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a chassis 1 is constructed in the form of a housing . capstan shafts 2a and 3a of flywheels 2 and 3 respectively are symmetrically journalled in a mounting plate , not shown , disposed within the chassis 1 . a motor 4 is affixed to the chassis 1 and is connected by a belt 4a to the flywheels 2 and 3 . a cartridge holder 5 for accepting a tape cartridge 6 from outside the chassis into the same is provided , on each of opposite vertical sides facing the chassis 1 , with three guide rollers 5a , 5b and 5c . the guide rollers 5a and 5b are fitted in l - shaped guide grooves 1a and 1b formed on each vertical side wall of the chassis 1 respectively . each l - shaped guide groove has a horizontal guide portion and an ascending guide portion . the guide roller 5c is fitted in a guide groove 7a formed on a pressing plate 7 of which will be described afterward . the cartridge holder 5 is guided aslant with respect to the chassis 1 and is aligned horizontally when the guide rollers 5a and 5b reach the upper most ends of the respective guide grooves 1a and 1b . the pressing plate 7 pivoted on the side wall of the chassis 1 at one end is continuously urged by a spring 7b in the direction to close the cartridge holder 5 , i . e . in the counterclockwise direction in fig2 . a guide groove 7a 1 is formed on an extension 7a of the pressing plate 7 . guide pins 8a and 8b affixed to a sliding plate 8 provided in a horizontally sliding engagement with the chassis are fitted in guide grooves 1c and 1b formed on the side wall of the chassis 1 respectively and are allowed to move forward and rearward , rightward and leftward in fig2 along the side wall of the chassis 1 . the sliding plate 8 is urged by a spring 8c extended between the chassis 1 and the guide pin 8a in the direction to eject the cartridge holder 5 toward outside the player , i . e . leftward in fig2 . a vertical guide groove 8d is formed on the sliding plate 8 to guide the shaft 5a 1 of the guide roller 5a , therefore , the sliding plate 8 is allowed to advance with the forward movement of the cartridge holder 5 . in other words , sliding plate 8 is in vertically sliding engagement with cartridge holder 5 . an ejecting lever 9 is provided on opposite ends thereof with guide rollers 9a and 9b which are guided by guide grooves 1e and 1f formed on the side wall of the chassis 1 with an angular relationship of 120 ° to each other so as to allow the ejecting lever to perform approximately an arcuate movement . this arcuate movement is accomplished provided that said angular relationship is within the range of 90 ° to 180 °. the guide roller 9a is in contact with the upper surface of the leading end of the cartridge holder 5 and is urged by a spring 9c so as to depress the leading end of the cartridge holder 5 to maintain its oblique position . a pawl 10 is pivotally mounted on the guide pin 8b and is allowed to turn in the counterclockwise direction within the arcuate range 10a whereas the turning in the clockwise direction is restricted by contact between a stopping face 10b and the upper rim of the sliding plate 8 . a stopper plate 11 pivotally connected on the chassis 1 by means of a pivot 11a is urged in the clockwise direction by a spring 11b . the left and right stopper plate 11 are coupled by a coupling rod 12 as shown in fig1 and 2 . a connecting lever 13 is rotatably joined with the coupling rod 12 at the center part of the coupling rod 12 and is connected at its front end to a plunger 14 of a solenoid by means of a pin 13a . the front end portion of the stopper plate 11 is formed in a hook 11c which engages with a bend 9d ( fig1 ) with the ejecting lever 9 as illustrated in fig4 . guide pins 5d and 5e are affixed to the extending part of the cartridge holder 5 . the guide pins 5d and 5e are guided by guide grooves 15a and 15b respectively of a cam plate 15 so as to guide the transverse movement of the cam plate 15 in fig1 and 5 . a reproducing head 16a is attached to a head mount 16 provided with three guide pins 16b , 16c and 16d directing downward which are guided by guide grooves 5f , 5g and 5h formed on the extending part of the cartridge holder 5 at a leading end thereof . a cam roller 16e mounted on the guide pin 16b is pressed against a cam surface 15e of the cam plate 15 by a spring 16f . pinch roller holders 17 and 18 are rotatably attached to the cartridge holder 5 by means of pivots 17a and 18a respectively . said pinch roller holders carry free running pinch rollers thereon and are urged by springs 17b and 18b so as to push the pinch rollers 17c and 18c against the capstan shafts 2a and 3a respectively . cam rollers 17d and 18d attached to pinch roller holders 17 and 18 are engaged with cam holes 15d and 15e symmetrically formed on the cam plate 15 respectively . the cam holes 15d and 15e comprise raised cam faces 15d 1 and 15e 1 , intermediate cam faces 15d 2 and 15e 2 , and recessed cam faces 15d 3 and 15e 3 respectively . with the movement of the cam plate 15 , the cam rollers 17d and 18d selectively come in contact with those cam faces to control the distances between the pinch rollers 17c and 18c and the capstan shafts 2a and 3a respectively . from the central part of the rear end of the cam plate 15 is projecting an extension 15f having a slot 15f 1 which is adapted to engage with a pendent pin 19a of a plunger 19 as the cartridge holder 5 moves from the oblique position to the horizontal position . operation of the mechanism will be described according to the above - mentioned construction . when a cartridge 6 is inserted in the cartridge holder 5 with the opening in front , and then pushed , the cartridge holder 5 is moved parallel from the position of fig2 to the position of fig3 keeping the same inclination as the guide rollers 5a and 5b are guided along the horizontal parts of the guide grooves 1a and 1b and the guide groove 7a 1 of the pressing plate 7 . the sliding plate 8 is advanced with the horizontal movement of the cartridge holder 5 as the shaft 5a 1 of the guide roller 5a is fitted in the guide groove 8d of the sliding plate 8 . the pawl 10 is pivotally fitted on the front guide pin 8b of the sliding plate 8 and the nose is put to the guide roller 9b of the ejecting lever 9 as shown in fig2 therefore , the pawl 10 pushes the guide roller 9b toward the stopper plate 11 with the advancement of the sliding plate 8 and finally , the ejecting lever 9 is forced to move against the spring 9c to the position shown in fig3 along a locus of a circular arc . when the movement of the ejecting lever 9 has been completed , the stopper plate 11 which has been turned to the position shown in fig2 by the spring 11b is turned in the counterclockwise direction by the action of the plunger 14 through the connecting lever 13 and the coupling rod 12 so that the hook 11c of the stopper plate 11 engages with the bend 9d of the ejecting lever 9 to retain the ejecting lever 9 at the position shown in fig3 . the guide roller 9b moves downward with respect to the pawl 10 with its rightward advancement as the guide groove 1f by which the guide roller 9b is guided is declined in the direction of advancement of the guide roller 9b , however , the hook 11c engages with the bend 9d of the ejecting lever 9 before the guide roller 9b escapes from the pawl 10 as hereinafter described . when the guide rollers 5a and 5b have reached the respective ends of the horizontal portions of the guide grooves 1a and 1b respectively , the guide rollers 5a and 5b of the cartridge holder 5 are urged into the vertical portions of the guide grooves 1a and 1b respectively as the cartridge holder 5 is continuously pushed upward by the spring force of the spring 7b applied to the pressing plate 7 and the guide roller 9a which has been depressing the cartridge holder 5 has already been moved upward . accordingly , the cartridge holder 5 is allowed to turn slightly from the slanted state shown in fig3 to the horizontal state shown in fig4 while the ejecting lever 9 is retained above said horizontal position . thus when the cartridge holder 5 has been set in the horizontal position , the capstan shafts 2a and 3a are in alignment with the corresponding holes on the cartridge 6 , therefore the cartridge 6 does not interfer with the capstan shafts 2a and 3a during its shift to the horizontal position allowing the capstan shafts 2a and 3a to accurately fit in the capstan shaft receiving holes on the cartridge 6 . the cartridge holder 5 moves slightly forward ( rightward in fig3 or 4 ) during its transition from the slanted position shown in fig3 to the horizontal position shown in fig4 as the vertical portions of the guide grooves 1a and 1b are slightly inclined in the clockwise direction . thus the capstan shafts 2a and 3a are accurately aligned with the respective centers of the capstan shaft receiving holes on the cartridge 6 when the cartridge holder 5 has been moved to the horizontal state . the sliding plate 8 and the pawl 10 also are advanced with the advancement of the cartridge holder 5 during the transition of the cartridge holder 5 from the slanted position to the horizontal position whereby the pawl 10 pushes the guide roller 9b of the ejecting lever 9 so that the guide roller 9b is made to move further forward as well as downward , and finally , the pawl 10 rides over the guide roller 9b . when the cartridge has been disposed horizontally through the process as hereinbefore described , reel shafts , not shown , descend and fit in the corresponding reel hubs of the cartridge 6 in the manner as described in detail in japanese patent application no . 62908 / 79 . during the transition of the cartridge holder 5 from the slanted position to the horizontal position , the extension 15f of the cam plate 15 approaches the pendent pin 19a of the plunger 19 diagonally from under the pendent pin 19a , and when the cartridge holder 5 has been perfectly aligned in the horizontal position , the slot 15f 1 of the extension 15 engages with the pendent pin 19a as shown by long and two short dashes lines in fig4 and 5 , thus completing the setting of the cartridge 6 . at the completion of the setting of the cartridge 6 , the head 16a has already been positioned at the rew - or ff - position , being inserted into the opening of the cartridge 6 as shown in fig1 . at this position , the head 16a lightly contacts the tape surface such that non - recorded areas between musical performances are detected during rewinding or fast forward winding . referring to fig5 in reproducing the records by driving the tape from the right to the left , the solenoid is energized to shift the plunger 19 from the position shown by the phantom lines to the position shown by the continuous lines . with the shifting of the plunger 19 , the cam plate is moved rightward through the pendent pin 19a and the extension 15f . with the movement of the cam plate 15 , the cam face 15c pushes the cam roller 16e causing the head mount 16 , that is the reproducing head 16a , to be pushed against the tape surface . on the other hand , with the rightward movement of the cam plate 15 , the cam rollers 17d and 18d of the pinch roller holders 17 and 18 respectively are moved from the raised cam faces 15d 1 and 15e 1 of the cam holes 15d and 15e to the recessed cam face 15d 3 and the intermediate cam face 15e 2 respectively . with the movement of the cam roller 17d to the recessed cam face 15d 3 , the pinch roller holder 17 is allowed to turn slightly in the clockwise direction under the action of the spring 17b . the recessed cam face 15d 3 is recessed deep enough to allow the pinch roller 17c to be pressed against the capstan shaft 2a before the cam roller 17d come in contact with the recessed cam face 15d 3 . with the movement of the cam roller 18a to the intermediate cam face 15e 2 , the pinch roller holder 18 is allowed to turn slightly in the counterclockwise direction under the action of the spring 18b . the intermediate cam face 15e 2 is so formed that the cam roller 18d comes in contact with the intermediate cam face 15e 2 before the pinch roller 18c comes in contact with the capstan shaft 3a so that the pinch roller 18c is stopped with a small gap between the pinch roller 18c and the capstan shaft 3a ( fig5 ). thus , with the movement of the cam plate 15 , the reproducing head 16a and the pinch rollers 17c and 18c are simultaneously advanced and set to the respective operating positions , and then the tape is driven leftward and the reproducing of the records is started by supplying electricity to the motor 4 . in reproducing the records by driving the tape rightward , the cam plate 15 is shifted to the left , then the component members operate in the opposite directions with respect to the directions as hereinbefore described referring to the case when the cam plate 15 is shifted to the right , however , detailed description will be omitted to avoid duplication . the cartridge ejecting operation will be described hereunder . when an eject lever , not shown , is operated , first the solenoid is energized to actuate the plunger 19 which returns the cam plate 15 to the neutral position so that the reproducing head 16a and the pinch rollers 17c and 18c are retracted . when the solenoid including the the plunger 14 is unenergized , the stopper plate 11 is turned in the clockwise direction by the action of the spring 11b so that the hook 11c and the bend 9d of the ejecting lever 9 are disengaged . at the beginning of this disengagement when the component members are arranged as shown in fig4 the guide roller 9b of the ejecting lever 9 is separated from the pawl 10 , therefore , when the bend 9d is released from the hook 11c , the ejecting lever 9 is allowed to move from the position of fig3 to that of fig2 under the action of the expansion spring 9c . during this movement of the ejecting lever 9 , the guide roller 9a pushes down the cartridge holder 5 against the lifting force of the pressing plate 7 so that the guide rollers 5a and 5b are pushed down along the respective vertical portions of the guide grooves 1a and 1b formed on the chassis 1 respectively and the cartridge holder 5 is moved to the slanted position . when the guide rollers 5a and 5b of the cartridge holder 5 have reached the lower most parts of the respective guide grooves 1a and 1b , the cartridge holder 5 is pulled by the spring 8c through the guide pin 8a , the sliding plate 8 , the guide groove 8d , the shaft 5a 1 of the guide roller 5a in the ejecting direction , i . e . to the left in fig3 consequently , the guide rollers 5a and 5b move along the horizontal portions of the guide grooves 1a and 1b respectively leftward thus ejecting the cartridge holder 5 as shown in fig2 and facilitating the replacement of the cartridge 6 . during the leftward movement of the pawl 10 together with the leftward movement of the sliding plate 8 , the pawl 10 rides over the guide roller 9b as it is turned in the counterclockwise direction against the action of the spring 10c as the guide roller 9b of the ejecting lever 9 has previously been returned to the left side position . finally , the pawl 10 is restored to the position shown in fig2 . according to the present invention , the cartridge holder in which a cartridge has been housed can be advanced and moved vertically . the guide rollers are mounted on the side of the holder and guided along the guide groove formed in the side of the chassis , so that the holder is turnable around the rollers without increasing the amount of movement thereof . thus , it is possible to obtain a compact tape player which has a simplified mechanism . since the cartridge is removed from the player with the associated holder , there is no fear that the cartridge may be damaged . | 6 |
in accordance with the foregoing summary , the following presents a detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention that is currently considered to be the best mode . the capacitance measurements of the present invention are based on a device and method to study high shear rate viscosity in relatively thick lubricant films , such as films 50 - 150 nm thick . using this base method , the thickness of a lubricant film sheared between a commercial slider and disk may be determined by measuring the capacitance between the slider and disk . friction force , the force required to shear the film , may be simultaneously measured . this base method , however , is only moderately successful on films less then 10 nm thick since slider curvature and surface roughness prevent complete wetting of the slider rails with lubricant . to alleviate this problem , a liquid dielectric capacitor is presented . in this capacitor , capacitance may be measured between the disk substrate and a small - diameter metal pin in near contact with the lubricant . the space between the pin and disk may be flooded with a liquid having a high dielectric constant . using this or a similar type of capacitor , variations in lubricant film thickness on the order of 0 . 1 nm or smaller can be measured with a lateral resolution of about 100 microns . the present invention discloses a capacitance technique using a slider as well as a technique using a liquid dielectric capacitor . in the slider measurements , a correlation may be sought between the film thickness calculated from capacitance measurements and film thickness calculated from friction force measurements . in the liquid dielectric capacitor measurements , ellipsometer measurements may be used as a means to both calibrate the capacitance measurement and compare the accuracy of the capacitance model used to calculate film thickness with actual film thickness . to map the lubricant film thickness on a disk , the capacitance may be measured between a conductor in near contact with the disk and the substrate of the disk . the lubricant and carbon overcoat between the conductor and disk substrate may act as dielectrics and the measured capacitance may be a function of the thickness of these two layers . one embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 . major components of the device 1 are a variable speed platform 2 , a triaxial stage 3 for positioning a slider 4 or probe on the disk , a bi - axial force transducer 5 , a capacitance meter 6 , and a computer 7 to control the apparatus and acquire data . the platform 2 may be belt - driven by a device such as a pancake - type dc servomotor 8 with an integral tachometer and used with an analog servo or similar amplifier 9 and transformer . the platform 2 may be driven at speeds ranging from 0 . 1 to 500 rpm with an accuracy of 3 %. a disk 10 attached to or placed on the platform 2 may be electrically isolated from the platform by an acetyl washer . an aluminum clamp that may be used to hold the disk to the platform may contain a mercury - filled cup 11 . a pin dipped in this cup 11 may provide a low noise electrical contact between the disk 10 , which acts as one plate of a capacitor , and the capacitance meter 6 . the other plate for the capacitor may be provided by a commercial slider 4 or by a metal pin immersed within a liquid dielectric , possibly confined by a polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) or similar slider . the slider or liquid dielectric capacitor ( described later ) may be mounted on an acetyl arm , which may in turn be mounted on a biaxial force transducer 5 . the force transducer 5 may use semiconductor strain gages to measure friction and normal forces . the force transducer 5 may be mounted on a triaxial stage 3 , which may be positioned by a stepper motor 12 . an encoder 13 attached to the platform 2 may be used to measure disk velocity and position and also to trigger the capacitance and strain gage measurements . capacitance measurements may be made with an hp 4278a or similar capacitance meter . this type of meter can measure from 100 pf to 100 pf with a 1 khz oscillator frequency and from 1 pf to 1024 pf with a 1 mhz oscillator frequency . the oscillator voltage may be set from 0 . 1 v to 1 . 0 v . a sample rate of up to 50 hz may be possible . an hpib interface may be used for data acquisition . for the oscillator frequency and voltage used , such as 0 . 1 v and 1 khz respectively , resolution may be ± 0 . 05 % of the full scale reading . in liquid dielectric capacitance measurements of a lubricant film with a mean thickness of 3 . 2 nm , a variation of 2 nm in film thickness produced a variation in measured capacitance of 40 % of the full scale reading , indicating a resolution of better than 0 . 1 nm . the dimension of the slider or pin used may determine lateral resolution of the measurement . a 1 . 0 mm diameter pin is preferably used for the lubricant film thickness maps while a 0 . 1 mm diameter pin may be used for profiling wear tracks produced as a result of drag tests . in one embodiment , disks may be measured from an outer radius of 46 mm to an inner radius of 18 mm . one thousand measurements may be made per disk revolution and once per revolution the slider may be moved inward by the stepper motor 0 . 9 mm . the measurement process may be continued until the inner disk radius is reached . to produce a lubricant film thickness map , a 92 × 92 array may be first constructed . each element in the array preferably corresponds to one square millimeter . every measurement may then be mapped into the element of the array corresponding to the position of the slider on the disk at the time of measurement . in measurements with commercial sliders , friction force and capacitance between the slider and disk may be measured simultaneously . in fig2 a , an illustration of a slider - disk interface 14 is given along with an equivalent capacitance model . fig2 a shows a slider 15 in contact with the surface of a lubricant layer 16 . the lubricant layer covers a carbon overcoat 17 on a magnetic substrate 18 . the capacitance between the slider 15 and substrate 18 due to the area of the slider wetted by the lubricant , c , is defined as c w = q δ v where q is the charge on the slider and δv is the potential difference between the substrate and slider . by assuming that the width and length of the wetted portion of the slider are both much greater then the spacing between the slider and substrate , edge effects may be neglected and a parallel plate capacitor model may be valid . in this model the displacement field , d , between the plates is constant . the magnitude of d is given by d = q a w where a w , is the wetted area of the slider . the relationship between d and electric field e in a material with dielectric constant ε is defined by d = εε o e where e is the permittivity of free space . the difference in potential , δv , in terms of the electric field is δv =−∫ e · dl . combining these equations and using a path of integration , i , normal to the disk substrate gives δ v = q a w ɛ o [ h carbon ɛ carbon + h lubricant ɛ lubricant ] , δ v = ∫ 0 h carbon d ɛ carbon ɛ o z + ∫ h carbon h carbon + h lubricant d ɛ lubricant ɛ o z where h carbon , ε carbon and h lubricant , ε lubricant are the film thickness and dielectric constants of the carbon and lubricant respectively . by dividing this equation by q it can be seen that the capacitance between the slider and disk substrate can be modeled as two parallel plate capacitors in series 1 c w = δ v q = h carbon a w ɛ o ɛ carbon + h lubricant a w ɛ o ɛ lubricant = 1 c carbon + 1 c lubricant in addition to c carbon and c lubricant , the measured capacitance , c m , between the slider and substrate also contains a term c p . this capacitance is due to areas of the slider that are not wetted by lubricant . c p can be modeled as lying in parallel with c lubricant and c carbon , shown in fig2 a . using this capacitance model and equation the above equation c m is shown to be inversely proportional to h lubricant c m = c w + c p = a w ɛ lubricant ɛ o c carbon a w ɛ lubricant ɛ o + h lubricant c carbon + c p the measured friction force , f , is also inversely proportional to h lubricant and given as f = η o a w v h lubricant where η o is the absolute viscosity of the lubricant and v is the relative velocity of the disk . for thin lubricant films , h lubricant & lt ; 10 nm , c p dominates the capacitance measurement ; surface roughness and curvature prevent complete wetting of the slider rails and a w is much less than the total area of the slider . for thick films , h & gt ; 50 nm , the lubricant dominates the measured capacitance , and the second equation above may be simplified to allow a calculation of absolute film thickness based solely on the properties of the lubricant . the second capacitance embodiment developed to map lubricant films preferably uses a metal pin suspended in a hollow ptfe slider filled with a liquid with a high dielectric constant . by using this technique , the surface of the pin may be completely wetted and the parallel capacitance term in the above equations may be removed . a liquid dielectric capacitor is illustrated in fig3 ( a ). a ptfe slider 25 may be attached to a flexure 27 and load arm 26 from a full size commercial slider with a methyl cyanoacrylate adhesive . the overall dimension of the ptfe slider may be 3 mm × 3 mm × 10 mm . the dimension of the chamber holding the liquid may be 1 . 5 mm × 2 . 25 mm × 8 . 5 mm . an arrangement of three pads on the base of the slider may provide stable orientation of the pin relative to the disk . as depicted in fig3 ( b ), the pin 30 , which may be made from platinum or stainless steel , may be surrounded by a glass tube 28 to isolate the pin 30 from the slider suspension 29 . typical pin - disk separation is preferably about 10 μm . a variety of pin diameters may be used ranging between 0 . 1 mm and 1 . 0 mm . the liquid dielectrics may displace nonpolar lubricants while polar lubricants are unaffected by the liquid . therefore , this technique may be preferable for polar lubricants while the slider based technique works for any lubricant . the reason for using a liquid dielectric can best be illustrated by modeling the interface as a parallel plate capacitor 19 , as shown in fig2 b . the capacitance measured between the conducting pin 20 and disk substrate 24 , c m , is equivalent to three capacitors in series : one of these capacitances is due to the liquid , c water ; one is due to the lubricant , c lubricant ; and one is due to the carbon overcoat , c carbon 1 c m = 1 c water + 1 c lubricant + 1 c carbon = 1 a ɛ o ( h water ɛ water + h lubricant ɛ lubricant + h carbon ɛ carbon ) where a is the area of the pin 20 , h water , h lubricant , and h carbon are the thicknesses of the respective liquid 21 , lubricant 22 and carbon 23 layers , and ε water , ε lubricant , and ε carbon are the dielectric constants corresponding to these layers . if ε water is sufficiently large , the term due to the liquid will be small in comparison to the other terms and the capacitance measurement will be dominated by properties of the lubricant and carbon overcoat . both water and ethylene glycol , with reported dielectric constants of 78 and 40 at 25 ° c . respectively , gave good resolution of the lubricant film . the effective dielectric constants of these liquids proved to be substantially higher during the measurements , due most likely to contamination . test materials . the disks used were 95 mm in diameter and had an amorphous carbon overcoat approximately 10 nm thick . these disks had three different surface textures : smooth , mechanically textured and laser textured . atomic force microscope ( afm ) profiles of all three types of disks are given in fig4 a along with values for rms surface roughness , peak - to - valley distance , p - v , and correlation length , β *. the laser - textured disks have a smooth data zone from the outside radius to the contact - start - stop ( css ) zone at the inside radius of 19 . 5 mm . the slider is parked in the css zone and this region is textured with donut shaped bumps to reduce stiction during slider take off . straight rail al 2 o 3 — tic microsliders were used in all of the drag tests and some of the capacitance measurements . an afm image of the slider air - bearing surface ( abs ) is given in fig4 b along with surface roughness values . three types of perfluoropolyether ( pfpe ) lubricants were used : a straight chain lubricant with intermediate viscosity , fornblin z - 15 ; a lubricant with side groups and high viscosity , fomblin yr ; and a lubricant with polar end groups and low viscosity , forriblin z - dol . ausimont manufactures all three lubricants . the two non - polar lubricants were used in capacitance measurements with the microslider while the polar lubricant was used in all measurements with the liquid dielectric capacitor . two methods were used to lubricate the disks , dip coating and drain coating . in dip coating the disk may be dipped into a solvent bath , such as fluorinert fc - 72 , ( 3m ) containing a small volume fraction of lubricant , 0 . 1 - 1 . 0 %. after the disk is raised from the bath and the solvent evaporates , a thin film of lubricant remains . the thickness of the deposited lubricant depends on the rate of withdrawal and lubricant concentration in the solvent , increasing with increasing withdrawal rate and lubricant concentration . for the 0 . 1 % solution , withdrawal rates ranging between 4 mm / s and 16 mm / s produced films ranging between 2 and 10 nm thick , respectively . with a 1 . 0 % solution , a withdrawal rate of 1 mm / s produced a 75 nm thick film . in the drain coating process , withdrawal of the disk from the bath may be achieved by draining the container at a constant rate . the advantage of this process over drain coating is that no mechanical noise is transmitted to the bath during withdrawal . mechanical vibrations produce small waves in the solvent bath , resulting in an inconsistent lubricant film thickness . some of the disks coated with the polar lubricant were given a thermal treatment to bond the lubricant to the carbon overcoat . the thermal treatment consisted of baking the disk at 150 ° c . for 1 hour . after thermal treatment the lubricant is partially bonded : there is a 1 - 2 nm thick film of lubricant fully bonded to the carbon overcoat while on top of this lubricant there is a layer of unbonded lubricant . washing the disk with fc - 72 solvent after the thermal treatment may remove the unbonded fraction of lubricant and leave a disk with fully bonded lubricant . straight rail microslider measurements . in the first effort to profile thin lubricant films , a method which had been used successfully to make high shear rate viscosity measurements was adapted . in high shear rate viscosity measurements a thin lubricant film is sheared between a commercial slider and a polished disk . the friction force is measured and the film thickness is calculated from a capacitance measurement between the slider and the disk . measurements of friction force and capacitance made on a smooth disk coated with 4 nm of the pfpe z - 15 are shown in fig5 . in this measurement the slider was started at an outside radius of 46 mm and moved radially inward 1 mm per disk revolution to an inside radius of 18 mm . in fig5 the inverse of the capacitance and friction force measurements are plotted , both of which should be proportional to the film thickness . as can be seen , there is some correlation between the two measurements . this is further exemplified in fig6 a which directly compares these measurements across the diameter of the disk . unfortunately , the correlation is too poor to declare this particular type of measurement an adequate means of characterizing thin lubricant films . this is shown in fig6 b where the capacitance values of fig6 a are plotted as a function of the friction force . the scatter in this plot indicates that the first and second equations above do not adequately describe the friction and capacitance at the slider - disk interface for thin films . the reason for this is most likely due to the crown and surface roughness of the slider used . the surface roughness of the slider , rms = 1 . 5 nm , is of the order of the film thickness while the slider crown , 40 nm , is much greater than the film thickness . as a result of this , only a small fraction of the slider is wetted by the lubricant and the capacitance c p dominates the measurement . while there is some relation between the capacitance , friction force , and film thickness , the relationship is too weak to give a good film thickness measurement . in cases of thick lubricant films , where the surface roughness and crown of the slider are less then the film thickness , the first two equations are valid . this is indicated by fig6 c where friction force is plotted against capacitance for a 60 nm thick yr lubricant film . liquid dielectric capacitor measurements . in most of the measurements a capacitance map of the disk surface was generated from an outside radius of 46 mm to an inside radius of 18 mm . while the slider design used has good stability in the direction of sliding , stability perpendicular to the direction of sliding is poor due to the narrow width of the slider . poor slider stability perpendicular to the direction of sliding can produce erroneous capacitance measurements during and shortly after radial positioning of the slider due to the extreme sensitivity of the capacitance measurement to pin - disk orientation . for this reason the radial position of the slider is kept constant during measurement . once per revolution the slider is moved radially inward 0 . 9 mm , resulting in the measurement of 31 tracks between the outside and inside radius . while the slider is moving inward , no capacitance measurement is made . this , along with the misalignment of the pin relative to the disk immediately after radial positioning , causes the radial line to be visible in many of the lubricant maps . a plot of a raw capacitance measurement is shown in fig7 . in this capacitance measurement , the slider was tracked from the outside radius to the inside radius . in measurements where the slider moved from the inside radius to the outside radius , the minimum capacitance occurred at the inside , indicating that the radial dependence in the capacitance may be due to a change in the effective dielectric constant of the liquid and is dependent on the history of the dielectric . the rate of change in dielectric constant is independent of pin size or material and most likely can be attributed to absorption of impurities from the disk surface . if a single track is measured continuously , the capacitance at a point on the disk with a given angular position drifts by a few tenths of a percent per disk revolution . an averaging technique may be used to eliminate the drift in capacitance . for each track an average value of the capacitance may be determined , { overscore ( c )}. every measured capacitance , c m , for that track is then divided by the average value , producing the normalized capacitance c m /{ overscore ( c )}. using this method on the raw capacitance measurement shown in fig7 a produces the result shown in fig7 b . this averaging technique works well in cases where the average lubricant film thickness is the same for every track . an independent measurement of film thickness using some other method such as ellipsometry must be made to calibrate the capacitance measurement . in most cases , a single point measurement is sufficient for calibration because of the nature of the lubrication process : a radial variation in film thickness is not expected and mean film thickness is constant for each track . however , if this is not true , a point measurement of film thickness may be required for each track . from calibration measurements made with an ellipsometer , the inverse of the normalized capacitance , { overscore ( c )}/ c m , was found to be proportional to the film thickness , consistent with the parallel plate capacitor model given . in fig8 a a map is shown for a disk with the lubricant film thickness increasing across the diameter . the variation in film thickness was produced by linearly increasing the withdrawal rate as a function of time during the dip coating process . ellipsometer measurements made along the line indicated in fig8 a are shown in fig8 b as open squares . the solid line in fig8 b is a fit of the inverse of the capacitance measurement , { overscore ( c )}/ c m , to the ellipsometer measurement using a linear function h = h _ [ a s ( c _ c m - 1 ) + 1 ] where h is the film thickness and { overscore ( h )} and a s , are scaling constants . the constant a s depends on the geometric and dielectric properties of the interface : namely , carbon overcoat thickness , pin - disk spacing , and dielectric constants of the carbon and lubricant . in this fit a s = 0 . 9 and { overscore ( h )}= 3 . 1 nm ; the fitted { overscore ( h )} is very close to the measured mean lubricant thickness of 3 . 2 nm . these values indicate that in cases where there are several nm of lubricant on the disk , the above equation can be approximated by h = h _ c _ c m with { overscore ( h )} taken as the mean film thickness . with this approximation , no independent measurement is necessary to determine the percent variation in h and in cases where there is only a small variation in film thickness , an ellipsometer measurement at a single point is sufficient to determine { overscore ( h )}. the carbon overcoats on the disks proved to be extremely uniform , and any variation in the overcoat thickness on the disks had negligible effect on film thickness measurements . this is shown in fig9 a by { overscore ( c )}/ c m for an unlubricated disk . the greatest variation of the capacitance from the mean was less then 5 % for this disk . in fig9 b a lubricant thickness map is given for a disk half coated with 1 . 8 nm of fully bonded lubricant . this figure allows a direct comparison between the bare carbon and a lubricant film and indicates that the slight variation in carbon thickness is negligible in comparison to variations in lubricant thickness as small as 0 . 1 nm . in fig1 a comparison is made between dip coated and drain coated disks . both disks are coated with partially bonded lubricant and have an average film thickness of approximately 4 nm . the direction of draining for the drain coated disk is from left to right in the figure . the film thickness increases from 4 nm at the left of the disk to 4 . 4 nm at the right . this increase can be attributed to a decreasing evaporation rate of solvent at the disk - solvent bath - air interface as the solvent level drops in the container and the air in the container becomes increasingly saturated with evaporated solvent . decreasing the evaporation rate is equivalent to increasing the drain rate . the dip coated disk in fig1 , with { overscore ( h )}= 4 . 3 nm , was withdrawn from the solvent bath from top to bottom in the figure . the most striking feature in this lubricant map is the 5 nm ridge of lubricant at the top of the disk . this ridge is due to poor control of the withdrawal rate . the series of horizontal striations are due to small waves in the bath produced by mechanical vibrations during withdrawal . the lubricant map at the bottom of fig1 is of the drain coated disk after washing with solvent , resulting in the film thickness { overscore ( h )}= 1 . 2 nm . one of the greatest strengths of the liquid dielectric capacitance measurement is that it allows a declaration of the quality of the combined lubricant / carbon overcoat layer with no knowledge of the dielectric constant or thickness of either layer . this is illustrated in fig1 where maps of { overscore ( c )}/ c m for a mechanically textured disk and a laser textured disk lubricated by the vendor are given . the variation in { overscore ( c )}/ c m for the mechanically textured disk is a approximately 10 % while the variation in { overscore ( c )}/ c m for the laser textured disk is approximately 3 %, indicating a variation of at least 10 % and 3 % in the lubricant / carbon thickness for these disks , respectively . lubricant depletion / displacement measurements . a series of capacitance measurements were performed to characterize lubricant depletion due to sliding contact and subsequent recovery . drag tests were conducted using straight rail microsliders on mechanically textured disks . the disks were coated with either 2 . 7 nm of partially bonded z - dol or 1 . 3 nm of fully bonded z - dol . relative slider - disk velocity was fixed at 1 m / s with a normal load of 15 g . a drag test was run until the friction force was twice its initial value , at which point a capacitance measurement was made of the wear track . additional capacitance measurements were made after the initial measurement to document lubricant recovery . the drag tests produced no noticeable wear in the carbon overcoat . a 0 . 1 mm diameter pin was used in the capacitor and the radial step size was set at 0 . 1 mm . film thickness profiles across the wear tracks are shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a film thickness profile in a fully bonded lubricant after a drag test was run for 23 , 000 cycles . wear tracks are clearly visible at the points of contact between the slider rails and disk . the width of these tracks , 0 . 5 mm , is approximately the width of the slider rails , 0 . 33 mm . the difference in the wear depth at the two tracks is most likely due to unequal loading of the slider . subsequent measurements at 1 hour and 20 hours show negligible recovery of the lubricant film . fig1 also shows a film thickness profile in a partially bonded lubricant film . this test required 120 , 000 cycles to produce lubricant depletion comparable to that in the fully bonded lubricant . the higher number of cycles can be attributed to the mobile fraction of lubricant : lubricant flows back into the rail region nearly as fast as it is displaced or depleted . the initial film thickness measurement , plotted as empty circles in fig1 , indicates that lubricant has been displaced at the outside rail as evidenced by the two bumps on either side of the rail region . subsequent measurements at 1 hour and 10 hours show lubricant recovery as the mobile fraction of lubricant flows back into the rail region . a drag test was also conducted on a partially bonded lubricant film 4 nm thick . no substantial increase in friction had occurred when the test was discontinued at 500 , 000 cycles and no measurable wear track was generated . drain coater design . in the design of the drain coater , the shape of the chamber was chosen to match the flow characteristics of the outlet so that the rate at which the solvent level fell in the chamber was constant . an illustration of the design is given in fig1 . the type of outlet used was a smooth walled pipe . for a liquid filling the chamber to a height z , the pressure at the outlet , δp is δp = ρgz where ρ is the mass density of the solvent and g is the acceleration due to gravity . using the blasius friction equation , the pressure drop across the pipe for turbulent flow ( 4000 ≦ re ≦ 10 5 ) is described by δp = 0 . 1582η o ¼ ρ ¾ ld −{ fraction ( 5 / 4 )} { overscore ( ν )} { fraction ( 7 / 4 )} , where η o is the absolute viscosity of the solvent , l and d are the length and diameter of the pipe , { overscore ( ν )} is the mean flow velocity in the pipe , and re is reynolds number , re = ρ { overscore ( ν )} d / η o . the volume flow rate , , through a surface located at z is equal to the flow rate through the piper v o u = 2 w ( z ) a z t = π d 2 4 v _ , where w ( z ) is the width of the chamber at z , a is the thickness of the chamber , and dz / dt , the rate at which the surface level falls , is constant . by combining the previous three equations , the width of the chamber as a function of z can be determined w ( z ) = z 4 / 7 [ 1 . 13 d 19 / 7 g 4 / 7 ρ 1 / 7 η o 1 / 7 l 4 / 7 a z t ] . the term in brackets can be used as a scaling constant to produce a chamber with convenient dimensions to fit the disk . the depth and cross sectional area of the chamber at the bottom of the disk should be set so that the turbulent flow requirement is met . the pipe length and diameter can be adjusted to produce a specific dz / dt , subject also to the constraint on re . the surface velocity dz / dt was measured by immersing a concentric cylinder capacitor in the solvent and measuring its capacitance as a function of time . the capacitor consists of two concentric cylinders separated by nylon spacers . holes drilled through the outer cylinder permits liquid to flow in to and out of the volume between the two cylinders . the solvent fills the volume between the cylinders and the measured capacitance between the cylinders is proportional to the volume filled . as the chamber is drained the time rate of change of the capacitance is proportional to the surface velocity c t = [ c e - c f l c ] z t , where c e is the capacitance when the capacitor is empty , c f is the capacitance when the volume between the cylinders is completely filled with solvent , and l c is the length of the capacitor when filled with solvent . a plot of the capacitance as a function of time as the chamber is drained is given in fig1 . the surface velocity is constant within the measurement accuracy of the capacitance meter ( 0 . 2 %) as shown in fig1 where surface velocity is plotted as z t = c t l c ( c e - c f ) . the preferred embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention . the preferred embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention . having shown and described preferred embodiments of the present invention , it will be within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the art to make alterations or modifications to the present invention , such as through the substitution of equivalent materials or structural arrangements , or through the use of equivalent process steps , so as to be able to practice the present invention without departing from its spirit as reflected in the appended claims , the text and teaching of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein . it is the intention , therefore , to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof . 1 . b . bhushan , tribology and mechanics of magnetic storage devices , second ed ., springerverlag , new york . 2 . v . j . novotny and m . a . baldwinson , j . appl . phys . 70 , 5647 ( 1991 ). 3 . w . c . leung , w . crooks , h . rosen and t . strand , ieee trans . magn . 25 , 3659 ( 1989 ). 4 . s . w . meeks , w . e . weresin and h . j . rosen , trans . asme 117 , 112 ( 1995 ). 5 . u . jonsson and b . bhushan , j . appl . phys . 78 , 3107 ( 1995 ). 6 . c . d . hahm and b . bhushan , j . appl . phys . 81 , 5384 ( 1997 ). 7 . y . hu and f . e . talke , asle sp - 25 , 43 ( 1988 ). 8 . v . j . novotny , t . e . karis and n . w . johnson , asme j . tribology 114 , 61 ( 1992 ). 9 . f . w . white , viscous fluid flow , second ed ., mcgraw - hill , new york . | 6 |
the offset press operates on the principle of making one impression of each revolution of a cylinder . a printing cylinder , called the plate cylinder , is rotated to come in contact with a dampening roller which wets the plate so the nonprinting area will repel ink . thereafter , it comes in contact with an inking roller . the inked image is then transferred to a rubber blanket on a blanket cylinder . paper is printed as it passes between the blanket and impression cylinders . ink not transferred to the paper is considered excess and is removed from the process . this excess or waste ink contains lint and fibers from the paper which passes through the cylinders . further , the waste ink contains substantial quantities of water or fountain solution used in the dampening phase of the offset printing process . this waste ink varies from process to process but typically has a viscosity between 400 to 600 poise and contains between 0 . 2 % to 0 . 5 % paper fiber and lint by weight , or 4 % by volume . depending upon the process , approximately 10 to 15 % of the ink consumed is removed as waste . in order for offset ink reclaimation to be practical , the clarified waste must have such a sufficiently high viscosity that a large quantity of virgin ink is not required to be added to produce an acceptable printing ink . second , substantially 95 % or better of the lint and fiber must be removed to produce an adequately clean product . because waste comprises about 10 to 15 % of the ink consumed and if a large quantity of virgin ink is needed to blend with the reclaimed ink , a printer may produce more finished ink product than he consumes in order to utilize all reclaimed waste ink . for this reason , the clarified waste ink must come from the reclaimation process requiring only a four - to - one or , at most , a five - to - one blending ratio to be practical . virgin ink has a viscosity of approximately 250 poise and if the clarified waste has a low viscosity , too much virgin ink is consumed in upgrading the reclaimed ink . according to the present invention , it has been found convenient that as much &# 34 ; free water &# 34 ; be decanted from the waste before the ink waste is treated in order to efficiently remove water and lint from waste offset printing inks . free water is that water which will separate from the waste ink upon standing . this removal of free water minimizes the amount of water needed to be removed in the separation stage . it has also been found convenient to prescreen the waste prior to treatment according to the present invention to remove such gross contaminants as rags , cans , and large chunks of paper which may clog pipelines , damage pumps , or otherwise interfere with the smooth operation of the method of the present invention . after the waste ink has had as much free water and gross contaminants removed as possible , the waste ink is mixed with ink oil under slow agitation to reduce the viscosity to a desired degree . thereafter , the mixture of waste ink and oil , hereinafter referred to as the ink mixture , is sufficiently heated to reduce the viscosity of the ink mixture to such a degree that it may be passed through a centrifuge to separate the heavier lint and paper fiber from the lighter fraction of the ink mixture . a viscosity of around 50 to 60 poise has been found to be a convenient operating viscosity . after the ink mixture has been sufficiently diluted and heated to achieve the desired viscosity , the ink mixture is passed through a zone of high annular acceleration to differentially separate the fiber , water , and clarified ink fraction . this is conveniently done by passing the ink mixture through a centrifuge which develops an acceleration of 12 , 000 to 13 , 000 times the force of gravity . the lighter clarified ink fraction is removed from the centrifuge and allowed to cool . it of course may be seen that multiple vessels may be used in the pretreatment stage of the above - described process in order to utilize time most efficiently , and make maximum use of the minimum number of centrifuges needed to process a given amount of ink . this clarified ink mixture fraction is thereafter blended with sufficient virgin ink to produce a final printing ink having sufficient viscosity and printing characteristics to meet a desired application . because most printing applications do not require ink of the high rheological properties found in virgin ink , the blending ratio will vary from application to application depending upon the predetermined minimum specification for a desired application and the quality of the initial waste product . it of course should be understood that the greater the virgin ink to reclaimed ink ratio , the more ink product is produced due to the constant production of ink waste . however , at the other end of the scale , the less virgin ink added , the less expensive the final product and the lower the print characteristics specifications . in applications where ink quality specifications are not too strenuous , such as newsprint , a very low virgin ink to reclaimed ink ratio is acceptable . experience has indicated that beginning with a typical waste ink produced by newsprint and removing between 95 to 98 % of the paper fiber , a blend of four parts virgin ink to one part reclaimed ink produces a printing ink of sufficient quality for all but the most demanding purposes . further , depending upon the specifications acceptable to the user , ratios as low as three - to - one or even two - to - one may be adequate . it is of importance to note that the solid waste fiber recovered from the centrifuge in the present invention is a firm cake of fibers containing little or no ink due to the preferential absorption of water by the fibers to the exclusion or partial exclusion of the ink . therefore , this water soaked , solid waste may be disposed of without the need for many of the special handling requirements typically found with the disposal of environmentally hazardous waste ink sludge produced by the conventional filter cartridge . this substantially reduces the cost of disposal and renders the use of the above - described invention economically advantageous and environmentally desirable . for illustrative purposes , the following reclaimation method was performed on an offset ink waste from a newsprint press . three barrels of ink waste were added to a settling tank and permitted to rest until the gross quantities of free water in the ink waste rose to the surface . this free water was siphoned off the surface to produce an ink waste with a reduced water content primarily from intimately dispersed water . this de - watered waste contained approximately 0 . 5 % lint and paper fiber by weight and had a viscosity of approximately 450 poise . this de - watered waste was pre - screened through a large mesh mechanical strainer to remove gross contaminants such as rags , cans and large chunks of paper to prevent clogging of lines and damage to pumps . after prescreening , approximately 200 gallons of waste ink were placed in a metal pretreatment tank encircled with steam lines to permit convenient heating . ink oil was added to the waste ink and slowly stirred until the viscosity of the mixture was reduced to approximately 125 poise . the pretreatment tank was then heated with the steam lines to approximately 160 - 180 degrees f . to further reduce the viscosity of the ink mixture to between 50 and 60 poise . after this pretreatment , the ink mixture was passed through a centrifuge capable of angular acceleration greater than 12 , 000 times the force of gravity . although other types of centrifuges may be adequate , the sharples as - 16 super centrifuge and the sharples as - 26 super centrifuge ( available through pennwalt corporation , warminster , pa .) have proven particularly useful . both centrifuges are capable of accelerations in excess of 12 , 000 g and have no internal obstructions to disrupt the smooth flow of the ink mixture . the sharples super centrifuge has a bowl in the form of a long thin cylinder rotating vertically in the machine . a motor spins the bowl at high speed to generate the high g forces necessary to the present invention . as waste ink is fed through the bottom of the cylinder , water and lint migrate to , and accumulate against , the sides of the bowl . ink moves up through the middle and is discharged at the top of the bowl . water and fiber removal is thus accomplished without the use of replacement filters . the ink mixture was passed through the sharples as - 16 super centrifuge at a rate of approximately 2 to 3 gallons per minute . due to a bowl capacity in the centrifuge of approximately 0 . 7 gallon , the retention time at this flow rate is on the order of 14 to 21 seconds . this retention time was sufficient to remove between 95 and 98 % of the fiber and lint from the ink mixture . it is of course understood that accelerations of greater than the approximately 12 , 000 g necessary to separate the fiber from the lighter fluid fraction would permit a concomitant decrease in retention time and a greater flow rate to achieve the same 95 to 98 % fiber removal . the ink mixture was passed through the centrifuge for approximately 25 minutes or until about 50 gallons of ink mixture had passed through the centrifuge . after this time , the bowl of the centrifuge had substantially filled with waste fiber cake and required cleaning . the flow of ink mixture was discontinued and the filter cake was removed and collected . this cleaning operation takes approximately 5 minutes on the sharples as - 16 super centrifuge . the flow of the ink mixture was resumed through the centrifuge and the above - described operation repeated until all of the ink mixture was passed through the centrifuge to have the fiber waste and water removed . after centrifuging , the clarified ink mixture was blended with virgin ink in a ratio of approximately 4 parts virgin ink to 1 part clarified reclaimed ink to produce an ink of approximately 240 poise with print qualities sufficient for almost any offset print use . the waste fiber removed from the centrifuge bowl was examined and found to contain substantially no ink but was saturated with water removed from the offset waste . this absence of ink is believed due to the preferential absorption of water by the waste fibers to the exclusion of the ink and made for a fiber cake capable of being disposed of without the need for many of the special handling requirements necessary for environmentally hazardous wastes . a second embodiment of the method of the present invention was performed on an offset ink waste from a newsprint press . the offset waste was dewatered and pre - screened as described in example 1 . thereafter , approximately 200 gallons of waste ink were placed in a metal pretreatment tank and ink oil was added until the viscosity was reduced to approximately 30 - 30 poise . this ink mixture was passed through the centrifuge of example 1 at room temperature to remove the waste fiber and the remaining free water to produce a clarified reclaimed ink . the ink reclaimed by this process was blended with virgin letterpress ink in a ratio of four to one to produce a high quality ink suitable for almost any letterpress print use . as previously discussed , it is of course understood that the blending ratio of virgin ink to reclaimed ink is a function of the print rheological requirements of the user . further , it must be understood that the volume of oil dilution , the optimum processing temperatures , and the ratio of virgin ink blended will also be a function of the ink waste characteristics and hence the performance of the ink on the press . it is expected that with the utilization of a larger capacity , higher efficiency centrifuge such as the sharples as - 26 super centrifuge , the run times between bowl cleanings may be extended and the flow rates increased . the exact duration of run and operation parameters must be determined under operating conditions to meet the individual requirement of the user , utilizing the teachings herein set forth . it is , therefore , apparent from the foregoing that many other variations and modifications may be made in the structures and methods described herein without departing substantially from the essential concepts of the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the present and specific forms of the invention described herein and depicted in the example are exemplary only and are not intended as limitations in the scope of the present invention . | 2 |
as seen in fig1 , a printing machine such as a foil stamping machine or a die cutting machine is provided with bed ( conventional and not illustrated in fig1 ) and to the upper surface of which a base plate 1 is secured . the machine also has a conventional platen or cylinder drum 2 . positioned above the base plate 1 is a female photopolymer die 4 having a backing plate 5 . positioned above the female die 4 is a complementary male die 7 also fabricated from photopolymer and having a complementary male shape . in this connection it will be apparent that the female die 4 has two recesses 14 and 24 which are respectively triangular and quadrilateral in shape . the male die 7 has two protrusions or bosses 17 and 27 which are also respectively triangular and quadrilateral in shape . the male die 7 and the female die 4 are complementary in the sense that the bosses 17 and 27 mate with the recesses 14 and 24 . in use the paper substrate , for example , is passed between the two dies 4 and 7 . the mating of the bosses 17 , 27 with the recesses 14 , 24 results in the substrate being embossed or debossed with the shape of the recesses 14 , 24 . as seen in fig1 , the male die 7 is provided with a photopolymer body 37 and a thin sheet steel backing plate 47 . the bosses 17 , 27 project downwardly from the lower surface of the photopolymer body 37 . the upper surface of the backing plate 47 is provided with an array of adhesive strips 9 ( the adhesive strips can be placed on the platen or cylinder 2 , or the backing plate 47 as illustrated , or both ) which are provided with adhesive on both sides and thus are used to interconnect the male die 7 and the platen 2 . however , before this interconnection takes place , the male die 7 must be correctly aligned with the female die 4 . in accordance with the invention disclosed in international patent application no . wo2007 / 045037 ( pct / au2007 / 001553 ), the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein for all purposes , the base plate 1 is provided with an embedded array of magnets ( not illustrated in fig1 ). these magnets magnetically clamp the base plate 1 to the bed of the machine . the same magnets also secure the backing plate 5 of the female die 4 to the base plate 1 with a strong magnetic attraction . this strong magnetic attraction is sufficient to easily withstand vibration forces and other forces applied to the female die 4 during the processing . however , fabricating the male die 7 so as to have a magnetically permeable backing plate 47 means that there is also a relatively weak magnetic attraction between the backing plate 47 and the magnets of the baseplate 1 . this force is weak relative to the strong magnetic forces between the bed and baseplate 1 and between the baseplate 1 and backing plate 5 , because the backing plate 47 is always spaced from the baseplate 1 by a substantial distance and because most of the magnetic flux generated by the baseplate magnets passes through the backing plate 5 . this weak magnetic force is approximately of the same strength as the magnetic force between a fridge magnet and the metal of a fridge door . a consequence of the weak magnetic attraction between the male die 7 and the base plate 1 is that the male die 7 can be approximately correctly aligned with the female die 4 by hand and the weak magnetic attraction will guide the bosses 17 , 27 into the recesses 14 , 24 because this draws the backing plate 47 closer to the magnets in the base plate 1 . consequently , the two dies 4 , 7 when correctly aligned with the bosses 17 , 27 mated with the recesses 14 , 24 represent a lower energy state and thus are magnetically urged into that state . thus the correct alignment is to some extent automatic . in addition , some machines utilise an inverting bed which swings out and inverts the base upon which the dies reside . thus normally in such a machine the male counter is located beneath the female die when the bed is swung outwardly . for such machines , the above described arrangement assists the operator in holding the dies securely before final fastening . once the correct alignment has been achieved , the adhesive strips 9 can be placed on the backing plate 47 and the platen 2 brought into contact with the adhesive strips 9 . since the adhesion between the adhesive strips 9 and the platen or cylinder 2 is greater than the weak magnetic attraction between the backing plate 47 and the magnets in the base plate 1 , this means that the platen 2 with the adhered male die 7 can be raised out of contact with the female die 4 but the correct alignment between the two dies 4 , 7 is maintained . turning now to fig2 , a substantially conventional cutting and creasing die 50 is illustrated having a base plate 51 fabricated from timber , 5 ply , particle board or some other such inexpensive material . located on the base plate 51 are knives 53 and crease formers 54 . as seen in the right hand enlargement of fig2 , the crease former 53 takes the form of a thin strip of metal embedded edgewise into a groove cut into the base plate 51 and having an upper edge 56 which is rounded . as seen in the left hand enlargement in fig2 , each knife 53 take the form of a very thin strip of metal again embedded edgewise into a groove cut into the base plate 51 . the upper edge of the knife 53 is sufficiently sharp to cut the stock , typically paper or cardboard . extending along each side of the knife 53 is a corresponding ejector strip 58 which is slightly taller than the knife 53 and is fabricated from resilient material such as foamed plastics . the cutting and creasing die 50 is conventionally used to cut and crease planar printing stock so as to create a blank , for example of an envelope . in the die 50 in fig2 the envelope outline has a front surface 60 , a rear surface 61 and two edge flaps 62 and 63 . in conventional fashion , when the stock is compressed between the base plate 51 and an overhead platen or cylinder ( not illustrated ), the knives 53 cut out the outline of the envelope blank . the resilient ejector strips push the cut stock away from the knives 53 and so prevent the cut or slit stock becoming jammed on the knife 53 . the stock is also bent over each crease former 54 and so creased to thereby form the location for corresponding folds in the cut stock . the above description of the cutting and creasing die 50 is thus far conventional . the die 50 is modified in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention by the cutting away , or routing , of the base plate 51 to form a cavity 59 which is preferably of a standard dimensional size eg . a 6 , a 7 , a 8 , etc . located within the cavity 59 is a male embossing die 67 , a magnetic base plate 68 and a thin steel plate 72 as illustrated ( to an enlarged vertical scale ) in fig3 . the male embossing die 67 could be fabricated by etching a metal block such as a magnesium , brass , copper , zinc or steel block but this requires environmentally difficult acids . where a metal other than steel is used the die 67 preferably includes a thin steel backing plate . alternatively , the die 67 could be hand engraved or cnc machined . instead the embossing die 67 is preferably formed from a photopolymer layer 74 and a steel backing plate 75 . preferably the upper surface of the photopolymer layer 74 is shaped using photo resist techniques ( which are water based and thus environmentally benign ) so as to form a logo 70 or image such as the four interlinked rings of the audi registered trade mark . a magnetic base plate 68 ( with its array of magnets 69 ) is located on the thin steel plate 72 within the cavity 59 . the thin steel plate 72 is preferably held in place by means of double sided adhesive tape ( not illustrated in fig2 and 3 but illustrated as 9 in fig1 ) or other such suitable strong adhesive . thus , in this embodiment , the thin steel plate 72 always remains with the cutting tool die 50 . there is a counter 80 ( illustrated in phantom in fig2 and 3 ) which has a reverse ( ie female ) image of the logo 70 and which can be magnetically guided into registration with the die 67 as described above in relation to fig1 . once the counter 80 is in register with the die 67 , the counter 80 can be adhered by means of double sided adhesive tape to the platen ( or cylinder ) which is to compress the stock against the cutting and creasing die 50 . as a result of the above describe arrangement , the stock is simultaneously compressed against the die 50 thus forming the shape of the desired blank , and also compressed between the counter 80 and the embossing die 67 thereby simultaneously embossing the logo 70 onto the front surface 60 of the envelope . thus cutting the envelope and embossing same are achieved simultaneously by means of a single pass through the machine . the magnetic base plate 68 can be removed from the cutting die 50 and used on other jobs . the magnetic base plate 68 , either with the embossing die 67 or a different embossing die , can be held on the thin steel plate 72 on another occasion when embossing or debossing is required . it is convenient for the thin steel plate 72 to remain with the die 50 and for the magnetic plate 68 to be transferred from job to job . the foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications , obvious to those skilled in the printing arts , can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention . for example , the backing plate 47 can be fabricated from material which is magnetic , or magnetised , so as to create the desired weak magnetic attraction between the male die 7 and the platen 2 . other magnetic and magnetically permeable arrangements , which contain ferric material , for example , will be apparent to those skilled in the magnetic arts . similarly , the die 67 can have a male representation of the logo 70 , and the counter 80 can have the female representation of the logo 70 , in which case the logo 70 is debossed onto the front 60 of the envelope rather than embossed . furthermore , some cutting tool dies have provision for multiple tools so that , say , eight envelopes are cut simultaneously . under these circumstances such a die would have eight recesses 67 each with a thin steel plate 72 so that each of the eight envelopes can be simultaneously cut and embossed at the one time . the term “ comprising ” ( and its grammatical variations ) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of “ including ” or “ having ” and not in the exclusive sense of “ consisting only of ”. | 8 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail in accordance with the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a perspective view showing a selling price management system in a retail store or the like , to which the information coincidence method for distribution system of the present invention is applied . numeral 1 denotes a shelf - type showcase of products in the retail store . the showcase 1 has products 2 on display . the products 2 may be soft drink cans or perishable food products . further , the products 2 have different selling prices in respective retail stores . further , ic tags 3 are attached to these products . the ic tag 3 holds information as shown in fig2 . in fig2 , a product id 11 is information indicating the type of product to which the tag is attached . a price 12 is information indicating the actual selling price of the product to which the ic tag 3 is attached . in the example of this figure , the price is 100 yen . further , an effective term 13 indicates a term during which the setting of the price 12 is effective and the price 12 is used as an actual selling price . for example , the effective term 13 is utilized when the price is changed only during a predetermined period of a sale or the like . further , in this example , in the effective term 13 , a start date is not set , and an end date is dec . 30 , 1999 . in this case , the price 12 is effective from the point where the effective term 13 was set . further , the effective term 13 can be set as an endless term . otherwise , the effective term 13 may be set as a time sale period or the like . in such case , it may be arranged such that the time at which a customer has taken the product from the showcase 1 is stored into the ic tag 3 , and it is determined whether the price is a time sale price or not . further , a standard price 14 indicates a normal time selling price after the expiration of the effective term 13 . in fig3 reference numeral 4 denotes a device which sets the established information as shown in fig2 of the ic tag 3 . an operator 5 who manages selling prices performs selling - price initial setting by the device 4 . the setting is limitedly performed to uniformly change the price of related products , upon selling price initial setting , setting change or the like . upon setting , the device 4 transmits information as shown in fig3 to the ic tag 3 attached to the product 2 by wireless communication . fig4 shows the flow of processing in the ic tag 3 which received the information from the device 4 . at all times , the ic tag 3 waits for reception of established information changing request . first , at step st 1 , an established information changing request message is received from the device 4 . the received message , as shown in fig3 , has an item id 21 indicating the type of product as a request transmission destination , a price 22 to be set , and an effective term 23 indicating a term during which the price 22 is effective as a selling price of the product 2 . next , the process proceeds to step st 2 , at which it is determined whether or not the item id 21 of the received established information changing request message is valid . for example , it is determined whether or not the item id 11 held in the ic tag 3 corresponds with the item id 21 of the received established information changing request message . it is determined as a result of determination at step . st 2 that the item id is valid , the process proceeds to step st 3 , at which the price 12 and the effective term 13 held in the ic tag 3 are replaced with the price 22 and the effective term 23 of the established information changing request . at the completion of the processing , the ic tag again waits for the established information changing request . further , if it is determined at step st 2 that the item id is not valid , the process ends , and the ic tag waits for the reception of established information changing request . next , fig5 shows the flow of processing of common data coincidence method in the distribution system of the present invention . first , at step st 11 , it is determined whether or not established time has come , otherwise , it is determined whether or not time of established cycle has elapsed since the execution of previous information coincidence processing . it may be arranged such that the ic tag 3 holds information such as starting time 31 and last starting time 32 indicating the time of previous information coincidence processing , and an established cycle 33 , used at step st 1 , in the form of table as shown in fig6 . the starting time 31 may be plural times . further , the starting time 31 and the established cycle 33 may not be set . if it is determined at step st 11 that the starting time has not come or time of the established cycle has not elapsed , the process proceeds to step st 12 . at step st 12 , it is determined whether or not a previously - defined event as a starting trigger of the coincidence processing has occurred . the event is e . g . entry / withdrawal of element or access to the common data . in this embodiment , the event can be purchase of the product 2 by a customer , replenishment of the products 2 which are running short , or checking of the price 12 held in the ic tag 3 . if it is determined at step st 12 that the event has not occurred , the process proceeds to step st 13 . at step st 13 , it is determined whether or not a coincidence request has been received from another element . if it is determined that no coincidence request has been received from another element , after a predetermined waiting period , the process returns to step st 11 . if it is determined at step st 11 that the set starting time has come or time of the established cycle has elapsed , the process proceeds to step st 14 . further , if it is determined at step st 12 that the event has occurred , the process proceeds to step st 14 . further , if it is determined at step st 13 that a coincidence request has been received from another element , the process proceeds to step st 16 . at this time , a correction message for an internal clock held in the ic tag 3 is also received , and based on the message , the internal clock of the ic tag 3 is corrected . when the correction message is received , coincidence processing on the common data of the set time and the set cycle by the time indicated by the correction message is cancelled . at step st 14 , the elements are acquired . the acquisition of the elements can be made by using a survival signal which each element periodically transmits . the elements in this embodiment are all the products 2 ( ic tags 3 ) in the same showcase 1 . next , the process proceeds to step st 15 , at which a coincide request message is transmitted to these elements . at this time , a correction message to the internal clock of the ic tag 3 of each element is attached to the coincidence request message , then the coincidence message is transmitted . at step st 16 , as to the common data to which the coincidence request has been made , the data held in the ic tag 3 is transmitted . the common data here is , e . g ., the price 12 and the effective term 13 held in the ic tag 3 . further , at step st 17 , the common data transmitted at step st 16 is received . it may be arranged such that the acquisition of the message is made for a predetermined period , and then the process proceeds to step st 18 . otherwise , it may be arranged such that , based on the number of elements obtained at step st 14 , the process proceeds to step st 18 if a predetermined numbers of messages are obtained . at step st 18 , it is determined whether or not the common data must be updated . in this determination , only the messages obtained at step st 17 are used . among the messages obtained at step st 17 , the data value owned by the largest number of messages is used as common data value . regarding respective data , a significance level is set for each device or each data in the ic tag 3 , and the significance level is utilized as a weight in the above determination . the determination by significance level is made since the number of common data is unfixed , and determination cannot be performed simply by majority rule when the products have high data reliability though the number of the products is small from the start . accordingly , in such case , the significance level may be increased in proportion to the number of data updates . otherwise , the significance level may be increased upon data update by the device 4 . otherwise , the significance level may be increased upon direct data setting by a user . otherwise , in accordance with data update time , the significance level of late update data may be increased . if it is determined as a result of determination that the common data must be updated , the process proceeds to step st 19 , to update the common data . if all the obtained data do not correspond with each other , it may be determined that the coincidence processing has not been performed on all the data , and coincidence request may be made again . then , after a predetermined waiting period , the process returns to step st 11 . further , if it is determined at step st 18 that the common data is not to be updated , the process returns to step st 11 after a predetermined waiting period . thus the coincidence processing enables data input without setting different selling prices for respective retail stores upon arrival of products . note that the present invention is also applicable to a product advertisement method by using a system as shown in fig7 . when coincidence is obtained among the selling prices , the advertisement information including the coincidence - processed selling price may be transmitted from a store processing apparatus via a network such as the internet to customer processing apparatuses . further , the information may be transmitted from the product to the customers without the store processing apparatus . further , communication with the customers is not limited to the transmission to the customer processing apparatuses but may be made via facsimile or telephone transmission . further , the advertisement may be displayed on a display device in a store or the like instead of being transmitted to the customers . further , electronic commerce may be performed in the system in fig7 using a coincidence - processed price . for this purpose , among product information stored in the store processing apparatus , information indicating the price is corrected to the coincidence - processed price . then , electronic commerce is performed based on the corrected price . the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention . therefore , to appraise the public of the scope of the present invention , the following claims are made . | 8 |
the present invention is directed towards a hydraulic power system and method used in a fluid such as a river or any other body of water having a current . in an embodiment the inventive system can include a hydraulic power system that is tethered to a floor at the bottom of the body of water . the inventive system includes a pump assembly that is coupled to a turbine that uses fluid movement to rotate the turbine and power the pump . a positive buoyancy structure can be tethered to the pump assembly that causes the pump assembly to be positioned above the floor at the bottom of the body of water . the positive buoyancy structure can potentially rise to the surface of the water but also maintain the pump assembly and turbine at a predetermined tethered distance below the surface of the water . in addition to the upward buoyancy force , the positive buoyancy structure can have a shape and pitch that uses the water velocity to generate lift and help to maintain the pump assembly above the water floor . with reference to fig1 , a hydraulic power system 100 is illustrated that includes a pump assembly 101 with a turbine 103 coupled to a front end of the pump assembly 101 . the turbine 103 can have a plurality of blades 104 that rotate about a first shaft 105 . the first shaft 105 is coupled to a gearing system 107 that can change the rotational velocity of a second shaft 109 mounted between the gearing system 107 and a pump 111 . in the illustrated embodiment , the gearing system 107 may be placed between the turbine 103 and the pump 111 . the turbine 103 can have a rotational velocity that is proportional to the velocity of the water 113 relative to the turbine 103 . thus , the rotational velocity of the turbine 103 and first shaft 105 can be variable . the turbine 103 can be coupled by the first shaft 105 to a gearing system 107 that can increase or decrease a rotational velocity of the second shaft 109 relative to the first shaft 105 . the rotational energy from the turbine 103 can be transmitted through the first shaft 105 , gearing system 107 and second shaft 109 to the pump 111 . the system can include a tether system with a plurality of high strength tether lines 115 coupling the pump assembly 101 to the floor 117 of the body of water 113 . a buoyancy structure 121 can be coupled with tether lines 115 to the top of the pump assembly 101 and the buoyancy structure 121 can help to lift the pump assembly 101 above the floor 117 and prevent the turbine 103 from contacting the floor 117 . the buoyancy structure 121 can also keep the pump assembly 101 below the surface 123 of the water 113 to prevent the top of the turbine 103 from coming out of the water 113 . in an embodiment , the buoyancy structure 121 includes a variable buoyancy mechanism 125 , which can alter the upward force applied to the pump assembly 101 . in calm conditions with lower velocity water , less upward force can be required to keep the pump assembly 101 at the proper vertical position within the water 113 . thus , less buoyant forces from the buoyancy structure 121 are necessary . however , as the water 113 flow increases , the drag forces on the pump assembly 101 will also increase , which will pull the pump assembly 101 downstream . a greater buoyant force can be required to counteract the drag force and pull the pump assembly 101 back to the desired position . in an embodiment , the pump assembly 101 can have a positive buoyance and the buoyancy structure 121 can supplement these positive buoyant forces . in order to minimize the drag forces on the pump assembly 101 , the housing of the pump assembly 101 may be made to have a hydrodynamic shape with a rounded front end and a tapered back portion . by having a smooth hydrodynamic shape , the forces overcome the drag forces and raise the pump assembly 101 to the proper height within the water 113 can be minimized . because the hydrodynamic drag does not provide any benefit to the inventive system , this drag should be minimized . with reference to fig2 a and 2b , in an embodiment , the variable buoyancy mechanism 125 can include a compressible volume 127 of gas with an actuator 129 to alter the gas volume 127 . when the volume 127 is allowed to expand as shown in fig2 a , the buoyancy force will increase and when the volume 127 is compressed as shown in fig2 b , the buoyancy force will decrease . in an embodiment , the compressible volume 127 can be a gas cylinder with a piston 131 that is coupled to an actuator 129 , which can be controlled to compress or decompress the gas volume 127 in the cylinder 133 . the cylinder 133 and exposed side of the piston 131 may be exposed to the ambient water pressure so that when the cylinder 133 is deep in the water , the water pressure may tend to further compress the cylinder . thus , the actuator may need to oppose the water pressure by expanding the cylinder volume 127 . with reference to fig1 , by controlling the buoyancy , the buoyancy structure 121 can control the upward force and the vertical position of the pump assembly 101 . with reference to fig3 , a more detailed illustration of the hydraulic power system 101 is shown . the pump 111 can circulate a fluid such as water through a piping system to an onshore power station 141 . the pump 111 can be a closed loop system as shown where the liquid in the system circulates from the pump 111 through the piping system 143 to the power station 141 and then back through the piping system 143 to the pump 111 . this closed loop system can be preferable because sediment and debris can be removed from the circulating fluid ( such as water ), which can damage the pump 111 and / or power station 141 . in this illustration , the piping system 143 is a closed loop system with concentric outlet and return paths . the liquid can be pumped on shore to the power station 141 through the center pipe 145 and the liquid may return through the outer piping 147 . alternatively , the liquid can be pumped on shore to the power station 141 through the outer piping 147 and the inner pipe 145 can be the liquid return . in an alternative embodiment with reference to fig4 , the system can be an open loop system where ambient water is pumped from the pump 111 through the piping system center pipe 145 to the onshore power station 141 and then released back to the body of water 113 through an outlet pipe 149 . the open loop system can be more energy efficient because there is less friction and pressure losses due to the liquid flowing through the piping system center pipe 145 . however , the water being pumped may need to be filtered through a filter 151 to prevent debris from entering the pump 111 , which can add fluid flow friction and reduce the efficiency of the system . in other embodiments the pump 111 can be used to pressurize a compressible fluid that runs in an open loop as shown in fig3 or closed loop as shown in fig3 to an on shore power system 141 . in yet other embodiments , the pumps can be replaced by other energy producing devices such as electrical power generators 181 , which can convert the rotational energy transmitted from the turbines 103 into electrical power . in this embodiment , the generator 181 can produce direct current or alternating electrical current that can be transmitted through electrical conductors 183 away from the generator assembly 191 to an on shore power station 185 . in each of these alternative embodiments , the inventive system can utilize the positive buoyancy and or hydrodynamic lift of the wings to maintain the position of the generator assembly 191 and turbine 103 above the floor 117 . with reference to fig6 , another embodiment of the pump assembly 201 is illustrated with the turbine on the back end of the pump assembly 201 structure . this configuration can provide hydrodynamic stability to the system because the drag generated by the turbine 103 is now at the rear of the assembly where there is less tendency for the drag forces to push the pump assembly 201 out of alignment with the water flow . another benefit is that as the drag forces push the pump assembly 201 down stream , the tethers 115 will lie at a more acute angle in relation to the water floor . however these angled tethers 115 will be less like likely to interfere with the turbine 103 rotation . in an embodiment , the pump assembly 201 can have a positive buoyance and the buoyancy structure 121 can supplement these positive buoyant forces . with reference to fig7 , if the water level 123 decreases in the body of water 113 , the buoyancy structure 121 may float on the surface 123 of the water 113 , which can result in the pump assembly 201 and turbine 103 being lowered close to the sea floor 117 . when the water lever 123 rises , the pump assembly 201 will rise higher over the sea floor 117 until the tethers 115 are all tights . however , the turbine 103 will not rise above the water 113 surface level 123 . fig8 and 9 are front views of fig1 and fig5 respectively . the tethers 115 between the floor 117 and the pump assemblies 101 , 201 can be angled outward and coupled to the outer sides of the pump assemblies 101 , 201 . this configuration can be necessary to counter act the torque forces applied to the pump assemblies 101 , 201 by the turbines 103 . for example , if the turbines 103 rotate clockwise facing the front of the system then the rotational force , which drives the gear system and pump , will create a clockwise torque on the pump assembly . by placing the tethers 115 as wide as possible on the pump assemblies 101 , 201 , the tethers 115 can better resist the torque forces from the turbine 103 . the torque force can be represented by f x r which is the distance from the center shaft . since the tethers 115 may only resist tension , the torque force may be mostly applied to the tethers 115 coupled to the left side of the pump assemblies 101 , 201 . the torque force may also be applied to the tethers 115 extending between the pump assemblies 101 , 201 and the buoyancy structure 121 . again , since the tethers 115 may only function in tension , the tethers 115 on the right side of the pump assemblies 101 , 201 may have added tension forces applied due to the torque of the turbine 103 . with reference to fig1 , another method for resisting the torque forces of the turbine 103 can be to attach extensions 161 to the sides of the pump assembly 201 . in this illustration , the extensions extend beyond the outer diameter of the turbine 103 and provide a much longer arm length r to resist the turbine torque . thus the force f , which is an additional tension force on the tethers 115 , can be proportionally lower . in this example , the arm length r may be about 4 + times the width of the pump assembly 201 . extensions 161 can also be placed on the buoyancy device 121 and can provide additional torque resistance . this configuration can also keep the tethers 115 away from the turbine 103 in the event that the turbine 103 moves into close proximity of the tethers 115 . with reference to fig1 a top view of an embodiment of a buoyancy structure 121 is illustrated and with reference to fig1 a top view of an embodiment of a pump assembly 201 is illustrated . in these illustrated embodiments , the extensions can be wings 163 that have elevators 165 or can be positioned to resist the turbine torque . more specifically , as the liquid flows over the wings 163 , the wings 163 can be configured to generate a rotational torque on the pump assembly 201 that resists the turbine 103 torque . for example , the left elevator 165 can be raised and the right elevator 165 can be lowered to produce a counter clockwise torque on the pump assembly 201 . since tether 115 tension forces can be transmitted from the buoyancy structure 121 , these wings 163 can also be configured to transmit a counter clockwise torque . in another embodiment , the wings 163 can provide lift that can supplement the upward buoyant forces of the buoyancy structure 121 and / or the pump assembly 201 . the lift can be produced by the flow of liquid over the wings , which can have an upward pitch . the wing 163 lift can also be generated with the elevators 165 , which can be raised to cause the wings to generate lift and the lift force can be used to put the tethers 115 in tension . in another embodiment with reference to fig1 , the pump assembly 101 can include an integrated positive buoyancy system ( as described above with reference to fig2 and 3 ). thus , the system may include a turbine 103 coupled to the pump assembly 101 that is tethered with tethers 115 to a floor 117 at the bottom of the body of water 113 . in this embodiment , the pump assembly 101 does not require the positive buoyancy structure . the inventive system can include a pump assembly 101 that is coupled to a turbine 103 that uses fluid movement to rotate the turbine 103 and power the pump 111 through a gear system 107 . the pump assembly 201 can have positive buoyancy that causes the pump assembly 101 to float above the floor 117 at the bottom of the body of water 113 . the tethers 115 can prevent the pump assembly 101 and turbine 103 from floating to the surface 123 of the water 113 . fig1 illustrates an embodiment of the inventive system with the turbine 103 mounted at the rear end of the pump assembly 201 . fig1 and 16 illustrate front views of fig1 and 14 respectively . again , the tethers 115 can be mounted to the outer side of the pump assemblies 101 , 201 to resist the torque applied to the pump assemblies 101 , 201 from the turbines 103 . fig1 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the inventive system with extensions 161 coupled to tethers 115 coupled to the water floor 117 . the extensions 161 can be wings 163 with elevators 165 ( as shown in fig1 ) that provide a hydrodynamic counter torque force that resists the turbine 103 torque applied to the pump assembly 201 as described above . in an embodiment , force transducers 167 can be coupled to one more of the tethers 115 for monitoring the forces applied to the tethers 115 . if excessive force is applied , a warning system can notify the system operators . the forces applied to the tethers 115 can include hydrodynamic drag in the horizontal direction . in an embodiment , the hydrodynamic drag can be reduced by lowering the angle of the turbine blades 104 which can result in lowing the horizontal forces on the tethers 115 . in an embodiment , the force transducers 167 can have positive buoyancy or alternatively , buoyancy devices 168 can be coupled to the force transducers 167 . in either configuration , the force transducers 167 will not sink if the devices are accidentally dropped . this configuration can prevent the force transducers 167 from being accidentally lost . during the assembly process , the force transducers 167 can first be coupled to the tethers 115 . if the force transducers 167 are dropped , the transducer 167 and the attached tether 115 can come to rest above the sea floor 117 so that it can be easily retrieved . in contrast , if the force transducer 167 has negative buoyancy or is not coupled to a buoyancy device 168 , the force transducer 167 and any connected tether 115 will sink to the sea floor 117 when dropped . it can be difficult to see and retrieve these components if they are resting on the sea floor 117 . while one or more implementations have been described by way of example and in terms of the specific embodiments , it is to be understood that one or more implementations are not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements . | 8 |
a pneumatic mail delivery system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to fig1 through 4 of the accompanying drawings . the pneumatic mail delivery system 10 includes at least one carrier 20 having a generally cylindrical configuration and substantially constructed of a transparent material ( fig4 ). the carrier 20 includes a body portion 22 intermediate a pair of opposed sealing rings 24 , 26 ( fig4 ). each sealing ring 24 , 26 forms a peripheral rim about first 28 and second 30 open ends . the carrier 20 further includes first 32 and second 34 covers hingedly coupled to respective sealing rings 24 , 26 for pivotal movement between open and closed configurations . preferably , the covers 32 , 34 are attached with a spring hinge 36 such that the covers are spring - biased toward respective open configurations ( fig2 and 3 ). each sealing ring 24 , 26 includes a diameter larger than a diameter of the intermediate body portion 22 . further , each sealing ring 24 , 26 defines a pair of oppositely positioned grooves 48 , their function being further described below . a latch 38 is positioned within each open end 28 , 30 of the carrier 20 ( fig4 ). each latch 38 includes a base 40 fixedly attached to an inner surface / rim of a respective sealing ring with a magnetic pin 42 reciprocatively positioned within the base 40 . each pin 42 is fastened within the base 40 with a compression spring ( not shown ) such that is biased to push the pin 42 outward . each cover 32 , 34 includes a metal disk 46 positioned to contact the tip of a magnetic pin 42 upon closure of the cover . the latch 38 is constructed to operate like a push button of a ball - point pen in that it may be depressed to magnetically hold a respective cover in a closed configuration or depressed again to release the cover via a spring action . the pneumatic mail system 10 further includes a first carrier terminal 50 ( fig2 ) positioned at a mail delivery location , such as the location of a traditional mailbox . this invention is especially advantageous where mailboxes are located at a street or road located some distance from a residence . the pneumatic mail system 10 further includes a second carrier terminal 70 located inside or adjacent to a residence , as shown in dashed lines in fig1 . the first 50 and second 70 carrier terminals are interconnected by a tubular pneumatic conduit 72 ( fig1 ). the conduit 72 defines an interior space through which the carrier 20 may be guided between the terminals . the first 50 and second 70 carrier terminals are integrally connected to the conduit 72 . a pair of guide tracks 74 extend longitudinally along an inner surface of the conduit 72 and carrier terminals 50 , 70 and are oppositely positioned 180 ° from one another therein ( fig3 ). each sealing ring 24 , 26 includes a diameter that is substantial equal to a diameter of the conduit 72 and carrier terminals so as to provide an air seal between the carrier 20 and conduit 72 . the guide tracks 74 and sealing ring grooves 48 have complementary configurations that mate with one another so that the carrier 20 may be guided along the guide tracks 74 between terminals . the pneumatic mail system 10 includes a blower 80 connected to the conduit 72 for transmitting an air stream thereto or receiving an air stream therefrom . in other words , the blower 80 is capable of blowing air or creating a vacuum and this air differential causes the carrier 20 to be conveyed between carrier terminals by exerting either a pushing or pulling force . the mechanics of conveying a carrier between carrier terminals using a blower is known in the art . the first carrier terminal 50 will now be described in detail although it is understood that the first 50 and second 70 carrier terminals have a substantially similar construction . the first carrier terminal 50 includes a first front panel 52 defining an opening 54 in communication with the interior space of the first carrier terminal 50 and conduit 72 ( fig2 ). a first door 56 is pivotally coupled to the first front panel 52 with a spring hinge ( not shown ) such that the first door 56 may selectably close the opening 54 although the first door 56 is spring - biased to an open configuration . another spring - loaded button 58 is mounted to the front panel 52 along the edge of the opening 54 ( fig3 a ). the button 58 includes a pin 60 having a magnetic tip 62 that is biased outwardly by an internally positioned compression spring ( not shown ). the first door 56 also includes a metal disk 66 mounted to its inner surface and positioned to contact the magnetic tip 62 when pivoted to its closed configuration . this button 58 also operates like that of a ball - point pen wherein a first depression of the button 58 ( by a user depression of the first door ) causes the pin 60 to retract and magnetically hold the first door 56 in a closed configuration . a second depression of the first door 56 and button 58 actuates a spring action strong enough to release the first door 56 to its normally open configuration . the pin 60 is electrically connected to the blower 80 with a wire 68 . obviously , the button 58 is also electrically connected to an electrical power source , such as traditional ac current or a battery ( not shown ). when the button 58 is momentarily depressed in a manner indicative of closure of the first door 56 , a circuit is closed ( not shown ) so as to enable the blower 80 to be energized . when energized , the blower 80 creates the appropriate air differential within the conduit 72 to convey the carrier 20 between carrier terminals . the blower 80 will cause the carrier 20 to be conveyed from the second to the first terminal or from the first to the second terminal depending on which button was pressed ( i . e . indicating which door was closed ). a first photoelectric light sensor 90 is mounted to the first carrier terminal 50 and is positioned for directing a light beam across the tubular part of the first carrier terminal and against a reflector plate 92 ( fig3 ). the sensor 90 is held within a housing 94 . when the carrier 20 is positioned at the first carrier terminal 50 , the light beam shines and is reflected through the transparent material thereof . the sensor 90 is electrically connected to a light source 96 mounted to the first front panel 52 . preferably , the light source 96 is a red bulb . if the light beam of the sensor 90 is not reflected back to the sensor 90 , the light source 96 is energized to indicate the presence of mail within the carrier 20 . the light on the first front panel 52 is useful to notify a postal carrier that a resident has left mail to be picked up . it is understood that another light sensor , reflector plate , and light are mounted to the second carrier terminal in substantially the same manner as described above . in use , the carrier 20 is initially positioned at the first carrier terminal 50 as a result of a resident having retrieved the previous day &# 39 ; s mail and causing the carrier 20 to be returned upon closure of the second carrier terminal door . if outgoing mail was placed in the carrier 20 by the resident prior to closing the second carrier terminal door , this mail will be detected by the first photoelectric light sensor 90 and the first light source 96 will be energized so as to alert a postal carrier . the postal carrier may access the carrier 20 by depressing the first carrier terminal door 56 which causes both that door 56 and the first carrier cover 32 to spring open . outgoing mail may then be removed through the open end of the carrier and first front panel opening and new mail may be delivered therethrough . a closure of the first carrier terminal door 56 simultaneously closes the corresponding carrier cover 32 and depresses a respective spring - loaded blower activation button 58 . activation of the blower 80 causes an appropriate air differential within the conduit 72 to convey the carrier either from the first to the second carrier terminal or vice versa . the light source 96 is de - energized when the carrier 20 is sent as the reflection of the light beam of the sensor 90 is restored . although the pneumatic mail system 10 has been described hereto as including a single first carrier terminal 50 , second carrier terminal 70 , with a single conduit 72 extending therebetween , it should be appreciated that a plurality of first carrier terminals may be housed within a mailbox cabinet 100 as shown in fig1 . each of these plurality of first carrier terminals corresponds to a second carrier terminal with a corresponding conduit extending therebetween and with a corresponding carrier within the conduit . each conduit is connected to a common blower 80 as described above . thus , mail to a plurality of residences , such as in an apartment complex , may be delivered quickly from a single depository location . it is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described , it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof . | 1 |
fig1 shows a high - pressure injection system for a four - cylinder internal combustion engine , which is not shown specifically . the injection system has a pressure accumulator 1 , which is connected to four injectors 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . the individual injectors 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 each have injection valves , which are indicated only schematically in fig1 . the pressure accumulator 1 is fed with a fuel from a fuel reservoir 7 by means of a high - pressure pump 6 at a high pressure in the region of several hundred bar to a few thousand bar . the fuel is fed to the high - pressure pump 6 via a fuel line 8 and a filter 9 . regulation of the hydraulic pressure in the high - pressure reservoir 1 takes place in a manner not shown specifically in greater detail by regulating the fuel quantity fed to the high - pressure pump on the low - pressure side . in order to allow better regulation of the pressure in the pressure accumulator , especially in situations of a falling fuel demand , a pressure reduction valve 10 which connects the pressure accumulator 1 to the low - pressure system , in particular the fuel reservoir 7 , is provided . when the pressure reduction valve is open , the pressure in the pressure accumulator 1 can thus be reduced efficiently and quickly . the pressure reduction valve 10 and an element which controls the fuel supply to the high - pressure pump 6 are advantageously connected , together with a pressure sensor 25 linked to the interior of the pressure accumulator 1 , to a common regulating device 11 . fig2 shows the construction of the pressure reduction valve 10 schematically and by way of example . in this case , the pressure accumulator is shown on the left - hand side with the reference sign 1 and is connected to an opening 12 of the pressure reduction valve 10 . the opening 12 can be closed by means of a closure element 13 . the closure element 13 is connected to a solenoid armature 14 of a solenoid drive , wherein the solenoid armature 14 interacts as part of the solenoid drive with a solenoid coil 15 surrounding it . in the state of rest , i . e . when the solenoid coil 15 is not being supplied with a current , the solenoid armature 14 and , with the latter , the closure element 13 is pressed against the valve seat on the opening 12 by means of a spring 16 , which is guided in a spring guide 17 , and by means of the correspondingly acting spring force 27 , and the pressure reduction valve is thus closed against the hydraulic pressure 26 in the pressure accumulator 1 . thus , no fuel can emerge from the pressure accumulator 1 . if the solenoid coil 15 is supplied with a sufficiently strong electric signal , with the result that a high current flows , the armature 14 is pulled into the coil 15 , and the closure element 13 is thus moved away from the opening 12 against the force of the spring 16 . fuel can then be discharged from the pressure accumulator 1 through the opening 12 into the valve chamber 18 and , from there , via the outflow line 19 , into the fuel reservoir 7 . it is advantageous if the pressure reduction valve 10 is designed in such a way that it can be operated as a “ digital valve ”. this means that the valve is operated essentially only in an open position and in a closed position , wherein the opening 12 can be closed and opened very quickly by the movement of the closure element 13 . the fact that the forces acting on the armature 14 from the solenoid drive counteract the spring force 27 can be exploited in order to set the current for the operation of the solenoid drive for continuous operation in such a way that both individual instances of scatter in the spring constants and other production and assembly tolerances are compensated . for this purpose , the pressure reduction valve can first of all be calibrated under atmospheric conditions , i . e . when the pressure accumulator and also the fluid reservoir 7 are under atmospheric pressure , or when both sides of the pressure reduction valve are under the same pressure other than atmospheric pressure . for this purpose , the current is experimentally set in such a way that the magnetic force on the closure element 13 just overcomes the spring force 27 . a certain amount of current is then subtracted from the current thus determined through the solenoid coil , with the result that the pressure reduction valve is initially held closed with a reduced force . the subtracted amount of current is chosen so that the pressure reduction valve opens only when a certain hydraulic force 26 , which corresponds to a threshold pressure of the valve , is added by the hydraulic force in the pressure accumulator 1 to the force of the solenoid drive . the aim of this setting is to enable the pressure reduction valve to open automatically , e . g . at a threshold pressure of 2200 bar in the pressure accumulator 1 , if the threshold pressure is 3000 bar without energization of the solenoid coil for instance . the amount of current which has to be subtracted from the initially determined current at which the magnetic force and the spring force balance out in the valve can be found in a reference table stored in a regulating device 11 , for example . however , the amount of current can also be determined by means of an advantageously linear characteristic depending on the desired triggering / threshold pressure of the valve . for better operation of the pressure reduction valve 10 , a restriction 30 is provided in the region of the opening 12 of the valve on the side of the high - pressure accumulator 1 . the flow resistance through the restriction 30 is significantly greater than the flow resistance of the opened pressure reduction valve 10 . the effect of opening and closing processes of the pressure reduction valve is thereby reduced , and therefore the pressure reduction valve approaches the ideal form of the digital valve . fig3 shows the process of setting the pressure reduction valve schematically in a diagram . in the lower part of the diagram , the time t is plotted on the horizontal axis , and the current in the solenoid coil 15 is plotted on the vertical axis . the current is increased over the time from t 0 up to the current i 1 , which is achieved at time t 1 . the current i 1 refers to the current at which the spring force of the compression spring and additional mechanical resistances are balanced out by the magnetic driving force of the solenoid armature and the solenoid coil in the pressure reduction valve when both sides are under atmospheric pressure , and the valve opens . this current i 1 is first of all recorded . after this , the current can be increased further , wherein the valve remains open . at time t 2 , it is assumed that the pressure accumulator 1 is put under high pressure . during operation , the pressure reduction valve is now closed again , and then the current is set to the value i 2 , which is obtained from the determined current i 1 by subtracting a certain amount of current , which depends on the desired threshold pressure of the valve . at this current i 2 , the valve can then be operated continuously . in the upper part of the diagram in fig3 , the time t is plotted on the horizontal axis at the same scale as in the lower part , while the opening path s of the closure element 13 of the pressure reduction valve is shown there on the vertical axis . it can be seen that , initially , at time t = 0 , the valve is closed and is held closed by the spring force . while the current in the solenoid drive is increased over time , the magnetic force grows until it balances out the spring force at time t 1 and opens the valve , this being shown in the upper part of the diagram in fig3 by the path s 1 traveled by the valve tappet / closure element 13 . the valve closes when , at time t 2 , the current is lowered from the current above i 1 to 0 . the pressure reduction valve remains closed for as long as the pressure prevailing in the pressure accumulator is below the desired threshold pressure . if the current i 2 continues to be applied in the solenoid drive of the valve , the closure element 13 closes the opening 12 by means of the force of the spring 17 until the pressure in the pressure accumulator 1 rises above the threshold value again . in fig4 , the time characteristic is plotted on the horizontal axis , while currents , on the one hand , and pressure characteristics , on the other hand , are plotted on the vertical axis . first of all , a pressure characteristic in the pressure accumulator is illustrated in the setpoint pressure curve 31 , which begins with a first pressure p 1 and a horizontal pressure characteristic . in this phase , the pressure p 1 prevails in the pressure accumulator 1 , and the pressure reduction valve 10 is not energized . from time t 4 onward , the pressure reduction valve 10 is , on the one hand , energized with the setpoint current , which sets the desired threshold pressure of , for example , 2200 bar at the pressure reduction valve . the pressure demand on the pressure accumulator rises in the course of time , and the pressure is increased there , this being shown by the linear rise in the pressure up to time t 5 . normally , a horizontal pressure characteristic , i . e . the maintenance of a constant pressure in the pressure accumulator , is ensured as soon as the setpoint pressure has been set , which can correspond at the maximum to the threshold pressure of the pressure reduction valve , wherein this pressure is at p 4 in the example shown in fig4 . in the absence of faults , this pressure is ensured by the regulation of the high - pressure pump 6 , and therefore the pressure reduction valve 10 does not intervene and can remain closed . if there is a fault in the system , the desired pressure p 4 is often not reached . it can be seen from the example curves 32 ( first fault curve ) and 33 ( second fault curve ) that the pressure in the pressure accumulator reaches a lower value than envisaged , namely pressure level p 3 or p 2 . however , it is often difficult to identify the reason for the faulty behavior of the pressure regulating system . by means of the method according to the invention , a greater insight as to the cause of the fault can be obtained by switching off the current to the pressure reduction valve . if there is subsequently a pressure rise when the current is switched off at time t 6 , for example , as illustrated by means of the first fault curve 32 , this indicates that the pressure reduction valve was closed by switching off the current and that consequently it was open before the current was switched off . this indicates that the pressure in the pressure accumulator 1 was too high and was automatically reduced by the pressure reduction valve . this observation suggests that the pressure regulation is faulty and that the system is under an excess system pressure . if the pressure characteristic in accordance with the second fault curve 33 is obtained after switching off the pressure reduction valve , it is evident that the valve position has not been changed by switching off the current to the pressure reduction valve . since the threshold pressure is raised by switching off the current , this allows the conclusion that the applicable threshold pressure had not been reached even before the current was switched off and the valve was thus closed . the pressure level p 3 established in accordance with the second fault curve 33 then has nothing to do with an excess pressure in the system but is very probably attributable to leaks and / or inefficient operation of the high - pressure pump . it is thus possible , by means of the method according to the invention , to perform fault discrimination in the pressure regulating system of the pressure accumulator by switching off the current to the pressure reduction valve . the method described for operating the pressure accumulator with a controllable pressure reduction valve will once again be briefly outlined with reference to fig5 . in a first method step 35 , the pressure reduction valve 10 on the pressure accumulator 1 is operated , wherein the pressure accumulator 1 is under atmospheric pressure , as is the fluid reservoir 7 . in a second method step 36 , a current which just leads to the opening of the valve and which thus cancels out the spring force of the valve and compensates for all tolerances and the additional forces caused thereby is then set at the pressure reduction valve . in a third step 37 , an amount of current which is subtracted from the current required to compensate the mechanical tolerances and the spring force is determined from the current level determined in the second step 36 and from the desired threshold pressure of the pressure reduction valve . in a fourth step 38 , the current determined in the third step 37 for continuous energization of the pressure reduction valve 10 is set during the operation of the pressure accumulator . if the need arises to check the pressure regulation in the system , either in the context of a regular periodic check or the suspicion of a malfunction arises due to a certain deviant behavior or a sensor indication , the current to the pressure reduction valve 10 is switched off in the fifth step 39 and , in the sixth step 40 , the development of the measured pressure is detected . in the seventh step 41 , fault discrimination and fault determination are carried out on the basis of the analysis of the pressure behavior . | 5 |
the following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention , reference being made to the drawings in which the same reference numerals identify the same elements of structure in each of the several figures . it should be noted that these drawings are merely exemplary in nature and in no way serve to limit the scope of the invention , which is defined by the claims appearing herein below . the various coatings of the product are applied via a technique referred to herein as “ slot curtain die coating .” the die in question is shown in fig1 - 4 in various states of assembly as die 10 . as best shown in fig1 , die 10 includes front die section 20 , rear die section 40 , and a specially shaped shim 60 disposed therebetween . all three parts are tightly secured together , preferably by bolting , e g , by bolts 24 ( see fig6 ). referring to fig2 , front die section 20 includes inlets 22 which feed internal boles 25 with liquid nail enamel or any of the other components of the product , such as for example adhesive and additive or a top , clear layer . fig3 and 4 illustrate the interior of die 10 ; in both of these figures , rear die section 40 has been removed for clarity . internal bores 25 of front die section 20 terminate in outlet holes 26 on inner face 30 and reside in flow channels 28 thereon . the purpose of flow channels 28 is to direct the liquid nail enamel from outlet holes 26 in a manner that results in consistent and even application of the enamel on the substrate . as such , each flow channel 28 includes upper substantially horizontal branch 28 a , which feeds into substantially vertical branches 28 b and thence into lower substantially horizontal branch 28 c . it should be noted that die 10 is shown in fig1 - 4 upside down ; hence , fluid exiting outlet hole 26 seeps along horizontal branch 28 a , down vertical branches 28 b , and then seeps into horizontal branch 28 c . the liquid enamel seeps from branch 28 c and onto the substrate . without shim 60 , the two inner faces of front and rear die sections 20 and 40 would be firmly abutting and would not allow room for the enamel to seep out of horizontal branch 28 c . however , as shown in fig3 and 4 , shim 60 includes vertical projections 62 between cutouts 64 . when shim 60 is attached to front die section 20 by bolts 24 ( see fig4 ), it shields and covers all of flow channel 28 except for the majority of lower horizontal branch 28 c . this way , enamel flowing in branches 28 a or 28 b cannot seep out of these branches but must instead move forward ( downward ) ultimately to branch 28 c . because branch 28 c is uncovered , enamel simply spills out of it and thus out of slots 70 ( see fig1 ) and onto the substrate in a sheet - like or curtain - like configuration . more specifically , as best illustrated in fig5 and 6 , substrate 100 is fed into the machinery by rollers 110 . liquid enamel source 112 is attached to inlets 22 so that heated , pressurized liquid enamel can be forced into die 10 . when substrate 100 passes under die 10 , liquid enamel or other components being coated , fall out of slots 70 and onto substrate 100 thereby forming layer 114 . the first substance to be applied to substrate 100 is an adhesive material . nail enamel layers ate applied atop of the adhesive layer . the adhesive layer secures the appliqúe to a fingernail . because the adhesive layer is in direct contact with a wearer &# 39 ; s fingernail , it provides a unique opportunity to act as a delivery vehicle of additives . it should be noted that in other products that contain additives , the additives are mixed into the nail enamel to form a uniform mixture . this minimizes the amount of additives that could be added and inhibits the efficacy of the same . in the current invention , however , there is a specific zone ( the adhesive layer ) in which additives are contained . this allows the nail enamel layers to remain free of additives and allows for maximum delivery of the same in some embodiments , additives could be added to the enamel layers as well . in some embodiments adhesive material and additive are applied to a substrate in separate steps . for example , an additive could first be applied and adhesive substance atop thereto ( or vice versa ). however , in a preferred embodiment , adhesive material is combined with additives first . the combination is then applied to a substrate . examples of additives include , but are not limited to , vitamins , minerals , drugs , and nail additives as non - limiting examples , additives such as vitamin a , forms of algae , kelp , bamboo , white tea , green tea , papaya fruit , cactus , garlic , protein , calcium etc . may be added to the adhesive layer of an appliqué . after the adhesive is applied , one or more layers of liquid nail is applied atop thereto . in some embodiments one or more clear layers are applied atop of the nail enamel layers essentially the same manner as described above . after all layers are applied to the substrate , the substrate is cut into several nail - shaped appliqués . in fig7 , a sheet 115 having a strip of nail enamel 114 is shown from which individual appliqués 119 are cut . the appliqués are partially dried before being sealed in packaging . once a wearer applies an appliqué , the enamel finishes curing on her fingernail . the adhesive remains in constant contact with the fingernail and continuously delivers additives thereto . in some preferred embodiments , the inventive nail enamel includes a much higher solids content ( 35 % and up ) and / or higher viscosity nitrocellulose ( 60 - 80 second and up ) than conventional nail polish . these characteristics cannot be used in conventional nail polish because the resultant polish would be too thick ( i . e . it would have too high a viscosity ) to apply by brush . from a mass manufacturing point of view , however , the less volatile solvent in the formulation , the greater the production capacities . in addition , higher viscosity nitrocellulose ( 60 - 80 second ) can produce thinner but stronger and shinier film . the multi - layer film has great flexibility in manufacture and can provide a variety of different products . three examples of the basic composition of high viscosity liquid raw nail polish for processing and product of semi - dry or dry ( hereinafter “ semi / dry ”) nail polish film follow . a non - metallic dry nail polish film of the present invention uses 35 - 60 % solids , of which 25 - 35 % ( w / w ) is ¼ - and ½ - second nitrocellulose . in contrast , conventional bottled liquid nail polishes contain , at most , 13 - 17 % nitnocellulose . the present invention thus doubles the solid content . the present invention includes about 40 - 50 % solvents , as opposed to approximately 70 % of solvent used in traditional liquid nail enamels this lower solvent content has several advantages from the standpoint of processing , the time required to complete drying / evaporation ( i . e ., to produce a finished product ) is about 30 - 40 % less than currently available liquid formulations . second , the dry nail polish film of the present invention is better for the environment and energy saving for oxidate solvents . this nail polish formulation is impossible to use with a brush because it is too thick ; however , in the present invention , the formulation is heated to about 100 - 150 degree f ., thereby reducing the viscosity and allowing the material to flow through the nozzle . the first , non - metallic formulation is as follows : this formulation is approximately 1500 - 4000 centipoise ( 60 rpm ) at room temperature as mentioned above , high viscosity nitrocellulose ( 60 - 80 second ) is conventionally used in less than 1 - 5 % amounts solely for the purpose of adjusting enamel viscosity using less than 5 % for bottled chrome nail polish . one manufacturer of such a formulation is kirker enterprises in new jersey , as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 565 , 835 to socci et al . by contrast , the inventive metallic or non - metallic formulation contains high viscosity nitrocellulose ( 60 - 80 second ) in quantities greater than 6 %, up to 25 % by using such a high percentage of extremely viscous nitrocellulose , thinner , shinier films with greater strength and flexibility are possible this formulation is as follows : 6 - 25 % 60 - 80 second nitrocellulose 8 - 12 % polymer , co - polymer resin ( s ) 5 - 10 % color pigments 4 - 15 % plasticizer 1 - 2 % other solids remainder solvent ( s ) ( e . g , ethyl and butyl acetates , isopropyl alcohol ) this formulation is approximately 1500 - 4000 centipoise ( 60 rpm ) at loom temperature . a third formulation combines the “ best of both worlds ” of the first two mentioned above specifically , the composition of this formulation includes both high viscosity nitrocellulose ( 60 - 80 sec .) and ¼ or ½ - second nitocellulose in a 40 %- 60 % combination ( with respect to each other ) this formulation achieves a thinner film with medium strength and flexibility as well as shine : 8 - 17 % ¼ or ½ - second nitrocellulose 6 - 15 % 60 - 80 second nitrocellulose 8 - 12 % polymer , copolymer resin ( s ) 5 - 10 % color pigments 4 - 15 % plasticizer 1 - 2 % other solids remainder solvent ( s ) ( e . g ., ethyl and butyl acetates , isopropyl alcohol ) this formulation is also approximately 1500 - 4000 centipoise ( 60 rpm ) at room temperature . in all three examples given above , the differences and benefits of the new inventive formulations for semi / dry nail enamels as compared to conventional liquid nail polish are manifold they produce a stronger film on the nails which lasts much longer than either conventional nail polish or conventional semi / dry nail enamel appliqués . the film is also shinier than those previously produced . the inventive film appliqués are thinner than either conventional salon nail polish jobs or prior appliqués , thereby allowing the nail more breathability . the films are also flexible and may be easily stretched to cover a nail mote fully and completely than before with less solvent remaining ( less than 5 %). many different types of films can be produced without significant retooling of the machinery . finally , since there is a much greater percentage of solids , more film can be produced faster and less expensively . in conventional coating processes for manufacturing dry nail enamel films , the nitrocellulose base must be of sufficiently low viscosity to flow through very small apertures ( i . e ., slots and holes of less than 300 microns in slot ) in the coating die . because nail polish formulations ( with nitrocellulose bases ) having a viscosity of greater than 1000 centipoise generally will not flow readily and would quickly clog the die ( especially those containing glitter or large particle mica ), 60 - 80 second nitrocellulose and the like are typically not used in the manufacture of nail polishes , other than in small amounts ( e . g , up to a maximum of 5 %, typically from 1 - 3 %, for adjusting viscosity of the final product as mentioned above ). in one embodiment , the formulation is heated to between 100 - 150 ° f ., preferably about 125 ° f ., higher viscosity nitrocellulose may be pumped and used . similarly , where the content of ¼ or ½ - second nitrocellulose is greater than about 35 % by weight of the composition , then the formulation may be heated to about 100 ° f ., preferably to about 125 ° f . note that the above three examples are directed to the enamel portion of an appliqué — excluding the adhesive portion thereof . having described this invention with regard to specific embodiments , it is to be understood that the description is not meant as a limitation since further modifications and variations may be apparent or may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art . it is intended that the present application covet all such modifications and variation as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
the preferred embodiment illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . it is chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to thereby enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention . the hydraulic control system 10 of this invention includes a lower control station 12 , located on a carrier vehicle 13 mounting a turntable 15 which pivotally supports a lower boom or arm 20 to whose outer end is pivotally connected an upper boom or arm 24 which preferably carries a basket or worker support 17 at its outer end . suitable hydraulic extensible ram means 18 controls the position of boom 20 and ram means 22 interconnect the lower boom 20 and upper boom 24 to control pivotal adjustment of the position of upper boom 24 relative to lower boom 20 . the circuit also includes an upper control station 14 located in the basket 17 on the upper boom 24 . lower control station 12 and upper control station 14 each have three valves 19 . valves 19 of lower control station 12 are connected by hydraulic control lines 21 to a turntable motor 16 , a lower extensible boom ram 18 interconnecting the turntable and the lower boom 20 , and an upper extensible boom ram 22 interconnecting the lower boom and upper boom 24 . valves 19 of upper control station 14 are connected by hydraulic control lines 23 to turntable motor 16 , control lines 51 to lower boom ram 18 and control lines 53 to upper boom ram 22 . hydraulic control system 10 includes outrigger valves 26 which are connected by hydraulic lines 25 to outrigger rams 28 which are connected to legs 29 for stabilizing and leveling the vehicle body 13 and the support platform of the aerial boom . a main pressure line 36 is in fluid connection between tank 30 and outrigger valves 26 and lower control station valves 19 . hydraulic fluid is pumped from tank 30 through a main relief valve 34 and into pressure line 36 by a pump 32 . an operator safety control valve 38 is connected to pressure lines 36 and normally permits fluid flow therethrough into a return line 44 , which returns fluid to tank 30 . a pilot pressure line 40 branches from pressure line 36 between pump 32 and safety control valve 38 and extends to and connects with a deadman control valve 42 located in basket 17 . when deadman control valve 42 is operated , pilot pressure fluid flows through feed line 43 from the deadman control valve to operator safety valve 38 and thence through line 48 to the upper control basket valves 19 , thus directing fluid flow from line 44 and activating upper control station 14 . a return line 49 provides for return flow of fluid from upper control valves 19 to tank 30 . a return line 11 connects lower control station valves 19 to return line 49 to provide for return of fluid to tank 30 during operation of the lower control valves . return lines 27 extend from outrigger valves 26 to return line 49 and provide for return of fluid to tank 30 during operation of the outrigger valves . a return line 41 is connected to the drain side of deadman control valve 42 and to return line 49 . a winch selector 62 is interposed in main pressure line 36 and controls a winch 64 controlling cable 65 trained around a pulley at the end of lower boom 20 ( fig2 ) or at the upper boom 24 ( fig3 ) and used to lift a load or object . winch 64 preferably has a worm gear drive . a winch retract hydraulic line 66 is connected between winch control valve 62 , winch 64 and lower control station return line 11 . a winch extend line 67 is similarly connected between control valve 62 , winch 64 and lower control station return line 11 . by this arrangement of parts , winch line 65 may be retracted or extended through selective operation of control valve 62 . a relief valve 68 is interposed in retract line 66 and has a cam operated stem 71 . stem 71 of valve 68 is shiftable between an open valve position allowing passage of fluid to return line 11 and preventing retraction of the winch line 65 , and a closed valve position permitting retraction of the winch line 65 for lifting a load in response to movement of boom 20 . a cam 70 is located at the hinge of lower boom 20 and the turntable 72 , as shown in fig2 . cam 70 is positioned to operate stem 71 of valve 68 in response to change of the vertical component of the position of the winch carrying boom , as boom 20 ( fig2 ), such that the valve 68 is adjusted to its open inoperative position when an excessive or overturn moment about turntable 72 is approached , or as the lower boom approaches its horizontal position , and valve 68 is closed when the moment about the turntable is the least , or as the lower boom approaches its vertical position . winch 64 may be located on upper boom 24 as shown in fig3 . when winch 64 is located on upper boom 24 , lower boom 20 acts as a counterweight when it is in its horizontal position , thus counteracting the effect of a weight being lifted at the outer end of the upper boom . as lower boom 20 is shifted toward its vertical position , while the upper winch is operated , the overturn moment about turntable 72 increases as the vertical component of the position of the lower boom increases . for this reason , cam 70 and valve 68 are positioned on the side of turntable 72 adjacent to lower boom 20 such that valve 68 is shifted to its open position rendering winch 64 inoperative as lower boom 20 is raised . a bypass line 63 is connected at one end to winch retract line 66 between winch selector valve 62 and relief valve 68 and at its other end to return line 11 . an electrically operated , normally - closed valve 80 is interposed in bypass line 80 and is actuated by a platform level indicator 82 which in turn is powered by a battery 84 . indicator 82 is attached to the turntable support platform 86 and is responsive to the lateral tilt of the platform . if the tilt of platform 86 exceeds a preset limit on indicator 82 an alarm is sounded and a current is transmitted to valve 80 , opening the valve to eliminate pressure in retract line 66 and rendering winch 64 powerless for lifting an object . when a valve is operated to control a hydraulic ram or other actuating part of the aerial boom unit , fluid is diverted from line 44 and returns to tank 30 through return line 49 . a spring pressed valve 58 is located in line 44 and is held open by pressure in the line 44 . when the fluid pressure in line 44 drops due to diversion of fluid from line 44 into one of the return lines 11 , 27 and 49 by operation of an associated valve 19 , 26 or 62 , valve 58 shifts toward a closed position in which the stem 59 of the valve operates an electrical switch 60 connected to the speed control of the pump motor 47 to increase the speed of the motor and , consequently , the pressure within hydraulic system 10 . upper control station 14 includes an override valve 54 which is connected to pilot pressure line 56 branching from line 48 , and connected to return line 49 . override valve 54 closes in response to a drop in pressure in feed line 48 and pilot pressure line 56 , upon operation of a lower control valve 19 or other valve in main pressure line 36 , to prevent fluid flow into return line 49 from upper control station 14 . when override valve 54 closes and return flow is halted in return line 49 , the upper control valves 19 are not operable to control their associated functions . the effectiveness of upper control valves 19 is also controlled by the position of deadman control valve 42 which can function to divert initial pilot pressure from line 36 to upper control station 14 when controlled by an operator at station 14 . a basket stop valve 50 is fed by a pilot pressure line 52 which branches from feed line 48 and is in fluid connection with hydraulic lines 51 and 53 connecting upper control valves 19 with lower boom ram 18 and upper boom ram 22 . a return line 52 is connected to the drain side of the basket stop valve 50 and return line 49 . basket stop valve 50 serves to prevent fluid flow in lines 51 and 53 when basket 17 is moved by misguidance of booms 20 and 24 from an operative orientation . it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the above description but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
referring first to fig1 a , a computer system 2 suitable for installing a network device configuration tool thereon may now be seen . the computer system 2 is comprised of a processor subsystem 4 , for example , a type p6 pentium processor manufactured by intel corporation of santa clara , calif ., coupled to a memory subsystem 6 , for example , a hard drive or other auxiliary memory device capable of storing large amounts of data infrequently used by the processor subsystem 4 , by a system bus 8 , preferably , a 32 - bit wide peripheral connection interface ( or “ pci ”) bus . also coupled to the system bus 8 is a user interface 9 . commonly , the user interface is comprised of three peripheral devices a video display , a keyboard and a pointing device . referring now to fig1 b , a network device configuration tool 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention will now be described in greater detail . the network device configuration tool 10 is graphical user interface ( or “ gui ”) based software launchable from a suitable platform installed on the computer system 2 . for example , windows 95 and windows nt 3 . 51 , both manufactured by microsoft of redmond , wash ., are suitable platforms from which the network device configuration tool 10 may be launched . in its broadest sense , the network device configuration tool 10 provides a gui in which the so - called “ drag and drop ” process is used to construct a network configuration map comprised of a series of interconnected network devices and / or network entities , for example , a lan , wan or other network , from a combination of user inputs , network configuration maps , configuration scripts and local configuration files . in constructing the network configuration map , a series of local configuration files are constructed for the network devices and appended to the network configuration map . the local configuration files contain information , for example , internet protocol ( or “ ip ”) address , default gateway , router name and simplified network management protocol ( or “ snmp ”) community strings , necessary for the network device , for example , a router , to properly communicate on the network . for each network device for which a local configuration file has been constructed , the network device configuration tool 10 may also construct a network device configuration file suitable for export to the network device itself . in this manner , remote configuration of network devices is enabled . as shown in fig1 b , the network device configuration tool 10 may be representatively illustrated as being comprised of two software modules , map editor 14 and configuration guide 18 , both of which are executable by the processor subsystem 4 , which retrieve data and programming instructions from various locations within the memory subsystem 8 of the computer system 2 on which the network device configuration tool 10 is installed . the data and programming instruction are stored in the memory subsystem 6 as a series of files which may be selectively accessed by the map editor 14 and / or the configuration guide 18 . files which are accessible to the map editor 14 and / or the configuration guide 18 are configuration scripts 12 , map files 16 , local configuration files 20 and network configuration files 22 . the configuration scripts 12 identify the types of network devices and network entities which may be placed on the network configuration map and interconnected with other network entities and network devices . the configuration scripts 12 also identify the network devices which are configurable by the network device configuration tool 10 and contain information necessary to construct configuration files for those network devices . if a particular network device does not have a configuration script , a configuration file cannot be constructed by the network device configuration tool 10 . the map files 16 contain a series of network configuration maps , each comprised of a series of interconnected network devices and network entities , constructed using the network device configuration tool 10 . the local configuration files 20 contain information which , if uploaded to the corresponding network device 26 , would enable configuration of that device . if local configuration files 20 are constructed for the network devices illustrated on the network configuration map ( s ) 16 produced using the network device configuration tool 10 , such local configuration files 20 are associated with the corresponding network device such that they may be directly accessed from the network configuration maps 16 . the network configuration files 22 are similar in content to the local configuration files 20 except that the files have been formatted for upload to a network device 26 coupled to the configuration tool in a manner to be more fully described below . broadly speaking , a local configuration file 20 is modified for upload to the corresponding network device 26 by formatting the local file into the appropriate ip address for the target network device 26 . finally , the network device configuration tool 10 includes a reverse parser 24 coupled to the local configuration files 20 and the network configuration files 22 . the reverse parser 24 is used to construct a local configuration file 20 from a network configuration file 22 downloaded to the network configuration tool 10 by the network device 26 . it is contemplated that the network device configuration tool 10 would be installed in the computer system 2 operated by a network administrator and that plural network devices 26 and other network entities , only one of which is shown in fig1 b for ease of illustration , would be coupled to the network device configuration tool 10 . utilizing the network device configuration tool 10 , the network administrator may build a representative network configuration map for the network . the network administrator may then configure remotely located network devices by uploading configuration files constructed during the process of building the network configuration map to the devices . thus , by using the network configuration tool , the network administrator can , from a central location , design a suitable configuration network and then configure any number of remotely located devices included in the network . the network device configuration tool 10 is coupled to the network device 26 by an asynchronous interface 28 and a boot protocol ( or “ bootp ”)/ trivial file transfer . protocol ( or “ tftp ”) manager 30 . under the control of an asynchronous manager ( not shown ), a software process within the processor subsystem 4 , the asynchronous interface 28 is used to exchange configuration information , for example , a network configuration file 20 , by either an in - band transfer via in - band connection 29 a , for example , via telnet , or by an out - of - band transfer via out - of - band connection 29 b , for example , via modem . additionally , the bootp / tftp manager 30 , another software process within the processor subsystem 4 , controls the exchange of bootp and tftp messages between the network device configuration tool 10 and the network device 26 . generally , a bootp exchange is used to transfer raw address and other basic information so that a tftp exchange may then be used to transfer configuration information . the bootp / tftp manager 30 also controls accesses to bootptab files 32 . as will be more fully described with respect to fig3 below , the configuration scripts 12 are used to direct map editor 14 and configuration guide 18 in a guided configuration of a selected network device 26 by guiding in the construction of a configuration file for the device . accordingly , turning momentarily to fig2 a , the configuration scripts 12 used to guide the configuration of a selected network device 26 will now be described in greater detail . as may now be seen , the configuration scripts 12 are comprised of a series of separate scripts 12 - 1 through 12 - n , one for each type of device which may configured by the configuration tool 12 . each script 12 - 1 through 12 - n is comprised of an attributes section 34 , a bitmap section 36 , a bitmap menu section 38 and a guided configuration section 40 . each of these sections 34 , 36 , 38 and 40 is a selectively executable set of commands which may be used during configuration of a device of the type corresponding to a particular script 12 - 1 through 12 - n . turning now to fig2 b , the attributes section 34 is comprised of an icon portion 34 a , a network entity portion 34 b , a description portion 34 c and a series of connection portions 34 d - 1 through 34 d - n . a valid icon filename identifying the graphical icon to be associated with the device type corresponding to the configuration script 12 - n is contained in the icon portion 34 a . as will be more fully described below , this icon will appear in a device window of a configuration gui and can be dragged onto a network workspace to add a device of that type to a network configuration map . the network entity portion 34 b provides a unique name for the type of device and appears in the device window under the icon . the description portion 34 c defines a default description for the device which pre - populates the dialog box when a device type is dragged onto the network workspace . finally , the connection portions 34 d - 1 though 34 d - n provides connection statements for the device type . specifically , a connection portion 34 d will be provided for port , modular slot or other type of connection interface for the device type . each connection statement will include a physical name for the port or other type of connection interface and the network entity names for all other types of devices which may be connected to the port . for example , if the network device was a modular router having 4 pci slots , each connectable to ethernet , x . 25 , frame relay , ppp and idsn type entities , and an ethernet port connectable to an ethernet entity , the attributes section 34 could be as set forth in the following code : connect “ pci slot 1 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” connect “ pci slot 2 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” connect “ pci slot 3 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” connect “ pci slot 4 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” turning next to fig2 c , the bitmap section 36 defines the “ drill down ” bitmap which is presented to the network administrator upon requesting subsequent configuration of a configured network device . the bitmap section 36 also defines any necessary overlay bitmaps as well as provides the locations of “ hot spots ” on the bitmap . the bitmap is a graphical representation of the backplane of the configured device which provides connection information for the ports thereof . “ hot spots ” on the bitmap are paths to additional information related to the connected ports for the configured network device . bitmap file portion 36 a names a valid window bitmap format file which will be displayed in its own window when the network administrator double clicks on a configured network device . for each connected port of the configured network device , the bitmap section 36 will also include a location port portion 36 b - 1 through 36 b - n which provides the location of the hot spot for the connected port on the bitmap . finally , the bitmap section includes an overlay device bitmap file 36 c - 1 through 36 c - x for each type of network device or entity which is connectable to the configured network device . then , if the configured device is connected to that particular network entity , the network entity can be represented on the bitmap . for example , if the bitmap 36 is comprised of a bitmap file 36 a , port locations 36 b - 1 and 36 b - 2 and overlay device file 36 c - 1 as set forth in the sample code below : the bitmap 36 will include a representation of an ethernet - type network entity stored at tlan . bmp drawn on top of the representation of a backplane of a router stored at router . bmp at coordinates 20 , 40 if the “ ethernet ”- type network entity is plugged into “ slot 1 ”. the bitmap menu section 38 defines a menu hierarchy presented to the user for hot spots , for example , connected slots , on the bitmap and the executable commands for each item included in a command menu . the command menu is displayed when the network administrator clicks on a connected slot on the bitmap . the bitmap menu section 38 is subdivided into network entity command sections 38 a - 1 through 38 a - x . specifically , for each network entity for which connection to the device is allowed , a corresponding network entity command section is provided such that , if that network entity is connected to the device , the commands defined in the section will be displayed to the network administrator for selective execution thereof . the guided configuration section 40 defines the guis used to guide a user through configuration of a device and controls the configuration file to be constructed using user responses to the guis . as illustrated in fig2 d , the guided configuration section 40 is subdivided into a general script command portion 40 a and a port script command portion 40 b - 1 through 40 b - n for each port to which the device is connectable . a guided configuration script for a cisco 2514 router is set forth in appendix a by way of example and will be described in greater detail with respect to fig3 - d , below . returning now to fig1 b , the network device configuration tool 10 will now be described in greater detail . generally , the map editor 14 controls the generation of a map of a network configuration while delegating the task of configuring unconfigured devices placed on the network configuration map to the configuration guide 18 . upon initiation of the configuration process , the map editor 14 selectively retrieves a map file 16 , or creates a blank map , for editing . to add a device of a selected type to the network configuration map , the map editor 14 retrieves the corresponding configuration script 12 - n from the configuration scripts 12 and , using the information contained in the retrieved configuration script 12 - n , places an unconfigured device of the selected type on the network configuration map and appends a name for the device to the map . the map editor 14 performs all operations in which editing of the network configuration map is proposed . for example , if a connection between two devices placed on the network configuration map is proposed , the map editor 14 reviews the configuration scripts 12 for the devices and , if a connection between the two devices is permitted , the map editor 14 completes the proposed connection and appends the connection information to the network configuration map . if a request to configure a device placed on the network configuration map is received , the map editor 14 transfers the name and connection information for the device to the configuration guide 18 and instructs the configuration guide 18 to perform the requested configuration task . for example , if configuration of a network device is requested , the configuration guide 18 will retrieve the configuration script 12 - n for that type of network device and execute the instructions contained in the guided configuration section 40 thereof . using the information provided by the configuration script 12 , the map editor 14 and input provided by the network administrator in response to execution of the instructions contained in the guided configuration section 40 , the configuration guide 18 builds a local configuration file , associated with the device , for use by the network administrator and a corresponding network configuration file suitable for upload to the network device to enable configuration of the network device . referring next to fig3 a , the method for guiding configuration of a network device by constructing a configuration file for the network device which . is the subject of the present invention shall now be described in greater detail . it should be clearly understood , however , that the illustrated order of steps is purely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention . the method commences at step 42 by launching the network device configuration tool 10 from a platform such as windows &# 39 ; 95 by selecting an icon previously designated as providing a path to the network device configuration tool 10 . proceeding to step 44 , once launched , the network device configuration tool 10 generates a configuration manager gui 100 ( see fig4 ) which provides a network workspace 102 and a device window 104 . in the network workspace 102 , a map comprised of any number of interconnected network devices , each having a configuration tied thereto , may be produced . the device window 104 , on the other hand , displays all of the types of network devices which may be placed on the network workspace 102 . continuing on to step 46 , for each type of network device for which a configuration script 12 - n has been prepared and stored in the memory subsystem 6 , the network device configuration tool 10 places an icon representative of the network device type in the device type window 104 to indicate to the user which types of network devices are configurable by the network device configuration tool 10 . for example , the device window 104 illustrated in fig4 includes icons representative of a ppp link , a vendor specific modular router , an isdn - type wan , an ethernet - type lan , a non - vendor specific computer subsystem , an x . 25 - type packet - switching wan , and an isdn - type wan which subscribes to frame relay - mode service . at step 48 , the network device configuration tool 10 loads a blank map into the network workspace 102 . at this stage , the network device configuration tool 10 has completed loading the configuration manager gui 100 and is ready to execute selected commands in response to inputs received from the network administrator via the user interface 9 . proceeding on to step 50 , the network administrator selects a command , either from one of the pull - down menus listed on the pull - down menu bar 108 or by depressing a command button displayed on command button bar 110 . the menus displayed on the pull - down menu bar 108 are “ file ”, “ edit ”, “ network ”, “ window ” and “ help ”. by selecting one of these menus , a series of commands , each of which relates to the selected menu , are displayed . available file commands are “ new ”, “ open ”, “ save ”, “ save as ”, “ print ”, “ print setup ” and “ exit ”. the new command clears the network workspace 102 of any network configuration map placed thereon . the open command allows the network administrator to select a network configuration map to be placed on the network workspace 102 . the save and save as commands stores the map placed on the network workspace 102 to the memory subsystem 6 . the print command prints the network configuration map placed on network workspace 102 . the print setup command displays the printer configuration for the computer system 10 . the exit command closes the network configuration tool . commands available under the edit menu are “ draw mode ”, “ move mode ”, “ workspace properties ”, “ edit device ”, “ view / configure device ”, “ delete device ”, “ all ports connected configuration ”, “ update configuration ”, “ retrieve configuration ”, “ associate configuration ”, “ telnet to this device ”. the draw mode command allows the network administrator to draw connections between devices displayed on the network workspace 102 . the workspace properties command is , in fact , a second pull - down menu which allows the network administrator to tailor the map placed in the network workspace 102 . commands available under the workspace properties menu are “ view entity name ”, “ view entity description ”, “ view entity connections ”, “ view ip addresses ”, “ view ipx addresses ”, all of which add . the listed information to the display of each device on the map , and the “ snap to grid ” and “ view grid ”, both of which orientate the map to a grid . the edit device command accesses the configuration information associated with a selected network device . the view / configure command displays a view of the backplane of a selected configured network device or , if the selected network device is unconfigured , defaults to the configuration dialog set forth in greater detail below . the delete device command removes a selected network device or entity from the network workspace . the all ports configured , update configuration provides access to a selected device &# 39 ; s configuration file . the retrieve configuration file allows the network administrator to directly access a configuration file stored in the memory subsystem 6 while the associate configuration command permits the network administrator to append a configuration file to a device . the telnet to the device command initiates an in - band transfer of configuration information from the network device configuration tool 10 to the network device 26 . commands available under the network menu are “ bootptab maintenance ”, “ enable bootp server ”, “ disable bootp server ”, “ enable tftp server ”, “ disable tftp server ” and “ view network activity log ”. all of these commands are relate to the exchange of configuration information between the network device configuration tool 10 and the network device 26 . more specifically , the bootptab maintenance command enables the network administrator to review previously constructed bootptab files 32 . the enable / disable bootp server commands control the operation of the computer system 2 on which the network device configuration tool 10 operates as a bootp server , i . e . is capable of sending and / or receiving bootp messages via the bootp / tftp manager 30 . when enabled as a bootp server , the computer system 2 listens for bootp requests placed on the network by devices requesting configuration information . the enable / disable tftp server commands control operation of the computer system 2 on which the network device configuration tool 10 operates as a tftp server , i . e . is capable of sending and / or receiving tftp messages via the bootp / tftp interface 30 . finally , the view network activity log provides a historical display of exchanges between the network device configuration tool 10 and network devices requesting configuration . commands under the window menu are “ arrange ”, “ configuration files ” “ workspace ”, “ requesting router ” and “ network devices ”. the arrange command is a pull - down menu which provides a set of commands which modify the appearance of the configuration management gui 100 . the configuration files command displays the configuration files stored in the memory subsystem . the workspace and network device commands respectively move the network administrator to the network workspace 102 and the device window 104 . finally , the requesting router command provides a list of network devices 26 requesting ip addresses and configuration files from the network device configuration tool 10 . the command button bar 110 provides immediate execution of selected commands available from the pull - down menus 108 . the commands which may be executed from the command button bar 110 are new , open , save , print , draw mode , move mode , network devices , workspace , requesting router , view network activity log and help . proceeding to step 52 , the network administrator executes the command selected at step 50 . for example , if the network administrator decides to retrieve an existing network configuration map stored in memory , the network administrator may click on the “ open map ” command button on the command button bar to display a list of map files 16 stored in memory and then select a map file to be opened . an exemplary network configuration map 106 which may be stored in memory is illustrated in fig4 . the network configuration map 106 is comprised of a vendor specific device 112 , here , a modular router manufactured by compaq computer corporation of houston , texas , having a first peripheral connection interface ( or “ pci ”) slot coupled to a first ethernet - type lan 114 , a second pci slot coupled to a second ethernet - type lan 116 , a third pci slot coupled to a frame relay - type wan 118 and an ethernet port coupled to a third ethernet - type lan 120 . continuing on to step 54 , the network administrator then decides whether to edit the network configuration map 106 displayed in the network workspace 102 . if the network administrator decides not to edit the network configuration map 106 , the method proceeds to step 56 where the network administrator decides whether to execute another command . if so , the method returns to step 56 . otherwise , the network administrator closes the network configuration tool at step 58 to end the method . returning now to step 54 , if the network administrator decides to go to the network workspace 102 to edit either the blank map initially loaded into the network workspace 102 at step 48 or , if a saved map was retrieved from the map files 16 by executing an “ open file ” command at step 52 , the retrieved map loaded into the network workspace at step 52 , the method proceeds to step 59 ( fig3 b ) where the network administrator decides whether to edit the map displayed in the network workspace 102 . if the network administrator decides not to edit the map , the method returns to step 56 ( fig3 a ). if , however , the network administrator decides to edit the configuration network map 106 displayed in the network workspace 102 the method proceeds to step 60 where editing of the map commences . at step 60 , the network administrator may select a device type displayed in device type window 104 and add a device of the selected type to the map 106 displayed in network workspace 102 . proceeding to step 62 , to add a device of a type displayed in the device type window 104 to the network configuration map 106 displayed in the network workspace 102 , the user selects an icon representing a desired device type and , using the “ drag and drop ” process , places the icon on the network configuration map 106 displayed in the network workspace 102 . for example , using a mouse or other conventional pointing device , the user would point to an icon representing the desired device type , select the device type by holding a leftmost button on the mouse in the depressed position , point to the desired position on the map and release the button . by doing so , a new device of the selected type is added to the network map . for example , in fig7 a single network device , i . e ., a modular router 122 manufacture by compaq computer corporation , and a pair of network entities , i . e ., ethernet type lans 124 and 126 have been added to the network configuration map 106 . each network device and / or network entity added to the network configuration map 106 is associated with a corresponding one of the configuration scripts 12 - n . accordingly , at step 64 , the map editor 14 displays the name of the network device or entity contained in the attributes section 34 of the corresponding configuration script 12 - n as the name of the newly added network device or entity . for example , the name of the network device 122 added to the network configuration map 106 is “ compaq router ”. upon placing the , as yet unconnected , network device 122 and entities 124 , 126 on the network configuration map 106 , or if it was decided at step 60 to not add a network device or entity to the network configuration map 106 , the method proceeds to step 66 where the network administrator decides whether to connect the newly added network devices and entities 122 , 124 and 126 to other network devices or entities . for example , the network administrator may decide to connect the compaq router 122 to the frame relay - type wan 118 , the ethernet - type lan 124 and the ethernet - type lan 126 . if the network administrator decides to connect the compaq router 122 to the ethernet - type lan 124 , the method proceeds to step 68 where the network administrator would select the compaq router 122 by holding a leftmost button on the mouse in the depressed position while pointing to the compaq router 122 , draw a connection between the compaq router 122 and the ethernet - type lan 124 by repositioning the mouse to point at the ethernet - type lan 124 while the button is depressed and releasing the button to complete the connection . continuing on to step 70 , the map editor 14 determines whether the proposed connection is permissible . if the proposed connection is permitted , the line drawn by the network administrator is completed at step 72 . the connection interface ( s ) for the origination device are then placed on the network configuration map 106 and the method continues on to step 74 for further editing of the network configuration map 106 . for example , as shown in fig7 pci slot 1 of the compaq router 122 has been used to connect the device to the ethernet - type lan 126 , pci slot 2 to connect to the frame relay - type wan 118 and pci slot 4 to connect to the ethernet - type lan 124 . if , however , the proposed connection is not permitted , the line drawn by the user is deleted at step 76 before continuing on to step 74 . returning to step 70 , the method by which the map editor 14 determines whether the proposed connection is permitted will now be described in greater detail . an initial determination as to whether the proposed connection is permissible is made based upon the contents of the attributes section 34 of the configuration scripts 12 - n for the devices placed on the map 106 . for example , the configuration script for a cisco 2514 router is set forth in the attached appendix . a portion of the attributes section of the configuration script contains the following code : this portion of the configuration script code contains considerable connection information for the device . specifically , the device has four connection interfaces — two ethernet ports and two serial ports . furthermore , the two ethernet ports are only connectable to an ethernet - type lan entities device while the two serial ports are connectable only to x . 25 , frame relay , ppp and hdlc entities . accordingly , at step 70 , the mapper compares the list of network device or entity types which are connectable for the two devices and / or entities for which connection is proposed . if the devices and / or entities are connectable , the method proceeds to step 72 where connection of the two devices and / or continues . turning momentarily to fig3 d , the step of connecting the two devices and / or entities will now be described in greater detail . the method commences at step 150 and continues on to step 152 where the configuration file for the origination device or entity is reviewed to determine if the origination device or entity has an available slot which is connectable to the destination device or entity and to step 154 where the configuration file for the destination device or entity is reviewed to determine if the destination device or entity has an available slot which is connectable to the origination device or entity . if either the origination or destination device or entity do not have an available slot which is connectable to the other device or entity , a determination is made at step 156 that the devices / entities cannot be connected . the proposed connection is then deleted at step 158 and , continuing on to step 166 , the method returns to step 72 . returning to step 154 , if it is determined that both the origination and destination devices or entities have available slots , the method proceeds to step 160 where a connection interface is selected for the originating device and on to step 162 where a connection interface is selected for the destination device or entity . at both of these steps , the network administrator may select any one of a list of available connection interfaces overlayed on the network configuration map 106 by the network device configuration tool 10 . if only one connection interface is available for a device or entity , however , the map will automatically select the available interface and indicate its selection of the connection interface to the network administrator . upon selecting connection interfaces for the devices or entities , the method proceeds to step 164 where the selected connection interface for the device 122 is displayed on the network configuration map 106 and on to step 166 for a return to step 72 . upon either a decision not to connect devices or entities at step 66 , a completion of a proposed connection at step 72 or a deletion of a proposed connection at step 76 , the method proceeds to step 74 where the network administrator decides whether to configure a device . to initiate configuration of a selected unconfigured device , the network administrator double clicks on the device to be configured . at step 78 ( fig3 c ) the configuration guide 18 retrieves the guided configuration section 40 from the configuration script 12 - n for the type of device to be configured and , proceeding to step 80 , executes the script commands contained in the general script commands portion 40 a of the guided configuration section 40 . in turn , the execution of the script commands causes a series of questions to be asked of the network administrator , the answers to which are used to construct a configuration file . for example , if the script commands set forth in the guided configuration section of the configuration script set forth in appendix a were executed during configuration of a cisco 2514 router , the network administrator would be asked to name the router , indicate whether to configure internet protocol ( or “ ip ”) for the router , indicate which ip routing protocol should be used for the router , whether to configure ipx for the router , indicate whether the router should be password protected , choose a password for the router , indicate whether the configuration mode for the router should be password protected and choose a password for the configuration mode . proceeding to step 82 , the configuration guide 18 determines whether any ports of the device being configured are connected to a second device or entity . if any of the ports are connected , the method proceeds to step 84 where the configuration guide 18 executes the script commands for the connected ports . for example , if serial port 1 of a cisco router 2514 was connected to a wan , the configuration guide 18 would execute the script commands set forth in serial portion of the script commands set forth in appendix a . thus , in this example , the network administrator would be asked whether the serial port should be configured , the ip address and mask for the port , the ipx network number , whether the port should be configured for frame relay , the type of connector being used for the port , the local data link connection identifier ( or “ dlci ”), the committed information rate ( or “ cir ”) and the excess information rate ( or “ eir ”) for the port and whether to use compression . the configuration guide 18 collects the information necessary to configure the device by engaging the network administrator in a dialog during which the configuration guide 18 generates a series of guis , each of which displays a request for information and provides areas in which the requested information may be inputted and buttons for guiding the network administrator through the dialogue . by way of example , an ip address gui 200 is illustrated in fig5 . the network administrator may input the ip address and mask for the indicated slot and device by respectively entering the ip address and mask in areas 202 and 204 . the network administrator may also review a prior gui in the dialogue by depressing button 206 , proceed to the next gui in the dialogue by depressing button 208 , request help by depressing button 210 or exit the configuration dialog by depressing button 212 . upon successful execution of the script commands for the connected ports at step 84 , or if it was determined at step 82 that no ports are connected for the device being configured , the configuration dialog is completed at step 86 and , at step 88 , the information provided by the network administrator during the dialogue is used to construct a local configuration file 20 for the device . if desired , the network administrator may view the local configuration file 20 constructed during this process at step 90 , directly edit any of the configuration commands contained therein at step 92 before saving the constructed local configuration file 20 to the memory subsystem and associating it with the device . selected portions of the configuration information contained in the local configuration file 20 may be displayed on the network configuration map 106 . for example , fig7 displays the ip address and mask for pci slot 1 of the compaq router 122 which was input by the network administrator during configuration of the device . the network configuration map 106 may also include a indicator 128 , for example , a loop surrounding a device , which indicates that a device has been configured . having successfully constructed a local configuration file 20 and associated it with the device being configured , the method proceeds to step 96 ( fig3 b ) where the network administrator decides whether to upload the configuration file to the device . if upload is selected , the method proceeds to step 97 where the constructed configuration file is uploaded to the network device 26 . various mechanisms may be used to upload a constructed configuration file to the network device 26 . for example , in many circumstances , an in - band transfer of the configuration file via telnet may be used . in other circumstances , other mechanisms more fully described below may be necessary to transfer configuration information to the network device 26 . while constructing a local configuration file for a device , the network device configuration tool 10 also constructs a bootptab file for the device . the bootptab file is particularly useful in those situations where the network administrator decides not to upload the configuration file upon completing the construction thereof , for example , if the network device is unconnected , powered down or otherwise unavailable . a bootptab file for a device contains the serial number for the device to be configured , an ip address to assign to the device to be configured and the configuration file to be uploaded to the device . as will be more fully described with respect to fig8 - 9 , below , the bootptab file provides information necessary for unattended remote configuration of network devices as they are connected to the network . returning now to fig3 b , after completing upload of the configuration file at step 97 , or if the network administrator decided at step 96 not to upload the configuration file , the method proceeds to step 98 where the network administrator decides whether to perform subsequent configuration on a device on the network configuration map 106 . if subsequent configuration of a device is selected , the method proceeds to step 99 where subsequent configuration of a selected device is performed from a backplane bitmap of the selected device . to select a device for subsequent configuration , the network administrator double clicks on a configured device included on the network configuration map 106 . by doing so , a bitmap of the backplane of the selected configured device is displayed . fig6 illustrates a backplane bitmap 220 for the compaq router 122 of fig7 . as may now be seen , the various connection interfaces used to connect the router 122 to network entities , as well as unconnected connection interfaces , are graphically displayed on the backplane bitmap 220 using the information contained in the bitmap section 36 of the configuration script 12 - n and the local configuration file 20 for the compaq router 122 . specifically , for the compaq router 122 , pci slot 1 has been used to provide a first ethernet connection 222 , pci slot 2 , an hssi connection 224 and pci slot 4 , a second ethernet 226 . pci slot 3 , however , remains unconnected . from the backplane bitmap 220 , the network administrator may view the settings for a port by double clicking on a selected port or , by depressing the right mouse button , bring up a pull down menu of commands contained in the network entity commands section 38 a - x of the bitmap menu 38 for the network entity connected to the selected port and select any of the configuration commands listed on the pull down menu for execution . after completing subsequent configuration of the device at step 99 , or if the network administrator decided at step 98 not to perform subsequent configuration , the method returns to step 56 ( fig3 a ). turning next to fig8 a method of transmitting configuration information to a network device 26 in accordance with the teachings of the present invention shall now be described in greater detail . the method commences at step 250 by launching the network device configuration tool 10 . as previously stated with respect to fig3 a , launch of the network device configuration tool 10 initiates the generation of the configuration manager gui 100 . in addition , launch of the network device configuration tool 10 initiates listening , by the network device configuration tool 10 at step 252 , for the presence of unconfigured network devices 26 on the network . proceeding to step 254 , the network device configuration tool 10 will detect bootp packets transmitted on the network and determine if the bootp packet was issued by a device requesting configuration information from the network device configuration tool 10 . more specifically , if an unconfigured network device 26 powers up on the network , the unconfigured network device 26 will periodically issue a bootp packet which contains a medium access code ( or “ mac ”) address for the device and a code which indicates that the device is requesting configuration information . for example , the code may be placed in the vendor specific field of the bootp packet . if a detected bootp packet does not contain a request for configuration information , the method returns to step 252 where the configuration tool continues to listen for bootp packets . if , however , the network device configuration tool 10 determines at step 256 that the issuing device is requesting configuration information , for example , by matching a request code held by the network device configuration tool 10 with a corresponding code contained in the detected bootp packet , the method proceeds to step 258 where the network device configuration tool 10 will determine if the device requesting configuration information has a corresponding bootptab file 32 and if the description of the device requesting configuration information matches the device drawn on the network configuration map 106 . in order to determine whether the device requesting configuration information has a corresponding bootptab file 32 and if the description of the device matches the device drawn on the network configuration map , the attributes section 34 must be modified to include two additional portions — bootpid and subdeviceid . the bootpid portion contains a number unique to a particular device type and model number . the subdeviceid identifies the type of devices installed in the device . for example , if the network device was a modular router having 4 pci slots , each connectable to ethernet , x . 25 , frame relay , ppp and idsn type entities , and an ethernet port connectable to an ethernet entity with a thunderlan board connectable to ethernet entities , a w - adapter connectable to x . 25 , frame relay and ppp entities and a basic rate isdn board connectable to isdn entities installed therein , the attributes section 34 could be as set forth in the following code : connect “ pci slot 2 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” connect “ pci slot 3 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” connect “ pci slot 4 ” “ ethernet ” “ x . 25 ” “ frame relay ” “ ppp ” “ isdn ” the guided configuration section would be similarly modified to include an additional command script portion which , upon execution thereof , will issue any additional requests for information , for example , installed devices , necessary to construct the bootptab file described herein such that a determination as to whether the description of the device requesting configuration matches the device drawn on the network configuration map 106 . proceeding to step 260 , if the device requesting configuration has a matching bootptab file , i . e ., the bootptab file has a bootpid which matches the serial number of a device having a bootptab file and if the devices installed in the device requesting configuration match the devices identified in the subdeviceid portion of the configuration file for the matching bootptab file , the network device configuration tool 10 issues a bootp reply at step 260 . the bootp reply contains the filename which matches the configuration file described in the matching bootptab file . using the filename contained in the bootp reply , at step 262 , the device requesting configuration may issue a tftp request for configuration information to the network device configuration tool 10 which identifies the configuration file containing its configuration information . continuing on to step 264 , in response to the tftp request containing the filename of a configuration file issued by the device requesting configuration , the network device configuration tool 10 responds by issuing the requested configuration file to the device . at step 266 , the unconfigured network device configures itself using the information contained in the configuration file transmitted thereto by the network device configuration tool 10 and , at step 268 , the method ends . returning to step 258 , if the device requesting configuration does not have a matching bootptab file , the method proceeds to step 270 where the network device configuration tool 10 generates a pop - up requesting device gui 300 which overlays a portion of the configuration manager gui 100 . a requesting device gui 300 is illustrated in fig9 . as illustrated herein , the requesting device gui 300 includes an icon representing the unconfigured network device 302 requesting configuration . proceeding to step 272 , the network administrator may select one of two options to configure the device requesting configuration . if the network administrator decides that the device 302 is a new device , the requesting device may be dropped onto the network workspace 102 , thereby adding the requesting device to the network configuration map 106 as an unconnected device . proceeding on to step 274 , the method would return to step 64 ( fig3 b ) wherein the previously discussed process of constructing a configuration file and uploading the configuration file to the unconfigured network device may be completed to configure the device requesting configuration . returning to step 272 and , now proceeding to step 276 , the network administrator may instead opt to drop the device 302 requesting configuration onto an existing device , for example , router 112 , already included on the network configuration map 106 . by dropping the device 302 requesting configuration onto an existing device on the network configuration map 106 , the network administrator is indicating that the device 302 requesting configuration is the same device that is already on the network configuration map 106 but , due to a difference between the description of the device 302 in the bootptab and the description of the device 112 contained in the corresponding configuration file , the network device configuration tool 10 is unable to recognize that the two are the same device . proceeding on to step 278 , the network device configuration tool 10 would reconcile the configuration file and the bootptab file for the device . if the two are irreconcilable , the method terminates at step 280 . if the two can be reconciled , the configuration file is revised appropriately at step 282 and the method then returns to step 264 so that the network device configuration tool 10 may issue the revised configuration file to the device 302 requesting configuration in the manner previously described . to reconcile the device 302 requesting configuration and an existing device such as the router 112 , the network device configuration tool 10 reviews the devices installed on the device requesting configuration match the devices installed . if the installed devices match , then the configuration file is modified using the contents of the bootptab file . the method then proceeds to step 264 so that the network device configuration tool 10 may issue the revised configuration file to the device 302 requesting configuration . thus , there has been described and illustrated herein an apparatus and associated method for constructing a configuration file for a network device suitable for upload to the network device to enable the configurement thereof . however , those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations besides those specifically mentioned may be made in the techniques described herein without departing substantially from the concept of the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the form of the invention described herein is exemplary only and is not intended as a limitation on the scope of the invention . | 7 |
in the following description , similar features in the drawings have been given similar reference numerals , and in order not to weigh down the figures , some elements are not referred to in some figures if they were already identified in a precedent figure . the use of the word “ a ” or “ an ” when used in conjunction with the term “ comprising ” in the claims and / or the specification may mean “ one ”, but it is also consistent with the meaning of “ one or more ”, “ at least one ”, and “ one or more than one ”. similarly , the word “ another ” may mean at least a second or more . as used in this specification and claim ( s ), the words “ comprising ” ( and any form of comprising , such as “ comprise ” and “ comprises ”), “ having ” ( and any form of having , such as “ have ” and “ has ”), “ including ” ( and any form of including , such as “ include ” and “ includes ”) or “ containing ” ( and any form of containing , such as “ contain ” and “ contains ”), are inclusive or open - ended and do not exclude additional , unrecited elements . a tool 10 for palletizing mixed load products 12 according to a first illustrative embodiment will now be described with reference to fig1 - 3 . as shown in fig1 , the tool 10 according to the first illustrated embodiment is operatively mounted to an industrial robot arm 14 which is positioned adjacent both an infeed conveyor 16 and a pallet receiving station 18 . the ensemble of the robot 14 with tool 10 , infeed conveyor 16 and pallet receiving station 18 will be referred to herein as a palletizing cell . as an input , products 12 , that can be of various sizes , arrive from the infeed conveyor 16 and each one is gripped by the tool 10 in such a way as to firmly hold it to enable fast transfer to a pallet 20 without damaging the product 12 and without relative movement between the product 12 and the tool 10 . the product 12 is then released and placed on the pallet 20 . the expression “ product ” should be construed herein as including any type of case , carton , tray , stretch wrapped , etc . generally , the product is of a rectangular shape . the product dimensions may vary greatly between each different types of product . typical dimensions ( w × l × h ) are between 4 ″× 6 ″× 2 ″ ( 10 . 16 cm × 15 . 25 cm × 5 . 08 cm ) and 20 ″× 25 ″× 24 ″ ( 50 . 8 cm × 63 . 5 cm × 61 . 0 cm ). it is to be noted that the illustrated products are referred to using the same reference number 12 , while they may vary in configuration and size . the infeed conveyor 16 is in the form of a roller type conveyor . according to another embodiment ( not shown ), the products 12 are brought to a location within reach of the robot 14 via another type of conveyor such as a narrow belt conveyor with a pop - up mechanism between the narrow belts to lift the products . according to still another embodiment , the infeed conveyor 16 is replaced by any other means allowing products 12 to be presented to the tool 10 so as to be gripped thereby . the pallet receiving station 18 is in the form of a cleared area within reach of the robot 14 , that is sufficiently large to receive a full mixed load pallet . the tool 10 is attached to a standard four - axis or six - axis industrial articulated robot arm 14 . equipped with the tool 10 , the robot 14 is capable of securely gripping and transfering one or more products 12 from the infeed conveyor 16 to the pallet 20 . a conventional robot arm can be used , such as abb &# 39 ; s irb 660 or irb 6640 , fanuc &# 39 ; s r2000 or m410 , or any similar robot arm offered by other manufacturers like kuka or motoman . the robot arm 14 includes other well - known systems and components that allow its operation . since these systems and components are believed to be well - known in the art , they will not be described herein in more detail for concision purposes . in the description and in the claim , the expressions ‘ robot ’ and ‘ robot arm ’ will be used interchangeably to mean a programmable system including articulated and / or movable members that can receive , control and move a tool . the robot arm 14 is conventionally coupled to a controller 22 that controls the operation of the robot arm 14 and tool 10 . the expression “ controller ” should be construed broadly as including one or more electronic devices , including for example one or more computers that are configured with components and / or programmed with instructions that produce one or more functionalities , including communicating data and instructions with an electronic or electro - mechanical machine or device . with reference to fig2 and 4 , the tool 10 will now be described in more detail . the tool 10 comprises a frame 24 , a gripping mechanism 26 and a pusher assembly 28 , both mounted to the frame 24 , and a width - adjusting assembly 29 . the frame 24 receives a robot - mounting bracket 30 that allows the tool 10 to be conventionally attached to the robot 14 . the gripping mechanism 26 includes two parallel first track assemblies 32 - 32 ′, each extending from the frame 24 between a proximate end 34 to a distal end 36 , two forks 38 - 38 ′, each fixedly mounted to a respective track assembly 32 - 32 ′ at the distal end 36 thereof , and two side by side gripping members 40 - 40 ′, each one being mounted to a respective one of the two track assemblies 32 - 32 ′ so as to extend generally perpendicularly therefrom and for movement in unison therealong . the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ are maintained in parallel relationship with the fork assemblies 38 - 38 ′. as will become more apparent upon reading the following description , parts that are referred to with a prime (′) is identical to the other part identified with the same but unprimed numeral reference , the only difference is that the primed reference refers to a movable part . each track assembly 32 - 32 ′ is in the form of a hollow rectangular post 41 - 41 ′ including tracks 42 - 42 ′ secured on both lateral sides thereof . the track assemblies 32 - 32 ′ are not limited to hollow rectangular posts and can take any other rigid form that can receive and position an elongated track and forks 38 - 38 ′. each fork 38 , 38 ′ is defined by two parallel fingers 44 . each pair of fingers 44 is secured to a respective post 41 - 41 ′ via a mounting bracket 43 that is fixedly mounted to the post 41 - 41 ′ at the distal end 36 thereof . the fingers 44 of the two forks 38 - 38 ′ extend from a respective post 32 - 32 ′ so as to generally lie within a same plane that is generally perpendicular to the posts 41 - 41 ′. the fingers 44 are beveled to ease their insertion under a product 12 as will be described furtherin . according to another embodiment ( not shown ), the forks 38 - 38 ′ include another number of fingers 44 than two ( 2 ), the fingers 44 have another shape than the one shown in the figures , and / or a fork assembly is provided that includes another number of forks than two ( all not shown ). each gripping member 40 , 40 ′ includes a belt 46 that is endlessly mounted between two shoe - shaped side plates 48 , 48 ′, secured therebetween . each gripping member 40 , 40 ′ is slidably mounted to a respective post 41 , 41 ′. more specifically , rail - engaging elements 50 are secured to both shoe - shaped side plates 48 and 48 ′ near the proximate enlarged ends thereof . the distance between the facing plates 48 - 48 ′ is such that the gripping members 40 and 40 ′ remain mounted to its respective tracks 42 - 42 ′ when the gripping members 40 and 40 ′ are moved therealong . the distance between the bottom portions of the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ and the top portion of the respective forks 38 - 38 ′ defines the opening of the gripping mechanism 26 and can be adjusted for the height of a given product 12 . for that purpose , the position and movement of the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ are servo - driven and pneumatically actuated by a first drive assembly 54 . the first drive assembly 54 includes a first drive 56 having an output shaft provided with a first pulley 58 that operatively receive an endless belt 60 , that is further mounted on a second pulley 62 . a roll 59 , that is rotatably mounted to the frame , is provided to tension the belt 60 . the pulley 62 is mounted to a first end of a shaft , and a driven gear 64 is provided at its other end . the driven gear 64 is rotatably mounted to the frame 24 and receives an endless timing belt 65 . the coupling assembly 70 operatively couples the timing belt 65 to the track 42 of the fixed post 41 . another coupling assembly 71 operatively couples the distal end 69 of the pneumatic actuator 68 to side plate 48 . the horizontal bar 74 is coupled to the gripping assembly 40 - 40 ′ as can be better seen from fig3 a . a horizontal bar 74 , that is secured to the gripping member 40 on the side of the fixed post 41 and that is slidably received by the other gripping member 40 , forces both gripping members 40 - 40 ′ to slide along the track assemblies 42 - 42 ′ in unison when the drive assembly 54 is actuated . the width - adjusting assembly 29 allows moving the tool 10 between two specific width configurations , a narrow and a wide configuration , depending on the size of each product 12 to pick . more specifically , the width - adjusting assembly 29 allows moving and maintaining the distance between the movable post 41 ′ and the fixed post 41 , and therefore between the gripping members 40 and 40 ′ and between the forks 38 and 38 ′. the width - adjusting assembly 29 includes top and bottom cursors 76 and 78 that receive respective horizontal tracks 80 and 75 . the track 75 is fastened to the horizontal bar 74 . the top horizontal tracks 80 is fixedly mounted to the frame 24 thereunder and the top cursor 76 is slidably mounted to the tracks 80 and fixedly mounted to the movable post 41 ′. the bottom track 75 is fixedly mounted to the gripping member 40 and the bottom cursor 78 is fixedly mounted to the other gripping member 40 ′ and slidably mounted to the track 75 . a slot 82 is provided in the exterior side plate 48 of this other gripping member 40 ′ to allow passage for the horizontal bar 74 and bottom track 75 when the movable gripping member 40 ′ is moved towards the other gripping member 40 . the width - adjusting assembly 29 further includes a pneumatic cylinder 84 mounted to the frame near the fixed post 41 . extending or retracting the cylinder rod 86 allows modifying the width of the tool 10 . the pusher assembly 28 will now be described in more detail . as will become apparent upon reading the following description , the pusher assembly 28 defines a product abutment , that extends generally perpendicularly to both the forks 38 - 38 ′ and the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ therebetween , and whose longitudinal position along the forks 38 - 38 ′ is movable in unison with the displacement of the tool 10 in opposite direction thereof . the pusher assembly 28 includes a third track assembly 90 , including tracks 96 that extend generally parallel to the forks 38 - 38 ′, two pusher bars 94 - 94 ′ that are mounted to the tracks 96 via a pusher bar holder 92 , and a second drive assembly 88 for moving the pusher bar holder 92 in the tracks 96 therealong . the pusher bar holder 92 is slidably mounted to the tracks 96 via a cursor 102 fixed to the pusher bar holder 92 . the holder 92 includes tracks 98 that are oriented perpendicular to the gripping members 40 - 40 ′. the proximate end 87 of the pusher bar 94 is fixedly mounted to the pusher bar holder 92 . the proximate end 87 ′ of the pusher bar 94 ′ is slidably mounted in the tracks 98 via a cursor 104 for movement therealong . the pusher bars 94 are further slidably mounted to the inner side plate 48 of the gripping member 40 via hollow brackets 91 for free movement along the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ and also so as to allow transversal movement of the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ along the pusher bars 94 - 94 ′. the brackets 91 are slidably mounted to the inner side plates 48 . the distal ends 89 of the pusher bars 94 are provided with fingers 93 that extend laterally from the pusher bars 94 - 94 ′, perpendicularly therefrom in opposite directions . the length of these two fingers 93 are such that they do not extend beyond the forks 38 and gripping members 40 when the gripping member 40 ′ and fork 38 ′ are positioned closer to the other corresponding assembly 40 and fork 38 . the second drive assembly 88 includes a drive 106 having an output shaft provided with a pulley 107 that is operatively coupled to an endless belt 109 . the endless belt 109 is coupled to the pulley 111 . a roller 108 , that is secured to the frame 24 , is provided to tension the belt 109 . the pulley 111 is coupled to the pulley 113 via the coupling shaft 112 , who is coupled to the timing belt 115 . the other end of the endless belt 115 is mounted to a pulley 114 that is rotatably mounted to the frame 24 via a mounting bracket 116 . the cursor 102 is attached to the belt 115 via a clipping assembly 118 for movement of the holder 92 in unison with the belt 115 . in operation of the pusher assembly 28 , the longitudinal position of both pusher bars 94 - 94 ′ along the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ is controlled by the drive 106 , the bar 94 ′ moves laterally in unison with the gripping member 40 ′ when the width of the tool 10 is adjusted for the width or length of the product 12 to pick , and the gripping members 40 and 40 ′ are free to move along the pusher bars 94 - 94 ′ to adjust for the height of the product 12 . when the pusher assembly 28 is moved by the second drive assembly 88 , the belts 46 follow the movement of the pusher assembly 28 in unison . the pusher bars 94 and 94 ′ are attached to the belts 46 with clipping assemblies 119 and 119 ′ ( see on fig3 c ). the operation of the robotic cell of fig1 will now be described with fig1 - 4 and 6 a - 6 d and with reference to fig5 that describes a depalletizing method 200 according to an illustrative embodiment . in step 202 , the robot 14 receives instructions to pick a product 12 on the infeed conveyor 16 , and nominal dimensions of the product 12 is received by the robot controller 22 ( step 204 ). the nominal dimensions of the product 12 can be received by the controller 22 as the product 12 arrives on the conveyor 16 or it can be sent thereto in batch for a given number of products 12 that are known to sequentially arrived on the conveyor 16 . also , the nominal dimensions can be provided for example by the manufacturer of the product or measured using a vision system or else ( not shown ). the controller 22 activates the width - adjusting assembly 29 so that the width of the tool 10 is slightly less than the nominal width or length of the product 12 ( step 206 ). more specifically , when the product dimensions are less than a predetermined value , the tool 10 is configured to its narrow configuration , and , when the product dimensions are more than a predetermined value , the tool 10 is configured to its wide configuration . after step 206 or at the same time , the pneumatic actuator 68 is extended to lower the two gripping member 40 - 40 ′ along the vertical track assemblies 32 - 32 ′ as the robot 14 approaches the infeed conveyor 16 ( step 208 ). the first drive 56 lowers the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ along the vertical track assemblies 32 - 32 ′ to yield a distance between the forks 38 - 38 ′ and the belts 46 equivalent to the product &# 39 ; s 12 nominal height plus an offset ( step 210 ). steps 206 - 210 can be performed at the same time the robot 14 positions the tool 10 to start the gripping process ( step 212 ). as the forks 38 - 38 ′ begin their insertion underneath the product 12 by the movement of the robot arm 14 , the first drive 56 again lowers the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ along the vertical track assemblies 32 - 32 ′ to have a positive contact between the belts 46 and the product 12 ( step 214 ). then , ( in step 216 ) as the robot arm 14 moves the forks 38 - 38 ′ underneath the product 12 , the second drive 106 moves the pusher bar holder 92 along the horizontal track 96 in a synchronous movement . by this action , the pusher bars 94 move backward as the tool 10 moves forward . since the pusher bars 94 are mechanically attached to the belts 46 with the clipping assemblies 119 - 119 ′, the later move in unison with the pusher bars 94 , therefore keeping a positive contact between the belts 46 and the product 12 . when the forks 38 - 38 ′ are properly positioned under the product 12 , the first drive 56 lowers the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ to firmly hold the product 12 . at the end of this step , the product is gripped by the tool 10 ( step 218 ). the robot controller 22 then instructs the robot 14 to position the gripped product 12 in a predetermined location on the mixed load pallet 20 ( step 220 ). when this location is reached by the tool 10 , the robot controller 22 instructs the second drive 106 to move outwardly in order to push the product 12 with the pusher bars 94 - 94 ′ while the robot 14 starts its retracting movement in a synchronous fashion to prepare itself for the next product 12 to be picked . since the pusher bars 94 - 94 ′ are mechanically attached to the belts 46 with the clipping assemblies 119 - 119 ′, the later move in a synchronous fashion with the movement of the tool 10 , therefore keeping a positive contact between the belt 46 and the product 12 ( step 222 ). fig6 a - 6 d illustrate in more details step 222 . it is to be noted that fig6 a - 6 d show the tool 10 gripping another product than the box from fig1 . when the tool 10 is positioning the product 12 in the proper position on the pallet 22 , the drive 106 starts moving the pusher bar holder 92 along the horizontal track 96 ( see arrow 120 in fig6 a ) as the robot 14 starts its withdrawing movement ( see arrow 122 ) in a synchronous fashion . as previously mentioned , the belts 46 also moves in a synchronous movement with the product 12 being placed ( see arrow 124 ). it is to be noted that the belts 46 are not motorized and are caused to move in unison with the pusher bars 94 - 94 ′ because of the clipping assemblies 119 - 119 ′. these synchronous movements causes the product 12 to stay at the same location on the pallet 20 , while the tool 10 withdraws ( see fig6 b ). as we can see in more details in fig6 c , the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ are slightly longer that the forks 38 . therefore , when the pusher bars 94 are at the end of their travel , the product 12 is no longer supported from underneath by the forks 38 . at this moment , because of the previously activation of the actuator 68 , the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ push down the product 12 , ( see arrow 126 in fig6 d ), forcing it to sit properly on the pallet 20 or on previously palletized products 12 . it is to be noted that this step is performed in a very short period of time as the above - mentioned withdrawal of the robot 14 corresponds to the beginning of its movement to pick the next product 12 . when the palletizing process is completed , the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ are moved upward ( step 224 ) and the robot arm 14 can immediately move to get the next product 12 to be picked ( step 202 ). the process 200 is then repeated for each new product 12 on the infeed conveyor 16 . fig3 and 4 illustrate the tool 10 while the actuator 86 is in the extended position , while fig2 illustrates the tool 10 while the actuator 86 is in the retracted position . for example , when a product 12 to be picked is less than a predetermined dimension , the tool is in the retracted position of fig2 . since the fork 38 ′ and the movable gripping member 40 ′ are coupled , both move together in unison with the actuator 86 . similarly , since the pusher bar 94 ′ is associated with the gripping member 40 ′, both move in unison with the actuator 86 . fig7 illustrates the resiliency of the belts 46 which allows irregular shaped products such as bottles 130 to be safely gripped while keeping its functionality described above because of the presence of a foam material supporting the belts 46 . according to another embodiment , the foam material is replaced by rubber , or another material . according to still another embodiment , the foam material is omitted . in most application , the infeed conveyor 16 is in the form of a roller type conveyor . providing forks 38 as the bottom support of the tool 10 allows inserting the bottom support underneath the product 12 and between the rollers 17 of the infeed conveyor 16 . the widths of the product 12 coming on the infeed conveyor 16 may vary greatly . as the mixed load pallet 20 is being built , products 12 of different sizes and geometries are positioned on the pallet 20 . adjusting the width of the tool 10 so that it is narrower than the product 12 that is being palletized . allows avoiding collisions between the tool 10 and already positioned products 12 on the pallet 20 . providing the tool 10 with pusher bars 94 that are movable in unison with the tool 10 but in opposite direction thereof enables picking the product 12 and then placing the product 12 on the pallet 20 without stopping the robot &# 39 ; s movement . this allows maximizing throughput . providing gripping members including belts 46 that move in unison with the pusher bars 94 enables a better control of the product gripping and dropping processes , minimizing the possibility of product tipping . using a combined servo driven and pneumatic actuated gripping members 40 - 40 ′ allows adapting the tool 10 to the product &# 39 ; s height without imposing any delay in the picking process or damaging the products 12 . the drive assembly 54 allows maximizing speed by using the servo drive 56 to position the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ close to their clamping position and then using the compliance feature obtained with the pneumatic actuator 68 to actually clamp a product 12 . the tool 10 allows simultaneously picking two products 12 . when two products 12 are picked , each one is clamped between one fork 38 , 38 ′ and one gripping member 40 , 40 ′ enabling secure holding of both products 12 . the tool 10 can also pick two or more products in a perpendicular fashion , the products &# 39 ; length being perpendicular to the main axis of the gripping members 40 - 40 ′ and the forks 38 - 38 ′. the drive assemblies are not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can be modified in any way allowing to yield the same functionalities . as one example of a possible modification , the pneumatic actuators can be replaced by other actuating means . also the belt assembly can be replaced by other mechanical movement transmission assemblies . any one of the illustrated tracks can be substituted with any type of linear guided slide or bearing . the number and configuration of the gripping members 40 and 40 ′ can also differ to those illustrated . for example , the belts 46 can be replaced by a low friction material for the gripping members 40 . with reference to fig8 and 9 , a tool 140 for palletizing mixed load products according to a second illustrating embodiment will now be described in more detail . since the tool 140 is similar to the tool 10 , only the differences therebetween will be described hereinbelow in more detail for concision purposes . the tool 140 comprises a fork 142 having three fingers 144 and 145 mounted to the frame 146 via tapered beams 148 and 150 so as to extend perpendicularly therefrom . the center beam 150 is fixedly mounted to the frame 146 and the two side beams 148 are mounted to the frame 146 for lateral movement relative to the center beam 150 . more specifically , the beams 148 are mounted to tracks 152 and their lateral distance from the center beam 150 can be modified via the actuators 154 . the tool 140 further comprises a pusher assembly 156 of fixed dimensions . the pusher assembly 156 is mounted to the frame 146 via a track 158 for slidable movement along the center finger 145 . the displacement of the pusher assembly 156 is driven by a first drive assembly 162 that includes first drive 164 , first endless belt assembly 166 and associated pulleys . a pad 176 , that forms a gripping element with the fork 142 , is mounted to the pusher assembly 156 via a track 171 for slidable movement therealong . the longitudinal movement of the pad 176 in the track 171 is driven by a second drive assembly 168 that includes a second drive 170 , a spline shaft 160 , an endless belt assembly 172 and actuator 174 . as the robot 14 is instructed to pick a product 12 , the robot controller 22 activates the first actuator 154 to position the outer forks 144 to yield the proper width for the tool 140 to the retracted or extended position , depending of the product &# 39 ; s dimension . the robot controller 22 activates the second actuator 174 to lower the top pad 176 . also , the second drive 170 positions the pad 176 to a specific distance between the forks 144 - 145 and the pad 176 equivalent to the product &# 39 ; s nominal height added to an offset . as the robot 14 inserts the forks 144 underneath the product 12 , the pusher assembly 156 is moved backwards by the first drive 164 in unison with the robot &# 39 ; s movement and the pad 176 is lowered to be in contact with the top surface of the product . when the forks 144 are properly positioned under the product 12 , the first drive 164 lowers the pad 176 to firmly hold the product 12 . when the robot 14 is instructed by the controller 22 to position the product 12 on the mixed pallet 20 , the following sequence is performed . the robot controller 22 instructs the robot 14 to position the product 12 to be placed in a predetermined location on the mixed load pallet 20 . when this location is reached , the robot controller 22 instructs the first drive 164 to move outwardly the pusher assembly 156 in order to push the product 12 out of the tool 140 while the robot 14 starts its retracting movement to prepare itself for the next product 12 to be picked . the pad 176 maintains its pressure on the product 12 and is activated upward only when the product 12 is completely out of the tool 140 . as the robot 14 moves to approach the next product 12 to be picked , the palletizing process is repeated . fig1 and 11 illustrate the two positions of the forks 144 . when the product 12 to be picked is less that a predetermined dimension , the outer forks 144 are in the retracted position shown in fig1 . consequently , when the products 12 widths ( or lengths ) to be picked are equal or greater than a predetermined dimension , the outer forks 144 are in the extended position shown in fig1 . as it can be appreciated by reading the above description of illustrated embodiments , the method 200 for picking and then placing a product enables a product to be picked without putting the robot 14 in a waiting mode , therefore reducing the cycle time , as the tool &# 39 ; s pusher bars or pusher assembly move backward as the tool 10 or 140 inserts the forks underneath the product . similarly , the present method 200 and tools 10 , 140 enable the product 12 to be placed on the mixed pallet without putting the robot 14 in a waiting mode , also reducing the cycle time , since the tool &# 39 ; s pusher bars or pusher assembly move forward as the robot 14 retrieves the forks . it is to be noted that many other modifications could be made to the tools 10 and 140 for palletizing mixed load products described hereinabove and illustrated in the appended drawings . for example : the robot arm 14 can be replaced by a gantry type equipment or any other similar means ; the product to palletize can be placed on an output conveyor , a table , a platform , an agv ( automated guided vehicle ) or any other means that can accepts the product ; the tool is not limited to include three or four forks . according to another embodiment , the tool includes another number of forks , bars , or any other to shaped bottom support allowing picking a product on a roller conveyor or on another type thereof . it is to be understood that embodiments of the tool and method for palletizing mixed load products are not limited in their application to the details of construction and parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinabove . other embodiments can be foreseen and practiced in various ways . it is also to be understood that the phraseology or terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not limitation . | 1 |
the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced . the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . in some instances , well - known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present invention . fig1 is a conceptual block diagram of an embodiment of a buck - boost voltage regulator 102 . the voltage regulator 102 may include a switching circuit 106 having an energy - storage element ( not shown ) to transfer energy from an unregulated voltage source 104 to a load 108 . using feedback and control circuitry , the switching circuit 106 may be used to regulate the voltage to the load 108 at any level within the operating limits of the voltage regulator 102 by controlling the manner in which energy is transferred to the load . by way of example , the switching circuit 106 may be operated by a control circuit 110 in a fixed frequency mode using pulse - width modulation techniques to regulate the voltage to the load 108 . when the load is light , the switching circuit 106 may be transitioned into a hysteretic mode of operation . in the hysteretic mode , the switching circuit 106 may be idle when the voltage to the load 108 is within its regulated value , and may deliver energy to the load 108 only when the output drops out of regulation . when the switching circuit i 106 is idle , the voltage regulator is said to be in the “ sleep mode .” fig2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a switching circuit operating in a buck - boost voltage regulator . the switching circuit 106 may be used to step - up or step - down the unregulated voltage source 104 . this may be achieved with an energy - storage element , such as an inductor 202 , that transfers energy from the unregulated voltage source 104 to the load 108 in discrete bursts through four switches 204 - 207 operated by the control circuit 110 . the manner in which the switches 204 - 207 are operated may vary depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints . one example will now be described . initially , the voltage from the unregulated voltage source , or the input voltage ( v in ) to the voltage regulator , may be applied across the inductor 202 by closing the first and third switches 204 , 206 , and opening the second and fourth switches 205 , 207 . this causes the current through the inductor 202 to rise with time . once the inductor 202 reaches a peak current i peak , the energy stored in the inductor 202 may be transferred to the output of the voltage regulator 102 by opening the first and third switches 204 , 206 , and closing the second and fourth switches 205 , 207 . when this occurs , the inductor current continues to flow in the same direction because inductor current cannot change instantaneously . that is , the inductor 202 becomes a current source for the load . the polarity of the voltage across the inductor 202 is switched instantaneously to whatever voltage is required to maintain current flow . the inductor current decreases with time until there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor . if this process is repeated , the output voltage will rise with every cycle . fig3 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of an embodiment of a voltage regulator in the hysteretic mode . the lower graph shows the current waveform of the inductor . the upper graph shows how the regulated voltage 302 at the output of the voltage regulator varies with time . when the regulated voltage 302 drops below a wake - up threshold v t1 304 , energy from the unregulated voltage source is transferred to the load in bursts . in the example shown in fig3 , it takes three energy bursts , or three cycles , to increase the regulated voltage 302 to a sleep threshold voltage v t2 306 . once the regulated voltage 302 reaches the sleep threshold voltage v t2 306 , the voltage regulator is forced into the sleep mode . in the sleep mode , the control circuit may be used to open all the switches in the switching circuit , thereby maintaining the voltage regulator in a low current state . the voltage regulator remains in the sleep mode until the regulated voltage 302 once again drops below the wake - up threshold v t1 304 . this process is repeated three times in fig3 . the wake - up threshold voltage v t1 304 is shown in fig3 to be lower than the sleep threshold v t2 306 . this results in an element of hysteresis being injected into the operation of the voltage to avoid intermittent wake - up and sleep operation when the regulated voltage is close to its regulated value . the operation of the voltage regulator in connection with one cycle in the wake - up mode will now be discussed in connection with fig3 . initially , the regulated voltage 302 is shown falling below the wake - up threshold v t1 . this causes the voltage regulator to wake up and begin transferring energy to the output . the switching circuit may be used to connect the inductor to the unregulated voltage source causing the inductor current to rise with time at a rate that is proportional to the input voltage divided by the inductance ( v in / l ) 308 . the inductor current continues to rise until it reaches a peak inductor current i peak . once the inductor reaches the peak current i peak , the switching circuit may connect the inductor to the output causing inductor current to flow through the load . the voltage across the inductor changes instantaneously to − v out to maintain current flow . the inductor current decreases at a rate proportional to − v out / l 310 until there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor . in the embodiment of the voltage regulator discussed thus far , the switching circuit is operated by the control circuit in the same manner regardless of whether the unregulated voltage source is higher , lower or substantially equal to the regulated voltage . alternatively , the control circuit may operate the switching circuit in a buck mode , boost mode , or buck - boost mode depending on the input voltage to the switching circuit and the output voltage of the voltage regulator . fig4 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of another embodiment of a voltage regulator in the hysteretic mode . in this embodiment , the control circuit operates the switching circuit in the buck , boost or buck - boost mode . the upper graph shows the relationship between the unregulated voltage source 402 and the regulated voltage 302 of the switching circuit . the lower graph shows the current waveform of the inductor . referring to fig2 and 4 , the switching circuit 106 may be operated in the boost mode at t 1 because the regulated voltage 302 is higher than input voltage from the unregulated voltage source 104 . the input voltage from the unregulated voltage source 104 may be applied across the inductor 202 in the phase of the cycle by closing the first and third switches 204 , 206 , and opening the second and fourth switches 205 , 207 . this causes the current through the inductor 202 to ramp up at a rate that is proportional to the input voltage divided by the inductance ( vin / l ). once the inductor 202 reaches the peak current ipeak , the energy stored in the inductor 202 may be transferred to the output of the voltage regulator 102 in the second phase of the cycle by opening the third switch 206 and closing the fourth switch 207 while keeping the first switch 204 closed . when this occurs , the inductor current flows through the load 108 . the inductor current decreases at a rate that is proportional to the inductor voltage divided by the inductance (− vl / l ) until there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor 202 . however , in this case , the inductor voltage vl is equal to the input voltage vin minus the output voltage vout , resulting in a slower discharge rate for the inductor current . this slower discharge rate translates into a more efficient transfer of energy because the unregulated voltage source 104 is connected directly to the load 108 through the inductor 202 . as shown in fig4 , this process is repeated twice until the regulated voltage 302 exceeds its regulated value at t 2 . once the regulated voltage 302 reaches or exceeds its regulated value , the switching circuit 106 may be forced into the sleep mode . the switching circuit 106 remains in the sleep mode until the regulated voltage 302 drops again below its regulated value at t 3 . once this occurs , the switching circuit 106 wakes up and begins transferring energy to the load 108 . this time , however , the input voltage 402 from the unregulated voltage source 104 is substantially equal to the regulated voltage 302 at the output to the voltage regulator 102 . as result , the control circuit 108 forces the switching circuit 106 into the buck - boost mode . in the buck - boost mode , at t 3 , the input voltage from the unregulated voltage source 104 may be applied across the inductor 202 in the first phase of the cycle by closing the first and third switches 204 , 206 , and opening the second and fourth switches 205 , 207 . this causes the current through the inductor 202 to ramp up at a rate that is proportional to the input voltage divided by the inductance ( v in / l ). once the inductor 202 reaches the peak current i peak , the energy stored in the inductor 202 may be transferred to the output of the voltage regulator 102 by closing the first and fourth switches 204 , 207 , and opening the second and third switches 205 , 206 . when this occurs , the inductor current flows through the load . the current through the inductor decreases at a rate that is proportional to the inductor voltage divided by the inductance (− v l / l ). in this case , the rate of discharge is extremely slow because the inductor voltage v l , which is the difference between the input and output voltage v in , v out , is negligible . accordingly , the control circuit 110 may be configured to open the first switch 204 and close the second switch 205 in the switching circuit 106 in the second phase of the cycle after a certain period of time to increase the discharge rate , thereby allowing the inductor current to reach zero current quicker . in particular , the voltage across the inductor 202 changes instantaneously to − v out when the first switch 204 is opened and the second switch 205 is closed causing the current flowing through the inductor to decrease at a rate proportional to (− v out / l ). once there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor 202 , the input voltage from the unregulated voltage source 104 may , again , be applied across the inductor 202 in the first phase of a new cycle by closing the first and third switches 204 , 206 , and opening the second and fourth switches 205 , 207 . this causes the current through the inductor 202 to ramp up until the peak current i peak is reached . once this occurs , energy stored in the inductor 202 may be transferred to the output of the voltage regulator 102 in the second phase of the cycle by closing the first and fourth switches 204 , 207 , and opening the second and third switches 205 , 206 , thereby causing inductor current to flow through the load . however , in this case , the regulated voltage v out has slightly increased from the last energy burst to a level that is substantially equal to the input voltage v in from the unregulated voltage source 104 . as a result , there is no voltage drop across the inductor 202 . since the current through the inductor decreases at a rate that is proportional to the inductor voltage divided by the inductance (− v l / l ), which in this case is zero , the current flowing through the inductor 202 remains constant . in order to allow the current in the inductor to decrease in the second phase of the cycle , the control circuit 110 opens the first switch 204 and closes the second switch 205 in the switching circuit 106 after a certain period of time . once this occurs , the voltage across the inductor 202 changes instantaneously to − v out causing the current flowing through the inductor to decrease at a rate proportional to (− v out / l ). once there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor 202 , the input voltage from the unregulated voltage source 104 may , again , be applied across the inductor 202 in the first phase of the third cycle by closing the first and third switches 204 , 206 , and opening the second and fourth switches 205 , 207 . this causes the current through the inductor 202 to ramp up until the peak current i peak is reached , at which time , the energy stored in the inductor 202 may be transferred to the output of the voltage regulator 102 in the second phase of the cycle by closing the first and fourth switches 204 , 207 , and opening the second and third switches 205 , 206 . however , in this case , the regulated voltage v out has increased from the last energy burst to a level that is higher than the input voltage v in from the unregulated voltage source 104 , and as a result , the inductor current increases with time at a rate that is proportional to the difference between the input and output voltage divided by the inductance −( v in − v out )/ l . the current through the inductor increases because ( v in − v out ) is a negative number . the current through the inductor 202 continues to rise until a maximum current ( i max ) is reached or a fixed time period expires , whichever occurs first . in this example , the control circuit 110 opens the first switch 204 and closes the second switch 205 in the switching circuit 106 in the second phase of the cycle when the inductor current reaches the maximum current i max . once this occurs , the voltage across the inductor 202 changes instantaneously to − v out causing the current flowing through the inductor to decrease at a rate that is proportional to (− v out / l ). the inductor current continues to decrease until there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor 202 at t 4 completing the third burst of energy to the load 108 in the buck - boost mode . although not shown in fig4 , this last burst of energy drives the regulated voltage past the sleep threshold , causing the control circuit 106 to force the voltage regulator 102 into the sleep mode by opening all the switches in the switching circuit 106 . the voltage regulator 102 remains in the sleep mode until the regulated voltage drops below the wake - up threshold at t 5 . when this occurs , the control circuit 110 operates the switching circuit 106 in the buck mode because the input voltage 402 from the unregulated voltage source 104 is now higher than the regulated voltage 302 output from the voltage regulator 102 . in the buck mode , the control circuit 110 closes the first and fourth switches 204 , 207 , and opens the second and third switches 205 , 206 in the switching circuit 106 during the first phase of the cycle . as a result , the voltage v l across the inductor 202 changes instantaneously to ( v in − v out ), causing current in the inductor 202 to ramp up at a rate that is proportional to the inductor voltage divided by the inductance , or [( v in − v out )/ l ]. in this case , the current takes longer to ramp up to the peak current i peak , as compared to the boost mode or buck - boost mode , because some of the energy from the unregulated voltage source 104 is being diverted to load 108 . this results in a more efficient transfer of energy because the unregulated voltage source 104 is connected directly to the load 108 through the inductor 202 . once the inductor 202 reaches the peak current i peak , the energy stored in the inductor 202 may be transferred to the output of the voltage regulator 102 during the second phase of the cycle by opening the first switch 204 and closing the second switch 205 . when this occurs , the voltage across the inductor 202 changes instantaneously to − v out to maintain current flow . the inductor current decreases at a rate that is proportional to the inductor voltage divided by the inductance (− v out / l ) until there is no longer any current flowing through the inductor . as shown in fig4 , this process is repeated twice until the regulated voltage 302 exceeds its regulated value at t 6 . fig5 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of yet another embodiment of a voltage regulator in the hysteretic mode . in this example , the inductor current is not completely discharged to zero current in the second phase of each cycle in the hysteretic mode . instead , a new cycle is initiated when the current flowing through the inductor drops to some minimum current ( i min ). referring to fig2 and 5 , two energy bursts are used in the boost mode to drive the regulated voltage 302 above the sleep threshold . the inductor current is ramped up to the peak current i peak in the first phase of each cycle . once this occurs , the control circuit 110 , in the second phase of each cycle , opens the third switch 206 and closes the fourth switch 207 , while the first switch 204 remains closed and the second switch 205 remains open , causing the voltage across the inductor to change instantaneously to maintain current flow . the current flowing through the inductor decreases until it reaches the minimum current i min , causing the switching circuit 106 to begin a new cycle by closing the third switch 206 and opening the fourth switch . the operation of the voltage regulator 102 is similar in the buck - boost mode . in each cycle , the inductor current is ramped up to the peak current i peak in the first phase of each cycle . once this occurs , the control circuit 110 , in the second phase of each cycle , opens the third switch 206 and closes the fourth switch 207 , while the first switch 204 remains closed and the second switch 205 remains open , causing the voltage across the inductor to change instantaneously to maintain current flow . the current flowing through the inductor decreases until it reaches the minimum current i min , causing the switching circuit 106 to begin a new cycle by closing the third switch 206 and opening the fourth switch . the primary difference is that in the first cycle of the buck - boost mode , the minimum inductor current i min is reached while the unregulated voltage source 104 is connected directly to the load 108 through the inductor 202 , whereas in the second and third cycles , the minimum current i min is reached after the unregulated voltage source 104 is removed from the load . however , if the rate of discharge of the inductor current during the first cycle is higher , because , for example , the difference between the input and output voltage is greater , then the minimum current i min may also be reached after the unregulated voltage source 104 is removed from the input of the voltage regulator 102 . in the buck mode , the inductor current is ramped up in the first phase of each cycle until it reaches the peak current i peak . once this occurs , the control circuit 110 , in the second phase of each cycle , opens the first switch 204 and closes the second switch 205 , while the third switch 206 remains open and the fourth switch 207 remains closed , causing the voltage across the inductor to change instantaneously to maintain current flow . the current flowing through the inductor decreases until it reaches the minimum current i min , causing the switching circuit 106 to begin a new cycle by closing the first switch 204 and opening the second switch 205 . by using a minimum current level above zero to begin the next cycle , more output current may be provided to the load in the hysteretic mode for the same peak current i peak . alternatively , a fixed time period for the second phase of each cycle may be used . in at least one embodiment of the voltage regulator , the peak current i peak may be adjustable depending on the load current demands . at higher load currents , the peak current i peak could be linearly varied or stepped up to provide more output current capability . fig6 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a switching circuit and control circuit operating in a voltage regulator in the hysteretic mode . the switching circuit 106 is basically the same as that described in connection with fig2 with the addition of an inductor current sensor . the inductor current sensor includes an input current sensor 602 between the unregulated voltage source 104 and the first switch 204 , and an output current sensor between the fourth switch 207 and the load 108 . the control circuit 110 may include a switch controller 606 that provides the control signals ( v 1 , v 2 , v 3 , v 4 ) to operate the switches 204 - 207 in the switching circuit 106 . the control signals may be generated by the switch controller 606 based on whether the voltage regulator is asleep or awake . when the voltage regulator 102 is in the sleep mode , the switch controller 606 may be used to generate control signals that open the switches 204 - 207 in the switching circuit 106 so that the voltage regulator 102 goes into a low current state . when the voltage regulator 102 is awake , the switch controller 606 may be used to generate control signals to operate the switches 204 - 207 in any manner described earlier in connection with fig2 - 5 , or any other manner consistent with the principles described herein . a voltage comparator 608 may be used to determine whether to operate the voltage regulator in the sleep mode by comparing the regulated voltage at the output of the voltage regulator 102 to a reference voltage . the voltage comparator 608 may be designed with hysteresis to prevent the voltage regulator from intermittently waking up and going back to sleep when the regulated voltage is close to its regulated value . when the switch controller 606 determines that the voltage regulator is awake from the output of the voltage comparator 608 , it generates control signals to operate the switches 204 - 207 in the switching circuit 106 based on whether the voltage regulator is in the buck , boost , or buck - boost mode . the mode of operation may be determined by a mode controller 610 that compares the input voltage from the unregulated voltage source 104 to the regulated voltage at the output of the voltage regulator 102 . the mode controller 610 may include a first comparator 612 that determines whether the voltage regulator 102 is in the buck mode , and a second comparator 614 that determines whether the voltage regulator 102 is in the boost mode . by adjusting the level of the regulated voltage provided to the first and second comparators 612 , 614 , a hysteresis band may be established in which the output of the first comparator 612 indicates that the voltage regulator 102 is not operating in the buck mode , and the output of the second comparator 614 indicates that the voltage regulator 102 is not operating in the boost mode . a nor gate 616 may be used to detect this condition , and provide a signal to the switch controller 606 indicating that the voltage regulator 102 should operate in the buck - boost mode . once the switch controller 606 determines the sequencing of the switches 204 - 207 in the switching circuit 106 from the outputs of the mode controller 610 , the timing of the switches 204 - 207 may be determined from the inductor current sensor in the switching circuit 106 . a peak current detector 618 may be used to compare the output of the input current sensor 602 in the switching circuit 106 to a reference current value . the peak current detector 618 may be used to determine when the inductor 202 , coupled to the unregulated voltage source 104 through the first switch 204 , reaches the peak current i peak . when this occurs , the switch controller 606 generates control signals to operate the switches 204 - 207 in the switching circuit 106 to transfer energy from the inductor 202 to the load 108 . a minimum current detector 620 may be used to compare the output of the output current sensor 604 in the switching circuit 106 with a reference current value . the minimum current detector 620 may be used to indicate to the switch controller 606 when to end the current cycle . the reference current value to the minimum current detector 620 may be set to zero current or any other value . the peak current i peak may be adjusted by varying the reference current value to the peak current detector 618 . the switch controller 606 may also have an internal timer ( not shown ) to control the time period in which a direct connection between the unregulated power source 104 and the load 108 is maintained through the first and fourth switches 204 , 207 in the buck - boost mode . a maximum current detector 622 may be used to compare the output of the output current sensor 604 ( or the input current sensor 602 ) in the switching circuit 106 with a reference current value . the maximum current detector 620 may be used to indicate when the current through the inductor has reached a maximum value when the inductor current is increasing during the second phase of any cycle . internal logic ( not shown ) in the switch controller 106 may be used to determine when to terminate the direct connection between the unregulated voltage source 104 and the load 108 under this condition based on the maximum inductor current or the expiration of the internal timer , whichever occurs first . the switch controller 106 may also include a second internal timer ( not shown ). the second internal timer may be used by the switch controller 106 to terminate each cycle , rather than using the minimum current detector 620 . the previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention . various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein , but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the claims , wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “ one and only one ” unless specifically so stated , but rather “ one or more .” all structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various embodiments described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims . moreover , nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims . no claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 u . s . c . § 112 , sixth paragraph , unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “ means for ” or , in the case of a method claim , the element is recited using the phrase “ step for .” | 7 |
