Split (3)

train · 25k rows

text stringlengths 1.55k 332k	label int64 0 8
fig1 shows an idealized ocean wave seen in cross section . wave 10 has crest 12 and trough 14 . the distance between two crests or two troughs is known as the &# 34 ; wavelength &# 34 ; of the wave and is a function of the wave &# 39 ; s total energy . the heighth or amplitude of the wave is defined as the difference between the crest and trough of the wave . total wave energy is also a function of wave height . the total energy of a wave , expressed in horsepower per foot of wave breadth , i . e . per foot of wave front incident upon an array of floats , is found by the equation : total energy = 0 . 0329 × h . sup . 2 × l [ 1 - 4 . 935 ( h . sup . 2 / l . sup . 2 )] where h is the heighth of the wave in feet and l is the wave length , also in feet . albert w . stahl , u . s . n ., transactions , american society of mechanical engineering , volume 13 , page 438 . table a______________________________________description of mean height of wavessea disturbance m ft______________________________________calm ; glassy 0 0calm ; rippled 0 . 2 0 . 5smooth ; wavelets 0 . 3 - 0 . 8 1 - 2 . 5slight 1 . 5 5moderate 3 9rough 4 14very rough 6 19high 8 25very high 9 - 11 31 - 37exceptionally high 14 45 or over______________________________________ the usual type of north atlantic wave has a wave length from 160 to 320 feet , occasionally attaining 500 to 600 feet , and a speed that ranges from 25 to 35 knots . in the south pacific waves with wavelengths up to 1 , 000 feet and speeds up to 50 knots are to be found . illustrations in the remainder of the discussion of the present invention will be confined to moderate waves having heights between 5 and 15 feet and wavelengths between 100 and 300 feet . the reason for this limitation is not due to any limitation on the present invention , but is a convenience because such waves are the average waves found off the north atlantic coast of the united states . fig2 is a graph showing the energy contained in ocean waves having wave height between 5 and 15 feet and wavelengths between 100 and 300 feet . this representation was obtained by using the value for the total energy of the wave , determined by the equation shown above , to yield the horsepower per foot of wave breadth and then converting from horsepower per foot to megawatts per mile . ( there are 3 . 94 megawatts per mile in a wave that has a total energy of one horsepower per foot .) to gain perspective , the largest nuclear power generating facility in the united states is capable of generating approximately a thousand megawatts . the values of total energy given in megawatts per mile in fig2 will be used throughout the rest of this specification . it should be understood that these figures are chosen only for convenience because they represent typical wave heights and wavelengths for average size waves in the atlantic . &# 34 ; modern studies of wind generated waves &# 34 ;, volume 8 , contemporary physics , pages 171 - 183 , march 1967 . also see , r . a . r . tricker , boars , breakers , waves and wakes : an introduction to the study of waves on water ( 1965 ). fig3 shows array 30 comprising first float 32 , second float 34 , third float 36 and a portion of fourth float 38 . array section 30 is connected by means of hydraulic line 40 to accumulator generator section 42 . float 32 is a hollow water tight member containing a bouyant cavity 44 . the displacement of the float on water level 46 is determined by the size of bouyant cavity 44 according to well known hydrostatic laws . see generally hydraulics , r . l . daugherty , mcgraw hill 1937 . float 32 may be of any desired shape , but in the preferred embodiment a flat back plate 48 at its side proximate front 50 of float 34 . the rear edges of float 32 are attached by a hinge , which will be described in connection with fig4 to the front of float 34 . the front of float 34 is provided with a pair of prismatic surfaces 52 and 54 on its lower and upper side , respectively . hydraulic fluid input line 56 is connected through one - way valve 58 to lower pump tube 60 . lower pump tube 60 lies between prismatic face 52 of the front of float 32 and the rear flat portion 48 of float 32 . likewise , upper pump tube 62 is located between upper prismatic face 54 of float 34 and the rear flat face 48 of float 32 . upper pump tube 62 is connected through one - way valve 64 to accumulator hydraulic feed line 66 . float 34 is approximately 26 % longer than float 32 . likewise float 36 is approximately 26 % longer than float 34 . similarly float 38 is approximately 26 % longer than float 36 . except for the smallest front float , each succeeding float in this embodiment has an upper and lower prismatic front face and a vertical rear face that act together with pump tubes to pump hydraulic fluid . all the floats are connected together by simple hinges , which will be described in greater detail below . float 34 has bouyant space 68 and back flat face 70 . upper and lower pump tubes 72 and 74 , respectively , lie between the upper prismatic face of float 36 and rear face 70 and the lower prismatic face of float 36 and rear face 70 respectively . as was described in connection with the upper and lower pump tubes between float 32 and 34 , lower pump tube 74 is connected in fluid communication through one - way valve 76 with hydraulic supply line 56 and upper pump tube 72 is connected through one - way valve 78 in fluid communication with hydraulic accumulator line 66 . the hydraulic pump tubes between each pair of floats in the array are similarly connected to the hydraulic supply and accumulator hydraulic power line through one - way valves . first hydraulic accumulator 82 is connected to three - way valve 80 by line 84 . second hydraulic accumulator 86 is connected to valve 80 by line 88 . the first hydraulic accumulator is connected to turbine input 90 by line 92 . first hydraulic accumulator 82 is also equipped with a dump valve 94 . second hydraulic accumulator 86 is also connected to turbine input 90 , but by line 96 . second hydraulic accumulator is also equipped with a dump valve 98 . turbine input 90 is located at the high pressure input end of turbogenerator 100 . hydraulic fluid outlet 102 is on the low pressure side of turbogenerator 100 . structurally , the floats shown in fig3 may be made of any material that is watertight and bouyant . it is expected that the first test models of the wave motor will be made of wood while larger models will have floats made of concrete . the upper and lower pump tubes and all the hydraulic connecting tubing may be any type of hydraulic tubing capable of withstanding the 100 to 200 pounds of pressure per square inch generated by the hydraulic power collecting array of the present invention . the floats and all hardware used to connect them together should be made of corrosion resistant material . functionally , working fluid , which may be water or any other convenient hydraulic fluid is drawn in through input line 56 through one - way valves 58 and 76 and into their respective lower pump tubes . as will be explained in greater detail in connection with the discussion of fig6 below . any relative movement of the floats places compressive force on these pump tubes and causes them to act as hydraulic pumps . the arrangement of one - way valves is very straightforward and is designed to prevent the fluid from flowing backwards when the relative motion of the floats reverses . as the amount of relative motion between the floats increases , each additional degree of rotation of a float about its pivotal connection with another float causes the flat back of the forward float to become more clearly parallel with the upper or lower prismatic face of its following float . the two surfaces also move together as the angle increases . a small amount of relative motion causes the pump tubes to pump a small amount of hydraulic fluid . once this small amount of hydraulic fluid has been pumped , a further increase in relative motion of any two floats will pump an incrementally greater amount of hydraulic fluid . if a wave has sufficient amplitude to cause a yet further relative motion to occur between two floats , then the front surface of one float and back surface of the other will become more nearly parallel and will pump a still greater incremental volume of hydraulic fluid . in very calm weather a small ripple of water will meet little resistance in absorber array 30 and will efficiently cause relative motion to occur between its floats . this relative motion will pump hydraulic fluid and thus energy will be effectively absorbed from low amplitude waves . during a storm , whenever high amplitude waves are available , very large amounts of relative motion will occur between float pairs in the array . this large amounts of relative motion will be much harder to achieve and the array will thus effectively absorb greater amount of energy available from higher amplitude waves . hydraulic fluid entering valve 80 may be selectively directed to either the first or second accumulator . it is the function of these hydraulic accumulators to even out surges of power coming from the array and to provide a steady hydraulic pressure to turbogenerator 100 . the hydraulic accumulators are duplicated and placed in parallel so maintenance may be performed upon one without interrupting the supply of hydraulic power to turbogenerator 100 . each float is 1 . 26 times ( or 26 %) longer than the preceding float because 1 . 26 is approximately the cube root of 2 . thus float length doubles every third float , and , by doubling the width of this third float , the array may be scaled up to any desired size without difficulty . after hydraulic fluid has flowed through the turbogenerator and generated electricity , it may be returned to input line 56 . the system may thus be closed . alternatively , the present invention could be used to pump water from a body of water to an elevated reservoir . water in the reservoir could then be run through an existing turbogenerator to generate power . fig5 is similar to the structure shown in fig4 as seen from above . float 32 is connected by means of hinge 200 , which may be any conveniently designed hinge , to float 34 . float 34 is connected by hinge 202 to float 36 and float 36 is connected by hinge 204 to float 38 . fig4 shows how an array of floats is assembled . floats 32 , 108 , 110 and 112 form the first rank of floats . they are connected by hinges ( like hinge 200 ) at their edges to the edges and center of the next level of floats , in this instance floats 34 and 114 . upper pump tubes 62 and 72 are clearly shown between their respective pairs of floats . when a wave strikes the first group of floats , some wave energy is absorbed when it causes relative movement of the floats and pumps hydraulic fluid . the incident wave &# 39 ; s remaining energy is transmitted to larger floats . some of this transmitted energy is reflected and again perturbs smaller floats causing additional hydraulic pumping . some of the transmitted energy is absorbed by causing relative motion in the next group of floats 34 and 114 . this pumps additional hydraulic fluid . the remaining energy , however , is transmitted further to interact with float 36 and pump additional hydraulic fluid . again , some of the transmitted energy is reflected back to floats 34 and 114 and to the smallest group of floats where it interacts to pump additional hydraulic fluid . the array functions as a wave trap and is significantly more efficient than any means taught by the prior art extracting hydraulic energy from movement of ocean waves . the preferred embodiment of the present invention can convert approximately 80 % of the ocean wave energy incident upon its wave motor float array to hydraulic energy . fig5 shows a view along line 5 -- 5 of fig4 . hinge pivot 206 and 207 are provided to attach the front of float 38 to back hinge 204 of float 36 . lower prismatic face 208 and upper prismatic face 210 of the front of float 38 are obscured by upper pump tube 212 and lower pump tube 214 as shown . the upper and lower pump tubes are connected at end 216 and are attached at end 218 to their respective one - way valves , as described above . fig6 shows the operation of the upper and lower pump tubes . as array 30 responds to wave 602 , floats of array 30 are set into motion relative to one another . float 32 has risen and float 34 fallen as they encounter a crest and trough of a wave , respectively . this causes back surface 48 to assume a position nearly parallel to front prismatic surface 54 of float 34 . the pump tube being therebetween has been squeezed and its hydraulic fluid forced to move into hydraulic feed line 66 through valve 64 as described in the discussion of fig3 above . as float 34 dropped , float 36 rose , to a lesser extent because of its larger size . wave 602 is approximately the right size to couple efficiently into floats 34 and 36 . again , as the floats are set in relative motion , back surface 70 of float 34 squeezes lower pump tube 74 against the lower prismatic surface at the front of float 36 . by the time the wave reaches float 38 most of its energy has been consumed by the absorber array . however , it has raised float 36 slightly and thus set float 36 into relative motion with float 38 . as the back surface of float 36 moves slightly toward upper prismatic surface 210 of float 38 , upper hydraulic pump tube 212 is slightly deformed and pumps a small amount of hydraulic fluid through its associated check valve . the low amplitude wave is thus efficiently converted into hydraulic power . fig7 shows an alternative means of nonlinearly coupling pairs of floats making up a power absorbing array taught by the preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig7 float 701 has an upper pin 703 and a lower pin 705 located on the side of the float near its back plate . float 707 has mounted on its side a single action hydraulic cylinder 709 , which is associated with an input check valve 711 and output check valve 713 . valve 711 is connected at its input end to a source of hydraulic working fluid and valve 713 is connected at its output end to a hydraulic accumulator as taught in fig3 . single action hydraulic cylinder 709 has a piston rod 715 which is connected and rigidly affixed to a triangular plate 717 . as float 701 moves relative to float 707 , as is shown in fig7 either upper pin 703 or lower pin 705 will engage triangular plate 707 and thus depress piston rod 715 . this will cause hydraulic cylinder 709 to pump hydraulic fluid . the advantage in using a single acting cylinder rather than a double acting type is that the latter must have a shaft seal so it can compress on both ends . this makes it much more expensive . double acting pistons are also more maintenance prone because the shaft is exposed to corrosive salt spray . functionally , a very slight movement of float 701 will cause only a very slight travel of piston rod 715 . the amount of travel of the piston rod accomplished per unit of relative motion of the floats is a direct function of the cosine of the angle generated between two floats . thus , as floats enter into greater relative motion , each additional increment of relative motion produces an incrementally greater travel of the piston rod . the hydraulic piston is nonlinearly responsive to relative motion of the two floats . because the piston rod will be traveling a greater distance when the angle between the two floats is greater , a wave of high amplitude will have to expend more energy to cause greater relative motion . this arrangement is described as an alternative to the pump tube arrangement described above because it may be more suitable for certain applications of the present invention . any nonlinear coupling means , however , will practice the present invention . a good engineer could certainly produce many alternate drives and linkages without departing from the scope of the present invention . fig8 shows the embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in fig7 sitting in calm water . like numbers denote like parts in both drawings . functionally , this alternative means of nonlinearly extracting power from floats in an array allows a single action hydraulic cylinder to pump hydraulic fluid regardless of the direction of relative motion between the two floats . this is much less expensive than , for example , using two hydraulic cylinders and depending on each one to pump when relative motion between the two floats is in a given direction . turbine 100 shown in fig3 would preferably be a &# 34 ; pelton wheel &# 34 ;. this type of turbine is characterized by its ability to maintain synchronous rpm so long as pressure is constant , but it can accommodate a widely varying flow rate of water by simply varying the orifice size of its nozzle . size of this orifice would preferably be controlled by pressure in the accumulator . a servoloop is established to hold exactly a given pressure , such as 100 psi ., in the system . this has the advantage of keeping the hydraulic system independent of the electrical system and prevents a failure of hydraulic power if electric power is lost . the generator would preferably be a converter type with a dc commutator on one end and ac slip rings on the other . this type of generator is old in the art of electrical power engineering and is being described in schematic form merely to show its use in conjunction with the present invention . the dc portion of the generator feeds a bank of batteries that act as a stabilizer . the rpm of the generator may be controlled by varying the amount of mechanical load it places on the turbine . this may be done by allowing a tachometer measuring turbogenerator rpm to control generator field current . if the turbine begins to speed up , the tachometer increases generator field strength . this increases dc output voltage , increases load on the turbine and brings it back down in speed to a proper rpm to generate synchronous ac current . this servo control loop is entirely independent of the rate of arrival of hydraulic energy . finally , the ac portion of the generator is fed to a shore power grid by means of a variable transformer . this yields a final servo control loop . the variable transformer can vary the rate at which power is sent into the power grid . this rate is controlled by the condition of the battery bank . if the batteries are full and charging , then ac output to shore is maximized . thus whatever power is available in the power station can be transmitted to shore to the land power grid . the principle objection to the commercial use of wave generators is twofold . first , such generators are expensive to build . secondly , they are highly inefficient and can not be scaled up efficiently to generate large amounts of power . the present invention avoids these difficulties by providing a wave motor that is designed to be scaled up to any size by building a plurality of modular units that will interact as a wave trap to increase the efficiency of the entire collector array . secondly , by acting as a wave trap and thus converting approximately 80 % of incident wave energy to useful hydraulic power , rather than the 30 % maximum taught by prior art , the present invention is efficient . fig9 shows an isometric view of a typical power generating array constructed according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . this array would be one module of a power generating system . array 903 comprises a plurality of floats . the first rank of floats 913 comprise four floats , each 100 feet × 100 feet × 20 feet . unless otherwise described , all floats in this example are 20 feet thick . the four floats in rank 913 are pivotally connected at their rear end to the front end of float rank 915 . float rank 915 is also made up of four floats , each of which is 126 feet × 100 feet . the four floats in float rank 915 are pivotally connected , as was described in connection with fig4 above to float rank 917 . float rank 917 comprises two floats , each of which is 156 feet long by 200 feet in width . each of the floats in float rank 917 is connected to two of the floats in float rank 915 . each of the floats in float rank 917 is also pivotally connected at its rear to the front of float rank 919 , which also comprises two floats . each of the floats in float rank 919 is 200 feet × 200 feet . it should be noted that this array is a good example of how the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be scaled up to simply to make a large wave generator . the floats in rank 913 , 915 , 917 and 919 form an array exactly like the array discussed in connection with fig4 above . each of the two floats in float array 919 can then be considered as the first floats on the larger array comprising ranks 919 , 921 , 923 , and 925 . if larger floats were required , the float in rank 925 could be attached to even larger and the scaling up could increase to any desired degree . conversely , if it was desired to gather power from even smaller waves , then front rank 913 could be attached at its front end to smaller floats . float rank 919 comprises two floats that are 200 feet long by 200 feet wide . each of these is pivotally connected at its rear to float rank 921 which comprises two floats each of which is 252 feet long by 200 feet wide . the two floats in float rank 921 are pivotally connected at their rear to the single float in float rank 923 which is 400 feet wide and 312 feet long . this float is connected at its rear pivotally to the float in float rank 925 , which is the terminal float in this array and is 400 feet long by 400 feet wide . turbogenerator housing 930 is attached to the upper surface of float 925 and delivers power to shore through power line 933 . the rear of float 925 is anchored at its rear edges by lines 907 and 909 to two remotely operated winches which are firmly attached to the sea floor beneath the collector array . sea level in this illustration is indicated by dotted line 901 . this collector array is shown individually and , as such , is far longer than it is wide . in actual operation , a number of these arrays would be hooked together side by side and their floats would be pivotally attached to one another . this plurality of float arrays , all anchored at their rear extremity by winches , would be very stable and would stay pointed into the direction of wave motion . for the purpose of this illustration only , a sea anchor 929 is shown attached by line 927 to the front of the collector array . the purpose of this sea anchor is to hold the front of the array into the wind . functionally , all of the floats in this example are connected by nonlinear hydraulic pumping means , as were described in connection with fig5 , 7 and 8 above . these are not shown in fig9 for the purpose of clarity . it should be understood that any nonlinear coupling means may be used to operationally connect the floats in this array to their respective hydraulic pumping means . the array shown in fig9 would be most efficient in collecting power from waves having wave lengths of between 100 and 400 feet . a turbogenerator is placed within a housing 931 on the rear most float of collector array 925 to minimize power loss due to hydraulic friction in the hydraulic lines . float 925 is considerably larger than a football field and should carry a turbogenerator on its surface with no difficulty . the purpose of winches 912 and 911 is to compensate for tidal activity and to allow the array to ride out a large storm . the entire array 903 is approximately 400 feet wide by 1500 feet long . as was mentioned before , all of the floats in this example are 20 feet thick . a power generating array that would intercept 10 miles of waves would require 132 of these array modules . more specifically , such an array would require 528 floats that are 100 feet × 100 feet ; 528 floats that were 128 feet × 100 feet ; 264 floats that were 200 feet × 156 feet ; 264 floats that were 200 feet × 200 feet ; 264 floats that were 200 feet × 252 feet ; 132 floats that are 400 feet × 316 feet and 132 floats that are 400 feet × 400 feet . the use of a large number of identical floats is advantageous because it greatly reduces the construction cost of each float . such a collector array , if it used standard array modules as illustrated by fig9 would also require 264 subsea winches and 132 turbogenerators . given typical conditions in the north atlantic , i . e ., wave heights of from 5 to 15 and wave lengths from 100 to 300 feet , 23 . 86 megawatts of power would be instant upon the array module shown in fig9 . of this , 19 megawatts would be converted by the collector array to usable hydraulic power . if we assume 50 % losses in the hydraulic collecting array and in the turbogenerator 931 , then , on the average , the array turbogenerator would put out 91 / 2 megawatts through power line 933 to the shore power grid . to give a commercial example , if a generating unit built according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention intercepts ten miles of wave front and these waves are of average size for the north atlantic ( wave height of 12 feet , wave length of 200 feet ), then the total wave power falling on the collector array will be 315 megawatts per mile . this is 3 , 150 megawatts incident upon the entire array . the array will capture 80 % of this power , or 2 , 520 megawatts , as hydraulic energy . if the generating facility associated with the hydraulic power collecting array is only 50 % efficient , and this is a very low efficiency figure , then the station will generate 1 , 260 megawatts . this is more than the total amount of power generated by the largest nuclear power reactor presently existing in the united states . in economic terms , large electric utilities charge on the order of 1 . 85 ¢ per kilowatt hour to heavy industrial users . ( houston lighting and power company , december , 1975 ). this figure will be rising over the next few years as power companies are forced to turn from cheap sources of fuel such as natural gas , to coal and uranium . at this rate 1 , 200 megawatts is worth $ 22 , 200 . 00 an hour . admittedly , the power level generated by the station will vary , but 1 , 260 megawatts is an average figure and , over a year , should represent the average output of such a generating station . if such a power station ran 23 hours a day , 360 days of the year , it would yield 183 . 8 million dollars worth of power per year . such an installation would require 52 , 800 linear feet of collector array . such a collector could certainly be constructed for $ 10 , 000 a linear foot . at $ 10 , 000 a linear foot , the collector array would cost approximately $ 500 , 000 , 000 . this is less than the cost of a nuclear power plant of similar capacity . even if the associated hydraulic accumulators and generators cost on the order of $ 50 , 000 , 000 to $ 70 , 000 , 000 , such a power generating facility should be highly cost efficient . the capital cost per kilowatt of the present invention would be approximately $ 450 . ( the current cost for nuclear plants is approximately $ 900 per kilowatt ). over a 40 year life with no fuel cost , it is clear that the present invention would make a considerable profit . further , its environmental impact would be for less serious than a conventional or nuclear plant . the use of such a hydraulic generating array would also yield a ten mile long strip of calm water . it would function as a floating breakwater . it should be understood that the preferred embodiment described above and the examples given in connection therewith merely illustrate one way the concept of the present invention may be reduced to practical form . many other embodiments will quickly be recognized by those skilled in the art . for example , a small island could be completely surrounded with a collector array or a collector array in the form of a circle could be anchored in reasonably deep water to produce a calm lagoon . the above specification and preferred embodiment , therefor , should not be considered as limiting the invention . the present invention is limited only to scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .	5
referring to fig1 a winged , space shuttle orbiter 10 is shown engaging a barricade 11 connected by cables 12 and 13 , or any other appropriate connection means , to energy absorbing devices 14 and 15 , located on opposite sides of a runway . a pair of stanchions 16 and 17 are shown adjacent energy absorbing devices 14 and 15 on the sides of the runway , with pairs of respective breakway straps 18 and 19 , and 20 and 21 loosely dangling therefrom . the breakway straps are initially connected to the respective four corners of barricade 11 when in a fully erected position prior to engagement by orbiter 10 , as shown more clearly in fig2 and more fully described hereinafter . it should be noted that only the wings of orbiter 10 engage barricade 11 , which is designed to move a predetermined distance in the direction of vehicle motion before completely stopping orbiter 10 . referring now to fig2 barricade 11 is shown in a fully erected position prior to engagement by a vehicle . in a preferred embodiment , barricade 11 includes four rectangular loops 22 , 23 , 24 and 25 , of a high strength , flexible material , such as nylon rope , but it should be understood that any other flexible material having suitable strength may be substituted . a preferred rope used in the present preferred embodiment has a 3 1 / 4 inch diameter with a tensile strength of 308 , 000 pounds . it should be noted here that a total of thirty 11 / 2 inch wide standard nylon straps would be necessary to duplicate the tensile strength of one 31 / 4 inch diameter nylon rope . such an arrangement would not be feasible due to the greatly increased bulk causing handling difficulties . each rope used in loops 22 , 23 , 24 and 25 is coated with a thin layer of polyurethane coating for increased resistance to abrasion , cutting , and shredding . each loop consists of opposing pairs of horizontal and vertical ropes , each rope having an eye at both ends formed by looping the ends back and securing them to the body of the rope by a one piece splice . each rope is joined to another rope by interlinking the respective eyes , as is more clearly shown in fig3 . for example , loop 22 includes horizontal ropes 26 and 27 interconnected between vertical ropes 28 and 29 . similarly , loop 23 includes horizontal ropes 30 and 31 interconnected between vertical ropes 32 and 33 ; loop 24 includes horizontal ropes 34 and 35 interconnected between vertical ropes 36 and 37 ; and loop 25 includes horizontal ropes 38 and 39 interconnected between vertical ropes 40 and 41 . loops 22 - 25 are shown broken across top horizontal ropes 26 , 30 , 34 and 38 , and bottom horizontal ropes 27 , 31 , 35 and 39 , indicating that barricade 11 is considerably wider than as shown in fig2 . each of loops 22 - 25 is connected at a corner to one of respective breakaway straps 18 - 21 , by individual groups of cables or ropes . for example , each of loops 22 - 25 are connected at a first corner to strap 18 by cables 42 , at a second corner to strap 19 by cables 43 , at a third corner to strap 20 by cables 44 , and at a fourth corner to strap 21 by cables 45 . a typical corner connection is shown in fig3 in which horizontal rope 26 of loop 22 is looped through the eye of vertical rope 28 , and the ends of both ropes are secured to their respective interior portions by a one piece splice for increased structural integrity . one of cables 42 is shown looped through the eye of vertical rope 28 forming a complete corner connection which is typical of all remaining corner connections on barricade 11 . cables 42 - 45 , which are connected respectively to breakaway straps 18 - 21 , are used to tension barricade 11 prior to engagement , keeping it fully erect in the path of the oncoming vehicle . cables 42 - 45 are designed to breakaway from straps 18 - 21 , respectively , at some predetermined , relatively nominal force . vertical ropes 28 , 32 , 36 and 40 , are connected at one side of barricade 11 to cable 12 by extension loops 46 , 47 , 48 and 49 , respectively , which are looped around each individual vertical rope and connected in common at their respective ends to cable 12 . loops 46 - 49 which may be constructed of nylon rope or any other suitable flexible material , transmit the energy due to vehicle engagement of loops 22 - 25 to energy absorber 14 via cable 12 . vertical ropes 29 , 33 , 37 and 41 are similarly connected at the other side of barricade 11 to cable 13 by extension loops 50 , 51 , 52 and 53 , which are similarly looped therearound and connected in common at their respective ends to cable 13 . extension loops 50 - 53 similarly transmit the forces due to vehicle engagement from vertical ropes 29 , 33 , 37 and 41 to energy absorber 15 via cable 13 . extension loops 46 - 49 are initially free to slide vertically between clips 54 and 55 , which also keep vertical ropes 28 , 32 , 36 and 40 stationary relative to each other prior to vehicle engagement . similarly , extension loops 50 - 53 are initially free to slide between clips 64 and 65 , which similarly keep vertical ropes 29 , 33 , 37 and 41 stationary relative to each other . clips 54 , 55 , 64 and 65 are preferably constructed of a non - metallic material , such as hard rubber or plastic , and break away from the ropes upon vehicle engagement . the actual connections of loops 50 - 53 around vertical ropes 29 , 33 , 37 and 41 are shown more clearly in the enlarged view of fig4 . pairs of engaging straps 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 and 60 are respectively attached between top horizontal ropes 26 , 30 , 34 and 38 and bottom horizontal ropes 27 , 31 , 35 and 39 in a step - wise fashion . the engaging straps are preferably constructed of a high strength flexible material , such as two ply nylon webbing , approximately 11 inches wide , and are spaced at equal intervals of approximately 10 feet across the length of the top and bottom horizontal ropes . engaging straps 56 - 60 are initially free to slide horizontally within defined limits between clips 61 spaced approximately 12 inches apart around the top and bottom horizontal ropes on either side of each pair of engaging straps . upon vehicle engagement , clips 61 , which are preferably constructed of hard rubber or plastic , break away from the ropes , and engaging straps 56 - 60 are free to slide horizontally across the entire length of barricade 11 to equalize loading on the vehicle . each engaging strap of a respective pair , such as 56 , encircles alternate ones of top horizontal ropes 26 , 30 , 34 and 38 , and bottom horizontal ropes 27 , 31 , 35 and 39 . for example , as more clearly shown in fig5 one of straps 56 is looped around top horizontal rope 38 and bottom horizontal rope 39 , while the other of straps 56 is similarly looped around top horizontal rope 30 and bottom horizontal rope 31 . one of adjacent pair of straps 57 is similarly looped around top horizontal rope 34 and bottom horizontal rope 35 , while the other one of straps 57 is looped around top horizontal rope 26 and bottom horizontal rope 27 . this alternating pattern continues across the length of barricade 11 and defines what is meant by connection in &# 34 ; step - wise &# 34 ; fashion . each of straps 56 is tightly looped around respective top horizontal ropes 30 and 38 and sewn in some appropriate manner to form a high - strength connection . in order to prevent cutting , tearing and shredding of straps 56 - 60 upon engagement of barricade 11 by orbiter 10 , u - shaped polyurethane - coated nylon edging material 62 and 63 is attached , such as by sewing , around the edges of straps 56 along the length thereof . enlarged fig6 shows the method of attachment of edging materials 62 and 63 to elongated , flat strap 56 in greater detail , and is typical for all of engaging straps 56 - 60 . edging materials 62 and 63 encompass the edges and are attached adjacent thereto , extending approximately three - fourths inches from the edges of strap 56 . engaging straps 56 - 60 may or may not be covered with polyurethane - coating for greater abrasion resistance , but in the present preferred embodiment they are preferably not coated due to the requirement that they remain flexible during engagement by orbiter 10 . edging materials 62 and 63 are preferably nylon strap approximately 13 / 4 inches wide , which is bent around each respective edge and permanently attached , such as by sewing , leaving a large portion in the middle of strap 56 uncovered . addition of material 62 and 63 to the edges only of the vertical engaging straps has been found to practically eliminate cutting , tearing and shredding of these straps . it can be seen from the foregoing description that no hardware is used in the assembly of barricade 11 , thus avoiding impact of such hardware against the wings and fuselage of orbiter 10 with resultant damage . having thus described the present invention , some of the many advantages should now be readily apparent . the novel preferred embodiment barricade affords a simplified , higher strength , more reliable and efficient barricade for vehicle arrestment . the polyurethane - coated nylon edging used on all straps practically eliminates all cutting , tearing , shredding and abrasion of the engaging straps during an arrestment . joining of all loops and engaging straps by splicing or sewing , rather than attachment by hardware reduces overall barricade cost and number of parts necessary , while increasing reliability and eliminating damage to the orbiter during arrestment . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teaching . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	1
memory alloys according to the invention may be produced by transforming suitable raw materials into the final product either by melting or by powder metallurgy . the alloy composition comprises 23 - 59 . 5 wt .% nickel , 5 . 5 - 46 . 5 wt .% titanium , 0 . 5 - 30 wt .% copper , and 0 . 01 - 5 wt .% of at least one of the elements aluminum , zirconium , cobalt , chromium and iron . more than one of the latter elements may be used , such as iron and chromium , cobalt and aluminum and the like . a particularly advantageous method of production consists of putting the individual components , in the desired proportions , in a water - cooled copper mold and melting them in an arc furnace , under an argon atmosphere from 1 . 0 to 1 . 2 bar , using a tungsten electrode , to form the alloy composition ; remelting this again in a graphite crucible , under argon , in an induction furnace ; casting into a graphite form to make a rod ; and subjecting the latter to a heat treatment and a further hot and / or cold working . a suitable heat treatment includes a homogenizing anneal for from 1 . 0 to 1 . 5 hr at a temperature of about 900 ° c . suitable hot working deformations include hot rolling , forging , or extrusion , preferably at temperatures in the range of 600 - 950 ° c . suitable cold working deformations include cold rolling , swaging , drawing , or deep drawing , with intermediate anneals in the temperature range of 600 - 950 ° c . for at least 30 sec . the fundamental idea of the invention is to influence the composition of the known binary nickel titanium alloy by further additions so that the sharp drop in transformation temperature as a function of composition in the region of the intermetallic compound is avoided . for this purpose , copper has been found to be a particularly effective additional element . moreover , by further additions , the respective level of the transformation temperature can be suitably modified . having generally described the invention , a more complete understanding can be obtained by reference to certain specific examples , which are included for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to be limiting unless otherwise specified . the following weighed amounts of alloying elements were melted under an argon atmosphere of 1 . 1 bar in a water - cooled boat in an arc furnace using tungsten electrodes to form a memory alloy : buttons thus prepared , weighing approximately 15 g , were turned over and remelted in the arc furnace to homogenize the alloy . in each case , two buttons thus prepared were remelted in a graphite crucible under an argon atmosphere in an induction furnace ( intermediate frequency , 25 khz ) and then cast into a rod 3 mm in diameter . a graphite mold was used for this purpose . meticulous attention was paid to ensure that no atmospheric oxygen contacted the melt and that the formation of oxides was avoided . specimens cast in this way showed a maximum vickers microhardness of 300 kg / mm 2 hv . if oxygen is permitted to contaminate the metal bath , a brittle alloy results from oxidation , whose microhardness can rise to 600 kg / mm 2 hv , and whose phase transformation temperature is lowered by up to 100 ° c . such a material would be unusable in practice . for the manufacture of relatively large amounts ( approx . 2kg ) of alloy , buttons were first produced and melted down in a graphite crucible . then , additional nickel , titanium and copper in elemental form were added to the melt in the form of small pieces . rods cast from the melts were homogenized at 950 ° c . for 1 hr and then their physical properties were investigated . changes of electrical resistance were used to determine the temperature of the martensitic transformation . as a specimen is cooled , it passes through temperature ranges corresponding to particular phase transformations . the formation of martensite begins at a temperature m s , and is completed at a temperature m f . on reheating the specimen , the reverse austenitic transformation starts at a temperature a s which lies above m f and is complete at a temperature a f . the shape memory effect is known to occur when the material is deformed at a temperature below m s and heated to a temperature above a f . the new copper - containing alloys exhibited good formability . the cast rods were annealed for from 1 to 1 . 5 hr at a temperature of 900 ° c . and swaged at room temperature with approximately 10 % deformation per pass . intermediate anneals of 2 min . at 900 ° c . were done between each pass . it was observed that the minimum thermal treatment necessary for further deformation consisted of intermediate annealing in the temperature range from 600 ° c . to 900 ° c . for at least 30 sec . by this method , wires with diameters down to 0 . 5 mm were made . specimens were analogously cold or hot rolled . the new alloys showed the memory effect both in the starting ( as - cast ) condition as well as in the cold worked and heat treated condition . the phase transformation temperature was independent of the heat treatment and of the mechanical deformation . the final product corresponding to example 1 had the following composition : the following examples refer to memory alloys prepared analogously to example 1 . the corresponding experimental results from the above examples are graphically represented in fig1 and 2 . fig1 shows the dependence of the temperature of the martensitic transformation m s on the titanium content , where the copper content for a particular alloy class was held constant and where each alloy contains 0 . 01 - 0 . 02 wt .% iron . for comparison , m s values are shown for the known binary , copper - free nickel - titanium alloys in the region of the intermetallic compound tini , where the experimental conditions according to example 1 were adhered to . the curve labelled &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; shows the steep fall of the transformation temperature with increasing nickel content or decreasing titanium content respectively , which is well known from the literature ( e . g ., wasilewski et al ., loc . cit . and jackson et al ., loc . cit .). curve &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; represents the temperature m s of the ti / ni / cu alloys of the invention with a constant copper content of 5 weight percent . as can immediately be seen , the steep fall , characteristic of the strong dependence on titanium / nickel ratio for the binary alloys , has disappeared . the curve &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; has only a slight slope towards the abscissa . this is even more the case for curve &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;, which corresponds to alloys with a constant copper content of 10 weight percent . the dependence of the transformation temperature m s on copper content for a constant titanium content of 46 weight percent is shown in fig2 as curve &# 34 ; d .&# 34 ; it can be seen that the copper systematically changes the transformation temperature , but only slightly , so that its stabilizing character on ti / ni alloys again becomes apparent . the following examples show quaternary memory alloys , which were prepared analogously to example 1 . the corresponding experimental results from the above mentioned examples are graphically represented in fig3 . curve &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; shows the dependence of the transformation temperature m s on the proportion of nickel to titanium with the simultaneous presence of 10 weight percent copper and 1 weight percent cobalt . curves &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; similarly show the influence of 1 wt .% iron , aluminum and chromium respectively , also for a constant copper content of 10 %. apart from cobalt , all additions decrease the m s point in the range of interest . the effect of aluminum is striking , as it produces the flattest curve &# 34 ; g &# 34 ;, and lowers m s by an average of 50 ° c . compared with al - free alloys . consequently , it is particularly suitable as an additional alloying element . also curve &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; for chromium shows a flat , although increasing trace . iron ( curve &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;) and cobalt ( curve &# 34 ; e &# 34 ;) behave in an exactly opposite manner . fig3 shows that by a suitable choice of the addition , quaternary alloys can be produced , whose transformation temperatures lie between - 40 ° c . and + 60 ° c . the alloys corresponding to the invention can be particularly advantageously used for the construction of electrical switches , utilizing both the one way and two way effects . they may serve as elements for either thermal overcurrent or short circuit interrupters , particularly where the elements return to their original positions . moreover , the indicated memory alloys could find applications as control elements of thermal control devices or thermal relays . the new memory alloys corresponding to the invention yielded materials whose martensitic transformation temperatures in the region of interest did not show the troublesome sharp fall depending on the titanium / nickel ratio . the alloys make possible the realization of desired information temperatures with great accuracy within a temperature range in the neighborhood of room temperature . using the method of preparation according to the invention , memory alloys with reproducible physical properties , in particular the martensitic transformation temperature , can be made , and their economic fabrication made possible . having now fully described the invention , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth herein .	2
fig1 a and 1 b are discussed above in the background of the invention section of this document and the reader is assumed familiar with the principles of that discussion . fig2 and 3 are circuit schematics illustrating a preferred embodiment of a cccm , compound cascode current mirror , and its associated bias circuit . fig2 dashed - box element 115 comprises a cccm circuit and dashed - box element 110 comprises an amplifier with an input voltage labeled vov . the vov voltage is generated by the bias circuit 200 in fig3 . in fig2 , an input current i for the cccm is sourced by mt 8 &# 39 ; s drain ( node n 2 ). cccm has two current legs , an input leg comprising transistors ( ma , mb ) and an output leg ( mm , mc ). ma and mm are the two mirror transistors , which share the same vgs voltage ( gate - source voltage : gate nodes connected together at n 2 and source nodes connected together at a voltage terminal such as ground ). for accurate current mirroring , the vds ( drain - source voltage ) of ma and mm should also be as similar as possible . there are two cascode transistors ( mb , mc ), where mb cascodes ma , and mc cascodes mm . the current i flows to the input node ( drain of mb ) of the input leg and is mirrored by the cccm to be i out at the output node n 4 ( drain of mc ) of the output leg . the transistors of the cccm need to be maintained in the following way to provide a substantially constant current i out , while allowing wide voltage swing at the output node n 4 . to provide stiff current mirroring of the current i to i out element 115 , the transistors mt 8 , and particularly ma , mb , mc , mm of the cccm need to be operating in the active ( saturation ) region to ensure that voltage changes at the output terminal do not affect the value of output current . many circuit applications nowadays require very low power supply voltages in order to save power , to be operated on portable ( battery ) power , to reduce the amount of heat generated , and so on . unfortunately , the voltage headroom ( stacking of vds voltage drops ) becomes very low for each transistor in a stack sandwiched between the very low power supply voltage and a reference ( ground ) supply , a stack such as in a cascoded transistor configuration ; therefore it is necessary to operate each transistor at its vov voltage and to maintain the transistor at the edge of its saturation region , the minimum vds condition . it is important to note , the actual value of vov will vary with temperature , voltage supply , and ids current . the invention provides a bias circuit for a cccm which maintains this on - the - edge condition , allowing the cccm circuit to be a high - voltage swing cascode current source , with substantially constant current and a wide range voltage swing at the output . in fig2 , the node n 1 is maintained at the vov voltage of the transistor ma by a feedback amplifier 110 . the input of the amplifier is held at vov and the feedback node n 1 of the amplifier will also be maintained substantially at vov by the external feedback network and high gain of the amplifier , and the feedback loop of the cccm including node n 2 and transistors ma and mb . the magnitude of voltage vov is set by a particular bias circuit scheme ( fig3 ) which has transistor elements which track transistors ma and mm ( which are identical transistor technology type ( kind ) and also identical size if i out is to be substantially the same as i ; current ( de ) magnification is achieved by selecting different sizes for mm vs ma ). the output of the amplifier 110 is at node n 3 which drives the connected gates of both cascode transistors mb and mc , maintained in the active ( saturation ) region . because the cascode transistors and the mirror transistors of the cccm are all part of the feedback loop of the feedback amplifier , the voltages are self adjusting and maintained , tracking out temperature , voltage supply and other variations . the cascode transistors are of the same kind and generally the same size . an aspect of this invention is that the cascode transistors do not have to be of the same kind as the mirror transistors . this is useful in today &# 39 ; s technologies where a variety of transistor kinds are offered for the same integrated circuit chip and since the cascode transistors and mirror transistors serve different purposes , it may often be more optimal to select different kinds of transistors for the two . example transistor kinds are given in the background section . another aspect is once the node n 1 is forced to be at vov , the bias voltage developed at n 3 will be such that when it drives the cascode transistor mc , the drain voltage of the mirror transistor mm will be close to its overdrive voltage , namely vov . mb and mc are biased are gate biased the same and enhance the output resistance and force the magnitude of iout to be substantially the same as i ; this pins down the vds of mm . therefore , ma and mm will have the same vgs and substantially similar vds . because the cascode transistors need not be the same kind or size as the mirror transistors , the threshold voltage of the mirror transistors may be less than the overdrive voltage of the cascode transistors , then it is generally necessary to provide the feedback from n 2 to the gate of the mirror transistors through a voltage level shift such as through resistors / transistors ( not shown ). then the transistors of the cccm will be maintained in the active region and i out will track i properly . the amplifier 110 may be of any kind of amplifier and topology , though it should have certain properties such as high gain which is desirable for optimal operation for reducing undesirable voltage offsets such as between the input and feedback node . the particular amplifier shown is a two - stage amplifier with miller compensation cc with a zeroing resistive element rc ( or on transistor ) in series . the first stage of the amplifier is a differential pair , m 10 , m 11 with self biased loads m 12 and m 13 ; current to the pair is sourced by mt 6 . the second stage of the amplifier is the common source amplifier m 14 with mt 7 as its current path load . diode connected mt 5 ( gate labeled bias ) sets up the gate voltages of mt 6 , mt 7 and mt 8 ( of the cccm ) to mirror bias current i / n to the two stages and to the input of the cccm . the bias circuit 200 of fig3 generates the voltage vov at node n 5 ; it comprises a generator circuit that follows the principles of a so - called “ inverse function approach ” ( torrance et al . “ cmos voltage to current transducers ”, circuits and systems vol 32 , no . 11 , 1985 ), which converts a differential input voltage ( at the gates of m 6 and m 7 ) into a pair of single - ended balanced outputs . as used in this invention , only one of the pair of balanced outputs is needed because only one voltage , vov , is used in the subsequent circuit of fig2 . therefore , there is only one output section circuits like 215 instead of two of them . the input section , dashed - box element 210 , of the generator circuit mirrors current to the output section , dashed - box element 215 , which is connected to the output node n 5 , at the drain of m 5 . input section 210 is a differential pair circuit with input voltages created by the dashed - box elements 310 and 315 . output section 215 is one of the pair of balance outputs circuits where the input voltages to 210 is “ reconstructed ” in 215 by the differential load pair transistors m 8 and m 9 . as shown in fig3 , the input section 210 has two dc circuits 310 and 315 to set up a voltage difference of vov at the input of the differential pair ( m 6 , m 7 ). elements 310 , 315 and the differential pair are sandwiched between the power supply vdd and a reference supply ( e . g . ground ). element 310 and 315 are dc “ voltage ” ladders formed by diode connected transistors m 1 and m 4 , respectively , both biased by a current i going through each of the ladders . these ladders self - bias the circuit 200 and allows this circuit and the cccm to track each other if certain transistors are kept the same technology kind . ladder 310 has a current source element mt 1 whose drain is in series with the “ diode - connected ” m 1 . series resistors r 2 and r 1 are inserted between what normally would have been the drain connection of m 1 and the gate ( node n 7 ) of m 1 , so that m 1 is no longer connected in the typical diode fashion ( gate - drain shorted ) but now has a voltage drop between the drain and the gate of m 1 . similarly , ladder 315 has a current source element mt 3 whose drain is in series with the “ diode - connected ” m 4 . the drain of mt 3 is connected to the gate ( node n 6 ) of m 4 and what normally would have been the drain of m 4 , so that now instead a resistor r is in between the drain of mt 3 and the drain of m 4 . being essentially diode connected objects , m 1 and m 4 operate in the active region and overdrive voltages are generated at the drains m 1 and m 4 of ( vt + 2vov − ir ) and ( vt + vov − ir ), so that that difference in voltage is just vov . to generate a difference voltage of vov , m 1 and m 4 need to be the same kind of transistors with a size difference of 4 , and the currents i need to be the same and the sum of the resistor value r 1 + r 2 = r . the drain of m 1 is connected to the gate input of the differential pair transistor m 6 , and similarly m 4 is connected to m 7 . in fig3 , the differential pair element located at the center of 210 has a current source element mt 2 sourcing current 2 i ( twice the value in the voltage ladders ), the same differential input transistors m 6 and m 7 , and diode - connected load elements m 2 and m 3 , series loading m 6 and m 7 , respectively . a current t 1 and i 2 runs down the legs of the differential pair into diode - connected transistors m 2 and m 3 , respectively . diode - connected transistor m 2 is gate connected with m 5 of the output section 215 . both are the same kind and size transistors , shares the same vgs , and forms a current mirror pair with transistor m 5 in the output stage so that current i 1 is mirrored to the output stage . a resistor r 3 is inserted between the gate and drain of m 2 which otherwise is directly diode connected ( drain and gate are connected together ). some resistance , r 3 , restricts the drain source voltage ( vds ) of m 2 to be more like the vds of m 5 and therefore improves the current mirroring accuracy with m 5 . the vds value is the important voltage vov that is needed by the next circuit stage ( fig2 ). for tracking purposes , the mirroring transistor ma , in the cccm of fig3 which eventually receives the vov voltage , should be of the same transistor kind and size as the transistors m 5 and m 2 of fig3 . alternatively , ma may be a scaled size version of m 5 , but with the current correspondingly scaled . in fig3 , the output stage 215 has a current source transistor mt 4 sourcing current 2 i into differential load transistors m 8 and m 9 which are both diode connected ( drain and gate connected ), and have currents t 1 and i 2 flowing down the two legs , respectively , because the tail current 2 i is the same as that of the differential pair element at the center of 210 and current i 1 is mirrored over , leaving i 2 to be the same by current conservation . m 8 &# 39 ; s drain is connected in series with the drain of m 5 . in fig3 , the generic current sources may be generated by a bias voltage supplied from outside , such as from fig2 or from the main circuit or from some bandgap circuit for the chip . bias may be generated by some master current source i / n , shown on the bottom , left side of fig2 . in fig3 , bias sets up the same vgs for all of the current source transistors mt 1 , mt 2 , mt 3 , and mt 4 , which should all be of the same kind , though they don &# 39 ; t need to be of the same kind as the other transistors . for good current tracking , these current source transistors should be of the same kind as in fig2 , current source transistors mt 5 , mt 6 , mt 7 , and mt 8 . in fig3 elements 310 and 315 , the resistors r , r 1 and r 2 may be included to give more overdrive margin for the differential pair formed by m 6 , m 7 . the value of these resistors is generally kept such that m 1 and m 4 remain in the active region over process and operating corners . the sum of r 1 and r 2 is equal to r . therefore , the differential pair m 6 , m 7 has a differential input voltage of vov and it is generally appropriate to select their sizes such that their overdrive voltage for zero input differential voltage is at least 2vov . m 5 &# 39 ; s drain current is i 1 and the current through m 9 is i 2 . the gate of m 9 is connected to ground and m 6 , m 7 , m 8 and m 9 are all identical kinds of transistors . current i 1 may be set up to be less than 1 when transistors m 2 and m 5 are identical to m 4 . it is desireable to have i 1 & lt ; i : then both ma ( fig2 ) and m 5 ( fig3 ) will be in the desired , active region . for the same size transistors with currents i and i 1 , if current i allows transistor ma to have a particular vgs − vt value and be in the active region ( vds & gt ; vgs − vt ), then a smaller value i 1 in m 5 means its vgs − vt value is smaller ( as can be seen from the equation above with other variables being the same ) than for ma ; so that with a same value of vds for both ma and m 5 , m 5 &# 39 ; s vds will definitely be greater than its smaller vgs − vt , and m 5 will be deeper in the active region than ma is . the inputs to the differential pair is applied in such a way that i 1 & lt ; i in fig3 . the goal is really to have ma in the cascode be in the active region and this is an indirect way to achieve the condition . the output stage 215 reconstructs the difference voltage vov of the differential pair element at the center of 310 . therefore the voltage at the drain of m 5 will be vov . r 1 and r 2 may be optionally split up and the input to m 6 may be picked off at node ni between r 1 and r 2 to increase the voltage input to m 6 and subsequently keep m 5 , ma and mm deeper in saturation by increasing vov by a voltage i × r 1 . fig4 illustrates one embodiment of a portion of the layout ( circuit element placement on the die ) for the invention . the components of differential pairs are often placed on the die ( layed out ) so that the components which need to be matched are side by side ; for example , the input common - source transistors such as m 6 and m 7 might be side by side in a horizontal row sandwiched between the bias ladder legs 310 and 315 , and then below them would be the m 2 and m 3 pair in a second row . however instead of doing this , for better tracking with the output stage , the differential pair of the input stage 210 ( fig3 ) is placed adjacent to the output stage 215 and “ corresponding ” transistors m 6 is next to m 8 in a horizontal ( reticle &# 39 ; s x - axis ) row forming a first pair , then “ corresponding ” transistors m 7 is next to m 9 in a horizontal row below the first pair . in addition , in fig4 , the bias ladder legs 310 and 315 are placed next to each other so as to improve their matching and tracking . since m 6 and m 7 are placed vertically , they can conveniently be routed to their associated bias ladder legs 310 and 315 , respectively . for better matching , dummy elements , guard rings and such can sandwich the ladder legs , and similarly sandwich the transistors m 6 - m 9 . the overall die area size occupied by the bias circuit 200 ( fig3 ) and the cccm and the amplifier ( fig2 , 100 ) is technology dependent and matching - criteria dependent . an example die area size occupied by the circuits is less than 225 um × 110 um . fig5 illustrates example circuits which may use the invention . stand - alone circuits and those integrated on a large chip typically have current sources in order to power up subcircuits , to create bias currents and voltages or to re - distribute current among subcircuits in a large chip . example circuits which require or contain current sources include amplifiers 500 , and data converters like analog - to - digital 600 or digital - to - analog ( dac ) 700 circuits . current steering dacs in particular have current sources and benefit from having stiff currents along with high - voltage swings . example applications which use the cccm and the bias circuits of fig2 and 3 are shown in fig6 . low power applications typically include battery operated wireless communication equipment such as cell phones 800 and pda &# 39 ; s . data equipment examples include laptops . entertainment equipment includes radio , voice and song recorders , or game players etc . medical equipment 900 particularly personal equipment , hearing aids , heart monitor and other sensors used on the body need low power supply circuits like this invention . nowadays , hand - held security equipment and taggers ( e . g . rfid ) all can benefit from low - supply circuits . alternatively , high - voltage supply applications such as power management circuits , automotive applications , and the like can have increased voltage swing by using the inventive techniques disclosed in this application . intermediate - voltage supply applications such as for communications ( e . g . base - stations ) or wall - power applications ( e . g . computers , televisions ) can utilize this invention for a similar purpose . from the above , it may be appreciated that the preferred embodiments provide a cccm ( compound cascode current mirror ) and its bias circuit as shown in fig2 and 3 . while these circuits have been shown in a mosfet technology configuration , various alternatives may be used by one skilled in the art wherein these preferred embodiments may be implemented . for example , the mosfet technology may be replaced by a bipolar , bicmos , bicom , etc . technology . the terminals ( nodes ) of a mosfet , “ gate ”, “ source ” and “ drain ” as used herein are intended to encompass the corresponding terms “ base ”, “ emitter ” and “ collector ” of bipolar transistors . in addition , resistors and capacitors may be replaced by their transistor equivalents , such as with on - transistors or gate capacitors . further , the words “ connection ”, “ connected ” and “ connect ” may include real - life physical vias , contacts , short - length metal , short - length poly and the like to physically implement the connection of two nodes ( terminals ) which may thus entail small voltage drops , but does not otherwise alter the intended idealness of a connection between , say , two circuit nodes such as shown on the circuit schematics of fig2 and 3 . given the preceding , therefore , one skilled in the art should further appreciate that while the present embodiments have been described in detail , various substitutions , modifications or alterations could be made to the descriptions set forth above without departing from the inventive spirit and scope , as are defined by the following claims .	6
the ozone employed in the process of the present invention can be of any source . preferably , the ozone is generated on - site using an ozone generator , to thereby produce ozone from oxygen at a concentration in the range of from about 5 to 20 wt %, more preferably in the range of from about 10 to 20 wt %, and most preferably in the range of from about 10 to 15 wt %. ozone generators are well known , and are generally operated at a pressure in the range of from about 20 - 60 psig , and more preferably in the range of from 30 - 40 psig . the ozone / oxygen mixture is preferably introduced into the high shear mixer through a valve , which can be used to control the flow of the gas mixture into the high shear mixer . the ozone / oxygen gas mixture can be compressed , if so desired , prior to introduction into the high shear mixer . the ozone compressor generally operates at a pressure ranging from 20 - 150 psig , and more preferably in the range of from 30 - 40 psig . the high shear mixer can be any high shear mixer well known to the art of pulp bleaching . such mixers are described , for example , in pulp bleaching — principals and practice by carlton w . dence and douglas w . reeve , tappi press , 1996 , pages 549 - 554 . in high shear ( high intensity ) mixers , the pulp and ozone gas mixture are mixed by passage through zones of intense shear . they induce microscale mixing in the entire volume and not only in specific locations as in a continuous stirred reactor . the high shear is created by imposing high rotational speeds across narrow gap , generally between the rotor blades and reactor casing , through which the pulp suspension flows . although there are design differences among the high shear mixers conventionally known , they all attempt to fluidize the suspension in the mixture working zone . the high shear rate insures flock disruption and good fiber scale mixing . the present invention employs a high shear mixer , and many different high shear mixers used for pulp bleaching are known . some of those known include the ahlstrom ahlmix , the ahlstrom mc pump , the beloit - rauma r series , the ingersoll - rand hi - shear and the impco hi - shear mixer from beloit corporation . others include the kamry mc , the kamry mc pump ( pilot ) the sunds sm and sunds t mixers . the quantum mixer is also an acceptable high shear mixer . all such mixers are known in the art and are generally used to mix medium consistency pulp suspensions . mixers can be compared based on energy applied ( mj / ton of pulp ) and power dissipation ( w / m 3 ). j . r . bourne in chem . eng . sci ., 38 ( 1 ): 5 ( 1983 ) states that all devices operated at the same power unit volume will generate the same rate of micromixing . this assumes energy applied equals energy dissipated , which is not true for all mixers . the distribution of power throughout the suspension is as important as its total . examples of different mixers and the energy and power values for a given pulp consistency are as follows : consistency power dissipation energy mixer type ( wt %) ( w / m 3 ) ( mj / ton ) hand mixing 3 2 × 10 4 120 cstr 2 - 3 600 5 - 9 quantum ( high 5 4 . 5 × 10 5 63 shear ) mixer high shear 10 1 . 8 × 10 6 180 using the measured energy dissipation rate and a correlation for the apparent viscosity of a pulp suspension given by bennington in “ mixing pulp suspensions ”, phd . thesis , the university of british columbia , vancouver , b . c ., 1988 , τ is 0 . 02 sec . for a 10 % consistency in a typical high shear mixer . in a cstr operating at 3 % consistency , τ = 0 . 4 sec ., but varies locally with the mixer . τ represents the mean lifetime of turbulent eddies . the pulp suspension of the present invention that is provided to the high shear mixer is of low consistency . this means that the amount of pulp contained in the suspension ranges from about 1 to 5 wt %. more preferably , the amount of pulp in the suspension ranges from 2 to 4 wt %. preferably , the temperature of the pulp slurry entering the mixer is in the range of from about 20 - 80 ° c ., more preferably from about 40 - 60 ° c . the ozone charge added to the pulp is in the range of from about 2 - 10 kg / ton , more preferable from about 5 - 6 kg / ton . once in the high shear mixer , the ozone and pulp suspension are mixed in the high shear mixer in the range of from about 0 . 01 seconds to 10 seconds , and more preferably in the range of from about 0 . 1 seconds to 4 seconds . once the mixing has taken place , the pulp suspension is then passed to a bleaching or reactor station , which is preferably a retention tube , wherein the residence time ranges from about 1 to 10 minutes , more preferably from about 2 - 5 minutes . it is in the retention tube that the bleaching of the pulp actually takes place by the ozone . because of the use of the high shear mixer , and the short time in which it takes to dissolve the ozone , as well as the low pressures under which the mixing and retention tube can operate , more ozone is available to do the bleaching of the low consistency pulp . accordingly , the present invention provides surprising results with regard to excellent bleaching . referring to fig1 there is illustrated a reactor for bleaching pulp at low consistency with ozone by using a pressurized ozone generator . it consists of a medium consistency mixer where ozone is dispersed in the low consistency pulp followed by a retention tube operating at a pressure between 20 - 60 psig where ozone gradually dissolves and bleaches the pulp . air is introduced by line 1 into an air separation unit 2 where oxygen is separated from air . oxygen passes by line 3 into an ozone generator 4 and is converted to ozone , and this passes through line 5 into a control valve 6 that automatically regulates the gas flow by gas flowmeter 7 . ozone gas is introduced to the mixer 9 by an inlet line 8 and is dispersed into the low consistency pulp . pulp slurry passes through line 20 into pump 21 where it is pumped into the mixer 9 and mixed with the ozone - oxygen mixture . the pulp slurry - gas mixer passes into the column 23 that is held under pressure by a back pressure valve 24 . the ozone - oxygen mixture dissolves and reacts with the pulp slurry before exiting through valve 24 into line 25 . the pulp slurry - gas mixture flows into a separator vessel 26 where gases are separated from the pulp and flow through line 27 into an ozone destruct unit 28 , where the ozone is destroyed and the remaining gases leave through line 29 . the pulp slurry leaves the separator through line 30 and flows into pump 31 where it is pumped to the next stage through line 32 . [ 0045 ] fig2 illustrates a reactor for bleaching pulp at low consistency with ozone by using an ozone compressor . it comprises generally of a medium consistency mixer where ozone is dispersed in the low consistency pulp , followed by a retention tube operating at a pressure between 20 - 60 psig where ozone gradually dissolves and bleaches the pulp . air is introduced by line 100 into an air separation unit 102 where an oxygen rich stream is separated from air . oxygen passes by line 103 into an ozone generator 104 and is converted to ozone and this passes through line 105 into an ozone compressor 110 where the gas mixture is compressed . from here it flows to a control valve 106 that automatically regulates the gas flow by gas flowmeter 107 . ozone gas is introduced to the mixer 109 by an inlet line 108 and is dispersed into the low consistency pulp . pulp slurry passes through line 120 into pump 121 where it is pumped into the mixer 109 via line 122 and mixed with the ozone - oxygen mixture . the pulp slurry - gas mixture passes into the column 123 that is held under pressure by a back pressure valve 124 . the ozone - oxygen mixture dissolves and reacts with the pulp slurry before exiting through valve 124 into line 125 . the pulp slurry - gas mixture flows into a separator vessel 126 where gases are separated from the pulp and flow through line 127 into an ozone destruct unit 128 , where the ozone is destroyed and the gases leave through line 129 . the pulp slurry leaves the separator through line 130 and flows into pump 131 where it is pumped to the next stage through line 132 . [ 0048 ] fig3 illustrates a low consistency ozone bleaching process in accordance with the present invention that includes an ozone bleaching stage before a chlorine dioxide bleaching stages . this uses a pressurized ozone generator to compress ozone before adding it to a mixer . this method avoids the use of a compressor to add compressed ozone to the mixer . in the process , pulp of medium consistency is pumped through line 252 into a storage tank 251 . the pulp flows down the tank into a dilution zone 250 where it is diluted to a low consistency with dilution water added through nozzles 246 and 247 . agitators 248 and 249 ensure that mixing is complete . the pulp slurry of consistency about 3 % passes through line 220 into pump 221 where it is pumped into the mixer 209 and mixed with the ozone - oxygen mixture . air is introduced by line 201 into an air separation unit 202 where oxygen is separated from air . oxygen passes by line 203 into a pressurized ozone generator 204 and is converted to ozone and this oxygen - ozone mixture passes through line 205 into a control valve 206 that automatically regulates the gas flow by gas flowmeter 207 . the ozone - oxygen gas mixture is introduced to the mixer 209 by an inlet line 208 and is dispersed into the low consistency pulp . the pulp slurry - gas mixture passes into the column 223 , that is held under pressure by a back pressure valve 224 . the ozone - oxygen mixture dissolves and reacts with the pulp slurry before exiting through valve 224 into line 225 . the pulp slurry - gas mixture flows into a separator vessel 226 , where gases are separated from the pulp and flow through line 227 into an ozone destruct unit 228 , where the ozone is destroyed and the resulting gases leave through line 229 . the pulp slurry leaves the separator 226 through line 230 and flows into pump 231 , where it is pumped through line 232 into a mixer 234 where chlorine dioxide is added through line 233 before flowing by line 235 into the bottom of the bleaching tower 236 . the pulp rises to the top of the tower and overflows through line 237 into line 238 to a washer 239 . the pulp is washed with wash water added through line 240 and the washed pulp leaves the washer through line 241 . the dilution water separated from the pulp is collected in storage tank 242 , where it is removed through line 243 by pump 244 and is pumped through line 245 to the nozzles 246 and 247 , where it is added to the dilution zone 250 of the storage tank 251 . [ 0051 ] fig4 illustrates a low consistency ozone bleaching process involving an ozone bleaching stage in accordance with the present invention that is carried out before a chlorine dioxide bleaching stage . the process uses a compressor to compress ozone before adding it to the mixer . in the figure , pulp of medium consistency is pumped through line 352 into a storage tank 351 . the pulp flows down the tank into a dilution zone 350 where it is diluted to a low consistency with dilution water added through nozzles 346 and 347 . agitators 348 and 349 ensure that mixing is complete . the pulp slurry of consistency about 3 % passes through line 320 into pump 321 where it is pumped through line 322 into the mixer 309 and mixed with the ozone - oxygen mixture . air is introduced by line 301 into an air separation unit 302 where oxygen is separated from air . oxygen passes by line 303 into an ozone generator 304 and is converted to ozone , and this oxygen - ozone mixture passes through line 305 into an ozone compressor 310 where it is compressed . from here it flows to a control valve 306 that automatically regulates the gas flow by gas flowmeter 307 . the ozone gas mixture is introduced to the mixer 309 by an inlet line 308 and is dispersed into the low consistency pulp . the pulp slurry - gas mixture passes into the column 323 , which is held under pressure by a back pressure valve 324 . the ozone - oxygen mixture dissolves and reacts with the pulp slurry before exiting through valve 324 into line 325 . the pulp slurry - gas mixture flows into a separator vessel 326 where gases are separated from the pulp and flow through line 327 into an ozone destruct unit 328 , where the ozone is destroyed and the gases leave through line 329 . the pulp slurry leaves the separator through line 330 and flows into pump 331 where it is pumped through line 332 into a mixer 334 where chlorine dioxide is added through line 333 before flowing by line 335 into the bottom of the bleaching tower 336 . the pulp rises to the top of the tower and overflows through line 337 into line 338 to a washer 339 . the pulp is washed with wash water added through line 340 and the washed pulp leaves the washer through line 341 . the dilution water separated from the pulp is collected in storage tank 342 . it is removed through line 343 entering pump 344 and is pumped through line 345 to the nozzles 346 and 347 , where it is added to the dilution zone 350 of the storage tank 351 . [ 0054 ] fig5 depicts a low consistency ozone bleaching process stage in accordance with the present invention that is carried out after a chlorine dioxide bleaching stage . the process uses a pressurized ozone generator to produce compressed ozone before adding it to a mixer . this method avoids the use of a compressor to add compressed ozone to the mixer . pulp of medium consistency is pumped through line 452 into a storage tank 451 . the pulp flows down the tank into a dilution zone 450 where it is diluted to a low consistency with dilution water added through nozzles 446 and 447 . agitators 448 and 449 ensure that mixing is complete . the pulp slurry , now of low consistency about 3 %, passes through line 420 into pump 421 that discharges through line 422 into a mixer 424 where chlorine dioxide is added through line 423 . the pulp slurry - chlorine dioxide mixture passes through line 425 into the bottom of tower 426 , where it flows upwards consuming chlorine dioxide and bleaching the pulp . it overflows from the tower 426 in line 427 flowing into pump 428 , which discharges into mixer 409 where the oxygen - ozone mixture is added . air is introduced by line 401 into an air separation unit 402 where oxygen is separated from air . oxygen passes by line 403 into an ozone generator 404 and is converted to ozone and this passes through line 405 into a control valve 406 that automatically regulates the gas flow by gas flowmeter 407 . ozone gas is introduced to the mixer 409 by an inlet fine 408 and is dispersed into the low consistency pulp . the pulp slurry - gas mixture passes into the column 429 , which is held under pressure by a back pressure valve 430 . the ozone - oxygen mixture dissolves and reacts with the pulp slurry before exiting through valve 430 into line 431 . the pulp slurry - gas mixture flows into a separator vessel 432 , where gases are separated from the pulp and passed through line 433 into an ozone destruct unit 434 , in which the ozone is destroyed and the resultant gases leave through line 438 . the pulp slurry leaves the separator through line 436 and flows into pump 437 , where it is pumped to the washer 439 through line 460 . the pulp is washed with wash water added through line 440 and leaves through line 441 . the washings are collected in tank 442 and leave through line 443 entering pump 444 and discharges via line 445 through nozzles 446 and 447 into the dilution zone 450 of the medium consistency storage tank 451 . [ 0057 ] fig6 illustrates a low consistency ozone bleaching process in accordance with the present invention that is carried out after a chlorine dioxide bleaching step . the process uses a compressor after the ozone generator to compress ozone before adding it to a mixer . pulp of medium consistency is pumped through line 552 into a storage tank 551 . the pulp flows down the tank into a dilution zone 550 where it is diluted to a low consistency with dilution water added through nozzles 546 and 547 . agitators 548 and 549 ensure that mixing is complete . the pulp slurry , now of consistency about 3 %, passes through line 520 into pump 521 and discharges through line 522 into a mixer 524 where chlorine dioxide is added through line 523 . the pulp slurry - chlorine dioxide mixture passes through line 525 into the bottom of tower 526 , where it flows upwards consuming chlorine dioxide and bleaching the pulp . it overflows from the tower in line 527 flowing into pump 528 and discharges into mixer 509 where the oxygen - ozone mixture is added . air is introduced by line 501 into an air separation unit 502 where oxygen is separated from air . oxygen passes by line 503 into an ozone generator 504 and is converted to ozone , and this passes through line 505 into a compressor 510 where the gas is compressed . the oxygen - ozone mixture passes through control valve 506 , which automatically regulates the gas flow by gas flowmeter 507 . the ozone gas mixture is introduced to the mixer 509 by an inlet line 508 , and is dispersed into the low consistency pulp . the pulp slurry - gas mixture passes into the column 529 , which is held under pressure by a back pressure valve 530 . the ozone - oxygen mixture dissolves and reacts with the pulp slurry before exiting through valve 530 into line 531 . the pulp slurry - gas mixture flows into a separator vessel 532 , where gases are separated from the pulp and flow through line 533 into an ozone destruct unit 534 , wherein the ozone is destroyed and the resultant gases leave through line 535 . the pulp slurry leaves the separator through line 536 and flows into pump 537 where it is pumped to the washer 539 through line 538 . the pulp is washed with wash water added through line 540 and leaves through line 541 . the washings are collected in tank 542 and leave through line 543 entering pump 544 and discharges via line 545 through nozzles 546 and 547 into the dilution zone 550 of the medium consistency storage tank 551 . the invention will be illustrated in greater detail by the following specific example . it is understood that the example is given by way of illustration and is not meant to limit the disclosure or the claims to follow . all percentages in the examples , and elsewhere in the specification , are by weight unless otherwise specified . it has been found that most pulps bleach well giving increased brightness with little strength loss for an ozone charge of 5 kg of ozone / ton pulp . taking this is as the basis of a design for a reactor , and assuming ozone is generated at a concentration of 12 % w / w , the oxygen requirement is estimated as follows : this produces a mixture of o 2 + o 3 = 5 kg o 3 + 36 . 7 kg o 2 . the volume of the gases at a pressure of 760 mms hg , and temperature of 0 ° c . is 2 . 76 m 3 o 3 + 30 . 40 m 3 o 2 . if this is to be dispersed and dissolved in a pulp slurry having a consistency of 3 %, volume of pulp slurry = 100 / 3 m 3 / ton of pulp = 33 . 3 m 3 / ton of pulp . hence it is required to dissolve and disperse 33 . 16 m 3 of gas in 33 . 3 m 3 of pulp slurry . if all the o 3 dissolved in the dilution water , the solubility of the o 3 would have to be 5 kg / 32 . 3 m 3 , or 155 g / m 3 . if this reaction takes place at 50 ° c ., the solubility of 12 % w / w o 3 in water is as follows : total pressure partial pressure o 3 solubility o 3 ( psia ) ( psia ) ( g / m 3 ) 14 . 7 1 . 22 13 . 2 24 . 7 2 . 05 22 . 2 164 . 7 13 . 67 147 . 9 if this is compared to dispersing ozone in medium consistency pulp having a consistency of 10 %: if 5 kg o 3 ton of pulp is dispersed and dissolved in the dilution water , o 3 applied = 5 kg / 9 m 3 = 555 g / m 3 . the gas to liquid ratio at a pressure of 760 mms hg and 0 ° c . is 33 . 16 : 9 , which is 3 . 7 : 1 . if this medium consistency equipment disperses ozone satisfactorily at a ratio of 0 . 33 : 1 for medium consistency pulp , it will be able to do the same for low consistency . hence to reduce the gas : slurry ratio from 1 : 1 to 0 . 33 , the gas volume must be reduced by a ratio of 1 / 0 . 33 m 3 . this corresponds to a pressure of 30 psig . based on the above calculations , it was decided that medium consistency equipment can be used for dispersing ozone into low consistency pulp at a pressure of 30 psig . this was confirmed by testing carried out in the laboratory as follows : trials were carried out in a quantum mark - 5 laboratory mixer / reactor . this was originally designed and operated with medium consistency pulp . for each run 90 grams of pulp having kappa no = 25 . 5 was used and a first bleaching stage at a temperature of 40 ° c . with a constant chlorine dioxide dosage of 14 . 5 kg / ton was carried out . following this , 4 . 0 - 5 . 5 % w / w ozone - oxygen mixture was then introduced at a pressure of 50 - 70 psig at a temperature of 40 ° c . during the ozone addition , the pulp was mixed for 5 seconds at high intensity using a quantum mixer followed by subsequent intermittent mixing at a lower intensity ( using a cstr ) for 5 minutes . the results are shown in table 1 below : this illustrates that equipment designed for dispersing gases in medium consistency pulp can also be used successfully for o 3 bleaching of low consistency pulp with high ozone utilization . tests were carried out on a pilot plant that was originally designed to use ozone to bleach a medium consistency pulp slurry . it consists of a pump that pumps the pulp into a pressurized high shear mixer . ozone of concentration 12 % w / w is compressed and added to the pulp slurry at the inlet of the mixer . the ozone gas mixture is dispersed in the pulp slurry where it reacts with the lignin . the slurry - gas mixture discharges into a column where the remaining ozone is consumed . results for a softwood pulp having kappa no 31 , carried out at temperature 40 ° c . and a pulp consistency of 3 . 5 %, are shown in table 2 below : these results demonstrate that a mixer designed for dispersing ozone into a medium consistency pulp slurry can be used successfully for a low consistency pulp slurry and that it is possible to operate at lower pressures with good results . two runs of an ozone stage were performed on a brown stock kraft pulp at low consistency in a pilot plant using a high intensity mixer . the runs were made to verify if the ozone stage efficiency ( degree of delignification ) and the consumption were equivalent for low and medium consistency pulp . the pulp used was a softwood kraft with an initial kappa number of 30 . 8 and iso brightness of 27 . 9 %. in each run , the washed pulp was received at 33 % consistency and diluted to 3 . 8 % consistency in an agitated feed tank . pulp slurry was then preheated to 40 ° c . with the injection of steam in the feed tank . at that temperature , concentrated ( 98 %) sulphuric acid was added to the tank to adjust the ph of the pulp suspension to 2 . 5 before the ozone stage . pulp slurry was pumped directly to the hopper of the positive displacement pump . this pump introduced pulp in the high pressure section of the pilot plant , where ozone gas was mixed with the pulp in a impco high intensity mixer . the flow of the pulp into the high pressure section and the ozone charge and concentration were kept constants . after compression , the ozone gas stream was introduced into the pulp suspension trough a sintered metal sparger ( 20 micron porosity ) located between the feed pump discharge and the impco high intensity mixer inlet . the residence time in that mixer was approximately 0 . 05 second . the conditions for each run are described in table 3 . the pulp was sampled approximately 1 meter from the ozone injector point after passing through the high intensity mixer . gas samples were removed at the exit of the high intensity mixer , at the medium consistency pulp sampling point and at the top of the tower . each gas sample was analyzed for residual concentration by gas chromatography . the ozonated pulp for the second run was analyzed for kappa number ( cppa standard , g . 18 ) and iso brightness ( cppa standard , e . 1 ). the results are shown in table 4 below . the efficiency of delignification was approximately 1 kappa number drop per kg ozone . this observation is comparable to the efficiency observed at medium consistency and demonstrates the successful and efficient use of a high shear mixer with ozone and low consistency pulp . the performance of continuously stirred tank reactors ( cstr ) of different types was compared to a high shear mixer for delignification efficiency in a d / z process at low consistency . the performances were compared on the basis of oxe ( oxidation equivalent , with 1 oxe = quantity of substance which receives 1 mole electrons when the substance is reduced . clo 2 = 74 . 12 oxe / kg and o 3 = 125 . 00 oxe / kg ). all of the cstrs considered were similar in setup in terms of ozone pressure , concentration and duration . crl : ( d / z ) ep , skp , initial kappa no . 23 . 3 , final kappa no . 3 . 6 , 14 . 0 kg clo 2 ton for 6 . 3 kg o 3 / ton al : ( d / z ) eop , skp , initial kappa no . 24 . 0 , final kappa no . 7 . 9 , 8 . 0 kg clo 2 / ton , 6 . 33 kg / o 3 / ton econotech : ( d / z ) ep , skp , initial kappa no . 23 . 3 , final kappa no . 3 . 6 , 14 . 0 kg clo 2 / ton , 6 . 0 kg o 3 / ton ctp : ( d / z ) ep , skp , initial kappa no . 25 . 4 , final kappa no . 5 . 1 , 15 . 0 kg clo 2 / ton , 5 . 3 kg o 3 / ton quantum : ( d / z ) ep , skp , initial kappa no . 25 . 5 , final kappa no . 4 . 5 , 10 . 0 kg clo 2 / ton , 4 . 0 kg o 3 / ton robin : ( d / z ) ep , skp , initial kappa no . 25 . 4 , final kappa no . 9 . 0 , 9 . 3 kg clo 2 / ton , 8 . 1 kg o 3 / ton the delignification efficiency for the various reactors is graphically depicted in fig7 . the results clearly demonstrate the superiority of using a high shear mixer in connection with ozone at low consistency , as compared to other reactors which are conventionally used with low consistency pulp . while the invention has been described with preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that variations and modifications may be resorted to as will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such variations and modifications are to be considered within the purview and the scope of the claims appended hereto .	3
in a preferred embodiment of the invention , which has been selected for purposes of illustration only and not limitation , a regeneratively cooled , liquid propellant rocket engine was fabricated . the porous material was used as a heat exchanger to cool the inner wall of the rocket . this structure consisted of an inner wall of rhenium , encased in a rhenium - carbon open - cell foam heat exchanger , which is skinned with an inconel alloy shell by a thermal spray processing . the inner rhenium shell and the outer inconel shell were leak free and capable of containing flowing hydrogen at 500 to 1000 pounds per square inch ( psi ). in the manufacture of this embodiment , a molybdenum mandrel was fabricated whose outer surface replicated the desired inner geometry of the rocket . the outer surface of the mandrel was then coated with rhenium by chemical vapor deposition procedures ( cvd ) to a thickness of 1 . 5 – 2 . 5 mm . a block of open - pore , vitreous carbon foam ( 20 mm × 20 mm × 30 mm ) was then pressed onto the outer cylindrical surface of the coated mandrel until a cavity was formed ( by crushing the foam and breaking ligaments ) in the carbon foam . this replicated half of the mandrel so that the carbon foam encased half of the coated mandrel . this process was then repeated on the unencased half of the coated mandrel with another similar block of carbon foam , such that the entire coated mandrel was encased in conforming carbon foam . the outer surface of the carbon foam was then machined such that the thickness of the carbon foam was about 4 mm thicker than required for the heat exchanger . the unit was then processed by cvd procedures such that the carbon foam was coated throughout with rhenium to a density of about 1 – 2 grams per cubic centimeter ( g / cc ) and simultaneously bonded / attached to the rhenium coating on the mandrel . the reticulated carbon foam served as a skeleton to define the shape of the reticulated rhenium deposit . the carbon skeleton was fully encapsulated . the outer surface of the rhenium foam was then machined to the desired dimensions such that the foam heat exchanger was about 5 mm thick . the outer surface of the foam was then thermally sprayed with inconel to a thickness of about 5 mm . the continuous inconel layer or skin bonded tightly to the rigid reticulated rhenium foam throughout the exposed surface of the foam . the inconel penetrated from about 1 to 2 cell diameters into the foam . the bond was stronger than the foam in shear . the inconel layer was then machined to the desired dimensions and the molybdenum mandrel was chemically removed . manifolds were then welded to both ends to complete the assembly . in another preferred embodiment of this invention , a prototype thermal protection tile , such as might be used on the space shuttle , was fabricated . in this embodiment , a tile of open - cell vitreous carbon foam , about 150 mm × 150 mm × 13 mm , was infiltrated by cvd procedures with silicon carbide to a density of about 0 . 5 grams per cubic centimeter ( g / cc ). one face of the tile was then thermally sprayed with a mixture of silicon carbide and molybdenum disilicide to a thickness of about 0 . 5 mm . this skin was provided for the purposes of oxidation protection . the continuous molybdenum disilicide coating penetrated on the average from about 1 to 2 cell diameters into the foam , and was tightly and uniformly bonded to the foam . the bonding was such that attempts to peel off the skin caused the foam to fracture in the foam below the bonding area . that is , the bond was stronger than the foam in peel testing . in use , the unskinned side of the tile can be bonded to the vehicle . in another preferred embodiment of this invention , a means was developed for structurally attaching a biocompatible , open - pore tantalum foam component to a solid titanium component to be implanted into a human being . in this embodiment , one face of the tantalum foam component was thermally sprayed with titanium to create a skin about 0 . 1 mm thick . the titanium penetrated the reticulated tantalum foam for an average depth of about 1 to 2 cell diameters and was rigidly bonded to the foam . this continuous titanium skin was then brazed to the titanium component using a biocompatible braze alloy . in an additional preferred embodiment , a flat composite plate was prepared and tested . a block of 100 ppi , 20 percent dense reticulated silicon carbide foam about 6 inches square and 1 inch thick was selected . a skin was formed on one 6 inch square flat surface by thermal spraying . a mixture of molybdenum disilicide ( mosi 2 ) particles and about 30 percent by volume of silicon carbide particles was thermally sprayed onto the flat surface of the silicon carbide foam . the silicon carbide particles did not melt , but the molybdenum disilicide did so as to form a matrix for the silicon carbide . the skin was sprayed to a thickness of about 20 mils of which about 3 to 5 mils was imbedded in the reticulated foam . the panel was tested by subjecting it to the flame from an oxyacetylene torch at approximately 1700 degrees centigrade for a period of about 30 minutes . the tested panel exhibited very little mass or volume change . the dimensions and shape remained substantially unchanged . this example was repeated using an 8 inch long tube as the test specimen . the tube of 100 ppi , 70 percent porous , reticulated silicon carbide foam had an inside diameter of about 1 . 3 inches and an outside diameter of about 2 . 3 inches . all of the surfaces of the tube were coated , as described above , with a 20 mil thick molybdenum disilicide matrix containing about 30 percent by volume of imbedded silicon carbide particles . the coating or skin penetrated the silicon carbide foam to a depth of from about 2 to 3 pores . an inlet manifold was attached to one end of the tube and an outlet manifold was attached at the other . the skin was removed where the manifolds were attached so that they communicated directly with the interior of the foam tube . hydrogen under pressure was injected into the inlet manifold , allowed to flow through the foam and into the outlet manifold . this served as a proof of concept for an actively cooled rocket chamber . in use as a rocket chamber the hydrogen or other coolant would flow countercurrent to the exhaust gas in the chamber , and the coolant would comprise one of the propellants . thus , the coolant would be conducted from the exhaust manifold into the combustion chamber . for a hydrogen based coolant system the other reactant would be , for example , oxygen . repeating these examples with various materials indicates that the present invention is particularly well suited to the application of ceramic skins on ceramic substrates . oxides , such as , for example , aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide are particularly well suited for application by thermal spray techniques , as are steels , super alloys , and the like . the composite structures according to the present invention are particularly well suited for use as high temperature heat exchangers , actively cooled engines or airframe structures , combustion chambers , nozzles , and the like . repeating these examples using closed cell 30 ppi foams produces formed in situ skins that are tightly and uniformly bonded to the foam substrates . suitable materials for use as either skins or substrates include , for example , metals , ceramics , glasses , organic and inorganic polymers , and the like . the choice of materials for skins and substrates is generally dictated by the desired end use . the nature of thermal spraying indicates that the rigid foam substrate must generally have a melting or decomposition point that is high enough that it is not melted or degraded during the thermal spraying process . also , the rigid foam must be capable of withstanding the force of the thermal spray without significant breakage . substantially all of the materials that can be foamed or sprayed are available for selection . for example , biocompatible materials such as , for example , tantalum , titanium and the like are often used for both the substrate and the skin where the composite skinned foam product is intended for use as a biomedical implant . refractory metals are generally used for both the foam substrate and the formed in situ skin where strength at high temperatures is required . the materials can be directly foamed or they can be built up by coating the interstices of reticulated skeletons , or the like . for example , carbon skeletons are often used in the production of metallic foams . a carbon skeleton of the desired pore size is formed and then coated throughout with the desired metal using , for example , cvd procedures . often the metal itself can not be foamed . such built up foams are considered to be foam substrates for the purposes of this disclosure and the claims appended hereto . pore sizes from about 20 to 30 ppi to 250 ppi or more are often present in the substrate . the lower the number of pores per inch , generally the more difficult it is to achieve a uniform hole - free skin . such low pore count substrates are , however , particularly desirable where it is desired to minimize weight or to maximize the flow rate or volume of a fluid through the substrate . reticulated , that is , open - cell rigid foam substrates are preferred where it is desired to pass a fluid through the substrate . also , reticulated foams tend to be preferred where weight is to be minimized , and where it is desired that the bonding of the skin extend more than one cell deep into the substrate . two of the significant parameters that control the penetration of the sprayed fluid skin material into the porous substrate are the as sprayed viscosity and velocity of the particles . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , trial and error allows the adjustment of the spray parameters so that the desired penetration is achieved for a particular application . the skin can be applied to one or more surfaces of the solid foam substrate , as a solid uniform complete covering or as a patterned covering , as may be desired . the skin can be applied for a variety of purposes or combination of purposes . it can , for example , serve as the pressure or fluid retaining wall of a pressure vessel or a conduit , as a structural member or a thermal or corrosion barrier , or the like . the formed in situ skins serve their intended purposes particularly well because they are uniformly bonded to the boundary of substantially each pore , generally without a significant excess of skin material at any location . in general , the properties of the foam substrate are such that it is not significantly degraded by melting or the force of the impact from the thermally sprayed skin . also , the properties of the material from which the skin is formed should in general be such that they are amenable to being thermally sprayed using conventional thermal spraying techniques . also , these materials should not suffer significant degradation of their properties due to being melted instantaneously in the thermal spraying process . thus , the preferred materials are inorganic materials with relatively stable compositions in the molten phase . generally , it is preferred that these materials can be thermally sprayed in the ambient environment , that is , at room temperature and in the open air . special atmospheres can be provided by gas blanket or confined environments , if required . low pressure thermal spraying in a vacuum or inert atmosphere can also be employed if desired . what have been described are preferred embodiments in which modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims . obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	8
