text
stringlengths 1.55k
332k
| label
int64 0
8
|
|---|---|
in the present invention , an alignment mark is formed in an effective display region and used for alignment in forming a color filter . in fig1 a , a color filter substrate comprises a substrate 1 , a black matrix 2 , an alignment mark 3 , and opening portions 4 of the black matrix 2 . fig1 b is a schematic sectional view taken along the line 1b -- 1b in fig1 a . a color filter is made up of non - colored portions 5 and colored portions 6 , and covered with a protective layer 7 , if necessary . in fig1 a , the color filter and the protective layer on it are not illustrated . in the present invention , as shown in fig1 a , the side edge section of the black matrix is a frame - like light - shielding region around the effective display region , and the effective display region is a portion surrounded by the side edge section and used to display an image . in the present invention , examples of the alignment mark are an alignment mark formed from the same material as the black matrix 2 in the opening portion 4 , as shown in fig1 a and 1b , and a light - transmitting portion 10 formed in the black matrix 2 , as shown in fig9 and 10 . other examples of the alignment mark are a light - transmitting portion 11 formed in the black matrix 2 , as shown in fig6 a projection 12 formed on the side wall of the opening portion 4 , as shown in fig7 a recess 13 formed in the side wall of the opening portion 4 , as shown in fig8 and a combination of them . the alignment mark is desirably formed in an opening portion 4 at the corner of the effective display region so as not to adversely affect the display of an image . when the alignment mark is formed in the opening portion 4 , the size of the alignment mark is preferably 1 / 10 to 1 / 3 , and more preferably 1 / 8 to 1 / 3 the area of the opening portion 4 where the alignment mark 3 is formed . fig2 a to 2f show an embodiment of a color filter substrate manufacturing method according to the present invention . in this embodiment , an alignment mark having a pattern shown in fig1 a is formed . fig2 a to 2f are schematic sectional views corresponding to the following step - a to step - f , respectively . a black matrix 2 and an alignment mark 3 are simultaneously formed on a substrate 1 by photolithography . as the substrate 1 , a glass substrate is generally used , but may be a plastic substrate as far as the substrate has characteristics , such as the strength , required for the application purpose of the color filter substrate without impairing the transparency of the color filter . when a reflection liquid crystal element is to be formed , an opaque substrate may be used as the substrate 1 . when a liquid crystal element is to be formed , the black matrix 2 is generally obtained by forming a metal film such as a chromium film about 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 μm in thickness by sputtering , deposition , or the like , and patterning the film into a predetermined shape . an ink receptive layer 21 is formed on the substrate 1 . the ink receptive layer 21 is made of an ink absorptive resin composition , e . g ., a resin composition which exhibits or loses ink absorption by light irradiation and / or heating . in the resin composition which exhibits ink absorption by light irradiation and / or heating , the ink absorption is attained by exposing the ink receptive layer 21 in advance . it is preferable to use a resin composition which exhibits or loses ink absorption by light irradiation , to form exposed and unexposed portions by pattern exposure in step - c ( to be described below ), and to selectively color only an ink absorptive region . as the resin composition used for the ink receptive layer 21 , an acrylic resin , an epoxy resin , an amido resin , a phenolic resin , or a polystyrene resin is used together with an optical initiator ( crosslinker ) if necessary . the resin composition is applied on the substrate 1 by , e . g ., spin coating , roller coating , bar coating , spray coating , or dipping , and is pre - baked , as needed , to form the ink receptive layer 21 . the ink receptive layer 21 has a thickness of about 0 . 4 to 2 . 0 μm when a liquid crystal element is to be formed . the ink receptive layer 21 is exposed to a pattern using a photomask 22 to form non - colored portions 5 having no ink absorption . the ink receptive layer 21 in fig2 a to 2f has ink absorption which disappears by exposure . if a resin composition which exhibits ink absorption by exposure is used , the ink receptive layer 21 is exposed to a reverse pattern . as shown in fig2 c , each non - colored portion 5 is formed on the black matrix 2 to be narrower than the black matrix 2 in order to prevent color omission . a predetermined color pattern is drawn by applying r , g , and b coloring inks 24 using an ink - jet head 23 to predetermined positions between the non - colored portions of the ink receptive layer 21 . at this time , the alignment mark 3 is used for drawing alignment of the ink - jet head 23 and the non - colored portions . in the present invention , since the alignment mark 3 used for drawing alignment is formed in the effective display region of the black matrix 2 , the distance from the alignment mark to the drawing position is short , and drawing alignment is almost free from distortion at the edge of the substrate . therefore , the drawing shift can be minimized , and no margin for forming the alignment mark need be prepared in a region outside the black matrix 2 . since the alignment mark 3 of the present invention is formed at the same time as the black matrix 2 , it is not influenced by the positional shift between the substrate 1 and the black matrix 2 . as the ink - jet system used in the present invention , a bubble - jet type device using an electrothermal converter as an energy generating element , a piezoelectric jet type device using a piezoelectric element , or the like can be used . a coloring area and coloring pattern can be arbitrarily set . the coloring ink 24 used in the present invention is not limited to an ink which contains a dye and is liquified at the room temperature , but may also be an ink which is solidified at room temperature or lower , and an ink which is softened or liquefied at room temperature . in the ink - jet system , since the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within the range of 30 ° c . to 70 ° c . so as to make the ink viscosity fall within the stable discharge range , any ink which is liquified within the above temperature range can be preferably used . fig1 is a schematic view showing an example of a color filter manufacturing apparatus using the ink - jet system . in fig1 , a manufacturing apparatus 50 comprises an apparatus base 51 , an x - y - θ stage 52 disposed on the apparatus base 51 , a support substrate 53 set on the x - y - θ stage 52 , an ink - jet head 55 , a controller 58 for controlling the overall operation of this apparatus , a teaching pendant ( personal computer ) 59 serving as the input / output means of the controller , a keyboard 60 as the operation unit of the teaching pendant 59 , and a display 62 for displaying information about the manufacturing progress , the presence / absence of an ink - jet head abnormality , and the like . note that a black matrix and an ink receptive layer are formed on the support substrate 53 but are not illustrated in fig1 for the sake of simplicity . fig1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the controller 58 of the manufacturing apparatus in fig1 . in fig1 , the controller 58 comprises an interface 65 for exchanging data between the teaching pendant 59 and the controller 58 , a cpu 66 for controlling the color filter manufacturing apparatus 50 , a rom 67 storing control programs for operating the cpu 66 , a ram 68 for storing abnormality information and the like , an ink - jet control unit 70 for controlling application of a coloring ink from the ink - jet head 55 to the support substrate 53 , and a stage control unit 71 for controlling the operation of the x - y - θ stage 52 of the color filter manufacturing apparatus 50 . the entire ink receptive layer having the colored portions 6 is cured by a proper process such as light irradiation or heating . if necessary , a protective layer 7 is formed on the color filter . as the protective layer 7 , a photosetting layer , a thermosetting layer , a resin composition layer of thermosetting and photosetting types , or an inorganic film formed by , e . g ., deposition or sputtering is available . any layer can be used so long as the layer can be resistant to the subsequent processes such as an ito formation process and an aligning film formation process without impairing the transparency of the color filter . fig3 is a partial sectional view showing an embodiment of a tft color liquid crystal element incorporating the color filter substrate in fig1 . in fig3 the tft color liquid crystal element is constituted by a common electrode 12 , an aligning film 13 , a counter substrate 31 , pixel electrodes 32 , an aligning film 33 , and a liquid crystal compound 34 . in general , a color liquid crystal element is formed by joining the color filter substrate to the counter substrate 31 and sealing the liquid crystal compound 34 between them . tfts ( not shown ) and the transparent pixel electrodes 32 are formed on the inner surface of one substrate 31 of the liquid crystal element in a matrix . the colored portions 6 of the color filter are placed on the inner surface of the other substrate 1 such that the r , g , and b colorants are positioned to oppose the pixel electrodes 32 . the transparent common electrode 12 is formed on the entire surface of the color filter . the aligning films 13 and 33 are formed within the inner surfaces of the two substrates . by rubbing the aligning films 13 and 33 , the liquid crystal molecules can be aligned in a predetermined direction . these substrates are arranged to oppose each other via a spacer ( not shown ), and bonded by a sealing material ( not shown ). the liquid crystal compound 34 is filled in the gap between these substrates . polarizing plates are bonded to the outer surfaces of the respective substrates . as a blacklight , a combination of a fluorescent lamp and a scattering plate is generally used . a display operation is performed by causing the liquid crystal compound to serve as an optical shutter for changing the transmittance for light emitted from the backlight . the above embodiment has exemplified the tft color liquid crystal element . however , the present invention is not limited to this , and can also be preferably applied to another drive type liquid crystal element such as a simple matrix type liquid crystal element . as long as the liquid crystal element of the present invention is constituted by the color filter substrate of the present invention , a conventional technique can be directly used for the remaining members . therefore , as the liquid crystal compound , a general tn liquid crystal , a general ferroelectric liquid crystal , or the like can be preferably used . fig4 a to 4d show another embodiment of the color filter substrate manufacturing method according to the present invention . also in this case , an alignment mark having a pattern shown in fig1 a is formed . fig4 a to 4d are schematic sectional views corresponding to the following step - a to step - d , respectively . a black matrix 2 also serving as partition walls is formed on a substrate 1 . in this embodiment , the black matrix 2 is used as not only a light - shielding layer but also a member for preventing mixing of adjacent inks in different colors upon applying curable coloring inks ( to be described later ). in the present invention , an alignment mark 3 is formed at the same time as the black matrix 2 . the black matrix 2 is preferably made of a resin . for example , the black matrix 2 is formed using a black - pigment - containing resist by patterning such as general photolithography . to avoid mixing of different color inks , the black matrix 2 preferably has ink repellency . in the present invention , the black matrix 2 desirably has a thickness of not greater than 10 μm , desirably 0 . 5 μm to 5 . 0 μm , in consideration of the partition function and the light - shielding function . r , g , and b curable coloring inks 41 are applied using an ink - jet head 23 so as to fill the opening portions of the black matrix 2 . similar to the embodiment shown in fig2 a to 2f , the alignment mark 3 is used for drawing alignment of the ink - jet head 23 and the opening portions of the black matrix 2 . the use effects of the alignment mark 3 have been described above . the curable coloring ink used in the present invention is made of a curable resin composition and contains at least a colorant and a resin which can be cured by application of energy . as the colorant , a dye is preferably used . for example , a direct dye , an acid dye , a reactive dye , a disperse dye , and an oil - soluble dye are available . however , the colorant is not limited to them . as the resin which can be cured by application of energy , a resin which can be cured by heat , light , or a combination of them is preferably used . more specifically , as a thermosetting compound , a combination of a known resin and a crosslinker can be used . examples of such a resin are a melamine resin , a combination of a hydroxyl - or carboxyl - group - containing polymer and melamine , a combination of a hydroxyl - or carboxyl - group - containing polymer and a polyfunctional epoxy compound , a combination of a hydroxyl - or carboxyl - group - containing polymer and a cellulose reactive compound , a combination of an epoxy resin and a resol resin , a combination of an epoxy resin and amines , a combination of an epoxy resin and a carboxylic acid or acid anhydride , and an epoxy compound . as the photosetting compound , a known photosetting resin such as a commercially available negative resist can be preferably used . the compound may be cured by not only heat or light but also a combination of them . various solvents can be used for the curable ink . particularly in the ink - jet system , a solvent mixture of water and a water - soluble organic solvent is preferably used in terms of a discharge operation . to attain desired characteristics in addition to the above components , as needed , a surfactant , an anti - foam agent , an antiseptic agent , or the like can be added . further , a commercially available water - soluble dye or the like can also be added . solvents other than water and a water - soluble organic solvent can be used for a photosetting or thermosetting resin which does not dissolve in water or a water - soluble organic solvent but can be stably discharged . for a curable compound which can be optically polymerized , a solvent - free material prepared by dissolving a dye in a monomer can be used . if necessary , processes such as drying , light irradiation , and heating are performed to cure the coloring ink and form colored portions 42 . similar to step - f in the above - mentioned embodiment , a protective film 7 is formed on the color filter , as needed . the color filter substrate formed in this embodiment can also constitute a liquid crystal element shown in fig3 . fig5 shows an example of the liquid crystal element . the same reference numerals as in fig3 denote the same parts , and a description thereof will be omitted . in addition to the use of alignment marks , alignment can be achieved by recognizing , by means of image processing , that the continuous opening portion pattern ends at the end portion of the black matrix 2 with respect to the continuous pattern of the opening portion 4 in the effective display region of the black matrix 2 . a 0 . 2 - μm thick chromium film was formed on a surface - polished non - alkali glass substrate by sputtering , and patterned by photolithography into a black matrix having opening portions in correspondence with pixels . two alignment marks were formed in an opening portion at the corner of the effective display region as shown in fig1 a and 1b and a position symmetrical with this opening portion with respect to the vertical axis . the black matrix was spin - coated with a material prepared by mixing 3 parts by weight of triphenylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate in 97 parts by weight of acrylic copolymer containing 3 parts by weight of acrylic acid , 49 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate , 29 parts by weight of hydroxyethyl methacrylate , and 19 parts by weight of n - methylolacrylamide , mixing 17 parts by weight of y - glycidoxypropyltrimetoxysilane in 83 parts by weight of the obtained mixture , and adding 85 parts by weight of ethyl cellosolve in 15 parts by weight of the resultant mixture . the obtained structure was dried at 50 ° c . for 10 min to form a 1 - μm thick photosensitive resin layer ( ink receptive layer ). the ink receptive layer was exposed via a photomask having opening portions narrower than the width of the black matrix , and the resultant structure was heated by a hot plate at 120 ° c . for 90 sec . the alignment marks were image - sensed by a ccd camera . the obtained image was processed by an image processing apparatus to detect the positions of the alignment marks , and the ink - jet head was aligned with the glass substrate . then , the ink receptive layer was colored by applying r , g , b inks each having the following composition from the ink - jet head to unexposed portions of the ink receptive layer . ______________________________________ & lt ; r ink & gt ; c . i . acid red 118 : 5 parts by weight ethylene glycol : 20 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol : 5 parts by weight water : 70 parts by weight & lt ; g ink & gt ; c . i . acid green 25 : 5 parts by weight ethylene glycol : 20 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol : 5 parts by weight water : 70 parts by weight & lt ; b ink & gt ; c . i . acid blue 113 : 5 parts by weight ethylene glycol : 20 parts by weight isopropyl alcohol : 5 parts by weight water : 70 parts by weight______________________________________ the ink receptive layer was cured by drying at 90 ° c . for 10 min and heating at 230 ° c . for 30 min . a protective film was formed by applying , by spin coating , a 1 - μm thick two - part thermosetting resin composition ( mixture of &# 34 ; optomer ss6500 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; optomer ss0500 &# 34 ;, at 79 : 21 , available from japan synthetic rubber co ., ltd ) containing 85 % of carbitol acetate , and curing the resin composition film by drying at 90 ° c . for 20 min and heating at 230 ° c . for 60 min . according to this method , since the distance from the alignment mark to the drawing position is short , and drawing alignment is almost free from distortion at the edge of the substrate , the drawing shift can be minimized , and generation of color filter defects caused by the drawing shift can be prevented . the manufactured color filter substrate for a liquid crystal element was observed with an optical microscope to find that defects such as color mixing and white omission were greatly reduced . an ito film was sputtered by an in - line sputtering apparatus using a mask to constitute a liquid crystal element by a general means , thereby obtaining a high - precision color image display . a color filter substrate was manufactured by the same procedure as in example 1 except that an alignment mark was prepared by recessing the side wall of an opening portion . the manufactured color filter substrate for a liquid crystal element was observed with an optical microscope to find no defects such as color mixing and color omission . a color filter substrate was manufactured by the same procedure as in example 1 except that the ink - jet head was aligned using an alignment mark formed outside the effective display region . the probability of generation of color mixing and color omission was lower , and the manufacturing yield of the color filter substrate was higher in the color filter substrates in examples 1 and 2 in which the ink - jet head was aligned with reference to the alignment mark formed in the effective display region , than in the color filter substrate in comparative example 1 in which the ink - jet head was aligned with reference to the alignment mark formed outside the effective display region . a glass substrate was coated with a black pigment resist ck - s171b available from fuji hanto to a thickness of 1 . 0 μm by spin coating . the resist film was exposed , developed , and heat - treated to form a 1 . 0 - μm thick black matrix . a total of two alignment marks were formed in the opening portion at the corner in the effective display region as shown in fig1 a and 1b and a position symmetrical about this opening portion with respect to the vertical axis . the alignment mark images were sensed by a ccd camera and processed by an image processing apparatus to detect the positions of the alignment marks , thereby positioning an ink - jet head and the glass substrate . r , g , and b inks were injected into the openings using an ink - jet printer . the following inks were used . ______________________________________ & lt ; r ink & gt ; c . i . acid red 118 : 5 parts by weight glycerol polyglycidyl ether 1 . 5 parts by weight [ denacol ex - 313 available from nagase kasei kogyo kk ]: terpolymer of acrylic acid , methyl 3 parts by weight methacrylate , and hydroxyethyl methacrylate : n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone : 15 parts by weight ethylene glycol : 20 parts by weight ethanol : 2 parts by weight ion exchange water : 53 . 5 parts by weight & lt ; g ink & gt ; c . i . acid green 25 : 5 parts by weight glycerol polyglycidyl ether 1 . 5 parts by weight [ denacol ex - 313 available from nagase kasei kogyo kk ]: terpolymer of acrylic acid , methyl 3 parts by weight methacrylate , and hydroxyethyl methacrylate : n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone : 15 parts by weight ethylene glycol : 20 parts by weight ethanol : 2 parts by weight ion exchange water : 53 . 5 parts by weight & lt ; b ink & gt ; c . i . acid blue 113 : 5 parts by weight glycerol polyglycidyl ether [ denacol ex - 313 available from 1 . 5 parts by weight nagase kasei kogyo kk ]: terpolymer of acrylic acid , methyl 3 parts by weight methacrylate , and hydroxyethyl methacrylate : n - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone : 15 parts by weight ethylene glycol : 20 parts by weight ethanol : 2 parts by weight ion exchange water : 53 . 5 parts by weight______________________________________ after the above inks were injected , the inks were cured at 230 ° c . for 40 min to form a liquid crystal element color filter . the resultant color filter was observed with an optical microscope to find that defects such as color mixing and white omission were greatly reduced . a protective film was formed by applying , by spin coating , a 1 - μm thick two - part thermosetting resin material (&# 34 ; optomer ss6500 &# 34 ; available from japan synthetic rubber co ., ltd ) and curing the resin film by heating at 230 ° c . for 30 min . a series of operations such as ito ( electrode ) formation , aligning film formation , and liquid crystal material sealing were sequentially performed to manufacture an excellent color liquid crystal element shown in fig5 . as has been described above , according to the present invention , since drawing alignment can be performed with high precision in manufacturing a color filter substrate , color omission and color mixing of the color filter caused by a drawing shift can be prevented , and a high - reliability color filter substrate can be provided . in the present invention , since no margin is required to form an alignment mark outside the black matrix , the substrate can be effectively used . therefore , a liquid crystal element excellent in color display characteristics can be constituted using the color filter substrate of the present invention . | 1 |
turning now to the drawings in general and fig1 in particular , there is shown a mobile system 10 for cutting a narrow trench of varying depths and widths in a surface such as a concrete or asphalt roadway . the system 10 comprises a work machine 12 and a trenching assembly 13 attached to the work machine . the trenching assembly 13 comprises a frame 14 and a saw blade 100 rotatably mounted to the frame , which will be described in more detail below . the trenching assembly further comprises a cylinder assembly or linkage assembly 15 and an attachment frame 16 . the work machine 12 may be any common tractor or work vehicle that can support the trenching assembly 13 . the work machine 12 shown in fig1 comprises a tractor having wheels 17 , however , one skilled in the art will appreciated that a tracked vehicle or a pedestrian work machine may be used with the trenching assembly 13 of the present invention . the system further comprises a vacuum system 18 . as shown , the vacuum system 18 is mounted on the work machine 12 and on the trenching assembly 13 as an integrated single mobile unit . alternatively , the vacuum system 18 may be a subsystem that can be controlled by the work machine 12 or remote control . the vacuum system 18 comprises a vacuum hose 20 , a spoils inlet 22 , and a vacuum power unit ( not shown ). further , the vacuum system may comprise a cyclonic filtration system ( not shown ) to filter fine dust and increase power unit life . the spoils inlet 22 is attached to the trenching assembly 13 . as shown , a second spoils inlet 23 is also attached to the trenching assembly 13 near a trench cleaner 50 . one skilled in the art can appreciate that one or more spoils inlets 22 , 23 may be placed on the frame to efficiently remove accumulated spoils from the trenching assembly 13 . in fig1 , portions of the vacuum hose 20 are not shown , but the hose should be understood to be continuous to each of the spoils inlets 22 , 23 . an operator station 24 is provided to control operation of the system 10 . with reference now to fig2 , another embodiment of the trenching assembly 13 is shown . a control panel 26 is provided to control the trenching assembly 13 . the attachment frame 16 is movably supported by the work vehicle 12 ( not shown ) and adapted to support the linkage assembly 15 and frame 14 . the attachment frame 16 comprises a slide frame 28 adapted to traverse the length of the attachment frame . the linkage assembly 15 is adapted to manipulate the frame 14 . the linkage assembly 15 comprises a level cylinder 30 , a pivot frame 32 , a lift cylinder 34 , lift arms 35 , a traverse cylinder 36 , a swing lock 37 , and a tilt plate 38 . the linkage assembly 15 is mounted on the slide frame 28 such that the linkage assembly 15 may traverse the length of the attachment frame 16 by manipulation of the traverse cylinder 36 . as shown , the frame 14 is mounted directly behind the back right tire 17 . one skilled in the art could appreciate positioning the frame 14 in other positions relative to the attachment frame 16 . the level cylinder 30 attaches to the frame 14 at a first end and the lift arms 35 at a second end . extension of the level cylinder 30 manipulates the level of the frame 14 from front to back . the lift cylinder 34 attaches to the pivot frame 32 at a first end and the lift arms 35 at a second end . extension of the lift cylinder 34 allows for the frame 14 to be raised and lowered . the tilt plate 38 connects the pivot frame 32 to the slide frame 28 of the attachment frame 16 . the tilt plate 38 allows the frame 14 to be tilted from side to side to compensate for crowning in a surface . the swing lock 37 secures the frame 14 in a fixed position substantially perpendicular to the attachment frame 16 . the swing lock 37 may be unlocked to allow the frame 14 to swing from side to side to saw a curved trench . thus the linkage assembly 15 utilizes cylinders 30 , 34 , 36 and other devices to manipulate the orientation of the frame 14 . the orientation manipulated includes tilt , level , height from the surface , angle relative to the attachment frame 15 , and position relative to the attachment frame 16 . one skilled in the art could appreciate that other mechanisms such as additional cylinders and 4 - bar linkages could be used to manipulate the orientation of the frame 14 . with continued reference to fig2 , the frame comprises a first panel 40 , a motor assembly 42 , and the motor plate 44 . the first panel 40 is attached to the linkage assembly 15 via the lift arms 35 and the level cylinder 30 . the first panel 40 provides structural stability needed to carry the blade 100 and motor assembly 42 . as will be shown in fig3 , the first panel 40 of the frame 14 is adapted to connect to a removable cover 60 . the motor assembly 42 is mounted on the first panel 40 . the motor assembly drives the blade 100 . the motor assembly will be described in greater detail with reference to fig4 , below . with continued reference to fig2 , the motor assembly 42 has the capability of turning the blade 100 at variable rpm . the first panel 40 comprises a slot 46 and connection points 48 . the motor plate 44 is adapted to be placed into the slot 46 and mounted at several positions on the first panel 40 using the connection points 48 . as shown , the connection points 48 comprise bolts and bolt holes . the adjustment of the motor plate 44 changes a vertical position of the motor assembly 42 and blade 100 relative to the trenching assembly 13 , and therefore , the maximum depth of the blade 100 . the trenching assembly 13 further comprises a trench cleaner 50 mounted on the frame . preferably , the trench cleaner 50 is mounted on an end of the frame 14 and adjustable between a variety of depths . in a first position ( not shown ), the trench cleaner 48 is flipped and stored along the hood assembly 62 for when the blade 100 is not being used . in a second position , the trench cleaner 50 is adapted to extend into an exposed trench . a plurality of paired trench cleaner holes 51 and pegs 52 may be utilized to adjust the position and depth of the trench cleaner 50 . the trench cleaner 50 is preferably of a width equal to or very slightly smaller than the width of any exposed trench cut by the blade 100 . with reference now to fig3 , the trenching assembly 13 is shown from an opposite side . the frame 14 may be connected to a removable blade cover 60 at the first panel 40 . the first panel 40 ( fig2 ) and removable blade cover 60 form a hood assembly 62 having an internal cavity for surrounding the blade 100 . the hood assembly 62 comprises a surface engaging member 64 and at least one spoils chute 66 . the spoils chute 66 may be mounted on either side of the hood assembly 62 and when opened is adapted to direct spoils away from the uncovered trench . the surface engaging member 64 is integral with or mounted on the bottom portion of the hood assembly 62 and thus located proximate a first end of the internal cavity . the surface engaging member 64 defines a perimeter around an opening 68 in the hood assembly 62 . the surface engaging member 64 is composed of a durable material suitable for traversing concrete , asphalt , rock , or earth and forming a seal between the ground and the hood assembly 62 . a means for moving the surface engaging member 64 to contact the surface being trenched manipulates the surface engaging member , enabling it to stabilize the surface . the means for moving the surface engaging member 64 may comprise the linkage assembly 15 or various hydraulic or mechanical actuators . the linkage assembly 15 generally , and the level cylinder 30 in particular , is connected to the frame 14 such that the opening 68 substantially seals the hood assembly 62 to the ground . preferably , the level cylinder 30 and the surface engaging member 64 create downpressure proximate a path of the blade 100 . the frame 14 blade cover connections 70 mounted on the first panel 40 . the blade cover connections 70 connect to corresponding holes on the removable cover 60 provide a quick method for removing the removable blade cover from the frame 14 . as shown , the blade cover connections 70 are connected to the removable blade cover 60 by modified wing nuts 72 , though alternative methods of removing and connecting the removable blade cover 60 to the frame 14 are envisioned . a wrench 74 for removing the blade 100 is shown mounted on the trenching assembly 13 . with reference now to fig4 , the motor assembly 42 of fig2 is shown in exploded view with the removable blade cover 60 removed . the motor assembly 42 is mounted on the first panel 40 supported on the frame 14 . the motor assembly 42 comprises a motor 80 , threaded hub 82 , spacing washer 84 , a nut 86 and locking bolts 88 . the hub 82 is supported on the frame 14 . as shown , the hub 82 is supported on the motor 80 which is supported by the motor plate 44 , which is supported by the frame 14 . the hub 82 is adapted to fit over a shaft of the motor 80 . the saw blade 100 is adapted to slide onto the hub 82 along with a spacing washer 84 . the nut 86 is adapted to screw onto the threaded hub 82 to secure the blade 100 and washer 84 . locking bolts 88 are utilized to prevent the nut 86 from coming loose during rotation of the hub 82 and motor 80 . preferably , changing of the blade 10 requires minimal tools to disconnect the blade to the motor assembly 42 . the wrench 74 is adapted to quickly remove and replace components of the motor assembly 42 . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the wing nuts 72 and wrench 74 may be utilized to fully remove and replace the blade 100 from the trenching assembly 13 . in this way a replacement blade 100 may be utilized without removing the system from the worksite . as shown in fig1 , the vacuum system 18 may be mounted such that at least one vacuum inlet 22 , 23 is proximate the trench cleaner 50 . the vacuum hose 20 may extend beyond the hood assembly 62 and into the trench along with the trench cleaner 50 . in this way , loosened spoils in the trench that are between the trench walls , trench cleaner 50 and blade 100 are directly removed from the trench . the blade 10 will be discussed in more detail . the blade 10 is located substantially within the hood assembly 62 and supported on the frame 14 . the blade 100 extends beyond the opening 68 in the hood assembly 62 . the blade 100 comprises a disc portion 102 and a plurality of teeth 104 . as shown in fig1 , the disc portion 102 is generally circular and uniform , but may comprise openings 106 and cutout portions 108 to decrease the friction , decrease the weight of the blade 100 and further help remove spoils from the trench . during operation , the blade 100 may increase in temperature . the cutout portions 108 may also help to mitigate the effects of thermal expansion of the blade 100 . additionally , a cooling agent such as air , water , or foam may be applied to the blade 100 to prevent thermal expansion . the disc portion 102 defines a circumference and a width , and may contain dimples ( not shown ) to further reduce drag during rotation of the blade 100 . the disc portion 102 may be of varying widths , such as 1 . 5 inches or less . with reference now to fig5 a , a first configuration , or radial position of the blade 100 is shown . the blade 100 comprises the disc portion 102 , the teeth 104 , at least one bit block 110 and at least one roll pin 112 . the bit blocks 110 may be rotated and welded to the disc portion 102 in varying radial positions and roll angles . each tooth 104 is secured to the bit block 110 by the roll pin 112 . the tooth 104 comprises a rotating bit 114 and a tip 116 . the position of each tooth 104 is directed by the angle that each bit block 110 is rotated with respect to the disc 102 . in the radial position shown in fig5 b , the teeth do not breach the plane defined by a width of the disc portion 102 . the tip 116 is preferably a durable carbide , diamond , or similar material , and conical in shape . carbide tips 80 are best suited when the motor 80 is operating at lower rpm . diamond tips 116 on the bits 114 are best suited when the motor 80 is operating at higher rpm . with reference now to fig6 a , a second configuration , or offset position of the blade 100 is shown . as can be seen in fig6 b , each of the plurality of teeth 104 breach the plane defined by the width of the disc portion 102 in one direction or the other . one skilled in the art will appreciate that a trench cut by a blade 100 in the offset position will be wider than a trench cut by the same or similar blade in the radial position . thus , various offset positions may be utilized to customize the width of a trench desired . as shown , the teeth 104 are of a modular nature and are detachable to the blade 100 . modular , detachable components are easier to replace and ship when worn . the system 10 can be used in combination with other trenching techniques . for example , the system 10 may cut through a hard surface , but at too shallow a depth . thus , other trenching systems , such as a vibratory plow , can follow behind the system to cut the trench and install the product deeper but without excessive wear to the other trenching system . with reference now to fig7 , a system 200 for inserting product into the trench 213 is shown . the system 200 comprises a wheel 202 defining at least one notch 204 , a hopper 206 , at least one deformable ball 208 contained within the hopper , and guides and rollers 210 for feeding a product line 212 into the trench 213 . further , one will understand that the system 200 also comprises a means for moving the system such as a tractor similar to the one shown in fig1 . the wheel 202 has a radius larger than the trench depth . as the system 200 is moved along the trench , the notch 204 picks up a ball 208 removed from the hopper 206 . the ball 208 is trapped between the wheel 202 and the product 212 and is carried by the wheel to a bottom 215 of the trench . as the wheel 202 continues to roll along the trench , the ball 208 is left in the bottom 215 , holding the product 212 in place until the trench can be filled and sealed with a grout or other acceptable material . alternatively , deformable bulges ( not shown ) could be molded into the product 212 at fixed intervals to perform the function of the deformable balls 208 . the system 10 may further comprise an apparatus for sealing a trench ( not shown ). the trench can be sealed with any typical sealant such as grout or concrete . such a system is sold by k - 2 manufacturing , inc . under the trade name grout king ™. one skilled in the art will appreciate that the system 10 comprises several discrete subsystems , such as the vacuum system 18 , the system for placing product 200 , the apparatus for sealing a trench , etc . each of these subsystems may be controlled at the operator station 24 located on the work machine 12 . alternatively some or all of the subsystems may be remotely controlled . in operation , the system 10 is adapted to cut a trench in a surface . the blade 100 is provided and mounted to the trenching assembly 13 at the hub 82 . preferably , a blade 100 is chosen where the plurality of teeth 104 are in either the radial or the offset position depending on the desired width of trench . the hood assembly 62 is assembled and the hub 82 and blade 100 are raised or lowered by the motor plate 44 to achieve a desired trench depth . the blade 100 is rotated to cut a trench and the at least one cylinder 30 , 34 , 36 and linkage assembly 15 are adjusted to achieve a substantial seal between the surface engaging member 64 and the surface being trenched . the vacuum system 18 is activated to remove spoils at the vacuum inlet 22 , 23 . the trench cleaner 50 provides a channel for the removal of spoils from within the trench . as work machine 12 moves across the surface , the trenching assembly 13 may be adjusted by linkage assembly 15 and cylinders 30 , 34 , 36 to maintain the substantial seal between the surface engaging member 64 and the surface being trenched over uneven terrain . the level cylinder 30 provides downpressure on the surface proximate a path being trenched by the blade 100 . the downpressure of the surface engaging member 64 coupled with the rotation of the blade 100 stabilizes the surface and creates a “ scissor ” effect when cutting the trench . therefore , the surface engaging member 64 stabilizes a portion of the surface adjacent to the trench and avoids breakout of the surface , such as asphalt pavement , being trenched . by avoiding breakout , the trench is given straighter , more uniform edges and a smaller average width . product 212 may then be placed within the uncovered trench using the system for inserting product 200 . the trench may then be covered by a sealing machine ( not shown ) trailing the system 10 and sealing the trench with concrete or grout . various modifications can be made in the design and operation of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof . thus , while the principal preferred construction and modes of operation of the invention have been explained in what is now considered to represent its best embodiments , which have been illustrated and described , it should be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described . | 4 |
to solve the above problems , the present invention provides a method for aqueous enzymatic extraction of soybean oil combined with liquid nitrogen freezing and high voltage electrostatic thawing demulsification technologies . the goal of the present invention is to provide a method for aqueous enzymatic extraction of soybean oil . soybeans are cleaned , peeled and crushed . the crushed soybean is treated with an extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate . the puffed extrudate is hydrolyzed using an alkaline protease . the enzymolysate is frozen in liquid nitrogen . finally , the frozen enzymolysate is thawed using a high voltage electrostatic method and centrifuged to obtain soybean oil . 1 ) soybean is cleaned and peeled and crushed to obtain a crushed soybean ; 2 ) the crushed soybean ( from step 1 ) is treated with a extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate ; 3 ) the puffed extrudate ( from step 2 ) is crushed and mixed with water , and is hydrolyzed by an alkaline protease to obtain an enzymolysate ; 4 ) the enzymolysate from step 3 ) is cooled down to ambient temperature , and frozen using liquid nitrogen to obtain a frozen enzymolysate ; 5 ) the frozen enzymolysate from step 4 ) is thawed using a high voltage electrostatic method to obtain a thawed enzymolysate ; 6 ) soybean oil is obtained by centrifuging the thawed enzymolysate from step 5 ). the condition for the extrusion puffing process in step 2 ) is as follows : sleeve temperature is 70 - 130 ° c ., die aperture is 12 - 24 mm , screw speed is 60 - 140 rpm , water content is 10 %- 18 %. the enzyme used in the enzymolysis processing in step 3 ) can be , for example , alcalase . the enzymolysis conditions is as follows : ratio of extruded material to water is 1 : 4 - 8 , the amount of enzyme is 1 - 5 %, enzymolysis temperature is 45 - 65 ° c ., ph is 7 - 11 and the reaction time is 1 - 5 hours . the preferred condition for the extrusion puffing process is as follows : sleeve temperature is 95 ° c ., die aperture is 18 mm , screw speed is 110 rpm and water content is 15 %. the preferred condition for the enzymolysis process is as follows : ratio of extruded material to water is 1 : 6 . 5 , amount of enzyme is 2 . 5 %, enzymolysis temperature is 55 ° c ., ph is 9 . 5 and the reaction time is 3 . 5 hours . the liquid nitrogen freezing process in step 4 ) uses − 196 ° c . liquid nitrogen with a freezing time of 10 - 50 minutes . the high voltage electrostatic thawing process in step 5 ) performs under electric field intensity of 100 - 300 kv / m , thawing temperature of 0 - 10 ° c ., and thawing time of 10 - 50 minutes . under the preferred condition , the liquid nitrogen freezing process uses − 196 ° c . liquid nitrogen with a freezing time of 40 minutes . under the preferred condition , the high voltage electrostatic process performs under electric field intensity of 200 kv / m with a thawing temperature of 6 ° c . and a thawing time of 30 minutes . 1 ) soybean is cleaned , peeled and crushed to obtain a crushed soybean ; 2 ) the crushed soybean in step 1 ) is treated with an extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate wherein the extrusion puffing process is conducted under the following condition : sleeve temperature is 95 ° c ., die aperture is 18 mm , screw speed is 110 rpm and water content is 15 %; 3 ) the puffed extrudate obtained in step 2 ) is mixed with water and is hydrolyzed by alcalase to obtain an enzymolysate wherein the enzymolysis condition is as follows : ratio of extruded material to water is 1 : 6 . 5 , the amount of enzyme is 2 . 5 %, the enzymolysis temperature is 55 ° c ., ph is 9 . 5 and the reaction time is 3 . 5 hours ; 4 ) the enzymolysate obtained in step 3 ) is cooled down to ambient temperature , and frozen in liquid nitrogen (− 196 ° c .) for 40 minutes ; 5 ) the frozen enzymolysate obtained in step 4 ) is thawed using a high voltage electrostatic method , wherein the high voltage electrostatic thawing process performs under electric field intensity of 200 kv / m with a thawing temperature of 6 ° c . and a thawing time of 30 minutes ; 6 ) soybean oil is obtained by centrifuging the thawed enzymolysate from step 5 ). the present invention combines extrusion assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction technology with the liquid nitrogen freezing and high voltage electrostatic thawing method to extract soybean oil . liquid nitrogen freezing can provide a huge degree of supercooling for both oil and water phase at the same time , which makes the two phases form rapid nucleation and crystallization . rapid freezing transformation reaction of oil and water makes the continuous phase of crystallization produce more tiny cracks . under the capillary pressure , the non - freezing liquid of dispersed phase seeps into the cracks , which forms a more intensive microchannel network , connecting more frozen drops . frozen drops are rapidly thawed by high voltage electrostatic thawing technology . more drops gather together under the effect of interfacial tension in the thawing process , which leads to more complete separation of oil - water phase . this method has the advantages of short extraction time and high extraction efficiency . the soybean oil produced by the invented method has a low peroxide value and is resistant to oxidation . in addition , nitrogen is easy to recycle and produces no pollution . the present invention provides an extrusion assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction method for extracting soybean oil , which is combined with liquid nitrogen freezing and high voltage electrostatic thawing technology . this method shortens the extraction time , enhances extraction efficiency , and can maintain the maximum nutritional value of the oil . the soybean oil of the present invention is a high quality product with low peroxide value and strong antioxidant activity . the method is environmental friendly and produces no pollution . more importantly , the invented method can be adapted to continuous and large scale industrial application , making it a favorable option for industrial production of soybean oil . fig1 is a diagram showing the work flow of the present invention . fig2 shows the effect of traditional freeze - thaw conditions on final yield of total oil . a , the effect of freezing temperature on final yield of total oil ; b , the effect of freezing time on final yield of total oil ; c , the effect of thawing temperature on final yield of total oil ; d , the effect of thawing time on final yield of total oil . fig3 shows the effect of freeze - thaw conditions of the present invention on final yield of total oil . a , the effect of liquid nitrogen freezing time on final yield of total oil ; b , the effect of electric field intensity on final yield of total oil ; c , the effect of thawing temperature on final yield of total oil ; d , the effect of thawing time on final yield of total oil . the following examples are provided for illustration purposes , are not intended to limit the scope of the invention , which is limited only by the claims . the materials , reagents , instruments and methods used in the present invention without special instructions are conventional materials , reagents , instruments and existing methods in the art , which can be obtained through commercial channels , and are well known to person with ordinary skills in the art . this example provides an extraction method of soybean oil by traditional freeze - thaw method . the method comprises the following steps : soybean was peeled and crushed . the crushed soybean was treated by an extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate wherein the sleeve temperature was 95 ° c ., die aperture was 18 mm , screw speed was 100 rpm , and water content was 14 %. the puffed extrudate was crushed and mixed with water , which was then hydrolyzed for 3 hours with 3 % alcalase . the conditions for hydrolyzation reaction was as follows : ratio of water to extrudate was 6 : 1 ( ml : g ), enzymolysis temperature was 55 ° c ., ph 9 . 0 and reaction time was 3 hours . the enzymolysate was frozen at − 20 ° c . for 15 hours and thawed at 60 ° c . for 2 hours . soybean oil was obtained from the upper oil phase of the centrifugate of the thawed enzymolysate . this example provides an exemplary method of the instant invention for extracting soybean oil using liquid nitrogen freezing and high voltage electrostatic thawing method . the method comprises the following steps : soybean was peeled and crushed . the crushed soybean was treated by an extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate wherein sleeve temperature was 95 ° c ., die aperture was 18 mm , screw speed was 110 rpm , and water content was 15 %. the puffed extrudate was crushed and mixed with water , which was then hydrolyzed for 3 . 5 hours with 2 . 5 % alcalase . the conditions for hydrolyzation reaction was as follows : ratio of water to extrudate was 6 . 5 : 1 ( ml : g ), enzymolysis temperature was 55 ° c ., ph 9 . 5 and reaction time was 3 . 5 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the enzymolysate was frozen in liquid nitrogen (− 196 ° c .) for 40 minutes and thawed under a high voltage electric field ( electric field intensity : 200 kv / m ), at 6 ° c . for 30 minutes . soybean oil was obtained from the upper oil phase of the centrifugate of the thawed enzymolysate . this example provides another exemplary method of the instant invention for extracting soybean oil . the method comprises the following steps : soybean was peeled and crushed . the crushed soybean was treated by an extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate wherein the sleeve temperature was 100 ° c ., die aperture was 20 mm , screw speed was 120 rpm , and water content was 16 %. the puffed extrudate was crushed and mixed with water , which was then hydrolyzed for 3 hours with 3 % alcalase . the conditions for hydrolyzation reaction is as follows : ratio of water to extrudate was 7 : 1 ( ml : g ), enzymolysis temperature was 50 ° c ., ph 9 . 0 and reaction time was 3 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the enzymolysate was frozen in liquid nitrogen (− 196 ° c .) for 30 minutes and thawed under a high voltage electric field ( electric field intensity : 150 kv / m ), at 8 ° c . for 40 minutes . soybean oil was obtained from the upper oil phase of the centrifugate of the thawed enzymolysate . this example provides another exemplary method of the instant invention for extracting soybean oil . the method comprises the following steps : soybean was peeled and crushed . the crushed soybean was treated by an extrusion puffing process to obtain a puffed extrudate wherein the sleeve temperature was 90 ° c ., die aperture was 16 mm , screw speed was 100 rpm , and water content was 14 %. the puffed extrudate was crushed and mixed with water , which was then hydrolyzed for 4 hours with 2 % alcalase . the conditions for hydrolyzation reaction is as follows : ratio of water to extrudate was 6 : 1 ( ml : g ), enzymolysis temperature was 60 ° c ., ph 10 . 0 and reaction time was 4 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the enzymolysate was frozen in liquid nitrogen (− 196 ° c .) for 50 minutes and thawed under a high voltage electric field ( electric field intensity : 250 kv / m ), at 4 ° c . for 20 minutes . soybean oil was obtained from the upper oil phase of the centrifugate of the thawed enzymolysate . this example compares the conditions and effects of soybean oil extraction methods of examples 1 - 4 . the operational condition and final yield of total oil in example 1 and 2 are shown in table 1 and 2 , respectively . from the comparison of table 1 and 2 , it can be seen that the soybean oil extraction method of the invention has a higher yield of total oil and a much shorter extraction time than that of traditional freeze - thaw method . the freezing step of the traditional method takes 15 hours , whereas the liquid nitrogen freezing method of the invention only takes 40 minutes . the thawing time by high voltage electrostatic method of the invention is 30 minutes , compared to 2 hour thawing time of traditional method . for the freezing and thawing process , the extraction method of the invention only consumes 6 . 9 % of that of the traditional freeze - thaw method . the present invention provides a soybean oil extraction method that has a higher yield and consumes less time , thus greatly improving the extraction efficiency . important indexes to evaluate the quality of an oil product include peroxide value , p - anisidine value and totox value . the peroxide value measures the content of hydroperoxide in an oil product , a measure for the primary stage of oxidation . the p - anisidine value measures the content of secondary oxidation products produced by hydroperoxide , which is used for measuring secondary stage of oil oxidation . totox value , a combination of p - anisidine value and peroxide value , is usually used for evaluating total oxidation level of an oil product . table 3 shows peroxide value , p - anisidine value , totox value and total yield of soybean oil for methods in examples 1 - 4 . the oxidation indexes of soybean oil prepared in examples 1 - 4 were measured according to the gb / t5009 . 37 standardized methods . the peroxide value of soybean oil prepared by the traditional method ( example 1 ) is 3 . 24 mmol / kg . the peroxide value of soybean oil prepared by the freeze - thaw method of the invention ( examples 2 - 4 ) ranges from 2 . 83 to 2 . 91 mmol / kg , which indicates the primary oxidation level of soybean oil prepared by the method of the present invention is lower than that of the traditional method . the p - anisidine value of soybean oil made in examples 2 - 4 ranges from 6 . 13 to 6 . 21 , which is also lower than that ( 6 . 42 ) of soybean oil prepared by the traditional method ( example 1 ). oxidation state of soybean oil is indicated by totox value ( totox = 2 × peroxide value + p - anisidine value ). the totox value of soybean oil prepared by the freeze - thaw method of the invention ranges from 11 . 79 - 11 . 98 ( example 2 - 4 ), which is lower than that ( 12 . 90 ) of the traditional method . at the same time , the total oil yields in example 2 - 4 are all higher than that of the traditional method in example 1 . these data show that the soybean extraction method of the invention produces high quality oil with improved extraction efficiency . while the present invention has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity and understanding , one skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes in form and detail can be made without departing from the true scope of the invention . all figures , tables , appendices , patents , patent applications and publications , referred to above , are hereby incorporated by reference . | 2 |
the present invention is a two - part corrosion - inhibiting polysulfide composition where the first part contains a polysulfide composition with corrosion - inhibiting elements in the form of a blend ( composition ) milled into the polysulfide . the second part includes a curing agent . thus in applying the composition onto a metal substrate , the two parts are mixed preferably at the site of application and allowed to cure at room temperature on the substrate . polysulfide sealants , i . e ., the polysulfide composition used in the present invention , are well known in the art . such polysulfide sealants have been described in j . appl . polymer sci ., 41 , 2837 ( 1990 ) and kirk - othmer concise encyclopedia of chemical technology , 18 , 814 . polysulfides are polymers of bis -( ethylene oxy ) methane containing disulfide linkages . the reactive terminal groups used for curing are mercaptans (-- sh ). the general structure is : hs ( c 2 h 4 -- o -- ch 2 -- o -- c 2 -- h 4 ss ) x c 2 h 4 -- o -- ch 2 -- o -- c 2 h 4 sh preferred are the liquid polysulfide polymers , especially lp liquid polysulfide polymers available from morton international , woodstock , ill . more preferred lp polymers are lp - 3 , lp - 2 , lp - 32 from morton international . the polysulfide composition may be compounded with a variety of additives such as plasticizers , reinforcing agents , thixotropes , and extending fillers which influence the composition &# 39 ; s dynamic properties , viscosity , wettability , adhesion , tensile and peel strength , hardness , and as described below , corrosion inhibitors . plasticizers improve the working properties while lowering the modulus of the sealant . the plasticizer must be compatible with the cured sealant , should have low volatility , and must be safe . polymeric and esteric types ( e . g ., phthalates ) are commonly used . to promote adhesion , resole phenolic resins may be used as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 516 , 843 , which is incorporated herein by reference . typical phenolic resin additives are methylon ap - 108 , durez 16674 , bakelite brl 3741 , and resinex 468 . fillers increase the strength , impart needed rheological properties , and reduce the cost of sealants . tensile properties are increased significantly , depending on the type of filler , its particle size , and the type of cure . typical fillers include calcium carbonate ( wet or dry ground limestone , precipitated ), carbon blacks ( furnace , thermal ), calcined clay , silica and silicate fillers , and rutile titanium dioxide . fillers may occupy up to about 40 wt -% of the polysulfide composition . preferred fillers are calcium carbonate . the above polysulfide compositions are cured by oxidizing the polymer &# 39 ; s thiol (-- sh ) terminals to disulfide (-- s -- s --) bonds . the curing agents most commonly used are oxygen donating materials , preferably manganese dioxide , lead dioxide , calcium peroxide , zinc peroxide , cumene hydroperoxide , p - quinone dioxime and mixtures thereof . most preferred is manganese dioxide . lower valence metallic oxide , other organic peroxides , metallic paint dryers and aldehydes may also function as curatives . the curing compound as the principal component of the second part of the composition of the present invention may be suspended in an inert organic plasticizer , such as hb40 , which is a hydrogenated perphenyl from monsanto corp ., st . louis , mo ., reaction modifiers and viscosity modifiers . the first part or base compound and second part , curing agent , are combined in a fixed and prescribed weight ratio in a range from about 14 : 1 to about 5 : 1 , preferably about 10 : 1 ( first part to second part ), to produce the adhesive / sealant . the sealant can be applied to the metal substrate by most conventional methods . these include spraying , brushing , and extruding using two - part room temperature meter - mix equipment to combine the components in the exact ratio . hand mixing is also acceptable for sealant supplied in pints , quarts and gallon kits . sealant supplied in two - part injection kits or pre - mixed and frozen cartridges are applied using a pneumatic sealant applicator . specialized sealant application tools the sealant technician to apply the sealant over a variety of rivets while maintaining an exact depth and contour to the sealant . once applied , the coated substrate is allowed to cure , typically overnight , at about room temperature , i . e ., about 70 °- 77 ° f . ( 21 °- 25 ° c .). moderate acceleration of cure can be accomplished by the use of heat , e . g ., heat lamps , to about 140 ° f . ( 60 ° c .). increasing humidity artificially will also increase the cure rate . as an alternative embodiment of the present invention , the polysulfide component may be a polysulfide polymer / epoxy resin formed by co - reacting polysulfides with epoxy resins . ratios of liquid polysulfide polymer , e . g ., lp - 3 described above , is preferred , to epoxy resin may vary between 1 : 2 and 2 : 1 . epoxy resins most widely used are , for example , epon 820 and 828 ( shell ), erl - 3794 ( union carbide ), and araldite 6020 ( ciba ). the epoxy - polysulfide reaction is prompted by organic primary and secondary amines or mixtures thereof . preferred curing agents are 2 , 4 , 6 - tri -( dimethylaminomethyl ) phenol , triethylenetetramine , dimethylamino propylamine , dimethyl amino methylphenyl , methylenedianiline , diethylene triamine , benzyldimethylamine and mixtures thereof . the same fillers as described above may also be used in these compositions . a preferred polysulfide / epoxy resin compound is lp - 32c available from morton international . as another alternative embodiment of the present invention , the polysulfide composition may include a polysulfide polymer with epoxy endblocks ; i . e ., an epoxy terminated polysulfide polymer . the basic structure of such polymer is : ## str1 ## a preferred liquid epoxy terminated polysulfide is elp ™- 3 available from morton international . the polymer has the advantage of low ( non - mercaptan ) odor , has a viscosity at 25 ° c . of 20 - 30 poise , a specific gravity of 1 . 27 and an epoxy equivalent weight of 600 - 800 . the polymer is cured with an aliphatic amine , preferably a primary or secondary amine or a mixture thereof , at room or elevated temperature . a latent catalyst such as dicyandiamide may be used for curing at room temperature . the same additives and fillers as above described may also be used with this epoxy - terminated polysulfide . the corrosion - inhibiting portion of the adhesive / sealant composition of the present invention is a mixture of solids , having a particle size distribution of about 30 microns to about 1 micron , preferably about 20 microns to 2 microns , which are milled into the polysulfide composition as part of the first part of the two - part adhesive and sealant . the solids include a phosphosilicate pigment , particularly calcium strontium zinc phosphosilicate , szp - 391 , a white , non - refractive , corrosion - inhibiting pigment or its equivalent , having a mean particle size of 2 microns and available from halox pigments , hammond , ind . this pigment forms anywhere from about 1 to about 4 wt -% of the total weight of the first part of the adhesive / sealant composition . the corrosion - inhibiting composition also contains from about 1 to about 4 wt -% of the total weight of the first part of the adhesive sealant composition and mixed or blended with the above phosphosilicate a mixture of inorganic salts and organic salts or compounds , such as , for example , an alkali metal molybdate , e . g ., sodium molybdate , and benzotriazole . a preferred mixture includes sodium molybdate and sodium nitrite in an amount of about 40 - 80 wt -% of the total mixture with about 20 - 60 wt -% of benzotriazole and a benzoate salt , e . g ., ammonium benzoate . the present invention also includes a particular corrosion - inhibiting composition containing from 1 - 50 parts by weight of calcium strontium zinc phosphosilicate and 1 - 50 parts by weight of a mixture of sodium molybdate , sodium nitrite , benzotriazole , and ammonium benzoate . the mixture preferably contains about 40 - 80 parts by weight of sodium molybdate and sodium nitrite and about 20 - 60 parts by weight of benzotriazole and ammonium benzoate . a more preferred mixture contains about 60 - 75 parts by weight of sodium molybdate , about 15 - 30 parts by weight of benzotriazole , and about 1 - 15 parts by weight of ammonium benzoate and sodium nitrite . a particularly preferred mixture containing sodium molybdate , benzotriazole , ammonium benzoate , and sodium nitrite is m - 138c available from cortec corporation , st . paul , minn . the following examples are merely to further illustrate by showing particular specifics of the present invention and are not meant to limit the many possible variations , and modifications within the scope of the present invention . the amounts of materials used , unless otherwise indicated , are in percent by weight . ______________________________________ % by wt . ______________________________________part a1 ) ps - 1102a 94 . 02 ) szp - 391 3 . 03 ) m - 138c ( cortec ) 3 . 0part b ps - 1102b 100 % ps - 1102a ( 1 ) of part a ) is the liquid polysulfide havingthe formulation : polysulfide polymer / phenolic 58 . 7 filler caco . sub . 3 32 . 0 tio . sub . 2 3 . 3 94 . 0 % ______________________________________ components 2 and 3 were milled into ps - 1102a until homogeneously mixed . part a and part b were mixed as 10 / 1 parts by weight and applied to untreated 7075 bare aluminum as described below . examples 2 - 5 were prepared in the same manner as example 1 where the corrosion - inhibiting components 2 ), 3 ) were replaced by the following : one unpainted aluminum test panel 2 . 5 × 5 . 5 × 0 . 040 inches was scotch - brite abraded and solvent wiped with methyl ethyl ketone ( mek ). four to six parallel strips ( approximately 0 . 5 inches apart ) of sealing compound ex . 1 and ce 2 - 5 ) ( 0 . 5 × 2 . 5 × 0 . 02 inches ) was applied across the width of the panel and cured for two days at room temperature , followed by 24 hours at 140 ° f . one unpainted ( solvent - wiped ) stainless steel test panel , 2 . 5 × 5 . 5 × 0 . 040 conforming to mil - s - 503a , composition 301 , was used to sandwich the cured sealant on the remaining panel . the sandwiched stainless steel panel was half immersed lengthwise in 3 % nacl solution for two weeks at room temperature . the sandwiched panels were connected with electrical wiring to create a complete circuit to initiate the drive for corrosion . the top portion of the panel experienced wet / dry and oxygen - rich conditions . the bottom section was permanently immersed in saline solution . the formulation of example 1 outperformed those of comparative examples ce 2 - 5 under galvanic cell conditions . the formulation simulated chromates by leeching out of the sealant to protect metal up to one - quarter inch away from the sealant . the amounts of corrosion observed on the panel based on a subjective assay were as follows : ______________________________________example % of corrosion observed______________________________________1 3ce2 15ce3 40ce4 25ce5 10______________________________________ | 2 |
fig1 illustrates the installation of a conventional tubular pile in an offshore area covered by water body 8 having moving layer of mud 6 overlaying competent bottom 4 . tubular pile 2 is driven through mud 6 and firmly imbedded in competent bottom 4 . although pile 2 is shown extending above the surface of water body 8 , it need not do so ; and , optionally , pile 2 can terminate below the surface of the water . the mud is more dense than water and therefore settles in a dense layer at the bottom of the water body . the mud layer is incompetent in that it shifts or moves either continuously or intermittently in response to disturbances , such as those created by storms , currents , tidal flows , passing ships , detonations , and the like . fig2 illustrates the flow of mud 6 along the path indicated by the arrow so that it impinges against and flows around pile 2 . while in some areas the mud will move along generally similar paths , in other areas the magnitude and direction of the mud &# 39 ; s movement can vary . because of the thickness of the mud layer , which can be 200 feet or more , and the large areal extent of the mud layer , large masses of mud are involved . since the mud is abrasive and , because of its low lubricity exhibits a high shear stress , extremely large forces can be exerted against the pile by the moving mass of mud . these large forces require that the pile be designed and constructed to withstand the forces exerted against it , thus increaing the cost of such piles . worse yet , even with these precautions , pile - supported structures in mud slide areas have been known to fail . the method of protecting a pile in accordance with this invention in an offshore area having a moving layer of mud overlaying a competent bottom is illustrated in fig3 . as in the case of the conventional installation , pile 10 is driven through mud layer 6 and imbedded in underlying competent bottom 4 so as to extend upwardly through the mud layer . pile 10 can terminate either above or below the surface of water body 8 . fluid at an elevated pressure is ejected from the interior of the pile , said fluid being ejected above said competent bottom and into the mud layer so as to fluidize the mud in zone 6 &# 39 ; immediately surrounding pile 10 to reduce the density , abrasiveness , cohesiveness , and shear stress of the mud contacting the pile , and thereby reduce the forces exerted on the pile by the moving layer of mud . it is preferred that the fluid be ejected either exclusively or substantially exclusively into the mud layer . what is meant by ejecting fluid &# 34 ; substantially exclusively &# 34 ; into the mud is that while some fluid may be ejected into the water above the mud layer , it is the intent of the invention to eject the fluid only into the mud where it will be effective in protecting the pile . the pile protected by the method of this invention is subjected to substantially reduced forces , and thus , is less subject to structural failure or toppling than another pile under similar conditions but without the protection of this invention . in areas which experience frequent and substantial mud movement , it is preferred to continually eject fluid from the pile , both before and during any movement of the mud layer . the continual ejection of fluid can be performed either by continuous ejecting fluid from the pile , or by ejecting fluid intermittently , such s for 10 minutes every hour . by ejecting the fluid at a sufficient volumetric rate , this embodiment of the invention will produce a blanket of mud having an increased fluid content and thereby provide certain and continuous protection against the forces of a moving layer of mud . in areas which experience only infrequent and small movements of mud , it may be preferred to eject fluid from the pile only occasionally , such as one hour every day to ensure that the mud adjacent to the pile is adequately fluidized to protect the pile . fluid ejection may also be resumed whenever it is determined that the previously ejected fluid has dissipated into the outer surrounding mud and now inadequately protects the pile , or when the fluidized mud adjacent to the pile has been displaced by a movement of the mud layer . in areas which experience infrequent but larger movements of mud , rather than continually ejecting fluid from the pile , it may be preferred to only eject fluid into the mud while it is moving . this embodiment of the invention would be performed by first determining when the mud begins to move and then begin the ejection of fluid . the movement of mud can be determined by the placement of pressure sensitive devices on the exterior surface of the pile within the mud layer which would indicate any significant movement of the mud against the pile . fig4 illustrates one preferred embodiment of a pile useful in the practice of this invention . pile 10 is comprised of elongated tubular member 12 having tip 14 to facilitate its being driven through mud 6 and into underlying competent bottom 4 . pile 10 can alternatively be open - ended , with an internal baffle plate located below apertures 16 and so positioned that it would be located above the competent bottom when the pile is permanently imbedded . vents would also be provided through the pile below the internal baffle plate so as to allow the escape of water and mud from within the pile as the pile is driven into the competent bottom . a plurality of apertures 16 in the wall of tubular member 12 communicating the interior of the tubular member with the exterior thereof are strategically located in that portion of the tubular member that will ultimately be within the mud layer when the pile is installed in an offshore area . apertures 16 can be simple holes of any geometric configuration , such as circular holes . also , the apertures through which the fluid is ejected can be provided with jet nozzles 17 , as illustrated in fig4 . a preferred embodiment utilizes a jet nozzle mounted in a freely rotating ball socket , which produces greater turbulence , mud dispersion , and reduces clogging of the apertures ; however , if a freely rotating jet nozzle is not used , it is preferred that the apertures direct the fluid in a substantially horizontal direction . in this embodiment of the pile , the upper end of tubular member 12 is fluid - tightly sealed by means of a cover plate 18 , which defines an interior 19 that is utilized to conduct pressurized fluid from fluid inlet 22 to apertures 16 for ejection into the mud layer . fluid from pressurized fluid source 20 is introduced into interior 19 of tubular member 12 through fluid inlet connection 22 , the fluid flowing downwardly through the interior of the tubular member and being ejected through apertures 16 , which may be provided with jet nozzles 17 , into the mud surrounding the pile to fluidize the mud in zone 6 &# 39 ;. another embodiment of a pile useful in the practice of this invention , having a separate internal conduit and internal chamber , is shown in fig5 . tubular member 12 is provided with smaller diameter tubular conduit 30 extending from fluid inlet connection 22 to chamber 32 formed by the wall of tubular member 12 and transverse bulkhead 34 . fluid from pressurized fluid source 20 is introduced at an elevated pressure through fluid inlet connection 22 and conducted downwardly through internal conduit 30 to chamber 32 . the fluid introduced into chamber 32 is discharged through the plurality of apertures 16 in communication therewith to fluidize the mud in zone 6 &# 39 ;. fig6 illustrates another embodiment of a pile useful in the practice of this invention , having an internal annular conduit to conduct the pressurized fluid within the pile . tubular member 12 is provided with a coaxially mounted , smaller diameter tubular member 40 extending from fluid inlet connection 22 to a point below the apertures 16 , where a ringlike bulkhead 42 is provided , in conjunction with cover plate 18 , to fluid - tightly seal the space between conduit 40 and tubular member 12 to form the internal annular conduit 44 . internal annular conduit 44 also functions as a chamber to supply the apertures with fluid . fluid introduced through fluid inlet connection 22 flows downwardly through internal annular conduit 44 and is discharged through apertures 16 . since the direction of the mud movement cannot always be predicted , or known , it is preferred that the apertures 16 be distributed about the periphery of the pile ; and it is even more preferred that the apertures be uniformly distributed about the periphery . the apertures 16 are located in an intermediate section of the pile that will be within the mud layer when the pile is installed in an offshore location . thus , the longitudinal location of the apertures will depend upon the length of the pile , the expected depth of the mud layer , and the depth to which the pile will penetrate the underlying competent bottom . although the apertures can be uniformly distributed along an intermediate section of the pile within the mud layer , or distributed in some other convenient non - uniform arrangement , because the higher hydrostatic pressures at the greater depths result in larger forces being exerted against the pile , it is preferred to eject a larger proportion of the fluid into the lower portion of the mud layer . thus , it is preferred that the apertures be sized to effect the ejection of the major portion of the fluid into the lower portion of the mud layer and to simultaneously eject the minor portion of the fluid into the upper portion of the mud layer ; or alternatively , to employ a larger number of apertures within the lower portion of the mud layer to achieve the same effect . a preferred system employs a plurality of apertures located in sets of four disposed uniformly about the periphery of the pile at each elevation . each of the apertures would be spaced 90 ° apart about the periphery of the pile . the apertures at each successive elevation can be offset about the periphery , e . g ., the apertures at each elevation can be offset 45 ° from those at the adjacent elevations . exemplary of one preferred arrangement of apertures employed in the piles useful in the practice of this invention is an arrangement in which the apertures in the bottom one - third of the section of the pile within the mud layer are spaced about 3 feet apart along the length of the pile , the apertures in the middle one - third of the section within the mud layer are spaced about 4 feet apart , and the apertures in the top one - third of the section within the mud layer are spaced about 6 feet apart . four apertures located 90 ° apart are provided at each level , with the apertures at adjacent levels being offset 45 °. the apertures are arranged so that the fluid is ejected horizontally away from the pile so as to produce maximum penetration of the fluid into the mud . although any of a wide variety of fluids can be employed to fluidize the mud adjacent to the pile , water and air are preferred because of their availability and low cost . the water can be obtained from the water body , with seal water being employed where the platform is installed in an offshore marine area . under some conditions admixtures of water and air are preferred . the fluid must be ejected through apertures 16 at a pressure sufficient to overcome the existing hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressures at the aperture locations , and thus penetrate and fluidize the mud . the volumetric ejection rate of the fluid must be sufficient to increase the fluid content of the mud so as to create a blanket of fluidized mud around the pile ; and if the volumetric ejection rate is high enough , the ejected fluid will create a substantially mud - free blanket of fluid around the pile . various embodiments and modifications of this invention have been described in the foregoing description , and further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such modifications are included within the scope of this invention as defined by the following claims . | 4 |
the compounds of the present invention have been found to be potent inhibitors of the serine protease human neutrophil elastase ( hne ). they are reversible inhibitors that presumably form a transition state intermediate with the active site serine residue . the compounds are characterized by their low molecular weight , high selectivity with respect to hne and stability regarding physiological conditions . therefore , the compounds can be implemented to prevent , alleviate and / or otherwise treat diseases which are mediated by the degradative effects associated with the presence of hne . their usage is of particular importance as they relate to various human treatment in vivo but may also be used as a diagnostic tool in vitro . the compounds of the present invention are not limited to use for inhibition of human elastase . elastase is a member of the class of enzymes known as serine proteases . this class also includes , for example , the enzymes chymotrypsin , cathepsin g , trypsin and thrombin . these proteases have in common a catalytic triad consisting of serine - 195 , histidine - 57 and aspartic acid - 102 ( chymotrypsin numbering system ). the precise hydrogen bond network that exists between these amino acid residues allowing the serine - 195 hydroxyl to form a tetrahedral intermediate with the carbonyl of an amide substrate . the decomposition of this intermediate results in the release of a free amine and the acylated enzyme . in a subsequent step , this newly formed ester is hydrolyzed to give the native enzyme and the carboxylic acid . it is this carboxyl component that helps characterize the specificity for the enzyme . in the example in which the carboxyl component is a peptide , the alpha - substituted of the amino acid is predominately responsible for the specificity toward the enzyme . utilizing the well accepted subset nomenclature by schechter and berger ( biochem . biophy . res . commun ., 27 , 157 ( 1967 ) and biochem . biophys . res . commun ., 32 , 898 ( 1968 )), the amino acid residues in the substrate that undergo the cleavage are defined as p 1 . . . p n toward the n - terminus and p 1 &# 39 ; . . . p n &# 39 ; toward the c - terminus . therefore , the scissle bond is between the p 1 and the p 1 &# 39 ; residue of the peptide subunits . a similar nomenclature is utilized for the amino acid residues of the enzyme that make up the binding pockets accommodating the subunits of the substrate . the difference is that the binding pocket for the enzyme is designated by s 1 . . . s n instead of p 1 . . . p n as for the substrate . the characteristics for the p 1 residue defining serine proteinase specificity is well established . the proteinases may be segregated into three subclasses : elastases , chymases and tryptases based on these differences in the p 1 residues . the elastases prefer small aliphatic moieties such as valine whereas the chymases and tryptases prefer large aromatic hydrophobic and positively charged residues respectively . one additional proteinase that does not fall into one of these categories is prolyl endopeptidase . the p 1 residue defining the specificity is a proline . this enzyme has been implicated in the progression of memory loss in alzheimer &# 39 ; s patients . inhibitors consisting of α - keto heterocycles have recently been shown to inhibit prolyl endopeptidase ; tsutsumi et al ., j . med . chem ., 37 , 3492 - 3502 ( 1994 ). by way of extension , α - keto heterocycles as defined by formula i allow for an increased binding in p &# 39 ; region of the enzyme . table 1______________________________________p . sub . 1 characteristics for proteinase specificityproteinase representative p . sub . 1______________________________________elastases human neutrophil elastase small aliphatic residueschymases alpha - chymotrypsin , cathepsin g aromatic or large hydrophobic residuestryptases thrombin , tryptin , urokinase , positively charged plasma killikrein , plasminogen residues activator , plasminother prolyl , endopeptidase proline______________________________________ since the p 1 residue predominately defines the specificity of the substrate , the present invention relates to p 1 - p n &# 39 ; modifications , specifically , certain alpha - substituted keto - heterocycles composed of 1 , 3 , 4 oxadiazoles , 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazoles , 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazoles , 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazoles , 1 - substituted , and 4 - substituted 1 , 2 , 4 - triazoles . by altering the alpha - substituted and the substituent on the heterocycle , the specificity of these compounds can be directed toward the desired proteinase ( e . g ., small aliphatic groups for elastase ). the efficacy of the compounds for the treatment of various diseases can be determined by scientific methods which are known in the art . the following are noted as examples for hne mediated conditions : for acute respiratory distress syndrome , the method according to human neutrophil elastase ( hne ) model ( aard , 141 , 227 - 677 ( 1990 )), or the endotoxin induced acute lung injury model in minipigs ( aard , 142 , 782 - 788 ( 1990 )) may be used ; in ischemia / reperfusion , the method according to the canine model of reperfusion injury ( j . clin . invest ., 81 , 624 - 629 ( 1988 )) may be used . the compounds of the present invention , salts thereof , and their intermediates can be prepared or manufactured as described herein or by various process known to be present in the chemical art ( see also , wo 96 / 16080 ). for example , compounds of group i may be synthesized according to fig1 - 2 ( 1 , 3 , 4 oxadiazoles ) and fig3 - 4 ( 1 , 2 , 4 oxadiazoles ). fig5 - 7 describe the synthesis of compounds of group ii . fig8 - 9 describe the synthesis of compounds of group iii ; fig1 describes synthesis of group iv compounds . the several classes of group v compounds are described in fig1 - 22 . the activity of the compounds is presented in fig2 - 38 as k i values ( nm ). k i values were determined essentially as described in wo 96 / 16080 . although the compounds described herein and / or their its salts may be administered as the pure chemicals , it is preferable to present the active ingredient as a pharmaceutical composition . the invention thus further provides the use of a pharmaceutical composition comprising one or more compounds and / or a pharmaceutical acceptable salt thereof , together with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers therefor and , optionally , other therapeutic and / or prophylactic ingredients . the carrier ( s ) must be ` acceptable ` in the sense of being compatible with the other ingredients of the composition and not deleterious to the recipient thereof . pharmaceutical compositions include those suitable for oral or parenteral ( including intramuscular , subcutaneous and intravenous ) administration . the compositions may , where appropriate , be conveniently presented in discrete unit dosage forms and may be prepared by any of the methods well known in the art of pharmacy . such methods include the step of bringing into association the active compound with liquid carriers , solid matrices , semi - solid carriers , finely divided solid carriers or combination thereof , and then , if necessary , shaping the product into the desired delivery system . pharmaceutical compositions suitable for oral administration may be presented as discrete unit dosage forms such as hard or soft gelatin capsules , cachets or tablets each containing a predetermined amount of the active ingredient ; as a powder or as granules ; as a solution , a suspension or as an emulsion . the active ingredient may also be presented as a bolus , electuary or paste . tablets and capsules for oral administration may contain conventional excipients such as binding agents , fillers , lubricants , disintegrants , or wetting agents . the tablets may be coated according to methods well known in the art , e . g ., with enteric coatings . oral liquid preparations may be in the form of , for example , aqueous or oily suspension , solutions , emulsions , syrups or elixirs , or may be presented as a dry product for constitution with water or other suitable vehicle before use . such liquid preparations may contain conventional additives such as suspending agents , emulsifying agents , non - aqueous vehicles ( which may include edible oils ), or preservative . the compounds may also be formulated for parenteral administration ( e . g ., by injection , for example , bolus injection or continuous infusion ) and may be presented in unit dose form in ampules , pre - filled syringes , small bolus infusion containers or in multi - dose containers with an added preservative . the compositions may take such forms as suspensions , solutions , or emulsions in oily or aqueous vehicles , and may contain formulatory agents such as suspending , stabilizing and / or dispersing agents . alternatively , the active ingredient may be in powder form , obtained by aseptic isolation of sterile solid or by lyophilization form solution , for constitution with a suitable vehicle , e . g ., sterile , pyrogen - free water , before use . for topical administration to the epidermis , the compounds may be formulated as ointments , creams or lotions , or as the active ingredient of a transdermal patch . suitable transdermal delivery systems are disclosed , for example , in fischer et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 788 , 603 ) or bawas et al . ( u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 931 , 279 , 4 , 668 , 504 and 4 , 713 , 224 ). ointments and creams may , for example , be formulated with an aqueous or oily base with the addition of suitable thickening and / or gelling agents . lotions may be formulated with an aqueous or oily base and will in general also contain one or more emulsifying agents , stabilizing agents , dispersing agents , suspending agents , thickening agents , or coloring agents . the active ingredient can also be delivered via iontophoresis , e . g ., as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 140 , 122 , 4 , 383 , 529 , or 4 , 051 , 842 . compositions suitable for topical administration in the mouth include unit dosage forms such as lozenges comprising active ingredient in a flavored base , usually sucrose and acacia or tragacanth ; pastilles comprising the active ingredient in an inert base such as gelatin and glycerin or sucrose and acacia ; mucoadherent gels , and mouthwashes comprising the active ingredient in a suitable liquid carrier . when desired , the above - described composition can be adapted to provide sustained release of the active ingredient employed , e . g ., by combination thereof with certain hydrophilic polymer matrices , e . g ., comprising natural gels , synthetic polymer gels or mixtures thereof . the pharmaceutical compositions according to the invention may also contain other adjuvants such as flavorings , coloring , antimicrobial agents , or preservatives . it will be further appreciated that the amount of the compound , or an active salt or derivative thereof , required for use in treatment will vary not only with the particular salt selected but also with the route of administration , the nature of the condition being treated and the age and condition of the patient and will be ultimately at the discretion of the attendant physician or clinician . in general , however , a suitable dose will be in the range of from about 0 . 5 to about 100 mg / kg , e . g ., from about 10 to about 75 mg / kg of body weight per day , such as 3 to about 50 mg per kilogram body weight of the recipient per day , preferably in the range of 6 to 90 mg / kg / day , most preferably in the range of 15 to 60 mg / kg / day . the compounds is conveniently administered in unit dosage form ; for example , containing 5 to 1000 mg , conveniently 10 to 750 mg , most conveniently , 50 to 500 mg of active ingredient per unit dosage form . ideally , the active ingredient should be administered to achieve peak plasma concentrations of the active compound of from about 0 . 5 to about 75 μm , preferably , about 1 to 50 μm , most preferably , about 2 to about 30 μm . this may be achieved , for example , by the intravenous injection of a 0 . 05 to 5 % solution of the active ingredient , optionally in saline , or orally administered as a bolus containing about 1 - 100 mg of the active ingredient . desirable blood levels may be maintained by continuous infusion to provide about 0 . 01 - 5 . 0 mg / kg / hr or by intermittent infusions containing about 0 . 4 - 15 mg / kg of the active ingredient ( s ). the desired dose may conveniently be presented in a single dose or as divided doses administered at appropriate intervals , for example , as two , three , four or more sub - doses per day . the sub - dose itself may be further divided , e . g ., into a number of discrete loosely spaced administrations ; such as multiple inhalations from an insufflator or by application of a plurality of drops into the eye . while the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications and this application is intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth , and as follows in the scope of the appended claims . the following examples are given to illustrate the invention and are not intended to be inclusive in any manner : to a mixture containing 0 . 79 g ( 5 . 94 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 40 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 65 ml ( 8 . 85 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing ( benzyloxycarbonyl )- l - valyl - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl !- l - prolinamide ( 0 . 90 g , 1 . 49 mmol ) in 17 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 1 . 0 ml ( 7 . 17 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 20 minutes . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and the solvent removed under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 70 % ethyl acetate / hexane to give 0 . 90 g of material which was further purified via preparative hplc to afford 665 mg ( 73 . 9 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 604 , found 604 . to a solution containing 3 -( s )- benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 2 - acetoxy - 4 - methylpentanenitrile ( see example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 ) ( 15 . 2 g , 50 . 0 mmol ) in 183 ml of dioxane was added 183 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 7 . 45 ml of anisole . the reaction mixture was heated to reflux overnight . the hydrolysis reaction was allowed to cool to room temperature and then concentrated in vacuo . the resulting aqueous solution was extracted with ether ( 2 ×). the aqueous phase was placed on a dowex 50x8 - 100 column ( h + form , preeluted with deionized water to ph = 7 ). the column was eluted with 2 . 0n ammonium hydroxide and the pure fractions concentrated to afford 5 . 53 g ( 75 %) of 3 -( s )- amino - 2 -( r , s )- hydroxy - 4 - methylpentanoic acid as a pale yellow solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 148 , found : 148 . to a solution under an atmosphere of nitrogen containing 1 . 0 g ( 6 . 8 mmol ) of 3 -( s )- amino - 2 -( r , s )- hydroxy - 4 - methylpentanoic acid in 9 . 5 ml of 1n naoh and 10 ml of dioxane was added 1 . 43 g ( 8 . 4 mmol ) of benzyl chloroformate . the ph was maintained above ph 8 with 1n naoh as needed . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature overnight . the reaction was diluted with water and washed with ether . the aqueous layer was acidified with 1n hcl to ph = 2 and extracted with ether ( 2 ×). the combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated in vacuo to afford 1 . 75 g ( 92 %) of 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 2 -( r , s )- hydroxy - 4 - methylpentanoic acid as a light yellow viscous oil . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 282 , found 282 . to a solution of 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 2 -( r , s )- hydroxy - 4 - methylpentanoic acid 1 . 70 g , 6 . 04 mmol ) and pyridine ( 4 . 9 ml ) was added acetic anhydride ( 5 . 7 ml , 6 . 17 g , 60 . 4 mmol ) dropwise at room temperature . the reaction was allowed to stir overnight and was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water ( 2 ×). the organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated in vacuo to give a thick oil . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 15 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 56 g ( 80 %) of 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 2 -( r , s )- acetoxy - 4 - methyl pentanoic acid as a light yellow viscous oil . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 324 , found : 324 . to a solution containing 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 2 -( r , s )- acetoxy - 4 - methylpentanoic acid ( 2 . 3 g , 7 . 11 mmol ) in 40 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 1 . 31 g ( 9 . 69 mmol ) of hobt and 1 . 36 g ( 7 . 09 mmol ) of edci . after stirring for 30 minutes , 1 . 20 g ( 7 . 31 mmol ) of 3 - methylphenyl acetic hydrazide ( prepared analogously to the monoacid hydrazides cited by rabins et al . ( j . org . chem , 1965 , 30 , 2486 ) and 1 . 0 ml ( 9 . 10 mmol ) of nmm were added . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and stir overnight . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with 5 % potassium hydrogen sulfate , saturated sodium bicarbonate , brine and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 2 . 31 g ( 89 . 0 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 470 , found : 470 . a solution containing 2 . 31 g ( 4 . 92 mmol ) of 1 - ( 3 - methylphenylacetyl )- 2 -( 2 -( r , s )- acetoxy )- 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 4 - methyl pentanoyl ! hydrazine in 25 ml of pyridine and 1 . 88 g ( 9 . 86 mmol ) of toluene sulfonyl chloride was heated at reflux under a nitrogen atmosphere for 72 hours . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 5 % ethyl acetate / hexane to afford 1 . 41 g ( 63 . 5 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 452 , found : 452 . a solution containing 1 . 80 g ( 3 . 99 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl !- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl )- 1 - acetoxy - 2 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 3 - methylbutane and 0 . 72 g ( 5 . 21 mmol ) of potassium carbonate in 30 ml of methanol and 8 ml of water was allowed to stir at room temperature for 30 minutes . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 60 % ethyl acetate / hexane to afford 1 . 46 ( 89 . 3 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 410 , found : 410 . to a solution containing 1 . 31 g ( 3 . 20 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol in 25 ml of trifluoroacetic acid under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 43 ml ( 3 . 94 mmol ) of thioanisole . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue dissolved in ether and cooled to - 78 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere . to this solution was added 3 ml ( 3 mmol ) of 1n hydrochloric acid in ether . the resulting white solid was allowed to settle and the ether decanted . additional ether was added and decanted ( 3 ×). the solid was dried under vacuum to afford 0 . 92 g ( 92 . 2 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 276 , found 276 . to a solution containing 1 . 30 g ( 3 . 38 mmol ) of cbz - val - pro - oh in 25 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 90 g ( 3 . 54 mmol ) of bopcl and 0 . 60 g ( 3 . 44 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , 0 . 90 g ( 2 . 89 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methyl butan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 15 ml of dichloromethane and 0 . 6 ml ( 3 . 94 mmol ) of diea was added . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 6 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 0 g ( 57 . 3 %) of the title compound as a tan solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 606 , found : 606 . prepared similar to example 1 . fab m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 514 , found 514 . prepared similar to example 1 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 658 , found : 658 . prepared similar to example 1 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 633 , found : 633 . prepared similar to example 1 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 640 , found : 640 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 634 , found 634 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 618 , found 618 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 650 , found 650 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 726 , found 726 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 604 , found 604 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 666 , found 666 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 666 , found 666 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 666 , found 666 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 682 , found 682 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 596 , found 596 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 686 , found 686 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 640 , found 640 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 591 , found 591 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 742 , found 742 . prepared similar to example 1 of wo 96 / 16080 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 633 , found 633 . to a mixture containing 1 . 15 g ( 8 . 60 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 43 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 95 ml ( 12 . 9 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 2 - 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl !- n - 1 -( 3 - 5 -( 3 - trifluoromethylbenzyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! acetamide ( 1 . 52 g , 2 . 15 mmol ) in 15 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 1 . 2 ml ( 8 . 60 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture allowed to warm to room temperature over 20 minutes . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using a gradient elution of 2 to 10 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 19 g of material which was further purified via preparative hplc to afford 629 mg ( 41 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 707 , found : 707 . the intermediate 2 - 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl !- n - 1 -( 3 - 5 -( 3 - trifluoromethylbenzyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! acetamide was prepared as follows : to a solution containing 1 . 35 g ( 3 . 7 mmol ) of 1 - 3 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride and 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl ! acetic acid ( j . med . chem . 1995 , 38 , 98 - 108 ) in 10 ml of anhydrous dmf was added 1 . 0 ml ( 7 . 44 mmol ) of tea and 0 . 76 g ( 4 . 94 mmol ) of hobt . the mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . and 0 . 95 g ( 4 . 94 mmol ) of edc was added and the reaction mixture was allowed to stir overnight . an additional 1 . 0 ml ( 7 . 44 mmol ) of tea was added and the reaction again allowed to stir overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with a saturated ammonium chloride solution ( 2 ×) and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 2 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 52 g ( 87 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 709 , found : 709 . to a mixture containing 0 . 41 g ( 0 . 58 mmol ) of 2 - 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl !- n - 1 -( 3 - 5 -( 3 - trifluoromethylbenzyl )- 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! acetamide in 4 ml of trifluoroacetic acid at room temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 87 mg ( 0 . 70 mmol ) of thioanisole . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir for 3 days and concentrated invacuo . the residue was purified via preparative hplc to afford 269 mg ( 47 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 573 , found : 573 . to a mixture containing 0 . 83 g ( 6 . 23 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 32 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 7 ml ( 9 . 35 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 2 - 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! acetamide ( 1 . 02 g , 1 . 56 mmol ) in 12 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 0 . 9 ml ( 6 . 23 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture allowed to warm to room temperature over 20 minutes . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using 1 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 37 g of material which was further purified via preparative hplc to give 368 mg ( 36 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 653 , found : 653 . the intermediate 2 - 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! acetamide was prepared as follows : to a solution containing 1 . 35 g ( 3 . 7 mmol ) of 1 - 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methyl butane hydrochloride and 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl ! acetic acid ( j . med . chem . 195 , 38 , 98 - 108 ) in 10 ml of anhydrous dmf was added 0 . 73 ml ( 6 . 6 mmol ) of nmm and 0 . 46 g ( 3 . 0 mmol ) of hobt . the mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . and 0 . 50 g ( 2 . 6 mmol ) of edci was added and the reaction mixture was allowed to stir for 2 days . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with a saturated ammonium chloride solution ( 2 ×) and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using a gradient elution of 2 to 5 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 02 g ( 77 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 655 , found : 655 . to a mixture containing 0 . 219 g ( 0 . 335 mmol ) of 2 - 5 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 6 - oxo - 2 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 6 - dihydro - 1 - pyrimidinyl !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! acetamide in 3 ml of trifluoroacetic acid at room temperature under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 05 ml ( 0 . 402 mol ) of thioanisole . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir for 3 days and concentrated invacuo . the residue was purified via preparative hplc to afford 187 mg ( 88 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 519 , found : 519 . to a mixture containing 1 . 97 g ( 14 . 7 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide on 60 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 1 . 54 ml ( 21 . 0 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the mixture was allowed to stir for 1 hr . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing ( 0 . 90 g , 1 . 49 mmol ) of ( pyrrole - 2 - carbonyl )- n -( benzyl ) glycyl - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )!- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! amide in 30 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 1 hour at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 2 . 16 ml ( 15 . 5 ml ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture allowed to warm to room temperature over 20 minutes . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with ethyl acetate / hexane ( 4 : 1 ). the material was further purified via preparative hplc to afford 1 . 20 g ( 63 . 4 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; cacld : 514 , found : 514 . the intermediate ( pyrrole - 2 - carbonyl )- n -( benzyl ) glycyl - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )!- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! amide was prepared by the following method : to a suspension containing 3 . 00 g ( 27 . 0 mmol ) of pyrrole - 2 - carboxylic acid in 75 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 6 . 96 g ( 27 . 0 mmol of bopcl and 14 . 1 ml ( 81 . 0 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , 5 . 97 g ( 27 . 0 mmol ) of n -( benzyl ) glycine - butyl ester was added and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with a 5 % potassium hydrogensulfate , saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and brine . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using a gradient of 100 % hexane to 60 % hexane / ethyl acetate to afford 2 . 92 g ( 34 . 4 %) of the title compound is a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z calcd : 315 , found : 315 . to a solution containing 2 . 85 ( 9 . 01 mmol ) of ( pyrrole - 2 - carbonyl )- n -( benzyl ) glycine - t - butyl ester in 50 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane cooled to 0 ° c . was added 25 ml of tfa dropwise . after 90 minutes an additional 25 ml of tfa was added and allowed to stir for 30 minutes . the mixture was evaporated in vacuo to afford 2 . 19 g of ( pyrole - 2 - carbonyl )- n -( benzyl ) glycine as a tan solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd . 259 , found 259 . to a solution containing 1 . 90 g ( 7 . 35 mmol ) of ( pyrrole - 2 - carbonyl )- n -( benzyl ) glycine in 75 ml of anhydrous dmf was added 2 . 4 ml ( 22 . 1 mmol ) of nmm and 1 . 29 g ( 9 . 56 mmol ) of hobt . the mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . and 1 . 69 g ( 8 . 82 mmol ) of edci was added and the reaction mixture was allowed to stir . after 30 minutes 2 . 17 g ( 6 . 99 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methyl butan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 25 ml of anhydrous dmf was added and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with 5 % potassium hydrogen sulfate and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using a gradient elution of 20 to 80 % ethyl acetate / hexane to afford 2 . 02 g ( 56 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z calcd : 516 , found : 516 . ( ce - 2097 )( pyrrole - 2 - carbonyl )- n -( benzyl ) glycyl - n -! 1 -( 3 - 5 -( 3 - trifluoromethylbenzyl )!- 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl )-( s )- methylpropyl ! amide was prepared in a similar manner to example 25 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 568 , found : 568 . to a solution containing 0 . 93 g ( 1 . 28 mmol ) of ( 2s , 5s )- fmoc - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - hexahydroazepino 3 , 2 , 1 !- indole - 4 - one - carbonyl - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! amide in 4 . 5 ml of anhydrous dmf under an atmosphere of nitrogen was added 0 . 45 ml of diethylamine . after stirring at room temperature for 15 min the mixture was concentrated under high vacuum . the residue was purified via preparative hplc to afford 0 . 57 g ( 72 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 502 , found 502 . to a solution containing 1 . 25 g ( 2 . 67 mmol ) of ( 2s , 5s )- fmoc - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - hexahydroazepino 3 , 2 , 1 ! indole - 4 - carboxylic acid in 200 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane and 1 ml of anhydrous dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 71 g ( 2 . 80 mmol ) of bopcl and 0 . 6 ml ( 3 . 45 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 1 hr 1 . 14 g ( 3 . 66 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 10 ml anhydrous dichloromethane was added and the reaction mixture allowed to stir at 4 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using 3 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 30 g ( 67 %) of the title compound as tan solid . to a mixture containing 0 . 95 g ( 7 . 16 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 150 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 79 ml ( 10 . 7 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the mixture was allowed to stir for 30 minutes . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 1 . 30 g ( 1 . 79 mmol ) of ( 2s , 5s )- fmoc - 5 - amino - 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - hexahydroazepino - 3 , 2 , 1 !- indole - 4 - one - carbonyl - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )!-( s )- 2 - methylpropyl ! amide in 10 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 1 . 17 ml ( 8 . 4 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature over 30 minutes . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . the residue was filtered , concentrated under reduced pressure and purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 10 % ethyl acetate / hexane to give 0 . 93 g ( 72 %) as a tan foam . to a solution containing 0 . 41 g ( 0 . 59 mmol ) of fmoc - btd - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazole ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! amide in 4 . 5 ml of anhydrous dmf under an atmosphere of nitrogen was added 0 . 5 ml of diethylamine . after stirring at room temperature for 30 min the mixture concentrated under high vacuum . the residue was purified via preparative hplc to afford 0 . 23 g ( 66 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 472 , found 472 . to a solution containing 1 . 25 g ( 2 . 85 mmol ) of fmoc - btd in 80 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane and 2 . 5 ml of anhydrous dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 76 g ( 2 . 99 mmol ) of bopcl and 0 . 6 ml ( 3 . 45 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes and 1 . 14 g ( 3 . 66 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride and 0 . 6 ml of diea in 10 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane was added and the reaction mixture allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using 3 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 13 g ( 55 %) of the title compound as a tan foam . to a mixture containing 0 . 81 g ( 6 . 09 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 110 ml of 1 : 1 anhydrous dichloromethane / toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 67 ml ( 9 . 1 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the mixture was allowed to stir for 30 minutes . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 1 . 06 g ( 1 . 52 mmol ) of fmoc - btd - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! amide in 10 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 1 . 0 ml ( 7 . 6 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature over 40 minutes . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . the resulting mixture was filtered , concentrated under reduced pressure and purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 70 % ethyl acetate / hexane to give 0 . 53 g of the product as a yellow oil . the material was further purified by preparative hplc to afford 0 . 41 g ( 38 . 8 %) of the title compound as a white solid . to a solution containing 0 . 93 g ( 1 . 19 mmol ) of ( r , s )- fmoc - 3 - amino - 2 - oxo - 5 - phenyl - 1 , 4 ,- benzodiazepine - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 5 . 0 ml of anhydrous dmf under an atmosphere of nitrogen was added 0 . 45 ml of diethylamine . after stirring at room temperature for 2 . 5 hr the mixture was concentrated under high vacuum . the residue was purified via preparative hplc to afford 0 . 030 g ( 4 . 5 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 565 , found : 565 . to a solution containing 0 . 75 g ( 1 . 41 mmol ) of ( r , s )- fmoc - 3 - amino - n - 1 - carboxymethyl - 2 - oxo - 5 - phenyl - 1 , 4 ,- benzodiazepine in 30 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 36 g ( 1 . 41 mmol ) of bopcl and 0 . 25 ml ( 1 . 41 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 1 hr 0 . 48 g ( 1 . 55 mmol ) of 1 - 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride and 0 . 49 ml ( 2 . 82 mmol ) of diea in 10 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane was added and the reaction mixture allowed to stir at 4 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using a gradient of 2 to 6 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 00 g ( 89 %) of the title compound as a yellow solid . to a mixture containing 0 . 71 g ( 7 . 6 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 40 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 84 ml ( 11 . 4 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 1 . 50 g ( 1 . 90 mmol ) of ( r , s )- fmoc - 3 - amino - 2 - oxo - 5 - phenyl - 1 , 4 - benzodiazepine - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 10 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 1 . 0 ml 7 . 6 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature over 1 hour . the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . the residue was filtered , concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 0 . 94 g ( 62 %) of material which was used without further purification . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 787 , found : 787 . to a mixture containing 0 . 48 g ( 3 . 67 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 30 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 40 ml ( 5 . 41 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . after stirring for 1 hr the reaction mixture was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 0 . 95 g ( 1 . 90 mmol ) of ( benzyloxycarbonyl )- l - valyl - 2 - l -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indole )- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! amide in 20 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 0 . 50 ml ( 3 . 6 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature . the reaction mixture was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with 1n hcl ( 2 ×), saturated sodium bicarbonate ( 2 ×) and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . the mixture was filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 0 . 61 g . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 50 % ethyl acetate / hexane to afford 0 . 27 g of material which was further purified via preparative hplc to afford 196 mg ( 33 . 4 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z calcd : 652 , found 652 . the intermediate ( benzyloxycarbonyl )- l - valyl - 2 - l -( 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indole )- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! amide was prepared by the following procedures : to a suspension containing 5 . 00 g ( 30 . 6 mmol ) of 2 - l -( 2 , 3 - dihydroindole ) carboxylic acid in 100 ml of anhydrous meoh cooled to 0 ° c . was added to a slow stream of hcl gas over 20 minutes . the resulting homogeneous solution was allowed to stir overnight warming to room temperature . the mixture was evaporated and the residue was crystallized from methanol / ether to afford , after drying , 5 . 58 g ( 85 %) of 2 - l - methyl ( 2 , 3 - dihydroindole ) carboxylate . to a solution containing 3 . 00 g ( 14 . 0 mmol ) of methyl ( 2 , 3 - dihydroindole )- l - 2 - carboxylate in 60 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane , under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c ., 7 . 15 g ( 28 . 8 mmol ) of bopcl and 7 . 72 ml ( 70 . 2 mmol ) of diea was added a solution of 7 . 06 g ( 28 . 08 mmol ) of cbz - val - oh in 40 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane and 3 ml of dmf . after stirring for 3 days at 5 ° c . the mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with 1n hcl ( 2 ×) and brine . the mixture was filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel using a gradient of 9 : 1 to 1 : 1 hexane / ethyl acetate to afford 4 . 85 g ( 87 %) of the title compound as a white foam . to a solution containing 4 . 85 g ( 12 . 17 mmol ) of 2 - methyl ( s )- 1 -( n - benzyloxycarbonyl !- l - valyl )- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indole ! carboxylate in 45 ml of thf and 15 ml of meoh at 0 ° c . was added 15 . 8 ml of 1n lioh dropwise . after 30 minutes 1n hcl was added to ph 2 and the mixture extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 ×). the combined organic phases were dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure to afford 4 . 51 g ( 93 %) of the title compound as a white solid . to a solution containing 1 . 09 g ( 3 . 96 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol and 1 . 31 g ( 3 . 3 mmol ) of 2 - ( s )- 1 -( n - benzyloxycarbonyl !- l - valyl )- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indole ! carboxylic acid in 30 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane was added 1 . 21 ml ( 6 . 93 mmol ) of diea and 0 . 49 g ( 3 . 63 mmol ) of hobt . the mixture was cooled to 0 ° c . and 0 . 70 g ( 3 . 63 mmol ) of edci was added and the reaction mixture was allowed to stir overnight . an additional 1 . 0 ml ( 7 . 44 mmol ) of tea was added and the reaction again allowed to stir overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with 1n hcl ( 2 ×), saturated sodium bicarbonate ( 2 ×) and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 80 % ethyl acetate / hexane to afford 0 . 66 g ( 30 %) of the title compound . prepared in a similar manner as in example 30 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 706 , found : 706 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 30 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 515 , found : 515 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 30 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 461 , found : 461 . to a mixture containing 0 . 69 g ( 5 . 17 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 60 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 60 ml ( 8 . 17 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the addition of a solution containing ( morpholino - n - carbonyl )- l - valyl - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methyl benzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s -) methyl propyl !- l - prolinamide ( 0 . 75 g , 1 . 28 mmol ) in 10 ml of anhydrous toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir for 2 hours at - 25 ° c . followed by the addition of 1 . 1 ml ( 0 . 83 g , 7 . 89 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature over 20 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered . the solvents were evaporated in vacuo and the residue purified by column chromatography , 70 % ethyl acetate / hexane on silica gel . final purification was performed by preparative hplc to afford 405 mg ( 54 . 3 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 583 , found : 583 . to a solution containing l - valyl - l - proline - o - t - butyl - ester ( 1 . 80 g , 5 . 87 mmol ) in 80 ml of anhydrous methylene chloride and 1 . 5 ml ( 13 . 64 mmol ) of n - methyl morpholine under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added morpholine carbonyl chloride dropwise . the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the reaction was diluted with methylene chloride and washed with water . the organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and evaporated . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 98 g ( 88 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 384 , found : 384 . to a solution containing ( morpholino - n - carbonyl )- l - valyl - l - proline - o - t - butyl ester ( 2 . 0 g , 5 . 22 mmol ) in 80 ml of anhydrous methylene chloride under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added trifluoroacetic acid ( 13 ml , 130 mmol ). the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight and the solvents were evaporated in vacuo to give 2 . 26 g of a viscous oil . the material was used without further purification . to a solution containing 0 . 95 g ( 2 . 90 mmol ) of ( morpholino - n - carbonyl )- l - valyl - proline in 25 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 80 g ( 3 . 14 mmol ) of bopci and 1 . 5 ml ( 8 . 61 mmol ) of diea . after 30 minutes , 0 . 75 g ( 2 . 41 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 10 ml of dichloromethane and 1 . 1 ml ( 6 . 31 mmol ) of diea were added . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with a saturated nahco 3 solution . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate and filtered . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo and the residue purified by column chromatography on silica gel using 6 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 0 . 77 g ( 54 . 84 %) of the title compound as a white solid fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 585 , found : 585 . to a mixture containing 2 . 37 g ( 17 . 75 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 100 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 1 . 94 ml ( 2 . 64 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 2 . 5 g ( 4 . 44 mmol ) of 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- ε - lactam - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methyl propyl ! acetamide in 20 ml of anhydrous toluene . upon complete addition , the reaction was to stirred at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours , followed by the addition of 3 . 0 ml ( 21 . 52 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction warmed to room temperature and stirred for 30 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 5 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 1 . 8 g of a pale yellow solid . subsequent preparative hplc gave 950 mg ( 38 . 1 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 562 , found : 562 . the intermediate 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- ε - lactam - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methyl propyl ! acetamide was prepared as follows : to a mixture containing 9 . 9 g ( 37 . 18 mmol ) of cbz - ornithine in 150 ml of acetronitrile under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 78 ml ( 369 . 70 mmol ) of hexamethyldisilazane . the reaction was heated at reflux for 48 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and poured into 250 ml of cold methanol . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . chloroform was added and the mixture filtered through a plug of celite . the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure an the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate . hexane was added until the solution was slightly turbid and then allowed to stand overnight . the resultant solid was filtered and dried to afford 8 . 37 g ( 90 . 7 %) of the title compound . to a solution containing 1 . 0 g ( 4 . 03 mmol ) of 3 -( s )- ( benzyloxylcarbonyl ) amino !- ε - lactam in 20 ml of anhydrous dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 1 . 50 ml ( 10 . 16 mmol ) of bromo - t - butyl acetate and 1 . 17 g ( 5 . 05 mmol ) of silver oxide . the reaction was heated to 45 ° c . for 5 hours , diluted with acetronitrile and filtered through a pad of celite . the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 60 % ethyl acetate / hexane afforded 1 . 18 g ( 80 . 79 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 363 , found : 363 . to a solution containing 0 . 55 g ( 1 . 52 mmol ) of n - 3 -( s )-( benzyloxy carbonyl ) amino !- ε - lactam - t - butyl acetate in 20 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 1 . 20 ml ( 15 . 58 mmol ) of trifluoroacetic acid . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . the residue was dissolved in ether acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent afforded 0 . 50 of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 307 , found : 307 . to a solution containing 2 . 72 g ( 8 . 88 mmol ) of n - 3 -( s )-( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino - ε - lactam - carboxymethane in 80 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 2 . 37 g ( 9 . 31 mmol ) of bopci and 1 . 60 ml ( 9 . 91 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes followed by the addition of 2 . 37 g ( 7 . 60 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methyl butan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 20 ml of dichloromethane and 1 . 60 ml ( 9 . 19 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent and column chromatography of the residue on silica get with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 2 . 58 g ( 50 . 23 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 564 , found : 564 . this compound was prepared via deprotection of 3 -( s )- benzyloxycarbonyl ! amino - ε - lactam - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methyl propyl ! acetamide under standard conditions to one skilled in the art to afford the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 428 , found : 428 . to a solution containing 0 . 089 g ( 0 . 475 mmol ) of 4 - morpholino carbonyl butanoic acid in 10 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 127 g ( 0 . 498 mmol ) of bopci and 0 . 09 ml ( 0 . 492 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir for 30 minutes followed by the addition of 0 . 22 g ( 0 . 406 mmol ) of 3 -( s )- amino - ε - lactam - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methyl benzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( r , s )- methyl propyl ! acetamide trifluoroacetic acid salt . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent and purification via preparative hplc afforded 0 . 044 g ( 18 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 597 , found : 597 . to a mixture containing 0 . 70 g ( 5 . 24 mmol ) and n - chlorosuccinimide in 30 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 60 ml ( 8 . 17 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the dropwise addition of a solution containing 0 . 67 g ( 1 . 32 mmol ) of 6 - 4 - fluorophenyl !- ε - lactam - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methyl benzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 15 ml of anhydrous toluene . upon complete addition , the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours followed by the addition of 0 . 90 ml ( 6 . 46 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 20 min . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 0 . 61 g of a pale yellow solid . subsequent preparative hplc gave 338 mg ( 50 . 5 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 507 , found : 507 . to a solution containing 2 . 15 g ( 8 . 11 mmol ) of 6 - 4 - fluorophenyl !- 1 - carbomethoxymethylene - 2 - piperidinone , prepared in a similar fashion to that reported by compernolle ( tetrahedron , 1993 , 49 , 3193 ) in 70 ml of methanol and 20 ml of water under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 55 g ( 13 . 11 mmol ) of lithium hydroxide . the reaction was allowed to stir at room temperature for 2 hours . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . the residue was diluted with water and washed with ethyl acetate . the aqueous phase was acidified with 1n hydrochloric acid and extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent afforded 2 . 0 g ( 98 . 2 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 252 , found : 252 . to a solution containing 1 . 04 g ( 4 . 14 mmol ) of 6 - 4 - fluorophenyl !- 6 - carboxymethylene - 2 - piperidinone in 25 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 1 . 10 g ( 4 . 32 mmol ) of bopci and 0 . 80 ml ( 4 . 59 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , a solution containing 1 . 1 g ( 3 . 53 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 10 ml of dichloromethane and 1 . 0 ml ( 6 . 31 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . the organic phase wad dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 736 mg ( 41 . 0 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 509 , found : 509 . to a mixture containing 2 . 05 g ( 15 . 38 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 250 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere were added 1 . 70 ml ( 23 . 06 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by addition of 1 . 90 g ( 3 . 84 mmol ) of 2 - 2 -( r , s )- phenyl - 4 - oxothiazolidin - 3 - yl !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 20 ml of anhydrous toluene dropwise . the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours , followed by the addition of 2 . 52 ml ( 18 . 07 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature over 40 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 60 % ethyl acetate / hexane afforded 1 . 10 g of a yellow oil . which was further purified via preparative hplc to give 0 . 45 g ( 24 %) of the title compound as an off - white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 493 , found : 493 . the intermediate 2 - 2 -( r , s )- phenyl - 4 - oxothiazolidin - 3 - yl !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide was prepared as follows : to a solution containing 1 . 78 g ( 7 . 51 mmol ) of 2 -( 2 - phenyl - 4 - oxothiazolidin - 3 - yl ) acetic acid , prepared according to holmes ( j . org . chem , 1995 , 60 , 7328 ), in 80 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 2 . 04 g ( 8 . 02 mmol ) of bopci and 1 . 35 ml ( 7 . 76 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , 2 . 0 g ( 6 . 41 mmol ) of 1 - 3 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )!- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methyl - butan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 50 ml of dichloromethane and 1 . 35 ml ( 7 . 76 mmol ) of diea was added . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight . the reaction mixture was diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure . column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 4 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 2 . 30 g of a yellow foam . subsequent preparative hplc gave 1 . 9 g of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 495 , found : 495 . ( ce - 2122 ) 2 - 2 -( r , s )- benzyl - 4 - oxothiazolidin - 3 - yl !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl !- acetamide was prepared in a similar manner as in example 39 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 507 , found : b 507 . to a solution containing 1 . 31 g ( 2 . 59 mmol ) of 2 - 2 -( r , s )- benzyl - 4 - oxothiazolidin - 3 - yl )- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methyl propyl !- acetamide in 15 ml of methanol under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 51 ml ( 5 . 17 mmol ) of 30 % hydrogen peroxide . the reaction was allowed to stir at room temperature overnight and then partitioned between brine and dichloromethane . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 85 % ethyl acetate / hexane afforded 0 . 73 g of a tan oil . subsequent preparative hplc gave 0 . 54 g ( 48 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 523 , found 523 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 41 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 577 , found 577 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 39 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 507 , found 507 . to a mixture containing 1 . 70 g ( 2 . 74 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 75 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 1 . 70 ml ( 23 . 15 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the addition of 1 . 90 g ( 3 . 27 mmol ) of ( 1 - benzoyl - 3 , 8 - quinazolinedione )- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methyl propyl ! acetamide in 10 ml of toluene dropwise . the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours , followed by the addition of 3 . 20 ml ( 22 . 96 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 15 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered , and , and the solvent removed under reduced pressure . the residue was chromatographed on silica gel with 5 % methanol / dichloromethane to afford 1 . 37 g of a brown oil . this was further purified via preparative hplc to give 450 mg ( 40 . 10 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 580 , found : 580 . to a solution containing 5 . 0 g ( 18 . 78 mmol ) of 1 - benzoyl - 3 , 8 - quinazolinedione prepared in a similar manner to that reported by melnyk et al . ( tetrahedron lett ., 1996 , 37 , 4145 ), in 100 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 4 . 30 ml ( 29 . 12 mmol ) of bromo t - butylacetate and 5 . 4 ( 23 . 30 mmol ) of silver oxide . the reaction was heated to 50 ° c . overnight , diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 40 % ethyl acetate / hexane gave 5 . 25 g ( 73 . 49 %) of product . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 381 , found 381 . to a solution containing 5 . 20 g ( 13 . 67 mmol ) of 1 - benzoyl - 3 , 8 - quinazolinedione - 2 - t - butyl acetate in 300 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 21 . 0 ml ( 211 . 44 mmol ) of trifluoroacetic acid . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent afforded 4 . 32 g ( 97 . 45 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 325 , found 325 . to a solution containing 1 . 80 g ( 5 . 55 mmol ) of 1 - benzoyl - 2 - carboxymethylene - 3 , 8 - quinazolinedione in 100 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane and 5 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 1 . 90 g ( 7 . 46 mmol ) of bopci and 1 . 40 ml ( 8 . 05 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , a solution containing 1 . 70 g ( 5 . 45 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 20 ml of dichloromethane and 3 . 80 ml ( 21 . 84 mmol ) of diea was added . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight , diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 1 . 93 ( 60 . 9 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 582 , found 582 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 44 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 532 , found 532 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 44 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 504 , found 504 . prepared in a similar manner as in example 44 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 558 , found 558 . to a mixture containing 0 . 16 g ( 1 . 18 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 20 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 13 ml ( 1 . 77 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath followed by the addition of a solution containing 0 . 18 g ( 0 . 30 mmol ) of 3 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- quinolin - 2 - one - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 20 ml of methylene chloride dropwise . the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours , followed by the addition of 0 . 19 ml ( 1 . 38 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 30 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 3 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 0 . 23 g of an oil . further purification via preparative hplc gave 100 mg of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 608 , found : 608 to a solution containing 0 . 5 g ( 3 . 10 mmol ) of 3 - amino - quinolin - 2 -( 1h )- one described by anderson , et al . ( j . heterocyclic chem ., 193 , 30 , 1533 ) in 40 ml of dioxane under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 14 g ( 3 . 4 mmol ) of sodium hydroxide in 14 ml of water . the reaction mixture was cooled to 0 ° c ., followed by the addition of 0 . 50 ml ( 3 . 4 mmol ) of benzylchloroformate . the ph of the reaction was maintained above 8 . 0 with additional i n sodium hydroxide . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 2 hours . the reaction was diluted with methylene chloride and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 2 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 0 . 32 g ( 35 %) of product as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 295 , found : 295 to a solution containing 0 . 30 g ( 1 . 02 mmol ) of 3 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- quinolin - 2 - one in 20 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 15 ml ( 1 . 02 mmol ) of t - butyl bromoacetate and 0 . 24 g ( 1 . 02 mmol ) of silver oxide . the reaction was heated to 70 ° c . and maintained overnight . the reaction mixture was diluted with acetronitrile and filtered through a pad of celite . the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between ethyl acetate and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with dichloromethane afforded 0 . 20 g ( 48 %) of product as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 409 , found : 409 . to a solution containing 1 . 30 g ( 3 . 18 mmol ) of 3 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- quinolin - 2 - one - n - t - butyl - acetate in 35 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 2 . 45 ml ( 31 . 84 mmol ) of trifluoroacetic acid . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure to afford 1 . 09 g ( 97 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 353 , found : 353 . to a solution containing 1 . 09 g ( 3 . 09 mmol ) of 3 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- 1 - carboxymethylene - quinolin - 2 - one in 50 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane and 3 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 84 ( 3 . 31 mmol ) of bopci and 1 . 10 ml ( 6 . 31 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , 0 . 82 g ( 2 . 65 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 8 ml of dichloromethane and 0 . 56 ml ( 3 . 20 mmol ) of diea was added . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight , diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 5 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 0 . 37 g ( 30 . 3 %) of product . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 610 , found : 610 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 48 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 691 , found : 691 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 48 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 535 , found : 535 . to a solution containing 2 . 30 g ( 3 . 79 mmol ) of 3 - ( benzyloxycarbonyl ) amino !- quinolin - 2 - one - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methyl benzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methyl propyl acetamide in 60 ml of trifluoroacetic acid under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 53 ml ( 4 . 54 mmol ) of thioanisole . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure . subsequent preparative hplc afforded 0 . 61 g ( 27 %); of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 474 , found : 474 to a solution containing 0 . 32 g ( 1 . 22 mmol ) of 4 - morpholino acetic acid in 18 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 33 g ( 1 . 30 mmol ) of bopci and 0 . 22 ml ( 1 . 26 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 1 . 5 hours , a solution containing 0 . 61 g ( 1 . 04 mmol ) of 3 -( amino - quinolin - 2 - one )- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 20 ml of dichloromethane was added followed by 0 . 22 ml ( 1 . 26 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight , diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and preparative hplc afforded 0 . 20 g ( 27 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 602 , found : 602 ( ce - 2088 ) 3 , 4 - dihydro - quinolin - 2 - one - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! carbonyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide from commercially available 3 , 4 - dihydro - 2 ( 1h )- quinolin - 2 - one . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 52 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 461 , found : 461 to a solution containing 0 . 55 g ( 4 . 15 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 35 ml of anhydrous toluene at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 0 . 46 ml ( 6 . 22 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the addition of a solution containing 0 . 58 g ( 1 . 04 mmol ) of 1 - acetyl - 3 - benzylidene piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 8 ml of toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 h , followed by the addition of 0 . 68 ml ( 4 . 87 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 40 minutes . the reaction was partitioned between ethyl acetate and water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel 60 % ethyl acetate / hexane gave 0 . 54 g of a brown oil which was further purified via preparative hplc to give 146 mg ( 25 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 558 , found : 558 to a solution containing 6 . 36 g ( 26 . 00 mmol ) of 1 - acetyl - 3 - benzylidene piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione described by d . villemn , et al . ( synthetic communications , 1990 , 20 , 3325 ), in 100 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 9 . 62 ml ( 65 . 10 mmol ) of t - butyl bromoacetate and 7 . 55 g ( 32 . 60 mmol ) of silver oxide . the reaction was heated to 45 ° c . overnight . the reaction was filtered through a plug of celite and the filtrate concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 1 % methanol / dichloromethane gave 5 . 37 g of a tan solid . further purification via preparative hplc gave 2 . 5 g ( 27 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 359 , found : 359 to a solution containing 2 . 50 g ( 6 . 98 mmol ) of 1 - acetyl - 3 - benzylidene piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione - n - t - butyl acetate in 100 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 5 . 40 ml ( 69 . 80 mmol ) of trifluoroacetic acid . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . the aqueous phase was acidified with 1n hydrochloric acid and extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent under reduced pressure gave 1 . 96 g ( 96 %) of product as at a solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 303 , found : 303 to a solution containing 0 . 65 g ( 2 . 14 mmol ) of 1 - acetyl - 3 - benzylidene - 4 - carboxymethylene - piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione in 40 ml of anhydrous dichloromethane and 3 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 57 g ( 2 . 24 mmol ) of bopcl and 0 . 39 ml ( 2 . 21 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , a solution containing 0 . 57 g ( 1 . 83 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 10 ml of dichloromethane and 0 . 39 ml ( 2 . 21 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight , diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 5 % methanol / dichloromethane gave 0 . 13 g ( 58 %) of product . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 560 , found : 560 prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 54 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 576 , found : 576 prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 54 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 601 , found : 601 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 54 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 616 , found : 616 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 54 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 559 , found : 559 . to a mixture containing 2 . 20 g ( 16 . 48 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 100 ml of anhydrous toluene under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 2 . 1 ml ( 28 . 59 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the addition of a solution containing 2 . 50 g ( 4 . 10 mmol ) of 4 - 1 - benzyl - 3 -( r )- benzyl piperazine - 2 , 5 ,- dione !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 15 ml of toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours , followed by the addition of 4 . 0 ml ( 28 . 70 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 30 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure , and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 5 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 2 . 27 g of a light brown solid which was further purified via preparative hplc to give 350 mg ( 14 . 4 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 608 , found : 608 the intermediate 4 - 1 - benzyl - 3 -( r )- benzyl piperazine - 2 , 5 ,- dione !- n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide was prepared as follows : to a solution containing 7 . 0 g ( 23 . 78 mmol ) of 1 - benzyl - 3 -( r )- benzyl piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione described by steele , et al . ( j . biorg , med . chem . lett ., 1995 , 5 , 47 ) in 125 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere was added 5 . 30 ml ( 35 . 89 mmol ) of t - butyl bromoacetate and 6 . 80 g ( 29 . 34 mmol ) of silver oxide . the reaction was heated to 50 ° c . overnight , diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 50 % ethyl acetate / hexane afforded 7 . 74 g ( 79 . 7 %) of the title compound as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 409 , found : 409 to a solution containing 7 . 70 g ( 18 . 85 mmol ) of 1 - benzyl - 3 -( r )- benzyl piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione - 4 - t - butyl acetate in 300 ml of dichloromethane under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 19 . 0 ml ( 191 . 30 mmol ) of trifluoroacetic acid . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent under reduced pressure afforded 6 . 69 g of product . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 353 , found : 353 . to a solution containing 2 . 0 g ( 5 . 68 mmol ) of 1 - benzyl - 3 -( r )- benzyl - 4 - carboxymethylene - piperazine - 2 , 5 - dione in 1000 ml of dichloromethane and 2 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 2 . 0 g ( 7 . 86 mmol ) of bopcl and 1 . 50 ml ( 8 . 62 mmol ) of diea . after stirring for 30 minutes , a solution containing 1 . 80 g ( 5 . 77 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 10 ml of dichloromethane and 4 . 0 ml ( 22 . 99 mmol ) of diea . the reaction was allowed to stir at 0 ° c . overnight , diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 7 % methanol / dichloromethane afforded 2 . 69 g ( 77 . 7 %) of product . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 610 , found : 610 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 608 , found : 608 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 662 , found : 662 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 662 , found : 662 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 575 , found : 575 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 572 , found : 572 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 518 , found : 518 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 59 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 631 , found : 631 . to a mixture containing 0 . 28 g ( 2 . 10 mmol ) of n - chlorosuccinimide in 50 ml of anhydrous toluene under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 0 . 23 ml ( 3 . 13 mmol ) of dimethyl sulfide . the reaction was cooled to - 25 ° c . using a carbon tetrachloride / dry ice bath , followed by the addition of a solution containing 0 . 26 g ( 0 . 52 mmol ) of 5 -( r , s )- phenyl - 2 , 4 - imidazolidinedione - n - 1 -( 2 - 5 -( 3 - methylbenzyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl ! hydroxymethyl )- 2 -( s )- methylpropyl ! acetamide in 10 ml of toluene . the reaction was allowed to stir at - 25 ° c . for 2 hours , followed by the addition of 0 . 30 ml ( 2 . 15 mmol ) of triethylamine . the cold bath was removed and the reaction allowed to warm to room temperature and maintained for 30 minutes . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 10 % methanol / dichloromethane , followed by preparative hplc gave 120 mg ( 47 . 19 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 490 , found : 490 to a solution containing 18 . 45 g ( 91 . 49 mmol ) of ( r )- 2 - phenylglycine methylester in 250 ml of ethyl acetate and 13 . 4 ml ( 96 . 13 mmol ) of triethylamine under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 10 ml ( 91 . 49 mmol ) of ethyl isocyanatoacetate . after stirring for 1 h , the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent under reduced pressure afforded 29 . 28 g ( 97 . 60 %) of product as a white solid . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 235 , found : 235 . a mixture containing 29 . 28 g ( 99 . 49 mmol of ( r )- n -( ethoxy carbonylmethyl )- n &# 39 ;-( 1 - methoxy carbonyl - 2 - phenyl ) urea in 500 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid was heated to reflux overnight . the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration and removal of solvent under reduced pressure afforded 14 . 01 g ( 60 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 295 , found : 295 . to a solution containing 2 . 55 g ( 10 . 89 mmol ) of ( r )- 5 - phenyl - 3 - carboxymethyl hydantoin in 100 ml of dichloromethane and 10 ml of dmf under a nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added 2 . 30 g ( 12 . 00 mmol ) of edci and 1 . 62 g ( 11 . 99 mmol ) of hobt . after stirring for 30 minutes , a solution containing 4 . 43 g ( 14 . 21 mmol ) of 1 - 2 -( 5 - 3 - methylbenzyl ! )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl !- 2 -( s )- amino - 3 - methylbutan - 1 - ol hydrochloride in 20 ml of dichloromethane and 4 . 78 ml ( 43 . 50 mmol ) of nmm . the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature overnight , diluted with dichloromethane and washed with water . the organic phase was dried over magnesium sulfate . filtration , removal of solvent under reduced pressure and column chromatography of the residue on silica gel with 50 % acetone / dichloromethane afforded 1 . 90 g ( 35 . 5 %) of the title compound . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 490 , found : 490 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 67 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 504 , found : 504 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 67 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 504 , found : 504 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 67 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 558 , found : 558 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 67 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 558 , found : 558 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 67 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 594 , found : 594 . prepared in a similar manner as shown in example 67 . fab ms m + h ! m / z ; calcd : 648 , found : 648 . | 2 |
generally speaking , the chemical milling process is not limited to circular geometry and therefore lends itself to other geometrical patterns more advantageous in achieving an optimized diaphragm construction . in the conventional clamped edge diaphragm the center plane is the neutral zone when pressure is applied within the range of the transducer . ( see fig2 ). the distribution of the tension and compression strain and their amplitudes on the inside surface is well known as shown . the performance problems arise from the fact that it is physically impossible to place the compression gauges at the optimum location ( see fig2 & amp ; 4 ). other methods and designs have overcome this problem at increased unit cost ( see fig . 5 ). chemical milling ( i . e ., etching ), was discovered to be a unique solution of this problem and at a substantial reduction in cost of manufacturing . several hundred diaphragms can be milled simultaneously on a single piece of sheet stock of the proper material twice the thickness of the final diaphragm thickness . known photo lithographic masking techniques are used to generate the dimensions and pattern desired from the applicable blueprint . the outline is etched from both sides to the center plane . the inside of the diaphragm is etched to a diameter 75 - 80 % of the inside diameter of the supporting wall ( spacer ) to the center plane , and including in the illustrated embodiment two cut - outs at the periphery 180 ° apart to accommodate one end of each of the compression gauges . ( see fig9 ) subsequently when the gauges are bonded to the diaphragm , the ends of the compression gauges are then positioned in the neutral zone in the cut - outs near the edge . ( see fig1 ) through the etching process of the center portion of the diaphragm the center plane is shifted to a new location for that portion of the diaphragm which is in the center plane of the half thickness remaining . ( see fig1 & amp ; 11 ). the welding process takes place between the etching and the application of the gauges , and is detailed in another pending application entitled method of making diaphragm for low pressure transducers ser . no . 752 , 108 . referring more specifically to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a conventional prior art diaphragm plate which includes tensile strain gauges 20 and compressive strain gauges 22 mounted on the rearward surface of the diaphragm plate . more specifically , the tensile strain gauges 20 are mounted inside the boundary line 24 which circumscribes a tension zone 26 in which the diaphragm plate expands when subjected to pressure on the forward face of the plate . a compressive strain gauge 22 is sought to be mounted between line 24 and line 28 which define a compression zone 30 in which the diaphragm plate compresses and contracts when subjected to pressure on the forward face of the diaphragm . the intention ( not achieved in the device of fig1 for compression ) is to locate the center of sensor portion 31 of the gauge directly over the point of maximum amplitude of either tension or compression , whichever strain characteristic is being measured . an interior spacer wall 32 integral with the exposed portion of the plate therebetween defines the line 28 which is the other boundary of the compressive zone 30 . unfortunately , the spacer wall also serves as a barrier making it impossible to properly locate the compressive strain gauge 22 . in other words , as shown in fig2 the application of pressure on a front face 34 the diaphragm creates a strain in the diaphragm plate manifest by the tension on the rear face which reaches a maximum amplitude at point 38 , and compression of the plate which reaches a maximum amplitude at point 40 adjacent to the inner spacer wall . in the conventional modification of fig5 and 6 , a new maximum compression amplitude point 40 is provided by a beveled edge 44 and a thickened spacer wall at 46 to change the usual center plane 42 of the diaphragm plate and enable positioning of the sensor portion 31 of the strain gauge 22 over such maximum stress point . the present invention provides a similar advantage in a unique way by etching a decreased thickness portion or depression 50 within a boundary 52 which has one or more symmetrically spaced cut - outs 54 . this causes a new center line 56 to create a maximum compression amplitude point which can be accurately and precisely monitored by the sensor portion 31 of a strain gauge 22 mounted on the rearward face of the plate and partially extending into the cut - outs or notches offset from the main central portion . even though this exemplary embodiment provides for both the compression and expansion strain gauges to be mounted within the depressed portion of the plate , the unique application of the etching technique can be used to provide a multi - layer face on a diaphragm plate in a predetermined pattern such that certain of the sensors could be placed on the raised or thicker portion of the plate . also , even though this illustrated embodiment has the monitor spaces on the rearward face of the plate on the side opposite to where the pressure is being exerted , it is within the scope of the invention to mount the strain gauges on the level face of the plate in order to achieve the optimum monitoring position for the gauges . the last two figures of the drawing illustrate the structural mounting and electrical wiring typically employed with the present invention in combination with the improved plate - monitoring features described above . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention enables the strain gauge sensor to be placed on a diaphragm in an optimum position to measure the action or activity of the diaphragm when it is subjected to pressure directed against one side thereof . as described , the invention preferably uses two sensors symmetrically positioned relative to the edge of the diaphragm where it connects at its outer boundary in order to accurately monitor the movement of both edges of the diaphragm . thus , as one portion of the diaphragm contracts while other portions of the diaphragm expand , the invention provides two different ways of accurately measuring the same phenomenon - namely , the pressure being exerted against the surface of the diaphragm . in contrast to conventional construction , it is possible to position the sensors directly over the portions of the diaphragm where maximum contraction and / or maximum expansion occur . in this regard , it is the notches or offsets which have been etched around the periphery of the diaphragm which enables the sensor to be positioned so that the central portion of the sensor directly overlies that part of the diaphragm which has the most flexing movement in terms of maximum compression . although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and discussed , it will be understood that other applications of the invention are possible and that the embodiment may be subjected to various changes , modifications , and substitutions without necessarily departing from the invention . | 7 |
the present invention concerns a method for improving the reproducibility of non - invasive concentration measurements . the method is based , in part , on the recognition that elevating the body portion being measured above the heart can lead to a reduction in the variability of the background , specifically the “ steady - state ” venous measurements upon which an arterial pulse measurement forms a variation . while it is believed that this improvement in reproducibility is based on a reduction in the venous pulse due to minimizing shunting through the anastomoses , it is not necessary for the practice of the invention for this scientific explanation to be accurate . empirically , it has been found that elevating the body portion being measured above the heart leads to the requisite reproducibility improvement . numerous apparatus described in the non - invasive testing literature , including classic spectroscopic instruments could be used for the present invention . the preferred apparatus and methods are described in the kromoscopy patents which had previously been incorporated by reference . briefly , the finger , or the body portion in which the concentration is being measured , is placed in a sample chamber to hold it in position and the sample chamber is elevated to a position above the heart . the finger is illuminated with broad beam radiation and the radiation transmitted , reflected or transflected from the finger is detected . preferably , transmission measurements are used so that the detector ( or detectors ) is placed on the opposite side of the finger from the illuminating radiation . better measurements are obtained if congruent illumination and / or detection is utilized ; that is , the path between each illumination source and the detector is arranged to be geometrically equal and passing through the same point of the finger so there is no variation in pathlength or difference in amount of absorbers from channel to channel . the preferred illuminating radiation is near infrared radiation , preferably in the 700 - 2200 nm range . while any amount of elevation above the heart should provide some of the beneficial effects , an elevation of at least 6 inches above the heart ( and preferably about 18 inches above the heart ) seems to provide a better result . the following , non - limiting examples will further explain the invention and its advantages . in this experiment , a kromoscopic apparatus having a 20 watt qth lamp with a blocking filter limiting the light output to the region from 700 to 1400 nm was used to illuminate a fingertip with the nail facing the source . after transmittal of the light through the finger , it was detected by four detectors , each being an indium gallium arsenide ( ingaas ) detector with a different filter in front of each detector . the filters had peak transmission at 990 nm , 1064 nm , 1125 nm , and 1200 nm respectively . the detectors are arranged such that congruent detection is achieved ; that is , they all see the same optical path . in this series of runs , the finger was either set approximately 6 inches below the heart or approximately 18 inches above the heart . fig1 shows the results of these experiments , in the form of the ratios of the pulsatile modulations at pairs of wavelengths , a presentation that minimizes variability due to changes in optical pathlength and other extraneous variables , and has been found to correlate with concentration changes . fig1 &# 39 ; s upper graph shows the results for the 1064 / 1200 nm ratios while fig1 &# 39 ; s lower graph shows the results for the 990 / 1025 nm ratios . the cv is the run - to - run variance while the height of the individual bars indicates the variance within each run . as can be seen from this figure , both the run - to - run variance and the intra - run ( i . e ., pulse to pulse ) variance are reduced by elevating the hand 18 inches above the heart . in particular , this test had the hand at waist height and showed cvs of 2 . 16 % and 2 . 82 % for the 1064 / 1200 ratio while with the hand over the head , the cvs were 1 . 05 % and 1 . 16 % for the same ratios . in addition , the inter - run variance , as seen by the size of the bars , is much less . with respect to the 990 / 1125 ratios , the cvs at waist height are 2 . 75 % and 1 . 86 %, while when the finger is held over the head , the cvs were reduced to 0 . 88 % and 0 . 78 %. this example shows that using the kromoscopic configuration disclosed in the previous patents combined with finger elevation , one can improve the reproducibility of the results . in this example , a different experimental setup was used . a nellcor pulse oximeter was used to supply the illumination and detection system but the analog signals from nellcor detectors were routed to a separate data acquisition system , one similar to that used in example 1 . the index finger of the left hand was used in the pulse oximeter sample chamber . this configuration permits the measurement of pulse oximetry data using a data acquisition system with higher fidelity than that of the commercial device . the finger was illuminated and the transmitted light collected by the nellcor apparatus . this generated an output voltage from the photoelectric cell in the nellcor device . voltage was measured for 30 seconds using this setup . fig2 illustrates the output signal , in volts , for signal collected from with this experimental setup with the hand above the head ( upper graph ) and the hand below the heart at approximately waist height ( lower graph ). as can be seen from this data , the signal amplitude is larger , and is more consistent , with the hand above the heart than below the heart . fig3 is a normalization of the data of fig2 . as is shown by fig3 the run - to - run variation for the data when the finger is held above the heart ( in particular above the head ) was 2 . 4 % and 2 . 1 %. similarly , the within run variability was 11 . 7 % and 9 . 4 % with the hand held above the head . in contrast , with the hand held below the heart , the run - to - run variability was 3 . 9 % and 4 . 4 %, respectively , and the within run variability was 16 . 2 % and 16 . 6 %. this example shows that the variability of other optical methods performing measurements on the cardiac pulse is also reduced when elevation of the hand above the heart is used . the foregoing examples are not intended to limit the invention but rather to merely illustrate it . the fact that both the run - to - run and within run variability are reduced is surprising . the signal increases with elevation of the hand but this means that the amount of absorption by the sample is decreased . accordingly , the absolute difference between the background and the signal decreases . it appears that the advantage in reducing the background levels , in particular the variability in those background levels , more than compensates for this reduction in absolute signal . those skilled in the art will find other modifications and to the present invention . those other modifications are encompassed within the scope of the following claims . | 6 |
a novel plasmid vector , prsv growth hormone ( prsvgh ) was constructed by cloning a commercially available human growth hormone gene into a rous sarcoma virus prsv expression vector constructed in my laboratory . murine c2c12 myoblasts were stably co - transfected with two plasmids : ( i ) the prsvgh plasmid containing the human growth hormone gene under the control of the rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat ( rsv ltr ) and ( ii ) the prsvneo plasmid which encodes resistance to the antibiotic g418 . c2c12 is a continuous cell line that has been shown to differentiate into non - dividing , multinucleated myotubes in vitro . these myotubes express the full complement of myofibrillar proteins and display contractile activity . after exposure to g418 to select for stable transfectants , 2 out of 24 clones were shown to produce and secrete relatively high levels of hgh in vitro ( 2 . 5 and 9 ng / hr / 10 6 cells ) and one of these , g19 , was expanded for further studies . in an initial series of experiments , the in vitro production and secretion of hgh by g19 cells was quantitated using a sensitive radioimmunoassay ( ria ). this assay was linear over a range of hgh concentrations between 0 . 05 and 50 ng / ml ( fig1 a ). levels of hgh in the culture medium of g19 cells increased in a linear fashion between 2 and 24 hours , with a mean rate of production of 12 ng / hour / 10 6 cells ( fig1 b ). after secretion , there was almost no degradation of hgh as evidenced by the finding that the levels of hgh from culture supernatants of g19 cells did not decrease significantly after incubation for 24 hours on monolayers of non - transfected c2c12 cells ( fig1 c ). following differentiation into myotubes in vitro , the hgh - transfected g19 cells continued to secrete hgh at a rate of 6 ng / hr / 10 6 cells . thus , non - dividing myotubes retain the ability to produce secreted proteins . finally , the ria used in these experiments were specific for hgh and did not cross - react with murine gh ( fig2 b ). to determine whether g19 cells could produce circulating levels of hgh in vivo , a total of 6 × 10 6 g19 cells were injected intramuscularly into 6 separate sites in the lower limbs of normal 4 - week - old syngeneic c3h mice . control mice received identical injections of f17 cells , a g418 - resistant clone of c2c12 that does not produce hgh . to prevent potential cellular or antibody - mediated immune responses by the c3h mice to the human growth hormone produced by the g19 cells , all mice received daily injections of cyclosporin a ( 5 mg / kg , im ). mice were killed 5 days or 3 weeks after injections , and muscle from the site of injection as well as serum were assayed for hgh ( fig2 ). muscle lysates from mice injected with the g19 hgh - producing cells contained 1 . 01 ± 0 . 34 ng / ml ( mean ± s . d .) of human growth hormone at 5 days and 2 . 43 ± 0 . 97 ng / ml at 3 weeks as compared to control - injected mouse muscle which contained 0 . 01 ± 0 . 01 ng / ml ( p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ). the serum from g19 - injected animals contained 0 . 16 ± 0 . 08 ng / ml and 0 . 28 ± 0 . 08 ng / ml of hgh at 5 days and 3 weeks following injection , respectively . these values were significantly different from those of control mice ( 0 . 01 ± 0 . 02 ng / ml ) ( p & lt ; 0 . 0005 ) at both time points . thus , hgh expression appeared to be stable for at least 3 weeks in these animals . it was of interest to compare the levels of hgh in the myoblast - injected mice to physiological levels of hgh in human serum . gh is secreted in a pulsatile fashion in humans with normal physiological levels ranging between 0 . 1 and 25 ng / ml . absolute levels of hgh also vary depending upon the type of sample tested and the particular assay system used . serum samples from normal human volunteers ( n = 7 ) contained 0 . 2 ± 01 ng / ml of hgh as compared to 0 . 28 ng / ml , the mean serum level of hgh in the g19 - injected mice . thus , serum from the g19 - injected animals contained physiological levels of hgh 3 weeks after a single injection of 6 × 10 6 hgh - transfected myoblasts . finally , animals were also injected with 6 × 10 6 g19 cells without concomitant immunosuppression with cyclosporin a . serum from these animals ( n = 4 ) contained 1 . 0 ± 0 . 25 ng / ml of hgh 3 weeks following myoblast injection . thus , immunosuppression does not appear to be necessary for the short - term production of recombinant proteins following myoblast injection . an important question regarding the long - term feasibility of myoblast injections concerns the fate of the myoblasts after im injection . to address this question , c3h mice were injected with c2c12 myoblasts that had been previously infected in vitro with the β - galactosidase expressing bag retrovirus and shown to express high levels of intracellular β - galactosidase ( fig3 a ). β - galactosidase expressing blue c2c12 cells were observed as clusters within areas of normal muscle ( fig3 c - e ). whereas the bag - infected c2c12 myoblasts displayed a mononuclear fibroblast - like appearance when grown in high levels of serum in vitro ( fig3 a ), following injection many of these cells fused into multinucleated myotubes ( fig3 c - e ) similar to those observed after the differentiation of c2c12 cells by growth in low serum in vitro ( fig3 b ). in no case were tumors detected in the muscle or other organs of the c2c12 myoblast - injected animals at either 5 days or 3 weeks after injection . moreover , lysates from the non - injected upper limbs , hearts , livers , kidneys , and lungs of the g19 - injected animals were devoid of hgh activity demonstrating that the injected cells remained localized to the site of injection . however , because c2c12 is a continuous cell line , an accurate assessment of the malignant potential of the injected g19 cells will require long - term follow - up of these animals . finally , the p - galactosidase expression seen in vivo was not due to the infection of endogenous muscle with helper virus from the bag - infected c2c12 cells because no helper virus could be detected by co - cultivation assays using these cells and because retroviruses are unable to infect non - dividing cells such as myotubes . therefore , these results show that genetically - modified c2c12 cells can become incorporated into the injected muscle by differentiating into multinucleated myotubes in viva . genetically engineered myoblasts are a useful delivery system for recombinant proteins in vivo . these cells can produce large amounts of secreted recombinant proteins . they can be stably introduced into muscle by simple im injection , and their secreted protein products gain access to the circulation . the finding that the technique can be used to produce detectable levels of hgh is especially encouraging given the short half - life of hgh ( less than 20 minutes ) as compared with those of other serum proteins . although all of the studies described above were performed with the immortalized c2c12 cell line , identical techniques are directly applicable to primary human myoblasts . previous reports have clearly demonstrated that primary human myoblasts can be readily isolated , expanded in vitro , and reinjected into muscle . like the c2c12 myoblasts , normal myoblasts can become incorporated into the injected muscle by differentiating into multinucleated myotubes in vivo . the unique finding of the present invention is that it is possible to program the expression of a secreted recombinant protein in myoblasts in vitro and that , following injection of these myoblasts into normal animals , they fuse into myotubes and continue to produce the secreted recombinant protein which gains access to the circulation . thus , analogous techniques to those described could easily be used to transfect primary myoblasts which could then be introduced by intramuscular injection into normal animals or humans . this same system can express a wide variety of serum proteins such as human factor viii and factor ix as well as insulin . a number of other cellular implant systems have been tried for the production of serum proteins . these include keratinocytes and hepatocytes . to our knowledge , none of these systems has successfully produced stable and physiological levels of a recombinant protein in normal animals . b . in vivo gene therapy at cardiac myocytes following direct injection of dna in another embodiment of the present invention it is possible to program recombinant gene expression in cardiac myocytes after direct injection of dna into the left ventricular wall . functional recombinant protein expression in myocytes was demonstrated directly using an enzymatic assay for β - galactosidase . recombinant gene expression was observed in myocytes from seven of nine of the injected hearts at both 3 - 5 days and 3 - 4 weeks after injection . expression was patchy and was observed only in direct contiguity with the site of injection . these findings have several implications regarding both the use of this method for somatic gene therapy in the heart and the biology of recombinant dna uptake and expression in muscle cells . the technique of somatic gene therapy using direct dna injection into myocardium has several advantages compared with other previously described methods of gene therapy . first , infectious viral vectors are not required , eliminating the possibility of persistent infection of the host . second , a previous study ( wolff j a , malone r w , williams p , chong w , acsadi g , jani a , felgner p l : direct gene transfer into mouse muscle in vivo . science 1990 ; 247 : 1465 - 1468 ) has suggested that recombinant dna taken up and expressed in skeletal myocytes persists as an episome and therefore does not have the same potential for host cell mutagenesis as do retroviral vectors that integrate into the host chromosome . finally , this method does not require the growth of recipient cells in vitro , a requirement that would render transfection on nondividing cardiac myocytes particularly difficult . direct injection of recombinant dna into the myocardium is useful for the treatment of many acquired and inherited cardiovascular diseases in particular , by stimulating collateral circulation in areas of chronic myocardial ischemia by expressing recombinant angiogenesis factors locally in the ventricular wall . we have demonstrated that a recombinant bacterial β - galactosidase gene under the control of the rous sarcoma virus promoter can be introduced into and expressed in adult rat cardiac myocytes in vivo by the injection of purified plasmid dna directly into the left ventricular wall . cardiac myocytes expressing the recombinant β - galactosidase activity have been detected histochemically in rat hearts for at least six months following injection of the recombinant β - galactosidase gene . rats have now been injected with the β - galactosidase gene for studies of the stability of expression at one year post - injection . the method that we have used for introducing foreign genes into heart muscle cells is shown schematically in fig4 . the method is most remarkable for its simplicity . a concentrated solution of genetic material ( dna ) containing a single cloned gene is injected directly into the beating heart wall in normal six - week - old rats . the particular cloned gene that was used in all of our initial studies is a bacterial gene called β - galactosidase . we chose this gene because it is not normally expressed in heart cells . however , following injection of the dna , we can detect its expression using a simple stain that turns cells that are expressing β - galactosidase blue . we were quite surprised to find that following injection into a normal rat heart , the β - galactosidase gene was taken up and expressed in heart muscle cells ( fig5 ). thus , one can see areas of blue staining that correspond to the site of dna injection and that represent upon high power magnification , expression of the β - galactosidase gene in cells that are easily identified as cardiac muscle by their striated pattern of appearance . it should be emphasized that the only cells that we have ever observed to take up and express the dna are heart muscle cells . we have never observed expression in other cells in the heart such as fibroblasts or the cells lining the heart blood vessels . as shown in fig6 more than 75 % of the hearts receiving the injected dna express the foreign gene , and this expression is stable for periods of at least six months . this method enables new blood vessel growth in areas of the heart that are currently not receiving sufficient blood or oxygen . several million americans are currently afflicted with atherosclerotic narrowings of the coronary arteries or blood vessels supplying the heart . in order to directly stimulate new blood vessel growth in areas of the heart that are not receiving sufficient blood because of coronary atherosclerosis , we have injected rat hearts with an angiogenesis factor gene , i . e . a gene called fibroblast growth factor ( fgp - 5 ), that stimulates new blood vessel growth . following injection of fgf - 5 dna , we were able to show a 30 - 40 % increase in the number of capillaries in the injected heart wall as compared to hearts injected with control dna solutions ( fig7 ). microscopic examination revealed that the structure of the capillaries in the injected hearts was normal , thus suggesting that these new capillaries can supply increased blood flow to the heart . rats have been injected with a plasmid - encoding human fibroblast growth factor - 5 ( hfgf - 5 ) in an attempt to stimulate angiogenesis or collateral blood flow in the adult rat heart . rats were sacrificed at 3 weeks following injection and capillary density was measured by computerized light microscopy . rats injected with control vectors displayed approximately 2300 capillaries / mm 2 at the site of injection . in contrast , five animals injected with the fgf - 5 expression vector displayed a 30 - 40 % increase in capillary density with mean capillary densities of approximately 3400 / mm 2 ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). thus , direct injection of a fibroblast growth factor - 5 expression vector stimulates collateral vessel formation in areas of injected myocardium . in order to demonstrate recombinant gene expression in myocardium , a novel plasmid vector was constructed in which the bacterial β - galactosidase gene from the pmsv β - gal vector was cloned immediately downstream of the rous sarcoma virus long terminal repeat ( ltr ). this vector was shown to produce high - level gene expression in rat neonatal cardiac myocytes following transfection in tissue culture . in order to introduce this plasmid into rat cardiac myocytes in vivo , 250 g sprague - dawley rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital plus ketamine , incubated , and ventilated with a harvard respirator . a left lateral thoracotomy was performed to expose the beating heart and 100 mg of prsv β - gal plasmid dna in 100 ml of phosphate - buffered saline , plus 5 % sucrose was injected into the apical portion of the beating left ventricle using a 30 gauge needle . wounds were closed and animals were allowed to recover for three days to four weeks . animals were sacrificed and hearts were removed , fixed with glutaraldehyde and stained with x - gal for detection of the β - galactosidase protein . in additional experiments , a plasmid vector in which the human fibroblast growth factor - 5 cdna is under the transcriptional control of the rous sarcoma virus promoter has been constructed and injected into rat hearts using a similar technique . it should be noted that the prsv ltr used in these experiments is derived from a chicken virus . previous studies have demonstrated that this element is very active in skeletal and cardiac muscle from a large number of species including human , mouse , and rat in vitro . therefore , the results obtained with this expression vector in vivo in rats and mice should be directly applicable to humans since this element is transcriptionally active in human cells . to increase transduction frequencies , similar injections into ischemic myocardium and injections with dc electrical countershock can be used . additional vectors utilizing our recently - described cardiac troponin c promoter / enhancer increase levels of recombinant gene expression . other features of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following examples which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting . neonatal rat cardiac myocytes were isolated from 1 - 2 - day - old sprague - dawley rats ( charles river laboratories , wilmington , mass .) by collagenase digestion ( engelmann et al j . mol cell cardiol . 1988 ; 20 : 169 - 77 ). this method results in the isolation of more than 90 % cardiac myocytes . twenty - four hours after isolation , 1 × 10 6 freshly isolated myocytes in a 60 - mm collagen - coated dish ( collaborative research inc ., waltham , mass .) were transfected with 15 μg of cesium chloride gradient - purified chloramphenicol acetyl transferase ( cat ) reporter plasmid dna plus 5 μg of pmsvβgal reference plasmid dna as follows : 20 μg of plasmid dna was resuspended in 1 . 5 ml of opti - mem ( gibco , grand island , n . y .) and added to 1 . 5 ml of opti - mem containing 50 μl of lipofectin reagent ( brl , gaithersburg , md .). the resulting mixture was added to one 60 - mm plate of cardiac myocytes . after 5 hours at 37 ° c . in 5 % co 2 , 3 ml of medium 199 plus 5 % fetal bovine serum ( fcs ) ( gibco ) was added to the cells , and the mixture was incubated at 37 ° c . for 48 hours . cell extracts were prepared and normalized for protein content using a commercially available kit ( biorad , richmond , calif .). cat and β - galactosidase assays were performed as previously described . parmacek ms , bengur a r , vora a j , leiden j m : j biol chem 1990 ( in press ). the promoterless psvocat plasmid ( gorman c m , moffat l f , howard b h : recombinant genomes which express chloramphenicol acetyl - transferase in mammalian cells . mol cell biol 1982 ; 77 : 1432 - 1436 ) and the prsvcat ( gorman c , padmanabhan r , howard b h : high efficiency dna - mediated transformation of primate cells . science 1983 ; 221 : 551 - 553 ) plasmid in which transcription of the bacterial cat gene is under the control of the rsv promoter have been described previously . the prsvβgal plasmid was constructed by cloning the 4 . 0 - kb β - galactosidase gene from pmsvβgal ( donoghue m , ernst h , wentworth b , nadal - ginard b , rosenthal n : a muscle - specific enhancer is located at the 3 ′ end of the myosin light - chain ⅓ gene locus . genes dev 1988 : 2 : 1779 - 1790 ) into hindiii / bamhi - digested prsvcat ( fig8 ). six - to 11 - week - old 250 - g sprague - dawley rats were housed and cared for according to national institutes of health guidelines in the ulam facility of the university of michigan medical center . rats were anesthetized with 20 mg / kg pentobarbitol i . p . and 60 mg / kg ketamine i . m ., intubated , and ventilated with a harvard ( harvard apparatus , south natick , mass .) respirator . a left lateral thoracotomy was performed to expose the beating heart , and 100 μg of plasmid dna in 100 μl of phosphate - buffered saline ( pbs ) containing 5 % sucrose ( pbs / sucrose ) was injected into the apical portion of the beating left ventricle using a 30 - g needle . control animals were injected with 100 μl of pbs / sucrose alone . the animals were killed 3 - 5 or 21 - 30 days after injection by pentobarbitol euthanasia ; hearts were removed via a median sternotomy , rinsed in ice - cold pbs , and processed for β - galactosidase activity . three - millimeter cross sections of the left ventricle were fixed for 5 minutes at room temperature with 1 . 25 % glutaraldehyde in pbs , washed three times at room temperature in pbs , and stained for β - galactosidase activity with x - gal ( biorad ) for 4 - 16 hours as described by nabel et al . ( nabel e g , plautz g , boyce f m , stanley j c , nabel g j : recombinant gene expression in vivo within endothelial cells of the arterial wall . science 1989 ; 244 : 1342 - 1344 ). the 3 - mm sections were embedded with glycomethocyrlate , and 4 - 7 μm sections were cut and counterstained with hematoxylin and eosin as described previously . ( nabel e g , plautz g , boyce f m , stanley j c , nabel g j : recombinant gene expression in vivo within endothelial cells of the arterial wall . science 1989 ; 244 : 1342 - 1344 ). photomicroscopy was performed using kodak ektachrome 200 film and leitz laborlux d and wild m8 microscopes . rsv ltr promotes high - level gene expression in rat neonatal cardiocytes in vitro to test the transcriptional activity of the rsv ltr in rodent cardiac myocytes , the prsvcat vector ( gorman c , padmanabhan r , howard b h : high efficiency dna - mediated transformation of primate cells . science 1983 ; 221 : 551 - 553 ) in which expression of the bacterial cat gene is under the control of the rsv ltr was transfected into primary neonatal rat cardiac myocytes using lipofectin . two days after transfection , the cultures were harvested and assayed for cat activity . all transfections also contained 5 μg of the pmsvβgal plasmid to correct for differences in transfection efficiencies . the rsv ltr was able to increase transcription of the cat gene 87 - fold compared with the - promoterless psvocat control plasmid . the prsvcat - transfected cardiac myocyte extracts produced 95 % acetylation in a standard thin - layer chromatography assay . by comparison , identically prepared extracts of 3t3 or hela cells transfected with this same vector produced 22 % and 35 % acetylation , respectively . because the activities of cotransfected pmsvβgal reference plasmids were almost identical in all three transfections , these results demonstrated that the rsv ltr programs high - level transcription in primary cardiac myocytes in vitro . the ability to unambiguously identify the cell types that are expressing recombinant gene products is an important requirement of all animal models of gene therapy . because the bacterial β - galactosidase reporter gene ( but not the bacterial cat gene ) allows direct histological visualization of recombinant gene expression , we constructed a prsvβgal vector in which bacterial β - galactosidase gene expression is regulated by the rsv ltr promoter for further studies of recombinant gene expression in vivo ( fig1 ). expression of β - galactosidase gene in rat cardiac myocytes after injection of prsvβgal dna into the left ventricular wall in vivo 100 μg of prsvβgal dna was resuspended in 100 μl of pbs containing 5 % sucrose ( pbs / sucrose ) and injected via a 30 - g needle directly into the beating left ventricular wall of 6 - 11 - week - old sprague - dawley rat hearts . control rats received injections of 100 βl of pbs / sucrose without dna . rats were killed either 3 - 5 days or 3 - 4 weeks after injection , and hearts were fixed and stained for β - galactosidase activity . β - galactosidase activity as manifested by dark - blue staining was readily apparent to the naked eye in sections of three of four of the prsvβgal - injected hearts at 3 - 5 days and four of the prsvβgal - injected hearts and 3 - 4 weeks after dna injections . this staining , which was focal and patchy , occurred only in a single area of each heart injected with prsvβgal dna and was not seen in five control hearts injected with pbs / saline alone . failure to observe staining in two of nine of the prsvβgal - injected hearts may have been due to the lack of dna uptake or expression in these hearts or , more likely , to technical difficulties in successfully centering and anchoring the needle in the relatively thin beating left ventricular wall during the injection process . because the normal ventricular wall contains both myocytes and fibroblasts and because the injection of dna might be expected to cause a localized inflammatory response , it was important to determine which cell types were expressing the recombinant β - galactosidase gene . histochemical analysis of sections from hearts injected with the prsvβgal dna clearly demonstrated β - galactosidase activity within cardiac myocytes that were easily identified by their myofibrillar architecture . between one and 10 positively staining myocytes were seen per high - power field , and these were often noncontiguous , suggesting that the uptake of dna and / or its expression is a relatively low - frequency event . because it was difficult to accurately identify the extent of dna injection and because the positively staining area were quite focal and patchy , it was impossible to accurately quantitate either the percentage or the total number of cells expressing recombinant β - galactosidase activity in a given heart . however , it is clear that only a small fraction of cardiac myocytes expressed the recombinant protein . in addition , it is worth noting that sections from the 3 - 5 day postinjection hearts often showed evidence of an acute inflammatory response along the track of the needle and that in several cases fibrosis along the needle track was observed in sections from 3 - 4 - week postinjection hearts . having now fully described the invention , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein . | 2 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown an arrangement according to the invention for measuring the concentration of smoke dust in stack emission by drawing off a part of exhaust gases from a flue 1 into a sampling tube 3 and then extracting the sample by means to be described later into a aerosol monitoring instrument 5 . air from the atmosphere is drawn in by a pump 8 , passed through a prefilter 6 and a main filter 10 , and then is introduced as clean ( diluting ) air into a sampler 15 . the quantity of air to be supplied in this way is regulated by sending a part of the air from the exit of the pump 8 via a three - way solenoid valve 17 back to the entrance of the same pump , the amount of the recycling air being controlled with two valves 9 , 9a . as the clean air is admitted at a predetermined rate thereto , the sampler 15 , which is built as an injector inside , produces a sucking force corresponding to the quantity of clean air being introduced in its sampling tube 3 for drawing in exhaust gases 2 by suction from a flue 1 , in the arrangement of the embodiment shown . the sampling tube sucks a quantity of the flue gases 2 in proportion to the quantity of clean air a cq . the flue gases introduced are mixed with the clean air and are thereby diluted in the sampler 15 . the aerosol monitoring instrument 5 has a built - in pump ( not shown ) with which to draw in the diluted gases with a low aerosol concentration through an extraction tube 16 at a constant rate , e . g ., at 100 l / hr , so that the gases are conducted to an optical sensor or the instrument 5 for the measurement of the smoke dust concentration . when the aerosol monitoring instrument 5 is of the type equipped with an optical sensor , the scattered light method is employed . the gas - extracting opening of the sampling tube 3 that also serves as the measuring mouth of a smoke - dust measuring instrument is usually not less than 4 mm in diameter . therefore , there are apparently few possibilities of clogging of the extracting opening or other part of the sampling tube due , for example , to dust deposition during the course of continuous operation . the tube must , however , be purged for extended life . for this reason the sampler 15 is provided with purging means now to be described . as described , a part of clean air is normally recycled from the exit of the pump 8 to the entrance of the pump via the three - way solenoid valve 17 . a timer 14 , connected to the solenoid valve 17 , switches the circuit including the valve after the lapse of a predetermined period of time , e . g ., about 30 to 60 minutes , so that the recycling circuit leading to the entrance of the pump is shut off and a circuit connecting to the outlet of a flow meter 11 is made , instead . consequently , the total quantity of air taken in from the atmosphere is introduced into the sampler 15 . the timer 14 is also connected to a controller 18 so that the actuation of the timer starts a drive 19 operatively connected to the controller , and thereby closes a damper 20 through a linkage 21 . with the damper 20 closed , the sampler 15 causes the trapped clean air to jet out through the sampling tube 3 into the flue , thus purging the sampling tube 3 of any deposit on its inner surrounding wall . fig2 is a sectional view of the sampler 15 shown in fig1 in accordance with the invention . throughout these figures like numerals denote like parts . the construction and function of the sampler will now be described in detail . here are shown a clean air pipe 22 , a nozzle support 23 , a nozzle 24 , and a reducer 25 which is a constriction in which the flue gases 2 drawn in through the sampling tube 3 are mixed and diluted with clean air admitted through a clean air entrance 28 and the pressure is recovered . the tube 16 for extracting diluted aerosols is built in a duct 26 . the sampler 15 , comprising the sampling tube 3 , damper 20 , extracting tube 16 , clean air pipe 22 , nozzle support 23 , nozzle 24 , reducer 25 , and duct 26 , is held in place by a flange 27 . the operation of the sampler 15 with the construction above described will now be explained . clean air is introduced from the entrance 28 into the nozzle 24 . as the clean air is issued from the nozzle 24 , a negative pressure is produced in the portion of the sampling tube 3 adjacent to the nozzle 24 , and thereby a part of the exhaust gases 2 from the flue 1 is drawn in through the sampling tube . in other words , the injection effect thus achieved permits the sampling of the flue gases 2 . the reducer 25 , designed to increase the force with which the flue gases 2 are drawn in by suction and also to rectify the gas stream and allow it to recover the original pressure , now mixes and dilutes the gases with clean air . the relationship between the quantity of clean air a cq and the quantity of aerosols to be measured q depends largely on te inside diameter d n and length l of the nozzle 24 and on the inside diameter d p of the sampling tube 3 . therefore , if the flue gases 2 or the aerosols are to be diluted so that the particulates in the diluted aerosols extracted for the aerosol monitoring instrument 5 fall within the measurable range of the instrument , it is only necessary to change the inside diameter d n of the nozzle , provided that the length l of the nozzle 24 and the inside diameter d p of the sampling tube 3 remain unchanged . in this way the dilution multiple α [= ( 1 + a cq )/ q ] may be varied according to the particulate concentration in the aerosols to be examined . this relationship is graphically represented in fig3 . following the dilution in the reducer 25 , the aerosols are conducted by the duct 26 and through the extracting tube 16 inserted into the duct 26 , and a part of the diluted aerosols is drawn into the aerosol monitoring instrument 5 by means of the pump ( not shown ) incorporated therein . in fig4 are plotted the relations among the quantity of clean air a cq introduced into the sampler 15 , the quantity of aerosols q drawn in through the sampling tube 3 for analysis , and the dilution multiple α employed . when the sampler of the structure shown in fig2 in accordance with the invention is used , the aerosol quantity q to be drawn in through the sampling tube 3 can be varied by merely changing the quantity of clean air a cq to be admitted to the tube . in this case , because of the linear relationship between the variables a cq and 9 , the dilution multiple α can be kept constant independently of the quantity a cq . if the flow velocity of exhaust gases in the flue fluctuates because of variation in the stack emission , sampling can be adjusted accordingly through the regulation of clean air introduction . this precludes any error in suction . fig5 illustrates the relation between the flue static pressure variation δp ( mmaq ) and the dilution multiple α . according to the invention , the static pressure of the aerosols to be analyzed is made equal to that of the aerosols after dilution , and the pressure of clean air to be issued from the orifice of the nozzle 24 shown in fig2 is higher than the range of static pressure variation in the flue 1 . consequently , regardless of the flue static pressure variation , the dilution multiple α remains constant as represented by the straight line 40 in the graph . for reference purpose the characteristic of a conventional apparatus is given as line 30 , which indicates that the dilution multiple α varies with the flue static pressure variation δp . defenite dimension and operating conditions of the sampler 15 that satisfy the foregoing conditions are , for example , d n = 6 mm , l = 10 mm , a cq = 4000 - 9000 l / hr , and d p = 4 mm . in this case , α = 10 . as described above , in accordance with the present invention , the injection effect attained with the introduction of clean air into the sampler is utilized to draw a sample of gas by suction into the same vessel . the invention thus provides a high - performance sampler for analyzers which dispenses with a dehumidifier , requires no positive limitation to the leak of the pump that introduces clean air into the instrument , and is small and lightweight , operable with a constant dilution multiple regardless of variation in the quantity of clean air being introduced . another outstanding feature of the high - performance sampler for analyzers that is provided by the invention is that , because the sampler is installed in the atmosphere of the gases to be analyzed in such a manner that the static pressure of the atmosphere of the gases to be analyzed is equal to that of the sample diluted , the dilution multiple is kept constant regardless of any variation in the static pressure of the gas atmosphere . although the embodiment shown in fig1 is intended for the illustration of the sampler according to the invention as used with an aerosol monitoring instrument , it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but is applicable to other high - sensitivity analyzers , such as flame intensity type so 2 analyzers , which must dilute the samples of gaseous materials prior to analysis . also , while the atmosphere of gases to be analyzed have been limited in the foregoing description to flue gases , other atmospheres , such as in tanks or other vessels , may , of course , be handled as well . further , the clean air used in diluting the sampler may be replaced by other clean gases , such as pure nitrogen . when the dilution multiple is to be changed , it is simply necessary to change the inside diameter of the nozzle 24 shown in fig2 . also , it is possible to increase the dilution multiple by providing a diluting system consisting of a plurality of samplers having the nozzles 24 each designed for a given dilution multiple and connected in cascade fashion to the reducer 25 . in another embodiment of the invention , an ejection effect is utilized as means for sampling exhaust gases . in this arrangement , a part of gases drawn into the suction pipe by an ejector is conducted to a monitoring instrument , and the rest of the gases and a gas led into the ejector are altogether removed from the sampler by way of an eduction passage or duct . the sampling nozzle and the eduction duct , both of which are communicated with the suction pipe , are kept in atmospheres under the same pressure , and means is provided for controlling the flow rate of the gas being admitted to the ejector . the embodiment of the invention which thus depends on the ejection effect for the suction sampling will be more fully described below with reference to fig6 through 10 . fig6 schematically shows the construction of the sampler according to the invention , and fig7 is a sectional view of the sampling probe , the essential component of the arrangement shown in fig6 . throughout these figures like numerals designate like parts . turning to fig6 the sampling probe generally indicated at 34 is inserted into the space 33 of a flue 1 through a measuring hole 32 formed in the wall of the flue , and is suspended by a flange 27 secured to the hole . the sampling prove 34 comprises : an ejector 41 which consists of an air supply pipe 28 through which air 13 is supplied , and ejector nozzle 39 , and a throat 40 ; a suction pipe 3 connected at one end to the ejector nozzle 39 and provided with a sampling nozzle 38 at the free end for drawing in exhaust gases 37 by suction ; an extracting tube 16 for conducting a part of exhaust gases taken in through the sampling nozzle 38 , from the inside of the sampling pipe to an analyzing instrument 5 ; and an eduction pipe or duct 26 for removing the rest of exhaust gases drawn in through the sampling nozzle 38 and the air from the ejector 41 . the operation of the arrangement will now be explained . air 13 is supplied at a high speed through the pump 8 , flow meter 11 , and air supply pipe 28 to the ejector 41 . as it passes between the throat 40 and the ejector nozzle 39 , the air gives birth to an ejection effect , which in turn produces a negative pressure in the opening of the ejector nozzle 39 and thereby draws in the exhaust gases 37 from the flue through the sampling nozzle 38 . a part of the exhaust gases introduced is conducted by suction through the extracting tube 16 to the instrument 5 by means of a built - in pump ( not shown ) of the instrument . when measuring the smoke dust concentration of exhaust gases 37 , it is necessary to sample the gases 37 with the same dust concentration as in the flue , and therefore sampling by synchronized suction is important . for this purpose the flow speed of the exhaust gases 37 being drawn into the sampling nozzle 38 through its opening must be equal to the flow speed of the gases in the flue 1 . meanwhile , the nozzle 38 is usually 4 mm or more in inside diameter . if the diameter is 4 mm , a linear relationship will hold , as shown in fig8 between the flow speed of the flue gases 2 and the quantity of gases drawn in by suction , at the time when the flow speed of the exhaust gas stream 2 equals that of the gases 37 at the mouth of the nozzle 38 . since the flue gas speed usually is not less than 5 meters per second , the quantity of the gases drawn in at that speed will be approximately 200 nl / h or upwards . however , the quantity of the gas sample actually required by the measuring instrument 5 is only about 100 nl / h . for this reason the total quantity of the gas sample taken in through the nozzle 38 cannot be directed to the instrument ; only a part has to be extracted for analysis . in accordance with the present invention , an ejection effect is utilized to draw in exhaust gases by suction , and a sample of gases from the flue 1 is introduced into the suction pipe 3 via the nozzle 38 of a given diameter of 4 mm or more , and a part of the gas sample is directly conducted without dilution into the measuring instrument 5 through the extracting tube 16 inserted into the suction pipe . in order to equalize the flow speed of the gases being drawn in through the nozzle 38 to that of the gases in the flue , the pump 8 is associated with a bypass valve 9a and a valve 9 so that the flow rate of the air 13 being supplied to the ejector 41 can be adjusted through the manipulation of the valves 9a , 9 . as a part 45 of the gas sample 44 introduced into the suction pipe 3 is further drawn off into the measuring instrument 5 through the extracting tube 16 , sampling by synchronized suction is again required , that is , the flow speed of the gas sample 44 in the suction pipe 3 must be equal to that of the gases 45 at the inlet opening of the extracting tube 16 . when the rate at which the gas sample is supplied to the instrument 5 is variable , the rate of gas supply is so chosen as to be equal to the flow rate of the gas sample in the suction pipe . usually , however , the rate of gas supply is kept constant , and the suction pipe of a sufficiently large inside diameter is used to keep the flow speed of the gas sample 44 low , so that the error due to unsynchronized suction may be neglected . when the gas quantity being supplied to the measuring instrument 5 is constant , the gas speed in the suction pipe 3 is equal only at one point to that in the inlet opening of the extracting tube 16 . if the flow speed of the gas sample 44 in the suction pipe 3 is low , the error in sampling of smoke dust will decrease accordingly even though the sampling is done by unsynchronized suction , and therefore the inside diameter of the suction pipe 3 may be increased until the gas speed drops to the level where the deposition of smoke dust by setting down can be disregarded . while a part of the gas sample 4 taken in through the suction pipe is conducted through the extracting tube 16 to the measuring instrument 5 , the rest 47 of the gases is discharged , together with the air 13 supplied to the ejector 41 , to the flue 1 through the duct 26 and its exit 48 . because no flue gas other than the sample is released out of the flue , there is practically no disposal problem after the sampling . an additional advantage is that , since the inlet of the sampling nozzle 38 and the exit 48 of the duct 26 are open in the same atmosphere at the same pressure , synchronized suction is made possible without being influenced in any way by the static pressure in the flue . this concept is applicable as well to the embodiment of the injection type already described in conjunction with fig1 . fig9 is a graph showing the relation between the quantity of air supply to the ejector and the quantity of flue gases taken in for sampling . it will be seen from fig8 and 9 how much air should be supplied to the ejector in order to equalize the speed of gases being drawn in through the sampling nozzle to that of the gases flowing in the flue , when the flue gas speed has changed . if such is the case , it is merely necessary to manipulate the bypass valve 9a and the like while watching the flow meter 11 until the equalization in flow rates is attained . the bypass valve may be operated by hand or automatically through linkage to means for sensing the flow speed of the gas stream 2 in the flue . with the sampler shown in fig6 and 7 which relies upon an ejection effect for the sampling action , it is also possible to locate the free end of the extracting tube 16 that conducts the sample 45 for analysis to the analyzing instrument 5 , rearwardly of the ejector 41 ( toward the flange 27 ), and thereby accomplish the dilution and suction of a part of the gaseous mixture , which was obtained by mixing and diluting the exhaust gases 37 drawn in by the ejection effect with the air 13 supplied to the ejector 41 , for introduction into the analyzing instrument 5 through the extracting tube 16 . in this manner the same result is obtained as with the sampler of fig1 that makes use of the injection effect for the sampling purpose . another feature of this second embodiment of the invention is that the dilution multiple can be kept unchanged in disregard of any variation in the quantity of air 13 being supplied to the sampler . fig1 shows still another embodiment of the invention . throughout fig1 , and 10 like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts . in this embodiment the eduction pipe or duct 26 is once extended through the flange 27 to the outside of the flue 1 and then bent back to open 48 in the flue . the structure renders it possible to utilize the heat of the exhaust gases 50 in heating the extracting tube 16 . it thus prevents cooling of the extracting tube 16 outside of the flange 27 and the flue 1 , and avoids dew condensation of the moisture content of the gas sample 45 . as stated above , the sampler of the invention is outstandingly advantageous in that it permits the operation from the outside to effect sampling by synchronized suction through an increase in the inside diameter of the sampling nozzle . in addition , like the embodiment shown in fig1 those of fig6 and 10 may have purging means , too . the method of operating the embodiments of fig1 and 6 from the outside for their sampling by synchronized suction is to manipulate the valve 9a and / or the valve 9 until the reading of the pressure gauge 50 for the flue gases in the flue and the reading of the pressure gauge 51 for the flue gases entering the sampling tube 3 become equal , so that the flue gas pressure is equalized to the gas pressure in the sampling tube . in this way synchronized suction is carried out . for dust monitors the synchronized suction is essential because the monitors , which measure the dust contents of flue gases , tend to give higher or lower readings than the actual values of dust concentrations unless the gases are sampled by syychronized suction . for the instruments other than dust monitors , which merely measure gas compositions , the means for realizing the synchronized suction is not always required . although the present invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments thereof as divided into two types , injection and ejection types , the both are common in that they take in sample gases for the analyzing instrument by taking advantage of the phenomenon of suction by the diluting gas . as has been described above , this invention provides a sampler for analyzing equipment having a highly efficient diluter operable with a constant dilution multiple . | 6 |
fig1 shows a longitudinal cross - sectional view of a fluid pump 10 in accordance with the present invention . a two - piece pump housing comprises an inlet pump housing 12 and an outlet pump housing 14 . the pump housing has a housing cavity 15 therein which contains an encapsulated stator assembly 22 . referring to fig2 the encapsulated stator assembly 22 defines a rotor cavity 17 with an opening 19 . the encapsulated stator assembly 22 comprises a polymeric capsule member 21 , that has a plurality of diffuser vanes 18 molded integrally thereon . polymeric capsule member 21 encloses and seals a motor stator 20 and motor power leads 32 . thus , when the fluid pump 10 is used in an engine cooling system , the motor stator 20 and motor power leads 32 are protected from the liquid engine coolant . motor stator 20 comprises a plurality of steel laminations 20 a and a plurality of copper windings 20 b . returning to fig1 located within rotor cavity 17 is a rotor assembly 28 , consisting of a rotor 28 a and a rotor shaft 28 b . the rotor shaft 28 b is supported by a front bearing 42 and a rear bearing 40 . rear bearing 40 is located within the encapsulated stator assembly 22 . front bearing 42 and seal 44 are located within the front cover 26 that plugs the rotor cavity opening 19 . fig3 shows a front perspective view of encapsulated motor assembly 22 . in particular , it shows diffuser vanes 18 which are of split construction ( but need not be of split construction for this invention ), and the motor power leads 32 which are oriented with substantial circumferential symmetry around the longitudinal axis of the encapsulated stator assembly 22 . as seen in fig1 motor power leads 32 interface with a circuit board assembly 34 . returning to fig1 impeller 16 is slip fit onto the rotor shaft 28 b and secured with a buttonhead capscrew 50 . a drive pin 30 transversely located through rotor shaft 28 b drives impeller 16 via slot 23 . fig4 shows impeller 16 with slot 23 configured to receive drive pin 30 . fig5 shows the inlet pump housing 12 attached to the outlet pump housing 14 . outlet pump housing 14 is again shown in fig6 this time with motor power leads 32 . fig7 shows the outside of pump 10 including the inlet pump housing 12 , the outlet pump housing 14 , the circuit board assembly 34 , and the connection points between circuit board assembly 34 and the motor power leads 32 . referring to fig8 a fluid pump 60 is shown in accordance with one alternative embodiment of the invention . although similar in function to the preferred embodiment , there are a number of notable differences with regard to form . rather than a two - piece housing , this embodiment employs a three - piece housing comprising an inlet housing 62 , a stator housing assembly 64 , and an outlet housing 66 , assembled with bolts 68 . the stator housing assembly 64 , shown in fig1 and sectioned in fig1 , includes an encapsulated stator assembly 75 and a substantially cylindrical metal case 73 which provides an outlet for a single bundle of motor power leads 92 and diffuser vanes 83 that fully define the boundary of the working fluid . the encapsulated stator assembly 75 includes a plurality of steel laminations 90 a , a plurality of windings 90 b , and a plurality of motor power leads 92 . a polymeric capsule member 77 encloses and seals the stator assembly 90 , and also defines a rotor cavity 79 . as shown in fig9 a rotor assembly 82 , consisting of a rotor 82 a and a rotor shaft 82 b , mislocated within rotor cavity 79 . rotor shaft 82 b is supported by a rear bearing 96 positioned within the rear cover 74 which plugs the rear opening of the rotor cavity 79 , and a front bearing 86 and seals 100 positioned within a front cover 70 which plugs the forward opening of the rotor cavity 79 . drive pin 84 is positioned transversely through rotor shaft 82 b and drives impeller 76 . referring to fig9 unlike the preferred embodiment , this alternative embodiment has two separate sets of diffuser vanes , the first set 81 being configured on the front cover 70 and the second set 83 being configured on the stator housing assembly 64 . fig1 and 11 clearly show the resultant fluid passage 88 formed between the vanes 83 and the inner and outer walls 73 a , 73 b of the metal case 73 . the encapsulated stator assembly 75 may be manufactured by locating the stator assembly 90 within the substantially cylindrical metal case 73 and temporarily capping the two open ends of the metal case . the stator assembly 90 would then be encapsulated in a polymeric thermally conductive , electrically insulative material 77 . the opposing ends of the metal case would be uncapped , and the front and rear covers 70 , 74 would be attached to the metal case to complete the encapsulated stator assembly 75 . fig1 shows a second alternative embodiment of the fluid pump of fig1 . seal cartridge assembly 26 plugs opening 19 in rotor cavity 17 . wear sleeve 24 is slip fit over the end of rotor shaft 52 b . an impeller 16 is slip fit onto wear sleeve 24 and is secured to rotor shaft 52 b with a buttonhead capscrew 50 . a drive pin 30 transversely located through rotor shaft 52 b and wear sleeve 24 serves multiple functions . the drive pin 30 drives impeller 16 via slot 23 ( similarly as shown in fig4 ); it prevents wear sleeve 24 from rotating relative to rotor shaft 52 b ; it captures axial loads from rotor assembly 52 . some of the features and components of the seal cartridge assembly 26 are shown in fig1 and 13 . body 27 has a wet side 31 in contact with the working fluid , such as a liquid engine coolant , and a dry side 29 . the body 27 also contains a plurality of holes 47 for attaching the seal cartridge assembly 26 to the encapsulated stator assembly 57 , using bolts 48 . a seal 53 is press fit into the body 27 and plugs an opening on the wet side 31 . referring to fig1 , the wear sleeve 24 is machined to form an inner diameter and has an axis coaxial to an axis of the body 27 . a hole 25 is machined transverse to the wear sleeve axis and is configured to receive drive pin 30 . the rotor shaft 52 b has a transverse hole 56 that also receives drive pin 30 . returning to fig1 , the front bearing 51 , being press fit onto the substantially cylindrical wear sleeve 24 , plugs an opening on the dry side 29 . the bearing 51 and wear sleeve 24 are press - fit into the cartridge body , and the wear sleeve 24 is slip fit over the shaft 52 b . the seal cartridge assembly 26 also contains leak detection ports 33 , shown in fig1 , for visual or electronic indication of seal 53 failure . 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 . | 5 |
according to the present invention , since the herbicidal composition is in a solid form and contains a thickening agent , it is difficult to swallow in the solid form itself and , if an amount of the composition corresponding to a lethal dose to human beings is dissolved in a glass of water , only a non - fluidizable mixture , which is difficult to swallow , is obtained . of course , the present solid herbicidal composition can be changed to an aqueous solution by diluting the composition with a large amount of water . however , since the paraquat concentration of this diluted solution is very low , a lethal amount cannot be ingested unless a remarkably large amount of the diluted solution is drunk . this is practically difficult and the effects of nauseants can be utilized to decrease the likelihood of death from such ingestion . furthermore , since the present solid herbicidal composition can be stored and transported in glass and plastic vessels , and since the present solid herbicidal composition can be used on - site by diluting with water , there is no substantial difference between the present solid herbicidal composition and conventional commercially available paraquat solutions in the transportation , handling , and applicability thereof . when diluting the present solid herbicidal composition with a large amount of water for use on - site , the present solid herbicidal composition becomes a low viscosity solution suitable for spraying . furthermore , the solid herbicidal composition according to the present invention may optionally contain , in addition to the essential paraquat and thickening agent , various conventional ingredients such as colorants , odorants , and nauseants , to further improve the safety thereof . in addition , surfactants and other herbicidal active components also can be included in the present herbicidal composition to improve the herbicidal effects and the applicability of the herbicidal composition . the paraquat usable in the present herbicidal composition is substantially in the form of a solid . accordingly , 1 , 1 &# 39 ;- dimethyl - 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bipyridylium salts ( e . g ., dichloride , dibromide , and bismethylsulfate or the complex salts with , for example , manganese , iron , urea , thiourea , p - aminophenol , catechol ) in the form of crystals can be directly mixed with the thickening agent . however , the industrially or commercially available aqueous paraquat solutions also can be used in the preparation of the present solid herbicidal composition by adding a water - absorbing inorganic fine powder to form an apparently water - free fluidizable solid paraquat prior to mixing with the thicking agent . any water - absorbing inorganic fine powder can be used for this purpose so long as the herbicidal effects of the paraquat and the characteristics of the thickening agents are not adversely affected . examples of such water - absorbing inorganic fine powders are white carbon , diatomaceous earth , finely divided calcium silicate , perlite , calcined kaoline , and zeolite . these can be used alone or in any mixture thereof . there are no critical limitations to the addition amount of the water - absorbing inorganic fine powder , as long as the paraquat solution can be substantially solidified . for example , when an about 40 % aqueous paraquat dichloride solution is used , an equal amount or more , based on the amount of the water contained in the paraquat dichloride solution , of the inorganic powder is generally used in the case of , for example , white carbon , finely divided calcium silicate , and perlite , and two times or more , based on the amount of the water contained in the paraquat dichloride solution , of the inorganic powder in generally used in the case of , for example , diatomaceous earth , calcined kaoline , and zeolite . although there is no critical limitation to the upper limit of the amount of the inorganic powder , generally speaking , the maximum amount of the inorganic powder is ten times the amount of water in the paraquat dichloride solution , mainly from an economical viewpoint . there are no critical limitations to the paraquat concentration of the present solid herbicidal compositions . however , when the paraquat concentration is too low , only a small dilution ratio of the composition with water is required to obtained the desired concentration when spraying on - site and , therefore , spraying tends to become difficult from the standpoint of both the viscosity and the spraying amount , and the efficiency of the transportation and storage also tends to be decreased . on the other hand , when the paraquat concentration in the present herbicidal composition is too high , the above - mentioned problems do not arise but the allowable safety range tends to become small from the point of view of preventing the possible occurrence of toxic or poisonous accidents . for these reasons , the practically preferable concentration range of the paraquat in the present herbicidal compositions is from about 3 % by weight to 30 % by weight . the thickening agents usable in the present invention are those which are capable of increasing the viscosity or forming the gel with the addition of a relatively small amount of water to the solid herbicidal composition at an ambient temperature in a short period of time . there are no specific limitations to the types of the thickening agents as long as the above - mentioned requirements are fulfilled . various natural and synthetic thickening agents can be used in the present invention . typical examples of such thickening agents are alginic acid salts , propylene glycol alginates ; carrageenan , guar gum , modified guar gum , xanthan gum , modified xanthan gum , carboxymethyl cellulose salts , methyl cellulose , hydroxyalkyl cellulose , pectine , locust bean gum , carboxymethyl starch salts , pullulan , polyvinyl alcohol , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyacrylic acid salts , and polyacryl amide . these thickening agents may be used alone or in any mixture thereof . furthermore , various conventional acids or salts also may be used in the present herbicidal compositions to further improve the gellation or thickening characteristics of the present solid herbicidal composition . the addition of inorganic salts to the present herbicidal composition can further improve the gellation properties of the present herbicidal compositions . there are no definite concentrations of the thickening agents in the present herbicidal compositions since the concentrations largely depend upon the type of thickening agent and the concentration of the paraquat component . as one practical measure , the thickening agent can be used in an amount such that the herbicidal compositions causes gellation , when approximately 3 g ( i . e ., the above - explained lethal dose of paraquat for humans ) or more , in terms of paraquat cation , of the herbicidal composition according to the present invention is diluted with approximately 40 ml of water ( i . e ., the above - explained average amount drunk in one mouthful by an adult human ). that is , when the paraquat concentration of the present solid herbicidal composition is 3 % to 30 % by weight , the thickening agent can be added in an amount such that all of the composition becomes a high viscous liquid or gel that cannot be easily swallowed when the present herbicidal composition is diluted with a four - tenths ( 4 / 10 ) amount of water in the case of a paraquat concentration of 3 %, to 4 times the amount of water in the case of a paraquat concentration of 30 %. furthermore , the concentration of the thickening agent in the present herbicidal composition should be such that the composition becomes an easily sprayable low viscosity liquid when the composition is diluted with water for practical use . thus , generally speaking , the thickening agent can be added to the present herbicidal composition in an amount such that the composition becomes an easily sprayable low viscosity liquid for practical use , when the composition is diluted with 50 times the amount of water in the case of a paraquat concentration of 3 %, to 500 times the amount of water in the case of a paraquat concentration of 30 %. more specifically , the concentration of the thickening agent in the present herbicidal concentration is preferably more than 0 . 5 times but less than 15 times , more preferably 0 . 6 times to 12 times , of the amount of the paraquat ( i . e ., cation ) in the composition , although the concentration depends upon the type of thickening agent used . the solid herbicidal composition according to the present invention may further contain , as an optional component , conventional colorants , odorants , nauseants , and the like to improve the safety of the paraquat herbicide as well as surfactants and other herbicidal active components to improve the herbicidal effects . however , it should be noted that these optional components should be added in such an amount that the herbicidal effects and the other characteristics of the present composition are not adversely affected . the present invention will be further explained by , but is by no means limited to , the following examples and test examples . in the examples , &# 34 ; parts &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;%&# 34 ; are all by weight unless otherwise specified . paraquat wettable powders were prepared by uniformly mixing and grinding solid paraquat components and other ingredients in the following formulation ratios : ______________________________________ ( 1 ) paraquat dichloride 25 partssodium carboxymethyl - starch 75 parts ( primojel ®: matsutani kagaku kogyoco ., ltd . )( 2 ) paraquat dichloride 25 partsguar gum 35 parts ( emco gum ® csa 200 / 50 : meyhallchemical a . g .) white carbon 40 parts ( carplex ® # 80 : shionogi & amp ; co ., ltd ., hereinbelow &# 34 ; white carbon &# 34 ;)( 3 ) paraquat dichloride 15 partspullulan 60 parts ( pullulan ® pf30 : hayashibaraseibutsukagaku kenkyusho k . k . ) white carbon 20 partssurfactant ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl 5 partsether )( 4 ) paraquat dichloride 15 partspolyvinyl pyrrolidone 60 parts ( polyvinyl pyrrolidone pvp k - 90 : wako pure chemical industries , ltd .) white carbon 20 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene higher aliphatic alcoholether )( 5 ) paraquat dichloride 15 partscarboxymethyl starch 60 parts ( solvitose ® c - 5 : matsutani kagakukogyo co ., ltd .) white carbon 20 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene alkylamine )( 6 ) paraquat dichloride 25 partsxanthan gum 20 parts ( kelzan ®: kelco division of merck , hereinbelow &# 34 ; xanthan gum &# 34 ;) white carbon 30 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) foaming agentmalic acid 10 partssodium bicarbonate 10 parts ( 7 ) paraquat dimethylsulfate 30 partsxanthan gum 40 partswhite carbon 25 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) ______________________________________ paraquat wettable powders were prepared by first adding the water - absorbable inorganic fine powder listed below to a concentrated paraquat solution ( i . e ., aqueous solution containing 37 % by weight of paraquat dichloride ) to form a solid mixture , followed by the addition of the other ingredients in the following formulation ratios . the resultant mixtures were uniformly mixed and ground . ______________________________________ ( 8 ) concentrated paraquat solution 27 partssodium alginate 45 parts ( kelgin ® hv : kelco division of merck ) white carbon 23 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 9 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partspropylene glycol alginate 20 parts ( kimiroid ® hv : kimitsu kagaku kogyok . k ) white carbon 35 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 10 ) concentrated paraquat solution 27 partscarrageenan 45 parts ( takaragen ® g50 : takagen corporation ) white carbon 23 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 11 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partsguar gum 15 parts ( emco gum ® csa 200 / 50 ) white carbon 35 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) nauseant 1 part ( emetine hydrochloride ) odorant 4 parts ( β - phenethyl alcohol )( 12 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partsmodified guar gum 15 parts ( jaguar ® hp - 8 : meyhall chemical ag ) white carbon 35 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) nauseant 1 part ( tartar emetic ) β - phenethyl alcohol 4 parts ( 13 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partsxanthan gum 15 parts ( kelzan ®) white carbon 30 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) anhydrous sodium sulfate 10 parts ( 14 ) concentrated paraquat solution 27 partssodium carboxymethyl cellulose 45 parts ( sunrose ® sn 20tc : sanyokokusaku pulp co ., ltd .) white carbon 23 partssurfactant 4 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 15 ) concentrated paraquat solution 50 partsmethyl cellulose 10 parts ( maporose ® m - 10000 : matsumoto yushiseiyaku k . k . ) white carbon 36 partssurfactant 4 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 16 ) concentrated paraquat solution 20 partssodium carboxymethyl starch 57 parts ( primojel ®) white carbon 18 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 17 ) concentrated paraquat solution 27 partspolyvinyl alcohol 45 parts ( pva 117s : kuraray co ., ltd .) white carbon 23 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 18 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partspolyacrylamide 24 parts ( viscomate ® ns : showa denko k . k . ) white carbon 31 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 19 ) concentrated paraquat solution 27 partspectin 45 parts ( genu pectin bb rapid set ; thecopenhagen pectin factory ltd .) white carbon 23 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 20 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partsxanthan gum 14 parts ( kelzan ®) locust bean gum 10 parts ( meyprodyn ® 200 : meyhall chemical ag ) white carbon 31 partssurfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether )( 21 ) concentrated paraquat solution 40 partsxanthan gum 18 parts ( kelzan ®) diatomaceous earth 37 parts ( radiolite : showa kagaku k . k . ) surfactant 5 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) ______________________________________ of the following ingredients , the concentrated paraquat solution used in examples 8 to 21was mixed with white carbon to form a solid mixture , followed by mixing the other ingredients . the resultant mixture was uniformly mixed and ground , and then granulated by spraying water containing 2 % of pvp k - 90 in a fluid bed type granulator . ______________________________________concentrated paraquat solution 54 partsguar gum 9 parts ( emco gum ® csa 200 / 50 ) white carbon 34 parts ( carplex ® # 80 ) surfactant 3 parts ( polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether ) ______________________________________ the resultant paraquat wettable granules , after drying in the fluid bed , had the following composition . ______________________________________paraquat dichloride 30 partsguar gum 14 partswhite carbon 51 . 5 partssurfactant 4 . 5 parts______________________________________ paraquat wettable powders having the following compositions were prepared by mixing the concentrated aqueous paraquat dichloride solution with white carbon to form a solid mixture . the resultant solid mixture was uniformly mixed with the other ingredients , followed by drying to evaporate the water from the mixture . ______________________________________ ( 23 ) paraquat dichloride 35 partsguar gum 23 parts ( emco gum ® csa 200 / 50 ) white carbon 42 parts ( 24 ) paraquat dichloride 35 partscarrageenan 23 parts ( takaragen : takagen corpcration ) white carbon 42 parts ( 25 ) paraquat dichloride 35 partsxanthan gum 23 parts ( kelzan ®) white carbon 42 parts______________________________________ a 30 g amount of the solid composition prepared in example 1 was mixed with 150 ml of water while stirring so as to obtain a mixture having a paraquat dichloride concentration of 5 %. the mixture became pasty shortly after the water was added . thus , a pasty mixture , which is impossible to swallow , was obtained . on the other hand , the paraquat dichloride composition prepared in example 1 was diluted with water in such a ratio that 50 g of the effective component was included in 150 liters of the diluted composition . the diluted herbicidal composition thus obtained was sprayed under pressure onto foliage ( or stems and leaves ) of crabgrass , purple nutsedge , common lambsquarter , pigweed , and barnyard millet , grown in test pots , by using a pressure type atomizer in such an amount that 50 g of the active component per 10 are was applied . prior to the spraying , a conventional nonionic type spreading agent was added to the herbicidal composition . during the spraying , clogging of the spray nozzle of the atomizer did not occur . when the herbicidal effects were compared with those of commercially available paraquat dichloride solution 5 days after the treatment , no substantial difference was observed . a 50 g amount of the solid composition prepared in example 11 was mixed with 150 ml of water while stirring so as to obtain a mixture having a paraquat dichloride concentration of 5 %. the mixture became pasty shortly after the water was added . thus , a pasty mixture , which is impossible to swallow , was obtained . on the other hand , the paraquat dichloride composition prepared in example 11 was diluted with water in such a ratio that 50 g of the effective component was included in 150 liters of the diluted composition . the diluted herbicidal composition thus obtained was sprayed under pressure onto the foliage of crabgrass , purple nutsedge , common lambsquarter , pigweed , and barnyard millet grown in test pots , by using a pressure type atomizer in such an amount that 50 g of the active component per 10 are was applied . prior to the spraying , a conventional nonionic type spreading agent was added to the herbicidal composition . during the spraying , clogging of the spray nozzle of the atomizer did not occur . when the herbicidal effects were compared with those of a commercially available paraquat dichloride solution 5 days after the treatment , no substantial difference was observed . a 50 g amount of the solid composition prepared example 13 was mixed with 150 ml of water while stirring so as to obtain a mixture having a paraquat dichloride concentration of 5 %. the mixture became pasty shortly after the water was added . thus , a pasty mixture , which is impossible to swallow , was obtained . on the other hand , the paraquat dichloride composition prepared in example 13 was diluted with water in such a ratio that 50 g of the effective component was included in 150 liters of the diluted composition . the diluted herbicidal composition thus obtained was sprayed under pressure onto the foliage of crabgrass , purple nutsedge , common lambsquarter , pigweed , and barnyard millet grown in test pots , by using a pressure type atomizer in such an amount that 50 g of the active component per 10 are was applied . prior to the spraying , a conventional nonionic type spreading agent was added to the herbicidal composition . during the spraying , clogging of the spray nozzle of the atomizer did not occur . when the herbicidal effects were compared with those of a commercially available paraquat dichloride solution 5 days after the treatment , no substantial difference was observed . a 40 g amount of the solid composition prepared in example 15 was mixed with 150 ml of water while stirring so as to obtain a mixture having a paraquat dichloride concentration of 5 %. the mixture became pasty shortly after the water was added . thus , a pasty mixture , which is impossible to swallow , was obtained . on the other hand , the paraquat composition prepared in example 15 was diluted with water in such a ratio that 50 g of the effective component was included in 150 liters of the diluted composition . the diluted herbicidal composition thus obtained was sprayed under pressure onto the foliage of crabgrass , purple nutsedge , common lambsquarter , pigweed , and barnyard millet grown in test pots , by using a pressure type atomizer in such an amount that 50 g of the active component per 10 are was applied . prior to the spraying , a conventional nonionic type spreading agent was added to the herbicidal composition . during the spraying , clogging of the spray nozzle of the atomizer did not occur . when herbicidal effects were compared with those of a commercially available paraquat dichloride solution 5 days after the treatment , no substantial difference was observed . the herbicidal effects of the paraquat dichloride wettable powders obtained in examples 23 to 25 were evaluated in an agricultural field . as reference examples , a 24 % aqueous paraquat dichloride solution and a 32 % bialaphos liquid agent were used . the weeds used for the test were crabgrass having a height of 25 to 30 cm , smartweed having a height of 50 cm , common lambsquarter having a height of 50 cm , and pigweed having a height of 25 cm . the area in each test was 1 . 5 m × 2 m ( i . e ., 3 m 2 ). the diluted herbicidal composition samples containing 0 . 3 % of a surfactant were sprayed by using a pressure type spray atomizer at an active component amount of 0 . 5 or 1 kg a . i . ( i . e ., active ingredient )/ ha and at a spraying water amount of 1000 l / ha . six days after the spraying , the herbicidal effects were observed according to the following standard the results are as shown in table 1 . as is clear from the results shown in table 1 , since the grass height at the time of the treatment is relatively large , complete killing was not obtained at a rate of 0 . 5 kg a . i ./ ha . however , in the case of 1 . 0 kg a . i ./ ha , good results were obtained and there was no substantial difference between the compositions of examples 23 and 25 and the conventional paraquat dichloride solution . table 1__________________________________________________________________________sample rate weed controlcomposition no . ( kg a . i ./ ha ) crabgrass smartweed lambsquarter pigweed__________________________________________________________________________example no . 23 0 . 5 60 93 70 80 1 . 0 95 95 100 100example no . 24 0 . 5 85 85 90 93 1 . 0 98 100 100 100example no . 25 0 . 5 90 90 90 98 1 . 0 90 100 100 100paraquat dichloride 0 . 5 80 75 85 95 1 . 0 93 98 100 100bialaphos 0 . 5 60 93 70 80 1 . 0 95 90 100 100control -- 0 0 0 0 ( no treatment ) __________________________________________________________________________ | 0 |