referring first to fig1 a , there is schematically illustrated a sensitive instrument in which the present invention is particularly useful although it will be understood that it is also useful in any instrument wherein low torque electrical contacts between relatively rotatable members is desired . this instrument is a conventional vertical gyro 10 which comprises generally a rotor 11 journalled by means of suitable spin bearings ( not shown ) in a rotor case 12 for high speed spinning about a normally vertical axis 13 . the rotor case 12 in turn is journalled in a normally horizontal gimbal ring 14 for rotation about a first normally horizontal axis 15 and the gimbal ring 14 is in turn journalled in a fixed housing 16 for rotation about a second horizontal axis 17 normal to the first normally horizontal axis 15 . as is well known , if the rotor 11 is spun at high speed and the bearings supporting the gimbals 12 and 14 and the electrical conducting arrangements present zero torque coupling , the rotor spin axis will maintain its position in space indefinitely . signal generators are normally placed at the gimbal axes and signals proportional to the deviations of the housing 16 , for example an airplane , from a horizontal plane may be generated and used for aircraft control and / or indication purposes . such generators are schematically illustrated at 18 and 19 in the figure . since frictionless support of the gimbals is not possible , it is necessary to apply torques to the gimbals for erecting the rotor to gravity references and for other control purposes , such torques being applied by means of torquers 20 and 21 as schematically illustrated . conventionally , the rotor case 12 is supported for rotation about axes 15 and 17 by means of precision ball bearings 22 ( fig1 ). since modern gyroscopes are usually electrical , that is , the rotor is driven by an electric motor and the signal generator 18 and 19 and torquers 20 and 21 are usually electrical , means must be provided to transfer electrical power and electrical signals between the housing 16 and relatively rotatable gimbal 14 and between gimbal 14 and relatively rotatable rotor case 12 . in the past this electrical energy transfer was accomplished by means of a plurality of insulated slip rings mounted on a trunion shaft extending from the bearing support structure and a corresponding plurality of brushes fixed to a brush block secured to the support structure . each of these brushes usually comprises a pair of very delicate , springy wires carefully bent so as to produce pressure contact ( and hence a friction contact ) with opposite sides of the slip ring . since there are usually a great many circuits associated with the operation of the gyroscope which must be accommodated , there are a corresponding number of slip rings and brushes thus multiplying the friction torques . as is well known , the spin axis of the gyroscope will tend to drift from its reference position at a rate determined to the greatest extent by the friction torques existing at the gimbal axes 15 and 17 . the precision ball bearings contribute to some extent to the free gyro drift rate but the greater contributors are the slip rings and brushes . if the coupling torque contributed by the electrical energy transfer devices could be substantially reduced to zero , a significant improvement in gyroscope quality would be realized . this is one of the objects of the present invention . also , since many gyroscopes are used for vehicle stabilization and control they are subject to the shock and vibration environment of the vehicle . it has been found that in such an environment the brushes tend to slide on the surface of the slip rings with the result that friction polymers tend to build up on the contacting surfaces which , given time , will actually lift the brush from the slip ring causing an open circuit . the gyro must then be taken out of service periodically and overhauled , increasing the cost of ownership of the gyro . it is a further object of the present invention to provide a current transfer device which is free of this friction polymer problem . as stated , the brush and slip ring assemblies are extremely delicate ; they require great care in initial assembly thereby adding to manufacturing and maintenance costs . also , great care must be exercised in handling the assembled instrument so as not to damage the exposed delicate brushes . a further object of the present invention is to provide an electrical energy transfer which is comparatively easy to assemble and which is fully protected and shielded . referring now to fig1 an enlarged partial section of the gyroscope of fig1 a is illustrated , specifically , by way of example , a section of the electrical energy transfer apparatus associated with the support between the gimbal 14 and housing 16 . as shown , the stationary gyro housing 16 supports the gimbal 14 in a precision ball bearing 22 through a trunion 25 of the gimbal 14 for rotation about the axis 17 . the trunion 25 is hollow and provides a passage for electrical leads from the electrical contact assembly of the invention . extension 28 of the trunion 25 along the axis of rotation 17 provides a mounting structure for the inner circular conductor of the invention as will be described . a pair of clamping nuts 29 , 29 &# 39 ; are threaded into housing 16 and extension 28 , respectively , and serve to clamp the ball bearing 22 in place . an electrical contact assembly 30 , according to the teachings of the present invention , serves to transfer a plurality of electrical power and / or signals between the stationary housing 16 and the relatively rotatable gimbal 14 with substantially zero friction and coupling torques being applied to the sensitive gyro gimbal . generally , the contact assembly 30 comprises an outer cylindrical housing 31 preferably a moulded plastic insulating material having a mounting flange 26 secured as by screws 27 , 27 &# 39 ; through an adapter plate 24 , to be further described below , to the outer end surface of the gyro housing or frame 16 . shims may be added as necessary for proper conductor ring alignment . evenly distributed along the interior surface 32 of the housing 31 are a plurality of circular , concave , conductor rings 33 hereinafter referred to as the outer conductor rings . each ring , as shown in more detail in fig4 may be of a gold alloy conventionally used for such applications , electro - deposited on concave surfaces 33 &# 39 ; of housing 31 and through the plating process electrically connected to a corresponding electrical terminal post 34 moulded in housing 31 to provide an external circuit connection . an inner cylindrical member 36 , also of a moulded plastic insulating material is mounted as by epoxy cement in the trunion extension 28 . evenly distributed along the exterior surface 37 of cylindrical member 36 are a corresponding plurality of circular , concave conductor rings 38 , hereinafter referred to as the inner conductor rings , each ring also being preferably of gold electro - deposited on corresponding concave surfaces 38 &# 39 ; of member 36 and being similarly electrically connected to a corresponding electrical terminal or wire 39 moulded into member 36 , for providing circuit connections to electrical components carried by the gimbal 14 . each inner conductor ring 38 is so located on member 36 that it is accurately aligned with a corresponding outer conductor ring 33 on housing 31 forming a plurality of ring sets ( 33 , 38 ), whereby all of the ring sets 33 , 38 are concentric and coplanar within machining tolerances and with shims as necessary between adapter 24 and gyro base frame 16 . the relative diameters of the ring sets , that is , the internal diameter of the housing interior surface 32 relative to the external diameter of the extension member 36 , are selected so as to provide a relatively large radial space or radial gap 41 therebetween . in order to seal the contact assembly 30 from dust and other contaminates , and provide protection during handling , a plastic cover 43 may be provided , secured to housing 31 by spring tabs 44 in &# 34 ; hub cap &# 34 ; fashion . according to the present invention , a corresponding plurality of resilient , electrically conducting , continuous filamentary loops 42 are disposed in the radial gap 41 , that is , one loop 42 per ring set 33 , 38 , such that their outer generally flat surfaces contact and roll on the conductive concave surfaces of the concentric rings 33 and 38 thereby providing electrical continuity between the terminal posts 34 and the electrical components on the gimbal 14 through conductors 39 . the critical design parameters of the conductor ring surfaces and the loop characteristics will be discussed in detail below ; the primary considerations governing the selection of these design parameters being to minimize any torques imposed on the gimbal 14 by the loop / conductor interface , maximizing the retention capability of the loop / conductor ring interface in a shock and vibratory environment without contributing significant coupling torques , maximizing the current conduction capability of the loop / conductor ring interface , and maximizing the assembly reliability and life . fig2 is an end view of the contact assembly 30 illustrating the normal random disposition of the conductor loops 42 ( after a time period of operation ) within the radial space or gap 41 . it will be noted from fig1 and 2 that the delicate loops 42 and ring 33 , 38 are all interior of the assembly housing 31 and are therefore not exposed to accidental contact or snagging during normal handling of the sensitive gyroscope instrument . referring now to fig4 there is shown a greatly enlarged detailed view of two typical loop / outer conductor ring interfaces , the loop / inner conductor ring interfaces may be substantially the same . the arcuate or concave ring surfaces 33 function to provide a self - capturing and retention capability for the loops 42 , the depth of the concavity being selectable depending upon the severity of the shock and vibratory environment in which the gyroscope is to be operated , as will be further described below . it will be understood that in some applications such arcuate surface may need to be formed in but one of the concentric conductor members depending upon the severity of the environment . after the concave grooves 33 &# 39 ; have been machined or otherwise formed to the desired radius and depth they are suitably masked and the gold alloy is electro - deposited on the groove or concave surface to the desired thickness , typically 80 millionths of an inch . terminals 34 have been cast into the housing mold and cleanly exposed by groove machining so that the gold deposits thereon and provides external electrical connection for the gold rings 33 . alternatively , if desired , separate copper rings may be cast in the plastic housing , machined to the desired concave shape , and then nickel and gold , or other suitable material combinations successively flashed thereon to form the concave conductor rings 33 . the conductor loop 42 is also gold plated as illustrated to enhance the electrical conductivity characteristic of the contact assembly . in accordance with the present invention the loop retention characteristics of the assembly may be readily adapted to a wide range of vibration and shock environments without any constraints by assembly considerations . for example , if the sensitive instrument incorporating the contact assembly is to operate in a quiet or benign environment , the depth of the grooves 33 &# 39 ; may be quite shallow as indicated by the dotted line of fig4 indicating a small arc length , while on the other hand , if the vibration and shock environment is severe , it may be necessary to increase the groove depth , that is , increase the arc length , as indicated by the dot - dash line to prevent loop ejection . note however , that the relatively shallow radius of curvature remains the same for both cases . the full line illustration is a typical moderate shock and vibration environment such as might be expected in aircraft gyroscopic applications ; for example in one airborne gyroscope application , the radius of the groove was 0 . 025 in . and its depth ( for a nickel alloy loop 0 . 190 in . diameter , 0 . 020 in thickness and a preload of 0 . 020 lbs .) was 0 . 008 in . and none of the loops were ejected when subjected to a random vibration of 0 . 2g 2 / hz amplitude . while the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to sensitive instruments such as gyroscopes in which , in most cases , the contact assemblies are quite small , there may be many other applications wherein the assemblies are required to be substantially larger and still provide the self - capture capability of the assembly . therefore , the geometry of the ring concavity , loop dimensions and radial gap may be generalized for adaptation to a variety of applications as follows , reference being made to fig4 a . in general , the radius of curvature of the conductor ring surface or groove r g should be equal to or less than one - half the radial gap dimension , that is , r o is the radius of the point of contact of the loop with the outer ring as defined below , and r i is the radius of the point of contact of the loop with the inner ring , as defined below . the dimensions of r o and r i are complex functions of the groove radius and loop width as follows : r ig is the radius from the assembly axis 17 to the bottom of the inner ring groove , r og is the radius from the assembly axis 17 to the bottom of the outer ring groove , and furthermore , the axial restoring or self - capture forces f ar produces by the loop / ring interfaces may be expressed when ( r o - r i / 2r g ) & gt ; 1 . turning now to the conductor loop 42 design , it will be recalled from above that when assembled into the radial gap 41 the loop free diameter is larger than the radial space between the conductor rings , such free diameter - to - radial space ratio determining the loop preloads . this ratio is chosen such that purely rolling and hence substantially frictionless contact of the loop with the conductor ring surfaces , upon relative rotation between the gimbal 14 and housing 16 , is achieved . this criterion is illustrated in fig9 wherein the conductor loop 42 characteristics are selected such that it retains its purely rolling contact with the rings 33 and 38 . as will be explained further below , it is recognized that in order for the loop surface to contact the ring surfaces and form point contacts , the loop diameter must in theory exactly equal the radial gap dimension ; i . e ., the asymptote of fig9 . this is , of course , not practical especially in a shock and vibratory environment . there must therefore be a trade - off between the theoretical and the practical loop characteristics , as will be discussed below . it has been found that when the maximum free diameter of the loop is exceeded , it becomes so deformed when assembled between the rings that the loop surfaces do not uniformly contact the conductor ring surfaces and the loop surfaces intermediate to the loop ends tend to buckle or bulge away from their adjacent ring surfaces resulting in positive loop contact at four places along the loop surface as indicated in the upper portion of fig9 . by geometry , this means that there is not true rolling contact between the loop and the rings , and interface sliding will occur , thereby generating friction torques . this exaggerated &# 34 ; kidney &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; jelly - bean &# 34 ; shape also tends to overstress the loop material resulting in material fatigue and loop fracture after relatively few rotations resulting in unacceptable useful life . more importantly , such exaggerated &# 34 ; kidney &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; jelly - bean &# 34 ; shape of the assembled loop will produce , upon rotation of the members , uncompensated bending moments in the loop with resultant increase in pg , 20 coupling torques . this may be referred to as torque sensitivity to loop angular position around the gap . in most practical applications of the invention , and particularly in gyroscopic applications , absolute and continuous concentricity between the inner and outer conductor rings is not achievable due to the characteristics of the supporting ball bearing , machining tolerances , compliances produced by the instrument environment and the like . thus , the loop diameter is selected so that it provides the desired preload at the maximum eccentric gap position during such anomolies . this means that at the minimum eccentric gap position , the loop preload will be greater than desired . if the loop has too great a free diameter , the radii of the ends of the loop will not be equal and coupling torques will be produced by the loop on the rotatable member . this is illustrated at the top of fig9 by the dotted line position of the exaggerated kidney - shaped loop . therefore , the desired free loop diameter is such that these loop end radii remain substantially equal even during operations wherein the conductor rings may not be precisely concentric . in order to achieve the desired loop / ring contact preload without buckling , a number of interrelated loop parameters must be considered . generally , the gap radial dimension ( r o - r i ), and the loop axial width w are preordained by the desired basic contact assembly dimensions ; for example , in one embodiment the gap radial dimension was on the order of 0 . 20 inch and the axial width w of the loop was on the order of about 0 . 020 in . secondly , the loop material is selected . this selection is based on a number of requirements including resistance to deformation , which dictates a material having a high elastic modulus , and a capability of being deformed without fracturing , which dictates a material having a high yield stress . in one embodiment , a successful material was a 95 % nickel alloy , which had an elastic modulus of 30 × 10 6 and a yield stress of 200 , 000 psi . such alloy may be procured from mechmetals corporation of culver city , california . having selected the above parameters as constants , the remaining dimensions to be determined are the free loop radius r f and the loop radial thickness t to yield the desired loop / ring preload f n when deflected by an amount y t upon assembly within the gap 41 . at this point it should be noted that with the assembly method and apparatus of the present invention , a wide selection of parameters is available to satisfy a corresponding wide range of environmental requirements . for example , without the present assembly method , the maximum free diameter of the loop , the loop material and possibly its thickness together with the depth of the concave conductor rings are limited by the amount the loop has to be deformed in order to insert it into the radial space between the conductor rings . with the present invention most of the loop and groove design parameters are not limited by mechanical assembly considerations or constraints . the preload force f n in pounds may be approximated from the following relationship fig . 9 is a plot of loop thickness t vs loop free radius r f ( where loop width w f is a constant 0 . 02 in . ; r o - r i is 0 . 150 in . ; the loop elastic modulus is 30 × 10 6 and yield stress is 200 , 000 psi ) for a family of curves of constant preload f n . it is evident that the maximum preload is a function of the size of the loop and conductor ring diameters and that the maximum desirable preload occurs for a loop free radius of about 0 . 115 inches . also , it will be noted that for loop free radii greater than the radius at the maximum desirable preload will result in undesired contact characteristics , i . e ., buckling , while for radii less than this , but of course greater than r o - r i will provide the desired contact characteristic , i . e ., pure rolling contact . thus , having the parameters r o - r i and w predetermined by basic design considerations , any desired preload f n may be determined ; for example , see point a of fig9 given a loop thickness of say 0 . 0009 in ., if a preload of 0 . 020 lbs . is desired , the free loop radius must be 0 . 096 in . if a higher preload is desired , say 0 . 030 lbs ., the free radius may be maintained and the thickness increased to about 0 . 0013 in . it will be noted that for the selected thickness there are two free radii ( a , b of fig9 ) which will provide the desired preload however , one ( b ) will be so large as to cause the undesired buckling when assembled in the gap . in general , it is best to maintain the loop deflection small by selecting the thickness to achieve a given preload so as to maintain optimum loop bending moment compensation resulting in minimum sensitivity of torque to radial gap changes . referring now to fig5 , 7 and 8 and recalling the groove geometry of fig4 a , the self - capture and retention capability of the rolling loop conductor assembly will be described . as shown , this self - capture capability is achieved without the use of &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; grooves or vertical guide walls on each side of the conductor rings since in operation such walls would introduce substantial coupling torque . with the present invention , concave , relatively shallow grooves on at least one of the relatively rotatable members in combination with a generally flat outer surface of the conductor loop 42 cooperate to generate force vectors ( due to the preload ) effective on the loop to maintain it within the grooves . these forces are generated during rolling contact and hence do not significantly contribute coupling torques between the members . further , such self - retention of the loop is extremely advantageous should the grooves of one member not precisely line up with or be precisely coplanar with the grooves of the other , thereby reducing manufacturing costs . ( as stated above , simple shims may be used to attain this alignment with sufficient degree of precision ). also , during operation , should normal motions of the gyro / aircraft tend to axially displace the loops relative to the groove center , they will be self - maintained within the grooves by these restoring faces . fig5 , 7 and 8 illustrate three typical cases of loop misalignment or disturbance relative to the conductor rings . in fig5 a lateral or axial displacement of the loop ( possibly due to a steady turn of the aircraft ) is illustrated . the force vector generated by f n under this situation will include lateral or axial components which create a restoring force and tend to return the loop to an equilibrium force position . in fig6 an axial misalignment ( due for example to a non - planar condition between the inner and outer conductor rings ) is illustrated . again , analysis of the force vectors involved show that resultant force components are generated which tend to maintain the loop centered within the grooves . lastly , in fig7 and 8 any twisting misalignment , θ will result in the generation of restoring moments m due to the contact points of the flat surface of the loop with the concave surface of the conductor ring . fig7 illustrates a case wherein the loop has undergone an angular translation about a radius of the assembly while fig8 illustrates a case where the loop has undergone an angular translation out of the plane of the rotation axis . at this point it should be noted that a rectangular groove or a &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; groove , whether the latter groove is shallow or deep cannot produce the self - capture forces described above when the conductor rings are axially misaligned . incidentally such axial misalignment may occur during the operation of an aircraft gyroscopic device in the presence of in - flight g - forces . a rectangular groove cannot produce such restoring forces , since the loop simply abuts the groove sidewalls resulting in a distortion of the loop and the production of high friction torques . likewise , with a &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; groove , even a shallow one , an axial misalignment of the conductor rings will result in forces which are actually divergent ; that is , instead of tending to restore the loop into the groove , the forces tend to drive the loop out of the groove . another feature of the invention is that the combination of the concave groove and flat outside surface of the loop provides for redundant loop contact points thereby assuring reliable electrical continuity . in accordance with the teachings of the present invention , the rolling loop conductor assembly is designed so that the detector loops 42 may be assembled is designed so that the delicate loops 42 may be assembled within the radial space between the inner and outer concave conductor rings , 33 , 38 without deforming , overstressing , marring or otherwise damaging the same . the latter is extremely important since if the loop , in handling , such as with tweezers or the like , become scratched or nicked , even slightly , each loop surface imperfection becomes a source for torque changes as well as introduces the possibility of a fracture at that point after a short operating time . furthermore , without the present assembly method and apparatus , the loops would have to be deformed , using some sort of spreading tool in order to insert them into the gap 41 . thus , the spreading tool itself can mar or nick the loop . additionally , the use of such a tool would require a very skillful assembler to guide the loop into the gap and align the same with the conductor rings , an extremely tedious and time consuming procedure . the present assembly method and apparatus eliminates all of the foregoing assembly problems and may be accomplished by semi - skilled assemblers in a very short time , as will be described . the present assembly method and apparatus also advantageously permits the assembly of loops having various free diameters or preloads , into concave inner and outer conductor rings having various depths depending upon the severity of the vibration and shock environment of the instrument in which it is installed . the assembly method and apparatus will be described in connection with fig2 a , 3 and 3a . basically , the method and apparatus involves the design of the adapter plate 24 and an assembly tool or fixture 50 ( fig3 a ). as described above , the adapter plate 24 adapts the housing 31 to the instrument housing or frame 16 by means of screws 27 and 27 &# 39 ;. a number of different adapter plates may be designed for different gyro configurations . the plate 24 is generally circular and includes an inner annular lip 51 which ultimately locates and concentrically aligns the conductor assembly with the gyro housing bearing and trunion opening 52 . the outer surface 53 of adapter plate 24 includes an outer recessed surface 54 which receives an inner shoulder 55 ( fig1 ) of housing 31 which extends below its securing or mounting flange 26 to the depth of adapter plate recess 54 . the flat recess 54 defines a first substantially semi - circular stop 56 ( fig2 a and 3 ) concentric with the lip 51 and bearing and trunion opening 52 and also concentric with the housing &# 39 ; s 31 peripheral outer surface thereby defining the normal assembled concentric position of outer conductor ring housing 31 with respect to the inner conductor ring member 36 . the flat recess 54 extends beyond the normal position of housing 31 opposite the stop 56 and defines a second radially displaced substantially semi - circular stop 57 concentric with the housing &# 39 ; s peripheral outer surface and thereby defines a position for the housing 31 which is eccentric relative to the inner conductor member 36 . the over - all shape of recess 54 permits the outer conductor housing 31 to pivot or rotate about one of the assembly securing screws 27 , 27 &# 39 ;, such as screw 27 , from a normal or closed position concentric with respect to the inner conductor member 36 to an open or &# 34 ; load &# 34 ; position eccentric with respect to member 36 . thus , in the &# 34 ; load &# 34 ; or open position , a relatively large radial space is provided between one side of the inner and outer conductor rings of the contact assembly . this large radial space permits the assembly of various diameter loops 42 . actually , it can permit the assembly of loops of a diameter providing maximum preload ( without buckling , as described above ). alternatively , instead of pivoting housing 31 about one of its mounting screws as illustrated in fig2 a and 3 , the recess 54 of adapter plate 24 , as shown in fig1 and 10a , may be eccentric with respect to trunion 25 and inner conductor member 36 and an extension 31 &# 39 ; of housing 31 may fit within the recess 54 and be correspondingly eccentrically located relative to the housing 31 internal axis of symmetry , such that in its normal position its internal axis of symmetry is aligned with the axis of the inner member 36 . thus rotation of the adapter 24 ( before the mounting screws 27 , 27 &# 39 ; are inserted ) will eccentrically displace the housing 31 thereby providing the enlarged radial space for assembly of the loops according to the present invention as shown in fig1 a . the loop assembly apparatus of tool 50 is illustrated in fig2 and 3a and in use permits the loops 42 to be quickly assembled without handling with tweezers or other sharp objects which might mar or nick the same . the tool 50 is preferably moulded from a suitable plastic material and comprises a circular base flange portion 60 having a diameter larger than and adapted to bridge the internal diameter of housing 31 so that the housing &# 39 ; s external face serves as an axial alignment stop or axial positioning means for the tool when in use . an extension or hub 61 and a knob 62 on one side of the base flange permit the tool to be easily handled and manipulated . extending from the center of the opposite side of the base flange 60 is a hollow cylinder or guide member or means 63 having an internal diameter permitting a sliding fit over the inner conductor member 36 and of a sufficient length to extend preferably beyond the innermost inner conductor 38 of the member 36 . a portion of the side of cylinder 63 facing the enlarged gap 41 is cut away , as at 64 in fig2 a , to permit engagement of the loops with the inner conductor rings 38 as will be described . laterally or radially displaced from the cylinder 63 and opposite the cut away portion thereof is a rod 65 preferably of plastic material , fitted in a mounting hole 66 in the base 60 extension or hub 61 . as shown , the rod has a thickness or diameter substantially less than the normal gap 41 and at its one end is provided with a plurality of recesses or notches 67 , spaced according to the ring spacing , and at its other end a suitable knob 68 . the rod may be slidably fitted in hole 66 and suitable low pressure ball and detent arrangements 69 may be provided for establishing positive axial rod positions in use . it will be understood , however , that the rod 65 alone may be used without departing from the scope of the invention , the assembler manually guiding the rod into the widened gap 41 . in operation , the assembler , preferably in a clean room , scatters some loops from their containers onto a soft , lint - free surface ( such as sponge rubber or sponge plastic ) and using the tool 50 with the rod 65 in its extended detent position , ( which aligns the recesses 67 with the ring pairs during assembly , as described herein ), picks up at least the number of loops to be loaded on the rod end and manipulates the tool , as by tapping , such that one loop hangs freely in each of the recesses 67 . the end of cylinder 63 is placed on the outer end of inner member 36 with the axis of member 36 aligned horizontally , and rotated so that an arrow or marker 70 disposed on plate 24 is aligned with an arrow or marker 71 disposed on the flange 60 ( thereby assuring proper alignment of rod 65 within the enlarged radial opening 41 ) and then fully advances the tool 50 until the inner surface of flange 60 abuts the outer surface of housing 31 . now , all of the loops are aligned coplanar with their corresponding inner and outer conductor rings 33 , 38 . the assembler then rotates the housing 31 on screw 27 so that the shoulder 55 abuts the recess stop 56 to thereby compress the loops between the conductor rings establishing the designed preload . the screw 27 &# 39 ; is inserted through the hole in the mounting flange 26 of housing 31 and the hole in adapter 24 and preferably lightly tightens the screw . the assembler then withdraws rod 75 , with the tool still held in place , so as to assure that the rod does not inadvertently contact any of the loops upon removal . finally , the tool 50 is carefully removed without rotating so that the open walls of cylinder 63 do not contact the loops and both screws 27 and 27 &# 39 ; are tightened to the desired torque . the protective cap 43 is snapped in place to seal the interior of the assembly from any foreign matter . while in the foregoing have been described specific embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood that other embodiments thereof may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention . for example , in the assembly method and apparatus , the adapter plate 24 may be dispensed with if desired and the guide and stop means 54 , 56 and 57 may be incorporated directly in the support member . also , other guide and stop means or arrangements may be employed ; for example , the plate 24 with its recess 54 and stop 56 , 57 may be dispensed with and a simple pin and arcuate slot arrangement used . in this case , the pin may be secured in the support member 16 and extend through an arcuate slot in one of the flanges 26 , the ends of the slot providing stops which determine the pivotal movement of the ring housing 31 between its normal coaxial position and its &# 34 ; load &# 34 ; or eccentric position . while the invention has been described in its preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather than limitation and that changes may be made within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention in its broader aspects . | 8 |
in accordance with preferred practice of present invention , fluorinated carboxylated polyesters and polyamides are obtained by short cycle , direct fluorination in an atmosphere substantially free of oxygen , as described above . by short cycle is intended gas - solid reaction contact time of less than 15 minutes , preferably less than 5 minutes between fiber and fluorine . the resulting fluorinated carboxylated materials prepared by short cycle fluorination have increased water transport and soil release characteristics . brief reaction contact times , i . e . less than 15 , preferably less than 5 minutes is desirable for polyamides , as for polyesters . polyesters fluorinate readily , can be fluorinated satisfactorily in less than 1 minute . polyamides are more sensitive than polyesters , require a more carefully controlled fluorination , normally involving a several minute treatment and a more careful cut and try adjustment for the equipment , fiber form and substrate resin . in any event , all commercial polyesters and polyamide fiber form resins can be fluorinated - carboxylated in accordance with practice of the present invention . in general , the polyesters have the repeating structure [- corco 2 r 1 -] where r is selected from the cyclic hydrocarbons c 6 h 10 and linear hydrocarbons c n h 2n , where n is an integer of 1 to 18 , and r 1 is selected from the cyclic hydrocarbon radicals c 6 h 10 o and c 6 h 4 o and linear hydrocarbon radicals c n h 2n o , where n is an integer of 1 to 18 , and ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) b , where b is an integer of 2 to 10 . such polyesters are prepared in the conventional manner by reaction of a carboxylic acid with an alcohol . among the polyester materials which can be used in accordance with the present invention are polymeric materials having the following repeating structures : -- co -- c 6 h 4 -- co 2 ( ch 2 ) 18 o -- -- co -- c 6 h 4 -- co 2 ( ch 2 ) 12 o -- -- co ( ch 2 ) 4 co 2 -- c 6 h 10 -- o -- -- co -- c 6 h 4 -- co 2 ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) 2 -- -- co -- c 6 h 10 -- co 2 ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) 10 -- among the polyamides which can be used in accordance with the present invention are polymeric materials having the following repeating structures : ______________________________________1 ) ## str2 ## where r . sub . 1 and r . sub . 2 = linear hydrocarbon ( c . sub . n h . sub . 2n , where n = 1 - 18 ) 2 ) ## str3 ## where r = linear hydrocarbon ( c . sub . n h . sub . 2n , wheren = 1 - 18 ) 3 ) no . 1 where r . sub . 1 = cyclic hydrocarbon ( c . sub . 6 h . sub . 10 orc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ) r . sub . 2 = cyclic hydrocarbon ( c . sub . 6 h . sub . 10 or c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ) 4 ) no . 2 where r = cyclic hydrocarbon ( c . sub . 6 h . sub . 10 or c . sub . 6h . sub . 4 ) 5 ) no . 1 where r . sub . 1 = linear hydrocarbon ( c . sub . n h . sub . 2n , wheren = 1 - 18 ) r . sub . 2 = cyclic hydrocarbon ( c . sub . 6 h . sub . 10 or c . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ) 6 ) no . 1 where r . sub . 1 = cyclic hydrocarbon ( c . sub . 6 h . sub . 10 orc . sub . 6 h . sub . 4 ) r . sub . 2 = linear hydrocarbon ( c . sub . n h . sub . 2n , wheren = 1 - 18 ) especially the following polyamides1 ) ## str4 ## poly ( w - aminocaproic acid )( nylon 6 ) 2 ) ## str5 ## poly ( hexamethylene adipamide ) nylon 6 . 63 ) ## str6 ## poly ( hexamethylene sebacamide ) nylon 6104 ) ## str7 ## poly ( 11 - amino undecanoic acid ) nylon 115 ) ## str8 ## poly ( 12 - amino dodecanoic acid ) nylon 126 ) ## str9 ## poly ( paraphenylene terephthalamide ) fiber b______________________________________ the fluorination carboxylation can be carried out on a continuous basis , for example , by passing a fiber form material , such as yarn , fabric , etc . through the fluorine carrier gas mixture in a suitably sealed chamber through which the fiber form material passes . alternatively , the material can be unrolled and rerolled inside the treatment chamber . instead of a continuous treatment such as described above , the treatment may be a batch operation in which the fiber form material is exposed to the fluorine carrier gas mixture in a reactor : the material being permitted to remain in contact with the gas mixture for a brief time interval . within the limits of the material ( e . g . . . . melting point , etc . ), the temperature and pressure at which the fiber form material is treated is not critical . however , the preferred temperature is room temperature , but higher temperatures , such as those ranging up to about 150 ° c or higher can be employed . pressure inside the reaction vessel will ordinarily correspond to standard environmental pressures , although elevated pressures can be used without adverse effect . as previously mentioned , direct fluorination of a polyester of polyamide material in an atmosphere substantially free of oxygen requires only a brief reaction time for a fluorinated carboxylated surface layer to form on the material . it has been found , according to the present invention , that exposure time for most types of polyester and polyamide resin fiber form materials generally requires less than five minutes . however , frequently less than one minute contact time is all that is needed in order to form a fluorinated carboxylated surface layer particularly on polyesters . it is well to keep in mind , however , the exposure period will vary with the concentration of fluorine in the gas mixture , in which case the time will be shortened when the concentration of fluorine is higher . longer exposure times may be used , but in most instances are neither required nor considered desirable , especially from an economic viewpoint . again and again reference has been made to the desirability of limiting the oxygen content of the fluorinating gas to below about 1 %. water and water vapor are somewhat detrimental also and desirably should be avoided . in a preferred mode of this invention , the fabric should not be wet , i . e . should not exceed equilibrium with ambient moisture ( less than about 0 . 5 % h 2 o by wt . for polyesters , 4 % for 6 . 6 nylon ), and the fluorinating gas contain 0 - 1 % oxygen and from 1 - 3 % fluorine for polyesters , 1 - 5 % for polyamides , the balance of the fluorinating gas may be inert e . g . nitrogen , and such is preferred . however , practice of this invention does contemplate fluorination in the presence of co - reactant gases . for example , fluorination and chlorination will both occur if chlorine is included in the carrier gas , even though chlorination by itself , would not occur without ( light ) activation . accordingly , presence of other reactants in the carrier gas is not inconsistent with fluorination , and , indeed , most co - reactions will normally take place only as incident to the fluorination . the significant process aspects for practice of this invention may be recapitulated as follows : 1 . a reaction contact time between fiber form resin and reaction gases of less than about 15 minutes , less than 10 minutes being more desirable , and less than 5 minutes preferred . a . up to 20 % elemental fluorine , less than 10 % preferred , 0 . 1 - 5 % being more desirable ; specifically preferred is 1 - 3 % for treatment of polyesters , 1 - 5 % for treatment of polyamides . b . limiting elemental oxygen content to below 5 %, desirably to less than 1 %, preferably less than 0 . 1 %. to the extent possible a reaction gas substantially free of elemental oxygen is preferred . when following the conditions noted above for fluorination according to practice of the present invention , it has been found the material will not char ; there is little loss of other desirable characteristics of the material such as strength ; low levels of fluorine are taken up by the fiber rather uniformly . of course , the reaction vessel used in the fluorination process must be able to withstand the presence of fluorine and of hydrogen fluoride product of the reactions . in the discussion of fluorination , exemplary values and preferred ranges have been provided . the values given for exemplary purposes are the fluorine content at the first realistic opportunity to measure same . normal handling of the fiber form resin such as laundering will remove some but not all of the fluorine initially combined with the fiber form resin material . except when indicated as pre - washing , the fluoride content values and the carboxyl values , too , are after a first washing of the material . the fluorinated - carboxylated polyesters and polyamides prepared according to practice of this invention have a neutralization equivalent of about 25 , 000 or less , preferably less than 15 , 000 . the neutralization equivalent ( n . e .) is determined by dividing the weight ( grams ) of the acid times 1 , 000 by the milliliters of base times the normality of the base i . e . the &# 34 ; meq . of base .&# 34 ; ## equ1 ## the neutralization equivalent is measured by an acid - base potentiometric titration performed in absolute methanol using a glass electrode as an indicator against a calomel reference electrode . the potential is measured on a ph meter ( e . g . beckman ph meter ). the carboxyl content of the fiber form resins may be determined in several ways . according to one procedure , the fluorinated material , e . g . a fabric , is first washed in dilute hcl , then thoroughly rinsed with distilled water , dried and weighed . thereafter the material is immersed in a known amount of 0 . 0995 n methanolic sodium hydroxide , allowed to stand for 24 hours , then carefully rinsed with methanol to wash adhering base back into solution . the solution is then titrated with aqueous hydrochloric acid . the difference between the initial amount of naoh and that measured represents the degree of acidity of the fabric . an alternative procedure , interchangeable with the above , is the process of h . a . pohl , analytical chemistry , vol . 26 , pg . 1614 ( 1954 ). at low fluorination levels , the degree of carboxylation of polyester and polyamide will depend upon both reaction time and % f 2 is the reaction medium . at a given reaction time , carboxylation increases as % f incorporation increases . ( selecting specific fluorination process conditions for a particular fabric may require a cut and try approach within the already described reaction time and fluorine concentration ranges .) in this connection , the degree of carboxylation of polyester and polyamide are not believed to be related , since the cleavage rate for amide and ester linkages may differ . thus nylon 6 . 6 treated to have between 4 × 10 - 5 and 3 × 10 - 3 mg f / cm 2 , a preferred range will have a carboxyl content between 2 × 10 - 5 and 15 × 10 - 5 milliequivalents / cm 2 against a control measurement of 1 . 3 × 10 - 5 meq / cm 2 . a polyester ( i . e . pet ) control measured at 2 . 9 × 10 - 6 meq / cm 2 and a highly carboxylated and fluorinated specimen contained 15 . 5 × 10 - 6 meq / cm 2 . overall practice of this invention involves an increase in the free carboxyl content of the fiber form polyester or polyamide resin of at least 50 %. the following examples illustrate embodiments of this invention . it is to be understood , however , that these are for illustrative purposes only and do not purport to be wholly definitive as to condition and scope for preferred practice of the invention . a . a strip of 100 % polyethyleneglycolterephthalate fabric having a dimension of 8 inches by 16 feet , weighing 230 . 5 grams , was draped in a 28 liter &# 34 ; kynar &# 34 ; lined ( polyvinylidene fluoride ) reactor . the reaction vessel was then alternately evacuated and purged with nitrogen three times in order to eliminate as far as possible any residual oxygen . subsequently , a gas mixture of 4 % fluorine and 96 % nitrogen from separate cylinders was blended before being charged into the reactor . the rate of flow from the fluorine cylinder was 0 . 6 liters / minute and 14 . 4 liters / minute from the nitrogen cylinder . the fluorine used was 99 . 7 % pure with 0 . 3 % impurities comprising about 90 % nitrogen and about 10 % of a mixture of oxygen , sulfur hexafluoride and carbon tetrafluoride . the nitrogen used was 100 % pure . the fabric was exposed to the substantially oxygen free gas mixture for 5 minutes and the reactor was then evacuated and purged with nitrogen prior to removal of the sample . the sample was washed , dried and found to have 0 . 1 % fluorine by weight . the fluorine pickup was 8 × 10 - 4 mg f / cm 2 . b . for purposes of comparing the rate of reaction ( percent fluorine pickup ) with the oxygen - free fluorination system of part ( a ) above , a strip of 100 % dacron fabric of similar dimension was treated in a similar manner . however , in this instance 10 % oxygen was blended into the gaseous feed stream also along with 4 % fluorine . the exposure time of the fabric to this gas mixture was also for 5 minutes . after removal of the fabric from the reactor , it was washed , dried and found to have only about 0 . 018 % fluorine by weight . c . the same procedure of part ( b ) was followed once again , also using an untreated strip of 100 % dacron of known weight , exposed for 5 minutes to a 4 % fluorine gas mixture . however , in this particular run 40 % oxygen was mixed with the fluorine before being charged into the reactor . after a 5 minute exposure period the sample was washed , dried and found to have 0 . 01 % by weight fluorine incorporated onto the fabric . the percent fluorine impregnated onto the particular polyester material was determined in all instances using the schoniger combustion and specific ion electrode techniques according to the followng procedure : combust approximately 150 mg . sample in a schoniger flask containing 25 ml . of 0 . 02 n sodium hydroxide . the solution containing the combustion products are then transferred to a 100 ml . volumetric flask . ten ml . of standard tisab solution ( sodium nitrate , sodium citrate , acetic acid and sodium acetate mixture having a ph of 5 . 5 ) are added to the flask and diluted to volume . standard fluoride solutions are prepared which encompass the expected levels of fluoride in the sample . the potential obtained with a specific fluoride ion electrode for the sample and standard solutions is recorded . using a standard curve generated from the data for the standard fluoride solutions , the potential is recorded for the sample and the sample weight , and the fluoride percentage in the sample is then calculated . for purposes of determining the effect of longer exposure times on the rate of fluorination of polyester materials , further direct - fluorination batch runs were conducted using 100 % dacron fabric , employing both oxygen free gaseous mixtures and systems having both fluorine and oxygen present . procedures in accordance with the methods of example i , parts ( a ) - ( c ) were followed . results are given in table i below . table i__________________________________________________________________________ neutral - treatment % f by wt . izationexamplegas mixture time ( minutes ) incorporated equivalent__________________________________________________________________________ii 4 % f . sub . 2 / 96 % n . sub . 2 10 0 . 235 6 , 917iii &# 34 ; 25 0 . 300 7 , 356iv &# 34 ; 40 0 . 455 7 , 654v &# 34 ; 65 0 . 515 5 , 576vi 4 % f . sub . 2 / 10 % o . sub . 2 / 86 % n . sub . 2 10 0 . 031 -- vii &# 34 ; 30 0 . 065 11 , 523viii &# 34 ; 60 0 . 095 10 , 527ix &# 34 ; 180 0 . 100 11 , 249x &# 34 ; 360 0 . 090 9 , 280xi 4 % f . sub . 2 / 40 % o . sub . 2 / 56 % n . sub . 2 10 0 . 019 -- xii &# 34 ; 30 0 . 056 9 , 836xiii &# 34 ; 180 0 . 090 11 , 220xiv &# 34 ; 360 0 . 090 11 , 223__________________________________________________________________________ it may be concluded from examples i - xiv that the percent fluorine incorporated onto the fabric per unit of time is significantly greater using a system substantially free of oxygen . this is aptly demonstrated inter alia by example ii which shows that after a 10 minute exposure to 4 % fluorine and no oxygen , about eight ( 8 ) times more fluorine was taken up by the fabric than example vi also havng 4 % fluorine , but with 10 % oxygen present . furthermore , as the amount of oxygen was increased , according to example xi ( 40 % o 2 ) the take - up of fluorine by the polyester material diminished even further . as a whole , table i demonstrates that the presence of oxygen inhibits fluorination . the following short cycle procedure was employed in the continuous , direct - fluorination of polyester fabric : a roll of polyester double knit fabric having the dimension of 12 inches × 50 feet was placed in a standard continuous treatment reactor having a volume of 708 liters . the system was then purged with nitrogen to eliminate all traces of oxygen . purging continued for 12 hours at a flow rate sufficient to displace the volume of the reactor six times over . a gas mixture comprising fluorine and nitrogen was introduced into the reactor at the rate of 3 . 5 liters / minute fluorine and 10 . 6 liters / minute nitrogen . the nitrogen used was 100 % pure and the fluorine was 99 . 7 % pure : the remaining 0 . 3 % consisted of trace amounts of different fluorocompounds and oxygen . this gas mixture was permitted to flow for 20 minutes while the fabric passed slowly through the reactor chamber . this first exposure period was to provide for reactor equilibration . subsequently , the flow of gas was adjusted so that only 0 . 6 liters / minute fluorine and 1 . 8 liters / minute nitrogen entered into the reactor providing a mixture of 10 % fluorine and 90 % nitrogen . with this reduced flow of gas in operation the exposure time of the fabric was adjusted so that contact time of the fabric with the gas was only two ( 2 ) minutes . after approximately 15 feet of fabric was treated at this two ( 2 ) minute exposure time the speed of the rewind roll was increased , so that the exposure time to the gas was adjusted to 30 seconds . an additional 15 feet of fabric was then treated . six samples taken at random from the exposed fabric were then washed in distilled water , dried and found to have taken up fluorine in the amount shown in the table below . table ii______________________________________exposure time % fluorine incorporated______________________________________30 seconds 0 . 41 &# 34 ; 0 . 39 &# 34 ; 0 . 392 minutes 0 . 52 &# 34 ; 0 . 51 &# 34 ; 0 . 47______________________________________ samples of the 2 minute and 30 second exposed fabrics were tested for soil release properties . a drop of dyed mineral oil was applied to each of the two by one inch samples and on a control sample of untreated fabric . the samples were then submerged in a 0 . 1 % solution of ivory soap in deionized water . each of the fluorinated - carboxylated samples released their oil stains within three ( 3 ) minutes whereas the control sample did not release the stain even after a 24 hour period . it may be concluded from example xv that fluorination of the substrate after 30 seconds of exposure was sufficient to impart the desired properties throughout the polyester fabric , and that protracted exposure time although offering greater fluorine pickup , nevertheless provided no perceptable advantages over the shorter exposure period . samples for wicking data were secured from a 14 ft . strip 6 . 25 inches wide ( raschel knit ) polyester wound on a 2 inch core . the wound roll ( 3 . 5 inches diameter ) was fluorinated with 1 % f 2 / 99 % n 2 . samples ( 1 inch by 10 inches ), taken from the outside , the inside and two intermediate intervals of the fabric , were submitted to wicking tests . the wicking test procedure involves suspending a length of sample ( e . g . 1 inch by 10 inches running with the grain of the fabric ) above a beaker of ( dyed ) water . the bottom 1 / 4 inch of sample is submerged in the water , at which time a stopwatch is activated . readings should be taken periodically , i . e . 20 seconds , 1 minute , 3 minutes , 5 minutes ; 5 minute intervals to determine ( millimeter ) rise of water versus time , measuring thereby moisture transport ( of the dyed water ). table iii______________________________________ outside inside edge inside inside edgetime ( 1 ft .) ( 5 ft .) ( 10 ft .) ( 14 ft .) ______________________________________20 sec . 17 mm . 9 mm . 29 mm . 4 mm . 1 min . 31 20 50 56 3 60 36 78 90 5 84 42 89 11110 128 69 115 14215 149 87 135 16020 163 109 146 17425 174 127 154 18030 179 135 157 18235 182 143 157 18340 184 147 157 18345 184 147 157 183______________________________________ a multiplicity of tests were conducted on 100 % pet ( dacron ) using the following test procedures : polyester fabric was scoured , triple rinsed and tumble dried prior to fluorination . an 8 inch × 10 inch sample was then suspended in a 2 liter monel reactor . for static reactions the reactor was evacuated and purged with nitrogen four ( 4 ) times . after the fifth evacuation the reactor was brought to atmospheric pressure by filling with the fluorine / nitrogen / oxygen ( if any ) mixture . the fill time was 30 seconds and reaction contact time was 2 minutes . flow reactions were run by evacuating the reactor , purging with nitrogen , evacuating and applying a flow of f 2 / n 2 for 2 minutes . at the end of the two minute reaction time , the fabric was removed from the reactor and washed by standard aatcc wash procedure . after tumble drying , the fabrics were ready for wicking and tensile strength tests . ______________________________________a . tensile strength losstensile strength lbs .% f flow static static 1 % o . sub . 2______________________________________control 87 . 5 87 . 5 87 . 50 . 5 90 87 861 82 84 753 82 82 685 82 75 757 26 70 7510 burned 67 46______________________________________ the results indicate that a flow reaction decreases tensile strength faster than a static reaction , and that addition of 1 % oxygen lowers tensile strength . ______________________________________b . wicking propertieswicking height mm .% f flow static static 1 % o . sub . 2______________________________________control 10 10 100 . 5 -- 77 881 70 103 893 61 109 905 53 103 927 27 105 4710 burned 90 32______________________________________ the test results indicate that a flow reaction gives a product having poorer wicking properties than a static method , and that presence of oxygen decreases wicking properties . the effect of oxygen content on tensile strength and wicking in a static test , 1 % f 2 , is shown by the following table . ______________________________________c . effect of oxygentensile strength and wicking % o . sub . 2 tensile lbs . wicking , mm . ______________________________________control 87 . 5 100 . 5 85 951 . 0 75 933 74 935 73 818 70 8610 69 8420 69 85______________________________________ the test results indicate that increasing oxygen concentration brings about decreased tensile strength and wicking properties . d . the observed carboxyl content was determined for the control and a highly fluorinated carboxylated specimen . control - 2 . 91 × 10 - 6 meq / cm 2 ( 1 . 75 × 10 15 cooh / cm 2 ) fluorinated - 15 . 5 × 10 - 6 meq / cm 2 ( 9 . 33 × 10 15 cooh / cm 2 ) nylon 6 . 6 ( testfabrics style 358 ) was placed in a monel reactor and then evacuated and purged with nitrogen four ( 4 ) times to remove any oxygen present in the reactor . various mixtures of fluorine / nitrogen were admitted to the reactor at varying ( static ) reaction times . table 17 - 1 gives several examples of the fluorine concentrations and reaction times used . it can be seen from table 17 - 1 that high fluorine concentrations or long reaction times increase the percent fluorine incorporated . table 17 - 1______________________________________ % f . sub . 2 / reac . tm . % f meq / cm . sup . 2sample n . sub . 2 ( min ) incorp . × 10 . sup .-. sup . 5______________________________________1833 - 12 - 1 4 / 96 3 0 . 17 4 . 271833 - 12 - 2 4 / 96 6 0 . 16 3 . 701833 - 12 - 3 4 / 96 11 0 . 14 3 . 581833 - 12 - 4 4 / 96 25 0 . 44 -- 1833 - 14 - 1 8 / 92 3 1 . 32 6 . 801833 - 14 - 2 8 / 92 6 2 . 13 7 . 841833 - 14 - 3 8 / 92 11 3 . 45 15 . 891833 - 14 - 4 8 / 92 25 6 . 43 -- 1833 - 15 10 / 90 3 2 . 59 8 . 231833 - 17 - 1 4 / 96 1 0 . 31 2 . 541833 - 17 - 2 8 / 92 1 1 . 57 3 . 781833 - 17 - 3 10 / 90 1 2 . 63 6 . 37control 1 . 31______________________________________ nylon that was fluorinated at low fluorine concentrations or short reaction times showed less loss of tensile strength than high fluorine concentrations or long reaction times . the nylon increases in acidity with longer reaction times and with increasing fluorine concentration in the reaction . nylon that was fluorinated at low fluorine concentrations or short reaction times showed better wetting ( aatc test method 39 - 1971 ) than the control ( table 17 - 2 ). fluorinations at high fluorine concentrations or long reaction times reduces the wettability versus short reaction times or low fluorine concentrations . table 17 - 2______________________________________ reaction wettingsample % f . sub . 2 / n . sub . 2 times ( min ) time ( sec ) ______________________________________control 11 , 9111833 - 12 - 1 4 / 96 3 1171833 - 12 - 2 4 / 96 6 92 . 51833 - 12 - 3 4 / 96 11 128 . 71833 - 12 - 4 4 / 96 25 6361833 - 14 - 1 8 / 92 3 1931833 - 14 - 2 8 / 92 6 8 , 8021833 - 14 - 3 8 / 92 11 -- 1833 - 17 - 1 4 / 96 1 231______________________________________ nylon that was fluorinated at low fluorine concentrations or short reaction times showed better water transport ( wicking ) than the control . the material was cut into one inch strips and the ends immersed in an aqueous dye solution . the rate of climb of liquid was then measured . table 17 - 3 provides the wicking height results for the different f concentrations and reaction times . table 17 - 3______________________________________wicking heightswicking time 4 % f . sub . 2 8 % f . sub . 2minutes 1 min . 3 min . 25 min . 3 min . 8 min . ______________________________________ 2 12 40 3 15 1210 74 86 19 42 2515 9417 106 3225 121 70 4026 1163435 130 5136 12437 82 4745 85 5250 140 132 57 87 57______________________________________ nylon that was fluorinated in the presence of small oxygen concentrations showed a decrease in the % f incorporated ; thus , oxygen inhibits the rate of fluorine incorporation ( table 18 - 1 ). table 18 - 1______________________________________ reaction % f tensilesample % f . sub . 2 / o . sub . 2 / n . sub . 2 time ( min ) incorp . strength ( lbs ) ______________________________________control 591824 - 29 4 /-/ 96 6 1 . 74 561833 - 34 - 1 4 / 1 / 95 6 0 . 69 431833 - 34 - 2 4 / 2 / 94 6 0 . 41 451833 - 34 - 3 4 / 3 / 93 6 0 . 42 391833 - 34 - 4 4 / 5 / 91 6 0 . 31 411833 - 44 - 2 4 / 1 / 95 3 0 . 75 -- 1833 - 44 - 3 4 / 5 / 95 3 0 . 54 -- ______________________________________ nylon that was fluorinated in the presence of small oxygen concentrations showed greater tensile strength loss than when oxygen was excluded from the reaction media . all the reactions were run for six minutes . while the invention has been described in conjunction with specific examples thereof , they are illustrative only . accordingly , many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description , and it is therefore intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , and variations as to fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
in the following description , the terms vertical , horizontal , upper , lower , front , rear , etc . will be used with reference to the figures in order to make it easier to understand the description , but in a meaning which does not limit the invention . the dispenser 10 according to the invention , illustrated particularly in fig1 consists essentially of a housing 12 , of an intermediate piece 14 comprising the dispensing nozzle and assigned to an element 16 for closing the cutout of the latter , and of a plate 18 which is intended for supporting a roll 20 . the function of the dispenser 10 is , in fact , to allow the progressive unwinding of the roll 20 which , here , is a roll consisting of a strip 22 of cellulose wadding which is coiled about a vertical general axis a 1 . the center of the roll does not have a tube or a central tube , that is to say consists of a vertically oriented central hole , via which the inner free end 24 of the strip 22 emerges , here vertically downward . the roll 20 is delimited by a cylindrical outer lateral surface 26 and by two transverse end faces , one of which is a horizontal lower transverse face 28 of annular general shape which can be seen in fig1 . the housing 12 takes the form of two parts produced from plastic by injection molding . a fixed first part 30 consists essentially of a rear vertical plate 32 and of a horizontal lower plate 34 forming a horizontal bottom which is perforated centrally by a substantially circular hole of large dimension 36 . the fixed part 30 makes it possible , by means not illustrated , to fasten the housing 12 to a wall or to a column by means of the rear vertical plate 32 , and the fixed part 30 also comprises a lower lateral wall portion 35 in the form of an arc of a cylinder of low height . the housing 12 also comprises a moveable second part 38 which forms a closing cover and which consists essentially of a u - shaped lateral wall 40 and of a front transverse wall oriented vertically in the closed position of the lid 42 . the moveable part forming a cover 38 is mounted in an articulated manner on the fixed part 12 about a horizontal axis of articulation a 2 which is arranged in the vicinity of the bottom 34 of the fixed part 12 and in the vicinity of the horizontal lower edges 44 of the lateral wall 40 . as can be seen in fig1 with the cover 38 in the open position , the latter extends vertically completely below the fixed part 12 , at the same time completely freeing the upper part of the housing , without obstructing the surroundings of the latter . means , not illustrated , are , of course , provided for locking the cover 38 in the closed upper position , in which its lateral wall 40 and its front face 42 cooperate with the rear transverse wall 32 and the bottom 34 in order to delimit a closed containment , in which , in particular , the roll 20 is received . the plate 18 has a peripheral contour of a shape complementary to that of the horizontal bottom 34 of the housing 12 , and said plate is dimensioned so as to be capable of being received in the housing 12 , with the outer peripheral part of its lower face 46 bearing vertically against the upper face 48 of the bottom 34 , the two faces 46 and 48 being in mutual bearing contact by gravity when the support plate is in place in the bottom of the housing 12 . the support plate 18 has a smooth upper face 50 , on which the roll 20 bears with its face 28 , and said support plate is perforated centrally , that is to say it comprises a central hole of substantially circular contour 52 for the passage of the free end 24 of the strip 22 of the roll 20 through the hole 52 . the dispensing nozzle 14 is a plastic injection molding of a general shape of revolution about the vertical axis a 1 . it comprises a peripheral cylindrical annular skirt 54 , of which the upper edge which is in the form of a horizontal rim 56 comprises , here , three radial detents 58 which belong to means of the bayonet type for fastening the nozzle 14 under the support plate 18 , these means comprising , furthermore , complementary notches 60 formed under the lower face 46 of the plate 18 . by virtue of being assembled by the means of the bayonet type , the body of the nozzle 14 and the plate 18 form a subassembly , illustrated particularly in fig2 and 3 , which is put in place in the housing 12 , the dispensing nozzle 14 then extending vertically downward through the cutout 36 beyond the bottom 34 of the housing 12 . the nozzle 14 comprises , in a known general way , a central passage 62 of frustoconical general shape convergent with a vertically downward orientation . more specifically , the passage 62 consists of the inner wall 64 of a central part in the form of a frustoconical dish 66 which is connected to the skirt 54 by means of a connecting ring 68 . the passage 62 is delimited at its upper end by a circular upper orifice formed by an edge 70 and at its lower end by a lower outlet orifice 72 formed by the cylindrical wall of a lower free end portion 74 of cylindrical shape of the dish 66 . according to a known general arrangement , the diameter of the lower outlet orifice 72 is markedly smaller than the large diameter of the upper inlet orifice 70 , so that the strip 24 which passes through the passage 62 is contracted progressively by the convergent concave frustoconical wall 64 , so that the whole of the strip is gripped radially toward the axis al in the region of the lower orifice 72 . according to the invention , the inner concave wall 64 of the passage 62 is not complete , that is to say it comprises a cutout 80 in the general form of a slot . according to one aspect of the invention , the cutout or slot 80 does not have parallel edges , that is to say it is delimited by two opposite edges 82 which widen vertically from the bottom upward and radially from the inside outward . thus , whether in a top view along the axis a 1 or in a side view in the direction “ d ” of fig6 the projection of the cutout 80 delimited by the edges 82 has a substantially triangular profile . thus , the circumferential extent or width l 1 of the slot 80 separating its two opposite edges 82 at the upper orifice 70 has a dimension markedly greater than its width l 2 at the lower end of the slot 80 , that is to say at the lower orifice 72 . as can be seen in the figures , the slot or cutout 80 issues vertically downward . the shaping as a triangle and the dimensioning of the cutout 80 are such that it is possible to cause the strip 24 to pass through the cutout 80 vertically from the top downward , without gripping it or compressing it radially , then to introduce it into the passage 62 and , in particular , into the lower orifice 72 , then introducing it radially in the direction of the axis al into the cutout . by virtue of the design according to the invention , it is possible to put the roll 20 in place on the support plate 18 , then close the housing 12 and subsequently pull the strip 24 through the cutout 80 so as to cause it to pass vertically from the bottom upward into the cutout , and introduce it into the passage 62 , this taking place from the lower face of the housing 12 through which , as a result of the cutout 36 , the dispensing nozzle 14 extends vertically downward . according to one characteristic of the invention , the cutout 82 is oriented in a vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of the rear plate 32 of the housing 12 , that is to say the cutout 80 is formed in the rear part of the passage 62 , said rear part facing the wall . during use , when a consumer pulls on the free end 24 of the strip 22 of the roll 20 , said free end passing through the passage 62 , he does this forward , that is to say toward him , or slightly laterally , but never rearward . thus , the strip 24 is always in frictional contact with the convergent concave inner wall 64 of the dispensing nozzle 14 , that is to say with a continuous surface without a cutout , while the cut - out part is on the opposite side toward the rear . thus , for the entire length of the pull , the tissue or paper 24 is in contact with a perfectly smooth surface which is not liable to damage it . according to another aspect of the invention , a closing element 16 is provided for completing the passage 62 of the cutout in the position of use . the closing element 16 is an element which is attached to the dispensing nozzle 14 and which is produced in the form of a plastic injection molding of a shape substantially complementary to that of the nozzle 14 . the piece 16 for closing the cutout 80 is mounted in an articulated manner relative to the body of the dispensing nozzle 14 about a horizontal axis of articulation a 3 which is parallel to the plane of the vertical bottom 32 of the housing 12 , that is to say perpendicular to the mean vertical plane of the cutout 80 . as can be seen in the figures , the cutout 80 , in addition to its function as an introduction slot formed in the wall 64 of the passage 62 , is extended in a complementary cutout formed in the skirt 54 and the ring 68 which are cut out with a vertically oriented recess having parallel edges 90 and 92 . in order to impart sufficient rigidity to the body of the nozzle 14 , the edges 90 of the cutout are connected to one another by means of an upper crossmember 94 which extends in the same plane as the edge 56 . the crossmember 94 comprises , in its lower part , a hollow semicylinder 96 open vertically upward and forming a receptacle for a horizontal rod 98 belonging to the closing element 16 and forming the means of articulation of the latter relative to the nozzle 14 , about the axis a 3 . more specifically , the receptacle 96 consists of two half receptacles which are arranged laterally opposite one another and each of which receives one lateral end of the rod 98 , thus forming two articulation pins . the element 16 for closing the cutout 80 comprises an active main portion 100 which has a profile complementary to that of the dish 66 and which is delimited laterally by two opposite lateral edges 102 complementary to the edges 82 of the cutout 80 , in such a way that , in the high position of use illustrated in fig2 and 5 , this active portion 100 forms the complement to the dish 66 so as to reconstruct a passage 62 in the form of a complete piece or dish of revolution 66 , this being so as to prevent any accidental escape of the strip 24 out of the passage 62 via the cutout 80 . at its lower free end 104 of small width , the main portion 100 comprises a locking and positioning finger 106 which , in the high position of use , is received in two complementary semicylindrical receptacles 108 formed in the lower face of the dish 66 in the vicinity of the cylindrical part 74 ( see fig2 and 4 ). in order to connect the portion 100 of the closing element 16 to its articulation rod 98 , said portion is extended by two ring sections 108 and by a cylindrical skirt section 110 which are respectively complementary to the rings 68 of the skirt 54 of the body of the nozzle 14 . a reinforcing rib 112 , which extends in a vertical plane , connects the active portion 100 to the immediately adjacent ring section which comprises , at its upper end , a finger 114 for the automatic locking of the closing element 16 , said finger being received , in the position of use and as may be seen particularly in fig5 in a complementary receptacle 116 formed by a cup 118 produced integrally with the support plate 18 by injection molding . the rib 112 also has an ergonomic shape to make it easier to close the element 16 . the locking finger 114 , in the form of a locking nose , is chamfered in such a way that it is locked automatically during the closing movement of the closing element 16 , that is to say when the latter is pivoted clockwise from the position which it occupies in fig6 into the position which it occupies in fig5 . in order to have access to the locking means consisting of the nose 114 , for the purpose of allowing the closing element 16 to tilt counterclockwise about its axis a 3 , as seen in fig5 the hole 52 of substantially circular contour in the support plate 18 comprises , toward the rear , a clearance 120 which , after the housing 12 has been opened , makes it possible to release the notch 114 so as to cause the opening of the closing element 16 which pivots automatically about the axis a 3 by gravity . this automatic pivoting is obtained by virtue of the fact that the axis a 3 is offset radially outward , while its principal mass and therefore its center of gravity are offset radially inward in the direction of the axis a 1 . the closing and automatic locking of the element 16 can be carried out from outside the closed housing , that is to say below the latter , while still having a visual check of the correct position of the free end of the strip 24 in the passage 22 before the closing of the element and during the closing operation , that is to say without the risk of jamming the strip 24 between the cutout 80 and the active functional part 100 of the closing element 16 . designing in the form of a subassembly the plate 18 and the nozzle 14 which carries its articulated closing element 16 makes it possible to use the same housing 12 with the cutout 36 in its horizontal bottom 34 for another type of dispenser , that is to say , for example , by replacing the subassembly 14 - 18 by an element comprising an outlet passage convergent vertically downward , with means for cutting the sheet at the periphery of the lower outlet orifice of this passage , for example provided with sawteeth . | 0 |
fireplaces have been used in homes over the years for providing heat as well as to provide a desired ambiance . while wood and coal have been the primary fuels for burning in fireplaces , in the recent past there has been an increasing demand for synthetic or artificial fireplace logs . these logs are easier to purchase and store , provide better btu / lb value than wood or coal , are easier to light , safer to use with virtually no maintenance during burning , and can be used to build fires of a known duration , generally from 2 hours to 4 + hours . these logs are usually manufactured by combining a carrier material , usually of cellulosic origin , such as sawdust , with a combustible binder / fuel such as a petroleum wax . over the years there have also been several attempts to use a variety of agricultural and industrial waste products as the carrier material . thus for example : u . s . pat . no . 3 , 297 , 419 describes the use of rice hulls or shredded paper as partial or total replacements for sawdust . u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 843 , 336 and 3 , 880 , 611 utilized reclaimed pulp and northern kraft paper beater stock respectively as sawdust substitutes . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 040 , 796 describes logs composed of ground bark and peanut shells . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 043 , 765 described crushed nut shells , straw , paper pulp , and cotton waste as suitable substitutes for sawdust . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 120 , 666 provided firelog formulations in which sawdust is substituted with shredded newsprint . some other sawdust substitutes described in various u . s . patents are sawdust splinters , cotton linter and charcoal powder ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 302 , 210 ), bagasse , chopped straw , waste paper in pulp , shredded or flaked form , sphagnum moss , nut shells , coffee grounds , fibrous residue left after fruit or vegetable juice extraction , cotton waste , and bark ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 326 , 854 ), green sawdust , coal liquid , and sorghum ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 333 , 738 ), and grass clippings and leaves with chipped and ground branches and twigs ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 393 , 310 ). the cellulose material is then combined with wax to form a log - like structure . in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 297 , 419 the synthetic log comprises wax ( the flame supporting material ) and sawdust ( the filler or extender ) and a binder / fuel . paraffin wax is preferred as the flame supporting material and the preferred binder / fuel is microcrystalline wax . use of slack wax which contains both the paraffin wax and the microcrystalline wax is also disclosed . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 637 , 355 is primarily directed to pyrogenic coloring matter , primarily chlorinated vinyl polymers applied to a sawdust / wax log . added to color the flame . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 062 , 655 also discloses use of a pyrogenic colorant added to a sawdust / wax log . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 169 , 709 discloses the use of a metallic per chlorate to color the flame . while each of the prior disclosed compositions can be used to prepare artificial logs which perform substantially as expected , there is a need to produce these products from less expensive materials while at the same time using waste materials which to a great extent end up in land fill because they have very limited recyclability . the invention consists of the use of waxed cardboard or paper products with a petroleum wax binder / fuel , possibly blended with sawdust . the waxed cardboard material is of the type used for packaging food stuff , such as fruit and vegetables , the wax being a food grade wax , generally a paraffin wax . alternative materials include waxed cups , plates , wrapping paper and various other food contacting wax treated paper product s . the material , either alone or blended with sawdust , is heated to 100 - 190 ° f . to liquefy the paraffin wax for mixing with the added petroleum wax binder / fuel , or possibly blended at ambient temperature with the added petroleum wax binder / fuel at 205 - 210 ° f . in either case , the added petroleum wax binder / fuel is in the range of 10 - 70 % of the total binder / fuel in the product . in other words , the artificial log is formed from cellulose in the form of cardboard with the possible addition of sawdust , and a mixture of paraffin from the card board and additional petroleum wax ( binder / fuel ). the wax treated cardboard is a significant waste product in land fills as there are no major useful recycle products utilizing the waste cardboard . it is an object of this invention to produce a synthetic fireplace log utilizing waxed corrugated cardboard , the waxed cardboard being of the type where the cardboard boxes are treated or impregnated with a significant amount of food grade paraffin wax for shipping meats , vegetables , fruits , etc . in refrigerated trucks and cars . the presence of paraffin wax renders them unsuitable for conventional recycling , and often they end up in land fills . another object of the invention is to produce synthetic fireplace logs that are environmentally friendly by utilizing waxed corrugated cardboard that currently ends up in land fills because of unsuitability for conventional recycling . a further object and advantage of the invention is to reduce manufacturing cost by fully utilizing the paraffin wax already present in association with the cardboard , which results in lesser quantities of added binder / fuel materials such as petroleum waxes . none of the above noted prior patents use waxed corrugated cardboard as the cellulosic filler or extender . only two of the above cited references use cardboard , one impregnated with flammable materials for use as an igniter strip ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 043 , 765 ) and the other as a relatively non - flammable paperboard sheath to retain the flammable core material ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 539 , 011 ). the above objects are achieved in the preferred embodiment , by specially preparing and processing waxed cardboard along with a binder / fuel and possibly sawdust . in particular , a suitable composition contains 72 parts of corrugated cardboard treated with 10 - 40 % paraffin wax to 28 parts sawdust , and sufficient petroleum wax binder / fuel to bring the total wax content of the composition to about 40 % to 65 %. composition -- cardboard boxes treated with paraffin wax are often used for packing , storing and shipping vegetables , fruits , meats and other foodstuff . in refrigerated trucks and railroad cars . typical waxed cardboard boxes are treated with more than 10 % paraffin wax making those containers unsuitable for conventional recycling . preferred cartons contain about 30 % paraffin wax . suitable sources of waxed cardboard include box production quality control rejects , carton fabrication waste and trimmings as well as cardboard boxes discarded after the produce reaches its destination , such as the retailers , supermarkets , warehouses , restaurants , and other large scale users . because edible goods are packaged in these cartons , the paraffin wax used to treat the cardboard is generally of food grade , with a melting point of 120 ° f . or more . for the formation of artificial logs , cardboard material treated with paraffin waxes having a melting point range of 120 °- 160 ° f . are considered most suitable , since those paraffin waxes when combined with petroleum waxes , whether single or mixed , produce a blended wax which is not only suitable for binding the cardboard together , but also serves as an additional fuel in the formation of firelogs with desired burning properties . the fiber portion of the firelogs is primarily the waxed cardboard , mixed with varying proportions of wood fiber . waxed cardboard material containing 10 to 40 % paraffin wax can be used to produce a molded or extrudable mass which , when mixed with sawdust from a variety of species of woods in proportions varying from 1 % to 100 % of waxed cardboard material to 99 % to 0 % of wood fiber , possibly with a suitable added binder / fuel ; produces a suitable flammable , artificial log . however , a waxed cardboard to wood fiber ratio of 72 to 28 is preferred . sawdust from a variety of hardwoods ( such as oak ) or softwoods ( such as pine , incense - cedar , etc . ), could be used . however , sawdust containing no more than 50 % particles finer than or passing , through u . s . sieve # 70 is preferred . the preferred binding materials are petroleum waxes that are predominantly microcrystalline in nature having a congealing point ranging from 90 ° to 180 ° f . a suitable shapable mass ( prepared by extrusion , molding , compression or otherwise formed ) can be produced by controlling the amount of total binder / fuel ( including the paraffin wax present in the cardboard ) from 25 % to 75 %, while 58 % to 65 % total binder / fuel is preferred . processing conditions -- the waxed cardboard is processed into a particulate or granular form so that it can be effectively mixed with varying proportions of wood fiber in the form of sawdust and chips from different species of woods . the blend is then heated , either alone or along with the wood fiber , to a temperature at least 20 ° f . higher than the melting point of the paraffin wax associated with the cardboard so that the paraffin wax is readily flowable for blending in situ with the binder / fuel wax . various different appropriate industrial shredders , choppers , granulators , and other comminuting equipment are commercially available which are capable of suitable size reduction of the waxed cardboard . while shredded material resembling the output from a typical shredder is suitable ( about 1 / 16 inch to 1 / 2 inch in size ), the preferred final product ( granulated ) passes through a 4 - 5 mm or 1 / 4 inch screen resulting in a product having less than 10 % particles or fines , which pass through us sieve # 40 ( smaller than 425 microns ). this can be accomplished in one stage using industrial granulators equipped with appropriate screens to produce the desired size distribution . the total percentage of the smaller particles or &# 34 ; fines &# 34 ; smaller than 425 microns ( either alone or in combination with similar particles in the wood fiber ) determines the characteristics and composition of the binder / fuel which is added , and the hardness and performance characteristics of the final product . alternatively , the waxed cardboard can be processed in a hammer mill . this is also accomplished in two stages , viz ., initial shredding using an appropriate industrial shredder , followed by feeding into a conventional hammer mill , preferably simultaneously along with some sawdust to reduce wax buildup on the knives and the screen . the result is a pulverized material that is a little fluffier in character resembling cotton linter in texture . the waxed cardboard material processed as described above is then heated along with the wood fiber by tumbling in a steam jacketed mixer or a steam jacketed continuous mill . the mixing and blending can be in a batch mode or a continuous operation . preferably , the waxed cardboard and sawdust mixture is heated to a temperature well above ( at least more than 20 ° f .) the melting point of the paraffin wax in the cardboard before mixing it with additional binder / fuel material . after the waxed cardboard and sawdust mixture has reached the appropriate temperature , the additional binder / fuel is added and the blend is maintained at about 190 ° f . with mixing . an alternative procedure is to thoroughly mix the comminuted waxed cardboard and sawdust at ambient temperature and then add hot binder / fuel previously heated to about 205 ° f . to 210 ° f . after a period of thorough mixing , the material is allowed to cool to a temperature below 100 ° f ., with the selected temperature being determined by the nature of the components in the resulting mass , and the operating parameters of the subsequent processing technique ( extrusion , molding , compression etc .) used to form the synthetic logs . one approach for adding the binder / fuel is to spray the appropriate hot binder / fuel wax ( about 205 ° to 210 ° f .) on to the comminuted , granulated , shredded or pulverized waxed cardboard with or without added sawdust using a gear pump and a manifold with spray nozzles and then add the sawdust to the cardboard / wax mix . this results in a better mixture of the fiber and the binder / fuel . again , this could be accomplished in a batch mixer or a continuous mill . after a period of thorough mixing , the material can be further processed to form firelogs . the logs can be formed using typical techniques used to form or mold plastics or pulp paper products , such as papier mache . a preferred process is to extrude the composition into suitable shapes , such as cylindrical or similar shapes , and cut it into desired lengths . a second approach , to make product which has the rough , bark - like outer appearance of a log , possibly with stubs of cut - off branches is to extrude or pour the hot , comminuted cardboard / wax mixture into a mold having the desired shape and texture . a still further approach is to subject a partially solidified but formable mass to compression . alternatively , the forming techniques could be combined ( i . e ., extrude a cylinder and subject the cut , cylindrical shape to compression molding ). one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous different techniques can be used to form the hot or cold ( ambient temperature ) mixture into any desired shape . also the logs can be formed in either a batch or a continuous process . table 1 below lists various different combinations of materials and operating conditions which have been found to be suitable for producing synthetic logs with various different performance characteristics . referring to the table below , waxed cardboard ( wcb ) was comminuted to the form listed as wcb form , and the combination of wcb and sawdust ( sd ) was either pre - heated and blended with hot wax binder / fuel ( wb ), or the wcb and sd at ambient temperature was blended with hot wax binder / fuel . the temperature and time are set forth under blend . an indication of whether the processing is batch or continuous is set forth under process . any additional processing or materials added following immediately after the blend step are listed as additional steps . the composition of the final product and comments regarding the nature , appearance or performance of the artificial log formed is listed under comments . for example , in experiment 1 , which is a batch process , 72 parts of a waxed cardboard containing 28 % wax was granulated , blended with 28 parts of sawdust , pre - heated to 135 ° f . and mixed with 55 % of a petroleum binder / fuel wax at 190 ° f . ( the wcb and sd together constituting 45 %) for 3 - 10 minutes to achieve thorough mixing . the mix was then allowed to cool to about 85 ° f . and extruded into appropriate shape . the final product would weigh about 5 - lb ., and consisted of 64 % wax and 36 % fibrous material ( wax free cardboard and sawdust ) where approximately 67 % of the fiber was from the cardboard and 33 % was from the sawdust . the resultant product , upon combustion in a fireplace gave a suitable flame which lasted for about 3 hours . the other experiments disclose various different compositions and processing conditions to produce various different end products . table 1__________________________________________________________________________representative operating conditionsexperiment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8__________________________________________________________________________wcb + sd 45 % 100 % 53 % 49 % 41 % 45 % 45 % 60 % wcb , parts 50 % cardboard 71 % wax 29wcb form pulverized granulated granulated granulated granulated granulated granulated shreddedsawdust ( sd ) parts 50wax binder / fuel 40 % wax binder / fuel temp . 0 190 ° f . 190 ° f . 210 ° f . 190 ° f . wcb / sd temp . 135 ° f ° f . 135 ° f . blend heat ° f . -- 80 ° f . 180 ° f . time , min 3 - 10ous 3 - 10uous continuousprocess batch batch continuous batch batchus continuousadditional steps compresssion extrusion extrusion extrusion extrusion extrusion extrusionfinal prod . weight 3 lbfinal prod ., % cb fiber 25 % sawdust 25 % wax 50comments bruns for burns for burns up burns for burns for burns for burns for burns for 3 hrs 3 hrs . to 4 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 3 hrs 2 hrs__________________________________________________________________________ the foregoing is meant to illustrate , but not to limit , the scope of the invention . those of ordinary skill in the art can readily envision and produce further embodiments , based on the teachings herein , without undue experimentation . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its essential characteristics . the described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not as restrictive . for example , one skilled in the art will recognize that various additives can be blended with the mix to create logs of different appearances , other fibrous materials can be used in place of the sawdust and binder / fuel materials may be used with or in place of the petroleum wax binder / fuel . therefore , the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description . all changes which come within the meaning and range of the equivalence of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a solid state wristwatch constructed in accordance with the present invention with a wristwatch bracelet removed . as also viewed from fig2 a rear cover 11 is conventionally kept in physical and electrical contact with the body of the user when the solid state wristwatch is wound around the user &# 39 ; s wrist . generally , the rear cover is made of electrically conductive material such as metal and , therefore , serves as one electrode of a touch sensitive electrode assembly . a casing 12 and a frame 13 also are made of electrically conductive material and kept in physical and electrical contact with the rear cover 11 . a printed circuit board 14 of which the substrate may be ceramics or resin , carries at the upper surface thereof a digital display 15 constituted of light emitting diode array or liquid crystal module and at the lower surface thereof an integrated circuit 16 together with interconnections interposed therebetween . electrical connection is provided between the rear cover 11 and the integrated circuit 16 through the casing 12 , the frame 13 and electrically conductive leaves ( not shown ) deposited on the circuit board 14 . a front glass sheet 17 deposited above the digital display 15 , is made of electrically conductive glass material which manifests conductivity per se , for example , amorphous ( glass ) semiconductor material . by way of example , chalcogenide glass consisting of selenium ( se ), tellurium ( te ) and sulfur ( s ) is well known as amorphous ( glass ) semiconductor material pervious to visible light . electrical connection between the front glass sheet 17 and the integrated circuit 16 is accomplished via an elastic connector 18 of electrically conductive rubber and electrically conductive leaves ( not shown ) on the printed circuit board 14 . a ring - shaped insulator 19 of plastics provides electrical isolation between the casing 12 and the front glass sheet 17 . the glass sheet 17 is received within the casing 12 with aid of the insulator 19 . with such an arrangement , as illustrated in fig2 when the user contacts at least a portion of the front glass sheet 17 by his hand carrying no wristwatch , a circuit path will be established as depicted by the dotted line so that the resistance z of the user &# 39 ; s body is connected operatively between the front glass sheet 17 and the rear cover 11 . this results in that the resistance z is connected with the integrated circuit 16 within the wristwatch to render the touch sensitive switch operative for the purpose of altering operation states of the wristwatch . if the user &# 39 ; s hand is released , the current path will be opened to thereby place the touch sensitive switch into the non - operative state . detailed description of a touch sensitive switch utilizing circuit arrangement is fully illustrated and described in co - pending application ser . no . 575 , 731 entitled switching mechanism for electronic wristwatch , filed on may 8 , 1975 , by takehiko sasaki and hidetoshi maeda , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . since the front glass sheet 17 is made of electrically conductive glass material which manifests conductivity per se as discussed above , the touch sensitive electrode can be made on a large - scale production base without complexity of fabrication as experienced during the conventional touch switch fabrication . vacuum deposition is not required . in case of chalcogenide glass pervious to visible light , proper selection of glass material pervious to red light for gaasp led ( light emitting diode ) display wristwatches may enable the front glass sheet 17 to serve also as color filter . the resistivity required for the touch sensitive switch should be less than several hundred kω cm and the amorphous semiconductor material set forth above can fully satisfy that requirement . commercially available chalcogenide glass is &# 34 ; ovonic ( trademark )&# 34 ; manufactured by energy convention devices inc ., where the resistivity is selectable within a range from several kω cm to several hundred kω cm . in the meantime , there is a requirement for attaining the normal operation state of the touch sensitive switch that insulating resistance higher than 50 mω is intervened between the front glass sheet 17 and the rear cover 11 . the requirement may be fulfilled by constructing the insulating member 19 of plastics such as teflon and nylon . in the event that water drops are attached to the upper surface of the front glass sheet 17 , shunting between the front glass sheet 17 and the casing 12 will be prevented because of sufficient thickness of the insulating member 19 . in the case of teflon insulators , the water - repellent nature is expected . while only certain embodiments of the present invention have been described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed . | 6 |
fig1 is a block diagram showing an example system ( 1100 ) employing video watermarking with fast detection . an organization can utilize a video distribution and monitoring system ( 1100 ) to distribute a watermarked video and collect viewership information related to the video . the distribution system ( 1100 ) can include a multimedia server system ( 1105 ) and a watermarking server system ( 1110 ). the watermarking server system ( 1110 ) can utilize a shared network ( 1115 ) such as the internet to communicate with remote clients ( 1120 and 1125 ). other configurations of the distribution system ( 1100 ) are possible , including fewer and / or more of each individual element . in some implementations , the multimedia server system ( 1100 ) can contain a library of multimedia files including , but not limited to , video files for public distribution . the multimedia server system ( 1105 ) can communicate with the watermarking server system ( 1110 ). the watermarking server system ( 1110 ) can receive video files from the multimedia server system ( 1105 ) and can embed a watermark into the video file . in some implementations , the multimedia server system ( 1105 ) and the watermark server system ( 1110 ) can be the same system ( e . g ., a single server farm or a single server machine ). the watermark server system ( 1110 ) can communicate with remote clients over the shared network ( 1115 ). in some implementations , the shared network ( 1115 ) can include the internet , cellular telephone networks , and / or broadcast , cable , or satellite tv networks . in addition , the shared network ( 1115 ) can include non - electronic components , such as the united states postal service , through which videos , e . g ., on digital versatile discs ( dvds ), can be distributed . the remote clients ( 1120 and 1125 ) can be a desktop computer ( 1120 ) and a mobile phone ( 1125 ). other remote clients ( 1120 and 1125 ) can also include a television , or personal music player capable of displaying video . the remote clients ( 1120 and 1125 ) can obtain ( e . g ., request and receive ) videos from the watermarking server system ( 1110 ) or from other sources . when such videos are played , the remote clients ( 1120 and 1125 ) can verify that a watermark is in the video , and then engage in further processing based the discovery of the watermark . this can involve reporting the discovery of the watermark to the watermarking server system ( 1110 ), which can record statistics regarding the videos that are being displayed . in addition , the remote clients ( 1120 and 1125 ) can incorporate watermarks into videos that are created on the respective computers , and communicate information regarding such watermarks back to the watermarking server system ( 1110 ). thus , the watermarking server system ( 1110 ) can also record statistics regarding the playing of videos that are created using individual computers throughout the video distribution and monitoring system ( 1100 ). fig2 a is a flow chart showing an example process ( 2100 ) of adding a watermark to video data . a video can be received ( 2105 ) by a computer that can embed watermarks in video data . receiving ( 2105 ) a video can involve the creation of a video , the addition of a video to a video library , and / or preparing to release copies of a video . multiple watermarks can be generated ( 2110 ). in some implantations , these watermarks can be created based in part or in whole on the video data received . in some implementations , additional data can be encoded into these watermarks . for example , a bit stream can be encoded in changes in amplitude or frequency between different sinusoid watermarks . in some implementations , a number ( comparable to a barcode ) can be encoded into one or more watermarks . in other implementations , only a single bit of information need be encoded into a watermark , where the single bit simply indicates that the video at hand has been watermarked by a given system . one or more watermarks can be applied ( 2115 ) to one or more video frames . one watermark can be applied to each frame to be watermarked . the same watermark can be applied to more than one frame . more than one watermark can be applied to the same frame . all frames can have one or more watermarks applied , or some frames can have no watermark applied . for example , for an image of size r × c , a watermark pattern of c numbers can be used to form the base pattern , which can be duplicated on all r rows , typically after some modification . the base pattern can be weighted with an “ invisibility function ” that seeks to find places in the image being watermarked where the eye is less sensitive to the presence of the watermark . the watermark can be added with high amplitude in the places where it is calculated that the eye will be less sensitive , and can be added with low amplitude in places where the eye is more sensitive . note that there are many known techniques relating to how to form such an invisibility function from an image . once the video has been watermarked , the video can then be distributed ( 2120 ). in some implementations , video distribution can include the sale of a video or rights to publicly show the video . in some implementations , video distribution can include uploading of a video to an internet web page for public viewing . in some implementations , video distribution can include the renting of the video for private viewing . fig2 b is a block diagram showing an example process ( 2200 ) of adding a sinusoid watermark ( 2220 ) to a frame ( 2205 ) of a video . in some implementations , the frame ( 2205 ) can be separated into one or more scan lines ( 2210 ) corresponding to rows of data ( r 0 , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 ) in the image , which can be divided into columns ( c 0 , c 1 , c 2 , c 3 ). it should be noted that the scan lines ( 2210 ) are a stylized image and the size of the row - column blocks relative to the video image in the frame ( 2205 ) in the figure are for illustrations purposes only . the row and column blocks here represent the basic elements of the frame ( 2205 ), such as pixels . the scan lines ( 2210 ) can be treated as a two dimensional array ( 2215 ). a base pattern of c numbers can be created in light of various considerations , such as minimizing visibility , maximizing robustness to transcoding , and so on . for example , a number of simple sinusoids can be chosen as base patterns . such sinusoids can vary in frequency from twelve to eighteen cycles across the image , which can improve the ability of the watermarks to survive transcoding processes unaffected ( e . g ., without being swamped by large , blank areas of the image , such as blue sky , or being completely eliminated by the transcoding process itself ). note that such sinusoid watermarks can have improved survivability with respect to typical video compression techniques , such as mpeg ( moving pictures experts group ) compression since use of sinusoid watermarks can concentrate the energy in one frequency bin , which can force the compression algorithm to allocate bits to that particular bin , thereby causing the watermark to survive compression better than some other watermarks can . moreover , other frequencies are also possible , both in the present sinusoid examples , and other example watermarks . for example , the frequencies employed can run from ninety to one hundred and thirty cycles . in some implementations , each base pattern can consist of only one sinusoid at a time , and these sinusoids can be made orthogonal , since that can eliminate any interference between different patterns . thus , some implementations can employ fourteen different base patterns , at frequencies 12 , 13 , . . . 18 , plus the arithmetic negative of these , which are also detectable patterns . for implementations that provide increased allowance for cropping or uncertainty in the width of the image , the number of patterns employed can be limited to just three or even two patterns , such as 12 , 15 , and 18 cycles , or even just 12 and 18 cycles because close spatial frequencies can be confused . for implementations that tolerate extremes of cropping , the number can be limited to just one frequency and either detect its presence ( or that of its negative ) or absence . for implementations that minimize visibility of a watermark , 90 to 130 cycles can be employed . thus this technique can be tailored to a range of target systems depending on the exact level of robustness required by taking a tradeoff between the number of patterns and the robustness . the sinusoid watermark ( 2220 ) can be created and converted to a one dimensional array ( 2225 ) of weighted values ( w 0 , w 1 , w 2 , w 3 ). a watermark embedder ( 2230 ) can embed the one dimensional array ( 2225 ) into each row of the two dimensional array ( 2215 ). the watermark embedder ( 2230 ) can output a frame ( 2235 ) of video with the sinusoid watermark ( 2220 ) embedded . fig2 c is a block diagram showing an example video distribution system ( 2300 ) used to distribute a watermarked video ( 2305 ). the video ( 2305 ) can be examined by a watermark generator ( 2310 ). the watermark generator ( 2310 ) can create a sinusoid watermark ( 2320 ) using a sinusoid function generator ( 2315 ) and the video ( 2305 ) data . in some implementations , the number of cycles in the sinusoid watermark ( 2320 ) can be optimized for the expected use of the watermark . in some implementations , the sinusoid watermark ( 2320 ) can include a number of cycles ranging from twelve to eighteen . in some implementations , the sinusoid watermark ( 2320 ) can include only a single cycle . a watermark embedder ( 2340 ) can embed the sinusoid watermark ( 2320 ) into each scan line ( 2325 ) of the video ( 2305 ). the watermark embedder ( 2340 ) can use a gain factor ( 2335 ) and a perceptual weight ( 2330 ) to calculate a one dimensional data pattern for each scan line ( 2325 ). the perceptual weight ( 2330 ) can be calculated at each pixel in each scan line ( 2325 ) by a perceptual weighter ( 2365 ), which can take each video ( 2305 ) frame as input and produce perceptual weights ( 2330 ) as output that are in turn factored into the watermark ( 2320 ) before it is added to that frame &# 39 ; s image . thus , for an image i ( r , c ), the watermarked image i ′( r , c ) can be given by i ( r , c )+ g · p ( c )· w ( r , c ), where g is the gain factor ( 2335 ), p is the base watermark pattern , and w is the perceptual weight ( 2330 ), which can be computed from a model of the human visual system . some models suggest that human vision does not see blue light very well , thus w ( r , c ) can be determined based on the amount of blue in a pixel . moreover , more of the watermark can be embedded into the blue channel , as opposed to the red or green channels . some models also suggest that more information can be hidden in areas of higher spatial frequencies than in lower spatial frequencies , and thus higher frequencies can be selected as well . the video ( 2305 ) can be stored in a media storage ( 2345 ). the internet ( 2350 ) can provide a remote computer ( 2355 ) with access to the media storage ( 2345 ). in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 2300 ) can be computer software components such as programs , daemons , services , or data files . in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 2300 ) can be computer hardware components such as hard disks , network cables , applications - specific integrated circuits or general purpose microprocessors . moreover , the components in the system ( 2300 ) need not be separated as shown ; for example , the sinusoid function generator ( 2315 ) can be integrated into the watermark generator ( 2310 ). fig2 d is a block diagram showing an example video distribution system ( 2400 ) used to distribute a watermarked video ( 2405 ) that has associated metadata . in some implementations , the video ( 2405 ) can be requested . the video ( 2405 ) can have associated metadata stored in a video metadata database ( 2460 ). a watermark generator ( 2410 ) can create a barcode - type watermark ( 2420 ) using a barcode creator ( 2415 ). the barcode creator ( 2415 ) can associate the barcode - type watermark ( 2420 ) with an entry in the video metadata database ( 2460 ), and the metadata can be related to the video ( 2405 ). a watermark embedder ( 2440 ) can embed the barcode - type watermark ( 2420 ) into each scan line ( 2425 ) of the video ( 2405 ). the watermark embedder ( 2440 ) can use a gain factor ( 2435 ) and a perceptual weight ( 2430 ) to calculate a one dimensional data pattern for each scan line ( 2425 ). the perceptual weight ( 2430 ) can be calculated at each pixel in each scan line ( 2425 ) by a perceptual weighter ( 2365 ), such as described above . the video ( 2405 ) can be stored in a media storage ( 2445 ). the internet ( 2450 ) can provide a remote computer ( 2455 ) access to the media storage ( 2445 ). in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 2400 ) can be computer software components such as programs , daemons , services , or data files . in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 2400 ) can be computer hardware components such as hard disks , network cables , application - specific integrated circuits or general purpose microprocessors . moreover , the components in the system ( 2400 ) need not be separated as shown ; for example , the barcode creator ( 2415 ) can be integrated into the watermark generator ( 2410 ). fig3 a is a flow chart showing an example process ( 3100 ) of detecting a watermark in video data . in some implementations , a video can be received ( 3105 ) by a computer that can detect watermarks . in some implementations , in addition to receiving the video , the process ( 3100 ) can also involve displaying the video , adding the video to a video library , and testing the video to ensure that a watermark was correctly applied . a two dimensional array can be created ( 3110 ) from a frame of the video . in some implementations , this two dimensional array can contain the pixel value with the location of the pixel corresponding to the location of the pixel value . in some implementations , this two dimensional array can contain information related to brightness , tone , or other information from the video received . data in the two dimensional array can be combined ( 3115 ) into a one dimensional array . in some implementations , this combining can involve calculating the sum or average of values in a row or column , as well as other operations , such as shifting ( e . g ., shift the pattern by one column on each successive scan line ). in some implementations , this combining can involve multiple groups of random or periodic samples from the two dimensional array . in some implementations , this combining can involve the aggregation of multiple collections of data from the two dimensional array . moreover , sums along diagonals can be used as well . a determination ( 3120 ) can be made of the watermark &# 39 ; s presence or absence . in some implementations , this can include a distinct positive or negative determination . in some implementations , this can include a confidence rating indicating how likely or unlikely it has been determined that a watermark is present or absent . if a watermark is detected ( 3125 ), further processing ( 3130 ) can be performed on the video . in some implementations , this processing can include collecting metadata related to the video , updating a viewership database , and / or video editing . if a watermark was not detected ( 3125 ), further processing ( 3135 ) can be performed on the video , or not performed , depending on the implementation . it will be appreciated that in some implementations , further processing ( 3130 ) of a video found to have a watermark can be partially the same as further processing ( 3135 ) of a video found not to have a watermark . in some implementations , both sets of processing ( 3130 and 3135 ) operations can relate to viewership or ratings collection , matching metadata to a video , parental control schemes , displaying advertising information and / or machine control of a device that can display the video . fig3 b is a block diagram showing an example process ( 3200 ) of detecting a one dimensional watermark ( 3235 ) in a frame ( 3205 ) of a video . in some implementations , the frame ( 3205 ) can be separated by one or more scan lines ( 3210 ). the scan lines ( 3210 ) can be divided into rows and columns , such as described above in connection with fig2 b . the scan lines ( 3210 ) can be treated as a two dimensional array ( 3215 ). the two dimensional array ( 3215 ) can be combined into a one dimensional array ( 3220 ). the one dimensional array ( 3220 ) can be examined by a watermark detector ( 3225 ) using a matched filter ( 3230 ) to determine if the sinusoid watermark ( 3235 ) is present in the frame ( 3205 ). note that unlike a traditional two dimensional linear filter , the matched filter ( 3230 ) need not employ a number of multiply - add operations on the order of r × c × n to calculate the matched filter response for an entire image , where r is the number of rows in the image , c is the number of columns in the image , and n is the number of points in the impulse response of the matched filter . this is because the pattern of the present watermark is one dimensional , rather than two dimensional . thus , detection can be performed by first summing over all the columns to produce an array of c numbers , and then the amount of computation used to detect the watermark can be reduced to c ×( r + n ), which is typically much smaller than r × c × n . fig3 c is a block diagram showing an example video analysis system ( 3300 ) used to view a video ( 3305 ). in some implementations , the video ( 3305 ) can be examined to determine if it contains a sinusoid watermark ( 3325 ). a watermark detector ( 3310 ) can analyze the video ( 3305 ) using a matched filter ( 3315 ). in some implementations , the matched filter ( 3315 ) can include a fourier transformer or an element capable of performing a fourier transformation . note that employing a fourier transform to detect a sinusoid watermark can provide significant advantages when dealing with video image that have been cropped since the fourier transform can still identify the sinusoid even if the peak of the sinusoid isn &# 39 ; t in the expected place , without requiring a trial and error approach to watermark detection . moreover , the fourier transform can provide significant speed advantages in watermark detection . the presence of the sinusoid watermark ( 3325 ) can be detected by the watermark detector ( 3310 ). the watermark ( 3325 ) can be passed to a video playback system ( 3330 ). video playback system ( 3330 ) can record the watermark ( 3325 ) and communicate with a viewership data server ( 3340 ) over the internet ( 3335 ) to report viewership statistic information . in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 3300 ) can be computer software components such as programs , daemons , services , or data files . in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 3300 ) can be computer hardware components such as hard disks , network cables , applications - specific integrated circuits or general purpose microprocessors . moreover , the components in the system ( 3300 ) need not be separated as shown ; for example , the matched filter ( 3315 ) can be integrated into the watermark detector ( 3310 ), which can be integrated into the video playback system ( 3330 ). fig3 d is a block diagram showing an example video analysis system ( 3400 ) used to view a video ( 3405 ) that can have associated metadata . in some implementations , the video ( 3405 ) can be examined to determine if it contains a barcode - type watermark ( 3425 ). a watermark detector ( 3410 ) can analyze the video ( 3405 ) using a matched filter ( 3415 ). the presence of the barcode - type watermark ( 3425 ) can be detected by the watermark detector ( 3410 ). the barcode - type watermark ( 3425 ) can be passed to a video playback ( 3430 ) system . the video playback ( 3430 ) can perform further processing on video ( 3405 ). the video playback ( 3430 ) can communicate with a video metadata database ( 3440 ) over the internet ( 3435 ) and use the barcode - type watermark ( 3425 ) to look up any metadata associated with the video . the metadata can then be displayed with the video ( 3405 ) by the video playback ( 3430 ). in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 3400 ) can be computer software components such as programs , daemons , services , or data files . in some implementations , some or all of the components in the system ( 3400 ) can be computer hardware components such as hard disks , network cables , applications - specific integrated circuits or general purpose microprocessors . moreover , the components in the system ( 3400 ) need not be separated as shown ; for example , the matched filter ( 3415 ) can be integrated into the watermark detector ( 3410 ), which can be integrated into the video playback system ( 3430 ). fig4 is a list of video frames showing examples of different one dimensional data lines within each frame . a single frame of a video can be divided in multiple ways ( 4100 ) to identify one dimensional data lines for watermark encoding . in some implementations , horizontal data lines ( 4105 ) can be used to encode a watermark . in some implementations , vertical data lines ( 4110 ) can be used to encode a watermark . in some implementations , diagonal data lines ( 4115 ) can be used to encode a watermark . in some implementations , radial data lines ( 4120 ) can be used to encode a watermark . in some implementations , concentrically circular data lines ( 4125 ) can be used to encode a watermark . note that the radial data lines ( 4120 ) and concentrically circular data lines ( 4125 ) implementations can facilitate the use of these techniques with video data that may be rotated . moreover , more than one of these different types of data lines can be used within the same video , including within the same frame of the video . it should be noted that the data lines are one dimensional in that each encoding of a watermark is spread across only a single dimension within a video frame , rather than across the entire two dimensional surface of the video frame . this is true even if that single dimension is curved within the two dimensional space , as is the case with the concentrically circular data lines ( 4125 ). fig5 is a block diagram showing an example process ( 5100 ) of embedding and detecting a watermark in different scan lines of different frames in a video . a watermarking system can embed the same watermark on one dimensional data lines in different frames of a video ( 5115 ). thus , the same one dimensional watermark pattern can be applied to scan lines that span multiple frames . in some implementations , one or more bits of data ( 5105 ) can be used to create a sinusoid watermark ( 5110 ). the sinusoid watermark ( 5110 ) can be embedded into different one dimensional data lines of different frames of the video ( 5115 ). when examining different frames of the video ( 5115 ), a two dimensional array ( 5120 ) can be constructed using different one dimensional data lines of different frames of the video ( 5115 ). the two dimensional array ( 5120 ) can be combined into a one dimensional array ( 5125 ), which can be examined to determine if a watermark is present in the video . moreover , multiple different sinusoid watermarks ( 5110 ) can be applied to the video ( 5115 ) within a given frame , to different frames , or both . in some implementations , a watermark can be embedded into a portion of the video frame image . a video frame can be divided into quadrants or different regions , and each quadrant or region can have a different watermark applied therein . various tiles ( e . g ., hexagonal tiles ), or vertical , horizontal , and / or diagonal stripes can be used . moreover , in some implementations , the regions to be watermarked can be selected based on the image , including an analysis of what portions of the image constitute good places to hide the watermark ( s ), such as described in further detail above . embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or in computer software , firmware , or hardware , including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents , or in combinations of one or more of them . embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer program products , i . e ., one or more modules of computer program instructions tangibly encoded on a computer - readable medium for execution by , or to control the operation of , data processing apparatus . the computer - readable medium can be a machine - readable storage device , a machine - readable storage substrate , a memory device , or a combination of one or more of them . the term “ data processing apparatus ” encompasses all apparatus , devices , and machines for processing data , including by way of example a programmable processor , a computer , or multiple processors or computers . the apparatus can include , in addition to hardware , code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question , e . g ., code that constitutes processor firmware , a protocol stack , a database management system , an operating system , or a combination of one or more of them . a computer program ( also known as a program , software , software application , script , or code ) can be written in any form of programming language , including compiled or interpreted languages , and it can be deployed in any form , including as a stand - alone program or as a module , component , subroutine , or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment . a computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system . a program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data ( e . g ., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document ), in a single file dedicated to the program in question , or in multiple coordinated files ( e . g ., files that store one or more modules , sub - programs , or portions of code ). a computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network . the processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output . the processes and logic flows can also be performed by , and apparatus can also be implemented as , special purpose logic circuitry , e . g ., an fpga ( field programmable gate array ) or an asic ( application - specific integrated circuit ). processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include , by way of example , both general and special purpose microprocessors , and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory or a random access memory or both . the essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data . generally , a computer will also include , or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to , or both , one or more mass storage devices for storing data , e . g ., magnetic , magneto - optical disks , or optical disks . however , a computer need not have such devices . moreover , a computer can be embedded in another device , e . g ., a mobile telephone , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a mobile audio player , a global positioning system ( gps ) receiver , to name just a few . computer - readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , media and memory devices , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , e . g ., eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks , e . g ., internal hard disks or removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and cd - rom and dvd - rom disks . the processor and the memory can be supplemented by , or incorporated in , special purpose logic circuitry . to provide for interaction with a user , embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device , e . g ., a crt ( cathode ray tube ) or lcd ( liquid crystal display ) monitor , for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device , e . g ., a mouse or a trackball , by which the user can provide input to the computer . other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well ; for example , feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback , e . g ., visual feedback , auditory feedback , or tactile feedback ; and input from the user can be received in any form , including acoustic , speech , or tactile input . embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back - end component , e . g ., as a data server , or that includes a middleware component , e . g ., an application server , or that includes a front - end component , e . g ., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described in this specification , or any combination of one or more such back - end , middleware , or front - end components . the components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication , e . g ., a communication network . examples of communication networks include a local area network (“ lan ”) and a wide area network (“ wan ”), e . g ., the internet . the computing system can include clients and servers . a client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network . the relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client - server relationship to each other . while this specification contains many specifics , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention or of what may be claimed , but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of the invention . certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination . moreover , although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination , and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination . similarly , while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order , this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order , or that all illustrated operations be performed , to achieve desirable results . in certain circumstances , multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous . moreover , the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments , and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products . thus , particular embodiments of the invention have been described . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . for example , the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results . moreover , the systems and techniques described herein can be employed with still images rather than with video data . | 6 |
in accordance with the present invention , there is provided a novel electrolytic solution , which when used to electroplate rectifier metals , imparts a highly adherent , hard , smooth , uniform and corrosion resistant coating on the surface of the metal . the composition of the electrolytic solution varies somewhat depending on the desired coating on the rectifier metal . thus , for example , the composition of the electrolytic solution used to coat the metal with molybdenate - silicate coating differs somewhat from the composition of the electrolytic solution used to coat the metal with tungstenate - silicate coating . in either case , however , the electrolytic solution must be in the form of a colloidal complex in order to achieve the desired coating quality characteristics . the method of this invention can be employed to coat those metals which in the electrolytic bath used herein exhibit rectifying quality . the term &# 34 ; rectifier metal &# 34 ; therefore , denotes such metals which include aluminum , tantalum , magnesium and their alloys , and alloys of aluminum with zinc and copper , silicone , magnesium , and the like . in case of aluminum alloys , the aluminum predominates in the alloy , and hence , the term &# 34 ; aluminum &# 34 ; as used throughout this application is intended to denote not only aluminum but its alloys as well . regardless of the coating applied to the rectifier metal , the electrolytic solutions are generally prepared in the same manner . thus , for example , if the rectifier metal is to be coated with molybdenate - silicate coating , the electrolytic solution is prepared by mixing , at ambient temperature and pressure , an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution , molybdenum trioxide ( moo 3 ), hydrogen fluoride and a colloidal solution of alkali metal silicate . after mixing these ingredients , a precipitate or a gel is formed which is dissolved by the addition of an alkali metal hydroxide , preferably potassium hydroxide in an amount sufficient to clarify the precipitate , followed by dilution with water to obtain a 4 degree baume colloidal complex solution having a ph of about 11 . 8 . examples 1 - 3 below describe three different electrolytic solutions used for coating a rectifier metal with a molybdenate - silicate coating . ______________________________________ingredient amount______________________________________example 1h . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 * 50 ccmoo . sub . 3 1 ghf ( 1 : 20 ) 1 . 5 gk . sub . 2 sio . sub . 3 , 30 degree be 75 ccexample 2h . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 * 50 ccmoo . sub . 3 2 ghf ( 1 : 20 ) 1 gk . sub . 2 sio . sub . 3 , 30 degree be 80 ccexample 3h . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 * 50 ccmoo . sub . 3 1 . 5 ghf ( 1 : 20 ) 2 . 0 gk . sub . 2 sio . sub . 3 , 30 degree be 100 cc______________________________________ * used as 3 % aqueous solution in all three examples , a precipate was initially formed after mixing all the ingredients . this precipitate was dissolved by adding potassium hydroxide ( koh ) to clarify the precipitate , followed by dilution with water ( to about 650 cc ) thereby obtaining a 4 degrees baume complex colloidal solution having a ph of approximately 11 . 8 . examples 4 - 6 below illustrate the preparation of electrolytic solutions used for coating the rectifier metal with tungstenate - silicate . the method of preparation of these electrolytic solutions is basically similar to the method of examples 1 - 3 . it comprises initially mixing at ambient conditions , water , silicotungstic acid ( h 2 siw 12 o 40 : h 2 o ), potassium acetate ( ch 3 cook ), hydrogen fluoride , hydrogen peroxide , granulated potassium hydroxide and alkali metal silicate . after mixing these ingredients , a precipitate is formed which is clarified by the addition of potassium hydroxide , followed by dilution with water to obtain a 4 degree baume colloidal complex solution having a ph of approximately 11 . 8 . ______________________________________ingredient amount______________________________________example 4water 50 cch . sub . 2 siw . sub . 12 o . sub . 40 h . sub . 2 3 gch . sub . 3 cook 1 . 5 ghf ( 1 : 20 ) 1 . 5 gh . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 * 40 cckoh ( granulated ) 1 gk . sub . 2 sio . sub . 3 , 30 degrees be 50 ccexample 5water 50 cch . sub . 2 siw . sub . 12 o . sub . 40 h . sub . 2 2 gch . sub . 3 cook 2 ghf ( 1 : 20 ) 1 . 5 gh . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 * 40 cckoh ( granulated ) 1 . 5 gk . sub . 2 sio . sub . 3 , 30 degrees be 65 ccexample 6water 50 cch . sub . 2 siw . sub . 12 o . sub . 40 h . sub . 2 1 . 5 gch . sub . 3 cook 3 ghf ( 1 : 20 ) 2 gh . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 * 40 cckoh ( granulated ) 2 gk . sub . 2 sio . sub . 3 , 30 degrees be 80 cc______________________________________ * used as 3 % aqueous solution in examples 4 - 6 , a precipitate was formed after initial mixing of ingredients . this precipitate was clarified by the addition of a small quantity of koh , followed by dilution with water ( to about 650 cc ) thereby obtaining a 4 degree baume complex colloidal solution having a ph of approximately 11 . 8 . it is essential that the electrolytic solution contain a colloid in order to produce the desired coating . the addition of colloid promotes and increased voltage sparking between the electrodes during the electrode position process . the higher the voltage , the quicker the coating is formed and the thicker is the resulting coating . while potassium silicate is the colloid of choice other alkali metal silicates may also be used in lieu of , or together with the potassium silicate . these alkali metal silicates include sodium silicate , lithium silicate , and the like . it is also important in the practice of the invention to use the colloid in particulate form . generally , the average particle size of the silicate colloid may vary from about 30 to about 50 millimicrons , but is preferable about 30 millimicrons . this promotes sparking which is uniform over the entire anode and thus produces a smoother and more luminescent coating . if the size of the colloid particles substantially exceeds about 50 millimicrons , sparking on the anode becomes irregular and intense thus causing high reverse current which overheats the electrolytic bath and results in marked increase in the electric power consumption , hence increasing energy requirement and the cost of the operation . also , if desired another alkali metal acetate such as , for example , sodium acetate or lithium acetate may be used instead of potassium acetate . in accordance with the method of this invention , the rectifier metal is immersed in a vessel containing the electrolytic solution , and a second electrolytically - insoluble metal such as iron or nickel is also immersed in the vessel . thereafter a voltage is applied across the electrodes and this voltage is raised to about 240 - 260 volts within about 10 to about 60 seconds ( depending on the nature of the electrolytic bath ), during which the rectifier metal ( e . g ., aluminum ) is oxidized . during the oxidation phase , the current between the electrodes increases depending on the nature of the electrolytic bath . thereafter , the voltage is continuously raised to about 380 - 420 volts with visible sparking between the electrodes . during this phase of the electrolytic process , the current decreases and coagulation takes place upon the surface of the rectifier metal with the formation of a mixture of alkali metal molybdenate - alkali metal silicate , or alkali metal tungstenate - alkali metal silicate , as may be the case . low reverse current during this stage causes minimal heating of the electrolytic bath . due to the inclusion of the alkali metal silicate colloid in the electrolytic solution , intense fine sparking is produced across the anode which results in the formation of a hard , smooth , adherent and corrosion resistant coating on the anode . sparking usually continues for about 1 minute to about 20 minutes , preferably from about 7 to about 10 minutes , depending on the desired coating thickness . the advantages of the present invention will now be illustrated with reference to the drawing wherein voltage is shown as a function of current and time . the curve designated by the numeral 4 represents the energy ( in watts , i . e ., volts v . ampere ) consumed in coating aluminum with potassium molybdenate - potassium silicate in an electrolytic solution having the composition described in example 3 . the curve designated by the numeral 6 represents the energy consumption when coating aluminum with potassium tungstenate - potassium silicate preparation an electrolytic bath as in example 6 . the curve designated by the numeral 5 represents the energy consumption when aluminum is coated with vanadium oxide by the electrolytic process described in application ser . no . 459 , 552 , filed jan . 2 , 1990 , the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein by reference . the electrolytic process for obtaining the molybdenate - silicate coating and tungstenate - silicate coating ( curves 4 and 6 ) were essentially as hereinbefore described . as shown in the drawing , the energy consumption for the formation of molybdenate - silicate coating ( curve no . 4 , 72 watts ) is considerably lower than the energy consumption for the formation of vanadium oxide ( curve no . 5 , 137 watts ). even when the electrolytic process of this invention is used to form tungstenate - silicate , the energy consumption is lower ( curve no . 6 , 122 watts ) than for vanadium oxide coating ( curve no . 5 , 137 watts ). referring again to the drawing , the heavy line 3 corresponds to 250 volts , which is the approximate voltage limit of the oxidation stage of the process . as noted from this drawing , lower current is consumed and less time is required during the oxidation stage of molybdenate - silicate coating ( curve no . 4 ) than during oxidation stage of vanadium oxide coating ( curve no . 5 ) or during the oxidation stage of tungstenate - silicate coating . also , lower reverse current is required for moldenate - silicate coating ( curve no . 4 ) and tungstenate - silicate coating ( curve no . 6 ) than for vanadium oxide coating ( curve no . 5 ). line 3 also represents the sparking time in minutes as a function of the voltage during the sparking ( reduction - deposition ) operation . as seen from these curves and line 3 , the desired coating is usually formed within several minutes . thus , it can be seen that the novel electrolytic solutions used herein not only result in excellent protective coatings for aluminum but also provide for a more efficient and more economical process with less electrical energy consumption . aluminum and aluminum alloys coated with molybdenum silicate and tungsten silicate by the electrolytic method of this invention find widespread utility in such fields where anti - corrosivity is required . for example , they may be used as structural materials , for fabricating reaction vessels , fluid pipes and like handling corrosive materials and for numerous other parts and equipments . while the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularly , it must be understood that several obvious changes and modifications can be made both in the electrolytic bath as well as the coating method . such changes and modifications are nevertheless within the scope of the present invention . | 2 |
fig4 is a perspective view of an optical scanning oscillatory mems 50 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the device 50 includes a mirror 52 connected to a frame support 54 . hinges 56a , 56b interlock with the frame support 54 . a mirror lift support 58 is connected at the top of the frame support 54 . a mirror lift support slider 60 is connected to the base of the mirror lift support 58 . a mirror slider 62a is connected to the mirror 52 . a comb drive 64 is connected to the mirror slider 62a . the comb drive 64 forces the mirror slider 62a back and forth along the axis marked by arrow 66 . this , in turn , causes the mirror 52 to rotate front - to - back , as shown with arrow 68 . this front - to - back motion can be thought of as lifting the mirror 52 in and out of the plane defined by the mirror frame support 54 . a key distinguishing feature of the device 50 is that it operates in an oscillatory mode . that is , the device 50 is configured such that it regularly traverses through a predefined path . in certain embodiments of the invention , the oscillatory device 50 resonates . that is , the device 50 is configured such that it has a natural vibration frequency that coincides with an applied vibrational force from the comb drive 64 . the oscillatory and / or resonant operation of the device 50 allows the mirror 52 to rapidly move , thereby making it suitable for optical scanning operations . the oscillatory motion of the mirror 52 may be achieved by moving the entire mirror slider 62 . fig4 illustrates , in phantom , a mirror slider 62b that supports hinges 56a , 56b . as shown with arrow 66 , the entire mirror slider 62 may be moved by the comb drive 64 . the prior art has used relatively large mirror sliders such as 62b , however , such mirror sliders have not been used in an oscillatory mode . in a preferable embodiment , the mirror 52 is only attached to the mirror slider 62a and the hinges 56a , 56b are fixedly attached to a substrate . in such an embodiment , rotational movement of the mirror 52 is achieved through torsion bars 70 . the torsion bars 70 are a type of rotational shaft . observe that each hinge 56 secures a pin 57 of the mirror frame support 54 . the pins 57 also constitute a type of rotational shaft . fig5 a illustrates torsion bars 70 connected between a mirror 52 and mirror frame support segments 54 . in fig5 a , the mirror is in the horizontal plane defined by the mirror frame support 54 . in fig5 b , the mirror is twisted into a plane that is perpendicular to the horizontal plane defined by the mirror frame support 54 . region 72 of fig5 b illustrates how the torsion bars 70 support this twisting motion . fig6 is an enlarged view showing the twisting action of the torsion bar 70 . fig7 is a perspective view of an optical scanning resonant mems 80 constructed in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention . the device 80 includes a mirror 82 supported by a mirror frame support 84 . hinges 86 are used to attach the mirror frame support 84 to a substrate . a mirror lift support 88 is attached to the mirror frame support 84 . a mirror lift support slider 90 is attached to the mirror lift support 88 . a mirror slider 92 is attached to the mirror 82 . a comb drive ( not shown ) pushes or pulls the mirror 82 , allowing it to rotate on torsion bars 94 . the resultant motion is illustrated with arrows 96 . the mirror 82 moves in and out of the plane defined by the mirror frame support 84 . in particular , the left and right sides of the mirror 82 move in and out of the plane defined by the mirror frame support 84 . this embodiment is in contrast to the embodiment of fig4 where the top and bottom of the mirror 52 move in and out of the plane defined by the mirror frame support 54 . the embodiment of fig7 can be used for x - axis scanning , while the embodiment of fig4 can be used for y - axis scanning . in one embodiment , the mirror 52 of fig4 is implemented as a 200 by 250 micro - meter device . the electrostatic comb drive for the system is implemented with 100 interdigitated fingers for both the rotor and the stator on the two sides , with lateral dimensions totaling 1 mm . the comb drive motor may be attached to the mirror slider 62 through a pair of restoring springs . in one embodiment , the folded restoring springs are trusses composed of four 300 micron long beams , each having a 4 micron square cross - section . the maximum excursion of the rotor comb from its rest position is determined by the length of the comb fingers which , in this design , is limited to 20 micro - meters . at 150 micro - meters away from the mirror shaft , this 20 micro - meter displacement results in a 7 . 6 degree rotation of the mirror . in other words , the maximum scan angle of this resonant structure is approximately 15 degrees ( 30 degree optical ) if driven on resonance with a sufficiently large ac voltage applied to an input node 65 of the comb drive 64 . this scan angle compares well with typical performance characteristics obtained in macroscopic resonant scanners . fig8 - 19 illustrate the processing sequence used to fabricate an optical scanning oscillatory mems . on top of the polysilicon ground plane which was common to the electrostatic combdrives , three layers of structural polysilicon ( each 2 micrometers thick ) were laid down to construct the scanning micromirrors . low - pressure chemical - vapor deposition ( lpcvd ) of phosphosilicate glass ( psg ) was used as the sacrificial material separating the different polysilicon layers . the psg was also used as the hard mask for the structural polysilicon layers when they were etched in chlorine - based plasma for pattern definition . the silicon substrate was first passivated by successive layers of lpcvd thermal silicon dioxide and silicon nitride . a 0 . 5 micrometer - thick film of in situ phosphorous - doped lpcvd polysilicon was then deposited and patterned to form the ground plane for the electrostatic comb motor . fig8 illustrates a polysilicon ground plane 100 on a si 3 n 4 base 102 . fig9 taken along the line 9 -- 9 of fig8 illustrates the polysilicon ground plane 100 , the si 3 n 4 base 102 , an sio 2 104 layer , and a silicon substrate 106 . a thick ( 2 micrometer ) layer of sacrificial lpcvd psg was then deposited . indentations were wet - etched with 5 : 1 hydrofluoric acid ( hf ) on the psg surface to create dimples in the subsequent polysilicon layer . the dimples reduce the surface - contact area and , therefore , the &# 34 ; stiction &# 34 ; between the two surfaces . openings were also etched in the psg by a fluorine - based ( cf4 ) plasma so that the next polysilicon layer can be anchored to the substrate or to the polysilicon ground plane . the first structural polysilicon layer was then deposited and patterned to form the combdrives , back supports , sliders and the bottom plate of the hinge structures . fig9 illustrates a polysilicon region 108 forming the movable comb and a polysilicon region 110 forming the stationary comb . the corresponding cross - sectional view of this structure is shown in fig1 . another layer of sacrificial psg was deposited , and again openings were dry etched to make the anchors of the guides out of the second structural polysilicon layer . a pin structure was also formed in this polysilicon layer . fig1 illustrates a pin structure 112 formed from the second structural polysilicon layer . fig1 is a corresponding cross - sectional view . fig1 illustrates openings 114 that are subsequently used to form staple posts . fig1 is a corresponding cross - sectional view . the final structural polysilicon layer was deposited on top of the third sacrificial psg layer , and the body of the mirror and the staples of the pins for the hinge structures were formed in it . fig1 illustrates a staple structure 116 and mirror 118 formed from the final structural polysilicon layer . fig1 is a corresponding cross - sectional view . the last step was etching through - holes in the larger polysilicon areas to reduce the final wet - etching time in concentrated hf used to release the mechanical parts . once the sacrificial psg was removed , the released polysilicon layers can be removed and the structures assembled . fig1 and 19 illustrate the released mirror 118 . increasingly thicker ( up to 7 micrometers ) layers of photoresist were used to accommodate the large topographical step heights . as a result , polysilicon &# 34 ; stringers &# 34 ; can form around the polysilicon structures . over etching of the polysilicon layers alleviates the stringer problem . if stringers remain after the fabrication is completed , a timed etch in 10 : 1 hf to dissolve the psg that holds the stringers can be used to remove them before the final release step . it is possible to simplify the fabrication process using only three layers ( two structural layers ) of polysilicon with alternative hinge designs . the pin - and - staple microhinges have been replaced by torsion bars serving as the rotation shaft and by cross - weaving polysilicon stripes for the connecting and assembly hinges . using torsion or flexing hinges also reduces the errors introduced from the bearing friction in the pin and staple configuration . the dynamic response of the optical scanning oscillatory mems of the invention has been characterized using an interferometric apparatus 130 as depicted in fig2 . a laser beam from a single - mode 1 . 3 micro - meter dfb laser diode 132 is coupled into a single - mode fiber 136 with a 3 db coupler 138 that splits the beam between two output ports . the optical scanning oscillatory mems 50 is placed in front of one of the outputs , so that the top part of the mirror 52 and the fiber end - facet forms a fabry - perot interferometer . the other output of the splitter is used to monitor the laser power level via diode 140 . light reflected from the etalon and coupled back into the fiber is detected by a photodiode 142 . varying - frequency sinusoidal voltage waveforms ( 20v in amplitude ) are applied to the comb drive 64 . a typical interference pattern is shown in fig2 . recorded when a 1 . 5 khz ac voltage is applied to the comb motor ( i . e . when the micromirror is resonating at 3 khz ), the trace in fig2 shows that the tip of the scanning micromirror sweeps across more than 23 cycles of constructive and destructive interference . with the laser wavelength of 1 . 3 micro - meters , this corresponds to approximately 15 micro - meters of displacement for the top end of the mirror 52 . in other words , when the electrostaticcomb motor 64 is ac - driven on resonance with a sinusoidal voltage of 20 v in amplitude , the mirror 52 can deflect the laser beam by almost 12 ° in angle . plotted in fig2 is the large - signal frequency response of the optical scanning oscillatory mems 50 . resonating at 3 khz with a system q - factor of 2 . 8 , the device has a maximum - optical - scan angle measured to be 28 °. the dotted curve shows the theoretical model of a forced - damped - oscillation with a damping force proportional to the linear velocity of the moving parts in the mechanical system . the hump around 1 . 5 khz in the measured curve is due to the second harmonic of the ac voltage ( a dc bias voltage is applied in addition to the ac voltage ). to demonstrate barcode scanning using the optical scanning resonant mems 50 , the apparatus of fig2 was constructed . the apparatus includes a laser 150 , objective lens 152 , an optical scanning oscillatory mems 50 , a barcode object 154 , a photodetector with a collecting lens 156 , and a signal processing device 158 . elements 150 , 152 , 50 , and 156 are fabricated on a silicon substrate 157 . the signal processing device 158 may also be implemented in the silicon substrate 157 . the signal processing device 158 may also be implemented as a microprocessor and related software . regardless of the implementation , the following signal processing operations are performed . for simplicity , the post - objective scanning scheme is adopted so that no ƒθ - filled - flattening lens is needed . the distortion introduced by mapping a nonplanar image plane to a flat image surface ( the barcode ) is not a concern as long as the depth - of - field of the optical system is sufficiently long such that the spot size at the barcode is always small enough to resolve the thinnest bars . the scanning speed of the resonant scanner 50 varies in a sinusoidal fashion . consequently , the detected signal as a function of time does not correspond to the bar widths and spacings in a straight - forward manner . however , the lack of correspondence can be compensated by considering the following . where θ is the scanner ( mirror ) angle , θ s is the maximum excursion angle , and ω is the angular resonance frequency . it follows that : when a laser beam is reflected off the surface of the scanning mirror , the linear displacement x in the image plane is : where s is the distance from the scanner mirror to the image plane ( a constant for a flat image plane ). therefore , substituting equation ( 1 ) into ( 3 ) gives the relation between the linear displacement with time which can be used to translate the detected time signal into a spacial equivalent . alternately , the combination of equations ( 2 ) and ( 4 ) relates the angular velocity of the scanner to the linear scan rate of the laser beam . fig2 illustrates a barcode object 154 that is processed using the apparatus of fig2 . a 1 . 5 mw red he -- ne laser is used as the laser 150 . the backscattered light from the barcode is received by the photodetector / collecting lens 156 . fig2 shows the recorded signal and the reconstructed black - and - white pattern corresponding to the scanned barcode symbol , as generated by the signal processing device 158 . the single - mirror scanners of fig4 and 7 can be combined to form a more complicated system as shown in fig2 . a first optical scanning oscillatory mems 176 is used to scan in - plane ( x - axis ) while a second optical scanning oscillatory mems 178 is used to scan out - of - plane ( y - axis ). a light source ( a laser diode or a led ) 172 and microlenses 174 are integrated on a silicon substrate 179 . the reflected light is deflected by a stationary mirror 177 to a projection device 180 . the apparatus of fig2 can be used either as a studio projector or for direct viewing such as those used in headsets . the two - mirror , two - axis raster scanner of fig2 finds a wide range of applications also in areas such as communications , medicine , and entertainment , to name a few . returning to fig2 , shown , in phantom , is a vacuum package 190 for the optical scanning oscillatory mems 50 . the vacuum package alleviates the adverse effect from the atmospheric air , such as the effect of air turbulence on mirror deformation and damping , the erosion of the mirror surface , and the vibrational and temperature instability of the resonance response . moreover , lowering air - pressure increases significantly the q - factor for those systems in which air drag is the main source of damping . this leads to an even higher mechanical performance ( e . g ., larger scan angle with the same driving voltage ) and potentially better reliability for the oscillatory microscanner system . vacuum packaging is very difficult and costly in macroscopic systems . the unique silicon microhinge technology allows the creation of high - aspect - ratio optical surfaces with dimensions in the hundreds of micro - meters , essential for higher image / spot resolution , while taking advantage of the planar integrated - circuit processing technology . note that the optical axes of the optical devices , e . g ., the micromirrors and the microlenses , are fabricated perpendicular to the silicon substrate ( after assembly , the optical axes of the system are parallel to the silicon substrate ). the advantages of this are legion . for example , it enables the full integration of the laser diode and the other micromechanical devices on the same silicon chip , such that packaging is much easier . thus , no investments in expensive equipment and no special processes are required . instead , standard silicon integrated - circuit processing facilities may be exploited . the invention has been described in reference to specific examples . obvious improvements upon the examples may be made . for example , by simply moving the rotational axis of the micromirror closer to its bottom , a larger scan - angle can be obtained while the rest of the scanner structure remains unchanged . the scan - angle can also be improved by lengthening the comb fingers , which increases the range of the rotor excursion . the foregoing description , for purposes of explanation , used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention . in other instances , well known circuits and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessary distraction from the underlying invention . thus , the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed , obviously many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
one possible button assignment that depends on the respective operating state of the safety cabinet 1 is schematically illustrated in fig2 . the respective operating state is underlined . the function controlled by actuating the rocker button 7 is indicated in the respective blocks . the actuation of the rocker button 7 is symbolized by the boxes containing a “+.” the safety cabinet 1 initially is switched off . the lights and the ventilation are not running , the ( not - shown ) power outlets of the safety cabinet 1 are not connected to the power supply , and the alarm monitoring is deactivated . the display 8 either displays no message at all or “ off ,” the time of day or a similar messages for informing the operator that the safety cabinet is not operative . when the rocker button 7 is actuated for an extended period of time (“ time code ”), the safety cabinet is initially switched on . once the safety cabinet is switched on , the button assignment is changed such that the ventilation can now be switched on . in the “ ventilation on ” mode , the lights are switched on when the rocker button 7 is actuated . once the safety cabinet is in this mode , the power outlets can be connected to the supply voltage by actuating the rocker button 7 . the safety cabinet 1 is now in the normal operating state . if a rocker button with a ( not - shown ) two - way rocker is used , the same switching sequence may be realized , wherein the upper and the lower button trigger the same function . however , it would also be conceivable to assign the upper button in such a way that , for example , when the operating menu point is reached it is skipped . however , such a skip is only possible if the function to be controlled is not essential for the safe operation of the safety cabinet 1 — such as the connection of the power outlets to the supply voltage . in the normal operating mode of the safety cabinet 1 , the rocker button 7 serves for displacing the front window 6 upward and downward . when using the one - way rocker shown , the movement of the front window may be controlled in such a way that the window either moves upward or downward depending on its instantaneous position . for example , if the front window is in a largely opened state , it is preferably displaced downward first . once the window has arrived in the closed position , the moving direction is reversed such that the window is displaced upward . however , it would also be conceivable to always displace the front window either upward or downward at the beginning . a change in the moving direction is initiated when the “ extreme positions are reached .” the button assignment may be programmed in such a way that the window is either displaced until the rocker button is pressed anew or the window is only displaced as long as the button is pressed . if a defect is detected during the operation of the safety cabinet , the control unit also outputs an alarm message ( for example , in the form of a displayed message and / or an acoustical alarm ), and the operating state of the safety cabinet 1 changes . the safety cabinet 1 is now in a defective state . this means that the button assignment also changes . it is now no longer possible to move the front window 6 with the rocker button 7 . the defect message or the alarm initially needs to be acknowledged by actuating the rocker button before the safety cabinet 1 returns into the normal operating state . this also causes the button assignment to change back to “ front window up / down .” the safety cabinet can also be changed over from the normal operating state into the state “ device off ” by actuating the rocker button 7 . this can be realized in different ways depending on the type of control of the front window by the rocker button 7 . for example , if the front window 6 is displaced by briefly pressing the rocker button and stopped by pressing the rocker button anew , the function “ device off ” can be differentiated from the command “ front window up / down ” based on the duration over which the button is pressed . an extended actuation of the rocker button 7 ( time code ) causes the safety cabinet 1 to be switched off . fig3 shows a different switching scheme , in which a rocker button with a ( not - shown ) two - way rocker is used . the two - way rocker can be switched in two directions , namely upward ( symbolized by “+”) or downward (“−” in the boxes ). if a box contains the symbol “+/−,” this indicates that the upper and the lower button have the same assignment , i . e ., that the same function is triggered by pressing the upper or the lower button . otherwise , the reference symbols have the same meaning as described above with reference to fig2 . in contrast to the switching scheme according to fig2 , an actuation of the rocker button 7 triggers several processes when the safety cabinet 1 is switched off . the safety cabinet is switched on , the ventilation and the lights are switched on , and the power outlets are connected to the supply voltage . this means that the safety cabinet 1 is changed over into the normal operating state by actuating the rocker button 7 only once . this simplified activation may also be realized with rocker buttons that have a one - way rocker . as in the previously described instance , the rocker button 7 controls the height adjustment of the front window 6 in this normal operating state . in this state , the upper and the lower button of the rocker button 7 have a different assignment . the actuation of the upper button causes the front window to be displaced upward while the lower rocker button serves for displacing the window downward . the movement of the front window continues as long as the corresponding button is pressed . the different button assignments can be displayed to the user on the display element 8 . in addition , other device parameters or information may be displayed , for example , the position of the front window , the adjustment of the ventilation or the like . defects are handled in the same fashion as described above with reference to fig2 . the safety cabinet 1 can be switched off with either the upper or the lower button of the rocker button 7 . the safety cabinet can only be switched off when the front window 6 is either completely closed or completely opened . the safety cabinet is switched off if the operator continues to actuate the rocker button after the front window has been displaced into a completely opened or completely closed position . when using a two - way rocker , the lower button is , for example , pressed downward until the front window is completely closed . if the operator continues to press the button , the safety cabinet is ultimately switched off . an unintentional deactivation the safety cabinet is reliably prevented due to the time code programming , according to which the rocker button needs to remain pressed for an extended period of time in order to switch off the safety cabinet . | 8 |
reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention ( s ), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below . while the invention ( s ) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments , it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention ( s ) to those exemplary embodiments . on the contrary , the invention ( s ) is / are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments , but also various alternatives , modifications , equivalents and other embodiments , which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . fig1 is an exploded perspective view showing a damper pulley according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , a damper pulley according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a hub part 10 and a pulley part 20 . in this specification , the combination and contact of the hub part 10 and the pulley part 20 are described and the basic configurations of the hub part 10 and the pulley part 20 of the damper pulley are illustrated in the figures . the hub part 10 has a pulley contact surface 12 and pulley coupling portions 15 . the pulley contact surface 12 is the side that is brought in contact with the pulley part 20 . the shape of the pulley contact surface 12 is the shape of a circular or a substantially circular disc fitting to or in accord with the shape of the hub part 10 . further , the pulley contact surface 12 is formed in the shape of a hollow disc so that the constituent elements of the hub part 10 are disposed radially inside . the pulley contact surface 12 is a side of the wing , which radially extends , of an outer ring 14 of the hub part 10 . examples of the outer ring 14 of the hub part 10 and the wing of the outer ring 14 are illustrated in the figures . the pulley coupling portions 15 may be grooves recessed radially inward from the outer circumference of the pulley contact surface 12 . that is , they are recessed from the outer circumference of the wing of the outer ring 14 . further , a plurality of pulley coupling portions 15 is formed around the pulley contact surface 12 . the pulley coupling portions 15 may be arranged with regular intervals along the circumference of the hub part 10 and the pulley contact surface 12 . the hub part 10 and the pulley part 20 are combined by securing the coupling members 30 to the pulley part 20 through the pulley coupling portions 15 ( see fig2 a and 2b ). although the pulley coupling portions 15 are formed in the shape of a groove recessed from the outer circumference of the pulley contact surface 12 , they are not limited thereto and may be formed in the shape of a circular or substantially circular hole through which the coupling members 30 are inserted . for example , the coupling members 30 may be bolts or rivets . the pulley part 20 has a hub contact surface 22 , hub coupling portions 25 , and coupling grooves 27 . the hub contact surface 22 is a side that is brought in contact with the pulley contact surface 12 of the hub part 10 . further , the hub contact surface 22 is formed in the shape of a hollow circle or a substantially hollow circle fitting to or in accord with the shape of the pulley part 20 . that is , the hub contact surface 22 is a side of the pulley part 20 formed in the shape of a hollow cylinder . the hub coupling portions 25 are coupled to the pulley coupling portions 15 . further , the hub coupling portions 25 protrude from the hub contact surface 22 . a plurality of hub coupling portions 25 may be formed around the hub contact surface 22 . the hub coupling portions 25 may be formed with regular intervals , corresponding to the positions of the pulley coupling portions 15 and the pulley coupling portions 15 are formed at least as many as the hub coupling portions 25 . the coupling grooves 27 are recessed in the axial direction of the pulley part 20 from the hub coupling portions 25 . the hub part 10 and the pulley part 20 are combined by securing the coupling members 30 into the coupling grooves 27 through the pulley coupling portions 15 ( see fig2 a and 2b ). fig2 a is a perspective view showing an assembled damper pulley according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . fig2 b is a partially enlarged view of fig2 a . as shown in fig2 a and 2b , when the coupling member 30 is inserted into the coupling groove 27 through the pulley coupling portion 15 of the outer ring 14 , a washer 17 is disposed between the pulley contact surface 12 and the hub contact surface 22 . that is , the washer 17 is disposed between the pulley coupling portion 15 and the hub coupling portion 25 . the washer 17 is made of an insulator . for example , the washer 17 may be made of plastic or rubber . further , the washer 17 may be formed in the shape of a ring so that the coupling member 30 passes through it . since the plastic washers 17 are disposed between the pulley coupling portions 15 and the hub coupling portions 25 , direct contact between the coupling portions 25 of the pulley part 20 and the coupling members 30 is prevented . further , direct contact between the hub coupling portions 25 of the pulley part 20 and the outer ring 14 is prevented . accordingly , corrosion of the pulley part 20 , the coupling members 30 , and the outer ring 14 due to the potential difference between the pulley part 20 made of an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy and the coupling members 30 and the outer ring 14 that are made of steel can be prevented . the washers 17 between the pulley coupling portions 15 and the hub coupling portions 25 are pressed by securing the coupling members 30 , such that liquid that corrodes metal is prevented from flowing into the coupling grooves 27 by the close - contact force due to elastic deformation of the washers 17 . fig3 is an exploded perspective view showing a damper pulley according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig3 , the damper pulley according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention further includes a molding in comparison to the damper pulley according to the previous exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the molding 19 is made of an insulator . for example , the molding 19 may be made of rubber . the molding 19 is coated or overlaid on the pulley contact surface 12 . the molding 19 may extend to cover the pulley contact surface 12 from a damper rubber 18 disposed between the outer ring 14 of the hub part 10 and the inner ring 11 inside the outer ring 14 . examples of the outer ring 14 , inner ring 11 , and the damper rubber 18 of the hub part 10 are illustrated in the figures . pulley coupling portions 15 formed in the shape of a circular hole or a substantially a circular hole , as described above , are shown in fig3 . fig4 is a perspective view showing a pulley part according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig4 , the hub coupling portions 25 protrude at a predetermined level from the hub contact surface 22 . protruding the hub coupling portions 25 from the hub contact surface 22 is for prevent liquid that corrodes metal from flowing into the coupling grooves 27 . fig5 is a cross - sectional view showing the assembled damper pulley according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig5 , when the hub part 10 and the pulley part 20 are combined , direct contact between the pulley part 20 made of an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy and the coupling members 30 and the outer ring 14 that are made of steel is prevented by the molding 19 coated on the pulley contact surface 12 . accordingly , corrosion of the pulley part 20 , the coupling members 30 , and the outer ring 14 due to the potential difference between the pulley part 20 and the coupling members 30 or the pulley part 20 and the outer ring 14 can be prevented . since the molding 19 is provided in this exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the washers 17 may not be provided , as compared with the previous exemplary embodiment of the present invention . further , in various embodiments of the present invention , since corrosion due to the potential difference between the pulley part 20 , the coupling members 30 , and the outer ring 14 is prevented , the pulley part 20 made of an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy can be used without difficulty . when the pulley part 20 is made of an aluminum alloy or a magnesium alloy , the entire weight of the damper pulley reduces as compared with when the pulley part 20 is made of steel . as described above , according to various embodiments of the present invention , since the washer 17 are disposed to prevent one side of the hub part 10 and the coupling members 30 from coming in direct contact with the pulley part 20 , corrosion due to a potential difference can be prevented . further , since the side of the hub part 10 that may come in direct contact with the pulley part 20 is coated , corrosion due to a potential difference can be prevented . for convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims , the terms “ inner ” or “ outer ”, and etc . are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures . the foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings . the exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention , as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents . | 5 |
the present disclosure relates to an image processing system and method that may allow notably computationally intensive video processing , that cannot run in real - time , to be performed online , upon demand and during a given amount of time on a frozen set of images taken from a video stream acquired in real time by an acquisition device . in a basic , not frozen , mode of operation , a video acquisition device acts as an input for the system . real - time video processing may be performed and the data can be displayed and recorded . in the meantime , the data is queued in a buffer which may be a first in first out ( fifo ) finite buffer . upon activation of a freeze command , data coming from the video acquisition device may continue in the potential real - time video processing , recording and display pipeline but may not be queued in the fifo buffer anymore . namely , the fifo buffer is frozen . in the meantime , the computationally intensive algorithm of interest may start working on the frozen buffer and may continue until the freeze command is deactivated . computationally intensive algorithm are generally incremental algorithm and are processed in several steps , each steps giving intermediate results . for example , incremental algorithm may be iterative meaning that after some initialization , an intermediate result is enhanced at each iteration . each time such an enhanced processing intermediate result becomes available , the proposed system may display the result and record it . in general , it is not possible to predict which intermediate result of the incremental algorithm might be considered as good enough to stop the processing . therefore , each intermediate result has to be evaluated based on at least one of a quantitative criteria , a subjective criteria and a human criteria in order to know if the processing has to be carried on . specific embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures . fig1 illustrates several steps of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . once the video acquisition device has started ( step 100 ), the video processing system receives an image stream from the video acquisition device ( step 110 ). the image stream may be processed in real - time in step 120 . both the original data and the real - time processed one may be displayed ( step 121 ) and stored ( step 122 ). a freeze test is then performed ( step 130 ). if the system is not in frozen mode ( arrow n ), the images are loaded into a buffer ( step 140 ). if the system is turned to freeze mode ( arrow y ), new images do not enter the buffer anymore and the computationally intensive algorithm of interest starts processing the set of buffered images ( step 150 ). computationally intensive algorithms may work in an incremental manner and provide intermediate results at each completion of a step . at each completion of a step in the algorithm , the system may check whether it is still in freeze mode or not . if the system is still in freeze mode , a new processing step may be launched , otherwise the algorithm is stopped and the images loading into the buffer is resumed ( step 140 ). in both cases , intermediate results of the algorithm may also be displayed ( step 151 ) and / or stored ( step 152 ). the display may be done on a motion picture display and the like . several such devices may be used to display the different video streams . the different streams might also be combined onto a single display device . simple juxtaposition or advanced image fusion techniques might be used . the storage and the fifo buffer may be located on a local or remote disk storage , a memory device and the like . when the system is in the default not - frozen mode , the original or real - time processed images are queued in a bounded fifo buffer . if the fifo buffer is not yet at full capacity , the new images are simply appended to the fifo buffer . if the fifo buffer is already full , the new images will replace the oldest one . the actual capacity bound of the fifo buffer may be chosen by the user or by the system or may simply be defined by hardware constraints . in an embodiment , a user monitors the original or real - time processed image stream displayed on a display device . when said user sees an interesting scene and decides that an image processing should be run , he may for example press a button that may for example be located on the acquisition device , triggering the freeze mode . going back to the default not frozen mode might be triggered for example by releasing the button , pushing another button , automatically after a given amount of time and the like . freeze mode might also be automatically or semi - automatically activated or deactivated based on a decision made by another processing algorithm . such algorithm may be for example a motion detection algorithm as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 901 , 143 and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 270 , 810 . these algorithms may be coupled in order to activate the freeze mode when a motion on an image stream goes from smooth to erratic . a computationally intensive algorithm simply aims at extracting useful information from a frozen images set buffer . thanks to a continuing increase in the available practical computing power , the complexity of algorithms available for image processing tasks has become higher . advanced processing is now possible in real - time or with some latency . despite these advances , there will always be a gap between the actual available computing power and the computing power required to run some interesting cutting - edge processing algorithms on the fly . because of hardware constraints , extracting an interesting information from a set of images may not always be completed within the time that separates two frames coming from an acquisition device . in an embodiment some scenarios , being able to run a cutting - edge computationally - intensive processing algorithm during video acquisition may allow the development of new applications . users are interested in the possibility of using selectively such a cutting - edge algorithm that may not be run in real - time nor in lagged - time . because of hardware constraints , the time required to automatically extract the information of interest from the set of images in the buffer could not be completed in the time that separates two frames coming from the acquisition device . in an embodiment , a computationally intensive algorithm may use a frozen set of image to produce a new enhanced image or a new enhanced set of images and does it in an iterative manner . fig2 illustrates several steps of a method implementing video sequence mosaicing incremental algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . vercauteren et al . showed potential benefits of using dedicated video mosaicing techniques to widen the field of view by aligning and fusing many consecutive images from a video sequence , for example in the context of endomicroscopy . this mosaicing algorithm may not be run in real - time and works by iteratively refining a mosaic image . it can thus clearly benefit from the present invention . in further detail , still referring to fig2 , upon activation of freeze mode , the images loaded into the buffer are frozen ( step 200 ), meaning that the loading of images into the buffer is stopped . then , the loaded images ( also referred to as frozen images ) may first go through an initialization and preprocessing step 210 . this step might for example consist of automatically choosing a subset of the images in the fifo buffer so that the remainder of the mosaicing algorithm may assume that all consecutive frames in the subset are overlapping . this may be done by performing a fast but rough initial registration . a threshold on a quantitative evaluation of the quality of the rough registration can be used to define the subset of overlapping images . afterwards the following steps may be performed in an iterative manner . registration results are refined ( step 220 ). a freeze test is then performed ( step 230 ) in order to determine if the system is still in freeze mode . if the system has been switched back to the default not frozen mode ( arrow n ), registration results might be stored and the processing is halted ( step 232 ). otherwise , a mosaic image is constructed ( step 240 ) and displayed ( step 241 ). a freeze test is then performed ( step 250 ). if the system has been switched back to the default not frozen mode ( arrow n ), the reconstructed mosaic might be stored ( step 242 ) and the processing is halted . otherwise , a new refinement step is performed and the process is performed in an iterative manner . fig3 is a display illustrating successive results of a video sequence mosaicing incremental algorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention . it highlights incremental improvement of an image mosaic as computed , during a freeze time period . the mosaicing algorithm may be run on a plurality of frames ( for example 26 frames ) of a healthy human colon acquired in vivo by means of endomicroscopy . initial alignment may be rather rough and the image mosaic may be a simple image overlay ( image 300 ). then a globally consistent alignment may computed ( image 310 ) and a state - of - the - art image fusion technique may used . this may be followed by a mosaic that takes into account motion distortion that alters endomicroscopy ( image 320 ). finally a mosaic compensating for non - rigid deformations due to interactions between the imaged soft tissue and an optical probe of an endomicroscope may be constructed ( image 330 ). fig4 is a diagram representing schematically steps of a method implementing a super - resolution incremental algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . patent application us20070273930 showed potential benefit of creating a high resolution image from a set of shifted images , for example in the context of endomicroscopy . besides a mechanical device presented there to shift images , super - resolution might also be done from uncontrolled motion images . as presented by irani and peleg , typical super - resolution algorithms are iterative in nature and require a large amount of processing power . in further detail , still referring to fig4 , upon activation of the freeze mode , the images loaded into the buffer are frozen ( step 400 ). the freezed set of images may be then registered onto a given reference ( step 410 ). the alignment might be imposed by the mechanical constraints as in us patent application us20070273930 or might be the results of some image registration algorithm . from this alignment a high - resolution image is constructed in step 420 , and displayed in step 421 . a freeze test is then performed in step 430 . if the system has been switched back to the default not frozen mode ( arrow n ), the reconstructed high - resolution image might be stored ( step 422 ) and the processing is halted . otherwise ( arrow y ), low - resolution images are simulated from the current high - resolution image and knowledge of the imaging system in step 440 . the error between the simulated low - resolution images and the actual original low - resolution images is used to improve the current high - resolution image by a back - projection technique , going back to the step of constructing an high resolution image . fig5 is a display illustrating successive results of a super - resolution incremental algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . an image from a frozen set of images is chosen and upsampled to provide an approximation of an high - resolution image ( image 500 ). a first and second successive results of iterative improvements are shown ( respectively images 510 and 520 ). fig6 is a diagram representing schematically steps of a method implementing blood velocity measurement incremental algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . us patent application us20080045848 showed potential benefits of measuring blood velocity from a set of images , for example in the context of endomicroscopy . as presented by perchant et al ., blood velocity computation might be done by a pipeline of processing algorithms that work on a set of consecutive images . the complete processing may require a large amount of processing power . even though the pipeline is not strictly speaking iterative , it is still incremental . results of each subcomponent of this pipeline can be of interest to the user . in further detail , still referring to fig6 , upon activation of the freeze mode , the images loaded into the buffer are frozen ( step 600 ). a region of interest within one given image may be automatically tracked and stabilized across the set of frozen images ( step 610 ) resulting in a set of stabilized images . the initial region of interest might be defined by the user , automatically selected by another processing algorithm such as a salient region detector , or might consist of the complete image . stabilization results might be stored ( step 612 ) and / or displayed ( step 611 ). a freeze test may be performed ( step 620 ). if the system has been switched back to the default not frozen mode ( arrow n ), processing is simply halted . otherwise ( arrow y ), a mean image is computed from the stabilized region of interest sequence to improve the signal to noise ratio and a vessel segmentation algorithm is performed on the mean stabilized image ( step 630 ). segmentation results might be displayed ( step 631 ) and stored ( step 632 ). a freeze test may be performed ( step 640 ). if the system has been switched back to the default not frozen mode ( arrow n ), processing is simply halted . otherwise ( arrow y ), segmentation is propagated to all images in the set of stabilized images ( step 650 ). segmentation propagation might be displayed ( step 651 ) and / or stored ( step 652 ). a freeze test may be performed ( step 660 ). if the system has been switched back to the default not frozen mode ( arrow n ), processing is simply halted . otherwise ( arrow y ), blood velocity is computed within the detected vessels by a dedicated processing algorithm such as a medial line correlation method ( step 670 ). finally the estimated blood velocity is displayed ( step 671 ) and / or stored ( step 672 ). fig7 is a display illustrating successive results of a blood velocity measurement incremental algorithm . it highlights progression through blood velocity measurement processing pipeline as computed by the previously described possible embodiment . a given region of interest is tracked and stabilized through a sequence in a frozen buffer ( images 710 , 720 and 730 ). then , a stabilized mean region of interest image is shown and used to segment the vessel structure present in the region of interest ( images 740 and 750 ). in the following step , the segmentation is propagated to the stabilized region of interest sequence ( images 760 , 770 and 780 ). finally a graph representing the estimation of blood velocity though the freezed sequence as a function of time is displayed ( image 790 ). in a typical clinical use of endomicroscopy according to the prior art , endoscopic and endomicroscopic images are displayed to a user on separated displays . generally , the microscopic imaging probe is visible on the macroscopic endoscopic view . it may be of clinical interest to fuse the two sources of information and show the microscopic images within their macroscopic context . however , the image processing to fuse the flow of macroscopic and microscopic images cannot be run in real time . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , it may be possible to fuse information from several acquisition devices . fig8 illustrates several steps of a method used to fuse images . for example a first flow of images may be acquired on a first acquisition device and a second flow of images may be acquired on a second acquisition device . the first and second acquisition devices may be mechanically coupled so as to acquire images of the same object under observation . in an embodiment , the first and second acquisition devices may be an endo scope and an endomicroscope inserted in an accessory channel of the endoscope so as to acquire simultaneously microscopic and macroscopic images . more precisely and still referring to fig8 , in an embodiment images acquired by the endomicroscope ( first acquisition device ) may be loaded in a first buffer ( step 802 ) while images acquired by the endoscope ( second acquisition device ) may be loaded in a second buffer ( step 803 ). during the acquisition , images from the first and second acquisition devices may be displayed . the user may select , during the ongoing acquisition , one or more interesting images of the second flow of images ( macroscopic images from the endoscope ) associated with one or more images of the first flow of images ( microscopic images from the endomicroscope ). the associated images of the first flow of images may temporally correspond to the selected images of the second flow of images . the selection may be carried out for example by clicking on a button ( step 801 ). the system may store timings , called interest signals , enabling to retrieve the selected images from the buffer . alternatively , interesting images among the first and second set of images may be selected automatically by an algorithm among the images stored in the first and second buffers . for example , one image out of ten may be automatically selected in the first and second buffers . in another embodiment , when the freeze command is activated and the first and second buffer are frozen , the user may also select images among the first or second sets of images loaded in the first and second buffers . for example , the user may review the sets of images loaded in the first and / or second buffers by displaying said images on a display unit . for example , an image from the first or second sets of images loaded in the frozen buffers may be selected when the image is displayed for more than a predetermined amount of time . as described in the previous embodiments , the user may decide that an image processing should be run . therefore , the user may for example press a freeze button , triggering the freeze mode . entering the freeze mode may stop the loading of images in the first and second buffers . when the image selection step is completed and the freeze command is activated ( step 804 ), the system may perform a detection step ( step 805 ) on one of the selected image . the detection may comprise detecting the endomicroscopic probe on one selected image of the second set of images ( i . e . macroscopic images ) to obtain a macroscopic processed image . the detection result may be displayed ( step 806 ). a freeze test may then be performed ( step 807 ). if the system is not in freeze mode , the detection results may be stored ( step 808 ). if the system is in freeze mode , the system proceeds and fuses the image of the first set of image ( microscopic image ) temporally corresponding to the macroscopic selected processed image ( step 809 ). the fused result may be displayed ( step 810 ). the microscopic image may be positioned next to the position at which the endomicroscopic probe has been detected . alternatively , advanced texture mapping technique may be used . a freeze test may performed ( step 811 ) and the system may either store the fusion result and bails out ( 812 ) or proceeds according to the above mentioned process with another selected image . in an embodiment , a plurality of microscopic images may be fused on a macroscopic image ( step 905 ). this may be performed by propagating information resulting from one or more fusions between macroscopic and microscopic corresponding images onto a main macroscopic image . endoscopic images have a large field of view compared to endomicroscopic images . therefore , several microscopic images may potentially be fused on a macroscopic image . fusing a supplementary microscopic image on a macroscopic image may preliminary require that the supplementary microscopic image is fused to a corresponding second macroscopic image according to the previously described scheme . fig9 is a display illustrating successive results of a fusion algorithm according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . an endoscopic image of interest is selected for processing ( step 902 ), the endomiscroscopic probe is detected and the tip of the probe is displayed ( step 903 ). a fusion according to the previously described scheme is performed to show the microscopic image associated to the endoscopic image ( step 901 ) in the macroscopic context ( step 904 ). further processing steps are then performed and step 905 illustrates the result of fusing several endomicroscopic images of interest on a macroscopic image . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein . for example , the images referred to in the description may be multi spectral images acquired on a plurality of collection channels of an acquisition device . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims . | 6 |
with reference to the drawings , fig1 shows a typical commercial kitchen installation with an exhaust blower unit 10 mounted on a kitchen roof 12 and connected with a kitchen hood 16 via an exhaust duct 14 which passes through an opening in the roof 12 . the hood 16 overlies a cooking surface 15 such as a grill , broiler , stove or any other cooking equipment likely to produce undesirable fumes and grease laden air which require venting from the kitchen interior . the kitchen hood 16 is not described in detail as various designs for such hoods are in use and are often tailored to the particular requirements of each installation . generally , the hood 16 has open underside 18 into which air is drawn upwardly as suggested by the flow arrows in fig1 . the airflow passes through filters 20 and into the exhaust duct 14 . the roof mounted blower unit 10 is usually set on a raised , rectangular curb 22 which encloses the duct opening in the roof . the construction of curbs for installation of this type of equipment is well - known in the trade , since similar curbs are used for installation of air conditioning equipment and the like as well . briefly , the curb is a wooden or steel rectangular frame on the roof surface 24 and is covered with weather - proofing material to prevent seepage of rain water into the duct opening . the blower unit 10 includes three stacked sub - units : a base 26 , a blower housing 28 , and a weather - proof motor housing 30 , as shown in fig3 and 4 . in fig1 the three sub - units 26 , 28 and 30 are shown in normal operative position for drawing air from the duct 14 and exhausting it to the atmosphere . a centrifugal blower wheel 32 is mounted for rotation inside the motor housing 30 , which is a generally elongated rectangular sheet metal box . the motor housing 30 is hinged at 34 to the blower housing 28 so that part of the motor housing is cantilevered and extends unsupported over the edge of the blower housing . the blower wheel 32 is mounted near the inner end 36 of the motor housing 30 while the drive motor ( not shown in fig1 - 4 ) is mounted near the outer , cantilevered end 38 . the drive motor is connected by a drive belt to a pulley mounted on the shaft of the blower wheel 32 . the weight of the drive motor serves to balance , at least in part , the weight of the blower wheel 32 . this balancing makes it easier to lift up the inner end 36 of the motor housing which carries the blower wheel 32 . in the normal , operative position of fig1 the blower wheel is contained within the blower housing 28 . when the motor housing is lifted to the raised access position shown in fig3 the blower wheel 32 is lifted through a circular opening 42 in the top of the blower housing 28 and is fully exposed for easy cleaning and inspection . a circular cover 40 is fixed to the underside of the motor housing 30 and serves to close off the circular opening 42 once the blower wheel has been lowered into the blower housing . a handle 44 is attached to the inner end 36 of the motor housing for use in lifting the same . the blower housing 28 is supported on a lid 46 hinged along edge 48 to the base 26 . the lid can move between a closed operative position shown in fig3 and an open position shown in fig4 which allows easy access into the base and also into the upper end of the exhaust duct 14 which is enclosed by the base 26 . while the unit is being serviced a support chain 50 holds the lid 46 in the open , elevated position of fig4 against the weight of the motor housing and blower which are so arranged on the lid as to pull the lid towards a fully open position . the lid 46 also has a support stop 47 extending from the hinged side of lid 46 as shown in fig5 which limits the opening of the lid . an intake funnel 52 is fitted into a circular central opening of the lid 46 and directs air into the center of the blower wheel 32 in the blower housing 28 , as suggested in dotted lining in fig1 . the air is then driven radially to the exterior of the wheel into the blower housing 28 from which it must exhaust through the discharge duct 54 . as can be seen , the base 26 , blower housing 28 and motor housing 30 are hinged to each other as explained and allow nearly unrestricted access to all parts of the exhaust blower unit 10 for thorough cleaning , frequent inspection and easy maintenance . the discharge scoop 54 shown in fig1 , 4 , and 6 deflects the horizontal exhaust from the blower housing 28 upwardly , as indicated by the flow arrows in fig1 and 6 . the scoop 54 is constructed of sheet metal and has two vertical side walls 56 connected by a curved bottom or end wall 58 . as best seen in fig1 and 4 , the scoop wall 58 is assembled as a series of rectangular panels , starting at a horizontal panel 60 adjacent to the blower housing 28 and progresses through two intermediate incrementally angled panels 62a , 62b to a vertical end panel 62c . the incrementally sloped panels comprising the scoop wall 58 define a reflux gradient for returning grease deposited on the inner surfaces of the scoop by the exhaust air stream to the inner panel 60 and drain slot 64 . a grease container 66 is mounted to the side of the base 26 underneath the scoop drain slot 64 . all material draining from the scoop through the slot 64 is collected in this container . the container 66 is a box with an open top which is covered by the bottom panel 60 of the exhaust scoop when the blower housing is in the lowered operative position of fig3 . when the blower housing is raised as in fig4 the top of the container 66 is open . turn now to fig5 which shows an alternate motor housing 30 &# 39 ; fitted to the exhaust blower unit 10 such as in fig1 . the motor housing is seen from its outer , cantilevered end 38 with the inner end 36 raised away from the blower housing 28 , and is broken open to show the interior . a v - bracket 86 is fixed transversely to the housing 30 &# 39 ;, with the apex 88 of the v pointing away from the blower wheel 32 and centered along the longitudinal axis extending between the two ends 38 and 36 of the motor housing 30 &# 39 ;. a support frame 90 is welded to the motor housing 30 &# 39 ; and has a bearing at its inner end in which is journaled the blower shaft 92 . two drive motors 94 are mounted to the v bracket 86 , one on each side of the apex 88 , such that the drive pulleys 96 of each motor are equidistant from a driven pulley 98 on the blower wheel shaft 92 . each motor 94 is mounted on a base plate 100 which in turn is mounted to the corresponding side of the v bracket 86 . a limited adjustment of the spacing between the base plate 100 and the bracket 86 can be achieved by means of threaded mounting bolts 102 . each electric motor 94 is connected by a corresponding power cord 106 to a power control panel 108 enclosed in box 110 mounted to the blower housing 28 . the control panel 108 is in turn connected to a suitable source of electrical power ( not shown ). the control panel 108 includes a motor - select switch 112 which can be toggled between left and right positions for selectively directing electric power through appropriate magnetic starters to only one or the other of the two motors 94 at any given time . the switch 112 will normally be used to select that motor 94 which is connected to the blower wheel pulley 98 by the drive belt 104 . if the currently selected drive motor 94 were to fail , the blower wheel 32 will cease to operate , a condition which would quickly become apparent to personnel in the kitchen since smoke would no longer be vented from the kitchen hood . a commercial kitchen cannot operate for any significant length of time under such circumstances and the establishment would essentially be forced to shut down until qualified service personnel could be brought in with a suitable replacement motor and a repair made . thus could take several hours time and in some cases even days if the location is remote and service personnel or parts are not available in the vicinity . the dual motor system of fig6 avoids this predicament by making immediately available as a back - up a second drive motor 94 already properly mounted and fitted with a drive pulley 96 . in the event of failure of one drive motor 94 , the repair merely involves disengaging the drive belt 104 from the currently engaged drive pulley 96 and fitting belt 104 to the drive pulley 96 of the alternate , heretofore idle motor 94 . this is a very simple operation which can be carried out by minimally trained personnel in a matter of minutes . the repair is completed by toggling the motor - select switch 112 to apply power to the alternate motor 94 which is now able to drive the blower wheel 32 . the alternate or back - up position of the drive belt 104 is indicated in phantom lining in fig5 . the motor housing 30 &# 39 ; of fig5 differs from the motor housing 30 of fig1 and 4 only in that it has been widened somewhat to accommodate the v - bracket 86 and the two drive motors 94 side by side . in the motor housing 30 , only one drive motor 94 is provided , but the belt and pulley arrangement is similar to that shown and described in fig5 . the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and illustrated for purposes of clarity and example only , and it will be understood that many changes , substitutions and modifications to the described embodiments will become readily apparent in light of the foregoing description to those possessed of ordinary skill in the art without thereby departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention which is defined by the following claims . | 5 |
it is well understood that the embodiments that will be described hereinafter are in no way limitative . variants of the invention can in particular be envisaged comprising only a selection of the features described below in isolation from the other described features , if this selection of features is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention with respect to the state of the prior art . this selection comprises at least one preferably functional feature without structural details , or with only a part of the structural details if this part alone is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention with respect to the state of the prior art . in particular , all the described variants and embodiments can be combined if there is no objection to this combination from a technical point of view . in the figures , the elements common to several figures retain the same references . fig1 is a diagrammatic representation of a non - limitative embodiment of a system according to the invention the system 100 of fig1 makes it possible to perform an automated bag drop in an airport comprising a conveyor belt 102 which transports the dropped - off bags to an area for loading bags into the hold of an aircraft . the system comprises a set 104 of barriers which is bonded to the conveyor belt 102 in order to prevent any bags being dropped thereon , apart from within an area 106 , called drop - off area , delimited by the set 104 of barriers and allowing access to the conveyor belt . the system 100 comprises a device 108 for controlling passage , arranged at the entry 110 of the drop - off area 106 and a device 112 for controlling passage arranged at the exit 114 from the drop - off area 106 . each device 108 and 112 for controlling passage can be an arch / gate or a barrier which can be moved by one or more motors ( not shown ) between a closed position preventing passage and an open position allowing passage . thus , in the open position , device 108 allows passage towards the drop - off area 106 from outside the drop - off area , and device 112 allows passage from the drop - off area 106 to outside the drop - off area 106 . outside the drop - off area , adjacent to the entry 110 , there is placed a reading device 116 , called first reader , capable of reading an item of data authorizing access to the drop - off area 106 written on / in an identification medium . the identification medium can be a boarding card with a bar code or rfid . when the boarding card has a bar code , the item of authorization data can be contained in or represented by the bar code of the boarding card . when the boarding card comprises an rfid card , the item of authorization data is written in a chip of the rfid boarding card . the first reader 116 can optionally also read a means of identification written on / in an identity document of the passenger or biometric data of the passenger , such as for example by taking finger - or retinal prints . the first reader 116 is linked , via a network 118 , such as an internet network , to a local or remote central server 120 with which it is capable of communicating . the server 120 stores data relating to users , in the present example passengers , in a database 122 . this server can itself be connected to other servers to validate passengers &# 39 ; entitlements . the first reader 116 is linked to the device for controlling entry 108 which it controls depending on the results of the comparison between the data read from one or more identification media and data stored in the database 122 of the central server 120 . inside the drop - off area 106 , the system 100 also comprises two data processing terminals 124 and 126 each of which can optionally be associated with a loading device , respectively 128 and 130 . each data - processing terminal 124 , 126 also comprises : a reading device , respectively referenced 132 and 134 , called second reader , of a means of identification such as a boarding card , and a printer , referenced respectively 136 and 138 , for printing means of identification of bags , such as bag tags . each terminal 124 , 126 is also capable of communicating with the central server 120 via the network 118 . each loading device 128 , 130 comprises at least one means of weighing the bags and optionally at least means of verifying the dimensions thereof . each loading device 128 , 130 is linked to the corresponding terminal , respectively 124 and 126 , which is capable of retrieving the values sent by the loading device 128 and 130 , comparing with them with the authorized values stored locally or remotely , for example at the server 120 in the database 122 . printing the tag or other operations ( passenger query , payment , etc .) can be commanded depending on the result of this comparison . each terminal 128 and 130 also comprises means of interaction ( not shown ) with the passenger such as a keyboard , a screen and optionally means of payment . the system 100 also comprises a reading device 140 , called third reader , arranged inside the drop - off area 106 at exit 114 , which is identical to the first reader 116 . this third reader is also linked to the server 120 via the network 118 and makes it possible to command the exit control device 112 . facing the exit 114 from the drop - off area 106 , the system 100 also comprises a device 142 for detecting means of identifying bags , such as rfid tags . this makes it possible to detect if a passenger attempts to exit the drop - off area 106 with a tag on his person . light and / or audible warning means ( not shown ) can be provided for the case where a passenger is carrying a tag on his person . the detecting device 142 is also linked to the server 120 by means of the network 118 . the system 100 comprises a tunnel 144 arranged above the conveyor belt 102 when the bags leave the area via the conveyor belt 102 . this tunnel 144 comprises means of detecting tags and optionally reading the data present for example in the rfid chip when the tags are rfid tags . the tunnel 144 is also linked to the central server 120 via the communication network 118 and therefore to the database 122 in which are stored data relating to the bags and to the different elements of the system . the tunnel 144 can also comprise means ( not shown ) of weighing and / or verifying the dimensions of bags . fig2 is a diagrammatic representation of an example of an automated method for the drop - off of objects for the purpose of their transport according to the invention . the method 200 shown in fig2 is described , more particularly , within the framework of automated bag drop by air transport passengers in an airport , and can be implemented by the system 100 in fig1 , without being limited to this system . during a step 202 , the passenger wishing to enter the secure drop - off area , for example drop - off area 106 , presents his boarding card which comprises a bar code , at a first reader , for example the first reader 116 . during a step 204 , the first reader reads the bar code . this bar code makes it possible for an identifier , which identifies the passenger , to be coded . the method 200 can optionally comprise a step 206 during which the passenger presents an identity document at the first reader and a step 208 during which the first reader reads the data from the identity paper in order to obtain identity data or to obtain biometric data of the passenger ( for example a fingerprint ). during a step 210 , the first reader sends the data read during step 204 , and optionally those read during step 208 , to a remote central server , such as for example the server 120 , via a communication network , such as for example the network 118 . during a step 212 , the central server , using the passenger &# 39 ; s identifier , extracts from a database , for example the database 122 , the data stored with the received identifier . these data comprise data relating to the passenger &# 39 ; s journey . the central server compares , in step 214 , the data received from the first reader with those extracted from the database and / or with predetermined data . the central server compares , for example , a departure location with an authorized departure location , a departure date with an authorized departure date , the flight time with a range of authorized times , or a flight number with a list of authorized flight numbers , also stored on the server , and verifies if the passenger has an authorization to place his bags in the hold . in step 216 , the central server provides an item of authorization data . when the data extracted correspond with the data read , the central server provides a granted authorization for the drop - off area , or otherwise , an item of refused authorization or error data . during a step 218 , the central server changes the status of an item of data associated with the boarding card in order to indicate whether or not the passenger has entered the drop - off area . an item of data marked “ bags checked in ?” can for example change from “ 0 ” to “ 1 ”. it is to be noted that this item of status data can also be tested before providing an item of authorization data in order , for example , not to allow the entry of a passenger where the bag check - in data shows that he has already been authorized to enter the secure drop - off area . the central server transmits to the first reader a message comprising the item of authorization data or the error message during a step 220 . during a step 222 , if the message received comprises an authorization granted data item , the first reader commands the opening of a device controlling entry to the drop - off area , such as for example the device 108 , authorizing the entry of the passenger into the drop - off area . otherwise , the error message received from the central server is displayed on a display screen of the reader . alternatively , the steps of comparing and providing authorization can be carried out at the first reader which will have previously retrieved information from the central server . it is to be noted that the step of obtaining identity data and comparing these data with extracted data is optional . similarly , the data which are examined in order to provide authorization are indicated by way of example and other data or combinations of data could also be examined at this stage . once he / she is in the drop - off area , the passenger can thus go to a second reading means , for example the terminal 124 , comprising a second reader 132 . during a step 224 , the passenger presents his boarding card at the second reader located in the terminal 124 . the bar code , comprising the identifier of the passenger and optionally other data , is read by the terminal 124 during step 226 . the terminal requests from the central server the item of status data associated with the identifier which has just been read , during a step 228 . it is also possible to record the time at which the passenger entered the drop - off area and to verify that this time is not too far from the current time . the item of data is communicated by the server to the terminal during a step 230 . if in the light of the item of status data it is evident that the passenger entered the area with the boarding card scanned at the first reader , in step 232 the data - processing terminal delivers an authorization to the passenger to drop off his bags . otherwise , an error message is displayed on a screen of the terminal . it is also possible to associate a warning with this error at the terminal , which for this purpose can be equipped with audible and / or light means . if it was detected at the entry to the drop - off area , i . e . at the entry to the drop - off area during step 216 for example , that the passenger is not entitled to drop off a bag , it is thus possible to grant the passenger entitlement to enter the area in order to purchase an additional baggage entitlement at the terminal . in this case , an item of data relating to the drop - off a bag is additionally stored , for example during step 218 . this item of data relating to the entitlement to drop off a bag is tested at the terminal , depending on the value of this item of data ( if the passenger is not authorized to drop off the bag ), a special purchase screen is displayed . the terminal can in this case be equipped with a bank card payment terminal for example . if the passenger has authorization to drop off a bag , during a step 234 , he places his bags one item at a time on a loading device capable of measuring the weight and optionally the dimensions of the bags , for example the loading device 128 of system 100 . each bag is weighed , one item at a time , during a step 236 . the dimensions of each bag are also verified . the weight of each bag is communicated to the terminal by the loading device during a step 238 . during a step 240 , the terminal compares the weight of each bag with one or more predetermined thresholds , optionally extracted at least partially from the central server and which can relate to the passenger ( if , according to the status of the passenger , the weight of the bags which he is entitled to transport changes ). in the case where the weight and / or the dimensions of the bags do not comply , an error message is displayed on the data - processing terminal . it is also possible to allow the passenger to pay an additional charge to cover this eventuality or activate visual and / or audible warning means . if the weight and the dimensions of each bag as measured are correct , during a step 242 , the terminal equipped with a printer , for example the printer 136 of the system 100 , prints a standard baggage tag . the user then affixes the printed tag to the bag in question during a step 244 . she / he then drops the bags on the conveyor belt , for example the conveyor belt 102 in fig1 . once all his bags have been dropped on the conveyor belt , the passenger leaves the drop - off area , optionally after having again scanned his boarding card on a reading device , such as the third reader of the system 100 of fig1 . in another alternative embodiment or in combination with the embodiment which has just been described , the printed tag comprises an rfid chip . when the passenger wishes to leave the secure drop - off area , he passes through a detector at the exit point , such as the detection device 142 of fig1 , intended to detect the rfid chips of the tags which the user is carrying on his person . if the user has tags on his person , the detector makes it possible to identify them and command the operation of means of visual and / or audible warning . in the case where such a detector is placed in front of a device controlling the exit from the drop - off area , such as the device 112 in fig1 , the third reader can also deactivate the command to open this device , preventing the exit of the passenger from the drop - off area . in another alternative embodiment or capable of being combined with embodiment ( s ) already described , the conveyor belt is equipped with a tunnel such as the tunnel 144 in fig1 . at the moment of printing of the tag , a reference or an item of identification data of the rfid chip located in the printed tag is associated with the identifier of the boarding card , either at the central server , in this case these data are sent to the central server , for example in the form of a message , so that it combines an identifier from the rfid chip read before printing with the identifier of the boarding card , or by writing the identifier of the boarding card to the rfid chip . other data can also be written to the rfid chip of the bags or at the remote server , such as for example weight and / or the dimensional data of the bags with which the tag is associated . the number of bags checked in with the boarding card is also written to the central server . when the bags pass under the tunnel of the conveyor belt , the rfid chips of the bags are detected and their contents read . the tunnel can also verify the weight of the bags using scales placed beneath the conveyor belt and compare this weight with that written in the chip . if the weight of the bags does not correspond to that weighed during the step of printing the tag , an audible alarm can be triggered at the tunnel to put the bags on hold . the data measured and those checked in are compared locally at the tunnel or at the central server . it is also possible to write to the central database that the bag with a predetermined identifier has actually passed onto the conveyor belt and that its weight did actually correspond to that of the bags checked in . in this case , when the passenger wishes to exit the secure drop - off area , his boarding card is read using the third reader situated at the exit from the drop - off area . the third reader thus communicates with the central server in order to verify if all bags associated with the identifier of the boarding card which has just been read have actually been detected in the tunnel and if the weight of each bag corresponds to that weighed at the terminal . if this is the case , the device commands the opening of the device controlling the exit , thus authorizing the passenger to exit the drop - off area . if this is not the case , the device controlling the exit remains closed and prevents exit from the drop - off area . a light and / or audible alarm is thus activated in order to warn an operator . of course , the invention is not limited to the examples that have just been described . in its simplest configuration , the system according to the invention does not comprise any checkpoint at the exit from the drop - off area . the identity data are also not necessarily scanned at entry . the number of data - processing terminals in the drop - off area is not limited to that which has been described . similarly , the number of points of entry and exit is not limited to that which has been described and can be changed in order to facilitate the flow of passengers and limit the waiting time for drop - off of bags . the data - processing terminals described can have many functions other than those described ( change of seat , payment of an additional charge , etc .). the loading device could also be linked to the first and not the second reader . | 1 |
fig1 shows a perspective view of a tray sealer 1 for operation with a method according to the invention . there is a work station 3 on a frame 2 , in the present case , a gassing , sealing and cutting station . a supply belt 4 conveys trays filled with a product ( not shown ) and transfers them to a collection belt 5 on which the trays are positioned at a predetermined distance in a pickup location in order to be transferred by grippers 6 from the collection belt 5 to the work station 3 . a top film 8 is drawn from a film dispenser 7 and likewise guided into the work station 3 . after evacuation and / or gassing of the trays with an exchange gas ( map ), the trays are sealed in an airtight manner with the top film 8 . subsequently or simultaneously , a cutting tool cuts out the trays from the cover film 8 , thus separates the trays . the residual film lattice of the top film 8 is wound on a residual film winder 9 . the sealed trays are placed on a discharge belt 10 after they have been conveyed out of the work station 3 by means of the gripper 6 . a display device 11 , which can also be the controller , visualizes the operations process and the operational status of the tray sealer 1 and allows the operator to operate the tray sealer 1 via a touch screen 12 . fig2 in a schematic side view in the direction of production r from right to the left shows the supply belt 4 , the collection belt 5 , and a gripper device 13 comprising a gripper carriage 14 and a gripper 6 . trays 15 are transferred onto the collection belt in a manner such that a predetermined distance d is created between two adjacent trays 15 and the trays come to lie in the pickup location 16 on the collection belt . the gripper 6 grips the trays 15 and the gripper carriage 14 moves the gripper 6 into the workstation 3 . the trays 15 on the supply belt 4 are detected by a sensor 17 . at least the front side wall 19 is detected below the tray edge 18 and above the conveying plane e by the sensor 17 which is preferably designed as a light beam . for different embodiments of the tray 15 , it may be necessary to design the sensor 17 vertically adjustable . when detecting the front 19 and the rear side wall 20 of a tray 15 , the center of the tray 15 can be determined and the controller can perform positioning of the tray 15 on the belts 4 , 5 using the tray center as a reference . fig3 shows a phase of a method according to the invention at the start of the teaching . two trays 15 on the collection belt 5 are located in the pickup location 16 and the gripper 6 is in a position in which it enables a movement of the trays on the collection belt 5 . the two trays 15 are slowly moved by the collection belt 5 from the pickup location 16 in a direction opposite to the direction of production r , transferred velocity - synchronously onto the supply belt 4 which likewise runs in a direction opposite to the direction of production , until both respective side walls 19 , 20 have been detected by the sensor 17 . in this manner , the trays 15 and their position are detected and known to the controller . fig4 shows a phase of a method according to the invention for determining the maximum acceleration of the trays on the belts . the embodiment is not limited to moving a group of trays which is transportable by the gripper 6 , but this can for reasons of space also be performed with only a single tray 15 . in this , belt transfers can become obsolete if the individual tray 15 would be moved only on the supply belt 4 . in this embodiment , the two trays 15 are moved and again returned from a position to the right of the sensor 17 on the supply belt 4 to the pickup location 16 on the collection belt 5 . at each change of direction in and / or against the direction of production r , the acceleration is continuously increased , and in one embodiment is increased by 5 %. during the movement in a direction opposite to the direction of production , the trays 15 pass by the sensor 17 and the detected distance from the pickup location to the position at the sensor 17 is compared with the calculated theoretical value previously computed by the controller . the previously computed theoretical value preferably has a tolerance range that is permitted and can be inputted by the operator . the tolerance range depends on the configuration of the trays 15 and the gripper 6 ; bevels on the grippers 6 can for instance still precisely readjust the trays 15 , should the position not be precisely correct . if this value matches , a further cycle of the tray movement follows with further increased acceleration . if the controller detects a positioning error of the tray when it passes the sensor 17 , an abort occurs , and a value of acceleration lowered by 5 % or 10 %, relative to the acceleration of the last movement , is processed in the controller as a maximum value . fig5 a shows the movement profile of the tray 15 ( in direction of the arrow towards the right ) from the pickup position 16 in a position on the supply belt 4 with an acceleration a 1 and a velocity v 1 , wherein the tray 15 travels a distance s 1 . fig5 b illustrates the movement profile after a reversal of direction ( in the direction of the arrow towards the left ), wherein the acceleration a 2 is greater than the acceleration a 1 . in this , the tray 15 travels the same distance s 1 . the velocity v does not need to remain the same for different accelerations , it can for instance also increase . this procedure for determining the maximum acceleration a subject to the present conditions can be repeated at a later time , if the conditions for tray conveying change during the operation of the tray sealer 1 . fig4 also shows a procedure for determining the minimum velocity - synchronous stage during the belt transfer from the supply belt 4 to the collection belt 5 at a velocity v which was preferably reached at the maximum acceleration a . during the first belt transfer , the tray 15 having a tray bottom length x , being measured by the operator and entered into the controller , is transferred from the supply belt 4 to the collection belt 5 in a velocity - synchronous manner . after a change of direction , i . e . conveying the tray in the reverse direction from the collection belt 5 to the supply belt 4 , the velocity - synchronous stage is reduced , meaning that both belts 4 , 5 do not over the entire length x of the tray bottom run synchronously during the belt transfer . despite a reduced distance with synchronously running belts 4 , 5 , the tray 15 can be moved safely across the belt transfer without loss of adhesion . if the velocity - synchronous stage of the path is reduced too much , then the tray 15 will slip on the belts 4 , 5 and past the sensor 17 during a subsequent movement . this is detected by the controller , like with the above - described procedure for determining the maximum acceleration a , and the teaching process is terminated . the controller processes a value for the minimum velocity - synchronous stage for the following operation in the form of a length that is 5 % to 10 % higher than the value at the time of the abort . if the operator visually recognizes , for example , a twist or lateral displacement , then he can he terminate the teaching process . fig6 illustrates different phases of a method according to the invention using a flow chart . at the start at step 100 , the teaching program is activated . this is followed by step 200 of moving the tray 15 from the pickup location 16 in a direction opposite to the direction of production r . in step 300 , the tray 15 is detected by the sensor 17 . the distanced s traveled by the tray 15 from the pickup location 16 to the sensor 17 is transferred to the controller via the left path using step 900 . next , movement of the tray 15 is in step 400 in the direction of production r with increased acceleration . after a change of direction , there is a movement of the tray 15 in step 500 against the direction of production r with further increased acceleration . if in step 600 the sensor 17 detects the tray 15 , then a comparison of the value detected by the sensor 17 and a previously computed setpoint value takes place . if there is no deviation , then steps 400 , 500 and 600 are repeated . if , however , there is a deviation at step 600 , then the teaching process is terminated with step 700 , and the acceleration last indicated in step 400 is used with step 800 in the controller as the maximum value for the designated production . | 1 |
before entering into the detailed description of the preferred embodiments , several terms which will be revisited later are defined . these terms are relevant to discussions of innovations introduced by the improvements of this disclosure that overcome the deficits of the prior art devices . in the embodiments described hereinbelow , the inner wythe is provided with insulation . in dry wall construction , this takes the form of exterior insulation disposed on the outer surface of the inner wythe . in the masonry block backup wall construction , insulation is applied to the outer surface of the masonry block . recently , building codes have required that after the anchoring system is installed and , prior to the inner wythe being closed up , that an inspection be made for insulation integrity to ensure that the insulation prevents infiltration of air and moisture . here the term insulation integrity is used in the same sense as the building code in that , after the installation of the anchoring system , there is no change or interference with the insulative properties and concomitantly substantially no change in the air and moisture infiltration characteristics . in a related sense , prior art sheetmetal anchors have formed a conductive bridge between the wall cavity and the metal studs of columns of the interior of the building . here the terms thermal conductivity , thermally - isolated and - isolating , and thermal conductivity analysis are used to examine this phenomenon and the metal - to - metal contacts across the inner wythe . the term stepped cylinder as used hereinafter refers to a cylinder having cylindrical portions with differing diameters about a common longitudinal axis and having shoulders between adjacent portions or steps . the term thermally - isolated tubule or tubule assembly for thermally isolating a surface - mounted wall anchor as used hereinafter refers to a stepped cylinder that is joined to a metal base , where the base is positioned substantially at right angles ( normal ) to the longitudinal axis of the stepped cylinder and where at the location that the stepped cylinder joins to the base , the base surrounds the latitudinal ( cross - sectional ) perimeter of the stepped cylinder with some area of cylinder material extending on all sides of this joint forming a press - fit relationship or the base is secured against a flanged end of the stepped cylinder and held in place by a retaining clip or other method . the base has two major faces , identified by the orientation presented when the veneer anchor is installed . the face oriented towards the inner wythe is identified as the base surface or mounting surface , and the face oriented towards the outer wythe is the outer surface . the stepped cylinder sheaths the mounting hardware or fastener and is thermally - isolated through the use of a series of neoprene or similar washers . anchoring systems for cavity walls are used to secure veneer facings to a building and overcome seismic and other forces , i . e . wind shear , etc . in the past some systems have experienced failure because the forces have been concentrated at substantially a single point . here , the term pin - point loading refers to an anchoring system wherein forces are concentrated at a single point . in the description which follows , means for supporting the wall anchor shaft to limit lateral movement are taught . in addition to that which occurs at the facing wythe , attention is further drawn to the construction at the exterior surface of the inner or backup wythe . here there are two concerns , namely , maximizing the strength and ease of the securement of the wall anchor to the backup wall while , as previously discussed , maintaining the integrity of the insulation . the first concern is addressed using appropriate fasteners such as for mounting to metal , drywall studs , self - drilling screws . the latter concern is addressed by the wall anchor seal which surround the openings formed for the installation ( the profile is seen in the cross - sectional drawing fig2 ). in the detailed description , the veneer reinforcements and the veneer anchors are wire formatives , the wire used in the fabrication of veneer joint reinforcement conforms to the requirements of astm standard specification a951 - 00 , table 1 . for the purpose of this application tensile strength tests and yield test veneer joint reinforcements are , where applicable , those dominated in astm - a951 - 00 standard specification for masonry joint reinforcement . referring now to fig1 through 3 , the first embodiment shows an anchoring system suitable for seismic zone applications . this anchoring system , discussed in detail hereinbelow , has a wall anchor , an interengaging veneer tie , and a veneer ( outer wythe ) reinforcement and is disposed in an externally insulated drywall . for the first embodiment , a cavity wall having an insulative layer of 4 . 0 inches ( approx .) and a total span of 4 . 75 inches ( approx .) is chosen as exemplary . the anchoring system for cavity walls is referred to generally by the numeral 10 . a cavity wall structure 12 is shown having an inner wythe or drywall backup 14 with sheetrock or wall board 16 mounted on metal studs or columns 17 and an outer wythe or facing wall 18 of brick 20 construction . between the inner wythe 14 and the outer wythe 18 , a cavity 22 is formed . the cavity 22 has attached to the exterior surface 24 of the inner wythe 14 an air / vapor barrier 25 and insulation 26 . the air / vapor barrier 25 and the wallboard 16 together form the exterior layer 28 of the inner wythe 14 , which exterior layer 28 has the insulation 26 disposed thereon . successive bed joints 30 and 32 are substantially planar and horizontally disposed and , in accord with building standards , are 0 . 375 - inch ( approx .) in height . selective ones of bed joints 30 and 32 , which are formed between courses of bricks 20 , are constructed to receive therewithin the insertion portion of the veneer anchor hereof . being threadedly mounted in the inner wythe , the wall anchor is supported thereby and , as described in greater detail herein below , is configured to minimize air and moisture penetration around the wall anchor / inner wythe interface . for purposes of discussion , the cavity surface 24 of the inner wythe 14 contains a horizontal line or x - axis 34 and intersecting vertical line or y - axis 36 . a horizontal line or z - axis 38 , normal to the xy - plane , passes through the coordinate origin formed by the intersecting x - and y - axes . a wall anchor 40 is shown with a u - shaped rear leg portion 42 . the wall anchor 40 , while shown as a unitary structure of high - strength steel may be manufactured as an assemblage of several distinct parts . the veneer tie 44 is adapted from one shown and described in hohmann , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 875 , 319 which patent is incorporated herein by reference . the veneer tie 44 is shown in fig1 as being emplaced on a course of bricks 20 in preparation for embedment in the mortar of bed joint 30 . in this embodiment , the system includes a wire or outer wythe reinforcement 46 , a wall anchor 40 and a veneer tie 44 . the wire reinforcement 46 is constructed of a wire formative conforming to the joint reinforcement requirements of astm standard specification a951 - 00 , table 1 , see supra . at intervals along a horizontal surface 24 , wall anchors 40 are driven into place in the anchor - receiving channels 48 . the wall anchors 40 are positioned on surface 24 so that the longitudinal axis 50 of wall anchor 40 is normal to an xy - plane and taps into column 17 . as best shown in fig2 and 3 , the wall anchor 40 extends from a driven end 52 to a driver end 54 . the driven end 52 is constructed with a self - drilling screw portion 56 . contiguous with screw portion 56 is a dual - diameter barrel with a smaller diameter barrel or shaft portion 58 toward the driven end 52 and a larger diameter barrel or shaft portion 60 toward the driver end 54 . at the juncture of barrel portions 58 and 60 , a flange 62 is formed and a stabilizing neoprene fitting or internal seal 64 is emplaced thereat . when fully driven into column 17 the screw 56 and barrel portion 58 of wall anchor 40 pierces sheetrock or wallboard 16 and air / vapor barrier 25 . the seal 64 covers the insertion point precluding air and moisture penetration therethrough and maintaining the integrity of barrier 25 . at the driving end 54 , a driver portion 66 adjoins larger diameter barrel or shaft portion 60 forming a flange 68 therebetween and another stabilizing neoprene fitting or external seal 70 is emplaced thereat . upon installation into rigid insulation , the larger barrel portion 60 is forced into a press fit relationship with anchor - receiving channel 48 . stabilization of this stud - type wall anchor 40 is attained by barrel portion 60 and internal neoprene fitting 64 completely filling the channel 48 with external neoprene fitting 70 capping the opening 72 of channel 48 into cavity 22 and clamping wall anchor 40 in place . this arrangement does not leave any wiggle room for pin - point loading of the wall anchor . with stabilizing fitting or external seal 70 in place , the insulation integrity within the cavity wall is maintained . in producing wall anchor 48 , the length of the smaller diameter barrel 58 less the internal seal 64 height is selected to match the external layer 28 thickness . similarly , the length of the larger diameter barrel 60 plus the internal seal 64 height is selected to match the insulation thickness . in this embodiment , the driver portion 66 has an elongated aperture 74 for the interlacing of veneer tie 44 . the veneer tie 44 is a wire formative having a u - shaped rear leg portion 42 for angular adjustment , see supra . from the rear leg 42 , two side legs 76 and 78 extend to and , at the front portion thereof , are part of insertion portion 80 which is shown installed into bed joint 30 . the insertion portion 80 is constructed with two parallel front legs 82 and 84 adjoining side legs 76 and 78 , respectively , and housing therebetween wire reinforcement 46 . at the juncture of side leg 78 and front leg 84 , a swaged area 86 is shown for further accommodating wire reinforcement 46 . the description which follows is a second embodiment of the anchoring system for insulated cavity walls of this invention . for ease of comprehension , wherever possible similar parts use reference designators 100 units higher than those above . thus , the veneer tie 144 of the second embodiment is analogous to the veneer tie 44 of the first embodiment . referring now to fig4 , 5 and 6 , the second embodiment of the anchoring system is shown and is referred to generally by the numeral 110 . as in the first embodiment , a wall structure 112 is shown . the second embodiment has an inner wythe or backup wall 114 of a drywall or a wallboard construct 116 on wood framing or studs 117 and an outer wythe or veneer 118 of brick 120 . between the inner wythe 114 and the outer wythe 118 , a cavity 122 is formed . the cavity 122 has attached to the exterior surface 124 of the inner wythe 114 and air / vapor barrier 125 and insulation 126 . here , the anchoring system has a wall anchor with a clip - on , winged collar for receiving the veneer tie portion of the anchoring system . for purposes of discussion , the cavity surface 124 of the inner wythe 114 contains a horizontal line or x - axis 134 and an intersecting vertical line or y - axis 136 . a horizontal line or z - axis 138 , normal to the xy - plane , passes through the coordinate origin formed by the intersecting x - and y - axes . a wall anchor construct 140 is shown which penetrates the wallboard 116 . the wall anchor 140 is a unitary metal construct which is constructed for mounting in inner wythe 114 and for interconnection with veneer tie 144 . the veneer tie 144 is a box byna - tie ® device manufactured by hohmann & amp ; barnard , inc ., hauppauge , n . y . 11788 . the veneer tie 144 is shown in fig4 as being emplaced on a course of bricks 120 in preparation for embedment in the mortar bed joints 130 and 132 . in this embodiment , the system includes a wall anchor 140 and a veneer tie 144 . but for the structure of the driver portion 166 , the wall anchor 140 is like wall anchor 40 just described . here , the driven end 152 is again a self - drilling screw portion 156 with a first and a second shaft portion 158 and 160 , respectively , of increasing diameter . the internal seal 164 and the external seal 170 are at flanges 162 and 168 . the driver portion 166 is capable of being driven using a conventional chuck into the anchor - receiving channel 148 and , after being rotated to align with the bed joint 130 , collar 167 is locked in place . the collar 167 , which has two apertures 169 for accommodating the veneer tie 144 , has the effect of spreading stresses experienced during use and further reducing pin - point loading as opposite force vectors cancel one another . the veneer tie 144 has two side legs 176 and 178 and an insertion portion 180 . the description which follows is a third embodiment of the anchoring system for insulated cavity walls of this invention . for ease of comprehension , whenever possible similar parts use reference designators 200 units higher than those in the first embodiment . referring now to fig7 through 10 , the third embodiment is shown and referred to generally by the numeral 210 . a cavity wall structure 212 is shown having an inner wythe or backup wall 214 with sheetrock or wallboard 216 mounted on metal studs or columns 217 and an outer wythe or facing wall 218 of brick 220 is formed . the cavity 222 has attached to the exterior surface 224 of the inner wythe 214 an air / vapor barrier 225 and insulation 226 . the air / vapor barrier 225 and the wallboard 216 together form the exterior layer 228 of the inner wythe 214 , which exterior layer 228 has the insulation 226 disposed thereon . successive bed joints 230 and 232 are substantially planar and horizontally disposed and , in accord with building standards , are 0 . 375 - inch ( approx .) in height . selective ones of bed joints 230 and 232 , which are formed between courses of bricks 220 , are constructed to receive therewithin the insertion portion of the veneer anchor hereof . being threadedly mounted in the inner wythe , the wall anchor is supported thereby and , as described in greater detail hereinbelow , is configured to minimize air and moisture penetration around the wall anchor / inner wythe interface . for purposes of discussion , the cavity surface 224 of the inner wythe 214 contains a horizontal line or x - axis 234 and intersecting vertical line or y - axis 236 . a horizontal line or z - axis 238 , normal to the xy - plane , passes through the coordinate origin formed by the intersecting x - and y - axes . a wall anchor 240 is shown with a rear leg portion 242 . the wall anchor 240 , while shown as a unitary structure of high - strength steel may be manufactured as an assemblage of several distinct parts . the veneer tie 244 is a self - leveling tie and corrects slight misalignment between wall anchor and bed joint levels . the veneer tie 244 is shown in fig8 , 9 and 10 as being emplaced on a course of bricks 220 in preparation for embedment in the mortar of bed joint 230 . as shown in this embodiment , the system does not include a wire or outer wythe reinforcement ( 46 , fig1 ), but could easily be modified to incorporate the same . at intervals along a horizontal surface 224 , wall anchors 240 are driven into place in the anchor - receiving channels 248 . the wall anchors 240 are positioned on surface 224 so that the longitudinal axis 250 of wall anchor 240 is normal and taps into masonry backup wall 214 . as best shown in fig9 and 10 , the wall anchor 240 extends from a driven end 252 to a driver end 254 . the driven end 252 is constructed with a self - drilling screw portion 256 . contiguous with screw portion 256 is a dual - diameter barrel with a smaller diameter barrel or shaft portion 258 toward the driven end 252 and a larger diameter barrel or shaft portion 260 toward the driver end 254 . at the juncture of barrel portions 258 and 260 , a flange 262 is formed and a stabilizing neoprene fitting or internal seal 264 is emplaced thereat . when fully driven into masonry inner wythe 214 , the internal seal 264 and barrel portion 260 of wall anchor 240 are drawn into the insulation 226 . further the seal 264 abuts the insertion point precluding air and moisture penetration thereinto . at the driving end 254 , a driver portion 266 adjoins larger diameter barrel or shaft portion 260 forming a flange 268 therebetween and another stabilizing neoprene fitting or external seal 270 is emplaced thereat . upon installation into rigid insulation , the larger barrel portion 260 is forced into a press fit relationship with anchor - receiving channel 248 . stabilization of this stud - type wall anchor 240 is attained by barrel portion 260 and internal neoprene fitting 264 completely filling the channel 248 with external neoprene fitting 270 , capping the opening 272 of channel 248 into cavity 222 , and clamping wall anchor 240 in place . with stabilizing fitting or external seal 270 in place the insulation integrity within the cavity wall is maintained . here , the veneer tie 244 is a wire formative having a rear leg 242 set at an angle to the front legs . in this embodiment , the driver portion 266 has an elongated aperture 272 for the interlacing of veneer tie 244 . from the rear leg 242 , two side legs 276 and 278 extend to and , at the front portion thereof , are part of insertion portion 280 . because of the angular displacement , one of the side legs extends upwardly to the insertion portion ; and the other , downwardly . the insertion portion 280 is constructed with two front legs 282 and 284 adjoining side legs 276 and 278 , respectively . the veneer tie 244 is self - leveling as , upon insertion into bed joint 230 , the position along rear leg 242 of aperture 274 is established . the description which follows is a fourth embodiment of the anchor utilizing thermally - isolated tubules for cavity walls of this invention . for ease of comprehension , wherever possible similar parts use reference designators 300 units higher than those above . thus , the self - drilling screw portion 356 of the fourth embodiment is analogous to the self - tapping screw portion 56 of the first embodiment . referring now to fig1 through 13 , the fourth embodiment of the anchor is shown and is referred to generally by the numeral 310 . as in the first embodiment , a wall structure similar to that shown in fig1 is used herein . optionally , a masonry inner wythe is used ( not shown ). here , the anchoring system has a surface - mounted wall anchor with a thermally - isolating tubule and a dual sealing anchor base with a single — or double — aperture receptor for connection to a veneer tie . the anchoring system 310 is surface mounted to the exterior surface 324 of the inner wythe 314 . in this embodiment like the previous one , insulation 326 is disposed on wallboard 316 which is , in turn , mounted on columns 317 . successive bed joints 330 which are substantially planar and horizontally disposed and formed between courses of bricks 320 forming the outer wythe , are constructed to receive therewithin the insertion portion of the anchoring system construct hereof . being surface mounted onto the inner wythe 314 , the anchoring system 310 is constructed cooperatively therewith , and as described in greater detail below , is configured for disposition in the anchor - receiving channel 321 . an anchoring system 310 is shown which has a wall anchor 340 which penetrates the rigid insulation 326 and the wallboard 316 . the wall anchor 340 is constructed for surface mounting on inner wythe 314 and for interconnection with an interlocking veneer tie 344 which , in turn , optionally receives a reinforcement wire 346 therewithin to form a seismic construct . the wall anchor 340 has a stepped cylinder body 341 with the steps extending along a common longitudinal axis 347 . the stepped cylinder body 341 is installed within the anchor — receiving channel 321 for a press fit relationship . the stepped cylinder body has a shaftway 386 to sheath a fastener 356 . the stepped cylinder 341 is constructed from sheet metal selected from hot dipped galvanized , stainless steel , bright basic steel or a similar metal . at intervals along the outer wythe surface 324 , the anchors 340 are surface - mounted using mounting hardware such as fasteners or self - tapping screws 356 inserted through the stepped cylinder 341 . in this structure , the stepped cylinder 341 sheaths the exterior of mounting hardware 356 . the fastener 356 is thermally - isolated from the anchor 340 through the use of a thermally - isolating washer or stepped cylinder seal 388 composed of a material such as neoprene which is disposed at the juncture of the fastener shaft 390 and the fastener head 392 . the fastener head 392 and stepped cylinder seal 388 together have a larger circumference than the stepped cylinder 341 opening to ensure that upon disposition of the fastener 356 in the shaftway 386 appropriate thermal isolation is achieved . opposite the fastener head 392 and adjacent to the fastener shaft 390 is a self - tapping or self - drilling tip 394 which , upon installation , attaches the anchor 340 to inner wythe 314 . the stepped cylinder 341 is cylindrical and constructed of sheet metal . a shaftway 386 extends through the length of the stepped cylinder 341 allowing for the insertion and sheathing of the fastener 356 . the stepped cylinder body 341 contains a wallboard step 396 having a configured open end 397 which , when inserted within the outer wythe 314 , is disposed adjacent the wallboard or the dry wall 316 and contains an insulation step 391 which , when inserted within the anchor - receiving channel 321 , is disposed adjacent the insulation 326 . a wallboard seal 398 is placed on the stepped cylinder 341 at the shoulder or juncture 354 of the wallboard step 396 and the insulation step 391 to minimize thermal transfer between the inner wythe 314 and the anchoring system 310 . an insulation step 391 is adjacent to the wallboard step 396 and , upon insertion , is dimensioned to be substantially coextensive with the insulation 326 . an insulation seal 393 is disposed on the insulation step 391 at the junction of the insulation step 391 and the anchor receptor step 395 . the anchor receptor step 395 contains a flanged end 387 that prohibits the anchor receptor portion 389 from being removed from the flanged end 387 . the insulation seal 393 , wallboard seal 398 , and stepped cylinder seal 388 are thermally - isolating washers or neoprene fittings which , upon compression during wall anchor 340 installation stabilize the wall anchor 340 and limit lateral displacement of the wall anchor 340 and further seal the opening in the anchor - receiving channel precluding water and vapor penetration through the inner wythe 314 . to secure the anchor receptor portion 389 on the stepped cylinder 341 , the anchor receptor step 395 has a smaller diameter than the insulation step 391 which secures the anchor receptor portion 389 against the flanged end 387 and the insulation step 391 . alternatively , the anchor receptor step 395 contains a retaining clip slot 373 adjacent the insulation step 391 . a retaining clip 377 is inserted in the retaining clip slot 373 to secure the anchor receptor portion 389 against the flanged end 387 . the anchor receptor portion 389 has one or more elongated apertures 375 for connection and interlocking with the veneer tie 344 . the elongated apertures or aperture receptors 375 are substantially parallel to each other and are constructed to be within the predetermined dimensions to limit veneer tie 314 movement in accordance with the building code requirements . the apertured receptors 375 are slightly elongated horizontally than the diameter of the veneer tie 314 . the veneer tie ( as shown in more detail in the first embodiment ) 344 has a rear leg 342 or other connection component for insertion in the anchor receptor portion 389 . the insertion portion 380 of the veneer tie 344 has a swaged side leg 386 for connection with a reinforcement wire 346 . the veneer tie 344 upon installation is embedded in the bed joint 330 of the outer wythe 320 . upon insertion of the anchor 340 into the layers of the inner wythe 314 , the anchor receptor portion 389 rests snugly against the opening formed by the insertion of the anchor 314 and serves to provide further sealing of the insertion opening in the insulation 326 precluding the passage of air and moisture into and from the wall cavity . this construct maintains the insulation integrity . in the above description of anchoring systems for insulated cavity walls of this invention various configurations are described and applications thereof in corresponding settings are provided . because varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught and because many modifications may be made in the embodiments herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirement of the law , it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . thus minor changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 4 |
in a conventional method of manufacturing optical fiber , a bare fiber drawn from a preform receives a coating formed essentially of carbon by being subjected to chemical vapor deposition . the coating is hermetic , and it thus offers lasting protection to the fiber . for the coating to be hermetic , a certain number of conditions must be satisfied relating , in particular , to reaction temperatures and to the composition of the reactive gaseous medium used for the chemical vapor deposition . the decomposition operation that accompanies the chemical vapor deposition gives rise to carbon soot that tends to be deposited not only in the reactor , but also on the fiber itself . the thicker the non - hermetic deposit of soot , the more harmful it is , and it can even make the fiber unusable . therefore , it is essential to limit the quantity of soot that can be deposited on the hermetic coating formed in the initial chemical vapor deposition step . fig1 shows a prior art reactor used to form such a hermetic coating . in that reactor , a fiber 10 moves down vertically through a reactor 12 that is cylindrical in shape . a reactive gaseous mixture penetrates into the reactor via an inlet 14 . the reactive gaseous mixture may , for example , be constituted by ethylene and trichloromethane , and it may advantageously be constituted by acetylene , in the presence of an inert gaseous carrier . after reacting , the gaseous mixture is removed via an outlet 16 placed at the bottom of the reactor 12 . because of the flow rates used , the gas flow through the reactor is laminar . the gaseous medium is maintained at a temperature suitable for chemical vapor deposition by a heater device 18 . in addition , the external atmosphere is prevented from penetrating into the reactor by forming two air locks 20 and 22 respectively at the inlet to and at the outlet from the reactor . fig2 is a very diagrammatic view showing the deposits of carbon soot observed in a reactor of the type shown in fig1 after an optical fiber has been manufactured . a thick deposit 24 of soot can be observed at the top of the reactor , and an even thicker deposit 26 can be observed at the bottom of the reactor . soot also tends to deposit on the transverse partitions , in particular of the air locks , as indicated by reference 28 . when the build up , i . e . the thickness , of soot in the reactor becomes excessive , fiber drawing must be interrupted in order to clean or replace the reactor . fig3 is a diagrammatic section view of the apparatus of the invention . the apparatus comprises a reactor body 30 which comprises a substantially cylindrical first portion 32 , a tapered neck - forming second portion 34 , and a third portion 36 which contains a central longitudinal sleeve 38 that opens out at an inner end or opening 40 in the vicinity of the neck of the second portion 34 of the reactor . as in the prior art reactor , the reactive gaseous medium is fed in via an inlet 42 placed at the top of the reactor , and it is removed with the soot at the bottom via an outlet 44 . air locks 46 and 48 protect the reactive gaseous medium against any action of the external atmosphere . the structure of the reactor shown in fig3 differs in several ways from the prior art reactor shown in fig1 . the most important difference is the neck of the second portion 34 . it is not necessary for the second portion 34 to be very long , but it is advantageous for the neck to taper gradually so that the reactive gaseous medium that comes down from the first portion 32 is subjected to acceleration and prevents the inert gas fed in via the sleeve 38 from rising into the first portion 32 . the main chemical vapor deposition reaction that forms the hermetic coating on the fiber takes place in the first portion 32 . a fiber that arrives in the second portion 34 has a temperature approximately in the range 1 , 000 ° c . to 1050 ° c ., i . e . a temperature at which soot generation becomes predominant over heterogeneous deposition on a fiber . at this stage , the reactive gaseous medium and any soot that it contains , which soot is formed by chemical vapor deposition , are removed with the inert gas fed in via the sleeve 38 , removal taking place via the annular space formed between the sleeve 38 and the wall of the third portion 36 of the reactor . the fact that soot particles can be deposited in the third portion of the reactor is of little importance because the fiber is protected by the inert gas inside the sleeve , and it is no longer in contact with the soot . another important characteristic of the invention is the presence of the sleeve which opens out in the vicinity of the second portion 34 , i . e . its opening 40 is at a distance from the second portion 34 that is of the same order of magnitude as the distance between the sleeve 38 and the wall of the reactor in the third portion 36 . this configuration is designed to create a flow regime between the neck and the open end 40 of the sleeve that is such that the inert gas fed in via the sleeve does not rise beyond the neck of the second portion 34 , but does entrain the soot after it has changed direction by flowing outside the sleeve . to this end , the flow regime of the gases at the second portion 34 of the reactor and at the end 40 of the sleeve is particularly important . in order for the inert gas fed in via the sleeve 38 to be prevented from rising into the first portion 32 , and in order for the reactive gaseous medium that has reacted and that contains the soot to be removed via the annular portion formed between the sleeve and the third portion 36 of the reactor , the flow rates of the reactive gaseous medium delivered via the inlet 42 and of the inert gas delivered via the sleeve must be balanced as a function of the cross - sectional areas of the neck of the second portion 34 , of the sleeve 38 , and of the annular space between the sleeve 38 and the third portion 36 . in an example of a reactor in which the reactor and the sleeve were circularly symmetrical about a central axis along which the fiber extended , the first portion 32 and the third portion 36 were 34 mm in inside diameter , and the second portion 34 had a smaller cross - section whose diameter was 25 mm . the sleeve 40 had a circular cross - section whose diameter was 19 mm . the end 40 was at a distance of 23 mm from the smallest - section portion of the second portion 34 of the reactor . in this example , the reactive gaseous medium fed in via the inlet 42 was formed of a mixture of acetylene and of argon delivered at a flow rate of 0 . 5 liters per minute ( l / m ). gaseous argon was delivered via the air lock 48 at a flow rate of 2 l / min in the sleeve 38 . thus , although the speed of the gas flowing in the opposite direction to the fiber inside the sleeve 38 was very slightly greater than the speed of the reactive gaseous medium descending through the first portion 32 in the same direction as the fiber , the neck of the second portion 34 accelerated the reactive gaseous medium which was driven by the inert gas into the annular space surrounding the sleeve 38 , with a flow speed in the annular space that was six or seven times greater than in the first portion 32 . with the values indicated in the above example , it was observed that the length of fiber that could be obtained before the operation was stopped by soot building up in the reactor was about 2 . 5 times the length obtained in the absence of the sleeve 38 , and in the absence of the neck 34 . although some improvement could be obtained when the end 40 of the sleeve 38 was further away from the tapered second portion 34 , it was observed that it was preferable for the end 40 to be close to the second portion 34 , without however narrowing the gap between the reactor and the end 40 of the sleeve excessively . in the absence of the neck of the second portion 34 , the sleeve 38 did not give a very significant improvement since its only effect was to reduce the working length of the reactor 30 . naturally , the reactor of the invention also takes advantage of the improvements known in the prior art for this type of reactor , concerning , in particular , the material forming the walls of the reactor , the surface state of the material , etc . naturally , the temperature conditions in the reactor also correspond to the best conditions known to a person skilled in the art . naturally , the invention is described and shown by way of preferred example only , and any technically equivalent means may be used in its component parts without going beyond the ambit of the invention . | 2 |
