor , such as for example oils , extracts and artificial flavors , controls the taste of the edible film . examples of solutions 21 for providing the preferred edible film 18 are as follows . next , the solution 21 is formed into a film geometry upon the substrate 20 . this is accomplished by either a manual forming apparatus 15 ( see fig2 through 4 ) or by an automated forming apparatus 28 ( see fig1 ). the manual forming apparatus 15 includes a glass base 22 which lays horizontally on a surface ( not shown ) such as a table . the substrate 20 is laid upon the glass base 22 and the edges thereof , including opposite edges 20 a , 20 b , are taped by a mylar tape 24 having a non - permanent adhesive to the glass base 22 . the thickness of the tape 24 defines the thickness of the edible film 18 to be formed . accordingly , the thickness of the edible film is controlled by varying the tape thickness itself or by adding or subtracting layers of the tape . a thickness range of between 0 . 0004 to 0 . 0015 inch is preferred for providing unobtrusively thin , gossamer edible films . thicker edible films can provide more flavor and provide greater mechanical strength for manipulation by a user . a glass wiper 26 is placed edgewise onto the tape 24 at each edge 20 a , 20 b of the substrate 20 so as to be slidable therealong . a preselected quantity of solution 21 is poured onto the substrate 20 and starting from one end of the substrate 20 , the wiper 26 is wiped along the tape 24 in the direction indicated by arrow m while being inclined acutely ( approximately at 45 degrees to the substrate ) in the direction of the wiping movement . the speed of movement is maintained so that the solution 21 is formed into a uniform film geometry as the wiper 26 slides on the tape 24 . the solution 21 now having a film geometry must be dried . drying may take 12 to 14 hours in room temperature ambient air , but the drying time may be shortened significantly by increasing air temperature and circulation . the tape 24 may be removed at any time . upon the completion of edible film drying , the result is a reinforced edible film 16 in the form of an edible film 18 releasably adhered to a substrate 20 , as shown in fig5 . the automated forming apparatus 28 , shown in fig1 , provides commercial quantities of the reinforced edible film 16 . the process line 28 a is logically controlled , as for example by a programmable logic controller , such as an allen - bradley scl 500 . programmability allows flexibility in adjusting sequencing , process line speed , etc ., via a personal computer and software interface . the substrate 20 is provided as a coil 20 a and is decoiled at a dccoiler station 30 . the decoiler station 30 preferably provides two coil positions , one in a process position on - line and one in a reload position off - line . the two positions alternate as the decoiler station 30 is allowed to shift transverse to the process line 28 a . this effects to reduce idle manufacturing time while reloading a new substrate coil , so that one is always in the process position . an example of a coil 20 a of substrate 20 in the form of dupont 3 mil eb - ii mylar film has a width of between 18 and 55 inches and a length of 6 , 200 feet . the decoiler station 30 is electrically driven preferably by a dc drive and is asynchronous to the process line drives . a tension arm 32 provides a buffer between the coil drives and the process drives . the tension arm 32 is structured to maintain constant tensioning of the decoiled portion of the substrate coming off the substrate coil 20 a . the substrate 20 is drawn up to the process line by cushioned , spring tensioned wheels 34 which are arranged in two opposing rows , one on either side of the substrate , so as to supply a pinching force to the substrate as it passes thereby . the wheels 34 contact about 1 inch of the substrate surface , upper and lower . the substrate 20 is supported between the rows of wheels 34 by a flat teflon coated plate surface 35 to prevent sagging of the substrate as it is transferred . a casting station 36 is provided , consisting for example of a 50 gallon tank 36 a holding the solution 21 overhead the substrate 20 . a plurality of nozzles 36 b , such as for example 10 nozzles uniformly spaced across the width of the substrate 20 , are solenoid operated to allow gravity feed of the solution 21 from the tank 36 a to the substrate 20 . the solenoids are logically controlled to meter the solution flow rate at the nozzles 36 b so as to conform with line speed as based upon the rate of rotation of the drive wheels 34 . a plurality of casting stations may be located sequentially along the process line 28 a so as to provide ready change in the solution formulation so as to minimize line disruption . trailing the casting station 36 is a forming station 38 . the forming station 38 provides for leveling , smoothing and thickness control of the edible film 18 being formed from the dispensed solution 21 . a wiper 38 a in the form , for example , of a single plate of tempered glass is located transverse to and overhead the substrate 20 . the overhead location is controlled by finely threaded screws with respect to a stationarily affixed mounting bracket 38 b , which overhead location relative to the substrate 20 determines the thickness of the edible film 18 . the edible film 18 is formed as the substrate 20 passes beneath the wiper 38 a and is thereupon leveled and smoothed . the wiper 38 a is inclined with respect to the substrate 20 at an acute incoming angle , preferably of around 45 degrees . next , a dehydration tunnel 40 provides filtered and heated air in forced circulation adjacent the drying , newly formed edible film 18 . the temperature and rate of air circulation is controlled to adjust to line speed and solution formulation . after the dehydration tunnel 40 , the now more - or - less dried edible film 18 is ambiently dried and cooled at a finishing station 42 , resulting in a finished reinforced edible film 16 . lastly , the reinforced edible film 16 is either rolled or cut to size at a final processing station 44 . the edible film 18 may thereafter be die cut to provide decoration defining score lines and / or the edible film may be imprinted at one or more adjacent in - line stations ; otherwise , the reinforced edible film 16 may be taken elsewhere for storage , shipping or further processing . turning now to fig6 through 13 , the method of use of the reinforced edible film 16 will now be detailed . fig6 and 7 show how the foodstuff 14 was decorated using the reinforced edible film 16 . fig6 shows a sheet of the reinforced edible film 16 , wherein the edible film 18 has been imprinted with the edible ink design of the top decoration 10 b and the side decorations 10 a . the edible film 18 has a die cut score 10 c which defines the top decoration 10 b . the user removes the edible film 18 carrying the top decoration 10 b from the substrate 20 by starting peeling at the score line 10 c by using his or her fingernail , which may be facilitated by gently folding the substrate at the score line 10 c , to peel the top decoration 10 b off from the substrate 20 , as shown in fig7 . the user then places the top decoration 10 b onto the top of the foodstuff 14 in a pleasing placement thereupon , as shown in fig1 . the side decorations 10 a are provided in strips having die cut score lines 10 c which define rows of decorations that facilitate side - by - side alignment of the decorations around the side of the foodstuff 14 . the edible film portions carrying the side decorations 10 b are manually peeled off from the substrate 20 with the initial aid of the user &# 39 ; s fingernail by either gently folding the substrate at the score line 10 c or starting peeling at the edge and then peeling off the edible film from the substrate in the same manner as shown in fig7 . the decoration 10 b is then placed upon the side of the foodstuff 14 as shown in fig1 . it will be understood that preferably the edible film 18 is gossamer , wherein its thickness is sufficiently thin so that it basically disappears as against the foodstuff 14 , which in this case is the icing 12 thereof . in this regard , moisture of the foodstuff 14 transfers to the edible film 18 , causing adherence of the edible film to the surface of the foodstuff without destroying the edible film in the process . accordingly , an incredibly professional foodstuff decoration has been effected independent of the discretionary income and artistic acumen of the user . fig8 through 12 show variations of methods of using the reinforced edible film 16 . fig8 depicts a reinforced edible film 16 having a pre - printed , pre - cut ( see score lines 10 c ) edible film 18 in the form of finalized decorations 10 d for use at a specific occasion . fig9 depicts two examples of sheets of reinforced edible film 16 . the upper example depicts a sheet of reinforced edible film 16 having a colored edible film 18 with pre - cut ( see score lines 10 c ) decorations 10 f for use at a generic occasion . the lower example depicts a sheet of reinforced edible film 16 having an edible film 18 that has pre - printed , pre - cut ( see score lines 10 c ) decorations 10 e . fig1 depicts a non - printed , uncut sheet of reinforced edible film 16 for any occasion , in which the edible film 18 is to be printed upon by a user and the reinforced edible film cut by the user so as to provide user finalized decorations 10 g , such as depicted in fig1 . with regard to fig1 , the user is utilizing a writing instrument 46 , preferably a pen of the felt tip variety , having contained therein colored edible ink to draw the decorations 10 g . the process depicted in fig1 shows the decorations being free - hand drawn by the user . the user could also have traced the decorations by placing the reinforced edible film 16 over some depiction , and then following the outlines or features of the depiction visibly through the reinforced edible film . it is also possible to supply the reinforced edible film 16 with the edible film 18 partly pre - printed , wherein the user finalizes the decoration by marking upon it . for example , the top decoration 10 b shown in fig1 and 6 may have only the generic words “ happy birthday ” and the user writes in the celebrant &# 39 ; s age , in this case the numeral “ 21 ”. it is also possible for sheets of reinforced edible film 16 as depicted in fig1 to be utilized by printing facilities to produce generic and / or personalized printing upon the edible film 18 . the printing may include special messages , pictures and / or drawings , other source materials or any combination thereof . because of the substrate 20 , the printing facility can handle the reinforced edible film 16 similarly to the way it would handle paper , thus making available practically any printing machine and printing method for creating decorations , provided , of course , edible inks are used . finally , fig1 depicts a kit 48 for use to decorate a foodstuff , such as for example a cake . the kit 48 contains a plurality of sheets of reinforced edible film 16 , which may include , for instance , colored , flavored , tasteless , opaque , or clear edible films and may further include pre - printed and / or pre - cut edible films for purposes consonant with an identified occasion . the kit 48 optionally includes a plurality of assorted colored edible ink writing instruments 46 , which are preferably of the felt tip pen variety for user utilization as generally depicted in fig1 . over - all , the following advantages of the reinforced edible film and the method of its use are : 1 . the edible film can be made very thin , on the order of 0 . 0004 inches , wherein it is so gossamer that it will essentially disappear when applied to a foodstuff , yet the substrate will give it mechanical workability while it is being fashioned into a decoration . 2 . the edible film may be mass produced and easily stored over long periods . 3 . the edible film may be clear , colored , opaque or anything in between . this facilitates pre - printing and user marking upon the edible film ( such as for example by printing , writing or drawing upon it ). it also facilitates pre - cut and user cut design shapes of the edible film being decorative in their own right . 4 . the edible film may be easily die cut to provide score lines that at least in part define the areal definition of decorations while the substrate is not cut . gentle folding of the substrate at the score line permits a user to easily use his or her fingernail to begin the peeling of the edible film from the substrate . alternatively , if available , the user may use his or her fingernail to begin peeling at the edge of the edible film . 