referring now to fig1 and 2 , schematic depictions of the present invention are shown in which package 10 includes major side panels 14 , and minor side panels 16 . at least one of the minor side panels 16 includes holes or other openings 18 on each of its four comers which preferably extend to the adjacent major side panels 14 and minor side panels 16 . when the packages 10 are stacked for shipping , they are placed on one of the major sides 14 which is the shipping orientation . as a result , the minor side panels 16 are typically located in a vertical orientation . as such , two of the holes or other openings 18 will always be found at the bottom of the package 10 when in a shipping orientation . as a result , if any of the individual containers within the package 10 leak , those fluids can escape from package 10 through drainage openings 18 . as described above , drainage is important to prevent the corrosion and perforation of surrounding cans which can came leakage and contaminate the exterior of the surrounding cans . typically , the package 10 will be constructed of a paperboard or other similar packaging materials known to those skilled in the art . in particular , the packaging material is preferably suitable for printing a variety of marketing and other information on the exterior or package 10 . turning now to fig3 in which one embodiment of a package 20 according to the present invention is depicted in the orientation suitable for use in the expanded configuration . as shown , package 20 includes major side panels 24 and minor side panels 26 . the uppermost minor side panel include two portions , 26a and 26b , which are held closed during shipping by adhesive or other means known to those skilled in the art . when portions 26a and 26b are opened as shown , major side panel 24b can be expanded outward as shown in fig3 . that expansion is provided for by expansion areas 29 incorporated into the design of package 20 . typically , expansion areas 29 will comprise accordion - type folds in the packaging material used to form package 20 . as shown , a single accordion fold is provided in package 20 , although it will be understood that a multiple number of folds could be incorporated if desired . one advantage of a single fold is the minimization of the stacking height of the package 20 when shipped in its non - expanded configuration in the shipping orientation . although not depicted in fig3 it will be understood that an accordion fold is also provided at the bottom or major side panel 24b which allows edge 27 of that major side panel to also move outwardly with respect to the panels such as 26 and 22 . in the preferred embodiment , package 20 is lined with a waterproof or water resistant material or coming to provide a means to prevent or substantially reduce leakage of liquids from within package 20 when in its expanded configuration and an orientation suitable for use with notched areas 28 towards the top of package 20 as shown in fig3 . in all cases , however , it will be understood that the notches 28 which provide drainage openings in package 20 when in its unexpanded configuration and in the shipping orientation must also remain free of obstructions to allow for drainage when package 20 is in its shipping configuration . the means for sealing package 20 can include wax or other coatings on the surfaces of major side panels 24 and minor side panels 26 . furthermore , the surfaces of any expansion means such as the accordion folds 29 depicted in fig3 must also be provided as waterproof or water resistant to reduce leakage when ice is placed within the expanded volume of package 20 . turning now to fig4 which depicts an alternate embodiment of a package 30 according to the present invention , it will be seen that an alternate expansion means is depicted in which lower edge 37 of major side panel 34b remains fixed and provides an axis around which major side panel 34b rotates to expand the volume within package 30 using expansion areas 39 depicted in fig4 . although the embodiments depicted in fig3 and 4 include only one of the major side panels ( 14 , 24 or 34 ) which move to expand the package ( 10 , 20 , or 30 ), it will be understood that both major side panels ( 14 , 24 , and 34 ) in the packages ( 10 , 20 , or 30 ) could expand to allow for the introduction of ice into the package to chill the beverage containers located therein . fig5 depicts a cross - sectional view of package 20 depicted in fig3 which includes containers 40 and ice 42 within the expanded package 20 . in this view , the bottom expansion area 29 can be seen which allows major side band 24b to move outwardly from the cans 40 . in addition , it can be seen in this view that ice 42 is able to contact each of the cans 40 to enhance the heat transfer between the ice 42 and all of the containers 40 in package 20 . fig6 depicts yet another alternate embodiment of a package 50 in which ice is placed on the exposed individual containers in the package 50 . package 50 includes major side panel 54 and panels 54a and 54b which combine to form a second major side panel opposite panel 54 . minor side panels 56 connect the two major side panels to form the package 50 . access to the contents of the package 50 is through the major side panel comprising panels 54a and 54b . as depicted in fig6 panels 54a and 54b are connected by panels 57 which include fold lines 55 . when panels 54a and 54b are folded downward into the shipping configuration , thus forming a rectangular - shaped package for shipping , panels 57 are folded inward and lie underneath panels 54a and 54b . openings 58 are provided in each of the comers as shown and provide for the drainage of any leaked product or condensed fluids while package 50 is being shipped . as a result , package 50 must be shipped while lying on any one of the minor side panels 56 or the major side panel formed by panels 54a and 54b when in the shipping position . in that way , a pair of openings 58 will always lie on the lowest plane occupied by package 50 . in situations in which the product is purchased chilled , it may be sufficient to place ice only on those containers which will be removed next from the package . to accommodate that situation , fig7 depicts a package 60 in which one of the minor side panels 66 opens similar to the design of package 50 . after a container is removed from a package of this design , the ice then falls down through the package 60 to the next containers . in this design , the package 60 can be stacked for shipping on either of its major side panels 64 , similar to the packages depicted in fig1 - 4 . like the packages described above in fig3 and 4 , packages 50 and 60 are also preferably lined with a water - resistant or waterproof coating or material to reduce leakage of water as ice placed in the expanded packages melts . as indicated above , packages according to the present invention can be manufactured from a number of materials . the preferred material is paperboard similar to that used in packages for beer and soda cans , although any formable material with sufficient strength could be substituted . if the material used to construct the packages is itself water - resistant or waterproof , then no additional means of sealing the package may be required . the actual techniques of constructing packages according to the present invention will follow known methods of forming blanks which are then folded and glued or otherwise secured to provide a finished package of the desired shape . those details will be well - known to those skilled in the art of constructing packages and will not be further described herein . in describing the invention above , reference has been made to the illustrated embodiments and advantages of the invention . those skilled in the art and familiar with the invention may recognize modifications and other changes which will fall within the scope of the invention as described by the following claims . | 5 |
fig1 depicts an embodiment of a base of a pedicure spa that resembles a rock formation . it should be noted that the base can also be made to resemble wood . the base 100 generally includes a seating portion 105 . a chair 120 is generally attached on the seating portion 105 . a basin 110 is generally disposed in adjacent to the seating portion 105 , where water is filled and a person &# 39 ; s feet can be submersed in . a foot rest ( not shown ) can be place adjacent to the basin 110 opposite from seating portion 105 . the seating portion 105 , basin 110 , and the foot rest are generally place on top 115 of the basin 110 . the base 100 of the pedicure spa , from a top view , can have the shape of , such as , but not limited to , a rectangle , circle , ellipse , hexagon , octagon , etc . a cross - sectional view 125 of a front portion 130 of the base 100 shows the outer shape and the surface texture 135 of the artificial rock , which are described later in relation to fig2 . fig2 depicts a cross - sectional view illustrating layers of materials used during the procedure of making an artificial rock , such as that shown in fig1 . the artificial rock is generally made using a molding process that shapes pliable raw material using a frame or model called a mold 205 . the mold 205 is a hollowed - out block that is filled with a liquid , such as but not limited to , plastic , glass or metal . the liquid hardens or sets inside the mold 205 , adopting its shape . in this instance , the interior portion 207 of the mold 205 resembles the outer shape and the surface texture 135 , such as that shown in the cross - sectional view 125 of a front portion of the base 100 in fig1 . referring back to fig2 , after the mold 205 is made , cementitious material is applied within the mold 205 , forming an outer shell . the cementitious material 210 includes acrylic and / or resin - modified cementitious material . after the outer shell 210 hardens , a hardcoat , such as urethane , polyurea , fiberglass , or gfrc 215 , is applied on the outer shell 210 . once the outer shell and hardcoat within the mold harden , the mold 205 is pulled off ; the result is a base of a pedicure spa that has the appearance of a rock or wood . the cementitious material further includes , but is not limited to , cement , glass fiber reinforced cement ( gfrc ), and glass fiber reinforcement . the gfrc is a cement - based composite containing glass fibers for reinforcement . gfrc is substantially lower in weight than plain concrete , with higher flexural and compressive strengths . as mentioned above , acrylic and / or resin - modified cementitious material can be used in conjunction with the hardcoat to form the base resembling rock and wood . the hardcoat includes , but is not limited to , polyurea / polyurethane hybrid . the artificial rock or wood made of acrylic and / or resin - modified cementitious material reinforced with the hardcoat hardens more quickly than artificial rock or wood made only of cement ; thus , more artificial rocks can be manufactured in a shorter period of time . fig3 is a flow diagram that illustrates operation of an embodiment of making the artificial rock . beginning with block 305 , the operation 300 is comprised of making a mold of a rock , rock formation , or wood . there are various ways of making a mold . in one embodiment , the method begins with locating a natural rock or wood that is to be used for its shape and surface texture . the rock includes , but is not limited to , a rock , boulder , combination of rocks , and cliffs . the wood includes , but is not limited to , a tree and a combination of the trunk and root of the tree . the surface of the rock to be molded is cleaned , and flanges are installed if needed . the rock or wood is allowed to dry and then is applied with a few coats of silicone urethane latex using a paint brush or airless sprayer with drying time between each coat . it should be noted that other materials can be used in place of latex , such as , but not limited to , silicone , urethane , or other similar materials . the latex is applied with a few layers of cheesecloth with drying time between each layer . it should be noted that other materials can be used in place of cheesecloth , such as burlap and nylon mesh . the dried cheesecloth is then applied with a few more coats of latex to seal against moisture . the latex is then dried , and flanges are placed on the latex if needed . the dried latex is coated with a bond release , and the bond release is coated with fiberglass or polyurea / polyurethane . the fiberglass and latex are peeled off , forming the mold . in block 310 , the mold receives cementitious material that includes the acrylic and / or resin - modified cementitious material , which is generally sprayed within the molds . the cementitious material is applied in the mold to form an outer shell shell . in block 315 , once the cementitious material within the mold hardens , spray a hardcoat such as urethane , polyurea , fiberglass , or gfrc . in block 320 , when the hardcoat hardens , pull off the mold . in block 325 , the exposed layer of the hardened outer shell is painted to resemble natural rock . in blocks 330 and 335 , a basin and chair are attached to the base of the pedicure spa . plumbing and electrical parts can also be attached to the base . it should be emphasized that the above - described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations , merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure . many variations and modifications may be made to the above - described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present disclosure and protected by the following claims . | 1 |
as schematically depicted in fig1 the present invention provides electronic apparatus which is representatively in the form of a computer system 10 comprising a monitor 12 and keyboard 14 operatively coupled to a cpu unit 16 . the cpu unit 16 has a data storage device therein , representatively a disk drive 18 , for storing data that may be retrieved by a microprocessor 20 disposed within the cpu unit 16 . disposed in the interior of the cpu unit 16 is a specially designed cooling system 22 which embodies principles of the present invention and is utilized to efficiently cool various heat - generating components within the cpu unit 16 during operation thereof . as shown in fig2 and 3 , one such component is representatively a high speed processor chip 24 which is mounted on a processor board 26 and has a metal heat slug 28 on its outer side . the processor board 26 has a card edge connector portion 30 which is removably received in a connector socket 32 mounted atop a system board 34 . turning now to fig2 and 4 , the cooling system 22 includes a sealed , sel : e contained , fluid - cooled heat sink structure 36 that includes a hollow housing 38 . extending inwardly through an outer wall portion of the housing 38 are a plurality of specially designed liquid - cooled socket structures 40 , representatively four in number , only one of which is shown in fig2 . via supply and return piping 42 , 44 ( preferably flexible tubing ) interconnected as shown between the outlet 46 and inlet 48 of a pump 50 disposed within the housing 38 , a suitable cooling liquid is continuously recirculated sequentially through the sockets 40 ( via subsequently described flow passages therein ) and a radiator 52 extending outwardly through an external wall portion of the housing 38 . an air duct 54 having a fan 56 therein is extended through the interior of the housing 38 between the radiator 52 and an air inlet structure 58 supported on an external wall portion of the housing 38 . during operation of the fan 56 , ambient air 60 is sequentially drawn inwardly through the inlet structure 58 ( see fig4 ), forced rightwardly through the interior of the duct 54 , and forced outwardly through the air side of the radiator 52 to carry away socket heat ( delivered to the sockets 40 from the processor chip 24 and other heat - generating components as later described ) transferred to the cooling liquid delivered to the radiator 52 via the return piping 44 . as will be readily appreciated by those of skill in this particular art , a variety of other fluid - based techniques may be used to remove heat from the sockets 40 . with reference now to fig2 and 5 , each socket 40 illustratively has a generally rectangular shape and is defined by two opposing rectangular body sections 40a and 40b each having an internal fluid flow passage 62 ( see fig2 ) that opens outwardly through spaced apart inlet / outlet openings 62a , 62b in the bottom side of its associated body section . the body sections 40a , 40b are releasably clamped together with suitable fastening structures such as bolts 64 extending through and threaded into body section openings 66 . appropriate access to the fastening structures 64 from the exterior of the housing 38 . rectangular cutout areas 70a formed in facing side surface portions of the body sections 40a , 40b collectively define in the assembled socket 40 a rectangular socket opening 70 extending downwardly through the top end of the socket 40 . representatively , at each socket 40 liquid piping supply and return branch lines 42a , 44a ( see fig5 ) are respectively connected to the openings 62a in the opposing body sections 40a and 40b , and the two body section openings 62b are joined by a short length of flexible tubing 72 . accordingly , at each socket 40 cooling liquid is forced therethrough sequentially via ( 1 ) the opening 62a of the body section 40a , ( 2 ) the internal flow passage 62 of body section 40a , ( 3 ) the opening 62b of body section 40a , ( 4 ) the flexible tubing 64 , ( 5 ) the opening 62b of body section 40b , ( 6 ) the internal flow passage 62 of body section 40b , and ( 7 ) the opening 62a in body section 40b . during operation of the cpu unit 16 , heat generated by the processor chip 24 ( see fig2 ) is efficiently transferred to one of the liquid - cooled sockets 40 by means of a specially designed plug - in heat pipe cooling module 74 . other heat - generating components ( not shown ) within the cpu unit 16 are also connected to other sockets 40 by additional plug - in modules 74 ( also not shown ). the representative plug - in heat pipe cooling module 74 shown in fig2 includes a generally rectangular metal evaporator plate 76 in which the heat - receiving evaporator ends 78a of a plurality of thermosyphoning type heat pipes 78 ( representatively three in number ) are suitably imbedded . as indicated in fig3 the evaporator plate 76 is representatively held in thermal communication with the microprocessor chip 24 by clamping the plate 76 downwardly against the thermal slug 28 using suitable fasteners 80 removably connected between the plate 76 and the processor board 26 . cooling module 74 also includes a generally rectangular metal condensing plate 82 within which the heat - rejecting condensing ends 78b of the heat pipes 78 are suitably imbedded , the condensing plate 82 being sized for complementary receipt in the top end recess 70 of the socket 40 illustrated in fig2 and 5 . the processor board 26 is secured to the condensing plate82 by a sheet metal bracket 84 having , at a right or outer end thereof , a flange portion 86 removably connectable to a chassis section 88 of the cpu unit 16 . the dotted line upper position of the plug - in heat pipe cooling module 74 shown in fig2 is in its uninstalled position , operatively attached to the processor board 26 , with the processor board 26 not yet plugged into the system board connector socket 32 . with the socket bolts 64 loosened , the processor board 26 and its associated cooling module 74 are easily and quickly installed within the cpu unit 16 simply by moving them downwardly toward the system board 34 and socket 40 , as indicated by the arrow 90 in fig2 to bring the processor board 26 and cooling module 74 to their solid line installed orientations in fig2 in which the processor board connector edge portion 30 has entered the system board connector 32 , and the condenser plate 82 has been plugged into the opening 70 of the underlying liquid - cooled socket 40 . after this has been done , the bracket flange 86 is suitably secured to the chassis section 88 , and the socket bolts 64 are tightened to firmly clamp the opposing socket body sections 40a , 40b ( see fig5 ) against the opposite side surfaces 82a , 82b of the plugged - in condensing plate 82 . this clamping feature of the socket 40 provides a good thermal interface between the socket 40 and the plate 82 without the need for thermal grease within the socket . this efficient thermal interface between the socket 40 and the associated condensing plate 82 is enhanced by flat - machining the contacting surfaces of the socket and condensing plate , exerting a relatively high clamping force ( i . e ., substantially greater than ten pounds of clamping force ) between the socket and condensing plate , and positioning the bolts 64 so that the socket body sections 40a , 40b are permitted to &# 34 ; float &# 34 ; on the clamping mechanism to assure good coplanarity between the clamped contacting socket and condensing plate surfaces . during operation of the cpu unit 16 , heat generated by the processor chip 24 is conducted through the slug 28 to the evaporator plate 82 and into the ends 78a of the heat pipes 78 . the heat is then sequentially transmitted , through the heat pipes 78 , into the condensing plate 82 and into the socket 40 . heat received by the socket 40 is then dissipated to ambient by the fluid - cooled heat sink structure 36 ( see fig4 ) as previously described herein . when it is desired to remove the processor board 26 the socket bolts 64 are simply loosened , and the bracket flange portion 86 uncoupled from the chassis section 88 ( see fig2 ). the processor board 26 and the attached plug - in cooling module 74 may then be electrically and thermally decoupled from the balance of the system by simply pulling them upwardly , as indicated by the arrow 92 in fig2 to remove the card edge connector 30 from the system board connector socket 32 and remove the condensing plate 82 from its associated fluid - cooled socket 40 . the modular plug - in cooling system described above can be used in a variety of electronic devices to cool heat - producing components such as microprocessors , disk drives , option cards , etc . without affecting the components around them . the design of the cooling system is beneficially made a separate engineering task which is decoupled from system electrical design . the electrical designers are thus freed to layout their components according to electrical considerations , with significantly reduced mechanical constraints . a variety of advantages are desirably associated with the specially designed component cooling system just described . these advantages include : 1 . the processor card assembly can be removed and service it without disassembling the thermal interface at the processor . 2 . system air speeds can be reduced , thereby permitting the system to run more quietly . 5 . local conditions around the processor module do not affect performance . 6 . a single processor module / thermal connector design can be used in multiple chassis . 7 . processor heat is removed from the system without heating the air used to cool other components . 8 . compared to the use of large metal heat sinks in forced convection cooling schemes , there is less unsupported heat transfer mass . 9 . the cooling system is scaleable to provide for much higher power processors . 11 . multiple processor systems only need to ship with the appropriate number of cooling sockets . the heat pipe assembly would ship with additional processor modules . the foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as being given by way of illustration and example only , the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited solely by the appended claims . | 6 |
now disclosed is a method of decreasing an amount of mdrp present as an impurity accompanying mdr by oxidizing the mdrp with an alkali metal periodate in a solvent comprising methanol and / or tetrahydrofuran . unlike previous methods such as that of ness et al ., which require the use of a phosphate buffer in water during the oxidation , it has now been found that oxidation in a substantially methanol and / or tetrahydrofuran - based solvent can proceed very well without a buffer . the oxidation can be performed without any added phosphate , and in fact without any added buffer at all , and the reaction mixture may be essentially free of phosphate and / or any other buffer . therefore , in some embodiments of the invention , the reaction mixture consists essentially of mdr , mdrp , at least one alkali metal periodate and a solvent comprising methanol and / or tetrahydrofuran and optionally water . avoiding the use of buffer greatly simplifies workup and isolation of the purified mdr , especially on a commercial scale . typically , no metal salts other than one or more alkali metal periodates are added to the reaction mixture prior to or during the oxidation . therefore , in some embodiments the reaction mixture is essentially free of metals not derived from the metal periodate ( s ). the alkali metal periodate will typically be the potassium and / or sodium salt . the oxidation reaction may nonetheless be performed in the presence of metals not derived from the alkali metal periodate ( s ), but typically at least 50 mol % of all metals present during the oxidation come from the one or more alkali metal periodates . more typically , at least 60 mol %, or at least 70 mol %, or at least 80 mol %, or at least 90 mol %, or at least 95 mol % of the metals come from the periodate ( s ). the natural ph of the reaction mixture is typically about 4 , corresponding to unbuffered sodium periodate . however , the reaction can be performed at a ph of at least 2 . 5 , or at least 3 . 0 , or at least 3 . 5 . the ph may be as high as 4 . 5 , or 5 . 0 , or 5 . 5 . the amount of periodate is typically based on the amount of mdrp accompanying the mdr , and this can be determined for example by gas chromatography ( gc ) analysis . the molar ratio of periodate to mdrp is typically at least 0 . 9 : 1 and more typically at least 1 . 0 : 1 : in some embodiments , it is at least 1 . 1 : 1 , or at least 1 . 2 : 1 , or at least 1 . 3 : 1 , or at least 1 . 4 : 1 , or at least 1 . 5 : 1 . the molar ratio has no particular upper limit , but may be constrained by issues relating to raw material cost and ease of reaction workup . the ratio will typically be at most 2 . 0 : 1 , or at most 3 . 0 : 1 , or at most 4 . 0 : 1 , or at most 5 . 0 : 1 . the physical form of the periodate affects the rate of mdrp destruction . it has been found that finely powdered periodate provides faster reactivity than granular material . any means of providing fine particle size is suitable for use according to the invention . for example , finely powdered periodate may be made by grinding or milling granular or larger crystalline material . alternatively , it may be made by rapidly cooling a hot solution of periodate in a solvent in which it is only marginally soluble , or by adding a solution of periodate in a good or mediocre solvent to a poor solvent . an example of the latter method is disclosed in example 3 , where a hot aqueous solution is added to a methanol solution of mdr , resulting in formation of solid sodium periodate as a fine white dispersion . the oxidation reaction solvent may comprise a major amount of methanol , which may for example constitute at least 70 wt % of the solvent , or at least 75 wt %, or at least 80 wt %, or at least 85 wt %, or at least 90 wt %, or at least 95 wt %. the solvent may be essentially only methanol . the presence of some amount of water has also now been found to help accelerate the oxidation reaction , and there is no particular limit as to the amount of water that can be present with the methanol for purposes of the invention . it has , however , been found that excessive amounts of water make workup more laborious and time - consuming , and so certain practical limits may be in order , depending on the details of the particular situation . in some cases , enough water is already present in the mixture to significantly increase reaction rate . this situation may for example occur if the solution of mdr in methanol is the partially worked - up reaction mixture obtained from forming mdr by acid - catalyzed methanolysis of 2dr . the resulting water of reaction may cause the water content of the solvent to be at least about 1 . 7 wt % without separate addition of water . lower amounts of water are also effective , and the water content may in some embodiments be at least 0 . 1 wt %, 0 . 2 wt %. 0 . 3 wt %, 0 . 4 wt %, 0 . 5 wt %, or 1 wt %. in some embodiments , the water content is at least 2 wt %, or at least 3 wt %, or at least 4 wt %. the upper limits on water content are imposed by the above - noted minimum contents of methanol . in some embodiments of the invention , the oxidation solvent may comprise a major amount of tetrahydrofuran . this may replace some or all of the methanol as described in the preceding paragraph , and the percentages of methanol and water described herein relate equally to percentages of tetrahydrofuran and water , or to percentages of methanol / tetrahydrofuran mixtures in any proportion and water . purified mdr prepared according to the invention contains a significantly lower amount of mdrp than was present prior to the oxidation . the amount of mdrp in the purified mdr is less than 5 wt %, or less than 4 wt %, or less than 3 wt %, or less than 2 wt %, or less than 1 wt %. typically , the amount of mdrp is at most 0 . 5 wt %, or at most 0 . 15 wt %. in some embodiments , at most 0 . 10 wt % of mdrp is present , or at most 0 . 07 wt %, or at most 0 . 05 wt %. as used herein , references to wt % or ppm of mdrp are relative to the total combined weight of mdr and mdrp , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . these levels of mdrp can be reached in the oxidation reaction mixture as well as the final isolated mdr after appropriate workup . in one embodiment , the oxidation takes place at a ph of about 4 ( the ph of an unbuffered sodium periodate solution ) without cleavage of the methoxy group at room temperature in about 6 to 24 hours in methanol in the presence of 0 to 10 wt % water . for example , a solution of 2dr in methanol ( 10 ml / g ) is treated with a catalytic amount of hydrogen chloride ( 0 . 014 equivalents as a solution in ether ) and stirred until the 2dr is consumed . the resulting solution is treated with an excess of sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the hydrogen chloride , stirred for 30 min and filtered . the filtrate is treated with sodium periodate in water ( 5 % of total volume ) either as a suspension or as a hot solution and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 18 hours or longer . sodium bicarbonate is then charged , stirring continued for another 30 min and the mixture is filtered and concentrated to an oil . this oil may be dissolved in a suitable solvent and filtered to remove salts . material suitable for use in the production of derivatives is obtained by concentration of the filtrate . in an alternative method , the periodate oxidation of mdrp may be performed in tetrahydrofuran , using mdr product formed by the above - mentioned acid - catalyzed methanolysis of 2dr with subsequent removal of some or all of the methanol . the amount of tetrahydrofuran may be the same on a weight basis as the amount of methanol that can be used for the oxidation , but lesser or &# 39 ; greater amounts may be used as well . mdr free of the pyranose impurity mdrp may be elaborated into other ribofuranose derivatives useful as pharmaceutical intermediates , correspondingly free of pyranose impurities . for example , acetylation of mdr provides [( 2r , 3s )- 3 - acetoxy - 5 - methoxy - tetrahydrofuran - 2 - yl ] methyl acetate , which can in turn be converted to ( 4s , 5r )- 5 -( acetoxymethyl ) tetrahydrofuran - 2 , 4 - diyl diacetate as shown below . in the second step , acetolysis of [( 2r , 33 )- 3 - acetoxy - 5 - methoxytetrahydrofuran - 2 - yl ] methyl acetate using acetic anhydride in acetic acid as the solvent and catalyzed by sulfuric acid gives the corresponding tri - acetylated glycoside . the reaction is reported to be sensitive to a high concentration of sulfuric acid and high temperature , which result in charring and low product yields . in one traditional workup procedure , the reaction mixture is therefore poured into crushed ice and extracted with chloroform . while this procedure prevents charring and other product losses , it is problematic in that very stable emulsions are generated during the extraction steps due to the presence of large amounts of acetic acid , making phase separation difficult . the current invention solves this problem by avoiding the addition of water in the workup . instead , the catalytic amount of sulfuric acid in the reaction mixture is neutralized by adding an appropriate amount of solid sodium acetate to the mixture , thereby converting the sulfuric acid to sodium sulfate and forming additional acetic acid . this allows the mixture to then be heated to higher temperatures without decomposition of the product , and the solvent ( acetic acid ) can be removed by distillation . for example , this can be done under mild vacuum at 50 ° c . the product can be purified by thin film evaporation . this process is easy to scale up , and eliminates emulsion formation during workup . 2 - deoxy - d - ribose ( 50 g , 0 . 373 mol ) was charged into a 1 l 3 - necked round bottom flask followed by methanol ( 500 ml ). the mixture was stirred until dissolution . a solution of hcl in diethyl ether ( 5 . 0 ml , 0 . 005 mol ) was added in one portion and the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight . upon completion the batch was quenched by addition of solid sodium bicarbonate ( 7 . 0 g , 0 . 08 mol ) and the resulting mixture was stirred for 30 min . the reaction mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the solid on the filter was washed with methanol . the wash filtrate was combined with the main product filtrate . the filtrate was transferred into a reaction flask via polyethylene tubing using vacuum . about 1 . 7 wt % of water of reaction was present at this point , relative to total solvent . finely is powdered sodium periodate ( 12 . 0 g , 0 . 056 mol ) was charged into the reaction flask in portions . the resulting suspension was stirred at room temperature for 6 h and then sampled for in - process gc testing . gc analysis indicated approximately 0 . 73 % of mdrp in the reaction mixture . the batch was continuously stirred at room temperature for additional 18 h and gc analysis was repeated . it indicated the presence of about 0 . 5 % of mdrp in the reaction mixture . an additional solid sodium periodate ( 1 . 6 g , 0 . 007 mol ) was charged and the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 h . gc testing indicated no detectable mdrp in the reaction mixture . to quench the reaction , solid sodium bicarbonate ( 12 . 0 g , 0 . 149 mol ) was charged to the reaction mixture and stirring was continued for another 15 min . the reaction mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the filtrate was concentrated in a rotary evaporator until no more condensate was observed . the resulting oil was diluted with acetonitrile ( 500 ml ) and then filtered through a celite pad . the filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator to give the product ( 55 . 4 g , 106 % yield ). a 22 l , 4 - necked flask was set up in a secondary containment and equipped with overhead stirrer , temperature probe , nitrogen in / out adapter to an oil bubbler and a stopper on the fourth neck . 2 - deoxy - d - ribose ( 950 g , 7 . 08 mol ) was charged to the reaction flask , followed by methanol ( 9 . 5 l , 235 mol ). after the batch was fully dissolved , 1 . 0 m hydrogen chloride in diethyl ether ( 95 ml , 0 . 095 mol ) was charged in one portion with an addition funnel . the ensuing endothermic reaction resulted in a temperature decrease to 9 . 6 ° c . the mixture was then stirred and allowed to slowly return to room temperature . the reaction was monitored by tlc ( dcm / methanol 8 : 2 ) and gc ( 7 . 1 % mdrp and trace amount of 2dr ). upon completion , solid sodium bicarbonate ( 190 g , 2 . 26 mol ) was charged in one portion to quench the reaction , and the mixture was stirred for a minimum of 30 min . slight gas evolution was observed during this time ; no temperature change was observed . the mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the filtered solid was washed with methanol ( 250 ml ). the wash filtrate was combined with the main product filtrate . to the combined filtrates granular sodium periodate ( 154 g , 0 . 72 mol ) was charged to the stirred solution in portions over a period of 30 min while monitoring the temperature . no exotherm was observed . the mixture was then stirred for 17 h at room temperature , followed by in - process gc analysis . the test result indicated that only a very small amount of mdrp had been destroyed . water ( 533 ml ) was added via addition funnel to the stirred solution over a period of 2 h . during this time the temperature of the mixture rose from 16 . 5 ° c . to 20 . 7 ° c . due to the exothermic oxidation reaction . water constituted about 7 . 8 wt % of the solvent at this point . the mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 4 . 5 h . gc analysis indicated 1 . 42 % of mdrp in the reaction mixture . a second charge of granular sodium periodate ( 45 . 4 g , 0 . 21 mol ) was added . after stirring the batch for another 7 h , the mixture ( a white suspension ) was reanalyzed ( by gc ) and the result indicated approximately 0 . 07 % of mdrp in the batch . solid sodium bicarbonate ( 120 g , 1 . 49 moles ) was charged to the batch and stirring was continued for a minimum 30 min . the mixture was then filtered through a fritted funnel and the solid was washed with methanol ( 530 g , 700 ml ). the filtrate was concentrated in a rotary evaporator to dryness . the concentrate was dissolved in acetonitrile ( 2 kg ) and again evaporated until condensation ceased . the resulting oil was dissolved in acetonitrile ( 2 kg ) and the solution was filtered to remove any solid . the filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator at bath temperature of 30 .± 5 ° c . a third charge of acetonitrile ( 2 kg ) was made and the mixture evaporated again and dried for 1 h under reduced pressure to give 1039 g of product . a 50 l flask was set up in a secondary containment and equipped with overhead stirrer , temperature probe and nitrogen in / out adapter to an oil bubbler . 2 - deoxy - d - ribose ( 1500 g , 11 . 2 mol ) was charged to the reaction flask , followed by methanol ( 11 . 9 kg ). after the batch was fully dissolved , 1 . 0 m hydrogen chloride in diethyl ether ( 114 g ) was charged in one portion with an addition funnel . the reaction was monitored by tlc ( dcm / methanol 8 : 2 ) and gc ( 6 . 9 ° a ) of mdrp and no 2dr ) analysis . solid sodium bicarbonate ( 184 g ) was charged in one portion and the stirring continued for a minimum of 30 min . the mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the filtered solid was washed with methanol ( 0 . 6 kg ). the wash filtrate was combined with the main product filtrate . to the combined filtrates in the reaction flask was charged a hot solution of sodium periodate ( 312 g ) in water ( 700 ml ) at 63 ° c . in portions at a rate that maintained the batch temperature at ≦ 25 ° c . upon addition of the aqueous periodate , the mixture became milky white , indicating the precipitation of finely dispersed solid periodate . the resulting mixture , in which water constituted about 6 . 7 wt % of the solvent , was stirred at about 23 ° c . for 2 h and then the gc analysis was repeated . gc analysis indicated 0 . 19 % of mdrp in the reaction mixture . additional granular sodium periodate ( 24 . 2 g ) was charged as a solid . after stirring for 11 h the mixture was reanalyzed and the analysis indicated 0 . 05 % of mdrp in the batch . solid sodium bicarbonate ( 302 g ) was charged to the batch ( white suspension ) and stirring continued for another 30 min . the mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the filtered solid was washed with methanol ( 200 g ). the filtrate was then concentrated under reduced pressure . acetonitrile ( 3 . 0 kg × 2 ) was charged to the concentrate , and then it was evaporated until condensation ceased . the resulting oil was dissolved in acetonitrile ( 3 . 0 kg ) and the solution was filtered to remove any solid . the wash filtrate was combined with the main product filtrate , and the combined filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator and dried for 1 h to give of the product ( 1 . 6 kg ). a 22 l , 4 - necked flask was set up in a secondary containment and equipped with overhead stirrer , temperature probe , nitrogen in / out adapter to an oil bubbler and a stopper on the fourth neck . 2 - deoxy - d - ribose ( 948 g , 7 . 07 mol ) was charged to the flask , followed by methanol ( 9 . 5 l , 235 mol ). after the batch was fully dissolved , 1 . 0 m hydrogen chloride in diethyl ether ( 95 ml , 0 . 095 mol ) was charged in one portion with an addition funnel . the ensuing endothermic reaction resulted in a temperature decrease , and the mixture was then stirred while its temperature slowly returned to room temperature ( 15 ° c .). the reaction was monitored by tlc ( dcm / methanol 8 : 2 ), with later confirmation of content by gc . upon completion , solid sodium bicarbonate ( 150 g , 1 . 71 mol ) was charged in one portion and the stirring continued for another 40 min . the mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the filtered solid was washed with methanol . the wash filtrate was combined with the main product filtrate . the reaction flask was cleaned and the combined filtrates were charged back into the flask . granular sodium periodate ( 340 g ) was charged to the stirred solution in portions over a period of 1 h while monitoring the temperature . no exotherm was observed . the mixture was then stirred for 18 h at room temperature , resulting in a white suspension . solid sodium bicarbonate ( 190 g , 2 . 26 mol ) was charged to the batch and stirring was continued for another 20 min . the mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel and the filtered solid was washed with methanol . the filtrate was concentrated in a rotary evaporator , followed by addition of acetonitrile ( 2 kg ) and further evaporation until condensation ceased . the resulting oil was dissolved in acetonitrile ( 2 kg ) and the solution was filtered to remove any solid . the filtrate then was concentrated on a rotary evaporator at bath temperature 35 ° c . and dried for 1 h to give the product ( 1046 g ). gc analysis indicated the presence of 6 . 0 % of mdrp in the product . a 1039 g portion of mdr was charged to a 20 l 3 - necked flask fitted with an overhead stirrer , a claisen adapter with nitrogen in / out adapter to an oil bubbler , a temperature probe and a 1 l addition funnel . anhydrous dichloromethane ( 5 . 5 kg , 4 . 15 l ) was charged to dissolve the starting material in the reaction flask . anhydrous pyridine ( 1203 g , 15 . 21 mol ) was then charged in one portion with agitation , resulting in a temperature rise from 15 . 8 ° c . to 21 . 0 ° c . the mixture was then cooled to below − 30 ° c . by means of an acetonitrile / co 2 bath . acetyl chloride ( 1216 g , 15 . 49 mol ) was charged to the addition funnel and added dropwise to the cooled mixture at & lt ; 0 ° c . this addition took ˜ 45 min . thirty minutes after the end of the addition the cooling bath was removed and the mixture was stirred for 7 h while warming to room temperature . a sample was analyzed by tlc ( ethyl acetate / heptane 1 : 1 and methanol / dichloromethane 2 : 8 , pma ). when the starting material was no longer detected , the flask was immersed in an ice / water bath and cooled to 6 . 6 ° c ., and water ( 2 . 75 kg ) was charged from the addition funnel over a period of 6 min , resulting in a final temperature of 11 . 1 ° c . the mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel . the organic layer was separated and the water layer was extracted with dichloromethane ( 2 × 480 g ). the combined extracts were washed with 1 n aqueous hcl ( 1 . 4 l ), followed by half saturated brine ( 2 × 750 g ). the extract was transferred to a round bottom flask fitted with an overhead stirrer and dried over sodium sulfate for 60 min under agitation . the solid was removed by filtration and the filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator at a bath temperature 35 ° c . dichloromethane ( 2 × 200 g ) was used to rinse the flask and the sodium sulfate . the rinse was charged to the flask on the rotary evaporator and concentrated . the product was further dried for 1 h on the rotary evaporator . the product was a brownish liquid , yield : 1543 g ( 85 %). a 20 l , 3 - necked flask was set up in a secondary containment environment and equipped with an overhead stirrer , claisen adapter with temperature probe and nitrogen in / out adapter to an oil bubbler and an addition funnel . acetic acid ( 2683 g ) and acetic anhydride ( 1915 g , 18 . 76 mol ) were charged to the reaction flask and stirred in an ice / water bath until the temperature of the mixture was at ≦ 6 ° c . meanwhile the starting material ( 1533 g , 6 . 6 mol ) was dissolved in acetic acid ( 1606 g ) in the rotary evaporator flask . sulfuric acid 95 to 98 % ( 18 . 6 g , 0 . 19 mol ) was weighed into a vial . when the mixture in the reaction flask had reached a temperature ≦ 6 ° c ., the sulfuric acid was charged to the batch in small portions over a period of 10 min , keeping the temperature at ≦ 8 ° c . the solution of starting material was then transferred in portions to an amber bottle using vacuum and charged from the amber bottle to the addition funnel . the solution was added slowly to the reaction mixture while keeping the temperature at ≦ 8 ° c . an additional 197 g of acetic acid was used to rinse the rotary evaporator flask and amber bottle , and the rinses along with the remaining amount ( 1300 g ) of acetic acid were charged to the stirred mixture . the cold bath was removed and the mixture was allowed to return to room temperature with stirring and monitoring by tlc ( ethyl acetate / heptane 3 : 7 , pma ). after stirring approximately 5 . 5 h the reaction was completed , and the batch was quenched by addition of solid anhydrous sodium acetate ( 64 . 9 g , 0 . 79 mol ). the mixture was stirred for 30 min until the sodium acetate was completely dissolved , followed by addition of activated charcoal ( 46 g ) and 30 min further stirring . the mixture was then filtered through a pad of celite ( 300 g ). acetic acid ( 500 ml ) was used to wash the reaction flask and the celite pad . the filtrate was then transferred to an evaporation flask in portions and concentrated on a rotary evaporator at a bath temperature of 50 ° c . when all of the solvent had been removed and condensation was no longer observed , the traps were emptied and the residue was dried on the rotary evaporator for 1 h at a bath temperature of 50 ° c . xylenes ( 1 kg ) were charged to the flask and evaporated to dryness at 50 ° c ., followed by dilution with xylenes ( 3 kg ) and cooling to room temperature . a fluffy solid was filtered off through a fritted funnel . xylenes ( 730 g ) were used to wash the solids on the filter . the filtrate was charged back to the rotary evaporator and concentrated and dried to give the crude product as a dark brown oil , 1644 g ( 96 % of the theoretical yield ). the crude product was then subjected to thin film evaporation in four passes : pass 1 : vacuum 900 mtorr , t = 50 ° c ., feed pump : 100 rpm , rotator : 193 rpm . product was in the nonvolatile fraction . pass 2 : vacuum 750 mtorr , t = 78 ° c ., feed pump : 50 rpm , rotator : 218 rpm . product was in the nonvolatile fraction . pass 3 : vacuum 250 mtorr , t = 120 ° c ., feed pump : 50 rpm , rotator : 257 rpm . product was in the volatile fraction as well as the nonvolatile fraction . the volatile fraction was retained and the nonvolatile fraction was subjected to pass 4 . pass 4 : vacuum 250 mtorr , t = 120 ° c ., feed pump : 50 rpm , rotator : 257 rpm . product was in the volatile fraction , and was combined with volatile fraction from pass 3 . although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments , the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims without departing from the invention . | 2 |
referring to fig1 the numeral 10 generally designates a knee orthosis embodying the invention , the orthosis being shown as it might be worn on the left leg 11 of a patient . the orthosis consists essentially of a pair of knee joint assemblies 13 and 14 positioned on opposite sides of the patient &# 39 ; s knee 11a , each assembly having arm portions 15 and 16 extending alongside the upper leg 11b and lower leg 11c , respectively , and means for holding the assemblies in such positions . in the embodiment illustrated , such means takes the form of rigid or semi - rigid interfacial members or plates 17 , 18 , and 19 , and suspension members or straps 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , and 24 . the upper or proximal plate 17 is shaped to conform the contour of the anterior upper leg 11b and is securely connected to the upper ends of arm portions 15 by means of rivets 17a or any other suitable connecting means . the suspension strap 20 is permanently joined at one end to one of the arm portions and is detachably connected at its other end to the other arm portion or to the outer surface of plate 17 adjacent to that arm portion . such releasable attachment may be achieved by securing velcro patches 17b to the overlapping portions of strap 20 and interfacial member or plate 17 . suspension strap 21 is similarly secured to the upper arm portions 15 of the orthosis . one of the arms may be equipped with an extension plate 25 to provide a greater surface for velcro patch 25a , and a resilient medial pad or cushion 26 is secured to the opposite arm to insure proper positioning and fit of the orthosis and to increase wearer comfort . the suspension strap 21 works in conjunction with cushion 26 to help immobilize the proximal arms 15 of the orthosis with respect to the femur , thereby complementing interfacial member 17 and suspension strap 20 . the thickness of the cushion may be varied to achieve the desired fit and , if desired , the cushion may be removably and / or adjustably mounted upon arm 15 . removable mounting permits interchanging of cushions of different size and shape , an advantage not only in fitting the orthosis to different patients but also in meeting the changing requirements for any given patient . thus , the growth of a patient &# 39 ; s musculature during the healing process may be accommodated by periodically substituting pads 26 of decreasing thickness . the lower or distal interfacial member or plate 18 is shaped to conform to the contour of the anterior lower leg and is similarly secured to the distal ends of arm portions 16 by rivets 18a . such rivets also permanently join one end of the suspension strap 22 to one of the arms 16 , and velcro patches 18b releasably join the opposite end of the strap to rigid member 18 . interfacial member 19 and straps 23 and 24 constitute an intermediate suspension arrangement disposed below joint assemblies 13 and 14 and above the distal interfacial element 18 and strap 22 . this intermediate suspension assembly is provided to immobilize the orthotic device with respect to the proximal tibia by serving as a third point of pressure in a three - point pressure suspension system -- the other two points being provided by proximal interfacial member 17 and strap 20 ( complemented by pad 26 and strap 21 ) and distal interfacial member 18 and strap 22 . as brought out in greater detail hereinafter , straps 23 and 24 , and interfacial element 19 , are arranged to minimize anterior or posterior drawer of the tibia when the orthoses is used to treat injuries to or deficiencies of the anterior or posterior cruciate ligaments , or of other ligaments such as the collateral ligaments . the interfacial elements or plates 17 , 18 , and 19 may be formed of any rigid or semi - rigid material having sufficient strength and durability . polymethylmethacrylate has been found particularly effective , although other polymeric materials having similar properties may also be used . furthermore , while the arrangement of interfacial elements and straps shown in the drawings has been found effective for immobilizing proximal arms 15 and distal arms 16 with regard to the femur and tibia , respectively , thereby maintaining joint assemblies 13 and 14 in their proper positions alongside the knee joint , other means for so immobilizing the arms and for locating the joint assemblies might be provided . for example , the upper and lower arms 15 and 16 might be embedded in plaster casts formed about the wearer &# 39 ; s leg above and below the knee , as in a case where near - anatomical joint motion is needed to prevent knee damage while a patient recovers from a femoral fracture . the joint assemblies 13 and 14 on opposite sides of the wearer &# 39 ; s leg are basically the same in construction , the main differences being that they are reverse or mirror images of each other , that the arms 15 and 16 may be somewhat different in length and configuration to follow the differences in contour of the wearer &# 39 ; s leg , and the guide straps , to be described in detail hereinafter , may be arranged differently , depending upon the particular ligament or ligaments requiring protection or replacement by the orthosis . while the details of only one assembly 13 are shown in fig2 - 8 , and will be described herein , such detailed disclosure is therefore also applicable to the other assembly 14 . each orthotic joint assembly includes four main components : a femoral member 30 , a tibial member 31 , an anchor plate 32 , and guide straps 33 . the femoral member 30 is planar and includes , as an integral portion thereof , the upstanding elongated proximal arm portion 15 previously described ( fig2 ). in addition , the femoral member has at its lower end an enlarged head portion 34 . the head portion has an arcuate bearing surface 35 of varying radii of curvature with the posterior portion 35a of that surface having smaller radii of curvature than the anterior portion 35b thereof . in general , the curvature of bearing surface 35 simulates or conforms to the curvature of a femoral condyle viewed in sagittal section . it will be noted , however , that the leading or anterior portion 35c of the bearing surface is substantially straight and constitutes an extension of the leading edge of arm portion 15 . the arm portion is provided with openings 36 at its upper end for receiving rivets 17a and , in addition , is provided with threaded openings 37 directly above head portion 34 . while the femoral member 30 may be formed of any strong , rigid , and durable material , it is believed that a light - weight metal such as aluminum is particularly effective . the head portion 34 of the femoral member 30 is received with an upwardly - facing recess 38 provided by tibial member 31 ( fig2 ). recess 38 has a narrow arcuate camming surface 39 that , when viewed in outline , corresponds closely to the curvature of bearing surface 35 ( fig3 ). maximum contact between such surfaces occurs when the members are in extension ( fig3 and 6 ). in that condition of close conformity , with the substantially straight leading surface 35c of the femoral head portion abutting the substantially straight anterior portion 39a of the camming surface 39 , the femoral and tibial members are restrained against both hyperextension and posterior - anterior sliding translation . because the curvature of the posterior portion 35a of the arcuate femoral bearing surface 35 is of smaller radii than that of the anterior portion 35b thereof , the extent of contact between bearing surface 35 and camming surface 39 decreases during flexion ( fig7 ). as the degree of flexion increases , the more limited contact between the bearing and camming surfaces , and the decreased anterior - posterior dimension of the head portion 34 in relation to that of recess 38 , allows limited anterior - posterior sliding movement of the head portion within the recess , at least in the absence of some natural or artificial constraining means . thus , referring to fig8 in the absence of some constraining means , head portion 34 would be free to slide anteriorly a limited distance within recess 38 until its curved anterior surface engages the straight anterior surface 39a of the recess . the tibial member 31 includes both the recess - providing body portion 40 and the depending or distal arm portion 16 . the two portions may be formed integrally of the same rigid material , although it is believed preferable to fabricate body portion 40 from a rigid polymeric material such as polypropylene or a polypropylene - polyethylene copolymer ( 90 %/ 10 % formulation has been found effective ) and to embed the upper end of arm 16 , formed of aluminum or other material having similar properties , within the body portion as indicated . in any event , the body portion includes a pair of planar side walls 41 and 42 that are spaced apart to define the narrow recess 38 and that are merged together in front of , below , and behind such recess to define the narrow camming surface 39 within that recess ( fig2 ). the spacing between the opposing faces of walls 41 - 42 is the same as , or only slightly greater than , the width of the head portion 34 of femoral member 30 ; therefore , when the parts are assembled a coplanar relationship is maintained with the planar surfaces of the head portion being in sliding engagement with the planar surfaces within the recess . anchor plate 32 extends alongside , and in planar relation with , wall 42 of the body portion of tibial member 31 ( fig4 ). the rigid anchor plate , formed of aluminum or any other material having similar properties of strength , rigidity , and durability , has an upstanding connection portion 43 joined to the arm portion 15 of femoral member 30 . screws 44 are shown for that purpose ; however , other means for rigidly securing the anchor plate to the femoral member , such as riveting or welding , may also be used . a plurality of guide straps 33a , 33b , and 33c are shown joining the tibial member 31 and anchor plate 32 . the straps are flexible but essentially non - stretchable . they may be formed of woven metal , glass , or synthetic or natural fibers . dacron fabric has been used effectively . it will be observed that the straps are apertured at their ends and are secured by rivets or other suitable connecting means to both the tibial member and the anchor plate , with ordinarily only a single rivet 45 joining the lower ends of all three straps to the tibial member at a common point ( opening 45a ), and with three rivets 46 - 48 joining the opposite ends of the straps to the anchor plate at three different connecting points ( openings 46a , 47a , and 48a ). for convenience , such rivets and the openings in which they are located will be referred to as the points of attachment 45 - 48 of straps 33a - 33c . the straps function to exert forces similar to those that would be exerted by a particular ligament such as , for example , the posterior cruciate ligament , throughout the full range of knee movement . at least three such straps would normally be required -- one to function in extension , another to function at approximately 90 ° flexion , and a third to function at approximately 45 ° flexion . if greater control is deemed necesary , a greater number of straps may be provided in each set or , in certain circumstances , a fewer number of straps may suffice . the straps operate sequentially rather than simultaneously ; when one strap is fully tensioned , the others are untensioned . more specifically , when the knee is full extension , only the posterior strap 33c is fully tensioned , when the knee is at 90 ° flexion only the anterior strap 33a is tensioned and , at an intermediate position , only the intermediate strap 33b is fully tensioned . the points of attachment of the straps and , hence , the length and orientation of each strap , must be precisely determined on the basis of the normal functioning of the particular ligament to be protected or reinforced . for purposes of illustration , fig1 - 5 ( also 6 - 8 ) illustrate the attachment and positioning of straps for a patient with injury to or chronic deficiency of the posterior cruciate ligament . because of the complexity of the functioning of a normal knee joint , with rolling , sliding , and spinning of the femoral condyles relative to the tibial surfaces , and with changing centers of rotation combined with sliding displacement of the articular surfaces , there has been considerable misunderstanding and contradiction in the past concerning knee joint ligament mechanics . such mechanics are now better understood because of recent studies by applicants and others ( see lew , w . d ., and j . l . lewis , a technique for calculating in vivo ligament lengths with application to the human knee joint , j . biomechanics , vol . 11 , pp . 365 - 377 ( 1978 )). for purposes of this disclosure , it is believed sufficient to state simply that the posterior cruciate ligament normally functions to pull the head of the femur in a posterior or rearward direction over the tibial articular surface during flexion and to hold it in a rearward position when the knee is fully flexed . actual forces in the ligaments will depend on the external loads applied to the joint . the articulation of femoral member 30 and tibial member 31 of the orthotic joint mimics the articulation of the natural joint , and the set of straps 33 is mounted to exert forces during flexion , as well as at extension and 90 ° flexion , that mimic forces that would normally be exerted by a natural posterior cruciate ligament . such functioning is illustrated somewhat schematically in fig6 - 8 . in those views , for clarity of illustration , the straps 33 as such are not shown and a solid heavy line is used to schematically represent only the particular strap under tension at the illustrated position of knee movement . thus , fig6 corresponds to fig3 but illustrates that strap 33c , extending between attachment points 45 and 46 , is the only strap fully tensioned when the orthotic joint ( and the natural knee with which the orthosis is associated ) is locked in extension . at 45 ° flexion ( fig7 ), only the intermediate strap 33b extending between attachment points 45 and 47 is fully tensioned , and at 90 ° flexion ( fig8 ) only the strap 33a between points 45 and 48 is tensioned . if it were not for straps 33a and 33b , the head 34 of the femoral member would be free to slide forwardly within recess 38 because of the decreasing radii of curvature of the posterior portion of the femoral head . therefore , when the orthotic joint as shown is part of a complete orthosis worn by a patient because of injury to or deficiency of the posterior cruciate ligament , the straps function sequentially to perform major functions of the natural posterior cruciate ligament , thereby protecting that ligament , without at the same time interfering with any natural movements of the knee and , in fact , without supplanting the functions of major ligaments other than the posterior cruciate . to illustrate the latter , it will be noted from fig8 that strap 33a exerts a downward and rearward force that would not necessarily prevent the head portion 34 of the femoral member from being lifted slightly within recess 38 ; however , in the natural knee such a function is performed by the collateral ligaments and , assuming the patient has no injury or deficiency with respect to his collateral ligaments , those ligaments are allowed to perform their functions without any duplication or reinforcement by the orthosis . for a patient whose condition requires protection of other major ligaments , the straps and their points of attachment would be different . fig9 for example , depicts an orthotic joint for use with a patient having an injured or chronically deficient anterior cruciate ligament . apart from the straps and their points of attachment , the joint shown is the same as already described except for slight differences in the outlines of anchor plate 132 and the head portion 140 of tibial member 131 . the three straps that would extend between the common attachment point 145 and the three different connecting points 146 - 148 are omitted for clarity of illustration , but it will be understood that , as in the previous embodiment , the posterior strap bridging attachment points 145 and 146 would be the only strap tensioned when the joint is in extension , the anterior strap bridging attachment points 145 and 148 would be the only one fully tensioned when the joint is in 90 ° flexion , and the intermediate strap bridging points 145 and 147 would be the only strap fully tensioned when the joint is in 45 ° flexion . the plurality of straps would thus function sequentially to exert forces similar to those of a natural anterior cruciate ligament ; that is , the straps would urge the head portion 34 of the femoral member forwardly and downwardly during flexion and extension . fig1 illustrates a joint with strap attachment points arranged for protection of a collateral ligament . again , the joint is the same as already described except for the differences in the attachment points and minor differences in the outline of anchor plate 232 and tibial body portion 231 . the straps are omitted , but the posterior strap would extend between attachment points 245 and 246 , the intermediate strap between points 245 and 247 , and the anterior strap between points 245 and 248 . sequential tensioning of the straps would occur as before but in this case the straps would exert forces similar to those of a natural collateral ligament . specifically , the straps would act sequentially to exert forces tending to prevent vertical separation of the parts . thus , bearing surface 35 of the femoral head portion is maintained in sliding contact with camming surface 39 of the tibial body by successive action of the guide straps . fig1 is a generalized view of an orthotic joint , exclusive of straps and connections , that is identical to the joints already described except for differences in the outlines of the anchor plate 332 and tibial body portion 331 . the numeral 50 designates a reference point at the intersection of x and z axes 51 and 52 , respectively . the configuration and dimensions ( in millimeters ) of the anchor plate and tibial body portion are sufficient to provide for the strap attachment points for protecting any of the three major ligaments ( collateral , anterior cruciate , posterior cruciate ) as well as other ligaments of secondary importance . reference may be had to the following table for the coordinates along axes x and z , measured in millimeters from point 50 , for strap attachments for treating or protecting major ligaments : ______________________________________table of strap attachment points ( mm )( along with x and z coordinates , respectively ) common point post . point int . point ant . pointligament ( 45 , 145 , 245 ) ( 46 , 146 , 246 ) ( 47 , 147 , 247 ) ( 48 , 148 , 248 ) ______________________________________posterior 41 , 48 2 , 33 10 ,- 3 37 , 13cruciateanterior 32 ,- 7 9 , 45 2 , 33 10 , 10cruciatecollateral 48 , 26 2 , 33 3 , 9 27 , 12______________________________________ major dimensions of the components are given in fig1 . the angular outlines of the anchor plate 332 and tibial body portion 331 are provided primarily for dimensional reference , it being understood that in an actual orthosis it would be preferable to round off the corners of the parts to a greater extent ( as in fig1 - 8 ) to remove unused material , avoid interference , and promote greater patient comfort . it is to be understood that many other strap placements are possible , depending on the specific ligamentous problem , and that strap placement will vary from those given in the case of total knee joint replacement . in the case of injury or deficiency of the posterior cruciate , anterior cruciate , or collateral ligaments , the straps would ordinarily be joined to the tibial member at a common connecting point ( e . g ., 45 , 145 , 245 ); however , where an orthotic joint is designed to protect more than one ligament , or where unusual knee injuries or conditions are presented , or where the natural joint has been replaced by a prosthesis that typically does not replicate normal knee movement , such straps may be connected to the tibial member at more than one connecting point . also , while the orthotic joint would normally be equipped with a plurality of straps that are tensioned sequentially during flexion , it is possible that a patient &# 39 ; s condition may require the joint to have only a single strap ; for example , a strap that is tensioned in extension simply to prevent hyperextension of the natural joint . the straps have been disclosed as flexible but inextensible , and it is believed that inextensibility is essential for effective operation of the orthotic joint . such inextensibility does not , however , preclude the possibility that each strap might be composed of sections that are buckled together to provide a composite strap of the precise length necessary for the purpose it is intended to serve . thus , the straps might be of adjustable length for proper fitting of the orthosis by a physician or therapist and then , when buckled or otherwise set at their prescribed lengths , such straps would become inextensible for wearing of the orthosis by the patient . fig1 - 15 depict the steps of attaching the intermediate suspension means that serves to immobilize arms 16 , and the tibial members 31 to which they are joined , with respect to the patient &# 39 ; s tibia . such intermediate suspension thereby prevents or restrains anterior or posterior tibia drawer . fig1 schematically depicts a knee joint with femur 60 and tibia 61 in extension . posterior drawer , represented in broken lines , is posterior displacement of the tibial head because of the absence or deficiency of the natural posterior cruciate ligament . similarly , the broken lines in fig1 depict anterior tibial drawer resulting from the absence or deficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament . while the orthotic joints 13 and 14 of this invention are designed to prevent such anterior or posterior drawer ( depending on the arrangement of straps associated with such joints ), the orthotic joints are capable of preventing such action only if the arms 16 of the tibial members 31 are immobilized in relation to the tibial head . fig1 - 15 illustrate the straping arrangement for preventing anterior drawer . strap 23 has one of its ends 23a secured to one of the arms 16 . the strap passes through slots 19a and 19b in interfacial member or plate 19 , with the portion of the strap along the outer surface of the member 19 being provided with velcro strip 62 . the opposite end 23b of the strap is provided with a mating velcro patch 63 . the strap is extended about the wearer &# 39 ; s leg inboard of the arm 16 associated with joint 14 and outboard of the arm for joint 13 , and the velcro patch at 23b is then brought into contact with patch 62 in the manner illustrated in fig1 . strap 24 has one end 24a secured to interfacial member 19 at slot 19b and , as shown in fig1 , is wrapped about the arm 16 associated with orthotic joint 14 . the strap 24 then continues about the posterior portion of the leg and its end 24b is secured to interfacial element 19 by means of velcro patches 64 and 65 . the suspension , when completed , appears as depicted in fig1 . strap member 23 functions primarily to prevent anterior ( and posterior ) displacement of the tibial head with respect to arm 16 associated with joint assembly 13 , and strap member 24 functions primarily to immobilize the tibial head with regard to arm 16 of joint assembly 14 . the arcuate member or plate 19 acts as the interface between the suspension straps and the anterior portion of the wearer &# 39 ; s leg to help brace the leg against the possibility of tibial drawer . it is believed apparent that this intermediate suspension assembly operates in conjunction with the lower suspension assembly ( composed of interfacial member 18 and strap 22 ), and also in conjunction with upper suspension assembly ( comprising interfacial member 17 , straps 20 and 21 , and pad 26 ) to provide a third pressure zone in an essentially three - point suspension arrangement . the relationship is schematically depicted in fig1 where it will be seen that interfacial element 19 exerts a posteriorly - directed force represented by arrow 66 to prevent anterior tibial drawer ( fig1 ). the intermediate suspension would also function ( when so needed ) to prevent posterior tibial drawer ; however , it is believed desirable , for more effective use of the intermediate suspension system , to locate interfacial element 19 posteriorly of the patient &# 39 ; s leg ( fig1 ) when posterior drawer is to be prevented . a resultant force is then directed anteriorly by interfacial element 19 as represented by arrow 67 . except for the change in location of interfacial element 19 , the intermediate suspension of fig1 is essentially as described in connection with fig1 - 15 . while in the foregoing we have disclosed embodiments of the invention in considerable detail for purposes of illustration , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
before the present invention is described in detail , it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular variations set forth herein as various changes or modifications may be made to the invention described and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . as will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure , each of the individual embodiments described and illustrated herein has discrete components and features which may be readily separated from or combined with the features of any of the other several embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation , material , composition of matter , process , process act ( s ) or step ( s ) to the objective ( s ), spirit or scope of the present invention . all such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims made herein . methods recited herein may be carried out in any order of the recited events which is logically possible , as well as the recited order of events . furthermore , where a range of values is provided , it is understood that every intervening value , between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed within the invention . also , it is contemplated that any optional feature of the inventive variations described may be set forth and claimed independently , or in combination with any one or more of the features described herein . reference to a singular item , includes the possibility that there are plural of the same items present . more specifically , as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” “ said ” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . it is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional element . as such , this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for use of such exclusive terminology as “ solely ,” “ only ” and the like in connection with the recitation of claim elements , or use of a “ negative ” limitation . it is also to be appreciated that unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs . a brim apparatus for use on a bicycle helmet according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 - 6 , and shown generally at reference numeral 10 . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the apparatus 10 comprises a substantially oval flexible center section 12 defining an opening 14 sized to fit over a bicycle helmet 40 . the opening is shown having a substantially oval shape . however , the shape may vary and may take other shapes such as a circular or another shape to fit a helmet . the brim apparatus is shown having a visor 16 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 - 6 , the visor has a substantially oval shape . the visor 16 extends outwardly from the center section 12 . the visor is shown spanning the entire circumference of the helmet , namely , 360 degrees , however , the arc angle may vary . in another embodiment , described herein , the visor span angle ranges from 0 to 180 degrees , and more preferably from 45 to 135 degrees , and more preferably from 80 to 100 degrees . the visor may radiate outwardly and may be directed at an angle from the center section slightly downwardly , or upwardly . in one embodiment , as will be discussed herein , the visor tilt angle may be adjusted to suit a user or increase his visibility . the apparatus 10 can be made of cotton , or other suitable material such as nylon , polyester , cotton / polyester blends or water resistant material such as gore - tex or other membrane or treated fabric . the apparatus 10 is preferably made of a washable material , so that it can be washed after use . the visor 16 can be made of a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material . for example , a fabric may cover or interface with one or more ribs or stiffeners , forming the desired shape such as visor shape 16 . however , other shapes may be formed . examples of stiffeners include without limitation tensioned rod , flexible plastic tubing , and spring steel . the center section 12 is preferably elastic and has a section of anti - slip material 18 attached to the center section 12 for facilitating frictional engagement with helmet 40 . the center section 12 can include means for adjusting the diameter of the opening 14 to accommodate helmets of varying size . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the adjustment means can comprise two straps 21 , 22 attached to the center section 12 . one strap 21 has hook fasteners , while the other strap 22 has loop fasteners ( or vice versa ) for complementary engagement . as such , the diameter of the center section opening 14 can be adjusted by the user by varying the point of connection of the two straps 21 , 22 . alternatively , the adjustment means can be a sliding strap or elastic . the center section 12 has a front portion 12 a and a rear portion 12 b . preferably , the rear portion 12 b is greater in length than the front portion 12 a to account for the relatively high positioning of bicycle helmets . the apparatus 10 can include adjustment means for adjusting the length that the rear portion 12 b of the center section 12 drops down from the helmet 40 . as shown in fig1 , the adjustment means can comprise a strap 23 attached to the rear portion 12 b of the center section 12 , and a strap 24 attached to the top surface of the visor 16 proximate the inner edge of the visor 16 . the strap 23 on the center section 12 has loop fasteners , and the strap 24 attached to the visor 16 has hook fasteners for complementary engagement . alternatively , the strap 23 on the center section 12 can have hook fasteners , and the strap 24 attached to the visor 16 can have loop fasteners . the distance that the rear portion 12 b of the center section 12 extends down from the helmet can be adjusted by the user varying the point of connection of the two straps 23 , 24 . alternatively the straps 23 , 24 can be attached to the under surface of the center section 12 and visor 16 , respectively . as shown in fig1 and 2 , a stiffening member , such as a plastic rod 26 , is positioned at the outer edge of the visor 16 to help retain the shape of the visor 16 . alternatively , the stiffening member can be a square or flat wire or plastic rod , which would allow the apparatus 10 to be folded up similar to a windshield shade or band saw blade . with such a rigid and spring - loaded stiffening member 26 , the visor 16 may consist of stretched fabric , and a supporting material , such as a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material , need not be used . as shown in fig2 and 3 , three elastic straps 30 , 32 , 34 are attached at the point of connection of the center section 12 and the inner edge of the visor 16 . the male portion of a snap fastener 36 is attached to the end of each strap 30 , 32 , 34 , and the complementary female portion of the snap fastener 38 is attached to the under surface of the visor 16 . alternatively , the female portion of the snap fastener can be attached to the straps 30 , 32 , 34 , and the male portion can be attached to the visor 16 . also , other attachment means could be used , such as hook and loop fasteners or sliding straps . in a preferred method of using the apparatus 10 , the apparatus 10 is positioned over the bicycle helmet 40 , the apparatus 10 is pulled over the helmet 40 , which goes through the opening 14 of the center section 12 and engages the anti - slip section 18 , as shown in fig6 . each of the elastic straps 30 , 32 , 34 is positioned through a vent opening of the helmet 40 , as shown in fig4 , and the male portions 36 of the snap fasteners on the straps 30 , 32 , 34 , snap into the complementary female portions 38 positioned on the under surface of the visor 16 , as shown in fig5 . the combination of the pro - friction / anti - slip material and the straps 30 , 32 , 34 securely retains the brim 10 on the helmet 40 . the elastic straps , 30 , 32 , 34 , can be tucked under the interior padding of the helmet for comfort , as shown in fig5 . it should be noted that on rounded helmets not having the classic oblong shape , use of the straps 30 , 32 , 34 may not be necessary to secure the brim 10 . the apparatus 10 fits snugly around the helmet 40 , and does not impede any of the important functions of the helmet 40 . protective features of the helmet are preserved . in this embodiment of the present invention , there is complete encompassing of the helmet circumference , providing shade around its entirety . the brim apparatus 10 allows vents in the helmet 40 to be exposed and still used , and allows for the cooling features of the helmet to be preserved . a brim apparatus for use on a snow sports helmet according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig7 - 9 , and shown generally at reference numeral 50 . examples of snow sports helmets include helmets used for skiing , snowboarding and other snow related activities . the apparatus 50 can be made of a fast drying material such as nylon , or other suitable material , including a water - resistant material such as gore - tex , or a material such as cotton or a cotton / polyester or polyester treated with a water resistant coating . as shown in fig7 and 8 , the apparatus 50 comprises a substantially oval flexible center section 52 defining an opening 54 sized to fit over a snow sports helmet 70 , and a substantially oval visor 56 extending outwardly from the center section 52 . the visor 56 is preferably made of closed - cell foam or other suitable material for water resistance . the underside of the visor 56 is preferably black to minimize the sunlight reflected from snow on the ground reflecting off the apparatus 50 and obstructing the user &# 39 ; s view . the center section 52 is preferably elastic and has a section of anti - slip material 58 for facilitating frictional engagement with the helmet 70 . the anti - slip material is preferably compressible , or compressible in addition to being tacky . exemplary materials for the anti - slip material include rubber , rubberized fabrics , foams , coated foams , combinations thereof , or another material suitable for facilitating frictional engagement with the headgear . the center section 52 can include means for adjusting the diameter of the opening 54 to accommodate helmets of varying size . as shown in fig8 , the adjustment means can comprise two straps 61 , 62 attached to the center section 52 . one strap 61 can have hook fasteners , while the other strap 62 can have loop fasteners ( or vice versa ) for complementary engagement . as such , the diameter of the center section opening 54 can be adjusted by the user by varying the point of connection of the two straps 61 , 62 . alternatively , the adjustment means can be a sliding strap or elastic . the visor 56 has a front portion 56 a and a rear portion 56 b . preferably , the rear portion 56 b is longer than the front portion 56 a to provide better coverage to the back of the neck of the user . as shown in fig7 and 8 , a stiffening member , such as a plastic rod 66 , is positioned at the outer edge of the visor 56 to help retain the shape of the visor 56 . alternatively , the stiffening member can be a square or flat wire or plastic rod , which would allow the apparatus 10 to be folded up similar to a windshield shade or band saw blade . with such a rigid and spring - loaded stiffening member 66 , the visor 56 may consist of stretched fabric , and a supporting material , such as a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material , need not be used . as shown in fig8 , a frontal reinforcing flap 60 can be attached at the inner edge of the underside of the front portion 56 a of the visor 56 . the front flap 60 helps prevent the apparatus 50 from coming off the helmet 70 when traveling at high speeds . as shown in fig8 , a loop 64 can be attached at the inner edge of the underside of the rear portion 56 b of the visor 56 . as shown in fig9 , the loop can receive a goggle strap 72 of the snow sport helmet 70 to help retain the apparatus on the helmet 70 at high speeds , or in the case of a crash . in a preferred method of using the apparatus 50 , the apparatus 50 is positioned over the snow sports helmet 70 , with the front portion 56 a of the visor 56 above the front of the helmet 70 , and the rear portion 56 b of the visor 56 above the rear of the helmet 70 . the apparatus 50 is pulled over the helmet 70 with the helmet 70 going through the opening 54 of the center section 52 and engaging the anti - slip section . the goggle strap 72 of helmet 70 is positioned through the rear loop 64 , as shown in fig9 . a brim apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 - 12 , and shown generally at reference numeral 100 . this brim apparatus 100 is particularly suited for use with mountain / rock climbing helmets and / or equestrian helmets . the apparatus 100 can be made of cotton , or other suitable material such as nylon , polyester , cotton / polyester blends , gore - tex , treated or water resistant material , stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic , or other suitable material . as shown in fig1 and 11 , the apparatus 100 comprises a substantially oval flexible center section 102 defining a substantially oval opening 104 sized to fit over a mountain / rock climbing or equestrian helmet 140 , and a substantially oval , flexible visor 106 extending outwardly from the center section 102 . the center section 102 shown in this embodiment is preferably elastic and has a section of anti - slip material 108 for facilitating frictional engagement with the helmet 140 . the center section 102 can include means for adjusting the diameter of the opening 104 to accommodate helmets of varying size . as shown in fig1 , the adjustment means can comprise two straps 121 , 122 attached to the center section 102 . one strap 121 can have hook fasteners , while the other strap 122 can have loop fasteners ( or vice versa ) for complementary engagement . as such , the diameter of the center section opening 104 can be adjusted by the user by varying the point of connection of the two straps 121 , 122 . alternatively , the adjustment means can be a sliding strap or elastic . the visor 106 shown in this embodiment has a front portion 106 a and a rear portion 106 b . in an alternative embodiment designed specifically for use on equestrian helmets that already have visors as part of the helmet , the front portion 106 a of the visor can be sewn so as to allow an integrated visor that is typically present on equestrian helmets to protrude there through . as shown in fig1 , a loop 132 can be attached at the inner edge of the underside of the rear portion 106 b of the visor 106 . in a preferred method of using the apparatus 100 , the apparatus 100 is positioned over the helmet 140 , with the front portion 106 a of the visor 106 above the front of the helmet 140 , and the rear portion 106 b of the visor 106 above the rear of the helmet 140 . the apparatus 100 is pulled over the helmet 140 , with the helmet 140 going through the opening 104 of the center section 102 and engaging the anti - slip section 108 , as shown in fig1 . a hook and loop or sliding strap leash can be packaged with the apparatus 100 , and positioned through the rear loop 132 and attached to the existing straps on the helmet 140 . also , a carabiner can be positioned through the rear loop 132 , and used for carrying the apparatus 100 . the brim apparatus 100 does not impede movement , and allows users to get close to rocks and other objects while climbing , and preserves proper helmet fit and function . a brim apparatus for use on a multitude of different helmets is depicted in fig1 - 17 and shown generally at reference numeral 160 . this embodiment could be used with a variety of sports helmets including , but not limited to , snow sports , rock climbing / mountaineering , skating , paddling , equestrian , and rounded bicycle helmets . this embodiment may also be used with various hard hats . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the apparatus 160 in the figure has a substantially oval flexible center section 162 defining an opening 164 sized to fit over the headgear 198 , and a substantially oval visor 166 extending outwardly from the center section 162 . the apparatus 160 can be made of cotton , or other suitable material such as nylon , polyester , cotton / polyester blends or water resistant material such as gore - tex or treated fabric . the visor 166 can be made of a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material . the visor 166 has a front portion 166 a and a rear portion 166 b . preferably , but not necessarily , the rear portion 166 b is longer than the front portion 166 a to provide better coverage to the back of the neck of the user . the center section 162 preferably has an elastic portion 167 and has a section of anti - slip material 168 attached to the center section 162 for facilitating frictional engagement with helmet 198 . the center section 162 can include a feature or means for adjusting the diameter of the opening 164 to accommodate helmets of varying size . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the size adjustment feature can comprise a strap 171 and ladder lock buckle 172 attached to the center section 162 . the strap 171 slides through a guide tube 173 that is attached near the top of the rear center section 162 . as such , the diameter of the center section opening 164 can be adjusted by the user by varying the length of the strap 171 at the ladder lock buckle 172 . one skilled in the art can appreciate that other means than a ladder lock buckle 162 , such as a complementary engaging sliding buckle , hook and loop fastener strap , ring with an associated strap with hooks or buckles , or other suitable material , can be used for adjustment of strap length . furthermore , a guide tube 173 is not necessarily required and other alternatives such as a channel in the center section 162 , a loop , or no guide if the span is small , could be used . a section of anti - slip material 174 may also be present on the guide tube 173 . as shown in fig1 and 14 , a stiffening member , such as a plastic rod , is positioned at the outer edge of the visor 176 to help retain the shape of the visor 166 . alternatively , the stiffening member can be a square or flat wire or plastic rod , which would allow the apparatus 160 to be folded up similar to a windshield shade or band saw blade . with such a rigid and spring - loaded stiffening member , the visor 166 may consist of stretched fabric , and a supporting material , such as a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material , need not be used . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the visor 166 may have vents 180 , 181 that allow air to flow through them when traveling at high speed . any number of vents 180 , 181 may be used and positioned at any location on the visor 166 . vents 180 , 181 may be passive as holes or may be active and open as air flows there through . additionally , the visor 166 may be made of a mesh material without a covering and allow air to flow there through . the vents may have a wide variety of shapes . in one embodiment a vent is shaped as one of the following including an oval , circle , square , or slit . the vent reduces lift and pressure on the visor when moving at speed or in windy conditions . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the visor may have an accessory attachment 182 positioned at the edge of the visor 166 to allow for complementary engagement of accessories , such as fabric curtains , mosquito netting , or other suitable accessories . the accessory attachment 182 may consist of complementary engaging zippers , hook and loop fasteners , snaps , or other suitable materials to facilitate attachment of accessories with the complementary engaging zippers , hook and loop fasteners , snaps , or other suitable materials to the apparatus 160 . the brim apparatus shown in fig1 also includes a pocket 184 . the pocket 184 may serve to hold and conceal a foldable cover that can be unfolded from the pocket and used to cover the helmet 198 . such a cover may be useful in the case of inclement weather . fig1 depicts a reinforcement piece 185 at the rear of the center section 162 . this reinforcement piece prevents the center section 162 from flopping as the user experiences high winds or goes over uneven terrain . as mentioned previously , some helmets and hard hats have a visor that is pre - integrated or molded into the headgear itself . as shown in fig1 , 15 , and 17 , the apparatus 160 can have a pocket 186 for receiving a pre - existing visor 199 that was previously integrated with the helmet . the pocket 186 may be closed around the pre - existing visor 199 using hook and loop fasteners attached to opposite sides of the inner surface of the pocket , or other suitable device , to form a clamp . the pocket therefore creates a clamp , preventing the visor from rotation and from coming off the headgear . as shown in fig1 , a loop 188 can be attached at the inner edge of the underside of the rear portion 166 b of the visor 166 . as shown in fig1 , the loop 188 can receive a goggle strap of the helmet 198 or may be attached to an existing helmet strap by opening the loop and refastening it into a closed shape . this loop 188 can be used to retain the apparatus 160 on the helmet . this loop may be used to retain tools . fig1 shows a brim apparatus 160 positioned over a sports helmet 198 , with the front portion 166 a of the visor 166 above the front of the helmet 198 , and the rear portion 166 b of the visor 166 above the rear of the helmet 198 . the apparatus 160 is pulled over the helmet 198 , with the helmet 198 going through the opening 164 of the center section 162 and engaging the anti - slip section . when the apparatus 160 is affixed to the sports helmet , the center section 162 is adapted to form a stop surface 190 , wherein the stop surface 190 prohibits the visor 166 from upward rotation . when affixed to the helmet , the center section clamps the apparatus onto the helmet and prevents upward or downward rotation and the brim from coming off the helmet . the center section may form a shelf on which a portion of the underside of the helmet may sit . the other side of the stop surface on the center section contacts a portion of the underside of the helmet when the apparatus is affixed to the helmet . the stop surface shown in fig1 arises from the design of the brim apparatus and is based on the geometry of the apparatus with respect to the headgear . as shown in fig1 , center section is shown with at least one visor spatial control member 192 , 194 which serves to control the spacing of the visor relative to the helmet when the brim is properly attached to the helmet . in the variation of the invention shown in fig1 , visor spatial control feature includes two stitches 192 , 194 . however , other examples of a visor spatial control feature include but are not limited to clips , staples , ties , etc . the spatial control feature may not be externally visible and can be hidden during manufacture of the apparatus . when the helmet is engaged with the brim apparatus , in this embodiment , the visor spatial control feature serves to shift rearward the visor , creating the stop surface 190 , regardless of the size of the helmet . the spatial control feature may vary . as an alternative to the spatial control member 192 , 194 shown in fig1 , the center section 162 can be shortened relative to the inner circumference of the visor 166 to preserve functionality of the stop surface 190 when the apparatus 160 is placed on a helmet . the goggle strap of helmet 198 is positioned through the rear loop 188 . when the apparatus 160 is used with a helmet or hard hat that has a pre - integrated visor , the pre - integrated visor 199 is inserted into the pocket 186 , as shown in fig1 . attachment of the apparatus 160 to the helmet 198 proceeds similarly to that shown in fig1 . a brim apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 - 21 , and shown generally at reference numeral 200 . this embodiment of the invention is intended for use with bicycle helmets but could also be used with other headgear . as shown in fig1 and 19 , the apparatus 200 comprises a substantially oval flexible center section 202 defining an opening 204 sized to fit over a bicycle helmet 250 , and a substantially oval visor 206 extending outwardly from the center section 202 . the apparatus 200 can be made of cotton , or other suitable material such as nylon , polyester , cotton / polyester blends or water resistant material such as gore - tex or treated fabric . the visor 206 can be made of a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material . the visor 206 has a front portion 206 a and a rear portion 206 b . preferably , the rear portion 206 b is longer than the front portion 206 a to provide better coverage to the back of the neck of the user . the center section has a front portion 202 a and a rear portion 202 b . preferably , the rear portion 202 b is greater in length than the front portion 202 a to account for the relatively high positioning of bicycle helmets . on other helmets , the longer rear portion 202 b helps to position the visor so that it provides better neck coverage . the center section 202 preferably has an elastic portion 207 and has a section of anti - slip material 208 attached to the center section 202 for facilitating frictional engagement with helmet 250 . the center section 202 can include various features and means for adjusting the diameter of the opening 204 to accommodate helmets of varying size . as shown in fig1 and 19 , the size adjustment feature can comprise a strap 211 and ladder lock buckle 212 attached to the center section 202 . the strap 211 slides through any combination of guide straps 221 , 223 , 227 that are attached near the top of the rear center section 202 b to accommodate different topological features of particular bicycle helmets , as shown in fig1 and 20 . as such , the diameter of the center section opening 204 can be adjusted by the user by varying the length of the strap 211 at the ladder lock buckle 212 . one skilled in the art can appreciate that other means than a ladder lock buckle 212 , such as a complementary engaging sliding buckle , hook and loop fastener strap , ring with an associated strap with hooks or buckles , or other suitable material , can be used for adjustment of strap length . the apparatus 200 has a vertical adjustment feature 214 to adjust the vertical position of the visor 206 relative to the center section 202 . as shown in fig1 , the adjustment feature can consist of a hook and loop fastener strap 215 passed through a ring 216 that is attached near the top of the rear center section 202 b . a sliding strap or other suitable means may also be used . the apparatus 200 also has a visor tilt angle adjustment feature 218 to adjust the angle at which the visor extends from the center section . as shown in fig1 , the adjustment feature can consist of a hook and loop fastener strap 219 passed through a ring 220 that is attached near the top of the front center section 202 a . a sliding strap or other suitable means may also be used . the tilt angle ( β ) may vary and preferably ranges from − 45 degrees to 70 degrees and more preferably − 15 to 45 degrees . the tilt angle ( β ) is illustrated in fig2 by reference symbol β . as shown in fig1 and 19 , a stiffening member , such as a plastic rod , is positioned at the outer edge of the visor 222 to help retain the shape of the visor 206 . alternatively , the stiffening member can be a square or flat wire or plastic rod , which would allow the apparatus 200 to be folded up similar to a windshield shade or band saw blade . with such a rigid and spring - loaded stiffening member , the visor 206 may consist of stretched fabric , and a supporting material , such as a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material , need not be used . as shown in fig1 and 19 , the visor 206 may have vents 224 , 225 that allow air to flow through them when traveling at high speed . any number of vents 224 , 225 may be used and positioned at any location on the visor 206 . vents 224 , 225 may be passive as holes or may be active and open as air flows there through . additionally , the visor 206 may be made of a mesh material without a covering and allow air to flow through the visor 206 . as shown in fig1 and 19 , the visor may have an accessory attachment 228 positioned at the edge of the visor 222 to allow for complementary engagement of accessories , such as fabric curtains , mosquito netting , or other suitable accessories . the accessory attachment 228 may consist of complementary engaging zippers , hook and loop fasteners , snaps , or other suitable materials to facilitate attachment of accessories to the apparatus 200 . as shown in fig1 , a pocket 230 may conceal a foldable cover that can be unfolded from the pocket and used to cover the helmet 250 . such a cover may be useful in the case of inclement weather . fig1 and 20 depict reinforcement pieces 232 , 233 , 234 at the rear of the center section 202 b . this reinforcement piece prevents the center section 202 from extensively flopping as the user experiences high winds or goes over uneven terrain . fig2 shows a brim apparatus 200 positioned over bicycle helmet 250 , with the front portion 206 a of the visor 206 above the front of the helmet 250 , and the rear portion 206 b of the visor 206 above the rear of the helmet 250 . the apparatus 200 is pulled over the helmet 250 , with the helmet 250 going through the opening 204 of the center section 202 and engaging the anti - slip section 208 . when the apparatus 200 is affixed to the bicycle helmet , the center section 202 is adapted to form a stop surface 240 , wherein the stop surface 240 clamps the apparatus 200 to the helmet 250 and prohibits the visor 206 from upward rotation . when affixed to the helmet , the center section clamps the brim onto the helmet and prevents rotation and the brim from coming off the helmet . the center section may form a shelf on which a portion of the underside of the helmet may sit . the other side of the stop surface on the center section contacts a portion of the underside of the helmet when the apparatus is affixed to the helmet . fig2 shows a bottom view of another preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig2 , the apparatus 260 comprises a substantially oval flexible center section 262 defining an opening 204 sized to fit over a bicycle helmet , and a substantially oval visor 266 extending outwardly from the center section 262 . the apparatus 260 can be made of cotton , or other suitable material such as nylon , polyester , cotton / polyester blends or water resistant material such as gore - tex or treated fabric . the visor 266 can be made of a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material . the visor has a front portion 266 a and a rear portion 266 b . the apparatus 260 in this embodiment uses a harness 270 to attach to the bicycle helmet . the harness consists of sliding straps 272 , 273 fed through guides 275 , 276 that are attached near the top of the center section 262 . when the straps 272 , 273 are tightened , a front cover , patch , or glove member 280 that has a longer center section 280 a than upper 280 b and lower 280 c engages the front of the bicycle helmet and a rear cup 290 engages the rear of the bicycle helmet . the rear cup 290 has a center hole 291 and is shaped so as to fit the rear end of a tapered bicycle helmet . in a preferred method of using the apparatus 260 , the apparatus 260 is positioned over the bicycle helmet , with the front portion of the visor 266 a above the front of the helmet , and the rear portion 266 b of the visor 266 above the rear of the helmet . the apparatus 260 is pulled over the helmet , with the helmet going through the opening 264 of the center section 262 . the harness 270 engages with the bicycle helmet by positioning the front cover 280 at the front of the bicycle helmet and the rear cup 290 at the rear of the bicycle helmet and then tightening the sliding straps 272 , 273 . a brim apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig2 - 25 , and shown generally at reference numeral 300 . as shown in fig2 and 24 , the apparatus 300 comprises a substantially oval flexible center section 302 defining an opening 304 sized to fit over a sports helmet 350 , and a visor 306 radially or outwardly extending from the center section 302 about a portion of the circumference of the center section 302 . the center section is depicted in fig2 - 25 as a generally contiguous piece of fabric , however the center section may take other forms and need not be contiguous . the center section may be comprised of any suitable material and combinations of multiple types of materials , such as a portion of fabric and a portion of a strap so as to define an opening through which headgear can fit . the visor span angle α in this embodiment is about − 60 to 60 degrees or spans a total arc angle of about 120 degrees . however , the span angle α may vary greatly . an exemplary non limiting range for the total arc angle is from 60 to 180 degrees , and more preferably from 90 to 150 degrees . the apparatus 300 can be made of cotton , or other suitable material such as nylon , polyester , cotton / polyester blends or water resistant material such as gore - tex or treated fabric . the visor 306 can be made of a stiff fabric interfacing , closed cell foam , lightweight plastic or other suitable material . the center section 302 preferably has an elastic portion 307 and has a section of anti - slip material 310 attached to the center section 302 for facilitating frictional engagement with helmet 350 . the center section 302 can include means for adjusting the diameter of the opening 304 to accommodate helmets of varying size . as shown in fig2 and 24 , the size adjustment feature can comprise a strap 311 and ladder lock buckle 312 attached to the center section 302 . the strap 311 slides through a guide tube 313 that is attached near the top of the rear center section 302 . the guide tube 313 has a piece of anti - slip material 314 attached to it . as such , the diameter of the center section opening 304 can be adjusted by the user by varying the length of the strap 311 at the ladder lock buckle 312 . one skilled in the art can appreciate that other means than a ladder lock buckle 312 , such as a complementary engaging sliding buckle , hook and loop fastener strap , ring with an associated strap with hooks or buckles , or other suitable material , can be used for adjustment of strap length . as shown in fig2 and 24 , a stiffening member , such as a plastic rod , is positioned at the outer edge of the visor 316 to help retain the shape of the visor 306 . the stiffening member may extend into the center section 302 to maintain rigidity and prevent flopping . alternatively , the stiffening member can be a square or flat wire or plastic rod or other suitable material . fig2 shows a brim apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention positioned over the sports helmet 350 , with the front portion of the visor 306 above the front of the helmet 350 , and the rear portion of the center section 302 above the rear of the helmet 350 . the apparatus 300 is pulled over the helmet 350 , with the helmet 350 going through the opening 304 of the center section 302 and engaging the anti - slip section 310 and pro - friction 314 material . when the apparatus 300 is affixed to the sports helmet , the center section 302 is adapted to form a stop surface 340 , wherein the stop surface 340 prohibits the visor 306 from upward rotation . the stop surface also acts to clamp the apparatus 300 to the helmet 350 and prevents it from upward or downward rotation and from coming off the helmet . the center section also may form a shelf on which a portion of the underside of the helmet may sit . the other side of the stop surface on the center section contacts a portion of the underside of the helmet when the apparatus is affixed to the helmet . a brim apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig2 - 29 , and shown generally at reference numeral 400 . the apparatus includes a visor 404 radially extending from a center section 406 . unlike the previous embodiments , however , the visor has a different shape . the visor 404 shown in fig2 - 29 has a cowboy hat shape . lateral portions 420 are manipulated to curve upwards using straps 430 . the degree of curvature may be adjusted by adjusting the straps 430 . adjusting the curvature of the visor improves aerodynamic performance . although straps 430 are shown in fig2 - 29 to hold lateral regions in an upward curved orientation , other means may be used to hold or adjust the curvature of the various regions of the visor . examples include velcro straps , snaps , eyelets , wire and plastic loops , etc . additionally , the visor may include a preformed curvature or spring loaded orientation which biases the visor in a particular orientation and curvature . shaped foams , internal ribs , and molded plastics or other materials may be incorporated into the visor to hold a desired shape . the apparatus 400 is also shown having a visor tilt angle adjustment feature 414 to adjust the angle at which the front portion of the visor 404 extends from the center section 406 . as shown in fig2 , the adjustment feature can consist of a hook and loop fastener strap passed through a ring that is attached near the top of the front center section . a sliding strap or other suitable means may be used . the tilt angle may vary and may range as described above in connection with the other brim embodiments incorporating a tilt angle adjustment feature . a brim apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig3 - 32 , and shown generally at reference numeral 500 . the apparatus 500 is similar to the brim apparatus described above except that it includes a detachable crown , cover or cap portion 520 . the crown 520 is shown engaged to the center section 512 via three hook 524 and loop 522 fasteners on the center section and crown respectively . however , a wide range of fasteners and materials including but not limited to zippers , snaps , and so forth may be used to engage crown with the visor . velcro may be used to attach the cover to the center section or visor . one or more strips of velcro may be placed around the center section . the fastener means may be contiguous or include discrete elements . a brim apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig3 - 35 , and shown generally at reference numeral 600 . the apparatus 600 includes a visor 610 radially extending from a center section 620 . similar to the embodiments described herein , the diameter of the center section and brim may be adjusted to engage the circumference of the hardhat . in the apparatus shown in fig3 - 35 , the diameter of the center section may be adjusted using a rope which extends through a channel in the center section . the rope may be tightened as desired and locked via cord lock 630 . however , the invention is not intended to be so limited . other techniques and means may be incorporated to snugly secure the brim apparatus to the hard hat or helmet . additionally , in an alternative embodiment , the diameter of the center section is non - adjustable . the opening of the center section is pre - fit for a particular size or size range of headgear . additionally , in embodiments , the center section may comprise a resilient or elastic portion such that the diameter of the opening may conform to the outer circumference of the headgear . the opening may be designed to be slightly undersized relative to the headgear such that when the headgear is placed within the opening of the brim apparatus , a snug fit is obtained . additionally , combinations of the above may be incorporated into the brim apparatus . for example , an adjustable and elastic center section may be provided to suitably fit a headgear . fig3 also shows a clamp or stop surface 640 when the brim apparatus 600 is secured to the hard hat 612 . the stop surface serves to snugly secure the short pre - integrated bill on hard hats . the pre - integrated bill of the hard hat rests on top of the inner lip 642 of the visor 610 , creating a stop surface at the inner lip of the visor 642 . additionally , in some embodiments , the bill does not directly contact the visor or inner lip of the visor , and rests on the center section 620 itself . for example , this can happen if the outer circumference of the hard hat is smaller than the length of the center section where it is attached to the brim . the center section is tightened over the bill and to the exterior of the hard hat , thereby clamping or holding the pre - integrated bill of the hard hat in a circumferential pocket formed between the visor 640 and the tightened center section 620 , or deform center section 620 around the bill . this serves to securely clamp or hold the brim apparatus 600 to the hard hat 612 . although the stop surface is shown positioned towards the front of the headgear , the stop surface may be formed at other locations including lateral positions , rearward locations , and other locations along the circumference of the headgear . the stop or clamping surface serves to prevent upward rotation of the visor and to snugly hold the center section of the brim apparatus to various helmets , hardhats and other headgear . the center section may form a shelf on which a portion of the underside of the helmet may sit . the other side of the stop surface on the center section contacts a portion of the underside of the helmet when the apparatus is affixed to the helmet . additionally , although a rope and cord lock 630 is shown to secure the center section to the hard hat ( and to form the stop surface ), other mechanisms may be incorporated into the brim apparatus to secure the center section to the hard hat and to form the stop surface . the invention is intended only to be limited as recited in the appended claims . all the features of the preferred embodiments described above are interchangeable on the various embodiments except where such modification would render the invention inoperable . also , it should be noted that while the preferred embodiments disclosed above are described as being used with bicycle , skateboard , snow sport , paddling , mountain / rock climbing and equestrian helmets , the invention is not so limited , and can be used in conjunction with a variety of headgear , including hard hats used in construction , dock loading , and airport baggage handling . it should also be noted that any of the preferred embodiments may be packaged with a sports helmet to form a sports helmet system . in one embodiment a system includes a sports helmet such as , e . g ., a bike helmet model venture , manufactured by easton bell sports , inc . ( van nuys , calif ., usa ), and a brim as described herein . a system for snowboarding may include a helmet , brim , and goggles . helmet systems may also include covers , nets , and or clips . a brim apparatus for use on headgear and a method of using same are described above . various changes can be made to the invention without departing from its scope . the above description of the preferred embodiments and best mode of the invention are provided for the purpose of illustration only and not limitation . | 0 |
the system of the present invention conserves paging resources in a mobile switching center ( msc ) and also reduces call delivery time . the process described herein acts to more efficiently and quickly find a specific mobile telephone at call delivery time by recording mobile - specific data about past call deliveries . paging channel occupancy is a recognized bottleneck to handling a large number of busy hour call attempts , or bhca . in order to increase capacity , a new database is introduced pursuant to the present invention . in addition to other information , this database includes records identifying each mobile that has responded to an intersystem page ( ispage ) message . each record specifically identifies the border msc from which a specific mobile responded . subsequent incalls to that mobile result in an ispage to the identified msc on the first page attempt . as a general principal , cells in a cellular telephone system are grouped into las , or location areas . every la has a location area cluster , or lac , which is a list of las containing that la plus every la or msc that borders it . when a call is to be delivered to a mobile , three page attempts are generally used . the first page attempt will page all of the cells in the last seen la . the second and third page attempts will page all of the las and mscs in the last seen la &# 39 ; s lac . the dominant mechanism whereby a mobile responds in a border msc is known as “ toggling .” in a situation where two adjacent cells are served by different mscs , the mobile will actually toggle its registration between the two mscs . however , in order to prevent excessive registration , mobiles use a registration hysteresis timer that prevents re - registration during the timer period , which is usually set for three to five minutes . this process has the negative effect that if a call arrives while the destination mobile is toggled to the border msc , paging in the serving msc will not find the mobile . under established protocols , when the first page fails , ispage messages are sent to border mscs . in some mscs , paging load due to ispage messages can be comparable to the load due to incalls to the msc . fig1 is a simplified diagram of a cellular telecommunications system having a single msc 102 that serves a plurality of individual cells 118 , 120 , 122 . of course , the system may have a much larger number of cells in order to provide adequate service over a large coverage area , but only three cells are illustrated in the figure for the sake of simplicity . each cell has one or more base stations ( not specifically illustrated ) that are controlled by a base station controller ( bsc ) such as bsc 104 . a cell 118 also includes an antenna tower 110 that is generally centrally disposed in the cell 118 , although multiple antenna locations may be supported to ensure adequate coverage , particularly in problem areas . when a call arrives at the msc 102 , intended for a designated cellular subscriber unit 116 , the msc may simply broadcast a page message in all of the cells 118 , 120 , 122 that it serves . the subscriber unit 116 receives the page message in cell 118 , transmits the proper acknowledgement message , and the msc proceeds to designate a voice channel so that call set - up can be completed . in a larger system , such as a system with multiple mscs , an incoming call is generally delivered to the serving msc where the designated cellular subscriber unit ( or mobile ) was last seen . the serving msc must locate the mobile via the paging procedure as noted above . in simple terms , the paging process may be described as a group of cell towers broadcasting a “ page ” message for the particular mobile . if the mobile unit does not respond to the first page message , additional paging attempts may be generated . on these second and subsequent paging attempts , the serving msc can send an intersystem page ( ispage ) message to its border mscs . the ispage message instructs the border mscs to page the mobile . in some systems , a non - trivial percentage ( 3 - 5 %) of page responses come via the ispage mechanism . fig2 depicts a cellular telecommunications system having multiple mscs 204 , 206 . msc a 204 serves cells 232 , 234 , and 236 , while msc b 206 serves cells 238 , 240 , and 242 . of course , the system depicted may include a much larger number of cells is actual practice . each msc is depicted as serving only three cells for the sake of simplicity . a dark line 202 in the drawing figure symbolically represents the border region between cells served by msc a 204 and msc b 206 . msc a 204 is in communication with base station controllers ( bscs ) 208 , 210 , and 212 located in cells 232 , 234 , and 236 , respectively . similarly , msc b 206 communicates with bscs 214 , 216 , and 218 , disposed within cells 238 , 240 , and 242 , respectively . each cell includes at least one cellular antenna structure , such as tower 222 , much as described above with regard to the system depicted in fig1 . studies have shown that the majority of mobile phones served by an msc are stationary at any given time , and that the phones tend to be stationary in the same place each day . studies have also shown that the majority of phones that get page responses via the ispage mechanism will continue to get page responses via ispage . this is because these mobile phone users happen to live or work near an msc border 202 . as noted above , mobiles near an msc border 202 tend to toggle between each msc . calls will be delivered to the last seen msc , however the mobile may have toggled to its border msc and will hence not be found until the second page via the ispage mechanism . the objective of the process described herein is to optimize ispage operations between mscs , with the goal of decreasing paging resources used for call delivery and also to decrease the time required to deliver a call . when a mobile is found in a border msc via an ispage operation , a record ( specific to that mobile ) is generated ( or updated ) indicating which msc responded and the timestamp of the latest response . a database is generally constructed to contain records for a plurality of mobiles . future call delivery attempts can use this information to send an ispage message to that border msc on the first page attempt . each time a mobile is subsequently found in the same border msc ( via ispage ), the timestamp for that border msc is updated . if a mobile only gets a single ispage page response , the timestamp for that record will never get updated , and the record can be expunged or deleted after a suitable time interval . for the telecommunications system depicted in fig2 , one may assume that cellular subscriber unit 244 , currently within cell 238 but close to the border region 202 , “ toggles ” between cell 238 , which is served by msc b 206 , and cell 232 , which is served by msc a 204 . this procedure has the result of finding the mobile on the first page attempt , thereby reducing the time required to deliver the call . additionally , most mobiles that are near borders will get page messages from only one border msc , whereas an msc in a large metropolitan area may send second page ispage messages to five to seven border mscs , so finding the mobile on the first page attempt with one ispage message eliminates the subsequent larger paging attempt . empirical studies indicate that when an ispage message is received at an msc , the last seen cell timestamp is an effective predictor of the probability that the mobile will respond to a page . when a mobile actually responds to an ispage , an msc entry is placed into the database corresponding to the border msc that mobile responded from . subsequent calls to that mobile will generate an ispage to that border msc on the first page attempt . using this procedure has the advantage that pages to “ border togglers ” will complete five seconds faster , since there are five seconds between paging attempts . this results in considerable saving of paging channel occupancy . fig3 is a flowchart of a method for conserving paging resources . in step 302 , a call is received at a serving msc intended for a designated cellular subscriber unit . in the subsequent operation ( 304 ), the serving msc determines that the designated cellular subscriber responded to an ispage message from a border msc during a recent prior use . consequently , in the step 306 , the serving msc transmits a first page message to the designated cellular subscriber via an ispage message directed toward that border msc . in practice , cellular telecommunications system processes are implemented in computer software using high - performance processors and high - capacity storage elements such as hard disk subsystems . the computer program code that implements particular telecommunications system functions is stored on computer - readable media , such as the hard disk system , and executed by the processor . the steps or operations described herein are intended as examples . there may be many variations to these steps or operations without departing from the spirit of the invention . for instance , the steps may be performed in a differing order , or steps may be added , deleted , or modified . although examples of implementations of the invention have been depicted and described in detail herein , it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications , additions , substitutions , and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 7 |
referring now to fig4 a first embodiment which is a remote control signal reproducing circuit for implementing the first noise rejection measure according to the invention will be described . the remote control signal reproducing circuit comprises a filter unit 3 , a waveform shaping circuit 5 , and a detector circuit ( remote control signal discriminating circuit ) 4 . the detector circuit 4 includes rs flip - flops 10 and 14 , a counter 11 for setting a time interval of 0 . 1 ms , a reference clock generator 12 , a counter 13 for counting the number of pulses , a counter 15 for determining the width of a reproduced pulse , and inverters 16 and 17 . the reproduced pulse is delivered from a terminal q of the rs flip - flop 14 and sent to a signal demodulator circuit 6 as shown in fig1 . when the pulse is delivered out of the waveform shaping circuit 5 , the rs flip - flop 10 is set and its terminal q delivers out an output of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. consequently , the inverter 16 delivers out an output of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; which releases resetting of the counters 11 and 13 , thereby causing the counter 11 to count output pulses of the reference clock generator 12 . the counter 13 with its resetting now released , on the other hand , immediately starts counting pulses contained in a modulated transmission signal . the output from a terminal q of the counter 11 is so set as to be &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; when 0 . 1 ms has elapsed after the release of resetting , and the output from a terminal q of the counter 13 is so set as to be &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; when three pulses have been counted . accordingly , if three or more pulses occur during the 0 . 1 ms time interval , the output from the terminal q of counter 13 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the rs flip - flop 14 is set to produce an output of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at its terminal q . this &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output causes the counter 15 to count output pulses of the reference clock generator 12 and when 1 ms has elapsed after the start of counting , the output from a terminal q of counter 15 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to reset the rs flip - flop 14 . through the above operation , a remote control signal corresponding to the modulated transmission signal can be obtained at the terminal q of the rs flip - flop 14 . on the other hand , when less than three pulses are received within the 0 . 1 ms time interval , the output from the terminal q of counter 11 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; before the output from the terminal q of counter 13 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, thereby resetting the rs flip - flop 10 . as a result , the counter 13 is again reset to prevent the rs flip - flop 14 from being set . in this manner , random noise in the form of impulses can be eliminated . reference is now made to fig5 which illustrates a second embodiment wherein a circuit arrangement for implementing the second noise rejection measure is added to the circuit of fig4 for implementing the first noise rejection measure . in this embodiment , however , the circuit for the first noise rejection measure is modified to meet timings shown in fig3 . in fig5 there are further provided rs flip - flops 18 and 21 , and circuits 19 and 23 , a counter 20 for counting the number of pulses in a time interval of 0 . 9 ms , and an inverter 22 . when three or more pulses are received during an initial time interval of 0 . 1 ms , the output from a terminal q of a counter 13 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; before the output from a terminal q of a counter 11 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, thereby setting the rs flip - flop 18 . under this condition , when 0 . 1 ms has elapsed , an rs flip - flop 14 receives a setting signal through the and circuit 19 and produces an output of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at its terminal q . this &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level is kept until after a time interval of 0 . 9 ms determined by a counter 15 ends . in this manner , a remote control signal as shown by the waveform ( c ) in fig3 can be reproduced . the counter 20 counts the number of pulses during the 0 . 9 ms time interval and when 18 pulses have been counted , the output from a terminal q of the counter 20 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the rs flip - flop 21 is set . accordingly , even when the output from a terminal q of the counter 15 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; after a lapse of 0 . 9 ms , the output of the and circuit 23 remains &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. on the other hand , when the number of pulses counted during the 0 . 9 ms time interval is below 18 , the output from the terminal q of counter 20 remains &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and it follows that the rs flip - flop 21 is reset to produce an output of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; at its terminal q . under this condition , when the output from the terminal q of counter 15 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; after the lapse of 0 . 9 ms , the output of the and circuit 23 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. thus , this &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output stops the subsequent operation of a signal demodulator circuit 6 to thereby prevent erroneous operations . fig6 shows in block form a third embodiment wherein a circuit arrangement for implementing the third noise rejection measure is added to the circuit of fig5 for implementing the first and second noise rejection measures . for simplify of illustration , the circuit arrangement for implementing the first noise rejection measure is not illustrated . there are shown in fig6 an rs flip - flop 24 , an inverter 25 , counters 26 and 27 , and an or circuit 28 . since the output from a terminal q of a counter 15 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; after counting of pulses during a time interval of 0 . 9 ms by the counter 15 has been completed , the rs flip - flop 24 is then set to cause the counters 26 and 27 to operate . the counter 26 is adapted to determine a time interval of 1 ms following the 0 . 9 ms time interval and whose output from its terminal q assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; after the lapse of 1 ms , thereby resetting the rs flip - flop 24 and the counter 27 as well . if 16 or more pulses are received during the 1 ms time interval , the output from a terminal q of the counter 27 assumes &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and hence the or circuit 28 produces an output of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; which stops the operation of a signal demodulator circuit 6 to thereby prevent erroneous operations due to successive noise signals . although , in the remote control signal reproducing circuits described so far , a so - called &# 34 ; glitch &# 34 ; tends to take place if the timing slightly shifts , the glitch can be removed by applying usual , well known techniques to the logic circuit and the reproducing circuit modified to this end will not impair the effects of the present invention . further , separate counters are employed in the embodiments set forth so far for clarification of the three noise rejection measures but some of these counters may be commonly used therefor well known techniques . as has been described , according to the invention , the remote control signal reproducing circuit can be constituted not by the prior art detector circuit which is difficult to integrate but by the digital logic circuit , and the correct remote control signal can be reproduced from the modulated transmission signal containing a number of impulse noise signals and erroneous operations due to successive noise signals can be prevented by detecting that the number of pulses contained in the modulated transmission signal is not less than the first predetermined number during the initial predetermined time interval , detecting that the number of pulses is not less than the second predetermined number during the subsequent predetermined time interval , and detecting that the number of pulses is not more than the third predetermined number during the further subsequent time interval . the remote control reproducing circuit which is easy to be formed in an integrated circuit can advantageously be materialized at low cost . | 7 |
the following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention , and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements . various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown , but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein . the data structures and code described in this detailed description are typically stored on a computer readable storage medium , which may be any device or medium that can store code and / or data for use by a computer system . this includes , but is not limited to , magnetic and optical storage devices such as disk drives , magnetic tape , cds ( compact discs ) and dvds ( digital versatile discs or digital video discs ), and computer instruction signals embodied in a transmission medium ( with or without a carrier wave upon which the signals are modulated ). for example , the transmission medium may include a communications network , such as the internet . fig1 illustrates 3d display model 102 with supporting components in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . more specifically , the top portion of fig3 illustrates 3d display model 102 , which includes a number of 3d objects including window 110 and window 112 . note that windows 108 and 110 are actually 3d objects which represent 2d windows . hence , windows 108 and 110 can be moved and rotated within 3d display model 102 , while they provide a 2d output and receive input for associated 2d applications . 3d display model 102 can additionally include a background ( which is not shown ). windows 108 and 110 can be associated with a number of window attributes . for example , window 110 can include x , y , and z position attributes that specify the 3d position of the center of window 110 within 3d display model 102 , as well as a rotation attributes that specify rotations of window 110 around horizontal and vertical axes . window 110 can also be associated with scaling factor , translucency and shape attributes . 3d objects within 3d display model 102 are viewed from a viewpoint 106 through a 2d display 104 , which is represented by a 2d rectangle within 3d display model 102 . during the rendering process , various well - known techniques , such as ray tracing , are used to map objects from 3d display model 102 into corresponding locations in 2d display 104 . the bottom portion of fig1 illustrates some of the system components that make it possible to map 2d windows into 3d display model 102 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , applications 114 and 116 are associated with windows 108 and 110 , respectively . a number of components are involved in facilitating this association . in particular , applications 114 and 116 are associated with xclients 118 and 120 , respectively . xclients 118 and 120 in turn interact with xserver 122 , which includes an associated xwindow manager . these components work together to render output bitmaps 124 and 126 for applications 114 and 116 to be displayed in windows 108 and 110 , respectively . these bitmaps 124 and 126 are maintained within back buffer 128 . code module 130 causes bitmaps 124 and 126 to be displayed on corresponding windows 108 and 110 . more specifically , code module 130 retrieves bitmap 126 and coverts it into a texture 132 , which is displayed on the front face of window 110 . this is accomplished though interactions with 3d scene manager 134 . bitmap 124 is similarly mapped into window 108 . 3d scene manager 134 can also received input from a 2d pointing device , such as mouse 136 , and can communicate this input to applications 114 and 116 in the following way . 3d scene manger 134 first receives an input specifying a 2d offset from mouse 136 ( step 202 ). next , the system uses this 2d offset to move a cursor 109 to a new position ( x 1 , y 1 ) in 2d display 104 ( step 204 ). the system then determines if cursor 109 overlaps a window in 3d display model 102 ( step 206 ). this can be accomplished by projecting a ray 107 from viewpoint 106 through cursor 109 and then determining if the ray intersects a window . if there is no overlap , the process is complete . otherwise , if there is overlap , the system uses the 3d position ( x 2 , y 2 , z 2 ) within display model 102 where ray 107 intersects window 110 , as well as attributes of window 110 , such as position and rotation attributes , to determine the 2d position ( x 3 , y 3 ) of this intersection with respect to a 2d coordinate system of window 110 ( step 208 ). the system then communicates this 2d position ( x 3 , y 3 ) to application 116 , which is associated with window 110 ( step 210 ). various user inputs , for example through mouse 136 or a keyboard , can be used to manipulate windows within 3d display model 102 . some of these manipulations are described below . fig3 presents a flow chart illustrating how input from a pointing device causes objects to rotate around a viewpoint 106 in 3d display model 102 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . first , the system receives an input from a 2d pointing device indicating that a rotation is desired ( step 302 ). for example , the system can receive a movement input from mouse 136 . in response to this input , the system can rotate objects within the 3d display model around viewpoint 106 , or alternatively around another point within 3d display model 102 ( step 304 ). this rotational motion makes it easier for a user to identify window boundaries and also gives the user a feeling of depth and space . fig4 a illustrates an exemplary set of windows in 3d display model 102 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . this exemplary set of windows includes windows 401 - 404 . in fig4 a , window 403 is partly obscured , and window 404 is completely obscured , by windows 401 - 402 . windows 401 - 404 are additionally associated with icons 411 - 414 , respectively . however , icons 411 - 412 are not visible in fig4 a because they are obscured by window 401 . fig4 b illustrates how windows 401 - 404 are rotated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 b , windows 401 - 404 are rotated so that they appear at an oblique angle , wherein the contents of the windows remain visible , while the windows occupy less space and are less likely to overlap each other . note that windows 403 and 404 are now completely visible and icons 411 and 412 are no longer obscured . also note that titles containing descriptive information appear on spines located on the edges of the windows 401 - 404 . fig4 c presents a flow chart of the process of rotating windows in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . first , the system receives a pre - specified command to rotate all of the windows . this command can be received from the pointing device , a keyboard , or some other input device ( step 420 ). in response to this command , the system rotates windows 401 - 404 to an oblique angle so that the contents of the windows remain visible , while the windows occupy less space ( step 422 ). the system also draws titles on spines of the windows ( step 424 ). next , the system can receive a user selection of a window . for example , when the user moves cursor 109 over window 401 , window 401 is selected ( step 426 ). in response to this user selection , the system moves the selected window in front of all other windows in 3d display model 102 and unrotates the selected window so that it faces the user ( step 428 ). the system also moves other windows back to their original unrotated positions . in one embodiment of the present invention , the selected window appears opaque , while other windows appear translucent . fig5 a illustrates exemplary windows 501 - 502 in the 3d display model 102 , and fig5 b illustrates how window 501 is minimized in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . referring to the flow chart in fig5 c , the system first receives a command to minimize window 501 ( step 510 ). for example , mouse 136 can be used to select a minimization button on window 501 . in response to this minimization command , window 501 is tilted ( and possibly reduced in size ) so that the contents of window 501 remain visible , while window 501 occupies less space ( step 512 ). tilting window 501 also causes a title on the spine of window 501 to become visible . at the same time , window 501 is moved toward an edge of the display ( step 514 ). these operations take place through a continuous animation that starts with the original unminimized window and ends with the minimized window . this can be accomplished by incrementally changing window parameters , such as position , rotation and scaling factor parameters . in this way , the user is better able to associate the minimized window with the original window . once window 501 is minimized , another command from the user can cause the window to be maximized so that the window can be more easily viewed and so that the window can receive an input . fig6 a illustrates an exemplary window in 601 in 3d display model 102 , and fig6 b - 6d illustrates how window 601 is tilted when it is moved toward the edge of 2d display 104 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . referring the flowchart in fig6 a , the system first receives a command to move the window to the edge of the display ( step 602 ). for example , the user can use a pointing device to move window 601 so that it is near the edge of 2d display 104 ( see fig6 b ). when window 601 is moved near the edge of 2d display 104 , the system tilts window 601 , so that the contents of window 601 remain visible , while window 601 occupies less space and is less likely to overlap other windows ( step 604 see fig6 c ). next , the system can receive a selection of window 601 by a user . for example , the user may move cursor 109 near window 601 ( step 606 ). in response to this user selection , the system can untilt the window 601 so that the user can see it better and can enter commands into the window ( step 608 , see fig6 d ). fig7 a illustrates an exemplary window 701 in 3d display model 102 , and fig7 b illustrates how window 701 is rotated to display application information on the backside of window 701 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . referring to the flow chart in fig7 c , the system first receives a command ( possibly through a mouse or a keyboard ) to rotate window 701 ( step 704 ). in response to this command , the system rotates window 701 so that application information 702 on the backside of window 701 becomes visible ( step 706 ). this application information can include application version information , application settings , application parameters , and application properties . it can also include notes associated with a file or a web page that is displayed in the window . in one embodiment of the present invention , the system allows the user to modify application information 702 on the backside of window 701 . this enables the user to change application parameters , if necessary . fig8 a illustrates an exemplary window 801 in 3d display model 102 , and fig8 b illustrates how window 801 is rotated to reveal window controls on the edge of the window in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . referring to the flow chart illustrated in fig8 c , the system first detects a cursor close to the edge of window 801 ( step 812 ). in response to detecting the cursor , the system rotates the window so that window controls on the edge of window 801 are visible ( step 814 ). for example , in fig8 b buttons 802 - 805 become visible . note that in general other types of controls , such as pull - down menus , can be located on the edge of window 801 . after the user enters a command into a window control ( step 816 ), or after the user moves cursor 109 away from window 801 , the system rotates window 801 back to its original orientation ( step 818 ). fig9 presents a flow chart illustrating the process of minimizing a top - level window in response to a gesture inputted through a pointing device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the system first receives a pre - defined gesture through a pointing device , such as mouse 136 ( step 902 ). for example , the gesture can be a waving motion that causes cursor 109 to move in a specific pattern across 2d display 104 . in response to this gesture , the system minimizes the top - level window ( step 904 ). as is indicated by the looping arrow in fig9 , repeating the predefined gesture causes subsequent top - level windows to be minimized . next , upon receiving a window restoration command , such as a click on a special button on a root window ( step 906 ), the system restores all minimized windows to their expanded state ( step 908 ). referring to fig1 , in one embodiment of the present invention , if a command is entered through a pointing device and the command throws the window by moving the window quickly and releasing it ( step 1002 ), the system “ throws ” the window by moving the window in a continuous animated motion , which results in a combination of one or more of the following operations : locating the window farther from the viewpoint ; scaling down the size of the window ; iconizing the window ; and deleting the window ( step 1004 ). note that the term “ iconizing ” implies that execution of the associated application is stopped , whereas the term “ scaling down ” implies that the associated application remains running , while the associated window is made smaller in size . note that the window can be , moved , scaled , iconized and / or deleted based upon the velocity of the throw . for example , a high - velocity throw that arises from a fast mouse motion can cause the window to be deleted , whereas a lower - velocity throw that arises from a slower mouse motion can cause the window to be minimized . the distance of the move and / or factor of scaling down can also be determined based on the velocity of the throw . the foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description only . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the forms disclosed . accordingly , many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art . additionally , the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention . the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
the adc output signal during a training phase has a finite length ; that during the operational phase has a semi - infinite length . for a block of samples of the signal x ( k ), k = 0 , 1 , . . . , the vector notation { right arrow over ( x )}=( x 0 , x 1 , . . . , x n − 1 ) will be used . the corresponding fast fourier transform ( fft ) spectrum is denoted { right arrow over ( x )}=( x 0 , x 1 , . . . , x n − 1 ). δ ( k ) is the kronecker delta function , such that δ ( k )= 0 , except for δ ( 0 )= 1 . we assume that the impulse response h ( k ) of the σδ - loop filter satisfies h ( k )= 0 for k = 0 , − 1 , . . . due to causality and a minimal one unit delay in the loop . truncate the estimate of h to at most p non - zero ( complex ) samples , such that h ( k )= 0 for k = p + 1 , p + 2 . . . . the transfer function of the loop is denoted h = fft n ( h ). fig2 depicts the additive errors due to mismatch in the quantizer and dac inside a σδ feedback loop . in fig2 the dac 21 introduces , negatively , an error d ( k ); this error is fed through the integrator off amp 22 to the quantizer 23 , at which an additional noise signal n ( k ) is introduced . we now let y ( k ) represent the integer samples produced by the l - level quantizer in response to the test signal during the training phase . that is to say : y k εs ={ 0 , 1 , . . . , s − 1 }. indicator signals i ( s ) ( k ), sεs , are defined as follows . i ( s ) ( k )= 1 if y k = s , and 0 otherwise ( 1 ) a weighted sum of the indicator signals i ( s ) ( k ) equals y ( k ), after point - wise multiplication “ o ” with e . g . a blackman window w ( k ), the ffts of the indicator signals are computed , { right arrow over ( i )} ( s ) = fft n ( { right arrow over ( w )} o { right arrow over ( i )} ( s ) ). ( 3 ) the linearity of the fft as applied to equation ( 2 ) yields that the quantization noise if the quantizer had been ideal is denoted n ( k ), see fig2 . the mismatch error signal q ( k ) at the input of an non - ideal quantizer is estimated with a function v of the current quantizer output sample y ( k ), that is q ( k )= v ( y ( k )). similarly , the mismatch error signal e ( k ) at the input of a non - ideal dac is estimated by means of a function w of the current quantizer output sample y ( k ), that is d ( k )= w ( y ( k )). observe , that the spectra of q ( k ) and d ( k ) follow from equation ( 4 ), from fig2 it is apparent that q ( k ) and d ( k ) are convolved with impulse responses f ( k ) and g ( k ), f ( k )= δ ( k )− σ i = 1 p h ( i ) f ( k − i ), g k + 1 = σ i = 1 p h i f k − i . respectively . note that for moderate loop gains , we cannot approximate f ( f )≈ 1 , g ( f )≈ 0 . now , equation ( 5 ) implies that the total adc output error spectrum equals e → = ∑ i = 0 l - 1 ( v ( s ) f → + w ( s ) d → · g → ) · i → ( s ) , ( 7 ) where d ( f ) is the fourier transform of a unit delay function , d ( f )= e j2πf / n , f = 0 , 1 , . . . , n − 1 . the right hand side of the equation ( 7 ) can be interpreted as a vector - matrix product of a vector of length l with a l × n - matrix whose rows consist of the vectors i ( s ) . as our sources of nonlinearity are filtered , both static and dynamic nonlinearities can occur . subtraction of the error spectrum { right arrow over ( e )} from the adc output spectrum { right arrow over ( y )} yields the spectrum of the linearized signal , ={ right arrow over ( y )}−{ right arrow over ( e )}. due to ic process spread , the impulse response h of the loop filter varies from chip to chip , and , in general , needs to be estimated . other variables that need to be estimated during the training phase are the values of the functions v and w . they can be viewed as tables with s entries each . once v , w , and h are known , f and g follow from equation ( 6 ). for moderate degrees of nonlinearity of the operational amplifier ( opamp ) that subtracts the adc input signal from the dac output signal in a σδ - loop , computer simulations show that they can be corrected for implicitly , by letting them impact the estimates of mismatch function values v , w of the quantizer and dac . the spectrum flatness ( measure ) ( sf ) λ ({ right arrow over ( z )}) of the spectrum { right arrow over ( z )} is defined as [ 10 ] in general , 0 ≦ λ ≦ 1 , where λ = 1 occurs only for signals with a perfectly white spectrum . small λ &# 39 ; s correspond to estimates |{ circumflex over ( z )} i | 2 , i = 0 , 1 , . . . , n − 1 of the power spectral density ( pds ) with all energy concentrated in a small number of spectral peaks . when in equation ( 8 ) a small constant ε , ε & gt ; 0 , ( e . g . a noise variance ) is added to the psd , only logarithms of positive values occur . averaging power spectra of blocks makes the estimate of the psd more accurate . important for this embodiment of the invention is to iteratively minimise the spectral flatness sf of a block of corrected adc output samples over the correction variables . it is noted that in order to carry this out , quantitative knowledge about the adc input sample is not required . incremental ( or multiplicative ) steps in the correction variables yield new corrected versions of the block of adc output samples . the search follows the steps that lower the sf - value and discards others . in case of gradient - descent minimization , the gradient can be evaluated numerically . too large steps along the gradient vector increase the sf . during the operational phase of the linearization method we subtract the correction samples e ( k ) = ∑ s = 10 l - 1 v ( y ( k ) ) * f ( k ) + w ( y ( k ) ) * g ( k ) , ( 9 ) from the adc output samples y ( k ) to obtain the corrected samples z ( k )= y ( k )− e ( k ), where “ a ”( k )*“ b ”( k ) denotes convolution of the functions k →“ a ”( k ) and k →“ b ”( k ). in an alternative embodiment of the invention , a generalised spectral flatness measure ( gsf ) is implemented rather than the sf described above . a generalized spectral flatness function is a function of a power ) spectrum , typically a power spectrum , that takes on its maximal value for a spectrally flat input signal , and takes on its minimal value , or values close to its minimal value , for input signals that are maximally peaked . a gsf will have a monotonic behaviour in between these two extrema . hence , if a signal &# 39 ; s spectrum gets to have either fewer peaks or larger peaks , the gsf decreases as the spectrum has larger deviation from a flat spectral shape . a ratio of two functions , in which , as the spectrum becomes more peaked , the denominator increases relatively stronger than the nominator provides a measure of the “ flatness ” of the spectrum . for instance , a ratio ( with p & lt ; q ) λ p , q ( z → ) = ( 1 n ∑ i z i p ) 1 p ( 1 n ∑ i z i q ) 1 q . ( 11 ) is invariant to scaling of the spectrum . dividing by a mean — that is to say , setting p = 1 in equation 11 , such that the numerator denotes the mean — and a root mean square value , that is to say , setting q = 2 in equation 11 , such that the denominator denotes the root mean square , minimizes the number of multiplications and their numerical range . in order to demonstrate the effectivity of the method , it has been applied by means of computer simulations , as follows . gaussian mismatch values were introduced in the quantizer and dacs inside a wide band fm adc . the standard deviations were equal to 5 % and 1 % of the difference between the levels of the 16 - level quantizer and dac , respectively . both adc stages were simulated . the search procedure also optimized the noise cancellation filter . moderate third order nonlinearities were introduced in the opamps that subtract the adc input signals from the dac output signals . thermal noise was modelled by the addition of gaussian noise to the adc input signals . the training and operational adc input signal consisted of five and four carrier signals respectively . given the short time that was simulated ( 0 . 3 ms ), fm modulation of these carriers by audio signals had not made a difference . for the sake of brevity , the input signals are not shown . fig3 and 4 show the spectra { right arrow over ( y )} of around 150k samples of the adc output signals . fig3 shows the training spectrum including 5 carrier signals 31 , at 0 db , along with a noise level 33 at around − 90 db ; the error spectra 32 , comprising multiple peaks at between − 90 db ad − 65 db , is also clearly apparent . fig4 shows a corresponding operational spectrum for four signal carriers 41 at 0 db ; again , the error peaks 42 are apparent above the noise level 43 the correction parameters were varied so as to minimize the gsf , as given by equation ( 11 ) with p = 1 , q = 2 , of the training signal shown in fig3 . the pertaining corrected signal { right arrow over ( z )} is shown in fig5 . the absence of error peaks above the noise level 53 ( at about − 90 db ) is remarkable , thus providing a 90 db differential between the carrier signals 51 , and the noise background 53 . using the same correction parameters , the operational signal of fig4 was corrected . this yielded the signal of fig6 . again , the absence of absence of error peaks above the noise level 63 ( at about − 90 db ) is apparent , providing a 90 db differential between the carrier signals 61 , and the noise background 63 . the main computational complexity of the method is in the ( implicit ) vector - matrix product in equation ( 7 ) inside the search loop . due to the over - sampling in the adc , the fft spectra originally have a frequency range of − 218 . 4 mhz to + 218 . 4 mhz , whereas for the evaluation of the gsf , only a “ payload ” frequency range of 0 hz to 20 mhz is needed . hence , in this embodiment of the invention , the original width n of the matrix in the vector - matrix product can be drastically reduced . in summary , then , the method described above according to embodiments of the invention comprises minimising the spectral flatness of the corrected adc output signal , over a vector of parameters of a post processing unit . the method implicitly minimises the energy in spurious components due to mismatch of multi - level quantizers and dacs and moderate operational amplifier non - linearities in σδ adcs . although the method has been described above in relation to a σδ adc , it should be noted that the invention is not limited thereto . in particular , the method according to the invention may be used with other adcs , including , but not limited to , oversampled adcs and nyquist rate converters . from reading the present disclosure , other variations and modifications will be apparent to the skilled person . such variations and modifications may involve equivalent and other features which are already known in the art of adcs and which may be used instead of , or in addition to , features already described herein . although the appended claims are directed to particular combinations of features , it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure of the present invention also includes any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or implicitly or any generalisation thereof , whether or not it relates to the same invention as presently claimed in any claim and whether or not it mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does the present invention . features which are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features which are , for brevity , described in the context of a single embodiment , may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub - combination . the applicant hereby gives notice that new claims may be formulated to such features and / or combinations of such features during the prosecution of the present application or of any further application derived therefrom . for the sake of completeness it is also stated that the term “ comprising ” does not exclude other elements or steps , the term “ a ” or “ an ” does not exclude a plurality , a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several means recited in the claims and reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims . | 7 |
the ` joystick ` of this invention , shown generally at 10 of fig1 includes a control column or stick 12 retained for pivotal movement on , and extending through , a mounting plate 14 into engagement with unique control stick displacement sensing apparatus 15 secured to the bottom of plate 14 . a plurality of mounting holes ( not shown ) are spaced about the perimeter of plate 14 to facilitate attachment of the instant joystick to the chassis or housing of a game or the like . control stick 12 is retained for pivotal or swivel movement within hub 18 by means of swivel bearing 16 therein . hub 18 is secured to plate 14 by screws 20 . an opening 21 is provided in plate 14 through which stick 12 extends thereby permitting its engagement with the displacement sensing apparatus 15 below plate 14 . the diameter of this opening defines and limits the maximum displacement of control stick 12 and may be selected to effect the desired maximum stick travel . control stick 12 comprises a metal shaft 22 which extends the length of the overall assembly from the bottom or rearward region where it engages an elastic stick centering member 24 , upwardly past displacement sensing circuitry , through plate 14 and swivel bearing 16 , to knob 26 rigidly secured to the uppermost end of shaft 22 . bushings or spacers 28 along shaft 22 properly position the shaft within bearing 16 and &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring 29 precludes axial travel of the shaft within this bearing . the displacement sensing apparatus 15 , including printed circuit board 34 and opto mask slides 42 , 46 , is secured by four studs 30 staked to plate 14 and extending downwardly therefrom . a first set of spacers 32 position printed circuit board 34 in fixed parallel relationship below plate 14 while a second set of spacers 36 similarly positions slide guide plate 38 in parallel relationship below printed circuit board 34 . nuts 40 on studs 30 retain the above members in fixed position as described . the joystick displacement sensing assembly of this invention includes means for independently detecting the degree of control stick movement from its centered or neutral position in graduated steps in each of two orthogonal directions . thus , first displacement sensing apparatus responds to the left - right movement of the stick ( relative to its centered or neutral position ) while second displacement sensing apparatus registers forward - aft stick travel . as will be explained in further detail below , by combining the output or signals from these independent and orthogonal displacement sensors , complex control stick motions can be detected including the direction as well as the magnitude of such stick movements . the displacement sensing apparatus of this invention , as best shown in fig1 and 2 , includes a lower opto mask slide 42 mounted for left - right movement as illustrated by arrow 44 and an upper opto mask slide 46 mounted for forward - aft motion as shown by arrow 48 . more particularly , each slide includes four slots 58 adapted to receive corresponding spaced posts 50 , 52 staked to slide plate 38 . as shown in fig5 posts 50 , 52 include shank portions 54 adapted to space the slides predetermined distances from plate 38 and stud portions 56 adapted to protrude through slots 58 and slidably retain slides 42 , 46 for reciprocal movement along respective orthogonal ` left - right ` and ` fore - aft ` axes . washers 60 and ` c `- shaped rings 62 within annular recesses 64 on studs 56 provide the required sliding attachment of slides 42 , 46 . shanks 54 of the upper slide posts 52 are longer than corresponding shanks of lower slide posts 50 to facilitate the non - interfering and independent retention of upper slide 46 above lower slide 42 . each opto - mask slide is further provided with a fifth or drive slot 66 substantially in the center thereof but oriented transverse to its direction of slide travel . control column shaft 22 extends through these slots and is adapted to independently urge mask slides 42 , 46 into rectilinear motion as defined by slots 58 when a component of the applied control stick force acts perpendicularly to the respective drive slot 66 . conversely , shaft 22 merely traverses slot 66 , causing no movement of the slide , when the control stick force is directed along the axis of the respective drive slot . in this manner , each opto - mask slide is responsive to control column movements along a single axis , which axis corresponds to the axis of non - movement of the other opto slide . it will be appreciated , however , that although movement of control stick 12 may result in the movement of only one of the slides 42 , 46 ; more generally , a displacement of the control stick may include components along both slide axes and therefore cause movement of both slides . thus , the joystick of this invention defines and resolves complex stick displacements into a sum of two orthogonal and independent motions . this is discussed in more detail below . opto - mask slides 42 , 46 include a plurality of perpendicular spaced members or fins extending upwardly therefrom which function to selectively block optical communication within opto switches 68 . the embodiment of fig1 and 2 includes three ` staggered ` fins 70 , 72 , 74 on one end of lower slide 42 and similarly , three staggered fins 76 , 78 , 80 on the upper slide 46 . the fins on lower slide 42 are longer than corresponding fins on upper slide 46 to azssure that all fins will properly extend into opto - switches 68 to effect the requisite optical blocking . an opto - switch 68 associated with each slide fin is mounted on printed circuit board 34 . for the embodiment depicted in fig1 and 2 , a total of six opto - switches 68 are required . as best shown in fig6 and 7 , and the schematic of fig4 opto - switches 68 are generally u - shaped and each comprises a transmitter arm 82 and a receiver arm 84 . a light emitting diode 86 in the transmitter arm directs a beam of infra - red light to a corresponding photo transistor 88 in the receiver arm . light from diode 86 striking phototransistor 88 causes this transistor to ` turn - on ` or eletrically conduct . however , when a slide fin is positioned within the switch thereby blocking optical communication therethrough , phototransistor 88 ` turns - off ` and becomes electrically non - conductive . each opto - switch 68 is connected by appropriate and identical circuitry 100 to a connector 90 as shown in fig4 . opto - switches 68 are represented schematically at 102 and include , as previously indicated , light emitting diodes 86 and phototransistors 88 . a resistor 104 connected to a voltage source ( not shown ) limits the current through diode 86 as necessary for proper diode illumination . bias resistors 106 provide base drive current to common - emitter inverting amplifier transistors 108 enabling these transistors to ` turn - on `. an output pull - up resistor 110 from the voltage supply to each output line 112 forces these lines to a ` high ` or logic ` 1 ` level when transistor 108 is off . diodes 114 from the output lines to ground clamp these lines precluding negative voltage spikes which might otherwise damage logic gates connected thereto . in operation , light from diode 86 striking phototransistor 88 causes this transistor to turn - on which , in turn , shunts the bias current of resistor 106 to ground thereby ` turning - off ` inverting transistor 108 . with transistor 108 in the ` off ` or non - conducting state , pull - up resistor 110 forces the corresponding output line to a logical &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; output . when the light communication path between diode 86 and phototransistor 88 is blocked by one of the slide fins , phototransistor 88 ` turns - off ` or becomes non - conductive thereby allowing the current through bias resistor 106 to switch inverting transistor 108 ` on ` which , in turn , forces the corresponding output line to a logical ` 0 ` state . in this manner the logical state of output lines 112 are switched to reflect the position of slides 42 , 46 with optical blocking fins thereon . referring again to fig1 and 2 and , in particular , to left - right slide 42 with fins 70 , 72 , and 74 thereon , it can be seen that the associated opto - switches 68 are aligned side - by - side in such relationship that the respective paths of light communication within each switch 68 lie in a common line substantially transverse to the direction of slide 42 travel . further , in the neutral or centered ` stick ` position shown in fig2 the fins of slide 42 block communication of all three opto - switches thereby resulting in logical ` 0 ` outputs from left - right output pins x 1 , x 2 , and x 3 , as shown by the center column 200 of fig3 . the truth table of fig3 illustrates the logical outputs from the three left - right optical sensing circuits 100 and from the left - right direction circuit 115 , discussed below , as the control stick is displaced from its neutral or centered position indicated at 200 . also depicted in fig3 are relative control stick and slide fin positions corresponding to each of the given truth table outputs . thus , the relative stick position is illustrated within the column immediately above the corresponding truth table entry while the fins of slide 42 are shown directly below the entry . lines 202 represent the optical axes of switches 68 . it will be appreciated that a logical ` 0 ` is shown in the corresponding truth table entry whenever a slide fin 70 , 72 , or 74 intersects the optical axis thereby blocking light communication . due to the staggered positioning of the fins on slide 42 , movement of the stick and slide from the neutral position , successively removes the fins from blocking optical engagement within opto - switches 68 . leftward displacement of the control stick results in a logical &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; appearing at outputs x 1 , x 2 , and x 3 , as fins 70 , 72 , and 74 , in that order , unblock corresponding opto - switches . thus , the left - right output ( x 1 , x 2 , x 3 ) encodes the progressive leftward movement of the stick into the codes ( 1 , 0 , 0 ), ( 1 , 1 , 0 ), and ( 1 , 1 , 1 ). rightward movement of the stick similarly causes the successive unblocking of the opto - switches . however , in this direction the order is reversed with fin 74 and output x 3 responding first . the output codes ( x 1 , x 2 , x 3 ) corresponding to the rightward movement of the control stick are ( 0 , 0 , 1 ), ( 0 , 1 , 1 ), and ( 1 , 1 , 1 ). it can be seen that a unique output code ( x 1 , x 2 , x 3 ) is generated for each discrete position of the control stick except that full left and full right stick deflections both produce output code ( 1 , 1 , 1 ). to overcome this ambiguity , a direction detect circuit 115 is connected as a fourth output or direction line d x . direction circuit 115 is a bi - stable flip - flop comprising a pair of cross - coupled nand gates 116 and having respective inputs connected to output lines x 1 and x 3 . the state of flip - flop 115 and of output d x when both flip - flop inputs x 1 and x 3 are high or logical ` 1 ` ( i . e . when the stick is either full right or full left ) is determined by which input x 1 or x 3 was the last to attain the logical ` 1 ` condition . if the stick is deflected to the left , x 3 is the last output to go ` high ` thereby forcing output d x to the logical ` 0 ` state . on the other hand , full rightward deflection of the control stick results in x 1 remaining low longer thereby forcing output d x into the logical ` 1 ` state . in this manner , the four left - right output lines uniquely define seven discrete control stick positions . it will be appreciated that any number of optical sensors are contemplated by this invention to achieve any desirable gradiations of stick position . for example , two opto - switch sensors permit encoding of five discrete stick positions while the addition of a fourth opto - switch facilitates up to nine encoded positions . the structure and operation of the joystick of this invention in the forward - aft or ` y ` direction is identical to that just described except for the difference in fin size considered previously . as discussed above , the ` staggering ` of the slide fins is required to assure the sequential switching of each of the x and y output lines thereby generating a series of output codes uniquely corresponding to discrete control stick positions . it will be understood , however , that opto - switches 68 could similarly be staggered , along or in combination with staggered fins , to achieve the desired sequential ` unblocking ` of the opto - switches . in short , any arrangement of fins and opto - switches which results in the sequential operation of switches as the control stick is displaced is contemplated by this invention . in certain situations it may be advantageous to provide a nonlinear control stick gradient having , for example , increased sensitivity near stick dead - center . this can be accomplished by varying the incremental stick displacements defined between adjacent pairs of output codes . such a non - linear response can be achieved utilizing the teachings of the instant invention by appropriately ` staggering ` the fins or opto - switches and / or by selecting slide fins of appropriate width . a preferred use of the instant joystick is a microprocessor based video game or the like wherein the outputs are periodically read and interpreted by the microprocessor . while an understanding of the specific game format and associated software are not considered important to an understanding of this invention , it will be appreciated that the coded multi - position joystick disclosed herein facilitates substantially improved and more flexible player control over game symbols and play . in one game , for example , a cursor or game symbol may be moved in direct corresponding relation to the stick position whereby each encoded output defines a unique symbol position location within the game display . more commonly , however , movement of the stick defines the direction of travel of a game symbol with the new position at any given future moment being , in part , a function the symbol &# 39 ; s previous location . the joystick of this invention is particularly suited for such player interactive games since the multi - encoded opto - switch outputs permit the definition of both the direction and magnitude of any stick displacement . thus , the instant joystick may be utilized out only to control the direction of game symbol movement but , additionally , the displacement magnitude feature may be employed to define the velocity of such movement increasing , for example , as the stick is displaced further from the centered position . as explained above , the orthogonally disposed slides 42 , 46 , and associated displacement sensing apparatus function independently thereby defining each control stick position or movement as the complex or vector sum of these individual orthogonal outputs . fig8 represents a map of possible output combinations for the joystick depicted and described herein . since each of the seven left - right outputs may , at any instant , be paired with any of the seven forward - aft outputs , a total of forty - nine unique control stick outputs or positions are thereby defined . each of these positions further corresponds to , and defines , a particular control stick displacement and direction . for example , the three outputs 250 , 252 , and 254 of fig8 all represent control stick movements rearwardly and to the left at a forty - five degree angle , but , respectively representing increasing control stick deflections . the game processor may , therefore , by programmed to effect movement of a game symbol along an identical 45 ° path in response to each of these outputs and , additionally , to define the velocity of such movement corresponding to the magnitude of such stick deflection . thus , the velocity of movement may be increased as the control stick is positioned successively at 250 , 252 , 254 . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 a centralized information management system 100 is depicted . centralized information management system includes an information center 110 . information center 110 receives information from a plurality of sources , the information center 110 having a plurality of source information inputs from the plurality of external sources . information center 110 may be , for example , the central office of a transportation system operator . one source of information may include the passenger - conveying means 120 of the transportation operator . transportation - conveying means 120 may be , in an exemplary embodiment , a train , a bus , a tram , a subway , a monorail , an airplane , a ship , or other passenger - conveying means . another exemplary input to information center 110 may include access points 130 to the transportation operators - conveying means . access points 130 may include , but are not limited to , transit centers , transit kiosks , transit shelters , transit depots , and interactive information sources at locations in which passengers may be boarding a transit vehicle or conveying means . at access points 130 , electronic output devices such as signs and / or screens having information which is changed dynamically throughout the day and are configured to provide information to persons such as awaiting passengers . the information displayed to awaiting passengers may include , but is not limited to , arrival information , departure information , advertising information , entertainment information , and the like . another exemplary input to information center 110 may include transportation operator 140 . transportation operator 140 may be a time schedule system , transit control center , transit control computer , dispatch system , or the like . transportation 140 may include functionality to report time scheduling and tracking of transit vehicles as well as managing transit vehicles and transit system functions . information relating to transit vehicles location , schedules , etc . is communicated to information center 110 . yet another exemplary input to information center 110 may include information from external stationary information points 150 . external stationary information points 150 may be , in an exemplary embodiment , terminals , signs , kiosks , mobile devices , etc . that may be located at shops , and in public places , at homes , in airports , in railway stations , bus depots , bus shelters , on a person , etc . external stationary information points 150 may have both generalized and specific information relating to the transit system along with other types of information . still yet another exemplary input to information center 110 may include information from external service providers 160 . external service providers 160 provide information that is nontransit related , such as advertisements , commercials , news , public service announcements , weather announcements , etc . external service providers 160 may provide such information for a fee or may provide service information for free or alternatively , may receive a fee for providing such information . external service providers may also include providers of entertainment that may be utilized , in conveying means 120 or at access points 130 , by awaiting passengers or passengers on transit vehicles . information center 110 is therefore configured to receive input from a plurality of information sources , including , but not limited to conveying means of the transportation operator 120 , access points to the transportation operators conveying means 130 , transportation operator 140 , external stationary information point 150 , and external service provider 160 . as well , information center 110 is configured to provide information to conveying means of the transportation operator 102 , access points to the transportation operator &# 39 ; s conveying means 130 , transportation operator 140 , external stationary information points 150 , and external service providers 160 . communications between the information sources and information center 110 may be carried out over a plurality of communications infrastructure , including , but not limited to the internet , and other public communications networks and / or private or custom communications networks . in an exemplary embodiment , information sources 120 , 130 , 140 , 150 , and 160 provide information to information center 110 . information center 110 receives information from the information sources via a variety of information inputs . information center 110 is configured to organize , prioritize , manage , record , evaluate , balance , and / or combine the incoming information and generate a plurality of outgoing information flows . the outgoing information flows are then provided back to the information sources 120 , 130 , 140 , 150 , and 160 for processing and / or display . in an exemplary embodiment , it may also be desirable to provide information between transportation operator 140 and access point 130 directly bypassing information center 110 . such direct access may be used for certain scheduling and / or alert tasks . referring now to fig2 a process 200 is depicted . process 200 relates to methods of handling delays and / or status reports utilizing information center 110 . during normal operation , that is dispatching information for delays , passenger information , scheduling information , advertising information , vehicle status information , etc . ( step 202 ) information center 110 carries out the functionality . information center 110 decodes inputs and calculates and / or determines consequences ( step 204 ). the inputs are received from information sources such as , but not limited to conveying means 120 , transportation operator 140 and access points 130 . during normal operation conveying means 120 displays standard information , advertisements , and calculates delays , and checks vehicle status ( step 220 ). calculation of delays , status checks within the vehicle are made by an onboard electronic and computer system ( step 222 ). delays that are calculated are confirmed within the vehicle or the delay status is reported ( step 224 ). an outgoing message is then created ( step 226 ). the outgoing message is then transmitted to the information center ( step 228 ). the information is then sent to information center 110 at step 204 . similarly , a transportation operator operates according to a transport central specification ( step 240 ). a plurality of necessary actions may be determined by transportation operator 140 ( step 242 ). for example , if a vehicle breaks down on the route , an order or dispatch of replacement vehicles could be made by transportation operator 140 . further , in an exemplary embodiment , if there are substantial delays on a route or specific routes are running behind schedule or are overburdened , additional vehicles may be dispatched by transportation operator 140 . such analysis may be based on other inputs , for example , information may be transmitted to transportation operator 140 by information center 110 ( step 210 ). the information from information center 110 may include but is not limited to information which originated with conveying means 120 . transportation operator 240 then transmits , to external partners ( i . e ., access points , vehicles via information center 110 ), specific information generated by transportation operator 140 ( step 244 ). once the information is transmitted to information center 110 , transportation operator 140 returns to normal operation ( step 246 ). access point 130 operates in a normal operation by displaying passenger information , delay information , advertising information , etc . ( step 250 ). information center 110 updates vehicle information based on all of the incoming information and the information flows that have been generated ( step 212 ). vehicle information is sent to the vehicle or conveying means 120 and a new display routine is run utilizing the vehicle information ( step 230 ). the information system on conveying means 120 then returns to normal operation ( step 232 ). once the vehicle information has been updated , access point 130 information is similarly updated ( step 214 ). access points 130 receive information from information center 214 to update access point 130 . such information is decoded and prepared to produce display changes ( step 252 ). once the information has been decoded and prepared and display changes have been made , a new display routine is run ( step 254 ). the new display content is then confirmed and sent to information system 110 ( step 256 ). the confirmed display content information is used by information center 110 and recorded , for billing and display assurance functions . once the confirmed message has been sent to information center 110 access point 130 returns to normal operation ( step 258 ). as information center 110 updates access point 130 information , information center 110 then returns to normal operation ( step 216 ). referring now to fig3 an exemplary process diagram 300 is depicted including methods of handling , billing and / or accounting information . in the exemplary embodiment depicted , information center 110 interacts with conveying means 120 and external service provider 160 . information center 110 operates in a normal manner , that is dispatching information for delays , passenger information , advertisement vehicle statuses , etc . ( step 310 ). inputs are received from conveying means 120 and external service provider 160 and such inputs are decoded and consequences are determined and calculated ( step 312 ). conveying means 120 operates in a normal manner , that is displaying standard information , advertisements , delay calculations , making vehicle status checks , etc . ( step 330 ). logic flow control between advertisements , passenger information , and other information is established for the vehicle ( step 332 ). advertisement sequences are then completed ( step 334 ). information is then transmitted to information center 110 step 312 ( step 336 ). external service provider 160 operates in a normal manner , that is producing news , advertisements , billing , accounting for the customer , etc . ( step 350 ). new information sequences for vehicles are completed by the external service providers ( step 352 ). availability of vehicles is checked by the external service provider ( step 354 ) and information is transmitted to information center 110 ( step 356 ). once information center 312 receives the inputs from conveying means 120 and external service provider 160 and consequences are calculated in step 312 , priority control between the operating modes is begun ( step 314 ). the priority is based on the information received from the conveying means and the external service providers . within information center 110 , a check for communication partners , in other words the transportation provider , the advertiser supplier , etc . are checked ( step 316 ). based on the check , a calculation is made for billing the corresponding vehicle , track , provider , etc . for the information services provided ( step 318 ). information center 110 then transmits billing information to the external service provider ( step 320 ). external service provider 160 receives the billing information and then returns to normal operation ( step 358 ). after the information is transmitted to the external service provider , information is updated and is provided to vehicle 120 ( step 330 ). information is then displayed on vehicle 120 ( step 338 ) and the vehicle returns to normal operation ( step 340 ). once the information is updated by information center 110 , information center 110 returns to normal operation ( step 324 ). information center 110 records , processes and distributes information from and between the central office of a transportation operator 140 , the passenger conveying means of the same transportation operator 120 , other external service providers 160 , stationary access locations to the conveying means of transportation operator 130 , and other external stationary information points 150 . information system 110 supports traffic management , provides passenger information ( conveyance related ), such as but not limited to schedules , vehicle status , passenger load information , etc . information center 110 also coordinates passenger information ( non - conveyance related ), such as advertising , news , weather and public service announcements . information center 110 balances the services provided by the information sources between the transportation operators and other service providers . communication flows are provided between information center 110 and the plurality of information sources . conveyance related information is sent between a transportation operator 140 and information center 110 ( e . g . travel schedules , updated scheduled data , etc .). information center 110 also records information which is operations related and is received from the transit vehicle or the passenger conveying means 120 of the transportation operator ( e . g ., operating statuses , driving data , etc .). information center 110 further receives and records information from external service provider 160 ( e . g ., advertisements , current news , instructions , etc .). at information center 110 the information coming into the information center is evaluated , linked together and summarized into new outgoing information flows . the generated information flows are then distributed to recipients based on the type of information flow and the assignment . for example , information from information center 110 may be sent to transportation operator 140 . such information may include operations related information from passenger conveying means 120 . further , information may be sent from information center 110 to passenger conveying means 120 . such information may include , but is not limited to conveyance related and non - conveyance related information for the passengers and operations related information for the operating personnel . information from information center 110 may also be sent to central offices of external service providers . such information may include , but is not limited to conveyance related information . further still , information from information center 110 may be sent to external stationary information points 150 and may include , but is not limited to , conveyance related and non - conveyance related information for the passengers ( for example , to railroad stations and bus terminals ). yet further still , information center 110 may send information flows to external stationary access points 130 , such information may include , but is not limited to , conveyance related and non - conveyance related information , for example , information useful to potential passengers of a transportation operator . information center 110 also receives from access points 130 and from external stationary information points 150 information which may be used to prepare an accounting of services provided from access points 130 or information points 150 . in using information center 110 , information supplied by the external information sources can be centrally selected , combined , and organized in either a manual or automated fashion . the consistency of data sent to the information points will be insured with respect to content and representation by the information center . further still , the information on the actual traffic process used , for example , current tardiness , updated travel connections , etc . to mobile and stationary information points may be provided substantially simultaneously . interfaces between the subsystems may be uniformly managed and monitored by information center 110 . services provided jointly or by one party may be balanced between the transportation operator and external service providers by using information center 110 . further still , integrated functions are automated by information center 110 . information center 110 may be configured to work with any transportation operator , for example , with a railway company , a shipping company , a bus company , etc . the transportation operator is characterized by the fact that it organizes at its own central office the traffic flow of its passenger conveying means between a stationary access point of passengers to the conveying means . in an exemplary embodiment , cooperation with a railway company as a transportation operator is described below in an exemplary embodiment . at information center 110 , the system records information from the railway company central office ( transportation operator 140 ) and from passenger trains of the railway company ( conveying means 120 ). current , conveyance related information is then sent by a mobile radio by the passenger trains of the railway company to information center 110 . for example , a public mobile radio network such as , but not limited to global system for mobile communications ( gsm ) is used as the radio network . in particular , the information includes current position reports of the passenger trains that deviate from the schedule and , if necessary , messages regarding operational malfunctions that have occurred on the passenger trains . position messages are determined in each passenger train , for example , by the use of a satellite navigation system such as the global positioning system ( gps ). operational malfunctions may be determined in each conveying means , for example , by use of an electronic diagnostic system . messages of the passenger trains are transferred from information center 110 to the railway company central office . for example , a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ) data network may be used as the transmission line . messages received from the passenger trains may be evaluated at the railway company central office . in this process , as a service , the railway company may wish to make available to its passengers any knowledge that may be received on current deviations from the overall schedule . for example , this may be a case of late arrival times and / or updated changes to scheduled connections . the transportation operator transfers the schedule information to information center 110 , for example , by way of a data network . in particular , it also determines the current deviations that will be reported to the passengers . information center 110 prepares information and transmits it by way of a radio network ( e . g ., the gsm network ) to the conveying mans of the transportation operator . information center 110 also prepares and transmits information by way of digital telephone network ( e . g ., isdn ) using a satellite - protected message distribution system , or mobile radio ( e . g ., gsm ) to the train stations , for example . information center 110 also prepares and transmits information by way of one or more of the transmission means mentioned above to other stationary information points 150 outside the area of influence of the railway company ( e . g ., in stores , airports , hotels , etc .). current information will be made accessible simultaneously to customers and potential customers of the transportation operator at all information points of the three types named . information terminals with screens , such as kiosks , and optionally equipped with printers , may be used . functions described above may be supplemented with additional information . additional information may include , but is not limited to , advertising , current news , entertainment , programs , train or plane schedule information , for example . the information may be offered centrally from the external service providers , or it may be non - conveyance related information from the railway company itself . the information from the external service providers ( like that of the railway company itself ) may be transmitted to information center 110 , for example , by using a lan or wan data network , processed there and distributed to the mobile and stationary information points described above . services provided on the passenger trains , at the train stations , and the external stationary information points are transferred to information center 110 using data feedback on the transmission lines described above , processed there to prepare balances , and passed on to the railway company and the external service providers . accordingly , the basic problem that the existence of various information sources in servicing a transportation system and of different destinations for the information as well as very heterogeneous kinds of information to be delivered ( e . g . messages about delays to / from traffic control stations , commercials , billing information , passenger announcements , train reports , all kinds of information which may be relevant or non - relevant to the conveyance of passengers or goods ), must be handled by information system 110 . historically , such inconsistent types of data have been problematic . the quality of service with regards to the information is often times poor . to solve the quality of service problem , information center 110 manages the information which cares for the accurate , time near or at least time fairly near delivery of the required data . in an exemplary embodiment , information center 110 is useful for accounting and balancing procedures . external provider and partners must rely on accurate information about how their service ( e . g . entertainment ) has been used within the system . accordingly , information center 110 tracks the use of such information and such information is collected and communicated to the service providers accordingly . information center 110 evaluates , correlates , and combines arriving information to form new information flows . in an exemplary embodiment , the calculations are based on information generated by the conveyance means ( e . g . positions , delays , stations , etc . ), stored information ( general time schedule ), information from conveyance provider , actual time schedule , requirements from external provider ( e . g . commercial updates ). software for information center 110 may be developed on standard database platforms or may be generated in other manners . the process diagrams depicted in fig2 and 3 serve only as exemplary embodiments . the information flows are not limited to those depicted and the diagrams of fig2 and 3 are not restricted to the specific types of information flows shown . information center 110 may be configured to handle other types and numbers of information flows . while the detailed drawings , specific examples and particular formulations given describe preferred and exemplary embodiments , they serve the purpose of illustration only . the inventions disclosed are not limited to the specific forms shown . for example , the methods may be performed in any of a variety of sequence of steps . the hardware and software configurations shown and described may differ depending on the chosen performance characteristics and physical characteristics of the computing devices . for example , the type of computing device , communications bus , or processor used may differ . the systems and methods depicted and described are not limited to the precise details and conditions disclosed . furthermore , other substitutions , modifications , changes , and omissions may be made in the design , operating conditions , and arrangement of the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims . | 7 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings . it should be understood that the preferred embodiments described here are intended to illustrate and describe and not to limit the present invention . the main idea of the present invention is that , when ue transfers from an e - utran to a utran or a geran , an mme and the ue derive keys for the utran or the geran using predefined parameters . the predefined parameters include a root key k asme of the e - utran and a value of an nas count . specifically , when the ue transfers from the e - utran to the utran or the geran , an ik and a ck are derived using the k asme and the value of the nas count , thereby achieving the goal of deriving different ik and ck . specifically , the foregoing nas count is an nas uplink count or an nas downlink count . for the utran , it is enough to derive an ik and a ck by using k asme and a value of the nas count ; for the geran , it is also necessary to further derive a kc based on the derived ik and ck . fig2 is a flow chart of a key derivation method according to an embodiment of the present invention , specifically including the following steps : step 202 , ue transfers from an e - utran to a utran or a geran ; the “ transfer ” refers to handover or routing area update of the ue from the e - utran to the utran or the geran ; step 204 , an mme and the ue respectively derive an ik and a ck using a root key k asme of the e - utran and a value of an nas count . wherein in step 204 , the ik and the ck may also be derived by using a root key k asme , a value of the nas count and values of other parameters , and said other parameters may be selected according to the actual condition . when the ue transfers from the e - utran to the geran , a kc may be further derived based on the ik and the ck after the ik and the ck are derived . wherein the operation of deriving keys by using k asme and a value of the nas count , or by using k asme , a value of the nas count and other parameters may specifically include : inputting the root key k asme and the value of the nas count , or the root key k asme , the value of the nas count and other parameters into a preset one - way key derivation function ; and taking the output of the one - way key derivation function as the ik and the ck . according to the key derivation method in the embodiment of the present invention , unrepeated keys can be derived , thus facilitating effective protection of signaling and / or data and enhancing network security . also , in this embodiment , the keys are derived by using a value of the nas count in the e - utran without need of forwarding the value of the nas count to the mme , thereby avoiding extra signaling burden . fig3 is a signaling flow chart of a key derivation method according to embodiment 1 of the present invention . this embodiment illustrates a flow chart of a key derivation method during handover of ue from an e - utran to a utran , including the following steps : step 304 , the source enb sends a handover request to a source mme ; step 306 , the source mme receives the handover request , and derives an ik and a ck using k asme and a value of an nas count ; step 308 , the source mme forwards a relocation request to a target sgsn and at the same time sends it the ik and the ck ; step 310 , the target sgsn sends a target radio network controller ( rnc ) the relocation request and the ik and ck at the same time ; step 312 , the target rnc begins to use the ik and the ck ; step 314 , the target rnc sends a relocation request acknowledgment to the target sgsn ; step 316 , the target sgsn forwards a relocation reply to the source mme ; step 318 , the source mme sends a handover command to the source enb ; step 320 , the source enb sends the ue a handover command for handover from the e - utran ; step 322 , the ue receives the message above , and derives an ik and a ck using k asme and a value of the nas count ; step 324 , the ue sends a handover ending message to the target rnc ; step 326 , the target rnc sends a relocation ending message to the target sgsn ; step 328 , the target sgsn forwards the relocation ending message to the source mme ; and step 330 , the source mme forwards a relocation ending acknowledgment message to the target sgsn . by means of the key derivation method provided by this embodiment , keys are derived by adopting a value of the nas count and k asme , thus overcoming the defects of the prior art that repeated ik and ck may be derived during handover of the ue from the e - utran to the utran , and enhancing security protection . fig4 is a signaling flow chart of a key derivation method according to embodiment 2 of the present invention . this embodiment illustrates a flow chart of a key derivation method during handover of ue from an e - utran to a geran , including : step 404 , the source enb sends a handover request to a source mme ; step 406 , the source mme derives an ik and a ck using k asme and a value of an nas count ; step 408 , the source mme forwards a relocation request to a target sgsn , and at the same time sends it the ik and the ck ; step 409 , the target sgsn derives a kc using the ik and the ck ; step 410 , the target sgsn sends a target bss a packet domain handover request and the kc at the same time ; step 412 , the target bss may begin the use of the kc for security protection ; step 414 , the target bss sends a packet domain handover request acknowledgement to the target sgsn ; step 416 , the target sgsn forwards a relocation reply to the source mme ; step 418 , the source mme sends a handover command to the source enb ; step 420 , the source enb sends the ue a handover command for handover from the e - utran ; step 422 , the ue derives an ik and a ck using k asme and a value of the nas count , then derives a kc based on the ik and the ck , and applies the kc to its security protection ; step 424 , the ue sends an exchange identifier reply to the target bss ; step 426 , the target bss sends a packet domain handover completion message to the target sgsn ; step 428 , the target bss sends an exchange identifier reply message to the target sgsn ; step 430 , the target sgsn forwards a relocation ending message to the source mme ; and step 432 , the source mme forwards a relocation ending acknowledgement message to the target sgsn . in the key derivation process of the foregoing embodiment , a value of the nas count and k asme may be used as input parameters , and alternatively , a value of the nas count , k asme and other parameters may be also used as input parameters , and keys are derived by adopting a one - way key derivation function . said other parameters may be selected according to the actual condition . for the sake of simplicity , said other parameters are not chosen in this embodiment . those skilled in the art should understand that said other parameters are not limited to none and this does not affect the essence of the embodiment of the present invention . fig5 is a signaling flow chart of a key derivation method according to embodiment 3 of the present invention . this embodiment exemplifies a flow chart of a key derivation method during routing area update of ue from an e - utran to a utran , including : step 502 , ue derives an ik and a ck using k asme and a value of an nas count ; step 504 , the ue sends a routing area update request to a target sgsn ; step 506 , the target sgsn sends an sgsn context request to a source mme ; step 508 , the source mme derives an ik and a ck using k asme and a value of the nas count ; step 510 , the source mme sends the target sgsn an sgsn context reply and the ik and ck at the same time ; step 512 , the target sgsn sends an sgsn context acknowledgement message to the source mme ; step 514 , the target sgsn sends a routing area update acceptance message to the ue ; and step 516 , the ue sends a routing area update ending message to the target sgsn . in the key derivation process of the foregoing embodiment , the ue may derive an ik and a ck either before the sending of a routing area update request , or after the receiving of a routing area update acceptance message , or at other time . for the sake of simplicity , the ik and the ck are derived before the sending of a routing area update request in this embodiment . those skilled in the art should understand that the ik and the ck may also be derived in other steps and this does not affect the essence of the embodiment of the present invention . a key derivation method for routing area update of ue from an e - utran to a geran is similar to the method in the foregoing embodiment , the difference is that : after an mme receives a routing area update request , derives an ik and a ck and sends the ik and the ck to a target sgsn , the target sgsn is further required to derive a kc based on the ik and the ck ; after the ue derives an ik and a ck , it is necessary for the ue to further derive a kc based on the ik and the ck . the present invention also provides a system for deriving keys . the system comprises a key derivation module . the key derivation module derives keys using predefined parameters . the predefined parameters include a root key of an e - utran and a value of an nas count . alternatively , keys may also be derived by using a root key , a value of the nas count and other parameters selected according to requirement . the key derivation module is located in ue and / or an mme . wherein when the ue transfers from an e - utran to a geran or a utran , the key derivation module may derive keys ik and ck for the geran or the utran either by using a root key and a value of the nas count , or by using a root key , a value of the nas count and other parameters . wherein when the ue transfers to the geran , the key derivation module derives an ik and a ck and sends the ik and the ck to a target sgsn in the geran , and then the sgsn derives a kc based on the ik and the ck . the ue transferring from an e - utran to a geran or a utran refers to handover or routing area update of the ue from the e - utran to the utran or the geran . wherein when the key derivation module derives keys , the predefined parameters are input into a preset one - way key derivation function , and the output of the one - way key derivation function is taken as the keys . the present invention also provides ue and an mme , which comprise the foregoing key derivation module . apparently , those skilled in the art should understand that in the foregoing embodiments , a value of an nas count is an initial value 0 when the nas count is initialized , and it is a current value of the nas count after the initialization . apparently , those skilled in the art should understand that in the foregoing embodiments , the nas count may be either an nas uplink count or an nas downlink count . apparently , those skilled in the art should understand that the foregoing modules or steps in the present invention may be realized by general computing devices . those modules or steps may be concentrated in a single computing device , or distributed in a network comprising a plurality of computing devices . optionally , those modules or steps may be realized with the program codes executable by the computing devices , thereby those modules or steps can be stored in a storage device and executed by a computing device ; or those modules or steps may be realized by making them into single integrated circuit modules respectively , or by making some of them into a single integrated circuit module . thus , the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software . the foregoing descriptions are preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention . for those skilled in the art , the present invention may have various changes and modifications . all modifications , equivalent substitutes and improvements made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be within the protection scope of the present invention . according to the key derivation methods and systems in the present invention , keys are output by using a value of an nas count and k asme , which facilitates effective protection of signaling and / or data in the access stratum and enhances the security of the access stratum . also , there is no need to forward the value of the nas count to an mme , so extra signaling burden is not needed . | 7 |
referring to fig2 the conventional laser input sub - assemblies incorporate parallel - connected units 100 , 200 and 300 as to which individual laser input units lr 1 , lr 2 and lr n , respectively , deliver pulsed radiation outputs of wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 and λ n , respectively . individual laser sub - assemblies 100 , 200 and 300 are preselected to deliver radiation wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 . . . λ n , ( corresponding to frequencies ν 1 , ν 2 , . . . ν n ,) spaced one nanometer or more apart , which is easily achieved because of the relatively wide wavelength separations existing between lasers as normally produced in manufacture . laser sub - assemblies 100 , 200 and 300 are similar to integrated - optic spectrum analyzers ( iosa ) of designs described by d . mergerian and e . c . malarkey in their publication integrated - optic spectrum analyzer : current status , p . 114 , technical digest of the third international conference on integrated optics and optical fiber communication ( iooc &# 39 ; 81 ), apr . 27 - 29 , 1981 , and references cited therein , and by t . r . ranganath , integrated - optic spectrum analyzer : a first demonstration , p . 114 , technical digest of the third international conference on integrated optics and optical fiber communication ( iooc &# 39 ; 81 ), apr . 27 - 29 , 1981 , san francisco , ca . each channel is provided with a standing wave surface acoustic wave modulator ( swsawm ), only that denoted 101 for sub assembly unit 100 being shown in fig2 which preferably employs two sets of interdigital fingers . if desired , a two - phase driving configuration similar to that described by h . a . haus , picosecond optical sampling , proceedings of the joint meeting of the nsf grantee - user group in optical communication and the national telecommunications and information administration task force on optical communications , may 27 - 29 , st . louis , mo ., can be used . a preferred embodiment of the detailed apparatus is described ( refer fig1 ) in conjunction with the operation , which is as follows . the pulsed laser output at wavelength λ 1 is first collimated by lens 10 , which can conveniently be a lens similar to a microscope objective or a geodesic lens used for integrated optics . a wavefront correction optics ( wco ) element 12 , typically an anamorphic lens , may be required to correct the wavefront distortion of laser diode lr 1 , and this is followed by standing wave acousto - optic modulator 14 , typically a commercially available acousto - optical modulator such as model swm - 40 made by intra - action corporation , or a double saw used in integrated - optics provided with sub - carrier frequency input . sub - carrier frequency f c ( introduced into the swaom as the f c / 2 in this embodiment ) can be , typically , several tens of mhz up to several ghz as compared with laser diode frequency at 3 × 10 14 hz , typically . the collimated laser beam is passed through swaom 14 at the bragg angle . the diffracted beam from 14 is focused by lens 15 which is similar to lens 10 , and coupled to an optical fiber 16 , typically a commercially available fiber , for transmission . if swaom 14 is driven in continuous wave ( cw ) mode at a frequency f c 1 / 2 , the diffracted beam contains two frequency components , one at ν 1 +( 1 / 2 ) f c1 and the other at ν 1 -( 1 / 2 ) f c1 . a square law detector 17 , typically a semiconductor high frequency photodiode , will detect the beat frequency of these two frequency components , which is f c1 . therefore , this system is effectively a double side band ( dsb ) modulation with the carrier suppressed . since the described modulator , which can be termed double beam modulation ( dbm ), automatically and effectively put the original optical pulse on a carrier , a fdm system for digital transmission can be devised in integrated optic form such as shown in fig2 . the output ( optical pulses ) of lasers lr 1 , lr 2 , . . . lr n at wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , . . . λ n ( at frequencies ( ν 1 ), ( ν 2 ) . . . ( ν n ), respectively ) are modulated on sub - carriers f c1 , f c2 , . . . f cn , respectively . the modulated optical beams are combined to form a single output coupled to optical fiber 16 . since the individual channels are separated in the radio frequency range vhf , uhf to microwave ) at frequency f c1 , f c2 , . . . f cn , the exact wavelengths and separations of λ 1 , λ 2 , . . . λ n of the lasers are not as important , as long as they do not overlap into the f cn &# 39 ; s . this condition can be easily satisfied . thus , if the wavelengths are assured of a separation of 1 nm at a wavelength of 1 μm , this corresponds to a frequency separation of 300 ghz , which is much higher than what the current state of technology can provide for the f cn &# 39 ; s . this would have the same effect of the subnanometer wavelength multiplexing proposed and investigated previously , as described in references 1 , 3 supra . i have demonstrated the concept of this invention using a he - ne laser lr 1 . the laser beam is first modulated by a traveling wave acousto - optic modulator , not shown in fig1 at 2 mbit ( 1 m hz square wave ). the modulated beam is then passed through a standing wave aom 14 driven ( cw ) at approximately 40 mhz . the diffracted beam is coupled into a 1 km optical fiber 16 . the receiver 17 incorporates a square law detector , typically a high frequency photo diode , and a modified commercial tv receiver tuned to channel 5 ( 76 - 82 mhz ). the load of the diode is a parallel resonant circuit tuned to 80 mhz ., so that the capacitance of the diode was effectively neutralized by the inductor . the output of the diode is then matched to the input impedance of the tv receiver . the tv receiver was modified so that its video output could be observed on an oscilloscope . the received signal is shown in fig3 . the slow risetime and falltime were mainly due to the limited bandwidth of the tv receiver . the apparatus of this invention can be used with multi - mode ( longitudinal laser service as long as the modal spacing is much larger than , and the frequency spectrum of each mode is much smaller than , the sub - carrier frequencies , f c1 , f c2 , . . . f c n . these conditions , can be satisfied for injection lasers . the dbm modulated beam can be transmitted through a multi - mode optical fiber 16 within its bandwidth (- length ), i . e ., bwl . the optical fiber used for the demonstration was a step - indexed fiber with a bwl of 50 mhz - km . applicant &# 39 ; s signal , which was equivalently modulated on an 80 mhz carrier , was successfully transmitted through the 1 km fiber length . the he - ne laser had an output of 2 mw . the pulse modulated beam had only 1 mw . the attenuation of the optical fiber 16 was 10 db / km at 632 . 8 nm . the potentially very large information bandwidth system hereinabove described can be most efficiently utilized in a coherent transmission system in which single mode lasers and single mode optical fibers are employed . in this case , the general transmission characteristic of the dbm system can be analyzed . the complex field of the modulated beam , e 1 , can be represented by , if the fiber dispersion can be neglected , i . e ., the linear case , the complex field at the receiving end , e 2 , is , where t p is the phase delay , t g group delay and l the fiber length . the detected signal current can be represented by , where c . c . and the superscript star each represent the complex conjugates , or be written in the real form , therefore the original signal , except a time delay , can be recovered faithfully . next we consider the case where the fiber dispersion cannot be neglected . the transfer function of the fiber is given by , the b ( w ) can be expanded in a taylor series around w o +( 1 / 2 ) w c and w o -( 1 / 2 ) w c and are given by , ## equ1 ## where t p ±, t g ±, and t g ± are the phase delay , group delay , and the first order dispersion at w o ±( 1 / 2 ) w c respectively . the complex field of the received beam , e 2 &# 39 ;, is given by , e . sub . 2 &# 39 ;= g . sub .+ ( t - t . sub . g + l ) exp [ j ( w . sub . o + w . sub . c / 2 )( t - t . sub . p + l )]+ g . sub .- ( t - t . sub . g - l ) exp [ j ( w . sub . o - w . sub . c / 2 )( t - t . sub . p - l )]( 8 ) where ## equ2 ## and f ( w ) is defined by the fourier transform and given by , ## equ3 ## the received signal current is give by , i ∝ e . sub . 2 &# 39 ; e . sub . 2 &# 39 ;[ g . sub .+ ( t - t . sub . g + l )][ g . sub .- ( t - t . sub . g - l )] exp [ jw . sub . c t + θ ]+ c . c .∝[ g . sub .+ ( t - t . sub . g + l )][( g . sub .- ( t - t . sub . g - l )] cos ( w . sub . c t + θ ) ( 12 ) where θ = w o ( t p - - t p + ) l -( 1 / 2 ) w c ( t p + - t p - ) l . since w c & lt ;& lt ; w o , we expect that t g + = t g - , t g + ≅ t g - , and t g + - t g - = w c t go . also , t g &# 39 ; s are higher order derivates of b ( w ), and the difference between the t g &# 39 ; s shuld be even smaller than that of the t g &# 39 ; s . therefore the waveforms of the g + and g - are similar but with a slightly different time delay which can , however , be compensated for as hereinafter described . this would not affect the detection of digital pulses as long as the delay is smaller than the pulse width . there is also an extra phase term in the carrier . since w c & lt ;& lt ; w o , we expect that t p + + t p - ≅ 2t po , where t po is the phase delay at w o . the detected signal current can then be written as , i &# 39 ;∝[ g . sub .+ ( t - t . sub . g + l )][ g . sub .- { t -( t . sub . g + l - w . sub . c t . sub . go l )}] cos [ w . sub . c ( t - t . sub . po l )- θ )] ( 13 ) the extra phase term in the carrier does not affect the detection of the signal . the differential time delay in g + and g - , which is proportional to w c · t go · l , is a more dominant term . one way of compensating for different time delays in the waveforms of g + and g - mentioned supra is to utilize the split beam apparatus adapted from that of fig5 ih u . s . pat . no . 4 , 210 , 803 , identified as reference ( 5 ) in this application as shown herein also as fig5 . in this embodiment modulator 14 &# 34 ; is a traveling wave acousto - optical modulator ( twaom ) driven by sub - carrier frequency f c . here a planar glass plate 19 , or other conventional delay element adapted such as to increase the optical path length , can be interposed in the necessary one of the radiation paths as to which radiation transit is to be delayed , thereby compensating the radiations transit through the optical fiber 16 &# 34 ;. in fig5 all of the common components shown in fig1 are reproduced , and each is denoted by the same reference characters as in fig1 except double primed . mirrors 31 and 34 are conventional beam splitters , whereas mirrors 32 and 33 are full reflection types . for single mode fibers and for w c &# 39 ; s in the range of my interest ( i . e ., tens of ghz ), the differential time delay term should be very small , therefore high frequency carriers can be used . for a zero dispersion fiber , i . e ., a linear system , this term is zero as expected . therefore the described system can make good use of the high information bandwidth of single mode fibers without using high speed lasers , detectors and electronics . another way of achieving dispersion compensation utilizing laser injection locking is the embodiment of fig6 . this embodiment utilizes a traveling wave modulator 14 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; with the driving frequency therefore being f c . again , all components shown in fig1 are reproduced and denoted by the same reference characters as in fig1 except triple primed . referring to fig6 the information signal is introduced via lr1a , which is injection - locked , on one side , to laser lr3a via collimating lens 51 , full reflectance mirror 52 , and focusing lens 53 . lr2 a is injection - locked on the other side to laser lr3a via collimating lens 48 , traveling wave acousto - optical modulator ( twaom ) 14 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; driven by sub - carrier frequency f c , full reflectance mirror 47 and focusing lens 46 . the output of lr2a , frequency shifted relative to its input from lr3a , is routed via collimating lens 43 , anamorphic lens 42 and full reflectance mirror 41 to beam splitter 40 where it combines with the information wave train which is thence transmitted to coupler 15 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; into optical fiber 16 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; and thereafter processed through a square law detector ( not here detailed ) to the receiver 17 &# 34 ;&# 39 ; as hereinbefore described . in operation , it is now practicable to pulse lasers lr1a and lr2a with a slight time delay a , as shown in fig6 a , to achieve dispersion compensation with the same effect of optical delay as hereinbefore described for the complete integrated optics embodiment of fig5 . the embodiment of fig6 is particularly advantageous for the production of highly monochromatic radiation for long distance single mode fiber transmission . in the system shown in fig2 each channel is on a separate carrier . the totally ( sub ) carriered channel system can be made compatible for simultaneous transmission with conventional digital signals . for every pulse received on each channel , there is a corresponding &# 34 ; dc &# 34 ; pulse in the baseband . therefore , the baseband is &# 34 ; polluted &# 34 ; with these &# 34 ; dc &# 34 ; terms from all the channels . however , the waveform of the dc term pulse is nearly identical to that of the pulse demodulated from the carrier . therefore , they can be cancelled out electronically . even though the system herein described is mainly for digital transmissions , it can also be used for analog information under special conditions . the requirement is that the signal to be dbm modulated must have a strong dc term , such as a typical tv signal , or that if the signal is already modulated on another carrier , the carrier must be stronger than its sidebands . in fact , we have transmitted and received tv signals of comparable quality under similar conditions as those obtained with tdhm [ references 2 , 4 supra ]. a practicable scheme for utilizing the described fdm system for a fiber optical communication system can be the following . a baseband of approximately up to and including 1 ghz is reserved for conventional digital and / or analog information transmission . five dbm - fdm channels are operated at 2 . 5 , 3 . 0 , 3 . 5 , 4 . 0 , and 4 . 5 ghz at 200 mbit / sec per channel . the five channels alone will provide a 1 gb / s capacity . the electronic cancellation scheme described previously may be necessary to clean up the &# 34 ; pollution &# 34 ; between the 0 - 200 mhz in the baseband . the maximum operating frequency of the ao or saw modulators is only 2 . 25 ghz . sapphire acoustoptical cells have been reported to operate up to 13 ghz [ 11 ]. therefore acoustooptical cells of good efficiency can be expected at 2 . 25 ghz . the next higher frequency range in which dbm - fdm can be used in the same fiber system will be from 10 ghz - 20 ghz . if it is also desirable for information transmission below 1 ghz in the same fiber , frequency bands similar to those of tv broadcasting ( 54 - 88 , 174 - 216 , 470 - 890 mhz ) can be used . these frequency band assignments minimize second harmonic interferences . it is sometimes advantageous to utilize highly monochromatic radiation , especially for long distance single mode fiber transmission , and the apparatus of fig4 permits this . here the laser input lr 1 &# 39 ; can be identical with the lr 1 , . . . lr n units hereinbefore described , except that each is backed up by a d - c laser unit lr 1a , the radiation output 9 of which is directed to the laser lr 1 &# 39 ; where it reinforces the radiation output of the latter , stabilizing its output as a highly monochromatic quality which is thereafter processed in the same manner as described for fig1 and 2 . in summary , a new fdm system for fiber optical communication is described . it is suitable for digital transmission and can also be used for analog information under special conditions . the dbm system is essentially a dsb modulation with the carrier being suppressed . the &# 34 ; carrier &# 34 ; frequencies are generated by standing wave or traveling wave ao or saw modulators . this system is most effective with coherent fiber transmissions and can be employed as an alternative to ultra high bit rate transmissions . | 6 |