a rotor blade 10 which is suitable for use in the turbine section of a gas turbine engine is shown in fig1 . the blade has as principal regions an airfoil 12 , a root 14 , and a shank 16 which extends radially between the root and the airfoil . the shank has a central conduit 18 which is communicatively joined to a hollow cavity 20 of the airfoil . the root has a flared receptacle 22 including at least one groove 24 incorporated therein . the airfoil has a leading edge 26 facing in the upstream direction with respect to approaching flow and a trailing edge 28 facing in the downstream direction . a multiplicity of flow emitting holes 30 and a spanwise extending slot 32 are incorporated in the leading and trailing edges respectively . the airfoil has a tip 34 which is opposed , as installed in an engine , by an outer shroud not shown . a plurality of tip passages 36 are disposed in the pressure side surface 38 of the airfoil in the tip region . the hollow cavity 20 of the airfoil has incorporated therein a spanwise extending sealing rib 40 projecting from the suction side wall 42 of the cavity . a second sealing rib 44 projects from the pressure side wall 46 as is viewable in fig2 . a plurality of turbulators 48 join the pressure and suction walls in the trailing edge region . spacers 50 project from both the suction and pressure walls to isolate regions of the walls and to space a tubular insert 52 from said walls . the tubular insert 52 is disposed within the hollow cavity 20 and is anchored at the root of the blade by a flared flange 54 which engages the flared receptacle 22 of the root . the installed insert is spaced apart from the walls of the shank conduit 18 to form a cooling passage 56 therebetween . the insert abuts the sealing ribs 40 and 44 to form a distinct leading edge chamber 58 within the hollow cavity 20 . a multiplicity of impingement orifices 60 are disposed through the walls of the insert to direct cooling air from the central portion 62 of the insert against the pressure wall 46 and the suction wall 42 of the hollow cavity 20 during operation of the engine . as is shown in fig5 the tip of the tubular insert 52 is partially closed by a tip baffle 64 . the open portion 66 of the tip provides gas communication between the central portion 62 of the insert and the passages 36 of the blade . some specific problems which must be overcome in the design of rotor blades for turbine machines are discussed in the prior art section of this specification . each problem discussed is effectively lessened by the apparatus described herein through the application of varied cooling techniques . the cooling techniques employed have been selected for judicious allotment and reuse of available cooling capacity to meet the peculiar cooling requirements of each region of the blade . the shank 16 of the blade extends from the root 14 to the airfoil 12 . during operation of the engine the shank is held in tension by strong centrifugal forces impelling the blade radially outward . the tendency of the shank to elongate as a result of creep phenomenon is controlled herein by limiting the temperature of the shank material . for most conventional materials used in the fabrication of turbine blades a limiting temperature on the order of 1300 ° to 1400 ° fahrenheit is selected . convection cooling techniques are employed in the shank region shown to insure operation below the limiting temperature . cooling air is flowed through the grooves 24 to the shank passage 56 and ultimately to the hollow cavity 20 of the airfoil . heat from the shank is evenly absorbed by the cooling air passing therethrough without establishing severe thermal gradients across the shank . the size and the number of the grooves 24 formed in the flared receptacle 22 of the root is varied according to the cooling requirements of each individual blade . in the construction shown two grooves are utilized to provide an even flow of cooling air to the shank passage 56 to reduce the strength of thermal gradients . the leading edge 26 of the airfoil section is exposed to the harshest thermal environment and is principally cooled by film cooling techniques . film cooling requires a precise pressure drop across the flow emitting holes 30 at the leading edge . if the pressure drop is too great the emitted flow penetrates the passing working medium and is deflected downstream with the medium gases without establishing a film layer on the airfoil surface . on the other hand if the pressure drop is too small , the medium gases penetrate the cooling air layer and destructive heating of the component material results . the holes 30 of the leading edge are isolated from the remainder of the cavity by the sealing ribs 40 and 44 which abut the insert 20 to form the chamber 58 . cooling air is flowed to the chamber 58 from the central portion 62 of the insert through the orifices 60 in that region . because the chamber 58 is isolated from the downstream portion of the blade , the cooling air flows from the chamber 58 to the holes 30 rather than axially rearward to a region of lower pressure through the cavity 20 and out through the slot 32 in the trailing edge . the holes 30 of the leading edge and the orifices 60 of the insert in the leading edge region are sized to provide a precise flow of cooling air over the leading edge of the blade . the interior walls of the cavity 20 are cooled primarily by impingement techniques although some cooling results from convective and film techniques in the area . cooling air is flowed to the central portion 62 of the insert 52 and is accelerated across the orifices 60 to a velocity which causes the flow to impinge locally upon the opposing interior walls of the cavity 20 . in the regions of local impingement the rates of heat transfer are increased and more effective utilization of the cooling air is made . the tip 34 of each blade is opposed by a circumferential outer air seal which is not shown in the drawing . the clearance between the blade tip and the shroud is relatively small and substantial turbulence is generated therebetween . a high rate of heat transfer between the working medium gases and the blade tip material in the turbulent region necessitates blade tip cooling which is provided in the embodiment shown by the tip passages 36 . a positive flow of cooling air to the tip holes 36 is directed to the region by the insert 52 which has an open portion 66 in the end thereof . during operation of the engine cooling air flows radially through the tubular insert 52 and through the opening 66 to the tip cooling holes . the holes , which are oriented in a chord - wise pattern , are disposed in the pressure side surface of the blade so as to cause the air flowed therefrom to be carried radially outward and over the tip of the blade . as is viewable in fig6 and 7 the cooling holes 36 are canted rearwardly and outwardly with respect to the machine in which the blade is mounted . in one construction holes which are canted rearwardly to an angle ( b ) of 45 ° and outwardly to an angle ( a ) of 60 ° have been shown to provide particularly effective cooling of the tip . although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and omissions in the form and detail thereof may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention . | 5 |
in the following there will be explained an image transmission system , constituting a first embodiment of the present invention , with reference to fig1 to 5 . reference is made to fig1 for explaining the configuration and function of an image encoding apparatus of the image transmission system . an analog image signal , applied to an input terminal 1 , is subjected to 8 - bit digitization by an a / d converter 2 . the digitized image signal is provided to a two - dimensional spatial filter ( spf ) 3 , for eliminating high frequency components that cannot be processed in a dct ( discrete cosine transformation ) to be explained later . thus , the filter 3 alleviates visual block distortion . subsequently the digital image signal is provided to a block dividing circuit 4 , divided therein two - dimensionally into pixel blocks each consisting of 8 × 8 pixels , and is applied to the subsequent process in the unit of the pixel blocks . the image signal from the block dividing circuit 4 is applied to a dct circuit 5 , which generates an 8 × 8 data matrix indicating the frequency components . more specifically , a pixel block shown in fig4 a and consisting of image data d 11 - d 88 is converted , by the dct circuit 5 , into a data matrix shown in fig4 b and consisting of data x 11 - x 88 . the coefficient x 11 indicates the dc component in the horizontal and vertical directions in the pixel block , or , namely , the average value of this 8 × 8 pixel block . the coefficients x 11 - x 88 , which are generally represented as x ij , indicate components of higher frequency in the vertical direction for a larger value of i , and components of higher frequency in the horizontal direction for a larger value of j . the data matrix generated by the dct circuit 5 is applied to a frame memory 6 and a coefficient generation circuit 15 . a quantization matrix generating circuit 14 generates a quantization matrix w 11 - w 88 ( cf . fig4 c ) indicating the weights of quantization step sizes for the dct coefficients x 11 - x 88 , and the coefficient generation circuit 15 generates a control coefficient c to be explained later in more detail . the quantization matrix w 11 - w 88 and the control coefficient c are applied to a multiplier 16 . the multiplier 16 effects calculations w ij × c = q ij , and the outputs q 11 - q 88 are applied to a linear quantization circuit 7 for determining the quantization steps thereof . the linear quantization circuit 7 calculates x ij / q ij to generate outputs g 11 - g 88 . the quantized data g 11 - g 88 are extracted in succession from the dc component , by means of a zigzag scanning circuit 8 . more specifically the zigzag scanning circuit 8 provides outputs in the order of g 11 , g 12 , g 21 , g 31 , g 22 , g 13 , g 14 , g 23 , g 32 , g 41 . . . , g 85 , g 86 , g 77 , g 68 , g 78 , g 87 and g 88 to a variable length encoding circuit ( vlc ) 9 . the variable length encoding circuit 9 effects huffman encoding by calculating a predicted value , for example on the dc component g 11 , among the nearby pixel blocks and encoding the error to the predicted value . however , the transmission channel generally has a fixed transmission capacity per unit time , and it is desirable that the obtained code has a fixed number of bits per each picture or per each pixel block in case a picture is to be transmitted during every predetermined period , as in the case when transmitting a moving image . the number of bits is determined by the control coefficient c generated by the coefficient generation circuit 15 . more specifically , if the control coefficient c selected is larger , the probability of g ij = 0 becomes larger , so that the total number of bits nb ( transfer rate ) of the encoded data decreases . the relationship between the control coefficient c and the total number of bits nb , though variable depending on the image , is a simply decreasing function in any case , and is already known to assume the form of a logarithmic curve as shown in fig4 d for average images . therefore , the coefficient c 0 for obtaining a desired total number of bits nb 0 can be predicted , by effecting the encoding with a coefficient c 1 , determining the total number of bits nb 1 of thus obtained code , and calculating the predicted value of c 0 based on nb 1 and c 1 , utilizing a fact that the logarithmic curve shown in fig4 d passes through a point ( c 1 , nb 1 ), in the present embodiment , the coefficient c 0 is predicted in the coefficient generation circuit 15 , as will be explained in relation to fig 5 . at first certain control coefficients are selected . the data compressions are simultaneously executed , respectively with the coefficients , and the total number of bits per frame is calculated for each coefficient . then a range of coefficients providing the desired total number of bits is looked for ( c 2 and c 3 the case of fig5 ), and a coefficient c 0 providing the desired total number of bits is determined by linear approximation from the two points of the range . though a coefficient f 0 determined in this manner is somewhat different from the true coefficient c 0 , it is optimum in that the obtained number of bits never exceeds the desired number of bits since the logarithmic curve is convex downwards . the coefficient f 0 thus determined and the variable length encoded image signal from the vlc 9 ( fig1 ) are applied to a frame multiplexer 10 , which attaches the information of the control coefficient f 0 to the image signal . the format of the transmission signal released from the frame multiplexer 10 is shown in fig3 . in fig3 there are shown vertical synchronization codes 40 and 43 ; control coefficient information 41 and 44 of successive frames , containing the information of the coefficient f 0 in the present embodiment ; and variable length encoded image information 42 and 45 . the transmission signal from the frame multiplexer 10 is error correction encoded in an error correction encoding ( ecc ) circuit 11 , then modulated in a modulation circuit 12 according to the characteristics of the transmission channel , and is provided to an output terminal 13 . now reference is made to fig2 for explaining the configuration and function of an image decoding apparatus of the image transmission system constituting the 1st embodiment . the transmission signal ( data train ) from the transmission channel is applied to an input terminal 16 , and is demodulated in a demodulation circuit 18 , and is supplied to an error correction code ( ecc ) decoding circuit 19 . the ecc decoding circuit 19 corrects the code errors in the transmitted data train , according to a predetermined algorithm . also in case there are generated data for which the error correction identified is impossible , an error flag released for each error correction code word is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, and the error flag is applied to a coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 . the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 discriminates whether the code word with the error flag &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; contains the coefficient information , and , if such coefficient information is contained , sets a coefficient error signal , released for each frame of the image information , at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the coefficient error signal is applied to an error process circuit 29 . the transmission signal , subjected to the error correction in the ecc decoding circuit 19 , is applied to a coefficient decoder 20 , and is separated therein into the image information and the coefficient information . the coefficient information , separated in the coefficient decoder 20 , is applied to the error process circuit 29 , which transmits the coefficient information to a multiplier 30 in case the coefficient error signal provided by the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 is not &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the image information separated in the coefficient decoder 20 is applied to an ivlc 21 for variable length decoding . a zigzag scanning circuit 22 , a linear inverse quantization circuit 23 , an inverse quantization matrix generation circuit 31 and an idct ( inverse discrete cosine transformation ) circuit 24 effect a process exactly inverse to the process executed by the zigzag scanning circuit 8 , the linear quantization circuit 7 , the quantization matrix generation circuit 14 and the dct circuit 5 in the encoding apparatus shown in fig1 . the image information subjected to the above - explained process is buffered in a frame memory 25 , is then converted into an analog signal in a d / a converter 26 , and provided to an output terminal 27 , for provision to an image display means such as a monitor unit . on the other hand , in case the coefficient error signal , provided from the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 to the error process circuit 29 , is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the error process circuit 29 decodes the image information by replacing the coefficient information , attached to all the frames , with the coefficient information of the current frame . in the following there will be explained , with reference to fig3 the process in case the coefficient information contains an error . it is assumed that an error is generated in the transmission signal shown in fig3 on the transmission channel and that the ecc decoding circuit 19 shown in fig2 sets the error flag as &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in a section 1 shown in fig3 . the error flag is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; for a code word for which the error correction is not possible , and the error flag is applied to the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 , which discriminates whether the code word with the error flag &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; contains the coefficient information . since the section 1 contains the coefficient information 44 , the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 supplies the error process circuit 29 with a coefficient error signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; for the image information of a frame , corresponding to the coefficient information 44 . in response to the coefficient error signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; from the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 , the error process circuit 29 disregards the coefficient information 44 , and effects the decoding of the image information 45 by supplying the multiplier 30 with the coefficient information 41 used in the decoding of a preceding frame . in the following there will be given a detailed explanation of a second embodiment of the image transmission system . in the second embodiment , the configuration and function of the image encoding apparatus are the same as those in the first embodiment , and will not , therefore , be explained . now reference is made to fig6 for explaining the configuration and function of an image decoding apparatus in the second embodiment . in fig6 components the same as or equivalent to those in fig2 are represented by the same numbers and will not be explained further in the following description . also the functions of the apparatus are the same as those in the first embodiment , except for the process in case an error is generated in the coefficient information . such process will be explained in the following description . in case the coefficient error signal , provided by the coefficient error discrimination circuit 28 to an error process circuit 32 , is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the image of the preceding frame is frozen . more specifically , the error process circuit 32 sends a freeze signal to the frame memory 33 , which in response to the freeze signal for again releasing the image information of the preceding frame . more specifically , with reference to fig3 in case the coefficient error signal is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the error process circuit 32 sends a freeze signal to the frame memory 33 , for disregarding the coefficient information 44 and the image information 45 and for again releasing the image of the preceding frame , namely the image regenerated from the information 42 . in response the frame memory 33 again sends the image of the preceding frame to the d / a converter for output from the output terminal 27 . in the following there will be given a detailed explanation on a third embodiment of the image transmission system of the present invention , with reference to fig7 to 10 . reference is made to fig7 for explaining the configuration and function of an image encoding apparatus , constituting the third embodiment of the image transmission system . in fig7 components which are the same as or equivalent to those in fig1 are represented by same numbers and will not be explained further . the third embodiment is the same as the first embodiment , except for the process of attaching the coefficient f 0 , provided by the coefficient generation circuit 15 , to the image signal from the vlc 9 by the frame multiplexer 10 ( fig1 ). the attaching of the coefficient f 0 to the image signal is conducted in the following manner . the coefficient f 0 from the coefficient generation circuit 15 and the variable length encoded image signal , from the vlc 9 , are applied to a re - synchronization multiplexer 36 , which divides a frame into plural areas and attaches information of the coefficient f 0 to the image signal of each of the divided areas . the divided area will hereinafter be called a re - sync block . the relation of re - sync blocks in a frame will be explained in the following description , with reference to fig9 . in fig9 if the picture is composed of 1280 pixels in the horizontal direction and 1088 pixels in the vertical direction , and if each pixel is a / d converted to 8 bits , the data amount per picture is : since each dct block is composed of 8 pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions with a predetermined amount of image data , a re - sync block is selected as composed of 40 dct blocks . consequently a picture is composed of 544 re - sync blocks , which are arranged 4 in the horizontal direction and 136 in the vertical direction . the format of the transmission signal released from the re - sync multiplexer 36 is shown in fig1 . there are shown a vertical synchronization code 50 ; re - sync codes 51 , 54 , 57 , 60 , 63 ; coefficient information codes 52 , 55 , 58 , 61 , 64 for the coefficient f 0 released from the coefficient generation circuit 15 ; and variable length encoded image data 53 , 56 , 59 , 62 , 65 . except for the above - explained process , the processes of the third embodiment are the same as those of the 1st embodiment . now reference is made to fig8 for explaining the configuration and function of an image decoding apparatus in the third embodiment , wherein components the same as or equivalent to those in fig2 or 6 are represented by the same numbers . the transmission signal ( data train ) from the transmission channel is applied to the input terminal 17 , demodulated by the demodulation circuit 18 and applied to the ecc decoding circuit 19 . the ecc decoding circuit 19 corrects the code errors in the transmitted data train , according to a predetermined algorithm . in case there are generated data for which an error correction is identified as impossible , an error flag released for each error correction code word is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, and the error flag is applied to a re - sync block error discrimination circuit 34 . the re - sync error discrimination circuit 34 discriminates a block containing the coefficient information , of which code words has the error flag &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, and , if such block containing the coefficient information is present , sets a re - sync block error signal , released for each re - sync block of the image information , at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the re - sync block error signal is provided to a coefficient selector 35 . the transmission signal , subjected to the error correction in the ecc decoding circuit 19 , is applied to the coefficient decoder 20 , and is separated therein into the image information signal and the coefficient information signal . the coefficient information , separated in the coefficient decoder 20 , is provided to the coefficient selector 35 , which transmits the coefficient information to the multiplier 30 in case the re - sync block error signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is not provided by the re - sync block error discrimination circuit 34 . the image information separated in the coefficient decoder 20 is provided to the ivlc 21 for variable length decoding . the zigzag scanning circuit 22 , the linear inverse quantization circuit 23 , the inverse quantization matrix generation circuit 31 and the idct ( inverse discrete cosine transformation ) circuit 24 effect a process exactly inverse to the process executed by the zigzag scanning circuit 8 , the linear quantization circuit 7 , the quantization matrix generation circuit 14 and the dct circuit 5 in the encoding apparatus shown in fig1 . the image information subjected to the above - explained process is buffered in the frame memory 33 , then converted into an analog signal in the d / a converter 26 , and provided from the output terminal 27 , for provision to image display means such as a monitor unit . on the other hand , in case the re - sync block error signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is provided to the coefficient selector 35 , the selector 35 disregards the coefficient information signal attached to the incorrectible re - sync block , and replaces the information signal with coefficient information attached to a re - sync block preceding or succeeding to the incorrectible re - sync block . also in case a frame contains three or more incorrectible re - sync blocks , the frame currently processed is disregarded , and a preceding or succeeding frame is frozen . more specifically , the coefficient selector 35 is provided therein with a re - sync block counter , and provides a freeze signal to the frame memory 33 in case the number of error re - sync blocks within a frame exceeds a certain threshold value , and , in response the frame memory 33 does not release the image information of the current frame , but releases image information a preceding or succeeding frame , thereby replacing the image information of the current frame . now reference is made to fig1 for explaining the process in case the coefficient information , attached to each re - sync block , contains an error . it is assumed that an error is generated , on the transmission channel , in the transmission signal shown in fig1 , whereby the ecc decoding circuit 19 shown in fig8 sets the error flag at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in a section 1 shown in fig1 . the error flag is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; for a code word containing an incorrectible error . the error flag is applied to the re - sync block error discrimination circuit 34 , which discriminates whether the code word with the error flag &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; contains the coefficient information . in the section 1 , for the image information of the re - sync block corresponding to the coefficient information 58 and 61 , a re - sync block error signal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is entered into the coefficient selector 35 . in response to the re - sync block error signal , the coefficient selector 35 disregards the coefficient information 58 and 61 in the section 1 , and provides the multiplier 30 with the coefficient information attached to the preceding re - sync block , for example the coefficient information 55 . also as explained above , the coefficient selector 35 is provided with a re - sync block error counter , and , in case the number of error re - sync blocks exceeds a certain threshold value , the image of the frame is considered unreliable and is replaced by the image of the preceding frame . in the present embodiment , the threshold value is selected as two . more specifically with reference to fig1 , if an error flag is set in section 2 , the number of error re - sync block is considered as three , since section 2 contains the re - sync information 54 , 57 , 61 . thus the coefficient selector 35 sends a freeze signal to the frame memory 33 , thereby freezing the image of the preceding frame . as explained in detail in the foregoing , in the image signal encoding apparatus and the decoding apparatus of the present invention , if an error is generated , for example on the transmission channel , in the control coefficient information which is an extremely important parameter affecting the image quality , the image reproduction is conducted by disregarding such coefficient information involving error and replacing it with effective coefficient information . it is therefore rendered possible to minimize the influence of the error in the coefficient information , and to improve the reliability of image reproduction . also the present invention is subject to various modifications within the scope and spirit thereof . for example , in the foregoing embodiments , the coefficient information or the image information is replaced by the previously processed information , but it may naturally be replaced by the subsequent coefficient or image information . in other words , the foregoing description of embodiments has been given for illustrative purposes only and not to be construed as imposing a limitation in any respect . the scope of the invention is , therefore , to be determined solely by the following claims and not limited by the text of the specification and modifications made within a scope equivalent to the scope of the claims fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
referring to the drawings , the preferred embodiments of the present invention are now described . the preferred embodiments described here , however , do not restrict the scope of the invention . fig1 shows a schematic block diagram depicting a head mount display 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the head mount display 1 includes a main body 2 and a monitor 4 , and the main body 2 is connected to a input section 3 . the main body 2 executes game programs and other programs recorded in rom 12 according to input signals from the input section 3 and generates computer graphic images . a player positions a goggle - shaped monitor 4 before their eyes , operates the input section 3 while watching a screen drawn by computer graphics , and progresses the game by moving characters in the game . input signals which the player inputs to the input section 3 are sent to an input / output section 11 through a signal line 20 . the input / output section 11 is connected to a cpu 10 by way of a common bus 19 . rom 12 where game programs including a program for determining an attention target object in the present invention has been stored is also connected to the common bus 19 . the cpu 10 controls the movement of objects in the game , and calculates the movement of the objects in three - dimensional space and a view point position when images are displayed on the left and right screens respectively . then the cpu 10 generates image data for left eye and right eye to display the two computer graphic screens cooperatively , and sends the left and right image data to a drawing circuit 15 for the left eye and a drawing circuit 17 for the right eye by way of the common bus 19 and the input / output section 14 . images generated by the drawing circuit 15 for the left eye and the drawing circuit 17 for the right eye are recorded to frame buffers 16 and 18 at the left and right , as image signals for one screen . the image signals recorded in the frame buffers 16 and 18 are output to the monitor 4 by signal lines 21 and 22 , and are displayed on a liquid crystal monitor 23 for the left eye and a liquid crystal monitor 24 for the right eye . in the embodiment of the present invention , an object which a human being will pay attention to is forecasted when computer graphic images are generated for the head mount display , then the line of sight directions are dynamically changed to the direction of the forecasted object , and perspective conversion for the two - dimensional display screens is performed so as to generate more realistic and natural stereoscopic images . when a human being looks at an object , normally the individual not only focuses on the object but also changes the lines of sight to be cross - eyed if the object is near the view point . if the line of sight directions of both eyes are fixed to a point at infinity ( left and right in parallel ), which is the conventional method , and computer graphic images are generated for the head mount display , the stereoscopic images will be looked at quite differently from the natural perception of human beings when he / she watches an object near the view point . in a prior art shown in fig6 the line of sight 31 of the left eye and the line of sight 33 of the right eye are in parallel because they are directed to a point at infinity . fixing the line of sight directions of both eyes to a point at infinity poses no problems when looking at an object at infinity , but it does create an unnatural feeling for human perception or a sense of incongruity when looking at an object that is close by , such as object b 35 . therefore , according to the embodiment , an object to which left and right human eyes will pay attention to is forecasted and lines of sight in computer graphics are modified to be matched with the natural movement of lines of sight of a human being . then natural three - dimensional images matching human perception can be generated and displayed . the rules of forecasting an object on a screen that a human being will pay attention to are as follows . ( 1 ) an object that is close by receives a higher degree of attention than an object that is farther away . ( 2 ) a moving object receives a higher degree of attention than an object that is stopping . ( 3 ) an approaching object receives a higher degree of attention than an object that is moving away . ( 4 ) an object at the center of the screen receives a higher degree of attention than an object at the edge of the screen . ( 5 ) an object that just appeared on the screen receives a higher degree of attention than an object that has been on the screen . ( 6 ) a large object receives a higher degree of attention than a small object . ( 7 ) an object with an outstanding hue receives a higher degree of attention than an object with a subdued hue ( this , however , may be opposite depending on the contrast ). ( 8 ) a dangerous object receives a higher degree of attention than a safe object . based on the above forecasting rules , the object that a player will pay attention to is forecasted . since ( 6 ) to ( 8 ) of the above rules are design factors , several levels of weighed values are assigned to each object in advance as attention degree data . in the case of ( 6 ), for example , when birds appear as objects , value 1 is assigned to a large bird as attention degree data , and value 0 . 5 is assigned to a small bird as attention degree data in advance . in the case of 7 , for example , value 0 . 8 is assigned to a red object as attention degree data , and value 0 . 6 is assigned to a blue object as attention degree data . ( 1 ) to ( 5 ) of the above rules , on the other hand , are factors that concern the position and movement of objects , so the weight of attention degree is calculated from such factors as the position and speed of objects , and the positional relationship among objects during the execution of a game . in the case of ( 1 ), for example , the weight is changed such that the attention degree data of a nearby object is greater than a far away object according to value z that indicates depth on the display screen . in the case of ( 2 ), for example , the weight is changed such that attention degree data of a moving object , such as a ball in a soccer game , is greater according to the velocity vector . also , in the case of ( 3 ), for example , greater attention degree data is assigned to an approaching car than to a car that is moving away according to the direction of the velocity vector . in the case of ( 4 ), greater attention degree data is assigned to an airplane at the center of the screen than to an airplane at the edge of the screen according to the x and y coordinates within the display screen , and in the case of ( 5 ), greater attention degree is assigned to a new enemy that appears on the screen than to an enemy which has been on the screen by comparison with objects in the previous frame . then an object to receive the highest degree of attention out of a plurality of objects is forecasted by comprehensive calculation which is described later . as a consequence , an object that a human being will pay attention to can be rationally estimated by selecting an object on the screen by such factors . fig2 shows an explanatory diagram of the data structure of objects in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention . the attribute data of an object is composed of the attention degree , position coordinate in the world coordinate , and polygon data of the object . the view point data includes the view point position , line of sight directions , and viewing angle ( perspective ). in the data of object a , for example , the attention degree data is 0 . 5 , position coordinate in the world coordinate is ( ax , ay , az ) and polygon data is polygon 1 to 4 . the attention degree data is assigned to each object in advance , as value 0 to 1 for example , where attention degree data 1 is an object which receives the most attention , and attention degree data 0 is an object which receives the least attention . polygon data includes the three - dimensional coordinate of a vertex , and color data for example . the three - dimensional coordinate of a vertex is , for example , a coordinate indicating a relative position of the object from the origin of the object coordinate . the position coordinate , viewpoint data , and other data of the object are acquired by executing a game program stored in a memory ( rom 12 ) according to the control input data . in the next process , an object that a human being will pay most attention to , that is , an attention target object , is determined from a plurality of objects by the comprehensive calculation based on the above object data . then the line of sight direction of the view point data is modified to the attention target object . this modified view point data and object data are input to the above described left and right drawing circuits 15 and 17 , then in the drawing circuits 15 and 17 geometric conversion for determining a position coordinate of a polygon in the world coordinate space , perspective conversion according to the view point data , rendering processing for generating the color data of the polygon , and other processings are executed and image data in the frame is recorded to the frame buffers 16 and 18 . according to the image data , left and right images are displayed on the head mount display . an example of a method for determining an attention target object is now described . ( 1 ) at first , the distance between each object and the view point ( value z in coordinate axis z direction in fig3 ) is determined . for example , there are objects a , b and c on the screen in fig3 so the distance between each object and the view point is calculated . since each object is moving in the game , the distance between each object and the view point constantly changes . ( 2 ) the moving speed of each object and whether the object is approaching the view point is determined . this is because an object moving at a faster speed normally receives a higher degree of attention , and the attention degree differs depending on whether the object is approaching the view point or is moving away from the view point , even if the moving speed is the same . ( 3 ) the attention target object is determined by the value z , the attention degree data and the moving speed of each object . for example , the comprehensive attention degree for each object is calculated as and the object with the greatest value is determined as the attention target object . ( 4 ) the lines of sight for both eyes are directed to a point corresponding to the value z of the attention target object on the center line between the left and right eyes , and the computer graphic images are created by the above described method in the drawing circuits 15 and 17 . fig3 is the case when the object b 45 was determined as an object that receives the highest degree of attention as the result of the above calculation . therefore the line of sight 41 of the left eye and the line of sight 43 of the right eye are directed to the point 48 corresponding to the value z of the object b 45 on the center line 47 . then computer graphic images are created based on these line of sight directions , and are displayed on the head mount display . the line of sight directions may be modified to the direction to the attention target object b 45 itself . in the above case , ( 1 ) distance ( value z ) and ( 2 ) moving speed of the forecasting rules were considered , but the comprehensive attention degree can be determined additionally considering ( 3 ) moving direction , ( 4 ) position on the screen and ( 5 ) time when the object appeared on the screen . for example , when ( 3 ) moving direction is considered , the velocity vector of the object is used , and when ( 4 ) position on the screen is considered , x and y coordinates of the object within the display screen are used , and when ( 5 ) time when the object appeared on the screen is considered , the history of the object for each frame of the display screen is used , to modify the attention degree data by the above formula for determining the comprehensive attention degree . fig4 shows a flow chart of image processings in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention . in each step s 1 ˜ s 6 in fig4 the respective function is implemented by the computer of the main body 2 which executes the computer program stored in the rom 12 , a recording medium . in step s 1 , a game program in the rom 12 is executed by the cpu 10 according to the control input from the controller 3 by the player , and each object is moved , then the position of each object in world coordinate is computed . at the same time , the view point data including the virtual view point position and line of sight directions of the player is also computed . as a result , the object data shown in fig2 is generated . in step s 2 , clipping processing is executed and objects which enter the display screen determined from the view point data are selected . for the objects selected here , the above mentioned attention degree computation is executed in steps s 3 and s 4 and the attention target object is determined . in step s 3 , data to be required for determining the attention target object is determined by calculation . the attention degree data has been assigned to each object , but data according to position and movement of each object is calculated in this step . in this flow chart , for example , the distance z from the view point to each object in the z axis direction and the moving speed v of each object are calculated . in step s 4 , the attention target object is determined based on the above calculation result . this means that the attention target object is determined by computation according to the above rules for forecasting an attention target object . for example , the product of an inverse number of the distance l from the view point to each object , the attention degree data of each object , and moving speed v of each object is calculated , and the object where the product is greatest is determined as the attention target object . in step s 5 , the line of sight directions of the left and right eyes are compensated for so as to be directed to the attention target object determined in step s 4 . by this compensation , the line of sight directions in computer graphic processing can be determined by forecasting the movement of the left and right eyes of a human being , which implements natural stereoscopic computer graphic representation suitable for human perception . in step s 6 , the view point data including the view point position and the line of sight directions to the attention target object determined in the above step are sent to the left and right drawing circuits 15 and 17 along with the polygon data of each object . that is , the object data shown in fig2 and the modified view point data are sent to the drawing circuits 15 and 17 as drawing information . in step s 7 , the above described computer graphic drawing is executed in the left and right drawing circuits 15 and 17 in an ordinary way . since perspective conversion processing is executed according to the modified line of sight direction here , left and right images matching with the movement of the lines of sight of the player can be generated , and in step s 8 , computer graphic images are displayed on the monitor 4 of the head mount display . the abovementioned steps s 1 - s 8 are executed for every frame so that the line of sight direction is dynamically changed . in the above embodiment , the head mount display is employed as the stereoscopic display device . however , the present invention is applicable to another stereoscopic display device . for instances , an stereoscopic display device , in which an image for right eye and an image for left eye are alternately displayed in a single display frame by frame , and right and left shutters provided between the display and right and left eyes are closed or opened alternately in sync . with the images . the shutter is normally eye glass type device which human being wears on his or her face . this display is disclosed in japanese issued patent no . tokkouhei 6 - 59108 ( or japanese laid open patent no . 62 - 239784 ). fig5 shows a block diagram of the above stereoscopic display device . in fig5 the same reference number is given to the corresponding element in fig1 . the body 1 for generating images for right and left is the same as shown in fig1 . only difference is that the stereoscopic display device of fig5 has a display controller 25 for combining images for right and left which are read out from the frame buffers 16 and 17 . the display controller 25 controls to provide the images to a single display 26 so that an image for right eye and an image for left eye are alternately displayed in the display 26 frame by frame . further , the display controller 25 provides a synchronous signal to the eye glass type shutter element 27 which open or close alternately in sync . with the display . further , there has been proposed a stereoscopic display device which includes a lenticular lens or parallax barrier between the display and human beings so that human beings do not necessary to wear any eye glasses or head mount display . in the display , the image for right eye and the image for left eye are displayed in plural strip areas in the display screen alternately . and the lenticular lens or parallax barrier provide such images for right and left to right eyes and left eyes of plural human beings respectively . this type stereoscopic display device can also employ the present invention . this stereoscopic display device is disclosed in japanese laid open patent no . 7 - 104212 . as described above , the present invention allows realistic and natural stereoscopic images with changing the line of sight directions dynamically by forecasting images that a human being will pay attention to during the generation of computer graphic images for the stereoscopic display device . | 7 |
[ 0018 ] fig1 illustrates the parties of a transaction performed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the main parties to the transaction are the purchaser 102 , the seller , 104 and a trusted third party 106 such as a bank or a credit card company . each of the parties has a computer system 103 , 105 and 107 , respectively . the purchaser &# 39 ; s computer system may be any number of electronic devices with processing capabilities for processing digital information , such as a personal computer , personal digital assistant , television , music system , etc . the purchaser &# 39 ; s computer system 103 also has a smart card reader 112 either built into the system or attached thereto . a method for protecting digital information from illegal copying according to one embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig2 . the invention uses asymmetric keys in the transaction . asymmetric keys comprise a public key and a private key , wherein information encrypted with a public key can only be decrypted by the private key and vice versa . in this embodiment of the invention , a purchaser 102 obtains a smart card 108 from the trusted third party 106 in step 202 . the smart card 108 can be a credit card , debit card , identification card , etc . prior to giving the smart card 108 to the purchaser 102 , the trusted third party ( or someone hired by the trusted third party ) 106 selects an asymmetric pair of keys for the purchaser and stores the private key on the smart card 108 . the private key is stored on the smart card 108 in such a manner that the private key can be used by the purchaser 102 but is not known by the purchaser 102 or at least makes it difficult for the purchaser to discover the private key . the public key is then given to the purchaser and / or placed in a public database 110 . the purchaser then selects an activation code such as a personal identification code ( pin ) or some biometric identification code which is also stored on the smart card 108 . in step 204 , when the purchaser 102 wants to buy digital information , e . g ., computer software , music , literature , audio and / or video information , etc ., the purchaser contacts the seller 104 , for example over the internet or via telephone but the invention is not limited thereto . once the seller 104 and the purchaser 102 have agreed to the sale of the digital information , the seller 104 retrieves the purchaser &# 39 ; s public key from either the purchaser 102 or the database 110 . the seller then encrypts the digital information using the purchaser &# 39 ; s public key on the seller &# 39 ; s computer system 105 in step 206 . the seller then sends the encoded digital information to the purchaser by uploading / downloading the encoded digital information to the purchaser &# 39 ; s computer system 103 , mailing the encoded digital information on a cd to the purchaser , or the like . the purchaser 102 then pays the trusted third party 106 for the digital information and the trusted third party pays the seller 104 . each time the purchaser wants to use the encoded digital information , the purchaser 102 is prompted , in step 208 , by whatever electronic device is trying to use the encoded digital information , such as the computer system 103 , to enter the private key so that the encoded digital information can be decoded . the purchaser 102 then inserts the smart card 108 into the smart card reader 112 in step 210 . however , before the computer system 103 can access the private key stored on the smart card 108 , the purchaser must first activate the smart card by entering the correct activation code or biometric identification code so as to authenticate that the purchaser is the proper user of the smart card 108 in step 212 . the biometric identification code can be entered using a biometric scanner ( not illustrated ) or the like connected to the computer system 103 . once the smart card has been properly activated , the computer system 103 ( or a processing device connected to the computer system 103 ) can access the private key and then use the private key to decrypt the encoded digital information in step 214 . alternatively , a processor in the smart card 108 can be used to decrypt the encoded digital information . by performing the decryption in the smart card , the private key never leaves the smart card which makes it very difficult for someone to steal the private key . in this embodiment of the invention , the purchaser 102 gives the seller 104 some personal information , i . e ., the public key , but the seller cannot fraudulent use the information since the seller does not know the private key and activation code . thus , the purchaser 102 is protected from fraudulent actions by the seller 104 . in addition , the purchaser &# 39 ; s smart card and activation code are needed whenever someone wants to use the digital information . since most people will not want to give control of their smart card and activation code to friends or strangers , the digital information is protected from illegal copying . one drawback with the above - described embodiment of the invention is that the trusted third party 106 may know all of the personal information ( public key , private key , activation code ) of the purchaser 102 . in order to provide an extra layer of security for the purchaser 102 , at least a second set of asymmetric keys can be used in the transaction as illustrated in fig3 . in this embodiment of the invention , a purchaser 102 obtains a smart card 108 from the trusted third party 106 in step 302 . prior to giving the smart card 108 to the purchaser 102 , the trusted third party ( or someone hired by the trusted third party ) 106 selects a first asymmetric pair of keys for the purchaser and stores the first private key on the smart card 108 . the first private key is stored on the smart card 108 in such a manner that the first private key can be used by the purchaser 102 but is not known by the purchaser 102 or at least makes it difficult for the purchaser to discover the first private key . the first public key is then given to the purchaser and / or placed in a public database 110 . the purchaser then selects an activation code such as a personal identification code ( pin ) or some biometric identification code which is also stored on the smart card 108 which is used to authenticate the identity of the user . once the purchaser has received the smart card 108 , the purchaser selects at least a second pair of asymmetric keys in step 304 . while the rest of this illustrative description will discuss just a second pair of asymmetric keys , it will be understood by one skilled in the art that multiple pairs of asymmetric keys could also be selected and used by the purchaser . the purchaser 102 then stores the second private key on the smart card 108 in step 306 and either keeps and / or sends the second public key to the public database 110 . the purchaser 102 may use a machine at the offices of the trusted third party , the internet or a variety of other means , such as an enhanced smart card reader / burner , for selecting and storing the second pair of asymmetric keys . as a result , only the purchaser 102 knows the second private key stored on the smart card 108 . in step 308 , when the purchaser 102 wants to buy digital information , e . g ., computer software , music , literature , audio and / or video information , etc ., the purchaser contacts the seller 104 , for example over the internet or via telephone but the invention is not limited thereto . once the seller 104 and the purchaser 102 have agreed to the sale of the digital information , the seller 104 retrieves the purchaser &# 39 ; s first and second public keys from either the purchaser 102 or the database 110 . the seller then encrypts the digital information using the purchaser &# 39 ; s first and second public key on the seller &# 39 ; s computer system 105 in step 310 . the seller then sends the encoded digital information to the purchaser by uploading / downloading the encoded digital information to the purchaser &# 39 ; s computer system 103 , mailing the encoded digital information on a cd to the purchaser , or the like . the purchaser 102 then pays the trusted third party 106 for the digital information and the trusted third party pays the seller 104 . each time the purchaser wants to use the encoded digital information , the purchaser 102 is prompted , in step 312 , by whatever electronic device is trying to use the encoded digital information , such as the computer system 103 , to enter the first and second private keys so that the encoded digital information can be decoded . the purchaser 102 then inserts the smart card 108 into the smart card reader 112 in step 314 . however , before the computer system 103 can access the private keys stored on the smart card 108 , the purchaser must first activate the smart card by entering the correct activation code or biometric identification code so as to authenticate that the purchaser is the proper user of the smart card 108 in step 316 . once the smart card has been properly activated , the computer system 103 ( or a processing device connected to the computer system ) can access the first and second private keys and then use the first and second private keys to decrypt the encoded digital information in step 318 . alternatively , a processor in the smart card 108 can be used to decrypt the encoded digital information . in this embodiment of the invention , since the seller 104 and the trusted third party 106 do not know the second private key , the purchaser 102 is protected from the fraudulent use of the personal information by the seller 104 and the trusted third party 106 . at the same time , the digital information is protected from illegal copying by the financial risk the purchaser would be exposed to if the purchaser gives his / her smart card and activation code to other people . the above - described embodiments of the invention provide an improved method for protecting digital information from illegal copying while also providing a method of transacting a sale in which all of the parties take no additional risks than are normally present in a transaction . it will be understood that the different embodiments of the invention are not limited to the exact order of the above - described steps as the timing of some steps can be interchanged without affecting the overall operation of the invention . furthermore , the term “ comprising ” does not exclude other elements or steps , the terms “ a ” and “ an ” do not exclude a plurality and a single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several of the units or circuits recited in the claims . | 7 |
in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments , reference is made to the accompanying drawings , which form a part hereof , and within which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments by which the invention may be practiced . it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention . a combination of histone deacetylase inhibitor laq824 and the flt - 3 kinase inhibitor pkc412 is highly active against human aml cells with constitutively active mutant flt - 3 tyrosine kinase . referring now to fig1 through 6 , the present invention discloses that cell cycle effects and apoptosis is induced by the histone deacetylase inhibitor laq824 ( a cinnamyl hydroxamate ) flt - 3 kinase inhibitor pkc412 ( 4 - benzyl staurosporine ) against human aml cells that either express the constitutively active mutant or wild type flt - 3 tyrosine kinase . a newly developed flow cytometry ( fcm ) assay , utilizing anti - flt - 3 or phospho ( p )- flt - 3 antibody , was used to demonstrate that while mv4 - 11 ( mv ) cells express both flt - 3 and p - flt - 3 , rs4 - 11 ( rs ) cells only express flt - 3 on their cell surface . exposure to 20 to 200 nm pkc412 induced cell cycle g1 phase accumulation and , in a dose - dependent manner , significantly more apoptosis of mv than rs cells . this was associated with marked attenuation of p - flt - 3 , p - akt and p - erk1 / 2 but not of flt - 3 , akt or erk1 / 2 levels , as determined by western analyses . pkc412 also inhibited the surface expression of p - flt - 3 but not of flt - 3 ( determined by fcm ) on mv cells . as with other aml cell types , treatment with laq824 ( 10 to 100 nm ) induced the acetylation of histone h3 and h4 , as well as increased p21 levels . in contrast to pkc412 , laq824 treatment attenuated both flt - 3 and p - flt - 3 levels in a dose - dependent manner in mv and rs cells , as determined both by western and fcm analyses . exposure to laq824 ( 20 to 100 nm ) also down regulated the levels of p - flt - 3 , p - akt and p - erk1 / 2 . recently , the inventors have demonstrated that treatment with laq824 induces acetylation of hsp - 90 and inhibition of its atp binding and chaperone activities . this results in polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of the client proteins of hsp - 90 , including flt - 3 , bcrabl , akt and c - raf . significantly , co - treatment with laq824 and pkc412 induced more apoptosis of mv and rs cells , as compared to treatment with either agent alone . this was associated with more attenuation of p - flt - 3 , pakt and p - erk1 / 2 in mv cells . in three samples of primary leukemia blasts with high p - flt - 3 expression from patients with aml in relapse , the combined treatment with laq824 and pkc412 again induced more apoptosis and attenuation of p - flt - 3 levels than either agent alone . in conclusion , these studies clearly demonstrate for the first time that a ) the combination of laq824 and pkc412 may be highly effective in attenuating p - flt - 3 , p - akt and perk1 / 2 and in inducing apoptosis of human aml cells with the constitutively active flt - 3 tyrosine kinase , and b ) an fcm - based assay may be useful in distinguishing aml with constitutively higher cell surface expression of p - flt - 3 and flt - 3 , as well as in assessing the response to inhibitors of p - flt - 3 kinase in aml cells . accordingly , the inventive method is illustrated in fig7 . a cell sample 10 is taken and assayed to determine the presence of flt - 3 on the surface of the cells 20 . if the cells do not express flt - 3 30 , then conventional treatment is administered to the patient 35 . if the cell sample 10 is positive for the expression of flt - 3 40 , target cells 15 are concomitantly treated with a histone deacetylase inhibitor 50 and a tyrosine kinase inhibitor 60 as discussed supra . after treatment cell samples are taken from the patient to determine the effectiveness of the treatment . the pharmaceutical compositions of the subject invention can be formulated according to known methods for preparing pharmaceutically useful compositions . furthermore , as used herein , the phrase “ pharmaceutically acceptable carrier ” means any of the standard pharmaceutically acceptable carriers . the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier can include diluents , adjuvants , and vehicles , as well as implant carriers , and inert , non - toxic solid or liquid fillers , diluents , or encapsulating material that does not react with the active ingredients of the invention . examples include , but are not limited to , phosphate buffered saline , physiological saline , water , and emulsions , such as oil / water emulsions . the carrier can be a solvent or dispersing medium containing , for example , ethanol , polyol ( for example , glycerol , propylene glycol , liquid polyethylene glycol , and the like ), suitable mixtures thereof , and vegetable oils . formulations are described in a number of sources that are well known and readily available to those skilled in the art . for example , remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ( martin e w [ 1995 ] easton pa ., mack publishing company , 19 th ed .) describes formulations which can be used in connection with the subject invention . formulations suitable for parenteral administration include , for example , aqueous sterile injection solutions , which may contain antioxidants , buffers , bacteriostats , and solutes which render the formulation isotonic with the blood of the intended recipient ; and aqueous and nonaqueous sterile suspensions which may include suspending agents and thickening agents . the formulations may be presented in unit - dose or multi - dose containers , for example sealed ampoules and vials , and may be stored in a freeze dried ( lyophilized ) condition requiring only the condition of the sterile liquid carrier , for example , water for injections , prior to use . extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions may be prepared from sterile powder , granules , tablets , etc . it should be understood that in addition to the ingredients particularly mentioned above , the formulations of the subject invention can include other agents conventional in the art having regard to the type of formulation in question . the pharmaceutical composition can be adapted for various forms of administration . administration can be continuous or at distinct intervals as can be determined by a person skilled in the art . the administration of the histone deacetylase inhibitor , tyrosine kinase inhibitor , or any combination thereof is administered and dosed in accordance with good medical practice , taking into account the clinical condition of the individual patient , the site and method of administration , scheduling of administration , patient age , sex , body weight , and other factors known to medical practitioners . the pharmaceutically “ effective amount ” for purposes herein is thus determined by such considerations as are known in the art . a therapeutically effective amount of the histone deacetylase inhibitor , tyrosine kinase inhibitor , or any combination thereof is that amount necessary to provide a therapeutically effective amount of the compound in vivo . the amount of the histone deacetylase inhibitor , tyrosine kinase inhibitor , or any combination thereof must be effective to achieve a response , including but not limited to total prevention of ( e . g ., protection against ), improved survival rate or more rapid recovery , or improvement or elimination of symptoms associated with leukemia or other indicators as are selected as appropriate measures by those skilled in the art . in accordance with the present invention , a suitable single dose size is a dose that is capable of preventing or alleviating ( reducing or eliminating ) a symptom in a patient when administered one or more times over a suitable time period . one of skill in the art can readily determine appropriate single dose sizes for systemic administration based on the size of a mammal and the route of administration . administering or contacting — as used herein refers to the process of delivering to a cell , ex vivo , or a host , in vivo , a therapeutic substance , or a combination of several therapeutic substances . the process can include any method known in the art and is dependent on the type of substance or substances administered . possible methods include , but are not limited to , parenteral ( i . e . subcutaneously , intravenously , intramuscularly , intra - arterially , and direct injection into a tissue or organ ), mucosal ( i . e . intranasally ), pulmonary ( i . e . via inhalation ), topical , via catheter ( i . e . iontopheretically ) or orally . administration is usually achieved via a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . simultaneous measurement of surface flt - 3 kinase and phospho ( p y591 ) flt - 3 kinase in acute leukemic cells using a flow cytometric assay . leukemic cells are harvested by spinning at 1000 rpm at 4 deg for 5 minutes . the cells are washed twice with cold pbs ( 1 ×). equal numbers of cells are utilized for flt - 3 and p - flt - 3 analyses . in the assay to detect surface flt - 3 expression , shown in fig8 , the cells 10 are incubated on ice for thirty minutes 20 in pbs ( 1 ×) 30 containing 3 % fbs ( blocking buffer ) 40 . subsequently , the cells are washed twice with cold pbs ( 1 ×). cells are then incubated with either 0 . 2 tg of anti - flt - 3 antibody 50 ( sc - 19635 , santa cruz biotechnology , calif .) or concentration - matched isotype , control antibody ( igg1 , caltag , burlingame , calif .) 60 diluted in the blocking buffer and kept on ice for one hour 70 . cells are then washed twice in pbs ( 1 ×) and incubated in fitc - conjugated secondary antibody ( molecular probes , eugene , oreg .) 80 for additional thirty minutes on ice 90 . the cells are then rinsed twice with pbs ( 1 ×) and resuspended in 400 tl pbs ( 1 ×) 100 . the fluorescence is measured by facscan cytometer ( san jose , calif .). to determine the p - flt - 3 expression , leukemia cells are fixed and permeabilized . referring now to the flowchart in fig9 , cells 10 are fixed in 1 % formaldehyde 20 at 37 degrees for ten minutes 30 , followed by incubation on ice for ten minutes . cells are then spun down and permeabilized by resuspending them in ice cold 90 % methanol 40 for thirty minutes . following this , cells are washed twice in the blocking buffer ( pbs ( 1 ×) containing 0 . 5 % bsa ) 50 and then incubated in the blocking buffer for an additional ten minutes at room temperature ( rt ) 60 . next , to the cells , either 0 . 4 tg of monoclonal antibody to p - flt - 3 ( cell signaling , beverley , mass .) 70 or isotype control antibody ( igg2b , caltag , burlingame , calif .) 80 is added and cells are then incubated at rt for thirty minutes 90 . cells are then rinsed twice in the blocking buffer , followed by incubation with the fitc - conjugated secondary antibody ( molecular probes , eugene , oreg .) 100 . after thirty minutes of incubation 110 , cells are washed twice with pbs ( 1 ×) and resuspended in 400 ti of pbs ( 1 ×) 120 and analyzed by facscan 130 . it will be seen that the objects set forth above , and those made apparent from the foregoing description , are efficiently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described , and all statements of the scope of the invention which , as a matter of language , might be the to fall therebetween . now that the invention has been described , | 0 |
hereinafter , embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that they can be easily practiced by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains . however , in describing embodiments of the present invention , detailed descriptions of well - known functions or constructions will be omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail . in addition , like or similar reference numerals denote parts performing similar functions and actions throughout the drawings . a case in which anyone part is connected with the other part includes a case in which the parts are directly connected with each other and a case in which the parts are indirectly connected with each other with other elements interposed therebetween . in addition , unless explicitly described otherwise , “ comprising ” any components will be understood to imply the inclusion of other components but not the exclusion of any other components . embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a circuit diagram schematically showing a light emitting diode driving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a light emitting diode driving apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a power converting unit 110 , a feedback unit 130 , a controlling unit controlling unit 140 , and a stabilizing unit 120 . in addition , the light emitting diode apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a rectifying unit re rectifying input alternating current ( ac ) power vac to direct current ( dc ) power and providing the rectified power to the power converting unit 110 . the power converting unit 110 may include a switch m switching the dc power input thereto and a transformer t inducing the switched dc power and outputting the induced power . the switch m may switch the dc power according to a control of the controlling unit 120 . more particularly , the switch m may switch the dc power input to a primary winding p of the transformer t . to this end , the switch m may be connected between one end of the primary winding p and a ground , and the primary winding p may have the dc power input to the other end thereof . the transformer t may include the primary winding p , a secondary winding s and an auxiliary winding a . the transformer t may have a primary side and a secondary side in which electrical properties of the ground are different . here , the primary side may be provided with the primary winding p and the auxiliary winding a , and the secondary side may be provided with the secondary winding s . the respective primary winding p , the secondary winding s , and the auxiliary winding a may have preset turn numbers , and the primary winding p and the secondary winding s form a turns ratio preset therebetween , such that the dc power input to the primary winding p may be induced to the secondary winding s according to the turns ratio through switching of the switch m . the power that is induced to the secondary winding s may be stabilized through a diode d 1 and a capacitor c 1 of the stabilizing unit 120 to thereby allow for driving power vout to be supplied to at least one light emitting diode led . in addition , a plurality of light emitting diodes leds may be provided . the auxiliary winding a may form a preset turns ratio with the secondary winding s to receive the power induced to the secondary winding s , thereby enabling the power induced to the secondary winding s according to the turns ratio to be detected . the power detected by the auxiliary winding a may be transferred to the controlling unit 140 through the feedback unit 130 . the feedback unit 130 may transfer a detected voltage fb to the controlling unit 140 through a diode d 2 and voltage - dividing resistors r 6 and r 7 . more specifically , the diode d 2 may form a transfer path for the power that is received to the auxiliary winding a , and the voltage - dividing resistors r 6 and r 7 may divide a voltage level of the power transferred through the diode d 2 according to a resistance ratio to transfer the detected voltage fb to the controlling unit 140 . here , the detected voltage fb may be transferred to the controlling unit 140 through a preset positive feedback loop . the positive feedback loop as mentioned above may mean a feedback transfer path through which the detected voltage fb is input to a positive terminal (+) of a comparator ea . the controlling unit 140 may include the comparator ea , an oscillator osc , and a controller g . the comparator ea has a positive terminal (+) and a negative terminal (−) and compares voltage levels of signals input to the positive terminal (+) and the negative terminal (−) with each other to output a comparison result vea , and the positive terminal (+) may receive the detected voltage fb from the feedback unit 130 , while the negative terminal (−) may receive a reference voltage vref having a preset voltage level . the comparator ea may compare the detected voltage fb with the reference voltage vref to transfer the comparison result vea to the controller g . the oscillator osc may provide a preset oscillating signal vosc to the controller g , and the controller g may compare the oscillating signal vosc of the oscillator osc with the comparison result vea of the comparator ea to control switching on / off of the switch m . more specifically , the controller g may have a positive terminal (+) and a negative terminal (−), and the positive terminal (+) may receive the comparison result vea of the comparator ea , while the negative terminal (−) may receive the oscillating signal vosc of the oscillator osc . the controller g may control the switching on / off of the switch to control an output level of the driving power vout . fig2 is a graph showing an operation waveform of main units of the light emitting diode driving apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention . an operation of the light emitting diode driving apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 and 2 . as shown in fig2 , the oscillating signal vosc of the oscillator osc may be a signal having a sawtooth wave shape and may be compared with the comparison result vea , such that a gate signal pwm switching on / off the switch m may be provided . more specifically , in general , when a voltage level of the driving power vout supplied to the light emitting diode led is increased , a current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be decreased . however , according to the embodiment of the present invention , as the voltage level of the driving power vout is increased , the detected voltage fb is increased , the voltage level of the comparison result vea of the comparator ea is increased , and a switching - on duty of the switch m is increased by a control of the controller g , such that the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be increased . conversely , in general , when the voltage level of the driving power vout is decreased , the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be increased . however , according to the present invention , as the voltage level of the driving power vout is decreased , the detected voltage fb is decreased , the voltage level of the comparison result vea of the comparator ea is decreased , and the switching - on duty of the switch m is decreased by the control of the controller g , such that the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be decreased . therefore , a load regulation performance for constantly maintaining the current in the light emitting diode led may be improved . here , a relationship between an input voltage and an output voltage may be represented by the following equation . wherein vout is the output voltage , a is a gain of the comparator ea , and b is a feedback factor which is a ratio in which the voltage is divided by the voltage resistors r 6 and r 7 ( a ratio in which the voltage is feedback ). here , in order to stably operate the comparator ea , it is required that 1 & gt ;& gt ; ba . the voltage level of the driving power vout supplied to the light emitting diode led as described above may be increased or decreased , depending on the light emitting diode led corresponding to a load of the driving power vout . particularly , in the case in which a plurality of light emitting diodes leds are provided , the voltage level of the driving power vout may be increased when a voltage level of a reference voltage at which each of the plurality of light emitting diodes leds emits light is increased , while the voltage level of the driving power vout may be decreased when the voltage level of the reference voltage is decreased . fig3 is a circuit diagram schematically showing a light emitting diode driving apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , a light emitting diode driving apparatus 200 according to the another embodiment of the present invention is different from the light emitting diode driving apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig1 in that the reference voltage vref input to the negative terminal (−) of the comparator ea in a controlling unit 240 may be formed by reflecting a voltage level of input power from the rectifying unit re therein , to improve a line regulation performance . that is , when the input power is increased , the voltage level of the comparison result vea of the comparator ea is decreased and the switching - on duty of the switch m is decreased , such that the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be decreased . conversely , when the input power is decreased , the voltage level of the comparison result vea of the comparator ea is increased and the switching - on duty of the switch m is increased , such that the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be increased . in order to reflect the voltage level of the input power from the rectifying unit re in the reference voltage vref , the controlling unit 240 may include input voltage - dividing resistors r 1 and r 2 to divide the voltage level of the input power , thereby forming the voltage level of the reference voltage vref . configurations and operations of a power converting unit 210 , a stabilizing unit 220 , and a feedback unit 230 of the light emitting diode driving apparatus 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention are the same as and similar to those of the power converting unit 110 , the stabilizing unit 120 and the feedback unit 130 of the light emitting driving apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig1 . therefore , a detailed description thereof will be omitted . fig4 is a circuit diagram schematically showing a light emitting diode driving apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig4 , a light emitting diode driving apparatus 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention is different from the light emitting diode driving apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig1 in that the oscillating signal vosc of the oscillator osc in a controlling unit 340 may be formed by reflecting a variation in a voltage level of the detected voltage fb therein , to further improve a load regulation performance . that is , when a voltage level of the driving power vout supplied to the light emitting diode led is increased , the detected voltage fb is increased , a voltage level of the comparison result vea of the comparator ea is increased , and the switching - on duty of the switch m according the control of the controller g and a switching frequency according to an increase in a signal level of the oscillating signal vosc are increased , such that the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be increased . conversely , when the voltage level of the driving power vout is decreased , the detected voltage fb is decreased , the voltage level of the comparison result vea of the comparator ea is decreased , and the switching - on duty of the switch m according the control of the controller g and a switching frequency according to a decrease in a signal level of the oscillating signal vosc are decreased , such that the current flowing in the light emitting diode led may be increased . here , the voltage level of the driving power vout supplied to the light emitting diode led as mentioned above may be increased or decreased depending on the light emitting diodes led corresponding to a load of the driving power vout . particularly , in the case in which a plurality of light emitting diode leds are provided , the voltage level of the driving power vout may be increased when a voltage level of the reference voltage at which each of the plurality of light emitting diodes leds emits light is increased , and the voltage level of the driving power vout may be decreased when the voltage level of the reference voltage is decreased . configurations and operations of a power converting unit 310 , a stabilizing unit 320 , and a feedback unit 330 of the light emitting diode driving apparatus 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention are the same as and similar to those of the power converting unit 110 , the stabilizing unit 120 and the feedback unit 130 of the light emitting driving apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig1 . therefore , a detailed description thereof will be omitted . as set for the above , according to the embodiments of the present invention , in driving a plurality of light emitting diodes having different driving voltages , the driving of the light emitting diode can be controlled according to the feedback signal input through the positive feedback loop , whereby the current flowing in the light emitting diode can be constantly maintained . while the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings and , in particular , to fig1 and 2 wherein there is illustrated one example of the present invention in the form of a magnetic tape reel storage container 10 comprising a body 12 integrally connected to a cover 14 by means of a hinge member 16 . while other materials may be used in the fabrication of the storage container 10 , the preferred material is a plastic , such as polypropylene . as can best be seen in fig2 and 4 , the cover 14 comprises a depressed central wall 18 integrally joined to a raised , inverted , groove - type rim having a top wall 19 , an inner groove wall 20 and an outer peripheral wall 22 defining a groove 26 . the outer peripheral wall 22 has an enlarged or thickened mid - section 24 that narrows the width of the groove 26 . the inner groove wall 20 , the outer peripheral wall 22 and the groove 26 extend the full 360 ° about the cover 14 . the top wall 19 of the cover 14 has an annualar raised projection 30 , the purpose of which will be described hereinafter . the thickened mid - section 24 combined with the rim top wall 19 defines the inner face of the peripheral wall 22 as being preferably rounded to accommodate for hermetical sealing therewith the outwardly flared circular body lip 34 and rounded edge thereof . the body 12 is cup shaped having a peripheral wall 40 that terminates in the outwardly flared body lip portion 34 defining the mouth of the body 12 . the circular wall 40 has an integral bottom wall 42 which in turn has a recessed mid - section 44 ( fig2 ). the recessed mid - section 44 of the body 12 and the recessed section 16 of the cover 14 define reel engaging flanges adapted to center and secure the reel in place when the cover 14 is closed upon the body 12 as described hereinafter . the recessed mid - section 44 terminates in a raised annular lip which matingly and stackingly engages a corespondingly formed annular recess 45 formed in the cover 14 . as can best be seen in fig3 the lower portion of the body 12 is provided with an annular rim 46 which adds strength and rigidity to the body 12 while an annular leg extension 48 disposed near the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 42 cooperates with the aforementied annular rim 30 on the cover 14 to permit stacking of the closed containers 10 , one upon the other , as illustrated in phantom lines in fig3 . the annular rim 30 on the cover 14 laterally abuts the interior wall of the annular leg extension 48 and prevents lateral movement of the stacked containers 10 . it should be noted that the annular rim 46 terminates on either end of the hinge member 16 . referring now to fig4 for a detailed description of the hinge member 16 connecting the cover 14 to the container body 12 , it can be seen that the hinge member 16 is essentially in an elongated flat strip of plastic material which in the typical embodiment is approximately 3 inches in length and 1 / 4 inch wide , being integrally attached to the peripheral wall 40 of the container body 12 immediately below the container lip 34 and to the outside surface of the peripheral wall 22 of the cover 14 at a position adjacent the intermediate thickened section 24 . the lower surface of the hinge 16 immediately adjacent the outside surface of the peripheral wall 40 is provided with a ball cut 50 that runs the full length of the hinge 16 . the ball cut 50 results in a straight - line hinge along which the hinge member 16 will pivot . the use of a ball cut eliminates any sharp edges along the length of the hinge member 16 , thereby providing a hinge point which will not have any tendency to break after extended periods of use . it should be noted that the top surface of the hinge member 16 is inclined downwardly and narrows for a substantial portion 47 of the width of the hinge 16 toward its point of integral attachment with the outside surface of the peripheral wall 22 . the purpose of the flattened portion 47 of the hinge member 16 over a greater width thereof eliminates a predetermined bending line whereby the hinge member 16 will rotate and bend about whatever portion of the hinge portion 47 that is necessary to facilitate bending and which is least likely to damage the hinge member 16 over extended periods of use . it should be noted that the top surface , as viewed in fig4 of the drawings , of the peripheral wall 22 is recessed and narrowed at its upper end 50 &# 39 ; along the length of the wall 22 that corresponds to the full length of the hinge member 16 . this permits the cover 14 to roll over into the locked position illustrated in fig3 . by reason of the structure described , the cover 14 is able to be forcibly lifted over the lip 34 of the body 12 and snapped in place by progressive engagement of the inner face of the wall 22 and the outer surface of the body lip 34 , coupled with the fact that the inner groove wall 20 abuttingly and sealingly engages the inside surface of the body peripheral wall 40 below the flared lip 34 , thereby sandwiching the lip 34 snugly and securely between the opposing inner surfaces of the groove walls 20 and 22 , providing for double annular seals 360 ° about the annular groove 26 . referring now to fig6 through 10 wherein there is illustrated a second example of the present invention in the form of a magnetic tape reel storage container 100 . the container 100 is substantially identical to the container 10 described hereinbefore and comparable components are identified by the same numeral in both embodiments . as can best be seen in fig6 and 8 , the storage container 100 comprises a body 12 integrally connected to a cover 14 by means of a hinge member 116 . the cover 14 comprises a depressed central wall 118 ( fig6 ) integrally joined to a raised , inverted , grooved - type rim having a top wall 119 defining a groove wall 120 and an outer peripheral wall 122 defining a groove 126 . the outer peripheral wall 12 has an enlarged or thickened midsection 124 that narrows the width of the groove 126 ( fig8 ). the inner groove wall 120 , the outer peripheral wall 122 and the groove 126 extend the full 360 ° about the cover 12 . the thickened midsection 124 on the inner face of the peripheral wall 122 is preferably rounded to accommodate for hermetical sealing with an outer flared circular body lip 134 formed on the outer peripheral wall 140 of the body 12 . the body 12 of the container 100 is cup - shaped having a peripheral wall 140 that terminates in the aforementioned outwardly flared body lip portion 134 defining the mouth of the body 12 . referring now to fig6 and 8 , it can be seen that the hinge member 116 connecting the cover 14 to the body 12 is essentially an elongated flat strip of plastic material that is integrally attached to the peripheral wall 40 of the container body 12 immediately below the container lip 34 and to the outside surface of the peripheral wall 122 of the cover 14 at a position adjacent the intermediate thickened section 14 . the lower surface of the hinge 116 immediately adjacent the outer surface of the peripheral wall 40 is provided with a ball cut 150 that runs the full length of the hinge 116 . the ball cut 150 results in a straight - line hinge along which the hinge member 116 will pivot . the use of a ball cut eliminates any sharp edges along the length of the hinge member 116 , thereby providing a hinge point which will not have any tendency to break after extended periods of use . the top surface of the hinge member 116 is inclined downwardly along its mid portion 149 and terminates in a uniformly narrowed portion 147 ( fig8 ). thus , as can best be seen in fig8 the hinge member 116 has a ball cut adjacent the peripheral wall 140 , a thickened midsection 149 , a tapered section and a uniformly narrowed portion 147 adjacent the peripheral wall 122 . the narrowed portion 147 eliminates any predetermined bending line , such that the hinge member 116 will rotate and bend about whatever section of the hinge portion 147 is necessary to facilitate bending and which is least likely to damage the hinge member 116 over extended periods of use . still referring to fig7 and 8 , it can be seen that the peripheral wall 122 is recessed and narrowed at its upper edge 159 along the length of the wall 122 that corresponds to the full length of the hinge member 116 . it can also be seen that the corresponding length 121 of the grooved wall 120 extends upwardly beyond the height of the remaining portions of the grooved wall 122 . the grooved wall length 121 is elevated at a maximum amount at locations 151 and 153 which correspond to the opposite ends of the length of the hinge member 116 . the length 121 of wall 120 has an intermediate portion 155 that is concaved downwardly between locations 151 and 153 . the wall 120 also includes upwardly tapered sections 156 and 158 on opposite sides of the locations 151 and 153 , respectively . as indicated hereinbefore , the length of the grooved walls 120 and 122 that correspond with the length of the hinge member 116 as well as the corresponding length of the wall 140 follows a substantial straight line providing a simple means for hinging the cover 14 to the body 12 . as can be seen in fig9 when the cover 14 is rotated counterclockwise ( as viewed in fig8 and 9 ), the elevated sections 151 and 153 of the grooved wall 122 pass over the lip 134 of the body wall 140 guiding the lip 134 into the groove 126 . by providing the recessed upper edge 159 , the cover 14 is able to pivot around the lip 134 with a minimum amount of projection of the wall 120 into the interior of the body 12 . this minimizes the amount of possible interference between the wall 120 and the computer tape that is stored within the container body 12 when the cover 14 is in the closed position illustrated in fig9 . as can best be seen in fig6 and 8 , the peripheral portion of the cover 14 diametrically opposed from the hinge member 116 is provided with a tab 160 which permits the user of the container to grasp the cover 14 and rotate the wall 122 outwardly to facilitate the disengagement of the cover 14 from the body 12 . it can thus be seen that the present invention provides a new and improved and simply designed container for storing reels upon which magnetic tapes are wound . it should be understood by those skilled in the art of containers of the type disclosed herein that other forms of such containers may be had , all coming within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
as required , detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various forms . the figures are not necessary to scale , some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention . referring now to fig1 - 3 , the present invention provides for a fence post cap assembly 10 . the assembly 10 comprises a first cap member 1 designed to attach onto a fence post ; a second cap member 2 having a circumference larger than the first cap member 1 , and the second cap member 2 is designed to fit over the first cap member 1 . the second cap member 2 has at least two apertures , 3 a and 3 b . the assembly 10 further comprises a loop member 4 having a rounded portion 5 leading to two arms 6 with opposing ends , 6 a and 6 b respectively . during an installed position , each of the ends , 6 a and 6 b , are designed to fit within the apertures , 3 a and 3 b , of the second cap member 2 while the second cap member 2 is placed over the first cap member 1 to thereby lock the loop member 4 and the second cap member 2 onto the first cap member 1 . in another embodiment , the second cap member 2 has an underside , the underside has grooves 11 which are designed to hold the arms 6 of the loop member 4 during the installed position . in still another embodiment , the arms 6 of the loop member 4 are angled to fit in between the underside of the second cap member 2 and an outer side of the first cap member 1 in the installed position . fig4 shows a horizontal fence post 7 placed within the rounded portion 5 of the loop member and a vertical post 8 having a top portion 8 a attached to the first cap member 1 . a chain link fence 9 is then attached to the horizontal post 7 and the vertical post 8 . fig5 depicts the loop member 4 further comprises an extended portion 13 which is designed to receive barb wire ( not shown ). fig6 - 9 relates to another embodiment of the present invention which provides for fence post cap assembly 20 comprising : a cap member 21 designed to attach onto a fence post ; a loop member 24 having a rounded portion 25 leading to two opposing arms , 26 a and 26 b , respectively ; and a device 22 for securing the loop member 24 to the cap member 21 during an installed position . in other embodiments , the opposing arms 26 a and 26 b are either directly attached to the side of the cap member 21 or on the side wall of the cap member 21 . in another further embodiment shown in fig7 - 8 , the cap member 21 has a top surface 21 c which has at least two extended members , 21 a and 21 b respectively , and the loop member 24 has opposing arms 26 a and 26 b which are attached to the extended members , 21 a and 21 b . the securing device 22 is selected from a group consisting of screws , pins , rods , and pegs . the securing device is designed to secure and lock the loop member 24 onto the cap member 21 during installation . fig9 illustrates the assembly 20 which further comprises at least one vertical fence post 28 and at least one horizontal fence post 27 , and the cap member 21 is situated upon an upper portion 28 a of the vertical fence post 28 . the horizontal fence post 27 is situated within the rounded portion 25 of the loop member 24 , and the arms , 26 a and 26 b , of the loop member 24 is secured onto the extended members 21 a and 21 b of the cap member 21 during an installed position . a chain link fence 29 is attached to the horizontal post 27 and the vertical post 28 . fig1 shows the loop member 24 which further comprises an extended portion 23 which is designed to receive barb wire ( not shown ). fig1 - 13 relates to another embodiment of the present invention . the present invention provides for a fence post cap assembly 30 comprising : a cap member 31 designed to attach onto a fence post , the cap member 31 having a top surface 31 a with an aperture 41 and extended member 42 ; and a loop member 34 having a rounded portion 35 leading to two opposing arms , 36 a and 36 b respectively . a first arm 36 a is hingedly attached to the extended member 42 of the top surface 31 a of the cap member 31 , and the second arm 36 b capable of being inserted into the aperture 41 of the top surface 31 a of the cap member 31 . the assembly 30 further comprises a device 46 for hingedly attaching the first arm 36 a of the loop member 34 to the extended member 42 of the cap member 31 . in still yet another further embodiment , the attaching device 46 is selected from a group consisting of screws , pins , rods , and pegs . fig1 shows the assembly 30 further comprises at least one vertical fence post 38 and at least one horizontal fence post 37 . in still another embodiment , the cap member 31 is situated upon an upper portion 38 a of the vertical fence post 38 , and the horizontal fence post 37 is situated within the rounded portion 35 of the loop member 31 . the second arm 36 b of the loop member 31 is inserted into the aperture 41 of the cap member 31 to thereby secure the loop member 34 to the cap member 31 during an installed position . the second arm 36 b of the loop member 31 has an extended end 49 . the extended end 49 of the second arm 36 b is situated in between an underside of the cap member 31 and an outer side of the vertical fence post 38 . in a further embodiment , the loop member 34 is hinged backwards to allow insertion of the horizontal fence post 37 and then hinged forward to allow the second arm 36 b to be inserted into the aperture 41 during installation of the assembly to the vertical and horizontal fence posts . numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the attendant claims attached hereto , this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically disclosed herein . | 4 |
hereinafter , a semiconductor integrated circuit of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings . in the drawings , same or similar reference numerals designate same or similar or components . referring to fig3 to 5 , a configuration of the semiconductor integrated circuit ( scan circuit ) according to the present invention will be described . fig3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a scan circuit in the semiconductor integrated circuit according to the present invention . referring to fig3 , the scan circuit of the present invention includes a plurality of clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx and a plurality of scan flip - flops sf 00 to sf 0 z , sf 10 to sf 1 z , sf 20 to sf 2 z , . . . , and sfxo to sfxz . it is noted that x , z each are an integer . the scan circuit according to the present invention has a clock input clk 0 , a scan input sin 00 , a scan output soutxz , a gating control input gsin 0 , clock gating enable output gsoutx , a test mode control signal input amc 0 , a scan mode control signal input smc 0 and a clock gating circuit setting control input gcc 0 as terminals . hereinafter , the clock gating enable output gsoutx is referred to as an enable output gsoutx , the test mode control signal input amc 0 is referred to as a mode control input amc 0 , the scan mode control signal input smc 0 is referred to as a mode control input smc 0 and the clock gating circuit setting control input gcc 0 is referred to as a setting control input gcc 0 . each of the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx includes a normal operation clock gating enable signal input en , a scan clock gating enable signal input gsin , a test mode control signal input amc , a clock gating circuit setting control input gcc , a gated clock output gclk , a clock gating enable output gsout and a clock input clk as terminals . hereinafter , the normal operation clock gating enable signal input en is referred to as an enable signal input en , the scan clock gating enable signal input gsin is referred to as an enable signal input gsin , the test mode control signal input amc is referred to as a control signal input amc , the clock gating circuit setting control input gcc is referred to as a setting control input gcc and the clock gating enable output gsout is referred to as an enable output gsout . each of the scan flip - flops sf 00 to sf 0 z , sf 10 to sf 1 z , sf 20 to sf 2 z , . . . , and sfx 0 to sfxz includes terminals for a data input din , a scan input sin , a scan clock gating enable signal input gcen , a scan mode control input smc , a clock input clk , a data output dout and a scan output sout . hereinafter , the scan clock gating enable signal input gcen is referred to as an enable signal input gcen and the scan mode control input smc is referred to as a mode control input smc . the clock input clk 0 is connected to the clock inputs clk of all the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx . the setting control input gcc 0 is connected to the setting control inputs gcc of all the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx . the mode control input amc 0 is connected to the mode control inputs amc of all the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx . the gating control input gsin 0 is connected to the enable signal input gsin of the clock gating circuit gc 0 . the enable output gsout ( gsout 0 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 0 is connected to the enable signal input gsin of the clock gating circuit gc 1 , and the enable output gsout ( gsout 1 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 1 is connected to the enable signal input gsin of the clock gating circuit gc 2 . similarly , the enable outputs gsout are sequentially chain - connected in series up to the clock gating circuit gcx . the enable output gsout ( gsout 0 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 0 is connected to the enable signal inputs gcen of the scan flip - flops sf 00 to sf 0 z . the enable output gsout ( gsout 1 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 1 is connected to the enable signal inputs gcen of the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z . the enable output gsout ( gsout 2 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 2 is connected to the enable signal inputs gcen of the scan flip - flops sf 20 to sf 2 z . similarly , the enable output gsout ( gsoutx ) of the clock gating circuit gcx is connected to the enable signal inputs gcen of the scan flip - flop sfx 0 to sfxz . the gated clock output gclk ( gclk 0 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 0 is connected to the clock inputs clk of the scan flip - flops sf 00 to sf 0 z . the gated clock output gclk ( gclk 1 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 1 is connected to the clock inputs clk of the scan flip - flops sf 10 to f 1 z . the gated clock output gclk ( gclk 2 ) of the clock gating circuit gc 2 is connected to the clock inputs clk of the scan flip - flops sf 20 to f 2 z . similarly , the gated clock output gclk ( gclkx ) of the clock gating circuit gcx is connected to the clock inputs clk of the scan flip - flops sfx 0 to fxz . the scan input sing 00 is connected to the scan input sin of the scan flip - flop sf 00 , the scan output sout ( sout 00 ) of the scan flip - flop sf 00 is connected to the scan input sin of the scan flip - flop sf 10 , and the scan output sout ( sout 10 ) of the scan flip - flop sf 10 is connected to the scan input sin of the scan flip - flop sf 20 . similarly , the scan flip - flops are chain - connected through the scan output sout and the scan input sin to constitute a scan chain having the scan flip - flop sf 00 as an input stage ( initial stage ) and the scan flip - flop sfxz as a final stage . the scan mode control signal input smc 0 is connected to the mode control inputs smc of all the scan flip - flops sf 00 to sfxz . next , referring to fig4 , a configuration of the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx according to the present invention will be described in detail . fig4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the clock gating circuit gc 0 according to the embodiment of the present invention . since the configurations of the other clock gating circuits gc 1 to gcxz is the same as that of the clock gating circuit gc 0 , description thereof is omitted . the clock gating circuit gc 0 includes a multiplexer mx 1 and a clock gating cell lt 1 . the multiplexer mx 1 includes data inputs d 0 to d 2 and control signal inputs s 0 and s 1 as input terminals and an output y as an output terminal . the data input d 0 is connected to the enable output gsout , the data input d 1 is connected to the enable signal input gsin and the data input d 2 is connected to the enable signal input en . the control signal input so is connected to the mode control input amc and the control signal input s 1 is connected to the setting control input gcc . the output y is connected to a control input gt of the clock gating cell lt 1 . the multiplexer mx 1 selects one of the data inputs d 0 to d 2 based on the signal levels ( logic values ) of the mode control input amc and the setting control input gcc inputted to the control signal inputs s 0 and s 1 , and outputs the selected data input from the output y to the clock gating cell lt 1 . in detail , the clock gating circuit gc 0 is set to a test mode in response to the mode control input amc in a high level . in the test mode , the data input d 1 ( enable signal input gsin ) is outputted from the output y in response to the setting control input gcc in the high level and the data input d 0 ( enable output gsout ) is outputted in response to the setting control input gcc in a low level . on the other hand , the clock gating circuit gc 0 is set to a normal mode in response to the mode control input amc in the low level . in the normal mode , the data input d 2 ( enable signal input en ) is outputted from the output y at all time . the clock gating cell lt 1 controls connection ( supply ) and disconnection ( supply stop ) of the clock to the scan flip - flop in response to the enable signal ( output y ) selected by the multiplexer mx 1 . the clock gating cell lt 1 includes the control signal input gt and the clock input clk as input terminals , and the enable output gsout and the gated clock output gclk as output terminals . the clock gating cell lt 1 includes a latch circuit lt 1 a and an and circuit lt 1 b . the latch circuit lt 1 a latches the enable signal supplied to the control signal input gt in response to the clock input clk and outputs the latched enable signal to the enable output gsout . the and circuit lt 1 b outputs a logical product of the clock input clk and the enable output gsout to the gated clock output gclk . the and circuit lt 1 b may be realized by another logic operation . in the test mode , the data input d 1 ( enable signal input gsin ) is supplied to the clock gating cell lt 1 in response to the setting control input gcc in the high level . at this time , the gated clock output gclk indicates a signal level corresponding to the enable signal input gsin . here , when the setting control input gcc is in the low level , the enable output gsout is fixed to the signal level of the data latched by the clock gating cell lt 1 . that is , data ( enable output gsout ) for determining connection or disconnection of the gated clock output gclk is set to the clock gating circuit gc 0 . for example , when the clock gating circuit gc 0 is set ( fixed ) to the enable output gsout in the high level , the gated clock output gclk has a signal level corresponding to the clock input clk . in other words , the gated clock output gclk is in a connection state and a clock signal from the clock input clk is supplied to the scan flip - flops sf 00 to sf 0 z ( clock connection ). alternatively , when the clock gating circuit gc 0 is set ( fixed ) to the enable output gsout in the low level , the gated clock output gclk is fixed to the low level ( clock disconnection ). on the other hand , in the normal mode , the data input d 2 ( enable signal input en ) is supplied to the clock gating cell lt 1 . at this time , the gated clock output gclk indicates the signal level corresponding to the enable signal input en . that is , the data ( enable output gsout ) for determining connection or disconnection of the gated clock output gclk is set to the clock gating circuit gc 0 . for example , when the clock gating circuit gc 0 is set ( fixed ) to the enable output gsout in the high level , the gated clock output gclk having the signal level corresponding to the clock input clk is outputted ( clock conduction ). alternatively , when the clock gating circuit gc 0 is set ( fixed ) to the enable output gsout in the low level , the gated clock output gclk is fixed to the low level ( clock blocking ). fig5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the scan flip - flop sf 00 used in the scan circuit according to the present invention . since the configuration of the other scan flip - flops sf 01 to sfxz is the same as that of the scan flip - flop sf 00 , description thereof is omitted . referring to fig3 , the scan flip - flop sf 00 includes a flip - flop ff 1 and a multiplexer mx 2 . the scan flip - flop sf 00 includes the data input din , the scan input sin , the enable signal input gcen , the mode control input smc and the clock input clk as input terminals , and the data output dout and the scan output sout as output terminals . the flip - flop ff 1 includes a selector sl 1 which is connected to each of the data input din , the scan input sin and the mode control input smc , and a flip - flop ff 1 a which is connected to an output of the selector and the clock input clk and has an output q . the output q of the flip - flop ff 1 a is connected to the data input d 1 of the multiplexer mx 2 . the selector sl 1 selects either the data input din or the scan input sin in response to the signal level of the mode control input smc and outputs the selected input to the flip - flop ff 1 a . the flip - flop ff 1 a latches the output of the selector sl 1 in response to the clock clk and outputs the output from the output q to the multiplexer mx 2 . the multiplexer mx 2 selects one of the data inputs d 0 and d 1 in response to the signal levels of the mode control input smc and the enable signal input gcen supplied to the control signal inputs s 0 and s 1 , and outputs the selected input to the data output dout and the scan output sout . in detail , the scan flip - flop fs 00 is set to a scan shift mode in response to the mode control input smc in the high level , and the flip - flop ff 1 a latches the scan input sin in response to the clock input clk . here , the multiplexer mx 2 selects the data input d 1 ( output q ) and sets it as the output y when the enable signal input gcen is in the high level ( scan shift ), and selects the data input d 0 ( scan input sin ) and sets it as the output y when the enable signal input gcen is in the low level ( through output ). on the other hand , the scan flip - flop fs 00 is set to a capture mode or the normal mode in response to the mode control input smc in the low level and the flip - flop ff 1 a latches the data input din in response to the clock input clk . here , the multiplexer mx 2 selects the data input d 1 ( output q ) and sets it as the output y irrespective of the signal level of the enable signal input gcen . next , referring to fig6 and 7 , an example of a scan test operation according to the present invention will be described . according to the present invention , prior to the scan test , whether the clock is connected or disconnected is set to each of the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx . a mode of performing this setting operation is referred to as a clock gating setting mode . fig6 is a timing chart showing an example of a clock gating setting operation according to the present invention . referring to fig6 , first , the scan circuit shown in fig3 is switched to the test mode in response to the mode control input amc 0 in the high level . in this state , in a period t 1 during which the setting control input gcc 0 is in the high level , the scan circuit is set to the clock gating setting mode . in the period t 1 , data ( gating setting data ) for setting a desired state ( clock connection or disconnection ) is serially supplied from the gating control input gsin 0 to the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx in synchronization with the clock input clk 0 . the gating setting data serially supplied from the gating control input gsin 0 is supplied sequentially to the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx through the enable signal input gsin and the enable output gsout . at this time , the gating setting data in the high level is supplied to the clock gating circuit to be set to the connection state , and the gating setting data in the low level is supplied to the clock gating circuit to be set to the disconnection state . in the period t 1 , values of the gated clock outputs gclk 0 to gclkx are not determined and values ( x ) corresponding to respective enable outputs gsout are shown . at the time when the desired gating setting data is supplied to all the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx , the setting control input gcc 0 is set to the low level , so that the clock gating setting mode is terminated ( period t 2 ). at this time , the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx hold the gating setting data supplied to the gating control input gsin in response to the setting control input gcc 0 in the low level . thereby , clock connection or clock disconnection is set together with the value of the enable output gsout of each of the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx , and as the result of this , the scan test can be started . in an example shown in fig6 , by the above - mentioned clock gating setting operation , the gating setting data in the high level is set to the clock gating circuits gc 0 and gc 2 and the gating setting data in the low level is set to the clock gating circuit gc 1 . in this case , the enable outputs gsout 0 and gsout 2 of the clock gating circuits gc 0 and gc 2 are in the high level and the gated clock output has the signal level corresponding to the clock input clk . in other words , the clock gating circuits gc 0 and gc 2 are set to clock connection . on the other hand , the enable output gsout 1 of the clock gating circuit gc 1 is in the low level and the gated clock output is fixed to the low level . in other words , the clock gating circuit gc 1 is set to clock disconnection . in a similar manner , the clock connection or the clock disconnection is set to the other clock gating circuits . as described above , according to the present invention , prior to the scan test , the clock connection or the clock disconnection can be set to each of the clock gating circuits gc . fig7 is a timing chart showing an example of the scan test operation according to the present invention . referring to fig7 , the scan shift operation ( periods ts 0 and ts 1 ) and the capture operation ( period tc 0 ) in the scan test operation according to the present invention will be described in detail . here , in the clock gating circuit setting mode , the “ clock connection ” or the “ clock disconnection ” is previously set to all the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx shown in fig3 . in the present example , the clock gating circuit gc 1 is set to the “ clock disconnection ” and the other clock gating circuits are set to the “ clock connection ”. in performing the scan test , the mode control inputs amc of the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx are set to the high level and the setting control inputs gcc are set to the low level . thereby , while the scan test is performed ( ts 0 , tc 0 , ts 1 ), the clock gating circuit gc 0 to gcx output the enable output gsout ( gsout 0 to gsoutx ) and the gated clock output gclk ( gclk 0 to gclkx ) based on the clock gating setting . in this example , the enable outputs gsout 0 , gsout 2 to gsoutx of the clock gating circuits gc 0 , gc 2 to gcx are set to the high level and the gated clock outputs gclk 0 , gclk 2 to gclkx become the clock signals having a period corresponding to the clock input clk . the enable output gsout 1 of the clock gating circuit gc 1 is set to the low level and the output of the gated clock output gclk 1 is disconnected . as described above , the gated clock output gclk 1 is disconnected and stopped during the scan test . in this case , the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z in which the clock input clk is connected to the clock gating circuit gc 1 do not perform operation in response to the clock input clk during the scan test . in the scan test , inputting of the test pattern data by scan shift ( scan shift mode ( scan - in ): period ts 0 ), writing of data by the capture operation ( capture mode : period tc 0 ) and reading of capture data to outside by scan shift ( scan shift mode ( scan - out ): period ts 1 ) are performed . first , the operation in the scan shift mode ( scan - in : period ts 0 ) will be described . in the scan shift mode ( period ts 0 ), a group of scan flip - flops constitutes the scan chain ( shift register ) in response to the mode control input smc in the high level . during this period , the test pattern data s 0 to sn are supplied to the scan flip - flops by the shift operation of the scan chain . on the other hand , in the scan shift mode , the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z output the scan input sin as it is in response to the enable signal input gcen in the low level . since the clock input clk is stopped , the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z do not latch the scan input sin . for example , in the period ts 0 , the scan output sout of the scan flip - flop sf 10 outputs the scan input sin as it is . accordingly , the scan flip - flop sf 20 operates so as to input a value from the scan output sout 00 preceding the scan output sout 10 in a previous stage . similarly , since the scan output sout of the scan flip - flop sf 11 outputs the scan input sin as it is , the scan flip - flop sf 01 operates so as to input a value from the scan output sout 21 preceding the scan output sout 11 in a previous stage . next , when test data is supplied to the whole scan chain , the mode control input smc shifts to the low level and the mode shifts to the capture mode ( period tc 0 ). the scan flip - flops sf 00 to sf 0 z , and sf 20 to sfxz latch the data input din in response to the clock input clk and output the latched data ( capture data ) to the data output dout and the scan output sout . in an example shown in fig7 , in a period tc 0 , two clock pulses are supplied to the clock input clk . in response to a first clock pulse , the scan flip - flops start the capture operation . in response to a second clock pulse , data to be verified is read from the scan flip - flops . for example , in the period tc 0 , the scan flip - flops sf 00 , sf 20 , sf 21 , and sf 01 output data l 00 , l 20 , l 21 , l 01 in the period tco in response to the first clock input clk , respectively . for example , the scan flip - flop sf 00 , sf 20 , sf 21 , sf 01 output the capture data c 00 , c 20 , c 21 , c 01 corresponding to the test data sn and the data l 00 , l 20 , l 21 in response to a next clock input , respectively . also , in the capture mode , since the gated clock output gclk 1 is in the disconnection state , the clock signal is not supplied to the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z . for this reason , in the capture operation period tc 0 , the scan outputs sout of the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z are fixed to the low level as an initial value of the flip - flop ff 1 . when data is captured by the scan flip - flops , the mode control input smc shifts to the high level and the mode shifts to the scan shift mode ( scan - out ) ( period ts 1 ). in the period ts 1 , the capture data shifts the scan chain and is outputted from the scan output soutxz of the scan flip - flop sfxz in a final stage . during this period , as in the scan - in , the scan flip - flops sf 10 to sf 1 z output the scan input sin as it is in response to the enable signal input gcen in the low level . according to the present invention , in the clock gating setting mode prior to the scan test , the clock connection or the clock disconnection is set to the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx . for this reason , in the scan shift operation period , the clock connection / disconnection state of the clock gating circuits gc 0 to gcx does not change , and an arbitrary clock gating circuit is disconnected during the scan test . the individual scan flip - flops output the scan input as it is to the scan output when the supply of the clock is stopped in the scan shift operation . accordingly , even if the arbitrary clock gating circuit is disconnected in the scan shift operation , the scan shift operation can be achieved without any problem . therefore , in the scan capture operation as well as the scan shift operation , clock disconnection can be performed based on control of the arbitrary clock gating circuit , thereby suppressing a power consumption amount . that is , according to the present invention , the power consumption amount can be suppressed by stopping supply of the clock during the whole period of the scan test . when the power cannot be suppressed in the scan shift period , malfunction can occur in the circuit , resulting in false determination of a tester . according to the present invention , since the power can be suppressed in the scan shift period , malfunction of the circuit can be prevented , thereby reducing false determination of the tester . although the embodiments of the present invention has been described in detail , a specific configuration is not limited to the above - mentioned embodiments , and may be modified so as not to deviate from the subject matter of the present invention . such a modification is included in the present invention . | 6 |
referring to fig1 , the reference numeral 10 generally designates a prior art drive apparatus for controlling the current supplied to a high intensity led 12 . the anode of led 12 is coupled to the positive terminal of a dc source such as the battery 14 , and the cathode of led 12 is coupled to an output terminal 26 of drive apparatus 10 via a current limiting resistor 16 and a connector 18 . the drive apparatus 10 includes a microprocessor ( μp ) 20 , a fet current control transistor 22 , and a pre - fet drive circuit ( pfd ) 24 . the drain of fet 22 is coupled to output terminal 26 , and the source of fet 22 is coupled to ground . the gate of fet 22 is coupled to a gate drive ( gd ) output of pre - fet drive circuit 24 via resistor 28 . a capacitor 30 is connected between the output terminal 26 and ground for rf de - coupling , and the output terminal 26 is coupled to a feedback ( fb ) input of pre - fet drive circuit 24 via resistor 32 . the pre - fet drive circuit 24 turns fet 22 on and off based on the logic state at the output port ( o ) of microprocessor 20 for driving led 12 on and off . during off periods of led 12 , pre - fet drive circuit 24 permits a leakage current to flow through the feedback pin ( fb ) and the drain - to - source circuit of fet 22 for open - circuit and short - to - ground fault detection . an open - circuit fault occurs when the connector 18 or a conductor attached to connector 18 fails , and a short - to - ground fault occurs when a connector failure or pinched conductor shorts the output terminal 26 of drive apparatus 10 to ground potential . in each instance , the voltage at output terminal 26 is lower than normal , and when this condition is detected at the feedback input of pre - fet drive circuit 24 , a fault indication is provided through a serial interface ( i ) of microprocessor 20 as represented by line 34 . as mentioned above , the leakage current permitted by the prior art pre - fet drive circuit 24 for open - circuit and short - to - ground fault detection is typically in the range of 100 - 200 microamperes , which is sufficient to make the high intensity led 12 glow perceptibly even though it is supposed to be off . in contrast , the drive apparatus of the present invention provides fault protection and diagnostics while limiting off - period leakage current to a value well below a current threshold at which led 12 begins to glow perceptibly . referring to fig2 , an led drive apparatus according to the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 40 . as in fig1 , the anode of high intensity led 12 is coupled to the positive terminal of battery 14 , and the cathode is coupled to an output terminal 42 of drive apparatus 40 via current limiting resistor 16 and connector 18 . the drive apparatus 40 includes a microprocessor ( μp ) 44 , a fet current control transistor 46 , and a diagnostic interface circuit 48 . the microprocessor 44 includes an input / output port ( i / o ) 50 that is selectively configurable as an input or an output , and i / o port 50 is coupled to control terminal 56 . control terminal 56 is coupled to the gate ( input ) of fet 46 via resistor 54 , and the diagnostic interface circuit 48 is coupled between control terminal 56 and the other terminals of fet 46 . the drain ( output ) of fet 46 is coupled to the output terminal 42 , the source of fet 46 is coupled to ground through a current limiting resistor 52 . diagnostic interface circuit 48 includes a bipolar transistor 58 , a diode 60 , resistors 62 - 68 , and a capacitor 70 . the emitter ( output ) of transistor 58 is connected to a logic voltage ( vcc ) such as 5 vdc , and the resistor 62 is connected between the transistor &# 39 ; s emitter and base to bias transistor 58 to a normally - off state . the collector of transistor 58 is connected to control terminal 56 via the resistor 64 , and the resistor 66 connects the control terminal 56 to ground potential . the base ( input ) of transistor 58 is coupled to output terminal 42 through the series combination of resistor 68 and diode 60 . the capacitor 70 provides rf decoupling like capacitor 30 of the prior art driver 10 , and additionally facilitates diagnosis of an open - circuit fault condition as described below . during on periods of led 12 in the absence fault conditions , both fet 46 and transistor 58 are biased on , while during off periods of led 12 in the absence fault conditions , both fet 46 and transistor 58 are biased off , and diode 60 is reverse - biased . thus , in the off state of led 12 , the leakage current of drive apparatus 40 is limited to the minimum off - state leakage current of fet 46 , which is typically only a few microamperes . microprocessor 44 initiates fault detection at each desired off - to - on and on - to - off transition of led 12 by configuring i / o port 50 as an output with the desired output state for a predefined interval such as 30 μsec , and then configuring i / o port 50 as an input and sampling the voltage at control terminal 56 . if a fault is detected , i / o port 50 is re - configured as an output , and set to a logic zero to hold fet 46 off . if no fault is detected , the diagnostic interface circuit 48 latches fet 46 to maintain the desired output state of led 12 . fig3 is a flow diagram representing a software routine executed by microprocessor 44 at a desired off - to - on transition of led 12 for diagnosing and protecting against short - to - battery ( stb ) output fault conditions ; and fig4 is a flow diagram representing a software routine executed by microprocessor 44 at a desired on - to - off transition of led 12 for diagnosing open - circuit ( oc ) and short - to - ground ( stg ) output fault conditions . fig3 depicts a flow diagram of the routine executed at a desired off - to - on transition of led 12 and periodically in part during the ensuing on state of led 12 . the stb diagnostic is initiated by executing blocks 72 , 74 and 76 to configure i / o port 50 as an output , to set the output state high ( i . e ., to a logic one voltage ) for 30 μsec , and then to re - configure i / o port 50 as an input for sampling the voltage at control terminal 56 . if there is a stb output fault condition ( i . e ., if a connector failure or pinched conductor shorts the output terminal 42 to the positive terminal of battery 14 ), fet 46 will momentarily turn on , with resistor 52 limiting its current to a safe value , but transistor 58 remains off due to the high voltage at output terminal 42 ( or turns off if the stb condition occurs during the on state of led 12 ). consequently , resistor 66 will pull the voltage at control terminal 56 substantially to ground potential , and the voltage sampled by microprocessor 44 at block 78 will be low ( i . e ., a logic zero ). in this case , the blocks 80 , 82 and 84 are executed to re - configure i / o port 50 as an output , to set the output state to low to hold fet 46 off , and to set the stb fault status to true . in the absence of a stb output fault condition , the 30 μsec output pulse at i / o port 50 turns both fet 46 and transistor 58 on , and the current sourced by transistor 58 sustains a high voltage at control terminal 56 when the i / o port 50 is re - configured as an input at block 76 to sample the control terminal voltage . since the high voltage at control terminal 56 latches fet 46 on , the microprocessor 44 simply executes block 86 to set the stb fault status to false when the voltage sampled at block 76 is high . in other words , microprocessor 44 does not need to continue driving fet 46 to maintain activation of led 12 because fet 46 is held on by transistor 58 , through the divider action of resistors 64 and 66 . however , in the ensuing on state of led 12 , the microprocessor 44 periodically re - executes block 78 to detect an stb fault that occurs during the on state . fig4 depicts a flow diagram of the routine executed at a desired on - to - off transition of led 12 . the oc / stg diagnostic is initiated by executing blocks 88 , 90 and 92 to configure i / o port 50 as an output , to set the output state low ( i . e ., to a logic zero voltage ) for 30 μsec , and then to re - configure i / o port 50 as an input for sampling the voltage at control terminal 56 . if there is a stg output fault condition ( i . e ., if a connector failure or pinched conductor shorts the output terminal 42 to ground ), transistor 58 will be on due to the ground voltage at output terminal 42 . consequently , the transistor 58 sources current through the resistors 64 and 66 , and the voltage sampled by microprocessor 44 at block 94 will be high ( i . e ., a logic one ). in this case , the blocks 96 , 98 and 100 are executed to re - configure i / o port 50 as an output , to set the output state to low to hold fet 46 off , and to set the oc / stg fault status to true . if there is an open - circuit output fault condition ( i . e ., if the connector 18 or a conductor or component between output terminal 42 and battery 14 is electrically open ) when blocks 88 and 90 are executed , fet 46 will turn off and capacitor 70 will slowly charge through resistor 62 , the base - emitter junction of transistor 58 , resistor 68 and diode 60 . in an exemplary implementation , the resistors 62 and 68 have resistance values of 30 kilo - ohms and 50 kilo - ohms , respectively , and nearly 800 μsec is required to charge capacitor 70 . the transistor 58 will still be on when microprocessor 44 executes blocks 92 and 94 , and block 94 will be answered in the affirmative . as with the oc failure , the blocks 96 , 98 and 100 are then executed to re - configure i / o port 50 as an output , to set the output state to low to hold fet 46 off , and to set the oc / stg fault status to true . in the absence of an output fault condition , executing blocks 88 and 90 will turn off fet 46 , and the capacitor 70 will quickly charge through led 12 and resistor 16 to a voltage sufficient to turn off transistor 58 . in an exemplary implementation , the resistor 16 has a resistance value of only 680 ohms , and the capacitor 70 charges to the vcc voltage in approximately 10 μsec . as a result , transistor 58 is off when microprocessor 44 executes blocks 92 and 94 to check the voltage at control terminal 56 , and block 94 is answered in the negative . in this case , block 102 is simply executed set the oc / stg fault status to false , and the resistor 66 holds fet 46 off . in summary , the led drive apparatus of the present invention achieves a superior level of fault protection by providing fault latching for oc , stb and stg output fault conditions , while essentially eliminating leakage currents that cause led 12 to glow when it is supposed to be off . while the prior driver circuit 10 permits significant leakage current during off periods of the led 12 in order to detect output fault conditions , the drive apparatus 40 diagnoses output fault conditions in a new and different way that does not depend on leakage current . accordingly , the drive apparatus 40 limits off - period leakage current to only a few microamperes instead of the usual 100 - 200 microamperes . at the same time , the diagnostic interface circuit 48 costs significantly less than the prior art pre - fet drive circuit 24 , and the software burden of microprocessor 44 is barely increased . while the present invention has been described with respect to the illustrated embodiment , it is recognized that numerous modifications and variations in addition to those mentioned herein will occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the disclosed embodiment , but that it have the full scope permitted by the language of the following claims . | 7 |
it has been unexpectedly discovered that glucosylation of steviol glycosides beyond a certain number of glucose units effectively reduces sweetness . it has also been discovered that with the reduction of sweetness , the glucosylated steviol glycosides can contribute to the modification of flavor and sweetness profiles . therefore , while sweetness decreases with glucosylation , flavor modification increases . the steviol glycosides mixture provides a certain amount of sweetness , but the present invention shows that the glucosylated steviol glycosides ( hereinafter “ gsg ”) enhance the flavor and sweetness profile in a wide range of applications , such as those listed in , but not limited by , the categories shown below in table 2 . similar taste and flavor improvements were found in other categories of products , including , but not limited to , table top sweeteners , sauces and gravies , confectionery products , baked goods , cereals , snacks , and fruit and vegetable preparations . in the following examples , the percentages in the formulas refer to percentages by weight . to evaluate the iso - sweetness of steviol glycosides ( sg ) and glucosylated steviol glycosides ( gsg ), a series of samples were selected as shown below in table 3 . the gsg was produced by treating the raw materials , steviol glycosides extracted from the stevia plant , and starch extracted from tapioca , with a natural enzyme . the enzyme transfers glucose units from starch to the steviol glycosides . the enzyme used to facilitate this transfer is produced by means of fermentation using non - gmo ( non - genetically modified organism ) bacteria . fig2 is an illustration of an example of glucosylation . specifically , fig2 illustrates the single glucosylation ( g1 ) of a stevioside molecule . this process can yield multiple glucosylation ( g2 , g3 , etc .) of different steviol glycosides ( mainly stevioside and rebaudioside a ) present in stevia extract . to evaluate the sweetness potency of various concentrations of stevia products in aqueous solutions , aqueous solutions of sugar , stevioside , rebaudioside a ( reb a ), rebaudioside d ( reb d ), gsg - s ( contains mainly smaller gsgs with 1 or 2 glucose units added to sg ), gsg - m and gsg - l at various concentrations were prepared using bottled water . samples were evaluated by the judges at room temperature ( 70 - 72 ° f .). the judges were 11 panelists that have been previously qualified for their taste acuity and trained in the use of a sweetness intensity rating scale . the evaluations were done in duplicate using the same panelists so that a total of 22 values were generated for each average data point . prior to the conduct of the study , judges were trained with sugar solutions and the use of the ballot . samples were given to the judges sequentially and coded with triple digit numbers . the order of sample presentation was randomized to avoid order of presentation bias . a rest period of five minutes was provided between samples . water and unsalted crackers were provided in order to cleanse the palate . results were statistically analyzed to generate a standard error value for each solution as well as a confidence level at a 95 % level . by comparing the sweetness of each test ingredient to the sweetness of several sucrose solutions , the sweetness potency of different stevia ingredients was estimated as shown in fig3 . fig3 is a graph of the sweetness potency , or sucrose equivalent value ( sev ), of different stevia ingredients at a 5 % sugar sweetness level ( i . e . at a concentration equivalent to 5 % sucrose ). this figure shows the effect of glucosylation on the sev of steviol glycosides . as the number of glucose units on steviol glycosides increases , the sweetness increases from stevioside to reb a and then starts decreasing with additional glucose units . a mango - passion fruit flavored water formula was developed to evaluate the effect of different stevia ingredients on the sweetness and flavor profile of the beverage . a total of 9 - 10 panel members participated in this sensory test , where they assigned relative values to sweetness , onset of sweetness , mango fruit flavor , passion fruit flavor , acidity , overall taste , etc . table 4 shows the no - sugar added beverage formula that used mainly reb a , reb d , gsg - s , or gsg - l . the amount of each ingredient ( reb a : 150 ppm ; reb d : 165 ppm ; gsg - s : 190 ppm ; and gsg - l : 300 ppm ) was selected to have around 50 ppm of steviol in each formula . fig4 a - 4 b show the modification of flavor and sweetness profiles caused by glucosylation . the sweetness intensity decreased and sweet onset delayed with glucosylation . mango flavor was enhanced and the passion fruit flavor reduced with glucosylation . table 5 shows the same mango - passion fruit flavored beverage formula with 4 % sugar and stevia ingredients that contribute an additional 4 % sugar - equivalent sweetness . the formula used reb a , reb d , gsg - s , or gsg - l in the amount of 50 , 55 , 73 , and 200 ppm respectively as outlined in the formula below . as the number of glucose units increased more flavor modification ( whether enhancement or suppression ) was observed as shown in fig5 a - 5 b . fig5 a - 5 b show the effect of glucosylation of sg on the modification of flavor and sweetness profiles of a beverage sweetened with sugar and stevia ( sg ). the sweetness intensity decreased and sweet onset delayed with glucosylation . both mango and passion fruit flavors were somewhat suppressed with glucosylation . a key point is that gsg modified the flavor profile . in this and the following examples , the gsg may be any glucosyl steviol glycoside composition , such as , but not limited to , a combination of gsg - s , gsg - m , and gsg - l . to evaluate the flavor modification in a juice drink , a range of gsg concentrations ( 0 to 1000 ppm ) was used with a typical apple blueberry juice drink formula . the objective was to assess whether the addition of gsg has an effect on key flavor attributes in various beverage applications . specifically , the objective was to determine whether the flavor profile and overall acceptance of a control sample of apple blueberry juice ( containing no gsg ) differs from a 30 % reduced sugar test sample of the same beverage ( containing gsg ). after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 1000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 50 to 750 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 50 to 500 ppm . for detailed sensory tests , two samples were selected to test against the control sample . the methodology of the detailed sensory tests is set forth below in table 6 . the formulas of the control and test samples are set forth below in table 7 . in this study , twenty consumer panel members evaluated three samples of apple blueberry flavored juice drink for overall acceptance and attribute intensities of apple and berry flavors , onset of flavor , sweetness , and aftertaste ( includes tartness , bitterness and lingering sweet aftertaste intensity ). the three samples included a full sugar control sample containing no glucosyl steviol glycosides ( gsg ) and two test samples containing low ( 0 . 025 %) and high ( 0 . 05 %) levels of gsg . the objective of the test was to determine if the addition of glucosyl steviol glycosides affects the flavor profile of a juice drink . the results indicated : the test samples had significantly higher overall acceptability and more apple flavor intensity than the control sample ( at & gt ; 90 % confidence ). the sweetness intensity of the test sample with low gsg was not significantly different from the control . gsg enhances sweetness and flavor at high level of usage ( p = 0 . 047 ). there was no significant difference in aftertaste intensities between the test and control samples ( at 90 % confidence ). to evaluate the flavor modification in a carbonated soft drink , a range of gsg concentrations ( 0 to 1000 ppm ) was used with an orange - pineapple flavored carbonated soft drink formula . the objective was to assess whether the addition of gsg has an effect on key flavor attributes in various carbonated soft drink ( csd ) beverage applications . specifically , the objective was to determine if the flavor profile and overall acceptance of a control sample of orange pineapple carbonated drink differs from test samples of the same beverage containing gsg . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 1000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 25 to 750 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 50 to 500 ppm . for detailed sensory tests , two samples were selected to test against the control sample . the methodology of the detailed sensory tests is set forth below in table 8 . the formulas of the control and test samples are set forth below in table 9 . in this study , twenty - four consumer panel members evaluated three samples of orange pineapple fruit flavored carbonated drink for overall acceptance and attribute intensities ( overall flavor , orange flavor , pineapple flavor , sweetness , and aftertaste ). the three samples included : a reduced sugar control sample containing sg95 ( a stevia extract ) and two test samples that were the same as the control sample plus gsg added at 0 . 025 % ( low ) and 0 . 05 % ( high ) levels . sg95 is a high purity stevia sweetener available from purecircle , 915 harger road , suite 250 , oak brook , ill . 60523 , usa . the objective of the test was to determine if the addition of stevia extract solids affects the flavor profile of a reduced sugar carbonated drink . the results indicated : the test sample with low gsg had significantly more orange flavor intensity than the control sample ( 95 % confidence ). the test sample with high gsg also displayed more orange flavor intensity than the control sample ( v0 . 089 ). there was no significant difference in overall acceptance , pineapple flavor intensity , or aftertaste intensity between the control and two test samples ( at 90 % confidence ). to evaluate the flavor modification in a flavored dairy beverage , a range of gsg concentrations ( 0 to 1000 ppm ) was used with a banana flavored beverage formula . the objective was to determine if the addition of glucosyl steviol glycosides ( gsg ) has an effect on key flavor attributes and / or improves flavor perception in various beverage applications , specifically in dairy beverages . specifically , the objective was to determine if the flavor profile and overall acceptance of a control sample of banana flavored milk drink ( containing no gsg ) differs from two test samples of the same drink containing two levels of gsg . though the test was conducted with banana flavor , the findings are also pertinent with all fruit , vegetable , chocolate , coco flavored beverages and energy drinks . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 1000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 25 to 750 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 50 to 500 ppm . for detailed sensory tests , two samples were selected to test against the control sample . the methodology of the detailed sensory tests is set forth below in table 10 . the formulas of the control and test samples are set forth below in table 11 . in this study , thirty - two consumer panel members evaluated three samples of reduced sugar banana flavored milk drink for overall acceptance and attribute intensities ( overall flavor , banana flavor , dairy flavor , sweetness , and aftertaste intensity ). the three samples included : a control sample sweetened with sugar and stevia extract ( reb a ) and containing no glucosyl steviol glycosides ( gsg ) and two test samples sweetened with sugar and stevia extract ( reb a ) containing glucosyl steviol glycosides ( gsg ). one of the test samples contained a low ( 0 . 0175 %) amount of gsg and the other one contained a high ( 0 . 035 %) amount of gsg . the objective of the test was to determine if the addition of glucosyl steviol glycosides affects / improves the flavor profile of a banana flavored milk drink . the results indicated : the test sample containing a high level of gsg had significantly more banana flavor intensity , sweetness intensity , and delayed onset of dairy flavor note than the control sample ( at 95 % confidence ). the test sample containing a low level of gsg also contributed to higher banana flavor intensity ( at & gt ; 90 % confidence ). there was no significant difference in overall acceptance , dairy flavor intensity , onset of banana flavor and aftertaste between the test samples and control . to evaluate the flavor modification in baked goods , a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 5000 ppm ) was used with a lemon poppy seed muffin formula . the objective was to determine if the addition of glucosyl steviol glycosides has an effect on key flavor attributes and / or improves flavor perception in various food applications , specifically in various baked goods . specifically , the objective was to determine if the flavor profile and overall acceptance of a control sample of lemon poppy seed muffin ( containing no glucosyl steviol glycosides ) differs from a test sample of the same muffin ( containing glucosyl steviol glycosides ). though the test was conducted with muffins , the findings are also pertinent with all baked goods , not limited to cookies , cakes , pastries , bread , etc . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 5000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 100 to 3000 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 100 to 2000 ppm . for detailed sensory tests , two samples were selected to test against the control sample . the methodology of the detailed sensory tests is set forth below in table 12 . the formulas of the control and test samples are set forth below in table 13 . in this study , thirty - five consumer panel members evaluated two samples of lemon poppy seed muffins for overall acceptance and attribute intensities ( overall flavor , lemon flavor , sweetness , tartness and bitterness intensity ). the two samples included : 1 ) a control sample containing no glucosyl steviol glycosides ( gsg ) and 2 ) a test sample containing gsg . the objective of the test was to determine if the addition of glucosyl steviol glycosides affects / improves the flavor profile of a lemon poppy seed muffin . the results indicated : the test sample ( containing glucosyl steviol glycosides ) had significantly more overall flavor intensity and sweetness intensity than the control ( at 90 % confidence ). there was no significant difference in overall flavor acceptance , lemon flavor intensity , tartness intensity or bitterness intensity between the two samples ( at 90 % confidence ). directionally , the test sample was more acceptable overall and had more lemon flavor intensity than the control ( p values = 0 . 124 and 0 . 190 respectively ). based on panelist comments , the control sample had less lemon flavor than the test sample . to evaluate the flavor modification in fruit / vegetable spreads and fruit preparations , a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 5000 ppm ) was used with a strawberry topping formula for spread . the objective was to determine if the addition of glucosyl steviol glycosides has an effect on key flavor attributes and / or improves flavor perception in various food applications , specifically in fruit or vegetable preparations . specifically , the objective was to determine if the flavor profile and overall acceptance of a control sample of strawberry topping ( containing no gsg ) differs from a test sample of the same topping ( containing gsg ). though the test was conducted with strawberry spread / fruit prep / topping , the findings are also pertinent with fruit and vegetable preparations , not limited to fruits ( banana , all berries , mango , etc .) and vegetables ( celery , artichoke , squash , avocado , etc ). after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 5000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 1000 to 4000 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 2000 to 3000 ppm . for detailed sensory tests , two samples were selected to test against the control sample . the methodology of the detailed sensory tests is set forth below in table 14 . the formulas of the control and test samples are set forth below in table 15 . in this study , twenty - eight consumer panel members evaluated two samples of strawberry flavored reduced sugar topping for overall acceptance and attribute intensities ( overall flavor , fresh strawberry flavor , sweetness , tartness and bitterness intensity ). the two samples included : 1 ) a control sample sweetened with sugar and rebaudioside a containing no glucosyl steviol glycosides ( gsg ) and 2 ) a test sample sweetened with sugar and rebaudioside a containing gsg . the objective of the test was to determine if the addition of gsg affects / improves the flavor profile of strawberry flavored topping . the results indicated : there was no significant difference in overall flavor acceptance , overall flavor intensity , fresh strawberry flavor intensity , sweetness intensity or tartness intensity ( at 90 % confidence ). the test sample was significantly less bitter than the control ( at 90 % confidence ). to evaluate the flavor modification in flavored and unflavored yogurt , a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 1000 ppm ) was used with a vanilla flavored yogurt bought from a local store . though the test was conducted with vanilla flavored yogurt , the findings are also pertinent with all other unflavored and flavored fermented dairy products like cheese , yogurt ( with fat or no - fat ), drinkable yogurts , smoothies , yogurt with fruit preparations not limited to fruit ( banana , all berries , mango , etc .). after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 1000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 50 to 500 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 100 to 400 ppm . three vanilla - flavored yogurt samples ( generic brand ) were sweetened with sugar , sugar + reb a and sugar + reb a + gsg . the amount of gsg was 220 ppm . the twelve member panel found that gsg enhanced the sweetness profile and positively impacted the flavor profile . gsg helped in rounding the sweetness profile and directionally helped in reducing the aftertaste of reb a . to evaluate the flavor modification in a flavored carbonated soft drink ( csd ), a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 1000 ppm ) was used with a lemon - lime flavored csd . though the test was conducted with reduced sugar lemon - lime flavored csd , the findings are also pertinent with all other flavored csds ( cola , orange , grape fruit , passion fruit , berries fruit group , mango , etc .) with all levels of sugar and diet ( no sugar ) products . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modifies the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 1000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 100 to 500 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 200 to 400 ppm . three csd samples were made with sugar , sugar + reb a , and sugar + reb a + gsg . the amount of gsg was 310 ppm . the sample with gsg had directionally improved sweetness profile , enhanced lemon flavor note and reduced bitterness and aftertaste compared to the sample sweetened with sugar and reb a only . to evaluate the flavor modification in flavored dairy beverages , a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 1000 ppm ) was used with chocolate milk formulations sweetened with sugar and / or high fructose corn syrup ( hfcs ) and stevia . though the test was conducted with a reduced sugar chocolate flavored dairy beverage , the findings are also pertinent with all other flavored dairy beverages with different levels of fat or no - fat with different flavors ( strawberry , blueberry , mango , etc .) with different levels of sugar including diet ( no sugar ) products . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modifies the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 1000 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 25 to 500 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 50 to 400 ppm . one of the test samples was sweetened with a mixture of hfcs42 , sugar and reb a ; the other test sample also included 337 ppm of gsg . the gsg enhanced the chocolate flavor , dairy note and sweetness profile . to evaluate the flavor modification in baked good frostings and spreads , a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 0 . 5 %) was used with vanilla flavored cake frosting formulations sweetened with sugar and / or high fructose corn syrup ( hfcs ) and stevia . though the test was conducted with a reduced sugar frosting , the findings are also pertinent with all other flavored frostings with different levels of fat or no - fat and different flavors ( chocolate , strawberry , blueberry , mango , etc .) with different levels of sugar including no - sugar - added products . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 0 . 5 %, more preferably in the range of about 0 . 1 to 0 . 4 %, and most preferably in the range of about 0 . 2 to 0 . 3 %. as an example , a typical sensory test was conducted where gsg was added to a reduced sugar cake frosting . the amount of gsg was 0 . 23 %, which enhanced the sweetness profile as more sugar - like as well as promoted the vanilla flavor . to evaluate the flavor modification in snacks and cereal / nut products , a range of gsg concentration ( 0 to 0 . 5 %) was used with cinnamon flavored coated almonds sweetened with sugar and / or high fructose corn syrup ( hfcs ). though the test was conducted with full sugar coated nuts , the findings are also pertinent with all other coatings used for snacks , cereal , confectionery with different level of moisture and fat ( or no - fat ) and different flavors ( chocolate , cinnamon , hazelnut , maple , brown - sugar , strawberry , blueberry , mango , etc .) with different levels of sugar including no - sugar - added products . after preliminary sensory tests , it was apparent that gsg modified the flavor and sweetness profile at all concentrations . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 0 . 5 %, more preferably in the range of about 0 . 05 to 0 . 4 %, and most preferably in the range of about 0 . 1 to 0 . 3 %. as an example , two coated almond snacks were prepared where the test sample had reduced sugar . gsg was added in the amount of 0 . 19 % to the test sample . the gsg provided the rounded sweetness and enhanced cinnamon flavor to the test sample . gsg may also be added to confectionery formulations in order modify the flavor of confectionery , such as , but not limited to , hard boiled candy , soft textured confectionery , and chocolates . to evaluate the sweetness detection of gsg , a series of samples was made with nsf - 02 ( natural sweet flavor # 2 ) in acidified water ( ph = 3 . 3 , ph was adjusted using citric acid ). nsf - 02 contains gsg and about 15 % to 20 % dextrin , and is available from purecircle , 915 harger road , suite 250 , oak brook , ill . 60523 , usa . aqueous solutions of nsf - 02 at various concentrations were prepared using bottled water that was acidified to a ph of about 3 . 5 . the ph was adjusted using 1 % citric acid solution within a narrow range . the concentrations of nsf - 02 ranged between 0 to 1000 ppm . samples were evaluated by the judges at room temperature ( 70 - 72 ° f .). the judges were 10 panelists that have been previously qualified for their taste acuity and trained in the use of a sweetness intensity rating scale . the evaluations were done in duplicate using the same panelists ( n = 20 ). prior to the conduct of the study , judges were presented with sugar controls prepared with the acidified water for the intensity rating on the ballot referencing 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 on the evaluation scale . these solutions were provided to the judges in order to refresh the judge &# 39 ; s memory with the intensity ratings . samples were given to the judges sequentially and coded with triple digit numbers . the order of sample presentation was randomized to avoid order of presentation bias . a rest period of five minutes was provided between samples . water and unsalted crackers were provided in order to cleanse the palate . the judges could not detect any sweetness below 150 ppm of nsf - 02 . the sweetness equivalence value ( sev ) of different solutions of nsf - 02 is shown in fig6 . similarly , to quantify the synergy between nsf - 02 and sugar at 8 % sucrose equivalent sweetness in acidified water ( about 3 . 5 ph ) at various sugar reduction levels , a sensory test was conducted . the ph was adjusted using 1 % citric acid solution within a narrow range . sugar was reduced by adding the required level of nsf - 02 to attain 8 % sugar equivalent sweetness . as shown in fig6 , the sensory evaluation shows that the addition of nsf - 02 contributes additional sweetness in the presence of sugar , even though at a lower level of nsf - 02 ( 0 to 150 ppm of nsf - 02 in acidified water , without sugar ), it did not contribute any detectable level of sweetness . the synergy between sugar and nsf - 02 is the difference in sev contribution of nsf - 02 with and without sugar . the nsf - 02 concentration is preferably greater than about 25 ppm , more preferably greater than about 100 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 500 ppm to 1 , 000 ppm . accordingly , the present invention shows that gsg not only modifies flavor , but it can also enhance sweetness in the presence of other sweeteners . this enhancement of sweetness is caused by the synergy between gsg and other sweeteners . the objective of this experiment was to develop the same sweetness and mouthfeel of high fructose corn syrup ( hfcs ) 55 in water solution using an equal amount of hfcs 42 plus gsg . hfcs 55 contains a total of 77 % dry solid , and 55 % of the dry solid is fructose . hfcs 42 contains 71 % dry solid , and 42 % of the dry solid is fructose . the sweetness equivalence values ( sevs ) of hfcs 55 and hfcs 42 are 0 . 99 and 0 . 91 , respectively . to match a similar sweetness profile and mouthfeel of hfcs 55 , samples were tested including different amounts of gsg from 0 to 500 ppm and different biogums ( xanthan , gum arabic , cmc , guar , locust bean gum , pectin ), or polysaccharides ( maltodextrin , oligosaccharides , resistant maltodextrin ), or polyols . all combinations of gsg and bulking agent ( to aid mouthfeel ) provided the desired sweetness and mouthfeel that matched hfcs 55 . the gsg concentration is preferably in the range of about 0 to 500 ppm , more preferably in the range of about 25 to 300 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 50 ppm to 200 ppm . however , the best solution was the combination of xanthan gum and gsg ( shown in table 16 ). a similar analysis was carried out in a lemon - lime csd application , which had a combination of gsg and xanthan gum to provide the similar sweetness and mouthfeel with hfcs 42 as found in the formulation with hfcs 55 . it was noticed that when xanthan gum was added together with gsg the mouth feel perception was improved as well as the overall flavor profile . the addition of gsg made the sample taste more like a sugar - based product . sensory analysis ( discrimination test ) was conducted to determine the difference between the beverage samples with hfcs 55 and hfcs 42 . a triangle test was conducted with 19 panelists . only 4 identified the correct sample , two of whom were guessing . the two that correctly identified the odd sample indicated the differences were due to the hfcs 42 being less acidic and more flavorful ; they both also mentioned that hfcs 55 was slightly less sweet than hfcs 42 . although the tests were conducted using high fructose corn syrups , the results are not limited to high fructose syrups made from corn . the results are also applicable to high fructose syrups made from other carbohydrate sources , such as , but not limited to , wheat , barley , tapioca , rice , and potatoes . gsg was tested with several natural ( reb a , sg95 and purecircle alpha derived from stevia extract ) and synthetic sweeteners ( sucralose , acesulfame - k , cyclamate and aspartame ) to investigate the synergy between gsg and high intensity sweeteners . while gsg modifies the flavor profile , it also shows a different degree of synergy with high intensity sweeteners . as an example , to estimate the synergy between gsg and stevia sweeteners , nsf - 02 ( gsg + dextrin ) was mixed with a required quantity of purecircle alpha or reb a 97 in acidic solution ( ph = 3 . 8 ) to attain 8 % sugar equivalent sweetness as shown in table 17 . alpha is a blend of selected steviol glycosides , as described in international patent application no . pct / us2012 / 024722 filed feb . 10 , 2012 , entitled “ stevia composition ,” and is available from purecircle , 915 harger road , suite 250 , oak brook , ill . 60523 , usa . reb a 97 is also available from purecircle . synergy was calculated as the reduction of stevia sweeteners ( alpha or reb a ) for the addition of different levels of nsf - 02 as shown fig7 . it was discovered that alpha shows enhanced sweetness in the presence of a very small amount of nsf - 02 ( 25 ppm or less ), whereas more than 100 ppm nsf - 02 had to be added to attain any synergy with reb a as shown in fig7 . note that the detection level of nsf - 02 is around 150 ppm as shown in fig6 . in a solution with alpha , the nsf - 02 concentration is preferably greater than about 10 ppm , more preferably greater than about 25 ppm , and most preferably greater than about 100 ppm . in a solution with reb a , the nsf - 02 concentration is preferably greater than about 100 ppm , more preferably greater than about 150 ppm , and most preferably greater than about 200 ppm . gsg works with sugar , hfcs and other natural sweeteners to provide a better mouthfeel and sweetness profile in beverages . erythritol is used with stevia in beverages to provide some sweetness , but mainly to contribute mouthfeel that is lacking when a high amount of sugar is replaced with high intensity sweetener . a study was conducted to investigate the amount of erythritol that can be replaced with gsg in still beverages . a number of acidified beverage samples were targeted to 8 brix sweetness level with 200 ppm of reb a and the combination of erythritol and gsg as shown in table 18 . 1 . in a comparison of e , e6 and e7 samples , e6 was found to be very close to control ( e ) on flavor and overall mouthfeel , and slightly less sweet than control . e7 was very watery . 2 . a triangle test with e and e6 samples was conducted over two days with a total of 12 panel members . five of them detected the correct sample . the conclusion was that panel members could detect the difference ; thus the test failed . 3 . a preliminary test with e , e8 , e9 was then conducted , a triangle test with e and e9 was run . three out of ten panel members could identify the correct sample . gsg can reduce erythritol usage by 20 - 30 % ( from 3 . 5 % to 2 . 75 - 3 %) in beverages without any sacrifice of taste or mouthfeel . in the flavor system studied , the gsg concentration is preferably greater than about 10 ppm , more preferably greater than about 20 ppm , and most preferably in the range of about 30 ppm to about 200 ppm . in some flavor systems , gsg may replace more erythritol to provide a balanced , rounded sweetness flavor . although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . moreover , the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the invention described in the specification . as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention , the compositions , devices , processes , methods , and steps , presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention . | 0 |
a typical computing device may be a desktop computer , laptop computer , notebook computer , personal electronics device , smart phone , or other device capable of accepting user input , performing computations and displaying results for a user (“ computing device ”). a computing device may be digital or analog , semiconductor - based , or can use an alternative computing medium such as a biological computer , optical computer , magnetic computer , quantum computer , or other type . the computing device may include one or more processors capable of performing computations . the computing device may include short term memory for storing data to be processed or instructions to the processor ( s ). the computing device may include or have access to long term memory for storage of programs , data , and / or results of computations . the computing device may include a means for accepting instructions or selections from a user , such as a keyboard , touch screen or other input means , and a means for displaying results to a user , such as a printer , screen , or other type of display means which is able to permit a user to view information that could be graphical , textual or numeric . the computing device may be used in conjunction with an application , program or software to perform various transactions and analyses that are of value to a user . the application could be hard - wired , hard - coded , in firmware , in software , local , remote or a combination of any of them . for example , the application could be used to track and pay bills , conduct banking and other financial transactions , manage an individual &# 39 ; s personal finances and investments , and analyze their net worth . with regard to analyzing net worth , the application can use data available to it to compute net worth in the traditional manner of nw = a − l , or according to any other formula which may be desirable to use . thus , the computing device would use long term memory to access the application ( program ) instructions and / or user data . the processor would then compute net worth . the computing device would then carry out application instructions to compute a graphic display of nw , such as nw over time . finally the computing device would display nw on its display means so that the user can view nw . with regard to the display of net worth on a display means , the computing device can display a simple set of cartesian coordinates ( x , y ) where x represents a variable such as time and y represents a variable such as nw in dollar terms . an example of such a graphical display is shown in fig3 . the graph 301 includes an x axis for time 302 ( years ) and a y coordinate for net worth 303 ( dollars ). each year 304 , 305 , 306 , shows a slight change in net worth . a curve 307 is drawn using net worth data points . it is possible to use finer data points than shown , such as months or days , for a more accurate curve . if desired , the user can simply view the curve in order to make judgments about net worth and net worth trends . this creates a simple feedback loop upon which the user may rely to evaluate the effectiveness of past behaviors in building net worth , an in order to modify future behavior in the hope of having a more positive net worth outcome in the future . however , even this cartesian coordinate representation of net worth falls short in being truly informative to the user . it inadequately depicts short term net worth trends which can have very significant long term influence on net worth . changes of net worth of even several thousand dollars are lost in the magnitude of the graph and are not noticeable to the user . when those changes are not noticeable , the user may be unable to use the information as helpful feedback . therefore the inventor has determined that it is desirable to be able to zoom in , enlarge or focus on shorter periods of time within the graphical representation of net worth for a more informative view of net worth trends . fig4 depicts an excerpt of the net worth graphical representation of fig3 where the application has been used to zoom in on a section of the net worth curve 307 between years 305 and 306 , thus depicting a net worth curve section 310 . this curve section 310 , being a zoom - in or enlargement of a particular time period of activity , shows changes in net worth more dramatically than the general trends depicted in fig3 . as desired , the zoom - in or focus of fig4 may truncate time , and may truncate dollars as well per the focus section 4 - 4 shown in the next figure . instead of depicting net worth from zero to the actual net worth amount , the graph of fig4 can focus on net worth between two limits 420 and 430 . the limits may be chosen in a narrow or a wide window . as an example , the limits could be chose to be one year &# 39 ; s total net worth fluctuation . on the net worth curve section 310 which has been focused on , two points in time are selected 311 and 312 and the net worth limits are shown as 420 and 430 . this focused graph 401 has a much more dynamic curve 402 . these functions are performed by the computing device . the dynamics of the curve more clearly illustrate to the user how net worth has changed over the period of time depicted . once the user understands how net worth changed over that period of time , the user can reflect upon his / her behaviors which led to the net worth changes . based on that reflection the user can then plan and / or modify future behavior to take advantage of behavior which had a positive impact on net worth and to eliminate behavior which had a negative impact on net worth . referring to fig5 , additional analysis of the net worth zoom - in of fig4 is shown . in this figure , the user or the application has chosen two points in time 501 and 502 on the curve 402 . the application then computes the slope um ″ of the curve between those two points . slope is generally defined as rise over run , or gradient . slope defines the steepness of the curve and whether it is positive or negative . if a single point on the curve is chosen , slope is taken of the line tangent to the curve at the desired point . by informing the user of the slope of the curve between two points in time or at a particular point in time , the application is able to very informatively depict the short term net worth trend in question . if the slope is sharply climbing , then the behavior which produced that result should definitely be repeated . if the slope is negative , then significant behavioral adjustments may be needed . many users may not understand the simple mathematical concept of slope . however , they are likely to understand the concept of going uphill versus going downhill . all users will understand that they want their net worth to rise , or grow into a mountain , and that they do not want their net worth to go downhill . therefore when a user &# 39 ; s short term net worth trends are graphically represented to a user in a manner that indicates uphill progress ( a positive event ) or downhill trending ( a negative event ), the user will very quickly understand the direction that his / her wealth is headed and will be in a better position to either take corrective action , to continue current behaviors , or to emphasize those behaviors responsible for a desirable net worth trend . a graphic such as 550 can graphically depict to the user short term net worth trend ( slope ) at a selected point or between two selected points . the invention may be hard coded or hard wired into a computing device . more typically it is expected that the invention will be implemented as a software application which may be run on a computing device . therefore the invention could be hardware or software , or a combination of them as desired . the invention may also be viewed as a system which includes the necessary hardware and software to carry out the inventive concept . the invention may also be defined as a series of method steps which are carried out to implement the inventive concept and provide the user with a useful result . while the present invention has been described and illustrated in conjunction with a specific embodiment , those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention as herein illustrated , described , and claimed . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described embodiment is to be considered in all respects as only illustrative , and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims , rather than by the foregoing description . all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . | 6 |
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the novel technology , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the novel technology is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device , and such further applications of the principles of the novel technology as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the novel technology relates . fig1 - 3 illustrate a first embodiment of the present novel technology , a portable storm detection device 100 . as seen in fig1 , the portable weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 has a protective casing 130 sized to partially reside within a protective base 140 . typically , the protective casing 130 is generally spherical or hemispherical . the protective casing 130 may be permanently affixed to the protective base 140 . while no practical restriction exists upon the size of the portable weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 , most often the portable weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 is approximately palm size . the protective casing 130 is typically made of a non - magnetic material , or is at least sufficiently non - magnetic to minimize interference with the apparatus &# 39 ; 100 function . the protective casing 130 typically has a transparent portion allowing visual inspection of the contents thereof . the protective casing 130 is typically etched with graduated vertical and horizontal markings 120 . likewise , the protective base 140 may be etched with graduated vertical and horizontal markings 120 . a portion of the graduated markings may include a phosphorescent substance for ease of reading . the phosphorescent substance may assist in the use of the weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 in low light conditions . the base 140 or other portion of the device 100 may include a sensor 145 for detecting whether the device 100 base 140 is horizontal , such as a spirit level or bubble level 145 . a magnetic element 150 is typically suspended within the protective case 130 . in some embodiments , the magnetic element or member 150 is typically a slender elongated member , such as a needle having a north and a south pole ; however , in other embodiments , the magnetic element 150 may be a magnetized sphere . in some implementations , the protective case 130 encloses the magnetic element 150 such that the magnetic element 150 is suspended within an airtight enclosure , while in other implementations the protective casing 130 also encloses a thermally inert dampening fluid 155 . the magnetic element 150 is typically suspended such that the magnetic element 150 is freely rotatable in the horizontal plane and with one end or pole freely pivotable or moveable in a direction against the pull of gravity , such as through a vertical plane . in the case of a spherical magnetic element 150 , the element may be incased in a slightly larger sphere 130 with a dampening or low friction fluid 155 filling the space therebetween . additionally , the suspension is such that the magnetic element 150 rests at level and in alignment with magnetic north . for example , the magnetic element 150 is freely pivotable in both the horizontal and vertical planes in response to magnetic disturbances , such as these related to weather phenomenon . in the absence of strong external magnetic fields , such as those related to a electrical storms and / or tornados , the magnetic element 150 will tend to be level and will tend to point to magnetic north . the thermally inert dampening fluid 155 retards the pivoting of the magnetic element 150 . for example , the dampening fluid 155 can lessen or slow the pivoting of the magnetic element 150 that can result from transportation of the portable weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 . in some implementations , the pivoting of the magnetic element 150 is retarded through friction between the magnetic element 150 and the means of suspension of the magnetic element 150 . in other implementations , the magnetic element 150 is free to pivot without retardation . the detection device 100 may also include a sensor 160 for generating a signal in response to the speed at which the magnetic element moves and / or the force which the magnetic element exerts in response to an external magnetic field . further , the detection device 100 may also include a global positioning system ( gps ) positioning receiver 165 for ascertaining its location . in some implementations , portions of the magnetic element 150 may be coated with a phosphorescent marking 190 . the phosphorescent marking 190 corresponds to the orientation of the magnetic element 150 and can assist in the use of the weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 in low light conditions . in some implementations , a light source 180 is connected to the magnetic element 150 . in these implementations , the light source 180 may be operationally connected such that the light emitted from the light source 180 corresponds to the orientation of the magnetic element 150 . in some implementations , the portable storm detection and alarm apparatus 100 can also include an alarm 170 that is operationally connected to the magnetic element 150 . the alarm 170 can sound in response to excessive and / or rapid pivoting of the magnetic element 150 . for example , the alarm 170 can sound when the magnetic element 150 is pivoting at a rate in excess of a predetermined threshold value . in some implementations , the portable weather detection and alarm apparatus 100 can also include a data interface 195 . the data interface 195 may be operationally connected to a recording device to enable recording of the pivoting of the magnetic element 150 , signals from sensor 145 , sensor 160 , and the like . more typically , the data interface 195 is operationally connected to a computer , microprocessor , electronic controller or the like 200 . the apparatus 100 may also include an integral microprocessor 201 operationally connected to the data interface 195 , sensor 145 , sensor 160 , and / or the like . for example , the data interface 195 may be an interface that adheres to the universal serial bus ( usb ) specification and enables a recording device , such as a computer , to record the pivoting or movement of the magnetic element 150 . in some implementations , the data interface 195 may be memory enabled , permitting the data interface 195 to record the pivoting of the magnetic element 150 for subsequent transference to a recording device . as seen in fig3 , in some embodiments the portable weather magnetometer 100 has a transparent housing 130 defining a mostly spherical interior cavity 115 . the transparent housing 130 is etched with graduated markings 120 . the graduated markings 120 correspond to three perpendicular axes . an indicator 125 is located within the cavity 115 . in some implementations , the indicator 125 is spherical and substantially occupies the cavity 115 . the indicator 125 typically has a leveling center of gravity such that the indicator 125 is normally level with respect to the horizon . the indicator 125 also typically has a finite magnetic field and is rotatable about the three perpendicular axes . for example , the indicator 125 typically rests horizontally level and indicates magnetic north . however , when in the presence of a disturbing magnetic field , the indicator 125 is free to respond in line with the disturbing magnetic field about the three perpendicular axes . the cavity 115 also contains a thermally inert dampening fluid 155 . the dampening fluid 155 is typically lubricating and more typically has a specific gravity such that the indicator 125 is neutrally buoyant and able to freely rotate within the cavity 115 . in some implementations , the indicator 125 is also marked with a phosphorescent marking 190 in line with the indicator &# 39 ; s magnetic field . in some implementations , the portable weather magnetometer 100 further includes an illumination source 180 . in some of such implementations the indicator 125 includes a lens 205 for focusing the light source 180 upon the graduated markings 120 . for example , the light from the light source 180 is focused such that the degrees of rotation achieved by the indicator 125 about the three axes are illuminated . in some implementations , the housing 130 has a focusing receptacle 215 enabling an external light source to supply the light that the lens 205 focuses upon the graduated markings 120 . in some other implementations , the light source 180 is a laser and the lens 205 comprises a beam splitter assembly 210 . the beam splitter assembly 210 is capable of splitting a laser beam emitted from the light source 180 into three distinct laser beams with each of the three distinct laser beams correspond to a respective axis . in another embodiment , two or more storm detection devices 100 may be used to measure both the direction and the movement of an extreme weather condition . typically , a plurality of storm detection devices 100 may be connected in electric communication , such that the direction of deflection of the magnetic indicator 150 , the force of deflection , and / or the speed at which the direction of deflection changes may be measured , communicated and correlated to determine the position , direction of movement , and / or speed of movement of the storm . typically , the data interfaces 195 of each respective storm detection device 100 are operationally connected to a microprocessor 200 , 201 , which receives information from each respective device 100 . the microprocessor 200 , 201 may then calculate the position , direction of movement , and / or speed of movement relative to the devices 100 from the information received from each respective device 100 . further , if the devices are gps 165 enabled , the exact location of the storm may be calculated . in operation , the apparatus 100 is of a convenient shape and size such that it is easily portable for the user . the apparatus 100 , once removed from its storage container or field pack , can remain readable through both day and night situations . the apparatus 100 can be held in the user &# 39 ; s palm or , for convenience , be placed upon a surface to assess a current reading from the surrounding environment . the surface need not be level in that the apparatus self levels 100 . alternatively , the device can be mounted on the exterior or interior of a home , a cabin , or other suitable place . the apparatus &# 39 ; 100 portable nature allows the apparatus 100 to be easily transported and hence used during camping and hiking . the apparatus &# 39 ; 100 low or no power requirements provide for the apparatus &# 39 ; s use in post - disaster environments . for example , the apparatus 100 may supply useful information in areas where weather detection and weather warning systems are not operational or have been damaged . similarly , the apparatus &# 39 ; 100 portable and no or low power requirements allows for its use in non - magnetic craft . for example , the apparatus 100 can be used on fishing boats , canoes , rafts , and the like . thus , the apparatus 100 provides for an extreme weather detection ability typically not present in such crafts . additionally , the dampening fluid 155 of some implementations can minimize the interference caused by such crafts rocking and moving in response to waves or other forces . in the absence of a weather disturbance , the apparatus 100 can be used as a compass and indicate magnetic north . however , in the presence of an extreme weather disturbance , such as a thunderstorm , electrical storm , tornado , or the like , the apparatus 100 will warn the user by the indicator 125 rapidly pivoting about one or more axes . the degree and force of pivoting corresponds to and serves to inform the user of the proximity and severity of the weather disturbance . the warning provided by the apparatus 100 can afford additional time within which a user can take actions appropriate for the weather disturbance . in some implementations , visibility of the pivoting of the indicator 125 is further highlighted through the use of phosphorescent markings 190 . additionally , some implementations make use of light or laser light 225 to further enhance the visibility of the pivoting of the indicator 125 . the laser 225 is operationally connected to the magnetic element 150 such that the laser 225 shines in the same direction that the magnetic element 150 points , and thus illuminates the direction of the storm and also makes subtle changes in direction more apparent . finally , some implementations provide a means by which a device 200 can record the pivoting of the indicator 155 . while the novel technology has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character . it is understood that the embodiments have been shown and described in the foregoing specification in satisfaction of the best mode and enablement requirements . it is understood that one of ordinary skill in the art could readily make a nigh - infinite number of insubstantial changes and modifications to the above - described embodiments and that it would be impractical to attempt to describe all such embodiment variations in the present specification . accordingly , it is understood that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the novel technology are desired to be protected . | 6 |
as used herein , the term “ leukocyte cultured medium ( lcm )” is synonymous and interchangeable with the term “ activated leukocyte medium ( alm ).” as used herein , the term “ therapeutically effective amount ” refers to that amount of immature dendritic cells and lymphocyte cultured medium ( lcm ) adjuvant required to bring about a desired effect in a human or other mammal . in all instances , at its most basic level , the desired effect is a reduction of tumor cells in tumor tissue of the patient when compared to the tumor cells in the tumor tissue of the patient prior to employing the methods of the present invention . the present invention provides treatment tumor tissue using full antigenic elements , which include antigenicity of both known and unknown antigen presenting cells , by locating them within the live tumor tissue in the human body ( or alternatively , the body of an animal ). this is in contrast to prior art cultured antigens obtained from tumor cell lines or any process added antigen , which have limited antigencity and outdated antigenic data or potency as a vaccine antigen for the patient &# 39 ; s tumor cells . in particular , the present invention relates to a therapy that includes the injection of immature dendritic cells and adjuvant directly into the patient &# 39 ; s tumor tissue , which presents antigenic elements as the vaccine antigen at the injection sight . the conjugation of these elements within the tumor tissue rapidly induce and activate the patient &# 39 ; s immune system to dramatically reduce and / or eliminate tumor cells . most adjuvants , which augment the immune response , can be directly injected with immature dendritic cells into the tumor tissue to achieve the reduction or elimination of tumor cells . such adjuvants may include , without limitation , lipid - based , protein - based and polysaccharides - based adjuvants , such as lymphocyte cultured medium , marignase , agaricus , ok432 , bcg , lentinan ( shiitake ), reishi , sarunokoshikake , tnf meshimakobu , froint &# 39 ; s complete or incomplete adjuvant , lps , fatty acids , phospholipids , cytokines or a virus . the present invention provides rapid reduction and / or elimination of tumor cells , which can be visually detected by mri and / or ct and / or echo scan within two weeks after the injection . the therapy according to a preferred embodiment of the invention includes the following steps : step 1 : colleting peripheral blood monocyte cells ( pbmc ) from a patient ; step 2 : culturing these pbmc with gm - cfs and il - 4 to immature dendritic cells ; step 3 : injecting the cultured immature dendritic cells and an adjuvant into the tumor ; and step 4 : evaluating the tumor in two weeks . in one particular embodiment , the effectiveness ( immuno - response ) of this method of treatment can be enhanced by pre - treating the tumor cells using known chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy techniques , which diminish the existing immune system , prior to steps 1 - 4 described above . in addition , the effectiveness ( immuno - response ) of this method of treatment can also be enhanced by injecting the tumors cells with an anti t - cell monoclonal antibody prior to steps 1 - 4 described above ( either alone or in addition to the chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy described above ). the present invention is more particularly described in the following non - limiting examples , which are intended to be illustrative only , as numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art . six patients , four with stomach cancer and two with colon cancer , were used in this clinical investigation to assess the effect of intratumoral administration of immature dendritic cells ( imdcs ) with a lymphocyte cultured medium adjuvant ( lcmadj ). all patients were self - referred , had advanced cancers and progressive disease that had not responded to conventional standard therapies . four weeks prior to administration of the imdc and lcmadj , leukapheresis was performed on each patient to collect monocyte cells from the patient . the monocyte cells were cultured with il4 and gm - cfs . this resulted in the production of imdcs . four weeks later , a cocktail was prepared containing between about 10 7 to 10 8 imdcs and between about 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 mg of lcmadj to make up a 10 % concentration in normal saline . depending on the size of the tumor , between 2 . 0 to 50 cc of normal saline was injected into the tumor site of each patient . four weeks after injection of the cocktail , the patients were evaluated by ct image analysis and measurement of serum tumor markers . of the six patients in this clinical study , three of the tumors of the patients showed stable disease ( sd ); defined as showing less than a 20 % increase in tumor size and less than a 30 % reduction in tumor size , with no increase in serum tumor markers . the tumors of the other three patients showed progressive disease ( pd ); defined as a 20 % or greater increase in tumor size , new metastatic lesions and an increase in serum markers . pretreatment with chemotherapy prior to injection of immature dendritic cells and lymphocyte cultured medium adjuvant four patients , three with rectal cancer and one with colon cancer , were used in this clinical investigation to assess the effect of chemotherapy prior to intratumoral administration of imdcs with a lcmadj . all patients were self - referred , had advanced cancers and progressive disease that had not responded to conventional standard therapies . as shown in fig1 , four weeks prior to administration of the imdc and lcmadj , leukapheresis was performed on each patient to collect monocyte cells from the patient . the monocyte cells were cultured with il4 and gm - cfs . this resulted in the production of imdcs . three weeks later , all patients were administered cytoxan intratumorally . one week later , a cocktail was prepared containing between about 10 7 to 10 8 imdcs and between about 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 mg of lcmadj to make up a 10 % concentration in normal saline . depending on the size of the tumor , between 2 . 0 to 50 cc of normal saline was injected into the tumor site of each patient . four weeks after injection of the cocktail , the patients were evaluated by ct image analysis and measurement of serum tumor markers . of the four patients in this clinical study , two of the tumors of the patients showed a partial response ( pr ); defined as a 30 % reduction in the size of the injected tumor , decline in serum markers , no increase in tumor size at other metastatic sites or appearance of new metastasis . the tumor from the third patient showed stable disease ( sd ), as defined above ; and the tumor from the fourth patient showed progressive disease ( pd ), as defined above . injection of immature dendritic cells and lymphocyte cultured medium adjuvant or pretreatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy prior to injection of immature dendritic cells and lymphocyte cultured medium adjuvant twenty patients with advanced malignancies of different types were used in this clinical study to assess the effect of intratumoral administration of imdcs with an lcmadj , chemotherapy prior to imdcs and lcmadj administration or radiation therapy prior to imdcs and lcmadj administration . all patients were self - referred , had advanced cancers and progressive disease that had not responded to conventional standard therapies . 1 . four weeks prior to administration of the imdc and lcmadj , leukapheresis was performed on each patient to collect monocyte cells from the patient . the monocyte cells were cultured with il4 and gm - cfs . this resulted in the production of imdcs . three weeks later , three patients received radiation therapy and 11 patients were given chemotherapy ( see table 1 ) by administering the chemotherapeutic agent intratumorally . one week later , a cocktail was prepared containing between about 10 7 to 10 8 imdcs and between about 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 mg of lcmadj to make up a 10 % concentration in normal saline . depending on the size of the tumor , between 2 . 0 to 50 cc of normal saline was injected into the tumor site of each patient . four weeks after injection of the cocktail , the patients were evaluated by ct image analysis and measurement of serum tumor markers . as shown in table 1 , of the six patients that did not receive any prior treatment before administration of the imdcs and lcmadj cocktail , the tumors of two patients showed a partial response ( pr ) ( see , for example , fig2 ); the tumors of two other patients showed no change ( nc ) from their previous condition ( see , for example , fig3 ); and the tumors from two other patients showed progressive disease ( pd ) ( see , for example , fig4 ). of the three patients that had radiation therapy prior to administration of the imdcs and lcmadj cocktail , the tumor from one patient showed no change ( nc ) from its previous status . the other patient dropped out before they could be evaluated . of the eleven patients that received chemotherapy prior to administration of the imdcs and lcmadj cocktail , the tumors from three of the patients showed a partial response ( pr ) ( see for example fig5 ); the tumors from six of the patients showed no change ( nc ) from their previous condition ( see , for example , fig6 ); and the tumors from two patients showed progressive disease ( pd ). fig2 - 7 show ct images of various cancers and their response to the treatment protocol . approximately 80 % of the patients showed some degree of tumor regression . moreover , none of the patients had any adverse reaction to the treatment protocol they were given . in those patients showing tumor regression , this was evident within one month after completion of the treatment protocol and effectiveness of the treatment was observed after over 3 months . the number of cases and percentage effectiveness of the treatment protocols were as follows : complete response ( cr ); defined as a decrease in serum markers to normal levels , complete disappearance of all measurable lesions : 0 ( 0 %) to develop a clinically acceptable method for the production of lcm from elutriated cell fractions obtained from mononuclear cells ( mnc ) and generate preliminary data in support of a potential ind submission . a variety of cytokines are known to induce the differentiation and maturation of monocyte - derived dendritic cells ( dc ). soluble factors found in cell - free supernatants from monocyte and anti - cd3 - activated t cells have been found to increase the expression of activation and maturation markers . in this laboratory , earlier studies showed that activation of ficolled pbmc with anti - cd3 / cd28 beads results in a product that could mature apcs and augment t cell responses . the activated lymphocyte medium contained a mix of cytokines and chemokines known to be important for the development and migration of dc including gm - csf , tnfα , ifnγ , il8 , mcp - 1 and mip1 . when cultured in lcm , purified monocytes and monocytes in whole pbmc preparations developed a dc - like phenotype characterized by the loss of cd14 and upregulation of costimulatory molecules . immature dc exposed to lcm underwent maturation within 48 h marked by an increase in surface expression of cd40 , cd80 , cd86 , cd83 and hladr . lcm - treated dc stimulated potent allogeneic pbmc responses and boosted antigen - specific t cell responses to antigens . enhanced t cell and antibody responses were observed when lcm was co - administered with a variety of vaccines in macaques . lcm represents a potential ‘ physiologic ’ product for the generation of dcs in vitro as well as vaccine adjuvant ; providing a cytokine milieu for dc generation and immune activation in vivo . data using activated pbmcs as well as activation products developed from elutriated lymphocyte fractions are included in this study . fig7 and 8 show the effect of lcm on surface marker expression . regarding fig7 , monocytes in pbmcs differentiated to a dc - like phenotype following exposure to lcm . expression of cd14 , hla - dr , cd40 , cd80 , and cd86 was analyzed at 0 , 3 and 5 days following exposure to lcm . data represent mean ± sem of 11 experiments and ** indicates p & lt ; 0 . 005 . regarding fig8 , immature monocyte - derived dcs differentiated to a mature - phenotype following exposure to lcm . elutriated monocytes were cultured with gm - csf / il - 4 for 3 - 4 days followed by addition of media alone , lcm or maturation cocktail for 48 hours . monocytes cultured in crpmi only were used as a negative control . cd11c + dcs were examined for surface expression of cd14 , hla - dr , cd40 , cd83 , cd80 , and cd86 by flow cytometry . open histograms represent staining of dc with isotype control mab , and shaded histograms represent staining of dc with specific mab . fig9 shows that lcm augments cpg - induced maturation and ifnα production by cpg treated plasmacytoid dcs ( pdcs ). human pdcs ( 91 - 96 % purity assessed by surface expression of cd123 ) were isolated using positive bdca - 4 immunomagnetic selection ( miltenyi biotech , auburn , calif .). typically , 1 × 10 8 monocytes yielded 3 - 4 × 10 5 pdcs . the pdcs were adjusted to 0 . 5 × 10 6 cells / ml in dmem ( life technologies , rockville , md .) containing 10 % fetal bovine serum ( biowhittaker , walkersville , md .) and cultured at 1 × 10 5 cells per well in 96 well round bottom plates . freshly isolated pdcs expressed an immature phenotype ( cd83 − , low mhc and co - stimulatory molecules ). pdcs were matured with cpg2006 ( 20 μg / ml ) for 24 to 48 h . lcm was added at a 25 % dilution . fig1 shows the effect of lcm treatment on t cell responses in vitro . pbmcs were cultured for 24 h with or without antigen and / or lcm ( 25 %), washed to remove lcm and plated for : ( a ) recall responses ( re - plated on elispot for 24 hours ; ( b ) primary responses ( culture for 7 days with media containing il7 and il15 , cells washed , then replated on elispot with antigen for 24 hours ). cmv = cytomegalovirus lysate ; cancer cell lines : k = gastric cancer , p = pancreatic cancer , n = renal cell carcinoma , col = colon cancer . effect of lcm immunization with vaccines on t cell and antibody responses - in vivo . total solubilized protein was measured in pooled lcm samples ( biorad protein assay based on the method of bradford , absorbance at 595 nm ). to determine adjuvant activity of lcm in vivo , 0 . 3 ml lcm ( 97 . 5 ng ) was mixed with individual vaccines ( hepatitis a = hepa ; tetanus diphtheria toxoid = tdt ; rabies or prostate specific antigen = psa ) and each vaccine / lcm mixture was injected im in macaques at four separate sites ( right and left arms and thighs ). selected cytokine levels are calculated in table 3 . animals were injected with vaccines alone or vaccines plus lcm and cell and serum samples removed for testing according to the following timeline , shown in table 4 . fig1 shows that t cell responses to vaccines were enhanced following treatment with lcm ( elispot ). fig1 shows that antibody responses to vaccines were enhanced following treatment with lcm ( elisa ). table 5 shows detection of hla ab in macaque serum using solid phase elisa . contain cytokines and chemokines that are known to influence the generation of immune responses ; induces maturation and differentiation of monocyte - derived dcs and pdcs ; augments primary and recall antigen specific t cell responses in vitro ; and augments antibody and t cell responses to vaccines in non - human primates . to determine if lcm production could be adapted to a larger scale process potentially better defined and more easily amenable to fda guidelines than the use of ficolled whole blood pbmcs , a study on apheresed cells with autologous testing was initiated . mnc were fractionated into different cell types from healthy individuals utilizing a programmable semi - closed cell separation device ( elutra , gambro bct ) that allows the collection of cells based primarily on size . this system offers obvious advantages including the automated removal of platelets and red blood cells , collection of a large number of enriched cell populations for autologous treatment including monocytes for generation of dcs , and lymphocytes for activation of t cells and lcm . using a program developed for monocyte collection ; we were able to collect upstream fractionated products containing predominantly lymphocytes . designated as fractions 2 and 3 , these cells were cryopreserved for lcm preparation and testing . cell profiles of each fraction of each donor were generated by flow cytometry . cells were activated with either anti - cd3 antibody + ionomycin or anti - cd3 / cd28 beads . the media was tested for cytokine composition and its capacity to ‘ mature ’ dendritic cells ( dcs ) and augment t cell responses . because this study involved the injection to humans of activated cell products , prior to any laboratory studies , the acceptability of culture materials was first determined by enquiry with fda . it was recommended that gmp - produced serum - free media filed in previous ind &# 39 ; s be used ; and all media ‘ components ’ ( including cytokines ) be well - defined . the cell number in healthy donor leukapheresis products and lymphocyte recoveries is shown in table 6 . to verify that the majority of cells in fractions 2 and 3 were lymphocytes , fresh and cryopreserved fractionated cells were phenotyped by labeling with fluorochrome - conjugated monoclonal antibodies against leukocyte cell surface markers . profiles of cryopreserved cells are shown in table 7 as in practice stored cells will be used to generate the batches of clinical product . culture conditions based on historical data in flasks and plates ( table 8 ) were tested with fractions 2 and 3 to select the ‘ best ’ conditions for further clinical process development . lcm supernatants were collected by centrifugation and stored at 4 ° c . until assayed . cytokines were assessed within a single assay for direct comparison using flow cytometry - based technology ( biorad , bd biosciences ) ( see table 7 ). comment : data suggest that anti - cd3 / cd28 stimulation provide a ‘ manufacturing ’ system which is easy to execute and yields fairly consistent cytokine patterns . the use of beads compared to flask / bag surface coating with antibody may be preferred as beads can be systematically measured , their use subject to less operator error , and ‘ generally ’ similar cytokine patterns are observed . tables 9a and 9b show survey assay on cultures in traditional polystyrene plates or flasks . there appeared to be no large differences in cellular composition between fractions 2 and 3 ; however , cell recovery was highest in fraction 2 . fraction 2 cells were selected for further analysis and development in a closed system . a 3 - day culture period using anti - cd3 - cd28 bead stimulation was selected . closed fep vuelife ® bags ( 2 pf - 0025 , american fluoroseal corporation , gaithersburg , md .) were used ( in part based on our previous dc culture ind work ) as they : reduce risk of contamination while allowing easy access to cells ; are transparent so cells can be easily monitored ; are non - reactive , i . e ., no plasticizers , leachables or extractables to affect cell culture ; are manufactured to meet fda approval ; allow o 2 , co 2 , and n 2 gas transfer . fep is impermeable to water and allows incubation without water loss ; and therefore , there is no need to use humidified chambers which often is a source of contamination ; five different aphereses from different donors were used to make lcm in a bag system . cells were cultured in serum - free , phenol - red free xvivo10 ( biowhittaker ) media using syringe loading at 1 × 10 6 cells / ml in 15 ml media plus cd3 - cd28 beads ( dynabeads , dynal ) at 3 beads to 1 cell . bags were placed atop wire racks to ensure proper gas exchange and even cell distribution then incubated for 3 days at 37 ° c . following culture , cells and lcm from individual units were collected by removing beads with a dynal magnet followed by centrifugation ( 10 min at 400 × g ). cells were phenotyped ( table 10 ) and collected supernatants were assayed for cytokines using 27 bioplex flow - based analyses ( table 11 a , b ). comment : particularly ifnγ , ip10 , il6 , il9 , il10 , tnfα and the chemoattractants appear to be produced at the highest concentrations following stimulation with some variability between units . though fraction 2 is relatively pure , variation could be possibly due to cell types ( e . g ., nk cells ) and their proportion in each fraction . a summary of the function of these cytokines for reference is given in table 12 . awareness of the cytokine concentrations prior to experiments may be used to calculate actual cytokine amount in dilutions , enable matched comparisons between donors , and establish a dosing level for lcm application . to assess their properties lcm , or activated t ( at ) cells , were added to autologous dcs ( for 2 - 3 days or overnight , respectively ). the autologous setting was first tested as this would be the likely protocol ‘ type ’ for immunotherapeutic approval . treated cells were examined for : ( a ) viability following culture measured by trypan blue exclusion ( fig1 ); ( b ) changes in surface marker expression ( e . g ., cd14 , cd40 , cd80 , cd83 , cd86 ) measured by flow cytometry ( tables 13 , 14 ); ( c ) effects on t cell responses measured in ifnγ elispot following exposure to cmv and tumor lysates before and after il7 + il15 expansion ( fig1 , 16 ). cell surface marker expression on dcs following exposure to autologous lcm is shown in table 13 . comment : dcs incubated with lcm ( for 2 or 3 days ) demonstrate some upregulation in the maturation marker cd83 , as well as changes in costimulatory molecule expression . when autologous activated or non - activated t cells are added ( overnight ) to dcs in another set of wells , as expected , upregulation of costimulatory markers is observed in both cell populations - except with at cells from donor aph112706 , which showed a negative change in costimulatory molecules . though difficult to make sweeping statements with such low sample sizes , these changes could be attributable to a number of factors including level of stimulation , receptor activation on t cells , cytokines and or viable status . viability may not be the issue here as non - activated t cell - dc samples demonstrated equal viability with maintained high dc marker expression . the ‘ stimulatability ’ of t cells from donor aph112706 shows that cd3 - cd28 - activation can produce high levels of ifnγ ( see table 9a ) which is apc activating and our observation could be due to high activation and ‘ spent ’ status which occurred prior to our measurement point . cytokines released from dc - t cell cocultures underscore the importance of activation levels ( ifnγ and chemotactic cytokines ). with the addition of antigen and expanded observation points , these measures may prove useful to further characterize and screen individual cells for activation status and potential clinical efficacy , particularly if indicative of differences between induction of immunity or tolerance . 1 . supernatants and antigen were added to monocytes and dcs ( designated as apc ): i . source of dcs : cryopreserved / cultured from monocytes ( 3 days , serum - free dc medium ( cellgenix , germany ) gm - csf ( 800 iu / ml )+ il4 ( 500 iu / ml ) ( cellgenix ); ii . source of monocytes : cryopreserved elutriated rotor - off fraction ; iii . cell supernatants tested : 50 %, 25 % and 10 % of original strength from cd3 - cd28 bead - activated or non - activated cells ; 2 . cultures were incubated for 2 days at 37 ° c . and washed free or lcm or non - activated supernatants then placed in ifnγ elispot assay ( see schematic below ): i . cells were counted ; autologous lymphocytes ( fraction 2 ) were added at 10 lymphocytes : 1 apc ( total 1 . 5 × 10 5 cells / well ) then ii . plated on ifnγ antibody - coated elispot plates , incubated for 3 days at 37 ° c . then plates developed and enumerated i . washed cells were cultured in il7 + il15 ( 5 ng / ml each ) for 7 days , then washed and plated on coated elispot plates and developed as above . comment : cocultures of either dc preparation with lcm and tumor cells show enhanced t cell responses ; however , the response is larger in cultures from donor aph011006 compared to donor aph062805 . it is interesting to refer to the cytokine table ( table 9 ) and compare the differences in the degree of the capacity for ifnγ production following activation between the donors . though different levels in the number of spots in this type of assay are expected , in vivo potential may be predictable by determining a stimulation index for a particular cytokine . such an index would prove useful for screening potential positive activity ; however , to determine if this is a real response , a larger sample evaluation to include appropriate controls will be necessary . interestingly , the monocyte - antigen cocultures in donor aph011006 also show a larger response than those in the aph062805 donor ( fig1 b ) possibly due to the capacity for detection of ifnγ in this donor or activity of other cytokines such as tnfγ . higher tnfγ levels were also present in the lcm of this donor which could ‘ push ’ the monocyte to a dc . unfortunately , the phenotype of these cells was not determined due to limited amount of material . these data warrant future study to determine the cell ( maturation ) status and how the cytokine levels should be manipulated to control and potentially predict function . fig1 shows responses of lcm - treated ‘ naïve il7 - il15 - treated ’ cells ( i . e ., cells first exposed to tumor on day 8 ) were enhanced compared to cells exposed to antigen on days 0 and 8 . comment : lcm added to dcs and monocytes enhanced tumor antigen presentation to antigen - naïve t cells cultured in il7 and il15 for 7 days prior to antigen stimulation . the higher response levels compared to short recall responses ( fig1 ) could be due to the cytokines that help to maintain viability of t or apcs ( cell viability 78 - 100 %). when il7 and il15 antigen - treated expanded cultures were restimulated with antigen , that is , pulsed with antigen both on days 0 and 8 , there was a response in lcm - treated apcs above non - treated ; however , the responses were lower than that of apcs that had been treated with gm - il4 . the lcm data may indicate the presence of suppressive factors or optimal levels of cytokine were present - absent and should be adjusted . this data is reported from two different donors . expanded studies would be valuable to better characterize the responding cells functionally and phenotypically . though it may appear that using a few cytokines would be ‘ easiest ’ to generate a desired immune response , it may be that the mix of cytokines found in lcm will be the most potent ; mimicking a true physiological response and demonstrating that cytokine interactions are essential in optimizing functional activity . in this protocol , elutriated fractions 2 or 3 may be used for activation . the greatest number of lymphocytes were collected in fraction 2 ( table 6 ). there were fairly consistent results between the two fractions ( table 9 ); however , purity in fraction 3 may be an issue if cell levels in the starting units do not meet optimal elutriation criteria . that is , if the starting total cell number ( i . e ., ≧ 5 × 10 9 cells ) or monocyte count ( i . e ., ≧ 1 × 10 9 ) falls below the recommended level for the cell separator , cell fractionation patterns can shift and result in heterogeneous cell distribution in later fractions . fractionated or lymphocyte - enriched cell populations permit ‘ controlled ’ activation as measured by the composition of cell products in the lcm . cytokines , particularly gm - csf , ifnγ , ip10 , il2 , il6 , il8 , il9 , il10 , il13 , mip1α , mip1β , rantes , tnfα , were most highly induced at fairly even distributions ( table 13 ); however , more samples should be evaluated for presentation to fda . lcm enhanced the expression levels of costimulatory molecules ( e . g ., cd40 , cd80 , cd86 , and cd83 ) on dcs , an indication of the maturation process important to antigen presentation ( table 13 ). lcm promoted an ‘ adjuvant - like ’ effect on dc function . dcs treated in vitro with 50 - 25 % of the original lcm solution were able to stimulate responses to cmv and tumor antigens in recall assays ( fig1 ). lcm may help apc function and expand antigen - specific t cells ( fig1 ); however , optimal levels of cytokine are currently undefined ( note : compare to cells incubated with the ‘ standard ’ gm - csf + il4 formulation ). based on preliminary results , elutriated cells appear to be a good source for the preparation of lcm in the autologous setting . note pbmc preparations and elutriated fractions were not directly compared from the same donors in “ side - by - side ” studies . stimulated pbmcs , presumably due to the presence of monocytes or possibly platelets , do appear to express some cytokines ( e . g ., mcp1 ) not seen at high levels in the elutriated cells which could endow a more robust adjuvant effect . further development of the production of lcm or cells is warranted , in which a closed system design illustrated in fig1 could be applied to clinical use . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed , but it is intended to cover modifications that are within the spirit and scope of the invention , as defined by the appended claims . | 0 |
referring to fig1 - 3 , an assembled led / connector 10 includes an led assembly 12 inserted into a connection receptacle 14 . a pair of connector contacts 16 , 18 protrude from the connection receptacle 14 . a core led electrode 20 extends through the center of the led assembly 12 and provides an electrical connection to one of two internal led terminals ( not shown ). a threaded base - portion 22 of the led assembly 12 extends from a rim portion 24 that is electrically connected to the remaining internal led terminal . the rim portion of the led may be conductive , but is not required to be conductive for the connector to work properly . the internal led of the led assembly 12 is electrically connected between the threaded base portion 22 and the core led electrode 20 . the threaded base portion 22 and the core led electrode 20 are otherwise insulated from each other to avoid short - circuiting the led . an exemplary threaded - base integrated led assembly 12 is manufactured by cao group , inc ., of west jordan , utah . the connection receptacle 14 includes a hollow cylindrical cavity 26 that receives the threaded base portion 22 . the interior cavity 26 of the connection receptacle 14 has a generally straight , smooth sidewall 28 with an inner - diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the threaded base portion 22 of the led assembly 12 , so that the threaded base portion 22 can be inserted into the connection receptacle 14 without rotation — i . e ., by urging the led assembly 12 directly downward into the interior cavity 26 of the connection receptacle 14 , as indicated by direction arrow 23 in fig1 a . once the led assembly 12 is urged into the connection receptacle 14 , a pair of contact elements 16 , 18 engage the core threaded base portion 22 and the core led electrode 20 , respectively . the first contact element 16 includes a deflectable prong 30 . the first contact element 16 may be made from electrically conductive structures , such as a metallic foil , e . g ., copper alloy conductive strip . preferably the foil strip is sufficiently flexible to permit the prong 30 to deflect as the threaded base portion 22 is urged into the cavity 26 . the prong 30 engages one of the threads of the threaded base portion 22 , which provides electrical contact and prevents the led assembly 12 from backing out of the cavity 26 . the led assembly 12 is secured in position by the prong 30 , and is removable by conventional rotational means — i . e ., by rotating the threaded base portion 22 of the led assembly 12 in the direction in which it is configured to reverse , typically counterclockwise , although opposite - hand thread types exist and function much the same , with opposite rotation for installation and removal . thus , the led assembly 12 is installable in the connection receptacle 14 by simply urging it into the cavity 26 , but removable only by rotating it in the appropriate direction . the second contact element 18 includes an end portion 32 that is bent or turned back at an acute angle to the contact element 18 . the end portion 32 has an inwardly curved tip portion 34 . the end portion 32 is elastically deflectable , similar to the prong 30 and engages the core led electrode 20 when the led assembly 12 is pressed into the cavity 26 . the curvature of the tip portion 34 allows the led electrode 20 to slidingly engage the end portion 32 in both directions of movement , i . e ., so that the end portion 32 does not gouge into the core electrode 20 and prevent its removal . the cavity 26 has an inwardly protruding ledge 36 disposed intermediately of the opposite ends of the connection receptacle 14 . the ledge 36 reduces the inner radius of the cavity 26 to trap the core led electrode 20 and guide it into the lower cavity portion 38 . preferably , there is a tapered transition segment 40 that connects the lower cavity portion 38 with the ledge 36 , and which helps to center the end of the core electrode into the lower cavity portion 38 . the lower cavity portion 38 has an internal diameter that preferably provides a close clearance fit for the core led electrode . the end portion 32 protrudes at least partially into the lower cavity portion 38 and presses against the core electrode 20 under spring tension . the flex in the second contact portion 18 from the bent intersection with the end portion 32 provides the spring tension . referring next to fig5 and 6 , the connection receptacle 14 is preferably made of a molded , high temperature resin , e . g ., glass - filled , nylon 6 , 6 or other electrically insulating , high temperature resin , and includes a pair of internal channels 42 , 44 arranged on opposite sides of the receptacle 14 . the first contact element 16 is installed in the channel 42 that runs adjacent to both the upper cavity 26 and the lower cavity 38 and protrudes from the lower end of the connection receptacle 14 . in one embodiment the first contact element 16 is a flat strip of metal conductor with three step portions 46 , 48 , 50 of progressive width . the step portion between 46 and 48 provides a stop limit for seating the contact element 16 when the element is placed in the receptacle 14 . the contact element also has a pair of bent prongs 30 , 52 that protrude inward . the first prong 30 , as discussed above , retentively and electrically engages the threads on the threaded base portion 22 . the first prong 30 is shown as a single protruding member , however , additional prongs may be included , e . g ., two prongs or three prongs arranged in series , which are preferably spaced apart by a single - thread distance for improved engagement with a corresponding number of threads . the second prong 52 deflects to allow it to pass behind a portion of the inner wall of the cavity 26 and spring back to latch in position in an opening ( not shown ) adjacent to the ledge 36 . the second contact element 18 is inserted into a slot 44 in the connection receptacle 14 adjacent to the lower cavity 38 . the contact element 18 includes an intermediate locking member 54 , which slides into the slot 44 of the inner wall , and locks the contact element into position by engagement of detents 56 located on either edge of the locking member 54 . referring next to fig6 and 7 , an alternate embodiment shows a novel 3 - pronged contact to deflect and mate on threads . contact portion 16 has three web portions 46 a - 46 c which may be substituted for the single step portion 46 of the contact portion 16 shown in fig4 . two prongs 46 b and 46 c project outwardly on opposite sides of the center prong 46 a and are bent inwardly to partially envelop the circumference of the threaded portion 22 . deflectable prongs 30 a - 30 c project inwardly from the respective web portions 46 a - 46 c to engage the conductive threaded portion 22 of the led assembly 12 . the distal ends 60 a - 60 c of prongs 30 a - 30 c , respectively , may be staggered in length to engage the thread portion 22 approximately equally , to cooperate with the helical pitch of the individual threads . in this way , it is apparent that the prongs 30 a - 30 c are deflected by the threaded portion 22 when the led assembly 12 is inserted in a first direction indicated by arrow 70 . the prongs 30 a - 30 c then spring back and mate against the threads of the threaded portion 22 and act as ratchet pawls and electrical contacts to prevent the led assembly 12 from backing out of the connection receptacle 14 linearly . however , the led assembly 12 is rotatable about its axis , and can be removed in cooperation with the prongs 30 a - 30 c by twisting in one rotational direction , as well as further tightened by twisting the threads in the opposite rotational direction . thus , the led assembly 12 may be securely installed into the connection receptacle 14 by a pushing motion , or by threading , but the led assembly 12 is prevented from backing out of the connection receptacle 14 by the prongs 30 a - 30 c , unless the threads 22 are used . referring next to fig8 and 9 , in an alternate embodiment , the connector portion 14 may include solder terminals 70 for soldering wires 72 to the connector portion . the led 12 is inserted into and removed from the connector portion 14 in the same manner as described above . in the embodiment of fig8 & amp ; 9 , however , the connector portion 14 is configured for attaching leadwires 72 instead of the contact pins described above . the leadwires permit the connector portion 14 to be secured to a surface ( not shown ) other than a pcb , by a hex nut 74 . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 5 |
referring first to fig2 a fruit coring system 31 comprises a cylindrical member 33 extending from a first end 37 , attached to a handle 35 , to an opposite second end 51 which forms a leading cutting edge or cylindrical blade 43 . the taper 41 of this blade 43 is depicted in exaggerated fashion . planar blade surfaces 45 , which are largely parallel to the longitudinal axis 47 of cylindrical compression member 33 , are formed by cuts 39 made in the sides of the cylindrical compression member 33 and folding the cut portions inward . the cylindrical blade 43 is used to slice a cylindrical volume enclosing the core of a fruit . if it is desired to retain a floor of fruit below an extracted fruit core , then the cylindrical compression member is inserted so as to avoid penetrating the bottom of the fruit . when the cylindrical compression member 33 is inserted to the desired depth in the fruit , it is rotated so that the planar blade surfaces 45 will shear the sliced core from the fruit . the handle 35 may be integral with the first end 37 or made fast with the first end 37 by the use of a conventional attachment mechanism . e . g ., a press - fit , an adhesive , rivets , welding , etc . and defines a pair of opposed projections 49 which permit ease of manual use . also depicted is a thumb hole , or perforation 51 for hanging the coring system on a hook when not in use . the appropriate use of the coring system 31 for removal of a fruit core is illustrated with reference to fig3 a , showing a sequence of steps associated with the coring process . first , the coring system 31 is oriented in axial alignment with the core of the fruit . subsequently , it is inserted downward into the fruit to a desired depth , thereby slicing a cylindrical surface interior to the fruit . it is then rotated so that the fruit core is sheared from the fruit . as will be described below , the cylindrical compression member 33 is designed so that as the cylindrical compression member is withdrawn from the fruit , the core will be retained therein . the coring system 31 can be immediately used to core another fruit and the previously retained core will be ejected from cylindrical compression member 33 by the subsequent core as depicted in fig3 b . fig3 c is an exploded diagram of the results of the coring process . a fruit 77 , such as an apple for example , is shown with a cored volume 75 . the extracted core 79 exhibits slits 73 resulting from incisions by the planar blades 81 of the coring system 71 . variations in the geometry of the cylindrical blade 43 of fig2 are shown in fig4 a , 4b , 5a , and 5b . in fig4 a , the blade 95 at the end of cylindrical compression member 97 shows serrations 93 that are an alternative to a uniform , flat - edged cylindrical blade . fig4 b is a pictorial view of a cylindrical compression member 101 exhibiting a cylindrical blade 103 that has two scalloped edges 107 and 109 that form pronouncements 105 along the edges for the purpose of readily puncturing the skin of a fruit or vegetable . other blade contours , besides scallops , may be used to achieve the pronouncements and are within the scope of this disclosure . the cross - sectional view of a portion of cylindrical compression member 33 of fig2 , depicting various taper geometries for the cylindrical blade is provided in fig5 a and 5b . in fig5 a , a section 117 of the cylindrical compression member adjacent the cylindrical blade 111 is shown with both exterior and interior tapered surfaces , 115 and 113 , respectively . in the cross section , the exterior tapered surface 113 originates at point 118 and terminates at point 119 . the interior tapered surface 115 originates at point 116 and terminates at point 114 . the flat - edged cylindrical blade is formed by surfaces 113 , 115 , and flat end surface 112 . in fig5 b , a section 137 of the cylindrical blade is shown with a tapered interior surface 133 and an untapered exterior surface 135 . in cross - section , surface 133 is inclined relative to surface 135 by an angle that is preferably about 15 degrees . the interior tapered surface originates at point 136 and terminates at point 134 . in this case , the flat - edged cylindrical blade is formed by surfaces 133 , 135 , and flat end surface 138 . once the fruit core is sliced and sheared from the fruit , it remains to extract it from the fruit ; the core must be retained in the cylindrical compression member 33 of fig2 when the coring device is removed from the fruit . in order for this to happen , the sliced core must undergo adequate compression to facilitate its retention in cylindrical compression member 33 . this is achieved by proper design of the coring device as depicted in fig6 . the cross - sectional diagram depicts the cylindrical compression member 163 and the tapered circular blade 169 . the difference between the inner diameter 167 of the cylindrical compression member 163 at the edge of the blade 169 and the inner diameter 170 of the cylindrical compression member 163 at the origin 168 of the taper causes the fruit core 161 in the region 165 to be compressed as the cylindrical compression member 163 is advanced into the fruit . the reduction in the inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member 163 will lead to a pressure increase of the fruit against the inner wall of the cylindrical compression member as the fruit is compressed in accordance with the bulk modulus of the apple tissue . once the apple core is sheared free of the apple and the cylindrical compression member is retracted from the fruit , the core tends to remain in place in the apple given atmospheric pressure operating against the partial vacuum associated with retraction of the core . counteracting this atmospheric force is the friction force of the apple core against the inner wall of the cylindrical compression member 163 . this friction force is proportional to the interior surface area of the cylindrical compression member 163 , which in turn is proportional to the length of the cylindrical compression member 163 . hence , for a given length of cylindrical compression member 163 , there is a threshold change in the inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member 163 that will permit the friction force to overcome the atmospheric force and allow the core to be removed from the apple upon retraction of the cylindrical compression 163 member from the fruit . also , for a given length of the cylindrical compression member 163 , there is an upper bound on the change in inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member 163 that will permit ease of removal of the core from the cylindrical compression member 163 once fully retracted from the fruit . in summary , the change in the inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member 163 must be great enough to extract the core from the fruit , but not so great as to make it difficult to extract the core from the coring device . the bulk modulus , k , of a solid ( in the case of apple tissue , for example ) is a measure of the amount of pressure δp required to obtain a certain fractional compression δv / v where v is the initial volume . in the case of a cylinder , the fractional volume change is equal to the fractional diameter change where d is the diameter and δd is the change in diameter of the cylinder . hence , the associated pressure is f c = δp *( area of cylinder wall )= kδd / d *( π d 2 / 4 )* l = π ( dδdl )/ 4 where σ f is the coefficient of friction between apple and cylinder wall . the force countering this friction force is the difference between atmospheric force on the cross - sectional area of the cylinder and the partial vacuum that forms upon retraction of the core . for the core to be removed from the apple against a perfect vacuum , the friction force associated with the core against the cylinder surface must be greater than the atmospheric force , f atm , tending to keep the core in place . f atm = p atm *( cross - sectional area of cylinder )= 14 . 7 psi *( π d 2 / 4 ) however , it is the case that the sliced core in the apple does not maintain a perfect vacuum when retracted with the coring tool and hence , the percentage of atmospheric force in action is considerably less than 100 %. with reference to fig2 , preferred dimensions for the length of the cylindrical compression member 33 from the cutting edge 41 to the proximate surface of the handle 35 is about 1 . 7 inches and the inside diameter of the cylindrical compression member 33 is about 1 . 0 inch . there are a number of variables that affect the optimality of the amount of taper of the cylindrical compression member 33 . these include a ) the anisotropy of the bulk modulus of the apple tissue , b ) variation in the bulk modulus of apple tissue with type of apple and water content , c ) inhomogeneity of the apple core , d ) variation in the coefficient of friction between apple and cylinder surface , and e ) the selected length of the cylinder . in the face of these variables , it has been determined that the appropriate change in inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member 163 ( associated with blade taper ) to achieve the aforementioned core extraction is in the range of 0 . 020 to 0 . 070 inches for a diameter of one inch . for larger diameter cylindrical compression members , this corresponds to between 2 and 7 percent of the diameter . as depicted in fig5 a and 5b , there are two geometry options for the cutting edge 41 of fig2 , dual or single taper . each surface exhibits a taper angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member ; the associated taper angles need not be the same in the case of the dual tapered blade of fig5 a . however , it must be emphasized that it is the interior tapered surface that must adequately change the inner diameter of the cylindrical compression member to achieve adequate compression of the fruit ( or vegetable ) core . various blade taper angles may be used ; a convenient angle for the single taper blade is about 15 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member . the flat end surface ( 112 and 138 in fig5 a and 5b , respectively ) of the cylindrical blade should be approximately 0 . 005 inches , or so , in order to limit blade sharpness and thereby prevent inadvertent cutting of the hand when the coring device is in manual use . as previously mentioned , there can be different modes of use of the coring system . in some applications , it is desirable to remove the entire core as depicted in the cross - sectional diagram of fig7 a showing the fruit 215 with an evacuated core volume 217 . alternatively , as shown in fig7 b , a fruit 211 can have the core removed while permitting an evacuated core volume 213 that exhibits a floor within the fruit . various embodiments of the coring system permit achieving both modes of coring . one embodiment uses cylindrical compression members of differing lengths as shown in fig7 c and 7d that can be interchanged with the handle 201 shown in fig7 e . the long cylindrical compression member 191 of fig7 c exhibits the previously disclosed cylindrical blade 193 and planar blade surfaces 195 . cylindrical compression member 191 represents a length sufficient to completely core the fruit as shown in fig7 a . the shorter cylindrical compression member 199 of fig7 c represents a length that will core the fruit while retaining a floor below the cored volume as shown in fig7 b . another embodiment that achieves the same objectives comprises the inclusion of standoff collars placed around the cylindrical compression member in proximity of the coring system handle . in fig8 a , the coring system 239 is shown with a relatively tall collar 241 that results in a coring volume 243 enclosed by a floor . in contrast , the short collar 233 used with coring system 231 of fig8 b results in complete coring of the fruit with an open coring volume 235 . alternatively , to achieve different coring depths , the handle can be made to be repositioned along the length of the cylindrical compression member by threading or other means well known in the prior art such as a spring - loaded button on the handle that can be inserted into holes the cylindrical compression member 33 of fig2 can assume different cross - sectional shapes with a variety of planar blade geometries as depicted in fig9 a through 9d . these include the compression member with rounded square cross - section 261 of fig9 a and 9b with planar blades 263 , hexagonal cross - section 267 of fig9 c with planar blades 269 , and the octagonal cross - section 271 of fig9 d with planar blades 273 . fig9 e depicts a circular cross section 275 with a v - shaped blade 279 , the planes of which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member . resection of portions of the cylindrical compression member are anticipated as in fig1 , which shows a coring system 291 with a portion of the cylindrical compression member surface in the form of legs 295 supporting a circular blade 297 and planar blade 299 by attachment through a ring 301 to handle 293 . in a preferred embodiment of the coring system shown in fig1 a and 11b , the wall of the cylindrical compression member 327 is cut at a plurality of locations circumferentially about the cylindrical blade 325 . these cut portions of the wall are folded inward to the cylindrical compression member 321 to form planar blade surfaces that are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member 321 . in fig1 a , planar blade surfaces 323 are shown that result from cuts that are anti - symmetric about the longitudinal axis of cylindrical compression member 321 . the planar blade surfaces 327 result from cuts that are symmetric about the longitudinal axis of cylindrical compression member 321 . both approaches to forming the planar blades result in the cross - sectional geometry of fig1 c . other means of forming planar blades interior to the cylindrical compression member include attachment of preformed blades to the cylinder by methods well known in the prior art including brazing , riveting of blade flanges , etc . fig1 d depicts a cylindrical compression member 335 exhibiting four planar blade surfaces 337 ; the cross - sectional view 339 is provided in fig1 e . other interior blade formats are possible that will achieve shearing of the core from the fruit . a first example includes a planar blade 353 extending the full diameter of the cylindrical compression member in the coring system 351 of fig1 . a second example is that of a wire 359 affixed to the cylindrical compression member of the coring device 357 of fig1 . multiple planar blade geometries exploit the use of various numbers of such blades 373 as shown in fig1 a and 14b . the actual shapes of the planar blades can be polygonal , as exemplified by the triangular blades 393 of fig1 a or have a curvilinear perimeter as in the case of the blades 397 depicted in fig1 b . fig1 illustrates a coring system 421 with planar blades 423 oriented at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member . the length of the planar blades can be short as previously depicted or can run the full length of the cylindrical compression member and shown by the rectangular planar blades 443 of fig1 . an intersecting cross geometry for the planar blades is provided in fig1 . herein , the blades 463 are shown press fit into slots 465 in the cylindrical compression member 461 , but could be attached by any number of previously discussed means . subsequent to insertion of the coring system into a fruit and rotation of the system to shear the core , when the system is removed from the fruit , there is often a partial vacuum associated with its removal . this vacuum can be mitigated by air channels shown in either fig1 a or 19b . in fig1 a , an air channel is formed by a slit 493 formed in the wall of cylindrical compression member 491 . in fig1 b , an alternative means of forming an air channel is a depression or groove 497 in the wall of cylindrical compression member 495 . various core alignment subsystems are illustrated in fig2 through 24 . in fig2 a , the alignment subsystem 527 comprises a solid cylinder 529 of diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the cylindrical compression member , with planar slots 531 parallel to the longitudinal axis of cylinder 529 extending the full length of cylinder 529 . additionally , a metal pin 533 protrudes from cylinder 529 along the cylinder longitudinal axis . the pin 533 is inserted into the core axis of the fruit until the cylinder 529 rests against the fruit . then , the cylindrical compression member 521 of the coring system is lowered onto cylinder 529 with its planar blades 523 inserted into and passing through the slots 531 of cylinder 529 . in this way , the coring system is aligned with the core of the fruit as the coring process proceeds and the rotation of the planar cutting means is unhindered by the presence of the cylinder 529 . the geometry of the core alignment subsystem depicted in fig2 b is an adaptation of that shown in fig2 a to facilitate its unibody construction and manufacture from plastic . the cylinder 541 exhibits the same planar slots 539 , but in lieu of a metal pin has a plastic pin supported by plastic fins 545 which are tapered so as to not interfere with the motion of the planar blades . fig2 c depicts another alignment approach in which a hollow cylinder 553 with a cap 559 is shown with a pin 557 attached to the cap 559 ; the pin is coaxial with the cylinder 553 . the open edge of the cylinder 553 constitutes a cylindrical blade so that when the pin is inserted into the fruit along the core axis and the cylinder 553 is advanced , the cylindrical blade cuts a guide incision into the fruit . upon removal of this alignment subsystem from the fruit , the cylindrical compression member of the coring system can be introduced along this guide incision insuring alignment of the coring system with the fruit core . the sequence of steps required to core fruit using the alignment subsystem of fig2 a is depicted in fig2 a . first the pin of the alignment subsystem is inserted into the fruit along the axis of its core ; the pin is advanced until the slotted cylinder rests against the fruit . subsequently , the coring system is lowered onto the slotted cylinder with the planar blades advancing through the slots . once the cylindrical compression member is advanced to the desired depth , it is rotated by torque on the handle in order to shear the core from the fruit . fig2 b illustrates the result of this coring process with the fruit 565 having an evacuated core volume 567 . the slotted cylinder 555 with pin 563 holds the sliced fruit core 557 showing incisions 561 produced by the planar blades of the coring system 551 . in another embodiment of the alignment subsystem shown in fig2 a and 22b includes an alignment pin 593 that is affixed to the center of the cylindrical cap 595 and is largely coincident with the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member 591 when the lip 585 of cylindrical cap 595 is inserted into the cylindrical compression member 591 . when the cap 595 is attached to the cylindrical compression member 591 and the alignment pin 593 is inserted along the core axis of the fruit , this alignment subsystem permits direct alignment of the coring system with the core axis of the fruit . in yet another embodiment of an alignment subsystem , fig2 shows an alignment pin 625 that is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical compression member 621 and is affixed by means 627 to crossed planar blade 623 . in a final embodiment of an alignment subsystem , a caliper - like mechanism can be used with different fruit sizes . in fig2 the mechanism is shown having two parts or arms 653 and 655 that are slidably attached . arm 655 has a key 659 that slides into slot or keyway 661 in arm 653 ; this permits caliper - like sliding motion without rotation . the protrusion 661 at the end of arm 653 is positioned at a core indentation on one end of the fruit 663 . the cylindrical section 657 at the end of arm 655 has a radius slightly larger than that of the cylindrical compression member 665 . the cylindrical section is centered above a core indentation at the other end of the fruit and the two arms 653 and 655 are slid together so that the fruit rests between the protrusion 661 and the cylindrical section 657 . then the cylindrical compression member 665 is brought into conformal contact with the cylindrical section 657 and advanced into the fruit . | 0 |