5 . the reinforced edible film may be easily cut with scissors or a knife by a user , and the user may even use a razor blade or razor knife to cut through only the edible film and not cut through the substrate when defining the areal extent of the decorations being finalized . 6 . the edible film may be tasteless or flavored , thereby enhancing the taste of the foodstuff , or simply unaffecting its taste . 7 . the substrate facilitates handling of the edible film in a manner customary of paper , yet the edible film itself may be extremely delicate . the edible film may be placed into conventional printing presses , pen plotters , ink jet printers , silk screen printers , and so on , and may be hand marked upon , rubber stamped , etc . yet , easy manual release of the edible film from the substrate makes the edible film itself simply accessible when it is time to apply it to a foodstuff . 8 . the reinforced edible film may be supplied in sheets wherein the substrate delivers the mechanical rigidity that is appropriate for user defined shape cutting . 9 . the reinforced edible film may have pre - printed , partly printed or non - printed edible film , wherein the user may add or supply user defined marking thereupon . 10 . the reinforced edible film may be sufficiently translucent so as to enable a user to trace onto the edible film portion of the reinforced film a depiction constituting any picture , graphic , drawing , etc . that has been placed beneath the reinforced edible film . 11 . the reinforced edible film may be supplied in kit form for a user to customize the decoration of foodstuffs , wherein the kit may include a plurality of assorted reinforced edible film sheets and edible ink writing instruments . 12 . the reinforced edible film may be utilized by commercial businesses to transfer newly created or user supplied video , photographic , computer generated images , text , graphics or other source to the edible film and then present the decorated reinforced film to the user customer . this can even be performed on a mail order basis . 13 . the edible film carrying the decoration will absorb moisture from the surface of the foodstuff upon which it is placed and thereupon adhere to the foodstuff without the edible film being destroyed thereby . it is to be understood that the edible film may be used alone without the substrate for purposes of providing foodstuff decorations in the manner as outlined hereinabove , and that reinforced edible films are described herein only by way of preferred example . further , the term “ marking ” is to be understood to mean causing any kind of indicia to be placed upon the edible film , such as , for example , by printing , writing , drawing , or any other image transfer means , and may include causing selected additives in the edible film solution to produce patterns in the dried edible film . it is to be further understood that the edible film and method of use therefor may be used with any foodstuff , including , but not limited to confectioneries , inclusive of candies and ice creams . further , foodstuffs ordinarily not having surface moisture sufficient to adherably hold the edible film thereto may be supplied by the user with the requisite surface moisture . for example , spraying water upon the surface of a dry foodstuff can supply sufficient moisture so that the edible film 18 adheres to the surface of the foodstuff . to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains , the above described preferred embodiment may be subject to change or modification . such change or modification can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention , which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims .	0
generally , embodiments of the inventions relate to a system and method for communicating with a wellbore instrument or a “ string ” of such instruments in a wellbore using a wired pipe string for conveyance and signal communication . the wired pipe string may be assembled and disassembled in segments to effect conveyance through a wellbore . while embodiments of the present inventions are described as used with tools commonly conveyed on a wireline (“ wireline tools ”), embodiments may be implemented with any other type of downhole tools , such as lwd tools . the description provided below relates to embodiments of the inventions , and none of the embodiments are meant to limit the inventions . the inventions should be provided their broadest , reasonable meaning as defined by the claims . in fig1 , a drilling rig 24 , or similar lifting device for conveying drill pipe , moves a wired pipe string 20 within a wellbore 18 that has been drilled through subsurface rock formations , shown generally at 11 . the wired pipe string 20 may be extended into the wellbore 18 by threadedly coupling together the inserting end and the receiving end of a number of segments (“ joints ”) 22 of wired drill pipe . the wired pipe string 20 may include one , an assembly , or a “ string ” of wellbore instruments at a lower end thereof . in the present example , the wellbore instrument string may include well logging instruments 13 coupled to a lower end thereof . as used in the present description , the term “ well logging instruments ” or a string of such instruments means one or more wireline configurable well logging instruments that are capable of being conveyed through a wellbore using armored electrical cable (“ wireline ”), logging while drilling (“ lwd ”) tools , measure while drilling (“ mwd ”) tools , formation evaluation tools , formation sampling tools , and / or other tools capable of measuring a characteristic of the formation . wireline configurable well logging instruments are distinguishable from lwd instruments , which are configurable to be used during drilling operations and form part of the pipe string itself . while generally referred to as the well logging instrument 13 , the well logging instrument 13 may include one , an assembly , or a string of wireline configurable logging instruments . several of the components disposed proximate the drilling unit 24 may be used to operate components of the system . these components will be explained with respect to their uses in drilling the wellbore to better enable understanding of the inventions . the wired pipe string 20 may be used to turn and axially urge a drill bit into the bottom of the wellbore 18 to increase its length ( depth ). during drilling of the wellbore 18 , a pump 32 lifts drilling fluid (“ mud ”) 30 from a tank 28 or pit and discharges the mud 30 under pressure through a standpipe 34 and flexible conduit 35 or hose , through a top drive 26 and into an interior passage ( not shown separately in fig1 ) inside the pipe string 20 . the mud 30 exits the drill string 20 through courses or nozzles ( not shown separately ) in the drill bit , where it then cools and lubricates the drill bit and lifts drill cuttings generated by the drill bit to the earth &# 39 ; s surface . when the wellbore 18 has been drilled to a selected depth , the pipe string 20 may be withdrawn from the wellbore 18 . an adapter sub 12 and the well logging instrument 13 may then be coupled to the end of the pipe string 20 , if not previously installed . the pipe string 20 may then be reinserted into the wellbore 18 so that the well logging instrument 13 may be moved through , for example , an inclined portion 18 a of the wellbore 18 , which would be inaccessible using armored electrical cable (“ wireline ”) to move the well logging instrument 13 . the well logging instrument 13 may be positioned on the pipe string 20 in other manners , such as by pumping the well logging instrument 13 down the inner bore of the pipe string 20 or otherwise moving the well logging instrument 13 down the pipe string 20 while the pipe string 20 is within the wellbore 18 . during well logging operations , the pump 32 may be operated to provide fluid flow to operate one or more turbines ( not shown in fig1 ) in the well logging instrument 13 to provide power to operate certain devices in the well logging instrument 13 . however , when tripping in or out of the wellbore 18 , it is generally infeasible to provide fluid flow . as a result , power may be provided to the well logging instrument 13 in other ways . for example , batteries may be used . in one embodiment , the batteries may be rechargeable batteries that may be recharged by turbine ( s ) during fluid flow . the batteries may be positioned within the drill collar of the tool or in a separate drill collar . other known manners of powering the well logging instrument 13 may be used as well . as seen in fig2 a - d , wired drill pipe is structurally similar to ordinary drill pipe . the wired pipe string 20 may comprise pipe joints communicatively coupled together such that data may be transmitted across each pipe joint . for example , wired drill pipe may include a cable , either partially or fully embedded within the structure of the pipe , associated with each pipe joint that serves as a signal communication channel and possibly for electrical power delivery . the cable may be any type of cable capable of transmitting data and / or signals , such as an electrically conductive wire , a coaxial cable , an optical fiber , or the like . wired drill pipe typically includes some form of communication element connected to the signal communication channel to communicate signals between adjacent pipe joints when the pipe joints are coupled end to end as shown in fig1 . examples of communication elements include inductive couplers , non - toroidal inductive couplers , flux couplers , direct connect couplers , or any component for transmitting data across tool joints . in an embodiment , the wired pipe string 20 may be similar to the wired pipe string described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 413 , 021 , filed by madhavan , et al ., and assigned to the assignee of the present invention , or u . s . pat . no . 6 , 641 , 434 issued to boyle et al ., and assigned to the assignee of the present invention . the embodiment shown in fig2 a has the receiving end of a pipe ( pipe end 200 ), in cross - section , having an inner shoulder 203 , threaded section 204 , outer shoulder 205 , and a communication element 201 embedded within the inner shoulder 203 . the threaded section 204 as shown may generally resemble the surface of a tapered cylinder , having threads disposed thereon , which extends from the surface of the inner shoulder 203 to the surface of the outer shoulder 205 . the surfaces of the inner shoulder 203 and outer shoulder 205 may be generally parallel to one another and generally perpendicular to a central axis of the pipe end 200 . the communication element 201 in this embodiment is a ring of electrically conductive material positioned around the inner bore 206 of the pipe end 200 , as shown in fig2 b . the communication element 201 may have a portion exposed at a surface of the inner shoulder 203 . coupled to the communication element 201 is a signal communication channel 202 embedded within the pipe end 200 . the communication element 201 may be made of an electrically conductive material , an inductive coil , fiber optic array , or any other element capable of communicating signals . in fig2 c , a communication element 207 , which is similar in shape and function to the communication element 201 of fig2 a and 2b , is embedded within the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 rather than in the inner shoulder 203 . the communication element 207 may have a portion which may be exposed at a surface of the threaded section 204 . the communication element 207 is also connected to a signal communication channel 202 . fig2 d shows a top view of the pipe end 200 to further illustrate how the communication element 207 is positioned . fig2 a - d are presented as examples of a wired drill pipe , and should not be considered limiting of the inventions . embodiments of the present inventions can be used with other communication or telemetry systems , including a combination of telemetry systems , such as a combination of wired drill pipe , mud pulse telemetry , electronic pulse telemetry , acoustic telemetry , or the like . referring back to fig1 , signals detected by various devices , non - limiting examples of which may include an induction resistivity instrument 16 , a gamma ray sensor 14 , and a formation fluid sampling device 10 ( which may include a fluid pressure sensor ), of the well logging instrument 13 may be transmitted toward the earth &# 39 ; s surface along the wired pipe string 20 . the signals transmitted by the well logging instrument 13 may be transmitted to a receiver sub ( not shown in fig1 ), embodiments of which are described below . the receiver sub may be configured to receive signals from the well logging instrument 13 and transmit them to a surface computer or component to be recorded and / or analyzed . signals may