2 - methylene - 19 - nor - 20 ( s )- 1α , 25 - dihydroxyvitamin d 3 ( referred to herein as 2md ) was synthesized and tested . structurally , this 19 - nor analog is characterized by the general formula i previously illustrated herein . the preparation of 2 - methylene - 19 - nor - 20 ( s )- 1α , 25 - dihydroxyvitamin d 3 having the basic structure i can be accomplished by a common general method , i . e . the condensation of a bicyclic windaus - grundmann type ketone ii with the allylic phosphine oxide iii to the corresponding 2 - methylene - 19 - nor - vitamin d analog iv followed by deprotection at c - 1 and c - 3 in the latter compound : in the structures ii , iii , and iv groups y 1 and y 2 are hydroxy - protecting groups , it being also understood that any functionalities that might be sensitive , or that interfere with the condensation reaction , be suitably protected as is well - known in the art . the process shown above represents an application of the convergent synthesis concept , which has been applied effectively for the preparation of vitamin d compounds ( e . g . lythgoe et al ., j . chem . soc . perkin trans . i , 590 ( 1978 ); lythgoe , chem . soc . rev . 9 , 449 ( 1983 ); toh et al ., j . org . chem . 48 , 1414 ( 1983 ); baggiolini et al ., j . org . chem . 51 , 3098 ( 1986 ); sardina et al ., j . org . chem . 51 , 1264 ( 1986 ); j . org . chem . 51 , 1269 ( 1986 ); deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 086 , 191 ; deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 536 , 713 ). hydrindanones of the general structure ii are known , or can be prepared by known methods . for the preparation of the required phosphine oxides of general structure iii , a new synthetic route has been developed starting from a methyl quinicate derivative which is easily obtained from commercial ( 1r , 3r , 4s , 5r )-(−)- quinic acid as described by perlman et al ., tetrahedron lett . 32 , 7663 ( 1991 ) and deluca et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 086 , 191 . the overall process of the synthesis of compound i is illustrated and described more completely in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 843 , 928 issued dec . 1 , 1998 and entitled “ 2 - alkylidene - 19 - nor - vitamin d compounds ” the specification of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference . biological activity of 2 - methylene - 20 ( s )- 19 - nor - 1 , 25 -( oh ) 2 d 3 ( fig1 - 8 ) the introduction of a methylene group to the 2 - position of the 20 ( s ) isomer of 19 - nor - 1 , 25 -( oh ) 2 d 3 had little or no effect on binding to the porcine intestinal vitamin d receptor . this compound bound equally well to the full length recombinant rat receptor as compared to the standard 1 , 25 -( oh ) 2 d 3 ( fig1 ). similar results were found when the native receptor from porcine intestine was studied . it might be expected from these results that this compound would have equivalent biological activity . surprisingly , however , the 2 methylene and 20 ( s ) substitutions produced a highly selective analog with its primary action on bone . fig2 shows that 2md has activity similar to that of 1 , 25 - dihydroxyvitamin d 3 ( 1 , 25 ( oh ) 2 d 3 ), the natural hormone , in stimulating intestinal calcium transport in vitamin d - deficient rats given a dose of drug by oral gavage for 7 consecutive days followed by assay using the everted gut sac technique . values represent means ± standard error . fig3 clearly demonstrates that 2md is 100 times more potent than 1 , 25 ( oh ) 2 d 3 on bone , i . e . the mobilization of bone calcium . blood serum calcium was measured 24 hours following the last dose in the rats as described in fig2 . values represent mean ± standard error . fig4 shows that 2md is extraordinarily effective in building bone mass in ovariectomized rats as compared to the native hormone without increasing serum calcium concentration ( table 1 ). this is as yet an unprecedented new finding for a vitamin d compound . fig5 illustrates that 2md is 10 - 50 times more potent than 1 , 25 ( oh ) 2 d 3 on hl - 60 cell differentiation , making it an excellent candidate for the treatment of psoriasis and cancer , especially against leukemia , neuroblastoma , retinoblastoma , melanoma , colon cancer , breast cancer and prostate cancer . table 1 and fig6 a illustrate that 2md is very effective in increasing bone of ovariectomized , old female rats at 32 pmol given 2 times per week as compared to 1 , 25 ( oh ) 2 d 3 given at high doses ( 250 or 500 pmol ) 3 times per week . note : 2md also increases % ash in the femur . values in the figure are mean ± standard error . table 2 and fig6 b show that 2md increases breaking strength in the femurs ( cortical strength ) and crushing strength in the vertebra ( trabecular strength ) of animals shown in table 1 . values in the figure are mean ± standard error . fig7 - 9 show a six - week toxicity study in rats and demonstrate that 2md appears safe at up to 35 pmol / day . fig1 shows that in rhesus monkeys , a single oral dose of 29 μg ( 1 . 73 μg / kg ) does not cause significant elevation of serum calcium concentration , suggesting even greater safety in primates . fig1 , 12a and 12 b show that 2md given at 1 . 8 pmol / day is highly effective in increasing the bone density in normal adult female rats . not only does 2md increase cancellous ( trabecular ) bone , but it also increases the density of the cortical ( shaft ) bone as well . fig1 a and 13b show that the remarkable increase in both cortical and cancellous bone are achieved with no adverse effect in either the body weight or serum calcium levels of the animals . thus , this work shows that 2md can be safely used not only in ovariectomized animals but also in normal animals at a dose that is effective in increasing bone density . competitive binding of the analogs to the porcine intestinal receptor was carried out by the method described by dame et al . ( biochemistry 25 , 4523 - 4534 , 1986 ). the differentiation of hl - 60 promyelocytic cells into monocytes was determined as described by ostrem et al . ( j . biol . chem . 262 , 14164 - 14171 , 1987 ). the intestinal calcium transport and bone mobilization studies were carried out as described by sicinski et al . ( j . med . chem . 41 , 4662 - 4674 , 1998 ) and suda et al . ( j . nutr . 100 , 1049 - 1052 , 1970 ). interpretation of the biological activity data ( fig1 - 13 ) the in vivo tests of increasing serum calcium of rats on a zero calcium diet provides an insight to osteoblastic or bone activity of 2md . the dose response curves show that 2md is at least 80 - 100 times more potent than 1 , 25 ( oh ) 2 d 3 in raising calcium in the plasma via the stimulation of the osteoblasts ( fig3 ). at the same time , the activity of 2md on intestinal calcium transport is approximately equal that of 1 , 25 -( oh ) 2 d 3 ( fig2 ). therefore , these data show 2md to have selective activity on bone . 2md is about as active as 1 , 25 ( oh ) 2 d 3 in binding to the vitamin d receptor ( fig1 ). however , it is between 10 - 50 times more active than 1 , 25 -( oh ) 2 d 3 in causing differentiation of the promyelocyte , hl - 60 , into the monocyte ( fig5 ). this result suggests that 2md will be very effective in psoriasis because it has direct cellular activity in causing differentiation and in suppressing growth . it also indicates that it will have significant activity as an anti - cancer agent , especially against leukemia , neuroblastoma , retinoblastoma , melanoma , colon cancer , breast cancer and prostate cancer . the most important result , however , is that 2md is extremely effective not only in restoring bone mass of ovariectomized , old female breeder rats as shown in fig4 and 6 and tables 1 and 2 , but it causes an increase in bone mass above that of sham - operated controls . this illustrates that 2md is very likely having an anabolic effect on bone or increasing bone formation . importantly , the increased bone mass provided by 2md translates into marked increases in bone strength . this increased strength to fracture in femur shows cortical strength while increased strength to crush fractures of vertebra illustrates trabecular ( cancellous ) bone strength ( table 2 and fig6 a and 6b ). interestingly , even the percent ash is unexpectedly increased further by 2md . of great importance is that at the dosage levels used in this study , there was no change in serum calcium in the animals that showed the marked elevation of bone mass . this argues that a window of safety exists between the use of 2md to increase bone mineral content and the action of 2md in elevating serum calcium . preliminary safety tests carried out on two different occasions have revealed that female rats on a high calcium chow diet tolerate 35 pmol / day of 2md without elevating serum calcium , reducing body weight or causing mineralization of the kidney ( see fig7 - 9 ). further , preliminary studies in rhesus monkeys indicates that primates tolerate 2md extremely well since a dose of as much as 29 μg of this compound was given as a single dose to an 8 kg rhesus monkey without appreciably elevating serum calcium concentration ( fig1 ). these and other tests indicate that primates will tolerate 2md extremely well which may give a very large window between efficacy and the danger of hypercalcemia in man . these results illustrate that 2md is an excellent candidate for an anti - osteoporosis therapy ( both prevention and treatment ) and that it may be useful in a number of other circumstances such as autoimmune diseases , cancer , and psoriasis . the studies described in fig1 - 13 demonstrate that 2md can also increase bone mass in normal female rats ( see section entitled : “ building bone mass of normal individuals ” below ). beginning with arrival in the facility , rats were fed a purified rodent diet (“ diet 11 ”) prepared in - house ( suda et al , 1970 , j . nutr ., 100 : 1049 - 1052 ) and containing 0 . 47 % calcium , 0 . 3 % phosphorus and 1 . 6 iu vitamin d 3 / g . to maintain consistent body weights ( monitored weekly ), rats were fed a total of 150 g diet / week , i . e . 21 . 5 g / day / rat . compounds compound source lot vehicle spectrum , new brunswick , nj sn0332 ( neobee m - 5 oil ) 2md tetrionics , madison , wi 010745111 rats were dosed daily beginning 5 - 6 weeks post - surgery . neobee oil ( vehicle ) or 2md were delivered to the back of the tongue in 100 μl . the dosing solution concentrations were adjusted monthly based on group - average body weights . at predose and at 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 10 , 11 , 18 and 25 weeks after dose , blood was collected 24 hr . after the most recent dose from the tail artery of ether - anesthetized rats . serum was diluted in 0 . 1 % lanthum chloride and the concentration of calcium determined by atomic absorption spectrometry . the values shown are averages for all rats , and include standard errors . both total body bmd and appendicular ( right distal and proximal femur ) bmd were determined by dual - energy x - ray absorptiometry ( lunar dpxα - madison , wis . ; small animal software - version 1 . 0e ) at weeks 0 , 8 , 16 , and 24 . appendicular bmd was performed as described ( haffa et al , 2000 , j . bone min . res . 15 : 872 ). the values shown are averages for all rats and include standard errors . total body bmd increased above vehicle - control animals in adult female rats given the 2md orally ( fig1 ). this increase was observed as soon as eight weeks and continued over the course of 24 weeks . increases in cancellous bone bmd were the most pronounced , with an increase of 14 % observed after 24 weeks in rats given 2md ( fig1 a ). cortical bone bmd also increased in similar fashion to that observed for the total body ( fig1 b ). these positive effects of 2md occurred in the absence of any change in body weight ( fig1 a ) or any change in serum calcium ( fig1 b ). 2md is obviously effective in increasing bone mass of intact normal female rats . by “ normal ” it is meant a subject that is not afflicted with or has not been diagnosed with a metabolic bone disease or any other disease / disorder that results in a decrease over time of bone mass . further , 2md increases both cancellous ( 14 %) and cortical ( 6 %) bone . because it has been previously demonstrated that 2md acts anabolically on bone , it is believed that 2md may be used to increase bone mass of normal healthy children , adolescents , young adults and / or mature adults . this would result in skeleton that would survive the bone loss of aging and the menopause . in that sense , it can be used as a prophylaxis or preventative measure against fractures resulting from the bone loss of metabolic bone diseases , especially osteoporosis . in addition to osteoporosis , circumstances where 2md could be used as a prophylaxis method include treatment of amenorrheic females . furthermore , 2md could be used in normal subjects when high bone mass is desired , such as athletes . it is envisioned that 2md can be used to increase bone mass of horses especially race horses and in astronauts preparing for a long journey under weightless conditions . it may also be applicable in agriculture for preventing and / or reducing bone fractures as well as increasing eggshell strength in laying hens , preventing and / or reducing bone fractures in cows especially lactating cows , and preventing and / or reducing bone fractures in pigs especially sows being used for rapid farrowing . typical commercially significant laying hens include chickens , turkeys , ducks , geese , pheasants , grouse , ostrich and quail . for treatment purposes , the compound of this invention ( 2md ) defined by formula i may be formulated for pharmaceutical applications as a solution in innocuous solvents , or as an emulsion , suspension or dispersion in suitable solvents or carriers , or as pills , tablets or capsules , together with solid carriers , according to conventional methods known in the art . any such formulations may also contain other pharmaceutically - acceptable and non - toxic excipients such as stabilizers , anti - oxidants , binders , coloring agents or emulsifying or taste - modifying agents . the compound 2md may be administered orally , topically , parenterally or transdermally . the compound 2md is advantageously administered by injection or by intravenous infusion or suitable sterile solutions , or in the form of liquid or solid doses via the alimentary canal , or in the form of creams , ointments , patches , or similar vehicles suitable for transdermal applications . doses of from about 0 . 01 μg per day to about 100 μg per day , preferably from about 0 . 1 μg per day to about 10 μg per day of the compound 2md are appropriate for treatment purposes in humans , such doses being adjusted according to the disease to be prevented or treated , its severity and the response of the subject as is well understood in the art . doses of from about 0 . 0001 μg per day to about 700 μg per day of the compound 2md are appropriate for treatment purposes in animals . since the compound exhibits specificity of action , each may be suitably administered alone , or together with graded doses of another active vitamin d compound — e . g . 1α - hydroxyvitamin d 2 or d 3 , or 1α , 25 - dihydroxyvitamin d 3 — in situations where different degrees of cell differentiation , bone mineral mobilization and / or calcium transport stimulation is found to be advantageous . compositions for use in the above - mentioned treatment and / or prophylaxis of humans or animals aimed at maintaining or increasing bone mass or in other applications such as psoriasis and other malignancies comprise an effective amount of the 2 - methylene - 20 ( s )- 19 - nor - vitamin d compound as defined by the above formula i as the active ingredient , and a suitable carrier . an effective amount of such compound for use in accordance with this invention is from about 0 . 01 μg to about 50 μg per gram of composition , and may be administered topically , transdermally , orally or parenterally in dosages of from about 0 . 01 μg per day to about 100 μg per day in humans , and preferably from about 0 . 1 μg per day to about 10 μg per day in humans . in animals , an effective amount of such compound for use in accordance with this invention is from about 0 . 01 μg to about 50 μg per gm of composition , and may be administered topically , transdermally , orally or parenterally in dosages of from about 0 . 0001 μg per day to about 700 μg per day . the compound 2md may be formulated as creams , lotions , ointments , topical patches , pills , capsules or tablets , or in liquid form as solutions , emulsions , dispersions , or suspensions in pharmaceutically innocuous and acceptable solvent or oils , and such preparations may contain in addition other pharmaceutically innocuous or beneficial components , such as stabilizers , antioxidants , emulsifiers , coloring agents , binders or taste - modifying agents . the compound 2md is advantageously administered in amounts sufficient to effect the differentiation of promyelocytes to normal macrophages , and / or in amounts needed to prevent bone loss , maintain bone mass or increase bone mass . dosages as described above are suitable , it being understood that the amounts given are to be adjusted in accordance with the severity of the disease , and the condition and response of the subject as is well understood in the art . the formulations of the present invention comprise an active ingredient in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier therefore and optionally other therapeutic ingredients . the carrier must be “ acceptable ” in the sense of being compatible with the other ingredients of the formulations and not deleterious to the recipient thereof . formulations of the present invention suitable for oral administration may be in the form of discrete units as capsules , sachets , tablets or lozenges , each containing a predetermined amount of the active ingredient ; in the form of a powder or granules ; in the form of a solution or a suspension in an aqueous liquid or non - aqueous liquid ; or in the form of an oil - in - water emulsion or a water - in - oil emulsion . formulations for rectal administration may be in the form of a suppository incorporating the active ingredient and carrier such as cocoa butter , or in the form of an enema . formulations suitable for parenteral administration conveniently comprise a sterile oily or aqueous preparation of the active ingredient which is preferably isotonic with the blood of the recipient . formulations suitable for injection comprise a sterile oily or aqueous preparation , or a suspension or conjugate of the active ingredient . formulations suitable for topical administration include liquid or semi - liquid preparations such as liniments , lotions , applicants , oil - in - water or water - in - oil emulsions such as creams , ointments or pastes ; or solutions or suspensions such as drops ; or as sprays . the formulations may conveniently be presented in dosage unit form and may be prepared by any of the methods well known in the art of pharmacy . by the term “ dosage unit ” is meant a unitary , i . e . a single dose which is capable of being administered to a patient as a physically and chemically stable unit dose comprising either the active ingredient as such or a mixture of it with solid or liquid pharmaceutical diluents or carriers . | 0 |
as used herein , the term “ dementia ” shall include the deterioration of intellectual and other mental processes , regardless of underlying cause that impairs daily activities and is the result of a deficit in a previously successful performance . suitable examples of dementia include , but are not limited to , dementia as a result of alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , vascular related dementia , multi - infarct related dementia , dementia as a result of head trauma , dementia as a result of diffuse brain damage , dementia pugilistica , dementia as a result of huntington &# 39 ; s disease , dementia as a result of alcoholism , dementia as a result of diffuse white matter disease , dementia associated with parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , dementia as a result of lewy body disease , dementia as a result of pick &# 39 ; s disease , dementia as a result of multisystem degeneration , dementia as a result of progressive supranuclear palsy , dementia associated with the als - parkinson &# 39 ; s - dementia complex of guam , frontal lobe dementia , and dementia as a result of cortical basal degeneration . as used herein , the term “ memory disorder ” shall include memory loss , mental deterioration , diminished mental capacity and loss of cognition . the term “ therapeutically effective amount ” as used herein , means that amount of active compound or pharmaceutical agent that elicits the biological or medicinal response in a tissue system , animal or human that is being sought by a researcher , veterinarian , medical doctor or other clinician , which includes alleviation of the symptoms of the disease or disorder being treated . more particularly , in the present invention directed to combination therapy comprising administration of galantamine with one or more statins , “ therapeutically effective amount ” shall mean that amount of the combination of agents taken together so that the combined effect elicits the desired biological or medicinal response . for example , the therapeutically effective amount of galantamine and simvastatin would be the amount of galantamine and the amount of the simvastatin that when taken together or sequentially have a combined effect that is therapeutically effective . further , it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that in the case of co - therapy with a therapeutically effective amount , as in the example above , the amount of the galantamine and / or the amount of simvastatin individually may or may not be therapeutically effective . as used herein , the term “ composition ” is intended to encompass a product comprising the specified ingredients in the specified amounts , as well as any product which results , directly or indirectly , from combinations of the specified ingredients in the specified amounts . in accordance with the methods of the present invention , the individual components of the combination can be administered by any suitable means , simultaneously , sequentially , separately or in a single pharmaceutical formulation . where galantamine and the statin ( s ) are administered in separate dosage forms , the number of dosages administered per day for each compound may be the same or different . galantamine and the statin ( s ) may be administered via the same or different routes of administration . examples of suitable methods of administration include , but are not limited to , oral , intravenous ( iv ), intramuscular ( im ), subcutaneous ( sc ), transdermal , and rectal . compounds may also be administered directly to the nervous system including , but not limited to , intracerebral , intraventricular , intracerebroventricular , intrathecal , intracisternal , intraspinal and / or peri - spinal routes of administration by delivery via intracranial or intravertebral needles and / or catheters with or without pump devices . galantamine and the statin ( s ) may be administered according to simultaneous or alternating regimens , at the same or different times during the course of the therapy , concurrently in divided or single forms . the instant invention is therefore to be understood as embacing all such regimens of simultaneous or alternating treatment and the term “ administering ” is to be interpreted accordingly . optimal dosages and dosage regimens to be administered may be readily determined by those skilled in the art , and will vary with the mode of administration , the strength of the preparation and the advancement of the disease condition . in addition , factors associated with the particular patient being treated , including patient &# 39 ; s sex , age , weight , diet , physical activity , time of administration and concomitant diseases , will result in the need to adjust dosages and / or regimens . the objective was to evaluate the effect of statins on cognitive maintenance in patients with alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease during 5 - and 6 - month randomized clinical trials of galantamine . data were combined from 3 double - blind , placebo - controlled clinical trials limited to patients treated with galantamine 24 mg daily or placebo patients were categorized based on galantamine status and any statin use . changes in the alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease assessment scale - cognitive subscale with standard 11 items ( adas - cog / 11 ) using last observation carried forward ( locf ) were assessed comparisons between patient subgroups were made controlling for relevant confounding factors . rates of adverse side effects commonly linked to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors , including nausea , diarrhea , anorexia , and vomiting , as well as any of these gastrointestinal symptoms were calculated , and the relative risk of galantamine with a statin versus galantamine alone was compared . rates of adverse events commonly linked to statins , including back pain , leg cramps , skeletal pain , muscle atrophy , muscle weakness , and myalgia , as well as any of these muscular - skeletal symptoms were calculated , and the relative risk of galantamine with a statin versus a statin alone was compared . rates of adverse events commonly linked to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or statins , including abdominal pain or headache were calculated , and the relative risks of galantamine with a statin versus galantamine alone , and versus a statin alone , were compared . as a concomitant medication , patterns of stain use were heterogeneous in dose , type and duration . the study was not powered for the examination of statin effects . baseline demographics and patient characteristics of each treatment group are summarized in table 1 . table 2 distribution of statin type in galantamine clinical trial patients treated with statins ( n = 92 ) statin + statin type of gal 24 1 only 2 total p - statin 4 percent ( n ) percent ( n ) percent ( n ) value 3 atorvastatin 2 . 4 % ( 1 ) 18 . 0 % ( 9 ) 10 . 9 % ( 10 ) 0 . 135 fluvastatin 11 . 9 % ( 5 ) 8 . 0 % ( 4 ) 9 . 8 % ( 9 ) lovastatin 21 . 4 % ( 9 ) 24 . 0 % ( 12 ) 22 . 8 % ( 21 ) pravastatin 26 . 2 % ( 11 ) 16 . 0 % ( 19 ) 20 . 7 % ( 19 ) simvastatin 38 . 1 % ( 16 ) 34 . 0 % ( 17 ) 35 . 9 % ( 33 ) 100 % ( 42 ) 100 % ( 50 ) 100 % ( 92 ) 1 patients treated with galantamine 24 mg / d and a statin as a concomitant medication 2 patients treated with placebo and a statin as a concomitant medication 3 p - value based on chi - square 4 in the 10 patients treated with statins who used 2 types , only first statin used was coded . patients were treated with 5 different statins ( simvastatin , pravastatin , lovastatin , fluvastatin , atorvastatin ) with no significant difference in distribution by statin group ( p = 0 . 135 ). simvastatin had the highest frequency of use ( 38 . 1 % in the statin + gal group and 34 % in the statin - only group ). statins that produce the greatest reductions in serum low - density lipoprotein cholesterol ( simvastatin and atorvastatin ) were used by a higher proportion of patients in the statin - only group ( 40 . 5 % in the statin + gal group and 52 % in the statin - only group ). statins that penetrate the central nervous system ( simvastatin and lovastatin ) were used by a similar proportion of patients in both statin groups ( 59 . 5 % in the statin + gal group and 58 % in the statin - only group ). cognitive status improved in the gal - only (− 0 . 88 , se 0 . 25 ) and statin + gal (− 2 . 85 , se 0 . 91 ) groups . cognitive status declined in the placebo - only ( 2 . 24 , se 0 . 24 ) and statin - only ( 1 . 98 , se 0 . 85 ) groups . the effect of gal - only was highly significant ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ), the effect of statins missed significance ( p = 0 . 083 ), and the interaction of statin and galantamine was not significant ( p = 0 . 183 ). the effect of statin + gal appeared to be superior to gal - only ( p = 0 . 037 ) in pairwise comparisons with no adjustment for multiple comparisons . these results were based on anova , controlling for study and ad severity using mmse ; similar results were also found when analyses were limited to observed case data ( table 3 ). galantamine improved cognitive function in alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease patients during 5 - and 6 - month clinical trials , while use of statins did not lead to significant improvement when used alone or in combination with galantamine . however , combined use of statin and galantamine did add to the cognitive benefit experienced with galantamine alone . the results further indicate that high statin doses may not be necessary to obtain positive effects when used in combination with galantamine in older adults . due to small treatment group numbers , adverse event data are inconclusive . the combination of a statin and galantamine may increase the risk of diarrhea , abdominal pain , and muscle or skeletal pain relative to treatment with statin or galantamine alone . | 0 |
the following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention . various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . fig1 provides the top and side views a lens 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention . the lens 100 has a body 1 of a cup shape with a lens bottom 11 and a lens member 12 extended upward from the lens bottom 11 . an included angle θ between 46 to 52 degrees is formed between the cut member 12 and the lens bottom 11 . preferably , θ is 49 degree . as further shown in fig2 , the body 1 has a layered structure having , from the lens bottom 11 upward , a first layer 13 , a second layer 14 , a third layer 15 , a fourth layer 16 , a fifth layer 17 , and a sixth layer 18 . the first layer 13 has a refraction portion 131 containing a number of refraction elements 1311 . similarly , the second to the sixth layers 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , and 18 have respective refraction portions 141 , 151 , 161 , 171 , and 181 which in turn contain a number of respective refraction elements 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , and 1811 . the refraction elements 1311 , 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , and 1811 are arranged in a concentric manner respectively . if the refraction elements 1311 , 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , and 1811 are depicted altogether in fig1 , fig1 would be too confusing to read . therefore , instead , the refraction elements 1311 , 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , and 1811 are depicted separately in fig2 . as shown in fig2 , the distributions of the refraction elements 1311 , 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , and 1811 within the respective refraction portions 131 , 141 , 151 , 161 , 171 , and 181 are different . for the fourth layer 16 , according to the refraction elements 1611 &# 39 ; s distribution , the refraction portion 161 could be divided into refraction sections 161 a , 161 b , 161 c , 161 d , 161 e , and 161 f . as to the refraction portion 131 , it has a circular shape of diameter 4 . 6 mm and the refraction elements 1311 are configured as concentric circles . the tolerance of the distance between neighboring refraction elements 1311 is ± 0 . 05 mm . similarly , the tolerance of the respective distance between neighboring refraction elements 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , or 1811 is also ± 0 . 05 mm . the refraction portion 141 has an arc - shaped bottom side 1412 , an arc - shaped top side 1413 parallel to the bottom side 1412 , and two lateral sides 1414 connecting the two ends of the bottom and top sides 1412 and 1413 , respectively . the length of the bottom side 1412 is between 3 . 15 to 3 . 35 mm , the length of the top side 1413 is between 8 . 06 to 8 . 26 mm , and the length of each lateral side 1414 is between 2 . 39 to 2 . 59 mm . the refraction portion 151 has an arc - shaped bottom side 1512 , an arc - shaped top side 1513 parallel to the bottom side 1512 , and two lateral sides 1514 connecting the two ends of the bottom and top sides 1512 and 1513 , respectively . the length of the bottom side 1512 is between 4 . 34 to 4 . 54 mm , the length of the top side 1513 is between 7 . 55 to 7 . 75 mm , and the length of each lateral side 1514 is between 3 . 81 to 4 . 01 mm . the refraction portion 161 has a bottom side 1612 , atop side 1613 parallel to the bottom side 1612 , and two lateral sides 1614 connecting the two ends of the bottom and top sides 1612 and 1613 , respectively . the length of the bottom side 1612 is between 3 . 4 to 3 . 6 mm , the length of the top side 1613 is between 4 . 9 to 5 . 1 mm , and the length of each lateral side 1614 is between 6 . 5 to 6 . 7 mm . the refraction portion 171 has a bottom side 1712 , atop side 1713 parallel to the bottom side 1712 , and two lateral sides 1714 connecting the two ends of the bottom and top sides 1712 and 1713 , respectively . the length of the bottom side 1712 is between 3 . 7 to 3 . 9 mm , the length of the top side 1713 is between 4 . 7 to 4 . 9 mm , and the length of each lateral side 1714 is between 5 . 9 to 6 . 1 mm . the refraction portion 181 has a bottom side 1812 , a top side 1813 parallel to the bottom side 1812 , and two lateral sides 1814 connecting the two ends of the bottom and top sides 1812 and 1813 , respectively . the length of the bottom side 1812 is between 4 . 7 to 4 . 9 mm , the length of the top side 1813 is between 6 . 4 to 6 . 6 mm , and the length of each lateral side 1814 is between 10 . 1 to 10 . 3 mm . the inclination of the lens member 12 relative to the lens bottom 11 is for altering the refraction angle of a sensor , the refraction portions 131 , 141 , 151 , 161 , 171 , and 181 determines the strength of the sensor &# 39 ; s power , and the refraction elements 1311 , 1411 , 1511 , 1611 , 1711 , and 1811 are for focusing . fig3 is a top view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 100 shown in fig1 . fig4 is a side view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 100 shown in fig1 . as illustrated , even though the lens 100 contains six refraction layers and as the first layer 13 is located at the lens bottom 11 , its sensed signal is perpendicular to the lens bottom 11 and is therefore omitted . fig3 and 4 depict five sensed signals , a , b , c , d , and e , which are the signals refracted by the second , third , fourth , fifth , and sixth layers 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , and 18 , respectively . the five signals manifest a radial distribution in the top view diagram shown in fig3 . fig5 provides the top and side views a lens 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention . fig6 shows the distribution of refraction elements of each layer &# 39 ; s refraction portion of the lens 200 shown in fig5 . as illustrated , the components of the lens 200 are generally identical to those of the lens 100 of the first embodiment and therefore the same components are denoted by the same reference numbers . the lens 200 has a first layer 23 , a second layer 24 , a third layer 25 , a fourth layer 26 , a fifth layer 27 , and a sixth layer 28 . the first layer 23 has a refraction portion 231 containing a number of refraction elements 2311 arranged as concentric circles . the second layer 24 has a number of refraction portions 241 , each containing a number of refraction elements 2411 arranged as concentric circles . the third layer 25 has a number of refraction portions 251 , each containing a number of refraction elements 2511 arranged as concentric circles . the fourth layer 26 has a number of refraction portions 261 , each containing a number of refraction elements 2611 arranged as concentric circles . the fifth layer 27 has a number of refraction portions 271 , each containing a number of refraction elements 2711 arranged as concentric circles . the sixth layer 28 has a number of refraction portions 281 , each containing a number of refraction elements 2811 arranged as concentric circles . please note that the distributions of the refraction elements 2311 , 2411 , 2511 , 2611 , 2711 , and 2811 within the respective refraction portions 231 , 241 , 251 , 261 , 271 , and 281 are different from those of the first embodiment . additionally , even though that the dimensions of the refraction portions 231 , 241 , and 251 of the first , second , and third layers 23 , 24 , and 25 are identical to those of the first embodiment , the dimensions of the refraction portions 261 , 271 , and 281 of the fourth , fifth , and sixth layers 26 , 27 , and 28 are identical to those of the first embodiment . as the dimensions of the refraction portions 231 , 241 , and 251 of the first , second , and third layers 23 , 24 , and 25 are identical to those of the first embodiment , their description is omitted . the refraction portion 261 has a bottom side 2612 whose length is between 3 . 39 to 3 . 59 mm , a top side 2613 whose length is between 4 . 41 to 4 . 61 mm , and two lateral sides 2614 whose length is between 4 . 4 to 4 . 6 mm . the refraction portion 271 has a bottom side 2712 whose length is between 3 . 77 to 3 . 97 mm , a top side 2713 whose length is between 4 . 65 to 4 . 85 mm , and two lateral sides 2714 whose length is between 4 . 4 to 4 . 6 mm . the refraction portion 281 has a bottom side 2812 whose length is between 3 . 59 to 3 . 79 mm , a top side 2813 whose length is between 4 . 5 to 4 . 7 min , and two lateral sides 2814 whose length is between 5 . 9 to 6 . 1 mm . since the operation principle of the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment , the description to the second embodiment is omitted . fig7 is a top view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 200 shown in fig5 . fig8 is a side view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 200 shown in fig5 . as illustrated , even though the lens 200 contains six refraction layers and as the first layer 23 is located at the lens bottom 11 , its sensed signal is perpendicular to the lens bottom 11 and is therefore omitted . fig7 and 8 depict five sensed signals , a , b , c , d , and e , which are the signals refracted by the second , third , fourth , fifth , and sixth layers 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , and 28 , respectively . the five signals manifest a radial distribution in the top view diagram shown in fig7 . fig9 provides the top and side views a lens 300 according to a third embodiment of the present invention . fig1 shows the distribution of refraction elements of each layer &# 39 ; s refraction portion of the lens 300 shown in fig9 . as illustrated , the components of the lens 300 are generally identical to those of the lenses 100 and 200 of the previous embodiments and therefore the same components are denoted by the same reference numbers . the lens 300 has a first layer 33 , a second layer 34 , a third layer 35 , a fourth layer 36 , and a fifth layer 37 . the first layer 33 has a refraction portion 331 containing a number of refraction elements 3311 arranged as concentric circles . the second layer 34 has a number of refraction portions 341 , each containing a number of refraction elements 3411 arranged as concentric circles . the third layer 35 has a number of refraction portions 351 , each containing a number of refraction elements 3511 arranged as concentric circles . the fourth layer 36 has a number of refraction portions 361 , each containing a number of refraction elements 3611 arranged as concentric circles . the fifth layer 37 has a number of refraction portions 371 , each containing a number of refraction elements 3711 arranged as concentric circles . for the fourth layer 36 , according to the refraction elements 3611 &# 39 ; s distribution , the refraction portion 361 could be divided into refraction sections 361 a , 361 b , 361 c , 361 d , 361 e , and 361 f . the refraction portion 331 has a circular shape of diameter 8 mm . the refraction portion 341 has an arc - shaped bottom side 3412 whose length is between 3 . 9 to 4 . 1 mm , an arc - shaped top side 3413 whose length is between 9 . 9 to 10 . 1 mm , and two lateral sides 3414 whose length is between 5 . 1 to 5 . 3 mm . the refraction portion 351 has a bottom side 3512 whose length is between 6 . 88 to 7 . 08 mm , a top side 3513 whose length is between 10 . 23 to 10 . 43 mm , and two lateral sides 3514 whose length is between 4 . 9 to 5 . 1 mm . the refraction portion 361 has a bottom side 3612 whose length is between 5 . 06 to 5 . 26 mm , a top side 3613 whose length is between 6 . 11 to 6 . 31 mm , and two lateral sides 3614 whose length is between 4 . 9 to 5 . 1 mm . the refraction portion 371 has a bottom side 3712 whose length is between 4 . 56 to 4 . 76 mm , a top side 3713 whose length is between 6 . 44 to 6 . 64 mm , and two lateral sides 3714 whose length is between 11 . 9 to 12 . 1 mm . since the operation principle of the third embodiment is the same as the previous embodiments , the description to the third embodiment is omitted . fig1 is a top view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 300 shown in fig9 . fig1 a side view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 300 shown in fig9 . as illustrated , even though the lens 200 contains five refraction layers and as the first layer 33 is located at the lens bottom 11 , its sensed signal is perpendicular to the lens bottom 11 and is therefore omitted . fig1 and 12 depict four sensed signals , a , b , c , and d , which are the signals refracted by the second , third , fourth , and fifth layers 34 , 35 , 36 , and 37 , respectively . the four signals manifest a radial distribution in the top view diagram shown in fig1 . fig1 provides the top and side views a lens 400 according to a second embodiment of the present invention . fig1 shows the distribution of refraction elements of each layer &# 39 ; s refraction portion of the lens 400 shown in fig1 . as illustrated , the components of the lens 400 are generally identical to those of the lens of the previous embodiments and therefore the same components are denoted by the same reference numbers . the lens 400 has a first layer 43 , a second layer 44 , a third layer 45 , a fourth layer 46 , a fifth layer 47 , a sixth layer 48 , and a seventh layer 49 . the first layer 43 has a refraction portion 431 containing a number of refraction elements 4311 arranged as concentric circles . the second layer 44 has a number of refraction portions 441 , each containing a number of refraction elements 4411 arranged as concentric circles . the third layer 45 has a number of refraction portions 451 , each containing a number of refraction elements 4511 arranged as concentric circles . the fourth layer 46 has a number of refraction portions 461 , each containing a number of refraction elements 4611 arranged as concentric circles . the fifth layer 47 has a number of refraction portions 471 , each containing a number of refraction elements 4711 arranged as concentric circles . the sixth layer 48 has a number of refraction portions 481 , each containing a number of refraction elements 4811 arranged as concentric circles . the seventh layer 49 has a number of refraction portions 491 , each containing a number of refraction elements 4911 arranged as concentric circles . please note that the dimensions of the refraction portions 431 , 441 , 451 , 461 , 471 , and 481 are identical to those of the second embodiment and their description is therefore omitted . the additional seventh layer 49 in the present embodiment is located next to the sixth layer 48 . the refraction portion 491 has a bottom side 4912 whose length is between 4 . 04 to 4 . 24 mm , a top side 4913 whose length is between 5 . 13 to 5 . 33 mm , and two lateral sides 4914 whose length is between 8 . 4 to 8 . 6 mm . since the operation principle of the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment , the description to the second embodiment is omitted . fig1 is a top view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 400 shown in fig1 . fig1 a side view diagram showing the distribution of sensed signal of the lens 400 shown in fig1 . as illustrated , even though the lens 400 contains seven refraction layers and as the first layer 43 is located at the lens bottom 11 , its sensed signal is perpendicular to the lens bottom 11 and is therefore omitted . fig1 and 16 depict six sensed signals , a , b , c , d , e , and f which are the signals refracted by the second , third , fourth , fifth , sixth , seventh layers 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , and 39 respectively . the six signals manifest a radial distribution in the top view diagram shown in fig1 . while certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim , it is not intended to be limited to the details above , since it will be understood that various omissions , modifications , substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . | 6 |
one preferred embodiment of the invention is explained below , as accompanied by the reference figures . the first preferred embodiment of the invention will be revealed in detail by explaining the embodiment with reference to fig1 through 8 . then , a business operation / management apparatus will be explained with reference to fig9 through 33 as a means of implementing the business procedure of the invention . [ 0069 ] fig1 shows a summary configuration of the business procedure of the invention . in this example the operating body of a service offered through use of the invention shall be called “ cybergift company ” for the purpose of the explanation . as shown in fig1 upon acceptance { 1 } of an order from customer a for the purchase of merchandise as a gift , cybergift company at { 2 }: ( 1 ) informs the recipient b of the contents of the gift ( sender , contents of the merchandise and the like ); and ( 2 ) presents an option of selecting from the “ take ” of gift merchandise , “ credit ” in lieu of taking the gift merchandise , or “ exchange ” of the gift merchandise for the desired merchandise . subsequently , cybergift company at { 3 } accepts the response ( selection ) thereto from the recipient b out of the choices given the recipient , and at { 4 } implements various procedures according to the response . the “ take ” response literally refers to recipient &# 39 ; s taking the delivery of the merchandise as designated by the sender . the “ credit ” response refers to the saving of the sender - designated merchandise as a credit ( hereinafter referred to as the “ cyber credit ”); in this case , in the recipient &# 39 ; s individual account ( a ledger , for instance ) in an amount equal to the selling price of the merchandise . the cyber credit thus deposited may be applied to the amount of a new order by the recipient for the purchase of merchandise ( including both the purchase of merchandise as a gift and the ordinary purchase of merchandise ), which will be explained later , at the rate of one japanese yen ( or any other currency depending on the country ) for one cyber credit unit ( 1 c . c .). the “ exchange ” response refers to the exchange of the merchandise designated by the sender for new merchandise designated by the recipient . in this instance , the sender - designated merchandise is allowed to be exchanged for merchandise of equal price . cybergift company will also accept an order for the ordinary purchase of merchandise ( simple purchase and delivery ) besides the purchase of merchandise as a gift . in this case the order is processed , upon acceptance thereof , to deliver the designated merchandise to the designated delivery destination without following steps { 2 } through { 4 }. since the “ delivery ” may be allowed to take a variety of forms , including undertaking of the task thereof by an existing delivery service , no explanation will be especially given as to the form of delivery . [ 0071 ] fig2 is a flowchart showing the overall process in the business procedure of the invention . as shown in fig2 cybergift company , upon acceptance of an order , determines whether the order is for an ordinary purchase of merchandise or the purchase of a gift ( hereinafter referred to as a “ gift order ”). if the accepted order is a gift order at step 201 ( gift ), the information on the orderer ( sender ), gift merchandise and recipient is identified . examples of the “ information on the sender ” include the sender &# 39 ; s name , address , contract / telephone number and e - mail address . examples of the “ information on the recipient ” include the recipient &# 39 ; s name , address , contact / telephone number and e - mail address . examples of the “ information on the gift merchandise ” include the product name , product number and quantity ( number of pieces ) of merchandise to be purchased . the sender selects the gift merchandise , for instance , out of a merchandise catalog or the like that is distributed to the sender in advance . when all information is identified at 202 , settlement process 1 is implemented next at step 203 . the settlement as processed here is for the payment of the purchase amount primarily relative to an order for a gift by a sender . the amount may be settled through actual payment ( including payment by a credit card , for instance ) or by cyber credit . ledger entries and the like are also made relative to settlement at this time . an explanation of the contents and methods of ledger entries is omitted here . reference may be made to a detailed explanation given later using examples of various ledgers in an application of the business operation / management apparatus . when settlement process 1 is completed , the recipient is informed of the contents of the gift at 204 , and is also informed simultaneously of three choices , namely the “ take ,” “ exchange ” and “ credit ” from which to select a desired response . when the response ( selection ) of the recipient is accepted at step 205 , various processes shown below are implemented according to the selection returned . if the accepted response is the “ take ” at step 206 , the take process is implemented whereby the necessary arrangements are made to deliver the sender - designated merchandise to the recipient at step 207 according to the various information as identified in step 202 . next , settlement process 2 is implemented at step 211 upon confirmed selection of the “ take .” ledger entries as required for the confirmed “ take ” are also made at this time . an explanation of “ ledger ” is again omitted here . reference may be made to a detailed explanation given later using examples thereof in an application of the business operation / management apparatus . if the accepted response is the “ exchange ” at step 206 , the exchange process is implemented whereby the recipient is allowed to select desired merchandise of a price equal to the selling price ( or total price ) of the gift merchandise at step 208 in this example . next , the necessary arrangements are made to deliver to the recipient the merchandise newly designated by the recipient at step 209 . subsequently , settlement process 2 is implemented at step 211 upon confirmed selection of the “ exchange .” ledger entries as required for the confirmed “ exchange ” are also made at this time . an explanation of “ ledger ” is again omitted here . reference may be made to a detailed explanation given later using examples thereof in an application of the business operation / management apparatus . if the accepted response is the “ credit ” at step 206 , the credit process is implemented whereby the amount of cyber credit equal to the selling price of the gift merchandise is calculated . in the settlement process 2 that follows , the calculated amount of cyber credit is saved or entered in the recipient &# 39 ; s individual account or ledger . other ledger entries as required for the confirmed “ credit ” are also made at this time . an explanation of “ ledger ” is again omitted here . reference may be made to a detailed explanation given later using examples thereof in an application of the business operation / management apparatus . the same is applicable to an explanation of the contents and modes of the individual account for cyber credit . if , on the other hand , the accepted order is for the ordinary purchase of merchandise at step 201 , the information on the orderer , delivery destination , merchandise to be purchased and the like is identified at step 212 . examples of the “ information on the orderer ” include the orderer &# 39 ; s name , address , contract address / telephone number and e - mail address . as for the “ information on the delivery destination ,” if the destination of merchandise delivery differs from the address of the purchaser or orderer , the address of the destination is additionally specified . examples of the “ information on the merchandise to be purchased ” include the product name , product number and quantity ( number of pieces ) of merchandise to be purchased . when all information is identified , settlement process 3 is implemented next at step 213 . the settlement as processed here is for the payment of the purchase amount primarily relative to an order for a gift by a purchaser . as is the case with an order for a gift , the amount may be settled through actual payment ( including payment by a credit card , for instance ) or by cyber credit . ledger entries and the like are also made relative to settlement at this time . an explanation of the contents and methods of ledger entries is omitted here . reference may be made to a detailed explanation given later using examples of various ledgers in an application of the business operation / management apparatus . various operating modes may be considered for cybergift company . fig3 shows cybergift company operating in four different modes from the perspective of the operational autonomy and merchandise supplies . mode a in fig3 shows an operating mode in which a dealer solely operates cybergift company and furnishes merchandise . mode b shows an operating mode in which a business ( broker ), positioned between the customer and the dealer , operates cybergift company , while a dealer solely furnishes merchandise . mode c shows an operating mode in which a plurality of dealers jointly operate cybergift company and furnish merchandise . mode d shows an operating mode in which a broker operates cybergift company , while a plurality of dealers furnish merchandise . in the business procedure of the invention , various fees , along with simple profits from merchandise sales , may be established to give prescribed profits to the broker and dealers . fig4 shows examples of suitable fees established for different operating modes in the form of a table . general explanations of the fees are provided below . the term “ brokerage fee ” refers to the profit for the broker . in this example , the brokerage fee is a fee allocated out of the amount received from the customer relative to the purchase of merchandise ( the purchase of merchandise for a gift or ordinary merchandise purchase ) and constitutes a portion of the sales amount of the dealer the establishment of this fee in the business procedure of the invention enables the establishment of a brokerage business as an independent business entity . in the given example the “ nomination fee ” refers to the fee to be paid to the dealer of the particular merchandise as originally designated by a sender who orders a gift . in the form as implemented , the recipient is given choices in addition to “ taking ” the gift merchandise when an order for a gift is accepted from a sender . this may cause the original designation of certain merchandise of a dealer to ultimately become the sale of another dealer when there are a plurality of dealers within cybergift company . in such a case the nomination fee thus established provides a prescribed profit to the dealer whose merchandise is originally designated . the nomination fee in this example is allocated out of the amount received from the customer relative to the purchase of the gift merchandise . in the form as implemented , the purchase of gift merchandise allows the recipient a choice of “ credit ” in addition to “ taking ” the merchandise , as previously explained . when the recipient selects “ credit ,” the sender - designated merchandise is saved in the recipient &# 39 ; s individual account as cyber credit ( in the unit of c . c .) in an amount equal to the selling price of the merchandise . if a brokerage fee and nomination fee are established , a portion of the amount received from the sender is allocated to these fees . this arrangement would result in a difference between the credit arising out of the amount received from a sender and the balance of the received amount after the various fees are deducted ( more correctly , after an additional deduction due to a payment to the dealer ). this would result , for example , in repeated payments of the nomination fee to the dealer in the absence of new receipts of payment if gift orders using cyber credit and the selection of “ credit ” by the recipients for gift merchandise purchased by cyber credit are repeated . to use an extreme example , a dealer sells 10 , 000 yen worth of merchandise but the broker may be left with an actual balance of only 1 , 000 yen . to eliminate this problem , a “ credit - service fee ” is created . the credit - service fee is imposed on the credit user according to the amount of cyber credit used to settle a gift order . the credit - service fee adjusts the difference between the real balance , being the fixed amount received minus various fees ( primarily , the nomination fee ) ( hereinafter referred to as the balance of the received amount ) and the value of merchandise purchasable with the balance of credit , such that the posting of a credit equal to the selling price of the gift merchandise would not cause a problem pointed out in the foregoing . the form of charging the credit - service fee will be explained in detail later in this document . as seen from the foregoing , the action and effect of each fee is different . consequently , a fee should be established in a form that is suitable to a particular operating mode of cybergift company , as shown in fig4 . the forms in which the fees are established herein are examples thereof and are not to limit the establishment of fees in those forms only . as shown in the figure , mode a calls for no fees because one dealer solely operates cybergift company and furnishes merchandise . in mode b the brokerage fee is established because a broker exists between the dealer and the customer . no nomination fee is established , since there is only one dealer involved . if the brokerage fee is collected only from the dealer who actually sells merchandise , there is no difference created between the balance of the received amount and the balance of credit , even if no credit - service fee is established . in mode c the nomination fee is established because there is a plurality of dealers . in the absence of brokers , no brokerage fee is established . the credit - service fee is established to adjust the difference between the actual balance of the received amount and the balance of credit resulting from the nomination - fee system . in mode d the brokerage fee , nomination fee and credit - service fee are established because of the presence of a broker and a plurality of dealers . the calculation or payment and collection of these fees are performed in the settlement processes ( settlement processes 1 through 3 ) shown as steps 203 , 211 and 213 , respectively , in the flowchart of fig2 . details of settlement processes 1 through 3 follow . the embodiment used here is in mode d , as illustrated in fig3 . it should be easy for those skilled in the area to envision the settlement processes in modes a through c by referring to the embodiment in mode d . in settlement processes 1 through 3 , ledger entries and the like are also performed . an explanation of ledger is again omitted here , since a detailed explanation will be given later using examples of various ledgers in an application of the business operation / management apparatus . [ 0084 ] fig5 shows a flowchart for settlement process 1 at step 213 at the time of a gift order . as shown in the figure , settlement process 1 includes : { 1 } the purchase - amount settlement process relative to a gift order ( steps 501 through 505 ); and { 2 } the settlement process relative to the payment or collection of various fees ( steps 506 through 508 ). the purchase - amount settlement process { 1 } in fig5 checks whether or not the sender is to use cyber credit for the payment at step 501 . if no cyber credit is to be used ( step 501 , no ), the amount may be settled through actual payment ( including payment by a credit card and the like ) and the process calculates the amount to be paid equal to the selling price of the sender - specified gift merchandise at step 504 . a first - time customer ( with a zero credit balance ) of cybergift company would necessarily select this method of settlement . if cyber credit is to be used ( step 501 , yes ), the process checks the balance of cyber credit in the sender &# 39 ; s individual account at step 502 . the process then calculates or determines the credit - service fee at step 503 using prescribed equations shown in fig8 and calculates the required amount to be paid additionally , if any at step 504 . the process is terminated if the sender rejects the requirement for cyber credit and payment as presented ( step 505 , no ). if the sender approves the requirement ( step 505 , yes ), the settlement process { 2 } is implemented relative to the payment or collection of various fees at steps 506 through 508 . in step 506 the process posts or pays the nomination fee to the dealer &# 39 ; s account in advance at x % of the selling price of the sender - designated merchandise . in step 507 the process posts or collects to the broker &# 39 ; s account the brokerage fee at y % of the amount received from the sender out of the received amount . next , the process saves the amount received from the sender , less these two fees , as the balance of the received amount at step 508 . the process is now terminated . fig6 shows a flowchart for settlement process { 2 }. the details of the process are different , depending on the selection of “ take ,” “ exchange ” or “ credit ” by the recipient . if the recipient selects the “ credit ” at step 601 , the process saves cyber credit in the recipient &# 39 ; s individual account in an amount equal to the selling price of the gift merchandise at step 602 and the process is terminated . if the recipient selects “ take ” or “ exchange ” at step 601 , the amount calculated using the following equation is posted or paid to the account of the dealer ( or , in the case of “ exchange ,” the particular dealer whose merchandise is newly selected by the recipient ) at step 603 , and the process is terminated : as seen above , the amount posted here is the selling price of the merchandise less the nomination fee already posted . this procedure effectively eliminates the payment of the nomination fee where the recipient selects “ take ” for the sender - designated merchandise . if , on the other hand , the recipient selects “ exchange ” for the merchandise , part of the sales amount of the dealer whose merchandise is newly selected by the recipient is , in effect , allocated to the nomination fee for the sender - designated dealer . as shown in the foregoing equation , the brokerage fee for the broker is allocated out of the sales of the dealer ( the amount received from the customer ). [ 0088 ] fig7 shows the details of settlement process 3 implemented upon the ordinary purchase of merchandise . as shown in fig7 in this example settlement process 3 includes { 1 } the purchase - amount settlement process relative to the ordinary purchase of merchandise at steps 701 through 704 , the settlement process { 2 } relative to the collection of the fee at step 705 and the settlement process { 3 } relative to the payment from the broker to the dealer at step 706 . the purchase - amount settlement process { 1 } first checks whether or not the sender is to use cyber credit for the payment at step 701 . if no cyber credit is to be used ( step 701 , no ), the amount may be settled through actual payment ( including payment by a credit card and the like ) and the process calculates the amount to be paid equal to the selling price of the sender - specified gift merchandise at step 703 . if the credit is to be used ( step 701 , yes ), the process checks the balance of the credit in the sender &# 39 ; s individual account at step 702 . if the balance of cyber credit is short of the purchase amount of the merchandise , the process calculates the difference as the required amount to be paid at step 703 . as is evident here , no credit - service fee is charged in an ordinary merchandise purchase , allowing the customer to purchase merchandise equivalent to the balance of the credit . if the sender rejects the requirements for cyber credit and payment as presented ( step 704 , no ), the process is terminated . if the sender approves the requirement ( step 704 , yes ), the settlement process { 2 } is implemented relative to the collection of the brokerage fee , consisting of posting or collection to the broker &# 39 ; s account the brokerage fee at y % of the amount received out of the received amount at step 705 . next , the settlement process { 3 } is implemented relative to the payment to the dealer , consisting of posting or payment to the dealer &# 39 ; s account the following amount at step 706 : as shown by “ α ,” the collection of the nomination fee ( at x % of the selling price ) and the brokerage fee ( at y % of the amount received ) creates a difference between the cyber credit amount posted to the recipient &# 39 ; s account and the actual balance of the received amount . the amount “ β ” indicates the deduction of the brokerage fee at y % of the amount received . [ 0093 ] fig8 shows the equations used in step 503 in fig5 ( settlement process { 1 }) to calculate the credit - service fee . the equations are examples ; they are not to limit the calculation of the credit - service fee thereto . the term “ sch ” in the figure refers to the credit - service fee , “ pr ” refers to the selling price of the merchandise , “ cc ” refers to the balance of the customer &# 39 ; s cyber credit , “ x ” refers to the rate of the nomination fee ( x % of the selling price of the merchandise ) and “ y ” refers to the rate of the brokerage fee ( y % of the amount received ). in this example , the rates for the nomination fee and brokerage fee are shown in terms of x % and y %, respectively , so that they may be set at rates most suitable to the circumstances by assigning desired values to the variables x and y . the term “ bc ” refers to the maximum selling price of merchandise including sch that can be purchased using all of the current balance of cyber credit , and is obtained through the following equation : bc = cc · ( 1 - x + y 100 ) 1 - y 100 ( equation 1 ) the relative sizes of pr , cc and bc are compared first . if pr ≦ bc , the credit - service fee ( sch ) will be calculated through the following equation : sch = pr · x 100 1 - x + y 100 ( equation 2 ) the additional amount to be received in this case will be zero . if bc & lt ; pr & lt ; cc , the credit - service fee ( sch ) will be calculated through the following equation : sch = pr · x 100 1 - ( x 100 · cc - pr cc - bc + y 100 ) ( equation 3 ) the additional amount to be received in this case will be : if cc ≦ pr , the credit - service fee ( sch ) will be calculated through the following equation : sch = cc · x 100 1 - y 100 { equation 4 ) the additional amount to be received in this case will be : the foregoing equations are the creation of the inventors . the use of the credit - service fee calculated by these equations , and the forms of collection and payment of fees as shown in the flowcharts of fig5 through 7 , simultaneously achieves the following various effects : ( 1 ) cyber credit equivalent to the price of merchandise is saved on behalf of the customer . the use of the ordinary merchandise purchase allows the purchase of merchandise of an equal price to the cyber credit amount . ( 2 ) the broker is able to obtain a prescribed brokerage fee according to the amount received from the customer ( at y % of the received amount ). ( 3 ) the dealer whose merchandise is merely selected as a gift merchandise is able to obtain a nomination fee for profit according to the selling price of the merchandise selected ( at x % of the selling price ). ( 4 ) the dealer who ultimately sells merchandise is guaranteed the amount received as prescribed by the selling price thereof ( actual sales amount ). amount to be paid = amount of credit used x ( 1 − x / 100 − y / 100 )+ amount received x ( 1 − y / 100 ) next , the business procedure as described in the foregoing may also be implemented through the internet . the embodiment described below uses the operating mode according to mode d in fig3 . fig3 shows a summary configuration of the business procedure of the invention through the internet . the embodiment shown in the figure utilizes the internet 5 as a means of implementing the business procedure of the invention . the items marked 1 are a business operation / management apparatus for implementing various processes relative to the business procedure of the invention over the internet , such apparatus comprising host computer 2 , web server 3 and mail server 4 . various programs necessary for implementing different processes relative to the business procedure of the invention are stored in host computer 2 . the main purposes of these programs are to automatically execute steps { 1 } through { 4 }, as shown also in fig1 . specifically , an order for the purchase of merchandise is first accepted through a website that is furnished by business operation / management apparatus 1 ({ 1 }). if the order is for a gift ({ 1 }- 1 ), the recipient designated by the sender is informed of the order through e - mail . simultaneously the recipient is offered choices — being to “ take ” the gift merchandise , “ credit ” the value equivalent to the selling price of the gift merchandise in lieu of taking the same , or “ exchange ” the gift merchandise for another desired merchandise — and is prompted to access the website furnished by business operation / management apparatus 1 ({ 2 }). when the recipient accesses the website , the response ( selection ) the recipient makes out of the choices offered is accepted ({ 3 }). subsequently , various processes are implemented as the response - acceptance process according to the response ({ 4 }). when an order for the purchase of merchandise is accepted ({ 1 }- 2 ), the necessary process is implemented for the delivery of the designated merchandise to the designated destination without following steps { 2 } through { 4 }. the form of “ delivery ” will not be specifically described as various forms may be considered , including assignment of the task to an existing delivery service . business operation / management apparatus 1 stores various files ( ledgers and the like ) relative to orders as data in the memory thereof . fig2 shows the contents of the different areas of memory . as shown in the figure , the dealer area , broker area , membership area and special area for merchandise files ( merchandise area ) are allocated within the memory . the dealer area stores ( records ) data equivalent to gift - merchandise sales files , ordinary - merchandise sales files and merchandise - exchange sales files . the broker area stores data equivalent to settlement information files required for brokerage fees , gift - order files showing the contents of gift orders , and merchandise - purchase order files showing the contents of ordinary merchandise purchase orders . the membership area stores data equivalent to member files ( including the credit - account files of individual members ). the merchandise area stores data files for the merchandise carried . explanations of all these files follow in a sequence . [ 0114 ] fig9 is a flowchart showing a summary of the overall process by business operation / management apparatus 1 . when a customer accesses the homepage through the internet 5 in a prescribed manner , business operation / management apparatus 1 identifies what process is required by the access at step 901 and begins processing each category as required . that is , the merchandise - purchase request process at step 902 is initiated on an “ ordinary merchandise purchase order ,” the gift - request process at step 903 is initiated on a “ gift order ,” and the response - acceptance process at step 904 is initiated on a “ response from recipient .” [ 0115 ] fig1 is a flowchart showing a summary of the gift - request process at step 902 . as the chart shows , the gift - request process includes the gift - request acceptance process at step 1001 for the sender , the gift e - mail creation process at step 1002 to provide the recipient with a description of the gift order , and the gift e - mail transmission process at step 1003 to transmit the same to the recipient . in the gift - request acceptance process at step 1001 , a web page as shown in fig1 is displayed . this web page shows a plurality of dealers ( virtual outlet stores ). the sender would select a desired dealer on the web page . next , the merchandise carried by each dealer is presented . fig2 shows an example of the web page to be displayed at the sender &# 39 ; s end . as illustrated , this example displays the product name , product number , selling price and image - data information for each item . all such information relative to the merchandise carried is stored in the memory of business operation / management apparatus 1 as merchandise data files , as shown in fig2 . fig2 ( b ) shows the contents ( an example ) of a merchandise data file . as illustrated , this file stores the dealer , product name , product category , product number , selling price and applicable image - data information for each item . the data configuration allows web display by merchandise category , selling price and others , in addition to display by the dealer . when a sender selects certain gift merchandise , the gift - order web page shown in fig2 is displayed , whereby the sender enters various information required to order a gift . as shown in fig2 , the information entered by the sender includes information on the recipient , gift merchandise and the like , in addition to information on the sender . examples of the information on the sender may include the sender &# 39 ; s name , address , contact / telephone number , e - mail address , credit - card number and the like . if the sender is a member , the sender &# 39 ; s entry of the membership number and pin number eliminates or simplifies the entry of other information . examples of the information on the recipient may include the recipient &# 39 ; s name , address , contact / telephone number , e - mail address and the like . examples of the information on gift merchandise may include the product name , product number , purchase quantity ( number of pieces ), selling price and the like of the merchandise . all such information on the particular merchandise that a sender may select from the web page illustrated in fig2 will be retrieved from the merchandise data file , previously explained , and entered automatically . in a case where the sender selects merchandise from a merchandise catalog or the like in advance , the sender would separately enter the merchandise information on the gift - order web page . other information may include a message from the sender to the recipient . [ 0117 ] fig1 is a flowchart showing the details of the gift - request acceptance process at step 1001 . as illustrated , business operation / management apparatus 1 records or stores in the broker area of memory , as shown in fig2 , the contents of all information as a gift file for each order , as identified by the sender through the gift - order web page in fig2 at step 1101 . fig2 ( a ) a shows the contents of the gift - order file . as shown in the figure , the file stores the date of order and various information , as specified by the sender , such as information on the sender , recipient , gift merchandise ( including the total selling price ) and the like . additionally , a file number is assigned to each gift order ( one order ) such that the relationship between the subject file and other files is identified . next , the information on the orderer thus read in is checked in order to identify whether or not the user is a member at step 1102 . if the orderer is not a member ( step 1102 , no ), the membership registration process is implemented at step 1103 . in the membership registration process , personal data is stored in the membership area of memory , as shown in fig2 , as a member file by the customer . fig3 shows the contents of member files . the member file is given the membership number of the individual customer and stores the customer &# 39 ; s name , address , contact / telephone number , e - mail address and card information ( card number ). the balance of cyber credit for the individual member is also stored in this file ( individual account ). if the orderer is a member ( step 1102 , yes ), the member &# 39 ; s personal data , as previously described , is retrieved from the membership area ( member file ) and the information on the orderer is read in at step 1104 . subject to the availability of complete information required for a gift order ( step 1105 , yes ), the settlement process is implemented at step 1106 . if the input information is incomplete ( step 1105 , no ), the gift - order acceptance flag turns “ 0 ” at step 1109 and the gift - request acceptance process is terminated . when the settlement process is completed ( step 1107 , yes ), the gift - order acceptance flag is set to “ 1 ” at step 1108 and the process is terminated . if the settlement process is not completed ( step 1107 , no ), the gift - order acceptance flag will be set to “ 0 ” at step 1109 and the process terminated . for the procedure for the settlement process at step 1106 , refer to the previous explanation of an example of implementing the business procedure ( fig5 through 7 ). in this example the payment is made through the use of a credit card ( for convenience , hereinafter called a “ card ”). as is widely known , settlement through the use of a card involves an inquiry made to an authentication server and the like for granting a credit line and verifying the card based on the card number , cardholder &# 39 ; s name , pin number and other information . [ 0120 ] fig2 shows an example of the web page to be displayed at the sender &# 39 ; s end during the settlement process at step 1106 . as illustrated , the total amount of the merchandise purchase is calculated from the member file and displayed on the web page for each order . if the orderer is a member , the orderer &# 39 ; s credit balance is retrieved and displayed . the orderer is then asked whether to use cyber credit , and on the selection of the “ use ” the credit - service fee ( sch ) is calculated using the equation shown in fig8 and displayed . if the credit balance is insufficient , the additionally required payment is calculated and displayed . upon the completion of these processes , the credit amount used is deducted from the member file , whereupon the balance is displayed on the web page and saved in the member file as the new credit balance . in the settlement process at step 1106 , various information relative to the settlement is also saved in the form of data files ( ledgers ), as previously described . [ 0121 ] fig3 ( a ) shows the contents of the gift - sales file . in writing to the gift - sales file , reference is made to the information previously stored in the gift - order file in step 1101 . the gift - sales file is stored for each dealer in the dealer area , as shown in fig2 . as shown in fig3 ( a ), the gift - sales file stores various information for identifying the merchandise for each gift merchandise , including the date of order and information on the sender and recipient ( membership number , product number and the like ), as well as the selling price of the gift merchandise . a file number is also given to the file at this time in order to allow identification of the applicable gift - order file and relationship with other files . when the recipient responds , the type of response ( the “ take ,” “ exchange ” or “ credit ”) is also stored here . also stored is the amount of the fee to be paid to the dealer , and also the balance payable upon the confirmed selection of “ take .” the total amount of the nomination fee and amounts payable upon the confirmed selection of “ take ” is calculated , for instance , by the month . the nomination fee is posted upon the confirmed completion of settlement in step 1107 , in the amount calculated using the equation shown in step 506 in fig5 . [ 0122 ] fig2 ( c ) shows an example of the contents of the settlement - information file stored as data during the settlement process at step 1106 . this file is saved in the broker area of memory , as shown in fig2 . as illustrated , the gift - sales file stores , for each gift merchandise , the date of order , a file number identifying the relationship with the gift - order file ( or the ordinary - merchandise purchase order file ) and the settlement information consisting of the amount of cyber credit used , amount received and credit - service fee ( sch ). the brokerage fee , which would be the broker &# 39 ; s profit , is calculated out of the amount received ( y % of the received amount ) and recorded . the total amount of settlement ( namely , the amount of credit used , amount received and credit - service fee ) and the brokerage fee is to be calculated , for instance , by the month . in this example the file also simultaneously stores settlement information relative to the ordinary orders , for which details are to be given later . next , the details of the gift e - mail creation process , identified as step 1002 , are shown in the flowchart of fig1 . in the gift e - mail creation process , only if the gift - order acceptance flag is set at “ 1 ” ( step 1201 , yes ), various information ( on the sender , recipient , gift and message ) of the order file , stored in step 1101 , and the fixed information for the e - mail is read in at steps 1202 through 1206 . next , gift e - mail is compiled according to a prescribed format based on the information thus read in at step 1207 . the url is added to allow the recipient to link to the homepage at step 1208 . also added is a “ gift - order number ,” which actually is the applicable gift - order file number or the like ( or any other number that identifies the same ) such that the identification of the information relative to the recipient is facilitated when a response is received from the recipient at step 1208 . the flowchart of fig1 shows the details of the gift e - mail transmission process at step 1003 . first , as illustrated , in the gift e - mail transmission process the gift e - mail , as previously generated in step 1002 , is read in at step 1301 . next , the recipient &# 39 ; s e - mail address is set up as an address to which the e - mail is delivered at step 1302 , and the e - mail is transmitted at step 1303 . the e - mail is transmitted through mail server 4 , shown in fig1 . the recipient subsequently receives the e - mail through a prescribed protocol . an example of the gift e - mail that would be displayed at the recipient &# 39 ; s end is illustrated in fig2 . as the figure shows , the gift e - mail contains various information — including information on the sender and gift merchandise — that allows the recipient to know who has ordered what merchandise as a gift for the recipient . the e - mail gives instructions that prompt the recipient to access the homepage and select a desired service from “ take ,” “ exchange ” and “ credit .” the gift e - mail contains a gift - order number and a hyperlink url to the homepage . when the gift recipient who receives the gift e - mail follows the instructions therein and accesses the home page , a process — shown as the response - acceptance process at step 904 in the flowchart of fig1 — is implemented by business operation / management apparatus 1 . in the response - acceptance process a prescribed web page is transmitted to the recipient &# 39 ; s side at step 1401 . an example of the web page is given in fig2 . as shown , an image of the merchandise is displayed together with the name and manufacturer of the merchandise and other information , thereby allowing the recipient to know the details of the gift merchandise . although not shown in the flowchart , when the web page is transmitted the recipient may enter the order number , attached to the e - mail , and thereby retrieve a relevant file ( gift - order file , for instance ) from a memory area in fig2 to identify the information and the like concerning the gift . when the recipient selects or returns any one of “ take ,” “ exchange ” and “ credit ” on the web page , gift business processing apparatus 1 checks the contents of the response at step 1402 . if the selection or response of the recipient is the “ take ” at step 1403 , the delivery - request process at step 1405 for the gift merchandise is implemented . if the “ exchange ” at step 1403 , is selected for desired merchandise , the exchange - request process at step 1404 is implemented . and if the “ credit ” at step 1403 , is used , the credit - request process at step 1406 is implemented . the details of the delivery - request process at step 1405 are shown in the flowchart of fig1 . as shown in the figure , in the delivery - request process the information on the sender , recipient and gift merchandise is read in sequentially from the gift - order file at steps 1501 through 1503 . next , the merchandise - procurement process is implemented at step 1504 . in the merchandise - procurement process ( step 1504 ) various information read in through steps 1501 through 1503 is transmitted via e - mail to the dealer of the merchandise designated as a gift in order to arrange the delivery of the designated merchandise to the address of the recipient . although the merchandise - procurement process in this instance is implemented via e - mail , various other forms of communication may be used . when the merchandise - procurement process at step 1504 is completed , the settlement process is implemented at step 1505 based on the confirmed selection of “ take ” for the gift merchandise . here symbol “ t ,” for instance , is stored in the response column of the applicable gift - merchandise sales file shown in fig3 ( a ), indicating that “ take ” has been confirmed . next , the balance payable to the dealer is calculated using the equation shown in step 603 in fig6 and is stored or posted in the applicable column . the details of the exchange - request process are shown in the flowchart of fig1 . as illustrated , in the exchange - request process the information on the desired gift merchandise if designated by the recipient is read in at step 1601 . the desired merchandise here refers to merchandise newly designated by the recipient upon selecting an “ exchange ” to replace the sender - designated merchandise . although not shown in the flowchart , in the process of exchanging merchandise business operation / management apparatus 1 refers to the merchandise data file stored in the memory area and automatically selects merchandise equivalent to the selling price of the merchandise or the total selling price of a group of merchandise , as originally designated by the sender . the selected merchandise group is displayed on the web page as exchangeable merchandise , together with the image data , whereupon the recipient selects the desired merchandise from the web page . this identifies or reads in the information on the desired merchandise . in step 1602 the recipient &# 39 ; s name , address and other information is read in from the gift - order file at step 1602 . the recipient may be required to enter current information on the web page to allow for a possible change in address and other information . in step 1603 that follows , the merchandise - procurement process is initiated for merchandise that the recipient has newly designated through the “ exchange ” service at step 1603 . this process is identical to the process implemented in the delivery - request process at step 1504 . in step 1604 the settlement process is implemented based on the confirmed selection of “ exchange ” for the gift merchandise . here symbol “ e ,” for instance , is stored in the response column of the applicable gift - merchandise sales file , indicating that the “ exchange ” has been confirmed . an amount of “ 0 ” ( 0 yen ) is stored as the balance payable to the sender - designated dealer . next , the information on the gift merchandise newly designated by the recipient is stored as the exchange sales file . this exchange sales file will be stored as data in the dealer area shown in fig2 . the contents of the exchange sales file are shown in fig3 ( c ). an exchange sales file is created for each dealer and stores the file number of the applicable gift - order file ( or a number that allows identification of the relationship with the gift - order file ), information on the recipient , product number and selling price . this exchange sales file also stores the amount payable to the dealer of the merchandise newly designated by the recipient , the amount of which is calculated using the equation shown in step 603 in fig6 . the flowchart of fig1 shows the credit - request process . in the credit - request process the recipient is checked to determine whether or not the recipient is a member at step 1701 . the reason for the checking is that the credit amount calculated on the basis of the selling price of the gift merchandise needs to be stored in the member file at the time the credit is stored . if the recipient is not a member ( step 1701 , no ), the membership registration is processed through a prescribed procedure at step 1702 , and the member file for the user is created . if the recipient is already registered ( step 1701 , yes ), the membership registration process will be omitted . in step 1703 the total selling price of the sender - designated merchandise is read in from the applicable gift - order file at step 1703 , and an equal amount of cyber credit is added to the credit - management file for that particular member at step 1704 . in step 1705 the symbol “ c ,” for instance , is stored in the response column of the applicable gift - merchandise sales file , indicating that the “ credit ” has been confirmed . an amount of “ 0 ” ( 0 yen ) is stored as the balance payable to the sender - designated dealer . steps 1704 and 1705 are equivlent to the settlement process 2 at step 211 shown in fig2 . in step 1706 a new cyber credit balance for the recipient is displayed on the web page at step 1706 . a description of this web page is omitted . the following describes the merchandise - purchase request process ( shown as step 202 in fig9 ). and explanation for the selection of merchandise is omitted because it is almost identical to the form used in the previously explained process of gift order . in the merchandise - purchase request process the purchaser ( shown as client a in fig1 ) enters various required information on the web page for merchandise - purchases order , shown in fig2 . as shown in the figure , the entered information includes information on the purchaser , merchandise to be purchased and delivery destination . examples of the information on the purchaser may include the purchaser &# 39 ; s name , address , contact / telephone number , e - mail address and credit card number used for settlement . if the purchaser is a member , the simple entry of the membership number and pin number may eliminate or simplify the entry of information for the purchaser . examples of the information on the merchandise to be purchased may include the product name , product number , quantity ( number of pieces ), selling price and the like regarding the merchandise to be purchased . all such information on the particular merchandise that a sender may select from the web page will be retrieved from the merchandise data file , previously explained , and entered automatically . in a case where the sender selects merchandise from a merchandise catalog or the like in advance , the sender would separately enter the merchandise information on the gift - order web page . as for the “ information on the delivery destination ,” if the destination of merchandise delivery differs from the address of the purchaser ( orderer ), the address of the destination is additionally specified . the details of the merchandise - purchase request process are shown in the flowchart of fig1 . as illustrated , business operation / management apparatus 1 stores various information , as identified by the purchaser as explained previously , in the ordinary - merchandise purchase order file at step 1801 . the contents of the ordinary - merchandise purchase order file are stored for each order in the broker area of memory , as shown in fig2 . fig2 ( b ) shows the contents of the order file . as shown in the figure , the file stores the date of order and various information , as specified by the purchaser , such as information on the purchaser , delivery destination , merchandise ( including the selling price , total selling price and the like ) and the like . additionally , a file number is assigned to each order such that the relationship between the subject file and other files is identified . in step 1802 the purchaser is checked as to whether or not he or she is a member . if the purchaser is not a member ( step 1802 , no ), the membership registration is processed through a prescribed procedure at step 1804 . if the purchaser is a member ( step 1802 , yes ), the member &# 39 ; s personal data is retrieved from the membership area ir member file at step 1803 in order to identify the member &# 39 ; s information . next , subject to the availability of complete information required for an ordinary merchandise purchase ( step 1805 , yes ), the settlement process is implemented at step 1806 . if the input information is incomplete ( step 1805 , no ), the merchandise - purchase request process is terminated . when the settlement process is completed at step 1806 , the merchandise - procurement process is implemented at step 1808 next , subject to the completion of the settlement ( step 1807 , yes ). if the settlement is not completed ( step 1807 , no ), the merchandise - purchase request process is terminated . for the procedure for the settlement process at step 1806 , refer to the previous detailed explanation ( fig7 ). in an ordinary merchandise purchase payment may also be made through the use of a credit card ( for convenience , hereinafter called a “ card ”). the process of settlement through a card is identical to that previously described for a “ gift order .” [ 0137 ] fig2 shows an example of the web page to be displayed at the purchaser &# 39 ; s end during the settlement process at step 1806 . as illustrated , the “ sch ” is not displayed since no credit - service fee is collected in ordinary merchandise purchases . on the web page the total amount of the merchandise purchase is displayed . if the purchaser is a member , the orderer &# 39 ; s credit balance is retrieved from the member file and displayed . the purchaser is then asked whether to use cyber credit . if the “ use ” is selected but the cyber credit balance of the orderer is below the selling price of the desired merchandise , the difference will be calculated and displayed as the amount to be paid . upon the completion of these processes , the credit amount used is deducted from the member file , whereupon the balance ( the cyber credit balance after payment ) is displayed on the web page and saved in the member file of the purchaser as the new credit balance . in the settlement process , various information relative to the settlement is also saved in the form of files ( ledgers ), as previously described . [ 0138 ] fig3 ( b ) shows an example of the contents of the ordinary - merchandise purchase sales file that is stored as data during the settlement process . the information in the merchandise - purchase order file stored in step 1801 is read out at that time . the merchandise - purchase sales file is stored for each dealer in the dealer area , as shown in fig2 . as shown in fig2 ( b ), the merchandise - purchase sales file stores various information for identifying the merchandise for each merchandise purchased , including the date of order and information on the purchaser and delivery destination ( membership number , product number and the like ), as well as the selling price of the merchandise . a file number is also given to the file at this time to allow identification of the relationship with the merchandise purchase - order file . also in the settlement process the date of order , a file number identifying the relationship with the merchandise purchase - order file and the settlement information consisting of the amount of credit used and amount received are stored in the settlement - information file ( fig2 ( c )), as previously described , for each merchandise purchase order . [ 0139 ] fig3 shows the concept of the links that may be provided between the customer and the broker and / or dealer on the internet 5 . the form of embodiment , as explained previously , accepts an order and presents the merchandise to be purchased ( catalogs a , b , c , . . . ), allowing the customer to select merchandise on the same website , as shown in fig3 ( a ). the embodiment may also allow the merchandise presentation to the customer and the merchandise selection by the customer at a separate site for each dealer as the second form of embodiment . the mode of linkage between the customer and the broker / dealers in that form is shown in fig3 ( b ). in that example , as shown in the figure , the presentation of the merchandise to be purchased ( catalogs a , b , c , . . . ) and the selection of merchandise by the customer is carried out at the site of each dealer . on the other hand , the various procedures before and after the selection of merchandise are carried out at the broker &# 39 ; s site . the link between the sites in this instance would be easily implemented by , for example , the dealer and broker attaching a homepage url to their web pages . in this example the dealer &# 39 ; s homepage url for a particular item of merchandise may be attached to the e - mail transmitted to the gift recipient . in the form of the embodiments shown previously , the choices given to the recipient are “ take ,” “ exchange ” and “ credit ,” but , obviously additional choices may be added . one such example would be “ refused .” in this instance the deposit of cyber credit corresponding to the sender - designated 4 merchandise to the sender &# 39 ; s individual account would facilitate action for response without the need to process a refund to the sender . as is evident in the foregoing explanation , the use of the business procedure in this invention enables the offering of a business procedure and gift business operation / management apparatus that facilitate flexible response to the wishes of the gift recipient while respecting the sender &# 39 ; s original intent . the broker is able to establish itself as an independent business entity by collecting a prescribed fee from the dealer without adding any burden to the merchandise purchaser . the payment of a prescribed nomination fee to the dealer of the merchandise originally designated by the sender urges merchandise dealers to participate in the business procedure , thereby leading to the proliferation of the business procedure . | 6 |
referring more particularly to the drawings by characters of reference , fig1 and 2 disclose a machine or press 10 comprising a frame 11 supported by two pairs of vertically positioned legs 12 . the frame is divided into three partially open compartments 13 , 14 and 15 by a vertically extending pair of side walls 16 , 16a and 17 , 17a , front and rear walls 18 and 19 , and cut - away or open sided walls 20 , 20a which are formed integrally with the transverse vertically extending partition walls 21 and 22 and welded to a sloping drain pan 23 of the central compartment 14 . compartment 15 formed by side walls 16 , 16a and integral transverse rear wall 19 is secured in removable relationship to the side walls 20 , 20a of the central compartment 14 by means of studs or bolts 16 &# 39 ; and when so assembled is open at its top and bottom ends to provide access to the press components that are housed therein and space for processed material to fall through . compartment 13 houses an electric drive motor 24 securely mounted on a rigid platform 24 &# 39 ;, a speed reducer 25 together with its torque arm adapter 26 , and a driven sheave 27 mounted on a drive shaft 28 extending from speed reducer 25 . drive sheave 29 mounted on shaft 30 of motor 24 drives sheave 27 by means of v - belts 31 . the vertical transverse partition wall 21 and the rear wall 19 are provided with suitably sized clearance holes 32 and 33 , respectively , which are vertically , horizontally and longitudinally aligned for passage therethrough of the projecting end portion of a stub drive shaft 34 and central driven shaft 37 . shaft 34 is journaled in a bearing ( not shown ) in the housing of speed reducer 25 which is secured by a flange 35 and studs 36 to the front face of partition wall 21 , as shown in fig2 . the clearance hole 33 in the rear transverse wall 19 allows passage of the rear end of the stub driven shaft 37 therethrough . driven shaft 37 is journaled in a suitable bearing support member 38 which is secured to the rear face of wall 19 by studs 39 . the driving connection between the short , stub drive shaft 34 and the long , central driven shaft 37 preferably consists of mating cluch elements 40 and 41 , which are of larger diameter than their respective shafts to which they are integrally or otherwise secured in driving but separable relationship to each other . before the driven shaft 37 is installed in the press with the clutch element 41 in driving contact with the clutch element 40 , and before the side walls 16 of the removable rear compartment 15 are rigidly attached by the studs or bolts 16 &# 39 ; to the side walls 20 of the central compartment 14 , the cone and flight assembly 42 of the press is installed on the central driven shaft 37 . the central bore 43 of the straight diameter portion 44 of a cone member 45 is placed around driven shaft 37 in sliding relationship thereto with its end face abutting the face of the rim formed by the outside diameter of the clutch element 41 previously installed at the end of driven shaft 37 ( as best seen in fig2 ). in order to removably but rigidly secure the conical rear end portion 46 and its integral , straight length diameter portion 44 of the cone and flight assembly 42 in its respective longitudinal relationship on the driven shaft 37 , the hollow interior of the conical rear end portion 46 of the cone is fitted with a female portion of a tapered ring bushing 47 . the outer circumference of the ring bushing is secured to the interior circular wall of the conical rear end portion 46 , as by welding , to thus become an integral part of the cone member 45 . in the exact center of the cone is provided a tapered bore 48 into which a mating , male tapered extension 49 of a similar diameter removable male bushing member 50 is adapted to fit in wedging relationship thereto . bushing member 50 with its central bore 51 is moved into the tapered bore 48 of the permanently mounted female ring bushing 47 and held therein by several hex - head studs 52 which are adapted to pass through clearance holes 52 &# 39 ; in the bushing member 50 and engage in female threaded holes 53 provided in the face of the permanently mounted ring bushing 47 to thus position and securely lock the cone and flight assembly 42 on the driven shaft 37 in readiness for installation in frame 11 of press 10 . it should be noted that a pair of auxiliary female tapped holes 52 &# 34 ; are provided in the face of the locking male bushing member 50 which may be utilized with suitable hex - head studs ( not shown ) to break the tight frictional contact of the bore 51 with the driven shaft 37 when it is desired to separate or disassemble these components . the cone and flight assembly 42 consists of the cone member 45 having the straight length diameter portion 44 and the integral conical rear end portion 46 . the conical rear end portion 46 is provided with at least four spiral convolutions or flights a , b , c and d , respectively , shown in fig2 , 4 and 5 which are rigidly secured at their spiraling base surfaces 54 tothe outside circumferential surfaces of the straight and conical portions of the cone member 44 and 45 . the outside diameters of the flights , being equal , result in a gradually decreasing depth of each flight from b to d , the purpose of which will hereinafter appear , together with the need for three or more hardened steel wear shoes 55 , 56 and 57 , which are flat - sided and arcuately shaped to conform to the flat , depressed circumferential surface 58 of the rear - most flight d . each of the wear shoes is of equal arcuate length having radial disposed ends that are adapted to abut the radial end of the depressed surface 58 of the flight and the opposed radial end of each other . these shoes lie flat against the depressed surface 58 and are adapted to be securely but removably attached to this surface by a plurality of threaded studs 59 , at least two of which are welded at one end into suitably radially spaced apertures formed in each shoe . the studs extend in perpendicular relationship a sufficient distance to pass through similarly spaced clearance holes 60 formed in the depressed surface portion 58 of flight d . when drawn up tightly by a similar number of nuts 61 , they complete the cone and flight assembly 42 before it , together with the central driven shaft 37 , is installed in frame 11 . previous to the installation of the cone and flight assembly with the central driven shaft 37 in the support frame 11 , other components of the press 10 must be installed . these components include the infeed tube assembly 62 and the lower half of the exterior screen assembly 63 . the infeed tube assembly comprises a cylindrical housing 64 having flat faced radially extending , circular flanges 65 and 66 , respectively , at its opposite ends . the cylindrical wall of housing 64 is cut out at its top center to form an arcuate opening 67 over which a similarly shaped bottom end of a vertically mounted infeed hopper 68 rests and is securely welded thereto . the circular flange 65 and the transverse partition wall 21 of the shell compartment 13 are provided with aligned holes for the reception of hex - head bolts 36 that extend through clearance holes in the infeed bearing mounting plate 35 into said aligned holes to support the infeed tube assembly 62 , diametrically about the axis or center of the clearance hole 32 on the transverse partition wall 21 of the shell . the infeed tube assembly 62 extends about halfway into the shell compartment 14 , as shown in fig1 and 2 of the drawings . the circular radial flange 66 at the inner end of the infeed tube assembly 62 and the transverse partition wall 22 are each provided with at least four circumferentially and radially spaced clearance holes 66 &# 39 ; and 69 , respectively . the exterior screen assembly 63 is fabricated in two identical , semi - circular half sections 63 &# 39 ; and 63 &# 34 ; that are bolted together at final assembly of press 10 to form a single drum like exterior screen assembly 63 which is shown in its assembled and installed relationship in fig1 and 2 , and in its separated or disassembled relationship in fig8 and 9 of the drawings . the detailed construction of only the lower half section 63 &# 39 ; of the screen assembly which is installed first in compartment 14 of the shell assembly before the cone and flight assembly 42 will be described since the other half is substantially identical . the lower half section 63 &# 39 ; of the exterior screen assembly 63 is comprised of a semi - circular , drum like screen that is fabricated from a plurality of longitudinally extending stainless steel metal strips 71 . strips 71 are welded at both ends and at their centers to the inside semi - circular edges of the radially extending , semi - circular , flat surfaced flanges 72 , 73 and 74 , as shown . the longitudinal strips 71 are spaced apart and arranged in parallel relationship to each other so as to form a plurality of very narrow longitudinal slits to thus form the lower semi - circular half portion 63 &# 39 ; of the exterior screen assembly 63 . the ends of the semi - circular radial end flange 72 and 74 and the center of the radial flange 73 are joined by welding to a pair of radially extending longitudinal connecting bars or staves 75 shown more clearly in fig9 and a radially extending longitudinal reinforcing bar or stave 76 . stave 75 serves to stiffen the lower half section 63 &# 39 ; of the screen assembly and provide the necessary flat , aligned mating surfaces with spaced clearance holes 77 for connecting the upper , semi - circular half section 63 &# 34 ; to the lower , semi - circular half section 63 &# 39 ; by means of the bolts and nuts 78 to complete the assembly of the exterior screen 63 . at least two clearance holes 70 are provided in the semi - circular radial end flange 72 that are located so as to align with the previously formed clearance holes 66 &# 39 ; in the circular assembly 62 and the holes 69 in the transverse partition wall 22 of the shell . these holes are adapted to receive the hex - head bolts 79 with their locking nuts 80 to secure the respective semi - circular half sections 63 &# 39 ; and 63 &# 34 ; of the exterior screen assembly 63 to the transverse partition wall 22 of the shell in rigid but removable longitudinally and radially aligned relationship with the axis 81 of the driven shaft 37 , the stub driving shaft 34 and the cone and flight assembly 42 . it should be noted that during the installation of either the lower semi - circular half section 63 &# 39 ; or the complete exterior screen assembly 63 in the compartment 14 of the shell , as above described , a circular shim 82 of the desired thickness having properly spaced clearance holes for the reception of the bolts 79 is interposed between the mating surfaces of the radial flanges 66 and 72 , respectively , before the bolts are drawn up tightly by the nuts 80 . this shim is utilized to prevent any possible distortion of the screen assembly or the other components of the press to which it is attached and supported in closely coupled relationship and to provide a means for breaking this closely coupled bond between said components when either a half semi - circular section or the entire assembled exterior screen 63 is to be removed for servicing purposes . the preferred means for accomplishing this above stated function includes a pair of tapped holes 83 that are provided in the radial flanges 72 of the screen which are located closely adjacent and on opposite sides of the longitudinally disposed , center connecting bar or stave 76 in each section . these tapped holes 83 are adapted to receive like threaded , hex - head studs 84 that may be turned into the tapped holes 83 , after loosening or removal of the attaching bolts and nuts 79 and 80 , a sufficient distance to cause the ends of the studs 84 to contact the face of the circular flange 66 . by applying sufficient pressure thereon , a breaking of the bond between the abutting radial flanges occurs to allow easy removal of shim 82 and then the half section or the complete assembled exterior screen 63 from its installed position in the compartment 14 of the shell . it is thought to be an advantageous procedure in the installation of the various components of the press in the center and rear compartments 14 and 15 of the support frame and shell of the machine that the side walls 16 and the rear wall 19 forming compartment 15 be removable and only the lower half section 63 &# 39 ; of the exterior screen assembly 63 be installed before the installation of the sub - assembly of the central driven shaft 37 , and the cone and flight assembly 42 . a large circular opening 85 which may be slightly larger in diameter than the inside diameter or bore of the assembled exterior screen 63 and slightly greater than the outside diameter of the flights a , b , c and d of the cone and flight assembly 42 , is formed in the transverse partition wall 22 and located with its radial center in exact alignment with the central axis 81 of shafts 37 , 34 and the cone and flight assembly 42 . thus when shaft 37 and the cone and flight assembly 42 secured thereon is inserted through the circular opening 85 into the interior bores of the exterior screen assembly 63 and the housing 64 of the infeed tube assembly 62 , the outside diameter edges of the respective flights will easily clear the circumferential inner edge of opening 85 to allow said components to be inserted far enough to bring the clutch element 40 on the driving shaft 34 in driving relationship therewith thereby allowing the exposed rear end of the shaft 37 to protrude a considerable distance rearwardly therefrom . before the integral vertical side walls 16 and the rear transverse wall 19 that form the rear compartment 15 is rigidly and securely attached to the cut - away or open side walls 20 of the central compartment 14 by the studs 16 &# 39 ;, an interior screen assembly 86 consisting of a forwardly projecting cylindrical tube portion 88 , an integral flange member 89 is attached to the inside vertical face of the rear transverse wall 19 by means of the bolts 90 and nuts 90 &# 39 ; with bolts 90 projecting through accurately located and aligned clearance holes provided in the flange 89 and the transverse rear wall 19 . thus , the longitudinal center of the interior screen assembly is in true alignment with the center of the clearance hole 33 previously formed in the wall 19 and the axis 81 of the driven shaft 37 when installed . the cylindrical screen portion 87 is preferably fabricated of a plurality of narrow , metal , longitudinally extending and closely spaced parallel strips 87 &# 39 ; forming a plurality of very narrow longitudinal slits around the complete circumference of the cylindrical screen . the strips 87 &# 39 ; being welded at their rear ends to the inside diameter of the cylindrical tube portion 88 of the assembly 86 and at their forward ends to a spacer band ( not shown ) maintain the critical slit - forming spacing of the strips . the forward ends of legs 91 of a u - shaped bracket assembly 92 are welded securely to the rear face of wall 19 so as to straddle the bearing support member 38 with the rear ends of legs 91 being provided with right angled flanges to which a transverse cover plate 93 is secured by the hex - head studs 94 . an airstroke actuator assembly 95 consisting of a hollow , flexible , longitudinally expandable , doughnut shaped rubber ring 96 is mounted on bracket assembly 92 . it is shown in its contracted position in full lines in fig2 and in its expanded position in full line in fig7 . ring 96 is closed on both sides by a pair of similar circular metal discs 97 and 97 &# 39 ; which are secured to the flexible rubber ring with the rear disc 97 &# 39 ; provided with a pipe tapped hole 98 at its exact center . hole 98 is adapted to receive through a clearance hole 99 in the center of the transverse cover plate 93 one end of a threaded pipe fitting 100 . pipe fitting 100 is preferably an integral extension of the pressure regulating valve 101 which is provided at its inlet end with a threaded extension 102 having a one - way check valve ( not shown ) to which a pipe line from a compressor or other air pressure source ( also not shown ) is adapted to be connected by suitable fittings . the threaded pipe fitting or extension 102 of valve 101 functions as a supporting and retaining means for the airstroke actuator assembly 95 and as an inlet for pressurized air flowing into the hollow interior of the flexible rubber ring 96 . this air under pressure causes the longitudinal expansion of the ring 96 the extent of which is controlled by the pressure regulating valve 101 . the desired setting of valve 101 may be adjusted by a control wheel of knob 103 and visually indicated to the operator by a pressure gauge 104 which is threaded on or otherwise secured to the valve 101 . the rear face of a triangular shaped or contoured push plate 105 is secured to the front face of the circular disc 97 of the airstroke actuator assembly 95 in abutting relationship so as to move longitudinally forward or backward when the flexible rubber ring 96 of the actuator is expanded or contracted . the push plate 105 is provided at its three rounded corners with clearance holes through which a like number of threaded push rods 106 are secured into aligned and spaced threaded holes in the rear face of a valve ring 107 . valve ring 107 is chamfered or its forward face and its inside diameter is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the components of the interior screen assembly 86 which it is adapted to surround in moving relationship therewith . spaced clearance holes 108 are provided in flange member 89 of the cylindrical tube portion 88 of the interior screen assembly and the rear transverse wall 19 of the shell , through which the push rods 106 are adapted to extend into and through the clearance holes in the rounded corners of the push plate 105 , where they are secured in adjustable , lengthwise relationship by means of suitable nuts 109 . when all of the operating components of the airstroke actuator assembly 95 have been installed on the rear transverse wall 19 and side walls 16 forming compartment 15 of the support frame assembly 11 , this complete sub assembly is rigidly attached to the side walls 20 of the shell by studs or bolts 16 &# 39 ;. this action occurs by merely sliding the bearing support member 38 onto the end of the driven shaft 37 to properly position all of its components and especially the interior screen assembly 86 in supported relationship surrounding the projecting end of the shaft 37 , as shown in fig2 of the drawings . it should be noted that when said sub - assembly is so installed , the forward end face or edge of the stationary cylindrical inner screen 87 having approximately the same outside diameter as the end face or edge of the rotatable cone member 45 of the flight assembly 42 , the clearance between the faces or edges of these respective components will be a minimum distance ( only a few thousandths of an inch ) in order for said elements to perform their proper function . as stated in the paragraph pertaining to the &# 34 ; field of the invention ,&# 34 ; the machine or press shown and described has been especially designed and constructed for the processing and controlling of the moisture content of highly abrasive , fibrous materials such as , for example , animal waste ( manure ). the following description of the operation of the press will be directed to animal waste only for purposes of description since other waste material can be processed equally well . it should also be understood that this machine or press can be utilized in the processing and / or separation of the liquids and solids of any plastic material including animal or vegetable tissue without any major changes of its operating components . with the upper half section of the exterior screen 63 &# 34 ; installed to complete the screen assembly 63 surrounding the cone and flight assembly 42 , the machine or press is ready for operation by energizing the electric drive motor 24 . motor 24 through its power train including the motor sheave 29 , v - belts 31 , driven sheave 27 and the speed reducer 25 is adapted to rotate the stub drive shaft 34 in a clockwise direction at a controlled speed under varying torque conditions . through the positive connection of the clutch elements 40 and 41 on the stub drive shaft 34 and on the central driven shaft 37 to which the cone and flight assembly 42 is secured causes rotation of these latter elements in a similar controlled manner , according to any back pressures that may be imposed on the respective flights a , b , c and d of the cone and flight assembly 42 during its rotation . with the cone and flight assembly 42 rotating within the cylindrical bores or interiors of the infeed tube assembly 62 and the exterior screen assembly 63 , the animal waste ( manure ) to which a certain amount of water or other liquid may have been added during its processing is introduced into the forward end of the infeed tube or housing 64 through the infeed hopper 68 . this mass is then continually moved rearwardly through the infeed tube and the exterior screen by the pressure imposed on the same by the revolving blades or flights of the cone and flight assembly 42 . as this mass is moved rearwardly in the confines of the cylindrical screen , it undergoes steady increasing pressures due to the reduction in the cylindrical areas between the cone portion 45 of the flight assembly and the interior diameter of the exterior screen 63 thereby thoroughly but gradually compressing the mass and squeezing the greater part of the liquid contents therefrom . this liquid drains through the plurality of longitudinal slits formed by stainless steel strips of the screen onto the sloping floor portion 23 of the central shell compartment 14 and through an aperture 23 &# 39 ; formed therein into a suitable container ( not shown ) for its collection and use for various by - products , such as liquid fertilizer or the like . the remaining semi - solids of the mass which are very fibrous and abrasive are impinged against the surfaces and outer circumferential edges of the wear shoes 55 , 56 , 57 secured to the depressed surface 58 of the last flight d of the cone and flight assembly 42 which it encounters in its forced rearward movement . these shoes are adapted to withstand the contact of such highly abrasive matter for long periods of time without undue wear nnd necessary replacement . the semi - solids then move through the large circular opening 85 in the transverse portion wall 22 of the shell where it is put into controlled , pressure exerting contact with the front face of the valve ring 107 . valve ring 107 is adapted to further reduce the liquid content of the resultant solid portion of the mass to the desired extent by the controlled pressure applied to the emerging mass as it passes through the circular opening 85 between its inside diameter and the outside diameter of the interior screen 87 . this liquid then passes through the longitudinal slits provided in its exterior circumference into the cylindrical tube portion 88 of the interior screen assembly 86 from whence it is drained through an outlet into a separate l - shaped pipe 88 &# 34 ; which communicates through a hole in the transverse partition wall 22 with the central compartment 14 of the shell and the aperture 23 &# 39 ; in the floor 23 of the compartment . the semi - solid mass then drops through the open end of the rear compartment 15 of the shell onto the surface of a conveyor belt or the like ( not shown ) which delivers the resultant solids of the mass to the desired location for further processing or storage . it should be recognized that although the cone and flight assembly mounted on the driven shaft are of a given configuration , any diameter shaft with a worm gear having a positive pitch may be used and fall within the scope of this invention . although but one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described , it should 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 or from the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
reference is now made to the drawings herein , particularly fig1 - 6 which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the leg press apparatus of the present invention . the apparatus comprises a frame 10 preferably constructed of metal . the frame is comprised of a number of different components , many of which are of square or u - shaped metal cross section . the frame 10 includes an elongated base piece 12 having at one end a curved section 14 and at its other end connects to an upright support piece 16 . an extension member 18 is secured at about the middle of base piece 12 as noted in , for example , fig4 . a pulley 20 is supported at a position where the extension member 18 is secured to the base piece 12 . at the end of the base piece 12 where the upright support piece 16 is secured , there is also provided a u - shaped support member 24 . member 24 has upstanding support members 26 and 28 . these support members 26 and 28 , at the respective tops thereof , support leg plates 30 and 32 . each of these leg plates 30 and 32 may carry a hard rubber pad 34 , such as shown in either fig1 or fig3 . to stabilize the apparatus , frame 10 and its various members employ stabilizer legs . these are in the form of cylindrical members 38 . these are shown , for example , in fig4 two being attached to the u - shaped support member 24 , and one being attached to the frame between the base piece 12 and the curved section 14 . the stability of the apparatus is also enhanced by the extension member 18 extending from the base piece 12 . an inclined support member 40 is provided . member 40 extends from the base piece 12 to the top of the curved section 14 . the inclined support member 40 functions as a fixed rail for the carriage 42 . the carriage 42 comprises two side plates 44 , one disposed on each side of the incline support member 40 . these side plates are interconnected by a lower guide member 46 and by an upper guide member 48 . the carriage 42 is also pivotably connected to the arm structure which is to be described in further detail hereinafter . this connection , as noted in the figures , is at pivot 50 . as indicated previously , in addition to the frame 10 and rest members , namely leg plates 30 and 32 , there is also provided a pair of arms that are pivotably interconnected to each other such that the arms are pivotably movable between a start position and an extended position . in the drawings , these are identified as arms 52 and 54 . these arms 52 and 54 are interconnected at a common end at the pivot member 56 . the top end of arm 52 is also pivoted at pivot member 58 such as shown in the somewhat schematic diagram of fig5 . pivot 58 is secured at the top of the upright support piece 16 . refer also to the enlarged side elevation view of fig3 which shows the pivot member 58 with the arms 52 and 54 in solid and dotted position indicating two different positions of the linkage arms . also included in the apparatus of the present invention is a seat 60 and its associated backrest 62 attached or rigidly connected to arm 54 such that pivoting of the arm 54 simultaneously pivots seat 60 and backrest 62 . a plate 64 may be used for commonly supporting the seat 60 and the backrest 64 such as indicated in fig5 . a reference may also be made to the perspective view of fig4 which shows the plate 64 and the seat 60 and the backrest 62 in dotted outline . it is also noted from the drawings that the arm 54 has an upturned end 68 that supports at its top end an adjustment bar 70 that is affixed to the plate 64 and may be used for adjusting the position of the seat and backrest . for this purpose , the adjustment bar 70 includes an inner - member 73 and an outer - member 74 . the inner - member 73 is provided with holes into which a pin 75 may be inserted or threaded so as to hold the seat and backrest in any one of a number of positions along the arm 54 . the pin 75 may be a spring loaded pin for adjusting seat position . as also noted in fig5 there may be a slidable channel or plate 80 disposed between the plate 64 and the arm 54 so as to enable the seat mechanism to slide readily on the arm 54 . the member 80 may be constructed , for example , of teflon . for proper support of the seat and backrest , there are also preferably provided side guides 82 , such as illustrated in fig4 and 5 . furthermore , at one of the guides 83 , there is disposed outwardly on either side of the arm 54 , handlebars 84 . in this regard , also note fig1 which shows the user 100 in a seated position on the seat 60 with his back against the backrest 62 and with his hand grasping one of the handlebars 84 , that is the one that is visible in fig1 . now , with further regard to the drawings , and in particular , the perspective view of fig4 there is clearly shown the cable arrangement for providing the resistance to the user . in this regard , for example , in fig1 and 2 , there is shown in dotted outline a multi - station apparatus 88 to which the extension member 18 may be coupled , as indicated , in fig2 . a cable 90 may connect in the machine 88 to weights or some other mechanism for providing resistance . but , as indicated , for example , in fig4 of the present application , the cable 90 extends about pulley 20 and from there to a further pulley 91 . pulley 91 is supported between spaced brackets 92 of the frame 10 . from there , the cable 90 extends to a further pulley 94 that is rotatable but has its supporting housing fixed directly to arm 52 . the cable 90 extends to about pulley 94 and then is secured by means of a pin 95 between the spaced brackets 92 . depending upon the amount of weight that is selected or other form of resistance that is used , as the user moves from the rest position toward an extended position , the weight and cable mechanism impose a force on the user to carry out the exercise in muscle strengthening . reference may now be made to fig3 that shows , in solid outline , the arms 52 and 54 in a rest position . in this position , the stop plate 96 is resting against the elastomeric stop 98 . fig3 also shows , in phantom outline , the arms 52 and 54 pivoted to a more extended position . this would also be similar to the position of the apparatus depicted in the perspective view of fig4 where it is noted that the stop plate 96 is spaced away from the stop 98 . fig5 shows the apparatus in its rest position also with the stop 98 engaging the plate 96 . with further reference to fig3 it should also be noted that as the arm 54 moves from the solid position ( initial ) to the dotted position ( extended ) in fig3 the attitude of the arm 54 and the seat 60 / backrest 62 mounted on the arm 54 and changes relative to the horizontal . this provides a comfortable body position as the user provides leg press action between initial and extended positions . because the arm 54 is secured at pivot 50 , the carriage 42 simply transitions along rail 40 such as between the two positions illustrated in fig3 and the arm 54 , seat 60 and backrest 62 pivot backwardly . with regard to the diagram of fig5 this also clearly indicates the position of the arm 54 in its rest position with the carriage being against a stop . fig5 also illustrates the cable 90 and its transition around the pulleys . it is noted in fig5 that the pulley 20 is shown , for the sake of illustration , vertically disposed when , in actuality , it is horizontally disposed such as illustrated in fig3 . having now described a preferred embodiment of the present invention , it should now be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other embodiments and modifications thereof , are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention . the scope of the invention is to be interpreted by the appended claims . | 0 |
for clarity reasons , the same reference symbols are used for identical or comparable components in fig1 to 5 . fig2 shows one exemplary embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention . corresponding to the arrangement shown in fig1 , this arrangement has a stator section 10 , a track cable a , a further track cable b , a plurality of switches se , ss , sua , ska , sub and skb , a converter device ura , a further converter device urb , a converter - related measurement device 60 , a further converter - related measurement device 70 and current regulation 80 for the magnetic levitation railroad . in addition , in the arrangement shown in fig2 , a stator - related , mobile or stationary measurement device is provided , is annotated with the reference symbol 100 and is electrically connected on the input side to the connection point 20 between the two track cables a and b and the stator section 10 , and to the star point side 30 of the stator section . on the output side , the stator - related measurement device 100 is connected to an evaluation device 110 . the stator - related measurement device 110 is designed such that , during operation , it measures the current and voltage values ix , ux at the connection point 20 between the track cables a , b and the stator section 10 , as well as the star point current values , is on the star point side 30 , and transmits these to the evaluation device 110 . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig2 , the evaluation device 110 is connected only indirectly via the stator - related measurement device 100 to the two converter - related measurement devices 60 and 70 , as a result of which the converter - related measurement results ia , ib , ua , ub from the converter - related measurement devices 60 and 70 can be passed to the evaluation device 110 only via the stator - related measurement device 100 . alternatively , the evaluation device 110 can also be connected to one of the two converter - related measurement devices 60 or 70 , and can receive the measurement results from the other measurement devices via them . it is likewise possible to in each case connect the evaluation device 110 to all the measurement devices 60 , 70 and 100 directly , thus allowing direct transmission of the measurement results . the arrangement shown in fig2 may be operated , for example , as follows : the converter - related measurement device 60 is used to measure the current ia flowing into the track cable a , and the voltage ua applied to the track cable a . the further converter - related measurement device 70 is used to measure the current ib flowing into the further track cable b , and the voltage ub applied to the further track cable b . the stator - related measurement device 100 is used to measure the current ix and the voltage ux at the electrical connection point 20 between the track cables a , b and the stator section 10 , as well as the current is on the star point side of the stator section 10 . the evaluation device 110 uses these measurement results to determine the electrical parameters of the two track cables a and b , as well as those of the stator section 10 , using the four - pole theory , as will be explained in detail in the following text . the electrical characteristics of a long track cable or of a long stator section can be represented mathematically using the four - pole theory as follows : the voltages u 1 and u 2 are , of course , the stimuli , and the currents i 1 and i 2 are the responses thereto . the voltages and currents are complex and may , for example , be represented using the αβ representation , which can be derived from the three - phase system representation ( r , s and t ). y ij are admittances which are dependent on the frequency ( s - domain according to laplace ). schematically , the four - pole theory can be visualized as illustrated in fig3 . the conductance matrix is referred to as [ y ]. the structure of the conductance matrix of a track cable and of a stator section with a length l are in this case identical : y 11 = y 22 = y d = 1 z w tanh ( γ l ) equation 2 the conductance matrix of a track cable or of a stator section as shown in equations 2 and 3 is completely symmetrical . z w = r ′ + sl ′ g ′ + sc ′ equation 4 r ′ is the resistance per unit length ( ω / m ), l ′ is the inductance per unit length ( h / m ), g ′ is the susceptance per unit length ( ω − 1 / m ) and c ′ is the capacitance per unit length ( f / m ). important characteristics of the equations 2 and 3 are obtained as follows : z w and γ can be derived from y d and y c . the impedance per unit length is calculated in the following manner : the following relationships can also be derived from equation 6 and equation 7 , using s = jω : the resistance per unit length is the real component of the impedance per unit length : the inductance per unit length is the imaginary component of the impedance per unit length : the susceptance per unit length is the real component of the admittance per unit length : the capacitance per unit length is the imaginary component of the admittance per unit length : if the characteristics of the diagonal and parallel admittances of a track cable or of a stator section are known ( as a function of the frequency ), then the characteristics of the electrical parameters per unit length r ′, l ′ g ′ and c ′ are also known , provided that the length l of the track cable or of the stator section is known , for example because it has been measured in advance . the characteristics of the diagonal and parallel admittances as a function of the frequency can be determined by means of various measurements ( e . g . voltage stimuli during commissioning ) as a function of the frequency . the purpose of determination of r ′, l ′, g ′ and c ′ is to derive models for the two track cables a , b and the stator section 10 . by way of example , the models are used for current regulation of the magnetic levitation railroad . the process of determining parameters during the commissioning of a magnetic levitation railroad ( without a vehicle ) will be explained in more detail in the following text using the example of the arrangement shown in fig2 . the four - pole representation , which has been explained in a general form with reference to fig3 , is in this case applied to the arrangement shown in fig2 ; this is shown in fig4 . the switches se , ss , sua , ska , sub and skb are not shown in fig4 ; the switches se and ss are assumed to be switched on . it is also assumed that the stator current ic on the stator section 10 corresponds to the star point current is of the stator section 10 ; this approximation applies very accurately at low frequencies up to 350 hertz . r ′, l ′, g ′ and c ′ of the stator section 10 are determined by the evaluation device 110 during the commissioning process ( without a vehicle ), by means of the feed from the converter device ura and / or from the further converter device urb . when the switches se and ss are closed and there is no vehicle on the stator section 10 , then , from equation 16 : according to equations 6 to 13 , the values r s ′, l s ′, g s ′ and c s ′ of the stator section can thus be calculated analytically , and unambiguously . the stray resistance of the stator section is calculated as follows : the stray inductance of the stator section is calculated as follows : the stray resistance r σ and the stray inductance l σ may be used , for example , for calculation and determination of pole wheel voltage uc during operation of the stator section 10 with a vehicle ; this will be explained in more detail further below . the values r ′, l ′, g ′ and c ′ of the track cables a and b are determined during the commissioning process ( without a vehicle ), by way of example as follows : the switches sub and ska are opened , and the switch sua is closed ; the feed is provided via the converter device ura : 1 . when the switch skb is closed ( short - circuit measurement ), u b = 0 and , from equation 1 : 2 . when the switch skb is open ( no - load measurement ), i b = 0 and , from equation 1 : y db is derived from equations 22 and 23 , as a result of which , according to equations 6 to 13 , the values r b ′, l b ′, g b ′ and c b ′ of the track cable b can be determined analytically and unambiguously , provided that its length l b is known . the parameters of the track cable a can be determined by a corresponding measurement by the further converter device urb , provided that its length l a is known . the two track cables a and b are preferably identical . the only variable which cannot be measured directly in equation 14 is the current i ax . however , this can nevertheless be determined because it can be derived from equations 15 and 17 : i ax =−( i x + i bx )=−( i x + y db · u x + y cb · u b ) equation 24 the admittances y db and y cb are calculated in advance from equations 22 and 23 . since the currents and the voltages in equation 12 are now known , the components of the conductance matrix [ y a ], specifically y da and y ca can likewise be determined . the values r a ′, l a ′, g a ′ and c a ′ for the track cable a are therefore also obtained from equations 6 to 13 . a mathematical model for the two track cables a and b and for the stator section 10 can now be created using the values r ′, l ′, g ′ and c ′, and can be used for current regulation for the magnetic levitation railroad . in some circumstances , the configuration of the track cable may be more complicated than is illustrated in fig1 and 2 . nevertheless , the four - pole theory is always valid and applicable . for example , the symmetry according to equation 2 may no longer be satisfied ( y 11 ≠ y 22 ). equation 3 , which states that the parallel conductances are identical , is still valid , however ( y 12 = y 21 ). in general , the following equations are always valid . the parameters can therefore be determined unambiguously by means of the measured values from the three measurement devices 60 , 70 and 100 . with a vehicle located on it , the stator section 10 behaves slightly differently than during commissioning without a vehicle . the electrical characteristics of the stator section 10 with a vehicle can be approximated very accurately , using the following model , for frequencies below 350 hz : in this case as well , it is approximately true that the stator current i c corresponds to the star point current i s of the stator section 10 , approximately (& lt ; 350 hz ), fig5 shows the stator section 10 with a vehicle f traveling at a speed v , and which vehicle f is currently at a relative position x on the stator section 10 . the vehicle f can be represented electrically as a point voltage uc . the point voltage corresponds to the pole wheel voltage uc of the stator section , and cannot be measured directly , however , it can be calculated as follows , u c = u x −( r σ + sl σ )· i x equation 31 it is assumed that u c forms a pure sinusoidal voltage ; in this case , a harmonic model of the stator section can be derived from equation 31 , 0 = u x , harm −( r σ + sl σ )· i x , harm u x , harm =( r σ + sl σ ) i x , harm equation 32 the stray resistance r σ and the stray inductance l σ can then be determined by means of this harmonic model , as is described in the document “ sensorless control of a 2 . 4 mw linear motor for launching roller - coasters ” ( epe 2003 - toulouse ( isbn : 90 - 75815 - 07 - 7 ), authors : andre veltman , paul van der hulst , marco c . p . jonker , jan p . van gurp ). in the case of a complicated track cable configuration , the following relationship can also be derived by means of the equations 25 , 26 and 28 : in equation 33 , all the measurable variables ( i a , i b , i x , u a , u b and u x ) are combined in a single equation . the conductance matrix is now a 3 × 3 matrix ( 3 equations ). the six unknown conductances ( y daa , y dax , y ca , y dbb , y dbx and y cb ) can easily be determined since at least six equations are available . the six equations may be created , for example , by measuring the currents and the voltages at two different sampling times , since the currents and the voltages vary over time . furthermore , measurements at a plurality of sampling times also statistically improve the parameter estimation quality . the problem in equation 36 can also be generalized using the following formulation : in this case , i denotes a current vector , u a voltage vector , e an error vector ( vector with the dimension 3 × 1 ), y a real conductance matrix and ŷ an estimated conductance matrix ( matrix with the dimension 3 × 3 ). a cost function j can be defined , for example , as follows : this formulation is a known problem representation ( according to gauβ ), where n denotes the number of measurements at a plurality of sampling times . there are a large number of methods for solving the equation 36 , for example by minimizing j . the position x of the vehicle f as shown in fig5 can moreover likewise be determined , to be precise using : x = 1 j ω c s ′ ix + is ux equation 37 where cs ′ denotes the capacitance per unit length of the stator section 10 . the equation 37 can be used during operation of the magnetic levitation railroad , when the two switches se and ss are closed . when the two switches se and ss are open , the position x can be determined via the pole wheel angle φ of the voltage uc by measuring the phase angle of the voltage ux ; this is because ux and uc have the same phase angle and are accordingly collinear : in this case , the phase angle of ux is therefore measured , the pole wheel angle φ of the voltage uc is determined using the phase angle of ux , and the location of the vehicle calculated using the pole wheel angle φ . | 6 |
the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which some , but not all embodiments of the invention are shown . indeed , these inventions may 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 satisfy applicable legal requirements . like numbers refer to like elements throughout . a ring 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is depicted in fig1 . the ring is generally designed to be worn on the little finger of either hand . the basic components of the ring generally are a top 11 and a base 12 . the base of the present invention is generally equipped with a retractable blade 13 that when deployed or open , extends away from the other fingers of the same hand . the base 12 generally contains at least three faces , an inner face 14 , an outer face 15 , and a bottom face 16 . the bottom face 16 and the outer face 15 are best illustrated in fig4 . the inner face 14 is oriented such that the face points generally in the direction of the thumb of the same hand and is therefore accessible to interaction with the thumb . the outer face 15 is oriented such that the face points generally away from the fingers of the same hand . the ring 10 generally has a central longitudinal axis extending through the center point of said ring from the top 11 down through the base 12 of ring 10 . generally , the retractable blade 13 of the present invention , when fully deployed , extends away from the other fingers of the same hand , and is further preferably positioned at an angle of about 45 to about 135 degrees relative to the central longitudinal axis of the ring . preferably the fully deployed blade is positioned at an angle of about 60 to about 120 degrees relative to the central longitudinal axis of the ring . most preferably the fully deployed blade is positioned at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to the central longitudinal axis of the of the ring 10 . the choice of blade angle may be influenced by a number of factors , including blade design and / or retraction mechanism implemented . in one embodiment , the base 12 is partially composed of a retractable blade housing 17 mounted within base 12 , as illustrated in fig1 - 4 . the retractable blade housing 17 may be an insert , which fits inside base 12 of ring 10 as illustrated in fig4 or retractable blade housing may be a component of the base with one side of the housing forming one of the sides of base 12 as illustrated in fig1 - 2 . in this embodiment , the retractable blade housing 17 has two primary components , a sleeve 18 which cradles the blade and allows the blade to slide freely therein and a locking lever assembly 19 which engages the sleeve to form the housing 17 . the sleeve 18 has a groove 20 that engages a ridge 33 located on one side of retractable blade 13 . groove 20 is best illustrated in fig4 and ridge 33 is best illustrated in fig2 and 4 . the blade is allowed to slide along the path dictated by the direction and the dimensions of groove 20 . sleeve 18 contains two vertical slots , slots 23 a 23 b , respectively on one of its sides . slots 23 a , b engage complementary structures on the locking lever assembly 19 in order to form a complete retractable blade housing . the sleeve additionally contains horizontal slot 23 c on its inner side 24 . the locking lever assembly 19 generally has two detents 25 a and 25 b , a stop 26 and a lever press 27 . detents 25 a and b engage vertical slots 23 a and b , respectively , on sleeve 16 to form housing 13 , but the contact is such that slight upward and downward movement may occur therein . lever press 27 engages horizontal slot 23 c . similarly , the contact between lever press 27 and slot 23 c is such that slight upward and downward movement may occur therein . stop 26 has a pivot point 28 , which is defined by an aperture 29 . aperture 29 receives assembly pin 30 . the contact between assembly pin 30 and aperture 29 both secures the retractable blade housing in place and allows for pivot motion of locking lever assembly 19 . the retractable blade 13 generally has a blade 31 , and a base 32 . see fig2 . the blade 13 generally can be any design and shape . for example , suitable blade designs include hawksbill , a standard knife , or a straight blade . the blade 31 may be any suitable length as long as the blade is not exposed when fully retracted and as long as the defensive potential of the weapon is not severely limited . for example , the blade 31 may be about 1 . 0 inch to about 0 . 10 inch long . preferably the blade is about 0 . 20 to about 0 . 90 inches in length . even more preferable is a blade that is about 0 . 30 to about 0 . 80 inches in length . in the embodiment described above , the base 32 of the blade has a ridge 33 on one of its sides , which as already discussed , engages groove 20 located on sleeve 18 . on the opposite side of the base from the ridge is a detent 34 . raising lever press 27 causes the locking lever assembly 19 to pivot about pivot point 28 lifting detents 25 a and b in vertical slots 23 a and 23 b , respectively . by lifting detents 25 a and b , detent 34 on the blade is allowed to slide beneath thereby allowing the retractable blade 13 to move freely within housing 17 . the blade emerges from outer face 15 through slot 49 , which is illustrated in fig4 . as base 32 slides forward within retractable blade housing 17 along groove 20 , detent 34 engages stop 26 , preventing blade 13 from sliding out of housing 17 . the retractable blade is now in an open position . by lowering lever press 27 , forward detent 25 a prevents detent 34 from rearward movement , thus locking the retractable blade 13 in an open position . fig3 illustrates a retractable blade housing 17 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention with the retractable blade 13 locked in the open position . retractable blade 13 is locked in a closed position in a similar manner . when retractable blade is slid to its most extreme rearward position , by lowering lever press 27 , rear detent 25 b prevents detent 34 from forward movement , thus locking the retractable blade 13 in a closed position . the retractable blade housing 13 may additionally contain a spring 35 lying between rear surface of sleeve 18 and rear surface of the base 32 of the blade 13 , as illustrated by fig2 - 4 . when blade 13 is in a cocked position , spring 35 is coiled and loaded . raising lever press 27 releases the retractable blade and spring 35 forces blade 13 open . the retractable blade housing may further contain locking spring 36 , which applies downward vertical force to the lever press 27 ( illustrated by fig2 - 4 ) thereby placing the locking lever assembly 19 in a locked position preventing retractable blade from moving within housing 13 . locking spring 36 may be a coiled spring such as the one depicted in fig2 and 3 or may be a flat spring 54 such as the one depicted in fig4 . other types of springs may also be used and are well known in the art . a safety may be included in the present invention to prevent inadvertent or unintentional deployment of the retractable blade . in one embodiment , the safety is in the form of a rotating safety lever 37 positioned and mounted to the top of lever press 27 at pivot 38 . this embodiment is illustrated in fig6 . in this embodiment , pivot 38 is in the shape of a cylinder . when the safety is activated , lever 37 is positioned between lever press 27 and upper surface 39 of ring 10 , thus preventing upward movement of lever press 27 and inadvertent deployment of the blade . in order to inactivate the safety , lateral pressure is applied to safety lever 37 at one end rotating safety lever about pivot 38 . directly above pivot 38 on upper surface 39 is a slot 40 . when the lever has been rotated and safety inactivated , lever press 27 may then be pressed upward . as lever press moves in this direction , pivot 38 fits within slot 40 of upper surface 39 . in an alternative embodiment , the safety is a slide lever design . this embodiment is illustrated in fig4 - 5 . slide lever 41 is slidably mounted to lever press 27 . slide lever 41 contains a detent 42 which engages a complementary slot 43 embedded within the surface 44 of ring 10 above the slide lever . when the safety is inactivated , detent 42 aligned with slot 43 allowing upward movement of lever press 27 . when lateral pressure is exerted on slide lever 41 , the slide lever moves along a defined path until detent 42 is no longer aligned with slot 43 . at this point , lever press 27 is prevented from upward movement by the ring surface . in alternative embodiment of the present invention , the retractable blade is a side - swinging design as illustrated in fig7 . in this embodiment , the blade is not housed within the base , as with the previously described embodiment , but is positioned external the base . in this embodiment , when in a closed position , the retractable blade is in contact with surface a of base 12 , which is recessed for protection of the user . as retractable blade 13 opens it pivots about pivot point 45 . pivot point 45 may be defined by a screw or pin 46 , which secures the blade to the surface of the ring and allows the blade to rotate about a fixed axis to effectively open and close the blade by rotating the blade around approximately 180 degrees . this retractable blade configuration may also have a locking mechanism which prevents the blade from retracting when in an open position or deploying when in a closed position . in one embodiment , blade 13 may be secured in place by a retractable pin or bearing 47 embedded within the surface of the ring . when blade 13 is deployed , bearing 47 engages aperture 48 on blade 13 securing the blade in place the ring of the present invention may also be equipped with a structure that stabilizes the ring and prevents rotation of the ring about the finger when the weapon is being used . in one embodiment , the ring 10 possesses a recessed surface 49 on the side of ring 10 nearest the ring finger of the user , as illustrated in fig1 . recessed surface 49 allows the ring to fit comfortably against the ring finger while effectively stabilizing the ring and preventing the ring from spinning about the little finger . the ring is stabilized through the application of pressure by the ring finger on recessed surface 49 when the wearer clinches his fist . other variants of stabilizing structures are also contemplated and useful for the intended purpose of preventing ring rotation about the little finger . for example , a double ring design similar to that described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 588 , 214 could also be used for stability . because it is desirable to cock a sharpened retractable blade without touching it in order to prevent possible injury caused by accidental laceration , the ring may additionally have a cock mechanism . in one embodiment shown in fig4 , the underside of base 12 has a slide lever 50 which is slidably mounted to the underside of base 12 by pin of screw 51 . pin 51 extends through a slot 52 extending lengthwise down the underside of base 12 , into another slot extending lengthwise down the underside of sleeve 18 and into an aperture 53 on the bottom of blade base 32 . when retractable blade 13 is in its open position and the wearer desires to cock the blade , the wearer may first push lever press 27 upward to unlock the blade 13 and subsequently apply lateral pressure to slide lever 50 thereby moving retractable blade 13 to a cocked position . once retractable blade 13 is cocked , lever press 27 may be released and the safety may be activated to prevent accidental deployment . the present ring and ring blade can be constructed from a variety of different materials , including metals , metal alloys , plastics , plastic polymers , or other suitably strong materials . for example , the ring blade may be constructed from stainless steel or titanium , however , other suitable metals or metal alloys are envisioned and may be used for the purposes of this invention . many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings . therefore , it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that the modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . | 1 |
referring now to the figures , wherein like reference characters indicate like elements throughout the views , fig1 illustrates the basic structure of the proximity coupled microstrip filter . the proximity coupled ( or bridgeless ) microstrip filter structure 100 is distinguished from previous microstrip elliptic dual mode filter structures by not employing microstrip lines ( or bridges ) to couple the modes . the instant invention features a microstrip filter structure in which electromagnetic coupling of the modes is accomplished via the spacing and shape of filter patch 150 , rather than through the standard practice of employing microstrip lines to couple the modes . fig1 and 2 illustrate , a filter which employs a proximity coupling structure . filter 100 features , a planar structure with two conducting patches 150 disposed on a substrate 110 . conducting patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; are disposed adjacent to each other , each independently coupled to microstrip lines 170 , 170 &# 39 ;. microstrip lines 170 , 170 &# 39 ; are disposed parallel to each other , perpendicular to the bottom edge of patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; to ensure proper modal coupling . filter 100 is encased in an enclosure or housing 160 preferably constructed of a conducting material . in operation a power source ( not shown ) is coupled to microstrip line 170 . though gap coupling , the current through microstrip line 170 excites a current on the surface of patch 150 . the resulting current flow on the surface of patch 150 causes the patch to produce an electromagnetic field . this electromagnetic field couples to patch 150 &# 39 ; which excites a current flow on the surface of patch 150 &# 39 ;. patch 150 &# 39 ; is gap coupled to microstrip line 170 &# 39 ; and an appropriate current flow through microstrip line 170 &# 39 ; is produced as a result of the current flow on the surface of patch 150 &# 39 ;. for proper operation of an elliptic filter employing a proximity coupled structure , it is critical that the electromagnetic coupling between all four modes is precisely controlled . control of the electromagnetic coupling between modes is accomplished by adjusting the space between patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; microstrip lines , 170 , 170 &# 39 ; and the size of corner cutout 200 , 200 &# 39 ;. the variation in the width of microstrip feed lines 170 , 170 &# 39 ; are to affect impedance matching between the broad microstrip line coupled to patch 150 , 150 &# 39 ; and a 50 ohm line . the filter response may be fine tuned through the use of screws , which may be inserted into the cavity in various lengths at different locations . these screws couple to the fields in the air region of filter 100 and cause the response to change . substrate 110 is preferably composed of a material having a high and uniform dielectric constant . uniformity and high dielectric constant promote a concentrated field between patch 150 and ground plate 180 which improves filter resistance to any electromagnetic fields not excluded by conductive housing 160 . the existence of a concentrated field between patch 150 and ground plate allows patch 150 , 150 &# 39 ; to be physically smaller than required with materials with a smaller dielectric constant . previous designs using low dielectric constant materials required the patch size to be approximately half the size of the free space wavelength of the center frequency . the high dielectric constant material used in the proximity coupled patch filter allows the patch size to approach one sixth of the free space wavelength , which results in a filter which is physically smaller with a reducedsmass . patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; are preferably composed of a conductive material with high conductivity . patch size varies according to the desired frequency response . as patch size increases the filters operating frequency will decrease . fig3 illustrates a general orientation of the electromagnetic coupling modes of patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; and miaostrip lines 170 , 170 &# 39 ; on dual mode filter 110 . mode 1 and mode 4 , both identified on the microstrip feed lines 170 , 170 &# 39 ;, feature a reversed or opposing orientation . it is critical that modes 1 to 4 have a negative coupling , this negative coupling is controlled by the parallel orientation of the microstrip lines 170 , 170 &# 39 ; as they approach patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ;. referring back to fig1 conducting patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; feature a rectangular shape with a corner cutout 200 , 200 &# 39 ;. corner cutouts , 200 , 200 &# 39 ; effect the electromagnetic coupling between the 2 different modes on a single patch . referring again to fig3 cutout 200 , 200 &# 39 ; size and location determine the coupling between modes 1 to 2 on patch 150 and modes 3 to 4 on patch 150 &# 39 ;, respectively . coupling between modes located on different patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; is governed by the spacing of patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; or more specifically to the gap between 150 and 150 &# 39 ;. the coupling of modes 2 to 3 , and modes 1 to 4 are determined by the gap distance δ . for a microstrip elliptical filter the coupling of modes 1 to 2 , 3 to 4 , and 2 to 3 feature positive coupling . modes 1 to 4 have what is referred to as negative coupling . referring to fig4 the filter response is given by the scattering parameters . the scattering parameters , s 11 and s 21 , of filter 110 are determined by employing an even / odd mode analysis . the filter is analyzed in even / odd mode configuration by placing a magnetic / electric wall at the centerline of the filter between the two patches . s 11 and s 21 are derived from the reflection coefficients for the electric wall and magnetic wall cases from the following equations : ## equ1 ## assume γ m is the reflection coefficient calculated with a magnetic wall placed at line of symmetry 999 , and γ e . is the reflection coefficient calculated with an electric wall placed on line of symmetry 999 . the reflection coefficient is obtained by solving the integral equations relating the currents to the fields ( equations 3 and 4 ). where t is the thickness of the dielectric layer , and e z and e x are the z and x components of the electric field , respectively . equations 3 and 4 are solved using a method of moments technique in the spectral domain with galerkins procedure . this procedure is known in the art . equations 5 and 6 result . ## equ2 ## where j = 1 to m . ## equ3 ## where i = 1 to n and j z b tw ( k x , k z ) is the basis function representing a traveling wave on the microstrip feed line . j z b m ( k x , k z ) and j x b n ( k x , k z ) are a set of basis functions transformed into the spectral domain representing the currents on the patch , expressed in the x and z directions , where p m and q n are the coefficients of the basis functions which are the unknown quantities to be determined . z xx , z zz and z xz are the greens function components . the layout of the metalization on the substrate is governed by the placement of the currents in equations 5 and 6 . the locations of the patch , the cutout , and the feedline , all the dimensions , are set by where the currents are located . by problem definition , where a current is located , metallization is located . by selecting a particular layout of currents , a particular layout of metallization is chosen . the structure is then analyzed for response . an examination of the filter response allows one to choose a new set of dimensions for the patch , cutout , and feedline which will improve the filter response . the filter design is done in this fashion since coding the equations results in an analysis program rather than a synthesis program . referring again to fig2 and to fig4 an example of a planar dual mode elliptical filter constructed in accordance with this method is shown . the filter features a substrate 110 constructed of 25 mil thick alumina substrate . the patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; feature a top layer with gold metalization 151 , 151 &# 39 ;. bonding layer 152 between the gold and the alumina is titanium tungsten . substrate 110 features a ground plate 180 comprised of some type of conducting material . housing 160 , is constructed of aluminum , and operates to shield filter 100 from electromagnetic radiation thus minimizing radiation losses . referring now to fig4 the critical dimension for the example filter are as follows : ______________________________________section length ( z ) width ( x ) ______________________________________171 , 171 &# 39 ; 0 . 6 * 0 . 53172 , 172 &# 39 ; 0 . 5 0 . 199173 , 173 &# 39 ; 0 . 5 * 0 . 0635150 , 150 &# 39 ; 0 . 84 0 . 8669200 , 200 &# 39 ; 0 . 074 0 . 074β = 3 . 213 ω = 2 . 013 δ = 0 . 76α = 4 . 026 ψ = 1 . 626 φ = 0 . 00254______________________________________ all dimensions are in cm , * indicate ncritical dimensions . are indicated b *. fig5 is a plot of the measured response of the filter constructed in accordance with above dimensions and the structure illustrated in fig2 . some fine tuning may be required . the roundness in the passband of the filter is due to the loss which is inherent in microstrip lines . in yet another embodiment high temperature superconductors are used to build dual mode planar filters . construction of dual mode elliptical filters with proximity coupling from a superconducting material offers some advantages , since microstrip filters typically have a high insertion loss due to resistive losses in the microstrip line and the ground plane . these losses are caused by the induced currents which result from the strong concentrated magnetic fields found near the conductors in the structure . by introducing a superconducting microstrip line and ground plane these losses are substantially reduced . construction of a filter using proximity coupling in high temperature superconductor form requires the use of a specific dielectric on which the superconductor can be grown . once that dielectric constant is specified , the appropriate dimensions are defined for building the filter . this use of superconducting materials in the construction of a filter employing a proximity coupled structure maximizes the efficiency of this filter design and will result in an elliptical filter with a much more pronounced threshold . although the embodiments described in the above description feature some type of conductive housing 160 , the filter need not be in a conducting enclosure . it may be placed inside a waveguide , shielded microstrip or open microstrip . the losses due to radiation are almost always higher in these cases , but the filter is still operable . a four pole elliptic filter was used as a design example , however , any type of filter requiring the use of microstrip interconnects can be realized in a more compact form using the planar dual mode patches with proximity coupling . in all applications some analytic work is required to determine the proper filter dimensions . the materials of substrate 110 and the metalization are not limited to alumina with gold metalization as discussed in the example embodiment . any metalization may be used . the dielectric thickness may also be varied . the restrictions are that patches 150 , 150 &# 39 ; are sized appropriately according to the dielectric type and thickness . dielectric constant and thickness of substrate 110 can be used as extra degrees of freedom when designing filter 100 . the proximity coupled filter can be fabricated from other types of planar waveguides , including but not limited to , stripline , inverted microstrip , coplanar guide , coplanar strips , suspended microstrip slotlines and finlines among others . construction of this filter type in stripline configuration is noteworthy , since this configuration will yield the smallest overall package size for the filter . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . for example this invention may be practiced without the use of a conducting enclosure . it is therefore understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , there is shown an existing liquid delivery apparatus , as more fully disclosed in european patent no . 0548159 ( and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 316 , 215 ). liquid under pressure is fed via an inlet 1 to a chamber 2 and from there via a filter 3 to the interior of a rubber bag 4 disposed within a cylindrical pressure vessel 5 . the pressure within the bag 4 compresses the air in the annular space , around the bag , within the vessel 5 . the annular space is connected via an air line 6 and a diaphragm relief valve 7 to a chamber 8 containing an actuating member , i . e . a diaphragm , of a poppet valve 9 . thus , the introduction of liquid under pressure into the bag 4 causes an increase in pressure in the chamber 8 until , at a given pressure , as more fully disclosed in the above patents , the poppet valve 9 opens for a brief period of time to allow liquid under pressure to enter a chamber 10 and from there to be discharged from a nozzle 11 . the release of the pressure in the vessel 5 and in the chamber 8 , as a result of the opening of the poppet valve 9 , allows the poppet valve to close again , by the action of a compression spring 13 , and this cycle is then repeated upon the introduction of more liquid under pressure through the inlet 1 . when the poppet valve 9 closes , the air in the chamber 8 returns via a non - return valve 12 to the air line 6 . fig2 and 3 show a modification of the apparatus of fig1 . in this modification , in accordance with the present invention , the pressure vessel 5 does not contain the rubber bag 4 . instead , a small slave accumulator 14 , containing a diaphragm or bag 15 , is disposed in the air line 6 . in the case of the use of a diaphragm 15 ( rather than the use of a bag 15 ), the diaphragm does not tend to scuff along the wall of the accumulator 14 ( unlike the bag 4 in the vessel 5 of fig1 ). also , in place of the inlet filter 3 , there is provided a tube 16 ( fig2 and 2a ) mounted on a mounting plate or bar 17 extending across the inlet to the pressure vessel 5 , between the chamber 2 and the vessel 5 , leaving two semicircular gaps between the bar 17 and the wall of the inlet . the tube 16 and the mounting plate or bar 17 are so dimensioned that a vortex is created to allow excess air to be bled from the vessel 5 into the chamber 2 . thus , the rate of flow of liquid around the tube 16 has to be less than the rate of flow of liquid in the tube , so that a vortex is created around the top of the tube 16 so that , as the level of liquid falls in the vessel 5 , excess air is bled into the chamber 5 ( i . e . the amount of air left in the vessel 5 upon discharge of the liquid ). the height of the tube 16 controls the level of liquid in the vessel 5 . in accordance with another modification , as shown in fig4 , a fixed baffle plate 18 , containing a hole 19 or v - shaped slot 20 ( fig4 a and 4b ), can be used to control the water level in the pressure vessel 5 . the plate 18 ( also shown in fig5 ) has a sloping semicircular portion extending from the walls of the vessel 5 , and an upright rectangular portion extending downwardly from the sloping portion to leave a gap below it through which liquid can flow . furthermore , the inlet 1 can be in the form of a non - return valve . also , in accordance with another modification , also shown in fig4 ( and also fig5 ), the air line 6 can be connected directly to the chamber 8 containing the poppet valve actuating diaphragm ( or a bellows , that can be used in place of the diaphragm ). alternatively , the air line 6 can be connected to the chamber 8 via a small tank 21 ( fig4 c ). a restriction can be placed in the line leading to the chamber 8 , or in the line leading to the vessel 5 , to control the time for which the poppet valve 9 is open . also , the restriction in the line leading to the chamber 8 , and the size of the tank 21 , can be varied to vary the speed of the opening and closing of the poppet valve 9 and the time for which it is open . fig5 shows on an enlarged scale the poppet valve 9 and the mechanism , in the form of a bellows 22 , for actuating the poppet valve 9 . as shown in fig5 , the bellows 22 and the compression spring 13 are held between plates 23 and 24 ( the spring 13 itself being held on plate 53 ) which in turn are mounted on threaded bars 25 ( three or four , usually ) and held by nuts . by changing the distance between plates 23 and 24 , it is possible to change the opening and closing pressures of valve 9 , i . e . the higher the pressure on the spring 13 the higher are the opening and closing pressures of valve 9 . the apparatus shown in fig1 has proven to be satisfactory in use , but needs to have its performance improved , and needs to be made easier to service and cheaper to build . also , the rubber bag 5 used as the bladder has a tendency to fail . the apparatus shown in fig2 is an improvement since the removal of the bag 4 from the vessel 5 increases reliability and the absence of the filter 3 increases flow and allows coarser materials to be handled . it is still necessary to use the diaphragm relief valve 7 , the non - return valve 12 and filters as on the apparatus of fig1 . the valve opening pressure is controlled by the diaphragm relief valve 7 . if , for instance , the main valve 9 opens at 5 bar without the diaphragm relief valve 7 , then , to make the valve 9 run reliably , the diaphragm relief valve 7 needs to be set at 5 . 5 bar , i . e . at a point which is above the point at which the poppet valve 9 could shimmer . the improvement shown in fig2 is one which could be retrofitted to the apparatus of fig1 . the apparatus of fig4 and 5 is preferred in that it has no air control gear and no bag 4 or 15 , since the opening pressure as well as the closing pressure of the poppet valve 9 are adjusted ( or pre - set ) on the valve itself . there are two methods of doing this , namely : ( 1 ) by adjusting the length of the spring 13 by moving the plate 23 , the opening and closing pressures change , i . e . the more pressure there is on the spring 13 the higher will be the opening and closing pressure of the poppet valve 9 . ( 2 ) by adjusting the length of the bellows 22 by moving the plate 24 , the effective area of the bellows is changed , i . e . if the bellows is lengthened the effective area goes down and the valve opening and closing pressure goes up . by a combination of the above and by changing the spring itself , most opening and closing pressures can be achieved . it should be noted that changing the diameter of the bellows ( or the diaphragm ) and the poppet valve ratio also changes the valve opening and closing pressures . the valves of the apparatus shown in fig1 to 3 have the problem that the valves tend to shimmer on their seats and not to open clearly ( if they were to be used without the regulator valve ). referring to fig6 , there is shown an alternative poppet valve layout that can be used in place of the poppet valve shown in fig1 to 3 . this valve has a closure member 26 mounted on a shaft 27 that is moveable by the action of the compression spring 13 ( fig5 ) and the bellows 22 ( fig5 ), or of the compression spring 13 and the poppet valve actuating diaphragm . the closure member 26 has a first seal 30 and a second seal 31 . as the valve begins to open ( i . e . as the closure member 26 moves to the left ), the first seal 30 looses contact with its respective seat , whereas the second seal 31 remains in contact with its respective seat . upon further opening , the second seal 31 looses contact with its respective seat . thus , the geometry of the valve changes during its opening , in that the effective diameter of the valve ( and hence the resistance to be overcome in opening the valve ) changes from diameter d to diameter d . the valve therefore has a reduced tendency to shimmer . referring to fig7 , there is shown an alternative poppet valve layout that can be used in place of the poppet valve shown in fig1 to 3 . this valve has a closure member 26 mounted on a shaft 27 that is moveable by the activation of a diaphragm 28 against the action of a compression spring 29 . the closure member 26 , like that of fig6 , has a two stage opening area , i . e . a first seal 30 and a second seal 31 , the first seal 30 being of larger diameter than the second seal 31 and the first seal 30 opening before the second seal 31 ( as already described with reference to fig6 ). this again overcomes the problem of the valve shown in fig1 to 3 , namely the problem that the valve tends to shimmer on its seat and not to open cleanly . the valve seals 30 and 31 are preferably made of flexible rubber . the valve of fig7 is driven by the pressure of the liquid under pressure that enters the inlet of the valve . this ( increasing ) pressure acts on the diaphragm 28 until the pressure is sufficient to overcome the force exerted on the diaphragm by the spring 29 and on the closure member 26 by the liquid . the valve then opens in two stages for a short period of time ( by movement of the closure member 26 to the right ), until the pressure falls to allow the diaphragm 28 , and the closure member 26 , to return to their original positions . the valve can alternatively be driven by a separate supply of air under pressure . one or more shims 32 can be located as shown to vary the pressure exerted by the spring 29 on the diaphragm 28 . in an alternative embodiment , the diaphragm 28 can be replaced by a bellows . furthermore , the shaft 27 and the diaphragm 28 ( or bellows ) can be replaced by a plunger , with the spring 29 being located within the plunger . the stoke of the bellows can be adjustable so as to vary the pressure at which the valve is activated , i . e . opens . the reciprocal movement of the shaft 27 ( fig6 and 7 ) can be used to do work , for example to rotate the nozzle . the shaft 27 can also be used to mechanically hold the valve open or closed . the purpose of the valves of fig6 and 7 is to provide poppet valves that do not shimmer on their seats but rather open cleanly . since there is no bag 4 in the tank 5 , any regulator valve in the air line 6 has to be able to deal with dirt . these regulator valves are described below with reference to fig8 , 9 and 10 . the two - seal poppet valves of fig6 and 7 open cleanly . however , if they were to be used with only seal 31 in position , the valves would sometimes open far enough to allow water to leak through but would not fully open . in the case of the use of two seals , seal 30 opens but seal 31 remains closed ( since it runs parallel to the valve shaft ), and the pressure applied to surface 33 after seal 30 has opened makes sure that seal 31 opens . in other words , the effective areas of the two seals 30 and 31 are different , and seal 31 is well past its balance point by the time it is asked to open . the two - seal valves shown in fig6 and 7 overcome the problem of valve shimmering . however , this can be overcome by other means such as single rubber assembly . in its simplest form this can be a flexible part 70 able to flex so as to allow point 71 to open before point 72 . it is possible to make a slight modification to seal 31 by cutting a groove ( 6 mm × 2 mm ) from point 73 to point 74 to release water trapped between the two seals 30 and 31 to allow them to close properly . as already noted , a single seal valve gives rise to the problem that the single seal tends to shimmer . as an alternative way to solve this problem , a flap 75 can be fitted on the end of the nozzle 11 ( fig1 ), as shown in fig1 , which also shows a pivot point 76 , a rubber seal 77 and a weight 78 . thus , any flap or steel ball mounted in the discharge tube could replace the two seal valve shown in fig6 and 7 . as mentioned above , fig8 , 9 and 10 show regulator valves for use in regulating the apparatus of fig1 and 2 . in fig8 and 9 , there are shown valves each having a diaphragm 34 on which impinges a jet of air from a nozzle 35 , the valves being adjustable by rotation of a threaded shaft 36 that varies the pressure applied on the diaphragm 34 by a coil spring 37 . the valves shown in fig8 , 9 and 10 replace the pressure valve 50 ( consisting of diaphragm 52 and spring 54 ) of fig3 of european patent no . 0548159 ( i . e . to replace valve 7 of fig1 herein ). fig8 shows more detail of a first air regulation system . part 51 is mounted so that face 52 comes into contact with plate 53 ( fig5 ). when the main valve 9 closes , a gap forms at point 56 allowing spring 37 to close the regulator valve . nozzle 35 is joined to air line 6 ( fig5 ), and tube 54 is joined to the main tank 5 ( fig4 ). the mode of operation of the regulator valve is as follows . when the pressure in the tank 5 rises to a predetermined level , spring 37 allows plunger 55 to release diaphragm 34 allowing air to pass from the tank to the bellows on the valve head . as plate 53 ( fig5 ) moves away from part 51 no spring pressure is exerted on plunger 55 giving free passage of air at point 56 . when the main valve 9 closes , gap 54 is reset ready for the next cycle . fig9 shows more detail of another air regulation system , which is not mechanically connected to main valve 9 . tube 35 is joined to the main tank 5 ( fig4 ). tube 57 is joined to air line 6 ( fig5 ), and tube 58 is joined to air line 6 ( to equalise the pressure in chamber 59 ). when the pressure in tank 5 rises to a predetermined level , spring 37 allows plunger 60 to release diaphragm 34 allowing air to pass from the tank 5 to the bellows on the valve head . also , after the diaphragm has opened , a greater surface area is exposed on the diaphragm face . fluid in chamber 61 is forced into chamber 59 via an orifice 62 . as the pressure in the main tank 5 falls the closure of the regulator valve is delayed by the size of the orifice 62 and the viscosity of the fluid , as it returns to chamber 61 . fig1 shows more detail of a third air regulation system . the lever at point 63 is joined ( usually by a spring ) to plate 53 . tube 64 is joined to air line 6 ( fig5 ), and tube 65 is joined to the main tank 5 ( fig4 ). when the pressure in tank 5 rises to a predetermined level , spring 66 allows plunger 67 to release diaphragm 34 allowing air to pass from the tank 5 to the bellows on the valve head . as the valve opens ( because lever 68 is joined to the valve at plate 53 ), all the spring pressure is released between plunger 67 and jet 64 allowing free passage of air so as not to restrict debris . the regulator is held open by a damper 69 until the main valve has closed . the arrangement of fig1 provides a more reliable mechanical coupling of the regulator to the main valve with a dampening system . it would be possible to use a hand operated valve or tap to run on its own or in series with the above , so that a pulse of water could be controlled by hand , for fire fighting , etc . fig1 shows a diaphragm pump for pumping air into the pressure vessel 5 , and consisting of a diaphragm 38 , a spring 39 , and inlet valve 40 , an outlet valve 41 , and a non - return valve 42 . the diaphragm 38 separates the pump into chambers 43 and 44 , the latter chamber being in communication with chamber 10 of the apparatus , so that the operation of the poppet valve 9 causes the diaphragm pump to operate to pump air into the pressure vessel 5 . fig1 shows a mechanism for rotating the arm holding the nozzle 11 . an assembly 45 is arranged to rotate around column 46 , and a rope 47 is attached at points 48 to the rotating assembly 45 , is wound around the assembly 45 , and held tight by a spring 49 . when the rotating assembly 45 is turned in the direction of arrow 50 , the rope 47 ( or a strap ) slides around the column 46 . when the assembly 45 is reversed , the rope 47 locks onto column 46 and rotates it . thus , reciprocating movement of the spring 49 causes the rope or strap 47 to grip , or not to grip , the column 46 , thereby causing or allowing stepwise rotation of the column 46 . a diaphragm or bellows unit in communication with chamber 10 of the apparatus provides a reciprocating movement to the assembly 45 . the drive could also be taken from the tank side of the poppet valve 9 , as could the drive for the pump of fig1 . fig1 shows another modification , in that the ( main ) nozzle 11 , is provided with a second nozzle 80 at the end of a tube 81 connecting to the tube leading to the nozzle 11 . the object of the two nozzles is to wet the ground evenly from the furthest range right back to the machine . although the liquid from the nozzle does fall back as the pressure falls there can be an area in the middle which does not get wet enough . the second nozzle 80 is sized to overcome this problem . there are two main adjustments , namely ( 1 ) the sizes of tube 81 and of nozzle 80 ( coarse adjustment ), and ( 2 ), the presence of a restrictor in the tube 81 , usually at point 82 ( fine adjustment ). | 1 |
fig1 through fig3 show a first embodiment of the electro - mechanical impact detecting device based on the present invention . this device is preferably for automobile air - bag systems . the device has an outer housing 10 and an inner housing 20 , of which the housing 10 is fixed to the vehicle body by a bracket 11 which is attached to the lower wall of the housing . inner housing 20 is fitted in the outer housing 10 as shown in fig1 through fig3 . the housing 20 has a connector 20 b which extends from and is integral with a housing section 20 a , and the housing section 20 a is located on the bottom of the housing 10 . the connector 20 b is located in the opening section of the housing 10 . the connector 20 b confronts the outside at its connecting section 21 through an opening 12 of the housing 10 . in fig2 symbol 22 indicates terminals of the connector 20 b . in fig1 and fig2 symbol 10 a indicates hermetic filling material . this impact detecting device has a main body a , which is fitted in both housings 10 and 20 as shown in fig1 through fig3 . the device main body a includes a mechanical section aa and an electrical circuit section ab . the mechanical section aa is fitted in the housing section 20 a of the inner housing 20 , and the electrical circuit section ab is fitted in the housing 10 on the lower wall of the housing section 20 a . the mechanical section aa includes a casing 30 , a rotation shaft 40 , a main rotor 50 , an auxiliary ( sub ) rotor 60 , a torsional coil spring 70 , and a contact mechanism 80 . the casing 30 is fitted in the housing section 20 a . the casing 30 is made of electrically insulating synthetic resin , which is shaped as shown in fig4 through fig9 . the casing 30 is seated by being coupled at its rectangular annular root section 31 ( refer to fig5 through fig9 ) downward in fig1 through fig3 onto a base 81 of the contact mechanism 80 ( will be explained later ). the rotation shaft 40 has both ends pivotally mounted in recess sections 32 a at the top of support columns 32 ( refer to fig5 through fig7 ) of the casing 30 . the main rotor 50 is coupled concentrically with the rotation shaft 40 together with the sub rotor 60 and torsional coil spring 70 . the main rotor 50 has a plate weight 51 and plate cams 52 and 53 . the weight 51 is shaped so that the weight center is eccentric from the rotation center as shown in fig1 through fig1 . specifically , the weight 51 is a stepped cylindrical boss 51 a located at the rotation center . a weight section 51 b is provided which causes the weight center to be eccentric from the boss 51 a . the weight 51 is coupled concentrically to the left - side section in fig1 of the rotation shaft 40 by means of the boss 51 a , so that the weight section 51 b is located below the rotation shaft 40 . accordingly , the weight 51 having the eccentric weight center from the rotation center locks initially at the shoulder section 15 c of the weight section 51 b upward against the upper - end stopper 33 of the casing 30 ( refer to fig2 and fig5 ). the upper - end stopper 33 works for the initial stopper of the weight 51 . the cam 52 is formed integral with the weight section 51 b to extend along the left - side plane of the weight section 51 b from a small - diameter section of the boss 51 a in fig1 . also , the cam 52 is formed with a plate shape as shown in fig1 and fig1 . the cam 52 has two cam surfaces 52 a and 52 b , and the cam surface 52 b has an arcuate profile which is centered by the rotation center of the boss 51 a , i . e ., the rotation shaft 40 . the cam surface 52 a has a planar shape to crisscross the cam surface 52 b right - upwardly from the right extreme of fig1 . the cam 53 is formed integral with the weight section 51 b to extend along the right - side plane of the weight section 51 b from a large - diameter section of the boss 51 a in fig1 . the cam 53 is formed as an l - shape plate as shown in fig1 and fig1 . the cam 53 has two cam sections 54 and 55 , with the cam section 54 being located on the right of the cam section 55 in fig1 . the cam section 54 extends a length longer than the cam section 55 to the right from the right - side plane of the weight section 51 b as shown in fig1 . the cam section 54 has an arcuate cam surface 54 a centered by the rotation shaft of weight 51 . the cam section 55 has an arcuate cam surface 55 a centered by the rotation shaft of the weight 51 . the sub rotor 60 is coupled concentrically to the rotation shaft 40 in its section between the main rotor 50 and torsional coil spring 70 as shown in fig1 . the sub rotor 60 has a plate rotor section 61 , a cylindrical boss section 62 , an arm section 63 and a trapezoidal coupling section 64 . these elements are formed as integral members as shown in fig1 through fig1 . the boss section 62 is normal to the plane of the plate rotor section 61 , and the boss section 62 is coupled concentrically to the rotation shaft 40 . the arm section 63 extends from the left - side plane of the rotor section 61 in fig1 , parallel to the axis of the boss section 62 and in the direction opposite to the boss section 62 . the trapezoidal coupling section 64 is formed on the rotor section 61 on the same side as the boss section 62 and at the position with respect to the boss section 62 shown in fig1 through fig1 . the torsional coil spring 70 is coupled concentrically to the rotation shaft 40 at its section between the sub rotor 60 and a side support section 32 of the casing 30 as shown in fig1 . the torsional coil spring 70 has one end section 71 stopped in a stop hole section 63 a of the arm section 63 of the sub rotor 60 . the torsional coil spring 70 has another end 72 stopped in a stop hole 34 a which is formed in the wall section 34 of the casing 30 ( refer to fig1 fig3 fig4 and fig7 ). as a consequence , the torsional coil spring 70 has a torsional force exertion on the sub rotor 60 in the rotation direction downwardly in fig1 ( clockwise direction of the main rotor 50 in fig2 ) based on the stop hole 34 a . the contact mechanism 80 has a base 81 as shown in fig1 through fig3 . this base 81 is coupled into the root section 31 of the casing 30 as mentioned above . the contact mechanism 80 has fixed contacts 82 , 83 and 84 formed of elongate plates and moving contacts 85 and 86 formed of elongate plates as shown in fig1 fig2 and fig1 through fig1 . the fixed contact 82 is fixed into the base 81 in its thickness direction on the left side of the main rotor 50 in fig1 together with the moving contact 85 . the fixed contacts 83 and 84 are fixed into the base 81 in its thickness direction on the right side of the main rotor 50 in fig1 together with the moving contact 86 . the fixed contacts 82 , 83 and 84 are formed of a rigid , electro - conductive , metallic material , and the moving contacts 85 and 86 are formed of an electro - conductive spring material . the moving contact 85 is located to confront the fixed contact 82 , and constitutes a normally - open switch ( will be called a first switch hereinafter ) in unison with the fixed contact 82 . the moving contact 86 has split moving contact sections 86 a and 86 b , and these moving contact sections 86 a and 86 b are located to confront the fixed contacts 83 and 84 and constitute normally - open switches ( will be called second and third switches hereinafter ) in unison with the fixed contacts 83 and 84 , respectively . the fixed contacts 82 , 83 and 84 have their upper tip sections 82 a , 83 a and 84 a bent in the counterclockwise rotation direction of the main rotor 50 in fig2 . the moving contact 85 has its tip section 85 a bent with an l - shape toward the tip section 82 a of the fixed contact 82 , and the moving contact 86 has its moving contact sections 86 a and 86 b bent to have an l - shape as shown in fig1 . the fixed contacts 83 and 84 have their upper tip sections 83 a and 84 a formed with an l - shape configuration . the fixed contact 82 has its upper tip section 82 a bent less than the upper tip sections 83 a and 84 a . the fixed contacts 82 , 83 and 84 and the moving contacts 85 and 86 are oriented in a thickness direction to the counterclockwise rotation direction of the main rotor 50 in fig2 . the moving contact 86 locks upward in fig3 against a stopper 35 of the casing 30 against the resilient force of the moving contact sections 86 a and 86 b to prevent chattering . the electrical circuit section ab is provided with a rid 90 having a u - shaped cross section , and a printed circuit board 100 mounted inside . planted on the printed circuit board 100 are fixed contacts 82 , 83 and 84 and moving contacts 85 and 86 of the contact mechanism 80 , which are connected electrically to the wiring section of the printed circuit board 100 . the electrical circuit section ab has resistors r 1 through r 3 as shown in fig1 through fig3 and fig2 . resistors r 1 through r 3 are connected in series . the resistor r 1 is connected between the lower end sections of the fixed contact 82 and moving contact 85 by way of the printed circuit board 100 . the resistor r 2 is connected at one end to the moving contact section 86 a of the moving contact 86 by resistor r 1 , the lower end section of the moving contact 86 and the printed circuit board 100 . the resistor r 2 has another end connected to the lower end section of the fixed contact 83 by printed circuit board 100 . the resistor r 3 is connected at one end to the moving contact section 86 b of the moving contact 86 by resistors r 2 and r 1 , the lower end section of the moving contact 86 and the printed circuit board 100 . the resistor r 3 has another end connected to the lower end section of the fixed contact 84 by printed circuit board 100 . assuming the resistors r 1 , r 2 and r 3 have resistance values r 1 , r 2 and r 3 , respectively , when the first switch formed of the moving contact 85 and fixed contact 82 , the second switch formed of the moving contact section 86 a of the moving contact 86 and fixed contact 83 , and the third switch formed of the moving contact section 86 b and fixed contact 84 are all open , the electrical circuit section ab has a composite resistance r which is equal to the sum of the r 1 , r 2 and r 3 ( refer to fig2 ). when only the first switch is closed , the composite resistance r is equal to the sum of r 2 and r 3 ( refer to fig2 ). when the second switch is closed , regardless of the state of the first switch , the composite resistance r is equal to the r 3 ( refer to fig2 ). when the third switch is closed , the composite resistance is zero ( refer to fig2 ). in the first embodiment as described above , when the main rotor 50 has a position ( initial position ) shown in fig2 fig2 and fig2 , the weight 51 locks upward at its shoulder section 15 c against the upper - end stopper 33 of the casing 30 ( refer to fig2 and fig2 ). at this time , the first through third switches are all open , with the tip section 85 a of the moving contact 85 having its root section being in right - to - left contact with the cam surface 52 a of the cam 52 of the main rotor 50 . in this state , if the vehicle in a running state comes to a sudden stop as in the case of a collision , the vehicle decelerates . when force caused by the deceleration acts on the main rotor 50 rightward in fig2 the weight 51 has a moment of inertia at the weight center due to the eccentric weight center of the weight 51 from the axis of the rotation shaft 40 ( which is also the rotation center of the weight 51 ). as a result , it begins to rotate counterclockwise in fig2 about the rotation shaft 40 axis . accordingly , the tip section 85 a of the moving contact 85 has its root section being in right - to - left contact with the cam surface 52 a , and the tip section 85 a of the moving contact 85 is pushed rightward and deformed elastically by the cam surface 52 a as the main rotor 50 rotates in the counterclockwise direction . due to the displacement , the moving contact 85 contacts , at its tip section 85 a , with the tip section 82 a of the fixed contact 82 ( refer to fig2 ). as the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the cam 52 increases the contact force at its cam surface 52 between the tip section 85 a of the moving contact 85 and the tip section 82 a of the fixed contact 82 . when the displacement of the moving contact 85 due to the increased contact force reaches a certain value , the main rotor 50 contacts , at its weight 51 , with the arm 63 of the sub rotor 60 ( refer to fig2 ). when main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , it is subjected to torsional force by torsional coil spring 70 in the opposite rotation direction . if the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction against the torsional force of the torsional coil spring 70 , the tip section 85 a of the moving contact 85 , in contact with the cam surface 52 a , begins to leave the cam surface 52 a and contact cam surface 52 b ( refer to fig2 ). since the cam surface 52 b has an arcuate profile , centered by the rotation center of the main rotor 50 , the moving contact 85 does not increase the bend any longer against the cam surface 52 b . accordingly , out of forces acting on the main rotor 50 by the moving contact 85 , the exertion force becomes zero and there is only a frictional force between the moving contact 85 and the cam surface 52 b of the cam 52 . if it is assumed that moving contact 85 goes on deviating with the rotation of the main rotor 50 after contacting cam surface 52 b , the main rotor 50 would be subjected to the exertion force of the moving contact 85 and the frictional force of the moving contact 85 on the cam surface 52 b , in addition to the torsional force of the torsional coil spring 70 . in consideration of the fluctuation of the second and third impact levels ( refer to fig3 ) to be detected by the impact detecting device , it is advantageous to make the number of forces acting on the main rotor 50 as small as possible . accordingly , in this embodiment , to reduce the number of forces acting on the main rotor 50 , the cam surface 52 b to contacting the moving contact 85 is formed to have an arcuate profile centered by the rotation center of the main rotor 50 as described above . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the cam section 55 abuts the moving contact section 86 a , causing the moving contact section 86 a to deviate in position . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , moving contact section 86 a contacts the tip section 83 a of the fixed contact 83 ( refer to fig2 ). when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the moving contact section 86 a increases the contact force to the tip section 83 a of the fixed contact 83 . when the main rotor 50 further rotates by a certain amount , the moving contact section 86 a of the moving contact 86 contacts the cam surface 52 a of the cam section 55 ) ( refer to fig2 ). this is as effective as transitioning from contacting the moving contact 85 with the cam surface 52 a to contacting the cam surface 52 b . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the cam section 54 abuts against the moving contact section 86 b of the moving contact 86 , causing the moving contact section 86 b to deviate . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the moving contact 86 contacts , at its moving contact section 86 b , with the tip section 84 a of the fixed contact 84 ( refer to fig2 ). when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the contact pressure of the moving contact section 86 b against the tip section 84 a of the fixed contact 84 increases . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the moving contact 86 contacts , at its moving contact section 86 b , the cam surface 54 a of the cam section 54 ( refer to fig3 through fig3 ). this is as effective as transitioning from contacting the moving contact 85 with the cam surface 52 a to contacting the cam surface 52 b . the foregoing is summarized in terms of relation a between the exertion force acting on the main rotor 50 and the rotation value of the main rotor 50 as shown in fig3 . in the figure , gradient y 1 / x 1 indicates the spring constant of the moving contact 85 , and y 2 / x 2 indicates the spring constant of the torsional coil spring 70 which is greater than y 1 / x 1 . symbol a indicates the closing position of the first switch ( moving contact 85 contacting the fixed contact 82 ), symbol b indicates the closing position of the second switch ( moving contact section 86 a contacting the fixed contact 83 ), and symbol c indicates the closing position of the third switch ( moving contact section 86 b contacting the fixed contact 84 ). fig3 reveals that where the moving contact 85 exerts a force on the main rotor 50 out of the whole rotation range of the main rotor 50 , the exertion force of the moving contact 85 acting on the main rotor 50 increases along line al proportional to the rotation value of the main rotor 50 at a rate of the spring constant y 1 / x 1 . at position a immediately before the torsional coil spring 70 begins to exert a force on the main rotor 50 , the flat - spring switch is closed . this closing position coincides with the first impact level detected by the impact detecting device . the exertion force on the main rotor 50 increases sharply along line a 2 up to the initial exertion force of the torsional coil spring 70 . thereafter , it increases along line a 3 at a rate of the spring constant y 2 / x 2 as the main rotor 50 rotates . at rotation positions b and c while increasing force along the line a 3 , the second and third switches are closed sequentially . among these closing positions , the closing position b of the second switch coincides with the second impact level to be detected by the impact detecting device , and the closing position c of the third switch coincides with the third impact level to be detected by the impact detecting device . since the torsional coil spring 70 has one end section 71 inserted into the stop hole section 63 a of the arm section 63 of the sub rotor 60 and another end inserted into the stop hole section 34 a of the casing 30 , as described above , the arm 71 of the torsional coil spring 70 is untwisted at the rotation of the main rotor 50 , whereby the operational fluctuation of the impact detecting device is reduced . since the first through third switches are connected to the resistors r 1 through r 3 as described above and shown in fig2 , the composite resistance r decreases in steps as the impact level varies from the first through third levels as shown in fig2 . accordingly , by utilizing this change of composite resistance r , impact detection for the colliding vehicle can be done in three steps ( or four steps inclusive of the off state ). for the first through third switches connected to the resistors r 1 through r 3 as shown in fig3 , if for example the first switch opens for some reason during operation of the impact detecting device at the second impact level , the signal at the resistance of the first impact level is released as shown by symbol p in fig3 , and it can be a cause of erroneous detection . in contrast , based on the connection as shown in fig2 , even if the first switch opens by some reason during the operation of the impact detecting device at the second impact level , the signal is released at the resistance of the second impact level , and erroneous detection does not take place ( refer to symbol q in fig3 ). next , a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig3 through fig4 . in the second embodiment , the sub rotor 60 described in the first embodiment is eliminated , and the material is changed and the wire diameter is increased for the torsional coil spring 70 so that the operational fluctuation of the impact detecting device caused by the twist at the end of the torsional coil spring 70 during the rotation of the main rotor 50 is reduced based on the rigidity of the torsional coil spring 70 itself . the torsional coil spring 70 has one end 71 inserted into a long hole section 51 b which is formed in the arcuate direction in the weight 51 of the main rotor 50 , in place of the sub rotor 60 described in the first embodiment , and the end 71 of the torsional coil spring 70 abuts at ( in fig4 ) at its rightward root section against the stopper 34 b of the casing 30 . consequently , as main rotor 50 rotates by a certain amount , the end 71 of the torsional coil spring 70 abuts against one rotation end of the interior of the long hole section 51 b . the torsional coil spring 70 has another end 72 stopped by the stop hole section 34 a of the casing 30 in the same manner as the first embodiment . the torsional coil spring 70 is stopped as mentioned above by having an exertion force produced by a certain twist angle . the remaining structure is virtually identical to the first embodiment . in the second embodiment arranged as described above , when the vehicle undergoes a certain deceleration , the main rotor 50 rotates , causing the moving contact 85 to contact the fixed contact 82 and thus increases the contact force on the fixed contact 82 in the same manner as the first embodiment . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction by a certain amount , the long hole section 51 b of the weight 51 contacts , at part of its interior surface , with the one end 71 of the torsional coil spring 70 . when the main rotor 50 further rotates in the same direction , the main rotor 50 is subjected to an exertion force of the torsional coil spring 70 . during this time , the torsional coil spring 70 , which has a high rigidity due to an increased wire diameter or the like , does not have twisting in its end section 71 during elastic deformation from pushing by main rotor 50 . accordingly , the post - operational fluctuation of the impact detecting device can be suppressed . referring to fig4 through fig4 , the impact detecting device of a third embodiment has an outer housing 100 and an inner housing 110 as shown in fig4 through fig4 . housing 100 is fixed to the vehicle body at its proper location by a bracket 101 that is attached to the lower wall of the housing . the inner housing 110 is fitted in the outer housing 100 as shown in fig4 through fig4 . the housing 110 has a connector 110 b that extends from and is integral with housing section 110 a . the housing section 110 a is located on the bottom of the housing 100 and the connector 110 b is located in the opening section of the housing 100 . the connector 110 b confronts the outside at its connecting section 111 through an opening 102 of the housing 100 . in fig4 , terminals 112 of the connector 110 b are shown . this impact detecting device has a device main body b , which is fitted in both housings 100 and 110 as shown in fig4 through fig4 . the device main body b includes a mechanical section ba and an electrical circuit section bb . the mechanical section ba is fitted in the housing section 110 a of the inner housing 110 , and the electrical circuit section bb is fitted in the housing 100 on the lower wall of the housing section 110 a . the mechanical section ba includes a casing 120 , a rotation shaft 130 , a rotor 140 , a contact mechanism 150 , and a flat - spring mechanism 160 . the casing 120 is fitted in the housing section 110 a . the casing 120 is made of a electrically insulating synthetic resin . this casing is shaped as shown in fig4 through fig4 , and is seated by being coupled at its rectangular annular root section 121 downward in fig4 and fig4 onto a base 151 of the contact mechanism 150 ( will be explained later ). the rotation shaft 130 has both ends pivotally mounted between the top sections of the support columns 122 and 123 of the casing 120 . the rotor 140 is coupled concentrically with rotation shaft 130 , and the rotor 140 has plate weight 141 , contact cams 142 through 144 , and exerting cams 145 and 146 integrally formed . the weight 51 is plate shaped such that the weight center is eccentric from the rotation center ( fig4 and fig4 . specifically , the weight 141 has a cylindrical boss 141 a located at the rotation center , and a weight section 141 b which causes the weight center to be eccentric from the boss 141 a . the weight 141 is coupled concentrically to the rotation shaft 130 by means of the boss 141 a , so that the weight section 141 b is located below the rotation shaft 130 . accordingly , the weight 141 initially abuts obliquely from the top - left side at a protruding section 141 c of the weight section 141 b against the tip slant surface ( refer to fig4 ) of a stopper 151 a of the base 151 . the stopper 151 a works for the initial stopper of the weight 141 . the contact cams 142 through 144 extend along the left - side plane of the weight 141 downward to the circumferential plane of the left - side section in fig4 of the boss 141 a ( refer to fig4 ). these contact cams 142 through 144 are located by being more distant in this order from the left - side plane in fig4 of the weight 141 . the contact cam 142 has two cam surfaces 142 a and 142 b , the contact cam 143 has two cam surfaces 143 a and 143 b , and the contact cam 144 has two cam surfaces 144 a and 144 b . the cam surfaces 142 a , 143 a and 144 a are located to shift sequentially to the left in fig4 , and the cam surfaces 142 b , 143 b and 144 b have a same arcuate profile centered by the axis of the rotation shaft 130 . the exerting cams 145 and 146 extend along the right - side plane of weight 141 , downward to the circumferential surface on the right in fig4 of the boss 141 a ( refer to fig4 ). these exerting cams 145 and 146 are more distant in this order from the right - side plane in fig4 of the weight 141 . the exerting cams 145 and 146 have cam surfaces 145 a and 146 a , respectively , which face to the left in fig4 , with the cam surface 145 a shifting in position to the left more than the cam surface 146 a . the contact mechanism 150 has a base 151 as shown in fig4 through fig4 . the base 151 is fixed into the rectangular annular root section 121 as mentioned previously . the contact mechanism 150 has fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 formed of elongate plates and moving contacts 155 , 156 and 157 formed of elongate plates as shown in fig4 through fig4 . the fixed contact 152 in unison with the moving contact 155 constitutes the above - mentioned first switch , the fixed contact 153 in unison with the moving contact 156 constitutes the above - mentioned second switch , and the fixed contact 154 in unison with the moving contact 157 constitutes the above - mentioned third switch . the fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 in parallel alignment are fed through the right - side wall 124 in fig4 and fig4 of the causing 120 and fixed into base 151 . these fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 have their contact sections 152 a , 153 a and 154 a extending in an l - shape fashion from the upper end of the right - side wall to the left . the moving contacts 155 , 156 and 157 in parallel alignment are fed through the left - side wall 125 in fig4 of the base 151 and fixed into the base 151 . these moving contacts 155 , 156 and 157 have their contact sections 155 a , 156 a and 157 a extending in an l - shape fashion from the upper end of the left - side wall , thereby confronting the fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 . the contact sections 155 a , 156 a and 157 a extend along the upper face ( refer to fig4 ) of the contact sections 152 a , 153 a and 154 a and have their tip section stopped in a preload stopper 124 a which is located immediately above the right - side wall of the base 151 . thus , they are subjected to a predetermined downward loading in advance . the moving contacts 155 , 156 and 157 have their contact sections 155 a , 156 a and 157 a located immediately below the contact cams 142 through 144 of the rotor 140 . these contact sections 155 a , 156 a and 157 a are pushed at their l - shaped protruding sections ( refer to fig4 ) by the cam surface of the contact cams 142 through 144 to contact the contact sections 152 a , 153 a and 154 a of the fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 . the flat - spring mechanism 160 has exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 as shown in fig4 through fig4 . these springs 161 and 162 are planted at their root section on the right - side section of the base 151 as shown in fig4 . the exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 coming from the right - side section of the base 151 run immediately below the exerting cams 145 and 146 of the rotor 140 and extend up - rightward obliquely . as a result , the exerting flat - spring 161 is subjected to an exertion force obliquely down - leftward in fig4 by the cam surface 43 of the exerting cam 145 . the flat exerting spring 162 is subjected to an exertion force obliquely down - leftward in fig4 by the cam surface 43 of the exerting cam 145 . the electrical circuit section bb is provided with a dish - shaped rid 170 as shown in fig4 through fig4 . a printed circuit board 180 is mounted in the lower opening section of the inner housing 110 and located immediately above the rid 170 . planted on the printed circuit board 180 are fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 and moving contacts 155 , 156 and 157 , which are connected electrically to the wiring section of the printed circuit board 180 . the electrical circuit section bb includes resistors 190 a through 190 c . these resistors 190 a through 190 c are connected to the wiring section of the printed circuit board 180 . the resistor 190 a mates with the fixed contact 152 and moving contact 155 . the resistor 190 b mates with the fixed contact 153 and moving contact 156 . the resistor 190 c mates with the fixed contact 154 and moving contact 157 . the resistors 190 a , 190 b and 190 c are equivalent to the resistors r 1 , r 2 and r 3 , respectively , described in the first embodiment . the fixed contacts 152 , 153 and 154 correspond to the fixed contacts 82 , 83 and 84 , respectively , of the first embodiment . the moving contacts 155 , 156 and 157 correspond to the contact sections 86 a and 86 b of the moving contacts 85 and 86 , respectively . to satisfy these relationships , the third embodiment has a wiring circuit arrangement as shown in fig2 . in fig4 , symbol 100 a denotes hermetic filling material . in the third embodiment , when the vehicle decelerates , the rotor 140 rotates clockwise in fig4 about the axis of rotation of shaft 130 . since the exerting flat - spring 161 contacts , at its tip , the cam surface 145 a of the exerting cam 145 , the tip of the exerting flat - spring 161 deviates to the left in fig4 . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the surface of the contact cam 142 abuts cam surface 142 a against the protruding section of the moving contact 155 . this causes the contact section 155 a to bend downward as shown by the double - dash line in fig4 . consequently , the contact section 155 a of the moving contact 155 gradually approaches the contact section 152 a of the fixed contact 152 . it eventually contacts the contact section 152 a . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the force by the contact section 155 a acting on the contact section 152 a increases . after the rotor 140 has rotated by a certain amount , the surface of exerting cam 146 contacts the tip of flat exerting spring 162 . when the rotor 140 further rotates , it will be subjected to the exertion force of the flat exerting spring 162 . when the rotor 140 further rotates by a certain amount in the same direction , the protruding section of moving contact 155 exits the cam surface 142 a and contacts the cam surface 142 b . since the cam surface 142 b has an arcuate profile centered by the axis of rotation of shaft 130 , the downward bending displacement of the moving contact 155 following this contact transition becomes zero . also , the moving contact 155 stays in contact with the fixed contact 152 at certain contact force . accordingly , the force of the moving contact 155 acting on the rotor 140 resulting from the rotation of the rotor 140 is only a frictional force between the moving contact 155 and the cam surface 142 b . if the moving contact 155 continues to bend downward at its contact section 155 a contacting the protruding section of the cam surface 142 , the moving contact 155 would exert a force from friction between moving contact 155 and contact cam 142 and from flat springs 161 and 162 on the rotor 140 . because of fluctuations of the second and third impact levels detected by the impact detecting device of the third embodiment , it is desirable to reduce the number of forces acting on the rotor 140 . accordingly , in this embodiment , the cam surface 142 b contacting the moving contact 155 has an arcuate profile . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the contact cam 143 abuts the protruding section of the moving contact 156 , causing the contact section 156 a to bend and deviate downward . when the rotor 140 further rotates by a certain amount , the moving contact 156 eventually comes in contact , at its contact section 156 a , with the contact section 153 a of the fixed contact 153 . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the contact force of the contact section 156 a acting on the contact section 153 a of the fixed contact 153 increases . after the rotor 140 has rotated by a certain amount in the same direction , the protruding section of the moving contact 156 leaves the cam surface 143 a and contacts the cam surface 143 b of the contact cam 143 . to reduce the number of forces acting on the rotor 140 , the cam surface 143 b , for similar reasons as cam surface 142 b , has an arcuate profile . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the contact cam 144 abuts the protruding section of the moving contact 157 , causing the contact section 157 a to bend and deviate downward . when the rotor 140 further rotates by a certain amount , the moving contact 157 , at its contact section 157 a , eventually contacts the contact section 154 a of the fixed contact 154 . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the contact force of contact section 157 a acting on the contact section 154 a increases . after the rotor 140 has rotated by a certain amount in the same direction , the protruding section of moving contact 157 leaves the cam surface 144 a and contacts cam surface 144 b . to reduce forces , the cam surface 144 b has an arcuate profile . in the third embodiment , when the rotor 140 is within the rotation range where it is subjected to the exertion force by flat - spring 161 , the impact detecting device operates at the first impact level mentioned in the first embodiment . the device operates at the second and third impact levels mentioned in the first embodiment when the rotor 140 is within the rotation range in which it is subjected to the exertion force of the flat exerting spring 162 . the rotation range of the rotor 140 , the exertion force acting on the rotor 140 , and the closing positions of the moving contacts and fixed contacts ( closing positions of the first through third switches ) at the impact levels are then identical to the case shown in fig3 . also , by increasing the exertion force and spring constant of the flat exerting spring 162 relative to flat - spring 161 , the first through third impact levels can be altered . fig4 through fig4 show the fourth embodiment of the impact detecting device according to the present invention . here , the flat - spring mechanism 160 , has its flat exerting spring 162 extending from the base 151 to confront the exerting flat - spring 161 on the left - side plane thereof in fig4 . the positions on the base 151 from which the exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 extend have a certain distance l as shown in fig4 . the flat exerting spring 162 has a v - shaped protruding section 162 a at its mid position which points to the tip section of the exerting flat - spring 161 . because of this alteration , the contact cam 146 of the rotor 140 third embodiment is eliminated . the remaining arrangement is identical to the third embodiment . when the rotor 140 rotates in response to a certain deceleration of the vehicle , the exerting flat - spring 161 is pushed at its tip section by the exerting cam 145 to deviate to the left in fig4 . the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , causing the moving contact 155 to contact the fixed contact 152 the same as in the third embodiment . when the rotor 140 further rotates , the tip section of the exerting flat - spring 161 abuts the protruding section 162 a of the flat exerting spring 162 . when the rotor 140 further rotates in the same direction , the rotor 140 is subjected to the exertion forces of the two exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 , to the right in fig4 , through the exerting cam 145 . the operation of the impact detecting device in the successive rotation of the rotor 140 in the same direction is identical to the third embodiment . placing the flat exerting spring 162 to confront the exerting flat - spring 161 on the left - side plane thereof in fig4 makes the impact detecting device compact . specifically , placing the flat exerting spring 162 parallel to the exerting flat - spring 161 , as described in the third embodiment , keeps the flat - springs 161 and 162 from contacting each other during operation . although the impact detecting device is free from the operational fluctuation caused by the frictional force at the contact of the two springs 161 and 162 , the device must have a larger lateral dimension ( axial direction of the rotation shaft 130 ). this makes it difficult to install in a small vehicle space . in contrast , according to the fourth embodiment , in which the flat exerting spring 162 confronts the exerting flat - spring 161 on the left - side plane thereof in fig4 , the two springs 161 and 162 share lateral space . accordingly , the impact detecting device has a smaller external lateral dimension . however , during operation , the two exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 contact each other , with the contact point moving as the rotor 140 rotates . as a result , a frictional force is generated between the two exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 . this frictional force increases the operational fluctuation of the impact detecting device . therefore , it is desirable to reduce this force to make the exertion forces and spring constants of the exerting flat - springs 161 and 162 as small as possible . fig4 through fig5 show the fifth embodiment of the electro - mechanical impact detecting device based on this invention . the fifth embodiment employs a casing 200 , a rotor 210 , a contact mechanism 220 and a flat - spring mechanism 230 . casing 200 , which replaces casing 120 , is fitted in the housing section 110 a described in the fourth embodiment . the rotor 210 , which replaces the rotor 140 , is coupled concentrically to the rotation shaft 130 . the rotor 210 has a integral formation of a plate weight 211 , contact cams 212 through 214 and an exerting cam 215 which corresponds to the plate weight 141 , contact cams 142 through 144 and exerting cam 145 of the rotor 140 . the weight 211 , contact cams 212 through 214 and exerting cam 215 have virtually the same functions as of the weight 141 , contact cams 142 through 144 and exerting cam 145 . the contact mechanism 220 has a base 221 , which is coupled into the rectangular annular root section 201 of the casing 200 as shown in fig4 through fig5 . the contact mechanism 220 has fixed contacts 222 , 223 and 224 formed of elongate plates and moving contacts 225 , 226 and 227 formed of elongate plates as shown in fig5 and fig5 . the fixed contact 222 in unison with the moving contact 225 constitutes the first switch , the fixed contact 223 in unison with the moving contact 226 constitutes the second switch , and the fixed contact 224 in unison with the moving contact 227 constitutes the third switch . the fixed contacts 222 , 223 and 224 in parallel alignment are fed through a supporting wall section 221 a and fixed to the base 221 . the moving contacts 225 , 226 and 227 in parallel alignment are fed through the supporting wall section 221 a and fixed into the base 221 to confront the fixed contacts 222 , 223 and 224 , respectively , leftwardly in fig5 . the flat - spring mechanism 230 has flat exerting springs 231 and 232 which are planted at their root section at virtually the center and on both sides of the base 221 as shown in fig5 . the flat exerting spring 231 extends upward from its root section , and is in resilient contact with the exerting cam 215 of the rotor 210 ( rightwardly in fig5 ). the flat exerting spring 232 extends up - leftward obliquely so as to confront the flat exerting spring 231 rightwardly in fig5 , and the flat exerting spring 232 has a protruding section 232 a at its mid position , which points to the tip section of the flat exerting springs 231 . the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 have no spacing at their root section . at its tip , the flat exerting spring 232 abuts rightward against a stopper 202 provided on the wall section of the casing 200 . the remaining arrangement is virtually identical to the fourth embodiment . in the fifth embodiment arranged as described above , in which the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 have no spacing at their root section , the flat exerting spring 231 is pushed by the exerting cam 215 of the rotor 210 during operation . the flat exerting spring 232 deviates together with the flat exerting spring 231 without transition of its contact point with the flat exerting spring 231 even after the tip section of the spring 231 contacts protruding section 232 a of the spring 232 . as such , there is no frictional force between the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 . accordingly , even if the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 undergo increased exertion force and spring constant , the impact detecting device can operate steadily without friction between the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 . the remaining operation and effectiveness are virtually identical to the fourth embodiment . fig5 through fig5 show the sixth embodiment of the electro - mechanical impact detecting device based on this invention . the sixth embodiment uses the flat exerting spring 231 to move contact 225 ( or use the exerting flat - spring 161 described in the fourth embodiment also for moving contact 155 ), and uses the flat exerting spring 232 described in the fifth embodiment for the fixed contact 222 ( or uses the flat exerting spring 162 for the moving contact 152 ). this reduces the cost of the impact detecting device by reducing the number of component parts . therefore , the sixth embodiment removes the contact cam 212 from the rotor 210 of the fifth embodiment . in addition , the fixed contact 222 and moving contact 225 are removed from the contact mechanism 220 . the flat exerting spring 232 described in the fifth embodiment has its root section planted leftward into the base 221 by being spaced out from the root section of the flat exerting spring 231 as shown in fig5 . due to the removal of the fixed contact 222 and moving contact 225 , the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 substitute these contacts 222 and 225 thereby constituting the first switch . the remaining arrangement is identical to the fifth embodiment . in the sixth embodiment as described above , when the rotor 210 rotates in response to vehicle deceleration , the flat exerting spring 231 is pushed at its tip section by the exerting cam 215 to move left in fig5 . when the rotor 210 further rotates in the same direction , the tip section of flat exerting spring 231 eventually contacts protruding section 232 a of the flat exerting spring 232 . this closes the first switch . accordingly , the exerting action between the flat exerting spring 231 and exerting cam 215 is implemented together with the switch closing . this reduces the number of component parts . when the rotor 210 further rotates in the same direction , it is subjected to the exertion forces of the flat exerting springs 231 and 232 . further rotation of the rotor 210 in the same direction causes moving contact 226 to contact fixed contact 223 and moving contact 227 to contact fixed contact 224 in the same manner as the fifth embodiment . the remaining operation and effectiveness of the impact detecting device is identical to the fifth embodiment . fig5 through fig5 show the seventh embodiment of the electro - mechanical impact detecting device based on this invention . this impact detecting device is adopted in place of the impact detecting device of the first embodiment . this impact detecting device has an outer housing 300 and an inner housing 310 , of which the housing 300 is fixed to the vehicle body at its location by a bracket 301 which is attached to the lower wall of the housing . the inner housing 310 is fitted in the outer housing 300 as shown in fig5 . the housing 310 has a connector 310 b which extends from and is integral with a housing section 310 a . the housing section 310 a is located deep within the housing 300 and the connector 310 b is located in the opening section of the housing 300 . the connector 310 b confronts the outside at its connecting section 311 through an opening 302 of the housing 300 . in fig5 , symbol 312 indicates terminals of the connector 310 b . this impact detecting device has a device main body c , which is fitted in the housing 310 as shown in fig5 . the device main body c includes a mechanical section ca and an electrical circuit section cb . the mechanical section ca is fitted on the interior bottom of the housing section 310 a , and the electrical circuit section cb is fitted in the inner opening section of the housing section 310 a . the mechanical section ca includes a casing 330 , a rotation shaft 340 , a main rotor 350 , a sub rotor 360 , two torsional coil springs 370 and 380 , and a contact mechanism 390 . the casing 330 is fitted to the interior bottom of the housing section 310 a . the rotation shaft 340 is supported concentrically between the lower wall of the housing section 310 a and the base 391 of contact mechanism 390 which is coupled into the opening 331 of the casing 330 . the main rotor 350 pivots concentrically with the rotation shaft 340 on the right in fig5 of the rotation shaft 340 inside the casing 330 . the main rotor 350 is formed of a plate weight , and has arcuate plate shape ( a disc with a v - shaped section being cut away as shown in fig5 ) to position its weight center eccentric from the rotation center . the main rotor 350 , at its cut - off edge 351 , initially abuts stopper 332 under the exertion force of the torsional coil spring 370 , formed on the interior wall of casing 330 to protrude toward the axis of the casing 330 as shown in fig5 . the sub rotor 360 pivots concentrically with rotation shaft 340 , and the protrusion 361 of sub rotor 360 initially abuts rightward . protrusion 361 is formed outwardly in the radial direction on the circumferential section of sub rotor 360 . this abutment is under the exertion force of the torsional coil spring 378 against a protruding bar 332 ( refer to fig5 and 59 ) which extends from part of the lower wall of the casing 330 as shown in fig5 . the sub rotor 360 has a solid - cylindrical protrusion 362 as shown in fig5 and 59 , and this protrusion 362 extends axially from the left - side plane in fig5 of the sub rotor 360 . protrusion 362 is positioned where it is hit by another cut - off edge 352 of the main rotor 350 following a predetermined rotation in the clockwise direction in fig5 ( explained later ). the sub rotor 360 has a smaller diameter as compared with the main rotor 350 . also , the sub rotor 360 is formed of a material having a small specific gravity , such as resin , and is lighter in weight than the main rotor 350 . torsional coil springs 370 and 380 are coupled concentrically to the rotation shaft 340 inside casing 330 , with springs 370 and 380 being held between the lower wall of the casing 330 and the main rotor 350 between the lower wall of the casing 330 and the sub rotor 360 , respectively . the torsional coil spring 370 has one end 371 caught by protrusion 333 which protrudes axially inward from the lower exterior wall section of the casing 330 , and has another end section 372 caught by a protrusion 353 which protrudes axially from the circumferential section of the main rotor 350 to the lower wall section of the casing 330 . based on this attachment of torsional coil spring 370 , it produces an exertion force in the counterclockwise direction in fig5 . the torsional coil spring 380 has one end section 381 caught by a protrusion 334 which protrudes axially inward from the lower central wall of the casing 330 . the coil has another end 382 caught by a protrusion 363 which protrudes axially from the circumferential section of the main rotor 350 to the lower wall section of the casing 330 . because of this attachment , coil spring 380 produces an exertion force in the counterclockwise direction in fig5 . the contact mechanism 390 includes base 391 , fixed contacts 392 through 394 and moving contacts 395 through 397 . fixed contacts 392 through 394 have concentric semicircular shapes centered by the rotation axis of shaft 340 on the left - side plane of the base 391 ( side of the main rotor 350 ). the fixed contacts 392 through 394 have increasing radius in this order . the moving contacts 395 through 397 are disposed along circles having the same radii as fixed contacts 392 through 394 on the right - side plane of the main rotor 350 . as such , the moving contacts 395 through 397 can confront the fixed contacts 392 through 394 , respectively . the moving contacts 395 through 397 are disposed on the right - side plane of the main rotor 350 so that the distance in circumferential direction from the left extreme section in fig5 of the moving contact 395 and fixed contact 392 , the distance in circumferential direction from the left extreme section in fig5 of the moving contact 396 and fixed contact 393 , and the distance in circumferential direction from the left extreme section in fig5 of the moving contact 397 and fixed contact 394 have ascending values in this order when the fixed contacts 392 through 394 are located above the axis of the rotation shaft 340 in fig5 . the moving contact 395 has split contact sections 395 a . these contact sections 395 a are fixed at their root section to the right - side plane of the main rotor 350 . the contact sections 395 a extend from the root section to the tip section toward the fixed contact 392 . accordingly , the moving contact 395 in unison with the fixed contact 392 constitutes the above - mentioned first switch . the moving contact 396 has split contact sections 396 a . these contact sections 396 a are fixed at their root section to the right - side plane of the main rotor 350 . the contact sections 396 a extend from the root section to the tip section toward the fixed contact 393 . accordingly , the moving contact 396 in unison with the fixed contact 393 constitutes the above - mentioned second switch . the moving contact 397 has split contact sections 397 a . these contact sections 397 a are fixed at their root section to the right - side plane of the main rotor 350 . the contact sections 397 a extend from the root section to the tip section toward the fixed contact 394 . accordingly , the moving contact 397 , in unison with the fixed contact 394 , constitutes the above - mentioned third switch . the electrical circuit section cb has a printed circuit board 300 a . the fixed contacts 392 through 394 and moving contacts 395 through 397 of the contact mechanism 390 are fed through the base 391 and printed circuit board 300 a and connected to resistors 398 a through 398 c . the resistors 398 a through 398 c are equivalent to the resistors r 1 through r 3 , respectively , described in the first embodiment . the moving contact 395 and fixed contacts 392 are equivalent to the moving contact 85 and fixed contacts 82 described in the first embodiment . the moving contact 396 and fixed contacts 393 are equivalent to the contact section 86 a of the moving contact 86 and the fixed contacts 83 described in the first embodiment . the moving contact 397 and fixed contacts 394 are equivalent to the contact section 86 b of the moving contact 86 and the fixed contacts 84 described in the first embodiment . accordingly , the electrical circuit section cb has a circuit arrangement identical to that of the first embodiment shown in fig2 . when the vehicle decelerates , the main rotor 350 works as a weight to rotate clockwise in fig5 about the axis of the rotation shaft 340 in the same manner as the first embodiment . at this time , the sub rotor 360 , which is lighter in weight than the main rotor 350 and is subjected to a large exertion force in the counterclockwise direction , does not rotate . when the main rotor 350 further rotates , the distance in circumferential direction between the moving contact 395 and fixed contact 392 decreases . eventually , the moving contact 395 contacts the fixed contact 392 . when the main rotor 350 further rotates in the same direction , it abuts at another cut - off edge 351 against the stopper 362 of the sub rotor 360 . when the main rotor 350 further rotates in the same direction , it is subjected to the exertion forces of the two torsional coil springs 370 and 380 in the counterclockwise direction . with further rotation , the moving contact 396 contacts the fixed contact 393 , and thereafter the moving contact 397 contacts the fixed contact 394 . during operation , with the main rotor 350 rotating only against the exertion force of the torsional coil spring 370 , the impact detecting device operates based on the first impact level . otherwise , when main rotor 350 rotates against the exertion forces of the two torsional coil springs 370 and 380 , the impact detecting device operates based on the second and third impact levels . the relation among the rotation value of the main rotor 350 , the exertion force acting on the main rotor 350 and the closing positions of the first through third switches ( which correspond to the first through third impact levels ) is identical to the case shown in fig3 . in this embodiment , the moving contacts 395 through 397 , which contact the fixed contacts 392 through 394 , respectively , slide on the surface of the respective fixed contacts . in this case , only frictional forces exists , and there is no exertion force acting on the main rotor 350 . also , the exertion force and spring constant of the torsional coil spring 370 can be changed to alter the first through third impact levels . fig6 through 63 show the eighth embodiment of the electro - mechanical impact detecting device of the invention . this impact detecting device is adopted in place of the impact detecting device of the first embodiment . this impact detecting device has an outer housing 400 and an inner housing 410 , of which the housing 400 is fixed to the vehicle body at its proper location by a bracket 401 which is attached to the lower wall of the housing . the inner housing 410 is fitted in the outer housing 400 as shown in fig6 . the housing 410 has a connector 410 b which extends from and is integral with a housing section 410 a , and the housing section 410 a is located in the deep section of the housing 400 and the connector 410 b is located in the opening section of the housing 400 . the connector 410 b confronts the outside at its connecting section 411 through an opening 402 of the housing 400 . in fig6 , symbol 412 indicates terminals of the connector 410 b . this impact detecting device has a device main body d , which is fitted in the housing 410 as shown in fig6 and fig6 . the device main body d is constituted of a mechanical section da and an electrical circuit section db . the mechanical section da is fitted on the interior bottom of the housing section 410 a , and the electrical circuit section db is fitted in the inner opening section of the housing section 410 a . the mechanical section da includes a cylindrical casing 430 , a shaft 420 , a weight 440 , compression springs 450 and 460 , and a contact mechanism 390 . the casing 420 is fitted on the interior bottom of the housing section 410 a . the shaft 430 is supported concentrically between the lower wall of the casing 420 and the base 471 of contact mechanism 470 which is coupled into the opening 421 of the peripheral wall 421 of the casing 420 . the weight 440 has a shape of rectangular parallelepiped , and it is supported slidably and concentrically with the shaft 430 on the interior bottom of the casing 420 as shown in fig6 through fig6 . the compression spring 450 is coupled concentrically onto the shaft 430 in its section between the base 471 and the weight 440 inside the casing 420 . the compression spring 450 exerts a force rightward in fig6 to the weight 440 so that it is seated on the lower wall 422 of the casing 420 . the compression spring 460 is coupled concentrically onto the compression spring 450 in its section between the base 471 and an exerting plate 460 a inside the casing 420 . the compression spring 460 exerts a force rightward in fig6 to the exerting plate 460 a so that it is seated on two protrusions 423 of the casing 420 . the two protrusions 423 protrude from the interior surface of the circumferential wall 421 of the casing 420 toward the axis to confront each other . the distance between the left - side plane in fig6 of the weight 440 which is seated on the lower wall 422 of the casing 420 and the right - side plane in fig6 of the exerting plate 460 a which is seated on the protrusions 423 is set to have a certain value . the contact mechanism 470 includes two fixed contacts 472 , two fixed contacts 473 , two moving contacts 474 and two moving contacts 475 . the two fixed contacts 472 are embedded by being spaced out from each other in one protruding wall section 421 b . they extend along the inner surface of the wall 421 along the axial direction so that the two fixed contacts 472 are exposed to the interior of the casing 420 as shown in fig6 through fig6 . the two fixed contacts 473 are embedded by being spaced out from each other in another protruding wall section 421 c of the circumferential wall 421 of the casing 420 and extend axially along the inner surface of the wall 421 so that the two fixed contacts 473 are exposed to the interior of the casing 420 as shown in fig6 through fig6 . the protruding wall sections 421 b and 421 c protrude from the inner surface of the circumferential wall 421 of the casing 420 toward the axis to confront each other and axially extend on the inner surface of the circumferential wall 421 . these protruding wall sections 421 b and 421 c are formed from the open end of the circumferential wall 421 of the casing 420 toward the lower wall 422 , with the protruding wall section 421 c being axially shorter than the protruding wall section 421 b . the two fixed contacts 472 are axially shorter than the two fixed contacts 473 to match with the different lengths of the wall sections 421 b and 421 c ( refer to fig6 ). the two moving contacts 474 are fixed on the weight 440 at positions on the sides 442 of the two fixed contacts 472 . the moving contacts 474 extend outward from the sides 442 to contact contacts 472 . when the weight 440 is seated on the lower wall 422 , the tip sections of these moving contacts 474 are located on the right in fig6 of the protruding wall section 421 b do not - contact fixed contacts 472 . the two moving contacts 475 are fixed on the weight 440 on sides 443 of contacts 473 . the moving contacts 475 confront the two moving contacts 474 on the opposite side of the weight 440 and extend outward from sides 443 to contact contacts 473 . when the weight 440 is seated on the lower wall 422 , the tip sections of these moving contacts 475 are located on the right in fig6 of the protruding wall section 421 c and do not contact the fixed contacts 473 . the electrical circuit section db has a printed circuit board 480 , and the fixed contacts 472 and moving contacts 474 and 475 of the contact mechanism 470 are fed through the printed circuit board 480 and connected to resistors 490 a and 490 b which are connected to the wiring section of the printed circuit board . the resistor 290 a mates with the two fixed contacts 472 and two moving contact 474 , and the resistor 290 b mates with the two fixed contacts 473 and two moving contacts 475 . in the eighth embodiment , when the vehicle decelerates , the weight 440 slides along the shaft 430 against the exertion force of the compression spring 450 . when the weight 440 further slide in the same direction , the distance between the two moving contacts 474 and the two fixed contacts 472 decreases , and eventually the moving contacts 474 contact fixed contacts 472 . when the weight 440 further slides , the weight 440 contacts ( at its left - side plane 441 ) exerting plate 460 a . with further sliding , the weight 440 undergoes additional exertion forces by the two compression springs 450 and 460 . with further sliding against the exertion force of the two compression springs 450 and 460 , the distance between the two moving contacts 475 and the two fixed contacts 473 decreases . eventually the moving contacts 475 contact fixed contacts 473 . during operation , with the weight 440 sliding only against the exertion force of the compression spring 450 , the impact detecting device operates based on the first impact level . otherwise , when sliding against the exertion forces of the compression springs 450 and 460 , the impact detecting device operates based on the second impact level . by greatly increasing the exertion force and spring constant of the compression spring 460 relative to compression spring 450 , the first and second impact levels are altered . the amount of slide of weight 440 , exertion force acting on the weight 440 and closing positions of the first and second switches is identical to the first embodiment . the present invention is not confined in practice to automobiles , but it may be applied to electro - mechanical impact detecting devices equipped on other vehicles including buses and trucks . also , the present invention is not confined in practice to air - bag systems , but it may be applied to electro - mechanical impact detecting devices for the vehicle occupant protection systems such as the seat - belt pretensioner for automobiles . the moving contact of the contact mechanism is not required for the exertion force acting on the rotor , a spring which produces the exertion force may be employed separately . while the above - described embodiments refer to examples of usage of the present invention , it is understood that the present invention may be applied to other usage , modifications and variations of the same , and is not limited to the disclosure provided herein . | 6 |