the linear motion thrust block which is described and claimed herein can be applied to a broad range of variable volume hydraulic pumps and motors wherein the cam or regulator ring varies in position from concentricity with the rotor to an extreme eccentric position . certain types of pumps and motors having invariant volume capability do not require a range of cam ring travel but are equally well suited to apply the advantages of this invention . the detailed description which follows , having exclusive reference to equipment of the former type , more fully describes the manner of its use particularly in respect to the kinematic requirements . variable volume vane pumps , as shown in fig1 and 2 , are generally constructed with a two - part casing 10 into one of which is machined a cylindrical chamber 12 for receiving the pumping elements , the other casing part serving to close off the chamber . the pumping elements include a rotor 14 , whose direction of rotation is as indicated throughout by the vector a , having a series of outwardly extending slots 16 , each of which receives an outwardly movable vane 18 capable of radial movement within the slot outwardly under the action of centrifugal force and usually system pressure to the extent the movement is controlled by a movable cam ring 20 . the rotor 14 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 15 that is suitably fit at its ends in bearings which are received in openings in the casing parts for this purpose . in order to form closed pumping spaces between adjacent vanes 18 and the cam ring 20 , the sides of the spaces are closed off by a pair of pressure plates 22 and 23 positioned in the chamber 12 at opposite sides of the rotor 14 . leakage at this interface is reduced by the use of seals and the preloaded contact produced by pump pressure tending to urge the plates 22 and 23 inwardly toward the rotor 14 . it is important to limit the pressure of the plates against the rotor and cam ring in order to minimize wear on the inner faces of the plates resulting from rotation of the rotor and to prevent binding of the movable cam ring which must vary its position to provide the variable volume control to the pump . this result is sometimes accomplished by the use of a spacer ring 24 positioned between the pressure plates 22 and 23 surrounding the cam ring 20 . the movable cam ring 20 is regulated in its positioning relative to the rotor axis to control the pump output by hydraulic or mechanical means which may include a pair of diametrically opposed hydraulic pistons 26 and 28 engaging the outer surface of the cam ring 20 . a net unbalanced radial force is developed in the pumping chambers defined by adjacent vanes 18 , the rotor 14 ; the pressure plates 22 , 23 and the cam ring 20 . the force , a product of the pump chamber pressures and the area on which it acts , as applied to the cam ring , is outwardly directed and aligned with the axis of a thrust block assembly installed in the casing walls . the piston 26 is movable in a bore 32 in the casing part and has an operative end 34 extending through an opening 36 in the spacer ring 24 to engage the cam ring outer surface . the piston 26 is continually subjected to the pump output pressure and will urge the cam ring 20 away from the eccentric position shown in fig1 and toward a concentric position relative to the rotor 14 to thereby reduce the volume of the pump output . cam ring positioning is further determined by the action of piston 28 acting in opposition to piston 26 . piston 28 is movable in a bore 38 formed in the casing and has a reduced end 40 extending through an opening 42 in the spacer ring 24 to engage the outer surface of the cam ring 20 . the piston chamber 38 is generally exposed to a pressure compensating servo valve which may be operative or not depending on actual pump pressure operating conditions and a predetermined threshold at which compensation initiates . when the servo is not pressure compensating , chambers 32 , 38 and piston 26 , 28 are subjected to outlet fluid pressure in which case piston 28 urges the ring 20 to the right since its area , and consequently the force applied , are about twice that of piston 26 . as pressure increases and compensation initiates , fluid is drained from piston 28 and chamber 38 . cam ring 20 is then controlled solely by the action of piston 26 and assumes a position concentric with the rotor axis . before describing the structure and operation of the thrust block , which is the subject matter of the invention , the geometric relationships attending the motions associated with known thrust force reaction techniques and restraint are set out . this is best done with reference to fig3 where is shown an example of a conventional means for thrust load reaction . this arrangement includes a thrust bolt 44 threaded into the casing 10 and having a lower end 46 extending through an opening 48 in the spacer ring 24 to support the cam ring 20 against the thrust force . the extremities of cam ring motion are , at the low volume end , fully concentric with the rotor 14 and , at the high volume end , at the maximum eccentricity permitted , as when the cam ring 20 abuts the spacer ring 24 . between these extremes , as outlet pressure varies in excess of and short of the compensating pressure at which piston 26 predominates to influence cam ring positioning , the cam ring will cycle eccentrically of the pump axis and generally along the line defined by the axes of pistons 26 and 28 . as this continual , iterative correction process automatically proceeds , the thrust bolt 44 is required to maintain contact with the cam ring by the action of the radial thrust force whose line of action is approximately perpendicular to the axes of pistons 26 , 28 . it has been found in this method for applying the thrust reaction , that the ring 20 will roll on the surface 46 formed at the end of the thrust bolt 44 where ring contact is forced to occur as the ring varies its eccentric position in response to piston pressure conditions . the relative magnitudes and directions of the forces involved with the control and bias pistons 26 and 28 , in relation to the thrust force , explains the rolling motion , as does the requisite kinematics . when piston 28 operates to increase cam ring eccentricity , the peak force it applies to the ring 20 is approximately half that of the thrust force . a frictional force is developed on the ring at the thrust bolt 44 - cam ring 20 interface , as indicated by vector b , tending to prevent eccentric cam ring motion , directed opposite the control force in piston 28 and , of course , is unaligned with the piston force . this friction force and the axial force on piston 28 combine to produce a couple on the ring 20 tending to revolve the ring cyclically about the contact point on the interface surface 46 . the oscillatory motion of the ring 20 , rolling within the cylindrical chamber 12 , operates to produce wear on the surfaces 35 and 39 of the pistons 26 and 28 , and , by way of the pistons , on the walls of the bores 32 and 38 into which they fit . the wear ultimately produces sufficient clearances to allow hydraulic fluid to leak between the bore and piston , which leakage progressively reduces pump efficiency . the friction forces that develop on surfaces 35 and 39 additionally prevent smooth and continuous ring 20 motion in response to control and bias piston 26 , 28 interaction . they require greater amounts of piston forces to produce the same motion and dissipate control energy input , further decreasing operating efficiency . an unillustrated configuration using ball bearings fitted in a thrust block to provide an efficient surface on which the bearing rotation may occur , is a known method of providing the thrust reaction in a way which reduces energy dissipation from that of the thrust bolt technique . the lateral excursions of the ring cause the thrust block to rotate at the bearing in such a way that the block and the ring will remain in contact as the distance on the vertical axis between the rotor center and cam ring periphery varies in response to piston actuation . this approach does little to alleviate wear problems since ring motion is comparatively unchanged , the associated hysteresis continues , and leakage increases while pump or motor service time accrues . the invention , next to be described and claimed , alters substantially the nature of the ring 20 motions by limiting the degrees of freedom possible to it and by providing a particular guided path to which the movement must conform . a follower 50 , as shown in fig1 and 2 , fits within an opening 52 in the pump casing 10 and engages the outer surface of the cam ring 20 by extending through a clearance opening 56 formed in the spacer ring 24 . the follower has recesses 58 on its cylindrical surface 60 sized to produce a net thickness somewhat less than that of the spacer ring 24 and deep enough to produce a net thickness section sufficiently long to extend within the spacer ring opening 56 . the inner surface 61 has a concave shape with a radius of curvature about equal to the outer radius of ring 20 . surface 61 is preferably intersected by a surface 62 , which may have a greater curvature than 61 , but , in any case , produces two discrete surfaces 63 at the lateral ends of the follower 50 . follower contact with the cam ring , in this way , is produced at the surfaces 63 only , and has been found to reduce frictional losses from what would otherwise result if the entire inner surface 61 were to be the contacting area . the outer surface 64 is planar and situated parallel to a horizontal tangent drawn through the apex of the cam ring 20 when in position coincident with the rotor axis . on the surface 64 is bonded an antifriction material 66 , preferably a woven , teflon impregnated fabric , for example , rexlon , which , by contacting a similarily positioned , but unbonded , inner surface 68 on an adjustable block 70 , provides a reduced , friction - retarded motion between them . other anti - friction bearing materials , such as aluminum or bronze can be applied to surface 64 to produce the desired results . the adjustable block 70 has threads 72 formed on its cylindrical outer surface which engage matching threads formed on a bore 76 in the pump case 10 . a locking nut 78 , or any other suitable means , may be used to secure the block 70 in place within the casing once its optimal location is determined . adjustment of the ring 20 positioning to optimize noise tuning and internal pump forces can be easily accomplished by varying the depth to which the adjustable block 70 is threaded into the casing . the thrust block configuration of this invention allows the follower 50 to slide on the mating surfaces 64 and 68 , and so the distance from those surfaces to the ring 20 is invariably defined by the thickness of follower 50 . an alternate embodiment shown in fig5 combines the cam ring 20 and the follower 50 in a unitary construction 65 having a planar surface 64 for slidable motion on a mating surface 68 of the adjustable block 70 . the surface 64 has the teflon base , anti - friction fabric material 66 bonded as previously described to reduce the retarding effect to sliding motion which friction produces . other than by combining the follower and ring in a single element , fig1 and 2 sufficiently illustrate this embodiment and the foregoing description presents its function . a third embodiment shown in fig4 provides for hydraulic system pressure to be applied to a sealed chamber 76 defined by an opening 52 in the casing 10 , a cap 78 fixedly attached to the casing outer surface 80 and an adjustable block 81 fitted within the opening 52 , being capable of axial movement and having a seal 83 . an adjusting screw 82 abutting the adjustable block 81 and engaging internal threads 84 formed in the cap 78 is capable of externally varying the radial position of the block 81 and the follower 50 . pressure in the chamber 76 is applied to the outer surface 86 of the block 81 and produces an inwardly directed radial force tending to unload the adjusting screw 82 against the effects of outwardly directed thrust forces , thereby facilitating adjustments made to block 81 positioning during operating conditions . its operation is otherwise identical to that previously described . a jam nut 88 , or another suitable means to prevent motion of the adjusting screw 82 following its optimal setting , can be used . | 5 |
in a first aspect , this invention is directed to a flexible bag container for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition wherein the flexible bag container comprises a flexible bag , at least one filling cassette and at least one sample vial . the assembled filling cassette is then mounted to a filling or dispensing system device and is connected to the bulk solution containing the radiopharmaceutical to be filled in the sample vial ( s ). the flexible bag is comprising at least two opposed walls sealed to each other defining a variable volume chamber with an opening wherein the walls are optically transparent and defining a closed interior . preferably , the flexible bag is comprising 2 walls sealed to each other with an opening . the opening is closed by a clip , cord or by shrink - wrapping . more preferably , the flexible bag is closed by shrink - wrapping . the flexible bag comprises additionally at least one infolding to facilitate the assembling of the filling cassette . preferably , the infoldings are shaped as glove recessed portion ( glove ) coupled integrally to and extending into the flexible bag allowing from the outside the handling of item ( s ) present within the flexible bag . the flexible bag has 1 to 4 glove - shaped recessed portions . preferably the flexible bag has 2 glove - shaped recessed portions . the flexible bag with the glove - shaped recessed portion ( glove ) is a glove bag . the flexible bag or glove bag is made of optically transparent plastic material . preferably , the flexible bag or glove bag is made of plastic material selected from polyethylene , polypropylene , polyphenylene sulfide , polyvinyl chloride , polysulfone , polyethylene terephthalate , ethylen - tetrafluorethylen and fluoroethylene - propylene . more preferably , the glove bag is made of polyethylene or polypropylene . the size of the glove bag must be big enough to accommodate the filling cassette and to allow handling of the filling cassette . in a further sub - embodiment , the glove bag is a plastic bag of any shape and size . preferably , the flexible bag or the bag glove is of the size of 20 cm × 20 cm to 200 cm × 200 cm . more preferably , the flexible bag or the bag glove is of the size of 60 cm × 70 cm . preferably , the flexible bag or the bag glove is of the size having a diameter of 20 cm to 200 cm . more preferably , the flexible bag or the bag glove is of the size having a diameter of 40 cm . preferably , the glove bag has a round or elliptic as well as a rectangular shape with integrated gloves . more preferably , the glove bag has a rectangular shape . the glove bag comprises additionally an air transfer tube defining a passage for inflow ( inflating ) and outflow ( compressing ) of air or gas to or from the glove bag . the air transfer tube has optionally a closure system limiting entry of air , gas or any liquid into the glove bag . the air transfer tube is comprising a tubing for inflow and outflow of air or gas and sterile filter mounted to the tubing . preferably , the sterile filter is mounted at one ending of the tubing located within the glove bag or outside the glove bag . more preferably , there is a sterile filter at each ending of the tube . the sterile filter is used to prevent any contamination of the inner bag compartment with microorganisms or particles . during inflating of the bag with gas or air , the sterile filter removes potential particles or microorganisms . typically , the pore size of the sterile filter is ≦ 0 . 22 μm . sterile filters that are used for this purpose are e . g . sartorius midisart 2000 0 . 2 μm ; whatman puradisc 30 syringe filter or millipore millex - gv filters . the passage of the tube through the glove bag is sealed by shrink - wrapped or the tubing is tied into the glove bag . as an alternative , the sterile filter is shrink - wrapping the into the glove bag wall defining a passage for inflow ( inflating ) and outflow ( compressing ) of air or gas to or from the glove bag . the filling cassette is used for preparing single portions of a bulk solution wherein the bulk solution is preferably a radiopharmaceutical containing solution . the filling cassette is fulfilling radiation protection and / or gmp regulation requirements . the filling cassette is used to transfer the radiopharmaceutical containing solution from the bulk vial to the sample vials under aseptic condition . the filling cassette comprises a system of tubings and valves . the valves are operated by different mechanisms such as pinch valves or actuators . in the flexible bag or glove bag , the filling cassette is connected to the sample vials ( e . g . patient vial , qc vial , vial for sterility control , retention vial ) via the cassette tubings and the valves . the valves are optionally connected to each other by channels in form of a manifold . the filling cassette is in a pre - assembled form or assembled form in the flexible bag or glove bag . pre - assembled form means that the filling cassette is not connected to the sample vials ( e . g . patient vial , qc vial , vial for sterility control , retention vial ) via the cassette tubings and the valves . assembled form means that the filling cassette is connected to the sample vials ( e . g . patient vial , qc vial , vial for sterility control , retention vial ) via the cassette tubings and the valves . connection with the bulk vial occurs after assembling of the filling cassette and removing of the assembled filling cassette from the flexible bag or glove bag . the fluidic pathway is controlled by switching the valves . when the closed filling cassette is mounted to the single - use filling cassette - type dispensing system and the bulk vial is connected to the assembled closed filling cassette then the radiopharmaceuticals containing solution is transported from the bulk vial through the tubings and the valves and then distributed to the sample vial ( s ). the transport itself is performed via a syringe that is also connected to one tubing or via gas pressure on the bulk vial or evacuation of the sample vials . optionally , the filling cassette comprises filtration unit ( filters ) for sterile filtration during the filling step . preferably , the filling cassette consists of materials that are suitable for gamma - sterilization . more preferably , the filling cassette is substantially made of material selected from pp , pe , polyester , polysulfone , polycarbonate , and polyurethane . cassette dispensing systems for the filling of radiopharmaceuticals are e . g . scintomics inviala , eckert & amp ; ziegler modular - lab pharmtracer or bioscan reform - plus . the filling cassette can be packed in a protecting plastic foil or film ( primary package ). the plastic foil or film packaging has a peel - off - mechanism for opening or is opened with a safety cutter . the filling cassette can be also packed directly into the flexible bag container without any additional packaging . preferably , the flexible bag container comprises 1 to 10 filling cassettes . more preferably , the flexible bag container comprises 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 or 5 filling cassettes . even more preferably , the flexible bag container comprises 1 , 2 or 3 filling cassettes or a single filling cassette . as shown in the drawings , the flexible bag comprises a single filling cassette optionally packed in a protecting plastic foil or film ( primary package ). radiopharmaceuticals are pharmaceuticals that contain a radioactive isotope . they are used for diagnoses as well as for therapeutic purposes . the radioisotope is an alpha -, a beta - or a gamma - emitter . radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic purposes are e . g . [ 18 f ] fdg , [ 18 f ] fet , [ 18 f ] flt , [ 18 f ] fmiso , [ 18 f ] faza , [ 18 f ] galacto - rgd , [ 18 f ] fdopa , [ 18 f ] flumazenil , [ 18 f ] annexin , [ 18 f ] fluorethylcholine , [ 18 f ] fluormethylcholine , [ 11 c ] methionin , [ 11 ] choline , [ 11 c ] acetate , ( 2s , 4s )- 2 - amino - 4 -( 3 -[ 18 f ]- fluoropropyl )- pentane dioic acid , ( 2s )- 2 - amino - 4 -[ 18 f ]- fluoro pentane dioic acid , n -[ 2 -( 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoroethoxy )- 5 - methoxybenzyl ]- n -( 5 - fluoro - 2 - phenoxyphenyl ) acetamide , n -{ 2 -[ 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoroethoxy ]- 5 - methoxybenzyl }- n -[ 2 -( 4 - methoxyphenoxy ) pyridin - 3 - yl ] acetamide , ( 2rs , 4s )- 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoro - 4 - phosphonomethyl - pentanedioic acid , [ 18 f ] sigma2 , [ 18 f ] bombesin , [ 68 ga ] bombesin , n , n - diethyl - 2 -{ 2 -[ 4 -( 2 - fluoro - ethoxy )- phenyl ]- 5 , 7 - dimethylpyrazolo [ 1 , 5 - a ] pyrimidin - 3 - yl }- acetamide , florbetaben , florbetapir , flormetamol , ( r )- 2 - amino - 3 -( 4 -[ 18 f ] fluoromethoxy - phenyl )- propionic acid , [ 99m tc ] mibi , [ 99m tc ] mdp , [ 99m tc ] dmsa , [ 99m tc ] hmdp , [ 99m tc ] hedp , [ 99m tc ] hmpao , [ 99m tc ] nanocolloides , [ 99m tc ] macroaggregates , [ 99m tc ] mag 3 , [ 99m tc ] ecd , [ 99m tc ] gluconate , [ 99m tc ] hida , [ 68 ga ] dotatoc , [ 68 ga ] dotanoc , [ 68 ga ] dotatate . radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic purposes are e . g . [ 177 lu ] dotatoc , [ 177 lu ] dotatate , [ 90 y ] dotatoc , [ 90 y ] dotatate , zevalin , 223 radium chloride . the radiopharmaceuticals mentioned above are solutions for injection . the filling sample vial is a washed and sterilized container suitable for being filled up with radiopharmaceuticals . preferably , 1 to 20 filling sample vials are present . more preferably , 1 to 10 filling sample vials are present for each filling cassette . even more preferably , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , or 6 filling sample vials are present . even more preferably , 4 filling sample vials are present . the volume of the flexible bag is depending to the size of the filling cassette , the number of filling sample vials and other items present in the flexible bag . the flexible bag container comprises additionally items useful for assembling the filling cassette e . g . ventilation needles and / or a safety cutter for removing the protecting plastic foil or film ( primary package ) of the filling cassette if there is no peel - off - mechanism . flexible bag container comprising a flexible bag , at least one filling cassette and at least one filling sample vial is preferably stored and transported in a flattened ( compressed ) form or inflated ( dilated ) form . flexible bag container is more preferably stored and transported in a compressed form because the risk of a puncture of the flexible bag is reduced . the novel flexible bag container is for single - use purpose . in a further sub embodiment , the invention is directed to a flexible bag container ( 8 ) for assembling of a filling cassette ( 3 ) under aseptic condition wherein the flexible bag container ( 8 ) comprises a glove bag ( 2 ), at least one filling cassette ( 3 ) and at least one filling sample vial ( 6 ). preferably , the flexible bag container for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition comprises a glove bag with an air transfer tube defining a passage for inflow and outflow of air or gas , filling cassette ( s ) wherein filling cassette is optionally packaged in a foil or film and filling sample vial ( s ), wherein the flexible bag container is in a compressed ( flattened ) form during storage and transport . more preferably , the flexible bag container ( 8 ) for assembling of a filling cassette ( 3 ) under aseptic condition comprises a glove bag ( 2 ) with an air transfer tube ( 4 ) defining a passage for inflow and outflow of air or gas wherein the air transfer tube ( 4 ) comprises a sterile filter ( 7 ), filling cassette ( s ) ( 3 ) wherein filling cassette ( 3 ) is optionally packaged in a foil or film , filling sample vial ( s ) ( 6 ) and optionally a safety cutter ( 5 ), wherein the flexible bag container ( 8 ) is in a compressed ( flattened ) form during storage and transport . even more preferably , the flexible bag container for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition comprises a glove bag with an air transfer tube defining a passage for inflow and outflow of air or gas wherein the air transfer tube comprises a sterile filter , filling cassette ( s ) wherein filling cassette is optionally packaged in a foil or film , filling sample vial ( s ), ventilation needles and optionally a safety cutter , wherein the flexible bag container is in a compressed ( flattened ) form during storage and transport and is gamma - sterilized . the second aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for obtaining a flexible bag container for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition wherein the flexible bag container comprises a flexible bag , at least one filling cassette and at least one filling sample vial introducing filling cassette and sample vial into the flexible bag through the flexible bag opening , and closing of the flexible bag optionally , the flexible bag is compressed by removing the enclosed air or gas before or after closing the flexible bag step . the bag is closed or it is closed in a way that there is an exchange of gas or air through the air transfer tube . in the last case , the connected sterile filter will prevent any contamination of the inner bag compartment with particles or microorganisms . air or gas is totally or partially removed from the flexible bag or the glove bag . additionally , the flexible bag is sterilized by gamma radiation after the “ closing of the flexible bag ” step . preferably , the “ closing of the flexible bag ” step is completed by shrink - wrapping . in a further preferred embodiment , the filling cassette components are first packed in an additional plastic foil or film and are then shrink - wrapped into the glove bag and gamma - sterilized . in a further preferred embodiment , air is removed from the glove bag prior to the gamma - radiation for sterilization . in a sub - embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for obtaining a flexible bag container for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition wherein the flexible bag container comprises a glove bag , at least one filling cassette and at least one filling sample vial introducing filling cassette and sample vial into the flexible bag through the flexible bag opening , and closing of the flexible bag . preferred features and sub - embodiment disclosed in the first aspect are included herein . the third aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition wherein the flexible bag container comprises a flexible bag , at least one filling cassette and at least one filling sample vial inflating the flexible bag by introducing sterile air or gas into the flexible bag through an air transfer tube , optionally opening and removing the packaging foil or film protecting the filling cassette , and / or introducing hand ( s ) into infolding ( s ). additionally , the following step is occurring after the step “ opening and removing the flexible bag ” opening and removing of the flexible bag , transferring the filling cassette onto the cassette dispensing system connecting the filling cassette to the cassette dispensing system and / or to the bulk vial , dispensing / filling of the radiopharmaceutical into the sample vials using the filling cassette mounted onto the dispensing cassette system . additionally , the following step is occurring after the step “ opening and removing the flexible bag ” transferring the filling cassette onto the cassette dispensing system connecting the filling cassette to the cassette dispensing system and / or to the bulk vial , dispensing / filling of the radiopharmaceutical into the sample vials using the filling cassette mounted onto the dispensing cassette system . in a preferred embodiment , air or nitrogen is introduced into the glove bag via an integrated sterile filter . in a sub - embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method for assembling of a filling cassette under aseptic condition wherein the flexible bag container comprises a glove bag , at least one filling cassette and at least one filling sample vial preferred features and sub - embodiment disclosed in the first aspect are included herein . filling cassette and filling sample vial are to be understood as one or more filling cassette and filling sample vial . preferably , it shall be understood as one filling cassette and / or an adequate set of filling sample vials . it &# 39 ; s not intended to limit invention to feature exemplified in fig1 to 3 . the described concept was used for the filling of ( 2rs , 4s )- 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoro - 4 - phosphonomethyl - pentanedioic acid . the filling was performed for four independent ( 2rs , 4s )- 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoro - 4 - phosphonomethyl - pentanedioic acid batches . ( 2rs , 4s )- 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoro - 4 - phosphonomethyl - pentanedioic acid was produced in a two - step - two - pot synthesis including [ 18 f ] fluorination , deprotection as well as hplc and cartridge purifications . the final ( 2rs , 4s )- 2 -[ 18 f ] fluoro - 4 - phosphonomethyl - pentanedioic acid comprising a volume of 10 ml was filled into a bulk vial . the glove bag used had dimensions of about 60 cm × 70 cm . two gloves were integrated into the bag . a tube with two sterile filters was attached to the bag . the bag was delivered and stored in compressed form . the bag contained a filling cassette which was shrink - wrapped into another foil . the filling cassette consisted of 6 valves . a needle or a tubing carrying a needle was connected to four valves . a tubing carrying a syringe ( 20 ml ) was connected to on valve . the syringe was used for the liquid transport . a sterile filter was connected to one valve to introduce sterile air for flushing of the filling cassette . a further sterile filter was attached to one valve for sterile filtration of the bulk solution . the sterile filter was attached to the filling cassette with its outlet . a tube with a needle was connected to the sterile filter inlet . furthermore , 4 ventilation needles with integrated sterile filter and sterile , closed vials ( with septa ) were placed next to the filling cassette at first , the glove bag was inflated by introducing argon into the bag using the tube with the sterile filters . this took 5 - 10 min depending on the gas pressure . after inflating the glove bag , the safety cutter was used to open the foil covering the filling cassette . then the caps were removed from the needles and from the septa of the vials . the vials were connected to the needles at the filling cassette . furthermore , each vial was equipped with a ventilation needle . the filling cassette was then a closed system . the glove bag was finally opened by tearing or cutting . the cassette was attached to the filling unit . the filling unit consisted of valve actuators and a drive mechanism for the syringe . the needle attached to the sterile filter inlet was inserted into the bulk vial . furthermore , the bulk vial was equipped with a ventilation needle . the valves were switched to have a passage ( via tubings and channels ) from the syringe to the bulk vial . the syringe was then drawn up to a volume of 15 ml . at this the solution was transferred completely from the bulk vial to the syringe . the valves were switched to create a passage to the first vial . 1 ml of solution was dispensed into the first vial ( qc vial ). the valve were switched again and 6 ml were dispensed into a second vial ( patient vial ). the valves were switched again and the remaining 3 ml were dosed into a third vial ( sterility test ). air was drawn into the syringe via the sterile filter . the air was used for complete transfer of the liquid in the tubings into the vials . the qc vial was used to determined parameters such as radiochemical purity , chemical purity or radioactivity concentration . the third vial was used for sterility testing . the testing resulted for all four batches in the outcome “ sterile ”. therefore , the described system fulfilled the requirement to have sterile solutions after filling . | 0 |
referring to the drawings , a preferred embodiment of the coaxial cable installation tool 10 of the present invention is shown . the tool 10 generally includes a front jaw assembly 12 movably coupled to a back jaw assembly 14 . it is to be noted that the drawings show only the front jaw assembly 12 and the back jaw assembly 14 of the tool 10 . the actuating mechanism for driving the jaw assemblies 12 and 14 together and apart is not shown in the detailed drawings of fig1 - 9 . such actuating mechanism can include conventional handles 60 for a hand - tool configuration , as shown in fig1 a , or a lever or a powered source 62 , ( such as a hydraulic cylinder or an electromechanical drive ), for a bench - top tool configuration , as shown in fig1 b . the front jaw assembly 12 includes a front jaw member 16 and an actuator shaft 18 fixed to the front jaw member . the front jaw member 16 is formed with a u - shaped pocket or receptacle 20 sized to receive the connector body 100 of a coaxial cable connector 102 . the front jaw member 16 is further formed with an inwardly directed flange 22 surrounding the forward periphery of the connector pocket 20 . the inwardly directed flange 22 is received within a groove 104 formed in the connector body 100 during use . specifically , when the connector 102 is placed in the connector pocket 20 of the front jaw member 16 , the flange 22 engages the groove 104 to prevent any axial movement of the connector body 100 with respect to the front jaw assembly 12 . the actuator shaft 18 extends from a rear face 24 of the front jaw member 16 and is received in an actuator shaft aperture 26 formed in the back jaw assembly 14 . the actuator shaft 18 can be an integral part of the front jaw member 16 , or it can be a separate part fixed to the front jaw member in a conventional manner . in either case , the actuator shaft 18 remains stationary with respect to the front jaw member 16 during use . as shown in fig2 - 9 , the actuator shaft 18 includes a shaft body 27 and a radially enlarged cam portion 28 disposed adjacent the rearward end of the actuator shaft , the function of which will be discussed in further detail below . the radially enlarged cam portion 28 has a diameter or width larger than the shaft body 27 and preferably includes ramped surfaces 29 at its forward and rearward extents . the ramped surfaces 29 provide a smooth transition between the outer surface of the actuator shaft body 27 and the radially enlarged cam portion 28 , as will be described in further detail below . the shaft body 27 and the cam portion 28 shown in the drawings have circular cross - sections , but other cross - sectional shapes are conceivable . the back jaw assembly 14 includes a back jaw member 30 and a gripper mechanism 31 attached thereto for alternately gripping and releasing a cable 106 during installation in a connector 100 . the gripper mechanism 31 can take various forms , but preferably includes a pair of opposing gripper arms 32 pivotably attached to a rear face 34 of the back jaw member . the back jaw member 30 is formed with a u - shaped cable receiving pocket 36 , as well as the actuator shaft aperture 26 mentioned above . the cable receiving pocket 36 is sized to receive a coaxial cable 106 and the actuator shaft aperture 26 is positioned below the cable receiving pocket and is sized to receive the cam portion 28 of the actuator shaft 18 . sufficient clearance is provided between the cable receiving pocket 36 and the cable 106 and between the actuator shaft aperture 26 and the cam portion 28 of the actuator shaft 18 to permit the back jaw assembly 14 to translate forward along the cable and the actuator shaft toward the front jaw assembly 12 during use , as will be described in further detail below . the gripper arms 32 may be pivotably attached to the rear face 34 of the back jaw member 30 via pins 38 fixed in the back jaw member . each gripper arm 32 includes a cable engagement end 40 and an opposite cam engagement end 42 with a pin 38 disposed therebetween . as a result , when the gripper arm 32 pivots about the pin 38 , the cable engagement end 40 moves in one of an inward or outward direction and the opposite cam engagement end 42 moves in the opposite inward or outward direction . the inner surface of the cable engagement end 40 of each gripper arm 32 is formed with a notch 43 to grip one side of the cable 106 during use . the notches 43 of each gripper arm 32 are preferably provided with a serrated or other textured surface 44 to enhance gripping of the cable 106 . the gripper arms 32 are attached to the back jaw member 30 such that the notches 43 at the cable engagement ends 40 are positioned facing each other on opposite sides of the cable receiving pocket 36 of the back jaw member . in this manner , the notches 43 together form a closable mouth 46 to grip the cable 106 . the gripper arms 32 are further preferably spring - biased about the pivot pins 38 to urge the cable engagement ends 40 apart , whereby the closable mouth 46 is normally maintained in an open position to receive a cable 106 during use . such biasing force can be provided , for example , by a tension spring 64 connected between the gripper arms 32 , as shown in fig2 . the inner face of the opposite cam engagement end 42 of each gripper arm 32 is formed with a semi - circular recess 48 that engages the actuator shaft 18 . the recesses 48 of the gripper arms 32 face each other to form a circular opening 50 through which the actuator shaft traverses during use . the recesses 48 are preferably surrounded by chamfered surfaces 52 formed in the forward and rearward faces of the gripper arms 32 , which , together with the ramped surfaces 29 of the actuator shaft cam portion 28 , facilitate smooth transition between the cam portion and the shaft body 27 as the actuator shaft 18 traverses through the circular opening 50 during use , as will be discussed in further detail below . having thus far described the structural components of the tool 10 , use of the tool will now be sequentially described with reference to fig2 - 9 . first , the end of a coaxial cable 106 is prepared in a conventional manner by stripping the cable jacket and folding back the braid . next , with the tool 10 in the open position , whereby the front and back jaw assemblies 12 and 14 are separated to their fullest extent , as shown in fig2 and 3 , a coaxial cable connector 102 is placed in the connector pocket 20 of the front jaw assembly 12 and a cable 106 is loosely placed in the cable receiving pocket 36 of the back jaw assembly 14 . at this point , the prepared end of the cable 106 can be manually inserted through the locking sleeve 108 of the connector 102 until it engages with the annular post 110 of the connector . this initial insertion requires only minimal force by the installer . with the tool 10 in the open position , as shown in fig2 and 3 , only the rearward - most end of the shaft body 27 is received in the actuator shaft opening 50 of the gripper arms 32 . the reduced diameter of the rearward end of the shaft body 27 keeps the cam engagement ends 42 of the gripper arms 32 close together , whereby the opposite cable engagement ends 40 are separated . as the front jaw assembly 12 and the back jaw assembly 14 begin to move together as shown in fig4 and 5 , the cam portion 28 of the actuator shaft 18 engages the circular opening 50 of the gripper arms 32 causing the cam engagement ends 42 of the gripper arms to move apart . separation of the cam engagements ends 42 of the gripper arms 32 causes the cable engagement ends 40 to move closer together to grip the cable 106 . with the cable 106 thus gripped , further forward movement of the back jaw assembly 14 forces the cable further into the connector 102 to secure the cable to the post of the connector . as the back jaw assembly 14 moves further forward toward the front jaw assembly 12 , the cam portion 28 of the actuator shaft 18 slides through the circular opening 50 of the gripper arms 32 and eventually moves out of engagement with the circular opening 50 of the gripper arms 32 . as the cam portion 28 of the actuator shaft 18 exits the actuator shaft opening 50 , the reduced diameter of the shaft body portion 27 allows the spring force applied to the gripper arms 32 to cause the cam engagement ends 42 to return together . the resultant pivoting of the gripper arms 32 separates the opposite cable engagement ends 40 of the gripper arms , thereby releasing the cable 106 . further forward movement of the back jaw assembly 14 toward the front jaw assembly 12 causes a forward face 54 of the back jaw member 30 to come into contact with a rearward face of the compression sleeve 108 of the connector 102 , as shown in fig6 and 7 . the back jaw assembly 14 is then driven still further to press the compression sleeve 108 into the connector body 100 as shown in fig8 and 9 . once the cable is fully inserted as shown in fig8 and 9 , the installed connector and cable can be removed from the tool 10 by slightly releasing the front and back jaw assemblies 12 and 14 . in this regard , the axial length of the cam portion 28 of the actuator shaft 18 together with the axial depth of the closable actuator shaft opening 50 of the gripper arms 32 preferably has a length a that matches the desired depth a of cable insertion into the connector , as shown in fig3 . in most coaxial cable installation applications , the dimension a is between about 0 . 375 and 0 . 625 inches , and is preferably about 0 . 430 inches . it is also desirable to ensure that the body portion 27 of the actuator shaft 18 has a length sufficient to enable the back jaw assembly 14 to traverse the actuator shaft a distance at least as much as the dimension a before engaging the locking sleeve 108 of the connector . in other words , the body portion 27 of the actuator shaft 18 preferably has a length that will ensure that the front face 54 of the back jaw member 30 does not make contact with the locking sleeve 108 until the cable 106 has been inserted the desired depth a . in a preferred embodiment , the front face 54 of the back jaw member 30 makes contact with the locking sleeve 108 at the moment that the cable 106 has been inserted the desired depth a . to accomplish this , the length of the body portion 27 of the actuator shaft 18 is chosen taking into account the dimension a , the depth of the back jaw member 30 , the depth of the connector receiving pocket 20 and the axial dimensions of the connector components . as can be appreciated , the length of the body portion 27 of the actuator shaft 18 will vary depending on all of these factors . the diameter or width of the cam portion 28 is also chosen to provide the desired gripping force on the cable 106 by the gripping arms 32 without damaging the cable . the gripping force of the gripping arms 32 is also determined by the depth of the notches 42 and the recesses 48 of the gripping arms , as well as the length of the gripper arms and the spacing of the gripper arm pivot pins 38 . as a result of the present invention , an installation tool is provided that performs both the cable insertion operation , in addition to the subsequent step of connector compression . the benefit of the present invention is an installation process that is faster and easier . although the illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various other changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . various changes to the foregoing described and shown structures will now be evident to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the particularly disclosed scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims . | 8 |
fig7 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a compression arrangement 10 for applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods of which there are many variations and many variants of the variations . the compression arrangement 10 includes pre - mac stages 2 , mac stages 4 , and bac stages 6 . there are two pre - mac compressors ( 56 and 76 ), two mac compression stages ( mac 1 and mac 2 )( 182 and 222 ), and four bac compression stages ( bac 1 , bac 2 , bac 3 , and bac 4 ) ( 290 , 330 , 370 , and 410 ). referring to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig7 , a variable speed driver ( 162 ) ( e . g ., a steam turbine or a variable speed motor ) drives two single stage centrifugal pre - main air compressors ( pre - mac ) 56 , 76 through two couplings 92 , 96 . the first pre - mac compressor 56 takes air from ambient ( or another source ), pulls the air through an inlet air filter 52 and inlet line 54 , and compresses the air to about 2 bara . the compressed air is routed by line 58 to a pre - mac after - cooler ( pre - mac ac ) 61 and the cooled air is routed by line 62 to a manifold 86 . the second pre - mac compressor 76 takes air from ambient ( or another source ), pulls the air through a second inlet air filter 72 and inlet line 74 , and compresses the air to about 2 bara . the compressed air is routed by line 78 to the second pre - mac after - cooler ( pre - mac ac ) 81 and the cooled air is routed by line 82 to the manifold 86 . the compressed and cooled air ( at about 2 bara ) from the pre - mac after coolers 61 , 81 is fed through line 172 to the first mac compression stage mac 1 ( 182 ) where it is further compressed and then fed through line 192 to the interstage cooler 202 ( mac 1 ic ) of mac 1 . the cooled air from the interstage cooler 202 is fed through line 212 to the second mac compression stage mac 2 ( 222 ) where it is further compressed , and then is routed through line 232 to the after cooler 240 ( mac 2 ac ) of mac 2 . the cooled air from after cooler 240 is routed by line 250 to air separation unit ( asu ) stream 260 . preferably , the discharge pressure of pre - mac , or the inlet pressure of mac , is a pre - defined pressure or constant pressure for any ambient pressure . however , persons skilled in the art will recognize that various other pressures are possible even though they may not provide the best economic benefits . asu stream 260 passes through purification units ( not shown ) and heat exchangers ( not shown ) and part of the asu stream comes back from bac inlet stream 270 , which is routed through line 280 to the first bac compression stage bac 1 ( 290 ), is further compressed , and is routed through line 300 to the interstage cooler 310 ( bac 1 ic ) of bac 1 . the cooled air from interstage cooler 310 is routed by line 320 to the second bac compression stage bac 2 ( 330 ), is further compressed , and is routed by line 340 to the interstage cooler 350 ( bac 2 ic ) of bac 2 . part or all of the cooled air from interstage cooler 350 is routed by line 360 to the third bac compression stage bac 3 ( 370 ), is further compressed , and is routed by line 380 to the interstage cooler 390 ( bac 3 ic ) of bac 3 . the cooled air from interstage cooler 390 is routed by line 400 to the fourth bac compression stage bac 4 ( 410 ), is further compressed , and is routed by line 420 to the after cooler 430 ( bac 4 ac ) of bac 4 . the cooled air from the after cooler 430 is routed by line 440 and goes to asu stream 450 for further processing . in the compression arrangement 10 of the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig7 , mac 1 ( 182 ) and mac 2 ( 222 ) are both on a first pinion shaft 8 . bac 1 ( 290 ) and bac 2 ( 330 ) are both on a second pinion shaft 14 . bac 3 ( 370 ) and bac 4 ( 410 ) are both on a third pinion shaft 16 . the second driver 600 drives combined mac stages 4 and bac stages 6 on pinion shafts 8 , 14 , and 16 through a coupling 42 [ maybe also through a gearbox ( not shown ), if needed ] and a drive shaft which may be the shaft of the bull gear 18 . if , for example , the bac stages 6 has additional stages beyond four stages ( e . g ., five or six stages ), the extra stage ( s ) beyond four may be included in the combined mac 1 stages 4 and bac stages 6 with an additional pinion shaft . the design speed at which the variable speed driver 162 drives the pre - mac compressors 56 , 76 is optimized based on site elevation and site average ambient temperature to achieve the best efficiency and the lowest power consumption . a variable inlet guide vane ( igv ) and / or a variable diffuser may be used in combination with variable speed adjustments to handle other process duty conditions to reduce power consumption more effectively for those process conditions . applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods address at least in part three challenges common to the conventional compression arrangements illustrated in fig1 - 6 in at least several ways , including : applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods use two main suctions that take air from ambient or other source , and thereby double the flow capacity that can be handled by the conventional compression arrangements in fig1 , 2 , 4 , and 6 , which have only one main suction that takes air from ambient ; applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods eliminate the space and dimension constraints imposed by the compression arrangement illustrated in fig3 , since applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods use a stand - alone power train that does not have any adjacent stage or compressor scroll to interfere with it . as a result , applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods can handle much higher flows (& gt ; 1 , 000 , 000 m 3 / hr ); and applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods save power since pre - mac is driven by a variable speed drive without any mechanical loss associated with a gearing . and applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods provide an isothermal compression which uses less power , as shown by example 1 in the “ examples ” section below . for any given site , while the air inlet pressure is constant , the air inlet temperature can vary significantly from winter to summer , leading to considerable variation on volumetric flow and variation on head . volumetric flow and head increase with the inlet temperature . as previously explained above , for all conventional compression arrangements , the mac stages ( and all bac stages for all large machines ) are on the same power train ; and therefore , once the design speed is selected , there is little room to change this speed to accommodate seasonal temperature and / or production changes . thus , the most effective compressor performance control variable , i . e ., speed , is not a degree of freedom to use for conventional compression arrangements . to handle the required flow and the head for the summer high temperature condition , mac will need to be sized for the summer high temperature condition and igv will be partially closed to handle normal operating conditions . this could reduce the compressor efficiency for other operating conditions and its turndown range ( la , the range from the design flow to the minimum allowable flow without compressor surge ). during winter or turndown condition , the volumetric flow reduces significantly comparing to the flow for the summer high temperature condition , and therefore , the igv has to be closed further and the compressed air may have to be vented to the atmosphere to prevent the compressor from surging . both will lead to power waste . in contrast , a compression arrangement using pre - mac has its own stand - alone variable speed as a true degree of freedom . for summer high temperature condition , the speed can be increased ; and for winter or turndown condition , the speed can be reduced . variable igv and a variable diffuser ( if needed ) can further enhance the range of operation . the compressor efficiency for other operating conditions will be better in comparison with conventional arrangements . venting can be completely eliminated , resulting in additional power savings . air inlet pressure of mac may vary considerably with elevation among different sites . average air inlet temperature may also vary considerably with climate condition among different sites . for example , if a mac is moved from a site where the inlet pressure is 1 . 01 bara and the average inlet temperature is 7 . 2 ° c . to another site where the inlet pressure is 0 . 852 bara and the average inlet temperature is 20 ° c ., the inlet volumetric flow would be increased by more than 25 %, and first stage head would be increased by more than 34 %, for the same air separation products and cryogenic process cycle . as previously discussed above , all mac stages in conventional arrangements are on the same power train . once the speed is selected , there is little room to change the speed . as a result , the most effective compressor performance control variable , i . e ., speed , is not a degree of freedom for a given mac hardware . for a site with high elevation and / or high average inlet temperature , the design speed needs to be higher for the first stage for a given mac hardware . however , any speed increase will be applied to all mac stages as well as bac stages on the same power train , and therefore , will not work for a given cryogenic process cycle and asu design . for these reasons , conventional arrangements have to be customized for each site . in contrast , a compression arrangement using pre - mac has its own stand - alone variable speed as a true degree of freedom . pre - mac can use higher design speeds for applications with high elevation and / or high average air inlet temperature and lower speeds for applications with sea level elevation and low average air inlet temperature , all with the same pre - mac hardware . variable igv and a variable diffuser ( if needed ) can further enhance pre - mac &# 39 ; s capability to handle such variations . pre - mac can also cover a wider range of air separation products than conventional compression arrangements . regardless of site elevation and air inlet temperature , pre - mac feeds pre - processed “ utility ” air at almost constant pressure and temperature to mac , and therefore , mac can now be standardized . flow capacity limitations on the compression arrangements in fig1 , 2 , 4 , and 6 are directly set by the maximum flow capacity that can be handled by one centrifugal stage , since all of those arrangements have only one main inlet that takes air from ambient conditions . the compression arrangement in fig5 has an axial compression section , and it can handle 1 , 000 , 000 m 3 / hr or even higher flow rate . however , because there is no inter - stage cooling within the axial compression section , the compressor power consumption is higher than an equivalent isothermal compression . see example 1 below . assume that an axial - radial compressor , such as that illustrated in fig5 , is used where a multistage axial section compresses air to 3 . 4 bara , and then a centrifugal stage compresses air from 3 . 4 bara to the final discharge pressure of 5 . 85 bara . in comparison to the axial compression section , a centrifugal stage compresses air from 0 . 879 bara to 2 bara , cools the discharge air to 40 ° c ., and then compresses air to 3 . 4 bara using the second centrifugal stage . a comparison of the power consumption between the multistage axial compression section and two centrifugal stages with an interstage cooler follows : as demonstrated in example 1 , although an axial - radial compressor arrangement like that illustrated in fig5 can handle higher flow , it needs higher gas power compared to an isothermal compressor . the compression arrangement in fig3 has two suctions . its current flow limit is 800 , 000 m 3 hr and is unlikely to go above 1 , 000 , 000 m 3 / hr for the reasons previously discussed above for this arrangement . also , when flow rate increases , the impeller size and scroll size increase proportionally . in order to maintain required space between adjacent scrolls , a bigger bull gear or addition of an idler is needed , leading to higher mechanical loss , increased weight and dimensions , and higher cost . the piping route of the second main inlet close to the driver will be more challenging when pipe size becomes larger . for a mac machinery compression arrangement of fig3 , assume the total flow rate q = 800 , 000 m 3 / hr , i . e ., mac 1 a ( 101 a ) and mac 1 b ( 101 b ) each have a flow rate q 1 = 400 , 000 m 3 / hr . for an integrally geared centrifugal compressor with double suctions , as shown in fig3 , mac 1 a ( 101 a ) and mac 1 b ( 101 b ) are on the same pinion shaft . since this pinion shaft interacts with the bull gear , a mechanical gearing loss ( typically around 2 . 5 % of gas power , or maybe even higher to more than 5 %) is incurred . for applicant &# 39 ; s pre - mac compression arrangement , the pre - mac 56 and the pre - mac 76 are directly driven by a variable speed driver 162 without any gearing , and therefore , there is no mechanical gearing loss . for mac 1 b ( 101 b ) on the driver side , as shown in fig3 , a straight piping section of 6 . 8 m or longer and 1 . 7 m in diameter may be needed and will cause interference with the driver and block required access for maintenance . for applicant &# 39 ; s pre - mac compression arrangement , both suctions of pre - mac 56 and pre - mac 76 are facing away from the variable speed driver 162 , and therefore , there is no possibility of interference with the driver . although illustrated and described herein with reference to one or more specific embodiments , applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods are nevertheless 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 spirit of the invention . applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods include many other aspects and variations thereof which are not illustrated in the drawings or discussed in the detailed description section . those aspects and variations , however , do fall within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof . persons skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments and variations illustrated in the drawings and discussed in the detailed description section do not disclose all of the possible arrangements of applicant &# 39 ; s systems , and that other arrangements are possible . accordingly , all such other arrangements are contemplated by applicant &# 39 ; s systems and methods , and are within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof . persons skilled in the art also will recognize that many other embodiments incorporating applicant &# 39 ; s inventive concepts are possible , as well as many variations of the embodiments illustrated and described herein . | 5 |
since these embodiments are in no way limiting , variants of the invention could in particular be carried out that comprise only a selection of features described subsequently , as described or generalized , isolated from the other features described , if this selection of features is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention with respect to the state of the art . fig1 presents the principle of a steel product rolling plant . a furnace charging machine 1 , for example of finger type , grasps a steel product 2 transported by a roller table 3 . the roller table 3 transports the product 2 in front of a furnace 4 for reheating semi - finished steel products . the grasped product 2 is placed by the furnace charging machine 1 in the furnace 4 on transfer frames ( not represented ). during its passage through the furnace , the product to be loaded into the furnace is gradually reheated according to a predetermined heating curve , for example in order to be brought from the ambient temperature outside of the furnace 4 typically to a furnace discharge temperature , on leaving the furnace , of between 1100 ° c . and 1300 ° c . a reheated product 5 is removed from the furnace by a finger machine 7 and placed on another roller table 6 which discharges it to a rolling mill ( not represented ). fig2 shows the roller table 6 for discharging the reheated product 5 after it has left the furnace 4 . this product is moved by the roller table 6 to a deoxide scaler 8 . in fig2 , the product within the deoxide scaler 8 is numbered 5 ′. the product 5 ′ is exposed , in the deoxide scaler 8 , to high - pressure water jets 9 , 10 . the high - pressure water jets 9 , 10 are respectively oriented on an upper and lower part of the product 5 ′. these water jets 9 , 10 are arranged in order to detach the oxide scale formed at the surface of the product 5 ′ and to discharge the detached oxide scale along a circuit 11 to settling tanks ( not represented ) for the recovery thereof . after descaling by the deoxide scaler 8 , the product is transported to the inlet of a rolling mill . in the rolling mill , the product is referenced 5 ″. the product 5 ″ passes through various rolling sections 12 a , 12 b . the rolling sections 12 a , 12 b are arranged in order to obtain a desired wire , section or sheet from the product 5 ″. in the state - of - the - art plants , the oxide scale recovered in the circuit 11 is weighed in order to define overall the mass recovered and the loss on ignition , that is to say the relative amount of oxide scale produced during the product reheating operation . according to the invention , a device for continuously measuring the oxide scale produced by the reheating is positioned at the outlet of the furnace 4 , optionally after the deoxide scaler . this measurement device is arranged in order to compare the amount of oxide scale to limits set according to the heating method and to the nature of the steel reheated in the furnace . this comparison makes it possible to deduce a heating efficiency of the furnace and to develop a corrective strategy of the heating suitable for bringing the oxide scale produced back to within the desired quantity and quality limits . fig4 to 8 present devices for continuously measuring the oxide scale by measuring its thickness by means of optical distance measurement sensors . measurement is carried out by optical analysis on the width of the product and also on the length of the product during the movement thereof in front of the sensor . for each point of the zone scanned by a sensor , that is to say of the surface of the product seen by the sensor , a distance measurement is carried out with an accuracy of the order of a micrometer which enables the measurement of the actual height , that is to say of the thickness of the product . it is thus easy to calculate the volume of the product , therefore its weight before and after reheating with , by comparison , the amount of oxide scale discharged . the measurement made also makes it possible to evaluate the thickness of oxide scale formed and , thus , to compensate for the mass of oxide scale that is detached from the product and that has fallen into the furnace and into the deoxide scaler . it is also possible , by calculation , to compensate for the expansion of the products . these calculations may be carried out with simple physical algorithms . seen schematically represented in fig4 is an electromagnetic sensor 20 , the electromagnetic radiation of which scans the surface of the lower face of a product 5 while moving over a plane p 20 according to an angle of view . in this figure , the product 5 is represented in transverse cross section . the distance of the sensor with respect to the product and the angle of view of the sensor make it possible to cover the entire width of the product . when the distance of the product and / or the angle of view of the sensor do not make it possible to cover the entire width of the product , several sensors are advantageously used to cover the entire width of the product . however , in order to limit the cost of the plant , it is possible to only install a single sensor and to use the data collected by this sensor in order to transpose this data onto the surface of the product not covered by the sensor . it is thus considered , by approximation , that the amount and the features of the oxide scale are the same on the surface covered by the sensor and the surface not covered by the sensor . a portion of the amount of oxide scale fallen into the furnace 4 is thus determined by at least one sensor 20 placed underneath the product 5 , which scans the lower face thereof . said sensor is placed at the outlet of the furnace and as close as possible thereto . the sensor produces a map of the relief of the lower face of the product while this product is running . the analysis of the map of the relief of the surface of the product makes it possible to determine the amount of oxide scale fallen into the furnace . specifically , the high points at the surface of the product correspond to the locations where the oxide scale is still present on the product . conversely , the low points correspond to the locations at the surface of the product where the oxide scale has detached and has fallen into the furnace . the analysis of the data supplied by the sensor makes it possible to determine possible singular points , for example a point substantially higher than the average of the high points . at this point , it is likely that oxide scale has greatly detached from the product but has remained present thereon . the statistical analysis of the data supplied by the sensor makes it possible to take into account these singular points , for example in order to dismiss them during the processing of the data so as not to disturb the determination of the thickness of the oxide scale . since the sensor 20 is placed underneath the product , it is necessary to prevent the oxide scale from falling thereon and hampering its operation . for this , a screen 15 that is inclined relative to the ground level is placed between the product 5 and the sensor 20 . this screen must be substantially transparent for the beam so as not to degrade the accuracy of the measurement . it may for example be a glass - ceramic plate . the inclination of the screen is selected so that the oxide scale that falls onto the screen slides and does not remain thereon . since the sensor is placed underneath the screen , it is inclined by the same angle as the screen so as to avoid any optical disturbance of the laser when passing through the screen . for a finer determination of the loss of oxide scale in the furnace , a sensor is placed on each side of the product leaving the furnace . just like the sensor placed above the product , these sensors produce a map of the relief of the side faces of the product while this product is running in order to determine the amount of oxide scale formed on said side faces that has fallen into the furnace . in the case where a single sensor is placed on one of the faces of the product , the total amount of oxide scale lost by the two faces of the product is estimated by doubling that of the instrumented face of the product . advantageously according to the invention , a sensor is also placed above the product leaving the furnace so as to produce a map of the upper face of the product . as this oxide scale predominantly remains present on the product leaving the furnace , this map of the upper face is not therefore used to determine the amount of oxide scale fallen into the furnace . this map makes it possible for example to detect a difference in oxidation on the upper face of the products which may be useful for optimizing the operating parameters of the furnace . seen schematically represented in fig5 is a product 5 traveling on a furnace outlet roller table 6 along a longitudinal side view . an electromagnetic sensor 20 is placed underneath the product . its electromagnetic radiation scans the surface of the lower face of the product by moving over a plane p 20 . an inclined screen 15 is placed between the product and the sensor 20 . this screen makes it possible to prevent oxide scale from being deposited on the sensor and hampering its operation . the sensor 20 is inclined by the same angle as the inclined screen 15 so that the scanning plane p 20 of the sensor is perpendicular to the screen 15 . the amount of oxide scale fallen into the deoxide scaler 8 is determined by two sets of sensors , the first set placed upstream of the deoxide scaler , the second set downstream of the deoxide scaler . each set of sensors comprises at least a first sensor 30 , 40 placed on the upper face of the product and at least a second sensor 31 , 41 placed on one of the sides of the product . the sensors 30 and 31 are placed upstream of the deoxide scaler and the sensors 40 and 41 are placed downstream of the deoxide scaler . only the set of sensors 30 and 31 will subsequently be described knowing that the layout of these sensors is identical to that of the sensors 40 and 41 . the sensor 30 placed above the product is positioned in a vertical line with a roller 14 of the roller table on which the products move . it makes it possible to measure the distance between the upper face of the product 5 and the upper generatrix of the roller 14 . for a product resting perfectly on the support roller 14 , this distance corresponds to the height of the product . the sensor is placed so that its measuring range covers , at least in part , the upper face of the product and at least one part of the upper generatrix of said roller . the sensor is advantageously inclined by an angle alpha relative to the longitudinal axis of said roller , for example by an angle of 5 °. this inclination makes it possible to guarantee that the beam of the sensor covers , at at least one point 18 , the upper generatrix of the roller . specifically , if the sensor was positioned with its measuring range parallel to the axis of the roller , it would be necessary to have a perfect vertical alignment of the sensor relative to the roller in order for the sensor to see the upper generatrix of the roller and not a generatrix placed on a lower plane . this sensor also makes it possible to measure the relief of the upper face of the product covered by its measuring range . the sensor placed on the side of the product is positioned on the same vertical plane as the sensor placed above the product , that is to say level with the generatrix of the same support roller . when the sensor placed above the product does not cover the two sides of the support roller located on either side of the product , the sensor placed on the side of the product is located on the side of the roller of which the sensor located on the upper face of the product sees the generatrix . the sensor placed on the side of the product makes it possible to correct the height of the product measured by the sensor placed on the upper face when the product does not rest exactly on the support roller . specifically , for a deformed product that would not rest on the generatrix of the roller , the height of the product determined by the upper sensor would correspond to the sum of the actual height of the product to be taken and that of the gap between the lower face of the product and the generatrix of the roller . the combination of these two sensors enables an accurate measurement of the height of the product . the comparison of the height of the product measured by the first set of sensors positioned upstream of the deoxide scaler and the height measured by the second set of sensors positioned downstream of the deoxide scaler makes it possible to determine the loss of height of the product in the deoxide scaler . this loss of height corresponds to most of the oxide scale fallen into the deoxide scaler . sensors placed on the side of the product also make it possible to produce a map of the relief of the face of the product that they scan . the analysis of the map of the relief of the face of the product makes it possible to determine the amount of oxide scale fallen into the furnace , for the sensor placed upstream of the deoxide scaler , and the amount fallen into the deoxide scaler for the sensor placed downstream of the deoxide scaler . specifically , the high points at the surface of the product correspond to the locations where the oxide scale is still present on the product . conversely , the low points correspond to the locations at the surface of the product where the oxide scale has detached and has fallen into the furnace . when the side sensors are only placed on one of the faces of the product , the total amount of oxide scale lost by the two faces of the product is estimated by doubling that of the instrumented face of the product . seen represented in transverse view in fig6 is a product 5 traveling on a roller table . an electromagnetic sensor 30 is placed above the product and scans a portion of the upper face of the product and also a portion of the roller 14 of the roller table located in a vertical line with the sensor . the plane p 30 over which the beam of the sensor moves is perpendicular to the product and substantially parallel to the axis of the roller 14 while being inclined by an angle alpha relative to this axis . the sensor 30 makes it possible to carry out a first estimation of the height of the product 5 by measuring the distance between the upper face and product and the high point of the generatrix of the roller 14 . an electromagnetic sensor 31 is placed on the side of the product and scans the side face of the product and also a portion of the roller 14 . the plane p 31 over which the beam of the sensor 31 moves is perpendicular to the roller and passes through the axis of the roller . the upper generatrix of the roller 14 is thus on the plane p 31 . the sensor 31 makes it possible to analyze the relief of the side face of the product and measure a possible space between the edge of the product 5 and the generatrix of the roller 6 . seen represented in transverse view in fig7 is an enlargement of fig6 level with the sensor 31 showing a deformed product 5 , the side edge of which does not rest on the roller 14 . the sensor 31 thus makes it possible to measure the height 16 of the space between the edge of the product 5 and the generatrix of the roller 14 . this height is subtracted from the height of the product determined by the sensor 30 in order to obtain the actual height of the product . seen schematically represented in fig8 in a top view is a product 5 traveling on a roller table , one roller 14 of which is represented . an electromagnetic sensor 30 is placed above the product and scans a portion of the upper face of the product and also a portion of the roller 14 . the plane p 30 over which the beam of the sensor moves is perpendicular to the product and substantially parallel to the axis of the roller 14 while being inclined by an angle alpha relative to this axis . this inclination of the sensor makes it possible to guarantee that the plane p 30 passes through the upper generatrix of the roller 14 at a point 18 . the sensor 30 thus makes it possible to carry out a first estimation of the height of the product 5 by measuring the distance between the upper face and product and this high point 18 of the generatrix of the roller . these various devices according to fig4 to 8 may be used at various steps of the manufacturing process , in particular for demonstrating a difference in the dimensions of the products or in the weight thereof which is representative of the production of oxide scale in terms of amount or behavior thereof . it is thus possible to demonstrate the amount that may be deposited in the furnace during the reheating or after the furnace during the uptake of the product by the furnace discharging machine or at each step of the process after the furnace , for example during the transfer of the product to the roller tables , in the deoxide scaler or in the various units of the rolling mill . a person skilled in the art specifically knows how to place such sensors around the furnace . the sensor is protected in a water - cooled housing and aims through a viewing window swept with cold air that maintains it at temperature despite the radiation that it receives from the furnace or from the product . in particular , the advantage is understood of placing a device for measuring the product before the charging thereof into the furnace and also another after the discharging thereof from the furnace or after the deoxide scaler in order to obtain , from the difference between these measurements , an image of the amount of oxide scale produced and its behavior . it is also possible to carry out several measurements , for example before the furnace , on leaving the furnace and after the deoxide scaler in order to better evaluate the various steps of the life of the oxide scale . the device described by fig4 to 8 may be installed at the furnace inlet in order to define a volume model of the product at the furnace charging thereof , it may be installed at the outlet of the furnace or at the outlet of the deoxide scaler in order to produce a volume model of the product after reheating and descaling . the comparison of the models makes it possible to learn lessons regarding the result of the heating . this teaching may be used in particular to act on the settings of the furnace in order to thereby modify the heating curve and / or the control of the burners and / or the atmosphere in the chamber of the furnace and in particular the excess air and / or a possible injection of steam into certain zones of the furnace and / or to operate the furnace with reducing zones and oxidizing zones and / or to modify the setting parameters of the deoxide scaler such as water pressure , number of descaling ramps used , feed speed of the product . the capture of this information on the product , before and after reheating , is processed by a computer according to simple or elaborate physical model , for example in order to take into account the behavior of the oxide scale , an evaluation of the portion of the weight of oxide scale that is deposited in the furnace during the reheating , an evaluation of the oxide scale formed at the upper surface of the product and at the lower surface thereof . it is thus possible to take into account the dropping of a portion of the oxide scale formed on the lower face of the product during the transfer thereof on the frames of the furnace or on the discharge roller tables or else an evaluation of the residual portion of oxide scale at the surface of the product after the descaling . the invention thus proposes a computer program product comprising program code instructions for executing the steps of the process according to any one of the claims according to the invention when the program is executed on a computer . it is also possible to envisage the use of a computer program product , for example of fuzzy logic or self - adapting type , for continuously analyzing the formation of oxide scale on the product in order to validate the action performed on the operation of the furnace or to evaluate the changes in the oxide scale ( in terms of quantity and quality ) over time according to the process modifications performed . it is seen that by means of the continuous measurement of the amount of oxide scale formed at the surface of the product and of the operating system of the furnace by computer , it is possible to continuously adapt the operating parameters of the furnace according to a predefined strategy or predefined objectives , for example to reduce the amount of oxide scale provided , to stabilize the amount of oxide scale produced at a predefined value as a function of the nature of the product to be treated and its treatment process , to modify the amount of oxide scale produced in order to obtain a oxide scale quality suitable for the process , for example for its discharging characteristics in the deoxide scaler . this process for continuously controlling the furnace according to the measurement of the oxide scale produced makes it possible to optimize the complete rolling process and to optimize the energy consumption by reducing the amount of oxide scale produced . of course , the invention is not limited to the examples that have just been described and many adjustments may be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention . furthermore , the various features , forms , variants and embodiments of the invention may be combined with one another in various combinations as long as they are not mutually exclusive or incompatible . 16 distance between the edge of the product and a support roller 18 intersection between a plane p 30 and the upper generatrix of a roller 20 electromagnetic sensor scanning the lower face of a product 30 electromagnetic sensor scanning the upper face of a product upstream of the descaler 31 electromagnetic sensor scanning a side face of a product upstream of the descaler 40 electromagnetic sensor scanning the upper face of a product downstream of the descaler 41 electromagnetic sensor scanning a side face of a product downstream of the descaler | 6 |
the numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to the disclosed embodiment . however , it should be understood that this embodiment provides only one example of the many advantageous uses and innovative teachings herein . in general , statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily delimit any of the various claimed inventions . moreover , some statements may apply to some inventive features , but not to others . detailed descriptions of known functions and constructions unnecessarily obscuring the subject matter of the present invention have been omitted for clarity . though the invention has been described with respect to a specific preferred embodiment , many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the present application . it is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications . a conventional current source 100 is illustrated in fig1 . it comprises a reference voltage input 10 coupled to the non - inverting input of buffer 11 . the output of buffer 11 is coupled to the gate of mos transistor 12 . the drain of mos transistor being coupled to the inverting input of the buffer 11 and to pin 13 . an external resistor 14 couples the current generator 100 to ground 15 . the source of mos transistor 12 is coupled to output pin 16 . disadvantageously , current generator 100 is unable to shunt noise to ground 15 and thus , noise is outputted at pin 16 with the current signal . an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed as current source 200 in fig2 . as seen therein , current source 200 comprises a voltage reference input terminal 20 coupled to the non - inverting input of buffer 21 . in the disclosed embodiment , buffer 21 comprises an operational amplifier buffer . the output of buffer 21 is coupled to the gate of first mos transistor 22 . the source of first mos transistor 22 is coupled to first pin 23 . the drain of first mos transistor 22 is coupled to the inverting input of buffer 21 . the first terminal of first resistor 24 is coupled to the gate of first mos transistor 22 . the second terminal of first resistor 24 is coupled to the gate of second mos transistor 26 . the first terminal of capacitor 25 is coupled to the gate of the second mos transistor 26 and the second terminal of capacitor 25 is coupled to the inverting input of buffer 21 . the drain of second mos transistor 26 is coupled to second pin 27 and the source of the second mos transistor 26 is coupled to output terminal 28 . in the disclosed embodiment of the present invention , the first mos transistor 22 comprises a pmos transistor and second mos transistor 26 comprises an nmos transistor . as shown in the disclosed embodiment , the second pin 27 is coupled to a first terminal of second resistor 29 and the second terminal of second resistor 29 is coupled to ground 30 . as shown , the second resistor 29 is external to current source 200 . advantageously , current source 200 is operable to shunt noise to ground 30 and a cleaned current signal to output terminal 28 . although a disclosed embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated in fig2 and described in the foregoing detailed description , it is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed , but is capable of numerous rearrangements , modifications , and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims . | 6 |
embodiments of the present invention provide a method , system and computer program product for response tracking across social networks . in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , the postings of a user can be tracked across different forums . subscribers to the postings of the user , in turn , can be notified of the postings on the different forums as the postings occur irrespective of the forum in which the postings occur and irrespective of whether or not the subscribers are aware of the forums . the tracking and notification can occur in logic coupled to each subscriber in concert with a remote response tracking database , in logic coupled to participating forums in concert with the remote response tracking database . in this way the subscribers can track the postings of a user of interest without searching out the different forums to which the user of interest posts . in further illustration , fig1 is a pictorial illustration of a process for response tracking across social networks . as shown in fig1 , a subscriber 150 can subscribe to the forum postings 120 a , 120 b , 120 n of a user 130 and an automated response tracking process 140 can monitor the postings 120 a , 120 b , 120 n of the user 130 to different forums 110 a , 110 b , 110 n irrespective of whether or not the subscriber 150 knows of the different forums 110 a , 110 b , 110 n . rather , the postings 120 a , 120 b , 120 n can be reported to the automated response tracking process 140 which in turn can aggregate the postings 120 a , 120 b , 120 n for delivery to the subscriber 130 . in this way , the subscriber 150 need not locate and subscribe to each of the different forums 110 a , 110 b , 110 n in order to read the postings of the user 130 . notably , the automated response tracking process 140 can be managed in a social networking system either as part of the clients of the system , the different forums in the system or some combination of both . in illustration , fig2 schematically depicts a social networking system configured for client side response tracking across social networks . the system can include a plurality of computing systems 240 each supporting a different discussion forum 250 and each being configured to receive postings and to provide viewing of the postings by end users over computer communications network 220 . to that end , the discussion forum 250 can range from a blog to a wiki to a threaded discussion forum to a team room , to a shared document library to name only a few variations . different users 210 ( only a single user shown for purposes of illustrative simplicity ) can provide postings and responses to postings ( collectively , “ postings ”) to different forums 250 from over the computer communications network 220 . notably , each of the users 210 can be an individual , or alternatively a grouping of individuals . response tracking logic 280 coupled to user 210 can track the postings of the user 210 in a data store of responses 260 . in this regard , the response tracking logic 280 can include program code enabled to receive notification of the postings of the user and to aggregate the postings in the data store of responses 260 . the program code of the response tracking logic 280 further can be enabled to notify different subscribers 230 to the postings of the user 210 of the postings from over the computer communications network . in this regard , each of the subscribers 230 need only specify the user 210 and not any particular one of the forums 250 in order to receive notification of the postings by the user 210 to the forums 250 from the response tracking logic 280 . optionally , the subscribers 230 can limit the notifications of the postings based upon the nature of the forums 250 to which postings have occurred . for example , different ones of the subscribers 230 can limit notifications to postings to wikis and threaded discussion forums , but not blogs . yet further , a user interface add - on can be provided to the content browser of each of the subscribers 230 permitting the subscribers to activate the add - on when selecting a posting of the user 210 in order to subscribe to an aggregation of postings by the user 210 across all or selected ones of the forums 250 . further , the program code of the response tracking logic 280 can trap the postings as they occur in the client of the user 210 , or the response tracking logic 280 can query or passively receive notification of the postings by the different forums 250 registered with the response tracking logic 280 , or the program code of the response tracking logic can scan each of the forums 250 seeking out new postings by the user 210 . yet further , the receipt of notification of the postings by the different forums 250 can be limited for the user 210 according to a security policy defining which content the user 210 can track . finally , the postings can be stored locally , and thereafter submitted to a central repository . once the data store of responses 260 has been populated with postings of the user 210 , the data store of responses 260 can be searched , for instance for a task bar anchored control , using a content searching engine to provide further filtering and aggregating possibilities for the subscribers 230 . further , the client task bar anchor control can be enhanced so that while tracking on an individual is being reviewed , an internet search engine search can be conducted to collect a composite list of results . yet further , when the user 210 posts to a blog or collaborative forum , upon saving the entry in the data store of responses 260 , a unique signature block entry is appended and posted . this represents a unique tag that can be searched on for retrieval via a search engine . in yet further illustration of the operation of the response tracking logic 280 , fig3 is a flow chart illustrating a process for response tracking across social networks . beginning in block 310 , a posting by a user in a forum can be detected and in block 320 the user can be compared to a list of tracked users . in decision block 330 , it can be determined whether or not the user is a tracked user . if so , in block 340 the posting can be aggregated with other postings from other forums . thereafter , in block 350 a list of subscribers to the postings of the user can be retrieved . finally , in block 360 notification of the posting can be provided to each subscriber in the list excepting for those subscribers whom have expressed a preference not to receive postings from a forum type shared by the forum in which the posting had been detected . embodiments of the invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements . in a preferred embodiment , the invention is implemented in software , which includes but is not limited to firmware , resident software , microcode , and the like . furthermore , the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer - usable or computer - readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system . for the purposes of this description , a computer - usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain , store , communicate , propagate , or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the medium can be an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system ( or apparatus or device ) or a propagation medium . examples of a computer - readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory , magnetic tape , a removable computer diskette , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk . current examples of optical disks include compact disk - read only memory ( cd - rom ), compact disk - read / write ( cd - r / w ) and dvd . a data processing system suitable for storing and / or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus . the memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code , bulk storage , and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution . input / output or i / o devices ( including but not limited to keyboards , displays , pointing devices , etc .) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening i / o controllers . network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks . modems , cable modem and ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters . | 7 |
this invention will be described in further detail by way of embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings . to be more specific , the following describes embodiments of the invention with reference to fig1 through 15 . now , referring to fig1 , there is shown a block diagram of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus practiced as one embodiment of the invention . it should be note that , although a receiving apparatus shown in fig1 can also receive analog broadcasting , this apparatus is herein referred to as a digital broadcast receiving apparatus because the function thereof is for mainly receiving digital broadcasting . for the brevity , the description of a receiving system of satellite digital broadcasting by a communications satellite ( cs ) is skipped herein . terrestrial analog television broadcast signals transmitted on vhf band ( 90 mhz to 220 mhz ) and uhf band ( 440 mhz to 770 mhz ) are received at a vhf antenna 1 and a uhf antenna 2 to be supplied to a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . a terrestrial digital television broadcast signal transmitted on uhf band is received at the uhf antenna 2 to be supplied to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . a terrestrial digital audio broadcast signal transmitted on channel 7 of vhf is received at the vhf antenna 1 to be supplied to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . referring to fig2 , there is shown a block diagram illustrating an exemplary internal configuration of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 has a high - frequency amplifying circuit 3 a configured to amplify signals supplied from the vhf antenna 1 and the uhf antenna 2 , a local oscillating circuit 3 b configured to generate a local oscillation signal , and a mixing circuit 3 c configured to mix an output signal of the high - frequency amplifying circuit 3 a with a local oscillation signal from the local oscillating circuit 3 b to output an intermediate - frequency signal . the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 also has a variable bandwidth filter 3 i configured to vary the passband width between 4 mhz and 6 mhz by an external control signal , an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit 3 g to which an output signal of the variable bandwidth filter 3 i , and a station selecting circuit 3 h configured to control operations of the above - mentioned high - frequency amplifying circuit 3 a , the above - mentioned local oscillating circuit 3 b , and a switching block , not shown . in the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 , a desired channel , namely a signal having a desired frequency in the entered vhf band ( 90 mhz to 220 mhz ) and uhf band ( 440 mhz to 770 mhz ) is converted into an intermediate - frequency signal having a predetermined frequency , 57 mhz for example . namely , the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 basically has the capabilities of the vhf / uhf tuner for use in related - art terrestrial analog television broadcast receiving . at the reception of the terrestrial digital television broadcasting transmitted in the vhf band ( 90 mhz to 220 mhz ) and the uhf band ( 440 mhz to 770 mhz ), an intermediate - frequency signal from the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 is supplied to an ofdm demodulating block 7 , in which an ofdm signal is demodulated , thereby providing transport stream ts 1 of mpeg . this transport stream ts 1 is supplied to one input of a switching block 8 configured for transport stream . a satellite digital television broadcast signal transmitted on the shf band ( 12 ghz ) is received at an shf antenna 9 and converted by an lnb ( low noise block ) converter , not shown , into an intermediate - frequency signal of 1 - ghz band to be supplied to a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 . in the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 a signal having a desired channel or frequency among the intermediate - frequency signals in the entered 1 - ghz band is converted by direction conversion into an i signal and a q signal , which are supplied to a qpsk demodulating block 11 , in which the qpsk signal is demodulated , thereby providing mpeg transport stream ts 2 . this transport stream ts 2 is supplied to the other input of the switching block 8 . a transport stream output of the switching block 8 configured for transport stream is supplied to a demultiplexer 12 , in which video data , audio data , and broadcast data that are multiplexed with the transport stream in a time division manner are separated from the transport stream . the video data and the audio data separated by the demultiplexer 12 are supplied to an mpeg decoder 13 to be decoded , thereby providing a video signal and an audio signal . the video signal from the mpeg decoder 13 is supplied to a video processing block 14 and the audio signal is supplied to an audio processing block 15 . predetermined image processing is executed on the video signal supplied to the video processing block 14 and the resultant video signal is supplied to a video output apparatus 16 , such as a crt ( cathode ray tube ), an lcd ( liquid crystal display ), or a pdp ( plasma display panel ). predetermined audio processing is executed on the audio signal supplied to an audio processing block 15 and the resultant audio signal is supplied to an audio output apparatus 17 , such as a loudspeaker . the broadcast data for data broadcasting separated by the demultiplexer 12 is supplied to a broadcast data processing block 18 , in which user - specified predetermined processing , epg display processing for example , is executed on the broadcast data . a control signal from the broadcast data processing block 18 is supplied to a video data generating block 19 , in which an image signal for displaying a predetermined image on the video output apparatus 16 is generated . the image signal from the video data generating block 19 is combined with the video signal of a broadcast signal in the video processing block 14 . the entire digital broadcast receiving apparatus mentioned above is controlled by a control block 4 that is implemented by a microprocessor and so on . the embodiment shown in fig1 is configured to control operations of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 , and the switching block 8 by the control block 4 . other circuit components , not shown , are also controlled by the control block 4 . the control block 4 is connected with a remote operation signal receiving block 5 . a remote control signal from a remote operation signal transmitter 6 is received by the remote operation signal receiving block 5 , which discriminates the contents of the received remote control signal . accordingly , the control block 4 executes a user - specified control operation . from the control block 4 , station selection data is supplied to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 for tuner switching and channel switching . here , the above - mentioned ofdm demodulating block 7 , qpsk demodulating block 11 , switching block 8 , demultiplexer 12 , mpeg decoder 13 , and broadcast data processing block 18 provide a demodulating circuit 23 configured to demodulate an intermediate - frequency signal received by the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 or the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 . the following describes operations to be executed by the above - mentioned digital broadcast receiving apparatus . first , an operation to be executed when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus receives a terrestrial digital television broadcast signal is described . for example , if a terrestrial digital television broadcast signal transmitted on channel 27 of uhf is received , the user turns on a terrestrial digital broadcasting button of the remote operation signal transmitter 6 and then presses a button corresponding to channel 27 of uhf among channel selection buttons . from the remote operation signal transmitter 6 , remote control signals corresponding to the types of pressed buttons are sequentially transmitted to be received by the remote operation signal receiving block 5 shown in fig1 , in which these signals are converted into control data corresponding to the types of pressed button to be supplied to the control block 4 . the control block 4 discriminates the contents of the control data supplied from the remote operation signal receiving block 5 . if the supplied control data is found to be corresponding to the terrestrial digital broadcasting button , then the control block 4 supplies station selection data that enables the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 , thereby enabling only the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . at the same time , the switching block 8 is switched to the side of the ofdm demodulating block 7 by a signal route switching signal supplied from the control block 4 . if the control data is found to be corresponding to the button corresponding to channel 27 , then station selection data for specifying the reception of channel 27 is supplied from the control block 4 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 , upon which channel 27 is received by the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . the following further details the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . as shown in fig2 , when station selection data for specifying the reception of channel 27 is supplied from the control block 4 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 , this station selection data is supplied to the station selecting circuit 3 h . then , the station selecting circuit 3 h supplies a control voltage for setting a resonance frequency suitable for the reception of channel 27 to the high - frequency amplifying circuit 3 a and the local oscillating circuit 3 b . therefore , from the mixing circuit 3 c , an intermediate - frequency signal corresponding to the broadcast contents of channel 27 is outputted . in an initial status , the frequency components of all bands of terrestrial digital television broadcast signals pass the variable bandwidth filter 3 i without degradation because this filter has a passband width of 6 mhz . the signal that has passed the variable bandwidth filter 3 i is amplified by the intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit 3 g to a desired level to be supplied to the ofdm demodulating block 7 shown in fig1 . in the ofdm demodulating block 7 , mpeg transport stream ts 1 is obtained by ofdm demodulation and supplied to the switching block 8 . at this moment , the switching block 8 has been switched to the side of the ofdm demodulating block 7 , so that transport stream ts 1 supplied from the ofdm demodulating block 7 is supplied to the demultiplexer 12 via the switching block 8 to be separated into a video part , an audio part , and a data part for extraction . the video part and the audio part are supplied to the mpeg decoder 13 to be decoded into a video signal and an audio signal that are supplied to the video processing block 14 and the audio processing block 15 , respectively . the video signal supplied to the video processing block 14 is image - processed in a predetermined manner to be supplied to the video output apparatus 16 . the audio signal supplied to the audio processing block 15 is audio - processed in a predetermined manner to be supplied to the audio output apparatus 17 . consequently , the user can view the terrestrial digital television broadcast program being transmitted on channel 27 . the data part obtained in the demultiplexer 12 is supplied to the broadcast data processing block 18 to generate a control signal corresponding to the contents of the broadcast data . this control signal is supplied to the video data generating block 19 to generate an image signal corresponding to the contents of the broadcast data . this image data is supplied to the video processing block 14 to be combined with the video signal of the broadcast program . therefore , the user can view the contents of the data broadcast . the following describes an operation of receiving a terrestrial audio broadcast signal . for example , if a terrestrial digital audio broadcast signal being transmitted on channel 7 of vhf is received , the user turns on the terrestrial digital broadcasting button of the remote operation signal transmitter 6 and then presses a service mode button once . remote control signals corresponding to the types of pressed buttons are sequentially transmitted from the remote operation signal transmitter 6 to be received by the remote operation signal receiving block 5 shown in fig1 . the received remote control signals are converted into the control data corresponding to the types of pressed buttons to be supplied to the control block 4 . the control block 4 discriminates the contents of the control data supplied from the remote operation signal receiving block 5 . if the control data is found to be corresponding to the terrestrial digital broadcasting button , then the control block 4 supplies station selection data for enabling the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 , thereby enabling only the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . at the same time , the switching block 8 is switched to the side of the ofdm demodulating block 7 by a signal route switching signal supplied from the control block 4 . if the control data is found to be corresponding to the button corresponding to terrestrial digital audio broadcasting , then the control block 4 supplies the station selection data for specifying the reception of channel 7 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 , upon which channel 7 is received by the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . the following further details the operation of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . as shown in fig2 , when station selection data for specifying the reception of channel 7 is supplied from the control block 4 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 , this station selection data is supplied to the station selecting circuit 3 h . then , the station selecting circuit 3 h supplies a control voltage for setting a resonance frequency suitable for the reception of channel 7 to the high - frequency amplifying circuit 3 a and the local oscillating circuit 3 b . therefore , from the mixing circuit 3 c , an intermediate - frequency signal corresponding to the broadcast contents of channel 7 is outputted . the station selection data is supplied from the control block 4 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 . consequently , the intermediate - frequency signal from the mixing circuit 3 c is supplied to the variable bandwidth filter 3 i . the frequency components of all bands of terrestrial digital television broadcast signals pass the variable bandwidth filter 3 i without degradation and there is no interference by broadcast signals of adjacent channels because this filter has a passband width of 4 mhz . the signal that has passed the variable bandwidth filter 3 i is amplified by the intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit 3 g to a desired level to be supplied to the ofdm demodulating block 7 shown in fig1 . in the ofdm demodulating block 7 , mpeg transport stream ts 1 is obtained by ofdm demodulation and supplied to the switching block 8 . at this moment , the switching block 8 has been switched to the side of the ofdm demodulating block 7 , so that transport stream ts 1 supplied from the ofdm demodulating block 7 is supplied to the demultiplexer 12 via the switching block 8 , in which the audio part is separated for extraction . the audio part is supplied to the mpeg decoder 13 to be decoded into an audio signal . the audio signal is supplied to the audio processing block 15 to be audio - processed . the processed audio signal is supplied to the audio output apparatus 17 . consequently , the user can view the terrestrial digital audio broadcast program being broadcast on channel 7 . the following describes an operation of receiving a satellite television broadcast signal . for example , if a bs digital television broadcast signal of service id 151ch being transmitted on channel 1 ( bs 1 ) of shf is received , the user turns on the bs digital broadcasting button of the remote operation signal transmitter 6 . next , the user presses a channel selection button 5 , namely , a button corresponding to service id 151ch . from the remote operation signal transmitter 6 , remote control signals corresponding to the types pressed buttons are sequentially transmitted . these remote control signals are received by the remote operation signal receiving block 5 shown in fig1 to be converted into the control data corresponding to pressed buttons . the control data is then supplied to the control block 4 . the control block 4 discriminates the contents of the control data supplied from the remote operation signal receiving block 5 . if the control data is found to be corresponding to the bs digital broadcasting button , then station selection data for enabling the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 is supplied to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 to enable only the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 . at the same time , the switching block 8 is switched to the side of the qpsk demodulating block 11 by a signal route switching signal from the control block 4 . if the control data is found to be corresponding to channel 1 of shf , then station selection data for specifying the reception of channel 1 of shf is supplied from the control block 4 to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 3 and satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 to receive channel 1 of shf by the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 . an output of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 10 is supplied to the qpsk demodulating block 11 shown in fig1 . in the qpsk demodulating block 11 , mpeg transport stream ts 2 is obtained by qpsk demodulation to be supplied to the switching block 8 . at this moment , the switching block 8 has been switched to the side of the qpsk demodulating block 11 , so that transport stream ts 2 from the qpsk demodulating block 11 is supplied to the demultiplexer 12 via the switching block 8 , in which transport stream ts 2 is separated into a video part , an audio part , and a data part for extraction . the video part and the audio part are supplied to the mpeg decoder 13 to be decoded into a video signal and an audio signal , which are supplied to the video processing block 14 and the video audio processing block 15 , respectively . the video signal supplied to the video processing block 14 is image - processed to be supplied to the video output apparatus 16 . the audio signal supplied to the video output apparatus 15 is audio - processed to be supplied to the audio output apparatus 17 . consequently , the user can view the bs digital television broadcast program of service id 151ch being broadcast on channel 1 ( bs 1 ) of shf . referring to fig3 , there is shown a schematic diagram illustrating a tuner circuit and a demodulating circuit of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present embodiment . this digital broadcast receiving apparatus has a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 , a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 , and a demodulating circuit 23 configured to demodulate if ( intermediate frequency ) signals 41 and 44 , reception signals of these two schemes . these two reception signals if 41 and 44 are both analog signals , so that these signals are converted into digital signals by an a / d converting circuits 35 and 37 in the preprocessing of the demodulating circuit 23 . the demodulating circuit 23 demodulates these digital signals . the demodulating circuit 23 has a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 24 and a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 25 for executing control inside the demodulating circuit 23 . the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 24 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 25 each have agcs ( automatic gain controls ) 36 and 38 . agc signals from the agcs 36 and 38 are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 via terminals 26 and 28 , respectively . the agc signals are passed to an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit in the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 and an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit in the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 , respectively , to be automatically optimized in amplification . this if signal amplitude optimizing control provides an effect of widening the dynamic range dr of the a / d converting circuits 35 and 37 . serial communications signals 40 and 43 , such as various setting data , control the selection or passband of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 via a switching circuit b ( 31 ), a terminal b ( 27 ), and a terminal d ( 29 ). also , the serial communications signals 40 and 43 are bidirectionally communicable between the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 24 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 25 . namely , referring to fig3 , the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present embodiment has a host cpu 34 in addition to the demodulating circuit 23 configured to be compatible with two broadcasting schemes , the terrestrial digital broadcasting and the satellite digital broadcasting , the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 , and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 . the host cpu 34 has a function of switching between the connection states of a switching circuit a ( 30 ) and a switching circuit b ( 31 ). the demodulating circuit 23 has the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 24 , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 25 , the switching circuit a ( 30 ) and the switching circuit b ( 31 ). the switching circuit a ( 30 ) and the switching circuit b ( 31 ) are connected to the host cpu 34 via switching signal a ( 32 ) and switching signal b ( 33 ). terminal a ( 26 ) and terminal c ( 28 ) of the demodulating circuit 23 output agc signals 39 and 42 that are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 , respectively . terminal b ( 27 ) and terminal d ( 29 ) of the demodulating circuit 23 are terminals for the serial communications signals 40 and 43 that are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 , respectively . the following describes a relation between tuner circuit arrangement and terminal position . as shown in fig3 , the relation becomes as follows if the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 is arranged near terminal a ( 26 ) and terminal b ( 27 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged near terminal c ( 28 ) and terminal d ( 29 ). referring to fig1 , there is shown a relation between the control signals switched by a switching signal supplied from the host cpu and the output terminals . in this case , the switching states of switching circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) are set via switching signal a ( 32 ) and switching signal b ( 33 ) from the host cpu 34 , such as “ 1 ” of no . 121 in fig1 . namely , if switching signal a ( 32 ) is “ 0 ” and switching signal b ( 33 ) is also “ 0 ,” then terminal a ( 26 ) provides an agc signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 27 ) provides a serial communications signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 28 ) provides an agc signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 29 ) provides a serial communications signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal states of terminal a ( 26 ), terminal b ( 27 ), terminal c ( 28 ), and terminal d ( 29 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 39 and 42 and the serial communications signals 40 and 43 for the two tuner circuits . the connection state of switching circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) at that time is shown in fig4 . as shown in fig4 , in switching circuit a ( 30 ), the agc 36 is connected to terminal a ( 26 ) and the agc 38 is connected to terminal c ( 28 ). in switching circuit b ( 31 ), the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 24 is connected to terminal b ( 27 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 25 is connected to terminal d ( 29 ). if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged near terminal a ( 26 ) and terminal b ( 27 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 is arranged near terminal c ( 28 ) and terminal d ( 29 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this case , the switching state of switching terminal a ( 30 ) and switching terminal b ( 31 ) is set via switching signal a ( 32 ) and switching signal b ( 33 ) from the host cpu 34 , such as “ 4 ” of no . 121 in fig1 . to be more specific , if switching signal a ( 32 ) is “ 1 ” and switching signal b ( 33 ) is also “ 1 ,” then terminal a ( 26 ) provides an agc signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 27 ) provides a serial communications signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 28 ) provides an agc signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 29 ) provides a serial communications signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 26 ), terminal b ( 27 ), terminal c ( 28 ), and terminal d ( 29 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 39 and 42 and the serial communications signals 40 and 43 for the two tuner circuits . a switching connection state of switch circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) at that time is shown in fig5 . as shown in fig5 , in switching circuit a ( 30 ), the agc 36 is connected to terminal c ( 28 ) and the agc 38 is connected to terminal a ( 26 ). in switching circuit b ( 31 ), the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 24 is connected to terminal d ( 29 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 25 is connected to terminal b ( 27 ). the following describes a case in which the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 are arranged in a horizontal manner . if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged near terminal a ( 26 ) and terminal d ( 29 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 is arranged near terminal b ( 27 ) and terminal c ( 28 ), the following configuration is obtained . the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged to the left of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 . the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 are positioned at the upper and lower sides thereof and the terminals of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 are positioned at the right side thereof . fig6 shows the switching connection state of switching circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) when the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged to the left of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 30 ) is set via switching signal a ( 32 ) and switching signal b ( 33 ) from the host cpu 34 , as with “ 2 ” of no . 121 in fig1 . to be more specific , when switching signal a ( 32 ) is “ 1 ” and switching signal b ( 33 ) is “ 0 ,” terminal a ( 26 ) provides an agc signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 27 ) provides a serial communications signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 28 ) provides an agc signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast turner , and terminal d ( 29 ) provides a serial communications signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 26 ), terminal b ( 27 ), terminal c ( 28 ), and terminal d ( 29 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 39 and 42 and the serial communications signals 40 and 43 for the two tuner circuits . if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged near terminal b ( 27 ) and terminal c ( 28 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 is arranged near terminal a ( 26 ) and terminal d ( 29 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this configuration , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged to the right of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 . the terminals of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 are positioned at the upper and lower ends thereof . the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 are positioned at the right side thereof . in this configuration , the arrangement of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 is reverse to that shown in fig6 . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) is set via switching signal a ( 32 ) and switching signal b ( 33 ) from the host cpu 34 , such as “ 3 ” of no . 121 in fig1 . to be more specific , when switching signal a ( 32 ) is “ 0 ” and switching signal b ( 33 ) is “ 1 ,” terminal a ( 26 ) provides an agc signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 27 ) provides a serial communications signal for the satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 28 ) provides an agc signal for the satellite digital broadcast turner , and terminal d ( 29 ) provides a serial communications signal for the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 26 ), terminal b ( 27 ), terminal c ( 28 ), and terminal d ( 29 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 39 and 42 and the serial communications signals 40 and 43 for the two tuner circuits . referring to fig7 , there is shown a schematic diagram of a tuner circuit and a demodulating circuit of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus practiced as another embodiment of the invention . the digital broadcast receiving apparatus shown in fig7 has three circuits , a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 , a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 , and a demodulating circuit 53 configured to demodulate if signals 72 and 75 that are reception signals of these two schemes . these two reception signals if 72 and 75 are both analog signals , so that these signals are converted into digital signals by an a / d converting circuits 66 and 68 in the preprocessing of the demodulating circuit 53 . the demodulating circuit 53 demodulates these digital signals . the demodulating circuit 53 has a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 54 and a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 55 for executing control inside the demodulating circuit 53 . at this time , the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 54 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 55 each have agcs ( automatic gain controls ) 67 and 69 . agc signals from the agcs 67 and 69 are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 via terminals 56 and 58 , respectively . the agc signals are passed to an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit in the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 and an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit in the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 , respectively , to be automatically optimized in amplification . this if signal amplitude optimizing control provides an effect of widening the dynamic range dr of the a / d converting circuits 66 and 68 . serial communications signals 71 and 74 , such as various setting data , control the selection or passband of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 via a switching circuit b ( 61 ), a terminal b ( 57 ), and a terminal d ( 59 ). also , the serial communications signals 71 and 74 are bidirectionally communicable between the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 54 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 55 . namely , referring to fig7 , the digital broadcast receiving apparatus shown has terminals an external circuit configured to give a predetermined voltage to these terminals in addition to the demodulating circuit 53 configured to be compatible with two broadcasting schemes , the terrestrial digital broadcasting and the satellite digital broadcasting , the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 , and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 . these terminals and external circuit have a function of switching between the connection states of a switching circuit a ( 60 ) and a switching circuit b ( 61 ). the demodulating circuit 53 has the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 54 , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 55 , switching circuit a ( 60 ), and switching circuit b ( 61 ). switching circuit ( 60 ) and switching circuit ( 61 ) are connected to an external circuit via switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ) through terminal e ( 64 ) and terminal f ( 65 ) of the demodulating circuit 53 . the external circuit herein can select logical “ high ” or “ low ” of the potential of switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ). for example , by selectively connecting movable contact a , fixed contact b (+ supply ), or c ( ground ) of switch sw 1 , the external circuit gives a predetermined potential to switching signal b ( 63 ). terminal a ( 56 ) and terminal c ( 58 ) of the demodulating circuit 53 output agc signals 70 and 73 that are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 , respectively . terminal b ( 57 ) and terminal d ( 59 ) of the demodulating circuit 53 are for serial communications signals 71 and 74 that are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 , respectively . the following describes a relation between tuner circuit arrangement and terminal position . as shown in fig7 , the relation becomes as follows if the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 is arranged near terminal a ( 56 ) and terminal b ( 57 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 is arranged near terminal c ( 58 ) and terminal d ( 59 ). referring to fig1 , there is shown a relation between control signals switched by the terminal state set by the switching signal and output terminals . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) is set via switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ) to terminal e ( 64 ) and terminal f ( 65 ) from the external circuit . namely , when switching signal a ( 62 ) is “ low ” and switching signal b ( 63 ) is also “ low ,” terminal a ( 56 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 57 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 58 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 59 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 56 ), terminal b ( 57 ), terminal c ( 58 ), and terminal d ( 59 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 70 and 73 and the serial communications signals 71 and 74 for the two tuner circuits . a connection state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) at that time is shown in fig8 . as shown in fig8 , in switching circuit a ( 60 ), the agc 67 is connected to terminal a ( 56 ) and the agc 69 is connected to terminal c ( 58 ). in switching circuit b ( 61 ), the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 54 is connected to terminal b ( 57 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 55 is connected to terminal d ( 59 ). if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 is arranged near terminal a ( 56 ) and terminal b ( 57 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 is arranged near terminal c ( 58 ) and terminal d ( 59 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this configuration , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) is set via switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ) to terminal e ( 64 ) and terminal f ( 65 ) from the external circuit , such as “ 4 ” of no . 131 in fig1 . namely , when switching signal a ( 62 ) is “ high ” and switching signal b ( 63 ) is also “ high ,” terminal a ( 56 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 57 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 58 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 59 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 56 ), terminal b ( 57 ), terminal c ( 58 ), and terminal d ( 59 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 70 and 73 and the serial communications signals 71 and 74 for the two tuner circuits . a connection state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) at that time is shown in fig9 . as shown in fig9 , in switching circuit a ( 60 ), the agc 67 is connected to terminal c ( 58 ) and the agc 69 is connected to terminal a ( 56 ). in switching circuit b ( 61 ), the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 54 is connected to terminal d ( 59 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 55 is connected to terminal b ( 57 ). consequently , by setting the switching state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) via switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ) to terminal e ( 64 ) and terminal f ( 65 ) from the external circuit , the terminal state of terminal a ( 56 ), terminal b ( 57 ), terminal c ( 58 ), and terminal d ( 59 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 70 and 73 and the serial communications signals 71 and 74 for the two tuner circuits . the following describes a configuration in which the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 are arranged in a horizontal manner . if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 is arranged near terminal a ( 56 ) and terminal d ( 59 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 is arranged near terminal b ( 57 ) and terminal c ( 58 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this configuration the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 is arranged to the left of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 . also , in this configuration , the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 are positioned at the upper and lower sides thereof and the terminals of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 are positioned at the right side thereof . this switching connection state is substantially the same as that of switching circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) in which satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged to the left of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 as shown in fig6 . in this configuration , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) is set via switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ) to terminal e ( 64 ) and terminal f ( 65 ) from the external circuit , such as “ 2 ” of no . 131 in fig1 . namely , when switching signal a ( 62 ) is “ high ” and switching signal b ( 63 ) is also “ low ,” terminal a ( 56 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 57 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 58 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 59 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 56 ), terminal b ( 57 ), terminal c ( 58 ), and terminal d ( 59 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 70 and 73 and the serial communications signals 71 and 74 for the two tuner circuits . if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 is arranged near terminal b ( 57 ) and terminal c ( 58 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 is arranged near terminal a ( 56 ) and terminal d ( 59 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this configuration , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 is arranged to the right of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 . also , in this configuration , the terminals of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 51 are positioned at the upper and lower sides thereof and the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 52 are positioned at the right side thereof . this switching connection state is reverse to the arrangement of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 shown in fig6 . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 60 ) and switching circuit b ( 61 ) is set via switching signal a ( 62 ) and switching signal b ( 63 ) to terminal e ( 64 ) and terminal f ( 65 ) from the external circuit . namely , when switching signal a ( 62 ) is “ low ” and switching signal b ( 63 ) is also “ high ,” terminal a ( 56 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 57 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 58 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 59 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 56 ), terminal b ( 57 ), terminal c ( 58 ), and terminal d ( 59 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 70 and 73 and the serial communications signals 71 and 74 for the two tuner circuits . referring to fig1 , there is shown a schematic diagram of a tuner circuit and a demodulating circuit of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus practiced as still another embodiment of the invention . the digital broadcast receiving apparatus shown in fig1 has three circuits , a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 , a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 , and a demodulating circuit 83 configured to demodulate if signals 103 and 106 that are reception signals of these two schemes . these two reception signals if 103 and 106 are both analog signals , so that these signals are converted into digital signals by an a / d converting circuits 97 and 99 in the preprocessing of the demodulating circuit 53 . the demodulating circuit 83 demodulates these digital signals . the demodulating circuit 83 has a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 84 and a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 85 for executing control inside the circuit . at this time , the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 84 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 85 each have agcs ( automatic gain controls ) 98 and 100 . agc signals from the agcs 98 and 100 are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 via terminals 86 and 88 , respectively . the agc signals are passed to an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit in the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 and an intermediate - frequency amplifying circuit in the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 , respectively , to be automatically optimized in amplification . this if signal amplitude optimizing control provides an effect of widening the dynamic range dr of the a / d converting circuits 97 and 99 . serial communications signals 102 and 105 , such as various setting data , control the selection or passband of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 via a switching circuit b ( 91 ), a terminal b ( 87 ), and a terminal d ( 89 ). also , the serial communications signals 102 and 105 are bidirectionally communicable between the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 84 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 85 . the digital broadcast receiving apparatus shown in fig1 has an i 2 c i / f block 94 and a host cpu 96 in addition to the demodulating circuit 83 capable of the reception signals of two schemes , terrestrial digital broadcasting and satellite digital broadcasting , the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 , and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 . the i 2 c i / f block 94 and the host cpu 96 each have a function of switching the connection states of switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ). the demodulating circuit 83 has the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 84 , the satellite digital tuner circuit control block 85 , switching circuit a ( 90 ), switching circuit b ( 91 ), and the i 2 c i / f block 94 . switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) are connected to switching signal a ( 92 ), switching signal b ( 93 ), and the i 2 c i / f block 94 . the i 2 c i / f block 94 is connected to the host cpu 96 via i 2 c communication 95 . terminal a ( 86 ) and terminal c ( 88 ) of the demodulating circuit 83 output agc signals 101 and 104 that are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 , respectively . terminal b ( 87 ) and terminal d ( 89 ) of the demodulating circuit 83 are for serial communications signals 102 and 105 that are fed back to the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 , respectively . the following describes a relation between tuner circuit arrangement and terminal position . as shown in fig1 , the relation becomes as follows if the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 is arranged near terminal a ( 86 ) and terminal b ( 87 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 is arranged near terminal c ( 88 ) and terminal d ( 89 ). referring to fig1 , there is shown a relation between control signals switched by the switching signal from the i 2 c i / f block and output terminals by the setting from the host cpu . in this case , the terminal states of terminal a ( 86 ), terminal b ( 87 ), terminal c ( 88 ), and terminal d ( 89 ) can be determined via switching signal a ( 92 ) and switching signal b ( 93 ) set to the i 2 c i / f block 94 by the i 2 c communication 95 from the host cpu 96 , such as “ 1 ” of no . 141 in fig1 , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 101 and 104 and the serial communications signal 102 and 105 for the two tuner circuits . fig1 shows a connection state of switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) at that time . as shown in fig1 , in switching circuit a ( 90 ), an agc 98 is connected to terminal a ( 86 ) and an agc 100 is connected to the terminal c ( 88 ). in switching circuit b ( 91 ), the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 84 is connected to terminal b ( 87 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 85 is connected to terminal d ( 99 ). if the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 is arranged near terminal a ( 86 ) and terminal b ( 87 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 is arranged near terminal c ( 88 ) and terminal d ( 89 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) is set via switching signal a ( 92 ) and switching signal b ( 93 ) set to the i 2 c i / f block 94 by i 2 c communication 95 from the host cpu 96 , such as “ 4 ” of no . 141 in fig1 . namely , if switching signal a ( 92 ) is “ 1 ” and switching signal b ( 93 ) is also “ 1 ,” terminal a ( 86 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 87 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 88 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 89 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal state of terminal a ( 86 ), terminal b ( 87 ), terminal c ( 88 ), and terminal d ( 89 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 101 and 104 and the serial communications signals 102 and 105 for the two tuner circuits . a switching connection state of switch circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) at that time is shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , in switching circuit a ( 90 ), the agc 98 is connected to terminal c ( 88 ) and the agc 100 is connected to terminal a ( 86 ). in switching circuit b ( 91 ), the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 84 is connected to terminal d ( 89 ) and the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit control block 85 is connected to terminal b ( 87 ). consequently , by setting the switching state of switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) via switching signal a ( 92 ) and switching signal b ( 93 ) set to the i 2 c i / f block 94 by i 2 c communication 95 from the host cpu 96 , the terminal states of terminal a ( 86 ), terminal b ( 87 ), terminal c ( 88 ), and terminal d ( 89 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 101 and 104 and serial communications signals 102 and 105 for the two tuner circuits . the following describes a configuration in which the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 are arranged in a horizontal manner . if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 is arranged near terminal a ( 86 ) and terminal d ( 89 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 is arranged near terminal b ( 87 ) and terminal c ( 88 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this configuration , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 is arranged to the left of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 . also , in this configuration , the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 are positioned at the upper and lower sides thereof , and the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 are positioned at the right side thereof . this switching connection state is substantially the same as the switching connection state of circuit a ( 30 ) and switching circuit b ( 31 ) when the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 is arranged to the left of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 as shown in fig6 . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) is set via switching signal a ( 92 ) and switching signal b ( 93 ) set to the i 2 c i / f block 94 by i 2 c communication 95 from the host cpu 96 , such as “ 2 ” of no 141 in fig1 . namely , if switching signal a ( 92 ) is “ 1 ” and switching signal b ( 93 ) is “ 0 ,” then terminal a ( 86 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 87 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 88 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 89 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal states of terminal a ( 86 ), terminal b ( 87 ), terminal c ( 88 ), and terminal d ( 89 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 101 and 104 and the serial communications signals 102 and 105 . if the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 is arranged near terminal b ( 87 ) and terminal c ( 88 ) and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 is arranged near terminal a ( 86 ) and terminal d ( 89 ), the following configuration is obtained . in this configuration , the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 is arranged to the right of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 . also , in this configuration , the terminals of the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 81 are positioned at the upper and lower sides thereof and the terminals of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 82 are positioned at the right side thereof . this switching connection state is reverse to the arrangement of the satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit 22 and the terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit 21 shown in fig6 . in this case , the switching state of switching circuit a ( 90 ) and switching circuit b ( 91 ) is set via switching signal a ( 92 ) and switching signal b ( 93 ) set to the i 2 c i / f block 94 by i 2 c communication 95 from the host cpu 96 , such as “ 3 ” of no 141 in fig1 . namely , if switching signal a ( 92 ) is “ 0 ” and switching signal b ( 93 ) is “ 1 ,” then terminal a ( 86 ) provides an agc signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner , terminal b ( 87 ) provides a serial communications signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , terminal c ( 88 ) provides an agc signal for satellite digital broadcast tuner , and terminal d ( 89 ) provides a serial communications signal for terrestrial digital broadcast tuner . consequently , the terminal states of terminal a ( 86 ), terminal b ( 87 ), terminal c ( 88 ), and terminal d ( 89 ) can be determined , thereby facilitating the wiring of the agc signals 101 and 104 and the serial communications signals 102 and 105 . according to the above - mentioned embodiments of the invention , a terrestrial digital broadcast tuner circuit , a satellite digital broadcast tuner circuit , and a demodulating circuit can be arranged without restraint . consequently , if the terminals of each of these circuits are different in orientation due to changed arrangements of these circuits , the control signals that are transferred between the three circuits can be wired without restraint . in addition , the above - mentioned embodiments of the invention significantly enhance the selectivity in wiring , thereby contributing to the reduced size and cost of an entire system . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific terms , such description is for illustrative purpose only , and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 and 2 , a seating unit for use in the passenger cabin of an aircraft comprises a base unit 10 incorporating two fixed armrest units 12 and 14 . the seating unit also has a seating portion 16 , a seat back 18 and a leg rest 20 . the bottom of the seat back 18 is connected to the rear of the seating portion 16 by a hinge 22 each end of which is mounted on a respective slider 24 , one of which engages in a guide track 26 mounted on the inside surface of the armrest unit 12 , and the other engages in a corresponding guide track ( not shown ) on the inside surface of the other armrest 14 . the front end of the seating portion 16 is connected by a pivot pin 28 to one end of a front strut 30 of fixed length . the other end of the front strut 30 is connected by a pivot pin 32 to the base unit 10 . the leg rest 20 is pivotally mounted on the front edge of the seating portion 16 by a conventional mechanism 34 ( see fig5 and 7 ) which will not be described in detail . a telescopic rear strut 36 has its upper end connected by a pivot pin 38 to the seat back 18 at a location spaced from the hinge 22 . the lower end of the rear strut 36 is connected by a pivot pin 40 to the base unit 10 . the rear strut 36 includes an electrically powered drive unit 42 which can be actuated to vary its length . in fig1 and 2 , when the seat back 18 is in its fully upright position , the rear strut 36 is at maximum length . a static screen has side walls 50 extending rearwardly from the behind the armrest units 12 and 14 respectively , with their rear ends interconnected by an end wall 52 . a movable screen 54 has its bottom rear edge connected to the top edge of the end wall 52 by a hinge 56 . quadrant - shaped side screens 58 are attached to the side edges of the movable screen 54 . when the seat back is in its upright position shown in fig1 and 2 , the upper edge of the movable screen 54 is in close proximity to the rear surface of the seat back 18 . a second ( rear ) telescopic strut 60 has its front end connected by a pivot pin 62 to the front strut 30 at a location spaced from the pivot pin 32 . the rear end of the second telescopic strut 60 is connected by a pivot axle 64 which extends between the armrest units 12 and 14 . the second telescopic strut 60 includes an electrically powered drive unit 66 which can be actuated to vary its length . in fig1 and 2 , the second telescopic strut 60 is at minimum length . when the seat back 18 is to be reclined , the drive unit 42 is actuated to shorten the telescopic rear strut 36 to its minimum length as shown in fig3 and 4 . the movable screen 54 rides up the back surface of the seat back 18 . the seating portion 16 remains substantially in its original position . at the same time , the mechanism 34 may be arranged to start to move the leg rest 20 upwardly . next , the drive unit 66 is actuated to lengthen the second telescopic strut 60 , thereby causing the sliders 24 to start to move along the tracks 26 as illustrated in fig5 and 6 . the resulting forward movement of the seating portion 16 causes the front strut 30 to pass through its vertical position . the movable screen 54 reaches a vertical position with upper edge level with the top of the seat back 18 . when the second telescopic strut 60 reaches its maximum length , the seating portion 16 is in its fully forward position , as shown in fig7 and 8 . this forward position moves the seating portion 16 forward and causes the seat back 18 to move to a substantially horizontal position . the resulting continued clockwise movement of the front strut 30 lowers the front edge of the seating portion 16 so that it forms a substantially flat surface with the seat back 18 . the leg rest 20 is also moved to a substantially horizontal position so as to form a continuation of this flat surface . the sliders 24 are now at the front end of the track 26 . the movable screen 54 remains vertical and , together with the side screens 58 , shields the head area of the seat back 18 . the seating unit can be restored to its upright position by reversing the direction of operation of the drive units 42 and 60 . it will be noticed that , even when the seating unit is in its upright position , the movable screen 54 is at an angle of at least 44 ° to the horizontal . this discourages the placing of movable articles on the screen 54 and thus avoids any hazard from such articles being tipped on to the feet of a passenger occupying a seat behind the seating unit illustrated . in the drawings , the base unit 10 is shown as comprising a flat floor panel . this may be replaced by a frame connecting the armrest units 12 and 14 , and the pivot pins 32 and 40 to the floor of the aircraft cabin . fig9 to 12 show another seating unit 70 in accordance with the invention , together with the rear part of a seating unit 72 positioned in front of the seating unit 70 . some detail has been omitted from fig9 for the sake of clarity . corresponding parts of the seating units 70 and 72 are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described in detail . as can be seen in fig9 and 10 , each seating unit comprises a static portion having a back panel 74 and two side panels 76 ( only one of which is visible in the drawings incorporating arm rests ). each back panel 74 has a recessed portion 78 for accommodating the lower legs and feet of the passenger occupying the seat behind . the seating unit also has a seat portion 80 , a back rest 82 and a leg rest 84 . the bottom of the back rest 82 is connected to the rear of the seat portion 80 by a hinge 86 which has its ends secured to respective sliders 88 engaging in guide tracks 90 on the inside surface of each of the side panels 76 . a fixed - length rear strut 92 has one end pivotally connected by a pivot pin 94 to the back rest 82 at a location spaced from the hinge 86 . the lower end of the strut 92 is connected by a pivot pin 96 to a rear transverse member 98 extending between the side panels 76 . a front support strut 100 has its upper end connected by a pivot pin 101 to a location on the seat portion 80 spaced forwardly from the hinge 86 . the lower end of the strut 100 is connected by a pivot pin 102 to one end of an l - shaped lifter link 104 which is supported at its mid - point on a pivot pin 106 . the pin 106 is mounted on a front transverse member 108 extending between the side panels 76 . the other end of the lifter link 104 is connected to a first screw jack drive 110 mounted between the side panels 76 . a second screw jack drive 112 is mounted between the side panels 76 and has its driven end connected by a pivot pin 114 to an intermediate location on the front support strut 100 . the rear transverse member 98 and the front transverse member 108 , together with other structural elements ( not shown , which may include the floor of the aircraft ) form a base for the seat . the leg rest 84 is connected to the seat portion 82 by a four - bar link mechanism comprising links 116 and 118 which are pivotally connected to the seat portion 80 and links 120 and 122 which are pivotally connected to the leg rest 84 . the link 118 is connected by a first intermediate pivot pin 124 to the link 120 and by a second intermediate pivot pin 126 to the link 122 . the link 120 is also connected by a third intermediate pivot pin 128 to the link 116 . the link 120 has an infill panel 130 rigidly mounted thereon for a purpose to be explained hereinafter . a third screw jack drive 132 is mounted on the front support strut 110 and has its driven end connected by a pivot pin 134 to an intermediate point on the link 118 . when it is desired to move the seat from the upright position shown in fig9 to an intermediate reclined position as shown in fig1 , the second screw jack drive 112 drives the front support strut 100 forwards so that the slider 88 starts to move along the guide track 90 . if it is desired to deploy the leg rest 84 at the same time , the third screw jack drive 132 pushes the link 118 forwards . as shown in fig1 , continued forward movement of the screw jack drives 112 and 132 moves the slider 88 to the front of the slide track 90 and pushes the leg rest 84 forward to a maximum extent . in this condition , the back rest 82 , the seat portion 80 and the leg rest 84 are in line with one another and the infill panel 130 has swung up to fill the gap between the seat portion 80 and the leg rest 84 . this provides a flat surface on which a seat occupant can sleep , albeit one which is inclined at about 16 ° to the cabin floor . although the angle between the flat surface shown in fig1 and the horizontal is only about 13 ° because aircraft commonly fly in a 3 ° nose - up attitude , some passengers may find this inclination uncomfortable . as an alternative , the first screw jack drive 110 may be actuated to drive the rear end of the lifter link 104 downwards so as to raise the front support strut 110 sufficiently for the top surface of the seat portion 80 to be parallel with the cabin floor , as shown in fig1 . at the same time , the screw jack drive 132 is retracted so that the leg rest 84 is approximately parallel to but no longer coplanar with the seat back 82 . it will be appreciated that , at all times , there is a minimum clearance between the various parts of the seat 70 and the back of the seat 72 in front as indicated by the chain - dotted line 140 . if the seat is not required to take up the position shown in fig1 , the lifter link 104 and its screw jack drive 132 may be omitted and the pivot joint 102 being secured at a fixed location relative to the transverse member 108 . similarly , if the position shown in fig1 is not required , the pivot joint 102 may be secured at a fixed location chosen in relation to the length of the front strut 100 so that the seating portion is movable between the position shown in fig9 and the position shown in fig1 . the leg rest 20 of fig1 to 8 may be mounted on a mechanism of the type shown in fig9 to 12 . alternative mechanisms may be used for supporting the leg rest 84 provided that they keep it behind the line 140 . | 1 |
referring now to the figures , and first to fig1 , there is shown a basic schematic diagram of the structure 10 of the business method of the present invention . the structure 10 includes a hostess home 12 where the show is to be held . the structure also includes a computer 14 having access to a network 16 in data communication with a database 18 . the database 18 stores data on a computer readable medium and may or may not be located within a manufacturing site or warehouse 19 . a server 20 is located at the warehouse 19 and is capable of generating orders based on the information stored in the database 18 . preferably , a printer or other form of interface 21 is in data flow communication with the server 20 . the interface 21 is capable of producing order forms 22 containing the information generated by the computer 20 . in the warehouse 19 , the orders are taken and assembled into packages 24 , which are then placed in a box 26 and shipped back to the hostess &# 39 ; s home 12 . one skilled in the art will realize that the server 20 could be stored at any location accessible by the network 16 . for example , the server 20 could be located at a corporate headquarters 23 ( fig1 ). the computer 14 may be any computational device capable of receiving information and sending it to a remote location via the network 16 . typically , the computer 14 will be a personal computer or laptop owned by the consultant . however , the computer 14 is basically a communications device and could be embodied as a handheld digital device , cellular telephone , or any telecommunications device capable of data transfer . alternatively , the computer 14 could be the combination of a standard telephone and a computer - automated answering service . the network 16 is likely the internet for purposes of convenience . however , an intranet , satellite link , or any other form of data communications link would be acceptable . the database 18 is connected to the network 16 and has the capability of storing information on a computer readable medium . the database 18 may or may not be located within the warehouse 19 . for example , the database 18 may be memory on a server at any location . the computer 20 is preferably contained within the warehouse 19 and is in data communication with the network 16 . the computer 20 is capable of manipulating data stored in the database 18 and generating order forms 22 and sending them to the interface 21 . the interface 21 is any form of output device capable of converting the information received from the computer 20 into a format readable by a means for assembling the merchandise on a given order 22 . this means is typically a human worker and thus , the interface 21 would be a printer that generates printed order forms 22 . alternatively , the orders 22 could by assembled via automated machinery . in this case , the interface 21 may generate bar codes . in yet another embodiment , the interface may be a network , wireless or otherwise , that allows the computer 20 to communicate directly with automated machinery . in this case , a printer would be necessary to generate labels for the packages 24 and mailing labels for the boxes 26 . fig2 outlines the general steps of the method 30 of the present invention . each of these steps will be discussed in greater detail below and integrated with the aforementioned structure 10 . the method 30 begins with the selection of a hostess at 40 . hostess information is then entered into the database 18 and a show code is generated , thus establishing the show at 60 . the show is then held at 80 where orders are taken for merchandise . the orders are sent to the warehouse 19 at 100 and are filled at 120 . at 140 , the merchandise is shipped back to the hostess &# 39 ; s house where it is distributed to the guests who ordered the merchandise . each of the steps will now be explained in greater detail . beginning with step 40 , the hostess is chosen by the consultant . quite often , a hostess will volunteer at a prior show to be the hostess of a future show . the hostess of the prior show will then be considered a “ referring hostess ” and will receive a discount if she attends the show at the hostess &# 39 ; s house 12 . the consultant and the hostess agree on a show date . prior to the show date , the consultant may provide advice to the hostess in order to ensure a lucrative show . for example , the consultant may provide materials such as tip sheets , invitations , order guides , order forms , thank you cards , and the like . step 60 is completed by gathering information about the hostess and entering the information into the client 14 and sending it to the database 18 via the network 16 . this information includes , at a minimum , the hostess &# 39 ; s name . the show is then assigned a code . the show code will be used as a reference for the individual customer orders made at the show . fig3 shows a menu screen 62 the consultant will see upon logging in to the program via the network 16 . under the heading “ information services ” the option “ create a show ” 64 is selected . doing so causes the menu screen 66 shown in fig4 to appear . here the consultant fills in a hostess id number field 68 if the hostess has been established as a customer in the database 18 at a previous show . if not , the consultant enters the hostess &# 39 ; s name in the hostess name field 70 and the hostess phone number in the phone number field 72 . there may also be a field for hostess address . alternatively , the hostess address will be entered from an order form filled in at the party . at step 80 , the show is held at the home of the hostess . the consultant brings a sample line of clothing to the hostess &# 39 ; s home . rather than leasing the sample line for a period of time , the consultant purchases the sample line from the company at or slightly below the cost to the company . in order to ensure their consultants are not simply becoming consultants to buy clothes at significantly reduced prices , the sample line includes a variety of sizes and is a set sample line package for all consultants . the consultants are not able to assemble a sample line of their own by ordering individual items at or below cost . furthermore , each consultant must meet several requirements . first , the consultant must purchase a new sample line each season ( e . g . spring and fall ). second , each consultant must present their sample lines at a minimum number of shows per season ( e . g . two shows per month ). third , each consultant must generate a minimum amount of gross sales per month ( e . g . $ 10 , 000 per month during each season ). understanding that , after a season is over , each consultant now owns a considerable number of clothing items in various sizes , each consultant is allowed to sell items from her sample line . this way , she is able to recoup some of the costs she has incurred . during the show , the consultant will introduce her sample line of merchandise and allow the guests to examine the same . clothing items may be tried on by the guests . at the end of the show , order forms from the guests are received . fig5 provides an example order form 82 . these order forms include certain data fields such as the show code 84 , the guest name 86 , the guest address 88 , the guest &# 39 ; s order 90 of one or more merchandise items , and the payment account 92 . typically the payment account will consist of a credit card number and expiration date . the order form 82 may also include data fields such as show date 93 , hostess name 94 , guest e - mail address 95 , guest phone number 96 , and consultant information 97 . an interest field 98 may also be included giving the guest the option to express interest in hosting a future show or becoming a consultant . at step 100 , the consultant gathers the order forms 82 from the show , leaving copies with the hostess , and enters the information therefrom into her computer 14 . she does so by first selecting the “ update a show ” option 102 from the menu in fig3 . doing so causes the menu 104 of fig6 to appear . here , she enters the show code established at 60 . once the show code is entered , the menu 106 shown in fig7 appears . here , historical facts are collected related to the show . data pertaining to each individual guest attending the show is entered . specifically , the guest id number is entered in field 108 if the guest has an established id number from a previous show . if not , the guest &# 39 ; s name is entered into the name field 110 , and her phone number is entered into the phone number field 112 . the program should fill in the show number automatically into the show number field 114 . after the guest is entered into menu 106 , “ enter guest order ” 103 is selected from menu 62 ( fig3 ) and the order menu 116 , shown in fig8 , will appear giving the entire line of products . the consultant carefully adds the correct quantities and sizes to the guest &# 39 ; s cart from the guest &# 39 ; s order form 82 . the order menu 116 shows a submenu 118 listing all of the supplies a consultant might want to order and provide a future hostess . however , similar submenus 118 are made available from each of the various product lines shown in the product line submenu 119 . this process is repeated for each guest , first entering the guest into the menu 106 and then the guest &# 39 ; s order into the order menu 116 . once the guests are all entered , the hostess information is entered . instead of selecting “ enter guest order ” 103 from menu 62 , “ enter hostess order ” 105 is selected and menu 107 appears ( fig9 ). this menu reminds the consultant that all of the other guest orders should have been entered first . the hostess &# 39 ; s order is entered just like the other guest orders . in the event that a referring hostess attended the show , her order is entered last so that a discount may be calculated based upon the total sales of the show . the consultant thus selects “ referring hostess information ” 109 from the menu 62 and the menu screen 111 of fig1 appears . the referring hostess necessarily has a customer id so that is entered , identifying her as a referring hostess . after the consultant has entered all of the information and orders from all of the guests , and she is confident the information entered is accurate , she closes the show . closing the show entails selecting 113 from menu 62 causing the menu screen 115 ( fig1 ) to appear . closing the show finalizes the orders and sends the information via the network 16 ( fig1 ) to the database 18 . upon closing the show , a summary screen 117 ( fig1 ) appears , showing all of the customers and their orders for that show . at step 120 the process of filling the orders begins by accessing the database 18 using the server 20 and retrieving data from a closed show . the data is processed by the computer 20 and sent to the interface 21 for conversion into order forms 22 . preferably , each of the order forms 22 is retrieved by a worker who manually fills each order . filling the order is accomplished by hand selecting each item on the order and individually wrapping the clothing items in a professional manner . the individual items for a given order are then bundled together and wrapped to form a package 24 . preferably , the order form 22 is taped to the package for identification purposes . each of the packages 24 for that show are placed together in a box 26 and shipped to the hostess address . the hostess then notifies each of the guests that their packages 24 have arrived and are ready for pickup . inevitably , the demand for some items on a nationwide scale will be greater than the demand for others . in order to prevent a potentially embarrassing and inconvenient situation whereby a consultant takes a number of orders for items that are sold out , the present invention 10 includes an inventory management system that allows the consultant to access data related to sold out items , items that are in danger of becoming sold out , and expected supply dates for items that are in production . referring to fig1 , there is shown a diagrammatic representation of the system 10 of the present invention including a corporate headquarters 23 in addition to a warehouse or package assembly location 19 . for purposes of tracking and updating product inventory , the corporate headquarters 23 provides input to the server 20 via the network 16 related to planned production levels . the server 20 can use this information to calculate the likelihood that an item will sell out soon and to provide to the consultant a status for each item , namely , a date when a sold out item is expected to be in stock , or an indication that a sold out item will no longer be produced . the system 10 is also designed to effectuate easy access to inventory data as well as the processing of returns and exchanges . because individual customer data is stored in the database 18 , returns and exchanges can be processed for each individual customer from a remote location . for example , fig1 - 24 provide online menus used to process a return or exchange of merchandise . at fig1 , a consultant logged into the system selects menu item 121 , “ returns and exchanges ”. this selection causes the menu 122 in fig1 to open . the consultant selects option 124 , “ return ” or 126 , “ exchange ” as appropriate . the consultant also enters the customer &# 39 ; s order number in field 128 and hits the “ continue ” button 130 . if the consultant selected option 124 , “ return ” the consultant will next see the page 131 shown in fig1 . included is a list 132 of the customer &# 39 ; s purchased items 134 . the consultant will check a box 136 next to the item 134 to be returned , and hit the “ continue ” button 138 at the bottom of the page 131 . the next page 140 to appear is shown in fig1 . the item 134 selected to be returned is shown with a menu 142 providing various fields 144 - 150 that allow the consultant to list a reason for the return , a condition of the returned item , and a location of the damage on the item , if any . also , a quantity field is provided if the customer purchased more than one of the item . field 146 , “ return condition ” provides a pulldown menu with “ good and unused ” as an option . selecting this option indicates that the item is in new condition and may be resold . thus , when selected , the server 20 adds the quantity from field 150 back into a running inventory for that merchandise item . upon filling in the fields 144 - 150 , the consultant hits a “ continue ” button 152 and is taken to the next page 154 ( fig1 ). page 154 summarizes the transaction and provides a confirmation number 158 . the page 154 also provides an option 160 to print the page as a hard copy record of the return . the consultant will select this option 160 and the page 156 will be printed . the printed copy will be sent to the customer . additionally , a popup screen 162 ( fig1 ) will appear . this screen 162 shows the printing label to be used to send the returned merchandise item 134 back to the warehouse 19 . the screen 162 includes a print command 164 to effectuate printing . the consultant prints this mailing label and sends it to the costumer , either electronically or via standard mail , along with the printed copy of the transaction record from fig1 . fig2 provides an example of an electronic letter 210 that includes a link 212 that allows a customer to print out a mailing label . fig2 - 24 depict the menus encountered when processing an exchange . in fig2 , menu 122 is shown , the same menu shown in fig1 . this time , however , the exchange option 126 is selected , rather than the return option 124 . again , the customer order number is placed in the field 128 and clicks on the “ continue ” button 130 . next , the menu screen 166 appears as shown in fig2 . this screen 166 includes a list 132 of the customer &# 39 ; s purchased items 134 . the consultant will check a box 136 next to the item 134 to be returned , and hit the “ continue ” button 138 at the bottom of the page 131 . the next page 168 to appear is shown in fig2 . the item 134 selected to be returned is shown with a menu 170 providing various fields 172 - 182 that allow the consultant to list a reason for the exchange , a condition of the exchanged item , and a location of the damage on the item , if any . also , a quantity field is provided if the customer purchased more than one of the item . fields 180 and 182 pertain to the item to be sent to the customer in exchange for the originally purchased items . field 180 allows a color selection for the new item and field 182 allows a size selection for the new item . field 174 , “ exchange condition ” provides a pulldown menu with “ good and unused ” as an option . selecting this option indicates that the item is in new condition and may be resold . thus , when selected , the server 20 adds the returned item to the running inventory and subtracts the item to be shipped to the customer from the running inventory by the quantity from field 150 . upon filling in the fields 172 - 182 , the consultant hits a “ continue ” button 184 and is taken to the next page 186 ( fig2 ). page 186 summarizes the transaction and provides a confirmation number 188 . the page 186 also provides an option 190 to print the page as a hard copy record of the return . the consultant will select this option 190 and the page 186 will be printed . the printed copy will be sent to the customer . additionally , a popup screen 192 ( fig2 ) will appear . this screen 192 shows the printing label to be used to send the returned merchandise item 134 back to the warehouse 19 . the screen 192 includes a print command 194 to effectuate printing . the consultant prints this mailing label and sends it to the costumer , either electronically or via standard mail , along with the printed copy of the transaction record from fig1 . fig2 provides an example of an electronic letter 214 that includes a link 216 that allows a customer to print out a mailing label . referring now to fig2 , if a consultant would like to check the running inventory of one or more items , option 196 , “ back order / watch list ” is selected from the maintenance menu . doing so brings the consultant to the screen 198 depicted in fig2 . this screen 198 provides the running inventory data for all of the merchandise items . the screen 198 includes columns for item code 200 , item name 202 , and an “ expected in stock ” date 204 . determination as to whether an item appears on a watch list can be made in a variety of ways . for example , one aspect of the present invention provides a threshold inventory level for each item . the threshold level is a strategic business decision made at the corporate headquarters 23 . the threshold level may be different for each item . once the running inventory for each item passes below the threshold level , that item appears on the watch list . a decision maker at headquarter 23 then makes a determination as to which items on the watch list will be restocked and which will be discontinued . another aspect of the invention provides an algorithm approach to determine which items will appear on a watch list . fig2 shows an algorithm 300 whereby a running inventory ri is compared to a threshold t at 302 . the comparison is continually made until the running inventory ri is at or below the threshold level t , at which time the item is placed on the watch list at 304 . while on the watch list , a determination is made at 306 whether to reorder the item . a discussion is provided below concerning the factors taken into account in making this determination . if at 306 it is decided that the item will not be reordered , the status of the item is set to low at 308 . next , at 310 , the running inventory is continually monitored and compared to a value of zero . if the running inventory drops to zero , the status for the item is changed to out at 312 . if at 306 a termination is made to reorder the item , or a reorder has already been placed , at 314 the status of the item is set to l -[ date ] where [ date ] is the expected shipment arrival date , that is , the date the reordered merchandise is expected to appear in inventory . at 316 , the running inventory ri is continually monitored and compared to a value of zero . if the running inventory ri equals zero , the status is set to b -[ date ] at 318 , indicating that the item is on backorder and expected to be in stock on [ date ]. as mentioned above , one aspect of the present invention involves making the decision whether to reorder a quantity of a particular merchandise item . this is the decision made at 306 of fig2 . this may be accomplished by a particular individual taking into account factors such as : the current running inventory ri of the item ; the estimated rate of sales for that item ; the actual rate of sales experienced from a predetermined start date ( typically the first day of a sales “ season ,” where the season is a period of time during which a particular line of clothing is being offered for sale ); the manufacturers lead time ; the quantity on reorder ; and the quantity on reorder in conjunction with a particular delivery date . the current running inventory ri is the real - time inventory of a particular merchandise item at a given time , as discussed above . the estimated sales rate for a particular item is the number of orders received per unit time . for example , if a sales season is three months long , an estimated sales rate for a particular item might be 2000 units per month . the actual sales rate for a particular item is observed at some time mid - season and is used to adjust the estimated sales rate . thus , if the projected sales rate for an item was 2000 units per month , and 3000 units were initially ordered ( representing one half of the projected total sales for that item during the season ), but 2000 items were sold during the first two weeks of the season , the actual sales rate is double the estimated sales rate . thus , it will likely be decided to make a reorder of that item before the running inventory ri dips below the watch list threshold . manufacturers lead time is the amount of time it takes the manufacturer to fill and ship an order . one additional factor that must be considered when estimating the manufacturers lead time is the amount of raw material the manufacturer has on hand . if the reorder amount is high , it becomes more likely that the manufacturer will have to order more raw materials to fill the reorder . because it is undesirable to acquire additional merchandise items late in the season , a long lead time may weigh in favor of not submitting a reorder . as to the last two factors , it is not uncommon for a plurality of reorders to be made for a particular merchandise item . at the beginning of a season , an initial quantity of items is ordered . this quantity is typically about half of what the projected sales are for each item . this is done to prevent unwanted inventory at the end of a season . each time a reorder is made , an expected shipping date is assigned to that reorder quantity . each reorder quantity having a particular date is considered a “ cut .” even if a reorder quantity is small , if several other cuts are already on order for a particular item , the likelihood that the manufacturer may run out of materials increases . thus , the lead time may be extended . though these aforementioned factors are presently considered by an individual making the reorder decisions , it is considered within the scope of the present invention to develop a software program that makes these decisions automatically . for example , each factor could be given a positive or negative value depending on whether the occurrence weighs in favor or against submitting a reorder . some factors could be given more weight than others . the values could be added together and a determination would be made based on whether the resulting sum is positive or negative . other factors may change the flow of the chart shown in fig2 . for example , even if an item has a status of out , a manufacturer may unexpectedly acquire additional raw material and be able to deliver a cut earlier than expected . this may change the reorder decision . additionally , as discussed above , the running inventory ri is affected in real time by returns and exchanges . thus , an inventory item may jump from out to low or on and off the watch list altogether , when items are returned and repurchased . although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications , one of ordinary skill in the art , in light of this teaching , can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention . accordingly , it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof . | 6 |
cellular wireless communication systems provide the service of connecting wireless communication customers , each having a wireless subscriber device ( or wired subscriber device , such as a connection to a local area network on the aircraft ), to both land - based customers who are served by the common carrier public telephone network as well as other wireless communication customers . in such a system , if the traffic is circuit switched , all incoming and outgoing calls are routed through mobile telephone switching offices ( mtsos ), each of which is connected to a plurality of cell sites , which communicate with wireless subscriber devices located in the areas covered by the cell sites . the terms “ cell site ” and “ cell ” are sometimes loosely used in the literature , and the term “ cell site ” generally denotes the locus at which the transmitter and receiver apparatus is located , while the term “ cell ” generally denotes the region of space which is served by a particular transmitter - receiver pair which is installed at a cell site . the particular technology used to implement the communications between wireless subscriber devices and the transmitter - receiver pairs as well as the nature of the data transferred there between , be it voice , video , telemetry , computer data , and the like , are not limitations to the system which is described herein , since a novel system concept is disclosed , versus a specific technologically limited implementation of an existing system concept . therefore , the term “ cellular ” as it is used herein denotes a communication system which operates on the basis of dividing space into a plurality of volumetric sections or cells , and managing communications between wireless subscriber devices located in the cells and the associated transmitter - receiver pairs located at the cell site for each of these cells . fig1 illustrates , in block diagram form , the overall architecture of a composite air - to - ground cellular network that interconnects an aircraft in - cabin network with a ground - based communication network . this is accomplished by the inner network transmitting both the subscriber traffic ( comprising voice and / or other data ) as well as signaling and administrative data relating to the provision of services in the aircraft ( feature set data ) between the aircraft in - cabin network 3 and the ground - based communication network 1 to thereby enable the wireless subscriber devices that are located in the aircraft to receive consistent wireless communication services in both the terrestrial ( ground - based ) and non - terrestrial regions . the air - to - ground cellular network 2 shown in fig1 is based on wireless communications ( radio frequency or optical ) between the ground - based cellular communications network and the wireless subscriber devices that are located in the aircraft , with the preferred approach being that of a radio frequency connection . this radio frequency connection takes on the form of a cellular topology where typically more than one cell describes the geographic footprint or coverage area of the composite air - to - ground cellular network 2 . the air - to ground connection carries both subscriber traffic and at least one of network signaling and administrative data on separate concurrently available logical channels . alternatively , the air - to - ground cellular network 2 could be achieved through a wireless satellite connection where radio frequency links are established between the aircraft and a satellite and between the satellite and the ground - based communication network , respectively . these satellites could be geosynchronous ( appears to be stationary from an earth reference point ) or moving , as is the case for medium earth orbit ( meo ) and low earth orbit ( leo ). examples of satellites include but are not limited to : geosynchronous ku band satellites , dbs satellites ( direct broadcast satellite ), the iridium system , the globalstar system and the inmarsat system . in the case of specialized satellites , such as those used for direct broadcast satellite , the link is typically unidirectional , that is from the satellite to the receiving platform , in this case an aircraft . in such a system , a link transmitting unidirectionally from the aircraft is needed to make the communication bidirectional . this link could be satellite or ground - based wireless in nature as previously described . last , other means for communicating to aircraft include broad or wide area links such as hf ( high frequency ) radio and more unique systems such as troposcatter architectures . in this manner , true feature set transparency is achieved for the wireless communication devices located on the aircraft . the air - to - ground cellular network 2 can be viewed as the conduit through which the subscriber traffic as well as the network feature set data is transported between the traditional ground - based communication network 1 and the aircraft in - cabin network 3 . the air - to - ground cellular network 2 can be implemented as a single radio frequency link or multiple radio frequency links , with a portion of the signals being routed over different types of links , such as the air - to - ground link and the satellite link . thus , there is a significant amount of flexibility in the implementation of this system , using the various components and architectural concepts disclosed herein . the overall network architecture of the handoff management system consists of an inner network which works with an outer network . the outer network contains the architectural elements that are specific to the services and features provided to the aircraft passengers , crew and various aircraft systems . the inner network serves to provide transport services between the airborne and terrestrial elements of the outer network . the various network elements of the outer network are functionally similar to those that would / could be used to provide an entirely terrestrial service capability , with some adaptations required to be suitable for air - to - ground purposes . this allows the outer network elements to be entirely compatible with passenger and crew devices that are compliant with existing terrestrial standards . similarly , the outer network elements which interface to various other networks ( voice and data switches , vlr / hlrs , signaling equipment , etc .) are largely indistinguishable from network elements performing similar functions for terrestrial applications . the inner and outer networks interface digitally , in the preferred embodiment using ip protocols . the inner network , in order to establish priorities for transport of data relating to various services , must only be “ aware ” of the service quality metrics and relative importance of the various sorts of communications traffic to / from the outer network . voice traffic , for instance , has lower tolerance to latency and jitter than data traffic to a pda and communications that are security related may have higher priority than any other communications . the communications requirements of a particular service are determined by the inner network in a conventional manner , such as : i ) determined by the physical ports used for interconnecting network elements , ii ) identified by data embedded in ip data packet header , or iii ) communicated over signaling channels . an aircraft may be equipped to be served by a variety of inner network communications alternatives . for example , a terrestrial air - to - ground system 101 can be the primary air - to - ground communications capability . some aircraft could be equipped with multiple terrestrial air - to - ground systems to permit provision of services from multiple sources . satellite air - to - ground cellular network 102 communications capabilities may also be provided , and provide transport services when terrestrial air - to - ground cellular networks are unavailable , or when an alternative service capability is desired to reduce the load on the terrestrial air - to - ground service . an additional alternative may be terrestrial cellular networks 103 , which may used to provide services to aircraft that are located on the ground , or , with any appropriate network modifications , may provide service to airborne aircraft . terrestrial air - to - ground cellular networks are generally designed using many of the same architectural features as terrestrial cellular communications networks . a network of ground stations is designed to provide overlapping coverage , so that the overall network is capable of providing service throughout the network , utilizing handoffs as an aircraft moves between the coverage areas of adjacent cells . ground station antenna systems may be designed using directional antennas , each equipped with a transceiver or set of transceivers , in order to provide distinct coverage cells , much as similar arrangements are utilized in terrestrial cellular communication systems . the coverage capability of a ground station is primarily limited by the geometry of the radio path between the ground station antennas and the aircraft antennas , relative to the earth &# 39 ; s curvature . the relationship between the distance to the radio horizon ( d ) as a function of the altitude of the aircraft antenna ( ha ) and the elevation of the ground station antenna ( hg ) is given by : since the aircraft altitude is orders of magnitude greater than the ground station elevation , this is often simplified to : this relationship is illustrated in fig2 a . for an aircraft elevation of 10 , 000 feet , the radio horizon is about 141 miles , and for an aircraft elevation of 30 , 000 feet , the radio horizon is about 245 miles . while some radio coverage may be available beyond the radio horizon , this may generally be considered the practical limit of coverage when designing network layouts . as in terrestrial cellular systems , an idealized ground station layout is a hexagonal grid , as shown in fig2 b . if coverage is to be provided for all aircraft above 10 , 000 feet , the maximum distance from a ground station to the limits of that ground stations coverage is 141 miles , and the geometry of the hexagonal grid dictates that the spacing ( s ) between adjacent ground station locations be : or 244 miles . commercial aircraft generally are only below an altitude of 10 , 000 feet while departing from or approaching an airport . for these reasons , 10 , 000 feet is often selected as a design altitude for complete air - to - ground coverage . it may be noted that aircraft have coverage at lower altitudes when they are closer to a serving ground station , and for this reason it is reasonable to locate ground stations close to airports in order to provide coverage for approach and departure routes . where additional air - to - ground communications capacity is required , ground station density may be increased , to reduce the number of aircraft that are served by each ground station . the use of directional antennas allows ground stations to be “ sectored ”, creating multiple coverage cells per ground station . this is another alternative that increases network capacity , and is often the more economical of the two alternatives . a network layout that provides 3 cells per ground station is shown in fig2 c . the numbers of sectors that are optimal for a ground station depend upon the density and geographic distribution of communications requirements in the area of the cell , and the characteristics of the antennas and common air interface technology utilized . while this illustration shows a common sectoring layout for each ground station , the handoff management system accommodates use of varying sector plans per ground station , and also includes the use of adaptable arrays of antennas which provide adjustable and / or steerable antenna patterns . in the present description , the common air interface technology for a terrestrial air - to - ground system provides one carrier for the forward link between the ground station and the aircraft , and one carrier for the reverse link between the aircraft and the ground station . the same pair of carriers may be re - used in every cell , thus avoiding the need to develop a frequency re - use plan to achieve acceptable interference levels . however , as noted earlier , many aircraft will be flying at altitudes that have clear paths to multiple ground stations . communications from the aircraft to a serving ground station therefore also reach other ground stations , where they reduce the capacity and / or performance of those non - serving ground stations . similarly , communications from non - serving ground stations with clear paths to the aircraft interfere with reception of the signals from the serving ground station . such impacts can be avoided if aircraft are equipped with steerable antennas that may be controlled to be oriented towards a particular ground station while having significantly attenuated communications capabilities with other ground stations . such antennas may be mechanically steerable , or may be electronically steerable . electronically steerable antennas consist of an array of simpler antennas , each with an associated phase shifter and attenuator . by controlling the phase and magnitude of the signal from / to each antenna element , the shape and orientation of the antenna pattern can be controlled . fig3 illustrates one implementation of an array of antennas capable of forming a steerable beam . this particular implementation includes a second receiver feed from the antenna , which can be used to create a second steerable beam which can be used by a “ search receiver ” to detect signals from other ground stations , without impacting the antenna functionally for the primary communications receiver ( s ). use of a steerable antenna allows communications to be directional , rather than omni directional , thereby greatly reducing signals between the aircraft and non - serving ground stations . use of a second receiver with search capabilities allows the transceiver to perform measurements for handoff candidates , providing the equivalent of omni directional search capabilities , while the primary receiver independently maintains communications with the serving ground station . aircraft are equipped with steerable antennas , which may be controlled to be oriented towards a particular ground station . multiple steerable antennas may be used to allow simultaneous communications with multiple ground stations . each steerable antenna and associated transceivers can independently establish communications with a corresponding ground station , and fig4 illustrates an aircraft with three separate steerable beams , communicating with three ground stations . aircraft 401 communicates with ground station 410 via antenna beam 420 , with ground station 411 via antenna beam 422 , and with ground station 412 via antenna beam 423 . alternatively , a single antenna may be equipped with an electronic beam forming system that allows the independent control of multiple beams for communications with said ground stations . the antenna is capable of forming three separate beams to allow communications between three different ground stations and corresponding terrestrial air - to - ground transceivers aboard the aircraft . the control of the antenna beam &# 39 ; s orientation may be controlled by the transceivers , so that as the aircraft moves relative to the ground stations the antenna beams may be maintained so that they are targeted at the desired ground stations . an enhancement would also allow the transceivers to create a null in the direction of one or more ground stations that are a source of potentially interfering signals , in order to improve the performance of the desired signal link . alternatively , the orientation of antennas and / or nulls are controlled by a separate controller , which utilizes location measurements of the aircraft and known locations of the ground stations to periodically calculate the desired orientations . there are a variety of satellite networks which are capable of providing satellite air - to - ground communications services . a satellite in geosynchronous earth orbit ( geo satellite ) is able to cover a large portion of the earth &# 39 ; s service as shown in fig5 . four satellites are able to cover the earth &# 39 ; s entire surface , except for the extreme polar regions , with each satellite located in a constant position over the earth &# 39 ; s equator . low earth orbit ( leo ) satellite systems as shown in fig6 utilize a constellation of satellites operating in low orbit to provide global coverage . various other satellite systems could be used to offer a broad range of communications capabilities . the present handoff management system contemplates the installation of one or more satellite air - to - ground communication systems on an aircraft . satellite air - to - ground communication systems which offer relatively low capacity often use fixed antenna system mounted on top of the aircraft , while those with greater capacity use some form of steerable antenna mounted on the upper surfaces of aircraft . these antennas may be electrically steerable arrays , mechanically steered antennas , or antennas which use a combination of technologies . the satellite tracking capabilities are generally built into the satellite air - to - ground equipment for the aircraft , and for the purposes of this description , each satellite system equipped may be considered as a radio transceiver system with an available capacity ( which capacity may vary from time to time depending upon a variety of factors including the geographic location of the aircraft ). there are a number of types of terrestrial cellular networks that could be used to provide communication services to an aircraft on the ground , thus allowing air - to - ground communication services ( terrestrial or satellite ) to be dedicated to serving airborne aircraft . the most obvious alternatives include “ conventional ” cellular or pcs systems . however , a wide variety of technologies and frequency bands could be appropriate ; the basic requirements are that the service can be made available in a substantial portion of airports to be served , and that the service be able to provide adequate bandwidth in an airport - operating environment . fig7 illustrates , in block diagram form , the architecture of a typical aircraft air - to - ground communication system . the inner network may include multiple transport networks — one or more terrestrial air - to - ground cellular networks 101 , one or more satellite air - to - ground cellular networks 102 and one or more terrestrial networks 103 . each network may require separate antennas and / or transceivers aboard the aircraft . satellite air - to - ground antennas 701 and 702 , connected to satellite transceivers 711 and 712 may support two different satellite air - to - ground cellular networks . terrestrial air - to - ground antennas 703 and 704 , connected to transceivers 713 and 714 may support two independent terrestrial air - to - ground cellular networks . terrestrial mobile system antennas 705 and 706 interconnected to transceivers 705 and 716 to provide access to multiple terrestrial cellular networks . it is possible that networks may share some elements — for instance , a single antenna system and / or transceiver system might serve all terrestrial air - to - ground and terrestrial cellular networks . all transceiver elements interface to the aircraft communications controller 721 . the aircraft communications controller 721 in turn interfaces to the various outer network elements providing services to the passengers , crew and aircraft systems . these elements could include , without limitation , one or more cdma base stations 731 , one or more gsm base stations , one or more wi - fi wireless access points 733 , ethernet network interfaces 734 and / or one or more aircraft system sensors 735 . the aircraft communications controller 721 provides local control of the operation of all such elements , activating and de - activating them in accordance with administrative commands received over air - to - ground links , or in accordance with locally generated requirements . as part of the overall control capability , the aircraft communications controller 721 controls the level of access to any particular service by exerting control over the capacity available for such service . for instance , a gsm base station with an inherent capacity to handle 7 simultaneous voice calls might have three active calls , and might be instructed by the aircraft communications controller 721 to generate an “ all channel busy ” indication if a fourth access attempt is made . fig8 illustrates , in block diagram form , the architecture of the terrestrial elements of a multi - network air - to - ground communications network . one or more satellite air - to - ground cellular networks may be utilized , each including satellites ( not shown ), one or more earth stations 801 , 802 and network control and management center 810 , are connected via communications links 811 to the ground communications controller 820 . one or more terrestrial air - to - ground cellular networks , each consisting of a number of ground stations 804 - 806 , communications facilities 807 connecting to one ore more ground station control elements 816 . the ground station control elements 816 are connected to the ground communications controller 820 via communications facility 817 . in situations where the terrestrial air - to - ground systems are compatible with terrestrial cellular technologies , it is possible to also connect terrestrial base stations 808 to the ground station controller 816 utilized by the terrestrial air - to - ground cellular network ground stations 804 - 806 , using a communications facility 809 . in such cases , the ground station controller 816 is comparable in capabilities to a terrestrial cellular base station controller due to the common technologies used . terrestrial mobile networks , each consisting of a multiple base station 812 - 814 connected to base station controllers 819 via communications facilities 815 may be utilized to provide coverage for aircraft on the ground at selected airports . in general , each airport would be served by a separate terrestrial network , and would be connected via a communications facility 818 to the ground communications controller 820 . the ground communications controller 820 is a central aggregation / disaggregation point for all communications between the outer network elements aboard the aircraft and terrestrial outer network elements . communications between each airborne inner network element and the appropriate switching subsystem are provided , thereby providing a full range of services to passengers , crew and aircraft systems . that is , communications of the one or more cdma base stations aboard any aircraft are connected to the cdma switching subsystem 830 , via communications links 840 allowing voice and data communications and network signaling to be connected to external networks 851 , 852 as required . similarly , communications of gsm , wi - fi and private or proprietary systems are connected with the appropriate common switching subsystems 831 - 834 , allowing connections to external networks 851 , 852 as required . in this context , the term “ switching subsystem ” is considered to include any billing , administration , vertical services or similar capabilities that are typically associated with providing services with each different type of network . fig9 illustrates the flow of call traffic communications in the subject handoff management system and fig1 illustrates the flow of various control signals in the subject handoff management system . in this example the two aircraft ( aircraft 1 , aircraft 2 ) each have both gsm base stations 901 , 902 and cdma base stations 903 , 904 equipped , as well as other voice and data service capabilities 905 , 906 . the signals from these devices connect with the aircraft communications controllers 910 , 911 , which route these communications in accordance with instructions received from the ground communications controller 912 . the first aircraft ( aircraft 1 ), equipped with satellite air - to - ground capabilities , is shown at an instant in time when 60 % of the data traffic is routed via the satellite air - to - ground transceiver 920 , with 25 % of the data routed via the first terrestrial air - to - ground transceiver 921 and the remaining 15 % routed via the second terrestrial air - to - ground receiver 922 . voice communications are routed via the two terrestrial air - to - ground transceivers 921 , 922 , 40 % on the first and 60 % on the second . in this instance , the aircraft doesn &# 39 ; t have a terrestrial network available , and no communications are routed via the terrestrial cellular receiver 923 . the second aircraft ( aircraft 2 ) does not have satellite air - to - ground cellular network capabilities and the communications are routed over two terrestrial transceivers 924 , 925 . aircraft 2 is shown at an instant in time when 60 % of the data traffic is routed via the first terrestrial air - to - ground transceiver 924 and 40 % of the data is routed via the second terrestrial air - to - ground receiver 925 . voice communications are routed via the two terrestrial air - to - ground transceivers 924 , 925 , 20 % on the first and 80 % on the second . the distribution of communications could be different in the forward ( ground to aircraft ) and reverse ( aircraft to ground ) directions , due to the typical asymmetry of data communications . all communications from all aircraft transceivers are routed through their corresponding ground - based transceiver element — earth station 930 for the satellite air - to - ground cellular network 102 and ground - based base stations 931 , 932 , 933 for the terrestrial air - to - ground cellular network 101 . ground - based base stations 931 - 933 are connected to a ground station control systems 934 , which , along with the earth stations 930 ( and corresponding base station control systems for terrestrial cellular networks ), are in turn connected to the ground communications controller 912 . communications protocols utilized between the aircraft communications controllers 910 , 911 and the ground communications controller 912 provide identification of the source and destination for all communications . the header information in one or more of the protocols within the internet protocol suite can be used to provide this capability . these protocols are used to assure that communications between the airborne outer network elements are routed to the appropriate terrestrial outer network elements . in this manner , communications of the gsm base station aboard an aircraft may be routed to / from the gsm switching subsystem 940 , cdma base station communications are routed to / from the cdma switching subsystem 941 , and other voice and data signals routed to / from their respective switching subsystems 942 , 943 . embedded in the communications between the various outer network elements are substantial administrative and signaling data that are defined within the standards for the technologies ( gsm , cdma , etc .) that are provisioned . in utilizing equipment designed and constructed to those standards , additional ancillary controls may be required for operations and / or maintenance of the equipment . similarly , inner network elements such as the transceivers may require ancillary controls that are not readily available within the technical standards of the equipment adopted for use for air - to - ground links . as illustrated in fig1 , such ancillary operations and maintenance ( o & amp ; m ) controls may be terminated on an aircraft communications controller 910 , 911 ( for airborne elements ) and the ground communications controller 912 , where they are incorporated into the overall communications requirements of the system . this allows all network elements to be controlled and monitored via a network operations center 913 that is connected to the ground communications controller 912 . in addition , it allows the control system , ( ground communications controller 912 and aircraft communications controllers 910 , 911 ) to directly control various aspects of the operation of network elements . thus , a base station 901 - 904 or other outer network equipment 905 , 906 on board an aircraft could be controlled and or monitored in some aspects of its operation by the its switching subsystem , and be controlled or monitored in some aspects of its operation by the aircraft communications controller 910 , 911 , and be controlled or monitored in some aspects of its operations by the ground communications controller 912 , and also be controlled or monitored in some aspects of its operations by the network operations center 913 . dynamic control of the ground station control system 934 , by means of another o & amp ; m link , allows the ground communications controller 912 to dynamically configure the communications channels between ground stations and terrestrial air to ground transceivers in order to allocate ground station capacity to various aircraft as required . communications between the various aircraft communications controllers 910 , 911 and the ground communications controllers 912 , in the form of control data , allow the exchange of status information , databases and commands required to provide overall control system capabilities . the ground communications controller 912 can dynamically change the load among the transceivers on an aircraft , with the load carried by terrestrial air - to - ground transceiver 921 in aircraft 1 being completely different than load carried by terrestrial air - to - ground transceiver 922 in aircraft 1 . the load distribution can be by type of traffic : voice , data , multi - media and the ground communications controller 912 manages the multidimensional communication space , considering the many factors noted above . similarly , the traffic load emanating from an aircraft can be dynamically allocated among the various air - to - ground cellular networks : terrestrial air - to - ground cellular network 101 , satellite air - to - ground cellular network 102 , and terrestrial cellular network 103 . the ground communications controller 912 typically communicates with multiple aircraft , and thus , multiple aircraft communications controllers 910 , 911 as shown in fig9 , and can therefore manage the multi - dimensional communication space to coordinate the flow of traffic generated by the various aircraft — disseminated into the volume of space managed by the ground communications controller 912 . fig1 illustrates in flow diagram form , the communications management process used by the handoff management system when an aircraft system , such as aircraft 1 in fig9 & amp ; 10 , is activated . all aircraft systems are generally deactivated when the aircraft is out of service , therefore when the aircraft is returned to service at step 1101 , and the communications subsystems are activated at step 1102 , the aircraft communications controllers 910 need to establish communications with the ground communications controller 912 . the aircraft communications controller 910 , 911 at step 1103 attempts to communicate with the ground communications controller 912 via each of the equipped network capabilities . if the system is not successful in establishing communications via any of the network as determined at step 1104 , it retries to establish communication based upon the setting of an internal timer at step 1105 until it is successful . when it has established contact with the ground communications controller 912 , the ground communications controller 912 at step 1106 selects one of the available networks as the primary communication link for immediate administrative purposes , and instructs the aircraft communications controller 910 to register at step 1107 . the aircraft communications controller 910 then registers , provides the status of all aircraft subsystems , and provides current location and velocity information at step 1108 . the operational configuration of the various networks of the outer network that are providing services onboard the aircraft may be required to be restricted , depending upon the status of the aircraft . as an example , services to wireless devices may be required to be restricted below certain altitudes , in order to avoid interference impacts to terrestrial systems . or the radio frequency channels that may be utilized by the in - cabin base stations may be dependent upon the location of the aircraft . alternatively , the available capacity on the air - to - ground transport networks may require that the capacity of certain services be modified to avoid degradation of service . the operational configuration each of the aircraft services networks is controlled by the control capabilities of the ground communications controller 912 and the aircraft communications controller 910 . the ground communications controller 912 at step 1109 downloads data representing the control requirements for the operational configurations , other than those that are derived from transport network constraints . the aircraft communications controller 910 , based upon those control requirements and current aircraft status and position updates , controls the aircraft network configurations at step 1110 . the ground communications controller 912 , in response to the cycling of an update timer 111 , periodically updates of the position and status of the aircraft at step 1112 , generates configuration updates 1113 , transmits them to the aircraft communications controller 910 and the aircraft communications controller 910 then applies them to the aircraft networks . once the aircraft system has been activated and initialized , the control systems smoothly integrate the capabilities of the various available networks . the aircraft communications controller 910 provides control of the communications capabilities onboard the aircraft . the aircraft communications controller 910 also collects the status of all on - board air - to - ground systems and the location and velocity of the aircraft , and communicates such data to the ground communications controller 912 . the ground communications controller 912 collects and processes the information from all active aircraft communications controllers 910 , analyzes such information in conjunction with additional data that is available to it , calculates the desired inner network configuration , calculates any additional restrictions required on aircraft configurations , identifies changes to inner network configuration , and implements those changes in conjunction with the aircraft communications controller 910 . fig1 illustrates , in flow diagram form , the process used by the handoff management system for assigning communications capabilities to each served aircraft . the current voice and data communications requirements of each aircraft are determined at step 1202 and communicated from each aircraft communications controller 910 to the ground communications controller 912 , which determines the overall bandwidth required to serve the aircraft by assessing the additional bandwidth required to support signaling and administration , and by adding a margin to support new call originations at step 1203 . these factors may be determined by special - purpose algorithms , or by database lookups . the location of each aircraft is determined at step 1204 either from an onboard system , with data communicated via the aircraft communications controller 910 , or by accessing external databases at step 1205 which may make such information readily available to the ground communications controller . table 1 below illustrates this , where d ki denotes the demand for service k to aircraft i . control data ( cont data in table ) represents the data communications between the aircraft communications controller 910 and the ground communications controller 912 and , under most circumstances , would represent data with the highest priority . voice 1 and voice 2 , and data 1 and data 2 represent data with different delivery priorities . in concept , the number of service types can be expanded to whatever degree is necessary to differentiate between different service requirements . the ground communications controller 912 has available a database containing the locations of all terrestrial air - to - ground ground stations , as well as their configurations and operational status . computational algorithms resident in the ground communications controller 912 calculate , based upon the aircraft location and the configuration of aircraft and ground station transceivers and antennas , the service levels that proximate air - to - ground cells are able to provide to the aircraft at step 1206 . fig1 illustrates an example of the relationship between aircraft and candidate serving cells for a terrestrial air - to - ground cellular network . aircraft 1301 is best served by cell 1310 , and can also be served by cells 1311 and 1312 . aircraft 1302 is best served by cell 1313 , and can also be served by cells 1314 and 1315 . aircraft 1303 is also best served by cell 1310 , and also may be served by cells 1316 and 1317 . the ground communications controller 912 at step 1207 calculates the signal levels on antennas systems oriented towards each of the three candidate serving cells , by considering the transmitted power of the ground station , the antenna pattern of the ground station antenna , the free space path loss between the aircraft and the ground station and the antenna pattern of the aircraft antenna . ( this process may be extended to terrestrial mobile base stations if the aircraft is within the permissible range of such services .) alternatively , if aircraft are equipped with search receivers as previously described , signal strengths may be determined more directly . cdma 1x - rtt provides a technique whereby each mobile unit periodically checks the signal levels available from each site on a “ neighbor list ” of nearby cells . this mechanism can be readily adopted by downloading neighbor lists and uploading measurement reports from the airborne transceivers . however , since conventional cdma 1x - rtt systems are based upon the use of non - beam - forming antennas , modifications must be made to assure that the measurements for each neighbor correspond to the signal received when the neighbor is within the main beam of the aircraft antenna . in this manner , measurement reports received reflect the transmitted power of the ground station , the antenna pattern of the ground station antenna , and the free space path loss between the aircraft and the ground station , and only require that the measured value be adjusted to reflect the antenna discrimination towards the transmitting cell when the aircraft antenna is oriented towards each of the candidate serving cells . once the receive signal levels from all cells are determined for each of the antenna orientations which correspond to the orientations for each of the candidate serving cells , the signal to interference and noise ratio ( sinr ) may be calculated for each candidate cell . the signal to interference and noise ratio level , for an ev - do implementation , determines the forward link data rate which may be obtained from the associated cell . each of the current voice and data requirements from aircraft may then be expressed as a portion of the available forward link capacity from each candidate serving cell at step 1208 . each of the voice and data requirements may also be expressed as a percentage of the available satellite capacity at step 1209 ( or , in the case of multiple satellite system availability , as a percentage of each available satellite system capacity .) for a single aircraft i , considering a single candidate server j , we would have : where r ij is the data rate that can be obtained for sinr ij . the value of r ij can be determined from a lookup table that reflects the characteristics of system in use . each type of network service has a value assigned for each type of service , reflecting the relative service revenues , network costs and technical preferences for service delivery as determined at step 1210 . an example of such a value system is shown in table 2 below . in this case , the relative values reflects that control data is the most important service , that voice services are most suitably delivered via terrestrial services , and have higher value than data services . the relative values also reflect a lower service cost for mobile services than air - to - ground services . this concept may be expanded to an unlimited number of service types , and can also be extended to networks and / or sub - networks to provide any desired level of granularity . these relative values can then be applied at step 1211 to each of the candidate serving links for the aircraft , that there is a value v kij which represents the per unit value of service k delivered to aircraft i via link j . as further shown in the flow chart of fig1 , the ground communications controller 912 utilizes an optimization routine to develop a satisfactory inner network communication distribution over the communications alternatives available to each aircraft . a fraction of the available capacity of each server ranging from 0 to 1 is allocated at step 1212 to the various service types on each aircraft , such that demand is satisfied without exceeding the available capacity . that is : d ki = ∑ j = 1 n r ij xf kij where f kij is the fraction of the capacity of the j th cell allocated to proving service k on aircraft i . determining the absolutely optimal configuration of assignments could be performed by assessing every possible combination of alternative connections between aircraft and serving transport networks and selecting the combination that had the maximum overall value . however , the computational complexity of such an approach becomes impractical as the number or aircraft , ground stations , cell sites and satellite systems in a typical implementation are considered . various optimization methodologies and algorithms are readily available to those skilled in the art to allow sufficiently useful results to be achieved with a reasonable level of computational complexity . a linear programming technique may be used to visualize on means to accomplish such an optimization . linear programming is a technique which seeks to optimize ( maximize or minimize ) an objective , subject to a set of constraints . in this case the objective function which is to be optimized would represents the aggregate value of all service types for all aircraft , based upon the communications links used , or : z = ∑ i = 1 n ∑ i = 1 m ∑ k = 1 5 r ij xf kij xv ijk this objective must be optimized in accordance with the constraints on the total capacity of each cell : ∑ i = 1 n ∑ k = i 5 f kij ≤ 1 this assures that the fractions of capacity assigned to various aircraft and services do not exceed the total capacity available . and the constraint assures that all values of the variable f kij are achievable values . this rather straightforward ( although potentially large ) linear programming problem can be readily solved using the simplex method . many alternative optimization approaches may be used , including those which support integer solutions or non - linear relationships , and which may support faster analysis , and / or more efficient solutions . the analysis presented above represents only the forward link communications requirements . a very similar analysis is required for the reverse link . a reasonable first approximation is that aircraft , due to the directional antenna , are capable of communicating with a particular cell without causing interference with adjoining cells , that the reverse link is not limited by maximum mobile transmit power capabilities , and that the fraction of reverse link capacity used is directly proportional to the communications bandwidth supplied . the nominal cell capacity may be considered to be the capacity corresponding to a 6 db rise above thermal noise , thereby leaving some margin for modeling inaccuracies . the assignments resulting from the optimization process are compared to the existing assignments and the changes in channel assignments are identified at step 1213 . as the distribution of aircraft changes , it may be possible that the overall inner network capacity available to some aircraft will not be adequate to provide the bandwidth targeted in the second step of this process . while customer data transactions are somewhat “ elastic ”, and able to continue at a lower rate , customer voice traffic is relatively “ inelastic ”. in order to best manage such situations , it is useful to control the in - cabin systems in order to minimize customer - affecting issues . the ground communications controller 912 compares the bandwidth available to the aircraft and the current configuration of the in - cabin systems , and determines changes that should be executed by the aircraft communications controller 910 at step 1214 and identifying aircraft network configurations at step 1215 . as examples , the aircraft communications controller 910 may be instructed to reduce the available capacity of one or more base stations , in order to prevent additional call originations or to throttle demand , or the vocoder rates may be reduced , to reduce the bandwidth required to support each active call . in the event that all such options to reduce bandwidth requirements are not sufficient to allow all calls to be maintained , the cabin systems may be directed to selectively “ drop ” calls , with those having the lowest grade of service objective being dropped first . such instructions to reduce capacity requirements would be later revised when additional capacity becomes available . upon completion of the network analysis and bandwidth analysis , all change requirements are communicated to the aircraft communications controller 910 at step 1216 , and stored in memory at step 1218 to initiate the required changes to inner and outer network configurations . this entire optimization process is periodically repeated , as driven by the operation of timer at step 1217 , which reinitiates process step 1202 upon expiration of the timer cycle . a further enhancement to the optimization process is to utilize each aircraft &# 39 ; s velocity information ( i . e . the aircraft &# 39 ; s heading , speed and rate of change in altitude ) to predict the change of position expected in the position of the aircraft , over some number of timer intervals . this predictive information can be used to further refine the network assignment process , allowing channels to be selected which be utilized for a greater duration than might be the case with an optimization process that considers the aircraft in only a static position . in the preferred embodiment , each candidate path is evaluated to determine its state in the future , and the optimization cost factors for paths that are not a best server at the end of the predictive timeframe is increase in a manner that makes their assignment less likely than alternative paths that remain for the duration of the timeframe . while the scale of coverage differs significantly for satellite systems , terrestrial air - to - ground systems and terrestrial cellular systems , the methodology for predicting future aircraft position and analyzing the rf paths that be available from that position are similar for all of them . each type of communications traffic is assigned a different priority level or class of service , and each network is characterized in terms of its performance capabilities , utilizing common ip network routing protocols and practices . the capacity of each available communications link assigned to the aircraft is communicated between the ground communications controller 912 and the aircraft communications controllers 910 , 911 as part of the new channel assignments communications of step 1218 . routing policies in the various communications controllers 910 , 911 , 912 assure that the various types of communications ( voice , data , control data , etc .) are routed over an appropriate network . as communications channels are reconfigured , these routing capabilities will automatically redirect communications over the newly configured assignments . the new channel assignments communicated in step 18 will include timing information so that all channel re - assignments are completed in a non - conflicting manner . fig1 a illustrates the relationship between one of the terrestrial air - to - ground transceivers on aircraft 1410 , current serving cells 1401 , 1403 , 1404 and candidate serving cell 1402 prior to initiation of a handoff of communications between the two cells . the primary beams of the associated antennas 1421 , 1423 , 1424 are directed at the serving cells , while the search beams ( not shown ) continued to be used for scanning as previously described . at the designated time , in order execute a handoff from cell 1401 to cell 1402 , the search receiver for the transceiver associated with cell 1401 and associated search beam 1422 are directed to the candidate cell , 1402 while the primary receiver , transmitter and associated beam 1420 continue to maintain communications with the serving cell 1401 , as illustrated in fig1 b . on detecting the pilot signal from the cell 1402 , the transceiver signals the ground station controller that it has acquired the new pilot and the ground station controller causes the transceiver to add cell 1402 to its active list , and causes cell 1402 to begin transmission of a control signal , as illustrated in fig1 c . on confirmation that the control signal is being received by the aircraft transceiver , the ground station controller causes cell 1402 to commence transmitting as illustrated in fig1 d and causes cell 1401 to cease transmitting as illustrated in fig1 e . the signals received from both receivers are combined , thereby assuring that there are no lost communications . in an alternative implementation , both cells 1401 and 1402 may transmit the signal for a brief period of time , providing a “ make before break ” assurance of signal continuity . once signal continuity has been established on the aircraft receiver from the new cell 1402 , the aircraft transceiver commences transmitting on the beam to cell 1402 , while restoring the second receiver and beam to search functions . signals received at the two cells 1401 and 1402 are combined by the ground station controller function , assuring that no communications are lost during the handoff process . fig1 illustrates a sequence of aircraft positions and some communications scenarios that might be encountered with an air - to - ground cellular network utilizing the capabilities enabled by this invention . aircraft 1501 is outside the coverage area of the terrestrial air - to - ground system , indicated by service boundary 1510 . service is only available from a satellite air - to - ground cellular network , and all aircraft communications are routed via the satellite 1511 . aircraft 1502 is within the coverage area of the terrestrial air - to - ground system , and the control system directs that all of the traffic be communicated via ground station 1521 . while service could be provided from ground stations 1522 or 1525 , their greater distance from the aircraft makes ground station 1521 the preferred communications alternative . aircraft 1503 is midway between ground station 1521 and 1522 . in a basic cellular system , an aircraft in this location would be ready to hand over all of the traffic from ground station 1521 to ground station 1522 . however , in this air - to - ground system , the communications can be gradually transferred from one ground station to the next , and thus there are communications shown to both ground station 1521 and 1522 . also illustrated is a link from aircraft 1503 the satellite — as might be required if there was an increase in overall communications which exceeded the capacity that could be made available on ground stations 1521 and 1522 . aircraft 1504 is shown with terrestrial air - to - ground communications with three separate ground stations 1522 , 1523 and 1524 . this illustrates a situation that arises when the total airborne traffic has placed capacity demands on ground stations such that no two of the ground stations within range of the aircraft can meet the total communications demand for the aircraft . aircraft 1505 is shown on the ground , with service provided by a terrestrial cellular base station 1530 that is located at the airport . note that immediately prior to landing , aircraft 1505 would have been served by ground station 1523 , since it would have been at an altitude that placed other ground stations over the horizon . if the capacity demands on ground station 1523 were such that it could not meet the communications requirements of the aircraft , the control system could have directed use of the satellite air - to - ground system . the present handoff management system allows maintaining an optimal configuration of communications connections between aircraft and terrestrial air - to - ground ground stations , satellite air - to - ground cellular networks and terrestrial cellular base stations . further , it provides control mechanisms to allow prioritization of certain types of traffic to assure that , in the event of insufficient total capacity to meet the offered load of communication requirements to an aircraft ; the available capacity is assigned to the highest priority requirement . | 7 |