be transmitted during tripping of the pipe string 20 , while the pipe string 20 is stationary , during drilling operations , or during run - in operations . when tripping in and out of the wellbore 18 or performing another process where drill pipe is being added , removed , or disconnected from the wired pipe string 20 , it may be beneficial to have an apparatus and system for communicating from the wired drill pipe string 20 to a surface computer or other component to receive , analyze , and / or transmit data . one embodiment of a wired drill pipe communication system 300 for connection to the wired drill pipe string 20 is shown in fig3 a - c . the system 300 is depicted in fig3 a and 3b from its top and side views , respectively . fig3 a and 3b show a communication sub , herein after tripping sub 310 , that may be positioned in , secured to , and / or attached to a motion system as part of the communication system 300 . the motion system may be for positioning and attaching the tripping sub 310 relative to the receiving end ( end 330 ) of a pipe 335 . in one embodiment , the motion system may include vertical adjustment arms 305 and lateral adjustment arms 301 which may be connected to and / or secured to top drive elevators and lifting bales 325 . for example , a clamp 320 may be used to secure the adjustment arms 301 , 305 to the elevators and lifting bales 325 . the clamp 320 and adjustment arms 301 , 305 may move with the top drive lifting bales 325 . the tripping sub 310 may be attached to the vertical adjustment arms 305 . the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may be adjusted to move the tripping sub 310 vertically and / or laterally . the tripping sub 310 may be positioned by the adjustment arms 301 , 305 into the end 330 of the pipe 335 . the end 330 of the pipe 335 may be , for example , of similar construction to those shown in fig2 a - d . the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may be one of a cylinder , linear actuator , drive screw , or other such device configured to vertically and / or laterally position the tripping sub 310 . the adjustment arms 301 and 305 may be adjusted manually or automatically . the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may be hydraulic or electrically driven and may be controlled from a remote location or by an operator standing adjacent the communication system 300 . the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may be equipped with sensors to determine a position of the adjustment arms and / or the tripping sub 310 with respect to the end 330 of the pipe 335 . the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may also contain force and / or torque sensors to determine , change , and / or limit the amount of force used to position the tripping sub 310 into the end 330 of the pipe 335 . the tripping sub 310 should be placed with an adequate amount of force so that communication elements ( not shown in fig3 a and 3b ) embedded within the pipe sections 22 and tripping sub 310 are in close proximity or in contact to allow the communication of signals to one another . in one embodiment , the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may be provided with a communications module 340 comprising one or more of a camera , a wired communication port , a wireless antenna , a global positioning satellite / receiver , and components for transferring data , images , and information related to the position of the tripping sub 310 and / or the adjustment arms 301 , 305 . the force and / or the torque sensors for the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may be incorporated into and / or positioned within the communications module 340 . the communications module 340 may communicate bi - directionally with a processor , surface computer or component for transmitting controls related to the operation of the adjustment arms 301 , 305 . the tripping sub 310 may have sensors for determining and / or measuring forces applied to it and / or its location . for example , the sensors may be torque or positional sensors to ensure proper alignment and securement of the tripping sub 310 in the pipe 335 . the sensors may aid in aligning the tripping sub 310 with the pipe 335 without damaging the tripping sub 310 or the pipe 335 . in one embodiment , insertion of the tripping sub 310 into the pipe 335 may automatically cease upon proper verified communication with the pipe 335 . in an embodiment comprising an automated process , the tripping sub 310 may transmit a signal to the adjustment arms 301 , 305 upon communication with the pipe 335 . the tripping sub 310 may comprise a coupler head 311 , a neck 312 , and a body 313 . the coupler head 311 , neck 312 , and body 313 may be integrally formed or may be separate components communicatively coupled . in either embodiment , the coupler head 311 may comprise a communication element for communicating with the pipe 335 and sensors for position and / or force . the neck 312 may comprise sensors for position and force as well as a communication device for transmission of data to a surface computer , processor , or other component located locally or remotely with respect to the rig . it should be appreciated that this is merely one example of the construction of the tripping sub 310 and other configurations are possible . fig3 c depicts the communication system 300 in cross - section with the tripping sub 310 positioned within the pipe end 200 of fig2 c . in one embodiment , the coupler head 311 may be substantially similar in shape to the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 . for example , the coupler head 311 may be in the shape of a tapered cylinder with one end being of a similar diameter to the diameter of the inner shoulder 203 and having a taper angle matching that of the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 . the coupler head 311 may extend from the inner shoulder 203 of the pipe end 200 and may terminate before the outer shoulder 205 , at the outer shoulder 205 , or beyond the outer shoulder 205 . the coupler head 311 may have contours similar in shape to the threads of the threaded section 204 to allow for better placement and engagement with the pipe end 200 while not having to thread the tripping sub 310 into the pipe end 200 . the shaping of the coupler head 311 as described above may increase the efficiency of placement of the tripping sub 310 into the pipe end 200 . by having the coupler head 311 formed in a similar shape to the threaded section 204 axial alignment of the tripping sub 310 into the pipe end 200 may be more readily attained when the surfaces of the coupler head 311 and threaded section 204 are in contact along their entire perimeter . in one embodiment , the tapered surface of the coupler head 311 may force the tripping sub 310 closer toward the center of the pipe end 200 when contacted by the tapered surface of the threaded section 204 . the tripping sub 310 may further contain a battery 314 , housed within the body 313 , and a wireless transmitter 315 , housed in the coupler head 311 , which can transfer signals received from the well logging instrument 13 to a surface computer or processor or other component on the rig . connecting the battery 314 and wireless transmitter 315 may be a wire 317 which may provide power from the battery 314 to the wireless transmitter 315 . the battery 314 and wireless transmitter 315 may be housed in the body 313 , neck 312 , or coupler head 311 together or separately depending on the size and shape of the components used . embedded within the coupler head 311 may be a communication element 316 which may be used to communicate with the communication element 207 of the pipe end 200 . the communication element 316 is positioned within the coupler head 311 in such a way that when the tripping sub 310 is properly positioned into the pipe end 200 the communication element 316 of the tripping sub 310 and the communication element 207 of the pipe end 200 are in close proximity or in contact with one another . the communication element 316 may be oversized , compared to the communication element 207 , in a direction parallel to the tapered surface of the coupler head 311 . over sizing the communication element 316 may assist in establishing communicative contact with the communication element 207 if the tripping sub 310 is not fully inserted or properly aligned with the pipe end 200 . connecting the communication element 316 to the wireless transmitter 315 may be a wire 318 . the wireless transmitter 315 may be replaced with a wired connection , and the battery 314 may be replaced with a power chord or similar powering device . the neck 312 of the tripping sub 310 may be constructed in a way such that the body 313 is in contact with or proximate to the outer shoulder 205 of the pipe end 200 when the tripping sub 310 is properly positioned . an advantage of having the neck 312 be of a length such that the body does not contact the outer shoulder 205 allows for adequate pressure to be applied to the coupler head 311 , before the body 313 contacts the outer shoulder 205 , so as to assure proper placement of the coupler head 311 and communication element 316 . the adjustment arms 301 , 305 may provide adequate vertical and / or lateral forces while the coupler head 311 is positioned within the pipe end 200 so the tripping sub 310 does not become removed from the pipe end 200 , thereby breaking communications between the communication element 207 of the pipe end 200 and the communication element 316 of the tripping sub 310 . in another embodiment , the tripping sub 310 may be pressure or friction fit into the pipe 335 . for example , the coupler head 311 may be adjustable from a first diameter to a second diameter , wherein the second diameter is substantially similar to the diameter of the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 . the coupler head 311 may be constructed of a material that is deformable and has elasticity so that when inserted into the pipe end 200 the coupler head 311 may assume a shape and size similar to that of the threaded section 204 . in another embodiment , the coupler head 311 may have a partially threaded exterior in order to provide an additional mode of engagement with the pipe end 200 . in another embodiment , the tripping sub 310 may have a connection , such as for example a box end connection , which only requires a partial rotation of the tripping sub 310 to provide coupling engagement with the pipe end 200 . in another embodiment , the tripping sub 310 may be held in the pipe end 200 by its own weight . the tripping sub 310 may be made of a material softer than the pipe 335 . for example , the tripping sub 310 may be made of a material , such as rubber , aluminum , brass , chrome , or other materials . the material for the tripping sub 310 may be selected to eliminate any damage to the threads of the pipe 335 due to any misalignment during connection . the material of the tripping sub 310 may also be one that is resistant to corrosion caused by the caustic materials used during drilling , such as drilling “ mud ”, oil , or other chemicals . in use , the well logging instrument 13 and / or other tools are connected and deployed in the well using the wired drill string 20 . the well logging instrument 13 may log the wellbore 18 while tripping in and / or out of the wellbore 18 . when the drill string 20 is tripped into a position in which the well logging instrument 13 is to begin logging the wellbore 18 , the pipe 335 may be positioned in slips and held by the lifting bales 325 at the end 330 of the pipe 335 . the tripping sub 310 may be positioned in the end 330 of the pipe 335 to provide communication between the pipe 335 , the wired drill string 20 and a surface component , such as a surface processor or computer . upon connection with the pipe 335 , the surface system may send commands and receive data to and from the well logging instrument 13 and / or other downhole components . at the same time , the top drive elevator and lifting bales 325 can start tripping out of the wellbore 18 . the system 300 can continue to collect data and send commands to and / or from the well logging instrument 13 until the pipe 335 is disconnected from the wired drill string 20 . then , the tripping sub 310 ( or another tripping sub 310 ) may be positioned in a subsequent pipe and the process may be repeated . referring now to fig4 a - c , embodiments of a tripping sub , in cross - section , and method for quick connection are shown . in fig4 a a tripping sub 400 is shown disposed in pipe end 200 in a pre - latched position . the tripping sub 400 generally includes a body 407 , neck 408 , coupler head 409 , communication element 410 , latching arms 411 , and arm couplers 412 . in the embodiment shown , the latching arms 411 are extended in