this invention provides a structure and a process sequence for producing a high - density split - gate flash memory , which features very high capacitive coupling ratio . fig1 shows a plan view of a fragment of an eprom device in accordance with this invention . fig2 shows a device in the early stages of fabrication in accordance with the method of this invention including a substrate 10 of silicon doped as a p - sub . an eprom produced including the product of the following process comprises an embodiment of this invention . by the conventional process of gate oxidation the substrate 10 is covered with a blanket of gate oxide layer to a thickness of about 200 å in accordance with a process well known by those skilled in the art . a blanket deposition of a thin film silicon nitride sacrificial layer 14 is deposited to a thickness of about 2000 å . silicon nitride ( si 3 n 4 ) layer 14 is patterned by a standard photolithographic process followed by etching , thereby forming sacrificial silicon nitride structures 14 as shown in fig2 . the sacrificial silicon nitride structures 14 are used for etching patterns in the gate oxide layer 12 , removing all of the exposed surface of gate oxide layer 12 . the method of etching the gate oxide layer 12 comprises a wet etch , 10 : 1 bhf ( buffered hydrogen fluoride .) after the gate oxide layer 12 has been removed , tunnel oxide layer 16 is grown in place of the gate oxide to a thickness of about 100 å . a range of thickness from about 60 å to about 150 å is possible . outside of that range of thicknesses the result is inadequate because it is impractical since high voltage will be needed for program / erase operations . the process of growing the tunnel oxide is thermal oxidation in dry o 2 n 2 ( e . g . 850 ° c . for 20 minutes .) referring to fig3 the product of fig2 is shown after a blanket deposition polysilicon 1 layer 18 followed by blanket deposition of photoresist and formation of photoresist mask structures 20 for making buried bit lines later . the polysilicon 1 layer 18 was deposited to a thickness of about 2000 å by the conventional lpcvd ( low pressure chemical vapor deposition ) process . a range of thickness from about 1000 å to about 4000 å is possible . polysilicon 1 layer 18 is doped with a blanket doping of phosphoryl chloride ( pocl 3 ) at 900 ° c . for 20 minutes or by ion implantation . the arsenic ( as ) dopant is applied with a dose within a range from about 1 × 10e14 cm - 2 to about 1 × 10e16 cm - 2 within a range of energies from about 20 kev to about 80 kev . then photoresist mask structures 20 ( for etching polysilicon 1 layer 18 and making buried bit lines 17 , 17 &# 39 ; and 17 &# 34 ; seen in fig5 and 6 ) are formed on the polysilicon 1 layer 18 . fig4 shows the product of fig3 after the mask structures 20 have been used to etch the polysilicon 1 blanket layer 18 , forming &# 34 ; stepped &# 34 ; polysilicon 1 structures 18 &# 39 ; and 18 &# 34 ; over and to the left of the silicon nitride structures 14 . polysilicon 1 structures 18 and 18 &# 39 ; are stepped in that they rise over sacrificial nitride structures 14 and they provide a pair of steps up from the substrate 10 . the mask structures 20 have been removed from the device of fig3 as shown in fig4 . to prepare to form buried bit lines in the substrate 10 , arsenic ( as ) n + dopant 21 is implanted into all of the exposed surface of the substrate 10 as dopant 21 &# 39 ; using the polysilicon 1 structures 18 &# 39 ; and 18 &# 34 ; as masks . the implantation of those as ions is performed preferably with an energy of about 50 kev . a range of energies from about 30 kev to about 100 kev is possible . the dose of as is preferably 3 × 10e15 / cm 2 . a range of doses from about 1 × 10e15 cm - 2 to about 8 × 10e16 cm - 2 is possible . referring to fig5 the product of fig4 is shown after self aligned thick oxide ( sato ) regions were formed by oxidation of the surface of substrate forming silicon dioxide and the silicon nitride sacrificial structures are now stripped by wet etching . to form the sato regions 22 , the surfaces of the substrate 10 in fig4 were exposed to oxygen gas ( o 2 ) at a preferred temperature of about 900 ° c ., for an optimum time of about 10 minutes ) of gate oxide layer 12 . the sato oxidation continues preferably until a thickness of about 500 å is obtained as shown in fig5 . a range of thickness from about 300 å to about 1500 å is possible . thicker sato will have smaller capacitance between the control gate to the n + area , which in turn will have a better coupling ratio . however , thicker sato layers consume n + dopant and result in higher n + bit line ( b / l ) resistance . sato regions 22 are formed over the buried bit lines 17 , 17 &# 39 ; and 17 &# 34 ;. the process employed for forming the sato regions 22 comprises thermal oxidation in a gas environment of oxygen ( o 2 ) or oxygen / nitrogen o 2 / n 2 under parameters within ranges as follows : a range of temperatures from about 800 ° c . to about 950 ° c . is possible . outside of that range of thicknesses the result is inadequate . for the lower temperatures the times are longer . for higher temperatures the time is reduced . at less than about 800 ° c . the oxidation rate is too slow to be practical . at above about 950 ° c . the temperature is too high and will cause too much diffusion of n + ions . a range of times from about 10 minutes at about 950 ° c . to about 30 minutes at about 800 ° c . are examples of the range of times and temperatures possible . the silicon nitride sacrificial structures 14 are now stripped by phosphoric acid ( h 3 po 4 ) in a wet etch . there is no problem is removing the silicon nitride from below the overhanging polysilicon 1 layer 18 &# 39 ;, 18 &# 34 ; because of the wet etching process which is isotropic . after structures 14 are removed the structure shown in fig5 remains . fig6 shows the product of fig5 after formation of interpolysilicon sandwich of dielectric ( e . g . ono ) layer 24 followed by deposition of polysilicon 2 layer 26 . formation of interpolysilicon sandwich of dielectric ( e . g . ono ) with an effective thickness of ono , preferably of about 200 å is applied to the exposed surfaces of the device of fig5 by means of a conventional process . a range of thickness from about 150 å to about 300 å is possible . outside of that range of thicknesses the result is inadequate because it is too thin ( below about 150 å ) so that charge retention would be bad or too thick ( above about 300 å ) because of reduced coupling ratio . polysilicon 2 layer 26 which will serve as a word line ( w / l ) is deposited to a conventional thickness of from about 2000 å to about 4000 å . the polysilicon 2 layer 26 is doped with a blanket doping of phosphoryl chloride ( pocl 3 ) at about 900 ° c . for 20 minutes . polysilicon 2 layer 26 is patterned to form word line wl . this forms a stacked gate polysilicon 2 / polysilicon 1 in a self - aligned etch . the polysilicon 2 word line wl also is located beneath the polysilicon 1 in areas where the silicon nitride structures 14 have been etched away . in this configuration , the polysilicon 1 structures 18 &# 39 ;, 18 &# 34 ; form a floating gate structure . in that connection , referring to fig7 which shows an electrical schematic diagram of a circuit formed on the device of fig6 the polysilicon 2 layer 26 forms a control gate and a word line wl and the gate 26 &# 39 ; of an isolation transistor t i . gate 26 &# 39 ; is part of an isolation transistor along with ono layer 24 gate oxide 12 , p - sub 10 and buried n + regions 17 and 17 &# 39 ;. when gate 26 / 26 &# 39 ;( wl ) is at 0 volts the isolation transistor t i can isolate the cell conduction when the cell is over - erased ( split gate structure ) gate 26 &# 39 ;. the polysilicon 1 structure 18 &# 39 ; is surrounded by polysilicon 2 control gate structures 26 / 26 &# 39 ;. as a result , the surface areas confronting each other between polysilicon 1 floating gate 18 &# 39 ; and and polysilicon 2 control gate 26 / 26 &# 39 ; structure are increased , and accordingly the coupling ratio is increased because of that increasing area of confrontation . this structure can have split - gate flash cell characteristics , which are known to be able to overcome the overerase problem . in addition , this structure can have a very high coupling ratio . the example of the operation is summarized in the table i below , where vg is the voltage on control gate 26 . table i______________________________________ v . sub . drain v . sub . source vg______________________________________program 6 . 0v 0v 12verase 12 . 0v 0v 0vread 1 . 5v 0v 3v______________________________________ while this invention has been described in terms of the above specific embodiment ( s ), those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims , i . e . that changes can be made in form and detail , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly all such changes come within the purview of the present invention and the invention encompasses the subject matter of the claims which follow .	7
referring now to fig6 , the conductors 30 of power cable 24 may have an intrinsic inductance represented by discrete inductors 60 distributed in series along the length of each power conductor 30 . a differential mode impedance will be determined by these inductors 60 together with capacitors 62 passing between each conductor 30 and its neighbor representing the distributed capacitance among the conductors 30 , and capacitors 64 passing from each conductor 30 to ground typically presented by a shield around the conductors 30 . the common mode characteristic impedance of the power cable 24 , in contrast , will be determined by inductors 60 together with capacitors 64 passing from each conductor 30 to ground . in practice , the differential mode impedance is measured from one end of any conductors 30 to the other two conductors connected to each other at that end and with all three conductors connected to each other at the other end . this differential impedance measurement normally involves the application of a voltage step across the conductors 30 and measurement of the amplitude of the resulting current pulse . in contrast , the common mode impedance measurement connects the ends of all three of the conductors 30 together and applies a similar step voltage between ground and the commonly connected conductors 30 . for a typical shielded power cable 24 , the differential mode impedance may be approximately 50 ohms whereas the common mode impedance may be approximately 15 ohms . referring now to fig7 , in a first embodiment , the present invention provides a filter device 32 having a common mode choke 34 with three inductors 36 and a differential mode choke 40 with three inductors 38 . each inductor 36 is connected in series with one corresponding inductor 38 . as described above with respect to fig2 , each of the inductors 38 may be connected in parallel with a resistor 42 . in contrast to the prior art , each of the inductors 36 of the common mode choke 34 is also shunted by resistors , in this case by the parallel connection of a resistor 70 across each of the inductors 36 . for common mode transients 28 a represented by a voltage source applied to each of the conductors 30 , the differential mode choke 40 will provide a low impedance passing these transients 28 a to the common mode choke 34 . the common mode choke 34 , in contrast , presents a relatively high impedance to the transients 28 a so that the impedance experienced by common mode transients 28 a will be determined by the resistors 70 . for a typical power cable 24 having a common mode impedance of approximately 15 ohms , impedance matching will occur when each of the resistors 70 has a resistance of approximately 45 ohms . the common mode transient 28 a will thus experience an impedance within the filter device 32 of three 45 ohm resistors in parallel , equaling 15 ohms . for differential mode transients 28 b , a high impedance will be presented by the inductors 38 of the differential mode choke 40 presenting an impedance to the transients 28 b characterized by the resistors 42 . the common mode choke 34 , in contrast , presents a relatively low impedance to the transients 28 b effectively bypassing the effect of resistors 70 . for a typical power cable 24 having a differential mode impedance of approximately 50 ohms , each resistor 42 will also have a value equal to 50 ohms . the differential mode transient 28 b will experience an impedance within the filter device 32 equaling the value of each resistor 42 of 50 ohms . as will be understood from this description , for common power cables 24 , resistors 70 and 42 may have similar values ( e . g . 45 ohms and 50 ohms ). in this case , a compromise may be made approximating the value of resistor 70 as 50 ohms ( or resistor 42 as 45 ohms ). through this compromise , by making resistors 70 and 42 equal to a compromise value somewhere between ( or including ) the two actual values , it will be understood that the function of the resistors 70 and 42 may be combined into single resistor 80 ( as shown in fig8 ). referring to fig8 , resistors 80 shunt the series connected combination of the inductors 36 of the common mode choke 34 and the inductors 38 of the differential mode choke 40 so that one resistor 80 is in parallel with the series connected inductors 36 and 38 . this reduction in the number of resistors is possible because the common mode choke 34 and differential mode choke 40 serve to steer transients 28 a and 28 b separately to resistors 80 . thus , common mode choke 34 provides a high impedance steering common mode transients 28 a to resistors 80 , and differential mode choke 40 provides a high impedance steering differential mode transients 28 b to resistors 80 . this dual function of resistors 80 will require resistors 80 to have a higher wattage value than resistors 70 and 42 . referring to fig9 , resistors 80 shunt an integrated magnetic structure 41 that provides both common mode and differential mode impedance . the resistors 80 function to damp both differential mode and common mode transients , and hence will be required to have a higher wattage value than resistors 70 and 42 . because the common mode characteristic impedance and differential mode characteristic impedance of power cable 24 are essentially independent of cable length , a filter device 32 may be constructed and used freely with cables of a variety of lengths long enough to present significant reflection problems . it is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein and the claims should be understood to include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims . for example , while the present invention describes three - phase motors and drives it will be understood that the present invention will apply to higher order phases and that the term “ three - phase ” should be considered to embrace any system having at least three phases .	7
exemplary embodiments of the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein . referring to fig1 , 2 and 3 a - 3 b , the device comprises a body portion 10 , which is open at both ends 12 and 14 to receive a standard car seat strap 20 . according to an embodiment , a width w of the opening at the ends 12 and 14 is slightly larger than a width of the strap 20 . alternatively , the width w of the opening is the same as or slightly smaller than a width of the strap to ensure a tight fit so that the device does not slip down the strap 20 . according to an embodiment , the width of the device becomes narrower in the directions toward the ends 12 , 14 so that the device has a narrower width at the ends than at a central portion of the body 10 . the narrower width at the ends 12 , 14 also prevents slipping of the device on a strap 20 . the device includes an adjustable portion 16 , which can be expanded by pulling in opposite directions on the ends 12 , 14 of the device , and retracted by pushing in opposite directions on the ends 12 , 14 . according to an embodiment , an end - to - end length l1 of the device in the retracted state shown in fig1 is about 5 inches to about 6 inches , and an end - to - end length l2 is about 7 inches to about 8 inches in the expanded state shown in fig2 , but is not limited thereto . according to an embodiment , the device is manufactured as an integral body portion 10 including the ends 12 , 14 and the adjustable portion 16 positioned between the ends 12 and 14 , and is made of a flexible material , such as , for example , silicone , rubber , or flexible plastic . the flexibility of the device should be sufficient to allow the device to be expanded and retracted upon application of a force , but limited so that the device remains taught once a desired length is obtained . referring to fig3 b and 4 , according to an embodiment , the device receives a car seat strap 20 through the ends 12 and 14 of the device so that the strap 20 extends through the body of the device and protrudes from both of the ends 12 and 14 . the device is positioned to sit below a chest clip 30 as indicated by arrow a , or under a bottom clip 40 along a child &# 39 ; s thigh as indicated by arrow b . according to different embodiments , one or more twist preventing devices may be used . for example , one device may be used on one strap in location a or b , two devices may be used on left and right straps in location a or b , four devices may be used on left and right straps in locations a and b , and any other possible combinations to prevent twisting of the straps 20 . the size of the device can be varied by the stretching or compressing the adjustable portion 16 to accommodate the different locations and children of different sizes . referring to fig5 , according to another embodiment , the device includes a body portion 50 and ends 52 and 54 , but does not include an adjustable portion between the ends 52 and 54 . the device is similar to embodiment described in connection with fig1 , 2 and 3 a - 3 b , with the exception that a length of the device in fig5 is not adjustable . referring to fig6 , a back side of the device of fig1 - 3 is shown , according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig6 , the device includes a slit 18 extending across a back side of the body 10 between ends 12 and 14 . the slit 18 allows the body to be pulled apart so that the device can be installed on a car seat strap without having to undo the car seat strap from the car seat . therefore , a user can install the device by inserting the strap 20 through the slit 18 without removing the car seat strap from its corresponding orifices in the seat and without rethreading the strap through those orifices . similarly , in fig7 , a back side of the device of fig5 is shown , according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig7 , the device includes a slit 58 extending across a back side of the body 50 between ends 52 and 54 . the slit 58 allows the body to be pulled apart so that the device can be installed on a car seat strap without having to undo the car seat strap from the car seat . therefore , a user can install the device by inserting the strap 20 through the slit 58 without removing the car seat strap from its corresponding orifices in the seat and without rethreading the strap through those orifices . although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described hereinabove , it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments , but may be modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention .	1
the word “ oxygen ” covers fluids containing at least 60 mol % oxygen , in preference at least 80 mol % oxygen , the word “ argon ” covers fluids containing at least 90 mol % argon , in preference at least 95 mol % argon and the word “ nitrogen ” covers fluids containing at least 80 mol % nitrogen , in preference at least 90 mol % nitrogen . at least one portion of the air in the process of cooling in the heat exchange line is extracted from the latter at an intermediate temperature of the exchange line ; the said fluid in the liquid state is brought to the high pressure between 5 and 50 bar , in preference between 10 and 50 bar ; the air is supercharged at the intermediate temperature in a cold blower to the high pressure ; the supercharged air is reintroduced into the heat exchange line ; a first portion of the supercharged air is sent into one column of the system of columns and a second portion of the supercharged air is sent into an expansion turbine , the expanded air then being sent into one column of the system of columns ; during start - up of the installation and / or when the inlet temperature of the turbine falls below a predetermined threshold and / or during a change of operation , at least one portion of the air extracted from the exchange line and supercharged in the cold blower is sent upstream of the expansion turbine without passing through the exchange line ; all the incoming air in the process of cooling is extracted , is supercharged in the cold blower and reintroduced into the exchange line ; during start - up of the installation , all the air extracted from the exchange line and supercharged in the cold blower is sent upstream of the expansion turbine without passing through the exchange line ; when the temperature of the air supercharged in the cold blower is reduced to a predetermined temperature or after a predetermined time , no more supercharged air is sent upstream of the expansion turbine without passing through the exchange line ; the inlet temperature of the cold blower is lower than the inlet temperature of the expansion turbine ; at least one portion of the air is compressed to the high pressure , the air at the high pressure is sent into the hot end of the exchange line , a portion of the air is extracted from the exchange line at an intermediate temperature and expanded in the turbine and the rest of the air continues its cooling in the exchange line and in which , during start - up of the installation and / or if the inlet temperature of the turbine falls below a predetermined threshold and / or in the event of a change of operation , air is sent directly from the supercharger into the inlet of the turbine without having been cooled in the exchange line ; all the air is compressed in the compressor and the supercharger to the high pressure ; and only a portion of the air is supercharged in a supercharger to the high pressure . it is another object of the invention to provide a method of producing , in gaseous form and under high pressure , at least one fluid chosen from oxygen , argon and nitrogen , in which method , in stable operation , air is compressed in a compressor , the compressed air is purified and sent into a heat exchange line of the installation in which it is cooled , the compressed , purified and cooled air is separated in a system of columns of the installation comprising at least one distillation column , a fluid is withdrawn in the liquid state from one column of the system of columns , the said fluid is brought in the liquid state to the high pressure , vaporized by heat exchange with air and the vaporized liquid is warmed at this high pressure in the heat exchange line of the installation : a flow of compressed nitrogen in the process of cooling in the heat exchange line is extracted from the latter at an intermediate temperature of the exchange line ; the nitrogen is supercharged at the intermediate temperature in a cold blower up to the first pressure ; the supercharged nitrogen is reintroduced into the heat exchange line ; a first portion of the supercharged nitrogen is sent into one column of the system of columns and a second portion of the supercharged nitrogen is sent into an expansion turbine , the expanded nitrogen then being sent into one column of the system of columns ; characterized in that , during start - up of the installation and / or when the inlet temperature of the turbine falls below a predetermined threshold and / or during a change of operation , at least one portion of the nitrogen extracted from the exchange line and supercharged in the cold blower is sent upstream of the expansion turbine without passing through the exchange line . it is another object of the invention to provide an installation for producing , in gaseous form and under high pressure , at least one fluid chosen from oxygen , argon and nitrogen , of the type comprising a system of air distillation columns , a supercharger to supercharge at least one portion of the supply air or of cycle gas up to a high pressure , a heat exchange line bringing the incoming air and the fluids withdrawn from the system of columns , including the said fluid ( s ) in liquid form withdrawn from the distillation unit and compressed by a pump , into heat exchange relationship and a turbine the inlet of which is linked to the outlet of the supercharger by means that pass through the heat exchange line and is characterized in that the turbine inlet is also linked to the outlet of the supercharger by means that do not pass through the heat exchange line . a cold blower , means for supplying this cold blower with air or a cycle gas in the process of cooling taken at an intermediate temperature level from the heat exchange line , means for reintroducing the supercharged air or the supercharged cycle gas into passages of the heat exchange line that are linked to the turbine , the turbine inlet also being linked to the outlet of the cold blower by means that do not pass through the heat exchange line ; means for sending all the air intended to be distilled to the cold blower ; means for detecting the temperature of the air or of the cycle gas entering the turbine or leaving the cold blower upstream of the heat exchange line ; means for opening and closing the lines linking the inlet of the turbine with the outlet of the cold blower while passing through the passages of the exchange line and without passing through the passages of the exchange line ; the turbine inlet is linked to the outlet of the cold blower by means that do not pass through the heat exchange line and that do not comprise cooling means ; and means for compressing all or some of the air intended for distillation to the high pressure upstream of the exchange line and means for sending the air at the high pressure from the supercharger as far as the hot end of the exchange line . if a hot supercharger is used , in preference the turbine inlet and the supercharger outlet are linked via cooling means . the air sent into the supercharger may consist of at least one portion of the incoming air in the process of cooling . the said cycle gas consists of nitrogen reintroduced into the heat exchange line , which is extracted from the latter at an intermediate temperature below the inlet temperature of the turbine ; moreover , oxygen , argon or nitrogen is produced at an intermediate pressure by pumping and vaporization - warming in the heat exchange line , the intermediate pressure allowing vaporization by condensation of a gas flowing in this heat exchange line . it is another object of the invention to provide a method of producing , in gaseous form and under high pressure , at least one fluid chosen from oxygen , argon and nitrogen , in which , in stable operation , air is compressed in a compressor , the compressed air is purified and sent into a heat exchange line of the installation in which it is cooled , the compressed , purified and cooled air is separated in a system of columns of the installation comprising at least one distillation column , a fluid is withdrawn in the liquid state from one column of the system of columns , the said fluid in the liquid state is brought to the high pressure , vaporized by heat exchange with air and the vaporized liquid at this high pressure is warmed in the heat exchange line of the installation : at least one portion of the air in the process of cooling in the heat exchange line is extracted at an intermediate temperature from the latter ; the air is supercharged at the intermediate temperature in a cold supercharger ; the supercharged air is reintroduced into the heat exchange line ; and a first portion of the supercharged air is sent into one column of the system of columns and a second portion of the supercharged air is sent into an expansion turbine , the expanded air then being sent into one column of the system of columns ; characterized in that all the air intended for distillation is supercharged in the cold supercharger . in preference , the inlet temperature of the turbine is hotter than the inlet temperature of the cold supercharger . exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with regard to the appended drawings , in which fig1 , 2 and 3 schematically represent installations for producing gaseous oxygen under pressure according to the invention . the air distillation installation represented in fig1 comprises essentially an air compressor 1 , an air purification unit 2 , a turbine - supercharger set 3 , comprising an expansion turbine 4 and a supercharger 5 the shafts of which are coupled together , a heat exchanger 6 constituting the heat exchange line of the installation and of which the cold portion serves as a subcooler ; a double distillation column 7 comprising a medium - pressure column 8 and a low - pressure column 9 , with a condenser - reboiler 10 bringing the overhead gas from the medium - pressure column and the bottom liquid from the low - pressure column into heat exchange relationship ; a liquid oxygen tank 1 the bottom of which is linked to a pump 12 ; and a liquid nitrogen tank 13 the bottom of which is linked to a pump 14 . this installation is intended to deliver , via a line 15 , gaseous oxygen under high pressure , which may be between 5 and 50 bar abs , in preference between 10 and 50 bar abs . for this , the liquid oxygen withdrawn from the bottom of the column 9 , via a line 16 , and stored in the tank 11 , is brought to the high pressure by the pump 12 in the liquid state , then vaporized and warmed at this high pressure in passages 17 of the exchanger 6 . all the air to be distilled is compressed by the compressor 1 to a pressure higher than the pressure of the medium - pressure column 8 but lower than the high pressure . then the air precooled at 18 and cooled to close to ambient temperature at 19 is purified in one of the adsorption bottles and all supercharged to the high pressure by the supercharger 5 , which is driven by the turbine 4 . all the supercharged air is cooled by a water cooler 47 and in normal operation sent through the valve v 2 , which is open , to the hot end of the exchanger 6 , the valve v 1 remaining closed . the air is cooled in the exchanger 6 and a portion of the air at an intermediate temperature is expanded in the turbine 4 before being sent into the medium - pressure column 8 . the rest of the air is cooled in the exchanger 6 as far as the cold end and is sent into the low - pressure column and / or to the medium - pressure column . if the inlet or outlet temperature of the turbine 4 becomes too low following the start - up or a change of operation , the valve v 1 is opened , and at least one portion of the supercharged and cooled air passes directly to the inlet of the turbine 4 without passing via the exchanger 6 . this prevents damaging the turbine . once the temperature of the turbine has been re - established , the valve v 1 closes again and all the air passes to the hot end of the exchanger . the installation represented in fig2 is intended to produce gaseous oxygen under high pressure , for example between 10 and 50 bar , in particular around 40 bar . it comprises essentially a double distillation column 7 consisting of a medium - pressure column 8 , operating at approximately 6 bar , and a low - pressure column 9 , operating under a pressure slightly higher than 1 bar , a heat exchange line 6 , into which a subcooler is integrated at the cold end , a liquid oxygen pump 12 , a cold blower 5 a and a turbine 4 the rotor of which is mounted on the same shaft as that of the cold blower and of an oil brake 49 . recognizable in the drawing are the conventional lines of the double column , that is a line 23 for “ rich liquid ” ( air enriched with oxygen ) collected in the bottom of the column 8 which rises to an intermediate point of the column 9 , after subcooling at 6 and expansion to the low pressure in an expansion valve ; a line 24 for “ lean liquid ” ( almost pure nitrogen ) withdrawn from the top of the column 8 , which liquid rises to the top of the column 9 , after subcooling at 6 and expansion to the low pressure in an expansion valve , and a line 26 for production of impure nitrogen , constituting the waste gas of the installation , this line passing through the subcooler at 6 then connecting to nitrogen warming passages 28 of the exchange line 6 . the impure nitrogen thus warmed to ambient temperature is discharged from the installation via a line 29 . the pump 12 draws in the liquid oxygen under approximately 2 bar originating from the bottom of the column 9 , takes it to a pressure higher than the desired production pressure , for example 40 bar , and introduces it into oxygen vaporization - warming passages 17 of the exchange line . the air to be distilled , compressed , cooled and purified in conventional manner , arrives at approximately 16 . 5 bar via a line and enters air cooling passages 30 of the exchange line 6 . in stable operation , a portion of this air at an intermediate temperature t 1 , less than ambient temperature and close to the oxygen vaporization temperature vt ( or pseudo - vaporization temperature if the production pressure of the oxygen is supercritical ), is extracted from the exchange line via a line 37 and brought to the intake of the cold blower 5 a . the latter takes this air to 26 bar and , via a line 39 , the air thus supercharged is returned to the exchange line 6 , at a temperature t 2 higher than t 1 , and continues its cooling in supercharged - air passages of the latter . a portion of the air carried by the passages is again extracted from the exchange line at a second intermediate temperature t 3 higher than t 1 via the line 41 and expanded to medium pressure ( 6 bar ) in the turbine 4 . the air in two - phase form that escapes from this turbine may be sent into a phase separator or is sent directly to the bottom of column 8 . the air conveyed by the line 43 and not diverted by the line 41 continues its cooling in the exchange line and leaves it upstream of the subcooler . it is then expanded to the medium pressure in an expansion valve 27 and sent into the distillation columns , in particular to the bottom of the column 8 . the blower 5 a that performs the supercharging is driven by the turbine 4 , so that no external energy is necessary . the amount of refrigeration produced by this turbine may be slightly greater than the heat of compression , and the excess amount helps to keep the installation in refrigeration . the remainder or all of the refrigeration may be supplied by expansion of air or nitrogen to the medium pressure in another turbine ( not illustrated ). as a further variant , the or each cold blower may compress a gas other than the air flowing in the heat exchange line , in particular the cycle nitrogen previously warmed up to ambient temperature , compressed and in the process of cooling . here the installation produces liquid oxygen in the tank 11 . the installation comprises a valve v 1 in a line 45 linking the outlet of the blower 5 a and the line 41 bringing the air to the inlet of the turbine 4 and a valve v 2 in the line 39 linking the outlet of the blower 5 a and the inlet of the exchanger of the line 39 . at start - up of the installation , the air to be distilled arrives at approximately 16 . 5 bar and enters air cooling passages 30 of the exchange line . the air ( or where necessary a portion of the air ) is extracted from the exchange line via a line 37 at a temperature which may reach 90 ° c . and is brought to the intake of the cold blower 5 a . the latter supercharges this air to between 20 and 26 bar and a temperature that may reach as high as is 120 ° c ., the valve v 1 being open and the valve v 2 closed , the compressed air is sent via the lines 45 , 41 directly to the inlet of the turbine 4 without cooling in the exchange line 6 . the expanded air is then sent into the bottom of the medium - pressure column 8 . alternatively or additionally , at the start of operation , temperature measurement means detect whether the inlet temperature of the turbine 4 and / or the temperature at the outlet of the blower of the air originating from the blower 5 a falls below a predetermined threshold and , if the temperature is low enough , the valve v 2 opens and the valve v 1 closes so that the supercharged air at 5 a is sent into the line 39 , then to the exchange line 6 , before being divided into two and sent in part to the turbine 4 and in part to the bottom of the medium - pressure column 8 . this arrangement of the valves corresponds to the stable operation . alternatively , the closure of the valve v 1 and the opening of the valve v 2 may be initiated a certain time after the primary compressor is started up . the valves v 1 , v 2 may also have the same operation as in fig1 , that is , if the inlet temperature of the turbine and / or the outlet temperature of the blower become ( becomes ) too low , hot air can be sent into the turbine by opening the valve v 1 so that the air passes directly from the blower to the turbine through the line 45 . control of the bottom level ( lic ) of the medium - pressure column 8 or the low - pressure column 9 can be achieved by acting on the speed of the turbine 4 via an sic ( speed indicator and controller ). the speed of rotation may also be set so that the installation operates with excess cooling power . the excess refrigeration is eliminated by any liquid line ( nitrogen , oxygen or argon line ) of the cold box , for example by opening the valve v 3 . the liquid line must have an automatic valve the opening and closing of which are linked to bottom level thresholds of the low - pressure column 9 . as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 475 , 980 , the claude turbine 4 , and possibly the cold blower 5 a , may be coupled to an energy adsorption device other than an oil brake 49 , such as an alternator or a generator . the examples in fig1 and 2 describe the vaporization of oxygen in the exchange line but the invention applies equally to cases in which liquid nitrogen or liquid argon vaporizes in the exchange line instead of or with the liquid oxygen . the invention applies equally to the case in which only a portion of the air is supercharged as is seen in fig6 , 8 , 10 and 11 of ep 504 029 and in ep - a - 0 644 388 and fr - a - 2 688 052 . in fig3 , a medium - pressure nitrogen cycle supplies the refrigeration required for the separation . the liquid upflows 23 , 24 into and the production streams 15 , 29 of the low - pressure column 9 are identical to those previously described . air compressed to the medium pressure is purified and then cools in the exchange line 6 before being sent into the medium - pressure column 8 . medium - pressure nitrogen is withdrawn from the top of the medium - pressure column 8 , warmed in the exchange line 6 as far as the hot end and then compressed in a compressor 54 . some or all of the compressed nitrogen is cooled by a cooler 47 and re - enters the exchange line . the nitrogen returned to the exchange line leaves the latter at an intermediate temperature to be supercharged in a supercharger 5 b coupled to the same shaft as a turbine 4 b . in normal operation , a valve v 2 is open in a line 39 that brings the supercharged nitrogen into the exchange line , where it is cooled , and the valve v 1 in a line 45 is closed . at the moment of start - up and / or during changes of operation and / or to regulate the inlet temperature of the turbine , the valve v 1 opens and the valve v 2 closes so that the nitrogen compressed in the supercharger 5 b arrives at the inlet of the turbine 4 b without having been cooled in the exchange line . it is also possible to adjust the valves so that a portion of the supercharged nitrogen arrives at the inlet of the turbine after cooling in the exchange line , whereas the rest of the supercharged nitrogen arrives at the inlet of the turbine 4 b without cooling . the system of columns may comprise a single column , a double column or a triple column with or without an argon mixture column , a mixing column or any other type of column for separating an air gas . it will be understood that many additional changes in the details , materials , steps and arrangement of parts , which have been herein described in order to explain the nature of the invention , may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments in the examples given above .	5
component a ) of the present invention is a polyorganohydrogensiloxane . as used herein , polyorganohydrogensiloxane is any organopolysiloxane containing at least one silicon - bonded hydrogen atom ( sih ) per molecule . organopolysiloxanes are well known in the art and are often designated as comprising any number of “ m ” siloxy units ( r 3 sio 0 . 5 ), “ d ” siloxy units ( r 2 sio ), “ t ” siloxy units ( rsio 1 . 5 ), or “ q ” siloxy units ( sio 2 ) where r can independently be any organic group , but commonly r is a hydrocarbon group , and most commonly r is methyl . polyorganohydrogensiloxanes have similar structures , but have at least one sih present on a m , d , or t siloxy unit , and can be represented as comprising of “ m h ” siloxy units ( r 2 hsio 0 . 5 ), “ d h ” siloxy units ( rhsio ), “ t h ” siloxy units ( hsio 1 . 5 ). thus , the polyorganohydrogensiloxanes useful in the present invention may comprise any number of m , m h , d , d h , t , t h , or q siloxy units , providing at least one siloxy unit contains sih . alternatively , the polyorganohydrogensiloxane may have an average formula of : or a combination thereof , where m , p , and t & gt ; 0 , n and s ≧ 0 , and r 1 is a hydrocarbon . component b ) in the present invention is an aldehyde having a non - conjugated unsaturated group that is any organic molecule containing both an aldehyde and an unsaturated group that are non - conjugated with each other . the unsaturated group is typically a hydrocarbon unsaturated group such as an alkene or alkyne . the unsaturated group can be located anywhere within the aldehyde molecule providing it is non - conjugated with the aldehyde , alternatively it is non - conjugated with the aldehyde and is a terminal group . representative examples of terminal unsaturated groups include ; ch 2 ═ ch —, ch 2 ═ chch 2 —, ch 2 ═ c ( ch 3 )—, ch ≡ c —, or ch ≡ cch 2 . when the unsaturated group is a terminal one , it may be linked to the aldehyde group via a divalent organic group , alternatively a divalent hydrocarbon , or alternatively a divalent hydrocarbon containing one to 30 carbon atoms . representative , non - limiting examples of unsaturated aldehydes useful as component b ) in the present invention include ; components a ) and b ) are reacted via a hydrosilylation reaction . hydrosilylations are known in the art and require the addition of an appropriate catalyst . suitable hydrosilylation catalysts for use in the present invention are known in the art and many are commercially available . most commonly , the hydrosilylation catalyst is a platinum group metal and is added in an amount of 0 . 1 to 1000 ppm based on the weight of the reactants a ) and b ), alternatively 10 to 100 ppm of the platinum group metal . the hydrosilylation catalyst may comprise a platinum group metal selected from platinum , rhodium , ruthenium , palladium , osmium or iridium metal or organometallic compound thereof , or a combination thereof . the hydrosilylation catalyst is exemplified by compounds such as chloroplatinic acid , chloroplatinic acid hexahydrate , platinum dichloride , and complexes of said compounds with low molecular weight organopolysiloxanes or platinum compounds microencapsulated in a matrix or coreshell type structure . complexes of platinum with low molecular weight organopolysiloxanes include 1 , 3 - diethenyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane complexes with platinum . these complexes may be microencapsulated in a resin matrix . suitable hydrosilylation catalysts are described in , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 159 , 601 ; 3 , 220 , 972 ; 3 , 296 , 291 ; 3 , 419 , 593 ; 3 , 516 , 946 ; 3 , 814 , 730 ; 3 , 989 , 668 ; 4 , 784 , 879 ; 5 , 036 , 117 ; and 5 , 175 , 325 and ep 0 347 895 b . the hydrosilyation reaction can be conducted neat or in the presence of a solvent . the solvent can be an alcohol such as methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , butanol , or n - propanol , a ketone such as acetone , methylethyl ketone , or methyl isobutyl ketone ; an aromatic hydrocarbon such as benzene , toluene , or xylene ; an aliphatic hydrocarbon such as heptane , hexane , or octane ; a glycol ether such as propylene glycol methyl ether , dipropylene glycol methyl ether , propylene glycol n - butyl ether , propylene glycol n - propyl ether , or ethylene glycol n - butyl ether , a halogenated hydrocarbon such as dichloromethane , 1 , 1 , 1 - trichloroethane or methylene chloride , chloroform , dimethyl sulfoxide , dimethyl formamide , acetonitrile , tetrahydrofuran , white spirits , mineral spirits , or naphtha . the amount of solvent can be up to 50 weight percent , but is typically from 20 to 50 weight percent , said weight percent being based on the total weight of components in the hydrosilylation reaction . the solvent used during the hydrosilylation reaction can be subsequently removed from the resulting reaction product mixture by various known methods . the amount of components a ) and b ) used in the hydrosilylation reaction can vary , and typically the amounts used are expressed as the molar ratio of the unsaturated group in component b ) vs the sih content of component a ). typically , the hydrosilylation reaction is conducted with a slight molar excess of the unsaturated group vs sih to ensure complete consumption of the sih in the hydrosilylation reaction . typically , the hydrosilylation reaction is conducted with a 20 %, alternatively 10 %, alternatively 5 %, or alternatively 1 % molar excess of the unsaturated group vs the molar sih content of the polyorganohydrogensiloxane . the present invention further provides aldehyde functional organopolysiloxanes comprising a siloxy unit of the formula r a 1 r 2 sio ( 3 - a )/ 2 wherein the aldehyde substituent r 2 is bonded to the organopolysiloxane via a si — c bond . the aldehyde substituent can be present in the organopolysiloxane via linkage to any organosiloxy unit that is it may be present on any m , d , or t siloxy unit . in other words , the aldehyde functional siloxy unit can be a m unit ( r 1 r 2 2 sio 0 . 5 ), a d unit ( r 1 r 2 sio ), a t unit ( r 2 sio 1 . 5 ), or a mixture of any of these . the aldehyde functional organopolysiloxane can also contain any number of additional m , d , t , or q siloxy units of the general formula ( r 3 sio 0 . 5 ), ( r 2 sio ), ( rsio 1 . 5 ), or ( sio 2 ), providing that the organopolysiloxane has at least one siloxy unit with r 2 present . the weight average molecular weight ( m w ) or number average molecular weight ( m n ) of the aldehyde functional organopolysiloxane can vary , and is not limiting . the amount of the aldehyde functional groups ( r 2 ) present in the organopolysiloxanes of the present invention can vary , but typically ranges from 0 . 1 to 40 mass percent , alternatively from 1 to 30 mass percent , or alternatively from 5 to 20 mass percent of the total mass of the organopolysiloxane . alternatively , the aldehyde functional organopolysiloxanes of the present invention can have the average formula ; where m , p , and t & gt ; 0 , n and s ≧ 0 , r 1 is a hydrocarbon , and r 2 is —( ch 2 ) 10 c ( o ) h or —( ch 2 ) 3 ch ( ch 2 ch 3 ) chc ( ch 2 ch 3 ) c ( o ) h . the aldehyde functional organopolysiloxanes of the present invention can be prepared according to any method known in the art , but typically can be prepared by the methods of the present invention , as described above . these examples are intended to illustrate the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art and are should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention set forth in the claims . all measurements were performed at 23 ° c ., unless indicated otherwise . comparative example of an attempt to hydrosilylate a compound in which the reactive olefin is conjugated to the aldehyde carbonyl . attempted synthesis of m r d 19 m r , where m r =( ohcch ( ch 3 ) ch 2 sio 0 . 5 ) the following general scheme illustrates the reaction performed in this comparative example . to a 3 neck 50 ml flask was added 25 . 02 g ( 32 . 0 mmol si — h ) of an ( hme 2 sio 0 . 5 ) terminal siloxane having the average formula m h d 18 m h , 2 . 69 g methacrolein ( 38 . 4 mmol ), and 6 . 90 g hexanes . the flask was fitted with a condenser , temperature controller , nitrogen inlet , and a magnetic stirrer . the apparatus was purged with nitrogen , and then the temperature was raised to reflux while stirring . when the temperature reached 40 ° c ., 0 . 86 ml of a hexane solution of karstedt &# 39 ; s catalyst ( platinum complex with 1 , 3 - divinyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane ) was added to give pt concentration of 50 ppm pt . at 4 hours , 29 si nmr showed 84 . 4 % conversion of the si — h groups with 93 % selectivity for undesirable si — oc formation as evidenced by the predominant endgroup peak at − 12 . 7 ppm . synthesis of m r d 18 m r , where m r =( ohcc ( et )= chch ( et ) ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 me 2 sio 0 . 5 ) via the hydrosilylation of 2 , 4 - diethyl - 2 , 6 - heptadienal with a m h d 18 m h siloxane the following general scheme illustrates the reaction performed in this representative example . a 100 ml 3 necked round bottom flask was loaded with 20 . 0 g ( 28 . 0 mmol si — h ) of an ( hme 2 sio 0 . 5 ) terminal siloxane having the average formula m h d 18 m h , 5 . 19 g ( 31 . 2 mmol ) of 2 , 4 - diethyl - 2 , 6 - heptadienal , and 8 . 39 g of toluene were weighed into a 100 ml 3 - neck flask and stirred under static nitrogen . the mixture was then heated to 90 ° c ., at which time 55 . 6 μl (˜ 0 . 0014 mmol pt ) of a toluene solution of karstedt &# 39 ; s catalyst ( platinum complex with 1 , 3 - divinyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane ) was added . the reaction mixture was then heated to reflux . after 4 . 5 hours at reflux , infrared spectroscopy confirmed that 78 % of the si — h had reacted . an additional 0 . 39 g ( 2 . 35 mmol ) of 2 , 4 - diethyl - 2 , 6 - heptadienal and 27 . 8 μl (˜ 0 . 0007 mmol pt ) was added . after an additional 2 . 5 hours at reflux , the infrared spectrum indicated that the si — h was largely consumed . the bulk of the solvent and excess aldehyde was then removed by heating to 90 ° c . under vacuum . the 29 si nmr spectrum of the product showed that the m h peak at ˜− 7 ppm had dropped below the limit of quantitation . a new peak appeared at 7 . 17 ppm corresponding to the formation of the desired m r group . the nmr spectrum did not show any peaks indicative of byproducts formed by hydrosilylation of the carbonyl group . synthesis of m r d 18 m r , where m r =( ohc ( ch 2 ) 10 me 2 sio 0 . 5 )— via the hydrosilylation of 10 - undecenal with a m h d 18 m h siloxane the following general scheme illustrates the reaction performed in this representative example . a 50 ml 3 - neck flask was loaded with 17 . 41 g ( 24 . 4 mmol si — h ) of a ( hme 2 sio 0 . 5 ) terminal siloxane , 5 . 00 g ( 29 . 7 mmol ) of 10 - undecenal , and 5 . 60 g of toluene and stirred under static nitrogen , the mixture was then heated to ˜ 90 ° c ., at which time 66 . 7 μl (˜ 0 . 0017 mmol pt ) of karstedt &# 39 ; s catalyst ( platinum complexed to 1 , 3 - divinyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane ) was added . the reaction mixture was then heated to reflux . after 4 . 5 hours at reflux , infrared spectroscopy was used to estimate that approximately 93 % of the si — h had reacted . an additional 0 . 20 g ( 1 . 19 mmol ) of 10 - undecenal and 21 μl (˜ 0 . 0005 mmol pt ) was added . after an additional 3 hours at reflux , the infrared spectrum indicated that the si — h was largely reacted . the toluene and excess aldehyde were then removed by heating to 100 - 110 ° c . under vacuum . the 29 si nmr spectrum of the stripped product showed that the m h peak at ˜− 7 ppm was below the limit of detection . the nmr spectrum indicated & gt ; 97 % of the endgroups contained the desired aldehyde , with less than 3 % si — o — c formation due to hydrosilylation across the carbonyl group . synthesis of norbornylcarboxaldehyde functional silicone , m r d 18 m r , r =( c 7 h 10 ) cho the following general scheme illustrates the reaction performed in this representative example . to a 3 neck 50 ml flask was added 15 . 00 g of a ( hme 2 sio 0 . 5 ) terminal siloxane ( si — h terminal siloxane , ( 21 . 0 meq si — h ) and 3 . 09 g 5 - norbornene - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( aldrich , 25 . 3 meq olefin ). the flask was outfitted with a condenser , temperature controller , nitrogen inlet , and a magnetic stirrer . while stirring under static n 2 , the reaction mixture was heated to 80 ° c ., and 360 μl of karstedt &# 39 ; s catalyst ( platinum complexed to 1 , 3 - divinyl - 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyldisiloxane ) was added for a targeted pt concentration ˜ 100 ppm . an immediate exotherm to 125 ° c . was noted . the temperature controller was then set to 90 ° c . for 3 hours . ftir of the reaction mixture at 1 hour showed an estimated 97 % conversion of the si — h . at 3 hours , 29 si nmr indicated & gt ; 86 % of the endgroups contained the desired aldehyde , with 14 % si — o — c formation due to hydrosilylation across the carbonyl group .	2
referring to fig3 a block diagram of a circuit 100 is shown in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the circuit 100 generally comprises a phase detector block ( or circuit ) 102 , a common mode control block ( or circuit ) 104 , a charge pump block ( or circuit ) 106 , a voltage controlled oscillator ( vco ) block ( or circuit ) 108 and a loop filter block ( or circuit ) 110 . the phase detector 102 generally comprises an input 112 that may receive a data signal ( e . g ., clock / data ), an input 114 that may receive a clock signal ( e . g ., vco_clk ) from the vco block 108 , an output 116 that may present a first control signal ( e . g ., pumpup ) and an output 118 that may present a second control signal ( e . g ., pumpdn ). the charge pump 106 generally comprises an input 120 that may receive the signal pumpup , an input 122 that may receive the signal pumpdn , an output 124 that may present a control signal ( e . g ., filtu ) and an output 126 that may present a control signal ( e . g ., filtd ). the charge pump 106 may also comprise a number of input 128 a - 128 n that may receive a number of bias signals . for example , the input 128 a may receive a bias signal ( e . g ., cm 13 pbias ) that may be generated by the common mode control block 104 . the input 128 b may receive a bias signal ( e . g ., pbias ), the input 128 c may receive a bias signal ( e . g ., pbiasc ), the input 128 d may receive a bias signal ( e . g ., nbiasc ) and the input 128 n may receive a bias signal ( e . g ., nbias ). the common mode control block 104 generally comprises an output 130 that may present the signal cm_pbias , an input 132 that may receive the signal nbias , an input 134 that may receive the signal filtu and an input 136 that may receive the signal filtd . the voltage controlled oscillator block 106 generally comprises an input 138 that may receive the signal filtu , an input 140 that may receive the signal filtd and an output 142 that may present the signal vco_clk . the loop filter block 110 generally comprises an input / output 144 that may be connected to the output 124 of the charge pump 106 and an input / output 146 that may be connected to the output 126 of the charge pump 106 . the signals nbias , pbias , nbiasc and pbiasc may be generated by an external circuit , such as an analog bias circuit . the signal cm_pbias may be a common mode bias signal that may be presented to the charge pump 106 . the loop filter 108 may comprise a number of resistors and / or capacitors . referring to fig4 a more detailed diagram of the charge pump circuit 106 is shown . the charge pump circuit 106 generally comprises a first differential element 160 and a second differential element 162 . the first differential element 160 generally presents the signal filtu at the output 124 , while the second differential element 162 generally presents the signal filtd at the output 126 . the first differential element 160 generally comprises a transistor 164 a , a transistor 166 a , a transistor 168 a , a transistor 170 a , a transistor 172 a , a transistor 174 a , a transistor 176 a , a transistor 178 a , a transistor 180 a and a unity gain buffer circuit 200 a . the transistors 170 a and 180 a generally form a differential pair 171 a . the transistors 172 a and 178 a generally form a differential pair 173 a . the transistors 170 b and 180 b generally form a differential pair 171 b . the transistors 172 b and 178 b generally form a differential pair 173 b . the unity gain buffer circuit 200 a has an input 202 a and an output 204 a and will be described in more detail in connection with fig5 . the transistor 164 a generally comprises a gate that may receive the signal pbias . the transistor 166 a generally has a gate that may receive the signal cm_pbias . the transistor 168 a generally has a gate that may receive the signal pbiasc . the transistor 170 a may have a gate that may receive the signal pumpupn . the transistor 172 a generally comprises a gate that may receive the signal pumpdnp . the transistor 174 a generally comprises a gate that may receive the signal nbiasc . the transistor 176 a generally comprises a gate that may receive the signal nbias . the transistor 178 a generally comprises a gate that may receive the signal pumpdnn . the transistor 180 a generally comprises a gate that may receive the signal pumpupp . the signal pumpupn and pumpupp generally comprise a differential input that may be presented to the transistors 170 a and 180 a , respectively , of the differential pair 171 a . similarly , the signals pumpdnp and pumpdnn generally comprise a differential input that is presented to the transistors 172 a and 178 a , respectively , of the differential pair 173 a . the differential element 162 , generally comprises a transistor 164 b , 166 b , 168 b , 170 b , 172 b , 174 b , 176 b , 178 b , 180 b and a unity gain buffer 200 b . the transistors 164 b - 180 b and the unity gain buffer 200 b have similar connections to the transistors 164 a - 180 a and the unity gain buffer 200 a of the differential element 160 . however , the transistor 170 b generally receives the signal pumpdnn , the transistor 172 b generally receives the signal pumpupp , the transistor 178 b generally receives the signal pumpupn and the transistor 180 b generally receives the signal pumpdnp . the unity gain buffers 200 a and 200 b generally force the drains at both sides of the individual differential transistor pairs ( e . g ., 173 a or 173 b ) to be equal . this generally minimizes the switching transients on the source nodes of the differential pairs ( e . g ., the pairs 171 a , 171 b , 173 a and 173 b ) that may be created when the signals pumpup and pumpdn transition from one side to the other . this may lead to a mismatch between the signal filtu and the signal filtd , which may result in lower static phase offset . to compensate , the cascoded current sources may increase the output impedance of the current sources ( e . g ., the transistors 168 a and 168 b ), which may reduce variation in current due to differences in the signals filtu and filtd , which may , in turn , reduce the static phase offset . the simplified common mode biasing may result in smaller die area and fewer noise sources . driving the differential pairs ( e . g ., the pairs 171 a , 171 b , 173 a and 173 b ) with differential signals increases the operating frequency of the device , compensating for performance loss at lower voltage operation ( e . g ., 3 . 3v or less ). referring to fig5 a circuit diagram of the unity gain buffer 200 a is shown . the unity gain buffer 200 b may have similar connections . the unity gain buffer 200 a generally comprises a transistor 210 , a transistor 212 , a transistor 214 , a transistor 216 , a transistor 218 , a transistor 220 , a transistor 222 , a transistor 224 and a transistor 226 . the transistors 210 and 212 generally receive the signal pbias . the transistors 214 and 220 generally receive the signal pbiasc . the transistor 216 generally receives the signal filtu . the gate of the transistor 222 as well as the drain of the transistors 220 and 224 generally present the signal out at the output 204 a . the transistor 218 is generally connected between the transistor 214 and ground . the transistor 224 is generally coupled between the transistor 220 and ground . the transistor 226 is generally coupled between the sources of the transistors 216 and 222 and ground . while the circuit 200 shows one example of a unity gain buffer , other buffers that provide similar functioning ( e . g ., providing a uniform voltage ) may be used accordingly to meet the design criteria of a particular implementation . referring to fig6 a more detailed diagram of the common mode circuit 104 is shown . the common mode circuit 104 generally comprises a transistor 250 , a transistor 252 , a transistor 254 , a transistor 256 , a transistor 258 , a transistor 260 , a transistor 262 and a transistor 264 . the transistor 254 may receive the signal filtu and the transistor 260 may receive the signal filtd . the gates of the transistors 256 and 258 may receive the signal cm_vref . the transistors 262 and 264 may receive the signal nbias . the drains of the transistors 256 and 258 as well as the drain and gate of the transistor 252 may present the signal cm_pbias . the transistor 250 may be coupled between a supply voltage and the drains of the transistors 254 and 260 . the transistor 252 may be connected between the supply voltage and the drains of the transistors 256 and 258 . the transistors 262 and 264 may be connected between ground and the sources of the transistors 254 and 256 and the sources of the transistors 258 and 260 , respectively . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
embodiments generally relate to devices , for example , semiconductor devices or integrated circuits ( ics ). more particularly , the embodiments relate to features which have a desired cd ( cd d ) according to design requirements of the device . the desired or design cd is smaller than the cd provided by the lithographic system ( cd l ). in one embodiment , a feature , for example , is an opening . in one embodiment , the feature is a contact or via opening in which a contact is formed . other types of features having cd d may also be useful . the ics can be any type of ic , such as dynamic or static random access memories , signal processors , microcontrollers or system - on - chip ( soc ) devices . the devices or ics can be incorporated into or used with , for example , consumer electronic products , such as computers , cell phones , and personal digital assistants ( pdas ). fig1 shows a cross - sectional view of a portion of an embodiment of a device 100 . the device , for example , is an ic . other types of devices may also be useful . as shown , the portion includes a substrate 101 . in one embodiment , the substrate is a semiconductor substrate . for example , the substrate may be a silicon substrate . in some embodiments , the substrate may be a lightly doped substrate , such as a lightly doped p - type substrate . other types of substrates may also be useful . such substrates may include silicon germanium , gallium arsenide , germanium or semiconductor - on - insulator , such a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ), substrates . the substrate may also be undoped or doped with other types of dopants or dopant concentrations . the substrate may include circuit components such as transistors , capacitors or resistors formed thereon with contact regions . other types of circuit components are also useful . generally , the substrate includes numerous circuit components and contact regions . the substrate is prepared with one or more contact regions . the contact regions may be source / drain ( s / d ) regions and gates of transistors . other types of contact regions , such as junction contact regions , may also be useful . as shown , the substrate is prepared with transistors 110 a - b . a transistor includes a gate 114 with s / d diffusion regions adjacent to first and second sides of the gate . adjacent transistors may be configured to share an s / d common diffusion region 115 . other configurations of transistors may also be useful . for example , the transistors may have non - common s / d diffusion regions . the gate can be formed as gate conductors . a gate conductor may serve as a common gate for a plurality of transistors . in some cases , the gate conductor may serve as a wordline of a memory array . forming individual gates is also useful . other configurations of gates may also be useful . dielectric spacers 118 may be provided on the gate sidewalls . the spacers may be used to facilitate forming lightly doped s / d ( ldd ) regions ( not shown ). isolation regions ( not shown ) can also be provided to isolate transistors for other transistors or circuit components . for example , an isolation device may surround a transistor region on which a transistor is formed . in other cases , multiple transistors , such as those which share a common s / d region , may be surrounded by an isolation region . other configurations of isolation regions and transistors or circuit components may also be useful . furthermore , it is understood that transistors are shown for illustrative purposes and that the substrate can also be prepared with other types or arrangements of circuit components . a first layer is disposed on the substrate , covering the contact regions . for example , the first layer is disposed on the substrate , covering the transistors as well as other types of contact regions . the first layer 160 , for example , is formed of a dielectric material . the first layer , for example , may serve as a pre - metal dielectric ( pmd ) layer . other types of first layers may also be useful . for example , the first lay may be an inter - level dielectric ( ild ) layer or an inter - metal dielectric ( imd ) layer . the dielectric layer , for example , may be silicon oxide . other types of dielectric materials including doped silicon oxide such as fluorinated silicon oxide ( fsg ), undoped or doped silicate glasses such as boron phosphate silicate glass ( bpsg ) and phosphate silicate glass ( psg ), spin - on glass ( sog ), undoped or doped thermally grown silicon oxide , undoped or doped teos deposited silicon oxide , and other low - k or ultra low - k dielectric materials can also be used to form the pmd layer . in one embodiment , the first layer is about 200 nm thick . preferably , the thickness of the first layer is in the range of about 100 - 300 nm . other thicknesses are also useful , for example , depending on the desired height of the contacts to interconnecting lines . features 185 are formed in the dielectric layer . in one embodiment , the features are contact openings in communication with the contact regions below the dielectric . for example , the contact openings are in communication with s / d regions and gates of the transistors . conductive contacts 198 are disposed in the contact openings . the contacts , for example , may be formed of tungsten ( w ). contacts formed of other conductive materials , such as copper , aluminum , or conductive alloys , may also be useful . the contacts , for example , provide electrical connections between the contact regions below and interconnects disposed over the first layer . in one embodiment , a hard mask layer 195 is disposed on the first layer . the hard mask layer , for example , is formed of a material to which the first layer can be etched selectively . in one embodiment , the hard mask layer is formed of a dielectric material . for example , the hard mask layer may be formed of silicon nitride . other types of hard mask materials may also be useful . as shown , the hard mask layer has a top surface which is coplanar with the top surface of the contacts . in other embodiments , the hard mask layer may be removed . other configurations of contacts , contact regions and interconnects , may also be useful . the cd of the contact openings is equal to about the cd d . in one embodiment , cd i of the opening at the top is equal to about cd d . in other words , cd i is smaller than cd l . since cd i is equal to about cd d , a polymerizing etch to form the opening is not needed . by avoiding a polymerizing etch , the sidewalls of the contact openings are devoid or substantially devoid of polymer deposits and are vertical or substantially vertical ( e . g ., the vertical direction is perpendicular to the substrate surface ). for example , the sidewalls of the contact openings may form an angle of about 0 - 0 . 5 ° with the vertical direction . in one embodiment , cd i is equal to or substantially equal to about cd f at the bottom of the opening and both are equal to about cd d . as shown , the hard mask remains on the surface of the dielectric layer . for example , the top of the hard mask and top of the contacts are coplanar . in other embodiments , the hard mask may be removed . for example , the hard mask may be removed by a polishing process , such as chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ). the polishing process forms a coplanar surface with the top of the contacts and top of the dielectric layer . fig2 a - j show cross - sectional views of an embodiment of a process 200 for forming a device . the device , for example , is an ic . other types of devices may also be useful . referring to fig2 a , a portion of the device is shown . the device is formed on a substrate 101 . the substrate 101 may be , for example , a semiconductor substrate . the semiconductor substrate may be a lightly doped p - type silicon substrate . other types of substrates , such as a germanium - based , gallium arsenide , silicon - on - insulator ( soi ), or sapphire substrate , are also useful . the substrate , as shown , is prepared with transistors 110 a - b . a transistor includes a gate 114 disposed on the substrate . a gate , for example , includes an electrode over a gate dielectric layer ( not shown ). dielectric spacers 118 may be provided on first and second gate sidewalls . the substrate may include s / d diffusion regions adjacent to the first and second gate sidewalls . the gate and s / d diffusion regions may serve as electrodes for a transistor . the transistors , for example , may share a common s / d region 115 . other configurations of transistors may also be useful . isolation regions ( not shown ) can also be provided to isolate transistors for other circuit components . other configurations of isolation regions and transistors may also be useful . in one embodiment , a first layer 160 is formed on the substrate . in one embodiment , the first layer includes a first material . in one embodiment , the first layer is a dielectric layer . for example , the first material is a dielectric material . other types of layers may also be useful . the dielectric layer , for example , serves as a pmd layer . in one embodiment , the pmd layer is formed of silicon dioxide . other types of dielectric materials including doped silicon oxide such as fluorinated silicon oxide ( fsg ), undoped or doped silicate glasses such as boron phosphate silicate glass ( bpsg ) and phosphate silicate glass ( psg ), spin - on glass ( sog ), undoped or doped thermally grown silicon oxide , undoped or doped teos deposited silicon oxide , and other low - k or ultra low - k dielectric materials can also be used to form the pmd layer . in one embodiment , the first layer is about 200 nm thick . preferably , the thickness of the first layer is in the range of about 100 - 300 nm . other thicknesses are also useful . the first layer can be deposited using various types of processes . for example , the first layer is deposited using chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), including plasma enhanced ( pecvd ), high density ( hdcvd ), atmospheric pressure ( apcvd ). other techniques , such as spin - on processes , depending on the type of material used and application , may also be useful . in one embodiment , the first layer is silicon oxide formed by pecvd using tetraethylorthosilicate ( teos ) as the main precursor gas . a planarization process , such as a chemical mechanical polish ( cmp ), can be performed , if necessary , to provide a planar top surface . in one embodiment , a second layer 168 is disposed over the pmd layer . in one embodiment , the second layer serves as a hard mask layer . the second layer is formed of a second material which the first material can be etched with selectively to it . the second layer may be , for example , silicon nitride ( sin ). other types of materials which the first layer can be etched with selectively to it may also be useful . for example , the first layer may be an advanced patterning film ( apf ) or a conductive layer . the second layer should be sufficiently thick to process the first layer . in one embodiment , the second layer is about 50 nm thick . other thicknesses are also useful . in one embodiment , the second layer is formed by cvd . other forming or deposition techniques may also useful , a soft mask layer 170 is formed over the second layer . in one embodiment , the soft mask layer is formed of photoresist . an antireflective coating ( not shown ) may be formed above the second layer 168 to reduce substrate reflectivity . the antireflective coating ( arc ) can be of an organic or inorganic material and formed by appropriate techniques , such as spin - on , sputtering or cvd . other techniques may also be useful . in one embodiment , the arc is of an organic material formed by a spin - on process . alternatively , the arc can be an inorganic material formed by , for example , cvd or physical vapor deposition ( pvd ). in one embodiment , the soft mask layer 170 is patterned to form openings 173 . the openings , for example , correspond to the contact regions below the first layer . the dimension of the openings is equal to a first dimension . the first dimension , in one embodiment , is equal to cd l . as discussed , cd l is larger than cd d . conventional lithographic and patterning processes can be employed to pattern the soft mask . for example , the photoresist is exposed to an exposure source with the desired pattern and developed to remove desired portions to form the openings . in fig2 b , the second layer 168 is patterned using the soft mask as the etch mask . the arc layer may also be patterned . openings 175 are formed in the second layer by removing the exposed portions not covered by the soft mask . the second layer can be patterned using an anisotropic etch , such as reactive ion etch ( rie ) or dry etch . in one embodiment , the second layer , which is formed of sin , is etched using a high silicon nitride etch rate recipe , such as sf 6 / hbr / he or cf 4 / ar chemistry . these etch recipes include high fluorine atom plasma which maintains a near vertical silicon nitride profile and excellent critical dimension control . for example , using cf4 / ar chemistry , the gases are flowed at the rate of about 50 sccm for cf4 and 500 sccm for ar . the soft mask is removed after patterning . other chemistries for patterning the second layer may also be useful . the cd of the openings in the second layer is equal to about cd l . referring to fig2 c , a third layer 162 is deposited on the substrate , covering the first layer 160 and the second layer 168 . in one embodiment , the third layer 162 is deposited conformally over the substrate . non - conformal deposition may also be useful . in one embodiment , the third layer includes a third material . the third layer , in one embodiment , is formed of a dielectric material . for example , the third layer is formed of silicon oxide . other types of dielectric materials , such as fluorinated silicon oxide ( fsg ), silicate glasses such as boron phosphate silicate glass ( bpsg ) and phosphate silicate glass ( psg ), spin - on glass ( sog ), undoped or doped thermally grown silicon oxide , undoped or doped teos deposited silicon oxide , and other low - k or ultra low - k dielectric materials , may also be useful . the third layer may include other types of material . for example , the third layer may be formed of any type of material which can be removed selectively to the second layer . in one embodiment , the third layer is formed by cvd or pvd . other techniques may also be employed to form the third layer . in a preferred embodiment , the third and first materials are the same . for example , the third layer is formed of the same material as the first layer . providing first and third layers which are different may also be useful . in fig2 d , a planarization process is performed on the substrate . the planarization process removes a portion of the third layer above the second layer . this , for example , produces a planar surface between the second and third layers 168 and 162 . the planarization process , in one embodiment , includes cmp . other types of planarization processes may also be useful . referring to fig2 e , the second layer is removed . the removal of the second layer results in a topology on the substrate . for example , the topology includes mesas formed of the remaining portions of the third layer 162 which protrude above the surface of the first layer . the removal of the second layer , in one embodiment , is achieved by a wet etch employing , for example , a hf solution . other techniques of removing the second layer may also be useful . in fig2 f , a trimming process is performed to partially remove at least a portion of the third layer . the trimming process , in one embodiment , is an isotropic etch , such as a wet etch . other types of trimming processes may also be useful . the trimming process at least partially reduces the width of the mesas formed by the third layer . if the third and first layers are of the same or similar materials , a height of the first layer may also be reduced . for example , the trimming process reduces the dimension of the mesas from the first dimension to a second dimension . in one embodiment , the second dimension of the mesas is equal to about cd d of openings formed in the first layer . as illustrated by fig2 g , a fourth layer 195 is formed over the substrate . the fourth layer at least covers the mesas of the third layer . the fourth layer serves as an etch mask for subsequently forming openings in the first layer . the openings , for example , are contact openings which correspond to contact regions below the first layer . the cd of the contact openings is equal to about cd d . in one embodiment , the fourth layer is formed of a dielectric layer which the first layer can be etched with selectively to it . for example , the fourth layer is formed of sin . other types of hard mask materials , such as conductive materials , may also be useful . in one embodiment , the fourth layer is preferably the same material as the removed second layer . providing second and fourth layers formed of different materials may also be useful . in fig2 h , a planarization process is performed to remove excess materials of the fourth layer such that it is coplanar with the top of the mesas . in one embodiment , the planarization process includes a cmp or an etch back . other types of planarization processes may also be useful . referring to fig2 i , the mesas of the third layer and portions of the first layer under them are removed by an anisotropic etch to form openings in the first layer using the fourth layer as an etch mask . the openings , for example , correspond to contact regions below the first layer , such as gates and s / d regions . the cd of the openings in the first layer , in one embodiment , is equal to cd d , which is less than cd l . in one embodiment , the first material of the first layer and the mesas of the third layer are removed by an anisotropic etch , such as an rie . the rie may remove both the mesas and portions of the first layer using the same chemistry . for example , a single anisotropic etching process can be performed to remove the mesas and portions of the first layer . this may be possible when the first and third layers are of the same or similar materials which can be etched non - selectively . in other embodiments , different chemistries may be used to separately remove the mesas and the portions of the first layer . in one embodiment , the first layer is etched using a clean chemistry . the use of a clean chemistry advantageously avoids or reduces polymer buildup in the openings during etching . this facilitates forming openings with vertical or substantially vertical sidewalls . in one embodiment , the first layer is patterned using a fluorocarbon chemistry ( e . g ., c 4 f 6 ). the process , for example , is performed at a pressure of about 30 to 200 mt and a temperature of less than about 200 ° c . other etch chemistries or parameters to reduce polymer buildup are also useful . referring to fig2 j , a conductive layer is deposited on the substrate , filling the openings and covering the substrate . for example , the conductive layer fills the openings and covers the fourth layer . in one embodiment , the conductive materials include tungsten ( w ). other types of conductive materials , such as copper and aluminum , are also useful . the conductive material , for example , may be formed by sputtering . other techniques may also be useful to form the conductive layer . excess conductive materials over the substrate are removed to form contacts 198 in the openings . in one embodiment , cmp is used to remove the excess conductive materials , using the fourth layer as a cmp stop . this produces a planar top surface . for example , the top of the contacts and fourth layer is coplanar . the contacts , for example , connect the contact regions , such as gates and s / d regions of transistors to conductive interconnects ( not shown ) of an interconnect or metal level . as described , the hard mask remains over the dielectric layer , forming coplanar top surface with the top of the contacts . in some , embodiments , the hard mask is removed . in one embodiment , the hard mask may be removed by the cmp process to form the contacts . for example , excess conductive material along with the hard mask is removed by cmp . this leaves a coplanar surface between the top of the dielectric layer and contacts . in other embodiments , the hard mask is removed after forming the openings , as shown in fig2 i . the hard mask may be removed , for example , by a wet etch . after removal , the contact openings are filled with conductive material . the process continues as described in fig2 j . the process continues to complete fabricating the ic . for example , the process continues to form interconnects , additional interconnect levels , passivation layer , dicing , assembly and packaging . in alternative embodiments , interconnects and contacts can be formed using dual damascene techniques . with the use of a composite etch stop layer according to the invention , polymerization in the contact opening can be avoided . additionally , the contacts can be formed with minimal erosion of silicide contact and isolation material , increasing process window and yields . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the foregoing embodiments , therefore , are to be considered in all respects illustrative rather than limiting the invention described herein . scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims , rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein .	7
[ 0057 ] fig2 shows an exploded perspective view of a condenser microphone using a capacitive transducer according to the invention , and fig3 a and 4 show details thereof , where fig3 and 3a show the capacitive transducer used in a condenser microphone , and fig4 shows an exploded view of the microphone bottom wall and the internal cavity piece of the microphone in fig2 . the microphone 100 ( fig2 ) comprises a capacitive transducer 1 ( fig3 and 3a ). the capacitive transducer 1 comprises a ring - shaped member 12 with a bottom wall 13 and two upstanding concentric ring - shaped walls with a radial space therebetween . the outer ring - shaped wall carries a diaphragm 11 . the free end of the inner ring - shaped wall is recessed below the free end 15 of the outer ring - shaped wall , and it accommodates a stationary electrode also referred to as a back plate electrode 17 therein . together the ring - shaped member 12 , the back plate electrode 17 and the diaphragm 11 constitute the capacitive transducer 1 . the ring - shaped member 12 is an electrically conducting cylindrical body made of metal . the inner ring - shaped wall 16 is so dimensioned as to allow expansion , when the back plate electrode 17 is inserted therein , so that the back plate electrode 17 is retained in its position by means of frictional forces acting between the inner surface of the supporting wall member 16 and the outer surface of the back plate electrode 17 . outside the outer periphery of the diaphragm 11 the ring - shaped member 12 has a free surface 14 acting as a reference plane for precise mounting of the ring - shaped member 12 against a corresponding reference plane 23 inside the microphone housing 21 . the reference plane 14 of the ring - shaped member 12 and the corresponding reference plane 23 inside the microphone housing are matching surfaces and are preferably plane faces , but the faces may be slightly conical , whereby the transducer of fig3 a will be centred in the microphone housing 21 . the ring - shaped member 12 has an upstanding outer ring - shaped wall with an end surface 15 for mounting of the diaphragm 11 . the surface 15 of the ring - shaped member 12 has a rounded outer edge and also serves as a reference plane for mounting the back plate electrode 17 in the ring - shaped member 12 . during mounting it is important to place the back plate electrode 17 precisely at the desired distance from the diaphragm 11 . this is done by using the surface 15 as a reference plane . with proper equipment this mounting can be done with a precision of ± 1 μm or better . the back plate electrode 17 is mounted in the ring - shaped member 12 by being pressed into either end of the ring - shaped wall 16 , which is dimensioned so that the ring - shaped wall expands during the insertion of the back plate electrode , which is then retained therein by frictional forces , or the back plate electrode is inserted into the ring - shaped wall 16 without deforming this , and is retained therein by means of glue or other fastening means . the back plate electrode 17 has a body 20 of an insulating material , eg a ceramic material such as al 2 o 3 , with a conductive coating 19 ( in fig3 ) on the top side facing the diaphragm 11 , and a conductive coating on the bottom side ( not shown ) opposite the diaphragm 11 . other insulating materials can be used for the disc - shaped body 20 , such as ceramic materials , plastics , glass , ruby , sapphire and glass . the conductive coating 19 can be deposited by any suitable process such as screen printing , stencil printing or an evaporation process . the back plate electrode has through - going holes 24 for establishing damping of the movements of the diaphragm . the coatings on the two sides of the back plate electrode are in electrical contact with each other through a vertical electrical feed - through 18 in the back plate electrode 17 or through one or more of the through - going holes 24 . the coating does not reach the edge of the insulating disc , whereby a suitable insulation is established between the conductive coating 19 on the back plate electrode and the diaphragm 11 on the ring - shaped member 12 . alternatively , the back plate electrode 17 can be a metal disc with a rim of an electrically insulating material to establish insulation between the metal disc and the ring - shaped member . the diaphragm 11 is welded , using eg a laser beam , or soldered onto the surface 15 of the ring - shaped member 12 for optimum long - term stability . before welding , the diaphragm 11 is stretched to achieve the correct tension required for the desired sensitivity and resonance frequency etc . the back side of the back plate electrode 17 , ie the side opposite the diaphragm , and in particular the conductive coating are directly accessible on the capacitive transducer shown in fig3 a . as illustrated in fig2 when a diaphragm 11 and a back plate electrode 17 have been mounted , the ring - shaped member 12 is inserted into a microphone housing 21 , using the reference plane 14 for a precise mounting of the ring - shaped member against the reference plane 23 of the microphone housing . following this , an internal cavity piece 31 is inserted into the microphone housing 21 with one end in contact with the end 13 of the ring - shaped member . by increasing or decreasing the inner diameter and / or the length of the housing and the internal cavity piece 31 the size of the back chamber volume in the microphone can be adjusted . following the internal cavity piece 31 , a microphone housing bottom wall 41 of an electrically insulating material is inserted , having a pressure equalization channel 42 with a well - controlled airflow resistance . an electrically conducting body 43 , eg of metal , is inserted through an opening in the microphone housing bottom wall 41 , which body 43 is made so that it will be in electrical contact with the back side of the back plate electrode 17 when the parts are properly assembled . this allows the electrical signal to be transmitted from the back plate electrode 17 through the microphone housing insulating bottom wall 41 . also the bottom wall 41 determines the volume of the back chamber together with the internal cavity piece 31 . the ring - shaped member 12 , with diaphragm 11 and back plate electrode 17 , the volume piece 31 and the microphone housing bottom wall 41 are held in place in the microphone housing using a ring shaped body 51 . this can for example be made with a thread fitting or as a spring as shown in fig2 . the exact realisation of the ring shaped body has little importance for the performance of the microphone and is not shown in detail . [ 0066 ] fig5 a and 5 b show another condenser microphone using the capacitive transducer according to the invention . fig5 a shows a full view and fig5 b shows a close - up of the central part of the microphone in fig5 a . the condenser microphone illustrated in fig5 a and 5 b makes use of the possibility of inserting the transducer 1 shown in fig3 a into a microphone housing with a shape differing from any previous measurement microphones without compromising overall requirements with respect to stability and environmental sensitivity . like in the embodiment in fig2 the transducer 1 is inserted into a microphone housing 21 . the microphone housing 21 , however , is shaped so that the overall height is reduced to a minimum determined mainly by the thickness of the back plate electrode 17 and the ring - shaped member 12 . a protecting cover 45 may be used to protect in particular the diaphragm 11 . by increasing or decreasing the inner diameter and / or the length of the housing the size of the back chamber volume in the microphone can be adjusted . the bottom wall 41 of the microphone housing is made with the same overall considerations as before , only in this embodiment the diameter of the bottom wall 41 is larger than the diaphragm 11 . for use in this embodiment the ring - shaped member 12 has one or more radially extending openings in the outer cylindrical wall near the bottom wall 13 . when the microphone is assembled a closed volume behind the diaphragm will include a volume externally to the ring - shaped member 12 , where the housing 21 and the bottom wall 41 delimit the volume . compared to the prior art this embodiment is made possible because the ring - shaped member 12 can be scaled to a smaller size in both axial and radial directions , and the radially extending openings give access to a volume of air externally to the ring - shaped member 12 . the presented embodiment will have a significant impact in areas where physical dimensions only allow the use of a very thin transducer , and where it is necessary to measure with the same high accuracy and stability as in normal measurement microphones . [ 0070 ] fig3 and 3a show that the surface 14 is recessed relative to the surface 15 carrying the diaphragm 11 . when the capacitive transducer of fig3 a in the cylindrical microphone housing 21 of fig2 or in the large - diameter plate - shaped housing 21 of fig5 b and 5a with the reference plane 14 abutting the corresponding reference plane 23 of the respective microphone housings , the diaphragm 11 will be flush with the front end of the microphone housing , whereby in particular no cavity is formed with the diaphragm forming the bottom of the cavity . such a cavity is undesirable , since it will inevitably influence the acoustic performance of the microphone . however , a diaphragm which is flush with the front end of the microphone housing is vulnerable , and it may therefore be desirable to have the diaphragm recessed a fraction of a mm , say 20 - 100 μm , relative to the front end of the microphone housing . this is easily obtained by proper dimensioning of the height of the upstanding wall 15 carrying the diaphragm and the thickness of the inwardly extending flange with the reference plane 23 of the microphone housing . a special version of the condenser microphone is the prepolarised microphone , also known as an electret microphone . a microphone of this type has a pre - polarised material , which stores a permanent electrical charge providing the electrical field necessary for the operation of the microphone . the pre - polarised material is an insulating material , usually thin sheet of a plastics material . in the invention the pre - polarised material will be placed either on the stationary electrode or back plate electrode 17 before this is mounted in the ring - shaped member 12 . a system comprising a microphone similar to the one in fig2 a preamplifier and possibly other electronics may be easily composed . some preferred embodiments have been shown in the foregoing , but it should be stressed that the invention is not limited to these , but may be embodied in other ways within the subject matter defined in the following claims . for example , instead of planar electrodes and back plate electrode as illustrated in the figures , these parts may have any convenient shape such as hyperbolic , parabolic , dome , or they may have a contour comprising steps or bends .	7
referring to fig1 a diagram of an active pixel sensor ( aps ) 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown . aps 10 is preferably an array of n rows × m columns , where n and m are positive integers . a pixel cell is provided at the intersection of each row and column and each pixel cell preferably receives a reset , row select , and column or read signal , etc ., as is known . aps 10 illustrates one representative embodiment of the present invention and , more specifically , a manner of conducting sub - sampling while providing rapid , universal reset of the entire array after sub - sampling . block 11 represents row select and reset signal control logic and block 12 represents row and reset signal decode logic . suitable control and decode logic for timely generation and processing of row select and reset signals is known in the art . in sub - sample mode , logic 12 propagates a row select and reset signal to each of rows 0 , 1 , 4 , 5 , 8 , 9 , 12 , 13 , etc . rows 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 , etc ., are not used in sub - sampling ( for reasons discussed above ). logic 20 preferably causes a reset of rows not read during the sub - sampling procedure . the reset signals generated by logic 20 , are generated substantially at the same time as the reset signals for the read rows . in one embodiment of the present invention , logic 20 is coupled between a number of sub - sampled rows and non - sub - sampled rows , for example rows 0 , 1 ( sub - sampled ) and rows 2 , 3 ( not sub - sampled ). in response to the issuance of a reset signal on row 0 during sub - sample mode , logic 20 generates a reset signal on row 2 . similarly in response to a reset signal on row 1 during sub - sampling mode , logic 20 generates a reset signal for row 3 . logic 20 ( of fig1 ) thus acts as a look ahead reset mechanism issuing a reset signal at the nth + 2 row in response to receipt of a reset signal at the nth row . in this manner , the entire aps 10 is reset and this reset is achieved in a rapid manner with minimal emi generation . while the embodiment of fig1 represents a look forward reset mechanism , it should be recognized that the auto reset function of the present invention could be embodied in a look behind fashion , for example , with rows 2 , 3 being sub - sampled and rows 0 , 1 being reset therewith . it should also be recognized that although n + 2 reset is shown in fig1 the auto reset scheme of the present invention could be implemented in any ratio of sub - sampled to non - sub - sampled rows , for example , n + 1 , n + 3 , n + 2 through 3 , n + 2 through 8 ( or other ), etc . referring to fig2 a schematic diagram of one embodiment of reset logic 20 in accordance with the present invention is shown . logic 20 receives row reset signals from sub - sampled rows , for example , rows 0 , 1 , and includes combinational logic that processes these signals to generate reset signals for non - sampled rows , for example , rows 2 , 3 , respectively . logic 20 includes two nand gates 21 , 22 , four inverters 23 - 26 and two nor gates 27 , 28 . the row 0 reset signal ( rst 0 ) is gated through nand gate 21 when the sub - sample mode ( ss ) signal is present . the output of gate 21 is gated by an array enable ( en ) signal at nor 27 and inverted to form the row 2 reset signal , rst 2 . similarly , the row 1 reset signal ( rst 1 ) is gated through nand gate 22 when the sub - sample mode signal is present . the output of gate 22 is gated by the enable signal at nor gate 28 and inverted to form the row 3 reset signal , rst 3 . logic 20 may be repeated many times , for example in aps 10 of fig1 to provide the desired reset of non - sampled rows . the combinational logic within logic 20 may also be multiplied to provide auto - reset of an increased number of rows . it should be noted that the auto - reset taught herein may be implemented in row select and reset signal control logic 11 by being programmed into the software , firmware or hardware of that logic . the auto reset features of the present invention are applicable to conventional apss and those utilizing serpentine row select and / or reset signal propagation as taught by u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 371 , 745 by ray metzer , entitled improved digital imaging circuit and method . while the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that it is capable of further modification , and this application is intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth , and as fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims .	7
the invention will be described more fully in the following with reference to two preferred embodiment examples . fig1 shows an implementation of the invention in which the light guide is constructed continuously from the probe to a power supply / light generating unit . the probe comprises an inner electrode 1 which is enclosed coaxially by a flexible light guide 2 and an outer electrode 3 which at least partially envelopes the light guide . the light guide comprises a suitable high - index , flexible , insulating material such as pmma , but can also be constructed as gradient fiber . the light conduction is realized in a known manner by total internal reflection of the light at the interfaces of the fibers . an insulating handle 4 which partially surrounds the outer electrode 3 is used for stabilizing and handling the probe . the light guide 2 tapers to a point 5 . the inner electrode 1 can terminate at the point 5 of the light guide 2 or can project beyond the latter by a small distance . the outer electrode 3 ends at a certain distance before the inner electrode exits from the light guide acting as an isolator . the outer electrode is surrounded by another isolator 6 between the handle and supply unit . the outer electrode is surrounded by another isolator 6 between the handle and supply unit . a connector 7 in which the inner electrode 1 , outer electrode 3 and light guide 2 are guided out to separate connections is used to connect to the power supply unit . the inner electrode is guided at the end face of the light guide transverse to the side and to a contact . this has been shown to result in only a negligible reduction in the in - coupling efficiency of the light in the light guide . a protective cap 14 serves only to protect the probe during transport ; it is removed before using the probe . the following dimensions were realized in a preferred embodiment form for ophthalmological surgery : however , when used as a measurement probe , other dimensional ratios can also be realized . for purposes of deliberate influencing of a specimen with laser light , it is better not to let the light guide taper to a point , but to provide a smooth termination of the light - conducting fiber , beyond which the inner electrode projects by some hundredths or tenths of a millimeter . fig2 shows an assembled probe . the probe likewise comprises an inner electrode 1 which is surrounded coaxially by a light guide 2 and an outer electrode 3 which at least partially surrounds the light guide . aside from suitable plastics , glass or fused silica can also be considered for light guides . the electrodes 1 and 3 and the light guide 2 are held by an insulating handle 4 . a connection piece 8 by which the probe is connected with a light / power generating unit , not shown , via a flexible light guide 9 and power supply cables 10 , 11 of the two electrodes 1 and 2 engages in the handle 4 . the connection between the power supply cables 10 , 11 and the electrodes 1 , 3 is effected via corresponding contacts 12 , 13 . in the simplest case , the light from the flexible light guide 9 can be coupled into the light guide 2 of the probe , as is shown , by joining the ends of the two light guides ; it is equally possible to provide a corresponding optical imaging system in this case . for purposes of illustration , an enlarged view of the probe tip is shown in fig3 and a section through the probe according to the invention is shown in fig4 . the inner electrode 1 is surrounded coaxially by the insulating light guide 2 which is surrounded by the outer electrode 3 . the light guide 2 terminates in a tip 5 and the inner electrode 1 projects beyond the tip 5 by a small distance . with regard to the handling of the probe , the probe tip is advanced to the location of the intended action upon the tissue . light is guided through the light guide 2 and is radiated diffusely or directly from the tip 5 so that the area surrounding the probe tip is illuminated . observation can be carried out , for example , by means of an operation microscope . a halogen lamp or other suitable lighting can be used as light source . the relevant tissue can now be treated in a known manner by applying electrical pulses of suitable shape and intensity to the electrodes . suitable electrical parameters are described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 135 , 998 . it is also possible to replace the second electrode by a separate ground line which is connected to the patient at a suitable location . in this way , the probe according to the invention is simplified to form a monopolar probe , as it is called . the realization of the invention is not restricted to the embodiment examples shown herein ; in particular , other geometric dimensions can also be provided or the insulator can also be used for the transmission of other optical radiation in the ultraviolet or infrared spectral range . while the foregoing description and drawings represent the present invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention .	0