referring to fig1 a and 1b , a tubing string a is disposed in a wellbore b . a packer f seals the tubing string a to a wall of the wellbore b and isolates an annulus interval above the packer f from an annulus interval g below the packer f , hereinafter called &# 34 ; the rathole g &# 34 ;. a perforating gun c is disposed within the tubing string a and is being lowered into the tubing string a on a section of coiled tubing d . a coiled tubing firing head e is connected between the coiled tubing d and the perforating gun c for firing and detonating the perforating gun c . as shown in fig1 a and in fig1 b , the perforating gun c , the firing head e , and the coiled tubing d are sized and shaped in a manner which allows the gun c , firing head e and coiled tubing d to move freely within the tubing string a , in either the upwardly or downwardly directions . therefore , if the firing head e fails to detonate and a repair operation is needed , instead of removing the tubing string a from the wellbore b , the coiled tubing d , firing head e , and perforating gun c may be removed from within the tubing string a . as a result , large amounts of time and money is saved in performing the repair operation . furthermore , the coiled tubing d is adapted to contain a fluid under pressure , and the firing head e is adapted to detonate in response to the fluid pressure disposed within the coiled tubing d . although not shown in fig1 a and 1b , the firing head e includes a circulating feature which allows the fluid , disposed in the tubing string a or within the wellbore b , to circulate into the firing head e and into the coiled tubing d . this allows the coiled tubing to fill as it is run in the well . where check valves are run in the coiled tubing string ( above the firing head ), the cbf and the bcf firing heads e discussed below will allow fluid to be pumped into the coiled tubing and to circulate out through the firing head . this is often necessary to prevent collapse of the coiled tubing d . three different types of the coiled tubing firing head e will be discussed in the following paragraphs of this detailed description : ( 1 ) a circulation direction firing head ( hereinafter called &# 34 ; the cdf firing head &# 34 ;), ( 2 ) a circulation ball firing head ( hereinafter called &# 34 ; the cbf firing head &# 34 ;), and ( 3 ) a ball actuated circulation firing head ( hereinafter called &# 34 ; the bcf firing head &# 34 ;). by way of introduction , the cdf and cbf coiled tubing firing heads described below can be initiated either with the well underbalanced or with the well overbalanced . both of these firing heads are initiated by a predetermined tubing pressure increase , yet they are insensitive to the absolute pressure around the firing head , even though the firing pin , once unlocked , requires a minimum of 300 psi of hydrostatic pressure to set off the percussion detonator . with each of these firing heads , it is possible to circulate fluid through the head and into the coiled tubing without detonating the firing head and initiating a firing train . these firing heads address the stimulation , workover , and plug to abandon markets , with one of the main applications being coiled tubing perforating . sensitivity to the direction of circulation varies with the tool used . by changing only four parts , a cdf firing head can be converted to a cbf firing head . the cdf firing head is sensitive to the direction of the circulation . the firing sequence is started by building up pressure in the coiled tubing . the cdf firing head provides for reverse circulation , tubing fill - up prior to firing the perforating guns ( provided there are no back pressure valves in the string above the head ), and circulation in both directions after firing . the cbf firing head requires a ball to be pumped , dropped or placed on the ball seat , thus allowing an increase of the coiled tubing pressure to initiate the firing process . the cbf firing head allows circulation in either direction prior to landing the ball on the seat ( provided there are no back pressure valves in the string above the head ) and after firing the guns . however , the cbf firing head does require landing the ball on the seat and pressuring up on the tubing to initiate the firing sequence . with the cbf firing head , the flow area is restricted to the ball seat diameter until firing is initiated and the ball seat is removed from the flow path ( and bypassed by the fluid ). the bcf coiled tubing firing head is a coiled tubing / tubing conveyed perforating firing head designed to fire at a preset differential pressure between tubing pressure and the annulus pressure while allowing circulation prior to firing and after firing in either direction , provided there are no back pressure valves in the coiled tubing string above the bcf firing head . prior to firing the bcf firing head , the flow area of the tool is limited to the internal diameter of the ball seat . after firing , the flow area is greater than the internal diameter of many types of coiled tubing . prior to firing , water hammer is reduced by the triangular pyramid located in the interior of the piston which is shaped to easily divert fluid from the tubing , through the slots , and into the annulus . referring to fig2 through 14 , the circulation direction firing head ( cdf firing head ) e in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated . fig2 , and 4 illustrate longitudinal cross sectional views of the cdf firing head taken along section lines 2 -- 2 of fig6 . fig5 illustrates a cross section of the cdf firing head taken along section lines 5 -- 5 of fig2 . fig6 illustrates a cross section of the cdf firing head taken along section lines 6 -- 6 of fig2 . fig7 illustrates a cross section of the cdf firing head taken along section lines 7 -- 7 of fig2 . fig8 illustrates a cross section of the cdf firing head taken along section lines 8 -- 8 of fig3 . fig9 - 14 illustrate , for purposes of a functional description , the longitudinal cross sectional views of the cdf firing head in various stages of its functional operation . in fig2 , and 4 , the coiled tubing d of fig1 a and 1b as shown in fig2 is connected to an upper adaptor 11 . the upper adaptor 11 is connected to a fluid inversion section 2 of the cdf firing head via a plurality of slots 10 shown in fig2 and 5 . the fluid inversion section 2 , situated above a firing section 1 shown in fig4 provides a means of reverse circulating prior to firing the perforating guns c . the fluid inversion section 2 includes a plug 23 disposed adjacent the slots 10 and a connector housing 3 which further includes a double walled housing 3a and 3b . the connector housing 3 includes two sets of ports ( ports 5 and 6 ) which are separated by a piston 4 thereby creating an artificial annulus 9 . the piston 4 is adapted to move longitudinally within the connector housing 3 in response to a movement of a piston rod 14 until the piston 4 abuts against the plug 23 . the top , first set of ports 5 fluidly communicate the rathole g of the wellbore b with the inside of the connector housing 3 on the top side of the piston 4 . below the piston 4 , the second set of ports 6 fluidly connects the interior of the connector housing 3 to the artificial annulus 9 . the artificial annulus 9 is further fluidly connected to the interior of the coiled tubing d . in fig2 and 3 , the piston 4 is supported by a piston rod 14 . in fig3 downward movement of the piston 4 is resisted by a compression spring 8 . the compression spring 8 urges the piston rod 14 upwardly in fig3 . the head 13 of the piston rod 14 disposed in abutment against the top 15a of a spring housing 15 . in response to the upwardly directed biasing force of the spring 8 , the head 13 of the piston rod 14 pushes upwardly against the top 15a of the spring housing 15 thereby tending to force the spring housing 15 upwardly in fig3 . when sufficient force is applied to the piston 4 whith coiled tubing pressure , the piston rod 14 will cause the inner sleeve 16a to break the shear pins 12 and will be sheared away from the outer shear set housing 16b , since the outer shear set housing 16b is a stationary piece . in fig4 the lower end of the spring housing 15 is threadedly connected to a release sleeve 17 . the release sleeve 17 holds four ball bearings 18 against a seat of a firing pin 19 . as long as the release sleeve 17 holds the ball bearings 18 against the set of the firing pin 19 , the firing pin 19 is firmly held in an elevated position relative to a booster 21 of a detonating cord 21a . the detonating cord 21a is connected between the booster 21 and a plurality of shaped charges disposed within the perforating gun c shown in fig1 a and 1b . a functional description of the operation of the circulation direction firing ( cdf ) firing head e of fig2 through 4 will be set forth in the following paragraphs with reference to fig9 through 14 of the drawings . in fig9 - 10 , the cdf firing head e will first undergo reverse circulation whereby wellbore fluid will enter the coiled tubing d prior to detonating the cdf firing head . when reverse circulation of the cdf firing head e begins , as shown by the arrow 5b , a fluid under pressure , originating from the rathole g , will enter the upper set of ports 5 , propagate down the center of the connector housing 3 , and will be exerted against the piston 4 . the fluid pressure from the rathole g moves the piston 4 downwardly against the biasing force of the spring 8 until the piston 4 is situated below the lower set of ports 6 . when the piston 4 is situated below the lower set of ports 6 , as shown in fig9 fluid 5a from the rathole g will then enter the tool through the upper set of ports 5 . the fluid 5a will continue to propagate downwardly through the interior of the connector housing 3 and will propagate outward through ports 6 before passing upwardly through the artificial annulus 9 disposed between the double walls 3a and 3b of the connector housing 3 . as shown by arrow 5b , the fluid 5a will enter the interior of the coiled tubing d by passing through the slots 10 on the lower end of upper adapter 11 . when the reverse circulation stops , the spring 8 will return the piston 4 to a neutral position which is located between the upper and lower set of ports 5 and 6 . referring to fig1 through 14 , now that wellbore fluid has been circulated through the cdf firing head e and into the coiled tubing d , the coiled tubing d is full of wellbore fluid and the cdf firing head e is now ready to be detonated . in fig1 through 12 , in order to detonate the cdf firing head e , pressure is applied against the top side of the fluid disposed in the coiled tubing d . as a result , as shown by the arrow 5c in fig1 , the fluid , disposed in the coiled tubing d , is pumped through the coiled tubing and is ultimately applied against a bottom side of the piston 4 thereby moving the piston 4 upwardly in fig1 . more particularly , as shown by arrow 5c , the fluid moves from the interior of the coiled tubing d in fig1 , through the slots 10 on the lower end of the upper adapter 11 , into the artificial annulus space 9 between the double walls 3a and 3b of the connector housing 3 , inward through the lower set of ports 6 , and reversing direction to act upward on the lower side of the piston 4 . the pressure from the fluid is exerted against the lower side of the piston 4 . as a result , the piston 4 tends to move upwardly . however , upward movement of the piston 4 is resisted by the shear pins 12 in fig1 . the shear pins 12 are loaded by the head 13 of the piston rod 14 , the head 13 pushing upwardly on the spring housing 15 in fig1 which , in turn , pushes upwardly on the inner sleeve 16a of the shear set . in fig1 through 14 , when sufficient fluid pressure is applied to shear the shear pins 12 via the fluid pressure exerted against the piston 4 originating from the coiled tubing d , the piston 4 , piston rod 14 , shear set inner sleeve 16a , spring housing 15 and release sleeve 17 all move upward . when the lower end 17a of the release sleeve 17 passes the ball bearings 18 , the balls 18 pop out , releasing the firing pin 19 . the firing pin 19 strikes the booster 21 of the detonating cord 21a to initiate the perforating gun c . initiation of the cdf firing head e is accomplished by tubing pressure which acts on the top 19a of the firing pin 19 against the atmospheric chamber 20 causing the firing pin 19 to move downward striking the percussion detonator 21 , initiating a firing train through the perforating gun c . the piston 4 , piston rod 14 , shear set inner sleeve 16a , spring housing 15 and release sleeve 17 all continue to move upward , until the piston 4 is above the upper ports 5 , now allowing further fluid circulation . as shown by the arrow 5d in fig1 , the further fluid circulation is accomplished by pumping fluid through the coiled tubing d causing the fluid to move from the interior of the coiled tubing d , through the slots 10 on the lower end of the upper adapter 11 , into the artificial annulus space 9 , between the double walls 3a and 3b of the connector housing 3 , through the lower set of ports 6 , reversing direction to act upward on the lower side of the piston 4 until the piston is moved upward against the plug 23 . the fluid exits the cdf firing head e by moving from the lower side of the piston 4 and out to the rathole g via the upper set of ports 5 . just prior to reaching the plug 23 , the piston 4 moves into an enlarged diameter 22 of the inner tube 22a of the connector housing 3 , the enlarged diameter 22 equalizing the pressure across the piston 4 . when the pumping of the fluid from the coiled tubing d and out to the rathole g via the upper ports 5 stops , the following parts of the cdf firing head should remain in fixed in position since there is no differential pressure across the piston 4 : the piston 4 , piston rod 14 , shear set inner sleeve 16a , spring housing 15 and release sleeve 17 . since the above parts remain fixed in position , reverse fluid circulation may be performed when desired . if the above parts drop downward inside the cdf firing head , below the upper set of ports 5 , the spring 8 will compress , allowing reverse circulation . if pumping through the coiled tubing d is resumed , with the above parts in the downward position , the above parts will again move upward in the manner described above . therefore , before the cdf firing head e is detonated , the piston 4 is disposed in its neutral position between ports 5 and 6 . as a result , the cdf firing head of fig2 - 14 will allow for reverse fluid circulation from the rathole g through the ports 5 and toward the coiled tubing d , which is possible by moving the piston downward with rathole pressure . however , after the cdf firing head e is detonated , the piston 4 is disposed in its uppermost upwardly disposed position . as a result , the cdf firing head e of fig2 - 14 will allow for fluid circulation from the coiled tubing d and out the ports 5 to the rathole g , or reverse circulation from the rathole inward through ports 5 and up the coiled tubing . referring to fig1 through 25 , the circulation ball firing head ( cbf firing head ) e in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated . fig1 and 16 illustrate a longitudinal cross section taken along section lines 15 -- 15 of fig1 illustrating the physical construction of the cbf firing head . fig1 is a cross section of the cbf firing head e taken along section lines 17 -- 17 of fig1 . fig1 is a cross section of the cbf firing head e taken along section lines 18 -- 18 of fig1 . fig1 is a cross section of the cbf firing head e taken along section lines 19 -- 19 of fig1 . fig2 is a cross section of the cbf firing head e taken along section lines 20 -- 20 of fig1 . fig2 through 25 illustrate , for purposes of a functional description , longitudinal cross sectional views of the cbf firing head in various stages of its functional operation . parts of the cbf firing head e of fig1 - 25 which are identical to other parts of the cdf firing head e of fig2 - 14 are identified by the same element numerals . in fig1 and 16 , unlike the cdf firing head of fig2 - 14 , the cbf firing head of fig1 - 25 allows for fluid circulation in either direction both prior to and after firing the perforating gun c provided there are no back pressure valves disposed above the cbf firing head e in the perforating gun string of fig1 a and 1b . in fig1 , the cbf firing head e includes an upper adaptor 11 connected to the coiled tubing d , the upper adaptor 11 including slots 10 disposed on its bottom end similar to the slots 10 shown in fig2 . a ball seat 24 is situated directly below the slots 10 , the ball seat 24 having a seating surface 24a which is adapted to receive a ball 40 dropped from the wellbore surface and falling or pumped through the coiled tubing d . the set of upper ports 5 are disposed through the double walls 3a and 3b of the connector housing 3 similar to the upper ports 5 disposed through the double walls of the connector housing 3 in fig2 . a piston 4 is sealingly disposed within and connected to the inner wall 3b of the double wall connector housing 3 similar to the piston 4 in fig2 . the lower set of ports 6 are disposed below the piston 4 in fig1 , the lower set of ports 6 communicating the interior of the connector housing 3 with an artifical annulus area 9 disposed between the inner wall 3b and the outer wall 3a of the connector housing 3 , similar to that which is shown in fig2 - 4 . one end of a cbf piston rod 26 supports the piston 4 . in addition , the other end of the piston rod 26 is threadedly connected to a release sleeve 27 , the release sleeve 27 having a lower end 27a . the release sleeve 27 holds a pair of ball bearings 18 firmly against a groove in a firing pin 19 . as long as the release sleeve 27 holds the ball bearings 18 against the groove in the firing pin 19 , the pin 19 cannot move downwardly and impact a booster 21 of a detonating cord 21a . the detonating cord 21a is ultimately connected to a plurality of shaped charges in the perforating gun c of fig1 a and 1b . a functional description of the operation of the cbf firing head e of fig1 - 25 will be set forth in the following paragraphs with reference to fig2 through 25 . before the ball 40 lands on the ball seat 24 , as shown by the arrow 5e in fig2 , fluid is pumped down the coiled tubing d and flows through the ball seat 24 at the top of the connector housing 3 and out the upper set of ports 5 in the connector housing 3 to the rathole g . conversely , as long as there are no back pressure valves in the perforating gun string above the cbf firing head and the ball 40 is not seated on the ball seat 24 , wellbore fluid can be reverse circulated from the rathole g , through the cbf firing head , and into the coiled tubing d , as shown in fig2 . during this reverse circulation of the wellbore fluid through the cbf firing head , fluid in the rathole g enters the cbf firing head through the upper ports 5 , passes into the interior of the connector housing 3 , and flows upward through the interior of the ball seat 24 and upper adapter 11 and into the interior of the coiled tubing d . in fig2 , when the cbf firing head e of fig1 - 25 is ready to fire , a ball 40 is pumped through the coiled tubing d and lands and seals on the seating surface 24a of the ball seat 24 . with the ball 40 seated on the seating surface 24a of the ball seat 24 , as shown by the arrow 5f in fig2 , fluid moves from the interior of the coiled tubing d through the slots 10 on the lower end of the upper adapter 11 , into the artificial annulus space 9 between the double walls 3a and 3b of the connector housing 3 , through the lower set of ports 6 , reversing direction to act upward on the lower side of the piston 4 . the slots 10 in the upper adapter 11 are necessary to help guide the ball 40 to the seat and to prevent small diameter balls from becoming lodged between the lower end of the upper adapter 11 and the top of the ball seat 24 while maintaining adequate flow area between the upper adapter 11 and the ball seat 24 . as shown in fig1 , upward movement of the piston 4 is resisted by the shear pins 12 . the shear pins 12 are loaded by the head 25 of the cbf piston rod 26 which is pushing upward on the inner sleeve 16a of the shear set . in fig2 - 25 , when sufficient pressure is applied through the coiled tubing d to shear the shear pins 12 , the piston 4 , piston rod 26 , shear set inner sleeve 16a , and release sleeve 27 all move upward . when the lower end 27a of the release sleeve 27 passes the ball bearings 18 , the balls pop out , releasing the firing pin 19 to initiate the perforating gun c of fig1 a and 1b . initiation of the cbf firing head e of fig1 - 25 is accomplished by in response to a tubing pressure acting on the top 19a of the firing pin 19 against atmospheric chamber 20 thereby causing the firing pin 19 to move downward striking the percussion detonator 21 , initiating the firing train through the detonating cord 21a and toward the perforating gun c . the piston 4 , piston rod 26 , shear set inner sleeve 16a , and release sleeve 27 all continue to move upward until the piston 4 is situated above the upper ports 5 . when the piston 4 is situated above the upper ports 5 , circulation is allowed . as shown by the arrow 5g in fig2 , circulation is accomplished by pumping through the coiled tubing d , as shown in fig2 , whereby the fluid moves from the interior of the coiled tubing d , through the slots 10 on the lower end of the upper adapter 11 , into the artificial annulus 9 located between the double walls 3a and 3b of the connector housing 3 , through the lower set of ports 6 , reversing direction to act upward on the lower side of the piston 4 until the piston 4 is moved upward against the ball seat 24 . just prior to reaching the ball seat 24 , the piston 4 moves into an enlarged diameter 22 of the inner tube of the connector housing 3 , equalizing the pressure across the piston 4 . when pumping ceases , the following cbf firing head parts should stay in place : the piston 4 , piston rod 26 , shear set inner sleeve 16a , and release sleeve 27 . these parts should stay in place because there is no differential pressure across the piston 4 , allowing reverse circulation when desired . if these parts drop downward in the cbf firing head , below the upper ports 5 , the ball 40 can be pumped off its seat 24a , allowing reverse circulation . if pumping through the coiled tubing is resumed , with these parts in the downward position , these parts will move upward as described above . there are other features which are common to both the cdf firing head of fig2 - 14 and the cbf firing head of fig1 - 25 . for example , although different shear set housings are used on the two tools , they are identical except for length . both shear set housings 16b on the cdf and 16c on the cbf have vertical slots 16d ( see fig2 ) running from the top edge housing down to ports 16e ( see fig1 ) thus connecting the annular space between the lower housing 29 or 30 and the piston rod 14 or 26 to the ball release sleeve 17 or 27 . these slots pass under the shear pin retainer sleeve 28 of fig1 to assure an adequate supply of fluid to drive the firing pin 19 when it is released . the artificial annulus space 9 between the double walls of the connector housing 3 is isolated from rathole g by the piston 4 . upper ports 5 are sealed between the rathole g and the artificial annular space 9 . the interior of coiled tubing d communicates directly with the artificial annulus space 9 via the slots 10 in the upper adapter 11 . the only way that the interior of coiled tubing d and the rathole g can communicate is for the piston 4 to move below the lower ports 6 or above the upper ports 5 , or through the ball seat 24 on a cbf firing head . both the cdf firing head of fig2 - 14 and the cbf firing heads of fig1 - 25 are insensitive to mechanical shock from dropping , etc , since the release sleeve 27 moves upward to release the balls 18 , but its lower end 27a is shouldered against the shear set housings 16b or 16c thereby preventing downward movement . both the cdf and the cbf firing heads are insensitive to water hammer since the piston 4 must move upward after the pressure wave has been greatly reduced by making the tortuous path from the interior of the coiled tubing d through the slots 10 on the lower end of the upper adapter 11 , into the artificial annular space 9 between the double walls of the connector housing 3 , through the lower set of ports 6 reversing direction to act upward on the lower side of the piston 4 . in addition , the movement of the piston 4 is resisted by the shear pins 12 . in summary , the following characteristics and advantages are common to both the cdf firing head of fig2 - 14 and the cbf firing head of fig1 - 25 . the firing heads are insensitive to the absolute pressure around it . the cdf firing head permits reverse circulation through the firing head prior to firing and circulation in either direction after firing ; however , the cbf firing head permits circulation in either direction prior to and after firing . both firing heads include a means of reversing the direction of fluid flow to activate the firing head , that is , the fluid travels from the inside of the coiled tubing to an artificial annulus within the tool and reverses directions to act upward on an initiating device within the center of the head . both firing heads , once activated , opens a passage from the coiled tubing d to the rathole for circulating fluids for the purpose of treating , stimulating or plugging a well . both firing heads are water hammer insensitive and are drop insensitive . referring to fig2 through 39 , the ball actuated circulation firing head ( bcf firing head ) e in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated . fig2 through 28 illustrate a physical construction of the bcf firing head e . fig2 illustrates three longitudinal slots 56 in the piston housing 54 of fig2 . fig3 illustrates a cross section of the bcf firing head e taken along section lines 30 -- 30 of fig2 . fig3 illustrates a cross section of the bcf firing head e taken along section lines 31 -- 31 of fig2 . fig3 illustrates a cross section of the bcf firing head e taken along section lines 32 -- 32 of fig2 . fig3 and 34 illustrate , for purposes of a functional description , the portion of the bcf firing head e shown in fig2 . fig3 through 37 illustrate again , for purposes of a further functional description , the bcf firing head e of fig2 - 28 . fig3 - 39 illustrate the piston 60 of fig2 - 27 . in fig2 , 29 , 30 , 38 , and 39 , the bcf firing head e of fig2 is normally run on the bottom end of a coiled tubing d and is connected to the coiled tubing d by the crossover adapter 50 . a variety of upper adapters 52 are used to connect to various sizes of coiled tubing d . the piston housing 54 is connected to the bottom of the upper adapter 52 . as best shown in fig2 in conjunction with fig2 , a piston housing 54 contains three or more longitudinal slots 56 , and , as shown in fig3 , a piston 60 disposed within the piston housing 54 contains a corresponding number of slots 58 which are congruent with the slots 56 . as best seen in fig2 , slot 56a of the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 is elongated more than the other slots 56 in order to provide a means of aligning the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 with the slots 58 in the piston 60 . a bolt 62 runs in the longest slot 56a of the piston housing 56 in order to maintain the congruent angular orientation of the the slots 58 in the piston 60 relative to the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 . fluid can pass freely from the interior of the coiled tubing d through the slots 58 and 56 to the annular space outside the bcf ; and , if there are no back pressure valves in the tool string above the bcf , the fluid can move freely between the annular space outside the bcf firing head to the interior of the coiled tubing d . the effect of water hammer is reduced by the shape of the slots 58 in the piston 60 . the slots 58 are milled at a very lean angle with the center line of the bcf so as to make a smooth transition from the interior of the bcf firing head to the annular space outside the bcf firing head . in addition , as best shown in fig3 and 39 , with three or more slots , a pyramid is formed in the piston 60 that helps break up the effect of the water hammer . the position of the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 are such that the fluid should never touch the edges of the slots 56 since the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 are wider than the slots 58 in the piston 60 . in addition , the slots 56 are maintained in alignment with the slots 58 by the bolt 62 . in fig2 , 31 , and 32 , vertically , the piston 60 is positioned by shear pin sleeve 64 shouldering on the internal upset of the piston housing 54 at point 64a . shear pins 66 and / or 68 lock the piston 60 to the shear pin sleeve 64 . shear value of the four headless shear pins 66 are approximately 1 , 000 psi per pin . shear value of shear pin 68 , which has a head , can be 250 , 500 or 1 , 000 psi , thus a range of operating pressures from 250 to 5 , 000 can be achieved . near the lower end of piston 60 , there is a reduced diameter 60a and an enlargement 60b below the reduced diameter 60a . the top end of connector 70 has a small slot 70b milled in it that slips over the reduced diameter 60a of piston 60 . below the slot 70b , a larger slot 70c is large enough to slip over the enlarged diameter 60b on the bottom end of piston 60 . the combination of diameters 60a and 60b plus slots 70b and 70c act together to attach a connector 70 to the piston 60 . once assembled , an intermediate housing 72 maintains the engagement of the connector 70 to the piston 60 ; and , as a result , the connector 70 moves with piston 60 . intermediate housing includes holes 72a and 72b . ball retainer 74 having a top end 74a is threadably attached to the lower end of connector 70 . the internal diameter of ball retainer 74 firmly holds the ball bearings 76 in place against a side of the firing pin 78 and thus maintains the firing pin 78 in a safe , elevated , running - in position . a functional description of the bcf firing head e of fig2 through 32 will be set forth in the following paragraphs with reference to fig3 through 37 of the drawings . in fig3 , as shown by the arrow 5h in fig3 , wellbore fluid can be circulated freely , in either direction , between the interior of coiled tubing d to an annulus space 90 outside the bcf firing head ( where the annulus 90 is most often in the casing below the tubing string a in fig1 b ), provided there are no back pressure valves in the tool string above the firing head . this is ideal for setting the underbalance during a tubing conveyed perforating job , maintaining well control , or conditioning the well , prior to firing the bcf firing head e of fig2 - 39 . the piston 60 is balanced while circulating the wellbore fluid in either direction because the piston 60 : ( 1 ) is exposed to a pressure of fluid from the interior of the coiled tubing d , ( 2 ) is open to the annulus 90 through the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 , and ( 3 ) as shown in fig2 , is open to the annulus 90 from below due to the holes 72a and 72b in the intermediate housing 72 . thus , there is no tendency for the bcf firing head to fire while circulating the wellbore fluid . in fig3 , in order to initiate a detonation of the bcf firing head e of fig2 - 39 , a ball 80 must be dropped or pumped through the coiled tubing d . the ball 80 will land on the ball seat 60c located in the upper end of piston 60 . when the ball lands on the ball seat 60c , the ball 80 functions as a seal , isolating the interior d1 of the coiled tubing d from the annulus space 90 located outside the bcf firing head e of fig2 - 39 . in fig3 through 37 , as shown by the arrow 5i in fig3 , fluid pressure from coiled tubing d is exerted on piston 60 creating a differential pressure between the interior d1 of the coiled tubing d and the annulus 90 located outside the bcf firing head . when the differential fluid pressure which exists between the interior d1 of the coiled tubing d and the annulus 90 located outside the bcf firing head of fig3 is equal to the shear pin value total of all shear pins 66 through 68 of fig3 , the shear pins 66 through 68 shear off thereby freeing the piston 60 , allowing the piston 60 to move downwardly . downward movement of piston 60 causes connector 70 to move down , carrying ball retainer 74 with it . when the top end 74a of the ball retainer 74 moves below the ball bearings 76 , firing pin 78 is released . annular fluid pressure enters the inside of the connector 70 through the holes 72a and 72b in intermediate housing 72 and flows through the slots 70b and 70c . the annulus fluid pressure acts downward on the top 78a of firing pin 78 against an air chamber 82 . the annular pressure , acting on the top 78a of firing pin 78 against the air chamber 82 , causes the firing pin 78 to move rapidly downward , so that the lower end 78b of the firing pin 78 strikes the percussion detonator 84 , initiating a firing train in a detonating cord 92 . the detonating cord is connected to a plurality of shaped charges in the perforating gun c of fig1 a and 1b . the bore 70a of the connector 70 provides space for the released balls 76 . the balls 76 will not to interfere with the movement of the firing pin 78 . initiation of the bcf firing head e of fig3 - 37 is observed at the surface of the wellbore b by a decrease in tubing pressure caused by the o - rings 86 located on the upper end of piston 60 passing the slots 56 in piston housing 54 . inertia of the piston 60 , once the shear pins 66 and 68 shear , causes the piston 60 to move downward until the ball retainer 74 shoulders against the intermediate housing 72 . this uncovers the slots 56 in the piston housing 54 so that fluid circulation through the coiled tubing d to the annulus 90 can take place as shown in fig3 . circulation from the annulus 90 to the coiled tubing d is also possible so long as there is no back pressure valves in the tool string above the bcf firing head . in summary , the bcf firing head of fig2 - 39 is insensitive to the absolute pressure around it . the bcf firing head permits circulation through the firing head in either direction both before and after firing . the bcf firing head , once activated , opens a passage from the coiled tubing to the rathole for circulating fluids for the purpose of treating , stimulating or plugging a well . the bcf firing head is water hammer insensitive . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 4 |
referring to fig1 reference numeral 29 indicates a magnetic sheet containing cassette in its entirety . the cassette 29 consists of a cassette housing 30 having a magnetic sheet or disc 31 contained within the housing 30 as a recording medium . a sheet core 32 is fixedly provided in the middle part of the sheet 31 and a sheet chucking ring 33 is secured to the core 32 . the cassette housing 30 is provided with an opening 30a which is arranged in the middle part of at least one side thereof to expose a portion of the sheet core 32 and is also provided with another opening 30b which is arranged to permit a recording head to have access to the magnetic sheet 31 . referring now to fig2 the apparatus is provided with a sheet rotating motor 26 having a rotation shaft 26a . a hub 27 is secured to the rotation shaft 26a and is provided for mounting thereon the sheet 31 . a sheet chucking permanent magnet 28 is secured to a portion of the sheet mounting hub 27 and is axially magnetized . the sheet core 32 is made of a non - magnetic material such as a plastic material and is provided with a central opening for fitting engagement with the hub 27 . on the outside of this opening there is disposed a sheet chucking ring 33 . the sheet chucking ring 33 is made of a magnetic material . the sheet core 32 is arranged to be magnetically secured to the hub 27 by virtue of the attraction of the ring 33 by the magnet 28 . under this condition , the sheet core 32 rotates together with the motor rotation shaft 26a and thus causes the sheet 31 to rotate within the cassette housing . a recording / reproducing magnetic head 34 is carried by a head carrier 35 . with the apparatus loaded with the cassette 29 , the head 34 is either in contact with a recording surface of the sheet 31 or closely confronting the recording surface leaving a slight gap between them through the opening 30b of the housing 30 . under this condition , a signal is recorded on or reproduced from the sheet 31 along a spiral track or cocentric tracks . in that instance , the position of the head 34 relative to the sheet 31 is shifted as the carrier 35 is moved in the direction of the arrows as shown in the drawing by a suitable means which is not shown . next , referring to fig3 there is shown main body part 1 of a cassette handling apparatus having the motor 26 and the head 34 which are as shown in fig2 and which are arranged in suitable positions respectively . the apparatus is also provided with a cassette receiving part 2 and a shaft 3 which connects the cassette receiving part 2 with the main body part 1 . a spring 13 is arranged between an arm portion 2a of the cassette receiving part 2 and the main body part 1 . this spring 13 exerts a force to urge the cassette receiving part 2 to turn counterclockwise on the shaft 3 . this turning movement of the cassette receiving part 2 is restricted by a pin 24 ( fig5 ). the cassette receiving part 2 is provided with a vacant space 2b for accommodating a cassette 29 therein , a space 2c for accommodating a spring 4 and a cassette loading port 2d . the space 2c is larger than the other space 2b in its vertical dimension and the movable extent of the spring 4 is limited to the inside of the space 2c . a shaft 7 is provided on a portion of the cassette receiving part 2 and is arranged to pivotally carry a cassette lock lever 8 and a stop lever 10 . these levers 8 and 10 are urged by the force of a spring 12 to operate as a unified arrangement . however , since a pin 9 is provided on the lever 8 as shown in the drawing , these levers 8 and 10 normally turn together with some opening angle being maintained therebetween . between the cassette lock lever 8 and a protrudent portion 2e extending downward from the cassette receiving part 2 , there is provided a spring 11 which exerts a turning force on the cassette lock lever 8 and the stop lever 10 to urge them to turn counterclockwise on the shaft 7 . however , these levers 8 and 10 are kept in the state shown in fig3 with the cassette locking part 8a of the lever 8 abutting on a portion of the cassette receiving part 2 . for this purpose , a pin 2f is provided on one side portion of the cassette receiving part 2 as shown in fig3 and is arranged to restrict the turning movement of the lever 8 . an end part 8b of the lever 8 is arranged to abut on a cam part 14b of an eject lever 14 at the time of a cassette removing operation which will be described later herein . a lock pin 5 provided on a side portion of the cassette receiving part 2 is arranged to engage with a hook part 16a of a receiving part locking lever 16 when the cassette receiving part 2 is closed on the main body part 1 as will be described later herein . attached to the arm portion 2a of the cassette receiving part 2 is a driven pin 6 which is arranged to push one end 22b of a lock member 22 for locking the eject lever 14 when the cassette receiving part 2 is opened from the main body part 1 as shown in fig3 . with one end 22b pushed by the drive pin 6 , the lock member 22 is set into a state having been turned counterclockwise on a shaft 21 . the lock member 22 is urged to move clockwise by a spring 23 . however , this uring force of the spring 23 is weaker than the urging force of the spring 13 which is exerted on the lock member 22 through the drive pin 6 . the receiving part locking lever 16 is urged to move counterclockwise on a shaft 17 by the force of a spring 19 but is normally kept by a pin 20 at the position as shown in fig3 . the eject lever 14 is arranged to be slidably guided by a portion 1b of the main body part 1 and is urged to move to the right by a spring 15 . the eject lever 14 is provided with a lock part 14a which is arranged to engage with the hook part 22a of the lock member 22 as shown in fig6 . the cam part 14b of the eject lever 14 is arranged to abut on one end 8b of the cassette lock lever 8 during a cassette removing operation as shown in fig6 and 7 . the eject lever 14 is further provided with a protrudent part 14c which has a pin 18 attached thereto . this pin 18 is arranged to push one end 16b of the receiving part locking lever 16 during a cassette removing operation as shown in fig7 . further , there is provided an operation knob 14d for operation of the eject lever 14 . in the structural arrangement which has been described above , when an external force is applied to the cassette receiving part 2 in the direction of arrow a as shown in fig3 to turn it clockwise on the shaft 3 with the cassette 29 not loaded on the cassette receiving part 2 , the receiving part 2 is closed on the main body part 1 as shown in fig6 . then , the lock pin 5 engages the hook part 16a of the locking lever 16 to keep the cassette receiving part 2 in the closed state . a stop part 1a of the main body part 1 is so positioned as to be outside the moving locus of the stop lever 10 during the turning movement of the cassette receiving part 2 when the stop lever 10 is rotated counterclockwise by the cassette lock lever 8 . further , one end 8b of the cassette lock lever 8 never comes to abut on the cam part 14b of the eject lever 14 during the turning movement of the cassette receiving part 2 . next , when the cassette 29 is partially inserted into the cassette loading port 2d of the cassette receiving part 2 in the direction of arrow b as shown in fig4 the lock part 8a of the cassette lock lever 8 is pushed by the lower surface of the cassette 29 to turn clockwise against the urging force of the spring 11 . then , the stop lever 10 also turns clockwise together with the lock lever 8 . in this instance , the moving locus of the stop lever 10 differs from that of fig3 . therefore , the cassette receiving part 2 cannot be turned clockwise under this condition because the fore end 10a of the stop lever 10 then comes to abut on the stop part 1a of the main body part 1 to inhibit the cassette receiving part 2 from turning . in other words , the cassette receiving part cannot be closed on the main body part 1 before completion of loading the cassette receiving part 2 with the cassette 29 . further , the same inhibitting condition is obtained in the case of inadequate or wrong loading of the cassette 29 since in such a case the lock part 8a is likewise in the above - stated clockwise turning position . fig5 shows the cassette 29 as in a completely loaded state after it has been further pushed into the cassette receiving space 2b of the cassette receiving part 2 . upon completion of loading the cassette receiving part 2 with the cassette 29 in this manner , the urging force of the spring 11 causes the cassette lock lever 8 to turn counterclockwise back to the original position thereof , where it abuts on the pin 2f as shown in fig3 . the stop lever 10 then turns counterclockwise together with the lock lever 8 and thus comes out of contact with the stop part 1a of the main body part 1 in the same manner as in the case of fig3 . accordingly , the cassette receiving part 2 can be closed on the main body part 1 by turning it clockwise under this condition . after completion of loading of the cassette 29 , the rear end of the cassette 29 enters the spring containing space 2c of the cassette receiving part 2 as shown in fig5 and the spring 4 is charged . under this condition , the fore end of the cassette 29 is locked by the lock part 8a of the cassette lock lever 8 and the cassette 29 is thus kept in the state shown in fig5 . when the cassette receiving part 2 is closed on the main body part 1 as shown in fig6 the engaging pin 5 provided on the cassette receiving part 2 engages with the lock part 16a of the locking lever 16 to keep the cassette receiving part in the state shown in fig6 . under this condition , the core 32 of the magnetic sheet 31 contained within the cassette 29 engages with the hub 27 attached to the rotation shaft 26a of the motor 26 as shown in fig2 . meanwhile , the magnetic head 34 comes into contact with or closely confronts the sheet 31 through the opening 30b of the cassette housing 30 . therefore , recording of a signal or reproduction of a recorded signal can be accomplished with the magnetic head 34 under this condition . further , under the condition as shown in fig6 the lock member 22 is released from the pushing pressure of the drive pin 6 on one end 22b thereof . the lock member 22 therefore turns clockwise due to the force of the spring 23 and the hook part 22a of the lock member 22 abuts the lock part 14a of the eject lever 14 . when removing the cassette 29 , the knob 14d is operated to push the eject lever 14 in the direction of arrow c as shown in fig7 . with the eject lever 14 thus pushed , the pin 18 on the protrudent part 14c of the eject lever 14 pushes one end 16b of the receiving part locking lever 16 . this causes the lever 16 to turn clockwise on the shaft 17 . the lock part 16a of the lever 16 then disengages the lock pin 5 to allow the cassette receiving part 2 to be turned counterclockwise by the force of the spring 13 . during the turning movement of the cassette receiving part 2 , one end 8b of the cassette lock lever 8 comes to abut upon the cam part 14b of the eject lever 14 . therefore , the cassette lock lever 8 turns clockwise on the shaft 7 to disengage its lock part 8a from the cassette 29 . at this instant , the stop lever 10 tries also to turn clockwise but the turning movement thereof is restricted by the stop part 1a of the main body part 1 . as a result of that , the stop lever 10 moves upward while it is kept in contact with the stop part 1a of the main body part 1 . further , when the eject lever 14 is pushed in the direction of arrow c to a predetermined extent , the returning movement of the eject lever 14 to its original position by the force of the spring 15 is temporarily hindered as the hook part 22a of the lock member 22 engages with the lock part 14a of the lever 14 . since the cassette 29 is released from the locking action of the cassette locking lever 8 as mentioned above , the spring 4 pushes the cassette 29 in the direction of arrow d as shown in fig7 . then , since the urging force of the spring 4 is arranged to be exerted only within the spring containing space 2c as mentioned in the foregoing , the cassette 29 is brought into a position having its fore end protruding just to an extent l out of the cassette receiving part 2 . in this specific embodiment , there is additionally provided brake means for keeping the cassette 29 in this state . referring to fig8 friction springs 25 are arranged to provide friction against the movement of the cassette 19 in the left and right directions as viewed on the drawing . assuming that the magnitude of this friction is ff , the pushing force of the spring 4 on the cassette 29 is fd and the weight of the cassette is w , the cassette 29 is first pushed out from the spring containing space 2c to have a fore end portion thereof kept in the state shown in fig7 wherein there exists the relationship w & lt ; ff & lt ; fd . under this condition , the cassette never falls due to the force of gravity even if the direction of arrow d is in the downward direction . further , the protruding length l of the cassette 29 may be more stably maintained by arranging th springs 25 to serve as click springs with u - shaped grooves or the like provided in the side walls of the cassette . with the cassette receiving part 2 further turned , the arm portion 2a thereof comes to abut upon the pin 24 . then , as shown in fig3 the drive pin 6 pushes one end 22b of the lock member 22 . with the member 22 thus pushed , the eject lever 14 is released from the locking action of the hook part 22a of the lock member 22 on the lock part 14a thereof . the urging force of the spring 15 then brings the eject lever 14 back to its original position . in the cassette removing operation described above , the projecting movement of the cassette 29 causes no adverse effect on the recording head 34 and the drive hub 27 as it occurs only after the cassette receiving part 2 has turned to a certain extent . the cassette removing mechanism may be arranged independently of the cassette loading mechanism previously mentioned . however , combination of the two ensures more reliable operation with a single mechanism . as has been described above in the preferred form of the invention , the cassette receiving part is inhibited from coupling with the main body part when the cassette is only partly loaded or either erroneously or incompletely loaded on the cassette receiving part , and this coupling is allowed only after completion of cassette loading . therefore , the recording head , the drive means and other members disposed within the main body part of the recording / reproducing apparatus and the cassette body or the recording medium contained in the cassette can be effectively protected from being damaged due to erroneous or incomplete loading of the cassette . further , in the above - described preferred embodiment , while the cassette is arranged to partly protrude to the outside of the cassette receiving part when removing it from the cassette receiving part to permit grasping thereof for easier handling , adoption of the arrangement as shown in fig8 precludes the possibility that the cassette may be dropped even in cases where the cassette is taken out in the downward direction . the invention therefore not only improves the operability of the cassette handling apparatus but also effectively prevents the cassette from being damaged by falling . while a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles . | 6 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the following description , well - known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail . before describing a communication initialization method in a cr communication system according to the present invention , the terms used herein will first be defined below . licensed primary system : a wireless communication system legally authorized to use a frequency ; base station ( bs ): a device located at the center of a cell , for enabling communications of customer premise equipments ( cpes ) within its coverage area ; and in accordance with the present invention , requirements for the cr communication system are defined as follows . 1 . a cr communication system is limited to a point - to - multipoint cellular communication system . in the cellular system , a bs located at the center of a cell communicates with cpes within its coverage area . 2 . upon sensing the presence of a licensed primary user in the current frequency band , the cr wireless communication system has to immediately move to another unused frequency band , discontinuing the use of the current frequency band . this is mandatory to the cr communication system to avoid interference with licensed primary users . 3 . the cr wireless communication system has to be equipped to dynamically sense the operation statuses of other wireless communication systems in order not to interfere with existing licensed primary systems . when sensing the presence of any other device at a certain frequency by the frequency sensing function , the cr wireless communication system determines if the device is a licensed primary system or another cr wireless communication system and operates correspondingly . a communication initialization method according to the present invention is an initialization protocol for the mac layer , independent of the properties of the physical layer . a detailed description of how a frequency band is sensed and how a communication system that has sent a sensed signal is identified in the physical layer will not be provided . the present invention is described on the assumption that requirements for the physical layer for practical implementation of cr can be satisfied . relative to other wireless communication systems , communication initialization is not so simple in the cr system . due to the nature of cr system , i . e . detection of an unused frequency band , upon sensing the presence of a licensed primary user in the current frequency band , the frequency band has to be immediately changed . for notational simplicity , five different frequency bands identified by their channel indexes , channel 1 to channel 5 are assumed . fig1 illustrates a network configuration to be referred to for describing an operation of the cr system according to the present invention . referring to fig1 , the service area 150 of a bs 100 ( cr bs ) in the cr system is overlapped with those of bss 110 and 120 in licensed primary systems and bss 130 and 140 in neighbor cr systems . the licensed primary systems 110 and 120 use channel 1 and channel 2 , respectively , and the neighbor cr systems 130 and 140 use channel 3 and channel 4 , respectively . a plurality of cpes 10 - 1 to 10 - 12 are scattered within the service area 150 of the bs 100 . some of them , i . e . the cpes 10 - 1 , 10 - 4 , 10 - 5 , 10 - 8 , 10 - 10 , 10 - 11 and 10 - 12 are located in overlap areas between the service areas of the bss 110 to 140 and the service area 150 ofthe bs 100 . the cr bs 100 and the cpes 10 - 1 to 10 - 12 can sense frequency bands as well as perform communications . the bs 100 does not have knowledge of the frequency use status of every cpe that it services . especially when there are a plurality of cr system operators , the bs has more difficulty in determining the frequency use status of neighbor cpes . if a currently serviced cpe is located in an overlap area between a licensed primary system and the cr bs 100 or between another cr system and the cr bs 100 , these systems affect the cpe , and are affected by signal propagation of the bs 100 . in the illustrated case of fig1 , although the cr bs 100 may determine through frequency sensing that all of channel 1 to channel 5 are available , in fact , channel 1 and channel 2 are in use for the licensed primary systems 110 and 120 , and the cpes 10 - 1 , 10 - 4 and 10 - 5 serviced by the cr bs 100 are within the coverage area of the licensed primary systems 110 and 120 . also , channel 3 and channel 4 are in use for the other cr systems 130 and 140 . in this case , the point is which channel the cr bs 100 has to select . the cr bs 100 sends frequency sensing request information over the frequency bands sensed as available to the cpes 10 - 1 to 10 - 12 and selects a frequency band for use based on the result for each frequency band received from the cpes 10 - 1 to 10 - 12 . considering the existence of cpes that cannot interpret particular frequency band information or cpes that cannot respond due to a power - off state while in the service areas of the licensed primary systems 110 and 120 and the other cr systems 130 and 140 , a new mac initialization technique is required for the cr bs 100 to select a frequency band . despite power - off states or during communications , the cr bs 100 has to sense as many frequency bands as possible to thereby determine available frequency bands . after determining the available frequency bands , the cr bs 100 sends a control signal at a preset position in all or part of the frequency bands unused for the licensed primary systems 110 and 120 and the other cr systems 130 and 140 . in the present invention , the control signal is referred to as a ready to use ( rtu )- 1 signal . the rtu - 1 signal is sent with a very narrow bandwidth , compared to the bandwidth of each frequency band and may have a pattern easily sensible to other cr systems . the rtu - 1 signal contains the identifier ( id ) of a serving bs ( bsid ), a training frequency set ( tfs ) that the bs sensed as available , and a known training sequence signal ( tss ) by which other bss or cpes capable of receiving the rtu - 1 signal can find out the status of the channel ( e . g . signal - to - interference noise ratio ( sinr )). the bs periodically sends the rtu - 1 signal over all available frequency bands . fig2 illustrates transmission of the rtu - 1 signal in the communication initialization method in the cr system according to the present invention . referring to fig2 , the cr bs periodically sends the rtu - 1 signal for a preset time over all or part of the frequency bands except for those occupied by licensed primary systems or other cr systems detected by the cr bs , that is , over channel 1 , channel 2 , channel 4 , channel 5 , channel 7 , channel 8 , channel 9 and channel 10 in fig2 . unused frequency bands are denoted by 203 and 206 . the rtu - 1 signal includes a bsid , a tfs , and a tss , and is defmed as shown in equation ( 1 ): the cr bs 100 periodically sends the rtu - 1 signal and receives channel reports from cpes in response to the rtu - 1 signal . the cr bs 100 excludes a frequency band in which a licensed primary system or another cr system may significantly affect a cpe from the next rtu - 1 transmission based on the channel reports . the transmission periods of the rtu - 1 signal and the channel report are determined by a cr system operator . it may occur that rtu - 1 signals in a commonly available frequency band from a plurality of other cr system operators collide with each other , thereby making it impossible for cpes or neighbor bss to reliably interpret the rtu - 1 signals . as a consequence , the available frequency band is rendered unavailable . to solve this problem , each bs sends the rtu - 1 signal in carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance ( csma / ca ) with backoff . upon sensing the presence of an rtu - 1 signal in the available frequency band before signal transmission , the bs waits for a backoff time . if detecting a licensed primary system during the backoff , the bs immediately stops the rtu - 1 transmission attempt . the backoff operation goes with csma / ca . a bs or a cpe monitors if a medium ( i . e . a frequency band ) is clear before signal transmission . upon detection of an energy level greater than or equal to a threshold in the medium , the bs or cpe waits , having determined that the medium is in use and activates a backoff timer . a backoff time later , the bs or cpe attempts signal transmission . fig3 illustrates a backoff operation for preventing collision between rtu - 1 signals in the communication initialization method in the cr system according to the present invention . referring to fig3 , the cr bs 100 senses an rtu - 1 signal in an available frequency band before signal transmission and attempts the signal transmission after a backoff period 305 . the backoff time can be set and the backoff timer can be operated in many ways , which will not be described herein . cpes , which have received the rtu - 1 signal , acquire a training frequency set ( tfs ) and channel status information of each frequency band ( for example a signal to noise ratio sinr ) from the rtu - 1 signal . the cpes then feed back channel reports to the cr bs 100 in a plurality of frequency bands in which the licensed primary system and other cr systems have no influence on the cpes . the number of frequency bands for carrying the channel reports is determined by a service provider . fig4 illustrates transmission of channel reports from cpes in the communication initialization method in the cr system according to the present invention . referring to fig4 , upon receipt from the bs of an rtu - 1 signal in unused frequency bands , a cpe replies with a channel report in csma / ca with backoff in a plurality of frequency bands in optimum channel status ( e . g . optimum sinr status ) and having no influence on a licensed primary system and other cr systems around the cpe , except for frequency bands 405 in use for the licensed primary system and other cr systems as sensed by the cpe . in the illustrated case of fig4 , the cpe receives the rtu - 1 signal over channel 1 , channel 2 , channel 4 , channel 5 , channel 7 , channel 8 , channel 9 and channel 10 , but sends its channel report to the cr bs over channel 1 , channel 2 , channel 4 , channel 8 , channel 9 and channel 10 except two channels occupied by the licensed primary system and other cr systems , i . e . channel 5 and channel 7 . the channel report contains the id of the cpe , a current band channel metric ( cbcm ), and a not available training frequency set ( na - tfs ), and is defined by equation ( 2 ): where cpe id is an identification number specific to the cpe , which may contain location information of the cpe . cbcm contains the channel status information of each frequency band that has carried the rtu - 1 signal from the bs , and na - tfs denotes a frequency band set which is available to the bs but not available to the cpe at its location for some reason , e . g . for the reason that the frequency band set is occupied by neighbor systems . na - tfs functions to notify the cr bs of frequency use status around the cpe , which is not known to the cr bs , i . e . frequency bands used for other cr systems and a frequency band locally used for a licensed primary system , to thereby avoid interference with the licensed primary system and the cr systems . na - tfs includes information indicating the frequency bands that are not available are occupied by the licensed primary system or other cr systems . in the case of simultaneous transmission of channel reports from cpes , they may collide . to overcome this problem , the channel reports are delivered in cdma / ca with a backoff . as described above , rtu - 1 transmission from the bs and channel report transmission from the cpes are based on csma / ca with backoff . the cr system operator has to set a substantially sufficient time for transmission of the rtu - 1 signal and the channel report signals . when a bs determines that it has received a sufficient number of channel reports , the bs will select an optimum frequency band . considerations regarding channel report reception and the period of channel report transmission are determined by the service provider . upon receipt of channel reports from the cpes , the bs selects the best frequency band according to whether each frequency band is in use or not , and according to channel status information from the cpes ( e . g . mean sinr ). the bs selection process of the best frequency band is beyond the scope of the present invention and thus will not described herein . then the bs notifies the cpes of the selected frequency band . the bs sends to the cpes frequency band information associated with the selected frequency band in the frequency bands that delivered the rtu - 1 signal , which is defined by equation ( 3 ): as noted from equation ( 3 ), the selected frequency band information contains the bsid and a selected frequency set ( sfs ). during communications in the selected frequency band , the bs monitors frequency bands and periodically sends an rtu - 2 signal in all frequency bands sensed as available except for the selected frequency band in current use . as with the case of fig1 , in the case where a cpe located within the service area of the neighbor cr system 130 has not sent a channel report due to a power - off state , for example , when the bs selects the same frequency band as that of the cr system 130 , the transmission of the rtu - 2 signal enables the cpe to send frequency band information about the selected frequency band in another frequency band . the transmission of the rtu - 2 signal relieves the constraints of sensing excess frequency bands when there are other cpes to communicate . the rtu - 2 signal contains information about the current frequency band that carries the rtu - 1 signal . fig5 illustrates transmission of the rtu - 2 signal after the bs selects a frequency band in the communication initialization method in the cr system according to the present invention . to avoid collision with rtu - 2 signals from other cr systems , the rtu - 2 signal is periodically sent in csma / ca with a backoff . upon detecting a licensed primary system authorized to use a predetermined frequency band in the frequency band , the bs discontinues transmission of the rtu - 2 signal in the frequency band and updates information about the rtu - 2 signal . referring to fig5 , the bs selects optimum frequency bands 501 , 502 and 504 based on channel reports received from cpes in response to the rtu - 1 signal which was sent in frequency bands except for frequency bands 503 and 506 in use for the licensed primary system and other cr systems , and then sends the rtu - 2 signal periodically in frequency bands except for these channels 501 , 502 , 503 , 504 and 506 , that is , over channels 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 . the rtu - 2 signal contains a bsid , a current band list ( cbl ), a tfs , and a tss , as defined by equation ( 4 ): after the frequency band selection , the bs inserts a service identification signal identifying the cr system at a preset position of the frequency band so that other cr systems can sense frequency bands with a reduced sensing time . fig6 is a diagram illustrating insertion of the service identification signal in the communication initialization method in the cr system according to the present invention . referring to fig6 , a cpe identifies a cr system by a service identification signal 605 . fig7 illustrates the communication initialization method in the cr system according to the present invention . referring to fig7 , the bs detects available frequency bands for a frequency searching / sensing period ( a ). for a bs initialization period ( b ), the bs selects an optimum frequency band by exchanging an rtu - 1 signal and channel reports with cpes and completes preparation for communications in the selected frequency band . the bs performs synchronization and process bandwidth requests for cpes receiving control information from the bs for a cpe initialization period ( c ), and communications are conducted under the control of the bs for a communication period ( d ). in accordance with the present invention as described above , the initialization method for the cr communication system enables efficient selection of a frequency band unused by licensed primary users and other cr systems and reduces a frequency sensing time before communications with cpes , since a bs sends an rtu signal in available frequency bands to the cpes , the cpes reply with channel reports , and the bs sends an rtu - 2 signal in extra available frequency bands during communications . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the memory circuit according to the present invention is illustrated in fig3 . reference numeral 1 designates a memory cell of pnpn construction including a pnp transistor q 1 and an npn transistor q 2 , numeral 2 a selective input circuit including a write npn transistor q 3 and a read pnp transistor q 4 , and numeral 3 a read - out circuit including a pnp transistor q 5 and an npn transistor q 6 . a terminal to which the bases of the transistors q 3 and q 4 of the selective input circuit 2 are connected in common is termed a y input terminal , and a terminal to which the emitters thereof are connected in common , an x input terminal . a terminal connected to the collector of the npn transistor of the memory cell 1 is termed a q output indicating the state of the memory cell . this circuit operates in accordance with the truth table shown in fig4 . in other words , when a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signal is applied to the x input in response to a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signal applied to the y input terminal , a base current is supplied to the transistor q 2 through the transistor q 3 thereby to write the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state in the memory cell 1 . when a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; signal is applied to the x input terminal in response to a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signal applied to the y input terminal , on the other hand , a base current of the transistor q 2 is drawn through the transistor q 3 , thereby writing &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; in the memory cell 1 . in the process , the pnp transistor q 4 is held &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; with its y input at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level , and therefore the read transistor q 5 is also held &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; and performs no reading operation , thus keeping the power consumption in the read - out circuit 3 at zero . now , assume that a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; signal is applied to the y input terminal . the transistor q 3 is turned &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; so that no data is written into the memory cell 1 , and therefore the memory cell 1 is held in the same state as the previous state . under this condition , when a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; signal is applied to the x input terminal , the pnp transistor q 4 is turned &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; so that the collector current flows thereby to make the reading operation possible . in other words , when the memory cell 1 is in &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state , the base current of the pnp transistor q 5 flows into the memory cell 1 , thereby turning &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; the read output transistor q 6 ; while if the memory cell is &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;, no base current flows in the transistor q 5 and therefore the read output transistor q 6 is also &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;. this is equivalent to say that when the y input and x input are &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; respectively , the read output transistor q 6 is turned &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; to perform the reading operation in accordance with the data stored in the memory cell . character s shows a read output terminal . when both the y and x input terminals are &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, by contrast , no base current is supplied to the read output transistor q 6 and therefore the read transistor q 6 is held &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; even if the memory cell 1 is in &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state , thus preventing any reading operation , holding the memory circuit . the circuit configuration of fig3 can prevent the waste of power . since the memory cell 1 has a pnpn construction , the power consumption thereof in &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; state is substantially zero . in the write condition , substantially no power is consumed by the read - out circuit , while in the read state , the power consumption by the write circuit is almost zero . when the memory circuit is held &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; with both the y and x inputs &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, substantially no power is consumed at the write circuit and the read circuit . another embodiment of the memory circuit according to the present invention is shown in fig5 and makes up a modification of the memory circuit of fig3 in that the manner of reading the memory cell 1 is different . a transistor q 7 , having the common base and collector to the pnp transistor q 1 of the memory cell 1 , has the emitter thereof connected to the base of the read pnp transistor q 5 . it will be easily understood that this circuit also operates in accordance with the truth table of fig4 . assume that the memory cell 1 is in the reading condition with the y input at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and the x input &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. if the memory cell 1 is &# 34 ; on &# 34 ;, current flows in at the emitter of the pnp transistor q 7 , while if the memory cell is &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;, no emitter current of the transistor q 7 flows . such conditions are utilized for detection by the transistors q 5 and q 6 , as in fig3 . the pnp transistors q 1 and q 7 of the memory cell 1 may be of a multi - emitter construction as is often the case in a semiconductor integrated circuit . the memory cell of pnpn construction according to the present invention may assume various modifications . still another embodiment of the invention is shown in the memory circuit of fig6 in which the memory cell 1 of pnpn construction is subjected to saturation control by the addition of a transistor q 8 and a diode d . in the drawing under consideration , reference numerals 2 and 3 designate a selective input circuit and a read - out circuit respectively , as in fig3 the memory circuit operating in accordance with the truth table of fig4 . the types of conduction of the selective input circuit and the read - out circuit according to the invention may be reversed with equal effect . a further embodimemt of the memory circuit according to the present invention is shown in fig7 . in this embodiment , the memory cell 1 is subjected to level shift by the level shift diode ld . the pnp transistor q 3 is used as the write transistor for the selective input circuit 2 , and the npn transistor q 4 as the read transistor therefor . the collector of the pnp transistor q 7 , having the common emitter and base to the pnp transistor q 1 of the memory cell 1 is connected to the base of the read npn transistor q 5 . this circuit operates in accordance with the truth table of fig8 . in contrast with the circuit shown in fig3 in response to the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; state of the y input , the write transistor q 3 of the selective input circuit 2 is turned &# 34 ; on &# 34 ;, so that the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; data according to the x input is written in the memory cell 1 . when the y and x inputs are &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; respectively , on the other hand , the read transistor q 4 of the selective input circuit 2 is turned &# 34 ; on &# 34 ;, and if the memory cell is &# 34 ; on &# 34 ;, the read output transistor q 6 is turned &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; through the transistors q 7 &# 39 ; and q 5 . if the memory cell 1 is &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;, by contrast , the read output transistor q 6 is turned &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;. thus it is possible to read the condition of the memory cell 1 from the read output terminal s . a further embodiment of the memory circuit according to the present invention is shown in fig9 . as in the case of the circuit of fig7 the memory circuit of fig9 operates according to the truth table of fig8 . the memory circuit shown in fig9 is so configured that the transistor q 7 &# 34 ; having the common base and collector to the transistor q 2 making up the memory cell 1 has the emitter thereof connected to the base of the read transistor q 5 thereby to read the data stored in the memory cell 1 . the transistors q 1 and q 7 &# 39 ; in fig7 and the transistors q 2 and q 7 &# 34 ; in fig9 if constructed in semiconductor integrated circuits , may take the form of a multi - collector and multi - emitter construction respectively . the level shift diode ld is provided for setting the relative level of the circuit and is not limited to a diode but may be replaced with equal effect by a transistor , resistor or power supply for level adjustment by logic operation . although each of the preceding embodiments is comprised of transistors for fundamental operation , other types of elements may be added to the circuit in so far as the logic operation of the circuit is not adversely affected . the direct connection between the emitters and bases of the respective npn and pnp transistors of the selective input circuit , for example , may be replaced by the interposition therebetween of an appropriate current - limiting resistor or level shift diode . also , instead of connecting by transistors the selective input circuit directly to the memory cell , the selective input circuit directly to the read - out circuit and the memory cell directly to the read - out circuit , respectively , resistors or diodes may be interposed therebetween . neither are the circuit configurations of the selective input circuit and the read - out circuit confined to those shown in the embodiments described above , but an appropriate level shift circuit or a current - limiting resistor may be inserted for performing the operation with a noise margin as a logic circuit . furthermore , a circuit modification with various additional elements as shown in fig6 may be employed as the memory cell of pnpn construction . for instance , a resistor may be connected to the collector of the transistor q 2 in order to turn off the transistors q 1 and q 2 of the memory cell 1 by lowering the saturation level thereof . for the same purpose , a schottky barrier diode may be inserted between the base and collector of the transistor q 2 . in addition , for the purpose of protecting the well - known dv / dt effect of the pnpn construction , an impedance element or transistor may be inserted between the base and emitter of the transistor q 1 or transistor q 2 . still another modification of the invention is such that , in place of a single memory cell as used in the foregoing embodiments , a plurality of memory cells similar to the memory cell may be arranged in matrix to achieve a larger storage capacity . it will be understood from the foregoing description that according to the present invention , it is possible by a simple circuit configuration to control the memory cell of pnpn construction at the same selective input terminal for a writing or a reading operation . during the write operation , the read - out circuit is held &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;, and vice versa , so that substantially no power is consumed by the write circuit or read - out circuit , as the case may be , during the self - holding state of the circuit . this advantage , coupled with the feature of the zero &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; holding power of the memory cell of pnpn construction , contributes to the realization of a memory circuit which consumes low power by eliminating the waste thereof . | 7 |
the invention will next be described with reference to the figures in which the same numbers are used to indicate the same elements in all figures . the figures are used to illustrate the invention and avoid elements not needed to explain the invention , so as not to unduly clutter and complicate the illustrations . fig1 illustrates the fundamental concept of thz ct . a sample 100 ( the object ) is scanned with thz radiation in the x - y plane in the direction of line l . when a t - ray is propagated through the sample , its attenuation , or object projection p ( θ , t ), is the line integral of the object function f ( x , y ) along the line l , which is determined by the line orientation angle , θ , and the offset , t , from the object origin . the object projection can be obtained by measuring the signal at various θ and t via rotating the sample . in the alternative , the radiation source and detector may be rotated while the sample remains stationary . this process is repeated to generate imaging data ( including a temporal thz profile ) for a number of projection angles θ . t - ray diffraction tomography ( thz - dt ) differs from thz - ct in that instead of scanning a target with radiation focused to a single spot , the thz radiation is expanded to illuminate the full target at once . fig1 b illustrates how thz dt differs conceptually from the thz ct shown in fig1 a . in fig1 b , the sample 100 is not scanned by a focused thz beam , but is instead fully illuminated by an expanded thz beam ( b il ) again traveling along line l . both techniques employ the pump - probe principle to develop imaging data . fig2 illustrates a system for performing diffraction tomography in accordance with the present invention . this system includes a femtosecond laser unit 12 , a planar thz beam generator 36 , a two - dimensional thz sensor 58 , and a sample position stage 44 . preferably , the stage 44 allows the sample 100 to be rotated around and translated along the x - or z - axis by a position controlling system such as , for example , one consisting of a rotational and two linear translational motors attached to stage 44 . ( such a position controlling system is not illustrated in fig2 to prevent unduly cluttering the figure .) in one exemplary system , the laser unit 12 comprises a femtosecond ( fs ) laser such as a mai tai mode - locked ti : sapphire laser and a hurricane ti : sapphire regenerative amplifier ( made by spectra - physics inc .). this laser is capable of generating 800 nm pulses with duration of 130 fs . the pulse energy and repetition rate are 700 μj and 1 khz , respectively . the laser beam 14 from the laser unit 12 is split into a pump beam 22 and a probe beam 20 via , preferably , a polarizing cubic beam splitter 18 . the system preferably further includes a half - wave plate 16 which may be rotated to adjust the intensity ratio between the pump beam 22 and the probe beam 20 . the pump beam 22 next transits a delay stage 26 comprising a combination of reflecting elements typically front surface mirrors . in the present exemplary embodiment , the delay stage 26 is shown as comprising mirrors 24 , 28 , 30 , and 32 . the optical path length between the entry and exit points of the pump beam 22 through the delay stage 26 is adjustable . although four mirrors are shown in the present illustration , the number of mirrors used is not essential and fewer or more may be used depending , in part , on where one desires to direct the exiting radiation . following exit from the delay stage 26 , the pulsed pump beam 22 is expanded by a negative lens 34 and impinged onto the thz beam generator 36 . again in an exemplary embodiment , the thz beam generator 36 may be a znte electro - optic ( eo ) crystal , and the thz beam is generated via an optical rectification mechanism . the generated thz radiation beam 38 is next collimated and impinged onto a target . again in the exemplary embodiment of fig2 , collimation is obtained with a 90 degree , off - axis , parabolic mirror 40 . as more clearly shown in fig4 , the collimated thz beam 41 illuminates the target 42 placed on the stage 44 . the interaction of the beam 41 and the target 42 results in a scattered emerging beam 45 on the other side of the target 42 . the optical probe beam 20 is also expanded and collimated to form an expanded gaussian collimated optical probe beam 56 . in the exemplary system shown in fig2 , this is accomplished by a system of mirrors generally represented by mirror 48 , used to direct the optical probe beam 20 along a desired path , and a telescope beam expander consisting of a negative lens 50 followed by a positive lens 52 . expanded optical probe beam 56 is transmitted through a polarizing crystal 54 and emerges as a linearly polarized beam 57 . the polarized pulsed optical probe beam 57 and the pulsed thz beam 45 exiting the sample 42 are then directed along a coincident path and propagate co - linearly as combined beams 59 . in a preferred embodiment , a tin - doped indium dioxide thz mirror 47 is used to combine the paths of the scattered thz emerging beam 45 and the polarized optical beam 57 . the combined beams 59 and the scattered thz emerging beam 45 propagate co - linearly and impinge on sensor 58 . the probe beam and the thz pulse propagate through the znte crystal at the same speed providing a measurement of the instantaneous thz field at the instant the probe pulse reaches the thz detector . the polarization of the probe beam is measured by passing it through a linear analyzer 63 . the amplitude of the probe beam after the analyzer 63 is dependent upon its polarization , which in turn is dependent upon the thz field amplitude . the sensor 58 is , preferably , an electro - optic crystal ( such as znte ). the birefringence of the crystal is dependent upon the incident electric field . the polarization of the probe beam exiting the crystal is dependent upon the thz amplitude on the crystal at the time . because this is a spatial effect , that is the birefringence of the crystal at any point is dependent on the thz amplitude at the same point , the two - dimensional polarization profile of the probe beam emerging from the sensor 58 matches the two - dimensional profile of the two - dimensional spatial thz electric field amplitude distribution on the sensor 58 . in other words , due to this electro - optical effect , the polarization of the probe beam is modulated by the thz two - dimensional diffraction pattern carried by the thz scattered radiation beam and the thz diffraction pattern is encoded onto the probe beam . thus , t - ray diffraction tomography measures the two - dimensional spatial thz beam profile over the thz sensor simultaneously ( in contrast to thz - ct which measures the thz field at a single point focused on the sensor , and scans the full cross sectional area of the target to obtain the same information ). the amplitude of the optical probe beam pulse 61 emerging from the sensor 58 representing the thz pulse amplitude ( as a function of position ) may be measured using an optical system comprising the analyzer 63 , a focusing lens system 62 , and a two - dimensional optical detector 64 . in the exemplary system of fig2 , the optical detector 64 may be a ccd camera , such as an eev 576 × 384 , made by princeton instruments , inc . the detection technique achieved by the exemplary system is referred to as two - dimensional free space electro - optic sampling ( fseos ). as best shown in fig4 , the sensor 58 has an effective area a s larger than the expanded optical probe beam 56 cross - sectional area a ob , which is the same as the cross - sectional area of the polarized beam 57 and which again is larger than the thz beam 45 cross sectional area a thz incident on the sensor 58 , as will be described below . in a preferred embodiment , the snr of the system may be improved through the use of a multi - channel , lock - in amplifier . in the alternative , two - dimensional thz measurements with good contrast and high snr are possible using the synchronized dynamic subtraction measurement technique . see z . jiang and x .- c . zhang , “ two dimensional measurements and spatio - temporal coupling of few - cycle terahertz pulses ,” opt . express 5 , 243 ( 1999 ). dynamic subtraction suppresses the phase uncertainties among the laser pulses , chopper trigger pulses ( ctp ), and ccd image acquisition trigger pulses ( ciatp ) in the two - dimensional thz measurement by controlling the phase of the chopper trigger pulses and the ccd image acquisition trigger pulses . referring again to fig2 , dynamic subtraction is implemented using a computer 66 , a synchronizer 68 to provide a synchronizing signal to the optical detector 64 and the optical chopper 70 . the laser output pulses are used as a reference clock input to the synchronizer 68 . the synchronizer 68 generates ctp for the optical chopper 70 and ciatp . the frequency of the ciatp is exactly twice that of the ctp . using the laser pulses as a reference clock to synchronize the ctp and ciatp achieves a phase - sensitive measurement equivalent to a multi - channel lock - in . the thz beam on - off sequence and the ccd image acquisition sequence are shown in fig3 . in each chopper rotating period , the optical chopper 70 turns the pump beam on and off with 50 % duty cycle , i . e ., the thz beam is on for the same amount of time as it is off . during this period , the ccd camera takes two frame images : one corresponds to the image when the thz beam is on and the other corresponds to the image when the beam is off . the computer 66 subtracts one image from the other and then outputs the resulting image . this thz image measurement repeats n times with the final image result being the mean of the n measurements . where f o is the image acquisition frequency , which is the inverse of the image acquisition period ( δt ); dft denotes the discrete fourier transformation . the acquisition frequency can be written as f 0 = 1 / δt , which is smaller than the repetition rate of the laser pulses . the measurement represented in the above equation picks out the signal component that is modulated at a frequency f = f 0 / 2 . this measurement is the same as the one measured using a multi - channel , lock - in amplifier with the same reference frequency of f = f 0 / 2 . using the synchronized dynamic subtraction two - dimensional thz measurement , the snr of the thz dt imaging measurement was increased from a level of about 20 to about 120 . as stated earlier , the pump beam is reflected by mirrors 24 , 28 , 30 , and 32 mounted on a translation stage forming a delay stage 26 . this translation stage allows the path length of the pump beam to be modified . when the pump beam path is shortened , the thz pulse reaches the thz detector slightly before the probe beam pulse . the probe beam then measures the thz field at a slightly later time . this process is repeated many ( i . e ., hundreds of ) times to allow the thz pulse temporal profile to be measured . this time domain thz pulse may be numerically fourier transformed to calculate the frequency domain thz amplitude and phase , using the thz temporal pulse profile measured at each pixel of the ccd camera . the thz pulse is diffracted as it propagates through the sample so the measured data corresponds to the diffraction pattern generated by the target . it is therefore important to capture this diffraction pattern . one important aspect of this invention is the capture of thz radiation scattered by a sample placed in the sample holder . due to the limited size of practical sensor crystals , this imposes a limit on the maximum distance from the sample to the sensor . it is contemplated that a practical method for capturing sufficient scattered radiation to permit reconstruction of the sample image will comprise capturing the scattered thz radiation emerging from the sample within at least a divergence angle β equal to about 12 degrees , as shown in fig4 . in addition , the sensor is placed in what is known as the optical “ far field ,” which means placing the sensor at a distance greater than about 20 thz wavelengths from the sample . image reconstruction algorithms based on the helmholtz equation or the fresnel - kirchhoff algorithms may then be used to reconstruct the target . capturing the diffraction pattern sufficiently to permit image reconstruction requires that the sensor 58 be positioned as close as possible to the target 42 to maximize the angular range over which the diffracted radiation is collected . alternatively , several measurements may be made by sequentially placing the detector at different angles relative to the target . the selected thz frequency affects the image quality of the reconstructed image , as well as the snr . the data for the image quality , q , of the thz dt at various frequencies for one source of thz radiation are shown in fig5 , which represents a particular implementation of this invention . the snr data are shown in fig6 . as the thz frequency increases , the reconstructed image quality initially increases and then decreases with the thz frequency . for the thz frequencies of 0 to 0 . 2 thz , the better image quality at higher frequencies is due to the broadening spatial frequency bandwidth of the imaging system . in this instance , for the thz frequencies higher than 0 . 4 thz , poor snr of the thz measurement degrades the image quality . thus , a limiting frequency range for this source would be between about 0 . 1 and 0 . 5 thz ; a preferred range would be between about 0 . 2 and 0 . 4 thz ; and a most preferred frequency would be between about 0 . 15 and 0 . 25 thz . in accordance with the present invention , thz frequency selection and the physical dimensions of the radiation beam cross sections and sensor area ( better illustrated in fig3 ) permit the use of standard diffraction tomography algorithms to reconstruct a sample by observing the following positioning restrictions : ( a ) the effective sensor area a s and the area of the optical probe beam a ob incident on the sensor are large enough and / or close enough to the sample to capture the diffracted radiation over a significant diffraction angle , β , such angle being no less than about 12 degrees ; ( b ) the distance between the target 42 and the sensor 58 should be greater than 20 thz wavelengths ; and ( c ) an optimum thz frequency , for the particular thz source used , is selected by determining the optimum compromise between snr and image quality as a function of thz frequency . fig2 and 4 show a system with a plurality of optical elements whose selection is a matter of directing beams along paths determined by the particular geometric requirements of the space and equipment available . therefore , although the systems are shown schematically with a number of flat mirrors and beam splitters to create a logical schematic diagram , it should be understood that an actual system may have more or fewer mirrors and splitters , if any , as needed to fit the geometry of a particular workspace . in operation , to obtain the data representing an image , an expanded thz pulse and an expanded optical probe pulse are transmitted along first and second paths . the thz radiation pulse is transmitted along a path that includes a sample holder where a target sample may be placed . when a target is placed on the sample holder , the thz pulse illuminates the sample . preferably , the expanded thz beam fully illuminates the sample , meaning that the sample cross section in the beam path is smaller than the thz beam cross section . the two paths are combined and impinged on a sensor selected to spatially modulate the amplitude of the optical probe pulse as a function of the thz beam spatial intensity distribution on the sensor . the spatially modulated expanded optical pulse is then detected , with a ccd camera comprising a two - dimensional array of optical sensors adapted to provide pixel information representing the spatially modulated pulse . this pixel - by - pixel information is stored typically in a memory . this process is performed with a sample in the sample holder and with the sample holder empty to provide a reference level . the reference level is then subtracted from the information obtained with the sample in place . a two - dimensional profile image of the object is then constructed using a mathematical algorithm based upon the time - reversal of the huygen - fresnel diffraction integral . the t - ray dt system described in this document allows measurement of the diffraction pattern caused by a target . in addition to allowing three - dimensional reconstruction of the target using a plurality of projection angles , a two - dimensional profile may be reconstructed using the data from a single projection angle . a time - reversal of the huygen - fresnel diffraction integral may be used . the use of this algorithm with the t - ray dt system is advantageous because it allows such a profile to be created using only a single pulse measurement , whereas previous uses of this algorithm for object reconstruction , as detailed by ruffin et al . in “ time reversal and object reconstruction with single - cycle pulses ,” optics letters , 26 ( 1 ), 681 – 683 ( 2001 ), required multiple pulses . furthermore , this method permits a two - dimensional profile to be reconstructed despite having only a fairly limited view angle to collect the diffracted pattern . this method may also be used as the basis for a three - dimensional reconstruction technique . in order to reconstruct the three - dimensional image of the sample , the generation , transmission , modulation , and detection of the thz and optical probe pulses are repeated for a plurality of projection angles relative to the object collectively representing a 360 degree revolution of the object . the reconstruction step comprises selecting and using a mathematical algorithm based on a linearization of the wave equation , such as a born or rytov approximation ; an algorithm that inverts the non - linear wave equation using iterative finite difference techniques , such as a pbp algorithm ; an iterative technique such as the contrast source inversion method discussed by p . van den berg and r . e . kleinman , “ a contrast source inversion method ,” inverse problems , 13 , pp . 1607 – 1620 ( 1997 ), which is incorporated in this document by reference ; or an algorithm based upon reconstruction of two - dimensional profiles of the object using fresnel diffraction . in addition , a doctorate thesis by s . wang entitled “ three - dimensional terahertz imaging ,” dated july 2003 , and located at the rensselaer polytechnic institute library in troy , new york includes , among other information , mathematical algorithms appropriate for reconstructing an image using two - dimensional data obtained with a system such as illustrated in fig2 . this thesis is incorporated in this document in its entirety . copies of the most pertinent pages are appended hereto as appendix a . the following example is included to more clearly demonstrate the overall nature of the invention . this example is exemplary , not restrictive , of the invention . an object composed of three , rectangular , polyethylene cylinders shown in fig7 was used as a sample in an imaging system similar to the system shown in fig2 . the three cylinders were arranged in a triangle and each cylinder had a width of approximately 2 mm . the cylinders had a constant cross section that did not vary with height . a gaas photo - conductive antenna was used to generate the thz wave , which had a large amount of lower frequency components . the gaas antenna gap was 15 mm . the image was acquired with a ccd camera using binning to improve the snr . the dimensions of the image frame in pixels were 107 × 107 . one hundred ccd frames were averaged at each time delay , again to improve the snr . image reconstruction was done using both the first born approximation and the rytov approximation . in using the first born approximation , the scattered wave was directly used to reconstruct the target . the scattered wave is : where u 0 is the incident thz wave without the sample , and u m is the measured thz wave with the sample present . using the first rytov approximation , the following term is used to reconstruct the image of a target : u b = u 0 ln ([ u s / u 0 ]+ 1 ) ( 2 ). the thz diffraction patterns were measured by rotating the target to different projection angles . fig8 shows the thz waveforms measured at the center of the znte sensor for three different projection angles . due to the scattering , the thz waveforms show a high electric field at the time delay after the main incident peak . according to equation ( 1 ) above , the scattered wavelet component u s can be obtained by subtracting the incident waveform from the waveforms with the target present . because the scattering process strongly depends on the incident wave frequency , picking out a frequency to perform the initial reconstruction for thz - dt experiment is very important to initialize the reconstruction algorithm . such frequency was picked by obtaining the fourier transformation of fig8 . the result is shown in fig9 . from fig9 , it is clear that the significant diffraction or scattering happens in the frequency range below 0 . 5 thz . for this polyethylene sample , the first rytov approximation provided a better reconstruction . for this reconstruction , the frequency component of 0 . 2 thz was selected . the reconstruction result using the first rytov approximation is shown in fig1 . the invention has been described using a particular system set up with a combination of several specifically identified optical and mechanical elements . the invention is not limited to the specific elements used in the description , however , but encompasses any and all alternatives and substitutes that may be or become available , so long as the relationships among beam sizes , detector size , and positioning are maintained . furthermore , the method is not limited to use only with eo crystals . other sensors may be used , as , for example , photoconductive dipole antenna ( pda ) arrays . more generally , although the invention is illustrated and described above with reference to specific embodiments , the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention . | 6 |
with reference to the figures , a preferred embodiment will be described . with reference to fig1 , an example of a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus 100 in an embodiment will now be described . the image processing apparatus 100 includes a cpu ( central processing unit ) 210 , a rom ( read - only memory ) 220 , a ram ( random access memory ) 230 , a hdd ( hard disk drive ) 240 , a display device 250 , a scanner 260 , a plotter 270 and a communication i / f ( interface ) 280 . the cpu 210 executes a program stored in the rom 220 , processes data loaded to the ram 230 according to instructions of the program , and controls the entirety of the image processing apparatus 100 . the ram 230 temporarily holds processed data during a program or data being loaded and the data being processed , when the program stored in the rom 220 is executed by the cpu 210 . the hdd 240 stores an os ( operation system ) which is basic software , application programs and so forth , together with associated data . in the embodiment , attribute information 150 and starting up information 160 , which will be described later , are stored in the hdd 240 . the display device 250 includes hardware key switches , an lcd ( liquid crystal display ) and so forth , and provides a user interface used when a user uses functions of the image processing apparatus 100 or carries out various setting up operations . the scanner 260 is used to obtain image data . the plotter 270 is used to output image data to paper . the communication i / f 280 provides an interface used for sending and receiving information ( data ) to / from a peripheral ( a personal computer , an image processing apparatus or such ) which is connected via a wireless or wired communication network and has a communication control function . the image processing apparatus 100 in the embodiment is connected to a lan ( local area network ), and sends and receives data to / from an apparatus also connected to the lan according to a communication protocol such as a tcp / ip ( transmission control protocol / internet protocol ). the image processing apparatus 100 is connected to a telephone line via the communication i / f 280 , and sends and receives image data in facsimile . respective parts of the image processing apparatus 100 which will be described later with reference to fig2 may be realized as a result of the cpu 210 executing corresponding programs stored in the rom 220 or hdd 240 , or , may be realized as a result of corresponding hardware being provided . with reference to fig2 , an operation principle of the image processing apparatus 100 will be described . as depicted in fig2 , the image processing apparatus 100 includes a program starting up part 110 , an image processing part 120 , a storage device 240 , the scanner 260 , the plotter 270 and the communication i / f 280 . the storage device 240 includes a first plurality of programs 130 , a second plurality of programs 140 , attribute information 150 , and starting up information 160 . each plurality of programs of the first plurality of programs 130 and the second plurality of programs 140 is a plurality of programs which , when executed by the cpu 210 ( not depicted in fig2 ), performs a function of the image processing apparatus 100 . for example , the first plurality of programs 130 or the second plurality of programs 140 may be a plurality of programs which performs a copy function , a plurality of programs which performs a facsimile function , or a plurality of programs which performs a printer function . once all the programs included in a plurality of programs which performs any one function of the image processing apparatus 100 are started up , the plurality of programs can perform the function of the image processing apparatus 100 for a user . the attribute information 150 is a database ( referred to as db , hereinafter ) which holds a name and characters of any one program as depicted in fig3 . characters of any one program may include , as depicted in fig3 , a starting up order , a starting up time , a size , and so forth , concerning the program . the starting up information 160 is a db which holds identification information of each program , a corresponding function of the image processing apparatus 100 , and an order in which the program is started up for performing the function , in such a manner that the identification information of each program , the corresponding function of the image processing apparatus 100 , and the order in which the program is started up for performing the function are associated with each other , as depicted in fig4 . a first line in fig4 depicts that a program having identification “ fr ” belongs to a function group “ framework ( cmp ( component ))”, and a plurality of programs corresponding to the function “ framework ” has a starting up order of “ 1 ( first )”. a third line in fig4 depicts that a program having identification “ fa ” belongs to a function group “ facsimile ( cmp ( component ))”, and a plurality of programs corresponding to the function “ facsimile ” has a starting up order of “ 3 ( third )”. that is , in an example of fig4 , a starting up order of the pluralities of programs corresponding to respective functions is , “ framework cmp ”→“ copy cmp ”→“ facsimile cmp ”→“ printer cmp ”→“ other cmp ”. “ cmp ” means a component as a collection of software components . the program starting up control part 110 starts up the plurality of programs corresponding to the copy function which then performs the copy function , starts up the plurality of programs corresponding to the facsimile function which then performs the facsimile function , and / or starts up the plurality of programs corresponding to the printer function which then performs the printer function . once the plurality of programs corresponding to the copy function is thus started up , a user can use the copy function of the image processing apparatus 100 . similarly , once the plurality of programs corresponding to the facsimile function is thus started up , a user can use the facsimile function of the image processing apparatus 100 . similarly , when the plurality of programs corresponding to the printer function is thus started up , a user can use the printer function of the image processing apparatus 100 . the program starting up control part 110 starts up the pluralities of programs corresponding to the respective functions of the image processing apparatus , on a function - by - function basis . as depicted in fig5 , in the related art , an image processing apparatus starts up programs corresponding to all the functions of the image processing apparatus in a lump . that is , the image processing apparatus in the related art starts up all the programs in a single process . therefore , even when a user wishes to use a particular function to be performed prior to another function ( or wishes to use a particular function as soon as possible ), the user cannot use any particular one of the functions of the image processing apparatus until all programs of all functions are started up . on the other hand , in the embodiment of the present invention , the program starting up control part 110 groups the programs according to the respective functions of the image processing apparatus 100 to which they belong , and starts up the programs on a function - by - function basis . that is , the program starting up control part 110 starts up , as a single process , the programs included in the plurality of programs assigned to one of the functions of the image processing apparatus 100 . therefore , it is possible to reduce a starting up time of the plurality of programs corresponding to a particular function which a user wishes to use prior to another function , for example . further , even when an error occurs in a process of starting up the plurality of programs corresponding to a particular function , the plurality of programs corresponding to another function can be started up without any problem ( or with a small influence from the error ). the program starting up control part 110 starts up the pluralities of programs corresponding to the respective functions according to the starting up order of the respective functions defined by the starting up information 160 depicted in fig4 , for example . in the example of fig4 , the program starting up control part 110 starts up the pluralities of programs for the respective functions in the starting up order of “ framework cmp ”→“ copy cmp ”→“ facsimile cmp ”→“ printer cmp ”→“ other cmp ”. fig7 shows an example of the starting up order . as depicted in fig7 , the program starting up control part 110 starts up a program “ framework ( 1 )” which is a part of the framework cmp , at a time t 0 . subsequently , the program starting up control part 110 starts up a program “ framework ( 2 )” and a program “ framework ( 3 )”, in the stated order , which programs are parts of the framework cmp . then , after the completion of the starting up of the program “ framework ( 3 )” at a time t 3 , the program starting up control part 110 starts up a program “ copy ( 1 )” which is a part of the copy cmp having the starting up order “ 2 ” as depicted in fig4 . thus , as depicted in fig7 , at a time t 6 , all the programs corresponding to the copy cmp have been started up . therefore , a user can use the copy function of the image processing apparatus 100 after the time t 6 . it is noted that , in examples of fig7 and the later - described example of fig8 , the framework cmp includes three programs , i . e ., programs “ framework ( 1 )”, “ framework ( 2 )”, and “ framework ( 3 )”. the copy cmp includes three programs , i . e ., programs “ copy ( 1 )”, “ copy ( 2 )”, and “ copy ( 3 )”. the facsimile cmp includes four programs , i . e ., programs “ facsimile ( 1 )”, “ facsimile ( 2 )”, “ facsimile ( 3 )” and “ facsimile ( 4 )”. in the example of fig7 , once having completed starting up of the program “ copy ( 2 )” at a time t 5 , the program starting up control part 110 starts up the program “ facsimile ( 1 )” which is a part of the facsimile cmp having the starting up order of “ 3 ” depicted in fig4 . thus , as depicted in the fig7 example , at a time t 9 , all of the programs corresponding to the facsimile cmp have been started up . therefore , a user can use the facsimile function of the image processing apparatus 100 after the time t 9 . the timing to start starting up of each program which is a part of a cmp may be determined appropriately . in the above - mentioned example , starting up of “ copy ( 1 )” is started after starting up of the “ framework ( 3 )” has been finished , and starting up of “ facsimile ( 1 )” is started after starting up of the “ copy ( 2 )” has been finished . the program starting up control part 110 may suspend starting up of the copy cmp having an earlier starting up order ( starting up order : 2 ), and start up a program of the facsimile cmp having a later starting up order ( starting up order : 3 ). that is , prior to or during a starting up operation assigned to the copy cmp , process priority may be changed so that the program starting up control part 110 suspends the starting up operation assigned to the copy cmp , and starts a starting up operation assigned to the facsimile cmp . for example , although a time at which the facsimile function becomes available is the time t 9 in the example of fig7 , a time at which the facsimile function becomes available is the time t 8 in the example of fig8 . thus , it is possible to reduce a starting up time for a function desired to be performed with priority , for example , the facsimile function of fig8 . it is noted that , in the example of fig8 , a starting up operation of “ copy ( 2 )” is started at a time of t 6 . however , a starting up operation of “ copy ( 2 )” may be started instead at a time of t 8 after starting up of “ facsimile ( 4 )” is finished . it is noted that , in the examples of fig7 and 8 , time periods required for starting up programs included in cmps are fixed whether the programs included in the cmps are started up together in parallel , for purposes of simplification . actually , time periods required for starting up programs included in cmps may increase accordingly when the programs included in the cmps are started up together in parallel . further , the program starting up control part 110 may start up a common program as being of another cmp in a case where there is a common program which is common among the pluralities of programs corresponding to respective ones of the functions such as “ copy cmp ”, “ facsimile cmp ” and “ printer cmp ”, depicted in fig6 . for example , in a case where “ copy ( 1 )”, “ facsimile ( 1 )” and “ printer ( 1 )” are a common program , the program starting up control part 110 may incorporate the common program into the framework cmp , or may create a new function group , and start up the common program separately from starting up of the cmp to which the common program originally belongs . a common program such as the above - mentioned program common among the “ copy ( 1 )”, “ facsimile ( 1 )” and “ printer ( 1 )” may be , for example , an interface program used for reading from or writing to an external recording medium , a program used for transferring data from a data input side to a data output side , or a program of the framework cmp . when a program is newly installed in the image processing apparatus 100 , the newly installed program 170 has identification information 180 for identifying the program 170 itself . the identification information 180 may be a file name of the program , or may be described in the program . further , the identification information 180 may be information indicating a place at which the program is stored in the hdd 240 . the program starting up control part 110 uses the starting up information 160 depicted in fig2 , and searches for a function group to which the newly installed program 170 belongs , based on the identification information 180 of the newly installed program 170 . when starting up programs , the program starting up control part 110 starts up the newly installed program 170 as a part of the function group to which it corresponds in fig4 . it is noted that , the identification information “ fr ( framework )”, “ c ( copy )”, “ fa ( facsimile )”, “ p ( printer )”, and “ o ( other )” depicted in fig4 may be other character strings . in one example , a configuration may be provided such that , in a case where the starting up information 160 does not indicate that the identification information 180 of the newly installed program 170 is stopped , the program starting up control part 110 recognizes that the newly installed program 170 is a program for a new function . in another example , the program starting up control part 110 determines a function group to which the newly installed program 170 belongs by reading the attribute information 150 concerning the newly installed program 170 . for example , in a case where the newly installed program 170 has a program name “ aaa . jar ” which is already included in the attribute information as depicted in fig3 , the program starting up control part 110 reads the attribute information 150 concerning the program name “ aaa . jar ”, and determines that the newly installed program “ aaa . jar ” 170 belongs to the framework cmp based on the information of the character 1 . in another example , the program starting up control part 110 reads the starting up time of a program which is the character 2 depicted in fig3 , or the size of a program which is the character 3 depicted in fig3 , and may determine a function group to which the newly installed program 170 belongs . then , the program starting up control part 110 may start up the newly installed program 170 as a part of the corresponding function group . it is noted that , the attribute information 150 concerning the newly installed program 170 may be installed in the image processing apparatus 100 simultaneously with installation of the program 170 , or , may be set in the image processing apparatus 100 separately after the installation of the program 170 . the image processing part 120 depicted in fig2 provides the copy function , the facsimile function , the printer function , or such , having been started up , in response to a user &# 39 ; s request . for example , when receiving a user &# 39 ; s request for performing the copy function , the image processing part 120 uses the scanner 260 , obtains image data of an original , and outputs the obtained image data to paper from the plotter 270 . further , when receiving a user &# 39 ; s request for performing the facsimile function , the image processing part 120 uses the scanner 260 , obtains image data of an original , and transmits the obtained image data to a designated destination from the communication i / f 280 . when receiving a user &# 39 ; s request for performing the printer function , the image processing part 120 obtains image data from the communication i / f 20 , and outputs the obtained image data to paper from the plotter 270 . based on the above - described operation principle , the image processing apparatus 100 in the embodiment can reduce a starting up time for a function to be performed with priority . with reference to fig9 , one example of starting up and image forming of the image processing apparatus 100 in the embodiment will be described . fig9 depicts a flow chart of one example of starting up and image forming of the image processing apparatus 100 in the embodiment . in fig9 , the image processing apparatus 100 starts a starting up operation in step s 10 . in step s 20 , the program starting up control part 110 starts up the plurality of programs corresponding to the framework function , the plurality of programs corresponding to the copy function , the plurality of programs corresponding to the facsimile function , the plurality of programs corresponding to the printer function and the plurality of programs corresponding to the other function of the image processing apparatus 100 according to the starting up information 160 depicted in fig3 and 4 into such a state that the respective functions can be used by a user . the program starting up control part 110 starts up the plurality of programs corresponding to each function , on a function - by - function basis , that is , the framework function , the copy function , the facsimile function , the printer function and the other function , in the stated order . the program starting up control part 110 starts up , in sequence , the plurality of programs assigned to one function of the image processing apparatus 100 as a single process , the plurality of programs assigned to another function of the image processing apparatus 100 as a single process , and so on , as depicted in fig6 . thereby , it is possible to avoid , for starting up of programs for one function , an influence of a trouble occurring with starting up of programs for another function . further , as mentioned above , the program starting up control part 110 starts up the plurality of programs for each function for example according to the starting up order depicted in fig4 . as to the starting up order depicted in fig4 , a user can cause the program starting up control part 110 to change the starting up order from the display device 250 depicted in fig1 by designating a new starting up order . further , by designating a new starting up order from the communication i / f 280 ( via the internet , for example ), or from the external monitor 300 ( via an external input ), a user can cause the program starting up control part 110 to change the starting up order . by thus changing the starting up order of fig4 as necessary or desired by the user , starting up of programs according to the user &# 39 ; s needs to use a specific function with priority , for example , can be carried out . further , as described above with reference to fig8 for example , prior to or during starting up of the programs corresponding to the copy function , the program starting up control part 110 may suspend the starting up of the programs corresponding to the copy function , and start up the programs corresponding to the facsimile function . thereby , it is possible to start up the programs corresponding to the facsimile function earlier in priority , and to carry out a starting up operation according to a user &# 39 ; s needs to use a specific function with priority for example . it is noted that , starting up of the programs which are suspended recommences at an appropriate time and from a position at which starting up was suspended . for example , the starting up operation for the programs corresponding to the copy function that had been suspended may be recommenced during or after the starting up operation for the programs corresponding to the facsimile function . further , in a case where there are programs which are common among the pluralities of programs corresponding to the respective functions , the program starting up control part 110 may start up , in a lump , the common programs such as those included in a plurality of programs corresponding to one function . for example , in a case where “ copy ( 1 )”, “ facsimile ( 1 )” and “ printer ( 1 )” depicted in fig6 are such a common program , the program starting up control part 110 may start up the common program separately from the cmps to which the common program originally belongs , with incorporating the common program into the framework cmp , or incorporating the common program to another function group . thereby , it is possible to appropriately start up a function which works among respective functions , or a function which works in parallel with other functions . further , the program starting up control part 110 determines a function group to which an afterwards added program 170 belongs based on identification information which the program 170 has , the attribute information 150 and the starting up information 160 held by the hdd 240 , and starts up the program 170 as a part of the thus - determined function group ( cmp ). thereby , it is possible to reduce a starting up time of programs corresponding to a function to be performed with priority also for afterwards added programs . in step s 30 of fig9 , the image processing part 120 waits for a user &# 39 ; s request for processing . then , when receiving a user &# 39 ; s request for processing from the display device 250 or such in step s 40 , the image processing part 120 determines whether the received user &# 39 ; s request for processing includes a finish instruction . when the received user &# 39 ; s request for processing includes a finish instruction ( yes in step s 50 ), the image processing part 120 finishes processing which the image processing part has been carrying out , in step s 70 . on the other hand , when the received user &# 39 ; s request for processing does not include a finish instruction but includes a request for carrying out image forming processing ( no in step s 50 ), the image processing part 120 carries out the image forming processing . for example , when the received user &# 39 ; s request for processing includes a request for performing the copy function , the image processing part 120 uses the scanner 260 to obtain image data of an original , and outputs the obtained image data to paper from the plotter 270 . when the received user &# 39 ; s request for processing includes a request for performing the facsimile function , the image processing part 120 uses the scanner 260 , obtains image data of an original , and transmits the obtained image data to a designated destination from the communication i / f 280 . when the received user &# 39 ; s request for processing includes a request for performing the printer function , the image processing part 120 obtains image data from the communication i / f 20 , and outputs the obtained image data to paper from the plotter 270 . by thus carrying out the above - mentioned processing , the image processing apparatus 100 in the embodiment can reduce a starting up time of the programs corresponding to a function to be performed with priority . thus , according to the embodiment , it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus , and a program starting up method , whereby a starting up time of programs corresponding to a function to be performed with priority can be reduced . the present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments , and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the present application is based on japanese priority applications nos . 2008 - 235685 and 2009 - 149202 , filed sep . 12 , 2008 and jun . 23 , 2009 , respectively , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference . | 6 |
one embodiment according to the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings . referring first to fig1 a pair of left and right front wheels wfl and wfr and a pair of left and right rear wheels wrl and wrr are suspended on front and rear parts of a vehicle body , not shown , respectively . a pair of left and right front axles afl and afr lead to the respective left and right front wheels wfl and wfr and are connected together via a front differential gear df . the front differential gear df has its input portion connected with a power unit p which is mounted on the front part of the vehicle body in this embodiment and includes an engine e and a transmission m . a propeller shaft pr is provided and connected at one of opposite ends thereof to the front differential gear df , the other end of shaft pr being connected to the input portion of a rear differential gear dr . a pair of left and right rear axles arl and arr lead to the left and right wheels wrl and wrr , respectively , and these axles are connected together via the afore - mentioned rear differential gear dr . the rear differential gear dr is constructed to have a differential limiting function , such as in the form of a viscous clutch , for example , and comprises an outer clutch member 1 connected to the propeller shaft pr , a first inner clutch member 2l connected to one rear axle arl , a second inner clutch member 2r connected to the other rear axle arr , a plurality of outer clutch plates 4 spline - connected to the outer clutch member 1 , a plurality of first inner clutch plates 5l spline - connected to the first inner clutch member 2l and a plurality of second inner clutch plates 5r spline - connected to the second inner clutch member 2r , the outer clutch plates 4 and the inner clutch plates 5l , 5r being interleaved with one another . a sealed oil chamber 3 is formed between the outer clutch member 1 and the first and second inner clutch members 2l and 2r , and a highly - viscous oil and a small quantity of air which permits the highly - viscous oil to thermally expand are sealed in the oil chamber 3 . respective clutch plates 4 , 5l and 5r are provided with openings or grooves ( not shown ) which permit the oil to flow therethrough . when a relative rotational force occurs between the outer and inner clutch members 1 and 2l , 2r in the differential gear dr , the clutch plates 4 and 5l , 5r are rotated relative to each other as they shear the highly - viscous oil , and a viscous transmission of torque is effected between the clutch plates 4 and 5l , 5r . when the relative rotational speed increases , a complex temperature gradient occurs in the clutch plates 4 and 5l , 5r due to an increase in the temperature of the oil . due to the multiplied effect of the strain in the clutch plates , which is caused by this temperature gradient , and an increase in the pressure in the sealed oil chamber 3 , a frictionally contacting or extremely slightly separated condition occurs between adjacent clutch plates 4 and 5l , 5r , so that the frictional transmission of torque is effected between the outer and inner clutch members 1 and 2l , 2r . by virtue of the rear differential gear dr , the propeller shaft pr and one rear wheel wrl , and the shaft pr and the other rear wheel wrr are connected substantially rigidly at all times , and when a difference in rotational speed occurs between the left and right rear wheels wrl and wrr , the driving force is swiftly transmitted from the side of one wheel rotating at a higher speed to the side of the other wheel rotating at a lower speed . referring to fig2 the front wheels wfl , wfr are provided with brakes bfl , bfr and the rear wheels wrl , wrr are provided with brakes brl , brr . a brake hydraulic pressure system 7 is provided for controlling the hydraulic pressures supplied to the brakes bfl , bfr , brl and brr . the system 7 comprises a tandem - type master cylinder 8 having a pair of output ports 8a , 8b , modulators mfl and mrr adapted to regulate the hydraulic pressure supplied from one output port 8a and feed resultant hydraulic pressures to the brake bfl for left front wheel and the brake brr for right rear wheel , and modulators mfr and mrl for regulating the hydraulic pressure supplied from the other output port 8b and feeding resultant hydraulic pressures to the brake bfr for right front wheel and the brake brl for left rear wheel . the brake hydraulic pressure system 7 is further equipped with an anti - lock control system 9 for controlling the operations of modulators mfl , mfr , mrl and mrr in order to prevent the wheels from entering a locked state . the anti - lock control system 9 includes a front wheel control section 9a for separately controlling the modulators mfl , mfr for the brakes bfl , bfr associated with the front wheels wfl , wfr , and a rear wheel control section 9b for concurrently controlling the modulators mrl , mrr for the brakes brl , brr associated with the rear wheels wrl , wrr . wheel speed detectors 10l , 10r are provided to detect the wheel speeds of the front wheels wfl , wfr . signals from these detectors 10l , 10r are inputted to the front wheel control section 9a . further wheel speed detectors 11l , 11r are provided to detect the wheel speeds of the rear wheels wrl , wrr and their signals are inputted to the rear wheel control section 9b . the construction of the rear wheel control section 9b will next be described with reference to fig3 . the wheel speed detectors 11l , 11r output the wheel speed signals of values proportionate to the peripheral speeds of the wheels in the form of frequency signals . the frequency signals generated at the wheel speed detectors 11l , 11r are inputted to frequency - voltage converters 12l , 12r , respectively , at which the signals are converted into voltage signals proportionate to the wheel speeds vl , vr . such wheel speed signals vl , vr are inputted to a high - select circuit 13 which selects a higher one of the wheel speeds vl , vr inputted thereto . the selected higher voltage signal is outputted as a signal indicative of the wheel speed v . vehicle speed u is estimated at a vehicle speed estimation circuit 14 on the basis of the wheel speed . a voltage signal corresponding to the estimated vehicle speed u is fed to a reference wheel speed setting circuit 15 as well as to a lower reference wheel speed setting circuit 16 . the reference wheel speed setting circuit 15 is constructed as a crossover network to establish a wheel speed u r taking account of a predetermined slip rate λ 0 with respect to the estimated vehicle speed u . that is , in this circuit 15 , the reference wheel speed u r having a relationship of u r =( 1 - λ 0 ) u is established . the lower reference wheel speed setting circuit 16 similarly operates to set a lower reference wheel speed u r &# 39 ; having a lower value than the reference wheel speed u r . the reference wheel speed u r is delivered to a non - inverted input terminal of a comparator 17 and the lower reference wheel speed u r &# 39 ; is delivered to a non - inverted input terminal of a comparator 18 . the wheel speed v fed from the high - select circuit 13 is inputted to respective inverted input terminals of the comparators 17 and 18 and also to a differentiating circuit 19 . the wheel speed v is differentiated in the circuit 19 thereby to obtain a wheel acceleration v . the wheel acceleration v is fed to comparators 20 , 21 and 22 . the comparator 20 compares the wheel acceleration v inputted thereto with a reference wheel deceleration - v 0 representing a predetermined negative value of reference wheel acceleration and when v & lt ;- v 0 , outputs a high level signal . the comparator 21 compares the wheel acceleration v with a previously established first reference wheel acceleration v 1 and it outputs a signal of high level when v & gt ; v 1 . further at the comparator 22 , a comparison is made between the wheel acceleration v and a predetermined second reference wheel acceleration v 2 and when v & gt ; v 2 a high level signal is outputted therefrom . there is further set a relationship of v 1 & lt ; v 2 . the output from comparator 20 is fed to one of input terminals of and gate 23 and to or gate 24 whereas the output from comparator 17 is fed to the other input terminal of and gate 23 and to or gate 24 . the output of comparator 21 is supplied into or gate 24 . the output of comparator 22 is fed through an inversion circuit 25 to respective one input terminals of and gates 27 and 28 . the output of comparator 18 is fed to or gate 24 and further to one input terminal of or gate 26 . moreover , the output of and gate 23 is fed to the other input terminal of or gate 26 and the or gate 26 outputs a signal which is supplied to the other input terminal of and gate 27 . the output of or gate 24 is fed into the other input terminal of and gate 28 . outputs from the and gates 27 and 28 are used to control anti - lock operations of both the modulators mrl and mrr . when both the and gates 27 and 28 output low level signals , the modulators mrl and mrr are operated to generate brake hydraulic pressures in response to the brake actuating operation . when the output of and gate 28 assumes a high level and the output of and gate 27 assumes a low level , the modulators mrl and mrr are so operated to hold the brake hydraulic pressures constant at their current levels . when the outputs from both the and gates 27 and 28 become high , the modulators mrl and mrr are operated to reduce the brake hydraulic pressures . owing to the above arrangement of the rear wheel control section 9b , when a faster one of the rear wheels wrl and wrr having respective wheel speeds vl and vr is going into a locked condition , the modulators mrl and mrr are actuated to concurrently carry out anti - lock operations . the front wheel control section 9a comprises a part corresponding to the left front wheel wfl and a part corresponding to the right front wheel wfr and these parts are different from the construction of the rear wheel control section 9b in that the wheel speeds of respective front wheels wfl and wfr are separately inputted into the comparators 17 and 18 and differentiating circuit 19 . the brake hydraulic pressures fed to the brakes bfl , bfr of front wheels wfl , wfr are , therefore , reduced independently from each other when the corresponding front wheels wfl , wfr are entering a locked condition . the operation of this embodiment will next be described . since the rear wheels wrl and wrr are coupled to the power unit p through the rear differential gear dr having a differential limiting function , if a difference in the number of rotations between both the rear wheels wrl and wrr increases , the driving force is transmitted from one wheel rotating at a higher speed to the other wheel rotating at a lower speed . due to this , in spite of the fact that one of the wheels which is travelling on a road surface of a lower coefficient of friction is liable to be locked and its wheel speed tends to be lowered more than the other wheel , the rear differential gear dr works to transmit the driving force from the side of the wheel which is on the road surface having a higher coefficient of friction and therefore has a higher wheel speed , thus making it difficult to bring the wheel even on the road surface of lower coefficient of friction into a locked state . accordingly , the arrangement that the brake forces to both the rear wheels wrl , wrr are reduced when a higher speed one of the wheels is coming into a locked state can suppress lowering of the braking stability and allow the tackiness of the wheel travelling on the road surface of a high friction coefficient to be utilized for enhancing the braking efficiency . furthermore , the operations of the brakes brl , brr for rear wheels wrl , wrr can be controlled through one channel , which contributes to reduction in cost , weight and space . in the above embodiment , the present invention has been applied to rear wheels of a four wheel - drive vehicle , however , it is applicable to front wheels when they are coupled together via a differential gear having a differential limiting function . | 8 |
although specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings , it should be understood that such embodiments are by way of example only and merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the invention . various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit , scope , and contemplation of the invention as further defined in the appended claims . referring to fig1 with greater particularity , there is shown a prior art device as has been described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 820 , 068 to mcmillin of june 25 , 1974 . three channels of an n - channel matrix are shown in which each channel is identical to the others . our description will thus be limited to one channel thereof . light incident upon photo - transistor 10 causes conduction therein . the output from transistor 10 causes a voltage to be developed across potentiometer 14 and thence to operational amplifier 12 . it is a feature of this prior art device that amplifiers 12 are the linear gain type and the potentiometer 14 in each channel is adjusted so that the input to each amplifier 12 is the same when the photo - transistors 10 sense the same amount of light intensity . light detected by photo - transistor 10 causes the output of linear amplifier 12 to go negative to a voltage level which is a function of the amount of reflectance from a document . a mark may reduce the light intensity to a point which will cause photo - transistor 10 to conduct at a level allowing the output of amplifier 12 to go positive . signal output from amplifiers 12 is fed to resistors 18 and to mark detection amplifiers 16 . resistors 18 average the outputs of all channels and are fed to summing resistor 20 . during a sampling period a holding capacitor 24 is charged to the average of the sum of the outputs of amplifiers 12 . at the appropriate time this level is fed to sample and hold amplifier 30 whose output appears at one input of all mark detection amplifiers 16 . if all channels have been properly tuned , a mark of a given density incident at one channel will produce the same output signal as a mark of the same density detected by the photo - transistor 10 in any other channel . it is emphasized here that in this prior art device the outputs of the channels are averaged to arrive at a background level and this background level is then used as a reference level in the system . immediately following the algebraic combination of the reflectance level signals for all channels into an average reflectance level signal , each channel is then compared with this average reflectance level signal . this prior art system works very well but still leaves room for improvement such as contemplated by the present invention . referring now to fig2 the essential concepts of the invention will be more fully described . when a document to be evaluated enters under the primary sensing optics in a head receiver board , reflected electromagnetic radiation therefrom causes photo - transistor 9 to conduct and develop a voltage across transistor load resistor 15 connected to its emitter . there will thus be developed a positive voltage at the top end of transistor load resistor 15 which will be applied at junction 27 by means of a lead 41 . this developed positive voltage will be applied to storage capacitor 19 through diode 17 , thus charging capacitor 19 at junction 38 to the voltage appearing at junction 27 minus the diode drop of diode 17 ( 0 . 6 volts approximately ). this voltage at junction 38 will be the representative &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage of this channel . this &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage is thus representative of signal output that is a function of incident electromagnetic radiation upon a background field in the absence of marks or other objects to be detected . whenever a mark or object is encountered , the photo - transistor conduction will decrease , however , the storage capacitor 19 will not discharge because of the blocking action of diode 17 . this &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage will be an input signal for follower 11 which has been chosen for its high input impedance , so as not to discharge capacitor 19 by any noticeable amount during the time that the conduction of the photo - transistor is decreased by reason of its encountering a mark or object . input load resistor 21 has been chosen large enough so as to have negligibly small discharging effect on capacitor 19 while the sensor transistor 9 is under the influence of a mark or object , however , resistor 21 will act as a slight load on the input of follower 11 and will permit discharge of capacitor 19 after removal of the card or document thus stopping photo - transistor conduction . due to the feedback arrangement accomplished through lead 42 , the output signal from follower 11 will track its input signal , thus permitting a load to be driven without affecting the input . this output signal will appear at junction 31 and be fed back to the other input of follower 11 by means of the lead 42 thus locking the output signal to the input . this signal is also applied to a threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 which , for the moment , we will assume to have its lower ( ccw ) end grounded instead of connected to junction 43 . if the wiper 33 of the potentiometer 32 is set at the midpoint thereof , the wiper voltage would be half of the &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage and would be applied to the inverting input of comparator 13 by means of lead 35 . the voltage applied to the non - inverting input of comparator 13 by means of lead 44 from junction 27 will be whatever voltage has been developed by photo - transistor 9 across transistor load resistor 15 . at this point , assuming no mark has been encountered , this would be the original white card voltage as developed before the diode drop of diode 17 . there will thus be developed a positive output from comparator 13 indicating no data encountered . if now a mark is encountered , the conduction of photo - transistor 9 will decrease causing a decrease in the voltage applied to the non - inverting input of comparator 13 . if the conduction of photo - transistor 9 decreases to the point that the voltage developed at junction 27 is less than that appearing on potentiometer wiper 33 , then the voltage as applied by way of lead 44 from junction 27 to the non - inverting input of comparator 13 when compared therein with the voltage applied by way of lead 35 from wiper 33 to the inverting input of comparator 13 will cause the output of comparator 13 to swing negative indicating detection of data . before proceeding to a specific example , it is to be noted that the connection of the ccw end of potentiometer 32 has been shown connected to junction 43 of resistor 25 and compensating diode 23 in order to compensate for the diode drop caused by diode 17 . this will be more fully explained in the specific example explored below . still referring to fig2 let us assume a current of 0 . 5 milliamperes conduction when a document to be evaluated enters the sensing area thus causing that conduction through photo - transistor 9 . if transistor load resistor 15 has a value of 10 , 000 ohms , a voltage of + 5 volts will be created across it . this + 5 volts will be effective to charge storage capacitor 19 , which we will assume to have a value of 0 . 022 microfarads in our example , through blocking diode 17 . since 0 . 022 microfarads is a very small capacitance , it will be fully charged very quickly . an estimate of this charging time may be derived as follows . charging time as mentioned is not the time needed to charge the capacitor as limited by an rc time constant . it is , rather , the observed rise time of the charging voltage resulting from the conduction of photo - transistor 9 across transistor load resistor 15 . if we multiply the impedance of blocking diode 17 by the capacitance of storage capacitor 19 , we would obtain a very low time constant . for example , a quite high estimate of the impedance of blocking diode 17 would be 1000 ohms . one time constant , therefore , is : one time constant will allow a capacitor to charge to within 63 . 2 % of its total capacity and it is generally assumed that a capacitor will be fully charged in five time constants . thus : that is , 0 . 11 millisecond , and we have the result that the storage capacitor 19 has the capability of charging up fully in 0 . 11 millisecond or less . the charging voltage from the photo - transistor 9 , however , may take up to 2 milliseconds to rise to the full &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage after the leading edge of the document moves under the read head of the sensing optics . it has been determined that this 2 milliseconds is a worst - case situation . a reader selected for its fast rate , used in testing the operation of the invention causes a document to move past the read head such that the first data mark box will reach the read head 3 milliseconds after the leading edge of the document . therefore , we conclude that the limiting factor in charging the storage capacitor 19 is the rise time of the source voltage developed across transistor load resistor 15 as a result of conduction of photo - transistor 9 , and not the rc time constant . that is , the storage capacitor 19 will charge as rapidly as the voltage at the emitter of photo - transistor 9 rises . these times and reactions thereto have been verified as observed by means of a dual trace oscilloscope with storage capabilities . thus , the capacitor charging time is not a limiting factor and the reader will be ready to sense data well within the required 3 milliseconds . the storage capacitor 19 will not , however , charge up to the full + 5 volts due to the diode drop attributable to blocking diode 17 of about 0 . 6 volts . the charge appearing on storage capacitor 19 will be about + 5 volts minus 0 . 6 volts = + 4 . 4 volts . this + 4 . 4 volts will be our representative &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage . as a mark or object is encountered , the current in photo - transistor 9 will decrease due to the decrease in electromagnetic radiation or light reflected to its sensitive surface . the resultant drop in voltage across transistor load resistor 15 will not cause 0 . 022 microfarads storage capacitor 19 to discharge due to the blocking action of diode 17 . this &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage of + 4 . 4 volts will be sensed by signal follower 11 which , because of its very high input impedance , will not discharge storage capacitor 19 by any measurable amount during the time that conduction of photo - transistor 9 is decreased due to crossing a mark on the document or card . input load resistor 21 , say about 1 megohm , has been chosen large enough so as not to have any discharging effect on storage capacitor 19 due to crossing a mark , however , it will act as a slight load on the input of signal follower 11 and will discharge the 0 . 022 microfarads storage capacitor 19 after a document or card has left the sensing head and photo - transistor conduction has stopped for a relatively long period of time . since the output of signal follower 11 will track its input , a load may be driven by means of this output without affecting the input thereof . thus , the output of signal follower 11 is the same as the charge on storage capacitor 19 . in a representative test system , it was determined that a conventional 80 column card takes about 90 milliseconds to pass under the read head and that the first data box is encountered about 3 milliseconds after the card enters under the head . thus , as has been shown , storage capacitor 19 will be fully charged to the &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage well before the first data box is encountered . an observance of the output of signal follower 11 illustrates that after the card leaves the read head , it requires about 15 milliseconds for storage capacitor 19 to become halfway discharged . this is further verified by a consideration of the rc time constant involved in the circuit consisting of 0 . 022 microfarads storage capacitor 19 and 1 megohm input load resistor 21 . 1 × 10 . sup . 6 ohms × 2 . 2 × 10 . sup .- 8 farads = 2 . 2 × 10 . sup .- 2 = 22 × 10 . sup .- 3 sec . which is 22 milliseconds . thus , 22 milliseconds is the time constant in question . reasoning that if one time constant of 22 milliseconds permits discharge of the capacitor by 63 . 2 %, then a 50 % discharge should occur in about 15 milliseconds as was observed . the discharge is thus slow enough so that the decrease in photo - transistor conduction due to crossing marks will not cause a measurable discharge in a 0 . 022 microfarads capacitor . as a result , the &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage , as measured at the output of signal follower 11 , will be steady . it is also to be noted that representative card speed is such that a typical mark on these conventional cards is about 0 . 5 milliseconds or less in width . continuing with the example , at the point of the output of signal follower 11 at + 4 . 4 volts for &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; level , it is instructive to illustrate detection of data . if the assumption is also made that the ccw end of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 is grounded , then , if the wiper 33 is set at midpoint , the wiper voltage of half the &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage , or + 2 . 2 volts , will be applied by means of lead 35 to the inverting input of comparator 13 . the voltage applied to the non - inverting input of comparator 13 will be the voltage appearing at junction 27 or + 5 volts as applied by means of lead 44 . thus , there will be a positive output on lead 45 from comparator 13 indicating no data encountered by this channel in the head receiver board . if now the conduction of photo - transistor 9 decreases as it crosses a mark , the voltage seen on the non - inverting input of comparator 13 from junction 27 by means of lead 44 will also decrease as the mark is encountered , however , the voltage on the inverting input will remain steady at + 2 . 2 volts . if the conduction of photo - transistor 9 through transistor load resistor 15 decreases to the point that less than + 2 . 2 volts is present on the non - inverting input of comparator 13 , the output will swing negative indicating detection of data . about 0 . 5 milliseconds later we will have passed over the mark and the voltage seen at the non - inverting input of comparator 13 will return to greater than + 2 . 2 volts and cause the output on lead 45 to swing back positive , indicating &# 34 ; white card output &# 34 ; condition again . during the very brief period of time of about 0 . 5 milliseconds or less , that the photo - transistor conduction decreased due to encountering the mark , the voltage on the inverting input of comparator 13 remained at a steady + 2 . 2 volts . in our example , we detected data when the &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage dropped from + 5 volts to about + 2 . 2 volts , a drop of 2 . 8 volts or , in other words , there was a 56 % decrease in conduction due to the decreased reflectivity of the mark . if sometime later , because of head wear , difference in lamp intensity or other degradation of performance , this same photo - transistor only conducts 0 . 4 milliamperes under &# 34 ; white card &# 34 ; condition , the output of signal follower 11 would be : 0 . 4 × 10 . sup .- 3 × 10 × 10 . sup . 3 = + 4 volts - 0 . 6 volts = + 3 . 4 volts and the voltage at wiper 33 of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 will be : with + 1 . 7 volts on the inverting input to comparator 13 and + 4 volts on the non - inverting input , the photo - transistor 9 will have to decrease in conduction by 57 . 5 %, that is , in order to force the junction 27 to drop to + 1 . 7 volts to be applied by means of lead 44 to the non - inverting input of comparator 13 and thus indicate detection of data . it would appear that now , a slightly darker mark would be required since more of a decrease in conduction was necessary for data to be detected . this apparent infirmity has been overcome by attaching the ccw end of threshold adjusting potentiometer to a + 0 . 6 volt reference line . this reference is derived , as shown , by attaching a + 5 volt source through resistor 25 and compensating diode 23 to ground thus placing the top of compensating diode 23 at junction 43 at + 0 . 6 volts above ground . if now the wiper 33 of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 is set at midpoint , it will equal one - half of the &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage generated across transistor load resistor 15 . we have seen that the voltage at the output of signal follower 11 applied to the cw end of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 will be 0 . 6 volts below the &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage as seen at junction 27 and applied to the non - inverting input of comparator 13 because of the diode drop of blocking diode 17 . by raising the ccw end of the potentiometer 32 by + 0 . 6 volts , we nullify the 0 . 6 volt drop caused by diode 17 . in this configuration of the circuit , photo - transistor conduction can drop under &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; condition without causing any effect on the percentage of decrease needed to indicate detection of data . that , the cw end of the potentiometer will be at + 4 . 4 volts while the ccw end will be at + 0 . 6 volts , showing a total drop of : half that drop , and thus the voltage at the wiper 33 will be : which is half of the + 5 volts appearing at junction 27 . with this configuration under the decreased conduction conditions considered in which the photo - transistor only conducts 0 . 4 milliamperes under &# 34 ; white card &# 34 ; conditions , the output of signal follower 11 was seen to be : 0 . 4 × 10 . sup .- 3 × 10 × 10 . sup . 3 = + 4 volts - 0 . 6 volts = 3 . 4 volts but now the voltage at the wiper 33 of the potentiometer 32 will be determined as : half of the drop across the potentiometer , and thus the voltage at the wiper will be : which is half of the + 4 volts appearing at junction 27 , that is , 50 % of &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage . to consider an example at the other extreme , assume the photo - transistor conducted 1 milliampere under &# 34 ; white card &# 34 ; conditions , thus developing 10 volts across 10 , 000 ohm resistor 15 . the cw end of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 will now have + 9 . 4 volts and the ccw end will have + 0 . 6 volts . if the wiper 33 is again set at midpoint , we have : that is , half of the &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage appearing at junction 27 ; still half the &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; voltage . in the present configuration , even if photo - transistor conduction changes the &# 34 ; stored white card &# 34 ; reference , the wiper 33 of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 will remain at the same percentage of &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage . with wiper 33 set at the midpoint of potentiometer 32 , an indication of data detection will be realized every time a mark is encountered which decreases conduction from &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; conditions by 50 %. if lighter marks are required to be detected , wiper 33 should be moved toward the cw end of potentiometer 32 so that less percentage of decrease in conduction will be required for comparator 13 in order to indicate detection of data . if darker marks only are to be detected , wiper 33 should be set closer to the ccw end so that a greater decrease in conduction will be necessary before the voltage on the non - inverting input of comparator 13 drops below the voltage on the inverting input as set by potentiometer 32 . diode 23 and resistor 25 , nominally about 220 ohms , also have an additional important function . as the card leaves the read head and photo - transistor conduction drops to zero , the output of comparator 13 will go negative , indicating a black condition . this results because the voltage on the inverting input of comparator 13 still remains . since photo - transistor conduction has ceased and therefore , there is no voltage by which the storage capacitor 19 may be charged , it will discharge through the resistor 21 and the output of signal follower 11 will also drop toward zero volts as capacitor 19 loses its charge . however , the ccw end of threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 has + 0 . 6 volts on it . there will thus remain about + 0 . 3 volts on the wiper 33 if it is still set at midpoint of potentiometer 32 . the inverting input of comparator 13 will be positive by that amount greater than its non - inverting input and therefore its output will remain in the &# 34 ; black &# 34 ; state , or negative , when no card is under the read head . it has been necessary to refine the circuit still further in order to compensate for the range of conduction of photo - transistors . a numerical example may be in order so as to explain this further refinement . it has been found that a very badly worn head may cause a photo - transistor to conduct only about 0 . 2 milliamperes under &# 34 ; white card &# 34 ; conditions . no channel has yet been encountered in practice in which the photo - transistor conducted less than 0 . 2 milliamperes . a conduction of 0 . 2 milliamperes will derive a voltage of 2 volts across a 10 , 000 ohm load resistor . it has been found that this is a sufficient voltage with which to work . the problem is found at the other end of the spectrum . that is , a problem presents itself upon the use of a 10 , 000 ohm load resistor on the emitter of a photo - transistor when the circuit is used in a new reader with very good photo - transistor conduction . some of these new channels may conduct as much as 1 . 8 milliamperes under &# 34 ; white card &# 34 ; conditions . such a result requires 18 volts to be dropped across the 10 , 000 ohm emitter resistor and this is impossible with a + 12 volt supply . the photo - transistor in such a situation is in saturation and can thus pass over a mark without even decreasing the voltage on the 10 , 000 ohm load resistor . if it is attempted to use a 5 , 000 ohm load resistor to thus generate + 9 volts when 1 . 8 milliamperes is conducted , the transistor is not saturated under &# 34 ; white card &# 34 ; condition on new readers and the solution is workable under these conditions . however , if the 5 , 000 ohm load resistor were to be used with a very worn head that only caused 0 . 2 milliamperes conduction , only 1 volt would be generated to operate the circuit and that voltage is too low to be reliable in operating the circuit . referring now to fig3 a solution to the problem posed in the above paragraph is illustrated . instead of utilizing a + 12 volt - to - ground power supply , a + 12 volt to - 12 volt source has been shown . a 3 . 3 volt zener diode 37 creates a reference voltage at - 8 . 7 volts on lead 46 and the top of diode 23 is now shown at - 8 . 1 volts on lead 47 while resistor 25 is connected to ground instead of to a + 5 volt source . with this circuit configuration , the photo - transistor 9 will not be in saturation when conducting 1 . 8 milliamperes into a 10 , 000 ohm load for an 18 volt drop . the lower end of transistor load resistor 15 is held at - 8 . 7 volts by the supply voltage zener , therefore , is the voltage that will be developed at the other end of resistor 15 and is the voltage at the emitter of photo - transistor 9 under these conditions . for the remainder of our discussion , all voltage measurements will be considered as made in respect to the - 8 . 7 volt line , which shall be referred to as &# 34 ; common .&# 34 ; this line has been denoted by the numeral 46 . as a warning , in making measurements on a circuit connected in this configuration , if the common lead of an oscilloscope is to be placed on this - 8 . 7 volt line , first it should be verified that the instrument is floating and not grounded to equipment ground . the 3 . 3 volt zener diode 37 has been used to place the common line 46 , 3 . 3 volts above the - 12 volt supply in order that the operational amplifiers 11 and 13 do not ever have input voltages or output voltages that meet the negative power supply voltage . if the circuit was referenced to - 12 volts as common , the output of signal follower 11 would be required to come very close to the negative 12 volt supply when the 0 . 022 capacitor 19 was completely discharged , thus causing saturation of the output of the circuit . additionally , it has been found that operational amplifiers may have a tendency to give false outputs when their inputs are brought this close to supply voltages . by referencing the circuit to - 8 . 7 volts , neither the positive nor negative supply voltages is approached . in its present configuration the circuit now sees a larger voltage range over which to operate . for all intents and purposes , the supply voltages are 20 . 7 volts ( 8 . 7 + 12 ) instead of 12 . the photo - transistors 9 will not be harmed as these components are operational for up to 40 volts . a second major problem was encountered with respect to the 0 . 6 volts applied to the ccw end of the threshold adjusting potentiometer 32 . that voltage was employed in order to keep the wiper of potentiometer 32 at a desired percentage of &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage as that voltage changed . in theory , diode 23 compensated for the fact that the output of signal follower 11 was 0 . 6 volts lower than &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage because of the 0 . 6 volt diode drop across diode 17 . in actual operation , the voltage drop across diode 17 is not 0 . 6 volts , but is only about 0 . 2 volts . diode 17 is a silicon diode which is usually considered to have a 0 . 6 volt junction voltage drop but such a condition obtains only when sufficient current flows . examination of the voltage versus current plot of fig6 illustrates this point . only when the current reaches a certain level is it great enough to reach what is called the &# 34 ; knee &# 34 ; of the curve and thus cause the voltage across it to remain at approximately 0 . 6 volts . from this point , as current increases , only a slight increase in voltage is noted due to the internal forward resistance of the diode . however , in our application , we are passing very little current through the diode . the only loading factors on that diode are the input impedance of signal follower 11 which , as we have said , is very high , the leakage of the 0 . 022 microfarads capacitor 19 , which is very low and therefore offers a very high impedance , and the 1 megohm load resistor 21 . this 1 megohm load resistor 21 draws most of the current from diode 17 but is still so small that the diode only drops the voltage about 0 . 2 volts . this has been verified by comparing the &# 34 ; actual white card &# 34 ; voltage on the emitter of photo - transistor 9 to the voltage on the output of signal follower 11 . the voltage on the output of signal follower 11 has been observed to be 0 . 2 volts lower rather than the 0 . 6 volts as had been previously described . this result indicates a lack of linearity in the circuit since white card voltages will change unless we now establish the ccw end of potentiometer 32 at 0 . 2 volts instead of 0 . 6 volts . in our test circuit , as shown in fig4 a 100 ohm diode compensating potentiometer 34 was connected to the - 8 . 1 volts junction between the resistor 25 and diode 23 and the - 8 . 7 volts common line of our circuit . this potentiometer 34 can then be adjusted so that its wiper voltage is about 0 . 2 volts above the - 8 . 7 volts . once the required resistances are determined , potentiometer 34 may be replaced by fixed resistors since once set it will not require changing . since there now appears only 0 . 2 volts with respect to - 8 . 7 common at the ccw end of threshold adjustment potentiometer 32 when a card or document leaves the read head and the 0 . 022 microfarads capacitor 19 discharges thus making the output of signal follower 11 and the cw end of potentiometer 32 at zero volts , there will only be about 0 . 1 volt on wiper 33 to be applied by means of lead 35 to the inverting input of comparator 13 . a practical operational amplifier may have more than 0 . 1 volt input offset voltage and , under that condition , the output of comparator 13 will not be negative as it should be but rather , it will be positive . this condition may be further aggravated by the failure of the photo - transistor to drop to zero milliamperes conduction . there may be a slight residual conduction due to internal leakage or some conduction may remain due to light being reflected from card dust lying under the head or even from a slight scratch at the end of the optics . in any case , very little conduction of the photo - transistor would be needed to apply the slightly over 0 . 1 volt on the non - inverting input of comparator 13 so as to result in an erroneous output . referring now to fig5 it will be noted that signal follower 11 has been biased up so that it will not drop below 1 . 8 volts on its output . it was determined that no channel gets lower than 0 . 18 milliamperes conduction under white card conditions . if it should , by that time heads are long overdue for replacement . it was thus decided to bias up signal follower 11 so that it never drops below 1 . 8 volts on its output as shown . in this configuration under the black , or no card , condition , the output of comparator 13 always remains correct since there will be maintained about + 0 . 9 volts on the inverting input of comparator 13 . if the voltage on the non - inverting input of comparator 13 does not drop all the way down to zero volts with no card , the circuit will still operate correctly as long as the voltage goes below 0 . 9 volts . holding the output of signal follower 11 at 1 . 8 volts has been accomplished by adding two more diodes 39 and 40 in series with diode 23 . the total voltage across these three diodes is 1 . 8 volts . in this case , each diode will have a 0 . 6 volt drop across it since the 220 ohm resistor 25 will allow about 30 milliamperes conduction through the diodes . the 1 megohm resistor 21 and the 0 . 022 microfarads capacitor 19 will then be connected to this 1 . 8 volt line at junction 29 to establish a minimum discharge voltage on a lead 48 and allow signal follower 11 to go no lower than 1 . 8 volts at its output . in normal operation the output of signal follower 11 will still follow at 0 . 2 volts below the white card voltage generated by conduction of photo - transistor 9 . the only requirement is that photo - transistor 9 must conduct at least 0 . 2 milliamperes with a white card under the head and , as has been noted , none of the most worn heads in the most used readers has been found to conduct lower than this . thus there has been described an improvement to optical mark sense readers showing constant percentage sensitivity under conditions of varying conduction of the photo - transistor . great improvements in reliability , flexibility , maintainability , and operability have been provided through the novel advantages of the invention . it is pointed out that although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to particular embodiment , nevertheless various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains are deemed to lie within the purview of the invention . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 and 2 of the drawing , there is shown a first embodiment of a padlock device in accordance with the present invention which includes an elongated cylindrical body 10 having two semicylindrical recesses 12 and 14 cut into opposite sides thereof , a large bore 16 extending into one end thereof for receiving a key lock cylinder 18 , and an elongated slot 20 formed in the other end thereof with three bores 46 , 60 and 62 ( see fig2 ) extending longitudinally into the body along the slot . additional bores 42 and 44 communicate bores 46 and 60 with bore 40 . a shackle pin assembly 22 is also included which is comprised of an elongated bar 24 , a pair of shackle pins 26 and 28 and a spring loaded stop pin 30 . shackle pins 26 and 28 are suitably secured to the ends of bar 24 and have facing notches provided in the sides of the distal ends thereof . stop pin 30 is threaded at one end to mate with a threaded aperture 29 in bar 24 and is provided with a head at the other end which serves as a means for keeping that end of the pin centered in bore 44 . alternatively , pin 30 could be press fit into bar 24 . as will be further explained below , when the shackle assembly is in the locked position , the shackle pins 26 and 28 are extended through the recesses 12 and 14 , and into the openings 32 and 34 so that the notches 27 can be engaged by the locking mechanism 50 to hold the shackle assembly 22 in position with the bar 24 flush within the slot 20 . in order to use the device to lock , for example , two chain ends together , one would merely unlock by turning the key shown in dashed lines to allow the shackle assembly to be spring - biased into an open position with the ends of pins 26 and 28 nearly clearing the recesses 12 and 14 . the chain links would then be inserted into the recesses 12 and 14 ( see also fig3 ), and the shackle assembly would be depressed so that the pins 26 and 28 pass through the chain links and back into apertures 32 and 34 . the key would then be turned to lock the shackle assembly in place . since the pins 26 and 28 are disposed within the recesses 12 and 14 , they are not easily accessible to sawing and are clearly not accessible to ordinary bolt cutting tools and the like and are thus substantially more secure than in prior art devices . for example , if one were to attempt to cut the pin 26 with a saw or file , as illustrated by the dashed line 27 in fig3 he would also have to cut into the body 10 as illustrated by the dashed line 29 in order to sever the pin . moreover , since in this embodiment pins 26 and 28 are rigidly connected together by the bar 24 and both pins are individually locked , it would be necessary to either make cuts both above and below the chain link or to make a single cut through both of the pins . in fig2 of the drawing , the internal structure of body 10 and the nature of the other components of the device are illustrated in detail . body portion 10 is made from a solid cylindrical member having five axially - extending concentric bores 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 , and 46 provided therein . the bores 38 and 40 are respectively for receiving the flange 19 and body of the key lock cylinder 18 . the bore 42 provides a locking chamber for accommodating the latching assembly 50 to be described below , and the bores 44 and 46 are for receiving the stop pin 30 and its associated compression spring 31 . the unthreaded end of pin 30 is provided with a round head 37 which is of a diameter suitable for mating with the diameter of bore 44 . head 37 is provided with a suitable slot or other female drive coupling 39 . the pair of bores 60 and 62 extend longitudinally from the bottom of the slot 20 through the body end portion 11 , the recesses 12 and 14 and into the body portion 13 . note also that the bores 60 and 62 extend through peripheral portions of the bore 42 . a tapped and countersunk opening 64 is provided in the rightmost end of body 10 for receiving a screw 65 the head of which mates with a notch 21 in cylinder flange 19 to lock the cylinder 18 within the bore 40 . to assemble the mechanism , the shackle pins 26 and 28 , which are preassembled to the bar 24 are extended into the bores 60 and 62 , and the stop pin 30 is extended through the bores 44 and 46 . a suitable driving tool is then mated with the female socket 39 in head 37 and used to turn the pin 30 until the end 35 is fully threaded into the mating threaded aperture 29 in bar 24 . spring 31 and nylon plug 33 are inserted into bore 44 behind head 37 , and cylinder 18 is then inserted into bore 40 to complete the assembly . note that plug 33 bears against the flat top of cam 56 when the device is assembled . alternatively , threads could be provided at the end of bore 44 and plug 33 could be threaded to mate therewith so as to free cam 56 from any forces applied thereto by spring 31 . referring now to fig4 of the drawing , the latching mechanism 50 is illustrated and includes a pair of pawls 52 and 54 which are pivotally connected to the end of the lock cylinder 18 at the points 51 and 53 respectively . the pawls 52 and 54 ( see also fig2 ) are of a first thickness over most of the body but are of a reduced thickness about their periphery to form locking lips 59 . a double - ended cam 56 is attached by means of screws or other fasteners to the end of the rotating keyway of lock cylinder 18 and pivots about the axis illustrated by the dot 57 . when in the position indicated by the solid lines , the tension spring 58 holds the pawls 52 and 54 in contact with the side surfaces of cam 56 so that the outer diameter of the pawls is the same as that of the body of lock cylinder 18 thereby enabling it to be inserted or removed from the bore 40 of housing 10 . however , upon turning the keyway in the counterclockwise direction ( as illustrated in fig4 ) cam 56 will cause pawls 52 and 54 to be rotated outwardly about their respective pivot pins into the positions indicated by the dashed lines 59 &# 39 ; so that the lips 59 ( see also fig2 ) engage the notches 27 of the shackle pins 26 and 28 thereby holding the shackle assembly in the locked position . note that cam 56 also includes a limit pin 61 which , as indicated by the dashed lines , prevents the cam from rotating more than 90 °. referring now to fig5 through 9 , an alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated which permits either one or the other of the shackle pins , or both simultaneously , to be locked or unlocked . as illustrated in fig5 the shackle pin 102 is attached to a bar 104 having a stop pin 106 attached to its other end . similarly , the shackle pin 108 is attached to one end of a bar 110 having its other end attached to a stop pin 112 . slotted recesses 114 and 116 are provided in the end of cylinder 100 for receiving bars 104 and 110 respectively . the primary difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment , insofar as the body 100 is concerned , is that the bores 118 and 120 ( see fig7 ) for receiving stop pins 106 and 112 are drilled off the center of body 100 and an additional bore 122 may be provided internally to accommodate the camming structure to be described below . in fig6 a cross section taken along the line 6 -- 6 of fig7 is shown with the shackle pins 102 and 108 in the locked position . this cross section also illustrates the bore 118 which receives stop pin 106 and a spring 124 . note also in this embodiment that threaded plugs 126 are threaded into the ends of bores 118 and 120 behind spring 124 . in order to enable the alternative locking and unlocking of the respective shackle pins , the dual cam mechanism 130 illustrated in fig8 and 9 is used to selectively move the pawls 132 and 134 . the cam mechanism 130 is comprised of an inner lobe 136 and an outer lobe 138 , both of which are affixed to a shaft 140 that is in turn affixed to the rotatable keyway of lock cylinder 142 . in this embodiment pawl 132 is provided with an upstanding pad 133 for bearing against the outer lobe 138 and pawl 134 has a downwardly extending pad 135 for bearing against the inner lobe 136 . in order to provide clearance for lobe 136 a spacer ring 137 is positioned between the end of cylinder 142 and the bottom surfaces of pawls 132 and 134 . the inner and outer cam lobes 136 and 138 are shaped such that when in the position illustrated in fig8 they allow the spring 144 to pull the lobes into the retracted position shown by the solid lines 132 and 134 . when the shaft 140 is turned 90 ° in the clockwise direction , pawl 132 is rotated into the extended position shown by the dashed lines 132 &# 39 ; so as to lockingly engage the notch 101 in shackle pin 102 . during this increment of rotation , cam 136 causes no change in position of pawl 134 . however , during the next 90 ° of rotation of shaft 140 in the clockwise direction , pawl 132 will be held in the extended position and pawl 134 will be moved to the extended position illustrated by the dashed lines 134 &# 39 ; to engage notch 107 to pin 108 . the third 90 ° of rotation will cause pawl 132 to return to its retracted position with pawl 134 remaining in its extended position . the last increment of rotation will cause pawl 132 to remain in its retracted position and pawl 134 to move into its retracted position . rotation of shaft 140 in the counterclockwise direction causes the pawls to move in a reverse sequence . it will thus be appreciated that by turning the key in one direction or the other a selected one of the shackle pins can be released without affecting the other , and a simple continued turning will release the other . such embodiment would obviously be suited for applications wherein it is desirable that one of the shackles be left affixed to one portion of the chain to support the locking mechanism while freeing the other shackle to release the end of the chain . similarly , where a single lock is used to tie the end of one chain to the end of another chain as in side - by - side gateways or the like , the lock could be fastened to a center support and used to release one or the other or both of the chains simultaneously . although the present invention has been described above with relation to two particular preferred embodiments , it is contemplated that many alterations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art after having read the above description . it is therefore intended that the appended claims be interpreted as covering all such alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 8 |
a complex half - band filter 1 ( h 1 ) is shown in fig1 which converts a complex input signal with the scanning rate f e = 1 /( 2t )= 1 / d into a complex output signal with the scanning rate f a = 2f e = 1 / t = 2 / d . the filter 1 with the odd filter length n = 11 includes a first delay circuit branch 3 with ( n - 1 )/ 2 = 5 time delay components 5 with a delay time d for the real part of the input signal and a second delay circuit branch 7 with similarly ( n - 1 )/ 2 = 5 time delay components 5 for the imaginary part of the input signal . the signals processed with the filter coefficients h ( k ) of the delay circuit branches 3 , 7 are fed to two multiplexers 9 , 11 , which perform a scanning rate doubling to a scanning rate of fa = 1 / t , when two partial signals are interleaved or combined with each other . the complex coefficients h ( l ) of this nonrecursive half - band filter 1 are neither real nor purely imaginary for l not equal to 0 , wherein -( n - 1 )/ 2 ≦ l ≦( n - 1 )/ 2 . because of that the coefficients are not complex valued in the usual sense so that an expense reduction , especially in regard to the required multiplier , results . only the coefficient h ( 0 ) is complex according to the following equation ( 1 ) results for the half - band filter by modulation of the pulse response of this filter to a complex carrier of carrier frequency based on a center frequency f m =( 2m - 1 ) f a / 8 with reference to the scanning frequency : ## equ3 ## which means that φ 0 =( 2k - 1 ) π / 4 , wherein k = 0 ,± 1 ,± 2 , . . . furthermore because of the linear phase relationships of the filter h ( l )= h (- l ) and from the half - band filter property h ( l )= 0 for l =± 2 ,± 4 ,± 6 , . . . for l = 0 equation ( 1 ) above reduces to the following equation ( 2 ): ## equ4 ## also the sign depends on k = 0 ,± 1 ,± 2 , . . . , wherein k sets the null phase φ 0 . the following table concerning the filter coefficients results considering the above - described equations and the linear phases of the filters : table i______________________________________l h ( l ) ______________________________________ - 5 - h (- 5 ) = - h ( 5 ) = - h . sub . 5 - 3 - jh (- 3 ) = - jh ( 3 ) = - jh . sub . 3 - 1 h (- 1 ) = h ( 1 ) = h . sub . 10 h ( 0 )/ γ2 + jh ( 0 )/ γ21 jh ( 1 ) = jh . sub . 13 - h ( 3 ) = - h . sub . 35 - jh ( 5 ) = - jh . sub . 5______________________________________ the table is prepared for a filter of filter length n = 11 and k = m = 1 according to f 1 = f a / 8 as an example . in fig1 the connection points 13 are illustrated in which two signs are shown . the respective upper signs &# 34 ;+&# 34 ; are for the case m = 1 which means a center frequency of f 1 = f a / 8 . as indicated already in connection with fig1 , the dividing network comprises two individual filters f1 and f2 whose output signals s are combined into a common signal . each of these individual filters f1 , f2 is constructed as shown in the embodiment according to fig1 . however the center frequencies of the filters can differ by about δf m = f a / 4 . now if the second filter f2 has a center frequency f 2 =( 3 / 8 ) f a , this filter corresponds to the arrangement shown in fig1 in which however the lower signs &# 34 ;-&# 34 ; in the connection points 13 are used . furthermore it is apparent that the device can be switched between the transmission function h 1 with a center frequency f 1 = f a / 8 and the transmission function h 2 with a center frequency f 2 = 3f a / 8 by adjustment and / or change of the signs provided in the eight connection points 13 . spectral diagrams of the frequency network with two parallel filters f1 and f2 are given in fig4 a ), 4b ) and 4c ) and 5a ), 5b ) and 5c ). thus the filter f1 with the transmission function h 1 has a center frequency f a / 8 , while the parallel filter f2 has a transmission function h 2 with a center frequency 3f a / 8 . both signals s1 and s2 are filtered so that a signal s3 combined from both individual signals is present at the output of the dividing network . a very much smaller useful band range is apparent here -- in contrast to that shown in fig9 for the prior art -- so that a transitional region 15 at the edge of the bandpass can be substantially wider . furthermore this results in the desired expense reduction of the filter . if both input signals s1 and s2 are for example in the upper half of the input band , by changing the signs in the connection points 13 the transmission function of the filter may be switched . the transmission function of the filter f1 now corresponds to that of the filter f2 in the example shown in fig5 a ) and 5b ). another example of a dividing network is shown in fig2 . two nonrecursive half - band filters as shown in fig1 are connected together . the property that the filter coefficients with different center frequencies differ only in sign according to the above - described equations is used . in order to clearly understand this the above - described formula is rearranged and the value of the null phase with is selected according to m = 0 ,± 1 ,± 2 , . . . , also according to the position of the center frequency f m =( 2m - 1 ) f a / 8 of the partial transmission function . thus the following formula ( 3 ) results for the complex coefficients by substitution of this center frequency relationship in formula ( 1 ): ## equ5 ## the dividing network 21 in the present embodiment has a filter length of n = 19 and includes four delay circuit branches 23 , 24 , 27 and 29 . both outer delay circuit branches 23 , 29 include respectively ( n - 3 )/ 2 = 8 time delay components with a time delay of d = 1 / f e . the delay circuit branch 23 is supplied with the sum signal of both real parts of the input signal , while the lower delay circuit branch 29 is supplied with the sum signal of both imaginary parts of the input signal . both delay circuit branches 25 and 27 include at least one more time delay component so that they have all together ( n - 1 )/ 2 = 9 time delay components with a time delay d . the delay circuit branch 25 is supplied with a signal which is formed in a connection point 31 from both real parts of the input signals . accordingly both imaginary parts of the input signals are combined in a connection point 33 and fed to the delay circuit branch 27 . either the transmission function h1 ( center frequency f 1 = 3f a / 8 ) or the transmission function h2 ( center frequency f 2 = 5f a / 8 ) is used for the input signals depending on the coupling performed in these connection points 31 , 33 . fig3 a ), 3b ), 3c ) and 3d ) show four possible combinations of the transmission functions h1 and h2 . in the case of the situation shown in fig3 a ) the transmission function h1 is applied to the signal s1 and the transmission function h2 is applied to the signal s2 . with the adjustment of the signs in the connection points 31 and 33 shown in fig3 b ) the transmission function h1 is used on both input signals , while both transmission functions h2 are used in the case shown in fig3 c ). the final possibility is illustrated in fig3 d ) in which the transmission function h2 is associated with the upper input signal and the transmission function h1 is associated with the lower input signal . these figures clearly show that a switching between the transmission functions h1 and h2 is very simply possible since only the signs are changed in the connection points 31 and 33 . spectral diagrams for a transmission function h1 with the center frequency f 1 = 3f a / 8 and a transmission function h2 with the center frequency f 2 = 5f a / 8 are shown in fig6 a ), 6b ) and 6c ). the filtering itself occurs here as illustrated in fig4 a ), 4b ) and 4c ) and 5a ), 5b ) and 5c ). fig7 shows an embodiment of a circuit according to fig2 which acts however to separate a complex signal into two individual signals . the structure of this fdm - demultiplexer results from a systematic transposition of the filter structure according to fig2 in which the number of state memories and the multiplier remain the same . because of that the transmission function h1 for the upper output terminal pair and the transmission function h2 for the lower output terminal pair result . the imaginary part of the first signal s 1 results from addition of both output signals of the delay circuit branches 27 , 29 . the real part of the second output signal s 2 results by addition of both output signals of the upper delay circuit branch 23 , 25 . the connection of the output signals of both upper delay circuit branches 23 , 25 to the real part of the first output signal and the second output signal occurs in a connection point 43 and / or a connection point 49 . the connection of the output signals of both lower delay circuit branches 27 , 29 to the imaginary part of the first output signal and the second output signal occurs in a connection point 47 and / or a connection point 45 . also in this case the transmission function h1 or h2 may be adjusted by selection of the manner of connection of the signals in the connection points 43 , 45 , 47 and 49 . the four possibilities are illustrated in fig8 a ), 8b ), 8c ) and 8d ). also the transmission function can be changed in a simple way in this demultiplexer circuit so that the filter expense can is reduced . understandably different embodiments with changed filter lengths and other center frequencies are possible in addition to those described hereinabove in connection with the drawing figures . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a switchable dividing network , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention . | 7 |
it should be understood that this embodiment is only one example of the many possible forms that the invention can use . in general , statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the claims of the invention . moreover , some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others . in general , unless otherwise indicated , singular statements may be in the plural and vice - versa with no loss of generality . the invention presented in fig1 is a schematic illustrating the process by which the invention enables real - time composite image creation . the steps substantially taken in order to create the composite images can be divided into step 100 for uploading the user &# 39 ; s 2d image file 101 , step 110 for setup of the composite image layers , step 120 for manipulation of the user &# 39 ; s 2d image , step 130 for creation of the composite image , and step 140 for saving of the composite image for review . the system and method within fig1 begins with step 100 , which comprises uploading a 2d image file 101 into the system . this 2d image file generally refers to standard 2d files that the user wishes to visualize unto a given 3d object . image file formats include those with extensions such as jpeg , exif , tiff , raw , png , gif , and bmp but are not limited to these file formats . the 2d image may be accessed by or transferred into the system through a variety of methods . all of these methods generally will be referred to as “ uploading ” into the system . the 2d image file 101 can be uploaded from a variety of sources that are programmed into the system for access . local storage can be physical memory that is connected or incorporated into any given device that utilizes the system . a cloud - based storage solution can also be used to access any uploaded image files from storage that is remotely connected , usually through a wired or wireless network connection . devices with image capture components ( such as mobile phones , laptops , tablets , or smart cameras ) can also capture an image and directly forward the image into the system . the above sources are not meant to be exclusive as the system can accommodate accessing any source for uploading a user &# 39 ; s image . step 110 comprises the setup of the composite layers needed within the system . to render the user &# 39 ; s 2d images onto a 3d object , the system requires four image layers to create the final composite image . these image layers are a shadow layer 111 , the 3d object layer 112 , a 2d image layer 113 , and a lighting effects layer 114 . the shadow layer 111 contains an image of the shadows that normally appear when a 3d object is photographed . this layer is usually pre - processed based on photographs of production models of a 3d object in order to give the composite an accurate representation of the shadows in a lighted space . in alternate embodiments , multiple shadow layers may be alternated by the system in real - time in order to allow the user additional perspectives and composite images processed by the system . the 3d object layer 112 is an image of the 3d object by itself that the user wishes to have their 2d image 101 applied to . the set of image manipulation parameters used by the system within step 120 is based on this 3d object image . the 2d image layer 113 is user &# 39 ; s manipulated 2d image 101 within the composite . the system processes the user &# 39 ; s 2d image 101 ( based on step 120 taken below ) in order to place the 2d image 101 within this layer of the final composite image 131 . the lighting layer 114 contains an image of the lighting that is used when a 3d object is photographed . this layer is usually pre - processed based on photographs of production models of a 3d object in order to give the composite an accurate representation that includes the expected lighting on the object by the user . in alternate embodiments , multiple lighting layers may be alternated by the system in real - time in order to allow the user additional perspectives of the composite processed by the system . step 120 involves preparing the user &# 39 ; s 2d image 101 as a layer within the final composite image 131 by applying the appropriate image manipulation parameters based on the 3d object image chosen by the user for visualization . this includes 3d affine transforms , projections and in some cases a cylindrical distortion to the user &# 39 ; s 2d image 101 , resulting in a version of the user &# 39 ; s image with the same perspective as the original photo on the product . the system will also adjust the 2d image &# 39 ; s size and positioning in order to properly align the 2d image and 3d object layers . the system can either have pre - coded manipulation parameters for each 3d object image that is selectable by a user or the system can contain a unified engine that generates the manipulation parameter for any 3d object image in real - time . a rendering engine 121 would specify such things as ( 1 ) the particular images that will be used for layers 111 , 112 , 113 , and 114 ; ( 2 ) the particular type of image manipulation parameter applied and any data in connection with the object selected ( height , radius , and tilt for a cylindrical distortion versus coordinates for a 3d perspective affine transformation ); and ( 3 ) any possible instance data for multiple products within a given selection by a user . the difference between pre - coded manipulation parameters versus use of the rendering engine 121 is that the rendering engine allows for abstraction of the geometry needed for a given 3d object . this abstraction allows for a more streamlined conversion of the method for other software platforms , but is not necessary if the method is intended for only one particular software environment . regardless of the rendering method chosen the final composite image 131 should be the same regardless of the environment . in step 130 , the system compiles all four layers 111 , 112 , 113 , and 114 together into a final composite image 131 showing the user &# 39 ; s 2d image 101 with the necessary image manipulation parameters and visualized onto the 3d object with all the appropriate shadows and lighting effects . once completed , the composite file is viewable to the user through a display 132 utilized by the system at step 140 . the composite image 131 is also uploaded for later review , but is not accessible to the user other than for the purpose of viewing through the display utilized by the system . this upload can be to any of the image sources previously discussed above as the system is not exclusive as to a particular method or source for the upload of the composite images 131 . it should be emphasized that the above - described embodiment of the invention is one possible example set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention . variations and modifications may be made to the above - described embodiment of the invention without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the invention and protected by the following claims . | 6 |