an open position allowing easy placement or removal of the tripping sub 400 into or out of the pipe end 200 . the arm couplers 412 may be any coupler that allows axial rotation of the latching arms 411 . this can include , but is not limited to , bolts , screws , shafts , etc . the arm couplers 412 couple latching arms 411 to the body 407 . the neck 408 is coupled to the body and may be formed of , for example , a hollow pipe , spring , or solid pipe with an internal communication channel 416 to allow communication between the communication element 410 and a wireless transmitter 417 . the wireless transmitter 417 , depending on the size and shape of the device , may be positioned within the body 407 , neck 408 , or coupler head 409 . the wireless transmitter 417 may be replaced by a wired connection . the wired or wireless connection allows data communication with a surface component , such as a surface processor or computer , and the tripping sub 400 . an exemplary embodiment for the neck 408 is a spring which provides flexibility and would help to ensure proper placement and coupling pressure between the inner pipe shoulder 203 and the coupler head 409 . this ensures an adequate connection between communication element 201 and communication element 410 . the communication element 410 is positioned within the coupler head 409 in such a way that when the tripping sub 400 is properly positioned into the pipe end 200 the communication element 410 of the tripping sub 400 and the communication element 201 of the pipe end 200 are in close proximity or in contact with one another . the communication element 410 may be oversized , compared to the communication element 201 , in a direction parallel to the end surface of the coupler head 409 . over sizing the communication element 410 may assist in establishing communicative contact with the communication element 201 if the tripping sub 400 is not fully inserted or properly aligned with the pipe end 200 . placement of the tripping sub 400 into the pipe end may be accomplished in several ways , such as for example through an automated process or manually . the tripping sub 400 may have sensors for determining and / or measuring forces applied to it and / or its location . the sensors may aid in aligning the tripping sub 400 with the pipe end 200 without damaging the tripping sub 400 or the pipe end 200 . in one embodiment , insertion of the tripping sub 400 into the pipe end 200 may automatically cease upon proper verified communication between the communication element 201 of the pipe end 200 and the communication element 410 of the tripping sub 400 . for example , an indicator , such as a light ( not shown ) attached to the tripping sub 400 , may signal when proper placement or communication with the pipe end 200 has been achieved . in one embodiment , the coupler head 409 may be substantially similar in shape to the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 . for example , the coupler head 409 may be in the shape of a tapered cylinder with one end being of a similar diameter to the diameter of the inner shoulder 203 and having a taper angle matching that of the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 . the coupler head 409 may extend from the inner shoulder 203 of the pipe end 200 and may terminate before the outer shoulder 205 , at the outer shoulder 205 , or beyond the outer shoulder 205 . the coupler head 409 may have contours similar in shape to the threads of the threaded section 204 to allow for better placement and engagement with the pipe end 200 while not having to thread the tripping sub 400 into the pipe end 200 . the shaping of the coupler head 409 as described above may increase the efficiency of placement of the tripping sub 400 into the pipe end 200 . by having the coupler head 409 formed in a similar shape to the threaded section 204 axial alignment of the tripping sub 400 into the pipe end 200 may be more readily attained when the surfaces of the coupler head 409 and threaded section 204 are in contact along their entire perimeter . in one embodiment , the tapered surface of the coupler head 409 may force the tripping sub 400 closer toward the center of the pipe end 200 when contacted by the tapered surface of the threaded section 204 . the coupler head 409 may be made of a material that is softer than the material of the pipe end 200 in order to ensure that the threads in the threaded section 204 are not damaged during placement of the tripping sub 400 . the material of the tripping sub 400 may also be resistive to the corrosive materials and chemicals which it may be in contact with . fig4 b depicts the latching arms 411 in a latched position . in the embodiment shown , the latching arms 411 may rotate about the arm couplers 412 into a position to secure the tripping sub 400 to the pipe end 200 while the tripping sub 400 is positioned within the pipe end 200 . in one embodiment , the latching arms 411 may be a bar or sheet of material and have portions 413 that match the contour of an outer diameter 415 of the pipe end 200 . in another embodiment , the latching arms 411 may also match a perimeter contour of the pipe end 200 to provide a larger surface for contacting the surface of the outer diameter 415 of the pipe end 200 . coupled between the arm couplers 412 , body 407 , and latching arms 411 may be a latch mechanism ( not shown ) which may be used to hold the arms in a generally open ( fig4 a ) or generally closed ( fig4 b ) position . the latching mechanism may be used to resist the axial rotation of latching arms 411 about arm couplers 412 in order to properly secure the tripping sub 400 to the pipe end 200 . the latching mechanism may include one of a lock , brake , motor , linear actuator , spring , or any other type of mechanism that may selectively resist rotation , and / or combinations thereof . the latching arms 411 being latched in a closed position ( fig4 b ) allow for the portions 413 of the latching arms 411 to resist the tripping sub 400 from being decoupled from the pipe end 200 by creating a resistive force between portions 413 and the outer diameter 415 of the pipe end 200 . other forms of quick connection between the tripping sub 400 and pipe end 200 are possible . in one embodiment , the tripping sub 400 may be pressure or friction fit into the pipe end 200 . for example , the coupler head 409 may be adjustable from a first diameter to a second diameter , wherein the second diameter is substantially similar to the diameter of the threaded section 204 of the pipe end 200 . the coupler head 409 may be constructed of a material that is deformable and has elasticity so that when inserted into the pipe end 200 the coupler head 409 may assume a shape and size similar to that of the threaded section 204 . in another embodiment , the coupler head 409 may have a partially threaded exterior in order to provide an additional mode of engagement with the pipe end 200 . in another embodiment , the tripping sub 400 may have a connection , such as for example a box end connection , which only requires a partial rotation of the tripping sub 400 to provide coupling engagement with the pipe end 200 . in another embodiment , the tripping sub 400 may be held in the pipe end 200 by its own weight . while the tripping sub 400 is in place , the communication element 201 and communication element 410 are communicatively coupled by proximity or by contact . well logging instrument 13 may communicate through the wired drill string 20 to the tripping sub 400 while the communication element 201 and communication element 410 are communicatively coupled . the tripping sub 400 may be attached and detached as described above by a person or through an automated process . the embodiments described above allow for efficient removal and placement of the tripping sub 400 which allows data from well logging instrument 13 to be collected more often and at greater length . the tripping sub 400 may be quickly coupled during downtime in a well drilling process . normally this would not be feasible as other methods can take several minutes to position and attach a data transmission device . fig4 c shows an embodiment where the coupler head 409 of tripping sub 400 contains an additional locating feature 414 that uses the inner bore 205 to further assist in properly aligning the tripping sub 400 into the pipe end 200 . the additional locating feature 414 may be of any size and shape which assists in aligning the tripping sub 400 with the pipe end 200 . the shape of the additional locating feature 414 may be , for example , cylindrical , conical , or combinations and sections thereof . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims .	4
a children &# 39 ; s rotating riding toy is known wherein a base is stabilized by a plurality of laterally extending legs which are attached to the base . a tubular receiver extends upwardly and is attached to the base . a crank member is fixed in the tubular receiver , having an upper end which extends above the eccentric portion of the crank member . a frame is mounted for rotation on the upper end of the crank member , wherein the frame has a seat attached to outwardly extending portions of the frame . pumping handles are mounted on the frame on frame pivots , the pumping handles being within manual reach of each of the seats . a pumping link extends from a point on the pumping handles spaced from the frame pivots . opposing ends of the pumping links are attached to the crank member . as a result , when the pumping handles are moved back and forth about the frame pivots , the pumping links cooperate with the crank causing the frame to rotate about the upper end of the crank member . the children &# 39 ; s rotating riding toy 10 of the present invention may be seen in the drawing fig1 wherein base 11 is formed from a square of steel plate ( i . e ., 1 / 4 inch steel ), having tubular members 12 welded to the bottom of the square steel plate and extending radially from the corners thereof . the inside diameters of the tubes 12 welded to the underside of the base 11 are about 1 - 1 / 8 inches . four legs 13 having an outside diameter which fit within the inside diameters of the tubes 12 and each being about 28 inches long are provided to extend outwardly from the base 11 to thereby provide four stabilizing leg members . the outer ends of the leg members 13 have square steel plate pads 14 about 4 &# 34 ;× 4 &# 34 ; welded to the underside of the ends of the legs 13 as seen in fig1 . the legs 13 are held within the tubes 12 by a removable fastener extending through aligned holes in the tube 12 and the leg 13 as will hereinafter be explained . attached to the upper side of the base 11 is a tubular upwardly extending receiver 16 having reinforcing gussets 17 which support the receiver in the center portion of the base 11 . the receiver 16 is tubular having an inside diameter which accommodates the lower end of a crank member 18 having about a 2 - 1 / 2 inch offset from the longitudinal axis running through the lower end of the crank member and an upper end 19 of the crank member . a frame 21 has an upwardly - arched mainframe member 22 and a downwardly extending tubular portion 23 which is formed to fit over the upper end 19 of the crank member 18 to be journaled thereupon . two horizontally extending brace members 24 are fastened to opposing sides of the downwardly extending tubular member 23 at one end and to the upwardly arched mainframe member 22 at the other as seen in fig1 . a pair of pivot tubes 26 are also attached to the upwardly arched mainframe member 22 at the points on the mainframe member where the horizontally extending braces 24 are attached . the pivot tubes 26 receive pivot pins therethrough and define pivot points for a pair of pump handles 27 having upper manually engagable handles 28 and lower footrests 29 . a seat 31 is attached to the opposing ends of the upwardly - arched mainframe member 22 in a manner to be hereinafter described . a pair of pumping links 32 are pivotally attached to the pumping handles 27 at a point on the pumping handles spaced from and below the pivot tubes 26 . as seen in fig3 of the drawings the pumping link 32 is terminated at the pumping handle end in a fork 33 . fig3 taken in conjunction with fig4 shows a bolt 34 extending through aligned holes through the two shown arms of the fork 33 . the bolt 34 also extends through a hole in a tongue portion 36 of a pivot tube 37 which extends between the two upright members of the pump handle 27 as shown in fig1 . the pivot tube 37 receives a pumping link pin 38 which extends therethrough and which also extends through aligned holes in the upright members of the pumping handle 27 as seen in fig4 . the bolt 34 is secured within the fork 33 thereby capturing the tongue 36 by means of a nut 39 ( fig3 ). the pumping