for the following defined terms , these definitions shall be applied , unless a different definition is given in the claims or elsewhere in this specification . all numeric values are herein assumed to be modified by the term “ about ”, whether or not explicitly indicated . the term “ about ” generally refers to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited value , i . e ., having the same function or result . in many instances , the term “ about ” may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure . the recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers within that range . for example , a range of 1 to 5 includes 1 , 1 . 5 , 2 , 2 . 75 , 3 , 3 . 80 , 4 and 5 . as used in this specification and in the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . as used in this specification and in the appended claims , the term “ or ” is generally employed in its sense including “ and / or ” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . the following description should be read with reference to the drawings , in which like elements in different drawings are numbered in like fashion . the drawings , which are not necessarily to scale , depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . although examples of construction , dimensions , and materials are illustrated for the various elements , those skilled in the art will recognize that many of the examples provided have suitable alternatives that may be utilized . a hydrophilic polymer is a polymer that attracts or binds water molecules when the polymer is placed in contact with an aqueous system . examples of aqueous systems that can provide water molecules that can bind to a hydrophilic polymer include blood and other bodily fluids . when a hydrophilic polymer comes into contact with such a system , water molecules can bind to the polymer via mechanisms such as hydrogen bonding between the water molecules and substituents or functional groups present within or on the polymer . in some instances , a hydrophilic polymer can bind at least 2 times its own weight in water and in particular instances some hydrophilic polymers can bind up to about 20 times their own weight in water . one class of polymers that can be considered as hydrophilic includes certain nonionic polymers such as hydrophilic polyurethanes . examples of suitable materials include nonionic polyether polyurethanes available commercially under the hydroslip ® name . another suitable material includes nonionic aliphatic polyether polyurethanes available commercially under the tecogel ® name . examples of other suitable nonionic polymers include polymers such as poly ( hydroxy methacrylate ), poly ( vinyl alcohol ), poly ( ethylene oxide ), poly ( n - vinyl - 2 - pyrolidone ), poly ( acrylamide ) and other similar materials . another class of polymers that can be considered as hydrophilic includes ionomer polymers . an ionomer polymer is a polymer that has includes charged functional groups . the charged functional groups can be positively charged , in which case the polymer can be referred to be a cationomer , or the functional groups can be negatively charged , in which case the polymer can be referred to as an anionomer . an ionomeric polymer can be formed using a variety of negatively charged functional groups . the negatively charged functional group can be added to a previously formed polymer , or the negatively charged functional groups can be part of one or more of the monomers used to form the ionomeric polymer . examples of suitable negatively charged functional groups include sulfonates and carboxylates . the ionomeric polymer can , in particular , include sulfonate functional groups . these groups are negatively charged and can readily hydrogen bond sufficient amounts of water when brought into contact with a source of water such as an aqueous system . additional examples of ionomeric polymers include poly ( acrylic acid ), poly ( methacrylic acid ), hydroluronic acid , collagen , and other similar materials . turning now to the figures , fig1 is a perspective view of an example intravascular filter 10 , which includes a filter membrane 12 . the filter membrane 12 can be formed from any suitable material or combination of materials as will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter . the filter membrane 12 can be porous , having pores 14 that are configured to permit blood flow while retaining embolic material of a desired size . the filter membrane 12 can have a mouth 16 and a closed end 18 and is capable of moving between an open state and a closed state . the mouth 16 can be sized to occlude the lumen of the body vessel in which the filter may be installed , thereby directing all fluid and any emboli into the filter with emboli retained therein . a support hoop 20 can be attached to the filter membrane 12 at or proximate to the mouth 16 . the support hoop 20 can be attached to the filter membrane 12 through melt bonding or other suitable means . in some embodiments , as discussed in greater detail hereinafter , the support loop 20 can be integrally molded within the filter membrane 12 . the support hoop 20 has an expanded state and a compressed state . the expanded state of the support hoop 20 is configured to urge the mouth 16 to its full size , while the compressed state permits insertion into a small lumen . the support hoop 20 can be made from a flexible metal such as spring steel , from a super - elastic elastic material such as a suitable nickel - titanium alloy , or from other suitable material . the support hoop 20 can be a closed hoop made from a wire of uniform diameter , it can be a closed hoop made from a wire having a portion with a smaller diameter , it can be an open hoop having a gap , or it can have another suitable configuration . a strut 22 can be fixedly or slideably attached to and extend from the support hoop 20 . an elongate member 24 can be attached to and extend from the strut 22 . the elongate member 24 can be attached to the strut 22 at an angle or the strut 22 can have a small bend , either at a point or over a region . the strut 22 can be attached to the support hoop 20 at a slight angle such that when the elongate member 24 , the strut 22 , and the support hoop 20 are in an unconstrained position , the elongate member 24 can generally extend perpendicular to the support hoop 20 . in the unconstrained position , the elongate member 24 can also lie along an axis which passes through the center of the region created by the support hoop 20 . this may help position the support hoop 20 in contact with the wall of a vascular lumen or it may help in enhancing predictability or reliability during deployment . in some embodiments , the elongate member 24 can terminate at the strut 22 . in other embodiments , the elongate member 24 can extend through the filter membrane 12 , as shown . whether or not the elongate member 24 extends through the filter membrane 12 , it may be fixedly or slideably / rotatably attached to the filter membrane 12 . the filter membrane 12 can include a waist 26 at a closed end 28 . in some embodiments , the waist 26 can be integrally formed with the filter membrane 12 . in other embodiments , the filter membrane 12 can be further processed to form the waist 26 . in some embodiments , integrally forming the waist 26 with the filter membrane 12 can reduce the outer diameter of the filter device when in a compressed state , increase the reliability and uniformity of the bond between the filter membrane and the elongate member , and reduce the number of steps or components needed to form the filter device . the waist 26 is a region largely incapable of moving between two states and having a lumen of substantially constant diameter therethrough . the elongate member 24 can extend through and be bonded to the waist 26 . this bonding can be heat bonding such as laser bonding , or may be an adhesive or other suitable means . fig3 through 5 illustrate exemplary methods of forming the filter membrane 12 in accordance with the invention . fig3 shows a filter forming mandrel 28 and a spray apparatus 30 . the filter forming mandrel 28 can be dimensioned as appropriate for any particular filter size and configuration and can be formed of any suitable metallic or polymeric material . in some instances , the filter forming mandrel 28 can have a release coating applied thereto in order to facilitate removal of a finished filter membrane 12 . the spray apparatus 30 can generically represent any suitable spraying apparatus that can be configured to provide appropriately sized particles of whichever polymeric material is being applied . in some instances , the spray apparatus 30 can provide particle sizes in the range of about 5 μm to about 100 μm and more particularly about 15 μm to about 60 μm when spraying suitable materials such as polyurethanes . in fig4 , a first layer 32 has been sprayed onto the filter forming mandrel 28 . in some instances , the first layer 32 can be a base layer while in other cases the first layer 32 can be a hydrophilic layer . a second layer 34 can subsequently be applied , as shown schematically in fig5 . if the first layer 32 is a base layer , the second layer 34 can be a hydrophilic layer . conversely , if the first layer is a hydrophilic layer , then the second layer 34 can be a base layer . while not expressly illustrated , additional layers can also be applied . for example , in some cases it can be useful to have a hydrophilic layer on an inside surface of the base layer as well as on the outside surface of the base layer . fig6 is a perspective view of the finished filter membrane 12 . fig7 is a cross - section illustrating the multi - layer construction of the filter membrane 12 . fig7 shows first layer 32 and second layer 34 , although additional layers are permissible as discussed above . merely for illustrative purposes , the first layer 32 can be considered to represent a base layer while the second layer 34 can be considered as representing a hydrophilic layer . the first layer 32 has an inner surface 36 and an outer surface 38 . as illustrated , the second layer 34 ( representing the hydrophilic layer ) is disposed on the outer surface 38 of the first layer 32 ( representing the base layer ). in some embodiments , the base layer can be applied to have a thickness that is in the range of about 5 μm to about 50 μm . in particular embodiments , the base layer can have a thickness that is in the range of about 10 μm to about 50 μm . the hydrophilic layer can have a thickness that is in the range of about 0 . 5 μm to about 8 μm . in particular embodiments , the hydrophilic layer can have a thickness that is in the range of about 0 . 5 μm to about 5 μm . in other embodiments , the hydrophilic layer can be disposed on the inner surface 36 of the first layer 32 . in some instances , a first hydrophilic layer can be disposed on the inner surface 36 of the first layer 32 while a second hydrophilic layer can be disposed on the outer surface 38 of the first layer 32 , assuming of course that the first layer 32 represents a base layer . the base layer can be formed of any suitable polymeric materials , such as polyether block amide , polybutylene terephthalate / polybutylene oxide copolymers sold under the hytrel ® and arnitel ® trademarks , nylon 11 , nylon 12 , polyurethane , polyethylene terephthalate , polyvinyl chloride , polyethylene naphthalene dicarboxylate , olefin / ionomer copolymers , polybutylene terephthalate , polyethylene naphthalate , ethylene terephthalate , butylene terephthalate , ethylene naphthalate copolymers , polyamide / polyether / polyester , polyamides , aromatic polyamides , polyurethanes , aromatic polyisocyanates , polyamide / polyether , and polyester / polyether block copolymers , among others . in some embodiments , the base layer can be formed of a polyurethane that absorbs less than about 5 percent of its own weight in water . in some cases , the base layer can be formed from a polycarbonate urethane such as that available commercially under the bionate ® name . the hydrophilic layer ( or layers ) can as discussed above be formed of hydrophilic materials that can absorb from about 2 to about 20 times their own weight in water . the hydrophilic material can be a nonionic material such as the hydroslip ® and tecogel ® materials discussed above . in some embodiments , these materials can be particularly useful , as they are readily dissolvable in water / alcohol mixtures to form low viscosity solutions that are easily sprayable . these materials are compatible with materials used to form the base layer and exhibit good adhesion to the base layer . the hydrophilic material can be an anionic material such as a sulfonated polyurethane or a carboxylated polyurethane . a polyurethane can be formed from monomers , chain extenders or oligomers that include a desired functional group that can provide a polymer with desired anionomer character . in some embodiments , a diamine disulfonic acid can be used as a chain extender in synthesizing a sulfonated polyurethane . in particular , a sulfonated polyurethane can be produced using 4 , 4 ′- diamino - 2 , 2 ′- biphenyl disulfonic acid as a chain extender . alternatively , a polyurethane can be formed , and desired functional groups such as sulfonate groups can subsequently be added via a grafting reaction . an illustrative but non - limiting method of forming a sulfonated polyurethane is described herein . a polyurethane can be formed by first reacting a diisocyanate with an active hydrogen source to create a polyurethane backbone , and subsequently substituting a desired functional group . for example , a desirable functional group includes a sulfonate functional group . a sulfonate functional group can be added to a polyurethane backbone by reacting the polyurethane with a molecule bearing the desired substituent . an example of a desired substituent is a pendent propyl sulfonate group . one way of adding this functional group is to react the polyurethane backbone with propane sulftone , which is also known as 1 , 2 - oxathiolane - 2 , 2 - dione and has the following structure : polyurethanes suitable for use in the present invention can also include copolymers formed by reacting a diisocyanate , a diol and an ether . in particular , a suitable polyurethane can be formed by reacting methylene bis -( p - phenyl isocyanate ) ( mdi ), n - methyldiethanolamine ( mdea ) and poly ( tetra - methylene oxide ) ( ptmo ). alternatively , 1 , 4 - butanediol can be used as a chain extender in place of the mdea . a carboxylated polyurethane can be formed in a variety of ways . an illustrative but non - limiting method is described herein . a polyurethane bearing pendent carboxyl groups can be formed by reacting an aliphatic diisocyanate , a diol component and a carboxylic acid . in particular , a carboxylated polyurethane polymer can be produced as a reaction product of a diol component , an aliphatic diisocyanate , water and a 2 , 2 - di -( hydroxymethyl ) alkanoic acid . alternatively , an amount of amine , such as diglycolamine can be used for at least a portion of the water in the reaction to form the reaction product . the diol component can include a polyoxyalkylene diol , such as polyoxyethylene diol having a molecular weight of from about 400 to about 20 , 000 , polyoxypropylene diol having a number average molecular weight of about 200 to about 2 , 500 , block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide having a molecular weight of about 1 , 000 to about 9 , 000 and polyoxytetramethylene diol having a number average molecular weight of about 200 to about 4 , 000 . the polyurethane can include a low molecular weight alkylene glycol such as ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , 2 - ethyl - 1 - 1 , 3 - hexanediol , tripropylene glycol , triethylene glycol , 2 ,- 4 - pentane diol , 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol , 2 ,- methyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol , cyclohexanediol , cyclohexanedimethanol , dipropylene glycol , diethylene glycol , and mixtures thereof . an amine can be used in the reaction for at least a portion of the water in the reaction mixture . the amine can be diglycolamine , although other amines such as ethylene diamine , propylene diamine , monoethanolamine , diglycolamine , and propylene diamine can also be used . the diisocyanate used can include both aliphatic and aromatic types and mixtures thereof . an example of a suitable isocyanate is methylene bis ( cyclohexyl - 4 - isocyanate ). other examples of diisocyanates are trimethyl hexamethylene diisocyanate and isophorone diisocyanate . representative examples of aliphatic diisocyanates include tetramethylene diisocyanate , hexamethylene diisocyanate , trimethylene diisocyanate , trimethylene hexamethylene diisocyanate , cyclohexyl 1 , 2 - diisocyanate , cyclohexylene 1 , 4 - diisocyanate , and aromatic diisocyanates such as 2 , 4 - toluene diisocyanates and 2 , 6 - toluene diisocyanates . the invention should not be considered limited to the particular examples described above , but rather should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention as set out in the attached claims . various modifications , equivalent processes , as well as numerous structures to which the invention can be applicable will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art upon review of the instant specification .	0
fig1 illustrates a general perspective view of an exemplary vehicle in the form of a vertical takeoff and landing ( vtol ) rotary - wing aircraft 10 for use with embodiments of the invention . the rotary - wing aircraft 10 includes a main rotor assembly 12 and tail rotor assembly 14 . although a particular helicopter configuration is illustrated and described in disclosed embodiments , other configurations and / or machines , such as high speed compound rotary - wing aircraft with supplemental translational thrust systems , dual contra - rotating , coaxial rotor system aircraft , turbo - props , tilt - rotors , tilt - wing aircraft , and fixed - wing aircraft will also benefit from embodiments of the present invention . in military applications , aircraft 10 may be fitted with one or more weapons systems . embodiments provide an integrated weapons stores processor panel and part of a weapons control system to facilitate installation and operation of weapons systems . fig2 illustrates a weapons control system 100 in exemplary embodiments . weapons control system 100 includes a weapons stores processor panel 102 that provides weapons control and safety interlocks as described in detail herein . weapons stores processor panel 102 may be implemented in hardware , software and / or a combination of both . in exemplary embodiments , weapons fire signals and weapons safety interlocks are implemented in hardware ( e . g ., logic gates , switches ). functional processing ( e . g ., communications with weapons input and flight management systems ) is implemented via a microcontroller , in communication with the hardware . weapons stores processor panel 102 receives inputs from a weapons input 104 and a weapons control panel 200 ( fig3 ). weapons input 104 may be a flight controls grip used for flight control of a helicopter . weapons stores processor panel 102 also communicates with flight management systems 106 , which may include redundant flight management systems , as known in the art . communication between the weapons stores processor panel 102 and flight management system 106 may be performed using know communication protocols ( e . g ., arinc - 429 ). one or more weapons interfaces 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 are in communication with both the weapons stores processor panel 102 and the flight management system 106 . weapons interfaces 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 fire weapons in response to commands from both the weapons stores processor panel 102 and the flight management system 106 . in the embodiment show in fig2 , the weapons system includes 2 . 75 inch rockets and a first weapons interface 108 is a rocket interface unit ( riu ). the weapons system also includes a . 50 caliber gun and a second weapons interface 110 is a gun control unit ( gcu ). the weapons system also includes a . 7 . 62 caliber gun and a third weapons interface 117 is a gun control unit ( gcu ). the weapons system also includes 1760 missiles and a fourth weapons interface 119 is a missile control unit . first weapons interface 108 includes a controller 109 ( e . g ., a microprocessor - based controller ), second weapons interface 110 includes a controller 111 ( e . g ., a microcontroller - based controller ), third weapons interface 117 includes a controller 118 and fourth weapons interface 119 includes a controller 120 . it certain modes , the weapons interface controllers 109 , 111 , 119 and 120 are provided with power , although fire signals from the weapons stores processor panel 102 may be disabled . it is understood that other types of weapons may be interfaced with the weapons stores processor panel 102 through an appropriate weapons interface , such that multiple different types of weapons may be mounted to the aircraft and controlled through the weapons stores processor panel 102 . in exemplary embodiments , the weapons stores processor panel 102 is configured to control weapons systems using the mil - std - 1760 weapons control standard . it is understood that other weapons control standards may be used by weapons stores processor panel 102 . further , a laser pointer 112 for targeting may also be interfaced to the weapons stores processor panel 102 . weapons control system 100 includes data concentrator unit 114 ( which may also be redundant ) that conditions outputs from the flight management system 106 for display on a multifunction display ( mfd ) 116 that is presented to the pilot , and copilot if present . the weapons stores processor panel 102 provides display information for a helmet mounted display , control display unit , and the multifunction function display 116 . the weapons stores processor panel 102 also provides data for a weapons bus controller to implement firing of weapons . fig3 depicts an exemplary control panel 200 on the weapons stores processor panel 102 . control panel 200 includes inputs that dictate how the weapons stores processor panel 102 will process inputs from the weapons input 104 and a weight - on - wheels unit 115 . the weight - on - wheels unit 115 detects when the aircraft is on the ground to disable weapons systems , unless overridden manually . a master arm switch 202 includes three positions . a master arm position instructs the weapons processor panel 102 to provide power to the weapons interface controllers 109 , 111 , 118 , 120 and to enable the weapons stores processor panel 102 to generate fire signals . as described in further detail herein , the weapons stores processor panel 102 generates a fire signal ( e . g ., a 28 volt signal ) necessary for the weapons interfaces 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 to cause the weapon to fire . through safety interlocks , the weapons stores processor panel 102 can prevent or enable generation of the fire signal . the master arm switch 202 also includes a safe position . in the safe position , the weapons stores processor panel 102 provides power to weapons interface controllers 109 , 111 , 118 , 120 , but the weapons stores processor panel 102 cannot generate fire signals needed for the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 to fire a weapon . this position allows the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 to still communicate via the weapons interface controller 109 , 111 , 118 , 120 with the weapons stores processor panel 102 and the flight management system 106 , but does not enable firing of the weapon . the master arm switch 202 includes an off position . in this position , no power is provided to the weapons interface controller 109 , 111 , 118 , 120 and no fire signals are provided to the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 . in this mode , the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 cannot communicate with flight management system 106 . control panel 200 also includes a laser arm switch 204 having an on and off position . in the on position , a laser targeting device is powered through the weapons stores processor panel 102 and is activated by a trigger on the weapons input 104 . upon detecting a laser trigger pull on the weapons input 104 , the weapons processor panel 102 provides an enable signal to the laser targeting device . control panel 200 includes an override switch 206 . the default position for the override switch 206 is the weight - on - wheels ( wow ) position . in this position , the weapons stores processor panel 102 prevents fire signals from being sent to the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 if a wow condition is detected by wow unit 115 . this prevents the weapons from firing when the aircraft is on the ground . the override switch 206 may be moved to a manual override position to allow the weapons stores processor panel 102 to provide fire signals to the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 199 even when wow is present . moving override switch 206 to the manual override position may require removing a cover guard or other blocking member to prevent inadvertent selection of manual override . in the manual override mode , the weapons stores processor panel 102 commands the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 directly , without reliance on the flight management system 106 . as such , even if the flight management system 106 is experiencing faults or inactive , the pilot can still command weapons functions directly through the weapons stores processor panel 102 . control panel 200 also includes a weapons select switch 208 which allows the operator to designate which weapons to fire in manual override mode . in the example in fig3 , the weapons select switch may select between rockets and guns . based on the position of the weapons select switch 208 , the weapons stores processor panel 102 sends fire signals to the appropriate weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 . weapons select switch 208 also includes an off position in which the weapons stores processor panel 102 does not send any enable or fire signals to any weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 . in operation , the weapons stores processor panel 102 communicates with the flight management system 106 to accomplish weapons control , but the weapons stores processor panel 102 is responsible for generating the fire signals required by the weapons interface 108 , 110 , 117 , 119 to actually fire a weapon . for example , the pilot may pull a trigger on the weapons input 104 to fire a rocket . the flight management system 106 receives this input and provides a command to the weapons interface 108 to fire a rocket . the weapons interface 108 cannot fire a rocket until an enable and fire signal is received from the weapons stores processor panel 102 . in this way , safety interlocks may be implemented in the weapons stores processor panel 102 regardless of commands from the flight management system 106 . the weapons stores processor panel 102 provides for integration of multiple weapons systems into one line replaceable unit . this conserves space and weight in the aircraft . the weapons stores processor panel 102 interfaces with the flight management system 106 to transfer data through the aircraft . this further simplifies the aircraft modification and allows for weapons to be installed on any aircraft as a kit , mounted in an aircraft console . the weapons processor panel 102 provides a combination of mission system integration along with system safety . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . while the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , it is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications , variations , alterations , substitutions , or equivalent arrangement not hereto described will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . additionally , while various embodiment of the invention have been described , it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments . accordingly , the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description , but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims .	1
american dreamer is a casino - style game . in american dreamer , players wager on their ability to guess the next card that the dealer pulls from the deck . there are two key physical elements to american dreamer : ( 1 ) a standard deck of 54 playing cards and ( 2 ) the specially designed tabletop . american dreamer can be played with between one to eight decks of standard playing cards . the deck used should have 54 cards total : 13 spades or spade cards , 13 hearts or heart cards , 13 clubs or club cards , 13 diamonds or diamond cards and 2 jokers . the table the game is played on shall be any size ( length , width and thickness ) and any weight . the tabletop surface can be of any shape , but a half - circle shape is ideal . ( see fig1 a .) the tabletop or surface has three sections or areas of play , the turn , the river , and the player station ( s ), each containing special markings as seen in fig1 b . section # 1 the river : 5boxes are permanently painted / drawn / printed at the top right of the table close to where the dealer would stand . this combination of five boxes is to be known as the ‘ river ’. each box should at minimum be equal to the height and width of a standard deck of playing cards . these boxes should also be equal to each other in dimensions . the term ‘ the river ’ or ‘ river ’ is written / drawn / printed on the table near this group of boxes to label them . section # 2 the turn : 1 box is permanently painted / drawn / printed at the top left of the table , separate from the ‘ river ’. this box is known as the ‘ turn ’ and should at minimum be equal to the height and width of a standard deck of playing cards . the term ‘ the turn ’ or ‘ turn ’ is written / drawn / printed on the table near this box to label it . a line is drawn on the table separating the river from the turn . see fig1 b . section # 3 : the player station is labeled with the term ‘ player station ’, or ‘ player ’ followed by a number , permanently printed at the top of the section . the player station should be located opposite the turn and river sections as seen in fig1 a . the player stations is comprised of two subsections : ( a ) the ‘ pre - bet ’ and ( b ) the ‘ in play ’. the pre - bet subsection consists of two boxes of equal size , side - by - side positioned directly under the term ‘ player station ’. see fig1 c . each box is permanently printed on the tabletop . the term ‘ joker ’ or a drawing of a joker from a standard deck of playing cards is permanently printed inside each box . the term , ‘ river ’, is printed horizontally to the left of the box on the left . this is meant to refer to cards played in the river . the term , ‘ turn ’ is printed horizontally to the right of the box on the right . this is meant to refer to cards played in the turn . casinos may choose to print a pay schedule near this group of boxes . the pre - bet section should be enclosed by a box permanently painted on the playing surface as seen in fig1 c . the ‘ in play ’ subsection of the player station is located directly under the ‘ pre - bet ’ subsection and consists of three tiers . ( 1 ) the first tier is the group of markings at the bottom of the tabletop , closest to the player . this tier is comprised of four symbols , spade , heart , club and diamond , or the like , each representing a suit in a standard deck of playing cards , permanently drawn on the tabletop . each symbol is enclosed separately in a box also permanently drawn on the tabletop . each box is drawn side by side on the tabletop . the boxes should be of equal size . the symbols within the boxes should be proportionate to the box in which they are enclosed . see fig1 c . casinos may choose to print a pay schedule near this group of boxes . ( 2 ) the second tier is a group of markings directly above the first tier . the second tier is comprised of three boxes . the box at the far left should be labeled ‘ a - 4 ’. the middle box should be labeled ‘ 5 - 9 ’. the third box should be labeled ‘ 10 - k ’. the labels represent the values in a deck of standard playing cards . see fig1 c . casinos may choose to print a pay schedule near this group of boxes . ( 3 ) the third tier is a group of markings directly above the second tier . the third tier is comprised of four boxes , labeled , ‘ a ’, ‘ k ’, ‘ q ’, and ‘ j ’ respectively . see fig1 b . the ‘ a ’ represents the ace of any suit in a standard deck of playing cards . the ‘ k ’ represents the king of any suit . the ‘ q ’ represents the queen of any suit . the j represents the jack of any suit . the boxes should be of equal size and should sit side - by - side . casinos may choose to print a pay schedule neat this group of boxes . multiple player stations may be painted on the same tabletop or playing surface . if multiple player stations are used , these stations should line the bottom and sides of the tabletop as appropriate allowing adequate room every player to reach his / her individual player station . see fig1 a . the term ‘ player ’ or ‘ player station ’ is written near each player station . see fig1 b . to play american dreamer , you will need a dealer or dealing mechanism and a minimum of one player . the dealer always stands opposite the player or player station , facing him or her . at the start of each round of play , a player is allowed to make a wager in the ‘ pre - bet ’ section of his / her player station . a dealer may invite this betting by saying , “ pre - bet ”. in making the pre - bet , a player is wagering that a joker will be dealt into either the turn or river boxes . to wager that a joker will be dealt in the turn , a player places currency ( as determined by the casino ) on the term ‘ joker ’ or the drawing of the joker closest to the term , ‘ turn ’ in his / her player section . to wager that a joker will be dealt in the river , a player places currency on the term ‘ joker ’ or the drawing of the joker closest the term , ‘ river ’ in his / her player station . once all pre - bets have been made , the dealer then signals the end of the pre - bet . the dealer may do this by saying , “ pre - bet closed ”. the frequency with which a dealer chooses to shuffle the cards depends on the number of decks being used in the game . if fewer decks are used , the dealer will want to shuffle more often . the dealer can either shuffle the cards manually or use a shuffling mechanism . players never touch the cards . the dealer places five playing cards from the top of the deck , face - up on the table , in the river , one in each box . the cards should be dealt left to right , all cards facing the players . this is known as ‘ dealing the river ’. using the river cards as guidance , players can now make several wagers . a player can wager whether the suit of the turn card will be spades , hearts , diamonds or clubs . players make this wager by placing currency ( as determined by the casino ) on either the heart , spade , club or diamond symbol displayed at the bottom of their ‘ player station ’ ( see fig1 c ). this is known as betting in the first tier . in addition , a player may wager whether the value of the turn card will be a - 4 , 5 - 9 or 10 - k . this should be done by placing currency in appropriate boxes in the player station as seen in fig1 b . this is known as second tier betting . a player may also bet whether the turn card will be an ace , king , queen or jack . this should be done by placing currency on the a , k , q , or j drawn on the tabletop in the players station . this is known as the third tier betting . once all of the players have placed their bet , the dealer then places a single playing card , face - up , in the turn box . the dealer should then assess the bets that have been made , pay the winners and collect from the losers . ( note : casinos may choose to determine their own pay schedule for winners or may use the one in this document .) players betting in the first tier and correctly match the suit of the turn card win . those players can be paid $ 1 . 00 for every $ 1 . 00 bet or $ 100 % of their bet . players betting in the second tier who correctly guess the value of the turn card ( a - 4 , 5 - 9 or 10 - k ) win and can also be paid $ 1 . 00 for every $ 1 . 00 bet or 100 % of their bet . players betting in the third tier of betting who correctly guess the type of card played in the turn ( a , k , q or j ) win and may also be paid $ 3 . 00 for every $ 1 . 00 bet or 300 % of their bet . players betting in pre - bet who correctly guess that a joker will be played in the river win and may be paid $ 5 . 00 for every $ 1 . 00 bet or 500 % of their bet . a player wins once for each joker that appears in the river and therefor is paid once for each win . players betting in the pre - bet who correctly guess that a joker will be played in the turn win and can also be paid $ 5 . 00 for every $ 1 . 00 bet or 500 % of their bet . winnings are placed on the player &# 39 ; s player station next to his / her bet . this is known as ‘ paying the winners ’. players who guess incorrectly loose , thereby surrendering the money they have bet to the casino or game operator . after any winners have been paid and the bets collected from any losers , the dealer then clears the table of any cards . the dealer may then place those cards to the side , or reintroduce them to the deck and shuffle the deck . play then begins again with the pre - bet .	0
fig1 illustrates an isometric view of a spool valve for a speed control apparatus , herein called a slotted spool valve 60 , an improved spool valve , which can be incorporated into the speed control apparatus described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 by the applicants . the slotted spool valve 60 is shown prior to alignment with a bore 62 extending through a representative manifold 64 , different from but serving the same purpose as the manifold 17 of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 , which is detached from or which could be geometrically configured , if desired , to mount on or about or be connected to the motor 10 of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 . the manifold 64 includes at least an inlet attachment port 66 and a motor supply attachment port 68 , which are in common , and an outlet attachment port 70 , each port being appropriately connected and in communication with the slotted spool valve 60 , as later described in detail . fig2 illustrates an exploded view of the slotted spool valve 60 , the present invention . the major components of the slotted spool valve 60 include a spool 72 , which can be rotationally positioned , and a liner 74 into which the spool 72 and into which a snap ring 76 and a plug assembly 78 are aligningly accommodated . the liner 74 is shaped generally as a cylinder and includes an exterior surface 80 which is interrupted by an o - ring groove 82 , an annular channel 84 having a plurality of rectangular liner bypass ports 86 a - 86 n extending therethrough to a liner interior 88 , an annular channel 90 having a plurality of liner supply ports 92 a - 92 n extending therethrough to the liner interior 88 , and an interior groove 93 for accommodation of the snap ring 76 which secures the plug assembly 78 in one end of the liner 74 . the spool 72 is formed , in general , in cylindrical fashion being interrupted by an annular channel 94 through which one or more spool supply ports 98 extend therethrough to communicate with the spool interior 100 . a plurality of rectangular spool bypass ports 102 a - 102 n are located around and about one end of the spool 72 and extend therethrough to communicate with the spool interior 100 . the spool 72 is closed on one end and sealed at the opposite end by a plug 96 . the plug 96 includes a coupling receptor 97 for accommodation of a coupling 99 such as attached to the end of shaft 36 shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 . grooves 104 and 106 encompass one end of the spool 72 . fig3 illustrates an assembled view of the spool 72 and of the liner 74 in cross section . fig4 illustrates the slotted spool valve 60 consisting of the liner 74 and the contained the spool 72 residing in the bore 62 of the manifold 64 . the manifold 64 includes annular channels interrupting the bore 62 including an inlet channel 112 which is annular and which communicates through the inlet attachment port 66 and an outlet channel 114 which is also annular and which communicates through the outlet attachment port 70 . the inlet channel 112 also communicates directly to the motor supply attachment port 68 . the preceding mentioned ports 66 , 68 and 70 are shown in simple form for the purposes of brevity and clarity . the inlet channel 112 aligns closely to the annular channel 90 surrounding the liner 74 and as such communicates through the liner supply ports 92 a - 92 n to the spool interior 100 via the annular channel 94 and the spool supply port 98 extending through the annular channel 94 . such communication , as described , is continuous regardless of the rotational position of the spool 72 . the outlet channel 114 aligns closely to the annular channel 84 surrounding the liner 74 and as such is in a position to variably communicate through the rectangular liner bypass ports 86 a - 86 n of the liner 74 through the rectangular spool bypass ports 102 a - 102 n of the spool 72 with the interior 100 of the spool 72 . such communication , as described , is variable depending on the angular rotational position of the spool 72 . the spool 72 can be positioned to allow no communication therethrough or can be positioned to allow partial communication therethrough or can be positioned to allow full communication therethrough . the exterior surface 80 of the liner 74 is in close juxtaposition with the bore 62 of the manifold 64 , and the liner 74 is sealed by o - rings to seal the slotted spool valve 60 to and within the bore 62 . a plurality of o - rings 108 a - 108 n residing in o - ring grooves in the bore 62 of the manifold 64 seal against the exterior surface 80 of the slotted spool valve 60 at one end of the slotted spool valve 60 , and another o - ring 110 residing in the o - ring groove 82 of the liner 74 seals the bore 62 of the manifold 64 at the opposing end of the slotted spool valve 60 . an intermediate o - ring 111 residing in an o - ring groove in the bore 62 of the manifold 64 seals against the exterior surface 80 of the liner 74 . an oil groove 109 in the bore 62 of the manifold 64 is connected to a passage 113 in the manifold 64 . passage 113 also connects to the rectangular liner bypass ports 86 a - 86 n of the liner 74 through the outlet channel 114 . a check valve 115 is located in the manifold 64 and sealed thereto by o - rings 116 and 128 . the check valve 115 allows passage from the motor return port 117 to the outlet channel 114 with a restriction at the ball 126 to stabilize the motor 10 . the check valve 115 will also ensure that the motor 10 will not run backwards . also shown in fig4 is a liner nut 119 threadingly engaged in one end of the liner 74 in close proximity to the plug 96 and sealed therein by an o - ring 121 . the shaft 36 previously shown and described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 is accommodated by the liner nut 119 and extends therethrough to attach in a suitable manner to the coupling 99 which is accommodated by and attached in a suitable manner to the coupling receptor 97 at the one end of the spool 72 . fig5 is a hydraulic schematic showing the incorporation of the slotted spool valve 60 within the manifold 64 and the relationship thereof to a motor such as motor 10 shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 . fig6 illustrates the slotted spool valve 60 in the partially open position where the spool 72 is at a position which allows a sufficient amount of hydraulic fluid to bypass therethrough to maintain a desired hydraulic motor speed as controlled by the mechanisms described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 . fig7 a - 7 d illustrate a comparison of prior art spool valves incorporating round ports 24 , such as incorporated in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 703 , 810 , with the rectangular ports of the slotted spool valve 60 . fig7 a shows the normal operating position of the prior art rotatable round port ( s ) 24 with respect to the bypass passage 20 and fig7 b shows the normal operating position of the rotatable rectangular spool bypass port ( s ) 102 a - 102 n with respect to the rectangular liner bypass port ( s ) 86 a - 86 n . the cross sections of bypass for fig7 a and 7 b , as shown by cross hatches 118 and 120 , respectively , are identical in cross sectional area where each bypasses the same amount of hydraulic fluid to maintain a motor speed . fig7 c and 7 d show the situation where a load is placed upon the motor whereby increased bypassing is invoked to allow a greater hydraulic delivery to the motor to allow the motor to handle the newly imposed load . fig7 c shows the components of fig7 a where a newly desired bypass cross hatch 122 of required size is produced by rotation of the port 24 . such rotation of the port 24 could be clockwise , and , for example of illustration and demonstration , could be 10 °. fig7 d shows the components of fig7 b where a newly desired bypass cross hatch 124 of required size is produced by rotation of the ports 102 a - 102 n . the area of the cross hatch 124 is equal to that of the cross hatch 122 ( fig7 c ) such rotation of the ports 102 a - 102 n could be clockwise , the same as for fig7 c , but the amount of rotation of the rectangular spool bypass ports 102 a - 102 n to achieve the same cross section 122 is less than 10 ° such as described for rotation of the round port 24 , and , for purposes of example and demonstration could be 5 ° of rotation . because the rectangular spool bypass ports 102 a - 102 n require less rotation to achieve an identical result , speed compensation response is increased significantly at a greater and faster rate than that provided for using the round port ( s ) 24 . it follows that reduction of the load on the motor calls for a response to offer more bypassing calls for actuation of the ports in an opposite direction . of course , less movement is required by the rectangular spool bypass ports 102 a - 102 n , thus enhancing reduced response time . such reduced response time in both directions is improved to a degree that speed hunting and searching is so quick and rapid that it is not discernible . various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof .	5
referring now to fig1 and 2 , shown is a duct coating applicator or applicator head of the invention designated generally 10 . duct coating applicator 10 is a towed device that is capable of navigating a duct 11 ( fig2 , 4 ). duct 11 may be of various sizes , e . g ., 6 inch ducts , duct elbows , transitioning and wyes . duct coating applicator 10 is capable of expanding for use in larger ducts , e . g ., 10 to 12 inch diameter duct systems . duct coating applicator 10 has a cylindrical body 12 . cylindrical body 12 has an outer member 14 and a core member 16 . cylindrical body 12 additionally has an inlet end 18 and an outlet end 20 . outer member 14 defines an annular chamber 22 ( fig1 ) for receiving an annular piston 24 for regulating extension of pairs of extension arms 70 , 92 , 114 , 136 , discussed below . core member 16 has an inlet end 26 and an outlet end 28 ( fig1 ). core member 16 defines a first longitudinal passageway 30 and a second longitudinal passageway 32 . first longitudinal passageway 30 has a first inlet 34 and second longitudinal passageway 32 has a second inlet 36 . each of first inlet 34 and second inlet 36 communicate with inlet end 26 of core member 16 . first passageway 30 has a first outlet 38 . second passageway 32 has a second outlet 40 . each of first outlet 38 and second outlet 40 communicate with transverse combining passageway 42 . transverse combining passageway 42 passes combined fluids to impinging mixing chamber 44 for passing fluid through a slotted or radially drilled orifice core mixer 46 . slotted member 48 is located in slotted core mixer 46 adjacent to an outlet end of impinging mixing chamber 44 . outlet cap 52 is threadably received on outlet end 28 of core member 16 . outlet cap 52 receives stem 54 that defines exit passageway 56 . adjustable nozzle 58 is positioned on an outlet end of stem 54 for dispersing fluids traveling through exit passageway 56 . inlet member 62 is affixed to inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 . inlet member 62 defines first threaded inlet 64 and second threaded inlet 66 . first threaded inlet 64 communicates with inlet 34 of first longitudinal passageway 30 . first threaded inlet 64 receives a first component of a plural fluid . second threaded inlet 66 is in communication with second inlet 36 of second longitudinal passageway 32 . second threaded inlet 66 receives a second component of a plural fluid . slider 68 is slidably received on and surrounds outer member 14 . slider 68 interacts with annular piston 24 for being longitudinally displaced thereby . first pair of extension arms 70 has a first arm 72 having a proximate end 74 pivotally affixed adjacent to inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 . first pair of extension arms 70 has a second arm 76 having a proximate end 78 pivotally affixed to extension slider 68 . first arm 72 and second arm 76 of first pair of extension arms 70 are pivotally affixed to one another at point 80 located approximately at a midpoint of each of first arm 72 and second arm 76 . first wheel 82 is affixed to a distal end of first arm 72 , and second wheel 86 is affixed to a distal end of second arm 76 of first pair of extension arms 70 . first extension spring 90 has a first end affixed to outer member 14 and a second end affixed to extension slider 68 for biasing extension slider 68 toward inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 , thereby biasing first wheel 82 and second wheel 86 away from cylindrical body 12 via scissor action of first arm 72 and second arm 76 . second pair of extension arms 92 has a third arm 94 having a proximate end 96 pivotally affixed to inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 . second pair of extension arms 92 has a fourth arm 98 having a proximate end 100 pivotally affixed to extension slider 68 . third arm 94 and fourth arm 98 of second pair of extension arms 92 are pivotally affixed to one another at point 102 located approximately at a midpoint of each of third arm 94 and fourth arm 98 . third wheel 104 is affixed to a distal end of third arm 94 and a fourth wheel 108 is affixed to a distal end of fourth arm 98 of second pair of extension arms 92 . a third pair of extension arms 114 has a fifth arm 116 having a proximate end 118 pivotally affixed to inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 . third pair of extension arms 114 has a sixth arm 120 having a proximate end 122 pivotally affixed to extension slider 68 . fifth arm 116 and sixth arm 120 of third pair of extension arms 114 are pivotally affixed to one another at point 124 proximate a midpoint of each of fifth arm 116 and sixth arm 120 . fifth wheel 126 is affixed to a distal end of fifth arm 116 and sixth wheel 130 is pivotally affixed to sixth arm 120 of the third pair of extension arms 114 . second extension spring 134 ( fig4 ) has a first end affixed to outer member 14 and a second end affixed to extension slider 68 for biasing extension slider 68 toward inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 , thereby biasing fifth wheel 126 and sixth wheel 130 away from cylindrical body 12 via scissor action of fifth arm 116 and sixth arm 120 . a fourth pair of extension arms 136 has a fifth arm 138 having a proximate end 140 pivotally affixed to inlet end 18 of cylindrical body 12 . fourth pair of extension arms 136 has a sixth arm 142 having a proximate end 144 pivotally affixed to extension slider 68 . fifth arm 138 and sixth arm 142 of fourth pair of extension arms 136 are pivotally affixed to one another at point 146 proximate a midpoint of each of fifth arm 138 and sixth arm 142 . fifth wheel 148 is affixed to a distal end of fifth arm 138 and sixth wheel 152 is pivotally affixed to sixth arm 142 of the fourth pair of extension arms 136 . fig5 is a block diagram of the electronics and control system . the elements in the system describe some of its functionality . the block diagram shows a computer controlled application system and a motion control system to allow the plural component nozzle and transporter to be positioned in the duct . referring now to fig5 , in practice , the method of sealing pipes or ducts comprises the steps of mounting video camera 344 ( fig6 ) on duct coating applicator 10 . duct technician 201 moves duct coating applicator 10 through duct 11 , recording a video of an inside of duct 11 , as shown in step 202 . the video information is then transferred and stored onto a storage medium , as shown in step 204 . the video recording is then reviewed with customer 205 , as shown in step 206 . duct coating applicator 10 may then be moved through duct 11 for spraying plural compounds on an interior of duct 11 for sealing and providing structural integrity to duct 11 as shown in step 208 . a bill may then be printed at the duct location for the customer as shown in step 210 . the video recording is then transmitted to a remotely located franchisee and franchisor as shown in step 212 . job statistics are additionally transmitted to the local franchisee 214 and to the franchiser 216 , as shown in step 218 . the duct coating applicator 10 may be of the type disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 723 , 425 entitled “ mixing nozzle for plural component materials ,” which is hereby incorporated by reference . referring now to fig6 , shown is duct coating system 300 . duct coating system 300 includes a duct coating applicator 10 and controller 302 . a pump speed setting 304 is provided on controller 302 for adjusting the pump speed . carriage speed setting 306 is provided on controller 302 for adjusting the travel speed of duct coating applicator 10 within duct 11 . first resin tank 308 is provided for receiving a quantity of a first resin . first reservoir 310 is in communication with and receives resin from first resin tank 308 . first reservoir temperature sensor 330 is provided to read temperature of the resin in first resin tank 308 . first temperature sensor 330 communicates temperature data with controller 302 . first temperature indicator 312 is provided on controller 302 for indicating temperature of the resin in first resin tank 308 . first pump 314 communicates with first resin tank 308 for receiving resin therefrom . first resin supply line 316 is provided for receiving resin from first pump 314 and for delivering resin to duct coating applicator 10 . first resin pressure sensor 318 communicates with first resin supply line 316 for measuring pressure in first resin supply line 316 . first resin pressure sensor 318 communicates pressure data to controller 302 . first resin supply pressure indicator 320 indicates the pressure readings of second resin pressure sensor 318 as instructed by controller 302 . second resin tank 328 is provided for receiving a quantity of a second resin . second reservoir 311 is in communication with and receives resin from second resin tank 328 . second reservoir temperature sensor 331 is provided to read temperature of the resin in second resin tank 328 . second temperature sensor 331 communicates temperature data with controller 302 . second temperature indicator 332 is provided on controller 302 for indicating temperature of the resin in second resin tank 328 . second pump 334 communicates with second resin tank 328 for receiving resin therefrom . second resin supply line 336 is provided for receiving resin from second pump 334 and for delivering resin to duct coating applicator 10 . second resin pressure sensor 338 communicates with second resin supply line 336 for measuring pressure in second resin supply line 336 . second resin pressure sensor 338 communicates pressure data to controller 302 . second resin supply pressure indicator 340 indicates the pressure readings of second resin pressure sensor 338 as instructed by controller 302 . duct diameter proximity sensor 342 is provided on duct coating applicator 10 for measuring a diameter of duct 11 through which duct coating applicator 10 is traversing . duct diameter proximity sensor 342 is in communication with controller 302 . video camera 344 is located on duct coating applicator 10 . video display 346 is provided for receiving video signal from video camera 344 on duct coating applicator 10 via a data signal cable 348 . video recorder 350 is in communication with video display 346 and with data signal cable 348 . winch 352 engages first resin supply line 316 , second resin supply line 336 and data signal cable 348 for pulling duct coating applicator 10 through duct 11 . carriage variable speed drive 354 is in communication with winch 352 for directing a speed with which winch 352 pulls duct coating applicator 10 . carriage variable speed drive 354 receives a carriage speed signal 356 from controller 302 . a remote jobs statistics collection computer 358 is provided at a location remote from duct coating applicator 10 and controller 302 . an external communicator , such as cell modem 360 , is in communication with controller 302 for passing job statistics to remote jobs statistics collection computer 358 . referring now to fig7 , controller 302 , also shown in fig6 , is provided wherein a user may input pump speed setting 304 ( see also fig6 ) and a carriage speed setting 306 ( see also fig6 ) and may select between automatic or manual setting 400 . duct coating applicator 10 ( fig1 - 5 ) may be provided with a duct diameter measuring device , e . g ., duct diameter proximity sensor 342 ( fig6 ). duct coating applicator 10 is additionally provided with a transmitter so that a duct diameter may be transmitted to controller 302 when automatic / manual setting 400 of controller 302 is set for automatic operation . the overall methodology of the controller 302 is that of a feed forward system . in fig6 it can be seen that user inputs may be provided to or by the controller 302 . control operations occur within the controller 302 that are then passed out of the controller to duct coating applicator 10 . the behavior of duct coating applicator 10 may be modeled by the system illustrated to the right side of controller 302 in fig7 . based in part upon signals received back from the duct coating applicator 10 , the control outputs can be modified by the controller 302 as needed . in actuality , changes implemented by the controller 302 will not occur instantaneously throughout the rest of the system . however , given the relatively small size and speed of the duct coating applicator , and relatively small volume of the pump , it is appropriate in some embodiments to consider the system statically as shown in fig7 . in operation of the present embodiment , a signal from the pump speed setting 304 is summed with a g ff — carriage signal , which is derived in part based on the carriage speed setting 306 as described below . these signals are also summed with a g ff — dia signal , which is derived from the duct diameter , and also described below . the result of this summation is the pump speed signal from the control system 302 . the pump speed signal k pump can be considered as a flow rate signal k flow governed by the equation k flow = 1 / πd ss v ss . here d ss is the pipe diameter and v ss is the velocity of the duct coating applicator 10 in the pipe or duct . hence , for a constant coating thickness , the flow rate is inversely proportional to the diameter and velocity . the flow rate signal k flow is summed with the duct diameter as k dia , which follows the equation k dia =− q / πd 2 ss v ss . here q is the volumetric flow rate . hence , to maintain a constant coating thickness t , the volumetric flow rate q must remain in proportion to the product of the diameter squared and the velocity . in the present system , the actual measured duct diameter is reported to the controller 302 by the duct coating applicator 10 . this measurement is scaled by a feed forward gain factor g ff — dia to account for changes in the pipe diameter as the duct coating applicator 10 moves . when the system is in automatic mode , this factor will be utilized to control the pump speed signal thus feeding forward through the system . in producing a thickness of coating t , k flow and k dia are summed with k carr or k carriage which follows the following equation : k carr =− 1 / πd ss v 2 ss . k carr is a carriage speed signal from the controller 302 . thus it will be appreciated that carriage speed , as relating to thickness t , is directly proportional to volumetric flow and inversely proportional to diameter and velocity . the final thickness t may be computed from the system using the equation t = q / πdv . based on the foregoing , it will be appreciated that in operation both the pump speed and carriage speed may be controlled by the controller 302 to produce a uniform and desired coating thickness t . in the present embodiment , the carriage speed signal is produced by the controller 302 and fed to duct coating applicator 10 . the pump speed is derived based upon the carriage speed to produce the proper flow rate for the desired thickness . since the speed is controlled by controller 302 it will be known ( assuming adequate traction and correct mechanical operation of the controller 302 ) and can be fed into g ff — carriage , which is a feed forward gain factor . this factor can account for changes in the speed of duct coating applicator 10 determined from the carriage speed setting 306 . the provided duct diameter signal provided back to controller 302 from duct coating applicator 10 scaled by the feed forward factor g ff — dia to account for duct diameter changes as well . through the feed forward mechanisms just described , combined with user inputs , controller 302 controls the pump speed and carriage speed to create the desired thickness t of the applied coating . it will be appreciated that controller 302 must have the correct forward gain factors g ff — carriage and g ff — dia . these may be derived based upon computations based on known factors , such as thickness t , nominal pipe diameter , and projected speed of the carriage . however , in some embodiments , it may be faster and more convenient to determine them empirically through testing . the gain factors can then be programmed into , or provided to , controller 302 . the controller 302 may be implemented in hardware , software , or a combination . a graphical interface could be designed that allows a user to enter parameters and to start and stop the operation of the duct coating applicator 10 . in other embodiments , a selection of switches and dials may be arranged on a control box . in this case , a user may dial in or select for parameters and modes of operation . the underlying control hardware could be a general purpose microcontroller , an application specific integrated circuit , or various computers on a chip that may also incorporate i / o ports for sending the control signals to the duct coating applicator 10 . thus , the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and attain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherent therein . while presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure , numerous changes and modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . such changes and modifications are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the claims .	1
in the procedure of the invention , waste , preferably contaminated soil , containing harmful substances detrimental to people , animals and / or the environment , is treated . such substances include various hydrocarbon compounds , heavy metals , sulphides , cyanides , halogen compounds , etc . of oil - containing materials , the waste usually contains gas oil or heavier hydrocarbons , such as diesel and fuel oil or crude oil . the waste is treated in an apparatus as provided by the invention substantially without being agitated during the treatment . the apparatus presented in fig1 - 3 comprises a reactor 2 for the treatment of hazardous waste , which can be called a static bioreactor . the reactor comprises a treatment space 3 delimited by a bottom wall 1 a , a top wall 1 b and side walls 1 c and 1 d . in the embodiment described , the reactor for the treatment of hazardous waste is a mainly container - like structure . in the embodiment described , the walls 1 ( 1 a , 1 b , 1 c and / or 1 d ) may be provided with full or partial thermal insulation . the thermal insulation may be implemented by adding to the outside of the reactor 2 a layer of insulating material , which may consist of e . g . insulating wool or other insulating material , such as polyurethane based material , with a sheet metal covering placed on top of it . the reactor may naturally also be implemented without thermal insulation . the top wall 1 b and / or one or more of the side walls 1 c and 1 d and / or the bottom wall 1 a may be completely or partially openable so that the material to be treated or other materials can be fed into the reactor and removed from it . the top wall , i . e . the cover 1 b , may be of structure that opens like a folding door . further , e . g . one or both of the end walls may be provided with a door structure , which may be e . g . a two - part door of a sideways turnable type . the apparatus , i . e . reactor 2 further comprises a substantially immovable sieve plate 11 , on which the waste material 6 is loaded . the sieve plate may comprise a sieve , perforated plate , filter plate , filter cloth , membrane structure with supports , or the like , and / or ceramic / inert pellets , balls or equivalent bodies or the like . the reactor may be implemented as a substantially tight and fully closed structure , so it is possible to create an underpressure in the reactor if necessary and waste treatment can be effected by utilising aerobic and anaerobic alternation as well as alternation of different redox areas ( oxidation - reduction areas ). the reactor may also be partially closed or partially covered or substantially open . the reactor 2 can be provided with feed devices 4 and / or 5 for feeding moisture , nutrients , oxygen , steam and / or solid matter into the reactor . the apparatus preferably comprises a pipe system 4 mounted at at least one height level in the reactor , and the pipe system lead - in 19 into the reactor may be disposed e . g . in side wall 1 c or end wall 1 d . the pipe system is preferably mounted inside the reactor substantially between the waste material 6 . in an embodiment , there may pipe systems placed at at least two levels in the reactor . via the pipe system , moisture , nutrients , oxygen and / or steam can be supplied into the waste material during the treatment . steam can be used for the adjustment of temperature e . g . in cold conditions . the pipe system 4 can be built e . g . from plastic draining pipe provided with holes . the use of draining pipe is a cheap and easy solution . the pipe system may be of a disposable nature , in which case the pipe system need not be considered when processed material is being unloaded from the reactor . in an embodiment of the invention , the apparatus may comprise distributing elements 5 , which are placed e . g . in the upper part of the reactor 2 . through the distributing elements , such as nozzles , it is possible to apply a uniform supply of liquid and / or nutrients in the form of a spray / jet from above onto the surface of the waste material 6 . the liquid fed into the reactor may be liquid obtained from a recirculation system 7 or liquid 15 supplied from outside the apparatus . via the distributing elements , it is also possible to supply oxygen and / or steam into the reactor . the apparatus may also comprise separate feed pipe systems for the supply of oxygen , steam , liquid and / or nutrients in addition to the feed devices 4 and / or 5 or instead of them . each separate pipe system may comprise e . g . a nozzle 5 for supplying the relevant component into the treatment space 3 of the reactor . in an embodiment , the nozzles 5 may be of a design e . g . like that presented in fig3 i . e . they comprise a feed tube 16 with a pump connector 17 , and an impact surface 18 to allow the nozzle to be forced through a closeable hole in the wall into the reactor space of the reactor 3 after the reactor has been filled . the nozzle can be forced into the reactor space e . g . by hitting it with a sledge hammer on the impact surface . in an embodiment , aeration of the waste material can be effected via a pipe system on the bottom of the reactor 2 by supplying oxygen from the bottom into the bed of waste material 6 . the feed device for solid material may consist of e . g . any known feed device for solid material , such as a feed orifice , feed screw , conveyor or similar technical solution known in the art . in an embodiment , the apparatus may further comprise a recirculation system 7 for circulating the liquid separated from the treatment space 3 back into the treatment space 3 . the recirculation system may comprise , among other things , a liquid collecting space 8 , located e . g . under the treatment space 3 , for collecting the liquid to be recirculated , a pump 9 for pumping the liquid , and one or more distributing elements 5 for passing the liquid into the reactor . in the embodiment described , the liquid collecting space 8 is separated from the reactor space 3 by an intermediate floor , such as a sieve plate 11 . the liquid collecting space can also be utilised as a water tank . the liquid collecting space may be e . g . a basin , container , a separate space or the like , and it may have a capacity of e . g . 1200 liters . the apparatus may also comprise a separate return space , which is located below the reactor . the recirculation system 7 is so designed that the liquid trickling into the return space is also returned back into the treatment space 3 . the recirculation system may be provided with regulating elements , such as valves , to allow adjustment of recirculation as required . the bottom of the reactor may be provided e . g . with transfer table rails 14 to achieve a sturdier reactor structure and to provide a base for it . the transfer table rails make it easier to lift the reactor e . g . onto a transport vehicle and / or to transport it to the place of waste treatment . the treatment of hazardous waste is started by loading the waste material to be treated into the treatment space 3 of the reactor . in an embodiment , waste and organic matter are preferably loaded into the reactor alternately by layers in suitable proportions . a layer of e . g . 15 cm of organic material , such as bark chips , shavings , peat or the like , may be placed on the bottom of the treatment space 3 . in a preferred case , the organic matter used may consist of pine bark chips . upon the layer of organic matter , a layer of e . g . 50 cm of hazardous waste is added . on the hazardous waste , another thin layer of organic matter is spread , and again a layer of hazardous waste is placed on top of it . the number of layers may vary . if desired , the waste and the organic matter can also mixed together before being loaded into the reactor . in both cases , the resulting bed of waste material will be spongy , which contributes towards successful aeration and uniform propagation of nutrients and / or moisture throughout the bed area . the amount of organic matter to be added may vary depending on the waste being treated , e . g . between 3 - 50 % of the total mass of the material . for instance in the treatment of clay based earth material , the amount of bark chips added may be e . g . about 30 % of the total mass . in the treatment of arenous earth , the amount of bark chips needed is considerably smaller , e . g . about 5 % of the total mass . the bark chips are usually screened to obtain substantially equal - sized chip material . a bacterial stock can be added to the waste material , mixed in the organic matter , in the material to be treated or in the liquid or added separately . in the procedure , a suitable bacterial stock , e . g . a previously known or a new stock , can be used . the bacterial stock is selected on the basis of the waste to be treated and the harmful substances it contains . the procedure can also be implemented without an added bacterial stock . the nutrients to be fed into the waste material during the treatment may be mixed e . g . with the liquid , in which case they will be fed in together with the moisture . naturally , the nutrients may also be added in other ways , e . g . separately . various additional nutrients besides nitrogen and oxygen can be used in the procedure . if necessary , a nitrogenous mixture , which may be a solid , gaseous or liquid mixture , e . g . a nitrogen saltpetre solution , is added to the waste material . bacteria use nitrogen for nutrition . the nitrogen saltpetre solution may be added e . g . in the form of a 5 % water solution . the nitrogenous solution may naturally contain any percentage of nitrogen . the amount and strength of the nitrogen solution to be added depend on the nutritive values and moisture content of the waste to be treated , which are determined before the treatment . the nitrogen solution is usually added to the waste before the waste is loaded into the reactor or substantially in conjunction with the loading . the amount of nitrogen solution added is e . g . 1 - 100 kg / 25 m 3 of waste material , in an embodiment e . g . about 40 kg . oxygen is added into the treatment space 3 in an aerobic procedure to regulate and accelerate the treatment process . the oxygen can be added in the form of air or oxygen gas . a surplus of oxygen / air may be supplied into the reactor . the exhaust air from the reactor may be passed via a valve 10 in the upper part of the reactor into the atmosphere . usually a filter is used in conjunction with the valve . the temperature of the waste material can be adjusted by using steam and / or warm water . in the procedure , the aim is to keep the temperature between 25 - 37 ° c ., a preferred temperature being about 29 ° c . at these temperatures , generally no toxic gases are evaporated . the humidity of the waste material is preferably maintained at a level that allows the material to remain fluffy , because if the material is too wet , the pores in it will be filled with water and the material will become oxygen - poor and impermeable . in a procedure according to the invention , the ph value is maintained at a neutral level . as a final stage of the treatment , the waste material 6 may be flushed with water supplied via the distributing elements 5 placed e . g . in the upper part of the reactor ( fig2 ). the flush water flows through the waste material 6 and the sieve plate 11 into the liquid collecting space 8 , from where it is pumped into a separate container 13 . the flushing is performed e . g . 1 - 4 or more times . in the container , harmful substances , e . g . heavy metals , can be recovered from the water . the procedure of the invention was tested in practice by composting earth mass containing fuel oil ( iii ). in the experiment , 60 l of fuel oil ( iii ) was mixed with 560 l of silty soil containing some mould , and the oil was allowed to soak into the earth mass . after this , the earth mass was mixed with 300 l of crushed hardwood , alder bark chips , grain size 5 - 8 mm , which had been soaked with 60 l of water treated with nitrogen saltpetre ( 500 g of nitrogen saltpetre / 60 l of water ). after this , a 10 - cm layer of the same crushed hardwood correspondingly nitrogenised was placed on the perforated bottom grating of a composting reactor and the well - mixed oily earth mass , mixed with nitrogenised crushed hardwood , was placed on the crushed hardwood layer as described above . at the beginning of the experiment , the temperature of atmospheric air was 12 ° c ., the temperature of the earth mass was 15 ° c . and its humidity 42 %. the mass was composted for 67 days , allowing it to decompose freely . during the composting time , the conditions in the reactor were monitored and the mass was treated as follows : after 4 days , the temperature on the outside of the container was 11 ° c ., the temperature inside was 17 ° c ., and the humidity in the container was 38 %. after 9 days , air was blasted into the reactor for 2 hours at 400 l / h , after which the temperature inside the reactor was 20 ° c ., humidity 36 %. after 14 days , the reactor was aerated by 2 × 2 h at 400 l / h ; the temperature on the outside was 16 ° c ., inside 25 ° c ., humidity 36 %. after 21 days , a 10 - cm layer of crushed hardwood was placed on top of the mass in the reactor , the outside temperature was 16 ° c ., inside 25 ° c ., humidity 34 %. after 28 days , the mixture was aerated by 2 × 2 h at 400 l / h ; the temperature inside the reactor was 31 ° c ., humidity 32 %, and about 0 . 5 l of trickling water had gathered in the liquid collecting basin . after 29 days , warm water was added into the mass ; the temperature of atmospheric air was 17 ° c ., and a new 10 - cm layer of crushed hardwood was placed on top of the mass . on the 35 th day , the mass was aerated by 2 × 2 h at 400 l / h ; the temperature of atmospheric air was 16 ° c ., the temperature inside was 34 ° c . and humidity 30 %. after 40 days , the temperature outside was 19 ° c ., inside 38 ° c . and humidity 30 %; the amount of trickling water gathered in the liquid collecting basin was 1 . 5 l . after 46 days , the ph of the mass was 7 . after 50 days , 20 l of warm water was added into the mass , the reactor was aerated by 2 × 2 h at 400 l / h ; the temperature inside was 40 ° c ., humidity 28 %. after 61 days , the temperature inside was 45 ° c ., outside 21 ° c . and humidity 25 %. after 67 days , the reactor was emptied ; at this time , the temperature outside was 19 ° c ., inside 43 ° c . and humidity 27 %. the amount of trickling water gathered in the liquid collecting basin during the whole composting period was 2 . 9 l . the earth mass thus treated was mellow and no oil was detected in it . two so - called static reactors , i . e . containers were loaded with oil - containing , clay - based earth mass and pine bark chips in alternate layers . the amount of bark chips was about 30 % of the total mass . each container had a capacity of about 30 m 3 , of which about 25 m 3 was in composting use during the experiment . the pipe systems for the supply of oxygen , moisture and nutrients were arranged at two levels between the waste material , the first level being located at about ⅓ of the container height as seen from the bottom part of the container and the second level at about ⅔ of the container height . the oil content of the contaminated earth mass was at most 10 , 000 mg / kg of dry matter before the experiment . oxygen was supplied in the form of air into the reactors during the treatment . 270 m 3 of air was added during one hour into each container once a week . the temperature of the waste material during the treatment was about 29 ° c . on an average , but in the middle part of the waste material bed the temperature could temporarily rise to 34 ° c . the relative humidity was maintained at the level of 80 %. nutrients mixed in water were added into the reactors once a week . a neutral ph value of the waste material was maintained during the composting experiment . the composting experiment lasted 68 days , after which two representative composite samples were taken from each container . in the first container , the hydrocarbon content had fallen to a level of 292 - 397 mg / kg of earth , and in the second container to a level of 467 - 564 mg / kg of earth . these hydrocarbon content values were within the limits of acceptability for admission to a dumping area . the invention is not restricted to the examples of its embodiments described above , but many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined by the claims .	8
referring first to fig1 , there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of a typical alkylation / transalkylation process carried out in accordance with the prior art . a feed stream of toluene is supplied via line 10 to reactive zone 100 which produces product streams of methane via line 12 and benzene via line 14 . the benzene via line 14 along with ethylene via line 16 are supplied to an alkylation reactive zone 120 which produces ethylbenzene and other products which are sent via line 18 to a separation zone 140 . the separation zone 140 can remove benzene via line 20 and send it to a transalkylation reaction zone 160 . the benzene can also be partially recycled via line 22 to the alkylation reactive zone 120 . the separation zone 140 can also remove polyethylbenzenes via line 26 which are sent to the transalkylation reaction zone 160 to produce a product with increased ethylbenzene content that can be sent via line 30 to the separation zone 140 . other byproducts can be removed from the separation zone 140 as shown by line 32 , this can include methane and other hydrocarbons that can be recycled within the process , used as fuel gas , flared or otherwise disposed of ethylbenzene can be removed from the separation zone 140 via line 34 and sent to a dehydrogenation zone 180 to produce styrene product that can be removed via line 36 . the front end of the process 300 , designated by the dashed line , includes the initial toluene to benzene reactive zone 110 and the alkylation reactive zone 120 . it can be seen that the input streams to the front end 300 include toluene via line 10 , ethylene via line 16 and optionally oxygen via line 15 . there can also be input streams of benzene from alternate sources other than from a toluene reaction , although they are not shown in this embodiment . the output streams include the methane via line 12 which is produced during the conversion of toluene to benzene in reactive zone 110 and the product stream containing ethylbenzene via line 18 that is sent to the back end of the process 400 . the back end 400 includes the separation zone 140 , the transalkylation reaction zone 160 and the dehydrogenation zone 180 . turning now to fig2 , there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention . feed streams of toluene supplied via line 210 and methane supplied via line 216 are supplied to one or more microreactors 200 which produces ethylbenzene along with other products , which can include styrene . in some embodiments an input stream of oxygen 215 may be supplied to the microreactors 200 . the output from the microreactor 200 includes a product containing ethylbenzene which is supplied via line 218 to a separation zone 240 . the separation zone 240 can separate benzene that may be present via line 220 which can be sent to an alkylation reaction zone 260 . the alkylation reaction zone 260 can include a transalkylation zone . the separation zone 240 can also remove heavy molecules that may be present via line 226 . the alkylation reaction zone 260 can produce a product with increased ethylbenzene content that can be sent via line 230 to the separation zone 240 . other byproducts can be removed from the separation zone 240 as shown by line 232 , this can include methane and other hydrocarbons that can be recycled within the process , used as fuel gas , flared or otherwise disposed of . ethylbenzene can be removed from the separation zone 240 via line 234 and sent to a dehydrogenation zone 280 to produce styrene product that can be removed via line 236 . any styrene that is produced from the reactive zone 200 can be separated in the separation zone 240 and sent to the dehydrogenation zone 280 via line 234 along with the ethylbenzene product stream , or can be separated as its own product stream , ( not shown ), bypassing the dehydrogenation zone 280 and added to the styrene product in line 236 . the front end of the process 500 includes the one or more microreactors 200 which can be in series or parallel arrangements . the input streams to the front end 500 are toluene via line 210 and methane via line 216 and optionally oxygen via line 215 . the output stream is the product containing ethylbenzene via line 218 that is sent to the back end of the process 600 . the back end 600 includes the separation zone 240 , the alkylation reaction zone 260 and the dehydrogenation zone 280 . a comparison of the front end 300 of the prior art shown in fig1 against the front end 500 of the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 can illustrate some of the features of the present invention . the front end 500 of the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 has a single microreactor zone 200 rather than the two reactive zones contained within the front end 300 shown in fig1 , the reactive zone 100 and the alkylation reactive zone 120 . the reduction of one reactive zone can have a potential cost savings and can simplify the operational considerations of the process . both front ends have an input stream of toluene , shown as lines 10 and 210 . the prior art of fig1 has an input stream of ethylene 16 and a byproduct stream of methane 12 . the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 has an input stream of methane 216 . the feed stream of ethylene 16 is replaced by the feed stream of methane 216 , which is typically a lower value commodity , and should result in a cost savings . rather than generating methane as a byproduct 12 which would have to be separated , handled and disposed of , the present invention utilizes methane as a feedstock 216 to the microreactor 200 . a comparison of the back end 400 of the prior art shown in fig1 with the back end 600 of the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 can further illustrate the features of the present invention . it can be seen that the back end 400 of the prior art shown in fig1 is essentially the same as the back end 600 of the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 . they each contain a separation zone , an alkylation reaction zone and a dehydrogenation zone and are interconnected in the same or essentially the same manner . this aspect of the present invention can enable the front end of a facility to be modified in a manner consistent with the invention , while the back end remains essentially unchanged . a revamp of an existing ethylbenzene or styrene production facility can be accomplished by installing a new front end or modifying an existing front end in a manner consistent with the invention and delivering the product of the altered front end to the existing back end of the facility to complete the process in essentially the same manner as before . the ability to revamp an existing facility and convert from a toluene / ethylene feedstock to a toluene / methane feedstock by the modification of the front end of the facility while retaining the existing back end can have significant economic advantages . the microreactor 200 of the present invention can comprise one or more single or multi - stage microreactors . in one embodiment the microreactor 200 can have a plurality of microreactors connected in series ( series - connected microreactors ). additionally and in the alternative , the microreactors may be arranged in a parallel fashion . the microreactor 200 can be operated at temperature and pressure conditions to enable the reaction of toluene and methane to form ethylbenzene , and at a feed rate to provide a space velocity enhancing ethylbenzene production while retarding the production of xylene or other undesirable products . the reactants , toluene and methane , can be added to the plurality of series - connected microreactors in a manner to enhance ethylbenzene production while retarding the production of undesirable products . for example toluene and / or methane can be added to any of the plurality of series - connected microreactors as needed to enhance ethylbenzene production . the microreactor 200 can be operated in the vapor phase . one embodiment can be operated in the vapor phase within a pressure range of 4 psia to 1000 psia . another embodiment can be operated in the vapor phase within a pressure range of atmospheric to 500 psia . the feed streams of methane and toluene can be supplied to the microreactor 200 in ratios of from 2 to 50 moles methane to toluene . in one embodiment the ratios can range from 5 to 30 moles methane to toluene . in one embodiment of the invention oxygen is added to the microreactor 200 in amounts that can facilitate the conversion of toluene and methane to ethylbenzene and styrene . the oxygen content can range from 1 % to 50 % by volume relative to the methane content . in one embodiment the oxygen content can range from 2 % to 30 % by volume relative to the methane content . in one embodiment the microreactor 200 of the present invention can comprise multiple microreactors and oxygen can be added to the plurality of series - connected microreactors in a manner to enhance ethylbenzene and / or styrene production while retarding the production of undesirable products . oxygen can be added incrementally to each of the plurality of series - connected microreactors as needed to enhance ethylbenzene and / or styrene production , to limit the exotherm from each of the microreactors , to maintain the oxygen content within a certain range throughout the plurality of microreactors or to customize the oxygen content throughout the plurality of microreactors . in one embodiment there is the ability to have an increased or reduced oxygen content as the reaction progresses and the ethylbenzene and / or styrene fraction increases while the toluene and methane fractions decrease . there can be multiple series - connected microreactors which are arranged in a parallel manner . the oxygen can react with a portion of the methane and result in a highly exothermic reaction . the heat generated by the exothermic reaction can be regulated to some extent by the use of microreactors which can have a large surface area to reactant contact area ratio . the small contact area for the reactants can result in a short residence time for the reaction , which in some embodiments can be as short as less than a second . the shortened residence time and large surface area to reactant contact area ratio can facilitate heat dissipation from the microreactor . these factors , along with the ability for incremental oxygen addition to the plurality of series - connected microreactors , can be used to control the reaction temperatures within a range to facilitate the production of ethylbenzene and / or styrene and reduce the production of undesired components . microreactors with integrated cooling can also be used , thus a short residence time reactor with an integrated heat exchanger can be used . when a plurality of series - connected microreactors are utilized , counter - flow micro heat exchangers can be used to dissipate heat and provide temperature control for the reaction . in one embodiment a plurality of series - connected microreactors are utilized and one or more counter - flow micro heat exchangers are located between two or more of the microreactors used to dissipate heat and provide temperature control for the individual microreactors and the overall reaction . one temperature range to facilitate the production of ethylbenzene and / or styrene is from 550 ° c . to 1000 ° c . another temperature range to facilitate the production of ethylbenzene and / or styrene is from 600 ° c . to 800 ° c . the heat generated by the exothermic reaction can be removed and recovered to be utilized within the process . in one embodiment the microreactor zone 200 of the present invention can comprise one or more single or multi - stage microreactors which can contain one or more single or multi - stage catalyst sites . the catalyst that can be used in the microreactor 200 can include any catalyst that can couple toluene and methane to make ethylbenzene and / or styrene and are not limited to any particular type . it is believed that the oxidation reaction of toluene and methane can be accelerated by base catalysis . in one non - limiting example the catalyst can comprise one or more metal oxides . in one non - limiting example the catalyst can contain a metal oxide which is supported on an appropriate substrate . it is believed that with a metal oxide catalyst the oxygen / oxide sites can function as the active reaction centers which can remove hydrogen atoms from the methane to form methyl radicals and from the toluene to form benzyl radicals . the c8 hydrocarbons can be formed as a result of cross - coupling between the resulting methyl and benzyl radicals . the catalysts may contain different combinations of alkali , alkaline earth , rare earth , and / or transition metal oxides . in another non - limiting example the catalyst can comprise a modified basic zeolite . in yet another non - limiting example the catalyst can be a base zeolite , such as an x , y , mordenite , zsm , silicalite or aipo 4 - 5 that can be modified with molybdenum , sodium or other basic ions . the zeolite catalyst may or may not contain one of more metal oxides . a catalyst can be introduced into one or more parts of the process . in one embodiment the microchannels of the microreactor can have a catalyst deposited or impregnated on or within them . the catalyst can also be affixed to an article , such as a rod , that can be contained or inserted into the microreactor in a manner which can contact the catalyst with the reactant streams . alternatively , a process for wash coating a carrier with catalyst can be used where the carrier is capable of contacting the reactants within one or more of the microreactors . the catalyst can be contacted with the reactants at one or more points of the plurality of series - connected microreactors . the catalyst can alternately be contacted with the reactants at one or more points between the plurality of series - connected microreactors , such as for example at a location between two microreactors in conjunction with a counter - flow micro heat exchanger . referring now to fig3 , the microreactor can comprise a number of microstructured panels 700 that can have recesses or channels of small depth that serve as flow channels or microchannels 710 . these types of microreactors can be similar to typical plate - and - frame type heat exchangers known in the art , but of much smaller size . in one embodiment the microreactor panels 700 can range from about 30 to 50 mm in length and from about 30 to 50 mm in height . the microreactor panels 700 can be constructed by micro - machining or etching a panel made of metals , silicon , glass or ceramic materials , which can be referred to as a substrate material . microchannels 710 can be etched or otherwise formed in a pattern on the surface 712 of the substrate panel material . in one embodiment the number of microchannels formed on the surface of the panel can range from 10 to 5000 . the microchannels 710 can be in fluid communication with openings through the panels which can serve as inlet 714 and outlet 716 passages between the microreactors and / or microchannels so that the reactants can enter and exit the microchannels . the panel 700 may also have pass - though holes 718 , 720 that can allow a fluid or gas to pass through the panel 700 without being in contact with the panel inlet 714 , outlet 716 or the microchannels 710 . the pass - though holes 718 , 720 in one embodiment have a diameter of from 0 . 5 mm to 2 . 0 mm . the width and depth of the microchannels 710 in one embodiment can range from 100 μm to 300 μm while the total depth of the panel 700 can range from 400 μm to 600 μm . in another embodiment the width and depth of the microchannels can range from 100 μm to 500 μm while the total depth of the panel 700 can range from 700 μm to 1 mm . in yet another embodiment the width and depth of the microchannel can range from 300 μm to 600 μm while the total depth of the panel 700 can range from 800 μm to 1 . 5 mm or more . the width and depth of the microchannels do not have to be consistent or have the same dimensions of the other microchannels . while in some embodiments the width may be of a larger dimension than the depth , in other embodiments the depth may be of a larger dimension than the width . if plugging is a concern , having the depth and width of the microchannels be of similar dimension to create a more uniform cross sectional flow area of the microchannel may be desired . in yet another embodiment the microreactor panels 700 can range from about 300 mm to 900 mm in length and from about 300 mm to 900 mm in height . the width of the microchannel 710 of these larger panels can be as large as 5 mm while the depth of the microchannel 710 would still be limited to a dimension less than that of the substrate panel material . the size of the panels and dimensions of the microchannels can vary greatly while still being within the scope of the present invention . referring now to fig4 , in one embodiment a reactant inlet stream 740 supplies an inlet stream 742 to the microchannels 710 of panel 700 . the reactants can flow through the microchannels 710 and exit panel 700 in outlet stream 744 to combine in the product stream 750 . the reactant inlet stream 740 can pass through the opening 814 of panel 800 without being in contact with the fluids flowing through the microchannels 810 of panel 800 . the product stream 750 can likewise pass through the opening 816 of panel 800 without being in contact with the fluids flowing through the microchannels 810 of panel 800 . a cooling medium stream 840 supplies an inlet stream 842 to the microchannels 810 of panel 800 . the cooling medium can flow through the microchannels 810 and exit panel 800 in outlet stream 844 to combine in the cooling medium exit stream 850 . the cooling medium inlet stream 840 can pass through the opening 718 of panel 700 without being in contact with the reactants flowing through the microchannels 710 of panel 700 . the cooling medium outlet stream 850 can pass through the opening 720 of panel 700 without being in contact with the reactants flowing through the microchannels 710 of panel 700 . the microreactor would comprise a plurality of panels that are pressed together in a manner to enable the reactants and cooling medium stream to be contained within their respective flow paths and not in communication with each other . a gasket material , a solder material , or a brazing material can be used to provide a seal between the panels . multiple microreactors can be utilized in a facility . in one embodiment the number of panels can range from 2 to 100 . in an alternate embodiment the number of panels can range from 100 to 3000 . in a commercial scale petrochemical plant the number of panels that can be used can reach hundreds or thousands , with up to a million channels or more per reactor . as can be seen in fig4 , in one embodiment the microreactor can comprise alternating panels , to provide reactant flow through the microchannels of every other panel , while a different fluid , such as a cooling medium , can be flowing through the alternate panels . the different fluid , such as a cooling medium , can be flowing through the alternate panels in a counter - flow or co - current flow in relation to the reactant flow . dissipation of the exotherm is through the panel material that make up the microchannel walls containing the reactants and into the cooling medium that is flowing through the microchannels created by the adjacent panels . this enables a rapid heat dissipation and the ability to control the reaction temperature within the microchannel in a manner that conventional reactors can not achieve . the substrate material used for panel construction can act as a catalyst , or the microchannels may be coated with a catalyst layer , for example by using a wash coating or thin - film deposition of a catalyst material within or adjacent to the microchannels . a catalyst material can also be placed within a recess of the panel material that is in fluid contact with the reactants flowing through the microchannels , such as just before the reactants enter the microchannels . other types of microreactors can be used within the scope of the present invention . the description of multiple panel microreactors is not meant to be a limiting example of the microreactor . another microreactor that can be used is a falling film microreactor which utilizes a multitude of thin falling films flowing through a multi - channel reactor . microreactors can be provided by sources such as atotech located in berlin , germany ; veloeys located in plain city , ohio , usa ; microinnova located in graz , austria ; and ehrfeld mikrotechnik bts gmbh located in wendelsheim , germany . further , other types or brands of microreactors can be used in conjunction with the present invention . the foregoing description of certain embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise form disclosed , and other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the accompanying claims and their equivalents .	1