the system and method of the invention is designed to operate on any programmable device available now or hereafter developed , including personal computers and networks , embedded devices , main frames , distributed networks or other means of computing that may evolve over time . the computer should be capable of sufficient speed and contain sufficient memory in order to operate the various subroutines and processes , described below , of the conceptual speech recognition method . the invention may be used on a personal computer or embedded device by way of audio input , which may be accomplished by numerous acceptable methods now known or later developed . the only requirement of the audio data input is that it be digitized either prior to being input , or otherwise after being input into a system operating using the invention . the audio data input could be digitized according to well understood digitization techniques , including , for example , pcm ( pulse code modulation ), dm ( delta modulation ), apcm ( adaptive pulse code modulation ), adpcm ( adaptive delta pcm ) and lpc ( linear predictive coding ); although other methods of digitizing the audio data input could be utilized and the foregoing references are not intended to be limiting . standard references well known to those skilled in the art teach various techniques for digitizing speech signals . see for example digital processing of speech signals by l . r . rabiner and r . w . schafer ( prentice - hall 1978 ), and jurafsky , daniel and martin , james h ., speech and language processing , prentice hall , new jersey , 2000 , the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in a manner consistent with this disclosure . it should be understood by those of skill in the art that digitizing the speech can occur in multiple fashions by multiple devices at multiple locations . for example , the speech can be digital encoded in the various fashions discussed previously ( pcm , adpcm , etc .). the speech can be digitized by various devices , such as a conventional a - to - d converter , a cell phone , a personal computer , an embedded device , a pda , and so forth . the speech can be digitized at various locations , such as at a cell phone , pc , pda or the like proximate to the speaker . the speech can be digitized at a network server or other computer or embedded device remote from the speaker , such as at a customer service center implementing the present invention to field customer service calls . finally , it should also be understood that the term “ digitizing ” or “ digitization ” should be understood to not only encompass digitally encoding an analog signal , but also re - digitizing a presently digital signal . for example , if the speaker is transmitting speech through a digital cell phone as understood in the art , two phases of digitizing may occur : one at the cell phone where the speaker &# 39 ; s analog voice signal is converted to a digital representation for transmission over - the - air , and a second one at a speech processing system where the digital signal may be re - digitized to provide a digital signal with the proper bit resolution , quantization , bit rate , and so forth , in accordance with the requirements of the system . audio input devices used by this system and method include microphone , telephone , wireless transceiver , modem , a voice recorder ( analog or digital ) and any other existing or future technology permitting spoken words to be received and converted into an electrical , electromagnetic or any other physical representation . if the system is utilized on a network ( e . g ., the internet , lan , pan , wan , cellular network , public switched telephone network [ pstn ], or the like ), the network should have an interface capable of receiving the audio input . common interfaces include interfaces with the pstn where the audio input is by telephone ( or with a cellular network via a wireless transceiver ); a network server where the audio input is by internet ; in addition , the system should include a method for outputting the result in response to the audio input . such output may include digitized artificial speech generated by the computer through its speakers or by telephone ( or wireless transceiver ); a text output for medias such as the internet ( or any other similar distributed networks ) and email ; or any other process which may be invoked as a result to a successful recognition . it is to be understood that a voice recorder encompasses analog or digital technology for storing a representation of speech , such as analog tape ( e . g ., vhs , etc . ), digital tape , memories storing digital sound files ( e . g ., . wav , . voc , . mp3 , and the like ), and so forth . further , the interface or link between a sound source ( whether it be a live source such as a person speaking into a microphone or a recorded source such as a . wav file ) and the speech processing system of the present invention may encompass a packet - switched network connection ( e . g ., internet , wan , pan , lan , etc . ), a circuit - based or packet - switched telephony connection ( e . g ., pstn or cellular network ), a microwave connection , satellite connection , cable connection , terrestrial broadcast - type connection and the like . of course , it is readily appreciated that the interface between the sound source and the speech processing system may be a direct connection where the sound source and the speech processing system are essentially collocated . typically , the invention is accessed in a real - time interactive environment between a personal computer , network server or embedded device that operates the system and the persons or entities that input the audio data . in many situations , a business will operate the speech recognition system of the invention through a network server to provide some information to its customers . such information may include , for example , bank account information , assistance with products , customer assistance with billing inquiries , driving directions , stock prices or airline flight information . these examples of the types of information that may be provided as a result of the conceptual speech recognition system and method are exemplary only and are not intended to limit the invention . in fact , any information may be provided in response to audio input by use of the conceptual speech recognition system and method of the present invention . typically , a customer of a business that is utilizing the conceptual speech recognition system and method will make some inquiry . the vocalization of that inquiry comprises the audio data input into the system . preferably , the system will provide the customer with the answer to the inquiry in real time . however , the system can also be operated on a batch basis in which case the customer may input the inquiry , and the system may provide the answer to the customer at a later time . the data processor preferably will have one or more memory units for storing received audio data input samples , and preferably maintains a file system whereby each stored audio input sample is designated with file reference indicia . when the system has completed the speech recognition process , the result can be referenced using the same file reference indicia such that the result of the speech recognition process can be returned to the customer that input the data . the audio return may be made in real - time , or it may be returned at a later time . the return may be made by any form of wired or wireless communication including telephone or email or may be stored to persistent memory for later referral . the invention entails other applications as well . the invention may be used to provide word recognition services given an audio input . similarly , the invention may be used to provide syntactic validation of dictation that may be input using other phoneme recognition methods , such as hmm , to improve accuracy . referring to the figures , fig1 depicts a flow scheme representing the invention &# 39 ; s overview of data flow and processes in the preferred embodiment of the invention . in box 102 , an utterance is produced by a speaker . the speaker may be a person or a machine . audio may be captured by a microphone connected to a computer , a telephone line receiving a signal , an interface though an embedded device or any other means of communication that may be known today or later developed . in step 104 , digital signal processing ( dsp ) is performed to digitize the audio signal . virtually any dsp process known to those skilled in the art can be used . box 106 shows the result of step 104 as audio data that contains the speech information of the utterance . step 110 uses the audio data containing speech in box 106 and voice models that are predefined and programmed into the system as input to execute a phoneme recognition process shown in box 108 ( an exemplary phoneme recognition process is further described in fig3 ), which will produce a phoneme stream shown in box 112 ( also explained in fig3 ). the phoneme recognition process at step 110 detects probable phonemes over a predefined probabilistic threshold per time - slice . the phoneme recognition process is capable of detecting a plurality of candidate phonemes , some of which are alternative candidate phonemes , meaning that they represent different possible phonemes detected in the same sample of speech , or audio input . it should also be noted that the threshold employed is preferably fixed , although it could be adaptive . for example , the threshold might be automatically adjusted based on throughput considerations . similarly , the threshold may vary with time for different phonemes within a given cluster , within a given cluster , or between different clusters . the threshold may also be constant and the same for all clusters , constant but potentially different for all clusters or constant but potentially different for all phonemes within a given cluster . in step 116 , the phoneme stream analysis process uses the phoneme stream shown in box 112 and the dictionary shown in box 114 as an input . the phoneme stream analysis process at step 116 will generate a list of words potentially uttered by the speaker ( candidate words ) ordered by their respective starting phoneme index in the phoneme stream , as shown in box 118 . preferably , the phoneme stream analysis process is based on permuting all combinations of the candidate phonemes to generate an initial list of candidate words . candidate words may be processed according to a dictionary , described further below , to identify a subset referred to as candidate words . in step 122 , a syntactic analysis process ( an example of which is explained in fig1 ) is performed by applying transform scripts ( e . g ., like the exemplary ones shown in fig9 ) from box 120 to the list of words potentially uttered from box 118 . the syntactic analysis process in step 122 populates the list of potentially spoken words with syntactic organizations in box 124 while respecting word boundaries and rules described in transform scripts . the transform scripts may be adapted and customized for individual operations , and customization may improve system operation . in step 126 , the conceptual analysis process uses the list of candidate words with syntactic organizations from box 124 as input to calculate a predicate structure describing conceptually the inquiry uttered by the speaker . a predicate structure , further explained in fig1 , is a conceptual representation where all elements of syntax are removed ; as an example , the predicate structure of “ what time is it ?” would be the same as the one of “ what is the time ?” since both sentences convey the same concept and they only differ by their syntax used . the technique of conceptual dependency forms the basis of this aspect of the invention , which technique was first formulated by schank . the conceptual analysis process at step 126 generates a predicate structure describing the inquiry in box 128 . in step 130 , the post analysis process , further explained in fig1 , uses the inquiry predicate structure from box 128 in order to produce a response predicate structure in box 132 . a different predicate structure is produced to formulate a response than the one that described the inquiry since a system may well understand what is being asked , but it does not automatically mean it can produce an adequate response . having two separate concepts , one for the inquiry and another one for the response , is more adequate than using only one for the inquiry and matching it to stored concepts that may be handled by the system , although the invention may be implemented by matching an inquiry to stored concepts if desired in a particular application . if desired , in step 134 , the command handler , further explained in fig1 , processes the response predicate structure to produce the response in box 136 . a predicate structure can indeed be processed since it contains action primitives that can be implemented in the system . as an example , the action primitive speak with the content role would generate a voice synthesizer of the filler associated with the content role , producing an audible response to the speaker . the response does not have to be limited to an audible response , however . the response predicate structure may hold any operation it sees fit as a response to the inquiry ( a database change , a phone connection being made , a light turned on , or else ). referring to fig2 a flow diagram for the operation of the method of the invention is depicted . the first aspect of the method involves phoneme recognition . at 200 , a customer of an operator of the system &# 39 ; s invention contacts the system through some communication medium and inputs an inquiry in the form of audio data which is received by the system . at 202 , the audio input is digitized by any now known or later developed technique for digitization . at 204 , the digitized audio data stream is analyzed for probable phoneme recognition , where probable phonemes for any given time - slice are detected . the probable phonemes are detected using pattern recognition algorithms known to persons skilled in the art , and may be any method now known or later developed . the pattern recognition algorithm utilizes a plurality of pre - defined clusters , seen at 206 , each cluster containing a pre - defined set of phonemes with different vocal accents and / or intonations , such as u . s . western male , u . s . northeastern female , etc . the pattern recognition algorithm determines the presence of any phonemes in the audio data sample that exceed a minimum pre - determined probability of being present in the audio data sample . the result of the phoneme recognition process is a phoneme stream 208 which comprises a string of characters indicative of recognized phonemes whose probability exceed the minimum probabilistic threshold , and also includes other characters to indicate the start time and end time of the occurrence of that phoneme in the audio data sample as well as the positioning of data within the phoneme stream . after the probable recognized phonemes have been analyzed and the phoneme stream 208 has been generated , the phoneme stream is analyzed to determine candidate words from the phoneme stream 208 . a phoneme stream analyzer 210 builds a list of candidate words 212 . the phoneme stream analyzer 210 refers to a pre - built dictionary 214 for information related to words that may be placed in the word list 212 , including such information as spellings and parts of speech . next , the system builds a list of probable sequences of candidate words that can form syntactically correct sequences 228 using the words sequence extractor 216 . this is performed by use of syntactic rules applied to the candidate words 212 using information associated with those words in the dictionary 214 . multiple sequences may be developed using permutation analysis 218 , by applying syntactic rules , or transform scripts 222 , that may be adapted for any particular application . the syntactically correct syntactic organizations that use all the time - slices from the phoneme stream , or at least those time - slices selected by the programming engineer , are then parsed to determine their conceptual representations 232 by the conceptual dependency parser 230 . this technique , as originally formulated by schank , is applied through the use of a conceptual dependency scripting language 224 and predicate builder scripts 226 . once the conceptual representation of the inquiry is determined , a conceptual representation of a response is calculated in post analysis 234 . the final result is a command to execute in response to the inquiry . the process of the preferred embodiment can , for ease of discussion , be categorized into four major functional processes : phoneme recognition , phoneme stream analysis , syntactic analysis and conceptual analysis . these processes , along with the corresponding structures and examples of different scripts , are explained in detail in the following sections . turning now to fig3 a flow scheme for the phoneme recognition process in the preferred embodiment of the invention is depicted . the result of the phoneme recognition process is a single phoneme stream of recognized phonemes that comprises a finite sequence of n characters ps 1 - n . the phoneme stream produced in fig3 uses the following special characters : 1 . opening time - slice delimiter (‘[’): identifies the beginning of a new time - slice in the phoneme stream with at least one recognized phoneme . 2 . closing time - slice delimiter (‘]’): identifies the end of the time - slice in the phoneme stream . 3 . data separator (‘;’): the data separator is used between the opening and closing time - slice delimiters to separate the starting time and ending time values as well as to separate all data related to each phoneme recognized in a single time - slice . 4 . phoneme level data separator (‘,’): the phoneme level data separator is used to separate the phoneme from the probability and the probability from the cluster index used to recognize the phoneme in a time - slice of the phoneme stream ( between the opening and closing time - slice delimiters ). in step 302 , the process of phoneme recognition begins with an audio signal as an input to the system . methods and formats for inputting audio into the system are well known in the art . for example , audio may be input into the system by reading a buffer of audio impulse generated numeric values obtained from a microphone connected to a computer or reading any buffer in memory or on storage that represents audio impulse generated by any mean . any of these known methods and formats may be used with the system . the system has predefined clusters cl 1 - n , each cluster cl i holding data required to estimate pattern equivalence for each phonemes ph 1 - n . in step 304 , the received audio signal is split into any number of segments of fixed time length k . the fixed time length k in step 304 is a constant value , preferably between 5 milliseconds and 40 milliseconds , most preferably between 10 milliseconds and 20 milliseconds . the fixed time length for the fixed time length k is determined by experimentation and typically does not vary through a single execution of the phoneme recognition process . in step 306 , the first time - slice k 1 taken from time zero having a fixed time length of k is set in the system as the current time - slice k c . in step 308 , the first cluster cl 1 is set as the current cluster cl c . in step 310 , the first phoneme ph 1 in the current cluster cl c is set as the current phoneme ph c . a pattern recognition algorithm is performed in step 312 that compares the current phoneme ph c of the current cluster cl c to the audio data of current time - slice k c . the pattern recognition algorithm may be one of many known today to those skilled in the art . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the pattern recognition algorithm may include a recurrent neural network , a time delay neural network , a gamma - filtered time delay neural network , a static neural network trained with mfc coefficients , a self - organizing maps in an aka kohonen neural network , formant analysis , a multivariate gaussian classifier or any other adequate pattern recognition process now known or later developed . in step 314 , the matching probability mp c for the recognition of ph c in the audio data of k c is compared to a predetermined minimal probabilistic threshold mpt for cl c . mpt is a constant value associated with each cluster cl i and does not change in time during processing for that given cluster cl i . mpt is determined by experimentation for each cluster , and is the probabilistic value obtained from audio test cases where correct phonemes are recognized successfully while minimizing occurrences of wrong phonemes . if the mp c for ph c is less than the minimal probabilistic threshold mpt for the current cluster cl c , the system determines if there are more phonemes ph i in current cluster cl c that have not been compared to the audio data of k c . if additional phonemes ph i are found in current cluster cl c , in step 318 the next phoneme ph c + 1 , in current cluster cl c is set as the current phoneme ph c . if mp c is greater or equal than mpt for the current cluster cl c , the process continues at step 320 . in step 320 , the system determines if recognized phoneme ph c is the first phoneme with an mp c that exceeded mpt for the time - slice k c . if so , at step 322 , characters of the formula ‘ opening time - slice delimiter (‘[’) t sc data separator (‘;’) t fc ’ are appended to the phoneme stream where t sc is the starting time of matching phoneme ph c in the audio data measured from the start of the audio used as input to the process , and t fc is the ending time of matching phoneme ph c within the audio data measured from the start of the audio used as input to the process . the phoneme stream is a continuous but finite sequence of characters ps 1 - n stored in memory in the system that represent the sequence of probable phonemes ph i that were recognized over the predefined mpt to their respective cluster cl i with their associated probability mp i , starting time t si and ending time t fi are expressed from the elapsed times from the start of the audio data used as input to the process . if a recognized phoneme ph c is not the first time a phoneme ph i with a mp c that exceeded mpt for the current time - slice k c was detected by the pattern recognition algorithm , in step 324 , characters of the formula ‘ data separator (‘;’) ph c phoneme level data separator (‘,’) mp c phoneme level data separator (‘,’) cl c ’ are appended to the phoneme stream . from step 324 , the process moves to step 318 to determine if there are additional phonemes ph i in the current cluster cl c that have not had mp determined for the audio data of time - slice k c . if there are additional phonemes ph i in current cluster cl c , ph c + 1 , is set as ph c and the mp for each additional phoneme ph i in cluster cl c is determined as described in step 312 . the process continues as previously described until all phonemes through ph n in current cluster cl c have had mp determined for the audio data of time - slice k c in step 318 . once it is determined in step 318 that all phonemes ph 1 - n of cluster cl c have been compared to audio data of time - slice k c , in step 326 the system determines if there were any phonemes ph i for which the mp exceeded the mpt for the cluster cl c . if so , in step 328 the closing time - slice delimiter is appended to the phoneme stream of recognized phonemes from cluster cl c . at step 330 , the system determines if all clusters cl i have been analyzed . if not , the next cluster cl c + 1 , is set as current cluster cl c and the process begins again at step 332 until all clusters cl 1 - n have been analyzed . if in step 326 the system determines that there were no successful phoneme recognitions , i . e ., there was no ph c in current cluster cl c for which mp c exceeded mpt for the audio data of time - slice k c , the system determines in step 330 if all clusters cl 1 - n have been analyzed . if there are more clusters cl i , the system designates the next cluster cl c + 1 as current cluster cl c at step 332 . the process of phoneme recognition begins again at step 310 and continues until all clusters cl 1 - n have been analyzed . if at step 330 the system determines that all clusters cl 1 - n have been analyzed , at step 336 the system tests if there is additional audio data in addition to that contained in the current time - slice k c . if so , at step 334 the system selects audio data for a following time - slice k c + 1 for a time - slice of fixed time length k beginning at a time ½ of the fixed time length k ( 1 / 2 k ) past the beginning of current time - slice k c . the system begins the phoneme recognition process again at step 308 where k c equals k c + 1 . the system continues to analyze time - slices in the audio signal in this manner , advancing the beginning of each time - slice k i having fixed time length k from the beginning of the current time - slice k c by a time between 0 . 4k and 0 . 6k , but preferably 1 / 2k , until the entire audio signal has been analyzed . if at step 336 there are no more time - slices after the current time - slice k c having a fixed time length k and beginning at a time that is advanced past the beginning of current time - slice k c by a time of 1 / 2k , the system notes at step 338 the end of the phoneme recognition process . the result of the phoneme recognition process at step 338 is a single phoneme stream of recognized phonemes from the audio data into the system , which phoneme stream comprises a finite sequence of n characters ps 1 - n . this phoneme stream is then analyzed to build a list of probable words recognized in the phoneme stream . [ 0102 ] fig4 depicts a flow scheme for the phoneme stream analysis process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the phoneme stream analysis process decodes the phoneme stream ps 1 - n produced by the phoneme recognition process explained in fig3 and produces a unique list of words , candidate words , ordered by their respective starting phoneme index in the phoneme stream stored in a trecolst structure as seen in box 602 and box 604 of fig6 . in order to permute candidate phonemes from every time - slice with other candidate phonemes from the following time - slice and produce all candidate words from such permutations , search paths are used . each search path , as seen in the tsrchpath structure definition in box 606 in fig6 holds a single phoneme permutation sequence obtained from the analysis of contained phonemes of a phoneme stream . that phoneme permutation sequence in tsrchpath is kept in mphonemestream and needs to be a sequence that refers to a partial pronunciation of at least one word in the dictionary . as an example , a search path could contain a phoneme sequence in mphonemestream like the pronunciation of ‘ deliv ’, which is part of the pronunciation of the pronunciation of the word ‘ delivery ’ that is contained in the dictionary . as soon as a single phoneme is added to mphonemestream in a search path where the resulted mphonemestream is not a partial pronunciation stored in the dictionary , the search path is dropped . as an example , adding the ‘ c ’ phoneme to ‘ deliv ’ would result in the search path being dropped since there are no such words in the dictionary that starts with the pronunciation ‘ delivc ’. a search path is dropped by not being promoted . that is , for each time - slice , the phoneme stream analysis process works on working paths wp — which contains search paths that were obtained from the subset of promoted search paths from previous time - slice . as new phonemes are appended to existing search paths in wp , only those that are allowed provided that a dictionary forward is valid — signaling that a valid partial pronunciation is under construction — will be promoted . for the following time - slice , only promoted search paths will be used as a basis for wp and wp is dropped . while performing that process , if a complete sequence of phonemes is detected in mphonemestream — a complete sequence meaning that it is actually related to the complete pronunciation of a word instead of only a partial pronunciation — the word is added in the words list wl . bridging also needs to be processed during phoneme stream analysis . bridging is related to single phonemes that are shared between two words . as an example , if a speaker utters ‘ that text too ’, the ‘ t ’ phoneme between ‘ that ’ and ‘ text ’ was bridged between both words ( there is only one phoneme although it was used to pronounce both words ) as well as the ‘ t ’ phoneme between ‘ text ’ and ‘ too ’. [ 0104 ] fig4 is tightly related to fig5 fig6 fig7 and fig8 that describe sub - processes used by the phoneme stream analysis process . the phoneme stream analysis process may be implemented in other ways known to those skilled in the art . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , fig4 describes the preferred process used in the invention . any alternative process that uses a phoneme stream and produces a two - dimensional array of recognized words ordered by their starting phoneme index is equivalent . in step 402 , the process of phoneme stream analysis begins with the phoneme stream ps 1 - n that resulted from the phoneme recognition process in step 338 of fig3 . in step 404 , variables used in the phoneme stream analysis process are cleared . character buffer cb is a range in memory that can hold some content to be filled later in the phoneme stream analysis process . start time st and end time et are numbers . phoneme ph is a single character , and must be a letter either uppercase or lowercase . probability pb , cluster index ci and index in stream is are numbers . working paths wp and promoted paths pp , are tpaths structure as seen in box 608 of fig6 . bridge list bl is a tbridge structure as seen in box 610 of fig6 . words list wl is a trecolst structure as seen in box 604 of fig6 . time - slices count tsc is a number that holds the total of time - slices in the phoneme stream analyzed . the phoneme stream analysis process also uses the global variable indexes ind that is a tindex as seen in box 808 of fig8 . ind is the unique dictionary structure required in order to perform all dictionary related operations . as previously discussed , the phoneme stream that resulted in step 338 of fig3 is a finite sequence of n characters ps 1 - n . in step 406 of the phoneme stream analysis process , the current phoneme stream character ps c is set to the first character of the phoneme stream ps 1 . in step 408 , ps c is evaluated to test if it is a data separator character . in step 428 , ps c is evaluated to test if it is a phoneme level data separator character . in step 430 , ps c is evaluated to test if it is an opening time - slice delimiter . in step 432 , ps c is evaluated to test if it is the closing time - slice delimiter . if step 408 , step 428 , step 430 and step 432 all fail , then character ps c is appended to cb . in step 462 , if ps c is the final character of the phoneme stream ps n , the process is halted at step 466 . if ps c is not the final character ps n of the phoneme stream , at step 462 the current phoneme stream character ps c is set to the next character in the phoneme stream ps c + 1 at step 462 and the process resumes at step 408 . if ps c is equal to the data separator character at step 408 , at step 410 , st is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if st is cleared , st is set to the numerical value of the content of cb in step 412 . if st is not cleared , at step 414 et is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if et is cleared , et is set to the numerical value of the content of cb in step 416 . if et is not cleared , at step 418 , ph is inspected to determine if it is cleared . similarly , if psc is equal to phoneme level data separator , at step 428 , at step 418 , ph is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if ph is cleared , ph is set to the value of the content of cb in step 420 . if ph is not cleared , at step 422 , pb is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if pb is cleared , pb is set to the numerical value of the content of cb in step 424 . if pb is not cleared , at step 426 ci is set to the numerical value of the content of cb . in step 434 , the sub - process process search paths is called at step 502 in fig5 . if ps c is the closing time - slice delimiter at step 430 , at step 440 st and et are cleared . as seen in box 608 of fig6 wp and pp are composed of a one - dimensional array of n tsrchpath sp 1 - n . in step 442 , the current tsrchpath sp c is set to the first tsrchpath in wp sp 1 . in step 444 , it is determined if the current tsrchpath sp c is before the last tsrchpath in wp sp n . step 446 inspects if the member of the structure tsrchpath mlastpromote lp c , as seen in box 606 of fig6 of the current tsrchpath sp c has a different value than is . if lp c is different than is the current tsrchpath sp c is removed from wp . in step 450 , the current tsrchpath sp c is set to the following tsrchpath sp c + 1 . in step 452 , pp is copied into wp . in step 545 , pp is cleared . in step 456 , tsc is set to is . in step 458 , is is increased by one . in step 436 , ph , pb , and ci are cleared . if ps c is not equal to data separator at step 408 , phoneme level data separator at step 428 , the opening time - slice delimiter at step 430 nor the closing time - slice delimiter at step 432 , ps c is appended to cb at step 458 . in step 438 , cb is cleared . in step 462 , if ps c is not ps n , the ps c is advanced to the next character in the phoneme stream ps c + 1 at step 464 . the phoneme stream analysis process is then repeated from step 408 until ps c is equal to ps n , at which point the phoneme stream analysis process ends at step 466 with wl that contains the one dimensional array of treco structures tr 1 - n of treco , as seen in box 602 of fig6 corresponding to the probable words that were recognized from the phoneme stream ps 1 - n . [ 0113 ] fig5 depicts a flow scheme for a phoneme stream analysis sub - process named process search paths in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the process search paths sub - process is part of the phoneme stream analysis process explained in fig4 and is invoked from step 434 in fig4 . the process search paths sub - process modifies working paths , promoted paths , words list and bridge list provided phoneme , start time , end time , probability , cluster index , index in stream and dictionary . the main goal of the process search paths sub - process is to populate words list with all possible treco that can be detected from all combinations of phonemes in the phoneme stream — passed one phoneme at a time — until all phonemes in the phoneme stream are processed . the process search paths sub - process is called for each phoneme in a time - slice and that phoneme is appended to mphonemestream of all existing search paths , and only search paths where mphonemestream result in a partial or complete pronunciation in the dictionary are copied in promoted paths pp . in box 502 , a process search paths sub - process is called from step 434 in fig4 . each tsrchpath structure in wp and pp contains a partially formed valid pronunciation in mphonemestream . by partially formed valid pronunciation , it is meant that mphonemestream in each tsrchpath contains the beginning of pronunciation related to a word in the dictionary ind , but do not hold yet the full pronunciation required in order to add a word in wl . the fact that tsrchpath structures reside in wp instead of pp means that they are part of the working set used in order to extract the ones that can be promoted — in which case the tsrchpath in wp that can be promoted is duplicated in pp . the tsrchpath structures in pp are the ones that were promoted for the current time - slice is . once a phoneme stream time - slice , delimited by the closing time - slice delimiter in the phoneme stream , has been completely analyzed for all possible phonemes , all tsrchpath from pp are copied to wp ( as seen in step 452 of fig4 ), and the promoted paths of the current time - slice becomes the working paths of the following time - slice . in step 504 , the current tsrchpath sp c is set to the first tsrchpath sp 1 in wp . in step 506 , mcluster value in sp c is inspected to determine if it is the same value as ci . if the values are not the same in step 506 , step 514 determines if sp c is prior to sp n in wp . if sp c is prior to sp n in step 514 , step 516 sets sp c to the next tsrchpath sp c + 1 . if mcluster in sp c is the same value as ci in step 506 , step 508 sets start position stp to mposition in sp c and the dictionary forward sub - process at step 814 of fig8 is called in step 510 . following completion of the dictionary forward sub - process , new position np is inspected to determine if it is cleared in step 510 . if np was clear at step 510 , step 512 inspects wp to determine if there is any tsrchpath after the current tsrchpath . if there is any tsrchpath after the current tsrchpath , step 514 makes the following tsrchpath from the current tsrchpath the current tsrchpath . step 512 is re - invoked until sp c is sp n in wp . if np was not cleared at step 510 , step 516 defines a path to promote ptp tsrchpath variable and sets it to a new cleared tsrchpath . in step 518 , the content of sp c is duplicated into ptp . step 520 appends ph to mphonemestream in ptp . in step 522 , mtotime in ptp is set to et . step 524 increments the value of mscore in ptp by pb . in step 526 , mposition in ptp is set to np returned by the call of the sub - process dictionary forward in step 510 . step 530 calls the sub - process promote path at step 622 of fig6 . step 512 is then reprocessed until sp c is sp n in wp . once step 512 determines that sp c is sp n in wp , step 532 sets stp to mtopnode in ind and the dictionary forward sub - process at step 814 of fig8 is called in step 534 . in step 536 , np set from the sub - process invoked at step 532 is inspected to determine if it is clear . if np is clear at step 536 , step 572 resumes the process following step 434 in fig4 . if np is not clear , a new defined logical variable check bridging cb is set to false at step 538 . in step 540 , ptp is set to a new cleared tsrchpath . step 542 sets mstartstream in ptp to is . in step 544 , mphonemestream in ptp is cleared . in step 546 , ph is appended at the end of mphonemestream in ptp . step 548 sets mposition in ptp to np set by the dictionary forward sub - process in step 534 . step 550 sets mfromtime in ptp to st . in step 552 , mtotime in ptp is set to et . step 554 sets mcluster in ptp to ci . in step 556 , mscore in ptp is set to pb . step 558 calls the sub - process promote path at step 622 in fig6 . in step 560 , the value of check bridging cb is inspected . if cb is false , it is set to true at step 562 . step 564 inspects the two - dimensional array of logical bl at the entry that corresponds to the phoneme index in stream at is and the phoneme value ph . if that value is false , there is no bridging for that case and the process resumes following step 434 in fig4 . if the value at step 564 is true , then there is a bridging case to cover in the sub - process . in step 566 , ptp is set to a new cleared tsrchpath structure . in step 568 , mphonemestream in ptp is set to the character ‘+’. step 570 sets mstartstream in ptp to is incremented by one . the sub - process then goes on and reprocesses steps 546 to 560 as it did earlier . step 560 will then confirm that cb is true and the process will resume following step 434 in fig4 . [ 0125 ] fig6 depicts structure definitions as well as a flow scheme for two sub - processes used in the phoneme stream analysis process explained in fig4 in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the sub - process get stream length is used in order to determine how many phonemes were used in the provided phoneme stream stream sm . this is useful since a phoneme stream may have been the result of a bridging , and a single phoneme may be shared between two different recognized words in the words list . the get stream length sub - process returns a number value in stream length sl that represents how many phonemes were used in the given phoneme stream sm . the promote path sub - process is used in order to populate words list with all treco obtained from the search paths . while doing so , it uses bridge list in order to keep track of all phonemes and their positions which could affect the bridging of words . in box 602 , a predetermined and programmed into the system treco structure is defined as a mspelling value as a string that holds the spelling of the word , a mstream value that contains the phoneme stream uttered to produce the word as a string , a mcdscript value as a one dimensional array of string that holds predicate builder scripts later required for conceptual analysis , a mcluster value as a number that holds the cluster index that recognized the word , a mstartstream value as a number that holds the phoneme index where the word was started to be spoken in the utterance , a mendstream value as a number that holds the phoneme index where the word was done being spoken in the utterance , a mpartofspeech value as a number holds the number value of the part of speech associated with the treco , a mscore value as a number holds the calculated score for the recognized word , a mfromtime value as a number holds the starting time of the spoken word in the utterance , a mtotime value as a number holds the ending time of the spoken word in the utterance , a mrecotype value as a trecotp having two possible values ( word_entry or syntax_entry ), the one - dimensional treco array mchildren holds the references to all children of the current treco structure , and the ttransient structure mtransient which is explained in fig2 . in box 604 , a trecolst structure is defined . a trecolst is composed of a mwordslist value as a one - dimensional array of treco that contains all candidate words built from every possible permutation of phonemes from the phoneme stream related to the utterance . in box 606 , a tsrchpath structure is defined . a tsrchpath is composed of a mphonemestream value as a string which contains the phoneme stream successfully processed , a mcluster value as a number that holds the cluster index used to build the search path , a mscore value as a number that accumulates the score for each recognized phoneme in the search path , a mstartstream value as a number that holds the phoneme index where the search path has began within the utterance , a mfromtime value as number that holds the starting time within the spoken utterance , a mtotime value as number that holds the ending time within the spoken utterance , a mposition value as a tnodepos , as described in box 810 of fig8 that holds the current position within the dictionary , and a mlastpromote as a number that holds the phoneme index related to the last promotion of the path . in box 608 , a tpaths structure is defined . a tpaths is composed of a mcollection value as a one - dimensional array of tsrchpath . in box 610 , a tbridge structure is defined . a tbridge structure is composed of a mbridged value as a two dimensional array of logical values . one dimension corresponds to the phoneme indexes in the utterance . the second dimension of the array corresponds to each probable spoken phoneme . this structure is used in order to hold the ending phoneme flag for each possible ending phoneme index . if the word ‘ to ’ ( pronunciation ‘ tu ’) was spoken from phoneme index 5 , the entry tbridge [ 6 ][( number )‘ u ’] would be set to true identifying that a word ended at phoneme 6 ( 5 + 1 ) with the phoneme ‘ u ’ was recognized . in box 612 , a get stream length sub - process is called from step 636 or step 656 in fig6 or step 1170 in fig1 . the get stream length sub - process associates a stream length to a stream while taking into account the fact that pronunciation is built through bridging . as an example “ that text too ”, the treco holding “ text ” will have the associated pronunciation “+ text ” since the ‘ t ’ phoneme was bridged with the final ‘ t ’ of “ that ”. in which case , get stream length sub - process will have returned 3 . step 614 sets sl to the length of sm by determining how many characters are used in the phoneme stream sm . in step 616 , the first character of sm is inspected to determine if it is a ‘+’ character . if the first character of sm is a ‘+’ character , sl is subtracted 2 at step 618 . the get stream length sub - process resumes following step 636 or step 656 of fig6 or step 1170 of fig1 , depending on which step called the sub - process , at step 620 . in box 622 , the promote path sub - process is called from step 530 or step 558 of fig5 . in step 624 , mposition in ptp is inspected to identify if it represents a terminated tnode . to be terminated means to have some mdata content associated with the mnode of mposition . if it is not terminated , the sub - process appends ptp to the end of pp at step 678 and then resumes following step 530 or step 558 , depending on which step called the sub - process , of fig5 at step 680 . if mposition in ptp is terminated , the content of mdata from mnode of mposition in ptp is copied to a new variable data dt as tdata at step 626 . a tdata structure , as described in box 804 of fig8 holds n tword tw 1 - n . in step 628 , the first tword tw 1 in dt is set as the current tword tw c . in step 630 the variable stream sm is set to mphonemestream in ptp and calls the sub - process named get stream length at step 612 of fig6 in step 632 . the get stream length sub - process at step 612 of fig6 sets the variable sl as a number with the result . in step 634 , the bl entry associated with the phoneme index mstartstream in ptp plus sl and the value of the last phoneme in mphonemestream in ptp is set to true . that results in identifying in bl that a word was recognized with the specified ending phoneme at a given phoneme index within the utterance . a tword structure may be associated with multiple parts of speech through the mpartofspeech logical array . this association is done when a dictionary ind is loaded into the system prior to the beginning of the process . the association of a spelling with pronunciation and parts of speech is predetermined and static through the use of the invention . in step 636 , the first mpartofspeech in tw c entry in the array that is set to true is determined to be the current part of speech pos c . in step 638 , the sub - process determines if there is a pos c . if there is no pos c , meaning that all parts of speech were processed , the process moves at step 640 . the sub - process then repeats step 642 until tw c reached tw n . in step 640 , the sub - process determines if tw c is tw n . step 642 sets tw c to tw c + 1 if required . if there is a pos c to process at step 638 , then a new treco structure is created and put in the variable recoed rc at step 644 . in step 646 , mspelling in rc is set to mspelling in twc . in step 648 , mstream in rc is set to mphonemestream in ptp . in step 650 , mstartstream in rc is set to mstartstream in ptp . in step 652 , mcluster in rc is set to mcluster in ptp . step 654 sets sm to mphonemestream in ptp . in step 656 , the sub - process get stream length at step 612 of fig6 is called . the sub - process get stream length at step 612 of fig6 sets the variable sl as a number on output . in step 658 , mendstream in rc is set to mstartstream in rc plus sl . in step 660 , mscore in rc is set to mscore in ptp divided by sl . in step 662 , all mcdscript related to current part of speech from twc are copied to mcdscript array in rc . auto - script predicate builder scripts associated with the current part of speech , as explained in fig1 , would also get copied to an element of mcdscript array in rc . in step 664 , mfromtime in rc is set to mfromtime in ptp . in step 666 , mtotime in rc is set to mtotime in ptp . in step 668 , mrecotype in rc is set to word_entry . in step 670 , mextra in recoed is set to the mextra element , if any , corresponding to pos c in tw c . in step 672 , mlastpromote in ptp is set to index in stream is . in step 674 , the flatten scripts sub - process at step 702 in fig7 is called . in step 676 , the next part of speech that is set to true pos c + 1 following the current part of speech pos c is set to become the current part of speech pos c . step 638 is then re - invoked until all parts of speech in tw c are processed . the process returns to step 530 or step 558 of fig5 depending on which step called the sub - process . [ 0136 ] fig7 depicts a flow scheme for the flatten scripts sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . every treco structure may be associated with multiple predicate builder scripts through the one - dimensional array of string mcdscript . this is not practical for the algorithm associated with the conceptual analysis process since it would mean applying the algorithm on multiple possible permutations for each treco structure , consequently complicating logics significantly . instead of doing so , any treco structure containing multiple string in its mcdscript is duplicated as many times as it has strings , and is associated only one string in mcdscript . that will mean that a treco structure only has a single string in mcdscript instead of a complete one - dimensional array of string . consequently , there shall be no need for permutations of predicate builder scripts stored in mcdscript in the conceptual analysis process later described . in step 702 , the flatten scripts sub - process is called from step 674 in fig6 . step 704 inspects mcdscript in rc to determine if there is more than one string contained in it . step 706 sets the current script s c to the last string in mcdscript of rc . step 708 creates a new treco variable recoed copy rcp . step 710 copies the content of rc in rcp . step 712 removes all strings contained in mcdscript from rcp . step 714 adds sc to mcdscript in rcp . step 716 removes s c from mcdscript in rc . step 718 adds the treco structure rcp to wl . if step 704 determines that there is not more than 1 mcdscript string contained in it , step 720 inspects mcdscript to determine if the is exactly 1 string in it . if yes , in step 722 , rc is added to wl . if no , the sub - process proceeds to step 724 . step 724 resumes the process following step 674 in fig6 . [ 0139 ] fig8 depicts a flow scheme for a dictionary forward sub - process as well as structure definitions related to the dictionary in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the dictionary forward sub - process is an algorithm to perform an index search provided the phoneme stream primary index and resulting with a tnodepos structure which identifies the position within a node in the index tree . the primary index is defined as the unique entrant required in the organized elements in memory or stored memory , called the dictionary , in order to retrieve data associated with it . for this invention , the primary index are phonemes that comprise the phoneme stream that is a pronunciation for a given word . the invention often refers to a unique dictionary ind that stores all words w 1 - n and corresponding pronunciations psi 1 - n which may be recognized from speech . in order to extract a word w i from the dictionary , a phoneme stream corresponding to the pronunciation of that word psi i is required . each word w i comprises at least one pronunciation psi i , which itself comprises n phonemes ph 1 - n . in order to find the node where a word w i resides , the dictionary forward sub - process needs to be invoked for each phoneme ph i that comprises the phoneme stream psi i while setting start position stp as the result of the previous invocation of the dictionary forward sub - process , i . e . the result for the previous phoneme ph i − 1 , or a cleared stp for the first invocation of a new tsrchpath . ind also stores other related data for each word w i and pronunciation psi i , as seen in box 802 , 804 and 806 , such as , for example , parts of speech pos i , 1 − n associated with a word w i , and all predicate builder scripts cd i , 1 − n associated with a word w i and part of speech pos i , j . the preferred method for extracting data related to a given pronunciation psi i of a word w i in the dictionary ind is described in fig8 but , the indexing method may be one of many known today to those skilled in the art . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the indexing method used may also include sequential searching , searching an ordered table , binary tree searching , balanced tree searching , multi - way tree searching , digital searching , hashing table searching or any other adequate indexing and data retrieval process now known or later developed by those skilled in the art . in box 802 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tword structure is defined as a string mspelling containing the spelling of the word w i , a one dimension array of logical values mpartofspeech , a two - dimensional array of string mcdscript , and a one - dimensional array of string mextra . mextra is synchronized with the mpartofspeech array . mextra is generally empty , but will contain extra information for targeted parts of speech . as an example , the word with the spelling “ one ” will contain the extra data “ 1 ” associated with the part of speech cardinal_number to identify the numerical equivalence . the invention requires the definition of parts of speech to perform . parts of speech pos are syntactic related nature of words that are used in the invention . each part of speech is associated a unique and constant value . predefined parts of speech and their respective values for the english implementation of the invention can be designated as follow : unknown = 0 , noun = 1 , plural = 2 , proper_noun = 3 , noun_phrase = 4 , verb_usu_participle = 5 , verb_transitive = 6 , verb_intransitive = 7 , verb = 8 , adjective = 9 , adverb = 10 , conjunction = 11 , preposition = 12 , interjection = 13 , pronoun = 14 , wh_pronoun = 15 , definite_article = 16 , indefinite_article = 17 , ordinal_number = 18 , cardinal_number = 19 , date = 20 , time = 21 , quantifer = 22 , adjectuve_phrase = 23 , preposition_phrase = 24 , verb_phrase = 25 , wh_np = 26 , aux = 27 , gerundive_verb = 28 , gerundive_phrase = 29 , rel_clause = 30 and sentence = 31 . the invention also allows for dynamic definition of new parts of speech . through transform scripts , as explained in fig1 and 16 , and shown in fig9 a new part of speech can be included in any transform script . as shown in fig9 d , new parts of speech like airline , flight , flights , gate or city are defined by introducing them in any relevant transform script line after the affectation identifier (‘-& gt ;’). each logical value within mpartofspeech array identifies if any given word w i is associated a specific part of speech pos i corresponding to the value at the index ( true = associated , false = not associated ) of the numerical value of pos i . for the word ‘ james ’, mpartofspeech [ 3 ] is true ( identifying that word is associated the pos proper_noun ) and every other entry would typically be false . in cd i , predicate builder scripts are stored for each associated part of speech pos i , j . cd i is a two - dimensional array since any given word may hold multiple predicate builder scripts for any associated part of speech pos i , j ( this relates to the reality that any given word may have multiple meanings ). for the tword w i holding the spelling ‘ james ’, mcdscript [ 3 ][ 1 ] will hold a predicate builder script that identifies a person named ‘ james ’ and every other entry of mcdscript would typically not hold any content . any given character can be associated a unique numerical value so that an ordered sequence of characters enables the system to compare characters on their numerical equivalence . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the ascii index value , unicode index related value , multi - byte number related value , or any other way of associating a numerical value to a character , well known to those skilled in the art , can be used to associate a predetermined unique numerical value to any character . in box 804 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tdata structure is defined as a one - dimensional array of tword structures mwords . each tdata structure is kept in a tnode nd i and is what holds the information of the dictionary ind associated with the node nd i when a dictionary forward sub - process potentially sets a non - cleared tnodepos in new position np . in box 806 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tnode structure is defined as a string mindexpart , a tnode mparentnode , mequalnode , msmallernode and mgreaternode and the tdata mdata . a cleared mdata , i . e . a mdata that does not contain any tword , identifies a non - terminated tnode . any tnode with a mdata that is not cleared , i . e . a mdata that contains at least one tword , identifies a terminated tnode . a terminated tnode nd i can also be linked to other terminated and / or non - terminated tnode nd j . as shown in box 812 , each tnode structure residing in memory or stored memory needs to be related to each other in such a way that the organized tnode tree , called the tindex , can be used to extract any w i provided a pronunciation psi i . in box 808 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tindex structure is defined as a tnode mtopnode and a number mnodecount to hold the total number of tnode in the given tindex . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , in the context of this invention only one tindex , called the dictionary ind , is required , although multiple tindex may be used so long as data related to any given word w i and its related pronunciation psi i can be extracted through an indexing system with multiple tindex or equivalent indexing method . in box 810 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tnodepos structure is defined as a tnode mnode and a number mindexinnode . the tnodepos structure is used in order to keep track of any position within the tindex tree structure . by keeping the tnode mnode and mindexinnode to refer to positions within the tnode nd i that may hold mindexpart that are more than a single character , as seen in box 812 , it becomes possible to refer to any position within the tindex tree structure without further requirement . in box 812 , a tindex tree structure example is shown with some content to help understanding . as primary index in box 812 some spellings are used instead of pronunciations ( spellings ‘ no ’, ‘ did ’, ‘ do ’, ‘ nest ’, ‘ nesting ’, ‘ to ’, ‘ node ’, ‘ null ’ and ‘ void ’). each terminated tnode corresponding to associated spelling contains the tdata d 0 . . . d 8 . the process to extract data from such tindex tree structure is explained in the dictionary forward sub - process , although in practice the primary index used in the invention are phoneme streams instead of spellings . it is the programming engineer &# 39 ; s responsibility to create such indexing structure as the one described in box 812 , or any other equivalent indexing structure , in order for the algorithm described in the dictionary forward sub - process to execute as described . population of such indexing structure , or equivalent structure , is a task that is common to those skilled in the art and does not require further explanation in this application . in box 814 , the dictionary forward sub - process is called from step 510 or step 534 in fig5 . in step 816 , stp is inspected to identify if it is cleared . if it is cleared , mnode of stp is set to mtopnode in ind and mindexinnode in stp is set to 0 at step 818 . in step 820 , the character pointed to by stp — character index mindexinnode of the string mindexpart of mnode in stp — is tested to determine if it is the same as ph . if ph is not the same as the character pointed to by stp at step 820 , mnode in stp is inspected at step 828 to determine if mindexinnode is equal to the last character index mindexpart of mnode in stp . if it is not the last character , np is cleared in step 832 and the dictionary forward sub - process resumes following step 510 or step 534 , depending on which step called the sub - process , of fig5 at step 844 . if mindexinnode in stp is the last character mindexpart of mnode in stp , the process invokes step 834 . in step 834 , the character pointed to by stp is inspected to identify if it is smaller than ph , i . e . if the ascii index value of the character pointed to by stp is smaller than the ascii index value of the character ph as an example . if it is smaller , the process invokes step 838 where msmallernode of mnode in stp is inspected to identify if it is cleared . msmallernode of mnode in stp is assumed to be cleared if it does not hold a tnode value . if it is cleared , np is cleared at step 832 and the process resumes following step 510 or step 534 , depending on which step called the sub - process , of fig5 at step 844 . if it is not cleared , that is , msmallernode of mnode in stp holds a tnode value , mnode of stp is set to msmallernode of mnode in stp and mindexinnode in stp is set to 0 . the dictionary forward sub - process then re - invokes step 820 . in step 834 , if the character pointed to by stp is not smaller than ph , step 838 is invoked . character comparison is performed the same way as in step 834 where a unique numerical value — the ascii index value as an example — associated with a given character is compared to the corresponding unique numerical value associated with the other character . in step 836 , it is assumed that the character pointed to by stp is greater than ph ( since the equal and smaller than tests both failed ). step 836 inspects mgreaternode of mnode in stp to identify if it is cleared . mgreaternode is assumed to be clear if it does not hold a tnode value . if it is cleared , np is cleared in step 832 and the process resumes following step 510 or step 534 , depending on which step called the sub - process , of fig5 at step 844 . if it is not cleared , that is , mgreaternode of mnode in stp holds a tnode value , mnode in stp is set to mgreaternode of mnode in stp and mindexinnode in stp is set to 0 . if , in step 820 , the character pointed to by stp is the same as ph , by comparing the ascii index values as an example , step 822 is invoked . in step 822 , stp is inspected to identify if it points to the last character of mindexpart from its mnode . if there are more characters after the character pointed to by stp , mindexinnode in stp is incremented by 1 at step 826 . if there are no more characters after the character pointed to by stp , mnode in stp is set to mequalnode of mnode in stp at step 824 . in either case , step 830 is invoked where np is set to stp and then the process resumes following step 510 or step 534 , depending on which step called the sub - process , of fig5 at step 844 . once a list of probable words has been determined from the phoneme stream analysis , syntactic rules , or transform scripts , are applied to form a list of syntactically correct sequences of words from those words . [ 0161 ] fig9 describes the content of transform scripts used in the preferred embodiment of the invention . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , fig9 a , 9b and 9 c describe some transform scripts that can handle the english language , and fig9 d describes a transform script that can be used in the english language in order to build an airline response system . the invention does not pretend to limit itself to the english language applied for airline response systems in any way even though this application documents a system that handles utterances for the english language mostly in the context of an airline response system . also , the syntax used in order to interpret transform scripts is only provided as an example , and there is no intention to limit the invention in any manner . a programming engineer is free to modify , produce or not use new or existing transform scripts based on the needs of his implementation . his decision should be driven by the requirements related to system &# 39 ; s implementation . transform scripts should be produced by programming engineers that are knowledgeable in the field of linguistics . the purpose of transform scripts is to describe the rules related to permutation analysis of streams so that sequences of streams — or treco , since in this application streams refer to treco structures — that respect such rules can be produced . phoneme stream analysis produced an array of treco in wl by permuting all recognized phonemes over a predefined threshold . each of the treco within wl has an associated mstartstream , which may or may not be different from other treco . transform scripts responsibilities are to produce sequences of streams that respect rules stated in it and also respect pronunciation boundaries — i . e . when did they start in the phoneme stream ( mstartstream ) and where did they end in the phoneme stream ( mendstream ). transform scripts typically reside on file on disk and are loaded in memory in such a way that transform script interpretation is optimized for speed . that means setting some structures in memory at load time so that all elements of information related to permutation analysis are already in place for swift processing at interpretation time . respecting pronunciation boundaries means that location of where the treco was recognized in the phoneme stream needs to be consistent between each treco in a sequence produced . as an example , for the transform script line [“ splitting ”] [“ it ”], which states that a treco with mspelling “ splitting ” followed by a treco with mspelling “ it ” would be a successful sequence . “ splitting ” also contains “ it ” (“ spl_it_ing ”). should no requirement for pronunciation boundaries have been made , the utterance “ splitting ” would then succeed since both spellings were in wl , “ splitting ” with a mstartstream of 1 and a mendstream 7 , and “ it ” with a mstartstream of 4 although only one word was uttered . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the following syntax of transform scripts was selected in the preferred embodiment of the system in order to extract from each line the required information : 1 . stream delimiters ( characters ‘[’ and ‘]’). to isolate multiple streams from one another and produce sequences of streams based on the transform script line , the stream delimiters are used . between the opening stream delimiter (‘[’) and the closing stream delimiter (‘]’) reside some criteria to match for a stream . by way of example , and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , possible criteria to match in provided transform scripts example are parts of speech and spellings . 2 . spelling identifier ( sequence of characters between two double quote characters ). to match on spelling for a stream , unrestricted spelling can be specified within spelling identifiers that also needs to be between the opening and closing stream delimiter characters . 3 . conditional sequence identifier ( opening and closing parenthesis characters ). to specify a conditional statement , a single stream or a sequence of streams including their corresponding stream delimiters may be enclosed within the opening conditional sequence identifier (‘(’ character ) and the closing conditional sequence identifier (‘)’ character ). by way of example , and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , selected syntax in the preferred embodiment of the invention uses a two - way decision syntax for conditional sequence identifiers . a modified syntax and according algorithm could as well implement a n - way decision syntax . 4 . partial spelling match identifier (‘ _ ’ character ). preceding or following a partial spelling within spelling identifier characters , the partial spelling match identifier would identify a ‘ start with ’ or ‘ ends with ’ spelling criteria requirement for the stream . 5 . tag identifier (‘& lt ;’ and ‘& gt ;’ characters ). within stream delimiters , tags may be associated with each stream in a sequence formed . the optional tag name needs to be provided between the opening tag identifier (‘& lt ;’ character ) and the closing tag identifier (‘& gt ;’ character ). 6 . tag delimiter (‘:’ character ). after a tag has been identified ( using the opening tag identifier , following by the tag name and then the closing tag identifier ), a tag delimiter is found on the transform script line . 7 . line name separator (‘:’ character ). after the optional line name in a transform script line , the line name separator is used to separate the line name from the permutation described in the transform script line . 8 . affectation identifier (‘-& gt ;’ characters ). automatic transforms ( transforms that do not require the approval of a call - back sub - process ) are specified on a transform script line by following the description of stream sequence criteria to match with an affectation identifier and a part of speech . 9 . criteria separators (‘& amp ;’ and ‘|’ characters ). between each part of speech and spelling specified between stream delimiters , criteria separators are used . either ‘& amp ;’ or ‘|’ can be used as a criteria separator with equivalent result . parts of speech and spellings criteria are delimited by criteria separators . between parts of speech and spellings , the ‘|’ criteria separator is typically used — stating that a stream needs to be a specified part of speech or spelling or another one . after all parts of speech specified and before the first spelling , the criteria separator ‘& amp ;’ is typically used — stating that not only parts of speech criteria needs to be respected , but also ( and ) spelling criteria . 10 . comment identifier (‘#’). anywhere in a transform script line , comments may be added if preceded by the comment identifier . syntax used in transform scripts , and provided as an example , is as follow : 1 . stream criteria to match needs to be between the opening and closing stream delimiters . parts of speech to match needs to be stated prior , if necessary , to spelling related matching . as an example , ‘[ verb & amp ; “ is ”]’ identifies any treco within wl that is a verb part of speech and that has a mspelling “ is ”. 2 . every optional stream criteria match needs to be stated between the opening and closing conditional sequence identifiers . as an example , ([ adverb ])[ adjective ] identifies a sequence of streams where an optional adverb part of speech in mpartofspeech of a treco in wl is followed by a mandatory adjective part of speech in mpartofspeech of a treco in wl while respecting pronunciations boundaries between the two treco structures . note that a stream sequence of a single treco with mpartofspeech adjective is also valid for ([ adverb ])[ adjective ] since the adverb part of speech is optional . 3 . spelling match that starts with the partial spelling match identifier identifies an ‘ ends with ’ spelling stream matching criteria . as an example , [ verb & amp ; “ ming ”] could match the verb mpartofspeech in a treco where the spelling is “ running ” since “ running ” ends with the characters “ ing ”. the invention may as well signal an end with spelling match with the same syntax . as an example , [ verb & amp ; “ run_ ”] could match the verb mpartofspeech in a treco where the spelling is “ running ” since “ running ” starts with the characters “ run ”. 4 . transform script lines that do not include the affectation identifier are to be processed by a call - back sub - process . call - backs are required for more complex transformation rules in some cases . as an example , the stream sequence ‘ fifty one ’ is allowed in order to build an ordinal_number that is 51 . that stream sequence is an ordinal_number that follows another ordinal_number . however , the stream sequence ‘ one fifty ’ is not a valid one in order to generate an ordinal_number , but it is also a stream sequence of an ordinal_number that follows another ordinal_number . consequently , for some transform scripts , when sequences are matched , instead of transforming automatically the sequence in a new part of speech , a call - back sub - process is called and it may or may not proceed with the transformation . 5 . tags are between the opening and closing tag identifiers . tags are specified in order to facilitate content extraction within transform script call - back sub - processes ( as can be seen in fig1 and 12 ). 6 . following the optional affectation identifier in transform scripts is a part of speech that a new treco structure enclosing all treco used to form it ( spelling that is cumulative of all treco used from the transform script ) with a mpartofspeech that corresponds to the part of speech after the affectation identifier . as an example , [ verb & amp ; “ ing ”]-& gt ; gerundive_verb would create a new treco structure in wl for all the verb parts of speech which spelling ends with “ ing ”— like “ running ”, “ falling ”, etc . note that the part of speech on the right of the affectation identifier does not need to be a pre - programmed part of speech . as an example , in fig9 d , [ noun & amp ; “ gate ”]([ noun & amp ; “ number ”])[& lt ; gate number & gt ;: cardinal_number | ordinal_number ]-& gt ; gate . the part of speech gate is not pre - programmed into the system , but is allowed in a transform script line , and will consequently be added to the list of possible parts of speech and be treated equally as the pre - programmed parts of speech . the spoken sequences “ gate number twenty two ”, “ gate fifty one ” or “ gate twenty third ” would then generate a new treco structure in wl that has a mpartofspeech gate . the programming engineer is free to modify , add or delete transform scripts at his convenience depending on the needs that are targeted to be covered . in this case , the gate part of speech was introduced for the purpose of a hypothetical flight response system and may well not be adequate for other needs , meaning that deletion of the transform script line would be relevant . [ 0182 ] fig9 a describes an example of transform script content used to perform syntactic transforms for the english language in the preferred embodiment of the invention . [ 0183 ] fig9 b describes an example of transform script content used to perform numeric transforms for the english language in the preferred embodiment of the invention . since there is no affectation identifier , a call - back sub - process needs to be specified for the transform script to be handled properly . the number producer permutation callback ( described in fig1 ) is used for that purpose . the transform script in fig9 b and the number producer permutation callback handle sequences like “ one hundred twenty five ”, “ two hundred twenty third ” or “ one million and one hundred forty eight thousand and three hundred fifty three ” and create a treco structure with the corresponding number associated to the sequenced stream . [ 0184 ] fig9 c describes an example of transform script content used to perform time transforms for the english language in the preferred embodiment of the invention . since there is no affectation identifier , a call - back sub - process needs to be specified for the transform script to be handled properly . the time producer permutation callback ( described in fig1 ) is used for that purpose . the transform script in fig9 c and the time producer permutation callback handle sequences like “ four thirty pm ”, “ fifteen to one am ” or “ eight o &# 39 ; clock ” and create a treco structure with the corresponding time associated to the sequenced stream . [ 0185 ] fig9 d describes an example of transform script content used to build a custom airline response system for the english language in the preferred embodiment of the invention . that transform script interpreted after the transform scripts in fig9 b and fig9 c but before the transform script in fig9 a ( as seen in the syntactic analysis process in fig1 ) generates , as one of many things , sentence parts of speech from utterances like “ when is flight one hundred and twenty two arriving ”, “ how late is flight one hundred twenty two ” or “ is american airline flight number six hundred arrived yet ”. [ 0186 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for the process script files sub - processes as well as the syntactic analysis process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the syntactic analysis process is a simple bottom - up parsing process , well known to those skilled in the art ( as first suggested by yngve in 1955 and perfected by aho and ullman in 1972 ), but could as well be implemented as a top - down , an early , a finite - state , a cyk parsing process , well known to those skilled in the art , or any other adequate parsing process now known or later developed which shall result in obtaining comparable outcome although performance may vary depending on the parsing method chosen . the purpose of the syntactic analysis process is to populate the trecolst words list wl variable with treco structures based on the rules stated in all transform scripts as shown in fig9 . the entrant to the syntactic analysis process is the trecolst variable wl built in the phoneme stream analysis process in fig4 and the output of the syntactic analysis process is also the transformed trecolst variable wl . the process script files sub - process at step 1002 in fig1 is used in the syntactic analysis process in order to process each loaded script file sequentially . in box 1002 , the process script files sub - process is called from step 1054 in fig1 . scripts list sl has n tscript s 1 - n . in step 1004 , the current tscript s c in sl is set to s 1 . step 1006 determines if s c is or is prior to s n . s c has n tscptline l 1 - n step 1008 sets the current tscptline l c to l 1 in s c . step 1010 sets index in stream is to the index of the first phoneme in the phoneme stream ps 1 . the phoneme stream ps is the output from the phoneme recognition process as seen in fig2 . in step 1012 , the logical variable reprocess rp is set to false . rp may be changed to true by any sub - process , in which case it would identify that the current line l c needs to be reprocessed . that relates to recursive transform script lines . that is , a transform script line may perform an automatic transform script transformation of a part of speech pos i into a part of speech pos i . should there be at least one transformation performed from such a transform script line , it is important to reprocess the transform script line since there is a new stream with the part of speech pos i that was not analyzed in the first pass ( the one that was actually created at the first pass ). such reprocessing is performed until no more streams are created from the interpretation of the transform script line . in step 1014 , is is inspected to determine if it is prior to the end of ps . ps contains 1 - n time - slices . is can &# 39 ; t exceed the nth time - slice in ps . in step 1016 , reprocess is inspected to determine if it is true . step 1018 verifies if l c is l n . step 1020 sets l c to l c + 1 . step 1022 sets s c to s c + 1 . in step 1024 , a new one - dimensional array of treco partial pt is cleared . step 1026 sets ln to l c and sets scr to s c . step 1028 calls the sub - process link sequences stream at step 1102 in fig1 . step 1030 increments is by one . step 1032 resumes the process following step 1054 in fig1 . in step 1034 , the syntactic analysis process is started with the entrant trecolst words list from the phoneme stream analysis process explained in fig4 . step 1036 clears a new one - dimensional array of tscript variable scripts list sl . in step 1038 , sf is set to the file variable number transform script from fig9 b , cb is set to step 1402 in fig1 . in step 1040 , the sub - process load script file is called . upon loading of the file , sl will have a new tscript element added to it containing the tscript related to the file as seen in step 1588 of fig1 . in step 1042 , sf is set to the file variable time transform script from fig9 c , cb is set to step 1302 in fig1 . in step 1044 , the sub - process load script file is called . upon loading of the file , sl will have a new tscript element added to it containing the tscript related to the file as seen in step 1588 of fig1 . in step 1046 , sf is set to the file variable custom transform script from fig9 d , cb is cleared . in step 1048 , the sub - process load script file is called . upon loading of the file , sl will have a new tscript element added to it containing the tscript related to the file as seen in step 1588 of fig1 . in step 1050 , sf is set to the file variable syntactic transform script from fig9 a , cb is cleared . in step 1052 , the sub - process load script file is called . upon loading of the file , sl will have a new tscript element added to it containing the tscript related to the file as seen in step 1588 of fig1 . in step 1054 , the sub - process process script files is called with the variables sl and wds . step 1056 terminates the syntactic analysis process . the result of the syntactic analysis process is to populate the list wl with treco structures that obey the rules in the transform scripts for conceptual analysis to process them . [ 0201 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a link sequences stream sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the link sequences stream sub - process is part of the syntactic analysis process and its function is to extract from the trecolst words passed to it , treco structures that can be linked to the previous treco structure in partial so that valid syntactic sequences of words are gradually built while respecting word pronunciations boundaries . in box 1102 , the link sequences stream sub - process is called from step 1028 in fig1 or step 1174 in fig1 . in step 1104 , pt is inspected to determine if there is at least one treco in it . if not , step 1106 clears the character variable bridge letter bl . if yes , step 1108 sets bl to the last phoneme of mstream of the last treco in pt . w l contains n treco w 1 - n . in step 1110 , the current treco w c is set to w 1 in w l . step 1112 determines if w c is or is before w n . in step 1114 , mstartstream in w c is inspected to determine if it is equal to is . step 1116 makes w c + 1 the current treco w c and the sub - process returns to step 1112 to determine if w c is or is before w n . if mstartstream in w c is equal to is in step 1114 , in step 1118 , mstream is inspected in w c to determine if it starts with the character ‘+’. if true , step 1120 verifies if the second character of mstream in w c — the character after ‘+’— is the same as bl . if true , in step 1122 , wrd is set to w c . if not true at step 1118 , the sub - process proceeds directly to step 1122 and wrd is set to w c . in step 1124 the sub - process test stream at step 1202 in fig1 is called . step 1126 verifies if ps or fs is true . the ps and fs logical values are set in test stream sub - process . ps with a value of true identifies that sm is valid ( respects the rules stated in li ) and that a partial sequence can be formed with sm . fs with a value of true identifies that sm is valid ( respects the rules stated in li ) and that a full sequence can be formed with sm . both ps and fs are independent of each other , meaning that detection of a partial sequence is not related to the detection of a full sequence and the other way around . if both ps and fs are false , sm can &# 39 ; t be used while respecting the rules stated in li . in step 1128 , a new one - dimensional array of treco variable keep partial kpt is set to pt . step 1130 sets a new one - dimensional array of string variable keep work perm kwp to mworkperm of mpermutationlst in li . step 1132 appends w c to pt as a new element in the one - dimensional array . in step 1134 , fs is inspected to determine if it is true . step 1136 inspects mcallback in spt to determine if it is clear . if mcallback in spt is not clear at step 1136 , then the sub - process proceeds to step 1166 . if mcallback in spt is clear at step 1136 , then in step 1138 a new treco variable reco rc is defined . step 1140 sets mchildren in rc to partial . step 42 sets mspelling in rc to the string that is formed by concatenating all mspelling in all treco of pt from the first to the last one and putting a space character between each of them . step 1144 sets mstream of rc to the string that is formed by concatenating all mstream in all treco of pt from the first to the last one . step 1146 sets mstartstream of rc to mstartstream of the first treco in pt . step 1148 sets mendstream of rc to mendstream of last treco in pt . step 1150 sets mpartofspeech of rc to mpostransform in li . step 1152 sets mfromtime in rc to mfromtime of first treco in pt . step 1154 sets mtotime in rc to mtotime of last treco in pt . step 1156 sets mrecotp in rc to syntax_entry . in step 1158 , wl is inspected to determine if rc is already in the one - dimensional array of treco . step 1160 adds rc to wl as a new element in the array . step 1162 inspects mrecursive in li to determine if it is true . step 1164 sets the logical variable reprocess to true . the variable reprocess is inspected in fig1 , and as true value states that the tscptline needs to be re - evaluated . if rc is already in the one - dimensional array of treco at step 1158 , the sub - process proceeds to step 1166 . in step 1166 , ps is inspected to determine if it is true . if yes , step 1168 sets sm to mstream in wc . step 1170 calls the sub - process get stream length at step 612 of fig6 . step 1172 adds the value returned from the sub - process get stream length at step 1202 in fig1 sl to is . in step 1174 , the link sequences stream sub - process at step 1102 in fig1 is called , and the partial sequence is processed in the link sequences stream sub - process to determine if other permutations may be detected starting with the partial sequence . step 1176 sets pt to kpt . if ps is not true at step 1166 , the sub - process proceeds directly from step 1166 to step 1176 . step 1178 sets mworkperm of mpermutationlst in li to kwp . as step 1116 forwards the current treco in wl , it shall process all treco structures in wl , at which point step 1180 resumes the process following step 1028 in fig1 or step 1174 in fig1 depending on which step called the link sequences stream sub - process . [ 0213 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a test stream sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the test stream sub - process is invoked in order to test a single treco word to identify if it respects at least one remaining condition in the tscptline line so that a partial sequence and / or a full sequence could be completed , as returned from the sub - process in the logical partial sequence and full sequence . in box 1202 , the test stream sub - process is called from step 1124 in fig1 . it requires the treco word wrd to have been set by the caller , as well as tscptline line li , tscript script spt , the one - dimensional array of treco partial pt and the trecolst words list wl . upon termination , the test stream sub - process sets two logical values : partial sequence ps and full sequence fs . ps signals that sm respected the rules stated in li and that a partial sequence can consequently be formed with it . fs signals that sm respected the rules stated in li and that a full sequence can consequently be formed with it . in step 1204 , pt is inspected to determine if it is empty — i . e . if it contains a total of zero treco . in step 1206 , mpermutation is copied to mworkperm of mpermutationlst in li . all values in mcondres and mcondbool in mpermutationlst in li are also cleared at step 1208 . as seen in box 1604 of fig1 , a tpermute has n tcondition cd 1 - n . in step 1208 , the current tcondition cd i is set to cd 1 of mpermutationlst in li . step 1210 verifies that there is a cd i . in step 1212 , result rs is set to false . step 1214 inspects mpostest in cd i to determine if there is at least one value in the logical one - dimensional array set to true . in step 1216 , the mpostest entry index corresponding to the value associated with the part of speech mpartofspeech in wrd is inspected to determine if it is true . should the mpartofspeech in wrd be verb , as explained in fig4 the value mpostest [ 8 ] would be inspected since the numerical value associated with verb part of speech is 8 . in step 1218 , rs is set to true . in step 1220 , mspelltest in cd i is inspected to determine if at least one entry in the one - dimensional array is not cleared . that is , mspelltest is indirectly populated by a transform script line that may or may not have stated some spelling criteria for the stream . a clear mspelltest would be one that resulted from a transform script line where no spelling criteria would have been specified for the stream . step 1222 sets rs to false . step 1224 verifies if mspelling in wrd is allowed provided all mspelltest in cd i . an entry in mspelltest in cd i may start or end with the partial spelling match identifier . should that be the case , mspelling in wrd is only required to have a partial match with the mspelltest spelling in cd i ( as an example , a mspelling in wrd like “ running ” would match a mspelltest in cd i which contains “ _ing ”). step 1226 sets rs to true . in step 1228 , the mcondbool cb i entry of mpermutationlst in li corresponding to the same index as cd i is set to rs . step 1230 changes cd i to be cd i + 1 . step 1210 is re - invoked which inspects cd i until it escapes the loop when cd i is cd n at step 1228 . once cd 1 - n were processed from step 1208 through step 1230 , step 1210 detects that there are no current cd i — since cd i is cd n + 1 — and step 1232 is invoked . in step 1232 , the one - dimensional array of string mworkperm of mpermutationlst in li is copied to a new one - dimensional array of string variable named work item wi . strings of the format ‘ cx . cy . cz ’ are contained in mworkperm where x , y and z are numbers corresponding to the index in mcondition to be respected in order to form a full sequence . step 1234 sets the first tcondition mcondition cd 1 of mpermutationlst in li to be the current tcondition cd i . step 1236 sets ps and fs to false . step 1238 verifies if cd i is before cd n + 1 . step 1240 inspects the element cb i — at the same index as the current tcondition cd i — of mpermutationslst in li to determine if it is set to true . if true , step 1242 replaces all strings in wi that starts with ‘ ci . . . ’ with ‘ pi . . . ’ ( as an example , the string ‘ c1 . c3 . c4 ’ would be changed to ‘ p1 . c3 . c4 ’ if i was one ). step 1244 sets mcondres entry index i cr i of mpermutationlst in li to wrd . if cb i is not set to true at step 1240 , at step 1246 , all strings in wi that starts with ‘ ci . . . ’ are replaced with ‘ fi . . . ’ ( as an example , the string ‘ c1 . c3 . c4 ’ would be changed to ‘ f1 . c3 . c4 ’ if i was one ). in step 1248 , cd i in mpermutationlst in li is changed to become cd i + 1 in mpermutationlst in li . step 1238 is then re - invoked until cd i is cd n + 1 . in step 1250 , all strings in wi that starts with ‘ fi ’ are removed from the one - dimensional array of string . step 1252 inspects each element of wi to determine if at least one of them is ‘ pi ’. step 1254 sets fs to true . step 1456 inspects if mcallback in spt is clear — i . e . is there a call - back associated with the script . step 1258 calls the sub - process permutation callback with the variables li , mcallback in spt , pt and wl . step 1260 calls the permutation callback sub - process at step 1370 in fig1 . step 1262 sets fs to cbr set by the permutation callback sub - process . in step 1264 , all strings in wi are inspected to determine if at least one of them starts with ‘ pi ’ without being ‘ pi ’— i . e . one of them needs to start with ‘ pi ’ ( like ‘ p2 . p3 ’ for i that is 2 ) but is not limited to ‘ pi ’ ( like ‘ p2 ’ for i that is 2 ). step 1266 sets ps to true . step 1268 copies wi to mworkperm of mpermutationlst in li . step 1270 resumes the process following step 1124 in fig1 . [ 0227 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a time producer permutation callback sub - process as well as a permutation call - back sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the time producer permutation callback sub - process is invoked as a result of a successful identification of sequences of treco from the script in fig9 c . the programming engineer can utilize any routine now known or later developed to validate stream sequences which describe a time that may have been uttered . fig1 describes the preferred method related to time sequence validation . the time producer permutation callback sets new stream ns to a stream that contains the time , or clears ns if no time may be constructed from the sequence . the permutation callback sub - process is responsible for adding ns to wl if ns is not cleared . in box 1302 , the time producer permutation callback sub - process is called from step 1372 in fig1 . in step 1304 , ns is set to a new treco . in step 1306 , hour hr , minute mn and second sc number variables are all set to zero . in step 1308 , mlinename in li is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ transformation ”. if yes , step 1310 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; word & gt ;”. in order to detect a tag in a tscptline , the mcondition array in mpermutationlst is inspected one element at a time until a tcondition is detected where mtagname corresponds to the tag that is being looked for . when that tag is successfully detected , the corresponding entry in mcondres to the entry in mcondition in mpermutationlst is identified as the treco corresponding to the tag . a clear sm identifies that the tag was not detected in ln . in step 1312 , mspelling of sm is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ noon ”. step 1314 sets hr to 12 . if mspelling in sm is not equal to “ noon ”, in step 1316 , mspelling of sm is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ midnight ”. step 1318 sets hr to 0 . the sub - process proceeds to step 1364 . if mlinename in ln in step 1308 is not equal to “ transformation ”, in step 1320 , mlinename in li is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ time from ampm ”. if yes , step 1322 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; hour & gt ;”. step 1324 sets hr to the numerical value of mspelling of sm . step 1326 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; minutes & gt ;”. in step 1328 , sm is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if sm is not cleared , step 1330 sets mn to the numerical value of mspelling in sm . step 1332 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; ampm & gt ;”. if sm is cleared at step 1328 , the sub - process proceeds to step 1332 . in step 1334 , sm is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if sm is not cleared , in step 1336 , mspelling of sm is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ pm ”. step 1338 adds 12 to hr and the sub - process proceeds to step 1364 . if sm is cleared at step 1334 , the sub - process proceeds to step 1364 . if mlinename is not equal to “ time from am / pm ” in step 1320 , in step 1340 , mlinename in li is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ time from oclock ”. if yes , step 1342 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; hour & gt ;”. step 1344 sets hr to the numerical value of mspelling of sm . the sub - process then proceeds to step 1364 . if at step 1340 the mlinename is not equal to “ time from oclock ”, in step 1346 , mlinename in li is inspected to determine if it is equal to “ time from diff ”. if yes , step 1348 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; time & gt ;”. step 1350 extracts hr , mn and sc from mspelling of sm . since the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; time & gt ;” is a time part of speech , the spelling is always hr : mn : sc as built from step 1364 . it is then possible to predictably extract hr , mn and sc from mspelling . step 1352 sets the variable stream sm to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; minutes & gt ;”. in step 1354 , sm is inspected to determine if it is cleared . if no , step 1356 sets mn to 60 minus the numerical value of mspelling in sm . step 1358 decreases hr by one . step 1360 inspects hr to determine if it is smaller than 0 . in step 1362 , hr is added 24 . the sub - process proceeds to step 1364 . if at step 1354 sm is cleared , the sub - process proceeds to step 1364 . if mlinename in ln is not equal to “ time from diff ” in step 1346 , the sub - process resumes following step 1372 in fig1 at step 1368 . in step 1364 , mspelling of ns is set to “ hr : mn : sc ”. step 1366 sets mpartofspeech of ns to time . step 1368 resumes the process following step 1372 in fig1 . in step 1370 , the permutation callback sub - process is called from step 1260 in fig1 . the permutation callback sub - process calls cb and adds ns to wl only if cb did set a value to cb ( cb is not clear ). the permutation callback sub - process will set cbr to true if a stream was added to wl , false otherwise . the tproc cb variable is a sub - process reference . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , there are two possible values for it : time producer permutation callback at step 1302 in fig1 or number producer permutation callback at step 1402 in fig1 . the programming engineer is free to use any other sub - process reference or not use the ones from the preferred embodiment of the invention . in step 1372 , cb is called . cb is required to set or clear the treco structure new stream ns . step 1374 sets cbr to false . step 1376 inspects ns to determine if it is cleared . should ns be cleared at step 1376 , step 1378 resumes the process following step 1260 in fig1 . if ns is not cleared at step 1376 , in step 1380 , mfromtime in ns is set to mfromtime in the first treco of pt . step 1382 sets mtotime in ns to mtotime in the last treco of pt . step 1384 sets mchildren in ns to pt . step 1386 sets mstream in ns to concatenated mstream of all treco in pt from the first treco to the last one . step 1388 adds ns to wl . step 1390 sets cbr to true . step 1392 resumes the process following step 1260 in fig1 . [ 0241 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a number producer permutation callback sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the sub - process is invoked as a result of a successful identification of sequences of treco from the script in fig9 b . the programming engineer can utilize any routine now known or later developed to validate stream sequences which describe a number that may have been uttered . fig1 describes the preferred method related to number sequence validation . the number producer permutation callback sets new stream ns to a stream that contains the number , or clears ns if no number may be constructed from the sequence . the permutation callback sub - process is responsible for adding ns to wl if ns is not cleared . in box 1402 , the sub - process number producer permutation callback is called from step 1372 in fig1 . in step 1404 , ns is set to a new treco . step 1406 determines if mlinename in ln is “ number transform ”. if yes , step 1408 , sets a stream sm to the treco that holds the tag “& lt ; number & gt ;” in ln . in step 1410 , sm is inspected to determine if it is clear . a clear sm identifies that the tag was not detected in ln . step 1412 sets mspelling of ns to the mextra content corresponding to the part of speech cardinal_number . for the spelled word “ twelve ”, the mextra element corresponding to cardinal_number is expected to be “ 12 ”. the sub - process proceeds to step 1414 . if at step 1410 sm is cleared , the sub - process proceeds directly to step 1414 . in step 1414 , mlinename in ln is inspected to determine if it is “ number construction ”. if step 1414 fails to identify mlinename in ln as “ number construction ”, step 1422 resumes the process at step 1372 in fig1 . if mlinename in ln is equal to “ number construction ” at step 1414 , in step 1416 , left stream ls is set to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; left & gt ;”. in step 1418 , right stream rs is set to the treco in ln that holds the tag “& lt ; right & gt ;”. in step 1420 , ls and rs are inspected to determine if they are both not clear values . if either of ls or rs at step 1420 is clear , step 1422 resumes the process following step 1372 in fig1 . in step 1424 , right number rn is set to the numerical value of mspelling in rs . note that if rn is zero at step 1424 , rn is set to the numerical value of mextra in rs . in step 1426 , left number ln is set to the numerical value of mspelling in ls . note that if ln is zero at step 1426 , ln is set to the numerical value of inextra in ls . if either of ls and rs are clear at step 1420 , in step 1428 , the sub - process determines if ln is a greater number than rn . this would identify sequences of the additive type . for example , step 1428 succeeds for sequences of the type “ twenty five ” ( since 20 is greater than 5 ). if ln is greater then rn , in step 1430 , the sub - process verifies that the string built from ln has a greater length than the length of the string built from rn . for example , step 1430 fails for sequences of the type “ twenty fifteen ” ( the string “ 20 ” has a greater length than the string “ 5 ”, but not the string “ 15 ”). if yes at step 1430 , the sub - process next ascertains the order of magnitude of the number in terms of the power of ten . in step 1432 , ln is inspected to determine if it is greater or equal to 100000 , 100000 , 1000 , 100 or 10 . should ln be 1000 , tens ts would be set to 1000 at step 1432 . step 1434 then sets ts to the corresponding value depending if ln is greater or equal to each tested value in step 1432 . should ln be 15 , ts is set to 10 at step 1434 . if ln is not greater or equal to any of these values , ts is set to 1 at step 1436 . once the order of magnitude of the number has been determined , in step 1438 , ln / ts is inspected to determine if the remainder is zero . sequences like “ fifteen two ” would fail at step 1438 since 15 / 10 does not generate a remainder of zero but a remainder of five . obtaining a remainder of zero is a mandatory condition to fulfill for a valid sequence of numbers of the additive type . if yes at step 1438 , in step 1440 , the global variable reprocess is set to true . reprocess global variable will be later inspected in fig1 ( step 1016 ) to determine if a tscptline is recursive . step 1442 , sets mpartofspeech of ns to mpartofspeech of rs . if the sequence analyzed would be “ fifty third ”, the treco structure holding “ third ” would have a mpartofspeech that is ordinal_number , the sequence “ fifty third ” would then also be ordinal_number . step 1444 sets mspelling of ns to the string value of the number generated by ln + rn . the sub - process resumes following step 1372 in fig1 . if at step 1438 the remainder from the division of ln / ts is not equal to zero , meaning that sequence is not of the additive type , in step 1446 , it is determined if ln is smaller than rn . the purpose of the following steps is to handle sequences of the type “ fifteen thousand ”. those sequences are named the multiplicative type . step 1448 determines if the string of ln is smaller than the string of rn . sequences of the type “ fifteen ten ” fail at step 1448 ( since the string “ 15 ” is not smaller than the string “ 10 ”). step 1452 tests rn to determine if it is 100 , 1000 , 1000000 or 1000000000 . step 1450 sets mpartofspeech of ns to mpartofspeech of rs . in step 1454 , mspelling of ns is set to the string value of ln * rn . step 1456 resumes the process following step 1372 in fig1 . if at step 1452 rn is not equal to 100 , 1000 , 1000000 or 1000000000 , the sub - process resumes following step 1372 in fig1 at step 1456 . [ 0255 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for script file reading sub - processes in the preferred embodiment of the invention . in box 1502 , a process script line sub - process is called from step 1582 in fig1 . the process script line sub - process processes the string contained in script line sl , which is typically a single line from a transform script file , and populates the tscptline structure line ln accordingly with processed characters from sl so that ln ends up containing all information related to permutations described in sl . in step 1504 , mpostransform in ln is set to pos passed to the sub - process . pos may be unknown , in which case there would not be any automatic transformation associated with sl . an automatic transformation transform script line is a transform script line that specifies a part of speech after the optional affectation identifier characters as explained in fig9 . that signals to the algorithm that an automatic transformation should occur without the requirement for a call - back sub - process to be invoked . in step 1506 , mlinename in li is set to ln . ln may be clear , in which case there would not be any line name associated with li . in step 1508 , the logical value mrecursive in li is set to false . step 1510 sets a new pointer variable current char cc to point to the first character of sl . step 1512 clears the first mpermutation of mpermutationlst in li . the sub - process then invokes step 1514 . in step 1514 , cc is inspected to determine if it is pointing before the end of sl . step 1516 determines if cc is pointing to an opening conditional sequence identifier . if cc is not pointing to an opening conditional sequence identifier at step 1516 , step 1518 sets the first mpermutation of mpermutationlst in li to be the current mpermutation . step 1520 determines if the current mpermutation is cleared . a cleared tpermute structure , as in the current mpermutation , is a tpermute structure that was not populated by any process prior . if it is not cleared , step 1524 concatenates the character pointed by cc at the end of the current mpermutation . step 1526 sets the following mpermutation from the current mpermutation the current mpermutation . step 1520 is repeated until it detects a mpermutation that is cleared . once it determines that a mpermutation is cleared , step 1522 sets cc to point to the next character after where it was pointing and step 1514 is then re - invoked . in step 1516 , if cc is pointing to an opening conditional sequence identifier , step 28 sets the pointer condition stop cs to the first occurrence of a closing conditional sequence identifier after cc . in step 1530 , condition cdn is set to the string that is formed from the following character of cc up to the preceding character of cs . in step 1532 , the last mpermutation that is not cleared of mpermutationlst in li is set to the current mpermutation . step 1534 declares a new string named permutation pm that holds the same content as the current mpermutation . in step 1536 , the content of cdn is appended at the end of pm . step 1538 adds an entry to mpermutation array of mpermutationlst in li with the content pm . in step 1540 , it is determined if the current mpermutation is the first mpermutation of mpermutationlst in li . if it is not the first mpermutation , then step 1542 sets the current mpermutation to the previous mpermutation of mpermutationlst in li and then re - invokes step 1534 . step 1540 is re - invoked until it gets to the first mpermutation in mpermutationlst in li . step 1544 then sets cc to point to the character after where cs points and step 1514 is reprocessed until it determines that cc is not before the end of sl anymore . step 1546 calls the sub - process finalize script line at step 1152 in fig1 . at step 1548 , the process resumes at step 1582 in fig1 . in step 1550 , a load script file sub - process is called from step 1040 , 1044 , 1048 or 1052 in fig1 . the load script file sub - process describes the loading in memory and filling of a single tscript structure provided a given file script file sf which contains a transform script that respects syntax as stated in fig9 . a transform script may be loaded through other means including , but not limited to , accessing memory range that contains the transform script or obtaining the transform script accessible from system resources . in step 1552 , the file sf is opened . step 1554 clears the tscript sc . step 1556 sets mcallback in sc to callback cb passed to the sub - process . the value of cb may be cleared identifying that no call - back is expected . a cleared cb value is a value that was never set by any process prior to its inspection or that was cleared prior in the process . in step 1558 , it is determined if there are more characters to process from the reading of the file sf . if there are more character to process , then step 1560 reads one line from sf and sets the line content to the string script line sl . step 1562 clears line name ln . step 1564 determines if there is a comment identifier character in sl . if there is a comment identifier character in sl , step 1566 sets sl up to the character before the comment identifier character . step 1566 removes all spaces that are not between spelling identifiers and all tabs from sl . in step 1570 , sl is inspected to determine if there is a character line name separator in it . if there is a line name separator character in sl , step 1572 sets ln to the string that goes from the beginning of sl up to the character before the line name separator character in sl . in step 1574 , sl is set to begin from the character after the line name separator character in sl . step 1576 is then invoked . if there are no line name separator character in sl at step 1570 , step 1576 is invoked . in step 1576 , sl is inspected to determine if there is a sequence of characters forming the affectation identifier . if there is no affectation identifier in sl , part of speech pos is cleared at step 1584 . if there is a sequence forming the affectation identifier , step 1578 sets pos to the part of speech associated with the spelling following the affectation identifier in sl . if the pos is not a pre - programmed value , the pos is added to the collection of pos . step 1580 terminates sl to the character before the affectation identifier in sl . in step 1582 , the sub - process process script line at step 1502 in fig1 is called . step 1586 adds li set by the sub - process at step 1582 to the first cleared entry of mline in sc . step 1558 is then re - invoked until it is determined that there are no more character to process from sf . step 1588 closes sf , and adds sc to scripts list and step 1590 resumes the process following step 1040 , 1044 , 1048 or 1052 in fig1 , depending on which step called the load script file sub - process at step 1550 in fig1 . [ 0269 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for script file structures and sub - processes in the preferred embodiment of the invention . fig1 and fig1 describe the sub - processes related to transform script loading into memory . transform script examples can be seen in fig9 a , 9b , 9 c and 9 d . in box 1602 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tcondition structure is defined as an optional mtagname as a string , a mpostest as a one - dimensional array of logical values and a mspelltest as a one - dimensional array of strings . mtagname is optional since the programming engineer may not have an associated call - back sub - process associated with the transform script . since tags are typically used from call - back sub - processes in order to detect a stream within a sequence of streams , the fact that no call - back exists for a transform script makes mtagname almost irrelevant . the purpose of a tcondition is to hold all information related to criteria parameters for a stream to meet as stated between the opening and closing stream delimiters ( as defined in fig9 ). stream criteria may be related to part of speech and / or spelling requirements . mpostest values entries are related to parts of speech criteria . entry index one in mpostest would indicate by a value of true that part of speech value one is a criteria for the given tcondition . mspelltest holds potential spelling related criteria in no given order . any given mspelltest entry that starts with the partial spelling match identifier is an end with criteria string match as explained in fig9 . in box 1604 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tpermute structure is defined as a mpermutation and mworkperm , both one - dimensional arrays of string , a mcondition one - dimensional array of tcondition , and mcondres logical one dimensional array . the purpose of a tpermute is to hold all information related to a transform script line other than the line name and automatic part of speech transformation . each mpermutation entry holds a string of the type “ c1 . c2 . c3 ” where c i means that condition i as described in i th entry of mcondition needs to be met . mworkperm and mcondres are later used in script execution . in box 1606 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tscptline structure is defined as an optional mpostransform value as a number corresponding to the part of speech numeric value or unknown ( which has an associated numerical value of 0 as explained in fig8 ) if cleared , followed by an optional m ] linename as a string that refers to a script line name if it was found in the read script ( as an example , “ transformation ” is the line name of the first line in the transform script in 9c ), a mrecursive logical value , and , a mpermutationlst that holds a tpermute structure . the mrecursive logical value is set to true to signal that a transformation that occurs on that transform script line must be followed by a re - interpretation of the same transform script line . for example , a stream sequence may be described in a transform script line where any part of speech followed by a noun_phrase part of speech generates a noun_phrase part of speech . a successful generation of a noun_phrase through that transform script line would mean that a new noun_phrase stream has been created . but that newly created noun_phrase stream would not have been taken into consideration for that same transform script line if the algorithm would proceed immediately to the next transform script line . consequently , the transform script line is re - evaluated after a successful transform in order not to miss any streams for analysis to see if they can be included in a sequence of streams related to a transform script line , regardless if they were created from the same transform script line . the tpermute structure holds all information extracted from a single transform script line . should mpostransform not be unknown part of speech , the transform script line is an automatic transform script line since it does not require a call to the call - back sub - process for the transformation to occur . such transform script lines are the ones that include an affectation identifier followed by a part of speech . if mpostransform is unknown part of speech , a call - back associated to the entire transform script should be invoked — where the decision can be made to allow the sequence of streams to be formed or not . in box 1608 , a predetermined and programmed into the system tscript structure is defined as a one - dimensional array of tscptline structures and a mcallback optional value as a tproc that is the address of a sub - process to call upon running the script . the purpose of a tscript structure is to hold all information related to a transform script . that information is a simple ordered array of tscptline ( each tscptline holds all information related to a single transform script line ) and an optional mcallback value . in box 1610 , the sub - process get condition entry is called from step 1672 in fig1 or step 2110 in fig2 . the purpose of get condition entry sub - process is to fill a single tcondition structure in the tpermute structure and sets condition entry ce to the index of the added tcondition . condition cdn must have been set with the condition string to create a tcondition in ln prior to calling the get condition entry sub - process . current character chc will scan cdn one character at a time while reacting adequately on determined characters related to the syntax of transform scripts to build successfully the tcondition structure in ln . in step 1612 , a newly created new condition nc variable of type tcondition is cleared . step 1614 sets the first character of the condition cdn created at step 1668 to the current character chc . step 1616 sets a newly created logical variable look for tag lft to the value true . in step 1618 , a newly created token tk variable points to the current character . in step 1620 , it is determined if the ch c is before the end of cdn . if ch c is before the end of cdn at step 1620 , step 1622 verifies if ch c is a tag delimiter character and the value of lft is true . if the test at step 1622 succeeds , the value of mtagname in nc is set to the string from the first character of cdn up to the character just before ch c in step 1624 . in step 1626 , the variable tk is set to point to the character just after ch c . in step 162 °, ch c is inspected to determine if it points to the criteria separator ( as explained in fig9 ) or it is actually pointing at the end of cdn . step 1630 sets the value of lft to false . in step 1632 , a token label tl is set to the string that goes from the character pointed to by tk up to the character preceding ch c . step 1634 removes the spaces form each extremities of tl . in step 1636 , the first character of tl is inspected to determine if it is a spelling identifier . if it is a spelling identifier , at step 1636 , step 1638 sets the first cleared entry of mspelltest in nc to the content of tl that is between spelling identifiers . if the first character of tl is not a spelling identifier at step 1636 , step 1640 identifies the part of speech associated with the content of tl and then sets the entry of mpostest in nc to the numerical value of the part of speech to true . step 1642 determines if the part of speech obtained at step 1640 is the same as mpostransform in ln . if that is the case , step 1644 sets the logical value mrecursive in ln to true . following step 1638 or step 1640 , step 1646 sets ch c to the character following the current character ch c + 1 . if step 1628 does not identify a criteria separator as ch c and ch c is not pointing to the end of cdn , then step 1646 is invoked . the process is repeated until step 1620 identifies that ch c is beyond the end of cdn . once step 1620 escapes the loop , step 1648 adds nc to the first available mcondition entry of mpermutationlst in ln and sets the number variable ce to the index of the added entry in mcondition . in step 1650 , the process resumes following step 1672 in fig1 or step 2110 in fig2 , depending on which step called the sub - process . in box 1652 , the sub - process finalize script line is called from step 1546 in fig1 . in step 1654 , the current mpermutation p c is set to the first mpermutation of mpermutationlst in vline . step 1650 also sets a newly created string variable permutation string ps to the content of the current mpermutation . step 1656 determines if there is a pc . in step 1658 , a string variable build string bs is cleared . step 1660 sets the current character ch c to the first character of ps . in step 1662 , it is determined if ch c is before the end of ps or not . if step 1664 determines that ch c is before the end of ps , step 1664 verifies if ch c is an opening stream delimiter . if ch c is not an opening stream delimiter , the sub - process sets ch c to ch c + 1 , at step 1666 . if ch c is an opening stream delimiter character at step 964 , a new string variable condition cdn is set to the string that is formed from the character following ch c up to the preceding character from the next closing stream delimiter after ch c at step 1668 . step 1670 sets ch c to the character following the next closing stream delimiter after ch c . in step 1672 , the sub - process get condition entry at step 1610 in fig1 is called . in step 1674 , a character ‘ c ’ is appended at the end of bs . the string value of ce returned by get condition entry sub - process at step 1610 in fig1 is appended to the end of bs as well as a ‘.’. step 1662 is then re - invoked until it is determined that chc is not before the end of ps . step 1676 then sets p c to bs . in step 1678 , the p c is set to p c + 1 and step 1656 is re - invoked until it is determined that p c is p n . step 1680 resumes the process at step 1546 in fig1 or step 2110 in fig2 . [ 0287 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a conceptual analysis process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the purpose of the conceptual analysis process is to calculate a normalized conceptual representation that represents the concept related to the inquiry uttered by the speaker provided the trecolst that contains multiple syntactic permutations calculated in the syntactic analysis process . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the conceptual analysis process may be based on conceptual dependency theory ( cd ) as mostly formulated by roger . c . schank . its goal is to normalize concepts by removing all syntax related information from the final conceptual representation . the conceptual representation of two sentences that convey the same idea would then need to be identical . as an example , “ what time is it ?” and “ what is the time ?” would both have the same conceptual representation . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , a conceptual representation can be represented by a predicate . a predicate is a string that has the following format : where primitive is a keyword of one &# 39 ; s choosing within a limited set of possible primitives — of one &# 39 ; s choosing — and may represent an action as well as a state , role i is a slot to be filled related to primitive , and filler i is the value related to role i and primitive and may be a predicate as well as a string or even a variable . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , a variable can be a string that is preceded by the characters ‘$+’ and followed by the characters ‘+$’. as an example “$+ color +$” would represent the “ color ” variable . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , variables and variable names are kept in two synchronized one - dimensional arrays of string — first one - dimensional array of string holding the variable names , and second one - dimensional array of string holding the variables content . ( role i : filler i ) is named a role - filler pair . a predicate may contain any number of role - filler pairs greater or equal to one . the order of role - filler pairs within the predicate is irrelevant . variables detected in fillers are interpreted as an identification that role - filler pair has a variable filler . variables used in primitives or roles are variable tokens as described below and result in the value related to variable to replace the variable token . contrary to schank &# 39 ; s theory surrounding the use of primitives , the invention does not limit itself to the 12 primitives stated by schank . there are significant debates in the field of conceptual dependency about the minimal set of primitives required to describe every flavor of conceptual representation . the purpose of this invention is not to enter in such debate by limiting the programming engineer to a fixed set of primitives ; consequently , the programming engineer is free to use the primitive set he desires to represent knowledge . in the flight response system often referred to in the invention , as an example , the airlinepostanalysis primitive is used . this is obviously not a primitive that could be useful to represent knowledge broadly in a context larger than a flight response system . but , it is extremely useful in the limited context of such flight response system since it can well be interpreted as a non - reducible element of knowledge in that context . this is actually helpful since a full reduction to real primitives would mean that a flight response system be required to detect a report being requested during the post analysis process , as an example , from real primitives like mtrans . this would be a significant task and a major barrier for the programming engineer &# 39 ; s efficiency to produce a useful solution in a reasonable amount of time . in order to help understanding , by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , some valid conceptual representations follow : atrans , in conceptual dependency theory , is one of 12 action primitives used and refers to a transfer of possession — the abstract transfer of possession from one person to another , as in a give or a buy . no physical transfer need take place ; the transfer occurs purely on the plane of ownership . mtrans ( actor : john ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) mtrans , in conceptual dependency theory , is one of 12 action primitives used and refers to the transmission of an idea — some conceptualization is transmitted from one head to another ( or within the same head ). tell , forget and remember can all be expressed with mtrans . an idea is represented by an mobject slot in the cd , which is superficially like object except that it contains a whole concept as its value . ltm , in conceptual dependency theory , refers to the location that stores memory in one &# 39 ; s mind . cp , in conceptual dependency theory , refers to the central processor of one &# 39 ; s mind . a conceptual representation that mtrans from ltm to cp is the conceptual representation of remembering something . as it can be seen in this example , the filler associated with the role mobject is a complete predicate structure . pp , in conceptual dependency theory as stated by roger c . schank and his followers , refers to a picture producer — i . e . anything that can generate a picture in one &# 39 ; s mind . in this case , one &# 39 ; s mind may easily generate a car picture . 4 . “ a train and a car that are the same color .” without specifying the exact color of neither the car nor the train , this predicate specifies through the variable $+ color +$ that both objects need to be the same color . 5 . “ a train and a car that are not the same color .” and ( value1 : pp ( object : train ) ( color : $+ color1 +$)) ( value2 : pp ( object : car ) ( color : $+ color2 +$)) without specifying the exact color of neither the car nor the train , this predicate specifies through the variable $+ color1 +$ and $+ color2 +$ that both objects need to be of different colors . the programming engineer may implement any predicate calculus operation that he sees fit . predicate calculus operations are helpful to perform post - analysis and also to assist in the command handler . the preferred embodiment of the invention , by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , defines some sub - processes related to predicate calculus manipulations : 1 . the predicate calculus operation p x is a p y : returns true if p x is a p y , returns false otherwise . as an example , pp ( object : train ) ( color : red ) is a pp ( object : train ) returns true , i . e . a “ red train ” is a “ train ”. on the other hand , pp ( object : train ) is a pp ( object : train ) ( color : red ) returns false since a “ train ” is not necessarily a “ red train ”. furthermore , pp ( object : train ) ( color : red ) is a pp ( object : train ) ( color : $+ color +$) returns true since a “ red train ” is a “ colored trained ” and , upon evaluation of the sub - process , the variable $+ color +$ is set to red . note that pp ( object : train ) ( color : red ) is a pp ( color : red ) ( object : train ) also returns true since the order of role - filler pairs in a predicate structure is irrelevant . 2 . the predicate calculus operation p x has a p y : returns true if p x is or contains the predicate p y , returns false otherwise . as an example , mtrans ( actor : john ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ) has a atrans ( object : car ) returns true , i . e . “ does john remembering that he gave his car to paul have anything to do with a car changing possession ?” returns true . in the same way as the is a sub - process , variables can be used . as an example , mtrans ( actor : john ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ) has a mtrans ( actor : $+ someone +$) ( mobject : $+ something +$) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ) also returns true and upon evaluation of the sub - process $+ someone +$ is set to john and $+ something +$ is set to atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past ). this example could be read as the following . “ did someone ($+ someone +$) remember something ($+ something +$) in the predicate mtrans ( actor : john ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past )?” in which case the has a sub - process returns true and $+ someone +$ is set to john , $+ something +$ is set to the predicate atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past ) meaning “ john gave his car to paul ”. 3 . the predicate calculus operation p x replacement of p y with f z . this predicate calculus operation replaces p y in p x with filler f z if found . as an example , mtrans ( actor : john ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ) replacement of mtrans ( actor : john ) with paul . that would result in the predicate mtrans ( actor : paul ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ). the same way as for the other predicate calculus operations , variables may be used . the operation mtrans ( actor : john ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ) replacement of mtrans ( actor : $+ someone +$) with paul would result in the same predicate mtrans ( actor : paul ) ( mobject : atrans ( object : car ) ( from : john ) ( to : paul ) ( time : past )) ( from : ltm ) ( to : cp ) ( time : past ) and $+ someone +$ would be set to john upon execution of the sub - process . the preferred embodiment of the invention , by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , would , as a minimum , implement the predicate calculus manipulations operations is a , has a and replacement of with . these operations are self explanatory and simple string manipulations operations that can easily be programmed by those skilled in the art . in order to manipulate predicate structures in the preferred embodiment of the invention , as way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , a predicate builder scripting language is used . the predicate builder scripting language is an interpreted language that performs simple text replacement operations in order to generate a single predicate , i . e . a string that is of the form primitive ( role 1 : filler 1 ). ( role n : filler n ). every token that needs special processing in the predicate builder scripting language of the preferred embodiment of the invention is located between some designated characters , here the ‘$+’ and ‘+$’ characters . other characters that are not between ‘$+’ and ‘+$’ are simply added to the calculated result . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , categorization of tokens can be as following : 1 . variable token : a variable which content replaces the token . or , 2 . procedural token : a procedure to call where some optional parameters are passed and the optional result replaces the token . or , 3 . entry - point token : an entry - point to the system where some predetermined and programmed into the system content replaces the token . or , 4 . flow - control token : a predetermined and programmed into the system flow - control token like $+ if ( )+$, $+ ifnot ( )+$, $+ else +$ and $+ endif +$. or , 5 . definition token : definition of variable or procedural content through the tokens $+ define ( )+$ or $+ evaldefine ( )+$. to help understanding , as way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , a predicate builder script example follows : $+ define ( tmp . qry )+$ {? entity } $+ if ($+ workingcdpredicate +$; null )+$ $+ define ( tmp . qry )+$ {? time } $+ endif +$ $+ define ( tmp . rs )+$ { mood ( class :$+ tmp . rs_1 +$) ( query :$+ tmp . qry +$) ( object :$+ subject +$)} $+ tmp . rs ( interogative )+$ $+ undef ( tmp . qry )+$ $+ undef ( tmp . rs )+$ the first line $+ define ( tmp . qry )+$ {? entity } is a definition token . the content between brackets is associated to the variable token $+ tmp . qry +$. to keep track of such association , the system keeps two one - dimensional arrays of string . one of them holds variable names ( in this case “ tmp . qry ”) and the second one , at the same index in the array , holds corresponding content ( in this case “? entity ”). next , a line follows having a flow - control token and an entry - point token . $+ if ($+ if — 1 +$;$+ if — 2 +$)+$ is a flow - control token that lets the script interpret content up to the corresponding $+ else +$ or $+ endif +$ only if $+ if — 1 +$ is equal to $+ if — 2 +$. should $+ if — 1 +$ not be equal to $+ if — 2 +$, scripting would start being interpreted after the corresponding $+ else +$ or $+ endif +$ depending on the script content . the token $+ workingcdpredicate +$ is an entry - point token . just by looking at it , one could not say if it is a variable token or an entry - point token , but implementation of both are different since an entry - point token requires runtime processing in order to generate replacement content and a variable token strictly replaces content . next , the line $+ define ( tmp . qry )+$ {? time } is also a definition token . note that this line won &# 39 ; t be interpreted if the flow - control token $+ if +$ fails on the preceding line to determine that the entry - point token $+ workingcdpredicate +$ is null . next , the flow - control token $+ endif +$ follows , which corresponds to the previous flow - control token $+ if +$. the following line is also a definition token . but , this time the content between brackets is associated to the procedural token $+ tmp . rs ( paraml )+$ since the parameter $+ tmp . rs — 1 +$ is referred ( stating that it requires a procedural token to be fully expanded ). all procedural token may refer to parameters accessible from the variable token that is the same as the name of the procedural token appended with the ‘ _ ’ character and the parameter index . note that within the definition of the procedural token , the entry - point token $+ subject +$ is also used . the line $+ tmp . result ( interogative )+$ is a procedural token . and finally , the lines $+ undef ( tmp . qry )+$ and $+ undef ( tmp . rs )+$ are entry - point tokens that clears the variables tmp . qry and tmp . rs . interpretation of this predicate builder script would go as follow ( assume that entry - point token $+ workingcdpredicate +$ returns null and that entry - point token $+ subject +$ is “ pp ( object : car ) ( color : red )”). 5 . append to result buffer of predicate script interpretation the string “ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query :? time ) ( object : pp ( object : car ) ( color : red ))”. all replacements were then made provided that state of variable tokens and entry - point tokens at time of interpretation . the final result from predicate builder script interpretation of the script is the string “ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query :? time ) ( object : pp ( object : car ) ( color : red ))” which respects the format required to form a predicate structure . definitions , flow - controls , variables and procedurals tokens can be used without constraint in predicate builder scripts . entry - point tokens need to respect requirements related to parameters to passed to it as well as they need to be used while having a good understanding on the runtime processing corresponding to each token . interpreted languages were developed for years and such implementation is well known to those skilled in the art . the predicate builder scripting language is another interpreted language that has the specificity of generating predicate structures ( in this case , a string that respects the format earlier stated ). the advantages of using the predicate builder scripting language over any traditional language such as c , c ++ or else is that it is scalable , opened , dedicated to the task of generating a predicate structure and logics related to predicate building mostly reside outside binary code . one or many predicate builder scripts can be associated to any word — part of speech pair . this relates to the reality that any word may have multiple meanings , and that meanings do not normally cross the part of speech boundary ( as examples , the verb part of speech “ fire ” is not expected to have the same meaning as the noun part of speech “ fire ”, and the noun part of speech “ ring ” that one wears does not have the same function or meaning than a boxing “ ring ”). a unique predicate builder script may also be associated to any word of a given part of speech . as an example , the cardinal_number or ordinal_number parts of speech . although the invention is not so limited , it would be impractical to require a unique predicate builder script to define the cardinal_number “ one ” and a different one for “ two ” and so on . instead , auto - scripts are used in such situations . an auto - script is a predicate builder script that typically can be associated with all words of a predefined part of speech . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , when desired , auto - scripts are defined by populating a procedural token $+. autoscript & amp ; pos +$ where ‘ pos ’ is the part of speech . to define an auto - script for cardinal_number parts of speech words , the following syntax would typically be used : for example , in fig9 d , the part of speech flight is defined . the sequences of words “ united airline flight number six hundred ”, “ flight six hundred ”, “ ual number six hundred ” all generate a flight part of speech . in order to assign a valid predicate to the flight part of speech , an auto - script predicate builder script needs to be associated with the part of speech flight ( by defining the procedural token . autoscript & amp ; flight ). content of the predicate builder script should in that case detect an optional airline company name in any child node of the stream in the syntactic hierarchy , and should also detect a cardinal_number to identify the flight number . once those elements are extracted from the stream , a database search can then extract all relevant information related to the flight specified in the stream for purposes of response to the inquiry . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , the flight auto - script could generate the following predicate for the sequences of words stated previously : pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) in order to build predicate structures where all elements related to syntax are removed , it is a bit of a contradiction , but nevertheless a fact that mostly syntactic related operations are required . already , as it can be seen in box 2340 of fig2 , a hierarchy of syntactic streams are available for conceptual analysis . in this example of an airline response system , the syntactic organization selected by the programming engineer for conceptual analysis is the sentence , and so the following discussion refers solely to sentences . however , the invention is not so limited and the programming engineer may designate any syntactic organization , from any portion of an audio input , for conceptual analysis . for each sentence to be analyze conceptually , the set transient information sub - process shown in fig2 is called . the set transient information sub - process sets the ttransient structure in each treco structure so that they can be related to each other on a child - parent basis as seen in box 2340 in fig2 . in step 1702 , the conceptual analysis process is started according to the preferred embodiment of the invention . the purpose of the conceptual analysis process is to calculate the inquiry predicate ip that represents the conceptual representation of the inquiry as well as the post analysis predicate pap that represents the conceptual representation of the response to inquiry . in order to do that , all sentence parts of speech that spans from the beginning to the end of the phoneme stream ps are analyzed until successful ip and pap are calculated or until all sentence parts of speech streams were calculated without successfully generating an ip and pap . inquiry anomalies may be derived from utterances . in the preferred embodiment , there are three potential inquiry anomalies expressed . inquiry anomalies , ranked from less inquiry anomaly to most inquiry anomaly , are no inquiry anomaly , a warning predicate in the inquiry predicate or the response predicate , and an error predicate in the inquiry predicate or the response predicate . the invention may include an approach where inquiry anomalies are expressed with other scaled values , like numbers , as an example ; or the invention may also include an approach where inquiry anomalies are not used . as an example , in an hypothetical flight response system which uses the inquiry anomalies from the preferred embodiment , if a speaker said something like “ has american airline flight six hundred and twenty been delayed ?” and there is no flight 620 in the database of flights , to form the response , an error predicate would be added to pap with a filler containing a string explaining what the error is ( something like “ i &# 39 ; m sorry , there is no flight six hundred and twenty scheduled for today .”). following the same logic , a warning may result from conceptual analysis . the same utterance may result in a warning if a flight 620 exists , but is operated by united airlines instead of american airlines . in that case , a warning predicate is generated and the filler contains “ note that flight 620 is operated by united airlines instead of american airlines as you stated ”. the programming engineer is free to use the inquiry anomaly , including no inquiry anomaly if desired , that will better serve its purpose . the warning and error roles is the inquiry anomaly mechanism chosen in the preferred embodiment of the invention and does not pretend to limit the invention in any manner . should a warning or error role be detected in a calculated pap , calculations of subsequent sentence parts of speech streams continue until all of them are calculated or one is calculated that has no warning or error role . the assumption is made that a speaker is aware of what can be spoken , and that between two potential utterances that could have been recognized , the more accurate one is picked — i . e . the one that generated no warning and error role wins over the one that generated a warning role which wins over one that generated an error role . furthermore , conceptual analysis or post conceptual analysis may decide to reserve a perfectly good ip or pap . that is done by invoking the $+ reserve +$ entry point token from a predicate builder script . as an example , if the sequence “ be 4 ” is detected during conceptual analysis , knowing that it is more probably a mistake for “ before ”, the programming engineer may immediately flag the current conceptual analysis to be a reserve since it may not be a valid analysis , although there is a remote probability that it is valid . should conceptual analysis later process a sequence of words that is also valid and was not flagged as reserve , it would then be picked over the sequence that was flagged as reserve . step 1704 clears variables inquiry predicate ip , post analysis predicate pap , error post analysis predicate epap and reserve inquiry predicate rip used in the conceptual analysis process . step 1706 sets sm to the first treco in wl . step 1708 inspects mpartofspeech in sm to determine if it is equal to the sentence part of speech value . if yes , step 1710 inspects mstartstream in sm to determine if it is equal to 0 and mendofstream in sm to determine if it is equal to tsc . if no at either step 1708 or step 1710 , the process proceeds to step 1752 . if yes at step 1710 , in step 1712 , mparent of mtransient in sm is cleared . step 1714 invokes the set transient information sub - process in step 2304 of fig2 so that a syntactic hierarchy , as shown as an example in box 2340 of fig2 , is calculated . step 1716 sets reserve rsv and reject rct to false . step 1718 clears the predicate subject sbj , the predicate report subject rsbj , the predicate working predicate wpred and the stream current packet cp . step 1720 sets subject search ss to false . step 1722 calls the sub - process calculate predicate for stream at step 1802 in fig1 . the calculate predicate for stream sets the predicate value result predicate rp accordingly . step 1724 inspects rp to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1750 . if no at step 1724 , step 1726 performs the post analysis process on result predicate and generates a predicate post analysis result predicate parp corresponding to the response of rp . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , the post analysis process comprises the selection of concepts to transform from inquiry to response as one or more predicate structures , defined by the programming engineer , that may be part of the inquiry uttered expressed as the result predicate rp structure . this post analysis process results in a new predicate structure being generated in post analysis response predicate parp which holds the response to the inquiry to be executed by the command handler if selected . in the airline response system examples of this application — available in the examples section of this application , the programming engineer produced predicate builder scripts associated with each word that may be used to utter a command so that a successfully built inquiry predicate holds at least one predicate with the primitive airlinepostanalysis and the role operation . the filler associated with the operation role , as a consequence of the programming engineer &# 39 ; s choice , is another predicate report ( value :$+ valuetoreport +$) ( object :$+ object +$), verify ( origin :$+ city +$) ( object :$+ object +$) or verify ( destination :$+ city +$) ( object :$+ object +$). following choices from the programming engineer , both predicates with the primitive verify are used in order to verify that the origin or destination of a flight , described in $+ object +$, is indeed $+ city +$, $+ valuetoreport +$ in the predicate with the primitive report may have any of the following values and is associated the concept related to inquiry that follows . deltastatus : how much time until the departure or arrival of a flight ? the post analysis process task , as an example in the flight response system , is limited at investigating every predicate within rp with the airlinepostanalysis primitive and populate the predicate papr so that it holds the response to produce . the post analysis process is then tightly related to the programming engineer &# 39 ; s choices made during predicate builder script production . the programming engineer may choose to handle identified concepts while not handling others , and predicate construction that happens during the conceptual analysis process only supports the programming engineer &# 39 ; s choices in the sense that predicate will be built following the rules that were set . the post analysis process is as diverse as there are purposes for this invention . also , there is not only one way to handle a specific implementation of this system for the programming engineer . another implementation of a flight response system could well have used different assumptions during the predicate builder script production phase , that would have resulted in a different post - analysis process and would be equally valid , although different , as the implementation shown as example in this application . step 1728 inspects parp to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1766 . if no , step 1730 inspects rct to determine if it is true . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1766 . if no , step 1732 inspects parp to determine if it is has a warning ( content : $+ content +$) predicate . as explained earlier , the has a is a predicate calculus operation that returns true if the predicate is found anywhere in parp . if yes , step 1734 inspects epap to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1738 . if no , step 1736 inspects epap to determine if it has a warning ( content : $+ content +$) predicate . if no , step 1738 sets epap to parp and rip to rp and the process proceeds to step 1766 . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1766 . if no at step 1732 , step 1740 inspects parp to determine if it has a error ( content : $+ content +$) predicate . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1750 . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1738 . if no , the process proceeds to step 1766 . if no at step 1740 , step 1742 inspects rsv to determine if it is true . rsv may have been set to true by an entry point token in any of the predicate builder script interpreted from step 1814 in fig1 . if no , step 1744 sets ip to rp and pap to parp and the process proceeds to step 1766 . if no , the process proceeds to step 1746 . step 1746 inspects rpap to determine if it is clear . if yes , step 1748 clears epap , sets rpap to parp , and sets rip to rp . if no , the process proceeds to step 1766 . step 1750 inspects epap to determine if it is clear . if no at either of step 1708 or step 1710 , step 1752 inspects sm to determine if it is the last treco in wl and inspects ip to determine if it is not clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 1766 . if yes at step 1752 , step 1754 inspects pap to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 1760 . if yes , step 1756 inspects rpap to determine if it is clear . if no , step 1758 sets pap to rpap and ip to rip and the process proceeds to step 1760 . if yes at step 1756 , step 1762 inspects epap to determine if it is clear . if no , step 1764 sets pap to epap and ip to rip and the process proceeds to step 1760 . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1768 . step 1760 executes pap . a predicate can indeed be executed since a predicate may hold some action primitives that may be interpreted as operations to execute . as an example , if pap has a speak ( content : $+ content +$) predicate , $+ content +$ shall be spoken back to the user through a synthesized voice . [ 0382 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a calculate predicatefor stream sub - process and a calculate predicatefor children sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the calculate predicatefor stream sub - process calculates the predicate for sm which may have any given mpartofspeech value . upon calling calculate predicatefor stream sub - process , the value of wpred is important since wpred contains the working predicate that is being incrementally built from the calculate predicate for stream sub - process ( it is a potentially recursive sub - process ). once the predicate was calculated for sm , it sets result predicate rp to contain the predicate calculated . in box 1802 , the calculate predicatefor stream sub - process is called from step 2038 in fig2 , step 1936 in fig1 , step 1848 in fig1 or step 1722 in fig1 . step 1804 sets has rule hr to false . step 1806 inspects mrecotype in sm to determine if it is equal to word_entry . if no , the process proceeds to step 1818 . if yes , step 1808 inspects if there is a mcdscript entry that is not clear in sm . since the flatten script sub - process was called at fig7 prior to adding the treco to wl , the algorithm can count on the fact that at most , one predicate builder script will be in mcdscript in sm . if yes , step 1810 sets cdscript cd to the first mcdscript that is not clear in sm . step 1812 sets cp to sm , and step 1814 parses cd . parsing involves applying the string replacements related to a predicate builder script in such a way that all tokens were processed and that result is a predicate . once the predicate was calculated , it is automatically put in wpred at step 1816 and the process proceeds to step 1832 . in step 1816 , result predicate rp is set to wpred . if step 1806 or step 1808 fails , step 1818 inspects mpartofspeech in sm to determine if it is sentence . if yes , step 1820 calls the calculate predicatefor sentence stream sub - process at step 2002 in fig2 and the process proceeds to step 1826 . if no , step 1822 inspects mpartofspeech in sm to determine if it is noun_phrase . if yes , step 1824 calls the calculate predicatefor noun_phrase stream sub - process at step 1902 in fig1 . if no , the process proceeds to step 1826 . step 1826 inspects hr to determine if it is true . hr may have been set to true in calculate predicatefor sentence stream or calculate predicatefor noun_phrase stream sub - process . if no , step 1828 sets stream to calculate stc to sm . step 1830 calls the sub - process calculate predicate for children at step 1834 in fig1 . the sub - process then moves to step 1816 where rp is set to wpred and the process proceeds to step 1832 . if yes at step 1826 , the process proceeds to step 1832 . at step 1832 , the process resumes following step 2038 in fig2 , step 1936 in fig1 , step 1848 in fig1 or step 1722 in fig1 . in box 1834 , the sub - process calculate predicate for children may be called from step 2066 in fig2 , step 1942 in fig1 or step 1830 in fig1 . the sub - process will calculate the predicate of stc that would have been set by the caller and put the result in wpred before resuming the process at the caller &# 39 ; s position . step 1836 sets keep stream to calculate kstc to stc . step 1838 sets stc to the first mchildren in stc and clears wpred . step 1840 inspects stc to determine if it is clear . if no , step 1842 inspects msubject of mtransient in stc to determine if it is true . if no , keep stream ks is set to sm at step 1844 . step 1846 sets sm to stc . step 1848 calls the sub - process calculate predicatefor stream at step 1802 in fig1 . step 1850 sets sm to ks . step 1852 sets wpred to rp calculated at step 1848 and the process proceeds to step 1854 . if yes at step 1842 , the process proceeds to step 1854 . step 1854 sets stc to the following mchildren of mparent of mtransient in stc and steps 1840 to 1854 are repeated until all mchildren were processed , at which point step 1840 will succeed . if step 1840 succeeds , step 1856 sets stc to kstc . step 1858 resumes the process following step 2066 in fig2 , step 1942 in fig1 or step 1830 in fig1 , depending on which step called the sub - process . [ 0390 ] fig1 depicts a flow scheme for a calculate predicate for noun_phrase stream sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the sub - process assumes that sm is set to the treco which stream needs to be calculated . it also assumes that sm has a mpartofspeech value of noun_phrase . upon completion , the sub - process will have set result predicate rp to the predicate holding the conceptual representation of sm . in step 1902 , the calculate predicate for noun_phrase stream sub - process is called from step 1824 in fig1 . step 1904 sets direction dir to samenode . step 1906 sets depth dpt to samelevelorlower . step 1908 sets part of speech poss to “ gerundive_phrase ”. step 1910 calls the find packet sub - process at step 2102 in fig2 . step 1912 inspects find packet result fpr , which could have been set in find packet sub - process , to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 1954 . if yes , step 1914 sets poss to “ rel_clause ” and step 1916 calls the find packet sub - process at step 2102 in fig2 . step 1918 inspects fpr to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 1954 . if yes , poss is set to “ noun | plural | proper_noun | time | date | pronoun ” at step 1920 and step 1922 calls the find packet sub - process at step 2102 in fig2 . step 1924 inspects fpr to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 1954 . if no , hr is set to true and sm is set to fpr at step 1926 . step 1928 inspects sbj to determine if it is clear . if yes , put in subject pis is set to true at step 1930 and the process proceeds to step 1934 . if no , the process proceeds to step 1932 where pis is set to false , and the process proceeds to step 1934 . step 1934 sets keep working predicate kwpred to wpred . step 1936 calls calculate predicate for stream at step 1802 in fig1 . step 1938 sets wpred to rp . step 1940 sets stc to sw . step 1942 calls the sub - process calculate predicate for children at step 1834 in fig1 . step 1944 inspects pis to determine if it is true . if no , the process proceeds to step 1950 . if yes , sbj is set to wpred at step 1946 and msubject of mtransient in sm is set to true at step 1948 , and the process proceeds to step 1950 . step 1950 sets rp to wpred . step 1952 sets wpred to kwpred . step 1954 resumes the process following step 1824 in fig1 . [ 0398 ] fig2 depicts a flow scheme for a calculate predicate for sentence stream sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the sub - process assumes that sm is set to the treco which stream needs to be calculated . it also assumes that sm has a mpartofspeech value of sentence . upon completion , the sub - process will have set result predicate rp to the predicate holding the conceptual representation of sm . in step 2002 , the calculate predicate for sentence stream sub - process is called from step 1820 in fig1 . step 2004 sets hr to true . step 2006 sets keep subject ksbj to sbj . step 2008 clears sbj . the find packet sub - process may have a slightly different behavior depending if find packet exclusion fpe is true or false . when true , find packet shall never set find packet result fpr to the same value as before until find packet exclusion list is cleared . if fpe is false , there are no restrictions on what value may be set in fpr . in step 2010 , fpe is set to true . step 2012 sets keep stream ks to stream . step 2014 sets dir to samenode . step 2016 sets dpt to samelevelorlower . step 2018 sets poss to “ noun_phrase ”. step 2020 calls the find packet sub - process at step 2102 in fig2 . in step 2022 , fpr is inspected to determine if it is clear . fpr should have been set by the find packet sub - process at step 2020 . if yes , the process proceeds to step 2054 . if fpr is not clear at step 2022 , step 2024 sets sm to fpr . step 2026 sets sm to mparent of mtransient in sm . step 2028 inspects sm to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 2050 where sm is set to ks and the process proceeds then to step 2052 . if not , step 2030 inspects mpartofspeech in sm to determine if it is sentence . if not , step 2026 is reprocessed . if so , step 2032 sets subject search ss to true . step 2034 sets fpe to false . step 2036 sets sm to fpr . step 2038 calls the sub - process calculate predicate for stream at step 1802 in fig1 . in step 2040 , fpe is set to true . step 2042 sets ss to false . step 2044 inspects sbj to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 2048 . if yes , step 2046 applies the find packet exclusion by adding the value of fpr to the list of values that fpr may not be set to and the process proceeds to step 2048 . at step 2048 sm is set to ks , and the process proceeds to step 2052 . in step 2052 , sbj is inspected to determine if it is clear . if yes , step 2014 is reprocessed . if not , step 2054 sets fpe to false . step 2056 clears the find packet exclusion list so that every single value is allowed in fpr . in step 2058 , sbj is inspected to determine if it is clear . if yes , sbj is set to report subject rs at step 2060 and the process proceeds to step 2064 . if not , rs is set to sbj at step 2062 and the process proceeds to step 2064 . in step 2064 , stc is set to sm . step 2066 calls the calculate stream for children sub - process at step 1834 in fig1 . step 2068 sets sbj to ks . step 2070 sets rp to wpred . step 2072 resumes the process following step 1820 in fig1 . [ 0408 ] fig2 depicts a flow scheme for a find packet sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the find packet sub - process sets fpr with the stream provided current packet cp , dir , dpt and poss . treco structures are related to some others in a syntactic hierarchy , as shown in example in box 2340 of fig2 . in order to go from one treco to another in a syntactic hierarchy , the find packet sub - process is used . possible values for dir are the followings : backwardsamenode , previoussamenode , nextsamenode , forwardsamenode , backwardoutofnode , previousoutofnode , nextoutofnode , forwardoutofnode , uponly or samenode . possible values for dpt are the followings : samenodelevel , samenodelevelorlower , lowernodelevel , samenodelevelorupper , uppernodelevel , nolevelconstraint or childnode . poss contains a string value that represents the stream criteria to meet in order to be set in fpr prior to completion of the sub - process . possible criteria are parts of speech and / or spellings and follow the same syntactic rules as a transform script line between stream delimiters . in step 2102 , the find packet sub - process is called from step 2158 or step 2164 in fig2 , step 2020 in fig2 or step 1910 , 1916 or 1922 in fig1 . step 2103 clears li . in step 2104 , poss is inspected to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 2111 . if not , step 2106 sets cdn to poss . step 2108 sets li to a new tscptline . step 2110 calls the sub - process get condition entry at step 1610 in fig1 , and the process proceeds to step 2111 . in step 2111 , use packet up is set to cp and step 2112 clears fpr . in step 2114 , dir is inspected to determine if it is equal to uponly and dpt is inspected to determine if it is equal to uppernodelevel or samenodelevelorupper . if no , the process proceeds to step 2122 . if yes , in step 2116 , dpt is inspected to determine if it is equal to uppernodelevel and up is inspected to determine if it is not clear . if not , in step 2117 , fpr is inspected to determine if it is not clear and up is also inspected to determine if it is not clear and the process proceeds to step 2198 . if so , step 2118 calls the sub - process evaluate packet at step 2202 of fig2 . step 2119 sets fpr to evaluate packet result epr . step 2120 sets up to mparent of mtransient in up . steps 2117 to 2120 are repeated until fpr is not clear or the highest level in the syntactic hierarchy has been reached , and the process proceeds to step 2198 . if no at step 2144 , in step 2122 , dir is inspected to determine if it is equal to previousoutofnode or nextoutofnode or forwardoutofnode and dpt is inspected to determine if it is equal to samenodelevel . if no , the process proceeds to step 2144 . if yes , in step 2123 , mparent of mtransient in up is inspected to determine if it is clear . if yes , the process proceeds to step 2198 . if no , at step 2124 , stop child index sci is cleared . step 2126 clears child index chi . in step 2128 , dir is inspected to determine if it is equal to previousoutofnode . if yes , step 2130 sets chi to mindexinparent of mtransient in up minus one . step 2131 sets sci to chi and the process proceeds to step 2136 . if dir is not equal to previousoutofnode in step 2128 , step 2132 inspects dir to determine if it is equal to nextoutofnode . if yes , step 2133 sets chi to mindexinparent of mtransient in up plus one . step 2134 sets sci to chi and the process proceeds to step 2136 . if dir is not equal to nextoutofnode at step 2132 , step 2135 sets chi to mindexinparent of mtransient in up plus one and the process proceeds to step 2136 . step 2136 sets parent prt to mparent of mtransient in up . in step 2138 , sci is inspected to determine if it is clear or not clear and greater than chi , and chi is inspected to determine if it is smaller than number of mchildren in prt and fpr is inspected to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 2198 . if yes , step 2139 sets up to element chi of mchildren in prt . step 2140 calls the sub - process evaluate packet at step 2202 of fig2 . step 2141 sets fpr to epr and step 2142 increases the value of chi by one . steps 2138 to 2142 are repeated until the condition at step 2138 fails , at which point the process proceeds to step 2198 . at step 2198 , the process resumes at step 2158 or step 2164 in fig2 , step 2020 of fig2 or step 1910 , 1916 or 1922 in fig1 depending on which step called the sub - process . if no at step 2122 , in step 2144 , dir is inspected to determine if it is equal to samenode and dpt is inspected to determine if it is equal to samenodelevelorlower or lowernodelevel or childnode . if no , the process proceeds to step 2168 . if yes , step 2145 sets use packet index upi to 0 . in step 2146 , upi is inspected to determine if it is smaller than the number of mchildren in up and fpr is inspected to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 2196 . if yes , step 2148 sets keep use packet kup to up . step 2149 sets up to the element upi of mchildren in up . step 2150 calls the evaluate packet sub - process at step 2202 of fig2 . step 2152 sets fpr to epr . in step 2153 , fpr is inspected to determine if it is clear . if so , step 2154 , dpt is inspected to determine if it is childnode . if not , dir is set to backwardsamenode at step 2156 . step 2158 calls the sub - process find packet at step 2102 in fig2 . step 2159 inspects fpr to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 2165 . if yes , up is set to element upi of mchildren in up at step 2160 . step 2162 sets dir to forwardsamenode . step 2164 calls the sub - process find packet at step 2102 in fig2 . the sub - process then goes to step 2165 . in step 2165 , upi is increased by one . step 2166 sets up to kup . steps 2146 to 2166 are repeated until the condition at step 2146 fails , at which point the process proceeds to step 2196 . if no at step 2144 , in step 2168 , dir is inspected to determine if it is equal to backwardsamenode or forwardsamenode and dpt is inspected to determine if it is equal to samenodelevelorlower or lowernodelevel . if no , the process proceeds to step 2196 . if yes , break level bl is cleared at step 2169 . in step 2170 , dpt is inspected to determine if it is samenodelevelorlower . if yes , bl is set to mlevel of mtransient in up at step 2171 . if no , step 2193 inspects dpt to determine if it is lowernodelevel . if no , the process proceeds to step 2172 . if yes , step 2194 sets bl to rnlevel of mtransient in up plus one and then invokes step 2172 . if yes at step 2170 , bl is set to mlevel of mtransient in up at step 2171 and the process proceeds to step 2172 . in step 2172 , dir is inspected to determine if it is forwardsamenode . if not , step 2174 sets up to mparent of mtransient in up . step 2175 sets start index si to mindexinparent of mtransient in up minus one . step 2176 sets drill forward df to false . step 2178 calls the sub - process drill for packet at step 2222 of fig2 . step 2179 sets fpr to drill packet result dpr and the process then proceeds to step 2196 . if dir is equal to forwardsamenode at step 2172 , step 2180 sets kup to up . step 2181 sets up to mparent of mtransient in up . step 2182 sets si to mindexinparent of mtransient in up plus one . step 2183 sets df to true . step 2184 calls the sub - process drill for packet at step 2222 of fig2 . step 2185 sets fpr to dpr . in step 2186 , fpr is inspected to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 2196 . if yes , step 2188 sets up to kup . step 2189 sets si to 0 . step 2190 calls the sub - process drill for packet at step 2222 of fig2 . step 2192 sets fpr to dpr and the process proceeds to step 2196 . if at step 2170 dpt is not samenodelevelorlower , step 2193 inspects dpt to determine if it is lowernodelevel . if so , step 2194 sets bl to mlevel of mtransient in up plus one and then invokes step 2172 . at step 2196 , the process resumes at step 2158 or step 2164 in fig2 , step 2020 of fig2 or step 1910 , 1916 or 1922 in fig1 , depending on which step called the sub - process . [ 0433 ] fig2 depicts a flow scheme for an evaluate packet sub - process and a drill for packet sub - process in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the evaluate packet sub - process is used from the find packet sub - process to evaluate a stream in regards to the optional condition that was passed in cdn to find packet which generated li in steps 2106 to 2110 in fig2 . the evaluate packet also considers the exclusion list while being interpreted . as a general rule to use the evaluate packet sub - process , the exclusion list contains a list of values that epr may not be set to . in step 2202 , the evaluate packet sub - process is called from step 2240 in fig2 or step 2118 , 2140 or 2150 in fig2 . the evaluate packet sub - process assumes that up was set to the treco to evaluate and the li is clear or contains the condition to evaluate . in step 2204 , epr is cleared . in step 2206 , li is inspected to determine if it is clear . if not , step 2208 word wrdd is set to up . step 2210 then calls the test stream sub - process at step 1202 in fig1 . step 2212 inspects fs to determine if it is true . if yes , step 2214 is invoked . if step 2206 determined that li is clear , the process proceeds to step 2214 . at step 2214 , the exclusion list is inspected to determine if up is part of it . if no , step 2216 sets epr to up and the process proceeds to step 2218 . if yes at step 2214 , the process proceeds to step 2218 . step 2218 resumes the process following step 2240 in fig2 or step 2118 , 2140 or 2150 in fig2 , depending on which step called the sub - process . the drill for packet sub - process is also used from the find packet sub - process to find a packet in any children , referred to in mchildren of a treco structure , or any of its children if not found . in step 2222 , the drillfor packet sub - process is called from step 2250 in fig2 or step 2178 , 2184 or 2190 in fig2 . the drillfor packet sub - process assumes that up was set by the caller to the treco to start drilling from , si is set to the starting index of the mchildren of up to start drilling , df is set to true if the sub - process needs to increment si or false if the sub - process needs to decrement si , bl is set to the break level and it is also assumed that li is cleared or contains the condition to meet for a stream to be successfully detected . the sub - process will set drill for packet result dpr to the stream that met conditions provided up , si , df and li . in step 2224 , packet index pi is set to si . step 2228 sets drill keep use packet dkup to up . step 2230 clears dpr . in step 2232 , pi is inspected to determine if it is greater or equal to 0 and smaller than the number of elements in mchildren of up and dpr is also inspected to determine if it is clear . if no , up is set to dkup at step 2260 and the process proceeds to step 2262 . if yes , step 2234 sets up to dkup . step 2236 sets up to the element pi of mchildren in up . in step 2238 , mlevel of mtransient in up is inspected to determine if it is greater or equal to bl . if no , the process proceeds to step 2246 . if yes , step 2240 calls the evaluate packet sub - process at step 2202 of fig2 . step 2242 sets dpr to epr and the process proceeds to step 2244 . in step 2244 , dpr is inspected to determine if it is clear . if no , the process proceeds to step 2254 . if yes , the process proceeds to step 2246 . step 2246 sets keep starting index ksi to si . step 2248 sets si to 0 . step 2250 calls the drill for packet sub - process at step 2222 in fig2 . step 2252 sets si to ksi and the process proceeds to step 2254 . if dpr was determined not to be clear at step 2244 or following step 2252 , step 2254 inspects df to determine if it is true . if yes , step 2256 increments pi by one and the process proceeds to step 2232 . if no , step 2258 decreases pi by one and the process proceeds to step 2232 . step 2232 is then re - invoked until it fails to verify its condition . at which point , step 2260 sets up to dkup . step 2262 resumes the process following step 2250 in fig2 or step 2178 , 2184 or 2190 in fig2 , depending on which step called the sub - process . [ 0447 ] fig2 depicts a flow scheme for the set transient information sub - processes in the preferred embodiment of the invention . the set transient information sub - process sets all values in mtransient in a treco so that hierarchical order is made out of a treco and its dependants , i . e . the treco that were used in order to build it in mchildren in treco . the result is that a hierarchy like the one shown in box 2340 in fig2 is produced . the programming engineer may then go from one stream to another within the hierarchy through the sub - process find packet explained in fig2 . in box 2302 , a predetermined and programmed into the system ttransient structure is defined as a mparent treco , a mupmostparent treco , a mindexinparent number , a mlevel number and a logical value msubject . the ttransient structure is used in a mtransient of a treco . the set transient information sub - process will set the transient information of sm and its dependants in mchildren in sm . in step 2304 , the set transient information sub - process is called from step 2332 in fig2 or step 1714 in fig1 . step 2306 sets msubject of sm to false . in step 2308 , mparent of mtransient in sm is inspected to determine if it is clear . if yes , mupmostparent of mtransient in sm is set to sm at step 2310 . step 2312 sets mindexinparent of mtransient in sm to − 1 . step 2314 sets mlevel of mtransient in sm to 0 and the process proceeds to step 2320 . if mparent in mtransient in sm is not clear at step 2308 , step 2316 sets mupmostparent of mtransient in sm to mupmostparent of mparent of mtransient in sm . step 2318 sets mlevel of mtransient in sm to mlevel of mparent of mtransient in sm plus one , and the process proceeds to step 2320 . step 2320 sets child index chi to 0 . step 2322 inspects mchildren in sm to determine if it contains more than chi elements . if no , the process proceeds to step 2338 . if yes , step 2324 sets ks to sm . step 2326 sets sm to the element chi in mchildren in sm . step 2328 sets mparent in sm to ks . step 2330 sets mindexinstream of mtransient in sm to chi . step 2332 calls the sub - process set transient information at step 2304 of fig2 . step 2334 sets sm to ks . step 2336 increments the value of chi by one . step 2322 is then re - invoked until chi becomes equal to the number of mchildren in sm . once chi is greater or equal to the number of elements in mchildren in sm , the process proceeds to step 2338 . in box 2340 , an example of a syntactic hierarchy produced by the set transient information sub - process is shown . although the detailed description details a fully functional expression of this invention , the operation of this embodiment may be improved by the following applications . 1 . steps 1036 to step 1050 in fig1 do not need to be repeated for each utterance . instead , those steps could be executed for the first utterance , and then a logical flag could be set to true to identify that transform scripts were loaded for future utterances . 2 . by sorting all phonemes in each time - slice from the most probable ones ( highest probability ) to the least probable ones ( lowest probability ), the words list will consequently be sorted from the highest score to the lowest score since search paths would have had process most probable phonemes prior to least probable phonemes . by having the words list sorted out from the highest scored stream to the lowest scored stream for streams that start at the same starting phoneme index , the syntactic analysis process will consequently generate words sequences that are also sorted from the highest scored to the lowest scored . this is beneficial since no extra processing is required than sorting phonemes in a single time - slice of the phoneme stream in order to get syntactic hierarchy that are also sorted . each sentence part of speech produced by the syntactic analysis process would then sequentially have been produced in order , from the most probable based on the phoneme recognition process , to the least probable . processing sentence parts of speech in such order is way better than processing them in a trivial order , since , as described in this invention , conceptual analysis terminates once it detects its first successful response predicate . 3 . a predicate structure could be expressed as a real structure instead of a string . that structure would hold a mprimitive string ( containing the primitive ) and a one - dimensional array of rolefiller structures . each rolefiller structure would hold a mrolename string ( containing the role name ) and a mfiller that is either a ) a predicate structure , b ) a string holding a variable name , or c ) a string holding any value . 4 . the predicate structure described in ( 3 ) of this optimization section would reside in an address in memory . once a predicate builder script generates a predicate structure , it would then build the predicate structure in memory and add a predefined prefix that would state the address of where the predicate structure resides in memory . that way , in future manipulations of the predicate structure , once the predefined prefix containing the address is detected , instead of rebuilding the predicate structure , a simple reference to the existing predicate structure residing at the specified address would be requested — consequently saving significant processing time . 5 . the phoneme recognition and phoneme stream analysis processes could be united into one unique process in such a way that a phoneme stream would not need to be encoded in the phoneme recognition process , only to be decoded in the phoneme stream analysis process . such encoding , as the one shown in the preferred embodiment of the invention , is useful in order to trace potential weak links related to phoneme recognition , but requires significant processing to decode when performing phoneme stream analysis . instead , search paths management could be processed immediately during phoneme recognition , potentially saving precious time . 6 . caching of conceptual representations already calculated for streams would significantly improve performance . for each stream in a syntactic hierarchy , a caching mechanism could be implemented so that it would be clear at the start of calculating a predicate structure for a given syntactic hierarchy . once a predicate structure was calculated for a stream in the syntactic hierarchy , the predicate structure would be stored as a reference from the stream . that way , if future predicate builder script operations require the same stream to be calculated again , the cached value would be used instead of the entire process to recalculate and get to the same predicate structure as a result . 7 . the predicate builder scripting language is an interpreted language . in order to get better performance from conceptual analysis , a compiler could be written for the predicate builder scripting language . the process of writing compilers is well know to those skilled in the art and further explanation is not required since there is nothing processed specially in the predicate builder scripting language described in the invention . 8 . in order to minimize how many sequences of words are successfully generated during the syntactic analysis process , adding the constraint where only words formed from a unique cluster could be sequenced would help significantly . that could be specified as a configuration parameter to the system for select cases . by way of example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , a flight response system could implement that added constraint . since only one speaker is expected to utter a command , it is realistic to expect that speaker to have produced phonemes from a single cluster . 9 . should a speaker - independent approach using clusters be out of reach for any given reason to someone using this invention in a telephony context , enrollment could indeed be allowed . then , a technology similar to caller - id in a telephony environment could identify the caller prior to speech processing . by assuming that a specific caller will always initiate the call from a unique phone number — or at least that caller would have identified which phone numbers he is potentially going to use — an association to the speaker &# 39 ; s voice model would then be made prior to speech processing which would not require clusters anymore . 10 . should the use of phonemes not produce satisfactory results during the phoneme recognition process , triphones that maps to phonemes could be used instead . triphones are defined and discussed in jurafsky , daniel and martin , james h ., speech and language processing , prentice hall , new jersey , 2000 , pages 250 - 251 and 273 - 274 , the disclosure of which are herein incorporated by reference in a manner consistent with this disclosure . those skilled in the art are well aware of pronunciation differences of phonemes provided their proximity to other phonemes . each variation in phoneme pronunciation is called a triphone . instead of having a cluster voice model holding a unique set of value for each phoneme , it could hold different set of values ( one for each triphone of each phoneme ) that are referred by the pattern recognition algorithm . the phoneme recognition process would then proceed at comparing each triphones to the audio data in the current time - slice . once one of them succeed , the phoneme is added to the phoneme stream and other triphones for the detected phoneme are not processed for that time - slice since there is no added value at detecting two identical phonemes for the same time - slice . 11 . during the phoneme recognition process , should phoneme detection not be accurate enough to always recognize a word because some phonemes are not well detected or some time - slices do not detect a phoneme when they should , an error tolerant algorithm could be used to correct such behavior . the error tolerant algorithm could be implemented in such a way that , as an example , a search path would not be dropped immediately if it can &# 39 ; t forward in the index tree , instead , it would be dropped only if two consecutive time - slices can &# 39 ; t forward in the index tree . as an example , if a speaker utters “ i &# 39 ; m comin ( g ) home ” without pronouncing the ‘ g ’ phoneme at the end of “ coming ”, an error tolerant algorithm could well have detected the word “ coming ” from that utterance even though a phoneme is missing . so , an error tolerant phoneme stream analysis process would have dual purposes . first , it would cover many cases where people do not fully pronounce each word in their utterance , even covering for many slang cases . second , it would make the phoneme stream analysis process more defensive since some phonemes in utterances may be so imperceptible that a phoneme stream analysis process that is not error tolerant may have some difficulties processing the speech input successfully . 12 . error tolerance during the phoneme stream analysis process may not be limited to dropped phonemes as stated in the previous point . it may also be used for a ) wrong phonemes , and / or b ) dropped phonemes . performing such error tolerance would obviously increase significantly the size of the candidate words list and a revised scoring mechanism that accounts for candidate words that were produced as a consequence of the error tolerance would be beneficial . this extended error tolerance approach would also only allow one consecutive misrecognized or dropped phoneme before dropping the search path . two consecutive errors of different natures ( e . g . one dropped phoneme followed by one extra phoneme ) would also signal the drop of a search path . in order to handle the wrong phoneme error tolerant scenario , once recognized phonemes were processed for all search paths in a time - slice , all un - recognized phonemes would need to be called within that same time - slice so that search paths go forward when allowed by the dictionary . in order to handle the extra phoneme error tolerant scenario , once processing of recognized phonemes is done for a time - slice , promotion of all search paths that did not contain any prior error tolerance related error needs to occur . 13 . the phoneme recognition process may have some difficulties detecting some triphones — i . e . some phonemes when they are in proximity to other phonemes . in which case , the invention could be adapted for the phoneme to be ignored for targeted words that are difficult to recognize ( create two pronunciations for the same word , one that has the phoneme and the other that does not ), or even to remove entirely from the invention the triphone or even the phoneme itself . as an example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , if an implementation of the invention has some serious problem detecting the ‘ t ’ sound during the phoneme recognition process , the ‘ t ’ sound could , as an extreme counter measure to that , be completely ignored . then all words in the dictionary would need to have their ‘ t ’ phoneme removed from their pronunciation , and the invention would still be successful at identifying each spoken word although there would be a higher ratio of mismatches for each positive match . 14 . because of the way humans form utterances , often hesitating or even mumbling within an utterance although they are indeed forming a syntactic organization that can produce a successful conceptual representation , the dictionary could hold pronunciation for mumbling words ( like ‘ eh ’ in “ i &# 39 ; d like to ‘ eh ’ know when ‘ eh ’ flight 600 will arrive ”). this ‘ eh ’ pronunciation could refer to a word that would have the spelling “& lt ; eh - interjection & gt ;”, a predicate builder script that is null ( not holding any meaning related to the word part of speech pair ) and the part of speech interjection . an interjection part of speech would be specially handled during the syntactic analysis process in the sense that a mismatch on an interjection part of speech could not make a sequence of words fail for any transform script line that is being validated . so , the ‘ eh ’ sound could be found anywhere in the utterance without risking to invalidate any syntactic sequence of words . the same approach could be used more generically for other intejection words like “ please ” as an example . the sentence “ i &# 39 ; d like to ‘ please ’ know when flight 600 will arrive ” is valid , as well as the sentence “ i &# 39 ; d like to know when flight 600 will arrive ‘ please ”’. that is a demonstration of the fact that ‘ please ’ is an interjection part of speech and that it is desired that the syntactic analysis process not to fail sequences of words because of the presence of an interjection part of speech in it . 15 . a top - down parsing algorithm in the syntactic analysis process would significantly improve performance for cases where large quantity of words needs to be analyzed for syntactically valid sequences to be formed . since sentence parts of speech are the only ones that are truly important to the preferred embodiment of this invention ( so that they can then be analyzed conceptually ), a top - down parsing algorithm would mean that sentence parts of speech could be formed first ( without having to go through previous sequence validation like noun - phrase as in the bottom - up parsing algorithm described in this application ). any top - down parsing algorithm that is implemented should be flexible enough to enclose all permutation rules for this invention to enable dictation content to be processed conceptually . the top - down parsing algorithm would most probably take the form of a significantly large index structure that would hold all parts of speech sequences that may generate a sentence part of speech which would have been produced by analyzing all transform scripts that could be built following the same rules as the ones described in the preferred embodiment of this invention . the top - down algorithm could then refer to that specially built index structure in order to validate sequences of words so that sentence parts of speech are built immediately — without preliminary steps like creating noun - phrase parts of speech as required in a bottom - up parsing . once a sentence part of speech was built successfully , the syntactic analysis process could then apply a bottom - up parsing so that enclosed parts of speech are also generated and that conceptual analysis could process equally as if only a bottom - up parsing algorithm was involved . 16 . for the invention to be used to dictate freely content in a word processor , any hidden - markov - model implementation — where the n - best words are used as input for syntactic analysis , and n - best words of sequences of words returned by hmm algorithm are also taken into consideration — or the phoneme recognition process described in this application could be used to generate the words list while keeping trace of each word starting phoneme index in the phoneme stream . the syntactic analysis process would then validate words sequences as described in this invention . once sentence parts of speech are identified , there are two major improvements over state of the art dictation speech recognition technology that do not use conceptual analysis : a ) accuracy would improve since syntactic and conceptual aspects of the speech would be taken into consideration during speech processing , and b ) while getting a valid concept , as a residual is the syntactic organization that was used to produce such valid concept ; the programming engineer could then use that syntactic organization in order to infer punctuation requirements needed as part of dictated content — consequently generating punctuation in the dictated content without having the speaker explicitly dictating punctuation . 17 . bridging , as explained in fig4 to fig6 may also be used for phonemes that have close pronunciations . step 564 , 634 and 1108 would need to be modified in such a way that some predefined phonemes could be identified as a potential bridging that needs to happen if followed by some other predefined phonemes . as an example and not intending to limit the invention in any manner , if the ‘ s ’ sound of ‘ this ’ is found to be close enough from the ‘ z ’ sound of ‘ zoo ’, in step 634 , while detecting that the last phoneme of a candidate word is ‘ s ’, it could set the ‘ s ’ entry in bl to true as well as the ‘ z ’ entry for the ending phoneme index in bl . step 1108 would also need to implement a simple mechanism ( probably a static mapping table of bridging phoneme sets ) where the two phonemes are identified as ones that may have generated a bridge . that way , a sequence like “ this zoo is near ” would be successfully recognized for speakers that tend to perform more bridging than others . the following examples are intended to further illustrate the application of the invention in a limited context , an airline response system , and is not intended to limit the invention in any manner . numerous inquiries were input into a sample airline response inquiry system according to the invention . for purposes of illustration and testing of the building of conceptually adequate responses to those inquiries , the following database was created to provide typical responsive reference data that may be found in such an application . the following inquiry was input into an embodiment of the system and method of the invention , with the corresponding response based on the reference data contained from the flight database . the data was processed using a 2 . 4 ghz pentium 4 computer that has 1 gb of ram . a : united airline flight 600 arrived at 2 32 pm and was late by 12 minutes . spelling : is flight 600 delayed is flight 600 delayed & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 0 , index − 1 ] is flight 600 delayed & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 9 , level 1 , index 0 ] is flight 600 & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 1 , level 2 , index 0 ] is & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 3 , index 0 ] flight 600 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 3 , index 1 ] flight 600 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 4 , index 0 ] flight 600 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 5 , index 0 ] flight & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 6 , index 0 ] 600 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 1 ] 6 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 0 ] 100 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 1 ] delayed & lt ;- [ adjective_phrase , adjective phrase construction 1 , level 2 , index 1 ] delayed & lt ;- [ adjective , word , level 3 , index 0 ] [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )]) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : deltastatus ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( time_of_analysis : thu jun 19 20 : 20 : 38 2003 )] streaming and stream analysis 15 ms syntactic analysis 0 ms conceptual analysis 16 ms the system arrived at the indicated response after approximately 31 ms from the time of the inquiry input . similar to example 1 , the following inquiry was input into the same system , with the indicated response . a : u s airways flight 122 left at 1 23 pm . spelling : when did flight 122 leave when did flight 122 leave & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 0 , index − 1 ] when did flight 122 leave & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 10 , level 1 , index 0 ] when & lt ;- [ wh_pronoun , word , level 2 , index 0 ] did flight 122 leave & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 7 , level 2 , index 1 ] did & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 3 , index 0 ] flight 122 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 3 , index 1 ] flight 122 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 4 , index 0 ] flight 122 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 5 , index 0 ] flight & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 6 , index 0 ] 122 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 1 ] 1 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 0 ] 22 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 1 ] 20 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 8 , index 0 ] 2 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 8 , index 1 ] leave & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 3 , index 2 ] [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : departuretime ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : us ) ( number : 122 ) ( origin : den ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : inflight ) ( departuretime : 13 : 23 ) ( arrivaltime : 15 : 19 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 13 : 15 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 15 : 13 ) ( departuregate : 15 ) ( arrivalgate : b 6 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : us ) ( number : 122 ) ( origin : den ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : inflight ) ( departuretime : 13 : 23 ) ( arrivaltime : 15 : 19 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 13 : 15 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 15 : 13 ) ( departuregate : 15 ) ( arrivalgate : b 6 ) ( spokencompany : none )]) ( assumption_on_time_of_event :& lt ; present time ) ( time_of_analysis : thu jun 19 20 : 20 : 40 2003 )] streaming and stream analysis 16 ms syntactic analysis 15 ms conceptual analysis 32 ms the following inquiry was made into the same system as examples 1 and 2 , with the indicated response . a : yes , united airline flight 600 arrived at 2 32 pm . spelling : has united airlines flights 600 arrived yet has united airlines flights 600 arrived yet & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 0 , index − 1 ] has united airlines flights 600 arrived yet & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 5 , level 1 , index 0 ] has & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 2 , index 0 ] united airlines flights 600 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 2 , index 1 ] united airlines flights 600 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 3 , index 0 ] united airlines flights 600 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 4 , index 0 ] united airlines & lt ;- [ airline , airline identification , level 5 , index 0 ] united & lt ;- [ airline , word , level 6 , index 0 ] airlines & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 6 , index 1 ] flights & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 5 , index 1 ] 600 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 5 , index 2 ] 6 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 0 ] 100 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 1 ] arrived yet & lt ;- [ gerundive_phrase , gerundive phrase construction , level 2 , index 2 ] arrived & lt ;- [ gerundive_verb , gerundive ed , level 3 , index 0 ] arrived & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 4 , index 0 ] yet & lt ;- [ adverb , word , level 3 , index 1 ] [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : ua )]) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : statusarrived ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : ua )])])]) ( assumption_on_time_of_event :& lt ; present_time ) ( time_of_analysis : thu jun 19 20 : 20 : 41 2003 )] using the same system as examples 1 , 2 and 3 , the following inquiry was input and the indicated response was returned . spelling : will flights 600 arrive before long will flights 600 arrive before long & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 0 , index − 1 ] will flights 600 arrive before long & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 9 , level 1 , index 0 ] will flights 600 arrive & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 5 , level 2 , index 0 ] will & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 3 , index 0 ] flights 600 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 3 , index 1 ] flights 600 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 4 , index 0 ] flights 600 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 5 , index 0 ] flights & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 6 , index 0 ] 600 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 1 ] 6 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 0 ] 100 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 1 ] arrive & lt ;- [ gerundive_phrase , gerundive phrase construction , level 3 , index 2 ] arrive & lt ;- [ gerundive_verb , word , level 4 , index 0 ] before long & lt ;- [ adjective_phrase , adjective phrase construction 1 , level 2 , index 1 ] before long & lt ;- [ adjective , word , level 3 , index 0 ] [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )]) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : timetoarrival ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( assumption_on_time_of_event :& gt ; present_time ) ( time_of_analysis : thu jun 19 20 : 20 : 41 2003 )] using the same system , as examples 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 , the following inquiry was input and the indicated response was returned . q : from which city and at what time did flight 600 take off ? a : united airline flight 600 originated from new york at 8 59 am . spelling : from which city and at what time did flights 600 take off from which city and at what time did flights 600 take off & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 0 , index − 1 ] from which city and at what time & lt ;- [ wh_np , wh_np construction 4 , level 1 , index 0 ] from which city & lt ;- [ wh_np , wh_np construction 1 , level 2 , index 0 ] from which & lt ;- [ wh_pronoun , word , level 3 , index 0 ] city & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 3 , index 1 ] city & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 4 , index 0 ] and & lt ;- [ conjunction , word , level 2 , index 1 ] at what time & lt ;- [ wh_np , word , level 2 , index 2 ] did flights 600 take off & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 7 , level 1 , index 1 ] did & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 2 , index 0 ] flights 600 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 2 , index 1 ] flights 600 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 3 , index 0 ] flights 600 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 4 , index 0 ] flights & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 5 , index 0 ] 600 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 5 , index 1 ] 6 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 0 ] 100 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 6 , index 1 ] take off & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 2 , index 2 ] [ and ( value1 : [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : departurecity ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])]) ( value2 : [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : departuretime ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])]) ( assumption_on_time_of_event :& lt ; present_time ) ( time_of_analysis : thu jun 19 20 : 20 : 41 2003 )] streaming and stream analysis 31 ms syntactic analysis 16 ms conceptual analysis 15 ms using the same system , as examples 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 , the following inquiry was input and the indicated response was returned . q : when and where did flight six hundred arrive from new york and how late was the departure of flight three twenty ? a : united airline flight 600 arrived from new york at 2 32 pm at gate b 2 of dallas fort worth international airport in dallas . american airline flight 320 left at 2 35 pm and was late by 1 hour 15 minutes . spelling : when and where did flight 600 arrive from new york and how late was the departure of flight 320 when and where did flight 600 arrive from new york and how late was the departure of flight 320 & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 4 , level 0 , index − 1 ] when and where did flight 600 arrive from new york & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 1 , index 0 ] when and where did flight 600 arrive from new york & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 10 , level 2 , index 0 ] when and where & lt ;- [ wh_pronoun , wh_pronoun construction 1 , level 3 , index 0 ] when & lt ;- [ wh_pronoun , word , level 4 , index 0 ] and & lt ;- [ conjunction , word , level 4 , index 1 ] where & lt ;- [ wh_pronoun , word , level 4 , index 2 ] did flight 600 arrive from new york & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 5 , level 3 , index 1 ] did & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 4 , index 0 ] flight 600 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 4 , index 1 ] flight 600 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 5 , index 0 ] flight 600 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 6 , index 0 ] flight & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 7 , index 0 ] 600 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 1 ] 6 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 8 , index 0 ] 100 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 8 , index 1 ] arrive & lt ;- [ gerundive_phrase , gerundive phrase construction , level 4 , index 2 ] arrive & lt ;- [ gerundive_verb , word , level 5 , index 0 ] from new york & lt ;- [ preposition_phrase , preposition phrase construction 1 , level 4 , index 3 ] from & lt ;- [ preposition , word , level 5 , index 0 ] new york & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 5 , index 1 ] new york & lt ;- [ noun , city integration , level 6 , index 0 ] new york & lt ;- [ city , word , level 7 , index 0 ] and & lt ;- [ conjunction , word , level 1 , index 1 ] how late was the departure of flight 320 & lt ;- [ sentence , sentence construction 1 , level 1 , index 2 ] how late & lt ;- [ wh_np , wh_np construction 2 , level 2 , index 0 ] how & lt ;- [ wh_pronoun , word , level 3 , index 0 ] late & lt ;- [ adjective , word , level 3 , index 1 ] was the departure of flight 320 & lt ;- [ verb_phrase , verb phrase construction 1 , level 2 , index 1 ] was & lt ;- [ verb , word , level 3 , index 0 ] the departure & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 3 , index 1 ] the & lt ;- [ definite_article , word , level 4 , index 0 ] departure & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 4 , index 1 ] of flight 320 & lt ;- [ preposition_phrase , preposition phrase construction 1 , level 3 , index 2 ] of & lt ;- [ preposition , word , level 4 , index 0 ] flight 320 & lt ;- [ noun_phrase , plain noun phrase construction , level 4 , index 1 ] flight 320 & lt ;- [ noun , flight integration , level 5 , index 0 ] flight 320 & lt ;- [ flight , flight identification construction 2 , level 6 , index 0 ] flight & lt ;- [ noun , word , level 7 , index 0 ] 320 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 7 , index 1 ] 3 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 8 , index 0 ] 20 & lt ;- [ cardinal_number , word , level 8 , index 1 ] [ and ( value1 : [ and ( value1 : [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : arrivaltime ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])]) ( value2 : [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : arrivallocation ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])]) ( assumption_on_time_of_event :& lt ; present_time ) ( extra : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ verify ( origin : [ city ( citycode : newyork ) ( value : [ airport ( airportcode : jfk ) ( airportname : john f kennedy international airport )]) ( value : [ airport ( airportcode : nwk ) ( airportname : newark international airport )])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : ua ) ( number : 600 ) ( origin : jfk ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : arrived ) ( departuretime : 8 : 59 ) ( arrivaltime : 14 : 32 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 8 : 52 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 14 : 20 ) ( departuregate : b 21 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])])]) ( value2 : [ mood ( class : interogative ) ( query : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ airlinepostanalysis ( operation : [ report ( value : departuredeltastatus ) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : aa ) ( number : 320 ) ( origin : las ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : inflight ) ( departuretime : 14 : 35 ) ( arrivaltime : 16 : 15 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 13 : 20 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 16 : 20 ) ( departuregate : e 42 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : aa ) ( number : 320 ) ( origin : las ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : inflight ) ( departuretime : 14 : 35 ) ( arrivaltime : 16 : 15 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 13 : 20 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 16 : 20 ) ( departuregate : e 42 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )])])]) ( object : [ pp ( class : vehicle ) ( type : airplane ) ( company : aa ) ( number : 320 ) ( origin : las ) ( destination : dfw ) ( status : inflight ) ( departuretime : 14 : 35 ) ( arrivaltime : 16 : 15 ) ( initialdeparturetime : 13 : 20 ) ( initialarrivaltime : 16 : 20 ) ( departuregate : e 42 ) ( arrivalgate : b 2 ) ( spokencompany : none )]) ( assumption_on_time_of_event :& lt ; present — time )]) ( time_of_analysis : thu jun 19 20 : 20 : 39 2003 )] the foregoing embodiments have been presented for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way . the scope of the invention is to be determined from the claims appended hereto . | 6 |
the present system and method addresses the criticality of c4 current reduction during “ pre - silicon ” chip planning and design as well as during “ post - silicon ” ( after chip designs are fixed and applications are run ) phases , e . g ., through dynamic workload optimization techniques . further , the electrical current delivery aware chip design methodologies include “ pre - silicon ” and “ post - silicon ”, and hybrid ( combination of pre - and post - silicon ) approaches to analysis , design , implementation and optimization of chip and package designs . for example , as shown in fig2 , the pre - silicon approach includes the floorplanning , designing where the devices , or standard cells or blocks composed of multiple devices are placed , with respect to power dissipation and c4 placement . the “ pre - silicon ” floorplanning approach is “ current aware ” because the location of the devices , cells or blocks is determined by current profiles across the chip and thus they are placed to minimize maximum c4 current or balance c4 currents . for example , certain blocks that draw high current may be placed apart or under higher dense c4 area . the current - aware floorplanning approach is distinct to another “ pre - silicon ” approach claimed in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ , ( atty . docket no . : yor810 - 1127 ); in the prior art , the placement of c4 bumps is optimized while the floorplan and the current profile are fixed . an exemplary implementation of the current - aware floorplanning methodology is shown in fig2 and 6 . instead of the iterative approach shown in fig6 , an analytical solver can be used to find the optimal location of blocks . in an embodiment of the method 100 of fig2 , there are two major steps : 1 ) creating a one - time computed matrix that captures current distribution relation between a set of current sources ( represented as a plurality of “ bins ” covering the active ic semiconductor area ), and a set of voltage sources ( e . g ., pin interconnect structures such as c4 bumps ), and 2 ) formulating objective functions and constraints and solving them to find the optimal floorplan by minimizing the cost while satisfying the constraints . in one embodiment , in the automated current - aware floorplanning methodology , the current distribution relation remains the same while the location of the devices cells or blocks may change to find the optimal solution , and is captured in a one - time computed matrix . this is done by associating the current sources not with the moving blocks but with the stationary “ bins ” or regions which the floorplan region is divided into . as referred to herein , a “ block ” includes a current source including , but not limited to , one or more electrical or integrated circuit devices that draw current or dissipate power while operational or non - operational ( via transistor current leakage , for example ). more specifically , the moving or locatable “ block ” or “ blocks ” during floorplanning may include , but are not limited to : a transistor device ( s ), gates comprising a plurality of transistor devices , standard cells comprising a plurality of gates , macros comprising a plurality of standard cells , a unit comprising a plurality of macros , a processing “ core ” or cores comprising one or more units , and a central processing unit ( cpu ) including one or more cores , accelerator units , on - chip bus / network units , controller units , i / o units . the floorplan region is divided into a sufficiently large number k of “ bins ” at 105 . a data structure such as a matrix capturing the current distribution relation between the bins and the c4 bumps is generated at 110 by using , in one embodiment , a sensitivity analysis methodology such as described in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ [ atty . docket yor810 - 1127 ]. fig4 shows the binning approach to generate the sensitivity matrix a . the example die floorplan or floorplan portion 50 shown in fig4 includes ic blocks 55 a , 55 b , 55 c , and 55 d , for example , overlayed with a uniform grid shown as a pattern or network of grid lines 60 that define and fix locations of the bins 75 . the grid ( and consequently , the bins ) can be irregular in size as well . the blocks 55 a , 55 b , 55 c , and 55 d are movable during floorplanning , but the bins 75 are fixed . the current demand of the blocks is distributed per bin , such that as the two or more bins overlap a block the current demand of that block is divided proportionately among the overlapped bins . for examples , as shown in fig4 , the overlap of portions 55 d 1 and 55 d 2 of block 55 d with the respective bins 75 a , 75 b drives the respective current of respective bins 75 a , 75 b according the ratio of the overlapped portion to the total area of the unit 55 d and the current drawn in each bin . fig5 shows an exemplary implementation of the matrix generation process based on systems and methods of herein incorporated , co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ [ atty . docket yor810 - 1127 ]. there is generated a sensitivity matrix a that represents the current distribution relation between bins and the c4 bumps . that is , the sensitivity matrix a , an n × m matrix , represents a resistive network between m bins and n c4 bumps , e . g ., structures like pins of chip packages , pins between chips and packages , pins between chips , etc . to compute the sensitivity of c4 currents with respect to each bin , the current of the selected bin is assumed a unit current ( e . g ., 1a ) and that of the other bins no current , i . e ., 0a . then , the c4 currents obtained by power grid analysis and divided by 1a ( i . e ., the applied current to the selected bin ) indicate what portion of the bin current is distributed to each c4 bump . this sensitivity of c4 currents with respect to the selected bin is a weighted vector saved to the corresponding column of matrix a . once this matrix a is created , the c4 currents vector i c4 associated with the bin currents vector i s is calculated in accordance with the equation depicted in fig3 , as follows : returning back to fig2 and 6 , the current - aware floorplanning starts with the matrix , block information ( such as current , dimension and initial location ) and objectives ( such as max c4 current ) at 310 . in fig6 , as an example , a programmed computer running a set of stored processing instructions receives at 310 the following inputs : i m : block currents ; d m : the block dimensions in width and height ( w , h ); l m : the initial block locations coordinates ( x , y ) in the floorplan ; a : the one - time computed matrix ( n × m ); and i c4 — max : the initial max c4 current . at 312 there is performed setting a new solution variable , l m — new indicating a new chip layout design ( new macro location coordinates providing current sources ). the loop composed of 312 to 335 implements an iterative approach to find the optimal floorplan . at 315 , the mapping of the moving blocks to the stationary bins is performed in the form of a loop that iterates over all bins i such that , for all i , 0 ≦ i ≦ m − 1 , the total current of bin i , i s ( i ), is the summation of a product of the i m : macro j current portion and the ratio of macro j overlapping with bin i ( i . e ., summed over all overlapping blocks at that bin i ). then , at 320 , each c4 current is computed by sum of currents contributed by each bin , based on the computed sensitivity matrix a . the cost ( cost c4 ) is additionally generated at 320 ( with constraints ) as a function of max i i c4 ( i ), the maximum current among the n c4 bumps . continuing at 325 , fig6 , a determination is made as to whether the maximum current , i . e ., cost c4 , is smaller than the c4 current limit , i c4 — max . if at 325 it is determined that the maximum current is larger than the c4 current limit , the process returns to step 312 and steps 315 , 320 and 325 are repeated . as such , the new block locations are ignored . otherwise , at 325 if it determined that the i c4 — max is larger than the cost , then the process continues at step 330 where an iteration is performed over all blocks i to set the current l m : macro locations to l m — new and i c4 — max is set to the maximum current . the process proceeds to 335 where it is determined whether a maximum iteration count has been reached for obtaining for iterating among floorplan designs . if the maximum count has not been reached , then the process returns again to 312 to select a new solution l m — new . otherwise , if the maximum iteration count has been reached , then the latest l m floorplan locations are output and / or saved to memory at 340 indicating where to place the blocks for this design example . if an analytical solver is used , 312 to 335 are replaced with the evaluation of the following cost functions with the solver : i c4 k ≦ i c4 max , k = 0 , 1 , . . . , n − 1 a post silicon approach is “ current aware ,” i . e ., given the fixed layout ( floor plan of devices , macros , units , cores , cpus , etc . and c4 layout ), by proper dispatching of the instructions or scheduling workloads properly on the cpu to balance and lower c4 current draw . this guarantees that the c4 current limit is met at any time or never exceeds a determined value for a period of time of operation . thus , in one aspect , in the “ pre - silicon ” approach of a multi - core processor chip , c4s are designed and allocated unevenly to cores or units , and in the “ post - silicon ” approach , workload based optimization is performed to exploit the heterogeneity . in pre - silicon phase , currents and costs can be optimized , but there are cases in chip design in which current may not be optimized , e . g ., one or more c4 connections can not meet the c4 current limitations if operated under some work load condition . thus , in a further embodiment , instead of designing a floorplan for worst - case corner or condition ( e . g . a work load that stresses c4 connection the most ), the floorplan could be designed for average case behavior ( a relaxed c4 current limit condition ) and the c4 connections are monitored dynamically . in such a design , the c4 current reduction is obtained through workload based optimizations . in one embodiment , the method will identify which c4 connections are non - optimized , i . e ., currents may exceed the current limit condition in a particular location . in one embodiment , as shown in fig7 a , a chip , such as an electronic control device or as part of an on - chip micro - controller , is formed in the die to monitor the c4 usage at various locations and ensure that the c4 current limits are not exceeded at those locations . in other embodiments , this can be performed by an operating system or hypervisor scheduler or under software program control . in each embodiment , the controller will stop operations in the functional unit , for example , to prevent the amount of current flowing through the corresponding c4 connections from exceeding their designed c4 current limits . in one embodiment , there is dynamically measured the c4 current as a workload runs . more particularly , in a hardware implementation as shown in fig7 a , during run time , the on - chip controller ( which may be firmware ) or global current delivery control unit 80 ( cdcu ), is a processing loop , performs both current control and a current measurement technique that measures activity levels at various functional blocks and / or c4 connections of the die . in one embodiment , the cdcu control block 81 implements a current control delivery algorithm 83 that operates to control the built in actuators 85 that invoke measuring operations 90 . in the embodiment of fig7 a , the operations include invoking power estimation sensors that directly sense and perform power sensor estimation of the power consumption based under workload conditions at 93 , and at 95 , corresponding estimated power levels are subject to power to current conversion operation to obtain the real - time c4 current measures at the die under the workload conditions . systems and methods for estimating power in a chip is known in the art ( power proxies ). in an alternative or additional embodiment as shown in fig7 b , a global cdcu control block 80 ′, as in the cdcu 80 of fig7 a , implements a current control delivery algorithm 83 that operates to control the built in actuators 85 for invoking the measuring operations 90 which include : at 94 , the measuring of activity levels at various functional blocks and / or c4 connections of the die . in one embodiment , the measuring of activity levels at various functional blocks and / or c4 connections of the die address the c4 connections that are shared across blocks or blocks with non uniform current demands . further , at 96 , there are performed operations to convert the measured activity levels to a power level . then , at 95 , the corresponding converted power levels are converted to current levels to obtain the real - time c4 current measures at the die under the workload conditions . more specifically , at the end of the conversion process , a matrix ( not shown ) is obtained that provides a current map depending on the dynamic activity when a workload is run . such a dynamic current map can be used in leverage with certain actuators to solve current delivery problem . in an alternative or additional embodiment as shown in fig7 c , the cdcu control block 80 ′ itself is implemented as a local current delivery control unit ( l u1 ) configured to implement a local current delivery control part of the processing loop , and specifically the actuation of local current limiting mechanisms at functional blocks in pre - determined area or grid regions as will be described herein below . thus , as shown in fig7 c , plural local current delivery control units l u1 to l un are configured to act in a respective local region of the chip for current delivery control . the power estimation / activity measurement part is performed in the local cdcu shown as 80 ′ such as described with respect to fig7 a , 7 b wherein measuring operations 90 are performed that include : the measuring of activity levels at various functional blocks and / or c4 connections of the die , and the performing an operation to convert the activity levels to a power level which are then converted to current levels to obtain the real - time c4 current measures at the die under the workload conditions . the global current control algorithm 83 operating in a global cdcu 80 ″ processes activity measurement signals from each of the l u1 to l un to determine local current level controls . the global cdcu 80 ″ interfaces with a cdcu control block 81 ′ of each individual l u1 to l un to control , via respective control signals 89 , the built in actuators 85 therein for invoking the local current delivery controls in a respective functional block , e . g ., macro , unit , core , or cpu in pre - determined area or grid regions . it should be understood that various other implementations for global cdcu are possible . for example , the current control delivery mechanisms in fig7 a - 7c may be implemented alone or in any combination . they may be located off - chip as well but preferably as part of the on - chip power controller . moreover , the cdcu units may be implemented by software and monitored by host system . in the embodiments described herein , the cdcu units guarantee that the current limit is met at any time or never exceeds for a longer period of time by dispatching / scheduling the instructions or scheduling workloads properly . control / actuation can be performed locally / globally or a combination of both . the architecture for implementing the current delivery control solutions of fig7 a - 7c is now described with respect to fig8 a - 8c . in an embodiment of fig8 a , a chip or chip portion 60 having c4 bumps 62 distributed on the chip is shown divided into non - uniform grid regions 61 , for example regions 61 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 . in the embodiment of fig8 a , the cdcu 80 of fig7 a is situated and configured to send control / actuation signals to and receive sensor measurement data signals 69 from the distributed power estimation ( e . g ., activity ) sensors 64 for estimating current drawn in the each region 61 of the grid to obtain a c4 current at each c4 bump 62 . from the collected sensor measurement values , the control algorithm will initiate corrective action to prevent exceeding a maximum c4 current limit at any c4 connection ( bump ). for example , the algorithm processes the measured or sensed values and implements an actuator to generate a control signal 88 to effect a local actuation such as a preventive response . for example , if it is sensed , or if an activity counter &# 39 ; s count values indicate that c4 current limit is being exceeded when performing an operation , e . g ., multiplying , the control algorithm is invoked to address the situation . in one embodiment , the algorithm may responsively generate a control signal to throttle timing of execution of an operation , e . g ., operate on every other clock cycle , or effectively reducing its frequency of operation . other operations may be actuated including : providing instruction sequencing control which is part of the chip control loop architecture described in connection with an example instruction sequencing unit ( isu ) described herein with respect to fig9 . in an embodiment of fig8 b , a chip or chip portion 60 ′ having c4 bumps 62 distributed on the chip is shown divided into non - uniform grid regions 61 , for example regions 61 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 . in the embodiment of fig8 b , the cdcu 80 ′ of fig7 b is situated and configured to send and receive control and data signals 69 to the distributed activity counters 66 for controlling activity monitoring and generating count values used for estimating current drawn in the each region 61 of the grid . the types of activity that count values are generated by activity sensor or counter includes : the number of times or occurrences of certain chip activities , e . g ., a memory access , a cpu issuing an instruction , an access to a cache , the performing a multiplication operation or arithmetic operation in a functional unit such as an arithmetic logic unit . it is from a set of specially architected activity counters that deduce c4 current measurement . one algorithm for converting power to c4 current conversion is described in commonly - owned , herein - incorporated u . s . patent application ser . no . ______ [ atty . docket : yor810 - 1127 ]. in a non - limiting example , the power to c4 current conversion algorithm is the same as described herein with respect to fig3 showing how bin currents ( current sources vector i s ) convert to c4 currents i c4 . however , in the power to c4 current conversion algorithm , i s indicates a vector of currents of the estimated power in the divided regions . that is , the chip layout is first divided into regions of the chip having located one or more physical connectors that deliver electrical current drawn by the current sources in the regions as connected via the grid network ( s ). as for the floorplanning , the sensitivity matrix a may be pre - computed to capture current distribution relation between the current sources , e . g ., macros / units and physical connectors , e . g ., c4 bumps . then the power estimation measurement is made , e . g ., to obtain a power consumption vector , e . g ., p s , in watts or mw which is stored in vector i s in amperes or ma of the current drawn for the divided regions ( i . e ., i s = p s / vdd ) where vdd is a power supply voltage value powering the chip blocks . then matrix a is used to obtain the current flow through the physical connectors i c4 with respect to an amount of current drawn for divided regions i s according to i c4 = a * i s . different correlation and power proxy functions converting power from activity levels can be found in references to m . floyd , m . ware , k . rajamani , t . gloekler , b . brock , p . bose , a . buyuktosunoglu , j . rubio , b . schubert , b . spruth , j . tierno , l . pesantez . adaptive energy management features of the ibm power7 chip . ibm journal of research and development , vol . 55 , may / june 2011 ; and , m . floyd , m . ware , k . rajamani , b . brock , c . lefurgy , a . drake , l . pesantez , t . gloekler , j . tierno , p . bose , a . buyuktosunoglu . introducing the adaptive energy management features of the power7 chip . ieee micro , march / april 2011 . in one embodiment , in the uniform or non - uniform grid regions , the activity is measured in those grid regions 61 and the conversion computations / actuations may be performed at a global central current manager through the current delivery control unit 80 or 80 ′. in another form , the chip can be divided into uniform grids where the activity is measured in those grids and conversion computations are performed globally . thus , in an embodiment of fig8 c , a chip or chip portion 60 ″ having c4 bumps 62 distributed on the chip is shown divided into uniform grid regions 63 , for example regions 63 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 . in the embodiment of fig8 c , the cdcu 80 of fig7 a or cdcu 80 ′ of fig7 b is situated and configured to send and receive control and data signals 69 to the distributed activity counters or like power estimation devices 88 for controlling current activity monitoring and estimating current drawn in the each uniform grid region 63 . in either uniform or non - uniform grid regions , the regions 61 , 63 in fig8 a - 8c may be of a size according to granularity of a macro , a functional unit , or a core . in a further embodiment , the activity that is measured in those grids 61 , 63 and the conversion computations / actuations may be performed at a global central current manager through the current delivery control unit 80 or 80 ′. in an embodiment of fig8 d , a chip or chip portion 60 ′″ having c4 bumps 62 distributed on the chip is shown divided into uniform grid regions 63 , for example regions 63 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 ( e . g . at macro level or functional unit level ). there is a global cdcu 80 ′ of fig7 c that may be part of an on - chip microcontroller to perform the measurement part of the loop that is situated and configured to receive power measurement signals obtained by activity counting mechanisms from the distributed power estimation ( e . g ., activity ) sensors for estimating current drawn in the each respective region 63 of the grid to obtain an estimated c4 current level value in one embodiment . however , further included at each region 63 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 , for example , is a local current delivery control unit lu 1 , . . . lu 9 , such as shown in fig7 c , that is configured to locally implement the control part of the processing loop at each grid region 63 , and specifically the actuation of current limiting features at each local grid region 63 . fig9 depicts a further implementation of a chip control loop architecture in one embodiment for a chip or chip portion 60 ″″ having c4 bumps 62 distributed on the chip and shown divided into non - uniform grid regions 61 , for example regions 61 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 . in each region is an activity counter that monitors activity of various functional units including , but not limited to : an isu : instruction sequencing unit ; an lsu : load / store unit ; an fxu : fixed point unit ; and a fpu : floating point unit , located in a respective region 61 of the grid . in an example implementation , a c4 current measurement is autonomously obtained from the activity counters and power conversion algorithms in the cdcu 80 ′. if a c4 current measurement in a region is less than a programmed threshold , then in one embodiment , the actuation of a current limiting mechanism is not invoked . for example , in one embodiment , for a region 61 having the lsu , if it is determined that a c4_current_region_lsu & gt ; threshold_i , then the lsu instruction issue rate may be throttled , i . e ., reduced , otherwise , the normal lsu instruction issue rate is maintained at that region having the lsu . in one embodiment , to reduce issue rate : the actuators 85 in fig7 a - 7c are programmed to throttle , i . e ., reduce , a number of lsu instructions issued at a time , e . g ., lsu instructions are issued every other cycle , or every other x cycles ( x : can be any number ). in one embodiment , the c4_current_region_lsu current may be computed as a sum of c4 current across all the macros of lsu or sum of c4 currents across a specified set of macros in lsu . that is , the granularity of the activity monitoring is at the unit level , or macro within the lsu unit . it is understood that , without loss of generality , the throttling mechanism described with respect to fig9 additionally applies to other units isu , fpu , fxu , etc ., in a grid region , and any sub - block within the macro or unit . it is understood that several of the architecture forms shown herein with respect to fig8 a - 8d can be deployed in an architecture , alone or in combination . in a further embodiment , there is obviated the need to use cdcu and activity monitoring system as shown in fig7 a - 7c by implementing a token - based monitoring approach . this approach is based on the insight that is may be acceptable to exceed the c4 current limit for a very short period of time , but not for a long duration . therefore , there is performed controlling the activity in a sliding window of time which permits use of a given unit for short periods with high activity , as long as the average in the time window is below a given threshold . in one embodiment , in the c4 - aware token - based operation , each block e . g ., macro , unit , core , cpu etc ., gets or receives tokens . tokens may be issued and received at the blocks periodically . for example , one block may issue tokens to another block , or an operating system of hypervisor unit may issue tokens to blocks . a block may additionally be programmed to allocate tokens to itself , e . g ., periodically . when the block is used to perform an operation , one of the tokens gets exhausted ( i . e ., a token count associated with that unit gets decremented ). this allows the unit to be operated at high utilization for a short time ( as long as there are enough tokens ). the tokens are allocated to functional units , macros , cores , at a constant token generation rate . given that tokens are allocated to a unit at a constant rate , this ensures that the overall activity does not exceed that of the rate at which tokens are generated . the time window determines how many unused tokens can be kept at a given unit . fig1 depicts a token - based control loop implementation in one embodiment for a chip or chip portion 70 having c4 bumps 62 is distributed on the chip is shown divided into non - uniform grid regions 61 , for example regions 61 labeled 1 , . . . , 9 . in each region 61 , there is located various functional units including , but not limited to : an isu : instruction sequencing unit ; an lsu : load / store unit ; an fxu : fixed point unit ; and a fpu : floating point unit , located in a respective region 61 . further associated with a respective region 61 are the issued reserve tokens 71 associated with the particular unit , e . g ., isu . in an example implementation , instruction throttling of the various functional units show in the architecture of fig1 , is performed according to a method 500 shown in fig1 . fig1 particularly shows a method that , in a sliding window of time , a particular unit is issued given tokens when a unit is to perform high activity for a unit of time . with a token , the unit can perform activity . the tokens ensure that the c4 current limits are not exceeded . for example , as shown in fig1 , based on either the presilicon / postsilicon modeling results , which provide knowledge of high activity areas , for example , the token currency is issued to a unit in a grid that is representative of c4 current . in a first initialization 510 , there is performed initializing a token generation / cycle variable to a value “ x ”; initializing a token_generation_amount variable to a value “ t ”; initializing a token_expiry_period variable to a value t_exp ; and , for an example lsu functional block in a grid 61 , initializing the lsu reserve token lsu_tresv variable to a value of 0 , for that functional unit . it is understood that x , t and t_exp variable values may be varied when run - time measurement is available . then , at 515 , during real - time workload operations , at each x cycle , there is generated for issuance to the functional unit , e . g ., lsu unit , the lsu_tresv amount of tokens 71 to the reserve . then , at 520 , it is autonomously determined for each issuance by an isu an lsu instruction and the lsu_tresv is greater than 0 , then it is permitted for the isu to issue an lsu instruction as the token reserve 71 for the lsu is greater than 1 . after issuance of the lsu instruction the lsu_tresv variable is decremented by 1 token ( e . g ., lsu_tresv - 1 ). otherwise , if it is determined at 520 that upon issuance by an isu of an lsu instruction , the corresponding lsu_tresv is not greater than 0 , then the isu is prevented from issuing the lsu instruction as exceeding the current limit . finally , as indicated at 530 , fig1 , for each token issued to a lsu , a determination is made as to whether the token lifetime value is greater than the t_exp value . each instance a token lifetime value has exceeded the t_exp value then the lsu_tresv variable is decremented by 1 token ( e . g ., lsu_tresv - 1 ). it is understood that there may be an amount of tokens initialized that is commensurate with expected activity levels . for example , based on pre - silicon modeling , or other knowledge , it may be deduced that lsu may be initially assigned a greater amount of tokens than another unit for example that is not as active . for example , the lsu may issue four ( 4 ) load instructions at one time ( accessing logic or memory ), which is converted to a c4 current estimation , and giving this knowledge , the number of tokens issued to the lsu every x cycles will be sufficient to accommodate the expected behavior of the functional unit during workload conditions . it is further understood that , without loss of generality , the token - based throttling mechanism 500 described with respect to fig1 additionally applies to other units isu , fpu , fxu , etc ., in a grid region , and any sub - block within the macro or unit . in a further embodiment , both the cdcu and token - based current monitoring and current delivery throttling methods and chip architectures described herein , can be extended to a 3d / silicon carrier micro - architectures ( e . g ., “ stacked ” chip or 3 - d memory implementations ) including settings where different c4 pitch and dimension exist . for example , in a 3d package cdcu can operate both on lower c4s as well as upper layer c4s , or micro c4s . fig1 a shows one embodiment of a vertically stacked chip configuration 40 having first chip 41 of functional units in silicon or semiconductor material including a first lower c4 connection layer of c4 bumps 42 over a semiconductor substrate 45 , and a second chip 43 of functional units in silicon or semiconductor material including a second upper c4 connection bump layer of c4 bumps 44 over the first chip 41 . in either embodiment , the cdcu units 80 and 80 ′ or lu of fig7 a - 7c may be implemented in each chip at each level . fig1 b shows one embodiment of a horizontally extended “ flip chip ” package 30 having multiple dies that communicate , e . g ., chips 31 and 33 mounted on a silicon substrate or carrier 35 via respective first c4 connection layer of c4 bumps 32 and second c4 connection layer of c4 bumps 34 . in this configuration , the chips 31 and 33 communicate to each other over carrier 35 . via the embodiment 30 of fig1 , the cdcu units 80 and 80 ′ or lu of fig7 a - 7c may be implemented in each chip . in this approach to c4 current limiting , there is leveraged the fact that in the case of large time periods where c4 current can be exceeded , the previous “ measurement ” apparatus is used with a scheduler device ( not shown ) to optimize c4 current problem . that is , given a large number of cores , and even large number of applications to run on it , the scheduler can choose to co - schedule applications such that the likelihood of exceeding current delivery limit is minimized . fig1 shows an embodiment as in fig8 b , however , the cdcu 80 ′ is interfaced with an operating system level scheduler device 98 via signaling 97 between the cdcu provided in the chip and a host operating system of a computing system or computing device 99 . thus , in the embodiment shown in fig1 , the control delivery algorithm is implemented in the os with scheduling decisions as the actuators . in a further embodiment , the “ activity counting ” as proxy for c4 current “ measurement ” maybe used . further to this embodiment , depicted in fig1 , there may be first performed a profile analysis of the application , running standalone , by measuring activity ( without converting it into actual c4 current ) in each c4 domain and store activity profile information in a table . otherwise , a profile analysis of the application , running standalone , may include measuring c4 current in each c4 domain and storing profile activity of the region in a table . in accordance with a first embodiment of a scheduling policy : for every scheduling quantum : a determination is made as to whether the c4_current draw corresponding to operations at a region is greater than a threshold_c4 current draw for that region . a c4_current_region may be of a size according to granularity of a macro , a unit comprising one or more macros , a core comprising one or more units , or a central processing unit ( cpu ) having one or more cores and accelerator units , on - chip bus / network units , controller units , i / o units . a threshold_c4 current draw represents a maximum c4 current one can operate within . if it is determined that the c4_current draw corresponding to operations at a region is greater than a threshold_c4 current draw for that region then the scheduler device 98 will schedule the application operations at the o / s level or hypervisor level according to a min_c4_current profile . otherwise , if it is determined that the c4_current draw corresponding to operations at a region is not greater than a threshold_c4 for that region then the scheduler device 98 will schedule the application operations at the o / s or hypervisor level according to its default policy . it is understood that the scheduling of operations in this embodiment , is according to a workload granularity level , as opposed to an instruction granularity level as in the hardware embodiments . in accordance with a further embodiment of a scheduling policy : for every scheduling quantum : a determination is made as to whether the previous scheduling quantum activity in a c4 region is greater than a threshold activity level ( threshold_act ), then application operations are scheduled by scheduler device 98 at the o / s or hypervisor level according to a min_activity_profile for that c4 region . otherwise , if it is determined that the previous scheduling quantum of activity in a c4 region is not greater than a threshold activity level , then for that region then the scheduler device 98 will schedule the application operations according to its default policy . it is understood that the scheduling of operations in this embodiment , is according to a workload granularity level , as opposed to an instruction granularity level as in the hardware embodiments as mentioned above , in one aspect , in the “ pre - silicon ” approach of a multi - core processor chip , c4s are designed and allocated unevenly to blocks , e . g ., cores or units , and in the “ post - silicon ” approach , workload based optimization is performed to exploit the heterogeneity . in a current aware chip design and workload based optimization technique , during pre - silicon design , there is heterogeneous allocation of c4s ( unevenly or non - uniformly ) corresponding to respective cores or blocks that works harder , so the more c4s can handle the increased current draws . thus , there is stressed workload or workload operations scheduled according to the allocated c4s . for example , at o / s , hypervisor or scheduler level , there is viewed the applications and types of instructions at workload , and the scheduler may schedule more work intensive instructions at the regions having more c4s allocated , e . g ., load and multiply operations , and schedule less work intensive instructions at the regions having as less c4s allocated . considering now fig1 , there is depicted an example processor chip 20 where the allocation of c4 structures to a given functional unit is varied across cores . for example , some cores have more c4 structures for fpu , e . g ., core a 22 , and some cores have more c4 for load / store instructions , e . g ., core b 24 ; another core has more c4 for integer unit , e . g ., core c 26 ; and , another core , core d 28 , has c4 allocation based in proportion to the average activity across fubs . in one embodiment , all the cores 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 are functionally identical . however , power delivery design for each core may be run at a different power corner application . the c4 structure footprint and power grid is optimized with respect to different power corners . power and performance is improved by allocating the applications to cores based on the type of instructions in the workload . for example , instructions for fpu - heavy applications can be issued to run on core b . for example , if c4s can be placed in a particular area of the chip , and all populated , then during a post - silicon phase , the method can be optimized . for example , given an ic die of 4 microprocessor cores ( each core , having multiple functional units therein , e . g ., bus , cache memory , fetch unit , decode unit , instruction sequencing unit , execution units such as fixed point unit , floating point unit , load / store unit ) and amount , e . g ., 100 , of c4s can be implemented , e . g ., to typically provide an equal distribution , e . g ., 25 , of c4 connections allocated to a core — this is a homogeneous arrangement . in one embodiment , this can be modified to heterogeneous c4 populated cores , i . e ., an unequal distribution of c4 connections , where a single core may have , e . g ., 50 of c4 connections associated , and another core may have 25 c4s associated , etc . thus , during a “ post - silicon ” approach , a program running on the chip may be designed and scheduled to operate higher power operations on the processor core having the more c4 allocated . that is , in this embodiment , there is an intentional distribution of cores non - uniformly and operations on the chip are designed / programmed accordingly to exploit the heterogeneity . in a further embodiment , in an extended cache option ( eco ) mode of operation , only a few cores are turned on and the caches of the other cores is used to provide an effective cache capacity . the c4 current - aware design can provide a higher performance for such eco mode rather than a c4 - oblivious or homogenous or uniform architectures . for example , core a 22 and core c 26 are located in a region that can be allocated more c4 , whereas core b 24 and core d 28 may be in a region that allocates fewer c4s . in the eco mode cores a and c are kept on , and b and d are turned off . this way the overall throughput is determined by cores that have received a larger number of c4s , resulting in higher overall performance ( as those cores leverage more activity ). in one embodiment , referred to as an overclocking mode of operation , only a few ( blocks , e . g ., cores ) are turned on and these cores are run at a higher clock frequency compared to nominal clock frequency . the c4 - aware design can provide a higher performance for such a mode rather than a c4 - oblivious arch . for example , core a and core c can get more c4 whereas core b , core d get fewer c4s . thus , in the overclock mode , cores a and c may be kept on , and b and d are turned off . this way the overall throughput is determined by cores that have received a larger number of c4s , resulting in higher overall performance . in a further mode of operation , both overclocking and eco modes of operation are combined , e . g ., core a and core c can be overclocked as well as use the caches of other ( turned off ) cores . fig1 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration of a computing system 400 running and / or implementing the method steps described herein with respect to fig2 , 5 , 6 , 11 . the hardware configuration preferably has at least one processor or central processing unit ( cpu ) 411 . the cpus 411 are interconnected via a system bus 412 to a random access memory ( ram ) 414 , read - only memory ( rom ) 416 , input / output ( i / o ) adapter 418 ( for connecting peripheral devices such as disk units 421 and tape drives 440 to the bus 412 ), user interface adapter 422 ( for connecting a keyboard 424 , mouse 426 , speaker 428 , microphone 432 , and / or other user interface device to the bus 412 ), a communication adapter 434 for connecting the system 400 to a data processing network , the internet , an intranet , a local area network ( lan ), etc ., and a display adapter 436 for connecting the bus 412 to a display device 438 and / or printer 439 ( e . g ., a digital printer of the like ). as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art , aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system , method or computer program product . accordingly , aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment ( including firmware , resident software , micro - code , etc .) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “ circuit ,” “ module ” or “ system .” furthermore , aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium ( s ) having computer readable program code embodied thereon . any combination of one or more computer readable medium ( s ) may be utilized . the computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium . a computer readable storage medium may be , for example , but not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system , apparatus , or device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . more specific examples ( a non - exhaustive list ) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following : an electrical connection having one or more wires , a portable computer diskette , a hard disk , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), an erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom or flash memory ), an optical fiber , a portable compact disc read - only memory ( cd - rom ), an optical storage device , a magnetic storage device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . in the context of this document , a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain , or store a program for use by or in connection with a system , apparatus , or device running an instruction . a computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein , for example , in baseband or as part of a carrier wave . such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms , including , but not limited to , electro - magnetic , optical , or any suitable combination thereof . a computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate , propagate , or transport a program for use by or in connection with a system , apparatus , or device running an instruction . program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium , including but not limited to wireless , wireline , optical fiber cable , rf , etc ., or any suitable combination of the foregoing . computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages , including an object oriented programming language such as java , smalltalk , c ++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages , such as the “ c ” programming language or similar programming languages . the program code may run entirely on the user &# 39 ; s computer , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer , as a stand - alone software package , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server . in the latter scenario , the remote computer may be connected to the user &# 39 ; s computer through any type of network , including a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), or the connection may be made to an external computer ( for example , through the internet using an internet service provider ). aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods , apparatus ( systems ) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention . it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , can be implemented by computer program instructions . these computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer , special purpose computer , or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine , such that the instructions , which run via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus , create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other devices to function in a particular manner , such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer , other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which run on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture , functionality , and operation of possible implementations of systems , methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention . in this regard , each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module , segment , or portion of code , which comprises one or more operable instructions for implementing the specified logical function ( s ). it should also be noted that , in some alternative implementations , the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures . for example , two blocks shown in succession may , in fact , be run substantially concurrently , or the blocks may sometimes be run in the reverse order , depending upon the functionality involved . it will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , can be implemented by special purpose hardware - based systems that perform the specified functions or acts , or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions . while there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention , it will , of course , be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . it is therefore intended that the scope of the invention not be limited to the exact forms described and illustrated , but should be construed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
in the diagram of fig1 a mixer device inside which a mixture of material subsequently to be subjected to a rolling operation is produced ( in accordance with known criteria ), is generally indicated 1 . the rolling operation which is performed , for example , again in known manner , by a calender 2 , is intended to lead to the formation of a laminar strip or web w constituting the base layer of the covering to be produced . in a typical embodiment , the mixture produced in the mixer 1 is a rubber - based mixture ( for example , based on sbr or epdm rubber ) in which a phase constituted by particles in granule form is uniformly dispersed . the granules usually have a coloration ( which is uniform or may be variegated within individual granules ) contrasting with the uniform or dominant coloration of the base of the mixture . in a currently preferred embodiment of the invention , these may be granules of vulcanized rubber typically having a particle size of between 0 . 8 mm and 6 . 0 mm . in the embodiment shown , the basic component of the mixture is constituted by rubber which is not yet vulcanized . the fact that , in contrast , the particles in granule form dispersed in the mixture are constituted by already - vulcanized material is intended to ensure that the granules retain a precise individuality during the homogeneous mixing performed in the mixer 1 . the web w resulting from the calendering operation performed at 2 ( or from an equivalent rolling operation ) is preferably subjected to a surface - finishing operation , for example , by mechanical surface removal performed in a machining station indicated 3 , at least on the face corresponding to the upper or outer side of the finished covering . this finishing operation has the purpose substantially of showing up the granules distributed in the mixture prepared in the mixer 1 by causing these granules ( p 1 in fig2 which will be referred to further below ) to appear on the surface of the laminar basic material ( the web w ) with a substantially uniform surface distribution resulting from the uniform dispersal of the granules achieved at the mixing stage . at this point , further decorative particles p 2 , preferably constituted by plate - like particles of non - vulcanized rubber material , are distributed on the upper or outer face of the web w previously produced . these plate - like particles ( chips ) are produced — in known manner — from an extrusion product s ( a so - called thread ) which is subjected to a cutting operation , usually performed by means of a rotary knife or blade c disposed immediately downstream of the extrusion head t . likewise in known manner , the thread s may have colour distribution characteristics which are uniform ( since it is made of a material with uniform coloration ) or differentiated . this result may be achieved , for example , by supplying strips of differently coloured extrusion material to the extruder e which produces the thread . the overall result thus achieved is due to the generally variegated or marbled appearance of the particles p 2 produced for distribution on the surface of the web material w . the decorative particles p 2 typically have diametral dimensions of the order of a few millimetres ( for example 3 - 10 mm ) and preferably have geometrical details such as a polygonal , star - like , circular , elliptical , or rice - grain - like shape , etc . during their transfer between the station in which they are formed ( blade c ) downstream of the extruder e and the region ( indicated 4 herein ) in which they are distributed on the sheet material which is to constitute the covering , the particles p 2 are usually subjected to preparatory operations ( for example , by screen and / or vibration means , schematically indicated v ) for ensuring that the particles p 2 are separated from one another ( and hence are not grouped or clustered together ) during distribution . this is important , if it is borne in mind that the particles p 2 are intended to be distributed in a sparse arrangement , of the order , for example , of 50 - 250 particles , according to diameter , per 10 cm × 10 cm portion of the surface of the covering . in general , the term “ sparse ” arrangement is intended to define herein an arrangement intended substantially to prevent overlapping of the decorative particles p 2 . once the desired distribution has been achieved , the web w is advanced towards a treatment with the application of pressure and heat ( preferably performed by apparatus 5 of the type currently known as “ rotocure ” apparatus ), bringing about vulcanization both of the base of the mixture constituting the material in the web w emerging from the rolling operation performed at 2 and of the particles p 2 distributed on the surface of the web in the region 4 . the decorative particles p 2 are thus fixed to the basic web w . the product of this operation is then subjected to further finishing operations ( of known type ), shown schematically at 6 , for conferring on the covering , particularly on its upper or outer side , the desired final characteristics ( for example , slight surface corrugations with an anti - slip function , etc .). these latter treatment steps and the apparatus for performing them are widely known in the art and do not therefore need to be described herein . the final effect achieved is that shown schematically in fig2 . both the granules p 1 distributed uniformly in the mixture used to form the web w and the particles p 2 , usually of larger dimensions , distributed in a generally sparse arrangement on the surface of the covering , thus show up on the base w of the flooring . the uniform distribution of the particles p 1 gives rise to a phenomenon which may be defined as “ visual homogenization ” of the appearance of the covering . this phenomenon renders the presence of regions in the covering in which the distribution of the particles p 2 is particularly sparse practically imperceptible even upon observation at close range . in the covering produced in accordance with the invention , it is thus possible to make full use of the geometrical effect due to the characteristics of the particles p 2 , taking advantage , in particular , of the fact that these particles are generally separated from one another and can thus be appreciated with regard to their shape characteristics without this being translated into a disagreeable effect due to these particles being excessively spaced out in some regions of the covering . naturally , the principle of the invention remaining the same , the details of construction and forms of embodiment may be varied widely with respect to those described and illustrated , without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims . this applies in particular with regard to the fact that the covering according to the invention may be produced with materials other than the rubber - based materials referred to in the foregoing illustrative description . | 8 |
referring now to the remaining figures wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout , fig2 illustrates a system generally designated 50 according to the present invention for searching a human genome ( or other type of data vector ) for a dna fragment ( or other type of template vector ). the human genome is represented by a very long digital data vector 110 ( however , only ten elements are shown for purposes of explanation ). each element or box in the data vector represents one nucleotide . because there are four possible nucleotides , two bits are required for each element . the dna fragment is represented as a digital template vector 112 with one element or box for each nucleotide in the fragment . in the illustrated example , the dna fragment consists of four elements and there are two bits per element to represent one of four possible nucleotides . the search comprises a &# 34 ; comparison &# 34 ; of the dna fragment template vector to each segment of four successive nucleotides in the genome data vector . fig2 illustrates comparisons of the dna template vector to the first and sixth segments ( which comparisons occur at different times by the same comparing hardware or software ). the first segment comprises the first four elements of the genome data vector . the second segment is shifted one element to the right and comprises the second , third , fourth and fifth elements of the genome data vector . each successive segment is likewise shifted one element to the right . the sixth segment comprises the sixth , seventh , eighth and ninth elements in the genome data vector . for each segment , the first nucleotide in the dna fragment template vector is compared to the first nucleotide in the genome data vector segment , the second nucleotide in the dna fragment template vector is compared to the second nucleotide in the genome data vector segment , the third nucleotide in the dna fragment template vector is compared to the third nucleotide in the genome data vector segment and the fourth nucleotide in the dna fragment template vector is compared to the fourth nucleotide in the genome data vector segment . ( if the dna fragment template vector is longer than the four elements in the example of fig2 then the comparisons continue until the last of the nucleotides in the dna fragment template vector is compared to the last nucleotide in the genome data vector segment .) then the dna fragment template vector is compared to the next genome data vector segment which is shifted one element to the right of the first genome data vector segment . at the beginning and end of the genome data vector , the genome data vector is treated as being &# 34 ; wrapped &# 34 ; whereby the first nucleotide in the genome data vector sequence is treated as being connected to the last nucleotide in the genome data vector sequence . thus , after the first seven comparisons of the dna fragment template vector to the first seven genome data vector segments , the next comparison of the dna fragment template vector is made to the last three nucleotides in the genome data vector and the first nucleotide in the genome data vector in this order , i . e . this is the eighth genome data vector segment . next , the dna fragment template vector is compared to the last two elements in the genome data vector and the first two nucleotides in the genome data vector in this order ; i . e . this is the ninth genome data vector segment . next , the dna fragment template vector is compared to the last nucleotide in the genome data vector and the first three nucleotide in the genome data vector in this order ; this is the tenth genome data vector segment . the &# 34 ; comparisons &# 34 ; actually comprise exclusive or operations ( in exclusive or gates or by exclusive or program functions , both indicated as 114a - d ) where the two bit representation of each nucleotide in the genome data vector segment is exclusive ored with the two bit representation of the corresponding ( i . e . aligned ) nucleotide in the dna fragment template vector . thus , for the comparison of the dna fragment template vector to the first genome data vector segment , the first element of the dna fragment template vector is exclusive ored with the first element of the first genome data vector segment , the second element of the dna fragment template vector is exclusive ored with the second element of the first genome data vector segment , the third element of the dna fragment template vector is exclusive ored with the third element of the first genome data vector segment and the fourth element of the dna fragment template vector is exclusive ored with the fourth element of the first genome data vector segment . each exclusive or operation indicates a zero if the element of the dna fragment template vector is identical to the corresponding element of the genome data vector segment ; otherwise the result of the exclusive or operation is another integer between one and three . if there is a perfect match between the dna fragment template vector and the genome data vector segment , then all four of the exclusive or operations will yield a zero . to complete the comparisons of the dna fragment template vector to each genome data vector segment , the results of the four exclusive or operations ( for the genome data vector segment and dna fragment template vector ) are added together ( in adder 118 ). for a perfect match of the dna fragment template vector to the genome data vector segment , the sum is zero . the sums are stored as a result vector in a register 119 . because of the nature of the exclusive or function , the magnitude of the result vector indicates the degree of mismatch between the genome and data fragment , the higher the result vector the greater the mismatch and vice versa . a zero represents a perfect match and twelve represents the worst possible match ( for this example with a four element template ). the closer the value to zero the better the match and conversely the closer to twelve the worse the match . in the illustrated example , the dna fragment template vector does not match the first genome data vector segment , and the accumulated result of the comparison is four . however , the dna fragment template vector precisely matches the sixth genome data vector segment so the accumulated result for the sixth segment is zero . however , if the two bit levels for each nucleotide are selected arbitrarily , then the correlation values may not be proportional to the degree of genetic mismatch between the dna fragment template vector and the genome data vector segment . this is because the result of exclusive oring a 01 with a 10 is three ( even though the two operands are only one apart ) whereas the result of exclusive oring a 01 with a 11 is two ( because the two operands are two apart ). therefore , according to the present invention , the two bit levels for each nucleotide are selected such that the result of exclusive oring any two combinations of nucleotides reflects the actual degree of genetic mismatch . for example , there are four different nucleotides -- a , t , c and g , nucleotides a and t will bond together , nucleotides c and g will bond together but neither nucleotide a or t will bond with either nucleotides c or g . in this example , if two of the bonding nucleotides , such as nucleotides a and t are assigned two bit levels 00 and 01 respectively and the other two bonding nucleotides , such as nucleotides c and g are assigned two bit levels 10 and 11 , then the results of the exclusive or operations between the different combinations reflect the degree of genetic similarity between the nucleotides . the following table indicates the results : ______________________________________ binary template integerdata template result code result______________________________________a = 00 00 00 a 0 01 01 t 1 10 10 c 2 11 11 g 3t = 01 00 01 a 1 01 00 t 0 10 11 c 3 11 10 g 2c = 10 00 10 a 2 01 11 t 3 10 00 c 0 11 01 g 1g = 11 00 11 a 3 01 10 t 2 10 01 c 1 11 00 g 0______________________________________ a zero result indicates a perfect match , a one result indicates one of the two close bonding relationships , either a and t or c and g , and a two or three result indicates one of the distant relationships , an a or t and a c or g . the zero and one results accurately reflect the respective degrees of match , and are correctly lower than the two and three results for the other distant relationships . however , the t and g combination and a and c combination each yields a two result whereas the a and g combination and t and c combination each yield a three result . assuming the t and g combination and a and c combinations represent better genetic matches than the a and g combination and the t and c combination , then these results are accurate as compared to each other . moreover , the inexpensive and fast exclusive or circuitry or equivalent programming described above can be used . however , if the t and g , a and c , a and g and t and c combinations all represent the same degree of genetic mismatch , then these four combinations should ideally yield the same logical result , such as two . fig2 also illustrates that each element of the result vector is compared in a digital comparator 121 ( hardware or programming ) to a binary one to identify exact matches between the template vector and a segment of the genome ; register 119 is a shift register and incrementally advances all elements of the result vector 117 sequentially to comparator 121 . each element of the result vector is also compared in a digital comparator 123 ( hardware or programming ) to another binary value greater than one but small enough to indicate a substantial match between the template vector and a segment of the genome . alternately , the elements of the result vector can be represented by colors . for example , a zero result can be represented by the color blue and the highest result can be represented by the color yellow , and the intermediate results can be represented by a mixture of both blue and yellow such that the lower results appear more bluish , the higher results appear more yellowish and a middle result is green . each result level is mapped to a respective mixture of blue and yellow . if desired , results above a certain level can be avoided in the display . if it is desired that the worst case pairings carry equal weight , the computation can be slightly modified as indicated in fig3 and 4 . as indicated in fig3 the exclusive or is replaced with the com comparison 310a - d . fig4 illustrates that the com comparison 300 ( in either hardware or programming ) includes xor 350 and a test 355 of the partial element resulting from the xor 350 operation . test 355 checks for a value greater than 2 . if this test is true , the value is set to 2 ( step 360 ). this comparison has the affect of equating the weight of the partial results of 2 and 3 . the technique illustrated in fig2 is faster than the technique illustrated in fig1 because the technique illustrated in fig2 utilizes relatively fast exclusive or operations instead of the relatively slow multiplication operations of fig1 . the technique illustrated in fig2 is also more accurate than the technique illustrated in fig1 because the genome data vector does not have any background noise , and the exclusive or operations of fig2 do not require background noise to yield a meaningful result whereas the multiplication operations of fig1 require background noise to yield a meaningful result . fig5 illustrates a parallel processor implementation of the present invention . in the illustrated example , another genome data vector comprising sixteen elements has been divided into four &# 34 ; head - to - tail &# 34 ;, four element subsequences for simultaneous processing by four processors 160 - 163 . each of the processors comprises a four element register 150 - 153 , respectively . each register stores four two bit representations of the four nucleotides in the respective subsequence . each processor also comprises a two element register 170 - 173 , respectively to store the dna template vector , which in this example , is just two elements long . however , it should be noted that typically the genome data vector is much , much longer than the sixteen elements shown and the dna fragment template vector is much longer than the two elements shown . the computations in processing 160 - 163 are made as follows . first , the left hand partial elements in each processor are computed . the second element of the template vector is aligned with the first element of each data vector subsequently and exclusive ored therewith . these 4 partial results are stored in registers 200 - 203 respectively . once computed , each left hand partial result is sent to the left hand neighbor . that is , processor 160 sends 200 to processor 163 , 161 sends 201 to 160 , 162 sends 202 to 161 and 163 sends 203 to 162 . note that this frees the registers 200 - 203 for future use . next , the results for the body of the data vector are computed . the template vector is aligned with the first two elements , i . e . the first segment of the first data vector subsequence . then , the first element of the template vector is exclusive ored with the first element of the data vector subsequence and the second element of the template vector is exclusive ored with the second element of the data vector subsequence , and the sum of the two exclusive or operations is stored in the first location in a register 180 . similarly , the template vector is compared to the second and third elements of the first data vector subsequence and to the third and fourth elements of the first data vector subsequence , i . e . the second and third data vector segments . the results are stored in the second and third locations in register 180 . the same operations are simultaneously performed in processors 161 , 162 and 163 . thus , the first three locations in each of the registers 180 - 183 are filled . next , the right hand boundary condition is computed . the first element of the template vector is aligned with the last element of each data vector subsequence and exclusive ored therewith . the four &# 34 ; partial &# 34 ; results are stored in registers 190 - 193 , respective . once this computation is completed , the message from the right hand neighbor is received into registers 200 - 201 respectively and used to complete the boundary computation . the final result for the fourth location of each register 180 - 183 is computed as the sum of the partial result in the respective register 190 - 193 plus the partial result in the next registers 200 - 203 , respectively . for example , the result in the fourth location of register 180 equals the sum of the partial result in register 190 and the partial result in register 201 ( subsequently moved to register 200 ) and is shown in broken line in register 180 . while this yields the same result as if the first element of each data vector subsequence was borrowed for the end of the preceding data vector subsequence for the end boundary condition , the use of the partial results as described above is more efficient for long template vectors . as a further optimization , registers 190 - 193 could be eliminated as indicated in fig6 . in this case , the left hand boundary condition is computed and saved in registers 200 - 203 respectively . then these values are transmitted to the left hand neighbors , thus freeing 200 - 203 for future use . when computing the right hand partial elements , the results are again stored in registers 200 - 203 . when the message from the right hand neighbor is received , the data are stored in the last element of registers 180 - 183 , respectively . the final elements of 180 - 183 are computed by adding the temporary result saved in the last element of 180 - 183 , respectively and 190 - 193 and storing the results in the 4th element of 180 - 183 . this optimization saves the register set 190 - 193 . the following is pseudocode for a software implementation of the foregoing parallel process : t = template vector of length t & lt ;& lt ; d . the dna fragment being searched for . p = partial element vector of length p = t - 1 . used to store left hand partial elements . r = result vector of length d . used to hold the modified correlation results . for i = 1 to p /* for all entries in the partial element vector */ compute one left hand partial element . at this point , vector p contains all left hand partial elements now compute the remaining elements of the result vector . first , compute the body of the result elements ( that is , the elements that this node contains all the information for ). ______________________________________for i = 1 to d - p /* for all result elements in the body sectionof the computation */ r i != 0 /* reset one element of the result vector */ for j = 0 to t /* for all template elements */ r i != r i !+( t j ! xord i + j !) endforendfor______________________________________ ______________________________________for i = d - t to d compute one right hand partial element r i ! = element valueendfor______________________________________ at this point , the right hand partial elements have been computed using the information at this node . all that remains is to add in the information from the right hand neighbor ______________________________________ for i = d - t to d r i != r i !+ p i ! endfor______________________________________ based on the foregoing , a system and method for searching a genome data vector ( or other type of data vector ) for a dna fragment ( other type of template vector ) have been disclosed . however , numerous modifications and substitutions can be made without deviating from the scope of the present invention . therefore , the present invention has been disclosed by way of illustration and not limitation and reference should be made to the following claims to determine the scope of the present invention . | 6 |