handle pivot pin 38 is secured in the position as shown in fig4 by the nut 41 . turning now to fig2 of the drawings , the opposite end of the pumping link 32 is seen as it is rotatably attached to the crank member 18 . the crank member 18 is preferably formed as a bent member as seen in fig2 with the offset or eccentric portion of the crank displaced from a longitudinal axis through the lower end of the crank and the upper end 19 of the crank by about 2 - 1 / 2 inches . the angles of bend which produce the offset are preferably about 45 degrees from the longitudinal axis through the upper and lower ends of the crank . the offset portion of the crank 18 is sufficiently long to receive an upper split ring 42 , a lower split ring 43 , and two link retainer members 44 which are attached to the crank ends of the pumping links 32 . the link retainer member is seen in section in fig8 having a hole 46 therethrough for surrounding the offset or eccentric crank 18 . it should be noted with reference to fig8 that the hole 46 has upper and lower rounded edges 47 which facilitate slipping the link retainer 44 over either end of the crank member 18 and past the rounded portions thereon . the rounded corners at the bends on the crank 18 and the rounded upper and lower edges 47 of the hole 46 on the link retainer 44 are therefore fashioned to allow the link member to be readily assembled onto the offset portion of the crank 18 . link retainers 44 are then captured in place at the offset portion of the crank by the upper and lower split rings 42 and 43 which are fixed in place on the crank 18 using fasteners to hold the two halves of the split rings together in a known fashion . the link retainer 44 also has an extending arm 48 ( fig8 ) which has a bore 49 therein and internal threads 51 on the inside diameter of the bore 49 . the pumping link 32 has external threads 52 thereon ( fig2 ) which mate with the internal threads 51 in the link retainer . the length of the pumping link 32 is determined by the amount of engagement between the threads 52 on the pumping link and the internal threads 51 within the link retainer . the pumping link length may be adjusted by removing the nut 39 from the bolt 34 ( fig3 ) and turning the pumping link 32 to engage more or fewer of the threads 51 with the pumping link threads 52 and thereafter reinserting the bolt 34 as hereinbefore described and replacing the nut 39 on the end of the bolt 34 . it has been found empirically that lengthening the pumping link 32 provides a mechanical advantage which allows easier pumping of the rotating riding toy and faster rotational speeds . with reference now to fig5 seat 31 is shown attached ( in hidden line ) by a bolt 53 and a nut 54 to a channel section 56 . channel section 56 fits within a slot formed in the bottom of the seat 31 . it is envisioned that a plug 57 will be inserted in the open end of the channel 56 . a series of aligned holes 58 are formed through and near the free ends of the tubular upwardly - arched mainframe member 22 as seen in fig5 . a pair of tubular brackets 59 are attached to and extend below the channel section 56 which supports the seat 31 . a desired position for the seat 31 relative to the free end of the upwardly - arched mainframe member 22 is selected wherein a pair of holes 58 are positioned in registration with a pair of through holes through the underlying brackets 59 attached to the seat 31 . in this fashion , two of the aligned holes 58 will accept pins therethrough which also will pass through holes in the tubular brackets 59 . such pins , seen as items 61 in fig5 are held in place by means of threaded nuts 62 , the ends of the pins 61 being threaded . alternative means of securing the pins 61 in place are envisioned . it may be seen therefore that the position of the seat 31 is adjustable relative to the free end of the main frame member 22 by selecting a pair of the holes 58 through the main frame member and aligning the holes in the tubular members 59 therewith and subsequently pinning the tubular members 59 in place . such adjustment of the seat 31 relative to the main frame member 22 will accommodate smaller or larger children on the rotating riding toy according to where it is adjustably positioned along the main frame member . with reference now to fig6 of the drawings a section is taken through the tubular member 12 attached to the bottom surface of the base 11 . also shown is a leg 13 inserted within the inside diameter of the tubular portion 12 . a through hole 64 in the base mounted tubular section 12 is aligned with a through hole 66 in the portion of the leg 13 entered into the inside diameter of the tubular section 12 and a quick removal pin 67 is inserted therethrough to fix the leg 13 within the tubular section 12 . as seen in fig6 quick removal pin 67 has a hollow shank 68 and a rounded head 69 at one end . near the end of the hollow shank away from the rounded head 69 a hole is formed in the wall of the hollow shank 68 and a ball 71 is allowed to protrude through the hole . the ball is forced to protrude through the hole by a leaf spring 72 within the hollow shank . the ball is captured within the hollow shank between the leaf spring and the undersize hole through which the ball protrudes , so that it retains the pin 67 within the aligned holes 64 and 66 during normal use . axial force on the pin 67 for either inserting the pin within the aligned 64 and 66 or removing it therefrom will cause the ball 71 to be depressed against the spring 72 by contact with the edges of the aligned holes so that the pin may be inserted or removed at will so that the leg 13 may either be retained in operating position or removed in the event it is desired to render the rotating riding toy portable . an alternative to the pin 67 of fig6 is seen in the section of fig7 in the drawings . as described hereinbefore for the embodiment of fig6 aligned holes 64 and 66 are formed in the walls of the tubular section 12 and the leg 13 . with the holes 64 and 66 in alignment , a snap pin 73 may have the straight portion thereof thrust through the aligned holes and the pin 73 will be held in place as shown in fig7 . further , it may be seen that removal of the pin 73 from the aligned holes is obtained by merely grasping the pin and pulling the pin out of the aligned holes against the spring action of the contacting or &# 34 ; snap &# 34 ; portion of the pin 73 . in this fashion , the legs 13 may be assembled within the tubular sections 12 attached to the base 11 or they may be removed therefrom for affording portability to the rotating riding toy . it may be seen from the foregoing that a child &# 39 ; s rotating riding toy is described herein which affords adjustable pumping action , adjustable seat positioning , and quick breakdown of the base and the stabilizing legs for portability . although the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention has been shown and described herein , it will be understood that modification and variation may be made without departing from what is regarded to be the subject matter of the invention .	0
in fig1 a multi - user computer system 90 has a main processor 100 which consists of a central processing unit 102 and a memory 104 . processor 100 communicates with users 106 , coprocessors 116 , and a secondary storage 110 . users 106a , 106b and 106c can be human users working at terminals or workstations . users 106 could also be process control input and controller devices . processor 100 may also communicate to coprocessors 116a , 116b and 116c . processor 100 is also connected to an input device 108 , for example a disk drive , a tape drive , or a modem . input device 108 may be used for loading computer programs from a magnetic media or via electronic wires into processor 100 . processor 100 may contain additional circuitry ( not shown ) for interfacing cpu 102 and memory 104 to users 106 and to external devices 108 , 110 and 116 . during execution , memory 104 contains the computer programs being executed on processor 100 , for example a database management system ( dbms ) 114 , which manages a database 112 residing on secondary storage 110 . memory 104 may also contain other programs ( not shown ) which execute independently of dbms 114 or which are in communication with dbms 114 . examples of such programs are application programs for accessing the database and , in the process control environment , device drivers for sensors and controllers . database 112 is a database with shared objects , meaning that more than one user 106 or coprocessor 116 can access the same objects in the database . multiple users 106 and coprocessors 116 should not be construed as a limitation ; a database with shared objects could also exist in a single user environment wherein several application programs are accessing the database simultaneously . for example , in a process control system , sensors and controllers may access the same objects in the database which stores information about the process . fig2 a depiction of a multi - processor system with a distributed database having shared objects . a database 112 is composed of database portions 210 - 216 . the various portions 210 - 216 are connected to distinct computers 218a , 218b , 218c and 218d , which are interconnected by a computer network 202 . each database portion may have shared objects , either shared among users on the same machine or shared between machines . for example , a user 106 can access an object also accessed by another user 106 or accessed by a program executing on another computer 218 . fig3 shows how a conflict can occur between two users or two transactions . as an example , a user 300 is executing a deposit transaction 306 , and a user 302 is executing a withdrawal transaction 308 . both transactions need write access to an object 304 which contains a balance . fig4 shows a conflict table for pessimistic concurrency control . the horizontal axis represents the type of lock held by a transaction and the vertical axis represents the lock type requested by another transaction . as can be seen from the table , when a lock is already held by a transaction , the only time there is not a conflict lock is when the transaction holding a lock holds a read lock and the requesting transaction requests a read lock . in all other cases there is a conflict lock . fig5 shows a conflict table which has been augmented with locks from optimistic transactions . in a preferred embodiment of mixed - mode concurrency control , database management system 114 allows for both transactions operating in pessimistic mode and transactions operating in optimistic mode . in a strictly pessimistic mode system , every transaction checks for and obtains a lock on each object it needs before accessing that object , but in an optimistic mode system transactions neither check for locks nor do they lock objects before accessing the objects . on the other hand , in a preferred embodiment of a dbms with mixed - mode concurrency control , both optimistic and pessimistic transactions obtain locks on objects they access . these locks are entered into a lock table 418 , as shown in fig6 . however , only pessimistic transactions check for lock conflicts before obtaining the lock . optimistic transactions , on the other hand , check for conflict locks and for outdated objects at commit time . fig6 shows the structure of a preferred embodiment of a dbms 114 which provides for mixed - mode concurrency control . it provides for sharing objects between multiple transactions , some of which may operate as optimistic transactions and others as pessimistic transactions . the concurrency control features of dbms 114 are contained in four procedures : a lock request procedure 406 , a lock release procedure 408 , a transaction commit procedure 410 , and a transaction abort procedure 412 . dbms 114 includes a lock table 418 , which contains records for locks on objects in database 112 . each lock table record includes the object identifier , the transaction type ( optimistic or pessimistic ) and the lock type ( read or write ). dbms 114 also includes a wait queue 420 , in which it stores pessimistic transactions waiting for access to particular objects . each record in wait queue 420 contains the object identifier and the transaction identifier for transactions waiting to access objects to which other transactions hold locks . dbms 114 manages database 112 , which contains shared objects . dbms 114 has a main program 404 which , in addition to some procedures which are not shown , is connected to lock request procedure 406 , lock release procedure 408 , transaction commit procedure 410 , and transaction abort procedure 412 . these are in turn interconnected . for example , lock release procedure 408 is connected to lock request procedure 406 , transaction commit