the term &# 34 ; halo &# 34 ; is used to mean fluoro , chloro , bromo or iodo . the term &# 34 ; alkyl &# 34 ; is used to mean straight or branched hydrocarbon chain radicals including , but not limited to , methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , and the like . the term &# 34 ; alkoxy &# 34 ; is used herein to mean -- or 5 ( r 5 is alkyl ) including , but not limited to , methoxy , ethoxy , n - propoxy , isopropoxy , n - butoxy and the like . the term &# 34 ; halo - substituted alkyl &# 34 ; refers to an alkyl radical as described above substituted with one or more halogens including , but not limited to , chloromethyl , bromoethyl , trifluoromethyl and the like . the preferred halo - substituted alkyl group is trifluoromethyl . the term &# 34 ; halo - substituted alkoxy &# 34 ; is used to mean an alkoxy radical as described above substituted with one or more halogens including , but not limited to , chloromethoxy , bromoethoxy , difluoromethoxy , trifluoromethoxy and the like . the preferred halo - substituted alkoxy group is trifluoromethoxy . the terms &# 34 ; substituted phenyl &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; substituted pyridyl &# 34 ; are used herein to mean phenyl groups and pyridyl groups having up to three substituents , and these substituents can either be the same or different . however , monosubstituted phenyl and monosubstituted pyridyl are preferred . in the term &# 34 ; c 7 - c 14 ( substituted phenyl ) alkyl ,&# 34 ; the range c 7 - c 14 refers to the number of carbons in the phenyl and alkyl groups , and does not include any carbons in the substituents . similarly in &# 34 ; c 6 - c 13 ( substituted pyridyl ) alkyl ,&# 34 ; the range c 6 - c 13 refers only to the pyridyl and alkyl groups . a compound of formula i , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , may be prepared by any synthetic procedure applicable to structurally - related compounds known to those skilled in the art . for example , the compound of the formula i is prepared according to the reaction outlined in scheme 1 . ## str2 ## wherein z is oh or a displaceable group , and y , ar 1 , ar 2 , x , x 1 , r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 have the same meanings as defined above . in one embodiment , a compound of formula ii wherein z is a hydroxyl group is coupled with a compound of formula m wherein x is o by dehydration . a variety of dehydrating agents can be used , but a convenient way of carrying out this transformation is to use diethyl azodicarboxylate and triphenylphosphine in a reaction - inert solvent . suitable solvents are dichloromethane , tetrahydrofuran and toluene . reaction temperatures are preferably in the range of 0 ° c . through to room temperature , but if necessary , lower or higher temperature can be employed . reaction time is in general from several minutes to several hours . alternatively , a compound of formula ii wherein z is a displaceable group ( a leaving group ) is coupled with a compound of formula iii , preferably in the presence of a suitable base . a suitable displaceable group z is a halo or sulfonyloxy group ; for example , chloro , bromo , iodo , trifluoromethanesulfonyloxy , methanesulfonyloxy or p - toluenesulfonyloxy group , all readily accessible from the corresponding alcohol by conventional methods . preferred base for the coupling reaction is , for example , an alkaline metal or alkaline earth metal hydroxide , alkoxide , carbonate or hydride such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , potassium tert - butoxide , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , sodium hydride or potassium hydride , or an amine such as triethylamine , diisopropylethylamine or dimethylamino - pyridine . preferred reaction - inert solvents include , for example , acetone , acetonitrile , dichloromethane , n , n - dimethylacetamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , dimethyl sulfoxide or tetrahydrofuran . reaction temperatures are preferably in the range of room temperature to reflux temperature of solvent , but if necessary , lower or higher temperature can be employed . reaction time is in general from a few hours to several days . for the preparation of those compounds in formula i wherein x is a sulfinyl or sulfonyl group , a compound of formula i wherein x is s may be oxidized by conventional methods . a suitable oxidizing agent is , for example , hydrogen peroxide , a peracid such as m - chloroperoxybenzoic or peroxyacetic acid , an alkaline metal peroxysulfate such as potassium peroxymonosulfate or the like . preferred reaction - inert solvents include , for example , acetone , dichloromethane , chloroform , tetrahydrofuran or water . reaction temperatures are preferably in the range 0 ° c . to room temperature , but if necessary , lower or higher temperature can be employed . reaction time is in general from a few minutes to several hours . the starting material of formula m may be obtained by conventional procedures known to those skilled in the art . for example , as described in j . med . chem ., 1992 , 35 , 2600 - 2609 and ep 0 375 404 a2 . the starting material of formula ii may be obtained by conventional procedures known to those skilled in the art . for example , the compound of the formula ii is prepared according to the reaction outlined in scheme 2 . ## str3 ## wherein w is a displaceable group , a is a suitable electron withdrawing group , and y , ar 1 , and z have the same meanings as defined above . in the first step , a compound of formula iv is coupled , preferably in the presence of a suitable base , with a compound of formula w - ar 1 - a to afford a compound of formula v . a suitable displaceable group w is a halo or sulfonyloxy group , for example , fluoro , chloro , bromo , iodo or trifluoromethanesulfonyloxy group . a suitable electron withdrawing group a is , for example , cyano , carboxaldehyde , carboxylic acid or carboxylic ester . preferred base for the coupling reaction is , for example , an alkaline metal or alkaline earth metal hydroxide , alkoxide , carbonate or hydride such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , potassium tert - butoxide , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , sodium hydride or potassium hydride , or alkyl metal such as n - butyllithium , ethylmagnesium bromide or the like . preferred reaction - inert solvents include , for example , methanol , ethanol , pyridine , n , n - dimethylformamide , dimethyl sulfoxide , n - methylpyrrolidin - 2 - one , n , n - dimethylacetamide , or tetrahydrofluran . reaction temperatures are preferably in the range of 50 ° c . through to 150 ° c ., but if necessary , lower or higher temperature can be employed . reaction time is in general from a few hours to several days . conveniently the reaction may be conducted in the presence of a suitable catalyst , for example , tetrakis ( triphenylphosphine )- palladium , bis ( triphenylphosphine )- palladium ( li ) chloride , cuprous oxide , cuprous iodide , cuprous chloride or cuprous bromide . a compound of formula v is transformed to a compound of formula ii wherein z is hydroxyl group by standard procedure well known to those skilled in the art . thus , in step 2 , a compound of formula ii is readily prepared by reduction with conventional reducing agents such as sodium borohydride , lithium aluminum hydride , diisobutylaluminum hydride , borane - tetrahydrofuran complex , borane - methyl sulfide complex or the like . the products which are addressed in the aforementioned general syntheses and illustrated in the experimental examples herein may be isolated by standard methods and purification can be achieved by conventional means known to those skilled in the art , such as distillation , recrystallization and chromatography techniques . the compounds of the present invention which contain one or more asymmetric centers are capable of existing in various stereoisomeric forms . all such individual forms , and mixtures thereof , are included within the scope of this invention . the various isomers can be obtained by standard methods . for example , racemic mixtures can be separated into the individual enantiomers by standard resolution techniques . individual diastereomers can be obtained by stereoselective synthesis , or by separation of mixtures by fractional crystallization or chromatography techniques . insofar as the compounds of the present invention are basic compounds , they are all capable of forming a wide variety of acid addition salts with various inorganic and organic acids . the acid addition salt of the novel compounds of the invention are readily prepared by contacting said compound with a chosen mineral or organic acid in an aqueous solvent medium or in a suitable organic solvent , such as methanol or ethanol . the desired solid salt may then be obtained by precipitation or by careful evaporation of the solvent . the acids which are used to prepare the pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of the aforementioned compounds of this invention are those which form non - toxic acid addition salts , such as the hydrochloride , hydrobromide , hydroiodide , nitrate , sulfate , acetate , fumarate , tartrate , succinate , maleate , gluconate , saccharate , benzoate , methanesulfonate , benzenesulfonate , p - toluenesulfonate and pamoate ( i . e ., 1 , 1 &# 39 ;- methylene - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - naphthoate )) salts . the compounds of the invention which have also acidic groups are capable of forming base salts with various pharmaceutically acceptable cations . examples of such salts include the alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts and particularly , the sodium and potassium salts . these salts are all prepared by conventional techniques . the chemical bases which are used as reagents to prepare the pharmaceutically acceptable base salts of this invention are those which form non - toxic base salts . these particular non - toxic base salts include those derived from such pharmaceutically acceptable cations as sodium , potassium , calcium and magnesium , etc . these salts can easily be prepared by treating the aforementioned compounds with an aqueous solution containing the desired pharmaceutically acceptable cation , and then evaporating the resulting solution to dryness , preferably under reduced pressure . alternatively , they may also be prepared by mixing lower alkanoic solutions of the acidic compounds and the desired alkali metal alkoxide together , and then evaporating the resulting solution to dryness in the same manner as before . in either case , stoichiometric quantities of reagents are preferably employed in order to ensure completeness of reaction and maximum production of yields of the desired final product . the compounds of the present invention inhibit the activity of the 5 - lipoxygenase enzyme . this inhibition can be demonstrated in vitro in assays using rat peritoneal cavity ( rpc ) resident cells ( japanese journal of inflammation : 1987 , 7 , 145 - 150 ) and heparinised human whole blood ( hwb ) ( br . j . of pharmacol . : 1990 , 99 , 113 - 118 ) both of which determine the effect of said compounds on the metabolism of arachidonic acid . all of the following examples tested in the aforementioned assays were shown to possess the efficacy of inhibiting lipoxygenase activity . some preferred compounds indicated low ic 50 values , in the range of 0 . 001 to 1 μm , with respect to lipoxygenase activity . the ability of the compounds of the present invention to inhibit lipoxygenase enzyme makes them useful for controlling the symptoms induced by the endogenous metabolites arising from arachidonic acid in a mammalian subject , especially a human subject . the compounds are therefore valuable in the prevention and treatment of such disease states in which the accumulation of arachidonic acid metabolites are the causative factor ; e . g . allergic bronchial asthma , skin disorders , rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis . in particular , the compounds of the present invention and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts are of use in the treatment or alleviation of inflammatory diseases in a human subject . for treatment of the various conditions described above , the compounds and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts can be administered to a human subject either alone , or preferably in combination with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or diluents in a pharmaceutical composition according to standard pharmaceutical practice . the compounds can be administered orally or parenterally in conventional fashion . when the compounds are administered to a human subject for the prevention or treatment of an inflammatory disease , the oral dose range will be from about 0 . 1 to 10 mg / kg per body weight of the subject to be treated per day , preferably from about 0 . 1 to 4 mg / kg per day in single or divided doses . if parenteral administration is desired , then an effective dose will be from about 0 . 05 to 5 mg / kg per body weight of the subject to be treated per day . in some instances it may be necessary to use dosages outside these limits , since the dosages will necessarily vary according to the age , weight and response of the individual patient as well as the severity of the patient &# 39 ; s symptoms and the potency of the particular compound being administered . for oral administration , the compounds of the invention and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts can be administered , for example , in the form of tablets , powders , lozenges , syrups or capsules or as an aqueous solution or suspension . in the case of tablets for oral use , carriers which are commonly used include lactose and corn starch . further lubricating agents such as magnesium stearate are commonly added . in the case of capsules , useful diluents are lactose and dried corn starch . when aqueous suspensions are required for oral use , the active ingredient is combined with emulsifying and suspending agents . if desired , certain sweetening and / or flavoring agents can be added . for intramuscular , intraperitoneal , subcutaneous and intravenous use , sterile solutions of the active ingredient are usually prepared and the ph of the solutions should be suitably adjusted and buffered . for intravenous use , the total concentration of solute should be controlled to make the preparation isotonic . in addition , particularly for the treatment of asthma , the compounds of formula i of this invention can be administered to a human subject by inhalation . for this purpose they are administered as a spray or mist , according to standard practice . the present invention is illustrated by the following examples . however , it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details of these examples . proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra ( nmr ) were measured at 270 mhz unless otherwise indicated and peak positions are expressed in parts per million ( ppm ) downfield from tetramethylsilane . the peak shapes are denoted as follows : s -- singlet , d -- doublet , t -- triplet , q -- quartet , quint -- quintet , m -- multiplet , br -- broad . to a stirred solution of 4 -( 1 - imidazolyl ) benzyl alcohol ( eur . j . med . chem ., 1992 , 27 , 219 ) ( 0 . 87 g , 5 . 0 mmol ), 4 -( 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( j . med . chem ., 1992 , 35 , 2600 ) ( 1 . 03 g , 4 . 9 mmol ) and triphenylphosphine ( 1 . 55 g , 5 . 9 mmol ) in thf ( 30 ml ) cooled to 0 ° c . was added dropwise a solution of diethyl azodicarboxylate ( dead ) ( 1 . 03 g , 12 . 0 mmol ) in thf ( 10 ml ) over 20 min under a nitrogen atmosphere . after completion of addition , the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 min and allowed to warm to room temperature , and then volatiles were removed under reduced pressure . chromatographic purification of the residue ( sio 2 , 230 g ; gradient elution , 15 % to 30 % acetone in dichloromethane ) provided 0 . 27 g of the title compound as a gum , which solidified on standing at room temperature . fractions contaminated with triphenylphosphine oxide were combined , concentrated to dryness , solidified by triturating with diisopropyl ether and recrystallized from diisopropyl ether / ethyl acetate to provide 0 . 16 g of the title compound . combined solids were further purified by recrystallization from diisopropyl ether / ethyl acetate afforded the title compound as tiny colorless needles ( 0 . 30 g , 17 %). ir ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 2960 , 2875 , 1607 , 1579 , 1524 , 1480 , 1306 , 1281 , 1251 , 1073 , 1061 , 1026 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 78 ( t , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 56 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 43 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 32 ( t , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 28 ( dd , 1h , j = 1 , 8 hz ), 7 . 22 ( t , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 08 - 6 . 98 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 94 - 6 . 88 ( in , 1h ), 5 . 12 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 92 - 3 . 81 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 92 ( m , 4h ). analysis calculated for c 22 h 24 n 2 o 3 : c , 72 . 51 ; h , 6 . 64 ; n , 7 . 69 . to a suspension of nah ( 0 . 612 g , 15 . 3 mmol : 60 % suspension of mineral oil ) of in dry dmf ( 10 ml ) cooled to 10 ° c . was added a dmf ( 8 ml ) solution of 2 - methylimidazole ( 1 . 23 g , 15 mmol ) under a nitrogen atmosphere , and the mixture was stirred for 30 min at room temperature . 4 - fluorobenzaldehyde ( 1 . 90 g , 15 . 3 mmol ) was added to the reaction mixture , and the resulting solution was stirred for 14 h . the reaction mixture was poured into an ice - cold saturated aqueous nh 4 cl solution ( 100 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 100 ml × 2 ). the organic layer was washed with water ( 100 ml ) and brine ( 80 ml ), dried over mgso 4 and the solvent removed under reduced pressure . the resultant residue was purified by column chromatography ( sio 2 ; hexane : ethyl acetate = 1 : 1 then ethyl acetate ) to give crude 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl )- benzaldehyde ( 1 . 0 g ), which was used without further purification . to a stirred solution of the crude 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzaldehyde ( 1 . 0 g ) in methanol ( 15 ml ) cooled to 0 ° c . was added nabh 4 ( 0 . 2 g , 5 . 2 mmol ) in portions over 15 min and the whole stirred for 1 h . a saturated aqueous nh 4 cl solution ( 50 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture and the whole extracted with ethyl acetate ( 100 ml × 2 ). the organic layer was washed with water ( 100 ml ), brine ( 50 ml ), dried over mgso 4 , and solvent removed under reduced pressure . the crude product was washed with an et 2 o / ethyl acetate mixture ( 3 : 1 , 15 ml ) to give the title compound ( 0 . 51 g , 50 %) as a white powder . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 5 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 28 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 01 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 6 . 99 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 4 . 78 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 35 ( s , 3h ). the title compound was prepared from 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyl alcohol and 4 -( 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran according to the procedure described for 4 - 3 - 4 -( 1 - imidazolyl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran . ( example 1 ) 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 57 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 30 - 7 . 36 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 00 - 7 . 07 ( m , 4h ), 6 . 93 ( ddd , 1h , j = 8 , 3 , 1 hz ), 5 . 14 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 82 - 3 . 91 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 92 - 2 . 09 ( m , 4h ). the title compound was prepared using 4 - methylimidazole and 4 - fluorobenzaldehyde according to the procedure as described for 4 - methoxy - 4 - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( example 2 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 76 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 55 ( d , 2h , j = 9 hz ), 7 . 39 ( d , j = 9 hz ), 7 . 32 ( t , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 00 - 7 . 26 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 91 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 2 hz ), 5 . 11 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 82 - 3 . 87 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 31 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 92 - 2 . 04 ( m , 4h ). a mixture of 4 - fluorobenzonitrile ( 3 . 63 g , 30 mmol ), 2 - phenylimidazole ( 3 . 72 g , 30 mmol ) and anhydrous k 2 co 3 ( 4 . 15 g , 30 mmol ) in dry dmso ( 30 ml ) was heated at 100 ° c . for 20 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere . after cooling to room temperature , the reaction mixture was poured into an ice - cold saturated aqueous nh 4 cl ( 100 ml ) solution and the whole extracted with et 2 o ( 150 ml × 2 ). the combined extracts was washed with water ( 100 ml ), brine ( 80 ml ), dried over mgso 4 and solvent removed under reduced pressure . the resultant residue was purified by column chromatography ( sio 2 ; dichloromethane : ethyl acetate : ethanol = 20 : 1 : 1 ) to afford title compound ( 3 . 61 g , 49 %). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 74 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 27 - 7 . 38 ( m , 8h ), 7 . 20 ( s , 1h ). to a solution of 4 -( 2 - phenylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzonitrile ( 3 . 2 g , 13 mmol ) in dichloromethane ( 30 ml ) and toluene ( 20 ml ) cooled to - 78 ° c . was added dropwise diisobutylaluminum hydride ( 13 ml , 13 mmol : 1 . 02m solution in toluene ) under a nitrogen atmosphere and the whole stirred at this temperature for 1 . 5 h . saturated aqueous nh 4 cl solution ( 20 ml ) was then added carefully to the reaction mixture , and the whole allowed to warm to room temperature . the resulting gelatinous mixture was filtered through a pad of celite , washing with ethyl acetate ( 200 ml ). the filtrate was washed with 0 . 3n hcl solution ( 100 ml ), water ( 200 ml ) and brine ( 100 ml ), and the organic layer dried over mgso 4 . removal of solvent under reduced pressure provided crude product ( 2 . 5 g ) which was dissolved in methanol ( 30 ml ) and cooled to 0 ° c . nabh 4 ( 0 . 3 g , 8 mmol ) was added in portions and the reaction mixture stirred for 30 min . saturated aqueous nh 4 cl solution ( 30 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture and the whole extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with water ( 10 ml ), brine ( 10 ml ), dried over mgso 4 and solvent removed under reduced pressure . the resultant crude product was washed with ethyl acetate ( 35 ml ) to give the title compound ( 0 . 81 g , 25 %) as a white powder . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 37 - 7 . 41 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 29 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 15 ( t , 1h , j = 1 hz ), the title compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described for 4 - methoxy - 4 - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran . ( example 2 ) ir ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1519 , 1468 , 1418 , 1310 , 1249 , 1070 , 706 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 49 ( d , 2h , j = 9 hz ), 7 . 38 - 7 . 42 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 32 ( t , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 23 - 7 . 30 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 16 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 00 - 7 . 05 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 91 ( dd , 1h , j = 9 , 2 hz ), 5 . 12 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 82 - 3 . 91 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 92 - 2 . 09 ( m , 4h ). the title compound was prepared from 4 - phenylimidazole and 4 - fluorobenzaldehyde according to the general procedure described for 4 - methoxy - 4 - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( example 2 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 91 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 85 ( dd , 2h , j = 7 , 1 hz ), 7 . 60 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 58 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 28 - 7 . 50 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 06 ( d , 1h , j = 2 hz ), 7 . 02 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 6 . 92 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 2 hz ), 5 . 14 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 83 - 3 . 87 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 92 - 2 . 09 ( m , 4h ). the title compound was prepared in a manner similar to example 2 , part b , but using 4 -( 5 - fluoro - 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran as starting material . ir ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1590 , 1520 , 1416 , 1138 , 1072 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 56 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 34 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 04 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 01 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 6 . 83 ( br s , 1h ), 6 . 75 ( ddd , 1h , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz ), 6 . 64 ( ddd , 1h , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz ), 5 . 11 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 81 - 3 . 86 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 88 - 1 . 99 ( m , 4h ). the title compound was prepared in a manner similar to example 2 using ethyl 2 , 4 - difluorobenzoate and 2 - methylimidazole as starting materials . ir ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1585 , 1515 , 1299 , 1249 , 1073 , 900 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 67 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 8 hz ), 7 . 34 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 8 hz ), 7 . 15 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 2 hz ), 7 . 01 - 7 . 11 ( m , 5h ), 6 . 94 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 3 hz ), 5 . 19 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 83 - 3 . 91 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 92 - 2 . 10 ( m , 4h ). the compounds of examples 8 to 24 were prepared in analogous fashion to examples 1 to 7 , using the appropriate starting materials . in some instances , the product was converted into the hydrochloride salt after isolation . ir ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 2955 , 1606 , 1586 , 1519 , 1485 , 1437 , 1306 , 1260 , 1079 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 74 - 6 . 85 ( m , 15h ), 5 . 12 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 03 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 94 - 3 . 76 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 89 ( m , 4h ). ir ( neat ) cm - 1 : 1519 , 1429 , 1306 , 1255 , 1073 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 57 ( d , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 33 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 8 hz ), 7 . 32 ( d , 2h ), j = 8 hz ), 7 . 07 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 7 . 06 ( d , 1h , j = 3 hz ), 7 . 02 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 6 . 98 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 6 . 93 ( ddd , 1h , j = 8 , 3 , 1 hz ), 5 . 14 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 82 - 3 . 88 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 67 ( q , 2h , j = 8 hz ), 1 . 92 - 2 . 09 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 26 ( t , 3h , j = 8 hz ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 44 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 38 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 33 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 8 hz ), 7 . 21 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 06 - 7 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 02 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 6 . 93 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 , 2 hz ), 6 . 86 ( d , 1h , j = 1 hz ), 5 . 10 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 82 - 3 . 88 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 19 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 08 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 97 - 2 . 04 ( m , 4h ). ir ( neat ) cm - 1 : 3360 , 1598 , 1515 , 1455 , 1267 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 32 ( d , 1h , j = 4 hz ), 7 . 92 ( d , 1h , j = 8 hz ), 7 . 70 ( dd , 1h , j = 1 . 8 , 8 hz ), 7 . 47 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 24 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 21 - 7 . 11 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 08 - 6 . 98 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 96 - 6 . 87 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 12 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 94 - 3 . 77 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 41 - 7 . 29 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 07 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 05 - 7 . 02 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 96 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 91 ( dd , j = 7 , 3 hz , 1h ), 5 . 13 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 91 - 3 . 82 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 31 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 1 - 1 . 9 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ) : 1622 , 1593 , 1515 , 1139 , 1072 , 1039 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 64 ( dd , j = 8 , 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 15 ( dd , j = 8 , 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 10 ( dd , j = 10 , 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 05 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ) 7 . 01 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 85 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 76 ( d , j = 10 hz , 1h , ), 6 . 65 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 16 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 00 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 1 - 1 . 8 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 69 ( dd , j = 9 , 4 hz , 1h ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 2 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 1 - 6 . 9 ( m , 4h ), 6 . 88 ( t , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( dd , j = 8 , 2 hz , 1h ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 95 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 25 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 1 - 1 . 8 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 89 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 51 ( br , 1h ), 7 . 45 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 40 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 20 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 87 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 79 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 65 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 22 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 02 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 80 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 0 - 1 . 8 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ) : 1606 , 1305 , 1243 , 1066 , 1046 , 1038 , 755 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 93 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 48 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 45 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 4 - 7 . 3 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 19 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 1 - 7 . 0 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 94 ( dd , j = 8 , 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 25 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 01 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 79 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 1 - 1 . 9 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ): 1624 , 1591 , 1528 , 1439 , 1151 , 1073 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 3 : 7 . 70 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 7 . 42 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 2 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 17 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 85 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 87 ( ddd , j = 9 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 65 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 10 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 02 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 76 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 49 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 0 - 1 . 8 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ8 : 11 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 7 . 78 ( br , 2h ), 7 . 48 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 24 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 85 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 80 ( d , j = 10 hz , 1h ), 6 . 61 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 34 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 01 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 81 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 0 - 1 . 8 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 15 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 8 - 7 . 6 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 48 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 35 ( dd , j = 8 , 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 23 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 1 - 7 . 0 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 90 ( dd , j = 7 , 3 hz , 1h ), 5 . 37 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 00 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 80 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 1 - 1 . 9 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ): 1606 , 1498 , 1455 , 1444 , 1281 , 1094 , 1023 , 818 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 75 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 5 - 7 . 4 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 20 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 09 - 6 . 91 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 25 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 05 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 76 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 2 - 2 . 1 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ) : 1612 , 1590 , 1440 , 1329 , 1242 , 1150 , 1042 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 70 ( d , j = 7 hz , 1h ), 7 . 42 ( br , 1h ), 7 . 21 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 1 - 6 . 9 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 86 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 75 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 64 ( d , j = 10 hz , 1h ), 5 . 14 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 97 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 01 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 79 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 9 - 2 . 0 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 71 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 47 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 42 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 15 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 85 ( br , 1h ), 6 . 77 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 63 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 , 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 17 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( mn , 4h ), 3 . 06 ( q , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 3 . 01 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 0 - 1 . 9 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 41 ( t , j = 8 hz , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 73 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 43 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 43 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 19 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 8 - 6 . 7 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 20 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 312 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 77 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 3 - 2 . 0 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ): 1606 , 1518 , 1454 , 1418 , 1304 , 1282 , 1071 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 62 ( d , j = 9 hz , 2h ), 7 . 33 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 23 ( ddd , j = 8 , 8 , 6 hz , 1h ), 7 . 04 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 79 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 73 ( ddd , j = 13 , 8 hz , 1h ), 5 . 17 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 0 - 3 . 9 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 8 - 3 . 7 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 12 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 5 - 2 . 4 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 39 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 4 - 2 . 3 ( m , 2h ). 4 -( 5 - fluoro - 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran was obtained as described in ep 0 385 662 a2 , as a white solid . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 6 . 70 - 6 . 61 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 50 ( dt , j = 10 and 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 30 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 88 - 3 . 84 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 02 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). a mixture of 2 - methylimidazole ( 50 g , 0 . 6 mol ), ethyl 4 - fluorobenzoate ( 100 g , 0 . 6 mol ) and potassium carbonate ( 415 g , 3 mol ) in dry dmso ( 1 . 5 l ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 66 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere . after cooling to room temperature , the reaction mixture was poured into ice - cold water ( 1 l ), and extracted with et 2 o ( 750 ml × 2 ). the organic phase was washed with water ( 500 ml ) and brine ( 500 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated . the residual solid was recrystallized from ethyl acetate - hexane to give ethyl 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzoate ( 47 g , 33 %) as yellow needles . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 22 - 8 . 12 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 43 - 7 . 33 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 10 - 6 . 99 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 42 ( q , j = 7 hz , 2h ), 2 . 42 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 43 ( t , j = 7 hz , 3h ). to a solution of ethyl 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzoate ( 46 g , 0 . 2 mol ) in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 1 l ) cooled to - 75 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere was added diisobutyl - aluminum hydride ( 540 ml , 0 . 93m in hexane ) carefully over 30 minutes and then the mixture allowed to warm slowly to ambient temperature . after stirring for 5 hours the reaction mixture was cooled in an ice - bath and methanol ( 30 ml ) carefully added . a 30 % aqueous solution of rochelle &# 39 ; s salt ( 500 ml ) was then added and the mixture stirred at ambient temperature for 16 hours . insolubles ( essentially product ) were removed by filtration and the organic phase separated and washed with water ( 500 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated . the combined resultant solids were recrystallized from ethanol ( ca 300 ml ) to afford 4 -( 2 - methylimnidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyl alcohol ( 35 . 6 g , 95 %) as white needles . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 50 - 7 . 33 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 25 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 6 . 90 ( d , j = 1 . 1 hz , 1h ), 5 . 33 ( t , j = 6 hz , 1h ), 4 . 56 ( d , j = 6 hz , 2h ), 2 . 27 ( s , 3h ). 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyl alcohol ( 1 . 28 g , 6 . 8 mmol ) in socl 2 ( 5 ml ) was stirred at ambient temperature for 30 minutes and then volatiles removed under reduced pressure . the resultant crude product was washed with minimal dry et 2 o and dried in vacuo to afford 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyl chloride hydrochloride ( 1 . 65 g , quant .) as white solids . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 56 - 7 . 47 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 25 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 03 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 00 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 65 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 37 ( s , 3h ). d . 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benizyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran a mixture of 4 -( 5 - fluoro - 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( 1 . 4 g , 6 . 8 mmol ), 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyl chloride hydrochloride ( 1 . 65 g , 6 . 8mmol ) and potassium carbonate ( 7 . 2 g , 68 mmol ) in dry dmf ( 10 ml ) was stirred at 120 ° c . for 2 hours . the mixture was poured into water ( 100 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate - benzene ( 300 ml , 2 : 1 v / v ). the organic phase was washed with water ( 100 ml ), brine ( 100 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated . purification of the residual yellow solids by column chromatograghy on silica gel ( 100 g ) eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol = 10 : 1 and recrystallization from ethyl acetate - hexane gave 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( 1 . 0 g , 39 %) as off - white solids . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 56 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 34 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 04 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 01 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 83 ( br . s , 1h ), 6 . 75 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 and 2 hz , 1 ), 6 . 64 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 and 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 11 ( s , 2h ). 3 . 86 - 3 . 81 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 99 - 1 . 88 ( m , 4h ). elemental anal : c 23 h 25 fn 2 o 3 the compounds of examples 26 to 40 were prepared from appropriate imidazolylbenzyl chlorides and phenols according to the general procedure of example 25 , part d . in some instances , the product was further converted into its hydrochloride salt . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 86 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 83 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 68 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 6 . 95 - 6 . 77 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 28 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 78 - 3 . 59 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 15 - 3 . 00 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 80 ( mn , 4h ), 1 . 31 ( d , j = 7 . 0 hz , 6h ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 89 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 82 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 88 - 7 . 63 ( m , 4h ), 6 . 95 - 6 . 77 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 27 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 77 - 3 . 59 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 86 ( t = 7 . 7 hz , 2h ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 80 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 52 ( m , 2h ), 0 . 79 ( t , j = 7 . 3 , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 90 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 79 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 77 - 7 . 62 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 26 - 7 . 15 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 84 - 6 . 75 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 24 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 79 - 3 . 60 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 54 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ): 1600 , 1580 , 1520 , 1480 , 1060 , 1050 , 870 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 89 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 79 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 76 - 7 . 62 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 14 ( dd , j = 8 . 8 , 11 . 7 hz , 1h ), 7 . 07 - 6 . 91 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 22 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 78 - 3 . 60 ( m , 4h ) 2 . 95 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 55 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 57 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , m , 2h ), 7 . 33 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 04 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 01 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( ddd , 4 . 8 , 8 . 8 , 8 . 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 88 - 6 . 75 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 13 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 00 - 3 . 70 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 13 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 37 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 40 - 2 . 20 ( m , 4h ). ir ( film ): 1520 , 1460 , 1420 , 1270 , 1070 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 62 - 7 . 54 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 38 - 7 . 29 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 12 - 6 . 92 ( m , 5h ), 5 . 18 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 98 - 3 . 78 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 09 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 29 - 2 . 05 ( m , 4h ). this product was converted into its p - toluenesulfonate salt in a similar manner to example 43 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 91 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 81 - 7 . 62 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 52 - 7 . 43 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 06 ( m 4h ), 7 . 01 - 6 . 91 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 28 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 80 - 3 . 61 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 95 ( s , 3 ), 2 . 53 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 28 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 13 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 56 - 7 . 21 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 06 - 6 . 93 ( m , 4h ), 5 . 14 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 94 - 3 . 75 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 95 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 34 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ): 1610 , 1520 , 1510 , 1420 , 1305 , 1245 , 1210 , 1075 , 1000 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 57 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 28 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 06 - 6 . 95 ( m , 4h ), 5 . 13 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 95 - 3 . 75 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 96 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 58 - 7 . 44 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 39 ( br s , 1h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 21 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 08 - 6 . 98 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 86 - 6 . 56 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 12 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 93 - 3 . 73 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 36 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 12 - 1 . 85 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 57 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 41 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 24 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 16 ( d , j = 1 . 1 , ih ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 60 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 14 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 90 - 3 . 80 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 85 ( m , 4h ). ir ( kbr ): 3235 , 2905 , 2870 , 1621 , 1593 , 1516 , 1417 , 1382 , 1335 , 1299 , 1145 cm - 1 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 87 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 77 ( d , j = 21 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 71 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 68 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 6 . 92 - 6 . 77 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 26 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 70 - 3 . 65 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 02 ( q , j = 7 . 0 hz , 2h ), 2 . 56 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 97 - 1 . 81 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 05 ( t , j = 7 . 0 hz , 3h ). ir ( kbr ): 3235 , 2905 , 2870 , 1621 , 1593 , 1516 , 1417 , 1382 , 1335 , 1299 , 1145 cm - 1 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 57 - 7 . 53 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 31 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 01 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 6 . 96 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 85 ( ddd , j = 1 . 5 , 2 . 2 , 9 . 5 hz , 1h ), 6 . 63 ( ddd , j = 2 . 2 , 2 . 6 , 9 . 9 hz , 1h ), 5 . 11 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 99 - 3 . 83 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 37 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 21 - 2 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 97 ( br s , 1h ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 61 ( m , 2h ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 89 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 78 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 66 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 6 . 89 ( s , 2h ), 6 . 85 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz 1h ), 5 . 26 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 85 - 3 . 75 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 62 - 3 . 53 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 54 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 14 - 2 . 05 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 63 ( s , 3h ). ir ( kbr ): 2600 , 1620 , 1600 , 1590 , 1530 , 1150 , 1055 , 1030 , 990 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 89 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 78 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , j = 8 . 2 hz , 2h ), 7 . 67 ( d , j = 8 . 2 hz , 2h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 11 . 0 hz , 1h ), 6 . 95 - 6 . 87 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 29 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 92 ( d , j = 11 . 6 hz , 1h ), 3 . 80 ( d , j = 11 . 6 hz , 1h ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 18 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 55 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 38 - 2 . 20 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 19 - 1 . 96 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 91 ( s , 3h ). ir ( kbr ): 2850 , 1625 , 1590 , 1530 , 1330 , 1300 , 1290 , 1270 , 1140 , 1130 , 1100 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 87 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 78 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 75 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 65 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 11 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 07 ( s , 2h ), 5 . 29 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 89 - 3 . 82 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 18 - 3 . 02 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 67 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 62 - 2 . 48 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 54 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 29 - 2 . 14 ( m , 2h ). to a solution of 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 3 mmol ) in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ) was added &# 34 ; hydrogen chloride ; methanol reagent 10 &# 34 ; ( 4 ml , tokyo chemical industries ) at ambient temperature . after stirring for 10 minutes solvent was removed under reduced pressure . the crude product was recrystallized from isopropyl alcohol ( 4 ml ) - ethanol ( 3 ml ) to give 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran hydrochloride ( 0 . 3 g , 55 %) as white solids . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 71 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 43 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 42 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 19 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 84 ( br . s , 1h ), 6 . 77 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 and 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 62 ( ddd , j = 10 , 2 and 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 16 ( s , 2h ). 3 . 9 - 3 . 8 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 00 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 77 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 0 - 1 . 8 ( m , 4h ). elemental anal : c 23 h 25 fn 2 o 3 hcl calc . c 63 . 81 ; h 6 . 05 ; n 6 . 47 ; cl 8 . 19 ; f 4 . 39 % found c 63 . 63 ; h 6 . 17 ; n 6 . 42 ; cl 8 . 18 ; f 4 . 32 % to a solution of 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( 150 mg , 0 . 38 mmol ) in meoh ( 3 ml ) was added fumaric acid ( 44 mg , 0 . 38 mmol ). the resulting solution was concentrated in vacuo . the residual solid was recrystallized from ethanol to afford 152 mg ( 77 %) of 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran fumarate as a white powder . ir ( kbr ): 1626 , 1595 , 1529 , 1392 , 1290 , 1144 , 1075 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 62 ( br d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 49 ( br d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 31 ( d , j = 1 . 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 00 - 6 . 74 ( m , 4h ), 6 . 62 ( s , 2h ), 5 . 21 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 80 - 3 . 58 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 30 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 80 ( m , 4h ). 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ! phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran p - toluenesulfonate was prepared in a similar manner to example 42 , employing p - toluenesulfonic acid instead of fumaric acid . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 90 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 78 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( br d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 66 ( br d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 47 ( br d , j = 8 . 2 hz , 2h ), 7 . 11 ( br d , j = 7 . 7 hz , 2h ), 6 . 95 - 6 . 75 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 26 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 80 - 3 . 60 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 52 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 28 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 80 ( m , 4h ). 4 - 5 - fluoro - 3 - 4 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzyloxy ) phenyl !- 4 - methoxy - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran l - tartrate was prepared in a similar manner to example 42 , employing l - tartrate instead of fumaric acid . ir ( kbr ) : 1614 , 1528 , 1439 , 1300 , 1075 cm - 1 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 62 ( br d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 49 ( br d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 32 ( br s , 1h ), 7 . 08 - 6 . 73 ( m , 4h ), 5 . 21 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 28 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 78 - 3 . 55 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 40 ( br , 2h ), 2 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 29 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 78 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 38 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 23 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 20 ( d , j = 8 hz 2h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 16 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 85 - 3 . 79 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 93 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 34 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 95 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). 4 - methoxy - 4 -( hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran compounds listed below were prepared from the appropriate phenols , using standard methods , according to the following reaction sequence : ( i ) protection of the phenolic hydroxy group as its t - butyldimethylsilyl ether ; ( iv ) methylation of the tertiary hydroxy group thus formed using sodium hydride or n - butyllithium / methyl iodide ; and 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 6 . 7 - 6 . 9 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 8 - 4 . 0 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 06 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 0 - 2 . 2 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 07 - 6 . 92 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 88 - 6 . 79 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 71 ( d , j = 5 . 5 hz , 1h ), 4 . 00 - 3 . 78 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 08 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 27 - 2 . 02 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 6 . 92 ( dd , j = 8 . 4 , 11 . 7 hz , 1h ), 6 . 81 ( dd , j = 2 . 9 , 6 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( ddd , j = 3 . 3 , 3 . 3 ; 8 . 4 hz , 1h ), 5 . 58 ( br s , 1h ), 3 . 99 - 3 . 78 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 10 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 26 - 2 . 03 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 6 . 70 - 6 . 50 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 98 - 3 . 76 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 11 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 25 - 2 . 00 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 6 . 94 ( ddd , j = 4 . 8 , 9 . 2 , 9 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 78 ( ddd , j = 2 . 2 , 9 . 2 , 11 . 3 hz , 1h ), 5 . 24 ( d , j = 6 . 23 hz , 1h ), 4 . 00 - 3 . 70 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 13 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 39 - 2 . 17 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 30 - 7 . 21 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 87 - 6 . 78 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 45 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 95 - 3 . 76 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 95 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 11 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). to a stirred solution of 4 -( 3 - hydroxy - 5 - fluorophenyl )- 4 - methylthio - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( 749 mg , 3 . 1 mmol )( ep 462830 a2 ( 1991 )) in methanol - water ( 1 : 1 . v / v ; 20 ml ) cooled to 0 ° c . was added nalo 4 ( 710 mg , 3 . 3 mmol ), the ice bath removed and the mixture stirred at room temperature for 2 hours . the reaction mixture was poured into water ( 50 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ). the organic extract was washed with water ( 50 ml ), brine ( 50 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo . the residual solids were purified by column chromatography on silica gel ( sio 2 , 150 g ; ethyl acetate ) to afford 752 mg ( 94 %) of the titled compound as white solids . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 93 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 77 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 60 ( d , j = 9 . 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 53 ( d , j = 10 . 3 hz , 1h ), 4 . 09 - 3 . 88 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 66 - 3 . 48 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 50 - 2 . 29 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 20 - 2 . 00 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 06 ( s , 3 h ). to a stirred solution of 4 -( 5 - fluoro - 3 - hydroxyphenyl )- 4 - methylthio - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 2h - pyran ( 660 mg , 2 . 7 mmol ) in chloroform ( 20 ml ) was added mcpba ( 1 . 48 g , 6 . 0 mmol ) and the mixture stirred at room temperature overnight . to the reaction mixture was added calcium hydroxide ( 3 mmol ) and the reaction mixture stirred vigorously . insolubles were removed by filtration and the filtrate concentrated . the residual solids were purified by column chromatography on silica gel ( sio 2 , 150 g ; hexane / ethyl acetate ( 1 : 2 )) to afford 545 mg ( 81 %) of the titled compound as white solids . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 6 . 86 ( dd , j = 2 . 2 , 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 82 ( ddd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 2 , 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 64 ( ddd , j = 9 . 5 , 2 . 2 , 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 5 . 55 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 08 - 3 . 97 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 49 - 3 . 36 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 66 - 2 . 50 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 53 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 41 - 2 . 30 ( m , 2h ). the following ( 1 - imidazolyl ) benzyl alcohols were synthesized from appropriate starting materials in a similar manner to that described in example 2 ( for aldehydes ), example 4 ( for nitriles ) or example 25 ( for esters ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 69 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 32 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 24 ( dd , j = 8 , 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 01 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 99 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 86 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 1 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 36 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 37 ( br , 1h ), 7 . 31 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 17 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 04 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 86 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 76 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 17 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 05 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 2 - 7 . 4 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 03 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 95 ( br , 1h ), 4 . 80 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 3 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 28 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 51 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 1 - 7 . 2 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 00 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 77 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 35 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 93 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 6 ( br , 1h ), 7 . 53 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 05 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 98 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 37 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 6 : 7 . 60 ( dd , j = 8 , 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 14 ( dd , j = 8 , 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 03 ( dd , j = 10 , 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 05 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 99 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 85 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 6 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 38 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 43 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 00 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 88 ( dd , j = 8 , 2hz , 1h ), 6 . 78 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 4 . 74 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 7 ( br , 1h ), 2 . 36 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 65 ( br , 1h ), 7 . 4 - 7 . 5 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 4 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 0 ( br , 1h ), 4 . 8 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 3 ( s , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 8 - 7 . 9 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 4 - 7 . 6 ( m , 7h ), 7 . 25 - 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ) 4 . 8 ( br , 2h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ7 . 50 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 28 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 80 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 63 ( dq , j = 1 , 8 hz , 2h ), 1 . 23 ( dt , j = 3 , 8 hz , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 60 - 7 . 80 ( m , 6h ), 4 . 80 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 70 - 2 . 45 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 50 ( m , 3h ), 1 . 00 - 0 . 70 ( m , 3h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 55 - 6 . 80 ( m , 6h ), 4 . 79 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 07 - 2 . 85 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 37 ( b 1h ), 1 . 24 ( d , j = 6 . 9 hz , 6h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 45 - 7 . 37 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 28 - 7 . 10 ( m , 8h ), 7 . 00 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 4 . 77 ( d , j = 4 . 0 hz , 2h ), 4 . 02 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 20 - 2 . 07 ( br , 1h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 36 - 8 . 27 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 89 ( d , j = 8 . 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 70 ( dd , j = 1 . 8 , 8 . 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 39 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 30 - 7 . 07 ( m , 5h ), 4 . 76 ( d , j = 4 . 8 hz , 2h ), 2 . 07 ( br , 1h ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 55 - 7 . 05 ( m , 6h ), 4 . 80 ( br d , 2h ), 1 . 95 ( br t , 1h ). to a stirred solution of 2 - methylimidazole ( 25 g , 0 . 3 mol ) and 3 - bromobenzo - nitrile ( 55 g , 0 . 3 mol ) in pyridine ( 60 ml ) was added k 2 co 3 ( 42 g ), cuo ( 1 . 5 g ), cu powder ( 1 . 5 g ) and cubr ( 1 . 5 g ) under a nitrogen atmosphere . the resulting mixture was heated at reflux temperature for 64 hr . the reaction mixture was filtered through a pad of celite and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo . the residue was purified by column chromatography on silica gel eluting with dichloromethane - methanol ( 10 : 1 ) to afford 12 . 9 g ( 23 %) of 3 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzonitrile as white solids . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 80 - 7 . 63 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 07 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 2 . 39 ( s , 3h ). 3 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl ) benzonitrile was reduced to 3 -( 2 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl )- benzyl alcohol using diisobutylaluminum hydride according to the procedure of example 4 , part b . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 51 - 7 . 15 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 00 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 79 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 34 ( s , 3h ). the following compounds of the invention were prepared substantially according to the methods previously described . ir : ( kbr ) n 1518 , 1421 , 1303 , 1070 , 762 cm - 1 . 1 h nmr : ( dmso - d 6 ) δ7 . 38 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 23 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 20 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 02 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( d , j = 1 hz , 1h ), 4 . 16 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 85 - 3 . 79 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 93 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 34 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 95 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). ir : ( kbr ) n 1605 , 1520 , 1350 , 1300 , 1135 cm - 1 . 1 h nmr : ( dmso - d 6 ) δ7 . 64 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 49 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 36 - 7 . 22 ( m , 4h ), 6 . 92 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 5 . 30 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 80 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 89 ( s , 3 h ), 2 . 29 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 85 ( m , 4h ). ir : ( kbr ) n 3070 , 2980 , 2960 , 2880 , 2590 , 1600 , 1525 , 1490 , 1445 , 1430 , 1210 , 1170 , 1100 , 1160 cm - 1 . 1 h nmr : ( dmso - d 6 ) δ7 . 90 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ); 7 . 78 ( d , j = 1 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 7 . 68 ( d , j = 8 . 4 hz , 2h ), 6 . 85 ( dd , j = 6 . 6 , 2 . 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 44 ( dd , j = 5 . 1 , 2 . 9 hz , 1h ), 5 . 29 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 76 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 75 - 3 . 61 ( m , 4 h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 56 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 12 - 1 . 92 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr : ( dmso - d 6 ) δ7 . 90 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 80 - 7 . 62 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 42 ( dd , j = 2 . 6 , 7 . 0 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( dd , j = 2 . 2 , 5 . 9 hz , 1h ), 5 . 32 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 77 - 3 . 59 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 55 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( m , 4h ). 1 h nmr : ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 7 . 89 ( d , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 81 - 7 . 62 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 05 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 80 - 7 . 72 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 25 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 80 - 3 . 60 ( m , 4h ), 2 . 95 ( s , 3 h ), 2 . 55 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 30 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 11 - 1 . 89 ( m , 4h ). ir : ( kbr ) n 1525 , 1442 , 1368 , 1308 , 1215 , 1118 cm - 1 . 1 h nmr : ( dmso - d 6 ) δ7 . 85 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 7 . 75 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 6 - 7 . 7 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 3 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 39 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 7 ( br , 4h ), 2 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 1 ( br , 4 h ). | 2 |
the removable , pressure adjustable , shock - absorbing cushion device in accordance with the present invention , as applied to a shoe tongue , is shown in fig . 1 . the shoe tongue comprises a cover 1 and an air cushion 2 . the cover 1 is made of cloth , leather or any other fiber , and contains and keeps the air cushion 2 inside the cover . the cover is provided with several eyelets 11 at its front for a shoe lace to penetrate and a hole 12 at its rear edge . an inflation pump 21 or an air nipple 23 extends through the hole 12 . a bag 13 envelopes the inflation pump 21 when the pump is not in use . the cover 1 can be combined with the shoe by means of the eyelets 11 or analogous fasteners such as a zipper , snap fasteners , sticker fasteners , or buttons , etch the air cushion 2 can be made of polyethylene , ethylene , or any other material with excellent elasticity , flexibility , extensibility and durability against low temperature , and that is easy to shape by blowing techniques . the air cushion 2 is provided with a plurality of round recesses or linear recesses on its upper and lower sheets . the bottoms of the recesses 201 ( see fig6 ) on both sheets are adhered together so that the vertical cross section of each recess has a square shape . the arrangement of round and recesses can be changed in many ways but they have to be located so as to balance in the lengthwise and crosswise directions . the vertical sustaining force and the elasticity that both vertical side walls of round recesses or linear recesses produce make up effectively the sustaining force of the whole hollow air cushion . this shock - absorbing cushion device design provides an excellent outer surface flatness and a strong interactive sustaining function and prevents possible deformation due to high pressures . of importance is that the air cushion 2 itself can never be totally flattened because of the vertical square cross section of the round or linear recesses even if the cushion is damaged or not yet inflated . as shown in fig2 and 4 , the rear end of the inflation pump 21 is fixed steadfast with the air cushion as one unit . the pump 21 is an elastic tube that can be expanded or contracted to draw in air through a one way valve 215 set in a valve base 212 at the front . another one way valve 213 set in a valve base 211 at the rear cooperates with the valve 215 to draw in the airs sponges 214 , 216 surround the valves 213 , 215 , giving them auxiliary force for stabilizing the position of said valves 213 , 215 when they return to their original positions . the sponges also filter the air drawn in . in addition , a bar 217 extends backward from the valve 215 , penetrates through the sponge 216 and reaches to the middle of the elastic tube of the pump 21 . the bar 217 does not touch the rear of the valve 213 in the original position , but can be pushed back by the valve 215 to push the valve 213 if a little bar 24 is inserted into the front of the inflation pump 21 pushing back the valve 215 , whereupon both valves 213 , 215 are opened to release the air inside the air cushion 2 . the inflation pump 21 can be replaced by an air nipple 23 made of rubber . a needle is inserted into the nipple to inflate or deflate the air cushion 2 . the air nipple 23 has several outward protrusions 230 at its end which is set in a round tube 202 . the protrusions prevent the nipple from falling off said tube 202 . the tube 202 is tightly bound around by several rubber bands 231 to prevent the air nipple from falling off at the same time . the main function of the rubber bands is to prevent the air cushion 2 from exploding open if the cushion 2 should receive a shock force larger than it can endure . such a shock force greater than the binding force of the rubber bands would produce a gap between the air nipple 23 and the tube 202 , thereby causing the air inside the cushion 2 to escape through the gap . as fig1 shows , the outer circumference of the tube 202 can be shaped as a thread and the cross section of the thread may be triangular , square , semicircular , oblong or any shape , provided that the air nipple 23 , after set in the tube 202 , can strongly resist the escape of air . next , examples of air cushions provided with round recesses 20 ( see fig1 ) and linear recesses 201 , either separately or in combination , are described with reference to the figures . fig6 , 6 - 1 , 6 - 2 show a kind of air cushion 2 provided with lengthwise linear recesses 201 , but one end of every linear recess 201 is not connected with a circumferential edge of the cushion so that air can circulate through a passage formed between the circumferential edge and the ends of the linear recesses 201 . the upper and lower sheets of the cushion 2 have a flat surface and the cross section of the air space inside the cushion 2 is shaped as a square . the cushion is inclined at its peripheral edges according to the inclined upper surface of the foot . fig7 , 7 - 1 , 7 - 2 show an example of an air cushion used for a boot with a little change added to the example shown in fig6 . this cushion is provided with a square flat section 203 . between the inside ends of the linear recesses 201 on both sides of said section 203 is separately set a passage for the air inside to pass through . the outside ends of said recesses 201 are either connected or not connected with a respective circumferential edge . the embodiment of fig7 is provided with an air nipple 23 . fig8 , 8 - 1 , 8 - 2 show an example of an a cushion 2 with crosswise linear recesses 201 connected with a circumferential edge of the cushion at both ends thereby dividing the inside space into a plurality of crosswise independent rooms . short tubes 204 of smaller diameter than the height of the air cushion are set across the recesses 201 for the air in each independent room to pass through . therefore , this cushion can acquire good crosswise flexibility owing to the crosswise recesses 201 . the comparatively small tubes 204 never hamper the cushion from bending . the tubes 201 are not easily broken . the vertical cross - section of the linear recesses resembles a square . fig9 , 9 - 1 , 9 - 2 show an example of an air cushion used for a boot with the crosswise linear recesses 201 of fig8 changed a little . both ends of the linear recesses 201 do not connect with the circumferential edges such that passages are formed between the ends of said recesses 201 and said edges . this cushion 2 can be bent crosswise and can be provided with an air nipple 23 or an inflation pump 21 . fig1 , 10 - 1 show an example of air cushion 2 with crosswise and lengthwise linear recesses 201 combined at the same time . the ends of the crosswise or lengthwise linear recesses 201 are not connected with any circumferential edge . the crosswise linear recesses 201 do not meet the lengthwise linear recesses 201 so that passages 22 are formed around the circumferential edge . the cross section of the inside of the cushion still is square shaped , in spite of the crosswise and lengthwise linear recesses 201 . an air nipple 23 or an inflation pump 21 can be provided with this cushion . this cushion is provided with extending out wings 205 to make it broader to cover the foot . fig1 , 11 - 1 show an example of an air cushion used for boots quite similar to the example shown in fig1 . fig1 , 12 - 1 show an example of an air cushion 2 provided with many round recesses 20 and a few crosswise linear recesses 201 and an air nipple 23 . the round recesses 20 and the linear recesses 201 have the illustrated cross section . this cushion has its inside hollow spaces in mutual communication , except for the places where the round recesses 20 and the linear recesses 201 are located . this kind of cushion can also be made with a little wider front part to cover the eyelets 11 of the cover 1 in order to widely cover the foot . [ 0069 ] fig1 , 13 1 show an example of an air cushion provided with a combination of round recesses 20 and crosswise and lengthwise linear recesses 201 . both ends of the lengthwise linear recesses 201 do not connect with any circumferential edge for forming passages 22 . however , the crosswise linear recesses 201 are connected with both circumferential edges and are provided with short tubes 204 set across them as shown in fig8 for the air inside to pass through in order that this cushion may have a crosswise bending capability to cope with the inclined upper face of the foot . either an air nipple 23 or an inflation pump 21 can be provided in this cushion 2 . figs . 14 , 14 - 1 show an example of an air cushion 3 , wherein a continuous , bent middle sheet 31 adheres to the upper and the lower sheets intermittently at spaced locations . the middle sheet 31 has a narrower width than that of the air cushion 3 such that passages 22 are formed by means of the difference of their widths . this kind of air cushion can have flatter surfaces than the others . fig1 , 15 - 1 show an example of an air cushion quite similar to the example of fig1 . the difference between them consists in the shape of the middle sheet 31 set between the upper and the lower sheets . this middle sheet 31 has a continuously bent slope and also is adhered to the upper and the lower sheets intermittently at spaced locations . this cushion can also have flatter surfaces than the others the air cushion used in a shoe tongue can also be made by means of heat sealing as shown in fig1 , 16 - 1 . a layer of foam material has to be added on the surface of this cushion to make it flat as this cushion made through heat sealing can have a rather rough surface . [ 0073 ] fig1 , 20 , 21 show a shoe counter cushion 5 provided with this shock absorbing cushion device for a sports shoe . the counter cushion 5 comprises crosswise linear recesses 201 adhering the upper sheet to the lower sheet . the hollow width of said linear recesses 201 allows the cushion 5 to conform to the vertical face of the heel to absorb shock . an inflation pump 21 or an air nipple 23 can be used in this device . [ 0074 ] fig1 shows a kind of knee protector which comprises an air cushion 6 in accordance with the present invention . the cushion 6 is provided with crosswise linear recesses 201 on the upper and the lower sheets . the height of the recesses 201 serves as bending space for the knee , ensuring the function of protecting the knee from being hurt but not hampering the movement of the knee . this cushion 6 can be provided with an inflation pump 21 or an air nipple 23 . of course , this shock - absorbing structure can not only be applied to a shoe tongue , a counter cushion for sports shoes and a knee protector as described above , but also to a shoulder protector , or any other sports goods . after an air cushion 2 is sealed in a cover 1 , both of them make up a shock absorbing structure removable , pressure adjustable and ready to be used in sports shoes . to inflate air into the air cushion 2 , the inflation pump 21 is expanded or pulled lengthwise as shown in fig3 . as the pump 21 is pulled long and extended , a vacuum condition is produced inside the pump 21 , thereby sucking air into the open one - way valve 215 at the front of the pump 21 . when the pump 21 is pushed short and retracted instead of expanded , the air drawn inside is compressed to close the valve 215 and to push open the one way valve 213 at the same time so that the air is pushed and flows into the air cushion 2 . repeating these actions to expand and to contract the pump 21 inflates the cushion 2 to the extent desired . on the contrary , to deflate or decrease the inside pressure of the air cushion 2 , the valve 215 should be pushed open backward to make the bar 217 push the valve 213 open so that the air inside the cushion can be expelled out to the extent desired as shown in fig4 . in general , this shock - absorbing cushion device in accordance with the present invention not only has a special practical usefulness , but also is effective in preventing injuries during exercise or playing a sport . in addition , its special features are removability , adjustability in its pressure and the excellent elasticity against shock even if it is not inflated . the interior of the air cushion can be filled with air , foamed polyurethane , water , oil , or any fluid of low percolation . | 0 |
certain embodiments of the present invention will be described below , involving a flash memory device as an example in illustrating certain structural and operational features of the invention . the present invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be constructed 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 present invention to those skilled in the art . like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the accompanying figures . it will be understood that , although the terms first , second , etc . may be used herein to describe various elements , these elements should not be limited by these terms . these terms are only used to distinguish one element from another . for example , a first element could be termed a second element , and , similarly , a second element could be termed a first element , without departing from the scope of the present invention . as used herein , the term “ and / or ” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “ connected ” or “ coupled ” to another element , it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements inay be present . in contrast , when an element is referred to as being “ directly connected ” or “ directly coupled ” to another element , there are no intervening elements present . other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion ( i . e ., “ between ” versus “ directly between ”, “ adjacent ” versus “ directly adjacent ”, etc .). the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . it will be further understood that the terms “ comprises ” “ comprising ,” “ includes ” and / or “ including ” when used herein , specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . unless otherwise defined , all terms ( including technical and scientific terms ) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs . it will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this disclosure and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein . fig3 is a block diagram of a flash memory system 1000 according to first embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig3 , the flash memory system 1000 may include a flash controller 1100 and a nand flash memory device 1200 . the nand flash memory device 1200 may be configured to conduct reading / writing operations under the control of the flash controller 1100 . the nand flash memory device 1200 receives addresses , commands , and data in synchronization with transitions of a clock signal clk instead of a control signal / we ( i . e ., write - enable signal ) or a control signal / re ( i . e ., read - enable signal ). in embodiments of the present invention , the signals / we and / re may be used as flag signals to indicate operation modes . for instance , the signal / we is used as a flag signal for a writing mode , while the signal / re is used as a flash signal for a reading mode . the nand flash memory device 1200 according to embodiments of the present invention may be configured to receive and output data in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . addresses or commands may also be input to the nand flash memory device 1200 in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . the flash controller 1100 is likewise configured to receive data from the nand flash memory device 1200 in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . in this embodiment , the nand flash memory device 1200 may communicate with the flash controller 1100 in accordance with an interface protocol for a standard nand flash memory device . fig4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating structural features of the nand flash memory device shown in fig3 . fig5 and 6 are timing diagrams illustrating the timing of reading and writing operations performed by the nand flash memory device 1200 of fig4 . other configurations of the nand flash memory device 1200 may be arranged in a typical structure as well known by those skilled in this art . as shown in fig4 , the clock signal clk provided from the flash controller 1100 is applied to an input / output buffer circuit 1220 by way of pad / pin ( i . e ., a pad and / or pin or other input terminal ) that is adjacent to the input / output pads / pins i / o 0 ˜ i / o 7 . the pad / pin supplied with the clock signal clk is input may , for example , be one of the non - bonded pads / pins ( e . g ., 25 ˜ 28 , 33 ˜ 35 , 38 ˜ 40 , or 45 ˜ 48 ) when a 48 - pin tsop1 is used . the pad / pin supplied with the clock signal clk may be assigned to a non - bonded pad / pill that is located very close to the input / output pins i / o 0 ˜ i / o 7 . as such , the transmission path of the clock signal clk to the data input / output buffer circuit 1220 is short , and thus the duty ratio of the clock signal clk applied to the data input / output buffer circuit 1220 can generally be maintained at a predetermined value ( e . g ., 50 %). when this is the case , the setup / hold margins between data output in synchronization with a rising edge of the clock signal clk and data output in synchronization with a falling edge of the clock signal clk may be approximately the same . consequently , a nand flash memory device with a double data rate ( ddr ) function may be provided using the clock signal clk . referring still to fig4 , the signals / re and / we , as flag signals for indicating operation modes , are transferred to the data input / output buffer circuit 1220 by way of their corresponding pads . for example , the signal / re may be transferred to the data input / output buffer circuit 1220 as the flag flash signal f_dout which indicates the reading operation mode . as shown in fig5 , the data input / output buffer circuit 1220 outputs data from memory core 1240 ( i . e ., a memory cell array of the device ) in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk during the active period of the flag signal f_dout . the signal / we may similarly be transferred to the data input / output bluffer circuit 1220 as the flag signal f_din for indicating the writing operation mode . as shown in fig6 , the data input / output buffer circuit 1220 receives data from an external source in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk during the active period of the flag signal f_din , and outputs the input data to the memory core 1240 . fig7 is a block diagram of a flash memory system according to second embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig7 , the flash memory system 2000 according to the second embodiments of the present invention includes a flash controller 2100 and a nand flash memory device 2200 . the nand flash memory device 2200 may be configured to conduct reading / writing operations under the control of the flash controller 2100 . the nand flash memory device 2200 receives addresses , commands , and data in synchronization with transitions of a clock signal clk , as is the case with respect to the nand flash memory device 1200 shown in fig3 . thus , the nand flash memory device 2200 may be configured to receive and output data in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . addresses or commands may also be input to the nand flash memory device 2200 in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . the flash controller 2100 is configured to receive data from the nand flash memory device 2200 in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . in the nand flash memory device 2200 , a mode selection signal m_sel may be used as a flag signal for indicating the operation mode instead of the signals / we and / re . for instance , the writing operation mode may be enabled when the mode selection signal m_sel is set to a low level , and the reading operation mode may be enabled when the mode selection signal m_sel is set to a high level . in this embodiment , the nand flash memory device 2200 may communicate with the flash controller 2100 in accordance with an interface protocol for a standard nand flash memory device . fig8 is a block diagram schematically illustrating structural features of the nand ) flash memory device shown in fig7 . fig9 and 10 are timing diagrams illustrating the timing of writing and reading operations by the nand flash memory device shown in fig8 . other configurations of the nand flash memory device 2200 may be arranged in a typical structure as well known by those skilled in this art . as shown in fig8 , the clock signal clk provided from the flash controller 2100 is applied to an input / output buffer circuit 2220 by way of pad / pill that is adjacent to input / output pads / pins i / o 0 ˜ i / o 7 . the clock signal clk may be input to , for example , one of the non - bonded pads / pins ( e . g ., 25 ˜ 28 , 33 ˜ 35 , 38 ˜ 40 , or 45 ˜ 48 ). the pad / pin supplied with the clock signal clk may be assigned to a non - bonded pad / pin that is located close to the input / output pins i / o 0 ˜ i / o 7 . as in the first embodiments of the present invention discussed above , this arrangement of pads / pins facilitates maintaining setup / hold margins on the same level between data output in synchronization with a rising edge of the clock signal clk and data output in synchronization with a falling edge of the clock signal clk . referring still to fig8 , the signal m_sel , as a flag signal for indicating the operation mode , is transferred to the data input / output buffer circuit 2220 by way of its corresponding pad . for example , if the signal m_sel that is transferred to the data input / output buffer circuit 2220 has a low level it operates as a flag signal for indicating the writing operation mode , and thus the writing operation begins . then , the data input / output buffer circuit 2220 , as shown in fig9 , receives data from an external source in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk during an active period of the flag signal m_sel , and outputs the input data to a memory core 2240 ( see fig5 ). on the other hand , if the signal m_sel that is transferred to the data input / output buffer circuit 2220 has a high level it operates as a flag signal for indicating the reading operation mode , and thus the reading operation begins . then , the data input / output buffer circuit 2220 , as shown in fig1 , outputs data from the memory core 2240 in synchronization with rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk during an active period of the flag signal m_sel . fig1 is a block diagram of a memory system according to third embodiments of the present invention , and fig1 is a timing diagram illustrating operation of the nand flash memory device of fig1 . referring to fig1 , the memory system 3000 according to the third embodiments of the present invention may include a flash controller 3100 and a nand flash memory device 3200 . the nand flash memory device 3200 is similar to the nand flash memory device 2200 of fig8 , but is operable in a single data rate ( sdr ) mode in which data is input / output in synchronization with a rising or falling edge of the clock signal clk , as well as operable in a double data rate ( ddr ) mode in which data is input / output in synchronization with both rising and filling edges of the clock signal clk . these modes may be alternatively enabled by the selection signal sdr / ddr . if the selection signal sdr / ddr indicates the sdr mode , as shown in fig1 , the nand flash memory device 3200 receives addresses , commands , and data in synchronization with the rising or falling edges of the clock signal clk ( the rising edge is depicted in fig1 ). if the selection signal sdr / ddr indicates the ddr mode , as shown in fig1 , the nand flash memory device 3200 receives addresses , commands , and data in synchronization with both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . an alternative implementation of the memory system 3000 of fig1 is depicted in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , in this alternative embodiment , the nand flash memory device is implemented using the signals / re and / we ( instead of the signal m_sel ) as flag signals for indicating the operation mode . fig1 is a block diagram of a memory system according to fourth embodiments of the present invention , and fig1 is a timing diagram showing operation of the nand flash memory device of fig1 . referring fig1 , the memory system 4000 according to fourth embodiments of the present invention may include a flash controller 4100 and a nand flash memory device 4200 . the nand flash memory device 4200 is similar to the nand flash memory device 2200 of fig5 , but is different in that it is operable in either the sdr or ddr mode . the mode selected may be alternatively enabled by setting a mode - register set circuit 4220 . in turning an operation from the sdr mode to the ddr mode , as shown in fig1 , the mode - register set circuit 4220 is conditioned with a command in correspondence with the ddr mode . once the mode - register set circuit 4220 is commanded for the ddr mode , the nand flash memory device 4200 interfaces with the flash controller 4100 in the ddr mode . for instance , if the mode - register set circuit 4220 is conditioned with a command in correspondence with the ddr mode , as shown in fig1 , the nand flash memory device 4200 receives addresses , commands , and data in synchronization with both rising and falling edges of the clock signal clk . an alternative implementation of the nand flash memory device 4200 of fig1 is depicted in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , in this alternative embodiment , the nand flash memory device 4200 ′ is implemented using the signals / re and / we ( instead of the signal m_sel ) as flag signals for indicating the operation mode . as described above , pursuant to embodiments of the present invention , nand flash memory devices having a ddr function may be provided using the clock signal clk instead of the signals / re and / we . the above - disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative , and not restrictive , and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications , enhancements , and other embodiments , which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . thus , to the maximum extent allowed by law , the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents , and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description . | 6 |
described herein are illustrative embodiments of a t / r switch circuit arrangement for an rf front - end . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous examples and specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . it will be evident , however , to one skilled in the art that the present invention as defined by the claims may include some or all of the features in these examples alone or in combination with other features described below , and may further include modifications and equivalents of the features and concepts described herein . fig1 a is a high level block diagram of a transmit / receive ( t / r ) circuit in accordance with the present invention . a transceiver circuit 2 may include a transmit circuit for producing a signal suitable for transmission by an antenna ( in the antenna assembly 6 ) and receiver circuit for receiving a received signal sensed by the antenna . the transceiver circuit 2 may include a transmit / receive switch to switch between outputting a transmit signal or receiving a received signal . a matching network 4 provides impedance matching between the antenna assembly 6 and the transceiver circuit 2 in order to maximize power transfer , reduce reflection of signals and so on . the antenna assembly 6 may include the antenna itself and may include other supporting circuitry ; for example , a balun filter . referring to fig1 b , a t / r ( transmit / receive ) circuit arrangement in accordance with the present invention includes an ic chip 108 comprising circuitry for transmitting signals and receiving signals and corresponding switching circuitry to switch between transmit mode and receive mode . in an embodiment , the matching network 4 ( fig1 a ) may comprise board matching network 124 for matching the impedance between an antenna 104 and the circuitry in ic chip 108 . further in accordance with the present invention , the board matching network 124 is “ off - chip ” with respect to the ic chip 108 . in other words , the board matching network 124 is a component that is not fabricated on the ic chip 108 , but rather is a component that is physically separate from the ic chip . in an embodiment , the board matching network 124 is assembled on a printed circuit board ( pcb ) 102 . the ic chip 108 can be connected to the pcb 102 , for example , via bond wires 112 , 114 . an antenna assembly comprising the antenna 104 and a balun filter 106 can be assembled on the pcb 102 . the board matching network 124 may include a terminal 124 a configured to receive an incoming signal , a terminal 124 b configured to output an outgoing signal , and terminal 124 c configured to output a signal to be transmitted by the antenna 104 and to receive a signal sensed or otherwise received by the antenna . the bond wires 112 , 114 may have inductive characteristics . accordingly , in an embodiment , the bond wires 112 , 114 can be considered part of the board matching network 124 . in embodiments , the ic chip 108 may include a power amplifier 132 and a low - noise amplifier ( lna ) 134 . the amplifiers 132 , 134 can be components of a transceiver circuit ( not shown ). the ic chip 108 may further include t / r switches 126 , 128 . for example , the t / r switches 126 , 128 shown in fig1 b are cmos npn transistors . a pa t / r switch 126 can be connected to an output of the power amplifier 132 . the pa t / r switch 126 can be configured to enable or prevent conduction of the transmit signal along signal path 116 . an lna t / r switch 128 can be connected to an input of the amplifier 134 . in embodiments , the amplifier 134 can be a low - noise amplifier that receives and amplifies a signal sensed by the antenna 104 . the lna t / r switch 128 can be configured to enable or prevent conduction , in response to a control signal ( rx control ), of the sensed signal appearing at an output 122 d of an on - chip matching network 122 ( discussed below ) to an input of the amplifier 134 . in a transmit mode of operation , a signal to be transmitted ( tx signal ) is provided to the power amplifier 132 . the output of the power amplifier 132 constitutes a transmit signal that essentially follows signal path 116 toward the antenna 104 , where it is broadcast . in a receive mode of operation , signals sensed ( i . e ., received ) by the antenna 104 essentially follows signal path 118 toward the amplifier 134 . the amplifier 134 amplifies the sensed signal to produce an output that constitutes a received signal ( rx signal ) which can be provided to downstream circuits ( not shown ) for further processing . as mentioned above , in accordance with the present invention , the matching network 4 comprises board matching network 124 . in embodiments , the matching network 4 may further comprise the on - chip impedance matching network 122 fabricated on the ic chip 108 . the on - chip matching network 122 may include a terminal 122 a configured to receive via switch 126 the output ( transmit signal ) of the power amplifier 132 . terminals 122 b and 122 c may be connected to respective external pins ( not shown ) of the ic chip 108 . the terminal 122 b is configured to output the transmit signal to the external pin . the terminal 122 c is configured to receive the signal sensed by the antenna 104 . a terminal 122 d is configured to provide the signal sensed by the antenna 104 to amplifier 134 . the bond wires 112 , 114 may have inductive characteristics . accordingly , in an embodiment , the bond wires 112 , 114 can be considered part of the board matching network 124 . referring to fig2 a , in embodiments , the ic chip 108 can be assembled on the same pcb 102 as the board matching network 122 , and connected together by traces 202 formed on the pcb 102 . the antenna 104 can be provided separate from the pcb 102 . in fig2 b , an embodiment is shown wherein the ic chip 108 can be assembled on a pcb 102 a different from the pcb 102 . a suitable connector 204 ( e . g ., flex connector ) can be used to connect the pcb 102 and the pcb 102 a . it will be appreciated that the matching network ( either on - chip matching network 122 or board matching network 124 , or both ) can be further configured to account of the impedance present in the connector 204 . a magnified area of fig2 c shows the bond wire 112 , 114 connections to the traces 202 . referring to fig3 , in an embodiment , all of the impedance matching components of the matching network 6 ( fig1 ) can be provided by the board matching network 124 . in other words , all of the matching components are “ off - chip ” in that none of the matching components are fabricated on the ic chip 108 . in this embodiment , the on - chip matching network 122 in the ic chip 108 is effectively absent , comprising only traces 122 x formed in a metal layer of the ic chip . the board matching network 124 comprises reactive elements x 1 - x 3 , and can be any suitable combination of inductors and / or capacitors . during receive mode operation , the pa t / r switch 126 and the lna t / r switch 128 are off , so that signals sensed by the antenna 104 will essentially follow signal path 118 . accordingly , the impedances that arise include the input impedance of the low - noise amplifier 134 seen at terminal 124 b and some parasitic impedance seen at element x 2 . the x 1 and x 3 elements constitute an l - matching network and can be designed with element values based on the input impedance of the low - noise amplifier 134 and the parasitic impedance to transform those impedances to match the impedance of the antenna 104 and balun filter 106 assembly , for example 50 ω . during transmit mode operation , the pa t / r switch 126 and the lna t / r switch 128 are on ; the lna t / r switch acts as a shunt to ground , thus bypassing the input to the low - noise amplifier 134 . accordingly , the impedances that arise during include the low impedance path ( e . g ., several ohms ) seen at terminal 124 b due to the shunt . the x 1 element together with the x 2 and x 3 elements can be designed to be resonant with the balun filter 106 at the transmit frequency , thus maximizing the transmit output power delivered to the antenna 104 . fig3 a shows an example of a more specific embodiment . capacitors c 2 and c 3 and inductor l 1 are provided off - chip . for example , capacitors c 2 and c 3 , and inductor l 1 can be discrete components . capacitors c 2 and c 3 can be ic components provided in discrete form and are assembled off - chip . the particular embodiment shown in fig3 a offers maximum flexibility in terms of accommodating changes to the matching network 6 because it is contained off - chip in board matching network 124 . however , the cost of having exclusively off - chip components may constitute an unacceptable cost in manufacture . for example , while low - cost discrete off - chip capacitors may be available , discrete inductors tend to be more expensive . in an embodiment , the matching network 6 ( fig1 ) may comprise on - chip components , namely some of the components of the matching network may be integrated on the ic chip 108 . accordingly , the embodiment shown in fig4 provides a board matching network 124 comprising capacitors c 2 , c 3 and an on - board matching network 12 comprising inductor l 1 . the inductor l 1 fabricated on the ic chip 108 ; i . e ., it is on - chip as compared to the capacitors c 2 , c 3 which are off - chip . this configuration may be more acceptable in terms of manufacturing costs . for example , the inductor l 1 may be on the order of a few nano - henries which lends itself to the possibility of integration . the cost of a discrete component vs . the degradation of performance of an integrated circuit version of the component may weigh in favor of integration . fig5 illustrates a wireless communication system 502 incorporating an embodiment of the present invention . for example , wireless communication system 502 can be any handheld device such as a mobile communication device ( e . g ., cellular telephone ), a computing device having wireless communication capability ( e . g ., laptop , notebook computer ), a handheld gaming device having wireless communication capability ( e . g ., ipod touch manufactured and sold by apple inc . ), and so on . the wireless communication system 502 can use any communication standard such as the various ieee 802 formats ( e . g ., bluetooth , 802 . 11n , 802 . 11g and so on ). as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow , “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . also , as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow , the meaning of “ in ” includes “ in ” and “ on ” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . the above description illustrates various embodiments of the present invention along with examples of how aspects of the present invention may be implemented . the above examples and embodiments should not be deemed to be the only embodiments , and are presented to illustrate the flexibility and advantages of the present invention as defined by the following claims . based on the above disclosure and the following claims , other arrangements , embodiments , implementations and equivalents will be evident to those skilled in the art and may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims . | 7 |
this invention provides the means for indicating when the battery life is about to be exhausted in a two - hand , that is hour and minute hand , timepiece . this invention is also applicable to the three - hand timepiece , however in a preferred embodiment of this invention as described hereinafter movement of the minute hand is described . in fig1 a quartz crystal vibrator or the like is oscillated as a time standard source by using an oscillation circuit 1 , for instance with the frequency of 32 khz . well - known flipflop circuits ( ff ) are used as the divider network 2 . these are conventional circuits and frequency divisions of one - half or one - third , one - fifth or one - sixth can easily be obtained by means of flip - flop circuits in combination . the signal from the divider network 2 is shaped in the driving circuit 3 to have a waveform suited for driving the motor 4 . the well - known step motor 4 including a coil , a coil core , a stator and a rotor consisting of a permanent magnet , is conventionally used in these timepieces . the signal for driving the motor 4 is usually a signal by which the second hand is driven every second in a timepiece having three hands . however in a timepiece having only an hour hand and a minute hand , because it is not inconvenient if the minute hand is driven intermittently at intervals of several seconds to several minutes , the minute hand is driven at proper intervals of time which are determined by taking into consideration the output torque of the motor and the ratio of gears in the gear train 5 . the rotational speed of the motor 4 is reduced in the gear train 5 . the minute hand and the hour hand ( not shown ) are fixed to the minute wheel or the hour wheel in the indicator 6 , all in a structure which is well known for the conventional quartz crystal timepiece . in order to detect and display the battery life , the timepiece according to this invention is provided with a detector circuit 7 for detecting the supply voltage magnitude , and the circuit 8 which produces a signal for quickly advancing the minute hand when a battery voltage reduction is detected . the circuit 8 for quickly advancing the hand uses a timer or a counter to generate suitable pulses for application to the driver 3 . a signal for quickly advancing the minute hand is also controlled by an external operational member 60 , for example , a pushbutton , a crown or a winding stem . the quick advance signal and the timekeeping signal from divider 2 are applied to the driver 3 through logical network schematically represented by logic element 62 as more particularly described below . it should be understood for purposes of this description that the term &# 34 ; battery life &# 34 ; refers to the present condition of the internal battery of the timepiece as indicated by the output voltage of the battery . the normal operating voltage is about 1 . 5 v for a silver battery , or the like , used in an electronic timepiece . this voltage remains relatively stable until near the end of the capacity of the battery . then the voltage drops rapidly when the capacity of the battery is about to be exhausted . these terms are relative . because the life of the battery as used in the electronic timepiece extends over a prolonged period of time , for example , a year , the period of time during which the battery voltage is dropping at the so - called rapid rate may extend for weeks . therefore there is ample time for detection of lowered battery voltage , i . e ., battery life , before the timpiece will actually lose its capability to keep accurate time or to operate at all . as stated above this battery life indication invention may be applied to two or three handed timepieces . however , means have been provided , and are widely used , for displaying a low voltage condition of the battery in timepieces having three hands including the second hand . therefore the description which follows is based upon a two - handed timepiece having only the hour and minute hand . the application of this invention to three - handed timepieces will be obvious to those skilled in the art . in fig2 the visible display to indicate low battery voltage ( battery life ) according to this invention is described . the abscissa of the chart represents the real time tr . the ordinate of the chart represents the time displayed td , that is the time which is indicated by the hour hand and the minute hand in the indicator portion 6 of the timepiece . when the ordinate and abscissa axes are graduated to the same scale , a straight line 10 with a 45 ° inclination indicates that the real time tr agrees with the display time td in an accurate timepiece . when the accurate timepiece receives an internal signal warning that the battery voltage is reduced and that the capacity of the battery is approaching exhaustion , a battery life indication begins to be displayed on the indicator 6 by motion of the hands as indicated starting from point 11 in fig2 . the quick advance circuit 8 , motor 4 and gear train 5 in the timepiece having two hands are designed so that the minute hand is driven normally by inputting an output pulse once in ten seconds from the divider network 2 . during the period i ( fig2 ), the minute hand is normally driven by applying a signal once in every ten seconds . but when the battery voltage has been detected as being lower than normal , within defined limits , and starting at operation point 11 ( fig2 ), twelve pulses are input at the rate of twice a second . it should be understood that twelve pulses and the rate of twice a second are chosen for the sake of example in illustrating this invention and other numbers and rates may also be used with properly designed associated circuits . the display 6 of the timepiece , i . e ., the minute hand , advances ten seconds , that is one - sixth of a minute distance on the dial in one pulse . accordingly , inputting of twelve pulses causes the timepiece to display a time which is two minutes fast ( 12 × 10 seconds = 120 seconds ). that is , in the period ii in fig2 two pulses are input every second so that the minute hand is moved for 6 seconds after which the time 12 appears on the display indicator 6 . note that the time displayed is in advance of the real time . these accelerating pulses are applied to the driver 3 , motor 4 , gear train 5 and indicator 6 by means of the circuit 8 for quickly advancing the minute hand ( fig1 ). the actual circuit is described in detail hereinafter in conjunction with fig3 and 4 . when the time 12 is displayed after the rapid advance of the minute hand , no further signal from the divider network 2 is input to the driver 3 until after a 120 seconds have elapsed from the point 11 which is the point where the quick pulsing of the minute hand began . this is indicated by the horizontal line connecting points 12 and 13 in fig2 . accordingly , the period iii and the period ii together equal 120 seconds of elapsed time . if the user reads the timepiece during the time between the displayed time at point 12 and the displayed time at point 13 , he reads a time with a maximum error of 114 seconds ( 120 minus 6 ) with respect to the real time . when the real time tr again agrees with the displayed time , i . e ., point 13 on the line 10 ( fig2 ), the minute hand is again quickly advanced for 6 seconds by the pulses for quickly advancing the minute hand and the hand displays the time at point 14 . that is , the displayed time is again &# 34 ; fast &# 34 ; by approximately 2 minutes . the pattern repeats as described above , when the battery voltage is low , and the minute hand remains at rest for a time indicated in fig2 between the point 14 and the point 15 . the point 15 is on the line 10 which indicates that the timepiece has again returned to an accurate setting where the indicated time represents the real time . thus the user , who is accustomed to an accurate timepiece , will in time notice that his timepiece is inaccurate by as much as two minutes , and that the minute hand is not in motion for periods of approximately two minutes . the user may also notice that the minute hand is advancing quite rapidly in comparison with its normal rate . the user may still be unaware that the battery voltage is diminishing and that a new battery will be needed in the relatively near future . or the user may be uncertain whether the timepiece is merely operating fast , or is soon to be in need of a new battery . the means for surely confirming the state of the battery is described hereinafter in conjunction with fig2 . when the user finds his timepiece is in the condition where the time indicator needs to be corrected , that is he is aware that the timepiece is fast , the user uses the external operation member 60 to adjust the position of the hands . the hands are reset with a winding stem or a correction button , or the like , which serves as the external member indicated as 60 in fig1 . however , as explained more fully hereinafter , pulling out the winding stem also resets the circuits of this invention . after the stem is pulled out , the hands are set in the conventional manner by rotating the winding stem . then the winding stem is pushed in , after which the output for accelerated hand motion is applied just 10 seconds later . this is a general description of the reset method . in the circuits shown in fig3 a d - type flip - flop 36 and a reset switch 46 are used in this reset method as described hereinafter . in fig2 after detection of a reduced battery voltage , the minute hand repeats the periodic action of quick moving the hands and then stopping the hands . at that time , when the winding stem is pulled out in order to set the hands , a reset switch which is interlocked with the winding stem is drawn up to contact the ⊕ terminal of the supply voltage . if the minute hand is put back by two minutes using the winding stem for the purpose of hand - setting , the real time 17 is displayed if the adjustment commences at the point 16 &# 39 ; of fig2 . when the winding stem is then pushed to its original position , simultaneously the reset switch 46 is released from the reset state . at that moment , a signal for advancing the minute hand at a greater speed than the normal speed is applied . then the displayed time rapidly advances to 18 in fig2 . accordingly , as the rapid advance of the minute hand at a greater speed can be easily seen by the user by pushing the winding stem in after having pulled it out and adjusted the time , it is surely confirmed that the battery is approaching exhaustion . in other words , action of the minute hand in immediately proceeding at an accelerated pace to a fast position just after the user has reset the time from a fast position , will indicate to the user that the watch will soon be in need of a new battery and the watch is not merely running fast or malfunctioning . thus the battery life is easily checked , especially in the twohand watch such as a ladies &# 39 ; watch or a dress watch in which a battery hatch is not provided so as not to impair the aesthetic design of the watch . thus the need to open the battery case , which may cause injury to the case or allow the entry of dirt or dust , merely for the purpose of checking the battery voltage , can be avoided . the means provided in this invention are an effective and simple way for checking the supply voltage . although a winding stem was described above with respect to the reset switch , it should be understood that a button , or the like , which acts independently from the winding stem for the purpose of setting the hands , may also be used . operation of the button is mechanically interlocked with the reset strcture . the actual circuit according to this invention and the timing chart of fig2 is now described . the circuit of fig3 is comprised of the quartz crystal oscillator 20 , a divider network consisting of stages 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 41 . the divider circuits consist of well - known flip - flops ( ff ). the circuit of fig3 is also comprised of d - type flip - flops 26 , 36 with reset function , d - type flip - flop 42 with set function , the d - type flip - flop 32 , and nand gate 29 for detecting the battery voltage . and gates 25 , 27 are for for selecting the detecting cycle , whose outputs are fed to the or gate 28 . the input to the gate 25 from the flip - flop 32 is inverted . the signal for driving the minute hand at a greater speed for a fixed time period is received by and gates 43 , 44 , 45 and gates 33 , 34 , 35 operate in the normal condition of battery voltage and also at the time when a lower battery voltage is detected indicating a near exhaustion of the battery life . gate 43 has inverted inputs and the input to gate 34 from flip - flop 32 is inverted . the driving wave form is shaped in the d - type flip - flop 36 whose output is fed to the input of and gates 37 , 38 having inverters 39 , 40 respectively for applying a relatively large current for driving the motor . the aforementioned reset switch 46 is constructed to actuate the reset function when the ⊕ power supply is in the high state . the input to gate 37 from the recess switch 46 is an inverted input . the input from the flip - flop 36 to gate 37 is an inverted input , and the input to gate 38 from or gate 35 is an inverted input . the quartz crystal oscillator 20 oscillates at a frequency of 32 khz . using generally known flip - flop circuits , the divider stage 21 outputs a signal of 128 hz having a period of 7 . 8 milliseconds and a second frequency output of 4 hz . the flip - flop 42 , 32 and 36 are positive logic elements and the divider stages 21 , 22 , 23 and 24 are negative logic elements . waveforms at different locations in the circuit of fig3 are designated by lower case letters and are correspondingly identified in the waveform diagrams of fig4 . for example , the output of 128 hz designated as e from the divider stage 21 ( fig3 ) is the upper waveform also designated by the lower case letter e in fig4 . it should be noted that waveform e is a series of square wave pulses . the 4 hz signal is inputted to divider stage 22 which outputs a 2 hz signal f by means of internal flip - flops . divider stage 23 receives the 2 hz signal as an input and outputs a one - tenth hz signal which is low for 6 seconds and high for 4 seconds . this output signal g is provided by combining well - known flip - flops in the divider stage 23 . the one - tenth hz signal g is reduced to the one - twentieth hz signal h by passage through the flip - flop 24 . because the output of the d - type flip - flop 32 is low when the exhaustion of the battery life is not detected , that is the battery is at normal voltage , this signal of one - twentieth hz passes through the and gate 34 and signals q and r from gates 37 and 38 respectively are generated with a pulse width of 7 . 8 milliseconds as a result of the phase difference of the 128 hz signal e applied to the d - type flip - flop 36 having a reset terminal . the current s 1 flows into the coil 50 as a reversing signal and the electric fluid generated in the coil core 51 and the stator 52 drives the stepping motor serving as an electromechanical converter for rotating the permanent magnet 53 . in the timepiece according to this invention , the minute hand normally moves once every 10 seconds because the signal of one - tenth hz is applied normally . the battery voltage is dropped across the p - mos transistor 30 of the battery voltage detection circuit which conducts only for 7 . 8 milliseconds by the battery voltage because the gate of the p - mos transistor 30 becomes low for 7 . 8 milliseconds at intervals of 20 seconds . that is to say , if the battery voltage is higher than the set level of the battery voltage detecting circuit , the p - mos transistor 30 conducts only for 7 . 8 milliseconds , and the output of the inverter 49 is high during that period , and the output signal of delayed flip - flop 32 is low . the set voltage level which determines whether or not the transistor 30 will conduct upon a negative signal at its gate depends on the setting of the variable resistor 31 in series across the battery with the transistor 30 . on the other hand , when the battery voltage is lower than the set level , the p - mos transistor 30 cannot conduct electrically even if the gate voltage is low . therefore , the output of the inverter 49 maintains a low condition and the output m of flip - flop 32 becomes high . when the timepiece is operating normally , the value of battery voltage is detected at intervals of 20 seconds which is the output of the flip - flop 24 . when the battery voltage is reduced , the state of reduced battery voltage is indicated by inputting the output of the divider stage 41 relying on the fact that the output of the divider stage 41 is applied at intervals of 120 seconds at the time of voltage reduction . the twenty - second signal from flip - flop 24 is divided by 6 by the well - known flip - flops in divider stage 41 and a signal 120 seconds in duration is outputted from the divider stage 41 . the ten - second signal g from divider stage 23 , which is low for 6 seconds and high for 4 seconds as shown in fig4 is applied as a clock pulse into the d - type flip - flop 42 . the output v of the flip - flop 42 is low only for 6 seconds . this output v and the output of the divider circuit 41 perform the function of a logical and . when the output at the and gate 43 and the 2 hz signal f from the divider stage 22 are input to the and gate 44 , the output w from the and gate 45 is 12 pulses over a period of 6 seconds . these signals pass through the and gate 33 and the or gate 35 when the output m of flip - flop 32 is high . the signal then passes through the flip - flop 36 , and gates 37 and 38 , which constitute the driving waveform shaping circuit , and then the signal passes through the inverters 39 , 40 , and finally drive the motor at a greater speed than the usual speed over a period of 6 seconds . the driving pulses as stated above occur twice per second during that six - second period . if the reset switch 46 is put into the high condition by operation of the winding stem , the d - type flip - flops are regulated and an output signal is generated for 10 seconds after releasing the reset switch . fig4 is a waveform diagram . concerning the periods i , ii and iii , these periods represent the same periods having identical identification in fig2 . the operational events occuring during these time periods is seen from the output signal s 1 in fig4 . it should be noted in fig3 that s 1 indicates the current through the motor coil 50 . i is the period when the timepiece is worn and operating in a normal condition . ii is the condition in which the quick advancing pulses are applied to the motor 4 of the timepiece when a low battery voltage is detected . iii is the condition in which the hands are not driven at all because the output signals to the motor are stopped . then periods ii and iii repeat . iv is the condition in which the reset signal is high . the period ii after iv is the condition of quick advancing pulses applied immediately after the reset switch is released from the time resetting state . in fig4 the output v of the settable d - type flip - flop 42 is high when the reset signal is high . the signal v applies the quick advancing output pulses for 6 seconds in the period when the clock signal g is low . because of this invention , the exhaustion of the battery life as indicated by low battery voltage of the two - hand timepiece can be easily detected . this is done by operation of the external operating member such as the winding stem or a reset operating button . the user of the watch can detect the battery &# 39 ; s condition just as easily as can be done by a watchmaker . fig5 c shows an alternative method for detecting the condition of the battery in the timepiece . during the period i of normal operation the timepiece reaches the point 111 . if the battery voltage is low as detected by the electronic circuits , then the hands are moved during period ii at an accelerated rate to the point 112 . during the period iii of fig5 c , the hands move at a slower than normal pace but they are not at a standstill as in fig2 . in the above descriptions , the time period during which the hands display an advanced time in relation to the true time , is put at 120 seconds . the value of 120 seconds is selected merely as an example and this invention is not limited to this particular method . the time period for the advanced hand settings can be for example 180 seconds , 5 minutes , or 10 minutes . there are many advantages to having periodic cycles of rapid advance followed by retarded advance , followed by rapid advance etc . etc ., as described above to indicate that the battery voltage is diminishing , as compared to a timepiece which indicates diminished battery voltage by always advancing the minute hand by a fixed amount of time and leaving it in this fast condition permanently . for example , if the watch is permanently set fast by a detection circuit by an amount , for example , five minutes or more , this is a great inconvenience to the user who may not be aware that his timepiece is fast . if using the methods of this invention as described above , the time is to be in an advanced state for a predetermined time selected in the range between 2 minutes and 10 minutes , the maximum time difference between the real time and the display time equals the above selected time difference . however , because after the rapid advance , the timepiece is in the process of returning to real time , the error in time which the user would read will lie between the maximum and the correct time . thus , in all probability the time difference which the user sees will be less than in the timepiece which remains constantly fast . such time differences which are repeatedly returning to the true time do not adversely influence the normal use of the watch before the battery is replaced . also in the method of this invention the user becomes aware of the irregular movement of the timepiece hands because sometimes the timepiece is fast and sometimes it is accurate . such irregular movement of the minute hand is very noticeable . on the other hand , if a watch is set to be constantly fast as an indication of battery exhaustion , the user may never become aware of the diminution of voltage level of the battery . even when the user is aware that his watch is fast , he thinks that he did not correctly adjust the time , or he thinks that his watch is out of order . as described in conjunction with fig2 twelve pulses are applied as quick advancing signals in order to quickly advance the minute hand in the period ii . this takes six seconds to apply the twelve pulses , so it is easy to see the irregular movement of the minute hand . furthermore , as the minute hand is quickly advanced every two minutes , there are many opportunities to know that the exhaustion point of the battery is approaching . thus such a watch is much more advantageous than the watch which has only one change to advance the minute hand by a fixed amount of time to indicate a poor condition of the battery . it is desirable in practical applications to set the repetitive cycle at 2 to 10 minutes . the example described above used a two - minute cycle . the most suitable cycle is easily set by adjusting the circuits and is selected to meet the characteristics of the watch movement . fig5 a shows an alternative embodiment of the method of this invention . in this embodiment , after it has been detected that the battery voltage is diminished , the watch is advanced by a fixed time t 1 in addition to the amount of time which it is advanced in the period ii of fig2 . the period ii &# 39 ; between points 111 and 112 of fig5 a is longer than the period ii between the points 11 and 12 of fig2 . thus the timepiece of the embodiment represented by fig5 a will always be fast as indicated by the minute hand by a time at least equal to t 1 and in addition will move with the erratic motions as described for the embodiment associated with fig2 . in the alternative embodiment represented in fig5 b , the method of this invention is basically inverted from that associated with fig2 and 5a . more particularly , when it has been detected that the battery potential is diminishing , the timepiece is allowed to run slow by stopping the motion of the minute hand for a period represented by the points on fig5 b from 111 to 111 &# 39 ;. then the timepiece minute hand is quickly advanced during the period between the points 111 &# 39 ; and 112 on fig5 b . at point 112 the timepiece is again accurate . however the retard / advance cycles of operation are repeated periodically as shown in fig5 b . the magnitude of time which is to be lost and the time which is required for quick advance and return to real time are determined in accordance with the characteristics of the timepiece and its movement . in fig2 and 5a , the minute hand stops during the time period represented by the symbol iii . however , the minute hand need not stop completely . as shown in fig5 c , during the period between the points 112 and 113 , the minute hand is advanced by a pulse for advancing at a speed slower than the normal speed . furthermore , in an embodiment as shown in fig5 d , the display time is first made fast by a small amount and then the display time td is made slow with respect to the real time tr . thus the timepiece is never far from the real time but the rapid movement of the minute hand , for example between points 113 and 114 , are readily noticeable to the user as an indication that the battery voltage is diminished . and in another alternative embodiment , the minute hand may be advanced in a way that the time taken to advance the minute hand is divided into several rates . for instance , 6 pulses are applied evenly in three seconds and then each of the remaining six pulses is applied at the rate of once a second . the total time for quick advance is then 9 seconds rather than six seconds as in the previously described embodiments . this gives the user more opportunity to notice that the hands are moving erratically to indicate that the battery voltage is diminished . fig5 e shows this embodiment . note that the line of advancement , for example between points 111 and 112 has two slopes , a more rapid slope at the outset than at the termination on point 112 . all of these methods are practical and effective because only a few minutes of time are required to determine that exhaustion of the battery life is approaching . in fig6 a another alternative embodiment is shown wherein when a low battery voltage is detected , the minute hand is advanced at a rapid rate as indicated in fig6 a between the points 211 and 212 . thereafter , the timepiece is allowed to continue to run at a fast setting in order to draw the attention of the user to a watch which now runs fast but had previously been highly accurate . because of the reset switch 46 , as described in association with fig2 the hands will advance to the fast condition as often as the hands are reset by the user . thus the user becomes aware that the battery voltage is diminished . it should also be realized , that the timepiece in another alternative embodiment can run continuously slow until reset , when it will again fall back into a slow condition . this technique is most suitable for dress watches and ladies &# 39 ; watches which have only the hour and minute hands . in such quartz crystal watches , it is easy to obtain a monthly accuracy of ten seconds . such a small difference in the position of the minute hand is hard to read in normal operation because the displayed time and the real time cannot be distinguished by the minute hand . however , by the method of this invention , a time difference far in excess of the ten seconds noted above is induced and thereby the user becomes aware of the exhaustion of the battery life . an induced time difference between displayed time and real time of from several minutes to ten minutes is allowable in practical usage because in the two - handed timepiece there is usually no scale indicating each minute division of the dial . these embodiments can be readily realized by means of circuitry without using any special part such as the light emitting diode or liquid crystal . fig3 and 4 illustrate such circuits . fig6 b illustrates an alternative embodiment wherein the timepiece is made to advance , then operate at normal rate , and then advance again , and then operate at a normal rate , etc . when the battery voltage is detected as being in a diminished state , the first advance of the minute hand is made as indicated between points 211 and 212 of fig6 b . then the timepiece continues in a fast state but at a normal rate between points 212 and 213 . if the battery has not been changed then between the points 213 and 214 the hands are again moved at an accelerated rate whereby the timepiece is made faster . with this method the user is aware of the impending termination of the battery life because the advance or delay of the timepiece becomes larger gradually . the time between points 212 and 213 can be in the order of 24 or 48 hours . fig6 c illustrates how a watch , which has been accelerated to a fast state and is then continued in normal operation , can then be reset by use of the winding stem or a correction button externally mounted on the timepiece . the process of resetting the hands is indicated in fig6 c between the points 216 &# 39 ; and 217 . this is done electromechanically by operation of the winding or correction button as stated above . however , as seen in the circuit of fig7 a d - type flip - flop 36 &# 39 ; and a reset switch 46 &# 39 ; are actuated when the winding stem is actuated . therefore if the battery voltage is low as soon as the user has completed his manual adjustment of the hands , the minute hand will again advance rapidly to indicate a fast condition of the watch . thereby it is intended that the user will be informed that the battery voltage is in fact diminishing . these resetting steps are similar to the action represented by the points 16 &# 39 ; to 17 in fig2 . with respect to fig2 the minute hand repeats the action of quick moving and that of stopping after detection of a lowered battery voltage . at that time when the winding stem is pulled from its normal state in order to set the minute hand , the reset switch 46 which is interlocked with the winding stem is drawn up to the positive terminal of the supply voltage . the minute hand is put back so that the real time 17 is displayed . then , the winding stem is returned to its initial condition , and simultaneously the reset switch 46 is released from the reset state . at that moment , the signal for advancing the minute hand at a greater speed than the normal speed is again applied and the displayed time is advanced to a point 18 on fig2 which corresponds to point 218 on fig6 c . accordingly , as the state of advance of the minute hand at a greater speed can be seen by pushing the winding stem after pulling it out , it is reliably confirmed that the battery voltage is diminished . fig9 illustrates still another alternative embodiment of this invention wherein , when a low battery voltage is detected , the timepiece advances at a slower than normal rate so that the minute hand indicates a late time . this is indicated in fig9 by the region ii . then follows a period of normal timekeeping rate , however , the timepiece continues to indicate a slow time . this normal timekeeping rate period is indicated as iii in fig9 . this is followed by an extended period of accelerated advancement of the minute hand whereby the minute hand moves from a condition of indicated lateness to a fast condition . this change from slow to fast indications occurs over a very short period of time indicated by iv in fig9 . then normal timekeeping , although showing a fast display is continued . the reversal from slow to fast conditions of the display soon become apparent to the user who is then on notice that the battery is approaching exhaustion . the circuit and wave form diagram according to this invention are shown in fig7 and 8 mainly taking the examples of fig6 b and 6c . it should be noted that the circuits of fig3 and 7 and fig4 and 8 are substantially similar . for this reason similar reference numbers and wave form symbols are used in these figures , with a distinguishing prime marking (&# 39 ;) being used in fig7 and 8 . because of their close similarity in structure and performance a full description of fig7 and 8 is omitted here . however , the circuits differ in that divider 41 of fig3 is a 1 / 6 divider stage and the divider 41 &# 39 ; of fig7 is a 1 / 2 12 divider stage . also an equivalent to gate 34 has been omitted from fig7 . the output ( 20 seconds ) of stage 24 &# 39 ; is inputted directly into or gate 35 &# 39 ;. as a result of these circuit changes the timing of the system is changed such that the sum of periods ii and iii , which is 120 seconds ( fig3 ) as described above , is extended in the example of fig7 to about 45 hours . it should be noted that the element identified by reference numeral 62 of fig1 generally represents the logical networks which control the application and time duration of the driving pulses of different frequencies which are applied to the driver . it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above , among those made apparent from the preceding description , are efficiently attained and , since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in the construction set forth without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are intented to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which , as a matter of language , might be said to fall therebetween . | 6 |
the described embodiments describe a fluid filter that allows fluid in the filter housing to be drained from the filter housing , from the exterior of the housing and without first removing the filter element or the housing cover . in the described examples , a simple hand - operated knob is used to open the fluid drain port , with no special tool requirements . the lower portion of knob applies axial pressure on the filter element which keeps the filter element at a first position to close the drain port during normal operation . actuation of the knob permits the filter element to displace to a second position to open the drain port and allow the fluid to drain . the knob is sealed by means of a face seal at the knob / cover interface and the drain port is sealed by a radial seal between a lower endplate of the filter element and the filter housing . the concepts described herein could be used in a number of applications including , but not limited to , oil , fuel , or other engine fluids , or other liquid applications where drainage of a housing prior to service ( for example , replacement of the filter element ) is desired . one particular exemplary application illustrated in the drawings is for an oil filter and draining oil from the filter housing back to the oil pan . however , unless the particular fluid or application is specifically identified , it is contemplated that the concepts described herein could apply to fluids and applications other than oil . the filter element is an integral link between the knob and the drain port . in the described examples , an extension to the standpipe post interfaces with the knob and is used for alignment and structural support , and which also prevents an incorrect filter element ( i . e . an element without the central hole on the top endplate which interfaces with the knob ) from being misapplied to the filter housing . alternatively , an extension projecting downward from the knob could interface with the top of the standpipe or center tube . in the example illustrated in fig1 - 6 , the knob is turned counterclockwise which allows the spring to displace the filter element upward to open the drain port . in the example illustrated in fig7 - 13 , a retention feature is incorporated on the lower component of the knob assembly that engages the filter element top endplate , pulling the filter element up without spring assistance . in the example illustrated in fig1 , a protrusion on the filter element upper endplate engages with the cover . the filter element is forced downward against spring pressure during normal operation . to drain , the operator removes a simple threaded ( or ¼ - turn ) cap which vents the system and allows the protrusion and the filter element to displace upward , opening the lower drain port . after replacing the filter element , the cap could be reinstalled either before or after reinstalling the cover . the pocket created in the cap could also be used to hold a slow - release fluid additive . each of the examples in fig1 - 14 can utilize an “ extension ” to the standpipe ( or center tube ) which engages with the inner diameter of the knob assembly projecting through the filter element endplate to provide an alignment feature for the filter element , and to provide structural support for resisting radial vibration forces . in the example illustrated in fig7 - 13 , the filter element would be extracted with the cover when the cover is removed after draining the filter element could then be disengaged from the retention feature on the cover via radial force on the bottom of filter element relative to the cover . optionally , the filter element could be disengaged from the cover by the user further rotating ( for example counterclockwise ) the knob , causing the inner element to “ stop out ” against the cover , after which any additional rotation of the knob would cause detachment of the snap feature , freeing the filter element from the cover , and assisting with the clean - service experience ( i . e . no touch of the filter element ). with reference to fig1 - 6 , a cartridge top load filter 10 is illustrated . the filter 10 includes a cartridge top load filter housing 12 composed of a housing base 14 and a cover 16 removably attached to the housing base , for example using threads 18 . during normal use , a filter element 20 is installed within the housing . with reference to fig1 - 3 , the housing base 14 includes a standpipe 22 , a fluid inlet 24 through which fluid enters the housing 12 to be filtered , a clean fluid outlet 26 through which filtered fluid exits the filter 10 , and a drain port 28 adjacent to a bottom of the housing base 14 . a coil spring 30 is disposed around the standpipe 22 which in use applies an upward biasing force on the filter element 20 to bias the filter element in a direction toward the second or open position shown in fig2 . with reference to fig3 and 4 , the filter element 20 includes a ring of filtration media 40 having a first end 42 and a second end 44 and circumscribing a central cavity 46 having a longitudinal axis a - a . a first endplate 48 is sealingly attached to the first end of the filtration media , and a second endplate 50 is sealingly attached to the second end of the filtration media . the second endplate 50 includes a standpipe opening 52 through which the standpipe 22 can extend and a gasket 54 disposed in the standpipe opening 52 for sealing engagement with the standpipe extending through the standpipe opening . the endplate 50 also includes a perimeter edge 56 , and a sleeve 58 extending from the second endplate in a direction away from the first endplate parallel to the longitudinal axis a - a . the sleeve 58 has a diameter greater than the diameter of the standpipe opening 52 so that the sleeve 58 surrounds the standpipe opening . the sleeve has a first end end 60 connected to the second endplate at a location between the standpipe opening and the perimeter edge and an opposite or second end 62 spaced from the first end 60 . a radial outward facing seal 64 , for example an o - ring seal , is disposed adjacent to the second end 62 of the sleeve . the radial outward facing seal 64 is disposed at a radial position between the longitudinal axis a - a and the perimeter edge 56 . the first endplate 48 includes an opening 66 therethrough defined by a sleeve 68 that extends from the first endplate into the central cavity 46 in a direction toward the second endplate . the opening 66 in the first endplate is aligned with the standpipe opening 52 in the second endplate . the filter element 20 further includes a perforated center tube 70 that extends between and is fixed at each end thereof to the endplates 48 , 50 . with reference to fig2 , 3 and 5 , the cover 16 includes a knob 80 that is fixed to a valve shaft 82 that extends through the cover . the knob 80 includes a flange 84 that , in the closed position , seals with a knob seal 86 located in a recessed flange receiving area 88 in the cover 16 . the outer diameter of the valve shaft 82 includes threads 90 that engage with threads 92 formed on the cover passageway through which the valve shaft extends . as the valve shaft 82 is rotated by turning the knob 80 in one direction ( for example counterclockwise ), the valve shaft 82 is caused to displace in a direction upward out of the cover . conversely , as the valve shaft is rotated by turning the knob in the other direction ( for example , clockwise ), the valve shaft 82 is caused to displace in a direction inward into the cover . preferably , the knob 80 and valve shaft 82 assembly are fixed together to form a single structure , and they cannot be readily removed from the cover 16 . the valve shaft 82 also includes a radial valve shaft seal 94 that engages and seals with a radial sealing surface 96 on the sleeve 68 of the endplate 48 as shown in fig2 . the seal 94 prevents fluid flow between the filter element 20 and the valve shaft 82 . the valve shaft 82 also includes a vent feature as discussed further below with respect to fig7 - 13 . with reference to fig2 - 3 and 6 , the standpipe 22 is generally hollow and includes one or more fluid openings 100 therein through which fluid that has been filtered by the filter element 20 flows to reach the clean fluid outlet 26 . the upper end of the standpipe is provided with an alignment feature 102 that is configured to interface / mate with the lower end of the valve shaft 82 to provide lateral support to the filter element 20 , to help center the filter element , and provide strength to withstand radial vibration forces . in the illustrated example , the alignment feature 102 comprises a fluted post that extends upwardly from the top end of the standpipe 22 . the fluted post has a primary outer diameter section 105 along the majority of its length , and then tapers in diameter near its tip end 104 . the tapered tip end 104 helps guide the filter element into correct position during installation into the filter housing . with reference to fig1 , when the filter element is at its first position , the tip end 104 fits into a correspondingly shaped hole 106 formed in the valve shaft 82 while a portion of the primary outer diameter section 105 of the fluted post fits within a lower section 107 of the valve shaft 82 . with reference to fig2 , when the filter element displaces to its second position , the fluted post is still disposed within the lower section 107 of the valve shaft to help stabilize the filter element during draining the operation of the filter 10 is as follows . during use , the filter 10 is arranged as illustrated in fig1 . in this configuration , which can be termed the closed configuration of the filter , the filter element 20 is in its first or closed position at which the seal 64 on the sleeve 58 seals with a sealing surface 108 on the housing base 14 . this prevents fluid from reaching the drain port 28 . instead , all fluid to be filtered that enters the filter housing flows radially inward through the filter media 40 into the central cavity 46 , into the opening ( s ) 100 in the standpipe , and then out through the clean fluid outlet 26 as shown by the arrows in fig1 . when the filter 10 is to be serviced , for example replacement of the filter element 20 , the fluid within the filter housing is first drained prior to opening the filter housing by removing the cover 16 . draining is achieved by rotating the knob 80 in the appropriate direction , for example counterclockwise . this causes the valve shaft 82 to axially displace upward in the direction of the longitudinal axis . as this occurs , the spring 30 biases the filter element 20 axially upward to axially displace the filter element to its second or open position shown in fig2 . at this position , the seal 64 no longer seals with the sealing surface 108 . this allows fluid within the housing to flow past the endplate 50 , as shown by the arrows , and out the drain port 28 which can be fluidly connected to a sump or other fluid collection location . once the fluid has been drained , the cover 16 can be removed from the housing base 14 , and the old filter element replaced with a new filter element . the cover 16 is then reattached to the housing base . the knob 80 can be rotated clockwise to return it and the valve shaft 82 to their original position shown in fig1 before reattaching the cover 16 or after the cover has been reattached to the housing base . with reference to fig7 - 13 , a second embodiment of a cartridge top load filter 200 is illustrated . the filter 200 has many similarities to the filter 10 , but eliminates the biasing spring 30 used in the filter 10 and instead employs a snap fit connection design between the valve shaft and the upper endplate of the filter element which causes the filter element to displace axially with the valve shaft when the knob is rotated . the construction and operation of the filter 200 is otherwise identical to the filter 10 . in fig7 - 13 , elements identical to elements in the filter 10 will be referenced using the same reference numerals . however , only those features that are different will be described in detail . with reference to fig7 - 9 and 13 , the filter element 202 of the filter 200 includes a first endplate 204 that includes an opening 206 therethrough defined by a sleeve 208 that extends from the first endplate into the central cavity in a direction toward the second endplate 50 . the opening 206 in the first endplate is aligned with the standpipe opening 52 in the second endplate . the end of the sleeve 208 includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced , inwardly angled snap fingers 210 each of which has an angled ramp surface 212 . with reference to fig7 - 8 , 10 and 12 , the knob 80 is fixed to a valve shaft 214 . the valve shaft 214 includes threads 216 that engage with the threads 92 on the cover passageway through which the valve shaft extends . the threads 216 are interrupted to form at least one channel 218 which allows venting of air during draining which aids in draining a similar vent feature is used in fig1 - 6 described above and in fig1 described below . in addition , the end of the shaft 214 is formed with an enlarged diameter end 220 having a first ramp surface 222 and a second ramp surface 224 . in use , the valve shaft 214 snap fit engages with the endplate 204 . to attach , the end of the valve shaft 214 is inserted into the opening 206 . as this occurs , the first ramp surface 222 engages the snap fingers 210 which forces the fingers outwardly to allow the enlarged diameter end 220 to pass the fingers 210 . once past the fingers , the fingers 210 snap fit behind the end 220 on the second ramp surface 224 . the operation of the filter 200 is generally similar to the filter 10 . during use , the filter 200 would be arranged similarly to that illustrated in fig1 with the filter element 202 located at its first or closed position ( not shown ) with the seal 64 sealed with the sealing surface 108 . this prevents fluid from reaching the drain port 28 . instead , all fluid to be filtered that enters the filter housing flows radially inward through the filter media 40 into the central cavity 46 , into the opening ( s ) 100 in the standpipe , and then out through the clean fluid outlet 26 . when the filter 200 is to be serviced , for example replacement of the filter element 202 , the fluid within the filter housing is first drained prior to opening the filter housing by removing the cover 16 . draining is achieved by rotating the knob 80 in the appropriate direction , for example counterclockwise . this causes the valve shaft 214 to axially displace upward in the direction of the longitudinal axis . since the valve shaft 214 is snap fit connected to the filter element , the filter element 202 displaces axially upward with the valve shaft to its second or open position shown in fig7 . at this position , the seal 64 no longer seals with the sealing surface 108 . this allows fluid within the housing to flow past the endplate 50 , as shown by the arrows in fig7 , and out the drain port 28 which can be fluidly connected to a sump or other fluid collection location . at the second or open position , the endplate 204 is close to or is in contact with the cover 16 . continued rotation of the knob 80 in the counterclockwise direction continues to force the filter element upward against the cover . as this occurs the angled ramp surfaces 212 ride along the second ramp surface 224 to deflect the snap fingers 210 radially outward to release the snap connection to disconnect the filter element from the valve shaft . this disconnection of the filter element from the valve shaft can occur with the cover 16 attached to the housing base 14 . alternatively , the cover can be removed from the housing base together with the knob assembly and the filter element . the knob can then be rotated as described above to detach the filter element from the valve shaft . this allows the servicing to be performed clean without the service technician touching the wet filter element . a new filter element can then be installed . the new filter element can be attached to the valve shaft prior to re - attaching the cover , or the new filter element can first be installed in the housing base and then the cover re - attached , with the valve shaft being attached to the filter element during re - attachment of the cover . with reference to fig1 , another embodiment of a cartridge top load filter 300 is illustrated . the filter 300 has many similarities to the filter 10 , but eliminates the knob and valve shaft used in the filter 10 . instead , the filter 300 employs a protrusion 302 on the filter element 304 upper endplate 306 that engages with a cap ( or knob ) 308 rotatably attached to the cover 310 . the construction and operation of the filter 300 is otherwise identical to the filter 10 . in fig1 , elements identical to elements in the filter 10 will be referenced using the same reference numerals . however , only those features that are different will be described in detail . the protrusion 302 extends upwardly in a direction away from the endplate 50 parallel to the longitudinal axis a - a and into a neck region 312 formed on the cover 310 . the endplate 306 is solid and does not permit fluid flow therethrough . the outer perimeter of the neck region 312 is formed with exterior threads 314 which engage with interior threads 316 formed on the cap 308 . the cap 308 includes a protrusion 322 that extends downwardly from a central portion thereof and into engagement with the top end of the protrusion 302 as shown in fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 , the cap 308 is fully threaded onto the cover 310 , which forces the filter element 304 downward against the pressure of the spring ( not shown ) during normal operation where the seal 64 seals with the sealing surface 108 to prevent draining of fluid . to drain , the servicing technician unscrews the cap 308 , which permits the filter element to displace axially upward due to the biasing force of the spring to unseat the seal 64 from the sealing surface 108 . fluid can then flow past the endplate 50 and to the drain port ( not illustrated ). the cap 308 can be a ¼ turn cap that remains attached to the neck region 312 of the cover and requiring only roughly a ¼ or ½ turn to provide enough displacement of the filter element to allow draining alternatively , the cap 308 can be completely removable from the neck region . in either case , a tether 320 can be used to tether the cap 308 to the cover 310 . after replacing the filter element 304 , the cap 308 could be reinstalled either before or after reinstalling the cover 310 . the pocket created in the cap could also be used to hold a slow - release fluid additive container . the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or novel characteristics thereof . the embodiments disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not limitative . the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description ; and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein . | 8 |
the present invention comprises an interactive amusement ride wherein participants become drivers and passengers in a drag race vehicle . fig1 shows a top - down view of the invention . two amusement ride vehicles 1 run parallel to one another along a linear race course 2 that may be of arbitrary length of from less than 400 feet to over 800 feet . the linear course 2 extends from a first area 9 to a second area 10 . participants enter the ride vehicles 1 by means of a vehicle approach 5 . the vehicle approach is simply a means for the participants to get from an entry point to the vehicles 1 . this approach may be different in different embodiments of the invention ; its sole purpose is to allow participants to approach and enter the ride vehicles 1 . as ride participants approach the vehicles 1 , they may pass a complete and well defined engine mock - up 11 along with assorted racing components such as a fuel cell , dragster computer box , hoses , and wiring that complement a real racing vehicle . this mock - up adds to the reality of the ride and instructs the participants on what a real drag racer is like . this mock - up may be omitted in some embodiments of the invention . after the participants are strapped into the race vehicles , they may wear headsets to damp out engine noise and receive instructions from the race controller . a typical sequence starts with instructions for burnout . burnout is simulated by smoke and a hydraulic shaking of the vehicle . smoke comes from generators 33 mounted in the vehicles . these are standard smoke generators known in the art . these smoke generators are controlled by the computer or the race controller . in a real drag race , the purpose of burnout is to heat the rear vehicle tires . the smoke and hydraulic shaking of the vehicles simulates burnout in the present invention . in addition , a sound system 46 may supply crowd sounds during the race . this feature is optional . the race starting sequence is signaled to the drivers by a starting indicator means 3 . this can be a full &# 34 ; christmas tree &# 34 ; similar to those used at actual drag races comprising amber , green , and red lights and described in the 1993 nhra rulebook for drag racing , or it may be simpler . as the start sequence begins , the driver sees a descending series of amber lights or a single amber light . the start of a race is indicated when the last amber light goes out and the green light illuminates on the starting indicator . at this point in time ( or just slightly before it ), the drivers must depress their accelerators to begin the race . two parallel lines 7 orthogonally cross the linear course 2 to ace as start and finish lines . any driver crossing the start line before the green light on the starting indicator 3 may be deemed disqualified from the actual competition by a &# 34 ; false start .&# 34 ; the car is still allowed to race , but it may not be allowed to win . aligned with the start and finish lines are race timer means 8 for determining the elapsed time of each car from start to finish . these timers can comprise light beams or other methods known in the art . these are coupled to time the elapsed time of each car separately . winners can be declared by which car crosses the finish line first or by which car had the least elapsed time . drivers can also be handicapped by saving past records of their elapsed times as in a real drag race . in addition to providing race elapsed times , the timers 8 can provide reaction times for each driver . this is the time between the green light on the starting indicator 3 and when the vehicle crosses the start line 7 . as the drivers accelerate and race down the course , a sound system in the vehicles supplies engine and tire sounds , and an optional external sound system 46 may supply sounds from the crowd . in addition , optional strobe lights may be used to enhance the sensation of speed to make the participants feel as if they are moving faster than they are . at each end of the course 2 are turnaround areas 4 . here the ride vehicles 1 can be rotated 180degrees so that they can race in either direction . thus , different from a real drag race , each driver gets two chances to experience the ride . turning the vehicles around at the far end 10 also provides a convenient way to return the vehicles to the starting point . in order to race in two different directions , there must be two starting indicators 3 , and the control computer or race controller must reverse the functions of the start and finish lines 7 and race timers 8 . fig2 depicts an amusement ride vehicle 1 modeled after a real pro - stock drag racer . other race car models could also be used . the vehicle includes a passenger compartment 25 and driven wheels 26 . an electrified channel or bus bar 13 is shown in a concrete well 12 under the car 1 . this well 12 continues the length of the course in several sections . the bus bar 13 couples dc electric power to the car through collectors ( not shown ). a means for rotating the car 1 180 degrees at each end of the track is also shown . this comprises a pivot cylinder 34 with a rod passing through a guide bogie 35 . a hydraulic jack ( not shown ) lifts the car so it can be turned . fig3 is a section view of the amusement ride vehicle . each such vehicle contains a dc electric motor 38 similar to the ac - 100 manufactured by ac propulsion , inc . of san dimas , calif . the motor is coupled to a transmission similar to the honda crx which is locked in first gear at a gear ratio of 9 . 59 : 1 ( not shown ). a motor controller 39 accepts a signal from the throttle to control acceleration . regenerative braking may be used when the throttle backs off to 30 %. the controller 39 will also reverse the direction of the motor and has interlocks to prevent shifting from neutral into forward or reverse while the car is in motion or the throttle is depressed . an accelerator pedal or throttle ( not shown ) allows the drivers to directly control the motor rpm during a race . the accelerator pedal together with the dual gearshift 36 and 37 allows each driver to become and interactive part of the race . for safety , dc power to the motors can be interrupted by the race controller at any time during a race . fig3 also shows the steering wheel 16 , and a brake pedal 42 that attaches to a standard hydraulic braking system similar to that found on automobiles . each car is equipped with a sound system 41 and a smoke generator 40 mounted in the front section . the sound system provides simulated engine noise , while the smoke generator is used to simulate smoke from the rear tires during burnout . fig4 is a section view of a portion of one off the two tracks in one version of the linear course . the amusement ride vehicle is not shown in fig4 but is assumed to be mounted above the structure shown . the course is mounted in a concrete well 12 that forms a long channel . mounted on to the side of the well 12 are two electrified metal channels 13 that are around four inches on a side that supply power to the vehicle . the vehicle is supported by four insulated load bearing wheels 14 that ride on the channels 13 . the vehicle is guided in the course by four staggered guide wheels 15 that ride on the inside of the channel . these guide wheels 15 prevent the vehicle from moving sideways off of the course . a plate assembly 24 , attached to the vehicle carriage 17 descends into the well 12 . a cross member 32 , with descending arm 20 connects the vehicle to two tandem collectors 19 similar to howell model ja150 . these tandem collectors 19 are suspended on two conductor / hangers 18 similar to howell model ja500 and ja400p . the collectors 19 and hangers 18 are the electric pickup points that supply power to the vehicle . in this embodiment there may be sets of pneumatic brakes 21 at the two ends of the course that can be used to slow and stop the vehicle . these brakes 21 , if used , are mounted on a steel base plate 23 that is bolted into the concrete well 12 . descending from the vehicle crossbar 32 is a steel brake fin 22 . as this fin 22 passes between the pneumatic brakes 21 the car can be safely stopped . in addition to the optional pneumatic brakes , the vehicle itself has brakes directly on the car wheels in a conventional manner using a standard hydraulic brake system similar to that found on automobiles . the driver has access to these brakes at all times ; they can also be applied automatically as a safety feature if the driver fails to use them . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the track can be made portable . instead of a concrete well , the invention is laid out directly on asphalt . the channel members 13 are bolted to a steel baseplate and the guide wheels 15 and 16 run on the outside of the channel 13 . the conductor 18 and tandem collector 19 mount vertically to a extension that is welded or bolted to the channel 13 . in this embodiment , track is fabricated into convenient length sections for removal and transport . fig5 is a block diagram of the vehicle control system . a voltage level detector 44 decodes the voltage level on a special control bus 42 in the track . this control bus 42 carries various dc voltage levels to communicate with the vehicle . voltage is taken from the control bus 42 with a collector 43 in a manner similar to the power buses . the voltage level detector sends signals to a throttle input conditioner 45 that considers the state of the throttle 46 , the clutch 47 , and the gear levers 49 as well as other inputs to set the rpm of the motor 54 via a motor controller 52 . for a signal out of the throttle controller 45 to the motor controller 52 , the engine must be started . this is a simulated condition where the starter button 48 is pressed with the clutch 47 depressed . anytime thereafter , if the clutch is engaged more than about 20 % with the throttle depressed less than about 20 %, a simulated engine stall will occur resuiting in loss of engine audio and no voltage to the motor controller 52 . the throttle conditioner 45 normally provides a control voltage for the motor controller 52 . the motor controller 52 controls the 12 volt supply current 53 to the motor 54 . the motor 54 is equipped with an on - shaft tachometer 55 whose signal is fed back to the motor controller 52 and the throttle conditioner 45 . assuming the control bus 42 carries a signal &# 34 ; engine is running ,&# 34 ; and the direction selector ( not shown ) in the vehicle is in the forward position ( as opposed to reverse ), the throttle 46 directly provides a linear control voltage to the motor controller 52 . the clutch 47 provides no input when engaged ( pedal out ) and a minus voltage that subtracts from the control voltage when not engaged ( pedal in ). if the combination of throttle and clutch voltage reaches a maximum before a predetermined time , the loss of traction ( smoking of tires ) is simulated by reducing the motor control voltage by around 20 % along with the initiation of simulated tire smoke . the throttle conditioner 45 also receives an input signal from a tachometer scaling circuit 50 and the gear levers 49 . interactive shifting of the gear levers by the driver is controlled by the throttle conditioner 45 . if the first gear lever is shifted before the motor tachometer 55 reaches a certain , pre - determined rpm , the throttle voltage to the motor controller 52 is reduced 20 % until that rpm is reached . if the second gear lever is shifted before the motor reaches a second pre - determined rpm , the throttle voltage is reduced 20 % until that rpm is reached . other signals may also inhibit the motor control voltage to the motor controller 52 . these include , but are limited to , a lack of hydraulic pressure in the brake system , seat belts not latched , door ( s ) open , and brake hold button depressed . a simulated tachometer 51 is mounted on the dashboard . this is driven by the tachometer scaling circuit 50 . the tachometer is similar to a standard electronic tachometer such as those made by mailory . when both gear levers 49 are up , the tachometer 51 reads three times the motor rpm . after shifting the first gear lever , the scale changes to 1 . 5 times the motor rpm . after shifting the second gear lever the ratio becomes 1 : 1 . a signal generator is also included to provide tachometer input when the motor is not running . fig6 is a block diagram of the special effects systems . a radio receiver 56 receives voice commands from the race controller and outputs them to the driver through a dashboard loudspeaker 58 or through headphones worn by the driver . preprogrammed instructions can also be played through the loudspeaker 58 . a special effects controller takes signals 65 from the control bus 42 and is attached 66 to the throttle input conditioner 45 and attached 67 to the tachometer scaling circuit 50 . the special effects controller 64 controls smoke from a smoke generator 68 that pipes smoke 69 to the rear tires , strobe lights 70 and a shaker pulse generator 71 that controls a shaker valve 72 . in addition , the special effects controller 64 controls sound effects 59 that produce sounds of the engine idle 60 , the engine running 61 , the engine sputtering 62 and tires squealing 63 . the engine sounds are controlled by the simulated rpm from the tachometer scaling circuit 67 . the sound system produces a sound frequency which is proportional to the speed indicated on the dashboard tachometer . the onboard smoke generator 68 supplies simulated tire smoke and simulated exhaust smoke . tire smoke occurs during burn - out and when excessive power is applied at the start of the run . when smoke is being generated , the sound system adds the sound of squealing tires 63 . strobe lights 70 light the inside of the exhaust and flash whenever smoke is emitted . a shaker pulse generator 71 causes a shaker valve 72 to cause shaking and tilting . pulses of hydraulic pressure can simulate idle roughness and fast shaking during burn - out . it is to be understood that the above - described arrangements are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention , and that other arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
turning now descriptively to the drawings , in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views , the fig1 illustrates a sea powered power plant 20 which consists of a framework 22 installed offshore upon a bottom 24 of the sea 26 . a plurality of pillars 28 are spaced apart and extend upright from the framework 22 out of the sea 26 . a first horizontal shaft 30 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 . a plurality of ratchet type turbines 32 are connected to the first shaft 30 , so that the turbines 32 can be rotated in one direction by sea waves 34 . a winding coupler 36 is connected to one end of the first shaft 30 . a second horizontal shaft 38 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to the winding coupler 36 , so that the winding coupler 36 can transmit a constant rotational input from the first shaft 30 to the second shaft 38 . an augment gear assembly 40 is connected to a second end of the second shaft 38 , while a third horizontal shaft 42 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to the augment gear assembly 40 , so that the augment gear assembly 40 can increase the rotational speed from the second shaft 38 to the third shaft 42 . a fourth horizontal shaft 44 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to a second end of the third shaft 42 . a dynamic balance flywheel 46 with a plurality of radially disposed counterweights 48 thereon is connected to the fourth shaft 44 to produce an evenly smooth rotation of the fourth shaft 44 . a fifth horizontal shaft 50 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to a second end of the fourth shaft 44 . an automatic governing speed coupler 52 is connected to the fifth shaft 50 . an electric generator 54 has a driven shaft 56 which will engage with the fifth shaft 50 when the automatic governing speed coupler 52 reaches its predetermined revolutions per minute , so that the generator 54 will produce electrical energy for a practical consumption . as seen in fig1 and 13 , speed governor 52 includes weight 51 attached by pivoting links 53 to a collar 55 mounted on a hollow shaft 50 . a piston 57 is slideably mounted in shaft 50 which reciprocates axially in shaft 50 responsive to the influence of the centrifugal force of weights 51 moving outwardly away from piston 57 as the rotational speed of shaft 50 increases . axial movement of piston 57 permits outward and inner movement of the weights 51 thus varying the rotational resistance and rotational speed of the shaft 50 . accordingly a surge of rotational torque generated by the turbines 32 increases shaft rotational speed , causing the weights 51 to move outward increasing rotational resistance thus governing shaft rotational speed to uniform acceptable increments . in fig1 , piston 57 has a rod 59 which engages a spring 61 mounted in shaft 50 for resisting axial displacement of piston 57 . in addition , axial displacement of piston 57 is resisted by fluid pressure provided by pump 63 , in reservoir 65 via conduit 67 communicating with chamber 69 as seen in fig1 . as shown in fig4 the ratchet type turbine 32 contains a reversing clutch 58 which includes spaced teeth 60 pivotally mounted about the first shaft 30 via a collar 62 with a key 62 &# 39 ; and co - acting with ratchet teeth 64 secured to a drum 66 , to which turbine arms 68 are attached , whereby the first shaft 30 rotates only in one direction due to the turbine arm 68 rotation . if the turbine arms 68 are pushed by the sea water possibly in a reverse direction when the wave water is backwashed , the clutch 58 slips . while the arms 68 may reverse travel direction , the first shaft 30 is not reversed in rotational direction . thus , if several ratchet type turbines 32 are located along the first shaft 30 , the shaft continues to be rotated in a same one direction even if some of the turbines 32 are caused by backwash to reverse rotational direction . the winding coupler 36 contains co - acting gears with a spring 78 attached between one of the gears and the second shaft 38 , to compensate for temporary torque fluctuations . as shown in fig5 through 8 , the winding coupler 36 contains a housing 70 having teeth 72 on its inner side to be engaged by teeth 74 of an internal gear 76 there within . the internal gear 76 is mounted on the second shaft 38 , while the housing is mounted on the first shaft 30 , which is horizontally offset from shaft 38 . a winding spring 78 has one end affixed to the second shaft 38 and its other end affixed to the internal gear 76 to store rotational energy in the spring 78 , to compensate for possible momentary torque fluctuations . fig2 and 3 show a river powered power plant 20a which consists of a framework 22 installed upon river banks 80 to extend over a river 82 . a plurality of pillars 28 are spaced apart and extend upright from the framework 22 above the river 82 . a first horizontal shaft 30 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 . a plurality of turbines 32a are connected to the first shaft 30 , so that the turbines 32a can be rotated by river currents 84 . a second horizontal shaft 38 horizontally offset from shaft 30 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to the first shaft 30 . an augment gear assembly 40 is connected to a second end of the second shaft 38 . a third horizontal shaft 42 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to the augment gear assembly 40 , so that the augment gear assembly 40 can increase the rotational speed from the second shaft 38 to the third shaft 42 . a fourth horizontal shaft 44 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to a second end of the third shaft 42 . a dynamic balance flywheel 46 with a plurality of radially disposed counterweights 48 thereon is connected to the fourth shaft 44 to produce an evenly smooth rotation of the fourth shaft 44 . a fifth horizontal shaft 50 is rotatively mounted on the upper ends of the pillars 28 and is connected at a first end to a second end of the fourth shaft 44 . because shaft 38 is offset from shaft 30 only in a horizontal direction , the offset is not seen in fig1 , 9 and 10 . an automatic governing speed coupler is connected to the fifth shaft 50 . an electric generator 54 has a driven shaft 56 which will engage with the fifth shaft 50 , when the automatic governing speed coupler 52 reaches it predetermined revolutions per minute , so that the generator 54 will produce electrical energy for a practical consumption . while certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims , it will be understood that various omissions , substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 4 |
the invention will now be described by reference to fig2 . fig2 is a flow chart showing an example of a system and method that enable a buyer to certify and activate a used wireless telecommunications device in accordance with the invention . although fig2 regards the use of a website for certification and activation , as discussed herein , certification and / or activation may also be accomplished by other means , including via e - mail communication , via an ivs and / or an ids , and / or via interaction with a live operator . an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a method for enabling access to a used telecommunications device comprising receiving a request from a buyer ; identifying one or more telecommunication services providers available to the buyer ; allowing the buyer to select a telecommunication services provider ; and communicating the buyer &# 39 ; s selection to the telecommunication services provider , wherein said telecommunication services provider enables access to said used telecommunications device . referring to fig2 , a buyer purchases a used wireless telecommunications device by use of , for example , an on - line purchasing service . the buyer then accesses a “ certification and activation ” website through which the buyer may submit a request for telecommunication services . although the term “ certification and activation ” website is employed herein , it is to be understood that it is contemplated that certification and activation are independent steps in the system and method of the invention and that each can be carried out independently via each of the means described herein . the certification and activation website first queries the buyer to determine whether the used telecommunication device is approved for the network and that it is not listed on the “ do not activate ” list as lost , missing , stolen , etc . the certification is accomplished by the buyer identifying the used telecommunication device via , e . g ., the used telecommunication device &# 39 ; s identification number , and the certification and activation website processing this information to determine whether the used telecommunication device is certifiable . once the buyer &# 39 ; s use of the used telecommunication device is certified , the web site then provides information regarding telecommunication services that are available to the buyer . the buyer may access this information by entering information regarding the buyer &# 39 ; s anticipated usage area , e . g ., a zip code . as demonstrated in more detail in the example below , the buyer is then provided with the option of activating its telecommunications device . at this time , the buyer is also provided with various options with regard to its telecommunications services . after the buyer selects a telecommunication service provider , that selection is communicated to the services provider and the services provider enables access to the used telecommunications device . the website , ivs , ids and / or live operator may then confirm that the telecommunications device is enabled . according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention , an apparatus is provided for remotely enabling access to a used telecommunications device comprising means for receiving a request from a buyer ; means for identifying one or more telecommunication services carriers available to the buyer ; means for allowing the buyer to select a telecommunication services provider ; means for communication the buyer &# 39 ; s selection to the telecommunication services provider ; and means for said telecommunication services provider to enable access to said used telecommunications device . according to another exemplary embodiment a computer program is provided for enabling access to a used telecommunications device comprising means for receiving a request from a buyer ; means for identifying one or more telecommunication services providers available to the buyer ; means for allowing the buyer to select a telecommunication services provider ; and means for communicating the buyer &# 39 ; s selection to the telecommunication services provider , wherein said telecommunication services provider enables access to said used telecommunications device . according to another exemplary embodiment a programmed computer system is provided for enabling access to a used telecommunications device comprising means for receiving a request from a buyer ; means for identifying one or more telecommunication services providers available to the buyer ; means for allowing the buyer to select a telecommunication services provider ; and means for communicating the buyer &# 39 ; s selection to the telecommunication services provider , wherein said telecommunication services provider enables access to said used telecommunications device . the system and method of the invention may be employed in combination with on - line purchasing services . by way of example , the invention provides a method for the on - line purchasing service auction winners to enter information about their used telecommunications device and certify and activate the used telecommunications device . the first step in the process is for an on - line seller to add html to their auction listing encourage buyers to certify and activate their used telecommunications device after purchase . a buyer who has won a telecommunications device can then access a site explaining available telecommunication services by clicking on a link from the auction or the end - of - auction e - mail sent by the on - line purchasing service . if the buyer chooses to continue , it can enter information that is used by the telecommunication services provider to identify which carriers have service in the buyer &# 39 ; s anticipated usage area . such information may include , but is not limited to , the buyer &# 39 ; s area code , the buyer &# 39 ; s zip code , etc . the buyer can also access a telecommunications device selection page where it may identify its telecommunications device by , e . g ., manufacturer , model number , and carrier . next , the buyer is presented with the option to choose a telecommunication services plan . once a buyer has selected a telecommunication services plan , it is presented with a screen asking it to enter activation information ( e . g ., name , address , and information used by the carriers to do a credit assessment on the buyer ). once the order has entered the telecommunication service providers &# 39 ; database , the order is communicated to the telecommunication service provider &# 39 ; s certification and activation system and is treated as a special type of activation . e - mail , ivs and / or ids statuses are sent to the buyer throughout the activation process to let the buyer know the status of the order . the buyer may also access status information via the internet . once activation is successful , a welcome kit is shipped to the buyer along with an e - mail , an ivs and / or an ids announcement announcing the successful activation as well as instructions ( when necessary ). while , in the foregoing , the present invention has been described in accordance with specific embodiments , those skilled in the art would appreciate that variations of these embodiments fall within the scope of the invention . as a result , the invention is not limited to the specific examples and illustrations discussed above . | 7 |
a clamp body 1 known from the state of the art is shown in fig1 as an example with a first aperture 2 to receive a clamp screw ( not shown ) with a second aperture ( 3 ) to receive an electrical conductor ( not shown ) into a cavity 4 that is formed by the inner surfaces 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . the inner surfaces 5 , 6 serve the electrical conductor as support surface and contact surface . the inner surfaces 5 , 6 may possess a texture 9 . this texture is created through the drilled hole 10 that extends obliquely through the entire clamp body 1 and / or perpendicular through the sidewalls 12 . the drilled hole 10 causes the normally two - dimensional penetrating inner surfaces 5 , 6 , 7 to be interrupted . the interruption forms a recess 11 caused by the drilled hole 10 , for example in the oblique surface 6 that is also present in the inner sidewall surface 7 and the floor surface 5 . the drilled hole 10 is a penetrating drilled hole 10 that passes through the two sidewalls 12 and the cavity 4 . fig1 thus shows a perspective view of a clamp body 1 that possesses inner surfaces within a cavity 4 whose textures were created by means of a metal - cutting process . the invention relates to a procedure and a device to produce a clamp body of copper alloy for electro - technical screw terminals with textured surfaces within the cavity that serve as support surfaces for the electrical conductor , whereby the textured surfaces were created using embossing equipment . application of the production procedure and the device are shown as an example in fig2 . the device 15 consists of an embossing tool 16 located in fig2 within the aperture 3 of the cavity 4 of the clamp body 1 and the embossing position 18 . the embossing tool 16 possesses a texture 17 on its underside ( the side facing toward the floor surface 5 of the clamp body 1 ). a pressure spindle 19 is located within the aperture 2 of the clamp body 1 that serves to receive the clamp screw that presses perpendicularly onto the embossing tool 16 . the texture 17 contained within the embossing tool 16 is reproduced in one or more inner surfaces of the cavity 4 by means of the force transfer from the pressure spindle 19 onto the embossing tool 16 . in the example of fig2 , into the oblique surfaces 6 , 6 ′. the transfer of the texture 17 from the embossing tool 16 into the surfaces 6 , 6 may be accomplished by means of pressing , striking , hammering , or driving . the pressure spindle 19 can thus operate on the embossing tool 16 using different techniques . after the texture 17 is transferred to the surfaces of the cavity 4 , the clamp body 1 is ejected from the tensioning device ( not shown ). a clamp body 1 thus produced is shown in fig4 . as fig3 shows , the texturing 9 of the inner surfaces of the clamp body 1 may also be by means of impact equipment . the pressure spindle 19 is then itself the bearer of an embossing texture 17 , and serves as embossing stamp 20 , whereby the embossing tool 16 is not required . the embossing stamp 20 is guided through the aperture 2 and forms by means of impact equipment a deepened recess 11 on the oblique surfaces 6 , 6 of the floor surface 5 and , as applicable , on the sidewall surfaces 7 , 7 ′. for this , the clamp body 1 is positioned in a tensioning device ( not shown ), is inclined by a few degrees from the perpendicular axis 23 of the embossing stamp 20 . the angle of inclination 24 may vary between 0 ° and 10 °. the embossing stamp 20 may advantageously be inserted through the aperture 2 into the cavity 4 of the clamp body 1 at this angle of inclination 24 with respect to the perpendicular axis 23 of the embossing stamp 20 . this angle of inclination 24 causes first the inner side ( 1 ) 21 of the cavity 4 to become textured on surfaces 5 , 6 , 7 , and second , by pivoting the embossing stamp 20 or the tensioning device , the inner side ( 2 ) on surfaces 5 , 6 , 7 ′. during this process of texturing the inner surfaces , the material of the clamp body 1 may also be driven by moving the embossing stamp 20 from side ( 1 ) to side ( 2 ). a clamp body produced using the manufacturing procedure and device per fig2 is shown in fig4 . in principle , the clamp body 1 consisting of a copper alloy is a geometric body consisting of four walls . consisting of two perpendicular sidewalls 12 , an upper wall 13 in which the aperture 2 is located for a clamp screw ( not shown ), and a floor wall 14 across from the upper wall 13 that extends perpendicular to the sidewalls 12 . all walls are formed as one piece . the outer shape of the clamp body 1 may possess different thickness 28 and shape 27 in the floor area . a cavity 4 is located in the center of the clamp body 1 that is accessible from two sides through apertures 3 that are located on the front face 29 and the rear face 30 , and is formed by inner surfaces . the cavity 4 serves to receive the electrical conductor ( not shown ), and possesses various support surfaces and contact surfaces to clamp and contact the electrical conductor . two support surfaces 7 , 7 extend parallel to the perpendicular sidewalls 12 . the support surface of the floor 5 is perpendicular to the support surfaces of the sidewalls 7 , 7 ′. two additional oblique support surfaces 6 , 6 are positioned between the floor surface 5 and the sidewall surfaces 7 , 7 to increase the contact of the electrical conductor with the support surfaces of the cavity 4 . the oblique support surfaces 6 , 6 connect the floor surface 5 with the sidewall surfaces 7 , 7 at an angle of approximately 45 °. the oblique surface 6 , 6 was textured using an embossing tool 16 to increase the clamping effect . the embossing stamp texture 17 of the embossing tool 16 creates a texture 9 in the oblique surface 6 , 6 ′. this texture 9 is implemented , for example , as a recess 11 , and is also known as a bead . the production of several beads 11 in an oblique surface 6 , 6 is also conceivable . the texture 17 of the embossing tool 16 may also create a raised projection in the oblique surface 6 , 6 in the form of a crown - shaped projection 25 ( see fig5 ). also , a combination of recesses 11 and crown - shaped projections 25 may be created as a texture 9 in the oblique surfaces 6 , 6 for further increase of the clamping effect for electrical conductors , particularly in special applications . fig6 shows this textured implementation form . an alternating series of crown - shaped projections and recesses 11 creates waved textures in the oblique surfaces 6 , 6 ′, whereby the material pressed into the recesses 11 may be used to raise the crown - shaped projections 25 . the texturing of the sidewalls 7 , 7 ′, advantageously with micro - textures 26 is possible using embossing equipment , whereby the depth of the micro - texture may lie within the range of 1 micrometer to 0 . 1 millimeter . for this , the clamp body 1 requires merely that it be rotated through 90 °, the embossing tool be guided into place , and textured as before using procedure described above , whereby the pressure spindle 19 is not guided through the aperture 2 , but rather projects along the front face surface 29 of the clamp body 1 up to the embossing tool 16 that is projecting from the cavity 4 . the present invention is not intended to be limited to a device or method which must satisfy one or more of any stated or implied objects or features of the invention and should not be limited to the preferred , exemplary , or primary embodiment ( s ) described herein . modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention , which is not to be limited except by the allowed claims and their legal equivalents . | 8 |
we shall describe first an embodiment of the invention based on classifying pixels of an image using a trained classifier which has been trained by unsupervised learning . numerous studies have investigated the relation between mammographic density and breast cancer risk , and women with high breast density appear to have a four to six fold increase in breast cancer risk . therefore the density is an important feature embedded in a mammogram . in this context and as shown in fig1 , the density refers to a specialist &# 39 ; s assessment ( typically a radiologist ) of the projected area 2 of fibro glandular tissue — sometimes called dense tissue . as an example , fig2 a to 2c respectively show three example mammograms depicting low , medium and high mammographic densities . typically a mammogram is classified into one of four or five density categories , e . g . wolfe patterns and bi - rads . these classifications are subjective and sometimes crude . they may be sufficient in some cases and for single measurements , but for serial , temporal analysis it is necessary to be able to detect more subtle changes . hrt treatment is known to increase breast density . the inventors have herein attempted to distinguish between an increase in breast density caused by hrt treatment and placebo populations . the inventors have used pattern recognition and data mining to enable the density measurement required to give an indicative result of increased risk of breast cancer . the first embodiment of the invention is based on the hypothesis that the breast tissue can be divided into subclasses describing its density . each subclass should in theory relate to the anatomical composition of the surrounding breast tissue . such labelling should be performed on the mammogram and each subclass should have some common statistical features . following this , an unsupervised clustering algorithm with an appropriate similarity measure based on these features can be used to classify the subclasses in an unsupervised way . once such unsupervised clustering has been performed , it can be used to train a classifier based on which new mammograms may be labelled . after labelling the pixels in a mammogram , a score is computed from this using a second classifier . the end result of this is a pattern recognition based density classifier . a region of interest is needed in which to estimate the mammographic density . since the density is scattered in the interior breast tissue , a fairly rough segmentation along the boundary of the breast is sufficient . the process is illustrated in fig4 . delineation of the boundary may be done manually using 10 points along the boundary connected with straight lines resulting in a decagon region of interest as seen in the last panel of the figure . to ensure reproducible results , the same segmentation technique is applied to all images . the first step is to construct a hessian matrix of partial derivatives based on the pixel intensities of the image . hessian matrices will be well known to those skilled in the art , however , to summarise , a hessian matrix is a matrix of second derivatives of a multivariate function , i . e . the gradient of the gradient of a function . therefore , the hessian matrix describes the second order intensity variations around each point of a 3d image . by using eigenvalues of the hessian matrix , it is possible to characterise the second order structure of the image , that is whether the part of the image corresponds to a hill or valley . the ratio of the difference in absolute eigenvalues to their sum gives a strong response when one eigenvalue is large and the other small . this corresponds conceptually to there being a hill ( or valley ) in one direction , but none in the perpendicular direction . thus , it is possible to detect that an elongated , vessel - like structure is present at that point in the image . to compile the hessian matrix , it is first necessary to obtain gaussian derivatives of pixels of the image relating the intensity of each pixel to the intensities of its neighbours . it will be appreciated that the eventual results will be better if all , or nearly all , pixels are used . gaussian derivatives are well known for their use in extracting features of computer images . gaussian derivatives are used to extract features from the image at three different scales ( in this example 1 , 2 and 4 mm ). l ( x ; t ) = ∫ ξ ∈ n f ( x - ξ ) g ( ξ ) ⅆ ξ where g ( x , t ) = 1 ( 2 π σ 2 ) d 2 ⅇ - ( x 1 2 + … + x d 2 ) / 2 t and the variance t is the scale parameter . based on this representation , scale space derivatives are defined by l x α ( · ; t ) = ∂ x 1 α 1 … x n α n l ( · ; t ) = ( ∂ x 1 α 1 … x n α n g ( · ; t ) ) * f where ∂ x i denotes partial differentiation along axis i , α i is the order of differentiation for axis i , and * denotes convolution . in summary , the width of the gaussian kernel determines the scale and the differentiation is carried out on this kernel prior to the convolution to get the scale space derivative . the gaussian derivatives are derived so that it is possible to compare the characteristics of one pixel with its neighbour . for example , it is possible to determine which areas of the image have the same grey values by looking at the grey value of one pixel and comparing it to the grey value of the next pixel to work out a difference . if this is performed on a standard image , the results would be very sensitive to noise and there is a risk that the measurements would be impaired . by taking a gaussian derivative , the image is de - focused , i . e . blurred to minimise the noise . while this is preferable , it is of course appreciated that other methods may be used to achieve the same results . for example , the original image could be used with further processing that accounts for this additional noise . use of gaussian derivatives also allows for a choice of scales i . e . a choice of to what extent the image is blurred . in this embodiment , three different scale options are used , namely 1 , 2 and 4 mm , although it will be appreciated that other scale values could possibly be used to achieve the same result . from the gaussian derivatives , a hessian matrix may be constructed . the eigenvalues of this matrix describe the local structure of the image . the hessian matrix is constructed from the partial derivatives of the image : h ( i ) = [ ∂ 2 i ∂ x 2 ∂ 2 i ∂ x ∂ y ∂ 2 i ∂ y ∂ x ∂ 2 i ∂ y 2 ] where i ( x , y ) is the image intensity at position ( x , y ). the combination of eigenvalues used as feature is the ratio where l 1 is assigned the largest eigenvalue and l 2 the smallest of the hessian respectively , the absolute value of both is taken before the quotient above is determined . ε , a number much smaller than 1 is used to avoid instabilities associated with near zero division . as explained above , this enables some mathematical definition of the characteristics of the structure , for example whether it is an elongated structure or not . for example , if there is a significant difference between l 1 and l 2 , this will be reflected in the magnitude of the resulting quotient value q s that gives an indication of the aspect ratio of tissue structures in the image . for example , if q s is large , then it will be clear that the shape is elongate . conversely , if the magnitude of the resulting q s is small , then it implies that there is little difference between l 1 and l 2 and that the structure is more circular . the denominator of the equation allows normalisation of the quotient . therefore , the quotient measures the elongatedness in an image at a certain location ( x , y ) at the specific scale s . it is invariant to rotation of the image and scaling intensities . the outcome of the quotient value provides an indication of intensity of the structure . for example , a negative value indicates a dark elongated structure whereas a positive value indicates a bright elongated structure . h s ( i ) = [ ∂ s 2 i ∂ s x 2 ∂ s 2 i ∂ s x ∂ s y ∂ s 2 i ∂ s y ∂ s x ∂ s 2 i ∂ s y 2 ] where ∂ s denotes the gaussian derivative at scale s . as set out above , the scales used are 1 , 2 and 4 mm . the features used are given by the quotient : q s = e 1 - e 2 e 1 + e 2 where e 1 and e 2 are eigenvalues of the hessian at specific scale s and e 1 & gt ; e 2 . this ratio is related to the elongatedness of the image structure at the point ( x , y ) at the scale s that defines the image as having a “ stripy ” quality . as before , this enables some mathematical definition of the characteristics of the structure , for example whether it is an elongated structure or not . for example , if there is a significant difference between e 1 and e 2 , this will be reflected in the magnitude of the resulting quotient value q s that gives an indication of the aspect ratio of tissue structures in the image . for example , if q s is large , then it will be clear that the shape is elongate . conversely , if the magnitude of the resulting q s is small , then it implies that there is little difference between e 1 and e 2 and that the structure is more circular . the denominator of the equation allows normalisation of the quotient . therefore , the quotient measures the elongatedness in an image at a certain location ( x , y ) at the specific scale s . it is invariant to rotation of the image and scaling intensities . the outcome of the quotient value provides an indication of intensity of the structure . for example , a negative value indicates a dark elongated structure whereas a positive value indicates a bright elongated structure . by using the matrix to calculate quotients for every point in the image , it is possible to deduce characteristics about what sort of structure is present in the image . for example , it is possible to determine the elongatedness or fibrous nature of the surrounding tissue . the next step is to apply k - means clustering to the derived quotient values . k - means is a popular way to perform unsupervised clustering of data . it is employed to divide a mammogram into four structurally different areas ( described below ). subsequently , based on the size of the areas , a density score is determined . as explained below , this score is a linear combination of areas that maximise the separation of hrt and placebo patients . it is an approximate method to find the unknown mean vectors of a multivariate distribution . the rationalisation behind this is that if a point is close to the mean of a class or cluster , the probability that it belongs to that cluster is high . this probability is based on the statistical characteristics of each point . a visualisation of the threshold and stripiness methods is shown in fig6 . each quotient value is plotted in 3 - dimensional space , where for each pixel , 3 quotient values are determined relating to the three different scales of gaussian derivatives . for example , the x - dimension may be used for 1 mm , the y - dimension for quotient values determined at 2 mm and the z - dimension for 4 mm . an example of this process is shown in fig7 on a 2 - dimensional axis . three starting points 6 that are not too close to each other , within the three axes , are chosen at random . it should be appreciated that three points are chosen in this embodiment to result in three clusters . however , any number of starting points could be chosen depending on the desired number of clusters . in a preferred embodiment , four starting points would be selected . the algorithm below is then performed iteratively . the algorithm involves identifying for each quotient , which of the three random starting points is nearest . each quotient is then effectively “ affiliated ” with the point to which it is closest and it is notionally classified as belonging to the same group . the same procedure is performed for each quotient , until each quotient belongs to one of the four starting points . for each resulting group of quotients , a mean is calculated and the mean quotient value is assigned as the new starting point 8 , thus resulting in three new starting points . the algorithm is performed iteratively until there is no change between the starting point and the resulting mean point . these three points 10 become the cluster points that will be used for future detection . these cluster points may then be used to obtain a density score . in the training phase , a large collection of randomly chosen pixels from the different images in the data set are used to generate a representative collection of features . preferably , these features are divided into four clusters using k - means clustering . the means are stored and used for nearest mean classification . in the testing phase , this nearest mean classifier is used to score each mammogram as follows : extract hessian - based features classify each pixel in one of four classes using the nearest mean classifier determine relative areas of the classes compute the score from those areas . to summarise , hessian matrices are prepared for each gaussian variable scale and quotient values obtained for each pixel . as there are three possible scales , each pixel has three different quotient values . the quotient values ( for values of one scale at a time ) are plotted alongside the four cluster means derived from the k - means clustering . each quotient is assigned to the cluster mean that it is nearest to resulting in four real clusters . each cluster mean will be representative of the different characteristics of the breast tissue . the result of classifying the pixels of an image into each of four classes is shown in fig8 , one panel per class . the area of each cluster is determined and from this a score is obtained that utilises the difference in density between the different areas . the final score is based on a linear combination of the relative areas of the classes in the breast image . the optimum is determined using a linear discriminant analysis given the hrt group and the placebos . this optimal linear combination corresponds roughly to “ 2 × area1 − 1 × area2 ”. to arrive at this rule , a linear discriminant analysis ( lda ) on the breast area features was employed . lda is a standard statistical pattern recognition technique which can be used to discriminate between two or more classes . in the first instance , the aim of this method is to discriminate between hrt and placebo . lda results in a decision rule that uses a linear combination of its input features . the remaining two areas contributed only with small co - efficients that could be left out . from this lda , the two areas 1 and 2 , required for this calculation can be determined . the lda determines which of the areas should be used for the above calculation based on the characteristics in the different clusters . this should be known to those in the art and will therefore not be further described herein . by using the methods described above to extract features , compute clusters and construct a nearest means classifier to assign new image pixels to clusters , it is possible to obtain a new set of data consisting of labelled images . first a million pixels are selected at random among the images in the data set for feature extraction . the extracted features are normalised to zero mean and unit variance . then the k - means algorithm is applied and a classifier ( nmc ) is constructed from the four estimated mean vectors . this classifier is applied to the feature versions of all the images to get a new data set . each image in this new set consists of background and breast tissue that has been divided into four classes . these classes are tested as density measures separately and together using a linear classifier . a linear classifier is used because it generalises and is simple . the density score is the signed distance to the decision hyper - plane . the evaluation of the density measure is done in a leave one out approach . the linear classifier is trained on the n − 1 images and used to predict if the remaining image is from a hrt or a placebo patient . the ability of a certain combination of views to separate the hrt group from the placebo group is evaluated with an roc area score . roc stands for “ receiver operating characteristic ”. roc curves depict the performance of a diagnostic test . the y - axis is sensitivity and the x - axis is specificity . the feature used for separation is the temporal change in density , δd = d x − d y , where x and y refer to the density of images from different years . if one view is used , a patient is represented by one feature and similarly if two views are used , two features characterise each patient . to construct the roc curves , it is necessary to calculate the likelihood of being an hrt patient from the feature ( s ). from basic bayesian decision theory , the probability that an observed feature vector x belongs to class j , denoted p ( w j | x ), is given by p ( w j ❘ x ) = p ( x ❘ w j ) p ( w j ) p ( x ) where p ( w j | x ) is known as the posterior probability , p ( x | w j ) the likelihood and p ( w j ) the prior . since it is desired to compare probabilities and select the highest p ( w j | x ) it is possible to ignore the common denominator . this leads to a decision function of the form d j ( x )= p ( x | w j ) p ( w j ) where it is possible to classify as hrt if d hrt is larger than d placebo and vice versa . shown in fig9 are the resulting roc curves from using the described pattern recognition based density measure (“ pr density ”— circles ) compared to the previously known adaptive threshold (“ th density ”— diamonds ) method . it shows that the pr density does a better job at classifying the patients into hrt and placebo groups . in terms of p - values the two measures are comparable , but again the pr - density is slightly better . when checking if the density means of the hrt group in 2001 is significantly higher than in 1999 , the th - measure yields a p - value of 0 . 002 and the pr measure 0 . 0002 . in the analysis of the density measurements , the patient populations were divided into subgroups . hrt at beginning of study ( h99 ), hrt at end of study ( h01 ), placebo at beginning of study ( p99 ), and placebo at end of study ( p01 ). ttests were performed on four subgroup combinations . unpaired ttests on p99 vs h99 and p01 vs h01 . paired ttests on p99 vs p01 and h99 vs h01 . the zero hypothesis is in each case that the two tested subgroups have identical density means , and the alternative hypothesis that they have different density means . this can be seen in the table below : this table displays the p - values for the different tests . as can be seen , no method separates the p99 and p01 groups significantly . more importantly , no method separates the p99 and h99 groups , confirming successful randomisation of the trial . all methods are able to separate h00 and h01 to a very high degree of significance . only the interactive percentage density and the stripiness ( present invention ) significantly separate h01 from p01 . thus , unsupervised clustering of mammograms based on the quotient of hessian eigenvalues at three scales result in tissue classes that can be used to differentiate between patients receiving hrt and patients receiving placebo . it is an automated method for measuring the effect of hrt as structural changes in the breast tissue . this measure can be interpreted as an intensity variant form of hrt induced structural density . furthermore , the interactive threshold shows better capability to separate the hrt patients from the placebo patients at the end of the study than the categorising bi - rads methodology . it is possible to separate the hrt patients from placebo patients to a very high degree using the proposed measure of structural density . this approach using unsupervised learning to train the classifier may therefore be summarised as follows : 1 . feature extraction : for all images , for preferably every pixel , at three scales , extract hessian matrix and calculate the three “ stripiness ” quotients form those . 2 . clustering : assign every feature vector of three quotients [ or a large enough subset of these feature vectors ] to one of k groups using k - means clustering ; in particular , we take k = 4 . 3 . train classifier : determine the means of the k groups and associate one of k labels with every single one of the groups , i . e ., we train a nearest mean classifier . test phase [ for a new image or image not used in the training phase ] a . feature extraction : for the image , for preferably every pixel , at the three same scales , extract hessian matrix and calculate the same three “ stripiness ” quotients form those . b . classification / labelling : using the trained nearest mean classifier , assign one of the k = 4 labels to every pixel based on its associated feature vector . c . “ density ” score calculation : determine the relative area in the breast for all of the k = 4 classes and use the rule 2 × area1 − 1 × area2 in an alternative approach , we use a classifier trained by supervised learning . the inventors perceive breast density as a structural property of the mammogram that can change in various different ways explaining different effects . as can be seen in fig3 , the different effects are shown with respect to hormone replacement treatment and age . each circle shown in fig3 ( a ) represents a probability density cloud for the patient groups receiving placebo and hrt at a start time t 0 and a later time t 2 respectively . aging and hrt treatment are hypothesised to be two different effects . breast cancer risk may be yet another dimension , as illustrated in fig3 ( b ). the method described next is derived from observing the biological effect in a controlled study . the method is constructed to observe any one specific physiological effect and is invariant to affine intensity changes . accordingly , digitised mammograms from an hrt study were examined in an example below to see if the effect of aging and hrt treatment are indeed two different effects . the study population was a randomly chosen subpopulation from a 2 - year randomised , double - blind , placebo - controlled clinical trial in which the participants received either 1 mg 17 β - estradiol continuously combined with 0 . 125 mg trimegestone ( n = 40 ), or placebo ( n = 40 ) for 2 years . at entry into the study , women were between 52 and 65 years of age , at least 1 year postmenopausal with a body mass index ( bmi ) less than or equal to 32 kg / m 2 . breast images were acquired at the beginning ( t 0 ) and the end of the 2 - year treatment period ( t 2 ) using a planmed sophie mammography x - ray unit . the images were scanned using a vidar scanner to a resolution of approximately 200 microns with 12 bit grey - scales . delineation of the breast boundary connected with straight lines , resulting in a decagon region of interest . only the right mediolateral oblique view was used , since it has been shown that a reliable measure of the breast density can be assessed from any one view . since hrt has been shown to increase mammographic density , these images can be used to evaluate density measures by their ability to separate the hrt and placebo populations . furthermore , aging effects can be detected by comparing the placebo group at t 0 and t 2 . in the following , the groups are donated as p 0 , p 2 , h 0 and h 2 for placebo and treatment at t 0 and t 2 respectively . the aim was to establish a new density measure based on data - mining of patient groups and machine learning . this approach is based directly on the image data and is as such independent of radiologist readings . it does require data expressing change in density and a selection of features to use . a pixel classifier is used , since it is desired to learn the local appearance of dense tissue . the large overlap between classes on pixel level ( both dense and non dense mammograms have many similar pixels , and also both dense and non dense mammograms appear in both the placebo and hrt population ) disappears to a large degree when fusing the pixel probabilities to a single posterior for the image . two collections of images ( a and b ) are given together with a suitable feature space . features are sampled in a large number of positions from each image . in this way each image is represented by a set of features . the sets are combined into two subgroups representing the collections a and b to provide a basis for classifier training . a nonlinear classifier is trained on this basis and used to compute probabilities of belonging to either a or b for all pixels in all images . these posteriors are then fused to one posterior probability for each image . there are some considerations regarding the nature of a suitable feature space for the particular setting of x - ray mammography . certain properties are desirable , specifically invariance to transformations , which do not relate to the underlying signal , and low noise sensitivity . looking at historical , multi - site data , one would like features to be invariant to the monotonic transformations caused by variations in film material , development and digitisation . processes , such as change in x - ray tube voltage , may induce non - monotonic intensity changes , potentially altering the tissue appearance radically . one cannot expect to gain invariance with respect to these changes , but only create measurements that are robust to this type of variations . hence macroscopic shape measurements are excluded , and the measurements are restricted to local features of the image . since local orientation and position may be changed due to variations in compression direction and amount , only local features that are invariant with respect to euclidean transformations are used . these will also be invariant to effects caused by small translational variations in positioning . the noise in the images is assumed to be uncorrelated point noise caused by a mixture of poisson and gauss processes . the presence of noise means one can not rely on pure analysis of isophotes and some robustness of the features with respect to which noise is needed . here , following determination of the q s values as described previously , based on the stripiness features , the density measure is derived by training a pixel classifier on subsets of image data in a supervised learning procedure . the subsets may respectively comprise images expected to have a lower density as one subset and images expected to have an increased density as a second subset . for instance in a study where a group of women are divided into a treatment group h for hrt treatment and a placebo group p and are both followed over a time period running from t 0 to t 2 , suitable subsets of interest include subsets devised such that there should be some detectable change in density . four combinations of subgroups are used in this example : subsets h 0 ( group h at time t 0 ) and h 2 ( group h at time t 2 ) are used to capture the effect of hrt . there is also an effect of aging , but it is expected to be much lower than that of hrt . the trained classifier is referred to as hrtl . subsets p 2 ( placebo group p at time t 2 ) and h 2 are used to capture the effect of hrt . separation between classes is expected to be lower , since inter - patient biological variability is diluting the results . the trained classifier is referred to as hrtc . the baseline population ( p 0 ( placebo group p at time t 0 ) and h 0 ) is stratified into three age groups , and the first and last tertile are used to capture the effects of age . the second tertile is used as control population . the trained classifier is referred to as age . subsets p 0 and p 2 are used to capture any effect of non - affine , time dependent image changes . if no such changes are present in the images , this selection of subsets will also yield an age classifier . the trained classifier is referred to plal . in each case the two subgroups get a distinct label and a k nearest neighbours ( knn ) classifier is trained to separate pixels from the two classes . we have applied this to the study population from the 2 year trial . due to the limited number of patients , the data was not split up into a training and a test set . instead the classifier was trained on all but a pair of images ( one image from each class ) and pixel probabilities are computed for this pair using the trained classifier . this is repeated until all pixel probabilities for all images are computed . this technique is similar to leave - one - out , but is modified to leave - two - out since leaving one sample from class a out introduces a bias for belonging to class b , especially when the number of samples are relatively low ( 80 for the hrt classifiers and 56 for the age classifier ). feature vectors are extracted from 10 , 000 randomly selected pixels within the breast region in each image . to go from pixel density probabilities to patient density scores , the average pixel probability within the breast area is used . several other fusion schemes for combining the posterior probabilities of the pixels to a single posterior for the image are possible , including e . g . voting and maximum rule . in general it cannot be said that one is better than the other and no real benefit is expected from using different fusion rules . it is expected that the min and max rule performs poorly since most often an image will contain at least one pixel for each of the extreme values 0 and 1 , making separation based on these rules impossible . an example of a mammogram with corresponding pixel probability maps is shown in fig5 . specifically , fig5 ( a ) shows a mammogram from the data set described above and fig5 ( b ), ( c ), and ( d ) show the pixel classification result using the classifiers hrtc , hrtl and age respectively . fig6 illustrates the effect of automatic thresholding and “ stripiness ” and shows a ) a starting mammogram , b ) thresholded density , and c ) the tissue clustering described above that is used to get the stripiness density . the table below shows p - values for all combinations of methods and relevant pairs of groups . the first two columns are paired two - sided t - tests , while the last two columns are unpaired . all three classifiers are based on the same feature set consisting of 10 , 000 feature vectors for each image , enabling a direct comparison of the methods . fig1 shows the relative density changes using the three different training strategies . specifically , fig1 shows the relative longitudinal progression of the different measures . the placebo group is indicated with a dashed line and hrt by a solid line . vertical bars indicate the standard deviation of the mean of the subgroups at t 2 and of the entire baseline population at t 0 . fig1 examines if the differences between p 0 and p 2 indicated by the age and plal classifiers are indeed age effects or a difference in imaging at baseline and follow - up . the baseline population is stratified into three age groups . the age measures are significantly different ( p = 0 . 015 ) in the first and last tertile . the plal measure shows neither an increasing trend nor significant difference in measurements . these results support that age captures aging effects and plal detects general differences in images between t 0 and t 2 . assuming that plal is mainly detecting general image changes from t 0 to t 2 , age is the only method significantly detecting the effect of aging . the relatively low p - value for the separation of p 0 and p 2 detected by hrtl ( 0 . 08 ) is most likely due to the time dependent changes also influencing this other longitudinally trained classifier . these changes are further indicated by the performance of the plal classifier , which give similar changes in average image posterior for both the placebo group and the hrt group . the inverse appearance of hrtc and age changes on fig1 suggests that the age - related density and the hrt - density occur along directions in the hessian - based feature space that are not orthogonal , but rather somewhat pointing in opposite directions . this behaviour is in agreement with density increasing with hrt and decreasing with age . thus this method using supervised learning to train the classifier may be summarised as follows : 1 . feature extraction : for all images , for preferably every pixel , at three scales , extract hessian matrix and calculate the three “ stripiness ” quotients form those . based on the stripiness features , the density measure is derived by training a pixel classifier on subsets of the available data . the subsets are devised such that there should be some detectable change indensity between them . four combinations of subgroups are illustrated above . in each case the two subgroups get a distinct label and a k nearest neighbours ( knn ) classifier [ 22 ] is trained to separate pixels from the two classes . test phase [ for a new image or image not used in the training phase ] a . feature extraction : for the image , for every pixel , at the three same scales , extract hessian matrix and calculate the same three “ stripiness ” quotients form those . b . classification / labelling : using the trained knn classifier , assign a posterior probability to every pixel based on its associated feature vector . the posterior probability , a number between 0 and 1 , indicates how much a pixel belongs to one group or the other . for instance , in the specific example described above , if the hrtc classifier assigns a high posterior to a pixel , it indicates that this pixel “ looks ” like a pixel from an image in the hrt treated patient set . c . “ density ” score calculation : determine the overall density score by averaging the posterior probabilities over the whole breast region . this average determines the score for that breast image . the score will be a number between 0 and 1 . what this number indicates is of course dependent on which classifier is used : e . g . hrtl , hrtc , age , etc . indeed , with the supervised method we not only demonstrate that we can separate hrt and non - hrt better , but that we can also learn / train other “ density ” scores . e . g . it appears that age tells us something about age progression . if the method as described above either using supervised or unsupervised learning to train the classifiers is repeated on an image of the same breast some time later , for example , 1 or 2 years in accordance with typical breast screening programmes , it would be possible to compare the differences between the derived density scores to detect differences . in this respect , if the density score has increased , it is probable that the risk of breast cancer has also increased . the aim of this example is to provide a framework for obtaining more accurate and sensitive measurements of breast density changes related to specific effects . given effect - grouped patient data , we propose a statistical learning scheme providing such a non - subjective and reproducible measure and compare it to the bi - rads measure and a computer - aided percentage density . several approaches to other automatic methods for assessing mammographic breast density have been suggested [ 42 , 38 , 32 , 59 , 45 ]. all of these aim at reproducing the radiologist &# 39 ; s categorical rating system or at segmenting the dense tissue to get a percentage density score . our approach differs from existing methods in mainly three ways breast density is considered a structural property of the mammogram , that can change in various ways explaining different effects . the measure is derived from observing a specific effect in a controlled study . the measure is invariant to affine intensity changes . it is noted that we do not aim at measuring what is traditionally called breast density , i . e ., the relative amount of fibroglandular tissue . since the term mammographic density is most often used for this type of measure , we have decided to use “ mammographic pattern ” to describe more general properties of the mammogram . we mean to demonstrate that mammographic changes can perceived as a structural matter that may be accessed ignoring the actual brightness of the images and that it changes differently under the physiological processes of aging and hrt . the data used in this work is from a 2 - year randomized , double - blind , placebo - controlled clinical trial , in which the participants received either 1 mg 17β - estradiol continuously combined with 0 . 125 mg trimegestone ( n = 40 ), or placebo ( n = 40 ) for 2 years . at entry into the study , women were between 52 and 65 years of age , at least 1 year postmenopausal with a body mass index less than or equal to 32 kg / m2 . breast images were acquired at the beginning ( t 0 ) and the end of the 2 - year treatment period ( t 2 ) using a planmed sophie mammography x - ray unit . the images were then scanned using a vidar scanner to a resolution of approximately 200 microns with 12 bit gray - scales . delineation of the breast boundary on the digitized image was done manually by an expert using 10 points along the boundary connected with straight lines . only the right mediolateral oblique view was used , since it has been shown previously that a reliable measure of the breast density can be assessed from any one view [ 47 ]. we denote the patient groups p 0 , p 2 , h 0 , and h 2 for placebo and treatment at t 0 and t 2 respectively . breast imaging reporting and data system ( bi - rads ) is the four category scheme proposed by the american college of radiology . the bi - rads categories are : 1 ) entirely fatty ; 2 ) fatty with scattered broglandular tissue ; 3 ) heterogeneously dense ; 4 ) extremely dense . a trained radiologist assigns the mammogram to one of these categories based on visual inspection . it is included here since it is widely used both in clinical practice and for automated and computer aided approaches [ 22 ]. in the interactive threshold method referred to below the reading radiologist determines an intensity threshold using a slider in a graphical user interface . she is assisted visually by a display showing the amount of dense tissue corresponding to the current slider position . the system is similar to the approach proposed by yaffe [ 11 ] and has been used in several clinical trials [ 22 ]. the density is defined as the ratio between segmented dense tissue and total area of breast tissue . our mammographic pattern measure is derived by training a pixel classifier on subsets of images from the available data . these subsets are chosen to represent the potential differences in patterns to be detected by the method . as an example , one subgroup may be the h 2 images from hormone treated patients and the other the p 2 images from the placebo group . most often , as in our case , the pixel classification would be based on local features that describe the image structure in the vicinity of every pixel to be classified . generally , the features extracted per pixel will exhibit large similarity for every image even though they may come from two different subgroups of images . therefore , for individual pixels , it will be difficult to decide to which of the subsets it belongs . fusing all weak local decisions , however , into a global overall score per image ensures that sufficient evidence in favor of one of the two groups is accumulated and allows for a more accurate decision . in this work , a simple fusion strategy is employed . after every pixel has been provided with a posterior probability by the classifier , the average probability per pixel in the image is determined . this mean is then taken as the final score . obviously , several other fusion schemes are possible ( see e . g . [ 60 ]), but we do not necessarily expect benefit from these . below follows a more precise description of the features and a description of the various subgroups used to train the classifiers . we now present a framework for incorporating feature selection in our supervised methodology . this framework is applied to a set of data from the dutch national breast cancer screening program . the presented results demonstrates the ability and potential of including feature selection to improve and specialize measures . above we showed that the stripiness features performed well on hrt data , both in an unsupervised and a supervised setting . obviously , these features are not expected to perform well in all situations and , generally , the performance of our method may improve by allowing more features . however , indiscriminately adding features will eventually deteriorate the results . one way to cope with this situation is by means of a feature selection strategy . a somewhat related study was carried out by huo et al . [ 63 ], where 14 image features are related to measures of breast cancer risk . they employ linear discriminant analysis is to identify features that are useful in differentiating between low - risk women and brca1 / brca2 - mutation carriers . linear regression analysis is employed to identify useful features in predicting the risk , as estimated from the gail [ 28 ] and claus [ 64 ] models . they find that women at high risk tend to have dense breasts and their mammographic patterns tend to be coarse and low in contrast . the study presented here differs from the work by huo et al . in various ways . the main differences are that we investigate local features not global and that we evaluate on a large set of mammograms from women who were actually later diagnosed with cancer versus a similar set of controls . we find local mammographic features , mainly describing the structure around the vertical axis and the position in the breast , which are indicative of women developing cancer ( auc = 0 . 70 ). the feature with the highest association of risk found by huo et al ., histogram skewness , was less indicative ( auc = 0 . 60 ). we do not just use all the features we can think of because of the problem of overfitting to consider . if one uses enough features and a powerful classifier it is possible to separate almost anything , but the resulting classifier loses the ability to generalize to new data , since the demand of samples grows exponentially with the dimensionality of the feature space [ 60 ]. this problem is also known as the “ curse of dimensionality ” and implies that only a limited number of features may be used effectively , depending of the number of samples in one &# 39 ; s data set . the goal of feature selection in pattern recognition is to select the most discriminative features from a given feature set to improve classification performance . through the process of feature selection , we can potentially accomplish the following : improved classification performance . better understanding of the relationship between features and classes . less computing resources needed for building ( and , depending of type , running ) the classifier . the first two improvements are of special interest to us , since we are ultimately interested in identifying the features most indicative of breast cancer risk . the aim of feature selection can be stated more formally as follows . given a feature set f , we construct a classier with a recognition rate r ( f ) as a function of the selected features , f . the goal of feature selection is to select the subset f of f such that r ( f )& gt ; r ( t ), where t denotes all possible subsets of f . several choices are available for quantifying the recognition rate , including specificity , sensitivity , area or volume overlap of a segmentation task , and area under roc curve to name a few . which choice to make depends on the application . it should be noted that , independent of choice , it is important to evaluate the recognition rate on data that are independent of the training data . this is typically done , either by splitting the data up in train and test sets or use a leave - one - out approach for evaluating the recognition rate [ 60 ]. among other things , due to the combinatorial explosion , there is generally no efficient way to determine the theoretically optimal feature set and we have to resort to suboptimal approaches , which typically determine a theoretically suboptimal feature set . an introduction to and overview of the different ways of approaching this problem is available in reference [ 65 ]. in our current approach , we employed a basic sequential forward selection method , as originally proposed by whitney [ 66 ]. it is one of the commonly used heuristic methods for feature selection and involves the following steps : select the first feature that has the highest recognition rate among all features . select the feature , among all unselected features , that gives the highest recognition rate together with the selected features . repeat the previous step until you have reached a preset number of features , until the recognition rate exceeds a preset threshold , or until all features are selected . in addition to the stripiness features previously presented , we propose a set of position features based on a distance map of the breast boundary . two additional types of features are considered for providing a large set of descriptive features selectable in the feature selection process . one is the set of invariant , differential features proposed by romeny et al . [ 1 ] that , in principle , describe all local intrinsic properties of a scalar image at a fixed level of resolution . the other is the set of local , partial derivatives up to order n , commonly referred to as the n - jet . the jets are useful descriptors of local image structure , shown to be related to the processing of the visual system [ 67 ]. with regard to polynomial invariants , the gauge coordinate frame ( v , w ) is defined such that w is everywhere along the gradient direction and v tangential to the isophote . these two directions are always perpendicular to each other and form a local coordinate frame . all polynomial expressions in ( v , w ) are invariant under orthogonal transformations [ 1 ]. as one feature set we test all non - singular polynomial invariants up to third order resulting in 8 features per scale as shown in the following table . list of non - singular polynomial invariants up to third order expressed in gauge coordinates [ 1 ]. the other tested feature set is the 3 - jet consisting of all partial derivatives up to third order . this gives 10 features per scale . in calculating both polynomial invariants and 3 - jet features , we define the partial derivative of the image , i , at scale , s , as where gs denotes the gaussian with standard deviation s . this is implemented by analytical derivation of the gaussian prior to convolution using the fact that g * i = i * g [ 54 ]. the numerical implementation takes advantage of the fast fourier transform and the convolution is carried out through the fourier domain [ 55 ]. both large feature sets are based on differential features related to image structure and the main difference is the rotational invariance provided by the invariant features . only the best performing of the two sets are analysed in detail together with the stripiness features . we use scales 1 , 2 , and 4 mm based on previous findings with the stripiness features . in addition , a larger scale of 8 mm is introduced to allow for some larger scale information . this means we are testing 40 jet - features and 32 invariant features . so far , no information about where in the image a given feature vector was sampled has been available to the classifier . if the changes we are investigating mainly occur in specific regions this knowledge will help reduce noise from changes in unimportant regions . if there are important changes in one region simultaneously with important , but manifested inversely in the conventional features , in another region , this knowledge might improve classification dramatically . therefore a crude breast coordinate frame is introduced for the feature selection experiments . three position features are used : 1 ) distance to nearest breast boundary implemented as a distance map , 2 ) horizontal displacement from center of distance map , and 3 ) vertical displacement from center of distance map . a mammogram and corresponding distance map are shown in fig1 . the position features represent a separate category of features and are included in all the work reported below . the investigated mammograms are from the dutch national breast cancer screening program . the data was originally used to investigate the effect of recall rate on earlier screen detection of breast cancers [ 68 ]. mammograms were collected from a total of 495 women participating in the biennial dutch screening program . of these , 250 were chosen as control subjects , and 245 were from women who were diagnosed with breast cancer . the data include screening mammograms from the time of diagnosis and screen - negative mammograms from at least two preceding screening examinations for both cases and controls . the data set used in this study was formed by selecting the earliest available screen - negative mammograms for all participants . the result is a high risk ( 100 %) group of cases who were diagnosed with breast cancer within 2 - 4 years , but radiological reading provided no evidence of cancer at this earliest examination and 2 years after , and a low - risk group who were not diagnosed with breast cancer for a minimum of 4 following years . the segmentation of breast tissue was done automatically using techniques presented by brady and highnam [ 37 ] ( breast boundary ) and karssemeijer [ 38 ] ( pectoral muscle ). subsequently the masks were post processed using a morphological opening with a circular structure element with a diameter of 10 mm and the largest component selected as final breast tissue mask to improve the segmentation quality . only the right mediolateral oblique ( mlo ) views are analysed in these experiments . in evaluating the performance of the classification of a certain feature set , the data is split up in a training and a test set , each consisting of 100 cancer and 100 control patients . each component of each feature vector is normalized to unit variance across the entire training set . standard sequential forward selection is used as feature selection algorithm with recognition rate quantified as area under roc curve ( auc ). the classification step is similar to what is described above , apart from the number of features used to represent each image . machine memory only allowed 1000 feature vectors used per image due to the increase in feature space dimensionality and sample size . an equivalent k is used , modified to reflect the smaller total number of feature vectors in the training set ( four times more in the hrt experiments implying that k = 25 here ). the performance of invariant features versus n - jet as two types of general features was investigated in two separate feature selection runs and the best performing type was selected . using randomly selected train and test sets each consisting of 100 cases and 100 controls , fig1 shows the performance of sfs with no stopping criterion applied once using the invariance and position features and once using 3 - jet and position . the same patients were used for train and test sets were used in both cases . based on the results ( auc for 3 - jet being everywhere larger than for invariants ) the 3 - jet features were selected and investigated in a large experiment in combination with the stripiness features . based on fig1 , 10 features were selected as stopping criterion . one might argue that 15 or 20 would be a safer selection number ( also including the second local maximum ), however we would rather be able to make a clearer inference on the type of features related to risk than potentially getting a , probably , small boost in recognition rate . the rst top of the 3 - jet roc in fig1 ( auc = 0 . 6837 ) is at four selected features 0 . 6837 and the second top ( auc = 0 . 6832 ) at 11 selected features . to gather information on which features are selected , 100 sfs runs are calculated for three different setups . each run uses a new random train and test set . these sets are again each made of 100 cases and 100 controls . first we investigate only 3 - jet and position features . then stripiness features are included as selectable by the sfs algorithm . finally , it is tested whether forcing sfs to select the three stripiness features improve results . images are represented by features from the same 1000 pixels in all experiments and the same 100 randomized train - test sets are used in the three setups making it possible to compare both overall performance and individual runs . fig1 , 15 and 16 show the results of the 100 runs of n - jet , n - jet + stripy selectable , and n - jet + stripy forced . the features from 1 - 10 are the 3 - jet at scale 1 mm , from 11 - 20 the 3 - jet at scale 2 mm , from 21 - 30 at 4 mm and 31 - 40 at 8 mm . in order to read the feature numbers the ordering of the 3 - jet features is displayed in table 1 . origo of the image coordinate system is in the upper left corner which means that the x - direction is vertical and the y - direction horizontal . features 41 - 43 are the distance to skin line , horizontal displacement , and vertical displacement respectively . features 44 - 46 are the stripiness features at scales 1 , 2 , and 4 mm . we have demonstrated the ability and potential of including learning of features to improve and specialize measures . the histograms of selected features in fig1 , 15 , and 16 give some information about the relationship between features and classes , which was one of the potential benefits of feature selection . though a bit too flat to give a clear picture , it seems that the derivatives in the horizontal direction ( 2 , 4 , 7 , 12 , 14 , . . . , 37 ), and the horizontal and vertical position ( 42 and 43 ) are the features most indicative of risk . 0th order features and pure vertical derivatives are very seldom selected . this may be the reason why the 3 - jet performed better than the polynomial invariants — the orientation of structure matters . that the position features are important is supported by ndings by li et al ., building on the work by huo et al ., showing a statistically significant decrease of performance as the location of the used region of interest ( roi ) was varied from the central region immediately behind the nipple . li et al . do not compare the results obtained using rois to using the whole breast area for feature estimation . the stripiness features , shown earlier to be indicative of hrt , appears to be only weakly related to risk . this is in line with findings by boyd et al . [ 27 ] indicating that the effects of hormone therapy on mammographic density , and on breast cancer risk , are separate and not related causally . to see how a mammogram and corresponding likelihood image actually look we computed the likelihood images of two cases , using the feature set [ 7 17 27 37 42 43 ], and included them in fig1 . case ( a ) is from a patient who had a screen - detected cancer in the right breast four years later . the birads score of the mammogram is 3 but the likelihood score is quite low , 48 . 9 % compared to an average of 50 . 2 ± 0 . 9 for all the cases . case ( b ) is an interval case also with a birads score of 3 but a higher likelihood score , 52 . 6 %. although it is difficult to relate the appearance of the likelihood images to the corresponding mammograms , it is clear from the zoomed regions of interest that there is some structure present . to compare with results by huo et al . the histogram skewness was computed for all the images . this was the single feature found most related to risk in [ 63 ]. one difference in implementation is that we compute the skewness of the entire breast region and huo et al . use a smaller roi . the skewness is one of the features found related to mammographic density by boone et al . [ 42 ] and is related to the degree of symmetry of the histogram . huo et al . report an auc of 0 . 82 ± 0 . 04 for discrimination of 15 brca1 / brca2 mutation carriers versus 143 ‘ low - risk ’ women . classifying the images in the present study as cases or controls based on histogram skewness gave an auc of 0 . 60 . in comparison we on average get 0 . 70 ± 0 . 03 with the selected cancer features . it will be appreciated that modifications to or variations of the embodiments described and illustrated may be made within the scope of the appended claims . in this specification , unless expressly otherwise indicated , the word ‘ or ’ is used in the sense of an operator that returns a true value when either or both of the stated conditions is met , as opposed to the operator ‘ exclusive or ’ which requires that only one of the conditions is met . the word ‘ comprising ’ is used in the sense of ‘ including ’ rather than in to mean ‘ consisting of ’. all prior teachings acknowledged above are hereby incorporated by reference . no acknowledgement of any prior published document herein should be taken to be an admission or representation that the teaching thereof was common general knowledge at the date hereof . b . m . ter haar romeny , l . m . j . florack , a . h . salden , and m . a . viergever , “ higher order differential structure of images ,” image and vision computing , vol . 12 , no . 6 , pp . 317 - 325 , july / august 1994 . j . w . byng , n . f . boyd , e . fishell , r . a . jong , and m . j . yaffe , “ the quantitative analysis of mammographic densities ,” physics in medicine and biology , vol . 39 , p . 162938 , 1994 . n . f . boyd , j . m . rommens , k . vogt , v . lee , j . l . hopper , m . j . yaffe , and a . d . paterson , “ mammographic breast density as an intermediate phenotype for breast cancer ,” the lancet oncology , vol . 5 , pp . 798 - 808 , 2005 . n . boyd , l . martin , q . li , l . sun , a . chiarelli , g . hislop , m . yaffe , and s . minkin , “ mammographic density as a surrogate marker for the effects of hormone therapy on risk of breast cancer ,” cancer epidemiology biomarkers & amp ; prevention , vol . 15 , no . 5 , p . 961 , 2006 . m . h . gail , l . a . brinton , d . p . byar , d . k . corle , s . b . green , c . schairer , and j . j . mulvihill , “ projecting individualized probabilities of developing breast cancer for white females who are being examined annually ,” journal of the national cancer institute , vol . 81 , no . 24 , pp . 1879 - 86 , december 1989 . j . w . byng , n . f . boyd , e . fishell , r . a . jong , and m . j . yaffe , “ automated analysis of mammographic densities ,” physics in medicine and biology , vol . 41 , pp . 909 - 923 , 1996 . r . highnam and m . brady , mammographic image analysis , m . a . viergever , ed . kluwer academic publishers , 1999 . n . karssemeijer , “ automated classification of parenchymal patterns in mammograms ,” physics in medicine and biology , vol . 43 , pp . 365 - 378 , 1998 . j . m . boone , k . k . lindfors , c . s . beatty , and j . a . seibert , “ a breast density index for digital mammograms based on radiologists &# 39 ; ranking ,” journal of digital imaging , vol . 11 , no . 3 , pp . 101 - 115 , august 1998 . s . petroudi and m . brady , “ breast density segmentation using texture ,” in international workshop on digital mammography , s . m . astley , m . brady , c . rose , and r . zwiggelaar , eds . springer , 2006 , pp . 609 - 615 . j . w . byng , n . f . boyd , l . little , g . lockwood , e . fishell , r . a . jong , and m . j . yaffe , “ symmetry of projection in the quantitative analysis of mammographic images ,” european journal of cancer prevention , vol . 5 , pp . 319 - 327 , 1996 . j . j . koenderink , “ the structure of images ,” biological cybernetics , vol . 50 , no . 5 , pp . 363 - 370 , 1984 . b . ter haar romeny , front - end vision and multi - scale image analysis . kluwer academic publisher , 2003 . c . tromans and m . brady , “ an alternative approach to measuring volumetric mammographic breast density ,” in international workshop on digital mammography , s . m . astley , m . brady , c . rose , and r . zwiggelaar , eds . springer , 2006 , pp . 26 - 33 . a . k . jain , r . p . w . duin , and j . mao , “ statistical pattern recognition : a review ,” ieeetr . on pami , vol . 22 , no . 1 , pp . 4 - 37 , 2000 . z . huo , m . giger , d . wolverton , w . zhong , s . cumming , and o . olopade , “ computerized analysis of mammographic parenchymal patterns for breast cancer risk assessment : feature selection ,” medical physics , vol . 27 , p . 4 , 2000 . e . claus , n . risch , and w . thompson , “ autosomal dominant inheritance of early - onset breast cancer implications for risk prediction .” cancer , vol . 73 , no . 3 , pp . 643 - 51 , 1994 . i . guyon and a . elisseeff , “ an introduction to variable and feature selection ,” the journal of machine learning research , vol . 3 , pp . 1157 - 1182 , 2003 . a . whitney , “ a direct method of nonparametric measurement selection ,” in ieeetrans . comput ., vol . 20 , 1971 , pp . 1100 - 1103 . j . koenderink and a . van doorn , “ representation of local geometry in the visual system ,” biological cybernetics , vol . 55 , no . 6 , pp . 367 - 375 , 1987 . j . d . m . otten , n . karssemeijer , j . h . c . l . hendriks , j . h . groenewoud , j . fracheboud , a . l . m . verbeek , h . j . de koning , and r . holland , “ effect of recall rate on earlier screen detection of breast cancers based on the dutch performance indicators ,” journal of the national cancer institute , vol . 97 , no . 10 , pp . 748 - 754 , may 2005 . | 6 |
phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase applicable to the invention functions to produce oxaloacetic acid from phosphoenolpyruvic acid , and includes ec4 . 1 . 1 . 31 , ec4 . 1 . 1 . 32 , ec4 . 1 . 1 . 38 and ec4 . 1 . 1 . 49 . however , the presence of gdp is necessary for ec 4 . 1 . 1 . 32 , inorganic phosphorus is necessary for ec 4 . 1 . 1 . 38 , and adp is necessary for ec 4 . 1 . 1 . 49 , respectively . as malate dehydrogenase , there are ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 37 , ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 38 , ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 39 , ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 40 , ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 83 and ec 1 . 1 . 99 . 16 . the malate dehydrogenase applicable to the invention functions to produce malic acid from oxaloacetic acid , and includes ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 37 and ec 1 . 1 . 99 . 16 . the measuring reagent composition of the invention also contains substrates of the above coupled enzymes . the substrate of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase includes phosphoenolpyruvic acid and derivatives thereof on which the enzyme can act . the substrate of malate dehydrogenase used in the invention is a combination of thionadh ( thionicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ) in reduced form or thionadph ( thionicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate ) in reduced form and nadh ( nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ) in reduced form or nadph ( nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate ). thionad ( p ) h is the same as nad ( p ) h except that -- conh 2 in nicotinamide group is changed to -- csnh 2 . thionad ( p ) h is commerically available , and for example , sold by sigma chemical co . a suitable molar ratio of thionad ( p ) h / nad ( p ) h is 1 / 0 . 05 - 1 / 2 , preferably 1 / 0 . 1 - 1 / 1 , more preferably 1 / 0 . 2 - 1 / 0 . 7 . in the case of determining the bicarbonate ion concentration of a blood sample , it is preferable to incorporate carbonic anhydrase inhibitor into the reagent system . applicable carbonic anhydrase inhibitors are acetazolamide , derivatives thereof , benzenesulfonamide , derivatives thereof and the like , and benzenesulfonamide and derivatives thereof found by the inventors are preferred . the derivatives of benzenesulfonamide have benzenesulfonamide structure of which one or two hydrogen atoms of the benzene ring were substituted . illustrative of the substituents are hydroxyl group , amino group , halogen ( fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine ) atoms , nitro group , amide group , sulfonic group , carboxyl group , sulfonamide group , methyl group , ethyl group , propyl group , aminomethyl group , aminoethyl group , aminopropyl group , hydroxymethyl group , hydroxyethyl group , hydroxypropyl group , phosphate group , methoxy group , ethoxy group , and the like . preferable substituents are amino group , halogen atoms , sulfonamide group , methyl group , aminoethyl group and the like . examples of preferable benzenesulfonamide derivatives are p - toluenesulfonamide , 1 - chlorobenzene - 2 , 4 - disulfonamide , 4 -( 2 - aminoethyl ) benzenesulfonamide , and the like , and p - toluenesulfonamide and 4 -( 2 - aminoethyl ) benzenesulfonamide are particularly preferable because of having excellent safety against skin and eye . the measuring reagent composition may contain other components , such as known enzyme activators ( e . g . mg 2 + ), stabilizer , ph buffer ( e . g . trishydroxymethylaminomethane ), and the like . a suitable amount of phosphoenolpyruvic acid is about 1 . 5 to 10 moles , preferably about 2 to 5 moles per 1 mole bicarbonate ion . a suitable enzyme concentration is , in the case of rate assay , about 50 to 2 , 000 u / l , preferably about 100 to 1 , 000 u / l , for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and about 1 , 000 to 50 , 000 u / l , preferably 2 , 000 to 20 , 000 u / l , for malate dehydrogenase . in the case of end point assay , a suitable phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase concentration is about 2 , 000 to 200 , 000 u / l , preferably about 3 , 000 to 100 , 000 u / l , and a suitable malate dehydrogenase concentration is about 2 , 000 to 300 , 000 u / l , preferably about 5 , 000 to 200 , 000 u / l . a suitable amount of the sum of thionad ( p ) h and nad ( p ) h is about 1 to 10 moles , preferably about 1 . 5 to 5 moles per one mole of hco 3 - . a suitable ratio of phosphoenopyruvate carboxylase / malate dehydrogenase is about 1 to 1 / 20 , preferably about 1 to 1 / 10 . the amount of carbonic anhydrase inhibitor is 0 . 1 mm or moe , and it can be added up to its solubility , i . e . soluble upper limit . the more amount of the inhibitor exhibits the greater inhibition against carbonic anhydrase . a preferably ph of its aqueous solution is about 8 . in the case of a dry analytical element , a suitable content is about 5 to 2 , 000 mg / m 2 , preferably about 50 to 1 , 000 mg / m 2 . when the content is too great , deposition occurs . as can be seen from the reaction formulas , it is possible that phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and phosphoenolpyruvic acid are first mixed with a bicarbonate ion solution , and thereafter , malate dehydrogenase and thionad ( p ) h and nad ( p ) h are mixed with the reaction solution . however , it is convenient that a solution containing both enzymes and a solution containing both substrates are mixed with a bicarbonate ion solution . the reaction is carried out at a ph of about 6 to 10 , preferably the optimum ph ± 1 of both enzymes , at 20 to 40 ° c ., e . g . 37 ° c ., for 1 to 15 minutes . the measuring reagent composition of the invention can be used for the dry analysis as well as the wet analysis . a preferable dry analytical element used in the dry analysis comprises three or more layer construction composed of a water - impermeable support and at least two water - permeable layers . the support can be a water - impermeable light - transmissive support used for a conventional known dry analytical element , and includes a transparent film or sheet made of polyethylene terephthalate , polycarbonate of bisphenol a , polystyrene , cellulose ester , such as cellulose diacetate , cellulose triacetate and cellulose acetate propionate , or the like . the thickness of the support is usually in the range of about 50 μm to about 1 mm , preferably from about 80 μm to about 300 μm . the support may be provided with an undercoating layer on its surface in order to strengthen the adhesion of the reagent layer laminated thereon . instead of the undercoating layer , the surface of the support may be treated by a physical activation , such as , glow discharge or corona discharge or by a chemical activation . the water - permeable layers are reagent layer , light - blocking layer , adhesive layer , spreading layer , water absorption layer , and the like , described later . on the support , the reagent layer is provided directly or through other layer ( s ) such as the undercoating layer . the reagent layer is a water - absorptive water - permeable layer wherein at least a part the aforementioned reagent composition is dispersed substantially uniformly in a hydrophilic polymer binder . the hydrophilic polymer usable as the binder in the reagent layer is a natural or synthetic hydrophilic polymer having a swelling ratio in the range of about 1 . 5 to about 20 , preferably from about 2 . 5 to about 15 at a water absorption at 30 ° c . illustrative of the hydrophilic polymer are gelatins , such as acid - treated gelatin and deionized gelatin , gelatin derivatives , such as phthalated gelatin and hydroxyacrylate - graft gelatin , agarose , pullulan , pullulan derivatives , polyacrylamide , polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidone . the reagent layer may be a crosslinked ( cured ) layer to a certain degree by adding a crosslinking agent . illustrative of the crosslinking agents are known vinyl sulfonyl crosslinking agents , such as 1 , 2 - bis ( vinylsulfonyl acetamide ) ethane and bis ( vinylsulfonylmethyl ) ether , aldehydes and the like for gelatin , aldehydes , epoxy compounds having 2 glycidyl groups , and the like for methallyl alcohol copolymers . a suitable dry thickness of the reagent layer is about 1 μm to about 100 μm , preferably about 3 μm to about 30 μm . the reagent layer is preferably transparent . a light - blocking layer can optionally be provided on the reagent layer . the light - blocking layer is a water - permeable layer wherein light - absorptive or light - reflecting ( called &# 34 ; light - blocking &# 34 ; collectively ) particles are dispersed in a small amount of hydrophilic polymer having a film - forming ability as a binder . the light - blocking particles block the color of the sample spotted on the spreading layer described later , particularly the red color of hemoglobin in the case of whole blood samples , when a detectable change , such as color change or coloration , produced in the re agent layer is measured from the side of the light - transmissive support by reflection photometry . this layer also functions as a light - reflecting layer or a background layer . illustrative of light - reflecting particles are titanium dioxide particles which are microcrystalline particles in rutile typ e , anatase type or brookite type having a particle size of about 0 . 1 μm to about 1 . 2 μm , barium sulfate particles and aluminum particles or microflakes , and illustrative of light - absorptive particles are carbon black , gas black and carbon microbeads . preferred particles are titanium dioxide particles and barium sulfate particles , and anatase type titanium dioxide par tides are particularly preferred . the hydrophilic polymer binder having a film - forming ability includes the foregoing hydrophilic polymers usable for the reagent layer , weakly hydrophilic regenerated cellulose and cellulose acetate . preferable hydrophilic polymers are gelatins , gelatin derivatives and polyacrylamide . a known curing agent ( crosslinking agent ) may be added to the gelatin or a gelatin derivative . the light - blocking layer may be formed by applying an aqueous solution of a hydrophilic polymer wherein light - blocking particles are suspended followed by drying . instead of providing the light - blocking layer , the light - blocking particles may be incorporated in the spreading layer described layer . an adhesive layer may be provided on the reagent layer or an optional layer , such as the light - blocking layer , in order to join the spreading layer . the adhesive layer is preferably composed of a hydrophilic polymer which can join the spreading layer thereby to integrate respective layers upon moistened or absorbing water to swell . illustrative of the hydrophilic polymers usable for the production of the adhesive layer are the aforementioned hydrophilic polymers usable for the production of the reagent layer . preferable ones are gelatin , gelatin derivatives and polyacrylamide . a suitable dry thickness of the adhesive layer is , in general , about 0 . 5 μm to about 20 μm , preferably about 1 μm to about 10 μm . the adhesive layer may also be provided on other layer ( s ) in order to improve adhesive force between other layers , in addition to the reagent layer . the adhesive layer can be formed by applying an aqueous hydrophilic polymer solution , to which a surfactant or the like is optionally added , onto the support , the reagent layer or the like by a known method . the porous spreading layer may be a woven fabric spreading layer disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 292 , 272 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 783 , 315 , etc ., such as , plain weaves including broad cloth and poplin , a knitted fabric spreading layer disclosed in ep 0 162 302 a , etc ., such as tricot , double tricot or milanese , a spreading layer made of a woven fabric or knitted fabric etched by an alkaline etching solution disclosed in japanese patent kokai 1 - 172753 , a spreading layer made of organic polymer fiber pulp - containing paper disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 215 , 716 , a nonfibrous isotropic porous spreading layer , such as a membrane filter ( blushed polymer layer ) disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 992 , 158 , a continuous microspaces - containing porous layers where polymer particulates , glass particulates or diatomaceous earth are dispersed in a hydrophilic polymer binder , or a continuous microspaces - containig porous layer where polymer particulates are joined so as to contact with each other at a point by using a polymer adhesive which does not swell in water ( three - dimensional lattice structure layer ). two or more spreading layers may be incorporated . for example , two or more porous layers which are joined by an adhesive disposed in spots , such as disclosed in japanese patent kokai 61 - 4959 , 62 - 138756 , 62 - 135757 or 62 - 138758 . a spreading controller , such as a hydrophilic polymer may be incorporated into the spreading layer in order to control spreading ability . various reagents or a part of reagent ( s ) may also be incorporated for the purpose of accelerating object detecting reaction or reducing or inhibiting interfering reaction ( s ). a suitable thickness of the spreading layer is 20 to 200 μm , preferably 50 to 170 μm , more preferably 80 to 150 μm . physical activation treatment represented by glow discharge or corona discharge disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 783 , 315 may be provided at least one side of the woven fabric , knitted fabric or paper used as the porous spreading layer . the woven fabric , knitted fabric or paper may be treated with degreasing by washing with water , or impregnating with a surfactant or a hydrophilic polymer . by providing the fabric or paper with one or more of the above treatment , the fabric or paper is rendered hydrophilic , and the adhesive force to the layer located on the underside , i . e . near the support , can be increased . a water absorption layer may be provided between the support and t he reagent layer . the water absorption layer is mainly composed of a hydrophilic polymer which absorbs water to swell , and it absorbs the water of aqueous liquid sample which reaches the surface of this layer . in the case of whole blood sample , it accelerates permeation of blood plasma component into the reagent layer . the hydrophilic polymer usable for the water absorption layer can be selected from the aforementioned ones usable for the reagent layer . preferred hydrophilic polymers for the water absorption layer are , in general , gelatin , a gelatin derivative , polyacrylamide and polyvinyl alcohol , particularly the aforementioned gelatins and deionized gelatin , and the aforementioned same gelatins as the reagent layer are the most preferable . the dry thickness of the water - absorption layer is about 3 μm to about 100 μm , preferably about 5 μm to about 30 μm . the coating weight of the water - absorption layer itself is about 3 g / m 2 to about 100 g / m 2 , preferably about 5 g / m 2 to about 30g / m 2 . by incorporating a ph buffer , basic polymer or the like described later into the water absorption layer , ph upon use ( conducting analytical operations ) can be adjusted . moreover , a known mordant , polymer mordant , etc . maybe incorporated into the water absorption layer . the reagent composition can be incorporated into the reagent layer or any other one or more layers . for example , it can be incorporated into the reagent layer or the spreading layer . all of the reagent composition can be incorporated into one layer . in this case , components reacting with each other are incorporated separately , and the latter component is incorporated so that reaction does not proceed before measurement , such as by dispersing in alcohol and then applying the dispersion . the blood sample applicable to the invention may be any one of whole blood , plasma , serum or the like . ______________________________________ ( a ) enzyme solution tris buffer 75 mm ( ph 8 ) pepc ( ec 4 . 1 . 1 . 31 ) 3 u / ml mdh ( ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 37 ) 30 u / ml mg . sup . 2 + 19 . 8 mm ( b ) substrate solution tris buffer 75 mm ( ph 8 ) pep 6 . 75 mm thionadh 0 . 45 mm nadh 0 . 23 mm ( c ) hco . sub . 3 . sup .- solution 0 mm 10 mm 20 mm 40 mm______________________________________ at 37 ° c ., 20 μl of the hco 3 - solution was put in a cell , and 2 μl of the enzyme solution and 1 μl of the substrate solution were added to the cell , successively . the absorbance at 400 nm of each mixed solution was measured for 5 minutes , and a calibration curve was prepared using the absorbance after 5 minutes . the results are shown in fig1 . from the above results , it can be seen that the determination of bicarbonate ion is possible at a measuring wavelength of 400 nm . ______________________________________ ( d ) substrate solution______________________________________tris buffer 75 mm ( ph 8 ) pep 6 . 75 mm thionadh 0 . 45 mm______________________________________ using the substrate solution ( d ), bicarbonate ion was determined similar to example 1 . the calibration curve thus obtained is shown in fig2 . from the above results , it can be seen that the determination range is considerably narrowed unless nadh coexists . an aqueous solution was applied onto a clear pet base 180 μm in thickness so as to become the following coating amounts , followed by drying . ______________________________________thionadh 2 g / m . sup . 2 nadh 1 g / m . sup . 2 mdh ( ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 37 ) 4 , 000 u / m . sup . 2 tris buffer 4 . 85 g / m . sup . 2 polyoxyethylenenonylphenylether 0 . 25 g / m . sup . 2 gelatin 10 g / m . sup . 2______________________________________ an aqueous solution was applied onto the above coating layer so as to become the following coating amounts , followed by drying . ______________________________________pep 6 g / m . sup . 2 pepc ( ec 4 . 1 . 1 . 31 ) 4 , 500 u / m . sup . 2 mgcl . sub . 2 3 g / m . sup . 2 tris buffer 4 . 85 g / m . sup . 2 polyoxyethylenenonylphenylether 0 . 25 g / m . sup . 2 gelatin 10 g / m . sup . 2 titanium dioxide 3 . 65 g / m . sup . 2______________________________________ a polyester knitted fabric was laminated to the above coating layer , and an aqueous solution containing polyvinyl alcohol and surfactant was applied thereto in order to control the spreading of sample solution . the analytical element thus prepared was cut into pieces of about 1 . 3 × 1 . 4 cm , and set in a mount having an opening of 12 mm in diameter to complete analytical slides . each 10 μl of the hco 3 - solutions prepared in example 1 was spotted onto 4 pieces of the above analytical slides , and measurement was carried out similar to example 1 . then , similar results to example 1 were obtained . an aqueous solution was applied onto a clear pet base 180 μm in thickness so as to become the following coating amounts , followed by drying . ______________________________________thionadh 2 g / m . sup . 2 mdh ( ec 1 . 1 . 1 . 37 ) 4 , 0000 u / m . sup . 2 tris buffer 4 . 85 g / m . sup . 2 polyoxyethylenenonylphenylether 0 . 25 g / m . sup . 2 gelatin 10 g / m . sup . 2______________________________________ hereafter , conducting similar to example 2 , analytical slides were prepared , and measurements were carried out . then , similar results to comparative example 1 were obtained . ______________________________________hco . sub . 3 . sup .- 35 mm tricine 100 mm ( ph 8 ) one of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors ( a )-( g ) 2 mm carbonic anhydrase 230 , 000 u / l______________________________________ carbon anhydrase inhibitor ( a ) none ( b ) methanesulfonamide ( c ) 1 - chlorobenzene - 2 , 4 - disulfonamide ( d ) acetazolamide ( e ) benzenesulfonamide ( f ) 4 -( 2 - aminoethyl ) benzenesulfonamide ( g ) p - toluenesulfonamide hereafter , conducting similar to example 1 , the determination of bicarbonate ion was carried out . the results are shown in table 1 and fig3 . table 1______________________________________ measured value carbonic anhydrase deviationinhibitor added not added ( mm ) ______________________________________none 24 . 3 34 . 2 - 9 . 9 methanesulfonamide 28 . 0 33 . 8 - 5 . 8 1 - chlorobenzene - 2 , 4 - disulfonamide 37 . 8 38 . 5 - 0 . 7 acetazolamide 36 . 9 38 . 0 - 1 . 2 benzenesulfonamide 35 . 6 37 . 5 - 1 . 9 4 -( 2 - aminoethyl ) benzenesulfonamide 36 . 0 37 . 1 - 1 . 1 p - toluenesulfonamide 35 . 8 36 . 3 - 0 . 5______________________________________ from the above results , it can be seen that benzenesulfonamide and its derivatives can decrease the minus deviation caused by carbonic anhydrase effectively , and have a carbonic anhydrase inhibition ability comparable with or superior to acetazolamide . | 2 |
the description below relates to making a tank for liquefied gas under high pressure , and more particularly an lpg tank for a motor vehicle . the person skilled in the art will understand that the principles described are immediately applicable to other uses of tanks for gas or liquid under pressure , for example tanks containing toxic substances on industrial sites or tanks containing halon gases . fig1 and 2 show a tank 10 made up of a plurality of elementary tubes 20 connected in parallel to manifolds 30 . the tubes 20 are disposed parallel to one another in a plurality of superposed rows , i . e . in a “ bundle ” type of disposition . the tubes all have the same diameter and the same wall thickness . by way of example they are made of metal , such as steel , or of a composite material , such as epoxy resin reinforced with fibers of carbon or “ kevlar ” ( registered trademark ). the lengths of the tubes 20 and the numbers of the tubes in each of the rows are selected so as to occupy in optimum manner the volume available for housing the tank , e . g . beneath the structure of a vehicle . in fig1 and 2 , the limits on the available volume are represented by chain - dotted lines . as can be seen immediately , building up a tank in modular form using elementary tubes is particularly well suited to adapting the tank to a variety of shapes . at each of its two ends , each tube 20 is connected to a manifold 30 . in the example shown , each manifold 30 is in the form of a tube to which the elementary tubes 20 in a given row of tubes are all connected . additional manifolds 32 and 34 interconnect the manifolds 30 in parallel at each of the two ends of the tank . the manifolds 32 and 34 are connected to a duct 36 connecting the tank 10 to an outlet for use and to an inlet for filling ( not shown ). each end of an elementary tank 20 is connected to a manifold 30 by means of a coupling 22 which is screwed or welded to an end 22 a of the elementary tank 20 and which is screwed or welded at its opposite end to the manifold tube 30 . the coupling 22 penetrates a short distance into the manifold tube 30 at its opposite end 22 b , so that this end projects inside the tube ( fig3 , and 5 ). although an array of manifolds is described at each end of the elementary tubes , it is naturally possible to provide only one array of manifolds at one end of the tube , in which case the opposite ends are closed . in addition , instead of using manifolds 30 in the form of tubes themselves interconnected in parallel to manifold tubes 32 or 34 , each manifold assembly at each end of the tank could be constituted by a sinuous tube passing along all of the rows of tubes , or it could be constituted by a hollow end plate . in which case the end plate would be formed by two spaced - apart parallel walls interconnected in gastight manner around their periphery , with one of the walls being provided with holes into which the couplings of the elementary tubes penetrate . fig4 and 5 show a flexible membrane 40 constituting closure means for the elementary tubes 20 in the event of the pressure within any elementary tube dropping , e . g . because of a break or damage resulting from a collision or the impact of a projectile . in the example shown , the membrane 40 is in the form of a strip of flexible material extending along the entire length of the manifold 30 with its faces perpendicular to the axes of the elementary tubes 20 of the row associated with the manifold . as a result , the membrane 40 constitutes closure means that are shared by all of the tubes 20 in the row . at its ends , the membrane 40 is fixed to the closed ends of the manifold 30 , e . g . by adhesive or by mechanical means . by way of example the flexible membrane 40 is made of a composite material constituted by a fiber - reinforced elastomer . in normal operation , the membrane 40 is not deformed and allows free access to the tubes 20 that are connected to the manifold tube 30 ( fig4 ). equal pressures are maintained on both faces of the membrane since it does not split the manifold 30 into two longitudinal volumes that are isolated from each other in sealed manner . in the event of a sudden pressure drop in an elementary tube 20 ( fig5 ), the membrane 40 automatically deforms and closes the end 22 a of the coupling 22 corresponding to said tube . the same phenomenon occurs at both ends of the elementary tube if it is connected to a manifold assembly at each of its ends . as a result , the faulty portion of the tank is rapidly isolated from the remainder of the tank , which remainder can continue to be used , with any losses of fluid being very limited . the use of a flexible membrane is advantageous because of its low cost and its reliability , given that no moving parts are required . nevertheless , other embodiments of the closure means could be used , for example non - return valves associated with each end of each elementary tube , with the non - return valves then being optionally subjected to a small return force that keeps them open in the event of no pressure drop in the corresponding elementary tubes . as already mentioned , the use of elementary tubes , each of which can be quite small in diameter , typically less than 5 cm , or even less than 1 cm , makes it possible to withstand pressures that are very high while using walls that are not very thick . for example , tubes made of carbon / epoxy composite material having an outside diameter of 8 mm and a wall thickness of 1 mm can withstand an internal pressure of 100 mpa . a tank , even for a fluid under high pressure , can thus be substantially lighter than a single - body tank of the same capacity . in order to protect the elementary tubes against impact and against projectiles , it is desirable to provide the tank with a protective shield , at least over each exposed face . such a shield is shown in fig6 . in this example , it comprises a layer of foam material 42 , in particular polyurethane foam , surrounding the bundle of elementary tubes 20 and the manifold tubes . the layer 42 is coated by a rigid shell or structure 44 , e . g . made of a composite comprising an epoxy resin matrix reinforced with aramid fibers . the shell 44 can be formed by draping resin - impregnated fiber fabric over the foam 42 and then polymerizing the resin . in a variant , the impregnated fiber fabric can be draped over the inside face of a mold in which the tank is inserted for the purpose of forming the covering foam layer . the shield may also be constituted by a case of fibers , e . g . aramid fibers , and a thickness of honeycomb structure material taking the place of and performing the function of the foam material . the use of a protective shield is particularly desirable when the elementary tubes ( and the manifold tubes ) are made of a material other than metal , for example a composite material , since such materials often present lower impact resistance and provide less plasticity than metals . in the event of a collision or an impact , the rigid shell 44 distributes the pressure over the surface of the foam 42 . this distributes the pressure even more , such that no deformation is imparted to the rear face of the foam which is in contact with the elementary tubes of the tank . in the above , it is assumed that the tank 10 can be complex in shape while being implemented as a single set of elementary tubes 20 . when separate spaces are available for receiving the tank and none of them offers sufficient volume on its own , it is possible as shown in fig7 to make the tank 10 as a plurality of subassemblies 12 , 14 . each subassembly comprises a plurality of elementary tubes of lengths and dispositions which are selected as a function of the space available . the subassemblies 12 , 14 are interconnected by one or more pipes 38 . | 5 |
referring to the drawings and particularly fig1 a perspective drawing machine 5 is shown on a drafting table 7 . the perspective drawing machine 5 is shown riding on a wound way 3 , which is fastened tightly to a linear gear support block 20 by a lock screw 40 . riding on the linear gear is a follower gear 35 with a shaft 37 passing up through the bottom of a case 25 to an input gear 24 and on up to the top of the case 25 . this shaft is locked vertically to the case by standard means . the follower gear 35 and the input gear 24 are locked solidly to the shaft 37 . the left vanishing point potentiometer 81 is fastened to the case 25 with its shaft 69 passing up to and through a left vanishing point input gear 27 , through a clutch 21 riding on a threaded hub 33 then through a hole in the top of the case 25 and on up to a knob 71 . the left vanishing point input gear 27 is fastened loosely to the shaft 69 and the threaded hub 33 is fastened tightly to the shaft 69 . a clutch plate 23 is fastened rotatably to the threaded hub 33 by clutch plate retainers 39 , shown in fig1 , and is separated from the left vanishing point input gear by a wavespring washer 31 which rides in grooves in the left vanishing point input gear 27 and the clutch plate 23 whose purpose is to push these items apart when disengaging . the clutch plate 23 and the left vanishing point input gear 27 have a non slip surface 22 on their facing portions . a right vanishing point potentiometer 79 is fastened to the case 25 with its shaft 67 passing up to and through a right vanishing point input gear 29 , through a clutch 21 riding on a threaded hub 33 then through a hole in the top of the case 25 and on up to a knob 71 . the right vanishing point input gear 29 is fastened loosely to the shaft 67 and the threaded hub 33 is fastened tightly to the shaft 67 . a clutch plate 23 is fastened rotatably to the threaded hub 33 by clutch plate retainers 39 , shown in fig1 , and is separated from the right vanishing point input gear 29 by a wavespring washer 31 , which rides in grooves in the right vanishing point input gear 29 and the clutch plate 23 , whose purpose is to push these items apart when disengageing . the clutch plate 23 and the right vanishing point input gear 29 have a non slip surface 22 on their facing portions . an output potentiometer 83 is fastened to the case 25 with the input shaft 73 passing up through the drafting rule coupler 11 which is tightly connected to the shaft 73 . note : with the drafting rule on the zero degree mark the output potentiometer 83 is rotated with respect to the drafting rule coupler until the fixed center tap and the variable center tap are exactly zero ohms apart . the output shaft 73 then continues up through the threaded hub 33 , which is loosely connected to the output shaft 73 , and solidly connected to the case 25 , on up through the case to the drafting rule knob 77 which is connected tightly to the input shaft 73 . riding on the threaded hub 33 is a clutch 21 . a clutch plate 23 is fastened rotatably to the threaded hub 33 by clutch plate retainers 39 , shown in fig1 and is separated from the drafting rule coupler 11 by a wavespring washer 31 , which rides in grooves in the drafting rule coupler 11 and the clutch plate 23 , whose purpose is to push these items apart when disengaging . on top of the case 25 is shown a counter weight 48 which would balance the perspective drawing machine 5 on the round way 3 . the wheel holders 34 hold the rule lifting wheel 46 . fastened to the drafting rule coupler 11 is a drafting rule 9 with a quick disconnect connection . fig2 is a view looking down on the perspective drawing machine 5 showing the main parts . the left vanishing potentiometer 81 is shown in relation to the left vanishing point input gear 27 coupled to the input gear 24 which is coupled to the right vanishing point input gear 29 . on top of the input gears 27 and 29 are shown the clutches 21 and the spanner wrench holes 32 . the round way 3 is shown and the ball bushing pillow blocks 57 on either side of the case and a locking mechanism 44 next to each ball bushing pillow block . the right vanishing point potentiometer 79 is also shown . on the rule side the drafting rule 9 is shown . the dotted lines means it could be used on either side of the drafting rule coupler 11 to draw either on the top or bottom of the drafting rule 9 . on top the drafting rule knob 77 is shown with a protractor 42 and a degree pointer 36 . referring to fig3 a way support block 17 is shown with a round way 3 rotatably connected to the way support block and a linear gear support block 20 connected solidly to the round way 3 by the lock screw 40 . the linear gear 1 is attached to this linear gear support block 20 and to another linear gear support block 20 at the opposite end of the round way 3 . referring to fig4 a method of locking the clutches 21 on the left and right vanishing point gears 27 and 29 is shown . a spanner wrench 85 is shown which when dropped through the holes in the top of the case , would mate with the holes 32 as shown in the clutch 21 . referring to fig5 to allow the entire round way 3 to rotate when lifting the drafting rule 9 off the drawing to change the position of the drafting rule 9 the round way 3 has a groove in it the length of the round way 3 and a rotation lock 38 is installed in the ball bushing pillow block 57 which allows horizontal motion but causes the round way 3 to turn circularly with the movement of the perspective drawing machine 5 . referring to fig8 an electrical representation of this simple system is shown . r2 79 , and r1 81 change position when ever the perspective drawing machine 5 is moved on the round way 3 . when beginning a drawing the fixed center tap and the movable center tap are set together with the drafting rule 9 on the eye level position . the clutch 21 is then tightened and from then on a movement of the perspective drafting machine 5 on the round way 3 causes a movement of the movable center tap . r2 79 , and r1 81 are multi - turn potentiometers so that a step down ratio of the input gear 24 to the left and right vanishing point gears 27 and 29 so that it takes ± 10 turns of the input gear to produce ± 5 turns of the left and right vanishing point potentiometers 81 and 79 . r3 83 is a single turn potentiometer . note : with the drafting rule 9 on the eye level position rotate r3 83 , until the fixed center tap and the variable center tap are together . then lock r3 83 to the case 25 . the center taps of these three potentiometers 79 , 81 and 83 go to one pole of a three pole rotary switch s7 , 99 and the center rotary pole of s7 , 99 goes to an output jack 98 where an external volt meter 107 can be plugged in too read the voltages . an external calculator 38 is shown in fig9 to do the needed computations . fig9 is a representative drawing of an electronic calculator that would be used to calculate the correct voltage to be read on the output potentiometer , which will point the drafting rule 9 to the correct vanishing point . refering to fig1 the left vanishing point potentiometer 81 is fastened to the case 25 with its shaft 69 passing up through the case 25 to the left vanishing point input gear 27 through a wavespring washer 31 up through a clutch plate 23 , through a threaded hub 33 which has a clutch 21 riding on its threads , up through the top of the case 25 to a knob 71 . the clutch plate 23 is held rotatably to the threaded hub 33 by clutch plate retainers 39 . the threaded hub 33 is connected solidly to the shaft 69 with a set screw . a non slip surface 22 is on the facing portion of the clutch plate 23 and the left vanishing point input gear 27 and the wavespring washer 31 is used to push the clutch plate 23 and the left vanishing point input gear 27 apart when disengaged . refering to fig1 the right vanishing point potentiometer 79 is fastened to the case 25 with its shaft 67 passing up through the case 25 to the right vanishing point input gear 29 , through a wavespring washer 31 , up through a clutch plate 23 , through a threaded hub 33 , which has a clutch 21 riding on its threads , up through the top of the case 25 to a knob 71 . the clutch plate 23 is held rotatably to the threaded hub 33 by clutch plate retainers 39 . the threaded hub 33 is connected solidly to the shaft 67 with a set screw . a non slip surface 22 is on the facing portions of the clutch plate 23 and the right vanishing point input gear 29 and the wavespring washer 31 is used to push the clutch plate 23 and the right vanishing point input gear 29 apart when disengaged . refering to fig1 the output potentiometer 83 is fastened to the case 5 with its shaft 73 passing up through the case 25 to the drafting rule coupler 11 which is fastened tightly to the case , 25 , through the wavespring washer 31 , up through a clutch plate 23 , through a threaded hub 33 which has a clutch 21 riding on its threads , up through the top of the case 25 to a control knob , 77 . the clutch plate 23 is held rotatably to the threaded hub 33 by clutch plate retainers 39 . the threaded hub 33 is fastened tightly to the case 25 by two screws screwed into threaded holes in the top of the threaded hub 33 . a nonslip surface 22 is on the facing portions of the clutch plate 23 and the drafting rule coupler 11 and the wavespring washer 31 is used to push the clutch plate 23 and the drafting rule coupler 11 apart when disengaged . | 1 |
referring to fig1 and 2 , there is shown a fuse holder 24 including a housing 26 and a fuse carrier 28 . housing 26 includes a base 54 and a cover 56 that are adapted to retain a single pole cage holder 50 ( fig1 ) or a two - pole cage holder 52 ( fig2 ). in fig1 housing 26 retains a cage holder 50 that has a single terminal 25 for accepting a wire ( not shown ) from a phase of a power distribution circuit ( not shown ). fig2 depicts housing 26 retaining a cage holder 52 having a phase terminal 25 and a neutral terminal 27 . terminal 25 accepts a wire ( not shown ) from a phase of a power distribution circuit ( not shown ) and the terminal 27 accepts a neutral wire from the power distribution circuit . base 54 and cover 56 of housing 26 define an enclosed region 29 therebetween and an opening 30 to region 29 in a side extension 32 of housing 26 . fuse carrier 28 is pivotally mounted on housing 26 and is movable between a closed position ( shown in fig1 and 2 ), and an open position ( fig9 ), in which a fuse can be inserted into carrier 28 . fuse carrier 28 includes a lever 34 for pivotally opening and closing carrier 28 relative to housing 26 . a circuit indicator tag 36 is optionally disposed on lever 34 to identify the fuse rating of a fuse enclosed within housing 26 . on a top surface 40 of housing 26 are two apertures 42 , 44 which allow a portion of cage holder 50 , or 52 to extend therethrough . housing 26 also includes a first opening 46 and a second opening 48 disposed at opposite ends of fuse holder 24 and extending in planes generally perpendicularly oriented relative to top surface 40 . a portion of cage holder 50 or 52 extends through first and second openings 46 and 48 . referring to fig3 fuse holder 24 is shown absent cover 56 . within enclosed region 29 of housing 26 are a pair of u - shaped contacts 64 , 66 at opposite ends of the enclosed region 29 and spaced to engage end cap terminals 72 , 74 on the ends of a fuse 80 when fuse 80 is moved within enclosed region 29 . fuse carrier 28 is pivotally mounted on housing 26 via a pin ( not shown ) extending through an aperture 82 formed in fuse carrier 28 . fuse carrier 28 is movable between a closed position ( shown in fig3 ), in which contacts 64 , 66 electrically engage end cap terminals 72 , 74 . contacts 64 , 66 are connected to terminals 68 , 70 , respectively . terminals 68 , 70 are in turn received within cage holders 50 and are in electrical communication with electrical wires 71 , which are also received within cage holders 50 . referring to fig4 fuse carrier 28 defines fuse insertion region 88 . fuse carrier 28 further includes an aperture 90 configured to slidably receive end cap terminal 74 when fuse 80 is inserted in fuse insertion region 88 . fuse carrier 28 has shoulders 92 , 94 at the lower end of region 88 to prevent further translation of fuse 80 through aperture 90 . the outside diameter of end cap terminal 74 rests against shoulders 92 , 94 . as is best shown with reference to fig3 and 4 , end cap terminal 72 fits within the other end of fuse insertion region 88 to allow fuse carrier 28 to pivot to a closed position without having end cap terminal 72 contacting side extension 32 that forms opening 30 ( fig3 ). opening 30 to housing 26 is sized to permit closure of carrier 28 with fuse 80 carried therein . referring to fig5 fuse holder 24 shown in fig3 includes an alternative fuse carrier 28 for holding a shorter fuse 80 . shoulder 94 is disposed on fuse carrier 28 such that when fuse carrier 28 is in the closed position , terminal 64 is aligned with end cap terminal 72 of fuse 80 . since fuse 80 is shorter in fig5 than in fig3 terminal 66 of fig3 is not long enough to electrically connect to end cap terminal 74 of shorter fuse 80 . an alternative contact 166 is used to make an electrical connection with end cap terminal 74 . contact 166 is generally c - shaped , and electrical contact is made between an outside surface 168 defining the c shape , end cap terminal 74 , and terminal 70 . shoulder 94 prevents further translation of fuse 80 to the left . an end stop 93 disposed in a recess 97 formed in base 54 to receive end stop 93 prevents a bias of contact 166 from translating fuse 80 to the right as shown in fig5 . end stop 93 also guides fuse 80 into electrical communication with contacts 64 , 66 , 166 by positioning fuse 80 intermediate contacts 64 , 66 , 166 as fuse carrier 28 and fuse 80 are pivotally moved into enclosed region 29 . referring to fig6 an exploded view of fuse holder 24 with two pole cage holders 52 is illustrated . cover 56 and base 54 are separated to reveal the interaction of fuse carrier 28 with cage holder 52 . cover 56 and base 54 are configured to form a first cavity 96 and a second cavity 98 . cavities 96 , 98 are disposed at opposite ends of region 29 , and each cavity 96 , 98 is configured to receive either cage holder 50 or cage holder 52 . in this manner , the same cover 56 and base 54 can be used for different cage holders 50 , 52 . two inside edges 97 depending from housing 26 and disposed in region 29 define cavities 96 , 98 . each edge 97 has slots 99 formed therein to receive terminals 68 , 70 and allow electrical communication between single pole terminal 25 and neutral connection terminal 27 within cage holder 52 disposed at either end of fuse holder 24 . referring to fig7 cage holder 50 for use with a single pole without a neutral connection is illustrated . cage holder 50 comprises a first half section 100 and a complementary second half section 102 . both sections 100 , 102 are configured to receivably retain a cage 104 within an interior portion 106 of cage holder 50 . cage 104 is stamped from an electrically conductive material , such as copper , aluminum , or the like . cage 104 includes a flange 108 extending generally perpendicular from a bottom side 110 of cage 104 . flange 108 prevents rotation of cage 104 when cage 104 is disposed within interior portion 106 of cage holder 50 . more specifically , flange 108 extends through a forward facing slot 111 formed in a bottom surface 113 of cage holder 50 . in this way , bottom side 110 of cage 104 rests on bottom surface 113 of cage holder 50 . cage 104 further includes a threaded opening 112 at a top side 114 for threadably receiving a screw 116 . an electrical wire ( i . e ., wire 71 in fig3 ) is received in an enclosed area 118 defined by cage 104 and retained therein when screw 116 is tightened against terminals 68 , 70 extending in cage 104 to retain wire 71 by clamping wire 71 between terminal 68 , 70 and bottom side 110 of cage 104 . referring to fig6 and 7 , cage holder 50 includes a top surface 120 configured to fit within edges 121 defining apertures 42 , 44 . top surface 120 includes an opening for access to screw 116 for operatively turning screw 116 with a tool , such as a screwdriver . cage holder 50 further comprises a front face 122 configured to fill openings 46 , 48 , while providing a generally flush surface mount between housing 26 and front face 122 . front face 122 includes a cutout 124 aligned with enclosed area 118 of cage 104 to allow connection of wire 71 with cage 104 . referring to fig8 cage holder 52 for use with a single pole including a neutral connection is illustrated . cage holder 52 has a front face 130 , a rear face 132 and a dividing face 134 disposed intermediate faces 130 , 132 and generally extending perpendicularly therebetween . dividing face 134 and front and rear faces 130 , 132 define a first cavity 136 and a second cavity 138 within cage holder 52 . one cage 104 is received in cavity 136 for a neutral connection by disposing cage 104 in between front face 130 and rear face 132 from a first side 140 of cage holder 52 . a slot 141 is disposed on rear face 132 and aligned with one cage 104 to provide access for a neutral strap terminal ( not shown ) to one cage 104 . another cage 104 is received between front face 130 and rear face 132 from a second side 142 of cage holder 52 . another slot 141 ( shown in phantom ) is disposed on rear face 132 and aligned with cage 104 in cavity 138 to provide access for terminals 68 , 70 . front face 130 includes a cutout 144 aligned with one cage 104 received in first cavity 136 and a cutout 146 aligned with another cage 104 received in second cavity 138 . referring to fig6 and 8 , cage holder 52 further comprises a top surface 148 configured to fit within edges 121 defining apertures 42 , 44 formed in housing 26 . top surface 148 is configured to divide each aperture 42 , 44 to provide two openings in each aperture 42 , 44 coinciding with cavities 136 , 138 to allow access to screw 116 of each cage 104 disposed in each cavity 136 , 138 . likewise , front face 130 is defined by a front face edge 149 configured to fit within edges 123 defining openings 46 , 48 . front face edge 149 offers a generally flush surface mount between housing 26 and front face 130 . referring to fig6 and 9 , a description of fuse holder 24 having neutral connection terminal 27 follows . neutral connection terminal 27 includes a pair of neutral straps 150 disposed between two pairs of raised ribs 152 configured in base 54 . an angled block 154 is disposed intermediate straps 150 separating one pair of raised ribs 152 from the other pair of ribs 152 . block 154 is biased towards opening 30 by a spring 156 and is guided by ribs 152 . one end of spring 156 depends from base 54 while another end of spring 156 depends from a bottom surface of block 154 . block 154 includes a conducting plate 158 positioned to provide electrical connection between neutral straps 150 when block 154 is moved towards opening 30 . each neutral strap 150 includes a protrusion 160 pointing downward towards conducting plate 158 to make the electrical connection between neutral straps 150 and plate 158 . [ 0031 ] fig9 illustrates fuse holder 24 with block 154 in the open position , thus breaking the electrical connection between neutral straps 150 . when fuse carrier 28 is pivoted about aperture 82 in a counterclockwise direction , an arm 161 depending from fuse carrier 28 contacts an angled surfacer 62 of angled block 154 . further counterclockwise pivoting of fuse carrier 28 forces the block 154 downward , thereby breaking the electrical connection between a top surface of plate 158 and protrusions 160 . when fuse carrier 28 is fully opened as shown in fig9 arm 161 contacts a top surface 164 of bock 154 biasing block 154 downward against the bias of spring 156 . it will be appreciated that arm 161 is configured to break the neutral circuit before the circuit carrying fuse 80 is broken when opening fuse carrier 28 from a closed position . to close fuse carrier 28 with fuse 80 inserted therein , fuse carrier 28 is pivoted clockwise about a pin ( not shown ) inserted in aperture 82 . when fuse carrier 28 is pivoted in a clockwise direction , arm 161 is tapered to allow block 154 to move upward under action of spring 156 as arm 161 is pivoted away to the left limiting contact with block 154 . further clockwise pivoting of fuse carrier 28 allows block 154 to translate upward , thereby making the electrical connection between top surface of plate 158 and protrusions 160 . when fuse carrier 28 is fully closed as shown in fig6 arm 161 no longer contacts top surface 164 of bock 154 biasing block 154 downward against the bias of spring 156 and fuse 80 is electrically connected with contacts 64 , 66 . turning to fig1 , a table 200 illustrates six different fuse carrier types 204 that can be inserted within housing 26 . a first column 202 lists a carrier type 204 ( i . e ., one through six ). a second column 206 adjacent to first column 202 lists a fuse type 208 that is utilized in a carrier type 204 . for example , if “ carrier type 2 ” is selected from first column 202 , a corresponding fuse type 208 in column 206 indicates that a nfc 210 and a bs 212 type fuse may be utilized in carrier type 2 . “ nfc ” is a french standard for fuses and “ bs ” is a british standard for fuses . table 200 shows a total of seven different fuse types 208 for use with six different fuse carriers 28 . each different fuse carrier 28 can be installed in an identical housing 26 . a third column 214 lists the ampere ratings for fuses 80 that correspond with a selected fuse carrier type 204 , and vice versa . columns 216 , 218 , and 220 list fuse 80 dimensions corresponding to fuse length , fuse diameter , and fuse end cap terminal length , respectively , for a particular fuse 80 that can be utilized with a selected fuse carrier type 202 . table 200 is provided as an example and is not to be construed as exhaustive , as it will be appreciated that other fuse carriers are optionally configured to accept differently dimensioned fuses for use with the same housing 26 . referring to fig1 - 16 , a fuse carrier 28 representing each of the fuse carrier types 204 ( i . e ., 1 - 6 ) listed in table 200 are illustrated having fuse 80 of the corresponding fuse type 208 inserted therein . each fuse carrier 28 in fig1 - 16 is configured to receive a corresponding fuse 80 and position fuse 80 in electrical communication with contacts 64 and 66 ( fig3 ) or 166 ( fig5 ) when fuse carrier 28 is inserted in housing 26 ( fig3 and 5 ) and is pivoted about a pin disposed in aperture 82 to a closed position . each fuse carrier 28 is configured to receive a particular fuse having specific dimensions . however , each fuse carrier 28 in fig1 - 16 is configured such that each carrier 28 may be inserted in a housing that is configured to be utilized with any one fuse carrier 28 in fig1 - 16 . since housing 26 has a single configuration adapted to accept each fuse carrier 28 in fig1 - 16 , a separate base 54 and cover 56 are not necessary for each fuse type 208 having different dimensions utilized in fuse holder 24 . the fuse holder 24 provides the flexibility of achieving a fuse holder for different fuses having different dimensions utilizing the same base and cover , while only changing the fuse carriers that support the different fuses . by using the same base and cover for housing different fuse carriers supporting variably dimensioned fuses , costs associated with tooling and inventory are reduced . it will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to single pole fuse holders and may be utilized with multiple pole fuse holders . referring to fig1 , a schematic diagram illustrates a fuse system for fuse protection to a distribution circuit in an electrical enclosure 300 . electrical enclosure 300 optionally includes a panel board . electrical enclosure 300 receives electrical power from electrical wire 71 that is electrically connected to terminal 25 within cage holder 50 ( shown in phantom lines ) at one end of each fuse holder 24 attached to enclosure 300 . another terminal 25 at an opposite end of each fuse holder 24 is connected to wire 71 that provides a path for electrical current to a protected circuit ( not shown ). the lower mounted fuse holder 24 shown in fig1 includes a neutral line 302 received in neutral terminal 27 within cage holder 52 ( shown in phantom ) at one end of fuse holder 24 . neutral line 302 exits fuse holder 24 from another neutral terminal 27 disposed in cage holder 52 at an opposite end of fuse holder 24 and provides a neutral line connection for a protected circuit ( not shown ). while the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary 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 . | 7 |
a conventional cpich based chip - level nlms equalizer directly applies time domain techniques from narrow band systems ( e . g ., gsm ) that , while often better than a rake receiver for low data rates , are less effective in high data rate cdma systems since , by design , cdma signals have low signal to noise ratio ( snr ) characteristics at the chip level . fig4 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a disclosed example digital baseband receiver 400 . in a cdma system , the input chip level signal 326 is comprised of signals associated with a number of downlink channels ( interferers ), multipaths , and additive channel noise . taking advantage of the interference suppression capabilities of cdma spreading sequences , the illustrated example includes a multipath pilot signal generator 401 to generate an equalizer training signal 430 ( from the input chip level signal 326 ) substantially representative of cpich symbols that have been spread and then received through multiple transmission paths ( i . e ., a multipath pilot signal ). interferers ( e . g ., other control and data channels ) and additive channel noise present in the training signal 430 are substantially reduced compared to the input chip level signal 326 . thus , the training signal 430 has a substantially improved snr compared to the input chip level signal 326 such that , an equalizer whose coefficients are adapted using the training signal 430 performs substantially better than a conventional prior - art cpich based nlms equalizer . the equalizer training signal 430 is generated by the multipath pilot signal generator 401 by ( a ) determining channel estimates 412 from the input chip level signal 326 , ( b ) re - spreading the channel estimates 412 to form spread channel estimates 422 , and ( c ) combining the spread channel estimates 422 using a summer 425 . to determine the channel estimates 412 , the multipath pilot signal generator 401 includes a channel estimator 405 which despreads ( using a pn code sequence 408 generated by a pn generator 410 ), accumulates , and filters the input chip level signal 326 to extract received pilot channel symbols ( for each multipath ). as will be discussed below in conjunction with fig6 , the despreading process implemented in the channel estimator 405 accounts for the timings of each multipath . further , long enough accumulations are used to properly balance multipath interference against channel tracking performance . the pn generator 410 forms the pn code sequence 408 as an exclusive - or of the cpich specific code sequence and the cell specific pn code sequence . for umts the cpich specific code sequence is the all zeros sequence ( for the primary cpich ), and , thus , can be ignored and the exclusive - or can be eliminated . to spread the channel estimates 412 , the multipath pilot signal generator 401 provides a pilot regenerator 415 to multiply ( using correct timings for each multipath ) each of the channel estimates 412 by a delayed pn code sequence 417 . the receiver 400 provides a delay 420 to delay the pn code sequence 408 by an amount corresponding to filtering delays in the channel estimator 405 to create the delayed pn code sequence 417 . the multipath pilot signal generator 401 further provides a summer 425 to add together each of the re - spread channel estimates 422 to form the equalizer training signal 430 . to determine equalizer coefficients ( to restore orthogonality of received signals ), the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 includes an equalizer trainer 435 . the equalizer trainer 435 applies a filter ( whose coefficients are substantially equivalent to coefficients 455 of an equalizer 445 ) to the training signal 430 ( i . e ., the multipath pilot signal ) to form an equalized multipath pilot signal . the equalizer trainer 435 adapts the coefficients of the filter to minimize an error between the equalized multipath pilot signal and a locally generated pilot training signal 437 . the locally generated pilot signal 437 is formed by multiplying cpich symbols 436 by a further delayed pn code sequence 442 . the further delayed pn code sequence 442 is formed by further delaying the delayed pn code sequence 417 , using a delay 440 , where the amount of delay implemented by the delay 440 corresponds to the centering delay of the multipath channels . since the duration of each cpich symbol 436 is multiple ( e . g ., 256 ) chips , the multiplication of cpich symbols 436 and the further delayed pn code sequence 442 multiplies each cpich symbol 436 by n chips of the further delayed pn code sequence 442 , where n is the duration of each cpich symbol 436 . for umts the cpich symbols 436 are all identical , however , because the cpich symbol is complex - valued the multiplication can not be eliminated . under the assumptions that cpich symbols 436 are identical , the training signal 430 substantially comprises a summation of the channel estimate 412 for each multipath spread by the pn code sequence 408 ; and scaled and rotated by the cpich symbol 436 . further , the locally generated pilot signal 437 comprises the pn code sequence 408 scaled and rotated by the cpich symbol 436 . as constructed , the training signal 430 and the locally generated pilot signal 437 substantially only differ in whether or not they include the channel estimates 412 . thus , the equalizer trainer 435 properly adapts coefficients to equalize the multipath channel responses . if , the cpich symbols 436 are not identical , then the training signal 430 substantially comprises a summation of cpich symbols 436 convolved with the channel estimate 412 for each multipath further spread by the pn code sequence 408 . because the locally generated pilot signal 437 includes the multiplication with cpich symbols 436 , the equalizer trainer 435 will properly adapt coefficients to equalize the multipath channel responses . in the illustrated example , the filter of the equalizer trainer 435 is a finite impulse response ( fir ) filter . further , the adaptation of the coefficients uses nlms . filters ( e . g ., fir ) and filter coefficient adaptation ( e . g ., nlms ) are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art , and , in the interest of brevity , are not discussed further . persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the filter could be implemented using some other suitable filter structure or filtering arrangement ; and / or other forms of coefficient adaptation ( e . g ., least mean squares ( lms ), recursive least squares ( rls ), etc .) could be implemented . to receive the user data present in the input chip level signal 326 , the digital baseband receiver 400 further comprises a delay 450 and a despreader 460 . the delay 450 delays the input chip level signal 326 by an amount corresponding to any filtering delays present in the channel estimator 405 creating a delayed input chip level signal 452 . to equalize the delayed input chip level signal 452 the equalizer 445 applies a filter to the delayed input chip level signal 452 creating an equalized received signal 454 . in the illustrated example , the filter of the equalizer 445 is an fir filter . however , persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the filter could utilize other suitable filter structures or filtering arrangements . in the illustrated example the structure of the filter of the equalizer trainer 435 is the same as the structure of the filter of the equalizer 445 ; and the coefficients 455 of the filter of the equalizer 445 are substantially equal to the coefficients of the filter of the equalizer trainer 435 . however , it should be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the two filters could utilize different filter structures and filter coefficients as long as they realize substantially equivalent transfer functions . to despread the equalized received data signal 454 , the despreader 460 multiplies the equalized received signal 454 with a second pn code sequence that is an exclusive - or of the cell specific pn code sequence and a data channel specific code sequence . finally , further receive processing ( not shown ) of the output 462 of the despreader 460 is performed . for example , in the case of hsdpa channels , the output 462 of the despreader 460 is processed to extract symbols corresponding to the hsdpa channels and is followed by the calculation of log likelihood ratios that characterize the reliability of those symbols . typically , hybrid - arq combining and turbo decoding are performed next to recover transmitted information bits corresponding to user data . in the illustrated example just discussed , a precise multipath profile ( e . g ., multipath timings , signal strengths , etc .) is utilized . alternatively , to despread the input chip level signal 326 several contiguous chip spaced paths ( regardless of whether any signal energy exists on some of them or not ) may be used . fig5 shows a graph 500 showing exemplary data throughput improvements in kbps resulting from the illustrated example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 . fig5 illustrates the performance , for a variety of channel signal to noise conditions ( represented by ior / ioc as recorded in decibels ( db )), of ( a ) the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 using line 505 , ( b ) a conventional rake receiver using line 510 , and ( c ) a cpich based nlms receiver using line 515 , where ior is the total received signal power from the serving wireless base station and ioc is the total inteference power from all other ( i . e ., non - serving ) wireless base stations . the ratio ior / ioc reflects the geometry of the signal and roughly equates to the snr of the signal . for a low ior / ioc ratio , the snr of training signals is often better than the snr of data carrying signals . this causes a condition where equalizer coefficients adapted during training may be sub - optimal for data reception . thus , for low ior / ioc ratio conditions a rake receiver may perform better than either the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 or a cpich based nlms receiver . however , a simple adaptation loop that makes the adaptation step - size dependent on the snr could be used . for example , at low snr with the cpich based nlms or the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 , a smaller adaptation step - size ( compared to high snr ) could be used , thus , providing better noise suppression and improved performance at the expense of adaptation speed . an example multi - mode solution , as discussed below in connection with fig1 , allows the use of either a rake receiver or the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 , thus , achieving the best performance regardless of snr . fig6 is an illustration of a disclosed example manner of implementing the channel estimator 405 of fig4 . to despread the input chip level signal 326 and to eliminate interference from non - pilot channels ( e . g ., other , undesired , downlink channels ) into each multipath and to suppress interference from other multipaths , the channel estimator 405 provides a plurality of despreaders 605 , 606 , and 607 . a despreader 605 , 606 , and 607 is provided for each of one or more multipaths present in the input chip level signal 326 . the despreaders 605 , 606 , and 607 despread the input chip level signal 326 by multiplication of the input chip level signal 326 with a delayed pn code sequence specific to each multipath . to form the delayed cell specific pn code sequences for each multipath , the channel estimator 405 further provides a plurality of delay elements 610 , 611 , and 612 . the delay elements 610 , 611 , and 612 delay the pn code sequence 408 by an amount substantially corresponding to the multipath timing for each multipath . the detection of multipaths and the adaptation of their timings are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art , and , thus , will not be discussed further . to extract received symbols , the example channel estimator 405 of fig6 includes a plurality of chip accumulators 615 , 616 , and 617 . the chip accumulators 615 , 616 , and 617 perform an accumulation over a number ( e . g ., 256 ) of chips to extract despread pilot channel symbols 650 ( i . e ., received symbols ). the despread pilot channel symbols 650 for each multipath will substantially comprise transmitted cpich symbols 436 convolved with a channel response for the multipath . if the transmitted cpich symbols are identical , the despread pilot channel symbols 650 substantially comprise channel responses of each multipath scale and rotated by the cpich symbol 436 . in the illustrated example , the summation is performed over 256 chips . when the wireless base station 110 is using two - antenna transmit diversity in umts , then first cpich symbols transmitted by a first transmit antenna are orthogonal to second cpich symbols transmitted by a second antenna only when descrambled and summed over 512 chips . if transmit diversity is used , then in the illustrated example after despreading and summing over 256 chips accumulation of the despread pilot symbol signals 650 over two symbols is performed . thus , effectively implementing despreading over 512 chips . if transmit diversity is not used by the wireless base station , then accumulation over 2 symbols need not be performed . to implement the accumulation over 2 symbols , the channel estimator 405 comprises a plurality of symbol summers 620 , 621 , and 622 . in the illustrated example , the symbol summers 620 , 621 , and 622 only operate when transmit diversity is used by the wireless base station 110 . alternatively , for simplicity in the architecture , the symbol summers 620 , 621 , and 622 are active regardless of whether or not the wireless base station is using transmit diversity . it should be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that the number of chips accumulated by the chip accumulators 615 , 616 , and 617 and the number of symbols summed by the symbols summers 620 , 621 , and 622 can be modified from the illustrated example as long as the chosen values ensure orthogonality of the first and second cpich symbols transmitted by the two transmit antennas . to obtain reliable channel estimates 412 for each multipath the channel estimator 405 further comprises a plurality of filters 625 , 626 , and 627 . in the illustrated example , the plurality of filters 625 , 626 , and 627 are implemented as infinite impulse response ( iir ) filters and provide a low - pass filtering ( lpf ) transfer function . the lpf transfer function serves to reduce out - of - band noise and to help smooth the channel estimates . it should be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that the filters 625 , 626 , and 627 could utilize fir filters or other suitable filter structures or filtering arrangements . fig7 is an illustration of a disclosed example manner of implementing the pilot regenerator 415 of fig4 . so that the multipath pilot signal 430 can be generated ( by the summer 425 ), the pilot regenerator 415 comprises a plurality of spreaders 705 , 706 , and 707 . a spreader 705 , 706 , and 707 is provided for each of one or more multipaths present in the input chip level signal 326 . the spreaders 705 , 706 , and 707 spread each of the channel estimates 412 ( as provided by the channel estimator 405 ) by multiplication of each channel estimate 412 with a delayed pn code sequence specific to each multipath . to form the delayed pn code sequences , the pilot regenerator 415 further provides a plurality of delay elements 710 , 711 and 712 . the delay elements 710 , 711 and 712 further delay the delayed pn code sequence 417 by an amount substantially corresponding to the multipath timing for each multipath . fig8 is an illustration of a disclosed example manner of implementing the equalizer trainer 435 of fig4 . to create a signal 802 which substantially matches the locally generated pilot signal 437 , the equalizer trainer 435 provides a filter 805 . to form an error signal 815 useful for adapting coefficients of the filter 805 , the equalizer trainer 435 further provides a summer 810 . the summer 810 computes the error signal 815 as a difference between ( a ) the locally generated pilot signal 437 and ( b ) the output 802 of the filter 805 . further , the filter 805 is an fir filter and adaptation of the coefficients of the filter 805 uses nlms . however , persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the filter 805 could utilize other suitable filter structures or filtering arrangements ; and / or other forms of coefficient adaptation ( e . g ., lms , rls , etc .) could be implemented . in the illustrated example the structure of the filter 805 is the same as the structure of the filter of the equalizer 445 ; and the coefficients of the filter of the equalizer 445 are substantially equal to the coefficients of the filter 805 . however , it should be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the two filters could utilize different filter structures and filter coefficients as long as they realize substantially equivalent transfer functions . persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that any known downlink channel ( i . e ., a channel for which the wireless receiver 315 knows a priori the transmitted symbols ) could be used instead of the cpich . further , if two or more known downlink channels ( possibly including the cpich ) were available , training signal 430 and signal 437 could be generated to represent the known data from the known downlink channels . for example , if two known downlink channels using different channel pn code sequences are used , the channel estimator 405 is expanded to include a second set of despreaders , accumulators , symbol summers , and filters . the first set would generate first channel estimates for the first known channel using a first pn code sequence ; the second set would generate second channel estimates for the second known channel using a second pn code sequence . likewise , the pilot regenerator 415 is expanded to include a second set of spreaders . the first set would spread the first channel estimates ; the second set would spread the second channel estimates . the summer 425 would sum together all the outputs of the first and second sets of spreaders . finally , the signal 437 is generated by summing together a first output of a first multiplier multiplying the delayed first pn code sequence with symbols associated with the first known channel and a second output of a second multiplier multiplying the delayed second pn code sequence with symbols associated with the second known channel . it will be further appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art , that alternative or multiple known downlink channels can be also be readily utilized with transmit and receive diversity . fig9 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a disclosed example digital baseband receiver 900 communicating with the wireless base station 110 implementing space time transmit diversity ( sttd ). to receive signals from a second transmit antenna ( not shown ) at the wireless base station 110 , the example digital baseband receiver 900 provides a second pilot regenerator 915 generating a second plurality of spread channel estimates 922 , a second summer 925 providing a second equalizer training signal 930 , a second equalizer trainer 935 adapting a second set of equalizer coefficients 955 , a second equalizer 945 applying a filter ( whose coefficients are substantially equivalent to the second set of equalizer coefficients 955 ) to the delayed input chip level signal 452 , and a second despreader 960 despreading an output 954 of the second equalizer 945 . the signals received , processed and generated by these additional blocks are associated with signals and symbols transmitted by the second transmit antenna . the implementations of , and relationships between , the second pilot regenerator 915 , the second summer 925 , the second equalizer trainer 935 , the second equalizer 945 , and the second despreader 960 are as discussed above in relation to fig4 , and 6 - 8 . in the wireless base station , second symbols to be transmitted by the second antenna are formed by multiplying a tx antenna 2 symbol pattern 982 by first symbols to be transmitted by the first antenna . for example , if cpich symbols 436 ( i . e ., first symbols ) for the first transmit antenna are identical , then cpich symbols 981 ( i . e ., second symbols ) transmitted by the second transmit antenna are the tx antenna 2 symbol pattern 982 scaled and rotated by the cpich symbol 436 . to extract the portion of the input chip level signal 326 associated with the second transmit antenna and to generate channel estimates 912 associated with the second transmit antenna , the receiver 900 provides a tx antenna 2 adjuster 905 . the tx antenna 2 adjuster 905 multiplies each of the despread pilot channel symbols 650 ( provided by the channel estimator 405 as discussed above in relation to fig6 ) with the tx antenna 2 symbol pattern 982 ( known a priori to the receiver 900 ). to adapt the equalizer coefficients 955 based on the second cpich symbols 981 received from the second transmit antenna , the further delayed pn code sequence 442 is modified so as to be representative of the second cpich symbols 981 . to modify the further delayed pn code sequence 442 , the example receiver 900 provides a multiplier 980 . the multiplier 980 multiples the further delayed pn code sequence 442 with the second cpich symbols 981 to generate a second locally generated pilot signal 937 used by the equalizer trainer 935 to adapt the second set of equalizer coefficients 955 . since the duration of each second cpich symbol 981 is multiple ( e . g ., 256 ) chips , the multiplication of second cpich symbol 981 and the further delayed pn code sequence 442 multiplies each second cpich symbol 981 by n chips of the further delayed pn code sequence 442 , where n is the duration of each second cpich symbol 981 . the second training signal 930 substantially comprises a summation of the second cpich symbols 981 convolved with the channel estimate 912 for each multipath further spread by the pn code sequence 408 . further , the locally generated pilot signal 937 ( which includes the multiplication with second cpich symbols 981 ) comprises the second cpich symbols 981 spread by the pn code sequence 408 . in this configuration , the equalizer trainer 935 will properly adapt coefficients 955 to equalize the multipath channel responses associated with the second transmit antenna . to combine the equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 received from the two transmit antennas ( i . e ., the output of despreaders 460 and 960 ), the example receiver 900 provides a sttd decoder 990 . as is well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art , the sttd decoder 990 buffers two symbols at a time from each of the signals 462 and 962 and combines them to form two symbols 995 that are provided to remaining portions ( not shown ) of a wireless receiver for further processing . fig1 is an illustration of a disclosed example manner of implementing the tx antenna 2 adjuster 905 of fig9 . to generate channel estimates 912 associated with the second transmit antenna ( not shown ) of the wireless base station 110 ( not shown ), the tx antenna 2 adjuster 905 provides a plurality of multipliers 1005 , 1006 , and 1007 . in the illustrated manner , the multipliers 1005 , 1006 , and 1007 multiply each of despread pilot channel symbols 650 ( provided by the channel estimator 405 as discussed above in relation to fig6 and 9 ) with the tx antenna 2 symbol pattern 982 . as discussed above , the first cpich symbols 436 transmitted by the first transmit antenna are orthogonal to the second cpich symbols 981 transmitted by the second transmit antenna only when despread and accumulated over 512 chips . because the chip accumulators 615 , 616 , and 617 of fig6 each accumulated 256 chips , the tx antenna 2 adjuster 905 provides a plurality of symbol summers 1010 , 1011 , and 1012 . in the illustrated example , each symbol summer 1010 , 1011 , and 1012 determines a sum over two symbols . thus , effectively implementing despreading over 512 chips . it should be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that the number of chips accumulated by the chip accumulators 615 , 616 , and 617 and the number of symbols summed by the symbols summers 1010 , 1011 , and 1012 can be modified from the illustrated example as long as the chosen values ensure orthogonality of the cpich symbols 436 and 981 transmitted by both transmit antenna of the wireless base station . to obtain reliable channel estimates 912 for each multipath associated with the second transmit antenna of the wireless base station , the tx antenna 2 adjuster 905 further provides a plurality of filters 1020 , 1021 , and 1022 . in the illustrated example , the plurality of filters 1020 , 1021 , and 1022 are implemented as iir filters and provide a low - pass filtering transfer function . the low - pass filtering transfer function serves to reduce out - of - band noise and to help smooth the channel estimates . it should be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that the filters 1020 , 1021 , and 1022 could utilize fir filters or other suitable filter structures or filtering arrangements . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a disclosed example digital baseband receiver 1100 communicating with the wireless base station 110 implementing closed loop transmit diversity ( cltd ). the implementation of the illustrated example of fig1 is substantially the same as the illustrated example of fig9 . the difference between the illustrated examples of fig9 and 11 is that different receive processing is applied following the despreaders 460 and 960 . as is well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art , the receiver 1100 is provided with a summer 1190 to combine the two equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 . further , to allow the example receiver 1100 to combine the two equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 in a substantially optimal fashion , the receiver 1100 provides a multiplier 1185 and a weight verification unit 1180 . the weight verification unit 1180 performs antenna verification to determine a substantially optimum weighting of the two equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 . to balance the contribution of each of the equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 , the multiplier 1185 multiplies the output 962 of the second despreader 960 by the output of the weight verification unit 1180 . the output of the multiplier 1185 is then summed with the output 462 of the first despreader 460 to determine a substantially optimal received signal 1195 . the substantially optimal received signal 1195 is provided to remaining portions ( not shown ) of a wireless receiver for further processing . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a disclosed example digital baseband receiver 1200 using two antenna receive diversity . to process a second input chip level signal 1226 from a second receive antenna , the example digital baseband receiver 1200 provides a second channel estimator 1205 to generate a second plurality of channel estimates 914 , a second pilot regenerator 915 generating a second plurality of scrambled channel estimates 922 , a second summer 925 providing a second equalizer training signal 930 , a second delay 1250 , a second equalizer 945 applying a filter ( utilizing a second set of equalizer coefficients 955 ) to a second delayed input chip level signal 1252 , and a second despreader 960 despreading the output 954 of the second equalizer 945 . the signals received , processed and generated by these additional blocks will be associated with the second input chip level signal 1226 received by the second receive antenna . the implementations of , and relationships between , the second channel estimator 1205 , the second pilot regenerator 915 , the second summer 925 , the second delay 1250 , the second equalizer 945 , and the second despreader 960 are as discussed above in relation to fig4 , and 6 - 8 . to adapt equalizer coefficients , the example receiver 1200 further includes equalizer trainers 1270 and 1275 adapting the first and the second sets of equalizer coefficients 455 and 955 . to adapt the first equalizer coefficients 455 the first equalizer trainer 1270 applies a filter ( whose coefficients are substantially equivalent to the current first equalizer coefficients 455 ) to the training signal 430 ( i . e ., the multipath pilot signal determined based on the input chip level signal 326 associated with the first receive antenna ) to form a first equalized multipath pilot signal . the equalizer trainer 1270 adapts the coefficients of the filter to minimize an error between ( a ) the locally generated pilot training signal 437 and ( b ) a sum 1282 of the first equalized multipath pilot signal and a second equalized multipath pilot signal ( determined by the second equalizer trainer 1275 ). in a similar fashion the second equalizer 1270 adapts the second equalizer coefficients 955 based on the locally generated pilot training signal 437 . in the illustrated example the filters of the equalizer trainers 1270 and 1275 are fir filters . further , the adaptation of the coefficients uses nlms . persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that : the filters could be implementing using some other suitable filter structures or filtering arrangements ; and / or other forms of coefficient adaptation ( e . g ., lms , rls , etc .) could be implemented . to combine the equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 received from the two receive antennas , the example receiver 1200 provides a summer 1285 . as is well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art , the summer 1285 combines the equalized and despread signals 462 and 962 to form a signal 1295 provided to remaining portions ( not shown ) of a wireless receiver for further processing . fig1 is an illustration of a disclosed example manner of implementing the equalizer trainer 1270 of fig1 . to create the signal 1282 which substantially matches a locally generated pilot signal 437 , the equalizer trainer 1270 provides a filter 805 . to form an error signal 1315 useful for adapting the coefficients of the filter 805 , the equalizer trainer 1270 further provides a summer 1310 . in the illustrated example , the summer 1310 computes the error signal 1315 as a difference between ( a ) a locally generated pilot signal 437 and ( b ) the sum 1282 of an output 1237 of the filter 805 and a second signal 1286 . further , the filter 805 is an fir filter and adaptation of the coefficients of the filter 805 uses nlms . however , persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the filter 805 could utilize some other suitable filter structure or filtering arrangement ; and / or other forms of coefficient adaptation ( e . g ., lms , rls , etc .) could be implemented . it will be readily appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art , that equalizer trainer 1275 is also implemented in the example manner of fig1 . persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that a digital baseband receiver using receive diversity receiving signals from the wireless base station 110 using transmit diversity is readily constructed using appropriate combinations of the example implementations discussed above . for example , if the wireless base station is implementing sttd an example implementation digital baseband receiver would be a combination of fig9 and 12 . in particular : four equalizer trainers are needed ( 2 for transmit and 2 for receive ); filter outputs ( from two equalizer trainers associated with each transmit antenna ) are combined to form a common error signal ( as discussed in connection with fig1 - 13 ); an equalized / despread output for each transmit antenna is obtained by summing corresponding outputs from each receive antenna . for the case of sttd , two successive symbols are input to an sttd decoder . for the cltd case , equalized / despread outputs corresponding to the second transmit antenna ( after summing across receive antennas ) are multiplied by a complex antenna verified weights and then summed with equalized / despread outputs corresponding to the first transmit antenna . alternatively , to limit the complexity of the receiver , one may choose to do either transmit or receive diversity but not both simultaneously and , thus , have only two effective equalizers in the receiver . persons of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate that a single computing device or processor may be utilized to implement a plurality of functions . for example , when transmit and receive diversity are both present , as discussed above , four equalizers are needed . however , they may not necessarily be implemented as four physical equalizers , but could alternatively , be implemented as two equalizers at twice the clock speed . further , to limit the complexity of a wireless receiver , the wireless receiver may implement only transmit diversity techniques ( e . g ., fig9 and 11 ), receive diversity techniques ( e . g ., fig1 ), or neither ( e . g . fig4 ). fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a disclosed example digital baseband receiver 1400 configurable to implement : ( a ) improved equalizer training ( as discussed above ), ( b ) conventional cpich based nlms , or ( c ) a rake receiver . to support all three implementations , the example digital baseband receiver 1400 implements two multiplexers 1405 and 1410 . the first multiplexer 1405 selects whether the equalizer trainer 435 uses ( a ) the training signal 430 ( i . e ., multipath pilot signal ) or ( b ) the delayed input chip level signal 452 . the second multiplexer 1410 selects whether the equalizer coefficients 1420 are substantially equivalent to ( a ) complex conjugates 1425 of channel estimates 412 or ( b ) the coefficients 455 generated by the equalizer trainer 435 . to form the complex conjugates 1425 of the channel estimates 412 , the receiver 1400 provides a complex conjugator 1435 . the complex conjugator 1435 forms complex conjugates 1425 as a complex conjugate of each channel estimate 412 . it should be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that the receiver 1400 could eliminate either of the multiplexers if only two of the three receiver architectures are implemented . a rake receiver can be realized by directly using the complex conjugates 1425 of the channel estimates 412 as filter coefficients 1420 for the equalizer 445 . in the illustrated example , the equalizer 445 is an fir filter , and the t k th coefficient 1420 of the filter of the equalizer 445 is substantially equal to the channel estimate 412 corresponding to a multipath delay of t k ( see fig6 ), where k is an index taking on values between 1 and n where n is the number of multipaths processed by channel estimator 405 . zero values are assigned for equalizer coefficients 1420 corresponding to non - existing multipaths . because each tap of the filter of the equalizer 445 ( i . e ., input data flowing through the filter ) holds a delayed input data sample which is multiplied by the complex conjugate 1425 of the channel estimate 412 of corresponding multipath , an output 454 of the equalizer 445 is a sum of phase corrected samples at multipath positions . thus the filter of the equalizer 445 implements processing substantially equivalent to performing maximal ratio combining at a chip level . in the illustrated example , if not all multipath information is available , channel estimates 412 corresponding to available coefficients 1420 of the filter of the equalizer 445 are computed . then paths with high energy are chosen based on the amplitude of the channel estimates 412 . in the illustrated example : if the amplitude of the channel estimate 412 is larger than a threshold , set the corresponding coefficient 1420 substantial equal to the complex conjugate of the channel estimate 412 ; otherwise set the corresponding coefficient 1420 to zero . fig1 a - c illustrates an example of a 16 - tap fir filter case . in the example of fig1 a - c , selected multipaths by a threshold are with delays at 4 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , and 11 . the channel estimates h ( 4 ), h ( 6 ), h ( 7 ), h ( 8 ), h ( 10 ), and h ( 11 ) at these paths provide the filter coefficients h *( 4 ), h *( 6 ), h *( 7 ), h *( 8 ), h *( 10 ), and h *( 11 ) accordingly . other coefficients are set to zero . the illustrated example of fig1 can be configured to support a rake receiver by setting the multiplexer 1410 to select the complex conjugates 1425 ( the setting of multiplexer 1405 can be ignored ). it can further be configured to support a traditional cpich based nlms by setting the multiplexer 1405 to select the delayed input chip level signal 452 and the multiplexer 1410 to select the coefficients 455 . further , by setting the multiplexer 1405 to select the training signal 430 and the multiplexer 1410 to select the coefficients 455 , the improved equalizer training discussed above is implemented . in the illustrated example , when one of the multiplexers 1405 , 1410 is set so that the output of the complex conjugator 1435 , the pilot regenerator 415 , the summer 425 , the multiplexer 1405 , and / or the equalizer trainer 435 are ignored it is bypassed or disabled to reduce power consumption . in the illustrated example , the first and second multiplexers 1405 and 1410 are controlled by a processor ( not shown ). for example , the processor controls the first and second multiplexers 1405 and 1410 to maximize the performance of the wireless receiver . for example , the processor could choose a rake receiver for low snr , high doppler , and strong line of sight conditions , and choose the improved equalizer training ( as discussed above ) otherwise . the processor may also control the first and second multiplexers 1405 and 1410 based on user input , wireless base station operator input , or any other suitable criteria . as is well appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art , the example of fig1 can be readily extended ( using the teachings of fig9 - 13 ) to support wireless base station transmit diversity and receive diversity for ( a ) improved equalizer training ( as discussed above ), ( b ) conventional cpich based nlms , or ( c ) a rake receiver . a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions that may be executed by the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 is shown in fig1 . in this example , the machine readable instructions comprise a program for execution by a processor such as a digital signal processing ( dsp ) core 1710 shown in an example digital signal processor 1700 discussed below in connection with fig1 . the program may be embodied in coded instructions stored on a tangible medium such as a cd - rom , a floppy disk , a hard drive , a digital versatile disk ( dvd ), or a memory associated with the processor 1710 , but persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the entire program and / or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 1710 and / or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware in a well known manner . for example , any or all of the channel estimator 405 , the pilot regenerator 415 , the summer 425 , the equalizer trainer 435 , the pn generator 410 , the delays 420 , 440 , 450 , the equalizer 445 , and / or the despreader 460 could be implemented by software , hardware , and / or firmware . further , although the example program is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in fig1 , persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many other methods of implementing the example digital baseband receiver 400 of fig4 may be used . for example , the order of execution of the blocks may be changed , and / or some of the blocks described may be changed , eliminated , or combined . the program of fig1 begins at block 1605 where the digital baseband processor 225 sets , configures and initializes the analog baseband processor 220 and the rf transceiver 215 . the digital baseband processor 225 detects the signal level associated with received multipaths ( block 1610 ). the digital baseband processor 225 next determines the timings associated with the received multipaths ( block 1615 ) and sets the receiver mode ( e . g ., rake , improved equalizer training discussed above , etc .) ( block 1617 ). next , the channel estimator 405 despreads the input chip level signal 326 ( block 1620 ) and determines channel estimates 412 ( block 1625 ). using the outputs 412 of the channel estimator 405 , the pilot regenerator 1630 and the summer 425 determine the training signal 430 ( i . e ., multipath pilot signal ) ( block 1630 ). the equalizer trainer 435 adapts the coefficients 455 based upon the training signal 430 ( block 1635 ). using the adapted coefficients 455 , the equalizer 445 equalizes the delay input chip level signal 452 ( block 1640 ). finally , the despreader 460 despreads the equalized receive signal 454 and the remainder of the receiver processing is applied ( block 1645 ). as receiving of the input chip level signal 326 continues , the process comprised of block 1620 - 1645 is repeated . fig1 is a block diagram of an example digital signal processor ( dsp ) 1700 capable of implementing the apparatus and methods disclosed herein . for example , the dsp 1700 can be implemented by one or more digital signal processors from texas instruments . of course , other digital signal processors from other manufacturers are also appropriate . the dsp 1700 of the instant example includes the dsp core 1710 . the dsp core 1710 is a general purpose programmable processor with enhancements making it more suitable for real - time processing of digital signals . the dsp core 1710 executes coded instructions present in main memory of the dsp 1700 . the dsp core 1710 may implement , among other things , the equalizer trainer 435 and / or the equalizer 445 . the dsp core 1710 is in communication with the main memory including a read only memory ( rom ) 1720 and a random access memory ( ram ) 1725 via a bus 1705 . the ram 1725 may be implemented by synchronous dynamic random access memory ( sdram ), dynamic random access memory ( dram ), rambus dynamic random access memory ( rdram ) and / or any other type of random access memory device . the rom 1720 may be implemented by flash memory and / or any other desired type of memory device . access to the main memory 1720 , 1725 is typically controlled by a memory controller ( not shown ) in a conventional manner . the ram 1725 may implement , among other things , the delays 420 , 440 , and 450 . to reduce the computational burden of the dsp core 1710 , the dsp 1700 provides an accelerator 1715 . the accelerator 1715 contains dedicated circuits and hardware to implement specific data manipulation and / or signal processing . the accelerator 1715 may implement , among other things , the channel estimator 405 , the pilot regenerator 415 , the summer 425 , and / or the despreader 460 . the dsp 1700 also includes a conventional interface circuit 1730 . the interface circuit 1730 may be implemented by any type of well known interface standard , such as an external memory interface ( emif ), serial port , general purpose input / output , etc . one or more input devices 1735 are connected to the interface circuit 1730 . the input device ( s ) 1735 ( e . g ., analog to digital converters , data buffers , external memory , etc .) may be used to provide the dsp core 1710 input data and signals to be processed . one or more output devices 1740 are also connected to the interface circuit 1730 . the output devices 1740 ( e . g ., digital to analog converters , data buffers , external memory , etc .) may be used by the dsp core 1710 to provide processed output data and signal to external devices . from the foregoing , persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the above disclosed methods and apparatus may be realized within a single device or across two cooperating devices , and could be implemented by software , hardware , and / or firmware to implement the improved wireless receiver disclosed herein . although certain example methods , apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein , the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto . on the contrary , this patent covers all methods , apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents . | 7 |
at the outset , the present invention is described in its broadest overall aspects with a more detailed description following . the present invention relates to a device for accessing a patient &# 39 ; s central venous system . more particularly , the invention relates to a device for the long - term access of the central venous system . referring to fig1 the broadest aspects of the invention include a multi - lumen tube 2 , externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; and a transition device 6 to couple the multi - lumen tube 2 to the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ;. as shown in fig2 a , the multi - lumen catheter 8 of the present invention has an ellipsoidally shaped tip 10 at a leading end 12 of the multi - lumen tube 2 . the elliptical profile of the tip 10 prevents irritation of endothelial cells and thrombus formation within a vessel . the ellipsoidal shape of the tip 10 reduces the potential for thrombosis by reducing the area of stagnation at the end of the tip 10 . where x and y refer to distances along two - dimensional axes . this formula describes half an ellipse with a major to minor axis ratio of 1 : 4 as shown in fig9 . once the tip 10 is designed , it can be molded to the distal end 12 of the multi - lumen tube 2 . the smooth and solid surface of the tip 10 necessitates alternative locations for infusing and withdrawing fluids . in the embodiment shown in fig2 a , seven infusion ports 14 and seven withdrawal ports 16 ( three ports are not shown ) are space each of the internal lumens 26 , 26 &# 39 ; of the multi - lumen tube 2 . the multi - lumen tube 2 shown in fig2 a contains an infusion lumen 26 and a withdrawal lumen 26 &# 39 ;. the size and number of the infusion and withdrawal ports 14 , 16 must be such that the sum of the area available for fluid flow through the ports at least equals the cross - sectional area available for fluid flow in the infusion and withdrawal lumens 26 , 26 &# 39 ; respectively . communication of fluids leaving and entering the lumens 26 , 26 &# 39 ; of the multi - lumen tube 2 is avoided by distancing the most proximal port 14 of one lumen 26 from the most distal port 16 of another lumen 26 &# 39 ;. by way of example , the infusion port 14 and withdrawal port 16 may be spaced approximately 1 . 0 to 4 . 0 cm apart , as indicated by the bracket z in the figure . in one embodiment , shown in fig2 a , the infusion ports and withdrawal ports are located along a helical path of each lumen in a staggered relationship . the number of ports in each lumen may vary from one to seven . in the preferred embodiment shown in fig2 b , each lumen has one and only one port 14 , 16 , respectively . as shown in fig3 once the leading end 12 is inserted into a patient &# 39 ; s vessel 25 , in the same direction as the blood flow in that vessel ( indicated by the arrow 15 ), fluids may be infused or withdrawn through the appropriate port . it is important that the infusion port ( s ) 14 be located distal to the withdrawal port ( s ) 16 so that the treated blood will not be withdrawn . the multi - lumen tube 2 can be coupled to externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; with a transition device 6 . the transition device 6 of the present invention , best shown in fig1 and 4 , resembles an elbow joint having internal , cylindrical lumens 61 , 61 &# 39 ; that gradually evolve into lumens 27 , 27 &# 39 ; having the same shape as the lumens 26 , 26 &# 39 ; within the multi - lumen tube 2 . in the case of a dual lumen tube , the internal cylindrical lumens 61 , 61 &# 39 ; evolve into two &# 34 ; d - shaped &# 34 ; lumens 27 , 27 &# 39 ; separated by a septum 29 . at an epidermal end 30 , the transition device 6 accepts externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ;. at a subcutaneous end 32 , each lumen 27 , 27 &# 39 ; forms a nipple 34 , 34 &# 39 ;. the septum 29 is recessed from the nipples 34 , 34 &# 39 ; so that the nipples 34 , 34 &# 39 ; fit snugly within corresponding lumens 26 , 26 &# 39 ; at the proximal end of the multi - lumen tube 2 . the transition device 6 of the present invention provides a smooth transition between externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; and the multi - lumen tube 2 in order to maintain a consistent hydraulic radius along the fluid path . this is accomplished by providing a gradual transfiguration of the lumens 61 , 61 &# 39 ; within the transition device 6 , for example , from cylindrical to &# 34 ; d - shaped ,&# 34 ; in order to accommodate the cross - sectional profile of the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; as well as the cross - sectional profile of the multi - lumen tube 2 . in this manner , a tight seal between the transition device 6 and each of the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; and the multi - lumen tube 2 can be achieved . the size , number , and cross - sectional configuration of the internal lumens within the transition device 6 can be varied to accommodate any number of external tubes having various sizes , numbers of lumens , and cross - sectional configurations . the transition device 6 reduces the number of tubes passing across a patient &# 39 ; s skin and thus reduces the risk of infection . the unique &# 34 ; l - shape &# 34 ; of the transition device 6 further reduces the risk of infection by tunneling the multi - lumen tube 2 through the subcutaneous tissue to a remote site for penetration into a vessel or body cavity . in this manner , infection at the introduction site 38 is reduced and back leakage of the infusing fluids is minimized . in one important embodiment shown in fig5 a , the transition device 6 may have a rigid adapter 31 for providing the sharp bend angle 59 which may be hermetically bonded to the epidermal end 30 of the transition device 6 and to infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; to provide fluid communication with the infusion port 14 and the withdrawal port 16 and rigid support for the tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ;. the adapter 31 strengthens the bend angle 59 and avoids breakage . in the embodiment shown in fig5 a , the adaptor is bonded to the transition device to form an upright &# 34 ; z - shape .&# 34 ; in another embodiment , shown in fig5 b , the transition device 6 and adapter 31 may form a &# 34 ; u - shape .&# 34 ; that is , the epidermal end 30 is in fixed parallel relation to the subcutaneous end 32 . fig6 shows the embodiment of fig5 b in cross - section in a vessel . the epidermal end 30 of the transition device 6 may be two flexible tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; capable of adapting to either a &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; or an upright &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; conformation , shown in fig1 in the upright &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; conformation . it may also be two flexible bellows 60 , 60 &# 39 ; capable of adapting to either a &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; or an upright &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; conformation , shown in fig7 in the &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; conformation . finally , it may be embodied as a rigid adapter 31 connected to two tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; and connected to the transition device 6 in either an upright &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; ( fig5 a ) or a &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; ( fig5 b ) conformation . what is important is that the tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; run parallel to the multi - lumen tube , and not in a straight line in alignment with the introduction site in order to substantially decrease the risk of infection . another barrier to infection at the introduction site 38 can be erected by permanently bonding the transition device 6 to the inner diameter of a percutaneous access device ( pad ) 40 . a preferred long - term percutaneous access device 40 shown and described herein overcomes the fundamental biological and mechanical instability of known devices by controlling epidermal cell downgrowth and promoting the formation of a tight barrier to infection at the skin surface . the biologic barrier or seal is the result of the use of the percutaneous access device of the type set forth in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 886 , 502 the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference . the percutaneous access device 40 , shown in fig1 and 4 , resembles a button having a raised neck 42 with a central hole or bore therethrough of a diameter just sufficient to accommodate the transition device 6 . the pad 40 includes a generally flat skirt 44 and a neck 42 , preferably integral with and substantially normal to the skirt 44 . both the skirt 44 and the neck 42 are formed of a nontoxic biocompatible material such as a semirigid polyurethane and are sized such that when the pad 40 is implanted , its neck 42 penetrates the epidermal 46 and dermal 48 layers and its skirt 44 is anchored in the subcutaneous tissue 50 . a suitable polyurethane is tecoflex eg - 60d , available from thermedics inc . of woburn , mass . in a preferred embodiment , the skirt 44 is disk - shaped and has a diameter in the range of about 0 . 8 to 1 . 8 inches and a thickness of about 0 . 010 to 0 . 100 inches . one or more holes 51 are provided in the skirt 44 to encourage tissue penetration for increased anchoring of the pad 40 as well as to encourage lymphatic drainage . the neck 42 has a diameter of about 0 . 125 to 0 . 50 inches and flares upward from the skirt 44 to a distance of about 0 . 08 to 0 . 40 inches so as to extend through the epidermal 46 and dermal 48 layers of a patient when the skirt 44 is implanted in the subcutaneous tissue 50 . a central hole or bore is provided in the neck 42 and also extends through the skirt 44 to accommodate the transition device 6 . to promote the healing of a patient &# 39 ; s skin and the formation of a tight , infection - free barrier between the percutaneous access device 40 and adjacent tissues following implantation of the pad 40 , the skirt 44 and the neck 42 are covered by a porous material 52 . a suitable porous material 52 is dermaport , available from thermedics inc . the porous material 52 is tightly bonded to the underlying skirt 44 and neck 42 by a suitable adhesive such as no . 1 - mp polyurethane adhesive available from thermedics inc . in another embodiment , shown in fig4 the skirt 44 and at least the lower portion of the neck 42 are covered by a two - stage porous bed . a first stage 54 of the bed overlies the lower portion of the neck 42 , preferably commencing at a location such that the top of this first stage 54 is positioned at the epidermal layer 46 when the pad 40 is implanted . the first stage 54 may also extend along part of the upper surface of the skirt 44 , e . g ., a distance of up to 0 . 25 inches , terminating at a junction 56 formed between adjacent ends of the first stage 54 and a second stage 58 . the junction 56 between the first stage 54 and second 58 stage can also be positioned at the point where the neck 42 meets the skirt 44 . a material for the first stage 54 of the porous bed can be polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) having pore sizes of about 50 - 125 microns and a thickness of about 0 . 020 inches . for example , the first stage 54 of the porous bed may be made of impra 15 : 1 , a ptfe material available from impra inc . of tempe , ariz ., and formed by extrusion followed by stretching to fifteen times the extruded length . the second stage 58 of the porous bed covers at least the remainder of the upper surface of the skirt 44 and , preferably , the lower surface as well . this stage 58 of the porous bed may be formed of a material such as a polyester velour , e g ., dacron velour available as part no . 600k61121 from the united states catheter and instrument company of glenfalls , n . y . this material is a woven fabric with loose strands to allow for cell infiltration , and its pore sizes are considerably larger than those of the first stage 54 of the porous bed , typical values being about 100 - 800 microns . the first stage 54 and second stage 58 of the porous bed may , instead , be fabricated of multiple layers of filaments of a polyurethane such as tecoflex eg - 60d , available from thermedics inc . of woburn , mass . ( tecoflex is a registered trademark of thermedics for medical grade urethane elastomeric materials ). this material may be formed and the stages of the porous bed may be fabricated as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 668 , 222 , the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference . both porous stages 54 , 58 are tightly bonded to the underlying substrate , the skirt 44 and the neck 42 , by a suitable adhesive such as no . 1 - mp polyurethane adhesive available from thermedics inc . to improve its biocompatibility , the dacron velour may be chemically stripped , as by washing it in distilled water adjusted to a ph of 10 . it is essential to the successful long - term implantation of the percutaneous access device 40 of the invention that the path length of the first stage 54 of the porous bed along the neck 42 and the skirt 44 , and the pore sizes of both the first and the second stages 54 , 58 , repectively , be properly selected to fulfill the different functions performed by these stages . accordingly , the material of the first stage 54 has pores of about 75 - 400 microns in size , preferably about 75 - 125 microns , a size which permits downgrowth of epidermal cells , but at a rate far less than that which would occur in a material having larger pores . the biomaterial of the second stage 58 has pores of about 75 to 800 microns in size , large enough to allow penetration and viability of cells such as fibroblasts which displace body fluids from the pores and synthesize collagen . the controlled rate of epidermal cell downgrowth allowed by a first stage length of about 0 . 25 inches , is sufficient to prevent epidermal cells from reaching the junction 56 until mature collagen is formed in the pores of the second stag 58 ( typically two to six months following implantation of the device ). the presence of mature collagen in the second stage 58 terminates the growth of epidermal cells at or near the junction 56 , thus forming a stable , tight , dermal / biomaterial barrier . for purposes of the invention described and claimed herein , pore size is defined as the diameter of a circle whose area is equal to the area of an equivalent opening or void in the bed structures . the pores may , for example , be formed between threads or filaments of the porous bed structures , the filaments preferably being utilized in multiple layers positioned to avoid alignment of pores in adjacent layers . the resulting structure of the porous bed stages 54 , 58 has voids or pores which are interconnected along the length of the bed , permitting controlled growth of cells into the pores and strong mechanical bonding due to wrapping of cells and connective tissue around and in between the filaments . it is essential that the pores be interconnected so that collagen may be deposited and inhibit downgrowth of the epidermal cells . the necessity of proper pore size selection and of a two - stage bed of porous material is discussed in co - pending , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 886 , 502 filed dec . 9 , 1986 by poirier et al ., the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference . to assemble the multi - lumen catheter 8 of the present invention , the epidermal end 30 of the transition device 6 is fed through the central bore of the skirt 44 of the percutaneous access device 40 until it is flush with the neck 42 . a permanent seal or bond of the pad 40 to the transition device 6 can be accomplished by using an adhesive such as 1 - mp polyurethane adhesive available from thermedics , inc . externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; can be inserted into the internal lumens 61 , 61 &# 39 ; at the epidermal end 30 of the transition device 6 , while the multi - lumen tube 2 is inserted over the nipples 34 , 34 &# 39 ; at the subcutaneous end 32 of the transition device 6 . these junctions can be sealed also using an adhesive such as 1 - pp polyurethane available from thermedics inc . in one embodiment , shown in fig4 the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; are fabricated with a sharp bend angle 59 of approximately ninety degrees . one method of accomplishing this sharp bend angle 59 is by placing the tube on an appropriately - shaped mandrel and heat forming the tube . this configuration permits the external tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; to run parallel to the dermal layer 48 and to the multi - lumen tube 2 in either a &# 34 ; u - shape &# 34 ; or an upright &# 34 ; z - shape .&# 34 ; in another embodiment , shown in fig7 the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; include accordian - pleated bellows sections 60 , 60 &# 39 ; as described in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 939 , 748 . the bellows section 60 functions as a shock absorber to reduce the incidence of trauma to the introduction site 38 and to relieve any stress the pad 40 or the multi - lumen tube 2 might receive from movement of the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ;. the bellows section also allows the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; to be at an approximately ninety degree angle with respect to the neck 42 of the pad 40 such that either a &# 34 ; u - shape &# 34 ; or an upright &# 34 ; z - shape &# 34 ; is formed without restricting the fluid flow within the tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; and without exerting any pressure on the pad 40 . in a third embodiment , shown in fig5 a & amp ; b , the externally located infusion and withdrawal tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; may be inserted into a rigid adapter 31 to form the sharp bend angle 59 . the adapter 31 may in turn be hermetically bonded to the transitions device 6 , forming a continuous path for fluid flow among the tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; and the internal lumens 61 , 61 &# 39 ; of the transition device 6 , and the lumens 26 , 26 &# 39 ; of the multi - lumen tube 2 . the adapter 31 functions to provide support and to prevent breakage , and allows the externally located tubes 4 , 4 &# 39 ; to be at an approximately 90 ° angle with respect to the neck 42 of the pad 40 without restricting the fluid flow within the catheter , and without exerting any pressure on the pad 40 . the adapter 31 may be bonded to the transition device 6 to form either a &# 34 ; u - shape &# 34 ; or an upright &# 34 ; z - shape .&# 34 ; referring to fig8 the procedure for implantation of the multi - lumen catheter of the present invention is accomplished in a two step approach . initially , the transition device 6 is implanted through a subcutaneous tunnel terminating at an exit site just superior to the mammary gland . once the catheter is implanted within the hypodermis , the leading end of the catheter is inserted into the subclavian vein or jugular vein by first puncturing the hypodermal layer with a needle and advancing the needle into the blood vessel . a guide wire is then passed through the needle . the needle is then removed and replaced with a dilator and sheath which is advanced into the vessel . the dilator is removed and the catheter tip is inserted into the sheath and advanced . fluoroscopy and radiographic techniques can be used to establish proper positioning and catheter tip placement . after the catheter is properly positioned , the sheath can be removed and the incision closed in normal fashion . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and there is no intention to exclude any equivalents thereof . hence , it is recognized that various modifications are possible when within the scope of the present invention as claimed . | 0 |
fig1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a sliding mechanism 100 for a portable electronic device ( not labeled ). the sliding mechanism 100 includes a main housing 10 , a sliding housing 30 , a stopping member 50 , and two elastic members 70 . also referring to fig2 - 4 , the main housing 10 includes a main board 101 , two opposite sidewalls 103 and two opposite end walls 105 . the sidewalls 103 and the end walls 105 surround the main board 101 . the main board 101 includes a first surface 1012 and an opposite second surface 1014 . the main board 101 defines a through hole 11 near one of the end wall 105 communicating with the first , second surfaces 1012 , 1014 . two parallel rails 12 protrude from the second surface 1014 of the main board 101 . the rails 12 are l - shaped and a top surface of each is a guiding plate 122 and the other part of the l - shape is an internally facing side surface as a supporting plate 124 . the rails 12 are configured as mirror images of each other . each supporting plate 124 defines a receiving hole 1222 . a latching portion 13 is formed at the main housing 10 adjacent to one of the end walls 105 . the latching portion 13 includes a horizontal surface 131 connected to a vertical wall 136 . a slot 133 and two grooves 134 are defined in the horizontal surface 131 . the grooves 134 are positioned at two opposite sides of the slot 133 . two blocks 135 protrude from an intersection of the vertical wall 136 and the horizontal surface 131 . two cutouts 137 are defined at two sides of the blocks 135 and are spaced from the horizontal surface 131 . two locking portions 15 are respectively formed adjacent to one of the sidewalls 103 . each locking portion 15 defines a first gap 152 , a second gap 153 and a third gap 154 . the first gap 152 communicates with the receiving hole 1222 of the corresponding rail 12 . a bar 155 is formed between the first gap 152 and the second gap 153 . the second gap 153 communicates with the through hole 11 . a bridge portion 156 extends from the bar 155 , dividing the second gap 153 into two parts . two protrusions 157 protrude from the bar 155 , positioned at two sides of the bridge 156 . the third gap 154 is positioned at a same side of the first gap 152 as the bar 155 . each locking portion 15 defines two receiving chambers 158 at two ends , respectively . the receiving chambers 158 communicate with the second gaps 153 , and each includes a bottom 1582 for supporting one end of the elastic member 70 . the sliding housing 30 includes a base board 31 and two opposite sidewalls 32 extending from the base board 31 . two ledges 33 vertically protrude from the sidewalls 32 toward each other . a space 332 between the base board 31 and the ledges 33 allows the guiding plates 122 of the main housing 10 to slide . each ledge 33 defines a first notch 331 and a second notch 333 . a metal board 34 is attached to the sliding housing 30 for electrically connecting the sliding housing 30 to the main housing 10 . two spaced wings 341 are formed adjacent to one end of the metal board 34 , corresponding to the cutouts 137 of the latching portion 13 . referring to fig5 - 6 , the stopping member 50 includes a main plate 51 , a locking plate 53 , two engaging arms 55 and a bent plate 57 . the locking plate 53 is receivable in the slot 133 of the main housing 10 . the engaging arms 55 are l - shaped and connected at one end to the member 50 and in this embodiment distal ends extend toward each other in parallel with the member 50 . each engaging arm 55 includes a curved end 552 . the bent plate 57 defines two latching holes 59 allowing the blocks 135 to extend through correspondingly . referring to fig7 - 8 , each elastic member 70 includes a base plate 71 , two elastic plates 73 , a latching plate 75 and an inserting plate 77 . the elastic plates 73 define an opening 737 therebetween to receive the bridge 156 of the main housing 10 . each elastic plate 73 includes a connecting portion 731 , a middle portion 733 and a curved portion 735 . the connecting portions 731 connecting the base plate 71 are u - shaped and each of which defines a locking hole 76 for receiving the corresponding protrusion 157 of the main housing 10 . the latching plate 75 is elastic and includes a positioning portion 751 . the positioning portion 751 is selectively engaged in the first notch 331 and the second notch 333 of the sliding housing 30 when the sliding housing 30 is attached to the main housing 10 . to attach the sliding housing 30 to the main housing 10 , referring to fig9 - 13 , the elastic members 70 are attached to the locking portions 15 correspondingly . the latching plate 75 is received in the first gap 152 and the elastic plates 73 are received in the second gap 153 correspondingly . the bar 155 is positioned between the latching plate 75 and the bridge 156 is engaged in the opening 737 . the positioning portions 751 extend through the receiving holes 1222 . the inserting plate 77 is inserted into the third gap 154 , and the protrusions 157 are inserted into the locking holes 76 correspondingly , so that the elastic members 70 are firmly attached to the main housing 10 . the sliding housing 30 is then attached to the main housing 10 . the guiding plates 122 of the main housing 10 are slidingly received in the space 332 between the ledges 33 and the base board 31 . the positioning portions 751 resist the supporting plates 124 correspondingly . the wings 341 of the metal board 34 pass through the vertical wall 136 of the main housing 10 via the cutouts 137 . the stopping member 50 is attached to the latching portion 13 . the main plate 51 is laid on the horizontal surface 131 of the latching portion 13 , and the locking plate 53 of the stopping member 50 is inserted into the slot 133 of the latching portion 13 . the bent plate 57 is adjacent to the vertical wall 136 and the blocks 135 extend through the latching holes 59 correspondingly . the bent plate 57 covers the cutouts 137 to stop the sliding housing 30 moving away from the main housing 10 . the grooves 134 are beneath the curved ends 552 of the engaging arms 55 correspondingly for easily detaching the stopping member 50 from the main housing 10 . when the sliding housing 30 is moved toward the main housing 10 , the guiding plates 122 slide along the ledges 33 correspondingly , and the positioning portions 751 are pressed down by the ledges 33 correspondingly . when the protrusions 157 reach the second notches 333 correspondingly , the protrusions 157 rebound to original position and are locked in the second notches 333 . at this time , the sliding mechanism 100 is at a closed state . when the sliding housing 30 is moved backward the main housing 10 , the protrusions 157 are pushed to exit the second notches 333 and are then pressed down by the ledges 33 correspondingly . when the protrusions 157 reach the first notches 331 correspondingly , the protrusions 157 rebound to original position and are locked in the first notches 331 . at this time , the sliding mechanism 100 is at an open state . it is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed . | 7 |
fig1 depicts an industrial vehicle 1 of the truck type . a technical feature of specific interest for the present invention is a vehicle main switch 2 . a main switch 2 is an on - off switch which is located immediately downstream of a vehicle battery and therefore can isolate the battery from the vehicle electric circuit . the present invention concerns a vehicle passive keyless entry system which can include a passive portable identification unit 3 and an onboard control unit 4 . the portable identification unit 3 can be , for example , a card which can be easily carried by a user , for example , in a pocket or a bag . the passive portable identification unit 3 authenticates the identity of the user . in other words , for security reasons , the access to a vehicle must be granted to a legitimate user i . e . a user that carries a portable identification unit 3 suitable to gain access to a certain vehicle . authentication can rely on a bidirectional communication between the passive portable identification unit 3 and the onboard control unit 4 . typically , the onboard control unit 4 can include an electronic control unit ecu 5 . the ecu 5 can suitably be comprised of a microprocessor with i / o interface , rom and ram . in the onboard control unit 4 of the vehicle , the ecu 5 is associated with at least one vehicle door handle 6 ; more specifically the ecu 5 can be linked to a detection sensor such as for example a capacitive circuit which can be embedded in the door handle 6 and is capable of detecting a contact of a user with said door handle 6 . the ecu 5 is connected to at least one vehicle door latch 7 and can order the unlocking or locking of said vehicle door . as shown on fig1 , the ecu 5 is also linked to one or more low frequency antennas 9 which are capable of emitting a low frequency radio signal in an area of a few meters around the vehicle . typically , there are as many antennas 9 as there are doors in the vehicle . the ecu 5 is also suitably connected to the vehicle main switch 2 , that is to say the ecu 5 can control the on or off state of the main switch 2 . it should also be noted that , the vehicle can be equipped with a push button 10 and a capacitive sensor which conveniently can be located next to the vehicle door handle 6 . the push button 10 is also suitably connected to the ecu 5 . the communication between the ecu 5 and each unit can be suitably achieved through individual wire communication or multiplexed communication . the passive portable identification unit 3 can include a low frequency receiver typically in a range from 125 khz to 13 . 6 mhz and a high frequency transmitter typically in a range from 315 mhz to 900 mhz . as the passive portable identification unit 3 carries a transmitter , it needs to be powered by a battery . the passive portable identification unit 3 can be , for example , the size of credit card which is easy to carry . when a user wants to gain entry to a vehicle 1 which is in a locked state , the system can operate within the following unlocking sequence with reference to the appended drawings . first of all , it is assumed that the user carries a passive portable identification unit 3 . at a step 100 , the user approaches the vehicle and lifts or pulls the door handle 6 ; by doing so , a signal is transmitted from the door handle 6 to the ecu 5 indicating an intention to enter the vehicle . this step is illustrated on fig2 . at this stage ( step 200 of fig9 ), the system has to perform an authentication operation on the user . as this is shown on fig2 , the ecu 5 can transmit a signal to the low frequency antennas 9 . typically , to authenticate the user , the ecu 5 sends a random challenge to the passive portable identification unit 3 . the passive portable identification unit 3 encrypts this value and send it back to the vehicle as illustrated on fig3 . the ecu 5 performs a similar encryption and compares the value received from the passive portable identification unit 3 and the value calculated at the ecu 5 ; if the value matches the values calculated at the ecu 5 , the user is successfully authenticated and the unlocking sequence continues . at a step 300 , the ecu 5 can transmit a signal to mechanically unlock the door latch 7 ; thereby the ecu 5 authorizes the user to gain entry to the vehicle . at step 400 , the ecu 5 checks the state of the main switch 2 . if the main switch 2 is in an off state , a signal is transmitted to the ecu 5 to close said main switch 2 . at this stage , the user can enter the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1 is in a configuration whereby the vehicle can be started . a passive start procedure can be carried out whereby the user who is at the wheel of the vehicle undergoes a further authentication procedure whereby it is controlled that the user does carry a suitable passive portable unit 3 and can start the vehicle by simply pushing a button on the dash board . now , if the user intends to leave the vehicle 1 , two vehicle locking modes can be activated upon a specific action of the user . each vehicle locking mode corresponds to a specific use of the vehicle . the vehicle user can activate a first locking mode which in most cases corresponds to a short term vehicle standstill . at step 600 , the vehicle user leaves the vehicle and closes a vehicle door ; a door state sensor can inform the ecu 5 that the door is closed . the vehicle user can exert a first action which can be , for example , a single action on the push button 10 . this first action is represented on fig5 by a single arrow pointing to the push button 10 . an authentication sequence represented by step 700 of fig9 similar to the authentication action described above is then carried out to ensure that the user is authorised to perform such an action . the vehicle 1 can also be configured into the first locking mode by the user walking away from the vehicle 1 . in this case , the event that triggers the vehicle being set in the first locking mode is the user walking out of the field of the antenna 9 . at step 800 , the vehicle doors are locked . fig6 depicts the locking signal transmitted to the door latch 7 . the fact that the vehicle is in this first locking mode step can be backed by a visual signal such as for example a brief flash of light and / or a sonorous signal such as for example a brief hoot , thereby confirming to the user that the vehicle is locked according to the first locking mode . alternatively , as represented by step 900 , the vehicle user can activate a second locking mode which in most cases corresponds to a long term vehicle standstill . in this second locking mode , the vehicle user exerts a second action which can be , for example , a double action on the push button 10 . fig7 shows two arrows pointing to the push button 10 . the second action could comprise a long pushing action on the push button 10 . to be taken into account by the onboard control unit 4 , this input on the vehicle has to be carried out by a user who is in possession of a valid passive portable identification unit 3 . the authentication is accomplished through the same bidirectional radio frequency exchange as described above . once the user through the portable identification unit 3 that he or she is carrying is authenticated , and the onboard control unit 4 has completed the authentication step , the ecu 5 transmits a locking order to each of the vehicle opening devices such as the vehicle doors and / or sunroof and / or gate . the ecu 5 also transmits a signal to the main switch 2 to put the main switch 2 in an off state as shown an fig8 . in this configuration , the vehicle can withstand a long term standstill as the vehicle battery is isolated . the fact that the vehicle is in this second locking mode step can be backed by a visual signal such as , for example , a long or a double flash of light and / or a sonorous signal such as , for example , a long or a double hoot . thereby , the user has a further confirmation that the vehicle is locked according to the second locking mode . it can be envisaged to provide the vehicle with two push buttons located , for example , next to the vehicle door handle 6 ; each push button which could be of a specific colour can set the vehicle in one the locking mode . the invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiments described above and shown in the drawings , but can be varied within the scope of the following patent claims . | 1 |
the process and apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the production of plastic thin - walled shells for a typical automotive part such as an interior door panel , console panel or instrument panel . fig1 shows a typical automobile door panel application of a multi - color , single - piece interior plastic shell 10 . the shell 10 , preferably made of polyvinyl chloride material , is backed by a layer of polyurethane foam 12 bonded to the shell 10 by a mold process such as in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 123 , 403 , issued mar . 3 , 1964 for automobile arm rest . an interior reinforcing insert 14 is connected at a joint 16 to an outer door shell 18 to form an interior space 20 for window lift mechanism ( not illustrated ) to raise and lower a window 22 . in accordance with the present invention the shell is a one - piece plastic part with an integral lower panel 24 of a drycast plastic having a first color . the shell 10 includes an integral joint 26 which is at the base of a recessed groove 28 . the groove 28 forms a transition to an integrally formed upper panel 30 including an armrest segment 32 formed of drycast plastic having a second color contrasting or complementing the color of the first panel 24 or other interior components . for example , the upper panel can be red , blue , yellow or beige to contrast with or complement the interior color of seats , headliners , instrument panels and the like . the lower panel 24 can be colored a deeper complementary tone color of a character which has a low impact or scuff display character . referring to fig2 - 4 , a dry plastisol molding process line is schematically shown as including selectively heated mold 34 with split portions 35 , 37 . a plastisol box 36 is operated between raised and lowered positions with respect to the mold 34 by suitable handling equipment , one type of which is specifically set forth in co - pending u . s . pat . no . 500 , 760 filed june 3 , 1983 for mold loading method and apparatus . the box 36 further includes an upper open end 38 which is configured to cover the planar extent of a complementary opening 40 to mold 34 . clamp means 42 join and seal the charge box 36 to mold 34 when the box 36 is elevated to the position shown in fig3 hereinafter referred to as the &# 34 ; mold - up &# 34 ; position . as a result , the interior of box 36 and the interior of mold 34 form a closed system 44 having plastisol charges in the box 36 . in accordance with the process and apparatus of the present invention , the box 36 is provided with a divider 46 and the mold 34 has its split portions 35 , 37 movable between clamping and unclamped positions to be described . the divider 46 and split portions 35 , 37 are in contact during plastisol casting to form two separate compartments 50 , 52 each containing a charge of plastic plastisol material of a different color ( color a in 50 , color b in 52 ). the casting process step includes concurrent rotation of the closed system 44 by drive means 53 about axis 54 defined by trunnions means of the type set forth in copending u . s . pat . no . 500 , 760 through 180 ° relative to the fig3 position . at fig4 a fill step of the process is shown in which dry plastisol is distributed evenly throughout the mold opening 40 . a resultant even build - up of cast plastisol occurs on pre - heated casting surfaces 56 , 58 on the split portions 35 , 37 , respectively , of the mold 34 . the mold position shown in fig4 will hereinafter be referred to as the &# 34 ; mold - down &# 34 ; position . following the fill step , the ioined mold 34 and charge box 36 are again rotated 180 ° by the drive means so that the mold 34 is located vertically above the box 36 in the moldup position . an air - jet system of the type shown in the co - pending u . s . pat . no . 500 , 760 may be used to dislodge excess plastisol from the walls of the mold by the drive means so that the dislodged material will flow by gravity return to the interior of the box for collection and reuse in the system . a plastisol fuse cycle is then carried out in accordance with known practice wherein the plastisol particles are partially fused as a thin - walled part . the charge box is unclamped from the mold 34 and the split portions 35 , 37 are separated by a space 60 so that the divider 46 as shown in fig6 and the box 36 can be removed from the mold and returned to a plastisol make - up position . thereafter the mold split portions 35 , 37 are clamped with the plastisol cast to the surfaces 56 , 58 being forced together when partially fused . the unit is heated further to finally fuse the plastisol , then is cooled and rotated 180 ° into a strip position corresponding to the mold - down position . make - up plastisol of appropriate color is fed to the multiple separate color compartments . in accordance with the present invention , the split portions 35 , 37 and divider 46 are specially configured and sequentially , operatively positioned to produce an integral joint between plastisol cast on the respective surfaces 56 , 58 . more specifically , as shown in fig2 the split portions 35 , 37 have spaced supports 60 , 62 and 64 , 66 , respectively , fixed thereto . each of the supports 60 - 66 carry a bearing 68 that is slidably supported on a guide rod 70 which is supported to a mold support 71 . a reciprocating drive unit 72 has its drive shaft 74 coupled to split portion 35 to reciprocate it through clamping and unclamping movements on rod 70 with respect to split portion 37 . likewise , a reciprocating drive unit 76 has its drive shaft 78 connected to split portion 37 to reciprocate it through clamping and unclamping movements on rod 70 with respect to split portion 35 . in fig2 the portions 35 , 37 are moved into a first unclamped position which defines the opening 79 between a surface 80 on bent edge 82 of portion 37 and a straight edge 83 on portion 35 . the opening 79 is sized to receive a bent end 84 of the divider 46 as the mold 34 and box 36 are initially joined . once the bent end 84 is positioned in the opening 79 , the portions 35 , 37 are moved by drive units 72 , 76 through a clamping movement in which edge 83 engages the bent end 84 at surface 86 and a surface 88 on bent end 82 engages an inboard surface 90 of end 84 ; all of the aforesaid surface interfaces cooperating to form the plastisol casting clamping position of fig5 . in this position , the divider end 84 separates plastisol particles a cast on surface 56 from plastisol particles b cast on surface 58 . once the plastisol is cast , the mold 34 and box 36 return to the fig3 position . as shown in fig6 the mold is positioned in an unclamped position which separates the split portions 35 and 37 to form the opening 79 for removing the divider 46 from the mold . partially fused particles of plastisol define layers 92 , 94 on the casting surfaces 56 , 58 on the separated split portions 35 , 37 . the split portions 35 , 37 are then moved through a clamping movement which causes the layer 92 to be joined and clamped to layer 94 , as shown in fig7 . the layers 92 , 94 are folded and / or pushed together and are finally fused to form a folded joint in a unitary , one - piece product . two typical joint - line sections are shown in fig8 and 9 . fig8 shows an abutting joint . in this configuration the net tooling closure line 96 is disposed approximately midway of a plastisol layer 98 formed on the surface 80 of bent end 82 . the end 100 of a layer 102 formed at the straight end 84 is thus abutted into and clamped to the layer 98 to form an l - shaped joint 104 therebetween . in fig9 a compression mortise joint is shown . it is formed by locating the net tooling closure line 108 at the surface 80 on bent end 82 . also , there is a vertical offset of the casting surfaces 56 , 58 so that a plastisol layer 112 cast on surface 56 will form a straight line joint 114 with respect to the plastisol 116 formed on surface 80 of bent end 82 . a typical powder casting process for a two - color door panel includes the following sequence . 1 . preheat tool in oven to temperature between 250 ° f . and 390 ° f . 2 . after mold cast temperature is reached , attach the powder box to the mold . 6 . clamp the split mold parts to join partially fused separate shells and return the mold to the oven for cure . examples of suitable mold heating processes for use with the process and apparatus of the present invention include mold temperature control by heated and cooled air or oil heating and cooling flow as set forth in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 217 , 325 issued aug . 12 , 1980 to d . colby . suitable thermoplastic plastisol particles include plasticized polyvinyl chlorides and related vinyl resins in dry form for ease of gravity flow from the charge box 36 during both fill and return steps . typical examples of parts , plastic materials and mold processes include the following : examples of parts that have been made by the dry pvc cast molding process include a door panel shell having a mold volume of approximately six ( 6 ) cubic feet . pvc resin , plasticizer , stabilizer , release agents and color pigments are combined in a high intensity mixer to produce a dry , flowable powder of each desired color . the process is known in the industry as dry - blending . the various compound components may be selected as to type and ratio to provide the properties required both for the finished product and for ease of processing . physical properties will not be too dissimilar from those obtained with liquid plastisol which is also used to manufacture similar products but has an inherent weakness for forming objectionable drips and runs when made in complex shapes . processing properties are such that when melting of the plastic powder occurs , densification results in exact reproduction of minute detail such as grain marks and stitches engraved in the mold surface . mold preheating temperature may range from 250 ° f . to 390 ° f . since the thickness of the finished product is also governed by the time the plastisol particles contact the mold , it should be understood that simultaneous charging of the particles to the split mold portions can be of definite advantage . also , if certain areas of the mold can be made to have a lower pre - heated temperature than others , it will permit molding a thinner shell in those areas , since both temperature and mold - filled time determine the final thickness of the shell . therefore , a very flexible range , for mold - filled time , of one second to ten seconds or more has been established . depending on formulation , final melting or fusion of the pvc powder occurs when mold temperatures reach 350 ° f . to 450 ° f . after final fusion , the mold is cooled to a temperature which will facilitate removal of the shell without damage . specifically the process and apparatus of the present invention enable even and complete distribution of thermoplastic plastisol material onto mold surfaces to form large , long , thin - walled single - piece two - color or more shells for interior door panels and the like formed during short cycle mold cycles in limited plant floor space . while representative embodiments of apparatus and process of the present invention have been shown and discussed , those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope and equivalency range of the present invention . | 8 |
fig1 shows a schematic top view of a surface weight measurement unit 2 , which is arranged on a material sheet 100 being moved in a longitudinal direction x . for purposes of simplicity , the transport means for moving the material sheet 100 is not depicted . in the figures , the proportions and relative spacing are not represented to scale but instead are represented in such a manner as to illustrate the invention . as a basic component , the surface weight measurement unit 2 has a transversal portal 4 , which extends above and below the material sheet 100 over the full width of the material sheet and beyond . the transversal portal 4 has a slit shaped opening through which the material sheet 100 is transported in longitudinal direction x . on a carriage ( which is not visible in fig1 ) a carriage console 6 is supported on the upper cross beam of the transversal portal 4 ( can be seen in fig1 from above as a bar running in y - direction ). the carriage can be moved by a linear drive or actuator , reversing crosswise ( in y - direction ) to the material sheet 100 . the carriage console 6 supports a transmission head 8 , which is movable over the entire width of the material sheet 100 by the carriage console 6 . the transmission head 8 emits an ultrasonic pulse onto the upper surface of the material sheet and the ultrasonic signal propagates , while being attenuated , through the material sheet 100 to its lower surface , where the attenuated signal exits and impinges on the receiver head 10 being arranged opposing to the transmission head 8 . the receiver head 10 is arranged on a carriage console ( not shown ) which is movable over the entire width of the material sheet 100 and up to the calibration position in the standby and calibration station 12 . the lower carriage ( not shown ) supporting the receiver head 10 is moved on by a linear drive or actuator supported at and moving along the lower cross beam of the transversal portal 4 . the movement of the lower carriage console is synchronized with the movement of the upper carriage console 6 such that the transmission head 8 and the receiver head 10 are always in an opposing arrangement during movement over the width of the material sheet 100 and in the calibration position as indicated in fig2 . in the schematic cross - section view of fig2 , the arrangement of the transmission head 8 and receiving unit 10 are represented in a side view ; in this side view the y - direction is vertical to the plane of projection in fig2 . the ultrasonic transmission beam originating from the transmission head 8 is depicted at 32 . in the parking position 14 of the transmission head 8 , the ultrasonic transmission beam 32 penetrates the calibration sample 18 and impinges on the receiver head 10 . the receiver head 10 is also mounted on a carriage at the lower cross beam ( not shown ) of the transversal portal 4 and is moved synchronous with the transmission head 8 in y direction . at the same time , the synchronous movement of the transmission head 8 and the receiver head 10 are such , that these are positioned on an axis in z direction collinear to one another . fig1 further shows a standby and calibration station 12 of the surface weight measurement unit 2 . the standby and calibration station 12 is laterally offset to the material sheet , thus in y - direction or transversal direction to the material sheet 100 . the standby and calibration station 12 has a parking position 14 in which both the transmission head 8 as well as the receiver head 10 on the opposite side are parked during measurement interruptions or for calibrating of the transmission / receiver unit 8 , 10 . there is a pivot - mounted clamping ring 16 in the standby and calibration station 12 , which is rotated via a pinion gear 22 on its exterior . as can be seen in fig2 , the pinion gear or gear wheel 22 is driven by a drive motor 20 . the pinion gear 22 meshes with a ring gear formed at the exterior of the clamping ring 16 so that the rotational speed or the angular position of the clamping ring 16 can be controlled by the drive motor 20 . in the clamping ring 16 a calibration sample 18 is clamped or supported . the calibration sample 18 is a round punch of standard material suitable for the calibration . the round punch has a surface of one square decimetre , so that the surface weight of the punch can be determined simply by weighing it on a precision weighing machine . the calibration standard in form of the calibration sample 18 represents a reference value for the thickness and / or the surface weight of the material sheet 100 and is used for repeated calibration of the transmission / receiver unit comprised of transmission head 8 and receiver head 10 . fig2 shows , in addition to the schematic side view of the transmission head 8 and receiver head 10 , the relative position of the calibration sample 18 . likewise , the control and monitoring electronics for the surface weight measurement unit 2 is represented in the form of a block diagram . using position sensor 24 , it can be determined whether the transmission head 8 and the receiver head 10 have reached the correct park position 14 in order to , for example , execute the calibration . the position sensor 24 sends its signal to a control unit 26 of the surface weight measurement unit 2 . the control unit 26 controls a transmission controller 28 . for example , the transmission controller 28 receives its supply voltage and gain setting signal for setting the signal amplification from the control unit 26 . along with the specified signal amplification , an impulse signal , which is also received from the control unit 26 is amplified for the transmission head 8 . the transmission controller 28 sends the amplified signal to the transmission head 8 , which converts the voltage signal to the ultrasonic impulse 32 . the ultrasonic impulse received at the receiver head 10 is converted into an electrical signal and is fed to a receiver controller 30 . the receiver controller implements signal processing and supplies the processed signal to the control unit 26 . the receiver controller 30 , for example , includes a digital signal processor , which , by proper programming via the control unit 26 , will provide a signal processing algorithm , in order to execute the computationally intensive signal processing at the level of the receiver controller 30 . fig2 also shows at 34 the transmission signal intensity distribution along the diameter of the active ultrasonic transmission surface of the transmission head 8 . there , the approximately gaussian shape of the intensity distribution can be seen , the maximum intensity is in the center area . in order to compensate for thermal drifts , ageing processes , contamination at the transmission and receiver path of the ultrasonic signal 32 and similar effects , the measurement of the surface weight or the layer thickness of the material sheet 100 is interrupted in predefined time intervals for calibration . for this purpose , the transmission head 8 and the receiver head 10 are moved sideways out of the measurement area ( width of the material sheet 100 ) and into the parking position 14 . if the position sensor 24 detects position of the transmission head 8 and the receiver head 10 to be correct , the control unit 26 controls the motor 20 in such a manner so that the calibration sample 18 clamped in the clamping ring 16 is rotated between the transmission head and receiving head . the centre of the transmission / receiver area of the transmission head 8 and the receiver head 10 is radially offset to the centre of the calibration sample 18 , so that the centre of the transmission / receiver head is moved on a circular path relative to the calibration sample . while the calibration sample 18 is being rotated , the transmission head 8 is continuously ( and repeatedly ) sending ultrasonic impulses which are received by the receiver head 10 . thus , the transmission values from the calibration sample 18 can be measured at different positions two - dimensionally or areally distributed over the surface area . the measured vales are recorded with the control unit 26 . after a single rotation or a plurality of rotations of the calibration sample 18 , the control unit 26 calculates an average value from the measured transmission values and uses this average value for calibrating the calibration curve for the surface weight measurement or respectively for the layer thickness measurement . fig3 shows , in an exemplary manner and schematically , a calibration curve for the intensity i of the transmission t of the ultrasonic signal 32 in dependency of thickness d ( the same is valid for the surface weight ) of the material sheet 100 . the dependency of the intensity i of the sheet or layer thickness d using the previous calibration value can be seen clearly from the solid line . if the calculation of the average of the previously described transmission measurement results in a deviation of the calibration value for the layer thickness d or the surface weight , then the calibration curve will be corrected up or down , as indicated by the dashed curves . thus , after the calibration has been made , a new calibration curve ( fig3 ) is available and the layer thickness measurement transverse to the material sheet 100 can be continued using the new calibration curve , so that the surface weight measurement or layer thickness determination can be carried out with high precision . it will be understood that various aspects or details of the invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention . furthermore , the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only , and not for the purpose of limitation — the invention being defined by the claims . | 6 |
fig2 a through 5 , in general , illustrate a method of operation for an optical disc drive 200 of the type including a movably mounted optical pickup unit 300 therein . the method comprises : providing a cover member 450 , 490 in association with the optical disc drive 200 ; deactivating the optical disc drive 200 by moving the optical pickup unit 300 to a position adjacent the cover member 450 , 490 such that the optical pickup unit 300 is protected by the cover member 450 , 490 ; activating the optical disc drive 200 by moving the optical pickup unit 300 away from the cover member 450 , 490 . fig2 a through 5 also , in general , illustrate a method of protecting an objective lens 320 of an optical disc drive 200 , wherein the objective lens 320 is movably mounted relative to the optical disc drive 200 . the method comprises : providing a cover member 450 , 490 in association with the optical disc drive 200 ; providing the objective lens 320 with a first operating position and a second operating position , wherein the objective lens 320 is in the first operating position when the objective lens 320 is located adjacent the cover member 450 , 490 , and wherein the objective lens 320 is in the second operating position when the objective lens 320 is not located adjacent the cover member 450 , 490 ; causing the objective lens 320 to move from the second operating position to the first operating position . fig2 a through 5 also , in general , illustrate an optical disc drive 200 comprising : a rotation point 510 ; an optical pickup unit 300 moveable between a first position remote from the rotation point 510 and a second position closer to the rotation point 510 , relative to the first position ; a cover member 450 , 490 located at the first position ; wherein the optical disc drive 200 includes : a non - operative condition in which the optical pickup unit 300 is positioned at the first position adjacent the cover member 450 , 490 ; and an operative condition in which the optical pickup unit 300 is positioned between the first position and the rotation point 510 . having described the optical disc drive 200 and the components thereof in general , they will now be described in greater detail . referring to fig2 a and 2b , in summary , the optical disc drive 200 may have an optical pickup unit 300 that is used to read data from an optical disc 100 . the optical disc drive 200 may have a cover member 490 that may serve to protect the optical pickup unit 300 when it is not in use . specifically , the optical disc drive 200 moves the optical pickup unit 300 between an operative position as illustrated in fig2 a and a non - operative position as illustrated in fig2 b . the non - operative position may be a position where the optical pickup unit 300 is covered by the cover member 490 when the optical pickup unit 300 is not in use . the cover member 490 illustrated in fig2 a and 2b is one example of a cover member . other examples of cover members are illustrated in fig3 through 5 and are depicted numerically as 450 . having described the optical disc drive 200 and the components thereof in general , they will now be described in greater detail . a summary description of the optical disc drive 200 is followed by a more detailed description of the optical disc drive 200 . referring to fig2 a , 2 b , and 3 , in summary , the optical disc drive 200 may have an optical pickup unit 300 that is used to read data from an optical disc 110 . specifically , the optical pickup unit 300 reads data stored in the form of optical transitions in narrow tracks located on an optical surface 112 of the optical disc 110 as the optical disc 110 spins . the optical pickup unit 300 may emit a narrow beam of light having a specific wavelength that is used to illuminate the optical surface 112 . the light may , as an example , be emitted by a laser . the optical pickup unit 300 receives light reflected from the optical surface 112 and translates the reflected light to machine - readable image data , thus , the optical pickup unit 300 “ reads ” the data stored on the optical disc 110 . the embodiment of the optical disc drive 200 shown in fig2 a is in an active or second operating condition when the optical pickup unit 300 is in a second operating position . the embodiment of the optical disc drive 200 shown in fig2 b is in an inactive or first operating condition when the optical pickup unit 300 is in a first operating position . the optical pickup unit 300 may have an objective lens 320 . the objective lens 320 may move in a normal direction 216 and a radial direction 210 relative to the optical pickup unit 300 as the optical pickup unit 300 is reading the data from the optical surface 112 . the movement of the objective lens 320 in the normal direction 216 may serve to focus an image of the optical surface 112 onto optical components located in the optical pickup unit 300 . the movement of the objective lens 320 in the radial direction 210 may serve to precisely follow the tracks on the optical surface 112 as the optical disc 110 spins . the objective lens 320 may only move distances in the order of microns relative to the optical pickup unit 300 . thus , the mechanisms within the optical pickup unit 300 that move the objective lens 320 tend to be very delicate , making the optical pickup unit 300 a relatively delicate device . the light emitted by the optical pickup unit 300 may pose health risks to the user . for example , the light may damage the user &# 39 ; s retinas , which generally causes permanent and irreversible damage to the user &# 39 ; s vision . a user is exposed to the optical pickup unit 300 when he or she exchanges the optical disc 110 , however , the optical pickup unit 300 is normally deactivated when an optical disc 110 is being exchanged . if , however , the optical pickup unit 300 becomes activated for any reason while the user is exposed to the optical pickup unit 300 , the light may contact the user and endanger the health of the user . as was previously described , a user may be exposed to the optical pickup unit 300 when he or she is exchanging an optical disc 110 . if the user touches the objective lens 320 or causes an object to contact the objective lens 320 , the optical pickup unit 300 may be damaged . for example , oils from the user &# 39 ; s hands may contaminate the objective lens 320 , thereby making the optical pickup unit 300 unable to read the optical surface 112 of the optical disc 110 . in another example , the user may damage the mechanism that moves the objective lens 320 relative to the optical pickup unit 300 , which will render the optical pickup unit 300 and , thus , the optical disc drive 200 inoperable . the optical disc drive 200 may also be rendered inoperable if the optical disc drive 200 is subject to excessive shock or vibration that damages the mechanism that moves the objective lens 320 relative to the optical pickup unit 300 . the optical disc drive 200 described herein overcomes the aforementioned problems by providing a cover member 450 , 490 that protects the optical pickup unit 300 from shock , vibration , and contamination . the cover member 450 , 490 also protects the user from dangerous light emitted by the optical pickup unit 300 . the cover member 450 , 490 may be appropriately shaped so that the optical disc drive 200 may move the optical pickup unit 300 under the cover member 450 , 490 when the optical disc drive 200 is not in use . locating the optical pickup unit 300 under the cover member 450 , 490 keeps the user from contacting the objective lens 320 and protects the user from being exposed to dangerous light should the optical pickup unit 300 become active . the cover member 450 , 490 may be appropriately shaped so that it secures the objective lens 320 in a fixed position when the optical pickup unit 300 is not in use . securing the objective lens 320 lessens the likelihood that the optical pickup unit 300 will fail if it is subject to shock or vibration . having summarily described the optical disc drive 200 with the cover member 450 , 490 incorporated therein , the optical disc drive 200 will now be described in greater detail including other components that are used by the optical disc drive 200 . the following description describes the cover member 450 , fig3 followed by a brief description of the cover member 490 , fig2 a and 2b . fig2 a and 2b are simplified schematic illustrations depicting some of the components comprising the optical disc drive 200 . the optical disc drive 200 may have a motor 500 , the optical pickup unit 300 , an optical mechanical assembly 400 , and the cover member 450 . except for the addition of the cover member 450 , the optical disc drive 200 may be similar to optical disc drives as are known in the art . the motor 500 may serve to spin the optical disc 110 at a predetermined rate . the rotation rate of the optical disc 110 typically varies between a few hundred rpm to several thousand rpm . as will be described below , the optical pickup unit 300 reads data from or writes data to the optical disc 110 as it spins . fig3 is a top perspective and more detailed view of the optical disc drive 200 . the optical disc drive 200 of fig3 illustrates a slightly different embodiment of a cover member 450 than was illustrated in fig2 a and 2b . the differences in these embodiments will be described in detail below . for illustration purposes , the optical disc 110 , fig2 is not illustrated in fig3 . the motor 500 , optical pickup unit 300 , optical mechanical assembly 400 , and cover member 490 may be mounted to a chassis 230 . the chassis 230 may have a front side 232 , a rear side 234 , a left side 236 , and a right side 238 . the chassis 230 may have a length 240 extending between the front side 232 and the rear side 234 . the chassis 230 may also have a width 242 extending between the left side 236 and the right side 238 . the optical pickup unit 300 may have a housing 310 . the housing 310 may have a length 312 , e . g ., approximately two centimeters , and a width 314 , e . g ., approximately 1 . 5 centimeters . the housing 310 may have a top portion 330 ( sometimes referred to herein as a surface ) wherein the top portion 330 may have an opening 332 . the optical pickup unit 300 may have an objective lens 320 movably mounted relative to the housing 310 . the objective lens 320 may be situated in the proximity of the opening 332 . a plurality of supports 322 may attach the objective lens 320 to a magnetic actuator 324 wherein the magnetic actuator 324 may serve to move the objective lens 320 relative to the housing 310 in a conventional manner . specifically , the magnetic actuator 324 may serve to move the objective lens 320 in a radial direction 210 and a normal direction 216 . the radial direction 210 is comprised of a positive radial direction 212 and a negative radial direction 214 . the normal direction 216 is comprised of a positive normal direction 218 and a negative normal direction 220 . as will be described in further detail below , the optical pickup unit 300 may serve to translate data stored on the optical disc to machine - readable data . the magnetic actuator 324 may , as an example , move the objective lens 320 in the normal direction 216 a distance of 0 . 35 millimeters in either the positive normal direction 218 or the negative normal direction 220 to focus light between the optical disc and the optical pickup unit 300 . the magnetic actuator 324 may also , as an example , move the objective lens 320 a distance of 0 . 25 millimeters in either the positive radial direction 212 or the negative radial direction 214 to follow the tracks on the optical disc as the optical disc spins . the motor 500 may serve to spin an optical disc in a conventional manner . the motor may have a spindle 510 ( sometimes referred to as a rotation point ) and a hub 512 . the spindle 510 may serve to center the optical disc on the hub 512 . the hub 512 may have a hub surface 514 that may serve to support the optical disc on a plane as it spins . the motor 500 may serve to spin the spindle 510 , the hub 512 and , thus , the optical disc , at various speeds , e . g ., several hundred to several thousand rpm . the optical mechanical assembly 400 may serve to move the optical pickup unit 300 in the radial direction 210 wherein the radial direction 210 is a direction that extends from the spindle 510 . the optical mechanical assembly 400 typically does not have the precision for movement in the radial direction 210 as the magnetic actuator 324 does . thus , the optical mechanical assembly 400 may serve to move the optical pickup unit 300 to an approximate location relative to an optical disc . the magnetic actuator 324 may then serve to move the objective lens 320 to a precise location relative to the optical disc . the optical mechanical assembly 400 may operate in conjunction with a transport mechanism 410 , a guide mechanism 416 , and a slide mechanism 418 . the transport mechanism 410 may serve as an interface between the optical pickup unit 300 and the optical mechanical assembly 400 . the guide mechanism 416 and the slide mechanism 418 may be affixed to the chassis 230 and may support the optical pickup unit 300 . the guide mechanism 416 and the slide mechanism 418 may be parallel and may also serve to guide the optical pickup unit 300 as it is moved by the optical mechanical assembly 400 . the optical mechanical assembly 400 may , as an example , comprise a conventional servo system , not shown , to move the optical pickup unit 300 . the cover member 450 may be attached to the chassis 230 by conventional means , e . g ., rivets , screws , or adhesives . referring to fig4 the cover member 450 may have a left support portion 452 , a right support portion 454 , a left elevation portion 476 , a right elevation portion 478 , and a top portion 460 . the left support portion 452 and the right support portion 454 may have holes 456 , 458 respectively . the holes 456 , 458 may serve to attach the left support portion 452 and the right support portion 454 to the chassis 230 , fig3 in a conventional manner , i . e ., screws may pass through the holes 456 , 458 and the chassis 230 . the left elevation portion 476 and the right elevation portion 478 may serve to elevate the top portion 460 from the left support portion 452 and the right support portion 454 . the top portion 460 may have a lower side 462 that is separated from the left support portion 452 and the right support portion 454 by a distance 464 . as will be described below , the lower side 462 may serve to support the optical pickup unit 300 , fig3 when the optical pickup unit 300 is not in use . the lower side 462 may have a recess 470 located therein . the recess may have a width 472 and a depth 474 . the recess 470 may be lined with a cushion or elastic material 480 having a thickness 482 . the recess 470 may serve to secure the objective lens 320 , fig3 in a fixed location when the optical disc drive 200 is inactive . the cushion material 480 may serve to protect the objective lens 320 , fig3 from being scratched or contaminated when it is held in the fixed location by the recess 470 . referring again to fig3 the optical disc drive 200 may place the optical pickup unit 300 in two different operating positions . the first operating position of the optical pickup unit 300 is where it is positioned under or adjacent the cover member 450 . in this position , the optical pickup unit 300 and , thus , the optical disc drive 200 are inactive as the optical pickup unit 300 is not able to read data from the optical disc . the second operating position of the optical pickup unit 300 is where it is not positioned adjacent or under the cover member 450 . in this position , the optical pickup unit 300 and , thus , the optical disc drive 200 are active as the optical pickup unit 300 may read data stored on the optical disc . having described the optical disc drive 200 and the components thereof , the operation of the optical disc drive 200 will now be described . referring to fig3 when the optical disc drive 200 is in use , an optical disc is located on the hub surface 514 and centered about the spindle 510 . the motor 500 spins the optical disc at a predetermined speed , which may vary from several hundred rpm to several thousand rpm . the optical mechanical assembly 400 moves the optical pickup unit 300 in the positive radial direction 212 from the first operating position to the second operating position where it may read data from the optical disc . the optical disc drive 200 receives instructions to read data from a specific portion of the optical disc . in order to read the data , the optical mechanical assembly 400 determines the present position of the optical pickup unit 300 and calculates how far in either the positive radial direction 212 or the negative radial direction 214 the optical pickup unit 300 must move in order to read the specified data . the optical mechanical assembly 400 in conjunction with the transport mechanism 410 then moves the optical pickup unit 300 on the guide mechanism 416 and the slide mechanism 418 to the position where the optical pickup unit 300 may read the data on the optical disc . the guide mechanism 416 may , as an example , pass through the transport mechanism 410 so as to assure that the transport mechanism 410 moves on an axis defined by the guide mechanism 416 . the slide mechanism 418 may serve as support for the optical pickup unit 300 to assure that the optical pickup unit 300 does not tilt relative to the chassis 230 . when the optical pickup unit 300 is located in the approximate position of the data on the optical disc , the optical pickup unit 300 commences to read data located on the optical disc . the optical pickup unit 300 emits light through the objective lens 320 to illuminate a specific track on the optical disc . light is reflected from the track , through the objective lens 320 and to a photodetector , not shown , in the optical pickup unit 300 that converts the reflected light to machine - readable data , e . g ., digital data . a laser is typically used to generate the light used to illuminate the tracks on the optical disc . the laser may , as an example , emit light having a wavelength of approximately 790 nanometers and a power of approximately 70 milliwatts . the tracks on the optical disc have different reflective areas , sometimes referred to herein as pits and lands . light reflected from the pits has a different intensity than light reflected from the lands . binary data may be stored in the tracks on the optical disc by the use of the pits and the lands wherein the pits may represent binary zeros and the lands may represent binary ones . accordingly , light reflected from a track on the optical disc changes between a high intensity and a low intensity as the optical disc spins . these changes in the intensity of the reflected light are , thus , representative of the data stored on the optical disc . the optical mechanical assembly 400 does not have the precision to guide the objective lens 320 to follow a specific track on the optical disc as the optical disc spins . in order to solve this problem , the optical pickup unit 300 moves the objective lens 320 to the precise track from where the requested data is stored as the optical disc spins . specifically , the magnetic actuator 324 moves the objective lens 320 in the positive normal direction 218 or the negative normal direction 220 to focus an image of the track onto the above - described photodetector located in the optical pickup unit 300 . the magnetic actuator 324 also moves the objective lens 320 in the positive radial direction 212 or the negative radial direction 214 to follow a specific track as the optical disc spins . the objective lens 320 must constantly move in the radial direction 214 in order to follow the track because the track spirals around the optical disc and will be in constant radial movement relative to the objective lens 320 . the radial movement of the objective lens 320 is very precise as the tracks are separated by a radial difference of approximately 1 . 6 microns and the optical disc spins at speeds of a few hundred to several thousand rpm . when the optical disc drive 200 is not reading the optical disc , an instruction is transmitted to the optical mechanical assembly 400 to move the optical pickup unit 300 to the first operating positions . the optical mechanical assembly 400 moves the optical pickup unit 300 in the negative radial direction 214 far enough so that the objective lens 320 moves under the cover member 450 . referring to fig3 and 4 , the objective lens 320 slides into the recess 470 where it is secured in a fixed position by the cushion material 480 . locating the objective lens 320 under the cover member 450 serves to secure the objective lens 320 in a fixed position , which lessens the likelihood of damage to the optical pickup unit 300 when the optical disc drive 200 is subjected to vibration or shock . this location also serves to protect the optical pickup unit 300 from being contacted by a user . for example , a user is less likely to be able to touch the optical pickup unit 300 or inadvertently contact the optical pickup unit 300 with an optical disc , either of which could damage the optical pickup unit 300 . locating the objective lens 320 under the cover member 450 also serves to shield a user from the light emitted by the optical pickup unit 300 should the light source , not shown , located in the optical pickup unit 300 become active . referring to fig2 a , 2 b , and 3 , the cover member 450 , 490 may be located in the radial direction 210 beyond the optical disc 110 . accordingly , the optical mechanical assembly 400 may have to be adapted to increase the movement of the optical pickup unit 300 beyond that of conventional optical disc drives so that the optical pickup unit is able to be located under the cover member 450 , 490 . in one embodiment of the optical disc drive 200 , the surface 330 of the optical pickup unit 300 contacts the lower side 462 of the cover member 450 when the optical pickup unit 300 is located under the cover member 450 . contacting the surface 330 with the lower side 462 further serves to protect the optical pickup unit 300 from damage as a result of shock or vibration by holding the optical pickup unit 300 in a fixed position . contacting the surface 330 with the lower side 462 lessens the likelihood that the optical pickup unit 300 will become dislodged from the transport mechanism 410 . it also lessens the likelihood that shock and vibration will cause the optical pickup unit 300 to damage components located in the optical mechanical assembly 400 . the optical pickup unit 300 has been described herein with the objective lens 320 extending in the positive normal direction 218 beyond the surface 330 of the optical pickup unit 300 . in some optical pickup units , the objective lens 320 may be flush with the surface 330 or slightly recessed into the optical pickup unit 300 . an optical disc drive using either of these optical pickup units 300 may use the cover member 450 illustrated in fig5 . the cover member 450 of fig5 is identical to the cover member 450 of fig4 except that it has a cushion material 490 extending from the surface 462 rather than having a recess 470 , fig4 . the cushion material 490 may have a width 492 and may extend a distance 494 from the surface 462 . the width 492 and the distance 494 are appropriately sized to allow the cushion material 490 to fit through the opening 332 , fig3 in the surface 330 . referring to fig3 and 5 , when the optical pickup unit 300 is moved under the cover member 450 , the cushion material 490 passes through the opening 332 to contact the objective lens 320 . the cushion material 490 secures the objective lens 320 in a fixed position , which as described above , lessens the likelihood that the objective lens 320 will be damaged if the optical disc drive is subjected to shock or vibration . the optical disc drive 200 has been described using embodiments of the cover member 450 as illustrated in fig4 and 5 . these cover members 450 contact the surface 330 of the optical pickup unit 300 and components located on the surface 330 . the optical disc drive 200 illustrated in fig2 a and 2b depicts another embodiment of a cover member 490 . the cover member 490 is c - shaped , thus , the optical pickup unit 300 moves into the cover member 490 rather than under it . accordingly , the cover member 490 encompass the optical pickup unit 300 and provides additional support . referring to fig2 a , 2 b , and 3 , in another embodiment of an optical disc drive 200 , the optical mechanical assembly 400 moves the objective lens 320 under the cover member 450 , 490 every time a user exchanges an optical disc 110 . for example , prior to powering itself down , the optical disc drive 200 may instruct the optical mechanical assembly 400 to move the objective lens 320 from the position shown in fig2 a to a position under the cover member 450 , 490 as shown in fig2 b . some optical disc drives have an access door that must be opened in order for a user to gain access to the optical disc . in these applications , the optical disc drive may instruct the optical mechanical assembly 400 to move the objective lens 320 under the cover member 450 , 490 when the user attempts to open the door . in some other optical disc drives the chassis 230 sides out from a housing when a user changes the optical disc , thus , exposing the objective lens 320 to the environment and the user . in these optical disc drives , the optical disc drive may instruct the optical mechanical assembly 400 to move the objective lens 320 under the cover member 450 , 490 prior to sliding the chassis out of the housing . while an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein , it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art . | 6 |
the present invention provides various embodiments of doors and door systems that include an electrical generation system that utilizes piezo - electric generators to generate electricity from the movement of a door , or the movement of various door related mechanisms . the electricity from such electrical generation systems can be used to directly power electronic door accessories such as an electric door lock , security keypads , lights , door openers , biometric security devices ( such as fingerprint readers , etc . ), or other such powered devices . in other arrangements , the piezo - electric generators are used to recharge the batteries that power the aforementioned accessories . in one embodiment , the electrical generation system includes a door mechanism , a cam and a piezo electric generator mechanism . the door mechanism can be any moving mechanism that is utilized on a door , such as a door handle , door lock , door closer , or the door itself . in one construction , a cam is operatively connected to the door mechanism so that when the door mechanism is actuated , the movement of the door mechanism imparts movement to the cam . fig1 illustrates a simplified version of a door 10 that includes a piezo - electric generator mechanism 15 of the invention . as illustrated in fig1 , the door 10 is supported within a door frame 20 by three hinges 25 that allow the door 10 to pivot about a hinge axis . a lock mechanism 30 is positioned within the door 10 and is operable to selectively engage the door frame 20 to maintain the door 10 in a closed position . a handle 35 extends from the lock mechanism 30 and is actuatable by a user to selectively engage or disengage the lock mechanism 30 and the frame 20 to allow the user to open and close the door 10 . in preferred constructions , weather stripping 40 ( sometimes referred to as a door frame liner ) or other flexible items are positioned between the door 10 and the door frame 20 such that when the door 10 is closed , a better seal is formed between the door 10 and the door frame 20 . the piezo - electric generator 15 , better illustrated in fig2 includes a roller 45 , a cam driver 50 , a piezo - electric member 55 , and electrical conductors 60 or wires that direct the generated electricity to a point - of - use . in preferred constructions , the piezo - electric member 55 includes a stack of piezo - electric elements 65 arranged such that an applied force on one of the elements 65 is applied to all of the elements 65 . the piezo - electric member 55 used in the piezo - electric generator mechanism 15 , can be any suitable commercially available piezo - electric member 55 . the cam driver 50 is positioned adjacent the piezo - electric member 55 and engages the member 55 such that any displacement of the cam driver 50 is translated to the piezo - electric member 55 . in the illustrated construction , the cam driver 50 includes a rectangular cross - section bar that extends from the piezo - electric member 55 and supports the roller 45 . other shapes and arrangements of the cam driver 50 are also possible . as illustrated in fig2 , the roller 45 includes a cylindrical wheel that is supported for rotational movement by the cam driver 50 . the outer surface 70 of the roller 45 is substantially smooth and is positioned to engage a cam 75 . the cam 75 includes a cylindrical wheel with a plurality of bumps 80 formed on the outermost cylindrical surface 85 . the cam 75 is coupled to the uppermost hinge 25 in the illustrated construction such that the cam 75 rotates with the door 10 as it is opened and closed . the bumps 80 of the cam 75 are sized and spaced such that the roller 45 moves in a substantially radial direction as the cam 75 rotates . for example , if one selected a piezo - electric member 55 that efficiently operates when excited at 50 hz for use on a door that moved through 90 degrees of rotation in 10 seconds , one would provide a cam 75 having about 2000 bumps 80 around the circumference . each bump 80 would have a height about equal to the desired displacement ( e . g ., 0 . 005 inches , 0 . 13 mm ) and the roller 45 would be sized to fit between the bumps 80 to give the desired displacement at the cam driver 50 . the cam and roller interface is designed to apply pressure to the roller 45 as it moves on the surface of the cam 75 . the roller 45 in turn moves the cam driver 50 . the cam driver 50 can be any structural component that links the roller 45 to the piezo - electric member 55 . as the cam driver 50 is moved it actuates the piezo - electric member 55 , which in turn generates electricity in response to the deformations imparted to the piezo - electric elements 65 . suitably , the cam and roller interface is designed such that there are bumps 80 or depressions on either the cam 75 , the roller 45 , or both , such that the movement of the cam 75 over the roller 45 creates a frequency and amplitude of movement in the cam driver 50 that actuates the piezo - electric member 55 in an efficient fashion . suitably , in one embodiment , the bump 80 or depression arrangement on the cam 75 or the roller 45 is such that the piezo - electric member 55 is actuated at a frequency of about between 50 - 200 hz with an amplitude of about 1 - 10 thousandths of an inch ( 0 . 025 - 0 . 25 mm ). the piezo - electric generator 15 of fig2 remains stationary while the cam 75 rotates with the hinge 25 to provide the desired excitation of the piezo - electric member 55 . fig3 illustrates another construction in which the piezo - electric generator 15 is coupled to and moves with the door 10 while the cam 75 remains fixed . thus , the piezo - electric generator 15 rotates around the cam 75 to produce the same excitation as was provided with the construction of fig2 . the construction of fig3 is advantageous in that the wiring 60 from the piezo - electric member 55 can be directly connected to the device being powered or the batteries 90 ( shown in fig1 ) being charged if they are also coupled to the door 10 without having to pass wires between the stationary frame 20 and the moving door 10 . one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the cam 75 and the piezo - electric generator 15 can be positioned in many different ways without deviating from the invention . in addition , one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that while the cam 75 illustrated in fig1 - 3 is shown as being completely cylindrical , other constructions could use a portion or sector of the cylinder since most doors 10 rotate less than about 180 degrees . another construction of the electrical generation system that could be used alone , or with the construction of fig1 - 3 , is shown in fig4 . the door handle 35 is connected to a spindle 95 which operatively supports the cam 75 . the cam 75 is operatively connected to the spindle 95 such that when the handle 35 is turned , both the spindle 95 and the connected cam 75 rotate together . the cam 75 outer circumference 85 has bumps 80 and depressions 100 situated thereon . the roller 45 is positioned to be in connection with the outer circumference 85 of the cam 75 , such that when the cam 75 is turned , a portion of the outer circumference 85 of the cam 75 rolls across the roller 45 , the roller 45 traveling over the bumps 80 and depressions 100 causing the roller 45 to move the cam driver 50 to actuate the piezo - electric member 55 . as discussed with regard to fig1 - 3 , the bumps 80 are sized and spaced to provide the desired excitation frequency and amplitude for the piezo - electric member 55 during normal rotation of the handle 35 . fig5 illustrates another arrangement in which the piezo - electric generator 15 is oriented in a direction that is substantially parallel to the hinge axis rather than normal to that axis as illustrated in fig1 - 3 . in this arrangement , the bumps 80 are moved from the circumferential outer surface 85 of the cam 75 to the outermost edge of one of the substantially planar faces 105 of the cam 75 . as with prior constructions , the bumps 80 are sized and spaced to provide excitation of the piezo - electric member 55 at the desired frequency and amplitude . as with the constructions of fig1 - 3 , the piezo - electric generator 55 could be coupled to the door 10 rather than the frame 20 , if desired . another embodiment of the electrical generation system is shown in fig6 . a lock mechanism 110 includes a rotating spindle 95 that is operatively connected to the cam 75 such that the rotating spindle 95 and the connected cam 75 rotate together . the cam 75 includes a substantially planar surface 105 that terminates at an outer circumference 85 . a plurality of bumps 80 and depressions 100 are formed or attached to the substantially planar surface 105 adjacent the outer circumference 85 . the piezo - electric generator 15 is positioned such that the roller 45 contacts the substantially planar surface 105 of the cam 75 and is displaced in a direction that is substantially parallel to the spindle axis in response to the bumps 80 moving past the roller 45 during rotation of the handle 35 . as with prior constructions , the bumps 80 are sized and spaced to excite the piezo - electric member 55 at the desired frequency and amplitude . fig7 illustrates yet another arrangement of the invention . the construction of fig7 is adapted to operate with sliding doors 110 rather than rotating doors 10 . the piezo - electric generator 55 is positioned in the door frame 20 adjacent a top or bottom edge 115 of the door 110 . a strip 120 is positioned along the adjacent edge 115 of the door 110 and includes a plurality of bumps 125 . as with prior constructions , the roller 45 of the piezo - electric generator mechanism 15 engages the bumps 125 and moves in response to the movement of the bumps 125 past the roller 45 . as with prior constructions , the bumps 125 are sized and spaced to excite the piezo - electric member 55 at a desired frequency and amplitude . in another construction , the bumpy strip 120 is positioned on the door frame 20 and the piezo - electric generator mechanism 85 is coupled to and moves with the door 110 . fig8 illustrates an arrangement of a piezo - electric generator mechanism 130 and a cam 135 in which the bumps 80 are applied to a roller 140 rather than a cam 135 . this arrangement could be applied to any of the arrangements described herein . the bumps 80 , the cam 135 , and the roller 140 would all be sized and spaced to provide excitation of the piezo - electric member 55 at the desired frequency and with the desired amplitude . in another construction illustrated in fig9 and 10 , the door frame liner 40 or other flexible interface between the door 10 and the frame 20 is employed to generate electricity using piezo - electric elements 145 . as illustrated in fig1 , the electrical generation system includes the door 10 , the door frame 20 , and weather stripping 40 ( or door frame liner ) positioned beneath the door 10 . the weather stripping 40 includes a strip of elastic material 150 which at least partially encloses one or more piezo - electric members 155 . as illustrated in fig9 , a series of piezo - electric members 155 are spaced apart from one another with each , including a plurality of piezo - electric elements 160 supported between the uppermost surface of the strip 150 and the lowermost surface of the strip 150 . the elastic strip 150 can include fabric , rubber , plastic , or any other elastic material . in some embodiments , the elastic strip 150 can include conductive plastic or conductive rubber . any suitable commercially available piezo - electric members 155 may be used . fig9 a illustrates the strip 150 in a relaxed position such as when the door 10 is open , while fig9 b illustrates the strip 150 in a compressed position such as the position it takes when the door 10 is in the closed position . as the strip 150 moves between the positions of fig9 a and 9b , the piezo - electric elements 145 are compressed or expanded slightly , thereby producing an electric current . the current is directed to the point - of - use and is used in a manner similar to that described with regard to the prior arrangements . fig1 a and 10b illustrate another arrangement of a strip 160 in which piezo - electric members 162 include piezo - electric fibers 165 that can be attached , woven or enclosed by the elastic strip 160 . the piezo - electric members 162 generate electricity which can be stored in the battery 90 ( shown in fig1 ) or used to power an electronic door accessory 165 ( e . g ., lock , key pad , light , etc .). in one embodiment , the elastic strip 160 of the weather stripping 40 is either conductive plastic or conductive rubber , and the weather stripping 40 itself can be used to transmit electricity from the piezo - electric members 162 to electric door accessory 165 ( shown in fig1 ). in other embodiments the electricity can be transmitted from the piezo - electric members 162 by standard electrical wires that can be connected or embedded in the weather stripping 40 . it should be noted that while some of the embodiments are described as including batteries , virtually any energy storage device ( e . g ., supercaps , ultracaps , etc .) could be employed in place of or in conjunction with the batteries described herein . various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims . | 4 |
a lid opener 11 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention is represented in fig1 and 2 . it has a handle 13 for turning a lid held in the lid opener and three clamping jaws 15 , 17 , 19 . the handle 13 is a part of a base element 23 . the handle 13 moreover includes a lever 21 , hinged on the base element 23 . following the handle 13 , the base element 23 makes a transition into a support disk 25 ( see fig3 ). the support disk 25 is a displacement disk 27 at the same time . for adjusting the clamping jaws , it has three helical guide elements 29 on its front . a guide disk 31 arranged in front of it is seated on the displacement disk 27 in the center of the helical guide elements 29 , and its shaft passes through the support disk 25 . a gear wheel is arranged on the shaft behind the support disk . on the far side of its hinge point , the lever 21 has a tooth arrangement which acts together with the gear wheel tooth arrangement of the guide disk 31 . in this way it is possible by pivoting the lever 21 to rotate the guide disk 31 in relation to the helical guide elements 29 , which results in a displacement of the clamping jaws . in another embodiment , the displacement disk 27 has the helical guide elements on its front , and on its back a gear wheel , which can be actuated by the handle . in this case the displacement disk 27 is rotatably seated on the support disk 25 , and the guide disk 31 is connected with the displacement disk in a manner fixed against relative rotation . however , in the represented case , the guide disk 31 is turned in relation to the displacement disk 27 when the lever 21 is actuated — as represented by the difference between fig1 and 2 —. in fig1 , the lever projects at an angle away from the handle , and the clamping jaws are in a position wherein they are remote from each other , in which the largest possible circle can be covered . in fig2 , the lever 21 has been pivoted into a position parallel with the handle 13 , and the clamping jaws 15 , 17 , 19 are in a position closer to each other , in which only a small circle can be covered . the gear wheel connection between the lever 21 and the guide disk 31 is covered by a cover 33 . three pivot levers 35 , 37 , 39 are hinged to the guide disk 31 . each pivot lever has a clamping jaw 15 , 17 , 19 , which projects past the guide disk 31 toward the front . on the other side , each of the pivot levers 35 , 37 , 39 has a guide element , for example a bolt , which engages the helical guide element 29 ( see , e . g ., fig6 ). upon a relative rotation between the helical guide element 29 and the guide disk 31 , these guide elements are pivoted in the helical guides around the center of rotation of the pivot lever , and at the same time are forcibly moved away from the center of rotation or toward the center of rotation . the clamping jaws 15 , 17 , 19 are correspondingly pivoted together with the pivot levers . an exemplary embodiment is represented in fig4 to 11 . fig4 shows it from below . in fig4 , the clamping jaw 19 with the support element 45 is represented twice , namely in an outermost position 60 and an innermost position 50 . fig5 shows the same exemplary embodiment from the top . the base element 23 is made of one piece together with a handle 13 . in contrast to the base element of the first exemplary embodiment , the base element 23 constitutes the guide disk 31 . a displacement disk 27 is rotatably seated on it . the displacement disk 27 is provided with the rotatable handle 41 , which is connected , fixed against relative rotation , with the displacement disk 27 ( fig5 ). the guide disk 31 has three radial guide slits 43 , which are connected with each other at the center . a support element 45 of the clamping jaws 15 , 17 , 19 is seated in each guide slit 43 . each support element 45 ( fig1 and 11 ), has a retaining plate 47 , with which it extends behind the edge of the guide slit 43 . the connecting point of the three guide slits in the center has been widened in such a way ( fig7 ), that the retaining plates 47 can be pushed through the guide disk 31 at the connecting point . but the guide slits 43 themselves are less wide than the retaining plate 47 . a bolt 49 projects from the retaining plate 47 , with which the support element 45 engages a helical guide element 29 in the displacement disk 27 . the support element 45 moreover has a translatory guide 51 , which is guided between the edges of the guide slit 43 , and a sliding plate 53 which rests on the guide path of the guide disk 37 . the clamping jaws 15 , 17 , 19 lie above the guide disk . the clamping jaws can snap into a holding column 55 at the support element 45 . back to fig6 , in which the displacement disk 27 is represented . the displacement disk 27 has been put together from a helical guide disk 57 and a rotary grip disk 59 . three concentric helical guide elements 29 have been formed in the helical guide disk 57 . each helical guide element 29 is a helical groove . thus , the three grooves alternatingly lie next to each other radially . the three helical guide elements are identical and are only arranged turned by 120 degrees in respect to each other . the lead of the represented helical turns is of the same size for an identical angular change . this has the result that the gradient of the helical guide element 29 decreases from the inside to the outside . however , the gradient can also be uniform , so that the lead increases from the inside to the outside . the gradient is advantageously decreasing and the lead increasing . alternatively , there can also only be a single helical guide element 29 ( fig1 ), which is engaged by all three support elements 45 . advantageously , in the areas where the clamping jaws are arranged at a distance suitable for a standard screw lead dimensions ( broken circular lines 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ), the guide element has a small gradient , and in the transition area from one lid diameter to the other a substantially greater gradient . as represented in fig1 , the lead of the helical guide element can be practically equal to zero over 240 degrees . over the adjoining 90 degrees it can increase sufficiently so that one of the three clamping jaws 15 , 17 , 19 is moved sufficiently far toward the center so that clamping is achieved . the remaining 30 degrees are used for the transition to the next lid sizes . however , the transition area can also include more than 30 degrees , so that the areas with very small gradients are turned in respect to each other . no self - locking between the helical guide element 29 and the bolt 49 is required in the transition areas between the standard lid sizes . therefore the lead can be of arbitrary size in this area . a similar stepping of the spiral guide element 29 is also possible with three spiral guide elements . fig7 shows that the handle 13 and the guide disk 31 together constitute the base element 23 . the guide disk 31 is circular and has the three guide slits 43 for the support elements 45 . the translatory guides 51 are guided in the guide slits 43 . on both sides of the guide slits 43 , support ribs 61 have been formed . the displacement disk 27 rests on these with the helical guide element 29 . as can be seen from fig4 , 5 and 7 , two protrusions 71 exist on the guide disk 31 . the guides for the support elements 45 with the clamping jaws 15 are conducted past the contour circle of the helical guide disk 57 to the protrusions 71 . they rest on these two protrusions and on the handle shoulder in the outermost position 60 of the support elements 45 , and the bolt 49 extends into one of the helical guide elements 29 inside the contour circle of the helical guide disk 57 . the actual clamping jaws 15 are represented in fig8 and 9 . they have been put together from a metallic claw 73 and a spring element 75 made of a plastic material , in which the claw 73 is supported . the spring element 75 can be clipped to the holding column 55 at the support element 45 . an s - shaped spring lip 77 has been formed on the spring element 75 , which resiliently gives when under load if the clamping jaw 79 is placed under load in the direction of the arrow 79 during the opening of a screw lid . for this resilient movement , the clamping jaw 15 is pivotable around the holding column 55 . the claw 73 has a curvature with teeth , with which it acts on the lid . this curvature has a center circle which is not concentric with the pivot center in the axis of the holding column 55 . therefore the center circle of the curvature is pivoted along , namely in the direction toward the screw lid . a clamping effect between the claw 73 and the screw lid is assured by this . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restricted . the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof are intended to be embraced therein . | 1 |
fig1 shows a cap that has a crown element 10 with a rim 12 , a visor 14 projecting forward from the rim 12 , a button 16 at the peak of the crown element 10 , and a three - dimensional configuration indicative of a sports team insignia or team name . the configuration includes a first component having a sculpted flexible form 18 enveloped in fabric 20 and secured to the crown element 10 at the base of the form 18 by a fastener 22 of engagable hooks and loops and includes a second component also having a sculpted flexible form 24 enveloped in fabric 26 and secured to the crown element 10 at the base of the form 24 by a fastener 28 of engagable hooks and loops . the fasteners 22 and 28 include a portion with a side of engaging elements but whose non - engaging side is sewn to the crown element 10 and another portion with a side of engaging elements but whose non - engaging side is adhered to the form 18 or 24 as applicable . the forms 18 and 24 are made from a sponge - like flexible material , such as a sponge , styrofoam or soft natural lightweight plastic mold or synthetic rubber , that flexes in response to external forces applied to it . in this manner , any inadvertent contact with a solid object ( such as other people ) due to sudden turning of the wearer &# 39 ; s head will not cause injury . other types of materials that resiliently retain their shape after impact or readily absorb the external forces applied to it without creating resistance forces that could cause injury would be acceptable . in addition , the forms 18 , 24 are sculpted to provide the fundamental shape of the desired sports team insignia and positioned preferably so as to project no farther outwardly to the side than does the visor so as to minimize the risk of injury with others due to sudden movements by the wearer &# 39 ; s head . the forms 18 , 24 are then enveloped by fabric 20 , 26 that is decorated to resemble the desired sports team insignia . the engaging elements cooperate with each other and may include engaging hooks and loops , mushroom shaped connectors , interacting - article connectors , adhesives , etc . the cap to which is applied the desired three dimensional sports team insignia is conventional , i . e ., manufactured of a wool blend and / or cotton fiber with an a plastic rim that is adjusted in the back to fit various head sizes . the cap may be further decorated with the applicable sports team insignia and / or logo together with the word &# 34 ; head &# 34 ; underneath or immediately following . in lieu of further decorating with the sports team insignia and / or logo before the word &# 34 ; head &# 34 ;, some aspect of the three dimensional sports insignia on the cap may be identified ( preferably in a single word ) or the name of the sports team may be abbreviated , again followed by the word &# 34 ; head &# 34 ;. some examples include &# 34 ; jet head &# 34 ; for the new york jets , &# 34 ; shoe head &# 34 ; indicative of the three dimensional representation of horseshoes symbolizing the indianapolis colts , &# 34 ; hot head &# 34 ; for the new jersey devils , and &# 34 ; halo head &# 34 ; indicative of the three dimensional representation of a halo for the new orleans saints . illustrative examples are found in fig2 - 7 . the sports team insignia may be those for professional and / or college football teams , basketball teams , soccer teams , hockey teams , and baseball teams , which are among the most popular spectator team sports in america . however , the inventive cap with three - dimensional sports team insignia has application to other spectator sports teams that may be more popular in other countries , such as rugby , cricket , polo , etc . the fastener 22 , 28 preferably has two fastener elements , one being secured such as through stitching to the crown element of the cap itself with the other fastener element being secured to either the fabric or the foam form . if secured to the flexible form ( 18 or 24 ), the fabric obviously cannot be arranged to cover it . instead , the fabric either should border this other fastener element or be cut to form a hole to provide access to it . if applied to the fabric , the fabric should be sufficiently taut on the flexible form or otherwise secured to ensure a solid hold between the fasteners and the flexible form without allowing the flexible form to flop about at the fastener connection , as might otherwise occur due to excess slack in the fabric . as an alternative , in lieu of using the fabric , the flexible form may be painted or otherwise decorated to provide the appropriate coloring for the sports team insignia . the crown element 10 is a covering atop the person &# 39 ; s head , but need not include the visor 14 or the adjustable rim 12 , particularly where the crown element is a knitted ski or snow hat or the like instead of a traditional baseball cap . while the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . | 0 |