in the present invention , a conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 is provided for receiving a stream of rows 30 of adjacent sheets 31 having side edges 55 and 56 , such as cardboard , and selectively displaces the sheets 31 laterally one from another to laterally displaced sheets 31 in rows 30 ′ while conveying the sheets 31 longitudinally of the layboy machine 1 . the layboy machine 1 includes : a frame 2 , conveying means 3 on the frame 2 having a receiving end 4 and a delivery end 5 ; the conveying means 3 including a plurality of conveyors 6 spaced side by side to carry the sheets 31 , each having side edges 55 and 56 , longitudinally from the receiving end 4 to the delivery end 5 and means 9 driven by a motor 35 to drive the conveyors 6 . the improvement is a computer controller means for changing the lateral spacing between each of the conveyors 6 and for changing the longitudinal direction of each of the conveyors 6 for changing the lateral spacing 54 between the sheets 31 in each row 30 comprising the following elements . a locating means 36 , illustrated in fig1 , is provided for locating and noting the first location and first longitudinal direction of each of the conveyors 6 . in addition , a computer controller means 26 , shown in fig1 is provided for noting the first locations and the first directions of the conveyors 6 and for receiving a set of instructions . having received the instructions , the computer controls the movement of each of the conveyors 6 to selected second locations and second longitudinal directions . the computer controller means 26 sends instructions to a first tug means 17 operably connected to the computer controller means 26 and moves the conveyors 6 to the selected second locations and second longitudinal directions . the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as above described includes tug means 12 , as shown in fig1 including a first tug assembly 17 including a first carrier 7 operably connected to the frame 2 ; lock means 27 , ( see fig1 , 10 a and 10 b ) mounted on each of the conveyors 6 , and latch means 28 mounted on the first carrier 7 positioned for releasable locking engagement with the lock means 27 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 upon movement of the first carrier 7 from an unlocked position to a locked position as shown by arrow 57 in fig1 a . in a preferred form , the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as described above is designed so that the first carrier 7 is pivotally connected to the frame 2 as best shown in fig1 , 10 a , 10 b , and 11 . a feature of the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 of the present invention as best shown in fig1 is the locating means 36 which includes a first photo eye 20 mounted on the frame 2 projecting a first photo beam 21 laterally of the plurality of conveyors 6 ; a first reflector target 22 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 ; and first directing means 23 selectively directing the first photo beam 21 at each of the first reflector targets 22 . the first directing means 23 may be a mirror 24 . in a preferred form of construction of the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as above described the first tug assembly 17 includes a laterally movable first carriage 18 ; a first engagement member 16 is mounted on each of the conveyors 6 ; first gripper means 19 are mounted on the first carriage 18 for releasable selective engagement of the first engagement member 16 of the conveyors 6 ; and mounting means 14 , as shown in fig6 slidably support the conveyors 6 . the conveyors of the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as described may be constructed in various ways . one form of construction is illustrated in fig6 in which mounting means 14 includes a drive shaft 9 to power the conveyors 6 ; and the conveyors 6 include an adjustable mounting means 8 operably connected to the drive shaft 9 permitting angular directional movement of the conveyors 6 . in a preferred form , as best illustrated in fig1 , and 3 , the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as previously described includes a second tug assembly 17 ′ longitudinally spaced from the first tug assembly 17 and operably connected to the computer controller means 26 . the second tug assembly 17 ′ includes a laterally movable second carriage , similar to first carriage 18 , and a second engagement member 25 mounted on each of the conveyors and spaced from the first engagement member 16 . a second gripper means , similar to first gripper means 19 , is mounted on the second carriage for releasable engagement of the second engagement member 25 . the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as previously described preferably is constructed so that the first tug assembly 17 includes a first carrier 7 , operably and pivotally connected to the frame 2 ; the second tug assembly 17 ′ includes a second carrier 7 ′ operably and pivotally connected to the frame 2 ; and the first tug assembly 17 includes first drive means 37 and a second tug assembly similar to first tug assembly 17 , as illustrated in fig6 , 8 a , and 8 b for reciprocally moving first carriage 18 and the second carriage laterally of the conveyors 6 . in the preferred form , the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as previously described is constructed as best illustrated in fig1 wherein the locating means 36 includes a first photo eye 20 mounted on the frame 2 projecting a first photo beam 21 laterally of the plurality of conveyors 6 ; and a second photo eye 20 ′ mounted on the frame 2 and longitudinally spaced from the first photo eye 20 projecting a second photo beam 21 ′ laterally of the plurality of conveyors 6 ; a first reflector target 22 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 and a second reflector target 22 ′ mounted on each of the conveyors 6 longitudinally spaced from the first reflector targets 22 ; a first mirror 24 mounted on the first carriage 18 reflecting the first photo beam 21 from the first photo eye 20 to the first reflector target 22 mounted on the conveyor 6 ; and a second directing means such as second mirror similar to first mirror 24 illustrated in fig8 a , 8 b , 10 , 10 a , 10 b , 11 , and 12 mounted on the second carriage reflecting the second photo beam 21 ′ from the second photo eye 20 ′ to the second reflector target 22 ′ mounted on the conveyor 6 . preferably conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 is constructed so that mounting means 14 for slidably supporting the conveyors 6 includes a drive shaft 9 to power the conveyors 6 ; conveyors 6 include an adjustable mounting means 8 operably connected to the drive shaft 9 permitting angular directional movement of the conveyors 6 ; a sliding support 15 is longitudinally spaced from the drive shaft 9 for supporting the distal ends of the conveyors 6 ; the first tug assembly 17 includes a first carrier 7 pivotally connected to the frame 2 ; the second tug assembly 17 ′ includes a second carrier 7 ′ pivotally connected to the frame 2 ; lock means 27 is mounted on each of the conveyors 6 ; and latch means 28 is mounted on the first and second carriers 7 and 7 ′ positioned for releasable locking engagement with the lock means 27 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 upon movement of the first and second carriers 7 and 7 ′ from an unlocked position to a locked position . as shown in fig1 b , first carrier 7 has moved latch means 28 from a locked position to an unlocked position as shown by the direction of arrow 58 . as best shown in fig1 , 7 , and 15 , the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 of the present invention is constructed so that the conveying means 3 includes a plurality of upper level conveyors 6 spaced side by side and a plurality of lower level conveyors 6 ′ spaced side by side arranged in registration with one another to carry the sheets 31 therebetween with each level of conveyors 6 and 6 ′ including locating means 36 locating and signaling the first location of each of the conveyors 6 and 6 ′ operatively connected to the computer controller means 26 for noting the first location of each of the conveyors 6 and 6 ′, for receiving a set of instructions , and for controlling the movement of each of the conveyors 6 and 6 ′ to selected second locations ; the first tug assembly 17 is operably connected to the computer controller means 26 for moving each of the conveyors 6 and 6 ′ to the selected second locations . conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 is further constructed so that each level of conveyors 6 and 6 ′ includes : a first tug assembly 17 at each level with a laterally movable first carriage 18 . the machine further includes : a first engagement member 16 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 ; first gripper means 19 mounted on the first carriage 18 for releasable selective engagement of the first engagement member 16 of the conveyors 6 ; mounting means 14 for slidably supporting the conveyors 6 of the upper and lower levels ; a second tug assembly 17 ′ at the upper and lower levels longitudinally spaced from the first tug assembly 17 of each of the levels and operably connected to the computer controller means 26 ; second tug assembly 17 ′ at each level including a laterally movable second carriage ; a second engagement member 25 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 and spaced from the first engagement member 16 ; and second gripper means mounted on the second carriage for releasable engagement of the second engagement member 25 . in a preferred construction of the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 of the present invention , each level of conveyors 6 is constructed so that the first tug assembly 17 includes a first carrier 7 pivotally connected to the frame 2 ; the second tug assembly 17 ′ includes a second carrier 7 ′ operably connected to the frame 2 and is pivotally connected to the frame 2 ; the first tug assembly 17 includes drive means 37 and the second tug assembly 17 ′ includes the second drive means for reciprocally moving the first carriage 18 and the second carriage laterally of the conveyors 6 ; the locating means 36 at each of the levels includes a first photo eye 20 mounted on the frame 2 projecting a first photo beam 21 laterally of the plurality of conveyors 6 ; a second photo eye 20 ′ is provided at each of the levels mounted on the frame 2 and is longitudinally spaced from the first respective photo eyes 20 projecting second photo beams 21 ′ laterally of the plurality of conveyors 6 ; a first reflector target 22 is mounted on each of the conveyors 6 at each of the levels and a second reflector target 22 ′ is mounted on each of the conveyors 6 at each of the levels longitudinally spaced from the first reflector targets 22 ; a first mirror 24 is mounted on the first carriage 18 at each of the levels reflecting the respective first photo beams 21 from the first photo eyes 20 to the first respective reflector targets 22 mounted on each of the conveyors 6 ; and a second mirror , similar to first mirror 24 illustrated in fig8 a , 8 b , 10 , 10 a , 10 b , 11 , and 12 is mounted on the second carriage of each of the levels reflecting the second respective photo beams 21 ′ from each of the second photo eyes 20 ′ to the second respective reflector targets 22 ′ mounted on the conveyors 6 . in a preferred form of the conveyor autoset layboy machine 1 as illustrated in fig1 , and 15 , each of the conveyors 6 of at least one of the levels includes belting 13 having a generally circular cross section ; and the belting 13 of the conveyors 6 of one of the levels is positioned with respect to the belting of the respective conveyors of the other of the levels to be offset and slightly overlapping so as to tightly grip the sheets 31 being conveyed . referring particularly to fig1 , upper level conveyors 6 include an arm 10 which supports an adjustable mounting means 8 , a drive pulley 11 supported by a drive pulley bearing assembly 38 , idler pulley 43 , and tension pulleys 39 , 40 and 41 . conveyor belts 13 , which preferably are circular in cross section , are mounted on the pulleys . a slide projection 42 is mounted on each arm to support the mid section of the arm . referring particularly to fig1 , a representative lower level conveyor 6 ′ is illustrated which includes an arm 10 ′, which supports an adjustable mounting means 8 ′, a drive pulley 11 ′ supported by a drive pulley bearing assembly 38 ′, and idler pulleys 43 ′, 39 ′ and 40 ′. conveyor belts 13 ′ which preferably have a flat contact surface , are mounted on the pulleys . a slide projection 42 ′ is mounted on each arm to support the mid section of the arm . lower level conveyor first engagement member 16 ′ is mounted on the proximal end of arm 10 ′ and lower level conveyor second engagement member 25 ′ is mounted on the mid portion of arm 10 ′. referring especially to fig1 and 11 , a lock means 27 and a latch means 28 are illustrated for retaining the conveyors 6 and 6 ′ in a set position during the operation of the machine . lock means 27 includes a first lock member 33 connected to the distal end of a spring arm 34 whose proximal end is connected to conveyor arm 10 by lock mount 51 . first lock member 33 may be formed from a threaded member or it may be of any suitable friction material . first lock member 33 is positioned so as to engage first latch bar 32 mounted on the distal end of first latch member 29 whose proximal end is connected to first carrier 7 when first tug assembly 17 is rotated to a lock engaging position as shown in fig1 and 10a . to insure that the conveyors remain in a secure locked position during operation of the machine , a second set of lock means and latch means similar to lock means 27 and latch means 28 is provided . a second lock member 44 is connected to the distal end of a spring arm 45 whose proximal end is connected to conveyor arm 10 by lock mount 52 . second lock member 44 may be formed from a threaded member or it may be of any suitable friction material . second lock member 44 is positioned so as to engage a second latch bar , similar to first latch bar 32 which is mounted on second carrier 7 ′, when second tug assembly 17 ′ is rotated to a lock engaging position by an air cylinder , similar to air cylinder 59 shown in fig1 . referring to fig1 , 10 , 10 a , 11 , and 12 , it may be seen that first carrier 7 , a part of first tug assembly 17 , is mounted for pivotal rotation on frame 2 by rotatable bearing support 46 and is driven by an air cylinder 59 shown in fig1 which is operatively connected for control by computer controller means 26 . also a part of first tug assembly 17 is first carrier 7 which carries first slide bar 47 upon which first carriage 18 is mounted as shown in fig1 . second slide bar 47 ′, similar to slide bar 47 , is mounted on second carrier 7 ′ upon which the second carriage is mounted . first drive means 37 includes first motor 49 which drives first belt 48 to which first carriage 18 is connected . as shown in fig2 the second drive means includes second motor 49 ′ which drives a second belt , similar to first belt 48 illustrated in fig8 a , which is connected to the second carriage and which is part of second tug assembly 17 ′. first carriage 18 , as shown in fig6 a , 8 b , 9 , 10 , 10 a , 10 b , 12 , and 13 carries first mirror 24 and first gripper means 19 . first gripper means 19 is formed with a slot 50 as shown in fig1 for engaging first engagement member 16 . a similarly formed gripper means mounted on the second carriage grips second engagement member 25 . referring to fig1 and 2 , the construction of the machine is seen with the upper level conveyors 6 in registration with the lower level conveyors . each upper level conveyor 6 in the preferred form is matched with a lower level conveyor 6 ′, one of which is illustrated in fig1 . each lower level conveyor 6 ′ includes a drive pulley bearing assembly 38 ′ which is connected to a drive shaft similar to drive shaft 9 . each lower level conveyor 6 ′ is constructed with a drive pulley 11 ′, idler pulley 43 ′, and tension pulleys 40 ′ and 39 ′. to lock each lower level conveyor 6 ′ into a set position , each conveyor 6 ′ is constructed with a lock means 27 ′ as illustrated in fig1 . lock means 27 ′ includes a first lower level conveyor lock member 33 ′ attached to a spring arm 34 ′ connected to lock mount 53 which is rigidly connected to arm 10 ′. first lock member 33 ′ is located to engage a latch bar similar to latch bar 32 located on third tug assembly 17 ″ illustrated in fig1 . lock means 27 ′ also includes second lower level conveyor lock member 44 ′ connected by spring arm 45 ′ which is connected to lock mount 53 . lock member 44 ′ is positioned so as to engage a latch bar similar to latch bar 32 mounted on fourth tug assembly 17 ″′ illustrated in fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 and 16 , adjacent and parallel pairs of upper level conveyors 6 and lower level conveyors 6 ′ are computer controller operatively linked to convey a single sheet 31 from the receiving end to the delivery end of the layboy machine in the direction shown by arrow 60 . when the operator wishes to start a new production run of product , the sheet size , number of sheets 31 in rows 30 , and spacing 54 between sheets 31 is entered into the computer controller means 26 . the computer controller means 26 then sets the four tug assemblies 17 , 17 ′, 17 ″, and 17 ″′ into motion to locate the present positions of all of the conveyors 6 and 6 ′ using the photo eyes 20 and 20 ′, first mirror 24 and the second mirror , and for the upper conveyors , reflector targets 22 and 22 ′, and for the lower conveyors similar equipment is used which is mounted on the frame 2 and third and fourth tug assemblies 17 ″ and 17 ″′. when all of the present locations have been located ; the computer controller means 26 calculates the new positions of the conveyors and signals the four tug assemblies to move the conveyors to the new positions . specifically , first photo eye 20 as illustrated in fig1 emits a first photo beam 21 which is reflected off mirror 24 onto a first reflector target 22 of one of the conveyors 6 . the computer controller means 26 identifies the particular conveyor and determines the new location of first and second engagement members 16 and 25 which determines the direction and extent of lateral movement and angular longitudinal direction of movement of the conveyor required to reach the new calculated position . first drive means 37 is activated and first carriage 18 is moved into position so that first gripper 19 is in alignment with first engagement member 16 . first carrier 7 is then rotated from its position shown in fig1 a to the position shown in fig1 b so that first gripper means 19 engages first engagement member 16 . first drive means 37 is once again activated and carriage 18 moves the proximal end of conveyor 6 to the selected lateral position on first drive shaft 9 . the positioning of selected conveyor 6 is completed by second tug assembly 17 ′ acting as follows . specifically , second photo eye 20 ′ as illustrated in fig1 emits second photo beam 21 ′ which is reflected off the second mirror onto second reflector target 22 ′ of one of the conveyors 6 . the computer controller means 26 identifies the particular conveyor and determines the new location of first and second engagement members 16 and 25 which determines the direction and extent of lateral movement and angular longitudinal direction of movement of the conveyor required to reach the new calculated position . second drive means on second tug assembly 17 ′ is activated and the second carriage is moved into position so that the second gripper is in alignment with second engagement member 25 . second carrier 7 ′ is then rotated so that the second gripper means engages second engagement member 25 . second drive means is once again activated and the second carriage moves the distal end of conveyor 6 to the selected lateral position on first drive shaft 9 . at the same time that first and second tug assemblies 17 and 17 ′ are moving upper level conveyors 6 into new position , second and third tug assemblies 17 ″ and 17 ″′ are moving lower level conveyors 6 ′ into new positions using photo eyes , mirrors and targets similar to the apparatus just described . after all of the upper and lower conveyors 6 and 6 ′ have moved into a new position , the computer controller means 26 automatically locks each conveyor into position by rotating first , second , third and fourth tug assemblies 17 , 17 ′, 17 ″, and 17 ″′ so that ; e . g ., first latch bar 32 moves from an unlatched position as shown in fig1 b to a latched position as shown in fig1 a with latch bar 32 now in near engagement e . g ., with first lock member 33 . after all the conveyors are locked into position , motors are activated to rotate the drive shafts for the upper and lower conveyors such as drive shaft 9 to convey sheets 31 to new laterally spaced positions in rows 31 with a different lateral spacing 54 between side edges 55 and 56 . in the preferred form of the present invention , the computer controller means 26 accepts user input of one or more of the number of sheets in rows 30 at the receiving end 4 , the size of the sheets 31 , the number of conveyors 6 to be assigned to each of the rows 30 , the position of the conveyors 6 relative to the side edges 55 and 56 of the sheets 31 , and the lateral spacing 54 between the sheets 31 at the delivery end 5 of the conveying means 3 . the computer controller means 26 has default values for one or more of the number of sheets in rows 30 at the receiving end 4 of the conveyor means , the size of the sheets 31 , the number of conveyors 6 to be assigned to each of the rows 30 ′, the position of the conveyors 6 relative to the side edges 55 and 56 of the sheets 31 , and the lateral spacing 54 between the sheets 31 at the delivery end 5 of the conveying means 3 . the computer controller means 26 calculates , on the basis of the user input , the default values , or a combination of the user input and the default values , the selected second location of each of the conveyors 6 . the computer controller means 26 directs the locating means 36 to locate the first location of each of the conveyors 6 . the computer controller means 26 notes the first location of each of the conveyors 6 , and the computer controller means 26 directs the tug means 12 to move each of the conveyors 6 to each of the selected second locations . in the most preferred form of the present invention , the computer controller means 26 accepts user input of one or more of the number of sheets 31 in each row 30 at the receiving end 4 , the size of the sheets 31 , the number of conveyors 6 to be assigned to each of the rows 30 , the position of the conveyors 6 relative to the side edges 55 and 56 of the sheets 31 , and the lateral spacing 54 between the sheets 31 at the delivery end 5 of the conveying means 3 . the computer controller means 26 has default values for one or more of the number of sheets in rows 30 , the size of the sheets 31 , the number of conveyors 6 to be assigned to each of the rows 30 , the position of the conveyors 6 relative to the side edges 55 and 56 of the sheets 31 , and the lateral spacing 54 between the sheets 31 at the delivery end 5 of the conveying means 3 . the default values are dependent on user input and complete configuration of the present invention . the computer controller means 26 calculates , on the basis of the user input , the default values , or a combination of the user input and the default values , the selected second location of each of the conveyors 6 . the first location of each of the conveyors 6 is its lateral position and angular disposition , or longitudinal direction , before being located ; the second selected location of each of the conveyors 6 is its lateral position and angular disposition , or longitudinal direction , after being moved . in order to locate all of the conveyors 6 , the computer controller means 26 directs the first and second photo eyes 20 and 20 ′ to project first and second photo beams 21 and 21 ′ at the first mirrors 24 and the second mirror on the first carriage 18 and the second mirror on the second carriage . the computer controller means 26 activates first drive means 37 and the second drive means , moving the first carriage 18 and the second carriage until the first and second photo beams 21 and 21 ′ are reflected by the first and second reflector targets 22 and 22 ′ on each of the conveyors 6 , determining the first location of each of the conveyors 6 . the computer controller means 26 notes the first location of each of the conveyors 6 . after the location of all of the conveyors 6 are found , conveyors 6 are then moved one at a time . the computer controller means 26 activates the first drive means 37 and the second drive means , moving the first carriage 18 and the second carriage to the noted location of one of the conveyors 6 , pivoting the first and second carriers 7 and 7 ′ to engage the first and second engagement members 16 and 25 with first gripper means 19 and the second gripper means , moving the conveyor 6 to the selected second location , and pivoting the first and second carriers 7 and 7 ′ to disengage the first and second engagement members 16 and 25 from the first and second gripper means 19 and 19 ′ after moving the conveyor 6 . these steps , activating the drive means 37 and 37 ′, moving the carriages 18 and 18 ′ until the photo beams 21 and 21 ′ are reflected , pivoting the carriers 7 and 7 ′ to engage the engagement member 16 and 25 , moving the conveyor 6 and pivoting the carriers 7 and 7 ′ to disengage the engagement member 16 and 25 , are repeated for each of the conveyors 6 to be moved . in the preferred form of the present invention , the computer controller means 26 is a digital computer , most preferably with a touch - sensitive display for user input . in the preferred form of the invention , the first and second photo eyes 20 and 20 ′ are integrated diode laser and photoreceptor units . in the preferred form of the invention , first locations and second selected locations are defined by the lateral distances to the first and second reflector targets 22 and 22 ′ and the angle between the first reflector target 22 and the second reflector target 22 ′. | 1 |
the present invention achieves 100 % conversion of 1 , 4 butynediol with 100 % selectivity for cis 1 , 4 butenediol at mild process conditions . at higher temperatures , while 1 , 4 butynediol is converted completely , the selectivity for cis 1 , 4 butenediol is less , generally & lt ; 90 %. the formation of side products such as acetals , γ - hydroxybutaraldehyde , butanol at higher temperatures is also more pronounced . the hydrogenation of 1 , 4 butynediol to 1 , 4 butenediol is carried out in an autoclave under stirring conditions in the presence of pd or pt containing catalyst suspended in a mixture of 1 , 4 butynediol in water at 50 ° c . and 350 psig of h 2 pressure . the mixture is made alkaline ( ph = 8 - 10 ) by the addition of ammonia . before pressurising the autoclave , it was ensured that there was no air in the autoclave . the hydrogenation is complete when the absorption of hydrogen is stopped or unchanged . after the reaction was complete , the reactor was cooled below ambient temperature and the contents were discharged and the reaction mixture analysed using a gas chromatography . the catalyst prepared as per the procedure described below in the examples can be reduced in a muffle furnace at 400 ° c . in hydrogen flow for a time period ranging between 5 - 12 hours , preferably 7 hours . in a feature of the invention , high purity 1 , 4 butenediol can be simply obtained by the removal of the catalyst from the product stream . the present invention is described below by way of examples . however ,- the following examples are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention . 0 . 17 gms of palladium chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the palladium chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 02 gms of magnesium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . 0 . 17 gms of palladium chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the platinum chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 12 gms of calcium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . this example illustrates the recycling of 1 % pd / caco3 catalyst wherein the catalyst preparation was similar to the disclosure in example 2 above . the hydrogenation of 1 , 4 butynediol was carried out by recycling the catalyst 10 times at 50 ° c . and 350 psig h 2 pressure as described earlier . 0 . 16 gms of palladium chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the palladium chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 1 gms of barium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . 0 . 17 gms of palladium chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the palladium chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 0 gms of nh 4 - zsm5 was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . 0 . 17 gms of palladium chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the platinum chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 12 gms of calcium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . the dried catalyst is then mixed with a solution of nickel nitrate and stirred in basic medium ( ph = 9 - 10 ) for 1 hour , dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours in static air and then reduced at 400 ° c . for 7 hours in a flow of hydrogen . 0 . 16 gms of platinum chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the platinum chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 13 gms of magnesium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . 0 . 17 gms of platinum chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the platinum chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 03 gms of calcium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . 0 . 16 gms of platinum chloride was dissolved in 4 ml of hydrochloric acid and stirred at 80 ° c . till the platinum chloride was completely dissolved . the resultant solution was diluted by adding 50 ml of water and stirring for 2 hours , the ph being maintained between 9 - 10 by the addition of sodium hydroxide . to the diluted solution , 10 . 05 gms of barium carbonate was added and the mixture heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was then reduced by the addition of formaldehyde ( 3 ml ), stirred for 45 minutes , filtered and washed with water till the solution is alkaline free . the catalyst was then dried at 150 ° c . for 10 hours . performance of palladium or palladium and nickel supported catalysts of the invention as prepared in examples 1 - 6 above this example illustrates the performance of the palladium or palladium and nickel supported catalysts of the invention as prepared in examples 1 - 6 above in the hydrogenation of 1 , 4 butynediol to 1 , 4 butenediol . conversion selectivity to of 1 , 4 cis 1 , 4 reaction example butynediol butenediol period no . catalyst (%) (%) ( hours ) 1 1 % pd / mgco 3 100 99 . 8 2 2 1 % pd / caco 3 100 98 . 2 1 3 1 % pd / caco 3 * 100 98 68 4 1 % pd / baco 3 100 100 2 5 1 % pd / nh 4 - zsm 5 100 100 4 6 10 % ni - 1 % 100 100 4 pd / caco 3 performance of platinum supported catalysts of the invention as compared in examples 7 - 9 above this example illustrates the performance of the platinum supported catalysts of the invention as prepared in examples 7 - 9 above in the hydrogenation of 1 , 4 butynediol to 1 , 4 butenediol . conversion of 1 , 4 selectivity reaction example butynediol to cis 1 , 4 period no . catalyst (%) butenediol (%) hours 7 1 % pt / mgco 3 100 99 . 8 2 8 1 % pt / caco 3 100 100 1 9 1 % pt / baco 3 100 99 . 9 2 . 5 1 . the catalyst of the invention is useful for the selective hydrogenation of 1 , 4 butynediol to 1 , 4 butendiol without poisoning . 2 . substantially complete conversion of 1 , 4 butynediol to 1 , 4 butenediol with almost 100 % selectivity to cis 1 , 4 butenediol is obtained at milder process conditions . 3 . the separation of the product 1 , 4 butenediol in pure form is achieved easily by the removal of the catalyst from the reaction mixture . 4 . the catalyst of the invention is capable of recycling several times without loss of activity or selectivity . the turn over number also is good . | 1 |
the present invention replaces a telephone call originating in a first foreign country dialed to one or more other foreign countries , with respective outbound calls originating from a bridge or other platform element sited in the us being dialed to each one of the foreign countries involved in the call . referring now to fig1 , a system 10 of the present invention includes a conferencing platform based in the united states 12 and other conferencing platforms based in other countries . such conferencing platforms include a conferencing platform based , for example , in the united kingdom 14 , and a conferencing platform based , for example , in australia 16 . for conference calls involving numerous international conferees , the cost savings provided by the present invention are considerable . assume , for example , that an upcoming conference call is to occur between international conferees who are located in at least two overseas nations , for example , the united kingdom and australia . assume further that the long distance international telecom rate for a call originating in the united kingdom dialed to a telephone number in australia is $ 0 . 61 per minute . assume further that the conferencing platform 12 ( including a bridge ) is located in the united states and is adapted to perform outdials on demand to conferees located overseas , for example in the united kingdom and australia . at a prescheduled time , or in response to some action taken by the conferees located in the united kingdom and / or australia , the us - based conferencing platform 12 can outdial the conferees in , for example , the united kingdom and australia . such an action would trigger the lower us - origin international telecom rates for these outdialed calls . assuming for example , that the international long distance telecom rate for calls dialed from the united states to the united kingdom is $ 0 . 058 dollars per minute , and further assume that the same rate applicable to a call dialed from the united states to australia is $ 0 . 138 dollars per minute . in this example , replacing the international call dialed from the united kingdom to australia with two international calls dialed from the united states to the united kingdom and to australia , respectively , yields a cost savings of $ 0 . 414 dollars per minute for this conference call . in this scenario , the conferencing streams that would otherwise be routed directly from the united kingdom conferee to the australia conferee are routed instead from the united kingdom conferee to the united states platform , and then from the united states platform to the australia conferee . these platforms 12 - 16 may be connected by a private data network which coordinates and manages appropriate conference flows to and from each of the conferees through the distributed platforms . the private data network may be located in either of the countries denoted in fig1 or in a different location . further , more than one private data network may be utilized without departing from the scope of the present invention . such a plurality of data networks may be needed to accommodate additional bandwidth requirements , to minimize distance and latency issues associated with the location of the conferencing platforms , for redundancy considerations , and / or to provide a more distributed conferencing environment whereby certain functions are performed by one private data network and other functions are performed by another private data network . for example , certain functions may be specific to a conference host and thus those functions may reside on a private data network that are in closer proximity to the hosts conferencing platform . such functions include managing the conference call , providing information to certain conferees , etc . further , such functions may be “ pushed ” or provided to the host &# 39 ; s conferencing platform or other equipment as soon as the host is identified . the intelligence necessary to convert and transform between different signaling systems , formats , protocols , or the like , as may be necessitated by the international nature of the conference call , can be centered in one or more of the platforms 12 - 16 or in the private data network , rather than in the higher cost public switch telephone network ( pstn ). utilizing the present invention , the cost for connecting each international participant consists of the local charges to connect the international participant to the local platform , plus the cost of transmitting conferencing streams between each of the various platforms using the private data network . the latter cost is presumably significantly lower than dialing an international long distance call . some of the components of the conference platforms 12 - 16 and / or the private data network may include voice response units or enhanced media gateways ( which , among other functionality , may provide a pstn interface , control call flow , and perform outdials ), proxy servers ( which , among other functionality , may accept registrations from session initiation protocol ( sip ) clients , send “ heartbeats ” to registered clients , and load balances requests across interface servers and mixers ), application servers ( which , among other functionality , may queue conference commands from the voice response unit or from an operator tool , process requests in queues , and update real - time conference states ), mixers or media servers ( which , among other functionality , may accept sip commands to create and delete conferences and to add and drop participants , and mix real time transport protocol ( rtp ) streams together ), and database servers ( which , among other functionality , may maintain real - time conference states , house reporting and billing data , and house owner profile data ). these components may be connected via , for example , a bus , ethernet , local area network ( lan ), wide area network ( wan ), or directly ( with , for example , the voice response unit coupled to the mixer via the proxy server , the interface server , and the database server . this functionality may further be combined in one or more of the aforementioned servers . the conferences can be pre - scheduled , occur based on an action from one of the platforms 12 - 16 , or can be distributed . to ensure bridges do not get linked without participants , at least one of the platforms 12 - 16 could require an indication that a participant is present before linking the bridge , could terminate the link if an indication is not received within a certain time frame before and / or after the conference call is scheduled to occur or has occurred , or could terminate the link if an indication is not received within a certain time frame before and / or after the bridges are linked . it is a further embodiment of the present invention to provide a single interlinking call between the bridges . as such , one of the platforms 12 - 16 can place a single call which then initiates the bridges associated with the rest of the platforms to be linked . another embodiment of the present invention includes the ability of some of the conferencing platforms 12 - 16 to include different components and / or to provide different functionality . for example , one platform may include a proxy server and media gateway , while another platform may include a voice response unit , a media gateway ( or a voice response unit media gateway ), a proxy server , a mixer , an application server , and a database server . the advantages of such a configuration include reduced space and power requirements , reduced cost , and media gateway support of international telephony protocols . another embodiment of the present invention includes utilizing a single platform between two different countries . for example , the platform can include a media gateway , a proxy server , a mixer , an application server , and a database server , where a connection from each country to the platform can occur via a pstn connection from each country to the media gateway . other embodiments of the present invention include utilizing similar platforms connected by a wan for example , and further connected to a conferencing platform via a pstn connection from each country to a voice response unit media gateway in each platform ). further elements of the present invention include the ability for users to dial a local number which would cause platforms ( for example , bridges ), based on information that was previously submitted or submitted in real - time , to link themselves as needed . as such , entire bridges would become a single participant in the host bridge . in another embodiment of the present invention , an interactive voice response ( ivr ) system or platform can be utilized . for example , participants and / or a host from australia can join an ivr conference bridge by dialing a local number , and participants and / or a host from the united kingdom can join an ivr conference bridge by dialing a local number . via a data network , local ivr bridges communicate globally to determine the need for bridge linkage . in such a scenario , the uk bridge connects to the ivr bridge in australia whereby only one country to country call is made and whereby users in each country dial a local number regardless of a host &# 39 ; s location . although an exemplary embodiment of the system and method of the present invention has been illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description , it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed , but is capable of numerous rearrangements , modifications , and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims . for example , the capabilities of the system 10 can be performed by one or more of the modules or components described herein or in a distributed architecture . for example , all or part of the platforms 12 - 16 , or the functionality associated with the platforms may be included within or co - located with one of the platforms or the private data network . further , the functionality described herein may be performed at various times and in relation to various events , internal or external to the modules or components . also , the information sent between various modules ( including the platforms 12 - 16 and the private data network ), can be sent between the modules via at least one of a data network , the internet , a voice network , an internet protocol network , a wireless source , a wired source and / or via plurality of protocols . | 7 |
fig1 shows a perspective view of snowboard bindings 10 of the present invention with attachable accessories 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 mounted on snowboard 20 or similar sports board . it should be understood that attachable accessories in this example include but are not limited to video kits , thermoses , storage containers , first aid kits or portable radios / audio devices . the illustrative embodiment of fig2 of a snowboard binding includes a base plate 22 , sidewalls 24 , toe strap slots and ankle strap slots 26 , used to mount toe and ankle ladder straps 28 , and attachable accessory slots 30 used to mount attachable accessory ladder straps 32 . heel cup 34 and highback 36 will not be described herein since it is well known in prior art . it should be understood that the actual snowboard binding is not shown in these illustrations . rather , different types of snowboard bindings may be attached to the snowboard . fig3 is a perspective view from beneath of the base of the binding illustrating a possible embodiment of attachable accessory strap slots 30 receiving the attachable accessory ladder straps 32 with a restraining nipple 38 . of course , those skilled in the art will appreciate that binding straps may be attached to the sidewalls 24 without the use of slots 30 , e . g . using apertures 40 formed in the snowboard binding sidewalls 24 that receive a screw or other fastener to engage with an end of the binding straps . fig4 a and 4b are exploded views of the female ( buckle 42 ) and male ( attachable accessory ladder strap 32 ) connecting sections of an illustrative interface binding system of the present invention . as shown in fig5 , buckle 42 comprises a housing with a base , a pair of side members , and a spring actuated lever forms a passageway for releasably receiving at least one tooth of the attachable accessory ladder strap 32 in order to restrain the strap unidirectionally but is prevented from moving in a substantially opposite direction . as the teeth of strap 32 inserted into a passageway through the bottom portion of the housing 44 and exiting through the top portion of the housing 44 engages with actuator 46 in combination with the physical contact of the base of the housing 44 as it sits atop of snowboard binding sidewall 24 creates a biasing tension force preventing unwanted movement or release . fig6 is a sectional view of the male and female sections shown in a mated position . fig7 a and 7b are a side view of the present invention . actuator 46 may be attached to the buckle housing 44 with an actuator pinion with spring 50 . buckle 42 may be attached to mounting plate 48 by rivets or other similar securing means inserted through buckle housing apertures to the mounting plate 52 . mounting plate 48 comprising corner apertures 54 may be used to join buckle 42 to attachable accessories 12 , 14 , 16 , and 18 . fig7 a and 7b further illustrate an embodiment of attachable accessory ladder strap 32 within attachable accessory strap slot 30 of the snowboard binding sidewall 24 . having described the presently preferred exemplary embodiments of a new interface binding system via the snowboard binding in accordance with the present invention , it is of course , to be understood that modifications , variations and changes will be apparent to some only after study , and a routine undertaking to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure , being matters of routine mechanical design and fabrication . the illustrative embodiments described herein are not necessarily intended to show all aspects or technical equivalents of the invention , but rather are used to describe a few illustrative embodiments and therefore are not intended to be construed narrowly in view of the illustrative embodiments . in particular , while a buckle and ladder strap combination is a preferred exemplary embodiment of this invention , other fastening means can be employed to secure the attachable accessories without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . one such fastening means may include a beveled male section protruding from the top of the snowboard binding sidewall slidably receiving a female section secured to an attachable accessory . “ fastening means ”, therefore is understood to mean all methodologies for securing an attachable accessory onto the snowboard binding . for example , the disclosed embodiment is designed to interoperate with one of the most popular binding types currently on the market . however , other similar implementations are envisioned for other types of bindings . while preferred embodiments for an interface binding system for attachable accessories have been shown , it is anticipated that some of the features and structural details of the invention may be incorporated into structural forms other than is shown . for example the female section can be reversed and integral to the binding and the male section integral to the attachable accessory . it can be contemplated that the mating sections can be installed during the fabrication of the attachable accessory and the snowboard binding or retrofitted subsequently through a mechanical clamping mechanism such as a c - clamp with attachable accessory combination mounted onto the sidewall of the snowboard binding . it can be further contemplated that this post binding fabrication method of attachment is not limited to this particular construction . worth noting , the shape , size , location and fabrication materials may differ depending on the application of the attachable accessory . for example , while the sidewalls of the snowboard binding is an exemplary location to attach various accessories , this does not preclude attaching these accessories to the highback , toe and ankle strap or other location on the snowboard binding . it can be further appreciated that some applications of the invention without limitation can be incorporated into other glideboards , kayaks , bikes , boats , motor vehicles , airplanes , tool boxes , baby strollers , wheelchairs , exercise equipment , and military , sports , hunting and rescue apparel . one example is to utilize the attachment mechanism of the present invention on different equipment such as skis , surfboards , kayaks so that an attachable / detachable accessory such as a video camera can then be easily be moved from the snowboard to such other equipment . the present invention thus achieves the objects proposed , offering many advantages over the bindings of the prior art . specifically , a first advantage of an extremely quick means of attaching and detaching utilitarian devices , containers and accessories . those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . therefore , it is intended that this invention encompass all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
a detailed description of embodiments of the present invention is provided with reference to the fig1 - 7 . as is generally known , hearing varies among individuals . generally , the most important measure of hearing is threshold of hearing , or hearing sensitivity , which measures hearing acuity as a function of frequency , or pitch , as shown in the charts of fig1 a and 1 b . hearing profiles vary considerably among individuals , both as a generally characteristic and as the result of injury , or exposure to high level sounds of particular pitch , such as the loud high - frequency noise associated with jet aircraft engines . profiles vary over time for individuals as well , as seen in the curves of fig1 a . as can be seen there , high frequency hearing drops of markedly as a person ages . additionally , a general divergence in hearing ability between the genders has been noted , as shown in fig1 b . despite the known diversity in hearing abilities , providers of audio content have continued to supply products tailored to a single , mythical “ standard ” hearing sensitivity curve . those of skill in the art , however , understand that the ability to modify audio signals to compensate for individual differences has existed for some time in the hearing aid industry . that art once was limited simply to boosting the volume of audio input to an individual &# 39 ; s ear , but modern devices apply multiband compression algorithms to modify signals in discrete frequency bands . that technology offers the ability to achieve a desired profile , tailored to an individual &# 39 ; s hearing needs . the problem remains one of devising a test method suitable for use by a mass audience , which also produces sufficiently detailed and accurate profile information . an embodiment of a process 200 for solving that problem is shown in fig2 a . as depicted there , the process lends itself to implementation in a wide variety of contexts and formats . therefore , the generally functionality and overview of the system will be discussed first , followed by a more detailed exploration that includes possible implementation details . in broad terms , the process selects a suitable individual profile by first selecting an optimum start point for evaluation , then further selecting suitable alternate choices , presenting the choices to the user , accepting the user &# 39 ; s choice , and then implementing that choice in a variety of ways . that description covers a considerable array of alternatives , with some representative choices set out below . this profile can be implemented in a number of ways , and those in the art will appreciate that a variety of choices , in both hardware and software , are suitable to particular situations . one set of embodiments that call for the process to be set out in software , operable either in a pure client mode ( that it , the software is contained on a storage medium , such as a disk , and is loaded and run on a single computer , such as the widely used pc ). alternatively , the system could be run in client - server mode , in which a portion of the system resides on a client ( user ) computer and the remainder runs on a server , such as a web server , accessible via the world - wide web on the internet . another alternative is a completely web - based system , in which all functionality resides on a web server . as a further alternative , the software operating the claimed system could be wholly embedded in an operating audio device , such as a mobile phone , headset or earpiece , which could interact with a client computer as required for interface purposes ( gui , keyboard , etc .). such interaction could be via cable or wireless communication link . fig2 b illustrates a client - server architecture of a system useful for performing the process 200 . the system includes a hearing test server 10 coupled to a communication network 11 , such as the internet . the hearing test server 10 executes an interactive , hearing test protocol , as set out by steps 202 , 204 , 206 and 208 . that protocol is embodied in machine - readable code carried on a readable storage medium , such as cd - rom or dvd , or on a hard disk resident at the server 10 . a user end station 12 , such as a personal computer , is also coupled to the communication network 11 . the end station 12 includes a sound card 13 which provides data processing resources for producing audio output and receiving audio input under control of the logic in computer programs executed by the processor in the end station 12 . in the figure , the sound card 13 is connected to stereo speakers 14 and 15 , or to a headphone , and to a microphone 16 . however , a wide variety of configurations exist in the end stations , which are not in the control of the hearing test server . the end station 12 also typically includes a display 19 , a keyboard 17 , and a mouse 18 . during the test , audio stimuli in the form of sound signals produced in the sound card 13 are generated using the stereo speakers 14 and 15 in this example . the sound signals may be sampled or computed sound . environmental factors such as background noise , and the level of the output of the speakers 14 and 15 could be sensed using a microphone 16 . the display 19 is used to display a graphical user interface which prompts a user to input data using the keyboard 17 or the mouse 18 in response to the audio stimuli of the test . alternatively , the test can be carried out using the final device in which the profile is to be implemented . the embodiment of fig2 c , for example , shows a cell phone 55 , in communication with a communications card 53 in the user pc . the communication link can be an appropriate cable , a wireless link via the telephone system or a separate link built into the phone , or other system hereafter developed . here , rather than testing the user &# 39 ; s response to profiles reproduced on speakers , a response which could differ from that achieved on the actual device , such as a cell phone , the device itself is brought into the test procedure . further implementation details for this embodiment will be clear to those of skill in the art . the first portion of the process 200 is executed using a computer program that includes a first component stored on the server test program memory 20 , which is connected to the server 10 . a second program component is stored in the pc test program memory 21 which is connected to the end station 12 . as discussed in more detail below , a hearing profile is produced for the user at the completion of a test cycle . in a one embodiment , this hearing profile is stored in a hearing profile database 22 , which is accessible using internet 11 . in another embodiment , the hearing profile database 22 is coupled directly to the server 10 . alternatively , the hearing profile might be stored only on users end station and not made available to the communication network . in this example , the end station 12 consists of a personal computer with standard sound card components . in other embodiments , the end station consists of a mobile phone , a personal digital assistant , or other consumer electronic device , such as home stereo or television equipment having the capability to communicate with a remote test server . in one implementation , the hearing test server 10 maintains a web site . to initiate a hearing test , a user at the end station 12 accesses the web site and downloads a component ( e . g . a web page with or without active code , a . wav file that encodes an audio stimulus , or other software component ) of the hearing test computer program from the server 10 for execution at the end station 12 . the user initiates the test without intervention by a third party , and uses the resources available via the internet and the resources at the end station to conduct a hearing test . in similar fashion , as known to those in the art , the claimed invention can be implemented in pure server model or pure client models . while operational details would differ in each instance , the functionality of the process would remain the same . primarily , each model would suffice to turn out operable hearing profiles . ultimately , the system claimed below provides hearing profiles that condition audio content delivered to a user . one manner of such operation is operation within audio delivery devices , such as headsets , earpieces , speakers and the like . here , each device contains audio processing means , which accept a “ standard ” audio signal as input and output a signal modified according to a user profile . audio playback devices such as music players , radio receivers , and the like function similarly , taking signals from a storage device , such as a music disk , or from broadcast radio or tv sources . a separate delivery means is accomplished by content providers , who obtain a profile from a user and then deliver personalized content to a user , so that , for example , a piece of music downloaded from a participating site has already been conditioned , based upon the user &# 39 ; s individual needs . these and many other applications are possible , all within the ambit of the claims set out below . those in the art can adapt the description below to any of these environments or contexts with no further technical discussion required . turning back to fig2 , the first step , selecting the starting profile , step 202 , turns out to be critical for achieving any efficiency or computational speed . as those in the art will appreciate , a vast number of profiles present themselves as possible starting points , from which the user will home in on a profile that provides the best match to her hearing response . as taught in the prior art references cited above , approaches to that problem have generally sought to identify factors that might affect a user &# 39 ; s hearing , such as environmental factors . alternatively , the n - alternative forced choice method seeks its result by offering a series of sound choices . all of the embodiments set out above suffer from the amount of user participation required . a surprising finding by the inventors herein is that by selecting a few key demographic data , one can come very close to an optimum result . in the embodiment shown here , the selected data are the gender and age of the user . in studying hearing issues with representative populations , it has been found that using these two data produces results sufficiently accurate for highly usable profiles . a screen shot of a method for capturing age and gender information is shown in fig3 , in the form of a graphical user interface screen dialog box . it should be noted that the only information needed by the system is age and gender . it has been found , however , that users do not respond accurately to short , simple questions . offered several questions , however , the accuracy of responses goes up . the need is to pick a list short enough to avoid confusing or boring the user , yet long enough to elicit truthful responses . as noted in the figure , the user is prompted for input by presenting a set of questions via the computer gui . as known in the art , a number of techniques can be used for user input , such as the textboxes seen in the drawing here , or radio buttons , pick lists and the like . the key points are that the user is prompted for input and that input is received when the user enters it . however the data are collected and processed , the result is the selection of a set of data sufficient to allow the generation of selection of a hearing modification profile . in one embodiment , an algorithm is derived from basic principles that allow calculation of a profile . that result requires considerable computation overhead , however . another embodiment employs a database containing a set of profiles , indexed by age and gender . an example of such a database is the database 400 seen in fig4 . the database consists of a number of records 402 , shown as rec 1 , rec 2 . . . rec n . each record contains a record id , an age , a gender , a profile records , and offset up and offset down records , explained below . the database can be implemented using any of the standard commercially available relational database products , such as those available from oracle corp . or microsoft corp . data for the profiles contained in the database records can best be gathered empirically , either from existing test data or from newly collected test data , as desired by the user . here , empirical data is highly preferable , as those in the art understand how to describe the hearing profile with good accuracy . although one could achieve minimally acceptable results with a database having relatively few entries , the cost in all respects of maintaining a larger database is highly reasonable , offering highly granular results . relational database techniques allow very fast access , and the relatively small size of the data records allows fast retrieval . thus , while a database having tens of entries might produce minimally acceptable results , it will be relatively straightforward to build a database of hundreds or thousands of records , providing more accurate and detailed results . having a starting profile , a set of alternate profiles is generated in step 204 . the object of the exercise is to present the user with a set of choices that differ sufficiently to present a choice , yet are sufficiently close to stay within the same hearing area . a method for accomplishing that result is to start with the selected profile and then select a profile higher than the selected profile and another below it . experience in the field suffices to provide a basis for selecting the separation between profiles . a resulting set of profiles is shown in fig5 , where profile a is the profile selected as the starting point , and profiles b and c are the surrounding profiles . the alternate profiles are indicated in the database record 402 for the primary profile , in the data items offset up and offset down , which contain the record ids of the upper and lower alternate profiles associated with a given primary profile . those profiles can be retrieved very rapidly . then , the set of profiles is linked with a sound sample to be played for the user , employing each of the profiles . the sample can be any audio content , but better results will be achieved if the content is chosen to simulate the sort of content that the user is most likely to hear . for example , if the primary application will be on cellular phones , then the sample should be chosen to reflect speech . music player applications would feature music , and so on . also , the samples should be amenable to hearing tonal differences , so the user can clearly distinguish such differences . in each instance , application of basic principles to the facts of the situation will allow a practitioner to arrive at a workable solution rapidly . in the illustrated embodiment , samples are offered for a number of different audio content modes . a minimal embodiment offers only two modes , speech and music . a music mode requires different psychoacoustic processing than does the speech mode , allowing for different hearing profiles to be created for each mode . alternative modes to the basic speech and music modes described are based on the type of device being programmed and the type of audio source being processed , including cell phone mode , companion module mode , office phone mode , home phone mode , music from cell phone mode , music from dedicated music player mode , music from television mode , etc . during testing for each mode , the user selects among three hearing profiles . in the illustrated embodiment the user listens to audio samples played on her own computer , via the internet . in alternative embodiments , audio samples could be transmitted via a communication channel to an ear module and played by the audio processors on the ear module . in any of the embodiments , the user selects the sample that sounds best . fig5 illustrates a screen in a graphical user interface such that the user can compare simulated audio for the speech and music modes of operation in different environments with and without the selected hearing profiles , so that the user can understand how applying the hearing profile to the ear module will affect its operation turning again to process 200 , the samples are presented to the user , step 208 , and the user plays them to determine which is preferable . a method for accomplishing that result is shown in fig5 , in which the samples are linked to pushbuttons , allowing the user to play selections as often as needed , using the mouse or other input device . when ready , the user can indicate her choice with the appropriate radio button , step 210 . at that point the system is prepared to apply the selected profile to the application , step 212 of process 200 . given the nature of the application , a person of skill in the art can implement an appropriate means for transmitting the selected profile to the device being used , as discussed above , and for integrating the profile into the device itself . the rader and pluvinage documents , referred to above , provide examples of such processes . for example , a data channel can be opened between the device and a computer , either via a cable or wireless connection , and the device &# 39 ; s operating software can oversee the data transfer and integration . in an alternative embodiment , the system selects and applies not only the user &# 39 ; s preferred profile but several others to the user device . the profile selected by the user is selected , and others can be chosen in a cluster around that profile . one embodiment provides two additional profiles , but more are used in other embodiments . here , the user can be offered a choice , allowing her to toggle between a number of profiles . such a choice will provide the user the ability to compensate somewhat for environmental changes , such as increased noise or the like , that affects the user &# 39 ; s perception or hearing sensitivity . fig7 illustrates a screen in a graphical user interface that allows the user to enter information necessary to link to a mobile phone by a configuration link across a public switched telephone network , to program one or more hearing profiles . in the illustrated embodiment the selected hearing profiles are transferred to a mobile phone . in alternative embodiments the hearing profiles are transferred in data formats used by an ear module to an ear module using a process like that described above , or other processes using wired or wireless links as known in the art . for example , a data format like “ presets ” adapted for use by a processor on the ear module as described in co - owned and co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 569 , 499 , referred to above and which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein , can be used for delivery of the selected hearing profile . while the present invention is disclosed by reference to the preferred embodiments and examples detailed above , it is to be understood that these examples are intended in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense . it is contemplated that modifications and combinations will readily occur to those skilled in the art , which modifications and combinations will be within the spirit of the invention . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates a total slurry mining system in an earth section 10 having a surface 12 and mine tunnel 14 as defined by tunnel roof 16 and floor 18 . it should be understood , of course , that in the very large coal mines there may be a number of tunnels 14 on a plurality of different subsurface levels . in particular , the illustration of fig1 includes an interconnect piping system 20 which provides water - slurry transportation interconnection between a plurality of mining stations 22 and a centrally located sump 24 , a repository for coal slurry and subsequent entry into the vertical pump system 26 which moves the slurry vertically through a borehole 28 , e . g . earthen , cased or the like , to a surface station 30 . water supply from surface station 30 is also returned downward through a borehole 32 for replenishment to the interconnect system 20 and sump 24 . the mining stations 22 consist of plural different coal removal stations throughout the tunnel 14 ; thus , stations 22 may include a room and pillar installation 34 , such system consisting of a mining machine at the coal face in communication with a slurry hopper and an extensible hose system in interconnection with a slurry line 36 and return water line 38 of interconnect system 20 . in like manner , a long wall mining installation 40 may also connect into interconnect system 20 . the long wall mining machinery is also a well - known type consisting of a long wall mining machine in communication with a coal conveyor and slurry injection skid in connection with slurry line 36a and return water line 38a . since the length of slurry lines 36 and water lines 38 may be considerable , on the order of miles , booster pump stations are provided as necessary along the extension route of interconnect system 20 . the slurry line 36 and water line 38 extend to the sump 24 which serves as a central collector for the mined material wherein it is once more prepared for vertical movement up through borehole 28 . the sump 24 consists of a slurry pit 42 which is separated by an overflow weir 44 from a water and fines pit 46 . sump 24 is actually of elongated rectangular form and may be quite large , on the order of 300 feet long and 20 feet wide . the slurry line 36 is continually dumped into slurry pit 42 and pumps ( not shown ) remove water from water pit 46 for return to water line 38 of interconnect system 20 . replenishment water , as needed , from borehole 32 is available via supply water line 48 to either water pit 46 or water line 38 as control valving directs . slurry from the coal pit 42 is picked up by such as a continuously moving dredge 50 for passage through a slurry line 52 to the vertical pump system 26 . slurry output from the vertical pump system 26 is then applied via a slurry line 54 up through earth borehole 28 to surface station 30 . a slurry line 56 also leads to a bypass and dump station 58 , apparatus which is actuated in response to certain line conditions , as will be further described . the surface station 30 includes a surge tank and surface pump system which then provides power for transportation overland via slurry line 60 as system water is returned via water line 62 . the slurry line 60 may include a number of booster stations and valving facilities and may extend for a number of miles overland to a final finishing station whereupon washing , grading and the like is carried out prior to further disposition of the particulate material . fig2 illustrates in greater detail the sump 24 and vertical pump system 26 in interconnection with boreholes 28 and 32 to earth surface 12 and surface station 30 . the dredge 50 including dredge pump 64 is controllably moved about slurry pit 42 to pick up slurry for transmission via a flexible line 51 to a slurry line 52 for delivery to the vertical pump system 26 . a density transmitter 66 is in communication with the output slurry line 52 and continuously monitors slurry density for indication and control at a central control panel , such control station being located at a suitable disposition adjacent the sump 24 and vertical pump station 26 . also , certain of the operational controls may be remotely accessed from a surface station . a pressure transmitter 68 provides indication of slurry line downstream behind a slurry hose coupling 70 and a weir pump 72 functioning through a check valve 74 and hand - operated valve 76 . slurry line 52 is then applied through a flow meter 78 having flow transmitter 80 , a fischer and porter magnetic flow meter , and further conducted for input to the first in a plurality of series - connected pumps . the first two pumps 82 and 84 in the series are variable speed drive pumps , and these operate into constant speed pumps 86 , 88 , 90 , 92 and 94 with final slurry output to slurry ine 54 . each of the pumps 94 is a commercially available type , a warman model 14 / 12 tahp slurry pump . the constant speed pumps 86 - 94 are each belt - driven by a 500 horsepower electric motor while the variable speed pumps 82 and 84 are driven through a variable speed fluid clutch by 700 horsepower electric motors , as will be further described . the slurry line output 54 is then conducted through a motor operated valve 96 and further slurry line 54 through flange couplings 98 and 100 into the lower - end of earth borehole 28 for transmission to the surface . a motor operated valve 102 passes slurry to a dissipator 104 during start - up bypass operations , and a motor operated valve 106 passes slurry fluid from the downstream side of valve 96 to a dissipator 108 during emergency dump operations . the dissipator devices 104 and 108 function to provide a high input pressure and reduction in outlet fluid volumetric flow rate when activated . control data is transmitted to the central control panel by a plurality of sensor devices . thus , slurry flow rate through flow meter 78 is sent by a flow transmitter 80 , and density information is sent from a density transmitter 66 . pressure transmitters 112 , 114 and 116 provide requisite data for each of the pump input , output of first variable speed drive pump 82 , and final pump output , and the speed transmitters 118 and 120 provide central control indication of the respective first and second variable speed pumps 82 and 84 . the control data outputs at the central control panel also interface with a central logic controller , e . g ., a texas instruments model 5tl programmable logic controller , which functions to carry out various automatic activations . primary water supply comes through surface line 62 to a transfer station 22 and proceeds under control of a motor operated valve 124 down the water borehole 32 to the lower level . a very large primary water reservoir 126 is also located near transfer station 122 to receive water flow through a selected branch determined by a removable plug or blind 127 . at the second or lower level , water enters through a hand - operated valve 128 to line 48 which then couples to line 38 for interconnect system distribution . a hand - operated valve 130 provides output for auxilliary water uses , and a hand - operated valve 132 through pneumatic valve 134 provides feed system water makeup into pit 46 of sump 24 . the surface station 30 carries out slurry processing and pumping for the overland transport system . thus , slurry upcoming from borehole 28 is conducted through a slurry line 136 and dumped into surge tank 138 which is constantly agitated by a motor - driven mixer 140 . balanced water supply is also controllably added to surge tank 138 as slurry may be withdrawn via line 142 through a flow meter 144 for entry into the overland pumping system which consists of series - connected pumps , i . e ., variable speed pumps 146 and 148 and constant speed pumps 150 , 152 , 154 and 156 . selected flow output from the pumps is then present on slurry line 158 through transfer station 122 to the overland slurry line 60 . a motor - operated valve 160 provides start - up bypass slurry relief through a dissipator 162 which directs reduced slurry flow back into surge tank 138 . a level transmitter 164 in communication with surge tank 138 continually monitors slurry level and transmits level information down to the central control panel , as will be further described . fig3 illustrates a dissipator unit as utilized in the present invention . such a dissipator unit is the particular subject matter of a u . s . pat . no . 4 , 333 , 499 and entitled &# 34 ; pressure dissipation apparatus &# 34 ;. the dissipator unit is comprised of a first centrifugal member which accepts fluid under a high pressure and high volume and converts the flow to high velocity and low - pressure ; and , thereafter , the axially flowing slurry is further reduced to a low velocity , low pressure flow at the lower output end . the characteristic design of the particular form of dissipator unit is due largely to the necessity for handling slurried particulate matter such as coal slurry in relatively large volume . a member 166 having cylindrical sidewall 168 , upper plate 170 and lower plate 172 receives slurry input tangentially by means of input conduit 174 . a relatively small axial air vent 176 is provided in upper plate 170 to provide vacuum relief for the inside of member 166 , and either air or a suitable fluid can be inserted through vent 176 to prevent cavitation beneath upper plate 170 . the vortex formed within member 166 then extends through or substantially through axial outlet conduit 178 formed through bottom plate 172 . a lower member 180 then receives high velocity , reduced pressure fluid output from conduit 178 and converts the final output to low velocity , low pressure fluid output . the member 180 essentially comprises an inner cylinder 182 and an outer concentric cylinder 184 which is retained thereon by a circular mounting plate 186 secured as by welding . a quadrature array of vertical fins 188 are attached between the bottom of cylinder 182 to extend adjacent the inside wall of cylinder 184 . a plurality of rows of circumferentially spaced slots 190 are cut through inner cylinder 182 to aid in velocity reduction of the slurried particular matter . coupling of members 166 and 180 may be provided by such as a gasket 192 functioning in co - action with a bolt - secured split ring 194 seated in conduit grooves 196 and 198 . in operation , when high pressure , high velocity fluids are introduced into conduit 174 , they are reduced through centrifugal interference for direction through an axial vortex at conduit 178 at high velocity and lowered pressure . further axial travel of the flurry material down through baffle member 180 , i . e ., inner cylinder 182 , slots 190 and outer cylinder 184 , reduces the slurried material velocity to provide a low velocity , low pressure output there below . referring to fig4 the sequence logic system is under control of a central logic control 200 which receives input from operator , interval sequence logic and the like , and functions to exercise control of the system operation . an alarm 202 is connected to receive an alarm output from logic control 200 , and motor control outputs are provided on lines 204 , 206 and 208 for controlling , respectively , a main block valve 210 , a by - pass dissipator valve 212 , and a dump dissipator valve 214 . as aforementioned , the logic control 200 in one present design is a texas instruments models 5tl programmable logic controller as is commercially available from texas instruments of dallas , tex . in start - up sequence , the dissipator valve 212 is placed in the open position and main block valve 210 is closed , and the series pumps 82 - 94 are started up to move water , i . e . water or what is known as &# 34 ; black water &# 34 ;, from the sump 24 by means of pump 72 to conduit 52 for eventual output via conduit 54 . as pressure builds up in conduit 54 , it is pumped through the open valve 212 and dissipator 104 back into sump 24 . this by - pass using dissipator 104 serves to maintain an increasing pressure on line 54 as the water is by - pass dumped back into the sump 24 . the pressure on line 54 must attain a predetermined pressure head in order to be satisfactorily introduced into the vertical conduit or borehole 28 ( fig2 ). thus , the dissipator 104 produces sufficient pressure on the station output line 54 to overcome the borehole pressure head , at which time motor 96 is operated to rapidly open block valve 210 to allow water flow up through the vertical borehole 28 . thereafter , logic control 200 functions to operate motor 102 to effect a relatively slow incremental closure of dissipator valve 212 . when valve 212 is completely closed , the pump slurry proceeds through conduit 54 and the vertical borehole 28 at relatively constant flow rate , variables then being controlled by other operational flow parameters that are not material to pump start - up considerations . particular matter is then introduced from dredge pump 64 ( fig2 ) via the movable slurry ine 51 through coupling 70 , and transport operation proceeds under central control . normal shut down of the system is effected by the inverse of operations carried out in start - up . when conditions require an emergency shut - down , other factors of operation must be taken into consideration . thus , with untimely cessation of operation of pumps 82 - 94 or under conditions of uncontrolled reduction of flow within the pipe , e . g . an abnormal condition at surface station 30 , the very great volume of slurried particulate up within borehole 28 , e . g ., 800 or 900 feet , would fall downward to the valve and conduit structure below with undesirable effects . in the case of such emergency shutdown , logic control 200 functions to incrementally close main block valve 210 while throwing dump dissipator valve 214 wide open , thereby to allow the downward descending slurried particulate to proceed into the dump dissipator 108 where reduction of both velocity and pressure is effected as the slurried material is returned to sump 24 . the logic control 200 also opens bypass valve 212 thereby to inhibit movement of dredge 50 through sump 42 . this action allows the vertical hoist pumps to be flushed with water as they will normally remain running along with dredge pump 64 . by way of example , in one present design the by - pass dissipator 104 is designed to produce borehole pressure head at 6 , 000 gallons per minute such that opening of block valve 210 and gradual closure of by - pass valve 212 will experience little or no pressure fluctuation ; and , when by - pass valve 212 is completely closed the slurry will be flowing at 6 , 000 gallons per minute up through the vertical borehole . during an emergency dump operation , the flow rate may be as high as 17 , 000 gallons per minute downward from the borehole , and this rate is reduced by dump dissipator 108 to a lowered flow rate on the order of 7 , 000 to 8 , 000 gallons per minute , a flow rate which can be more easily handled in the operation . thus , the by - pass dissipators are designed for about 6 , 000 gallons per minute and the dump dissipators are designed slightly smaller but to handle a slightly larger energy dissipation , i . e ., pressure dissipation . the foregoing discloses a novel sequential control system for maintaining proper pressure and flow rate within a vertical slurry line of considerable length during startup , shutdown and emergency shutdown operations . such borehole transmission of slurry may be maintained over very great heights , e . g ., 850 feet , from the working level to the surface , and the pressure and flow control system of the present invention is capable of maintaining the necessary flow rates within the vertical flow line during all phases of the pumping operation as well as during emergency situations that might arise through the continuous operation . changes may be made in combination and / or arrangement of elements as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawing ; it being understood that changes may be made in the embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 8 |
i have discovered that proper collection and handling of soil samples for carbonate carbon isotope analysis is critical in establishing optimum contrast between samples directly overlying buried mineralization and samples distant from buried orebodies . for example , at the union sulphur deposit in west texas , i have observed a direct relationship between soils enriched in carbon - 12 and proximity to buried sulphur mineralization , with soils overlying sulphur ore enriched up to five fold versus background soils . at this location , soil sampling depth was discovered to be critical in determining carbon - 12 enrichment patterns related to sulphur mineralization . i discovered , through the use of carbon - 12 , carbon - 13 mass spectrometry , the importance of collecting soil samples beneath the upper soil horizons where decaying plant and organic matter contribute mineral carbonate to the composite soil . a series of soil samples collected at various depths showed a gradual decrease in the plant and organic matter contribution of carbon - 12 - enriched mineral carbonate with depth . a comparison of carbon - 12 , carbon - 13 proportions in near surface soil collected directly over the union sulphur deposit and in near surface soil collected at background locations indicates that carbon - 12 enrichments occur in both near surface soils . the foregoing clearly indicates that decaying plant and organic matter produces some of the same carbon - 12 enrichments caused by buried sulphur mineralization and that soils containing significant quantities of decaying plant and organic matter ( i . e . near surface soils ) are an inappropriate sample type for sulphur geochemical prospecting . i have discovered that only soil samples collected at a depth beneath the zone of high plant - organic matter contribution are capable of clearly reflecting buried sulphur mineralization . fig2 and fig3 clearly illustrate the usefullness of collecting deep soil samples . in fig2 site 725 e shows a gradual decrease with depth of carbon - 12 content ( plotted values are negative del values ). this background sample is distant from the sulphur ore and the significant carbon - 12 concentration in the top 3 feet of soil are attributed to mineral carbonate formed by conversion of plant and organic matter . in fig2 site 25 w exhibits a pattern in the upper 3 feet of soil similar to that of site 725 e ; however , the 5 foot 5 foot depth sample exhibits an increased carbon - 12 concentration attributable to leakage from the buried sulphur mineralization underlying site 25 w . fig3 illustrates an entire line profile using an 8 to 10 foot sampling depth interval . this deep soil sampling profile is characterized by lower background values , better anomaly contrast and a more informative anomaly pattern . the improved resolution shown in fig3 is due to the effective elimination of noise from contributed mineral carbonate derived from plant and organic matter and to the enhancement of signal from leakage associated with buried sulphur mineralization ( i . e . sulphur mineralization refers to sulphur and carbonate ). fig3 clearly indicates the advantages of collecting soils from beneath the zone of plant and organic matter contribution to the composite soil . the method of the present invention is further illustrated in the following non - limiting example : soil samples over three case study areas ( i . e . union sulphur deposit , maverick draw deposit , and saddle butte deposit ) in west texas were collected by using either an air rotary hydraulically operated winkie drill with a small bi - cone bit or by using a compressed - air / hydraulic air track sampler with a cross bit . cuttings from the 9 &# 39 ; to 11 &# 39 ; interval or from the 8 &# 39 ; to 10 &# 39 ; interval were collected , labeled , and shipped to coastal science laboratories in port aransas , texas for carbon isotope determinations . physical descriptions , mineralogical descriptions and degree of effercescence with dilute hydrochloric acid were recorded for each sample . statistical control in each survey consisted of monitoring carbon isotope composition difference due to sampling error and carbon isotope composition differences die to analytical error according to a prescribed method . see , for example , misch , a . t . et al ; geochemical survey of missouri - methods of sampling , laboratory analysis , and statistical reduction of data , u . s . g . s . professional paper 954 - a . analyses of three replicate samples from each of numerous sample sites indicated minor sampling error associated with the sampling technique . replicate sample analyses plotted on sampling profile lines indicated that carbon isotope composition differences between sulphur mineralization related samples and background samples greatly exceeded carbon isotope composition differences within individual sample sites . sampling error was found to be about ± 1δ c13 / c12 unit . the δ c13 / c12 values were calculated according to the following equation and reported as &# 34 ; per mil &# 34 ; values : ## equ1 ## where a belemnite fossil from the peedee formation in south carolina is used as the standard . faure , 6 ., 1977 , principles of isotope geology , john wiley & amp ; sons , new york . analytical error determined by succesive analyses of individual samples yielded an error of ± 0 . 5δ c13 / c12 unit . the combined sampling and analytical error associated with the survey of ± 1 . 5δ c13 / c12 units is much lower than the differences of 12 or more δ c13 / c12 units between sulphur mineralization related samples and background samples . the mineralization related anomalies are therefore real , and not merely statistically random anomalies die to combinations of sampling and analytical errors . | 6 |
the afm - ir technique is described in the parent applications of the current application . to review , pulses from an infrared light source are directed at a sample to illuminate a region of the sample . when the wavelength of the ir light corresponds to an absorption of the sample , a portion of the ir light is absorbed . the absorbed heat causes a thermal expansion pulse at the surface of the sample which in turn can excite resonant oscillation of an afm probe , typically a cantilever , that is interacting with the sample . measuring the amplitude of the induced oscillation is indicative of the amount of ir absorption by the sample . by performing measurements at a plurality of wavelengths it is possible to create absorption spectra from sub - micron regions of a sample . measuring the absorption at one or more wavelengths at a plurality of points on a surface can provide spatially resolved absorption measurements . such measurements can be used to create profiles , maps , and images of ir absorption and can provide information about distribution of chemical species on the micro and nano scale . several sources have been used for afm - ir . these include free electron lasers , optical parametric oscillators , and quantum cascade lasers ( qcls ), for example . in certain of previous afm - ir disclosure the ir source is pulsed at a repetition rate much lower than the resonant frequency , a few hz using free electron lasers for example . in this mode of operation , the thermal expansion pulsed from the ir absorption induces a resonant pulse response . that is , the probe response includes a sharp onset of oscillation , often at several frequencies , and then an exponential decay , or “ ringdown ”. the amplitude of the ringdowns are analyzed as a measure of the ir absorption . note “ probe ” and “ cantilever ” are used interchangeably herein but it is to be understood that the invention applies to any probe microscope with a probe that is capable of resonant behavior in typical measurement scenarios . qcls and certain opo &# 39 ; s are a particularly interesting alternative source because of their compact size and high pulse repetition rates . thus in the parent applications , the current applicant introduced the idea of generating ir pulses from a qcl ( or opo ) at a rate corresponding to a resonant frequency of the afm cantilever . this has the advantage of generating continuous oscillation of the cantilever . thus smaller oscillation amplitudes may be detected versus the pulse - ringdown technique . as pointed out by mikhail belkin et al , such operation of the afm - ir set - up may allow operation with lower pulse energy and hence smaller temperature rise in the sample . however for some set - ups and / or samples the resonant frequencies of the cantilever may vary as a function of the position and the set - up conditions . for example , in the case of contact resonance frequencies ( where the afm is operated in contact mode ), the resonant frequencies can be a function of the sample elasticity as well as the contact area , interaction force , adhesion , surface topography , and lateral forces in the tip - sample contact . the contact resonant frequencies can thus shift as a function of time and tip - sample position . these shifts may be especially problematic on heterogeneous samples with regions of significant variation in elastic modulus , where the contact resonant frequency can change by many khz over small distances ( e . g . a few 10 s of nanometers or a few micrometers ) across a sample surface . even on homogeneous samples or measurements at a single location , variations in tip - sample force from thermal effects can cause changes in contact resonant . with conventional afm feedback , these effects can result in shifts of several khz over the course of less than a minute in some measurement environments . to be able to obtain robust absorption spectra and absorption maps it is desirable to maintain the modulation frequency at a frequency corresponding to a resonance of the cantilever throughout any variation in the sample or variation in set - up conditions . the current invention involves techniques for dynamically adjusting the pulse frequency of a qcl or similar ir source such that the pulse rate substantially matches a resonant frequency of the cantilever so as to maintain optimal detection of ir absorption over a wide range of sample materials and set - up conditions . to achieve this , the inventors have developed several techniques to rapidly determine the contact and / or free resonances of a cantilever interacting with a sample surface . one approach is to periodically sweep the modulation frequency of the ir source to find the maximum probe response . this technique works well on strong absorption peaks , but it may not work in regions of the sample or regions of a spectrum with weak absorption . in the case of a weak absorption it may be difficult to achieve enough signal - to - noise ratio to accurately optimize the ir source modulation frequency . another approach is to include a mechanical or other actuator to excite the probe and then periodically sweep the frequency of the actuator to determine the peak response of the probe . mechanical actuators , however , can excite a host of parasitic resonances which may not correspond to the resonance of the cantilever . other common techniques include using a phase locked loop to constantly adjust the frequency of modulation to maintain a specific phase relation between the modulation and the response . this approach can work well for maintaining a cantilever in oscillation by an actuator , but this approach can fail if used to modulate an ir radiation source . the reason is if a region of the sample or a region of a spectrum has minimal absorption , there may not be sufficient signal strength for the pll to operate . to overcome these limitations , we have developed a technique that rapidly determines the true resonant frequency of the cantilever probe , free of parasitic resonances , and independent of the ir absorption of the sample . the technique involves performing a rapid thermal tune to determine the cantilever resonance . a thermal tune is a measurement of the cantilever noise spectrum excited by the thermal energy of the cantilever . thermal tunes are commonly used in atomic force microscopy to estimate the cantilever spring constant for calibration of measured forces . a signal indicative of a deflection of the cantilever is sampled for a period of time . then a fast fourier transform ( fft ) is performed on the deflection data to determine the cantilever response as a function of frequency . due however to the small amplitude of cantilever motion , it has been necessary to average a large number of fft amplitude response curves to obtain sufficient sensitivity to determine the cantilever resonance frequency and spring constant . because of the large number of averages required , it has not been practical to measure thermal tunes at rapid rates . the inventors have developed techniques that allow rapid measurement of thermal tunes with sufficient frequency resolution to accurately tune the modulation rate of the ir source . these thermal tunes can be used by themselves or in combination with any of the other techniques described above . fig1 shows an embodiment of the current invention . the invention will first be described in general terms , and then each component will be discussed in more detail below . afm cantilever 102 with tip 104 is interacted with a surface of a sample 106 . an ir light source 112 emits a beam 108 that is focused by one or more optical elements 110 to form a focus spot in the vicinity of the tip 104 . a deflection detection system measures the probe response to light 108 incident on the sample . the deflection detection system may comprise an optical lever system , for example comprising a laser 114 and a photodetector 116 , or one of the alternatives discussed below . optionally the signal may be amplified , filtered or otherwise conditioned by amplifying electronics 118 . the deflection detection system measures the probe response and creates a signal indicative of the cantilever motion . this signal is then sent to a demoduluator that creates at least one signal that is indicative of a characteristic of the oscillation of the cantilever . a sweep controller 124 or pulse generator 126 may optionally send one or more reference signals to the demodulator to assist in determining the amplitude of the cantilever motion at a given frequency or range of frequencies . next a peak find algorithm 122 may be used to determine one or more frequencies f r corresponding to peaks in the amplitude response of the cantilever . the peak frequency can be used for two different purposes . first , it can be sent to sweep controller 124 that may adjust the frequency range swept by the pulse generator 126 . it may also be used to determine mechanical properties of the sample as discussed later in this specification . the function of the sweep controller 124 is to determine an optimal set of frequencies to be swept by the pulse generator . the strongest response of the cantilever will generally occur when the pulse repetition rate of the ir light source corresponds to a resonance of the cantilever . as mentioned previously , this frequency may not be constant in time or over the surface of the sample . thus the pulse generator creates a series of trigger pulses to generate light pulses from ir light source 112 over a range of pulse repetition rates . the ir light source 112 may include a quantum cascade laser , but may also comprise any other source that can be pulsed or modulated at frequencies corresponding to cantilever resonances . in practice , this means frequencies 10 khz or higher , and preferably 50 khz or higher . it can be desirable in some cases to use even higher frequencies , for example in excess of 1 mhz . such high frequencies can be used to excite resonance of stiffer cantilevers and / or excite higher modes of softer cantilevers . stiffer cantilevers can in some cases be preferable as they can support both contact mode and non - contact / intermittent contact modes . the pulse repetition rate of the light source 112 , if tuned to a resonance peak of the cantilever , is generally not maintained at a fixed rate . the reason is that the resonance frequencies of the cantilever can change significantly over time and / or in its interaction with the sample surface . in the case of contact resonances , the peak frequencies can change by many khz or tens of khz or more due to changes in tip - sample force , temperature , electrostatic forces , tip - sample contact area , sample elastic modulus , sample damping , lateral forces and other factors . however even not in contact with the surface , the resonant frequency may shift due to thermal , viscous , electrostatic and other influences . to account for this , the current invention can dynamically sweep over a range of pulse repetition rates to find the rate that most efficiently excites a resonant response of the cantilever at a particular location on the sample and / or set - up conditions . that said , it is generally not desirable to spend a significant amount of time pulsing the ir light source off the resonant peak as this results in reduced signal - to - noise in the detection of ir absorption by the sample . the sweep controller 128 can dynamically adjust the center frequency f c and sweep width δf based on the variation in the peak frequency f r observed in the sample . for samples that are reasonably heterogeneous and with stable imaging conditions , the sweep width δf may be maintained very small , for example a few hundred hz or even less . this is why the previously disclosed techniques can work without resonant frequency adjustment . in the case of a more heterogeneous sample , a sample with substantial topographic variations , or variable set - up conditions , the sweep width δf may be enlarged to ensure the sweep includes the peak frequency . these adjustments in center frequency and sweep width can be performed rapidly and repeatedly and preferably occur automatically without user intervention . one challenge of the current invention is the possible absence of any detectable absorptions at any pulse frequency . the reason is that the ir absorption of a sample as a function of wavelength and absorption generally only occurs at wavelengths whose oscillation frequency corresponds to a molecular resonance . when there is a strong resonance , it can be easy to find the resonance peak frequency f r and maximum absorption a r . but if there is weak or no absorption , it may be difficult to determine if the ir source is being pulsed at an optimal frequency . for this reason the current invention includes techniques for adaptively adjusting the center frequency and sweep width of the ir source modulation to adjust to different cantilever resonant conditions . fig2 shows a simplified flow chart of an embodiment of the current invention . the process starts ( step 202 ) by interacting the afm tip with a sample surface at a selected xy position . the ir light source is set to a desired wavelength ( step 204 ) and directed at the region of the sample near the afm tip . the ir light source is then pulsed or modulated over a plurality of frequencies , comprising a center frequency f c and a sweep width δf . the cantilever motion is measured as a function of frequency ( step 208 ), and a maximum response is searched for ( step 210 ). next we reach a decision point ( 212 ). in the case that a peak is found , the algorithm can output one or more peak frequencies f r and amplitudes a r that can be used to calculate spectra and absorption maps . optionally , the system can attempt to refine the measurement and / or the subsequent measurement by adjusting the sweep range center frequency f c and a sweep width δf ( step 214 ). the details of one embodiment of this adjustment are described in fig3 . if , on the other hand , an absorption peak is not found (“ no ” terminal on decision block 212 ), the system can dynamically search for the resonance peak . there are two main causes of no peak being detected . in one case , the cantilever resonance frequency may have shifted outside the current modulation sweep range . in this case , the sweep width δf can be increased and / or the modulation center frequency f c can be adjusted to find the peak ( step 218 ). in another case , there may be insufficient absorption by the sample at the selected wavelength to create a detectable cantilever response . as a check for this case , the system controller can optionally perform a high speed thermal tune . this is a technique , described below , that detects cantilever vibration resulting from thermal energy from the ambient environment . this motion occurs at all frequencies , but is accentuated near cantilever resonances . the inventors have developed a technique for very high speed measurements of cantilever resonant frequency using a thermal method . using this technique a cantilever resonance can be detected with a sensitivity of & lt ; 200 hz within 100 msec . as such this measurement can be used to rapidly recenter the ir source modulation frequency , even in the absence of ir absorption . the normalized value of a r along with resonance frequency f r may be accumulated at a plurality of wavelengths λ ( step 220 ) and / or xy positions ( step 224 ) until all desired points are measured . note that it can be useful to perform measurements at a single wavelength , a single xy location or any combination of multiple wavelengths and positions . once the system has determined one or more peak resonance frequencies and amplitudes f r and a r , an optional normalization step may be performed ( not shown ). this normalization step can scale the measured resonance amplitude a r by the modulation frequency sweep width used to find the resonance peak . this ensures that the amplitude scales are the same for different wavelengths and / or xy sample positions where a narrower or wider modulation sweep may have been performed . at this point several useful outputs can be created including absorption spectra ( 222 ), absorption profiles ( 226 ), and 2d maps ( 228 ) of ir absorption , chemical composition , contact resonance frequency , damping , stiffness and other properties . fig3 shows some additional details of an embodiment to optimally choose the modulation frequency sweep . the motivation for this portion of the invention is to spend the minimal amount of time modulating the ir light source at frequencies that don &# 39 ; t correspond to a region where there is resonant enhancement from the cantilever oscillation . in other words , we wish to maximize the fraction of time spent oscillating on the cantilever resonance . to achieve this the cantilever response to ir radiation is measured as a function of modulation frequency ( 302 ). next the system searches for a resonance peak using one or more methods described above or in the alternate embodiments section below . if a peak is found , a decision point 306 can call a feedback loop 312 to attempt to adjust the center frequency f c of the modulation frequency sweep to roughly center the resonance frequency f r . the feedback loop may be as simple as directly setting f c = f r , or it may employ a feedback loop like a pid loop or more complex feedback algorithms that can make an adjustment to f c using both the instantaneous f r and a set of previous f r measurements . simple integral feedback can work well as it smoothes out noise in the measured resonant frequencies f r but will attempt to drive over time to a negligible error . note in this case of employing a feedback loop the process variable can be the f r - f c , the difference between the detected resonance frequency f r and the center frequency of the modulation sweep , f r . the setpoint for this process variable is generally around zero , such that f c ≈ f r . then the output of the feedback loop is the center frequency for the next modulation frequency sweep . a feature of the current invention is that the modulation frequency sweep can adapt in real - time to the conditions it encounters ( step 316 ). for example the system can accumulate and analyze the range of resonant frequencies detected ( or equivalently center frequencies output ). if the range of the measured resonant frequencies or center frequencies used is small compared to the sweep width ( δf ), the sweep width can be dynamically reduced . this allows more time to be spent where the ir source is productively exciting the cantilever resonance . if there is a large spread in the resonance frequencies or center frequencies , the system can dynamically expand the frequency sweep width δf to ensure the resonance peak is found . it is also possible to perform a multiple stage sweep , for example a coarse sweep to roughly find the peak location and then a fine sweep to find the peak resonance with high accuracy and maximal time spent near the resonance . in addition , in heterogeneous samples there may be a small number of center frequencies which differ significantly . in this case , the frequency sweep width could be kept small but cover ranges about each of these center frequencies . as mentioned previously , under some conditions the ir illumination may not generate a cantilever response sufficiently large to detect . in this case the system may either perform a thermal tune ( 318 ) and / or broaden the modulation sweep width ( 320 ). as before , once the peaks are found with sufficient fidelity , the cantilever amplitudes and resonant frequencies can be analyzed as a function of wavelength , position to generate absorption spectra , spatially resolved spectral profiles , and / or maps of absorption , composition , contact resonant frequency , and / of stiffness or related measurements . we have implemented a technique to rapidly measure thermal tunes with sufficient accuracy to maintain desired synchronization of the ir source modulation with the cantilever resonance . this technique can also be used to measure local stiffness of the sample via contact resonant frequency measurements , without external actuation of the cantilever . in one embodiment , the thermal tune technique works in the following way as outlined in fig4 . a signal indicative of a deflection of the cantilever z ( t ) is sampled for a short period of time ( step 402 ). for example in one embodiment we have sampled 100 , 000 data points at 10 mhz sample rate , e . g . a burst of 0 . 01 seconds . next an fft is performed ( step 404 ) on the deflection data to convert z ( t ) into z ( ω ). with 100 , 000 points , at 10 mhz , a frequency resolution of 100 hz is achieved . next we perform root mean square ( rms ) averaging on a series of ffts ( step 406 ) the rms average averages the quantity & lt ; z * z & gt ;, where z is the fft z ( ω ) of the cantilever deflection signal . the rms average does not strictly improve the signal to noise ratio ( peak amplitude to baseline average ), but it does dramatically suppress the fluctuations as a function of frequency , thus allowing more robust identification of the peak resonance frequencies . other signal averaging schemes can also be employed , for example direct averaging of the fft amplitude spectra . a smoothing filter , for example a savitzky - golay filter can optionally be employed ( step 408 ) to further smooth the data before localization of the of the peak frequency . many other smoothing filters could also be used . next a peak resonance frequency f r is identified using any of the techniques described elsewhere ( step 410 ). finally , the center frequency f c of the ir source modulation can be set to the cantilever resonance frequency f r ( step 412 ). it should be noted that this technique works equally well for both cases where the cantilever is in contact with the surface or not in constant contact with the surface . two example thermal tunes are shown in fig5 . these were acquired with 10 rms averages , and a total measurement time of around 0 . 1 sec . the two thermal tunes were taken at different setpoint forces — the shift due to a difference in contact areas is easily detected . fig6 shows an ir absorption spectrum obtained under the current invention . this figure shows an ir absorption spectrum obtained on a sample of polystyrene . a contact mode cantilever , model sicon from applied nanostructures was used . this cantilever has a nominal spring constant of 0 . 2 n / m and a free resonance around 12 khz . measurements were performed at the first contact resonance that was around 40 khz and are labeled “ qcl .” the measurement shows good agreement to conventional ir spectroscopy ( labeled “ ftir ”). we have also performed measurements with cantilevers and samples immersed in liquid under the current invention . in conventional afm - ir , this type of measurement is difficult in part due to the large hydrodynamic damping of the liquid that heavily damps transient resonance response used in the prior art . under the current invention , the ir source is pulsed in synch with the cantilever resonance , allowing generation of continuous oscillation that can overcome the damping . fig7 shows an example measurement of cantilever response on a sample of polystyrene with the sample and cantilever immersed in water . fig8 shows a comparison of absorption spectra obtained under the current invention with the sample in water ( dashed line ) and in air ( solid line ). we have also used the current invention to perform spatially resolved maps of chemical species on a biological sample . this can be a significant challenge because the contact resonance frequency dramatically shifts on such samples due to variations in elasticity and tip - sample contact area . fig9 shows an afm topography image ( top ) and an ir absorption ( bottom ) on streptomyces bacteria . the measurements were made by rapidly sweeping the pulse repetition rate of a qcl to determine a frequency of optimal cantilever response . the frequency was continuously adjusted and the peak amplitude response was recorded at each xy pixel . for this sample the contact resonance varied from roughly 35 to 45 khz over the sample . this section outlines various alternative embodiments for components of the current invention . first , when the afm tip is interacted with the sample , the tip - sample interaction can be attractive , repulsive , or a combination of both . the afm may operate in contact , non - contact , intermittent contact , tapping , pulsed - force mode and / or other modes of afm operation , all of which may experience drift in probe resonant frequency over time . thus it is important to note that the need for , and the operation of , the invention apply for other than just contact resonance scenarios . ir light from the ir light source is used to illuminate a region of the sample . in between the source and the sample there may be a large variety of optical elements to shape the beam , adjust its angle , polarization , wavelength range , etc . there may also be elements like optical fibers to direct the beam from a remote location . there may also be additional elements in the beam path , especially close to the sample , to locally enhance the strength of the fields generated by the incident radiation . the focusing optical elements 110 may comprise one or more lenses and / or mirrors or diffractive optics that can focus ir radiation . the deflection detection system may comprise an optical lever system , for example comprising a laser 114 and a photodetector 116 . the deflection detection system can also comprise many other afm deflection measuring schemes including for example other optical , interferometric , doppler vibrometry , capacitive , inductive , piezoresistive , piezoelectric , and thermal detection techniques . one or more of these techniques is used to create a signal indicative of the cantilever motion . this signal may be related to the position , deflection , bend angle , velocity , oscillation amplitude or other properties of the cantilever motion . the demodulator 120 creates a signal may be indicative of the amplitude , phase , in - phase component ( x ), quadrature component ( y ), or similar measurements of the cantilever &# 39 ; s ac motion . the demodulator may comprise an rms - to - dc converter , a lock - in amplifier , and / or a fast fourier transform or other demodulation means that extract oscillation amplitudes at one or more frequencies . the demodulator may be implemented in analog electronics , digital electronics , and / or implemented in software . in the case of a software implementation , the demodulator may be programmed on an embedded controller , a digital signal processor , a field programmable gate array , other programmable logic devices , and / or a personal computer . the demodulator may also have its functions distributed across multiple hardware and software platforms . in one embodiment a resonant peak frequency f r can be identified by analyzing an amplitude versus frequency curve . a peak frequency f r can be found by determining a maximum amplitude response in an range of frequencies , or by fitting a model through a portion of the amplitude versus frequency curve . for example , one can fit a lorentzian function , a gaussian function or any number of peak shaped functions . with high signal to noise , small numbers of data points can be used for peak fitting . for example very efficient algorithms can be used to detect peak frequencies with resolution below the fft bin size using a gaussian or parabolic peak fit through the three highest points . these techniques have the advantage of being computationally very efficient with no requirement for iterative curve fitting . another method of determining the contact resonance frequency with high noise rejection is to employ a peak centroid measurement . in one implementation one can determine a centroid frequency where the integral from a start frequency to the centroid frequency has half the area of the integral from a start frequency to an end frequency . this technique can provide useful measurements of the contact resonance frequency and its trends with temperature even when the individual frequency response measurements may be too noisy to determine a contact resonance frequency from the maximum cantilever response amplitude . the peak frequency f r can also be determined selecting a frequency with a desired phase ( e . g . when the phase crosses 90 °). in one embodiment the ir source is pulsed with short pulse durations , from 1 nsec to 100 nsec . but it is also possible to use longer pulses and or continuous wave ir sources that are modulated sinusoidally instead of pulsed . in this case the techniques described above for sweeping the pulse repetition rate can be applied to sweeping the sinusoidal modulation frequency . in this specification and associated claims , the term “ modulation ” is intended to cover repetitive pulsed operation and / or sinusoidal modulation and / or other arbitrary generation of ir light whose intensity is periodically altered . “ modulation frequency ” thus refers to at least one fourier frequency component of the modulation . in this case of a sinusoidal modulation , the modulation frequency would be the frequency of the sine wave . in the case of a repetitive string of pulses , the frequency would correspond to at least one fourier component of the pulse train . in the simplest case , the modulation frequency would be the pulse repetition rate , or the reciprocal of the pulse repetition period . but it is also possible to operate such that a higher harmonic of the pulse repetition rate is used to excite a cantilever resonance . for example , a short pulse at 10 khz will have harmonic components at 20 , 30 , 40 khz , etc . any of these higher harmonics can also be selected to excite resonant oscillation of a cantilever . the determination of a cantilever resonant frequency by any of the techniques described above can also be used to measure and map viscoelastic properties of the sample surface . cantilever resonant frequency peak positions and peak shapes can sensitively depend on sample elastic modulus , friction , adhesion , dissipation , and other properties . by measuring the resonance frequency as a function of position , it is possible to make a map of the variations in elastic properties of a sample . with additional information from the peak width and / or quality factor , it is possible to extract viscoelastic and / or damping information including storage and loss modulus , tan ( delta ), and other properties . in one embodiment the vertical contact resonant frequency can be determined by monitoring the lateral contact resonant frequency . certain effects ( changes in sample elasticity , changes in normal force , etc .) should cause shifts in the lateral contact resonant frequency that are related to the shift in the vertical resonant frequency . the lateral resonant frequency can be determined by performing the above described thermal tune function on the lateral signal from the deflection detection system . alternatively the lateral resonant frequency could be excited by a modulation or impulse to generate larger amplitudes and therefore faster or more accurate determinations of the lateral resonant frequency . once the lateral resonant frequency is determined the correct modulation frequency can be determined based on characterization of the correlation factors between the two values and then this frequency used to modulate the ir source . in one embodiment the contact resonant frequency can be tracked using the relationship between the normal force and the contact resonant frequency . as shown in fig5 , the contact resonant frequency will shift higher with increased force . by modulating or stepping the normal force applied to the cantilever the amplitude at a fixed frequency will change . this can be accomplished by shifting the relative positions of the sample and the probe support such that the normal force applied by the probe tip changes or alternatively by the application of an external force on the probe such as an electrostatic force . by measuring the amplitude and phase of the change in oscillation amplitude of the probe relative to the change in force it can be determined whether the modulation frequency is centered on the contact resonant frequency or on the low or high side . then the modulation frequency can be adjusted to center it on the contact resonant frequency or alternatively maintain some fixed position in terms of the amplitude and phase relationship . | 6 |
fig1 shows a schematic diagram of an acoustic treatment system 100 that incorporates one or more aspects of the invention . in this illustrative embodiment , the system 100 includes an acoustic transducer 1 that is arranged to emit sonic energy through a couplant medium 2 ( such as water held in a container 3 or a solid material in contact with the transducer 1 ) and form a focal zone 11 of acoustic energy near or at a vessel 4 . the acoustic energy at the focal zone may be suitable to cause mixing , cavitation or other effects in a sample located in the vessel 4 . a controller 5 may provide suitable control signals to the transducer 1 to generate desired acoustic energy , and control the relative position of the vessel 4 and the transducer 1 ( e . g ., in 3 dimensions ) so that the sample in the vessel 4 may be suitably positioned relative to the focal zone 11 . further details regarding an illustrative embodiment for an acoustic treatment system 100 are provided below , and in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 948 , 843 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , the sample in the vessel 4 may include one or more material supports 6 ( also referred to herein as beads , though not limited to a spherical shape ) that are located in a sample including a liquid and a material in the liquid . the material may be any suitable compound , such as dna or other genetic material , antibodies , receptors and / or ligands associated with cellular functions , proteins , and others . the material supports 6 may be arranged to bind with the material ( e . g ., by way of a chemical bond ) such that the material is attached to the material support 6 to allow the material support 6 and attached material to be separated from the liquid and other substances in the sample . bead separation techniques are widely known in the art , and often employ the use of magnetic beads and a magnetic field to separate beads and attached material from a sample . in accordance with one aspect of the invention , the material supports 6 may be arranged to allow suspension of the beads 6 in the sample liquid when suitable acoustic energy is applied at the focal zone 11 . this acoustic energy may also be suitable to cause mixing of the sample , cavitation in the sample , heating in the sample , disruption in the sample ( e . g ., dna molecules may be sheared by the acoustic energy into smaller dna fragments ), catalyzing of reactions in the sample ( e . g ., catalyzing binding of material to material supports 6 ), and others . suspension of the beads 6 may permit the material to more readily contact and bind with the beads , potentially enhancing the rate at which material binds to the beads 6 . thus , the acoustic energy may be suitable to overcome the force of gravity ( which may tend to pull the beads 6 toward the bottom of the vessel 4 ), or other force that tends to cause the beads 6 either to clump together in bunches of two or more , or to otherwise collect in one or more areas of the vessel . for example , the beads 6 may be magnetic such that the beads 6 tend to attach to each other ( e . g ., clump together ) in the absence of a force that separates the beads 6 . in another aspect of the invention , the beads 6 may be hydrophobic so that when the beads 6 are in a liquid containing water , the beads 6 will tend to clump together . in accordance with an aspect of the invention , acoustic energy at the focal zone 11 may cause mixing or other disturbance in the sample so that the beads 6 tend to be suspended and “ declumped ” or separated from other beads 6 , even if the beads 6 are magnetic , hydrophobic or otherwise arranged to clump together . in accordance with another aspect of the invention , the material supports may be arranged so as to separate from the liquid and other material in the sample ( e . g ., settle to the bottom of the vessel under the force of gravity ). for example , the material supports may be arranged to have a density relative to the liquid such that a substantial majority ( e . g ., greater than 60 %, greater than 70 %, greater than 80 %, greater than 90 %, greater than 95 %, or greater than 99 %) of the material supports settle to a bottom of the vessel under the force of gravity in an absence of the acoustic energy . in one embodiment , beads 6 may have a density that is approximately 1 % or more of the liquid in the vessel . in a specific embodiment , in a 100 μl liquid in a vessel whereby the liquid / air interface is 1 cm from the bottom of the vessel , a suitable portion of the material supports may settle to the bottom within less than about 2 seconds after the liquid is no longer subjected to acoustic energy . the rate of settling is proportional to the aspect ratio of the vessel and the volume ; a tall , narrow column of liquid will generally take longer to settle than a short , wide basin of liquid . thus , in one embodiment , beads 6 and their attached material may be separated from a sample without the use of an external magnetic field , centrifugation or other techniques . instead , the beads may be permitted to settle out in a vessel 4 , and the liquid and / or other materials decanted , aspirated or otherwise removed from the vessel 4 . fig2 shows another illustrative embodiment that incorporates aspects of the invention . in this embodiment , the vessel 4 has an arrangement that allows for the flow through of a sample ( e . g ., including liquid and a material to be bound to beads 6 ). beads 6 may be located at a well 4 a or other feature of the vessel 4 and arranged so that when subjected to suitable acoustic energy at the focal zone 11 , the beads 6 may be suspended at least in part in a region where the sample is flowing through the vessel 4 . thus , beads 6 may be positioned in an approximately stationary way relative to sample liquid that flows past the beads 6 . material in the sample liquid may bind to the beads 6 , and the beads 6 may be circulated generally in the well 4 a area so that material is separated from the liquid and bound to the beads 6 . after suitable treatment , the acoustic energy may be stopped , and the beads 6 may collect in the well 4 a . the well 4 a may be removed and the beads 6 and material recovered or otherwise used . it should be appreciated that the vessel 4 may include a screen , magnetic field or other arrangement to help prevent beads 6 from flowing with the sample , if required . alternately , the beads 6 may be “ ejected ” or otherwise introduced into the flow stream of the sample in the vessel and allowed to travel downstream of the well 4 a for collection at another point . the beads 6 in accordance with aspects of the invention may have any suitable configuration , e . g ., may be made of glass , a polymer material , a magnetic material , a metal , a ceramic , or any suitable combination of materials . for example , a bead may have a polymer core , with a magnetite or other magnetic material layer over the core , and a polymer layer over the magnetic layer . beads may have any suitable components to facilitate specific binding of material to the bead , such as genetic fragments ( e . g ., primers or other ), antigen receptors , or other arrangements . a bead may be arranged to bind with a single piece of material , e . g ., a single protein molecule , or may bind with multiple pieces of material . suitable bead materials may be prescreened in an appropriate liquid to remove lower density and / or slower settling subpopulations from the bulk material . beads may also have interstitial spaces with appropriate charge density and / or hydrophobic domains to non - specifically interact with a material in the liquid . the controller 5 may be arranged to control the transducer 1 in any suitable way , e . g ., generate a variety of alternating voltage waveforms to drive the transducer 1 . for instance , a high power “ treatment ” interval consisting of about 5 to 1 , 000 sine waves , for example , at 1 . 1 mhz , may be followed by a low power “ convection mixing ” interval consisting of about 1 , 000 to 1 , 000 , 000 sine waves , for example , at the same frequency . “ dead times ” or quiescent intervals of about 100 microseconds to 100 milliseconds , for example , may be programmed to occur between the treatment and convection mixing intervals . also , the focal zone 11 may be arranged in any suitable way , e . g ., may be small relative to the dimensions of the vessel 4 to avoid heating of the treatment vessel , or may be larger than the vessel 4 . in one embodiment , the focal zone 11 may have a width of about 2 cm or less , a height of about 6 cm or less and a length of 5 cm or more . in another embodiment , the focal zone 11 may have an ellipsoidal shape , with a width or diameter of about 2 cm or less and a length of about 6 cm or less . acoustic energy in the focal zone 11 may generate a shock wave that is characterized by a rapid shock front with a positive peak pressure in the range of about 15 mpa , and a negative peak pressure in the range of about negative 5 mpa . this waveform may be of about a few microseconds duration , such as about 5 microseconds . if the negative peak is greater than about 1 mpa , cavitation bubbles may form in liquid in the sample . cavitation bubble formation also may also be dependent upon the surrounding medium 2 , the vessel material , or other features . for example , glycerol is a cavitation inhibitive medium , whereas liquid water is a cavitation promotive medium . the collapse of cavitation bubbles may form “ microjets ” and turbulence that impinge on the surrounding material . these cavitation bubbles may contribute to suspension of beads 6 during a treatment . in the embodiments shown , the acoustic energy is transmitted from the transducer 1 to the vessel 4 through a medium 2 , such as water . however , other media or combinations of media may be used , such as a solid or semi - solid material and others . many biological and other materials can be treated according to aspects of the invention . for example , such materials for treatment include , without limitation , growing plant tissue such as root tips , meristem , and callus , bone , yeast and other microorganisms with tough cell walls ; bacterial cells and / or cultures on agar plates or in growth media , stem or blood cells , hybridomas and other cells from immortalized cell lines , and embryos . additionally , other biological materials , such as serum and protein preparations , can be treated with the processes of the invention , including sterilization . for example , the extraction of rna from a piece of muscle tissue ( 5 mg ) that had been chemically stabilized against rnase digestion may be placed into a 6 × 16 mm annealed , borosilicate , round bottom glass test tube with 50 mg of 0 . 1 mm borosilicate glass beads . a snap - cap with a pre - split teflon / silicone septa is placed on the tube to seal the sample . a 100 μl volume of a rlt extraction buffer ( qiagen , hilden , germany ) is introduced to the sample through the septa . the applied acoustic energy disrupts the tissue sample and is accelerated by the presence of the glass beads . upon termination of the acoustic dose , the beads settle to the bottom of the tube and entrap remaining particulate material . the top portion of the remaining homogenate ( approximately 50 μl ) is readily aliquoted . alternatively , the tissue sample may be disrupted with 100 μl distilled water . this would enable beads to non - specifically bind with nucleic acids . in this format , the resultant homogenate may be removed , the beads resuspended in a low power acoustic dose , and followed by a buffer to release the nucleic acids , such as trisedta , ph 8 . 0 . in this example , the beads at high acoustic power aided disruption , and at low acoustic power aided separation . this two step technique may also be used for formalin cross - linked tissue or cells . many binding reactions can be enhanced with treatments according to the invention . binding reactions involve binding together two or more molecules , for example , two nucleic acid molecules , by hybridization or other non - covalent binding . binding reactions are found , for example , in an assay to detect binding , such as a specific staining reaction , in a reaction such as the polymerase chain reaction where one nucleotide molecule is a primer and the other is a substrate molecule to be replicated , or in a binding interaction involving an antibody and the molecule it binds , such as an immunoassay . reactions also can involve binding of a substrate and a ligand . for example , a substrate such as an antibody or receptor can be immobilized on a support surface , for use in purification or separation techniques of epitopes , ligands , and other molecules . in certain embodiments , temperature , mixing , or both can be controlled with ultrasonic energy to enhance a chemical reaction . for example , the association rate between a ligand present in a sample to be treated and a binding partner on a bead 6 can be accelerated . in another example , an assay is performed where temperature is maintained and mixing is increased to improve association of two or more molecules compared to ambient conditions . it is possible to combine the various aspects of the process described herein by first subjecting a mixture to heat and mixing in order to separate a ligand or analyte in the mixture from endogenous binding partners in the mixture . the temperature , mixing , or both , are changed from the initial condition to enhance ligand complex formation with a binding partner relative to ligand / endogenous binding partner complex formation at ambient temperature and mixing . generally , the second temperature and / or mixing conditions are intermediate between ambient conditions and the conditions used in the first separating step above . at the second temperature and mixing condition , the separated ligand may be reacted with the binding partner . focused sonic fields can be used to enhance separations . as noted elsewhere , sonic foci can be used to diminish or eliminate wall effects in fluid flow , which is an important element of many separation processes , such as chromatography including gas chromatography , size exclusion chromatography , ion exchange chromatography , and other known forms , including filed - flow fractionation . the ability to remotely modulate and / or reduce or eliminate the velocity and concentration gradients of a flowing stream is applicable in a wide variety of situations , such as those described in relation to fig2 . sonic energy fields can be used to enhance reaction rates in a viscous medium , by providing remote stirring on a micro scale with minimal heating and / or sample damage . for example , some assays rely on the absorption of analytes by reagents , such as antibodies , which are bound to macroscopic beads 6 . in a viscous fluid to be analyzed , such as sputum or homogenized stool , the ability to stir such a sample remotely , aseptically , and essentially isothermally can significantly decrease the time required to obtain equilibrium of the analyte with the reagents on the particle . likewise , any bimolecular ( second - order ) reaction where the reactants are not mixed at a molecular scale , each homogenously dissolved in the same phase , potentially can be accelerated by sonic stirring . at scales larger than a few nanometers , convection or stirring can potentially minimize local concentration gradients and thereby increase the rate of reaction . this effect can be important when both reactants are macromolecules , such as an antibody and a large target for the antibody , such as a cell , since their diffusion rates are relatively slow and desorption rates may not be significant . these advantages may be realized inexpensively on multiple samples in an array , such as a microtiter plate . the use of remote sonic mixing provides a substantially instantaneous start time to a reaction when the sample and analytical reagents are of different densities , because in small vessels , such as the wells of a 96 or 384 well plate , little mixing will occur when a normal - density sample ( about 1 g / cc ) is layered over a higher - density reagent mixture . remote sonic mixing can start the reaction at a defined time and control its rate , when required . stepping and dithering functions may allow multiple readings of the progress of the reaction to be made . the mode of detecting reaction conditions can be varied between samples if necessary . in fact , observations by multiple monitoring techniques , such as the use of differing optical techniques , can be used on the same sample at each pass through one or more detection regions . by focusing sonic energy and positioning it near a wall of a vessel , a wall of a tube , or another discontinuity in a fluid path , many local differences in the distribution of materials within a sample and / or spatially - derived reaction barriers , particularly in reactive and flowing systems , can be reduced to the minimum delays required for microscopic diffusion . put differently , enhanced mixing can be obtained in situations where imperfect mixing is common . for example , if sonic energy is focused in , on , or near the wall of the pipe , near the fluid / wall boundary , then local turbulence can be obtained without a high rate of bulk fluid flow . excitation of the near - wall fluid in a continuous , scanned , or burst mode can lead to rapid homogenization of the fluid composition just downstream of the excited zone . this will sharpen the front between any two fluids passing through a pipe in succession . this effect is useful in several areas , including chromatography ; fluid flow in analytical devices , such as clinical chemistry analyzers ; and conversion of the fluid in a pipeline from one grade or type to another . since most of the effect occurs in a narrow zone , only a narrow zone of the conduit typically needs to be sonically excited . for example , in some applications , the focal zone of the sonic energy can be the region closest to a valve or other device which initiates the switch of composition . in any of these applications , feedback control can be based on local temperature rise in the fluid at a point near to or downstream of the excitation region . while there has been described herein what are considered to be exemplary and preferred embodiments of the invention , other modifications and alternatives of the inventions will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein . all such modifications and alternatives are considered to be within the scope of the invention . | 2 |
illustrative embodiments of the invention are described by the drawings and the accompanying text below . a person having skill in the art will recognize that many other embodiments and variations are possible within the scope of the invention that integrate the functionality of a stored value or other financial transaction card into a digital picture frame . fig1 a - 1 e are top , bottom , left , right , and front views , respectively , of an embodiment of a stored value digital frame 100 . the stored value frame 100 has a screen 101 or monitor that displays digital photographs or other digital images stored in the device . this screen or monitor could use any display technology , such as lcd or oled . the screen might display images in two dimensions ( 2d ) or three dimensions ( 3d ). the frame 100 will support one or more formats for images , such as 2d images in jpeg , gif , or tiff format , or any 3d image formats . an account id device 102 associates the stored value frame 100 with a particular account identifier , which identifies a unique account . account information may be maintained in an account maintenance system . the role of the account maintenance system might be might be performed by the stored value frame 100 itself , through a smart chip or an internal processing system . or the account maintenance system might be a processing system — by a “ processing system ” we mean one or more devices having processors , such as computers , possibly communicating by one or more networks , and utilizing one or more storage devices and peripheral devices , possibly under the management of one or more persons or entities , and controlled by various logical units such as hardware and software programs . the storage information system might store the account information in a database , file , or any other information storage representations . the account id device 102 allows the frame 100 to be scanned , the scanning accomplishing several purposes . an initial scan at the point of sale ( pos ) of the frame 100 may establish an initial balance . a particular frame 100 might have a fixed initial balance , or the user might be free to specify and purchase an initial balance , which might be entered by a salesperson at pos into the account maintenance system . the initial scan might also activate the account , so that the account maintenance system will allow future purchases of goods or services or other expenditures to be made against the stored value . the initial scan might also update inventory data pertaining to this or similar stored value frames 100 , and update transactional data pertaining to the purchase and activation . subsequent scans can be used to reduce the stored value to make purchases or expenditures . in some embodiments , additional stored value can purchased , which typically would also involve scanning the frame 100 . in the embodiment shown , two types of account id device 102 are shown , namely , a magnetic strip 102 a and a bar code 102 b . having account id devices 102 of a plurality of types may have the advantage of making the stored value frame 100 capable of being scanned by more sensor types or pos systems . the embodiment contains an power switch 104 that determines whether the electronics of the frame 100 are activated , in other words , whether a user can display pictures and operate controls 111 . in other embodiments , the frame 100 might simply be constantly on ; or it might be turned on / off by touch , such as by pressure or electrical sensors ; or it might be turned on / off by a voice sensor or other kind of sensor of pressure , electrical , or electromagnetic changes . once the frame 100 is on , especially if by automated means , there might be a previously specified minimal amount of time after last user touch before the frame 100 turns itself off . such a delay before the frame 100 is turned off might allow the frame 100 to be handed from one user to another without shutting down . the frame 100 may shut itself down if no user contact with controls has occurred for some previously specified period . the frame may have an intermediate power state in which it is still powered on but the screen is dimmed or blank pending user interaction with a control . generally , any arrangement of power management is within the scope of the invention . the frame 100 has a power source that provides electricity to the electronics . in the embodiment shown , a battery 130 provides power to the frame 100 . the battery 130 and other internal components are shown dashed in fig1 b . the battery 130 ( or batteries ) may be of any kind . in some embodiments , there might be a user access mechanism to allow the user to replace a non - rechargeable battery 130 or to externally recharge a rechargeable battery 130 . preferably , however , the battery 130 will be rechargeable ; in this case , the user might not be provided with access to the battery 130 . preferably , a port will be provided through which power can be provided to recharge the battery . in the embodiment shown , the usb port 115 might be used to provide power to recharge the battery 130 , and / or to power the frame 100 from an external source such as a notebook computer , an ac power source , or a car charger . a usb port 115 for this purpose might be standard , mini - ( as shown in the figure ), or micro - sized . other forms of power supply port are also within the scope of the invention . the usb port 115 can serve other purposes as well . digital images can be loaded into storage 150 within the frame 100 through the usb port 115 , or offloaded from the frame 100 to an external storage device . the usb port 115 might be used to back up some or all of the images contained in storage on the frame 100 , or to initialize or specify frame 100 settings , as an alternative to physical controls on the device ( e . g ., buttons or touch screen ), or to a remote control device . any other type of communication mechanism , wired or wireless , might be used alternatively or in addition for such purposes . much of the functionality of the frame 100 may be managed by a processor 140 . logic for the frame 100 may be in the form of hardware , software instructions , or some combination thereof . software instructions may be contained in some form of storage 150 , such as flash memory or a hard drive . the storage 150 device holding the software instructions may be the same storage 150 that stores the images . software instructions will typically be loaded by the processor 140 into memory 145 for execution . the processor 140 , the memory 145 , and the storage 150 will be connected by some kind of communication system , such as a hardware bus . user management of the functions of the frame 100 may be provided in a number of ways , alone or in any combination . the frame 100 may be equipped with various physical controls 111 , such as the buttons shown in fig1 c . this embodiment has a menu control 105 , a previous item control 106 , and a next item control 107 . the menu control 105 may give user access to one or more menus that are displayed on the screen . the menus can be used to control the functionality of the frame 100 . for example , the menus might control whether the the following capabilities : ( 1 ) when in static picture mode , to go forward or backward one picture in a sequence of pictures ; ( 2 ) to cycle through all or some set of the pictures automatically as a slide show ; ( 3 ) when cycling , to set the time interval that each picture is displayed ; ( 4 ) to specify how one picture in the sequence transitions into the next , for example , one picture fades out and the next fades in ; ( 5 ) to delete pictures ; ( 6 ) to arrange the pictures in a display order ; ( 7 ) to display characteristics ( e . g ., size , type , user rating , date last modified ) in lists ; ( 8 ) to group pictures into folders , possibly in a hierarchical file system , or into playlists ; ( 9 ) to display a thumbnail of a photo ; and ( 10 ) to set the screen brightness . other features may also be under user control through the menu system . the previous item control 106 might be used to move to a previous item in a menu . the next item control 107 might be used to move to a next item in a menu . some embodiments might have an enter control ( not show ), to select a particular item in a menu . an enter control may not be needed , depending on the functionality of the menu control 105 . for example , once inside the menu system , a short press of the menu control 105 might operate to select the currently highlighted item . holding the menu control 105 for at least some previously specified time interval could exit the menu system . the previous item control 106 and the next item control 107 might also function , when the user is outside the menu system , to changed the image being displayed to the next or previous image , respectively , in a sequence of stored images . control might also wholly or partially be provided by the display itself , if it has touch screen functionality . the stored value frame 100 will have a attachment structure . for example , in the embodiment shown , there is an attachment device 110 that can be used to attach the frame 100 to a keychain or a keyring . preferably the frame will have dimensions small enough that it is convenient to carry on a keyring or keychain , although this is not a requirement . to accommodate this , a frame 100 would preferably fit entirely into a box having dimensions 100 by 80 mm by 15 mm . in some circumstances , a person or entity might want to give a stored value frame 100 as a form of advertising , for example : as a reward to loyal customers ; as a way of increasing awareness of a company &# 39 ; s name and contact information to clients or client prospects ; or as an incentive to visit a store , or to purchase a particular item . in such cases , the frame 100 might display a company logo or icon , such as the advertisement 120 in fig1 a . other characteristics of the frame 100 might also serve to promote a brand . for example , the frame 100 in fig1 a has the general shape of a store tag , and might be colored yellow . the store tag shape and yellow color are in accord with trademarks of bby solutions , inc ., calling those trademarked symbols to mind for some observers of the frame 100 . fig2 and 3 illustrate a couple of other possible arrangements and shapes of user controls 111 . some uses of the controls 111 shown have already been described . fig3 also depicts a key ring 200 and key chain 300 attached to an attachment device 110 . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the invention . after the start 400 , some functionality of a type of stored value digital frame 100 is advertised 410 . the “ type ” might be , for example , a particular manufacturer , vendor , brand , model , or sku of frame 100 . the functionality might be any feature of the frame 100 , such as the combination of a digital picture frame and stored value capability . as described previously , a stored value frame 100 integrates stored value into a digital image / picture frame . the advertising might be by any method employed by a seller of the type of frame 100 ; for example , a newspaper advertisement ; online publication of products and their capabilities ; an in - store display of a frame 100 for sale ; or a demonstration by a salesperson of a frame 100 to a customer . note that some embodiments of the methods of the invention do not include this advertising step . an account identifier contained in an account id device 102 , which is located on the surface of , or wholly or partially inside the stored value digital frame 100 , is sensed 430 electronically during a transaction . for example , the transaction might be to read the stored value balance associated with the frame 100 ; initialization or activation of the stored value in the frame 100 ; purchase of the frame 100 ; purchase of goods or services , or payment of debt , using the frame 100 ; other expenditure of value from the frame 100 ; increase in the stored value of the frame 100 ; or any other transaction involving scanning the frame 100 . sensing might involve any kind of equipment , such as a handheld device or a pos scanner . sensing might use any technology , such as radio frequencies , laser , charge - coupled device ( ccd ) technology , contact image sensor ( cis ) technology , photomultiplier tube technology , photographic scanning , or3d scanning technology . sensing might be performed actively by a person , or passively by an automated sensing device such as an rfid sensor . the person might be anyone , such as an employee of a store that is selling the frame 100 , applying the frame to a purchase , or adding stored value to the frame 100 ; it might be a frame 100 purchaser , giver , recipient , or owner . the account id will usually be a sequence of letters and / or numerals , but it could be any combination of symbols that might uniquely identify an account . the account id device 102 might be a magnetic strip 102 a , a bar code 102 b , a smart chip , a rfid tag , or any other type of device from which a sensor might sense or read an account id . “ electronically ” merely implies that some aspect of the sensing involves electricity . using a processing system ( defined broadly , as described previously ), the account identifier is associated 440 with information stored in tangible electronic storage regarding an account . note that the account may not exist in the storage prior to the transaction . for example , upon activation of a stored value digital frame 100 , data regarding the account may be initialized within the storage , but association will be performed nevertheless . a stored value balance of the account is read from storage , initialized , raised , or lowered 450 , in an amount corresponding to the transaction . for example , the stored value balance might be initialized at when a donor purchases a stored value frame 100 as a gift and the stored value frame 100 is activated . the stored value balance might be lowered when a recipient of a gift stored value frame 100 uses the stored value frame 100 to make a purchase . the stored value balance might be increased upon activation , if the account already exists in storage with a zero balance . this might also be regarded as initialization of the balance . the stored value balance might also be increased , for example , by a recipient of a gift stored value frame 100 ( or by the original giver or anyone else ) by a purchase of additional stored value . the process ends 460 . in other embodiments , the stored value balance is retrieved from upon sensing . of course , many variations of the above embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention . the present invention is , therefore , not limited to all the above details , as modifications and variations may be made without departing from the intent or scope of the invention . consequently , the invention should be limited only by the following claims and equivalent constructions . | 6 |
the invention will be now described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments . those skilled in the art will recognize that many alternative embodiments can be accomplished using the teachings of the present invention and that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated for explanatory purposes . an embodiment of the present invention is described hereinafter in detail . a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus of a first embodiment is a periodic signal generation circuit whereby a plurality of logic circuits is connected in series outputting a periodic signal . in this embodiment , a shift register comprised of an n registers connected in series is described hereinafter in detail as an example . a shift register 1 of this embodiment is shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , the shift register 1 of this embodiment assumes n = 8 , having registers reg 0 to reg 7 , and a reset circuit 10 . a first stage of the shift register 1 is reg 0 . the registers reg 1 to reg 7 are connected in series to the register reg 0 . a synchronizing clock clk is input to the registers reg 0 to reg 7 . outputs signals of the registers reg 3 , reg 4 , and reg 7 are control signals a to c respectively that are used in other circuit blocks . an input of the reset circuit 10 is connected with outputs from the registers reg 0 to reg 6 , and an output ( detout ) of the reset circuit 10 is connected to an input of the register reg 0 . an output from the register reg 7 is not input to the reset circuit 10 . a connection of the reset circuit 10 is described hereinafter in detail . the reset circuit 10 includes nor gates 11 to 13 , and an and gate 14 . outputs from the register reg 0 and reg 1 are connected to an input of the nor gate 11 . outputs from the register reg 2 and reg 3 are connected to an input of the nor gate 12 . outputs from the registers reg 4 to reg 6 are connected to an input of the nor gate 13 . the outputs from the nor gates 11 to 13 are connected to an input of the and gate 14 . an output from the and gate 14 is connected to the input of the register reg 0 . the registers reg 0 to reg 7 of this embodiment obtains input signals in response to a rising edge of the synchronizing clock clk to output . the nor gates 11 to 13 each include a plurality of input terminals . in case all signals input to each of the terminal is low level ( for example a ground potential , data 0 ), high level ( for example a power supply potential , data 1 ) is output . in case at least one signal input to each of the terminal is high level , low level is output . the and gate 14 includes a plurality of input terminals . in case all signals input to each of the terminal is high level , high level is output . in case at least one signal input to each of the terminal is low level , low level is output . an operation of the shift register 1 of the first embodiment is described hereinafter in detail . fig2 shows a timing chart of the shift register 1 of the first embodiment . as shown in fig2 , in the shift register 1 , data 1 is set to the register reg 0 at timing t 0 on a power on . then from timings t 1 to t 2 , data 1 is sequentially transmitted at an every rising edge of the synchronizing clock clk from the register reg 1 to reg 6 that are connected as subsequent stages . at timing t 7 , data 1 is set to the register reg 7 . then the outputs of the registers reg 0 to reg 6 become data 0 . at this time the reset circuit 10 outputs data 1 , and data 1 is set to the input of the register reg 0 . the register reg 0 obtains data 1 that is set at the timing t 7 , at a rising edge of the synchronizing clock , which is timing t 8 . the operation from timings t 1 to t 8 is repeated afterward . accordingly the shift register 1 of the first embodiment is a circuit sequentially transiting data 1 through registers connected in series in response to rising edges of a clock that is specified at a power on . an operation of the reset circuit 10 is described hereinafter in detail . after the power is turned on at the timing t 0 , the register reg 0 outputs data 1 , and the registers reg 1 to reg 7 output data 0 . at this time the nor gate 11 is input with data 0 and data 1 . thus the nor gate 11 outputs data 0 . further , data 0 is input to the inputs of the nor gates 12 and 13 . thus the nor gates 12 and 13 each outputs data 1 . accordingly the outputs from the nor gates 11 to 13 at the timing t 0 are respectively data 0 , data 1 , and data 1 . thus at the timing t 1 , the output from the and gate 14 that inputs those signals is data 0 . after that from the timing t 1 to t 6 , the and gate 14 outputs data 0 as long as one of the registers reg 0 to reg 6 outputs data 1 . at the timing t 7 when the registers reg 0 to reg 6 outputs data 0 , the nor gates 11 to 13 each outputs data 1 . this makes all signals input to the and gate 14 to be data 1 , thus the and gate 14 outputs a reset signal ( for example data 1 ) . after that as long as one of the registers reg 0 to regg outputs data 1 , the and gate 14 outputs data 0 . accordingly the reset signal is a pulse signal that becomes an inversed logic ( for example data 1 ) to output signals while the output signals from the first stage logic circuit to n − 1th logic circuit are the same logic ( for example data 0 ) a case of losing data 1 in the shift register 1 is explained hereinafter in detail . as an example of data loss , a case where an amplitude of a synchronizing clock is reduced to disable the register reg 3 to respond with the synchronizing clock , thereby losing data 1 is explained hereinafter . a timing chart of the shift register 1 in such case is shown in fig3 . as shown in fig3 , the power is turned on at timing to and data 1 is set to the register reg 0 . data 1 transits to the register reg 2 in an operation from timings t 0 to t 2 . at timing t 3 , an amplitude of a synchronizing clock is reduced due to noise or soft error . thus even the register reg 2 is operating in response to the synchronizing clock , the register reg 3 is not able to respond and operate . in such case , the register reg 2 takes data 0 , which is being input at that time , in response to a rising edge of the synchronizing clock at timing t 3 . on the other hand the register reg 3 is not able to take in data 1 , that is output from the register reg 2 at a rising edge of the synchronizing clock which is the timing t 3 . thus the register reg 3 keep storing data 0 that is stored at the timing t 2 . data 1 that is supposed to transit to the register reg 3 is lost . in case data 1 is lost in this way , outputs from the registers reg 0 to reg 6 of the shift register 1 all become data 0 . the reset circuit 10 generates a reset signal ( for example data 1 ) in case all the outputs from the registers reg 1 to reg 6 become data 0 and sets data 1 to the input of the register reg 0 . accordingly , in the reset circuit 10 , in case all the outputs from the registers reg 0 to reg 6 become data 0 , the and gate 14 outputs data 1 because the nor gates 11 to 13 output data 1 . by this operation , the reset circuit 10 generates the reset signal ( for example data 1 ) in case data 1 is lost in any of the register reg 0 to reg 6 due to noise or soft error . on the other hand in case any one of the registers reg 0 to reg 6 outputs data 1 , in the reset circuit 10 , the and gate 14 outputs data 0 because an nor gate connected with the register outputting data 1 outputs data 0 . then at the timing t 4 , the register reg 0 takes data 1 in response to a rising edge of the synchronizing clock . after that , the shift register 1 repeats the operation from the timings t 1 to t 8 , which is shown in fig2 . as described in the foregoing , in the shift register 1 of the first embodiment , in case data 1 is not stored to any register due to noise or soft error while the registers are performing an operation to transit one data 1 , the reset circuit 10 generates a reset signal ( for example data 1 ) in response to all the outputs from n − 1 registers ( in this embodiment , registers reg 0 to reg 6 ) becoming data 0 . then the shift register 1 sets the reset signal to an input of the register reg 0 , which is the first stage . this enables the register reg 0 to take in data 1 in response to a rising edge of the synchronizing clock that is input after data 1 is lost . by data 1 transiting through the registers , the shift register 1 is able to initialize without performing a reset operation such as restarting the power . further , after the initialization , data 1 can be transited . accordingly , in case the outputs from the first stage logic circuit to n − 1th stage logic circuit matches with a signal of a first level ( for example data 0 ), the reset circuit 10 outputs a second level ( for example data 1 ) regardless of the output from nth stage logic circuit . even in case data 1 is not stored to any register due to noise or soft error , it is possible to initialize without a reset operation such as restarting the power . a shift register 1 ′ inputting outputs from n registers ( in this embodiment , reg 0 to reg 7 ) into the reset circuit is explained hereinafter in detail . fig4 shows a circuit diagram of the shift register 1 ′ . fig5 shows a timing chart of the shift register 1 ′ of fig4 . as shown in fig5 , in the shift register 1 ′, in case all the outputs from the registers reg 0 to reg 7 become data 0 , a reset circuit 10 ′ outputs a reset signal ( for example data 1 ) . accordingly , after data 1 is taken into the register reg 7 , the last stage , and then data 0 is taken in again , all the outputs from the registers reg 0 to reg 7 become data 0 . the reset circuit 10 ′ generates a reset signal ( for example data 1 ) in response to this . in such case , the synchronizing clock that makes the register reg 7 to transit from data 1 to data 0 is not used for an operation for the shift register 1 ′ to transit data 1 . that is , a period from timings t 8 to t 9 is a dead cycle when data 1 does not transit between registers . on the other hand the shift register 1 of the first embodiement ( as shown in fig1 and 2 ) inputs outputs from the n − 1 registers ( in this embodiment the registers reg 0 to reg 6 ), which is excluding the last stage , into the reset circuit 10 . by such connection , when data 1 transits from the register reg 6 , which is n − 1 stage , to the register reg 7 , which is nth stage , all the outputs from the registers reg 0 to reg 6 that are input to the reset circuit 10 become data 0 . this makes the reset circuit 10 to generate the reset signal ( for example data 1 ). further , data 1 is stored to the first stage register reg 0 at a rising edge of a synchronizing clock when data stored to the register reg 7 transits from data 1 to data 0 . accordingly while the registers reg 0 to reg 6 output a signal of a first logical level ( for example data 0 ) and the last stage register reg 7 outputs a signal of a second logical level ( for example data 1 ), the reset circuit 10 of this embodiment outputs data 1 and the first stage register reg 0 inputs data 1 . thus it is possible to eliminate a period that the shift register 1 stores data 1 . the shift register 1 of this embodiment is able to use all the rising edges of the synchronizing clocks for transition of data 1 . the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment but may be modified as appropriate . for example the reset circuit 10 is not limited to the circuit configuration of the above embodiment but may be changed as long as it has a logic of generating data 1 in case all signals being input become data 0 . it is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and it may be modified and changed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . | 6 |
the above general description and the following detailed description are merely illustrative of the subject invention and additional modes , advantages and particulars of this invention will be readily suggested to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the device is an automated lining apparatus for the repair of underground pipes such as chemical , sewer and circulation water pipes . the apparatus can also be used with other pipe applications including but not limited to industrial process piping . the device can spray liner upon concrete , metal or plastic pipe . the spray device is remotely operated by operators monitoring the pipe and the liner apparatus using cctv and motor controllers for the numerous device motors . examples of these motor devices include but are not limited to the track system , the scissor leg table , angular table , rotational table , forward / reverse motor , pendulum motor , rotational motor for rotary union , cutter and creel and positioning mechanism for spray nozzle . an operator is not required to be present in the pipe or pipe access , e . g . manhole . operator presence is frequently required for prior art devices . the prior art places the operator in a hazardous position . therefore the applicant discloses increased safety . surface preparation of the pipe may also be performed remotely . this is enhanced by the flexibility of the sprayer device to line all profiles or irregularities of the pipe using bi - directional ( forward and reverse ) oscillation and pendulum oscillation , and the ability to apply place liner material thereby creating an arch effect . as used herein , an arch effect is achieved with the cured liner in the upper portion of the pipe becomes self supporting by resting upon the cured liner in the lower portion of the pipe interior . the thickness of the liner necessary to achieve this arch effect can be calculated . the applicant &# 39 ; s disclosure permits utilization of this effect through the ability of the device to install over 4 inches of liner in a single pass . it will be appreciated that the arch effect does not require the liner to be bonded to the upper portion of the pipe . utilization of the arch effect eliminates the need for operator entry into the pipe for cleaning , sand blasting or similar to ensure cleanliness of the wall as well as to provide an angular wall profile for the liner to bond to . the apparatus can be track driven ( self propelled ) through the pipes as the liner is applied by spraying through one or more nozzle orifices . the motorized mechanism can be powered by compressed air or by electricity . the apparatus possesses the mechanical functions to be manually traversed or self propelled and requires only one access to the pipe , conduit or passageway . the apparatus can spray pipes having diameters of 24 inches through as least as large as 174 inches . the apparatus can be centered in the varying pipe diameters . this centering can be maintained through bends in the pipe . this constant centering utilizes remotely adjustable scissor lift for vertical adjustment of the spray nozzle and a rotational table for horizontal maneuvering of the spray nozzle . the scissor lift can be powered by a ball screw - electric servo motor and a rotational shaft wherein the servo motor moves the scissor lift vertically by turning the rotational shaft for self centering the spray nozzle . the thickness of the lining is not limited and may be completed in a single pass . the nozzle may rotate 360 ° covering the entire circumference of the pipe . alternatively , the nozzle may traverse only an arc within the circumference . for example , the nozzle may spray an arc of 30 ° of the pipe circumference . this conserves material and facilitates rapid repair if , for example , only the bottom of the pipe requires lining as in abrasive slurry applications . conversely , only the top of the pipe may require repair if subject to corrosive vapors . the device has a rotational shaft with affixed one or more spray nozzles . fig1 illustrates a top view of the liner spray device . illustrated are two spray nozzles 121 a , 123 a . alternate positioning 121 b , 123 b of the spray nozzles are also depicted . two spray nozzles may be utilized to increase spray volume or quantity . two spray nozzles , positioned 180 ° apart , can counter - balance the other when rotated at high rpms . fig1 shows the two spray heads , comprising the remotely adjustable spray nozzle and the position adjusting piston and cylinder 122 placed asymmetrically in the longitudinal direction of the rotational spray head assembly 120 . this rotational spray head assembly can be automatically or manually controlled to rotate continually 360 ° in either direction by use of rotary unions . the rotary union 114 is located proximate to the rotational shaft 119 as depicted in fig2 , illustrating a side view of the liner spray device . the rotational shaft transfers rotational power to the rotational spray head assembly . the rotation is powered by a pneumatic motor 115 with variable speed and direction through gear assembly 116 . see fig2 . the shaft can also be automatically or manually controlled to go clockwise or counter clockwise in any degree radius for spot repairs or to only line the top of a pipe or a bottom of a pipe . the spray device can be remotely controlled for any rotation cycle or set to automatically reverse direction after completion of each oscillation cycle ( forward and reverse ). the liner spray device and liner spray application method utilizes oscillation of the spray nozzle in a forward / reverse motion . this motion is illustrated by vector arrow 975 in fig1 . this movement is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe . the longitudinal axis extends the length of the pipe . the rotational spray head assembly can be automatically controlled via remote control to change directions ( clockwise and counter clockwise ) after each oscillation cycle and without interruption of liner material flow . the forward / reverse motion can be controlled by an air or electric powered self reversing ball screw pushing the rotational head and rotating spray nozzle forward up to 72 inches and pulling the spray nozzle back . see fig2 , illustrating the rotating motor 112 , self reversing ball screw 113 and guide track 132 . fig3 , illustrating a front view of the liner spray device , illustrates guide rollers 118 and guide pin 110 controlling the forward / reverse oscillation . this oscillating motion is repeated rapidly as the device moves through the pipe . this oscillation motion may occur at up to 100 rpm . the motion facilitates an even spray lining . also included on the oscillation bracket assembly are as many as two impingement blocks for the efficient mixing of products and electromagnetically and / or pneumatically controlled valve mechanisms for the precise remote manipulations of fluid lining flows . fig3 also illustrates an end view of the rotation spray head assembly 120 . it will be appreciated that the rotation spray head assembly spins around on a horizontal axis . the methodology presented incorporates diffusion devices in conjunction with the pneumatic or intrinsically safe motor , mechanical cutter and variable and adjustable metrics to provide a conduit lining with precise application control and improved function . the apparatus includes a main self traversing component body including electromagnetic actuators , pneumatic cylinders , linear actuators relays , solenoids , pneumatic tip cleaner ( cutter ) and debris creel , attachment points for liner supply umbilical , cameras and diameter specific guides and a pendulum oscillation bracket . the spray device has been illustrated with adjustable nozzles that spray liner through an orifice on to the pipe wall . the spray device can also be modified to utilize a spray stream striking a rotating disk or diffusion device that throws the liner onto the pipe wall . the device and method can utilize a second oscillating motion . this motion is referred herein as a “ pendulum oscillation ”. this motion entails the arm , holding the spray nozzle , pivoting left to right in a radial ( pendulum ) manner . the rotational shaft rotates the spray nozzle 360 ° while the spray nozzle is simultaneously oscillated in a pendulum manner . the device may utilize a pendulum roller bracket for controlling a rotational head 135 moving in a pendulum pattern and causing the rotating spray nozzle to move from side to side while the spray nozzle shifts in orientation to the pipe wall . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the guide pins 110 , 111 of the rotational head moves in curved guide tracks 133 , 134 in the pendulum oscillation guide plate 109 . the design of the tracks forms the swinging movement of the rotation spray head assembly . the motion of the rotational spray head assembly 120 forms an arc 950 . at each end of the arc , the orifice 130 of the spray nozzle 121 a , 123 a is partially pointed in the longitudinal direction of the pipe 200 . this permits the liner to be sprayed on all sides of protrusions , corrugations and uneven surface profiles of the pipe or at joint / pipe interfaces . the pendulum oscillation allows the spray pattern to be perpendicular to any profile on the pipe wall regardless of the angle of the profile . the device continuously changes angles of the spray head throughout the oscillation stroke . liner coverage may be optimized by positioning the spray nozzles in the position represented by nozzle 121 b . the second spray nozzle 123 a can be similarly positioned . this assures all angular profiles are aligned at the same thickness . examples of this improved spray pattern include but are not limited to spray lining of helically corrugated pipe 200 . if the spray heads were constantly perpendicular to the plane of the pipe wall , the result would be much more lining on the peaks and valleys of the corrugation and limited quantity of lining on the slopes . the pendulum motion can be combined with the linear oscillation of the rotating spray nozzles . the spray nozzles may be manually adjusted to create a more acute angle to the pipe wall than may be achieved with the pendulum oscillation . fig2 illustrates both spray nozzles 121 a and 123 a in alternate positions 121 b , 123 b . the orifice 130 of each nozzle is also illustrated . the spray orifice 130 can spray in a fan shaped pattern or a round - cone pattern depending upon the pipe material composition and profile . the device can spray lining from 0 . 05 inches to over 4 inches in one pass . the spray device is connected to the air supply , and the 2 part liner supply by means of a liner supply umbilical . the umbilical can also include an electrical supply and control wires and cctv cables . the in situ spray liner device can be remotely controlled using cctv cameras mounted on the spray device and the control wires connected to components of the spray device . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 , two cameras 117 are installed on the top of the rotational head 135 . the remote control capability of the spray liner device includes the ability to remotely start and stop the lining operation by moving the termination rod within the impingement block . this action stops the flow of liner from the impingement block . for example , the spray of liner must stop for the cutter 103 and creel component 102 to operate . the cutter and creel can be remotely controlled . the remote control capability also includes the ability to stop the in situ pipe spray liner device for remedying control malfunctions or for the installation of joint sleeve applications . joint sleeves are components that fit at the juncture between two pipes or can be utilized in areas of cracks or holes in pipe for sealing and / or structural reinforcement . this joint sleeve repair function entails numerous starts and stops of the spray liner device including rotation and oscillation . the liner comprises a mixture of isocyanate and amine resin mixed between 140 ° f . and 170 ° f . the components may be heated within the spray device up through and including the spray nozzle . the liner components are supplied through the umbilical through two separate hoses . in one embodiment the liner components are maintained apart until immediately before conveyance to the spray orifice . the liner components can be separately injected into a fluid shaft 119 via a rotary union 114 . see fig2 . they are then conveyed to be mixed in an impingement block located in the oscillation bracket assembly and then dissipated through the spray orifice 130 of nozzles 121 a , 123 a . the flow , velocity and pressure of the liner material can be remotely controlled in the impingement block . the flow is controlled by positioning of a termination rod . the lines can be remotely cleared with high pressure air or other fluid . the impingement block can be located between the rotary union and the fluid shaft 119 . in one embodiment , the fluid shaft contains multiple longitudinally bored holes . liner components are conveyed separately through the fluid shaft at high pressure . the mixed components ( mixed in the impingement block ) rapidly cure , e . g ., 5 seconds . once the mixture cures , the liner is inert . the device may utilize remote controlled self propulsion . the device is illustrated with 4 drive tracks 101 . this system may be used to insert and to retract the device from the pipe . the liner supply umbilical may also be used for retracting the device from the pipe . the device requires only one access port into the pipe . a prior art spraying apparatus traversing over a profile of as little as 0 . 50 ″ at one end of the apparatus can be compounded to as much as 2 inches at the other end . this results in a dramatic increase or a dramatic decrease in liner thickness in the radial areas during traversing over the profile . with the prior art devices , design calculations for soil load and or pressure containment are of little merit as the contractor cannot assure the client of consistent liner thickness . current art is antiquated when it comes to maintaining proper shaft / dissipation device alignment in the center of any diameter . this is another reason for contractors being unable to predict liner thickness . current art relies on fixed non adjusting shafting between carriage and dissipation devices which in turn relays any offset in the pipe to the dissipation device action . the applicant &# 39 ; s spray device also incorporates mechanical components that allow accurate vertical and horizontal positioning of the spray head . see fig2 . these mechanical components include but are not limited to a scissor table 105 vertically centering the rotational spray head assembly 120 via proximity sensors or gyroscope . the spray nozzle 121 , 123 is horizontally centered using the rotational table 108 . the rotational table is adjustable to 90 ° in either horizontal direction of the centerline . this assures consistent liner thickness circumferentially through up to 90 ° bends and also straight run applications . the rotational table is a geared table that is driven by an electric motor or pneumatic motor . it is operated remotely via cctv camera by the operator when traversing through bends . the spray device also includes an adjustable angular table 107 with a pneumatic motor 106 . the forward edge of the table can be elevated to a 45 ° angle to the back table edge . this movement elevates the spray head assembly and the fluid shaft in communication with the rotary union . the in situ pipe spray liner also includes a component further comprising the ball screw - electric servo motor that can line pipe , conduits , structures and passageways from horizontal through varying degrees to fully vertical . all fully vertical pipe is lined by traversing the robot reversely or in an upward path in the pipe segment . the shaft is then centered remotely just as it is in a horizontal pipe . correct alignment allows consistent liner thickness circumferentially . the device utilizes a scissor lift 105 to control height of the spray nozzle head assembly 120 . proximity sensors are attached proximate to the rotating shaft . the sensors send signals to limit switches / relays that operate the rotary screw drive motor that operates the vertical scissor lift . when prior art devices traverse over any offset or large profile in the pipe , the extended nozzle head assembly device is dramatically affected . the nozzle head assembly device moves closer to some portions of the pipe wall and more distant from other portions . the applicant &# 39 ; s spray device can be equipped with two spray heads 121 a , 123 a . both spray heads may be simultaneously used depending upon the pipe diameter and the required liner thickness . the device has the capability to line both horizontal and vertical pipes . each spray nozzle can be remotely controlled . the orientation of the spray nozzle to the pipe wall can be adjusted using a piston and cylinder arrangement 122 . alternate nozzle positions are illustrated 121 b , 123 b . the cylinder controlling the spray nozzle can pivot . see the variable positions illustrated 122 a , 122 b . each spray nozzle is installed in the rotational spray head assembly 120 . it will be appreciated that the two nozzles are installed asymmetrically along the length of the spray head assembly . examples of variable positions of each spray nozzle are also illustrated for the second spray nozzle 123 a , 123 b . the spray build up remover ( cutter ) 103 pertains to the proper functioning of the spray orifice located in the spray head assembly . the mixed and partially cured liner is emitted through the spray orifice 130 . the liner components rapidly cure . some quantity of the liner material will inherently build on the spray orifice over long periods of time due to this rapid cure . the cured liner builds up at the orifice , forming long stalactites . the removal component of the device may be used for the large material outputs that are required for lining large diameter pipe with liner thicknesses of 0 . 25 ″ or more for long durations . the spray device has a mechanical component that will cut any build up off of the spray orifice 130 and retrieve that build up in the attached creel 102 prior to being able to fall to the pipe floor . see fig2 . build up at the spray orifice is easily visible to the remote device operator via cctv . when build up is noticed , the operator actuates the termination rod located in the impingement block to stop the spraying process . the operator disengages the rotation of the sprayer . the cutter 103 and creel assembly 102 is activated . it may be deployed using a pneumatic cylinder 104 but other mechanism may be used . the cutter and creel extends to a calibrated location that extends slightly past the spray orifice and 0 . 125 ″ below the spray orifice . the operator slowly rotates the dissipation device so that the spray nozzle swings past the cutter which removes the built up or block of cured material from the tip . the built up piece falls into the basket like creel below . the cutter and creel are retracted to the resting position and the lining process continues . prior art simply allows the build up of cured liner to occur . the residue on the spray orifice is typically a long , semi cylindrical , jagged block of hardened product . in the prior art , the residue is allowed to fall onto the pipe floor and / or be thrown off by the centrifugal force of the rotation . this creates either a void in the liner — if the block falls off onto an unlined area — as the apparatus does not have the capability to seal over the jagged block . additionally if the block falls onto a partially lined section the block is then encapsulated in the liner resulting in a future effluent flow impediment and / or a catching device for solids in the effluent . in larger pipe diameters their units require operator entry to manually crawl down the pipe to clean the tip . the 5 fluid port and 3 disc electrical rotary union 114 allows fluids to pass from affixed ports to the rotating shaft 119 . fluid hoses are connected to one side of the union . the fluid then passes through an interior shaft in the union that is individually ported . passageways and seal systems allow the union to transmit fluids while the rotating shaft ( connected by machined coupling at the other end of the union ) is rotating . the motor 115 is mounted above the rotary union 114 ( see fig2 ) at the rotational head 135 and communicates only to the rotational shaft through a gear drive 116 . the rotating shaft may be configured to convey fluid and for conveyance of electrical power . when the union is connected to the shaft via coupling , it becomes basically an extension of the shaft . the back of the union is bolted to a plate to keep the union &# 39 ; s casing from being able to rotate . only the interior shaft of the union rotates . the segmented casing on the outside where the hoses are affixed does not rotate . the rotational shaft and head are connected to a carriage 131 . this carriage is what oscillates forward and reverse as illustrated in vector arrow 975 . everything mounted to that carriage moves when oscillating extension and retraction take place . this includes the rotational spray head assembly 120 with the adjustable spray nozzles 121 , 123 . also included is the pneumatic motor with adjustable speed and direction 115 . the forward and reverse motion is powered by a pneumatic or electrical motor 112 coupled to a self reversing ball screw drive 113 and rotational shaft 132 . in another embodiment , the spray device may be operated without bi - directional ( forward and reverse ) oscillation or without pendulum oscillation . this embodiment could be used after extensive surface preparation of the pipe interior to allow application of thin mil system , i . e ., liner 15 to 60 mils thick . the in situ pipe spray liner device of claim 1 further comprising the ball screw - electric servo motor that can line pipe , conduits and structures . all fully vertical pipe is lined by traversing the robot reversely or in an upward path in the pipe segment . the shaft is then centered remotely just as it is in a horizontal pipe . this specification is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner of carrying out the invention . it is to be understood that the forms of the invention herein shown and described are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments . as already stated , various changes may be made in the shape , size and arrangement of components or adjustments made in the steps of the method without departing from the scope of this invention . for example , equivalent elements may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features , all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention . further modifications and alternative embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this specification . | 5 |
hereinafter , an adhesive composition and a shock absorption film will be described with reference to figures of the accompanying drawings . an adhesive composition for a tpu film according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , silicone cross - linking agent comprising si — h group 1 to 10 parts , anchorage enhancing agent 1 to 5 parts and metal catalyst at least one selected from the group consisting of pt , ru , os , rh , ir and pd . in the adhesive composition for a tpu film according to the present invention , a polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound is preferable for adhesive component of a display window protection film due to its specificity of excellent thermostability , solvent resistance , weather stability and long term stability and so forth . commercial silicone - based adhesive , for example dow - corning 7645 , 7646 , 7652 7657 or mixture thereof is available for a silicone - based adhesive compound of adhesive composition for a tpu film according to the present invention . an adhesive composition for a tpu film according to the present invention comprises a silicone - based cross - linking agent comprising si — h group in amount of 1 to 10 parts preferably , 2 to 5 parts more preferably , in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts . in case that the amount of the silicone - based cross - linking agent comprising si - h group is less than 1 part in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , cross - linking density in the composition is too low so that long term stability would fall off . whereas the amount of the silicone - based cross - linking agent comprising si - h group would be more than 10 parts in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , cross - linking density in the composition is too high so that hardness of the composition would ascend and the adhesion force would be declined . an adhesive composition for a tpu film according to the present invention comprises an anchorage enhancing agent in amount of 1 to 5 parts in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts . an anchorage enhancing agent plays a role as enhancing sticking force to a substrate . a preferable compound as an anchorage enhancing agent of the present invention is silane coupling agent or a complex of silane coupling agent and polydimethylsiloxane , for example dow - corning 9176 and 9250 . in case that the amount of the anchorage enhancing agent is less than 1 part in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , the effect of addition would fall off . whereas the amount of the anchorage enhancing agent would be more than 5 parts in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , there is no more effect according to the further addition . an adhesive composition for a tpu film according to the present invention comprises a metal catalyst at least one selected from the group consisting of pt , ru , os , rh , ir and pd in amount of 1 to 5 parts in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts . a metal catalyst is used for controlling speed of the catalytic cross - linking reaction and hardening of said silicone - based cross - linking agent comprising si — h group in the adhesive composition according to an embodiment of the present invention . in case that the amount of the metal catalyst is less than 1 part in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , which slow down the hardening of the adhesive composition . when the amount of the metal catalyst would be more than 5 parts in comparison with the polydimethylsiloxane - based silicone adhesive compound 100 parts , it would harden the adhesive composition according to an embodiment of the present invention too excessively and make the adhesive composition get yellowing . also , an embodiment of the present invention provides a shock absorption film ( 100 ) having an adhesive layer ( 60 ) comprising said adhesive composition . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of a shock absorption film ( 100 ) according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig2 , a shock absorption film ( 100 ) according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a ) pet base film layer ( 30 ), b ) a glue layer ( 40 ) formed on a side of said pet base film layer ( 30 ), c ) a tpu film layer ( 50 ), one side of said tpu film layer ( 50 ) bonded with said pet base film layer ( 30 ) through said glue layer ( 40 ) and d ) the adhesive layer ( 60 ) comprising said adhesive composition formed on another side of said tpu film layer . in comparison with the conventional shock absorption film as shown in fig1 , a shock absorption film ( 100 ) according to an embodiment of the present invention does not need a pet film layer ( 30 ′) inserted between a silicone - based adhesive ( 60 ) and tpu film layer ( 50 ) and a glue layer ( 40 ′) bonding said pet film layer ( 30 ′) and said tpu film layer ( 50 ), which is required indispensably in the conventional shock absorption film adapting tpu film layer . therefore , it is possible to add other functional layer , for example an anti - bacterial and / or hard coating layer on a shock absorption film ( 100 ) according to an embodiment of the present invention due to coating a silicone - based adhesive on tpu film layer directly . as aforementioned , the thickness of a pet base film layer ( 30 ) is more than 100 micrometers , 100 to 120 micrometers preferably , in order to prevent deformation of a shock absorption film ( 100 ) and that of a tpu film layer ( 50 ) is more than 200 micrometers in order to endow a sufficient shock absorption effect . preferably , the thickness of a tpu film layer ( 50 ) is in the range of 200 to 300 micrometers in considering that the whole thickness of a shock absorption film should be less than 500 micrometers , as described before . the shock absorption film according to an embodiment of the present invention may be fabricated as bellows ; firstly , a pet base film ( 30 ) with protection film ( 10 ) is put together with a tpu film through an acrylate - based glue . at this point , the thickness of a pet base film ( 30 ) should be over 100 micrometers for preventing thermal deformation of a tpu film ( 50 ) and the thickness of a tpu film ( 50 ) should be over 200 micrometers for adequate shock absorption . as aforementioned , a shock absorption film according to an embodiment of the present invention is enabled to be thinner than a conventional shock absorption film due to direct coating of adhesive layer on a tpu film , so that other functional layer ( 20 ), for example an anti - bacterial and / or hard coating layer can be added on another side of the pet film layer ( 30 ). finally , the thickness of the shock absorption film ( 100 ) is in the range of 400 to 450 micrometer , so that there are no aforementioned problems like deterioration of touch sense and input error in touching screen . the present invention will be described below in greater detail in connection with examples according to certain embodiments of the present invention . it should be noted that the following embodiments are provided merely for better understanding of the invention and the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the embodiments . an adhesive composition was prepared by mixing polydimethylsiloxane - based compound dow corning 7645 100 g as a silicone - based adhesive , dow corning 7689 3 g as a cross - linking agent , dow corning 9176 3 g as an anchorage enhancing agent and pt catalyst 1 . 5 g . an adhesive composition was prepared by mixing polydimethylsiloxane - based compound dow corning 7646 90 g and dow corning 7657 10 g as a silicone - based adhesive , dow corning 7689 3 g as a cross - linking agent , dow corning 9176 3 g as an anchorage enhancing agent and pt catalyst 2 g . an adhesive composition was prepared by mixing polydimethylsiloxane - based compound dow corning 7645 100 g as a silicone - based adhesive , dow corning 7689 3 g as a cross - linking agent , dow corning 9176 3 g as an anchorage enhancing agent and pt catalyst 2 g . an adhesive composition was prepared by mixing polydimethylsiloxane - based compound dow corning 7645 100 g as a silicone - based adhesive , dow corning 7689 3 g as a cross - linking agent , dow corning 9176 3 g was used as an anchorage enhancing agent and pt catalyst 0 . 5 g . an adhesive composition was prepared by mixing catalyst containing polydimethylsiloxane - based compound sg6370a ( kcc , republic of korea ) 70 g and sg6480a ( kcc ) 30 as a silicone - based adhesive and sk0010c ( kcc ) 2 g as a cross - linking agent . an adhesive composition was prepared by mixing and polymerizing methylmetacrylate 70 g , acrylic acid 10 g and 2 - hydroxyethyl metacrylate 20 g as an acrylate - based adhesive and isocyante - based hardening agent 2 g . adhesive compositions prepared in above examples and comparative examples were coated on tpu film by 30 micrometers thickness , respectively . after 1 minute of hardening in 150 ° c . oven , physical properties and durability of adhesive layers were tested and the results were arranged in table 1 . 2 ) hardness was measured by observing whether the adhesive transcription to a glass in attaching and detaching to and from a glass surface or not . 3 ) durability was measured after the tpu films with the respective adhesive layers were maintained at 85 ° c . and 85 % of humidity in 3 days . as shown in table 1 , the adhesive component an embodiment of according to the present invention is excellent in physical properties and durability in comparison with the comparative examples adapting conventional acrylate adhesives . it is intended that the embodiments of the present invention described above should not be construed as limiting the technical spirit of the present invention . the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims . those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications thereto without departing from the spirit . therefore , various changes and modifications obvious to those skilled in the art will fall within the scope of the present invention . | 2 |
in order for developed societies to compete in manufacturing they must have more advanced tool that can enable their higher paid machinists the ability to produce parts faster than lower paid machinists . this can be accomplished in many ways using automation . it is noted that the cost of automation can offset the increase in productivity . a better approach would be to increase the metal removal rate and thereby reduce the time to produce the same part . this is especially true when cutting parts that require a long time on the machine such as aircraft parts or the like , the answer is a several order of magnitude increase in the metal removal rates . this results from the use of higher spindle speeds which provide this performance increase over that of conventional machines . ( this is generally what lower cost producers generally have available to them .) the critical goal , therefore , for manufacturers is to be able to obtain very high speed for tools , using an economical and robust system . existing designs for ceramic ball bearing or magnetic bearing high - speed spindles are very expensive and very delicate , and thus do not provide what is really needed . this invention in incorporating water hydrostatic bearings and a ultra high pressure water turbine yields a very robust high speed system in which the unit mounted on the machine tool is actually fairly inexpensive . as a result if there is a crash , little damage is done to the spindle . to minimize cost and heat generated by a spindle , the hydrostatic bearings are made part of the spindle shaft . the problem of how to get rotational power to the tool is solved through driving of the tool with turbine blades . the turbine section is integral to the spindle shaft reducing the cost of producing multiple parts . this eliminates the need for a very costly high - speed motor and the associated precision bearings and drive electronics . if the spindle used in this art is crashed it will not destroy any expensive motor or bearing components . the generic solution provided by the invention addresses these goals by providing a spindle wherein the cutting tool is supported in a bore by hydrostatic bearings that act directly on the spindle shaft so that the shaft itself is the spinning element and by providing power through an integral or modular radial water turbine to spin the tool so that it can do work , such as cutting in a machine tool . before referring to the drawings illustrating the construction of the invention , it is believed helpful to consider the physics of the system . when machining aluminum a general rule is that one needs 1 kw of power for every 1000 rpm of a 25 mm diameter cutter . fig4 , as previously described is a plot of the turbine power as a function of speed . note that turbines generate power based on a speed cubed law and thus as the speed goes up , the power generated becomes very high . at 100 , 000 rpm the no - loss power generated can be 140 kw that allows for 40 kw of losses and inefficiency . for the turbine covered by the invention the water pressure minimum is 2080 atm . ( 30 , 000 psi ) and the flow rate minimum is 3 gpm . if the radial and axial bearing operates of the discharge pressure of 3000 psi , then even a small 25 mm tool in the holder would be able to support 3000 n , which as a radial load on the tool at 100 , 000 rpm represents 50 kw of power . thus the bearings are well suited to support the bearing force and the design is well balanced . fig5 as previously described , is a plot of maximum turbine power that can reasonably be obtained as a function of speed . as an example a 47 mm × 40 mm radial flow turbine along with radial and axial hydrostatic bearings , at 100 , 000 rpm the power generated can be as much as 377 kw . based on calculations utilizing a 30 , 000 psi capacity system with a flow rate of 3 gpm the system would have the capability of operating at 75000 rpm and have a power output of 40 kw . the correct orifice size for this system would be 0 . 020 inch and would be made from a sapphire . a preferred integrated system so designed is shown in fig6 . fig6 is a machining center ( item 35 ) is shown as a gantry style . this style has a stationary base on which a structure moves constituting the x - axis . the y and z - axis are contained on the bridge of the structure . the machine can be of other machine tool forms as well . a typical machine configuration would utilize an ultra high pressure spindle for purposes of cutting both the 2d and 3d configuration of the part . the z axis would contain the ultra high pressure spindle ( item 34 ). a table ( not shown ) supports a part , which often will be as big as the table itself . for example sections for aircraft are hogged out of solid billets of aluminum to minimize weight and maximize strength . an ultra high pressure line extending from an intensifier ( item 38 ) located off machine in the general area supplies water pressure and volume through a heavy wall plumbing system to the machine ( item 39 ). an option the system may contain two plumbing lines , ultra high pressure feed line ( item 39 ) and a low pressure return line . the return water line will bring water back to the pressure supply - filter - cooling system . fig1 shows a cross section of the radial flow section of the spindle . the replaceable tool 6 ( item 33 ) is located in the front of the spindle - shaft ( item 3 ) and held in position with a collet ( item 5 ) and nut ( item 6 ). the spindle shaft is located in a front housing ( item 1 ) extending with its cutting end to the left beyond the tapered forward left - hand end of the bore and its rear end connected to the latter and carrying the turbine drive housing . hydrostatic bearing features are formed directly into the spindle shaft forming radial groves bearings ( items 3 a and 3 b ). construction of the hydrostatic pocket and bearing may be of the method as outlined in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 449 , 297 ( hoffer ), 3 , 754 , 799 ( hedberg ), 4 , 351 , 574 ( furukawa ), 5 , 104 , 237 ( slocum ) and others . ultra high - pressure fluid to these bearings is supplied through a pressurized annulus ( item 13 ), which is supplied through a high - pressure port ( item 14 ). fluid from the bearings drains through small annuli ( items 9 and 15 ), which are connected to drain ports 10 and 16 through formed holes 11 and 17 . this arrangement gives the spindle shaft high load capacity and is significantly more rigid than a standard rotating element bearing system . note that in high speed milling is not possible to provide jet assisted chip removal because there are no high - speed couplings available for through the tool delivery . furthermore , the high - speed tool generates a powerful vortex around the working tool , which prevents an externally jetted stream to the cut area . to address this problem , high - pressure water can enter the tool through a radial hole ( item 18 ) in line with the coolant feed annuli ( item 6 ) and fed through port 7 from connection location 8 . the jet stream would then travel axially along the spindle shaft through the collet ( item 5 ) into the tool ( item 33 ). the fluid would be ejected through ports in the body of the tool . the radial turbine system is contained in the rear housing ( item 2 ), which is seated to the front housing ( item 1 ) and sealed with an o - ring system designed for ultra high - pressure operation . bolts ( item 35 ) shown in fig7 and located in the rear housing clamp the system together . the ultra high pressure for the system enters normal to the upper housing through high - pressure port ( item 34 ). the water proceeds through an off / on valve port ( item 31 ). off / on spindle control is caused by applying air pressure to an actuator assembly ( item 4 ), this retracts a poppet ( item 27 , fig2 ) from the seat ( item 26 ) allowing fluid to enter the columniations chamber ( item 31 ). the fluid exits the chamber to the jeweled orifice ( item 23 , fig3 ), which is sized to reduce the output stream in area and increase pressure . the output flow from the jeweled orifice impacts the radial turbine blade ( item 19 , fig1 ) extracting the momentum from the flow , thereby causing the spindle shaft ( item 3 ) to turn with high speed and great power . the fluid exits the turbine blades and flows radically through the circumferential annulus and then into the collection chamber ( item 32 ). here the fluid exits via drains ( item 40 , fig7 ). depending on the stiffness requirement for the particular system the discharged fluid may either feed the hydrostatic bearings , and / or provided for jet assist , or be returned for reuse . in order to provide thrust - bearing capacity to the system , some of the inlet flow can flow across the small gap ( item 21 ) between the land and the turbine wheel top face . this small gap may be on the order of 10 - 15 micrometers . the fluid enters a central drain pocket and then flows axially through the spindle shaft to the drain groove 15 where it is collected for discharge or returned to the main system . the other side of the thrust bearing which resists pull - out forces on the spindle shaft and acts to preload the rear thrust bearing is formed with an inlet resistance ( item 22 ) formed by a radial gap on the order of 10 micrometers between the bore in the front housing item 1 . the fluid flows axially in this radial gap to enter the thrust bearing pocket . resistance to fluid flow to exit the thrust pocket is provided by an axial land and a radial land both of which may be in the order of 10 micrometers . the relative diameters of the thrust bearing faces must be sized to resist cutting thrust loads and thrust loads generated by different pressures across the turbine . this type of thrust bearing is of the type described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 493 , 610 ( iino ), 4 , 915 , 510 ( arvidsson ) and others . there are many other thrust bearing compensation systems that could be used . | 1 |
referring initially to fig1 a conventional dram array architecture is shown employing a cmos cross - coupled sense amplifier ( sa ). the dram array 100 includes a plurality of dram cells 102 arranged in a matrix pattern . each dram cell 102 comprises one field effect transistor ( fet ) 104 and one capacitor 106 , functioning as a data bit storage element . the operation of the conventional array 100 is best understood with an explanation of the following sequential signal processing steps : ( a ) signal development on the bitlines ( bl and bl bar ): the gate of the fet 104 is coupled to a wordline ( wl ). as long as wl is low , the capacitor 106 holds a data bit as a charge . the capacitor 106 holds 0 volts for a “ data 0 ” bit , and a predetermined voltage ( v dd ) for a “ data 1 ” bit , respectively . the bitline pairs ( bl and bl bar ) are already precharged at a ½ v dd level by bitline equalizing devices 120 ( when φ eq = high ). the precharging operation is described in step ( d ). when wl goes high , the capacitor 106 is coupled to the corresponding bitline ( bl ) through fet 104 . however , prior to the wordline ( wl ) activation , the bitline ( bl ) equalizing devices 120 are turned off ( when φ eq = low ). thus , it is possible to change the bitline voltage by transferring whatever charge is stored in capacitor 106 . ( b ) bitline ( bl ) sensing : the cmos cross - coupled sense amplifier ( sa ) 130 amplifies the differential voltage between bl and bl bar by driving clock signals φ n and φ p low and high , respectively . the operation of the cmos cross - coupled sense amplifier is well known in the art , and is not discussed further detail hereinafter . ( c ) signal write back : after the bl signal is sufficiently amplified , a column select line ( csl ) activates column switch devices 140 . this couples the bl pair to the v dd precharged data line pair ( dl and dl bar ). during a data read mode , a differential voltage is therefore generated on the dl pair , which differential voltage is then sensed by a second sense amplifier ( not shown ). during a write mode operation , the bl pair may be “ flipped ”, depending upon the data pattern driven from the dl pair . it should be pointed out that a write mode should not be enabled prior to the bl sensing operation , since the bl swing in a write mode ( write ) causes a coupling noise on an adjacent bl ( read ) during signal development , thereby destroying the sensing signal . the bitline voltages are then stored on capacitor 106 through fet 104 . ( d ) a bitline ( bl ) precharging operation : finally , the wordline ( wl ) is deactivated , thereby isolating the data cell 102 from the bitline pair . the data bit is therefore maintained in the capacitor 106 . the cmos cross - coupled sa 130 is thereafter deactivated , and equalizer devices 120 equalize the bls so that they are once again precharged at the ½ v dd level . the timing diagram in fig1 illustrates an example of a conventional “ 1 ” bit read and then a “ 0 ” bit write operation . during the signal development step ( a ), the voltage on wl goes from low to high . initially , bitline pairs bl and bl bar are both at 1 . 5 volts from a previous precharging ( for illustrative purposes , it will be assumed that v dd = 3 volts ). once wl goes high , the gate of fet 104 is turned on , thereby coupling capacitor 106 ( with its stored 3 volt /“ 1 ” bit charge ) to bl . the voltage on bl begins to increase from 1 . 5 volts while the voltage on bl bar remains at 1 . 5 volts . when the sense amplifier sa 130 connected to bl and bl bar is enabled during step ( b ), a differential voltage across bl and bl bar is sensed and thereafter amplified . thus , bl is driven up to 3 volts , while bl bar is driven down to 0 volts . this then enables a writeback of data to cell 102 . without sa 130 , the data in cell 102 would be lost upon coupling capacitor 106 to bl . because a “ 0 ” bit write is called for in this example , the values of bl and bl bar are “ flipped ” during step ( c ) such that bl is driven to 0 volts and bl bar is driven to 3 volts by driving dl to a low level while keeping dl bar high . thus , the capacitor 106 will then be pulled to 0 volts , still being coupled to bl as wl is still high . finally , in step ( d ), wl is deactivated , a “ 0 ” bit is written to cell 102 , and bl and bl bar are once again precharged to 1 . 5 volts . the existing architecture 100 , thus configured , makes it difficult to improve the overall random access cycle time ( trc ) due to the sequential execution of all the operations ( a ), ( b ), ( c ), and ( d ) discussed above . therefore , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , there is shown in fig2 a dram array 200 , and an associated timing diagram illustrating the operation thereof , featuring a “ destructive read ” architecture . for purposes of illustration only , similar or like components described hereinafter have the same reference numeral designations as previously described components . in addition to the previously described elements , array 200 further includes switching devices 150 connected between bitlines ( bl ) and sense lines ( sl ). again , when the wl goes high , the capacitor 106 is coupled to the corresponding bitline ( bl ) through fet 104 . prior to the wl activation , the bl equalizing devices 120 are turned off ( φ eq = low ), and making it possible to change the bl voltage by transferring the charge from the storage capacitor 106 . switching devices 150 are then temporarily turned on to transfer the signal developed on the bl pair over to the sl pair . the switching devices 150 are then turned off and sls are decoupled from the bls before the precharge operation is executed thereon . this allows the wl , the bl and bl bar to be precharged immediately and simultaneously after a sensing signal has been developed on the bls and sls . accordingly , the sense amplifier sa 130 amplifies the differential voltage between sl and sl bar in a “ pipeline ” manner . unlike the conventional architecture shown in fig1 the sa 130 is used only for transferring a data bit to the data line ( dl ). due to the isolation of the bls from the dls , the signal on the capacitor 106 of cell 102 is destroyed after the signal has been read ( thus , comprising a destructive read architecture ). the data bit transferred to the dls is then copied to a static random access memory ( sram ). during a write mode , the data bits are directly written to the corresponding dram cell as a “ write though ”. alternatively , the written bit may be read and stored in the sram for a future delayed write back , similar to the read mode . some of the read bits may be overwritten with the input data bits and stored in the sram for future delayed write back . such an option would allow a chip to support a bit or byte mask mode . regardless of the write - through and delayed write options implemented , all of the data bits accessed by a wordline ( wl ) are simultaneously written back to the corresponding dram cells . the write mode may commence prior to signal development , thereby avoiding the trc penalty normally incurred during a write mode . a destructive read architecture , therefore , eliminates the time components of the overall trc represented by the operational steps of ( b ) bitline sensing and ( c ) signal write back , regardless of whether the system is in a read or write mode . as a result , the overall speed improvement of the random access cycle time ( trc ), using the architecture shown in fig2 is as much twice that of the conventional dram architecture . the timing diagram in fig2 further illustrates the elimination of steps ( b ) and ( c ). once wl is enabled and a bitline signal differential is developed , the bitlines are immediately precharged and returned to 1 . 5 volts . the amplification used to rewrite or flip the data bit occurs on the isolated sl and sl bar lines , which bit is then stored in sram for future use . thus , the cycle is completed after steps ( a ) and ( d ), since the data read ( and destroyed from the cell ) is temporarily saved into sram and rewritten back into the cell at a later time if need be . referring now to fig3 an architecture 300 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , is shown . architecture 300 includes a plurality of dram arrays 302 ( individually designated by array & lt ; 0 & gt ; through array & lt ; 255 & gt ;), and at least one sram 304 array within a given chip . while the size of each dram array 302 may be different , the total number of data bits for the sram array 304 should be larger than the largest individual dram array size . optionally , a plurality of dram arrays 302 may be grouped as a bank . in this case , the density of the sram array should be equal to or larger than the dram bank size containing a plurality of dram arrays . for purposes of illustration only , the following description assumes a total of 256 dram arrays , each consisting of 32k cells . the 32k cells are each accessed by 256 wordlines ( wls ) and 128 bitline ( bl ) pairs . the sram array 304 is organized similar to each dram array 302 ( having 32 k cells accessed by 256 wls and 128 bl pairs ). as discussed previously , a dram read command reads out all data bits ( 128 b ) sensed in a 32k dram array 302 to the sram array 304 . a scheduler 306 controls and keeps track of the dram arrays 302 and the sram array 304 so that the data bits stored in the sram array 304 will be correctly written back to the corresponding dram array 302 as a delayed write back . scheduler 306 receives a command signal ( cmd ) along with a 16 - bit address vector ( designated by add & lt ; 0 : 15 & gt ;) from a controlling entity such as a cpu ( not shown ). bits 8 through 15 of the address vector ( add & lt ; 8 : 15 & gt ;) are used for decoding a selected array , representing one of the 256 dram arrays 302 . bits 0 through 7 of the address vector ( designated by add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ;) are used for decoding an individual wl within the selected dram array 302 . the command signal ( cmd ) is a signal corresponding to either a read or a write mode . in one embodiment of the architecture 300 shown in fig3 a direct mapping scheduling method for scheduling dram and sram access is contemplated . in a direct mapping scheduling method , a write back operation from the sram to a corresponding dram array is enabled only when new data to be copied to the sram from a different dram array comes from the same wordline . for example , if a read operation were to be executed for the data in wordline 0 of array & lt ; 1 & gt ;, but the sram already had data stored for wordline 0 from any one of the other arrays , then that previously stored data in wordline 0 would have to be written back to whichever array it came from before the sram could then store the new data contained in wordline 0 of array & lt ; 1 & gt ;. for exemplary purposes only , scheduler 306 further supports 128 data inputs and outputs ( corresponding to the maximum number bits obtained from a dram array 302 ) without a byte or bit masking function . when the scheduler 306 supports a smaller number of bits ( e . g ., 64 ), byte or bit masks , a different scheduling method is used . a data input pin ( di ) and a data output pin ( do ) are preferably not shared , although it will be appreciated the present embodiments are not limited in this manner . the scheduler 306 further includes a tag memory 308 , which comprises 256 wordlines ( wl ), similar to the dram 302 and sram 304 arrays . the individual tag memory 308 cells are accessed through add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ; in order to activate the corresponding wl . in turn , the tag memory 308 cells activated by the corresponding wl store 8 array address bits ( ab ), identifying one out of 256 dram arrays , as well as a valid bit ( vb ) verifying the availability of the sram . more specifically , if the vb in a tag memory is “ 1 ”, the sram 304 contains the data bits for the corresponding dram array as identified by the bits ab . a 3 - phase pipeline stage scheme , preferably including : ( 1 ) tag access and data input , ( 2 ) dram access , and ( 3 ) data output is used for the direct mapping scheduling method . other pipeline schemes , however , are contemplated . the operation of the dram architecture 300 , using the direct mapping scheduling method will be understood with the following description . it is first assumed , initially , that a read mode is detected by a predetermined read command ( cmd ). once a read mode is detected , the following pipeline scheme is enabled : phase i : the sram 304 immediately starts to check the data bits from the particular wl therein , as identified by the address vector add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ;. more particularly , the corresponding wl in the tag memory 308 is accessed , also according to the input address vector ( add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ;). the valid bit ( vb ) and the address bits ab are simultaneously read out from the tag memory 308 . the tag memory 308 updates the bits ab ( by setting ab = add & lt ; 8 : 15 & gt ;) and vb ( by setting vb = 1 ) for future access . a controller 310 located within the scheduler 306 checks the state of the valid bit ( vb ). phase ii : if vb = 0 , then the sram 304 does not contain any data bits therein ( read miss / no write back ). this enables a dram array read access mode . the controller 310 then activates the corresponding dram array read operation through add & lt ; 0 : 15 & gt ;, followed by an sram array write operation through add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ;. all data bits coupled to the activated wl in the addressed dram array are therefore copied to the sram 304 during this second pipeline phase . the data bits are also copied to a read buffer 312 . if vb = 1 , then the sram 304 contains data bits from a previously accessed dram array 302 . the controller 310 detects whether or not the address bits ab are same as in add & lt ; 8 : 15 & gt ;. it should be noted that this detection is done in the first pipeline phase . if the address bits are matched ( read hit ), the controller 310 will not enable a dram array read operation in this second pipeline phase . the data bits read from the sram 304 in the first pipeline stage are then copied to the read buffer 312 . however , if the address bits are not matched ( read miss / write back ), the controller 310 enables a dram read access mode for the corresponding dram array 302 identified with the address vector add & lt ; 0 : 15 & gt ;. the data bits from the corresponding dram array 302 are copied to the sram 304 and the read buffer 312 . simultaneously , the controller 310 enables a dram write back from the sram 304 to the corresponding dram array 302 identified by the address bits ab . the data bits read from the sram 304 in the first pipeline stage are then written back to the corresponding dram array 302 identified by the address bits ab and the address vector add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ;. a dual port sram is preferably used for this simultaneous read and write operation . phase iii : data bits are read out from the read buffer 312 to the data output pins ( do ). it is now assumed that a write mode is detected by a predetermined write command . when a write mode is detected , another pipeline scheme is enabled : phase i : the write data bits on the data input pins ( di ) are placed in a write buffer 314 . simultaneously , the corresponding wl in the tag memory 308 is accessed according to the input address vector ( add & lt ; 0 : 7 & gt ;). the tag memory 308 updates the address bits ab ( by setting ab = add & lt ; 7 : 15 & gt ;) and vb ( by setting vb = 1 ) for future access . beforehand , the controller 310 checks the state of valid bit ( vb ). phase ii : if vb = 0 , the sram 304 does not contain any data bits therein ( write miss / no write back ). the controller 310 therefore allows the sram 304 to store the data bits placed in write buffer 314 during the first pipeline phase . if vb = 1 , the sram 304 contains some data bits . the controller 310 detects whether or not the bits in ab are the same as the bits in add & lt ; 7 : 15 & gt ;. similar to the read mode , the write mode detection is also done in the first pipeline stage . if the address bits are matched ( write hit ), the corresponding data bits in the sram 304 are overwritten . however , if the address bits are not matched ( write miss / write back ), the data bits in the write buffer 314 are written to the sram 304 , while transferring the previously stored data bits back to the corresponding dram array 302 ( referred to hereinafter as delayed write back ). the tag memory 308 should be updated for storing new data in the sram 304 . alternatively , without writing to the sram 304 and without updating the tag memory 308 , the data bits in the write buffer 314 may be directly written back to the dram core as a write through ( referred to hereinafter as write through ). vb in the tag memory should then be overwritten to 0 if the sram contains the old data bits for the corresponding dram core prior to the write through . however , if the sram contains the data bits for another dram core not related to the write through , then the data bits and the valid bit vb should be kept as they are . [ 0047 ] fig4 is a data flow diagram illustrating an example of the dram and sram array operation using the direct mapping scheduling method described above . by way of example , only two of the dram arrays 302 ( array & lt ; 0 & gt ; and array & lt ; 1 & gt ;) are used to illustrate the following commands received during eight sequential clock cycles : 3 . write to dram array 0 wordline 1 ( w 0 , 1 ); 7 . read from dram array 0 , wordline 1 ( r 0 , 1 ); and in the illustrated example , the preferred embodiment “ delayed write back ” embodiment is used for the write mode . during the first clock cycle , a command to write data into dram array 0 at wordline 0 is received . the data for ( w 0 , 0 ) transmitted on input pins di is initially stored in the write buffer 314 , as indicated by the thin solid arrow . it will be initially assumed that the sram 304 previously contained no data bits , and therefore the ( w 0 , 0 ) data may be stored in the sram 304 during the next pipeline phase ( clock cycle ). at the second clock cycle , write command is received for dram array 1 , wordline 0 . the ( w 0 , 0 ) data is shifted from the write buffer 314 and written into sram 304 . at the same time , the ( w 1 , 0 ) data is stored in write buffer 314 , as indicated by the thin dashed arrow . during the third clock cycle , a write command is received for dram array 0 , wordline 1 . again , the ( w 0 , 1 ) data is moved into write buffer 314 , as indicated by the thick dotted arrow . however , since wordline 0 in the sram 304 already contains data therein ( from ( w 0 , 0 )), the sram must immediately write the ( w 0 , 0 ) data into the corresponding dram array so that it can store the ( w 1 , 0 ) data previously inputted into the write buffer 314 during the second clock cycle . thus , at the end of the third clock cycle , dram array 0 contains the ( w 0 , 0 ) data , sram 304 contains the ( w 1 , 0 ) data , and write buffer 314 contains the ( w 0 , 1 ) data . during the fourth clock cycle , a write command is received for dram array 1 , wordline 1 . once again , this data is first stored into write buffer 314 , as indicated by the thick solid arrow . however , it will be noted this time that since wordline 1 in sram 304 is clear , no immediate write back into dram takes place in this clock cycle . instead , the ( w 0 , 1 ) data is now stored in sram 304 , as well as the ( w 1 , 0 ) data stored during the third clock cycle . referring now to the fifth clock cycle , a read command is received for dram array 0 , wordline 0 . ( it will be recalled that the ( w 0 , 0 ) data , inputted initially at the first clock cycle , was written into dram array 0 during the third clock cycle ). continuing along with the above described pipeline scheme , then , the ( w 0 , 1 ) data in sram 304 is written in dram array 0 , wordline 1 . this is because wordline 1 in sram 304 is now needed to store the ( w 1 , 1 ) data taken from the write buffer 312 . during the sixth clock cycle , a read command is now received for dram array 1 , wordline 0 . because wordline 0 in sram is needed to store the ( r 0 , 0 ) data requested during the previous clock cycle , the ( w 1 , 0 ) data which has just been requested is finally written into dram array 1 , wordline 0 . then , the data contained in dram array 0 , wordline 0 is read therefrom and stored in both sram 304 and read buffer 312 . again , due to the destructive read architecture , the sram also stores the ( w 0 , 0 ) data because , at some point , it must be re - written back to dram array 0 , wordline 0 . referring now to the seventh clock cycle , a read command is received for dram array 0 , wordline 1 . recalling that the previous read command was for the data in dram array 1 , wordline 0 , the sram wordline 0 is now needed . thus , the ( w 0 , 0 ) data is immediately re - written back to dram array 0 , wordline 0 to make room . at the same time , the data in dram array 1 , wordline 0 is read therefrom into both sram 304 and the read buffer 312 . the data read from dram array 0 , wordline 0 , which has just been written back thereto , but also previously stored in read buffer 312 , is sent out through data output pins do . finally , during the eighth clock cycle , a read command is received for dram array 1 , wordline 1 . since wordline 1 of sram is needed to hold the data from the previous ( r 0 , 1 ) command , the ( w 1 , 1 ) data which has just been requested is finally written into dram array 1 , wordline 1 . then , the data requested from dram array 0 , wordline 1 is read into sram 304 and read buffer 312 , while the previously stored data in read buffer 312 is outputted through data output pins do . from the foregoing , it will be seen that a total write back operation in a destructive read is realized using a direct map scheduling . furthermore , because the sram array size is equal or larger than the largest dram array size , no sram overflowing occurs , even if the same array is continuously accessed . once again , the data input pin ( di ) and data output pin ( do ) are preferably not shared in this example ; however , other configurations are contemplated . referring now to fig5 an embodiment of an alternative scheduling method 500 is illustrated by the flowchart therein . method 500 begins with decision block 502 and determines whether a read command is detected , a write command is detected or no command is detected . if , for example , a read command is detected , method 500 proceeds to decision block 504 where it is then determined whether there is a “ hit ” or a “ miss ” in the sram . a “ hit ” means that the data to be read out is already contained within one of the sram addresses , while a “ miss ” means that the data is not in the sram . in the event of a “ miss ”, the data to be read out is accessed from the corresponding dram array and copied into the lowest available sram address at block 506 . then , at block 508 , the data from sram is read . on the other hand , in the event of a “ hit ”, the data is already in sram and method 500 goes directly to block 508 . if at decision block 502 , a write command is detected , then method 500 proceeds to decision block 512 . here , it is again determined whether there is an sram “ hit ” or “ miss ”. after a “ miss ”, ( and in addition to proceeding to write back node 510 ) method proceeds to both blocks 514 and 516 . at block 514 , any data bits present are read from the corresponding dram . at the same time , the new data to be written is sent to the write buffer at block 516 . then the read data from the dram and the written data from the write buffer are merged and stored in the lowest available sram address at block 518 . it will be noted that the merged data is not immediately written to the corresponding dram array , but instead is stored in the sram 518 . regardless of whether a read , write or no command ( np ) is detected , method 500 eventually proceeds to write back node 510 , where a write back determination is made at decision block 520 . the write back determination at decision block 520 determines whether there is any data in the sram at all ( to be written back to the dram available for write - back ). if there is no data which can be written back to a corresponding dram , then there is no further operation at that point . on the other hand , if there are data bits available for write - back , the oldest data stored therein ( whether from a read operation or a write operation ) is written back / written into the proper dram array at block 522 . fig6 ( a )-( c ) illustrate a preferred pipeline diagram for the embodiment of the method described in fig5 . as shown in fig6 ( a ), the dram array read access operation is divided into four pipeline stages : command detection and address decoding ( com - dec ) 602 for the address vector add & lt ; 0 : 15 & gt ;; wl activation and signal development ( wl - sigdev ) 604 ; sa activation and sram data copy ( sa - sram ) 606 , for sensing and transferring the data bits to the sram and the data read buffer ; and a dq read from sram ( sram - do ) 608 . a series of commands ( numbered 0 through 4 ) are shown as they progress through the pipelines at each successive clock pulse ( indicated by the vertical dashed lines ). in contrast to the embodiment of the direct mapping method discussed hereinbefore , the sram array 304 stores data bits in the lowest address data cells which do not contain any previously stored data bits . it should be noted that a dram array starts a bl and wl precharging operation at the third pipeline stage . in the fourth pipeline stage , the data bits are sent from the read data buffer to the data output pin , thereby resulting in a read latency of 4 ( clock cycles ). in fig6 ( b ), a dram array write mode further includes a data input pipeline stage from data input pin ( di ) with a write latency of 1 from the initial command detection thereof . again , the first pipeline stage of the dram array write mode is the command detection and address decoding ( com - dec ) 602 , as is the case with the dram array read access mode in fig6 ( a ). the second pipeline stage is wl activation and signal development ( wl - sigdev ) 604 , which is also similar to the dram array read access mode . the second pipeline stage , however , includes a data input stage ( di ) 610 from the data input pin to the write buffer , having a write latency of 1 . optionally , data bits may be fetched to the write buffer at the first pipeline stage , and may be digitally delayed to support a write latency of 0 . in a third pipeline stage , the data bits are transferred from the sense amplifier to sram ( sa - sram ) 612 ; however , some data bits are overwritten by the data bits fetched in data write buffer ( di - sram ) 614 . for example , assuming that the dram array transfers 128 bits while having 64 data input pins , then 64 out of 128 bits are overwritten . optionally , the overwrite function for some bits ( e . g ., 8 out of 64 bits ) may be prohibited by utilizing a byte or bit mask command . these data bit handlings are enabled prior to the sram write mode . the sram therefore stores the data bits that have been handled for data inputs and / or byte or bit mask function . similar to the dram array read access mode , the sram array stores data bits in the lowest address data cells which do not contain previously stored data bits for the write back . referring now to fig6 ( c ), a delayed write - back pipeline may be enabled when the corresponding dram array is available for writing back previously stored data bits in the sram . the first pipeline stage is a command and address decoding stage ( com - dec ) 602 , which is again similar the other two pipelines . during this first pipeline stage , the scheduler determines whether or not the corresponding dram array is available for the second pipeline stage . it should be noted that , at most , only one dram array is unavailable at a given time for the dram data read at the second pipeline stage . if no command is given , then all the dram arrays are available for the dram write back . the scheduler first determines the data bits in the lowest address data cells which contain previously stored data bits for the write back . the scheduler then detects whether or not the dram array is available for the write back in the second pipeline stage . if it detects that the dram array is not available , the scheduler then chooses the next lowest address data cells which contain previously stored data bits a the write back operation . these detections and scheduling are done in the first pipeline stage . an actual write back operation ( wl - write back ) 616 will be enabled in the second pipeline stage according to this scheduling . [ 0072 ] fig7 is a timing diagram comparing internal and external operations for the to method in fig5 in view of the pipeline schemes shown in fig6 . in fig7 the “ xyz ” in the “ axyz ” designations represent : the dram array ( 0 or 1 ), the command ( r = read , w = write : b = write back ), and the address . for example , the designation a 0 r 0 means that a read mode command is detected for address 0 in the array 0 , while the designation a 0 w 7 means that a write mode command is detected for address 7 in the array 0 . further , the designation a 1 b 9 means that a write back mode is detected for address 9 in the array 1 . the dram commands are detected by the address strobe ( ads ) and write enable ( we ), synchronized with a clock ( clk ), and the array status . more specifically , if the ads is high , a no operation command ( np ) is detected . if the ads is low , the dram accepts the address ( add ) shown in the pipeline . if the we is high , the read mode is enabled , and the data bits are outputted to the data output pin ( do ) with a read latency of 4 . if the we is low , the write mode is enabled , and the data bits from the data input pin ( di ) with a write latency of 1 . however , as discussed in the previous scheduling embodiment , a write mode latency of 0 could be used by adding an additional data input pipeline stage . a write back operation in the corresponding array is scheduled when one of the following conditions is detected : ( 1 ) np , ( 2 ) sram hit , or ( 3 ) activation of other arrays . for example , the a 0 r 0 command detected at clock cycle - 1 triggers a write back operation for array 1 ( a 1 b 9 ). the a 1 r 3 command detected at clock cycle 1 triggers the write back operation for array 0 ( a 0 b 0 ). the np command detected at clock cycle 2 also triggers a write back operation for array 0 ( a 0 b 7 ). then , the a 0 r 5 command detected at clock cycle 3 triggers the write back operation for the array 1 ( a 1 b 3 ). finally , fig8 illustrates a schematic of a exemplary dram cell structure 800 embodying the method illustrated in fig5 - 7 . the structure 800 includes a cell 802 , a bl equalizer ( eq ) 804 , a sense amplifier ( sa ) 806 , and write drivers ( wd ) 808 . nmos multiplexers ( mux ) 810 are also used for coupling between a bl pair to an sl pair for the destructive read pipeline operation . when a read or write mode is detected , the wordline ( wl ) goes high . this , again , results in the development of a signal on the bl pair . the wl is then deactivated , and equalizer ( eq ) turns on simultaneously and immediately after the signal has been developed on the bl pair to recharge the bitlines . in this signal development phase , a pulsed signal re periodically turns on the muxs , coupling the bl pair to the sl pair . the signal transfer between bl pair to sl pair is fast , as the sl capacitance is very small . when the pulsed signal re goes low , the sa 806 starts the sl sensing . a direct sensing scheme is preferably used ; however , other sensing schemes are contemplated . ( additional information on sensing schemes may be found in “ a 17 ns , 4 mb cmos dram ”, takeshi nagai , et . al ., ieee journal of solid - state circuits , vol . 26 , no . 11 , pp . 1538 - 1543 , november 1991 , incorporated herein by reference .) the sensing results are transferred to sram through a hierarchical data line ( mdq ) 812 , preferably arranged over the dram arrays . ( additional information on hierarchical data lines may be found in “ fault - tolerant designs for 256 mb dram ”, toshiaki kirihata , et . al ., ieee journal of solid - state circuits , vol . 31 , no . 4 , pp . 558 - 566 , april 1996 , incorporated herein by reference .) for a signal write back operation , the wl goes high . simultaneously , the signal write back ( wrtback ) goes high , forcing the bl and bl bar go high and low , respectively , ( or low and high ) depending on the mdq data pattern . because all the bls in a page are forced by the write drivers 808 avoiding a data bit destruction due to the bl - bl bar coupling effect , there is no late write penalty . the bl swing is halved from the conventional write full bl voltage swing , further improving the write back speed . the wl is deactivated , and equalizer ( eq ) turns on immediately after the signal has been written back to the cell . the embodiment of fig8 assumes a single data rate synchronous dq interface , but the invention is not limited in this configuration . the protocol may also include a double data rate protocol for the interface , or may include a burst read and write operation . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