procedure 410 is connected to lock release procedure 408 , transaction commit procedure 410 is connected to transaction abort procedure 412 , and transaction abort procedure 412 is connected to lock release procedure 408 . while procedures 406 through 412 could be implemented to directly manage lock table 418 and wait queue 420 , in one embodiment dbms 114 contains a lock table manager 414 and a wait queue manager 416 . in which case procedures 406 through 412 call upon managers 414 and 416 to manage lock table 418 and wait queue 420 , respectively . for example , lock request procedure 406 is connected to lock table manager 414 , to wait queue manager 416 , and to conflict table 424 . dbms 114 further comprises a deadlock detector 422 , which is connected to lock request procedure 406 , lock table manager 414 , and wait queue 416 . lock release procedure 408 is also connected to lock table manager 414 and to wait queue manager 416 . fig7 shows the method steps by which dbms 114 processes one particular transaction . it can process several transactions in parallel , all of which go through the same steps as the ones shown in fig7 . step 750 is an initialization step . while the method for mixed - mode concurrency control does not require any particular initialization , a transaction may go through certain preparatory steps prior to database access . in step 752 , dbms 114 processes the transaction &# 39 ; s lock request . in this step the transaction is assigned locks on all the objects to which the transaction requires access . the locks are characterized , as shown in lock table 418 of fig6 by object identifier , lock type , and transaction type . the detail of this step is described below in conjunction with fig7 . dbms 114 enters locks made by both pessimistic and optimistic transactions into lock table 418 . however , it only checks for conflict locks when processing pessimistic transactions . therefore , dbms 114 only places pessimistic transactions into a wait state in conflict situations . after dbms 114 has assigned all the locks the transaction requires , it proceeds to step 754 which is to carry out the computational and data manipulation portions of the transaction . after having completed the computations and data manipulations of step 754 , dbms 114 makes a determination of whether the transaction has finished or whether it needs to access additional objects , step 755 . in the latter case , steps 752 and 754 are repeated . finally , dbms 114 commits the transaction results . which is indicated by block 756 . the details of transaction commit is discussed in further detail in conjunction with fig1 . for the tasks of updating and retreiving information from lock table 418 and wait queue 420 , as required in the processing of a transaction , dbms 114 relies upon lock table manager 414 and wait queue manager 416 . lock table manager 414 adds and deletes entries from lock table 418 . it also can answer queries about entries in lock table 418 . similarly , wait queue manager 416 adds and deletes entries from wait queue 420 , and answers queries about the contents of wait queue 420 . fig8 shows the procedure by which dbms 114 processes a transaction &# 39 ; s request for a lock on a particular object . the entry point to the procedure is item 700 . dbms 114 progresses to step 702 in which the transaction type is used to determine whether it is necessary to check for conflict locks . if the transaction is an optimistic transaction , dbms 114 does not need to determine whether a conflict lock exists , but can go directly to step 708 . for pessimistic transactions dbms 114 determines whether a conflict lock exists and whether entering the transaction into wait queue 420 would cause a deadlock , which is indicated by block 716 . in particular , dbms 114 , in step 704 , determines if any conflict locks exist for the object . dbms 114 calls upon lock table manager 414 to maintain lock table 418 , which for each lock contains a record with an object identifier indicating which object is locked by the lock , the transaction type ( optimistic or pessimistic ) for the transaction which holds the lock , and the lock type ( read or write ). to determine if there is a conflict lock , lock table 418 is first searched for all locks on the object . for each such lock , conflict table 424 in fig5 is consulted . the horizontal axis in the table represents the lock held by a transaction , and the vertical axis represents the requested lock . r . o . is read lock for an optimistic transaction , r . p . is a read lock for a pessimistic transaction , w . o . is a write lock for an optimistic transaction , and w . p . is a write lock for a pessimistic transaction . thus , for example , if an optimistic transaction is requesting a read lock ( r . o .) for an object for which a pessimistic transaction is holding a write lock ( w . p .) there is no conflict , as is indicated by box 602 . on the other hand , as another example , if a pessimistic transaction is requesting a read lock ( r . p .) for an object for which an optimistic transaction is holding a write lock ( w . o . ), there is a conflict , as is indicated in box 604 . if the result of step 704 indicates that there is a conflict lock for a pessimistic transaction , then dbms 114 , in step 712 , checks to see whether a deadlock would occur if the transaction is placed into wait queue 420 . lock request procedure 406 calls upon deadlock detector 422 to check for deadlock . if a deadlock would occur , dbms 114 , in step 714 , aborts the transaction , following the procedure discussed below in conjunction with fig1 . if no deadlock would occur by placing the transaction in wait queue 420 , dbms 114 , calling wait queue manager 416 , places the transaction therein , as indicated by step 706 . the transaction remains in a wait state until the lock is released and the transaction is removed from wait queue 420 , as indicated by step 707 . however , if there is no conflict lock detected by step 704 or if the transaction is an optimistic transaction , then , in step 708 , dbms 114 , using lock table manager 414 , places a lock in lock table 418 . the record in lock table 418 includes an identifier for the object , the transaction type and the lock type . in all cases , in step 710 , the method for processing a lock request terminates by returning to the program which requested the lock . fig9 shows the method by which dbms 114 releases a lock . the procedure commences at entry point 800 . it then continues to step 802 in which , using lock table manager 414 , it removes the lock table entry for the lock being released . in step 804 , dbms 114 calls upon lock table manager 414 to obtain information from lock table 418 . it then uses this information to determine if there is in lock table 418 , any lock cf the same type as the lock being released . if such is the case , dbms 114 can return to the calling program , in step 810 . if there is no other lock of the same type for the same object in lock table 418 , dbms 114 continues to step 806 in which it determines , by calling wait queue manager 416 , if there are any pessimistic transactions in wait queue 420 requesting a conflict lock . the procedure for determining if there is a conflict lock is to first search wait queue 420 for any transactions waiting to lock the object in question . if that is not the case , dbms 114 returns to the calling program . otherwise , dbms 114 continues with step 808 , which is to grant a lock request for the object to one of the transactions in wait queue 420 , according to the procedure for granting lock requests described above in conjunction with fig8 . the lock release procedure terminates by returning to the calling program , in step 810 . the procedure for committing a transaction is shown in fig1 . committing a transaction is , for example , the process of storing objects back into database 114 or reporting a result to a user . the procedure commences at entry point 900 . the first step , step 902 , is to choose a path through the procedure based on the transaction type . in the event of a pessimistic transaction , dbms 114 , in step 904 , releases all locks held by the transaction and commits the transaction . however , if the transaction is optimistic , dbms 114 validates the transaction prior to committing its results , which is indicated by block 916 . in particular , dbms 114 checks the lock table to determine if for any of the objects for which the transaction holds locks there are conflict locks held by any pessimistic transaction . dbms 114 does this check in step 906 . any such locks would invalidate the optimistic transaction which must then be aborted , which it does in step 912 , following the procedure described below , in conjunction with fig1 . furthermore , for optimistic transactions dbms 114 checks for out - dated objects , as indicated by block 910 . each object , when committed , is assigned a timestamp indicating its time of creation or most recent modification . when an optimistic transaction obtains a lock for an object , it notes the time stamp . in step 910 the timestamp of the version of the object used by the transaction is compared to the timestamp of the object in database 112 . if the database version is newer , the object used by the transaction is outdated , and the transaction is aborted , which is done in step 912 . if there are no outdated objects , then dbms 114 would release all the locks held by the transaction and commit the transaction , step 904 . furthermore , in step 904 dbms 114 updates the timestamp of all objects in database 112 modified during the execution of the transaction . the commit procedure terminates by returning to the calling program , in step 914 . the abort procedure is shown in fig1 . the entry point to the abort procedure is step 1000 . all locks are released in step 1002 , according to fig9 and the procedure returns to the calling program in step 1004 , without committing the transaction results . while this invention has been described with reference to a few illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments , as well as other embodiments of the invention , will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description . it is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments .	8
fig1 shows a printer including a light source 1 , i . e . a halogen lamp , from which light is conducted through light conductive fibers 3 and , as also shown in fig2 cross - section converters 5 to known light switching elements 7 comprising picture , or character , dot elements . objective lenses 9 focus , or reproduce , the light dots from these switching elements 7 along the length of a recording line 11 on a photosensitive record carrier 13 being transported around a drum 14 . the light switching elements 7 , which serve as actuatable optical components , are actuated in a known manner by a character generator 12 in such a manner that the light constantly emitted by the light source 1 can be blocked or passed as required at each character dot element , corresponding to a predetermined character raster point . thus , the optical printing head of the printer includes the light source 1 , the light conductive fibers 3 , the cross section converters 5 , the light switching elements 7 and the objective lenses 9 . this printing head permits line - by - line recording , on the photosensitive record carrier 13 , of graphics and text which are then electrographically developed and fixed in a known manner . for this purpose , there is provided a developing device 23 , a paper intake roller 15 to pull in a sheet of recording medium 17 , a transfer station 19 and a fixing device 21 provided with pressure rollers . additionally , a cleaning device 25 and a charging corona 27 are provided around drum 14 . the impingement of the optical axes perpendicular to the record carrier 13 is structurally controllable . the minimal error produced thereby is no longer visible in the text portions . all light switching elements 7 are pressed against a guide strip 39 , shown in fig3 which is arranged in such a manner that the optical axes are perpendicular to the record carrier 13 . the remaining minimal error will be eliminated by adjusting the light switching elements 7 and the lenses 9 . in fig1 five light switching elements 7 are shown , and each has 512 switchable dot elements for one whole line so that a complete line is associated with 5 × 512 picture elements . fig7 show offset errors appearing in one recorded line on a record carrier , as they may be produced by cooperation of the light switching elements 7 and the objective lenses 9 in the optical printing head 10 . in fig7 a , the printed line parts are arranged to be offset in the line direction while in fig7 b the printed line parts are shown to be properly positioned in the