the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . a first embodiment of the invention will be discussed below . in fig1 a , a fixing roller 1 is formed with a heating layer , which is electrically conductive and small in thermal capacity , and a release layer . if necessary , an elastic layer of several tens to several hundreds μm thick is additionally layered under the release layer . the heating layer must be conductive in order to efficiently generate an eddy current therein by an ac magnetic field developed from a coil 3 ( reference numeral 6 denotes a magnetic flux from the coil 3 ). the release layer is provided to secure an easy separation of fused toner from the fixing roller 1 , viz ., to prevent an offset of the toner image . a preferable material of the release layer is any of fluorine plastics ( pfa , ptfe , pep ), silicone resin , fluororubber , silicone rubber and others . a thickness of the release layer is preferably within several tens to several hundreds . if it is several tens μm or thinner , it will run out by its friction with the recording sheet . if it is several hundreds μm or thicker , its thermal conductivity lowers to impede the conduction of heat from the heating layer . the fixing roller 1 includes flanges at both ends , and is rotatably supported by means of bearings , and is rotated at a fixed angular velocity by a rotational torque , which is received from a motor via gears and a belt . where the fixing roller 1 provided with an elastic layer is used , a sufficient nip force exerts on the irregular surface of a recording sheet 5 . as a result , the image after fixed is free from an unevenness . since a material whose thermal conductivity is low , such as silicone rubber or fluororubber , is used for making the elastic layer , a rise time of heating in the fixing roller 1 is likely to be prolonged . a pressure roller 2 is formed with a core bar and an elastic layer . when it is used for the both - side printing , a release layer is formed on the surface thereof . it cooperates with the fixing roller 1 to make a nip therebetween with the assistance of a spring 7 . a material with a sufficient strength , such as carbon steel or stainless , is suitable for the core bar . it is rotatably supported at both ends by bearings . with the assistance of the spring 7 , it applies a nip load through the bearings , and follows in rotation the fixing roller 1 usually in a state that it is in friction contact with the fixing roller 1 . the recording sheet 5 having a toner image 4 transferred thereto enters the nip between rotating roller pair and receives a nip load , and at the same time it is heated by the fixing roller 1 . the toner image 4 being heated is fused on the recording sheet 5 . after leaving the nip , it is cooled and fixed on the recording sheet 5 . whether or not the toner image 4 is fixed on the recording sheet 5 depends on fixing temperature , sheet transporting speed , nip width , nip pressure , and nature of toner . when the nip load generated between the fixing roller 1 and the pressure roller 2 becomes larger , the nip width therebetween becomes wider . the nip width is an important parameter to determine a fixing time . and it is determined depending a process speed of the electrophotography and a thermal nature of toner . when the nip width becomes wider , the fixing time becomes longer . if the nip load is selected to be excessively large with an intention of obtaining a long fixing time , the rotational torque is also likely to be large , thereby use of a large motor is required . this leads to increase of design limitations . the coil 3 , which is for heating the fixing roller 1 , is disposed around the fixing roller with a fixed gap formed therebetween . the coil 3 covers an area of the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 1 , which is defined by the half or greater of the circumference of the fixing roller 1 . fig1 b is a plan view showing a structure of the fixing device , which includes the fixing roller and the coil . to heat the fixing roller 1 , an ac current is fed to the coil 3 and in turn the coil develops an ac magnetic field . since a high frequency current feeds through the coil 3 , a surface resistance of the coil must be small to lessen the loss by the coil . to satisfy this , a litz wire is used which is formed by twisting a bundle of insulated copper wires . a unit coil shown in fig4 a and a divided coil shown in fig4 b are formed by twisting a bundle of eight insulated copper wires of 0 . 5 mm in diameter ( φ = 0 . 5 mm ), for example . a temperature sensor 8 is held in contact with or apart from the surface of the fixing roller 1 , and senses a temperature of the roller and sends it as an electrical signal to a controller / driver 12 through a temperature detector 11 . when a temperature of the fixing roller 1 is lower than a control instruction temperature , the controller / driver 12 increases the ac current fed to the coil 3 , whereby the induction heating is intensified to rise the temperature of the fixing roller 1 . conversely , when the former is higher than the latter , the controller / driver 12 decreases the ac current to the coil 3 , and weakens the induction heating to lower the temperature of the fixing roller 1 . in this way , the temperature of the fixing roller 1 is kept constant . next , an efficiency of the heating by the induction heater will be described . fig2 a and 2b are circuit diagrams for explaining a heating efficiency . a state that the coil is magnetically coupled with an object to be heated ( fixing roller ) may be expressed in the form of an equivalent circuit as shown in fig2 a . a circuit equation of this circuit is given by : e =( r 1 + jωl 1 ) i 1 − jωmi 2 ( 1 ) an impedance z 3 of the circuit when viewed from the high frequency source , when arranging the expressions ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), is given : z 3 = e i 1  = r 1 + k 2  τ a + τ 2  l 1 + j   ω   l 1  ( 1 - k 2  τ 2 a + τ 2 ) ( 3 ) τ = r 2 l 2 , k = m l 1  l 2 , a = 1 ω 2 a first term of the right side of the expression ( 3 ) represents a resistance value of the heating coil , and a second term represents a resistance value of the heated object . the equivalent circuit of fig2 a may be rewritten into an equivalent circuit shown in fig2 b . when the first term of the expression ( 3 ) is placed as r 3 , an input power p 0 is given by p 0 = i 1 r 3 . accordingly , a power consumed by the heated object is p 1 = i 1 ( r 3 − r 1 ). then , the heating efficiency η is given by the following : η = p 1 p 0 = r 3 - r 1 r 3 ( 4 ) in the above expression , r 1 is a resistance value of the heating coil itself and r 3 is a resistance value of the heating coil when it is magnetically coupled with the heated object . to compute the heating efficiency η , the resistance value r 1 of the coil itself is measured , the coil is attached to the fixing roller , and the resistance value r 3 is measured , and those measured values are substituted into the expression ( 4 ) and the expression is solved . the heating efficiency η varies depending on the frequency to be measured . a laminated , sheet - like coil may be used for the coil 3 , other than the litz coil . a conductor 31 consisting a plurality of coil segments each coiled spirally , as shown in fig3 a , is formed on an insulating layer 33 made of polyimide or the like , and connection pads 32 are provided at both ends of the spirally coiled conductor 31 . the thus shaped conductor 31 may be formed by etching a copper foil or by pressing . a coil structure formed by laminating eight number of sheet - like coils is shown in fig3 b . a surface area of the conductor is eight times as large as that of one sheet of the sheet - like coil . therefore , its surface resistance is reduced correspondingly . the coil may be any of a unit coil , a divided coil ( forwardly connected ), and another divided coil ( alternately connected ), those coils being equal in the number of windings ( see fig4 a and 4b ). inductance values l and resistance values r of those coils were measured at 10 khz by using an lcr meter . a heating efficiency η % of each of those coils was calculated . the results of the calculations are comparatively shown in the below table . inductance values l 3 and resistance values r 3 of the coils were measured when the coils are attached to the fixing roller . the gaps of the coils , which are each between the coil and the fixing roller , were equal and set at a fixed value 2 . 5 mm . each of those divided coils consists of five eddied coil segments . heating l1 ( μh ) r1 ( mω ) l1 ( μh ) r1 ( mω ) efficiency η unit coil 33 . 7 110 33 . 3 428 0 . 743 divided coil 29 . 2 122 30 . 1 534 0 . 727 ( forward ) divided coil 34 . 5 122 36 . 2 745 0 . 836 ( alternate ) as seen , the divided coil ( alternate connected ) exhibits the highest heating efficiency η . thus , it is safe to say that in this case , the connection method to maximize the heating efficiency η is to alternately connect five coil segments divided as shown in fig5 b and to flow a high frequency current to them . in the divided coil of the forward connection type shown in fig5 a , a magnetic circuit is divided into many coil segments , and a magnetic path thereof is elongated . on the other hand , in the divided coil of the alternate connection type shown in fig5 b , a magnetic circuit is made large , and a magnetic path thereof is shorten . the difference appears in the form of a difference of the heating efficiency η . even in a coil structure consisting of a plurality of complicatedly configured coil segments wound or stacked as well as the coil structure consisting of five coil segments , a connection method suitable for such a coil structure may quantitatively be found by measuring the heating efficiency η . next , a coil drive circuit and a connection select circuit will be described . fig6 is a circuit diagram showing a coil drive circuit for changing a circuit resistance in accordance with a coil selection . a case where the recording sheets of the different widths are used for printing will be described . in printing recording sheets of a3 and b4 in size in the longitudinal direction , five coil segments of 70 mm wide are arranged in the axial direction of the fixing roller . to make a print on the recording sheet of the a3 size , high frequency current is fed to all the five coils to heat them . to print the recording sheet of the b4 size , high frequency current is fed to four coil segments to heat them . in this case , the values of the inductance and resistance of the coil vary in accordance with the width of the recording sheet used . to cope with this , the high frequency drive circuit is arranged , as shown in fig6 so that those values are selected in accordance with the size of the recording sheet used . as shown , the high frequency drive circuit is composed of a coil 105 corresponding to four coils , a coil 106 corresponding to the remaining one coil , resonance capacitors 107 and 108 , switching elements 109 and 110 , such as igbts , and gate drivers 112 and 113 for those switching elements . an ac power supplied from a commercial ac power source 101 is rectified by a rectifier 102 , and smoothed by an inductor 103 and a capacitor 104 , and a dc power is obtained . a comparator 111 detects a voltage output from each of the switching elements 109 and 110 , which is near 0v , and outputs a signal for transmission to a timing controller 114 . upon receipt of the signal , the timing controller 114 applies an on / off timing signal to the gate drivers 112 and 113 . in turn , the timing signal controls each resonance inverter to energize the related coil , which in turn develops an ac magnetic field . by this ac magnetic field , an eddy current is generated in the surface region of the fixing roller , and transformed into joule heat , which heats the fixing roller . when the recording sheet has a a3 size , the five coils are all energized for heating . accordingly , the fixing roller is substantially entirely heated . when it is a b4 size , the four coils are energized , so that the area of the fixing roller is approximately ⅘ as large as the entire area thereof . accordingly , it is avoided that temperature excessively rises at a portion of the fixing roller out of its portion which the recording sheet passes . [ 0162 ] fig7 shows a circuit for switching the forward connection or the alternate connection of the divided coils , and switching the connection in accordance with the size of recording sheet . in this figure , a select switch s 1 is used for selecting the forward connection or the alternate connection of the divided coil . when it is turned to a “ forward ” position , the five coil segments are forwardly connected . when it is turned to a “ reverse ” position , the five coil segments are alternately connected . a select switch s 2 is used for selecting the connection of the divided coil in accordance with the size of a recording sheet . when it is turned to a “ large ” position , a heating circuit consisting of five coil segments is set up . when it is turned to a “ small ” position , the lowermost coil segment illustrated is disconnected and a heating circuit consisting of four coil segments is set up . to disconnect the coil segments on both sides of the coil array , a select switch s 3 , as in the case of the select switch s 2 , is provided . when the number of coil segments to be connected is changed and hence a resonance condition of the resonance circuit is changed , a capacitor c 1 or c 2 which forms the resonance circuit is selected . it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above - mentioned embodiment , but may variously be modified , altered and changed within the true spirits of the invention . as described above , in the embodiment mentioned above , a plurality of coil segments , which are arranged in the axial direction of the fixing roller , are connected forwardly or alternately , whereby the heating efficiency is maximized . if required , those coil segments may be stacked one on another . a second embodiment of the present invention will be discussed below . in fig8 a , a fixing roller 201 includes a core bar which enables the fixing roller to rotate , and is rotatably supported at both ends by means of bearings . a rotational torque from a motor is transmitted to the fixing roller by way of gears and a belt , and in turn is rotated at a fixed angular velocity . an elastic layer for forming a nip is layered on the circumferential outer surface of the core bar . a heating layer and a release layer are further layered on the circumferential outer surface of the elastic layer . a pressure roller 202 is formed with a core bar and an elastic layer . when it is used for both - side printing , a release layer is formed on the surface of the pressure roller . the pressure roller is confronted with the fixing roller 201 and pressed by the spring 207 to form a nip between them , and follows in rotation the fixing roller 201 with a frictional contact therebetween . the detailed structure of the fixing roller 201 and the pressure roller 202 will be discussed later . a recording sheet 205 bearing toner image 204 transferred thereto enters the nip between the rotating roller pair , and receives a nip load while at the same time it receives heat from the fixing roller 201 . the toner image 204 is fused , by the heating , on the recording sheet 205 . the toner image 204 leaves the nip and cooled , and fixed on the recording sheet 205 . whether or not the toner image 204 is fixed on the recording sheet 205 depends on fixing temperature , sheet transporting speed , nip width , nip pressure , and nature of toner . where the nip load generated between the fixing roller 201 and the pressure roller 202 becomes larger , the nip width therebetween becomes wider . the nip width is an important parameter to determine a fixing time . and it is determined depending a process speed of the electrophotography and a thermal nature of toner . where the nip width becomes wider , the fixing time is prolonged . if the nip load is selected to be excessively large with an intention of obtaining a long fixing time , the rotational torque is also likely to be large , thereby use of a large motor is required . this leads to increase of design limitations . a coil 203 , which is for heating the fixing roller 201 , is disposed around the fixing roller with a fixed gap formed therebetween . to heat the fixing roller 201 , an ac current is fed to the coil 203 and in turn the coil develops an ac magnetic field . the coil 203 covers an area of the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 201 , which is defined by the half or greater of the circumference of the fixing roller . [ 0169 ] fig8 b is a plan view showing a structure of the fixing roller 201 and the coil 203 . fig8 c is a side view of the same . since a high frequency current flows through the coil 203 , a surface resistance of the coil must be small to lessen the loss by the coil . to satisfy this , a litz wire is used which is formed by twisting a bundle of insulated copper wires . it is formed by twisting a bundle of eight insulated copper wires of 0 . 5 mm in diameter ( φ = 0 . 5 mm ), for example . the fixing roller 201 is heated such that an ac magnetic field developed from the coil 203 , which is spaced from the fixing roller by the predetermined gap , is applied to the fixing roller 201 , to generate an eddy current in the conductive heating layer . in this case , the ac magnetic field from the coil 203 concentrates mainly in the surface region of the fixing roller 201 because of the conductor skin effect . assuming that an electric resistivity is ρ , a magnetic permeability is μ , a frequency of the ac magnetic field is f , and a thickness of the skin of the roller is δ , then we have : when a frequency f of the ac magnetic field developed from the coil 203 is appropriately selected to efficiently heat the roller , a magnetic flux 206 from the coil 203 concentrates in a surface region of the roller defined by a conductor skin thickness δ , so that an eddy current is effectively generated therein . upon generation of the eddy current , joule heat is produced depending on an electric conductivity ρ and a temperature of the fixing roller 201 rises . the conductor skin thickness ρ is approximately several tens μm to 120 μm under the condition that a material of the roller is carbon steel , sus304 , sus430 or the like , and the frequency f of the ac magnetic field is 25 khz . to reduce the thermal capacity of the heating layer , it is better to reduce a thickness of the heating layer as thin as possible . if it is too thin when comparing with the conductor skin thickness , the heating efficiency reduces . accordingly , a compromise between them is required . the temperature sensor 208 is held in contact with or apart from the surface of the fixing roller 201 by a fixed distance , and senses a temperature of the roller , and sends it as an electrical signal to a controller 218 through a temperature detector 217 . when a temperature of the fixing roller 201 is lower than a control instruction temperature , a controller 218 increases the ac current fed to the coil 203 through the control of an inverter 219 , whereby the induction heating is intensified to rise the temperature of the fixing roller 201 . conversely , when the former is higher than the latter , the controller 218 decreases the ac current to the coil 203 , and weakens the induction heating to lower the temperature of the fixing roller 201 . in this way , the temperature of the fixing roller 201 is kept substantially constant . the fixing roller 201 , as shown in fig9 a , is formed with a core bar 211 , an elastic layer 212 , a heating layer 213 which is conductive and has a small thermal capacity , and a release layer 214 . if necessary , a first elastic layer 215 , as shown in fig9 b , is layered on the underside of the heating layer 213 , and a second elastic layer 216 is layered on the underside of the release layer 214 . the fixing roller 201 , which includes the second elastic layer 216 shown in fig9 b , applies a sufficient nip force to the toner even if the surface of the recording sheet 5 is irregular . accordingly , the toner layer after fused is firmly fixed on the recording sheet 5 even if its surface is irregular . the picture after fixed is free from an unevenness . the fig9 a structure of the fixing roller does not include the second elastic layer 216 . accordingly , a plurality of concavities , after fixing , are observed on the toner layer surface , while corresponding to the concavities of the recording sheet . accordingly , the fig9 b structure is higher in cost than the fig9 a structure , but the obtained image quality is improved . thus , the fixing roller 201 has such a function separation structure that the core bar 211 is designed to have a strength substantially equal to a strength required for the rotary body , and the heating function is assigned to the heating layer 213 . a material of good strength , such as carbon steel or stainless , is suitable for the core bar 211 . a material suitable for the elastic layer 212 is resistive to heat generated by the fixing operation , and has an appropriate elasticity suitable for forming the nip between the fixing roller and the pressure roller . examples of such a material are silicone rubber , expanded silicone rubber , fluororubber , expanded fluororubber and others . the second elastic layer 216 , which is located under the release layer 214 and between it and the heating layer 213 , is approximately several tens to several hundreds μm . in connection with the formation of a nip , to secure a predetermined nip width and to form a horizontal nip , it is required that the fixing roller and the pressure roller are both deformable appropriately . in the fixing roller which is heated from the inside as in the case of using the halogen lamp as a heating source , a structure that the elastic layer is located on the inner side of the heating layer , if employed , impedes the conduction of heat from the halogen lamp . to avoid this , the related technique has employed the following structure of the fixing roller : the elastic layer which gives the fixing roller an appropriate elasticity is provided on the outer side of the heating layer . however , in this structure , since the heat conduction of the elastic layer located radially on the outer side is not good , it is difficult to quickly transfer heat from the heating layer to the release layer as an outermost layer . the electromagnetic induction heating is capable of efficiently heating the object also from the outside . accordingly , the structure of the fixing roller which has an elasticity as shown in fig9 a or 9 b may be employed when the electromagnetic induction heating is used . in the structure , the heating layer is a metal pipe of a thin thickness . a material being easily deformable , such as silicone rubber or expanded silicone rubber , may be used for the elastic layer . accordingly , both the fixing roller and the pressure roller may be designed to have an appropriate elasticity , and a substantially horizontal nip may be formed therebetween . an eddy current is efficiently generated in the heating layer 213 by an ac magnetic field developed from the coil 203 . accordingly , it must have a conductivity property . therefore , the thermal capacity becomes smaller , the rise time becomes shorter . a proper frequency of the ac magnetic field is determined by an electric resistivity and a magnetic permeability of the heating layer . when the frequency is excessively high , the loss of the switching element of the resonance inverter is large . accordingly , it is preferable within a range of 20 to 100 khz . the frequency of 20 khz or lower , if so selected , falls within an audible range of the frequency . in this case , noise generated from the resonance inverter is audible . the ac magnetic field developed from the coil 203 penetrates into the heating layer 213 by a shallow depth of its conductor skin thickness since the conductor skin effect acts . the heating layer 213 is formed with a metal pipe having a thin thickness , which is made of stainless , iron , nickel , aluminum or the like . a material of a small thermal capacity , if used , reduces the heating rise time , a thickness of the heating layer 213 also affects the nip formation . the heating layer , if too thick , is hard to be bent . accordingly , it is suggestible that the heating layer is selected to be thin to such an extent as to have a sufficient nip width . it is essential that the heating layer 213 has an appropriate elasticity to form a proper nip . if it is several tens μm or less , its durability deteriorates . in contract with this , if it is several tens μm or greater , its elasticity property is lost . for this reason , a thickness of the heating layer is preferable within a range of 30 to 100 μm , allowing for a conductor skin thickness . the release layer 214 is provided as the outermost layer to secure an easy separation of fused toner from the fixing roller , viz ., to prevent an offset of the toner image . a preferable material of the release layer 214 has a small surface energy , and is flexible , and examples of such a material are fluorine plastics ( pfa , ptfe , pep ), silicone resin , fluororubber , silicone rubber and others . a thickness of the release layer is preferably within a range of 5 to 100 μm . if it is 5 μm or thinner , it will run out by its friction with the recording sheet . if it is 100 μm or thicker , heat from the heating layer cannot be transferred efficiently since a thermal conductivity of the material suitable for the release layer is small as described above . that is , a relatively long time is taken for the transfer of heat from the heating layer . the elastic layer 212 is made of silicone rubber , expanded silicone rubber , fluororubber , expanded fluororubber and others , and hence has frequently an insulating property . accordingly , the heating layer 213 of the fixing roller is not electrically connected to the core bar 211 . for this reason , the core bar 211 is electrically connected to the housing via the bearings . on the other hand , the heating layer electrically floats . accordingly , when friction occurs , charges are stored in stray capacitors , so that the temperature sensor possibly suffers from noise generated . to avoid this , as shown in fig9 c , the heating layer 213 is electrically connected to the core bar 211 by the connection member 17 , whereby preventing the heating layer 213 from floating . another electrical connection of the heating layer 213 to the core bar 211 , which does not use a connection member 217 and may be employed , is such that conductive fine particles of carbon or the like are dispersed into the elastic layer 212 to reduce electrical resistance thereof . where a thickness of the heated object is sufficiently larger than a conductor skin thickness thereof , an ac magnetic field transforms into a leak current within the heated object . therefore , the heating efficiency tends to be high . when the thickness of the heated object is substantially equal to or 2 to 3 times as large as the conductor skin thickness , the coil must be designed so as to increase the heating efficiency . the heating efficiencies η of plates sus304 and sus430 and a plane coil shown in fig1 a were actually measured , and the results are shown in fig1 b . ( 1 ) samples : sus304 ( w 150 mm ; d 150 mm ; h 0 . 1 mm ) sus430 ( w 150 mm ; d 150 mm ; h 0 . 1 mm ) ( 2 ) plane coil : litz wires ( φ0 . 5 mm , 8 wires twisted , 15t ), outer diameter : φ100 mm inner diameter : φ14 mm ( 3 ) gap g between the sus plate and the plane coil : 3 . 3 mm the measurement results of the heating efficiency vs . frequency are shown in fig1 b . the measurement results show that when the sus plate of 0 . 1 mm thick is inductively heated , the frequency of the resonance inverter used must be approximately 30 khz or higher , in order to obtain the heating efficiency of 90 % or higher . a heating efficiency based on the magnetic coupling of the fixing roller with the coil was measured , and the result of the measurement is shown in fig1 . an eddy current distribution of the structure of fig8 b is shown in fig1 a , and an eddy current distribution of the same of fig8 c is shown in fig1 b . the core bar of φ12 mm was made of carbon steel . the elastic layer was made of expanded silicone rubber . the heating layer was an ni electrocasted tube of 70 μm . the release layer was a pfa tube of 30 μm . in this case , the heating efficiency was 80 % or higher at any frequency , as the result of the magnetic coupling of the coil with the core bar and the heating layers . the pressure roller 202 is constructed such that , as shown in fig1 a , an elastic layer 222 is layered on the circumferential outer surface of a core bar 221 , and a release layer 223 is further layered thereon . the core bar 221 is made mainly of iron or its family , and serves as a shaft for rotatably supporting the pressure roller 202 . the elastic layer 222 is required to have a thermal resistance that is high enough to resist the fixing temperature , and further an elasticity suitable for forming a nip between it and the fixing roller . such a material is silicone rubber , fluororubber or the like . to reduce the thermal capacity of the pressure roller 202 , it is better that any of those rubbers is foamed to have a heat insulating property . the release layer 223 is the same as the release layer 214 of the fixing roller 201 . a structure of the related pressure roller is shown in fig1 b . as shown , an elastic layer 222 a is layered on the outer surface of a core bar 221 a hollowed , and a release layer 223 a is further layered thereon . the core bar 221 a is made of a member of iron family ( carbon steel , stainless and the like ) or aluminum , and serves as a shaft of the pressure roller while being rotatably supported . a thickness of the core bar 221 a is usually about 1 to 3 mm , and has a large heat capacity . the elastic layer 222 a is required to have a durability high enough to resist the fixing temperature , and further to have an elasticity appropriate to the formation of a nip defined by it and the fixing roller . the release layer 223 a is substantially the same as of the fixing roller . [ 0191 ] fig1 is a graph comparatively showing heating rise times of different fixing rollers , which were gathered by an experiment . a pressure roller a had a structure shown in fig1 a constructed according to the invention . a weight of it was approximately 470 g . a pressure roller b having the structure of fig1 b was used and its weight was approximately 720 g . the heating rise time was a time taken for a surface temperature of the fixing roller to reach 150 ° c . when comparing the rise time of the pressure roller a with that of the pressure roller b , it is seen that the heating rise time of the related pressure roller b is about two times as long as the heating rise time of the pressure roller a of the invention . [ 0192 ] fig1 shows a fixing device capable of easily forming a horizontal nip , which is a third embodiment of the invention . an auxiliary roller pair 209 is in contact with a pair of a fixing roller 201 and a pressure roller 202 at a position located upstream of a pair of a fixing roller 201 and a pressure roller 202 , and in this state assists the fixing and pressure rollers in forming a nip therebetween . the auxiliary roller pair 209 may also be designed so as to assist the fixing and pressure rollers in the nip formation in a state that the roller pair is in contact with at least the fixing roller 201 . it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the above - mentioned embodiments , but may variously be modified , altered and changed within the true spirits of the present invention . in the fixing device of the invention , the fixing roller has a structure which includes a thin metal heating layer which reduces its thermal capacity and a rise time of heating , a core bar , an elastic layer having also an insulation property , and a release layer layered on the surface of the structure . an eddy current is generated in the heating layer by an ac magnetic field developed from the coil . an eddy current is generated in the heating layer by an ac magnetic field developed from the coil . in this case , the heating layer is thin so as to establish a conductor skin effect . the thus constructed structure improves the heating efficiency based on the magnetic coupling of the heating layer with the coil . accordingly , the fixing roller is efficiently heated . further , the coil is disposed covering the fixing roller , to thereby obtain 80 % or higher of the heating efficiency based on the magnetic coupling of the heating layer with the coil . in this case , if the heating layer is thick , the magnetic coupling of it with the coil is easily secured . if it is thin , its location relative to the heating layer is an important factor in design . the configuration discussed in connection with the second and third embodiments can be applied to the configuration according to the first embodiment . a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be discussed below . in fig1 a , a fixing roller 301 includes a core bar which enables the fixing roller to rotate , and is rotatably supported at both ends by means of bearings . a rotational torque from a motor is transmitted to the fixing roller 301 by way of gears and a belt , and in turn is rotated at a fixed angular velocity . an elastic layer for forming a nip is layered on the circumferential outer surface of the core bar . a heating layer and a release layer are further layered on the circumferential outer surface of the elastic layer . a pressure roller 302 is formed with a core bar , and an elastic layer and a release layer , which are formed on the circumferential outer surface of the core bar . the pressure roller 302 is confronted with the fixing roller 301 and pressed by a spring 307 to form a nip between them , and follows in rotation the fixing roller 301 with a frictional contact therebetween . a coil 303 , which is for heating the fixing roller 301 , is disposed around the fixing roller 301 with a fixed gap formed therebetween . to heat the fixing roller 301 , an ac current is fed to the coil 303 and in turn the coil develops an ac magnetic field . the coil 303 covers an area of the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 301 , which is defined by the half or greater of the circumference of the fixing roller 301 . fig1 b is a plan view showing a structure of the fixing roller 301 and the coil 303 . fig1 c is a side view of the same . since a high frequency current flows through the coil 303 , a surface resistance of the coil must be small to lessen the loss by the coil . to satisfy this , a litz wire is used which is formed by twisting a bundle of insulated copper wires . it is formed by twisting a bundle of eight insulated copper wires of 0 . 5 mm in diameter ( φ = 0 . 5 mm ). a recording sheet 305 having a toner image 304 transferred thereto enters the nip between rotating roller pair and receives a nip load , and at the same time it is heated by the fixing roller 301 . the toner image 304 being heated is fused on the recording sheet 305 . after leaving the nip , it is cooled and fixed on the recording sheet 305 . whether or not the toner image 304 is fixed on the recording sheet 305 depends on fixing temperature , sheet transporting speed , nip width , nip pressure , and nature of toner . temperature sensors 308 a and 308 b are held in contact with or apart from the surface of the fixing roller 301 by a fixed distance , and senses a temperature of the roller and sends it as an electrical signal to a controller 332 through a temperature detector 331 . when a temperature of the fixing roller 301 is lower than a control instruction temperature , a controller 332 increases the ac current fed to the coil 303 through the control of an inverter 333 , whereby the induction heating is intensified to rise the temperature of the fixing roller 301 . conversely , when the former is higher than the latter , the controller decreases the ac current to the coil 303 , and weakens the induction heating to lower the temperature of the fixing roller 301 . in this way , the temperature of the fixing roller 301 is kept substantially constant . positions at which the temperature sensors 308 a and 308 b are mounted will be described in two steps of 1 ) rotational direction and 2 ) axial direction . as viewed in this direction , the coil 303 covers a large portion of the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 301 . accordingly , as shown in fig1 b , a space is provided within the coil 303 , and temperature sensor 308 a and 308 b are placed within the space . a magnetic flux 306 developed from the coil 303 flows as shown in fig1 a . in the central portion of the coil 303 , the magnetic flux 306 is substantially perpendicular to the heating layer of the fixing roller 301 . therefore , an amount of eddy current generated in the vicinity of this portion is relatively small . if the space formed in the central portion of the coil 303 is too small , an efficiency of the eddy current generation is lowered . to avoid this , the space must have a certain size . as viewed in this direction , as shown in fig1 b and 16c , the temperature sensor 308 a is placed at a position within a path along which a small - width recording sheet 351 travels . the temperature sensor 308 b is placed at a position out of the path . in a temperature control for the recording sheets of the ordinary size and the small size , the roller temperature is controlled to be a fixing temperature tf by using the temperature sensor 308 a . in a case where toner images on the small - width recording sheets 351 are successively fixed , the roller temperature more rises than in the fixing operation for the recording sheet of the ordinary size , as shown in fig1 a and 17b . for example , the roller temperature is controlled to be within a predetermined value of temperature by using the temperature sensor 308 b . specifically , an upper limit temperature tmax is set up . the controller carries out an ordinary temperature control when a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 308 b is within the upper limit temperature tmax . when the sensed temperature exceeds the upper limit temperature tmax , the controller 332 shifts the temperature control mode to a temperature limiting mode . in this mode , the controller 332 restricts an amount of current fed to the coil 303 . in this case , an emergency mode may be used instead . alternatively , the successive fixing operation of the small - width recording sheets 351 is interrupted , and when the sensed temperature falls to below the upper limit temperature tmax , the fixing operation is restarted . when temperature rise of 10 ° c . occurs , it may be judged that the sensed temperature exceeds the upper limit temperature tmax . in this embodiment , to heat the fixing roller 301 , an eddy current is generated in the heating layer by an ac magnetic field developed from the coil 303 . here , the eddy current is generated mainly in the portion of the fixing roller 301 covered with the coil 303 . this fact implies that such an arrangement of the coil 303 as to cover the fixing roller 301 with the widest possible extension will ensure a stable heating . in this respect , how to select a location at which the temperature sensor 308 is to be placed is significant for the temperature control . to properly sense a temperature on the fixing roller 301 , as shown in fig1 b and 16c already referred to , the temperature sensor 308 a is preferably placed at a position , which is within the path on and along which the small - width recording sheet 351 passes and is close to the center of the fixing roller 301 . this mounting place is most suitable since a temperature in the central space of the coil 303 represents a temperature of the fixing roller 301 . immediately after the recording sheet has passed , heat of the fixing roller 301 is absorbed by the recording sheet 305 and the toner image 304 , and its temperature drops . however , the fixing roller is heated by the eddy current after it passes the portion covered with the coil 303 . if the temperature sensor is located near the sheet passing portion , the sensor may be damaged with the passing sheet since a chance of the occurrence of a trouble of paper jam or the like is unavoidable . also in this respect , it is better to place it above the fixing roller 301 . where toner images on the small - width recording sheets 351 are successive fixed , the portion in which the temperature sensor 308 b is placed , which the portion is out of the sheet passing portion , is free from the heat absorption by the recording sheet 305 and the toner image 304 . accordingly , the eddy current is continuously generated and a temperature of that portion rises as shown in fig1 b . since the fixing roller 301 uses a thin metal layer having a small thermal capacity , the heat generated here transfers to the sheet passing portion , however , its heat quantity is small and temperature is easy to rise . in this case , since the heating layer is thin and the conductor skin effect acts , if a temperature sensor 381 , as shown in fig1 a , is supported on a support 382 by means of support springs 384 the support springs 384 for the temperature sensor 381 are also heated . lead lines 385 are lead from the support 382 . to cope with this , instead of the related support springs 384 shown in fig1 a , support springs 386 shown in fig1 b are used which are reduced in thickness and width ( b 2 & lt ; b 1 ), whereby an eddy current generating portion is reduced in area . one of the support springs 386 is dimensioned as 0 . 15 mm or thinner thick and 1 . 5 mm or shorter wide . with this measure , the heating of the support springs 386 are suppressed . in another alternative shown in fig1 c , the dimensions of the support springs 387 remain unchanged ( b 3 = b 1 ), and a number of small holes are formed in the support springs 387 by etching or the like . thus , the measure to reduce the eddy current generating area or to prevent the eddy current from being generated by using a nonconductive material may be taken . the heating of the support springs 387 can be suppressed when the measure is taken . of course , the configuration discussed in connection with this embodiment can be applied to the configuration according to the first to third embodiments . in fig1 , each of a fixing roller 401 and a pressure roller 402 includes a core bar which enable the fixing roller to rotate , and is rotatably supported at both ends by means of bearings . the fixing roller 401 is coupled to gears and a belt for transmission of a rotational torque , and is rotated at a fixed angular velocity by a motor . an elastic layer for forming a nip is layered on the circumferential outer surface of the core bar of the fixing roller 401 . a heating layer and a release layer are further layered on the circumferential outer surface of the elastic layer . the pressure roller 402 is formed with the core bar , and an elastic layer and a release layer . a nip load is applied to the fixing roller 401 being confronted with the pressure roller 402 , by springs 407 which are coupled to both ends of the pressure roller by way of levers , to thereby form a nip between them , and follows in rotation the fixing roller 401 with a frictional contact therebetween . those springs 407 are designed so as to develop equal loads . a coil 403 , which is for heating the fixing roller 401 , is disposed around the fixing roller 401 with a fixed gap formed therebetween . to heat the fixing roller 401 , an ac current is fed to the coil 403 and in turn the coil develops an ac magnetic field ( reference numeral 406 denoted a magnetic flux from the coil 403 ). the coil 403 covers an area of the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 401 , which is defined by the half or greater of the circumference of the fixing roller 401 . since a high frequency current flows through the coil , a surface resistance of the coil 403 must be small to lessen the loss by the coil . to satisfy this , a litz wire is used which is formed by twisting a bundle of insulated copper wires . it is formed by twisting a bundle of eight insulated copper wires of 0 . 5 mm in diameter ( φ = 0 . 5 mm ). yokes 409 are disposed on the circumferential outer surface of portions where an magnetomotive force by the coil 403 is weak , to thereby equalize a temperature distribution in the fixing roller 401 . in this embodiment , those yokes 409 are disposed at both ends of the circumferential outer surface of said coil 403 . a recording sheet 405 having a toner image 404 transferred thereto enters the nip between rotating roller pair and receives a nip load , and at the same time it is heated by the fixing roller 401 . the toner image 404 being heated is fused on the recording sheet 405 . after leaving the nip , it is cooled and fixed on the recording sheet 405 . whether or not the toner image 404 is fixed on the recording sheet 405 depends on fixing temperature , sheet transporting speed , nip width , nip pressure , and nature of toner . a temperature sensor 408 is held in contact with or apart from the surface of the fixing roller 401 by a fixed distance , and senses a temperature of the roller and sends it as an electrical signal to a controller 412 through a temperature detector 411 . the controller 412 carries out a control ( pi control , pid control ) through an inverter 413 so as to reduce a difference between a control instruction temperature and an actually sensed temperature of the fixing roller 401 . specifically , when a temperature of the fixing roller 401 is lower than a control instruction temperature , the controller 412 increases the ac current fed to the coil 403 through the control of an inverter 413 , whereby the induction heating is intensified to rise the temperature of the fixing roller 401 . conversely , when the former is higher than the latter , the controller 412 decreases the ac current to the coil 403 , and weakens the induction heating to lower the temperature of the fixing roller 401 . in this way , the temperature of the fixing roller 401 is kept substantially constant . in this embodiment , the fixing roller 401 takes a structure including a core , an elastic layer , a conductive heating layer , and a release layer . accordingly , the heat generated by the conductive heating layer is less lost through the heat transferring to both ends thereof , and the heat transferred to the underlayer of the elastic layer is relatively small in quantity . where the coil 403 of an ni ampere turn is disposed covering the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 401 as shown in fig2 a in a state that a fixed gap is present therebetween , a magnetomotive force is 2 ni in the center region of the coil between both the ends , and is reduced to ni at both ends ( x regions ). a factor , which causes the non - uniformity of the temperature distribution in the fixing roller 401 , depends on a heat distribution of the heat from the heat source , which is profiled based on this magnetomotive force reduction . each yoke 409 serves as a magnetomotive force equalizer ( temperature equalizer ), and is disposed covering both ends of the fixing roller 401 at which a magnetomotive force of the coil 403 lowers . fig2 b is a top view showing a structure of the coil with the yokes attached thereto , and fig2 c is a side view showing the same . in this embodiment , with provision of the yokes 409 , the uniformity of the heat distribution of the head generated is enhanced , and the thermal capacity of the heating layer is reduced . with provision of the elastic layer layered on the underside thereof , the heat loss by the transferring of the heat generated in the heating layer is reduced . as a result , the quantity of the heat transferring to the flange , bearings and structure members is reduced . consequently , the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the fixing roller 401 is enhanced . the yoke 409 may take various forms as shown in fig2 a to 21 d . a yoke shown in fig2 a has a structure whose lamination extends in the axial direction of the fixing roller 401 . a yoke shown in fig2 b has a structure whose lamination extends in the thick direction . a yoke shown in fig2 c has a structure of the bulk type . in those types of yokes , a couple of yokes are disposed on both sides of the circumferential outer surface at each end of the coil 403 as viewed in the longitudinal axis thereof , as shown in fig2 b . those paired yokes may be coupled into a unit yoke as shown in fig2 d . a material and a structure of the yoke must be free from generation of the eddy current . otherwise , the yoke itself will be heated . a soft ferrite of good resistivity p and large permeability is suitable for the yoke 409 . a bulk by laminating silicon copper plates each of 0 . 35 mm or 0 . 5 mm thick is also suitable for the same . [ 0222 ] fig2 is a graph comparatively showing variations of a surface temperature of the fixing roller 401 in the following cases : no yokes are attached to the coil 403 ( a ); the yoke 409 is formed with the silicon steel plates is attached to the coil 403 ( b ); and the yoke 409 is made of ferrite is attached to the coil 403 ( c ). in the graph , the abscissa represents a position (%) measured from the center of the fixing roller 401 , and the ordinate represents a surface temperature of the fixing roller 401 at each position . in the case not using the yoke , the surface temperature is below 160 ° c . at a position of about 50 % as measured toward the end of the coil 403 from the roller center . in the case using the yoke made of ferrite , the surface temperature is above 160 ° c . at a position of 70 %. in the case using the yoke formed of silicon steel plates , it is also above 160 ° c . to a position of 85 %. within a range from the center to a position of 85 %, the surface temperature drops to 140 ° c . in the case not using the yoke . when the ferrite yoke is used , the surface temperature is 156 ° c ., substantially equal to that at the center of the fixing roller 401 . when the yoke of the silicon steel plate is used , the surface temperature is 164 ° c ., higher than at the center of the fixing roller 401 . of course , the configuration discussed in connection with this embodiment can be applied to the configuration according to the first to fourth embodiments . [ 0224 ] fig2 through 27 show a fixing device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention . fig2 is a cross sectional view . fig2 is a perspective view . fig2 is a side view , partly broken , showing the fixing device as viewed in the direction x in fig2 . fig2 a is a plan view showing a magnetic field generator . fig2 b is a side view showing the magnetic field generator . fig2 is a view showing a layout of flux capturers . in fig2 , a fixing device 509 includes a cylindrical fixing roller 513 made of a magnetic material . a pressure roller 514 is brought into pressing contact with the fixing roller 513 . the pressure roller 514 includes a cylindrical rotary shaft 515 and an elastic layer 516 made of silicone rubber or the like , layered over the circumferential outer surface of the cylindrical rotary shaft . when the fixing roller 513 and the pressure roller 514 rotate in the directions , the elastic layer 516 is pressed against the fixing roller 513 to form a nip ( pressing interface ) n . a magnetic field generator 517 is disposed above the circumferential outer surface of the fixing roller 513 with a predetermined gap being present between them , and at a position located upstream of the most downstream point p of the pressing interface , or the nip n , between the fixing roller 513 and the pressure roller 514 as viewed in a transporting direction y of the recording medium . the fixing roller 513 and the magnetic field generator 517 are housed in a casing 521 made of a nonmagnetic material . an exciting coil 520 of the magnetic field generator 517 is held by a coil holder 519 made of an insulating material . the coil holder 519 is fastened to the casing 521 by use of a fastening member 522 . the coil holder 519 , as shown also in fig2 to 27 , includes two support members 519 a and 519 b , which are disposed while being spaced from the fixing roller 513 by a predetermined gap . those support members 519 a and 519 b are interconnected with a plurality of coupling members 519 c . with such a structure , an air through hole 524 is formed in the central portion of the coil holder 519 . the exciting coil 520 is supported between the support members 519 a and 519 b while forming an elliptical loop . magnetic flux capturers 523 made of ferrite or the like are placed on the casing 521 at positions being confronted with the exciting coil 520 . those flux capturers 523 block a magnetic flux from going outside , and hence prevent it from adversely affecting other electrical circuits . an air inlet hole 521 a and a vent hole 521 b are formed in the casing 521 . a stripping pawl 525 for stripping the recording medium from the fixing roller 513 is disposed downstream of the nip n in the rotational direction . in the figure , reference numeral 526 denotes a sheet transport guide and 527 denotes a sheet transporting roller . as shown in fig2 and 25 , the fixing roller 513 and the pressure roller 514 are rotatably supported with rotary shafts 529 and 530 , respectively . a drive gear 531 is secured to the rotary shaft 529 of the fixing roller 513 , and is rotated by an electric motor , not shown . as shown in fig2 , a magnetic flux capturer 523 c is provided on the casing 521 while being confronted with the side of the exciting coil 520 . [ 0229 ] fig2 is a view showing a layout of flux capturers . flux capturers 523 a and 523 b , while being arrayed in parallel with the coil , are disposed facing the top surface 520 a and the lower surface 520 b of the exciting coil 520 , which is looped extending in the axial direction of the fixing roller 513 . flux capturers 523 c and 523 d , while being arrayed in parallel with the coil , are disposed facing the side surfaces 520 c and 520 d , respectively . thus , the plurality of flux capturers are disposed in association with the magnetic fluxes of different directions , which are developed from the coil . accordingly , those members catch the leaking magnetic fluxes with certainty . the flux capturers 523 are fastened to the casing 521 , not the coil . accordingly , there can be secured the air passage of air streams flowing from the air inlet hole 521 a to the vent hole 521 b via the air through hole 524 . where the flux capturers are located close to the coil , the magnetic flux to be used for heating the roller will heat the flux capturers . as a result , the heating efficiency of the device is lowered . however , in this embodiment , the flux capturers 523 is located from the coil 520 a distance longer than a distance between the coil 520 and the fixing roller 513 . accordingly , the heating of the fixing roller 513 is effectively performed . with regard to the magnetic field generator 517 , the exciting coil 520 is held on the coil holder 519 while being looped . it extends along the outer surface of the fixing roller 513 while being substantially parallel to the latter , and further is wound along the elongated square or elliptic outer surface of the fixing roller 513 . the lines of magnetic force perpendicular to the coil forming plane are caught in a state that those lines are substantially perpendicular to the surface of the fixing roller 513 . as a result , an eddy current is generated circulating on the surface of the fixing roller 513 , to generate heat . temperature rises uniformly over a broad range as viewed in the axial direction of the fixing roller 513 . twisted , covered fine wires are used for the exciting coil 520 in order to secure less magnetic loss . the twisted wires used allows large current to flow therethrough , whereby the heating efficiency is high as compared with that by the small coil . further , the use of the twisted wires leads to increases of wire rigidity , thereby making it easy to form the coil . the coil 520 is formed in the form of a single layer such that the individual turns of the coil are radially arrayed while being placed on an identical plane . if those turns of the coil are superimposed in the radial direction of the fixing roller 513 , a magnetic force developed from a turn of the coil , which is closer to the roller , cancels a magnetic force developed from a turn of the coil located far from the roller . in the invention , all the turns of the coil are confronted with the roller surface . accordingly , the magnetic forces developed from those turns of the coil are all received by the roller , so that the heating efficiency is improved . the turns of the exciting coil 520 are densely arranged . the thus formed coil 520 is equivalent to a coil using a thick wire . this accrues to efficient heating , elimination of the canceling of the magnetic forces , and hence heating of the roller uniformly over its surface , which is confronted with the coil . further , the air through hole 524 may be formed in the central portion of the magnetic field generator 517 . accordingly , there is no probability that the coil 520 is heated , and resultantly the heating efficiency is reduced . the coil holder 519 , the casing 521 , the sheet transport guide 526 and the like are all made of nonmagnetic material . if a magnetic material other than fixing roller 513 is present around the magnetic field generator 517 , the magnetic force concentrates on the magnetic material , and it is locally heated to be high in temperature . in the embodiment , since the member adjacent to the magnetic field generator 517 is made of non - magnetic material , an abnormal magnetic concentration does not occur , a uniform heating is ensured , and other members are not heated . hence , the fixing roller 513 is efficiently heated . operations of the invention will be described hereunder . a controller , not shown , is operated to feed current to the exciting coil 520 . an ac magnetic field is developed between the exciting coil 520 and the fixing roller 513 . an eddy current is inductively generated in the magnetic fixing roller 513 placed in the ac magnetic field . the current is transformed into joule heat through the resistance of the metal per se . thus , the fixing roller 513 is self - heated to be high in temperature . the temperature rises in the fixing roller 513 while rotating . when the roller temperature rises to a predetermined degree , a temperature sensor ( not shown ) senses it and outputs an electrical signal . upon receipt of the output signal , the controller carries out such a control that a surface temperature of the fixing roller 513 is kept at a predetermined temperature . the recording medium is transported and reaches the fixing roller 513 , and then is led to a position between the fixing roller 513 and the pressure roller 514 . the recording medium is heated there under pressure , so that toner is fixed on the recording medium . while a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described , it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment mentioned above , but it may variously be modified , altered and changed within the true spirits of the invention . in the embodiment mentioned above , the pair of the fixing roller 513 and the pressure roller 514 is substantially horizontally disposed . the transporting direction y of the recording medium is substantially vertical ; it is pointed from top toward bottom . if required , the roller pair may be substantially vertically disposed , and the medium transporting direction is substantially horizontal . in another modification , the magnetic field generator 517 is disposed above the outer surface of the fixing roller 513 with a predetermined gap therebetween and at a position located downstream of the most upstream end p of the pressing interface , or the nip n , between the fixing roller 513 and the pressure roller 514 as viewed in the medium transporting direction y with such an arrangement , no large magnetic field acts on the recording medium and toner on the medium . accordingly , the toner image is not disarranged . most of the magnetic field generated is directed to the fixing roller . as a result , the adverse effect of the magnetic field on other units is eliminated . further , a heat transfer time is secured after the heating operation . accordingly , a temperature difference , which is caused at the heating position , is reduced at the fixing position . in this respect , the fixing performance is improved . a still another modification of an arrangement of the exciting coil 520 is shown in fig2 . in the figure , the exciting coil 520 includes a central space 520 e defined by a rectangular or looped wire , long sides 520 f extending in parallel with and in the axial directions of the fixing roller 513 , and short sides 520 g extending in the directions orthogonal to the axial directions of the fixing roller 513 . a length lc of the long side 520 f of the central space 520 e is selected to be longer than the axial length lr of the fixing roller 513 . with such an arrangement , a profile of the magnetic flux distribution in the fixing roller 513 is equalized at both ends of the fixing roller 513 as viewed in the axial direction of the roller . presence of the central space 520 e promotes the flow of the air stream through the central portion of the exciting coil 520 . accordingly , the fixing roller 513 is heated uniformly . cooling of the short sides of the exciting coil 520 is also promoted . this leads to increase of . the heating efficiency .	6
in fig1 & amp ; 2 , a standard glow plug made of metal is illustrated , which has variable resistance , which generally rises with increasing temperature . within the metal glow plug 6 , for example , as illustrated in fig2 there is an internal helical combination 7 of a heating element without significant temperature coefficients , namely the heating helix 8 , and a heating element with positive temperature coefficients , namely the control or measuring helix 9 . since there is no sufficiently quick thermal coupling , the dynamics at the combustion chamber side core tip can be determined from the change in the resistance , and the abovementioned dynamic follows only relatively passively . in addition , the resistances of all the glow plugs vary widely from mass manufacturing and the resistance course correlates only inadequately with the temperature course . comparing or sorting all glow plugs is inconceivable due to additional costs . additional temperature sensors 10 certainly can be provided , though they are associated with high costs and also have a limited life span . recognizing the heating behavior of the glow plugs thus has tight restrictions placed on it , already partly covered by the tolerance of real glow plugs , so that no additional statement on the present temperature of the glow plugs can be made with statistically distributed resistances . direct feedback on the current temperature at the heating rod tip of the glow plugs is thus not possible for serial use . as illustrated in fig3 a glow requirement is sent to the glow control system 2 , which is interpreted there so that the glow plugs 3 are fed with current according to requirements in a glow plug control system via a suitable interface of an overriding control instrument , for example , the engine control instrument 1 of an engine 14 . as is further shown in fig3 in the illustrated embodiment of the invention , parallel to the glow plugs , a physical model 4 of the glow plugs is provided in the glow control system , the purpose of which is to image the thermal state of the glow plugs 3 . this physical model 4 is designed such that it images the temperature at the heating rod tip of a standard glow plug at least when the engine is idle . this applies both for heating and cooling of the glow plug . the physical model 4 , in principle , comprises a physical energy storage , whose energy content is proportional or inversely proportional to the glow plug temperature . this physical energy storage can be , for example , a condenser , whose charged state is proportional to the temperature . the resistance of a correspondingly sized resistance temperature element with positive or negative resistance temperature coefficients inside the physical model can also serve as a measure for the thermal state of the glow plug . the physical model 4 can also be designed fully in the form of computer - stored software , e . g ., as a stored identification field . as further shown in fig3 the state of the physical model 4 is evaluated and an input value 5 is formed therefrom , which is applied to the glow plug control 12 , which controls the glow plugs 3 via a driver 15 , e . g ., in the form of power switches . as soon as a glow requirement is sent to the glow control system 2 via the interface of an overriding control device , for example , the engine control device 1 , the glow plugs 3 are triggered , and parallel thereto the physical model 4 in the glow plug control . the state of the model 4 is determined and analyzed and applied as input value 5 at the glow plug control 12 as feedback of the glow plug temperature , so that the glow plug control system 2 can consider the thermal state of the glow plugs when the glow plugs are operated . the physical model 4 implemented in the glow control system 2 can detect the dynamics very precisely , so that exact information on the temperature actually present on the glow plugs 3 is given , which opens up far - reaching possibilities for detecting and guiding the temperature of the glow plugs 3 . to further heighten the accuracy , the temperature of the physical model 4 can be compared to another temperature , which is recorded at a site which well reflects the ambient temperature . this can be a measuring site 11 on a metal pressed screen , which is not receiving major current , for example , the communications interface . it is an added advantage that , due to the fact that the physical model 4 is implemented in the glow control system 2 , the model or the integrated electronic components can be compared during production of the glow control system 2 , by means of which a further increase in accuracy is achieved . evaluation of the resistance of the glow plugs 3 by measuring the current is inadequate to measure the temperature , in particular in dynamic phases , though in sufficiently stationary phases the resistance of the glow plugs can be compared to the values of the physical model 4 , which can serve as further increase in accuracy or for checking plausibility . corresponding functionality of the control 2 for focused comparison between the glow plug resistance and the output signal of the physical model 4 can be implemented by corresponding software and memory in the electronic drive 12 . the state of the physical model 4 is thus evaluated by appropriate electronics and is made available as a signal for processing for the electronic control 12 . since the physical model 4 , as explained , is operated parallel to the glow plugs 3 , i . e ., experiences an equivalent or proportional energy input , it simulates the heating behavior of the glow plugs 3 . this simulation should be configured such that the heating and cooling behavior is simulated at least when the engine is idle . however , the physical model 4 in the glow control system 2 does not experience the energy supply or discharge as a glow plug in the combustion chamber via the combustion energy or the additional cooling , for example , in thrust mode . so that the physical model 4 fulfils its purpose and simulates the temperature of the glow plugs 3 as best as possible , apart from the parallel triggering of the physical model 4 , at the same time , the additional positive or negative energy input can be added mathematically by external influences , which deviate from the standard case . for this , a correcting module 13 is preferably provided which is located between the physical model 4 and the electronic drive 12 and takes into consideration the current engine state , for example , the speed , the torque , the injected quantity of fuel , the temperature etc ., and accordingly modifies the control of the physical model 4 , such that the reference glow plug temperature output by the model matches the actual glow plug temperature . for this purpose , in the simplest case , control of the physical model 4 can be limited by a fixed value . it is known that during engine operation glow plugs , at least in diesel engines with direct fuel injection , apart from in peripheral regions of low speed and very high load , have a higher energy requirement compared to the situation , when the engine is idle , to keep the set temperature of the glow plugs . it is normal to design the electronic control 12 such that the energy supply to the glow plugs is regulated such that the glow plug temperature is kept independently of the engine operating conditions . when the engine is running , and thus , as a rule , when the energy flow is higher to the glow plugs than when the engine is idle , it can be assumed that the glow plugs have the set temperature exactly . for these easily detected cases , the correcting module 13 can force the physical model 4 to a state corresponding to the set temperature . when an even more precise image of the actual glow plug temperature is requested by the physical model 4 or in engines with indirect injection or other engines , in which the abovementioned simple limiting of the model by a fixed value is not sufficient , the additional positive or negative energy input is first detected by a measuring technique and in correlation with parameters available to the engine control device 1 or the glow control system 2 , such as e . g ., the injected quantity of fuel , the speed , the inner torque , the air , engine , water or oil temperature . based on the resulting data , an algorithm or a mathematical model is drawn up and integrated into the correcting module 13 , so that the latter modifies the control signal parallel to the glow plug current supply , such that the physical model 4 follows the actual temperature on the glow plug . in this way , the temperature of the glow plugs can be regulated advantageously in addition , in that a closed control circuit results from recording the temperature of the physical model 4 . accordingly , overloading , error control etc , are avoided . a set temperature sent , for example , from the engine control device 1 to the glow control system 2 can then be converted relatively easily and monitored , whereby reaching this temperature can be fed back again to the engine control device 1 . this opens up further possibilities to bring the glow plugs 3 even faster than previously to the set temperature , because at the time only minimal heating rates are possible due to the deficient feedback of the resulting temperature on the glow plug 3 .	5
the present invention relates to a billing system for an information dispersal storage system or data storage system . the information dispersal storage system is illustrated and described in connection with fig1 - 8 . fig9 - 12 illustrate a metadata management system for managing the information dispersal storage system . the billing system in accordance with the present invention is illustrated and described in connection with fig1 . it is to be understood that the principles of the billing system are amenable to being utilized with all sorts of information dispersal storage systems . the information dispersal storage system illustrated in fig1 - 8 is merely exemplary of one type of information dispersal storage system for use with the present invention . in order to protect the security of the original data , the original data is separated into a number of data “ slices ” or subsets . the amount of data in each slice is less usable or less recognizable or completely unusable or completely unrecognizable by itself except when combined with some or all of the other data subsets . in particular , the system in accordance with the present invention “ slices ” the original data into data subsets and uses a coding algorithm on the data subsets to create coded data subsets . each data subset and its corresponding coded subset may be transmitted separately across a communications network and stored in a separate storage node in an array of storage nodes . in order to recreate the original data , data subsets and coded subsets are retrieved from some or all of the storage nodes or communication channels , depending on the availability and performance of each storage node and each communication channel . the original data is recreated by applying a series of decoding algorithms to the retrieved data and coded data . as with other known data storage systems based upon information dispersal methods , unauthorized access to one or more data subsets only provides reduced or unusable information about the source data . in accordance with an important aspect of the invention , the system codes and decodes data subsets in a manner that is computationally efficient relative to known systems in order to enable broad use of this method using the types of computers generally used by businesses , consumers and other organizations currently . in order to understand the invention , consider a string of n characters d 0 , d 1 , . . . , d n which could comprise a file or a system of files . a typical computer file system may contain gigabytes of data which would mean n would contain trillions of characters . the following example considers a much smaller string where the data string length , n , equals the number of storage nodes , n . to store larger data strings , these methods can be applied repeatedly . these methods can also be applied repeatedly to store computer files or entire file systems . for this example , assume that the string contains the characters , o l i v e r where the string contains ascii character codes as follows : d 0 = o = 79 d 1 = l = 76 d 2 ,= i = 73 d 3 ,= v = 86 d 4 ,= e = 69 d 5 = r = 82 the string is broken into segments that are n characters each , where n is chosen to provide the desired reliability and security characteristics while maintaining the desired level of computational efficiency — typically n would be selected to be below 100 . in one embodiment , n may be chosen to be greater than four ( 4 ) so that each subset of the data contains less than , for example , ¼ of the original data , thus decreasing the recognizablity of each data subset . in an alternate embodiment , n is selected to be six ( 6 ), so that the first original data set is separated into six ( 6 ) different data subsets as follows : a = d 0 , b = d 1 , c = d 2 , d = d 3 , e = d 4 , f = d 5 for example , where the original data is the starting string of ascii values for the characters of the text o l i v e r , the values in the data subsets would be those listed below : in this embodiment , the coded data values are created by adding data values from a subset of the other data values in the original data set . for example , the coded values can be created by adding the following data values : c [ x ] is the xth coded data value in the segment array of coded data values d [ x + 1 ] is the value in the position 1 greater than x in a array of data values d [ x + 2 ] is the value in the position 2 greater than x in a array of data values d [ x + 4 ] is the value in the position 4 greater than x in a array of data values n_mod ( ) is function that performs a modulo operation over the number space 0 to n − 1 where ca , for example , is equal to b + c + e and represents the coded value that will be communicated and / or stored along with the data value , a . for example , where the original data is the starting string of ascii values for the characters of the text o l i v e r , the values in the coded data subsets would be those listed below : in accordance with the present invention , the original data set 20 , consisting of the exemplary data abcdef is sliced into , for example , six ( 6 ) data subsets a , b , c , d , e and f . the data subsets a , b , c , d , e and f are also coded as discussed below forming coded data subsets ca , cb , cc , cd , ce and cf . the data subsets a , b , c , d , e and f and the coded data subsets ca , cb , cc , cd , ce and cf are formed into a plurality of slices 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 as shown , for example , in fig1 . each slice , 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 , contains a different data value a , b , c , d , e and f and a different coded subset ca , cb , cc , cd , ce and cf . the slices 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 may be transmitted across a communications network , such as the internet , in a series of data transmissions to a series and each stored in a different digital data storage device or storage node 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 and 44 . in order to retrieve the original data ( or receive it in the case where the data is just transmitted , not stored ), the data can reconstructed as shown in fig2 . data values from each storage node 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 and 44 are transmitted across a communications network , such as the internet , to a receiving computer ( not shown ). as shown in fig2 , the receiving computer receives the slices 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 , each of which contains a different data value a , b , c , d , e and f and a different coded value ca , cb , cc , cd , ce and cf . for a variety of reasons , such as the outage or slow performance of a storage node 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 and 44 or a communications connection , not all data slices 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 will always be available each time data is recreated . fig3 illustrates a condition in which the present invention recreates the original data set when one data slice 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 , for example , the data slice 22 containing the data value a and the coded value ca are not available . in this case , the original data value a can be obtained as follows : where cc is a coded value and d and e are original data values , available from the slices 26 , 28 and 30 , which are assumed to be available from the nodes 38 , 40 and 42 , respectively . in this case the missing data value can be determined by reversing the coding equation that summed a portion of the data values to create a coded value by subtracting the known data values from a known coded value . for example , where the original data is the starting string of ascii values for the characters of the text o l i v e r , the data value of the a could be determined as follows : in other cases , determining the original data values requires a more detailed decoding equation . for example , fig4 illustrates a condition in which three ( 3 ) of the six ( 6 ) nodes 34 , 36 and 42 which contain the original data values a , b and e and their corresponding coded values ca , cb and ce are not available . these missing data values a , b and e and corresponding in fig4 can be restored by using the following sequence of equations : these equations are performed in the order listed in order for the data values required for each equation to be available when the specific equation is performed . for example , where the original data is the starting string of ascii values for the characters of the text o l i v e r , the data values of the b , e and a could be determined as follows : in order to generalize the method for the recreation of all original data abcdef when n = 6 and up to three slices 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 30 and 32 are not available at the time of the recreation , fig5 contains a table that can be used to determine how to recreate the missing data . this table lists the 40 different outage scenarios where 1 , 2 , or 3 out of six storage nodes are be not available or performing slow enough as to be considered not available . in the table in fig5 , an ‘ x ’ in a row designates that data and coded values from that node are not available . the ‘ type ’ column designates the number of nodes not available . an ‘ offset ’ value for each outage scenario is also indicated . the offset is the difference the spatial position of a particular outage scenario and the first outage scenario of that type . the data values can be represented by the array d [ x ], where x is the node number where that data value is stored . the coded values can be represented by the array c [ x ]. in order to reconstruct missing data in an outage scenario where one node is not available in a storage array where n = 6 , the follow equation can be used : where c3d ( ) is a function in pseudo computer software code as follows : in order to reconstruct missing data in an outage scenario where two nodes are not available in a storage array where n = 6 , the equations in the table in fig6 can be used . in fig6 , the ‘ outage type num ’ refers to the corresponding outage ‘ type ’ from fig5 . the ‘ decode operation ’ in fig6 refers to the order in which the decode operations are performed . the ‘ decoded data ’ column in fig6 provides the specific decode operations which produces each missing data value . in order to reconstruct missing data in an outage scenario where three nodes are not available in a storage array where n = 6 , the equations in the table in fig7 can be used . note that in fig7 , the structure of the decode equation for the first decode for outage type = 3 is a different structure than the other decode equations where n = 6 . the example equations listed above are typical of the type of coding and decoding equations that create efficient computing processes using this method , but they only represent one of many examples of how this method can be used to create efficient information distribution systems . in the example above of distributing original data on a storage array of 6 nodes where at least 3 are required to recreate all the data , the computational overhead of creating the coded data is only two addition operations per byte . when data is decoded , no additional operations are required if all storage nodes and communications channels are available . if one or two of the storage nodes or communications channels are not available when n = 6 , then only two additional addition / subtraction operations are required to decode each missing data value . if three storage nodes or communications channels are missing when n = 6 , then just addition / subtraction operations are required for each missing byte in 11 of 12 instances — in that twelfth instance , only 4 computational operations are required ( 3 addition / subtractions and one division by an integer ). this method is more computationally efficient that known methods , such as those described by rabin and shamir . this method of selecting a computationally efficient method for secure , distributed data storage by creating coded values to store at storage nodes that also store data subsets can be used to create data storage arrays generally for configurations where n = 4 or greater . in each case decoding equations such as those detailed above can be used to recreate missing data in a computationally efficient manner . coding and decoding algorithms for varying grid sizes which tolerate varying numbers of storage node outages without original data loss can also be created using these methods . for example , to create a 9 node grid that can tolerate the loss of 2 nodes , a candidate coding algorithm is selected that uses a mathematical function that incorporates at least two other nodes , such as : n = 9 , the number of storage nodes in the grid c [ x ] is the xth coded data value in the segment array of coded data values d [ x + 1 ] is the value in the position 1 greater than x in a array of data values d [ x + 2 ] is the value in the position 2 greater than x in a array of data values n_mod ( ) is function that performs a mod over the number space 0 to n − 1 in this example embodiment , n = 9 , the first data segment is separated into different data subsets as follows : a = d 0 , b = d 1 , c = d 2 , d = d 3 , e = d 4 , f = d 5 , g = d 6 , h = d 7 , i = d 8 using this candidate coding algorithm equation above , the following coded values are created : the candidate coding algorithm is then tested against all possible grid outage states of up to the desired number of storage node outages that can be tolerated with complete data restoration of all original data . fig8 lists all possible storage grid cases for a 9 storage node grid with 2 storage node outages . although there are 36 outage cases on a 9 node storage grid with 2 storage node outages , these can be grouped into 4 types as shown in fig8 . each of these 4 types represent a particular spatial arrangement of the 2 outages , such as the 2 storage node outages being spatially next to each other in the grid ( type 1 ) or the 2 storage node outages being separated by one operating storage node ( type 2 ). the offset listed in fig8 shows the spatial relationship of each outage case within the same type as they relate to the first outage case of that type listed in that table . for example , the first instance of a type 1 outage in fig8 is the outage case where node 0 and node 1 are out . this first instance of a type 1 outage is then assigned the offset value of 0 . the second instance of a type 1 outage in fig8 is the outage case where node 1 and node 2 are out . therefore , this second instance of a type 1 outage is assigned the offset value of 1 since the two storage nodes outages occur at storage nodes that are 1 greater than the location of the storage node outages in the first case of type 1 in fig8 . the validity of the candidate coding algorithm can them be tested by determining if there is a decoding equation or set of decoding equations that can be used to recreate all the original data in each outage type and thus each outage case . for example , in the first outage case in fig8 , node 0 and node 1 are out . this means that the data values a and b are not directly available on the storage grid . however , a can be recreated from ch as follows : the missing data value b can then be created from ci as follows : this type of validity testing can then be used to test if all original data can be obtained in all other instances where 2 storage nodes on a 9 node storage grid are not operating . next , all instances where 1 storage node is not operating on a 9 node storage grid are tested to verify whether that candidate coding algorithm is valid . if the validity testing shows that all original data can be obtained in every instance of 2 storage nodes not operating on a 9 node storage grid and every instance of 1 storage node not operating on a 9 node storage grid , then that coding algorithm would be valid to store data on a 9 node storage grid and then to retrieve all original data from that grid if up to 2 storage nodes were not operating . these types of coding and decoding algorithms can be used by those practiced in the art of software development to create storage grids with varying numbers of storage nodes with varying numbers of storage node outages that can be tolerated by the storage grid while perfectly restoring all original data . a metadata management system , illustrated in fig9 - 12 , is used to manage dispersal and storage of information that is dispersed and stored in several storage nodes coupled to a common communication network forming a grid , for example , as discussed above in connection with fig1 - 8 . in order to enhance the reliability of the information dispersal system , metadata attributes of the transactions on the grid are stored in separate dataspace from the dispersed data . as discussed above , the information dispersal system “ slices ” the original data into data subsets and uses a coding algorithm on the data subsets to create coded data subsets . in order to recreate the original data , data subsets and coded subsets are retrieved from some or all of the storage nodes or communication channels , depending on the availability and performance of each storage node and each communication channel . as with other known data storage systems based upon information dispersal methods , unauthorized access to one or more data subsets only provides reduced or unusable information about the source data . for example as illustrated in fig1 , each slice 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 , contains a different data value a , b , c , d , e and f and a different “ coded subset ” ( coded subsets are generated by algorithms and are stored with the data slices to allow for restoration when restoration is done using part of the original subsets ) ca , cb , cc , cd , ce and cf . the slices 22 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 may be transmitted across a communications network , such as the internet , in a series of data transmissions to a series and each stored in a different digital data storage device or storage node 34 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 and 44 . each data subset and its corresponding coded subset may be transmitted separately across a communications network and stored in a separate storage node in an array of storage nodes . a “ file stripe ” is the set of data and / or coded subsets corresponding to a particular file . each file stripe may be stored on a different set of data storage devices or storage nodes 57 within the overall grid as available storage resources or storage nodes may change over time as different files are stored on the grid . a “ dataspace ” is a portion of a storage grid 49 that contains the data of a specific client 64 . a grid client may also utilize more than one data . the dataspaces table 106 in fig1 shows all dataspaces associated with a particular client . typically , particular grid clients are not able to view the dataspaces of other grid clients in order to provide data security and privacy . fig9 shows the different components of a storage grid , generally identified with the reference numeral 49 . the grid 49 includes associated storage nodes 54 associated with a specific grid client 64 as well as other storage nodes 56 associated with other grid clients ( collectively or individually “ the storage nodes 57 ”), connected to a communication network , such as the internet . the grid 49 also includes applications for managing client backups and restorations in terms of dataspaces and their associated collections . in general , a “ director ” is an application running on the grid 49 . the director serves various purposes , such as : 1 . provide a centralized - but - duplicatable point of user - client login . the director is the only grid application that stores user - login information . 2 . autonomously provide a per - user list of stored files . all user - client &# 39 ; s can acquire the entire list of files stored on the grid for each user by talking to one and only one director . this file - list metadata is duplicated across one primary directory to several backup directors . 3 . track which sites contain user slices . 4 . manager authentication certificates for other node personalities . the applications on the grid form a metadata management system and include a primary director 58 , secondary directors 60 and other directors 62 . each dataspace is always associated at any given time with one and only one primary director 58 . every time a grid client 64 attempts any dataspace operation ( save / retrieve ), the grid client 64 must reconcile the operation with the primary director 58 associated with that dataspace . among other things , the primary director 58 manages exclusive locks for each dataspace . every primary director 58 has at least one or more secondary directors 60 . in order to enhance reliability of the system , any dataspace metadata updates ( especially lock updates ) are synchronously copied by the dataspace &# 39 ; s primary director 58 and to all of its secondary or backup directors 60 before returning acknowledgement status back to the requesting grid client . 64 . in addition , for additional reliability , all other directors 62 on the grid may also asynchronously receive a copy of the metadata update . in such a configuration , all dataspace metadata is effectively copied across the entire grid 49 . as used herein , a primary director 58 and its associated secondary directors 60 are also referred to as associated directors 60 . the secondary directors 60 ensure that any acknowledged metadata management updates are not lost in the event that a primary director 58 fails in the midst of a grid client 64 dataspace update operation . there exists a trade - off between the number of secondary directors 60 and the metadata access performance of the grid 49 . in general , the greater the number of secondary directors 60 , the higher the reliability of metadata updates , but the slower the metadata update response time . the associated directors 66 and other directors 62 do not track which slices are stored on each storage node 57 , but rather keeps track of the associated storage nodes 57 associated with each grid client 64 . once the specific nodes are known for each client , it is necessary to contact the various storage nodes 57 in order to determine the slices associated with each grid client 64 . while the primary director 58 controls the majority of grid metadata ; the storage nodes 57 serve the following responsibilities : 1 . store the user &# 39 ; s slices . the storage nodes 57 store the user slices in a file - system that mirrors the user &# 39 ; s file - system structure on the client machines ( s ). 2 . store a list of per - user files on the storage node 57 in a database . the storage node 57 associates minimal metadata attributes , such as slice hash signatures ( e . g ., md5s ) with each slice “ row ” in the database . the grid identifies each storage node 57 with a unique storage volume serial number ( volumeid ) and as such can identify the storage volume even when it is spread across multiple servers . in order to recreate the original data , data subsets and coded subsets are retrieved from some or all of the storage nodes 57 or communication channels , depending on the availability and performance of each storage node 57 and each communication channel . each primary director 58 keeps a list of all storage nodes 57 on the grid 49 and therefore all the nodes available at each site . following is the list of key metadata attributes used during backup / restore processes : it is used to keep track of the user data on fig1 describes a flow of data and a top level view of what happens when a client interacts with the storage system . fig1 illustrates the key metadata tables that are used to keep track of user info in the process . referring to fig1 , initially in step 70 , a grid client 64 starts with logging in to a director application running on a server on the grid . after a successful log in , the director application returns to the grid client 64 in step 72 , a dataspacedirectormap 92 ( fig1 ). the director application includes an accountdataspacemap 93 ; a look up table which looks up the grid client &# 39 ; s accountid in order to determine the dataspaceid . the dataspaceid is then used to determine the grid client &# 39 ; s primary director ( i . e ., directorappid ) from the dataspacedirectormap 92 . once the grid client 64 knows its primary director 58 , the grid client 64 can request a dataspace volumemap 94 ( fig1 ) and use the dataspaceid to determine the storage nodes associated with that grid client 64 ( i . e ., volumeid ). the primary director 58 sets up a transactioncontextid for the grid client 64 in a transactions table 102 ( fig1 ). the transactioncontextid is unique for each transaction ( i . e ., for each running instance or session of the grid client 64 ). in particular , the dataspace id from the dataspacedirectormap 92 is used to create a unique transaction id in a transactioncontexts table 96 . the transaction id stored in a transaction table 102 along with the transactioncontextid in order to keep track of all transactions by all of the grid clients for each session of a grid client with the grid 49 . the “ transactioncontextid ” metadata attribute is a different attribute than transactionid in that a client can be involved with more than one active transactions ( not committed ) but at all times only one “ transaction context id ” is associated with one running instance of the client . these metadata attributes allow management of concurrent transactions by different grid clients . as mentioned above , the primary director 58 maintains a list of the storage nodes 57 associated with each grid client 64 . this list is maintained as a transactioncontexts table 96 which maintains the identities of the storage nodes ( i . e ., dataspaceid ) and the identity of the grid client 64 ( i . e ., id ). the primary director 58 contains the “ application ” metadata ( i . e ., applications table 104 ) used by the grid client 64 to communicate with the primary director 58 . the applications table 64 is used to record the type of transaction ( apptypeid ), for example add or remove data slices and the storage nodes 57 associated with the transaction ( i . e ., siteid ). before any data transfers begins , the grid client 64 files metadata with the primary director 58 regarding the intended transaction , such as the name and size of the file as well as its creation date and modification date , for example . the metadata may also include other metadata attributes , such as the various fields illustrated in the transactionsdatasources table 98 . ( fig1 ) the transaction datasources metadata table 98 is used to keep control over the transactions until the transactions are completed . after the above information is exchanged between the grid client 64 and the primary director 58 , the grid client 64 connects to the storage nodes in step 74 in preparation for transfer of the file slices . before any information is exchanged , the grid client 64 registers the metadata in its datasources table 100 in step 76 in order to fill in the data fields in the transaction datasources table 98 . next in step 78 , the data slices and coded subsets are created in the manner discussed above by an application running on the grid client 64 . any data scrambling , compression and / or encryption of the data may be done before or after the data has been dispersed into slices . the data slices are then uploaded to the storage nodes 57 in step 80 . once the upload starts , the grid client 64 uses the transaction metadata ( i . e ., data from transaction datasources table 98 ) to update the file metadata ( i . e ., datasources table 100 ). once the upload is complete , only then the datasource information from the transaction datasources table 98 is moved to the datasource table 100 and removed from the transaction datasources table 98 in steps 84 , 86 and 88 . this process is “ atomic ” in nature , that is , no change is recorded if at any instance the transaction fails . the datasources table 100 includes revision numbers to maintain the integrity of the user &# 39 ; s file set . a simple example , as illustrated in fig1 a and 12 b , illustrates the operation of the metadata management system 50 . the example assumes that the client wants to save a file named “ myfile . txt ” on the grid 49 . step 1 : the grid client connects to the director application running on the grid 49 . since the director application is not the primary director 58 for this grid client 64 , the director application authenticates the grid client and returns the dataspacedirectormap 92 . basically , the director uses the accountid to find its dataspaceid and return the corresponding directorappid ( primary director id for this client ). step 2 : once the grid client 64 has the dataspacedirectormap 92 , it now knows which director is its primary director . the grid client 64 then connects to this director application and the primary director creates a transactioncontextid , as explained above , which is unique for the grid client session . the primary director 58 also sends the grid client 64 its dataspacevolumemap 94 ( i . e ., the number of storage nodes 57 in which the grid client 64 needs to a connection ). the grid client 64 sends the file metadata to the director ( i . e ., fields required in the transaction datasources table ). step 3 : by way of an application running on the client , the data slices and coded subsets of “ myfile . txt ” are created using storage algorithms as discussed above . the grid client 64 now connects to the various storage nodes 57 on the grid 49 , as per the dataspacevolumemap 94 . the grid client now pushes its data and coded subsets to the various storage nodes 57 on the grid 49 . step 4 : when the grid client 64 is finished saving its file slices on the various storage nodes 57 , the grid client 64 notifies the primary director application 58 to remove this transaction from the transactiondatasources table 98 and add it to the datasources table 100 . the system is configured so that the grid dent 64 is not able retrieve any file that is not on the datasources table 100 . as such , adding the file metadata on the datasources table 100 completes the file save / backup operation . as should be clear from the above , the primary director 58 is an application that decides when a transaction begins or ends . a transaction begins before a primary director 58 sends the storage node 57 metadata to the grid client 64 and it ends after writing the information about the data sources on the datasources table 100 . this configuration insures completeness . as such , if a primary director 58 reports a transaction as having completed , then any application viewing that transaction will know that all the other storage nodes have been appropriately updated for the transaction . this concept of “ atomic transactions ” is important to maintain the integrity of the storage system . for example , if the entire update transaction does not complete , and all of the disparate storage nodes are not appropriately “ synchronized ,” then the storage system is left in a state of disarray , at least for the dataspace table 100 of the grid client 64 in question . otherwise , if transactions are interrupted for any reason ( e . g ., simply by powering off a client pc in the middle of a backup process ) and are otherwise left in an incomplete state , the system &# 39 ; s overall data integrity would become compromised rather quickly . in accordance with an important aspect of the invention , metadata tables that include information about the original files are created and maintained separate from the file shares as illustrated in fig9 - 12 . these separate files are used to provide information required to bill for commercial usage of the information dispersal grid . although the system is described and illustrated for use with the information dispersal storage system , illustrated in fig1 - 8 , the principles of the present invention are applicable to virtually any such system , such as systems configured as storage area networks ( san ), for example as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 256 , 688 and 7 , 003 , 688 as well as us patent application publications us 2005 / 0125593 a1 and us 2006 / 0047907 a1 , hereby incorporated by reference . as mentioned above , the metadata management system includes a primary director 58 and one or more secondary directors 60 ( collectively or individually “ the associated directors 66 ”). these directors 66 are used to create the metadata tables , illustrated in fig1 that are associated with each grid client 64 . these metadata tables include information regarding transactions of the files that are stored on the storage nodes 57 and are maintained separately from the dispersed files in the storage nodes 57 . in accordance with the present invention each associated director 66 generally stores a storage transaction table with an exemplary structure as illustrated below for each node : for each storage transaction , the storage transaction table logs the file size prior to dispersal for storage on the dispersal grid ( originalfilesize ) and optionally other information regarding the transaction , for example , the date and time of the transaction ; a unique transaction identification number ( transactionid ); an account identification number associated with that transaction ( accountid ); a file identification number associated with that transaction ( file id ); a transaction type of add or delete ; and a completed flag for that transaction . as such , the storage transaction table is able to maintain the original size of the files before dispersal even though the file is dispersed into file slices on the grid which may be different in size from the original file size . these file slices may be further reduced in size by the information dispersal system in order to reduce storage space or improve transmission time . accordingly , the storage transaction table allows more flexible options which include billing for file storage based upon the original file size even though the files are dispersed and / or compressed . in order to create a billing invoice , a separate billing process requests information from the grid using the process shown in fig1 . first , a billing process logs onto a director 66 in step 106 . next in step 108 , the billing process requests the amount of original storage associated with each billing account in step 106 . specifically , the billing process retrieves the account identification numbers ( accountid ) and the file size prior to dispersal for storage on the dispersal grid ( originalfilesize ) for each transaction . then the billing process sums all the original storage amounts associated with each billing account to create a table as structured below : with the information in the summary billing information table , the billing process creates invoices for each billing account . this method may be used for commercial dispersed data storage services that bill an amount based on a rate per byte storage or that bill an amount based on an amount of data storage within a range of storage amounts or that use some other method to determine billing amounts based on storage amounts . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . thus , it is to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than is specifically described above .	6