hereinafter , preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . for the purposes of clarity and simplicity , a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein ill be omitted as they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail . fig3 is a perspective view of an alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . fig4 is a side view of an alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks as shown in fig3 . as shown in fig3 and 4 , an alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base plate 211 , a lower plate 213 , a sliding table 217 , an upper plate 215 , a jig 219 for locking an optical fiber block , a locking axle 227 , a locking driver 225 and a displacement sensor 223 . the alignment apparatus 200 is mounted on an alignment driving actuator 290 , as shown in fig8 . the base plate 211 extend vertically upward at one end where it is mounted to the alignment driving actuator 290 of the alignment apparatus 200 . the lower plate 213 is mounted to the base plate 211 . the lower plate 213 acts as a guide for the sliding table 217 to move horizontally thereon in a forward and backward direction z . both ends of lower plate 213 protrude perpendicularly upward in direction y so that one end serves to mount the locking driver 225 , locking axle 227 , and the displacement sensor 223 therethrough . another consequence of the lower plate 213 having such a configuration is to restrict the displacement of the sliding table 217 thereon . that is , the vertical ends act as stops or side walls for the sliding table 217 . the upper plate 215 is rigidly mounted on the sliding table 217 so that they are both displaced horizontally simultaneously with respect to the lower plate 213 . the upper plate 215 is constructed having an l - shape . it is fixed to the sliding table 217 so that one portion of the upper plate 215 lays flat on the top surface of the sliding table 217 and the other end is perpendicular to that portion and extends downward in a y direction so as to come between the sliding table 217 on one side and the locking axle 227 , the locking driver 225 , and displacement sensor 223 on the other side . the upper plate 215 is provided with the jig 219 attached thereon . a resilient means 221 for providing a resilient force upon the sliding table 217 is fitted between the side wall of the lower plate 213 having the locking driver 225 , locking axle 227 , and displacement sensor 223 mounted therethrough , and the portion of the upper plate 215 extending downward in a y direction . the resilient force acts on the upper plate in the z direction displacing the upper plate , the sliding table 217 , and the jig 219 in the same direction . consequently , the optical fiber block 201 which is locked in the jig 219 comes into close contact with a corresponding counterpart component , for example the planar optical wave - guide element . as shown in fig6 , the jig 219 for locking the optical fiber block includes a bracket 219 a for positioning the optical fiber block 201 and a holder 219 b for locking the optical fiber block 201 positioned by the bracket 219 a . the jig 219 is mounted in a horizontal plane on the upper plate 215 so that the jig can rotate in a y - axial rotational direction θy . in one embodiment of this invention as shown in fig5 , a bearing 231 and a rotation shaft 233 are mounted in the upper plate 215 , as shown in fig5 . the bearing 231 is press - fitted into the upper plate 215 . the rotation shaft 233 is rotatably connected to the bearing 231 extending axially through the upper plate 215 . the rotation shaft 233 protrudes above the upper plate 215 . the jig 219 is mounted on the protruded end of the rotation shaft 233 . this feature eliminates the need for a precision driving motor to align the jig 219 about the y axis . the optical fiber block 201 is preferably locked on the bracket 219 a in a state such that the optical fiber block extends beyond the lower and upper plates 213 and 215 . in another embodiment of this invention as shown in fig7 , the bracket 219 a comprises a locking part 21 and a supporting part 23 . the locking part 21 provides a surface upon which the optical fiber block 201 is placed , while the supporting part 23 supports one end of the optical fiber block 201 . the size of an optical fiber block 201 varies depending on the number of optical fiber strand arranged on the optical fiber block 201 . consequently , since the size of different optical fiber blocks 201 may vary , the supporting part 23 may shift its horizontal position on the locking part 21 accordingly to accommodate a range of sizes of optical fiber blocks 201 . this feature results in using one bracket 219 a for a range of optical fiber blocks 201 of different sizes . this eliminates the disadvantage of a conventional alignment apparatus for optical fiber blocks wherein the bracket must be replaced every time an optical fiber block of a different size is to be aligned . describing the operation of the components of the alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks according to the embodiments of this invention , the resilient force applied by the resilient means 221 is applied against the portion of the upper plate 215 extending perpendicular to it . this force results in the linear displacement of the upper plate 215 . as the upper plate 215 is fixed to the jig by means of the rotation shaft 233 , the jig 219 is also displaced by the same magnitude in the z horizontal direction . the displacement of the upper plate 215 and jig 219 are restricted in all other linear directions due to the fact that the upper plate 215 is rigidly fixed to the sliding table which is constrained to displacement only in the linear z direction . as these components are displaced , the optical fiber block 201 loaded in the jig comes into close contact with the corresponding counterpart component , such as the planar optical wave - guide element . an end surface of the optical fiber block 101 is aligned parallel to an end surface of the counterpart component . there , the sliding table 217 is at maximum displacement . as the optical fiber block 201 comes into close contact with the counterpart component , the jig 219 pivots about the rotation shaft 233 aligning itself automatically . the optical fiber block 201 is aligned in the optimal position when the sliding table 217 is displaced to its maximum extent . thereafter , the displacement sensor 223 senses this maximum displacement generating a signal causing the locking driver 225 to drive the locking axle 227 to lock the upper plate 215 in its current position . consequently , the jig 219 is also prevented from further linear displacement thus preventing any further rotation about the rotation shaft 233 . in another embodiment of this invention , the jig 219 may be provided with a spherical member 229 positioned so that it comes into contact with the locking axle 227 when the locking driver 225 drives the locking axle 227 forward to lock the jig 219 in the optimum position . this spherical member 229 is to uniformly distribute a locking force upon the jig 219 when one end of the locking axle 227 comes into contact with it . in one embodiment of this invention and as shown in fig5 , two vertical pegs 240 extending vertically upwards in a y direction formed on the top surface of the top plate form the rotational limits that the jig 219 may rotate about the y axis . these pegs limit the rotation and act as stops for the jig 219 when the spherical member 229 come into contact with them . this assures that the spherical member 229 does not rotate outside the range where the locking axle 227 may come into contact with it when it is driven by the locking driver 225 . the alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks as described in the invention is mounted on the alignment driving actuator 290 that enables the jig 219 to pivot about a y rotational axis θy , so that the alignment apparatus does not require a separate driving motor for alignment in the y rotational axis θy , unlike the conventional alignment apparatus . the alignment driving actuator 290 requires three dimensional linear and rotational alignments in relation with a x - axis , a y - axis and a z - axis , respectively , where the linear alignments are performed along to the respective x -, y - and z - axes , i . e . in a left or right direction x , in an upward or downward direction y , and in a forward or backward direction z ; whereas the rotational alignments are performed about the respective x -, y - and z - axes , i . e . about a x rotational axis θx , about a y rotational axis θy , and about a z rotational axis θz . the linear alignments in all the x -, y - and z - axes and the rotational alignment about the z rotational axis are performed by a lower driving actuator 291 , and the rotational alignments to the x - axis is performed by an upper driving actuator 299 . to align the optical fiber block using the alignment apparatus 200 , the lower driving actuator 291 performs an approximate alignment first and then the upper driving actuator 299 performs a fine alignment . the alignment about the y rotational axis θy is automatically performed at the moment when the optical fiber block 201 contacts the counterpart component and the jig 219 rotates about the rotation shaft 233 . opposingly , in the conventional alignment apparatus for optical fiber blocks 100 , the y axis of rotation θy is located on the rear side of the base plate 111 ( see fig1 ) and is spaced apart from the optical fiber block to a certain extent . therefore , even a fine operation of the driving motor about the x rotational axis θx results in an increasing displacement of the optical fiber block because of the distance between the y axis of rotation θy and the optical fiber block . the conventional apparatus thus requires the driving motor to be operated with high precision . to the contrary , the alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks of this invention provides a y axis of rotation θy located through the position where the optical fiber block 201 is locked . this occurs due to the axis of the rotational shaft 233 that the jig 233 rotates about being located through the c enter of the optical fiber block 201 locked position . therefore , it is easy to adjust a displacement of the optical fiber block 201 finely during the alignment of the optical fiber block . moreover , it is possible to simultaneously perform the alignment about the y and x axes of rotation , θy and θx , because as a resilient force is applied in a direction in which the optical fiber block 201 contacts the counterpart component , the rotation shaft 233 and bearing 231 provide a rotational means for the jig . in the embodiments of the present invention as shown in fig8 , the following is a description of the procedure for aligning an optical fiber block using the alignment apparatus 200 for optical fiber blocks . the optical fiber block 201 is positioned on the alignment apparatus 200 , wherein the alignment apparatus 200 is mounted on the alignment driving actuator 290 . here , the bracket 219 a is adjusted to accommodate the size of the optical fiber block 201 . when the optical fiber block 201 is positioned , the lower driving actuator 291 is operated to perform linear alignments initially for the x - and y - axial directions and the rotational alignment about the z rotational axis and then to advance the alignment apparatus 200 toward the counterpart component 202 , such as the planar wave - guide element , in the z - axial direction . when the alignment apparatus 200 advances coming into contact with the optical fiber block 201 , the lower driving actuator 291 causes the optical fiber block 201 to advance to a predetermined extent . as the optical fiber block 201 makes contact with the counterpart component , the resulting reaction force of the counterpart component 202 forces the jig 219 , upper plate 215 , and sliding table 217 in the opposite linear z direction relative to the displacement of the alignment apparatus 200 . it will be apparent that advancement of the alignment apparatus 200 by the lower driving actuator 291 should be limited to a displacement no greater than the maximum traveling range of the sliding table 217 on the lower plate 213 once the optical fiber block 201 makes contact with the counterpart component 202 . as the sliding table 217 , upper plate 215 , and jig 219 move in the opposite direction relative to the movement of the alignment apparatus 200 , a resilient force from the resilient means 221 acts upon the upper plate 215 and ultimately the jig 219 and the sliding table 217 as well . the reaction of the forces acting between the optical fiber block 201 and the counterpart component 202 causes the jig 219 to rotate about the y rotational axis θy . the jig 219 continues to rotate freely from the point when the optical fiber block 201 comes into contact with the counterpart component 202 until the point when the alignment is completed . after the alignment apparatus 200 is advanced to a proper position , the alignment about the x rotational axis θx is performed by the upper driving actuator 299 . at this point , the jig 219 also continues to rotate freely about the y rotational axis θy . this configuration efficiently provides for the precise and simultaneous alignment about both x and y axes rotational axes , θx and θy , without the need for an independent driving motor for alignment about the y axis of rotation . at such time when the optical fiber block 201 makes contact with the counterpart component , the displacement sensor 223 senses the position where the sliding table 217 is advanced to a maximum displacement . at such time the alignment of the optical fiber block 201 is complete and the locking driver 225 causes the locking axle 227 to be advanced . in one embodiment of this invention the locking axle 227 advances and makes contact with the upper plate 215 preventing any further linear movement of the upper plate 215 , sliding table 217 , and jig 219 . this also restricts the jig 219 from any further rotation about rotational shaft 233 . in another embodiment the locking axle 227 advances towards the spherical member 229 provided with the jig 219 . once contact is made the spherical member locks the jig 219 in place preventing it from further advancement or rotation and also preventing further advancement of the upper plate 215 and sliding table 217 . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting . the words “ up ”, “ down ”, “ right ” and “ left ” will designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made . the words “ in ” and “ out ” will refer to directions toward and away from , respectively , the geometric center of the device and designated parts thereof . the words “ inboard ” and “ outboard ” will refer to directions toward and away from the interior of a truck . such terminology will include derivatives and words of similar import . referring to fig1 - 4 and 6 , a truck t includes an open - top bed b selectively closable by a truck bed closure c ( e . g . cap lift gate or tonneau cover ) having a wall w mounting a locking assembly 10 according to the invention . the locking assembly 10 includes a base plate 15 mounted on the outside of the truck bed closure wall w by a pair of bolts 20 , 25 ( fig6 ) extending through the wall w . the bolts have respective heads 30 , 35 snugly and nonrotatably received in correspondingly shaped recesses 40 ( fig3 a ) in the face 45 of the base plate 15 , such that the base plate 15 is thereby not removable from outside the truck bed closure . a gasket 50 ( fig6 ) is sandwiched between the outer face of the truck bed closure wall w and the base plate 15 to exclude moisture and provide a cushion effect . holes 52 in the gasket , and corresponding holes in the truck wall w , receive the screws 20 , 25 . as apparent from the foregoing , and readily seen in fig8 , the locking assembly parts located outside the closure c are the handle body 140 , key lid 145 , base plate 15 , and gasket 50 . the remaining locking assembly parts either extend into ( through the wall w ) or are entirely within the interior space bounded by the closed closure c and truck bed b . the base plate 15 ( fig3 a and 6 ) is oblong and includes a central aperture 55 . the central aperture 55 aligns with a corresponding aperture aw ( fig8 ) in the truck bed closure wall w , and is configured to receive a lock cylinder bushing 65 ( fig6 and 8 ). the lock cylinder bushing 65 includes a hollow cylindrical portion 70 and a flange portion 75 at the outboard end of the cylindrical portion 70 . the base plate 15 includes an outboard recess 80 around the central aperture 55 , shaped and sized for snugly and nonrotatably receiving the flange portion 75 . the cylindrical portion 70 is configured for snug , nonrotatable inserting through the base plate central aperture 55 . the radially outer surface 85 of the cylindrical portion 70 includes diametrically opposed , convexly rounded , threaded surfaces ( schematically shown in fig6 ) circumferentially separated by diametrically opposed flat sections 90 . the flat sections 90 align with like flat sections 95 of the central aperture 55 of the base plate 15 to rotationally fix the bushing 65 in the base plate 15 . a mounting frame 105 ( fig6 , 7 a , 8 and 8 a ) is adapted to abut on an internal face 100 of the truck bed closure wall w and axially align with the base plate 15 . the mounting frame 105 includes apertures 110 and 115 respectively configured to align with and snugly receive the bolts 20 , 25 and bushing 65 . appropriately sized nuts 120 , 125 are received respectively on the inboard ends on the bolts 20 , 25 and bushing 65 to fix the base plate 15 , gasket 50 and mounting frame 105 to each other and to the truck bed closure . the locking assembly 10 further includes a handle assembly 130 ( fig2 , 3 , 4 , 6 and 8 ). the handle assembly 130 includes a shaft component 135 , a handle body 140 , a key lid 145 , and a tumbler 150 . the shaft component 135 ( fig6 and 8 ) includes a hollow , stepped cylindrical body 155 and a radial flange 160 spaced intermediate the ends of the body 155 . the hollow , stepped cylindrical body 155 is configured to be received in the hollow cylindrical portion 70 of the lock cylinder bushing 65 , and is preferably rotationally spring biased by any conventional intervening resilient means ( schematically indicated in fig6 c and 6d ). an outboard projection 76 ( fig6 c ) on the outboard end 77 of the bushing 65 is circumferentially movable in an annular groove 165 ( fig6 d ) in the inboard face 170 of the flange 160 of the shaft component 135 . the groove 165 is circumferentially long enough to allow limited , e . g . 90 °, rotation of the shaft component 135 , the latter preferably being spring - biased to rest such projection against one end of such groove , so as to have a rest position of fixed orientation on the bushing 65 . the shaft component 135 is retained in the bushing 65 by a spring clip 175 ( fig6 ) received in the first circumferential groove 180 ( fig6 ) around the hollow , stepped cylindrical body 155 adjacent its inboard end . the hollow cylindrical body 155 includes a stepped internal cavity 185 having an outboard opening key - cylinder portion 190 and an inboard extending tail portion 195 . the key - cylinder portion 190 includes radially extending keyways 192 ( fig6 b ) for coaction with the tumbler 150 as hereafter described the handle body 140 ( fig3 , 4 , 6 and 8 ) includes a central aperture 205 with an inboard - facing recess 210 . the recess 210 is configured to receive the intermediate flange 160 of the shaft component 135 and the central aperture 205 is configured to receive the outboard portion of the hollow cylindrical body 155 of the shaft component 135 . the shaft component 135 is fixed to the inboard face of the handle body 140 by any convenient means , such as small screws 227 ( fig6 ) inserted through holes in the tumbler flange 160 and threaded into opposing holes 225 , 230 adjacent and flanking the central aperture 205 in the handle body 140 . the handle body 140 is removable from the shaft component 135 without affecting the locking function of the locking assembly 10 . the handle body 140 further includes a central recess 235 ( fig3 ) in the outboard face 240 thereof , surrounding the central aperture 205 . the key lid 145 is pivotally mounted to the handle body 140 , e . g . by coaxial half shafts 141 in the lid 145 , outwardly urged by a spring 142 therebetween , into pockets 143 in portions 144 of the handle body 140 flanking the recess 235 . the key lid 145 is configured to pivot from a closed position ( fig2 ), filling the central recess 235 on the outboard face 240 of the handle body 140 and covering the central aperture 205 , to an open position ( fig3 ), projecting from the outboard face 240 of the handle body 140 . the key lid 145 is resiliently biased toward its open and the closed positions by a camming pin 245 ( fig4 ) received within an internal cavity 250 of the handle body 140 and urged by a spring 255 into contact with cam flats 258 and 259 on the otherwise convexly rounded hinge portion 260 of the key lid 145 . the tumbler 150 ( fig3 , 6 , 6 a and 8 ) is of conventional type and includes an outboard key - lock portion 265 for receiving a key k and an inboard tail portion 270 . the tumbler 150 is generally cylindrical and is configured for insertion into the hollow , stepped cylindrical body 155 of the shaft component 135 . more particularly , the tumbler tail portion 270 is inserted through the key - cylinder portion 190 of the body 155 and to the inboard end of the tail portion 195 of the hollow , stepped cylindrical body 155 . the key - lock portion 265 includes a number of radially extending pins 275 that orient the tumbler 150 for insertion into the keyway 192 ( fig6 b ) of the key - cylinder portion 190 . the outboard key - lock portion 265 has an exterior key - receiving end in the handle body 140 and exposed to receive a conventional key k if the key lid 145 is in its open , fig3 , position . referring to fig5 , 6 and 8 , with the handle assembly 130 fixed to the bushing 65 by the first spring clip 175 , a lock disk 280 is coaxially fixed on the inboard end 285 of the shaft component 135 for rotation therewith and so with the handle body 140 . in the embodiment shown , the inboard end portion of the shaft component has a non - circular cross - section , here including a pair of diametrically opposed flats 295 . the lock disk 280 includes a noncircular , flatted , central aperture 290 , correspondingly shaped and sized to be circumferentially fixed on the inboard end 285 of the shaft component 135 . the lock disk 280 ( fig6 , 8 and 8 a ) is fixed on the shaft component 135 between the first spring clip 175 and a second spring clip 300 ( fig6 , 8 and 8 a ) received in a second circumferential groove 305 proximate the inboard end 285 of the shaft component 135 . the spring clips 175 and 300 may be conventional , c - shaped snap rings . the lock disk 280 ( fig6 ) is substantially planar and circular , but includes a number of outstanding features . the outer edge of the lock disk 280 includes a pair of diametrically opposed , semicircular cut - out sections ( or notches ) 315 , 320 . respective radially outward extending ledges 325 , 330 define one end of the corresponding cut - out sections 315 , 320 . each ledge 325 , 330 defines a disk rotation stop , as hereafter discussed . at the other end of the cut - out sections 315 , 320 respective cable mount tabs 340 , 345 extend perpendicular to the surface of the lock disk 280 away from the wall w . the lock disk 280 is rotationally symmetrical about its flatted central aperture 290 . the tail portion 270 ( fig6 a ) of the tumbler 150 includes a coaxial noncircular ( here square ) recess 350 in its interior ( inboard ) end 355 , at the open end of a coaxial threaded aperture 360 . the locking assembly 10 includes a locking dog 365 ( fig3 , 6 and 8 ) in the form of an oblong block 370 having on its outboard face an off - center projection 375 ( fig8 and 8b ) and a through aperture 380 . the projection 375 of the dog 365 corresponds in shape ( hence here square ) and sized so as to be snugly received in , the square recess 350 of the tumbler 150 , rotationally fixing the locking dog 365 to the tumbler 150 . a screw 382 extends through the dog 365 and is threaded into threaded aperture 360 of the tumbler 150 to eccentrically fix the locking dog 365 on the end of the tail portion 270 of the tumbler 150 . the mounting frame 105 ( fig6 and 7a ) comprises an upstanding wall plate 385 and a horizontal shelf plate 390 fixedly extending inboard from the top of the wall plate 385 and substantially perpendicular thereto . the wall plate 385 is fixed to the interior face 100 of the truck bed closure wall w ( fig6 and 8a ) by the bolts 20 , 25 through the wall plate holes 110 , and their nuts 120 , and by the bushing 65 through the wall plate hole 115 , and its nut 125 . two vertical flanges 395 , 400 ( fig6 ) extend from corresponding end edges 405 , 410 of the wall plate 385 . the vertical flanges 395 , 400 include corresponding apertures 415 , 420 configured for loosely guiding cables 425 , 430 extending through holes in the cable mount tabs 340 , 345 on the lock disk 280 to closure latches l hereafter discussed and whose location may vary widely from vehicle to vehicle . the flange 400 further includes a second , threaded aperture 435 below the aperture 420 . two laterally spaced studs 440 , 445 fixedly depend from the lower surface 450 of the shelf plate 390 , and have shanks 456 mounting correspondingly heads 455 , 460 . the shelf plate 390 also includes a threaded aperture 465 at its right inboard corner in fig6 . the remote ends 426 of the cables are configured ( here with loops 427 ) to engage and operate the latches l . the inboard ends of the cables include fixed stops 428 larger in diameter than the holes in the tabs 340 , 345 so that the tabs can pull the cables and open the latches l upon counterclockwise ( fig6 ) rotation of the lock disk 280 . the locking assembly 10 further includes a slider 470 ( fig6 ) configured for movable connection to the mounting frame 105 . the slider 470 is preferably formed of bent plate stock and includes a horizontal portion , here defined by a pair of laterally spaced shelves 475 and extending in an outboard direction from a vertical wall 480 . the horizontal shelves 475 ( fig6 ) of the slider 470 include a pair of respective keyhole apertures 482 , 485 , each having a narrow portion 490 and an enlarged portion 495 . the keyhole apertures 482 , 485 are spaced to align with the studs 440 , 445 depending from the shelf plate 390 of the mounting frame 105 . the heads 455 , 460 of the studs 440 , 445 can be inserted through the enlarged portion 495 ( but not the narrow portion 490 ), and the stud shanks 456 fit slidably in the narrow portion 490 , of the corresponding keyhole apertures 482 , 485 . so installed , the slider 470 can be shifted laterally so that the horizontal shelves 475 of the slider 470 are retained snugly against the bottom of the shelf plate 390 of the mounting frame 105 by the studs 440 , 445 . a generally z - shaped spring clip 500 has a base portion fixed ( as by rivets ) under one horizontal shelf ( the leftward one in fig6 ) 475 of the slider 470 and a downward stepped free portion vertically opposing the corresponding ( leftward in fig6 ) one of the keyhole apertures 485 . the free portion of the spring clip 500 includes a pair of projections 505 , 510 that resiliently engage the head 460 of the corresponding stud 445 , to the resiliently block sliding of the slider 470 on the mounting frame . the vertical wall 480 ( fig6 ) of the slider 470 includes a downwardly open locking cut - out 515 . the locking cut - out 515 is generally rectangular , and is configured to receive and align with the locking dog 365 fixed on the tumbler 150 . the vertical wall 480 of the slider 470 further includes a lock disk rotation stop 520 , a manual actuation projection 525 and a motor - actuator projection 530 , all extending horizontally and perpendicular to the vertical wall 480 . the locking disk rotation stop 520 extends toward the wall plate 385 of the mounting frame 105 past the edge of the lock disk 280 . the manual actuation projection 525 extends outwardly of the lock assembly 10 away from the wall plate 385 . the motor - actuator projection 530 also extends outwardly of the lock assembly 10 , away from the wall plate 385 . the preferred slider 470 here shown is linearly slidable . however , it is contemplated that an alternate slider may move arcuately , e . g . on a curved mounting frame or by rotation about the axis of the bushing 65 . referring now to fig7 - 11 , the locking assembly 10 is configured to pull open normally closed latches schematically shown at l . the latches are preferably of conventional type ( e . g . like those shown in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 354 , 650 ) operatively interposed between the closure c and truck bed b to normally block opening of the truck bed closure . in order to open the latches l , to allow opening of the closure c and access to the interior of the truck bed b , the cables 425 , 430 attached to the lock disk 280 must be drawn inwardly . this is accomplished by rotating the lock disk 280 counterclockwise , from its fig1 position to its fig1 position . fig7 - 8 show the locking assembly 10 in its “ locked ” position , wherein the locking dog 365 is oriented in a vertical position , and the slider 470 is shifted as far to the left ( fig7 ) as it will go . in this “ locked ” position , the lock disk rotation stop 520 ( fig6 and 7c ) is pulled into the notch 320 of the lock disk 280 , so that the engagement of the ledge 330 of the lock disk 280 with the lock disk rotation stop 520 of the slider 470 prevents the lock disk 280 , and thus the handle body 140 , from rotating . in order to rotate the lock disk 280 , the slider 470 must be shifted to the right ( fig1 ) so that the lock disk rotation stop 520 is shifted away from and does not interfere with the lock disk 280 . referring to fig9 , by rotation of the key k , the tumbler 150 , and hence the locking dog 365 , have been rotated counterclockwise from their fig7 positions . as it rotates , the locking dog 365 cams against the side of the locking cut - out 515 , forcibly shifting the slider 470 rightward to its fig1 unlocked position . the user , who is turning the key k and rotating the tumbler 150 , will realize the slider 470 has been fully shifted , due to the horizontal orientation of the key k and to the audible and tactile click of the spring clip 500 on the head 460 of the stud 445 ( fig7 b ) as the protrusions 505 , 510 of the spring clip 500 resiliently snap over the stud head 460 . in their “ unlocked ” position of fig1 , the key k , tumbler 150 and locking dog 365 have been rotated back clockwise , to the original vertical position of the dog 365 , and the key has been removed from the tumbler 150 to fix the tumbler 150 with respect to the shaft component 135 . when the locking dog 365 is thus rotated back to its vertical position , the slider 470 remains in its rightward ( in fig1 ) “ unlocked ” position . the lock disk 280 is now free to rotate to draw the cables 425 , 430 inwardly , counterclockwise from their fig1 “ latched ” condition to their “ unlatched ” condition of fig1 . to that end , the user grasps and rotates counterclockwise the handle body 140 , and thus the shaft component 135 and the lock disk 280 fixed on the shaft component 135 . given the preferred spring bias above mentioned with respect to the projection 76 in the annular groove 165 , the user need only release the handle body 140 to rotationally return it and the lock disk 280 to latter &# 39 ; s latched ( but still unlocked ) position of fig1 . this ends tensioning of the cables 425 and 436 by the locking disk 280 . the conventional latches l interposed between the closure and truck bed b are typically also spring - biased to help them return to their latched condition upon such release of the tension force transmitted by the cables 425 , 430 . thus , the closure c is again latched to the truck body b . to return the locking assembly 10 to its locked position of fig7 , the user inserts the key k in the tumbler 150 and rotates same in the opposite direction to lock the handle body 140 fixedly to the lock cylinder bushing 65 , and cam the locking dog 365 against the left side of the locking cut - out 515 , pushing the slider 470 to its leftward , fig7 , locked position . the user can then , again , remove the key from the tumbler 150 , with the locking assembly 10 in its locked position , wherein the handle body 140 cannot be rotated . fig1 - 13 show a further embodiment comprising a locking assembly 535 which is preferably similar to the locking assembly 10 of fig1 - 11 , except as follows . more particularly , the embodiment of fig1 - 13 adds an actuator - mounting bracket 540 and linear actuator 545 to the locking assembly 10 of fig1 - 11 . the locking assembly 535 can be sold and installed as a unit , or the actuator - mounting bracket 540 and linear actuator 545 can be considered an optional , “ add - on ” module for installation onto the locking assembly 10 of fig1 - 11 . the linear actuator is preferably a conventional , remotely electrically operated unit , e . g . a “ power lock actuator ” available from spall advanced technologies located at correggio , italy . the actuator - mounting bracket 540 ( fig1 a ) includes a base plate 550 and a wall plate 555 . the base plate 550 includes an aperture 560 configured for receiving a screw 565 . the wall plate 555 supports an outwardly extending flange 570 having an aperture 575 configured for receiving a screw 580 . the screws 565 , 580 extend through the apertures 560 , 575 of the base plate 550 and the flange 570 and are arranged for alignment with and threaded engagement in , the threaded apertures 435 , 465 ( fig6 ) of the flange 395 and shelf plate 390 of the mounting frame 105 , to fix the actuator - mounting bracket 540 to the mounting frame 105 as shown in fig1 and 13 . the actuator - mounting bracket 540 ( fig1 a ) further includes a pair of threaded apertures 585 , 590 for threadedly receiving a pair of actuator - mounting screws 595 , 600 , which extend upward through sleeves 605 , 610 ( fig1 ) in the body 615 of the linear actuator 545 , to fix the linear actuator 545 to the actuator - mounting bracket 540 . the linear actuator 545 includes a laterally extendable actuator arm 620 ( fig1 and 12a having a loop / connector 625 at its free end . the actuator - mounting bracket 540 locates the linear actuator 545 on the mounting frame 105 so that motor - actuator projection 530 ( fig6 , 13 and 13 a ) of the slider 470 is received in the loop 625 , the linear actuator 545 and the slider 470 being thereby functionally joined . the actuator arm 620 of the linear actuator 545 is capable of being manually shifted , i . e . movement of the slider 470 in the manner described above , using the key , tumbler 150 and locking dog 365 , will also shift the actuator arm 620 of the linear actuator 545 . conversely , the slider 470 can be shifted to the left or right , without the use of the key k , tumbler 10 or locking dog 365 , as long as the locking dog 365 is in the upright position of fig7 or fig1 . therefore , the linear actuator 545 is actuable to shifting the slider 470 from the locked to the unlocked position and vice versa . the linear actuator 545 can be configured for electrical connection to an original equipment manufacturer &# 39 ; s vehicle electrical system , such as to a keyless entry part thereof and / or to a remote switch thereof , such as may be located in the cab of the truck . the linear actuator 545 can also be configured with an electronic controller to operate with a stand - alone keyless entry system . the linear actuator 545 does not interfere with the operation of the locking assembly 535 with the key k and , due to the configuration of the mounting frame 105 and actuator - mounting bracket 540 , can be added to the locking assembly 10 subsequent to the original installation . an additional operational mode of the locking assembly 10 , 535 is provided by the manual actuation projection 525 ( fig6 ) of the slider 470 . some people may use their pickup trucks for camping , or may use the truck bed to catch a quick nap at a highway rest stop . thus , applicant recognizes that the possibility of locking and unlocking the truck bed closure from the inside is desirable . to that end , a person located in the interior of the truck bed can simply close the closure over him / herself and , by grasping the manual acuation projection 525 , shift the slider 470 to the left , locking the locking assembly 10 , 535 from the inside . such person can thereafter unlock the locking assembly 10 , 535 by shifting the slider 470 to the left and open the closure c to exit the truck . the locking assembly 10 , 535 is still operable by key or remote electronic activation from outside should someone , e . g . a child , inadvertently be locked in . while the invention has been described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in he art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims . 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 illustrated by the drawings and described in the specification as the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include any embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
although the following text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments , it should be understood that the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this disclosure . the detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical , if not impossible . numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented , using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent , which would still fall within the scope of the claims . it should also be understood that , unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “ as used herein , the term ‘ _ ’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence , there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term , either expressly or by implication , beyond its plain or ordinary meaning , and such terms should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent ( other than the language of the claims ). to the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning , that is done for the sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader , and it is not intended that such claim term be limited , by implication or otherwise , to that single meaning . finally , unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “ means ” and a function without the recital of any structure , it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 u . s . c . § 112 , sixth paragraph . as used herein , the term “ impairment ” refers to any of a number of conditions that may reduce vehicle operator performance . a vehicle operator may be impaired if the vehicle operator is drowsy , asleep , distracted , intoxicated , ill , injured , suffering from a sudden onset of a medical condition , etc . additionally , as used herein , the term “ vehicle ” may refer to any of a number of motorized transportation devices . a vehicle may be a car , truck , bus , train , boat , plane , etc . additionally , as used herein , the term “ driver ” may refer to any operator of a vehicle . a driver may be a car driver , truck driver , bus driver , train engineer , captain of a boat , pilot of a plane , etc . fig1 illustrates an example risk assessment system 100 for identifying the driver , or operator , of a vehicle and developing a risk profile for the driver . the high - level architecture includes both hardware and software applications , as well as various data communications channels for communicating data between the various hardware and software components . the risk assessment system 100 may be roughly divided into front - end components 102 and back - end components 104 . the front - end components 102 may be mobile components disposed in the vehicle ( e . g . car , truck , boat , etc . ), and the back - end components 104 may stationary components , in an implementation . the front end components 102 include one or more risk variable collection modules 106 , a driver alert interface 108 , and one or more mobile devices 110 . additionally , the front end components 102 may include an on - board computer 114 , in an implementation . the on - board computer 114 may be permanently installed in the vehicle ( not shown ) and may interface with various sensors in the vehicle ( e . g ., a braking sensor , a speedometer , a tachometer , etc .) or in the risk variable collection modules 106 . further , the on - board computer 114 may interface with various external output devices in the vehicle such as the driver alert interface 108 , one or more speakers ( not shown ), one or more displays ( not shown ), etc . the one or more risk variable collection modules 106 may include , by way of example , a computer vision module 116 , biometric sensor module 117 , driving behavior module 118 , motion sensor module 119 , identification signal module 120 , audio sensor module 121 , geopositioning module 122 , and user preference module 123 . each of the risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 may include sensors to gather data ( e . g . accelerometers , cameras , microphones , gyroscopes , etc . ), routines to analyze sensor data or otherwise manipulate sensor data , and / or interfaces for communication outside the vehicle ( e . g . global positioning system ( gps ) antennas , wireless network interfaces , etc . ), for example . details of the example risk modules 116 - 123 are discussed with reference to fig2 . the one or more mobile devices 110 may include , by way of example , a smart - phone 125 , laptop / desktop computer 126 , tablet computer 127 , or web - enabled cell phone 128 . the front - end components 102 communicate with the back - end components 104 via the network 130 . the network 130 may be a proprietary network , a secure public internet , a virtual private network or some other type of network , such as dedicated access lines , plain ordinary telephone lines , satellite links , combinations of these , etc . where the network 130 comprises the internet , data communications may take place over the network 130 via an internet communication protocol . the back - end components 104 include a server 140 with one or more computer processors adapted and configured to execute various software applications and components of the risk assessment system 100 , in addition to other software applications . the server 140 further includes a database 146 . the database 146 is adapted to store data related to the operation of the risk assessment system 100 . such data might include , for example , data collected by the front - end components 102 pertaining to the risk assessment system 100 and uploaded to the server 140 . the server 140 may access data stored in the database 146 when executing various functions and tasks associated with the operation of the risk assessment system 100 . although the risk assessment system 100 is shown to include one server 140 , four mobile devices 125 - 128 , eight risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 , and one on - board computer 114 , it is understood that different numbers of servers , mobile devices , risk variable collection modules , and on - board computers may be utilized . for example , the system 100 may include a plurality of servers and hundreds of risk variable collection modules or sensors , all of which may be interconnected via the network 130 . further , the one or more mobile devices 110 and / or the one or more risk variable collection modules 106 may perform the various functions described herein in conjunction with the on - board computer 114 or alone ( in such cases , the on - board computer 114 need not be present ). likewise , the on - board computer 114 may perform the various functions described herein in conjunction with the mobile devices 125 - 128 and risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 or alone ( in such cases , the mobile devices 125 - 128 and risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 need not be present ). furthermore , the processing performed by the one or more servers 140 may be distributed among a plurality of servers 140 in an arrangement known as “ cloud computing ,” in an implementation . this configuration may provide several advantages , such as , for example , enabling near real - time uploads and downloads of information as well as periodic uploads and downloads of information . alternatively , the risk assessment system 100 may include only the front - end components 102 . for example , one or more mobile devices 110 and / or on - board computer 114 may perform all of the processing associated with gathering data , identifying drivers of the vehicle , alerting or communicating with the vehicle operator , and / or generating appropriate insurance rates . as such , the risk assessment system 100 may be a “ stand - alone ” system , neither sending nor receiving information over the network 130 . the server 140 may have a controller 155 that is operatively connected to the database 146 via a link 156 . it should be noted that , while not shown , additional databases may be linked to the controller 155 in a known manner . the controller 155 may include a program memory 160 , a processor 162 ( may be called a microcontroller or a microprocessor ), a random - access memory ( ram ) 164 , and an input / output ( i / o ) circuit 166 , all of which may be interconnected via an address / data bus 165 . the program memory 160 may be configured to store computer - readable instructions that when executed by the processor 162 cause the server 140 to implement a server application 142 and a web server 143 . the instructions for the server application 142 may cause the server 140 to implement the methods described herein . while shown as a single block in fig1 , it will be appreciated that the server application 142 may include a number of different programs , modules , routines , and sub - routines that may collectively cause the server 140 to implement the server application 142 . it should be appreciated that although only one microprocessor 162 is shown , the controller 155 may include multiple microprocessors 162 . similarly , the memory of the controller 155 may include multiple rams 164 and multiple program memories 160 . further , while the instructions for the server application 142 and web server 143 are shown being stored in the program memory 160 , the instructions may additionally or alternatively be stored in the database 146 and / or ram 164 . although the i / o circuit 166 is shown as a single block , it should be appreciated that the i / o circuit 166 may include a number of different types of i / o circuits . the ram ( s ) 164 and program memories 160 may be implemented as semiconductor memories , magnetically readable memories , and / or optically readable memories , for example . the controller 155 may also be operatively connected to the network 130 via a link 135 . fig2 is a flow diagram of an example method 200 for identifying a driver of a vehicle , or vehicle operator , and profiling the risk associated with the driver . the method 200 may be implemented in the risk assessment system 100 , for example . risk variables are received from front - end components , such as the front - end components 102 , via a computer network , such as network 130 ( block 202 ), in an implementation . the risk variables may be generated by one or more of the risk variable collection modules 106 and / or the one or more mobile devices 110 , for example . the risk variables may correspond to any data useful for identifying the driver of the vehicle , driving behaviors , driving environments , etc ., as described below with a series of example scenarios . in one example scenario , the computer vision module 116 may use a variety of image sensors , such as one or more cameras , infrared sensors , etc ., and one or more computer vision routines to gather data related to driver identification and behavior . any suitable computer vision technique , known in the industry , may be used to match reference driver images ( e . g . collected by insurance agents or uploaded by insurance customers ) and still images taken by cameras of the computer vision module 116 , for example . alternatively or additionally , the computer vision module 116 may use motion tracking sensors to detect and cluster driver movements such as described in u . s . application attorney docket no . 32060 / 47506b entitled “ risk evaluation based on in - cabin driver behavior ” and filed on may 20 , 2013 , the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein . in another example scenario , the biometric sensor module 117 may collect and analyze data from a variety of biometric sensors . for example , deoxyribonucleic acid ( dna ), fingerprint , or skin conductivity sensors may be used to collect data for identifying particular drivers by comparison to reference biometric data ( e . g . collected by insurance agents or provided by insurance customers ). further , the biometric sensor module 117 may collect data from heart rate sensors , grip strength sensors , or other suitable biometric sensors useful for identifying and / or clustering driver behavior ( e . g . stress , appropriate or inappropriate driving responses , etc .). in yet another example scenario , the driving behavior module 118 may gather data from various vehicle sensors ( e . g ., a braking sensor , a speedometer , a tachometer , etc .) related to driver identification and behavior . for example , certain drivers may consistently brake with certain braking characteristics ( e . g . as recorded in reference data or learned over time with a machine learning technique known in the industry ) and another driver may brake with different braking characteristics . in such a case , a computing device may use data from braking sensors to identify the driver of the vehicle . further , data from certain vehicle sensors may indicate levels of risk , in some scenarios . for example , high speed indications from a speedometer may indicate a high level of risk . in still another example scenario , the motion sensor module 119 may gather data from motion sensors , such as accelerometers , gyroscopes , magnetometers , etc . for example , the motion sensor module 119 may communicate with one or more mobile devices , such as smart - phone 125 , or one or more wearable sensors ( e . g . on a key fob , bracelet , etc .) which include motion sensors . the motion sensor module 119 may identify and cluster driver behaviors , such as particular motions performed when entering or exiting the vehicle , habitual driving motions , etc ., to identify the driver of a vehicle , for example . in yet another example scenario , the identification signal module 120 gathers data related to customer communicated identification signals . for example , a customer may communicate an identification signal via a vehicle user interface ( e . g . touchscreen , keypad , microphone , radio frequency identification ( rfid ) tag equipped device , bluetooth - connected smartphone or tablet computer , etc .) to make use of user preferred vehicle setting such as seat adjustments , mirror adjustments , radio stations , air conditioning setting , etc . the identification signal may be a password , code , personal identification number ( pin ), name , phrase , or any other suitable identification signal , and the identification signal module 120 may process the identification signal to identify the driver of the vehicle , in an implementation . in still another example scenario , an audio sensor module 121 may analyze audio signals . for example , one or more microphones in the audio sensor module 121 may collect audio data , and the audio sensor module 121 , or server 140 , may execute a voice recognition routine , as known in the industry , to identify the driver of a vehicle . further , audio data may be clustered to identify certain types of risky driver behavior such a talking on a phone , road rage , etc . in yet another example scenario , a geopositioning module 122 may gather and analyze positioning data . for example , a gps receiver may develop position and velocity fixes as a function of time , and the geopositioning module 122 , or server 140 , may attempt to identify a driver based on frequently visited points of interest or commonly used navigation routes . further , the geopositioning module 122 may identify certain areas and times at which the driver of the vehicle is at high or low risk . for example , a position fix and timestamp may indicate that a driver is driving at rush hour in a major city . in still another scenario , a preference module 123 may gather driver preference data . for example , driver preference data , gathered via communicative connections with equipment on - board the vehicle , may indicate that particular drivers have radio , air conditioning , seat , mirror , or other adjustment preferences , and , as such , the preference module 123 may identify drivers via driver preference data . further , the preference module 123 may collect data indicating levels of risk , such as drivers frequently making radio adjustments while driving . it is understood that any suitable module , computing device , mobile device or data collection system may collect risk variables , in combination with the above - mentioned risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 or independently , where the risk variables are associated with driver identification and / or driver behaviors , driving environments , etc . further , the functionality , components , and / or data of the above - mentioned risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 may be combined in any suitable way to identify a driver , track driver behavior , detect driving environments , etc . also , in some implementations , the risk variable collection modules 116 - 123 and / or the on - board computer 114 may include a clock device which assigns a timestamp ( e . g . dates , hours , minutes , seconds ) to the collected risk variables corresponding to the time at which the risk variables are gathered , detected , output from one or more sensors , etc . returning to fig2 , upon receiving risk variables ( block 202 ), risk variables are clustered into groups of risk variables ( block 204 ). for example , the server 140 may cluster risk variables into groups of risk variables each associated particular driver behaviors , preferences , etc . the server 140 may also group risk variables by levels of risk , in some implementations . for example , the server 140 may group risk variables into groups of risk variables associated with high risk variables , normal risk variables , low risk variables , etc . in some implementations , the server 140 may cluster risk variables by comparing the risk variables with reference data . for example , reference positioning or traffic data may indicate areas of high and low risk driving , and the server 140 may compare risk variables collected from the geopositioning module 122 to this reference data to determine the grouping of risk variables . one or more of the groups of risk variables is then associated with particular drivers of a vehicle , provided the particular drivers consented to such application of the risk variables , in an implementation ( block 206 ). for example , the server 140 may use certain risk variables to identify a driver , while a timestamp is used to associate other risk variables , such as driver behavior data , with the identified driver . thus , the server 140 identifies one or more drivers of a vehicle and associates , with those drivers , risk variables indicating driver behaviors , driving environments , vehicle preferences , etc . in some implementations , the server 140 may supplement collected risk variables with pre - test and / or driving simulation test data or independently analyze driver pre - test and / or driving simulation test data . for example , the server 140 , or other suitable computing device , may communicate , via the network 130 , driver pre - tests and / or driving simulation tests to one or more of the mobile devices 110 . drivers may identify themselves , complete pre - tests and / or driving simulation tests , and communicate the resulting data to server 140 via network 130 , in an implementation . fig3 a - 3e illustrate an example driving simulation test used to collect data related to driver alertness , response , distraction levels , and cognitive abilities . the driving simulation test illustrated in fig3 a - 3e may be presented on one or more of the mobile devices 110 , for example , and a driver may complete the driving simulation test by interacting with the simulation test via clicks , tap , physical motion , etc . the driving simulation test is presented on a mobile device 220 , and resembles the view from the driver &# 39 ; s seat of a vehicle ( i . e . from inside a virtual vehicle ), in an implementation . the user of the mobile device 220 may “ steer ” the virtual vehicle in the simulation test by rotating or moving the phone from side to side . the simulation test may register this movement and rotate a displayed steering wheel 222 accordingly , for example . the user may also perform auxiliary driving functions such as braking , accelerating , activating / deactivating vehicle functions ( e . g . lights , wipers , washer fluid ), etc . and other functions , such as answering questions , during the course of the driving simulation test . for example , fig3 a illustrates a brake response time portion of the driving simulation test in which an indication 224 of necessary braking is displayed above a nearby virtual car 226 . the simulation test may assess driver brake response time by measuring the time difference between the time at which indication 224 is displayed and the time at which the user initiates a virtual braking function ( e . g . via a click or tap ). fig3 b illustrates an example road side distraction portion of the driving simulation test in which a sign 228 , or other road side distraction , is displayed on the side of a virtual road . the simulation test may assess levels of user distraction by measuring virtual steering deviations upon the display of sign 228 or changes in virtual braking or acceleration upon the display of sign 228 , for example . fig3 c illustrates an example cognitive distraction portion of the driver simulation test in which a cognitive test question 230 is displayed on the screen of the mobile device 220 while the user is driving a virtual vehicle . the cognitive test question 230 may be a math , trivia , or other question stimulating cognitive distraction , for example , and the driver may answer the cognitive test question 230 using a user interface of the mobile device 220 ( e . g . touchscreen , keypad , verbal response , etc .). the simulation test may assess levels of cognitive distraction by measuring virtual steering deviations upon the display and subsequent answering of the cognitive test question 230 or changes in virtual braking or acceleration upon the display and subsequent answering of the cognitive test question 230 , for example . fig3 d illustrates a manual distraction portion of the simulated driving test in which a manual task 232 is displayed on the screen of the mobile device 220 while the driver is driving a virtual vehicle . the manual task 232 may include indications to activate / deactivate virtual vehicle functionality , enter a phrase or message via a user interface , or any other manual distraction task requiring manual driver interaction with the simulation test in addition to interactions required in driving the virtual vehicle . the simulation test may assess levels of manual distraction by measuring virtual steering deviations upon the display and subsequent performing of the manual task 232 or changes in virtual braking or acceleration upon the display and subsequent performing of the manual task 232 , for example . upon completion of the driving simulation test portions , the simulation test may present the driver ( i . e . the user of the mobile device 220 ) with a “ scoreboard ” of results . fig3 e illustrates an example scoreboard presented to the driver in which a variety of driving scores 240 and distraction scores 242 are displayed to the driver . in addition to reporting the results to the driver , the mobile device 220 may send the results of the driving test to server 140 for use in identifying and profiling drivers of a vehicle , in an implementation . for example , the results may be sent as normalized numeric scores to the server 140 for comparison with average reference scores from other insurance customers . in some implementations , drivers may also export driving simulation test scores to a social web application such as facebook ® or twitter . it is understood that the driving simulation test illustrated in fig3 a - 3e is included for illustrative purposes . the server 140 may utilize data from any suitable pre - test and / or driving simulation test adapted to test driver performance , distraction , cognitive ability , etc . for example , the server 140 may utilize results of a written pre - test , proctored by an insurance agent , consisting of questions related to commonly encountered driving situations , in an implementation . returning again to fig2 , the gathered and grouped risk variables , pre - test data , and / or driving simulation test data are analyzed to determine a collective level of risk for one or more drivers of the vehicle ( block 270 ), provided the one or more drivers consented to such application of the risk variables . the server 140 combines or compares the various gathered risk variables to determine an accurate level of risk , in some scenarios . for example , a particular driver may drive frequently in high traffic areas , as determined from positioning data , which would independently ( i . e . when considered alone ) be associated with high risk , but the same driver may show consistently good high traffic driving habits , as determined from biometric , behavior , computer vision , etc . data . in such an example case , the server 140 may determine that the driver is associated with low risk by comparing data from multiple sources ( e . g . positioning , biometric , computer vision , etc . ), even though data from one of the sources ( e . g . positioning ) may indicate high risk . in another example case , a particular driver may drive frequently in the day and not frequently at night , as determined from timestamps , imagery , positioning , etc . data , which would independently be associated with low risk . however , the same driver may frequently text while driving , adjust the radio , and apply makeup while driving , as determined from computer vision , motion sensing , audio , etc . data . in such an example case , the server may determine that the driver is associated with high risk by comparing data from multiple sources , even though data from one of the sources ( e . g . timestamps or positioning ) indicates low risk . by comparing risk variables from a plurality of sources , the server 140 is able to develop a detailed ( i . e . granular ) profile of drivers of a vehicle , in an implementation . the server 140 may , therefore , associate risk with drivers in an accurate and up - to - date way , for example . further , risk indices ( ri &# 39 ; s ), based on the analysis of the risk variables , are developed ( block 275 ). for example , risk indices may include a normalized number representing relative driver risk with respect to other drivers and / or reference data . a provider of insurance may have a preferred type of method of generating a ri , and such preferred types and methods may be integrated with the method 200 , in some implementation . for example , an ri may be a grade between zero and one hundred with a score of sixty or below indicating failure , or very high risk , and a score close to one hundred indicating low risk . in some scenarios , the server 140 may communicate a report of driver risk to insurance customers via the network 130 . for example , the server 140 may develop a driver risk report for display on one of the mobile devices 110 . fig4 illustrates an example driver risk report displayed on mobile device 300 . the mobile device 330 may be implemented as smartphone 125 , for example , and communicate with server 140 via network 130 . the example driver risk report includes grades ( i . e . a number between one and one hundred representing performance ) in particular categories , where the grades in the particular categories may be developed by the server 140 based on clustered risk variables . for example , the driver risk report may include an acceleration grade 302 , braking grade 304 , cornering grade 306 , and distraction grade 308 . also , the driver risk report may include a number of recent trips 310 , a duration of recent trips 312 , a distance of recent trips 314 , a ri 316 or indication of collective risk , an identification of one or more drivers 318 , an indication of risk variables leading to high risk ( not shown ), suggestions for safer driving or improving the ri 316 ( not shown ), etc . fig5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 400 for utilizing risk profiles or risk indices to generate insurance rates and facilitate insurance payments . the method 400 may be implemented in server 140 , for example , and the risk profiles and risk indices may be generated using method 200 , for example . risk profiles , such as those including ri &# 39 ; s and indications of high risk variables , are received ( block 402 ). the risk profiles may then be used to generate appropriate insurance rates ( block 404 ), in an implementation . for example , the server 140 may use appropriate insurance metrics along with the risk associated with drivers of a vehicle to generate an appropriate insurance rating for insuring the vehicle . in some implementations , the server 140 may generate a driver risk report , such as the driver risk report illustrated in fig3 e , including insurance rates . thus , insurance customers may be able to easily view levels of risk and the associated levels of risk , for example , and the insurance customers may modify driving habits to minimize insurance costs . in some implementations , generated insurance rates , based on gathered risk variables , may follow a driver regardless of the particular vehicle the driver is operating . for example , the server 140 may use positioning data from one of the mobile devices 110 or the geopositioning module 122 , identification signals from identification signal module 120 , or one or more other risk variable collection devices or modules to determine what vehicles a driver is operating . the server 140 may then generate an appropriate insurance rate for an insurance product that will follow the driver across any driving situation , such as driving a personally owned vehicle , family owned vehicle , peer owned vehicle , shared vehicle , rental vehicle , etc . the generated insurance rates and driver risk report may be communicated directly to a mobile device , such as one of the mobile devices 110 , via a computer network ( block 406 ). for example , the server 140 may electronically communicate the rates and risk report via email , text message , hyperlink , etc . to one of the mobile devices 110 . in some implementations , the insurance company , operating server 140 , may also communicate the insurance rates and driver risk report to insurance customers in any other suitable way , such as physical mail , telephone calls , etc . in response to the communication of insurance rates , payment for the associated insurance products is received ( block 408 ), in one scenario . for example , the payment may include a communication from one of the mobile devices 110 to the server 140 including credit card information , payment scheduling information , etc . fig6 is a flow diagram of an example method 500 for alerting drivers of possible impairment based on an analysis of risk variables . the method 500 may be implemented in the risk assessment system 100 , for example . risk variables , such as the risk variables discussed in reference to fig2 , are analyzed to determine possible vehicle operator impairment ( block 502 ). the analysis to determine possible vehicle operator impairment may be combined with the analysis to associate risk levels with driver ( block 270 of fig2 ), or the analysis to determine possible vehicle operator impairment may be performed independently , in an implementation . for example , the server 140 may analyze the risk variables gathered from the front - end components 102 that may indicate vehicle operator impairment . in an example scenario , the server 140 may analyze computer vision data to identify vehicle operator behavior associated with the vehicle operator being drowsy , asleep , distracted , intoxicated , ill , etc . the server may then determine , based on the analysis of the risk variables , if the operator is likely to be impaired ( block 504 ). if the vehicle operator is not likely to be impaired , the flow reverts to block 502 where further risk variables may be analyzed . in some implementations , the analysis of risk variables for identifying operator impairment may be performed periodically or any time new risk variables ( i . e . risk variables that have not yet been analyzed ) are available . if the vehicle operator is likely to be impaired , the flow continues to block 506 where an alert may be sent to the vehicle operator , via the driver alert interface 108 or one or more of the mobile devices 110 , for example . the alert may be at least one or more of an audible alert , a visual alert , or a tactile alert . for example , a tactile alert system may cause a driver &# 39 ; s seat to vibrate , or an audible alert system may cause a chime , claxon , siren , etc . and / or a custom recorded sound such as a sound clip or ringtone to be played through one or more speakers . in another example , an alert may include a mobile device alert including visual displays , sounds , and / or messages displayed on one or more of the mobile devices 110 . fig7 illustrates an example mobile device alert including a visual alert display 512 on a mobile device 510 . in some implementations , the server 140 may continuously or periodically alert the vehicle operator until the server 140 receives an alert confirmation from the vehicle operator ( block 508 ). for example , the vehicle operator may tap or click visual alert display 512 of the example mobile device alert to confirm receipt of the alert at which time a confirmation signal is communicated to the server 140 via the network 130 . | 6 |
the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . a spool shaft 4 is supported slidably in the axial direction by bearings 3 between right and left reel side - plates 1 , 2 and a spool 5 is rotatably supported on the spool shaft 4 by bearings 6 . a pinion 7 provided integrally with the reel side - plate 1 end of the spool shaft 4 engages with a driving gear 9 of a handle shaft 8 which is pivoted to the reel side plate 1 . a braking member 11 , which is prevented from rotating in reverse by anchor pawls 10 pivoted to the reel side - plate 2 , is fitted to the reel side - plate 2 end of the spool shaft 4 so as to be movable only in the axial direction , as shown in fig3 . the braking member 11 is urged toward and brought into contact with the bearing 3 by a spring 12 that is interposed between the braking member 11 and the bearing 6 . a friction transmission member 14 is interposed between the braking member 11 and a flange 13 of the spool 5 . the friction transmission member 14 has a construction that is well known in the art , it consists of a metal plate 15 engaging with the braking member 11 , a metal plate 18 engaging with an engagement groove 17 of a cylinder 16 that is formed on the flange 13 so as to project therefrom , and washers 19 made of leather , synthetic resin or the like , interposed between these metal plates 15 and 18 . this friction transmission member 14 transmits the rotation of the spool shaft 4 to the spool . a leaf spring 20 that is stronger than the spring 12 is interposed between the bearing 6 and the pinion 7 on the reel side - plate 1 side , and the spool shaft 4 beyond the pinion 7 is supported rotatably by the bearing 3 . a fine adjustment cam 21 is formed integrally with an inner operation cylinder 24 , and a fine - adjustment lever 23 engages with a slit 22 which is formed at the outer end of the cylinder 24 . this operation cylinder 24 is fitted to the spool shaft 4 outside the bearing 3 . pins 26 projecting outward in the radial direction and other pins 27 projecting inward in the radial direction are provided on a support case 25 on the bearing 3 . the outwardly projecting pins 26 slidably engage with engagement grooves 29 formed on the inner surface of a bearing cylinder 28 which is fitted and fixed to the reel side - plate 1 and comes into contact with a front cam surface 31 of a cam cylinder 30 which is fitted around the outside of the operation cylinder 24 . the inwardly projecting pins 27 come into contact with the fine adjustment cam 21 of the operation cylinder 24 . an adjustment lever 33 engages with slits 32 formed in the outer end of the cam cylinder 30 . a knob 34 fixed to the end of the adjustment lever 33 has a ball 38 that is urged by a spring 37 so that the ball can engage with one of a plurality of stop holes 36 in a semicircular stop plate 35 fixed to the outer surface of the reel side - plate 1 . the knob 34 can thus be held at any rotational position . the fine - adjustment lever 23 is shorter than the adjustment lever 33 and its knob 39 has a ball 43 urged by a spring 42 so that the ball resiliently engages with one of a plurality of stop holes 41 of a disc plate 40 . this plate 40 is fixed to the reel side - plate 1 and has a diameter smaller than that of the stop plate 35 . thus , both levers 23 and 33 are provided with spring loaded ball detent means ( parts 36 - 38 and 41 - 43 ) to enhance their operation . in the drawings , reference numeral 44 represents a handle , 45 in a washer and 46 is a plate cover . in the embodiment of the present invention having the construction described above , when the adjustment lever 33 is rotated clockwise in fig2 the cam cylinder 30 rotates so that its cam surface 31 pushes the pins 26 which push the bearing 3 through the support case 25 , the pins 27 and the fine - adjustment cam 21 . this pressure pushes the spool shaft 4 and then the spool 5 via the leaf spring 20 , thereby increasing the frictional force transmitted by the friction transmission member 14 , making it transmit the rotation of the handle shaft 8 by the handle 44 to the spool 5 . when the adjustment lever 33 is rotated counter clockwise , on the other hand , the transmitted frictional force is reduced and the spool braking force can be adjusted over a large range . when the fine - adjustment lever 23 is rotated clockwise , the operation cylinder 24 rotates and its fine - adjustment cam 21 pushes the bearing 3 directly so that the frictional force transmitted by the friction transmission member 14 is increased by a limited amount . when the fine - adjustment lever 23 is rotated counter clockwise , on the other hand , the transmitted frictional force is reduced by a limited amount and thus the spool braking force can be adjusted within a fine range . more specifically , when the lever 23 is rotated clockwise in fig2 the operating cylinder 24 rotates integrally therewith because the lever engages with the notched groove 22 in the operating cylinder 24 , and the fine adjustment cam 21 of the operating cylinder 24 comes into contact with the pin 27 projecting from the inner surface of the support case 25 . however , the support case 25 does not move outwards ( towards the handle 44 ) because the bearing cylinder 28 is attached integrally to the reel side plate 1 by the cam cylinder 30 , and the operating cylinder 24 moves the shaft 4 in the inward axial direction via the bearing 3 , thereby minutely increasing the frictional transmission force of the frictional transmission member 14 . the coarse and fine adjustments are provided by the difference in the cam surfaces 21 and 31 , see fig4 . the angle of inclination of the fine adjustment cam surface 21 of the operating cylinder 24 is less than that of the cam surface 31 of the cam 30 of the adjustment operation lever 33 , and the corresponding amounts of axial movement of the shaft 4 are thus in proportion , i . e ., surface 31 , the coarse adjustment , moves the shaft 4 more than does surface 21 . accordingly , even if the rotation of the adjustment operation lever 33 is the same as heat of the fine adjustment operation lever 23 , the degree of axial motion by the shaft 4 is correspondingly different . accordingly , after the spool braking force is roughly set by the adjustment lever 33 in accordance with the kind of fishing and the kind of fish the fisherman intends to catch , the spool braking force is then fine - adjusted by the fine - adjustment lever 23 before fishing . to pay out the fishing line , both the adjustment lever 33 and fine - adjustment lever 23 are simultaneously rotated fully counterclockwise . the fishing line is paid out while the spool 5 is thus able to rotate freely . the fishing can be done immediately by rotating both the adjustment lever 33 and fine - adjustment lever 23 back to their original positions after the fishing line is paid out . while the invention has been described in detail above , it is to be understood that this detailed description is by way of example only , and the protection granted is to be limited only within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims . | 0 |
reference is now made to fig1 which is a simplified flow chart of a method for predicting a property of concrete in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . after loading a truck with concrete constituents at a mixing plant , the time of the concrete mixing is registered and is defined as a reference time zero . the temperature and humidity of the ambient air are recorded are used to determine the vaporization conditions of the water . afterwards , the concrete is mixed during transportation to a building site where a first spin - echo nmr measurement of the concrete is made . a concrete property , such as strength , potential shrinkage , or readiness to accept coverings , is then determined by correlating the nmr measurement with a predetermined relationship between the property and the nmr measurement . if the property determined by the nmr measurement does not comply with a predetermined standard , then the concrete is rejected . if the property does comply with the standard , then it may be poured to form a structure . a second spin - echo nmr measurement is then taken a few hours later . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a property of concrete , such as strength , potential shrinkage , or readiness to accept coverings , is then extrapolated based on a predetermined relationship between the property and the nmr measurement . the spin - echo nmr method makes use of water found in the concrete . water appears in concrete in three different phases : free water , capillary bound water and chemically bound water . there is a transition of free water into capillary bound water and then to chemically bound water . the t2 relaxation time is different for free water , capillary bound water and chemically bound water , as follows : each kind of concrete mixture has its own unique t2 distribution for each water phase , as well as a unique proportion of the quantity of water at each phase . a different behavior of the time dependent t2 distribution leads to a different final strength , or other property , of the concrete . tables may be prepared for a specific type of concrete , correlating the t2 distribution to a concrete property , such as strength . by comparing measurements made on a new concrete sample with the known tables , one can measure or predict the strength , or other property of the new concrete sample . examples of changes in the water phase are shown hereinbelow in fig2 - 4 . the present invention uses a low frequency ( approximately 1 mhz ), low field nmr spectrometer , such as the corespec - 1000 , currently available from numalog ltd ./ numar corporation . the corespec - 1000 spectrometer has a feature which measures changes in the t2 distribution at two different temperatures , which can be used to determine the diffusion coefficient of the concrete mixture . the diffusion coefficient and the influence of temperature on the phase change of the water improve the accuracy of measuring and predicting concrete properties . by using the corespec - 1000 spectrometer , the water measurements can be made easily , during a few hours , instead of 28 days with the present traditional measuring method , which is the only currently acceptable standard method . reference is now made to fig2 and 3 which are spectral curve graphs of the t2 relaxation time of a concrete measured in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the square , round and plus - sign points on the graphs represent measurements 24 , 144 and 244 hours , respectively , after the first spin - echo measurement . the amplitude is in porosity units . reference is now made to fig4 which is a cumulative curve graph of the t2 relaxation time of a concrete measured in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . graphs 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 represent measurements made 0 , 24 , 144 and 288 hours , respectively , after the first spin - echo measurement . the percentage shown in the graph is a ratio of the sample measured as compared with a sample containing 100 % water . reference is now made to fig5 which is a simplified illustration of a spectrometer 10 , which may be used to measure or predict a property of a sample of a porous material , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . spectrometer 10 is preferably of the same type as the corespec - 1000 , currently available from numalog ltd ./ numar corporation . spectrometer 10 includes a magnet 11 which has a south pole 12 and a north pole 13 . an rf coil 14 is disposed intermediate south pole 12 and north pole 13 . a concrete sample may be placed in a container 15 , which is located in rf coil 14 . spectrometer 10 may be used to measure the t2 distribution of the sample , as described hereinabove with reference to fig1 . reference is now made to fig6 which is a simplified illustration of a probe 16 , which may be inserted in a porous material in order to measure or predict a property of the material , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . probe 16 is preferably of the same type used in the mril system of numalog ltd ./ numar corporation . probe 16 includes a magnet 17 disposed in an insulating housing 18 . the north and south poles of magnet 17 are indicated by the letters n and s in fig6 . a two - piece rf antenna 19 surrounds magnet 17 . probe 16 may be inserted in a concrete sample to measure the t2 distribution of a sample , as described hereinabove with reference to fig1 . reference is now made to fig7 a which is a simplified illustration of apparatus 20 for measuring a property of concrete in a built structure , constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . apparatus 20 preferably includes , inter alia , at least one , and preferably three , permanent magnets 22 for generating a magnetic field , and a butterfly - type surface coil 24 . coil 24 , which is also shown in a front view illustration in fig7 b , is electrically connected to a radio frequency transmitter 26 for generating rf signals . magnets 22 are preferably attached to a yoke 28 . apparatus 20 is preferably provided with an rf shield 30 for isolating the magnets 22 and coil 24 from environmental noise . in fig7 a , apparatus 20 is shown placed in juxtaposition with a concrete structure 32 . magnets 22 and butterfly coil 24 , energized by transmitter 26 , create a sensitive volume 34 in concrete structure 32 . sensitive volume 34 is located in a region of permanent magnet field lines 36 and rf field lines 38 , as is known in the art . changes in the t2 distribution in sensitive volume 34 may be monitored as described hereinabove with reference to fig1 for measuring or predicting a property of concrete in structure 30 . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather , the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims that follow : | 6 |
prior to explaining the embodiments of the present invention , a conventional example of a hard endoscope shall be explained with reference to fig1 and 2 . shown in these drawings is a perspective type hard endoscope wherein an inner tube 2 incorporating an observing optical system ( not illustrated ) is provided eccentrically within an outer tube in an inserted part and an inner tube tip member 3 forming an inclined surface in a direction at right angles with a perspective visual field direction of the observing optical system is arranged at the tip of this inner tube 2 . an opening 4 is made in this inner tube tip member 3 and is fitted with a cover glass 6 through a frame 5 . further , the above mentioned inner tube tip member 3 is formed to be of an arcuate surface on the outer periphery on the sides of light guides 7 inserted and arranged on the outer periphery of the inner tube 2 so as to curve and arrange the projecting end sides of the light guides 7 in the perspective visual field direction . thus , in the structure of the tip of the inserted part of the conventional perspective type hard endoscope , the area through which the illuminating lights are projected out of the projecting ends of the light guides 7 is small , the illuminating lights are not projected as well diffused out of the projecting end surfaces , the illuminated range is narrow and the light distribution characteristics are low . the present invention is made to solve the problems of the above mentioned conventional example . embodiments of the present invention shall be explained in the following with reference to fig3 and other drawings following it . fig3 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention . this embodiment relates to a perspective type hard endoscope . in these drawings , the reference numeral 11 denotes a hard endoscope comprising an operating part 12 and an inserted part 13 . the operating part 12 has an eyepiece part 14 and a light guide cable connecting joint 15 . the inserted part 13 has an inner tube 17 provided eccentrically within an outer tube 16 . an observing optical system ( not illustrated ) is contained in this inner tube 17 . an inner tube tip member 20 supporting and fixing a frame 19 fitting and fixing a cover glass is secured with a bonding agent or by soldering to an opening at the tip of the above mentioned inner tube 17 . this inner tube tip member 20 is hemispherical with the outside diameter of the inner tube 17 as a diameter and is partly cut to form a perspective visual field surface . many light guide fibers 21 transmmitting and projecting illuminating lights are arranged and contained in an air space substantially meniscus - shaped in the section and formed between this inner tube 17 and the outer tube 16 eccentrically containing the inner tube 17 . these light guide fibers 21 are once squeezed and converged by a pressing member 22 fixed on the outer periphery near the tip of the inner tube 17 and are strongly fixed as curved so as to have various curvatures in the respective parts of the projecting end surfaces . the above mentioned light guide fibers 21 are cut and ground so that the projecting end surfaces may be flush with the perspective visual field surface , their inner peripheral surfaces are curved near the projecting end surfaces along the outer periphery of the inner tube tip member 20 and their outer peripheral surfaces are contained so as to contact the inner surface of the outer tube 16 to which a tip member 23 having a surface flush with the above mentioned perspective visual field surface is attached . the hemispherical center of the above mentioned inner tube tip member 20 is eccentric from the hemispherical center of the tip of the outer tube 16 and the light guide fibers 21 are contained as curved so as to have various curvatures in the respective parts of the projecting end surfaces . these light guide fibers 21 as contained are shown in fig5 . fig5 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) are explanatory sectioned views respectively showing the section shown by the reference symbol a -- a ( which shows the perspective visual field surface substantially at the tip of the inserted part 13 ), the section in the position shown by the reference symbol b -- b and the section in the position shown by the reference symbol c -- c . the steps of working and assembling the endoscope tip having such structure as in the above shall be explained with reference to the drawings . fig6 and 7 show respectively a formation and completed product in the step of manufacturing the outer tube 16 of the inserted part 13 of the above described structure . first , as shown in fig6 a columnar tip member material 32 in which a hemispherical recess is formed is fixed by soldering or with a bonding agent to an opening tip of a cylindrical outer tube material 31 , is then cut in the position shown by the reference symbol d -- d so as to have a predetermined perspective visual field surface and is further formed to be round as shown by the illustrated one - point chain line at the corner to form such tip member 23 and outer tube 16 as are shown in fig7 . on the other hand , the formation of the inner tube 17 and inner tube tip member 20 shall be explained with reference to fig8 to 10 . the cylindrical inner tube material 41 is cut in the opening tip part so that a columnar inner tube tip member 42 having a diameter equal to the outside diameter of this inner tube material 41 may fit in a part of the outer periphery with the inner tube material 41 . at the same time , a cut surface parallel with the predetermined perspective visual field surface on which the cover glass 18 ( see fig4 ) is to be fitted and fixed and a cut surface substantially at right angles with this cut surface are formed on the tip part to be inserted into the inner tube material 41 . this inner tube tip member 42 and the inner tube material 41 are fitted and fixed together , are then hemispherically cut and shaped as shown by the one - point chain line f and are then cut off in the position and direction to be the visual field surface as shown by the reference symbol g -- g to form such inner tube 17 as is shown in fig9 . fig9 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) show respectively a side view , sectioned elevation and perspective view of the inner tube 17 to which the inner tip member 20 ( shown by the reference numeral 20 more particularly with a hole further formed ) of the tip formed in the above mentioned steps is attached and fixed . a pressing member 22 of such shape as of a saddle as shown in fig1 is fixed by soldering or the like to the upper part of the tip of the above mentioned inner tube 17 ( the upper part illustrated here is the part most adjacent to the outer tube 16 when the inner tube is contained eccentrically in the outer tube 16 ). the inside and outside surfaces of the above mentioned pressing member are formed so as to respectively have the same curvatures as of the outer periphery of the inner tube 17 and the inner wall of the outer tube 16 . as the centers of these curvatures are eccentric from each other , the pressing member is thinnest in the middle part and is thickest on both peripheral side parts . this pressing member 22 is fixed so as to be flush at the front end with the visual field surface as shown in fig1 ( c ). both peripheral side parts thickened as mentioned above are so cut near the visual field surface as to have a proper curvature to improve the light distribution characteristics of the light guide fibers 21 on the projecting end surfaces ( see fig1 ( b ) and ( c )). then the light guide fibers 21 are inserted as shown in fig1 into the outer tube 16 formed as described above and then the above mentioned inner tube 17 is inserted into the outer tube 16 as indicated by the arrow and is fixed in a position in which both visual field surfaces of the outer tube 16 and inner tube 17 are flush with each other as shown in fig1 . then the light guide fibers 21 are fixed at the tips , are cut along the visual field surface and are ground on the end surfaces . the above mentioned light guide fibers 21 are once squeezed near the tips by the pressing member 22 as illustrated and are arranged so as to have various curvatures in the respective parts . then a hole is made in the inner tube tip member 20 having a predetermined thickness and the cover glass 18 fitted and fixed in the frame 19 is inserted into the above mentioned hole and is fixed with a bonding agent or the like ( see fig1 ). in the above mentioned first embodiment completed by such steps as in the above , the light guide fibers 21 contained in the air space substantially meniscus - shaped in the section between the outer tube 16 and the inner tube 17 eccentrically provided in the outer tube 16 are different in the shapes ( such as the curvatures ) near the projecting end surfaces in the respective contained parts as shown in fig1 . fig1 ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) show respectively the shapes near the projecting ends as seen on the upper surfaces and elevations of the light guide fibers 21 having the projecting ends in the positions shown by the respective reference numerals 21a , 21b and 21c in fig5 ( a ). the shapes are as shown by 51a and 51b ; 52a and 52b ; 53a and 53b . therefore , in this case , the light distribution characteristics of the illuminating lights projected out of the projecting ends of the light guide fibers 21 will be as shown in fig1 and 16 . fig1 and 16 show respectively the ligiht distribution characteristics by the light guide fibers 21 as seen respectively on the elevation and upper surface of the inserted part 13 in the above mentioned first embodiment . the light guide fibers 21 are so arranged and contained as to be able to project lights uniformly in a wide range in various directions from respective parts out of the projecting surfaces as indicated by the arrows . therefore , if the hard endoscope high in the light distribution characteristics of the structure in this embodiment is used , a wide range will be able to be illuminated and the organs and the like within the body cavity will be able to be well observed . further , according to the above mentioned working steps , the number of steps can be reduced to be less than in the conventional example and the number of component parts can be also reduced to the advantage of the manufacture and maintenance . fig1 shows a structure of a hard endoscope tip of a second embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , an outer tube member and inner tube member hemispherial at the tips as shown by the one - point chain lines to make the above described tip member 23 unnecessary are used and the outer tube 16 and inner tube 17 are formed by being partly cut at these tips and the inner tube tip member 20 of substantially the same shape as of the above described first embodiment is inserted and fixed in the above mentioned cut inner tube 17 tip . this inner tube tip member 20 is so formed as to have a cut surface parallel with the visual field surface and having a predetermined thickness and a cut surface substantially vertical to this surface as illustrated by cutting a bar fitting the inner surface of the inner tube 17 and hemispherical at the tip . an inserting hole is made on the cut surface parallel with the above mentioned visual field surface . the frame 19 in which the cover glass 18 is fitted and fixed is inserted and fixed in this hole . glass 18 and frame 19 form part of the tip surface including the projecting end surfaces of light guide fibers 21 of this embodiment . the pressing member 22 improving the light distribution characteristics is fixed to the outer periphery of the inner tube 17 tip the same as is described above . according to this embodiment , the above described tip member 23 is made unnecessary and it is made easy to form and fix the inner tube tip member 20 . in some case , even if the above mentioned inner tube tip member 20 is made to be only of a parallel cut surface forming a part of the perspective visual field surface , it will be able to well have a required strength . according to this embodiment , not only there are such excellent light distribution characteristics as in the above described first embodiment but also the numbers of the component parts and manufacturing steps can be reduced and therefore the product cost can be made low . by the way , in the above mentioned second embodiment , a cover glass 61 having a predetermined thickness and fitted in the spherical inner tube cut at the tip may be provided on the perspective visual field surface as in a third embodiment shown in fig1 without providing the inner tube tip member 20 . thus , the numbers of the component parts and manufacturing steps can be further reduced and therefore the product cost can be made lower . in the above described embodiment , it is mentioned that the hard endoscope tip is formed by partly cutting the inner tube 17 and outer tube 18 hemispherical at the tips . however , even if the perspective visual field surface is formed by cutting the inner tube 17 and outer tube 18 having conical or parabolic curved surfaces to form the hard endoscope tip , a hard endoscope high in the light distribution characteristics will be able to be realized . it is apparent that working modes different in a wide range can be formed without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the above mentioned working modes other than are limited inthe claims of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention . | 0 |
fig1 is a schematic of one embodiment of the invention . shown in fig1 is a structural element 12 mounted in a rigid base 13 . structural element 12 may be any element in which vibration is to be controlled . for example , element 12 might be a spar in an aircraft wing with base 13 corresponding to the fuselage , or element 12 may be a support for an integrated circuit mask making apparatus . the invention may also be used to stabilize beam mounted optical equipment or test instruments , in aircraft control surfaces , accelerometers , or other applications where elimination or control of vibration is desired . structural element 12 will tend to vibrate in a well known manner if time - varying loads are imposed upon it . the vibration controller 10 in fig1 is shown disposed about the tip of structural element 12 for illustrative purposes only . controller 10 could be positioned anywhere along element 12 , and element 12 may be of arbitrary shape and size . for example , in some embodiments element 12 might consist of a plurality of individual members connected together , the overall structure of which vibrates and is desired to be controlled . in other embodiments , element 12 may be rigidly or flexibly connected at each end with vibration controller 10 disposed somewhere along the unsupported length . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the vibration controller consists of a magnet 15 which is attached to element 12 , a vibration sensing apparatus 16 and a vibration damping apparatus 18 . magnet 15 has north and south poles as shown in fig1 although these poles may be reversed . the vibration sensing portion of the apparatus shown in fig1 is primarily the apparatus in region 16 , while the portion of the apparatus which applies correcting forces to damp the vibration is designated with the reference numeral 18 . as will be evident either portion 16 or 18 may serve as either sensor or damper depending on the connections of leads 27 and 40 . magnet 15 may be attached to element 12 in any well known manner . for example , in fig1 magnet 15 is attached to element 12 through an opening ( not shown ) in element 12 . attached to the south pole of magnet 15 is a tapered iron pole piece 19 for producing a relatively high magnetic flux density across the space between pole piece 19 and pole piece 21 positioned on magnet 22 . pole pieces 19 and 21 may be held in place by the magnetic force from magnets 15 and 22 , respectively , or may be otherwise attached . disposed around the gap between pole piece 19 and pole piece 21 is a sensing coil 25 which is positioned in the magnetic field between the pole pieces . coil 25 is connected by leads 27 to supply electrical signals to appropriate signal processing apparatus as will be described . in operation , a disturbance of structural element 12 will change the strength of the magnetic flux between pole pieces 19 and 21 thereby inducing a current in coil 25 . appropriate signal processing apparatus connected to leads 27 will detect the signal from coil 25 and supply a correcting signal on leads 40 to torquing coil 38 . the signal supplied to coil 38 will strengthen and weaken the magnetic field between pole piece 32 and pole piece 37 to thereby apply appropriate correcting forces to damp and / or eliminate vibration of element 12 . in the embodiment shown , a rigid connector 30 connects the vibration damper 18 with the vibration sensor 16 to prevent differential movement between the two . sensor 16 and damper 18 also can be mounted on other types of supports . to make the structure dynamically stable and to make the element 12 self - centering between sensor 16 and damper 18 the magnets 22 and 35 typically will be installed to repel the magnet 15 . this embodiment is shown in fig1 . in the preferred embodiment , vibration damper 18 is constructed in a similar manner to vibration sensor 16 . that is , vibration damper 18 includes a tapered iron pole piece 32 magnetically adhered to magnet 15 . attached to magnet 35 in the damper 18 is a tapered iron pole piece 37 . as in the vibration sensor 16 , the tapered iron pole pieces 32 and 37 are used to concentrate the magnetic flux density between magnet 15 and magnet 35 . also similar to the vibration sensor 16 , a coil 38 is disposed about the gap between pole piece 37 and pole piece 32 . coil 38 , rather than detect a changing field as does coil 25 , causes changes in the strength of the magnetic field between poles 32 and 37 . leads 40 are connected to coil 38 to receive electrical signals related to the motion of element 12 . vibrations of structural element 12 will cause the gap between pole piece 19 and pole piece 21 to change , which thereby varies the reluctance of the magnetic path . this , in turn , causes the strength of the magnetic field passing through coil 25 to vary , which results in the generation of an electrical current proportional to the velocity of the vibration . the signals generated in coil 25 by the vibration are supplied by leads 27 to an external circuit shown in fig2 . using well known signal processing techniques the signals on leads 27 are supplied to an operational amplifier 50 for detection . a phase control circuit 53 , typically a resistor - capacitor filter , allows control of the phase of the signals to control damping of the vibration . a power amplifier 56 amplifies the output of the phase control 53 and supplies the amplified signals on leads 40 to coil 38 . by feeding the signals from the amplifier to the torquing coil 25 with the proper phase , vibrations in element 12 may be damped and / or eliminated . in other embodiments of the invention wherein a constant rate of oscillation of element 12 is desired , for example , the phase of the signals supplied on leads 40 may be adjusted appropriately by adjusting phase controller 53 . the invention offers substantial advantages over prior art vibration controllers in that it operates independently of resonances in the structure because the vibration sensing and correcting torques are performed at the same location on the structure . in addition , the opposed magnet pairs act as magnetic springs to hold the structural element 12 in place . although one embodiment of the invention has been described and depicted , numerous variations may be made to such embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . for example , electromagnets may be used in place of permanent magnets , pole pieces of different shapes may be used if different magnetic flux densities or patterns are desired . the shape and location of the coil may be adjusted to increase or decrease the sensitivity of the sensor and / or damper by capturing more or fewer lines of magnetic flux extending between the pole pieces . the response of the system may be adjusted by changing the gap width between the pole pieces and the field strength . if desired the system may be used to induce desired vibrations rather than damp existing vibrations . this is readily accomplished by altering the phase of the signal supplied to the damper from the sensor . | 5 |
referring now to preferred embodiments , the present invention is described in more detail . the heat transfer sheet according to the first embodiment of the present invention comprises basically a dye layer formed on a substrate film similarly as in the prior art , but it is characterized by including a compound represented by the above formula ( i ) in the dye layer . as the substrate film of the heat transfer sheet of the present invention as described above , any of those known in the art having heat resistance and strength to some extent may be available , as exemplified by papers , various converted papers , polyester films , polystyrene films , polypropylene films , polysulfone films , aramide films , polycarbonate films , polyvinyl alcohol films , cellophane , etc . having a thickness of about 0 . 5 to 50 μm , preferably 3 to 10 μm , particularly preferably polyester films . these substrate films may be either in separated sheet form or continuous film , and not particularly limited . the dye layer to be formed on the surface of the above - mentioned substrate film is a layer having at least a dye and a compound of the above formula ( i ) carried with any desired binder resin . as the dye to be used , all of the dyes used in the heat transfer sheet known in the art are available and not particularly limited . for example , some preferable dyes may include , as red dyes , ms red g , macrolex red violet r , ceres red 7b , samaron red hbsl , resolin red f3bs , etc ., and also as yellow dyes , foron brilliant yellow s - 6gl , pty - 52 , macrolex yellow 6g , etc ., and also as blue dyes , kayaset blue 714 , waxoline blue ap - fw , foron brilliant blue s - r , ms blue 100 , etc . as the binder resin for carrying the dye as mentioned above , any one of those known in the prior art can be used , and preferable examples may include cellulose resins such as ethyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose , ethylhydroxy cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , methyl cellulose , cellulose diacetate , cellulose triacetate , cellulose acetate butyrate , etc . ; vinyl resins such as polyvinyl alcohol , polyvinyl acetate , polyvinyl butyral , polyvinyl acetal , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyacrylamide , etc . ; polyesters ; and so on . among them , cellulose type , acetal type , butyral type and polyester type , etc . are preferable from the points of heat resistance , migratability of dye , etc . the compound represented by the formula ( i ) to be used in the present invention is obtained by the reaction of a compound having two functional groups such as aminoalkyl group , hydroxyalkyl group , halogenoalkyl group , carboxyalkyl group , sulfonylalkyl group , isocyanatealkyl group , etc . on a benzene ring or naphthalene ring which may also have substituents with an aliphatic compound having functional groups reactive with these functional groups . also , by replacing the above bifunctional aromatic compound with bifunctional aliphatic compound such as ethylenediamine , propylenediamine , tetramethylenediamine , ethylene glycol , triethylene glycol , tetramethylene glycol , ethylene diisocyanate , propylene diisocyanate , isophorone diisocyanate , tetramethylene diisocyanate , malonic acid , succinic acid , glutaric acid , adipic acid , etc ., the compound represented by the above formula ( i ) exhibiting the same effect can be obtained . in the above formula ( i ), 1 should be preferably an integer within the range of 1 to 30 , m an integer within the range of 1 to 30 , and l + m an integer within the range of 1 to 60 . by making l + m within the range specified above , the melting point represented by the formula ( i ) may be such that it can be easily and sharply melted by the heat from a thermal head , for example , at a temperature of 60 ° to 150 ° c ., whereby excellent migratability of the dye can be accomplished . specific examples of preferable compounds may include the following compounds : ## str1 ## the content of the above compound should be preferably 5 to 50 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder in the dye layer . if it is less than 5 parts by weight , the improvement effect of migratability of dye is insufficient , while if it is over 50 parts by weight , heat resistance of the dye layer is undesirably lowered . further , other various additives known in the art can be also included in the dye layer . such dye layer may be formed preferably by dissolving or dispersing the sublimable dye , the binder resin , the release agent and other optional components as mentioned above in an appropriate solvent to prepare a coating material or ink for formation of dye layer , and coating and drying this on a substrate . the dye layer thus formed has a thickness of about 0 . 2 to 5 . 0μm , preferably 0 . 4 to 2 . 0μm , and the sublimable dye in the dye layer should preferably exist in an amount of 5 to 90 % by weight , preferably 10 to 70 %, by weight of the dye layer . the dye layer to be formed , when the desired image is mono - color , is formed by selecting one color from among the above - mentioned dyes , while when the desired image is a full - color image , for example , appropriate cyan , magenta and yellow ( further black , if necessary ) are selected to form a dye layer of yellow , magenta and cyan ( and further black , if necessary ). the image receiving material to be used for formation of image by use of the heat transfer sheet as described above , any one may be available , provided that its recording surface has dye receptivity for the abovementioned dye , and also in the case of paper , metal , glass , synthetic resin , etc . having no dye receptivity , a dye receiving layer may be formed on at least one surface thereof . examples of the image receiving material which need not form a dye receiving layer may include fibers , woven fabrics , films , sheets , molded products , etc . comprising polyolefin resins such as polypropylene , etc . ; halogenated polymers such as polyvinyl chloride , polyvinylidene chloride , etc . ; vinyl polymers such as polyvinyl acetate , polyacrylate , etc . ; polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate , polybutylene terephthalate , polyethylene naphthalate , etc . ; polystyrene resins ; polyamide resins ; copolymer resins of an olefin such as ethylene , propylene , etc . with other vinyl monomers ; ionomers ; cellulose resins such as cellulose diacetate , etc . ; polycarbonate ; and so on . particularly preferred are sheets or films comprising polyesters or converted papers having polyester layer provided thereon . also , in the present invention , even a non - dyeable image receiving material such as paper , metal , glass and others can be also used as the image receiving material by coating and drying a solution or dispersion of a dyeable resin as described above or laminating such resin film on its recording surface . further , even the image receiving material having dyeability may have also a dye receiving layer as in the case of the above - mentioned paper formed on its surface from a resin with still better dyeability . the dye receiving layer thus formed may be formed from a single material or a plurality of materials , and further various additives may be included within the range which does not interfere with the object of the present invention as a matter of course . the thickness of such dye receiving layer may be any desired one , but may be generally a thickness of 3 to 50μm . also , such dye receiving layer may be preferably a continuous coating , but it may be also formed as incontinuous coating by use of a resin emulsion or a resin dispersion . the means for imparting energy to be used during performing heat transfer by use of the heat transfer sheet and the image receiving material as described above may be any imparting means known in the art . for example , by means of a recording device such as a thermal printer ( e . g . video printer vy - 100 , hitachi k . k ., japan ), etc ., by imparting a heat energy of about 5 to 100mj / mm 2 by controlling the recording time , a desired image can be formed . according to the present invention as described above , by permitting the compound represented by the above formula ( i ) in the dye layer , a heat transfer sheet can be provided , which can form an image of satisfactory density with lower printing energy as compared with the prior art , and also can form an image of further higher density with the same energy as in the prior art . such effects may be considered to be due to the fact that , since the compound represented by the formula ( i ) has the property of melting very easily and sharply by the heat from a thermal head , heat migration to the dye during heat transfer becomes easier , and also migratability of the dye is remarkably improved . the heat transfer sheet of the second embodiment of the present invention comprises basically a dye layer formed on a substrate film similarly as in the prior art , but it is characterized by including a sensitizer and a specific release agent in said dye layer . as the substrate film of the heat transfer sheet of the present invention as described above , any of those known in the art having heat resistance and strength to some extent may be available , as exemplified by papers , various converted papers , polyester films , polystyrene films , polypropylene films , polysulfone films , aramide films , polycarbonate films , polyvinyl alcohol films , cellophane , etc . having a thickness of about 0 . 5 to 50μm , particularly preferably polyester films . these substrate films may be either in separated sheet form or continuous film , and not particularly limited . among these , particularly preferable is a polyethylene terephthalate film with the surface previously subjected to easily adherable treatment . the dye layer to be formed on the surface of the above - mentioned substrate film is a layer having at least a dye , a sensitizer and a release agent carried with any desired binder resin . as the dye to be used , all of the dyes used in the heat transfer sheet known in the art are effectively available and not particularly limited . for example , some preferable dyes may include , as red dyes , ms red g , macrolex red violet r , ceres red 7b , samaron red hbsl , resolin red f3bs , etc ., and also as yellow dyes , foron brilliant yellow s - 6gl , pty - 2 , macrolex yellow 6g , etc ., and also as blue dyes , kayaset blue 714 , waxoline blue ap - fw , foron brilliant blue s - r , ms blue 100 , etc . as the binder resin for carrying the dye as mentioned above , any one of those known in the prior art can be used , and preferable examples may include cellulose resins such as ethyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose , ethylhydroxy cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , methyl cellulose , cellulose diacetate , cellulose triacetate , cellulose acetate butyrate , etc . ; vinyl resins such as polyvinyl alcohol , polyvinyl acetate , polyvinyl butyral , polyvinyl acetal , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyacrylamide , etc . ; polyesters ; and so on . among them , cellulose type , acetal type , butyral type and polyester type , etc . are preferable from the points of heat resistance , migratability of dye , etc . also , these binders should preferably have a tg of 50 ° c . or higher , because if tg is lower than 50 ° c ., the binder is liable to be softened when the sensitizer is melted during heat transfer , whereby the dye layer becomes readily fused to the image receiving material undesirably . the sensitizer to be used in the present invention is a low molecular weight substance having a melting point of 50 ° to 150 ° c . if the melting point is lower than 50 ° c , the sensitizer will be readily migrated to the dye surface to generate such problem as blocking , etc ., while if the melting point exceeds 150 ° c ., the sensitizing action will be abruptly lowered undesirably . the sensitizer to be used in the present invention should preferably have a molecular weight within the range of 100 to 1 , 500 . if the molecular weight is less than 100 , it is difficult to maintain the melting point at 50 ° c . or higher , while if the molecular weight exceeds 1 , 500 , sharpness of melting of the sensitizer during heat transfer is lost , whereby the sensitizing action becomes insufficient undesirably . the above sensitizer should be used at a ratio of 1 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder forming the dye layer . if the amount used is less than 1 part by weight , it is difficult to obtain satisfactory sensitizing action , while if it exceeds 100 parts by weight , heat resistance of the dye layer will be lowered undesirably . the sensitizer as described above may be any known low molecular substance , provided that it has a melting point of 50 to 150 ° c , but preferable sensitizers in the present invention may include thermoplastic resin oligomers , for example , various oligomers such as polyurethane oligomer , polystyrene oligomer , polyester oligomer , polyacryl oligomer , polyethylene oligomer , polyvinyl chloride oligomer , polyvinyl acetate oligomer , ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer oligomer , ethylene - acryl copolymer oligomer , polyoxyethylene oligomer , polyoxypropylene oligomer , polyoxyethylenepropylene oligomer , etc . ; fatty acids such as myristic acid , palmitic acid , malgaric acid , stearic acid , arachic acid , montanic acid , etc . ; fatty acid amides such as caproic acid amide , caprylic acid amide , lauric acid amide , stearic acid amide , oleic acid amide , eicosenic acid amide , etc ; fatty acid esters such as methyl behenate , methyl lignocerate , methyl montanate , pentadecyl palmitate , hexacosyl stearate , carbamic acid [ 1 , 4 - phenylenebis ( methylene )] bisdimethyl ester , etc . ; otherwise , aromatic compounds such as 1 , 4 - dicyclohexylbenzene , benzoic acid , aminobenzophenone , dimethyl terephthalate , fluoranthene , phenols , naphthalenes , phenoxys ; various waxes ; and so on . the release agent to be used in the present invention is a polymer having at least one releasable segment , having releasable segments graft - bonded as the side chain to a polymer which is the main chain . the releasable segment of such polymer itself is generally low in compatibility with the polymer as the main chain . therefore , when the dye layer is formed by adding such polymer into the dye layer , or by use of the releasable polymer as the binder , the releasable segments are susceptible to microphase separation from the dye layer thereby to bleed out on the surface of the dye layer . on the other hand , the main chain tends to be integrated with the dye layer to adhere onto the substrate film . by concerting of these actions , the releasable segments are enriched on the surface side of the dye layer , whereby good releasability can be obtained . the releasable segments will not be departed from the dye layer with the main chain , and therefore they never migrated onto the surface of other articles such as image receiving material . the above - mentioned releasable polymer is a graft copolymer having at least one releasable segment selected from polysiloxane segments , fluorinated carbon segments and long - chain alkyl segments graft - bonded to the main chain . as the polymer of the main chain , any polymer having reactive functional group known in the art may be used . preferable examples may include cellulose resins such as ethyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose , ethylhydroxy cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , methyl cellulose , cellulose acetate , cellulose acetate butyrate , etc . ; vinyl resins such as acrylic resin , polyvinyl alcohol , polyvinyl acetate , polyvinyl butyral , polyvinyl acetal , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyacrylamide , etc . ; polyamide resins ; polyurethane resins ; polyester resins ; and so on . among these , from the point of compatibility with the binder , acrylic , vinyl , polyester , polyurethane , polyamide or cellulose resins are particularly preferred . the above - mentioned releasable copolymer can be synthesized according to various methods . as a preferable method , the method of reacting a releasable compound having a functional group reactive with the functional group existing in the main chain after formation of said main chain may be employed . as an example of the releasable compound having the above - mentioned functional group , the compounds as set forth below may be included . in the above formulae , a part of methyl groups may be also substituted with other alkyl groups or aromatic groups such as phenyl group , etc . higher fatty acids such as lauric acid , myristic acid , palmitic acid , stearic acid , oleic acid , linoleic acid , etc . and acid halides thereof ; higher alcohols such as nonyl alcohol , capryl alcohol , lauryl alcohol , myristyl alcohol , cetyl alcohol , stearyl alcohol , oleyl alcohol , linoleyl alcohol , ricinoleyl alcohol , etc . ; higher aldehydes such as capric aldehyde , lauric aldehyde , myristic aldehyde , stearic aldehyde , etc . ; higher amines such as decylamine , laurylamine , cetylamine , etc . the above examples are merely illustrative , and other various reactive releasable compounds are available from , for example , shinetsu kagaku k . k ., japan , etc . and all of them can be used in the present invention . particularly preferable is a mono - functional releasable compound having one functional group in one molecule , and when a polyfunctional compound having two or more functionalities is used , the graft copolymer obtained tends to be gelled undesirably . the relationship of the above - mentioned functional releasable compound and the main chain polymer as illustrated above may be as shown below in table 1 , when the functional group of the releasable compound is represented by x and the functional group of the main chain polymer by y . of course , the relationship between x and y may be vice versa , or the respective groups may be used in mixtures , and also these examples are not limitative , so long as both are reactive with each other . table b1______________________________________x y______________________________________nco oh , nh . sub . 2 , nhr , cooh , sh , etc . cocl oh , nh . sub . 2 , nhr , sh , etc . ## str4 ## oh , nh . sub . 2 , cooh , etc . ## str5 ## oh , nh . sub . 2 , nhr , sh , etc . oh , sh ## str6 ## nh . sub . 2 , nhr ## str7 ## cooh ## str8 ## ______________________________________ as another preferable preparation method , also by reacting the above - mentioned functional releasable compound with a vinyl compound having a functional group reactive with the functional group to form a monomer having a releasable segment , and copolymerizing this with various vinyl monomers , a desired graft copolymer can be similarly obtained . as another preferable preparation method , there may be employed the method in which a mercapto compound such as the above exemplary compound ( 7 ) or a releasable vinyl compound as mentioned above is added to a polymer having unsaturated double bond in its main chain such as unsaturated polyester , copolymer of vinyl monomer with a diene compound such as butadiene , etc . to be grafted thereon . the above methods are preferable examples of preparation methods , and the present invention can also use graft copolymers prepared by other methods as a matter of course . the content of the releasable segments in the above - mentioned polymer may be preferably within the range of the amount of the releasable segments occupied in the polymer ranging from 3 to 60 % by weight . if the amount of the releasable segments is too small , releasability becomes insufficient , while if it is too much , compatibility with the binder or the coating strength of the dye layer is lowered , and also the problem of discoloration or storability of the transferred image will occur undesirably . the releasable polymer as described above can be also used as the binder in place of the above - described binder . the heat transfer sheet of the present invention can be obtained by coating and drying a solution of the dye , the sensitizer , the release agent and the binder as described above with addition of necessary additives dissolved in an appropriate organic solvent or at dispersion thereof in an organic solvent or water on at least one surface of the above - mentioned substrate film by formation means such as the gravure printing method , the screen printing method , the reverse roll coating method by use of gravure plate , etc . thereby forming a dye layer . the dye layer thus formed has a thickness of about 0 . 2 to 5 . 0μm , preferably 0 . 4 to 2 . 0μm , and the sublimable dye in the dye layer should exist suitably in an amount of 5 to 90 % by weight , preferably 10 to 70 % by weight , of the weight of the dye layer . the dye layer to be formed , when the desired image is mono - color , is formed by selecting one color from among the above - mentioned dyes , while when the desired image is a full - color image , for example , appropriate cyan , magenta and yellow ( further black , if necessary ) are selected to form a dye layer of yellow , magenta and cyan ( and further black , if necessary ). according to the present invention as described above , by adding a sensitizer and a specific release agent into the dye layer , a heat transfer sheet which can form an image of satisfactory density with lower printing energy as compared with the prior art or can form an image of further higher density with the same energy as in the prior art without causing the problems of storability and fusion to occur can be obtained . the third embodiment of the heat transfer sheet of the present invention comprises basically a dye layer formed on a substrate film similarly as in the prior art , but it is characterized by forming said dye layer from a sensitizer and a binder which can react to be bonded to each other . as the substrate film of the heat transfer sheet of the present invention as described above , any of those known in the art having heat resistance and strength to some extent may be available , as exemplified by papers , various converted papers , polyester films , polystyrene films , polycarbonate films , polyvinyl alcohol films , aramide films , polycarbonate films , polyvinyl alcohol films , cellophane , etc . having a thickness of about 0 . to 50 μm , preferably 3 to 10μm , particularly preferably polyester films . these substrate films may be either in separated sheet form or continuous film , and not particularly limited . among these , particularly preferable is a polyethylene terephthalate film with the surface previously subjected to easily adherable treatment . as the dye to be used for the dye layer , all of the dyes used in the heat transfer sheet known in the art are effectively available and not particularly limited . for example , some preferable dyes may include , . as red dyes , ms red g , macrolex red violet r , ceres red 7b , samaron red hbsl , resolin red f3bs , etc ., and also as yellow dyes , foron brilliant yellow s - 6gl , pty - 52 , macrolex yellow 6g , etc ., and also as blue dyes , kayaset blue 714 , waxoline blue ap - fw , foron brilliant blue s - r , ms blue 100 , etc . as the binder resin for carrying the dye as mentioned above , any one of those known in the prior art having reactive groups as shown below in table c1 can be used , and preferable examples may include cellulose resins such as ethyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose , ethylhydroxy cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , methyl cellulose , cellulose diacetate , cellulose triacetate , cellulose acetate butyrate , etc . ; vinyl resins such as polyvinyl alcohol , polyvinyl acetate , polyvinyl butyral , polyvinyl acetal , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , etc . ; acrylic resins such as poly ( meth ) acrylte , poly ( meth ) acrylamide ; polyurethane resins , polyamide resin , polyesters ; and so on . among them , cellulose type , vinyl type , acrylic , olyurethane type and polyester type , etc . are preferable from the points of heat resistance , migratability of dye , etc . further , by use of releasable resins of various resins as mentioned above subjected to silicone modification , fluorine modification or long - chain alkyl modification as the binder , use of a release agent which generates various problems can be precluded or reduced . also , these binders should preferably have a tg ( glass transition point ) of 50 ° c . or higher , because if tg is lower than 50 ° c ., the binder is liable to be softened when the sensitizer is melted during heat transfer , whereby the dye layer becomes readily fused to the image receiving material undesirably . the sensitizer to be used in the present invention is a low molecular weight substance having a functional group which can react with and bond to the functional group of the above - mentioned binder is shown below in table c1 and having a relatively lower melting point , for example , 50 to 150 ° c . the melting point may be lower than 50 ° c . however , in this case , before the reaction of the sensitizer and the binder , handleability is not good with respect to sticking and blocking . on the other hand , if the melting point exceeds 150 ° c ., the sensitizing action will be abruptly lowered undesirably . the sensitizer to be used in the present invention should preferably have a molecular weight within the range of 100 to 1 , 500 . if the molecular weight is less than 100 , it is difficult to maintain the melting point at 50 ° c . or higher , while if the molecular weight exceeds 1 , 500 , sharpness of melting of the sensitizer during heat transfer is lost , whereby the sensitizing action becomes insufficient undesirably . the above sensitizer should be used at a ratio of 1 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the binder forming the dye layer . if the amount used is less than 1 part by weight , it is difficult to obtain satisfactory sensitizing action , while if it exceeds 100 parts by weight , heat resistance of the dye layer will be lowered undesirably . the sensitizer as described above may be any known low molecular substance , but preferable sensitizers in the present invention may include thermoplastic resin oligomers , for example , various oligomers such as polyurethane oligomer , polystyrene oligomer , polyester oligomer , polyacryl oligomer , polyethylene oligomer , polyvinyl chloride oligomer , polyvinyl acetate oligomer , ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer oligomer , ethylene - acryl copolymer oligomer , polyoxyethylene oligomer , polyoxypropylene oligomer , polyoxyethylenepropylene oligomer , etc . ; fatty acids such as myristic acid , palmitic acid , malgaric acid , stearic acid , arachic acid , montanic acid , etc . ; fatty acid amides such as caproic acid amide , caprylic acid amide , lauric acid amide , stearic acid amide , oleic acid amide , eicosenic acid amide , etc ; fatty acid esters such as methyl behenate , methyl lignocerate , methyl montanate , pentadecyl palmitate , hexacosyl stearate , carbamic acid [ 1 , 4 - phenylenebis ( methylene )] bisdimethyl ester , etc . ; otherwise , aromatic compounds such as 1 , 4 - dicyclohexylbenzene , benzoic acid , aminobenzophenone , dimethyl terephthalate , fluoranthene , phenols , naphthalenes , phenoxys ; various waxes ; and so on . the relationship of the above - mentioned sensitizer and the respective functional groups capable of reaction and bonding therewith of the above - mentioned binder may be as shown below in table c1 , when the functional group of the sensitizer is represented by x and the functional group of the binder by y . of course , the relationship between x and y may be vice versa , or the respective groups may be used in mixtures , and also these examples are not limitative , so long as both are reactive with each other . table c1______________________________________x y______________________________________nco oh , nh . sub . 2 , nhr , cooh , sh , etc . cocl oh , nh . sub . 2 , nhr , sh , etc . ## str9 ## oh , nh . sub . 2 , cooh , etc . ## str10 ## oh , nh . sub . 2 , nhr , sh , etc . oh , sh ## str11 ## nh . sub . 2 , nhr ## str12 ## cooh ## str13 ## chch chchchch . sub . 2 chch . sub . 2______________________________________ the reaction between the binder and the sensitizer as described above may be either before formation of the dye layer or during formation of the dye layer , further after formation of the dye layer , provided that it is before practicing heat transfer . the mode of the reaction of the both may differ depending on the combination of the respective functional groups , and is not particularly limited , but may include , for example , normal temperature reaction , heating reaction , catalyst reaction , photoreaction , radiation reaction , reaction with polymerization initiator , etc . the heat transfer sheet of the present invention can be obtained by coating and drying a solution of the dye , the sensitizer , the release agent and the binder as described above with addition of necessary additives dissolved in an appropriate organic solvent or a dispersion thereof in an organic solvent or water on at least one surface of the above - mentioned substrate film by formation means such as the gravure printing method , the screen printing method , the reverse roll coating method by use of gravure plate , etc . thereby forming a dye layer . the dye layer thus formed has a thickness of about 0 . 2 to 5 . 0μm , preferably 0 . 4 to 2 . 0μm , and the sublimable dye in the dye layer should exist suitably in an amount of 5 to 90 % by weight , preferably 10 to 70 % by weight , of the weight of the dye layer . the dye layer to be formed , when the desired image is mono - color , is formed by selecting one color from among the above - mentioned dyes , while when the desired image is a full - color image , for example , appropriate cyan , magenta and yellow ( further black , if necessary ) are selected to form a dye layer of yellow , magenta and cyan ( and further black , if necessary ). according to the present invention as described above , by forming the dye layer of a sensitizer and a binder having functional groups which can react to be bonded to each other , a heat transfer sheet can be provided , which can form an image of satisfactory density with lower printing energy as compared with the prior art , and also can form an image of further higher density with the same energy as in the prior art , witout causing the problems of storability and fusion to occur . the present invention is described in more detail by referring to examples and comparative examples . in the sentences , parts or % are based on weight , unless otherwise particularly noted . on the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film with a thickness of 6μm as the substrate applied with the heat - resistant treatment on the back opposite to the surface on which a dye layer is to be formed , an ink composition for formation of dye layer having the composition shown below was coated and dried by gravure printing to a thickness on drying of 1 . 0g / m 2 to prepare heat transfer sheets of the present invention and comparative example shaped in continuous films . ______________________________________kayaset blue 714 5 . 50 parts ( nippon kayaku , japan , c . i . solvent blue 63 ) polyvinyl butyral resin 3 . 00 parts ( ethlec bx - 1 , sekisuikagaku k . k ., japan ) compound of the formula ( i ) 1 . 00 partmethyl ethyl ketone 22 . 54 partstoluene 68 . 18 parts______________________________________ next , by use of a synthetic paper ( oji - yuka , yupo fpg 150 ) as the substrate film , on one surface thereof was coated a coating solution having the following composition at a ratio of 4 . 5 g / m 2 on drying , followed by drying at 100 ° c . for 30 minutes , to obtain image receiving materials to be used in the present invention and comparative example . ______________________________________polyester resin 11 . 5 parts ( toyobo , japan , vylon 200 ) vinyl - chloride vinyl acetate 5 . 0 partscopolymer ( ucc , vyhh ) amino - modified silicone oil 1 . 2 parts ( shinetsu kagaku kogyo , k . k ., japan , kf393 ) epoxy - modified silicone oil 1 . 2 parts ( shinetsu kagaku kogyo , k . k ., japan , x - 22 - 343 ) methyl ethyl ketone 40 . 8 partstoluene 40 . 8 partscyclohexane 20 . 4 parts______________________________________ without use of the compound of the formula ( i ), the amount of the binder was made 4 . 00 parts . styrene oligomer ( m . w . 362 ) was used instead of the compound of the formula ( i ). each of the heat transfer sheet of the abovementioned example and comparative example and the image receiving material as described above were superposed as opposed to each other , and by use of a thermal head ( kmt - 85 - 6 , mpd2 ) from the back of the heat transfer sheet , thermal head recording was performed under the conditions of a head application voltage of 12 . 0 v , step pattern successively reduced at every 1 msec . from applied pulse width of 16 . 0 msec ./ line , and 6 line / mm ( 3 . 3 msec ./ line ) in the subscanning direction to give the results shown below in table a1 . table a1______________________________________heat transfer sheet relative sensitivity______________________________________example a1 1 . 8example a2 1 . 6example a3 1 . 5example a4 1 . 7example a5 1 . 8example a6 1 . 6example a7 1 . 5example a8 1 . 9example a9 1 . 8example a10 1 . 8comparative example a1 1 . 0comparative example a2 1 . 2______________________________________ the relative sensitivity is determined by measuring the printed image density and comparing it relatively with the printing density of comparative example a1 as 1 . 0 . as described above , according to the present invention , the density improvement effect by 50 % or more was obtained with the same printing energy by adding only a specific compound of the dye layer . 40 parts of a copolymer of 95 mole % of methyl methacrylate and 5 mole % of hydroxyethyl methacrylate ( molecular weight 120 , 000 ) were dissolved in 400 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and subsequently 10 parts of the polysiloxane compound ( 5 ) as exemplified above ( molecular weight 3 , 000 ) were added dropwise gradually to carry out the the reaction at 60 ° c . for 5 hours . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method , indicating that it was the reaction product of the polysiloxane compound and the acrylic resin . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 7 . 4 %. 50 parts of a polyvinyl butyral ( polymerization degree 1 , 700 , hydroxyl content 33 mole %) were dissolved in 500 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and subsequently 10 parts of the polysiloxane compound ( 5 ) as exemplified above ( molecular weight 3 , 000 ) were added dropwise gradually to carry out the reaction at 60 ° c for 5 hours . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method , indicating that it was the reaction product of the polysiloxane compound and the polyvinyl butyral resin . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 5 . 2 %. 70 parts of a copolymer comprising 45 mole % of dimethyl terephthalate , 5 mole % of dimethyl monoaminoterephthalate and 50 mole % of trimethylene glycol ( molecular weight 25 , 000 ) were dissolved in 700 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and subsequently 10 parts of the polysiloxane compound ( 4 ) as exemplified above ( molecular weight 10 , 000 ) were added dropwise gradually to carry out the reaction at 60 ° c . for 5 hours . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method , indicating that it was the reaction product of the polysiloxane compound and the polyester resin . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 5 . 4 %. 80 parts of a polyurethane resin obtained from a polyethylene adipate diol , butane diol and hexamethylene diisocyanate ( molecular weight 6 , 000 ) were dissolved in 800 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and subsequently 10 parts of the polysiloxane compound ( 6 ) as exemplified above ( molecular weight 2 , 000 ) were added dropwise gradually to carry out the reaction at 60 ° c for 5 hours . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method , indicating that it was the reaction product of the polysiloxane compound and the polyurethane resin . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 4 . 0 %. 100 parts of a mixture of 5 mole % of the 25 monomer obtained by the reaction of the above - mentioned polysiloxane compound ( 3 ) ( molecular weight 1 , 000 ) with methacrylic acid chloride at a molar ratio of 1 : 1 , 45 mole % of methyl methacrylate , 40 mole % of butyl acrylate and 10 mole % of styrene and 3 parts of azobisisobutyronitrile were dissolved in 1000 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and polymerization was carried out at 70 ° c . for 6 hours to obtain a viscous polymer solution . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 6 . 1 %. 50 parts of a styrene - butadiene copolymer ( molecular weight 150 , 000 , butadiene 10 mole %) and 2 parts of azobisisobutyronitrile were dissolved in 500 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and subsequently 10 parts of the polysiloxane compound ( 7 ) as exemplified ( molecular weight 10 , 000 ) were added dropwise gradually to carry out the reaction at 60 ° c . for 5 hours . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method , indicating that it was the reaction product of the polysiloxane compound and the copolymer . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 6 . 2 %. 80 parts of a hydroxyethyl cellulose were dissolved in 800 parts of a solvent mixture of equal amounts of methyl ethyl ketone and toluene , and subsequently 10 parts of the polysiloxane compound ( 6 ) ( molecular weight 2 , 000 ) were added dropwise gradually to carry out the reaction at 60 ° c . for 5 hours . the product was found to be uniform , and no polysiloxane compound could be separated by the fractional precipitation method , indicating that it was the reaction product of the polysiloxane compound and the hydroxyethyl cellulose . by analysis , the amount of the polysiloxane segments was about 5 . 8 %. a releasable graft copolymer was obtained in the same manner as in reference example b1 except for using the fluorinated carbon compound ( 16 ) as exemplified above in place of the polysiloxane compound in reference example b1 . a releasable graft copolymer was obtained in the same manner as in reference example b2 except for using the fluorinated carbon compound ( 18 ) as exemplified above in place of the polysiloxane compound in reference example b2 . a releasable graft copolymer was obtained in the same manner as in reference example b5 except for using methacrylte of the fluorinated carbon compound ( 10 ) as exemplified above in place of the polysiloxane compound in reference example b5 . on the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film with a thickness of 6μm as the substrate applied with the heat - resistant treatment on the back opposite to the surface on which a dye layer is to be formed , an ink composition for formation of dye layer having the composition shown below was coated and dried by gravure printing to a thickness on drying of 1 . 0 g / m 2 to prepare heat transfer sheets of the present invention and comparative example shaped in continuous films . ______________________________________kayaset blue 714 5 . 50 parts ( nippon kayaku k . k ., japan , c . i . solvent blue 63 ) polyvinyl butyral resin 3 . 00 parts ( ethlec bx - 1 , sekisui kagakukogyo k . k ., japan ) sensitizer ( shown below in 1 . 00 parttable b2 ) release agent ( above 1 . 00 partreference example ) methyl ethyl ketone 22 . 54 partstoluene 68 . 18 parts______________________________________ next , by use of a synthetic paper ( oji - yuka , yupo fpg 150 ) as the substrate film , on one surface thereof was coated a coating solution having the following composition at a ratio of 4 . 5 g / m 2 on drying , followed by drying at 100 ° c . for 30 minutes , to obtain image receiving materials to be used in the present invention and comparative example . ______________________________________polyester resin 11 . 5 parts ( toyobo , k . k ., japan , vylon 200 ) vinylchloride - vinyl acetate 5 . 0 partscopolymer ( ucc , vyhh ) amino - modified silicone oil 1 . 2 parts ( shinetsu kagaku kogyo k . k ., japan , kf393 ) epoxy - modified silicone oil 1 . 2 parts ( shinetsu kagaku kogyo k . k ., japan , x - 22 - 343 ) methyl ethyl ketone 40 . 8 partstoluene 40 . 8 partscyclohexane 20 . 4 parts______________________________________ each of the heat transfer sheet of the abovementioned example b and comparative example b and the image receiving material as described above were superposed as opposed to each other , and by use of a thermal head ( kmt - 85 - 6 , mpd2 ) from the back of the heat transfer sheet , thermal head recording was performed under the conditions of a head application voltage of 12 . 0 v , step pattern successively reduced at every 1 msec . from applied pulse width of 16 . 0 msec ./ line , and 6 line / mm ( 33 . 3 msec ./ line ) in the sub - scanning direction to give the results shown below in table b2 . table b2__________________________________________________________________________ relative sensitizer release agent releasability sensitivity__________________________________________________________________________exampleb1 polystyrene oligomer reference example ◯ 1 . 4 ( mp = 60 ° c ., mw = 860 ) b1b2 polyoxyethylene oligomer reference example ◯ 1 . 3 ( mp = 50 ° c ., mw = 900 ) b2b3 eiconsenic acid amide reference example ◯ 1 . 9 ( mp = 79 ° c ., mw = 310 ) b3b4 carbamic acid [ 1 , 4 - reference example ◯ 1 . 5 phenylenebis ( methylene )] b4 bisdimethylester ( mp = 95 ° c ., mw = 252 ) b5 1 , 4 - dicyclohexylbenzene reference example ◯ 1 . 3 ( mp = 100 ° c ., mw = 218 ) b5b6 fluoranthene reference example ◯ 1 . 4 ( mp = 110 ° c ., mw = 202 ) b6b7 benzoic acid reference example ◯ 1 . 3 ( mp = 122 . 5 ° c ., mw = 122 ) b7b8 o - aminobenzophenone reference example ◯ 1 . 4 ( mp = 110 ° c ., mw = 197 ) b8b9 dimethyl terephthalate reference example ◯ 1 . 3 ( mp = 142 ° c ., mw = 194 ) b9b10 lauric acid amide reference example ◯ 1 . 4 ( mp = 100 ° c ., mw = 199 ) b10comparativeexampleb1 no sensitizer ( binder reference example ◯ 1 . 0 was made 4 . 0 parts ) b1b2 polyoxyethylene oligomer no release agent × 1 . 3 ( mp = 50 ° c ., mw = 900 ) ( binder was made 4 . 0 parts ) __________________________________________________________________________ the relative sensitivity was determined by measuring the printed image density and comparting it relatively with the printing density of comparative example a1 as 1 . 0 , and releasability was judged by peeling off the heat transfer sheet after printing : x : peeled off with difficulty with a part of the dye layer transferred as such . as described above , according to the present invention , the density improvement effect by 30 % or more was obtained with the same printing energy by adding only a specific sensitizer and a release agent into the dye layer . on the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film with a thickness of 6μm as the substrate applied with the heat - resistant treatment by coating and curing of an ink for heat - resistant lubricating layer having the following composition on the back opposite to the surface on which a dye layer is to be formed , an ink composition for formation of dye layer having the composition shown below was coated and dried by gravure printing to a thickness on drying of 1 . 0g / m 2 to prepare heat transfer sheets of the present invention and comparative example shaped in continuous films . ______________________________________ink composition for heat - resistant lubricating layerpolyvinyl butyral ( ethlec bx - 1 , 3 . 6 partssekisui kagaku k . k ., japan ) phosphoric acid ester ( plysurf a - 208s , 2 . 6 partsdaiichi kogyo seiyaku k . k ., japan ) isocyanate ( barnock d - 750 , 8 . 5 partsdainippon ink k . k ., japan ) talc 1 . 8 partsmethyl ethyl ketone 63 . 5 partstoluene 20 . 0 partsink composition for formation of dye layerkayaset blue 714 5 . 50 parts ( nippon kayaku , japan , c . i . solventblue 63 ) binder resin ( shown below in table c2 ) 3 . 00 partssensitizer ( shown below in table c2 ) 1 . 00 partrelease agent 1 . 00 partmethyl ethyl ketone 22 . 54 partstoluene 68 . 18 parts______________________________________ next , by use of a synthetic paper ( oji - yuka , yupo fpg 150 ) as the substrate film , on one surface thereof was coated a coating solution having the following composition at a ratio of 4 . 5 g / m 2 on drying , followed by drying at 80 ° c . for 10 minutes , to obtain heat transfer image receiving sheets to be used in the present invention and comparative example . ______________________________________coating solution composition for dye receiving layer______________________________________polyester resin ( toyobo k . k ., japan , 4 . 0 partsvylon 600 ) vinylchloride - vinyl acetate copolymer 6 . 0 parts ( denki kagaku kogyo k . k ., japan # 1000a ) amino - modified silicone oil 0 . 2 part ( shinetsu kagaku kogyo k . k ., japan , x - 22 - 3050c ) epoxy - modified silicone oil 0 . 2 part ( shinetsu kagaku kogyo k . k ., japan , x - 22 - 3000e ) methyl ethyl ketone 44 . 8 partstoluene 44 . 8 parts______________________________________ each of the heat transfer sheet of the above - mentioned example c and comparative example c and the image receiving material as described above were superposed with the dye layer and the image receiving layer being opposed to each other , and by use of a thermal head ( kmt - 85 - 6 , mpd2 ) from the back of the heat transfer sheet , thermal head recording was performed under the conditions of a head application voltage of 12 . 0 v , step pattern successively reduced at every 1 msec . from applied pulse width of 16 . 0 msec ./ line , and 6 line / mm ( 33 . 3 msec ./ line ) in the sub - scanning direction to give the results shown below in table c2 . table c2______________________________________example , comparative example evaluation items · results______________________________________example c1 relative sensitivity : 1 . 3resin : cellulose diacetate storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : stearic acid 500 hrs : ⊚ reaction condition : thermal releasability : ⊚ reactionexample c2 relative sensitivity : 1 . 4resin : storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : styrene oligomer 500 hrs : ⊚ reaction condition : eb reaction releasability : ⊚ example c3 relative sensitivity : 1 . 3resin : epoxy - modified acryl storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : aminobenzophenone 500 hrs : ⊚ reaction condition : thermal releasability : ⊚ reactionexample c4 relative sensitivity : 1 . 2resin : polyvinyl butyral storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : benzoic acid 500 hrs : ⊚ reaction condition : thermal releasability : ⊚ reactioncomparative example c1 relative sensitivity : 1 . 0resin : polyvinyl butyral storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : none 500 hrs : ⊚ reaction condition : -- releasability : ⊚ comparative example c2 relative sensitivity : 1 . 3resin : polyvinyl butyral storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : benzoic acid 500 hrs : × reaction condition : unreacted releasability : × comparative example c3 relative sensitivity : 1 . 4resin : polyvinyl butyral storability 200 hrs : ⊚ sensitizer : styrene oligomer 500 hrs : δreaction condition : unreacted releasability : × comparative example c4 relative sensitivity : 1 . 4resin : cellulose diacetate storability 200 hrs : δsensitizer : stearic acid 500 hrs : × ethylenebisamidereaction condition : unreacted releasability : × ______________________________________ relative sensitivity : printing image density was measured and compared relatively with the printing density of comparative example 1 as 1 . 0 . storability : with the back of the heat transfer sheet obtained in the above example and comparative example and the dye layer being superposed , a load of 20 g / c m 2 was applied , and after storage at 60 ° c ., 30 % rh for 200 hours and 500 hours , both were peeled off and the state of blocking of the dye layer and the back were observed . releasability : after the heat transfer test , the heat transfer sheet and the heat transfer image receiving sheet were peeled off and observed . δ : dye layer partially fused to dye receiving layer , and peeled off from heat transfer sheet as described above , according to the present invention , by forming the dye layer of a sensitizer and a binder which can be bound mutually by the reaction , the density improvement effect by 30 % or more coul be obtained with the same printing energy , and also a heat transfer sheet having excellent releasability and storability could be obtained . | 8 |
in describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings , specific terminology will be used for the sake of clarity . however , the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected , and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose . with reference to the drawings , in general , and fig1 through 6 in particular , the method and apparatus of the present invention is disclosed . [ 0023 ] fig1 illustrates an example of a communications system which can simultaneously handle the transmission of telephony services as well as the transmission of video and data services . the system is based on the use of a communications gateway ( cg ) 150 , which is in communication with a head - end 100 via the hfc network 170 . the head - end 100 comprises a cable modem termination system ( cmts ) 107 that directly communicates with an ip network 120 . the cmts 107 is in further communication with a call management system ( cms ) 105 which can communicate with both the public switched telephone network ( pstn ) 110 and an ip network 120 . within residence 130 , as illustrated in fig1 the cg 150 can communicate with a pc 133 , a set - top box ( stb ) 135 and one or more telephone devices 131 which are attached to the telephone wiring inside the residence 130 . the stb 135 is connected to a video entertainment system comprising a video display device such as tv 137 and a vcr 139 . the head - end 100 can send and receive signals from fiber optic cables 108 . in one embodiment , separate cables are used for the transmission of fiber optic signals to a node 140 ( fiber labeled as 108 a ) and for the reception of fiber optic signals transmitted from node 140 to head - end 100 ( fiber labeled as 108 b ). the signals are transmitted , from node 140 , over coaxial cable 141 to one or more active amplifiers 145 . from active amplifiers 145 , the signals are propagated down a coaxial cable 143 and are intercepted by tap 147 which routes a portion of the signal to a communications gateway ( cg ) 150 located at or near a residence 130 . a drop cable 149 is used to connect tap 147 to cg 150 . the drop cable 149 may be a coaxial cable or any other comparable means . when used herein , the term communications gateway ( cg ) refers to a device for transmitting and receiving data , voice or video signals over an hfc network such as an embedded client . generally , the cg acts as an interface between the hfc network 170 and the customer premises equipment ( cpe ) located at the residence 130 . the cg 150 transmits and receives signals over the hfc network 170 using a particular protocol , which , in a preferred embodiment , is the data over cable service interface specification ( docsis ) using the media gateway control protocol ( mgcp ) as the signaling protocol for telephony applications . [ 0027 ] fig2 illustrates an example of call flow for establishing a voice connection between two devices through the hfc network using the mgcp protocol . specifically , the call flow depicts a method for providing optional services and features to a subscriber by incorporating additional steps in the process of making a voice connection . the additional steps as illustrated in fig2 are a decision step and an option step which will be described hereinafter . the call flow starts with a device going off hook . the off - hook state of a call originating device ( device o ) 210 a is detected by an originating communication gateway ( cg o ) 230 a which then exchanges , with an originating call management system ( cms o ) 270 a , mgcp - based messages to create a connection ( crcx ) and to provide a dial - tone to the device o 210 a . the cg o 230 a acknowledges the connection with a session description protocol ( sdp ) packet which specifies the client address at which audio data is to be received , the transport protocol , the port identifier and the audio profile . the audio profile defines the transmission format which can be based on g . 711 , g . 729 or other audio transmission formats . the call flow for establishing a voice call between two clients attached to a cable network is described in the “ packetcable network based call signaling protocol specification ” which is herein incorporated by reference . as described in the referenced document , the cg o 230 a can start collecting the digits after a dial - tone is provided the deviceo 210 a . the digits entered through the deviceo 210 a are used at a decision step as illustrated in fig2 to determine which service is being requested by the user . in the case of a local service , the cg o 230 a provides locally the service and if no access to the hfc network is further needed , the cg o 230 a may notify the cms o 270 a of the dropped call . in the case of a service such as a telephone call , the cg o 230 a proceeds with the normal call flow for establishing a connection as illustrated in fig2 . the decision making process of the cg o 230 a at the decision step can be sized by the following pseudo - code : in the normal call flow as illustrated in fig2 the digits collected by the cg o 230 a are notified to the cms 0 270 a , which , in return , issues a create - connection ( crcx ) request to a destination communication gateway , cg t 230 b via a destination cms , cms t 270 b . the cms t 270 b sends a combined crcx and a notificationrequest message to the cg t 230 b instructing the destination gateway to create a connection and to ring a destination device , device t 210 b . the message sent by the cms t 270 b includes the sdp parameters sent by the cg o 230 a . in one embodiment of the present invention , the cg t 230 b sends a ringing signal to the device t 210 b and presents a list of options displayed on a tv device to the user as illustrated in fig2 . the options provided to the user will be described hereinafter . the call flow of fig2 illustrates partially the signaling between the devices , the communication gateways and the cms for establishing a voice connection . additional signaling , not shown here , is performed between the network elements shown in fig2 . this signaling is well described in the previously - referenced document . [ 0043 ] fig3 is a use case diagram 300 of a system for managing telephony services and for the synchronization with video services . the actors of the use case diagram comprise a user 315 , and a set of cpe such as a tv device 305 , a video cassette recorder ( vcr ) 325 , a telephone device 335 and a recorder 345 , which the user 315 may utilize to interact with the system . the user 315 can select and request services supported by the system through the telephone device 335 keypad , a remote control or any other device such as a keyboard connected to the system . the display menu use case 310 is responsible for displaying information associated with a service requested by the user 315 and for displaying on the tv device 305 options &# 39 ; menus when receiving a telephone call . the options &# 39 ; menus may be displayed in different ways such as a translucide display or a reduced display which provides to the user a non - blocking view of the current video program . from the information or menu displayed , the user 315 may select or request a service or may choose an action to be performed to synchronize a simultaneous reception of a telephone call with a video program , when detecting an off - hook state of the telephone device 335 , the system may , after receiving the digits entered by the user 315 , as explained previously , determine which service is being requested by the user 315 and allow the requested service to be delivered . as an example , the user 315 may enter a set of digits matching the digit map provided by the originating call management system cms o 270 ( shown in fig2 ). in this case , a determination will be made that an outgoing call needs to be placed and a “ place call ” use case 250 performs the necessary signaling needed to establish a voice connection with a called party . for a local service such as a call log retrieval or a directory service , the user may enter a set of digits outside the digitmap but within a pseudo - dialing plan supported by the system . in one embodiment , a pseudo - dialing plan is supported by the system which identifies access numbers for the local services . an example of a mask for the pseudo - dialing plan is “ 9 *- xxx ” wherein the prefix “ 9 *” indicates an access to a local service and the digits “ xxx ” identify the local service . in the case of call log retrieval service , a list of callers may be displayed on the tv device . the “ display telephone listing ” use case 390 is responsible for displaying telephone listings when a directory service is requested by the user 315 . the telephone listings that can be displayed include a yellow page listing , a community listing , an emergency listing and other listings such as “ favorite ” listing and “ last dialed ” listing . the emergency listing can be a downloaded listing of emergency service providers such as the police , the fire station or ambulance services . the listing can also be entered manually . the favorite listing can be a list of favorite telephone numbers with their associated names . as previously stated , the present system , as illustrated in fig1 allows the simultaneous delivery of voice , data and video services to the same subscriber through the same platform . furthermore , the present system synchronizes the reception of both voice and video services , i - e . the reception of a telephone call during the viewing of a video service causes the video service to be temporarily routed through another device for recording and for later retrieval , or to be paused . as illustrated in fig2 when a destination communication gateway receives a request to alert a subscriber of an incoming telephone call , a set of options may be presented to the user to synchronize the reception of the telephone call and the video program . the options include pausing or recording the video program , or muting the audio of the video program when answering . another option may be for the subscriber to forward the call to the voice mail . the “ pause program ” use case 380 may pause a video program running from a vcr device 325 or a video program delivered through a video - on - demand ( vod ) system . in the case of broadcast video programs , the “ record program ” use case 340 records the program onto a digital vcr having a buffer or in a recording device , e . g ., recorder 345 . the recording device may be a stand - alone device or may be incorporated in a set - top box , communication gateway ( cg ) or tv . the buffer for recording the tv program may be segmented and pointers may be used to track the order of the segments . the use of a segmented buffer allows the user 315 to navigate through the stored tv programs to view a specific segment of the tv program , the “ mute tv audio ” use case 320 mutes the audio of the video program when the mute option is chosen by the subscriber when receiving a telephone call . alternatively , the volume level of the tv audio can be automatically adjusted at a level preset by the customer . when receiving a telephone call . this volume adjustment allows the subscriber to simultaneously receive a call and watch a video program at a comfortable volume level . the “ resume play ” use case 360 is responsible for playing back a recorded program or for resuming the delivery of the paused program . in one embodiment , a playback option may be presented to the subscriber to manually control the start of the playback . [ 0051 ] fig4 a is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a service synchronization module of the present system . at the receive_call_indicator step 400 , the service synchronization module ( which may be part of the embedded client ) receives a control signal indicating an incoming call . the indication of an incoming call may be in the form of a create_connection and notification_request signal as described in accordance with the call flow of fig2 . if the telephone call is received at a moment when the television 137 is turned off ( tv_is_on decision point 401 ) the service synchronization module sends a call alert ( i . e . ringing signal ) to the telephone device 131 at alert step 410 and terminates its operation at an end step 415 . if the test performed at step 401 results in a “ boolean true ” a second test is performed at a configuration_file_present step 403 to check if a configuration file describing how to synchronize the simultaneous reception of both video and telephone services is present . if the configuration file is present , a task configured in this file is performed at perform_configuration_task step 430 . if no configuration file is present , the service synchronization module displays a menu of options on the tv 137 at dsiplay_menu step 420 giving an opportunity to the subscriber to synchronize the two services being delivered to him . a list of options available to the subscriber is shown in fig4 b . at receive_selection step 440 , the option chosen by the subscriber is received and the task associated with it is performed at perform_selected_task step 460 . the operation of the service synchronization module terminates with the end step 415 . [ 0052 ] fig4 b shows a list of exemplary options available to the subscriber when receiving a telephone call while watching a video program . for example , the subscriber can choose to answer a call and mute the tv audio . in the case of a program delivered from a vcr through a video - on - demand service , the subscriber may answer the call and pause the video program . for a broadcast video program , the subscriber can choose a third option of answering the call and recording the program into a recording device . a fourth option is to ignore the call by forwarding it to the subscriber voice mail . [ 0053 ] fig5 shows a use case diagram illustrating different features of the present system . the “ monitor call ” use case 500 is responsible for monitoring information related to a telephone call and for displaying , through the “ display call information ” use case 510 , the call information on the tv device 205 . the call information may include phone number , date / time and duration of call . the call progress information can also be obtained and displayed . the call progress indicates if a call is successfully delivered or if a busy line is encountered . the present system may be configured to automatically and periodically redial busy lines . the “ monitor call ” use case 500 is also responsible for timing a call and for displaying the remaining time of a call based on a predetermined time limit . the “ monitor call ” use case 500 monitors also the number of calls made to a specific phone number . a count of the number of calls placed to a specific number can be used by the present system to restrict the number of calls made to the same phone within a period of time . the “ log call information ” use case 550 stores the list of callers which can be identified using the callerid detection capability of the cg 505 . the callerid information may be logged in a log file based on a predetermined filtering criterion . as an example , the system may be configured to log unanswered calls . other filtering criteria may be used as well . the log file may be stored in the cg 505 or may be stored in a hard drive of the set - top box . alternatively , a centralized approach may be used wherein a database is maintained at the head end to store and manage the log files . the “ retrieve call log ” use case 530 is responsible for retrieving the callers &# 39 ; information stored in the log file . the call log can be accessed by dialing a call log retrieval service access number as described previously . the “ manage conference call ” use case 560 is responsible for managing conference calls . each party participating in a conference call is identified by its line number or its name as identified by the callerid . the conference call feature of the present invention can also support a video call which includes transmission of a video signal to a receiving line participating in a two - way call or in a conference call . this use case can also maintain a calendar of phone conferencing events with names , numbers and date / time . the “ synchronize services ” use case 520 manages the simultaneous delivery of voice and video services to the user . in accordance with the present invention , the reception of a telephone call when the user is viewing a video program causes the video program to be temporarily paused or routed through another device for recording and for later retrieval . the “ display call information ” use case 510 displays call - related information such as callerid , and teletext data for the hearing impaired . other information related to a call are also displayed through this use case as mentioned earlier in accordance with the monitor call use case 500 . the “ configure system ” use case 570 provides a set of tools for configuring the system . in one embodiment , a set of menus is used to configure , for example , the service synchronization feature of the present invention . such menus will be described hereinafter . in particular , the “ configure system ” use case 570 is responsible for associating specific keys of the telephone device to specific functions . as an example , the combination of keys “# 0 ” may be associated to a community listing while the combination “# 1 ” may be associated with the yellow pages listing . the “ configure system ” use case 570 can also define the filtering criteria for logging received calls . the various features described previously may be enabled and configured , and the phone lines may be authorized to use , the features configured through this use case . [ 0062 ] fig6 is a set of menus that may be used to configure the service synchronization and saved as part of the configuration file . this configuration may be used by the service synchronization module to automatically handle telephone calls received while the subscriber is watching a video program . a first menu 600 presents a choice of actions that can be taken when a call indication is received or , alternatively , when the phone goes off - hook . when the program being watched is played from a vcr , an off - hook event can trigger the vcr to pause the play . for a broadcast tv program , the system can be set up to start recording the tv program when the phone goes off - hook . in this instance , the program may be recorded onto a digital vcr which is provided with a buffer for storing the program . a third action that can be configured from the first menu is the pause of a tv program . this action can be taken in the case of a video - on - demand ( vod ) system which allows users to perform vcr - like commands ( e . g . pause , fast forward and rewind ) to the program . in this case , the video program can be automatically paused when the phone goes off - hook . as illustrated in fig6 a second menu 620 allows configuring the various phone lines to use the service synchronization feature of the system . in one embodiment , a first line may be configured to trigger a specific action as permitted by the options presented in accordance with the first menu 600 while a second line may not have that feature associated with it . in one embodiment the system starts automatically playing the recorded or paused program after the telephone call terminates . alternatively , the playback can start a predetermined time period after the phone returns on the on - hook condition . in another embodiment , the system waits for a manual entry ( e . g . playback button hit ) to start the playback . a third menu 640 shown in the fig6 allows setting up the criteria for playing back the paused or recorded program . in one embodiment , the system continues recording the program even after starting to play back the program . in this embodiment , the program played back is offset from the original program for a length dependent on the playback criterion set up on the third menu . the present invention provides a subscriber receiving a telephone call while watching a video with a means to handle the reception of both services without missing part of the video program . although this invention has been illustrated by reference to specific embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made which clearly fall within the scope of the invention . the invention is intended to be protected broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout , there is seen in fig1 a rope lock assembly 10 , comprising a housing 12 , which has a housing face 14 , a housing upper plate 16 and a housing lower plate 18 . the housing is preferably made of ductile iron , but other materials of sufficient rigidity and durability are also acceptable . the rope lock assembly 10 also comprises a mounting bracket 20 , an upper rope aperture 22 in the housing upper plate 16 , a lower rope aperture 24 in the housing lower plate 18 , and an outer cover 26 . the mounting bracket 20 is shaped so that it can be secured ( e . g ., by bolts or clamps ) to a mounting rail ( not shown ) in a counterweight rigging assembly . the upper rope aperture 22 and lower rope aperture 24 are sized to allow unrestricted passage of a rope ( not shown ) that is part of a counterweight rigging assembly . preferably , upper rope aperture 22 and lower rope aperture 24 have rounded edges to minimize friction as the rope passes through . the outer cover 26 may be removable for maintenance and repair . the rope lock assembly 10 also comprises a release handle 28 that is pivotally attached to a jaw block 30 . preferably , the release handle 28 is made of ductile iron , but other materials of sufficient rigidity and durability are also acceptable . in the preferred embodiment , when pivoted to a locked position the release handle 28 fits into a release handle slot 29 in the housing face 14 . when pivoted to an unlocked position , the release handle 28 is generally perpendicular to the housing face 14 . referring now to fig2 , the rope lock assembly 10 grips the rope ( not shown ) by means of a first jaw 32 and a second jaw 34 . preferably , first jaw 32 and second jaw 34 are pivotally mounted within the jaw block 30 ( the jaw block 30 is not shown in fig2 to provide an unobstructed view of the jaws ). alternatively , first jaw 32 and second jaw 34 may be slidably mounted within the jaw block 30 in such a way that they can slide perpendicular to the rope &# 39 ; s direction of travel . the jaws 32 , 34 have a smooth clamping surface to minimize wear on the rope as it passes between the jaws when the lock is open . preferably , jaws 32 , 34 are made of ductile iron . the jaws 32 , 34 have a concave clamping surface to provide maximum contact between the jaws 32 , 34 when the lock is closed . the jaw block 30 slides on guide rails 36 that are mounted in the housing 12 and are oriented parallel to the path of the rope through the rope lock assembly 10 . preferably , jaw block 30 is made of aluminum , but other materials of sufficient rigidity and durability are also acceptable . guide rails 36 are preferably made of stainless steel , but other materials that are durable and that will allow the jaw block 30 to slide freely on the rails are also acceptable . a portion of the jaw block 30 extends through the release handle slot 29 in the housing face 14 and slides within the release handle slot 29 as the jaw block 30 slides along the guide rails 36 . the release handle 28 is pivotally attached to the jaw block 30 , preferably to the portion of the jaw block 30 that extends through the release handle slot 29 in the housing face 14 . the first jaw 32 and second jaw 34 grip the rope when the second jaw 34 is forced toward the first jaw 32 by a cam portion of release handle 28 . preferably , the cam portion of release handle 28 exerts pressure on second jaw 34 when the release handle 28 is pivoted to a locked position . in the locked position the release handle 28 is positioned in the release handle slot 29 on the housing face 12 . when the release handle 28 is pivoted to an unlocked position , it exerts no pressure on second jaw 34 and second jaw 34 is not forced toward first jaw 32 . in the unlocked position , the rope is free to pass between the jaws 32 , 34 . in the preferred embodiment , the gap between first jaw 32 and second jaw 34 when the release handle 28 is in an unlocked position can be adjusted by means of a tension adjuster 38 . the tension adjuster 38 also controls the degree of pressure exerted on the rope by jaws 32 , 34 when the release handle 28 is in the locked position . in the preferred embodiment , the tension adjuster 38 comprises a bolt that passes through threads in jaw block 30 to set a rearward limit for first jaw 32 . preferably , tension adjuster 38 also includes means for fixing such a bolt in position , for example a jam nut . referring now to fig3 a and 3b , there is shown a side elevation view of rope lock assembly 10 , with outer cover 26 removed for clarity . as described above , jaw block 30 slides on guide rails 36 . as shown in fig3 a , when the release handle 28 is in the locked position and the counterweight rigging system is in - balance ( i . e ., the load and counterweight are equal ), the jaw block 30 is centrally positioned on the guide rails 36 . the central position of the jaw block 30 is maintained by upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 . in an in - balance condition , jaw block 30 rests between upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 and upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 do not exert any force on jaw block 30 . according to the preferred embodiment , upper spring 40 is stopped by upper spring washer 44 , which in turn is stopped by upper retaining pin 48 . lower spring 42 is stopped by lower spring washer 46 , which in turn is stopped by lower retaining pin 50 . jaw block 30 fits closely between upper spring washer 44 and lower spring washer 46 , and is not free to slide along guide rails 36 without contacting one of upper spring washer 44 or lower spring washer 46 . alternatively , upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 may be stopped by upper retaining pin 48 and lower retaining pin 50 , respectively , without use of intervening upper spring washer 44 and lower spring washer 46 . in this alternate embodiment , upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 would act directly on jaw block 30 . as shown in fig3 b , when release handle 28 is in the locked position and the counterweight rigging system is out - of - balance ( i . e ., the load and counterweight are not equal ), the out - of - balance condition moves the jaw block 30 from the central position on guide rails 36 . when the jaw block 30 moves from the central position , it is forced against one of the upper spring washer 44 or lower spring washer 46 , compressing the respective upper spring 40 or lower spring 42 . the direction of displacement of the jaw block 30 depends on the type of out - of - balance condition : in the preferred embodiment , a counterweight rigging system out - of - balance with a heavy load will force the jaw block 30 against the upper spring washer 44 ; out - of - balance with a light load will force jaw block 30 against the lower spring wisher 46 . the magnitude of displacement of the jaw block 30 from the central position is determined by the degree to which the counterweight rigging system is out of balance and the bias strength of the spring 42 , 44 being compressed . preferably , upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 are compression springs having an approximately equal resistance to compression . preferably , upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 are preloaded . that is , upper spring 40 is compressed between the housing upper plate 16 and the upper spring washer 44 and lower spring 42 is compressed between housing lower plate 18 and lower hosing spring 46 . in the preferred embodiment , each of upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 are preloaded to 25 lbs . thus , a minor out - of - balance condition ( i . e ., one in which the difference between the counterweight and load is less than 50 lbs .) will not displace the jaw block 30 away from a central position on the guide rails 36 . the magnitude of preloading of the upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 can be chosen to set a threshold imbalance at which the automatic lockout feature of the rope lock assembly 10 will be engaged . the compression resistance of upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 must be such that in an out - of - balance condition jaw block 30 will move sufficiently from the central position on guide rails 36 to engage the automatic lockout described below . preferably , upper spring 40 and lower spring 42 are made of steel , but other materials are also acceptable and fall within the scope of this invention . upper retaining pin 48 and lower retaining pin 50 protrude from the surface of guide rails 36 . in the preferred embodiment , therefore , jaw block 30 comprises slots for receiving the retaining pin 48 and lower retaining pin 50 when the jaw block 30 is compressed against one of upper spring washer 44 or lower spring washer 46 . referring now to fig4 , the automatic lockout feature of the preferred embodiment is depicted . release handle 28 comprises a locking pin 52 , which preferably extends from the sides of release handle 28 . when the rope lock assembly 10 is attached to a rope in a counterweight rigging system that is in - balance , locking pin 52 is aligned with and freely passes through locking pin slot 54 on housing face 14 and release handle 28 is free to pivot with respect to jaw block 30 . after release handle 28 is pivoted to a locked position , if the counterweight rigging system to which rope lock assembly 10 is attached experiences an out - of - balance condition , locking pin 52 is no longer aligned with locking pin slot 54 . locking pin 52 is thus retained behind housing face 14 when the rope lock assembly 10 is locked in an out - of - balance counterweight rigging system . this prevents release handle 28 from being pivoted to an unlocked position until the counterweight rigging system is brought into balance ( e . g ., by adjusting the relative weights of the counterweight and load ), at which time the jaw block 30 will be forced back to a central position on the guide rails 36 and locking pin 52 will align with locking pin slot 54 to allow release handle 28 to pivot to an unlocked position . a rope lock assembly 10 according to the present invention also comprises an indicator to give a visual display that shows if a locked counterweight rigging system is in - or out - of - balance and shows whether such an out - of - balance system has a heavy or light load . according to the preferred embodiment , rope lock assembly 10 comprises an indicator 56 that moves with jaw block 30 and shows its position relative to an indicator scale 58 . in one embodiment , indicator 56 is a needle or pin that is attached to release handle 28 . alternatively , indicator 56 may be attached to jaw block 30 . in another embodiment , indicator 56 is a visible line on jaw block 30 . alternatively , indicator 56 may be a line on release handle 28 . preferably , indicator 56 is clearly distinguishable from its background surrounding to allow an operator of rope lock assembly 10 to determine easily if the associated counterweight rigging system is in - or out - of - balance . if indicator 56 is a pin attached to release handle 28 , it must have a width that is less than the width of the release handle slot 29 , so that it can pass through the release handle slot 29 when release handle 28 is pivoted in and out of the locked position . in a preferred embodiment , indicator scale 58 is printed or etched on the surface of housing face 14 . if desired , housing 12 may be constructed with locking ears 60 on housing face 14 on both sides of release handle slot 29 . if it is necessary to prevent the rope lock from being unlocked , a padlock or bar can be passed through locking ears 60 after release handle 28 has been pivoted into the locked position to prevent release handle 28 from being pivoted out of the locked position . in a similar fashion , a padlock or bar can be passed through locking ears 60 when release handle 28 is in the unlocked position to prevent the release handle 28 from being pivoted into the locked position . while there has been illustrated and described what are at present considered to be preferred and alternate embodiments of the present invention , it should be understood and appreciated that modifications may be made by those skilled in the art , and that the appended claims encompass all such modifications that fall within the full spirit and scope of the present invention . | 5 |
referring to fig2 there is illustrated a power supply for a microwave range in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention including a connector 100 for inputting a commercial ac voltage . a first filter 102 connected to the connector 100 filters the ac power so as to prevent electromagnetic interference . the first filter 102 comprises a capacitor c10 and a choke coil cl1 connected to both terminals of the connector 100 , and applies the filtered ac power to a bridge rectifier 104 . the bridge rectifier 104 rectifies the filtered ac power from the first filter 102 so as to produce a unregulated dc voltage to be supplied to a second filter 106 . the second filter 106 filters the unregulated dc voltage from the bridge rectifier 104 and supplies the regulated dc voltage between a positive line 128 and a negative line 130 . the second filter 106 consists of a choke coil cl2 connected between an output terminal of the bridge rectifier 104 and the positive line 128 and a capacitor c20 connected between the positive and negative lines . the negative line 130 is connected also to the other output terminal of the bridge rectifier . the power supply also includes a first transformer t1 having a primary winding tl111 , connected with a terminal to the positive line 128 . the first transformer t1 also includes a primary auxiliary winding tl112 , a secondary winding tl121 , a secondary auxiliary winding tl122 , tertiary winding tl131 , and tertiary auxiliary winding tl132 . a rectifying and filtering stage 107 connected to the secondary winding tl121 of the first transformer t1 rectifies and filters the ac voltage induced to the secondary winding tl121 , and generates a main dc voltage of approximately 400 v to be applied between an anode and a heater circuit of the magnetron 108 . the rectifying and filtering stage 107 is composed of a serial circuit consisting of a capacitor c13 and a diode d1 connected between both ends of the secondary winding tl121 of the first transformer t1 , and a diode d20 connected between a connecting node of the capacitor c13 together with the diode d10 and a terminal of the heater circuit of the magnetron 108 . the secondary auxiliary winding tl122 of the first transformer t1 applies an ac voltage of approximately 3 . 5 v to the heater circuit of the magnetron 108 . the magnetron 108 is driven by the dc voltage from the rectifying and filtering stage 107 and the ac voltage from the secondary auxiliary coil winding tl122 of the transformer t1 so as to generate a microwave . the microwave cooks a food contained in a container ( not shown ). also , the power supply includes a pwm controller 110 for receiving ac voltage from a tertiary winding tl131 and a tertiary auxiliary winding tl 132 of the first transformer t1 . the pwm controller 110 includes an output detector ( not shown ) for detecting an output voltage from the tertiary winding tl131 of the first transformer t1 , and a synchronism detector ( not shown ) for detecting the zero crossing portion of the ac voltage from the tertiary auxiliary winding tl132 of the first transformer t1 . the pwm controller 110 generates a pwm signal as shown in fig3 a . the pulse width of the pwm signal is varied according to the output from the voltage detector , and the period of the pwm signal is kept constant by an output signal from the synchronism detector . the pwm controller 110 is driven by a microcomputer 122 . the power supply further includes a third transformer t3 connected between the connector 100 and the second rectifying and filtering stage 126 , and a momentary electricity failure detector 124 for inducing the filtered commercial ac power from both output terminals of the first filter 102 . the third transformer t3 voltage - down - transforms the commercial ac voltage from the connector 100 , and the second rectifying and filtering stage 126 rectifies and filters the dropped ac voltage from the third transformer t3 so as to apply to the pwm controller 110 . the momentary electricity failure detector 124 monitors the output of the first filter 102 and detects momentary electrcity failures , applying the detected resultant to the pwm controller 110 . the power supply includes a second transformer t2 connected with a primary winding tl210 between the output of the second rectifying and filtering stage 126 and the collector of a transistor q13 . the transistor q13 is turned on / off in response to the pwm signal , as shown in fig3 a , applied to its base from the pwm controller 110 , causing a current path of the primary winding tl210 of the second transformer t2 to be opened / closed . the second transformer t2 transforms a dc voltage applied to the first winding tl210 as the transistor q13 is turned on / off and induces it to a secondary winding tl221 , a secondary auxiliary winding tl222 , a tertiary winding tl231 and a tertiary auxiliary winding tl232 . at this moment , an inverted pwm signal as shown in fig3 a is induced to the secondary winding tl221 , the secondary auxiliary winding tl222 , the tertiary winding tl231 and the tertiary auxiliary winding tl232 . a snubber 112 consisting of a resistor r11 , a capacitor c16 and a diode d15 is connected to both terminals of the first coil winding tl210 of the driving transformer t2 , and the snubber 112 eliminates the impulse noise generated in the primary winding tl210 of the second transformer t2 . additionally , the power supply includes a transistor q10 connected with its collector to the other end of the primary winding tl111 of the first transformer t1 and a transistor q20 coupled with its collector to an end of the primary auxiliary winding tl112 of the first transformer t1 . a resonance capacitor c14 and a damping diode d13 are connected in parallel between a collector and an emitter of the transistor q10 , while a resonance capacitor c15 and a damping diode d14 are connected in parallel between a collector and an emitter of the transistor q20 . the damping diodes d13 and d14 respectively serve the function of protecting the transistors q10 and q20 . the transistor q10 is turned on / off in response to the pwm signal so as to open and close the current path of the primary winding tl111 of the first transformer t1 . also , the transistor q2 opens and closes the current path of the first transformer t1 in response to the pwm signal . the power supply also includes three relays ry1 - ry3 driven by the pwm controller 110 so as to enable to use the commercial ac voltage of 110 v and 220 v . the first relay ry1 is connected between the emitter of the transistor q10 and the negative line 130 , while the second relay ry2 is connected between a collector of the transistor q10 and a collector of the transistor q20 . the third relay ry3 comprises a first selective contact point connected to the positive line 128 , a second selective contact point connected to the emitter of the transistor q10 , and a movable contact point connected to the end of the primary auxiliary winding tl112 of the first transformer t1 . the first and the second relays ry1 and ry2 , in the case of a commercial ac voltage of 220 v being input to the connector 100 , are turned off and connect in parallel a parallel circuit consisting of the transistor q10 , the resonance capacitor c14 and the diode d13 , as well as a circuit consisting of the transistor q20 , the resonance capacitor c15 and the diode d14 , to the primary winding tl111 of the first transformer t1 , and the movable contact point of the third relay ry3 is put in contact with the first selective contact point and connects in parallel the primary auxiliary winding tl112 of the first transformer t1 with the primary winding tl111 . in this case , the transforming ratio of the first transformer t1 becomes four ( 4 ). on the other hand , in the case of a commercial ac voltage of 110 v being input to the connector 100 , the first and the second relays ry1 and ry2 are turned on and the movable contact point of the third relay ry3 is put in contact to the second selective contact point , so as to connect in series the primary winding tl111 and the primary winding tl112 of the first transformer t1 , the parallel circuit consisting of the capacitor c14 , the diode d13 and the transistor q10 , and the parallel circuit consisting of the capacitor c15 , the diode c14 and the transistor q20 , between the positive and negative lines 128 and 130 . in this case , the transforming ratio of the first transformer t1 becomes two ( 2 ). the power supply further includes a first amplifier 116 , a third rectifying and filtering stage 114 , a second amplifier 120 and a fourth rectifying and filtering stage 118 respectively connected to the secondary winding tl221 , the secondary auxiliary winding tl222 , the tertiary winding tl231 , and the tertiary auxiliary winding tl232 of the second transformer t2 . the third rectifying and filtering stage 114 comprises a diode d16 and a capacitor c17 connected in series to both ends of the secondary auxiliary winding tl222 of the second transformer t2 , and half - wave - rectifies and filters the transformed pwm signal from the secondary auxiliary winding tl222 so as to apply a regulated dc voltage to a point between the second positive line 132 and a negative line 138 . both ends of the capacitor c17 are connected to a point between the second positive line 132 and the negative line 138 . the first amplifier 116 comprises transistors q40 and q50 each connected with its own emitter to an end of the secondary winding tl221 of the second transformer t2 . bases of the transistors q4 and q50 are commonly connected to a parallel circuit consisting of the resistor r14 and the diode d17 connected to the resistor r13 and the resistor r13 connected to another end of the secondary winding tl221 of the second transformer t2 . the transistors q40 and q50 operate complementarily to each other . the transistors q40 and q50 amplify and buffer the transformed pwm signal , as shown in fig3 b , applied from the other end of the secondary winding tl221 of the second transformer t2 through the resistors r13 and r14 to the base , in order to generate an amplified and buffered pwm signal . the amplified and buffered pwm signal has a pulse of the low logic state having a summed voltage (-( vcut + vzdl )) equal to the sum of the operating voltage ( vcut ) of the transistor q10 and the operating voltage ( vzdl ) of a zener diode ( zd1 ) connected between the collector of the transistor q5 and the emitter of the transistor q10 . the pwm signal has a pulse of a high logic state having a summed voltage ( vzd2 + vd8 ) equal to the sum of the operating voltages of a zener diode zd2 and diode d18 connected in series between the base of the transistor q10 and the connecting point 136 of the zener diode zd1 and the resistor r12 , and a dc voltage level of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; v . the first amplifier 116 further includes a bias resistor r15 commonly connected between the bases and emitters of both transistor q40 and q50 , a pull - up resistor r16 connected between a collector of the transistor q40 and the second positive line 132 , a pull - down resistor r17 connected between the collector of the transistor q50 and the negative line 138 , and a load resistor r18 connected between the emitter of the transistor q50 and the negative line 138 . the amplified and buffered pwm signal is applied from the connecting point of the emitters of the two transistors q40 and q50 to the base of the transistor q1 so as to stably drive the transistor q10 . on the other hand , the fourth rectifying and filtering stage 118 has the same configuration as the third rectifying and filtering section 114 , and the second amplifier 120 has the same configuration as the first amplifier 116 . the fourth rectifying and filtering stage 118 half - wave - rectifies and filters the transformed pwm signal from the tertiary auxiliary winding tl232 of the second transformer t2 and supplies the dc voltage through a third positive line 140 and a negative line 142 to the second amplifier 120 . the second amplifier 120 amplifies and buffers also the transformed pwm signal from the tertiary winding tl231 of the second transformer t2 and applies the amplified and buffered pwm signal , as shown in fig3 c , to the base of the transistor q20 . the transistor q20 is turned on / off stably in response to the amplified and buffered pwm signal from the amplifier 120 . as described above , the present invention buffers the pwm signal so as to keep constantly the dc voltage level , low level and high level of the pwm signal being applied to the voltage driving type switching element for driving the transformer irrespective of duty ratio of the pwm signal . by this means , the voltage driving type switching element is allowed to drive correctly and , owing to this , the present invention has the advantage that the transformed output is widely varied . also , by utilizing the control switch , the present invention allows the number of the primary winding of the transformer to be varied in accordance with the ac voltage of 110 v or 220 v being used . therefore , the present invention has the additional advantage of being able to use 110 v and 220 v commercial ac voltages . | 7 |
turning now to fig1 there is shown an image processing system 1 embodying the invention . the system 1 comprises a source 2 of luminance signals y o and a source 3 of chrominance signals uv o which together represent an original or initial colour image . the image is only “ original ” in the sense that as far as the system 1 is concerned the signals in the sources 2 , 3 originate from the sources 2 , 3 . thus , the y and uv signals may be supplied from another source outside the system 1 as shown . the sources 2 , 3 may be any suitable source of digital yuv data including , for example , one or more sequential access stores , such as a video tape recorder , or random access stores such as a frame store . although shown separately for the purpose of explanation the two stores 2 , 3 may be combined in a single unit capable of supplying the y o and uv o signals separately . uv o data from the source 3 is input to a look up table 4 . for any combination of u and v values there is a corresponding brightness value which is proportional to the sensitivity of the eye to that uv combination . the brightness value is calculated as a reference luminance value y ref . thus , the look up table 4 contains for every uv combination a corresponding value of y ref . as with all look up tables , the values of y ref in the look up table 4 are calculated and stored therein in advance . fig2 of the accompanying drawings shows a circuit 20 that may be used instead of the look up table 4 to calculate a value of y ref for each uv combination . consideration of the circuit will also facilitate an understanding of how the values of y ref may be calculated in advance where the look up table 4 is to be used in the system 1 . the values of y ref are calculated individually for each combination of u and v by first associating with the uv combination an arbitrary luminance value y arb . the data y arb uv is then converted into rgb data ( red , green and blue colour components ). in the circuit 20 this conversion is effected by way of a matrix 21 which may be of the kind described in our european patent 245943 and corresponding u . s . pat . no . 4 , 829 , 455 the teachings of which are incorporated herein . next , the whiteness of the color is subtracted from the rgb data by subtracting the minimum of the r , g and b values from each of the r , g and b values . in the circuit 20 this operation is effected by way of a comparator 22 and subtractors 23 to 25 . the comparator 22 compares the rgb values with each other , identifies the lowest of the three and outputs the identified lowest value to the subtractors 23 to 25 . the rgb data is also input respectively to the subtractors 23 to for subtraction therefrom of the value output from the comparator 20 . this results in one of the r , g and b values being zero and the other two values being greater than zero . the outputs from the subtractors 23 to 25 are input to another matrix 26 which converts the rgb data into yuv data . again , the matrix may be of the kind described in our european patent 245943 and corresponding u . s . no . pat . 4 , 829 , 455 . only the luminance value y from the matrix is of interest because it corresponds to the value of y ref required by the system 1 . the value of y arb may be arbitrary because its effect cancels out in the calculations . if the value y arb is too high , the resulting r . g and b values will also be too high but when the minimum is subtracted the effect of the high y arb value will also be subtracted and thus be cancelled out . similarly , if y arb is too low the resulting r , g and b values will also be low ( to the extent that one or more of the rgb values may even be negative ) but when the minimum is subtracted less will be taken ( or in the case of a negative minimum , subtraction of a negative will result in an addition to the values ) so that the effect of a low y arb value will again be cancelled out . returning now to fig1 the data uv o from the source 3 is also input to a color transforming circuit 5 which transforms the uv o data in uv space depending on user input control data input to the transforming circuit 5 by way of any suitable input device ( not shown ). the uv o data can be regarded as defining a vector identifying a particular chrominance value in chrominance ( or uv ) space . conveniently therefore , the transforming circuit 5 applies a matrix transformation to the uv o vector so as to map it on to a new vector uv n in colour space . the original vector uv o may represent the chrominance for , say , yellow and the new vector uv n may represent the chrominance for , say , blue . ( these colours are , of course , only referred to by way of example ). the new chrominance data uv n is input to a second look up table 6 which performs exactly the same function as the look up table 4 . that is to say , the look up table 6 serves to output a reference luminance value y rn which is the value of the luminance corresponding to the brightness of the input uv n combination . since the look up table 6 is exactly the same as the look up table 4 it will be appreciated that the two look up tables can be replaced by a single look up table to which the source 3 and the transforming circuit 5 are selectively connected . the look up tables 4 and 6 are shown as separate units in the drawing simply to facilitate an understanding of the system 1 . together the data y o from the source 2 , y ref from the look up table 4 and y rn from the look up table 6 contain sufficient information to enable a new luminance value y n that is correct for the new chrominance value uv n to be calculated . first , the data y o and y ref is input to a subtractor 7 where an intermediate luminance value y g is calculated from y g = y o − y ref . since y ref is the luminance associated with the chrominance value uv o it follows that y g represents the greyness of the original picture . as has already been mentioned herein , the luminance data y represents details in the image . since the value y ref is derived from the chrominance data uv o , it follows that y ref is a component of the luminance that does not contain information about the details in the image . therefore , the intermediate or greyness luminance data y g is the component of the luminance that does contain image detail information . this greyness data y g must be carried over into the new picture because it represents the details in the image . separating the greyness data y g from the reference luminance data y ref enables the greyness data y g and hence the image details to be unaffected by any color transformations so that the detail therefore remains constant as between the original and the new picture . y g is added to the new reference luminance value y rn from the look up table by way of an adder 8 to produce new luminance data y n . the new luminance data y n from the adder is stored in a luminance store 9 and the new chrominance data uv n from the transforming circuit 5 is stored in a chrominance store 10 . although shown as separate entities , the two stores 9 , 10 may be a single storing unit capable of storing y and uv data separately . indeed the stores 9 , 10 may simply be the sources 2 , 3 from which the data y o and the uv o was originally supplied . the new data y n and uv n may be stored alongside the original data y o and uv o or it may replace it . the effect that the system 1 has on a color represented by the data may be better understood by way of example . assume that the data y o and uv o together represents a yellow pixel . the uv o data represents a uv chrominance combination that corresponds to a yellow hue . there is an inherent brightness associated with that yellow which is determined by the look up table 5 as y ref . the difference between the brightness in the original yellow and the inherent brightness of the yellow hue is calculated by the subtractor 7 and represented by the luminance y g output therefrom . the value y g represents the brightness or greyness of the pixel independent of the inherent brightness of the yellow hue . that is , y g is the brightness of the pixel from which the yellow colour brightness has been removed . the transforming circuit 5 converts the original uv o data representing the chrominance of the original yellow pixel into new chrominance data uv n representing the chrominance of the new pixel color say blue . that is , the transforming circuit 5 changes the data to a uv chrominance combination that corresponds to a blue hue . there is an inherent brightness associated with that blue which is determined by the look up table 6 as y rn . the inherent brightness of the blue ( y rn ) will be less than that of the yellow ( y ref ) because of the way colors are perceived by the eye . the inherent brightness of the blue must nevertheless be added to the greyness ( i . e . the colour - independent brightness ) of the pixel ( y g ) in order to obtain the correct brightness in the new pixel colour . the addition is performed by the adder 8 to give a new brightness value y n for use with the new hue value uv n . together the data y n and uv n define a blue pixel which is seen to be at the correct brightness for the hue in relation to the colour of other pixels in the image . thus , the system 1 is able to transform a pixel from one color to another and at the same time correct for differences in the brightness between the two color . the system thus facilitates realistic color transformations . an advantage of using the above described approach of converting from one colour to another is that it facilitates avoidance of the generation of “ illegal ” color , the yuv format is widely used in broadcast television . for various reasons only a certain range of yuv combinations are allowed to be transmitted in television signals . yuv combinations outside the range are said to be “ illegal ”. for example , simply converting yellow to blue by changing the uv values to represent a blue hue instead of a yellow hue and making no change to the y value may result in an illegal yuv combination because the y value is too large for the uv values . correcting the y value to correspond to the new blue uv values will in most if not all cases produce legal yuv combinations . the look up tables 4 and 6 may be suitably defined to ensure that no illegal yuv values are defined . it is also possible to define a color which is legal in one colour space but illegal to another . for example , converting from blue to yellow in yuv space simply by changing the uv data to that for a yellow hue will result in yuv data defining a dark or “ dirty ” yellow , which may , nevertheless ; be legal in yuv space . it may , however , only be possible to represent the dirty yellow in rgb space by setting one of the red , green and blue components to a negative value . mathematically this is acceptable , but there is no such thing as a negative colour in rgb space . an rgb combination with a negative value would therefore be illegal . since the look up tables 4 , 6 contain data calculated by converting from yuv to rgb and back to yuv , the luminance data from the look up tables will inherently correspond to legal rgb values . correcting in yuv space as described above , before converting into rgb space therefore avoids the problem of generating illegal values in rgb space . the present application is based on united kingdom patent application no . 717285 . 2 filed on aug . 14 , 1997 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . having thus described the present invention by reference to a preferred embodiment it is to be well understood that the embodiment in question is exemplary only and that modifications and variations such as will occur to those possessed of appropriate knowledge and skills may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and equivalents thereof . | 7 |
turning now to the drawings , particularly fig1 , and 3 , the alarm of the present invention is generally designated by the numeral 10 and includes a generally circular base 12 . base 12 defines a central aperture or recess 15 housing a conventional audible signal device 20 , such as a buzzer . a generally cylindrical housing 14 is supported in an upright position concentric on base 12 and aligned with recess 15 . housing 14 is secured to base 12 by an appropriate fastening means which may be an annular bead of cementitious material or other type of mechanical fastener . housing 14 is fabricated from an electrically conductive material while base 12 is preferrably formed of an insulating material such as a plastic . housing 14 is generally cylindrical , having an internal diameter to accommodate a d . c . power source . as shown , the d . c . power source may be conventional batteries such as an alkaline battery cell 24 . the interior diameter of the cylindrical housing 14 is slightly larger than battery 24 to accommodate insertion of an insulating spacer 22 , placed about the battery 24 to accommodate insertion of an insulating spacer 22 . battery cell 24 is shown as being a conventional battery cell such as a size d cell having first terminal end 25 and an opposite terminal end 26 which is generally flat . buzzer 20 is conventional and need not be described in detail . one terminal of buzzer 20 is connected to housing 14 by wire 28 . the other terminal of buzzer 20 is connected to conductive plate 30 by lead wire 32 . conductive plate 30 is disposed concentrically at the bottom of holder 14 to align with battery contact 25 . as seen in fig1 and 2 , a contact element shown as a cylindrical contact pin 36 is positionable on terminal surface 26 of battery 24 within holder 14 . contact pin 36 is a conductive material and has an elongate body 38 . the first end of the pin is tapered at 39 and terminates at flat end section 40 . the opposite end of body 38 is similarly formed as a truncated cone having a tapered section 41 and a flatened end 42 . the area of flatened end section 40 is less than the area of flatened end section 42 so the sensitivity of the alarm device may be varied as will be explained . contact pin 36 is displaced from its normal vertical position , as shown in solid lines in fig2 to a tilted position , as shown shown in dotted lines , establishing contact with the upper edge of holder 14 and the surface 26 of battery 24 . in this dislodged or tilted position , contact element 36 completes an electrical circuit through the contact , battery and holder to energize the buzzer . in use , the alarm device 10 is placed in an appropriate location such as a bedside stand . the contact element 36 is vertically positioned within the holder resting on terminal 26 of battery 24 . when a shock , vibration or similar force offers , the motion will cause the contact element 36 to tilt to the actuating position , thereby giving an audible alarm signal . as noted above , the ends of the contact pin 36 may be configured so that the area on which the contact pin rests can be selectively changed . the greater the surface area at the end of 36 for a predetermined length of the pin , the greater the stability of the pin . therefore , by placing the pin on end 42 in the holder , the sensitivity of the device is less than when pin 36 is supported in a vertical position at end 40 . fig4 shows another embodiment of the contact pin generally designated by the numeral 50 . contact element or pin 50 has a generally cylindrical body 52 , of appropriate insulating material . a conductive metal casing 54 is provided about the body 52 . the upper end of casing 54 is provided with exterior threaded section 56 . an opening 58 in the upper end of metal casing 56 receives the treads of a conventional lightbulb 60 . a metal conductor 62 extends axially through body 52 having an upper terminal 64 contacting the terminal of light 60 . a conductor 68 in the form of a truncated cone is provided at the bottom end of body 52 and is connected to conductor 62 . conductor 68 is insulated from the lower edge of casing 54 by insulating material 52 . contact element 50 may be positioned within holder 14 and explained above . when the contact element 50 is displaced , a circuit is completed through contact 68 , element 62 and exterior casing 54 , causing the buzzer 20 to be actuated . light 60 will simultaneously be illuminated . note , that the casing 54 does not contact element 68 in the upright position so that a circuit will be established only when the contact element is displaced or tilted . fig5 shows an alternate embodiment in the present invention . the alarm of this embodiment is generally designated by the numeral 70 and includes a light transparent or translucent base member 81 . housing 14 is supported on a base member 81 and is similar to that described with reference to fig1 and 2 . a light 96 is housed within recess 98 in base 81 . buzzer 20 can operably be connected to be actuated when the contact pin is displaced . a conventional toggle pole electrical switch 82 is secured to the upper surface of base 81 having lead wire 88 connected to the lower terminal 25 of the battery . wire 90 interconnects the switch 82 and light 96 . similarly , the lead wire 94 is attached to light 96 and to the upper battery terminal , not shown . actuation of switch 82 will cause illumination of light 96 independent of the alarm . this allows the alarm unit 70 to be placed adjacent in individuals bed and allows the alarm to be used as a night light or source of light independent of buzzer 20 by actuating switch 82 . fig6 shows another embodiment of the present invention designated by the numeral 80 . cylindrical , conductive holder 14 contains battery 24 . an annular spacer 22 is interposed between battery 24 and cylindrical holder 14 . the contact element 88 is shown as a conductive , spherical ball resting on the upper terminal surface 26 . in this embodiment , dislodgment of the ball from position shown in fig6 to position shown in dotted lines in fig6 completes the circuit actuating an alarm . the use of a spherical contact element may , in some cases , provide a more sensitive response and actuation of the alarm . fig7 illustrates still another form of the present invention generally designated by the numeral 90 . the alarm 90 includes a cylindrical housing 14 of conductive material . housing 14 contains battery 24 . a conductive plate 98 rests upon the upper terminal end of battery 24 . an insulating pad 99 is placed upon disk 98 . conductive disk 100 is , in turn , positioned on top of insulating disk 99 . annular insulating spacer 22 surrounds the upper end of battery 96 and disks 98 , 99 and 100 . a light 102 is connected to conductive plates 98 and 100 by wires 104 and 106 , respectively . it will be appreciated that when a contact element 36 is dislodged or is tipped to position shown in fig7 a circuit will be completed illuminating light 102 . the base and other components of this embodiment are as have been shown with reference to fig1 and 2 and not set forth in detail here . it will be appreciated that buzzer will also be actuated as described above . fig8 shows an auxiliary base 110 which has a generally cylindrical rim 112 defining a recess 116 . recess 116 is sized to accommodate and receive circular base member , for example base 12 of embodiment 10 shown in fig1 . an eyelet 116 having an aperture 118 is secured to the sidewall of base 112 . the lower surface of base 112 is semi - spherical so that the entire unit &# 34 ; rocks &# 34 ;. as best seen in fig9 a trip wire 120 can be secured to aperture 118 in eyelet 116 . the opposite end of trip wire 120 can be secured to a door , window or the like . movement of the door , window , etc ., as for example by an intruder , will exert tension on line 120 causing the base 112 to rock . the rocking of base 112 will , in turn , cause the contact pin 36 to be dislodged actuating the alarm . fig1 and 11 show another form of base useable with a trip alarm system . the base 120 is generally cylindrical , having a flat bottom surface , 122 . base 120 defines a recess to accommodate the base 12 of , as for example , the unit as shown in fig1 and 2 . bottom surface 122 carries two fixed legs 123 . a third leg 124 is pivotally mounted at pivot pin 126 to base 120 . leg 124 defines an aperture 128 to which an appropriate trip wire 128 can be secured . as best seen in fig1 , when force or tension is exerted on trip wire 129 , leg 124 will be pivoted outwardly , causing the entire unit to tip , thereby actuating the alarm . from the foregoing , it will be seen that the present invention provides a compact , simple and highly effective alarm for emitting an audible or visual signal when an earthquake , shock , vibration or the like is encountered . the present device may also serve as an intrusion alarm provided with auxiliary base means actuated by an appropriate trip wire . it will be understood that various changes may be made in the form , detail , arrangement and proportion of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 6 |
with reference to the figures , as may be seen diagrammatically in fig1 the basic structure of the magazine indicated as a whole by reference number 10 comprises a channel 11 made up of an aligned series of elastic members shaped generally like the letter c and facing in pairs in such a manner as to be able to raise the upper part of the channel and introduce the bar 13 to be fed to a known automatic lathe 14 . to move the bar there is a bar pusher 15 which grasps the tail of the bar and is powered to slide within the channel . differently from known magazines , the diameter of the magazine channel is larger than the diameter of the bar in an amount such as to reduce as much as possible and if possible entirely avoid contact between the bar and the channel . the channel is consequently greater than the internal diameter of the chuck 19 of the lathe ; for example , if the lathe chuck diameter is 40 mm the channel may have a diameter of 60 mm . to be able to enter the lathe chuck and push the bar to the bottom of the chuck the bar pusher must of course have a diameter slightly smaller than that of the lathe chuck . to prevent the bar pusher from oscillating in the magazine channel it is made in two parts , to wit the innermost part or central rod 16 equipped with the coupling or collet 17 for the bar tail and an external tubular part 18 advantageously of plastic material , for example vulkolan , in which the rod 16 can run with minimal play . the tubular part 18 has an outside diameter equal to that of the channel 11 and length equal to the rod 16 . in this manner a telescopic bar pusher is obtained . the head chuck rotates freely with respect to the rest of the bar pusher to avoid transmitting to the bar pusher the rotation movement of the bar . in this manner , from the beginning of feeding of the bar ( fig1 ) to the end of the channel ( fig2 ) the bar pusher has its central rod 16 retracted into the outer tubular part 18 and the gripping head 17 is in this manner perfectly guided in the channel . this prevents oscillation of the bar tail . when the channel ends , the tube 18 stops and only the internal rod 16 which has a diameter suitable for entering the lathe chuck 14 continues its travel as shown in fig2 . in the travel inside the channel of access to the lathe chuck the rod 16 of the pusher can be advantageously guided by an elastic reduction bush 20 appropriately shaped to receive the head 17 of the pusher and be moved by the pusher to the end of the path and return hooked to the head 17 to the starting position as may be seen by comparing fig1 - 3 . when the bar is used up the bar - pusher backs to the starting position and the crop end remaining in the collet 17 is extracted by a purposeful extractor , the upper part of the channel opens raising the entire bar pusher also and a new bar is inserted in the channel for a new feed cycle . to take the bar into the initial position of fig1 there is provided in accordance with the prior art a powered pre - positioner 21 which pushes the bar into the channel up to a predetermined amount after which it returns , the channel closes , the extractor inserts the bar in the collet 17 and the new machining cycle begins . [ 0019 ] fig4 shows a variant for thin bars for which the support of the collet 17 alone at one end , the elastic bush 20 in an intermediate position and the chuck 19 at the other end is judged insufficient . in accordance with this variant , when necessary the bars may be kept in axis by one or more lower portions of channel , for example three elastic sectors 22 in fig4 which rise to then be withdrawn when the bar pusher arrives . these supporting members also facilitate entry of the bar into the elastic reduction bush . the hoisting mechanism for the segments is readily imaginable to those skilled in the art and not further shown nor described . [ 0021 ] fig5 shows in greater detail a possible advantageous embodiment of the guide channel . as may be seen in the figure , the channel made up of lower and upper c members connected laterally by a known opening mechanism 25 is divided in two parts 11 a and 11 b to allow insertion of a known tong extractor 23 and falling of the bar crop end to be evacuated at cycle end . the entire channel is advantageously mounted on a frame with the interposition of pairs of vibration - proof members 24 . a chain 26 moved by a motor 27 runs along the entire channel to move the bar pusher . advantageously as clarified below , in the first half of the channel there is a device 28 for locking of the bar pusher in the retracted position and in the second half there is a device 29 for disengagement of the internal rod 16 from the outer tube 28 to allow telescopic lengthening within the lathe spindle . as may be seen in fig6 to transmit the movement of the motor 27 to the bar pusher the chain 26 drags a small block 31 having seats 32 , 33 in which are engaged respective tongues 34 , 35 which project radially respectively from the pre - positioner 21 , which is not constrained to the bar pusher , and from the bar pusher 15 . in particular the tongue 35 is connected to the tail of the rod 16 and projects from the tube 18 to pass through a milling 36 made in the side of the tube and extending for the entire desired travel of the rod 16 in the tube 18 . the extracted position of the rod 16 is shown in broken lines . a slot 37 is made both in the tube 18 and in the rod 16 so that by operating the locking device 28 a locking insert 38 is inserted in the slot 37 to prevent running of the tube and the rod . [ 0027 ] fig7 and 8 show the rear part of the channel respectively in closed and open positions . as may be seen by comparing the two figures , two cams 40 , 41 connected to the mechanism which opens the channel cause the tongue 34 and consequently the pre - positioner 21 to rotate . in the closed channel position ( fig7 ) the tongue 34 is in a position disengaged from the insert 31 while the tongue 35 is engaged . when the channel is open ( fig8 ) the tongue 35 is disengaged thanks to the rising of the upper part of the guide and the bar pusher while the tongue 34 is engaged with the insert by the movement of the cams 40 , 41 . in this manner when the channel is open the motor 27 moves the pre - positioner 21 while when the channel is closed the motor 27 moves the bar pusher 15 . during the entire channel opening step and also when the extractor 23 operates , the locking , device 28 is operated to hold the bar pusher in position . [ 0030 ] fig9 and 10 show in greater detail the disengagement device 29 . as may be seen in the section plane of fig1 the tail of the rod 16 is engaged with the rear end 30 of the outer tube 18 by means of a quick connector similar to those used in hydraulics and comprising a shaped pin 42 projecting axially from the rod 16 to be snapped into a coupling sleeve 43 fastened to the tube . during travel of the bar pusher in the magazine channel the coupling connects the rod 16 to the tube 18 . when both have reached the end of the channel the tail 30 is opposite the disengagement mechanism 29 which operates through a lever 44 a pawl 45 which enters a purposeful slot 46 in the tube 18 and moves a ringnut 47 which operates the quick connect to disconnect the pin 42 . at the same time the pawl 45 locks the movement of the tube in the guide . the bar - pusher rod can then continue its travel in the lathe spindle alone as explained above . upon its return , the pin 42 again hooks the coupling 43 and the tube and rod of the bar pusher return to the retracted rest position . it is now clear that the predetermined purposes have been achieved by making available an innovative magazine having a telescopic bar - pusher which can be guided with minimal play in a wide bar - feeding guide though having one end with smaller diameter emerging from the magazine to be able to enter the lathe accurately . it is noted that the manner of proceeding in accordance with the present invention is radically opposite that of the prior art . in the prior art indeed the road of leaving the least possible play between the bar and the channel is followed to arrive even at introducing lathe spindle reduction tubes and using bar pushers of diameters differing depending on the bar to be machined . while this may be somewhat useful for small diameter bars because they are flexible and hence easily contained it becomes extremely counterproductive with larger diameter bars . with the magazine in accordance with the present invention the large - diameter bars which are more awkward as regards noise and vibrations are prevented from touching the magazine channel . the bars are held up by the lathe collet , the elastic bush and the magazine collet and rotate empty . this is all results in excellent vibration damping and less wear . as the magazine collet is quite far , in its rotation from the channel walls the elastic members making up the channel can be without the conventional metal insert typical of known single - spindle magazines with the resulting further reduction of noise . stress on the tongues which move the bar pusher and the pre - positioner and hence these fragile parts is considerably reduced . with the magazine in accordance with the present invention it is possible to considerably increase the number of rpms with a resulting considerable increase in production . the manufacturer &# 39 ; s advantages are also considerable since he can produce magazines which with very few changes in the bar pusher alone can be rapidly adapted to different lathes . it was surprisingly verified experimentally that with a magazine in accordance with the present invention even with thick - profile non - round bars , for example hexagonal bars ch . 40 , no added noise is noted over that emitted by the lathe even at very high rotation speeds , for example 4000 rpm . naturally the above description of an embodiment applying the innovative principles of the present invention is given by way of non - limiting example of said principles within the scope of the exclusive right claimed here . for example the device which loads the bar into the channel is not shown since it can be realized by any method known to those skilled in the art . | 8 |