longitudinal direction . finally , fig7 c shows the ideal printed line which is aligned in the line direction as well as transverse thereto . in order to obtain a closed printed line on the record carrier 13 , each actuable optical component and the corresponding associated objective lens 9 are arranged to be adjustable relative to one another in a plane extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the optical axes . for this purpose , the light switching elements 7 are mounted , as shown in fig3 on a carrier 31 which is fixed to the side walls 33 and 35 of a housing 37 . the carrier 31 has a guide strip 39 extending in the line direction against which abutment edges 41 of the light switching elements 7 can be pressed and fixed by means of set screws 43 . the lower frontal faces 45 of the objective lenses 9 are mounted on the planar contact face 47 of a traverse rod 49 in the printing head . the carrier 31 and rod 49 are arranged parallel to one another . the objective lenses 9 are displaced on the contact face 47 by means of adjustment screws 51 and 53 arranged at diametrally opposite sides of the axis of the objective lenses 9 . at their ends facing the objective lenses , these adjusting screws 51 and 53 are provided with respective flat abutment edges 55 and 57 . screws 51 and 53 are provided for adjusting the objective lenses 9 perpendicular to the printing line direction . in addition , as shown in fig4 wedge - shaped spacer members 59 in the form of eccentric half rings are fastened to the objective lenses 9 for adjusting lenses 9 in the line direction . when one objective lens 9 is rotated , it is also displaced in the line direction and its position is thus adjusted . each wedge - shaped spacer member may also be composed , as also shown in fig4 of spring tensioned intermediate wedges 61 each fixed to a threaded pin 63 . pin 63 is threaded into a nut 65 which can be turned to displace the intermediate wedge 61 . pin 63 is prevented from rotating because it is fixed to wedge 61 and the latter is clamped between two lenses 9 . the row of objective lenses 9 can be pressed against a housing wall 69 in the printing head by means of a spring 67 acting on the objective lens 9 furthest from wall 69 . positioning of the objective lenses in the line direction is advisably effected in that , during alignment , the objective lens 9 resting against housing wall 69 is adjusted first and the objective lens 9 bearing against spring 67 is adjusted last . the positioning of the objective lenses 9 in the line direction is effected with the adjusting screws 51 , 53 loosened slightly . after adjustment of the objective lenses by means of adjusting screws 51 , 53 perpendicular to the line direction and perpendicular to the optical axis 29 and by means of the spacer members 59 or 61 in the line direction , the upper frontal faces 72 of the objective lenses 9 are brought into contact with a cover plate 74 which is then used to fix the objective lenses 9 in the selected positions on the traverse rod 49 by means of clamping screws 76 . this prevents any displacement of the objective lenses during transport or change of location of the printer . fig5 and 6 show a second embodiment for adjusting the light switching elements 7 and the objective lenses 9 relative to one another . here , the abutment edges 41 of light switching element 7 are pressed by means of screws 43 against the guide strip 39 and the light switching element 7 are displaced in the line direction by means of respective eccentric bolts 80 each related to one element 7 . by displacing the light switching elements 7 , errors in the line direction are eliminated . for this adjustment , the clamping screws 43 are loosened slightly . clamping screws 43 may be tipped screw nails , thus realizing a positive fixation . here again , the setting of the light switching elements begins at one end and continues through to the other . moreover , the left - hand light switching element 7 may also be positioned by means of a setting screw 82 as shown in fig6 . the printed line portion associated with each element 7 is aligned transversely to the line direction of o printed line by displacing each objective lens along guide grooves 84 provided in the printing head in a direction transverse to the line direction . the objective lenses 9 are here guided in the grooves 84 without play and are displaced only transverse to the line direction by means of setting screws 86 and 88 . setting screws 86 , 88 are again arranged diametrally to the axis of the objective lenses and are likewise provided with flattened portions 90 and 91 . by displacing the light switching elements 7 in one adjustment direction and displacing the objective lenses 9 in the other adjustment direction , adjustment for producing a continuous printed line on record carrier 13 is realized in the simplest manner possible . the actuatable optical components shown in the drawing figures may also be constituted by actuatable light sources . such light sources may be , for example , light - emitting diodes ( led &# 39 ; s ). moreover , the light switching element 7 and the light sources can be actuated by means of a microcomputer arrangement or by means of a microprocessor . to be able to change the distance of the objective lenses from record carrier 13 , the objective lenses 9 may be arranged in a known manner to be axially displaceable in a tube or cylinder . the fig8 illustrated details of the form and manner of mounting of the exxentric bolts 80 . the setting of the light switching element 7a , 7b , 7c , 7d etc begins at the left end . the left - hand switching element 7a will be positioned by the setting screw 82 in line direction . after this positioning the light switching element 7a will be fixed by the clamping screw 43a . the light switching element 7a will be pressed against the guide strip 39 . then the light switching element 7b will be positioned by the eccenter bolt 80b . this eccenter bolt 80b has an threaded bolt 180f , an eccentric 180e and a head 180d and will be fixed on the carrier 31 by a spring 180c and a fixing nut 180b . the eccentric 180e stands always in contact with the abutment edges 70b of the light switching element 7b . after positioning the light switching element 7b by the eccenter bolt 80b , it will be fixed by the setting screws 43b . the other light switching elements will be positioned and fixed by the exxenter bolt 80c and 80d and the setting screws 43c and 43b . the light - emitting diodes are well known in the prior art and are described in the u . s . pat . appl . ser . no . 162 , 968 , june 25 , 1980 . in order to obtain a closed printing line on the record carrier 13 , each actuatable component and the corresponding associated objective lens are arranged to be adjustable relative to one another . for this purpose the light switching elements 7 are displaced in one direction and the objective lenses 9 are adjusting in the other direction . the range of adjustment movement for the lenses 9 and the light switching elements 7 is equal . the vertical hatched lines represent pattern which are producing on the record carrier 13 by the developing device 23 . it will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications , changes and adaptations , and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims .	1
fig1 illustrates a portion of a representative semiconductor device 100 in accordance with the principles of the invention . device 100 is permanently programmable in accordance with predetermined parameters . device 100 includes a silicon substrate 101 . various electronic components are formed on substrate 101 utilizing known manufacturing techniques and processes . device 100 includes a plurality of insulating silicon dioxide layers 111 , 113 , 115 , 117 , 119 , 121 , 123 , 125 . there are a plurality of metallization layers 103 , 105 , 107 , 109 formed in the silicon dioxide layers . each metallization layer may include one or more separate metallization paths such as paths 107 a , 107 b . each metallization path in the illustrative embodiment of the invention is aluminum . to provide for electrical connections between metallization layers , vias are formed in insulating silicon dioxide layers 115 , 117 , 119 , 123 and tungsten plugs are deposited therein . of particular interest to the present invention is tungsten plug 131 . by applying a relatively large current through tungsten plug or link 131 , plug or link 131 acts similarly to a fuse and opens up . turning to fig2 , the result of the application of link opening electrical current from metallization path 103 a to metallization path 107 a across tungsten plug 131 is shown . fig2 was obtained from an electron microphotograph of the device 100 . the composition of blobs 137 , 139 , 141 is not known . however , what is known is that the electrical connection between metallization paths 103 a to metallization path 107 a has been opened . fig3 illustrates the relationship between applying specific maximum current levels across the tungsten plug 131 with the time it takes for the tungsten plug to open breaking the electrical connection between metallization paths in different metallization layers . the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific illustrative embodiment . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes , substitutions and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . it is intended that all such changes , substitutions and modifications be included in the scope of the invention . it is not intended that the invention be limited to the illustrative embodiment shown and described herein . it is intended that the invention be limited only by the claims appended hereto , giving the claims the broadest possible scope and coverage permitted under the law .	7
the benefits afforded by the present invention will become more readily apparent by first considering a prior art solenoid actuator . referring to fig1 a prior art actuator 10 includes a housing 12 containing first and second pole pieces 14 , 16 , respectively , and a plurality of electrically - conductive windings 18 about the polepieces . a ferromagnetic armature 20 is slidably disposed within a stepped first axial bore 21 in the pole pieces . an actuating shaft 22 is axially disposed and retained within armature 20 and extends from housing 12 via a second axial bore 24 in polepiece 16 for connection to useful work . step 26 in bore 21 receives a coil spring 28 disposed in compression between step 26 and a well 30 in armature 20 for biasing the armature into the solenoid . a generally cylindrical non - magnetic sleeve 32 surrounds armature 20 and spring 28 for slidably guiding and centering the armature axially of polepieces 14 and 16 . typically , the sleeve is formed of a non - galling non - ferromagnetic material such as stainless steel or ceramic , and either the sleeve or the armature may be coated with any of various well - known dry lubricants . typically , the armature is hard - nickel coated . referring to fig2 through 4 , improved outer polepiece 16 ′ is similar in shape , and preferably is substitutable for , prior art polepiece 16 , having both a radial portion 36 and a tapered axial portion 38 . however , polepiece 16 ′ is provided with three important and novel features not present in polepiece 16 . first , axial bore 24 is replaced by a new axial bore 24 ′ for receiving a new steady bearing 40 not found in prior art solenoid 10 . bearing 40 has an axial bore 42 for receiving shaft 22 and for supporting and radially guiding the shaft during reciprocating actuation of the solenoid . preferably , the diametral relationship between bore 42 and shaft 22 is as close as is practical without introducing significant drag on shaft 22 during actuation thereof . the presence of close - tolerance guidance of the shaft through the bearing permits a significant reduction in the size and axial extent of sleeve 32 which is replaced by a half - sleeve 32 ′ as shown in fig4 . preferably , bearing 40 is press - fit into bore 24 ′. second , at least one radial passageway 44 is provided in the floor 46 of well 48 formed within axial portion 38 , preferably a plurality of such passageways , for example , three radially disposed at 120 ° as shown in fig2 . passageways 44 extend from floor 46 through polepiece 16 ′ to the exterior of the solenoid . the elimination of prior art axial bore 24 , which is loose - fitting of shaft 22 , and its replacement by bore 24 ′ containing press - fit bearing 40 and close - tolerance bore 42 create a drainage problem within well 48 , in that condensation forming within the central region of the solenoid will be trapped , which is highly undesirable and can lead to mechanical and / or electrical failure of the solenoid . thus , central region passageways 44 provide ready drainage