with reference to fig1 a pair of identical dampening struts 20 , 22 of the present invention are used to support a door 24 to the passenger area of a helicopter . each strut includes an outer telescoping member 30 and an inner telescoping member 32 . unless otherwise noted , all parts of the struts 20 , 22 are preferably made from steel . with reference to fig2 and 2a , the outer telescoping member 30 includes an endcap 33 , a tube - shaped outer cylinder 34 , a tube - shaped inner cylinder 36 , and a cylinder head 38 . the endcap 33 includes a mount portion 40 , a channel portion 60 and a valve portion 80 . with reference to fig2 a , the mount portion 40 includes a base 41 , which is preferably cylindrical in shape . a cylindrical bore 42 is located along the axial center of the base 41 . preferably , the cylindrical bore 42 is threaded . threadibly mounted to the base 41 at the cylindrical bore 42 is an eyelet mount 44 . the eyelet mount 44 includes a threaded shank 46 , a nut 48 and an eyelet 50 . the nut 48 is threadibly mounted on the threaded shank 46 and tightened securely against the base 41 . the eyelet 50 includes a solid ring 52 , a circular groove 54 , and an aperture 56 formed at the axial center of the ring 52 . this configuration of the eyelet 50 allows the strut to be mounted on a conventional axle swivel mount ( not shown ). the channel portion 60 of the endcap 33 , also shown in fig2 a , includes a cylindrical base 62 , having an inwardly protruding cylindrical member 66 . the cylindrical base 62 is a solid , contiguous extension of the base 41 of the mount portion . the cylindrical base 62 has a greater diameter than the base 41 and the transition from the smaller diameter base 41 to the larger diameter cylindrical base 62 is accomplished by use of a sloping shoulder 64 , which extends radially outward from the base 41 . transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical base 62 , a transverse bore 67 is formed through the inwardly protruding cylindrical member 66 . formed in the sloping shoulder 64 are two angular bores 68 . each angular bore includes a small diameter channel portion 70 and a large diameter sealing portion 72 . the small diameter channel portion 70 connects to the transverse bore 67 . located in the large diameter sealing portion 72 is a sealing ball 74 and a plug 76 . the sealing ball is seated where the angular bore narrows from the large diameter sealing portion 72 to the small diameter channel portion 70 . adjacent to and firmly secured against the sealing ball 72 is the plug 76 . additionally , the sloping shoulder includes a groove 78 circumferentially disposed around the sloping shoulder 64 . located within the groove 78 is a shoulder o - ring 79 . the valve portion 80 , as shown in fig2 and 2a , is preferably cylindrical and adjacent to and a solid contiguous extension of the cylindrical member 66 of the cylindrical base 64 . a longitudinal bore 84 is formed through the radial center of the valve portion 80 and connects to the transverse bore 67 . the longitudinal bore 84 includes a larger diameter portion 82 which forms a valve chamber 86 . at this point , the longitudinal bore 84 includes a valve seat 85 . the valve chamber 86 is cylindrical in shape and defines a cylindrical valve chamber side wall 88 and cylindrical valve chamber sloping wall 90 . a recessed , cylindrical groove 92 is formed at a terminal end 94 of the valve chamber 86 . located within the valve chamber 86 is a valve 100 . the valve is omitted from fig2 for purposes of clarity , but is shown in detail in fig3 and 4 . located within the groove 92 is a snap ring 95 , which moveably retains the valve 100 , as is described further below . with reference to fig3 and 4 , the valve 100 has a spherical end 102 , a cylinder end 104 and a sloping shoulder 106 . the cylinder end 104 is tubular and has an interior bore 105 . extending outward from the cylinder end , 104 and positioned between the cylinder end 104 and the spherical end 102 , is the sloping shoulder 106 . the sloping shoulder 106 includes , as a radial extension of the sloping shoulder 106 , a protruding lip 107 . bored through the sloping shoulder 106 are four large diameter fluid flow openings 108 , 110 , 112 , 114 . these fluid flow openings 108 , 110 , 112 , 114 open into the interior bore 105 of the cylinder end 104 . the spherical end 102 is a contiguous extension of the sloping shoulder 106 and curves inwardly to form a valve head 115 that is a portion of a sphere . bored through the radial center of the spherical end 102 is a decreasing diameter bore 116 which connects with the interior bore 105 of the cylinder end 104 . the decreasing diameter bore 116 is formed such that it has a first narrowing point 118 , which connects to a large diameter channel 120 , which connects to a second narrowing point 122 , which in turn connects to a narrow diameter channel 124 . the narrow diameter channel 124 connects to the interior bore 105 of the cylindrical end 104 . with reference to fig2 and 2 a , the valve 100 is located in the valve chamber 86 and oriented so that the spherical end 102 is facing the longitudinal bore 86 , and the cylinder end is directed toward the snap ring 95 . the protruding lip 107 engages the valve chamber side wall 88 . the valve 100 is movably retained within the valve chamber 86 by the snap ring 95 as is further described below . this allows the valve to move between a seated position where the valve head 115 of the spherical end 102 is firmly seated against the longitudinal bore 86 , and an unseated position where the protruding lip 107 is in contact with the snap ring 95 . the endcap 33 is connected to the outer cylinder 34 at the cylindrical base 62 such that the o - ring 79 is between the outer cylinder 34 and the cylindrical base 62 to form a tight seal . the endcap 33 is connected to the inner cylinder 36 at the valve seat 80 . preferably , the valve seat 80 and the inner cylinder 36 are each threaded and threadibly engaged to one another . located within the inner cylinder and adjacent to the valve seat 80 is a short , tube - shaped stop sleeve 126 . with reference also to fig2 and 7 a , the cylinder head 38 is a solid cylinder of the same circumference as the outer cylinder 34 and has an outside end 150 , an inside end 152 and an outer surface 153 . a main aperture 154 is bored through the axial center of the cylinder head 38 . extending from the inside end 152 and positioned radially outside of the main aperture 154 is an attachment sleeve 156 . the attachment sleeve is threaded at 158 for attaching the cylinder head 38 to the inner cylinder 36 . the cylinder head 38 also includes at least one longitudinal bore 160 radially offset from the main aperture 154 and extending through the cylinder head 38 . the cylinder head 38 is threadibly engaged to the outer cylinder 34 at the outer circumference 153 of the inside end 152 . additionally , the cylinder head 38 includes an annular spherical groove 450 formed in the cylinder head 38 , a rounded end wall 157 and a shoulder slot 451 . braced against the inside end 152 of the cylinder head 38 is an auxiliary piston spring 170 . the auxiliary piston spring 170 is oriented such that it circumferentially surrounds the inner cylinder 36 and is circumferentially surrounded by the outer cylinder 34 . the auxiliary piston spring 170 is braced against an auxiliary piston 172 . the auxiliary piston 172 is ring - shaped and located such that it circumferentially surrounds the inner cylinder 36 and is circumferentially surrounded by the outer cylinder 34 . the auxiliary piston 172 includes a forward annular groove 174 , a rearward annular grove 176 and a face 177 . located within the forward annular groove 174 is a forward auxiliary piston o - ring 178 , and located within the rearward annular groove 176 is a rearward auxiliary piston o - ring 180 . the forward auxiliary piston o - ring 178 contacts and forms a seal with the inner cylinder 36 and the rearward auxiliary piston o - ring 180 contacts and forms a seal with the outer cylinder 34 . with reference to fig2 , 6 , 7 , and 7 a , the inner telescoping member 32 includes a main piston 200 , a mount portion 202 , and a release mechanism 204 . the main piston 200 includes a main piston head 220 , an inner shaft 222 , an outer shaft 224 , and a locking mechanism 226 . the main piston head 220 is cylindrical shaped and includes a face 230 , a main block 231 , an annular groove 232 , and an attachment sleeve 234 . the main piston head 220 is configured such that the main block diameter is just slightly less than the inner diameter 236 of the inner cylinder 36 . this allows the main piston head 200 to be moveably retained within the inner cylinder 36 . the face 230 is a flat , circular surface , which , when the strut is in operation , is in contact with the hydraulic fluid . located within the annular groove 232 is a main piston o - ring 238 . the main piston o - ring contacts and forms a tight seal with an inner wall 240 of the inner cylinder 36 . the main piston head 200 also includes a sloping shoulder 242 which is adjacent to and a solid contiguous extension of the main block 231 opposite the face 230 . extending from the sloping shoulder 242 is the attachment sleeve 234 . the attachment sleeve 234 has a rim 244 and an inner side 246 . preferably , the inner side 246 is threaded . the outer shaft 224 is tubular and includes a threaded head end 248 and at least two openings 250 through which at least two locking balls 304 move , as will be discussed further below . the outer shaft 224 is threadibly attached at the head end 248 to the inner side 246 of the piston head . the outer shaft 224 also includes a small bracing shoulder 449 . moveably retained within the outer shaft 224 is the inner shaft 222 . the inner shaft 222 includes a trapezoidal groove 252 disposed circumferentially about the inner shaft 222 and an annular groove 254 . located within the annular groove 254 is an inner shaft o - ring 258 . the inner shaft o - ring 258 contacts and creates a seal against an inner side 260 of the outer shaft 224 . protecting the locking mechanism 226 from contamination entering through the openings in the outer shaft 224 associated with the release mechanism 204 , which is more fully described below . the locking mechanism 226 includes a locking sleeve 300 , a sleeve spring 302 and the two locking balls 304 . the sleeve spring 302 is braced against the rim 244 at one end of the spring and braced against the locking sleeve 300 at the other end of the spring . the locking sleeve 300 circumferentially surrounds the outer shaft 224 . extending radially outward from the shaft 224 , is an annular small shoulder 303 . the locking sleeve 300 contacts and is urged against the small bracing shoulder 449 by the sleeve spring 302 . when the strut is not in the fully extended position , the locking mechanism is disengaged , as is shown in fig5 . in this disengaged position , the locking sleeve 300 retains the locking balls 304 within the space formed by the alignment of the trapezoidal groove 252 and the openings 250 . with reference to fig2 and 6 , the release mechanism 204 includes a release sleeve 350 , a release sleeve spring 352 and a connector pin 354 . the release sleeve 350 is tube shaped and circumferentially disposed around the outer shaft 224 , outside of the outer telescoping member 32 . the release sleeve 350 has an outer surface 356 which is easily manipulable by hand , a spring retaining wall 358 and a spring bracing wall 360 . the outer surface 356 may be knurled or otherwise treated to improve its ability to be gripped and manipulated by hand . the release sleeve 350 is movably positioned by the release sleeve spring 352 . the release sleeve spring 352 is braced against the spring bracing wall 360 and positioned radially between the spring retaining wall 358 of the release sleeve 350 and the outside of the outer shaft 224 . the outer shaft 224 also has disposed circumferentially about it and firmly attached to it , a bracing ring 364 . the release spring 352 is braced against the bracing ring 364 . the release sleeve 350 also has a pair of radially extending , diametrically opposed apertures 362 through which a connector pin 354 is inserted . the connector pin 354 also passes through opposed longitudinal slots 368 in the outer shaft 224 and through an aperture in the inner shaft 222 . with this configuration , longitudinal movement of the release sleeve 350 will move the inner shaft 224 the same longitudinal distance as the release sleeve 350 . the mount portion 202 includes an eyelet mount 380 , and a pin 384 . the eyelet mount 380 includes a threaded shank 386 , and an eyelet 388 . the threaded shank 386 is threadibly mounted on the outer shaft 224 . the eyelet 388 includes a solid ring 390 , a circular groove 392 , and an aperture 394 formed at the radial center of the ring 390 . this configuration of the eyelet 388 allows the strut to be mounted on a conventional axle swivel mount ( not shown ). the pin 384 passes through opposed apertures 387 in the outer shaft 224 , and through the threaded shank 386 thereby securing the mount portion 202 in place . with reference to fig2 when the strut is fully assembled and in operation , it contains hydraulic fluid ( not shown ). preferably , the hydraulic fluid is military grade number mil - h - 83282 . the hydraulic fluid is injected into the assembled strut 28 during manufacture through the two angular bores 68 formed in the sloping shoulder 64 . the angular bores 68 are then sealed by insertion of the sealing ball 74 , and then the plug 76 , into the large diameter sealing portion 72 . hydraulic fluid is retained in the transverse bore 67 , each of the small diameter channel portions 70 of the two angular bores 68 , the longitudinal bore 84 , the valve chamber 86 , a second hydraulic reservoir 400 , which is defined by the inner cylinder 222 and the face 230 of the main piston head 200 and in a first hydraulic reservoir 402 , which is defined by the space between the inner cylinder 36 and the outer cylinder 34 and limited by the auxiliary piston 172 . when the strut is in operation , a fluid flow path is defined by these members as follows . as the strut extends , hydraulic fluid flows from the first hydraulic reservoir 402 into the transverse bore 67 . fluid flow follows the transverse bore 67 radially inward to the longitudinal bore 84 . fluid flow follows the longitudinal bore along the radial center of the outer telescoping member 30 and into the valve chamber 86 . fluid flows through the valve 100 and into the second hydraulic reservoir 400 . fluid flow may also follow the same path in a reverse direction when the strut is being compressed . with reference to fig2 , 4 , and 5 the strut is in a completely compressed position . as the strut extends , the main piston moves longitudinally in the second hydraulic reservoir 400 away from the valve 100 . this movement creates a suction force on the hydraulic fluid and draws fluid from the first hydraulic reservoir along the fluid flow path and into the main hydraulic chamber 400 . at the same time , fluid pressure builds up at the spherical end 102 of the valve . this forces the moveably retained valve 100 to move toward the snap ring 95 . this movement is halted when the protruding lip 107 contacts the snap ring . this position of the valve allows fluid to flow through both the narrow diameter channel 124 and the four large diameter fluid flow openings 108 , 110 , 112 , 114 . this allows significantly increased fluid flow and therefore enables the strut to extend rapidly . this rapid extension is also aided by the action of the auxiliary piston 172 . as the strut extends and hydraulic fluid is drawn from the first hydraulic reservoir 402 , the auxiliary piston 172 is pushed by the auxiliary piston spring 170 away from the cylinder head 38 . this motion both reduces the volume of the first hydraulic reservoir 402 , thus creating a variable reservoir for the hydraulic fluid , and helps inject the hydraulic fluid into the second hydraulic reservoir along the defined fluid flow path . the reduction in volume of the first hydraulic reservoir 402 prevents any suction force from building up within the first hydraulic reservoir 402 and counteracting the suction force created by the main piston 200 . additionally , air from outside of the strut can flow through the offset longitudinal bore 160 in the cylinder head 38 and into the volume behind the moving auxiliary piston 172 . this action prevents a vacuum from forming behind the auxiliary piston 172 and therefore reducing the closure rate of the strut . these features allow the strut to open as rapidly as the main piston 200 can be moved and the valve 100 will allow . with reference to fig6 , and 7 a , as the strut 28 approaches its fully extended position the small bracing shoulder 449 passes into the shoulder slot 451 , and the locking sleeve 300 contacts the rounded end wall 157 of the cylinder head 38 . as the extending motion continues , the locking sleeve spring 300 is compressed . when the locking sleeve spring 300 is fully compressed , longitudinal motion of the main piston head 220 is arrested . in this position , the locking sleeve 300 no longer covers and retains the locking balls 304 . longitudinal motion of the inner shaft 222 continues as is described below . due to this continued longitudinal motion , the surface of the trapezoidal groove 252 applies a lateral force to the locking balls 304 , driving the locking balls 304 into the spherical groove 450 formed in the cylinder head 38 which lines up with the openings 250 formed in the outer shaft 224 when the strut 28 is in its extended position . longitudinal motion of the inner shaft 222 ceases when the trapezoidal 252 has traversed completely past the locking balls 304 . the continued longitudinal motion of the inner shaft 222 which is alluded to above is accomplished by the action of the release mechanism 204 . when the main piston head 220 and the outer shaft 224 , to which the main piston head 200 is attached , cease moving , the release sleeve 350 is urged further away from the cylinder head 38 by the release sleeve spring 352 . as the release sleeve spring extends and the release sleeve 350 moves away from the cylinder head 38 , the connector pin 354 , which is firmly attached to the release sleeve 350 and the inner shaft 222 , also moves , forcing the inner shaft 222 to move the same longitudinal distance as the release sleeve 350 . this action moves the trapezoidal groove 252 as is described above . the release sleeve 350 and inner shaft 222 stop moving when the connector pin 354 travels the entire extent of the opposed longitudinal slots 368 . when the strut 20 , 22 is in the position shown in fig8 and 9 , the inner telescoping member 32 is locked into place in relation to the outer telescoping member 30 by the presence of the locking balls 304 in the spherical groove 450 and the openings in the shaft 250 . in this position , the weight of a load placed on the inner telescoping member is borne by the locking balls 304 . by this action , the door 24 attached to the strut 20 , 22 can be locked into an open position as shown in fig1 . with reference to fig8 , 10 and 11 , the strut can be released from the locked position by actuating the release mechanism 204 . when a user moves the release sleeve 350 toward the cylinder head 38 as shown by the arrow , the connector pin 354 , which is securely attached to the release sleeve 350 moves the inner shaft 222 the same longitudinal distance that the release sleeve 350 is moved . as the release sleeve 350 is moved , the release sleeve spring 352 compresses , and the inner shaft 222 moves to the position where the trapezoidal groove 252 lines up with the opposed openings 250 in the outer shaft 224 and the spherical groove 450 . this allows the locking balls 304 to move back into the trapezoidal groove 252 . because the locking balls 304 no longer maintain contact with the cylinder head 38 , the outer shaft 224 and the main piston head 200 may move longitudinally toward the valve 100 and the fully compressed position . as the strut compresses toward this position , the main piston 200 traverses the second hydraulic reservoir 400 longitudinally . this motion of the main piston 200 creates pressure against the face 230 of the main piston 200 and is applied to the hydraulic fluid in the second hydraulic reservoir 400 , to force hydraulic fluid to flow from the main hydraulic chamber 400 toward the first hydraulic reservoir 402 along the defined fluid flow path . in turn , this fluid flow is dampened by the valve 100 . as fluid flows from the second hydraulic reservoir 400 , pressure builds against the interior bore 105 of the cylinder end 104 of the valve 100 . because the valve 100 is moveably retained within the valve chamber 86 , this pressure causes the valve to slide toward the valve seat 85 . the valve head 115 of the spherical end 102 of the valve 100 contacts the valve seat 85 and creates a seal . at the same time , the sloping shoulder 106 of the valve 100 contacts the valve chamber sloping wall 90 . this positioning of the valve 100 prevents hydraulic fluid from flowing through any of the four large diameter fluid flow openings 108 , 110 , 112 , 114 . as a result , all fluid flow must pass through the single narrow diameter channel 124 . this restriction of hydraulic fluid flow serves to dampen the strut and slow the rate at which it compresses . the valve 100 may also be spring biased toward the longitudinal bore 86 to provide for a faster valve response ( not shown ). a strut can , of course , be manufactured such that the valve 100 and valve chamber 86 are oriented in the opposite direction of the one described , to enable the strut to close rapidly and open slowly , or a simple restrictor valve can be used when it is desired that the strut open slowly and close slowly . when the face 230 reaches and contacts the stop sleeve 126 , the hydraulic fluid flow stops and the strut has reached its fully compressed position . as additional fluid enters the auxiliary chamber 402 , the fluid applies pressure against the face 177 of the auxiliary piston 172 . this pressure is opposed by the auxiliary piston spring 170 , which provides a minimal counter - force to the pressure created by the main piston as the strut compresses . the counter - force allows the strut to smoothly transition from the locked position to the beginning of the compression action , thereby avoiding an initial slippage or jolt as the release mechanism 204 is activated . pressure applied to the face 177 of the auxiliary piston 172 then compresses the auxiliary piston spring 170 . as the auxiliary piston spring 170 compresses , the auxiliary piston 172 moves toward the cylinder head 38 and the volume of the first hydraulic reservoir 402 extends allowing more hydraulic fluid to exit the second hydraulic reservoir 400 , travel along the fluid flow path , and enter the first hydraulic reservoir 402 . from the foregoing , it will be appreciated that the dampening strut of the present invention provides a strut which can open and close at two different speeds , is a compact , sealed , self - contained unit which requires no external fluid pump or injection device , and can be automatically locked in an open position . while a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described , it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is not intended that the invention be limited , except as by the appended claims .	5
fig1 illustrates in a highly diagrammatic illustration a pump arrangement 11 according to the invention . this pump arrangement 11 is installed in a water - carrying domestic electrical appliance , in particular into a dishwasher or washing machine , advantageously under the washing chamber of the latter . the pump arrangement 11 has a pump 12 which has a pump casing 13 and a motor 15 , the motor axle 16 of which extends into the pump casing 13 and carries a conveyor 18 which rotates inside the pump casing 13 in a pump chamber 19 . the connection of the pump casing 13 and motor 15 is advantageously fixed , for example by means of a releasable screw connection . in the version illustrated here , the conveyor 18 is advantageously of conventional design and corresponds , for example , to a conveyor , such as is known from de 19903951 a1 , to which express reference is made in this regard . furthermore , here too , the illustration of the dimension of the pump casing 13 and of the other components is not true to scale . the pump casing 13 or pump chamber 19 has a central and axial pump inlet 21 . furthermore , a pump outlet 23 is provided , which is arranged laterally and radially . a heating system 28 runs inside the pump chamber 19 and has heating connections 29 which are led out of the pump casing 13 . the heating system 28 illustrated is of an essentially cylinder - like design , so as to run around near to or on the wall of the pump chamber 19 , with the exception of an appropriate interruption , not illustrated , for the pump outlet 23 . the heating system may be an initially mentioned thick - film heating system , heating elements being arranged on at least one of its sides , advantageously on the outside , if appropriate also on the other or on both sides . fig2 shows an impeller 18 in an enlarged oblique illustration from above . it can be seen here that the impeller 18 has an impeller bottom disk 30 and an impeller cover disk 32 , as is known per se . the impeller bottom disk 30 is of essentially flat form and the impeller cover disk 32 is designed to rise , as can be seen in the side illustration from fig1 . an intake port 33 is located in the middle of the impeller cover disk 32 , as is known per se . the above - described motor axle 16 is fastened in the impeller bottom disk 30 . the direction of rotation of the impeller 18 in fig2 is counterclockwise . the impeller 18 has five impeller blades 35 which are illustrated in fig2 , on the one hand , as impeller blades 35 in a state bent out to the maximum extent . this state corresponds to an initially mentioned air position of the impeller blades 35 . on the other hand , however , the impeller blades are also illustrated , at least in the lower region , by reference symbol 35 ′. it becomes clear , in conjunction with fig3 , that , here , these impeller blades 35 ′ are in the water position and are bent as far as possible inward or curved to the maximum extent . in this case , on account of a stop , not illustrated here , they reach only insignificantly beyond the diameter of the impeller 18 or of the impeller disk 30 , 32 . in this case , care must be taken , in the design of the impeller 18 or of the overall pump 12 , in particular with the heating system 28 , to ensure that the impeller blades 35 , in the position bent out to the maximum extent according to fig2 , do not brush on the inside against the pump casing 13 or heating system 28 . fig3 illustrates in a slight enlargement how the impeller blades 35 are designed , without illustrating the impeller cover disk 32 . in the radially inner region or at the radially inner end , they have a fastening region 37 in which they are firmly connected over a certain length to the impeller bottom disk 30 . this firm connection may , on the one hand , be produced in one piece and , on the other hand , be a firm bonding or other stable and permanent fastening , for example by means of a positive connection , such as plugging in or the like . the impeller blade 35 extends outward from the fastening region 37 , illustrating by hatching , and is in this case no longer connected to the impeller bottom disk 30 . the free region of the impeller blade 35 may in this case have a very slight clearance with respect to the impeller bottom disk 30 , in particular also with respect to the impeller cover disk 32 , above all in the radially outer region , for example in the amount of a few tenths of a millimeter . as regards the impeller blade 35 , a shaping or stipulated curvature , as in the air position , is illustrated by reference symbol 35 . this means that the impeller blade 35 is in the air position , without being influenced by external force . when it is bent in the direction of rotation of the impeller 18 counterclockwise opposite to this direction of rotation , that is to say to the right , it assumes the more highly curved water position 35 ′. the curvature illustrated arises , in particular , when the impeller 18 conveys water in the pump 12 and the water resistance or the considerably higher force necessary for this curves the impeller blade 35 to a greater extent . as soon as this higher force lapses , the impeller blade 35 moves back into the air position again as the impeller blade 35 due to its intrinsic spring force . as a guide device for guiding the impeller blade 35 , there is provided in the impeller bottom disk 30 a slot 39 which extends over a region near the outer circumference and at the same time reaches virtually to the impeller blade 35 in the air position and to the impeller blade 35 ′ in the water position . a pin - like sliding element 40 is mounted in the slot 39 and can be moved along the slot 39 . advantageously , a corresponding slot is located above the slot 39 on the underside of the impeller cover disk 32 , so that the sliding element is secured on both sides . for safe and tilt - free guidance , the sliding element 40 may have a kind of elongate carriage body slightly curved correspondingly to the slot 39 and having a pin , for guidance in one or in both slots of the impeller disks 30 and 32 , two carriage bodies then being connected by the pin . this pin of the sliding element 40 runs , as illustrated , in a longitudinal slot 36 in the impeller blades 35 . the slots 36 and 39 may in this case , together with a sliding element 40 , be designed such that , in the air position of the impeller blade 35 , the sliding element 40 is located at the very bottom of the slot 39 and as far radially inward as possible on the longitudinal slot 36 of the impeller blade 35 . in the water position of the impeller blade 35 ′, the sliding element 40 is located at the very top of the slot 39 and as far to the outside as possible on the longitudinal slot 36 . this therefore defines the state curved to the maximum extent of the impeller blade 35 ′. in possible intermediate positions , the sliding element 40 , on the one hand , defines a certain guidance or stipulated shape of the impeller blade 35 . furthermore , as illustrated in fig3 , it may , above all , represent as it were limit stops for the water position , on the one hand , and the air position , on the other hand . to be precise , the impeller blade 35 cannot be bent more sharply either in the direction of rotation or opposite to the direction of rotation of the impeller 18 . furthermore , regarding the two positions according to fig3 , it must be said that , because of the lever arm resulting from force being applied to the impeller blade , the bend or curvature of the latter mainly takes place in the inner region near the fastening region 37 . the exact form of the curvature or the course of the curvature can be influenced by various adjustable material properties of the impeller blade 35 and also by shaping , for example by the longitudinal slots 36 or the like , for example also by the cross section changing along the longitudinal course . for the impeller blades 35 , care must also be taken to ensure that , as can be seen from fig1 , they should , on the one hand , have a shape such that they run essentially near to the impeller bottom disk 30 and impeller cover disk 32 , specifically in both positions . for this purpose , however , care should then be taken to ensure that the clearance between the two impeller disks 30 and 32 in the region in which the impeller blades 35 curve in and out between them is such that the movement of the impeller blades is not impaired . alternatively to a curvature , stipulated virtually by shaping , of the impeller blade 35 into the air position according to fig3 with minimum curvature , there could also be provision whereby , in the normal or nonloaded state , the impeller blade 35 ′ assumes the water position and is therefore curved to the maximum extent . if air is to be conveyed by the pump 12 , the rotational speed at the motor 15 is greatly increased , for example doubled or tripled , which greatly increases the centrifugal forces acting upon the impeller blades 35 and may in this case have the effect that , according to fig3 , they bend or are set up into the air position to a greater extent . this may sometimes also be reinforced in that regions of higher mass are provided or even additional weights are attached in the region of the outer free ends of the impeller blades 35 . if water is then conveyed again in the pump 12 with a lower rotational speed , the impeller blades 35 move back into the highly curved water position again , on the one hand , because of the diminishing centrifugal force and , on the other hand , on account of the stipulated shape . fig4 illustrates , in a modification for an impeller 118 , how the impeller blades 135 arranged on an impeller bottom disk 130 may be designed to be solid or without the longitudinal slots according to fig3 . this therefore means that the impeller blades 135 have no guidance of their movement between the minimally curved air position set out as far as possible , on the one hand , and the water position curved to the maximum extent to the right , as impeller blades 135 ′. only a first stop 141 for the air position is provided on the impeller bottom disk 130 . similarly , a second stop 142 for the water position is provided on the impeller bottom disk 130 . these stops 141 and 142 have the effect that the movement or curvature of the impeller blade 135 is limited in a similar way to that by the sliding element 40 , together with the slot 39 , according to fig3 . this design of the impeller disks 130 and 132 and of the impeller blades 135 themselves is somewhat simpler than according to fig3 . the stops 141 and 142 may either extend only a little way over the impeller bottom disk 130 , in order to bring about water resistance or give rise to turbulences as little as possible . alternatively , they may also run over the substantial height or overall height of the impeller blades 135 , in particular toward the opposite impeller cover disk 132 . thus , on the one hand , they ensure good distortion - free bearing contact of the impeller blades 135 . on the other hand , they can also serve for connecting the two impeller disks 130 and 132 to one another . as regards a possible preshaping or precurving of the guide blades of the exemplary embodiment of fig4 , the same can be said as for fig3 , that is to say they have the same possibilities . the guidance , omitted in the exemplary embodiment according to fig4 , by means of a sliding element and slot changes nothing in that regard .	5
turning now to the drawings and particularly fig1 through 3 thereof , a standard dental hypodermic syringe is depicted . such dental syringe 10 includes a body 12 including a cylindrical barrel 14 which includes a cut away window 15 to receive disposable cartridges 16 . the barrel as well as the remaining syringe body portions are preferably formed of stainless steel or some other metal that can be repeatedly utilized and sterilized without ill effect . the body base 17 includes a stem or grasping portion 18 having spaced flanges 20 joined by a rounded depressed area 22 . a plunger 24 is mounted in the stem 18 and is prevented from complete withdrawal therefrom by known stop means , the plunger 24 further includes a finger ring 26 by which the plunger can be manipulated in the intended manner . the end of the plunger 24 includes a piercing dart 28 such that the base 30 of the cartridge 16 can be pierced . the opposite end of the cartridge 16 includes a rubber cap 32 inn which the short end 39 of a double needle 36 is adapted to pierce . the larger forward needle end 38 projects forwardly in the intended manner , and the needle assembly 40 further includes a hub 42 formed from plastic or metal which further may include a short outwardly extending flange 44 . the needle hub is threaded onto a threaded stem 34 which forwardly projects from the terminal shoulder surface 37 at the front of the barrel 14 . a safety cover 46 is adapted to extend over the needle . such cover may be threaded or frictionally held by the hub 42 outer surface . a safety sleeve 50 basically of cylindrical construction having a forward end 52 and a rear end 54 is positioned over the barrel as shown . the sleeve 50 is adapted to extend over the outside surface of the barrel 14 and move back and forth thereon to alternately cover the exposed needle 38 in its most forward position as shown in fig2 and be retracted in the position as shown in fig1 such that the needle when the cover 46 is removed therefrom can be utilized to administer fluids such as a novacaine or lidocaine to a dental patient . the rear end 54 of the sleeve 50 is preferably provided with an outwardly extending radial flange 56 for convenience in one - handedly moving the sleeve 50 forward and returning the same as by the user &# 39 ; s thumb . generally , the sleeve is formed of plastic and is of one piece injection molded construction . a combination stop and guide means 59 is associated with the sleeve 50 . such in part takes the form of preferably a pair of opposed longitudinally directed slots 60 extending through the body of the sleeve terminating in ledges 62 and 64 at forward and rear ends thereof respectively . each slot includes opposed edges 61 . a plug in the form of a radial disc 66 is mounted at the forward end of the barrel 14 . such disc 66 includes a central opening 68 such that it may be mounted over the forwardly projecting threaded stem 34 on which the needle is attached and a body 70 generally co - extensive with the barrel 14 . the disc includes a pair of outwardly extending radial ears 72 . the width of the slots 60 is such that the ears 72 extend there into and frictionally contact the opposed edges 61 of the slots 60 . as may be apparent , the ledge 62 contacts forward portions of the ears 72 to limit the rearward motion of the safety sleeve 50 , and the ledge 64 contacts rearward portions of the ears in the forward position of the sleeve to limit the forward motion thereof . in this manner then , the forward and rear limits of the sleeve travel vis - a - vis the barrel 14 can be determined . another way of accomplishing such is by narrowing the width of the slots at the opposed terminal ends thereof such that higher frictional contact is accomplished proximal to the ends thereof by means of the constant width of the ears . in this way then increased frictional resistance determines the point at which the forward and rearward limits of the sleeve are brought about rather than a potentially more positive stop contact between the edges and ears surfaces . also as shown in fig2 a , the slot itself may include means by which locking of the ear or ears at one or both ends is achieved . indentations 63 are thus provided on the edges of slot 59 such that the ears contact such indentations with increased frictional contact so as to in effect lock the barrel 50 in place . generally , however by making the sleeve of plastic resinous material such as a somewhat rigid polyethylene and by making the slot width equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the ears , a desired friction can be achieved . thus in these cases , the plastic structure allows some give or widening in central sections of the slots and little or none at the ends so that an increased friction is felt by the user as the sleeve approaches either end . as can be best seen from fig4 and 5 , the disc 66 in this embodiment preferably includes a body 70 which includes a hollowed out interior 71 such that the ears 72 , in effect , extend partially radially outward from flanges 73 formed by such hollowed out interior . generally , the disc 66 , by reason that its ears 72 are protrude into slots 60 of sleeve 50 , rotates as a unit with the sleeve . thus if the sleeve is inadvertently or purposely rotated during use , the disc rotates with respect to the syringe barrel 14 and the needle assembly attached thereto . note that when the hub 42 of the needle 36 presses downwardly against the disc 66 , it tends to downwardly bend those portions of the disc adjacent the opening 68 downwardly so only a low frictional contact in the form of a circular line contact between the hub and the disc preferably occurs . this means that rotational movement of the disc 66 along with the sleeve 50 tends not to move the needle with respect to its stem attachment since the friction imparted thereto is only slight and the friction of the threads on the syringe barrel 34 and the needle hub 42 is far greater . thus , the needle 36 does not tend to undesirably unscrew vis - a - vis the syringe . also , the material from which the disk is made can alter the frictional characteristics so as to either decrease or increase the friction at the needle hub - disk interface . if it is undesirable to have the sleeve 50 rotate with respect to the syringe , then the interior portions 71 of the disc 66 can be roughened or textured to increase frictional resistance or reshaped , i . e ., flattened , to assure greater contact with the shoulder 36 . in some cases , it may , however , be desirable to be able to unscrew the needle by rotating the sleeve and such will be discussed hereinafter with respect to the embodiments shown in fig6 - 12 . your attention is now directed to fig6 of the drawings wherein an alternate combination stop and guide means is utilized . therein a modified needle assembly 80 is utilized in which the hub 81 includes an enlarged flange 82 from which in turn the integral ears 84 extend . the body may be similar in construction to the body 70 of disc 66 except that it is formed from the base of the needle assembly 80 and integral therewith . obviously when using the needle assembly 80 , the separate disc 66 is not required . thus instead of , in effect , trapping the plug or disc 66 between the needle assembly and the shoulder 37 , a modified needle assembly which includes an integral disc is substituted for the separate disc . naturally , this requires a custom needle construction . further alternate embodiments in which separate modified forms of the disc 66 can be utilized are shown in fig9 - 12 . specifically referring to fig9 and 10 , one form of such alternate disc 66 is shown in which disc 66a has a body 90 with a pair of outwardly radially extending ears 92 for which the slots 60 of the sleeve 50 are adapted to move back and forth on and a pair of protruding webs or flaps 94 integral with the body 90 and outwardly radially extending therefrom and which act as friction brakes on the inside of the sleeve 50 . these flaps extend upwardly a short distance and then forwardly and are preferably formed of a plastic material such as polyethylene and molded in the depicted position such that they tend to be inwardly radially deflected by the movement of the sleeve thereacross . in that regard , the outside diameter of this alternate form of disc 66 is preferably dimensioned to be slightly greater than the inside diameter of the sleeve 60 . a further form of such alternate disc construction is shown in fig1 and 12 in which a disc 66b includes a pair of ears 102 adapted to extend into the slots 60 as previously indicated as well as a body 100 on which a plurality of radially extending barbs 104 are provided . such barbs 104 are dimensioned so as to form a tip to tip diameter slightly greater than that of the inside diameter of the sleeve 50 such that the above described friction braking therebetween is accomplished . such disc 66a and 66b should be formed from a flexible polymeric material such as low density polyethylene and preferably should match the color of the sleeve 50 . with the above - modified forms of the invention shown in fig6 - 12 , rotational movement of the sleeve 50 vis - a - vis the syringe barrel 14 , of course , causes movement of the respective needle assembly . thus by rotating the sleeve counter - clockwise , the needle assembly can be unscrewed from the stem 34 . this may in some cases be an advantage for the removal and disposal of needles especially dangerous double - ended needles . such action would most advantageously be done with the sleeve in the full forward position and when the needle is fully detached from the stem , the whole unit could be simply opened to let the needle drop through the open sleeve end into a disposal safe . also in some cases , although generally not practical , the special forms of the disc shown in fig9 - 12 could be incorporated into the needle assembly hub of the fig6 - 8 embodiments . operation of the device of the present invention in the forms above described is as follows : in the injection mode , the sleeve is positioned up over the barrel of the syringe covering the cartridge . this exposes the needle for normal use . once the injection is made , the safety sleeve is slid down over the needle thereby covering up the needle . in this protect position , it is difficult to have an accidental needle stick unless the operator sticks their finger up into the sleeve and the needle . only very small fingers can be inserted into the sleeve far enough to reach the needle . the safety sleeve is installed together with the new needle . it is fed over the threaded portion of the syringe and held in position by the hub of the needle . when the needle is removed , the safety sleeve is also removed and thrown away . with the safety sleeve in the protect position and the needle removed from the syringe , both ends of the needle are covered up . it should not be re - used since infected body fluids could be dripped from the needle onto the sleeve , or contamination from the hands of the person doing the stick , or direct physical contact with the patient could pass infectious material to the sleeve . thus some of the safety features of the present invention in the form above illustrated include : the use of a one - handed operation and should meet the latest osha standards ; covers the needle when not in use thereby reducing the possibility of accidental needle sticks ; covers both ends of the needle when removed from the syringe and in the protect position ; turning again to the drawings and particularly fig1 through 16 thereof , the safety device of the present invention is shown in conjunction with a standard hypodermic syringe 110 and needle . such hypodermic syringe 110 includes a body 112 of cylindrical construction having rear and forward ends 114 and 116 respectively . the body 112 is fitted with a standard plunger 118 having a shaft 120 , a forwardly mounted piston 122 and a rear flattened head or push surface 124 such that the piston can be forwardly pushed to inject fluid into a patient via the standard associated needle construction 126 and withdrawn as by grasping such . in order to enable the flattened head to be more easily grasped between the user &# 39 ; s finger and thumb while holding the body 112 , a shortened forwardly extending cylindrical boss 128 is provided at the rear end 116 of the body 112 . such boss 128 is integral with the end hold flange 130 and of a diameter slightly greater than that of the body 112 such that a safety sleeve 132 may be positioned therein as best shown in fig1 . the safety sleeve 132 includes a rear end 134 and a forward end 136 and further includes a pair of radially inwardly extending fingers 138 at the rear end 136 thereof . such fingers are adapted to extend into grooves longitudinally extending into the surface of the body 112 . the grooves 140 terminate at their forward end in a stop surface 142 which is adapted to contact a forward surface 141 similarly provided on the fingers 138 . such grooves 140 may also preferably be provided at their forward ends with increased depth pockets 144 such that the fingers when approaching such will tend to snap there - into and provide a positive feel to the intended forward sleeve travel vis - a - vis the body 112 . the operation of the sleeve with respect to the use of the otherwise standard hypodermic needle shown in fig4 through 7 is as previously explained with reference to the embodiments shown in the previous drawings . while there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying this invention , it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims .	0
a processor in accordance to the principles of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 a and 1b . referring to fig1 a , a schematic block diagram illustrates a single integrated circuit chip implementation of a processor 100 that includes a memory interface 102 , a geometry preprocessor 104 , two media processing units 110 and 112 , a shared data cache 106 and several interface controllers . the components are mutually linked and closely linked to the processor core with high bandwidth , low - latency communication channels to manage multiple high - bandwidth data streams efficiently and with a low response time . illustrative memory interface 102 is a direct rambus dynamic ram ( drdram ) controller . shared data cache 106 is a dual - ported storage that is shared among media processing units 110 and 112 with one port allocated to each of media processing unit 110 and 112 . media processing units 110 and 112 are included in a single integrated circuit chip to support an execution environment exploiting thread level parallelism in which two independent threads can execute simultaneously . the threads may arise from any source such as the same application , different applications , the operating system , or the runtime environment . parallelism is exploited at the thread level since parallelism is rare beyond four , or even two , instructions per cycle in general purpose code . for example , illustrative processor 100 is an eight - wide machine with eight execution units for executing instructions . a typical “ general - purpose ” processing code has an instruction level parallelism of about two so that , on average , most ( about six ) of the eight execution units would be idle at any time . illustrative processor 100 employs thread level parallelism and operates on two independent threads , possibly attaining twice the performance of a processor having the same resources and clock rate but utilizing traditional non - thread parallelism . although processor 100 shown in fig1 a includes two processing units on an integrated circuit chip , the architecture is highly scalable so that one to several closely - coupled processors may be formed in a cache - based coherent architecture and resident on the same die to process multiple threads of execution . thus , in processor 100 , a limitation on the number of processors formed on a single die arises from capacity constraints of integrated circuit technology rather than from architectural constraints relating to the interactions and interconnections between processors . referring to fig1 b , a schematic block diagram shows the core of processor 100 . media processing units 110 and 112 each includes an instruction cache 210 , an instruction aligner 212 , an instruction buffer 214 , a split register file 216 , a plurality of execution units , and a load / store unit 218 . in illustrative processor 100 , media processing units 110 and 112 use a plurality of execution units for executing instructions . the execution units for media processing units 110 and 112 include three media functional units ( mfu ) 222 and one general functional unit ( gfu ) 220 . the media functional units 222 are single - instruction - multiple - data ( simd ) media functional units . each media functional unit 222 is capable of processing parallel 16 - bit components , in addition to 32 - bit operands . various parallel 16 - bit operations supply the single - instruction - multiple - data capability for processor 100 including add , multiply - add , shift , compare , and the like . media functional units 222 operate in combination as tightly - coupled digital signal processors ( dsps ). each media functional unit 222 has a separate and individual sub - instruction stream , but all three media functional units 222 execute synchronously so that the subinstructions progress lock - step through pipeline stages . general functional unit 220 is a risc processor capable of executing arithmetic logic unit ( alu ) operations , loads and stores , branches , and various specialized and esoteric functions such as parallel power operations , reciprocal squareroot operations , and many others . general functional unit 220 supports less common parallel operations such as the parallel reciprocal square root instruction . each media processing unit 110 and 112 includes a split register file 216 , which forms a single logical register file including 256 thirty - two bit registers . split register file 216 is split into a plurality of register file segments 214 to form a multi - ported structure that is replicated to reduce the integrated circuit die area and to reduce access time . media processing units 110 and 112 are highly structured computation blocks that execute software - scheduled data computation operations with fixed , deterministic and relatively short instruction latencies , operational characteristics yielding simplification in both function and cycle time . the operational characteristics support multiple instruction issue through a pragmatic very large instruction word ( vliw ) approach . a vliw instruction word always includes one instruction that executes in general functional unit ( gfu ) 220 and from zero to three instructions that execute in media functional units ( mfu ) 222 . an mfu instruction field within the vliw instruction word includes an operation code ( opcode ) field , two or three source register ( or immediate ) fields , and one destination register field . instructions are executed in - order in processor 100 but loads can finish out - of - order with respect to other instructions and with respect to other loads , allowing loads to be moved up in the instruction stream so that data can be streamed from main memory . for example , during processing of triangles , multiple vertices are operated upon in parallel so that the utilization rate of resources is high , achieving effective spatial software pipelining . thus operations are overlapped in time by operating on several vertices simultaneously , rather than overlapping several loop iterations in time . for other types of applications with high instruction level parallelism , high trip count loops are software - pipelined so that most media functional units 222 are fully utilized . processor 100 is further described in co - pending application ser . no . 09 / 204 , 480 , entitled “ a multiple - thread processor for threaded software applications ” by marc tremblay and william joy , filed on dec . 3 , 1998 , which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . the structure of a register file of the processor of fig1 b is illustrated in fig2 a . the register file is made up of an arbitrary number of registers r 0 , r 1 , r 2 . . . rn . each of registers r 0 , r 1 , r 2 . . . rn , in turn has an arbitrary number of bits , as shown in fig2 b . in one embodiment , the number of bits in each of registers r 0 , r 1 , r 2 . . . rn is 32 . however , those skilled in the art realize that the principles of the present invention can be applied to an arbitrary number of registers each having an arbitrary number of bits . accordingly , the present invention is not limited to any particular number of registers or bits per register . fig3 a illustrates four instruction formats for four - operand instructions supported by the processor of fig1 b . each instruction format has an 8 - bit opcode and four 8 - bit operands . the first of the operands is a reference to a destination register ( rd ) for the instruction . the second operand , in turn , is a reference to a first source register for the instruction ( rs 1 ). finally , the third and fourth operands can be references to a second ( rs 2 ) and a third source register ( rs 3 ), an immediate value to be used in the instruction or any combination thereof . fig3 b illustrates an instruction format for a clip - testing instruction ( clip ) supported by the processor of fig1 , in accordance to the present invention . all operands are references to registers in the register file of the processor , as shown in fig4 . the rd operand represents a clip mask representing whether vertices of a triangle fall outside a range of homogeneous coordinates in the eye space of an image to be clipped . the rs 1 operand represents the coefficient defining the homogenous eye space . the rs 2 operand represents the x , y and z values of the vertex examined by the clip - testing instruction . the rs 3 operand represents the value of the clip mask prior to the execution of the clip - testing instruction . in fig4 , each of the operands of the clip - testing instruction refers to an arbitrary register of the register file of fig2 a in which the represented value is stored . for example , the operand rd contains a reference to the r 2 register , the operand rs 1 contains a reference to the r 3 register , the operand rs 2 contains a reference to the r 5 register and the operand rs 3 contains a reference to the r 7 register . fig5 is a block diagram of one implementation of the circuitry within mfus 222 of the processor of fig1 b for performing the clip - testing operation . the clip - testing operation compares a value stored in register rs 1 to the value stored in register rs 2 and to the negative of the value stored in rs 2 . the values in rs 1 and rs 2 are ieee single precision floating point values . additionally , the value stored in register rs 3 is shifted left by two bits . the shifted bits are then copied into register rd and two bits representing the results of the comparisons are inserted in the two least significant bits ( lsbs ) of the value stored in register rd . thus the value that is stored in register rd represents a bit mask indicating which vertices of a triangle fall outside an homogeneous eye space defined by the coefficient stored in rs 1 . in the implementation shown in fig5 , when executing the clip - testing instruction , the processor routes the values stored in registers rs 1 and rs 2 to respective input ports of comparator 510 . the value stored in register rs 1 is also routed to an input port of comparator 530 . the most significant bit ( msb ) of the value stored in register rs 2 is routed to an input line of inverter 520 . a value on an output line of inverter 520 , together with the 31 lsbs of the value stored in register rs 2 , is then routed to the other input port of comparator 530 . more specifically , when the value stored in register rs 1 is less than the value stored in register rs 2 , then a “ 1 ” is provided to the second least significant bit of register rd . when the value stored in register rs 1 is greater than or equal to the value stored in register rs 2 , then a “ 0 ” is provided to the second least significant bit of register rd . also , when the value stored in register rs 1 is less than the negative of the value stored in register rs 2 , then a “ 1 ” is provided to the least significant bit of register rd . when the value stored in register rs 1 is greater than or equal to the negative of the value stored in rs 2 , then a “ 0 ” is provided to the least significant bit of register rd . the 30 lsbs of the value stored in register rs 3 are written into the 30 msbs of register rd , effectively performing a two bit logical shift left of the value stored in register rs 3 . the values on respective output ports of comparators 510 and 530 are then written into the 2 lsbs of the register rd . accordingly , the value that is stored in register rd represents a clip mask indicating whether a vertex of a triangle falls outside an homogenous eye space defined by the value stored in register rs 1 . fig6 is a block diagram of an alternative implementation of the circuitry within mfus 222 of the processor of fig1 b for performing the clip - testing instruction . in the implementation of fig6 , the absolute values ( i . e ., the 31 lsbs ) of the values stored in registers rs 1 and rs 2 are routed to respective input ports of comparator 510 . a value on an output line of comparator 510 is routed to respective control lines of multiplexers 610 and 620 . the sign bits ( i . e ., the msbs ) of the values stored in registers rs 1 and rs 2 are routed to respective input lines of multiplexer 620 . in addition , the msb of the value stored in register rs 2 is also routed to an input line of inverter 520 . an output line of inverter 520 and the msb of the value stored in register rs 1 are , in turn , routed to respective input lines of multiplexer 610 . as a result , the value on the output line of multiplexer 610 effectively represents the value of the comparison rs 1 & lt ; rs 2 , as illustrated in table 1 below . the 30 lsbs of the value stored in register rs 3 are written into the 30 msbs of register rd , effectively performing a two bit logical shift left of the value stored in register rs 3 . the values on respective output lines of multiplexers 610 and 620 are routed to respective input ports of multiplexers 650 and 660 . a logical 0 value is provided on the remaining input ports of multiplexers 650 and 660 . respective control ports of multiplexers 650 and 660 are , in turn , driven by output lines &# 39 ; of gates 630 and 640 . the values stored in registers rs 1 and rs 2 are provided to respective input ports of comparator 670 . the input lines of gates 630 are connected to the output port of comparator 670 and the sign bits of the values stored in registers rs 1 and rs 2 . the input lines of gates 640 are connected to the output port of comparator 670 , the sign bit of the value stored in register rs 1 and the complement of the sign bit ( generated by inverter 635 ) of the value stored in register rs 2 . the output lines of gates 630 and 640 are connected to respective control ports of multiplexers 650 and 660 . finally , the values on respective output ports of multiplexers 650 and 660 are written in the 2 lsbs of register rd . while a three source register implementation is described , those skilled in the art realize that the principles of the present invention can be applied to instructions having an arbitrary number of source and destination registers . accordingly , the present invention is not limited to any particular number of source or destination registers . embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention . in particular , the invention is not limited by any number of registers specified by the instructions . in addition , the invention is not limited to any particular hardware implementation . those skilled in the art realize that alternative hardware implementation can be employed in lieu of the one described herein in accordance to the principles of the present invention . other embodiments and variations are within the scope of the invention , as defined by the following claims .	6
a dvb - h user initially selects a service for reception in much the same way as one might select a channel on television . it is an object of the present invention to maintain seamless or error free reception of that service until it is complete or until the user selects a different service . error free service , therefore , requires the dvb - h receiver to maintain uninterrupted service as the user moves from cell to cell within a single mfn or from a current mfn to a different mfn . the maintenance of service requires handovers the dvb - h from one transmitter to another as the user moves from cell to cell . in general , the dvb - h handover requires a candidate list of frequencies that may replace the current frequency . this may be achieved by use of a frequency list descriptor or by a cell frequency link descriptor . the network information table ( nit ) provides the frequency list descriptor for each network . the nit includes an nit - actual , having a list of frequencies for the current network , and several nit - other lists , each having a list of frequencies for an adjacent network . the cell frequency link descriptor is similar to the frequency list descriptor , but it also identifies the cells for which the frequencies are valid . this information is transmitted to all network users in the transmission parameter signaling ( tps ) bits in the data packet header . if the cell frequency link descriptor is temporarily unavailable , the dvb - h may use service identification information to complete the handover . this information is transmitted over the network every 100 ms in the program association table ( pat ) which is part of the program specific information ( psi ). the preferred embodiments of the present invention provide seamless handovers for a handheld digital video broadcast receiver ( dvb - h ) in a wireless communication system . a wireless receiver of the present invention that performs the handover is shown at fig4 . the dvb - h preferably includes a wireless receiver circuit 100 and an application processor circuit 120 . the wireless receiver circuit 100 includes a radio frequency ( rf ) front end 104 coupled to antenna 102 . the rf front end relays the received data signals to analog - to - digital ( adc ) converter circuit 106 to produce digital data signals . these digital data signals are applied to orthogonal frequency division multiplex ( ofdm ) demodulator circuit 108 . control processor 110 relays the ofdm signals to the application processor circuit 120 . the application processor circuit 120 includes digital signal processor circuit 122 to decompress and decode the signals and application processor 124 to assemble the data signals . each burst of the digital data signals includes a header with burst information including a packet number . processor 124 uses this information to combine corresponding data burst packets into a contiguous data stream . the contiguous data stream is applied to lcd controller 126 , so that it may be viewed on the dvb - h . the application processor circuit 120 includes other controllers 128 which may operate a digital camera , gps system , heart rate monitor , or other suitable application . the application processor 120 is also referred to as a media processor and by other similar names . the dvb - h also includes a power management circuit 112 which controls sleep and wake up modes of the wireless receiver to conserve power as will be explained in detail . referring now to fig5 , there is a state diagram showing development and maintenance of a candidate frequency list . the candidate frequency list is generated at power up and updated when a new program is selected or an old program is being removed . the candidate frequency list is preferably maintained during off time between data packet reception of the selected service . the list is preferably short and may only have 3 to 6 candidate frequencies . a list of other frequencies in a mfn is given in the nit for the current network and in nit - other for other networks . a short candidate frequency list can be selected based on geographical location of neighboring cell and a data stream that carries the same service of interest . this is based on the internet protocol ( ip ) platform identification and service identification . list creation begins at state 500 . if the candidate list is not empty and the currently received signal power is degraded below a predetermined threshold , the wireless receiver 100 measures the signal quality indicator ( sqi ) of each frequency over several intervals . this sqi can be the averaged receive signal strength indicator ( rssi ) or other quality indicator . if the sqi of the current cell ( source ) is low enough and the candidate sqi is high enough , the cell identification is verified at state 504 . if the cell identification fails , the candidate will be moved to the end of the candidate list for lower priority monitoring , and the verification will be continued on the next best candidate until verification is succeeded or the candidate set is empty . turning now to fig6 , there is a state diagram showing operation of the dvb - h during a handover after the candidate set of frequencies is completed . a normal operating state 600 represents a dvb - h wakeup , receiving a data packet from the current selected service , and updating the sqi . if the sqi is sufficient , the dvb - h returns to sleep mode until it receives another wake up . the dvb - h remains in this state as long as the sqi remains above a threshold value t 0 . when the sqi falls below threshold value t 0 , the dvb - h transitions to monitor state 602 to prepare for a possible handover . a best handover candidate is selected from the candidate set of frequencies . if the sqi of the current frequency improves to a value greater than t 2 , the dvb - h returns to normal operation and no other action is necessary . alternatively , if the sqi continues to deteriorate to a value less than t 1 and the best candidate &# 39 ; s sqi is higher than the current sqi by a hysteresis margin h , the dvb - h moves to handover state 604 . here , data from the best handover candidate is processed together with the current data . both streams are provided to application processor circuit 120 . application processor circuit 120 will buffer the data from both streams until data packets from the current stream duplicate data packets from the best handoff candidate . when a seamless replacement is completed , the handover is successful and the dvb - h returns to normal operation state 600 . if the handover fails , however , the dvb - h moves to state 606 and the best candidate is rejected . the dvb - h then moves to normal operation state 600 . if the current sqi is still inadequate , the process is repeated with another best candidate until the handover is successful . note that the candidate set is created and maintained as previously described with regard to fig5 . operation of the dvb - h will now be explained in detail with reference to fig7 . the diagram of fig7 illustrates reception of two elementary data streams from neighboring transmitters of a multiple frequency network prior to a handover . the upper data stream , including packets n through n + 4 , is currently being received by the dvb - h on frequency f 1 . when the wireless receiver 100 determines a handover is necessary , it selects frequency f 3 from the candidate frequency set as a possible handover candidate . this corresponds to the monitor state 602 ( fig6 ). if the rssi of frequency f 1 subsequently falls below threshold t 1 , wireless receiver 100 initiates the handover in state 604 . in this state , wireless receiver 100 processes packet n on frequency f 1 , then packet n + 3 on frequency f 3 , then packet n + 1 on frequency f 1 , then packet n + 4 on frequency f 3 , and so on . all packets on both frequencies are sent to application processor circuit 120 ( fig4 ). application processor circuit 120 captures the data packets and concatenates them to form a contiguous data stream for lcd controller 126 to display , for example . when the in sequence concatenated packet delivery is successful , application processor circuit 120 directs processor 110 to stop receiving data on frequency f 1 via control bus 116 . frequency f 3 then becomes the current frequency , and the dvb - h returns to normal operation state 600 . referring now to fig8 , there is a diagram showing a handover for multiple elementary data streams . the diagram of fig8 illustrates reception of elementary data streams n and m from neighboring transmitters of a multiple frequency network prior to a handover . the upper data stream , including packets n through n + 2 and m through m + 2 , is currently being received by the dvb - h on frequency f 1 . the lower data stream , including packets n through n + 3 and m through m + 3 , is currently being received by the dvb - h on frequency f 3 . the shaded area between the packets shows the time available for the dvb - h to monitor and update the rssi of other candidate frequencies . as previously discussed , when the wireless receiver 100 determines a handover is necessary , it selects frequency f 3 from the candidate frequency set as a possible handover candidate . this corresponds to the monitor state 602 ( fig6 ). if the rssi of frequency f 1 subsequently falls below threshold t 1 , wireless receiver 100 initiates the handover in state 604 . in this state , wireless receiver 100 processes packet n on frequency f 1 , then packet n on frequency f 3 , then packet m on frequency f 1 , then packet m + 1 on frequency f 3 , and so on . all packets on both frequencies are sent to application processor circuit 120 ( fig4 ). application processor circuit 120 receives the data packets and puts them in sequence to form two contiguous data streams for lcd controller 126 to display . when the above process detects a certain number of successfully received duplicate packets from both frequencies , application processor circuit 120 directs processor 110 to stop receiving data on frequency f 1 via control bus 116 . frequency f 3 then becomes the current frequency , and the dvb - h returns to normal operation state 600 . still further , while numerous examples have thus been provided , one skilled in the art should recognize that various modifications , substitutions , or alterations may be made to the described embodiments while still falling with the inventive scope as defined by the following claims .	7
referring initially to fig1 the apparatus for manufacturing a ceramic superconductor coated metal fiber is shown and generally designated 10 . as shown , apparatus 10 includes a container 12 for holding a slurry 14 in which very fine particles of superconductor material are suspended . preferably , the superconductor material is from the group identified as re ba 2 cu 3 o 7 - x ( where x is in the range of 0 - 1 ). importantly , when this preferred superconductor material is used , slurry 14 comprises a nonaqueous solution . further , the nonaqueous solution should be nonreactive with the superconductor material and preferably comprise a solvent , such as isopropanol , with a relatively small amount ( e . g . approximately 0 . 1 - 5 % of the solution ) of an additive , such as ethanolamine , which is dissolved in the solvent to enhance the ability of the superconductor materials suspended therein to carry an electrical charge . it will be understood by the skilled artisan that other additives , such as dibutylamine , urea , or a product commercially known as emphos p21 , may be used instead of ethanolamine . in any event , the slurry 14 must remain effectively moisture - free and both the solvent ( isopropanol ) and the additive ( ethanolamine ) in slurry 14 should evaporate or decompose at relatively low temperatures ( i . e . somwhere below 300 ° c .) in order to prevent subsequent reactions of these ingredients with the superconductor material . in accordance with the present invention , a metallic substrate 16 , on which the superconductor particles suspended in slurry 14 are to be coated , is fed into or suspended in the slurry 14 . this substrate 16 may be formed as either a ribbon or a wire fiber . the actual form or configuration of substrate 16 is not , however , a limiting consideration . in fact , any configuration will work so long as it can function effectively as an electrode . in addition to its electrical properties , substrate 16 should not interdiffuse with the superconductor particles . thus , substrate 16 can be made of an inert metal such as gold or silver . when , however , a less expensive , more cost effective material is used ( i . e . one which is not noble ), substrate 16 will preferably lend itself to the establishment of an oxide barrier on its surface which will minimize the interdiffusion of substrate 16 with the superconductor particles . thus , substrate 16 should either be made of an oxide forming material , such as the wire commercially available as hoskins 875 , or have a thin oxide layer deposited on it , such as barium zirconate ( bazro 3 ). preferably , substrate 16 is made of an oxide forming material such as used for the wire of hoskins 875 . this is so because such a substrate 16 can be electrophoretically coated with superconductor particles at relatively low temperatures before being subjected to the much higher temperatures which are necessary to form an oxide barrier on the surface of substrate 16 ( e . g . 850 ° c .). in this regard , it is important to recognize that when an oxide forming material is used , the electrophoresis process necessarily precedes formation of the oxide barrier because an oxide barrier will tend to electrically insulate substrate 16 . suitable oxide forming materials for substrate 16 are materials , such as alumel or the commercially available material discussed above and known as hoskins 875 . such materials will create an effective oxide barrier between substrate 16 and the superconductor coating during subsequent procedures wherein the superconductor particles are sintered into a ceramic . examples of such procedures are disclosed in a co - pending application for an invention entitled &# 34 ; substrate for ceramic superconductor &# 34 ; which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention . on the other hand , when a substrate 16 has a preformed oxide barrier , the barrier should not electrically insulate the substrate 16 to the point where an electrophoresis process is made ineffectual . for example , a suitable material in this case would be nicrosil coated with barium zirconate . as shown in fig1 substrate 16 is fed from a supply spool 18 and through slurry 14 in container 12 to a take - up spool 20 . more specifically , after leaving supply spool 18 , substrate 16 is passed through a precleaner 22 ( e . g . a furnace or a solvent in an ultrasonic bath ) where it is cleaned of dust and other debris which may have settled onto the substrate 16 during handling as also shown in fig1 substrate 16 is electrically biased . for this purpose , a voltage source 24 is placed in electrical contact with substrate 16 through line conductor 26 by any means known in the art , such as brush 28 . further , it will be appreciated that voltage source 24 could be a device , well known in the pertinent art , which provides a constant current . also , though not shown , it will be appreciated that substrate 16 can be electrically biased by any direct electrical connection between voltage source 24 and substrate 16 . regardless , after leaving precleaner 22 , substrate 16 is then passed into container 12 via inlet 30 . in addition to being electrically connected with substrate 16 , voltage source 24 is also electrically connected with an open - ended metallic foil cylindrical tube 32 . as shown in fig1 tube 32 is submersed in slurry 14 and is electrically connected to voltage source 24 via line 34 . with this arrangement , slurry 14 in container 12 is influenced by the electric field established between an electrode ( i . e . tube 32 ) and a counterelectrode ( i . e . substrate 16 ). alternatively , tube 32 can be eliminated and voltage source 24 directly connected to container 12 via line 36 . this connection will then establish container 12 as the electrode of the apparatus 10 . this , of course , requires that container 12 be made of an electrically conducting material . as shown in fig1 tube 32 is established as the anode and substrate 16 is established as the cathode . it will be appreciated by skilled artisans , however , that the charges on electrodes and counterelectrodes can be alternated and , further , that the manipulation of rheostat 38 on voltage source 24 will vary the level of the voltage potential between anode and cathode . typically , voltages of from 1 - 100 volts and corresponding currents in the range of 10 microamps to 1 milliamp are effective for the purposes of the present invention . further , it is to be appreciated that rheostat 38 ( or a digital voltage source ) can be used to establish the voltage levels of the electric field influencing slurry 14 and thereby effectively establish the thickness of the coating of superconductor particles on substrate 16 . while varying the voltage level in slurry 14 is , perhaps , the most practical way by which to control coating thickness , it will be appreciated that other factors also affect this thickness . for instance , the concentration of superconductor particles in slurry 14 , the time in which substrate 16 is submersed in slurry 14 , and the mobility of the superconductor particles through slurry 14 are all factors which affect the electrophoresis process . the electric field influencing slurry 14 is set to cause the superconductor particles , which are colloidally suspended in the slurry 14 , to migrate toward substrate 16 and become attached thereto . this process will , of course , require that the superconductor particles carry a charge . to accomplish this , the superconductor particles are mixed with the nonaqueous solution and then agitated . effective agitation can be done either ultrasonically or by milling the particles in a manner well known in the pertinent art . although slurry 14 should not be vibrated once it is placed into container 12 , an effective way in which slurry 14 may be vibrated is by ultrasonic energy which is generated by an ultrasonic source 40 that is operatively connected to tank 66 . a transducer probe 42 extends from source 40 into slurry 14 in container 66 to agitate the superconductor particles therein to charge the particles in a manner well known in the art . it will be recalled that the additive ethanolamine in slurry 14 is also intended to enhance the charge on superconductor particles . an important feature of apparatus 10 is that slurry 14 , in addition to being influenced by an electric field , is also influenced by a magnetic field . for this purpose , a magnet device 44 is provided . in fig1 the magnet device 44 is shown as a pair of permanent magnets , respectively designated 46 and 48 , which are connected together by a flux return element 50 and positioned externally to container 12 on substantially opposite sides thereof . with this configuration , slurry 14 is effectively influenced by a magnetic field whose strength and uniformity is dependent , in part , on the size of magnets 46 , 48 and whose flux lines within slurry 14 are substantially aligned in a direction which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of substrate 16 . in an alternate embodiment , a magnet device 52 , comprising a solenoid winding 54 , as shown in fig2 may be used . the magnetic field strength of this magnet device 52 will depend , in part , on the current in winding 54 and the direction of the flux lines generated by magnet device 52 will be in a direction which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of substrate 16 . from the discussion below , it will be seen that it is important for the direction of flux to be compatible with the magnetic properties of the 1 - 2 - 3 particles . an exemplary configuration of a superconductor particle is shown as plate 56 in fig3 . in this form , it is known that the critical current densities ( j c ) of the plate 56 vary according to the axis along which current flows . specifically , j c in both the &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; directions shown in fig3 are on the order of thirty ( 30 ) times greater than j c in the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction . accordingly , in order to optimize current flow in the resultant product , it is desirable if plates 56 are properly oriented on substrate 16 with their respective &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; directions substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of substrate 16 . the magnetic field generated by magnet device 44 or magnet device 52 is intended to accomplish this . fortunately , with the use of re ba 2 cu 3 o 7 - x ( i . e . 1 - 2 - 3 ) as the superconductor material , the orientation of a plate 56 in a magnetic field of flux h is , at least to some extent , predictable . specifically , some rare earth 1 - 2 - 3 materials orient in a flux field h with their &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction parallel to the lines as shown in fig4 a , while others orient themselves with their &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction perpendicular to the lines of flux as shown in fig4 b . for example , the rare earth elements which orient with the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction parallel to h include yttrium ( y ), neodymium ( nd ), samarium ( sm ), dysprosium ( dy ) and holmium ( ho ). on the other hand , the rare earth elements which orient with the &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction perpendicular to h include europium ( eu ), erbium er ), thulium ( tm ) and ytterbium ( yb ). thus , magnet device 44 may be better suited for use with some rare earth superconductors , while magnet device 52 will be better suited for the others . in the particular case shown in fig4 a , where plate 56 orients with its &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction parallel to h , there is the potential for a nonuniform anisotropic coating of substrate 16 due to the relative thinness of plate 56 in its &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; direction . to overcome this potential problem , substrate 16 can be rotated during the coating process or the magnet device itself can be rotated . though not shown , it will be appreciated that substrate 16 may be rotated by any means well known in the art . further , substrate 16 need not necessarily pass through slurry 14 . instead , substrate 16 may be suspended in slurry 14 and rotated therein . in any case , to avoid an anisotropic coating , it is necessary to charge substrate 16 and rotate it in slurry 14 to obtain a uniform coating of the magnetically influenced superconductor particles . referring back to fig1 it will be appreciated that magnet device 44 can be slidingly mounted on container 12 for rotation with respect thereto . a roller 58 can be operatively engaged with magnet device 44 , by any means well known in the art , so that rotation of roller 58 about an axis 60 in the direction of arrow 62 will cause magnet device 44 to rotate about container 12 while maintaining flux lines in slurry 14 substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of substrate 16 . thus , an anisotropic coating of substrate 16 can be obviated . as shown in fig1 magnets 44 , 46 partially extend above container 12 . accordingly , the superconductor particles from slurry 14 which attach to substrate 12 continue to be influenced by a magnetic field even after passing through slurry 14 . this configuration is established in order to keep the superconductor particles properly aligned on substrate 16 during the evaporation of nonaqueous solution , and prior to sintering . an oven 64 is provided to sinter the superconductor particles which are attached to substrate 16 into a ceramic . the ceramic superconductor coated substrate 16 can then be wound onto take - up spool 20 and used thereafter as desired . during the continuous process of coating substrate 16 with superconductor particles , it may be desirable to maintain the concentration of superconductor particles in slurry 14 at a substantially constant level . to accomplish this , a slurry 14 having slightly higher superconductor particle concentration levels than desired for use in container 12 is provided and held in supply tank 66 . the operation of supply valve 68 will open pipe 70 and allow high concentration slurry 14 from supply tank 66 to be introduced into the slurry 14 in container 12 . simultaneously , operation of drain valve 72 allows low concentration slurry 14 in container 12 to be withdrawn from container 12 through pipe 74 into holding tank 76 . the maintenance of superconductor concentration levels in container 12 can be accomplished with a closed loop feedback control system . in this system , a probe 78 is inserted into slurry 14 and is used to test samples of slurry 14 for viscosity and generate a reading of the superconductor concentration levels in the samples . probe 78 may be of any type well known in the art for testing fluid viscosity . this reading is transmitted via line 80 to a microprocessor 82 which , depending on the concentration level indicated by the reading from probe 78 , will transmit signals via lines 84 , 86 to supply valve 68 and drain valve 72 , respectively , to charge the flow through the valves 68 , 72 to effectively maintain the concentration of superconductor particles in slurry 14 in container 12 at the desired level . the thickness of the superconductor ceramic coating of substrate 16 can be automatically controlled using microprocessor 82 in a standard closed loop feedback control system similar to the one used for controlling slurry 14 superconductor concentration . specifically , any device 88 , that is well known in the art for measuring the diameter of a wire , can be positioned relative to substrate 16 to determine the diameter of the ceramic coated substrate 16 . this measurement can then be sent as an electrical signal via line 90 to microprocessor 82 . microprocessor 82 then compares the signal from device 88 with a predetermined reference level to establish an error signal . this error signal is then sent via line 92 to rheostat 38 and , depending on the sign and magnitude of this error signal , rheostat 38 is moved to vary the voltage level of source 24 to control the thickness of superconductor ceramic coating on substrate 16 . it is to be appreciated that when 1 - 2 - 3 superconductor materials are used , the herein disclosed method for coating a metallic substrate 16 with a superconductor coating must be accomplished in a substantially moisture - free environment . this is so in order to preserve the coatability of the slurry and prevent contamination of the superconductor material . accordingly , it is preferable that apparatus 10 be enclosed in a dry room where the ambient humidity and carbon dioxide concentrations can be controlled and maintained at very low levels . while a particular apparatus for manufacturing a superconductor as herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing the advantages herein before stated , it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as described in the appended claims .	8
referring now to fig1 there is shown a diagrammatic representation of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the chemical vapor deposition process of the present invention . a carrier gas 10 which includes oxygen , with air being preferred , is metered through a feed line 11 and through an air dryer tower 12 to provide a stream 13 of dry air . a separate air stream is directed through a humidifier 14 containing a suitably quantity of water 15 to provide a wet air stream 16 at a desired relative humidity . thereby a wet air stream 17 , is passed through an evaporator 18 containing vessel 19 which holds a liquid coating composition supplied to evaporator 18 by syringe pump 20 and syringe 21 . the air stream is heated from an oil bath ( not shown ) to a desired vaporization temperature . the vaporized liquid coating composition in the air stream 22 then travels to a deposition chamber 23 having a coating nozzle 24 in which a substrate 25 is mounted on a heated plate 26 . after deposition of the desired coating the gaseous by - products of the deposition are exhausted . ( a ) 1 - 30 wt . % of a reactive organic fluorine dopant compound where at least one fluorine atom is located alpha or beta to a functional group wherein carbon is bonded to oxygen selected from carboxylic acid , anhydride , ester , alcohol , ketone , acid halide or ether ; and ( b ) 70 - 99 wt . % of an organotin compound which is an alkyltin trichloride , a dialkyltin dichloride , an alkyldichlorotin acetate , an alkyl chlorodiacetate , or an ester tin trichloride , or tin tetrachloride . accordingly , suitable functional groups and reactive organic fluorine dopants include the following : representative reactive organic fluorine dopants include trifluoroacetic acid , trifluoroacetic anhydride , ethyl trifluoroacetoacetate , trifluoroethanol , ethyl trifluoroacetate , pentafluoropropionic acid , 2 - chloro - 1 , 1 , 2 - trifluoroethyl methyl ether , 1 , 1 , 1 - trifluoroacetylacetone and heptafluorobutyryl chloride . typical organotin compounds include monobutyltin trichloride , dibutyltin dichloride , butyldichlorotin acetate , butylchlorotin diacetate , carbethoxyethyltin trichloride . tin tetrachloride also may be used as the tin compound . in a preferred form of the invention , the liquid coating composition includes 2 - 10 wt % of the organic fluorine compound , and 90 - 98 wt % of the organotin compound . the liquid coating composition of the invention may include also a polar organic compound , in an amount of about 1 - 10 wt % of the composition , which will insure stability of the liquid composition at low temperatures . when the polar organic liquid is present , the liquid coating composition includes 2 - 10 wt % of the organic fluorine dopant , 80 - 97 wt % of the organotin compound and 1 - 10 wt % of the polar organic liquid . in a preferred form of the invention the organic fluorine dopant is trifluoroacetic acid , trifluoroacetic anhydride , or ethyl trifluoroacetoacetate , and the organotin compound is monobutyltin trichloride . the vaporization temperature in the process suitably ranges from about 100 ° to about 400 ° c ., and preferably about 150 ° to 250 ° c . the substrate temperature ranges from about 400 ° to about 700 ° c ., and preferably about 550 ° to about 650 ° c . the carrier gas is an oxygen - containing gas which may be air , or a mixture of oxygen and an inert gas , and is preferably air . the carrier gas contains water vapor in the process of the invention . the substrate to be coated may be glass , ceramics , solid state materials , metals , elemental filaments and the like . the sheet resistance ( ohms / sq ) of the tin oxide film is measured with a conventional four point probe according to astm standard method f374 - 81 . the film thickness is measured by the beta - back - scatter method according to british standards institution method bs5411 : part 12 , 1981 , iso 3543 - 1981 . referring now to fig2 it is seen that the parameter m , which defines the process conditions of this invention , can be varied to provide fluorine - doped tin oxide coatings having a minimum and constant sheet resistance . for m values below 50 , 000 , the sheet resistance of the coating , at a thickness of about 180 to 210 nm is 25 ohm / sq . for m values above 50 , 000 , the sheet resistance increases rapidly with increasing m . tin oxide coatings made under conditions in which the &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; value is below 50 , 000 . a liquid coating composition of 100 parts monobutyltin trichloride ( mbtc ), 4 . 04 parts trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ) and 1 . 45 parts acetic anhydride ( aa ) ( specific gravity 1 . 62 ) was pumped at a rate of 10 . 5 g / hr , into an evaporator heated to 120 ° c ., corresponding to 0 . 035 mol / hr . of mbtc and 0 . 0035 mol / hr . of tfa . then wet air containing 28 . 8 mol / hr . of air and 0 . 067 mol / hr . of h 2 o was passed through the evaporator , and the vapor was deposited in 20 seconds onto a glass slide heated to 500 ° c . the coating thus produced had a thickness of 210 nm . the calculated m value was 16 , 000 . the measured sheet resistance of the coating was 25 ohms / sq . tin oxide coatings made under conditions in which the &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; value is above 50 , 000 . a liquid coating composition of 100 parts mbtc , 2 parts tfa and 0 . 72 parts aa was pumped into the evaporator at a rate of 10 . 5 g / hr ., corresponding to 0 . 036 mol / hr of mbtc and 0 . 0018 mol / hr of tfa . then wet air containing 27 . 6 mole / hr of air and 1 . 02 mol / h 2 o was passed through the evaporator and the vapor mixture thus - formed was deposited onto a glass slide heated to 500 ° c . in 12 seconds a fluorine - doped tin oxide coating having a thickness of 190 nm was produced . the calculated m value was 4 . 3 × 10 5 . the measured sheet resistance of the coating was 239 ohms / sq . following the procedure of exs . 1 and 2 , small variations in the concentrations of mbtc , tfa , air and water corresponding to m values below and above 50 , 000 were tested and recorded in the graph of fig2 . below 50 , 000 the sheet resistance was measured as substantially a minimum and constant value of about 30 ohms / sq ., while for m values greater than 20 , 000 , the sheet resistance was substantially higher , and increased rapidly with increasing m values . the doped tin oxide coatings of the invention which are made within prescribed m values also are observed to have a minimum and constant sheet resistance over a wide range of deposition temperatures , whereas similar coatings made at higher m values ( above 50 , 000 ) exhibit an increasing sheet resistance at different deposition temperatures . while the invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments thereof , it will be understood that changes and modifications may be made which are within the skill of the art . accordingly , it is intended to be bound only by the appended claims , in which :	2