the invention is now described with reference to the procedure followed in the transfer of items of electrical apparatus in the forms of broadcast data receivers and the preinstallation tests and procedures required to be performed on this type of apparatus . for example , for broadcast data receivers pre - installation tests can include or comprise software downloads and in this case the goal is not to test the items but to provide on the item necessary data such as headend and authorisation services and other services which may be peculiar to a specific area of operation and therefore cannot be included at a centralised manufacturing location which may even be in another country . thus the preinstallation procedures can effectively allow the items of electrical apparatus to be “ customized ” for subsequent operation in a specific area , typically the area around that particular storage location . thus , when the items are shipped from the manufacturing facility to a storage location , which may be that of a company or supply customer for whom the items of apparatus have been manufactured , the items are preinstalled or staged . in this example , the process includes serially downloading all the services to be provided by that company to their end customers via the item of apparatus . other services may include the provision of a security feature by allocating a unique security code ; the uploading of each item into a billing system and loading it on to a particular service provider &# 39 ; s headend database thereby ensuring that data can subsequently be received from the headend or data transmitter . once this is performed each item is delivered and installed by the installer at end user &# 39 ; s premises . while the invention is now described with reference to the broadcast data receivers as the items of apparatus it should be clear that the invention is useful and the application applies to the packaging and transport procedures of any form of electrical apparatus which requires pre - installation checks and procedures to be performed prior to the actual installation of the same . with reference to the subsequent figures the packaging used in this embodiment of the invention comprises plastic bags 2 , one for each item of apparatus in the package , a cardboard sleeve 4 and a housing 6 typically also made of card . referring firstly to fig1 a - i the procedure followed at the location of manufacture is shown . each of the items of electrical apparatus 10 is placed into a plastic bag 2 along with any other material , such as instruction and / or installation manuals , power cables 12 . the item and bag is then placed in a designated orientation into the sleeve 4 as shown in fig1 d which serves to locate the item in position and also prevent the other materials 12 from exiting the bag via flaps 15 shown in fig1 g and becoming mislaid during transit . the sleeve with the item therein is then placed is a designated orientation in the housing 6 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 h and i the housing 6 is provided with a series of apertures 20 , each located with respect to a known location of an item of electrical apparatus to allow the product information codes to be viewed and / or connections to be made as herein described . as the sleeves are provided for each item , when the same are all placed in the housing the position of each item of apparatus with respect to the sleeve and hence with respect to the housing can be determined with a considerable degree of accuracy . each sleeve also includes apertures positioned as required so as to ensure that access can be gained to required components of the item of apparatus to allow the preinstallation tests and checks to be performed . with the items all packaged as described , in this case in two columns of four items , the package is complete and can then be shipped from the manufacturing facility to a storage location . at the storage location no action need be taken until the items are due to be forwarded to various locations for installation and use . before this however there is a need for access to be gained to the items to allow the staging preinstallation checks and procedures to be carried out on each of the items . in accordance with the invention , the items need not be removed from the housing or sleeve . referring now to fig2 a and 2b there is a need to gain access to the front panel of the item and in particular to a visual display component , typically a 7 segment led display , of each item of apparatus . in accordance with the invention , on the wall of the housing there are provided selectively removable portions 16 , 16 ′ as in this case the items of apparatus are positioned two abreast . as the position of the items of apparatus are known and defined in the housing , so the position , shape and size of the removable portions 16 , 16 ′ can be defined and fig2 a illustrates with one of the portions 16 removed to reveal the displays 18 of each of the items 10 in a first column and the subsequent removal of the portion 16 ′ will form another aperture through which another series of displays can be viewed . as explained previously , each item is placed in a plastic bag , however as the bag is formed of clear material , there is no need to remove the same as the visual displays can be easily viewed through the same . subsequent to this , each item of apparatus can be individually identified by reading bar code data through an aperture 20 provided at the rear wall of the housing as shown in fig2 b , again each aperture positioned with respect to a particular item of apparatus in the housing . in one embodiment these apertures 20 can be provided in an exposed form at all times or again may be formed by the removal of a series of selectively removable portions . it is also shown in fig2 b how further apertures can be performed on the rear wall by the provision of selectively removable portions , and this figure shows the apertures formed when the same have been removed . to perform the preinstallation checks and procedures a power supply cable 24 and data network cable 26 is connected through the aperture 20 for each item of apparatus . the preinstallation , also referred to as staging , and any other procedures can be performed with reference to the display which is exposed for each item . when completed , the power and data network cables can be removed and the housing forwarded for subsequent delivery of the items . it will thus be appreciated that the provision of the package with the removable portions allows the integrity and risk of damage to the items of apparatus to be maintained as previously but also allows testing and staging of the items to be performed without the need to unpack the items prior to the delivery at the premises where the same are to be installed . alternatively , each item with sleeve can be removed from the housing and then provided to be delivered at the location for installation with the sleeve protecting the same . in some embodiments the storage locations may prefer to place the items in racks for the preinstallation checks and procedures and while , in accordance with the invention , this is not necessary as the tests and procedures can be performed with the items and sleeves in the housing , the use of racks is still improved with this invention as the items need not be removed from the sleeve for checking but rather can be kept in the sleeves , thereby continuing to protect the item . a further feature which is preferred is that one of the checks includes a visual check through an aperture in the housing and aperture provided in the sleeve for each item , to ensure that the manual and any other material such as power cable , remote control etc , are present within the bag with the electrical apparatus . conventionally this visual check would not have been possible without removing the packaging for each item and then repacking the same . while the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularly , it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure . it is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification , but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims , including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled . | 1 |
referring first to fig1 a conventional post - run tubing gas sampling probe is shown . this probe is inserted into the ground by a &# 34 ; direct push &# 34 ; technique which involves the use of a hydraulically powered percussion machine to drive the tool into the ground without having to remove soil and make a path for the tool . the probe tool 5 comprises a point 7 , which may be of the retractable or expendable type . attached to the point 7 is a slotted hollow tube 9 that has a plurality of vents or apertures through which gases emanating from the adjacent soil 10 may enter the hollow interior of the tube . a gas - conducting adapter 12 interconnects the hollow tube 9 with a rigid tubular driving shaft 14 . in some cases , depending upon the character of the soil , the hollow tube 9 may be eliminated and the point 7 may be attached directly to the adapter 12 which would , in that case , be provided with vents , apertures , or be opened at the bottom to receive soil gases into the interior of the adapter . the driving shaft is approximately the same length as the anticipated earth depth of the probe point 7 when it is fully inserted , say ten feet , for example . it is the driving shaft that conducts the hydraulic driving force to position the probe below the surface of the soil being tested . in some cases it is desirable to connect the point 7 directly to the adapter 12 . in such a case , after reaching the desired probe depth , the driving shaft 14 is retracted several inches to separate the point 7 from the adapter 12 , creating a vertical tunnel in the soil between the probe point 7 and the vented bottom of the adapter ., through which soil gases may flow to enter the adapter 12 . the soil gases that enter the interior of the adapter 12 are conducted to a collecting and concentrating device 25 , located at the surface , through a flexible tube 18 . after the probe tool 5 is positioned at the chosen depth , the lower end of the tube 18 is attached to a nipple 16 at the top end of , and comprising part of , a hollow fitting 17 . the fitting contains , at its lower end , a threaded nipple 19 , adapted to be screwed into a mating threaded connection disposed in the top end of the adapter 12 . the tubing 18 and the attached fitting 17 are placed into the interior of the driving shaft 14 and lowered down to the probe tool &# 39 ; s adapter 12 where the threaded nipple 19 is screwed into the threaded connection in the adapter . an &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring seal 21 , located between the top shoulder of the adapter 12 and an abutment on the underside of the fitting 17 , prevents sample contamination from up - hole , and assures that the sample is taken from the desired depth through the gas admitting orifices in the probe tool . referring to fig3 the tubing 18 is seen to emerge from the top end of the driving shaft 14 at a position above the ground and is connected to a vacuum / volume type of pump 23 that acts to draw the soil gases into the probe tool 5 and upwardly through the tubing 18 . intermediate the point of emergence of the tubing 18 from the driving shaft 14 and the tubing &# 39 ; s connection to the vacuum / volume pump 23 , a gas collector and concentrator 25 is inserted in series with the tubing so as to comprise a part of the gas flow path from the probe 5 to the pump 23 . the gas collector preferably comprises a glass tube 27 although other suitable tubular materials may serve the purpose . as seen in fig2 the glass tube 27 houses a plurality of different granular materials packed in series within the tube 27 , each of which acts as a molecular sieve for the different gases which may be of interest in determining the characteristics of a hydrocarbon deposit possibly positioned below the location at which the probe tool 5 was driven into the ground . a molecular sieve is a material , such as , for example , a resin whose surface pores are of such size as to admit the molecules of a certain gas which are then trapped within the resin until released by heating the resin . by appropriate selection of the resin , a particular gas may be trapped . as an example of a packed gas collector tube , reference is again made to fig2 . gas permeable glass fritts 30 and 31 act as end retainers to keep the molecular sieves within the tube 27 . proceeding in the direction of gas flow from the probe tool 7 , the first packing is a carbotrap 32 for filtering the larger molecules from the sample gas stream . next in the sequence is a carbosphere 33 , acting as a carbon molecular sieve to trap smaller molecular weight hydrocarbons . in gas flow order , the next packings are various synthetic zeolites , or other gas trapping substances , 34 , 35 and 36 for retraining the smallest hydrocarbons and other gases . a gas permeable barrier 38 , such as glass wool , separates each of the packings . the packings of the tube 27 can be altered to fit the analytical goals of the project , although the packings described above have proved effective in an environment where oil and gas can both occur . if the exploration were for natural gas or helium , the combination of packings might be altered to provide diffusion into the unit cell or crystal lattice of the packing as the trapping method , rather than the pore size of the packing material . in operation a specific sampling tool and driving shaft is chosen for the probing location , based on soil conditions and the desired depth of the probe . the sampling probe tool 5 is screwed onto the leading end of a one inch diameter hollow steel driving shaft which is advanced into the soil profile using a hydraulic hammer . the down - hole tools including the probe tool , the driving shaft and the hydraulic hammer are conventional pieces of prior art equipment . when the desired depth is reached ( 7 - 10 feet normally or soil - bedrock interface ) one end of a polyethylene tube 18 is attached to the adapter 12 through the use of the threaded fitting , as explained above . the tubing 18 is purged 1 / 4 liter to remove atmospheric gas via the vacuum / volume pump 23 and it is discarded to the atmosphere . the gas collector 25 is inserted into the gas conducting tubing 18 between the upper end of the driving shaft 14 and the vacuum / volume pump 23 . one liter ( or any chosen sample volume ) is pulled through the packed gas collector tube 27 . the light hydrocarbons , such as methane , ethane , propane , butane , pentane , hexane , other hydrocarbons and their isomers , helium and other rare earth gases that may be present in the soil gas sample , are &# 34 ; filtered &# 34 ; out of the soil gas and trapped in the various packings that are contained in the gas sample collector tube 27 . at some point , the tube packings can hold no more of the gases being collected and &# 34 ; break - through &# 34 ;, or saturation will occur . a better sample can be achieved if break - through does not occur . if a greater sample is desired , two or more gas sample collecting tubes can be placed in series in the tubing line 18 to filter more of the desired gases from a soil gas sample . the collector tube 27 and the packed filtering materials therein act to concentrate the light hydrocarbons found in the soil gas sample . the light hydrocarbons can be concentrated 2 , 5 , 10 , 100 or 1000 times the amount that could be collected by ordinary syringe or cartridge methods of soil gas collection for a traditional analysis on a gas chromatograph . the vacuum / volume pump 23 is shut off after sampling is complete and the gas sample collector 25 , including the collector tube 27 , is disconnected from the tubing line 18 after the line pressure returns to ambient atmospheric pressure . the gas collector and concentrating tube 27 is then capped and taken to the lab for thermal desorption . referring now to fig4 the collection tube 27 is placed in - line in a thermal desorber heater 51 . gases trapped in the &# 34 ; filter &# 34 ; or molecular sieve , along with a carrying gas , such as nitrogen , are directed into a gas chromatograph 54 . the head of the gas chromatograph 56 is cooled using liquid co2 to well below freezing by a cryofocusor and other standard cryo - techniques used in gas chromatography . the hydrocarbon gases retrieved from the molecular sieves pass through the gas chromatograph column 58 and are separated during a 10 - 20 minute sample run time and plotted on a strip chart recorder 60 . the gases are identified and concentrations are determined using various detectors , integrators , and data processors and recorders that are common to all modem gas chromatographic work stations . | 6 |
an embodiment of a video tape recorder having a built - in camera according to the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the attached drawings . referring to fig1 through fig3 the video tape recorder having a built - in camera according to this embodiment is formed of a main body 1 and a hand grip 2 which are separable . casings or housings 3 and 4 of the main body 1 and the hand grip 2 are all made of synthetic resin . the main body housing 3 is formed substantially as a rectangular solid shape and also the hand grip housing 4 is formed substantially as a rectangular solid shape . in this case , however , the hand grip housing 4 is curved from its upper wall 4c through its right side wall 4f to its lower wall 4d so as to fit the palm of the right hand of a user . a television ( tv ) camera section 5 and a video tape recorder ( vtr ) section 6 are incorporated in the main body housing 3 , respectively . further , a lens window frame 47 is fixed to a lens window opening 8 of a rectangular shape formed through the upper portion of a front wall 3a of the main body housing 3 . an objective lens 7 of the tv camera section 5 faces to the outside through the window frame 47 attached to the lens window opening 8 . a dust - proof cover 9 is attached to the rear side of the front wall 3a through appropriate attaching means so as to be slidable in the vertical direction between the front wall 3a and this window frame 47 . the upper end edge of this dust - proof cover 9 protrudes slightly beyond the window opening 8 of the front wall 3a and thereby forms a knob 10 of the dust - proof cover 9 . the cover 9 can be maintained in a ratchet detent fashion so that it will be held in an open state as shown in fig1 or in the closed state as shown in fig2 . a lid 11 having the same configuration and shape as a part of the main body housing 3 is attached to the main body housing 3 from its upper wall 3c to its left side wall 3e . the lid 11 is made freely rotatable relative to the main body housing 3 with its lower edge as a hinge . when the lid 11 is set in the opened state , a video tape cassette ( not shown ) is detachably loaded on a cassette compartment portion ( not shown ) of the vtr section 6 . in the hand grip section 2 , an optical type view finder 12 is incorporated in the upper portion of the hand grip housing 4 . an objective lens 13 of the optical view finder 12 faces forwardly through a window opening 14 that is formed through the upper portion of the front wall 4a . to the upper end of a rear wall 4b of the hand grip housing 4 , there is attached a so - called eye cup 15 made of resilient material . in this case , this optical type view finder 12 is completely independent of the optical system of the objective lens 7 of the television camera section 5 . a rechargeable battery 16 is incorporated within the hand grip housing 4 so as to be freely replaceable . an opening 17 is formed through the front wall 4a of the hand grip housing 4 to permit replacement of rechargeable battery 16 . when the rechargeable battery is taken out through the opening 17 , the opening 17 may be closed by a lid 18 ( see fig2 ). when the rechargeable battery 16 is inserted into the hand grip housing 4 through the opening 17 , the lid 18 is opened with the tip end of the rechargeable battery 16 and pushed back inside . when the rechargeable battery 16 is taken out of the hand grip housing 4 , the lid 18 automatically closes the opening 17 . fig2 illustrates the lid 18 in the midst of its rising and falling movement . further , a strap 19 is attached to the hand grip housing 4 in opposing relation to the right side wall 4f . the user can hold the hand grip housing 4 with his right hand , which in turn is held between the strap 19 and the hand grip housing 4 . the right side wall 3f of the main body housing 3 and the left side wall 4e of the hand grip housing 4 are formed as coupled side walls which are secured to each other . on these walls 3f and 4e there are provided coupling means , respectively . this will be described with reference to fig4 and 5 . referring to fig4 and 5 , hooks 20 each being of an l - shape are provided on the right side wall 3f of the main body housing 3 at a plurality of places ( four places in the illustrated example ), each of the hooks 20 facing , or opening the front side of the main body housing 30 . on the other hand , through the left side wall 4e of hand grip housing 4 , there are formed four recess portions 21 in opposing relation to the above - mentioned four hooks 20 . further , in association with these recess portions 21 , there are respectively formed engaging recesses 22 which are extended to the front side of the hand grip housing 4 within the same . when the respective hooks 20 of the main body housing 3 are engaged with the respective concave portions 21 of the hand grip housing 4 , the right side wall 3f of the main body housing 3 and the left side wall 4e of the hand grip housing 4 are closely contacted with each other . under this state , if the main body housing 3 is slid forward relative to the hand grip housing 4 , the tip ends of the respective hooks 20 are inserted into the engaging recesses 22 formed within the respective portions 21 and the main body housing 3 and the hand grip housing 4 are coupled to each other , namely , the main body 1 and the hand grip 2 are coupled with each other . in order to lock the main body 1 and the hand grip 2 in the coupled state locking means are provided . as shown in fig3 and 6 , a lever 23 which is slidable in the right and left direction is attached to the rear wall 4b of the hand grip housing 4 . as shown in fig6 this lever 23 is slidably biased to the side of the main body housing 3 by a spring 24 and the tip end of an engaging piece member 25 connected to the lever 23 projects into the concave portion 21 to prevent removal of the hook . during the coupling of the main body housing 3 with the hand grip housing 4 , when the hooks 20 are entered into the recess portions 21 , the engaging piece member 25 is moved backward against the biasing force of the spring 24 . when , as shown in fig6 the hooks 20 are once entered into the engaging recess portions 22 , the engaging piece member 25 is positioned in the recess portion 21 and thereby its associated hook 20 is locked . it is sufficient that such locking means 26 is provided within at least one recess portion 21 . in the condition shown in fig6 when the lever 23 is slid in the opposite direction to the main body housing 3 against the biasing force of the spring 24 , the main body housing 3 can be moved backward relative to the hand grip housing 4 , and the main body housing 3 and the hand grip housing 4 can be separated from each other . on the connection side wall , that is , right side wall 3f of the main body housing 3 , there are formed a plurality of electrical contacts 27 made of a metal plate ( see fig4 ), while on the left side wall 4e of the hand grip housing 4 , there are formed a plurality of electrical contacts 28 made of conductive pins in opposing relation to the respective contacts 27 ( see fig5 ). accordingly , when the main body housing 3 and the hand grip housing 4 are connected with each other as set forth above , the respective contacts 27 and 28 are contacted electrically so that from the rechargeable battery 16 located within the hand grip housing 4 , a power current may flow to the television camera section 5 and the vtr section 6 in the main body housing 3 . further , a push switch or push button 30 for a trigger type switch is mounted on the rear wall 4b of the hand grip housing 4 . the signal generated by operating this push buttom 30 is supplied through one of the above - mentioned contacts 27 and 28 to the main body 1 . in pratice , when this push button 30 is pushed initially , the video tape recorder and so on are placed in the standby mode , while when it is pushed a second time , the magnetic tape is transported and the recording is carried out . as shown , an operational status indicating section 31 formed of a plurality of ( e . g ., four in the illustrated example ) light emission elements are mounted on the right side wall 3f of the main body housing 3 for cooperation with a light guide 34 formed on the member 4 at the position facing the indicating section 31 , upon assembly . specifically , in opposing relation to the respective light emission elements of the operational status indicating section 31 , there are formed a plurality of ( e . g ., four in the illustrated example ) window opening 32 and further a rectangular mask 33 is disposed at the focusing position within the optical system of the optical type view finder 12 ( see fig3 ). then , light giude tubes 35 , each made of plastic materials or glass fibers are located between the four corners of the mask 33 and the above - mentioned window openings 32 . in other words , one end of each of the light guide tubes 33 is engaged into the window openings 32 and hence the end faces thereof are directly opposed to the operational status indicating section 31 of the main body housing 3 , while the other end of each of the light guide tubes 35 is engaged into the window openings which are formed through the four corners of the mask 33 . fig7 shows and example of a picture that is viewed by the user through the optical type view finder 12 . referring to fig7 the end faces of the respective light guide tubes 35 are placed outside a frame 36 of a visual field . accordingly , when the light emission elements such as leds and the like constituting the optical type operational status indication section 31 are lit in response to the respective operational status of the tv camera section 5 and the vtr section 6 within the main body 1 , such signal is indicated within the optical type view finder 12 . an example of the operational status indication will be described with reference to fig7 in which respective operational status are designated particularly by reference numerals a to d . the end face a of the light guide tube is lit when the color temperature is low such as when a picture is taken in the room and so on . in this case , it is sufficient that a color filter within the optical system of the tv camera section 5 in the main body 1 is changed to proper filter . a switching lever 37 shown in fig2 is provided for such switching and this switching lever 37 is slidably moved up and down . when the end face b is lit , this indicates that the video tape recorder and so on are in standby mode . that is , this end face b is lit by pushing the above - mentioned push button 30 once . when this push button 30 is pushed once more , the end face b becomes unlighted and the end face c is lit to indicate that the video tape recorder and so on are set in the operation mode ( in the recording mode ). the end face d indicates a status in which the amount of light is in sufficient . in this case , the lack of light amount can be made up for by the use of lighting equipment . since means for making the respective light emission elements of the operational status indicating section 31 become lighted , to thereby indicate the above - mentioned operational status of the tv camera section 5 and the vtr section 6 within the main body 1 , is well known in the prior art , the detailed explanation therefor will not be made . alternatively , it is , of course , possible to employ light emission elements of different colors . the tv camera section 5 in the main body 1 may switchably take three positions , namely : wide angle lens mode , standard lens mode , and telephoto lens mode , by moving the objective lens back and forth . as shown in fig8 into a helical groove 39 formed on the outer peripheral surface of a cylinder 38 of the objective lens 7 , there is engaged a protrusion ( not shown ) that extends from the inner surface of a fixed cylinder ( not shown ) which surrounds the cylinder 38 and which guides the same back and forth therealong . on the other hand , as shown in fig2 a focus switching lever 40 , which is slidable in the up and down direction , is located at the front portion of the left side wall 3e of the main body housing 3 . further , as shown in fig8 a part of a connection plate 41 is attached to the rear wall of this switching lever 40 and is elongated to the front of the cylinder 38 to form an elongated portion 42 and a protrusion 44 extending from the front surface of the cylinder 38 is engaged with a cut - away or recess 43 formed through this elongated portion 42 , whereby when the switching lever 40 is switchably slid to the upper , neutral or lower positions , the cylinder 38 is moved back and forth and thereby the optical system of the tv camera section 5 is placed in the so - called telephoto len modes , the standard lens mode and the wide angle lens mode , sequentially . further , as fig8 shows , a link 45 is located under the cylinder 38 and this link 45 is pivoted through a shaft 46 to the rear wall of the window frame 47 shown in ( fig1 ) that is engaged with the rear portion of the window opening 8 in the main body housing 3 so as to be moved in a seesaw - like fashion . one end of this link 45 is bent to form a bent portion 45c and this bent portion 45c is loosely engaged into a through - hole 42a that is formed through the elongated portion 42 of the connection plate 41 . when the switching lever 40 is placed in the neutral ( standard ) position , the link 45 is placed substantially in the horizontal state as shown by the solid line in fig8 . on the othe hand , as shown in fig8 the dust - proof cover 9 is provided at its left and right portions of the lower end with abutting portions 48a and 48b . when the dust - proof cover 9 is slid upward to shield the front portion of the objective lens 7 as shown in fig2 both of these abutting portions 48a and 48b are respectively contacted with left and right lower ends 45a and 45b of the link 45 or opposed thereto with a small clearance . accordingly , when the switching lever 40 is slid upward from the normal ( neutral ) position , the objective lens 7 is placed in the wide angle lens mode and the link 45 is inclined as shown by a two - dot chain line in fig8 . under this state , if the dust - proof cover 9 is closed , the abutting portion 48a is abutted against the lower end 45a of the link 45 to thereby rotate the link 45 substantially to the horizontal position as shown by the solid line in fig8 . thus , connection plate 41 , or the switching lever 40 is returned to the neutral position , and hence the objective lens 7 is returned to the normal position . further , when the dust - proof cover 9 is opened , if the switching lever 40 is slid downward , the link 45 is inclined in the direction opposite to the above mentioned direction and the objective lens 7 is placed in the telephoto lens mode . if under this state the dust - proof cover 9 is closed , the abutting portion 48b is abutted against the lower end 45b of the link 45 and thereby this link 45 is returned substantially to the horizontal state . in other words , the switching lever 40 is returned to the neutral position . in this case , it may be possible that the lower end edge of the elongated portion 42 of the connection plate 41 is pushed upward by the abutting portion 48b . as described above , when in the non - use mode the dust - proof cover 9 is closed , the optical system of the tv camera section 5 is placed in the standard lens mode so that in a following shooting mode , the picture will be taken in the normal mode so long as the switching lever 40 is not operated . within the main body housing 3 , a cover opening state detection switch 50 is provided under the dust - proof cover 9 . when the dust - proof cover 9 is opened , this switch 50 is switched on , by way of example . this switch 50 is connected in series to other switches 51a , 51b , 51c , . . . 51n , as shown in fig9 . these switches 51a , 51b , . . . are for example , a tape mis - erase prevention detecting switch , a switch operable by the push button 30 mentioned before , and other switches . a dc power source terminal 52 is grounded through a series circuit of a resistor 53 and the above mentioned respective switches 50 , 51a , 51b . . . 51n , and a juction 54 between the series circuit of the respective switches and the resistor 53 is connected to a control terminal 56 of a micro - computor 55 . this micro - computer 55 is used to control various operational statuses of the tv camera section 5 and the vtr section 6 and is not operable during a period in which the dc potential ( voltage ) is applied to its control temrinal 56 . accordingly , if all the switches are turned on , or all the recording conditions are satisfied , the control terminal 56 of the computer 55 is made as a ground potential so that the micro - computer 55 is placed in the operable state . according to the present invention as described above , since the video tape recorder having a built - in camera the main body 1 and the hand grip portion 2 , which is generally located at the side wall of this main body 1 , are formed to be detachable relative to each other , under this detachable state , the overall thickness of the units becomes about one - half that of the coupled state . accordingly , if the main body 1 and the hand grip portion 2 are placed edge - to - edge on the same plane , they can be kept in a case such as the attache case that is relatively thin . hence , the video tape recorder having a built - in camera of the invention has an advantage that during non - use , it can be carried by the user very conveniently as a portable type . of coures , upon use , if the main body 1 and the hand grip portion 2 are connected with each other at their connection surfaces , they can be coupled with each other mechanically . then , when the current is supplied from the rechargeable battery 16 to the main body 1 , the shooting , or the recording can be carried on . the above description is given on a single preferred embodiment of the invention but it will be apparent that many modifications and variations could be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the novel concepts of the invention so that the scope of the invention should be determined by that of the appended claims only . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 , a typical power lock system will be described . a sliding door 10 has an outside handle 11 and an inside handle 12 for manually opening sliding door 10 when it is not locked by a latch system 13 . latch system 13 is electronically controlled by a lock controller 14 which may reside in a smart junction box ( sjb ) of the vehicle electrical system . an sjb may integrate electronic controls of various vehicle systems and options . alternatively , the lock control function could be integrated in any other body electronic module or in a stand alone module . a human - machine interface for controlling various door functions may include a button panel 15 ( e . g ., mounted to a driver &# 39 ; s door ) having a power lock toggle switch 16 , a child lock switch 17 , and a power sliding - door switch 18 which are all coupled to lock controller 14 . power lock toggle switch 16 has an unlock legend 20 and a lock legend 21 that may be pressed in order to send a corresponding unlock or lock signal to lock controller 14 . child lock switch 17 may preferably be a push - push switch associated with an indicator light 22 for showing whether the child lock feature is activated or deactivated . power sliding - door switch 18 has a closed legend 23 and an open legend 24 that are pressed in order to generate signals for powered opening or closing of the sliding door . in a typical power lock system , the state of the power lock determines whether door 10 can be opened using outside handle 11 . more specifically , an unlock or lock signal from toggle switch 16 ( or other control switches in the vehicle or on a wireless remote key fob ), cause lock controller 14 to configure latch system 13 in either 1 ) an outside locked state for preventing the sliding door from being moved from the closed position using outside handle 11 or 2 ) an outside unlock state which enables the sliding door to be moved from the closed position using outside handle 11 . a power child lock function is comprised of an inside locked state or an inside unlocked state . to turn on the power child lock function , switch 17 is depressed , causing indicator 22 to illuminate and lock controller 14 to configure latch system 13 to the inside locked state which prevents the sliding door from being moved from the closed position using interior handle 12 . by pressing switch 17 again , the inside unlocked state is selected which enables the sliding door to be moved from the closed position using interior handle 12 . in a typical north american rear door system , the latch may be in a locked state but the latch can be mechanically unlocked from the inside of the rear door allowing the interior handle to unlatch and open the door from the inside . the child lock function works similar to the double lock system as generally used in europe . a double lock state is set by sending a lock command to a latch that is already single locked . in a single locked state , the latch can be mechanically unlocked from the inside of the rear door allowing the inside handle to open the door . in the double locked state , the mechanical unlocking function of the inside handle is disabled just as it is in the child lock system employed in north america . as used herein , “ child lock ” refers to either system . in the present invention , lock controller 14 preferably includes a memory for storing the status of the power lock state and the child lock state . by preserving the states most recently chosen by the vehicle occupants , the present invention can alter the states temporarily and then restore them . fig2 shows a vehicle 30 having a power - driven sliding door system that may be present in a vehicle using the invention . a sliding door 31 has a latch system 32 , an outside door handle 33 , and an inside door handle 34 . a power - drive system 35 is coupled with sliding door 31 for driving the sliding door 31 open and closed . a controller 36 is coupled to latch system 32 and power - driver 35 for coordinating system operation . sliding door 31 can be opened in a direction shown by arrow 37 toward a refueling unit 40 mounted to the same side of vehicle 30 . a fuel door 41 has opened and closed positions for selectably covering a gas gap and filler neck ( not shown ). a fuel door lock 42 may be remotely controlled ( e . g ., by controller 36 ) to selectably lock and unlock fuel door 41 in its closed position . a door ajar sensor 43 provides a signal to controller 36 indicating whether fuel door 41 is in the open position or the closed position . when fuel door 41 is in an open position as shown in fig2 , sliding door 31 should not be capable of being opened to a position that collides with fuel door 41 either by powered driving by driver 35 or by manual opening using handles 33 or 34 . fig3 shows the electrical components and signals of an embodiment of the invention in greater detail . a lock controller is incorporated within a body electronic module ( bem ) 45 and provides lock / unlock commands and child lock on / off commands to a latch system 46 of the sliding door on the side with the fuel door . latch system 46 may optionally provide a door ajar signal to lock controller 45 indicating when the sliding door is open . a sliding - door drive system 47 receives open and close commands from controller 45 . a fuel door sensor 48 provides a fuel door ajar signal to controller 45 , and a fuel door lock system 49 receives lock and unlock commands from controller 45 . a human - machine interface ( hmi ) 50 and / or a remote fob 51 provide operator signals to controller 45 , preferably including manual power lock and unlock commands and a power child lock setting . in addition , a manual fuel door lock control in hmi 50 or fob 51 can control the unlocking of fuel door power lock system 49 when the user desires to initiate the refueling of the vehicle . controller 45 may also be coupled to an engine control unit ( ecu ) 52 which is connected to a vehicle start switch 53 for reasons discussed below . using the electrical signals and subsystems shown in fig3 , the present invention provides a logic - based fuel door interlock system for preventing opening of the sliding door whenever it could collide with an open fuel door . the logic - based system avoids the added cost and disadvantages of a mechanical interlock . furthermore , it prevents not only powered opening of the sliding door , but manual opening as well . fig4 shows a first embodiment of the present invention wherein the customer stops at a gas station to fuel their vehicle in step 60 . in step 61 , the customer manually opens the fuel door ( after power unlocking the fuel door if so equipped ). upon opening , the fuel door activates a sensor switch that sends a corresponding signal to the electronic control module in step 62 . the electronic control module records the status ( i . e ., current lock states ) of the power lock and the power child lock for the sliding door that is adjacent to the fuel door . in order to ensure that the sliding door cannot be opened , the electronic control module power child locks and power locks the sliding adjacent to the fuel door in step 64 . this prevents manual opening of the sliding door from either the inside or the outside of the vehicle and prevents powered opening from any door control switches ( e . g ., incorporated in the door handles or toggle switches within the vehicle ). after the customer completes the fueling , the fuel door is closed in step 65 . in response to the closing of the fuel door , the electronic module changes the power child lock and power lock for the sliding door adjacent to the fuel door back to their original status in step 66 . a more detailed method is shown in fig5 . the customer stops at a gas station to fuel their vehicle in step 70 . a check is made in step 71 to determine whether the vehicle is stopped ( e . g ., by checking the transmission drive setting or checking if the speedometer indicates a speed below a predetermined value ). if the vehicle is not stopped , then the fuel door is not allowed to unlock in step 72 and a return is made to step 71 to wait for the vehicle to stop . when the vehicle is stopped , the fuel door can be unlocked electronically in step 73 using a fob or other hmi control device in the vehicle . in step 74 , the customer manually opens the fuel door in order to remove the gas cap and begins refueling the vehicle . upon opening of the fuel door , a fuel door sensor switch is activated and sends a signal to the electronic control module in step 75 . in this embodiment , a check is made in step 76 to determine whether the internal combustion engine is on ( i . e ., running ). if so , then the electronic control module sends an engine shutoff command in step 77 to the engine control unit in order to shut - off the engine during refueling . after the engine is shut off or if the engine was not on , the method proceeds to step 78 wherein the electronic control module records the states of the power lock and child lock for the sliding door adjacent to the fuel door . then the electronic control module power child locks and power locks the sliding door adjacent the fuel door in step 80 . the customer completes fueling and closes the fuel door in step 81 . a check is made in step 82 to determine whether the fuel door has closed . if not , the electronic module leaves the sliding door locked and prevents the engine from being started in step 83 . then , a return is made to step 82 to wait for the customer to close the fuel door . during the time that the fuel door remains ajar , a warning light or a message on an hmi will preferably indicate to the driver that the fuel door is open and the engine disabled . after the fuel door is closed , the electronic control module changes the power child lock state and the power lock state of the sliding door adjacent to the fuel door back to the original states in step 84 . the electronic control module then allows the engine to be started in step 85 ( e . g ., by sending a signal to the engine control unit to no longer disable engine starting ). in an alternative embodiment , when the vehicle includes a remote - controlled fuel door lock system it may be desirable to inhibit unlocking of the fuel door unless the sliding door is in its closed position so that it can be locked closed prior to allowing the fuel door to open . in yet another alternative , the act of causing the fuel door to unlock may trigger the interlock function , i . e ., without relying on the fuel door ajar sensor to signal the opening of the fuel door before the sliding door is locked . | 4 |
the device for needling a prebonded web 1 , which is represented in fig1 to 3 , substantially consists of a stitch base 2 and a needle board 3 disposed above the stitch base 2 , which needle board is reciprocatingly movable tranversely to the stitch base 2 , as is indicated by the arrow 4 . the needles of the needle board 3 are designated with 5 . the stitch base 2 has a convex curvature in a direction of web movement , and a tensile stress is applied onto the web 1 between a feed roller 6 and a discharge roller 7 , which for this purpose is driven at a larger peripheral speed than the feed roller 6 . as shown in fig2 the stitch base 2 consists of a base plate 8 with blades 9 extending tranversely to the direction of web movement , and having end faces defining a continuously curved enveloping surface to constitute a web support . the web 1 is therefore drawn over the blades 9 in the form of a traverse , and the wider edge blades 9a constitute a deflection guide with the effect that due to this deflection the web 1 lies flat against the stitch base 2 both in the inlet area and in the outlet area . as a result of the tensile stress acting on the web 1 between the feed roller 6 and the discharge roller 7 there is produced a pressure urging the web 1 against the blades 9 to the convex stitch base 2 , so that the occurring normal forces act against the resistance to a withdrawal of the needles 5 from the web 1 . despite these normal forces , in particular in the case of a high distribution density of the needles 5 , which impinge between the individual blades 9 in several needle rows , the web 1 may be lifted off the blades 9 above all in the middle portion of the stitch base 2 , which impairs the needling result , in particular when only comparatively small tensile stresses should be applied onto the web 1 . for this reason , a stripper blade 11 is associated with a middle blade 9b , which stripper blade prevents the web 1 from being lifted off the blades 9 and 9b , respectively , in the middle portion of the stitch base 2 , which would impair the needling result . stripper blades 11 may likewise be associated with the edge blades 9a , to ensure a particularly good guidance of the web in the needling area . these stripper blades 11 do , however , not prevent the desired high needle distribution density , because they do not protrude into the needle path of the needle rows between the individual blades 9 . the middle blade 9b of the stitch base 2 has a larger width like the edge blades 9a , so that the associated stripper blade 11 can be dimensioned large enough . moreover , the larger extension of the guiding gap between the stripper blades 11 and the associated blades 9a , 9b of the stitch base 2 involves a better guidance of the web in direction of web movement . the attachment of the stripper blades 11 can easily be effected by means of cheeks 12 , which are mounted vertically adjustable on the lateral end faces of the base plate 8 of the stitch base 2 . for this purpose , the fastening screws 13 extend through oblong holes 14 in the cheeks 12 , as this can be seen in particular from fig3 . the vertical adjustment itself is effected by means of adjusting screws 15 , which are supported on a bracket 16 associated with the base plate 8 . the stripper blades 11 themselves are fixed between the two lateral cheeks 12 on the end faces by means of screws 17 . the fixation of the stripper blades 11 is achieved by means of a locking pin 18 . to improve the web support in the immediate area of impingement of the needles 5 into the web 1 , there are provided supporting elements 19 between the blades 9 , as shown in fig4 which supporting elements bridge the space between the blades 9 , 9a and 9b and constitute an additional support for the web 1 . these supporting elements 19 , which for instance consist of an elastomer , may be pierced by the tips of the needles 5 with a resilient displacement of material and permit a very dense needle distribution , so that particularly advantageous needling conditions are obtained , all the more so as the needles 5 penetrating into the web 1 do not effect any additional tensile stresses acting on the web 1 . moreover , the supporting elements 19 contribute to an absorption of vibrations , which leads to a noticeable muffling of noises . to also reduce the influence of the tensile forces , which are exerted on the web 1 during the withdrawal of the needles 5 from the web 1 , on the distortion of the web 1 , which is in particular important in the case of a high distribution density of the needles 5 because of the then comparatively high total resistance to a withdrawal of the needles 5 from the web 1 , there are provided two groups of needles 5a and 5b with working portions offset in stitching direction . for this purpose , the barbs defining the respective working portion might by graduated with respect to each other with the same needle length . in accordance with the illustrated embodiment , however , there are provided two groups of needles 5a and 5b with different lengths , where the working portions with the barbs extend directly from the needle tip . the needles 5b are longer than the shorter needles 5a at least by the thickness of the web 1 to be needled . with this measure it is achieved that first the shorter and only then the longer needles 5a and 5b , respectively , are withdrawn from the web 1 . since above all the barbs provided for the entrainment of fibers upon impingement define the withdrawal resistance of the individual needles 5a , 5b , the barbs of the longer needles 5b that have penetrated deeper into the supporting elements 19 through the web 1 can only act on the web 1 when the barbs of the shorter needles 5a have already emerged from the web 1 at least in part . this means that in contrast to needles 5 of equal lengths provided with corresponding working portions the barbs of the shorter and the longer needles 5a and 5b are withdrawn from the web 1 one after the other , which due to the resulting reduction of the barbs acting on the web 1 at the same time necessarily leads to a reduction of the tensile stress acting on the web 1 in the sense of a lift - off from the stitch base 2 . it is , however , necessary that local agglomerations of needles 5a and 5b of uniform length are avoided , so that a largely uniform distribution both of the shorter needles 5a and of the longer needles 5b over the entire needle area of the needle board 3 is required . instead of the supporting elements 19 , which consist of a material to be pierced by the needle tips with a resilient displacement of material , for instance of an elastomer or a foam , the supporting elements 19 may also be formed of brush elements 20 as shown in fig5 where the bristle clusters 22 inserted in brush carriers 21 form the web support between the blades 9 without impeding the needle impingement , because the individual bristles aligned in stitching direction can laterally evade the tips of the needles 5 . | 3 |
referring to the accompanying drawings , fig1 shows a limited slip differential unit generally indicated by the reference character a1 embodying the present invention . this unit a1 generally comprises a differential which is indicated by a general reference numeral 1 and a rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly indicated by the general reference numeral 2 . the differential 1 comprises a driving member in the form of a rotary casing 10 rotatable about an axis , and two driven members in the form of two drive axles 15 and 16 extending in the opposite outward directions from the casing 10 generally along the axis which the casing 10 is rotatable about . a pinion carrier 11 is mounted in the casing 10 for rotation therewith and rotatably carriers pinions 12 . a pair of side gears 13 and 14 are splined to the pair of drive axles 15 and 16 . in order to restrain rotational speed differential between the drive axle 16 and the casing 10 , the rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly 2 is provided . this assembly 2 comprises a first rotary element in the form of a cam ring 30 which a casing cover 10a is formed with . the casing cover 10a is secured to the casing 10 in a conventional manner . the cam ring 30 is formed with rise and fall cam surfaces 31 as best seen in fig3 . surrounded by the cam ring 30 is a second rotary element in the form of a rotor 40 . the rotor 40 has a right end portion , as viewed in fig1 formed with the side gear 14 teeth , thus serving as a gear base for the side gear 14 , and a left end portion , as viewed in fig1 formed with a blind bore with an internal spline to receive the external spline formed on the drive axle 16 . when the rotational speed differential occurs between the differential casing 10 and drive axle 16 , a portion of the drive is transmitted via hydraulic means which is hereinafter described . the hydraulic means comprises the rise and fall cam surfaces 31 , six cylinders 42 located in the rotor 40 ( see fig3 ), six pistons 50 positioned in the cylinders 42 , respectively . each piston 50 has a seal ring 51 to define a pressure chamber 60 . the pistons 50 have spherically rounded tops 50a . the hydraulic means also comprises hydraulic fluid passage means . as best seen in fig3 the hydraulic fluid passage means includes three axial passages 71 , each having two radial passages 70 extending therefrom to two diametrically opposed pressure chambers 60 . the axial passages 71 extend inwardly of the rotor 40 from a radially extending end wall of an accumulator chamber 90 . however , fluid communication between the accumulator chamber 90 and the axial passages 71 are restricted at orifices 72 . the orifices 72 are defined by an orifice plate 73 ( see also fig2 ) positioned between a retainer 102 and the radially extending end wall of the accumulator chamber 90 . the radial and axial passages 70 and 71 and the accumulator chamber 90 cooperate to define a balance fluid circuit . communicating with one of the two diametrically opposed pressure chambers 60 which are fluidly interconnected by the radial passages 70 and the associated axial passage 71 is a one - way ball check valve 83 . each of the one - way ball check valves 83 has a radial passage 81 with one end opening to the pressure chamber 60 and an opposite end opening to a central axial passage 82 . with these one - way ball check valves 83 , discharge of hydraulic fluid from the associated pressure chambers 60 through the associated axial passages 81 is prevented although supply of hydraulic fluid into these pressure chambers 60 is allowed . the central axial passage 82 has one end opening to the accumulator chamber 90 and extends inwardly of the rotor 40 . this central axial passage 82 , three one - way ball check valves 83 , and the accumulator chamber 90 cooperate with each other to form a regulator hydraulic circuit 80 . the accumulator chamber 90 is defined between the retainer plate 102 and the accumulator piston 91 which is biased toward the retainer plate 102 by an accumulator spring 93 in the form of a dual spring assembly . the accumulator spring 93 is operatively disposed between the accumulator piston 91 and a spring retainer ring 92 fixed to the rotor 40 . in order to prevent the hydraulic pressure within the accumulator chamber 90 from excessively increasing , the accumulator piston 91 is formed with an axial sleeve 101 defining a drain passage , while the retainer 102 has an axially projecting rod 102a slidably fit in the sleeve 101 . the rod 102a has a seal ring engaging in a seal tight manner with the inner wall of the sleeve 101 . thus , the rod 102a , the seal ring thereon , and the sleeve 101 cooperate with each other to form a relief valve generally indicated by the reference numeral 100 . an increase in hydraulic pressure in the accumulator chamber 90 causes the accumulator piston 91 to displace to the right , as viewed in fig1 against the accumulator spring 93 . when the hydraulic pressure in the accumulator chamber exceeds a predetermined value , the sleeve 101 becomes out of engagement with the seal ring carried by the rod 102a , allowing a portion of hydraulic fluid to be discharged from the accumulator chamber 90 through the sleeve 101 . ( a ) in the case where there is no rotational speed differential : this takes place when a vehicle installed with the limited slip differential unit a1 travels straight on a dry road at a low or middle speed and thus there is no rotational speed differential between the road wheels coupled with the drive axles 15 and 16 . since there occurs no rotational speed differential between the cam ring 30 integral with the casing cover 10a and the rotor 40 , the pistons 50 do not reciprocate and thus there is no transmission of torque from the cam ring 30 directly to the rotor 40 . therefore , the drive from the engine is distributed equally between the drive axles 15 and 16 . however , even in the case where there is no rotational speed differential , when the vehicle travels straight on a highway at a high speed , high speed rotation of the rotator 40 causes the pistons 50 to be thrown outwardly due to centrifugal force into press contact with the rise and fall cam surfaces 31 . this results in transmission of torque from the cam ring 30 directly to the rotor 40 , thus limiting a slip occurring between the casing 10 and the drive axle 16 . when the vehicle passes through a rough terrain and there occurs rotational speed differential between the drive axles 15 and 16 , a rotational speed differential occurs between the cam ring 30 integral with the casing cover 10a and the rotor 40 . this rotational speed differential causes the pistons 50 to reciprocate since they slide on the rise and fall cam surfaces 31 . when the pistons 50 reciprocate , hydraulic fluid is discharged from the pressure chambers 60 on the discharge strokes of the associated pistons 50 to the accumulator chamber 90 under the flow restriction provided by the orifices 72 defined by the orifice plate 73 . this is accomplished by the radial passages 70 and the axial passages 71 . owing to the flow restriction provided by the orifices 72 , a pressure increase occurs in each of the pressure chambers 60 on the discharge strokes of the pistons 50 . this pressure increase urges the associated piston 50 into firm engagement with the rise and fall cam surfaces 31 . when a pressure drop occurs in pressure chamber 60 during its suction stroke , hydraulic fluid from the accumulator chamber 90 is supplied to the pressure chamber 60 . this is accomplished by the central axial bore 82 and the one - way ball check valves 80 . as a result , a portion of torque directly transmitted from the cam ring 30 to the rotor 40 increases as the rotational speed differential increases . thus , a differential slip is limited in response to the torque transmitted from the cam ring 30 to the rotor 40 . this torque is called a differential slip limiting torque δt ( delta t ). this differential slip limiting torque δt ( delta t ) which is transmitted from the cam ring 30 to the rotor 40 is determined by the algebraic sum of forces with which the pistons 50 are urged to engage with the cam ring 30 . each force is the product of the effective pressure acting area of each piston 50 and hydraulic pressure within the associated pressure chamber 60 . the hydraulic pressure within each of the pressure chambers 60 is determined by pressure drop created across the associated orifice 72 provided by the orifice plate 73 . the pressure drop becomes greater as the rotational speed differential δn ( delta n ) increases . thus , the greater the amount of the rotational speed differential δn ( delta n ), the greater will be the torque δt ( delta t ). the fully drawn curve in fig4 illustrates the variation characteristic of δt ( delta t ) against δn ( delta n ). as described before , the greater the vehicle speed v , the greater will be the torque δt c ( delta t c ). thus , the actual torque is the sum of δt ( delta t ) and δt c ( delta t ). the broken curve illustrates the variation characteristic of the actual torque which is variable with not only the rotational speed differential δn ( delta n ) but also vehicle speed v . since the hydraulic pressure within the accumulator chamber 90 is prevented from exceeding the predetermined value by discharging a portion of hydraulic fluid via the relief valve 100 , the maximum torque is limited at δt cmax . from the preceding description , it will be appreciated that since the hydraulic fluid is contained near the axis of rotation of the differential unit a1 , the influence of the centrifugal force on the hydraulic fluid is less as compared to the prior art . owing to the provision of the relief valve 100 , the force with which each of the pistons 50 engages with the cam ring 30 is prevented from increasing excessively . the hydraulic fluid discharged from the accumulator chamber 90 via the relief valve 100 flows radially outwardly , and the hydraulic fluid flows past the seal ring 51 of each of the pistons 50 on its suction stroke when a pressure drop occurs in the associated pressure chamber 60 . in order to facilitate this flow of hydraulic fluid , each of the seal rings 51 has an inwardly directed lip engaging with the cylindrical wall of the cylinder 42 . this lip serves as a one - way valve allowing this inwardly directed hydraulic fluid flow only . with this arrangement , the variation of the total amount of hydraulic fluid is minimized . since the accumulator chamber 90 is provided , a variation of volume of hydraulic fluid is compensated for . referring to fig5 a second embodiment according to the present invention is described . this second embodiment generally designated by the reference character a2 is different from the first embodiment a1 in that a rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly 2 transmits a torque between two drive axles 15 and 16 in response to a rotational speed differential between the drive axles 15 and 16 , whereas in the case of the first embodiment a1 , the rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly 2 transmits a torque from the differential casing 10 to the drive axle 16 in response to rotational speed differential between the casing 10 and the drive axle 16 . with the same rotational speed differential between the drive axles 15 and 16 , the rotational speed differential which the torque transmitting assembly 2 of the second embodiment a2 is subject to doubles the rotational speed differential which the torque transmitting assembly 2 of the first embodiment a1 is subject to . thus , this arrangement of torque transmitting assembly proposed by the second embodiment a2 provides a more effective differential slip limiting effect as compared to the arrangement of the first embodiment a1 . referring to fig5 as compared to fig1 it will be noted that the same reference numerals are used throughout these figures to designate same or similar parts . in fig5 a differential casing 10 with a casing cover 10a is rotatably supported by a housing 110 by means of bearings 111 and 112 . a ring gear 113 is fixed to the casing 10 by means of bolts . an input gear 114 meshes with the ring gear 113 . an axle drive shaft 15 extends inwardly of a casing 10 through a central opening which a pinion carrier 11 is formed with . a side gear 13 which is splined to the drive axle 15 extends through the central opening of the pinion carrier 11 and integral with a rotor 40 of a rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly 2 . the rotor 40 is surrounded by a cam ring 30 which another side gear 13 is formed with . a hub 30a splined to a drive axle 16 is bolted to the cam ring 30 , as shown . as a result , an input torque transmitted to the differential casing 10 via the pinion gear 14 and ring gear 113 is transmitted on one hand to the drive axle 15 via pinions 12 and side gear 13 , and on the other hand to the drive axle 16 via the pinions 12 , cam ring 30 , and splined hub 10a . a rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly 2 shown in fig5 is substantially the same as the rotational speed differential responsive type 2 shown in fig1 except that an accumulator spring 93 in the form of a belleville spring is used instead of the dual spring assembly 93 as used in fig1 a flow restrictor 72 is provided in each of axial passages 71 instead of the orifice plate 73 as used in fig1 and a pressure responsive type one - way check valve is used as a relief valve 100 as different from the volume responsive type valve as used in fig1 . as viewed in fig5 an upper half of the accumulator piston 91 and a lower half thereof show limits between which the accumulator piston 91 is movable . referring to fig6 through 10 , a third embodiment according to the present invention is described . throughout these figures , the same reference numerals as used in fig1 through 5 are used to designate similar parts to those shown in fig1 through 5 . referring to fig6 this third embodiment of a rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly , which is now generally designated by the reference character a3 , is used as a joint between a center propeller shaft connected to a front propeller shaft leading to a front drive axle assembly of a vehicle and a rear propeller shaft leading to a rear drive axle assembly . the rotational speed responsive type torque transmitting assembly a3 comprises a first rotary element in the form of a cam ring 30 which is rotatable with the center propeller shaft . the cam ring 30 is formed with rise and fall cam surfaces as best seen in fig8 . surrounded by the cam ring 30 is a second rotary element in the form of a rotor 40 which is rotatable with the rear propeller shaft . when a rotational speed differential occurs between the center propeller shaft and the rear propeller shaft , a portion of the drive is transmitted via hydraulic means which is hereinafter described . the hydraulic means comprises the rise and fall cam surfaces 31 , twelve cylinders 42 located in the rotor 40 ( see fig8 ), twelve pistons 50 positioned in the cylinders 42 , respectively . each piston 50 includes a piston 50b and a ball 50a carried by the piston 50b . each of the pistons 50b has a seal ring 51 to define a pressure chamber 60 . the hydraulic means also comprises hydraulic fluid passage means . referring to fig6 and 10 , the hydraulic fluid passage means includes radial passages 70 , each having a radial inward end opening to an accumulator chamber 90 and a radial outward end opening to the associated one of the pressure chamber 60 . each of these radial passages 70 is provided with an orifice device 72 near the radial outward end , as best seen in fig1 . with the provision of the orifice device 72 , fluid communication between the associated pressure chamber 60 and the accumulator chamber 90 is restricted . the hydraulic fluid passage means also includes radially extending regulator passages 80 , each having a radial inward end opening to the accumulator chamber 90 and a radial outward end opening to the associated one of the pressure chambers 60 . provided in each of the radially extending regulator passages 80 is a one - way check valve 83 , as best seen in fig1 . with these one - way check valves 83 , discharge of hydraulic fluid from the associated pressure chambers 60 through the associated radially extending regulator passages 80 is prevented , although supply of hydraulic fluid into these pressure chambers 60 through the associated radially extending regulator passages 80 is allowed . as shown in fig6 the accumulator chamber 90 is defined between a radially extending end wall of a cylindrical blind bore and an accumulator piston 91 . the accumulator piston 91 is biased by an accumulator spring 93 in the form of a belleville spring . this belleville spring 93 bears against a washer 94 fixed to the rotor by a spring retainer ring 92 and it also bears against the accumulator piston 91 . the rotor 40 is formed with an axial through bore having one end opening to the accumulator chamber 90 and thus defining a drain port 101 for the accumulator chamber 90 . the opposite end of the axial through bore is open to a clearance space 300 defined between a radially extending wall of the rotor 40 and a radially extending inner wall closing one end of the cam ring 30 . thus , a portion of hydraulic fluid discharged via the drain port 101 passes through this clearance space in radially outward directions into the cylinders 42 . the hydraulic fluid having entered the cylinders 42 will pass via the seal rings 51 inwardly into the pressure chambers during the suction strokes of the associated pistons 50 . as shown in fig6 an o - ring 302 is provided in the cylindrical inner wall defining the drain port 101 . the accumulator piston 90 has a valve plunger 304 inserted into the drain port 101 . the o - ring 302 , drain port 101 and valve plunger 304 cooperate with each other to form a pressure relief valve 100 . referring to fig6 and 7 , fig6 shows the position of parts when the valve plunger 304 is disengaged from the o - ring 302 to allow discharge of hydraulic fluid through the drain port 101 , while fig7 shows the position of parts when the valve plunger 304 engages with the o - ring 302 to prevent discharge of hydraulic fluid through the drain port 101 . as will be readily understood from the preceding description of the rotational speed differential responsive type torque transmitting assembly a3 , the accumulator piston 91 is urged to assume the position as illustrated in fig6 when the hydraulic pressure within the accumulator chamber 90 is about to exceed a predetermined value . then , a portion of hydraulic fluid is discharged from the accumulator chamber 90 through the drain port 101 , thus preventing the hydraulic pressure within the accumulator chamber 90 from exceeding the predetermined value . | 8 |
the present application will be described in further detail by way of embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings . now , referring to fig1 , there is shown a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a memory system based on a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device practiced an embodiment . a memory system 1 has at least one nonvolatile memory 2 ( in the present embodiment , one nonvolatile memory is used ), a controller 3 , and a host system 4 including a cpu . the nonvolatile memory 2 has one or more nonvolatile memory banks . the nonvolatile memory 2 is made up of a nand flash memory for example . the nonvolatile memory 2 may be one or more in quantity . user data , management information , and a map are stored in the nonvolatile memory 2 . an arrangement of these data and information in the nonvolatile memory 2 depends on a method in which the these data and information are managed . the controller 3 is arranged between the host system 4 and the nonvolatile memory 2 ; to be more specific , a volatile memory 31 of the controller 3 is connected to the nonvolatile memory 2 and a logic section 32 in the controller 3 is connected to the host system 4 via a host interface . thus , the volatile memory 31 and the logic section 32 are arranged in the controller 3 . the volatile memory 31 stores a map and a part or all of management information read from the nonvolatile memory 2 in an expanded manner . when data is rewritten , the controller 3 updates the information thereof in the volatile memory 31 and then writes the updated information to the nonvolatile memory 2 . it should be noted that the controller 3 may be incorporated in the host system 4 . in this case , the nonvolatile memory 2 is directly connected to the host system 4 . if the controller 3 is incorporated in the host system 4 , the logic section 32 may be software that operates on the cpu of the host system 4 . in this case , there occurs an advantage of eliminating the necessity of dedicated hardware . also , the volatile memory 31 may be shared by a volatile memory of the host system 4 . in this case , there occurs an advantage of saving the number of memories . thus configured , in the management of the nonvolatile memory 2 , such as a flash memory , by adding information indicative of relative “ old / new ” to each piece of layered management information , the memory system 1 can determine whether upper information correctly reflects lower information . further , updating the lower management information before writing user data allows the determination that the management information is correct as the whole system if the upper management information can correctly reflect the lower management information . referring to fig2 , there is shown a correlation between pieces of layered management information in the present embodiment . in the present embodiment , as shown in fig2 , a user data ud area is partitioned into two or more areas ar 1 through arm ( m = 4 in the example shown in fig2 ) and each of these areas is provided with management information cinf , such as a logical - physical conversion table . a map mp is also provided for the management of management information cinf . the address of the management information cinf on the nonvolatile memory 2 is recorded to the map mp beforehand and this map mp is stored in the nonvolatile memory 2 at a location easy to search for . this arrangement allows the quick locating of the map and the management information recorded with the address after each startup sequence . the partitioning of user data ud area may be made by any means , such as physical address or logical address . also , the management information may be provided in two or more systems , such as the management information for physically partitioned areas and the management information for logically partitioned areas , for example . this multiple system approach is advantageous in that the proper partitioning is allowed in accordance with the contents to be managed , such as the logical partitioning is more efficient for the logical - physical table but the physical partitioning is more efficient for the table indicative of block status , for example . if two or more systems of management information are used , it is required to determine whether the management information about particular data is correct or not by all the systems associated with that particular data . fig3 a and 3b show a example of how management information is stored in the nonvolatile memory and how this storage is represented . fig3 a shows one erase block in an nand flash memory , for example , this block containing 64 pages , each providing a write unit . one page pg has a redundant part rdnp in addition to a data part dtp . management information cinf has , in redundant part rdnp , id indicative of “ old / new ” and fields idfld and wrfld indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ”. in block blk , data is written in the ascending order of page numbers , only the contents of the page written last being valid . this is expressed by fig3 b , only the valid information being used . fig1 a and 12b and so on use the expression shown in fig3 b as the expression of the management information in the nonvolatile memory . fig4 a and 4b through fig7 a and 7b show manners in which management information is updated starting from the head of block and manners of expressing the updating . fig4 a shows a status in which management information cinf is written to page pg 0 that is the start page of block . fig4 b shows the expression thereof . if management information cinf is updated from this status , the data to be updated is written to pg 1 that is the page next to pg 0 containing valid data as shown in fig5 a . in doing so , the information appropriate at that time is written to redundant part rdnp . fig5 b shows an updated status , in which id and fields idfld and wrfld are updated to those of pg 1 . fig6 a and 6b show a status in which the status shown in fig5 a and 5b are updated . as shown in fig6 a , data part dtp and redundant part rdnp are written to page pg 2 next to the page pg 1 containing valid data . fig6 b shows an updated status . fig7 a and 7b shows a further updated status . fig8 a and 8b and fig9 a and 9b show the manners in which the management information used up to the last page of block is further updated and manners of expressing this updating . fig8 a shows a status in which data is written up to page pg 6 that is the last page of block , data part dtp and redundant part rdnp being valid . fig8 b shows this status , the valid information being used . fig9 a shows a manner in which management information is updated for the status shown in fig8 a . first , a free block other than the block in use is allocated and update data and a redundant part are written to pg 0 that is the start page of the allocated block . next , the block used so far is erased . consequently , the block written with valid data to page pg 0 remains . fig9 b expresses an updated status . because this expression does not include the information indicative up to which page the block has been used , fig9 b shows the same change as others as simply the valid data has been updated . fig1 a and 10b show a manner in which a map is stored in the nonvolatile memory and a manner of expressing this storage . fig1 a is representative of one erase block in the nonvolatile memory 2 , in which 64 pages are contained as write unit . one page pg contains redundant part rdnp in addition to data part dtp , map mnp having id indicative of “ old / new ” in redundant part rdnp . management information cinf has a field indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ”; however , no information is allocated that area in map mp . in block blk , data is written in the ascending order of page numbers , the contents of the page written last being valid . so , fig1 b expresses only the valid information . unlike management information , only data part dtp and id are expressed . fig1 and so on uses the expression of fig1 b as the expression of map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 . fig1 a and 11b show a status in which map updating has been made for the status shown in fig1 a and 10b . fig1 a shows the status in which valid data is contained in page pg 4 and new data is written to page pg 5 next to page pg 4 . in doing so , the information appropriate at that time is written to redundant part rdnp . fig1 b expresses an updated status , in which id is that of updated page pg 5 . fig1 a and 12b show an example of a normal status at the time of a startup sequence of the map and management information of the present embodiment . the nonvolatile memory 2 stores the map mp of management information cinf and the management information cinf corresponding to each of partitioned areas . the management information cinf contains id indicative of “ old / new ” and fields idfld and wrfld indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ”. in this example , a status indicative of “ under writing ” is indicated by 0x1 and a status indicative of “ not under writing ” is indicated by 0x0 . the map mp also contains an id field indicative of old / new . management information cinf and map mp may be located anywhere in the nonvolatile memory 2 . if the id of map mp has a number higher than the id of management information cinf , it indicates that the information of map mp is newer than management information cinf , thereby reflecting the most recent status of management information cinf . in the initial status , id is 0x1 in all management information cinf and maps and there is no management information cinf having data indicative of “ under writing ”. in this status , all management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of data and map mp also reflects the most recent status of all management information cinf . in the initial status , no data is expanded in the volatile memory 31 . fig1 through 17 show operations in which data is written to area ar 1 first upon a startup sequence and the management information and the map in the nonvolatile memory are updated so as to reflect the most recent status . fig1 an operation in which , when request to write data to area ar 1 is made , map mp and management information cinf are expanded from the nonvolatile memory 2 into the volatile memory 31 . map mp may be expanded into the volatile memory 31 only once first after each startup sequence . by referencing map mp in the volatile memory 31 , management information cinf is read from area ar 1 into the volatile memory 31 . in this status , management information cinf and map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 still reflect the most recent status of user data ud and management information cinf . fig1 shows an operation in which , before actually rewriting user data ud , writing to management information cinf in area ar 1 is executed . to management information cinf to which writing is executed , 0x2 is set as a number greater than 0x1 that is the id of map mp and a status of “ under writing ” is set as the information indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ”. in a status in which management information cinf has only been written , management information cinf actually reflects the most recent status of user data ud . however , because the id of management information cinf becomes greater than the id of map mp , that the information of map mp reflects the most recent status of management information cinf cannot be assured and , because the status of “ under writing ” is set to the management information , that management information cinf reflects the most recent status of the user data cannot be assured . hence , if a power shutoff occurs subsequently , management information cinf and map mp must be reconfigured at the time of a next startup sequence . fig1 shows a relationship of management information while user data us is being actually rewritten . along with the rewriting of user data , management information cinf and map mp are updated in the volatile memory 31 . consequently , management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 will not reflect the most recent user data ud . fig1 shows an operation in which , after rewriting user data ud , management information cinf in area ar 1 is written . when user data ud has been written , management information cinf is written last as a status of “ not under writing ”. the id at this moment is the same as the id so far . consequently , management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent user data . however , map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 does not reflect the most recent management information cinf . fig1 shows an operation in which map writing is executed after management information has been written . when the writing of management information cinf has been completed and the management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent user data ud , map mp is written to the nonvolatile memory 2 . at this moment , id is a number equal to or greater than the maximum value ( 0x2 in this example ) of the id of management information cinf , namely , 0x2 . consequently , the map in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent management information cinf . in this status , the id of the map in the nonvolatile memory 2 becomes equal to or greater than the maximum value ( the same value in this example ) of the id of all management information in the nonvolatile memory 2 , thereby assuring that the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of all management information cinf . in addition , because management information cinf is written before rewriting user data , if map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of management information cinf , it can be assured that management information cinf also reflects the most recent status of user data ud , which in turn assures that all information reflects the most recent status . fig1 shows a period of time in which it can be assured that the map and the management information at the time of writing to area ar 1 reflect the most recent status of management information and user data . in fig1 , each white arrow is indicative of a period of time in which it can be assured that redundant part rdnp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status , while each black arrow is indicative of a period of time in which the map mp management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 actually reflect the most recent status . in fig1 , when management information cinf is first written ( st 1 ), it cannot be assured that map mp reflects the most recent status of management information cinf and , when the rewriting of user data starts ( st 2 ), management information cinf does not reflect the most recent status of user data . however , when management information cinf is written with “ under writing ” status set , it cannot be assured that management information cinf does not reflect the most recent status of user data . when , after the rewriting of user data , management information cinf is written as “ not under writing ” ( st 3 ), management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of user data ud , thereby assuring that the recent status is actually reflected . also , when map mp has been written ( st 4 ), map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent status of management information cinf , thereby assuring that the most recent status is actually reflected . fig1 and 20 show manners in which the user data in area ar 2 is rewritten from the status in which management information is written to area ar 1 shown in fig1 , thereby writing management information and maps . fig1 shows a manner in which after rewriting user data ud and writing management information cinf to area ar 1 , user data is written to area ar 2 without writing map mp . user data ud can be rewritten to another area without writing to map mp . this is advantageous in that the speed of processing is enhanced and the life of map writing area is lengthened by reducing the number of times map mp is written . before writing user data ud to area ar 2 , the id of management information cinf is set to a number greater than the id of map mp ( 0x2 in this example ) and then the user data is written by setting “ under writing ” status , as with area ar 1 . also , the expansion and saving of other management information cinf with area ar 2 are executed as required . in this status , the id of management information cinf is greater than the id of map mp for area ar 1 and area ar 2 . hence , map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 does not reflect the most recent status of management information cinf . as for area ar 2 , “ under writing ” status is set , thereby denoting that management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 does not reflect the most recent status of user data ud . fig2 shows a manner in which , after rewriting user data ud to area ar 2 , management information cinf and map mp are written . after rewriting user data ud to area ar 2 , management information cinf is written last as “ not under writing ” status . the id at this point of time is the same as before . consequently , as with area ar 1 , management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent status of user data ud . then , when map mp is written , map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent status of management information cinf for all areas . it should be noted that , if a configuration is made so as to finally write map mp , data can be written to other areas ar without writing map mp . if the frequency of writing map mp is reduced , the time necessary for the writing can be shortened and the number of time rewriting is made can be reduced . on the other hand , of the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 , parts that do not reflect the most recent status of management information cinf increase , so that a range that must be reconfigured after a power shut - off sequence is widened . fig2 shows a period of time in which it can be assured that the map and management information at the time of writing to area ar 1 and area ar 2 reflect the most recent status of management information and user data . in the figure , each arrow denotes the same as in fig2 . as for management information cinf , a period of time in which it cannot be assured that the most recent status of user data is reflected ranges from a time ( st 11 ) at which the management information in that area was written with “ under writing ” status set to a time ( st 12 to st 16 ) at which management information is written with “ not under writing ” after rewriting user data . these periods of time hold true with both area a 1 and area a 2 . as for map mp , a period of time in which it cannot assured that the most recent status of management information cinf in that area is reflected ranges from a period at which the management information cinf in that area was written to a time at which map mp is finally written ( st 17 ). in this case , even after starting the rewriting of area ar 2 after the rewriting of area ar 1 , it cannot be assured that the map reflects the most recent status of management information for area ar 1 . fig2 and 23 show examples in which user data rewritten but the writing of a map is not required . fig2 shows a status in which user data ud is rewritten for area ar 1 from the initial status shown in fig1 . it should be noted that the elements managed by map mp are not changed for the writing of management information cinf ; actually , map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent information of management information cinf . fig2 shows a manner in which map mp and management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflect the most recent status of management information cinf and user data ud only by the writing of management information from the status shown in fig2 . for the status shown in fig2 , the same id ( 0x1 in this example ) as that of map mp is used at writing the last management information cinf and this management information is written as “ not under writing ”, thereby determining that the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of management information cinf . it should be noted , however , that this writing of the last management information cinf is limited to the case in which map mp need not be changed . consequently , the frequency of map writing can be purely reduced . fig2 shows flows of the checking and reconfiguration of management information and a map to be executed at the time of a startup sequence . at the time of a startup sequence , all management areas are checked . for all management areas , the id of map mp is compared with the id of management information ( st 21 through st 27 ). if the id of map mp is higher than the id management information cinf , it can be determined that , for that area , map mp reflects the most recent management information cinf and management information cinf reflects the most recent user data ud . in this case , the reconfiguration of the map and management information of that area is not required ( st 23 ). if the id of map is lower than the id of management information , then it indicates that the power has been shut off with no map requiring updating written after the writing of management information . in this case , a field indicative whether management information is under writing is checked ( st 24 ); if management information is found under writing , the reconfiguration of the management information is required by actual use of user data for that area ( st 25 ). it should be noted that , regardless of “ under writing ” or “ not under writing ”, the map must be reconfigured for that area ( st 26 ). fig2 shows the management information and map in the nonvolatile memory at the time of a startup sequence that takes place after a power shutoff at a certain time . in this status , the id of map mp being 0x1 and the id of management information cinf in area ar 1 being 0x2 provide “ not under writing ” status , the id of management information cinf in area ar 2 being 0x2 provide “ under writing ” status and the id of management information cinf in other areas ar being 0x1 provides “ not under writing ” status . in this case , for area ar 1 , a part corresponding to that area of map mp must be reconfigured ; for area ar 2 , both management information cinf and the part corresponding to that area of map mp must be reconfigured . for other areas , neither management information cinf nor the part corresponding to that area of map mp need be reconfigured . it should be noted that , for area ar 1 and area ar 2 , map mp does not reflect the most recent status of management information cinf , so that the location of the management information cinf obtained by map mp may not be correct . in this case , it is also required to search the nonvolatile memory 2 for management information cinf . fig2 through 34 show examples in which there are two or more pieces of management information in each area . fig2 shows a manner in which there are two or more pieces of management information cinf in each area in the volatile memory 31 and in the nonvolatile memory 2 . here , of the two or more pieces of management information cinf , one representative piece of management information is provided with and fields idfld and wrfld indicative of id and “ under writing / not under writing ”, the other management information cinf being not provided with these fields . fig2 a and 27b show a manner in which non - representative management information cinf is stored in the nonvolatile memory 2 and a manner of this storage . fig2 a is indicative of one erase block in the nonvolatile memory 2 , in which 64 pages , each being a write unit , are included . one page pg contains a redundant part rdnp in addition to a data part dtp . with non - representative management information cinf , information allocation to id and fields indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ” is not executed . in block blk , data is written in the ascending order of page numbers , only the contents of page written last being valid . this is represented by fig2 b by use of only the valid information . unlike the representative management information cinf , only the data part is represented . in fig2 and so on , this expression of fig2 is used as the expression of non - representative management information in the nonvolatile memory . fig2 a and 28b show a manner in which non - representative management information has been updated for the status shown in fig2 a and 27b . in fig2 a , valid data is contained in page pg 4 and , as shown in fig2 a , new data is written to page pg 5 that follows page pg 4 . fig2 b shows the expression of an updated status , in which no valid information is contained in the redundant part . fig2 shows an example of a normal status at the time of a startup sequence of map mp and management information cinf in an embodiment in which one area has two pieces of management information cinf . the nonvolatile memory 2 stores two or more pieces of management information cinf corresponding to the map mp of management information cinf and partitioned areas . management information cinf representative for each area has fields idfld and wrfld indicative of “ old / new ” and “ under writing / not under writing ”. here , “ under writing ” status is indicated by 0x1 and “ not under writing ” status is indicated by 0x0 . the non - representative management information cinf has no id and no field indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ”. map mp also has an id field indicative of “ old / new ”. management information cinf and map mp may be located anywhere in the nonvolatile memory 2 . if the id of map mp has a number higher than that of the id of management information cinf , it indicates that the information of map mp is more recent than management information cinf , reflecting the most recent status of management information cinf . in the initial status , the id is 0x1 for the management information cinf and map mp representing all and there is no management information cinf having data indicative of “ under writing ”. in this status , all management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflect the most recent status of data and the map mp also reflects the most recent status of all management information cinf . it should also be noted that none of the data is expanded in the volatile memory 31 . fig3 through fig3 show a status in which data is written to area 1 first after a startup sequence and management information cinf and map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 are updated so as to reflect the most recent status . fig3 shows an operation in which , when a request for writing to area ar 1 is made , map mp and representative management information cinf are expanded from the nonvolatile memory 2 into the volatile memory 31 . the expansion of map mp from the nonvolatile memory 2 into the volatile memory 31 may be made only once after a startup sequence . by referencing the map in the volatile memory 31 , the representative management information in the area ar 1 is read into the volatile memory 31 . in this status , the management information cinf and the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 still reflect the most recent status of user data ud and management information cinf . fig3 shows an operation in which , before user data ud is actually rewritten , data is written to the management information cinf representative of area ar 1 . to the management information cinf to be written with data , 0x2 that is a number greater than 0x1 that is the id of map mp is set as id and a status indicative of “ under writing ” is set as the information indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ”. in the status in which only the representative management information cinf has been written , management information cinf actually reflects the most recent status of user data ud , but , because the id of management information cinf becomes greater than the id of map mp , it cannot be assured that the information of map mp reflects the most recent status of management information cinf , which , in turn , cannot assure that management information cinf reflects the most recent status of user data because “ under writing ” status is set to the representative management information cinf . hence , if a power shutoff occurs subsequently , management information cinf and map mp must be reconfigured at a next startup sequence . fig3 shows a relationship of management information cinf during a period of time in which user data ud is actually being rewritten . at the same time user data ud is rewritten , management information cinf and map mp are updated in the volatile memory 31 . consequently , the management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 will not reflect the most recent user data ud . for the management information cinf other than the representative management information cinf , the nonvolatile memory 2 may be rewritten without restriction like user data . fig3 shows an operation in which , after user data ud is written , the management information cinf representative of area ar 1 is written . after saving all other management information cinf in the same area into the nonvolatile memory 2 after the rewriting of user data ud , the representative management information cinf is written as “ not under writing ” status . the id at this moment is the same as before . consequently , the management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent user data ud . however , the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 does not reflect the most recent management information cinf . fig3 shows an operation in which map mp is written after management information cinf has been written . when , after the writing of management information cinf , the management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent user data ud , map mp is written to the nonvolatile memory 2 . the id at this moment is 0x2 , the same as the maximum value ( 0x2 in this example ) of the representative management information cinf . consequently , the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 comes to reflect the most recent management information cinf . in this status , the id of map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 takes a value ( the same value in this example ) greater than the maximum value of the id of all representative management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory 2 , so that it can be assured that the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of all management information cinf . further , because the representative information cinf is written before rewriting user data ud , if the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of management information cinf , it can be assured that management information cinf also reflects the most recent status of user data ud , thereby assuring that all information reflects the most recent status . fig3 shows an example in which the volatile memory has a memory space large enough for the expansion of the management information of two or more areas . if the volatile memory 31 has a memory space large enough for the expansion of the management information cinf of two or more areas , then it is practicable to provide two or more areas that are handled as “ under writing ” by setting “ under writing ” status to management information cinf and writing data thereto . this configuration is advantageous that , if writing is executed by making access between two or more areas for example , the expansion and save of management information cinf need not be executed every time . the expansion of management information cinf of two or more areas requires , in writing map mp , to put , into a written status , the management information in “ not under writing ” in all areas and then write the map having the id equal to or greater than the maximum value of the id of all management information . consequently , in the area with the id of management information cinf being lower than the id of map mp , the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 also reflects the most recent status of management information cinf . fig3 shows an example in which each area is further partitioned into sub areas . each area is partitioned into sub areas including management information cinf ; however , the id to be attached to management information cinf and fields idfld and wrfld indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ” are attached to each area before being partitioned one for one . it should be noted that the field wrfld indicative of “ under writing / not under writing ” must take a form to tell which of sub areas is under writing . in fig3 , of four sub areas , only one is handled as “ under writing ” and the number of this sub area is used to indicate that this sub area is under writing . it is also practicable to prepare flags corresponding to the number of sub areas to individually indicate whether each sub area is under writing or not . the partitioning into sub areas allows the determination for each sub area whether the most recent status of user data ud is reflected for management information cinf , thereby narrowing a target range of reconfiguring management information cinf . consequently , the time required for reconfiguring management information cinf can be shortened without involving the labor for determining the integrity between map and management information cinf based on id comparison . if it is configured that the flag indicative of “ under writing ” of each sub area shows this status for each sub area , an advantage is provided that two or more sub areas can be handled as “ under writing ”, at the cost of increasing the number of sub areas to be reconfigured . fig3 through fig4 show a procedure of resetting the id to a smaller value . fig3 shows a status of management information cinf and map mp at a particular stage . in this example , the id of map mp is 0xfe , the id of area ar 1 is 0xfe , the id of area ar 2 is 0xf0 , and the id of area arm is 0x58 . the id takes a larger value as the writing is made to management information cinf and map mp ; however , only values in a limited range can be recorded to the nonvolatile memory 2 . therefore , it is required to reset the value to a smaller one when the value gets fairly large . fig3 shows a status in which the map is written with an id , a special minimum value 0x0 , attached . at this point of time , the contents of map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflect the most recent status of management information cinf ; however , the id is in the status not assuring the contents of map mp , so that , if a power shutoff for example occurs at this stage , map mp must be reconfigured for all areas . fig3 shows a status in which 0x1 is attached to the management information cinf of all areas as id . because management information cinf is written , the updating of map mp may be required , so that the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 does not always reflect the most recent status of management information cinf . however , because map mp is written with id of 0x0 , no error recognition occurs that the most recent status is reflected . fig4 shows a status in which map mp is attached with 0x1 that is the same as the maximum value of the id of management information cinf and data is written to that map mp . the map in the nonvolatile memory 2 reflects the most recent status of management information . consequently , the resetting of id to a smaller value has been completed . fig4 through fig4 show a manner in which the map and the management information in area ar 2 are updated in each of fig3 through fig4 . fig4 shows a status of the map mp in the nonvolatile memory 2 the management information cinf in area ar 2 shown in fig3 . the map mp and the management information cinf are written in halfway pages of separate blocks as valid data . fig4 shows a status of the map in the nonvolatile memory 2 and the management information cinf in area ar 2 shown in fig3 . the map is updated with id = 0x0 for the status shown in fig4 ; in the nonvolatile memory 2 , the map is written to a page with id = 0x0 next to a page of id = 0xfe in the nonvolatile memory 2 for area ar 2 for example . fig4 shows a status of the map in the nonvolatile memory 2 and the management information cinf in area ar 2 shown in fig3 . each management information cinf is updated with id = 0x1 for the status shown in fig4 ; in the nonvolatile memory 2 , the map is written to a page with id = 0x1 next to a page of id = 0xf0 in the nonvolatile memory 2 for area ar 2 for example . fig4 shows a status of the map in the nonvolatile memory 2 and the management information cinf in area ar 2 shown in fig4 . the map is updated with id = 0x1 for the status shown in fig4 ; in the nonvolatile memory 2 , the map is written to a page with id = 0x1 next to a page of id = 0x0 in the nonvolatile memory 2 . as described above and according to an embodiment , the processing and time required for configuring management information cinf can be significantly reduced by improving the means for representing the status of management information cinf in the nonvolatile memory system 1 in which management information cinf is stored in the nonvolatile memory 2 , without significantly increasing the labor for checking the integrity of management information cinf required at the time of a startup sequence and significantly increasing the frequency of writing management information cinf . this configuration can shorten the processing time required at the time of a startup sequence even in the nonvolatile memory system 1 having a significantly increased total storage capacity , thereby realizing a further significant storage capacity increase in nonvolatile memory systems . it should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages . it is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims . | 6 |
it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention claimed . as used herein , the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise . it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that some of the compounds of the invention may contain one or more asymmetric centers , such that the compounds may exist in enantiomeric as well as in diastereomeric forms . unless it is specifically noted otherwise , the scope of the present invention includes all enantiomers , diastereomers and racemic mixtures . some of the compounds of the invention may form salts with pharmaceutically acceptable acids or bases , and such pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds described herein are also within the scope of the invention . the present invention includes all pharmaceutically acceptable isotopically enriched compounds . any compound of the invention may contain one or more isotopic atoms enriched or different than the natural ratio such as deuterium 2 h ( or d ) in place of protium 1 h ( or h ) or use of 13 c enriched material in place of 12 c and the like . similar substitutions can be employed for n , o and s . the use of isotopes may assist in analytical as well as therapeutic aspects of the invention . for example , use of deuterium may increase the in vivo half - life by altering the metabolism ( rate ) of the compounds of the invention . these compounds can be prepared in accord with the preparations described by use of isotopically enriched reagents . the following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended , nor should they be construed as limiting the invention in any manner . those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications of the following examples can be made without exceeding the spirit or scope of the invention . the iupac names of the compounds mentioned in the examples were generated with acd version 12 . 5 . unless specified otherwise in the examples , characterization of the compounds is performed according to the following methods : nmr spectra are recorded on 300 mhz varian and acquired at room temperature . chemical shifts are given in ppm referenced either to internal tms or to the residual solvent signal . all the reagents , solvents , catalysts for which the synthesis is not described are purchased from chemical vendors such as sigma aldrich , fluka , lancaster , however some known reaction intermediates , for which the cas registry number is mentioned , were prepared in - house following known procedures . usually the compounds of the invention were purified by flash column chromatography . to a solution of ethane - 1 , 2 - diamine ( cas 107 - 15 - 3 ) ( 704 mg , 4 . 5 eq ) in benzene ( 10 ml ) was added a solution of 4 - isothiocyanato - quinoline ( cas 868163 - 42 - 2 ) ( 480 mg , 2 . 61 mmol ) in benzene ( 5 ml ). the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 h . the product precipitated as a pale yellow solid , which was filtered to collect the solid washed with ether and gave intermediate 1 . to a solution of 4 - chloro - 1 , 5 - naphthyridin - 3 - amine ( cas 930276 - 73 - 6 ) ( 550 g , 3 . 07 mmol ) in thf ( 10 ml ) was added tea ( 0 . 95 ml , 6 . 76 mmol ) followed by cscl 2 ( 0 . 26 ml , 3 . 4 mmol ) at 0 ° c . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 h . celite ( 2 g ) was added to the reaction mixture , then concentrated and purified by silica gel column chromatography using hexane : etoac ( 7 : 3 ) and gave intermediate 2 ( 360 mg ). to a solution of ethane - 1 , 2 - diamine ( cas 107 - 15 - 3 ) ( 0 . 54 ml , 8 . 12 mmol ) in benzene ( 10 ml ) was added a solution of intermediate 2 ( 360 mg ) in benzene ( 5 ml ). the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 h . benzene and excess of ethane - 1 , 2 - diamine were decanted . the product was washed with ethyl - ether and yielded intermediate 3 . intermediate 1 was taken in etoh ( 15 ml ) with mercury oxide ( 618 mg ) and heated at reflux temperature for 4 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature and filtered through celite . silica gel was added to the filtrate and concentrated and purified by chromatography on silica gel with 5 % nh 3 - meoh : dcm and gave ( 68 mg ) compound 1 as a white solid . 1 h nmr ( methanol - d 6 ) δ : 8 . 54 ( d , j = 5 . 0 hz , 1h ), 8 . 23 ( d , j = 7 . 9 hz , 1h ), 7 . 88 ( d , j = 8 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 61 - 7 . 72 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 41 - 7 . 53 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 05 ( d , j = 5 . 3 hz , 1h ), 3 . 56 ( s , 4h ). intermediate 3 was taken in etoh ( 15 ml ) with mercury oxide ( 422 mg ) and heated at reflux temperature for 2 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature filtered through celite . silica gel was added to the filtrate concentrated and purified by silica gel chromatography using 5 % nh 3 - meoh : dcm and gave ( 120 mg ) compound 2 . 1 h nmr ( methanol - d 4 ) δ : 8 . 90 ( dd , j = 4 . 1 , 1 . 5 hz , 5h ), 8 . 68 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 36 ( dd , j = 8 . 2 , 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 66 ( dd , j = 8 . 5 , 4 . 4 hz , 1h ), 3 . 56 ( s , 4h ). compounds 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 were prepared in a similar manner to the method described in example 5 for compound 2 starting with the corresponding starting material . the results are tabulated below in table 1 . novel compounds were synthesized and tested for alpha adrenergic activity using the receptor selection and amplification technology ( rsat ) assay ( messier et . al ., 1995 , pharmacol . toxicol . 76 , pp . 308 - 311 ). cells expressing each of the alpha2 adrenergic receptors alone were incubated with the various compounds and a receptor - mediated growth response was measured . the compound &# 39 ; s activity was expressed as its relative efficacy compared to a standard full agonist ( see table 2 ). the compounds of this invention activate alpha 2 receptors . | 0 |
[ 0048 ] fig1 a shows in a perspective , highly schematic representation a cooling fan module 10 consisting of two pusher fans 12 which press air through a heat exchanger 14 in order to cool a liquid , which is not shown but which flows through the heat exchanger 14 . an air guiding housing 16 , here in the form of a rectangular box , carries a plurality of pivotally hinged plates 18 in the form of a louver window and covered over in the lower region by an air collecting box 20 , with the air collecting box 20 opening into a duct 22 which , in accordance with fig2 leads directly or indirectly to the fuel cells , as will be explained in more detail later . the plates 18 form an air branching device 19 . [ 0050 ] fig1 b shows the module of fig1 a in the assembled state , and it can be recognized that this is a compact , space - saving design . at the upper left - hand side of the air guiding housing , which is formed as a frame , there is a positioning motor 24 which is connected to the individual plates 18 via a lever arm 26 and connecting rod 28 and which can move or pivot the plates from a first open operating position , in accordance with fig1 b , in which at least substantially no branching off of air takes place , into a second closed position shown in fig1 c in which the individual plates 18 close in an air - tight manner against one another and against the air guiding housing 16 , so that the air delivered by the fans 12 is forced to flow into the air collecting box 20 and this air passes from there via the duct 22 to the fuel cells . in a simplified embodiment , the plates 18 and the motor 24 are omitted and the wall of the air collecting box forms a fixedly disposed guide wall forming the air branching device . a plurality of different embodiments with fixedly arranged guide walls can also be considered . [ 0052 ] fig2 shows essentially the same design of the cooling fan module of the invention as in fig1 a - 1 c , but with some differences . first of all , fig2 makes it clear that the two cooling fans 12 are connected to the heat exchanger 14 via a housing 30 , so that the total quantity of air which is conveyed by the pusher fans 12 has to flow through the heat exchanger 14 . in this example , the outlet 22 of the air collecting box 20 is led out at the rear of the air collecting box and not at the side as in the example of fig1 . the outlet 22 leads into a duct 32 which leads to an air inlet 34 of the fuel cell arrangement 36 . within the fuel cell arrangement 36 there is in known manner an air distribution passage to which both the air inlet 34 and the air inlet 38 , which is connected to the outlet of the air compressor 40 , lead . in the normal operation of the fuel cell arrangement , the compressor 40 sucks in air via the inlet 42 , with an air filter , for example , being positioned upstream of the inlet 42 , compresses the air and then delivers it as compressed air via the inlet 38 to the fuel cell arrangement 36 . in order to avoid an undesired reverse flow via the duct 32 on operation of the compressor 40 , the duct 32 is provided with a valve flap 44 controllable by a control 42 . the valve flap 44 shown in the open position in fig2 can , however , be moved via the control 42 into a closed position in order to prevent the aforementioned reverse flow . a correspondingly controllable valve flap can also be arranged in the region of the air inlet 38 or of the inlet 42 in order to prevent air escaping via the compressor 40 when the fuel cell arrangement is fed by the pushed fans 12 . the valve flap 44 can be omitted when the duct is led , as indicated by 32 ′, into the air induction pipe 42 of the compressor . the air inlet 34 of the fuel cell arrangement 36 is then superfluous . it is , however , eventually necessary to provide a valve in the region of the air induction tube 42 upstream of the mouth of the line 32 ′ in order to avoid an undesired loss of air here when operating the pusher fan prior to taking the compressor into operation . the reference numeral 46 indicates an air filter which in this example is arranged in the duct 32 . as an alternative , an air filter 46 ′ could be accommodated in the air collecting box 20 . on starting a vehicle with the fuel cell system of fig2 the motor 24 is first energized in order to close the louver plates 18 , i . e ., to bring them into the position of fig1 c . at the same time the valve 44 , if present , is opened and the pusher fans 12 operated by the low voltage onboard battery are switched on so that the compressed air produced by the pusher fans 12 passes via the housing 30 , the heat exchanger 14 , the air guiding housing 16 , and the air collecting box 20 into the duct 32 and thus to the fuel cells 36 . should the duct be lead into the compressor inlet , as shown at 32 ′, the compressed air passes from the pusher fans via the compressor 40 into the fuel cell arrangement 36 . at the same time , hydrogen or a synthesized hydrogen - rich gas is supplied to the fuel cell arrangement 36 via the hydrogen inlet 48 . the fuel cell arrangement 36 then starts to produce power . as soon as the quantity of power which is generated is sufficient to drive the motor ( not shown ) which drives the compressor 40 , this motor is set operating . the compressor 40 then delivers the required quantity of air in order to keep the fuel cell arrangement 36 operating and to produce the necessary power . as soon as the compressor 40 delivers sufficient air to the fuel cell arrangement 36 , the motor 24 can be controlled in order to bring the louver plates 18 into the open position of fig1 b . the valve flap can be brought into a position in which it closes the duct 32 , so that no air losses arise due to reverse flow via the duct 32 . instead of using an electrically controlled valve , i . e ., instead of using a valve flap , this can also be designed as a non - return valve . this also applies to a valve which may possibly be provided in the region of the inlet 38 or in the air supply to the compressor 40 , in order to avoid air losses on feeding the fuel cell arrangement 36 by the pusher fans 12 . although an air collecting box is used in the embodiments of fig1 and 2 , one can dispense with such an air collecting box . instead of this , the air outlet 22 can be led directly out of the air guiding housing 16 or out of the housing 30 . the louver plates 18 or other branching off devices must then cover over the entire outlet side of the air guiding housing 16 or of the heat exchanger . when the air outlet is led out of the housing 30 , the branching off device could be arranged in front of the heat exchanger and fully cover over its inlet side . these further possibilities of placement of the air outlet are indicated in fig2 by 22 ′ and 22 ″. fig3 a - 3 c show an alternative form of the air branching device . in this example , the air branching device 50 again consists of plate 18 ′. these are , however , arranged in the manner of an iris diaphragm . fig3 a shows the closed position of the iris diaphragm . one notes that the radially inner ends of the plates 18 ′ form an open circular orifice 52 which lies opposite to the inlet of an air collecting cone 54 ( fig3 b ) provided with an outlet 22 ″′. the iris diaphragm is so designed that the radially inner ends of the plates 18 ′ directly sealingly contact the air collecting cone 54 directly adjacent to the opening , so that the compressed air produced by the pusher fans 12 is collected by the air collecting housing 16 and forced into the air collecting cone 54 from which it passes via the air outlet 22 ″′ into a duct such as 32 or 32 ′. [ 0064 ] fig3 b shows the fully - open position of the iris diaphragm which bounds a circular , ring - shaped air outlet 56 for the air which passes through the heat exchanger 14 . in this example , it can be advantageous to operate with only one circular pusher fan 12 . in this example , the plates 18 ′ are moved by the motor 24 ′ between the positions of fig3 a and 3b . in a modified variant , the plates 18 ′ of the iris diaphragm could close completely and an air outlet 22 ′ or 22 ″ could be provided as in the embodiment of fig2 . [ 0065 ] fig4 shows an alternative embodiment in which an air branching device in the form of a roller blind 60 is used at the outlet side of the air guiding housing 16 . this roller blind 60 is a flexible , impermeable membrane 62 which can be rolled up onto an upper spring - loaded cylinder 64 , with the spring loading being so designed that it endeavors to move the roller blind in the direction of the arrow 66 into a fully - open position . at the lower side of the roller blind 60 in fig4 a there are two cables 68 which can be rolled up onto a cylinder 70 in the lower region of the air guiding housing 16 , the cylinder 70 being driveable by a motor 72 . the motor 72 can unwind the roller blind 60 from the upper spring - loaded cylinder 64 by rotation of the cylinder 70 around the axis 76 in accordance with the arrow 74 , with the cylinder 64 being rotatably arranged about its longitudinal axis 78 . [ 0067 ] fig4 a shows an intermediate position in which the lower edge of the roller blind 60 has started to cover over the air outlet side of the air guiding housing , whereas fig4 b shows the fully - closed position . the motor 72 is used in order to bring the roller blinds 60 downwardly into the closed position of fig4 b , where the blind can be held by a non - illustrated latch , for example by a pin , which is actuated by a solenoid . as soon as the fuel cell arrangement produces sufficient power in order to drive the compressor 40 , the latch is released , for example by interrupting the supply of current to the solenoid , and the spring - loaded cylinder 64 then serves to wind up the roller blind so that this moves back into the fully - open position ( not shown ). [ 0069 ] fig5 a and 5b show a similar arrangement except that here an air branching device 84 is used with plates 18 ′ in the form of a roller shutter . in this example , the roller shutter is drawn downwardly via cables 68 ′ by a spring - loaded cylinder 80 in order to attain the closed position of fig5 a in which the lowermost plate 18 ″ sealingly closes against the lower edge of the air collecting box 20 . for the opening of the roller shutter , the motor 72 is energized . it then turns the cylinder 82 which rolls up the plates until the fully - open position of fig5 b is reached . the roller shutter can then be held in this position by a non - illustrated latch , so that the motor 72 does not need to be permanently energized . although the device of the invention is primarily used for the starting up of the fuel cell system , it could , under some circumstances , be used when it is only necessary to maintain the operation of the fuel cells , so that the vehicle can immediately start again when operating in a low load region , for example , during idling at a traffic light , in overrun operation or when loosing speed by rolling . the possibility of switching off the motor for the compressor in these operating phases can contribute to noise reduction . | 8 |
fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the check valve 11 , which will be used for controlling the flow of the fluid , such as water , in an overhead irrigation system . the check valve 11 is comprised of four main components : a body / connector 12 , a sliding cord 13 , a sealing device 14 , and a stopper 15 . all four components of the check valve 11 can be made of plastic . the body / connector 12 can be made from plastic materials such as abs , polypropylene , and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride . alternatively the body / connector 12 can be made from non - ferrous or ferrous materials such as aluminum , copper , brass and any other materials that will not react and deteriorate when coming into contact with the fluid . the sliding cord 13 can be made from nylon or a material that has the same mechanical properties as nylon , such as a steel cord . nylon has a high point of elastic deformation , which allows the sliding cord 13 to return to its original “ straight ” position . the term “ straight ” is used to indicate that the sliding cord 13 will not permanently remain in a sharp bent position after being assembled with a “ t ” connector 26 ( shown in fig5 ) or an elbow connector ( not shown ). the sealing device 14 and the stopper 15 can be made from abs , polypropylene , and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride . they can also be made from a non plastic material such as brass , aluminum , marble , etc . the material of both the sealing device 14 and the stopper 15 will be determined upon the application . fig2 illustrates the three projection views ( front , top , and right ) and the isometric view of the check valve &# 39 ; s body / connector 12 . the body / connector 12 has three main functions : the first function of the body / connector 12 is to connect the sprinkler assembly 22 ( shown in fig5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ) to the supply line ( not shown ), by means of mnpt ( male national pipe thread ) 19 . the mnpt 19 creates a mechanical seal between each connection . the mnpt 19 size connections , for instance ½ - 14 mnpt , will determine the size and dimensions for the rest of the components of the check valve 11 . the wrench connector 20 is shown as a solid diameter , which is the common configuration for nipples used to connect water sprinklers to the supply line ( not shown ). the wrench connector 20 can be manufactured with flat faces in order to facilitate the installation and removal of the check valve 11 . the second function of the body / connector 12 is to act as a guide for the sliding cord 13 to glide up and down the sprinkler assembly 22 ( shown in fig5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ). this function is accomplished with the guiding tube 17 and the supporting ribs 18 . the supporting ribs 18 allow the guiding tube 17 to stand in an upright position meanwhile allowing the fluid to go through the check valve 11 from the supply line ( not shown ) into the sprinkler assembly 22 during normal operational conditions . the inner hole 21 inside the guiding tube 17 is a conical shape , where the lower inside diameter is larger than the upper inside diameter . the upper inside diameter of the guiding tube 17 must be larger than the outside diameter of the sliding cord 13 ; therefore , allowing the sliding cord 13 to move freely inside the guiding tube 17 . it should be noted that the guiding tube 17 , the supporting ribs 18 , and the body / connector 12 can be manufactured as a solid piece . alternatively , the guiding tube 17 and the supporting ribs 18 can be manufactured as one piece and attached together to the body / connector 12 during the assembly process . in both cases all three components shall be concentric to each other in order to guarantee stability and the proper performance of the check valve 11 . the third function of the body / connector 12 is to act as a check valve in conjunction with the sealing device 14 , the sliding cord 13 , and the stopper 15 for the free flow of fluid from a broken sprinkler assembly 22 ( abnormal operational conditions ). during abnormal operational conditions the sprinkler assembly 22 and the sealing device 14 will be forced into the sealing surface 16 of the body / connector 12 . the inner diameter of the sealing surface 16 must be slightly smaller than the major diameter of the sealing device 14 , for instance . − 0 . 010 ″. this will guarantee that the sealing device 14 will create a tight seal against the sealing surface 16 ; therefore , preventing the flow of any fluid to go through the body / connector 12 and into the sprinkler assembly 22 during abnormal operational conditions . fig3 shows a front view of the sliding cord 13 and the isometric views of the sealing device 14 and the stopper 15 . both the sealing device 14 and the stopper 15 will be manufactured with holes 14 a and 15 a respectively . the sealing device hole 14 a and the stopper hole 15 a will be attached to the sliding cord recess 13 a and 13 b respectively . in addition , the diameter of the stopper 15 could be smaller than the diameter of the sealing device 14 , but it shall not be big enough to block any fluid from flowing freely out of the sprinkler assembly 22 . the length of the sliding cord 13 is predetermined prior to the assembly of the checkvalve 11 , which is determined by the length of the sprinkler assembly 22 . fig4 shows the front views of the sliding cord 13 , the sealing device 14 , and the stopper 15 assembly . the sliding cord 13 and the stopper 15 can be manufactured as one solid piece . both components shall be made from a bright color or painted with a bright color , i . e ., red , yellow , neon green , etc . the use of bright colors in the sliding cord 13 and the stopper 15 will signal to a maintenance group or a home owner that there is a malfunction with the sprinkler assembly 22 . as a result , the sprinkler assembly 22 will need to be replaced or repaired . another modification can be made to both the sealing device 14 and the stopper 15 . both can be manufactured as oval shapes lengthwise . however , the major diameter of the sealing device 14 and the stopper 15 will remain the same as they were in the initial design . fig5 illustrates a cross sectional front view of the check valve 11 with a “ t ” connector 26 and a sprinkler assembly 22 without fluid flow . the direction of the sealing device 14 should be in the opposite direction of the flow as shown in fig5 and fig6 . however , it is not necessary . fig6 illustrates a cross sectional view of the check valve 11 operating with a “ t ” connector 26 , which is connected to a supply line ( not shown ), and the sprinkler assembly 22 during normal operational conditions . the force of the fluid will push the stopper 15 against the filter 24 of the sprinkler assembly 22 . keep in mind that a filter 24 may or may not be present inside the sprinkler assembly 22 . the filter 24 will act as a blocking device preventing the further movement of the stopper 15 , thus preventing contact between the sealing device 14 and the sealing surface 16 . it should be noted that if the sealing device 14 is assembled in the same direction as the fluid flow , the stopper 15 may or may not be resting against the filter 24 . the body / connector 12 is performing two of its main functions in fig6 . it connects the sprinkler assembly 22 to the supply line ( not shown ) and guides the sliding cord 13 up and down the sprinkler assembly 22 using the guiding tube 17 and the supporting ribs 18 . during normal operational conditions , the fluid flow is allowed to move freely from the supply line ( not shown ) into the check valve 11 and into the sprinkler assembly 22 . however , during abnormal operational conditions the check valve 11 will stop the free flow of fluid from a broken sprinkler assembly 22 as shown in fig7 and fig8 . fig7 illustrates the performance of the check valve 11 in which the sliding head 23 of the sprinkler assembly 22 is broken . the force from the fluid flow will push the sliding head 23 and the filter 24 out of the sprinkler assembly 22 . as a result , three different forces will act upon the sliding cord 13 , the sealing device 14 , and the stopper 15 . the first force is created by the pressure differential across the sprinkler assembly 22 , the second force is the fluid flow acting on the stopper 15 , and the third force is the fluid acting upon the sealing device 14 . combined , all three forces will drive the stopper 15 and the sliding cord 13 out of the broken sprinkler assembly 22 while the sealing device 14 is forced into the sealing surface 16 , thus preventing the free flow of fluid from the broken sprinkler assembly 22 . normal operational conditions will resume for the rest of the sprinkler devices in the irrigation system once the check valve 11 is in the closed position . fig8 illustrates the performance of the check valve 11 in the event that the cap assembly 25 of the sprinkler assembly 22 is broken off entirely . in this event the sliding head 23 , the filter 24 , the cap assembly 25 , and the spring will be forced out of the sprinkler assembly 22 . the check valve 11 will work in the same manner as described in fig7 . the sealing device 14 will be forced into the sealing surface 16 preventing the free flow of fluid from the broken sprinkler assembly 22 and thus resumes normal operational conditions for the rest of the sprinkler devices in the irrigation system . it should be noted that if the sealing device 14 is originally assembled in the same direction of the fluid flow , the check valve 11 will perform in the same manner during abnormal operational conditions as mentioned before . when the sprinkler head 23 breaks the pressure downstream from the broken sprinkler assembly 22 will decrease considerably . as a result , any force created by the downstream pressure on the sealing device 14 be smaller than the combined forces created by the pressure differential across the broken sprinkler assembly 22 and the fluid force acting upon the stopper 15 . consequently , the sealing device 14 will be forced into the sealing surface 16 preventing the free flow of fluid from the broken sprinkler assembly 22 and will resume normal operational conditions for the rest of the sprinkler devices in the irrigation system . a common sprinkler assembly 22 with a rising head is illustrated in fig5 - fig . 8 . however , the check valve 11 will function with any sprinkler device given that the sliding cord 13 length is properly sized for the length of each individual sprinkler and that the materials of the check valve 11 are compatible with the fluid in service . | 8 |
fig1 shows a first embodiment of the ice and water detection device which uses prisms as dispersing elements . the embodiment comprises a light beam emitter with suitable optical properties , constituted by a light source 1 , and a first focusing element 3 focusing a portion of the light emitted by the light source on an aperture 5 . the light source 1 is schematically shown as an incandescent lamp , and the first focusing element 3 is drawn as a pair of planoconvex lenses , but this is chosen only for illustrating the fundamental function of the device . the diverging light beam emitted from the aperture 5 is then transmitted towards a first wavelength selective system . in the wavelength selective system the beam is collimated by a first lens 7 , and the collimated beam is directed through a first dispersing prism 9 . the light beam transmitted through the prism is dispersed into a range of wavelengths , which are focused by a second lens 11 onto a selection element 13 which only transmits selected segments of the light focused onto it . the selection element 13 is here embodied as a chopper wheel 24 , shown in fig3 . the primary function of the chopper wheel 24 is to transmit selected portions of the light of the continuous range of wavelengths focused onto it , through three non - circular apertures 26 , 28 , 30 . as the chopper wheel 24 is rotated , the portion of the apertures 26 , 28 , 30 exposed to the light focused onto it shifts , as indicated by the arrow in the drawing , thereby selecting a changing set of wavelengths being transmitted through the chopper wheel 24 . three diverging light beams transmitted through the chopper wheel 24 are again focused by a third lens 15 , and the collimated beams enter a second dispersing prism 17 . using a second dispersing prism 17 with dispersing properties identical to that of the first dispersing prism 9 , the three collimated beams emerge from the second dispersing prism 17 overlapping each other and being parallel . the beam emitted from the second dispersing prism 17 is partially transmitted through a beam splitter 19 , and hits the road surface . light reflected from the road surface hitting the beam splitter 19 , is partially reflected by the beam splitter 19 and transmitted in a direction orthogonal to that of the outgoing beam . the reflected beam is then focused by a fourth lens 21 onto a detector 23 , detecting the signal from the road surface . the detector could for example be an ingaas , ge , inas , pbs or a pyroelectric detector . the advantage of pyroelectric detectors , as compared to the others , is the lower cost and its flat spectral response , but it does have a detectivity two to four orders of magnitude lower than the other detector types . the total light throughput of the system is related to the dispersive power of the dispersive element , i . e . the prisms shown in the embodiment above . even with prisms made of substances which are highly dispersive in the wavelength range of interest , such as si or one of the irtran glasses , the light throughput may be insufficient for using low detectivity detectors . fig2 shows a second embodiment of the detection device which instead of prisms uses reflecting gratings , which have a much higher dispersive power , as dispersing elements . the embodiment comprises a light beam emitter identical to the one in fig1 , and the emitted light is focused by a second focusing element 8 drawn as a pair of planoconvex lenses . the focused beam passes , at its focal point , above a first mirror 2 ( being positioned in a direction below the paper plane of the figure ), and is then directed to a second wavelength selective system . in the second wavelength selective system the beam is collimated by a first lens 7 , and the collimated beam i directed towards a reflective grating 10 . the light beam reflected from the grating is dispersed into a range of wavelengths , which are focused by a fifth lens 12 onto a selection element 13 which only transmits selected segments of the light focused onto it . the selection element 13 is here embodied as a chopper wheel 24 , shown in fig3 . the three light beams transmitted through the chopper wheel 24 are reflected back through the chopper wheel 24 by a second mirror 6 , slightly tilted downwards ( in a direction out of the paper plane of the figure ), are recollimated by the fourth lens 12 , and are reflected back from the grating 10 overlapping each other and being parallel . the three overlapping beams are then focused by the first lens 7 onto the first mirror 2 , which reflects the beams towards a sixth lens 4 . the sixth lens 4 collimates the beams and directs them to a set - up comprising a beam splitter 19 , a fourth lens 21 and a detector 23 , identical to the one in the first embodiment . obviously , the embodiment could alternatively have been arranged with a transmission grating , while a set - up similar to the first embodiment , having two gratings , would be unnecessary due to the potentially high dispersive power of the gratings , and inconvenient due to the cost of gratings . the higher optical throughput of the system does on the other hand makes it possible to use cheaper detectors with lower detectivity . in this embodiment the wavelength selection element 13 could alternatively have been embodied as a set of tuning fork type optical choppers , which are essentially mirrors mounted on the ends of electromechanically driven tuning forks . the fork may resonate at a higher frequency than a rotating disc type chopper device , and may , if driven at its resonance frequency , be very insensitive to disturbances . this kind of chopper also has a longer life span , but may be more expensive . fig3 shows an embodiment of a chopper wheel 24 usable in the first and second embodiments . the solid areas on the chopper wheel 24 indicate apertures in the otherwise non transparent chopper wheel 24 . a portion of the non circular rings 26 , 28 , 30 indicated by the area 31 is what is illustrated in cross section in fig2 and 3 as the wavelength selection element 13 . as the chopper wheel 24 rotates , the distance from the apertures to the center axis 29 of the chopper wheel 24 will shift back and forth periodically , with different periodicity for the different non circular rings 26 , 28 and 30 . the innermost non circular ring 30 moves back and forth three times per rotation of the wheel 24 , the next ring 28 four times and the outermost non circular ring 26 five times per rotation . the non circular rings 26 , 28 , 30 will thus select light beams at separate wavelengths , and as the wheel 24 rotates , the first wavelength selective system will emit a beam of light of three different wavelengths , each wavelength modulated at three , four and five times the rotational frequency of the wheel 24 . any constant intensity wavelength modulated light beam experiencing wavelength dependent absorption will become amplitude modulated at frequencies corresponding to multiples of the wavelength modulation frequency . the dc signal will be proportional to the reflectance itself , i . e . the zeroeth derivative of the absorption with respect to the wavelength , the size of the amplitude modulation at the wavelength modulation frequency will be proportional to the derivative of the absorption with respect to the wavelength , and the size of the amplitude modulation at twice the wavelength modulation frequency will be proportional to the second derivative of the absorption with respect to the wavelength etc . as water and ice have absorptions with different wavelength dependencies , a wavelength modulated light beam being transmitted though water or ice will become amplitude modulated in different ways , giving rise to different sets of amplitudes of the degree of amplitude modulation at different multiples of the wavelength modulation frequency . assuming the wavelength dependence of the reflectance of the paving to be small or zero , ie . it has a flat absorption curve as a function of the wavelength , this will only give rise to a dc signal at the detector which may be neglected . denoting the amplitude of the amplitude modulation at the frequency corresponding to the wavelength modulation frequency as s 1 and the amplitude of the amplitude modulation at twice the frequency corresponding to the wavelength modulation frequency as s 2 , the relation between these amplitudes may be discussed using a diagrammatic approach . plotting s 1 and s 2 on the x - and y - axes of the graph in fig4 , respectively , for different ice ( solid line ) and water ( dashed line ) layer thicknesses at an arbitrarily chosen wavelength , curves similar to the ones shown in fig4 may be found . for any substance , both s 1 and s 2 are obviously zero for a substance thickness of zero , and as the substance thickness increases , the curve deviates from the origin as indicated by the arrows on the curves . eventually the substance thickness gets so large that the transmission through the substance approaches zero , and both curves then return to the origin . for an arbitrarily chosen wavelength , the proportions between s 1 and s 2 are not fixed , so the curves are loop - like . this may make it difficult to separate signals arising from presence of water from those arising from presence of ice , and if the curves cross it is for certain thicknesses not possible to separate them at all . by choosing wavelength for detection properly , the proportions of s 1 and s 2 for both curves remain nearly fixed for any layer thickness , and the loops look nearly like straight lines extending in different directions from the origin of the graph , as in fig5 . the figure also shows how different parameter area sectors are interpreted as different surface conditions . an area dry extending a small distance from the origin is interpreted as dry road surface , and two sectors ice and wet extending along and including the loops corresponding to the ice signal loop and the water signal loop , are interpreted as purely icy and purely wet road surface , respectively . an area mix extending between these last two areas is interpreted as a road surface covered by a mix of water and ice . the parameter area sectors outside these four areas may be used e . g . for fault tracing . the radius of the circular area dry within which the parameter values s 1 and s 2 are interpreted as indicating a dry surface , is defined by the noise level of the signal . the noise is caused by varying background reflection due to the graininess of the road surface , electronic noise and other factors . as the noise in the s 1 and s 2 - parameters may be different and dependent , the dry area might in practice be of any other shape but circular , the circular area chosen here is for simplicity only . the width of the wet and ice parameter areas is partially set by noise considerations , but also has to include factors such as temperature affecting the absorption curves for both water and ice , and salinity affecting the absorption curve for water . increased salinity in water will affect the absorption curve for water in a way similar to a temperature increase , which may be interpreted as an increase in apparent temperature . apparent temperature changes in the ranges present under normal circumstances for ice or water changes the absorption curves slightly , which in the s 1 - s 2 plane appears as slight angular and other shifts of the ice and water curves . fig6 shows ice and water parameter curves for two different wavelengths , 33 and 34 . only two wavelengths are illustrated for simplicity reasons only , even though the first and second embodiments use three wavelengths . several different wavelengths are found in the near infrared spectrum where the parameter curves are near linear , but for different wavelengths the curves may have different angular directions and extend different distances from the origin . obviously , this needs to be compensated for , using different parameter area sectors for interpreting the road surface properties at different wavelengths . in the first and second embodiments of the inventions , the signals from which s 1 and s 2 are derived , are modulated at different frequencies , making it easy to apply different surface property interpretation rules . if a set of wavelengths is found where the parameter curves overlap , different interpretation rules may not be necessary , and the modulation frequencies at different wavelengths may be identical , simplifying the signal processing . preferably , the set of wavelengths used are chosen such that in the presence of clear water and / or ice a significant signal is received at at least one wavelength . this means that for the thinnest substance layers of interest , a signal is received at the most sensitive wavelength , i . e . the wavelength at which the absorptivity is the largest , while no signal is received at the other wavelength ( s ). as the substance layer thickness exceeds the interval where the most sensitive wavelength is active , i . e . where the substance appears completely intransparent at that wavelength , a signal is received at the next wavelength , while the substance still appears completely transparent at the next wavelength etc . a set of wavelengths should therefore be chosen such that any normally appearing clear substance layer thickness is detectable . if the substances are not clear , however , the beer - lambert law is not adhered , and may be replaced by the kubelka - munk equations . under such circumstances , appearing e . g . in the presence of dirty water or ice , snow , frost or slurries of water / ice mixtures , significant signal contributions may appear at several wavelengths simultaneously . this may be used to derive information on the structural properties of the water / ice layer on the road surface . from this information may be concluded the slipperiness of the ice / water layer , which may be presented to the user of the system according to the invention . fig7 indicates the result of a further imperfection of the arrangement on the ice and water parameter curves . in fig4 - 7 it is assumed that the wavelength modulation causes no residual inherent amplitude modulation of the signal even in absence of water or ice , and the parameter curves thus starts and ends at the origin of the graphs . if such a residual amplitude modulation is present , the curves , here shown for two different wavelengths 33 and 34 , will originate at different positions in the s 1 - s 2 plane . again , the result of such flaws may be compensated for using proper signal processing . fig8 shows a third embodiment of the detection device which instead of a dispersive element 9 , 10 , 17 and a wavelength selection element 13 uses a pivoting dielectric filter 14 . here , the wavelength modulation occurs after the light hitting the road surface has been received by the detection device . to be able to separate light originating from the light beam emitter of the detection device from background radiation , the aperture 5 of the light beam emitter is embodied as the aperture of a chopper wheel for intensity modulation . the result is that amplitude modulated light of a known frequency f a is emitted from the light beam emitter and may be separated from background radiation . the amplitude modulated light is then collimated by a sixth lens 4 , partially transmitted through a beam splitter 19 , and hits the road surface . light reflected from the road surface hitting the beam splitter 19 , is partially reflected by the beam splitter 19 and transmitted in a direction orthogonal to that of the outgoing beam . the beam is then transmitted through a dielectric transmission filter 14 , which is arranged at an angle slightly offset from the incoming beam . the filter angle is changed in a periodical manner , and the filter may for example be mounted on a galvanometer which periodically pivots the filter around an axis orthogonal to the beam direction , as indicated by the arrow in the figure . the filter is arranged to transmit a set of suitable wavelengths , and as the filter is tilted , these wavelengths shift . by vibrating the filter in a suitable way , the beam transmitted through the filter will be amplitude modulated at frequencies related to the vibration frequency of the filter . through proper signal processing described below , the absorption properties of the road surface may be deduced . the beam is finally focused by a fourth lens 21 onto a detector 23 . in this embodiment , the signal parameters of interest , s 1 and s 2 , are not found at the wavelength modulation frequency f λ , and twice that frequency 2f λ , but at f a ± f λ , and at f a ± 2f λ . by selecting f a and f λ , properly , f a ± f λ and f a ± 2f λ may be detected at conveniently low frequencies , allowing use of cheap , slow detectors . meanwhile noise occurring as a result of the graininess of the road surface is picked up at f a , allowing choice of f a at a low noise frequency . in this embodiment there is no direct way of separating signals at different wavelengths by detecting them at different modulation frequencies , as all are wavelength modulated at the same frequency f λ . this implies that situations like the ones illustrated in fig6 and 7 may be difficult to handle . neither is it possible to to derive information on the structural properties of the water / ice layer on the road surface using the methods described above . all embodiments shown should however be interpreted as illustrative only , and not as limiting . in the examples presented above , the surface conditions are concluded by detecting the reflectance properties at two or three wavelengths , but obviously any number of wavelengths may be used . further , only the signals s 1 and s 2 are discussed , but obviously s 0 and s 3 , s 4 . . . etc . may be used to support the surface property identification algorithms . the three embodiments shown have a light beam emitter 1 , 3 , 5 and a wavelength selective system , where the latter acts to select suitably chosen wavelengths and wavelength modulate these before or after the beam is reflected by the road surface . the light beam emitter may use an incandescent lamp , an led or , if sufficient background light is present , may be eliminated altogether . wavelength selective systems using prisms , gratings or dielectric filter are shown , but other solutions are possible such as acousto optic modulators , which may have a much higher modulation frequency than any mechanical solution . alternatively , the light beam emitter and the wavelength selective system may be integrated into a single functional unit using a wavelength modulated laser source . the detection device may be mounted in a vehicle such that it may detect ice or water under the vehicle , but may alternatively be forward looking , giving the driver an advance warning of upcoming wet or icy sections of the road . for such a forward looking detection device further functionality may be integrated into the system , for example a system which makes the detection device track the road in front of the vehicle as the road turns , or have two or several detection areas , such as one nearer and another further from the front of the vehicle . the detection device is intended to be part of a system for determining the road surface condition including a road surface indicator , preferably mounted in the vehicle compartment . the road surface indicator shows the present road surface condition and may warn at sudden changes in road surface conditions . although the invention has been described in conjunction with a number of preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that various modifications may still be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . one such modification is to use the invention for determining the surface condition of objects other than roads . | 6 |
the inventively employed polyhydroxyalkylamine - n , n - dialkylcarboxylic acids or their salts should be present in an amount of 2 - 60 wt .%, preferably 5 - 25 wt .%, based on the total weight of the detergent or cleaning agent mixture . m may be hydrogen , lithium , sodium , potassium , or ammonium , preferaoly sodium , n is preferably 1 . x may represent the following polyhydroxyalkyl groups : 1 - deoxyerythrityl , 1 - deoxyarabityl , 1 - deoxyxylityl , 1 - deoxysorbityl , 2 - deoxysorbit - 2 - yl , 1 - deoxymannltyl , 2 - deoxymannlt - 2 - yl , 1 - de oxygaiactityl , 1 - deoxy - 4 - glucosido - sorbityl , 1 - deoxy - 4 - galactosido - sorbityl , 2 - deoxy - 4 - glucosido - sorbit - 2 - yl , 2 - deoxy - 4 - glucosido - mannit - 2 - yl , 1 - deoxy - 4 - malto - glucosido - sorbityl , 1 - deoxy - 4 - oligoglucosido - sorbityl , or 1 - deoxy - 4 - polyglucosido - sorbityl . preferably , x represents a 1 - deoxysorbityl group . the following compounds are examples of builders which may be employed according to the invention : glucamine diacetate , erythramine diacetate , arabinamine diacetate , xylamine diacetate , mannamine diacetate , galactamine diacetate , 2 - deoxy -. sorbit - 2 - ylamine diacetate , 2 - deoxy - mannit - 2 - ylamine diacetate , 4 - glucosido - glucamine diacetate , 4 - galactosido - glucamine diacetate , 2 - deoxy - 4 - glucosido - sorbit - 2 - ylamine diacetate , 2 - deoxy - 4 - glucosido - mannit - 2 - ylamine diacetate , 4 - malto - glucosido - glucamine diacetate , 4 - oligoglucosido - glucamine diacetate , and 4 - polyglucosido - glucamine diacetate . the following are examples of surfactants which may be present in the detergent or cleaning agent : ( a ) anionic surfactants , e . g . alkylarylsulfonates , particularly alkylbenzenesulfonates ; olefinsulfonates , sec - paraffinsulfonates ; sulfosuccinic acid half ester salts ; or fatty alcohol ether sulfates ; ( b ) nonionic surfactants , e . g . fatty alcohol polyglycol ethers , alkylphenol polyglycol ethers , fatty acid polyglycol esters , or polypropylene oxide - polyethylene oxide mixed polymers ; etc . the compounds of general formula i are known per se . see ger . as 10 11 428 , wherein a method of preparing the compounds is described along with their use as therapeutic agents . according to the method described , the compounds may be prepared by carboxyalkylation of the corresponding polyhydroxyalkylamines , or by polyhydroxyalkylation of the corresponding iminodi -( alkylcarboxylic ) acids . the polyhydroxyalkylamine - n , n - dimethylcarboxylic acids ## str3 ## may be prepared , for example , by treating the corresponding polyhydroxyalkylamines with formaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid , or by carboxymethylation with chloroacetic acid and sodium hydroxide . the polyhydroxyalkylamines may be prepared by the generally known method of reductive amination of sugar derivatives with liquid ammonia . the following are examples of preferred sugar derivatives : erythrose , glucose , galactose , mannose , fructose , arabinose , xylose , maltose , saccharose , lactose , cellobiose , maltotriose , maltodextrin , and other starch byproducts ( e . g . glucose syrup ). the excellent action of the builder sodium triphosphate in synthetic detergents and cleaning agents is very complex . the most important criteria are as follows : ( a ) good complex - forming ability with calcium and magnesium ions ; ( b ) synergistic influence of the primary detergent action of synthetic anionic and nonionic surfactants and soaps ; ( c ) good antiredeposition power for soils , and good dissolution power for soil particles ; ( d ) good compatibility with other builders , e . g . sodium silicate and sodium sulfate ; ( e ) no effect on perborate stability ; and ( f ) inhibition of deposition of inorganic insoluble salts onto the fabric ( incrustation ). the inventively employed alkali salts of polyhydroxyalkylamine - n , n - dialkylcarboxylic acids fully satisfy these criteria . other features of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description of exemplary embodiments which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof . the invention will now be illustrated in more detail in the following , using the example of glucamine - n , n - diacetate shown below . ## str4 ## 181 g ( 1 mol ) d - glucamine and 194 g ( 2 . 05 mol ) chloroacetic acid were stirred with 50 ml water at 40 ° c ., to form a suspension , to which 164 g ( 2 . 05 mol ) 50 % sodium hydroxide was added slowly . the reactant mixture at this point had a ph of less than 8 . 5 . at 55 ° c . the material comprises a clear solution . an additional 164 g naoh solution was added gradually at a ph of 8 to 9 , over a period of 2 hours . stirring was continued an additional 30 minutes at 70 ° c . after cooling , 58g nacl was filtered out . the filtrate had the following composition : the ph of the final solution was 10 . 3 . this solution was used as a test solution for the following application tests . in all cases , sodium triphosphate ( na - tripurit ®, supplied by hoechst ) was used as a comparison material . in the washing test , the inventively employed material was combined with the anionic surfactant alkylbenzenesulfonate ( marlon a ®, supplied by huels ). in some instances , zeolite ( sasil ®, supplied by degussa ) was included as a comparison material . 2 g of the test substance was dissolved in 90 ml water , and 10 ml of a 2 % sodium carbonate solution was added . after bringing to temperature ( see table ), the solution was titrated at ph 10 with a 4 - 5 % calcium acetate solution until a distinct and persistent turbidity was present . table 1______________________________________hampshire test ca binding capabilitytemperature ( mg caco . sub . 3 / g substance )(° c .) glucamine diacetate na - tripurit ® ______________________________________20 224 16360 197 12090 146 84______________________________________ brightening measured against standard white ( mgo ), by a uv spectromerer ( beckmann &# 34 ; dk 2a &# 34 ;). concentration of the agents in the bath : 1 g / liter marlon a ®+ 2 g / liter builder . table 2______________________________________detergency brightening (%) builder 1st washing 2nd washing______________________________________glucamine diacetate 30 . 3 37 . 4na - tripurit ® 32 . 7 37 . 4sasil ® 21 . 5 31 . 1sasil ® + 23 . 9 35 . 110 % glucamine diacetate______________________________________ following a 3rd washing , the fabric was incinerated at 600 ° c ., 2 hours . the ash percentage was taken as a measure of incrustation . table 3______________________________________incrustationbuilder ash ( wt . %) ______________________________________control test * 0 . 83 - 0 . 85glucamine diacetate 0 . 57 - 0 . 57na - tripurit ® 0 . 26 - 0 . 26sasil ® 0 . 88 - 0 . 94sasil ® + 0 . 82 - 0 . 9710 % glucamine diacetate______________________________________ * for comparison , the value without addition of surfactant and builder , in drinking water , is given . fig1 is a graph of brightening versus builder content in detergent formulation . concentrations of agents in bath : 0 . 75 g / liter marlon a ®+ up to 2 g / liter builder . the amount of builder was steadily replaced by increasing amounts of sodium sulfate . however , the total amount of sodium sulfate + builder in all samples was constant at 2 g / liter . fig2 is graph of residual active oxygen versus time as obtained from a test solution containing a concentration of agents of 0 . 77 g / liter builder , 0 . 62 g / liter sodium perborate . 4h 2 o and 0 . 01 g / liter fe ( iii ) chloride . the residual active oxygen value was taken as a measure of perborate stability . as the examples show , the inventively employed compounds are clearly superior to the ecologically unobjectionable zeolites ( sasil ®) in the important characteristics , e . g ., detergency , effect on incrustation , and perborate stability . although the triphosphate is the best as a builder , some of the properties of the inventively employed compounds are superior to those of the triphosphate , i . e ., hampshire ca - binding test and perborate compatibility , and some are nearly as good , i . e ., incrustation and detergency . the inventively employed types of compounds do not lead to eutrophication . accordingly , their use in detergents and cleaning agents represents a true advance of the art , and a surprising one as well . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 2 |
in fig1 is illustrated a typical shearer pick 1 in common use , worldwide , comprising a non - circular shank 2 adapted to be releasably located within a corresponding aperture in a tool holder or pick box , and releasably retained against inadvertent loss by a latching means , such as a multi - ribbed , synthetic plastics insert in the double “ o ” aperture 3 . at a front or leading face 4 of the shank 2 is provided a blind aperture 5 to receive an additional , or alternative , resilient , shank retaining button ( not shown ). from the upper end of the front face 4 of the shank 2 a forwardly directed enlarged shoulder 6 extends having an underside 7 to seat on a support surface ( not shown ) of the associated tool holder or pick box in the well known manner . further forward , the shoulder 6 is provided with a notch 8 for engagement by an extraction tool , such as a screwdriver or drift , when extraction of the pick 1 is required . at a trailing face side 9 of the shank 2 is provided a heel 10 also having a support surface 11 , and in addition a through hole 12 to accommodate a portion of a water spray nozzle ( not shown ). beyond the shoulder 6 and heel 10 extends an integral blade 13 provided with a carbide tip 14 . shoulder 6 , heel 10 and blade 13 comprise the head 22 of the cutter tool 1 . in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention , a slot 15 is provided in cutter tool 1 a at a 90 ° junction between the leading face 4 of the shank 2 and a portion 16 of the enlarged shoulder 6 . in this embodiment , the slot 15 extends at a 45 ° angle to the front face 40 of shank 2 and to the underside surface 7 of shoulder 6 . slot 15 is provided to influence that the cutting tool 1 will break the head 22 from the shank 2 so that the shank can be removed downward when used in a tool holder that provides a removal opening such as disclosed in british application serial no . 1113669 . 4 field aug . 9 , 2011 . fig2 a discloses a preferred slot formation at the junction between the shank and the shoulder . in this embodiment , slot 15 a extends inward at the junction along the top of shank 4 to define a frangible portion 20 that is sufficiently robust to withstand normal operation , but will break when the cutter tool 1 b strikes a steel member or other hard object . the provision of slot 15 a dictates that the cutter tool when striking a steel member will , in most cases , break cleanly along the top of the shank without bending or distorting the shank 2 or leaving a portion of head 22 remaining connected to the shank . an unbent shank can be easily tapped downward and out of the tool holder for tool holders with a lower removal opening such as disclosed in british application serial no . 1113669 . 4 filed aug . 9 , 2011 . slot 15 a extends from a front surface 24 of the cutter tool 1 b . in one preferred embodiment , slot 15 a extends perpendicular to front face 4 and opens only in the front surface ( i . e ., in the direction the tool is driven during operation ) of the cutting tool , which in this embodiment is the front face 4 of shank 2 , and in the sides to its depth of extension into the tool from the front face 4 in order to more effectively provide a clean break without distortion of the part remaining in the tool holder ; i . e ., it is considered beneficial for directing a clean fracture for the slot to open only or primarily in the surface which receives the primary loading . slot 15 a defines a frangible portion 20 in the remaining thickness of the material . frangible portion 20 is formed to resist normal loading and remain intact during normal operation of the cutter tool , and to provide a clean break of the head 22 from the shank 2 without distortion of the shank when a steel member or other hard object ( e . g ., a steel member ) is struck . the minimum and maximum thickness will be determined based on the intended application as well as the design and material of the cutter tool . as stated previously , a not uncommon occurrence is for the blade 13 to strike a steel obstruction , such as a roof support bar , or buried tramway rail or pipeline . in this situation , the provision of the slot 15 or 15 a is aimed at propagating a break from the slot to completely separate the head 22 from the shank 2 without distorting the shank for easier removal of the shank from the tool holder . in another embodiment illustrated in fig3 , a slot 17 is provided in a front face 18 of the blade 13 in a zone 19 where the blade 13 meets the enlarged shoulder 6 . as with the earlier embodiments , the slot 17 preferably opens only in the front face of the cutting tool , which in this case is the front face 18 of blade 13 , and in the sides to the depth of the slot into the head 22 . as with the earlier embodiment , the slot forms a frangible portion 20 having a certain thickness . the frangible portion 20 has a certain “ dynamic strength ,” which is defined as the force required to break the frangible portion when the force is an impact load applied to the tip of the cutter tool . the dynamic strength of the frangible portion is , then , a factor of ( i ) the cross sectional size of the frangible portion where the break is intended ( typically the most narrow cross section ), ( ii ) material of the cutter tool at this cross section frangible portion , and ( iii ) the vertical distance between the frangible portion and the tip where the impact load is applied during use . in accordance with this one aspect of invention , the dynamic strength of the frangible portion 20 is less or weaker than the dynamic strength of the interface between the head 22 and the shank 2 . in a preferred embodiment , the dynamic strength of the frangible portion is at least about ten percent less than the dynamic strength of the interface between the shank and the head in order to reliably ( i . e ., in most cases ) direct the breaking of the cutter tool along the frangible portion rather than the shank - head interface when the cutter tool strikes a steel member or other hard member . in this way the shoulder 6 and removal notch 8 are preserved even if a steel member is struck by the tip 14 of the cutter tool to enable removal of the shank 2 from the tool holder so that a replacement cutter tool can be inserted . the dynamic strength of the frangible portion could be much less than 10 % weaker than the shank - head interface so long as the frangible portion remained intact during normal operation . in alternative constructions ( not shown ), a zone of weakness or frangible portion can be defined by means other than a slot defined in the cutter tool . in addition , other kinds of slots can be used even though they are formed in ways other than disclosed above . for example , a slot can be formed around the periphery or by being partially formed in both the front and the rear surface . in these alternative slot constructions , the slot is preferably primarily formed to extend from the front surface , i . e ., that the majority of the depth of the slot extends from the front surface . the slots 15 , 15 a , 17 are shown as narrow and linear gaps in the cutter tool , which is the preferred construction . nevertheless , the slots could have a non - linear configuration , have a wider ( not narrow ) width , and / or have an irregular shape . the term “ slot ” is intended to have a broad construction to define a gap in the cutter tool having a wide variety of possible shapes . the shape or size of the opening can vary considerably . | 4 |
fig1 and 2 illustrate a movable work table 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . movable work table 10 includes a handle 14 , a pair of rear wheels 18 , and a pair of front wheels 20 . good results have been achieved when rear wheels 18 are provided as swivel type caster wheels , and front wheels 20 are provided as rigid , non - swiveling wheels . a support frame 22 , which may also be termed a landing gear frame , for example , is integrally provided at the lower portion of movable work table 10 , or as a separate add - on element for retrofitting existing , non - movable tables , for example . one or more connecting members 26 extend between and connect handle 14 and a linkage 30 . linkage 30 includes a fastener 32 functioning as a pivot point , a tie rod 34 , and a plurality of front and rear pivot plates 38 . it is contemplated that connecting member 26 will rigidly join handle 14 and rearmost pivot plates 38 , such as by bolting or welding respective connection points and interfaces . a pivot element , such as a rod 36 , allows plates 38 to rotate relative to the remainder of cart 10 . hence , wheels 18 and 20 are rotatable relative to cart 10 . rods 36 may extend substantially across the width of cart 10 , as illustrated , for providing additional structural integrity , or rods 36 may be provided as two short rods disposed on respective left and right sides at one or both of the front and rear of cart 10 . it is likewise contemplated that other fasteners such as nuts and bolts , and rivets be utilized as pivot points , for example . when the invention is in the form of the illustrated work table 10 , there is provide an upper work surface 40 . likewise , a lower work surface 44 , as well as one or more side walls 48 may be provided . work table 10 further includes a main frame 60 having uprights 64 , lengthwise frame member 66 , and lateral frame members 68 . a plurality of rigid legs 80 , preferably formed as rigid extensions of uprights 64 , include support feet 84 . it is expected that adjustment elements 88 will be provided for fine - tuning the relationship between wheels 18 , 20 and support feet 84 , depending on the type and quality of the expected support surface s and the intended use of movable work table 10 . a rigidifying element 92 may be provided extending between respective ones of front and rear pivot plates 38 . for ease of cleaning , and for use in the food service industry , for example , it is preferred that rigidifying element 92 be in the form of a downwardly extending flange . such a downwardly extending flange ensures that unwanted material will not collect on an upper face of pivot plates 38 , for example . turning to fig3 and . 4 , there is shown a movable work table 100 according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention . movable work table 100 includes a multipurpose spring 104 which is located and normally biased for returning a handle 114 to its non - use position adjacent to the rear of table 100 . spring 104 resiliently connects a tie rod 134 to a lower portion 140 of table 100 . a support 144 may be attached to lower portion 140 to provide a convenient attaching location for the front end of spring 104 . spring 104 not only ensures that handle 114 is returned to a fully upright position out of the way of users , but likewise further upwardly biases wheels 118 to make it easier to clean between wheels 118 and support surface 8 , for example . fig5 illustrates yet another preferred embodiment of a movable work table 200 according to the invention . a handle 214 is pivotably attached as in the previously described embodiments . in a typical application in the food service industry , there can be provided a movable work surface 240 above which adjustable beams 242 are provided , and which work surface 240 is movable in the direction of arrow 250 . also , there may be provided a tray 252 movable in the direction of arrow 254 . a plurality of support feet 284 are relatively large , as compared with the above - described embodiments , and extend outwardly past the footprint of the main body of table 200 . such support feet 284 provide additional stability when heavy objects , such as a meat slicer ( not shown ) are supported on adjustable beams 242 . adjustment of support feet 284 relative to legs 280 is accomplished by the provision of one or more adjustment nuts 286 movably disposed on a threaded shaft 288 . it is expected that a pad 292 will be provided on a lower surface of support feet 284 to enhance the effectiveness thereof . the operation of each of the preferred embodiment of fig1 - 5 is generally the same , and the use of movable work table 10 of the preferred embodiment of fig1 and 2 will be described in detail . fig1 and 2 illustrate the location of handle 14 when a downward and outward force f is applied by the user . handle 14 is preferably configured so that force f may be provided chiefly by the user taking advantage of his or her body weight , as opposed to the lifting of handles by arm muscles as is required in conventional devices . such downward force f causes handle 14 to move from the phantom line position of fig2 to the solid line positions of fig1 and 2 in a counterclockwise direction . hence , connecting member 26 likewise rotates in a counterclockwise direction relative to pivot rod 36 . the movement of connecting member 26 , owing to its being fixedly attached to pivot plate 38 , moves pivot point 32 rearwardly . concurrently , tie rod 34 is moved rearwardly along with forward pivot plate 38 . thus , wheels 18 and 20 are likewise rotated counterclockwise relative to pivot rod 36 into engagement with support surface s . continued counterclockwise movement of handle 14 results in the lifting of legs 80 , along with the remaining elements of work table 10 , off of support surface 8 . work table 10 may now be moved to a different location by exertion of forward forces by the operator . it will be appreciated that in the operative position of handle 14 shown in solid line in fig1 and 2 , the handle is in an ergonometrically desirable location for the typical operator to push and steer table 10 . when the desired new location has been reached , the operator releases handle 14 , removing force f , whereby the force of gravity causes the bulk of the weight of table 10 to act on wheels 18 and 20 , thereby rotating the wheels counterclockwise , along with connecting member 26 , and handle 14 , relative to the remainder of table 10 , wherein handle 14 is automatically returned to its typical , substantially upright , non - use position . as will be appreciated , wheels 18 and 20 are moved upwardly and relative to the remainder of table 10 until support feet 84 have contacted support surface s . the operation of work table 100 illustrated in fig3 and 4 is generally the same as the operation of the embodiment of fig1 and 2 . it is contemplated that spring 104 will be sized so that its function is to ensure handle 114 is returned to its non - use position shown in fig3 . spring 104 is useful when the irregularities of surface s might cause handle 114 to not be fully returned to its upright position . spring 104 can likewise be sized to make sure that any irregularities in the geometry and location of the pivot points , assembly of the linkages , and frictional forces , which may contribute to handle 114 not being fully returned to its non - use position , will be overcome by the force of spring 104 . still further , spring 104 is expected to function as the means by which wheels 118 are raised entirely off the floor to allow for cleaning underneath the wheels when work table 100 is in its nonuse position . this use of spring 104 differs from the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , in which gravity is generally the sole force acting on the wheels , and the wheels in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 are typically always in contact with the support surface . fig5 generally illustrates the typical application of movable work table 200 in a delticatessen or grocery store , for example , and will be provided with or without springs as the intended use dictates . it is likewise contemplated that the adjustable feet in all embodiments will be engineered and assembled so that the feet cannot be adjusted upwardly to a point where the wheels engage the floor when the wheels are in the non - moving retracted position . such configuration and adjustment of the adjustable feet ensures that the feet cannot be deployed in a position that would allow the wheels to remain in operative contact with the ground even when the handle is in its fully retracted , non - use position . the mounting of the adjustable feet is likewise engineered so that the table can be leveled when the floor is uneven . the geometry of the handle and the linkages for actuating the wheels is such that leverage is maximized for significantly reducing the force required for an operator to lift the table . the amount of lift of the table accomplished by movement of the handle is sufficient to elevate the feet for clearing obstacles typically encountered in a commercial environment . it is likewise contemplated that the pivot point ( s ) will be varied for adjusting the leverage factor , whereby the force required to actuate the handle will increase or decrease to match the intended load range of the table . the materials used in the lower frame and linkages can be different from those used in the handle . for example , the handle can be stainless steel and the other associated elements can be carbon steel . carbon steel and stainless steel can be welded together , or the components can be assembled with bolts , or rivets , or other conventional fastening means . the handle itself is expected to be of a single pole type , for example , in addition to the illustrated u - shaped and double ski pole configurations . it is further contemplated that two wheels or casters be used at the front of the table ( i . e ., at a location distant from the handle ) and the table would have a total of two ( as opposed to four ) wheels in its landing gear assembly . such a configuration would further simplify the overall device . such a configuration would typically have two feet and two casters engaging the ground when the casters are in the retracted , non - use position . while this invention has been described as having a preferred design , it is understood that it is capable of further modifications , uses and / or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which to invention pertains and as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth , and fall within the scope of the invention and of the limits of the appended claims . | 1 |
fig1 is a simplified block diagram of an embedded microprocessor system 100 in accordance with one aspect of the invention . the embedded microprocessor system 100 includes a microprocessor 102 , program storage memory 104 , and main execution memory 106 . microprocessors suitable for use in embodiments of the invention are generally available from a number of sources , such as intel and motorola , and may include both special purpose and general purpose features . the embodiments of the invention described herein do not require any particular microprocessor features and can , therefore , be applied to a variety of microprocessor system architectures . program storage memory 104 may be any of a variety of non - volatile storage media , such as a rom , eprom , eeprom , and flash memory , as well as magnetic media . the program storage memory 104 may include code instructions executed by the microprocessor 102 during system initialization . main execution memory 106 may be any of a variety of volatile storage media , such as a suitable ram device . the program storage memory 104 and the main execution memory 106 may include a conventional address / data bus interface 108 , which are conventionally used by the microprocessor 102 to access peripheral devices , including memory . the address / data bus interface 108 provides access to an address bus , data bus , and control signals , such as chip select , read , and write . the address / data bus interface 108 of the program storage memory 104 and the main execution memory 106 may be connected directly to the address / data bus interface 108 of the microprocessor 102 , or may be connected through the bus interface circuitry 110 , depending , for example , on the microprocessor 102 architecture . in accordance with one aspect of the invention , the embedded microprocessor system 100 includes a programming hardware assist ( pha ) engine 112 for programming a programmable logic device ( pld ) 114 . the pha engine 112 interfaces with the microprocessor 102 through the address / data bus interface 108 , either directly or through the bus interface circuitry 110 . the microprocessor 102 may write pld programming data and instructions to the pha engine 112 and the pha engine 112 passes the data and instructions to the pld 114 using a serial interface 116 . fig2 is a block diagram of the pha engine 112 and pld 114 portions of the embedded microprocessor system 100 . pha engine 112 includes a control register 202 , a pair of data registers 204 , an address / data bus interface process 500 , a serial interface process 600 , and a multiplex process 700 . the address / data bus interface process 500 decodes the address bits from the microprocessor 102 to determine which register is being accessed and also examines the control signals from the microprocessor to determine if a write or read function is being performed . in the present embodiment , the pha engine 112 includes two data registers 204 . one data register receives data from the microprocessor and the other receives data from the pld . as both data registers 204 share the same address , the address / data bus interface process 500 determines which of the two data registers to access based on whether a read or write function is being performed by the microprocessor 102 . the address / data bus interface process 500 is described in greater detail below with respect to fig5 . the microprocessor 102 communicates with the pha engine 112 by reading from and writing to the control 202 and data registers 204 . based on the information in the control register 202 , the serial interface process 600 converts the information in the data register 204 into a serial bit stream and , via the multiplex process 700 , transfers the serial bit stream to the pld 114 using a designated signal or combination of signals on the serial interface 116 . the serial interface process 600 and the multiplex process 700 are described in detail below with respect to fig6 and 7 , respectively . in an embodiment of the invention , the serial interface 116 is defined by ieee standard 1149 . 1 , “ test access port and boundary scan architecture ”, commonly referred to as jtag . although the embodiment of the invention is described with respect to the jtag test access port , it should be emphasized that the present invention may be adapted to other serial interfaces . accordingly , the present invention should not be limited to using the jtag interface . the jtag standard defines the serial interface 116 , referred to as the test access port ( tap ) and an interface state machine , referred to as the tap controller state machine . in fig2 , pld 114 includes a test access port 208 that is assumed to implement a tap controller state machine . the serial interface process 600 of pha engine 112 may provide the interface signals necessary to communicate with the tap 208 and control the operation of the tap controller state machine . the tap includes four interface signals : test data in ( tdi ), test data out ( tdo ), test mode select ( tms ), and test clock ( tck ). tdi is the serial input to all jtag instruction and data registers and tdo is the serial output from all jtag instruction and data registers . according to the jtag standard , the tdo signal from the controller is connected to the tdi signal of the pld and the tdo signal from the pld is connected to the tdi signal of the controller . tck is the interface clock and is an output from the controller to the pld . tms is used to sequence through the states of a pld tap controller state machine and is an output from the controller to the pld . in fig2 , the tck output of pha engine 112 is connected to the clock input of pld 114 . the tms output of pha engine is connected to the tms input of pld 114 . the tdo output of phi engine 112 is connected to the tdi input of pld 114 . the tdi input of pha is connected to the tdo output of pld 114 . fig3 illustrates an exemplary tap controller state machine that may be implemented by pld 114 . in fig3 , each block represents a state defined by the jtag standard and each arrow represents a state transition . the bit values on each arrow represent the value of tms required at the rising edge of tck to move from one state to the next . for example , to advance from test - logic - reset to run - test / idle , tms should be cleared ( i . e ., have a value of “ 0 ”) when tck transitions from low to high ( i . e ., “ 0 ” to “ 1 ”). to remain in the test - logic - reset state , tms should be set ( i . e ., have a value of “ 1 ”). in fig3 , the tap controller state machine 300 is divided into two sections : a data register section , generally indicated by reference numeral 302 , and an instruction register section , generally indicated by reference numeral 304 . to execute a jtag command , the state machine 300 is advanced to the shift - ir state and an opcode representing the desired command is written to the instruction register . while the state machine 300 is defined by the jtag standard , the set of supported commands and associated opcodes varies from device to device . for example , many semiconductor devices use the jtag interface as a mechanism to test basic functions of the semiconductor . as such , these semiconductors may not support jtag commands intended to configure or program the device . in addition , different devices may use different opcodes to represent the same command . for example , the virtex series of xilinx fpgas uses five - bit opcodes while the virtex ii series of fpgas uses six - bit opcodes . it should be appreciated , however , that the list of supported commands and their opcodes are well documented by the device manufacturer . in order to control the signals output to pld 114 , a microprocessor reads status information from and writes commands to control register 202 . fig4 is a diagram of an exemplary structure of the control register 202 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . while fig4 includes bit definitions for eight bits , the size of the register may be adapted to include a greater or lesser number of bits based on various factors , including the number of control signals required by the serial interface being implemented and the size of the data bus . the control register 202 depicted in fig4 includes four segments of information . the first segment is a complete bit 402 , which , if set by pha engine 112 , indicates that the last transaction has been completed or , if cleared , indicates that the last transaction is still being processed . the complete bit 402 may be used by the microprocessor 102 to determine , for example , whether the pha engine 112 is ready for more data . since the bit reflects the state of the pha engine 112 ( i . e ., processing or complete ), the bit is designated as a read - only bit , so that the microprocessor 102 can read the bit , but cannot directly change the value . the second segment is a tdo / tms bit 404 , which indicates whether the data contained in the data register 204 should be output on the tdo signal or the tms signal . in this embodiment , if the tdo / tms bit 404 is set , then the contents of the data register 204 should be output on the tdo signal . if the tdo / tms bit 404 is cleared , then the contents of the data register 204 should be output on the tms signal . thus , if the tdo / tms bit 404 is cleared , the data in the data register 204 is output on the tms signal and may change the state of the tap controller state machine 300 . the third segment , referred to as the other output bit 406 , indicates the state of the output signal not designated by the tdo / tms bit 404 . that is , if the tdo / tms bit 404 is set , data in the data register 204 is transferred using the tdo signal and the tms signal is held at the value of the other output bit 406 . similarly , if the tdo / tms bit 404 is cleared , data in the data register 204 is transferred using the tms signal and the tdo signal is held at the value of the other output bit 406 . one should appreciate that the signal set to the value of the other output bit 406 does not change while data is being transferred using the signal designated by the tdo / tms bit 404 . thus , when data is being output on the tdo signal , the tms signal is held at a value that prevents a state transition ( usually “ 0 ”), except as discussed below . the forth segment is a bit - count field 408 , which may be used to indicate the number of bits in the data register 204 that should be transferred to the pld . in this embodiment , the bit - count field 408 is three - bits long and may be used to represent values from one to eight . once the number of bits indicated by the bit - count field 408 are transferred , the pha engine 112 sets the complete bit 402 and awaits the next instruction from the microprocessor . fig5 - 7 are flow diagrams of processes performed by the pha engine 112 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the processes may be implemented using a hardware description language , such as verilog or vhdl , to program a logic device . the processes may run continuously or may run only after being triggered by some event signal , such as an input signal state change . in the present embodiment , each process executes in a synchronous process loop and is controlled by a clock derived from the microprocessor clock . fig5 depicts a flow diagram of the address / data bus interface process 500 of the pha engine 112 . the process provides the interface between the microprocessor 102 and the pha engine 112 . as noted above , the address / data bus 108 may include control signals that enable the microprocessor 102 to write to or read from the data 202 and control 204 registers of the pha engine 112 . in one embodiment , the control register 202 has an address of 0x0e and the data register 204 has an address of 0x0f . in step 501 , the address / data bus interface process initializes itself by setting the contents of the control 202 and data 204 registers of the pha engine 112 to a default value . in this embodiment , the control register 202 is set to 0x80 , which sets the complete bit 402 to signal to the microprocessor 102 that the pha engine 112 is ready to accept a command or data . the process also clears the “ start bit ” signal , which is an inter - process signal . several inter - process signals may be used to communicate status information between the processes of the pha engine 112 . for example , the state of the “ start bit ” signal is used as an input to the serial interface process , which is described in detail below . in the present embodiment , the address / data bus interfaces process is implemented as a synchronous process . as such , the execution of the process is initiated by a transition of the clock signal . in step 502 , the process waits for the rising edge of the clock signal to begin process execution . step 503 checks to see whether a write operation to the control register 202 has occurred . as is known in the art , the determination of whether a read or write was made to a particular register can be made by evaluating the state of the microprocessor bus control signals , such as read , write , and chip select , and decoding the address bits . if a write operation was made to the control register 202 , inter - process signals “ bit count ”, “ other output ”, and “ data or tms ” are updated ( step 504 ). these signals correspond , respectively , to the bit - count field 408 , the other output bit 406 , and the tdo / tms bit 404 of the control register 202 . as noted above , the complete bit of the control register is a read - only bit . as such , steps may be taken to ensure that the state of the complete bit is not changed by the write operation , such as applying a bit mask or isolating the complete bit from the data bus during a write operation . once the signals are updated , execution continues by clearing the start bit signal ( step 511 ). if , in step 503 , it is determined that the control register 202 was not written to , the process continues by checking , in step 505 , whether a write to the data register 204 occurred . if a write operation was made to the data register 204 , the contents of the data register 204 are updated and inter - process start bit signal is set ( step 506 ). setting the start bit signal initiates the transfer of bits from the data register to the pld , as described in detail below with reference to serial interface process 600 . after the update , execution continues by waiting for the next rising edge of the clock ( step 502 ). if , in step 505 , it is determined that the data register 204 was not written to , the process continues by checking , in step 507 , whether a read from the control register 202 occurred . if a read operation was made to the control register 202 , the contents of the control register 202 are made available on the data bus portion of the address / data interface 108 ( step 508 ), and execution continues by clearing the start bit signal ( step 511 ). if , in step 507 , it is determined that a read from the control register 202 did not occur , the process continues by checking , in step 509 , whether a read from the data register 204 occurred . if a read operation was made to the data register 204 , the contents of the data register 204 are made available on the data bus portion of the address / data interface 108 ( step 510 ), and execution continues by clearing the start bit signal ( step 511 ). in the present jtag embodiment , data may be received from the pld via the tdi signal of the tap interface . the incoming data is stored in a register for retrieval by the microprocessor . to prevent out - going data from being overwritten by incoming data , separate data registers may be implemented in the pha engine . thus , data written to the pha engine by the microprocessor may be stored in one data register and data received from the pld are stored in another data register . in step 510 , the data made available on the data bus is from the received pld data register . it should be appreciated that other architectures may be employed that permit the sharing of a single data register for both incoming and outgoing data or independently addressing each data register . such alternate architectures are considered to be within the scope of the present invention . fig6 a and 6b depict a flow diagram of the serial interface process 600 of the pha engine . the process provides the interface between the pha engine and the pld that is being programmed . in this embodiment , the pha engine interfaces to the pld using a jtag interface . it should be appreciated , however , that other interfaces may be implemented by making the appropriate changes to the serial interface process . the serial interface process 600 transfers data from the data register 204 to the pld using a synchronous serial bit stream . data from the data register 204 is directed to either the tdo or tms signal , as indicated by the value of the tdo / tms bit 404 of the control register 202 . data may also be received from the pld and stored in a jtag data - in register . a clock signal is generated on tck by alternately setting and clearing the signal . in step 601 , the process is initialized by clearing the tck signal of the tap interface and setting initial values for several internal signals . for example , the process clears the tdo / tms signal , toggle clock signal , and the jtag data - in register . the value of the current bit signal is set to seven and the complete signal is set . as with the address / data bus interfaces process , the serial interface process may be implemented as a synchronous process . as such , the execution of the process steps may be initiated by a transition of a clock signal . in step 602 , the process waits for the rising edge of the clock signal to begin process execution . step 603 checks to see whether the start bit signal has been set . as discussed above , the start bit signal is set after a write to the data register occurs . if the start bit signal has been set , the value of the most significant bit of valid data in the data register 204 is assigned to the appropriate jtag signal for transfer to the pld and the toggle clock inter - process signal is set ( step 604 ). the number of valid bits of data is specified by the bit count signal . in preparation for transferring data , the tck interface signal is cleared . the process continues with step 602 . in step 605 , the process checks to see whether the toggle clock signal is set . if it is , the process generates the rising edge of the tck interface signal and clears the toggle clock inter - process signal ( step 606 ). the process may also read the current value of the tdi interface signal and store it in the jtag data - in register for later retrieval by the microprocessor 102 . in step 607 , the process checks to see if there are any more data bits to be transferred , for example , by checking the value of the current bit signal . if there are more bits to be transferred , the current bit signal is decremented ( step 608 ). otherwise , the process sets the complete bit signal ( step 609 ). in either case , the process continues with step 602 . in step 610 , the process checks whether the complete bit signal is set . if it is not , the value of the data bit in the data register at the location specified by the current bit signal is assigned to the appropriate jtag signal for transfer to the pld and the toggle clock signal is set ( step 611 ). the tck interface signal is also cleared , which generates the falling edge of tck . if the complete bit signal is set , the tdo / tms signal , the toggle clock signal , and the tck interface signal are cleared and the current bit signal is set to seven ( step 612 ). fig7 depicts a flow diagram of the multiplex process 700 of the pha engine . as note above , data from the data register 204 is directed to either the tdo or tms signal , as indicated by the tdo / tms bit 404 of the control register 202 . in step 701 , the multiplex process checks the value of the data or tms inter - process signal . if the signal is set , the tdo interface signal is assigned to receive data from the data register 204 and the tms interface signal is assigned to the value of the other output bit 406 of the control register 202 ( step 702 ). if the data or tms inter - process signal is cleared , the tms interface signal is assigned to receive data from the data register 204 and the tdo interface signal is assigned to the value of the other output bit 406 of the control register 202 ( step 703 ). during system initialization , the microprocessor 102 reads the pld programming data from the program storage memory 104 to the main execution memory 106 . the pld programming data may include not only the bit stream used to configure the pld , but also the specific jtag instructions ( i . e ., state machine transitions and command opcodes ) needed to configure the target pld , verify successful completion of the programming operations , or determine specific information about the pld ( e . g . pld version and model number ). the data received from the pld is clocked in and stored in the incoming data register 204 of pha engine 112 , and the complete bit in the control register is set . the microprocessor may read the data register to retrieve the stored information . fig8 is a flow diagram of exemplary steps for programming a pld . the steps illustrate the procedure for programming a xilin ® virtex ™ ii field programmable gate array , although the procedure may be modified to program other plds . in step 801 , the tap state machine 300 is advanced to the shift - ir state . the shift - ir state is used to shift commands into the instruction register of the pld &# 39 ; s tap interface . table 1 depicts exemplary reads and writes to the control and data registers of the pha engine that may be used to accomplish step 801 . as shown in line 1 of table 1 , the control register is configured to indicate that eight bits from the data register should be output on tms while holding tdo at “ 0 ”. in line 2 , the data register is written with data as indicated in the table . as mentioned previously , the data is transferred least - significant bit first . since programming the pld using the jtag interface requires transitioning from state to state , the tap state machine is initialized using a stream of five 1 &# 39 ; s to ensure that the state machine is in the test - logic - reset state . the next three bits advance the state machine to the select - ir - scan state . the microprocessor may read the control register and examine the most significant bit to determine when the serial data transfer is complete ( line 3 ). the values of the remaining bits may be either “ 0 ” or “ 1 ”, and are shown in tables 1 - 6 by an “ x ” to indicate that the value of these bits are not being evaluated . in lines 4 - 6 , the control register is configured to transfer two bits from the data register and the microprocessor waits for the complete bit to be set . in step 802 , the opcode for the cfg_in command is shifted into the instruction register , preparing the pld to receive configuration data into the pld data register . table 2 depicts exemplary reads and writes to the control and data registers of the pha engine that may be used to accomplish step 802 . in line 7 of table 2 , the control register is configured to indicate that five bits from the data register should be output on tdo while holding tms at “ 0 ,” which keeps the tap state machine in the shift - ir state . the five bits of the cfg_in opcode are loaded into the data register ( line 8 ). the microprocessor may , in line 9 , check the control register to determine if the complete bit is set . in lines 10 and 11 , the control register is configured to transfer one bit of data on the tdo signal while holding tms at “ 1 ”. according to the tap state machine protocol , the last bit of the opcode is transferred as the state machine is advanced to the next state . in step 803 , the tap state machine 300 is advanced to shift - dr state , using a sequence of reads and writes to the control and data registers , as shown in table 3 . in state 804 , the pld configuration bit stream is transferred to the pld . this may be accomplished in three stages using a sequence of reads and writes , as shown in table 4 . in line 16 of table 4 , the control register is configured to indicate that eight bits from the data register should be output on tdo while holding tms at “ 0 ,” which keeps the tap state machine in the shift - dr state . the first eight bits of pld programming bitstream are written to the data register ( line 17 ) and the microprocessor waits for the complete bit to be set . the next eight bits are written to the data register in line 19 . since the eight bits in the data register are going to be output on tdo and tms is going to be held at “ 0 ”, it is not necessary to write to the control register again as the control register is already configured in this manner . in line 20 , the microprocessor again waits for the complete bit to be set . lines 19 and 20 repeat until there are eight or fewer bits remaining in the bitstream . in line 21 , the control register is configured to output one less than the number of remaining bits and this number of bits is written to the data register ( line 22 ). for example , if seven bits remain in the bitstream , the control register is configured to output six bits and six bits are written to the data register . once the microprocessor reads that the complete bit is set ( line 23 ), the control register is configured to advance the tap state machine to the next state and output the remaining bit of the pld programming bitstream ( line 24 ). once the transfer of the pld programming bit stream is complete , the state machine is again advanced to the shift_ir state ( step 805 ) and the opcode for the jstart command is transferred to the pld instruction register ( step 806 ). the start command initializes the startup sequence for the virtex field progammable gate array . exemplary reads and writes to the control and data registers are shown in table 5 . moving again to the shift - dr state ( step 807 ), the startup sequence is clocked into the pld data register ( step 808 ). the startup sequence includes remaining in the shift - dr state for a minimum of 12 clock cycles . exemplary reads and writes to the control and data registers are shown in table 6 . once the startup sequence is complete , the state machine 300 is advanced to the run - test / idle state ( step 809 ) and the pld begins functioning as programmed by the configuration bit stream . exemplary reads and writes are shown above on lines 42 and 43 of table 6 . the above - described hardware assisted method of programming a pld was evaluated against the conventional bit - banging method of programming a pld . the results are shown in table 7 . the first data column , labeled “ bit - banging ( actual )”, shows the results obtained from programming a cpld with 27 , 847 bytes of data using the bit - banging method . programming the cpld took approximately 7 . 4 seconds using this method , for a programming rate of approximately 3 . 76 kilobytes per second . it should be noted that the programming time shown in table 7 reflects the amount of time that the microprocessor is actively engaged in programming the pld . by comparison , the second data column , labeled “ hardware assisted ( actual )”, shows the results obtained from programming an fpga with 646 , 350 bytes of data using the hardware assisted method described above . programming the fpga took approximately 2 . 02 seconds , for a programming rate of approximately 320 . 4 kilobytes per second . the third data column , labeled “ bit - banging ( theoretical )”, provides an estimate of how long it would take to program an fpga using the bit - banging method . the estimate assumes that the fpga would be programmed with 646 , 350 bytes of data at the same programming rate obtained by programming the cpld , that is , approximately 3 . 76 kilobytes per second . based on these assumptions , it is estimated that programming the fpga using the bit - banging method would require approximately 171 . 76 seconds . thus , the pha engine permits the fpga to be programmed approximately 98 . 8 % faster than programming using the conventional bit - banging method . accordingly , using a programming hardware assist engine provides a significant improvement in the time required to program a programmable logic device . moreover , the task of providing a serial programming data stream and clock to the programmable logic device is off - loaded to the programming hardware assist engine , thereby freeing the microprocessor to perform other tasks . for example , while the pha engine is transferring the most recently received data , the microprocessor is free to handle other tasks . in addition , the microprocessor may allow large amounts of time to elapse between each interaction with the pha engine such that if a minimum amount of time has elapsed , the microprocessor may assume that the complete bit is set and forego reading the control register . the microprocessor may also allow large amounts of time to elapse to allow time critical software operations to fully execute . it will be understood that various 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 , as the invention is defined by the claims as set forth hereinafter . | 6 |
a great many of wires are usually used for connecting the parts in the communication apparatus , domestic electrical devices , etc ., so that such wiring is generally practiced not individually for the respective wires but by previously selecting the number and type ( kind of wire , color , length , etc .) of wires required for the desired wiring , with the connectors and / or terminals being adapted to the wire ends where necessary , arranging these combined wires into the configurations and positions suited for the desired wiring , further bundling and integrating these wires by means of bands or the like for maintaining the arranged configurations and positions , and connecting the integrated wire bundles between the electronic parts by soldering or other means , thereby to accomplish the desired wiring operation with ease and security . usually , such wiring operation is performed by using a plugboard ( harness board ) which has pasted thereon a drawing indicating the required type of wires , wire number , arrangement of each wire from its start to end , refracted sections , distances between each refracted section and the start and end of each wire , dimensional sizes of said sections , required types of connectors and terminals adapted , etc . other auxiliary means such as guide pins , springs , etc ., are also used for securing the wires at both ends thereof or at the refracted points . the worker selects the required type of wire from the indication on said drawing or other previously prepared list and carries out wiring according to the instructions concerning the order of wiring , positions , arrangement , etc ., given on the drawing . this method however proves defective in many respects . for instance , in case the wires to be incorporated are numerous as in the domestic electrical devices where usually 150 to 200 wires or even greater number of wires are required , the drawing becomes very complicated , and it is not easy to properly arrange the respective wires and many erronous wiring could occur . the worker is fatigured very much as he is required to keep attentive so as to prevent miswiring , and hence the working efficiency is excessively lowered . normally , the number of the wires that can be properly wired by one worker , even a skilled worker , by correctly understanding and memorizing the wiring instructions , is limited to approximately 50 , so that in case there are involved more number of wires to be arranged , the work is usually divided among the plural workers and hence many wiring boards are necessitated . further , the completed wiring must be checked for any erronous wiring either macroscopically or by using a complicated inspection device . in an attempt to eliminate such defects , a device has been proposed in which a matrix board with same dimensions as the plugboard is integrally fixed to the back side of the plugboard and a plurality of led lamps are set on the plugboard so that any desired wiring route will be indicated by lighting the associated led lamps . however , many of the domestic electrical devices such as tape recorders or vtr involve numerous wires and further , each wire is branched successively at close intervals , so that if it is attempted to beforehand adapt the respective led lamps to all required positions , it is necessary to mount the led lamps at as small intervals as about 5 mm . thus , it is required to mount as many as about 20 , 000 ( 120 × 180 ) pieces of led lamps even for a standard - size ( 600 mm × 900 mm ) plugboard . even if such led lamps are used only at the minimum necessary parts , there is actually required a large - sized ( 16 - bit ) memory processing unit , thus necessitating a sizable dimensional enlargement of the apparatus and elevated cost . the present invention is intended to provide a wiring device which is perfectly free of the defects inherent in the conventional devices such as above - said . now the invention is described in detail in accordance with an embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings . referring to fig1 reference numeral 1 indicates a plugboard ( harness board ) which has provided therein a plurality of through - holes 2 , 2 , and light - emitting elements such as led lamps 3 are mounted only in those 2a , 2a of the holes 2 , 2 which are located along the wiring route indicating the starting and terminal ends and the intermediate course of each wire w to be set , that is , the led lamps 3 are provided only in a number necessary for making one harness . for securely fixing each said led lamp to the harness board 1 , there may be employed a method such as shown in fig2 a in which an l - shaped fixing element 3a is first adapted to the socket 3b of the light - emitting element 3 and then a screw is driven into the upper surface of the harness board 1 through an elongated slot 3c formed in said l - shaped fixing element 3a , or a method such as illustrated in fig2 b in which a guide pin 3d is adapted in each said hole 2 and the element 3 is mounted at the end of said guide pin 3d . according to the method of fig2 it is possible to move the luminous element 3 along the elongated slot 3c or about the screw , allowing suitable adjustment of the light - emitting element at the desired position without removing the screw . in the case of the method of fig2 b , said pins 3d can double as the guide pins 4 which are normally planted close to the holes 2 in the harness board 1 . a lead wire l is connected to the light - emitting element 3 , said lead wire l carrying at its other end a plug p which can be fitted into a corresponding jack 5a on the surface of a matrix board 5 provided separately from the harness board . numeral 6 indicates an electroconductive contact piece adapted for confirming the operation at the starting or terminal end of the wire , and a coil spring 7 is provided close to each said contact piece 6 for the purpose of fixing the wire in position . the matrix board 5 has a geometry such as shown in fig3 . as said above , the plug p of each element 3 is fitted into a corresponding jack 5a on the matrix board 5 , and the respective lead wires l each extending from the starting end to the terminal end are led out to the positions required for clarifying the route on the harness board 1 for every step , and the led elements 3 at the ends of said respective lead wires are illuminated in succession . the order of plug - in , as shown in fig4 may be : x 1 y 1 · x 1 y 2 · x 1 y 3 . . . x 1 y m , x 2 y 1 . . . x 2 y m , x 1 y 1 · x 2 y 1 . . . x n y 1 , or x 1 y 2 . . . x n y 2 . as simple an arrangement as possible is preferred for facilitating the ensuing programming . if it is supposed that the light - emitting elements 3 are arranged in the order of x i y i . . . x i y m from the starting end to the terminal end in the kth step , then these addresses are converted into a binary code and read into a memory device 9 by an input device 8 . also , the binary - coded information of the addresses of p k · p k + 1 of the electroconductive contact pieces 6 ( see fig5 ) for confirming the operation corresponding to this step as well as the binary - coded information of length , type and color of the wire w used in this step or the addresses i i of the case 10 containing said wire are stored in the memory device 9 as a set of information for the kth step . in operation , the binary code for specifying every set of information , that is , the length , type and color of the wire w to be adapted and the connector used therefor or the address i i of the case 10 containing them , a series of binary codes s i · s j for specifying the address x i y i on the matrix board 5 and the binary code for specifying the address p k · p k + 1 of the electroconductive contact pieces 6 close to the starting and terminal ends for confirming the operation are assigned according to the program . the binary code sk is called out by the operation control unit 11 from the memory device 9 according to the program , and this sign is sent to the matrix circuit 5b , indicator 12 and then to check circuit 13 . thus , the jack 5a of said specified address x i y i on the matrix board 5 operates the associated luminous element 3 in a specified state , and the light - emitting element p ij at the other end of the plug p inserted into said jack 5a is either lighted or flickered at time intervals specified by the control order on the harness board 1 ( see fig3 ). the length , type and color of the wire w , the connector used therefor , etc ., are indicated on the indicator by way of letters , signs , etc ., or directly indicated by lightening or flickering of the lamps 10b provided above the partition shelves 10a in a container case 10 provided separately from the indicator 12 . the address p k · p k + 1 of the check circuit 13 ( fig5 ) is selected ( the end of said address extends onto the harness board 1 ), and the worker performs wiring from the starting end to the terminal end according to the route indicated by successive lighting of the elements 3 and he finally contacts both ends of the wire w to the electroconductive contact pieces 6 k · 6 k + 1 , whereupon the check circuit 13 outputs the work confirmation signal to the operation control unit 11 , allowing said unit 11 to proceed on to the next working step . said work confirmation signal is sent from the operation control unit 11 to the indicator 12 , and the completion of the work is indicated by means of light or sound . now the sequence of operation of the device according to this invention is described . first , the type of wire w to be wired is selected . for this , various types of wires are beforehand stored on the partitioned shelves 10a in a container case 10 according to the classification , and the identifying numbers are put for the respective partition shelves . thus , when the memory device 9 is actuated , the indicator 12 at a corner of the harness board 1 indicates the number of the shelf 10a where the required type of wires are stored . in this case , instead of using the number indicator 12 , the lamp 10b above the particular shelve 10a may be directly lighted to effect the similar indication . for allowing correct arrangement of the selected wire w along the required position on the harness board 1 , the required number of led lamps 3 , 3 located on or alongside the wiring line to indicate the route all the way from the starting end to the terminal end are lighted or flickered one by one successively by the next signal from the memory device 9 through the matrix circuit 5b . such lighting or flickering of the led lamps 3 , 3 allows correct wiring all the way along the specified route from the starting point to the terminal end , and when both ends of the wire are electrically contacted with the electroconductive contact pieces 6 , 6 positioned close to both ends of the wire route , such contact is confirmed by the check circuit 13 . the led lamps continue their flickering operation for a predetermined period of time or by a predetermined number of times until both ends of the wire are electrically contacted with the contact pieces 6 , 6 , that is , until the correct wiring is accomplished all the way along the specified route from the starting end to the terminal end . the lighting duration , frequency and speed of every led lamp can be suitably changed , and proper selection of such speed makes it easier to notice the starting and terminal ends . when the above - said work is completed , the work end confirmation signal is sent to the indicator 12 from the operation control unit 11 and the end of the work is informed by way of light or sound , whereupon the operation control unit 11 gives an instruction to proceed on to the next program 4 . the above - said indicating operation is repeated until the entire harness wiring work is completed , and when such work is completed entirely , the led lamps 3 are no longer lighted . thus , completion of the wiring work is noticed by non - indication or non - lighting of the indicator 12 which selects the next wire . as this invention is composed of the above - described arrangements , the worker has only to perform the work by merely following the instructions given by this device , and should any mistake be committed in the process , the correct working position and order are automatically informed to have such mistake corrected , and only when the work has been accomplished correctly , the next work is indicated . therefore , the worker has no necessity of memorizing the plurality of wires or becoming skilled in wiring work and can accomplish the correct wiring with ease and in a short time by merely following the instructions of the device . further , because of secure and reliable work , there is required no inspection to check for any error in wiring after assemblage , that is , after completion of the wiring work , and hence the working efficiency is further improved . moreover , according to this invention , the matrix is not formed on the harness board but a matrix board is separately provided and the lead wires are taken out from a total of 240 spots , that is , the crossing points of 15 × 16 pieces of wires and the led lamps adapted to the ends of these extended out lead wires are set at the required positions on the harness board , so that the number of the led lamps required can be minimized and also an appreciable miniaturization of the apparatus can be realized as the memory processing unit can be reduced in required capacity from , for example , 16 - bit to 8 - bit scale . | 6 |