of well 48 . provision of drainage passageways 44 represents a recognition that an actuator having a reciprocable shaft extending therefrom cannot be , as a practical matter , hermetically sealed against entrance of moisture , especially when the actuator may be called upon to function over a very large range of temperatures and ambient humidities , for example , in an egr valve assembly such as assembly 50 shown in fig4 . therefore , it is preferable to accept the fact that internal condensation will occur , to configure the solenoid as open to the atmosphere , and to provide for ventilation and drainage from the solenoid . note that passageways 44 are preferably labyrinthine , having two offset 90 ° bends after installation of bearing 40 , to impede ingress of particulates and moisture droplets by direct impingement , without also impeding drainage and ventilation . third , at least one peripheral drainage and ventilation passageway 52 is provided through polepiece 16 ′ for draining condensation from regions of the solenoid outside of well 48 . preferably , the windings and / or housing of a solenoid incorporating polepiece 16 ′ also are modified to provide an annular gap 54 between the outer surface of the windings and the inner surface of the housing 12 , as shown in fig4 . gap 54 provides air circulation around the windings via passageway 52 for cooling of the windings , evaporation of local condensation , and collection of non - evaporated condensation for drainage through one or more peripheral passageways 52 . in the preferred embodiment , polepiece 16 ′ is further provided with one or more depressions 56 in upper surface 58 of radial portion 36 , preferably three such areas radially disposed 120 ° apart , as shown in fig2 . preferably , each depression includes a large central angle of about , for example , 90 °, thereby leaving a relatively small percentage of surface 58 for contacting and supporting windings spool 60 . many actuators , including those used in egr valve assemblies , must operate at significantly elevated ambient temperatures which can increase the resistance in windings 18 and proportionately reduce the strength of the solenoid . depressions 56 and gap 54 serve to partially insulate the windings from heat rising from the valve 62 itself , thereby lowering the operating temperature of the solenoid with respect to the valve . egr valve assembly 50 comprises an improved solenoid actuator 10 ′ including an improved outer polepiece 16 ′ and the concomitant features , bearing 40 , passageways 44 and 52 , and depressions 56 , all as just described . in use , such an assembly may be connected as by bolts 64 to the exhaust manifold 66 and the intake manifold 68 of an internal combustion engine 69 for metering the flow of exhaust gas 70 therebetween . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive nor is it intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiments may be modified in light of the above teachings . the embodiments described are chosen to provide an illustration of principles of the invention and its practical application to enable thereby one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . therefore , the foregoing description is to be considered exemplary , rather than limiting , and the true scope of the invention is that described in the following claims .	5
a solution to the above problem is to provide a special vent including an air line that is open to ambient air at a location where the air is not contaminated . this amounts to providing a passage at some point through the cavity wall , connecting an air line to the passage and extending the air line to a location where there are no contaminants , e . g ., in the engine compartment of the vehicle . as contemplated herein , a rotating cv - joint is located in close adjacency to a rotatively fixed knuckle . the annular actuator is mounted to the knuckle and includes a rotary seal that is in abutting relation with the rotating cv - joint and which prevents passage of air / contaminants between the actuator and the cv - joint . the cv - joint does not lend itself to attachment to a fixed air line and drilling a hole through the knuckle is undesirable for a number of reasons . the annular actuator is essentially an outer fixed ring and an inner expandable ring that form opposing walls of the expandable air chamber . an air line extends through the fixed wall and into the expandable chamber to provide controlled pressurization of the chamber and thus axial movement of the inner wall . a passage cannot be provided through the air chamber and the assembly of the three components ( cv joint , knuckle and actuator ) does not appear to lend itself to any form of venting . the present invention nevertheless provides the venting of the cavity through the actuator but without breaching the air chamber . the metal ring forming the outer wall of the actuator is u or cup shaped . an inner elastomeric ring mates to the metal ring and provides the movable wall that expands into the sealed cavity whereat the clutch ring resides . in the prior actuator , a boss was provided integral with the metal ring and a hole or passage was drilled through the boss and through the metal ring and into the chamber . a vacuum tube extended from the hole in the boss to the intake manifold for pressurization of the chamber . the outer side of the ring is provided with the rotary seal that seals against the rotating cv - joint and creates the sealed cavity at the inner side of the actuator . the boss of the present invention is configured to overlap this rotary seal . a second passage or hole is drilled through the boss ( and not through the metal ring ) to the juncture whereat the rotary seal is attached to the metal ring . an annular groove is formed in the ring at the juncture and intersects the vent passage whereby exterior air can pass through the vent passage and into the groove . at least one slot and preferably several slots extend from the groove inwardly and behind the seal to the sealed cavity . an air line is connected to the passage and extends to a position where contamination is not a problem . the above invention as briefly described provides an equalizing vent through or around the actuator where there is no apparent way to provide such a vent . the invention and the embodiments encompassing the invention will be more fully appreciated upon reference to the following detailed description and drawings referred to therein . fig1 a and 1b illustrate a vehicle and a wheel end of the vehicle for which the present invention is contemplated fig2 is an enlarged illustration in cross section of the wheel end and components including an annular actuator designed in accordance with the present invention ; fig3 is a partial perspective view showing a portion of the annular actuator &# 39 ; s metal ring ; and fig4 is a full front view of the metal ring of the annular actuator from the direction of arrow a in fig2 but without the rotary seal . fig1 a schematically illustrates a vehicle chassis including front wheels 10 as may incorporate the present invention . fig1 b is a partial view as taken on view lines 1 b — 1 b of fig1 a and illustrates a front wheel 10 having a hub 12 extended inward where it is supported by a steering knuckle 14 . a bearing pack 16 ( see fig2 ) allows rotation of the wheel 10 relative to the steering knuckle 14 . as noted in fig1 b , a drive axle 17 ( of the vehicle drive train ) connects to a cv - joint 18 which is secured to the knuckle as will be discussed hereafter . as well known to the industry , the cv - joint is adapted to accommodate the pivotal axis 20 of the wheel 10 and knuckle 14 whereby turning of the front wheel is permitted while remaining in driving engagement with the axle 17 . fig2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the wheel hub 12 , knuckle 14 and cv - joint 18 . as illustrated , the bearing pack 16 is bolted ( bolts 22 ) to the knuckle and the wheel hub 12 extends through the inner race 24 of bearing pack 16 with the inboard end 26 roll formed to secure a coupler 28 in abutting engagement with the inner race 24 and thereby the wheel hub 12 in engagement with the bearing pack 16 and knuckle 14 . the cv - joint 18 includes an axle portion 30 that is supported by bearing 32 to the inner side of the hub 12 . the cv - joint is configured to provide an annular portion 34 having splines 36 that are in mating alignment with splines 38 provided on coupler 28 . it will thus be apparent that the cv - joint is rotatably supported in the hub 12 which is rotatably supported in the knuckle 14 . a clutch ring 40 is shown in engagement with both spline sets 36 , 38 of the cv - joint and the coupler 28 , respectively . in this relation , the cv - joint ( driven by axle 17 ) drives the wheel hub 12 and accordingly wheel 10 . the clutch ring 40 is , however , slidable inwardly from the position of fig2 to disengage from the coupler 28 thereby disengaging wheel 10 from the drive axle . such sliding movement of the clutch ring 40 is provided by the annular actuator 42 parts of which are shown also in fig3 and 4 . the actuator 42 includes a metal annular ring 44 and an opposing elastomeric ring 46 which together define an air chamber 48 . secured to the elastomeric ring 46 is positioning fork 50 which is engaged with bearing groove 52 of clutch ring 40 . it will be noted that fork 50 does not rotate while the clutch ring does . the arrangement of the fork 50 and clutch ring groove 52 is well known to the industry and accommodates such relative rotation . forming a part of the metal ring outer exterior is a boss 54 . a passage 58 is provided through the boss and through the metal ring for coupling of air line 56 . the air line 56 is connected at its other end to an intake manifold of the vehicle &# 39 ; s engine ( not shown ) to produce a negative air pressure in the chamber 48 . when actuated , the negative air pressure draws the fork 50 inwardly relative to chamber 48 and the clutch ring 40 accordingly to cause the clutch ring to disengage from the coupler 28 and thus allow free wheeling of wheel 10 . upon venting of air line 56 to the atmosphere , the air chamber 48 is permitted to expand assisted by a compression spring 49 to return the clutch ring 40 to its engaged position with coupler 28 . as can be seen in fig2 the space or cavity 64 surrounding the clutch ring 40 is sealed off from the surrounding environment . most notably a rotary seal 60 is carried by the annular actuator 42 and has sealing lips 62 that slidably engage the rotating cv - joint 18 to thereby prevent contaminated air from leaking past the annular ring and into the cavity 64 . as explained in the background of the invention , the cavity 64 as defined by the assembled components including in particular rotary seal 60 is air tight . as this cavity is subjected to pressure variations ( due to operating temperatures , elevation and the axial movement of the elastomeric ring 46 which changes the volume in the cavity ), the resistance to expansion of chamber 48 varies and this affects the actuating force imparted to the fork 50 and clutch ring 40 . this variation is undesirable and is avoided by providing non - contaminated venting of the cavity 64 as illustrated and which will be now explained . the boss 54 is enlarged sufficiently to accommodate a second passage 66 . this passage is strategically formed to avoid penetration through the metal ring 44 and into the chamber 48 . it is provided to intersect the juncture between the rotary seal 60 and the metal ring 44 . at this intersection , there is a circular groove 68 provided as can also be seen in fig3 and 4 . this groove 68 enables air access through passage 66 to the groove 68 which encircles the outer side of ring 44 and is positioned behind rotary seal 60 . a plurality of slots 70 extends from the groove 68 to a position behind and under the rotary seal 60 . as will be apparent , this position is within the cavity 64 . an air line 72 is connected to passage 66 and is extended ( preferably coupled to and in parallel with line 56 ) to a location where the opposite end of line 72 is open to non - contaminated air . this invention has solved a perplexing problem of clutch ring actuation by providing a contaminant free environment for clutch ring actuation while avoiding the affect of air pressure variation . those skilled in the art will likely conceive of variations or modifications to the disclosed embodiment while utilizing the disclosed inventive precepts to achieve the above - described venting . accordingly , the claims are not to be limited to the above disclosure and are intended to apply broadly to all structures encompassed by a fair and broad interpretation of the terms set forth in the claims .	5

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