while the present invention may be embodied in many different forms , a number of illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and that such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and / or illustrated herein . with reference to fig1 , an illustrative embodiment of an overhead storage unit 110 is shown within a vehicle , such as , e . g ., a truck 140 . the storage unit 110 can be used , e . g ., to provide storage and / or for supporting an ancillary electronic device , such as , e . g ., a cb radio 120 in the vicinity of the operator 130 . preferably , the electronic device is located in an ergonomically desirable position , such as in the illustrative example shown in fig1 . as described below , the preferred embodiments include a variety of features having a variety of advantages and / or benefits over existing systems . in some illustrative embodiments , some or all of the following advantages can be achieved over existing systems . in the preferred embodiments , a storage unit 110 is provided that greatly limits the amount of materials and component parts . by way of example , in the preferred embodiments , the storage unit 110 can include , e . g ., a ) a single unitary unit configured to span across of width of the vehicle , b ) a unit that is mounted without the use of additional brackets required in existing systems ( such as , e . g ., employing reinforcing ribs to structurally enhance the storage unit itself , employing mounting hole positions arranged to match headliners of plural vehicles and / or the like ), d ) an elimination of rigid door structures by implementing , e . g ., nets , fabrics and / or the like . in the preferred embodiments , a storage unit 110 is provided that can reduce costs considerably over existing systems . in the preferred embodiments , a storage unit 110 is provided that includes an electronic device mounting structure having substantial advantages and benefits over existing systems . d . ease of use ( e . g ., freedom for fingers and phalangeal motion ) in the preferred embodiments , a storage unit 110 is provided upon which , e . g ., an electronic device can be easily manually installed by an individual , without space restrictions that may otherwise impede freedom of movement as in existing devices . in the preferred embodiments , a storage unit 110 is provided that can be readily adapted to different installations options . for example , in some embodiments , a storage unit 110 is provided that can be readily marketed in a first option as a storage unit without an ancillary - electronic - device ( e . g ., storage - only ) or , alternately , in a second option as an ancillary - electronic - device ( s ) ( e . g ., cb radio and / or other devices ) supporting storage unit . fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) show an illustrative embodiment of a storage unit 210 which includes at least one storage area ( s ) and at least one mounting structure for an ancillary - electronic - device 220 . as shown , the storage unit 210 preferably has a length in a lateral direction l such that it extends across substantially the entire width of a vehicle ( such as , e . g ., a truck 140 as shown in fig1 ) between left and right sides of the vehicle . in this regard , the length of the storage unit 210 in the lateral direction l is preferably approximately the same as that of the front windshield 150 shown in fig1 . in addition , as depicted in fig1 , the storage unit 210 is preferably configured so as to be located predominantly above the operator &# 39 ; s field of view through the front windshield 150 . in some preferred embodiments , the storage unit 210 is formed from an integral unitary piece of material ( such as , e . g ., from an injection molded elastomeric or plastic material and / or any other suitable material ). in some preferred constructions , the storage unit 210 includes at least a front wall 211 and a bottom wall 212 . in some preferred embodiments , the upper end of the front wall 211 includes mounting members 211 m located to facilitate mounting directly to the roof of the vehicle ( such as , e . g ., shown in fig1 ) without intermediate brackets structures or the like . in addition , the storage unit 210 can also include left and right lateral side walls 213 l and 213 r , respectively . as depicted , the upper edges 213 ue of the left and right lateral side walls 213 l and 213 r are preferably contoured to follow the contour of the vehicle ceiling in some embodiments . in some embodiments , as illustrated , the bottom wall 212 can include other elements mounted thereon , such as , e . g ., sun visors 212 v and / or other elements ( such as , e . g ., lights , electronic - devices , radar detectors , etc .). in embodiments having visors 212 v mounted thereto , such visors 212 v can be mounted , e . g ., to pivot from an underside of the bottom wall 212 , such as , e . g ., about hinges 212 hi . the hinges 212 hi can , in some instances , be mounted so as to pivot from a rearward side of the bottom wall 212 ( such as , e . g ., shown at the left or driver &# 39 ; s side of the storage unit 210 ) and / or from a forward side of the bottom wall 212 ( such as , e . g ., shown at the right or passenger &# 39 ; s side of the storage unit 210 ). in some preferred embodiments , as shown , the front wall 211 includes a plurality of storage openings 230 through which personal items and / or the like for the vehicle operator or user can be placed for storage . in the illustrative embodiment shown in fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) , the storage openings include three storage openings 230 a , 230 b and 230 c . however , in other embodiments , the storage unit 210 can include any number of openings , such as , e . g ., from one opening to any number of desired openings . in some preferred embodiments , as shown in fig2 ( a ) , the storage unit 210 also includes a plurality of other storage openings 230 d and 230 e that are used for pre - mounting vehicular items . in particular , in the preferred embodiments , the opening 230 e is configured to receive an ancillary - electronic - device , such as , e . g ., a cb radio 220 , and the opening 230 d is configured to receive an electronics - components - support structure , such as , e . g ., an electronics - components - support - plate 240 . as shown in fig2 ( b ) , and as discussed further below , with reference to fig3 ( a )- 3 ( e ) , the cb radio 220 , or the like , is preferably mounted upon the support unit 210 via an electronic - device - support 250 ( including , e . g ., a support platform ) and a retaining mechanism 260 ( including , e . g ., a clamping member , such as , e . g ., a rigid element , such as , e . g ., a beam , and / or a flexible element , such as , e . g ., a strap ). in the preferred embodiments , however , the retaining mechanism is configured to retain the cb radio 220 or the like by the application of a manual force external to the support unit 220 such as to , e . g ., effect movement of the retaining mechanism 260 by easy access external to the storage unit 210 . see , e . g ., arrow aa shown in fig1 representing an illustrative point of external access in some illustrative embodiments . preferably , the storage openings 230 a , 230 b and / or 230 c , which have no pre - mounted vehicular items therein , can be used by a vehicle operator or the like to freely store items therein as desired . in some preferred embodiments , rather than utilizing , e . g ., rigid doors to cover the front of these openings 230 a , 230 b and / or 230 c , these openings are at least partly covered with a retaining - netting 230 rn that is stretched across these openings . in some embodiments , the netting can be replaced with a retaining fabric ( see , e . g ., retaining fabric 230 rf shown in fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ) ) or another flexible material . or , alternatively , one or more of the openings can either remain uncovered or can be provided with a rigidly attached door or the like . as illustrated in fig2 ( a ) , the retaining netting preferably extends upwardly a vertical height that is sufficient to retain items within compartments behind the openings , while providing a sufficient depth d to allow a user to freely pass their hands through the opening to grasp items stored thereon and / or to place items thereon . in the preferred embodiments , the upper edge of the retaining - netting 230 rn is supported upon an elastic wire or string 230 el . the retaining netting 230 rn can be mounted to the storage unit 210 using a variety of mounting mechanisms , such as , e . g ., rivets , screws , clamps and / or tying the netting to mounts on the storage unit . as shown in fig2 ( b ) , in some preferred embodiments , the storage unit 210 includes a plurality of divider elements 270 distributed at one or more position , preferably at a plurality of positions , along the lateral length l of the unit . in the illustrative example , three divider elements 270 are implemented . in some examples , the divider elements could be integrally formed with the storage unit 220 ( such as , e . g ., by forming the unit 210 and the divider elements 270 together in the same injection molding process ). in other examples , the divider elements could be removably attachable to the unit 210 , such as , e . g ., by inserting the elements into respective receiving slots and / or otherwise mounting the divider elements to the unit 210 . among other things , the employment of insertable divider elements 270 can enable the elements to be added and / or removed as desired ; for example , to accommodate larger items , in some examples a removable divider element 270 could be either omitted in the original installation by the manufacturer or removed by a consumer or user after purchase of the vehicle . fig2 ( c ) shows another embodiment of the invention in which a storage unit 210 similar to that shown in fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) is implemented without an electronics - components - support - plate 240 and without an ancillary electronic device , such as , e . g ., a cb radio 220 . accordingly , in this illustrative embodiment , the storage unit 210 can be used to provide a plurality of convenient storage compartments . it should be appreciated based on this disclosure that this embodiment can be substantially similar to and can be modified in a like manner to the embodiment shown in fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) . by way of example , all of the various other features described above but not shown in fig2 ( c ) can be employed herein , such as , e . g ., divider elements 270 , mounting elements 211 m , etc . in addition , as in the foregoing embodiment shown in fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) , the number of openings 230 can be modified between different embodiments . in some preferred embodiments , at least some of the same component parts can be used to provide a first storage unit option that is similar to that shown in fig2 ( c ) and to provide a second storage unit option that is similar to that shown in fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) . in this manner , by way of example , a manufacturer can utilize the same or similar parts to manufacture both options , with the exception that , e . g ., in the second storage unit option , one or more of the electronics - components - support - plate 240 and / or the ancillary - electronics - device 220 can be provided . fig3 ( a ) to 3 ( e ) show some preferred embodiments depicting an illustrative electronic device support 250 and an illustrative corresponding retaining mechanism 260 . in this regard , as shown in fig3 ( a ) , in some embodiments , the electronic device support 250 can include , e . g ., a base wall 251 upon which an electronic device can be supported . as also shown in fig3 ( a ) , in some embodiments , the support 250 can include left and right side walls 252 l and 252 r . in some embodiments , at least one of the sidewalls , such as , e . g ., the side wall 252 l can include an integrally formed ( e . g ., integrally molded ) mount 252 m , such as , e . g ., an upwardly extending hook - shaped member ( e . g ., or clip ) as shown for receiving wiring of the electronic device and / or the like . in the preferred embodiments , the base wall 251 includes a number of advantageous features , such as , e . g ., one or more , preferably all of the following features in the preferred embodiments . first , the base wall 251 preferably includes a large array of through - holes 251 h . preferably , these through - holes 251 h are sufficient to allow an electronic device that allow for the passage of acoustic sounds to and / or from the electronic device ( such as , e . g ., via a speaker , which in , e . g ., a cb radio is often mounted on a bottom surface of the cb radio ) so as to freely transmit and / or receive sound therethrough . with reference to fig4 , when mounted within the storage unit 210 , the through - holes 251 h preferably align with an array of through - holes 212 hh formed in the bottom wall 212 of the storage unit 210 . in the preferred embodiments , as shown , the through - holes 212 hh are located within a forward protrusion section 211 fp of the front wall 211 . second , with reference to fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ) , during placement of the support 250 upon the storage unit 210 , downward projections 251 dp preferably are received within respective receptacles ( not shown ) such as to readily align the support 250 with respect to the storage unit 210 structure . in some illustrative and non - limiting embodiments , the downward projections 251 dp and the receptacles can include connection mechanisms ( such as , e . g ., snap - fit members , press - fit members , clamps , bolts and / or the like ) to facilitate retention of the support 250 upon the storage unit 210 once assembled thereon . by way of example , one or more of the projections 251 dp can include a projecting pin 251 p that can be press - fit into a resilient press - fit retaining washer 251 r that is fixed in relation to the support unit receptacles ( not shown ). in some preferred embodiments , the members 251 p can be screws that are screwed into the support unit . third , the support 250 preferably also includes a variety of elements to facilitate usage and management of electronic device wiring , cables and / or the like . in this regard , the support 250 preferably includes at least one , preferably all , of the following features . a . a channel 251 s for receiving wiring , cables and / or the like of the electronic device 220 mounted thereon , such as , e . g ., in preferred embodiments a cb radio wiring harness . in this regard , often cb radios and other electronic devices include wires that extend from a rear of the device 220 , such as , e . g ., shown in dashed lines at reference number w in fig3 ( d ) . in preferred embodiments , the channel 251 s is adapted to extend from proximate a rear of the support 250 toward a front side of the support 250 where a user can more easily and / or more ergonomically access the wiring . as shown in fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ) , the channel 251 s can also include one or more , preferably a plurality , of overhanging tang members 251 t which can help to retain wiring within the channel 251 s after it is manipulated therein . it is contemplated , however , that in some embodiments , in which wiring may extend from a side of the device , a channel 251 s could extend along a different path as long as it is directed to a well region 251 w as discussed below . b . a well region 251 w formed proximate a front of the support 250 . in use , an installer , a customer or the like can manipulate flexible wiring of a cb radio or the like so as to be situated within the channel 251 s and to rest upon the base 251 as shown in fig3 ( d ) . as shown in fig3 ( e ) , a forward end of the wiring can be connected at , e . g ., wa and wb , respectively , to the power connectors pc 1 and pc 2 which are conveniently located within the well 251 w proximate a front side of the support 250 . while any known type of electrical connector can be employed , in some illustrative embodiments , the connectors pc 1 and pc 2 include rotatable connector members ( such as , e . g ., employing two threadingly engaged clamping members ) that can be conveniently rotated clockwise or counter clockwise around axes generally parallel to a front face of the cb radio or the like . in this manner , the power connectors pc 1 and pc 2 can be easily and ergonomically grasped and manipulated ( e . g ., rotated with one &# 39 ; s fingers ) within the well 251 w . here , the size and depth of the well is preferably configured to provide appreciable user freedom of movement ( e . g ., freedom for fingers and phalanges ) c . one or a plurality of integrally formed , e . g ., molded - in , mounts ( such as , e . g ., two in the illustrated embodiments ), such as , e . g ., clips 251 cl , for cb - radio connectors . in the preferred embodiments , these integrally formed mounts , e . g ., clips 251 cl , will enable the electrical harness to be readily secured at a proper location without the need for additional hardware . in this regard , as described above , it is also noted that the support 250 can also include one or more integrally formed mount 252 m , such as , e . g ., an upwardly extending hook - shaped member ( e . g ., clip ) for receiving wiring of the electronic device and / or the like , such as , e . g ., shown in fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ) . as indicated above , fig3 ( a ) to 3 ( e ) also show some preferred embodiments of a retaining mechanism 260 . in this regard , reference is made to fig3 ( e ) . as shown in fig3 ( e ) , in this illustrative embodiment , the retaining mechanism 260 includes an inverted generally u - shaped member 262 . in some preferred embodiments , the generally u - shaped member is a generally rigid member made with an elastomeric or plastic material . in some illustrative embodiments , as with the support 250 and the storage unit 210 , the generally u - shaped member 262 can be made as an injection molded element . in some preferred embodiments , the retaining mechanism is normally biased upwardly , such as , e . g ., by using a spring . in this manner , a user can freely locate a cb radio or the like beneath the generally u - shaped member 262 while the springs bias the member upwardly . preferably , the retaining mechanism 260 is movably mounted via a movement mechanism 264 so that it can be moved ( e . g ., drawn ) downward so as to impinge against the surface of the cb radio or the like so as to retain the device . in this regard , any appropriate movement mechanism 264 can be employed in various embodiments , such as , e . g ., a threaded screw shaft assembly , a cam mechanism , a pulley structure , a flexible strap or lanyard , a motor and / or the like . in an illustrative preferred embodiment , screws 267 , the heads of which are seen in fig4 , extend through through - holes 251 rh , shown in , e . g ., fig3 ( c ) , within the base 251 of the support 250 in such a manner that heads of the screws will not pass there - through . then , the threaded ends of the screws 267 are threaded into a threaded element 265 fixed to , and integrally formed with , the generally u - shaped member 262 . moreover , as illustrated in fig4 , the bottom wall 212 of the storage unit 210 preferably includes through - holes 212 h via which the screws 267 can be readily accessed for tightening and / or loosening from a user access position external to the storage unit 210 ( e . g ., from beneath the storage unit 210 in this illustrative example ). preferably , this external user access can be made with a minimal amount of access room for manipulation inside the storage unit 210 in order to achieve mounting of the cb radio or the like . by way of example , the diameter of the through - holes 212 h can be significantly less than a minimum size required for manual access , such as , e . g ., being less than an inch in diameter , or even less than one half of an inch in diameter , or even substantially less in some embodiments . as a result , in order to mount a cb radio or another electronic device on the support 250 , the generally u - shaped member 262 can be clamped against the device , such as , e . g ., shown in fig3 ( d ) . preferably , as shown in fig3 ( c ) and 3 ( e ) , a bottom side of the member 262 is generally flat so as to apply a generally consistent force against the electronic device . in addition , preferably , the bottom side of the member 262 includes a thin foam pad attached thereto ( such as , e . g ., having a thickness of a few millimeters ) so as to enhance gripping of the cb radio or the like , to distribute forces and / or the like . as shown in fig3 ( d ) , in some preferred embodiments , the member 262 can be formed with one or more , preferably a plurality of reinforcing ribs 262 to enhance the strength and rigidity of the member . referring once again to fig3 ( a ) , in some illustrative and non - limiting embodiments , the member 262 is configured such that a maximum width or span s 1 is between about 180 and 270 millimeters , or , more preferably , between about 200 and 250 millimeters , or , more preferably , between about 220 and 230 millimeters , or , more preferably , about 226 millimeters . in addition , in some illustrative and non - limiting embodiments , the member 260 is movably supported , such as , e . g ., via a movement mechanism 264 , so as to have a maximum height ( such as , e . g ., in a fully outwardly biased state ) from a bottom of the member 262 to the surface of the base 251 of between about 60 to 80 millimeters , or , more preferably , about 70 millimeters , and so as to have a minimum height from a bottom of the member 262 to the surface of the base 251 of between about 40 to 50 millimeters , or , more preferably , about 46 millimeters . in some illustrative and non - limiting embodiments , the devices shown in fig2 ( a ) to 5 ( b ) are depicted as to scale and proportional in size , such that some illustrative sizes and proportions can be understood based upon a comparison of the figures and the illustrative dimensions identified above in this paragraph . as discussed above , and as best shown in fig2 ( a ) and 5 ( a ) , in some preferred embodiments a storage unit 210 is adapted so as to include an electronics - components - support structure , such as , e . g ., an electronics - components - support - plate 240 . in some preferred embodiments , the electronics - components - support - plate 240 preferably includes a plurality of switches 240 s . although fig2 ( a ) and 5 ( a ) depict illustrative embodiments having 4 switches , it is contemplated that in various embodiments one or more switches can be provided . in a various embodiments , the switches can enable an increased level of versatility , and can be employed by a manufacturer , an owner of the vehicle and / or an operator of the vehicle to provide desired functionality based on existing electrical needs , etc . in some preferred embodiments , the electronics - components - support - plate 240 preferably includes an electrical outlet ( not shown , but which can be , e . g ., located at opening 240 e ) for electrical power supply . in some embodiments , the electrical outlet can be adapted to function as a 24 volt electrical outlet , as a 12 volt electrical outlet and / or as another desired electrical outlet . in a various embodiments , the provision of an electrical outlet can similarly provide an increased level of versatility . in some preferred embodiments , electronics - components - support - plate 240 includes an fixedly attached or integrally formed mounted mounting structure 240 mk , which is adapted for receiving a hanging element hm of a microphone ( such as , e . g ., the microphone m shown in fig1 ). with the provision of such a hanging element , a cb radio or the like can readily be mounted within the vehicle in a simplistic manner without the need for the addition of unsightly or crude microphone supports by a consumer . among other things , by providing the hanging element hm as formed as part of a component of the vehicle , a higher level of aesthetic quality and craftsmanship can be achieved , additional convenience can be achieved , and increased utility can be achieved . moreover , by providing the hanging element hm in a manner that it can be readily added to and / or removed from the storage unit , a higher level of versatility and a wider range of user options can be achieved . the manner in which the electronics - components - support - plate 240 is mounted upon the storage unit 210 can vary depending on circumstances . by way of example , in some embodiments , a lower end of the plate 240 can be received in a slot ( not shown ) and the upper end can be pivoted into position . then , the mounting members 211 m ( e . g ., which can include , for example , screws or the like ) can be used to retain the upper end of the plate 240 in position . in some embodiments ( as shown in fig5 ( b )), the same screws that are used to support the upper end of the plate 240 can also be used to mount the storage unit 210 upon the headliner of a vehicle ( e . g ., by attachment directly to the headliner ). in addition to the foregoing electronics components that can be supported on the electronics - components - support - plate 240 , in various other embodiments a variety of other electronics components can be supported thereon based on circumstances . as discussed above , in existing systems of the present assignee , as depicted in fig7 , an overhead storage unit 10 required the implementation of mounting brackets bk ( shown in dashed lines ) which were used to mount the storage unit to a headliner of the vehicle . as shown in fig7 , the bracket bk includes two illustrative bolts b that pass through mounting bracket bk so as to retain the bracket to the headliner . in turn , the mounting bracket , which is fixed to the storage unit , thus , supports the storage unit indirectly from the headliner . on the other hand , according to some preferred embodiments of the invention , such additional mounting brackets are eliminated . accordingly , the storage unit 210 according to these preferred embodiments can be directly mounted to the headliner . in this regard , as shown in fig5 ( b ) , the upwardly projecting screws at the mounting member locations 211 m can be directly screwed into the headliner . in order to facilitate such direct attachment without the use of added bracket structures ( i . e ., since such bracket structures are typically made of metal and provide a higher strength and rigidity ), the storage unit 210 is preferably modified to include strength enhanced edges , so as to facilitate such attachment . by way of example , as shown in fig5 ( b ) , in some embodiments the upper end of the front wall 211 preferably includes a widened strengthening element 280 that is integrally and unitarily formed with the storage unit 210 . by way of example , the strengthening element 280 can include , e . g ., as shown , an overhanging wall having a plurality of reinforcing ribs 281 distributed there - over . in the preferred embodiments , the strengthening element 280 extends substantially along the length of the storage unit and extends between and connects the respective mounting member locations 211 m as shown . in addition , in some preferred embodiments as shown in fig5 ( a ) , a plurality of caps or cover elements cp can be mounted ( e . g ., snap fit , or press fit ) over the respective screw locations corresponding to mounting member locations 211 m . accordingly , in order to mount the storage unit within a vehicle , the caps cp can be removed , the unit can be screwed into place , and then the caps cp can be added . in this manner , the storage unit can be readily attached without costly , complex and bulky bracket members , and while the storage unit is , hence , itself screwed to the headliner in some preferred embodiments , the screws for such an attachment are kept from view and an increased level of aesthetic appeal and refinement can be achieved . in order to maintain a high quality aesthetic appearance , it is helpful to avoid unnecessary exposure of screws , connectors or the like . in addition to the use of caps cp , which help to obscure unsightly screws , it is noteworthy that the screws 267 ( shown in fig4 ) which remain uncovered in some preferred embodiments ( e . g ., to facilitate easy opening and closing of the moving mechanism 264 via the use of , e . g ., an ordinary screw - driver by the owner or user ) are , while uncovered , effectively obscured from view . first , the screw located in the array of holes 212 hh , is located within a similarly shaped hole 212 h in such a manner as to camouflage the screws presence . second , the other of the two screws is located underneath the visor 212 v , such that , for the most part , the second screw is similarly obstructed from view . in prior overhead storage systems , there have typically been additional complexities and costs that arise due to the implementation of such overhead storage systems in a plurality of vehicle models , having a plurality of internal structures , and , including a variety of headliner structures . previously , different parts were required to be used for different vehicles and different headliner structures . this previously lead to increased complexities and increased costs . accordingly , in some of the preferred embodiments herein , the mounting structure is specifically designed so as to accommodate a variety of vehicles , such as , e . g ., by accommodating a variety of headliner structures . by way of example , in some illustrative embodiments , with reference to fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ) , the multiple mounting member locations 211 m are preferably selected upon initial design and manufacture to correspond to the headliner structure of a plurality of vehicles ( such as , e . g ., a whole line of vehicles , which can include , e . g ., two , five , ten or more vehicles ). by way of example , in mounting the storage unit 210 into certain vehicles one or more of the mounting members 211 m may be extraneous and , hence , not utilized depending on the headliner structure of that vehicle . for example , fig6 is a schematic diagram depicting an upward view of the bottom of a storage unit 210 as mounted upon the headliner 290 . by way of example , consider that one vehicle may have mounting locations corresponding to positions a 1 , a 2 and a 4 , while another vehicle may have mounting locations corresponding to positions a 1 , a 3 and a 4 . accordingly , in the preferred embodiments , the storage unit 210 is modified so as to include appropriate mounting locations for a plurality of vehicles . in this manner , a substantial reduction in parts and cost savings can be realized . moreover , in some embodiments , the mounting members 211 m can include through - holes for receiving screws that are screwed into the headliner . in some cases , to provide increased versatility in the applicability of the storage unit 210 to different vehicles , at least some of the through - holes can be elongated in the lateral direction l an amount to accommodate variations between at least some of the vehicle mounting requirements ( i . e ., such that the screw attachment position can vary laterally to some extent within such through - holes ). while illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein , the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein , but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements , modifications , omissions , combinations ( e . g ., of aspects across various embodiments ), adaptations and / or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure . by way of example , while the detailed description and drawings depict an illustrative overhead storage unit , various aspects of the invention ( such as , e . g ., the improved electronic device mounting methods ) can be employed within a wide variety of environments . in this regard , various features could , e . g ., be implemented within dash boards of vehicles , consoles and / or at any other appropriate location as would be appreciated based on this disclosure . the limitations in the claims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application , which examples are to be construed as non - exclusive . for example , in the present disclosure , the term “ preferably ” is non - exclusive and means “ preferably , but not limited to .” in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , means - plus - function or step - plus - function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation : a ) “ means for ” or “ step for ” is expressly recited ; b ) a corresponding function is expressly recited ; and c ) structure , material or acts that support that structure are not recited . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , the terminology “ present invention ” or “ invention ” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure . the language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of criticality , should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments ( i . e ., it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments ), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims . in this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application , the terminology “ embodiment ” can be used to describe any aspect , feature , process or step , any combination thereof , and / or any portion thereof , etc . in some examples , various embodiments may include overlapping features . in this disclosure , the following abbreviated terminology may be employed : “ e . g .” which means “ for example .”	8
fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional schematic view of the human eye , generally identified by the reference numeral 10 . the eye 10 is shown surrounded in front by the upper lid 12 and lower lid 14 . the eye 10 may be viewed as consisting of a large sphere 16 with the segment of a smaller sphere , the cornea 18 , in front . the eye 10 is composed of three layers . the first layer is the tough , white outer coat including the cornea 18 and the sclera 20 , which covers approximately the posterior five - sixths of the surface and extends to the external sheath of the optic nerve 22 . the middle layer is the choroid 24 , the thin , pigmented vascular coat of the eye extending posteriorly to the optic nerve 22 . the third layer is the retina 26 . the iris 28 is the circular pigmented membrane behind the cornea 18 , and the iris 28 is perforated by the pupil 30 . the lens 32 is a double - convexed normally transparent body held in place by an elastic lens capsule 31 . the aqueous humor 36 fills the space between the cornea 18 in front and the lens 32 in the rear . the vitreous humor 38 is a clear , jelly - like substance filling the space behind the lens 32 . fig2 illustrates the position of the ophthalmologic surgeon &# 39 ; s hands 50 in relation to a conventional surgical aspiration syringe 52 and the surgically draped patient 54 . high magnification in ophthalmologic microsurgery requires great stability and maximum proprioceptive control of the patient &# 39 ; s eye and head position at all times during surgery . the mid - air hand position required for the aspiration technique with a conventional syringe 52 is a precarious portion of extracapsular surgery . two hands are required to stabilize the aspiration syringe 52 within the patient &# 39 ; s eye . the one hand proximate the needle of the syringe 52 is necessary for near control and patient proprioception , and the other hand is necessary for applying suction and occasionally reverse suction while irrigating and aspirating the cortical cataractous material . fig3 is a low magnification photograph of the surgeon &# 39 ; s view while performing the previously described irrigation and aspiration technique illustrated in fig2 . a needle 60 connected to the irrigation and aspiration syringe 52 is inserted in an incision made on the edge of the cornea 18 . the tip of the needle 60 includes an outer sleeve portion 62 fitted about an inner cylindrical member 64 to allow the flow of a balanced intraocular irrigation solution to irrigate the eye 10 . an opening 66 is formed in the inner member 64 for aspirating the cortical cataractous material from the eye 10 . fig4 illustrates an irrigation and aspiration syringe 70 of the present invention . a generally cylindrical syringe barrel 72 extends from an opening 74 located at the rear of the barrel 72 to a nozzle 76 located at the front of the syringe barrel 72 . the cortical cataractous material aspirated from the eye is withdrawn into a chamber 78 of the syringe barrel 72 through the nozzle 76 . a first control grip 80 is positioned on the syringe barrel 72 at a point proximate the nozzle opening 76 . the control grip 80 includes a forward sloping surface 82 extending upwardly to join a rearward sloping surface 84 . an outer sleeve 86 is dimensioned to slide over the outer cylindrical surface of the syringe barrel 72 . the sleeve 86 includes an open end 88 for receiving the syringe barrel 72 and extends to a closed end 90 . a rod 92 is secured in the closed end 90 and extends to a plunger 94 dimensioned to closely fit inside the hollow chamber 78 of the syringe barrel 72 . the outer sleeve member 86 has a second control grip 96 extending from its outer surface at a point proximate the open end 88 . the control grip 96 includes a rearward sloping surface 98 extending from the surface of the sleeve 86 to intersect a forward sloping surface 100 . the nozzle 76 of the irrigation and aspiration syringe 70 is connected to the needle 60 . a balanced intraocular irrigation solution is connected to the inlet port 102 of the needle 60 . the irrigation solution flows through the needle 60 to a discharge opening 104 to irrigate the eye during surgery . the flow of the irrigation solution is regulated by gravity pressure by adjusting the height of the bottles containing the solution . in operation , the needle 60 is inserted beneath the cornea 18 in the manner shown in fig3 . irrigation solution flows continuously into the needle through the input port 102 through a discharge port 104 . the cortical cataractous material is aspirated from beneath the cornea 18 by vacuuming the material into the chamber 78 of the syringe 70 through the opening 66 of the needle 60 . the syringe 70 may be used to aspirate material from the eye by single handed operation , leaving the surgeon &# 39 ; s other hand free to use a second instrument , if necessary . the syringe 70 may be grasped with the thumb resting on the forwardly inclined surface 82 of the first control grip 80 . the index finger rests against the rearward sloping surface 98 of the second control grip 96 . suction is applied by moving the outer sleeve 86 in the direction indicated by the arrow 106 , causing the plunger 94 to draw material up into the chamber 78 . the thumb applies a directive force to the forward sloping surface 82 in the direction of the axis of the syringe barrel 72 indicated by 108 . the index finger applies a force to the rearward sloping surface 98 in the opposite direction along the axis of the syringe barrel 72 , as indicated by the arrow 110 . the suction pressure may be stopped by reversing the movement of the outer sleeve 86 , so that the outer sleeve 86 moves forward in the direction towards the nozzle 76 of the syringe . this feature enables the surgeon to have precise one - handed control to break the suction pressure if the instrument engages the iris 28 or the posterior lens capsule 31 . the contents of the syringe 70 may be emptied by drawing the needle 60 from the eye and sliding the plunger 94 forward by moving the outer sleeve 86 in the direction towards the nozzle 76 of the syringe , opposite to that indicated by arrow 106 . in discharging the contents from the syringe 70 , the outer sleeve may be moved in the forward direction by reversing the position of the thumb and forefinger on the control grips 80 and 96 , such that the thumb is placed on the rearward inclined surface 84 and the index finger rests on the forward inclined surface 100 . fig5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present invention , generally identified by the reference numeral 70 &# 39 ;. many of the component parts of the syringe 70 &# 39 ; are substantially identical in construction and function to component parts of the syringe 70 . such identical component parts are designated in fig5 with the same reference numerals utilized hereinbelow in the description of the syringe 70 , but are differentiated therefrom by means of a prime (&# 39 ;) designation . in this embodiment , the plunger 94 &# 39 ; is connected through the rod 92 &# 39 ; to an outer sleeve 120 having a first generally cylindrical section 122 dimensioned to fit about the cartridge 72 &# 39 ; and a second curved handle section 124 to conform to the palm of the hand . the finger control grips 126 , 128 and 130 are provided on the side of the outer sleeve 120 opposite that of the control grip 80 &# 39 ; for the thumb . the control grips 126 , 128 and 130 have generally rearward sloped first surfaces 132 , 134 and 136 , respectively , and forward sloped surfaces 138 , 140 and 142 , respectively . the irrigation and aspiration syringe 70 &# 39 ; may be operated in a similar manner to that described above for the syringe 70 . the outer sleeve 120 is retracted from the cartridge 72 &# 39 ; to draw the plunger in 94 &# 39 ; and provide suction to the opening 66 &# 39 ;. while the irrigation and aspiration syringe of the present invention has been described in detail herein , it will be evident that various and further modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention .	0
the method and article disclosed in this specification is a method for a lender ( the first party ), a seller ( the second party ), and a buyer ( the third party ) to incentivize the buyer to purchase one or more items or goods from the seller using funds provided by the lender . while this method will work for almost any item which is purchased via credit , it is particularly useful for a secured transaction where the purchased item or goods serves as the security or collateral for the funds borrowed from the lender . one transaction suited for this method and disclosed article is the purchase of an automobile by a member of a credit union from an automobile dealer using funds provided by the credit union . a credit union is generally a non - profit member owned cooperative . the first party to the transaction is the lender . the lender is usually an entity which provides money for the purchase of items . a typical lender can be selected from the group consisting of banks , credit unions , savings and loans , and credit card companies . another class of lenders are those which take a security interest in the good as collateral for the loan . lenders which take a security interest can be selected from the group consisting of banks , credit unions , savings and loans , and finance companies . credit card companies are not a member of this group as they do not take a security interest in the good . while the lender is often a company in the financial sector , the lender can be an individual person as well . included in the term lender are those individuals acting on behalf of the lender , such as an employee , agent or representative or someone authorized by the lender to conduct the act involved . the lender loans money for the purchase of goods , called a loan ; which is also known as financing the purchase of an item or goods . the lender typically checks the credit worthiness of the buyer . the credit worthiness determines how much money and at what terms the lender is willing to loan money to the buyer . if the lender is willing to loan money to the buyer , the buyer is at this point considered pre - approved for a loan by the lender . the seller is the second party to the transaction . the seller is an individual or legal entity which has physical goods to be purchased or for sale which can optionally be purchased with financing from the lender . for example , a home mortgage used to purchase a house typically cannot be used to purchase an automobile . while a home equity loan can produce funds to purchase a car , the home equity loan is secured by the home and not the item being purchased . in the case of automobiles , typical sellers can be selected from the group consisting of registered and unregistered automobile dealers . the buyer is the third party in this transaction and is an individual or legal entity which has the ability to inspect goods , borrow money and purchase goods , for example , an automobile . in this specification the term inspect goods and purchase goods does not mean that the inspection and purchase of goods is the inspection or purchase of all of the members of the group of goods offered by a seller . the inspection of goods could be the inspection of one fungible item and the purchase of goods could be the purchase of a single item . one step of the process is for the lender to issue a coupon , usually to the buyer . the coupon can be a piece of paper , a digital disc , or other form of fixed media , including allocation of memory in a computer . if the coupon is not an allocation of memory , it is generally a physical coupon . it is at the lender &# 39 ; s discretion as to whether the buyer is approved for an amount of funds and the amount for which the buyer is approved . the coupon performs a critical component of the method . the coupon can be a physical object with communication ( s ) on it . the communications are readable and understood by at least the seller . this means that the communications could be readable by a human , by a machine , machine code , bar code , or other device which can convert the communication on the coupon to something understandable by a human being . consistent with the figures , the communications will generally indicate the identity of the lender . the identity of the lender does not have to be the name of the lender or even identifiable to a party not involved in the transaction . usually the indication of the lender is unique so that at least the seller can identify the lender . however , typically , the coupon will communicate the actual name of the lender . usually the communication is in writing or script / typed form . the coupon will also have a communication location for the identity of the buyer . while typically it will be the buyer &# 39 ; s name , it could be the buyer &# 39 ; s social security number , employment identification number , account number with the lender , or even a unique symbol or mark which associates the buyer to the lender or seller . at some point during the process , the buyer &# 39 ; s unique identification is placed upon the coupon . it could be done by the buyer , seller , lender , or even someone else . typically the buyer &# 39 ; s identification is placed upon the coupon and transforms the coupon to have the buyer &# 39 ; s identification on it when the lender issues the coupon to the buyer . however , it could be placed upon the coupon by the seller or someone else prior to redemption of the coupon . the coupon will also have a communication or communication indication on it which indicates the identity of the seller . the identity of the seller does not have to be the name of the seller or even identifiable to a party not involved in the transaction . however , typically , it will communicate the name of the seller . in fact , it may have many sellers listed on the coupon from which the buyer may purchase the item . the seller who actually sold the goods to the buyer is indicated after issuing the coupon to the buyer . the coupon preferably has a communication of a referral , or location for a referral indication . the referral indication , when completed by the lender , will indicate to the seller that the buyer has at least inquired about borrowing funds at the lending institution . this creates two classes of buyers , the random buyer who will come to the seller &# 39 ; s location with the coupon without the referral indication or the referred buyer who comes to the seller &# 39 ; s location with the coupon indicating a referral from the lender . the seller knows that the referred buyer has already inquired about securing the funds to purchase the goods , and therefore is in a first level of a buying frame of mind . in another embodiment , the referral indication would also indicate that the buyer has been pre - approved for a loan by the lender . the seller knows that the pre - approved buyer already has the wherewithal ( financing ) to purchase the goods , and additionally , knows that the buyer is in an increased , or a second level of , buying frame of mind over someone who has just inquired about a loan . in another embodiment , the referral indication would also communicate and indicate the amount of the loan for which the buyer is pre - approved . this amount or indication of the amount would be placed on the coupon by the lender or someone acting on the lender &# 39 ; s behalf . this would indicate to the seller an even higher , or third level of , buying frame of mind and assist in setting the price of the goods . the buyer will inspect the seller &# 39 ; s goods , e . g . an automobile . in the case of the automobile , perhaps the buyer test drives several cars . the inspection is generally a physical inspection but the inspection does not necessarily mean physical inspection ; it could be an inquiry by the buyer of the seller of an electronic or physical catalog of the seller &# 39 ; s inventory . the buyer may or may not purchase the goods . purchase of the goods is optional . at some point in time , the coupon is validated attesting to at least one , if not two events . a first event is that indeed the buyer did inspect the goods . in most instances , this validation is done by the seller or agent or representative of the seller . it could be a signature , a special stamp , but it is an indication made on the coupon that the buyer did in fact inspect the goods . another event is that the buyer actually purchased the goods using financing from the lender . again , this could be a signature , a special stamp , but is some indication made upon the coupon that goods were purchased from the seller by the buyer with funds from the lender . the coupon , now bearing the identification of the lender ( the first party ), the seller ( the second party ), and the buyer ( the third party ); has been validated as to the buyer having inspected the goods and optionally purchased the goods with financing from the lender , is validated . the validation is made and communicated to a redeeming party . communicating the validation to a redeeming party could be as simple faxing the coupon with the minimum indications to the redeeming party , mailing the coupon , or otherwise communicating to the redeeming party that the buyer inspected the goods and optionally purchased the goods with financing from the lender . the redeeming party then redeems the coupon by sending the appropriate redemption item ( s ) to the buyer . the redeeming party can be an individual or legal entity and in fact could be the lender or seller as well . the redeeming party will then communicate to either the lender or the buyer or both , that the buyer has requested the redemption , the amount of the redemption selected , which would in turn indicate whether the buyer purchased the goods with funds from the lender . when the redeeming party is the lender , the lender inherently has the information from the coupon and can make decisions based upon that information . for instance , the buyer may have inspected the goods and bought the car , but did not use a loan from the lender . the lender could follow up with the seller to find out why . in a further embodiment , if the redeeming party is not the lender , the information on the coupon can be provided to the lender . typically the coupon will have a first redemption choice which is correlated to a first level of remuneration associated or corresponding to the buyer &# 39 ; s inspection of the goods . for instance , the buyer may receive a $ 20 dollar gas card for inspecting the goods . there could also be several first redemption options . for instance , after inspection the buyer could select from a list of items , e . g . a $ 20 dollar gas card , an oil change , a tire rotation , or $ 10 dollars cash . typically , this first level of remuneration is part of a flat fee that the dealer and / or seller pays the redeeming party for their respective participation in the program . if the dealer is the redeeming party , the dealer would usually pay the redemption amount or item directly to the buyer . if the lender is the redeeming party , the lender would usually pay the redemption amount or item directly to the the coupon may also further comprise a second redemption choice correlating to a second level of remuneration corresponding to the buyer &# 39 ; s purchase of the goods with funds or financing from the lender and a way to indicate selection of the second redemption choice and the second level of remuneration is greater than the first level of remuneration . if the first redemption choice has a value of $ 25 dollars , then it is preferred that the second redemption choice would have a value greater than $ 25 dollars . in fact , it is preferred that the ratio of the value of the second redemption choice to the value of the first redemption choice be in the range of 2 : 1 to 100 : 1 , more preferably , 2 : 1 to 50 : 1 , or even more preferably 2 : 1 to 10 : 1 . the coupon could have several second redemption options for the second redemption choice . in another embodiment , there is only one level of remuneration but which acts the same as the second redemption choice . the one level of remuneration corresponds to the buyer &# 39 ; s purchase of the goods with funds from the lender . there may different items which can be selected by the buyer . the one level of remuneration choice could have several redemption options as well . by offering the buyer a financial reward or other incentive for completing the transaction using the funds from the lender , the lender now has more assurance that the buyer will borrow the money from the lender and not be re - directed to another lending source by the seller . these embodiments and variations collateralize the referral of the lender because when the coupon is redeemed , the lender will know that the buyer visited a dealer . if the higher value of remuneration is selected indicating the purchase of the vehicle with a loan from the lender , the cycle has worked . if the redeemed coupon for a referred buyer , pre - approved buyer with or without the pre - approved amount , does not indicate the second redemption choice , it means that the buyer has purchased the vehicle without funds from the lender . the lender can then follow - up with the seller to determine why alternate funding was used . this helps to prevent the seller from substituting a different lender from the initial lender . the seller is incentivized as well because the lender &# 39 ; s referral to the seller is predicated upon the seller honoring the coupon referral by the lender . because of the increased quality of buyer as measured by the buyer &# 39 ; s likelihood to purchase goods from the seller , the seller often pays a fee to the lender and / or redeeming party for participation in the method . fig1 is an example of a sample coupon for carrying out the transaction . numeral 1 points to the identification of the lender , in this instance a credit union . numeral 2 is the space for the buyer identification . while this example has the name , address , city , state , and zip code , the buyer identifier could have been a unique number assigned to the buyer as previously described . numeral 3 is the identification of the seller , which in this case is an automobile dealer . since this coupon is not filled out , the name of dealer chosen by the buyer would be placed into the line numbered 3 . the sales representative of the dealer is optional . numerals 4 and 5 are the first and second redemption choice , respectively . the ratio of the values in this instance is 5 : 1 . numeral 6 depicts where the redeeming party is identified . note also that in this instance , the communication of the validation of the coupon to the redemption party is done via fax or facsimile . numeral 7 is the expiration date of the coupon . although optional , a typical promotion will have an expiration date . numeral 8 points to the referral indicator space . although the coupon in example says credit union use only , this is a typical space where the lender places a mark indicating that the buyer has been pre - approved for a loan . alternatively , in more sophisticated systems , the referral indication would indicate how much the lender is willing to loan the buyer for the purchase . depending upon the referral program desired , the coupon will also contain a list of sellers , such as auto dealers , who have agreed to , or even paid the lender a fee , to participate in the couponing loyalty program . fig2 is a more generic embodiment of the coupon used in the method . the italicized words are usually pre - printed on the coupon with the italics indicating that the word could be changed to reflect the type of seller of lender . for example , if the seller was an automotive dealer , the italized word seller could be dealer as in fig1 . the italicized word “ item ”, could be replaced with the goods being purchases , such as car . numeral 1 points to the lender identification or lender indication . this could be the name of the lender , the lender &# 39 ; s logo , or any other mechanism used to identify the lender to the seller . as in fig1 , this italicized word could be the name of the lender or the lender &# 39 ; s logo or trademark . numeral 2 is the location section for the identification or indication of the buyer . in this instance , the buyer &# 39 ; s indication includes the buyer &# 39 ; s name , the buyer &# 39 ; s address , the buyer &# 39 ; s city , state and zip code . numeral 3 points to the seller identification location or seller indicator location , which is the location upon which the identification of the seller is placed upon the coupon . also included as an optional part of the seller &# 39 ; s indicator or identification is the name of the seller &# 39 ; s representative . the date is optional , but is desired if the parties want to ensure that the transaction was conducted during the promotion period indicated on the coupon . numerals 4 and 5 point to the two redemption choices , respectively , corresponding to the level of redemption earned . 4 corresponds to the visiting of the dealer / seller and likely inspection of the goods . 5 corresponds to purchasing an item , in this instance , and automobile , from the seller / dealer with funds from the lender . note that the actual coupon would usually have the name of the lender where the italicized lender is found in the redemption choice indicated by 5 . in this embodiment , the selection of the redemption option is made by the buyer making a selection and then someone places a mark on the coupon to indicate the buyer &# 39 ; s choice to validate the coupon . the placement of the indicator does not necessarily have to done by the buyer . numeral 6 is the indication location for the identification of the redeeming party . in this example , the fax number is included because the completed coupon is redeemed by faxing the coupon to the redeeming party . it contemplated that the validated completed coupon could be scanned and emailed or even physically mailed to the redeeming party . any technique of communicating the contents of the coupon to the redeeming party is part of the method . numeral 7 points to the location where the duration or expiration of the promotion is indicated . in this embodiment , the offer is in effect from date 1 to date 2 . the date 1 and date 2 would be replaced with the respective date . numeral 8 points to the location where the lender can make special notes about the buyer , for instance , the buyer could be a member of the lender and the buyer member or account number could be placed here . also , the placement of a pre - approval indication could be marked on the coupon here . the referral indication could also be placed at this mark . this coupon contains an additional element , 9 . this embodiment has a location for the seller to indicate the amount of the loan . fig3 is another embodiment , having the elements of fig2 , but with additional element 10 , which has a location for the pre - approval indication of the lender that the buyer has been pre - approved for a loan . fig4 , has the same elements as fig3 , except for numeral 11 , which has replaced numeral 10 . numeral 11 is the location indicated by the underline area for the lender to indicate the amount for which buyer has been pre - approved . inherent in indicating a pre - approval amount , is that the buyer is pre - approved for a loan , so a pre - approval amount is both the pre - approval indication and the indication of the amount . fig5 , has the same elements as fig3 , except that there is only redemption item , indicated by 5 . in this embodiment , the buyer only receives the redemption item if he or she purchases the goods , an automobile , for example , from the seller , using the funds from the lender . in this instance , the lender only incentivizes the buyer to use the funds from the lender . there is no redemption for merely inspecting the seller &# 39 ; s goods . fig6 a , 6 b , and 6 c demonstrate how the coupon is modified or transformed during the practice of the method . fig6 a is the coupon as it is would be designed prior to being presented to the buyer or transferred to the buyer . in this instance , the lender is called first credit union as indicated by numeral 1 , numeral 5 , and numeral 8 . because this is an automobile promotion with automobile dealers who have agreed with the lender and redeemer to honor the program , the italicized word seller at numerals 3 , 4 and 9 , have been changed dealer . in this working example , the redeeming party , as pointed to by numeral 6 , is redeemer , inc ., having a facsimile number of 555 - 555 - 5555 . the promotion date is valid from jan . 1 , 2012 to feb . 15 , 2012 as indicated at numeral 7 . the paper coupon as shown in fig6 a could be printed out from a computer , from the internet , or pre - printed on a sheet of paper . in the preferred embodiment , the coupon is a physical sheet of paper having the elements printed out as shown . the coupon is then modified by having the pre - approval amount , in this case $ 15 , 000 placed on the pre - approval amount indication line . this transformation of the coupon could be done the lender , the buyer , or other entity . generally , the pre - approval amount will be placed on the coupon by the lender . however , in one embodiment the buyer has inquired of the lender on the phone , printed out the coupon at home from the internet , and written the pre - approval amount supplied by the lender on the coupon . this particular coupon has also been modified at numeral 8 to indicate that the buyer is credit union member having a number 1575 . again , this could be the lender or buyer or other entity . the coupon is then transformed with additional elements of the buyer &# 39 ; s identification information . in this instance , the buyer is j . doe buyer , living at j . doe buyer street , buyer &# 39 ; s town , buyer st , buyer zip . this information is the placed onto the coupon . again , the information could be placed by the lender upon giving the buyer the coupon , the buyer at any time during the transaction , or the seller , or other entity . the date could also be entered into a printable file , such as a form - fillable pdf and the printed out as a physical coupon . after the buyer has inspected the goods and purchased the vehicle , validated completed coupon will appear as shown in fig6 c . in this instance , the dealer is first car sales ( numeral 3 ), the sales rep was j . sales rep and the date of the transaction was jan . 30 , 2012 , within the promotion date . since in the case , the buyer purchased a vehicle with funds from first credit union , the buyer &# 39 ; s indication of the $ 75 gift card is marked on the coupon . the indication does not need to be an x , but in some manner which indicates the choice and validates the buyer &# 39 ; s actions ( e . g . inspection , purchase ) and choices . the information on the completed coupon is then transferred / communicated to the redeeming party . in this coupon , the preferred method is to fax a copy of the coupon to the redeeming party , which will then , this instance , send the $ 75 gift card to the buyer . that this method can be easily adapted to a computer or electronic system should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill . one embodiment of the electronic reduction to practice would be for the coupon to reside in the memory or on the hard drive of a computer or server which can be accessed . an example of this is a form finable pdf file which allows the person accessing the file to enter data into the appropriate fields . the coupon is issued to the buyer when the buyer is granted access or knows that there is access to the coupon or computer file . the lender or buyer or seller could enter the buyer &# 39 ; s information into the computer file . the lender could grant access to different files corresponding to the level of pre - approval as well . the lender could also place the pre - approval amount into the file . upon completion of the inspection of the goods and optional purchase with funding from the lender , the seller could open the file and enter the appropriate validation code . the validated completed file , or electronic coupon , could then be sent to the redeeming party . it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill that many variations of the coupon and loyalty method exist and the claims include such variations and that the claims are not be limited to the examples cited in the figures or in the specification .	6
this versatile vise comprises a front jaw 3 , a back jaw 2 , and a jaw holder 1 provided with a sustaining base 11 which is combined with the jaw holder 1 with bolts 12 . the sustaining base 11 is provided with a screw hole 111 for a screw 112 to engage with . the screw 112 is combined with a turning button 113 at the lower end and with a cap 114 at the upper end . the turning button 113 is turned to rotate the screw 112 so that the cap may be tightened against a working bench to steady this vise on the bench . moreover , the jaw holder 1 is provided with two ears 13 at the rear and the left sides . each ear 13 is provided with a hole 131 for a bolt 132 to penetrate to steady this vise on a working bench if the sustaining base 11 cannot sufficiently pinch the bench . the jaw holder 1 is also provided with a round shaft hole 14 which is divided by a groove 15 into a front long shaft hole 14f and a rear short shaft hole 14r . the rear short shaft hole 14r has inserted therein a smaller diameter part 161 of a punch plate 16 . the punch plate 16 is provided with a central round hole 162 whose diameter is the same size as that of a punch 38 set in the front jaw 3 . a male thread 17 is provided at the front part of the jaw holder 1 for a nut 4 and the back jaw 2 to engage with such that the back jaw 2 is able to be rotated for changing the position of jaw faces . next , the back jaw 2 is provided with jaw faces 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 corresponding to jaw faces 3114 34 of the front jaw 3 . the jaw face 21 has crisscross shallow lines with a gradually narrowing end for pinching a rather small thing or extending into a tube . the jaw face 22 has a cross groove 221 for pinching a round tube or sustaining a tube therein . the jaw face 23 has two different - sized half - round grooves 231 , 232 and a trapezoid groove 233 , 234 in said half - round groove 231 , 232 for pinching a terminal with a wire for joining them together . the jaw face 24 has crisscross lines for tight pinching . the back jaw 2 is also provided with a female thread 25 for engaging with the male thread 17 of the jaw holder 1 , the female thread 25 being turned to change the position of the jaw faces 21 - 24 of the back jaw 2 and the nut 4 being turned to tighten the back jaw 2 after the position of said jaw faces 21 - 24 is changed . in addition , a screw hole 26 is provided through the center of the back jaw 2 for a screw 37 to engage with , and a c - shaped hole 27 is provided at the outside surface for a tube shaft 35 to be mounted therein so that the tube shaft 35 can move depending on the c - shaped hole 27 . the front jaw 3 is provided with jaw faces 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 corresponding to the jaw faces 21 - 24 respectively ; the jaw face 32 having a cross groove 321 and , the jaw face 33 having two different - sized half - round grooves 331 , 332 . the grooves 331 , 332 have protrusions 333 , 334 separately to adapt to the trapezoid grooves 233 , 234 on the jaw face 23 of the back jaw 2 for joining a wire with a terminal by pinching them together . a material to be worked on can be pinched between one of the jaw faces 21 - 24 and the jaw faces 31 - 34 according to the shape of the material . in addition , the front jaw 3 is provided with a tube shaft 35 having a groove with the tube shaft 35 penetrating the c - shaped hole 27 of the back jaw 2 . a c - shaped ring 36 is set at the center of the tube shaft 35 confining a screw 37 such that the screw 37 can rotate at its original position . the screw 37 is combined with a handle 372 for being easily rotated by the handle 372 so that the front jaw 3 can be moved nearer to or further from the back jaw 2 when the screw 37 is rotated . a punch 38 is fixed at the rear end of the tube shaft 35 for punching a hole in a material by advancing into the round hole 162 in the punch plate 16 with the movement of the tube shaft 35 . next , fig2 ( a cross sectional view take along line 2 -- 2 of fig3 ) shows that the tube shaft 35 is set in the shaft hole 14 of the jaw holder 1 , passing through the c - shaped hole 27 of the back jaw 2 . also , the front jaw 3 has the c - shaped ring confining the screw 37 , which engages with the threaded hole 26 of the back jaw 2 . therefore , the front jaw 3 can be moved by the rotation of the screw 37 nearer to or further from the back jaw 2 . if the front jaw 3 is moving nearer and nearer the back jaw 2 , the punch 38 at the end of the tube shaft 35 is also moving into the round hole 162 of the punch plate 16 and the material placed in the groove 15 ( i . e ., between the punch 38 and the punch plate 16 ) can be punched with a hole . the punch 38 and the punch plate 16 are changeable according to the size of the hole desired to be punched . lastly , fixing this vise on a work bench is effected either with the sustaining base 11 or with the ears 13 properly utilize . for pinching a material for work there are a plurality of jaw faces selectable according to the shape of a material or a thing . in addition , punching a hole in a material can also be done with the punch 38 and the punch plate 16 that are changable for the size of the hole wanted .	1
please refer to fig5 , which is a block diagram showing a write clock generator 80 of a cav optical disk recorder according to the present invention . the present invention uses the wobble signal 82 to generate the write clock 84 . the write clock generator 80 has a plurality of function blocks including a reference clock generator 88 for generating a reference clock 86 , a digital average processor 92 for outputting an average number 120 , a plurality of frequency dividers 94 , 96 , 98 , 100 for changing frequencies of inputted signals , a plurality of phase detectors 102 , 104 for comparing phases of different signals , a low - pass filter 106 for smoothing signals outputted from the phase detector 104 , a voltage controlled oscillator 108 for generating a signal with a specific frequency according to an input voltage , and a controller 110 for controlling operation of the frequency divider 94 . the operation of the write clock generator 80 according to the present invention is described as follows . the reference clock generator 88 will output the reference clock 86 that has a fixed frequency . for example , the reference clock 86 could be a system clock of the optical disk recorder . basically , the frequency of the reference clock 86 is fixed and is much higher than the frequency of the wobble signal 82 . after the wobble signal 82 is retrieved from the recordable disk , the reference clock 86 and the wobble signal 82 are both passed to a counter 90 . the counter 90 calculates a total number of reference periods ( period of the reference clock 86 ) during one period of the wobble signal 82 . please refer to fig6 , which is a diagram of a relation between the reference clock 86 and the wobble signal 82 . in fig6 , the horizontal axis represents time . two waveforms shown in fig6 represent the wobble signal 82 and a count number 118 outputted from the counter 90 at node a . as described above , the wobble signal 82 is established by two different waveforms , and each waveform has a specific frequency . as shown in fig6 , the wobble signal 82 has sectors tp 2 , tp 4 with one frequency 1 / t 1 ( period t 1 ), and sectors tp 1 , tp 3 with another frequency 1 / t 2 ( period t 2 ). when the counter 90 operates , the counter 90 uses reference period of the reference clock 86 as a unit to calculate the total number of reference periods during one period of the wobble signal 82 . please refer to fig6 a , which is detailed diagram of a period t 2 associated with the wobble signal 82 . because the frequency of the reference clock 86 is greater than 1 / t 1 and 1 / t 2 , the reference period t 3 of the reference clock 86 is certainly shorter than the periods t 1 , t 2 of the wobble signal 82 . therefore , the period t 2 corresponds to a plurality of reference periods t 3 . generally , the period t 2 corresponds to hundreds of reference periods t 3 , but the actual number is determined by the frequency of the reference clock 86 . similarly , the period t 1 of the wobble signal 82 , as shown in fig6 b , corresponds to a plurality of reference periods t 3 of the reference clock 86 . after counting the number of reference periods in one period of the wobble signal 82 , the counter 90 will output the count number 118 to the digital average processor 92 . as the timing sequence of the count number 118 shows in fig6 , the number of reference periods t 3 within one period t 2 is less because the period t 2 is shorter ( high frequency ). therefore , the count number 118 corresponding to the sectors tp 1 , tp 3 having the period t 2 is less , too . on the contrary , the number of reference periods t 3 within one period t 1 is greater because the period t 1 is longer ( low frequency ). therefore , the count number 118 corresponding to the sectors tp 2 , tp 4 having the period t 1 is greater , too . considering the count number 118 , the sectors with regard to different frequencies correspond to different signal levels . in addition , the count number 118 generated from the counter 90 is then transmitted to the digital average processor 74 to calculate a long - term average of the count number 118 , that is , to generate an average number 120 . the related signal level of the average number 120 is also shown in fig6 for clarity . the frequency of the reference clock 86 is equal to the frequency of the wobble signal 82 times the average number 120 . the controller 110 , therefore , can adjust a dividing ratio of the frequency divider 94 according to the average number 120 . in the preferred embodiment , the controller 110 adopts half the average number 120 as a fundamental dividing ratio of the frequency divider 94 . in other words , without considering an additional factor , that is , an adjustment value 129 generated from the phase detector 102 to the controller 110 , a first reference synchronization signal 124 that has a frequency doubling the frequency of the wobble signal 82 is generated when the reference clock 86 passed to the frequency divider 94 . moreover , the phase detector 102 will also generate the adjustment value 129 according to the phase difference between the atip synchronization signal 122 and the esfs signal 124 . the adjustment value 129 is used for further tuning the dividing ratio of the frequency divider 94 . the controller 110 , therefore , has to modify the dividing ratio of the frequency divider 94 according to a rectification value generated from both the average number 120 and the adjustment value 129 . in addition , the phase detector 104 will output an output voltage according to a phase difference between the first reference synchronization signal 126 and a second reference synchronization signal 128 . the output voltage is first passed through the low - pass filter 106 , and then is transmitted to the voltage - controlled oscillator 108 . the voltage - controlled oscillator 108 is used for generating a signal with a specific frequency according to the output voltage generated by the phase detector 104 . the signal generated by the voltage - controlled oscillator 108 is further passed to a frequency divider 96 for generating a write clock 84 . the write clock 84 is passed to a frequency divider 98 for generating the second reference synchronization signal 128 , and the second reference synchronization signal 128 will further alter frequency of the esfs signal 124 . the above - mentioned process is repeated until the error between the atip synchronization signal 122 and the esfs signal 124 conforms to an associated requirement defined in the specification of the optical disk recorder . that is , when the error between the atip synchronization signal 122 and the esfs signal 124 meets the desired requirement according to the specification , the optical disk recorder can start burning data 114 onto the disk . the write clock 84 is inputted to an efm encoder 112 so that the efm encoder 112 can transfer data 114 into corresponding the efm data signal with the help of the write clock 84 . the efm data signals , which are synchronized with the write clock 84 , are then transmitted to a pick - up head 116 . finally , the pick - up head 116 writes data 114 into the disk according to the received efm data signal . in contrast to the prior art write clock generator , the claimed write clock generator uses a reference clock with a higher frequency to count the wobble signal for generating a count number , and generates a first reference synchronization signal based on the count number and the wobble signal . the first reference synchronization signal is used for locking a write clock and the esfs signal . because the frequency of the reference synchronization signal is greater than the frequency of the atip synchronization signal , a lock time required by the corresponding phase - lock loop is greatly reduced according to the claimed write clock generator , and a process time required for the write clock to be stable is reduced as well . eventually , the efficiency and stability of the optical disk recorder is improved . in other words , the present invention is a circuit for generating a write clock for controlling a writing sequence according to a reference clock , a wobble signal read from an optical disc , an atip synchronization signal and an esfs signal in an optical storage device , the circuit comprise a counter , a first phase detector , a controller , a pll circuit and a first frequency divider ; wherein the counter for counting the wobble signal according to the reference clock to obtain an average count number ; the first phase detector for generating an adjustment value by comparing a phase difference between the atip synchronization signal and the esfs signal ; the controller for generating a rectification value according to the adjustment value and the count number ; the pll circuit for synchronizing the atip synchronization signal and the esfs signal ; the first frequency divider connected to the controller and the pll circuit for generating a write clock according to the rectification value from the controller and the reference clock if the phase difference between the atip synchronization signal and the esfs signal is less than a predetermined value . the reference signal can be a system clock of the optical storage device . the optical storage device can be a cd - rw drive . the optical storage device further comprises a digital average processor electrically connected to the counter for averaging count numbers outputted from the counter . the pll circuit further comprises a second phase detector for comparing a phase difference between a first reference synchronization signal from the first divider and a second reference synchronization signal from the pll circuit . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims .	6
generally speaking , sound can be used as a catalyst for obtaining torque on a barrier element , such as a flat plate , which thereby causes motion of the plate . when connected to proper mechanical structures , such as a lever arm connected to a rotatable axis , the motion of the plate can be converted into useful kinetic energy to drive a rotating wheel , gear , bar or other element . this motion can also be converted into electrical energy using an electrical rotor and stator configuration as is common in well known generator technology . in a simple form , an acoustic oscillator is used to generate and direct sound waves across the surface of a barrier element in the form of a flat plate . the sound waves , when properly generated , form a low pressure region immediately adjacent to the surface of the flat plate at which the acoustic oscillator is located . ambient fluid pressure on the other side of the plate results in thrust on the plate , which propels the plate toward the low pressure region , and this thrust can be harnessed to produce useful kinetic and electrical energy . fig1 illustrates an example of a sonic thrust element 5 including a flat plate 10 having an upper surface 12 and a lower surface 14 , and an acoustic oscillator 20 disposed in close proximity to the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 . in particular , the acoustic oscillator 20 is illustrated as a square oscillator disposed slightly above , and in the middle of the upper surface of the flat plate 10 . in this case , the oscillator 20 is disposed a finite distance ε above the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 and is positioned so as to produce sound waves that flow across the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 in a direction generally perpendicular to the normal of the flat plate 10 . the arrows 25 a and 25 b indicate the direction of sound propagation in the system of fig1 . during operation , electrical or other energy ( such as mechanical energy ) is provided to drive the acoustic oscillator 20 ( via electrical wires or other mechanical mechanism not shown in fig1 ) so that the acoustic oscillator 20 produces sound waves , having a constant or near constant frequency as described in more detail below . these sound waves propagate across the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 on either sides of the oscillator 20 , as illustrated by the arrows 25 a and 25 b . if produced in accordance with the techniques and constraints defined herein , the sound waves produced by the oscillator 20 create a low pressure region immediately adjacent to the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 . as the sound waves produced by the oscillator 20 do not affect the fluid pressure immediately adjacent the flat plate 10 on the lower surface 14 of the flat plate 10 , a pressure differential is created on the opposite sides 12 and 14 of the flat plate 10 . this pressure differential results in a thrust ( denoted by arrows 26 ) on the lower surface 14 of the flat plate 10 , across the entire surface 14 of the flat plate 10 , and generally in the direction of the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 . fig2 a - 2b illustrate another example of a sonic thrust element 7 including a flat plate 10 having an upper surface 12 and a lower surface 14 , and an acoustic oscillator 20 disposed in close proximity to the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 . in this case , the flat plate 10 includes an aperture 60 ( e . g ., a hole , or a slit ), and the oscillator 20 is coupled to a motor system 50 via the aperture 60 . the motor system 50 linearly oscillates ( drives ) the oscillator back and forth along the plane of the upper surface 12 so that the acoustic oscillator 20 produces sound waves , having a constant frequency as described in more detail below . as explained in reference to fig1 , these sound waves propagate across the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 and create a pressure differential on the opposite sides 12 and 14 of the flat plate 10 that results in a thrust on the lower surface 14 of the flat plate 10 , and generally in the direction of the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 ( i . e ., in the direction normal to the surface plane of the flat plate 10 ). the motor system 50 may be implemented in a number of ways . for example , a rotational motor may be used ( not shown ). the rotational motor may be coupled to a linkage , a cam , etc ., to transform the rotational motion of the rotational motor into a linear motion along the upper surface 12 of the flat plate 10 . in some embodiments , the rotational motion and / or the resulting linear motion have an associated frequency of 450 hz . the motor system 50 may be coupled to the acoustic oscillator 20 in any of a variety of manners ( e . g ., via bolts , nuts , pins , cams , linkage arms , and so on ). in some embodiments , the motor system 50 may be easily detachable from the acoustic oscillator 20 so that different motor systems may be used . moreover , the motor system 50 may take the form of , or may be powered by mechanical motion collected from other sources , such as sources of waste heat or waste energy . in different embodiments , the different building blocks of the sonic thrust element 7 may be of different shapes and sizes and may be made from a variety of materials . for example , the flat plate 10 may be a square plate , 500 mm on each side . the acoustic oscillator 20 may have a width of 500 mm , and a height and length of 38 . 1 mm . the aperture in the flat plate 10 may be 88 mm thereby allowing the oscillator 20 to oscillate 88 mm along the flat plate 10 . both the flat plate 10 and the oscillator 20 may be may be made of aluminum . however , the flat plate 10 and / or the oscillator 20 may be made of other suitable materials , such as carbon fiber , fiberglass , etc . of course , these materials , and system dimensions are associated with one particular embodiment of the invention , and other sets of dimensions and materials will operate according to the principles described herein . thus , the invention is not limited to the particular dimensions and materials described herein with respect to fig2 . fig3 illustrates a motor 27 ( referred to herein as a sonic motor ) which can harness the thrust on the flat plate 10 of fig1 to produce useful kinetic energy . in particular , the motor 27 of fig3 includes a rotor 28 having , in this case , four lever arms 30 rigidly connected to and disposed around a center bar 32 . the bar 32 rotates about a longitudinal axis 34 which defines an axis of rotation for the rotor 28 . as illustrated in fig3 , thrust elements 5 ( described with respect to fig1 ) are disposed on the ends of the lever arms 30 so that the plates 10 of the thrust elements 5 are disposed extending out from the lever arms 30 in an essentially radial plane with respect to the axis of rotation 34 and / or so that a normal to the surface of the plane of each of the flat plates 10 is disposed in an essentially tangential direction with respect to a circle disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation 34 and having a center point on the axis of rotation 34 . while the oscillators 20 of the thrust elements 5 are illustrated as being disposed to extend radially out from the axis of rotation 34 , the thrust elements 5 could be rotated so that the acoustic oscillators 20 extend in any other direction with respect to the axis of rotation 34 . thus , for example , instead of being disposed horizontally across the plates 10 from side to side , as illustrated in fig3 , the oscillators 20 could be disposed vertically across the plates 10 ( from top to bottom ), or an any diagonal direction across the plates 10 . still further , while each of the oscillators 20 is illustrated as being disposed across a center of one of the flat plates 10 , the oscillator 20 of the thrust elements 5 could be disposed , instead , off - center with respect to an associated flat plate 10 , and even at the edge of the flat plate 10 , if so desired , as long as the oscillator 20 directs sound waves across the top surface 12 of the associated flat plate 10 . moreover , while the flat plates 10 are illustrated as essentially square plates , the plates 10 could be other shapes as well , such as rectangular , circular , oval , etc . also , while the surface 14 of the flat plates 10 is illustrated as being flat , this condition may not be necessary , and other surface contours could be used as well . likewise , while four sonic thrust elements 5 are shown in fig3 as being connected to the center bar 32 via lever arms 30 , any other number of thrust elements 5 , such as one , two , three , five , etc . could be used instead . in the structure of fig3 , operation ( energization ) of the oscillators 20 causes thrust on the flat plates 10 , which thrust is illustrated by the arrows 36 in fig3 . the thrust 36 on the flat plates 10 places a torque on the lever arms 30 proportional to the lengths of the arms 30 , and imparts a rotational thrust 38 onto the bar 32 around the axis of rotation 34 . the bar 32 may be allowed to rotate and , if desired , may be connected to a gearing mechanism 40 which can be used to harness the rotational kinetic energy imparted to the bar 32 by the sonic thrust elements 5 . if desired , this kinetic energy may be converted to electrical energy with the use of a generator ( not shown in fig3 ). in such an embodiment , the rotor 28 may have an electromagnetic field element which creates a rotating electromagnetic field with respect to ( e . g ., inside of or around ) a stator , which may generate electricity in the stator . as generators are well known , they will not be described in more detail herein . generally speaking , the operation of the sonic thrust elements 5 of fig1 and 3 can be more completely understood on the basis of an analogy to the force imparted to an airplane wing moving with subsonic speed through the air ( an ambient fluid ). in this case , the shape of the wing causes the pressure above the wing to be less than the pressure below the wing as the wing moves through the air , in the manner predicted by bernoulli &# 39 ; s law , which in turn causes lift on the wing . in the case of the structures of fig1 and 3 , the airplane wing is replaced by a plate 10 having an acoustic oscillator disposed on one side of the plate 10 . the sound waves generated by the oscillators 20 mimic air flowing at the speed of sound over the surface of the plate 10 . according to bernoulli &# 39 ; s law , the pressure on the surface of the plate 10 over which the sound waves are traveling will be less than the pressure on the opposite side of the plate 10 . based on the time dependent version of bernoulli &# 39 ; s law , a thrust on the plate 10 results . however , in order for this thrust to occur as a result of the sound waves produced by the oscillator 20 , a number of conditions must be satisfied based on the mathematical derivations of the physical principles occurring in this system . to begin with , a number of basic variables used in the equations below are defined as : l is the length of the plate ( 10 ); s is the width of the plate ( 10 ); h is the height of the oscillator ( 20 ), from the bottom of the oscillator near the plate surface ( 12 ) to the top of the oscillator ; ε is the distance from the bottom of the oscillator to the top of the plate ; α is the length of the rotation arm , defined as the distance between the axis of rotation ( 34 ) and the center of mass of ( a ) the rotating arm ( 30 ) plus ( b ) the plate plus ( c ) the oscillator ; and c is the speed of sound in the ambient fluid . first the wattage output of an acoustic oscillator can be expressed as : next , the formula for the optimal thrust ( t ) on a flat plate due to an acoustic source acting as a catalyst , such as that illustrated in fig1 , can be expressed as : f is the frequency of the sound waves created by the oscillator in hertz ; ε is the distance from the bottom of the oscillator to the top of the plate ; however , for the system of fig1 to operate , the thrust on the plate 10 must point in one direction only , that is , from the lower side 14 of the plate 10 to the upper side 12 of the plate 10 as illustrated in fig1 . to meet this condition , the second part of the expression on the right side of eq . ( 2 ) must be able to be ignored ( i . e ., must be much less than the first part ), which occurs when : a 32 ⁢ π ⁢ s 3 2 ⁢ hl 1 2 ⁢ ɛ 2 ⁢ cm 2 & gt ;& gt ; ⁢ f eq . ⁢ ( 3 ) wherein & gt ;& gt ; means at least a magnitude of 10 times greater than . & lt ; cos 2 ⁢ 2 ⁢ π ⁢ ⁢ ft & gt ;= 1 2 eq . ⁢ ( 4 ) wherein & lt ; quantity & gt ; means the average value of the quantity over one cycle and setting the sine term in the second part of the expression on the right side of eq . ( 2 ) equal to 1 . now , at optimal thrust conditions , the fluid pressure on the oscillator side of the plate is near a vacuum , and so , at this condition , the thrust t on the plate is : wherein : t is the thrust on the plate ; p is the ambient fluid pressure on the non - oscillator side of the plate ; l is the length of the plate ; and s is the width of the plate . substituting eq . ( 4 ) into eq . ( 2 ) assuming that the constraint of eq . ( 3 ) is satisfied gives : t = π ⁢ ⁢ δ ⁢ ⁢ a 2 2 ⁢ ⁢ ɛ 2 eq . ⁢ ( 6 ) and equating the different expressions for the thrust t from eqs . ( 6 ) and ( 5 ) gives : t = π ⁢ ⁢ δ ⁢ ⁢ a 2 2 ⁢ ⁢ ɛ 2 = pls eq . ⁢ ( 7 ) expressing the right most equality of eq . ( 7 ) as a function of ε ( the distance from the bottom of the oscillator to the top surface of the plate ) gives : ɛ = π / 2 ⁢ δ 1 2 ⁢ a p 1 2 ⁢ l 1 2 ⁢ s 1 2 eq . ⁢ ( 8 ) now , the torque g produced by a single plate in a rotor system such as that of fig3 at the optimal thrust conditions is expressed as : g = pls ⁢ ⁢ α = π ⁢ ⁢ δ ⁢ ⁢ a 2 ⁢ α 2 ⁢ ⁢ ɛ 2 eq . ⁢ ( 9 ) from the discussion above , eqs . ( 3 ) and ( 8 ) are constraints that must be satisfied when operating the system , wherein eq . ( 3 ) guarantees that the thrust on the plate is always directed from the side of the plate opposite the acoustic oscillator towards the side of the plate with the acoustic oscillator and eq . ( 8 ) is a condition for optimal thrust . of course , there is a physical limit to how close the oscillator 20 can be placed to the side 12 of the plate 10 , and thus there is a physical limit to how small ε can be made . a reasonable choice for minimal possible value of ε is believed to be about 3 × 10 − 6 cm ( i . e ., 300 angstroms ) as films of plastics such as collodion can be manufactured at this thickness to be used as windows for low pressure gas retention . substituting this value for ε into eq . ( 8 ) gives : next , in order to justify neglecting the viscosity terms in the navier - stokes equations for the ambient fluid , the following constraint is also determined : substituting the ideal gas law ( p = ρrt emp ) into eq . ( 8 ) gives : eq . ( 12 ) relates the optimal thrust to the temperature of the gas ( ambient fluid ). as can be seen , as the density of the gas varies , δ / ρ remains constant , meaning that there is a direct dependence of ε on the temperature t emp and thus that the energy which produces the thrust in this system comes from the heat in the ambient fluid . f & gt ;& gt ; c π ⁢ ⁢ ls eq . ⁢ ( 13 ) this constraint assures that the wavelength of the sound waves are small compared to the dimensions of the plate , so that the sound waves behave like particles traveling near the speed of sound ( thereby justifying the airplane wing analogy ). now , it is possible to describe the thrust on the plate in terms of the wattage output of the oscillator as : t = 581 . 7 ⁢ ⁢ ω 2 3 ⁢ δ 1 3 ɛ 2 ⁢ s 2 3 ⁢ h 2 3 ⁢ g 2 3 ⁢ cm 16 3 s 2 eq . ⁢ ( 14 ) thus , expressed in terms of the wattage output of the oscillator from eq . ( 14 ), the constraints which must be satisfied to obtain optimal thrust on the plate using sound waves are : this constraint is derived by solving the right most equality of eq . ( 1 ) for a and substituting this expression of a into eq . ( 3 ). this constraint is derived by solving the right most equality of eq . ( 1 ) for a and substituting this expression of a into eq . ( 8 ). this constraint is determined by plugging the ε value of c2 into c3 . now , assuming that the physical parameters ( l , s , h , ε , f , etc .) can be chosen such that these conditions ( c1 - c6 ) can be met , the rotational torque g that will be produced by a single plate element ( i . e ., a single sonic thrust element 5 of fig1 ) attached to an arm is : this equation is derived by solving the right most equality of eq . ( 1 ) for a and substituting this expression of a into eq . ( 9 ). from eq . ( 15 ), the power output ( po ) of the rotating plate system with a single plate or thrust element is : r ps is the number of revolutions of the arm per second ; and # r m is the number of revolutions of the arm in one minute such that r ps =# r m / 60 s . an explicit example of the parameters of the system described above is provided below illustrating that all of the constraints ( c1 - c6 ) can be simultaneously satisfied . in this example , the ambient fluid is taken to be air at 69 deg f . at standard atmospheric pressure . as such , and as is known for this condition : ρ = 1 . 1781 g / cm 2 - s 2 ( the weight density of ambient air ). δ = 1 . 2013 × 10 − 3 g / cm 3 ( the mass density of ambient air ). the dimensions of the plate and the oscillating diaphragm in this example are taken to be : for this example , it will be assumed that the acoustic oscillator is ¼ percent efficient , which is a reasonable assumption , and that the input wattage to the oscillator is 100 watts , which is reasonably attainable with common acoustic speakers . substituting these values into the constraints ( c1 - c6 ) and solving for these equations provides the following expressions . thus , all of the constraints defined by c1 - c6 are satisfied , and the system manufactured and operated with these conditions will therefore operate as described . of course , many other choices of the variables l , s , h , α , and f will work as well , and the operation of the system described herein is certainly not limited to the specific computational example described herein . the described system does not violate the principles of the conversation of energy , and the underlying operation of the system instead , is consistent with the principle of conservation of energy as the energy comes from the heat in the ambient fluid . generally speaking , the sonic thrust element described herein produces a low pressure region on the side of the plate where the oscillator is located while keeping standard atmospheric pressure on the other side of the plate . by restricting the wavelength of the sound waves to be small compared to the dimensions of the plate , the sound waves behave like particles moving at nearly the speed of sound . the analogy with the flow of air across an airplane wing is thus very strong and bernoulli &# 39 ; s law in fact predicts a thrust that is close to that of standard atmospheric pressure against a vacuum the pressure differences are directly related to temperature differences , and hence to energy differences . stated another way , bernoulli &# 39 ; s law , which predicts the pressure difference on the opposite sides of the plate , combined with the ideal gas law , which predicts a temperature change with pressure change , means that the heat energy in the air is converted into the kinetic energy in the moving plate and lever arm device . thus , the sound waves are not converted into to kinetic energy directly , but serve as a catalyst for converting heat energy in the ambient fluid ( e . g ., air ) into kinetic energy . it is possible to modify the sonic thrust element 5 of fig1 to reduce or eliminate the need to account for the finite distance ε between the bottom of the oscillator 20 and the top of the plate 10 in the equations above . in particular , the oscillator 20 can be disposed partially down within the plate 10 to assure sound waves emanate from the oscillator 20 at the same level as the top surface 12 of the flat plate 10 , so that there is no distance between the “ bottom of the oscillator ” and the top of the flat plate 10 . fig4 illustrates one example of such a configuration . here , the plate 10 is illustrated as including a top portion 10 a and a bottom portion 10 b connected by side portions 10 c forming a hollow section 102 between the top and bottom portions 10 a and 10 b of the plate 10 . the oscillator 20 extends from above the top portion 10 a of the plate 10 down into the hollow section 102 of the plate 10 through a hole or slit 104 such that the bottom of the oscillator 20 is at the same level as or below the top surface 12 of the top portion 10 a of the plate 10 . a control mechanism 106 is illustrated diagrammatically in fig4 as being attached to the oscillator 20 to operate the oscillator 20 to produce sound waves of , for example , a constant frequency as defined by the constraints described herein . the mechanism 106 may be electrical or mechanical in nature using any standard oscillator technology . moreover , if desired , the control mechanism 106 may be at least partially disposed within the hollow section 102 of the plate 10 . using the sonic thrust element illustrated in fig4 eliminates the need for eq . ( 12 ) and the constraints ( c2 ) ( c3 ) and ( c4 ) given above for the sonic thrust element 5 of fig1 . this configuration is thus left with a smaller set of constraints given as : 5 . 833 × 10 - 4 ⁢ pl 1 2 δ 2 3 ⁢ s 1 6 ⁢ h 2 3 ⁢ ω 1 3 ⁢ s g 1 3 ⁢ cm 2 3 & gt ;& gt ; f ( c ⁢ ⁢ 1 ′ ) 3 . 80 × 10 - 2 ⁢ δ ⁢ ⁢ c 3 μ ⁢ ⁢ h & gt ;& gt ; ⁢ f 2 ( c ⁢ ⁢ 2 ′ ) f & gt ;& gt ; 0 . 564 ⁢ ⁢ c l 1 2 ⁢ s 1 2 ( c ⁢ ⁢ 3 ′ ) as before , for a single arm rotational device using the thrust element of fig3 : again , if the ambient fluid is taken to be air at 69 deg f . at standard atmospheric pressure , then : ρ = 1 . 1781 g / cm 2 - s 2 ( the weight density of ambient air ). δ = 1 . 2013 × 10 − 3 g / cm 3 ( the mass density of ambient air ). plugging these values into the constraints ( c1 ′), ( c2 ′) and ( c3 ′) gives the specific constraints : a number of examples using this configuration will now be provided , it being understood that other example configuration parameters can be used as well or instead . 5 . 229 × 10 4 s & gt ;& gt ; f 9 . 249 × 10 11 s 2 & gt ;& gt ; f ⁢ 2 f & gt ;& gt ; 1 . 870 × 10 2 s and these constraints may be consistently satisfied for f = 2 × 10 3 hertz . 2 . 253 × 10 5 s & gt ;& gt ; f 9 . 249 × 10 12 s 2 & gt ;& gt ; f ⁢ 2 f & gt ;& gt ; 1 . 870 × 10 3 s and these constraints may be consistently satisfied for f = 2 × 10 4 hertz . 1 . 169 × 10 6 s & gt ;& gt ; f 1 . 850 × 10 13 s 2 & gt ;& gt ; f ⁢ 2 f & gt ;& gt ; 8 . 364 × 10 3 s and these constraints may be consistently satisfied for f = 10 5 hertz . while the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples , which are intended to be illustrative only and not to be limiting of the invention , it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes , additions or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
with attention to fig1 a box type game call 2 is shown , such as used to call turkeys . the call 2 is constructed of a handheld box or base piece 4 and a mating paddle or striker piece 6 . the striker piece 6 is interchangeably and pivotally supported to the box piece 4 at a pivot post 8 . the striker piece 6 includes a keyway 10 having an aperture or bore 12 that is coupled to an adjoining countersunk bore 14 via a channel way or slot 16 . the striker 6 is secured to the box piece 4 by mounting the pivot appendage or post 8 ( e . g . screw fastener ) through the bore 12 . the pivot post 8 is manipulated along the channel or passage way 16 to the bore 14 . a flanged or conical head 18 of the post 8 mounts and is captured in a mating recessed tapered portion 20 of the bore 14 . the keyway 10 permits the selective attachment and detachment of the striker 6 from the box piece 4 as well as a variety of other strikers 6 having preferred characteristics and discussed below . a spring 22 and washer 24 resiliently bias the striker piece 6 to the post 8 . the striker piece 6 is resiliently biased to capture the fastener head 18 to the recess 20 . the striker 6 can be pivoted to engage and vibrate a sound board surface 26 of the box piece 4 . the sound board surface 26 typically comprises a peripheral edge of a longitudinal wall of the box piece 4 . the upward force of the spring 22 against the washer 24 and striker 6 is sufficient to prevent release of the striker 6 during normal sound producing manipulations of the striker 6 . during normal use , the cooperating surfaces of the striker 6 and box piece 4 are coated with a chalk to produce a rasping sound . fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c show several striker pieces 30 , 32 and 34 that exhibit different longitudinal geometric configurations . fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c show several other striker pieces 35 , 36 and 38 that exhibit different end profiles . that is the curvature of the lower surfaces 40 , 42 and 44 that interact with the sound board surface 26 of the box piece 4 exhibit different contoured shapes . selective variations in shape at the lateral sides of a striker 6 and contour of the lower sound surface produce different sounds when the strikers 30 - 38 are manipulated over the chalked sound board 26 of the box piece 4 . it is to be appreciated the different longitudinal and end profile shapes of the striker of 2 a , 2 b and 2 c and fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c can be adapted into a variety of different strikers to produce a wide variety of sounds . constructing the strikers 30 - 38 from different materials and / or coating the surfaces 40 , 42 and 44 can also affect the sounds produced . most significantly the strikers 30 - 38 can be adapted in modular fashion to a single box piece 4 . the box piece 4 presently supports a striker pivot post 8 that is fashioned from a threaded fastener . the box piece 4 is constructed of wood and provides a bottom wall 40 . relatively thick end walls 42 and 44 and relatively thin longitudinal side walls 46 and 48 project from the bottom wall 40 and circumscribe a sound chamber or cavity 47 . longitudinal ribs or ridges 49 extend along the concave outer side walls 46 and 48 of the box piece 4 to facilitate gripping . one or both of the upper exposed edges 50 and 52 of the longitudinal sidewalls 46 and 48 can be shaped and / or tapered to define the sound board surface 26 and interact with the lower surface ( e . g . 40 - 42 ) of the striker 6 to vibrate and produce sound that imitates the vocalizations of a turkey . the use of different woods and materials at the sidewalls 46 and 48 and contoured lower surfaces 40 , 42 and 44 of the several strikers discussed herein produce different sounds when combined with the single box piece 4 . the mounting location and alignment of the striker pivot post 8 to the box piece 4 and the keyway 10 at any striker 6 can be adjusted as desired . correspondingly , the location of the keyway 10 and / or multiple keyways 10 can be included at a striker 6 . fig2 a and 2b show two versions of keyways 10 in dashed that can be adapted to facilitate multiple pivot angles with a single striker 6 . such variations cause the striker 6 to engage the sound producing edges 50 and 52 of the box piece 4 at different angular orientations through each stroke to create different sounds , inflections and cadences . although a spring 22 and washer 24 are used to bias the striker 6 , a variety of different resilient materials , for example elastomers of suitable durometers and density might be used ( e . g . a tubular rubber or nylon bushing ). the striker 6 and / or box edges 50 and 52 are typically coated with a chalk to enhance friction and induce wall vibration . alternatively , the striker 6 and / or box edges 50 and 52 can be treated or covered with materials that enhance friction . fig2 a depicts in dashed line the striker 30 covered with a waterproof material 54 that protects the striker 30 against moisture yet induces vibration in high humidity and wet conditions . the waterproofing material 54 can be wrapped , laminated or coated to the striker 30 to enhance friction and provide waterproofing . different materials ranging from wood to plastic to graphite to polycarbonates to glass type composites and laminates can be judiciously utilized during the construction of any striker 6 and / or box piece 4 to produce a variety of sounds . the subject invention advantageously permits field interchanging the striker pieces 6 ( i . e . without removing the pivot post 8 ) in an efficacious manner . the ability to readily change the striker piece 6 enhances a hunter &# 39 ; s ability to produce different sounds with a single box piece 4 to entice a turkey into shooting range . damaged call pieces can also be readily changed or replaced to extend the life of a call . in lieu of using a keyway 10 at a striker piece 6 , fig4 and 4a and 5 and 5 a depict alternative resilient retainers 62 and 64 that interchangeably secure a striker 6 to a suitable box piece 4 . the retainer 62 shown in cross section at fig5 and in top plan view at fig5 a depicts a deformable , tubular bushing 70 having flanged end pieces 72 and 74 that radiate from opposite ends of an intermediate tubular sleeve piece 76 . upon deforming the end flange 74 and press fitting the sleeve 76 through an aperture at the striker 6 , the deformed flange piece 72 re - expands to secure the bushing 62 to the striker 6 . appendages 78 ( e . g . an annular rib or flexible projections ) extend into a bore 80 of the tubular sleeve piece 70 and similarly are constructed to deform upon passage of the striker pivot post head 18 past the appendages 78 . once the striker head 18 is depressed past the appendages 78 , the appendages 78 re - expand to restrain the striker 6 to the box piece 4 with the spring 22 and washer 24 biasing the head 18 against the appendages 78 and securing the striker 6 to the box 4 . the bushing material is selected and the appendages 78 are constructed to permit mounting and removal of the striker 6 as desired without removing the pivot post 8 . the retainer 64 shown at fig5 and 5a provides a multi - piece bushing assembly 80 . a body or sleeve piece 82 provides end flanges 84 and 86 that radiate from the intermediate , tubular sleeve piece 82 . a groove or shaped surface 88 at an exposed portion of the upper flange 86 mates with a slide mounted clip or collar piece 90 . a c - shaped end collar 92 partially circumscribes and captures the striker 6 to the pivot post 8 . the spring 22 and washer 24 bias the striker 6 as before . the striker 6 is readily removed by merely sliding the collar or clip piece 90 to the left as shown in dashed line to release the end collar 92 from the head 18 . the striker 6 can then be released from the box piece 4 and another striker can be mounted . while the invention has been described with respect to alternative constructions and assemblies and several considered improvements and modifications , still other constructions of the invention can be developed . the scope of the invention should therefore be construed broadly within the spirit and scope of the following claims .	0