the key intermediates in the preparation of the compounds of formula i and formula ii are the substances shown by formula iii in which b is hydrogen or the on --, h 2 n --, or ## str2 ## the compounds of formula iii and the acid addition salts thereof are considered part of the present invention . some of them exhibit blocking or stimulating action on smooth muscle , e . g . 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 - formylamino - 2 , 3 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one , and 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - nitroso - 8 -( 2 - phenoxyethyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 -( 8h )- one . those in which b is hydrogen or the on -- group are prepared from r 6 , r 7 , substituted 2 - methylmercaptoimidazolines , 2 - methylmercapto - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyrimidines , or 2 - methylmercapto - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydro - 1 , 3 - diazepines which are represented by formula iv by reaction thereof with an amine of the formula r 8 nh 2 , and thence in the presence of base with ethyl cyanoacetate , or ethyl oximinocyanoacetate . in formulas iii and iv , n , z , r 6 and r 7 have the same meanings as given above . r 8 in formula iii has the same meaning as r 1 in formula i . ## str3 ## the intermediates of formula iv are prepared by the reaction of carbon disulfide with the appropriately substituted ethylenediamine , trimethylenediamine or tetramethylenediamine followed by etherification of the resulting 2 - mercaptoimidazoline , 2 - mercapto - 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyrimidine or 2 - mercapto - 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - tetrahydro - 1h - 1 , 3 - diazepine all according to known processes . the following discussion of the process for the synthesis of the substances of formula i and formula ii is directed principally to those substances wherein n is 1 , and r 6 and r 7 are hydrogen . nevertheless , the method is equally applicable to all members of the series . the process is shown schematically below . r 8 has the same meanings as described above with respect to formula iii . r 9 is hydrogen , lower alkyl having 1 to 8 carbon atoms , or trifluoromethyl . ## str4 ## ammonia or a primary amine , is caused to react with 2 - methylmercaptoimidazoline to yield a 2 - aminoimidazoline in which the amino substitutent has the formula r 8 nh --. the latter , preferably without isolation , is then caused to react in a condensation reaction with ethyl oximinocyanoacetate to give a 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 - r 8 - 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one , shown by formula v in the reaction scheme , which is the intermediate of formula iii wherein b is on --, z is oxo , n is 1 , and r 6 and r 7 are hydrogen . the condensation reaction is carried out under anhydrous conditions in an anhydrous reaction inert liquid reaction medium in the presence of a strong base which is capable for forming the anion of the aminoimidazoline intermediate . when using a lower alkanol such as ethanol , isopropanol , or butanol as solvent , sodium ethoxide or potassium tert .- butoxide is a satisfactory base . other alkali metal alkoxides , amides , or hydrides may be employed such as sodium amide with liquid ammonia or an aprotic liquid medium , and sodium hydride in an aprotic liquid medium . the reaction produces the intermediates of formula v in high yields of from about 75 % to 100 % when r 8 is aralkyl or substituted aralkyl . an alternative procedure and one which is preferred when r 8 is an alkyl or alkenyl group is to employ ethyl cyanoacetate as reactant rather than ethyl oximinocyanoacetate . the resulting 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 - r 8 - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one ( formula iii , b , r 6 , r 7 = h , n = 1 , z = oxo ) is then nitrosated with sodium nitrite in aqueous acetic acid to yield the intermediates of formula v . for the preparation of the substances of formula i , the second step in the process involves reductive formylation of the nitroso group of the substance of formula v to yield the monoformylated diamino substance of formula vi , which is the intermediate of formula iii wherein b is hconh --, z is oxo , n is 1 , and r 6 and r 7 are hydrogen . the reductive formylation is carried out in formic acid as reaction medium using either catalytic reduction employing a palladium supported on carbon catalyst or sodium dithionite as reducing agent . this operation involves dissolving the nitroso compound of formula v preferably in 97 % formic acid which may require from 10 ml . to 30 ml . of 97 % formic acid per gram of substance of formula v . other equivalent formylating reaction media may be employed . when employing catalytic hydrogenation , hydrogen pressures of from atmospheric pressure up to about 100 p . s . i . are satisfactory employing sufficient palladium supported on carbon catalyst to bring the hydrogenation to completion . a previously calibrated apparatus is convenient so that the extent of hydrogen absorption on a molecular basis can be measured . if the calculated quantity of hydrogen is not consumed before hydrogen absorption ceases , a fresh portion of catalyst is added and the hydrogenation is continued . the hydrogenation is carried out at room temperature although the process is exothermic resulting in a slight to moderate elevation in temperature depending on the batch size during the initial stages of hydrogenation . temperatures to 20 ° c . to 40 ° c . are satisfactory . hydrogenation usually requires a fairly short period of time of from 15 minutes to 1 hour depending upon the size of the batch and the particular apparatus employed . when using sodium dithionite ( na 2 s 2 o 4 ) as reducing agent in the reductive formylation , it is simply added to a solution of the intermediate of formula v in concentrated aqueous ( 87 - 97 % by weight ) formic acid . somewhat more than a stoichiometric quantity is employed , but large excesses are not necessary since the reduction takes place more quickly than does the decomposition of the sodium dithionite . for reduction of an aromatic nitroso compound to the corresponding aromatic amino compound , two molecular proportions of sodium dithionite is a stoichiometric quantity . this is a novel and surprising process in view of the fact that the prior art has employed this reducing agent in basic solution only . sodium dithionite is known to be decomposed in acidic media . some sulphur is produced as a by - product during the reaction . the process is generally applicable to the reduction of aromatic nitroso compounds of the formula arno to aromatic amines of the formula arnh 2 wherein ar is an aromatic carbocyclic or an aromatic heterocyclic group . cyclization of the formyl diaminoimidazopyrimidinone of formula vi to the 4 - r 8 - 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 - r 9 - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one of formula vii is achieved either by heat alone , by warming in dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide , or under the agency of a dehydrating agent such as polyphosphoric acid or an anhydride . the latter may also serve as a reagent for introducing the 2 - r 9 substituent into the substances of formula vii by means of an acyl interchange with the formyl group during the cyclization process . when employing an anhydride of the formula ( r 9 co ) 2 o in which r 9 is lower alkyl of 1 to 8 carbon atoms or trifluoromethyl as cyclization or dehydrating agent in the presence of pyridine as reaction medium , the r 9 substituent corresponding to the anhydride is introduced . for instance , isobutyric anhydride yields a 2 - isopropyl substituted product , and trifluoroacetic anhydride yields the 2 - trifluoromethyl product . the reaction is preferably carried out at the reflux temperature of the reaction mixture or within the range of about 130 ° c . to 170 ° c . employing convenient solvent amounts of anhydride and pyridine relative to the amount of formula vi intermediate being converted , but at least one molecular proportion of anhydride . also , the nitroso compound of formula v may be reduced to the diamino compound of formula viii as described below and the latter heated at 130 °- 170 ° with a carboxylic anhydride to yield a compound of formula vii . for pyrolytic cyclization of the formylamino compound of formula vi to the product of formula vii wherein r 9 is hydrogen , a temperature of about 260 ° c . is employed after diluting the intermediate of formula vi with sufficient dimethylformamide to afford a fluid , non - viscous liquid on heating . the diluent is removed by evaporation during the process and results in the formation of the desired product as a residual cake which is usually brown in color . alternatively , for the cyclization to yield substances of formula vii , r 9 = h , triethylorthoformate may be used in combination with an alkanoyl anhydride dehydrating agent . the ethyl orthoformate suppresses the acyl interchange reaction which occurs when the anhydride is employed with pyridine . nevertheless , the product is sometimes contaminated with low percentages of the 2 - r 9 substituted product from the anhydride ( r 9 co ) 2 o . a convenient solvent amount of a liquid anhydride is employed in combination with approximately 2 to 5 molecular proportions of ethyl orthoformate per molecular proportion of formylamino derivative . again , the process is carried out at the reflux temperature or about within the range of 130 ° c . to 170 ° c . for the preparation of the substances of formula i in which r 4 is alkanoyl , aroyl , or substituted aroyl one convenient method is to employ the intermediate of formula vi wherein r 8 is a hydrogen atom and to employ the desired alkanoyl , aroyl , or substituted aroyl anhydride as dehydrating or cyclizing agent in the transformation of the intermediate of formula vi to the product of formula vii as is described above . when pyridine is used as vehicle an r 9 substituent corresponding to the anhydride employed is also introduced . similar conditions to those described above are employed . for instance , when 7 - amino - 6 - formylamino - 2 , 3 - dihydroimidazo -[ 2 , 1 - a ]- pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one is refluxed with equal volumes of pyridine and isobutyric anhydride 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 4 -( 2 - methylpropionyl )- 3h - imidazo -[ 1 , 2 - a ]- purin - 9 ( 4h )- one is produced . a substance of formulas i or ii wherein r 4 is h may be acylated in conventional fashion for the preparation of alkanoamides , arylcarboxamides , or ring - substituted arylcarboxamides using the corresponding carboxylic acid halide , anhydride , or mixed anhydride . preferred conditions are those comparable to those known to be efficient for acylation of a weakly basic aniline derivative . in any given example , a determination should be made as to whether the n 4 -( formula i or ii wherein r 4 is alkanoyl , aroyl , or substituted aroyl ) or n 5 - acyl product is produced ( r 15 in formulas xv , xvi , xviii , or xxii ). the products of formula i and formula ii wherein r 1 is other than hydrogen are readily prepared by reaction of an alkali metal salt of a substance of formula i or formula ii wherein r 1 is a hydrogen atom with a reagent of the formula ax wherein a has the same meaning given above , and x is a reactive ester group such as chloride , bromide , iodide , phosphate , or sulfate . the required alkali metal salt is obtained by dissolving the substance of formula i or formula ii , r 1 = h , in dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide or reaction thereof with a strong alkali metal base in a reaction inert organic solvent such as an aromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbon , ether , alcohol , or amide such as dimethylformamide . suitable bases include sodium hydride , sodium methoxide , potassium tert .- butoxide , sodium amide , or lithium hydride . suitable reactive esters for reaction in aqueous solution or in an inert organic solvent include butyl bromide , methyl iodide , dimethylsulfate , triethyl phosphate , hexyl bromide , tert .- butyl chloride , benzyl bromide , 2 - phenoxyethyl chloride , 4 - fluorobenzyl bromide , 3 - chlorobenzyl bromide , and 2 - methoxybenzyl chloride . an elevated temperature in the range of about 80 ° to 150 ° c . is desirable . the compounds of formula i wherein r 2 is hydrogen are subject to halogenation under conventional conditions for introduction of a chlorine , bromine , or iodine atom to yield the substances of formula i wherein r 2 is chlorine , bromine , or iodine . for instance , treatment of an acetic acid solution of a product of formula i wherein r 2 is hydrogen with elemental bromine results in introduction of a bromine atom into the 2 - position . n - bromosuccinimide , n - chlorosuccinimide or n - chloroacetamide may also be employed for halogenation . other suitable halogenating agents and conditions include phosphorus oxychloride or phosphorus tribromide for conversion of a 2 - hydroxy group to the corresponding 2 - chloro or 2 - bromo compound . the 2 - chloro compounds may be converted to 2 - iodo or 2 - fluoro compounds by reaction with concentrated ( 47 %) aqueous hi at 0 ° c . or conversion to the trimethylammonium salt followed by reaction of that product with khf 2 at 50 ° c . in the absence of any diluent . the 4 - substituted 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ; 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo -[ 4 , 5 - d ]- pyrimidin - 9 ( 4h )- ones of formula ii are produced from the intermediates of formula v by reduction of the nitroso group to an amino group as shown in the compound of formula viii in the above reaction scheme which is the intermediate of formula iii wherein b is h 2 n --, z is oxo , n is 1 , and r 6 and r 7 are hydrogen . the reduction may be carried out in a fashion similar to the reductive formylation in the production of the intermediates of formula vi except that formic acid is replaced by some other reaction medium which is inert under the reaction conditions . for catalytic reduction an acidic medium is preferred and an aqueous mineral acid is quite satisfactory as reaction medium . dilute aqueous hydrochloric acid is preferred . other methods known to those skilled in the art for reduction of a nitroso group to an amino group are also applicable . the resulting diamino intermediate of formula viii is then converted to the product of formula ix by treatment under conditions usually employed for the diazotization of aromatic amines , for instance sodium nitrite and aqueous hydrochloric acid . isolation and purification of the intermediates of formula viii is not necessary . the solution resulting from reduction after separation of the catalyst may be treated with an aqueous solution of sodium nitrite and then simply evaporated to afford the desired product which is then purified by recrystallization . to summarize , there is provided according to the present invention intermediates of formula iii and a process for the conversion thereof to compounds of formula i and formula ii which comprises first , forming the aminopyrimidine compound of formula iii wherein b is hydrogen or the on -- group , by condensation of a lower alkyl ester of cyanoacetic acid or oximinocyanoacetic acid , respectively , with a 2 - r 8 nh - 1 , 3 - diazacycloalk - 2 - ene and thereafter introducing the nitroso group by reaction of the product with nitrous acid when cyanoacetic ester is used as reactant , and then reducing the nitroso compound of formula iii ( b is on --) under formylating conditions when a compound of formula i is desired and under nonformylating conditions when a compound of formula ii is desired , respectively yielding the monoformyldiaminopyrimidine of formula iii wherein b is the hconh -- group or the diaminopyrimidine of formula iii wherein b is the h 2 n -- group and thereafter cyclizing said compound of formula iii ( b is h 2 n -- or nconh --) to yield a compound of formula i or a compound of formula ii wherein said cyclization in the preparation of formula i compounds is carried out by heating said substance of formula iii ( b = hconh --) at a temperature of about 260 ° c . in the presence of sufficient of a reaction inert diluent to afford a liquid reaction mixture or alternatively heating said substance in the presence of a cyclodehydrating agent such as polyphosphoric acid or carbocyclic acid anhydride at a temperature within the range of about 130 ° c . to 170 ° c . and wherein said cyclization in the preparation of formula ii compounds is carried out by diazotizing said substance of formula iii ( b is nh 2 ) by treating with a diazotizing reagent under conditions which are known to be operable for the diazotization of aromatic amines , and thereafter when a compound of formula i or formula ii is desired having r 4 alkanoyl , aroyl , or substituted aroyl reacting a substance of formula i or ii wherein r 4 is hydrogen with an acylating agent capable of introducing said alkanoyl , aroyl , or substituted aroyl group under conditions known for the production of amides from aromatic amines . compounds of formula i wherein r 2 is a hydrogen atom may be treated with a halogenating agent known to be suitable for introduction of a chlorine or bromine atom into an aromatic compound to produce a substance of formula i wherein r 2 is chlorine or bromine and converting said chloro , or bromo compound to the corresponding fluoro , or iodo compound . further , substances of formulas i or ii wherein r 1 is hydrogen may be converted to an alkali metal salt by treatment with an alkali metal hydroxide in water , or a strong alkali metal base in a reaction inert liquid reaction medium and the resulting alkali metal salt reacted with a reactive ester of the formula ax such as a halide , phosphate or sulfate to yield a substance of formulas i or ii wherein r 1 is the group a as defined . in the following procedures temperatures are expressed in degrees centigrade . melting points are corrected values according to the usp method where indicated ( corr .). the nuclear magnetic resonsance ( nmr ) spectral characteristics refer to chemical shifts ( δ ) expressed as parts per million ( ppm ) versus tetramethylsilane as reference standard . the relative area reported for the various shifts corresponds to the number of hydrogen atoms in the individual substituent and the nature of the shift as to multiplicity is reported as broad singlet ( bs ), singlet ( s ), multiplet ( m ), doublet ( d ), triplet ( t ), or quadruplet ( q ) with coupling constant reported where appropriate . the format is nmr ( solvent ): δ ( relative area , multiplicity , j value , and , in some instances , indicated structural characteristics ). abbreviations employed are etoh ( ethanol ), hoac ( acetic acid ), ar ( aromatic group ), et 2 o ( ethyl ether ), dmf ( dimethylformamide ), meoh ( methanol ), iproh ( isopropanol ), me 2 co ( acetone ), i - pr 2 o ( diisopropyl ether ), thf ( tetrahydrofuran ), ( oet ) 3 ch ( ethyl orthoformate ), nujol ( mineral oil ), dmso - d 6 ( deuterodimethylsulfoxide ), ir ( infrared ), kbr ( potassium bromide ), etoac ( ethyl acetate ), d ( decomposition ). others are common and have well established meanings . the infrared spectra described include only absorption wavelengths ( cm - 1 ) having functional group identification value . structural characteristics are noted in some instances . unless indicated otherwise , kbr was employed as diluent for ir spectral determinations . procedure 1 . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . to a solution of 62 . 30 g . ( 0 . 44 mol ) of 4 - chlorobenzylamine in 500 ml absolute etoh ( dried over 4a molecular sieve aluminosilicate desiccant ) is added 107 . 40 g ( 0 . 44 mol ) 2 -( methylthio )- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide . the mixture is heated to boiling on a steam bath in an open flask and about 150 ml of the ethanol is allowed to slowly boil off over 2 hr . this solution is added while still hot to 1 . 76 mole of sodium ethoxide in 1650 ml absolute etoh . to the resulting stirred , basic solution of 2 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ] amino - 2 - imidazoline is then added 61 . 85 g ( 0 . 44 mol ) crystalline ( mp 129 °- 131 °) ethyl oximinocyanoacetate in portions . the bright yellow solution is refluxed for 3 hr and then cooled to room temperature . the yellow precipitate is collected , washed with i - proh , and partially air - dried . the damp sodium salt is dissolved in 2000 ml h 2 o and acidified with glacial hoac . the bright pink precipitate is filtered and air - dried overnight , then oven - dried in vacuo at 100 ° to yield 103 . 05 g ( 77 %) of pink powder , mp 238 °- 241 ° d . recrystallization of this material from dmf - etoh gives red crystals , mp 241 ° d . anal . found : c , 50 . 68 ; h , 3 . 93 ; n , 22 . 59 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 90 [ 4 , m , ( ch 2 ) 2 ], 5 . 15 ( 2 , s , ch 2 ar ), 7 . 32 ( 4 , s , ar ). ir ( nujol ): 1600 - 1700 cm - 1 ( c ═ o , c ═ n ), 3550 cm - 1 ( nh ). procedure 2 . 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 -( chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 -( formylamino )- 2 , 3 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . a 40 . 50 g . ( 0 . 133 mol ) ample of unrecrystallized nitroso compound of procedure 1 is dissolved in 950 ml . 97 % hcooh and 25 . 0 g . 5 % pd / c - 50 % h 2 o is added under an atmosphere of co 2 . the mixture is reduced on a parr hydrogenation apparatus with a starting pressure of 50 psig . about 90 % of the calculated h 2 consumption occurs in & lt ; 15 min . with a temperature rise of 12 °. the remainder is taken up during 3 hr . and the temperature returns to that of the room . the catalyst is filtered and the resulting colorless solution concentrated in vacuo to a thick syrup . the syrup dissolves in 500 ml . h 2 o and is neutralized with concentrated nh 4 oh with cooling . the off - white solid is filtered and air - dried to yield 41 . 90 g . ( 98 %), mp 272 °- 275 ° d . recrystallization from meoh - i - proh gives white crystals , mp 275 . 0 ° d ( corr .). anal . found : c , 52 . 74 ; h , 4 . 46 ; n , 22 . 01 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 38 - 7 . 72 ( 2 , multiple signals for nhcho conformers ), 4 . 00 [ 4 , m , ( ch 2 ) 2 ], 5 . 90 ( 2 , s , ch 2 ar ), 7 . 25 ( 4 , s , ar ). ir ( nujol ): 3420 cm - 1 ( nh ), 3340 , 3200 cm - 1 ( nh 2 ), 1680 , 1620 , 1580 cm - 1 ( formamide , lactam , c ═ n ). procedure 3 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a suspension of 45 . 88 g . ( 0 . 14 mol ) of formylamino derivative of procedure 2 in a mixture of 130 ml . acetic anhydride ( 1 . 4 mol ) and 65 ml . ( oet ) 3 ch ( 0 . 39 mol ) is refluxed for 5 hr . ( a solution forms after 30 min .). concentration in vacuo to about 1 / 4 of the original volume produces an oil which dissolves in 300 ml . h 2 o . the mixture is treated with charcoal and filtered , and the filtrate neutralized with conc nh 4 oh . the white precipitate is filtered and oven - dried in vacuo to yield 28 . 06 g . ( 66 %) off - white solid , mp 285 °- 290 ° c . recrystallization from dmf - i - proh gave off - white crystals , mp 289 °- 293 ° c . ( corr . mp 284 . 0 °- 285 . 0 °). if this material is shown by nmr to contain solvated dmf , it may be removed by stirring the suspended solid in et 2 o , and then redrying . anal . found : c , 55 . 96 ; h , 4 . 40 ; n , 23 . 16 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 , ppm ): 3 . 84 [ 4 , m , ( ch 2 ) 2 ], 5 . 10 ( 2 , s , ch 2 ar ), 7 . 50 ( 4 , s , ar ), 7 . 91 ( 1 , s , ch ). ir ( nujol ): 1620 cm - 1 ( c ═ n ), 1680 cm - 1 ( c ═ o ). the hydrochloride salt of the product of procedure 3 was prepared by dissolving 21 . 7 g . of this material in 75 ml . of 3 n hcl . dissolution was not complete when a white solid commenced to precipitate . water , 100 ml ., was added and the mixture was heated to dissolve the precipitate . the solution was treated with decolorizing carbon and filtered . isopropanol , 150 ml ., was added to the warm filtrate and the product precipitated on cooling . it was collected , dried in a vacuum oven at 80 ° overnight , yield 17 . 05 g ., mp 249 . 0 °- 250 . 0 ° d . ( corr .). a slurry of 7 . 20 g . ( 0 . 022 mol ) of the product of procedure 2 in a small volume of dmf was inserted in an oil bath at 260 °. the dmf evaporated rapidly , and the residual cake was heated 12 min . with constant agitation . the residual light - brown solid , mp 280 °- 285 °, weighed 6 . 36 g . ( 93 %). recrystallization from dmf gave material identical to that obtained by procedure 3 . various amines were substituted for 4 - chlorobenzylamine in the method of procedure 1 and the resulting nitrosoimidazopyrimidinones were converted according to procedure 2 to the corresponding formylaminoimidazopyrimidinones which were then convered according to either procedure 3 or procedure 4 to one of the products of the present invention . characterizing data and preparative information relative to these products are listed in table i . table i__________________________________________________________________________procedures 5 - 136 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 -( 4h )- onesof formula i , n = 1 , r . sup . 1 , r . sup . 2 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 = h recryst . elementalno . r . sup . 4 m . p . ° c . ( corr .) method yield solvent analysis nmr ir__________________________________________________________________________5 3 - chlorobenzyl 262 . 0 - 267 . 0 proc . 3 27 % dmf c , 56 . 05 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 89 760 , 800 , 1400 h , 4 . 14 5 . 15 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 48 1550 , 1625 , 1700 , n , 23 . 20 7 . 98 ( 1 , s ), 13 . 5 2600 , 2880 , 2975 , ( 1 , bs ) 31106 2 - chlorobenzyl 292 . 0 - 293 . 0 proc . 3 54 % dmf c , 55 . 60 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 84 756 , 1295 , 1360 , h , 4 . 01 5 . 20 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 42 1550 , 1620 , 1700 , n , 23 . 21 8 . 01 ( 1 , s ), 13 . 4 2880 , 2960 , 31007 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl 279 . 0 - 280 . 0 proc . 3 96 % meoh c , 50 . 09 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 86 770 , 1140 , 1305 , h , 3 . 29 5 . 10 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 54 1440 , 1480 , 1560 , n , 20 . 53 7 . 89 ( 1 , s ), 13 . 4 1635 , 1700 , 2900 , 31408 4 - fluorobenzyl 296 . 0 - 298 . 0 proc . 4 71 % dmf c , 58 . 98 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 58 835 , 1220 , 1450 , hcl salt 251 . 0 - 252 . 0 meoh -- i - h , 4 . 30 5 . 14 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 49 1550 , 1625 , 1690 , proh n , 24 . 41 8 . 01 ( 1 , s ), 13 . 5 3130s ) 9 2 - methoxybenzyl 228 . 5 - 233 . 5 d proc . 4 34 % 1n hcl -- c , 58 . 62 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ) 3 . 79 755 , 1240 , 1292 , nh . sub . 4 oh h , 5 . 18 4 . 15 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 39 1490 , 1550 , 1610 , n , 23 . 23 7 . 20 ( 4 , m ), 8 . 22 1700 , 2600 , 313010 2 - pyridylmethyl 258 . 0 - 260 . 0 proc . 4 50 % dmf c , 56 . 28 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 80 796 , 1360 , 1472 , h , 4 . 38 5 . 18 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 24 1560 , 1610 , 1705 n , 29 . 95 7 . 76 ( 1 , m ), 7 . 85 2980 , 3130 , 3520 8 . 70 ( 1 , m ) 11 2 -( 3 , 4 - dimethoxy - 218 . 0 - 224 . 0 proc . 4 52 % 1n hcl -- c , 54 . 80 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 2 . 90 760 , 1265 , 1520 , phenyl ) ethyl nh . sub . 4 oh h , 5 . 68 3 . 78 ( 6 , s ), 3 . 90 1630 , 1690 , 2970 , n , 18 . 55 4 . 70 ( 2 , m ), 6 . 90 ( 3 , m ) 7 . 98 ( 1 , s ) 12 2 -( phenoxy ) ethyl 223 . 5 - 224 . 5 proc . 3 58 % meoh c , 60 . 56 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 90 690 , 752 , 1240 , h , 5 . 09 4 . 37 ( 4 , m ), 7 . 26 1500 , 1625 , 1705 , n , 23 . 48 8 . 04 ( 1 , s ) 2960 , 3060 , 312013 isobutyl 230 . 5 - 231 . 5 proc . 4 34 % i - proh c , 56 . 53 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ); 0 . 92 765 , 895 , 1300 , h , 6 . 54 6 . 5 hz ), 2 . 32 ( 1 , m ), 1436 , 1550 , 1620 n , 29 . 84 3 . 82 ( 6 , m ), 7 . 90 1700 , __________________________________________________________________________ 2970 procedure 14 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 - ethyl - 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a mixture of 25 . 00 g . ( 0 . 078 mol ) of the product of procedure 2 and 50 ml . dry pyridine in 50 ml . ( 0 . 388 mol ) of propionic anhydride was heated at reflux for 3 hr . upon cooling , a white solid precipitated . ch 3 cn was added , and the white solid filtered and air - dried to give crystals , mp 278 . 0 °- 279 . 0 ° ( corr .). the material may be recrystallized from dmf - i - proh . anal . found : c , 58 . 28 ; h , 4 . 76 ; n , 21 . 34 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 22 ( 3 , t , 7 . 5 hz ), 2 . 67 ( 2 , 9 , 7 . 5 hz ), 3 . 98 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 08 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 43 ( 4 , m ), 11 . 3 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 756 , 805 , 1295 , 1510 , 1630 , 1695 , 3050 , 3100 , 3160 . procedure 15 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 - methylimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the method of procedure 14 was repeated with the substitution of acetic anhydride for propionic anhydride . the resulting product was obtained as a cream - colored solid , mp 311 . 5 °- 313 . 5 ° ( corr . ), recrystallized from dmf - i - proh . anal . found : c , 56 . 72 ; h , 4 . 36 ; n , 22 . 35 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 2 . 36 ( 3 , s ), 3 . 91 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 20 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 90 ( 4 , m ). ir 755 , 804 , 1020 , 1294 , 1510 , 1630 , 1690 , 3050 , 3160 . procedure 16 . 4 -[( 2 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . 2 - chlorobenzylamine is substituted for 4 - chlorobenzylamine in the process of procedure 1 and the resulting nitrosoimidazopyrimidinone is converted to the corresponding formylamino compound according to the method of procedure 2 , and the resulting product is then reacted with isobutyric anhydride in a mixture of isobutyric anhydride and pyridine according to the method of procedure 14 to give the desired product . obtained as a fluffy white crystalline solid , mp 249 . 5 °- 255 . 0 ° after recrystallization from a mixture of chloroform and acetonitrile . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 2 . 10 ( 6 , d , 6 . 5 hz ), 2 . 94 ( 2 , septet , 6 . 5 hz ), 3 . 84 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 12 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 30 ( 4 , m ). ir 760 , 1300 , 1505 , 1626 , 1692 , 2980 , 3180 . procedure 17 . 2 - bromo - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one hydrobromine . bromine , 1 . 60 g . ( 0 . 010 mol ), was added to a solution of 2 . 00 g . ( 0 . 0066 mol ) of the product of procedure 3 in 10 ml . hoac and the resulting solution heated on a steam bath for 10 min . yellow flakes precipitated and were filtered and air - dried to give 3 . 29 g . solid , mp 212 ° d . heating a suspension of the material in ch 3 cn gave a white powder , mp 248 ° d . recrystallization from dmf - ch 3 cn gave fine , white needles , mp 228 . 5 °- 229 . 5 ° d . ( corr .). procedure 18 . 7 - amino - 8 - benzyl - 2 , 3 - dihydro6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . the method of procedure 1 is repeated with the substitution of benzylamine for 4 - chlorobenzylamine . product melting point 242 ° d ., 68 % yield , recrystallized from dmf . procedure 19 . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - formylaminoimidazo -[ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . the method of procedure 2 is applied to the product of procedure 18 to yield this product , m . p . 268 ° d ., yield 40 %. the product was not recrystallized . procedure 20 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 -( 1 - methylethyl )- 4 -( 2 - methylpropionyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the method of procedure 14 was applied to the product of procedure 19 with the substitution of isobutyric anhydride for the propionic anhydride specified in procedure 14 . the product was obtained in 35 % yield , m . p . 271 . 0 °- 273 . 0 ° ( corr .) after recrystallization from isopropanol . anal . found : c , 58 . 50 ; h , 6 . 25 ; n , 24 . 39 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 20 ( 6 , d ), 1 . 34 ( 6 , d ), 3 . 00 ( 1 , m ), 4 . 10 ( 5 , m ), 13 . 2 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 780 , 1250 , 1275 , 1365 , 1410 , 1540 , 1580 , 1700 , 2980 , 3200 . procedure 21 . 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 - fluorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 -( formylamino )- 2 , 3 - dihydroimidazo [ 2 , 3 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -[( 4 - fluorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one is prepared by the method of procedure 1 with substitution of 4 - fluorobenzylamine for 4 - chlorobenzylamine which is used in that example . to the resulting product 9 . 79 g . ( 0 . 034 mol ), mp 223 . 5 °- 225 . 5 ° d ( corr .) in 100 ml . 97 % hcooh at room temperature is added 15 . 00 g . ( 0 . 086 mol ) na 2 s 2 o 4 in portions over about 5 min . the solution turns from dark purple to light yellow during the resulting exothermic reaction , and some yellow precipitate forms . the mixture is stirred for 10 min ., then concentrated in vacuo to about 25 ml . the residual is dissolved in 150 ml . h 2 o , filtered , and neutralized with concentrated nh 4 oh . the white precipitate is collected , slurried in hot meoh , and filtered . oven drying in vacuo yields 9 . 25 g . ( 90 %) white solid , mp 248 °- 250 °. recrystallization from meoh yields white crystals , mp 262 ° d . the formylamino compound produced by procedure 21 was converted according to the method described in procedure 4 to yield a product identical to that produced in procedure 8 . procedure 22 . 7 - amino - 8 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 -( formylamino ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . the method of procedure 21 is applied to the product of procedure 18 to prepare this material in 86 % yield , mp 248 °- 250 ° after recrystallization from dmf - i - proh . anal . found : c , 58 . 84 ; h , 5 . 38 ; n , 24 . 31 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 79 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 30 ( 2 , s ), 6 . 66 ( 2 , bs ), 7 . 50 ( 5 , m ), 8 . 36 ( 1 , s ), 8 . 82 ( 1 , s ). ir : 700 , 740 , 1305 , 1500 , 1580 , 1612 , 1655 , 3200 , 3320 , 3400 . procedure 23 . 4 -( phenylmethyl )- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the product of procedure 22 is substituted as formylamino starting material in the method of procedure 3 . the product is obtained in 64 % yield as a light yellow crystalline solid , mp 262 °- 264 ° ( corr .) after recrystallization from dmf - i - proh . anal . found : c , 62 . 57 ; h , 5 . 15 ; n , 26 . 13 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 88 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 16 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 45 ( 5 , m ), 8 . 00 ( 1 , s ). ir : 715 , 764 , 1300 , 1435 , 1550 , 1620 , 1700 , 3150 . procedure 24 . 1 - butyl - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one hydrochloride . to a stirred suspension of 1 . 77 g . ( 0 . 0059 mol ) the product of procedure 3 in 20 ml . dry dmf was added 0 . 27 g . ( 0 . 0065 mol ) nah ( 57 % mineral oil dispersion ). when dissolution was complete , 0 . 69 g . ( 0 . 0065 mol ) n - butyl bromide was added , and the mixture was heated at 100 ° for 3 hr . water ( 200 ml .) was added , and the aqueous portion decanted from the precipitated gum . the gum was dissolved in 100 ml . 1 n hcl and was filtered . the resulting yellow solution was made basic with nh 4 oh and the resulting gum was taken up in i - proh . the i - proh solution was acidified with ethanolic hcl and allowed to evaporate . the solid residue was recrystallized from ch 3 cn - etoac to give 0 . 65 g . ( 28 %) pale - yellow crystals , mp 223 °- 225 ° ( corr . mp 205 . 5 °- 206 . 5 ° d ). anal . found : c , 54 . 48 ; h , 5 . 56 ; n , 17 . 84 . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 83 ( 3 , t , 6 . 2 hz ), 1 . 27 ( 2 , m ), 1 . 73 ( 2 , m ), 4 . 28 ( 6 , m ), 5 . 88 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 39 ( 2 , m ), 8 . 04 ( 1 , s ). ir : 770 , 1310 , 1480 , 1500 , 1608 , 1660 , 1720 , 2710 , and 3110 . procedure 25 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ] pyrimidin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a solution of 1 . 00 g . ( 0 . 0033 mole ) of the product of procedure 1 in 50 ml . 1 n hcl was hydrogenated over 0 . 50 g . 10 % pd / c . the catalyst was filtered , and the filtrate cooled to 0 °. a solution of 0 . 24 g . : 0 . 0035 mole ; nano 2 in 2 ml . h 2 o was added in one portion , and the solution was stirred at 25 ° c . for 30 min . the solution was concentrated in vacuo to a solid residue which was slurried in meoh and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo , and the crystalline residue slurried in ch 3 cn and filtered to yield 0 . 60 g . pink crystals , mp 252 ° d . the material was dissolved in 1 n naoh and neutralized with hoac . the white solid was filtered and air - dried to yield 0 . 50 g . ( 50 %), mp & gt ; 300 . 0 °. anal . found : c , 51 . 30 ; h , 4 . 02 ; n , 27 . 65 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 + cf 3 co 2 h ): 4 . 26 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 57 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 79 ( 5 , m ). ir : 770 , 810 , 1305 , 1495 , 1585 , 1640 , 1720 , and 2700 . various nitrosoimidazolopyrimidinones prepared as intermediates in the various procedures described herein may be converted according to procedure 25 to the corresponding imidazotriazolopyrimidinones . refer , for instance , to procedures 5 - 13 , 18 , 31 , and 41 - 43 . similarly , the 1 - substituted imidazotriazolopyrimidinones may be prepared from the corresponding unsubstituted compounds by application of the methods illustrated in procedures 24 , and 32 - 44 . characterizing data and preparative information relative to some of these products are listed in table ii . table ii__________________________________________________________________________procedures 26 - 296 , 7 - dihydro - 3h -- imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ; 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ]- pyrimidin - 9 ( 4h )- ones of formula ii n = 1 , r . sup . 1 , r . sup . 6 , and r . sup . 7 = proc . recryst . elementalno . r . sup . 4 mp ° c . ( corr .) yield solvent analysis nmr ir__________________________________________________________________________26 3 , 4 - dimethoxy - 286 . 0 - 287 . 0 51 % 1 n naohhoac c , 55 . 46 ( cf . sub . 3 co . sub . 2 h ): 4 . 03 ( 6 , s ), 775 , 1305 , 1520 , phenethyl h , 5 . 27 3 . 32 ( 2 , m ), 4 . 50 1580 , 1650 , 1725 , n , 24 . 07 7 . 08 ( 3 , m ) 270027 4 - fluorobenzyl 294 . 0 - 295 . 0 d . 29 % 1 n naoh -- hoac c , 54 . 30 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 4 . 00 770 , 830 , 1300 h , 3 . 86 5 . 21 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 41 1510 , 1580 , 1640 , n , 29 . 08 1720 , 270028 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl 247 . 5 - 249 . 5 d . 43 % water ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 4 . 21 825 , 1320 , 1590 , 5 . 72 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 85 1665 , 1755 , 2800 , 300029 hydrogen * & gt ; 300 9 % 1 n naoh -- hoac c , 40 . 05 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 90 780 , 1280 , 1540 , h , 3 . 62 8 . 20 ( 1 , bs ) 1620 , 1700 , 3080 , n , 46 . 27 3160__________________________________________________________________________ * prepared by substitution of omethoxybenzylamine in the method of procedure 1 followed by reduction and cyclization of that product by the method of procedure 25 ; debenzylation occurred resulting in the formation of the r . sup . 4 hydrogen product indicated . procedure 30 . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . a mixture of 29 . 25 g . ( 0 . 40 mole ) isobutylamine and 48 . 82 g . ( 0 . 20 mole ) 2 -( methylthio )- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide in 250 ml . abs . etoh were refluxed for 2 hr . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo to a viscous oil , which was dissolved in 100 ml . abs . etoh and added to a solution of 8 . 40 g . ( 0 . 80 mole ) sodium and 22 . 62 g . ( 0 . 20 mole ) ethyl cyanoacetate in 1200 ml . abs . etoh . the mixture was refluxed for 3 hr ., then concentrated in vacuo to a viscous oil . water ( 400 ml .) was added and a white solid slowly crystallized . the solid was filtered and air - dried to yield 35 . 43 g . ( 86 %), mp 235 °- 238 ° ( two crops ). recrystallization from ch 3 cn gave white crystals , mp 230 . 5 °- 232 . 5 ° ( corr .). anal . found : c , 57 . 75 ; h , 7 . 93 ; n , 27 . 14 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 0 . 89 ( 6 , d , j 6 . 0 hz ), 2 . 04 ( 1 , m ), 3 . 68 ( 2 , d ), 3 . 76 ( 4 , m ), 4 . 38 ( 1 , s ), 7 . 68 ( 2 , bs ). ir : 770 , 1190 , 1280 , 1490 , 1610 , 1655 , 3160 , and 3300 . procedure 31 . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . to a solution of 5 . 00 g . ( 0 . 024 mole ) of the product of procedure 30 in 15 ml . h 2 o and 4 ml . hoac ( 0 °) was added ( portionwise ) 1 . 72 g . ( 0 . 024 mole ) nano 2 . the mixture was stirred at 24 ° for 30 min ., cooled to 0 ° and filtered to yield 4 . 44 g . ( 72 %) of a purple solid , mp 203 °- 205 ° d . recrystallization from h 2 o provided pink needles , mp 205 °- 207 °. the product of procedure 31 is then converted to the product of procedure 13 by reduction to the corresponding formylamino compound by the method of procedure 2 and cyclization by the method of procedure 4 . procedures 32 - 40 . the method of procedure 24 is applied to the product of procedure 13 with the substitution of the following reactants for n - butyl bromide to yield the analogous products which are listed in table iii . table iii______________________________________ procedures 32 - 401 - r . sup . 16 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- ones offormula i , n = 1 , r . sup . 2 , r . sup . 6 , and r . sup . 7 = h , r . sup . 4 = 2 - methylpropylproc . no . reactant r . sup . 1______________________________________32 4 - fluorobenzyl chloride ## str5 ## 33 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl chloride ## str6 ## 34 2 - methoxybenzyl chloride ## str7 ## 35 2 -( 4 - chlorophenyl ) ethyl bromide ## str8 ## 36 3 - chloromethylpyridine ## str9 ## 37 4 - chloromethylpyridine ## str10 ## 38 3 - bromo - 2 - methylpropene ## str11 ## 39 2 - phenoxyethyl bromide ## str12 ## 40 2 - naphthylmethyl bromide ## str13 ## ______________________________________ * yield 53 %, hydrochloride salt recrystallized from ch . sub . 3 cn , mp 228 - 230 °. anal . found : c , 58 . 75 ; h , 6 . 18 ; n , 17 . 88 nmr ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 1 . 10 ( 6 , d , 6 . 2 hz ), 2 . 40 ( 1 , m ), 4 . 41 ( 8 , m ), 4 . 83 ( 2 , t , 6 . 0 hz ), 7 . 21 ( 5 , m ), 8 . 06 ( 1 , s ), 13 . 7 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 700 , 760 , 1250 , 1460 , 1600 , 1645 , 1715 , 2600 , 2980 . procedure 41 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 6 , 7 - dimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . procedure 1 is repeated with substitution of 4 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 -( methylthio )- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide for the 2 -( methylthio )- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide specified . the resulting 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 , 3 - dimethyl - 8 -[( 4 - chlorphenyl ) methyl ]- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one is converted to the corresponding 6 - formylamino compound by the method of procedure 2 and the latter is converted to the desired product by the method of procedure 4 . procedure 42 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 7 , 8 - dihydro - 3h , 6h - pyrimido [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 10 ( 4h )- one . procedure 1 is repeated with substitution of 2 -( methylthio )- 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyrimidine hydroiodide for the 2 -( methylthio )- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide specified . the resulting 8 - amino - 3 , 4 - dihydro - 9 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 7 - nitroso - 2h , 5h - pyrimido ( 1 , 2 - a ) pyrimidin - 6 ( 9h )- one is converted to the corresponding 7 - formylamino compound according to the method of procedure 2 , and the latter is then cyclized to the desired product by the method of procedure 4 . procedure 43 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 3h - 1 , 3 - diazepino [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 11 ( 4h )- one . procedure 1 is repeated with substitution of 2 -( methylthio )- 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - tetrahydro - 1h1 , 3 - diazepine hydroiodide for the 2 -( methylthio )- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide specified . the resulting 9 - amino - 10 [( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 8 - nitroso - 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 - tetrahydro - 1 , 3 - diazepino [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyrimidin - 7 ( 10h )- one is converted to the corresponding 8 - formylamino compound by the method of procedure 2 , and the latter is then cyclized to the desired product by the method of procedure 4 . procedure 44 . 1 , 4 - di [ 4 - fluorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the method of procedure 24 is applied to the product of procedure 8 with substitution of 4 - fluorobenzyl chloride for the n - butyl bromide specified in procedure 24 . the product is recovered in 53 % yield , recrystallized from isopropyl acetate - hexane , mp 186 . 0 °- 188 . 0 ° ( corr .). anal . found : c , 63 . 76 ; h , 4 . 54 ; n , 17 . 50 . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 4 . 03 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 25 ( 2 , s ), 5 . 45 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 34 ( 8 , m ), and 7 . 57 ( 1 , s ). ir : 760 , 775 , 834 , 1230 , 1520 , 1648 , and 1690 . procedure 45 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 - trifluoromethyl - 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a solution of 25 . 0 g . ( 0 . 078 mol ) of the product of procedure 2 in 100 ml . of trifluoroacetic anhydride is prepared and chilled in an ice bath . several drops of pyridine are then carefully added . the mixture is then treated as described in procedure 14 for separation and recovery of the desired product . procedure 46 . 2 - bromo - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methyl - 1h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h ) one . the product of procedure 17 is allowed to react with iodomethane under alkaline conditions according to the method of procedure 67 to give the desired product , m . p . 206 °- 207 °. anal . found : c , 45 . 77 ; h , 3 . 28 ; n , 17 . 68 . nmr ( dmsod 6 ): 3 . 77 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 81 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 98 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 36 ( 4 , s ). ir : 750 , 1335 , 1525 , 1580 , 1630 , 1680 , and 2940 . procedure 47 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methyl - 2 -[( 2 - methylpropyl ) amino ]- 1h - imidazo -[ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a mixture of the product of procedure 46 , 1 . 0 g . ( 0 . 0025 mole ) and 0 . 37 g . ( 0 . 005 mole ) of 2 - methylpropylamine in 20 ml . of ethanol is refluxed for 16 hrs . the desired product precipitated as the hydrobromide salt which was collected and mixed with dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide to convert it into the free base form , m . p . 185 °- 187 °. anal . found : c , 58 . 48 ; h , 5 . 97 ; n , 21 . 45 . nmr ( dmsod 6 ): 0 . 88 ( 6 , d , 6 . 2 hz ); 2 . 05 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 09 ( 2 , t , 6 . 5 hz ); 3 . 27 ( 2 , bs ); 3 . 50 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 75 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 93 ( 2 , s ); 6 . 78 ( 1 , bs ); 7 . 36 ( 4 , m ). ir : 740 , 1460 , 1490 , 1560 , 1615 , 1680 , 2950 , and 3330 . procedure 48 . 2 - azido - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methylmidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . repeated with the substitution of sodium azide for 2 - methylpropylamine . in this instance 100 ml . of abs . ethanol is used as solvent . the product is recovered by removal of insoluble material from the reaction mixture by filtration and evaporation of the filtrate . procedure 49 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 - cyano - 1 - methyl - 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the method of procedure 48 is repeated with substitution of nacn for sodium azide . procedure 50 . 2 - dibutylamino - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 1 - methyl - 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the method of procedure 47 is repeated with the substitution of dibutylamine for 2 - methylpropylamine . when lower boiling amines such as ethyl amine , or ammonia are substituted in procedure 47 to yield a 2 - loweralkylamino - or a 2 - amino compound , the process is carried out in a closed vessel under pressure to afford the necessary reaction temperature . higher boiling precursor amines such as benzylmethylamine may be employed with subsequent hydrogenolysis of the benzyl group to yield , for instance , the 2 - methylamino compound . procedure 51 . solution for injection . the following ingredients are dissolved in sufficient water for injection to make 1 liter and the solution is filtered through a membrane filter having a pour size of 0 . 5 micrometers . ______________________________________ingredient amount______________________________________product of procedure 27 0 . 2 - 5 . 0 g . sodium chloride , q . s . isotonictris ( hydroxymethyl ) aminomethanebuffer , q . s ., ph 8 . 5______________________________________ the filtered solution is filled into clean sterile ampules and flame sealed followed by sterilization in an autoclave . procedure 52 . tablets for oral ingestion . the following ingredients are blended in the dry state in a twin - shell blender and compressed on a tablet press using an 11 / 32 inch die and concave punches . ______________________________________ingredient amount______________________________________product of procedure 3 50 . 0 g . sucrose , pregranulated for directcompression 210 . 0 g . corn starch 6 . 0 g . microcrystalline cellulose 40 . 0 g . magnesium stearate 1 . 0 g . ______________________________________ this batch size is for 1 , 000 tablets and provides a tablet weighing 370 mg . supplying 50 mg . of active ingredient per tablet . tablets containing from 25 to 200 mg . of active ingredient may be made employing the same ingredients but adjusting the weight and tablet size appropriately . procedure 53 . powder for inhalation . the following ingredients are blended aseptically and filled into hard gelatin capsules , each containing 50 mg . of the mixture providing 25 mg . of the active ingredient . ______________________________________ingredient amount______________________________________product of procedure 4 , micronized 25 . 0 g . lactose powder 25 . 0 g . ______________________________________ the foregoing is sufficient for 1 , 000 capsules . these capsules are suitable for dispensing the powder into the inspired air stream using a breath actuated device . appropriate adjustments of the composition can be made to given capsules containing 0 . 5 to 40 mg . of active ingredient . a number of additional compounds of a sort similar to those defined by formula i and formula ii above have useful bronchodilator activity , antiallergy activity of the mediator release inhibiting type , vasodilator activity , and phosphodiesterase enzyme inhibitory activity . furthermore , certain additional compounds , for instance , those of procedures 12 and 58 , 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - phenoxyethyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one and 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - phenoxyethyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one , respectively , have been found to have anticholinergic action of a type which mediates improved bronchodilator activity . formulas xx and xi below correspond to formulas i and ii and redefine the scope of the invention to include all of these additional substances which are illustrated in procedures 46 , 47 , 54 - 84 , 97 , 98 , 100 - 102 , 104 , 106 - 114 , 116 , 117 , 120 - 122 and 124 - 131 . further , other additional substances sharing one or more of the foregoing biological properties are isomeric with those of formulas xi and xx and are defined by formulas xii , xv , and xvi , and xxii illustrated in procedures 85 - 95 , 119 and 126 . they are also considered part of the present invention as are pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition and quaternary ammonium salts ( illustrated in procedures 94 and 123 ) of the compounds of formulas i , ii , xi , xii , xiv , xv , xvi , xvii , xviii , xx , xxii , and xxiii , and the pharmaceutically acceptable metal , ammonium , and amine salts of those members wherein r 11 is hydrogen . ## str14 ## in the foregoing formulas , q is o , s , or nr 10 , r 10 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , lower alkyl having up to 8 carbon atoms , lower alkenyl or lower alkynyl each having 3 to 8 carbon atoms , dialkylaminoalkyl having 4 to 12 carbon atoms cycloalkyl having 3 to 6 carbon atoms , cycloalkylalkyl having 4 to 12 carbon atoms , pyridylmethyl , aralkyl or substituted aralkyl each having 7 to 12 carbon atoms , aryloxyalkyl or substituted aryloxyalkyl each having 8 to 12 carbon atoms wherein each of said substituted aralkyl , and substituted aryloxyalkyl groups contains 1 or 2 substituents selected from halogen , alkoxy , and alkyl , and each of said alkoxy and alkyl groups contains up to 6 carbon atoms , r 11 is alkoxycarbonyl having 2 to 4 carbon atoms , aminoalkyl having 2 to 8 carbon atoms , or is independently selected from the foregoing group defined for r 10 , r 12 is lower alkyl , lower alkenyl , lower alkynyl , lower alkylthio , lower alkylsulfinyl , or lower alkylsulfonyl each having up to 8 carbon atoms , hydrogen , thiono , trifluoromethyl or halogen when r 11 is hydrogen , r 12 is lower alkylamino , di - lower alkylamino , lower alkoxyimino , lower alkyl , lower alkenyl , lower alkynyl , lower alkylthio , lower alkylsulfinyl , lower alkylsulfonyl , or lower alkoxy each having up to 8 carbon atoms , hydrogen , thiono , trifluoromethyl , halogen , hydrazino , azido , cyano , hydroxy , or amino when r 11 is other than hydrogen , r 14 and r 15 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , lower alkyl having up to 8 carbon atoms , lower alkenyl or lower alkynyl having 3 to 8 carbon atoms , cycloalkyl having 3 to 6 carbon atoms , cycloalkylalkyl having 4 to 12 carbon atoms , pyridylmethyl , lower alkanoyl or lower alkenoyl or lower alkynoyl each having up to 8 carbon atoms , aroyl or substituted aroyl having 7 to 12 carbon atoms , aralkyl or substituted aralkyl having 7 to 12 carbon atoms , aryloxyalkyl or substituted aryloxyalkyl having 8 to 12 carbon atoms wherein each of said substituted aroyl , substituted aralkyl , and substituted aryloxyalkyl groups contains 1 or 2 ring substituents selected from halogen , alkoxy , and alkyl , and each of said alkoxy and alkyl groups contains up to 6 carbon atoms , r 6 and r 7 represent hydrogen or a carbon attached ring substituent selected from methyl and ethyl , r 16 represents a double bond between adjacent ring carbon atoms or up to 2 hydrogen atoms as necessary to form a saturated structure , and no more than two of r 6 , r 7 , and r 16 are located on the same ring carbon atom , when r 10 , r 11 , r 14 , or r 15 contains a disubstituted aralkyl group , a disubstituted aryloxyalkyl group , or a disubstituted aroyl group having adjacent substituents according to the foregoing definitions , those combinations of adjacent substituents which are sterically incompatible , that is substituents incapable of occupying adjacent positions such as adjacent tertiary alkyl groups , are not intended by the formulas . the compounds for formula xx and formula xi are prepared by the same methods described above with respect to the compounds of formula i and formula ii . for the preparation of the compounds of formula xx and formula xi which are not included within formula i and formula ii , the methods previously described can be adapted to the preparation of these new compounds by the appropriate selection of starting materials to afford the desired substituent groups , r 11 , r 12 , and r 14 . the compounds of formulas xx and xii , and formulas xv and xvi wherein r 11 is h are tautomers and do not enjoy a separate existence in the pure crystalline state . the compounds of formula xii wherein r 10 is other than hydrogen are prepared from the intermediates of formula xiii by the same methods previously described with respect to preparation of the compounds of formula i from those of formula iii . this is illustrated in procedures 85 - 89 . in formula xiii , r 18 is defined by the same terms as r 10 . r 18 and r 10 may be the same or different . ## str15 ## the conversion of an intermediate of formula iii and analogs thereof where r 8 is replaced by r 18 into an intermediate of formula xiii can be carried out by any of the known methods for the preparation of a secondary amine from a primary aromatic amine . one method is by reductive alkylation wherein an aldehyde or ketone is caused to condense with the 7 - amino group of the intermediate of formula iii wherein b is hydrogen under reductive conditions so that the schiff &# 39 ; s base which is first formed is reduced under the reaction conditions to yield the r 10 substituent . an aldehyde or ketone of the appropriate structure to yield the desired r 10 structure on reduction of the intermediate schiff &# 39 ; s base is selected . this is specifically illustrated in procedures 85 and 86 . the substances of formula xii wherein r 10 is other than hydrogen and q is nr 10 may sometimes be prepared by a method similar to that described above for the preparation of the substances of formula i wherein r 1 is other than hydrogen involving reaction of an alkali metal salt of a substance of formula xx wherein r 11 is hydrogen and q is nr 10 with a reagent of the formula dx wherein d has the same meaning given above for a and also includes alkynyl having 3 to 8 carbon atoms , cycloalkyl having 3 to 6 carbon atoms , and cycloalkylalkyl having 4 to 12 carbon atoms and x has the same meaning given above . the reaction is carried out in the same manner as described above . in some instances , the pure substance of formula xii wherein q is nr 10 is obtained while in others it may be obtained in a mixture with the substance of formula xx wherein r 11 is other than hydrogen and q is nr 10 . the reaction scheme shown above with respect to formulas v , vi , vii , viii , ix , and x may be readily adapted to the preparation of the compounds of formulas xv and xxii wherein r 15 is other than hydrogen by substitution of an intermediate of formula xix for the intermediate of formula x in that scheme . ## str16 ## such intermediates are readily prepared from an alkylenediamine of the formula r 15 nh ( ch 2 ) n nh 2 wherein n = 2 , carbon disulfide , and methyl iodide followed by reaction of the resulting 1 - r 15 - 2 - methylthioimidazolinium iodide with ammonia . r 15 and n have the same meaning as previously given . this is illustrated in procedures 90 - 93 , and 126 hereof . another method for the preparation of the compounds of formula xv which is particularly adapted to the preparation of those substances wherein r 15 is lower alkyl having up to 8 carbon atoms involves forming the quaternary ammonium salt of a substance of formula xx wherein r 14 is the benzyl or substituted benzyl group with a lower alkyl halide , phosphate , sulfate , or other reactive ester group which results in the formation of a lower alkyl - substituted quaternary ammonium nitrogen atom at the 5 - position . the latter is then hydrogenated by chemical or catalytic means resulting in hydrogenolysis of the r 14 benzyl or substituted benzyl group and elimination of a proton to yield the tertiary amine pictured in formula xv . this is illustrated in procedures 94 and 95 . the substances xvi wherein r 10 is other than hydrogen are made in a fashion analogous to those of formula xii wherein r 10 is other than hydrogen and illustrated in procedures 85 - 89 via the intermediates of the formula xxi or by the alternative alkylation method similar to that described with respect to formula xii from formula xv wherein q = nr 10 and r 10 = h . the intermediates of formula xxi are also part of the present invention . ## str17 ## the substances of formulas xi , xii , xv , xvi , xx , and xxii , wherein q is sulphur are prepared by reaction of a compound of formula xi , xii , xv , xvi , xx , or xxii , wherein q is oxygen under conditions known for the transformation of a carboxamide or a ketone into a thiocarboxamide or a thione . one suitable method is by heating the oxo compound with phosphorus pentasulfide preferably in the presence of pyridine as reaction medium . this is specifically illustrated in procedure 75 . those compounds of formulas xi , xii , xv , xvi , xx , and xxii wherein q is nr 10 are prepared from the compounds of formulas xiv , xvii , xviii , or xxiii which are shown below . these compounds and their pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition and quaternary ammonium salts also have bronchodilator or antiallergy activity are are considered part of the present invention . ## str18 ## the compounds of formula xiv , xvii , xviii , and xxiii are prepared from those of formula xi , xv , xx , and xxii wherein r 11 is hydrogen and q is sulphur by reaction with methyl iodide in the presence of a base such as sodium hydroxide . for instance , the reaction may be carried out in aqueous solution by dissolving the substance of formula xx wherein q = s is aqueous sodium hydroxide containing slightly more than one molecular proportion of the latter and adding methyl iodide thereto . the desired intermediate of formula xiv precipitates forthwith from the aqueous mixture . this is illustrated in procedure 76 . it is then converted to a compound of formulas xx wherein r 11 is hydrogen and z is = nr 10 by reaction of the substance of formula xiv with an amine of the formula r 10 nh 2 . this is illustrated in procedure 77 . the pharmaceutically acceptable quaternary ammonium salts of the substances of formulas i , ii , xi , xii , xiv , xv , xvi , xvii , xviii , xx , xxii , and xxiii , are also considered part of the present since these salts share the biological properties of the substances defined by these formulas , and , in some instances , possess other desirable properties in addition such as , for instance , anticholinergic activity . the term pharmaceutically acceptable primarily has reference to the anion which does not contribute significantly to the toxicity or pharmacological activity of these salts as is the case with the pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts described above . they are prepared by reaction preferably of an equimolar proportion of a reactive ester of the formula r 17 x wherein r 17 is a group other than hydrogen as defined for r 10 and x is chloride , bromide , iodide , phosphate , or sulfate as defined above . preferably r 17 is lower alkyl having up to about 8 carbon atoms . a reaction inert liquid reaction medium is ordinarily employed . those substances of the present invention wherein r 16 is a double bond between adjacent carbon atoms of the ring are prepared by mno 2 oxidation of the corresponding saturated compound . this is illustrated in procedure 124 . it is preferred to apply this method of those substances which have no other readily oxidizable r 10 , r 11 , r 12 , r 14 , or r 15 substituent . even when such substituent is present , however , it is usually possible to isolate the desired product in low yield . the products of procedures 54 - 63 were prepared by substituting the amine corresponding to the r 14 substituent in the method of procedure 1 and converting the resulting nitrosoimidazopyrimidinone to the corresponding formylaminoimidazopyrimidinone according to procedure 2 . the latter were then cyclized to the desired products of formula xx either by refluxing the acetic anhydride and ethyl orthoformate according to procedure 3 , pyrrolyzing in an oil bath at 260 ° c . employing a small amount of dmf as vehicle in some instances according to procedure 4 , or by refluxing with pyridine and the appropriate carboxylic acid anhydride to provide the desired r 12 substituent according to procedure 14 . these preparations are summarized in table iv . table iv__________________________________________________________________________procedures 54 - 63formula xxq = 0 , n = 1 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 11 , and r . sup . 16 = h m . p . proc . ° c . recryst . elementalno r . sup . 12 r . sup . 14 ( corr ) method solvent analysis nmr ir__________________________________________________________________________54 h n - octyl 150 . 0 - proc . 3 etoac c , 62 . 42 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 765 , 1300 , 1355 , 155 . 0 h , 7 . 86 0 . 89 ( 3 , m ), 1470 , 1560 , 1640 , n , 24 . 08 1 . 28 ( 12 , m ), 1695 , 2865 , 2940 , 4 . 14 ( 6 , m ), 3110 7 . 76 ( 1 , s ) 55 methyl n - octyl 201 . 5 - proc . 14 dmf / ch . sub . 3 cn c , 63 . 15 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 755 , 1295 , 1340 , 203 . 5 h , 8 . 48 0 . 85 ( 3 , t , 1515 , 1620 , 1630 , n , 23 . 11 6 . 5 hz ), 1700 , 2855 , 2930 , 1 . 27 ( 10 , m ) 3150 1 . 69 ( 2 , m ), 2 . 31 ( 3 , s ), 3 . 82 ( 6 , m ) 56 isopropyl n - octyl 235 . 0 - proc . 14 i - proh c , 53 . 56 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 756 , 1300 , 1605 ,( hydrochloride salt dihydrate ) 245 . 0 h , 8 . 51 0 . 88 1630 , 1725 , 2860 , n , 17 . 48 ( 3 , t , 6 . 8 2930 , 3440 1 . 23 ( 12 , m ), 1 . 38 ( 6 , d , 7 . 0 hz ), 4 . 18 ( 6 , m ) 57 h ## str19 ## 251 . 5 - 253 . 5 proc . 4 dmf c , 54 . 14 h , 4 . 56 n , ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 3 . 82 ( 4 , m ), 4 . 31 ( 4 , s ), 7 . 18 ( 4 , m ), 7 . 94 ( 1 , s ) 760 , 1050 , 1240 , 1300 , 1500 , 1630 , 1700 , 2600 , 2880 , 297058 methyl ## str20 ## 215 . 0 - 221 . 0 proc . 14 meoh c , 61 . 46 h , 5 . 53 n , ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 2 . 32 ( 3 , s ) 3 . 86 ( 4 , m ), 4 . 30 ( 4 , m ), 7 . 12 ( 5 , m ) 13 . 20 700 , 763 , 1055 , 1255 , 1510 , 1525 , 1630 , 1705 , 2850 , 290059 h cyclohexyl - 245 . 0 - proc . 3 i - proh / c , 61 . 55 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 760 , 1300 , 1465 , methyl 251 . 0 ch . sub . 3 cn h , 7 . 15 1 . 13 ( 4 , m ), 1550 , 1620 , 1700 , n , 25 . 37 ( 4 , m ), ( 7 , m ) 2860 , 2930 3 . 88 ( 6 , m ), 7 . 92 ( 1 , s ) 60 h ## str21 ## 259 . 0 - 216 . 0 proc . 4 dmf / ch . sub . 3 cn c , 57 . 05 h , 4 . 48 n , ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 3 . 04 ( 2 , t , 7 . 0 hz ), 3 . 90 ( 4 , m ), 4 . 16 ( 2 , t , 7 . 0 hz ), 7 . 42 ( 4 , m ), 7 . 96 ( 1 , s ), 12 . 50 760 , 1360 , 1490 , 1550 , 1610 , 1695 , 2600 , 2880 , 296061 isopropyl isobutyl 248 . 5 - proc . 14 meoh / ch . sub . 3 cn c , 61 . 19 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 758 , 1295 , 1510 , 249 . 5 h , 7 . 60 0 . 99 ( 6 , d , 1550 , 1620 , 1635 , n , 25 . 60 6 . 5 hz ), 1700 , 2880 , 2970 1 . 45 ( 6 , d , 3170 7 . 0 hz ), 2 . 50 ( 1 , m ) 3 . 21 ( 1 , septet , 7 . 0 hz ), 3 . 96 ( 2 , d , 7 . 0 hz ), 4 . 10 ( 4 , m ) 62 h c . sub . 6 h . sub . 5 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 227 . 0 - proc . 14 dmf / ch . sub . 3 cn c , 64 . 78 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 700 , 742 , 760 , 229 . 0 h , 5 . 63 2 . 03 ( 2 , m ), 1290 , 1550 , 1610 , n , 23 . 68 2 . 68 ( 2 , t , 1640 , 1695 , 2600 , 7 . 0 hz ), 2950 3 . 92 ( 6 , m ), 7 . 44 ( 5 , s ) 8 . 12 ( 1 , s ) 63 * methyl isobutyl 234 . 0 - proc . 14 ch . sub . 3 cn c , 58 . 30 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 755 , 1210 , 1295 , 236 . 0 h , 6 . 74 0 . 96 ( 6 , d , 1440 , 1520 , 1620 , n , 28 . 44 6 . 5 hz ), 1695 , 2830 , 3150 2 . 49 ( 1 , m ), 2 . 52 ( 3 , s ), 3 . 88 ( 2 , d , 7 . 2 hz ), 4 . 11 ( 4 , m ) __________________________________________________________________________ * the method was as follows : a solution of 15 . 2 g . ( 0 . 05 mole ) of the nitroso compound of procedure 31 in methanol was hydrogenated over 10 % pd / c catalyst until the calculated quantity of hydrogen had been absorbed . the catalyst was filtered , and th solvent removed from the filtrate by concentration in vacuo . the residual 6 , 7diamino - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 -( 8h )- one was immediately treated with acetic anhydride , 50 ml ., and the solution was heated at reflux for 45 to 60 min . the acetic anhydride was then removed by distillation in vacuo leaving a brown solid residue which was triturated with acetonitrile and collected by filtration , yield 6 . 56 g ., m . p . 227 - 232 °. recrystallization from acetonitrile gave the produc identified in the table . procedures 64 - 65 . various 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 - r 12 - 4 - r 14 - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purine - 9 ( 4h )- ones . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - formylaminoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidine - 5 ( 8h )- one ( procedure 19 ) is treated with various carboxylic acid anhydrides according to the method of procedure 14 resulting in the production of various substances of formula xx wherein r 12 and r 14 have the meanings given in table v . table v______________________________________procedures 64 - 65formula xxq = 0 , n = 1 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 11 , and r . sup . 16 = hprocedure carboxylicno . acid anhydride r . sup . 12 r . sup . 14______________________________________64 propiolic hcc ## str22 ## 65 acrylic h . sub . 2 cch ## str23 ## ______________________________________ procedure 66 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 4 - octylimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one hydrochloride . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 - octyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one ( procedure 54 ) was converted to the sodium salt , and the sodium salt was treated with isobutyl bromide all as described in procedure 24 . the crude product in the base form was recovered as an oil which was identified as reaction product by thin layer chromatography ( silica , chcl 3 - etoh , 80 : 20 ) and purified by chromatography on silica using chcl 3 - ch 3 cn ( graded elution ). the product was then dissolved in ethyl acetate and treated with ethanolic hcl to yield the hydrochloride salt as a white crystalline solid , m . p . 113 . 0 °- 116 . 5 °. it was shown by analysis to be the desired product containing 0 . 25 mole water of hydration . anal . found : c , 59 . 05 ; h , 8 . 48 ; n , 18 . 12 . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 0 . 90 ( 3 , m ), 0 . 97 ( 6 , d , 6 . 6 hz ), 1 . 35 ( 12 , m ), 2 . 00 ( 1 , m ), 4 . 33 ( 8 , m ), 7 . 81 ( 1 , s ). ir : 760 , 1320 , 1470 , 1605 , 1640 , 1720 , 2860 , 2940 , and 3480 . procedure 67 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methyl - 1h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ] 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo -[ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one ( procedure 3 ), 6 . 02 g . ( 0 . 02 mole ), is dissolved with warming in a mixture of 100 ml . of water and 15 ml . of ethanol containing 1 . 0 g . ( 0 . 25 mole ) of sodium hydroxide . approximately 3 ml . ( approximately a molar equivalent ) of methyl iodide was added and the mixture was stirred for about 48 hrs . at room temperature . the precipitated solid was collected , air dried , and recrystallized from isopropanol , m . p . 182 . 5 °- 184 . 5 °. anal . found : c , 56 . 98 ; h , 4 . 39 ; n , 22 . 19 . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 3 . 90 ( 3 , s ), 3 . 98 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 14 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 35 ( 5 , m ). ir : 760 , 1350 , 1495 , 1550 , 1580 , 1640 , 1690 , 2880 , and 3120 . procedures 68 - 69 . 1 - r 11 - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- ones . the substances identified in table vi were prepared by substitution of the reactants listed in the table for n - butyl bromide in the process of procedure 24 . the products may be recovered from the reaction mixture by the application of the techniques described herein . table vi______________________________________procedures 68 - 69formula xxq = 0 , n = 1 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 12 , and r . sup . 16 = hr . sup . 14 = 4 - chlorophenylmethylproc . no . reactant r . sup . 11______________________________________68 bromocyclohexane cyclohexyl69 cyclopropylmethyl chloride cyclopropylmethyl______________________________________ procedures 70 - 73 . 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo - 4 - r 14 - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- ones . the amines listed below are substituted in procedure 1 for 4 - chlorobenzylamine . the resulting 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 - r 14 - 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- ones are then converted to the corresponding 7 - amino - 8 - r 14 - 6 -( formylamino )- 2 , 3 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- ones by the method of procedure 21 . the latter are then cyclized by the method of procedures 3 or 4 to yield the desired product . the reactants employed and products obtained are listed in the following table . table vii______________________________________procedures 70 - 73formula xxq = 0 ; n = 1 ; r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 11 , r . sup . 12 , and r . sup . 16 = hproc . no . reactant r . sup . 14______________________________________70 allylamine ch . sub . 2 ═ chch . sub . 2 -- 71 1 - amino - 2 - propyne ch ═ cch . sub . 2 -- 72 cyclohexylamine cyclohexyl73 cyclopropylmethylamine cyclopropylmethyl______________________________________ procedure 74 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - phenoxyethyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ] pyrimidin - 9 ( 4h )- one . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - phenoxyethyl )- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - d ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one was prepared by the method of procedure 1 with substitution of 2 - phenoxyethylamine on a molecular basis for the 4 - chlorobenzylamine specified in that procedure . this material was then converted by hydrogenation and diazotization as described in procedure 25 to the desired product which was purified by dissolving in 1 n aqueous sodium hydroxide with warming and acidification with acetic acid , m . p . 302 . 0 °- 303 . 0 ° dec . anal . found : c , 56 . 15 ; h , 4 . 79 ; n , 28 . 00 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 4 . 02 ( 4 , m ), 4 . 43 ( 4 , s ), 7 . 15 ( 5 , m ). ir : 700 , 770 , 1255 , 1315 , 1508 , 1595 , 1655 , 1730 , and 2740 . procedure 75 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- thione . the product of procedure 3 , 6 . 02 g . ( 0 . 02 mole ), phosphorus pentasulfide , 12 . 0 g . ( 0 . 054 mole ), and 125 ml . of pyridine were heated at reflux with stirring for 5 hrs . the dark solution was cooled to 45 ° and poured into 1 liter of water and the resulting mixture cooled by the addition of ice . the solid was collected on a funnel , dissolved in dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide , the dark colored solution treated with decolorizing carbon , filtered and the yellow filtrate acidified ( about ph 6 ) with acetic acid . the yellow solid was collected after cooling and air dried ; recrystallized from dmf / ch 3 cn ; m . p . 254 . 0 °- 256 . 0 ° dec . anal . found : c , 52 . 72 ; h , 3 . 95 ; n , 22 . 19 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 4 . 00 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 05 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 41 ( 4 , m ), 7 . 92 ( 1 , s ), 13 . 00 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 810 , 1090 , 1290 , 1460 , 1590 , 1650 , 2880 , 2960 , and 2960 . procedure 76 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 9 -( methylthio ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purine . the product of procedure 75 , 6 . 65 g . ( 0 . 021 mole ), was dissolved in a mixture of 100 ml . of water and 15 ml . of ethanol containing 1 . 0 g . ( 0 . 025 mole ) of sodium hydroxide . methyl iodide , 7 . 09 g . ( 0 . 05 mole ) was then added whereupon a precipitate commenced to form and developed into a thick slurry within 3 hrs . the solid was collected , air dried , and recrystallized from dmf with charcoal treatment , m . p . 254 . 0 °- 256 . 0 ° dec . anal . found : c , 54 . 15 ; h , 4 . 19 ; n , 21 . 32 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 + dcl ): 2 . 43 ( 3 , s ), 41 . 3 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 56 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 50 ( 4 , m ) 8 . 25 ( 1 , s ). ir : 1105 , 1160 , 1300 , 1315 , 1550 , 1570 , 1665 , 2880 , 2950 , and 3100 . procedure 77 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 9 - imino - 3h , 4h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purine . the product of procedure 76 , 2 . 26 g . is suspended in a solution of about 6 g . of ammonia in 100 ml . of ethanol . further anhydrous ammonia was added to yield a substantially saturated solution . the mixture was then placed in a pressure apparatus and heated at 100 ° overnight with agitation . the container was cooled to room temperature , opened , and the supernatent liquid decanted from the yellow solid . the precipitated solid and the residue obtained on evaporation of the supernatant liquid proved to be identical by infrared and thin - layer chromatography . they were combined and recrystallized from dmf , recovered as the hydrate containing 1 / 4 mole water of hydration , m . p . 296 °- 299 °. anal . found : c , 55 . 39 ; h , 4 . 36 ; n , 27 . 70 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 95 ( 4 , m ), 5 . 05 ( 2 , s ), 7 . 32 ( 1 , s ), 7 . 41 ( 4 , m ). ir : 700 , 740 , 1300 , 1410 , 1490 , 1560 , 1600 , 1670 , 2880 , and 3150 . various amines of the formula r 10 nh 2 may be substituted for ammonia in procedure 77 to provide various other substances of formula xx wherein q is r 10 n . the amine , r 10 nh 2 , is preferably employed in approximately equimolar amount with the reactant of xiv . procedures 78 - 84 . various 2 - r 12 - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 1 - methyl - 6 , 7 - dihydroimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- ones . the method of procedure 47 is adapted to the preparation of these substances by the substitution of the following starting materials on a molecular basis for the 2 - methylpropylamine specified in procedure 47 . where a volatile starting material is specified , a pressure vessel is employed to carry out the reaction . table viii______________________________________procedures 78 - 84formula xxq = 0 , n = 1 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 16 = h , r . sup . 11 = ch . sub . 3 , r . sup . 14 = 4 - chlorophenylmethylprocedure no . r . sup . 12 starting material______________________________________ 78 * h . sub . 2 nnh -- hydrazine79 n - buonh -- o -- butylhydroxylamine80 n - buo -- n - butanol81 ch . sub . 2 ═ ch ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 6 o -- 7 - octenol82 ch . sub . 3 c ═ cch . sub . 2 o -- 2 - butynol83 ho -- potassium acetate , water 84 * h . sub . 2 n -- ammonia______________________________________ * procedure 78 . 4 [( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 - hydrazino - 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methyl - 1h -- imidazo [ 1 ,- a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . recrystallized from etoh , m . p . 218 . 5 - 220 . 5 ° d . anal . found : c , 51 . 76 ; h , 4 . 65 ; n , 28 . 08 . nmr ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 50 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 78 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 25 ( 2 , bs ); 4 . 99 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 35 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 90 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 745 , 1460 , 1490 , 1550 , 1600 , 1625 , 1680 and 3330 . * procedure 84 . 2amino - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methyl - 1h -- imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] urin - 9 ( 4h )- one hydrate . recrystallized from meoh , m . p . 259 - 261 °. anal . found : c , 53 . 83 ; h , 4 . 51 ; n , 24 . 97 . nmr ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 3 . 28 ( 1 , bs ); 3 . 50 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 76 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 92 ( 2 , s ); 6 . 60 ( bs , 2 ); 7 . 32 ( 4 , s ). ir : 740 , 1460 , 1490 , 1540 , 1600 , 1630 , 1680 , and 3440 . procedure 85 . 7 -[( chlorophenyl ) methylene ] amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . a mixture of 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one ( procedure 30 ) ( 0 . 2 mol ), 4 - chlorobenzyldehyde ( 0 . 2 mol ) and a catalytic quantity of p - toluenesulfonic acid in 1 . 1 toluene is heated under reflux until the theoretical amount of water is azeotropically removed . procedure 86 . 7 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ] amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . a mixture of the product of procedure 85 ( 0 . 15 mol ) and sodium borohydride ( 0 . 16 mol ) in 250 ml . ethanol is stirred and refluxed for 4 hrs ., then concentrated in vacuo . the residue is purified by recrystallization . procedure 87 . 7 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ] amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . a suspension of the product of procedure 86 ( 0 . 1 mol ) in 150 ml . 25 % aqueous acetic acid is cooled to 0 ° c . and treated by dropwise addition of an aqueous solution of sodium nitrite ( 0 . 11 mol ). after stirring at 0 ° c . for an hour , the mixture is warmed to room temperature , the solid collected by filtration , washed with water and air dried . procedure 88 . 7 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ] amino - 6 - formylamino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl ) imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . to a stirred solution of the nitroso compound of procedure 87 ( 0 . 1 mol ) in 200 ml . formic acid , sodium dithionite ( 0 . 25 mol ) is added portionwise . after one hour , the reaction mixture is concentrated in vacuo , the residue dissolved in water and filtered . the filtrate is made basic with concentrated aqueous ammonia , and the product collected . procedure 89 . 3 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the formyl amino compound of procedure 88 ( 0 . 08 mol ) is dissolved with warming in a solution of sodium hydroxide ( 0 . 09 mol ) in 100 ml . water . the solution is treated with activated charcoal , filtered , and the filtrate neutralized with acetic acid . the precipitate is collected . procedure 90 . n -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ] ethylenediamine . p - chlorobenzyl chloride , 32 g . ( 0 . 2 mole ), was added dropwise to 60 g . ( 1 . 0 mole ) of ethylenediamine heated at 80 °. the solution was stirred at 80 ° overnight and then the excess amine was distilled in vacuo . the residue was triturated with i - proh to yield 32 g . of crude product . this material was dissolved in water , basified with dilute naoh and the solution extracted with ch 2 cl 2 . the combined extracts were dried ( k 2 co 3 ) and concentrated in vacuo to an oil . the latter was distilled and the material boiling at 93 °- 95 °/ 0 . 06 mm hg was collected to yield 14 . 5 g . of the desired product , the identity of which was confirmed by examination of the nmr spectrum . procedure 91 . 1 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 4 , 5 - dihydro - 1h - imidazol - 2 - amine hydrochloride . the amine produced in procedure 90 , 14 . 5 g . ( 0 . 079 mole ) was dissolved in 50 ml . of methanol and treated with a solution 9 . 1 g . ( 0 . 086 mole ) of cyanogen bromide in 30 ml . of methanol in dropwise fashion . the warm solution was cooled to room temperature which resulted in the formation of a precipitate . the mixture was kept with stirring for 1 / 2 hr . and then a portion of the solvent was removed by distillation in vacuo . the solid product which separated was collected on a filter , washed with et 2 o , and air dried , yield 16 g ., m . p . 270 °- 272 °. anal . found : c , 41 . 04 ; h , 4 . 48 ; n , 14 . 39 . the ir and nmr spectra confirmed the identity of the product . procedure 92 . 7 - amino - 1 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - nitrosoimidazo -[ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 -( 1h )- one . the product of procedure 91 was condensed with ethyl oximinocyanoacetate according to the method described in procedure 1 . the crude product , 1 . 6 g ., from 2 . 9 g . of the product of procedure 91 , was a blue solid , m . p . 273 °- 275 ° d , recrystallized from dimethylformamide , m . p . 290 °- 291 ° d . anal . found : c , 50 . 84 ; h , 3 . 92 ; n , 22 . 76 . the ir and nmr spectra confirmed the structure . procedure 93 . 5 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 5h )- one . the nitroso compound of procedure 92 was reduced with sodium dithionate in formic acid according to the method of procedure 21 . the resulting 6 - formylamino compound , 1 . 3 g . ( 0 . 0041 mole ), was suspended in 40 ml . of water containing 0 . 0043 mole of naoh and the mixture was heated on the steam bath until dissolution occurred . the solution was treated with charcoal , filtered , cooled and acidified with hoac to yield the desired product , 0 . 85 g ., recrystallized from meoh , yield 0 . 60 g ., hemihydrate m . p . 314 °- 316 ° d . anal . found : c , 54 . 06 ; h , 3 . 98 ; n , 22 . 62 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 63 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 19 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 56 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 40 ( 4 , s ); 7 . 87 ( 1 , s ); 13 . 15 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 780 , 1290 , 1350 , 1450 , 1490 , 1520 , 1630 , and 3100 . procedure 94 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 4 , 6 , 7 , 9 - tetrahydro - 1 , 5 - dimethyl - 9 - oxo - 1h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purinium iodide . a suspension of the product of procedure 67 ( 1 . 6 g ., 0 . 005 mole ) in acetone ( 25 ml .) was refluxed overnight with iodomethane ( 0 . 7 g ., 0 . 005 mole ). additional iodomethane ( 0 . 35 g ., 0 . 0025 mole ) was added , and refluxing was continued for 24 hr . the insolubles were collected to give 1 . 6 g . recrystallization from meoh gave analytically pure product 1 . 1 g ., m . p . 188 . 5 °- 189 . 5 °. anal . found : c , 41 . 99 ; h , 3 . 72 ; n , 15 . 24 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 18 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 28 ( 1 , bs ); 3 . 95 ( 3 , s ); 4 . 09 ( 2 , s ); 5 . 64 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 44 ( 4 , s ); 8 . 19 ( 1 , s ). ir : 750 , 1300 , 1410 , 1595 , 1630 , 1715 , and 3050 . procedure 95 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 , 5 - dimethyl - 1h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 5h )- one ( formula xv , r 11 , and r 15 = ch 3 ). a mixture of the quaternary salt of procedure 94 and 10 % palladium on carbon in abs . etoh is subjected to hydrogenolysis at a pressure of about 50 psig . the spent catalyst is removed by filtration , the filtrate concentrated in vacuo , and the residue dissolved in water . treatment with concentrated nh 4 oh liberates the free base which is collected and dried . procedure 96 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 9 - imino - 3h , 4h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ] pyrimidine . the product of procedure 25 is converted to the corresponding 9 - thione and 9 -( methylthio ) compounds and thence to the desired product by the method of procedures 75 , 76 , and 77 . procedure 97 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 - tetrahydro - 2 - thioxo - 1h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one monohydrate . a mixture of 5 % palladium on carbon ( 1 g .) and 2 . 0 g . ( 0 . 0066 mole ) of the product of procedure 1 in meoh ( 50 ml .) was hydrogenated until h 2 uptake ceased . the catalyst was removed and carbon disulfide ( 0 . 5 g . 0 . 0066 mole ) was added . the solution was refluxed for 4 hrs . and stirred at room temperature for 16 hrs . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo and the residue suspended in h 2 o ( 50 ml . ), and refluxed for 6 hrs ., cooled , and 1 . 55 g . of solid collected by filtration . the solid was dissolved in dil . naoh , treated with activated carbon , and reprecipitated with hoac to give 1 . 18 g . of product , m . p . 232 °- 235 °. anal . found : nmr ( dmso - d 6 + cf 3 cooh ): 4 . 09 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 30 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 35 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 40 ( 4 , m ). ir : 750 , 1300 , 1440 , 1500 , 1630 and 1710 . procedure 98 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 - methylthio - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 5h )- one . to a solution of the product of procedure 97 ( 2 . 4 g ., 0 . 0068 mole ) in 0 . 1 n naoh ( 85 ml . ), iodomethane ( 1 . 94 g ., 0 . 0136 mole ) was added and the mixture stirred at room temperature for 16 hrs . the insolubles were collected and recrystallized from methoxyethanol to give 1 . 3 g . of product , m . p . 296 °- 297 °. anal . found : c , 51 . 57 ; h , 3 . 98 ; n , 20 . 18 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 2 . 60 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 84 ( 4 , m ); 5 . 03 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 37 ( 4 , m ). ir : 750 , 1290 , 1450 , 1490 , 1540 , 1620 , 1685 , 3060 , and 3130 . procedure 99 . 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 - methyl - 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . to a stirred suspension of 4 - methylimidazoline - 2 - thione ( 45 . 0 g ., 0 . 387 mole ; purified by water recrystallization ) in ethanol ( 200 ml ., dried over 4 a molecular sieve ), methyl iodide ( 54 . 9 g ., 0 . 387 mole ) was added dropwise . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 4 hr . during which time the solid dissolved . to this solution 4 - chlorobenzylamine ( 54 . 8 g ., 0 . 387 mole ) was added and the solution was heated at reflux for 16 hrs . this solution was added while hot to a solution of sodium ( 35 . 6 g ., 1 . 55 gram atom ) in ethanol ( 900 ml ., dried over 4 a molecular sieve ), and ethyl oximinocyanoacetate ( 5 . 50 g ., 0 . 387 mole ) was added in portions . the mixture was refluxed for 3 hrs . and concentrated in vacuo . water ( 600 ml .) was added to the residue and the solution neutralized with hoac . the orange precipitate was collected , washed with ch 3 cn and et 2 o to give 95 . 6 g . ( 77 %) orange solid , m . p . 222 °- 223 ° ( dec .). procedure 100 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 6 - methyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the nitroso compound of procedure 99 was reduced with sodium dithionate in formic acid according to the method of procedure 21 . the resulting 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - formylamino - 2 - methylimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one , 185 g ., ( 0 . 54 mole ) was then dissolved with heating in 1 l . of 0 . 6 n naoh , the solution clarified by filtration , the filtrate acidified with acetic acid , and allowed to cool resulting in precipitation of the desired product , yield 71 . 7 g ., recrystallized from ethylene glycol monomethyl ether /( ipr ) 2 o , m . p . 259 °- 260 . 5 °. anal . found : c , 57 . 28 ; h , 4 . 37 ; n , 22 . 17 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 19 ( 3 , d , 6 . 0 hz ); 3 . 45 ( 1 , m ); 4 . 07 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 06 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 38 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 82 ( 1 , s ). ir : 760 , 1430 , 1490 , 1550 , 1620 , 1685 , 2960 , and 3120 . procedure 101 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 , 6 - dimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the product of procedure 99 was reduced with sodium dithionate in formic acid according to the method of procedure 21 . the resulting 7 - amino - 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - formylamino - 2 - methylimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 -( 8h )- one , 3 . 5 g . ( 0 . 0104 mole ) in 7 ml . of pyridine and 7 ml . of acetic anhydride was refluxed for three 3 hrs . during which the mixture foamed and turned dark . the mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature and diluted with acetonitrile resulting in the formation of a white precipitate which was collected . recrystallized from iproh / meoh , yield 800 mg ., m . p . 290 °- 291 ° c . anal . found : c , 58 . 12 ; h , 5 . 01 ; n , 21 . 08 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 17 ( 3 , d , 6 . 0 hz ); 2 . 29 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 40 ( 1 , m ); 4 . 04 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 00 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 35 ( 4 , s ); 12 . 90 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 755 , 1330 , 1500 , 1620 , 1680 , 2960 , and 3160 . procedure 102 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 , 6 - dimethyl - 1h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one monohydrate . the product of procedure 100 , 27 . 5 g . ( 0 . 087 mole ) was dissolved in 250 ml . of water containing 0 . 1 mole of sodium hydroxide . 50 ml . of ethanol was added followed by 28 g . ( 0 . 197 mole ) of iodomethane . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 days after which the product was collected by filtration and air dried . the damp solid was recrystallized from ch 3 cn / ipr 2 o , yield 19 . 3 g ., m . p . 147 °- 148 °. anal . found : c , 55 . 40 ; h , 5 . 08 ; n , 20 . 27 ; h 2 o , 5 . 53 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 18 ( 3 , d , 6 . 0 hz ); 3 . 28 ( 1 , s ); 3 . 42 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 80 ( 3 , s ); 4 . 07 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 01 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 37 ( 4 , s ); 7 . 79 ( 1 , s ). ir : 755 , 1340 , 1490 , 1580 , 1630 , 1680 , and 2960 . procedure 103 . 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . 4 , 4 - dimethylimidazoline - 2 - thione was prepared by adding a solution of 50 g . of 1 , 2 - diamino - 2 - methylpropane in 35 ml . of methylene chloride dropwise with stirring to a solution of 43 g . of carbon disulfide in 200 ml . of methylene chloride during about 3 hrs . the product formed as a white precipitate immediately on mixing of the two solutions . the solvent was removed by distillation in vacuo and replaced with water , and the mixture was refluxed for 7 hrs . it was concentrated to one - half the original volume , clarified by filtration while hot , and the product allowed to crystallize from the filtrate , yield 60 . 6 g ., m . p . 114 °- 115 °. a portion of this material , 43 . 9 g ., ( 0 . 337 mole ), was treated with 47 . 9 g . ( 0 . 337 mole ) of methyl iodide in 400 ml . of ethanol . the methyl iodide was added by dropwise addition . the mixture was then concentrated in vacuo to an oil which was mixed with i - pr 2 o to induce crystallization resulting in the formation of a light yellow solid , yield 90 . 7 g . ( 99 %), of 2 - methylthio - 4 , 4 - dimethyl -- 2 - imidazoline hydroiodide . a portion of this material , 27 . 2 g . ( 0 . 1 mole ), and 14 . 1 g . ( 0 . 1 mole ) of p - chlorobenzylamine were dissolved in 100 ml . of abs . etoh and added to a solution of 9 . 0 g . ( 0 . 4 mole ) of sodium in 400 ml . of abs . etoh at the reflux temperature . the solution was stirred for 10 min . and 14 . 2 g . ( 0 . 1 mole ) of ethyl oximinocyanoacetate was added in portions during a period of about 5 min . the reaction solution became clear and bright yellow in color . it was refluxed for 41 / 2 hrs . and then concentrated in vacuo to yield an oily solid . the latter was dissolved in water and treated with acetic acid resulting in formation of the desired product as a red precipitate which was collected and air dried , m . p . 214 °- 215 °, yield 16 . 7 g . ( 50 %). procedure 104 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 6 , 6 - dimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the nitroso compound produced in procedure 103 was reduced to the corresponding 6 - formylamino compound and the latter cyclized all according to the method of procedure 100 to yield the desired product , m . p . 222 °- 223 ° after recrystallization from acetonitrile , yield 30 %. anal . found : c , 58 . 57 ; h , 4 . 83 ; n , 21 . 10 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 23 ( 6 , s ); 3 . 65 ( 2 , s ); 5 . 04 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 38 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 80 ( 1 , s ); 13 . 20 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 760 , 1430 , 1490 , 1550 , 1585 , 1625 , 1690 , 2965 , and 3120 . procedure 105 . 7 - amino - 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 , 3 - dimethyl - 6 - nitrosoimidazo -[ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one . 4 , 5 - dimethylimidazoline - 2 - thione was prepared by reaction of 2 , 3 - diaminobutane dihydrochloride with carbon disulfide as described in procedure 103 . the resulting thione was then caused to react with methyl iodide and thence with p - chlorobenzylamine and ethyl oximinoacetate to yield the desired product according to the method of procedure 99 . after decanting the aqueous acetic acid from which the crude product had been precipitated , the solid was washed with isopropanol and air dried yielding a pink solid , m . p . 224 °- 226 ° b , yield 43 %. the identity of the product was confirmed by examination of the nmr spectrum . th 1 , 2 - diaminobutane required as starting material was prepared by hydrogenation of dimethylglyoxim over a platinum catalyst at atmospheric pressure , m . p . 225 °- 235 ° c . procedure 106 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 6 , 7 - dimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the nitroso compound of procedure 105 was reduced with sodium dithionate in formic acid according to the method of procedure 21 yielding the corresponding 6 - formylamino compound which was recovered by concentrating the reaction mixture in vacuo to a gummy foam . the residue was taken up in dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide solution ( approximately 1 . 5 n ) and the solution heated on the steam bath for 2 hrs . an oily residue remained which was dissolved by the addition of further portion of sodium hydroxide solution . a small amount of residual tar was removed by decanting the solution and the orange filtrate ( volume approximately 3 . 5 liters ) was acidified with acetic acid resulting in the precipitation of the desired product as a brown solid , m . p . 200 °- 220 ° c . this material was recrystallized from 1 . 4 l . of 95 % ethanol and air dried yielding 36 . 7 g . of product , m . p . 252 °- 254 ° c . it was again recrystallized from 95 % ethanol , 1 l ., yielding a pale pink solid which was air dried , yield 26 g ., m . p . 259 °- 260 ° c . tlc using 9 : 1 ch 2 cl 2 / meoh for development revealed one spot corresponding to the more polar of the two isomers , determined to be the transisomer . anal . found : c , 58 . 01 ; h , 4 . 84 ; n , 21 . 35 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 20 ( 6 , m ); 3 . 50 - 4 . 50 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 04 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 36 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 80 ( 1 , s ). ir : 760 , 1430 , 1550 , 1590 , 1625 , 1690 , 2970 , and 3120 . the ethanolic filtrate from the first of the foregoing recrystallizations was concentrated in vacuo to yield a red - brown solid , weight 52 g . a small portion of this material after recrystallization from acetonitrile gave a tan solid , m . p . 210 °- 215 ° which was shown by tlc using the above system to contain about equal portions of the two isomers . five grams of the red - brown solid was chromatographed on a silica column containing 400 g . of silica and eluted with methylene chloride containing 5 % by volume of methanol . twenty milliliter factions were collected . fractions 150 - 175 yielded 0 . 6 g . of the pure cis - isomer on evaporation , m . p . 248 °- 249 ° c . recrystallized from i - proh , m . p . 247 °- 248 °. using 5 % methanol in methylene chloride on silica , the pure cis - isomer exhibited r f 0 . 3 . procedures 107 - 111 . by substitution of the appropriate amine ( r 14 nh 2 ) in one of the methods of procedures 1 , 30 with 31 , or 99 , the appropriate 7 - amino - 8 - r 14 - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one is produced . the latter is then converted to any of the products shown in the addendum to table iv which follows by the method of procedure 100 or by the method of procedure 63 modified by substitution of the appropriate carboxylic acid anhydride ( r 12 co ) 2 o . addendum to table iv__________________________________________________________________________procedures 107 - 111formula xxq = 0 , n = 1 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 11 and r . sup . 16 = hproc . m . p . recryst . elementalno r . sup . 12 r . sup . 14 ° c . ( corr ) method solvent analysis nmr ir__________________________________________________________________________107 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 2 ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 chch . sub . 2 242 - 243 proc . 63 ch . sub . 3 cn c , 59 . 49 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 750 , 1290 , 1510 , h , 7 . 49 0 . 96 ( 6 , d , 7 . 0 1560 , 1610 , 1630 , n , 26 . 71 1 . 38 ( 3 , t , 7 . 6 1630 , 1695 , 2960 , 2 . 42 ( 1 , m ); 2 . 82 3040 ( 2 , q , 7 . 6 hz ); 3 . 85 ( 2 , d , 7 . 9 hz ); 4 . 01 ( 4 , m ) 108 ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 ch 2 - phenoxy - 167 . 5 - proc . 63 i - proh c , 63 . 35 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 755 , 1240 , 1500 , ethyl 170 . 5 h , 6 . 28 1 . 25 ( 6 , d , 7 . 0 1590 , 1620 , 1680 , n , 20 . 79 2 . 99 ( 1 , septet , 2960 , 3160 7 . 0 hz ); 3 . 84 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 27 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 10 ( 5 , m ); 12 . 85 ( 1 , bs ) 109 * h ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 chch . sub . 2 -- 201 - 202 proc . 100 ch . sub . 3 cn c , 57 . 95 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 760 , 1430 , 1550 , h , 6 . 91 0 . 96 ( 6 , d , 7 . 8 1590 , 1625 , 1690 , n , 28 . 42 1 . 32 ( 3 , d , 6 . 1 2960 , 3130 2 . 42 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 64 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 87 ( 2 , d , 7 . 6 hz ); 4 . 23 ( 2 , m ); 7 . 65 ( 1 , s ) 110 ch . sub . 3 2 - methyl - 2 - 215 - 217 proc . 63 i - proh c , 62 . 59 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 750 , 1240 , 1510 , phenoxyethyl h , 5 . 88 1 . 28 ( 3 , d , 6 . 2 1590 , 1625 , 1690 , n , 21 . 28 2 . 31 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 79 3050 , 3160 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 05 ( 2 . m ); 5 . 00 ( 1 , m ); 7 . 02 ( 5 , m ) 111 h 2 - methyl - 2 - 244 - 246 proc . 100 i - proh c , 61 . 73 ( dmso -- d . sub . 6 ): 760 , 1230 , 1490 , phenoxyethyl h , 5 . 49 1 . 29 ( 3 , d , 6 . 1 1550 , 1580 , 1610 , n , 22 . 55 3 . 82 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 07 1658 , 2600 , 2880 , ( 2 , m ); 5 . 02 ( 1 , m ); 3090 7 . 01 ( 5 , m ) 7 . 81 ( 1 , s ) __________________________________________________________________________ * procedure 109 . r . sup . 6 is 6ch . sub . 3 . 7amino - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 - methyl - 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrmidin - 5 ( 8h )- one required as starting material was produced by the method o procedure 99 by substitution of isobutylamine for 4chlorobenzylamine . procedures 112 - 117 . various 1 - r 11 6 , 7 - dihydro -( 1h )- imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- ones were prepared by application of the method of procedure 102 to the appropriate r 11 x starting material in combination with one of the foregoing products as shown in table ix . table ix__________________________________________________________________________procedures 112 - 117formula xxq = 0 , r . sup . 14 = p - clbenzyl ; r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 16 = h , n = 1 m . p . proc . ° c . starting recryst . elementalno r . sup . 11 r . sup . 12 ( corr ) material solvent analysis nmr ir__________________________________________________________________________112 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 170 - proc . 15 i - proh c , 59 . 22 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 750 , 800 , 1330 , 172 h , 5 . 31 1 . 17 ( 3 , d , 1450 , 1490 , 1585 , n , 20 . 22 6 . 0 hz ) 1640 , 1690 , 2970 2 . 32 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 41 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 74 ( 3 , s ); 4 . 06 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 00 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 35 ( 4 , s ) 113 * ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 133 - proc . 63 i - pr . sub . 2 o c , 58 . 89 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ); 705 , 1465 , 1580 , 135 h , 7 . 40 0 . 94 1630 , 1690 , 2960 n , 26 . 30 ( 6 , d , 7 . 0 hz ) 2 . 38 ( 3 , s ); 2 . 39 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 78 ( 2 , m ); 3 . 82 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 95 ( 4 , m ) 114 co . sub . 2 c . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 h 167 - proc . 4 ch . sub . 3 cn c , 54 . 53 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 760 , 1250 , 1380 , 170 h , 4 . 27 1 . 36 ( 3 , t , 1585 , 1650 , 1690 , n , 19 . 05 7 . 2 hz ) 1760 , 1790 , 3140 3 . 83 ( 4 , m ) 4 . 42 ( 2 , q , 7 . 2 hz ) 5 . 05 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 36 ( 4 , s ); 8 . 47 ( 1 , s ) 115 ## str24 ## h 187 - 188 proc . 4 meo ( ch . sub . 2 ). sub . 2 oh c , 61 . 20 h , 4 . 32 n , ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 2 . 14 ( 2 , m ) 3 . 57 ( 2 , t , 6 . 4 hz ) 3 . 78 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 20 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 95 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 34 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 82 ( 5 , m ) 720 , 760 , 1400 . 1470 , 1580 , 1640 , 1680 , 1720 , 1770 , 2950116 * h . sub . 2 nch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 h 239 - proc . 115 etoh c , 53 . 05 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 820 , 1010 , 1030 , 240 h , 5 . 04 2 . 19 ( 2 , m ); 1160 , 1220 , 1490 , n , 11 . 90 2 . 28 ( 6 , s ); 1600 , 1650 , 1730 , 2 . 82 ( 2 , m ); 3020 3 . 40 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 20 ( 4 , m ); 5 . 33 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 09 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 48 ( 8 , m ); 7 . 80 ( 3 , bs ); 8 . 25 ( 1 , s ) 117 ch . sub . 3 ch . sub . 3 228 . 5 - proc . 15 etoh c , 58 . 60 ( cdcl . sub . 3 ): 755 , 1430 , 1490 , 229 . 5 h , 4 . 84 2 . 38 ( 3 , s ); 1585 , 1635 , 1690 , n , 21 . 47 3 . 81 ( 3 , s ); 2960 3 . 95 ( 4 , m ); 5 . 08 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 31 ( 4 , m ) __________________________________________________________________________ * procedure 116 . the product of procedure 115 , 0 . 5 g . ( 0 . 001 mole ), was suspended in 30 ml . of abs . etoh , and 0 . 25 g . ( 0 . 005 mole ) of hydrazine hydrate was added . the mixture was refluxed for 1 . 5 hrs . when first heated , the starting material dissolved . a white precipitate formed durin the heating period . the reaction mixture was cooled , clarified by filtration , and the solvent distilled from the filtrate in vacuo . the oil was dissolved in methanol and the solution acidified with ptoluenesulfoni acid . distillation of the solvent in vacuo left a residue which was washe with et . sub . 2 o and triturated with me . sub . 2 co yielding 0 . 5 g . of the desired product as the ditosylate salt . this material was recrystallized from 95 % etoh , yield 0 . 42 g . melting point and analytical data appear in the table . procedure 118 . 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 1h )- one . methyl isobutyrate and ethylenediamine in a molar ratio of 1 : 3 were heated in a closed pressure vessel at 100 ° for 62 hrs . the mixture was cooled , clarified by filtration , and the excess ethylenediamine removed from the filtrate by distillation in vacuo . the residue was distilled , boiling point 115 °- 117 °/ 0 . 9 mm hg to yield n - isobutyrylethylenediamine whose identity was confirmed by examination of the nmr and ir spectra . the latter , 15 g ., was suspended in 200 ml . of dry thf and a solution of 20 g . ( ca . 0 . 5 mole ) of lithium aluminum hydride in 200 ml . of dry thf was added dropwise . the mixture was refluxed for 23 hrs ., the excess lithium aluminum hydride destroyed by hydrolysis . the insoluble material was removed by filtration , and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo to yield n -( 2 - methylpropyl ) ethylenediamine as an oil , yield 37 g . the identity of the product was confirmed by examination of the nmr spectrum , and 5 . 8 g . ( 0 . 05 mole ) thereof was then dissolved in 20 ml . of meoh and a solution of 5 . 8 g . ( 0 . 055 mole ) of cyanogen bromide in meoh was added in dropwise fashion with cooling . the mixture was stirred for 1 / 2 hr . and then concentrated in vacuo to an oil . the latter was dissolved in methylene chloride and again concentrated in vacuo to aid in removal of last traces of meoh . the nmr spectrum of the residue , an oil , confirmed the structure 1 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 1h - imidazo - 2 - amine hydrobromide . this material was then condensed with ethyl oximinocyanoacetate substantially according to the method described in procedure 1 . the product was recovered by distillation of the solvent from the reaction mixture in vacuo . the residue was dissolved in water and acidified with acetic acid . the precipitate that formed was collected and air dried . the damp solid was recrystallized from methanol / ethanol , m . p . 242 . 5 ° 243 . 5 ° d . anal . found : c , 48 . 40 ; h , 6 . 42 ; n , 28 . 23 ; h 2 o , 3 . 27 . the identity of the product was further confirmed by examination of the ir and nmr spectra . procedure 119 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 5 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 5h )- one . the nitroso compound produced in procedure 118 was converted to the desired product by the method of procedure 100 , recrystallized from ethanol , m . p . 233 °- 237 ° d . anal . found : c , 56 . 44 ; h , 6 . 46 ; n , 29 . 96 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 0 . l92 ( 6 , d , 7 . 0 hz ); 2 . 01 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 16 ( 2 , d , 7 . 8 hz ); 3 . 73 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 18 ( 2 , m ); 7 . 82 ( 1 , s ). ir : 775 , 1290 , 1350 , 1440 , 1490 , 1525 , 1600 , 1630 , and 2950 . procedures 120 - 122 . the method of procedure 77 modified by the substitution of the various amines shown in table x for ammonia yielded the indicated products . table x__________________________________________________________________________procedures 120 - 122formula xxq = r . sup . 10 n , r . sup . 14 = p - clbenzyl , n = 1 , r . sup . 11 , r . sup . 12 , r . sup . 6 , r . sup . 7 , r . sup . 16 32 hproc . m . p . recryst . elementalno amine r . sup . 10 ° c . ( corr .) solvent analysis nmr ir__________________________________________________________________________120 2 - methylpropylamine ( ch . sub . 3 ) chch . sub . 2 i - proac c , 60 . 37 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 750 , 1300 , 1490 , h , 6 . 06 0 . 92 ( 6 , d , 7 . 0 1535 , 1600 , 1665 , n , 23 . 39 1 . 93 ( 1 , m ); 3 . 90 2960 ( 6 , m ); 5 . 04 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 27 ( 1 , s ); 7 . 38 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 85 ( 1 , bs ) 121 n , ndimethyl - ( ch . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 nch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 ch . sub . 2 i - proac c , 58 . 21 ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 780 , 1290 , 1490 , triethylenediamine h , 6 . 24 1 . 78 ( 2 , m ); 2 . 16 1530 , 1600 , 1660 , n , 24 . 88 ( 3 , s ); 2 . 34 ( 2 , t 2960 , 3230 6 . 9 hz ); 3 . 88 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 03 ( 2 , t , 6 . 9 hz ) 5 . 03 ( 2 , s ); 6 . 40 ( 1 , bs ); 7 . 29 ( 1 , s ); 7 . 37 ( 4 , m ) 122 cyclopropylamine ## str25 ## etoh c , 45 . 35 h , 5 . 15 n , ( dmsod . sub . 6 ): 1 . 10 ( 4 , m ); 3 . 49 ( 1 , m ); 4 . 12 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 51 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 68 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 10 ( 3 , bs ); 7 . 50 ( 4 , m ); 8 . 51 745 , 1295 , 1380 , 1490 , 1560 , 1625 , 1690 , __________________________________________________________________________ 3350 procedure 123 . 4 -[ 2 -( 4 - chlorophenoxy ) ethyl ]- 4 , 6 , 7 , 9 - tetrahydro - 5 - methyl - 9 - oxo - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purinium iodide . the product of procedure 57 , 0 . 9 g . ( 0 . 0027 mole ), was suspended in a mixture of 10 ml . of acetonitrile and 5 ml . of methyl iodide . the suspension was heated to reflux and 2 ml . of dimethylformamide was added resulting in dissolution of all insoluble material . the solution was heated overnight at reflux , cooled to room temperature , and 15 ml . of ether was added resulting in separation of the product as an oil . the solvent was decanted from the oil and the oil was triturated with acetone resulting in solidification thereof . the yellow solid was collected by filtration , weight 0 . 55 g . ( 12 % yield ) m . p . 185 . 0 °- 196 . 0 ° ( corr .). this material was a hydrated dimethylformamide solvate of the desired product . anal . found : c , 38 . 96 ; h , 3 . 75 ; n , 13 . 92 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ; l ): 3 . 20 ( 1 , s ); 3 . 58 ( 1 , s ); 3 . 96 ( 3 , s ); 4 . 18 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 50 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 21 ( 4 , m ); 8 . 39 ( 1 , s ). ir : 760 , 840 , 1245 , 1495 , 1600 , 1640 , 1725 and 3080 . procedure 124 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a suspension of the product of procedure 3 , 5 g ., ( 0 . 017 mole ), and 13 g . of activated mno 2 in 500 ml . of xylene was refluxed for 5 days . the mixture was clarified by filtration , the filtrate concentrated in vacuo , and the residue extracted with 700 ml . acetone . the acetone was concentrated in vacuo and the residue triturated with iproh to give 0 . 4 g . of solid . the product was purified by first recrystallizing from etoh , and then by dissolving in dilute aqueous naoh and precipitating with hoac to yield 0 . 25 g . of product , m . p . 291 °- 293 ° ( dec .). anal . found : c , 56 . 10 ; h , 3 . 38 ; n , 23 . 68 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 5 . 54 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 15 ( 1 , d , 2 . 0 hz ); 7 . 39 ( 4 , m ); 7 . 66 ( 1 , d , 2 . 0 hz ); 8 . 22 ( 1 , s ). ir : 690 , 760 , 1240 , 1365 , 1490 , 1585 , 1630 , 1696 , and 3129 . procedure 125 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 -( methylsulfonyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 5h )- one . to a mixture of 1 . 0 g . ( 0 . 0029 mole ) of the product of procedure 98 in 40 ml . of chcl 3 , 0 . 04 g . ( 0 . 006 mole ) of m - chloroperoxybenzoic acid was added in portions and the mixture was refluxed for 1 hr . another 0 . 5 g . of the peracid was added and refluxing was continued for another 1 hr . the mixture was stirred overnight , and the precipitated product was collected to give 0 . 95 g . thereof . recrystallization from methoxyethanol gave 0 . 5 g . of white crystals , m . p . 282 °- 283 . 5 °. anal . found : c , 47 . 36 ; h , 3 . 76 ; n , 18 . 26 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 13 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 95 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 18 ( 2 , m ); 5 . 30 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 41 ( 4 , s ). ir : 760 , 1120 , 1300 , 1490 , 1570 , 1630 , and 1710 . by using 0 . 0029 mole of m - chloroperoxybenzoic acid in procedure 125 , 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 -( methylsulfinyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 5h )- one is produced . the method of procedure 25 was employed to produce the compounds of procedures 126 - 127 . procedure 126 . 5 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 3h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ] pyrimidin - 9 ( 5h )- one hydrochloride . the product of procedure 92 was used as starting material . product was recrystallized from meoh , yield 60 %, m . p . 237 . 5 °- 239 . 5 ° ( dec .). anal . found : c , 46 . 19 ; h , 3 . 54 ; n , 24 . 83 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 89 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 30 ( 2 , m ); 4 . 89 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 45 ( 4 , s ); 14 . 10 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 700 , 1300 , 1500 , 1580 , 1610 , 1660 , 1750 , and 2720 . procedure 127 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 3h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ] pyrimidin - 9 ( 4h )- one hydrochloride . the intermediate nitroso compound produced in procedure 13 was used as starting material . the product was recrystallized from iproh , yield 93 %, m . p . 288 °- 290 °. anal . found : c , 44 . 28 ; h , 5 . 74 ; n , 31 . 02 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 0 . 99 ( 6 , d , 6 . 8 hz ); 2 . 20 ( 1 , m ); 4 . 10 ( 6 , m ). ir : 770 , 1315 , 1390 , 1580 , 1660 , 1740 , 1750 , 2800 , and 2960 . procedure 128 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 1 - methyl - 1h - imidazo [ 2 &# 39 ;, 1 &# 39 ;: 5 , 6 ]- v - triazolo [ 4 , 5 - d ] pyrimidin - 9 ( 4h )- one . a suspension of the product of procedure 25 ( 1 . 4 g ., 0 . 004 mole ) and nah ( 0 . 25 g ., 0 . 006 mole , 57 % in oil ) in thf ( 40 ml .) was stirred until solution occurred . iodomethane ( 1 . 1 g ., 0 . 008 mole ) was added and the mixture heated at 50 ° overnight . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo and the residue triturated with h 2 o to give 0 . 5 g . of solid . recrystallization from etoh gave 0 . 43 g . of product , m . p . 209 °- 210 °. anal . found : c , 52 . 84 ; h , 4 . 08 ; n , 26 . 50 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 3 . 89 ( 4 , m ); 4 . 14 ( 3 , s ); 5 . 00 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 37 ( 4 , s ). ir : 770 , 1340 , 1490 , 1580 , 1590 , 1650 , 1710 , and 2960 . procedure 129 . 4 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - dihydro - 2 , 6 , 6 - trimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the nitroso compound of procedure 103 was catalytically hydrogenated to the diamino compound and then treated with acetic anhydride according to the method of procedure 63 . there resulted from this process the mono n - acetyl derivative of 8 -[( 4 - chlorophenyl ) methyl ]- 6 , 7 - diaminoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 - one , m . p . 155 °- 159 ° after recrystallization from isopropanol and drying under vacuum . anal . found : c , 56 . 63 ; h , 5 . 80 ; n , 29 . 90 . the structure was confirmed by examination of the nmr and ir spectra . this mono n - acetyl compound was then dissolved in 1 . 1 molecular proportions of dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide solution with warming in the fashion described in procedure 100 and the desired product recovered by neutralization of the resulting solution , yield 70 %, recrystallized from methanol , m . p . 251 °- 252 °, resolidify remelt 260 °- 261 °. anal . found : c , 59 . 20 ; h , 5 . 39 ; n , 20 . 24 . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 20 ( 6 , s ); 2 . 28 ( 3 , s ); 3 . 61 ( 2 , s ); 5 . 00 ( 2 , s ); 7 . 34 ( 4 , s ), 12 . 80 ( 1 , bs ). ir : 750 , 1320 , 1490 , 1500 , 1620 , 1680 , 2960 , and 3160 . procedure 130 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6 , 6 - dimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one 7 - amino - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 8 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 6 - nitrosoimidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyrimidin - 5 ( 8h )- one was prepared by reaction of the 2 - methylthio - 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 - imidazoline hydrochloride with 2 - methylpropylamine according to the method of procedure 103 by substitution of the latter for p - chlorobenzylamine . the reaction product from this step was then condensed with ethyl oximinocyanoacetate as described in procedure 103 . the resulting nitroso compound was then reduced with sodium dithionate in formic acid and the resulting formylamino compound was cyclized with dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide according to procedure 100 . procedure 131 . 6 , 7 - dihydro - 4 -( 2 - methylpropyl )- 2 , 6 , 6 - trimethyl - 3h - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - a ] purin - 9 ( 4h )- one . the nitroso compound produced in procedure 130 was catalytically hydrogenated and cyclized by the treatment with acetic anhydride according to the method of procedure 63 . bronchodilator activity was estimated in vitro ( table xi , columns 2 - 5 ) employing the isolated guinea pig tracheal spiral . the concentration of substance required to cause relaxtion of the spontaneous tonus ( spon ) of the tissue as well as the contractions caused by various spasmogens , namely , acetylcholine ( ach ), histamine ( hist ), or barium chloride ( bacl 2 ) was measured . the values reported are ic 50 values , viz . the concentration of test compound necessary to cause 50 % inhibition of the contraction . they were determined by interpolation from dose response curves prepared by plotting percent inhibition versus concentration for various concentrations of the test compounds in the test solution . bronchodilator activity in vivo ( table xi , column 6 ) was estimated by determining the dose of test compound required to inhibit methacholine - induced bronchospasm in the rat . the percentage figures represent the percent inhibition at the dose of test compound shown in parentheses . otherwise , the value given is the dose in mg ./ kg . of body weight required to cause 50 % inhibition of the bronchospasm ( ed 50 ), the values having been determined by interpolation from dose response curves . for this test , pulmonary ventilation pressure ( pvp ) was the parameter measured using anesthetized animals . the test compound was administered intraduodenally followed at 5 , 15 , and 30 - minute intervals by that intravenous dose of methacholine which had previously been determined to cause a 50 % reduction in pvp . percent inhibition then was the degree to which the test compound inhibited the reduction in pvp resulting from the methacholine infusion . antiallergy activity in terms of ability to inhibit the immediate hypersensitivity reaction was measured by means of the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction ( pca ) in the rat ( table xi , column 7 ). the animals were passively sensitized by the intradermal injection of rat reagenic antiserum at various locations on the shaved back skin and 48 hours later the test drug was administered . this was followed by challenge at a predetermined interval , usually 15 minutes , by intravenous injection of egg albumin and evans &# 39 ; blue dye . the dermal reaction at the sensitized site was evaluated and scored by measuring the diameter of the spot generated at the sensitized intradermal injection site . the values reported in the table are either ed 50 values for the test compound in terms of mg ./ kg . of body weight administered orally , or percent inhibition of the dose specified in parentheses . &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; signifies inactive at the specified dose . antiallergy / bronchodilator studies ( table xi , column 8 ) were also conducted using rats which were actively sensitized with egg albumin and b . pertussis vaccine as for preparation of the reagenic antisera in the pca test . fifteen days following sensitization , the animals were prepared for measurement of pvp as for the methacholine - induced bronchospasm test , and changes in pvp in response to a standardized challenge of egg albumin following treatment with test drug were measured . the values reported in the table are ed 50 values in terms of mg ./ kg . of body weight for the test compound administered orally . table xi__________________________________________________________________________bronchodilator / antiallergy activity ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) testcompound guinea pig trachea methacholine allergicproc . no . spon ach hist bacl . sub . 2 bronchospasm pca * bronchospasm__________________________________________________________________________theophylline 18 . 5 19 . 3 12 . 1 41 . 5 19 . 2 41 . 5 22 . 43 11 . 4 26 3 35 5 . 2 33 . 7 2 . 95 12 . 5 -- -- -- 64 % ( 10 ) 43 % ( 50 ) -- 6 49 -- -- -- -- 25 % ( 50 ) -- 7 12 . 5 -- -- -- -- i ( 25 ) -- 8 17 . 5 -- -- -- 55 . 5 % ( 10 ) 29 % ( 10 ) -- 9 -- -- -- -- -- i ( 10 ) -- 10 128 -- -- -- -- 40 % ( 25 ) -- 11 45 -- -- -- -- 25 % ( 10 ) -- 12 50 4 . 8 -- 86 2 . 3 27 % ( 25 ) -- 13 6 . 3 -- -- -- 63 % ( 10 ) i ( 25 ) -- 14 13 -- -- -- 26 % ( 10 ) 29 % ( 50 ) -- 15 5 . 3 3 . 5 0 . 9 19 . 1 1 . 79 40 % ( 30 ) -- 16 & gt ; 7 . 0 -- -- -- -- i ( 25 ) -- 17 54 -- -- -- -- 34 % ( 25 ) -- 20 & gt ; 200 -- -- -- -- 46 % ( 25 ) -- 23 22 . 5 -- -- -- -- i ( 25 ) -- 24 15 . 5 -- -- -- 16 % ( 10 ) i ( 10 ) -- 25 80 -- -- -- -- i ( 10 ) -- 26 & gt ; 200 -- -- -- -- 41 % ( 10 ) -- 27 & gt ; 200 -- -- -- 30 % ( 10 ) 17 . 7 -- 28 51 175 -- 98 -- i ( 10 ) -- 39 11 . 3 -- -- -- 34 . 7 % ( 10 ) i ( 25 ) -- 44 -- -- -- -- 0 % ( 10 ) i ( 10 ) -- 46 3 . 9 -- -- -- & gt ; 30 . 0 -- -- 47 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 54 24 . 5 -- -- -- -- i ( 25 ) -- 55 & gt ; 50 -- -- -- -- 34 . 9 % ( 25 ) -- 56 -- -- -- -- -- 25 . 0 % ( 25 ) -- 57 58 . 0 -- -- -- 66 % ( 10 ) 31 . 7 % ( 25 ) -- 58 25 . 5 0 . 49 37 . 01 74 . 05 0 . 81 29 % ( 25 ) -- 59 10 -- -- -- 45 . 8 ( 10 ) 29 % ( 25 ) -- 60 53 -- -- -- i ( 10 ) i ( 25 ) -- 61 11 . 5 -- -- -- 51 ( 10 ) 15 . 3 -- 62 34 . 5 -- -- -- 22 ( 10 ) i ( 25 ) -- 63 2 . 8 5 . 5 3 . 2 75 3 . 3 33 . 9 5 . 466 200 -- -- -- -- -- -- 67 2 . 9 -- -- -- 8 . 8 26 % ( 25 ) -- 74 & gt ; 200 -- -- -- i ( 10 ) i ( 25 ) -- 75 5 . 1 50 15 23 . 5 21 ( 30 ) i ( 25 ) -- 76 8 . 1 -- -- -- 21 ( 30 ) 47 % ( 25 ) -- 77 19 . 8 -- -- -- 22 ( 30 ) -- -- 78 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 84 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 93 26 . 3 -- -- -- -- -- -- 94 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 97 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 98 13 . 7 -- -- -- -- -- -- 100 3 . 7 1 . 92 0 . 13 29 . 64 2 . 1 10 . 6 1 . 5101 4 . 4 3 . 03 0 . 67 31 . 09 1 . 00 30 . 2 1 . 2102 2 . 3 3 . 4 0 . 18 15 . 1 1 . 1 28 . 9 3 . 4104 14 . 3 4 . 0 0 . 22 16 . 5 6 . 3 42 . 8 3 . 0106 ( mixed ) 2 . 4 1 . 6 0 . 22 10 . 8 3 . 7 20 . 3 3 . 51106 ( cis ) -- -- -- -- 3 . 0 28 . 5 -- 106 ( trans ) -- -- -- -- 5 . 0 35 . 5 -- 107 16 . 7 -- -- -- -- -- -- 108 41 . 4 3 . 3 47 . 5 74 . 4 4 . 0 -- 13109 14 . 0 30 . 8 1 . 20 50 . 2 4 . 6 -- -- 110 -- & gt ; 200 48 140 -- -- -- 111 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 112 7 . 9 104 8 . 2 23 . 0 7 . 5 38 . 7 14 . 2113 36 . 6 -- -- -- -- -- -- 114 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 115 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 116 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 117 8 . 4 -- -- -- 5 . 7 -- -- 119 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 120 28 . 6 -- -- -- -- -- -- 121 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 122 31 . 7 -- -- -- -- -- -- 123 44 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- 124 4 . 1 -- -- -- 8 . 1 -- -- 125 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 126 22 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- 127 200 -- -- -- -- -- -- 128 100 -- -- -- -- -- -- __________________________________________________________________________ * compounds were inactive at the oral dose in mg ./ kg . shown in parentheses after &# 34 ; i &# 34 ;. | 8 |
the various elements identified by numerals in the drawings are listed in the following integer list . one embodiment of the apparatus of our invention is illustrated in fig1 , 1 a and 1 b , herein . this shown as an optionally thermally insulated polyethylene container of a non - round , preferably flat - sided shape with an opening in the top defined by a round neck ( 7 ) forming part of the tank , which has an internal ( or external ) screw thread incorporated within it . this inner container is then fitted within a metal or plastic composite external frame ( 2 ) which , by being in close contact with the walls and engaging on a step in the container wall ( 13 ), supports the weight of the contents and prevents the hydrostatic pressure from excessively bulging the flat side walls of the inner container . the upper wall of the inner container slopes upwardly towards the neck ( 7 ) to allow air to flow out of the body of the container through the neck as it is filled . the vertical pillars of the frame of this embodiment are open at both the top and the to bottom . a removable top cross member 6 allows the container ( 1 ) to be fitted into the rigid frame ( 2 ) and is used to restrain each pair of opposed vertical members against the bulge of the vessel under hydrostatic load . this cross member is optionally fitted with upwards projection which can fit into vertical members of another identical vessel stacked on it . by this means the composite vessels can be safely stacked one on the other . to render the lower vessels more stable , when upper vessels are to be stacked upon them , a side locking link ( 14 ) is fitted to two of the adjacent opposite uprights . a hole ( 15 ) is drilled in the other end of each link . a second identical tank is to be positioned closely beside the first . subsequently the link of one vertical member is bolted to the vertical member of the next frame . the rigid frame ( 2 ) is optionally fitted with restraining loops ( 3 ) or additional cross members that will engage with and trap the tines of a forklift truck . by this means the tank can be picked up and moved safely . if the forklift truck is fitted with a rotating head , the vessel may also be tipped in a manner similar to a “ jerry can ” so that the contents within can be freely discharged through the open neck ( 7 ). this enables any solids component in the stored liquid to be easily discharged . such solid components arise , for example , when red wine is fermented in the vessels and may comprise the skins of the grape and / or the settled yeast lees . in this embodiment a screw lid ( 9 ) can be screwed into the neck ( 7 ) and sealed by means of an additional seal ring ( 8 ), preferably made of compliant material . the lid is also fitted with a vent in the form of a second cylinder ( 12 ) optionally also fitted with an internal or external screw thread . the tank can be filled into the second small cylinder ( 12 ) which can then be sealed by means of a silicone or rubber bung ( 10 ), a vented rubber bung ( to allow gas to escape from the contents ) or a vented or non - vented screw closure or openable valve or especially a one way valve . an optional base valve ( 4 ) is fitted through the bottom wall forming the base of the tank so as to enable bottom filling or discharge of the tank contents without disturbing sediment that may have settled to the bottom the tank . the bottom wall may slope downwardly to the base valve to facilitate drainage . where the liquid in the container is wine the walls of the container ( 1 ) neck cylinder ( 7 ) and screw lid ( 9 ) are made from polyethylene preferably with an oxygen permeability in the range between 50 to 300 ml of oxygen per sqm of tank surface per 24 hr per atm for each 1 mm of tank wall thickness at typical storage temperatures of 20 - 25 ° c . the ratio of contained volume to surface area of said container preferably falls within the range 5 to 30 litres per square metre of surface for each 1 mm of thickness , to ensure that an adequate rate of permeation of oxygen is maintained for maturation of wine . different ratios may apply where other liquids are being matured . in this embodiment , a pre - assembled pack of oak wood staves ( 5 ) of the desired number , variety and degree of toast is lowered into wine within the tank . that may be fitted with a cord which has a float at the loose end , so that the pack can be retrieved after it has become spent , ie . has given up most of its oak flavour and has become soaked through with liquid , usually sinking . should it be desired to partially fill the vessel , a flexible floating element , as described in wo 2005 / 052114 a1 shaped to match the internal shape of the vessel , can be introduced through the open neck ( 7 ). this element will block most of the free surface area of the contained liquid . at any level of fill within the main body of the vessel , the use of this element enables the stored liquid to see approximately the same amount of oxygen per litre though that part of the walls in contact with the liquid , as well as that area in contact with the floating element . one form of such an element is shown in fig4 and 5 . referring to fig2 , 2 a , 2 b and 3 to 5 , there is shown a container assembly according to the invention which comprises an optionally thermally insulated polyethylene container ( 21 ) of a flat - sided shape with an opening in the top defined by a neck ( 23 ) in the form of a cylinder extending from a top wall of the container . the neck has an internal ( or external ) screw thread . this container is then fitted within a metal external frame ( 22 ) which includes a substantially flat sheet metal base ( 44 ). the cage supports the weight of the contents and is made up of interlocked vertical and horizontal steel tubes . by being in close contact with the walls of the inner container , the cage prevents the hydrostatic pressure from excessively bulging the flat side walls of that inner container . the vertical pillars of the cage of this embodiment are closed at both the top and the bottom . removable top cross members ( 45 ) allow access for the container ( 21 ) to be fitted into the rigid frame ( 22 ) and are used to restrain each pair of opposed vertical members against the bulge of the vessel under hydrostatic load , as well as to retain the inner container when the tank is tipped . the sheet metal base ( 44 ) is sized and shaped to nest into the top ring of the cage on a lower container assembly when stacked on it . by this means the container assemblies can be retained sidewise and thus safely stacked one on the other . the rigid frame ( 22 ) extends downwardly past the sheet metal base ( 44 ) and is closed with a bottom ring ( 46 ) spaced from the base ( 44 ) by the pillars ( 47 ). that provides access for the tines of a forklift truck through opening ( 48 ). by this means the tank can be picked up and moved . if the forklift truck is fitted with a rotating head , the vessel may also be tipped upside down to discharge through the neck ( 23 ). this enables any solids component in the stored liquid to be easily discharged . such solid components arise , for example , when red wine is fermented in the vessels and may comprise the skins of the grape and / or the settled yeast lees . in this embodiment , a screw lid ( 24 ) can be screwed into the neck ( 23 ) and sealed by means of an additional seal ring ( not shown ), preferably made of compliant material . the lid is also fitted with a screw threaded centre opening ( 50 ). the opening is optionally closed with a screw plug ( 25 ) or fitted with other fittings such as a riser tube with a cap ( not shown ), a check valve for the venting off of ferment gas , or a hose tail ( not shown ), to which may be attached the delivery side of a pump that has the suction side attached to an optional base valve ( 43 ), enabling the pumping over the liquid contents . the container ( 21 ) and neck ( 23 ) are to be made from polyethylene ( such as rotationally moulded polyethylene ) with an oxygen permeability in the range between 50 to 300 ml of oxygen per sqm of tank surface per 24 hr per atm per 1 mm of tank wall thickness at typical storage temperatures 20 - 25 ° c . when the thickness of the tank wall is doubled , it is to be noted that the rate of oxygen transmission per unit of surface area is halved . the ratio of contained volume to surface area of said container is to fall within the range 5 to 30 litres per square metre of surface for each 1 mm of thickness , to ensure that an adequate rate of permeation of oxygen is maintained for maturation of wine . different rates may apply where other liquids are being matured . unless a riser tube and cap is added to the screw lid ( 24 ) and the wine filled into it , a vessel of this relatively small volume , if filled up into the neck , has a relatively high exposed surface area of wine for the volume . thus it will be desirable to fit the flexible floating element ( 26 ) which acts as a barrier member as described in wo 2005 / 052114 a1 sized to match the internal size of the neck ( 23 ). the floating element ( 26 ) has a foamed plastic core ( 31 ) which floats on top of the wine in the neck of the container . the foamed plastic core ( 31 ) is overwrapped with a polyurethane film overwrap ( 32 ) which comprises two separate layers covering the top and bottom of the foamed plastic core . these two separate layers are laminated together at their edges to form the peripheral flange ( 34 ). the peripheral flange provides a slidable seal with the wall ( 35 ) of the neck so as to substantially reduce the rate of oxygen transfer from the head space of the neck through the surface of the wine and hence limits the growth of undesirable aerobic bacteria . the floating element is provide with three tags ( 28 ) distributed around its upper surface , each of the tags being formed with a hole or loop ( 37 ). the tags assist with allowing the barrier member to be correctly located in the neck in contact with the wine ( 33 ) initially and to be removed after the container has been emptied . to reduce oxygen entry it is possible to add carbon dioxide ( co 2 ) gas to the head space above the floating element . that renders the partial pressure of co 2 near to 1 atmosphere in the head space of the tank , far higher than in air ( less than 0 . 05 atm ). over time this co 2 gas , which diffuses through polymeric material about 4 to 8 times faster than oxygen and about 12 to 20 times faster than nitrogen permeates into and can inflate the floating element causing it to bulge at the centre and thus to lift off the wine surface around the edges . this can come about because co 2 permeates through and enters the interior of the insert at a far higher rate than the rate at which the initial oxygen and nitrogen within the sealed element can leave . hence the total pressure in the interior of the element rises and cause it to become inflated . the addition of a valve ( 29 ) is thus desirable for the correct long term functioning of these floating elements . in use , the valve is left open after the floating element is inserted , so that the internal and external pressure remains balanced and the element prevented from inflating . the valve needs to be re - closeable so that the element can be closed up for washing off after use without wash water entering the interior . the valve also usually needs to be closed during insertion of the element into a tank , to prevent any wine that may be “ scooped ” up onto the top of the element from entering the interior of that element where it will spoil . where the barrier element is to be fitted in the body of the container rather than the neck , it is noted that the element comprising the foamed plastic core and polyurethane film overlap may suitably be formed of flexible materials in order to allow it to be folded so that it may be inserted through the neck of the container during initial setup and to be removed through the neck when the container is emptied . in this embodiment , there are certain important geometric features that are desirable to enable the tank to function correctly for wine storage use . the upper wall forming the roof ( 27 ) of the tank ( 21 ) rises from its outer edges towards the manhole neck ( 23 ) so that as the tank is filled , substantially all of the head space air above the wine can be discharged through the neck . to ensure that the contents of the tank can be substantially fully discharged , a further geometric preferment is that the radius ( 43 ) between the side walls and the recess is to be larger than the depth of the recess ( 41 ) in which the valve ( 42 ) is mounted . furthermore , a dip ( 49 ) is formed in the bottom wall adjoining the recess . in this embodiment , the valve ( 42 ) is attached to the flat face of the recess ( 41 ) by round - head coach bolts encapsulated into the polyethylene ( not shown ). these are directed through three or more holes ( 40 ) in the valve flange and clamped by nuts ( also not shown ). oak - wood staves of the desired number , variety and degree of toast can be lowered into wine within the tank . that may be fitted with a cord which has a float at the loose end , so that the pack can be retrieved after it has become spent , ie . has given up most of its oak flavour and has become soaked through with liquid usually sinking . the container of this invention can optionally be used to mature a wide range of different wines , spirits or other liquid foods , such as “ tabasco ” or other foods or non - foods that may benefit from exposure over time to a controlled amount of oxygen . whilst the above description includes the preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that many variations , alterations , modifications and / or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously described without departing from the essential features or the spirit or ambit of the invention . it will be also understood that where the word “ comprise ”, and variations such as “ comprises ” and “ comprising ”, are used in this specification , unless the context requires otherwise such use is intended to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or features but is not to be taken as excluding the presence of other feature or features . the reference to any prior art in this specification is not , and should not be taken as , to an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in australia . | 1 |
fig1 shows a hammer drill 1 schematically . the hammer drill 1 has a tool holding fixture 2 , in which a boring tool 3 can be used . a motor 4 forms a primary drive of the hammer drill 1 , which drives a striking tool 5 and an output shaft 6 . a user can guide the hammer drill 1 using a handle 7 and put the hammer drill 1 in operation using a system switch 8 . in operation , the hammer drill 1 turns the boring tool 3 continuously around a working axis 9 and in this process can drive the boring tool 3 into a substrate along the working axis 9 . the striking tool 5 is , for example , a pneumatic striking tool 5 . an exciter 10 and a striker 11 are guided in the striking tool 5 along the working axis 9 . the exciter 10 is linked to the motor 4 by a cam 12 or a finger and forced into a periodic linear motion . a pneumatic spring formed by a pneumatic chamber 13 between exciter 10 and striker 11 couples a motion of the striker 11 to the motion of the exciter 10 . the striker 11 can strike directly at the back end of the boring tool 3 or transfer part of its pulse to the boring tool 3 by way of an essentially resting intermediate striking 14 . the striking tool 5 , and preferably the other drive components , is arranged inside a machine housing 15 . within the machine housing 15 , a first damper 20 and a second damper 21 are mounted . in the side view in fig1 , the first damper 20 covers the second damper 21 . the cross section in the plane ii - ii through the two dampers 20 , 21 is shown in fig2 . the first damper 20 has a first inertial mass 22 that is connected by way of a leaf spring 23 to a rigid bearing point 24 on the housing 15 . the leaf spring 23 is , in rest position , arranged at an angle 25 of at least about 70 degrees with respect to the working axis 9 . a motion of the machine housing 15 along the working axis 9 can excite the inertial mass 22 to the same type of motion along the working axis 9 . because of the guide of the inertial mass 22 by the leaf spring 23 , the inertial mass 22 follows a curved path 26 . the deflections of the inertial mass 22 are small compared to a length 27 of the leaf spring 23 , whereby the motion can be assumed to be approximately parallel to the working axis 9 . the length 27 of the leaf spring 23 is measured from the fastening 24 to the center of gravity of the first inertial mass 22 . by using a restoring force , the leaf spring 23 counteracts a deflection of the inertial mass 22 from its rest position . the restoring spring force , the length 27 of the leaf spring 23 and the mass of the inertial mass 22 determine a resonance frequency of the first damper 20 . the leaf spring 23 has a lower stiffness along the working axis 9 compared to the directions perpendicular to the working axis 9 . an excitation of the leaf spring 23 perpendicular to the working axis 9 is thus only possible at very high frequencies . the second damper 21 is structured generally the same as the first damper 20 . a second inertial mass 28 is connected by way of a second leaf spring 29 to the machine housing 15 . the second leaf spring 29 is preferably mounted parallel to the first leaf spring 23 and also , in rest position , tipped by at least about 70 degrees with respect to the working axis 9 . the two leaf springs 22 , 29 preferably have the same spring constant and thickness ; in contrast a length 30 of the second leaf spring 29 is about 4 % to 10 % longer than the length 27 of the first leaf spring 22 . a mass of the second inertial mass 28 is approximately the same as the mass of the first inertial mass 22 . the different lengths 30 , 29 cause an about 2 % to 5 % lower resonance frequency of the second damper 21 . in another embodiment , the inertial masses 22 , 28 have masses that are different by about 4 % to 10 %. the leaf springs 22 , 29 can be produced as stamped sheet metal . the two leaf springs 22 , 29 can connect via a bridge 31 . fig3 shows the behavior of the two dampers 20 , 21 for various excitation frequencies f ; the deflection , standardized to the maximum deflection a ( amplitude ) of the inertial masses 22 , 28 along the working axis 9 , is entered over the y axis . the curve 32 indicates the excitation spectrum for the first damper 20 ; curve 33 shows the excitation spectrum for the second damper 21 . the two dampers 20 , 21 are tuned to each other . the tuning of the resonance frequency 34 of the first damper 20 is greater than the resonance frequency 35 of the second damper 21 . an excitation of a damper with frequencies greater than its resonance frequency can lead to a build - up of the damper in the hand - held machine tool 1 and , instead of a desired damping of vibrations causes an increase in the vibrations . this actually contradicts the use of a second damper with another frequency for damping vibrations along working axis 9 . however it was found that when the two dampers 20 , 21 are only somewhat tuned to each other , these couple with each other and the lower - frequency damper 21 still does not build up if the excitation frequency f through the linear drive 5 lies between the resonance frequencies 35 , 34 of the two dampers 20 , 21 . the resonance frequency 34 of the first damper 20 should lie within a frequency band 36 , within which the excitation spectrum 32 of the second damper 21 drops to no more than about one - fourth ( shaded area ), and preferably to no more than about one - half of the maximum amplitude . the two dampers 20 , 21 then couple strongly with each other . in total , a broader resonance results for the entire system of the two dampers 20 , 21 . the coupling of the two dampers 20 , 21 can be further increased by the elastic bridge 31 between the leaf springs 29 , 22 . the resonance frequencies 34 , 35 are preferably adjusted using the pendulum arms 23 , 29 and the inertial masses 22 , 28 in such a way that a periodicity of the linear drive 5 lies between the resonance frequencies 34 , 35 . the dampers 20 , 21 can also be used in a compass saw or a saber saw . | 1 |
fig1 a shows a disc - shaped record carrier 11 with track 19 and central hole 10 . track 19 has a spiral pattern of turns forming substantially parallel tracks on an information layer . the carrier may be an optical disc with a recordable or prerecorded information layer . cd - r , cd - rw and dvd - ram are recordable discs . audio cd is a prerecorded disc . prerecorded discs may be manufactured by first recording a master disc and then pressing consumer discs . track 19 on a recordable record carrier may be formed by a pre - embossed track structure . the track may be configured as pregroove 14 to allow a read / write head to follow the track 19 during scanning . the information is recorded on the information layer by optically detectable marks along the track , e . g . pits and lands . fig1 b is a cross - section along the line b - b of a recordable record carrier 11 , wherein transparent substrate 15 carries recording layer 16 and protective layer 17 . pregroove 14 may be implemented as an indentation , an elevation , or as a material property deviating from its surroundings . for user convenience , the audio information on the record carrier is subdivided into items , which may have a duration of a few minutes e . g . songs in an album or movements of a symphony . the carrier will also contain access information to identify the items , such as a table of contents ( toc ) or a file system like iso 9660 for cd - rom . the access information may include playing time and start address for each item , and further information like a song title . the audio information is recorded in digital representation after analog to digital ( a / d ) conversion . examples of a / d conversion are pcm 16 - bit per sample at 44 . 1 khz known from cd audio and 1 bit sigma delta modulation at a high oversampling rate e . g . 64 × fs called bitstream . the latter is a high quality encoding method , allowing either high quality decoding or low quality decoding . reference is had to the publications ‘ a digital decimating filter for analog - to - digital conversion of hi - fi audio signals ’, by j . j . van der kam , document d5 infra , and ‘ a higher order topology for interpolative modulators for oversampling a / d converters ’, by kirk c . h . chao et al , document d6 . after a / d conversion , digital audio may be compressed to variable bitrate audio data for recording on the information layer . the compressed audio data is read from the carrier at such speed that after decompression substantially the original timescale will be restored when continuously reproducing the audio . hence the compressed data must be retrieved from the record carrier at a speed dependent on the varying bitrate . the data is retrieved at so - called transfer speed , i . e . the speed of transferring data bytes from the record carrier to a de - compressor . providing the record carrier with constant spatial data density gives the highest data storage capacity per unit of area . the transfer speed is proportional to the relative linear speed between the medium and the read / write head . with buffer before the de - compressor , actual transfer speed is the speed before that buffer . fig2 shows a playback apparatus according to the invention for reading a record carrier 11 of the type shown in fig1 . the device has drive means 21 for rotating carrier 11 and read head 22 for scanning the record track . positioning means effect 25 coarse radial positioning of read head 22 . the read head comprises a known optical system with a radiation source for generating beam 24 that is guided through optical elements and focused to spot 23 on an information track . the read head further comprises a focusing actuator for moving the focus of the radiation 24 along the optical axis of the beam and a tracking actuator for fine positioning of spot 23 in a radial direction on the centre of the track . the tracking actuator may comprise coils for moving an optical element or may be arranged for changing the angle of a reflecting element . the radiation reflected by the information layer is detected by a known detector in the read head 22 , e . g . a four - quadrant diode , to generate a read signal and further detector signals including tracking error and focusing error signals for the tracking and focusing actuators , respectively . the read signal is processed by standard reading means 27 to retrieve the data , for example through a channel decoder and an error corrector . the retrieved data is sent to data selection means 28 , to select the compressed audio data for feeding to buffer 29 . the selection is based on data type indicators also present on the carrier , e . g . headers in a framed format . from buffer 29 , the compressed audio data go to de - compressor 31 as signal 30 . decompressor 31 decodes the compressed audio data to reproduce the original audio information on output 32 . the de - compressor may be fitted in a stand - alone audio d / a convertor 33 , or the buffer may be positioned before the data selection . buffer 29 may reside separately or may be combined with a buffer in the decompressor . the device furthermore has a control unit 20 for receiving control commands from a user or from a host computer not shown , that via control lines 26 is connected to drive means 21 , positioning means 25 , reading means 27 and data selection means 28 , and possibly also to buffer 29 for filling level control . to this end , the control unit 20 may comprise digital control circuitry , for performing the procedures described below . the art of audio compression and de - compression is known . audio may be compressed after digitizing by analyzing the correlation in the signal , and producing parameters for fragments of a specified size . during de - compression the inverse process reconstructs the original signal . if the original digitized signal is reconstructed exactly , the ( de -) compression is lossless . lossy ( de )- compression will not reproduce some details of the original signal which will be substantially undetectable by the human ear or eye . most known systems for audio and video , such as dcc or mpeg , use lossy compression , whereas lossless compression is used for computer data . examples of audio compression and decompression are given in d2 , d3 and d4 hereinafter . data selection means 28 will retrieve from the read data certain control information , in particular indicating the transfer speed profile . the data selection means 28 will also discard any stuffing data , that had been added during recording according to the speed profile . when the control unit 20 is commanded to reproduce an audio item from the record carrier , positioning means 25 will position the reading head on the portion of the track containing the toc . the starting address and the speed profile for that item will then be retrieved from the toc via the data selection means 28 . alternatively , the contents of the toc may be read only once and stored in a memory when the disc is inserted in the apparatus . for reproducing an item , drive means 21 will rotate the record carrier at the speed indicated by the speed profile . the required rotation rate may be given as such in the speed profile for setting the drive means . alternatively the speed profile may comprise a bitrate , and then the rotation rate can be calculated as follows . the radial position of the item can be calculated from the starting address , because the record carrier density parameters like track pitch and bit length , will be known to the playback device , usually from a standard . subsequently the rotation rate can be derived from the bitrate and the radial position . to provide continuous reproduction without buffer underflow or overflow the transfer speed is coupled to the reproduction speed of the d / a converter , i . e . to the bit - rate after decompression . thereto the apparatus may comprise a reference frequency source for controlling the decompressor and the rotation rate may be set in dependence on the reference frequency and the speed profile . the rotation rate may also be adjusted by the average filling level of the buffer 29 , e . g . lowering rotation rate when the buffer is more than 50 % full on average . fig3 shows a recording device for writing information on a ( re ) writable record carrier 11 . during a writing operation , marks representing the information are formed on the record carrier . the marks may be in optically readable form , e . g . as areas whose reflection differs from their surroundings , by recording in materials such as dye , alloy or phase change , or in the form of areas with a direction of magnetization different from their surroundings . writing and reading of information for recording on optical disks and usable rules for formatting , error correcting and channel coding , are well - known , e . g . from the cd system . marks may be formed through a spot 23 generated on the recording layer via a beam 24 of electromagnetic radiation , usually from a laser diode . the recording device comprises similar basic elements as described with reference to fig2 , i . e . a control unit 20 , drive means 21 and positioning means 25 , but it has a distinctive write head 39 . audio information is presented on the input of compression means 35 . suitable compression has been described in d2 , d3 and d4 . the variable bitrate compressed audio on the output of compression means 35 is sent to buffer 36 . from buffer 36 the data is sent to data combination means 37 for adding stuffing data and further control data . the total data stream is sent to writing means 38 for recording . write head 39 is coupled to the writing means 38 , which comprise for example a formatter , an error encoder and a channel modulator . the data presented to the input of writing means 38 is distributed over logical and physical sectors according to formatting and encoding rules and converted into a write signal for write head 39 . unit 20 controls buffer 36 , data combination means 37 and writing means 38 via control lines 26 and perform the positioning procedure as described above for the reading apparatus . the recording apparatus may also have the features of a playback apparatus and a combined write / read head . fig4 shows a file system for use with the invention , for which various different options are feasible . the inventors have proposed that the storage medium should be based on a udf file system or on an iso 9660 file system , both of which systems are standard to a skilled art person . in the alternative case , no file system should be present at all and the relevant sector spaces should be kept empty . in the file system , all audio will be stored in audio files located in subdirectory scd_audio . as shown in fig4 , the hierarchy is based on root file 50 that points to various subaltern files 52 , 54 , 56 . the structure of master . toc 52 , here single , will be discussed hereinafter . further , there is a 2_ch_audio file 54 . this points to toc 2_ch_toc 58 and also to the various stereo tracks trackn . 2ch 60 . furthermore , m_ch_audio file 56 points to toc m_ch_toc 62 and in parallel therewith to the various multi - channel tracks trackn . mch 64 . fig5 shows a first storage arrangement for use with the invention , which by way of example has been mapped on a single serial track . along the horizontal axis the following items are evident . item 120 is a lead - in area that is used for mutually synchronizing the reader and the driving of the medium . item 122 represents the file system disclosed with reference to fig4 . item 124 represents a master_toc that may be configured according to standard procedures and pertains to subsequent items stereo area 126 and multi - channel area 128 , and if necessary also to extra data area 130 . the lengths of these three areas need not be standardized , inasmuch as various different amounts of information may be present . with respect to the audio areas , the audio track areas proper , as well as the associated sub_tocs are included . apart from the disclosure hereinafter , the contents of items 126 , 128 , 130 may be defined according to conventional standards that by themselves do not constitute part of the invention . generally , the two audio areas may have the same structure and contain the same kinds of information , apart from distinguishing between the various channels . the audio may be plain coded or loss - less coded . all kinds of audio may be multiplexed with supplementary data , such as compact disc text . item 132 represents a lead - out information . the latter item is used in particular during search operations . its tracks do not contain information further than track numbers and addresses . the number of lead - out tracks may cover a ring of some 0 . 5 to 1 millimeter wide . according to the above , the stored information may either be accessed via the file system as laid down in item 122 , or via the toc structure laid down in item 124 , and more particular , via a two - or multi - level toc structure to be discussed hereinafter . any of the single or plural master tocs 124 will begin at a respective uniformly standardized offset position from the start of the lead - in area , such as at byte number 500 for the first master toc . in the embodiment a master - toc measures only one standard - size sector and primarily contains pointers to the various sub - tocs or area - tocs to be disclosed hereinafter . a preferred syntax of a master - toc is as follows : 1 . a 16 - byte signature identifies the master - toc , such as by “ sacd master toc ”, the signature containing three space characters , but the apostrophes not being part of the definition . 2 . a 2 - byte spec_version indicates the version number of the format used in the disc . 3 . a 14 - byte space has been reserved , such as for alignment stuffing . 4 . a 4 - byte integer 2ch_start_address contains the logical address of the first sector of the stereo area . 5 . a 4 - byte integer 2ch_end_address contains the logical address of the last sector of the stereo area . 6 . a 4 - byte integer mc - start_address contains the logical address of the first sector of the multi channel area . 7 . a 4 - byte integer mc - end_address contains the logical address of the last sector of the multi channel area . 8 . a 4 - byte integer extra_data_start_address contains the logical address of the first sector of the extra data area . 9 . a 4 - byte integer extra_data_end_address contains the logical address of the last sector of the extra data area . the total information pertaining to the above is 56 bytes . further features may be added to a master - toc . if a certain area , such as the stereo area , the multi channel area , or the extra data area is not present , both start and end addresses of the area in question have value zero . next , items 126 and 128 will contain sub - tocs or area - tocs for the stereo and multi - channel audio intervals , respectively , formatted as will be disclosed hereinafter with respect to fig6 . a preferred syntax of a sub - toc is as follows : 1 . a 16 - byte signature identifies the sub - toc in question such as by “ sacd stereo toc ” for a stereo audio area and “ sacd mc toc ” for a multi channel audio area , the number of bytes being attained by adding trailing space characters . 2 . a 2 - byte spec_version indicates the version number of the format used in the disc . 3 . a 4 - byte sub_toc_length indicates the number of bytes present in the actual toc . 4 . a 10 - byte space has been reserved , such as for alignment stuffing . 5 . a variable size set of /* disc parameters */ may be present , such as a name of an album ( ) and a name of a catalogue ( ). 6 . a 4 - byte disc_play_time indicates the total linear playing time of the disc expressed as a time code . 7 . a 4 - byte disc_name_pointer indicates the offset in bytes from the start of the sub_toc in question to the start of the disc_name ( ) field . if the value in question is 0 , this indicates that the disc name ( ) field is absent . 8 . a 4 - byte disc_date_pointer indicates the offset in bytes from the start of the sub_toc in question to the start of the disc_date ( ) field . if the value in question is 0 , this indicates that the disc_date ( ) field is absent . 9 . a 4 - byte disc_copyright_pointer indicates the offset in bytes from the start of the sub_toc in question to the start of the disc_copyright ( ) field . if the value in question is 0 , this indicates that the disc_copyright ( ) field is absent . 10 . a 4 - byte disc_publisher_pointer indicates the offset in bytes from the start of the sub_toc in question to the start of the disc_publisher ( ) field . if the value in question is 0 , this indicates that the disc_publisher ( ) field is absent . 11 . a variable size track_list ( ) may be present for each one of a plurality of audio tracks to contain an offset information with reference to the start of the toc in question , plus various further items , such as the name of track and any of a great multiplicity of items that are presumably interesting to a listener of the recording in question . fig6 shows an exemplary structure of an audio area 126 , 128 in fig5 . here , the track area is preceded by area or sub - toc - 1 and succeeded by area toc - 2 . these are two identical copies . another manner of logical conformance may be produced by bit - wise inversion . anyway , each copy taken separately must contain all information contained in the two tocs . the locations thereof are for each separate area toc given in a higher level master toc . a gap between the track area and succeeding area toc - 2 is not allowed . on the other hand , a gap between preceding area toc - 1 and the track area is allowed , symbolized by area g . such gap will generally not contain significant information , in particular , no other toc or track . therefore , logically the track area will abut at both ends to the tocs . due to the doubling of the area tocs and their mutual distance , any interference therewith through environmental or other influences will usually not be doubled for the two copies . in consequence , the probability for correct storage of all parts of the area toc in at least one of the two versions thereof will be practically guaranteed , even without the providing of internal redundancy . error correcting through such redundancy would often cost an unjustified delay . in fact , if the preceding toc is correct , the starting of a track may be effected virtually immediately . ( d2 ) pct / ib97 / 01156 ( phn 16 . 452 ) 1 bit adc and lossless compression of audio . ( d5 ) ‘ a digital decimating filter for analog - to - digital conversion of hi - fi audio signals ’ by j . j . van der kam in philips techn . rev . 42 , no . 6 / 7 , april 1986 , pp . 230 - 8 . ( d6 ) ‘ a higher order topology for interpolative modulators for oversampling a / d converters ’, by kirk c . h . chao et al in ieee trans . on circuits and systems , vol 37 , no . 3 , march 1990 , pp . 309 - 18 . | 6 |
fig1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a channel surfing system 100 implemented in a two - tuner media device 102 , such as , but not limited to , a set top box ( stb ), a television ( tv ), or a game playing device . some embodiments of the channel surfing system 100 are limited to a first tuner 104 and a second tuner 106 . during operation , the first tuner 104 decodes a first content stream 112 from a received multi - media content stream 108 . the first content stream 112 is associated with a currently presented first channel . the video and / or audio media content of the first content stream 112 is communicated to a media presentation device 110 , such as a television or the like . the first channel may be identified by a designated indicia , such as a channel number , a program identifier ( pid ), and / or may be designated by a station call name or the like , generally referred to herein as a program channel identifier . the video portion of the first content stream 112 is presented on a main field area 114 on a display 116 of the media presentation device 110 . the audio portion of the first content stream 112 is presented on speakers on the media presentation device 110 ( not shown ), or by another audio presentation device , such as a stereo or a surround - sound receiver ( not shown ). when the user is not operating the two - tuner media device 102 in a channel surfing mode , only the video portion of the first content stream 112 is presented on the display 116 . prior to initiation of the channel surfing by the user , embodiments of the channel surfing system 100 are configured to determine an anticipated channel that the user will select during an initiation of a channel surfing activity . exemplary embodiments determine the anticipated channel based on historical channel surfing activity of the user . the second tuner 106 pre - tunes itself to the determined anticipated channel . when the user initiates the channel surfing activity , assuming that the user selects the anticipated channel , the second tuner 106 may more quickly provide a second content stream 118 associated with the anticipated channel since the second tuner 106 is already receiving the anticipated channel . in the various applications , the presented channels are identified by their program channel identifier , such as a numeral . the user may be currently viewing channel “ 5 ” for example . channel “ 6 ” is an adjacent program channel identifier . accordingly , in an exemplary embodiment that has determined that channel “ 6 ” the anticipated channel that the user is likely to initially channel surf to , the second tuner 106 tunes to channel “ 6 ” and receives the second content stream 118 . that is , the channel surfing system 100 operates the second tuner 106 to decode the video portion and / or the audio portion of the second content stream 118 associated with the anticipated channel . however , since the user has not commenced channel surfing , the video media content and any associated audio media content for the anticipated channel is not presented to the user . at some point , the user may begin channel surfing . in the event that the user channel surfs to the anticipated channel that the second tuner 106 is currently receiving , presentation of the video and / or audio media content of the anticipated channel can rapidly begin . accordingly , the delay associated with the time required for the second tuner 106 to tune to , and to decode the second content stream 118 , is obviated . as an illustration of the channel surfing process , the user may be viewing the video portion and listening to the audio portion of the first content stream 112 prior to initiation of channel surfing . the user , using their remote control 120 , actuates one or more of the controllers 122 on the surface of the remote control 120 to cause the remote control 120 to generate and transmit a wireless command signal 124 to the two - tuner media device 102 to select a new channel to surf to . for example , a channel up button ( or a channel down button ) may be predefined to increment ( or decrement ) the currently presented channel that the second tuner 106 is receiving . alternatively , the user may actuate another suitable user interface to control the two - tuner media device 102 . prior to initiation of the channel surfing mode of operation , the second tuner 106 has been pre - tuned to the determined program channel identifier of the anticipated channel that the user is likely to surf to . that is , the second tuner channel surfing system 100 has anticipated which second content stream 118 is likely to be of interest to the user . when the user begins channel surfing by selecting the program channel identifier of the anticipated channel , the video and / or audio media content of the second content stream 118 is communicated to the media presentation device 110 . in an exemplary embodiment , the video portion of the second content stream 118 is presented on a picture - in - picture ( pip ) field area 126 on the display 116 as a channel surfing ( cs ) pip image 128 . the audio portion of the second content stream 118 may not be presented so as not to interfere with the audio portion of the first content stream 112 . accordingly , the user is able to continue viewing of the video portion of the first content stream 112 on the main field area 114 of the display 116 , and is concurrently able to view the video portion of the second content stream 118 that is presented on the cs pip image 128 . on the other hand , the user may select a different program channel identifier to surf to that is different from the program channel identifier of the anticipated channel . the second tuner 106 , or alternatively the first tuner 104 , then tunes to , and decodes , the content stream of the selected other surfed to channel . in this situation , the delay associated with tuning to , and decoding of , the media content stream of the selected other channel may be substantially the same as a legacy media device . embodiments of the channel surfing system 100 may be implemented in a two - tuner media device 102 . the non - limiting exemplary two - tuner media device 102 comprises a program content stream interface 130 , a processor system 132 , a memory 134 , a program buffer 136 , an optional digital video recorder ( dvr ) 138 , a presentation device interface 140 , and a remote interface 142 . the memory 134 comprises portions for storing a channel surfing module 144 and a channel surfing history file 146 . in some embodiments , the channel surfing module 144 may be integrated with other modules or logic . other media devices may include some , or may omit some , of the above - described media processing components . further , additional components not described herein may be included in alternative embodiments . the functionality of the two - tuner media device 102 is now broadly described . a media content provider provides program content that is received in one or more multi - media content streams 108 multiplexed together in one or more transport channels . the transport channel with the multi - media content stream 108 are communicated to the two - tuner media device 102 from a media system sourced from a remote head end facility ( not shown ) operated by the media content provider . non - limiting examples of such media systems include satellite systems , cable systems , over the air terrestrial systems , and the internet . for example , if the media content provider provides programming via a satellite - based communication system , the two - tuner media device 102 is configured to receive one or more broadcasted satellite signals detected by an antenna ( not shown ). alternatively , or additionally , the multi - media content stream 108 can be received from one or more different sources , such as , but not limited to , a cable system , a radio frequency ( rf ) communication system , or the internet . the one or more multi - media content streams 108 are received by the program content stream interface 130 with the first tuner 104 and the second tuner 106 . the first tuner 104 selectively tunes to the first content stream 112 in accordance with instructions received from the processor system 132 . the processor system 132 parses out video and / or audio media content associated with the program of interest . the first content stream 112 provided by the first tuner 104 is then assembled into a stream of video and / or audio information which may be stored by the program buffer 136 such that the program content can be streamed out to the media presentation device 110 , via the presentation device interface 140 . alternatively , or additionally , the parsed out program content may be saved into the dvr 138 for later presentation . when the channel surfing is initiated by the user , the second content stream 118 is similarly processed and communicated to the media presentation device 110 . some embodiments are configured to analyze a historical channel surfing pattern to learn which channel a user is likely to surf to upon initiation of a channel surfing activity . for example , the user may be watching a channel with the program channel identifier “ x ” prior to initiating the channel surfing activity . the user may surf to a channel having the program channel identifier “ y ” upon initiation of the channel surfing activity . the channel surfing system 100 monitors what channel the user surfs to ( program channel identifier “ y ”) and stores information corresponding to the surfed to channel and the currently presented channel ( program channel identifier “ x ”) in the channel surfing history file 146 . when history for a sufficient number of channel surfing activities have been monitored , the channel surfing system 100 may use the stored historical channel surfing pattern stored in the channel surfing history file 146 to learn to what program channel identifier the user is likely to surf to . that is , the channel surfing system 100 learns how to determine the anticipated channel based upon a relationship between the program channel identifier information corresponding to the currently presented channel and the program channel identifier information corresponding to the surfed to channel . embodiments of the channel surfing system 100 may use any suitable learning system and any suitable learning criteria to learn the channel that the user is likely to surf to upon initiation of the channel surfing activity . for example , a user may have historically , more often than not , incremented the present program channel identifier corresponding to the first content stream 112 by one channel . accordingly , the channel surfing system 100 may cause the second tuner 106 to tune to a second content stream 118 corresponding to the program channel identifier that is incremented one channel above the currently presented channel corresponding to the first content stream 112 . to illustrate , the user may be watching video and / or audio media content for the channel with the program channel identifier “ 5 ” ( currently received by the first tuner 104 ). the channel surfing system 100 may then determine that the program channel identifier for the anticipated channel should be channel “ 6 ” ( channel “ 5 ” incremented by one channel ). accordingly , the second tuner 106 is pre - tuned to the program channel identifier “ 6 ” so that the second content stream 118 corresponds to the anticipated “ 6 ” channel . as another example , the user may have a favorite channel or a most viewed channel that the user selects as the initial surfed to channel . for example , the program channel identifier “ 555 ” may be the identifier for a premium movie channel , a news channel , a sports channel , or the like . when the historical channel surfing patterns tend to indicate that the user will initially surf to the “ 555 ” program channel identifier , the channel surfing system 100 learns that the anticipated channel should correspond to the “ 555 ” program channel identifier . accordingly , regardless of the current channel , the second tuner 106 is pre - tuned so that the second content stream 118 corresponds to the “ 555 ” program channel identifier . some embodiments may be configured to select the anticipated channel from a favorites list of program channel identifiers or a predefined list of program channel identifiers . for example , the user may specify a favorite list of sports channels . the second tuner 106 could be pre - tuned to the first channel in the favorites list . alternatively , the second tuner 106 could be pre - tuned to a most favorite channel in the favorites list . alternatively , embodiments of the channel surfing system 100 may be predefined to a particular anticipated channel . an exemplary embodiment may be predefined to increment the currently presented program channel identifier by one channel above the currently viewed program channel identifier . an exemplary embodiment may be predefined to decrement the currently presented program channel identifier by one channel below the currently viewed program channel identifier . another exemplary embodiment may be predefined to set the pre - tuned channel to a predefined program channel identifier specified by the user or another entity . selection of the predefined program channel identifier may be made by presenting a graphical user interface , such as an electronic program guide ( epg ), to the user . the user , actuating selected controller ( s ) 122 on the remote control 120 , may then specify a program channel identifier of interest that the second tuner 106 will pre - tune to . in alternative embodiments , the video and / or audio media content of the second content stream 118 may be presented in another format upon initiation of the channel surfing activity . for example , but not limited to , the video content of the second content stream 118 may be presented as the secondary channel in a picture over picture ( pop ) format , a split screen format , or another suitable dual image format wherein the video and / or audio media content of the current channel is continued to be presented . in other embodiments , the video and / or audio media content of the current channel is presented as the secondary channel in the pip , pop or other dual image format . in another embodiment , presentation of the video and / or audio media content of the current channel is discontinued and is replaced by the video and / or audio media content of the second content stream 118 upon initiation of the channel surfing activity . embodiments may be configured to allow the user to predefine or select any one of the above - described image presentation formats . some embodiments may be configured to alternatively , or additionally , communicate the cs pip image 128 to another device having a display . for example , the cs pip image 128 could be communicated to and then presented on a remote control display , a cellular phone display , a personal computer display , or the like . some embodiments may be configured to display a message to the user indicating the program channel identifier of the channel that the second tuner 106 is pre - tuned to . for example , a banner or the like could be presented at the top , bottom , or side of the main field area 114 on the display 116 of the media presentation device 110 to indicate the program channel identifier of the anticipated channel that the second tuner 106 is pre - tuned to . based on the indicated pre - tuned program channel identifier , some embodiments may be configured to permit the user to redefine or select a different program channel identifier that the second tuner 106 will be pre - tuned to . some media device embodiments may include three or more tuners ( not shown ). in such embodiments , for example , the third tuner could be pre - tuned to a next anticipated channel that the user is likely to tune to . such three - tuner media device embodiments may be configured to allow the user to specify the channel that the third tuner is pre - tuned to . it should be emphasized that the above - described embodiments of the channel surfing system 100 are merely possible examples of implementations of the invention . many variations and modifications may be made to the above - described embodiments . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims . | 7 |
when a multi - radio access technology node is initially powered up at a new location , it will seek to join a network within its range . this is true whether the node is manually configured to join an available network , or preprogrammed to automatically join available networks within its range . as previously discussed , most typically multi - radio access nodes are preprogramed with a set of criteria that allow the node to find the network to which it was intended by the network operator to connect . part of the preprogrammed information also allows the node to authenticate itself with the preexisting network and to integrate itself into the preexisting network . one of the drawbacks of this method of adding a new node to an existing network is a lack of flexibility attendant to the requirement for advanced preprogramming . in the situation where network operating conditions have changed from the time that the node was preprogrammed at the factory , the node could be installed and configured in a less than optimal way . one of the benefits of this invention is the reduction in advanced planning and preprogramming . the reduced reliance on preprogramming facilitates flexibility and optimization in network configuration . the embodiments described herein can be equally effective at enhancing network flexibility and optimization for nodes after they have been installed . said differently , the methods described herein can also be performed for any and all nodes within a mesh network throughout the time that they are operational . in this way , multi - access radio nodes can periodically scan their environment and make intelligent selections as to which network to join based on real - time conditions . as those skilled in the art will recognize , wireless network conditions can change rapidly . this invention therefore allows for seamless , efficient wireless mesh operation in an environment of changing network dynamics . fig2 shows method steps for a node seeking to join a mesh network wherein the mesh network does not rely on analysis or input from a computing cloud . in this embodiment , when a multi - access radio 100 performs these method steps it listens 210 for a first and second radio signal from a first 122 and second mesh network 132 . this signal could be transmitted from security gateway 120 or 130 , or it could come from any one of the multi - radio access nodes 124 , 126 , 128 , 133 , 134 , 135 , or 136 . similarly , any one of the multi - access radio nodes 124 , 126 , 128 , 133 , 134 , 135 , or 136 , in alternate embodiments , could be a gateway node . if the multi - radio access node 100 hears a radio signal from a first mesh network 122 , it receives and stores 220 a first data stream from the first mesh network 122 . if the multi - radio access node 100 hears a radio signal from a second mesh network 132 , it receives and stores 230 a second data stream from the second mesh network 132 . once the multi - radio access node has more than one available mesh network from which it can choose , it must then set about making an intelligent choice as between the two available networks . in one embodiment , the multi - radio access node can analyze 240 a first and second selection criterion that is part of the first and second data streams to choose between the available networks . some examples , without limitation , of selection criteria are : ssid , bssid , operator id , private information element , information element , hessid , rssi for mesh network , gateway cost for mesh network , network load , network capacity , guaranteed bit rate , a hysteresis for multiple mesh nodes within a network , excluded nodes , preferred nodes , nodes that have experienced an authentication failure , and the like . in terms of analyzing the selection criterion , in one embodiment , multi - rat nodes could have a list of identifying information for networks that it could join . identifying network information could be ssids corresponding to the list of networks the multi - rat node has authentication credentials to join , bssid , operator id , private information element , information element , hessid , and the like . in embodiments having a cloud component , these network identifying credentials could be updated dynamically by the computing cloud . in some embodiments , multi - rat nodes could contain many ssids to enhance the likelihood that the node will detect a mesh network to which it can attach . in an additional embodiment , if multiple networks with the same id are detected , bssid could be used as a selection mechanism for determining whether a network having that bssid should be considered an available network for the multi - rat node to join . in an alternate embodiment , beacon frames , which are part of the data stream received from the first or second mesh networks , could have a vendor specific information element ie included therein . this vendor specific information element could be a unique identifier for each network operator . the initial burn - in performed on the multi - rat node before it is installed could have this unique ie instead of an ssid list . in this embodiment , the multi - rat node could try to mesh with all nodes advertising the unique ie , irrespective of the ssid in use . in this way , two different operators ssid &# 39 ; s could overlap without there being any issues . in alternate embodiments , the decision about which network to join could be made based upon current network conditions such as : rssi for mesh network , gateway cost for the mesh network , network load , network capacity , guaranteed bit rate , a hysteresis for multiple mesh nodes within a network , excluded nodes , preferred nodes , nodes that have experienced an authentication failure , and the like . after determining 250 which network to join , the multi - rat node uses an internal processor to calculate 260 a network configuration for the network of choice . the multi - rat node then adopts the calculated configuration and joins 270 the network of choice . in an alternate embodiment , the choice of which available network to use could be made by a computing cloud 140 component . this embodiment is shown with reference to fig2 a . according to this embodiment , first and second selection criterion are sent 235 to a computing cloud 140 component . these first and second selection criteria are obtained by listening 210 for a first and second radio signal from a first and second mesh network ; receiving and storing 220 a first data stream from a first mesh network ; and receiving and storing 230 a second data stream from a second mesh network . the multi - rat node 100 then sends 235 the first and second selection criterion to the computing cloud 140 . once the computing cloud 140 receives the first and second selection criterion , processors within the computing cloud 140 analyze 240 the first and second selection criterion to determine 250 which of the two networks 122 , 132 the multi - rat node 100 should join . a processor within the computing cloud then calculates 260 network configuration and sends that network configuration to the multi - rat node 100 . once the multi - rat node 100 receives 265 the network configuration for the network of choice , it joins 270 the first or second network . when new base stations , called mesh rans throughout , are installed , it can be a time - consuming , and therefore expensive , process to test and align the antennas . presently , antenna alignment is done manually . after the antennas are initially aligned , the installation crew performs a test to determine if the alignment is proper . proper alignment is a function of antenna power , radiation pattern , interference from other antennas , and the topography / geography of the antenna &# 39 ; s location . in outdoor , long distance , multi - radio mesh networks it can be very difficult to point directional antennas to achieve maximum connectivity and range . this difficulty is compounded each time an additional antenna is added to the mesh ran . in addition , if the distribution of mesh rans is non - uniform , the difficulty of properly position antennas to achieve maximum connectivity and range is heightened . once the system has been optimized , it may not stay that way forever . for example , the interference pattern could change if another antenna begins to transmit in the vicinity of the mesh ran . another example may be a changing topological profile if a building is constructed or demolished within the mesh ran &# 39 ; s range . in these situations and others that those skilled in the art will recognize , it would be necessary to manually readjust the antennas . even if the antennas are attached to a motor that could be controlled remotely , readjusting them would still require human oversight . it is therefore desirable to implement automated processes for initializing and maintaining the optimum positioning of antennas on a mesh ran . the automatic positioning and orientation of antennas on mesh - rans is performed in custom - made software modules using self - organizing network “ son ” techniques . some of these son modules are discussed in detail in u . s . patent application ser . nos . 61 / 705440 entitled “ multi - access and backhaul wireless systems and methods ,” 61 / 725865 entitled “ novel method of location based pci selection in radio networks ,” 61 / 729158 entitled “ dynamic frequency selection using son , ue location and power information ,” 61 / 729489 entitled “ dynamic discovery of uni - cloud node by uni - ran ,” 61 / 783193 entitled “ automatic access and backhaul role switch for networking resources ,” 61 / 793351 entitled “ start - up sequence and configuration for radio node ” and 13 / 889631 entitled “ heterogeneous mesh network and a multi - rat node used therein ,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . upon installation , the mesh ran can use gps , electric or magnetic field sensors , and / or a gyroscope to assist in properly orienting the antenna . embodiments of this invention provide visual or audible feedback to installation personnel to aid in the installation process . this method could be an app on a smart phone or pda in alternate embodiments .\ phased array antenna optimization occurs once a mesh ran has been installed , continued optimization of antenna orientation can be performed using custom - made self - organizing network “ son ” modules . a typical mesh ran has several antennas because mesh rans support communication over many different frequency bands . rather than using motors to adjust the orientation of each of these antennas , the son modules of the present invention work together with phased array antennas . according to this embodiment , a mesh ran could calibrate its antenna orientation by communicating with a neighboring mesh ran . the mesh ran seeking to calibrate could , one by one , establish a connection with the same type of antenna on the neighboring mesh ran . the mesh ran under calibration could transmit a test sequence of 100 data packets . the neighboring antenna will also have a copy of the test sequence so that if can determine what was received and what was lost . the existing mesh ran can then transmit the test sequence to the new mesh ran . in this way , the two mesh rans work together adjusting the beam width of the phased array until an optimal state is attained . in this embodiment , a software module , which can be internally stored within a mesh ran or could be an app on a smart phone , pda or the like , is coupled to a gps , or a magnetic field sensor , or a gyroscope . this embodiment can have internet connectivity as well . installation assistance device will be placed at a fixed location on mesh ran and will connect to remote server ( s ) with any available means . information received from sensors is fed into the application which then process the data and communicates the processed information to remote server ( s ). remote server ( s ) based on its knowledge of neighborhood network finds the optimal coverage and connectivity for this node . cloud sends the details regarding the node and their respective locations to the application . application then determines the direction of each antenna to be placed . as these antenna are not very flexible and might be pasted on the device itself , application considers these factors as well and finds optimal orientation for device deployment . once this information is acquired application sensors will be used to provide user / installer with visual / audible aid by moving the device installed with application . sensor data will help to find the location , direction , orientation of the device etc . this information will be used to provide optimal installation height / direction / vertical alignment etc . for the mesh ran . there might be iteration of above process to achieve fine tuning of network . also user may opt not to go for further iteration of process . once installed the installation assistance device will update server with its final details in terms of location / height / direction / direction of antenna / orientation etc . so that this information can be used by server for future . the invention can be a method of automatically adjusting the beam - width of a phased - array antenna within a mesh network , comprising the steps of : transmitting a known signal from a first mesh node to a second mesh node ; storing a received signal in a memory device of the second node ; comparing the stored received signal to the known signal in order to determine how much of the known signal was received by the second node ; calculating a beam adjustment value ; storing the beam adjustment value in the memory device of the second node ; and transmitting the beam adjustment value to the first node . the invention could further include the steps of : transmitting the known signal from the second mesh node to the first mesh node ; storing a second received signal in a memory device of the first node ; comparing the stored second received signal to the known signal in order to determine how much of the known signal was received by the first node ; calculating a second beam adjustment value ; and storing the second beam adjustment value in the memory device of the first node . another method could be to determine a directional parameter for an antenna , which could include the steps of : connecting to a remote server in order to transmit location information to the remote server ; receiving information regarding a directional parameter for an antenna from the remote server ; storing the directional parameter in a memory device coupled to a sensor ; and using the sensor to determine when the location of the antenna coincides with the directional parameter . the foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention . in additional embodiments , the methods described herein can be stored on a computer readable medium such as a computer memory storage , a compact disk ( cd ), flash drive , optical drive , or the like . further , the computer readable medium could be distributed across memory storage devices within multiple servers , multi - rat nodes , controllers , computing cloud components , mobile nodes , and the like . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . for example , wireless network topology can also apply to wired networks , optical networks , and the like . various components in the devices described herein may be added , removed , or substituted with those having the same or similar functionality . various steps as described in the figures and specification may be added or removed from the processes described herein , and the steps described may be performed in an alternative order , consistent with the spirit of the invention . accordingly , the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative , but not limiting of the scope of the invention , as well as other claims . the disclosure , including any readily discernible variants of the teachings herein , defines , in part , the scope of the foregoing claim terminology . | 7 |
referring to fig1 a block diagram of an automated data storage media cartridge library system 100 utilizing the present invention is illustrated . the automated data storage media cartridge library system (&# 34 ; library system &# 34 ;) 100 is implemented in the automated cartridge system ( acs ), manufactured by storage technology corporation , louisville , colo ., u . s . a ., and is fully described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 864 , 511 and 4 , 928 , 245 to moy et al ., incorporated herein by reference in their entirety . a plurality of host computers 101 , 102 are shown connected to the automated data storage media library system 100 by means of two types of paths : control paths ( illustrated by solid lines ) and data paths ( illustrated by dashed lines ). control paths 160 , 161 and data paths 175 , 176 are described in more detail below . a plurality ( up to 16 ) of host computers can be interconnected to the automated data storage media cartridge library system 100 , but only two host computers 101 and 102 are illustrated for simplicity . the library system 100 consists of a plurality of elements . among these elements are included two automated data storage media cartridge library modules (&# 34 ; library modules &# 34 ;) 111 and 112 . library modules 111 and 112 each store a plurality of data storage media cartridges ( not shown ), such as 18 track magnetic tape cartridges of the ibm 3480 type for use by host computers 101 , 102 . automated data storage media cartridge library system 100 may contain up to 16 library modules , but only two library modules 111 and 112 are illustrated for simplicity . each of the library modules 111 and 112 stores up to 6 , 000 of the data storage media cartridges and contains a robot arm system that functions to retrieve and return the data storage media cartridges from media cartridge storage cells contained in the library module . after retrieving the data storage media cartridges , the robot arm system loads the cartridges on media drive systems shown in fig1 as a plurality of elements 141 - 144 attached to each of library modules 111 , 112 . in the preferred embodiment , the invention is implemented in the environment of a library system which stores information on magnetic tape media in a cartridge format . however , as would be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art , any type of storage media may be used in the present invention ( for example , magnetic disk , optical disk , optical tape , etc .). in addition , in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , media drive systems 141 - 144 are half - inch tape cartridge drives compatible with ibm 3480 computer systems such as stk 4480 tape drives , manufactured by storage technology corporation , louisville , colo ., u . s . a .. however , it should be understood that any corresponding media drive can be used to embody this invention . in addition , multiple types of information storage volumes and corresponding media drives may be used in the library system 100 . a system of control elements 120 , 121 , 122 , and 123 are illustrated in fig1 connected between host computers 101 , 102 and each library module 111 and 112 . the control elements illustrated in fig1 operate to control the robot arm mechanism in each of the library modules 111 and 112 . each of these control elements will be described in detail below with reference to the overall operation of the library system 100 . in the discussion below , reference to a single host computer , host computer 101 will be discussed for simplicity . in operation , a user operating host computer 101 requests access to data stored in a designated magnetic tape cartridge which is stored in , for example , library module 111 . host computer 101 translates the request for this data into an operator console tape mount request message . tape cartridge library software 109 and 110 reside on host computers 101 and 102 , respectively . tape cartridge library software 109 and 110 function to interface the library system 100 in transparent fashion to host computers 101 and 102 . in the present example , this function is accomplished by tape cartridge library software 109 which traps operator console messages from host computer 101 and converts these console messages into magnetic tape cartridge retrieval commands . these magnetic tape cartridge retrieval commands are then transmitted via control path 162 to library management unit ( lmu ) 121 through interface unit 120 . tape cartridge library software 109 contains a database that provides the translation between magnetic tape cartridge volume records and the tape mount request operator console messages from host computer 101 . thus , a data retrieval request from host computer 101 is intercepted by tape cartridge library software 109 and used to scan the tape volume records to identify the exact physical location of the requested magnetic tape cartridge . tape cartridge library software 109 determines the exact physical location of the requested magnetic tape cartridge in one of the library modules 111 and 112 , the availability of one of the tape drives 141 - 144 , and the identity of the library module that contains the requested magnetic tape cartridge . tape cartridge library software 109 then transmits control signals over control path 160 via interface control unit 120 and data link 162 to library management unit 121 to identify the location of the requested magnetic tape cartridge and the exact location of the destination tape drive . library management unit 121 responds to the control signals from tape cartridge library software 109 by determining a path assignment from the tape cartridge storage cell which contains the requested magnetic tape cartridge to the designated tape drive . in this example , the requested magnetic tape cartridge is library module 111 , and the selective cartridge tape drive unit is tape drive 144 , which is attached to library module 112 . the library management unit 121 designates all of the functional steps to be taken by library modules 111 and 112 to effectuate the transfer of the requested magnetic tape cartridge from the tape cartridge storage cell located in library module 111 to the selected tape drive unit 144 located on library module 112 . these control signals are transmitted via control paths 160 - 163 to library control units 122 and 123 . library management unit 121 transmits control signals over control path 163 to library control unit 122 to identify the exact physical location of the requested magnetic tape cartridge . the robot arm mechanism in library module 111 is controlled by library control unit 122 which translates the control signals received from library management unit 121 into servo control signals to regulate the operation of the various servo systems of the robot arm mechanism in library module 111 . library control unit 122 causes the robot arm in library module 111 to retrieve or return the requested magnetic tape cartridge from a specific tape cartridge storage cell or media drive system in library module 111 . the retrieved magnetic tape cartridge may be transported by the robot arm in library module 111 to library module 112 by way of a pass - thru port 150 . the pass - thru port 150 is a mechanism that interconnects two library modules and enables adjacent library modules to pass retrieved magnetic tape cartridges back and forth between the library modules for loading on a designated tape drive or for returning to the tape cartridge storage array . in response to control signals from library control unit 122 , the pass - thru port mechanism 150 interconnects library module 111 with library module 112 . the robot arm mechanism in library module 111 , in response to the control signals from library control unit 122 , places the retrieved magnetic tape cartridge in the reserved slot of pass - thru port mechanism 150 . upon the completion of the tape retrieval operation by library module 111 , library management unit 121 transmits control signals on control path 163 to library control unit 122 to activate pass - thru port mechanism 150 . the control signals instruct pass - thru port mechanism 150 to transport the retrieved magnetic tape cartridge to face the robot arm mechanism in library module 112 . library management unit 121 then transmits control signals on control path 163 to library control unit 123 . library control unit 123 responds to these control signals by generating servo control signals to regulate the operation of the robot arm mechanism . these control signals cause the robot arm mechanism in library module 112 to retrieve the magnetic tape cartridge placed in pass - thru port mechanism 150 by the robot arm in library module 111 . the magnetic tape cartridge is then placed by the robot arm in the tape drive 144 as designated by library management unit 121 . the library system 100 contains independent data paths which are isolated from the control paths described above . the components which are associated with the reading and transmitting of data from the library modules 111 and 112 to the host computers 101 and 102 include tape drive units 141 - 144 , data paths 171 - 174 , tape control units ( tcus ) 131 , 132 and data links 175 , 176 . each of these components will be described in detail below with reference to the data retrieval and transmission operation of the library system 100 . in the example above , the retrieved magnetic tape cartridge is loaded onto tape drive 144 where it is read in the usual fashion . tape drive 144 then transmits the data on data path 174 to tape control unit 131 . the data from tape drives 143 and 144 are multiplexed together in tape control unit 131 and transmitted over data link 175 to host computers 101 and 102 . the data from tape drives 141 and 142 are multiplexed together in tape control unit 132 and transmitted over data link 176 to host computers 101 and 102 . thus , the data which is read from the retrieved magnetic tape cartridge and tape drive 144 are transmitted from tape drive 144 through tape control unit 131 to host computer 101 without the library modules 111 and 112 being aware of the destination of data . in this fashion , a data retrieval request from a host computer is translated into the identification of a designated magnetic tape cartridge . this magnetic tape cartridge is automatically retrieved from its storage rack and transported to a library module that contains an available tape drive . that library module then loads the retrieved magnetic tape cartridge into the tape drive where it can be read and the data transmitted to the requesting host computer . referring to fig2 a top view of library module 111 utilizing the present invention is illustrated . fig3 illustrates a cut away side perspective view of the library module 111 . the library module 111 is comprised generally of an exterior housing 200 which includes a plurality of wall segments 221 attached to floor plate 312 and ceiling plate 311 , and disposed about a vertical axis a . library module 111 also contains an inner wall 204 having an upper portion 306 which is suspended from ceiling plate 311 and a lower portion 308 which is mounted upon floor plate 312 . the upper portion 306 is comprised of a plurality of upper segments 231 and the lower portion 308 is comprised of a plurality of lower segments 232 . the upper portion 306 and the lower portion 308 of inner wall 204 support an internal cylindrical array 201 of tape cartridge storage cells centered about the vertical axis a . an external cylindrical array 202 of tape cartridge storage cells is concentrically arranged about the internal cylindrical array 201 and mounted on the wall segments 221 of the exterior housing 200 . the twelve - sided arrangement of the library modules 111 , 112 provides great flexibility in configuring both the tape drive units as well as configuring a plurality of library modules in a juxtaposed arrangement . library module 111 contains two concentrically - arranged cylindrical arrays of tape cartridge storage cells . referring to fig4 an array 201 of magnetic tape cartridge storage cells is illustrated . the array 201 of tape cartridge storage cells has a radius of curvature adapted to be mounted in the internal cylindrical array 201 of library module 111 . the tape cartridge storage cells on the external cylindrical array 202 are formed with an opposite curvature than those on the internal cylindrical array wall 201 . all of the tape cartridge storage cells in the internal 201 and external 202 cylindrical arrays face each other so that the robot arm 230 can retrieve and replace the magnetic tape cartridges from either the interior 201 or the external 202 cylindrical array . each tape cartridge storage cell of arrays 201 , 202 consist of a bottom portion 402 , a back portion 404 , and intervening wall segments 406 . bottom portion 402 of the tape cartridge storage cells is angled downward , front to back , so that a magnetic tape cartridge placed in the tape cartridge storage cell tends to slide along bottom portion 402 into the tape cartridge storage cell . the wall segments 406 are adapted for access by the wrist and finger assemblies 240 of robot arm 230 . attachment means such as tabs 408 , formed at the rear of the arrays 201 , 202 can be used to suspend the arrays 201 , 202 from the wall segments 221 , 231 of library module 111 . the arrangement of tape cartridge storage cells is illustrated more clearly in fig3 wherein the external cylindrical array 202 is illustrated along the periphery of library module 111 . the internal cylindrical array 201 of tape cartridge storage cells is illustrated as comprising two separate segments or regions of sell arrays . a cell array segment 302 of the internal cylindrical array 201 is mounted on the lower portion 308 of inner wall 204 . an upper cell array segment 301 is mounted on the upper portion 306 of inner wall 204 . in this fashion , an aperture is provided between the upper cell array segment 301 and lower cell array segment 302 of the internal cylindrical array 201 so that robot arm 230 can rotate about the center pivot axis a without interfering with any of the tape cartridge storage cells in the internal cylindrical array 201 . the magnetic tape cartridges retrieved from the individual tape cartridge storage cells are typically loaded onto media drive systems 141 , 142 so that the data contained on the magnetic tape stored in the magnetic tape cartridge can be read by host computer 101 . fig1 and 2 illustrate the placement of two media drive systems 141 , 142 on library module 111 . the media drive systems are shown attached to two of the twelve exterior walls 202 of library module 111 . within each media drive system is located a plurality of individual tape drives 211 , 313 which function to read data from the magnetic tape cartridges loaded therein . fig2 illustrates a single tape drive 211 and its associated stack loader 221 . tape drive 211 and stack loader 221 are located in the media drive system 141 to illustrate the orientation with respect to robot arm 230 and cylindrical arrays 201 , 202 of tape cartridge storage cells . a segment of the tape cartridge storage cells is removed from outer cylindrical array 202 . this provides an aperture through which the front loading door opening of stack loader 221 protrudes . it protrudes a sufficient distance so as to be lined up with the surrounding storage cell arrays . the robot arm 230 can thereby load or unload a magnetic tape cartridge into stack loader 221 with the same or similar range of motion as the replacement of a magnetic tape cartridge into one of the individual storage cells in the tape cartridge storage cell arrays . a side view of media drive system 141 is shown in fig3 wherein two of the tape drives 211 , 313 and their associated stack loaders 221 , 320 are shown stacked one above the other in a vertical alignment within media drive system 141 illustrated in fig2 . the orientation of the stack loaders 221 , 320 and their respective tape drives 211 , 313 is such that a magnetic tape cartridge is placed into the stack loader on an angle similar to that of the individual tape cartridge storage cells . the only difference is that the stack loaders 221 , 320 require a horizontal loading of the magnetic tape cartridge while the tape cartridge storage cells store the magnetic tape cartridges in a vertical alignment . thus the robot arm 230 in retrieving a magnetic tape cartridge from an individual tape cartridge storage cell and loading it into a media drive system 141 must rotate the magnetic tape cartridge through a 90 ° angle for proper orientation for loading into the tape drives 211 , 313 . fig2 and 5 illustrate a top view , side view , and perspective view of the robot arm assembly 230 of library module 111 . robot arm assembly 230 consists of a plurality of cooperating mechanisms which provide a moveable arm for retrieving magnetic tape cartridges from their individual storage cells . the robot arm assembly 230 consists of a theta arm 321 rotatably mounted on a support column 322 which is attached to the floor plates 312 of library module 111 . the robot arm assembly 230 includes a z - mechanism 323 attached to the end of theta arm 321 remote from support column 322 . the z - mechanism 323 has coupled thereto a wrist and finger assembly 240 which performs the magnetic tape cartridge retrieval and replace functions with the storage cells and stack loaders . the z - mechanism 323 provides a vertical range of motion for the wrist and finger assembly 230 to access various vertical levels ( rows ) of the tape cartridge storage cell arrays . theta arm 321 locates the z - mechanism 323 and its associated wrist and finger assembly 240 in the proper location ( column ) to access the tape cartridge storage cells . the robot arm support column 322 includes a motor ( not shown ) which causes theta arm 321 of the robot arm assembly 230 to rotate about the pivot point a of the robot arm assembly 230 so that the robot arm assembly 230 can access all of the tape cartridge storage cells which are located in a circular array about the pivot point a . thus , the elements in the robot arm assembly 230 cooperatively operate to access each and every storage cell in the entire library module 111 . the servo motors ( not shown ) controlling each of the various ranges of motion associated with elements in the robot arm assembly 230 are all controlled by library control unit 122 connected to library module 111 . the robot arm assembly 230 is capable of accessing each of the approximately 6 , 000 tape cartridge storage cells in library module 111 . fig6 illustrates the wrist and finger assembly 240 that is located at the end of theta arm 321 . the wrist and finger assembly 240 consists of a plurality of mechanisms that perform the roll and reach functions for the robot arm assembly 230 . the magnetic tape cartridge can be rotated through a full 360 degree rotation about the pick - and - place axis b by a roll mechanism which implements the wrist function . the magnetic tape cartridge may also be rotated about the z - axis to access the inner cell array 201 and outer cell array 202 as shown in fig5 . a vision system 600 is located on top of the wrist and finger assembly 240 and is focused at a predetermined distance in front of the wrist and finger assembly 240 . the point of focus of vision element 606 coincides with the position of a machine readable label on the end of the magnetic tape cartridge stored in the magnetic tape cartridge storage cell . in order to enable vision element 606 to read the label on the magnetic tape cartridge , a source of illumination is provided . the source of illumination consists of a pair of lamps 602 , 604 arranged one on either side of the vision element 606 and aligned in substantially the same orientation as vision element 606 . the lamps 602 , 604 are directed so that the light beams emanating from these two lamps cross at a point in the line of sight of the vision elements 606 , which point coincides with the location of the label on the end of the magnetic tape cartridge . the two lamps 602 , 604 serve to illuminate the label on the magnetic tape cartridge sufficiently so that vision element 606 can accurately read the machine readable characters on the label . the vision system 600 is also used for the purpose of calibrating the alignment of telescopic pick - and - place mechanism 700 and the tape cartridge storage cells . a calibration system used in conjunction with the present invention is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 908 , 777 to wolfe , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . another calibration system used in conjunction with the present invention is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 034 , 904 to moy , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . referring to fig7 - 11 , the telescopic pick - and - place robotic mechanism (&# 34 ; pick - and - place mechanism &# 34 ;) 700 of the present invention is illustrated . the pick - and - place mechanism 700 is designed to extend from the wrist and finger assembly 240 to reach , grasp , and retrieve a magnetic tape cartridge stored in a tape cartridge storage cell , tape drive , or other device , grasp . pick - and - place mechanism 700 also performs the reverse function of depositing a magnetic tape cartridge into the storage cell , tape reading device , etc . as will be explained in detail below , and would be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art , pick - and - place mechanism 700 may be used with any type of robotic arm assembly required to perform retrieval / replacement functions . pick - and - place mechanism 700 may also be used in any automated library system other than the acs system manufactured by storage technology corporation and described above . also , implementation of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 to retrieve or replace objects other than magnetic tape cartridges would also be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art . this includes other types of data storage media volumes as well as objects unrelated to data storage . fig7 illustrates the pick - and - place mechanism 700 of the present invention in its fully extended position . fig8 illustrates an exploded view of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 . the preferred embodiment of the present invention is comprised of three plates of approximately equivalent size . the plates are the base plate 702 , intermediate slider plate 704 , and main slider plate 706 . the lowest plate , base plate 702 , is the plate by which pick - and - place mechanism 700 is attached to the wrist and finger assembly 240 . the base plate 702 does not move relative to the wrist and finger assembly 240 during the operation of pick - and - place mechanism 700 . the base plate 702 behaves as a stationary base from which the remaining pick - and - place mechanism assembly operates . the base , however , does not necessarily have to be a plate similar to the slider plates 704 , 706 . the base may take forms other than base plate 702 which meet the needs of a particular application . base plate 702 has rails 738 and access holes ( not shown ), both of which are described in detail below . intermediate slider plate 704 has base plate tracks 708 designed to accept the base plate rails 738 of base plate 702 . base plate tracks 708 restrict the travel of the intermediate slider plate 704 relative to base plate 702 to movement along pick - and - place axis b in fig7 . the intermediate slider plate 704 also has main slider plate tracks 710 designed to accept the main slider plate rails 802 ( see fig8 ) of main slider plate 706 . the intermediate slider plate tracks 7 10 work in conjunction with the main slider plate rails 802 to restrict the travel of the main slider plate 706 relative to the intermediate slider plate 704 to movement along pick - and - place axis a . the intermediate slider plate 704 and the main slider plate 706 extend and retract relative to the position of base plate 702 , forming a telescopic extension wherein each of the plates 702 , 704 , 706 forms a section of the telescopic pick - and - place mechanism 700 . as shown , in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , a rail and track system is used to achieve the telescopic movement of the plates relative to each other to restrict that movement to a single axis . however , implementation of other types of linear sliding mechanisms which provide the same single - axis limitation of relative movement would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art . for example , roller bearings in a slider configuration may be used to achieve this same single - axis movement . in addition , the rail and track system of the present invention may be implemented in a different fashion than that described above and shown in fig7 and 8 . for example , base plate 702 may contain tracks rather than rails 738 and intermediate slider plate could contain rails rather than tracks 708 . as a result , plates 702 , 704 , and 706 may contain any combination of rail and tracks as necessary to optimize the design of a particular implementation . referring to fig9 - 11 , various views of pick - and - place mechanism 700 in the fully retracted position are illustrated . when pick - and - place mechanism 700 is in the fully retracted position , the intermediate slider plate 704 and main slider plate 706 are positioned over the base plate 702 . since each of these plates is approximately the same size as the magnetic tape cartridge 712 , the size of the fully retracted pick - and - place mechanism 700 is approximately equal to the size of the magnetic tape cartridge 712 . in order to achieve this reduced size , the intermediate slider plate 704 and the base plate 702 must be designed to enable the surface 742 of intermediate slider plate 704 to travel over the cams and gears ( discussed below ) attached to base plate 702 . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , base plate rails 738 are raised above the surface 744 of base plate 702 . since the base plate rails 738 travel in base plate tracks 708 of intermediate slider plate 704 , this places the base plate surface 744 in a lower position relative to the intermediate slider plate surface 742 . as shown in fig7 the intermediate slider plate surface 742 extends further from the base plate 702 than the main slider plate surface 746 . as a result , the intermediate slider plate surface 742 comes into contact with and supports the magnetic tape cartridge 712 when the magnetic tape cartridge 712 is placed in the pick - and - place mechanism 700 . the intermediate slider plate surface 742 is raised to be co - planar with the main slider plate surface 746 . as a result , both the main slider plate surface 746 and the intermediate slider plate surface 742 work together to support the magnetic tape cartridge 712 when the pick - and - place mechanism 700 is in a substantially extended position . the intermediate slider plate 704 travels in the pick - and - place axis a using the rail and track method described above . intermediate slider plate 704 extends and retracts based on the rotational movement of the intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 . intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 is mounted on the top surface 744 of base plate 702 in a manner that enables intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 to rotate in a plane parallel to the base plates surface 744 . intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 rotates freely on base plate 702 under the control of a drive mechanism ( not shown ) discussed below . an intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 is mounted on the top surface of the intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 . this intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 travels in a rotational manner as the intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 rotates . the intermediate slider plate 704 has an intermediate slider plate cam follower track 724 configured to accept the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 . the height of the intermediate slider plate cam follower is determined by the distance between the base plate surface 744 and the intermediate slider plate surface 742 . as the intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 rotates , the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 travels in the intermediate slider plate cam follower track 724 , causing intermediate slider plate 704 to travel along the pick - and - place axis relative to the base plate 702 . the intermediate slider plate cam follower track 724 is positioned on the intermediate slider plate 704 and is of the necessary length , such that the intermediate slider plate cam follower track 724 does not inhibit the movement of the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 as the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 rotates a complete 360 °. the main slider plate 706 also travels in the pick - and - place axis a using the rail and track method described above . main slider plate 706 extends and retracts based on the rotational movement of the main slider plate drive cam 714 . main slider plate drive cam 714 is mounted on the top surface 744 of base plate 702 in such a manner that enables main slider plate drive cam 714 to rotate in a plane parallel to the base plate surface 744 . main slider plate drive cam 714 rotates freely on base plate 702 under the control of a drive mechanism ( not shown ) discussed below . a main slider plate cam follower 716 is mounted on the top surface of the main slider plate drive cam 714 . this main slider plate cam follower 716 travels in a rotational manner as the main slider plate drive cam 714 rotates . the main slider plate 706 has a main slider plate cam follower track 718 configured to loosely accept the main slider plate cam follower 716 . the height of main slider plate cam follower 716 is determined by the distance between the base plate surface 744 and the main slider plate surface 746 . as the main slider plate drive cam 714 rotates , the main slider plate cam follower 716 travels in the main slider plate cam follower track 718 , causing main slider plate 706 to travel along the pick - and - place axis relative to the intermediate slider plate 704 . the main slider plate cam follower track 718 is positioned on the main slider plate 706 and is of the necessary length such that the main slider plate cam follower track 718 does not inhibit the movement of the main slider plate cam follower 716 as the main slider plate cam follower 716 rotates a complete 360 °. referring to fig9 and 11 , a cross - sectional and perspective view of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 in its fully retracted position is illustrated . servo motor 902 controls the extension and retraction of pick - and - place mechanism 700 . servo motor 902 is positioned beneath base plate 702 . servo motor 902 is coupled to , and controls , the rotation of the main slider plate drive cam 714 by drive shaft 906 . drive shaft 906 extends from servo motor 902 through an access hole in the base plate surface 744 ( not shown ) and is fixedly attached to an intermediate drive gear 740 . drive shaft 906 is the means by which the servo motor 902 transfers a rotational force to the intermediate drive gear 740 . intermediate drive gear 740 has a smaller radius than main slider plate drive cam 714 and is positioned between the main slider plate drive cam 714 and the base plate surface 744 . intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 and intermediate drive gear 740 are positioned such that intermediate slider plate drive gear 720 is meshed with and controlled by intermediate drive gear 740 . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , servo motor 902 is used to control pick - and - place mechanism 700 . however , as would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art , any type of drive mechanism which provides the necessary rotational force for a given application may be used . the servo motor 902 which controls the pick - and - place mechanism 700 is typically one of many servo systems on a given robot arm assembly . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , pick - and - place mechanism 700 is controlled by the library control unit 122 which translates the control signals received from the library management unit 121 into servo control signals to regulate the operation of pick - and - place mechanism 700 . however , as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art , pick - and - place mechanism 700 may be controlled by any type of servo driver circuit or computer based processor . an optical sensor 732 is attached to the base plate surface 744 and is positioned above main slider plate drive cam 714 . main slider plate drive cam 714 has a slot 728 which is positioned such that optical sensor 732 detects the passage of slot 728 as the main slider plate drive gear 714 rotates . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , optical sensor 732 and associated slot 728 are used to detect the position of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 . however , implementation of any type of position detection system would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art . for example , electrical contact switches may be used . main slider plate 706 has mounting pivots 736 for the left and right pinch roller arms 734 . the pinch roller arms 734 hold the pinch rollers 732 which are used to drive an object such as magnetic tape cartridge 712 in and out of pick - and - place mechanism 700 . the pinch roller arms 734 also hold pinion gears 908 attached to the bottom of pinch rollers 732 . pinch rollers 732 and pinion gears 908 rotate freely in pinch roller arm 734 . pinion gears 908 mesh with rack gears 730 which are located on the intermediate slider plate 704 . the pinion gears 908 and the rack gears 730 form a rack and pinion gear pair which operates to cause the motion of the magnetic tape cartridge 712 based on the relative position of main slider plate 706 and intermediate slider plate 704 . the pinch roller pinion gears 908 are preloaded ( forced ) into the rack gears 730 by arm springs 904 to maintain gear mesh when the tape cartridge assembly 712 is not present between the pinch rollers 732 . the rack gears 730 on intermediate slider plate 704 have gear teeth on two sides of its rectangular edge , the inner side and the front side . the angle between the inner side and the front side of rack gear 730 is rounded to form a continual sequence of gear teeth with no abrupt change in direction . in other words , the two sides of rack gear 730 which have gear teeth are ovular . the spacing between the pinch rollers 732 and the resulting grip on the magnetic tape cartridge 712 is determined by the location of the pinion gears 908 on the rack gears 730 . the pinion gears 908 maintain a constant pressure against rack gears 730 due to the presence of the pinch roller arm preload springs 904 . when the main slider plate 706 reaches its fully extended position , the pinion gears 908 travel from the inner side to the front side of rack gears 730 . the pinion gears maintain contact with the gear teeth of the rack gears 730 causing the pinch roller arms 734 to pivot on the mounting pivots 736 , thereby separating pinch rollers 732 from each other . when magnetic tape cartridge 712 is gripped by pinch rollers 732 , the pinch rollers 732 cause the magnetic tape cartridge 712 to translate along the pick - and - place axis as the pinion gears 908 travel along rack gears 730 . this feature of the present invention eliminates the need for an additional servo mechanism to drive the cartridge holding mechanism . this in turn reduces the size , weight , and complexity of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the cartridge holding mechanism uses hinged pinch rollers controlled by rack and pinion gears . however , implementation of other types of robotic gripping mechanisms which are capable of performing the gripping , releasing , and translation functions in a manner which meets the needs of a particular application would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art . there are a number of operational and design considerations which must be considered when adapting the pick - and - place mechanism 700 to a particular application . for example , the distance of travel of each slider plate 704 , the point at which the pinch rollers 732 open to receive an object , the position of the object in pick - and - place mechanism 700 , and the velocity at which the object may be retrieved must be considered . the distance each slider plate travels , referred to as the stroke , is determined by the placement of the associated cam follower on its rotating cam or gear . as one of ordinary skill in the relevant art would know , the radius at which the cam follower is located on the cam or gear determines the amount of stroke of the associated slider plate . particularly , the stroke of a slider plate is twice the radius of its associated cam follower . as a result , the stroke and movement of intermediate slider plate 704 and main slider plate 706 may be different . the relative rotational angle between the main slider plate cam follower 716 and the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 is referred to as the lead angle . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the lead angle between the main slider plate cam follower 716 and the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 is 9 °. that is , when the intermediate slider plate 704 and the intermediate slider plate cam follower 722 is in the 0 ° position , the main slider plate cam follower 716 is in the 9 ° position in a clockwise direction . this 9 ° angular displacement determines the relative position of the pinion gears 908 on the rack gears 730 for a given relative position of intermediate slider plate 704 and main slider plate 706 . this enables the designer to determine at which point in the extension and retraction of pick - and - place mechanism 700 the pinch rollers 732 will open to receive or close to grip the magnetic tape cartridge 712 . the position of the magnetic tape cartridge 712 and the velocity of its translation are determined by the displacement angle described above , the gear ratio of the pinch roller pinion gears 908 and rack gears 730 , and the characteristics of the servo motor 902 . a pick stroke ( to retrieve an object ) or a place stroke ( to replace an object ) is achieved by rotation of the servo motor 902 in the proper direction . clockwise rotation of the servo motor 902 ( as viewed from the top ) will accomplish a pick stroke . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , a 180 ° clockwise turn of the servo motor 902 will cause the main slider plate 706 to travel along main slider plate tracks 710 and extend away from intermediate slider plate 704 . simultaneously , the intermediate slider plate 704 will travel along rails 738 and extend away from base plate 702 . as the main slider plate 706 travels along main slider plate tracks 710 , the pinion gears 908 travel along the rack gears 730 . as the pinion gears 908 travel along the rack gear 730 , the pinch rollers 732 extend out and away from the robotic pick - and - place mechanism 700 . at the point at which the pinch rollers 732 are fully extended outwards around the magnetic tape cartridge 712 , the intermediate slider plate 704 and main slider plate 706 are substantially near the end of their stroke , and their associated cam followers are at an angular displacement of approximately 180 ° from their starting positions . as the servo motor 902 rotates an additional 180 °, the pinch rollers 908 close onto the magnetic tape cartridge 712 as the pinion gears 908 travel from the front side to the inner side of rack gears 730 . as the pick - and - place mechanism 700 continues to retract , the pinch rollers 732 pull the magnetic tape cartridge 712 back onto the intermediate slider plate surface 742 . in this manner , the pinch roller 732 and intermediate slider plate 704 work together to achieve the necessary translation of magnetic tape cartridge 712 on to pick - and - place mechanism 700 . during a place stroke , servo motor 902 rotates in a counterclockwise direction causing the intermediate slider plate 704 and main slider plate 706 to push the object out of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 and into a remote position . as the servo motor 902 rotates , the pinion gears 908 rotate against the rack gears 730 on the intermediate slider plates 704 , translating the magnetic tape cartridge 712 out of the pick - and - place mechanism 700 . at the same time , intermediate slider plate 704 is extending away from base plate 702 and assisting in the translation of the magnetic tape cartridge 712 . eventually , the pinion gears 908 rotate from the inner side to the front side of rack gears 730 , thereby opening outwards and releasing the magnetic tape cartridge 712 . as the servo motor 902 continues to rotate in the counterclockwise direction , the intermediate slider plate 704 and main slider plate 706 retract towards the base plate 702 . simultaneously , the pinion gears 908 travel back along the inner side of rack gears 730 , closing the pinch rollers 732 . at the end of the place stroke , the pick - and - place mechanism 700 is again in its fully retracted position . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , three plates have been used , of which two move relative motion to the third . however , more or less plates may be used depending on the particular application in which the pick - and - place mechanism 700 would be used . since each slider plate has an associated gear or cam coupled to the base plate 702 , the number of plates which may be added to pick - and - place mechanism 700 is limited by the size of the base plate 702 and the gears and cams which are coupled to it . these in turn will determine the amount of stroke which will be achieved by the slider plates 702 , 704 as described above , the stroke of a given slider plate is limited by the radius of travel of its associated cam follower . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example , and not limitation . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , which should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalence . | 6 |
turning now to a more detailed consideration of the present invention , there is illustrated in fig1 a nanofluidic sieving device 10 in accordance with the present invention . the device 10 includes a silicon wafer or substrate 12 in which is fabricated a nanofluidic channel 14 having alternating thick regions 16 and thin regions 18 along its length . the channel 14 preferably is covered by a transparent top plate 22 which is bonded to the substrate 12 along the edges of the channel . the nanochannel 14 is filled with a buffer solution or other liquid containing dna molecules or other polymer molecules 20 to be separated . it will be understood that any desired material such as glass or plastic may be used as the substrate 12 , and as the transparent coverplate 22 , and any conventional bonding techniques can be used to seal the coverplate 22 to a particular substrate 12 . in the illustrated embodiment of the invention , which is specific for dna molecule separation by way of example , the thick regions 16 may be between about 0 . 5 micrometers and 5 micrometers in depth , or thickness , while the thin regions may be between 50 and 200 nm in depth , or thickness . the thicknesses of the thick and thin regions can be varied according to the size of the molecule 20 to be separated . the thin region 18 thickness ( defined as t s ) is substantially smaller than the radius of gyration r o of the dna or other polymer molecule 20 to be separated . the thick region 16 thickness ( defined as t d ) is compatible to r o of a molecule 20 to be separated , and thus to a typical long dna or other polymer molecule , allowing the molecule to relax to its equilibrium spherical shape in this region . because molecules can relax in the thick regions 16 , they are entropically hindered from entering the thin regions 18 of the channel . when a molecule 20 to be separated is driven through the nanochannel 14 by an electric field or by hydrodynamic pressure , the motion of the molecule 20 will be retarded whenever it reaches the thin regions 18 . fig2 is a top view of the nanofluidic sieving channel 14 where two different dna molecules or polymers 20 a ( smaller ) and 20 b ( larger ) were driven toward the right - hand end of the channel . both molecules 20 a and 20 b are trapped at starting points 22 of the thin regions 18 . the larger molecule 20 b has a wider contact area with the thin region 18 , as compared with the smaller molecule 20 a ( w a & lt ; w b ), which makes the larger molecule 20 b have a higher probability of escaping the trapping point and progressing through the channel . the length of the thin region 18 ( defined as l s ) and the length of the thick region 16 ( defined as l d ) along the length of elongated nanochannel 14 can be varied to accommodate molecules with different r o and length . changing l d changes the relaxation of the molecule after it escapes the thin region 18 . as the size of the molecule 20 increases , l d should be increased to accommodate the increased relaxation time required for big molecules to relax back to equilibrium shape . in the illustrated embodiments , the nanofluidic channel is 30 micrometer wide ( w ), although other widths can be provided . it will be understood that any desired number of nanochannels with any desired combination of values of l s , l d , w , t s , t d may be provided on a wafer , or substrate . as illustrated in fig3 through 7 , nanofluidic channels such as the channels 14 illustrated in fig1 and 2 , may be fabricated on a silicon wafer 30 by a photolithography and reactive ion etching technique . in an experimental fabrication of nanochannels in accordance with the invention , as illustrated in fig3 , a channel 32 was defined on the top surface 33 of the wafer 30 by standard photolithography , and was etched by a reactive ion etch ( rie ), providing a channel having a floor 34 . thereafter , as illustrated in fig4 , a second level of photolithography and chlorine rie etching with an oxide mask were used to make spaced thick regions 36 within the channel 30 . this etching step was performed in the floor 34 of the channel 32 ( fig3 ) to produce a second , lower floor 37 in each of the thick regions , leaving in the channel a series of parallel transverse barriers 38 spaced apart along the length of the channel 32 between the thick regions . the barriers form the ends of the thick regions of the channel ( region 16 in fig1 ) with the tops 34 of the barriers forming the thin regions . the structural parameters l s , l d , w , t s , t d in fig1 can be easily varied during these first two lithography steps with a high precision , and according to the specific needs of the device . after completing the channel 32 , a pair of loading / unloading apertures 40 and 42 were fabricated at opposite ends of the channel by potassium hydroxide ( koh ) etch - through using a silicon nitride etch mask . one of the two apertures 40 and 42 may serve as an inlet for a buffer solution or other liquid , containing molecules to be separated , while the other aperture may serve as the outlet for the solution and the separated molecules . alternatively , the aperture need not be fabricated , but the channel 32 may instead be connected to other microfluidic or nanofluidic channels or chambers that have different functions , to form an integrated system . as illustrated in fig6 , a thermal oxide layer 50 may be grown on all of the surface of the channel 32 and on the surface of the wafer to a thickness of up to 400 nm to provide electrical isolation between the buffer solution and the silicon substrate . in the case where a non - conducting substrate , or wafer 30 , such as glass is used , this step may be omitted . finally , as illustrated in fig7 , the top of the channel 32 was hermetically sealed with a thin glass coverslip 52 secured to the top surface 54 of the silicon substrate 30 and its oxide coating 50 , as by anodic bonding , to provide the nanofluidic channel 56 . the coverslip 52 may be a thin pyrex glass or other suitable material to close the channel and to provide a fluid path across the barriers 38 from the inlet end 40 to the outlet end 42 . in the case of using substrates 30 other than silicon , the hermetic seal may be obtained by suitable bonding techniques such as glass - to - glass fusion bonding or bonding with an intervening thin glue layer . the coverplate 52 is thin and transparent enough to allow the detection of separated molecules . in one preferred embodiment of a nanofluidic channel device , as illustrated in fig8 , the nanofluidic sieving device 56 illustrated in fig7 is turned upside down , and two liquid reservoirs 58 and 60 , respectively , are attached . metallic wires 62 and 64 , preferably noble metals such as platinum or gold , may be inserted into the reservoirs 58 and 60 respectively , to make a cathode 66 and an anode 68 . a voltage v applied across the electrodes produces separation of molecules 20 , which is detected from the bottom side through the transparent coverplate 22 of the device 10 . the detection of molecules 20 , as an example not as a limitation , may be done by using a fluorescent dye attached uniformly to the molecules 20 and observing in the channel by an optical microscope 70 or equivalent optical detection system . fig9 is a graphical illustration of the mobility of two different ( large and small ) molecules versus the electric field applied as a driving force to the nanofluidic sieving channel . the driving force for the molecules in the channel may also come from hydrodynamic pressure if desired , and in such a case the pressure will be the relevant quantity , instead of the electric field as given in this example . it is understood that the mobility curves plotted versus the electric field have a sigmoidal shape as shown in fig9 . the curve 80 for larger polymer molecule should be higher than the curve 82 for a smaller polymer in a particular range 84 of the electric field . if electric field is higher ( in the range 86 ), the mobility is the same irrespective of the molecule size , because the driving force is too strong and the entropic trapping is negligible . if the electric field is lower ( in the range 88 ), then the entropic trapping is so strong that molecules are trapped indefinitely , irrespective of their size . the electric field applied to the nanofluidic channel should be adjusted to the level corresponding to the range 84 . the specific value for this range may vary for a specific molecules to be separated . if the electric field is adjusted to the range 86 , all the molecules move at the same speed , irrespective of the size . therefore , this range 86 may be used for recollection of already separated molecules or moving the mixture of dna molecules from one location to another without fractionating them . the electric field range 88 allows molecules to be collected at the first entropic barrier , because in the range 88 the entropic trapping effect is too severe for dna to overcome even a single entropic barrier within a reasonable amount of time . as illustrated in fig1 , by way of an example and not limitation , if a number of molecules are supplied to channel 14 , as by way of reservoir 60 and aperture 42 , and an electric field in the range 88 in fig9 is applied for a specific amount of time along the nanofluidic sieving channel 14 , one can collect many dna or polymer molecules 20 at the first entropic trap 90 , yielding a highly defined and concentrated molecule band 92 . the concentrated band 92 may be launched into the nanochannel for band separation by switching the electric field from the value in the range 88 of fig9 to the value in the range 84 of fig9 . in this illustrated embodiment of the invention , two different types of dna ( 20 a and 20 b , small and large dna , respectively ) are mixed in the band 92 . when launched into the nanochannel , the band 92 becomes separated , as it migrates through many entropic traps along the channel , into two bands , a first band 94 and a second band 96 . it is understood that the first band is composed of larger dna 20 b , while the second band is composed of smaller dna 20 a . for the detection of this separation , in one preferred embodiment , one may set up a region of interest 98 and collect the fluorescent signal from the bands 94 and 96 , either optically or using other suitable methods , as a function of time . the separated bands 94 and 96 , may then be recollected at the other end of the channel sequentially , preferably in aperture 40 and reservoir 58 , or other fluidics channels may be used to redirect each band into separate microfluidic chambers . it is imperative to note that the above - mentioned method may be utilized to fractionate mixtures with any number of different types of molecules , as the resolution permits . the resolution may be improved by applying several different optimization techniques . having a longer channel is one way , but another important method is changing the various structural parameters mentioned in fig1 to get optimized results . for certain polymer molecules , one may optimize a specific set of conditions , including but not limited to , the structural parameters illustrated in fig1 , the electric field or the electric field range 84 of fig1 , and the overall length of the nanochannel . as diagrammatically illustrated in the top plan view of fig1 , by way of example and not limitation , a multiple channel device 98 , which is capable of separating multiple samples simultaneously , may be fabricated . in this embodiment of the invention , several nanofluidic sieving channels 100 , 102 , 104 and 106 , each with a different sieving structural parameter , are connected to a larger loading and collection chamber 108 . the different structural parameters are optimized for the separation of different length ranges of molecules to be separated . the number of nanochannels which may be connected to a loading or collection chamber 108 may be increased without any difficulty in the fabrication or operation of the device , mainly to accommodate wide variety of molecules . the loading and collection chamber 108 is connected to the cathode by a wider channel 110 , and to a reservoir of sample solution by a loading channel 112 . in addition , the central collection chamber 108 is defined by two entropic barriers 114 and 116 , which enable manipulation of the molecules to be separated , which are in the central collection chamber 108 . the central chamber 108 , the loading channel 112 and the channel 110 are all supported by a supporting pillar structure 120 , mainly to prevent possible collapse of the coverplate ( roof ) of the channel down to the bottom . in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig1 , there are two multiple channel devices 98 and 98 &# 39 ; s , having two separate loading and collection chambers 108 connected to two separate sample reservoirs ( sample reservoirs a and b ). each loading and collection chamber 108 is connected to the same sets of nanofluidic sieving channels 100 , 102 , 104 and 106 , with various structural parameters , and eventually all of these nanochannels 100 lead to a common anode , whereas the two loading chambers 108 also lead to a common cathode . in the operation of the device of fig1 , two different samples of molecules , possibly one unknown sample to be analyzed and one known control or reference sample with size information about the fragments in the sample ( in dna analysis for example , a dna ladder sample could serve as a reference ) may be introduced into sample reservoirs . for loading the molecules into the channels , a suitable electrical potential may be applied between the cathode and the sample reservoirs , causing the molecules to enter the loading channel 112 , the central collection chamber 108 , and the channel to the cathode 110 . as a result , the central chamber 108 would be evenly filled with molecules to be separated . then another electric field is applied between the cathode and the anode , causing molecule transport to the nanofluidic sieving channels 100 , 102 , 104 and 106 . the electric field between the cathode and the anode may be selected to have a value in the electric field range 88 of fig9 , so the molecules are collected at the very first barriers of each nanochannel . with this low electric field , the molecules behind the entropic barrier 114 cannot drift into the central collection chamber 108 , but pile up behind the barrier 114 . additionally the existence of the barrier 116 makes sure that the molecules in the loading channel 112 do not drift into the central chamber 108 since there is no substantial electric field existing between the sample reservoir and the cathode . therefore , only the molecules in the collection chamber 108 can drift into the nanochannels , providing the concentrated band discussed with respect to fig1 which will be launched into each of the nanochannels . after this process , the field may again be developed between the cathode and the sample reservoirs , causing the remainder of the molecules behind the entropic barrier 114 to be drained back to the sample reservoir , without affecting the collected molecules at the first barriers of the nanochannels 100 , 102 , 104 and 106 . this process permits control of the concentration of molecules in the launching band , which is relevant in the separation process . also , the same process can be repeated as many times as desired , to obtain even higher concentrations of the molecules in the band . as the separation process proceeds , the data taken from different samples can be easily detected and compared , enabling more reliable analysis . it is important to know that the number of samples to be analyzed may be increased as desired without any serious technical and operational difficulties . thus , there has been disclosed a nanofluidic channel for use in entropic trapping and sieving of polymer molecules such as dna and proteins . the channel includes alternating thick and thin segments , or sections , which alternately cause dna or other polymer molecules to stretch and to return to a rest equilibrium configuration . the channel permits separation of long polymers in a dc applied electric field , with the device structure affecting the mobility of the molecules as they pass through the channels . entropic traps have other uses in manipulating and collecting many molecules , with a high degree of control , into a narrow band , which is useful in the separation process . although the invention has been disclosed in terms of preferred embodiments , it will be apparent that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the following claims . | 6 |
now referring to the drawings . in fig1 it is illustrated a revealed view of the insertless perforated mill roll body 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the mill roll body contains a plurality of shish - ke - bab - like fluid channel strings 20 , each containing an axially elongated fluid channel 30 , defined by a fluid channel wall member 32 , and a plurality of fluid passage members 40 . each fluid passage member 40 contains therethrough a radial fluid passage 50 . the roll body casting 60 , which forms the rest of the roll body , is formed by casting a castable material around the shish - ke - bab - like fluid channel strings 20 . the fluid passages 50 are therefore inherently cast in the roll body without the need of using externally applied inserts . a bonding force between the fluid passage members 40 and the roll body casting 60 is developed when the castable material solidifies . such a bonding force is often adequate to fixedly secure the fluid passage members 40 within the roll body 10 ; however , other inherent means , which are described below , can be utilized to further secure the fluid passage members 40 , or as an alternative securing means . circumferential rings 11 are used to hold the fluid channel strings in place before and during the casting process . fig1 also shows a hollow central bore 80 which is provided to allow the mill roll body to be sleeved upon a cylindrical roller shaft , not shown here , for ultimate installation as a mill roller in a cane milling unit . circumferential grooves , which will be shown in subsequent figures , may be formed on the outer periphery 70 to increase grinding area per unit length of the roll body . fig2 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the fluid channel string 20 of the present invention , while perspective views of the fluid channel wall member and fluid passage member are shown , respectively , in fig3 and 4 . each fluid channel wall member 32 has a plurality of apertures 21 . these apertures are properly disposed so as to correspond substantially to locations of the perforations to be formed on the outer periphery of the final mill roll body 10 . in fig1 as well as in subsequent figures , the axial fluid channel 30 is illustrated to be defined by a fluid channel wall member 32 . this is a preferred embodiment ; however , fluid channels can be cast in the roll body using sand , resin , clay or other filler or core material . since the fluid channels often have a large length / diameter ratio , if the latter option is desired , it may be preferred to use a stronger and non - decomposable core material such as a metallic core material with an anti - adhesion coating applied thereon to facilitate removal of the core upon completion of the casting . the shish - ke - bab - like fluid channel string can also be cast as a single unit . while each fluid channel wall member 32 is shown to have a uniform circular cross - section throughout the length of the channel , it can be of other different cross - sectional shapes , for example , elliptical , rectangular , trapezoidal , and / or truncated sector shaped . the trapezoidal or truncated sector shape is preferred if high flow rate is expected , each diverging towards the periphery of the roll body . furthermore , it may be preferred that the cross - section of the fluid channel diverges from around its center to both ends . the fluid channel may also be angled or bowed from around its center point towards the outer periphery of the roll body ( i . e ., concave from the central axis ) to improve the exit of extracted juice . it can further be curved , spiraled or twisted , if doing so should improve fluid flow therethrough . a long fluid channel wall member can be obtained by axially connecting a plurality of relatively shorter wall members together through threading , welding , sleeving or other coupling means . the fluid passage member 40 is a three dimensional object . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig4 it has a top surface 41 , a bottom surface 42 , and side surfaces 43 connecting the top surface and the bottom surface . in the final roll body , the top surface 41 is the radially outermost surface , and the bottom surface 42 is the radially innermost surface . it can be formed to have any shape such as cylindrical , truncated sector shaped , conical , pyramidal , spherical , or any combination thereof . the fluid passage members 40 are fixedly secured in the roll body by an adhesion force which generally develops during the casting process when the castable material is brought in contact with the outer surface of the fluid passage member 40 and solidifies . it is preferred that a portion of the fluid passage member 40 be provided with a greater cross - sectional area than its adjoining radially outer portion . by having a larger cross - sectional area at its radially inner or innermost portion , the fluid passage member 40 is provided with an anchoring means in the final mill roll body 10 after the casting is formed . the fluid passage member 40 can also be made of a wide variety of materials such as cast iron , cast steel , stainless steel , ceramic material , high strength plastics or any other suitable materials . since cast iron is known to have better resistance to wearing and corrosion than cast steel , it is preferred that the fluid passage members be made of cast iron . the radial fluid passage 50 provides communication between the outer periphery 70 of the roll body and the axially extending fluid channel 30 . only one radial fluid passage 50 is shown in each fluid passage member in fig4 but more may be provided therein . it can be furnished when the fluid passage member 40 is formed during the casting process using a decomposable core material . however , like the forming of the fluid channel , it can also be formed with a non - decomposable or reusable core such as a metallic core . it can also be formed by casting the fluid passage member around a fluid passage wall member , not shown , or in multiple stages to attain its required configuration . the purpose of using a multiple - stage casting process is to reduce the effect of thermal stress that may be exerted on the fluid passage wall member . alternatively , the radial fluid passage can be provided after the fluid passage member is formed by drilling , milling , cutting , gouging , etching , punching or any other suitable means . it can also be formed by constructing and piecing together the fluid passage member in two or more segments . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig4 the radial fluid passage 50 is shown as an open channel . it may also be formed initially as a radial recess , with an opening through the bottom surface 42 of the fluid passage member 40 only . surface perforations can be obtained and the radial fluid passage 50 exposed after the roll body 10 is formed by machining off a portion of the outer periphery 70 of the roll body and / or a portion of the fluid passage member 40 . in the preferred embodiment shown in the figures , the radial fluid passage is shown to be an elongated rectangular passageway with a longer axial width and a shorter circumferential width . such an orientation is preferred because the larger width in the axial direction increases radial fluid flux ; whereas the smaller width in the circumferential direction , being the feeding direction of the material to be crushed , minimizes the risk of clogging . the radial fluid passage can also be formed as a similarly elongated passageway but with a longer width in the circumferential direction . furthermore , the radial fluid passage can be made to have a round cross - section . it is also possible to have an assortment of radial fluid passages of various shapes and orientations formed in the same roll body . since the fluid passage member of this invention can be formed by combining more than one segments , this greatly facilitates the process to make fluid passages of various shapes . to further minimize the clogging problem , the interior surface of the radial fluid passage can be sleeved , inlaid , or coated with a layer of low friction material such as teflon , chrome - plating or glass - lining . if the radial fluid passage includes a separate fluid passage wall member , it can likewise be made of low friction material such as teflon , glass , or polished stone . the fluid passage wall member can also be made from different materials with high resistance to corrosion and abrasion such as stainless steel . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig2 the fluid channel string 20 is formed by first forming the fluid channel wall member 32 , then fixedly attaching the fluid passage members 40 containing radial fluid passages 50 onto the fluid channel wall member 32 , the radial fluid passages 50 substantially matching the apertures 21 on the fluid channel wall member 32 . in all the figures discussed heretofore , the fluid passage members are shown to have curved bottom surfaces substantially matching the curvature of the fluid channel wall member . however , such a curved bottom surface is not the only adoptable shape as the configuration of the seat for the fluid passage member on the fluid channel wall member may vary , at least in part according to the shape of the fluid channel wall member used . fig7 a - b and 8a - b show two embodiments of the present invention which utilize an extension - recess affixing means to affix the fluid passage members to the fluid channel wall member . in fig7 a and 7b , which show a radial and an axial cross - sectional view respectively of one of the embodiments , a collar extension 101 is provided as an extension of the bottom surface of the fluid passage member 40 . the collar extension 101 defines a relatively shorter passage 103 extending from the fluid passage 50 . a recess 102 of appropriate dimension is provided around the aperture of the fluid channel wall member 32 . the recess 102 is so dimensioned that the collar extension can be tightly fitted therein with force . welding means can be provided around the collar extension and the recess . in fig8 a and 8b , which show a radial and an axial cross - sectional view respectively of another embodiment , the fluid passage member is shown to have two leg extensions 111 to be received by two matching grooves 112 provided in the fluid channel wall member 32 through a force - fitting means . these embodiments are preferred when the fluid passage member 40 is made of a material that has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the fluid channel wall member 32 , as disengagement thermally induced during the casting process can be effectively prevented by virtue of their structural configurations . another embodiment is to provide a sleeving means in the form of two circular leg extensions from the fluid passage member 40 , as shown in fig9 a - b . the sleeving means 121 holds the fluid passage member 40 and the fluid channel wall member 32 in place by covering more than half of the circumference of the fluid channel wall member 32 after it is sleeved thereon . again , welding means can be provided around the leg extensions and the fluid channel wall member . the fig9 a - b embodiment is preferred when the fluid channel wall member 32 is made of a material that has a higher thermal expansion coefficient than the fluid passage member 40 . the locations of the collar extension and its matching recess can be reversed on the fluid passage member and fluid channel wall member , and the sleeving means can be expanded to form a partial or complete ring - like damp to sleeve upon the fluid channel wall member and the fluid passage member . in addition to press - fitting , force - fitting , shrink - fitting , welding , or sleeving means , other affixing means involving threading , bolting , pinning , wedging , wrapping , gluing or a variety of third elements such as bolts , pins , keys , clips , clamps , rings , wires , or other coupling means can be used to hold the fluid passage member and the fluid channel wall member together . a combination of the various affixing means can also be used . to complete the construction of the insertless perforated mill roll body of the present invention , a castable material is cast around a plurality of the shish - ke - bab - like fluid channel strings 20 circumferentially disposed and supportively secured by a plurality of supporting rings 11 around a central core in a casting mold , as shown in fig1 . fig5 a and 5b show partial sectional views of two embodiments of the insertless perforated mill roll body of the present invention so formed . the roll body 10 contains void spaces constituting the radial fluid passages 50 and the axial fluid channels 30 formed therewithin . a hollow central bore 80 ( shown in fig1 ) is provided to allow the roll body to be sleeved upon a cylindrical roller shaft 90 . the roll body casting 60 comprises solid material . during fluid extraction , expressed fluid is forced from the outer periphery 70 of the roll body into the radial fluid passage 50 by a compressional force resulting from the grinding action of the mill rollers , and flows out of the axial ends of the roll body 10 through the axial fluid channels 30 . to increase the grinding area per unit length of the roll body , circumferential grooves 91 are formed on the outer periphery 70 of the roll body . each circumferential groove is defined by a groove bottom surface 92 , flank surfaces 93 , and a groove top surface 94 . the circumferential grooves can be formed , preferably by removing a portion of the outer periphery , by machining , grinding , gouging or other suitable means , or by a casting process , or any combination thereof . phantom lines 44 show the portion of the fluid passage member that has been machined off to form such surface grooves . the fluid passage members can be formed during the casting process to also contain portions of the circumferential grooves . the radial fluid passages can be formed to penetrate through one or more of the groove bottoms 92 , one or more of the groove tops 94 , or one or more of the flank surfaces 93 , or any combination thereof . in fig5 a , the fluid passage penetrates one bottom surface , two complete flank surfaces , two top surfaces , and two partial flank surfaces . in fig5 b , the fluid passage penetrates one bottom surface and two partial flank surfaces . other examples are illustrated in fig6 a ( one bottom surface ), 6b ( two partial flank surfaces but no bottom surface ), 6c ( one partial flank surface ), and 6d ( one bottom surface and one partial flank surface ). one of the advantages of the present invention is the flexibility of design . an essentially infinite number and combination of configurations of the surface openings can be furnished to cater to desired applications . in the preferred embodiment , the openings are substantially aligned either circumferentially or axially . however , the openings can be staggered and / or slanted randomly or in any desired manner . although the best mode contemplates the perforated roll body of the present invention to be sleeved upon a shaft , the present invention can be conveniently practised , when desirable , using various inner - and - outer shell configurations . fig1 shows an embodiment of such configuration in which a solid inner shell 141 is sandwiched between the outer roll body casting 142 and the shaft 90 . in another embodiment , which is shown in fig1 , the roll body casting comprises an inner shell 141 sleeved inside an outer shell 142 . the fluid channels 30 are encased entirely in the inner shell 141 , wherein radial perforations 143 are provided to allow communications with radial fluid passages 50 in the outer shell 142 . the outer shell 142 can be formed by casting a castable material around a plurality of fluid passage members 40 using a procedure similar to that described above . furthermore , as shown in fig1 , the perforated mill roll body can also be made to comprise two tightly sleeved cylindrical shells -- an inner shell 141 and an outer shell 142 . the fluid channels 30 are formed in part by surface grooves provided on the outer periphery of the inner shell 141 and in part by the inner periphery of the outer shell 142 , with each of the radial fluid passages 50 so disposed to communicate with at least one of the aforementioned axial surface grooves when the shells are assembled . void spaces comprising the fluid channels and the connecting radially extending fluid passages are thus formed inside the roll body when the outer shell is sleeved upon said inner shell . to complete the perforated mill roll body , each radial fluid passage can be made to be exposed at the outer periphery , if not already so , by removing a portion of the outer periphery of the outer shell or a portion of the fluid passage member or both by machining or other suitable means . the perforated mill rolls of the present invention are generally used as top rolls , which typically contain flanges 95 to keep the material being crushed within bounds and fluid guards 96 to protect the shaft from splashes of fluid draining off from the fluid channel openings at both ends of the roll body . however , as stated earlier , the perforated mill rolls of the present invention can also be used as bottom rolls . this invention discloses an insertless perforated mill roll body . although the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention has been herein shown and described , it will be apparent that modification and variation may be made without departing from what is regarded to be the subject matter of the invention . | 8 |
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