&# 34 ; alkyl &# 34 ; means a branched or unbranched saturated hydrocarbon chain containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , tert - butyl , n - hexyl , n - octyl and the like ; &# 34 ; lower alkyl &# 34 ; means a branched or unbranched saturated hydrocarbon chain containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , tert - butyl , butyl , n - hexyl and the like , unless otherwise indicated , for example phenyl optionally substituted by lower alkyl groups of one to four carbon atoms &# 34 ; lower alkoxy &# 34 ; means the group -- o --( lower alkyl ) wherein lower alkyl is as herein defined . &# 34 ; cycloalkyl &# 34 ; as used herein means a saturated monovalent monocyclic hydrocarbon radical containing 3 - 8 carbon atoms , such as cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloheptyl and cyclooctyl . &# 34 ; phenyl &# 34 ; as used herein encompasses all possible isomeric phenyl radicals optionally monosubstituted or disubstituted with a substituent selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl , lower alkoxy , -- nh 2 , hydroxy , trifluoromethyl and halo . &# 34 ; phenyl lower alkyl &# 34 ; as used herein denotes phenyl as defined above attached to a lower alkyl group as defined above . &# 34 ; reducing agent &# 34 ; as used herein refers to an agent capable of selectively reducing the -- c ═ o group found at the 8 position of a compound of formula ( 3 ) to -- ch 2 without reacting with other reactive sites of the molecule included in this definition are reducing agents such as , for example , lithium aluminum hydride , borane , triethyloxonium fluoroborate followed by sodium borohydride , sodium borohydride in the presence of a carboxylic acid , and the like . preferred is sodium borohydride in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate . &# 34 ; optional &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; optionally &# 34 ; means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur , and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances in which it does not . for example , &# 34 ; optionally substituted phenyl &# 34 ; means that the phenyl may or may not be substituted and that the description includes both unsubstituted phenyl and substituted phenyl ; &# 34 ; optionally followed by converting the free base to the acid addition salt &# 34 ; means that said conversion may or may not be carried out in order for the process described to fall within the invention , and the invention includes those processes wherein the free base is converted to the acid addition salt and those processes in which it is not . the terms &# 34 ; α and β &# 34 ; indicate the specific stereochemical configuration of a substituent at an asymmetric carbon atom in a chemical structure as drawn . thus &# 34 ; α &# 34 ;, denoted by a broken line , indicates that the group at the position in question is below the general plane of the molecule as drawn , and &# 34 ; β &# 34 ;, denoted by a bold line , indicates that the group at the position in question is above the general plane of the molecule as drawn . the compounds represented by the structure ( i ) include each of the individual enantiomers depicted below as ( ia ) and ( ib ). ## str7 ## the term &# 34 ;(±)&# 34 ; is used to designate a racemic mixture of the individual enantiomers ( ia ) and ( ib ). the process for the preparation of the (±) racemate as well as the process for the preparation of the individual enantiomers of formula ( ia ) and ( ib ) and non - racemic mixtures thereof are included within the scope of this invention . the compounds represented by the formula ( 3 ) likewise include each of the individual enantiomers and racemic and non - racemic mixtures thereof . alternatively , the absolute stereochemistry at carbons 8a , 12a and 13a is specified according to the cahn ingold - prelog r - s system . when the compound is a pure enantiomer the stereochemistry at each chiral carbon may be specified by either r or s . when a compound is a racemic mixture the stereochemistry at each chiral carbon may be specified by either rs or sr by reference to a single enantiomer of the racemate . in this manner relative stereochemistry is conveyed unambiguously . &# 34 ; stereoisomers &# 34 ; are isomers that differ only in the way the atoms are arranged in space . &# 34 ; enantiomers &# 34 ; are a pair of stereoisomers that are non - superimposable mirror images of each other . a 1 : 1 mixture of a pair of enantiomers is a &# 34 ; racemic &# 34 ; mixture . the compounds of the invention will be named using the numbering system shown below . ## str8 ## one optically active isomer of formula ( i ) wherein x is 3 - methoxy , y is hydrogen and z is -- so 2 r , where r is methyl , is named : ( 8ar , 12as , 13as )- 3 methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydro - 8h - isoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridine . a racemic compound of formula ( 3 ) wherein x is 3 - methoxy , y is hydrogen and and z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 , in which r 3 and r 4 are both methyl , is named : the compounds of formula ( i ) prepared by the present process are useful for the treatment of disease states which include , but are not limited to , depression , anxiety , excessive platelet aggregation , diabetes , elevated intraocular pressure , male impotence , irritable bowel syndrome , hypertension , obesity , shortened recovery from anasthesia and cyclic mood disturbances in females . the present process is illustrated in more detail in reaction scheme i . the starting compound represented by the formula ( 2 ) is obtained as a racemic mixture as shown in u . s . patent application ser . no . 037 , 320 , now issued as u . s . pat . no . 4 , 791 , 108 , or as either of the individual enantiomers as shown in u . s . patent application ser . no . 174 , 750 . the reaction of step 1 in its broadest aspect comprises the reaction of a compound of the formula ( 2 ) with a compound of the formula zv , where z is as defined above and v is a leaving group . where zv is a substituted sulfonyl halide of the formula vso 2 r , where r is as defined above , v is preferably chlorine or bromine , where zv is a compound of the formula vc ( o ) nr 3 r 4 , in which r 3 and r 4 are as defined above but are not hydrogen , v is preferably chlorine . the sulfonyl halides of formula vso 2 r are either commercially available from , inter alia , aldrich chemical co ., or may be prepared according to the method of zeigler and sprague , disclosed in j . org . chem ., vol 16 , p 621 ( 1951 ). the carbamyl chlorides of formula r 3 r 4 nc ( o )) cl are either commercially available from , inter alia , aldrich chemical co ., or may be prepared by methods well known in the art . typically the compound of formula ( 2 ) is dissolved in an inert organic solvent , such as benzene , toluene , ethyl acetate , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , chloroform or preferably dichloromethane , containing from 1 - 10 molar equivalents , preferably about 2 molar equivalents , of an inorganic base such as sodium carbonate , potassium bicarbonate or the like , or preferably a tertiary organic base , such as pyridine , n - methylpiperidine and the like , preferably triethylamine . the mixture is cooled to about - 10 ° to 10 ° c ., preferably about 0 ° c ., and about 1 - 4 molar equivalents , preferably about 1 . 5 molar equivalents , of the appropriately substituted sulfonyl halide of formula vso 2 r added and the mixture stirred for about 10 minutes to 2 hours , preferably about 30 minutes at a temperature of about 10 ° to 40 ° c ., preferably about 25 ° c . when the reaction is substantially complete , the compound of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- so 2 r is isolated by conventional means , and purified by , for example , chromatography or crystallization from an inert solvent alternatively , the mixture of the compound of formula ( 2 ) and base as above is cooled to about 0 ° to 40 ° c ., preferably about 25 ° c ., and about 1 - 4 molar equivalents , preferably about 1 . 1 molar equivalents , of the appropriately substituted compound of formula r 3 r 4 nc ( o ) cl added and the mixture stirred for about 5 - 30 hours , preferably about 16 hours . when the reaction is substantially complete , the compound of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 is isolated by conventional means , and purified by , for example , chromatography or crystallization from an inert solvent . alternatively , the compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 , where r 3 is hydrogen and r 4 is other than hydrogen , may be prepared by reacting the compound of formula ( 2 ) with an isocyanate of the formula r 4 nco . typically , the compound of formula ( 2 ) is dissolved in an inert solvent as defined above , preferably toluene , and reacted with from 1 to 1 . 5 molar equivalents , preferably about 1 . 0 molar equivalents , of the compound of formula r 4 nco . the reaction is carried out at a temperature of about 0 °- 40 ° c ., preferably about 25 °, for about 5 - 30 hours , preferably about 16 hours . when the reaction is substantially complete , the product of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nhr 4 is isolated and purified by conventional means , preferably chromatography the compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nh 2 are prepared by reacting the compound of formula ( 2 ) with potassium isocyanate in the presence of an acid , preferably acetic acid . alternatively , the compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 may be prepared by first reacting the compound of formula ( 2 ) with phosgene , then reacting the resultant carbamoyl chloride with an amine of formula hnr 3 r 4 . for example , the compound of formula ( 2 ) is reacted with from 1 - 10 molar equivalents , preferably about 2 molar equivalents , of phosgene in an inert organic solvent as defined above , preferably benzene . the reaction takes place in the presence of from 1 - 5 molar equivalents , preferably about 2 molar equivalents of a tertiary organic base such as triethylamine or preferably pyridine . the reaction is conducted at from 0 °- 50 ° c ., preferably about 25 ° c ., for about 1 - 48 hours , preferably about 16 hours , and then filtered . to the filtrate is added from 1 - 5 molar equivalents , preferably about 2 molar equivalents of an organic base of the formula hnr 3 r 4 , and the mixture stirred at about 0 °- 50 ° c ., preferably about 25 ° c ., for about 1 - 12 hours , preferably about 2 hours . when the reaction is substantially complete , the product of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 is isolated and purified by conventional means , preferably chromatography . the reaction of step 2 in its broadest aspect comprises the reaction of a compound of the formula ( 3 ) with a reducing agent to give a compound of formula ( i ). suitable reducing agents include , for example , lithium aluminum hydride , borane , triethyloxonium fluoroborate followed by sodium borohydride , sodium borohydride in the presence of a carboxylic acid , or preferably sodium borohydride in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate . typically , a mixture is prepared of the compound of formula ( 3 ) and about 2 to 8 molar equivalents , preferably about 4 molar equivalents , of sodium borohydride in an ethereal solvent , for example diethyl ether , dimethoxyethane , dioxane , or preferably tetrahydrofuran . the mixture is cooled to about 0 ° to 0 ° c ., preferably about 10 ° c ., and about 2 to 10 molar equivalents , preferably about 6 molar equivalents , of boron trifluoride etherate is added . the mixture is then refluxed for about 15 minutes to 4 hours , preferably about 45 minutes . when the reaction is substantially complete , the compound of formula ( i ) is separated and purified by conventional means , for example by recrystallization of an acid salt . the following examples illustrate the invention but are not intended to limit its scope . preparaton of ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydro isoquino [ 2 , 1g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one and related compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- so 2 r a . a solution of 11 g of ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 ,- 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one ( 2 ) in 300 ml of methylene chloride and 10 ml of triethylamine was cooled in an ice bath and 5 ml of methanesulfonyl chloride was added . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes , diluted with 100 ml of hexane , and extracted with water . the organic layer was dried over sodium sulfate and the solvent removed under reduced pressure . the residue was crystallized from isopropanol , to give 11 g of ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , m . p . 138 °- 140 ° c . b . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 2 , 3 - methylenedioxy - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , the following compound was made : c . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with ( 8ar , 12ar , 13ar )- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , the following compound is made : d . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with (±)- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one or (±)- 2 , 3 - methylenedioxy - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13α - decahydroisoquino -[ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , the following compounds are made : e . similarly , optionally replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino -[ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with other compounds of formula ( 2 ), as the individual enantiomers or racemic or non - racemic mixtures thereof , optionally replacing methanesulfonyl chloride with other sulfonyl halides of formula vso 2 r and following the procedure in paragraph a above , following compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- so 2 r , as either of the individual enantiomers or racenic or non racemic mixtures thereof , are made : 12 - methylaminosulfonyl 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one ; 12 - diethylaminosulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin 8 - one ; 12 di - n - hexylaminosulfonyl 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12 aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one ; preparation of (±)- 12 - n n dimethylaminocarbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8α , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ,. 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino -[ 21g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin 8one and related compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 a . a solution of 4 . 5 g of (±)- 5 , 6 , 8aα9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridine ( 2 ) and 6 . 6 ml of triethylamine in 100 ml of methylene chloride is stirred at room temperature and 1 . 56 ml of dimethylcarbamyl chloride is added . the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 16 hours , then solvent removed under reduced pressure the residue is partitioned between 200 ml of methylene chloride and 50 ml of 2n sodium carbonate . the organic phase is dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , the solvent removed under reduced pressure , and the residue chromatographed on silica gel , eluting with 3 % methanol / methylene chloride , to give (±)- 12 n , n - dimethylaminocarbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin 8 - one . b . similarly , optionally replacing (±)- 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydro - 8h - isoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridine with the appropriate compound of formula ( 2 ), and optionally replacing dimethylcarbamyl chloride with other carbamyl chlorides of formula r 3 r 4 c ( o ) cl , where r 3 and r 4 are as defined supra but are not hydrogen , and following the procedure in paragraph a above , the following compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nr 3 r 4 as either of the individual enantiomers or racemic or non - racemic mixtures thereof , are made : preparation of ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 -[( r )-(+)- 1 - phenylethylamino ] carbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one and related compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nhr 4 a . a solution of 1 . 95 - g of (±)- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino -[ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , a compound of formula ( 2 ), and 1 . 0 - g of ( r )-(+)- α - methylbenzyl isocyanate in 50 ml of methylene chloride was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . solvent was then removed under reduced pressure , and the residue chromatographed on silica gel , using multiple medium pressure chromatography and eluting with 5 % methanol in ethy acetate . the first compound eluted was ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 [( r )-(+)- 1 - phenylethylamino ] carbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , mp 198 °- 199 ° c ., [ α ] d 25 =+ 36 . 5 -( chcl 3 ) ) b . similarly , replacing (±)- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with the appropriate compound of formula ( 2 ) and following the procedure in paragraph a above , the following compounds of formula ( 3 ) were prepared : c . similarly , optionally replacing (±)- 3 - methoxy - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with the appropriate compound of formula ( 2 ), and optionally replacing ( r )-(+)- α - methylbenzyl isocyanate with the appropriate compound of formula r 4 nco and following the procedure in paragraph a above , the following compounds of formula ( 3 ) where z is -- c ( o ) nhr 4 , as either of the individual enantiomers or racemic or non - racemic mixtures thereof , are prepared : a solution of 3 . 64 - g of ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one in 100 ml of tetrahydrofuran was stirred with 1 . 52 - g of sodium borohydride . this mixture was cooled to 10 ° c . and 7 . 4 ml of boron trifluoride etherate added rapidly . the reaction mixture was refluxed for 45 minutes , cooled to 20 ° c ., and 100 ml of 1n - hydrochloric acid added dropwise . the majority of the solvent was then removed by distillation at atmospheric pressure , the residue cooled to 30 ° c . and aqueous 6n - sodium hydroxide solution added until the ph reached 11 - 12 . the reaction mixture was then extracted with methylene chloride , and the combined extracts washed with water and dried over sodium sulfate . the solvent was removed under reduced pressure , and the residue dissolved in about 150 ml of a mixture of 33 % ethanol in methylene chloride , and the solution treated with a slight excess of hydrochloric acid in ethanol and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated at atmospheric pressure to a volume of about 50 ml , stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes and the precipitate filtered off , giving ( 8ar , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydro - 8h - isoquino [ 2 , 1g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridine hydrochloride , m . p . 257 °- 258 ° c . b . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 2 , 3 - methylenedioxy 12methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , the following compound was made : c . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with ( 8ar , 12ar , 13ar ) 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , the following compound is made : d . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with (±)- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one or (±)- 2 , 3 - methylenedioxy 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8aα , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12aα , 13 , 13aα - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , the following compounds are made : e . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 - methanesulfonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with other compounds of formula ( 3 ), as the individual enantiomers or racemic or non racemic mixtures thereof , and following the procedure in paragraph a above , the following compounds of formula ( i ), as the individual enantiomers or racemic or non - racemic mixtures thereof , are made as the hydrochloride salt : a . a solution of 11 . 5 - g of ( 8as , 12as , 13as ) 3 - methoxy 12 -[( r )-(+)- 1 - phenylethylamino ] carbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one , in 50 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added slowly to a solution of 2 . 0 - g of lithium aluminum hydride in 75 ml of tetrahydrofuran . the resulting mixture was stirred at reflux for 2 hours , cooled , and treated sequentially with 2 . 5 ml of water , 2 . 5 ml of 15 % sodium hydroxide , and 7 . 5 ml of water . the mixture was filtered and the filtrate was evaporated to afford 8 . 8 - g of ( 8ar , 12as , 13as ) 3 - methoxy 12 -[( r )-(+)- 1 phenylethylamino ] carbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a decahydro - 8h - isoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridine , a compound of formula ( i ). b . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as )- 3 - methoxy - 12 -[( r )-(+)- 1 - phenylethylamino ] carbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with other compounds of formula ( 3 ) and following the procedure in paragraph a above , the following compounds of formula ( i ) were prepared : c . similarly , replacing ( 8as , 12as , 13as ) 3 methoxy - 12 -[( r )-(+)- 1 - phenylethylamino ] carbonyl - 5 , 6 , 8a , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 12a , 13 , 13a - decahydroisoquino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 6 ] naphthyridin - 8 - one with other compounds of formula ( 3 ), as the individual enantiomers or racemic or non - racemic mixtures thereof , and following the procedure in paragraph a above , any compounds of formula ( i ), as the individual enantiomers or racemic or non - racemic mixtures thereof , are prepared , in particular those named in example 4 above . | 2 |
in the description and drawings , like numerals refer to like structures or and / or processes . system . referring to fig3 there is shown a block diagram of an asset tracking system (“ ats ”) 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the ats 300 allows an asset tracking service provider to provide asset tracking related services to customers . the ats 300 includes the following : a tracking device 310 that is installed in a customer &# 39 ; s vehicle or asset that is to be tracked ; a gps including satellite transmitters 320 for providing gps signals to the tracking device 310 to facilitate positioning ; a cellular telephone network 330 including antennae 331 for communicating with the tracking device 310 ; virtual carrier servers 350 for providing virtual carrier services ( e . g . aeris or cellemetry ) for communicating with the cellular telephone network 330 over a network 351 using , for example , common channel signaling system number seven (“ ss7 ”); and , ats servers 360 for providing ats applications ( see below ) to customers , for communicating with the tracking device 310 via the virtual carrier servers 350 and cellular telephone network 330 through a network 361 , and for supporting an ats call center 370 over the internet 371 . the network 361 may also be the internet 371 . typically , the ats call center 370 operates 24 hours per day , 365 days per year . the ats call center 370 includes a service provider terminal 372 operated by asset tracking service provider staff . customers may communicate with asset tracking service provider staff via telephone ( i . e . landline or cellular ) or through the internet 371 using a customer terminal 380 . customers and asset tracking service provider staff may access ats applications locally through the tracking device 310 and / or remotely using the internet 371 and their respective terminals 380 , 372 . the ats servers 360 may include bridge servers , database servers , alarm servers , and web servers for supporting internet 371 access . the ats servers 360 , asset tracking service provider terminal 372 , customer terminal 380 , and tracking device 310 may include input devices , central processing units or cpus , memory , and displays . the input devices include keyboards , mice , trackballs or similar devices . the cpus may include dedicated coprocessors and memory devices . the memory may include ram , rom , databases , or disk devices . and , the displays may include a computer or lcd screen . the ats 300 has stored therein data representing sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method described heroin to be performed . of course , the ats 300 may contain additional software and hardware a description of which is not necessary for understanding the invention . tracking devices . referring to fig4 ( a ) and 4 ( b ), there are shown top and end views , respectively , illustrating a tracking device 310 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the tracking device 310 includes a small plastic or metal casing 410 for housing internal modules ( see below ); a cellular antenna 420 ; a connector 430 for a gps antenna ( not shown ); a connector 440 for a diagnostic device and for connecting other peripheral devices ( not shown ); and , a connector for a power cable 450 for connecting the tracking device to the power supply of the asset ( e . g . vehicle ) to be protected . in another embodiment , both the cellular antenna 420 and gps antenna ( not shown ) may be placed inside the casing 410 . the tracking device is designed to minimize size and maximize durability . internally , the tracking device 310 includes ; a gps receiver module connected to a gps antenna ( not shown ) through a connector 430 to receive gps signals from gps satellite transmitters 320 to allow for the determination of positioning coordinates of the tracking device 310 ; a cellular modem to communicate with the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s servers 360 through the cellular network 330 provided by a virtual carrier ; and , a microcontroller which includes software for managing device modules and associated circuitry ( i . e . gps receiver , cellular modem , power requirements , alarms , motion detector , and reporting schedules ), along with an internet interface for configuring the tracking device 310 and for communicating with it . referring to fig7 there is shown a flow chart illustrating an exemplary asset tracking device method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the tracking device 310 is generally connected to the tracked asset &# 39 ; s power supply via a power cable connector 450 . however , the tracking device 310 also has an internal backup power supply ( not shown ) to ensure continued operation even after the external power supply has been disconnected . sophisticated motion detection and other advanced power saving techniques ensure that the tracking service provider can communicate with the tracking device 310 for a period of time even if the main battery of the protected asset has been disconnected . the backup power supply is typically a rechargeable , internal backup battery that is recharged whenever an external 12 / 24 volt power supply is connected to the tracking device 310 . a diagnostic device ( not shown ) may be connected to the tracking device 310 via the diagnostic device connector 440 which is typically a db - 9 connector . the diagnostic device typically includes a lcd display on which key parameters are displayed allowing a user to determine if the gps receiver module , the cellular modem , and the microcontroller are operating properly . the connector 440 may also be used to connect other peripheral devices to the tracking device 310 including a panic alarm device and an hours meter device ( see below ). the tracking device 310 is small , easily hidden in an asset , and communicates with the asset tracking service provider &# 39 ; s call center 370 through a virtual carrier network 330 , 331 , 351 , 350 . this communication platform is advantageous as it offers a robust means of communication over a network that today provides the most ubiquitous cellular coverage in north america . other communication platforms may also be used including digital cellular networks . to ensure privacy , communications with the tracking device 310 for configuring device functions or for locating and tracking are conducted through either the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s call center 370 or through a private web portal managed by the tracking service provider . the tracking device 310 is capable of accurately determining the location of any asset and relaying this information to the owners of the asset ( i . e . customers ) or to the appropriate authorities . in most cases , the location of the asset can be determined to within a matter of meters . in addition , the tracking device 310 can be configured to automatically and immediately alert the owner , or the proper authorities , if the device leaves a pre - determined area , if the power supply voltage of the asset ( e . g . vehicle ) drops below a predetermined value , if the tracking device 310 is disconnected from the external power supply of the asset , or if the gps antenna connection 430 to the device has been either severed or shorted . advantageously , these features make the tracking device an effective theft detection and asset recovery tool . the tracking device 310 has two sensitive motion sensors that are configured to report if motion occurs . the two motion sensors are used for power management and alarm detection purposes . the two motion sensors are configured orthogonal to one another in order to sense motion more easily . in addition , “ sensitivity ” settings ( i . e . low , medium , high ) are used to adjust the voltage threshold detection level to activate the motion sensors . moreover , a “ debounce ” function is included that prevents the motions sensors from activating on spurious or transient conditions such as wind or vibration type motions . typically , this debounce function is set at 5 seconds . that is , there must be continuous motion for a minimum of 5 seconds in order for the motion detectors to activate . thus , these “ damping ” settings are configured such that a vehicle being moved by a gust of wind will not trigger the motion sensor but genuine “ motion ” must be established by a certain number of “ movements ” that happen over a period of a few seconds . this definition of motion enables several power saving features . first , if no motion is sensed for 5 minutes , whether or not the vehicle is being operated or is just parked , the gps module is powered down to save power . this is possible since when the gps module is powered up and the tracking device 310 is in motion , the gps module has to constantly write new location fixes to the microcontroller . however , if there is no motion , the last location fix stored in the microcontroller will still be accurate and so the gps module may be powered down . second , a power save delay parameter can be set during configuration of the tracking device 310 which specifies how long after motion ceases until the power save mode is cntered . this parameter can be changed from a default setting of 0 hours to up to 999 hours . after the selected power save delay time has elapsed , the tracking device 310 will enter the power save mode , which is essentially a “ deep sleep ” mode that uses minimal power . ( again , if the value of zero is selected , then the tracking device will enter the power save mode 5 minutes after motion has stopped , for example .) when the tracking device 310 is in power save mode , it cannot be contacted or interrogated . when motion is sensed , the tracking device 310 immediately awakens and determines if it has experienced any conditions that should be reported as an alarm . the tracking device 310 remains powered up until the expiry of the power save delay time stored in its memory . a user can set the power save delay time to reflect the external battery capacity of the vehicle or asset in which the tracking device 310 is installed . for example , if the vehicle or asset has a small battery that may be depleted quickly , then the user may set the power save delay time to one hour . with this setting , the tracking device will “ go to sleep ” is there is no motion for one hour . if the external battery is more robust , then the user may wish to set the power save delay time to 999 hours so that the tracking device 310 will stay powered up and remain available for interrogation for essentially 1000 hours from the last time motion was sensed . if the tracking device 310 has gone into the power save mode , only the cellular module ( not the gps module ) awakens for a defined period every 24 hours . during that defined period , the tracking device 310 “ listens ” to the cellular network 330 for a “ page ” so it can be sent a locate command to determine its position or so it can receive configuration changes from the user . the servers 360 control and change the time for this daily reporting . daily reporting is typically conducted in the early morning when network traffic is at its lowest point . as mentioned , the tracking device 310 has an internal power supply , typically a battery . as soon as the external power supply is lost , an alarm message is received by the servers 360 and call center 370 indicating that the situation should be investigated . therefore , the internal battery needs to last long enough to get a fix on where the tracking device 310 is located . the customer or call center staff may then choose to dispatch the police to retrieve the vehicle or asset . typically , the tracking device 310 draws little power from the vehicle battery . the tracking device &# 39 ; s internal batteries are selected to minimize the overall size of the tracking device 310 yet meet the necessary power requirements . the internal batteries are maintained at a full charge as long as the external power supply is available . by minimizing overall size of the tracking device 310 , the device may be installed in smaller sized assets including computers and pumps . in fact , small size enables the tracking device 310 to be used for monitoring the location of children , pets . alzheimer patients , or criminals . with greater size reductions , implanting tracking devices in animals or people may be possible . the ats 300 includes a “ panic alarm ” function that is initiated by a contact closure monitored by the tracking device 310 . the contact closure may be between two pins on the diagnostic device connector 440 . the panic alarm function may also be used in conjunction with an additional panic alarm device . the panic alarm device may be installed in a vehicle along with the tracking device 310 . the panic alarm function could be used , for example , in a taxi . here , the panic alarm could be generated by a secret , under seat switch that is activated by the driver to summon help if the driver is attacked or the taxi is hi - jacked . in addition , the panic alarm device may act as the “ receiver end ” for a pendant type “ medical alert ” transmitter device or similar devices typically used by seniors to summon help in the event of a fall or other emergency . these pendant devices typically include a small radio frequency ( rf ) transmitter . the receiver component of these systems picks up the signal transmitted from the pendant device and initiates an auto - dialer that calls an alarm - monitoring center to report the emergency . according to one embodiment , the rf receiver is modified for installation in a vehicle where it may be powered by the vehicle &# 39 ; s power supply . if a user pushes the panic alarm button on the pendant device , a signal is sent from the pendant to the receiver contained in the panic alarm device . the receiver will be able to receive signals transmitted by the pendant device within a predetermined radius from the vehicle . in other words , the transmitter in the pendant device has a known transmission range . upon receipt of this signal , the panic alarm device closes a contact . this contact closure , and hence the presence of a panic alarm , is monitored by the tracking device 310 . the panic alarm is then relayed by the tracking device 310 to the call center 370 where it is automatically forwarded , along with the location of the vehicle , to the appropriate authorities . in this way , the tracking device 310 acts as a security “ base station ” for the user . while the location information identifies the precise location of this security “ base station ”, knowing that the user of the panic alarm device is within the predetermined rf reception area for signals transmitted by the pendant device provides the authorities with the approximate location of the user . ats servers . the ats 300 includes several servers 360 and a call center 370 for the management of tracking devices 310 . the servers 360 and call center 370 constitute a tracking device management system that stores data and communicates with tracking devices 310 through the cellular phone network 330 and via a web interface 371 . the servers 360 include a virtual carrier bridge server , a database server , an alarm server , and a web server . thus , the tracking device management system includes the following components : 1 . virtual carrier bridge server : this server processes and formats all of the commands and data to be sent via a tcp / ip connection 361 to the virtual carrier servers 350 at virtual carrier operation centers where they can be relayed to tracking devices 310 over the amps cellular phone network 330 in north america , mexico , and parts of south america . similarly , this server receives and processes data and reports that have been received from tracking devices 310 at a virtual carrier &# 39 ; s operation centre and relayed to the call center 370 via a tcp / ip connection . referring to fig8 there is shown a flow chart illustrating an exemplary bridge server method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . 2 . database server : this server maintains a database for storing all relevant data pertaining to tracking devices 310 , customers , users , alarms and reports , billing information , and the like . 3 . alarm server : all alarms and reports that arrive at the call center 370 ( i . e . after being relayed from a tracking device 310 through the amps cellular network 330 and the virtual carrier &# 39 ; s servers 350 ) are processed by the alarm server and , as required , are written to the database . parameters chosen by the customer and stored in the database determine who should be automatically advised of the occurrence of the alarm at the particular day and time that the alarm has occurred . for example , a power restored alarm ( see below ) is not routinely passed on to the customer but is used by the tracking service provider to monitor the status of deployed tracking devices . for example , the receipt of a power restored alarm could be of assistance in locating a missing asset that had not been recovered . if a vehicle were stolen from a location where there was no cellular service ( e . g . a remote mountainous area ), and the vehicle &# 39 ; s battery had been disconnected for a period of time so that even the internal back - up battery in the tracking device had depleted , then if the vehicle was ever moved into an area with cellular coverage , and the vehicle battery was re - connected ( i . e . before the tracking device was discovered or destroyed ), then this alarm message would signal to the call center 370 that the vehicle had resurfaced in an area where a locate command could now be performed . 4 . call centre : the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s call center 370 is typically staffed 24 hours per day to monitor all components of the tracking device management system . in addition , customers that may not have access to the internet 371 may call a toll free number to have call center staff manage their account or to make inquiries about alarms that they have received notification of via the automated alarm notification system . 5 . web server : the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s web server provides the means for customers to communicate with and control their tracking devices 310 . the web server maintains a web portal or tracking device management web interface which is described below . functions . for effective theft detection and asset location , the tracking devices 310 and / or ats 300 include the following functions : 1 . motion detection : as described above , the gps receiver and cellular modem turn on immediately upon detection of movement and the gps module proceeds to obtain a location . 2 . virtual fence violation alarm : the user is able to define a virtual fence (“ vfence ”) for the asset to be protected ( e . g . between 100 meters and 100 kilometers ). if the asset moves beyond this user - defined fence , a vfence violation alarm is reported to the call center 370 . as will be described below , settings for the vfence alarm may be made over the internet 371 . 3 . locate : the user is able to locate the protected asset using the mapping services resident on , or accessed from , the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s servers 360 . as will be described below , settings for the locate function may be made over the internet 371 . 4 . low power alarm : if external power drops below 80 % of its nominal input level for longer than three minutes , for example , then an alarm is sent to the call center 370 . 5 . power cut alarm : if external power is cut for longer then 15 seconds , for example , then an alarm is sent to the call center 370 . 6 . restored power alarm : when power is restored after being cut , the tracking device 310 will transmit a power restore message to the servers 360 . 7 . panic alarm : for personal security , a button on a personal panic device , the receiver of which is co - located with and connected to the appropriate pins of the db - 9 connector 440 on the tracking device 310 , may be used to send a panic alarm to the servers 360 and call center 370 via the tracking device 310 . 8 . hours meter : the hours meter function emulates a physical “ hours meter ” that is typically used to record the number of hours that an engine , or similar component , has operated . this function is used by connecting a voltage source , such as the “ ignition on ” voltage that indicates that an engine is operating , to designated pins of the db - 9 connector 440 of the tracking device 310 . a counter in the tracking device &# 39 ; s 310 microcontroller commences to record time whenever such a voltage source is present . thus , the counter functions as an hours meter and records the number of hours the associated engine , or other component , has been in operation . the user is able to define a time interval after which the tracking device 310 will send a message to the servers 360 and database that includes the current hours meter reading from the counter . the servers 360 can be configured to automatically forward an e - mail message to the customer reporting the current hours meter reading and indicating that the hours meter has reached a configured time increment . 9 . power save mode : in order to reduce power consumption , the tracking device 310 can be programmed to “ sleep ” and will consume minimal power if no movement has occurred for a user preset time from 0 hour to 999 hours , for example , and “ awaken ” when motion is detected by the microcontroller . if the preset time is set to zero , then the tracking device 310 will typically enter the “ power save mode ” after 5 minutes . 10 . daily network listening : regardless of whether “ awake ” or “ asleep ”, the tracking device 310 turns on its cellular modem at a predefined time to be available for communications . 11 . monthly heartbeat : once a month , for example , the tracking device 310 calls the servers 360 and reports its current position . tracking service provider specific commands . the following commands may be sent to the tracking device 310 by the tracking service provider via the service provider terminal 372 and / or servers 360 : 1 . deactivate device : this command can be sent by the tracking service provider to deactivate a device if a customer &# 39 ; s account is delinquent or some such reason . upon receipt of this command , the tracking device 310 no longer responds to any customer instructions received through the web interface . but , provided that the tracking device 310 is still connected to an external power supply ( or if the internal backup battery is still operational ), the tracking device 310 continues to monitor the cellular network 330 and accepts an “ activate device ” command ( see below ) sent by the tracking service provider to reactivate the tracing device 310 enabling it to accept subsequent tracking service provider and / or customer commands . 2 . activate device : this command can be sent by the tracking service provider to reactivate a tracking device 310 that has previously been sent a “ deactivate device ” ( see above ) command . this command may be sent in order to reactivate a customer &# 39 ; s tracking device 310 after a delinquent account has been brought current . 3 change report day : each tracking device 310 is pre - programmed at the factory to send a “ heartbeat ” report to the servers 360 on a particular day of each month . this command can be used to cause a tracking device 310 to send the heartbeat report on a different day of the month . 4 . change report time : each tracking device is pre - programmed at the factory to send the heartbeat report to the servers 360 at a particular time , on the selected “ report day ” of each month . this command can be used to cause a tracking device 310 to send the heartbeat report at a different time on the selected report day . 5 . wakeup and locate : each tracking device 310 is pre - programmed at the factory so that even if the device is in the power save mode , the unit will be fully “ awake ” and ready to accept commands for one hour out of every 24 hours . during this one hour awake period , the tracking service provider can send any tracking device 310 a locate diagnostic command which causes the tracking device 310 to attempt to obtain a gps measurement for four minutes and forward the location data to the servers 360 , thereby confirming that all gps and communication functions are working properly . 6 . track unit for “ x ” minutes : sending this command ( accompanied by a certain number of minutes ) to a tracking device 310 causes the device to report to the servers 360 every fifteen seconds . the tracking device 310 alternately reports either a geographic position or the speed and heading data for the number of minutes that has been specified in order to permit “ live ” tracking of an asset in motion . tracking service provider and customer commands . the following commands may be sent by to the tracking device 310 by either the tracking service provider or customer via the service provider terminal 372 or customer terminal 380 , respectively , and / or servers 360 : 1 . power save delay : as described above , in order to conserve the power of the external battery providing power ( e . g . at 12 / 24 volts ) to the tracking device 310 , a motion detector causes the device to power down . therefore , the tracking device 310 does not monitor the cellular network 330 and cannot accept incoming calls , except for the one hour ( or other time determined by the tracking service provider ) per day when the device is programmed to wake up and monitor the network 330 . with this command customers can set the number of hours after any motion stops before the unit will go into this power save mode . the default value for this parameter for tracking devices leaving the factory is 1 hour . this command allows customers to manage the power consumption of the tracking device 310 and appropriately match this consumption to the capacity and circumstances of the external power supply . 2 . activate power save report mode : this command will cause the tracking device 310 to report its location to the call center 370 on every occasion just before the tracking device 310 goes into the power save mode . this command has fleet management applications . such a series of reports may provide a customer with a list of locations where the tracking device 310 had ceased to move for the period of time selected by the “ power save delay ” command . this could , for example , provide a record or log for the customer of any stops of greater than 5 minutes or greater than 1 hour , etc . this function ensures that , at all times , the tracking service provider has an accurate location for the tracking device 310 ( if the unit is in power save mode ) or can obtain an accurate location ( if the tracking device 310 is in a vehicle that is moving ). 3 . deactivate power save report mode : if the customer has activated the “ power save report mode ” in a tracking device 310 , it can be deactivated with this command . 4 . activate power alarms : if this command is sent to a tracking device 310 , the device will provide the servers 360 with a message indicating that one of the “ power alarm ” conditions ( as described below ) has occurred . configuration settings chosen by the customer specify who should be immediately and automatically contacted by the tracking service provider in this event . when a tracking device 310 is shipped from the factory the default setting for the power alarms is “ off ”. 5 . deactivate power alarms : if the power alarms in a tracking device 310 have been activated , sending this command instructs the device to refrain from contacting the servers 360 when a power alarm condition occurs . 6 . set vfence radius : if this command is sent to a tracking device 310 , the device will establish ( by mathematical calculation ) a virtual fence (“ vfence ”) around itself , typically circular in shape having a center at the position where the tracking device was located when the “ turn vfence on ” command ( see below ) was sent , and having a radius ranging from 100 meters to 100 kilomenters . if the tracking device 310 moves outside of this virtual fence , then the device will send a message to the servers 360 indicating that the device has left the “ permitted area ” as defined by the “ set vfence radius ” command . 7 . turn vfence on : if this command is sent to a tracking device 310 , the center of the permitted area ( as defined by the set vfence radius command ) is reset to the current location of the tracking device 310 . from then on , the tracking device 310 will send a message to the servers 360 if the device moves outside of the permitted area . before sending this alarm message , the vfence function is turned off . after this alarm has been received , the customer may choose to reactivate ( and re - center ) the vfence or to continue to monitor the location of the asset . when a tracking device 310 is shipped from the factory the default position for the vfence is “ off ”. 8 . turn vfence off . if the vfence function has been activated , sending this command deactivates the vfence function . 9 . locate : sending this command causes a tracking device 310 to report its location to the call center 370 in one of four possible ways depending on the conditions existing at the time the command was sent : a ) if the tracking device 310 has not moved for a period greater than the power save delay time that has been set in the device , the customer would be advised by the servers 360 via the customer terminal 380 that the device is in power save mode and the most recent location data from the servers &# 39 ; database would be provided to the customer . the customer would also be given the option of having the system 300 interrogate the tracking device 310 during the next daily time period when the device will be “ awake ” and “ listening ” to the cellular network 330 , if the device has not already reported a new location to the servers 360 by that time . a message also advises the customer of the time when updated location data will be available . if the power save report mode is enabled , the reported position will be the current position of the unit . b ) if the tracking device 310 is not in power save report mode but the device has not moved for 5 minutes , then the most recent location stored in the tracking device &# 39 ; s memory will be reported , which will be , by definition , the current location of the device . c ) if the tracking device 310 is not in power save report mode and it has moved within the last 5 minutes , but is currently not moving , the the current location will be reported . d ) if the tracking device 310 is not in power save report mode and it is in motion , then the current location and fact that the device is in motion will be reported . 10 . power down device : this command can be sent to a tracking device 310 to shut the device down entirely so that it is not even capable of monitoring the cellular phone network 330 or registering on the network . typically , tracking devices are shipped from the factory in the “ power down mode ”. once having entered this mode , the tracking device 310 can only be turned on by connecting ( or removing and re - connecting ) an external 12 / 24 volt power supply to the device . 11 . hours meter interval : this command can be sent to a tracking device 310 to cause it to send a report to the servers 360 when a voltage source ( e . g . ignition voltage ) has been present on designated pins of the db - 9 connector 440 for a selected increment of time , referred to as the “ hours meter interval ”. typically , this interval may range from 10 hours to 9 , 999 hours . tracking devices are shipped from the factory with no interval set so that automatic reports are not generated until the customer has configured the tracking device with a desired interval . the user is given the option of entering into the database an “ offset ” number that can be used to synchronize the hours meter reading reported by the tracking device 310 with a physical , preinstalled , external hours meter . this offset number allows the readings from the hours meter function to be made consistent with the readings from the physical hours meter . 12 . hours meter report : this command can be sent to a tracking device 310 at anytime causing the device to report its current hour meter reading . alarms and reports . the following alarms and reports may be generated by the asset tracking system 300 : 1 . external power low warning : if the power alarms function ( see above ) has been activated in a tracking device 310 , then the device will send an alarm to the servers 360 indicating that the external power supply voltage ( e . g . 12 / 24 volts ) has dropped below 80 % of its normal value . 2 . external power lost alarm : if the power alarms function has been activated in the tracking device 310 , and the external power supply ( e . g . 12 / 24 volts ) is removed for 15 seconds , then the device will send an alarm to the servers 360 indicating that the external power supply has been lost . the sewers 360 will send a confirming message to the tracking device 310 indicating that the alarm message has been received . if the tracking device 310 does not receive a confirmation of the receipt of the alarm message within 5 minutes , then the device will attempt to resend the alarm message up to 5 times . 3 . external power restored : if the power alarms function has been activated in the tracking device 310 , then the device will send an alarm to the servers 360 indicating that the external power supply ( e . g . 12 / 24 volts ) has been restored . 4 . panic alarm : as described above , some tracking devices 310 may be configured to make use of a panic alarm function that is typically triggered by a contact closure between two pins on the multi - pin ( db - 9 ) tracking device connector 440 . if a contact closure is detected by the tracking device 310 , then the device will send a panic alarm report indicating that immediate assistance is requested at the reported location of the device . the panic alarm message sent by the tracking device 310 contains current location information for the device . the servers 360 will send a confirming message to the tracking device 310 indicating that the alarm message has been received . if the tracking device 310 does not receive a confirmation of the receipt of the alarm message within 5 minutes , then the device will attempt to re - send the alarm message up to 5 times . if no receipt is received , then it will attempt the same sequence every 24 hours . 5 . vfence violation alarm : if the vfence function has been activated in a tracking device 310 , and if the tracing device 310 moves to a location that is outside of the permitted area ( defined by the vfence radius ), then the device will first deactivate the vfence and send an alarm to the servers 360 indicating that the device has travelled a distance greater than the allowed vfence radius from the point where the device was located when the vfence was activated . the servers 360 will send a confirming message to the tracking device 310 indicating that the alarm message has been received . if the device does not receive a confirmation of the receipt of the alarm message within 5 minutes , then the device will attempt to re - send the alarm message up to 5 times . if no receipt is received , then it will attempt the same sequence every 24 hours . 6 . power save mode report : if the customer has chosen to have the tracking device 310 report its location prior to going into power save mode , then this report provides the location of each such occurrence . this location is stored in the servers 360 for subsequent customer reports and / or use . 7 . heartbeat : as mentioned above , this report is a monthly confirmation ( i . e . at the “ report time ” on the “ report day ”) that the tracking device 310 is functioning properly . typically , this report is sent to the servers 360 only . 8 . antenna sense alarm : this report is sent if the antenna for the gps module has been tampered with or is not functioning properly . 9 . hours meter report : if the tracking device 310 has been configured with an “ hours meter interval ”, then this report will be sent by the device to the serves 360 each time that the counter in the device &# 39 ; s microcontroller indicates that ignition voltage has been present on the appropriate pin on the db - 9 connector 440 for the specified period of time . alarm processing . the alarm server receives all tracking device alarms and reports ( e . g . low power , power cut , vfence violation , antenna sense , or power save location report ) that are generated . the alarm server writes the time stamped alarm / report to a database and issues all of the notifications the customer has chosen in the customer configuration portion of the database which correspond to the customer &# 39 ; s instructions for processing alarms . a text , voice , fax , email , pager , or sms message advises the customer of the nature and time of the alarm and requests the customer to either : ( a ) log on to the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s website to further investigate the nature of the alarm ; or , ( b ) call the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s call center 370 at a toll free number to provide instructions . the alarm server generates an alarm at the call centre 370 and if there has been no response ( within , for example , 10 minutes ) from any of the parties that have been automatically alerted by the alarm server of the alarm , then call center staff will take action . following the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s procedure manual , call center staff may contact the customer at a specific telephone number . alternately , if it can be seen from interrogation of the tracking device 310 that an asset that should not be on the move , is actually moving , the tracking service provider will have a procedure in place for contacting the police . the police will be advised that the tracking service provider has identified unauthorized activity pertaining to the asset but that so far the owner has not been contacted . if the customer does not have access to a terminal 380 , he may choose to call the 1 - 800 number in response to an alarm and communicate directly with call center staff who may use the web interface on behalf of the customer . call centre staff will provide the customer with an “ incident report number ” and instructions advising the customer contact the police to make a stolen property report and to provide the police with the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s 1 - 800 number and other relevant information . tracking device management web interface . referring to fig5 there is shown an exemplary web page flow chart in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the web page flow chart illustrates the hierarchy of web pages 500 that the ats 300 may present to users through the web server and the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s website . users ( e . g . customers , police officers , asset tracking service provider staff , etc .) may view series of pages in several languages including english 505 , spanish 590 , and french 595 . in each language , five main web page series are available to users under the following pages : “ customer login ” 510 , “ police login ” 570 , “ open now account ” 575 , “ contact us ” ( i . e . the tracking service provider ) 580 , and “ privacy statement ” 585 . to manage tracking devices , customers would visit the website home page established by the tracking service provider using their terminals 380 . customers would typically login to the ats 300 using the customer login 505 series of pages . these pages may also be used by tracking service provider staff using their terminals 372 . in particular , tracking service staff would routinely use the related “ tracking service provider functions ” 565 series of pages . when a login page is completed and submitted by the customer or other user , the ats 300 checks to determine that the customer number , username , and password are valid . it also checks an access level assigned to the user for determining what screens to display to the user and what unctions the user is authorized to perform with respect to tracking devices registered to the user . the access level field may be a two character field with the letters a through j being assigned for various access levels for customers and with the letters k through zz being reserved for tracking service provider staff . typically , the web page series listed under customer login 505 in fig5 would be presented to customers having a high access level . customers having lower access levels would not be presented with buttons or messages concerning functions that are not permitted at that lower access level . access levels may include the following : b : can review database of all tracking devices in permitted groups that are registered to the customer . can locate any tracking device registered to the customer . can change their own username and password . c : includes level b functions . can alter alarm settings of tracking devices in permitted groups that are registered to the customer . d : includes level c functions . can alter customer asset data fields for devices in permitted groups that are registered to the customer . e : includes level d functions . can create and edit customer groups . can add or delete users with access to the customer &# 39 ; s tracking devices . immediately after a successful login by a customer , the ats 300 checks the database to determine if any alarms have been reported by any of the tracking devices registered to the customer . before the customer is allowed to proceed to perform other tasks , the customer is presented with any such alarms by the “ manage occurred alarms ” 515 page . the customer is required to either clear the alarms ( e . g . alarms caused by an event or circumstance known to the customer ) or confirm to the tracking service provider that the asset associated with the tracking device is to be reported to the authorities as having been stolen . if the customer determines that the alarm is the result of a theft , then the customer will be presented with the “ report a theft ” 520 page as described below . in the case of external power alarms and vfence violation alarms , the locate function is not available to the user for a period of time determined by the tracking service provider . following the receipt of either of these two types of alarms , and for this predetermined period of time , the locate and tracking functions are only available to the tracking service provider or to the authorities investigating the reported theft . after reviewing any unprocessed alarms 515 that have occurred , the customer is presented with the following option pages : “ report a theft ” 520 , “ locate tracking device ” 525 , “ last known location ” 530 , “ tracking device settings ” 535 , “ customer / user settings ” 540 , “ add a new tracking device ” 545 , “ contact us ” 550 ( i . e . the tracking service provider ), “ privacy statement ” 555 ( i . e . of the tracking service provider ), “ log off ” 560 , and “ tracking service provider functions ” 565 . the functions initiated upon selection of one of these options by a user are described in the following : 1 . report a theft 520 : a picklist allows the user to select one of the tracking devices 310 registered to that customer and confirm to the tracking service provider that the device is to be reported stolen . this function is available to a user at anytime so that in the case where the user has not had the vfence activated for any reason , but they have visually determined that their vehicle is missing , the tracking service provider can respond with the same tracking and locating services that would be used if a theft had been detected by the arrival of a vfence or power cut alarm . as soon as the user confirms that the asset is to be reported stolen , the ats 300 responds by providing the user with an “ incident report number ” that is to be provided to the police or other investigating authority . the user is also provided with a toll free number that they are instructed to give to the police . when the police contact the tracking service provider and provide the incident report number , the police are given a temporary password that will allow them to perform locating and tracking functions over the web interface to assist them in locating and recovering the asset . alternatively , tracking service provider staff at the call centre 370 can provide locating and tracking assistance to the police via telephone . 2 . locate a tracking device 525 : clicking on this button brings up a screen that allows the user to select a tracking device 310 from a picklist of devices that the user is authorized to access . this page may also include a search feature to assist users who have a large number of tracking devices . once the desired tracking device has been highlighted in the picklist , a locate button on the page can then be clicked . the user then confirms that a locating operation is desired and that the user accepts the charge presented on the page , the charge being associated with the user in a billing database . the ats 300 will then attempt to communicate with the selected tracking device 310 to obtain current location information if this attempt is not successful , then the ats 300 will access the last known location ( and related time ) from the database and will display a map to the user with a message stating words to the following effect : “ the current location is not available at this time . the tracking device is likely in power save mode because it is not currently in motion or may be outside of cellular coverage .” the user will then be given the option of having the ats 300 obtain an updated location from the tracking device 310 , even if it continues to remain stationary , during the next daily “ window ” when the device awakens from the power save mode . if the user selects this option and accepts the charge for this service , then the user will be advised when they can expect updated location data to be available . if the tracking device 310 is not in power save mode , and is activated and available , the ats 300 display a map ( scaled to show an area of approximately 5 square kilometers ) to the user . the map can be zoomed out from this point for the user to confirm the area , region , or state / province , etc ., that is being displayed or zoom in for increased detail with respect to the location of the tracing device 310 and asset . 3 . last known location 530 : ibis function may be used to query the ats 300 database for the last reported location of the tracking device 310 . the system 300 will respond by presenting a map to the user illustrating the most recent coordinates that have been reported and stored in the database along with the date and time associated with those coordinates . the user is given the option of attempting to locate the tracking device 310 or of having the device report its location during the next scheduled daily listening “ window ” ( i . e . when the device comes out of the power save mode , monitors the cellular network 330 , and responds to commands ). if the user selects this second option , and accepts the charge for this service , then the user will be advised as to when updated location data will be available . 4 . tracking device settings 535 : this series of screens allows the user to alter the vfence , power alarm , power save delay , power save report mode , hours meter , and power down functions . the system provides information to the user on the current settings and if the user accepts any charges associated with altering any of the tracking device settings , the changes are sent to the device and are written to the database when the unit responds confirming that the changes have been made . if the tracking device 310 is currently in the power save mode ( e . g . it is not in motion ), then the user can choose to have the new settings sent to the device during the next daily window ( i . e . when the device carries out of power save mode , monitors the cellular network 330 , and responds to commands ). if the user selects this option , and accepts the charge for this service , then the user will be advised as to when the revised settings will available . the tracking device settings 535 series of pages also allows the user to perform functions such as moving a tracking device . this function requires the user to enter new information pertaining to the protected asset for storage in the database . when new information is entered , the ats 300 temporarily suspends automated notification related functions . once the user has completed these pages and has accepted the charge for moving the tracking device , automated notification functions are suspended until the ats 300 receives a power restored alarm . receipt of this alarm indicates that the tracking device has been disconnected from the power supply of the current asset and reconnected to the power supply of the new asset . in addition , the user may edit the description of the protected asset ( e . g . change the colour description ) or assign the tracking device to a “ group ” that the user has established . groups allow the user to alter the settings of a number of tracking devices ( e . g . turning the vfence or power alarms on or off , resetting the vfence radius , etc .) without having to select each tracking device individually to make the necessary change . if tracking device settings for groups are altered using the pages available under the customer / user settings 540 page ( see below ), then the total cost for initiating that change for all the devices assigned to that group is calculated and the user must confirm that they accept the resulting charge before the group device settings are altered . in addition , the tracking device settings 535 series of pages allows the user to send a power down command to a tracking device 310 . this command returns the tracking device 310 to its factory settings . it may be used to deactivate a tracking device 310 that is being shipped to a new location or that is being temporarily “ retired ” due to the seasonal nature of the customer &# 39 ; s business . after this command has been sent to a tracking device 310 and the external power has been removed from the device , the device is reactivated by the application of an external power source . the tracking device 310 awakens from this mode with its factory settings . as such , the user may need to reconfigure the device &# 39 ; s settings . 5 . customer / user settings 540 : this series of pages allows an authorized user to perform functions such as changing passwords , changing customer data ( e . g . address , telephone number , etc . ), and setting alarm notifications . by setting alarm notifications , the customer can establish different periods of the day , weekends , holidays . etc ., when received alarms are to be routed to specified individuals . the ats 300 allows the user to provide a number of telephone , pager , fax , or e - mail numbers and addresses that can be selected as the appropriate means of contacting the individuals specified for notification in the event of an alarm . for a specific customer , users with higher levels of authorization are able to manage the privileges of other users . as mentioned above , pages are provided that allow users to establish and manage groups to which individual tracking devices may be assigned . users may then alter the settings of a number of tracking devices belonging to a group without having to individually select and change settings for each device . in addition , pages are provided that allow users to review and process any received alarms , review all location reports stored in the database for a tracking device , and review that status of charges made to a customer account as a result of transactions that have been accepted by an authorized user . 6 . add a new tracking device 545 : this series of pages allows a user to add a new tracking device 310 to a customer profile . the user is prompted to enter the serial number (“ s / n ”) of the new tracking device that is to be added to ats 300 for the customer . the ats 300 checks the database to determine if the submitted serial number corresponds to a valid tracking device and that it is not already associated with another customer . if the tracking device is available , then the user is prompted to fill in the required information about the asset in which the tracking device is to be installed . the tracking device is then associated with the customer profile and the information is saved in the database . 7 . tracking service provider functions 565 : a separate and unique “ customer number ” allows call centre staff ( and other authorized tracking service provider staff ) to access the web pages and data associated with a given customer . though proper access level authorization , call centre staff arc allowed to facilitate customer requests received by telephone and to alter data on behalf of customers . typically , customers calling in their requests to the call centre 370 would be required to provide some form of “ challenge word ”. the challenge word may be stored in the database and would be required to authorize charges including additional service charges results from the direct delivery of services by call center staff . of course additional tracking service provider specific commands ” ( see above ) such as activate and deactivate device , change report day , etc ., would also be available to staff with the appropriate authorization . in addition to the “ customer login ” 510 series of pages , there are four additional main series of pages as follows : 1 . police login 570 : if a user has reported the theft of an asset protected with a tracking device 310 to police , the user should advise the police that the tracking service provider can provide assistance to the police in locating the protected asset . the user should also provide the police with the toll free number for contacting the call center 370 and the incident report number provided by the tracking service provider . once the police contact the tracking service provider , call centre staff can provide locating services ( e . g . via the “ locate ” command ) or tracking services ( e . g . via the “ track unite for ‘ x ’ minutes ” command ) to the police over the telephone . alternatively a temporary password can be given to the police by telephone so that they can log on to the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s website , enter the incident report number , perform locating and tracking functions , and receive maps and location data directly . 2 . open new account 575 : this page allows new customers that have not yet registered with the tracking service provider to establish and set up a new account . users that select this option will be prompted to fill in all of the required information to establish an account with the tracking service provider . once this process has been completed and the data written to the database , the new user is asked if they wish to configure an initial tracking device . if so , the new user is then prompted fur information required to activate the new device , as described above . the system 300 supports secure socket layer (“ ssl ”) with 128 bit encryption to encrypt data exchanged between the customer and the servers 360 so that the customer can confidently and securely provide credit card and other data to the tracking service provider . 3 . contact us 580 : this page provides the user with contact information for the tracking service provider . 4 . privacy statement 585 this page provides the user with the tracking service provider &# 39 ; s privacy statement . referring to fig6 there is shown an exemplary web page flow chart in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention . data carrier product . the sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method described herein to be performed by the asset tracking system 300 of fig3 can be contained in a data carrier product according to an embodiment of the invention . this computer software product can be loaded into and run by the asset tracking system 300 of fig3 . computer software product . the sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method described herein to be performed by the asset tracking system 300 of fig3 can be contained in a computer software product according to an embodiment of the invention . this computer software product can be loaded into and run by the asset tracking system 300 of fig3 . integrated circuit product . the sequences of instructions which when executed cause the method described herein to be performed by the asset tracking system 300 of fig3 can be contained in an integrated circuit product including a coprocessor or memory according to an embodiment of the invention . this integrated circuit product can be installed in the asset tracking system 300 of fig3 . although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , the plug - in connector comprises a holder or ferrule 1 with a multiplicity of axial longitudinal bores 2 , which run parallel to a main axis 3 of the plug - in connector . a plugging direction s coincides with the main axis 3 . the plug - in connector can be inserted into a receptacle along the plugging direction s . the receptacle is not illustrated in detail , for reasons of clarity , but is indicated only by the windowed locking lugs 22 and 23 . the axial bores 2 receive ends 6 a of optical waveguides 6 , which in the rearward direction enter a housing 9 of the plug - in connector through an anti - kink sleeve 8 . the ends 6 a terminate with their respective face on the coupling side with the end face 1 a of the holder 1 in such a way that they can be coupled . centering bores 10 , 11 are formed on both sides of the row of optical waveguide ends with which the holder 1 is precisely aligned with respect to the mating coupling elements of the optical waveguide ends 6 a . locking parts 14 , 15 are molded symmetrically onto the narrow sides of the housing 9 . shaped inclined planes 14 a , 15 a are formed at the free ends 14 b , 15 b of the locking parts . formed on the outer flanks of the locking parts there is each case a detent element 17 , 18 . the detent element is provided with a run - up slope 17 a , 18 a . when the plug - in connector is inserted in the plugging direction s into a receptacle , the run - up slopes 17 a , 18 a come into contact with edges 20 , 21 of locking lugs 22 , 33 . the locking lugs 22 , 33 may be part of the receptacle and have in each case a locking window 22 a , 23 a . during insertion , the locking parts are initially moved toward each other , so that the detent elements slide along the locking lugs 22 , 23 , until they pass through the respective locking window 22 a , 23 a . striking of their rear stop face 17 b , 18 b against the adjoining edge of the respective locking window causes the detent elements to lock and , as a result , secure the plug - in connector against being pulled out in a direction counter to the plugging direction s . this is referred to as the locking position . an actuating element 30 is arranged above the upper side of the housing , which is formed by the top side 9 a of the plug - in connector . the actuating element may be molded onto an upper cover of the housing 9 . in the exemplary embodiment , the actuating element has a rearwardly molded - on actuating lever 32 with a gripping face . it goes without saying that the actuating element may also be separately produced and only then connected to the upper side of the plug - in connector housing 9 , the actuating element being formed as a resilient lever extending to the rear in the manner of a cantilever beam from a connecting region 33 with the housing 9 . similarly , the actuating lever 32 may be formed in a variety of ways , as suggested by the different embodiments shown in fig1 and 2 . to release the plug - in connector from the connected state represented in fig1 the detent elements 17 , 18 must be disengaged from the respective locking window 22 a , 23 a ( release position ). for this purpose , a compressive force d is exerted on the actuating lever 32 substantially perpendicularly to the main axis 3 . the actuating element 30 consequently moves in the direction of the arrow p ( fig2 ) perpendicularly to the main axis 3 or to the plugging direction s toward the top side 9 a . the actuating element is designed as a cross bar and is provided at its respective bar ends 30 a , 30 b with inclined planes ( contact slopes ) 30 c , 30 d . when the actuating element 30 is pressed down , the contact slopes 30 c , 30 d come into contact with cooperating contact slopes 14 a , 15 a at the free ends 14 b , 15 b of the cantilever - beam - like locking parts 14 , 15 . when it is pressed further down , the interaction of the inclined planes or slopes 30 c , 14 a and 30 d , 15 a causes the compressive force d to be transferred to the slopes 14 a , 15 a and the ends 14 b , 15 b of the locking parts to be moved toward each other in the direction of movement a , b , until the outer flanks of the locking parts assume the position indicated by dashed lines in fig1 . in this position , the detent elements are in the release position ( disengaged from the assigned locking windows ), so that the plug - in connector can be pulled off rearward , counter to the plugging direction s . fig2 shows — in a greatly enlarged view and in exaggerated form — the actuating element 30 with the actuating zone 32 and the slopes 30 c , 30 d on the inner side . it can be seen here that the direction of movement a runs perpendicular to the main axis 3 . the resilient mobility of the actuating element in the direction of movement p can be improved by a constriction 40 in the rear region of a holding bar 42 , which is mounted on the top side 9 a ( fig1 ). for representational reasons , fig2 only shows one connecting part 14 , the resilient properties of which can likewise be set by material constrictions with respect to the connecting region with the housing 9 . for representational reasons , the sloping face 14 a is shown a considerable distance away from the face 30 c . however , when the actuating element 30 is actuated , the faces 14 a , 30 c are in effective contact , as described , so that the locking part 14 moves in the direction of movement b perpendicularly to the direction of movement p . the locking part 14 is provided with a bending constriction 44 , similar to the constriction 40 . in the case of the illustrated configuration , the locking parts actually perform pivoting movements about their point of connection ( virtual pivot point ) with the housing . however , this is also to be regarded as a movement which , in terms of the present invention , runs perpendicular to the main axis of the plug - in connector . it is principally a movement component which is perpendicular to the main axis , so that even movements deviating from the perpendicular or curved movements are to be regarded as substantially perpendicular to the main axis . particularly advantageous in the case of the exemplary embodiment represented is the symmetrical arrangement of the detent elements , which makes it possible for the plug - in connector to be received in such a way that it is substantially free of transverse forces . the additional element ( actuating element ) can if need be move the locking parts and consequently transfer the detent elements from the locking position ( fig1 ) into the release position . the functional separation of the locking , on the one hand , and actuation of the locking parts , on the other hand , provides a greater freedom of design with regard to the actuation . the actuating element can be advantageously arranged in the region of the top side 9 a . after the unlocking operation , the actuating element is let go again and springs back into the original position ( locking position ) in a way similar to the locking parts . | 6 |
the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 a and 1b show an inventive concept of the present invention . reference character a denotes a gate electrode which is well known in the art . reference character b denotes a gate electrode provided on a bottom side . such a bottom side gate electrode b may be disposed so as to be overlapped with the face surfaces of source / drain regions as shown in fig1 a . however , in this arrangement , additional capacitances between the source / drain regions and the bottom side gate electrode would be increased . in the case where the high speed operation or the like is required , as shown in fig1 b , it is possible to take the arrangement where the bottom side gate electrode b is located so as not to overlap with either one or both of the source region and the drain region . in any case , it is important that the bottom side gate electrode is overlapped with at least a part of the active layer . in order to insure the advantage of the invention , it is located so as to transverse the active layer as much as possible . for instance , in a conventional nmos , in the case where the electric potentials of the source and the gate are kept at zero and the potential of the drain is kept at 10v , the drain current have to be zero in an ideal condition . however , the fixed charge on the substrate cause the active layer to be kept in a weak inversion state . therefore , the drain current will flow by a thermal excitation . this is shown in fig4 . namely , in a conventional tft , a weak inversion region is formed by the fixed charge on the substrate side as shown in fig4 . since the fixed charge is present without any change whatever voltage is applied to the gate electrode , it becomes a source of the leakage current . however , in the case where a thickness of the active layer is extremely decreased , the affect of the gate electrode is applied also to the substrate so that this weak reversed region will be obviated by the potential of the gate . it is assumed that various reports that the leakage current may be reduced by thinning the active layer without any good reason may be based upon the foregoing reasons . however , in the models shown in fig4 it has been found that the threshold voltage is readily shifted , and the conventional method is not an essential solution . the purpose of the present invention is to remove the affect of the fixed charge by providing the above - described bottom side gate electrode and keeping the potential of the bottom side gate electrode ( rear electrode ) at zero or negative values . fig2 a and 2b show examples of the present invention in which a bottom side gate electrode ( a rear electrode ) is electrically connected to a source region through a contact hole provided in a portion of an insulating film so that the bottom side gate electrode may be always kept at the same potential as that of the source . in fig2 a , the bottom side gate electrode 9 is overlapped exactly with the source region 6 and the drain region 5 . in this case , the manufacture process would be relatively simple and yield is high since no stepped portion would be formed in the gate electrode 9 . in order to produce an element having such an arrangement , the following steps should be carried out . namely , a coating film to be the bottom side gate electrode 9 and an insulating film 8 are formed on the substrate . a contact hole 10 is formed in the insulating film 8 and a semiconductor layer is formed therein . these components are subjected to a patterning process . then , the gate insulating film 4 and the gate electrode 1 are formed and the drain region 5 and the source region 6 are formed in a self - alignment manner . parts where no impurities are doped will become the active layer 7 . finally , a drain electrode 2 and a source electrode 3 are formed thereon . the number of the masks used in the foregoing steps is four ( five in the case where the source electrode 3 and the drain electrode 2 are not simultaneously formed ). on the other hand , fig2 b shows the example where the bottom side gate electrode 19 is not overlapped with the drain region 15 . the step of the bottom side gate electrode causes an adverse affect to be applied to the gate electrode 11 . for this reason , there would be a fear that the exfoliation or removal problem would be applied to the gate electrode . also , the number of processing steps is increased in comparison with the case shown in fig2 a . namely , first of all , the bottom side gate electrode 19 is patterned , and subsequently , the insulating film 18 is formed to form a contact hole 20 . then , the semiconductor layer is formed and is patterned . then , the gate electrode 11 is patterned . the source region 14 , drain region 15 and active region 17 are formed in a self - alignment manner . the source electrode 13 and the drain electrode 12 are formed thereon . the number of the masks used in the foregoing steps is five or six . it is an ideal condition that the additional capacitance is reduced and the bottom side electrode is formed in the self - alignment manner with the source region and the drain region in order to simplify the process . the material for the bottom side gate electrode 9 , 19 should be selected in view of the process to be applied to the material . for instance , in the case where the gate insulation film is formed in accordance with the thermal oxidation method , the material should stand the high temperature corresponding to the method and the dispersion of the different harmful elements from the bottom side gate material to the active layer should be avoided . for example , if the active layer is formed of silicon and the gate insulation film is a thermal oxidation film of silicon , in general , the maximum processing temperature exceeds 1 , 000 ° c . accordingly , a doped polysilicon is desired as the material for the bottom side gate electrode . also , in a low temperature process in which the maximum processing temperature is about 600 ° c ., it is possible to use the doped silicon but it is more preferable to use lower resistance substances such as chrome , tantalum and tungsten . of course , any other material may be used as a design choice as desired . fig3 a to 3 h show the operation of the thus constructed tft . fig3 a to 3 h show the case of an nmos . however , in case of a pmos , the inequalities used in these figures should be directed opposite those shown . first of all , the explanation will be made as to the case where the gate potential v g is equal to either lower one of the source potential v s or the drain potential v d . in this case , as shown in fig4 since the potentials of the source and the drain are not symmetric with each other , the state depends upon the magnitude of the potential v d . when the relation , v s & lt ; v d , is established , as shown in fig3 a , the gate electrode , the bottom side gate electrode and the source are kept at the same potential so that the electrons are discharged from these regions to form depletion regions or accumulation region . inversely , when the relation , v s & lt ; v d , is established , as shown in fig3 b , the gate electrode side is a depletion region but an inversion region is formed on side of the bottom side gate electrode to allow the drain current to flow . the above discussion is very rough and more strictly , the threshold voltage should be considered but the discussion would be used to understand the concept of the present invention . under the condition , v d & gt ; v s and v g & lt ; v s , is given , the depletion region expands over all the active layer ( see fig3 c ), whereas under the condition , v d & gt ; v s and v g & gt ; v s , is given , the inversion region is formed on the gate electrode side ( see fig3 d ). also , under the conditions , v d & lt ; v s and v g & lt ; v d , the inversion region is formed on the bottom gate electrode side to allow the drain current to flow ( see fig3 e ), whereas under the conditions , v d & lt ; v s and v g & gt ; v d , the inversion regions are formed on both sides ( see fig3 f ). the state will become more complicated in the case where v d is equal to or substantially equal to v s . namely , in this case , since there are no lines of electric force flowing from the source to the drain ( or from the drain to the source ), the affect of the fixed charge on the bottom gate electrode side causes a weak inversion region to be formed to generate the leakage current as in the conventional tfts ( see fig3 g and 3 h ). it is practically convenient that the bottom side gate electrode is kept at the same potential as that of the source or the drain . if it is impossible to meet this requirement , it is sufficient to keep the bottom gate electrode at the same potential as that of other power supply ( other power source ). also , even if it is kept at the same potential as that of the source or drain , if the potential is kept unchanged , there is little adverse affect to the operation characteristics of the element . for example , in the case where the amount of leakage in the off condition is reduced , and the on / off operation is carried out by the tft , the potentials are selected so as to realize the states shown in fig3 a or 3 c ( off condition ) and fig3 d or 3 f or fig3 h ( on condition ). also , it is possible to use the element to form a cmos inverter circuit . the problem of the fixed charge is remarkable mainly in the nmos . therefore , the pmos is made in the same manner as in the conventional method and the present invention may be applied only to the nmos . however , in the case where the charge is negative , the charge causes a problem even in the pmos and hence it is preferable to apply the invention for both cases . a method for producing crystallized silicon tfts through a high temperature process according to the present invention will now be described . in this example , the gate electrode as well as the bottom side gate electrode was made of doped polysilicon . the manufacturing process is well known in the art , i . e ., conventional processing techniques for various semiconductor integrated circuits and hence the detailed discussion thereof will be omitted . a polycrystal silicon film which was doped with phosphorus of 10 19 to 5 × 10 20 cm − 3 , for example , 8 × 10 19 cm − 3 was formed on a quartz substrate 21 with a thickness of 100 to 500 nm , for example , 200 nm according to a low pressure cvd process . this was thermally oxidized in an oxygen atmosphere kept at 1 , 000 ° c . to form a silicon coating film 22 and silicon oxide film 23 . a thickness of the silicon oxide was in the range of 50 to 200 nm , preferably at 70 nm . in this case , a silicon film which is doped with no impurity may be formed and then the impurity may be doped into the silicon film or otherwise the impurity may be doped thereinto after the silicon film has been thermally oxidized . thereafter , the amorphous silicon film 24 which was not doped with impurities was accumulated to have a thickness of 100 to 1 , 000 nm , for example , 300 nm . during the accumulation , a temperature of the substrate was kept in the range of 450 to 500 ° c ., for example , 480 ° c . also , the material gas was monosilane or polysilane ( disilane , trisilane ). however , disilane was stabler than polysilanes over the trisilane and might cause the better film to be formed than the monosilane . the crystal had been slowly grown at 600 ° c . for twelve hours . the arrangement until this step is shown in fig5 a . subsequently , the patterning was effected so that island - like semiconductor regions ( i . e ., silicon islands ) and the rear electrodes ( the bottom side gate electrodes ) thereunder were formed . a silicon oxide film 25 which was to be a gate insulating film was formed to have a thickness 50 to 500 nm , for example , 150 nm by thermal oxidation in the oxygen atmosphere . this condition is shown in fig5 b . further , a polycrystal silicon film doped with phosphorus was formed to a thickness in the range of 300 to 1 , 000 nm , for example , 500 nm according to the low pressure cvd method , and the film was subjected to the patterning technique to form the gate electrode 26 . an ion injection was effected in a self - alignment manner by using the gate electrode as a mask and was annealed at 1 , 000 ° c . to form the source region 28 and the drain region 27 . an active region ( a channel ) was then formed in the island - like semiconductor region between the source region 28 and the drain region 27 . an insulating material 29 was formed in accordance with a plasma cvd method of teos and a contact hole was provided to the insulating material to form the drain electrode 30 . this state is shown in fig5 c . thereafter , the source electrode was formed . this process was peculiar . thus , the process will be described in detail . after the drain electrode had been formed , an insulating material 31 to be interposed between layers was formed . a photoresist 32 was formed by a spin coating process . a hole 33 was formed for forming a contact hole of the source electrode . subsequently , the intermediate insulating layer and the gate insulating coating ( both made of silicon oxide ) were etched by an isotropic etching technique such as an isotropic dry etching process or an isotropic wet etching process . in this case , it is desired to selectively and solely etch the silicon oxide coating . for example , it is preferable to use a hydrofluoric acid as an etchant . in a relatively long period of etching time , the etching expanded to side walls of the contact hole . the contact hole 34 which was larger than the hole 33 was formed . this state is shown in fig5 d . then , an anisotropic etching process such as an rie ( reactive ion etching ) was effected so that the source region 28 was etched substantially corresponding to the hole 33 to form a contact hole 35 . this state is shown in fig5 e . thereafter , a thin silicon oxide layer present between the source region and the bottom side gate electrode was removed . after the photoresist had been removed , the source electrode 36 was formed of metal wiring material . namely , by the above - described two - stage etching process , a sufficient contact of a sufficient contact hole was made between the source region and the bottom side gate electrode . this is shown in fig5 f . thus , the tft was completed . as shown in fig5 f , an insulating film exists between the rear electrode and the active region . a cmos inverter circuit was constituted by combining the tfts of the thus formed nmos and pmos as shown in fig6 a . a circuit diagram of the circuit is shown in fig6 b . in this inverter circuit , the bottom side gate electrode is always kept at a potential of the source ( v h in case of the pmos and v l in case of the nmos ). namely , in a static condition , if vin is v h ( i . e ., vout is v l ), the nmos was in the condition shown in fig3 h and the pmos was in the condition shown in fig3 a . inversely , if vin is v l ( i . e ., vout is v h ), the nmos is in the state shown in fig3 a and the pmos is in the state shown in fig3 h , thereby extremely suppressing the leak current on the substrate side . the reason why the leak current may be reduced only by keeping the bottom side gate electrode at the same potential as that of the source will be explained hereunder . namely , assume that the drain 61 is higher in potential than the source 63 in the nmos as shown in fig6 c . if there would be no bottom side gate electrode or even if there would be the bottom side gate electrode but if the bottom side gate electrode 64 would be in a floating state , lines of electric forces from the drain to the source transverses the active region 62 straightforwardly as shown in fig6 c . however , if the bottom side gate electrode is kept at the same potential as that of the source , the part of the electric force lines which would inherently be directed to the source is attracted toward the bottom side gate electrode and is curved as shown in fig6 d . as a matter of fact , since a fixed charge is present on an interface between the active layer region and the insulating coating , the state is complicated . namely , if there would be no bottom side gate electrode or it would be in the floating state , the electric force lines would be affected by the fixed charge ( whose polarity is positive ) so that electric force lines having a component directed from the insulating coating ( or the bottom side gate electrode ) to the active layer are generated . since the pattern of the electric force lines means that the potential of the insulating film ( or the bottom side gate electrode ) is higher than that of the inner side of the active layer , the electrons will be attracted by the potential so that a weak inversion region is formed close to the insulating film interface . since this weak inversion region is continuously generated from the drain to the source , it causes the leak current . on the other hand , in the case where the bottom side gate electrode is kept at the same potential as that of the source , even if the stationary charge is present between the active layer and the insulating film ( or the bottom side gate electrode ), since the electric force lines emitted from the drain have a component toward the bottom side gate electrode , both the electric force lines are cancelled by each other so that almost no electric force lines are generated from the bottom side gate electrode to the active layer surface . also , even if the electric force lines having such a component are partially generated , since the electric force lines are not generated over all the region between the source to the drain , there is almost no fear that the leak current will be generated . thus , by keeping the bottom side gate electrode at the source potential , it is possible to considerably reduce the leak current . for example , in the case of the cmos circuit , the maintenance current in the static condition is kept substantially at a sum of the leak currents of the nmos and the pmos . however , in the conventional tfts , if the drain voltage is 5v , approximately 1 pa will flow . for example , in a static ram of 1 mbits , there are about two millions of cmos inverter circuits , and in order to keep the memory , a current of about 2 micron a will always flow . however , according to the present invention , in particular , the leak current was considerably reduced , and the maintenance current for one cmos inverter was reduced to 0 . 01 to 0 . 1 pa . thus , the holding current for 1 mbit sram was reduced to 0 . 02 to 0 . 2 micron a . in the case where the present invention is applied to a non - volatile memory provided a back - up battery for an sram , it is possible to extend a service life of the battery 10 to 100 times longer than that of the conventional one . it should be noted that there are inherent capacitances c 2 and c 3 of the drain and the source through the bottom side gate electrode in addition to the capacitance c 1 of the gate electrode and the channel which capacitance is incorporated as a design factor in the conventional cmos inverter circuit . the inherent capacitances serve as loads to reduce the signal transmission speed during the operation of the inverter and to increase the consumption power . according to the simple calculation , the signal delay time is in proportion to the sum of c 2 and c 3 and the consumption power is in proportion to a four order exponential value of the sum . accordingly , it is desired to reduce the inherent capacitances as much as possible . actually , since the stationary charge is almost positive , it does not adversely affect the pmos . accordingly , it is effective to use the pmos having the same structure as that of conventional ones and to apply the bottom side gate electrode according to the present invention only to the nmos . in a simple consideration , it is possible to reduce the , inherent capacitances to half the ones comprising c 2 and c 3 , and accordingly to reduce the power loss due to the inherent capacitances to one sixteenth of the level . a method for producing a crystallized silicon tfts according to a high temperature process utilizing the present invention will be described in the following example . in this example , both the gate electrode and the bottom side gate electrode were formed of doped polysilicon . the manufacture technique is well known as a process for various semiconductor integrated circuits and hence detailed explanation will be omitted . a polycrystal silicon film doped with phosphorus ( n - type impurity ) under the same conditions as those of example 1 was formed on the quartz substrate ( insulating substrate ) 71 and a patterning process was applied thereto to form a bottom side gate electrode 72 . the film was thermally oxidized in an oxygen atmosphere to form a silicon oxide film 73 . thereafter , under the same conditions as those of example 1 , an amorphous silicon film 74 which had not been doped with the impurities was accumulated thereon and the crystallization was grown by a heat annealing process . this state is shown in fig7 a . subsequently , the patterning process was effected on the film to form an island - like semiconductor regions ( silicon islands ) and a thermal oxidized film 75 was formed in the same manner as in example 1 . furthermore , a gate electrode 77 for an nmos and a gate electrode 76 for a pmos were formed by the doped silicon , and n - type impurity ions were injected into the island - like semiconductor region in a self - alignment manner to form an impurity region 78 . in this case , although n - type impurities ( for example , phosphorus or arsenic ) were injected into the bottom side gate electrode , there was no problem because the bottom side gate electrode itself is of an n - type . this state is shown in fig7 b . then , a part on the right side of the shown tft was covered by photoresist or the like , and the p - type impurity ions ( boron or the like ) were injected into a portion of the silicon film 74 which is not provided on the bottom side gate electrode 72 . through these steps , the source 79 and the drain 80 of the pmos and the source 82 and the drain 81 of the nmos were produced . this state was shown in fig7 c . thereafter , the photoresist 84 was applied over all the surface of the article . holes 85 to 87 were formed at positions where contact holes were to be formed . then , in the same process as in example 1 , the contact holes ( openings ) 88 to 90 were formed in the insulating layers between the layers and the gate oxide film ( both of which are formed of silicon oxide ) by the isotropic etching process . in any case , the contact holes were expanded more than the holes formed in the resist . furthermore , according to the anisotropic etching process , the silicon layers were etched to the holes 85 to 87 and with respect to the contact hole 90 , the thin silicon oxide layer below the contact hole 90 was also etched . the state is shown in fig7 d . finally , the electrodes 91 to 93 were formed of metal material as conductive regions . this state is shown in fig7 e . as shown in fig7 e , the rear electrode is electrically connected with the source of the n - type transistor . the electrode 91 was formed for a high potential , the electrode 93 was formed for a low potential , and the electrode 92 was formed for an output terminal to form an inverter . there is a fear that the inverter thus produced would have a large leak of the pmos in comparison with that according to example 1 . however , in general , the leak current of the nmos according to the present invention was reduced by one or two digits , whereas the leak current of the pmos was improved by about one digit or less . as a result , even if the present invention was applied only to the nmos , the difference in leak current between the nmos and pmos was reduced . accordingly , the degradation of characteristics of the cmos inverter circuit was not particularly observed . in the cmos inverter , under the high voltage input condition ( where the nmos was turned on and the pmos was turned off ), the leakage current depended upon the leakage current of the pmos , whereas under the low voltage input condition ( where the nmos was turned off and the pmos was turned on ), the leakage current depended upon the leakage current of the nmos . in the conventional tfts , the leakage current of the nmos was greater 100 times or more than that of the pmos , and when this was applied to the sram circuit , in a single memory cell , any inverter was in the low voltage input condition ( where the nmos was turned off and the pmos was turned on ). after all , the leakage current of the sram circuit depended upon the leakage current of the nmos . accordingly , in a practical aspect , as in this example , it was sufficient to reduce the leak current of the nmos by one to two digits by providing the bottom side gate electrode only onto the nmos . if the bottom side gate electrode would be provided for both the nmos and the pmos , almost all the leakage current would depend upon the nmos . rather , in consideration of the demerit due to the inherent capacitances of the bottom side gate electrode and the drain , it is reasonable to provide no bottom side gate electrode onto the pmos . as described above , it was possible to produce the tfts having excellent characteristics with little leakage current . also , as shown above , it was possible to enhance the characteristics of the cmos by combining the tfts . the tfts may be applied to the high speed memory and the high speed logic circuit as well as liquid crystal displays and image sensors . the present invention may be applied to these equipments , and in addition , it is possible to enhance the various characteristics such as reliability and power consumption of these devices . in the specific examples , the high temperature process was taken into consideration and the specific method for being applied thereto was discussed . it is apparent that the present invention may be applied to the low temperature process . incidentally , in the case where the low temperature process is used , an anode oxidation process as shown in japanese patent application laid - open nos hei 4 - 38637 and hei 4 - 54322 which are by the present applicants may be effectively utilized . also , the tfts are used in a conventional monocrystal integrated circuit . however , apparently , it is possible to use the tfts according to the present invention instead of the regular mos transistors to further enhance the characteristics of the circuit rather than the conventional auxiliary purpose . thus , the industrial evaluation of the present invention is large . | 7 |
fig1 and 2 are block diagrams of two alternative embodiments of the present invention using a balanced main power supply 10 and a single - ended main power supply 12 , respectively . in each of the two embodiments , the main power supply 10 or 12 produces a total voltage of v o between its two output terminals 14 and 16 . the balanced power supply 10 shown in fig1 has a center tap 18 connected to ground , so that the voltage at the two terminals 14 and 16 is + v o / 2 and - v o / 2 , respectively , relative to ground . the single - ended power supply 12 shown in fig2 has its second terminal 16 connected to ground , so that the voltage at the first terminal 14 is + v o relative to ground . in each of the two embodiments , two conventional glow discharge devices 20 and 22 are electrically connected in series , and the resulting series circuit is connected across the power supply output terminals 14 and 16 . each conventional glow discharge device 20 and 22 contains a pair of opposing electrodes 24 and 26 within an envelope 28 filled with a gas . the properties of the gas are such that applying a voltage to the electrodes in excess of a characteristic firing voltage ( or breakdown voltage ) initiates a glow discharge in the gas . as the glow discharge begins , the density of free electrons in the gas increases by a factor of at least 10 6 , causing the electrical resistance of the glow discharge device to decrease by a comparable factor . current will then begin to flow through the glow discharge device . the current flow will continue as long as the voltage across the device remains greater than a characteristic sustaining voltage which is less than the firing voltage . actually , the preceding paragraph oversimplifies the description of the firing voltage , because the firing voltage of a glow discharge device is commonly not a fixed value , but is a function of how long the voltage is applied to the device . a discharge device is characterized by a dc firing voltage which represents the minimum voltage which will eventually initiate a glow discharge in the gas . however , the time delay between the application of voltage to the discharge device and the occurrence of a glow discharge in the device decreases as the applied voltage is increased above the dc firing voltage . in gas discharge laser applications , it is generally necessary to achieve a risetime of only a few nanoseconds for the discharge current . the voltage required for the glow discharge to occur that fast is commonly much greater than the dc firing voltage . accordingly , all references herein to the firing voltage of a discharge device are intended to refer to the voltage required to initiate a discharge within the time required by a particular application . the main power supply 10 or 12 functions as the voltage source which supplies power to the two gas discharge devices 20 and 22 during the times when a glow discharge is taking place . since the two discharge devices 20 and 22 are connected in series , the main power supply must produce across its output terminals 14 and 16 a voltage equal to the sum of the voltages needed to sustain the desired amount of current flow through the two discharge devices 20 and 22 , such voltages being slightly greater than the respective sustaining voltages ( defined in the preceding paragraph ) of the two discharge devices . in most applications the two gas discharge devices 20 and 22 will be identical , and this will be assumed to be true in the remainder of this description . in that case , the main power supply output voltage v o is approximately two times the sustaining voltage of either discharge device . since the voltage supplied by the main power supply 10 or 12 is designed to be high enough to sustain , but not to initiate , a glow discharge in devices 20 and 22 , a prepulse power supply 30 is used to initiate a glow discharge by applying to each of the discharge devices a voltage pulse , called a &# 34 ; prepulse &# 34 ;, greater than the firing voltage of the device . the prepulse must be long enough to initiate current flow through the gas discharge devices , after which time the main power supply 10 or 12 can supply sufficient voltage to sustain the glow discharges . since the two discharge devices 20 and 22 remain connected to the main power supply 10 or 12 when the prepulse occurs , the algebraic sum of the signed voltages across the two devices 20 and 22 remains constant ; i . e ., it remains equal to the main power supply output voltage v o therefore , the prepulse power supply 30 must apply oppositely signed prepulse voltages to the two devices . this may be accomplished by connecting one terminal of the prepulse power supply to the junction 40 of the two discharge devices , and connecting the other terminal to any convenient point in the main power supply circuit , this point preferably being ground as shown in fig1 and 2 . to illustrate how the prepulse power supply 30 applies across each of the discharge devices 20 and 22 a prepulse exceeding the firing voltage of each device , consider the embodiment shown in fig2 . if the prepulse power supply produces a pulse of voltage - v p , then the resulting voltages across the two discharge devices 20 and 22 are - v p and +( v p + v o ), respectively . if the magnitude of the prepulse voltage v p exceeds the firing voltage , then the resulting voltage pulse across each discharge device will exceed the firing voltage , and a glow discharge will begin in each device . as explained before , after the glow discharge begins , the prepulse voltage may be removed and the main power supply 12 will sustain the glow discharge . since the prepulse power supply only need supply the prepulse voltage for a short time , it may be readily implemented as shown in fig3 a as a capacitor 32 wired in series with a switch 34 . in operation , the capacitor should first be charged to a negative voltage greater than the breakdown voltage , and then the switch 34 should be closed . this will apply the high voltage from capacitor 32 across the two discharge devices 20 and 22 , thereby initiating a glow discharge in each device . as current begins flowing through the discharge devices , the voltage across capacitor 32 will rapidly drop to zero , but the main power supply 12 will supply sufficient voltage to sustain the discharge . fig4 a and 4b show typical voltage and current waveforms , respectively , for the embodiment just discussed . ( the graphs are hypothetical , not based on actual experimentation .) in the figure , curves a and b represent the first and second discharge devices 20 and 22 , respectively . time t o represents the time when switch 34 is closed and the prepulse is applied ; note the polarity reversal of the voltage across the second device at this time . when the switch 34 shown in fig3 a is closed , a surge of current flows through the switch limited only by the inductance and resistance in the circuit . this current surge can reduce the lifetime of the switch . fig3 b shows a preferred embodiment of the prepulse power supply 30 which overcomes this problem by adding an inductor 36 and a second capacitor 38 whose value is preferably greater than or equal to that of the first capacitor 32 . in operation , if capacitor 38 is charged up to a predetermined initial voltage and then switch 34 is closed , the circuit 30 begins to oscillate sinusoidally as a simple lc tank circuit . a current flows through the capacitors , the inductor and the switch having a sinusoidal waveform with a zero crossing at the time the switch is closed . if the second capacitor 38 is at least a few times greater than the first capacitor 32 , after one half - cycle of oscillation the voltage across the first capacitor will build up to a value approximately double the initial voltage on the second capacitor . ( if the value of the second capacitor 38 is smaller , a smaller voltage will appear across the first capacitor 32 . for example , if the two capacitors are equal , after one half cycle the voltage across the first capacitor 32 will equal the initial voltage across the second capacitor 38 .) if the voltage across the first capacitor 32 exceeds the firing voltage of the discharge devices 20 and 22 , a discharge will be initiated in both devices . an advantage of the preferred embodiment of fig3 b over the one in fig3 a is that it eliminates current surges through the switch 34 . specifically , the current through the switch 34 builds up sinusoidally according to the time constant established by the inductor 36 and the series - connected capacitors 32 and 38 . the foregoing description of the operation of the invention has been based on the embodiment of fig2 having a single - ended main power supply 12 . we will now consider the operation of the preferred embodiment of fig1 which has a balanced main power supply 10 . referring to fig1 suppose the prepulse power supply 30 produces a pulse of voltage - v p ; the resulting voltage across the first and second discharge devices 20 and 22 would be +( v p + v o / 2 ) and -( v p - v o / 2 ), respectively . these expressions indicate that , in order to initiate a glow discharge in the second device 22 , the prepulse must have a voltage v p greater than the sum of the firing voltage and one - half the main power supply voltage v o . however , a prepulse voltage as much as v o less than this would suffice to initiate the discharge in the first device 20 . one approach to initiating both glow discharges is to design the prepulse power supply 30 to supply a prepulse voltage greater than the sum of the firing voltage and one - half the main power supply voltage . a preferred alternative approach is to design it to supply a prepulse voltage only slightly greater than the firing voltage minus one - half the main power supply voltage , which would initiate a discharge in the first device , and then reverse the polarity of the prepulse voltage , which would initiate a discharge in the second device . this polarity reversal can be accomplished using the previously discussed prepulse power supply circuit shown in fig3 b , because the second capacitor 38 resonates with the stray inductance in the wiring between it and the discharge devices , causing the voltage to oscillate at the resonant frequency of the circuit . because the inductance of the wiring is much less than that of inductor 36 , this oscillation is much faster than that of the resonant circuit comprising inductor 36 and capacitors 32 and 38 . an alternative approach to initiating discharges in both devices 20 and 22 in spite of the fact that the prepulse power supply 30 produces a lower voltage across the second discharge device 22 than the first discharge device 20 is to design the second discharge device 22 to have a lower firing voltage than the first device 20 . for example , this could be accomplished by making the interelectrode gap greater in the first device 20 than in the second device 22 . although other applications for tandem glow discharge devices may exist , the present invention was originally conceived as a means for pumping gas discharge lasers . such lasers conventionally have a single pair of electrodes 24 and 26 for producing a glow discharge which excite the laser gain medium . also , such lasers typically emit light only in brief pulses , so that their power supplies only need to supply power to the discharge electrodes for the desired duration of the laser pulse . accordingly , a power supply for a gas discharge laser conventionally consists of one or more capacitors which are charged up to a voltage greater than the firing voltage of the glow discharge device . the duration of the glow discharge is determined by the time it takes for the power supply capacitors to discharge below the sustaining voltage of the glow discharge device . the power supply capacitors are most commonly constructed of parallel metal plates separated by water , but may also be constructed of rolled - up alternating sheets of metal and a solid dielectric . the same sort of conventional charged - capacitor power supply can be used to implement the main power supply 10 or 12 of the present invention . however , since in the present invention a separate prepulse power supply provides the firing voltage for the discharge devices , the main power supply capacitors need only be charged up to the sustaining voltage . for example , fig1 shows the power supply 10 as having two capacitors 64 and 66 that can be charged up by a voltage source , not shown , to supply the bipolar output voltage at terminals 14 and 16 . fig5 shows a prototype single - shot gas discharge laser having two discharge devices 20 and 22 operating in tandem according to the present invention . during actual tests the laser produced 4 . 2 joules of optical energy with an efficiency of 4 %. the cylindrical envelope 28 is filled with a gas mixture of 4 atm neon , 2 . 4 torr xenon , and 2 torr hcl . two outer electrodes 24a and 24b are mounted on opposite inner walls of the envelope 28 . a flat central electrode 26c longitudinally bisects the cylindrical envelope 28 in a plane halfway between the other two electrodes 24a and 24b , thereby forming first and second discharge cavities 42 and 44 on either side of the central electrode . electrodes 24a and 26c and gas - filled cavity 42 therebetween together constitute the first discharge device 20 , and electrodes 24b and 26c and cavity 44 constitute the second discharge device 22 . the two outer electrodes 24a and 24b connect to positive and negative output terminals 14 and 16 , respectively , of the main power supply 10 . one of the outer electrodes 24a preferably has a hollow center to permit x - rays from a conventional external x - ray source , not shown , to pass through the electrode x - ray source , not shown , to pass through the electrode to preionize the gas in the discharge cavities 42 and 44 just before a discharge is initiated . the prepulse power supply 30 includes a first capacitor 32 shown in fig5 and other components located on a separate circuit board , not shown . the first capacitor 32 consists of an upper plate 46 and a lower plate 48 immersed in and separated by a dielectric 50 consisting of water contained in a tank 52 . the upper capacitor plate 46 connects directly to the central electrode 26c at junction 40 , and the lower plate 48 connects to ground , not shown . in the tested prototype , the first capacitor 32 had a capacitance of 5 nf . the main power supply 10 includes two capacitors 64 and 66 which are so elongated they behave as transmission lines . the main power supply 10 also includes a voltage source , not shown , for charging the two capacitors . the two main power supply capacitors 64 and 66 share a common electrode having three parallel plates 54 , 56 and 58 , the central plate 56 being connected to the lower plate 48 of the prepulse capacitor 32 and to ground , not shown . one main power supply capacitor 64 consists of plates 54 and 56 of the common electrode and a second electrode 60 positioned therebetween and connected via terminal 14 to the outer electrode 24a of the first discharge device 20 . the other main power supply capacitor 66 consists of plates 56 and 58 of the common electrode and a second electrode 62 positioned therebetween and connected via terminal 16 to the outer electrode 24b of the second discharge device 22 . all the foregoing electrodes are separated by the water dielectric 50 . in the tested prototype , the capacitor electrodes 54 - 62 are made of nickel - plated aluminum and are mounted on insulators 68 and 70 . each of the two main power supply capacitors 64 and 66 has a value of 590 nf and has a transmission line one - way transit time of 60 nsec . in operation , a voltage source ( not shown ) within main power supply 10 charges up each of the two main power supply capacitors 64 and 66 to 12 , 600 volts . the prepulse power supply 30 , implemented as shown in fig3 b , then charges prepulse capacitor 32 to 31 , 500 volts . the latter voltage causes each of the two discharge devices 20 and 22 to fire , and the voltage supplied by the two main power supply capacitors 64 and 66 sustains the gas discharges for 120 nsec . the gas discharge ceases when the main power supply capacitors 64 and 66 have discharged through the two discharge devices 20 and 22 to the point that the voltage they supply to the two devices is less than the sustaining voltage required to maintain a gas discharge . in the preferred embodiment , this occurs after a time period of twice the one - way transit time of the main power supply capacitors 64 and 66 . fig6 shows an alternative embodiment of a gas discharge laser having two discharge devices 20 and 22 operating in tandem according to the present invention . this embodiment recirculates the gaseous laser gain medium in order to dissipate heat and allow the laser to be pulsed repetitively . a pump , not shown , circulates the gaseous laser gain medium through a plenum chamber 72 and past each of the two glow discharge devices 20 and 22 . the balanced main power supply 10 includes two pairs of capacitors 64 and 66 connected between ground , not shown , and the terminals 14 and 16 which connect to devices 20 and 22 , respectively . each capacitor consists of three spaced metal plates separated by a water dielectric , the outer plates being grounded . the voltage source used to charge up the capacitors is not shown , nor is the prepulse power supply 30 . in the preferred embodiment , a centrally located x - ray source 74 emits x - rays which preionize the gas to accelerate the onset of the glow discharges . fig7 shows another alternative embodiment of a repetitively pulsed gas discharge laser employing tandem gas discharge devices according to the present invention . this embodiment uses two longitudinally extending plenum chambers 76 and 78 to contain the gaseous laser gain medium . a pump , not shown , circulates the gas from the upstream plenum 76 , through the longitudinally extending upstream baffles 80 , through the discharge devices 20 and 22 , through the downstream baffles 82 , and into the downstream plenum 78 . the main power supply 10 includes rolled solid - dielectric capacitors 64 and 66 connected to discharge devices 20 and 22 , respectively . | 7 |
for obtaining two molecular size markers standards m . simiae , m . smegmatis , m . gallnarum , m . intracellulare , m . terrae are used to prepare marker b and m . simiae , m . gallinarum , m . chitae , m . xenopi are used to prepare marker - h . a few mycobacterial colonies from freshly grown cultures are suspended in te buffer ( 10 mm tris ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm edta ) in plastic microcentrifuge tubes . the suspension is centrifuged at 12000 g for 1 minute to sediment the bacteria and the supernatant is discarded . the bacteria are washed twice by repeating the same process . the final bacterial sediment is suspended in 250 μl te buffer . the tubes are incubated in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes to lyse the bacteria and release dna . cell debris are sedimented by centrifugation and the supernatant which contains mycobacterial dna is transferred to a clean tube . this dna is used as template for amplification of hsp65 gene by pcr . the template dna obtained from mycobacteriae is mixed in appropriate concentrations of taq polymerase enzyme , deoxynucleotide triphosphates , enzyme reaction buffer and the primers tb11 ( 5 ′ acc aac gat ggt gtg tcc at 3 ′) and tb12 ( 5 ′ ctt gtc gaa ccg cat acc ct 3 ′). reaction tubes are placed in a thermal cycler . after denaturation for 5 minutes at 95 ° c ., 40 cycles consisting of 30 seconds at 94 ° c ., for denaturation , 45 seconds at 54 ° c . for primer annealing and 90 seconds at 72 ° c . for polymerization is done . ten minutes at 72 ° c . is added to the end , to complete possible incomplete strands . the 441 base pairs ( bp ) amplified region of mycobacterial hsp65 gene regions are separated in 1 % agarose gel by electrophoresis , stained by ethidium bromide and visualized by ultraviolet light . the bands containing these dna fragments are cut and agarose is solubilized in sodium iodide solution by heating . the released dna are sedimented by binding to glass milk . after several wash steps dna is solubilized in sterile deionized water . pcr products are cloned into pcr products cloning plasmid vector . for this purpose purified hsp65 gene region are mixed with the plasmid vector and ligated to each other by adding ligase enzyme , enzyme buffer and atp . the cloned plasmids are introduced into competent e . coli cells . transformed bacteria are multiplied by culturing and stocks are stored at − 85 ° c . fresh cultures are prepared from bacterial stocks . overnight cultures are used for plasmid isolation . plasmids are purified by alkaline lysis method . for this purpose , bacteria are suspenden in glucose - tris - edta buffer and lysed by naoh - sds solution cell walls , proteins and chromosomal dna are sedimented by potassium acetate . supernatant that contains plasmid dna and rnas is transferred into a clean tube . rna is eliminated by the addition of rnase . the 441 bp gene region is amplified by pcr , as described above , using hsp65 gene cloned plasmids as template . to prepare marker - b pcr products obtained from plasmids containing hsp65 gene from m . simiae , m . smegmatis , m . gallinarum , m . intracellulare , m . terrae are mixed with restiction enzyme bsteii , enzyme buffer and incubated 24 hours at 60 ° c . to prepare marker - h pcr products obtained from plasmids containing hsp65 gene from m . tuberculosis , m simiae , m . gallinarum , m . chitae , m . xenopi are mixed with restiction enzyme haeiii , enzyme buffer and incubated 24 hours at 37 ° c . the products obtained are mixed with gel loading buffer to make them ready to use in electrophoresis . marker - b obtained this way contains 8 dna fragments of sizes 441 , 325 , 231 , 210 , 131 , 116 , 94 ve 79 bp ( fig1 ) and marker - h contains 14 dna fragments of sizes 185 , 161 , 152 , 139 , 127 , 103 , 87 , 69 , 59 , 58 , 42 , 40 , 36 , 34 bp . | 2 |
the overall concept of an apparatus according to the invention for the automatic performance of medical actions in body cavities is explained , taken in conjunction with fig1 . fundamentally , a base control unit is provided , which is designated in its entirety by 1 and which includes the components shown within the encircling dot - dashed line . this base control unit 1 is for instance a pc - based control unit having a corresponding interface 2 toward an actuator 3 — a cardiac catheter in the present embodiment — which is coupled with the control unit . it stands for the most varying types of actuators such as endoscopes , electrodes or cannulae . the base control unit 1 sub - divides into various functional regions , one of them being the position detecting block 4 which is substantially responsible for detecting the actual position of the actuator 3 on the basis of various input variables . ranking among them is a measuring arrangement 5 , by the aid of which a corresponding region of the body , such as the heart 5 , is detected three - dimensionally by means of ultrasonography or x - radiation and corresponding coordinate data of the cardiac structures are determined . the corresponding data are recorded in a memory 7 . in a modified embodiment , the position and shape of the respective body cavity may be determined by means of imaging techniques ( for example x - rays or ultrasonography ) and any modifications in position and shape of the cavity produced by a patient &# 39 ; s motions ( heartbeat , respiration ) may be measured . since these motions are periodical , it is possible , in some cases , in advance to compute the position and shape of the body cavity under regard at any instant by the control unit without renewed strain on the patient by the imaging technique . furthermore , a navigation arrangement is allocated to the position detecting block 4 , for instance in the form of a navigation mark 8 , which is illustrated as a diagram block in fig1 but is really placed for instance in the coronary sinus of the heart 6 or extracorporally by the operating surgeon 9 . the navigation mark is linked via the mentioned interface 2 . the coordinates of the actuator &# 39 ; s tip relative to the navigation mark 8 may be determined by corresponding sensors ( not shown in detail ) on the actuator 3 and transmitted to the position detecting block 4 . finally , the actuator 3 is provided with a contact sensor 10 ( again illustrated as a diagram block ) which detects any mechanical contact of the actuator 3 with for instance the myocardial wall 11 of the right ventricle and emits a corresponding signal via the interface 2 to the position detecting block 4 . instead of a contact sensor 10 , a probe may be employed , sensing the distance from a wall . it detects the distance between the actuator 3 and the wall of the heart . this is of interest for instance when the actuator carries a dilatation balloon . another application resides in brachytherapy with the actuator 3 having to be seated centrally in the vessel . corresponding to the linkage of the measuring arrangement 5 , navigation arrangement 8 and contact sensor 10 , the position detecting block 4 comprises an orientation unit 12 and a contact detecting unit 13 . the orientation unit 12 processes the coordinate data of the measuring arrangement 5 or of the corresponding data from the memory 7 , interrelating them to the data made available by the navigation arrangement 8 . correspondingly , the contact detecting unit 13 processes and prepares the data furnished by the contact sensor 10 . a central control unit 14 serves for processing the data of the orientation unit 12 and contact detecting unit 13 , computing a corresponding advance parameter control 15 , namely for the length and direction of advance of the actuator 3 . by means of these data , the output block 16 is triggered , which comprises a feed driver 17 for triggering the corresponding actuation elements in the actuator 3 for the latter to be advanced and for twist and turn modification thereof . furthermore , a driver 18 is provided for the treatment functions available in the actuator 3 , such as an ablation electrode or a dilatation balloon . if the operating surgeon 9 wishes to intervene manually in the apparatus sequence , input units 19 , 20 are provided for access to the control and the output block 16 . use in practice of the diagnosis - and - therapy apparatus according to the invention is explained , taken in conjunction with the flow chart seen in fig2 . after three - dimensional measurement by ultrasonography or x - radiation ( block 21 ) of the body region to be examined , the actuator is inserted in the body ( block 22 ). this may take place by insertion of a catheter that represents the actuator into the right cardiac atrium . then the navigation mark 8 is placed by the operating surgeon 9 for instance in the coronary sinus ( block 23 ). interrelating the distal end of the catheter , which is inserted in the heart , to this navigation mark 8 helps detect the position specific to the distal end of the catheter by the aid of the position detecting block 4 ( block 24 ). by a corresponding input , the actual treatment position is determined and defined in the control unit 14 . this enables detection of the treatment position to be the next step ( block 25 ). the ensuing inquiry in the program sequence determines whether the actuator &# 39 ; s position corresponds to the treatment position . if so , an inquiry 27 is performed as to whether the distal end of the actuator 3 is in contact with tissue . if so , actual treatment may take place ( block 28 ) for instance by activation of a ablation electrode for sclerosing or for removing cardiac tissue . if several treatments are to take place at varying positions , the process is returned to step 24 via the feedback 29 . if the inquiry 26 has found that the position of treatment has not yet been reached , another inquiry 30 determines whether the actuator is in contact with tissue . if so , a modification of feed ( block 31 ) is effected by way of access to the coordinate memory 7 for the actuator to be advanced in accordance with the direction of the desired position of treatment ( block 32 ). starting from the inquiry 26 , this loop of inquiries is kept on until the inquiry 26 finds that the actuator &# 39 ; s position is identical with the position of treatment . in this connection it must be mentioned that constructing a map of the heart 6 is feasible not only by the imaging techniques mentioned at the outset , such as ultrasonography or x - radiation . by alternative or in addition , measurement of the heart may also take place by the aid of the contact sensor 10 . as soon as it probes any contact with the myocardial wall , the corresponding coordinates can be read in the coordinate memory 7 so that corresponding scanning of the myocardial wall by the actuator 3 gives a topological image of the walls that define the respective body cavity . the navigation routine of positioning the actuator 3 within the heart is explained on the basis of fig3 . in the vicinity of its distal end , the actuator 3 is provided with a position finding element 33 , by the aid of which are determined the position coordinates 201 , 202 , 203 of the actuator 3 in relation to the navigation arrangement 8 , which is represented by the system of coordinates x - y - z in fig3 . the treatment position 34 marked by a cross has the coordinates 211 , 212 , 213 . based on a comparison of the coordinates 201 , 202 , 203 on the one hand and 211 , 212 , 213 on the other , the control unit 14 and the control 15 determine the direction and length of the necessary advance of the actuator 3 . this is accompanied with a contact signal 111 , which is active when the distal end of the actuator 3 bears against a wall of the heart 6 . finally , the heart measurement coordinates recorded in the memory 7 of the base control unit 1 are used to determine the feed coordinates in order for any collision of the distal end on its way to the treatment position 34 to be precluded as far as possible . the control data correspondingly found for the actuator 3 are fed to the output block 16 which implements the physical control of the actuator by activation of corresponding advance elements . fig4 and 5 show the distal end 35 of an actuator 3 . an ablation electrode 36 is roughly outlined directly at the end , by the aid of which corresponding therapeutic treatment of the heart can be effected . the ablation electrode 36 is followed by a contact sensor 37 in the form of a ring electrode . the adjoining ring represents the position finding element 33 of the actuator . this is followed by an adjustable - length element 38 , which may be extended or retracted for instance by piezoelectric actuation as described below . as compared to fig4 fig5 shows the extended position of the adjustable - length element 38 , which is outlined by the stretched out concertina folds . the adjustable - length element 38 is followed by a pliable element 39 which , inside , comprises piezoelectric elements that are distributed over the circumference . selectively triggering individual piezoelectric elements helps confer the pliable element from its stretched out condition into a bent condition ( fig5 ). the version seen in fig6 and 7 differs from the version according to fig4 and 5 only in that two adjustable - length elements 38 , 38 ′ and two pliable elements 39 , 39 ′ are provided . otherwise , reference can be made to the description in connection with fig4 and 5 . attention is drawn to the fact that the mentioned piezoelectric elements or electrostrictive elements for modification in length and twist and turn may combine with mechanical wire pulls . for instance , the outer wall portions on one side of the actuator 3 may be stiffened by voltage being applied to the mentioned elements , while the flexible wall on the other side of the actuator 3 is bent by a wire pull . if the distal end is rotary about its axis , then the actuator may be advanced in virtually any direction . it is also conceivable to use several piezoelectric or electrostrictive elements and wire pulls to avoid rotatability . fig8 to 10 illustrate a micro mechanical , piezoelectric actuation element in the form of a so - called stick - and - slip actuation element . a slide 41 , which is in contact for example with the distal end of the actuator 3 , is seated for lengthwise displacement in an outer bearing sleeve 40 . a slide element 42 is mounted on the inner end of the slide 41 in the longitudinal direction thereof . positioned around the slide element 42 are piezoelectric elements 43 , the rear end of which is tightly joined to the bearing sleeve 40 via an abutment 44 . the free end of the piezoelectric elements 43 is provided with a contact projection 45 , for example of a kind of neoprene material , which is in frictional engagement with the slide element 42 . if the piezoelectric elements 43 are actuated by sawtooth voltage of flatly ascending and steeply descending flanks ( fig8 ), then lengthwise extension of the piezoelectric elements 43 is slow and lengthwise contraction is fast . as a result of the slow lengthwise extension , the slide element 42 is driven (“ stick ”) and advanced in the feed direction v according to fig8 ; in doing so , it is however not able to react to the rapid contraction in the opposite direction (“ slip ”) so that the net result is a direction (“ slip ”) so that the net result is a displacement of the slide element 42 and thus of the slide 41 in the feed direction v . if the sawtooth voltage is reversed and applied with flanks steeply ascending and flatly descending , the contact projections 45 drive the slide element 42 in the feed direction v ′, whereas the slide element 42 is again not able to react upon rapid extension . the net result is a motion of the slide 41 in the feed direction v ′ according to fig9 . fig1 shows an actuator 3 ′ in the form of an ablator in a position in which it is inserted in the right ventricle of the heart 6 . in addition to the actual ablation electrode 36 ′, the distal end 35 ′ includes a measuring sensor 48 , for instance in the form of an ultrasonic sensor , measuring the distance of the distal end 35 ′ of the actuator 3 ′ from the cardiac septum 11 ′. this helps detect the amplitude and frequency of the motion of the cardiac septum 11 ′ and corresponding data are transmitted to the base control unit 1 ( not shown in fig1 ). on the basis of these data , the base control unit 1 computes corresponding control data for the distal end 35 ′ of the actuator 3 ′, which — as explained in detail above in connection with the actuator 3 — is provided with corresponding actuation devices for the advance and twist and turn control of the actuator . correspondingly , the actuator 3 ′ may be moved uniformly toward the myocardial tissue that is in motion or to the desired position of treatment without any undesired collisions with the myocardial tissue . for the accuracy of this process to be ensured , the actuator 3 ′ has a spirally expandable medial section 50 . catheter sections of this type are known per se , serving for anchoring the actuator 3 ′ for instance in the vena cava 47 as seen in fig1 . the following is an explanation of how to proceed during insertion and placement of the actuator 3 ′ in the heart illustrated , taken in conjunction with fig1 . in a step 51 , the catheter - type actuator 3 ′ is advanced via a vein as far as into the heart 6 . a mandrel is inserted in the catheter so that the spiral medial section 50 is stretched out . once the actuator 3 ′ has reached its base position in the heart 6 , the mandrel is removed from the actuator 3 ′, which is thus fixed in the corresponding vessel 47 by the medial section 50 spiraling and expanding ( step 52 ). instead of the conventional use of a mandrel for deformation control of the medial section 50 , actuation devices may analogously be incorporated there in the form of piezoelectric elements , electrostrictive polymer elements , micro mechanical actuation elements or the like , which can be automatically triggered and thus activated by the base control unit . the deformation , correspondingly produced , of the medial section 50 helps fix the catheter - type actuator 3 ′ in the vessel 47 . thus inserted and fixed , the actuator &# 39 ; s 3 ′ distal end 35 ′ projects freely into the heart 6 . from this moment on , the actuator 3 ′ is able to work substantially independently and without the help of an operating surgeon . controlled by the base control unit 1 , the actuator spots a reference point on the myocardium ( step 53 ) and then detects the cardiac motion by way of the measuring sensor 48 ( step 54 ). via the corresponding actuation devices in its distal end , the actuator 3 ′ is then controlled uniformly of the determined cardiac motion by the base control unit 1 , which is roughly outlined by dashed lines in fig1 . while this step 55 is maintained , one or several treatment positions are then detected ( step 56 ), for instance by pathological electric signals being spotted by suitable sensors . in this way , an ablation catheter can find required places of sclerosing . further examples of control parameters for the localization of treatment positions are the flow rate for instance in the coronary cardiac vessels when a balloon catheter is to be controlled for the detection of the place that is to be dilated . then the actuator 3 ′ is driven to the desired position of treatment 34 ′ ( step 57 ). this is accompanied with a regular inquiry 58 as to whether the actuator &# 39 ; s position corresponds to the treatment position . this inquiry takes place by way of the navigation arrangement and the orientation unit of the apparatus as explained in detail in conjunction with fig1 . if the specific position does not correspond to the treatment position , the process returns cyclically to step 57 . once the position of treatment is reached , actual treatment takes place in accordance with step 59 . if several positions of treatment are to be localized , the process is returned by the feedback 60 either to step 57 or to step 53 as roughly outlined in fig1 by short or long dashes . | 0 |
as used herein , unless indicated otherwise explicitly or by context , the term &# 34 ; pharmaceutically acceptable salt &# 34 ; refers to salts formed with inorganic or organic bases and includes , but is not limited to , sodium , potassium , lithium , calcium , magnesium , ammonium , and trialkylammonium salts ; &# 34 ; pradimicin &# 34 ; represents a member of the naturally occurring pradimicins , their desxylosyl derivatives , and salts thereof . &# 34 ; pradimicin aglycone &# 34 ; refers to a compound having the formula viii ## str7 ## wherein r a is as defined under formula iv . the pradimicin starting materials and methods for their production are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 870 , 165 and our co - pending applications u . s . ser . no . 203 , 776 , filed jun . 7 , 1988 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 992 , 425 ; u . s . ser . no . 221 , 144 , filed jul . 19 , 1988 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 960 , 755 ; and u . s . ser . no . 269 , 821 , filed nov . 10 , 1988 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 973 , 673 . the disclosures contained in these applications are hereby incorporated by reference . the pradimicins may be used as the free base , acid or base addition salts , the internal salt , or esters of the carboxylic group , depending on the particular reaction conditions . base salts may be , e . g ., sodium , potassium , lithium , calcium , magnesium , ammonium , and trialkylammonium salts ; acid addition salts may be , e . g ., hydrochloride , sulfate , nitrate , and the like ; carboxylic acid ester may be a lower alkyl ester , e . g . methyl , ethyl , and isopropyl or a cycloalkyl ester , e . g ., cyclohexyl , phenyl , or benzyl ester . compounds of formula iii may be prepared by two general methods : ( 1 ) glycosidation of an 1 - o - acylated pradimicin aglycone ester with the appropriate monosaccharide or disaccharide ; or ( 2 ) conversion of the sugar amino group of a pradimicin into a keto group followed by reduction to a hydroxyl group . these two approaches are illustrated schematically and discussed in detail below . ## str8 ## in scheme i , r 1 and r 2 are as previously defined under formula iii . pradimicin aglycone esters of formula ix are generally insoluble or poorly soluble in organic solvents such as methylene chloride , chloroform , dichloroethane , and dioxane making it inconvenient as starting material for direct glycosidation with the desired sugar . thus one aspect of the present invention is the conversion of ix into a corresponding solvent soluble acylated derivative . the pradimicin aglycone ester ix is acylated under phase transfer conditions using as acylating agent such as an acyl halide . suitable acyl halides are for example acetyl chloride and propionyl chloride . the reaction is conducted in an inert organic solvent such as methylene chloride , tetrahydrofuran , ether , and dioxane and toluene . the reaction mixture includes a base in solid form ; suitable bases include sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , sodium bicarbonate , sodium carbonate and the like . the phase transfer catalyst may be for example tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate , tetrabutylammonium dihydrogen phosphate , as well as other reagents that can bring the pradimicin reactant into the same phase as the acylating reagent . the reaction may be carried out at temperatures ranging from about - 50 ° c . to about 50 ° c ., but preferably it is carried out at room temperature . the reaction time may range from several minutes to several hours . in a preferred embodiment the acylation is effected in an organic solvent using acetyl chloride in the presence of tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate ( tbah ) and powdered sodium hydroxide ; the reaction using these reagents generally takes less than one hour to complete at room temperature . phase transfer catalyzed acylation using tbah / naoh / organic solvent is described by illi , v . o . in tet . lett ., 1979 , 2431 - 2432 . using the procedure provided herein above , the phenolic hydroxyl group at the 1 - position is preferentially ocylated over the aliphatic hydroxyl groups and the phenolic hydroxyl groups at the 9 - and 14 - positions . the acylated pradimicin aglycone ester x is then glycosylated under koenigs - knorr conditions . typically , a peracylated glycosyl halide such as peracetylated fucosyl bromide or peracetylated 3 - o -( β - d - xylopyranosyl ) fucosyl bromide is used , and the reaction is carried out in an inert organic solvent such as methylene chloride , chloroform , 1 , 2 - dichloroethane , dioxane , and the like , under anhydrous conditions and in the presence of a silver or mercuric salt such as mercuric cyanide and mercuric bromide . anhydrous conditions may be maintained by including in the reaction mixture a dehydrating agent such as molecular sieves . glycosylation is preferably performed at an elevated temperature for a period sufficient to substantially convert the aglycone into the glycoside . the reaction between 1 - o - acetylated pradimicin a aglycone methyl ester and fucosyl bromide at about 80 ° c . is usually complete in two hours or less . the various ester linkages are then hydrolyzed using conventional methods to remove the phenolic and sugar acyl groups , as well as the amino acid ester group . a suitable method is , e . g ., base - catalyzed saponification at room temperature . the glycosidation generally results in a mixture of regioisomers and anomers , including 5 - o - α -, 5 - o - β -, and 6 - o - β - glycosylated products . the individual components may be separated using techniques well known in the art , such as column chromatography , and may be done before or after the removal of the protecting groups . it will be appreciated that 1 - o - acylated pradimicin aglycone esters may be used to prepare pradimicin compounds other than the ones illustrated in scheme i if the appropriate sugar is used . ## str9 ## in the above scheme , r 1 and r 2 are as defined previously under formula iii ; r 2 &# 39 ; is h , β - d - xylosyl ; c 1 - 5 alkanoyl , preferably acetyl ; or peracylated , preferably peracetylated β - d - xylosyl ; r 3 and r 4 are independently h or methyl , and r 5 is h or acetyl . a variety of methods have been reported in the art for converting an amine into a carbonyl compound . for example , primary amines can be so transformed by treatment with a reagent , such as benzothiazole - 2 - carboxaldehyde or 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone , to give the imine which is then hydrolyzed to the corresponding carbonyl compound . primary , secondary , and tertiary amines can be directly oxidized to the corresponding carbonyl compounds with , e . g ., manganese oxide or neutral permanganate . tertiary amines may be oxidized with , e . g ., m - chloroperbenzoic acid to its amine oxide which , in turn , is converted to the carbonyl compound by treatment with , e . g ., trifluoroacetic anhydride . under certain reaction conditions , e . g . oxidizing conditions , it may be desirable to protect non - reacting functional groups on the pradimicin starting material , such as the alcoholic and phenolic oh groups ; the protection and deprotection of these functional groups are well within the skills of a person of ordinary skill in the art . reduction of the carbonyl may be effected using a reducing agent such as sodium borohydride . the reduction is not stereospecific and results in a mixture of products where the carbonyl derived hydroxyl group is in either the axial or the equatorial position . the mixture may be separated by chromatography . in our experience , compounds of the present invention may be prepared via the imine generated by treatment of a pradimicin having a primary amine group with 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone . this procedure is illustrated in scheme iii and will be further elaborated below with the understanding that the preparation of compounds of the invention is not limited to the method particularly exemplified . ## str10 ## ( i ) 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone , net 3 in meoh ; ( ii ) hco 2 h / meoh ; ( iii ) nabh 4 . in the above scheme r 1 and r 2 are as defined previously under formula iii . to elaborate on the above scheme , pradimicin is first reacted with 3 , 5 - di - tert - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone to convert the primary amino group on the sugar moiety to the corresponding 2 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - di - tert - butylphenyl schiff base ( xiv ). the reaction is carried out in solution using a reaction inert solvent , such as a lower alkanol , preferably methanol . a tertiary amine base , such as triethylamine , is preferably included in the reaction mixture when an acid addition salt of pradimicin is used as the starting material . the temperature of the reaction is not critical and the reaction may be conveniently conducted at ambient temperature . in general , the reaction takes from about 20 minutes to several hours . the imine thus obtained is hydrolyzed in the presence of an acid to yield the ketone ( xv ). the acid is not particularly restricted and may be an inorganic acid or an organic acid , such as formic , acetic , oxalic acid , and the like . the hydrolysis may be carried out in a lower alkanol , such as methanol , at a temperature ranging from room temperature to the refluxing temperature of the reaction solution . the ketone is then reduced to the alcohol by a conventional reducing agent ; a suitable agent is , for example , sodium borohydride . the reduction using sodium borohydride is preferably carried out at a reduced temperature , for example , from about - 10 ° c . to about 10 ° c . in an aqueous or alcoholic solution . the product of the reduction is a mixture of axial and equatorial hydroxy compounds which are separable by chromatography for example on a c 18 column . it will be noted that the methods described herein for synthesizing the novel compounds of the present invention are also applicable for preparing the known compound benanomicin a when the appropriate starting materials are used . the minimum inhibitory concentrations ( mics ) of representative compounds of the present invention against 14 fungi were determined by serial agar dilution method using sabouraud dextrose agar ( ph 7 . 0 ). the inoculum size of the test organism was adjusted to 10 6 cells / ml , and approximately 0 . 003 ml of fungal suspension was applied to the surface of agar plates containing the test antibiotics . after the plates had been incubated for 40 hours at 28 ° c ., the lowest concentration of antibiotic causing virtually complete inhibition of fungal growth was determined as the mic . the results are summarized in table i . table i______________________________________in vitro antifungal actvitytest organisms ex . 1 ex . 2 ex . 3______________________________________candida albicans iam4888 25 . 0 12 . 5 12 . 5candida albicans a9540 25 . 0 12 . 5 12 . 5cryptococcus neoformans d49 50 . 0 12 . 5 12 . 5cryptococcus neoformans iam4514 50 . 0 12 . 5 6 . 3aspergillus fumigatus iam2530 & gt ; 50 . 0 25 . 0 25 . 0aspergillus fumigatus iam2034 & gt ; 50 . 0 50 . 0 25 . 0fusarium moniliforme a2284 & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0trichophyton mentagro - d155 & gt ; 50 . 0 12 . 5 50 . 0phytestrichophyton mentagro - # 4329 & gt ; 50 . 0 12 . 5 50 . 0phytessporothrix schenckii if08158 & gt ; 50 . 0 25 . 0 12 . 5aspergillus flavus fa21436 & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0blastomyces dermatitidis d40 & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0 50 . 0petriellidium boydii ifo8078 nd & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0mucor spinosus ifo5317 & gt ; 50 . 0 & gt ; 50 . 0 50 . 0______________________________________ the in vivo activity of compound of example 1 was tested against candida albicans a9540 infection in mice . test organisms were cultured for 18 hours at 28 ° c . in ygp medium ( yeast extract , glucose , peptone , k 2 hpo 4 , mgso 4 ) and then suspended in saline . male icr mice weighing 20 to 24 g were infected intravenously with about 10 times the median lethal dose of the test fungous . the antibiotic at various dose levels was administered to groups of 5 mice each intravenously just after the fungal infection . the dose that protects 50 % of the animals from infection ( pd 50 , mg / kg ) was calculated from survival rates recorded on the 20th day after the fungal challenge . all control animals died within 7 to 15 days after infection . compound of example 1 showed no significant in vivo activity at 50 mg / kg by a single intravenous injection . for treatment of fungal infections in animals and human beings , the antibiotics of the present invention may be given in an antifungally effective amount by any accepted routes of administration ; these include , but are not limited to , intravenous , intramuscular , oral , intranasal , and for superficial infections , topical administration . preparations for parenteral administration include sterile aqueous or non - aqueous solutions , suspensions , or emulsions . they may also be manufactured in the form of sterile solid compositions which can be dissolved in sterile water , physiological saline , or some other sterile injectable medium immediately before use . oral formulation may be in the form of tablets , gelatin capsules , powders , lozenges , syrups , and the like . for topical administration , the compound may be incorporated into lotions , ointments , gels , creams , salves , tinctures , and the like . unit dosage forms may be prepared using methods generally known to those skilled in the art of pharmaceutical formulations . it will be appreciated that , when treating a host infected with a fungus susceptible to the antibiotics of this invention , the actual preferred route of administration and dosage used will be at the discretion of the attending clinician skilled in the treatment of fungal infections and will vary according to the causative organism , its sensitivity to the antibiotic , severity and site of the infection , and patient characteristics , such as age , body weight , rate of excretion , concurrent medications , and general physical condition . the following examples are illustrative without limiting the scope of the present invention . the structures of all the compounds prepared in the following examples are given at the end of the examples section . ( a ) to a suspension of pradimicin a aglycone methyl ester ( ix , r 1 ═ ch 3 ; 154 mg , 0 . 27 mmol ) in dry dioxane ( 3 ml ) were sequentially added tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate ( 103 mg , 0 . 30 mmol ), powdered naoh ( 85 mg , 2 . 12 mmol ), and 1m solution of acetyl chloride in dry dioxane ( 1 . 06 ml ). the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes under argon atmosphere , and the insoluble matters were removed by filtration and washed with dioxane . the filtrate and washings were combined and evaporated to dryness , and the residue was chromatographed on silica gel ( 40 g ) using chloroform / methanol = 20 / 1 as eluant to afford 1 - o - acetylated pradimicin a aglycone methyl ester ( xvi , 69 mg , 42 %) as orange solid . mp 220 ° c . ( dec .). uv λ max ( ch 3 cn ) nm ( ε ) 288 ( 25600 ) 448 ( 10300 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ1 . 33 ( 3h , d , j = 7 . 3 hz , 17 - ch 3 ), 2 . 02 ( 3h , s , oac ), 2 . 37 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 67 ( 3h , s , cooch 3 ), 3 . 95 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 22 and 4 . 29 ( each 1h , m , j 5 , 6 = 11 . 1hz , 5 and 6 - h ), 4 . 41 ( 1h , dq , j 17 , nh = 6 . 9 hz , 17 - h ), 6 . 13 and 6 . 30 leach 1h , brs , 5 and 6 - oh ) 6 . 93 ( 1h d j 10 , 12 = 2 . 4 hz 10 - h ), 7 30 ( 1h , d , 12 - h ) 7 . 46 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 8 . 07 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ), 8 . 77 ( 1h , d , nh ), 12 . 83 ( 1h , s , 9 - oh ) and 13 . 37 ( 1h , s , 14 - oh ). ( b ) to a solution of 1 - o - acetylated pradimicin a aglycone methyl ester ( 73 mg , 0 . 12 mmol ) in absolute chloroform ( 4 ml ) were added powdered molecular sieves 3a ( 740 mg ), hg ( cn ) 2 ( 271 mg , 1 . 07 mmol ), and hgbr 2 ( 121 mg , 0 . 34 mmol ). the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours , and tri - o - acetyl - d - fucosyl bromide [ prepared from tetra - o - acetyl - d - fucose ( 133 mg , 0 . 40 mmol ) and 30 % hbr - acoh ( 1 . 3 ml ) according to the reported procedure by m . takai , et al ., j . med . chem 23 , 549 ( 1980 )] was added . the mixture was heated at 80 ° c . for 1 . 5 hours and then filtered off and washed with chloroform , the filtrate and washings were combined , washed with water then saturated aqueous nacl , and dried over na 2 so 4 . the solvent was evaporated , and the residual syrup was chromatographed on silica gel ( 20 g ) using toluene / ethyl acetate = 1 / 1 , and chloroform / methanol = 20 / 1 , successively , as eluants to afford the glycosidated product as a mixture of several components ( 43 mg , y : 41 %). uv λ max ( ch 3 cn ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ) 278 ( 177 ), 494 ( 71 ). ( c ) a crude sample obtained above ( 38 mg ) was treated with 1n naoh ( 1 . 2 ml ) in methanol ( 6 ml ) at room temperature for 2 hours . the mixture was adjusted to ph 4 with 1n hcl and then evaporated to dryness . the residue was chromatographed on a c 18 column using acetonitrile / phosphate buffer ( ph 3 . 5 )= 35 / 65 as eluant to afford 3 fractions . each fraction was made alkaline with 1n naoh and then placed on a c 18 column , washed with h 2 o , eluted with 50 % aqueous acetonitrile , and lyophilized to afford the following fractions as sodium salt . fraction 1 : 4 &# 39 ;- deamino - 4 &# 39 ;- hydroxy pradimicin b α - anomer ( xvii , 6 mg , 19 %). mp & gt ; 230 ° c . uv λ max ( 1 / 100n naoh ) nm ( ε ) 319 ( 7000 ), 499 ( 6800 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ1 . 08 ( 3h , d , j 5 &# 39 ; , me = 6 . 4 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- me ), 1 . 33 ( 3h , d , j 17 , me = 7 . 3 hz , 17 - me ), 2 . 26 ( 3h , s , 3 - me ), ca . 3 . 50 ( 2h , m , 3 &# 39 ;, 4 &# 39 ;- h ) ca 3 65 ( 1h , m , 2 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 91 ( 3h , s , 11 - ome ), 4 12 ( 1h , q , 5 &# 39 ;- h ), 4 . 30 ( 1h , d , j 5 , 6 = 9 . 0 hz , 5 - h ), ca . 4 . 30 ( 1h , m ( q after addition of d 2 o ), 17 - h ), 4 . 43 ( 1h , dd , j 6 , oh = 3 . 9 hz , 6 - h ), ca . 4 . 5 ( 1h , m , oh ), ca . 4 . 6 ( 2h , m , oh × 2 ), 4 . 81 ( 1h , d , j 1 &# 39 ; , 2 &# 39 ; = 2 . 6 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 5 . 62 ( 1h , d , 6 - oh ), 6 . 71 ( 1h , d , j 10 , 12 = 2 . 6 hz , 10 - h ), ca . 7 . 05 ( 1h , brs , 4 - h ), 7 . 12 ( 1h , d , 12 - h ), and 7 . 63 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). fraction 2 : 6 - o -( β - d - fucopyranosyl ) pradimicin a aglycone ( xviii , 10 mg , 32 %). mp & gt ; 230 ° c . uv λ max ( 1 / 100n naoh ) nm ( ε ) 316 ( 11200 ), 498 ( 10300 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 + d 2 o ) δ1 . 14 ( 3h , d , j 5 &# 39 ; , me = 6 . 0 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- me ), 1 . 29 ( 3h , d , j 17 , me = 6 . 8 hz , 17 - me ), 2 . 23 ( 3h , s , 3 - me ), 3 . 43 ( 1h , d , j 3 &# 39 ; , 4 &# 39 ; = 3 . 9 hz , 4 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 48 ( 1h , dd , j 2 &# 39 ; , 3 &# 39 ; = 9 . 0 hz 3 &# 39 ;- h ) 3 . 52 ( 1h , d , j 1 &# 39 ; , 2 &# 39 ; = 7 . 3 hz , 2 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 56 ( 1h , q , 5 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 86 ( 1h , q , 17 - h ), 3 . 89 ( 3h , s , 11 - ome ), 4 . 38 ( 1h , d , j 5 , 6 = 11 . 1 hz , 6 - h ), 4 . 42 ( 1h , d , 5 - h ; simplified after addition of d 2 o ), 4 . 58 ( 1h , d , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 6 . 70 ( 1h , br d , 10 - h ), 6 . 83 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 13 ( 1h , br d , 12 - h ), and 7 . 78 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). fraction 3 : 4 &# 39 ;- deamino - 4 &# 39 ;- hydroxy pradimicin b ( xix , 2 mg , 6 %). mp & gt ; 230 ° c . uv λ max ( 1 / 100n - naoh ) nm ( ε ) 319 ( 10700 ), 498 ( 10400 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 + d 2 o ) δ1 . 14 ( 3h , d , j 5 &# 39 ; , me = 6 . 4 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- me ), 1 . 31 ( 3h , d , j 17 , me = 6 . 8 hz , 17 - me ), 2 . 23 ( 3h , s , 3 - me ), 3 . 39 ( 1h , dd , 3 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 44 ( 1h , d , j 3 &# 39 ; , 4 &# 39 ; = 3 . 4 hz , 4 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 53 ( 1h , dd , j 1 &# 39 ; , 2 &# 39 ; = 8 . 1 hz , j 2 &# 39 ; , 3 &# 39 ; = 9 . 0 hz , 2 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 57 ( 1h , q , 5 &# 39 ;- h ), 3 . 85 ( 1h , q , 17 - h ), 3 . 91 ( 3h , s , 11 - ome ), 4 . 37 ( 1h , d , j 5 , 6 = 11 . 1 hz , 5 - h ), 4 . 46 ( 1h , d , 6 - h ; simplified after addition of d 2 o ), 4 . 53 ( 1h , d , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 6 . 66 ( 1h , br d , 10 - h ), 6 . 99 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , br d , 12 - h ), and 7 . 68 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). mass ( hr - fab ) m / z 695 . 1832 ; calcd . for c 34 h 33 no 15 : 695 . 1813 . ( a ) triethylamine ( 0 . 15 ml , 1 . 0 mmol ) was added to a mixture of pradimicin e hcl ( 150 mg , 0 . 18 mmol ), and 3 , 5 - di - tert - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone ( 110 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) in dry methanol ( 4 . 5 ml ). the mixture was stirred overnight and concentrated under reduced pressure . to the residue were added ethyl acetate ( 5 ml ) and sq . saturated nahco 3 ( 2 ml ), and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at room temperature to precipitate the sodium salt of 4 &# 39 ;-( 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 2 - hydroxy ) phenyl imine of pradimicin e ( xx , 205 mg ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1617 , 1258 , 1078 . uv λ max ( methanol ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 284 ( 225 ) 495 ( 91 ) 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 0 . 95 ( 3h , d , j = 7 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 1 . 21 ( 9h , s t - bu ), 1 . 24 ( 9h , s , t - bu ), 2 . 23 ( 31t , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 4 . 81 ( 1h , d , j = 8 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 5 . 15 ( 2h , br )*, 5 . 99 ( 1h , s )*, 6 . 43 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , phenyl - h ), 6 . 51 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , phenyl - h ), 6 . 70 ( 1h , br , 10 - h ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 10 ( 1h , br , 12 - h ), 7 . 70 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ), 15 . 02 ( 1h , s )*. ( b ) a mixture of the product obtained in step ( a ) ( 200 mg , 0 . 19 mmol ), formic acid ( 2 . 5 ml ), and methanol ( 2 . 5 ml ) was heated at 60 ° c . for 1 . 5 hours . the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure , and the residue was chromatographed on a column of c18 silica gel ( 20 × 200 mm ). the column was eluted with water and then with 80 % acetonitrile . the acetonitrile fractions were checked with hplc , and the desired fractions were combined and concentrated to leave an aqueous residue , which was freeze - dried to give 4 &# 39 ;- deamino - 4 &# 39 ;- oxo pradimicin e ( xxi , 84 mg , 89 %) as an amorphous powder . ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1620 , 1260 , 1084 . uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( ε ): 319 ( 11600 ) 497 ( 10700 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 3 . 88 ( 3h , s , och 3 ), 6 . 69 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 09 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ), 7 . 72 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ( c ) to a stirred mixture of the product obtained in step ( b ) ( 90 mg , 0 . 11 mmol ), 1n naoh ( 0 . 25 ml ), and water ( 9 ml ) was added an aqueous solution of 0 . 1m sodium borohydride ( 0 . 4 ml ) at 5 ° c . the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at the same temperature and acidified with 1n h 2 so 4 to destroy the reagent . the mixture was adjusted to ph 8 with nahco 3 and chromatographed on a column of c18 silica gel ( 40 × 330 mm , 5 % acetonitrile ), followed by preparative hplc ( system 500 ( waters ), 15 % acetonitrile ) to give 3 fractions -- a faster moving fraction containing the equatorial isomer , a slower moving fraction containing the axial isomer , and a fraction containing a mixture of both isomers . each fraction was concentrated to a small volume , acidified with 1n h 2 so 4 , and subjected to a short column of c18 silica gel . the column was washed with water and eluted with 80 % acetonitrile . the eluate was concentrated to a small volume and lyophilized . the 3 fractions afforded 4 &# 39 ;- deamino - 4 &# 39 ;- hydroxy pradimicin e axial isomer ( xxii , 7 . 5 mg , 8 %), the equatorial isomer ( xxiii , 4 . 8 mg , 5 %), and a mixture thereof ( 8 . 2 mg , 9 %). uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 236 ( 317 ), 319 ( 151 ), 496 ( 140 ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 3288 , 2921 , 1728 , 1628 , 1607 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 1 . 11 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 4 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 2 . 33 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 91 ( 2h , d , j = 6 . 0 hz , nh -- ch 2 --), 3 . 95 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 40 ( 1h d j = 7 . 3 hz 1 &# 34 ;- h ), 4 . 64 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 7 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 6 . 89 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 7 . 11 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 25 ( 1h ), s , 12 - h ), 7 . 98 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 241 ( 271 ), 320 ( 128 ), 498 ( 121 ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 3387 , 2920 , 1730 , 1630 , 1605 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 1 . 15 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 0 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 2 . 31 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 90 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 8 hz , nh -- ch 2 --), 3 . 94 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 45 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 3 hz , 1 &# 34 ;- h ), 6 . 84 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 7 . 00 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 21 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ), 7 . 91 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ( a ) triethylamine ( 0 . 20 ml , 1 . 43 mmol ) was added to a mixture of pradimicin fa - 2 hcl ( 150 mg , 0 . 16 mmol ), 3 , 5 - di - tert - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone ( 150 mg , 0 . 68 mmol ) in dry methanol ( 2 . 5 ml ). the mixture was stirred overnight and concentrated under reduced pressure . to the residue were added ethyl acetate ( 5 ml ) and aq . saturated nahco 3 ( 2 ml ), and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at room temperature to precipitate the sodium salt of 4 &# 39 ;-( 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 2 - hydroxy ) phenyl imine of pradimicin fa - 2 ( xxiv , 164 mg , 96 %). uv λ max ( methanol ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 281 ( 211 ) 497 ( 93 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 0 . 95 ( 3h , d , j = 7 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 1 . 22 ( 9h , s t - bu ), 1 . 25 ( 9h , s , t - bu ), 2 . 23 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 4 . 81 ( 1h , d , j = 8 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 5 . 05 ( 1h , br )*, 6 . 42 ( 1h d , j = 2 hz phenyl - h ) 6 . 44 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , phenyl - h ), 6 . 70 ( 1h , br , 10 - h ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 10 ( 1h , br , 12 - h ), 7 . 40 ( 1h , br )*, 7 . 69 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ( b ) a mixture of the product obtained in step ( a ) ( 160 mg , 0 . 15 mmol ), formic acid ( 3 ml ) and methanol ( 3 ml ) was heated at 60 ° c . for 1 . 5 hours . the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue was chromatographed on a column of c18 silica gel ( 20 × 200 mm ). the column was eluted with water and then with 30 % acetonitrile . the acetonitrile fractions were checked with hplc , and the desired fractions were combined and concentrated to leave an aqueous residue which was freeze - dried to give 4 &# 39 ;- deamino - 4 &# 39 ;- oxo pradimicin fa - 2 ( xxv , 105 mg , 83 %) as an amorphous powder . ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1733 ( weak ), 1607 , 1258 , 1084 . uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( ε ): 318 ( 14800 ), 498 ( 13500 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 3 . 94 ( 3h , s , och 3 ), 6 . 88 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 7 . 25 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ), 7 . 95 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ( c ) to a stirred mixture of the product obtained in step ( b ) ( 121 mg , 0 . 15 mmol ), 1n naoh ( 0 . 3 ml ), and water ( 12 ml ) was added an aqueous solution of 0 . 1m sodium borohydride ( 0 . 7 ml ) at 5 ° c . the mixture was stirred for 1 hour at the same temperature and acidified with 1n h 2 so 4 to destroy the reagent . the mixture was adjusted to ph 8 with nahco 3 and chromatographed on a column of c18 silica gel ( 40 × 330 mm , 5 % acetonitrile ) and followed by preparative hplc ( system 500 ( waters ), 7 % acetonitrile ) to give 3 fractions -- a faster moving fraction containing the equatorial isomer , a slower moving fraction containing the axial isomer , and a fraction containing a mixture of both isomers . each fraction was concentrated to a small volume , acidified with 1n h 2 so 4 , and subjected to a short column of c18 silica gel . the column was washed with water and eluted with 80 % acetonitrile . the eluate was concentrated to a small volume and lyophilized . the 3 fractions afforded 4 &# 39 ;- deamino - 4 &# 39 ;- hydroxy pradimicin fa - 2 axial isomer ( xxvi , 3 mg , 3 %), the equatorial isomer ( xxvii , 5 . 4 mg , 4 %), and a mixture thereof . uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 320 ( 134 ) 497 ( 129 ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 3272 , 2917 , 1739 , 1607 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 1 . 10 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 4 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 2 . 34 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 69 ( 1h , dd , j = 5 . 5 & amp ; 11 . 1 hz , 5 &# 34 ;- eq - h ), 3 . 95 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 40 ( 1h d , j = 6 . 8 hz , 1 &# 34 ;- h ), 4 . 63 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 7 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 7 . 10 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 27 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ), 7 . 99 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 318 ( 151 ) 497 ( 140 ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 3408 , 1733 , 1607 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 1 . 15 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 0 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 2 . 32 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 75 ( 1h , dd , j = 5 . 1 & amp ; 11 . 1 hz , 5 &# 34 ;- eq - h ), 3 . 94 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 45 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 3 hz , 1 &# 34 ;- h ), 6 . 87 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 7 . 02 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 24 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ), 7 . 93 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ( a ) the procedure of example 2 , step ( a ), was followed using pradimicin c hcl ( 150 mg , 0 . 16 mmol ) and 3 . 5 - di - t - butyl - 1 , 2 - benzoquinone ( 110 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) to provide the corresponding imine ( xxviii , 212 mg ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1622 , 1607 , 1259 , 1080 . uv λ max ( meoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 288 ( 259 ) 478 ( 98 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 0 . 96 ( 3h , d , j = 7 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 1 . 22 ( 9h , s t - bu ), 1 . 25 ( 9h , s , t - bu ), 1 . 29 ( 3h , d , j = 7 hz , alanyl - ch 3 ), 2 . 22 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 90 ( 3h , s , och 3 ), 4 . 82 ( 1h , d , j = 8 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 4 . 94 ( 1h , br )*, 5 . 09 ( 1h , br )*, 5 . 70 ( 1h , br )*, 5 . 80 ( 1h , br )*, 5 . 98 ( 1h , s )*, 6 . 19 ( 1h , s )*, 6 . 42 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , phenyl - h ), 6 . 49 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , phenyl - h ), 6 . 71 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , 10 - h ), 6 . 91 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 2 hz , 12 - h ), 7 . 47 ( 1h , br )*, 7 . 68 ( 1h s , 7 - h ), 13 . 22 ( 1h , s )*. 14 . 80 ( 1h , s )*. ( b ) the procedure of example 2 , step ( b ), was followed using the imine obtained from step ( a ) above ( 210 mg , 0 . 20 mmol ) to provide the corresponding ketone ( xxix , 147 mg 89 %). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 1738 ( weak ), 1607 . uv λ max ( 0 . 01n naoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 318 ( 171 ) 498 ( 143 ). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 3 . 96 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 6 . 9 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 32 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ). ( c ) the procedure of example 2 , step ( c ), was followed using the ketone obtained above ( 80 mg , 0 . 097 mmol ) to provide benanomicin a ( ii , 8 . 5 mg , 11 %), its 4 &# 39 ;- equatorial isomer ( xxx , 5 mg , 6 %) and mixture thereof ( 5 mg ). uv λ max ( naoh - meoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 277 ( 233 ) 318 ( 92 ) 499 ( 108 ) ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 3402 , 1733 , 1623 , 1607 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 1 . 12 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 4 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 1 . 33 ( 3h , d , j = 7 . 3 hz , 17 - ch 3 ), 2 . 27 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 90 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 63 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 7 hz , 1 &# 39 ;- h ), 6 . 71 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 1hz , 10 - h ), 6 . 94 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 11 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 1hz , 12 - h ), 7 . 74 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ms ( fab ): ( positive ) 828 ( m + h ) + , 850 ( m + na ) + , ( negative ) 827 ( m ) - . uv λ max ( naoh - meoh ) nm ( e 1cm 1 % ): 277 ( 209 ) 318 ( 88 ) 502 ( 103 ). ir ν max ( kbr ) cm - 1 : 3398 , 1733 , 1627 , 1607 . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δ : 1 . 15 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 0 hz , 5 &# 39 ;- ch 3 ), 1 . 33 ( 3h , d , j = 7 . 3 hz , 17 - ch 3 ), 2 . 29 ( 3h , s , 3 - ch 3 ), 3 . 75 ( 1h , dd , j = 5 . 6 & amp ; 11 . 1hz , 5 &# 34 ;- eq - h ), 3 . 93 ( 3h , s , 11 - och 3 ), 4 . 45 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 3 hz , 1 &# 34 ;- h ), 6 . 79 ( 1h , s , 10 - h ), 6 . 95 ( 1h , s , 4 - h ), 7 . 18 ( 1h , s , 12 - h ), 7 . 84 ( 1h , s , 7 - h ). ms ( fab ): ( positive ) 828 ( m + h ) + , 850 ( m + na ) + , ( negative ) 826 ( m - h ) - . | 2 |
shown in fig1 is the fundamental structure of an optoelectronic apparatus 1 according to the invention for identifying marks provided with defined contrast patterns . in principle , the marks can have arbitrary sequences and shapes of contiguous light - dark surfaces , preferably black - white surfaces . the invention is explained below for the case that the marks are formed by bar code symbols 2 . the bar code symbols 2 essentially comprise a sequence of black and white line elements 2a , b , respectively , of defined length and width . the optoelectronic apparatus 1 essentially comprises a transmitting element 3 , a receiving element 4 and an evaluating unit 5 . the transmitting element 3 comprises a transmitter 6 , preferably a laser diode , and transmitting optics 7 which is disposed downstream of the transmitter 6 and focuses the transmitted light 8 . the focussed transmitted light 8 is deflected by a mirror 20 onto a diverting unit 9 which , in the present example , is formed by a rotating polygonal mirror wheel , and guided to the bar code symbol 2 to be detected . the axis of rotation of the polygonal mirror wheel is perpendicular to the equatorial plane of the polygonal mirror wheel illustrated in fig1 . the received light 10 reflected by the bar code symbol 2 is guided to the receiving element 4 by way of the polygonal mirror wheel . the receiving element 4 comprises a photodiode 11 , in which the received light 10 is converted into an electrical received signal , and an amplifier 12 disposed downstream of the receiving element . to improve the detection sensitivity , receiving optics 13 is disposed upstream of the receiving element 4 . the received signal present at the output of the receiving element 4 is supplied to the evaluating unit 5 . in optoelectronic apparatuses according to the prior art mentioned at the outset , the evaluating unit 5 solely comprises a threshold - value unit 14 ( fig2 ). this type of apparatus is illustrated in fig2 with a dashed arrow line between amplifier 12 and threshold - value unit 14 . in this case the received signal is supplied as an analog signal to the evaluating unit 5 . the evaluating unit 5 of the apparatus 1 of the invention has an n - bit analog - digital ( a / d ) converter 15 and an arrangement 16 of digital filters disposed downstream thereof , the filters being disposed upstream of the threshold - value unit 14 . this evaluating unit 5 is characterized by solid arrow lines in fig2 . the principle of the evaluation of the received signals can be seen from fig3 . a bar code symbol 2 comprising a series of black and white line elements 2a , b , respectively , is illustrated in fig3 a . if the edge errors of the bar code symbol 2 are imperceptibly small , i . e ., the contrasts between black and white surfaces are very sharp , and if the beam diameter of the transmitted light 8 on the bar code symbol 2 is significantly smaller than the smallest width of a line element 2a , b , the transmitted light 8 is modulated in amplitude by the reflection from the bar code symbol 2 , as shown in fig3 b . if no distortion or adulteration of the received signal takes place in the receiving element 4 , the curve shape shown in fig3 b corresponds to the received signal present at the output of the receiving element 3 . the determination of the width of the individual line elements 2a , b of the bar code symbol 2 in the evaluating unit 5 is advisably effected according to the turning point method . in a first step , the received signal is differentiated ( fig3 c ). subsequently , the extremes of the differentiated received signal that correspond to the turning points of the received signals are determined . these turning points in turn define the transitions from a black to a white line element or vice versa . for determination of the turning points of the received signals , the differentiated received signal is converted , preferably with two switching thresholds s 1 and s 2 ( fig3 c ), into a binary signal ( fig3 d ). the duration of the ` 0 ` and ` 1 ` states of the binary signal sequence is a measure for the width of the line elements 2a , b of the bar code symbol 2 . the duration of the ` 0 ` and ` 1 ` states can be detected simply by means of a clock - controlled counter . because of signal distortions in the receiving element 4 of the optoelectronic apparatus 1 , the turning points of the received signal sequence can be displaced so significantly that a reconstruction of the line pattern of the bar code symbol 2 from the received signal is no longer possible . the arrangement 16 of digital filters disposed upstream of the threshold - value unit 14 and an analog - digital converter 15 disposed upstream of this arrangement 16 are provided in the evaluating unit 5 in order to eliminate these signal distortions . the n - bit analog - digital converter 15 has a word width in a range of n = 8 - 12 . in the present embodiment , an 8 - bit analog - digital converter 15 is used . because of this , the analog received signal can be converted into a digitized received signal with a high resolution . the arrangement 16 of digital filters disposed downstream of the analog - digital converter 15 comprises two filters connected in series . the first filter is a phase compensator 17 that is used to eliminate the phase distortions of the received signal , while the second digital filter represents a pulse shaper 18 that is used to eliminate the amplitude distortions of the received signal . the phase compensator 17 is formed by a recursive iir filter . the fundamental construction of a two - stage iir filter is illustrated in fig4 ). the output value of the iir filter y n at a time n is a function of the input value x m at different times m = n , n - 1 , n - 2 , . . . , n - m ; the time n - m is an earlier time with respect to the time n by m discrete time stages . in addition , the output value y n is a function of the output value y m at different , earlier times m = n - 1 , n - 2 , . . . , n - m : ## equ1 ## the weighting of the influence values y m and x m is effected with coefficients a m or b m , which are adjustable . the number m of coefficients determines the degree of the iir filter . in the present embodiment , a series connection of three iir second - degree filters is used . the variable z shown in fig4 a is the variable in the frequency range that is a conjugate for time variables n . the value z - 1 represents the length of the delay between two linkage points , e . g . x n and x n - 1 . the symbols x and σ , respectively , characterize a multiplicative or additive linkage . the pulse shaper 18 is formed by a non - recursive fir filter . the fundamental construction of an fir filter is illustrated in fig4 b . the output value y n of the fir filter is a function of the input value x m ( m = n , n - 1 , n - 2 , . . . , n - m ) at different times . ## equ2 ## the weighting of the input values x m is effected with adjustable coefficients h m . the number m of coefficients h m determines the degree of the filter . in the present embodiment , an 18 degree fir filter is used . the digitized and filtered received signal is fed to the threshold - value unit 14 and converted into a binary signal sequence there . fig5 illustrates the upper limiting frequency of the received signals of an optoelectronic apparatus 1 for a predetermined scanning rate of 480 scans / second as a function of the reading distance d . the limiting frequency lies within a range of a few hundred khz , even above 500 khz for reading distances d greater than 70 cm . at these types of high received signal frequencies , the interferences in the receiving element 4 typically cause distortions of the received signals of the same order of magnitude as the useful signals . to eliminate these interferences , the frequency dependency of the transmission function of the receiving element 4 is determined in a first method step , i . e ., the frequency response of the amplitude and the group delay time of the received signal is determined in the received signal . the group delay time is defined as the differential d ψ / d f , that is , the differentiation of the phase of the received signal according to the frequency . the response behavior of the receiving element 4 can be usefully effected by the feeding in of a predetermined signal and measurement of the phase and amplitude of the output signal . the step response of the receiving element is advantageously measured and converted into the pulse response . the behavior shown in fig6 results for the present embodiment . the characteristics of the receiving element 4 deviate greatly from the ideal behavior , namely a frequency - independent amplitude and a frequency - independent group delay time . the basic idea of the method according to the invention is to dispose an arrangement 16 of digital filters downstream of the receiving element 4 , the transmission function of the filters being such that signal distortions are eliminated by the receiving element 4 , i . e ., that the transmission function of the entire system comprising the receiving element 4 and the arrangement 16 of digital filters is such that the frequency response of the group delay time is independent of frequency , at least in the frequency range of the received signals ( fig5 ), and the frequency response of the amplitude has a gaussian characteristic in this frequency range . this is achieved on the one hand in that the frequency response of the group delay time of the received signal in the phase compensator 17 is essentially formed in the receiving element 4 by the difference between a constant and the frequency response of the group delay time of the received signal ( fig7 ). the coefficients of the digital filter forming the pulse shaper 18 , on the other hand , are selected such that they do not influence the group delay time of the received signal . on the other hand , the coefficients of the pulse shaper 18 are selected such that the product of the transmission functions of the receiving element 4 and the pulse shaper 18 has a gaussian characteristic ; the maximum of the gaussian transmission function lies at the frequency f = 0 , and at higher frequencies it drops off to a frequency f 1 , at which the transmission function assumes the value 0 . in a useful manner , the coefficients of the digital filter forming the phase compensator 17 are selected such that the phase compensator 17 alone influences the group delay time , but not the amplitude of the received signal . because of this , it is accomplished that solely the phase characteristic is optimized by means of the phase compensator 17 , and solely the amplitude of the received signal is optimized by means of the pulse shaper 18 . because the amplitude in the receiving element 4 is very low at high frequencies , or assumes the value zero ( fig6 ), the amplitude in the pulse shaper 18 would have to become very large at high frequencies or assume the value infinity in order to assure an ideal transmission behavior . since this cannot be realized , a deviation from the ideal behavior is obtained above a limiting frequency f 0 for the series connection of receiving element 4 and pulse shaper 18 , namely an amplitude that decreases with increasing frequency . the frequency response of the group delay time has the same behavior . provided that the limiting frequency f 0 , at which the transmission function of the entire system of receiving element 4 , phase compensator 17 and pulse shaper 18 uses the frequency dependency , lies above the limiting frequency of the received signals , an essentially distortion - free transmission behavior is obtained . the coefficients of the iir filter and the fir filter are selected so that this condition is met . the influence of the digital filters on the signal course of the received signal is illustrated in fig8 . for the sake of an overview , the different curve shapes are shown staggered in time in fig8 . the ideal , non - distorted received signal ( 1 ) comprises a step function . this corresponds to the transition from a black to a white line element 2a , b of a bar code symbol 2 . as it passes through the receiving element 4 , the received signal is distorted and has the curve shape indicated by ( 2 ). the phase errors of the received signal ( 3 ) are extensively eliminated at the output of the phase compensator 17 , so that the overshoots are configured symmetrical to the time axis when the received signal increases from the signal value of 0 to the signal value of 1 . the received signal is smoothed by the pulse shaper 18 , so virtually no more overshoots are present in the signal curve ( 4 ) at the output of the pulse shaper 19 . as a result , through the use of the digital filters 17 , 18 , the ideal signal course ( 1 ) is nearly recovered from the received signal ( 2 ) distorted in the receiving element . the arrangement 16 of digital filters according to the invention assures a compensation of component - stipulated signal distortions . only component parameters , particularly the characteristic of the transmission function of the receiving element 4 , are considered in the selection of the coefficients of the filters 17 , 18 . consequently , this compensation is not a function of the parameters of the transmitted light beam 8 , and particularly of the reading distance d , the beam diameter and the beam shape . | 6 |
an angular - position measuring device , illustrated in a longitudinal cross - sectional view in fig1 , includes a stator and a rotor . the rotor has a shaft 1 having a shoulder to which a measuring standard 1 . 1 is joined firmly , e . g ., by an adhesive , centrally relative to axis a and with only slight tolerance deviations . axis a extends in the z - direction . measuring standard 1 . 1 is produced with high precision in terms of its dimensional accuracy and planarity . measuring standard 1 . 1 is made of glass and is ring - shaped . the measuring standard 1 . 1 has two end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 , and an angle scaling applied on one of end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 . for example , the angle scaling may be arranged as an incremental graduation having radially oriented scale lines . however , additionally or alternatively , an absolute code may also be provided . end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 are arranged in a plane which is oriented with an orthogonal directional component in relation to the z - direction . in other words , a normal vector to one of end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 has a directional component parallel to the z - direction . in the exemplary embodiments illustrated , end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 are oriented orthogonally to the z - direction , e . g ., the normal vectors of end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 are aligned parallel to axis a , and therefore are oriented in the z - direction . shaft 1 is rotationally mounted by two roller bearings 3 , 4 within a body 2 which is to be assigned to the stator . body 2 has a light source 2 . 2 which , for example , includes an led and a collimator lens , so that collimated light is emitted by light source 2 . 2 . this light passes through measuring standard 1 . 1 , e . g ., its angle scaling , and is modulated according to the angular position between rotor and stator , i . e ., shaft 1 and body 2 . the modulated light is scanned by a scanning device 2 . 3 which is secured on body 2 . suitable photosensitive detectors are provided on scanning device 2 . 3 implemented as a printed circuit board fitted with components . scanning device 2 . 3 also includes electronic components for signal forming — for example , for amplification and digitizing — of the scanning signals supplied by the detectors . an electrical connection is produced between the angular - position measuring device and sequential electronics via a connecting cable , so that electric signals and electrical energy may be transmitted between the sequential electronics and the angular - position measuring device . a housing may be mounted around body 2 and around the remaining components on the stator side , so that , for example , light source 2 . 2 , measuring standard 1 . 1 , and scanning device 2 . 3 are protected from environmental influences . frequently , such housings are not air - tight , for example , for practical applications in connection with electrical drives . if desired , a housing may also be omitted completely . the angular - position measuring device is intended for attachment to a machine , shaft 1 being formed for the rotatably - fixed connection to a component part , for example , a motor shaft to be measured . thus , the angular - position measuring device is able to determine the relative angular position between the stator and the rotor , e . g ., between shaft 1 and body 2 . such angular - position measuring devices are often referred to as rotary encoders , as well . fig2 is an enlarged view of the angular - position measuring device . roller bearings 3 , 4 , respectively , include an inner race 3 . 1 , 4 . 1 , an outer race 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 as well as ball bearings 3 . 3 , 4 . 3 situated radially between inner races 3 . 1 , 4 . 1 and outer races 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 , and , in each case , a cover washer 3 . 4 , 4 . 4 . arranged axially between the two roller bearings 3 , 4 is a sealing unit 5 which includes an inner ring 5 . 1 and an outer ring 5 . 2 . on the rotor side , inner ring 5 . 1 is mounted on shaft 1 . this ring 5 . 1 includes a circumferential extension 5 . 1 . 1 projecting radially to the outside . on the stator side , a two - piece ring 5 . 2 is mounted axially between outer races 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 on body 2 . ring 5 . 2 and extension 5 . 1 . 1 overlap radially , so that a maximum diameter d of inner ring 5 . 1 mounted on shaft 1 is greater than minimum diameter d of outer ring 5 . 2 mounted on body 2 . as illustrated in fig2 , in each case , a gap having width ζ exists in the axial direction at both sides of extension 5 . 1 . 1 . in addition , extension 5 . 1 . 1 and outer ring 5 . 2 mounted on body 2 are disposed opposite one another and are separated by a circumferential gap having width ρ in the radial direction . in the course of assembling the angular - position measuring device , oil is provided in the gap between ring 5 . 2 mounted on body 2 and extension 5 . 1 . 1 . the gap is comparatively small , so that an oil film 5 . 3 is able to be retained in this gap by capillary forces . two - piece outer ring 5 . 2 mounted on body 2 on the stator side has a greater axial height in the relaxed state than the provided spacing of roller bearings 3 , 4 , especially of outer races 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 in the angular - position measuring device . for this reason , after being mounted in the angular - position measuring device , outer ring 5 . 2 is preloaded in the z - direction , e . g ., is compressed elastically in the axial direction . accordingly , an axial preload force is introduced on outer races 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 . the preload force is also transferred to inner races 3 . 1 , 4 . 1 via ball bearings 3 . 3 , 4 . 3 and the bearing grooves . inner races 3 . 1 , 4 . 1 are joined immovably to shaft 1 by an adhesive or a press fit , for example . thus , sealing unit 5 fulfills not only a sealing function , but is also used to achieve a mechanical preloading between roller bearings 3 , 4 . for perfect operation of the angular - position measuring device , it is necessary for the roller bearings 3 , 4 to be lubricated , which is why in each case lubricant or lubricating grease is provided between inner race 3 . 1 , 4 . 1 and outer race 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 . ring - shaped cover washers 3 . 4 , 4 . 4 are to be used basically to keep the lubricant or lubricating grease in roller bearings 3 , 4 and prevent it from migrating in the direction of optically scannable measuring standard 1 . 1 . cover washers 3 . 4 , 4 . 4 are joined firmly to respective outer races 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 , so that no relative movement takes place between cover washers 3 . 4 , 4 . 4 and respective outer race 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 during operation of the angular - position measuring device . in order to generate as little frictional heat as possible in the angular - position measuring device , cover washers 3 . 4 , 4 . 4 do not touch any rotating parts , especially not inner races 3 . 1 , 4 . 1 . during operation of the angular - position measuring device , ring - shaped measuring standard 1 . 1 may rotate with considerable speed . similar to a radial - flow fan , a radial pressure gradient is thereby generated , so that a lower air pressure prevails radially inside at measuring standard 1 . 1 , especially radially inside at end faces 1 . 1 . 1 , 1 . 1 . 2 , than in the radially outer area . consequently , a suction effect is developed due to rotating measuring standard 1 . 1 . in order to ensure that in the case of such pressure conditions , measuring standard 1 . 1 is not contaminated by lubricant components of roller bearings 3 , 4 , sealing unit 5 having oil film 5 . 3 is provided axially between roller bearings 3 , 4 . because of this sealing unit 5 , no air flows through roller bearings 3 , 4 , even in the event of an underpressure in the radially inner area of measuring standard 1 . 1 . particularly if the angular - position measuring device has no housing or has a housing which is not air - tight , it is important that air is prevented from flowing through roller bearings 3 , 4 . the rotation of shaft 1 also causes a rotation of inner ring 5 . 1 of sealing unit 5 with its extension 5 . 1 . 1 . extension 5 . 1 . 1 is moistened with oil , caused by capillary forces or the effects of interfacial surface tensions . therefore , as speed rises , oil film 5 . 3 is pushed more and more into the radially outer area , so that optimal sealing is ensured at high speeds . on the other hand , however , the suction effect due to rotating measuring standard 1 . 1 described above is the greatest at high speeds . thus , inner and outer ring 5 . 1 , 5 . 2 of sealing unit 5 do not touch each other . the result , for example , is that sealing unit 5 works with extremely low friction , and therefore virtually no waste heat is generated in the angular - position measuring device . fig3 is an enlarged view of another exemplary embodiment . it differs from the above - described exemplary embodiment with regard to a modified sealing unit 5 ′. this sealing unit 5 ′ includes an inner ring 5 . 1 ′, which is mounted on shaft 1 and has a circumferential extension 5 . 1 . 1 ′ projecting radially to the outside . this extension 5 . 1 . 1 ′ includes three circumferential recesses which are used as reservoirs 5 . 1 . 1 . 1 ′ for the oil . in addition , sealing unit 5 ′ includes an outer ring 5 . 2 ′ which is two - part and is mounted on the stator side axially between outer races 3 . 2 , 4 . 2 on body 2 . ring 5 . 2 ′ and extension 5 . 1 . 1 ′ overlap radially in the second exemplary embodiment as well , so that maximum diameter d ′ of inner ring 5 . 1 ′ mounted on shaft 1 is greater than minimum diameter d ′ of outer ring 5 . 2 ′ mounted on body 2 . extension 5 . 1 . 1 ′ and outer ring 5 . 2 ′ mounted on body 2 are arranged opposite one another , separated by a circumferential gap having width ρ ′ in the radial direction . reservoirs 5 . 1 . 1 . 1 ′ are arranged radially inside in relation to the circumferential gap having width ρ ′, so that during operation of the angular - position measuring device , e . g ., when ring 5 . 1 ′ is rotating , the oil located in reservoirs 5 . 1 . 1 . 1 ′ is pressed into the gap . in the installed state , as illustrated in fig3 , ring 5 . 2 ′ mounted on body 2 is preloaded in the z - direction , so that analogous to the first exemplary embodiment , an axial preloading of roller bearings 3 , 4 by sealing unit 5 ′ is achieved . due to the special form of the angular - position measuring device , it is possible to keep lubricant residues , e . g ., oil droplets that escape from the lubricant , away from the measuring standard . such lubricant residues often lead to faulty measurements , because the beam path of the light emitted by light source 2 . 2 may be influenced by them . it is also ensured that the lubricant residues are kept away during operation at high speeds . the reason is that the centrifugal forces caused at high speeds improve the sealing effect of the sealing unit . even though high sealing effectiveness is attained by sealing unit 5 , 5 ′ during operation , virtually no heat is generated in the angular - position measuring device by sealing unit 5 , 5 ′, because it operates with extremely low friction . this aspect is also a contributing factor to the very precise and fault - free measuring results achievable by the angular - position measuring device . | 5 |
fig1 and 2 show a multipack 1 having containers 2 joined to each other by adhesive spots 3 . the resulting multipack 1 avoids the use of shrink wrap or film . the particular multipack 1 shown in fig1 is a six - piece multipack because it has six containers 2 . however , other numbers of containers 2 can be formed into a multipack 1 . in some multipacks 1 , the individual containers 2 are pet bottles . however , other types of containers can be used . the adhesive spots 3 are spots of bonding or adhesive agents that connect the individual containers 2 to one another . as used herein , “ adhesive ” refers to any bonding or adhesive agent .” an adhesive spot 3 is made of one or more of these bonding or adhesive agents . for the customer &# 39 ; s convenience , a multipack 1 has an optional carrying handle or carrying loop 4 having first and second ends that connect to opposed first and second containers 2 as shown in fig1 and 2 . in some embodiments , the carrying loop 4 is adhesively bonded to the containers 2 . each container 2 also has an alignment feature 5 . these alignment features 5 are used by a container - processing machine as a basis for rotating individual containers 2 about their container axes so as to bring the adhesive spot 3 into the desired position . in fig2 , one container 2 has been removed from the multipack 1 to reveal the locations of the adhesive spots 3 . it can be seen that adhesive spots are placed so that every container has one or more adhesive spots 3 that face its adjacent containers . the adhesive spots 3 can be found on the belly , on the head , or near the base of a container 2 . it is of particular importance that each point of contact between two containers 2 in a multipack 1 have an adhesive spot thereon , as shown in fig3 a and 3b . fig1 and 2 show a paired arrangement in which a container 2 has a pair of adhesive spots 3 at its head or , respectively , at its belly and near its base . in some cases , an adjacent container 2 does not have any adhesive spot 3 at all . in other cases , the two adhesive spots are on different containers 2 . for example one container 2 has the adhesive spot 3 on the head side and an adjacent container 2 has an adhesive spot 3 on its base . in some embodiments , it is useful for the adhesive spot 3 to made from least two adhesives . the enlarged portion of fig2 shows an adhesive spot 3 formed by first and second adhesives that define first and second zones 3 ′, 3 ″ of the adhesive spot 3 . the different adhesives have different physical or chemical properties . in the embodiment show , the first and second zones 3 ′, 3 ″ of the adhesive spot 3 are spaced apart to form an archipelago of zones 3 ′, 3 ″ arranged in a preselected configuration . however , in other embodiments , the zones 3 ′ 3 ″ are contiguous , and thus do not form adhesive islands within the spot 3 . in the illustrated embodiment , the zones 3 ′, 3 ″ are arranged like the spots in a standard five - spot die from a pair of dice used in a typical casino for such games as craps . the arrangement features a centered first zone 3 ′ and four second zones 3 ″ that define vertices of a square centered about the first zone 3 ′. in the configuration shown , the first zone 3 ′ is made of a first adhesive having a high adhesive strength . in contrast , the second zones 3 ″ are made of a second adhesive having an adhesive strength that is lower than that of the first adhesive . this arrangement enables a container 2 to be easily detached from the multipack 1 , as illustrated in fig2 . in the embodiments of fig1 and 2 , the adhesive spots 3 and any zones 3 ′, 3 ″ thereof are arranged in horizontal planes that are coplanar . in this situation there is the further possibility of applying the individual adhesive spots 3 , 3 ′, 3 ″ inside the multipack 1 in different positions on the container 2 , as indicated in fig3 a and 3b . these can be placed in the same horizontal plane , in different vertical positions , or in different positions in relation to a longitudinal axis of the container 2 . each container 2 has a container axis that defines a cylindrical coordinate system for that container 2 . adhesive spots 3 can be applied anywhere on the surface of that container 2 at any axial coordinate and at any circumferential coordinate defined by the cylindrical coordinate system . fig3 a and 3b show containers 2 arranged in rows and columns in a multipack 1 . although only four containers are shown , it will be understood that a multipack is in effect a container lattice for which the arrangement shown in fig3 a and 3b forms a primitive cell that is tiled to form the lattice . thus , the description of fig3 a and 3b is applicable to any subset of four containers in a larger multipack 1 . the multipack 1 consists of a first container , a second container , a third container , and a fourth container arranged to form vertices of a square . the first and second containers define a top row , the third and fourth containers define a bottom row , the first and third container define a left column , and the second and fourth containers define a right column . a first set of adhesive spots 3 ′ joins the left and right columns of containers 2 and a second set of adhesive spots 3 ″ joins the top and bottom rows of containers 2 . a convenient way to refer to the different circumferential coordinates of the adhesive spots 3 ′, 3 ″ in fig3 a and 3b is by reference to different positions on a clock face . in fig3 a , each container in the left column has an adhesive spot 3 ′ at the three o &# 39 ; clock position , whereas each container in the right column has an adhesive spot 3 ′ at the nine o &# 39 ; clock position . these spots 3 ′ hold the two columns together . additional spots 3 ″ hold the top row to the bottom row . in particular , the second container , which is in the top row and right column , has an adhesive spot 3 ″ at the five o &# 39 ; clock position while the fourth container , which is in the bottom row and the right column , has an adhesive spot 3 ″ at the one o &# 39 ; clock position . meanwhile , the first container , which is in the top row and left column , has an adhesive spot 3 ″ at the seven o &# 39 ; clock position and the third container , which is in the bottom row and left column , has an adhesive spot 3 ″ in the eleven o &# 39 ; clock position . an alternative way to describe the circumferential coordinates of the adhesive spots 3 ′, 3 ″ is by identifying an inter - spot angle formed by a first line that extends from the first adhesive spot 3 ′ to the container axis , and a second line that extends from the second spot 3 ″ to the container axis . in the embodiment shown in fig3 a , these inter - spot angles are all obtuse angles . in contrast , in the embodiment shown in fig3 b , the second adhesive spots 3 ″ have been interchanged so that the resulting inter - spot angle becomes acute . in some embodiments , the adhesive strength that connects columns to each other can differ from that connecting rows to each other . this affects the manner in which one would separate containers from the multipack 1 . for instance , if the adhesive strength connecting columns to each other is the greater of the two , it will be easier to separate one row at a time from the multipack 1 . conversely , if the adhesive strength connecting rows to each other is the greater of the two , it will be easier to separate one column at a time from the multipack 1 . this difference between adhesive strengths is suggested in fig3 a and 3b by showing adhesive spots 3 ′, 3 ″ that have different thicknesses , with the second adhesive spots 3 ″ being noticeably thicker than the first adhesive spots 3 ′. having first and second sets of adhesive spots 3 ′, 3 ″ with different adhesive strengths can be executed in different ways , for example by using different adhesive materials or different configurations of adhesive materials within a spot , or by pre - treatment of the adhesive material . | 8 |
in fig1 a freeze - drying unit is now described as an example of a facility with containers being charged and / or discharged and designated 1 . it includes a chamber 2 , in which support surfaces 3 are housed . the height of these support surfaces can be adjusted with the aid of a cylinder piston device 4 , which is not more closely detailed . on the one hand , this height adjustment facility permits the support surfaces 3 to be set to a certain charging height . secondly , with the aid of the cylinder piston device 4 , the support surfaces 3 can be shifted closer together to close the containers after the freeze drying procedure has been completed . one wall 5 of the chamber 2 is provided with a mouth 6 , which can be shut with the flap 7 . in front of the freeze - drying unit 1 at the level of the mouth 6 there a transfer table 8 , which is supported on the charging trolley 9 above the horizontal spindle 11 and the spindle nuts 12 . the transfer table 8 includes the actual table surface 13 and the slide 14 , which itself is arranged in the manner shown in ep - a - 391 208 such that , though not depicted with respect to the table surface 13 , it can be moved back and forth beyond the front side of the transfer table 8 in the manner shown in as ep - a - 391 208 . fig2 is an enlarged view of the area of the mouth 6 in the chamber wall 5 . the spindle guides 11 and 12 are extended such that the transfer table 8 can be moved up to the support surface 3 to be loaded , in such a manner that the top of this support surface 3 and the table surface 13 of the transfer table 8 constitute a single plane . the slide 14 , which includes the containers 15 located on the transfer table 8 with loosely fitted stoppers 16 , can be slid into the interior of the freeze - drying chamber 1 across the face of the transfer table ( see fig1 in which the inserted slide is depicted as a dashed line ). the edge 17 of the slide facing the mouth 6 in the chamber wall 5 , in the position according to fig1 can be lifted with a pair of side arms see the positions respectively outlined ). once the slide 14 has been inserted completely into the chamber 2 , the raising of the slide edge 17 is depicted first -- in dashes -- and then the withdrawal of the slide 14 . the containers 15 remain on the support surface 3 . subsequently , the charging of the next support surface 31 can be started or , if the last support surface has been filled up , the flap 7 is closed and the freeze drying process can be commenced . in order to charge a further support surface 3 , the transfer table 8 is filled again with containers 15 . this can be carried out by rolling the charging trolley 9 up to a formatting table ( not shown ) which , for example can be arranged opposite the mouth 6 . the transfer table 8 is then positioned in front of the formatting table . in order to be able to take up the flasks on the formatting table using the slide 14 , the edge 19 of the slide 14 also opposite the edge 17 can be lifted with the aid of the side arms 21 . the movement of the slide 14 is then carried out with edge 19 raised . once the slide 14 has taken up all of the containers from the suitably sized table , the edge 19 is lowered and the slide 14 is pulled back such that all of the containers are slid onto the surface to the transfer table 8 . centering bolt 22 and guide blocks 23 are provided to ensure that the charging trolley 9 is correctly positioned in front of the freeze - drying unit 1 or possibly also in front of the suitably sized table . there is the possibility of adjusting the height of the transfer table 8 , if support surfaces 3 having different heights have to be loaded . thus , the dead space in the freeze - drying changer 1 can be kept to a minimum . the size of mouth . 6 has to be dimensioned correspondingly . furthermore , the transfer table 8 can also be supported on the charging trolley 9 such that it can be rotated freely . then it suffices when only one of the edges 17 , 19 of the slide 14 can be raised , as then only the respective raisable edge can be positioned facing the suitably sized table or the support surface 3 to be charged or discharged . the back and forth movement of the slide 14 is also preformed with a spindle guide 25 , depicted in fig3 and arranged to the side of transfer table 8 . the slide 14 is guided back and forth in a sliding motion on the spindle 25 via the spindle nut 27 and the bracket 26 , which is solidly attached to the slide 14 . the slide 14 itself is equipped with rollers , which are not depicted in the figures . these are supported by the edges of the transfer table 13 , which simultaneously function as runners for the rollers . for a trouble - free transfer of the containers 15 on the surface of the transfer table 8 and from this to the support surfaces 3 ( and vice - versa ) it is required that respective adjacent surfaces form a flat surface . it has already been suggested that the table surface 13 of the transfer table 8 be equipped with a marginal section 31 , which faces the respective table or support surface 3 to be loaded or unloaded and that it be attached to the main section of the table surface 13 via a joint 32 in such a manner that the height of the free corner of section 31 can be adjusted . in this solution , stoppers are attached to the section 31 and define the position of the surface of the transfer table 8 . the stoppers are attached on the side of the section in such a way that they do not impair the transfer of the containers . referring to fig4 - 6 , the swiveling marginal section 31 of the transfer table 8 is subdivided into a plurality of tongues 33 , each of which can independently pivot around an axis 34 disposed parallel to the edge of the table surface 13 ( see in particular fig3 ). these tongues 33 have been provided with suitable stop faces 35 , which have been designed and mounted to the support surfaces 3 such that when the tongues 33 are placed on top of these stop faces 35 , they fit flush with the front edges of the support surfaces 3 . in the examples illustrated in fig4 to 6 , the ( front ) edge of the support surface 3 facing the transfer table 8 is equipped with a step as a stopper , which has a height corresponding to the thickness of the tongues 33 . when the tongues 33 are lying on the step 35 ( fig4 and 6 ), a virtually flat transfer surface is produced between the table surface 13 of the transfer table 8 and the top of the support surface 3 , even when the front edge of the support surface 3 is not exactly level . the stop face or step 35 is formed by metal rails ( not shown ) attached to the support surfaces 3 ( fig2 and 4 ). however , there is also the possibility of cutting it into the front edges of the support surfaces 3 ( fig4 ). in operation , the transfer table 8 is moved up to a support surface 3 such that it is initially slightly higher than the support surface ( fig5 ). in this position of the transfer table 8 the tongues 33 are lying on a support ledge 36 connected to the table and running under the tongues ( fig4 ). still the inclination of the tongues 33 is so slight that there is no danger of the containers 15 tipping over . the transfer table 8 is then lowered downwardly until the tongues 33 rest on the step 35 . the downward motion of the transfer table 8 can be controlled by a proximity switch 37 ( fig2 and 6 ) located underneath one of the tongues 33 . this proximity switch can be part of the support ledge 36 ( fig3 ). the proximity switch 37 is connected to a control module 39 ( fig2 ) via a connecting lead 38 . using this control module 39 , the downward motion of the transfer table 8 or the upward motion of the support surfaces 3 can be controlled using the cylinder piston facility 4 ( fig1 ). | 5 |
referring to fig6 a four - port , four - way stopcock 70 of the present invention comprises a body 72 and a core 74 . in a preferred embodiment , the body 72 is substantially similar to the body 4 of the three - port , four - way stopcock of fig2 . the body 72 includes a main entry port 76 , a main exit port 78 and a secondary entry port 80 , each being confluent to a central chamber 82 . the core 74 has an axial portion 84 , an axial port 96 and a lever 86 . in a preferred embodiment , the main entry port 76 has a female luer lock connector 30 , the main exit port 78 has a male luer lock or luer slip connector 32 and the secondary entry port 80 has a female luer connector 30 attached to its end . in another embodiment ( shown in fig9 ), port 80 may have a male luer lock or luer slip type connector . referring to fig7 a and 7b , the axial portion 84 of the core 74 includes a first channel 88 , a second channel 90 , a third channel 92 and an axial flow channel 94 , which ends at the opening of the axial port 96 . the first channel 88 and third channel 92 are open to one another , as are the second channel 90 and axial flow channel 94 . neither the first channel 88 nor third channel 92 is open to either the second channel 90 or axial flow channel 94 , and vice - versa . the second channel 90 opens in the direction in which the lever 86 points . the openings of channels 88 , 90 and 92 are all on the same horizontal plane of the core 74 . referring to fig7 b , the second channel 90 is shorter than the first channel 88 and third channel 92 and does not intersect them . instead , a remaining thickness of core material separates the fluid flow path defined by the confluent first channel 88 and third channel 92 . the axial portion 84 further includes an axial port 96 which opens vertically above the lever 86 . in a preferred embodiment , the axial port 96 includes a female luer - lock connector 30 . the axial flow channel 94 , which opens at the axial port 96 , is not entirely vertical , but is positioned at an acute angle to vertical such that it connects the axial port 96 with the shortened second flow channel 90 , yet avoids connection , or communication , with the fluid flow path formed by the first channel 88 and the third channel 92 . the four - port , four - way stopcock 70 of the present invention features two independent fluid flow paths through its core 74 . a main fluid flow path is formed by the first channel 88 and third channel 92 , and a secondary fluid flow path is formed by the second channel 90 and the axial flow channel 94 . when the core 74 is press - fit assembled to the body 72 , the four - port , four - way stopcock of the present invention is complete . the two press - fit parts combine to make an air - tight and a fluid - tight seal . as the lever 86 is rotated , thereby rotating the core 74 , the second flow channel 90 opens in a new direction equal to the direction into which the protruding lever 86 extends . flow is enabled between the axial port 96 and either the main entry port 76 , main exit port 78 or secondary entry port 80 via the axial flow channel 94 when the lever 86 is pointing towards one of these respective ports . there are four positions of the lever 86 which provide four useful ways for fluid to flow through the stopcock 70 . first , when the lever 86 is turned to point in a direction opposite the secondary entry port 80 , medication or fluid , such as a syringe or a secondary iv line , attached to the axial port 96 cannot flow because the second flow channel 90 is blocked , as there is norort extending in that direction to accommodate flow . the main fluid flow path is , however , enabled for flow between the main entry port 76 and main exit port 78 . second , when the lever 86 is pointed toward the secondary entry port 80 , flow is enabled between the axial port 96 and the secondary entry port 80 , as well as between the main entry port 76 and exit port 78 , simultaneously . thus , two independent fluid flow paths through the stopcock 70 are enabled and all four ports are being utilized at the same time . third , when the lever 86 is pointed toward the main entry port 76 , flow is enabled between the axial port 96 and the main entry port 76 , no other ports being enabled . likewise , and finally , when the lever 86 is pointed toward the main exit port 78 , flow is only enabled between the axial port 96 and the main exit port 78 . both aspiration , or flow to the axial port 96 , and infusion , or flow from the axial port 96 are possible in conjunction with any of the three horizontal ports 76 , 78 , 80 . a clinician has the additional option of using the secondary entry port 80 for infusion or aspiration with the axial port 96 , while at the same time enabling flow between the main entry port 76 and main exit port 78 . referring to fig7 c , the lever 86 has an arrow 98 on its upper surface pointing in a direction in which the lever 86 protrudes . the lever 86 further has the word “ on ” 99 written on its upper surface to indicate to the user which way the fluid will flow from or to the axial port 96 into or out of the second flow channel 90 . the lever 86 will always point to the specific port that fluid or medication to / from a syringe or secondary iv line attached to the axial port 96 will flow . a clinician can thus immediately know where fluid to or from the axial port 96 will flow . the improved stopcock of the present invention has the advantage that it has four - ports and can support fluid flow in four different and useful ways . also , the flow ports are located in two separate planes , three 76 , 78 , 80 associated with the body 72 in a single horizontal plane and the axial port 96 of the core 74 extending vertically upwards . prior art devices restrict the possible choices of orientation of the stopcocks and attached medical devices . an additional advantage of the four - port , four - way stopcock 70 of the present invention is that two independent fluid flow paths can be simultaneously enabled . this is not possible with the prior art stopcocks 2 ( shown in fig1 a ), 34 ( shown in fig4 ). an important clinical situation where the ability to run two separate fluid paths through a stopcock simultaneously would be used , is during blood transfusion . blood transfusion is a common procedure during surgery and in the post operative care units . blood is usually obtained from the blood bank in the form of packed red blood cells . the packed red blood cells from the blood bank are cold , and they are a very viscous solution . packed red blood cells are obtained by separating the fluid plasma from the cells of the whole blood , by centrifuging the blood after the blood has been taken from the donor . the separated blood components are stored in the refrigerator , in the blood bank , to prolong their shelf life . the cold , viscous , packed red blood cells are frequently diluted with saline solution , by the clinician before transfusing them into the patient , to make them less viscous and to warm them up . a warm , and less viscous , solution of red blood cells will flow through an iv system much faster than will a viscous solution of cold packed red blood cells . the ability to transfuse blood rapidly is important when blood must be transfused into a patient as fast as possible to preserve the patient &# 39 ; s vital signs . referring to fig8 with the four - port , four - way stopcock 70 of the present invention , the main fluid flow path between the main entry port 76 and main exit port 78 can be used as the main iv line to infuse fluids and medications into a patient , while the secondary fluid flow path between the axial port 96 and secondary entry port 80 can be used to dilute the packed red blood cells . to perform this simultaneous procedure , the lever 86 is first turned to point opposite the secondary entry port 80 . this is the “ off ” position for the axial port 96 because there is no flow port opposite the secondary entry port 80 . in this position , medication is now flowing from a main iv set connected to the main entry port 76 , through the first channel 88 and the third channel 92 , through the main exit port 78 , to the iv extension set connected to the iv catheter in the patient . a bag of saline solution to be used for diluting the packed red blood cells is next attached to a secondary iv set , and a male luer connector 32 of the secondary iv set is attached to the female luer connector 30 of the secondary entry port 80 . the bag of packed red blood cells is attached to a third iv set , and the male luer connector 32 of this third iv set is attached to the female luer connector 30 at the axial port 96 . after these connections are made , the saline bag is maintained at a level higher than the level of the bag of packed red blood cells . the lever 86 is next turned to point toward the secondary entry port 80 . this enables the diluting saline solution to flow through the secondary iv set attached to the secondary entry port 80 , through the second channel 90 and axial flow channel 94 , out the axial port 96 , through the third iv set and into the bag of packed red blood cells to dilute the viscous packed red blood cells and make them warmer . turning the lever 86 toward the secondary entry port 80 also permits continued flow through the main iv flow path , and continued therapy to the patient through the main iv line while the packed red blood cells are being diluted through the secondary fluid flow path . both the main and secondary fluid flow paths of the stopcock 70 of the present invention are thus flowing simultaneously . when the red blood cells attached to the axial port 96 have been diluted with the saline solution coming from the secondary entry port 80 , the lever 86 is next turned to point toward the main exit port 78 , and the diluted red blood cells can now flow from the bag of diluted red blood cells , through the third iv set attached to the bag of diluted red blood cells , into the axial port 96 , through the axial flow channel 94 , out of the main exit port 78 and into the patient . this technique of red blood cell dilution and subsequent infusion into the patient is done with a simple twist of the lever 86 of the four - port , four - way stopcock 70 , and prevents any spillage of valuable blood cells or contamination of any fluids in the iv system . this uninterrupted , red blood cell dilution and transfusion procedure is easily , and sterilely , completed with the four - port , four - way stopcock 70 of the present invention because of the stopcock &# 39 ; s ability to enable two separate flow paths at one time . in another embodiment , the secondary entry port 80 would comprise a male luer slip or luer lock fitting . this is an ideal configuration for filling skin expanders or breast implants ( which are typically equipped provided with an inflation tube having a female luer connector ) with air or fluid from a syringe attached to axial port 96 . from the foregoing description , it is believed apparent that the present invention provides a novel four - port , four - way stopcock for intravenous injections and infusions . it should be understood , however , that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specifics of the illustrated embodiments , but rather is defined by the accompanying claims . | 8 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.