referring to the drawing , fig1 illustrates a conventional 35 mm camera case 10 having a tubular interchangeable lens housing 12 supporting a conventional lens 16 . a conventional lens cap 18 is illustrated in fig2 mounted on the lens housing to protect the camera lens . a section of a velcro fabric loop fastener 20 is attached by any suitable means , such as by an adhesive , to cap 18 . a plastic identification panel 22 has a slot 24 , as illustrated in fig3 . one side of identification panel 22 has indicia 26 indicating useful information , such as the owner of the camera . the information side of the panel is coated with or constructed of a material that permits the information to be written on the surface of the panel , such as the plastic or paper laminate used on common credit cards . the information can also be applied by other means such as an adhesive label or within a laminated structure . a section of a complementary fabric fastener 28 , adapted to mate with fastener 20 , is attached to the identification panel . a strap 30 of a plastic material , having buckle means 32 , is looped through slot 24 . a conventional neck strap 34 is connected by a snap 36 to an eyelet 38 mounted on the camera case housing . strap 32 has an adjustment buckle 40 . strap 30 is looped through belt adjustment buckle 40 . it can also be looped around the camera neck strap or through one of the many other buckles and clips common to modern camera accessories . thus the identification panel is removably connected to the neck strap in a position remote from the camera lens . as illustrated in fig1 the lens cap is mounted on the identification panel by interengaging the two velcro fabric fasteners so that the lens cap does not interfere with the operation of the camera and is also remotely mounted from the camera lens . further , the identification panel can be used for several different cameras simply by disconnecting strap 30 from strap 34 and mounting the panel on another accessory . another lens cap , for a different lens , can be mounted on identification panel 22 . strap 30 can also be connected to another suitable location either on strap 34 , or the camera housing , or to other temporary mounting positions . one important feature of the invention is that the lens cap holder can easily be attached or removed from one camera location or camera apparatus to another . a rigid releasable fastener , such as a metal spring clip can be substituted for strap 30 and buckle 32 . another important feature of the lens cap holder is that it can be used with any number of lens caps . other lens caps can also be equipped with a complementary strip of hook or loop fastener so that they can be secured to the lens cap holder . in summary , this invention allows a lens cap to be secured in a location that does not interfere with the operation of a camera . many modern cameras are equipped with interchangeable lenses and this invention allows lens caps from other lenses to be secured . further , the identification and holding panel can be used for several cameras simply by disconnecting strap 30 from buckle 40 and remounting the panel on another camera apparatus . the identification and holding panel can also be mounted in any suitable location on a camera strap or camera assembly as preferred by the photographer .	6
a perspective view of a hockey goal in fig1 clearly shows a common configuration of structural members that are assembled to form a frame to which a net 1 is attached . the frame of the goal net structure comprises a plurality of frame members shown as steel tube pieces suitably formed to provide a required shape . in the figures , the frame members are made from standard steel tubing and comprise a first vertical support member 2 and a second vertical support member 3 which are spaced apart and are joined transversely at their upper ends by a transverse top member 4 . the combination of these three tubes defines the entrance to the goal . the frame of the goal structure is given depth by means of a first curved top member 5 that is joined to a like second curved top member 6 . the free ends of both members 5 and 6 are connected to the upper ends of support members 2 and 3 respectively and extend rearwardly from the frame entrance . in addition , there is provided a first curved base member 7 and a second curved base member 8 which are joined together in like manner . the members 7 and 8 have free ends that are joined to a first anchor member 9 and a second anchor member 10 , respectively , and extend rearwardly from the entrance of the frame . in this position , members 7 and 8 also act to support and stabilize the frame when it is placed on a flat surface such as the ice 20 surface of a hockey rink . the lower ends of the vertical support members 2 and 3 are also joined to the anchor members 9 and 10 , respectively , to provide a unitary frame structure . the frame in the figures is given a resilient quality by means of a resilient joining member shown in the figures , and particularly in fig4 and 5 , as a coil spring connector 11 . a connector 11 is used between each pair of corresponding frame member ends that are to be flexibly joined . to join the ends , the end portions of the steel tube pieces are each threaded internally and a helical spring connector 11 is screwed therein to provide a resilient connection therebetween . as an alternative , the connector 11 may be adapted to threadably engage the outer wall of a suitably threaded tube end . the spring connector 11 is shown in greater detail in fig4 and 5 . it may be seen therein that the connector 11 is formed as a unitary coil spring having two diameters 12 and 13 . the diameter 12 is smaller than diameter 13 and is sized to fit the internal threads in the end portions of the frame members whereas the larger diameter 13 is of a size substantially the same as the outside diameter of the frame members to provide a substantially smooth and continuous joint at each junction point . however , if the connector 11 is adapted to threadably engage the outer wall of a suitably threaded tube end then the internal diameter of the diameter 12 portion is sized to fit the external threads of the threaded tube end . in order to anchor the frame solidly and in a resilient manner , the spring connectors 11 may be used to join the anchor members 9 and 10 to a pair of corresponding anchors 14 and 15 which may be set in the supporting surface for the frame . in the case of a hockey rink , such anchors could be set into the ice 20 . thus , in the event that the goal of the present invention receives an impact , the frame members may be laterally displaced in a resilient manner at each connector 11 , returning to their original respective positions when the impact force is removed . in this way , the probability of injury to a player is reduced as a result of the impact force being absorbed by the resilient movement in a shear direction of one or more connectors 11 . although the foregoing description has been made with particular reference to a hockey goal , it should be understood that the spirit and scope of the present invention is not restricted to hockey goals per se but includes games goals generally in which a resilient and easily assembled frame structure is required . thus , the invention may find application in other game goals structures such as baseball back stops . equal application may also be found in games requiring a goal frame not having a net portion such as goal frames used in football and soccer .	0
embodiments of the present invention provide an electrotherapeutic system of employing electromagnetic field energies to a human or animal for the purpose of inducing growth arrest and cell death in cancer cells and cancerous tumors and / or foreign pathogens that reside in the body of animals or humans . the electromagnetic fields can be synthesized by any type of the many varieties of signal generators , signal amplifiers , and geometrically configured electromagnetic coil designs . for example , with reference to fig1 - 3 , these diagrams represent three different types of electromagnetic coil configurations that can be selected and used to apply the signal by means of electromagnetic field for treating cancer and / or foreign pathogens . the exemplary embodiment depicted in fig1 represents the solenoid design type that utilizes wire windings of various circular dimensions to carry electric current and induce electromagnetic fields . the induced electric fields are strongest at the wires and inside the perimeters of the coil boundaries where the targeted cancer tissue and / or foreign pathogens can be located during patient treatment . fig2 depicts another exemplary embodiment where a figure eight design type is used whereas the wire windings are configured in the shape of the number eight and these wire windings carry electrical current used to induce electromagnetic fields . the induced electric fields are typically the strongest perpendicular to the center area of the figure eight coil at a point where the windings cross one another and thus it is this area that would be most effective during treatment of a cancerous tumor and / or foreign pathogen in a patient . fig3 depicts another exemplary embodiment where a solid core type design is used and is electrically energized via wire wrappings around a solid iron , ferrite , or mixed alloy core . the current induces a magnetic field in the iron core and the magnetic field is transmitted across the open gap . the induced electric field is substantially oriented at a right angle to the magnetic field and the targeted cancer cells , cancerous tumor tissues and / or foreign pathogens are placed such that they are exposed to these fields . the coil depicted in fig3 may be placed such that the targeted area of interest on the patient would fall adjacent or within the gap in the core . fig4 - 6 depict examples of various types of portable coil apparatuses and systems that can be used during treatment application for the delivery of an electromagnetic field to the patient . in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention , the coil apparatuses may be secured to the patient via a non - conductive means , such as by using fabric or other non - conductive materials . alternatively , or in addition , the coils may be placed on the patient and held in place by gravity . as another alternative , the coils may be secured to the patient with a preconfigured device that is capable of conducting electricity and generating its own electromagnetic field , which can be used to supplement or direct the electromagnetic field generated by the primary coil apparatus . as an alternative to using portable coils , or in addition to using such coils , embodiments of the present invention also contemplate the use of a stationary coil or set of coils that can be configured to have a patient moved into and about such coils . such exemplary embodiments are depicted in fig7 - 10 where it is shown that the stationary table design types of coil assemblies can be used for application of electromagnetic energy to a patient in the clinical setting , where the patient is resting on the table during the electromagnetic field delivery . more particularly , embodiments of the present invention may be adapted to employ a clam - shell coil configuration ( fig7 ), a full coil configuration ( fig8 ), one or two opposing figure eight coils ( fig9 ), and / or a c - shaped coil ( fig1 ). one or more of such exemplary electromagnetic energy delivery systems may be described in further detail in one or more of the following patent documents , each of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety : u . s . pat . no . 7 , 160 , 241 ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 060 , 293 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 723 , 001 ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 998 , 532 ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 454 , 882 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 014 , 699 ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 674 , 482 ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 208 , 892 ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 856 , 839 ; us 2001 / 0021868 . the electromagnetic energy field generated by a coil and applied to a patient in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention is composed of current and voltage ( i . e ., is generated in a coil or similar conductor at a particular voltage and current level ) to induce a particular magnetic field . the electromagnetic field may be synthesized by one or multiple electrically energized electromagnetic coils that are connected via terminals and cables to an electric signal source . that is to say , a single coil or multiple coils are driven by a signal source from a suitable or commercially available signal generator with an output current that is amplified by a suitable or commercially available amplifier . the amplified signal is then delivered to a coil which can be made of various electric conducting materials ( e . g ., steel , copper , aluminum , gold , silver , etc . ), and that may be configured the same , similar , or different from the coils referred to fig1 - 3 , and whereby the current traveling through the coil material produces a magnetic field . the magnetic field is adapted to induce an electric field , thus the electromagnetic field is produced . during treatment applications on a patient , and with a coil assembly as described above positioned on , about , or around the tissue area of choice , the electromagnetic field then inductively couples to the dielectric pathways of the targeted cancer cell , cancerous tissue and / or foreign pathogen of interest , thereby inducing electrical potential in the targeted cancer cell , cancerous tissue , and / or foreign pathogen and inducing the desired biophysical event . to optimize the uniformity of the electromagnetic field lines and induced voltage in the targeted cancer cells , cancerous tumor tissues , and / or cell / tissue sites of foreign pathogens it is recommended that the size of the coil that is used for treatment of the above be determined with consideration to the anatomical location and size of the treatment site being addressed . situations can arise where impedance miss - match between the coil and tissues can occur as a result of coil placement on , about or around the body . the coil / tissue inductive coupling event can be optimized to deliver the most appropriate and required electromagnetic energy via a process of impedance - matching . impedance - matching is made possible with the use of an impedance - matching transformer and / or impedance matching capacitor that is typically located between the output of the amplifier and input of the coil structure . of course , embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the use of an impedance - matching transformed . instead , it should be appreciated that one or more capacitors can be used alone or in combination with one or more transformers to produce and apply the desired output signal . one of the embodiments of this invention includes a signal comprising modulated - bursts of a sine wave ( or similar type of wave ), and this electromagnetic energy is delivered to the area of cancer and / or foreign pathogen growth at a pre - determined amplitude range . the amplitude of the electromagnetic wave is set by controlling the current output from the current source to the amplifier . in the context of cancer , the electromagnetic signal parameters found to be effective in reducing cancer cell proliferation and inducing cancer cell apoptosis are within a particular range . the biology and physiology of cancer and that of foreign pathogens are diverse , such that cancer cells , cancerous tumors and foreign pathogens demonstrate a wide heterogeneous biologic and physiologic nature . in addition , it is recognized scientifically that widespread histological diversities exist among the various anatomical regions in the body where cancer cells and / or foreign pathogens may reside . therefore , the electromagnetic field signal parameters that can be selected to optimally treat a cancer cell , cancerous tissue and / or one or more foreign pathogens , but not harm normal cells include , but are not limited to , waveform , peak field strength , carrier frequency , duty cycle , burst duration time , rise and / or fall times , and burst repetition rate . the particular combination of values for each parameter may vary across a certain range depending upon the histologic diversities of various anatomical treatment sites , as well as diversities of certain biologic factors . these biologic factors include , but are not limited to , specific cancer cell or foreign pathogen genotype , phenotype , cell sensitivity to environment , and variables within the biologic , physiologic , biophysical and biochemical properties of the specific cancer cells , cancerous tissues and / or foreign pathogens being treated . the absorption of the signal by the biologic entity being treated occurs over a range of frequencies so that it is expected there will be a range for frequencies corresponding to the line width of the absorption spectra of the biologic processes within that biologic entity being excited or activated by the applied signal . accordingly , the impedance matching transformer and / or capacitor may be employed and may have as an input to its control mechanism one or more sensors connected to the patient that are adapted to measure one or more of the biologic factors of interest . the variation of electromagnetic field signal properties within the electromagnetic field signal parameter range that are necessary to address the above histological and biologic factors includes , but is not limited to , waveform type , carrier frequency , burst duration and width , duty cycle , burst repetition rate , rise and / or fall time , and peak amplitude . these electromagnetic field signal parameters are expected to range over the bandwidth of the response time for the biologic tissue being addressed in order to demonstrate effectiveness in terms of cancer cell growth arrest , induction of cancer cell apoptosis , and / or foreign pathogen growth arrest . the electromagnetic field signal parameters found to be effective for cancer cell growth arrest and apoptosis induction are multiple signal components to include any fourier components within the spectral parameters of the pulsed - modulated bursts of sinusoidal bipolar radio - frequencies described in this invention . as can be appreciated by one skilled in the art , electromagnetic field signal parameters used can be inclusive within the parameters or range of parameters discussed herein for use relative to the treatment of cancer , cancerous tumors and / or foreign pathogens in animals or humans . as one example , and as can be seen in fig1 , about a 100 khz to about 1 ghz bipolar sinusoidal waveform , or preferably a 1 mhz to 100 mhz bipolar sinusoidal waveform , or more preferably about a 27 mhz bipolar sinusoidal waveform ( where the frequency of the waveform is maintained low enough to avoid excessive tissue heating ), when properly gaited using a signal control unit , and when delivered to the tissue site of interest as a pulse modulated burst width of less than 3 microseconds and more specifically between about 0 . 2 microseconds and about 20 microseconds , or preferably between about 1 microsecond and about 10 microseconds , or more preferably about 2 microseconds duration , ( 54 cycles / burst ) and at a burst repetition rate of between about 100 and 300 khz , or preferably between about 150 khz and 250 khz , or more preferably about 200 khz has demonstrated successful biological effectiveness in the context of arresting cancer cell growth and proliferation , and inducing cancer cell apoptosis in cancerous tumors of living mice . this particular waveform may be applied with any of the coil devices or system described herein . for instance , any suitable portable or stationary electromagnetic coil device or electric field producing device thereof , capable of delivering the electromagnetic energy signal to the cancerous tumor site , and / or site of foreign pathogen growth and within the guidelines , parameters , and specifications as described in this invention , can be employed . as another example , and as can be seen in fig1 , about a 100 khz to about 1 ghz bipolar sinusoidal waveform , or preferably a 1 mhz to 100 mhz bipolar sinusoidal waveform , or more preferably about a 27 mhz bipolar sinusoidal waveform that is properly gaited by using a signal control unit , and when delivered to the tissue site of interest as a pulse modulated burst width of between about 0 . 015 milliseconds and about 150 milliseconds , or preferably between about 0 . 15 milliseconds and about 15 milliseconds , or more preferably about 1 . 5 milliseconds duration , ( 15 , 000 cycles / burst ), and a burst repetition rate of between about 0 . 15 hz and about 1 . 5 khz , or preferably between about 0 . 5 hz and about 20 hz , or more preferably about 15 hz has demonstrated successful biologic effectiveness in the context of cancer cell growth arrest and apoptosis induction in cancerous tumors of living mice . this particular waveform may be applied with any of the coil devices or system described herein . for instance , any suitable portable or stationary electromagnetic coil device or electric field producing device thereof , capable of delivering the electromagnetic energy signal to the cancerous tumor site and / or site of foreign pathogen growth , and within the guidelines , parameters , and specifications as described in this invention , can be employed . the solid ferrite type of coil or other metal alloy types may be used to optimize certain frequencies used in this invention , thereby helping to reduce the power required to drive this coil . the electromagnetic field peak amplitude levels for both of the pulse - modulated radio - frequency burst signals described above that demonstrate decreased cancer cell growth , proliferation , and apoptosis , when applied to cancer cells or tumors during the time points and vulnerable cell cycle periods as described below , are in a range of about 1 to 300 v / cm , or peak amplitudes that are less than that which causes significant or sustained damage to ( most ) normal cells or tissues . more specifically , embodiments of the present invention contemplate that some damage may occur to some normal cells around a targeted region of cancer cells , but such damage should be limited in terms of the size and scope ( e . g ., if a tumor is being treated in a liver or similar internal organ , then some healthy tissues in the internal organ and surrounding areas may be damaged , but the extent of such damage should be limited by properly controlling the characteristics of the electromagnetic field ). the current density of these fields would be in the range of several amps per meter squared , and this value is dependent on the tissue impedance being targeted and exposed during patient treatment . in the context of the cancerous tumor and / or foreign pathogen environment the growth and division regulatory cell cycles of cancer cells , cancerous tumor tissue and of foreign pathogens typically are not collectively synchronized with one another . in terms of cell sensitivity to the electromagnetic field energies , many of the diverse cancer cell genotypes and or phenotypes that make up the tumor proper have individual critical points in their growth and division cell cycles as a function of biological timing and molecular vulnerability . it is therefore clarified that in order to attain success in arresting cancer cell growth and / or inducing cancer cell or cancerous tumor cell apoptosis , the electromagnetic field energies described herein and used in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention should be presented and / or delivered to any tumor cell of therapeutic treatment interest during at least one or more critical cell cycle biological time points or molecular vulnerability points or relevantly sensitive points within that given tumor cell . this same principle should be applied when treating foreign pathogens with electromagnetic energies . the final effect from the electromagnetic field energies delivered to the area of cancer is inhibition of the cancer cells growth cycle , decreased cancer cell growth rate , and cancer cell apoptosis . it has been determined that the outcomes of applying electromagnetic field signals to cancer growth in tumors residing in living mice that the above electromagnetic signal parameters are effective in retarding cancer cell growth and inducing cancer cell apoptosis . while embodiments of the present invention have been described in connection with the treatment of cancer , it is well recognized that foreign pathogens to include virus , bacteria , fungus and parasites represent a wide diversity in their biologic and physiologic characteristics , therefore it is expected that the electromagnetic signal parameters found to be effective in the context of cancer cell growth inhibition can differ in terms of demonstrating effectiveness for adversely affecting growth and survival of the above foreign pathogens . that is to say , certain foreign pathogens have evolved as such with extraordinary capabilities to survive and proliferate under what would be considered in a healthy biologic context , as sub - optimal growth conditions . often times these pathogens demonstrate increased tolerances to biologic stressors , which in a biologic context could or would be considered harmful to normal cells and tissues . therefore , it is expected that the electromagnetic signal parameters found to be effective for the treatment of cancer will require adjustment for the treatment each individual foreign pathogen , however , keeping within the electromagnetic signal parameter ranges described in this patent . to insure adequate tumor development the immuno - compromised mouse strain icr - scid was chosen for these experiments . four male mice were injected with a human pancreatic cancer cell line for the purpose of inducing tumor development . ample time was allowed for tumor development in each mouse . two mice were used for electromagnetic field exposure application and two were used as a non - exposed control group . three different coil configurations as shown in fig1 - 3 were individually tested as part of this study . individual coils were applied directly over the tumor site of the mouse in a manner that allowed for inductive coupling of the electromagnetic field signal into the area of the mouse tumor . the two mice were exposed individually throughout all periods of the tumor growth cycle . the electromagnetic signal parameters described in the detail section of this invention were applied for each individual mouse that was exposed . the tumors of all four mice were surgically removed five days after the finish of the last exposure application and preserved in formalin . each individual tumor was then sectioned into three individual areas and the tumor tissues processed and mounted on glass slides for histo - chemical study . the tissues of the tumor samples were stained using tunel staining which is one of the current standards for detection of apoptosis . the slides were read using fluorescence microscopy and six photographs of each tissue section were acquired . the tunel staining was quantified in the following manner . all images were acquired with the same exposure and gain settings . for each field , the total tunel fluorescence per nucleus was quantified . nuclei were defined by thresholding the dapi signal . the threshold image was used as a mask on the tunel image to define nuclear tunel labeling . the masked tunel image was thresholded and the integrated intensity was calculated . nuclei were counted manually in each field using dapi labeling . total apoptotic activity was calculated as nuclear tunel integrated intensity . experiment results demonstrate a substantial increase of up to and above 50 % in the level of apoptotic related cell death in the electromagnetic field exposed mouse group when compared to the unexposed mouse control group when using certain exposure parameters , numerical differences in terms of the level of cell apoptotic activity vary between the two exposed mice on an individual basis , and there is a numerical variation of cell apoptosis measured among individual tissue sections corresponding to anatomical depth within the same tumor . this most likely reflects electromagnetic field differences in terms of field amplitude relative to distance from various sections of the tumor . this experiment was repeated with similar results . another example demonstrated in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure employs one or more of the above - described signals , but introduces an interruption or interruption pattern . specifically , various combinations of the above - described signals have been tested whereby during the treatment process , the signal was interrupted or discontinued for a predetermined or random amount of time . it has been suggested , based on therapeutic strategies related to tissue regeneration , that if cancerous cells are exposed to a particular type of treatment signal for a prolonged amount of time , then some times the cancerous cells may have the ability to adapt to overcome the treatment signal . accordingly , one non - limiting example of the present disclosure utilizes a signal as described above , but the signal is turned on and off for predetermined amounts of time . this interruption of the signal ( e . g ., of the treatment via the signal ) may disrupt the cancerous cell &# 39 ; s ability to adapt to overcome the treatment signal . in some embodiments , the interruption can be introduced on a somewhat regular or periodic basis . in some embodiments , the interruption can be introduced on an irregular or random basis . another example considered in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure may utilize two different signals . each of the signals can be generated and applied as described above , but having at least one of the following parameters different from each other : pulse rate ; pulse duration ; current modulation ; wave type ; peak amplitude ; and frequency . a first of the two signals can be applied at various intervals during an application period and a second of the two signals can be applied at different intervals during the same application period . some times , both the first and second signals can be on . at other times during the application period , both the first and second signals can be off . at still other times during the application period , only one of the first and second signals may be on . as with the single signal of example 2 , it should be appreciated that the intervals during which the first and second signals applied may vary on a periodic , random , or semi - random basis . by using two different signals , the confusion introduced by the variable application of the signals can be increased . accordingly , the cancerous cells may have an even more difficult time adapting to the treatment signals . it should be appreciated that while only two different signals have been described in this particular example , embodiments of the present disclosure are not so limited . specifically , embodiments of the present disclosure may include the variable application of three , four , five , . . . , ten , twenty , or more different signals , where each of the signals has at least one parameter that is different from the others of the signals . while embodiments of the present invention have been described in connection with particular apparatuses , methods , systems , and system components , the invention is not so limited . moreover , one skilled in the art will appreciate that each feature of the present invention described herein may be separately claimable . furthermore , embodiments of the present invention are not necessarily limited to the treatment of cancerous cells , although experimental data has been produced showing positive results when used on such cells . rather , embodiments of the present invention may also be used to target any particular type of cell or foreign pathogen ( whether cancerous or not ) based on its characteristics and to impart a particular reaction from that cell or group of cells having the common characteristic . the reaction imparted may be controlled by intelligently adjusting the parameters of the electromagnetic field applied thereto .	0
the present invention involves heat treating single crystal or directionally solidified articles made from a nickel - based superalloy . a schematic view of a single crystal article 1 made from a nickel - based alloy is shown in fig1 . the article has a body 3 . according to the single crystal structure , no grain boundaries are present . in the case of directionally solidified articles ( fig2 ) there are grain boundaries 35 only along the z - axis 33 . the z - axis is e . g . a radial direction of a turbine blade when in use in a gas turbine . the grain boundaries extend mainly along dotted lines along the z - axis 33 . however , the alloy has a texture formed by mainly two crystal phases 5 , 7 . the first phase 5 is a γ - phase , the second phase is a γ ′- phase , both crystal structures are well known to those skilled in the art . the body 3 has a surface 10 on which a surface coating 11 can be deposited e . g . by a chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) process with a cvd coating apparatus . the surface coating 11 can be an aluminide coating . further shown is a lattice defect 9 , i . e . a dislocation . such lattice defects may be caused from mechanical impact on the surface . the mechanical strength of the alloy is influenced by the homogeneity of the microstructure . therefore , a solution heat treatment is applied to the article which means holding a high temperature for a certain time , e . g . 1 to 5 hours . for an efficient solution heat treatment , the temperature has to be at least the solution temperature of the γ ′- phase 7 . by applying this solution heat treatment , a restoration of the microstructure is established . however , prior art solution heat treatment had as a consequence a significant risk of introducing grain recrystallization . this means that areas , i . e . grains , with different lattice orientations develop . accordingly , grain boundaries are formed which lower the mechanical strength . when a certain depth or amount of recrystallization is exceeded , the article has to be rejected . [ 0057 ] fig3 illustrates this recrystallization . a new grain 15 is developed by growth into the original grain 13 . a high dislocation concentration 9 as shown in fig1 is the source for the recrystallization . as a discovery underlying the invention , the occurrence of recrystallization can be suppressed by the surface coating 11 . the energy for developing new grains and thereby storing energy in the grain boundaries is higher in the bulk as compared to the surface . the coating 11 implements bulk conditions at the surface 10 , thereby increasing the threshold temperature for recrystallization . accordingly , a solution heat treatment without recrystallization can be performed . the surface coating 11 can also be generated by oxidation during a heat treatment in air or in a atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure . the surface coating 11 is generated from the material of a surface rim of the article 1 . a gas turbine blade 21 made from a single crystal nickel - based superalloy is shown in fig4 . the body 23 of the blade 21 is coated with a corrosion protective coating 29 . on the protective coating 29 , a thermal barrier coating 31 is placed . after a certain time period of operation , the blade 23 needs to be refurbished because the coating system is at least partially worn off by oxidation , corrosion and erosion . the thermal barrier coating 31 and / or the protective coating 29 is removed by chemical and / or mechanical stripping , e . g . by grinding . during this procedure of mechanical stripping often a surface damaged surface rim is generated , usually with a depth of 20 μm from the surface . the surface coating 11 is deposited on the remainder of the protective coating 29 , thereby closing the complete surface of the body 23 . subsequently the solution heat treatment is applied , as described above . after the heat treatment , the surface coating 11 , the protective coating 29 and the thermal barrier coating 31 are removed by mechanical stripping and chemical treatment and a new protective coating as well as a new thermal barrier coating are provided . as another possibility , the protective coating 29 and the thermal barrier coating 31 could be first removed , than the surface coating deposited and the solution heat treatment performed . subsequently , a new protective coating as well as a new thermal barrier coating are provided . fig5 to 11 show schematically the steps of restoring the microstructure of a textured article and / or the refurbishing of a textured article . [ 0065 ] fig5 shows the article 1 with the body 3 having a dislocation accumulation 9 . on the body 3 there is e . g . a layer 38 with corrosion products on which the protective layer 29 and thermal barrier coating 30 is laying . in a first step of the inventive method the protective layer 29 , the thermal barrier coating 30 and the corrosion products in the layer 38 are removed ( fig6 ). secondly , on the surface 10 of the body 3 the surface coating 11 is applied by a coating apparatus 42 ( fig7 ). different kinds of coating apparatus or processes can be used . the surface coating 11 can also be applied by oxidising the body 3 at higher temperatures ht ( fig8 ) in an atmosphere with oxygen o 2 . the article with the surface coating 11 according to fig7 is now applied to a solution heat treatment as indicated in fig9 . the thermal stable surface coating 11 is maintained during the hole solution heat treatment . [ 0070 ] fig1 shows the article 1 with his body 3 after the solution head treatment and removal of the surface coating 11 . no grain boundary inside the single crystal or no additional grain boundary inside the directionally solidified article 1 , especially in the surface rim is present . a new protective layer 29 and a new thermal barrier coating 30 can now be applied again on the body 3 of the article 1 ( fig1 ). [ 0072 ] fig1 shows a further application example of the method of the invention . the substrate 3 may have a crack 36 or relatively large regions 34 comprising defective material . however , for the substrate 3 to be reused , it is necessary for the crack 36 or the regions 34 comprising defective material no longer to be present . this is achieved , for example , by soldering up the crack 36 or by removing a region 34 which surrounds the crack 36 . the region 34 is , for example , built up by build - up welding , resulting in a newly built - up region 39 . the surface layer 11 may also extend over these newly built - up regions 39 ( fig1 ) in which new material has been newly added , for example by build - up welding or in which a crack 36 has been filled with solder or weld metal . the solution heat treatment or another heat treatment which will lead to recrystalization is then carried out using a component as shown in fig1 . the surface layer 11 used may also be a ductile layer , for example of a metallic material , such as for example nickel or cobalt , which has been applied , for example , by electroplating or by cold gas spraying . in particular these coating methods do not produce good chemical bonding between the surface layer 11 and the substrate 3 , since the electroplating process takes place at very low temperatures and the cold gas spraying may even be carried out at room temperature . a heat treatment of an electroplated layer or of a layer 11 which has been applied by cold gas spraying can be carried out in order , for example , to increase the cohesion of the layer 11 if necessary . layers applied in this way can easily be removed by blasting with dry ice or using an acid or acid mixtures specifically matched to the element , without the substrate 3 being attacked as a result . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications would be obvious to one skilled in the art intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	2
hereinafter , embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings . [ 0024 ] fig1 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of a main part of a camera including a strobe device having a flyback dc / dc converter according to a first embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 a battery 101 serves as a power supply and includes a resistor 101 a . a capacitor 102 is connected to the battery 101 in parallel . a control circuit 103 including an ic controls a camera sequence such as light - measurement , distance - measurement , lens driving , and film feeding , and a strobe device . a d / a converter 103 c arbitrarily outputs a voltage in response to a setting signal from a microcomputer 103 a . an a / d converter 103 b digitalizes an input voltage . a comparator 103 d detects whether or not a current at a primary winding of a transformer 104 ( described later ) has reached a setting current based on the voltage generated at a resistor 123 . a resistor 103 e pulls up the output of the comparator 103 d . a secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f measures the discharge time of a secondary current . by applying a current to a loop formed by the positive pole of the battery 101 , the primary winding of the transformer 104 , and the negative pole of the battery 101 , energy is accumulated in the core of the transformer 104 so that a back electromotive force is generated due to the energy . a field - effect transistor ( hereinafter referred to as a fet ) 105 drives the current of the primary winding of the transformer 104 . a main capacitor 107 accumulates electrical charge . the anode of a high - voltage rectifier diode 106 is connected to the end of the secondary winding of the transformer 104 and the cathode thereof is connected to the anode of the main capacitor 107 . a resistor 119 is connected between the base and emitter of a transistor 120 , which will be described later . the base of the transistor 120 is connected to the cathode of the main capacitor 107 , and the emitter thereof is connected to the start of the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . accordingly , a current loop for accumulating the back electromotive force generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 in the main capacitor 107 includes the high - voltage rectifier diode 106 . one end of a resistor 121 is connected to the collector of the transistor 120 and the other end thereof is connected to the control circuit 103 . the resistor 123 pulls up the input of the control circuit 103 , to which the resistor 121 is connected , to a power supply vcc . a trigger circuit 108 is also provided . a discharge tube 109 receives a trigger voltage from the trigger circuit 108 and emits light by using the charge accumulated in the main capacitor 107 . a charging voltage dividing circuit 110 divides the voltage accumulated in the main capacitor 107 and detects a charging voltage by using the a / d converter 103 b in the control circuit 103 . a light - measuring device 111 detects subject brightness . a distance - measuring device 112 detects the distance to a subject . a lens drive 113 drives a taking lens based on a measurement result generated by the distance - measuring device 112 so as to focus on the subject . a shutter drive 114 controls exposure based on a measurement result generated by the light - measuring device 111 . a film drive 115 performs auto - loading , advancing , and rewinding of a film . a main switch ( mainsw ) 116 is used to switch the camera to a standby mode . a switch ( sw 1 ) 117 is turned on by a first stroke of a shutter button so that the electrical circuit in the camera is activated and light - measurement and distance - measurement are performed . a switch ( sw 2 ) 118 is turned on by a second stroke of the shutter button so that an activation signal for a photographic sequence performed after the switch sw 1 is turned on is generated . also , in fig1 reference letter a denotes a gate input signal ( fetgate ) of the fet 105 , reference letter b denotes a primary current flowing through the primary winding of the transformer 104 , reference letter c denotes a secondary current flowing through the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , and reference letter d denotes a secondary current detection signal flowing through the line connected to the resistors 121 and 122 and the control circuit 103 . [ 0030 ] fig2 a to 2 c are time charts of a step - up operation . specifically , fig2 a shows the currents and signals a to d when the charging voltage of the main capacitor 107 is about 50 v , fig2 b shows the currents and signals a to d when the charging voltage of the main capacitor 107 is about 150 v , and fig2 c shows the currents and signals a to d when the charging voltage of the main capacitor 107 is about 300 v . next , a step - up operation will be described with reference to fig2 a , in which the charging voltage of the main capacitor 107 is about 50 v . a predetermined oscillation signal is applied from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 through a connection terminal ( a : at time 1 ). at this time , a high - level signal is applied to the control electrode of the fet 105 , and thus a current flows through the loop including the drain and source of the fet 105 , the primary winding of the transformer 104 , and the negative pole of the battery . accordingly , an induced electromotive force is generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . however , the polarity of this current is changed so that the current is blocked by the high - voltage rectifier diode 106 . thus , an excitation current does not flow from the transformer 104 and energy is accumulated in the core of the transformer 104 . the accumulation of energy ( current drive ) continues until the current of the primary winding reaches a predetermined level ( b : at time 2 ). when the current of the primary winding reaches the predetermined level , the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . accordingly , a back electromotive force is generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . the back electromotive force flows as the secondary current through the loop of the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , the resistor 119 , and the transistor 120 ( c : from time 2 to 3 ), and electrical charge is accumulated in the main capacitor 107 . then , the energy in the transformer 104 is emitted , and the secondary current detection signal d , which has been at low - level because of the divided secondary current , is inverted from a low - level to a high - level when the secondary current c stops ( d : at time 3 ). when the secondary current detection signal d is inverted from a low - level to a high - level , the control circuit 103 allows a high - level signal to be generated at the gate of the fet 105 again . also , the fet 105 conducts ( a : at time 3 ) so as to accumulate energy in the transformer 104 . then , the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state due to a low - level signal , the energy accumulated in the transformer 104 is emitted , and the main capacitor 107 is charged . these operations are repeatedly performed . as shown in fig2 a , 2b , and 2 c , the discharge time of the secondary current c ( time 2 to 3 ) is shortened while the voltage at the main capacitor 107 is increased . this charging circuit is generally called a flyback charging circuit . hereinafter , the operation of the circuit shown in fig1 will be described with reference to fig3 to 6 . first , a sequence performed when the main switch 116 is on is described with reference to the flowchart shown in fig3 . in step # 101 , it is determined whether or not the main switch 116 is turned on . if the main switch 116 is on , the process proceeds to step # 102 , where the battery is checked so as to determine whether or not there is enough voltage in the battery to operate the camera , and the result is stored in a ram in the microcomputer 103 a . in step # 103 , it is determined whether or not there is enough voltage in the battery to operate the camera . if there is enough voltage in the battery to operate the camera , the process proceeds to step # 104 . otherwise , the process returns to step # 101 . in step # 104 , the light - measuring device 111 measures light so as to detect subject brightness and a measurement result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . then , in step # 105 , it is determined whether or not strobing is necessary for photography based on the light measurement result , which was stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a in step # 104 . if it is determined that strobing is not necessary and that strobe precharge is not necessary , the sequence is completed . on the other hand , if it is determined that strobing is necessary and that precharge of the strobe is necessary in step # 105 , the process proceeds to step # 106 , where the strobe device is charged in a flash mode ( details of strobe charging will be described later with reference to fig4 ). then , the sequence is completed . next , the operation in the flash mode in step # 106 of fig3 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in fig4 . first , a charge timer is started in step # 301 . then , in step # 302 , a drive signal is output from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 by the circuit operation described above so that charging is started . in step # 303 , the discharge time of the secondary current is detected . the discharge time of the secondary current corresponds to time 2 to 3 in fig2 a to 2 c . the discharge time is measured by the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f . that is , the measurement is started by using a counter when the drive signal of the fet 105 ( fetgate a ) is switched off ( at the falling edge ), and is stopped when the secondary current c has been completely discharged ( when the secondary current detection signal d is switched to a high - level ). the discharge time of the secondary current is measured in order to detect a circuit malfunction . now , a circuit operation performed when a discharge loop , which is formed by the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 , is in an open state will be described with reference to the time chart shown in fig5 . a predetermined oscillation signal is applied from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 through a connection terminal ( a : at time 1 in fig5 ). at this time , a high - level signal is applied to the control electrode of the fet 105 , and thus a current flows through the loop including the drain and source of the fet 105 , the primary winding of the transformer 104 , and the negative pole of the battery . accordingly , an induced electromotive force is generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . however , since the discharge loop is open , an excitation current does not flow from the transformer 104 and energy is accumulated in the core of the transformer 104 . the accumulation of energy ( current drive ) continues until the current of the primary winding reaches a predetermined level ( b : at time 2 ). when the current of the primary winding reaches the predetermined level , the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . at the same time , measurement of the secondary current discharge time is started by the counter of the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f . accordingly , a back electromotive force is generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . if the circuit normally operates , the back electromotive force flows as the secondary current through the loop of the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 ( from time 2 to 3 in fig2 a to 2 c ), and electrical charge is accumulated in the main capacitor 107 . however , when the discharge loop in the secondary side is open , the secondary current c is not generated ( c : at time 2 in fig5 ). therefore , even if the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig5 ) so as to block the current so that the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state , the secondary current detection signal d does not change to a low - level and is kept at a high - level ( d : at time 2 in fig5 ). accordingly , the secondary current discharge time is not detected by the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f , and thus a trouble in the circuit can be detected . next , another example of a trouble in the circuit , that is , a circuit operation performed when the primary or secondary winding of the transformer 104 is shorted , will be described with reference to the time chart shown in fig6 . a predetermined oscillation signal is applied from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 through a connection terminal ( a : at time 1 in fig6 ). at this time , a high - level signal is applied to the control electrode of the fet 105 , and thus a current flows through the loop including the drain and source of the fet 105 , the shorted primary winding of the transformer 104 , and the negative pole of the battery . the primary current is driven until it reaches a predetermined level ( b : at time 2 in fig6 ). at this time , the current of the shorted primary winding rapidly increases to reach the predetermined level . when the primary current reaches the predetermined level , the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig6 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . at this time , a back electromotive force is generated in the secondary winding of the transformer 104 if the circuit normally operates . however , energy is not accumulated in the transformer 104 if the primary winding is shorted . therefore , as in the previous example in which the secondary discharge loop is open , the secondary current detection signal d does not change to a low - level and is kept at a high - level ( d : at time 2 in fig6 ) even if the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig6 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . accordingly , the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f does not measure the discharge time , and thus a trouble in the circuit can be detected . also , when the secondary winding is shorted , the time chart is the same as when the primary winding is shorted , and a trouble in the circuit can be detected . as described above , the discharge time of the secondary current c is detected when the circuit normally operates . on the other hand , the secondary current discharge time is not detected when circuit problems occur , that is , when the discharge loop , which is formed by the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 , is in an open state , or when the primary or secondary winding of the transformer 104 is shorted . the measurement result of the discharge time is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . the result can be detected when a first drive of the primary current is performed . thus , a circuit malfunction can be detected early after charging is started , without waiting for a predetermined time as in the known art . referring back to fig4 in step # 304 , it is determined whether or not the circuit is in an abnormal state based on the detection result of the secondary current discharge time detected in step # 303 . as described above , the circuit is in a normal state if the secondary current discharge time can be detected . thus , in this case , the process proceeds from step # 304 to step # 307 . however , the circuit has a trouble if the secondary current discharge time cannot be detected . in that case , the process proceeds from step # 304 to step # 305 , where charging is stopped , and in step # 306 , a circuit malfunction flag is indicated so as to complete the charging sequence . on the other hand , if it is determined that the circuit is in a normal state in step # 304 , the process proceeds to # 307 , where the charging voltage dividing circuit 110 detects the charging voltage by the a / d converter 103 b in the control circuit 103 , and the detection result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . then , in step # 308 , it is determined whether or not the charging voltage detected in step # 307 is a charge completion voltage . if the charge completion is not detected , the process proceeds to step # 311 , where it is determined whether or not the charge timer , which was started in step # 301 , has counted up a predetermined time . if the predetermined time has elapsed , the process proceeds to step # 312 , where the charge which started in step # 302 is stopped . then , in step # 313 , a charge error flag is indicated so as to complete the charging sequence . on the other hand , if the predetermined time has not elapsed in step # 311 , the process returns to step # 302 so that charge is continued . then , the operations of steps # 303 , # 304 , # 307 , # 308 , and # 311 are performed again . if a charge completion can be detected in step # 308 , the process proceeds to step # 309 , where the charge which started in step # 302 is stopped . then , in step # 310 , a charge ok flag is indicated so as to complete the charging sequence and also the sequence performed when the main switch is on , as shown in fig3 is completed . next , a release sequence of the camera will be described with reference to the flowchart in fig7 . first , in step # 201 , the state of the switch ( sw 1 ) 107 , which is switched on by the first stroke of the release button , is checked . if the switch ( sw 1 ) 107 is not on , the process does not proceed until the switch 107 is switched on . when the switch sw 1 is switched on , the process proceeds to step # 202 , where the battery is checked so as to detect whether or not there is enough voltage in the battery to operate the camera , as in the above - described step # 102 in fig3 . the detection result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . then , in step # 203 , it is determined whether or not there is enough voltage in the battery to operate the camera based on the result of battery check performed in step # 202 . if there is enough voltage in the battery to operate the camera , the process proceeds to step # 204 . otherwise , the process returns to step # 201 . in step # 204 , the distance - measuring device 112 measures the distance to the subject , and the measurement result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . then , in step # 205 , the light - measuring device 111 detects the subject brightness , and the result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . after that , the process proceeds to step # 206 , where it is determined whether or not strobing is necessary based on the result of light measurement generated n step # 205 . the strobe should be used if the photographic environment is dark or is in a backlight condition . the process proceeds to step # 207 if the strobe should be used . otherwise , the process proceeds to step # 209 so as to wait for the switch ( sw 2 ) 118 to be turned on . if it is determined that strobing is necessary in step # 206 so that the process proceeds to step # 207 , the charging sequence illustrated by the flowchart shown in fig4 is performed . description of the charging sequence is omitted . after that , the process proceeds to step # 208 , where it is determined whether or not charging is completed . the determination is performed based on the flag indicating that the charge is completed or not completed in the charging sequence of step # 207 . if the charging is completed , the process proceeds to step # 209 so as to wait for the switch ( sw 2 ) 118 to be turned on . on the other hand , the process returns to step # 201 if the charging is not completed . in step # 209 , when the switch ( sw 2 ) 118 is turned on , the process proceeds to step # 210 , where the driving of the taking lens is controlled by the lens drive 113 in accordance with the distance measurement result obtained in step # 204 . then , in step # 211 , the trigger circuit 108 outputs a flash signal in response to a trigger signal from the control circuit 103 so that the strobe flashes , if it is determined that strobing is necessary based on the light - measurement result obtained in step # 205 . at the same time , the shutter drive 114 controls the driving of the shutter . then , in step # 212 , the lens is reset so that the lens in a focus position is set to the initial position . then , in step # 213 , the film drive 115 advances a film frame . in step # 214 , it is determined whether or not the strobe should be precharged . herein , the case where the strobe is not precharged is the case where the result of determination performed in step # 206 based on the light measurement result of step # 205 is not the flash mode . in this case , the process returns to step # 201 . if the strobe is to be precharged , the process proceeds from step # 214 to step # 215 , where the charging sequence illustrated in the flowchart shown in fig4 is performed . then , the process returns to step # 201 . according to the first embodiment , the flyback dc / dc converter charges the main capacitor 107 , the fet 105 drives the current for the primary winding of the transformer 104 in the dc / dc converter , the microcomputer 103 a detects the secondary current flowing through the secondary winding , the secondary current being generated when the fet 105 stops driving the primary current , and the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f measures the time from when the fet 105 stops driving the current for the primary winding until the secondary current is decreased to a predetermined level . a circuit malfunction can be detected based on the measurement result generated by the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f . when problems occur in the circuit , for example , when the discharge loop formed by the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 is in an open state , or when the primary or secondary winding of the transformer 104 is shorted , the secondary current discharge time cannot be detected . in these cases , the circuit is determined to be malfunctioning . further , the secondary current discharge time can be detected at the first driving of the current for the primary winding . therefore , a circuit malfunction can be detected early after charging is started , without waiting for a predetermined time as in the known art . hereinafter , a second embodiment of the present invention will be described . the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the flash mode sequence for charging , that is , step # 106 of fig3 during the main switch 116 is on and steps # 207 and # 215 of fig7 in the release sequence . thus , the flash mode sequence according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in fig8 . in the flash mode , the charge timer is started in step # 401 . then , in step # 402 , a drive signal is output from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 by the above - described circuit operation so as to start charge . in step # 403 , the secondary current discharge time is detected . the secondary current discharge time corresponds to time 2 to 3 of fig2 a to 2 c of the above - described circuit operation . the discharge time is measured by the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f . that is , the measurement is started by using a counter when the drive signal of the fet 105 is switched off ( at the falling edge ), and is stopped when the secondary current has been completely discharged ( when the secondary current detection signal d is switched to a high - level ). the discharge time of the secondary current is measured in order to detect a circuit malfunction . now , a circuit operation performed when a discharge loop , which is formed by the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 , is in an open state will be described with reference to the time chart shown in fig5 . a predetermined oscillation signal is applied from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 through a connection terminal ( a : at time 1 in fig5 ). at this time , a high - level signal is applied to the control electrode of the fet 105 , and thus a current flows through the loop including the drain and source of the fet 105 , the primary winding of the transformer 104 , and the negative pole of the battery . accordingly , an induced electromotive force is generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . however , since the discharge loop is open , an excitation current does not flow from the transformer 104 and energy is accumulated in the core of the transformer 104 . the accumulation of energy ( current drive ) continues until the current of the primary winding reaches a predetermined level ( b : at time 2 in fig5 ). when the current of the primary winding reaches the predetermined level , the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig5 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . at the same time , measurement of the secondary current discharge time is started by the counter of the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f . accordingly , a back electromotive force is generated at the secondary winding of the transformer 104 . if the circuit normally operates , the back electromotive force flows as the secondary current through the loop of the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 ( from time 2 to 3 in fig2 a to 2 c ), and electrical charge is accumulated in the main capacitor 107 . however , when the discharge loop in the secondary side is open , the secondary current c is not generated ( c : at time 2 in fig5 ). therefore , even if the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig5 ) so as to block the current so that the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state , the secondary current detection signal d does not change to a low - level and is kept at a high - level ( d : at time 2 in fig5 ). accordingly , the secondary current discharge time is not detected by the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f , and thus a trouble in the circuit can be detected . next , another example of a trouble in the circuit , that is , a circuit operation performed when the primary or secondary winding of the transformer 104 is shorted , will be described with reference to the time chart shown in fig6 . a predetermined oscillation signal is applied from the control circuit 103 to the gate of the fet 105 through a connection terminal ( a : at time 1 in fig6 ). at this time , a high - level signal is applied to the control electrode of the fet 105 , and thus a current flows through the loop including the drain and source of the fet 105 , the shorted primary winding of the transformer 104 , and the negative pole of the battery . the primary current is driven until it reaches a predetermined level ( b : at time 2 in fig6 ). at this time , the current of the shorted primary winding rapidly increases to reach the predetermined level . when the primary current reaches the predetermined level , the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig6 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . at this time , a back electromotive force is generated in the secondary winding of the transformer 104 if the circuit normally operates . however , energy is not accumulated in the transformer 104 if the primary winding is shorted . therefore , as in the previous example in which the secondary discharge loop is open , the secondary current detection signal d does not change to a low - level and is kept at a high - level ( d : at time 2 in fig6 ) even if the gate of the fet 105 is switched to a low - level and the fet 105 is turned off ( a : at time 2 in fig6 ) so that the current is blocked and the fet 105 is brought into a non - conducting state . accordingly , the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f does not measure the discharge time , and thus a trouble in the circuit can be detected . also , when the secondary winding is shorted , the time chart is the same as when the primary winding is shorted , and a trouble in the circuit can be detected . as described above , the discharge time of the secondary current c is detected when the circuit normally operates . on the other hand , the secondary current discharge time is not detected when circuit problems occur , that is , when the discharge loop , which is formed by the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the transistor 120 , is in an open state , or when the primary or secondary winding of the transformer 104 is shorted . the measurement result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . referring back to fig8 in step # 404 , it is determined whether or not the circuit is in an abnormal state based on the detection result of the secondary current discharge time detected in step # 403 . as described above , the drive loop circuit of the primary winding formed by the battery 101 , the transformer 104 , and the fet 105 , and the discharge loop circuit formed by the secondary winding of the transformer 104 , the rectifier diode 106 , the main capacitor 107 , and the diode 120 , are in a normal state if the secondary current discharge time can be detected . thus , in this case , the process proceeds from step # 404 to step # 305 . however , the circuit is in an abnormal state if the secondary current discharge time cannot be detected . in that case , the process proceeds to step # 413 , where charging is stopped , and in step # 414 , a circuit malfunction flag is indicated so as to complete the charging sequence . on the other hand , if it is determined that the circuit is in a normal state in step # 404 , the process proceeds to step # 405 , where the charging voltage dividing circuit 110 detects the charging voltage by the a / d converter 103 b in the control circuit 103 , and the detection result is stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . then , in step # 406 , the secondary current discharge time detected - 28 in step # 403 is compared with the charging voltage ( a / d conversion value ) detected in step # 405 . this comparison is performed in the following manner . first , the relationship between the charging voltage and the secondary current discharge time will be described with reference to fig9 . when energy is being accumulated in a transformer with predetermined energy ( primary current ), the secondary current discharge time changes in accordance with the change in charging voltage as shown in fig9 : the secondary current discharge time is about 25 μs when the charging voltage of the main capacitor is about 20 v , the secondary current discharge time is about 10 μs when the charging voltage is about 50 v , the secondary current discharge time is about 5 μs when the charging voltage is about 100 v , the secondary current discharge time is about 3 μs when the charging voltage is about 200 v , and the secondary current discharge time is about 2 μs when the charging voltage is about 300 v . the relationship between the charging voltage and the secondary current discharge time changes in accordance with the size of the transformer and the number of turns of the winding . the same characteristic is obtained when the size of the transformer and the number of turns of the winding are the same . that is , in step # 406 , a rough charging voltage can be determined based on the second current discharge time which has been detected in step # 403 and which has been stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . therefore , a circuit malfunction can be detected by comparing the secondary current discharge time with the charging voltage ( a / d conversion value ) which has been detected in step # 405 and which has been stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a . for example , if the charging voltage detected based on the a / d conversion value stored in the ram in the microcomputer 103 a is about 50 v and the second current discharge time is 3 μs , it can be determined that a problem is caused in the input of the a / d conversion value for detecting the charging voltage , because the charging voltage should be about 300 v if the circuit normally operates . the problem may include , for example , interference of signals ( leakage ) and disconnection of the a / d signal line . fig1 is a time chart when disconnection of the a / d converter is caused . accordingly , in step # 406 , where the secondary current discharge time is compared with the charging voltage ( a / d conversion value ), a circuit malfunction in the system of detecting the charging voltage can be detected , the malfunction cannot being detected only by detecting the secondary current discharge time in step # 404 . when the conditions shown in fig1 are fulfilled , it is determined that the circuit operates normally . otherwise , the circuit is determined to be malfunctioning . the conditions are set with some allowance , in which the secondary current discharge time according to the charging voltage is t . also , the condition of the secondary current discharge time for operating the circuit normally is set arbitrarily according to the size of the transformer and the number of turns of the winding . in this way , the secondary current - discharge time is compared with the charging voltage ( a / d conversion value ). if the circuit is determined to be malfunctioning based on the comparison result , the process proceeds to step # 413 , where charge is stopped . then , in step # 414 , a circuit malfunction flag is indicated so as to complete the charge sequence . on the other hand , when it is determined that the circuit operates normally , the process proceeds to step # 407 , where it is determined whether or not the charging voltage detected in step # 405 is a charge completion voltage . if charge completion is not detected , the process proceeds to step # 410 , where it is determined whether or not the charge timer which started in step # 401 has counted up predetermined time . if the predetermined time has not elapsed , the process returns to step # 402 so as to continue charging . then , the operations of steps # 403 , # 404 , # 405 , # 406 , # 407 , and # 410 are performed again . if completion of charge can be detected in step # 407 , the process proceeds to step # 408 , where charge which started in step # 402 is stopped . then , in step # 409 , a charge ok flag is indicated so as to complete the charging sequence . according to the second embodiment , the flyback dc / dc converter charges the main capacitor 107 , the fet 105 drives the current for the primary winding of the transformer 104 in the dc / dc converter , the microcomputer 103 a detects the secondary current flowing through the secondary winding , the secondary current being generated when the fet 105 stops driving the primary current , and the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f measures the time from when the fet 105 stops driving the current for the primary winding until the secondary current has been discharged . a circuit malfunction can be detected based on the measurement result generated by the secondary current discharge time measuring block 103 f . that is , it is determined whether or not the relationship between the secondary current discharge time and the charging voltage ( a / d conversion value ) detected in step # 405 corresponds to the condition shown in fig1 . if the relationship does not correspond to the condition , the circuit is determined to be malfunctioning . more specifically , if the charging voltage of the main capacitor 107 in accordance with the detected secondary current discharge time is outside the range of a predetermined voltage , that is , if the condition shown in fig1 is not fulfilled , the circuit is determined to be malfunctioning . further , the secondary current discharge time can be detected at the first driving of the current for the primary winding . therefore , a circuit malfunction can be detected early after charging is started , without waiting for a predetermined time as in the known art . in the first and second embodiments , a step - up method using separately - excited control of a flyback dc / dc converter by the control circuit 103 is adopted . however , self - excited control may also be used . in this case , by forming the configuration for detecting the secondary current by adopting a step - up method using self - excited control of a flyback dc / dc converter , a circuit malfunction can be detected . further , the primary current drive method using separately - excited control is not limited to a current detection type , in which driving of the primary current is stopped when the primary current reaches a predetermined level . also , a predetermined time drive type , in which the primary current is driven for a predetermined time , can be adopted . as described above , according to the present invention , a capacitor charging device or a strobe charging device for a camera , in which the number of components does not increase and a circuit malfunction can be detected just after charging is started , can be provided . while the present invention has been described with reference to what are presently considered to be the preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . on the contrary , the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . the scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions .	7
while the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms , there is shown in the drawings , and will hereinafter be described , presently preferred embodiments , with the that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention , and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated . the laminate of the present invention is comprised of three substrates , a lower and an upper substrate , and a central wicking layer between them . the lower and upper substrates can be comprised of any porous sheet material such as nonwoven fabrics , with exemplary materials being spunbond , spunlace , or through - air bonded or the like , but are most preferably comprised of tissue . the basis weight range for the tissue may be up to 40 grams per square meter ( gsm ), with a more preferred basis weight range of 10 gsm - 25 gsm , with an even more preferred basis weight range from 15 gsm - 20 gsm . a suitable tissue grade is 17 gsm 3995 grade from dunn paper of east hartford , conn . the present absorbent laminate further includes , two liquid storage layers each comprising a mixture of superabsorbent polymer ( sap ) and hot melt adhesive fibers , respectively disposed between adjacent ones of the aforementioned substrate layers , on respective opposite sides of the central wicking layer . the superabsorbent material can comprise a variety of materials , including organic compounds , such as cross - linked polymers . “ cross - linked ” is a commonly understood term and refers to any process for effectively rendering normally water - soluble materials substantially water insoluble , but swellable . such polymers include , for example , carboxymethylcellulose , alkali metal salts of polyacrylic acids , polyacrylamides , polyvinyl ethers , hydroxypropyl cellulose , polyvinyl morpholinone , polymers and copolymers of vinyl sulfonic acid , polyacrylates , polyacrylamides , polyvinyl pyridine and the like . other suitable polymers include hydrolyzed acrylonitrile grafted starch , acrylic acid grafted starch , and isobutylene maleic anhydride copolymers , and mixtures thereof . organic high - absorbency materials can include natural materials , such as agar , pectin , and guar gum . in addition to organic materials , superabsorbent materials may also include inorganic materials , such as absorbent clays and silica gels . preferred superabsorbent materials are crosslinked partially neutralized polyacrylates widely commercially used in disposable absorbent articles . the preferred embodiment would use a type that would be typical for the intended end use , and in the case of absorbent articles for urine applications , typically would be of the type that is surface crosslinked , in order to improve the permeability , while preserving the absorbent capacity . examples include w125 sap from nippon shokubai , n . a . i . i ., houston , tex ., and t9030 from basf . the superabsorbent material typically is in particle form and can be of any desired configuration , such as granulated powders , fibers , agglomerated spheres , and other shapes known to those skilled in the art . the particle size of the superabsorbent material may vary , but typically falls between about 20 microns to about 1000 microns . the basis weight of the sap for each of the two liquid storage layers can range from 50 gsm to 500 gsm , with a more preferred basis weight range of 75 - 300 gsm , with an even more preferred basis weight range 100 - 200 gsm . the liquid storage layers can contain differing amounts and types of sap , but in a more preferred embodiment , each layer contains the same quantity and type in order to make the core material as symmetrical as possible from top to bottom . the practical advantage to having a symmetrical absorbent core is that in high - speed converting applications for manufacture of disposable absorbent articles for which the laminate core of the present invention is particularly suited for use , long - running packages of the laminate , such as festoon boxes or spooled rolls , are typically preferred . while technologies exist to keep a particular side of the core taken from a festoon box facing upwards , such technologies are complicated . it is much simpler and more efficient to employ a core which is not “ sided ”, that is , the side of the core that faces upwards doesn &# 39 ; t matter , so if the web happens to flip over as it comes out of the package , it has no effect on product performance . the production process for applying the sap / adhesive fiber layer has discreet limits to the performance of a single process step , and as such , the process is best run at the maximum value . presuming each sap storage layer is applied by similar equipment , throughput is maximized by making them at the same maximum basis weight so each is produced at the maximum speed for that basis weight . the sap - containing liquid storage layers of the laminate of the present invention also include fibers comprised of a thermoplastic adhesive composition . the thermoplastic adhesive composition is preferably of a type that is suitable for use in the production of disposable hygiene articles and is preferably formulated such that it is tacky at room temperature . according to the invention , the thermoplastic adhesive composition is a thermoplastic , hot - melt adhesive composition . a thermoplastic , hot - melt adhesive composition generally comprises one or more polymers that provide cohesive strength , and a tackifying resin or similar material that provides adhesive strength , and optionally may include waxes , plasticizers or other materials that modify viscosity , as well as other additives , such as antioxidants and stabilizers . according to more preferred embodiments of the present invention , the thermoplastic adhesive composition comprises a pressure - sensitive , thermoplastic adhesive composition , more preferably , a synthetic rubber - based pressure sensitive adhesive . in specific embodiments , the thermoplastic adhesive composition may be a styrene - butadiene - styrene block copolymer ( sbs ) or a styrene - isoprene - styrene ( sis ) hot melt thermoplastic adhesive composition . an example of a preferred thermoplastic adhesive composition is sp507 adhesive from savare specialty adhesives of milan , italy , which has shown thermal stability in the viscosity ranges listed below . another example of a preferred thermoplastic adhesive composition is e60w adhesive also from savare specialty adhesives . the amount of thermoplastic adhesive composition applied should be kept generally at the minimum amount necessary to provide a laminate with acceptable integrity . the adhesive is preferably a type made with ingredients that are suitable for use in the end use product , with an add - on level in the range of 2 %- 15 % of the sap weight . a more preferable add - on range is 3 %- 9 % of the sap weight , depending on the glue type and the desired level of structural integrity . the wicking layer is a hydrogen bonded , airlaid material , such as generally described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 866 , 242 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . in accordance with the preferred embodiment , the material is made using air - laying means well known in the art . cellulosic fibers ( e . g ., wood pulp ) are processed using a hammer mill to individualize the fibers . the individualized fibers are optionally blended with sap particles and pneumatically conveyed into a series of forming heads . the distribution of absorbent materials can be controlled separately for each forming head . controlled air circulation or mechanical agitators in each chamber produce a uniform distribution , and the fibers are deposited via a vacuum onto a moving web of porous carrier substrate ( e . g ., tissue ) thus forming a uniform moving web of fibers . the moving web is subsequently compressed and an additional substrate ( e . g ., tissue ) is added to the upper surface to enclose the loose fibers . the web is then hydrogen bonded using a heated calendar roll , with a bonding pattern engraved into the surface to form hydrogen bonds in the compressed regions . the resulting web is formed into rolls for subsequent handling . the heat and pressure applied interact with the moisture contained in the cellulosic fibers to produce bonds that are at least minimally stable after wetting , as necessary to maintain bonding under external , in - use mechanical forces , and to resist the debonding forces generated by the swelling of the hydrating sap . those skilled in the art can balance material basis weight and line speed with the levels of heat and pressure required to result in the proper bonding given the particular bonding pattern . without the addition of heat , extreme pressure is otherwise required to form the desired degree of liquid stability in bonds within the wicking layer . a significant factor governing the degree of bonding is the percent of bonded area in the embossed bonding pattern , such as a land — sea type pattern . for the purposes of the wicking layer material of the present invention , the percent bond area is desirably in the range of 5 % to 50 % of the surface , with more preferably in the range of 10 % to 40 %, and even more preferably in the range of 15 %- 30 %. the minimum dimension of the unbonded area generally interacts with the basis weight to determine the density . while precise predictive analysis is complex , those skilled in the art can derive the necessary dimensions for a particular pattern to yield the desired density either mathematically or by trial and error . to avoid large scale variation in the material properties , the bond pattern should be repeating . an exemplary bonding arrangement is a bond pattern of parallel lines on 3 . 9 mm centers , with a bonded surface each 1 mm wide . bond pattern dimensions of the wicking layer of the present invention yield apparent density in the range of 0 . 08 g / cc - 0 . 25 g / cc , and more preferably in the range of 0 . 10 g - cc - 0 . 20 g / cc , with apparent density dependent on the interaction of the bond pattern with the basis weight of the material . a preferred bonding pattern is of a type that suppresses wicking in the transverse direction by causing liquid wicking in the transverse direction to repeatedly cross from between bonded and unbonded regions . cellulosic fibers that can be used in a wicking layer of the present invention are well known in the art and include wood pulp , cotton , and flax fibers , peat moss , as well as regenerated cellulose such as viscose rayon . while less wettable synthetic fibers such as thermoplastic fibers can be included using the airlaid process , these are undesirable for the purposes of the wicking layer of the present invention because they reduce the wettability of some of the pores in the wicking layer , and as a result reduce the wicking properties of the resultant material . wood pulp is most preferred . pulps can be obtained from mechanical or chemi - mechanical processes , sulfite , kraft , pulping reject materials , organic solvent pulps , etc . both softwood or hardwood species are useful , although softwood pulps are preferred , with the most preferred being kraft southern pine . an example of a suitable pulp is j - lde grade pulp commercially available from rayonier in jesup , ga . suitable carrier substrates for the hydrogen bonded airlaying process can include nonwovens that form bonding to the cellulose fibers under heat and pressure . these include chemical bonded nonwovens , through - air bonded nonwovens that use certain types of bicomponent binder fibers , or spunlaced nonwovens that contain a suitable amount of regenerated cellulose fibers to form useful hydrogen bonds . the preferred substrate , however , is tissue , with the most suitable being a porous type such as 3995 grade from dunn paper of east hartford , conn . the absorbent laminate according to the present invention may be manufactured according to processes described in us patent publication no . 2012 / 0148821 . according to one such process , a roll or sheet of laminate can be made by metering a free - falling curtain of sap particles and mixing the curtain of sap particles with hot melt thermoplastic adhesive composition fibers . the curtain of hot melt adhesive fibers can be generated by any of the commercially available hot melt equipment such using the ufd applicator head and the standard omega 5 , 5 nozzles from itw dynatec in hendersonville , tenn . the resulting mixture is then directed onto a moving substrate ( lower substrate ). the wicking layer is directed on top of the sap - adhesive mixture to form a sandwich structure . the adhesive properties of the hot melt bonds this assembly together . a second mixture of sap and hot melt adhesive fibers is generated in a similar fashion as the first and is deposited on the wicking layer side of the moving laminate sheet . finally , the upper substrate is fed as a moving sheet , and is combined with this second layer of sap and adhesive fiber mixture to form the final structure of the present invention . the laminate may then be rolled up and / or cut into segments sized for use in an absorbent article . methods and apparatuses for metering sap and mixing the sap with the hot melt thermoplastic adhesive composition are available commercially and known to those skilled in the art . the wicking layer is produced using established air - laying technology . equipment for producing airlaid nonwovens is commercially available such as that offered by dan web of aarhus , denmark . to produce the wicking layer , a carrier layer of tissue is first fed onto a moving wire screen and the fluff pulp and optional sap mixture is then deposited on this wire screen using air laying methods well known to those skilled in the art . in this type of equipment , the fluff pulp is fed in the form of sheets into hammermills which defiberize the pulp into individualized fibers and suspend it in an airstream directing it through ducts to the forming heads on the airlaid line . sap is provided in supersacks and is fed directly to metering devices in the forming heads . a second continuous moving layer of tissue is combined on top of the moving web , sandwiching the pulp ( and optional sap material ) between two layers of tissue in order to contain any loose fibers in the unbonded portions of the web . this assembly is then compacted between steel rolls , and then is directed into the bonding calender . the land - sea bonding patterns can be formed in many different ways , but one way is to have an engraved calender on the top that carries the bonding pattern mated to a generally smooth calender on the bottom . the calenders are heated and loaded to sufficient pressure to produce the desired level of hydrogen bonding in the moving web . sufficient bonding is preferably provided to allow for the at least 4n vertical delamination strength required for any substrate in the laminate , but excessive bonding will undesirably result in cut fibers and poor wicking appropriate process conditions are dependent on the web and the line speed , and can be set up by those skilled in the art . the resulting hydrogen bonded airlaid is then provided to the lamination process described above , either directly as a moving web or in the form of a roll to be fed to the process . one of the desirable aspects of this laminate type is the thinness of the resultant core . the cores of the present invention are very thin . samples of exemplary materials were measured for caliper . these values are in table 1 below : the vertical delamination strength needs to be sufficiently great in order to allow the core of the present invention to be handled in a typical converting operation . samples of the example materials were measured for vertical delamination . these values are reported in table 2 below : an experiment was devised to illustrate the effectiveness of the configuration of the material of the present invention to most effectively reduce the wetness of the point where the fluid entered the core material as indicated by rewet results . in order to conveniently construct the various configurations for testing , the layers comprising the core of the present invention were produced discreetly so that they could be stacked upon one another in different fashions to represent the structure of the core of the current invention as well as to represent the less effective alternative configurations . finally , cores of the present invention were compared to these stacked mock - ups to show similar results suggesting that the mock - up were valid representations . the following discreet materials were produced to approximate the different layers in the material of the present invention : 1 . c210 : this is a mixture of sap and hot melt glue fibers laminated between two layers of tissue . the tissue is 17 gsm 3995 grade from dunn paper . the sap is 171 gsm t9030 from basf . the hot melt adhesive is 5 gsm sp507 from savare . this represents each of the storage layers in the material of the present invention 2 . j090 : this is a hydrogen bonded airlaid material , comprised of 2 plies of 17 gsm 3008 tissue from clearwater paper , with 56 gsm rayonier rayfloc j - lde fluff pulp airlaid between them . the material is hydrogen bonded between two calendar rolls heated to 170 c with a corduroy embossing pattern with 1 mm wide parallel embossing lines separated by 2 . 9 mm of unbonded width . sufficient pressure is applied to make a destructive bond with the tissue , but not split the material . this represents the wicking layer in the material of the present invention . 3 . c400 : this is a mixture of sap and hot melt glue fibers , laminated between two layers of tissue . the tissue is 17 gsm 3995 grade from dunn paper . the sap is 351 gsm t9030 from basf . the hot melt adhesive is 15 gsm sp507 from savare . this represents an equivalent of two storage layers in a control for the material of the present invention that does not have a wicking layer . the monolithic structure is thought to be a better representation than two pieces of c210 stacked upon one another . 4 . coverstock : 20 gsm spunbond polypropylene . the ultimate purpose for providing the wicking layer is to improve the drying of the target area where fluid is added to the core , as indicated by rewet test results . an experiment was conducted using mock - ups to show the improvement in drying by adding a wicking layer in a sandwich structure ( compared to a control without a wicking layer ), to show the superiority of having the wicking layer sandwiched rather than on top , and to show that the material of example 1 performs in a similar manner as the “ sandwich ” structure mock up in the experiment , suggesting the mock - ups are accurate representations for this result . ‘ n = 3 - each 100 mm × 300 mm cores were cut from the materials above and were stacked on top of the other in the following configurations . variant 1 — wicking layer on top : two layers of c210 on the bottom with j090 on top , with coverstock on top of that . variant 2 — sandwich : two layers of c210 with j090 sandwiched between , with coverstock on top . this represents the material of the present invention . variant 3 : no wicking layer c400 with coverstock on top . this represents a control with no wicking layer . variant 4 : material from example 1 . this provides an indication of the accuracy of how well variant 2 represents the actual material of the present invention . a fluid doser was used that has a 1 - inch inside diameter vertical dosing tube that feeds through the center of a 4 - inch square footpad that weighs 988 grams , which was placed on the center of each 100 mm × 300 mm core mock - up . 100 ml of 0 . 9 % saline was added through the doser which then drained down into the core sample below . the doser was removed after the dosing and the sample was allowed to equilibrate for 30 - minutes . after equilibration , stacks of ten ( 10 ) ahlstrom no . 4 × 7 cm filter paper circles were assembled and preweighed . they were placed on the wet center of the sample and a 0 . 7 psi weight was placed on each stack . after 2 - minutes exactly , the stack was removed and weighed . the tare weight of the filter papers was subtracted to yield the weight of liquid absorbed , which was recorded as the rewet in grams . the steps above were then repeated for a second insult , with the rewet being recorded as before . the first rewets were all 0 . 06 g or less . there is a sufficient amount of sap directly beneath the wetted target to absorb the liquid effectively without having to rely on more spreading of the liquid than all of the variants were capable of . the variant 2 sandwich structure demonstrates significantly improved second rewet compared to the variant 3 control . it also demonstrated a directionally improved second rewet compared to having the wicking layer on the top . the variant 4 example 1 material performed in a similar manner as the variant 1 mock - up and was not significantly different , suggesting the mock - up variant 2 is a valid representation . while not wanting to be constrained by any particular theory , it is believed that adding the wicking layer on top of the assembly probably spreads liquid away from the wetted area , bringing some reduction in the fluid in the center of the core . however , the transfer of liquid to the dry sap in the periphery of the wetted area is inefficient , and as a result the highly wettable wicking layer retains a great deal of fluid presenting a wet surface through the coverstock to the filter paper stack in the rewet test . in contrast , in the sandwich structure , it is believed that with two faces interfacing with the sap , the wicking layer transfers more fluid to the sap at locations away from the target where liquid enters the core , transporting more fluid away from the target and more effectively drying the wet center . in addition , it is sandwiched below a layer of sap laminate and as such it is believed any wetness in that layer is not presented directly through the coverstock to the filter papers in the rewet test . vertical delamination procedure . first , a tensile tester ( zwick z005 tensile tester ) is set up to cause compression between two parallel platens at least 2 - inches in diameter . next , a 2 - inch circular sample of the inventive laminate is prepared and attached to the upper platen . in particular , a double coated tape , such as spectape type st 550 , is used to attach the sample to the upper platen . the bottom platen is covered with a piece of 3m double coated foam tape , or equivalent , with the release strip removed , making the surface of the lower platen adhesive with a slightly compliant surface to bond well with the irregular surface of the laminate . subsequently , the zwick z005 tensile tester was cycled as follows : the upper platen was moved toward the lower platen until the sample was compressed with a force of 35 n . the sample then became attached to both the upper and lower platens . after this force level is achieved , the upper platen was moved away from the lower platen at a rate of 75 mm / min . during the separation of the platens , the sample was delaminated . the maximum force value during this tensile mode corresponds to the extent of bonding . these delamination forces were recorded ( expressed in newtons .) caliper is measured using an emveco microgauge model 200a set to measure the sample under a 0 . 0725 psi foot pressure . a 200 mm × 300 mm hand sheet sample of the material is cut and tested in 6 places . the average function of the emveco is activated and this value is recorded . a continuous moving sheet of 17 gsm 3008 tissue available from dunn paper in east hartford , conn . is provided as a carrier sheet on a dan web airlaid line . lighthouse grade fluff pulp from domtar in plymouth , n . c . is defiberized and fed mixed with a small amount of sa65s sap from sumitomo in singapore . a sheet of 17 gsm 3995 tissue from dunn paper in east hartford , conn . is combined as a top layer to the core . the web had a basis weight average of 105 gsm and contained approximately 5 % sap . this web is fed into a calender with an upper roll that has a bonding pattern of parallel bonded lines approximately 1 mm wide with approximately 2 . 9 mm of unbonded space between them , running in the machine direction . the lower roll that mates to it has a linen pattern , similar to that of a linen sheet . a roll temperature of 175 c was used and enough pressure was applied to result in a vertical delamination values of between 5 and 10 n . this material was wound on a roll and provided to the lamination process . a curtain of e60w hot melt adhesive fibers from savare in milan italy was provided by a ufd hot melt spray applicator head using omega 5 . 5 nozzles from itw dynatec in hendersonville , tenn ., and mixed with a continuous curtain of t9030 sap from basf , with this mixture deposited onto a moving sheet of 17 gsm 3995 tissue available from dunn paper in east hartford , conn . at an add - on rate of 5 . 3 gsm adhesive and half of the sap . the wicking layer for example 1 above was then fed as a moving web and combined on top of this mixture of sap and glue to form a sandwich . a second similar layer of 5 . 3 gsm hot melt adhesive fibers and the second half of the sap were generated and deposited in a similar manner as the first on top of the wicking layer . finally a second moving web of 3995 tissue was combined on top of the second layer of sap and hot melt adhesive fibers . the sap add - on was sufficient to yield a material with an average basis weight of 489 gsm . the wicking layer for example 2 was formed in the same manner using the same equipment , configurations , and materials as the wicking layer for example 1 . the only difference is that the pulp and sap were fed in different proportions to yield a material of approximately 300 gsm in basis weight containing 5 % sap dispersed rather than 100 gsm in basis weight with 5 % sap dispersed . the material for example 2 was made in a manner similar to example 1 , except the wicking layer for example 2 was used and the sap flow , which was evenly divided between the two layers , was sufficient to yield a material with a basis weight average of 685 gsm . the wicking layer for example 3 was similar to the wicking layer for example 1 , with the exception that the pulp was fed at a rate where the overall basis weight of the material was around 100 gsm . the other difference was that instead of the parallel lines , the pattern used has parallel wavy lines that run in the longitudinal direction , have a spacing pitch of 4 . 2 mm , and a bonded line width of about 1 mm . the material for example 3 is similar to the material for example 1 with the exception that the wicking layer for example 3 was used , and the sap was equally divided between the two layers to yield an overall basis weight that averaged 343 gsm . it has been noticed that the transfer of liquid from the portions of the wicking layer near the periphery of the wetted area to the adjacent unwetted sap does not appear to be very efficient . without being bound to any particular theory , the sap particles immediately in contact with the just damp wicking layer appear to partially swell . liquid doesn &# 39 ; t appear to transfer well to the grains behind those and the swelling of the adjacent granules seems to act as a separation . there is no fine capillary structure amongst the partially swelled sap particles with which to efficiently transfer the dampness through the sap . without wanting to be bound by any particular theory , it is thought that by placing the wicking layer in the center of the material rather than on one face , twice as many sap particles are in direct contact with the wicking layer , presumably doubling the intensity of any fluid transfer . it is thought that hydrogen bonding patterns comprised of parallel bond lines tend to suppress liquid wicking in the transverse direction , resulting in a wetter material at the point of fluid insult than for a material with a bonding pattern that wicks in both directions without such supression . it is thought that liquid does not tend to want to repeatedly traverse the boundaries between dense bonded and less dense unbonded regions as it moves transversely through the core . the liquid wicks a further distance in the unimpeded longitudinal direction , but the point of insult remains wetter yielding poorer rewets than materials without suppressed wicking . it would be thought then that a wicking layer with this type of bond pattern and greater wetness would not be desirable to produce the best rewets in the material of the present invention . it was also supposed that a wicking layer containing sap will be less efficient at transferring liquid to the adjacent sap storage layers at locations away from the point of fluid insult into the core because the sap within the wicking layer will absorb part of a fixed quantity of a liquid insult , making the wicking layer seem drier as well as reducing the wetness that causes the liquid to wick away from the point of insult . additionally , it is supposed that having sap swell within a wicking layer breaks the bonds within the layer , causing it to swell and the capillaries to become larger , which reduces the distance a given amount of fluid will wick away from the point of insult . the resulting smaller , drier wet spot should transfer less fluid to the sap layers . contrary to the suppositions above , in the material of the present invention , it has been observed that wicking layers with parallel bonding patterns that suppress liquid wicking in the transverse direction and contain up to 20 % sap appear to do very well as wicking layers , producing the desired dryness at the point of liquid insult , enhancing rewet performance . the following experiment was devised to suggest why this might be . to understand the effects it was necessary to devise a way to mock - up a representation of the system of the present invention that made it possible to directly measure the wetness in the center of the core , as well as directly measure the amount of liquid absorbed from the wicking layer into the adjacent sap storage layers at specific locations away from the point of insult in both the longitudinal and transverse directions . for purposes of this experiment only , wetness will be defined as the grams of liquid per gram of material , in order to directly measure the wetness of the spot where liquid was insulted into the core , a 2 - inch circular piece of circle embossed wicking layer with a low sap content was placed on the core at the target point , so that liquid could be insulted into the core through it , and it could be simply removed and weighed after equilibration to indicate the wetness of the core below . in order to directly measure the liquid transferred from the wicking layer to the adjacent sap layers at locations distant to the point of insult , the sap layers were represented by 2 - inch circles of sap laminate , which were placed on the wicking layer at specific locations relative to the point of fluid insult . liquid that wicked through the wicking layer below them would transfer into these 2 - inch circles as it would the storage layers of the material of the present invention and then after equilibration , these pieces could be removed and weighed directly to indicate the amount of fluid transferred at the specific locations relative to the insult point . while the sap storage layer circles do not cover the entire surface of the wicking layer sample , storage layer located in the transverse direction and in the longitudinal direction at 75 mm from the insult point is equally represented . finally , by peeling the sap laminate circles in half and placing one half on top and one half on the bottom , this represents the relative advantage of having the wicking layer sandwiched in between the two sap layers . two wicking layer materials were selected for evaluation as wicking layers . both were very close to 100 gsm . one was circle bonded , with unbonded circles roughly 5 mm in diameter on 6 mm centers , surrounded by bonded area . the second was “ corduroy ” bonded , with parallel bonded lines about 1 mm wide on 3 . 9 mm centers with unbonded areas in between . both contain a small percentage of sap , with the “ corduroy ” sample containing somewhat more sap , with a centrifuge retention of 7 . 45 g / g vs a centrifuge retention of 5 . 25 g / g for the circle embossed material . the following experiment was performed . a 200 mm × 300 mm hand sheet of each type of wicking layer was placed flat . the center of each was marked , and a 2 - inch circular piece of the “ circle ” wicking layer material was cut with a die and placed on the mark , as a device for measuring the retained wetness at the center of each sample wicking layer . this circular piece could be removed and weighed and due to its similarity in composition and basis weight to the wicking layer below , the wetness of the center of the hand sheets could be thus indicated . at 75 mm in the transverse direction and 75 mm in the longitudinal direction from the center mark , another pair of marks were put on the hand sheet . on each of these marks was placed a 2 - inch circular piece of 800 gsm absorbent laminate , representing the sap strata , i . e ., the liquid storage layers of the present absorbent structure , in each direction . at this high basis weight , these laminate elements are capable of absorbing any amount of liquid presented to it by the wicking layer . variant 1 : “ circle ”, with no laminate pieces ( as a control ) variant 2 , “ corduroy ” with no laminate pieces ( as a control ) variant 3 , “ circle ”, with two sap laminate pieces variant 4 : “ corduroy ”, with two sap laminate pieces . variant 5 : “ corduroy ” with two sap laminate pieces that have been split into two layers , with half placed on the back surface of the handsheet at each mark , and half placed on the front surface of the handsheet of each mark , to represent any advantage of the sandwich configuration absorbing from both sides rather than one side . a 10 ml insult of 0 . 9 % saline was slowly poured onto the center circle of “ circles ” material , which then wicked outwards through the wicking layer below it . when the wet spot reached the longitudinal and transversely placed circles of 800 gsm sap laminate , liquid would be absorbed into the sap laminate according to how wet the wicking layer was below it . after 15 - minutes of equilibration , the “ circle ” wetness - measuring piece was removed and weighed to see how dry the center had become ( the goal of having a wicking layer ), the transversely and longitudinally located sap laminate circles were removed and weighed to see how much liquid had been transferred to these pieces in each direction , and finally , the length and width dimensions of the wetted area . preliminary and confirming testing of configurations 3 and 4 for two insults yielded similar relative results between the two as seen above . it was found in these results that when liquid was absorbed into the sap laminate removable pieces , the removable piece in the center became less wet , suggesting the system in the above experiment is functioning in a similar manner as the material of the present invention . to the degree that the mock - ups above represent the relative performance of the actual laminate of the present invention , these results unexpectedly point to using the corduroy bonding pattern and including some additional sap in that material as yielding both the driest center as well as transferring more liquid to the adjacent sap laminated layers . it was expected that wicking layer with “ circles ” bonded pattern that contained less sap and wicked freely in both the transverse and longitudinal directions would transfer more liquid to the sap laminate removable pieces since it was expected to better wet both of them and have the wicking distance less inhibited by absorption of sap within the wicking layer . what happened instead was that the removable sap laminate pieces in the longitudinal position in the corduroy system absorbed much more liquid and combining that better transfer of liquid out of the wicking layer with the additional drying action of the sap within the sheet , yielded the removable piece in the center with the least wetness . from the foregoing , it will observed that numerous modifications and variations can be effected without departing without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concept of the present invention . it is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein in intended or should be inferred . the disclosure is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications which fall within the scope of the claims .	1
referring to fig3 there is shown a fourier transform spectrometer embodying the concept of the invention . this instrument comprises a pulsed light source 11 , an interferometer 7 in which two light beams are made to interfere with each other , a detector 5 acting to detect the radiation transmitted through a sample 6 , a low - pass filter 12 receiving the output signal from the detector 5 , an analog - to - digital converter 8 for sampling the output signal from the filter 12 , and a computer 9 for fourier - transforming the output signal from the filter 12 . the interferometer 7 consists of a half mirror or beam splitter 2 , a fixed mirror 3 , and a moving mirror 4 . the light emitted from the light source 11 is incident on the half mirror 2 . the sample 6 is so located that the light emerging from the interferometer 7 hits the sample 6 . the pulsed light source 11 emits pulses of light at regular intervals of t &# 39 ;, the pulses having a constant intensity as shown in fig4 ( a ). the interval t &# 39 ; is so selected that it is shorter than the intervals of t at which the interferometer produces clock signals . the latter interval t is determined according to the sampling theorem . since the pulses of light are employed in this way , the output from the detector 5 takes values obtained by sampling the interferogram ( indicated by the broken line in fig4 ( b )) derived using the prior art instrument at intervals of t &# 39 ;. the output signal from the low - pass filter 12 represents the envelope of the output from the detector 5 as shown in fig4 ( c ). in this way , the interferogram is reconstructed . this interferogram is sampled by the a / d converter 8 as shown in fig4 ( e ) in response to clock pulses produced at intervals of t shown in fig4 ( d ) in the same way as in the prior art techniques . the output signal from the converter 8 is sent to the computer 9 , where the interferogram is fourier - transformed . as a result , a spectrum of the sample 6 is obtained . where the intensity of the pulses of light emitted by the light source 11 fluctuates , it is desired to normalize the output from the detector , using the information about the intensity obtained by monitoring the intensity . a synchrotron orbital radiation ( sor ) source can be used as the pulsed light source also , it is possible to use a laser raman spectrometer as the light source 11 . in this case , the sample is placed in the position of the light source for the raman spectrometer and periodically irradiated with exciting pulsed laser radiation . the raman scattering produced periodically is directed to the interferometer 7 . in this manner , the raman - shifted components can be analyzed by the fourier transform spectrometer . of course , in this case , the sample 6 located between the interferometer and the detector is removed . fig5 shows a time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this instrument is similar to the instrument shown in fig3 except that a timer 15 producing clock pulses at intervals of t &# 39 ;, a stimulus generator 18 for giving stimuli to the sample 6 in response to the clock pulses , a variable delay circuit 16 for delaying the clock pulses , and a light source power supply 17 for causing the pulsed light source to go on in response to the output from the delay circuit 16 are added . in the operation of the instrument shown in fig5 it is assumed that the sample 6 responds equally to every stimulus at all times and that the response of the sample persists for time τ as shown in fig6 ( c ). we also assume that the time τ is shorter than the sampling interval t for the interferogram . the timer 15 produces clock pulses at intervals of t &# 39 ; which are not synchronized with the clock pulses shown in fig6 ( a ) ( produced at intervals of t ) for sampling and are longer than the response time r , as shown in fig6 ( b ). the stimulus generator 18 gives stimuli as shown in fig6 ( b ) to the sample 6 in response to the clock pulses produced by the timer 15 . the stimuli are given asynchronously with the clock pulses used for sampling . the variable delay circuit 16 delays the clock pulses from the timer 15 by a certain time δτ &# 39 ;. the power supply 17 for the light source causes the light source 11 to go on intermittently in response to the delayed clock pulses at the timing shown in fig6 ( d ). since the pulsed light source 11 is lit up at the timing shown in fig6 ( d ), the detector 5 produces discrete signals as shown in fig6 ( e ). that is , it substantially follows that the repeatedly produced stimulus is gated to the interferometer with a given delay and that the interferogram is sampled with the given delay . in this manner , discrete samples are obtained from the interferogram . the higher harmonics are removed from the output from the detector 5 by the low - pass filter 12 . as a result , a continuous interferogram as shown in fig6 ( f ) is obtained as the envelope waveform of the signal shown in fig6 ( e ). in the above - described structure , when the sample 6 does not vary , the output signal from the detector 5 is given by where iii t &# 39 ;( t ) is a comb function consisting of equispaced delta functions , and o is the wave number (= 1 / λ ). when the stimulus is repeatedly applied to the sample 6 , an interferogram of the sample 6 in transient state is obtained as the output from the detector 5 after a given delay δτ &# 39 ; from the application of each stimulus . the output signal is given by letting v be the velocity of the moving mirror of the interferometer , we have the relation x = 2vt . since the stimuli given periodically are not synchronous with the movement of the moving mirror , the stimuli are not in phase with the movement . of ( 1 + cos 2πσx ) included in equation ( 2 ) above , only the term including cos 2πσx can be transformed into a spectrum . if only this term is extracted , the output is given by in order to see the output from the low - pass filter 9 when the above signal is passed through the filter , we now fourier - transform with respect to t . thus , ## equ1 ## this is a comb function , too , and appears at intervals that are reciprocals of the sampling intervals . therefore , if the signal is passed through the low - pass filter 12 , then we have f &# 39 ;&# 34 ;( x )= 1 / t &# 39 ; ∫ b &# 39 ;( σ , δτ &# 39 ;) cos 2πσx dσ ( 4 ) the output signal from the filter 12 is represented by this formula . comparison of equation ( 4 ) with equation ( 1 ) shows that f &# 34 ;( x ) represents the interferogram of the sample at the instant delayed by δτ &# 39 ; with respect to the application of a stimulus . the output signal from the low - pass filter 12 is converted into digital form by the a / d converter 8 at sampling intervals determined by the wave number range of the signal . then , the cpu 9 takes the fourier transform of the interferogram . consequently , a spectrum of the sample can be obtained after delay δτ &# 39 ; with respect to the application of the stimulus . in the above example , the stimulus generator is controlled , using the clock pulses generated by the timer . the pulsed light source is lit up according to the clock pulses delayed by δτ &# 39 ; by means of the variable delay circuit . that is , the stimulation is carried out first , followed by the lighting of the pulsed light source . conversely , the pulsed light source may be lit up at intervals of t &# 39 ;, and then the stimulation may be performed after a delay of t &# 39 ;- δτ &# 39 ; from the lighting . where the pulsed light source that is lit up periodically is used in raman spectroscopy , for example , a light source emitting pulses of light by self - oscillation such as a mode - locked pulsed laser can be utilized . as described above , in accordance with the present invention , time - resolved measurement is permitted by adding to the conventional system shown in fig1 only a pulsed light source , a low - pass filter , and a circuit giving stimuli . fig7 shows another time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this spectrometer is similar to the spectrometer shown in fig5 except that n delay circuits 16 1 - 16 n , n low pass - filters 12 1 - 12 n , n a / d converters 8 1 - 8 n , a summing network 19 for supplying the sum of the outputs from the delay circuits to the power supply 17 , and a distributing circuit 20 are added . the distributing circuit 20 acts to distribute the output signal from the detector 5 among the low - pass filters in a time - shared manner according to the outputs from the delay circuits . in the above structure , different delay times δτ 1 &# 39 ;, δτ 2 &# 39 ;, δτ 3 &# 39 ;, etc . are set into the delay circuits , respectively . therefore , it is possible to obtain an interferogram with n different delay times in one measurement . fig8 is a waveform diagram illustrating the operation of the apparatus shown in fig7 . fig9 shows a further time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this spectrometer is similar to the spectrometer shown in fig7 except that the plural delay circuits used in the apparatus shown in fig7 are replaced by a multiplying circuit 21 producing pulses having a repetition frequency of t &# 39 ;/ n ( n is an integer equal to or greater than 2 ) in response to the pulses having a repetition frequency of t &# 39 ; generated by the timer 15 . the pulsed light source 11 is lit up according to the former pulses having the higher frequency . a pulse distributor 22 distributes the pulses of the higher frequency among n channels . thus , n - channel switching pulses which have a period of t &# 39 ; and are delayed respectively by t &# 39 ;/ n , 2t &# 39 ;/ n , 3t &# 39 ;/ n , etc . with respect to each stimulus are produced . the distributing circuit 20 is activated in response to these n - channel switching pulses which are out of phase with each stimulus in this way . in this example , the delay times are limited to integral multiples of t &# 39 ;/ n , though the delay times of the delay circuits in the example shown in fig7 can be set at will . referring next to fig1 , there is shown a yet other time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this spectrometer is similar to the spectrometer shown in fig7 except that the sample 6 is placed in front of the interferometer 7 and that a pulsed laser beam emitted by a pulsed laser excitation unit 23 producing the raman effect is directed to the sample . the resulting raman scattering is introduced into the interferometer 7 . in this example , raman spectra produced at different instants of time during the reaction of the sample can be obtained . referring to fig1 , there is shown a yet further time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this apparatus is characterized in that the concept of the differential method is introduced in it . this apparatus includes a clock pulse generator 24 consisting of a timer 15 and a 1 / 2 frequency divider 25 . the timer 15 produces first clock pulses having a period of 2t &# 39 ; ( fig1 ( c )) to a stimulus generator 18 . the frequency divider 25 produces second clock pulses having a period of t &# 39 ; ( fig1 ( b )) to a power supply 17 via a variable delay circuit 16 . the output from a detector 5 is supplied to an a / d converter 8 via a band - pass filter 26 and via a lock - in amplifier 27 . the stimulus generator 18 repeatedly gives a stimulus to a sample 6 at intervals of 2t &# 39 ; in response to the first clock pulses asynchronously with the clock pulses which are produced by the interferometer 7 and have a period of t as shown in fig1 ( a ). the variable delay circuit 16 delays the second clock pulses delivered at intervals of t &# 39 ; from the timer 15 by a certain time of δτ &# 39 ;. the power supply 17 lights up the pulsed light source 11 in response to the delayed clock pulses . signal p arising from the sample in excited state is given by signal q originating from the sample in steady state is given by these signals p and q alternately appear at the output of the detector 5 as shown in fig1 ( f ). the band - pass filter 26 is used to remove the higher harmonics and the lower components of the output from the detector 5 . we now discuss the output signal ( fig1 ( g )) from the band - pass filter 26 to which the output signal from the detector 5 is applied . by fourier - transforming iii t &# 39 ; ( t - δτ &# 39 ;) with respect to t , we have ## equ2 ## we pay attention to the second term and take the fourier transform of iii 2t &# 39 ; ( t - δτ &# 39 ;- t &# 39 ;). the second term is given by that is , both spectra obtained by fourier transformation are side bands of the frequency of 1 / 2t &# 39 ; and have a phase of 2π ( δτ &# 39 ;/ 2t &# 39 ;), but they are 180 ° out of phase with each other . the band - pass filter 26 is designed to pass only these two terms . therefore , the filter 26 is required to have two pass bands which have band widths of b ( σ ) and b &# 39 ; ( σ , δτ &# 39 ;), respectively , and both of which start at the frequency of 1 / 2t &# 39 ;. it can be seen from equations ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) that an interferogram given by is modulated at the frequency 1 / 2t &# 39 ;. accordingly , the output signal is supplied to the lock - in amplifier 27 and synchronized with the reference signal having the frequency 1 / 2t &# 39 ;. thus , we have ## equ3 ## this means that the difference between the interferogram obtained from the sample in excited state and the interferogram obtained from the sample in normal state is extracted . this differential interferogram is fed via the a / d converter 8 to the cpu 9 , where the interferogram is fourier - transformed . as a result , a differential spectrum given by b &# 39 ; ( σ , δτ &# 39 ;) - b ( σ ) is obtained . since the differential spectrum is treated in this way , the signal applied to the a / d converter 8 is compressed to compensate for the lack of the dynamic range of the converter 8 . hence , the a / d converter 8 is prevented from deteriorating the signal - to - noise ratio . in the above example , the timer 15 produces the clock pulses having the period of t &# 39 ; to the variable delay circuit 16 . the frequency divider 25 produces the clock pulses having the period of 2t &# 39 ; to the stimulus generator 18 in response to the clock pulses generated by the timer 15 . a modification of this configuration is shown in fig1 , where a timer 15 produces clock pulses having a period of 2t &# 39 ; to the stimulus generator 18 . a frequency multiplier 30 produces clock pulses having a frequency twice as high as the frequency of the clock pulses produced by the timer 15 . the clock pulses from the multiplier 30 are supplied to the delay circuit 16 . in this example , time - resolved spectroscopy using a pulsed light source is extended to the differential method which is affected neither by the condition of the apparatus nor by changes in the environment . referring to fig1 , there is shown a still other time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this apparatus is similar to the apparatus shown in fig1 except that n delay circuits 16 1 - 16 n , n band - pass filters 26 1 - 26 n , n lock - in amplifiers 27 1 - 27 n , n a / d converters 8 1 - 8 n , a summing network 19 for supplying the sum of the output signals from the delay circuits to the power supply 17 , and a distributing circuit 20 are added . the distributing circuit 20 distributes the output signal from the detector 5 among the band - pass filters in response to the output signals from the delay circuits . in this structure , different delay times δτ 1 &# 39 ;, δτ 2 &# 39 ;, δτ 3 &# 39 ;, etc . are set into the delay circuits , respectively . therefore , it is possible to obtain an interferogram with the difference between any desired two of n different delay times in one measurement . fig1 is a waveform diagram illustrating the operation of the apparatus shown in fig1 . referring next to fig1 , there is shown an additional time - resolved spectrometer according to the invention . this apparatus is similar to the apparatus shown in fig1 except that the plural delay circuits are replaced by a multiplier circuit 21 producing clock pulses having a period of t &# 39 ;/ n ( n is an integer equal to or greater than 2 ) in response to the recurring pulses having the period of t &# 39 ; delivered from the timer 15 . the pulsed light source 11 is lit up at intervals of t &# 39 ;/ n in response to the pulses of the increased frequency . the pulse distributor 22 distributes the pulses of the increased frequency among the n channels to produce n - channel switching pulses which have a period of t &# 39 ; and respectively delayed by t &# 39 ;/ n , 2t &# 39 ;/ n , 3t &# 39 ;/ n , etc . with respect to each stimulus . the distributing circuit 20 is operated according to the n - channel switching pulses . in this example , the delay times are restricted to integral multiples of t &# 39 ;/ n , though the delay times of the delay circuits can be set at will in the example shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a fourier transform raman spectrometer according to the invention . this spectrometer exploits the differential method in the same way as the example shown in fig1 . in this example , the light source is removed , and the sample 6 is placed there instead of the light source . a pulsed laser 28 for exciting the sample and another pulsed laser 29 for producing the raman effect are also employed . the laser 28 produces a pulsed laser beam in response to the clock pulses having the period of 2t &# 39 ; delivered from a frequency divider 25 , in order to illuminate the sample , for exciting it . the other laser 29 emits a pulsed laser beam in response to the clock pulses having the period of t &# 39 ;, the pulses being delayed by δτ &# 39 ; by means of the delay circuit 16 after being produced by the timer 15 . this laser beam is also made to impinge on the sample 6 to induce the raman effect . fig1 shows a modification of the example shown in fig1 . this example of fig1 is similar to the example shown in fig1 except that n delay circuits 16 1 - 16 n , n band - pass filters 26 1 - 26 n , n lock - in amplifiers 27 1 - 27 n , n a / d converters 8 1 - 8 n , a summing network 19 for supplying the sum of the output signals from the delay circuits to the power supply 17 , and a distributing circuit 20 are added . the distributing circuit 20 distributes the output signal from the detector 5 among the band - pass filters in response to the output signals from the delay circuits . in this structure , different delay times δτ 1 &# 39 ;, δτ 2 &# 39 ;, δτ 3 &# 39 ;, etc . are set into the delay circuits , respectively . therefore , it is possible to obtain an interferogram with the difference between any desired two of n different delay times in one measurement .	6
with reference to fig1 - 5 , a jacket 10 is constructed by folding a blank 12 of light - weight cardboard and the like to define an interior space 14 . the space 14 is enclosed on five sides by a top panel 16 positioned in opposition to a bottom panel 18 , and an end panel 20 of narrow width that is connected to the top and bottom panels 16 , 18 along scored crease or fold lines 22 , 24 . lateral wings 26 are attached along crease or fold lines 28 to the sides of the top panel 16 ; lateral wings 30 are attached to the sides of the bottom panel 18 along crease or fold lines 32 . as best illustrated in fig2 when the blank 12 is folded along the crease lines 22 , 24 so that the top panel 16 moves into opposition with the bottom panel 18 , the lateral wings 26 attached to the side edges of the top panel 16 are folded along the lines 28 to nest within the folded - up lateral wings 30 at the side edges of the bottom panel 18 . the width of the wings 26 , 30 is such that the top and bottom panels 16 , 18 are substantially parallel when the blank 12 is folded and the lateral wings 26 are adhered to the inner side surfaces of the lower lateral wings 30 by means of an adhesive , indicated as dotted surfaces in fig1 and 2 . a tapered top end flap 34 attaches to the top panel 16 along the fold or crease line 36 and a tapered bottom end flap 38 attaches to the bottom panel 18 along the fold or crease line 40 . in an assembled jacket , the end flaps 34 , 38 are folded into the inside space 14 of the jacket ( fig2 - 5 ) and adhered to the top and bottom panels 16 , 18 respectively via an adhesive indicated with dots at 42 on the upper top end flap 34 and at 44 on the bottom end flap 38 . the adhesive zones 42 , 44 are narrow and substantially centered between the fold lines 28 , 32 . the end flaps 34 , 38 after being folded inwardly along the fold lines 36 , 40 , respectively , even when the fold lines are scored , have a resilience or memory that tends to draw the flap away from the respective adjacent panel 16 , 18 . thereby , a gap 46 opens between the top panel 16 and the trailing edge 48 of the upper tapered flap 34 . a similar gap 50 forms between the inner edge 52 of the lower end flap 38 and the bottom panel 18 . the gaps 46 , 50 are non existent at the centers of the flaps 34 , 38 where the adhesive 42 , 44 holds the flaps respectively to the top and bottom panels 16 , 18 . however , the gaps increase in dimension ( fig3 ) as the distance from the centered adhesive increases , the largest gaps being at the points of intersection 54 , 56 , where the tapered sides of the flaps 34 , 38 meet the trailing edges 48 , 52 , respectively . a circular opening 58 positioned on the crease 40 in the blank 12 becomes a semi - circular finger access opening 58 &# 39 ; when the flap 38 is folded inwardly as illustrated in fig2 - 5 . a relatively rigid plastic disc carrier 60 has a planar surface 62 with a recess formed therein . the recess includes a depressed base surface 64 , and an intermediate surface 66 . an upper rim 68 surrounds the planar surface 62 and recesses 64 , 66 , except for cutouts 70 that give a person finger access below the edge of a compact disc 71 , when the disc is held by flexible fingers 72 that rise from the recessed base 64 to engage the center hole ( not shown ) of the disc 71 . a similar rim 74 surrounds the planar surface 62 from the underside . as the disc carrier 60 is inserted through the open end of the jacket 10 , the rims 68 , 74 around the carrier 60 deflect the flaps 34 , 38 towards the top panel 16 and bottom panel 18 respectively , and entry of the carrier is easily accomplished . however , when the disc carrier 60 is withdrawn from the jacket 10 , in the direction indicated by the arrow 76 , the edges 48 , 52 of the flaps 34 , 38 snag against , that is , make engagements with , the innermost portions of the rims 68 , 74 ( fig5 ) and prevent the carrier 60 from being pulled farther out of the jacket 10 . therefore the jacket 10 does not separate from the carrier 60 . with the carrier 60 extended from the jacket 10 , the compact disc 71 is easily removed from or positioned on the fingers 72 within the recess of the carrier 60 . neither the flaps 34 , 38 nor the top and bottom panels 16 , 18 of the jacket 10 rub on the surface of the compact disc 71 when the jacket and compact disc carrier 60 slide relative to each other because the disc 71 is recessed well below the carrier &# 39 ; s planar surface 62 and is further protected by the elevated peripheral rims 68 , 74 . the central adhesive portions 42 , 44 prevent the flaps 34 , 38 from unfolding and extending into contact with the disc surface . moreover , a descriptive brochure may be placed on a compact disc 71 . the brochure is sized to fit within the recess 66 and similarly will not interfere with the operation of the carrier . thus , an economical , light - weight cardboard jacket , which may be printed on all sides with eye - catching graphics , is provided that adequately protects a compact disc retained on a compact disc carrier . the jacket 10 and carrier 60 do not separate when moved to the open position illustrated in fig4 . however , application of lateral pressure on the jacket 10 , as indicated by the arrows 78 , allows for release of the jacket 10 from the carrier 60 by flexing the jacket panels 16 , 18 apart , leaving clearance for the rims 68 , 74 to pass freely between the flaps 34 , 38 . many alternative embodiments in accordance with the invention are possible . for example , the flaps 34 , 38 need not be tapered , but may be notched so the edges 48 , 52 are shorter than the fold lines 36 , 40 and fit between the rims 68 that are oriented in the direction 76 of motion . the opening 58 may be omitted , be positioned at the fold line 36 on the upper panel 16 , or may be of another shape . an opening 58 may be provided on each panel 16 , 18 . the surfaces joined with an adhesive in the embodiment described above may be joined by other suitable techniques , for example , thermal bonding , etc . the flaps 34 , 38 may be replaced , as described hereinafter , by transverse protrusions extending from the panels 16 , 18 or sides 26 , 30 into the space 14 so as to engage the carrier rims 68 , 74 when the carrier is substantially withdrawn from the jacket . an alternative embodiment of a jacket 110 and the blank 112 from which it is formed is illustrated in fig6 - 11 . the jacket 110 , as explained hereinafter , is a breakaway portion of a carton 114 comprised of the jacket 110 and a dummy housing 116 . proper folding and gluing ( for example ) of the blank 112 produces the carton 114 of fig8 that can be separated into its components , the jacket 110 and dummy housing 116 , by exertion of a transverse force along a line 118 of diecut perforations that encircles the carton 114 near its longitudinal mid - section . as stated , compact discs are relatively small , and flat . therefore use of an oversized carton 114 when a compact disc is offered for sale has the advantage of increased size , which inhibits concealment and theft of the article from the seller &# 39 ; s premises . promotional material may be provided on the exterior surfaces of the dummy housing as well as on the jacket 110 . the jacket portion of the carton 114 includes a jacket top panel 120 , jacket bottom panel 122 , and intermediate side panel 124 connected to the top and bottom jacket panels 120 , 122 along respective fold lines 126 , 127 . an end panel 128 connects to the top panel 120 along the fold line 130 and an end panel 132 connects to the jacket bottom panel 122 along the fold line 134 . a side panel 136 connects to the jacket bottom panel 122 along the fold line 138 and a tab 140 connects to the side panel 136 along the fold line 141 . tabs 142 at the ends of the side panels 124 , 136 provide rigidity and good sealing at the corners when the carton 114 is folded . a semi - circular line 144 of perforations intersects the perforated line 118 in the jacket top panel 120 and in use provides the user with finger access to a carrier within the jacket . the dummy housing portion of the blank 112 includes a dummy top panel 146 , a dummy bottom panel 148 hingedly connected to a side panel 150 along fold lines 151 , 152 respectively . an end panel 153 connects to the dummy top panel 146 at the fold line 154 and the end panel 160 connects to the dummy panel 148 along the fold line 158 . a side panel 160 connects to the dummy bottom panel 148 along the fold line 161 , and tabs 142 are also provided on the side panels 150 , 160 , as described above . a zig - zag leaf 162 connects to the side panel 160 of the dummy housing bottom panel 148 along the fold line 163 . the leaf 162 includes a central or first doubler 164 , a lateral or second doubler 166 connected to side panel 160 along the fold line 163 , a first spacer 168 between the doublers 164 , 166 and a second spacer 170 located between a tab 172 and the central doubler 164 . the second spacer 170 is separated from the tab 172 and the central doubler 164 by a pair of lines 174 that in their solid portions represent die cuts through the blank , and in their broken line portions represent die cut perforations . the first spacer 168 is separated from the central doubler 164 and the second doubler 166 by lines 175 that are similar in construction to the lines 174 , described above . a center flap 176 , a first side flap 178 and a second side flap 179 are connected along the perforated line 118 to the leaf 162 . the flaps 176 , 178 , 179 are separated along diecut lines 180 from each other , and from the tab 140 . an adhesive is represented by a dotted surface in the figures . one side of the tab 172 is covered with a layer 182 of adhesive . one side ( fig7 ) of the second doubler 166 is covered with adhesive 184 . a strip of adhesive 181 runs along the first doubler 164 and a patch of adhesive 183 covers a central portion of the center flap 176 . the tab 140 has adhesive 185 on one surface . the blank 112 of fig6 is formed into the carton 114 of fig8 by folding the blank illustrated in fig6 along the fold lines 138 , 161 and again along the fold lines 141 , 163 . as indicated ( fig7 ) by the arrow 186 , the zig - zag leaf 162 is then folded such that the spacers 168 , 170 are perpendicular to the surface of the dummy housing bottom panel 148 . the tab 172 is folded inwardly toward the second doubler 166 until the tab 172 is substantially parallel to the dummy housing bottom panel 148 . thus , a two - level structure is formed with the first doubler 164 abutting the dummy housing bottom panel 148 and with the tab 172 and second doubler 166 elevated above the dummy housing bottom panel 148 . the center flap 176 is at the level of the bottom panels 148 , 122 and abuts the surface of the jacket bottom panel 122 . the first and second side flaps 178 , 179 are elevated above the jacket bottom panel 122 and attached along the perforated line 118 to the tab 172 and second doubler 166 , respectively . as illustrated in fig7 the side flaps 178 , 179 are each partially covered with adhesive , with a crease line 188 separating the adhesive coated portion from the bear portion . the adhesive strip 181 on the first doubler 164 bonds the first doubler to the dummy housing bottom panel 148 , and the adhesive 183 on the center flap 176 bonds the center flap to the jacket bottom panel 122 . in this semi - completed state , the segments of the perforated line 118 , which will separate the finished jacket 110 from the dummy housing 116 , on the panels 120 , 122 and on portions of the zig zag leaf 162 , are in alignment . the blank 112 is then folded , in the direction indicated by the arrow 190 , along the fold lines 126 , 127 , 151 , 152 until the edge 192 of the blank 112 is in alignment with the folded edges 141 , 163 ( fig7 ). the exposed areas 182 , 184 , 185 of adhesive , that is , the adhesive visible in fig7 are bonded to what are now the inner surfaces of the jacket top panel 120 and the dummy housing top panel 146 to form the carton 114 illustrated in fig8 . the end panels 152 , 156 at both ends of the carton 114 are conventional , including the tabs 142 , and their assembly into the finished product is not described herein . adhesive ( not shown ) holds these elements in their assembled condition . the above description for folding and bonding the elements of the carton 114 together is not intended to indicate that this represents the only sequencing of steps able to produce the carton 114 , or is even a preferred sequence . the production details of folding the blank 112 into the completed item 114 , including those steps in the procedure when a disc carrier with a compact disc is incorporated into the assembly , are not a portion of this invention and are not described herein . nevertheless , when the carton is completely assembled , for sale , a compact disc carrier , the same or similar to that used for the embodiment described above , is included in the carton 114 . when the dummy housing 116 is separated from the jacket 110 along the die - cut perforated line 118 , the side flaps 178 , 179 remain bonded by the adhesive to the inner surface of the jacket top panel 120 , and the center flap 176 remains bonded to the jacket bottom panel 122 . the portions of the flaps 176 , 178 , 179 that are not bonded with adhesive to the adjacent surface separate from the adjacent surface , ( fig1 ) due to the fold lines in those flaps , and the general resilient characteristics , that is , memory , of the jacket material . the disc carrier 60 &# 39 ; is similar to the disc carrier 60 except that an upper ledge 194 and a lower ledge 196 extend parallel to each other from the rear 198 of the carrier 60 &# 39 ; and parallel to the adjacent jacket surfaces 120 , 146 . the ledges 194 , 196 come in contact with the inwardly extending portions of the flaps 176 , 178 , 179 when the carrier 60 &# 39 ; is pulled from the jacket 110 in the direction of the arrow 200 . the widths 202 , 204 of the ledges 194 , 196 respectively , determine the position at which an extended carrier 60 &# 39 ; is stopped in its outward motion . the widths 202 , 204 are selected so that both ledges 194 , 196 make contact with a flap simultaneously , although contact with either the lower flap 176 or upper flaps 178 , 179 will suffice in preventing separation of the carrier 60 &# 39 ; from the jacket 110 when extracting a disc from the carrier 60 &# 39 ;. the portion of the carrier 60 &# 39 ; that remains within the jacket 110 ( fig1 ) is greater than the portion of the carrier 60 which remains within the jacket 10 ( fig5 ) because of the width of the ledges . a more rigid cantilever - type joint between jacket and carrier is provided in the embodiment of fig1 than in the construction of fig5 . as in the embodiment of fig1 - 5 , the carrier 60 &# 39 ; is releasable from the jacket 110 by application of transverse forces , for example , exerted by a person &# 39 ; s fingers , as indicated by the arrows 202 . a finger access opening 204 is provided in the jacket by removing the material enclosed between the perforated line 118 and the semi - circular line 144 on the blank 112 . the blank can be formed to provide a finger opening on either the top or bottom panel or both panels , or the opening may be omitted . in another alternative embodiment ( fig1 - 15 ) of a jacket 10 &# 39 ; in accordance with the invention , the tapering end flaps 34 , 38 of fig1 - 5 are replaced with flaps 34 &# 39 ;, 38 &# 39 ;, respectively , having a rectangular shape with diagonal fold lines 35 , 37 , respectively , at the free corners . adhesive 42 &# 39 ;, 44 &# 39 ;, illustrated as a dotted surface in fig1 , covers the flaps 34 &# 39 ;, 38 &# 39 ; except for the triangular tabs 45 , that is , the end portions defined by the fold lines 35 , 37 . in the completed jacket 10 &# 39 ;, the tabs 45 are tilted into the space 14 within the jacket , the tabs 45 depending along the fold lines 35 , 37 and leaving a gap between the adjacent panels 16 , 18 . the other constructional features of the jacket 10 &# 39 ; are correspondingly similar to the jacket 10 , described above . when the disc carrier 60 is pulled out of the jacket 10 &# 39 ; in the direction indicated by the arrow 76 , each tab 45 attached to the top panel 16 of the jacket slips beneath a lip 69 that extends from the upper rim 68 of the carrier 60 at the corners that normally remains within the jacket . this engagement between the carrier 60 and jacket 10 &# 39 ; during motion in the outward direction ( 76 ) prevents separation of the carrier 60 from the jacket 10 &# 39 ; except upon application of transverse forces 78 , as described above . it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above , and those made apparent from the preceding description , are efficiently attained and , since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are 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 said to fall therebetween .	6
referring now to the drawings and to fig1 in particular there is shown a power generating apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention which is arranged to be installed on a stationary platform 11 located over a body of water designated generally by the letter w . the body of water w is of the type having a wave motion on its surface characterized by swells w1 and troughs w2 typical of the ocean or the like . the stationary platform 11 may be of any suitable type such as a wharf , and by way of example may be a portion of the deck of an off - shore drilling platform suitably supported in the well known manner in a remote location off - shore from land . the apparatus of fig1 includes at least one buoyant member 12 such as a hollow floatation chamber or the like which is pivotally attached by means of an elongated support member designated generally by the numeral 13 to the underside 11a of the platform 11 for reciprocating pivotal movement in the direction of the double arrow 1 . as can be understood , the buoyant member 12 as it floats on the surface of the body of water w , is moved by wave motion from the broken line position of fig1 corresponding to the trough w2 of the wave and the solid line position of fig1 corresponding to the crests or swells w1 sub 1 of the wave . as shown best in fig2 the support member 13 comprises a pair of support arms 16 , 17 arranged in spaced apart parallel relationship . the outer ends of the support arms 16 , 17 are pivotally connected by means of pins 18 , 19 to brackets 21 , 22 suitably secured to the upper surface of the buoyant member 12 . the opposite ends of the arms 16 , 17 are pivotally connected by means of pins 23 , 24 on brackets 26 , 27 suitably mounted on the underside 11a of platform 11 . at the point intermediate the ends of the support arms 16 , 17 , the arms are connected by means of a lost motion coupling to a vertically extending piston rod 31 connected to the piston 32 of a cylinder and piston assembly designated generally the symbol 33 suitably mounted on the upper surface 11b of the platform 11 as shown best in fig1 . more specifically , the lower end of the piston rod 31 which extends through a suitably provided opening 34 in the platform 11 is secured centrally to a cross arm 36 as shown best in fig2 the outer ends of which are provided with portions of reduced diameter 36a , 36b which are received in longitudinally extending slots 37 , 38 in the arms 16 , 17 respectively . thus , as the buoyant member 12 moves between the dotted line and solid line position of fig1 the piston rod 31 is maintained in a substantially vertical position for reciprocating movement in the direction of the double arrow p as the cross arm portions 36a , 36b slid to and fro within the guide slots 37 , 38 respectively . the reciprocating movement of the piston rod 31 moves the piston 32 connected thereto into an upper position during the upstroke adjacent the upper end 41a of the cylinder 41 of the cylinder - piston assembly 33 and a lower position during the downstroke of the piston 32 adjacent the bottom end 41b of the cylinder 41 within the cylinder bore 41c . the upper portion 41a and the lower portion 41b of the cylinder 41 is provided with inlet and outlet openings 46 , 48 , and 47 , 49 respectively which are provided with check valve means as shown schematically in fig3 . in fig3 check valves 53 , 54 are disposed within the outlet openings 47 , 49 respectively . as can be understood , the check valves 51 , 52 permit the entry of atmospheric air as indicated by the arrows a in fig1 while blocking the flow of air outwardly from the inlet openings 46 , 48 . the check valves 53 , 54 in the outlet openings 47 , 49 permit the discharge of compressed air outwardly from the cylinder 41 as indicated by the arrows c while preventing the flow of compressed air in the opposite directions into the cylinder 41 . the apparatus of fig1 also includes a storage reservoir 56 for compressed air having an inlet 57 and an outlet 58 to which a conduit 59 is connected for conducting compressed air stored in the reservoir 56 to a point of use as will be explained hereinafter . conduit means are provided for communicating the outlet openings 47 , 49 in the cylinder 41 with the storage reservoir 56 . more specifically , conduits 61 , 62 are connected to the outlet openings 47 , 49 respectively in the cylinder 41 with the other ends of the conduits connected by means of a t - fitting 63 to a conduit 64 communicating with the reservoir inlet 57 . thus , compressed air discharged from the outlet openings 47 , 49 is conducted alternately through conduits 61 , 62 to the common conduit 64 for storage in the reservoir 56 . in the operation of the apparatus fig1 the wave motion which causes the buoyant member 12 to move between the dotted line and solid line position pivoting on the support arms 16 , 17 in a reciprocating manner as indicated by the double arrow i , the piston rod 31 is moved vertically down - ward from the dotted line position of fig1 as the buoyant member 12 moves from the solid line to the broken line positions due to the wave motion of the body of water w . as the piston 32 is moved downward , atmospheric air is drawn into the inlet opening 46 in the direction of the arrow a and air within the cylinder bore 40c below the piston is compressed and discharged through the outlet opening 49 , the check valves 52 and 53 , closing inlet opening 48 , and outlet opening 47 respectively so that compressed air flows from the outlet opening 49 through conduits 62 , 64 into the storage reservoir 56 during the downstroke of the piston 32 . as the piston 32 is then moved upwardly resulting from the movement of the buoyant member 12 from the broken line to the solid line position of fig1 the piston compressed the air in the cylinder bore 41c above the piston drawing in atmospheric air through inlet opening 48 and discharging compressed air from outlet opening 47 through conduit 61 , 64 for storage in the reservoir 56 . the check valves 51 , 54 during the upstroke of the piston 32 close off inlet opening 46 and outlet opening 49 respectively , the piston rod 31 being maintained in a substantially vertical position during both the upstroke and downstroke of the piston 32 as a result of the lost motion coupling 13 . as indicated above , the compressed air stored in the reservoir 56 may be used for generating power such as the pumping of water for use in a steam generator , driving a hydraulic turbine or the like . in fig3 the power generating apparatus of the invention is utilized together with a gas operated turbine shown schematically and designated by the reference numeral 71 . the shaft of the gas operated turbine 71 may be drivably connected in any suitable manner to an electric generator 72 of any conventional type for the generation of electric power . as shown in fig3 the compressed air from the reservoir 56 is conducted through a valve 73 through conduit 59 to the input 74 of turbine 71 provided with a discharge outlet 76 . referring now to fig4 and 5 , there is shown another embodiment of the invention wherein a plurality of power generating apparatuses of the type shown in fig1 are arranged in tandem for increasing the power producing capacity of a single apparatus . like numerals have been used to identify like parts in fig4 . in the embodiment of fig4 , a plurality of buoyant members 12 are provided each pivotally connected as in the apparatus of fig1 to the underside of the platform 11 and each is associated with one of a plurality of cylinder - piston assemblies 33 . the outlet openings 47 , 49 are connected to conduits 61 , 62 respectively and rather than two check valves 53 , 54 as in the embodiment of fig1 only a single check valve 78 is provided as shown in fig5 . the outlet conduit 61 , 62 of each of the cylinders 33 are arranged to be connected to a common conduit 79 extending throughout the plurality of cylinder - piston assemblies 33 as viewed in fig4 by means of short tubular section 81 . as has been explained with respect to the embodiment of fig1 the common conduit 79 is connected to a compressed air storage reservoir 56 having an outlet 58 to which conduit 59 is connected for conducting compressed air from the reservoir 56 to the point of use . having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention .	8
the present invention may be performed in any of a variety of known computing environments . the environment of fig1 comprises a representative conventional computer 100 , such as a desktop or laptop computer , including a plurality of related peripheral devices ( not depicted ). the computer 100 includes a microprocessor 105 and a bus 110 employed to connect and enable communication between the microprocessor 105 and a plurality of components of the computer 100 in accordance with known techniques . the computer 100 typically includes a user interface adapter 115 , which connects the microprocessor 105 via the bus 110 to one or more interface devices , such as a keyboard 120 , mouse 125 , and / or other interface devices 130 , which can be any user interface device , such as a touch sensitive screen , digitized pen entry pad , etc . the bus 110 also connects a display device 135 , such as an lcd screen or monitor , to the microprocessor 105 via a display adapter 140 . the bus 110 also connects the microprocessor 105 to memory 145 , which can include rom , ram , etc . the computer 100 communicates via a communications channel 150 with other computers or networks of computers . the computer 100 may be associated with such other computers in a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), or it can be a client in a client / server arrangement with another computer , etc . all of these configurations , as well as the appropriate communications hardware and software , are known in the art . software programming code that embodies the present invention is typically stored in a memory 145 of the computer 100 . in the client / server arrangement , such software programming code may be stored with memory associated with a server . the software programming code may also be embodied on any of a variety of non - volatile data storage device , such as a hard - drive , a diskette or a cd - rom . the code may be distributed on such media , or may be distributed to users from the memory of one computer system over a network of some type to other computer systems for use by users of such other systems . the techniques and methods for embodying software program code on physical media and / or distributing software code via networks are well known and will not be further discussed herein . the preferred embodiment is practiced using a machinery corner function for creating a parametric corner between adjacent geometries , e . g . two flanged geometries , with a variety of different parameters , where those parameters can be bend angles , bend radii , corner angle , and bend direction , for example . turning now to the figures , wherein like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views , the machinery corner function will be described using the steps from fig2 a - 2 d and illustrated by fig3 through fig1 , where the plain figure number illustrates both sides formed , the figure number with a single prime illustrates one side formed and one side unformed , and the figure number with a double prime illustrates both sides unformed . beginning with fig3 , where two flanges of different radius are both bent down at ninety degrees and the designer intends to create a machinery corner , the function starts associating the geometries by creating a butt - joint geometry 300 with a gap equal to one modeling tolerance ( step 200 ). butt - joints are commonly understood in the sheet metal industry and will not be explained further . the difference in height between the flanges that meet at the butt - joints is not illustrated in fig3 ′ and fig3 ″, but the higher flange butt - joint is located on an associate flange 302 , and the lower flange butt - joint is located on a parent flange 304 . at this point , the machinery corner , i . e . tool body , is not united to a target body 308 , and will not be united until the completion of the process step . to complete the geometry association , the function next operates to trim the associate flange 302 and the parent flange 304 to the same height ( step 205 ), or also referred to as trimming an extrude 306 , where the extrude 306 is the higher portion of the butt - joint geometry 300 , the result of which is indicated by the presence of a prior height mark 400 on the associate flange 302 . next the function calculates an intersection point 500 from a normal to an associate bend tangent line 506 and a parent bend tangent line 508 , where the bend tangent lines are extended from the associate flange 302 and the parent flange 304 , respectively ( step 210 ), as illustrated in fig5 and fig5 ′. a top point 502 and a bottom point 504 connect the parent flange 304 and the associate flange 302 and are calculated in the unformed state . lines that start with the intersection point 500 and are parallel to the bend tangent lines ( or cylindrical axis ) intersect the side edges of both ends . the two lines that connect the top point 502 and bottom point 504 create a parent mapped bend line 600 and an associate mapped bend line 602 , as illustrated in fig6 , fig6 ′, and fig6 ″, that subdivides the parent and associate faces ( step 215 ), respectively . create a plane 800 through a first point 700 a second point 701 and a common - edge vertex 802 , where the common - edge vertex 802 is the intersection of the extended butt - joint surfaces ( step 220 ). then create a bottom b - curve 702 , where the bottom b - curve 702 subdivides the parametric surface into two surface portions , a first surface portion and a second surface portion . the bottom b - curve 702 is tangentially constrained to the parent bend tangent line at the parent mapped bend line 600 and the associate bend tangent line at the associate mapped bend line 602 ( step 225 ). next intersect the plane 800 and the bottom b - curve 702 , and then split the bottom b - curve 702 ( creating a first half b - curve 702 a and a second half b - curve 702 b ) at an intersection point 804 ( step 230 ). through the bottom b - curve 702 create a mesh b - surface 704 on the first surface portion . the mesh b - surface 704 creation is composed of a primary curve and a cross curve . the primary curves consists of an associate bend side curve 806 and the second half b - curve 702 b . and the cross curves consist of a parent bend side curve 808 and the opposite portion of the first half b - curve 702 a , while using tangency to constrain the two adjacent faces ( step 235 ). to form additional b - surfaces on a second surface portion of the parametric surface ( step 240 ) with intersecting the plane 800 ( illustrated in fig9 ′) having the mesh b - surface 704 created ( step 235 ), the function then creates an associate b - curve 902 and a parent b - curve 900 between the associate bend tangent line 506 and the parent bend tangent line 508 and two intersection curves , where the intersection curves are the first half b - curve 702 a and the second half b - curve 702 b , respectively ( step 245 ). the function creates a mesh b - surface 1000 using the first half b - curve 702 a and the associate bend tangent line 506 for the primary curve , and the associate b - curve 902 , and a first associate side curve 906 and a second associate side curve 908 as the cross curve , while using tangency constrains to the three adjacent faces ( step 250 ). to complete the second surface portion of the machinery corner with the function disclosed , repeat step 250 to form another b - surface on the other side , shown at 1100 , ( step 255 ) for the result shown in fig1 - 11 ″. repeat step 220 through step 255 to create the remaining b - surfaces for a top side 1200 as shown in fig1 - 12 ″ ( step 260 ). after all top and bottom parametric surfaces are created , the function creates lofted surfaces 1302 a , 1302 b , 1302 c , 1302 d , and 1302 e ( step 265 ) connecting multiple edges of the parametric surfaces , and sews all faces into a solid tool body 1300 , illustrated in fig1 - 13 ″. finally , the solid tool body 1300 is united to the target body 308 ( step 270 ). with the improved method disclosed herein , 3d cad systems are able to create machinery corners as illustrated in fig1 - 16 , where both corners are formed , both corners are unformed , or one corner is formed while the other is unformed . further , the preferred embodiment can create machinery corners where one of the bend angles are more than ninety degrees , as seen in fig1 . it is important to note that an additional benefit of the disclosed method for creating machinery corners is the consistent parameterization among all states , so there is no central rail edge to separate two bending forms , as illustrated in fig1 & amp ; 19 , which are isoparametric views of fig1 and fig1 ′, respectively . this concludes the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention . the following describes some alternative embodiments for accomplishing the present invention . for example , the invention may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or in computer hardware , firmware , software , or in combinations thereof . an apparatus of the invention may be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine - readable storage device for execution by a programmable processor ; and method steps of the invention may be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to perform functions of the invention by operating on input data and generating output . the invention may advantageously be implemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from , and to transmit data and instructions to , a data storage system , at least one input device , and at least one output device . the application program may be implemented in a high - level procedural or object - oriented programming language , or in assembly or machine language if desired ; and in any case , the language may be a compiled or interpreted language . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory and / or a random access memory . storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of nonvolatile memory , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , such as eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and cd - rom disks . any of the foregoing may be supplemented by , or incorporated in , specially - designed asics ( application - specific integrated circuits ). the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described for the purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . many modifications and variations in the disclosed embodiment may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts . therefore , it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description , but rather by all variations and modifications as may fall within the spirit and the scope of the claims appended hereto .	6
the optimum transducer “ scanning ” speed for delivering a predetermined dose of ultrasound to a desired treatment area determined by a scanning plan is a function of both the cavitation related mechanical index ( mi ) and tissue temperature thermal index ( ti ) settings . while cavitation is a threshold mechanism there is both an amplitude factor beyond the threshold level and an exposure time factor involved in emulsifying a certain fraction of the treated fat , whereby low settings require a slow scanning speed and high settings require faster scanning speeds . the relationships can be estimated from the numerical values of mi and ti and further refined empirically using data from animal and clinical studies . furthermore , since the transducer is not 100 % energy efficient , its face ( skin contact area ) will create heat and if not properly controlled may present a hazard for potential skin burns . moving the transducer across the skin surface will also significantly reduce localized peak skin temperature . in the case where there is a sensor monitoring the transducer face temperature , control of the skin heating can be included in the speed indicator . if there is no transducer face temperature sensor the suggested transducer movement speed component due to tissue heating can be based on empirical data from animal and clinical studies . there are at least three approaches for addressing control of the ultrasound dose delivery , as summarized in fig1 a and 1 b , fig2 a and 2 b , and fig3 . one method requires the user to be part of the feedback loop , whereby the system , the transducer , or a separate device acts as a visual guide for the user to apply the desired scanning speed . the first embodiment is an example of this approach . another method consists of a subsystem that detects the transducer scanning velocity and in real time transfers this information to the system , which in turn adjusts parameters such as mi and ti ( i . e ., ultrasound dose ) to achieve the desired effect based on the actual speed of transducer movement . this relieves the user from precisely matching the desired scanning speed , but still requires the user to keep track of the transducer position and the ultrasound beam focal depth . the second embodiment is an example of this . a third method monitors the transducer position , which is transferred to the system in real time . with this information and the presence of a clock , the transducer velocity may also be easily calculated . now the system can automatically adjust the needed parameters such as mi , ti and focal length to accomplish the planned treatment , giving the user the freedom to move the transducer almost “ at will ”. the third embodiment is an example of this . it should be noted that there is much more value in using a 3d coordinate system , where the ( contoured ) skin defines two of the dimensions and the depth below the skin surface is the third , rather than a cartesian coordinate system fixed to the operating room or even fixed to localized patient movements . the connecting lines in the functional block diagrams in fig1 a to 3 have the following meaning . the occasional user control of the system / console is shown as 7 . item 8 indicates that the user reads the scanning speed indicator . item 9 indicates that the user views the actual scanning speed of the transducer . item 10 indicates that the user actually holds and moves the transducer . item 11 shows the transmit signals from the system to the transducer . item 12 shows the low level power supply and control signals from the system to the scanning speed pad 5 or optical sensor . item 13 indicates the path of sensor signals from the optical sensor to the built in decoder , which translates the information into position and speed . one embodiment ( fig1 a and 4 ) is to have a visual transducer scanning speed indicator on the transmitter ( main unit , console or system ) that moves with the same speed that is optimal for the transducer motion on the skin . the speed indicator can take the form of a moving cursor 2 on a screen 1 of the transmitter . the moving cursor can take many forms , the one shown in fig1 a , 1 b , 2 a , 2 b and 4 through 6 consists of four moving dots ( light sources such as leds ). these may be sequentially switched on and off at a controlled rate , or the first switched on , the second switched on , etc . with all being switched off and the cycle repeated after the last light source has been switched on , either of which is to be considered sequential switching on , or scanning . the user can then practice matching that speed while holding the transducer near the screen . when sufficiently proficient he / she can match the speed when scanning on the skin . as verification , the user can mark the skin for a certain distance and calculate the time needed to traverse that distance based on the numerical value of the desired velocity . another version ( fig1 b and 5 ) of the first embodiment is to have a visual transducer scanning speed indicator on the transducer itself 3 , for example in the form of an array of visual indicators ( light sources ) such as light emitting diodes ( leds ) 4 , which light up in a sequence corresponding to the desired speed of the transducer . it will then be up to the user to provide the “ feedback loop ” by moving the transducer at the indicated speed . here the user can perform the same verification as described above . a second embodiment is a separate flexible scanning speed guidance pad 5 ( fig2 a , 2 b and 6 ), which can be placed on the patient adjacent to the intended transducer path . the flexible material can be silicone rubber or other material with leds ( or other visual indicators ) 6 molded in . the leds are sequentially switched on and off so that they provide visual scanning speed guidance in proximity to the transducer . the speed guidance pad can be manufactured in different lengths and / or from different materials to fit the desired treatment area , and can also be either disposable ( single patient use ), semi - disposable , or reusable . the leds can be powered either by batteries , as in the embodiment of fig2 a , or by the transmitter , embodiment of fig2 b , in which case a power cord is detachably connected to the guidance pad . by being connected to the transmitter , the system may display the scanning speed , scanning location or position , and range of scan distance if the pad is physically longer than the desired scan needed to match the system settings , while the battery operated solution either would require wireless transmission of the information , or require the user to set the scanning speed according to the transmitter &# 39 ; s displayed parameters . a third embodiment is an optical 2d location sensor technology similar or identical to those used in an optical computer mouse , as in fig3 and 7 . the sensor primarily consists of a light source 13 , a translucent membrane or cavity 16 , a lens 14 to collimate the reflected light from the skin 18 , which also goes through the acoustic coupling gel 19 and continues through an optical guide to an optical sensor array 20 embedded in an integrated circuit 17 . as indicated in fig3 the optical sensor is attached to or built into a transducer , generally like that of fig5 . the sensor information is passed through the transducer cable and processed in the system to find the position and velocity of the transducer . any speckle , phase shift , frequency shift or other characteristics may be used to detect motion and velocity . as with a computer mouse , the optical 2d location sensor can lose track of the transducer position if lifted from the surface ( skin ). this can be overcome with a simple calibration process , whereby the user moves the transducer to a marked calibration spot on the skin , push a calibration button on the transducer or on the system , and moves the transducer on the skin to the desired location . in the case of a “ brush - beam ” ( non circular symmetric beam ) it becomes important to scan approximately perpendicular to the width ( long axis ) direction of the brush - beam . this third embodiment is very adaptable to a scanning plan in which the user graphically composes a 3d volume using software within the system or off line , showing the relative location and amount of treatment wanted , both with respect to cavitation ( fat emulsification ), heating ( skin tightening ), or other aesthetic / dermatologic / therapeutic treatments . off line use of the scanning plan software allows data transfer to the system . during the procedure , the system can keep track of the transducer &# 39 ; s location and in real time can adjust critical parameters such as mi , ti and focal depth ( if equipped with electronic focusing ), so the desired treatment “ dose ” eventually will be delivered . the real time difference between the desired and actual delivered “ dose ” can also be displayed on the system graphically in a 2d format , so the user can concentrate the transducer motion in the area where more treatment is needed . this allows the user to move the transducer freely within certain boundaries with respect to both position and speed . for the best outcome with respect to the treatment plan , the transducer needs to be oriented perpendicular to the skin and in the case of a brush - beam transducer , the scanning velocity vector needs to be perpendicular to the brush width direction . however , an angular error relative to the exact perpendicularity is a cosine function , meaning that it is a weak dependency , so that in reality , perpendicularity need not be monitored , but can be continuously estimated by the user . the suggested speed shown by the various embodiments of the speed indicator can be based on mi , ti and instantaneous transducer face temperatures and / or acquired data from animal and clinical studies . while the above methods are intended to be used in conjunction with a non - invasive ultrasound lipoplasty transducer , the inventions , the scanning light source of the first two embodiments can be used on handheld transducers for other modalities , including aesthetic , dermatologic , or other therapeutic applications . in the claims to follow , a reference to a handheld external ultrasound treatment transducer is a reference to a handheld external ultrasound transducer useable for lipoplasty , skin tightening , aesthetic , dermatologic /, and other therapeutic purposes . thus , while certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed and described herein for purposes of illustration and not for purposes of limitation , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
fig1 illustrates a conventional memory device 10 that can advantageously use embodiments of test circuits illustrated in fig4 and 5 in accordance with the present invention . the memory device 10 shown in fig1 is a synchronous dynamic random access memory (“ sdram ”) 10 , although the test circuits may also be used in other dram &# 39 ; s and other memory devices . the sdram 10 includes an address register 12 that receives either a row address or a column address on an address bus 14 . the address bus 14 is generally coupled to a memory controller ( not shown ). typically , a row address is initially received by the address register 12 and applied to a row address multiplexer 18 . the row address multiplexer 18 couples the row address to a number of components associated with either of two memory banks 20 , 22 depending upon the state of a bank address bit forming part of the row address . associated with each of the memory banks 20 , 22 is a respective row address latch 26 , which stores the row address , and a row decoder 28 , which applies various signals to its respective memory bank 20 or 22 as a function of the stored row address . the row address multiplexer 18 also couples row addresses to the row address latches 26 to refresh memory cells in the memory banks 20 , 22 . the row addresses are generated for refresh purposes by a refresh counter 30 that is controlled by a refresh controller 32 . after the row address has been applied to the address register 12 and stored in one of the row address latches 26 , a column address is applied to the address register 12 . the address register 12 couples the column address to a column address latch 40 . depending on the operating mode of the sdram 10 , the column address is either coupled through a burst counter 42 to a column address buffer 44 , or to the burst counter 42 which applies a sequence of column addresses to the column address buffer 44 starting at the column address that is output by the address register 12 . in either case , the column address buffer 44 supplies a column address to a column decoder 48 which applies various column signals to respective sense amplifiers and associated column circuitry 50 , 52 for the respective memory banks 20 , 22 . data to be read from one of the memory banks 20 , 22 are coupled to the column circuitry 50 , 52 for one of the memory banks 20 , 22 , respectively . the data are then coupled to a data output resister 56 which applies the data to a data bus 58 . data to be written to one of the memory banks 20 , 22 are coupled from the data bus 58 through a data input register 60 to the column circuitry 50 , 52 and then are transferred through word line driver circuits in the column circuitry 50 , 52 to one of the memory banks 20 , 22 , respectively . a mask register 64 may be used to selectively alter the flow of data into and out of the column circuitry 50 , 52 , such as by selectively masking data to be read from the memory banks 20 , 22 . the above - described operation of the sdram 10 is controlled by a command decoder 68 responsive to high level command signals received on a control bus 70 . these high level command signals , which are typically generated by a memory controller ( not shown in fig1 ), are a clock enable signal cke , a clock signal clk , a chip select signal cs , a write enable signal we , a column address strobe signal cas , and a row address strobe signal ras , with the “” designating the signal as active low or complement . the command decoder 68 generates a sequence of command signals responsive to the high level command signals to carry out the function ( e . g ., a read or a write ) designated by each of the high level command signals . these command signals , and the manner in which they accomplish their respective functions , are conventional . therefore , in the interest of brevity , a further explanation of these control signals will be omitted . fig2 is a simplified schematic diagram of one embodiment of a word line driver circuit 75 in accordance with the prior art that may be advantageously used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . fig3 a and 3b are timing diagrams illustrating waveforms for the circuit of fig2 operating in a normal mode , in accordance with the prior art , and in a test mode , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , respectively . each word line in the memory banks 20 , 22 of fig1 is coupled to gates of a plurality of access transistors ( not illustrated ) for respective columns in each row . when the access transistor in an addressed column is turned on , it couples a memory cell to one of a pair of complementary digit lines for that column . an access transistor is thus provided for each column in each row of each array 20 , 22 . for the access transistors in each row to turn on , the voltage applied to their gates by the respective word line drive circuit 75 must be greater than the voltage present on a digit line coupled to the source of the access transistor . the voltage on the digit line is normally either a supply voltage v cc or ground when data is being written to the memory cell . however , since the access transistors are normally nmos transistors , the voltage applied to their gates must be greater than v cc by the magnitude of the threshold voltage of the access transistors for the access transistors to be able to apply v cc to their memory cells . accordingly , the word line driver circuit 75 includes a level translator circuit 77 that allows the word line driver circuit 75 to output signals that vary between ground or logic “ 0 ” and v ccp , which is a voltage 1 . 0 volts or more greater than v cc . as a result , the access transistor can be turned on when the source of the memory cell transistor is at v cc during a write operation . in a normal mode of operation and as a part of a conventional precharge sequence , the word line driver circuit 75 has a first input lph , known as “ local phase complement .” the first input lph is active low and is normally high ( at logic “ 1 ”) until , at a time to ( see fig3 a ), the memory device 10 is ready to write data to a selected memory cell coupled to that word line driver circuit 75 . the word line driver circuit 75 has a second input in that is selected by the row decoder 28 of fig1 when a row address corresponding to the row coupled to the word line driver circuit 75 is selected . the second input in is coupled to a tristate drive circuit ( not shown ) that provides a word line driver circuit selection signal and that provides a high impedance ( dashed trace , fig3 a ) when the tristate drive circuit is not active . the second input in is initially ( i . e ., prior to time to ) at logic “ 1 ” because the logic “ 1 ” at the first input lph * turns on a nmos transistor 80 , which then couples the second input in to v cc . the nmos transistor 80 has a source coupled to v cc and a drain coupled to the second input in . because the first input lph * is initially set to logic “ 1 ,” an output node wl is set to logic “ 0 ” by a nmos transistor 82 , which is turned on by the signal at the first input lph . a pmos transistor 84 is also initially turned on because the output node wl is set to logic “ 0 .” in turn , a pmos transistor 85 is turned off because the node n 1 is coupled to v ccp by the on pmos transistor 84 . at time t 0 , the first input lph is switched active low in all of the word line driver circuits 75 , turning off the nmos transistor 82 , but the output node wl is maintained at logic “ 0 ” by a nmos transistor 86 , which continues to be turned on by the logic “ 1 ” present at the second input in . until time t 1 , the tristate driver circuit is in the high impedance state , and the second input in acts as a capacitor , maintaining the initial logic “ 1 ” due to the signal at the first input lph * having been at logic “ 1 ”. at time t 1 , the tristate driver circuit switches from the high impedance state to logic “ 1 ” ( solid trace , second input in , fig3 a ). when one of the word line driver circuits 75 is addressed at time t 2 ( fig3 a ), the second input in in that word line driver circuit 75 changes to logic “ 0 ”, turning the nmos transistor 86 off . the second input in being logic “ 0 ” turns an nmos transistor 88 on , setting a node n 1 low . setting the node n 1 low turns the pmos transistor 85 on , thereby driving the output node wl to v ccp and turning off the pmos transistor 84 . in accordance with the prior art , the tristate drive circuit coupled to the second input in becomes high impedance after t 3 at the end of writing data into a memory cell , maintaining the voltage present on the second input in , and thereby maintaining the voltage present on the node n 1 . in the normal mode of operation , the signal to the first input lph * then becomes inactive high at time t 3 , turning the nmos transistor 82 on and causing the voltage present on the output node wl to decrease towards ground , turning the pmos transistor 84 on . in turn , the voltage on the node n 1 increases to v ccp , turning the pmos transistor 85 off . as a result , the output node wl is no longer enabled and is coupled to ground or logic “ 0 .” in a test mode of operation in accordance with the present invention , the pmos transistors 84 , 85 and the nmos transistors 86 , 88 of the word line driver circuit 75 are also able to act as a dynamic latch . prior to the time t 2 , the word line driver 75 input and output signals of fig3 a and 3b are identical for both the normal and test modes of operation . when the signal coupled to the first input lph * is maintained active low at logic “ 0 ” after time t 3 , the word line driver circuit 75 remains latched with the output node wl at a voltage of v ccp until leakage currents cause the output node wl to discharge enough , or until leakage currents cause the node n 1 to charge enough , to turn the pmos transistor 84 on and to turn the pmos transistor 85 off . as a result , when the signal coupled to the first input lph * is maintained at logic “ 0 ” following the return of the tristate drive circuit coupled to the second input in to a high impedance state after time t 3 , the word line that was just selected will remain selected while the row decoder 28 of fig1 selects and triggers another word line driver circuit 75 to activate that word line driver circuit 75 . the ability to successively activate subsequent word lines while keeping active the word lines that have already been activated allows a variety of tests to be conducted more efficiently . for example , when tests of a memory cell or other structure are being conducted that involve holding a memory cell or a word line in a specific state or at a specific voltage for an extended period of time , multiple word lines may be sequentially addressed and thus tested together . this greatly reduces testing time . additionally , some prior art tests turn on multiple word lines but do so simultaneously . the word lines provide a capacitive load , resulting in large charging currents and thereby generating substantial noise or interference due to capacitive coupling . this noise is coupled to other portions of the memory device 10 and , in particular , results in excessive coupling of signals between activated row lines and associated digit lines . by sequentially turning on individual rows , the currents charging the word lines are spread out in time , substantially reducing this source of interference . this is useful in a variety of prior art stress tests where multiple rows are activated , such as half - rows high , all rows high and other tests where groups of rows are turned on and then stay on together . further , when testing patterns that turn on multiple rows are programmed into the row decoder 28 of fig1 during the design of the memory device 10 , only a limited number of test patterns are programmed , and these test patterns are determined before the first memory device 10 of this design is fabricated . some of the problems that may be encountered in fabricating large numbers of memory devices 10 using this design may be more efficiently tested for by using , a test pattern that cannot be predicted before the memory devices 10 have been fabricated . the present invention allows the tester to use software control to program any multiple row activation test pattern as desired after the memory devices 10 have been fabricated in order to address problems that develop after the memory device 10 has been fabricated . in some tests , a first row , known as a “ seed ” row , is programmed with data that are then propagated from one memory cell to another through portions of the memory device 10 before being read external to the memory device 10 . when the seed row is defective , or when an error occurs in writing data to the seed row , and the test sequence is preprogrammed into the row decoder 28 , the prior art does not allow either the seed row or another row to be written with new data in order to allow testing to proceed . embodiments of the present invention solve this problem by allowing test software to automatically select a different row as the seed row or to rewrite data to the seed row . there are several ways that a test signal test can maintain the signal coupled to the first input lph * in an active state ( e . g ., active low ) in the test mode of operation , allowing activation of multiple word line driver circuits 75 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . one embodiment ( not shown ) includes one extra nmos transistor in each word line driver circuit 75 . a gate of the extra nmos transistor is coupled to the output node wl , a drain of the extra nmos transistor is coupled to the node n 1 and a source of the extra nmos transistor is coupled to a drain of another nmos transistor by a line extending from each word line driver circuit 75 to a common node . the another nmos transistor is shared by multiple word line driver circuits 75 and has a gate coupled to the signal test and a source coupled to ground . the extra nmos transistor maintains the voltage on the node n 1 by compensating for leakage currents that result in the voltage present on the output node wl decreasing from v ccp towards ground . a disadvantage of this approach is that the extra nmos transistor is required in each word line driver circuit 75 . the dram memory device 10 of fig1 includes over sixteen thousand word line driver circuits 75 . this embodiment thereby requires over sixteen thousand of the extra nmos transistors , and twenty or more additional lines across the chip . a technique in accordance with embodiments of the present invention for maintaining the voltage on the output node wl at v ccp refreshes the word line driver circuit 75 at suitable intervals by resetting the second input in to logic “ 0 ” and thus retriggering the dynamic latch . for example , when a group of 64 rows is repeatedly selected with a cycle time of 20 nanoseconds between row activation commands , each word line driver circuit 75 will be refreshed every 1 . 28 microseconds . these techniques may be used to maintain the signal coupled to the first input lph * active low , and the voltage on the output node wl near v ccp , during consecutive row activate commands . fig4 is a simplified schematic diagram of a test circuit 100 useful in the memory device 10 of fig1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the test circuit 100 is a portion of the even row drivers of the row address latch 26 of fig1 and includes row sublatches 102 and 104 , nand gates 106 - 110 , inverters / buffers 112 - 122 , multiplexers 124 - 130 and nor gates 132 - 138 . only the nor gates 132 - 138 are not conventional , and , in the interest of brevity , only the nor gates 132 - 138 will be discussed here . the nor gate 132 has an input coupled to the signal test . when the signal test is active high , all of the global phase driver signals gph are maintained active high . as a result , all of the local phase driver signals coupled to the first input lph * ( fig2 ) are maintained active low . the nor gate 132 replaces an inverter normally used in the even row driver portion of the row address latch 26 . the nor gate 132 acts as an inverter when the signal test is inactive low . the test circuit 100 eliminates signals ra 0 , ra 7 and ra 8 ( row addresses 0 , 7 and 8 ) and redundant match decoding from the phase driver signal path . the signals test , ra 0 ( ra 0 is used in odd row driver paths ) and rmch ( redundant match ) are coupled to combinatorial logic formed from nor gates 134 - 138 , inverters 120 and 122 and multiplexer 126 to re - incorporate the signals ra 0 and rmch into a predecoding path as will be understood by those of skill in the art . similarly , the signals ra 7 and ra 8 may be incorporated into the predecoding path by other conventional combinatorial logic . the embodiment of fig4 activates four rows per section at a time for all combinations of signals ra 7 and ra 8 unless ra 7 and / or ra 8 are incorporated into the predecode path . fig5 is a simplified schematic diagram of another test circuit 150 useful in the memory device 10 of fig1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the test circuit 150 is also a modification of the even row drivers of the row address latch 26 of fig1 with the inverter 112 ( see fig4 ) replaced by one side of a latch comprising two cross - coupled nor gates 152 , 154 that act as the inverter 112 when the signal test is inactive low . a nand gate 156 decodes ra 80 and test to determine when to set the global phase driver bph active high . these embodiments all cause the output node wl of fig2 to remain active , i . e ., to maintain a voltage of v ccp , through multiple consecutive row activate commands . in these embodiments , the output node wl is reset when either a precharge or a clear test command takes effect and resets the signal test inactive low . an advantage of embodiments of the present invention is that only a single test signal test is required in order to enter the test mode of operation . the nor gates 134 - 138 , inverters 120 , 122 and multiplexers 124 , 126 function as in the circuit 100 of fig4 . accordingly , operation of these circuits is not discussed further here . fig6 is a simplified flow chart of a process 200 for testing writeback margin for the memory device 10 of fig1 and fig7 is a simplified timing diagram for the process 200 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . fig7 shows waveforms clk , corresponding to a clock signal ; command , corresponding to commands that are active during a specific clock cycle ; address , corresponding to the address in the memory array 20 , 22 of fig1 that the commands are relevant to ; and array , corresponding to several signals present in the memory array 20 , 22 , as given below in table i . the word lines of the example of fig6 and 7 are arbitrary and are in an arbitrary order ( and could be in any other arbitrary order ). the process 200 of fig6 begins with a step 202 of setting the signal test ( fig2 ) active high prior to a first clock cycle of a memory test , i . e ., prior to t0 ( see arrow , top trace , labeled clk in fig7 ). command is active , i . e ., data may now be read from or written to the memory arrays 20 , 22 of fig1 . command stays in this state during the first four clock cycles of the process 200 in this example . during the first clock cycle , address corresponds to row 0 and the word line driver circuit 75 of fig2 for row 0 is activated . in a step 204 , a first word line wl0 is activated on a rising edge of the first clock pulse , i . e ., at a time t0 . in a step 206 , a pair of digit lines are set to data values digits ( bottom trace , fig7 ), thereby addressing the data digits to a first memory cell at an intersection of the pair of digit lines and the first word line wl 0 0 . in a step 208 , a second word line wl4 is activated on a rising edge t1 of a second clock pulse immediately succeeding the first clock pulse , thereby addressing a second memory cell at the intersection of the pair of digit lines and the second word line wl4 , and the first word line wl0 is maintained active . in a step 210 , a third word line wl8 is activated on a rising edge t2 of a third clock pulse immediately succeeding the second clock pulse , thereby addressing a third memory cell at the intersection of the pair of digit lines and the third word line wl8 , and the first wl0 and second wl4 word lines are maintained active . in a step 212 , a fourth word line wl12 is activated on a rising edge t3 of a fourth clock pulse immediately succeeding the third clock pulse , thereby addressing a fourth memory cell at the intersection of the pair of digit lines and the fourth word line wl12 , and the first wl0 , second wl4 and third wl8 word lines are maintained active . in a step 214 , the first wl0 , second wl4 , third wl8 and fourth wl12 word lines are maintained active during a pause of three to twenty microseconds , represented by slashes in fig7 . in a step 216 , following the pause , the digital values digits of the pair of digit lines are inverted at the falling edge of an n th clock pulse , i . e ., a sense amplifier associated with the pair of digit lines is driven to a logical state that is the inverse of the logical state of the sense amplifier in steps 206 - 212 . in a step 218 , on a rising edge at a time tn + 1 of an n + 1 - th clock pulse , the first through fourth word lines wl0 - wl12 are turned off , storing values in the addressed memory cells that correspond to the state of the signals digits on the pair of digit lines . in a step 220 , the data stored in the memory cells that were addressed in steps 204 - 218 are read out . a query task 222 compares the read data to corresponding expected values . when the query task 222 determines that one or more of the memory cells provided read data that do not agree with the expected data , the sense amplifier is not able to effectively drive the load of the combined addressed memory cells at that clock speed . in a task 224 , data describing memory cell failures , such as the number of memory cell failures , is stored in a memory and the process 200 ends . when the query task 222 determines that the read data and the expected values agree , the sense amplifier is able to drive the load represented by the addressed memory cells at that clock speed , as is discussed below in more detail . the process 200 then ends . the sense amplifiers in the column circuitry 50 , 52 ( fig1 ) have an output resistance , and the digit lines are capacitive . as a result , the digit lines do not switch immediately and instead charge up or down over a period of time ( see , e . g ., the traces digits at the bottom of fig7 at times between t0 and t1 and to the right of tn , as denoted at the top ). when the second through fourth memory cells are added to the sense amplifier load , the time constant for charging the digit lines increases ( compare digits between t0 and t1 to digits to the right of tn ). when the output resistance of the sense amplifier is too high , or when the clock speed is too fast , the signals digits on the pair of digit lines will not have changed state before the first through fourth word lines wl0 - wl12 were turned off at time tn + 1 . as a result , the data stored in one or more of the first through fourth memory cells will be incorrect . the present invention allows the number of word lines that are used in this type of test to be incremented by one word line at a time , providing finer granularity to the measured data than is possible with prior art writeback margin tests . as a result , it is possible to learn more about margin stress for the memory device 10 being tested than could be learned from prior art testing techniques . fig8 is a simplified flow chart of a process 250 for rasclobber testing for leakage between cells for the memory device 10 of fig1 and fig9 is a simplified timing diagram for the rasclobber process 250 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . tests where a relatively long pause between writing a data pattern and reading data measures even small amounts of charge leaking from one memory cell to another are known as “ clobber ” tests . when charge leakage is present , one or more memory cells adjacent to the memory cells to which data were written will “ float ” from a pre - programmed logical state to a voltage about halfway between the allowed states of logic “ 0 ” and logic “ 1 ” or to the value stored in the adjacent cell to which charge is leaking . fig9 shows waveforms clk , command , address and array , having the same meanings as the corresponding waveforms illustrated in fig7 . in a step 252 ( fig8 ), the signal test ( fig4 and 5 ) is set active high prior to a first clock cycle of a memory test , i . e ., to the left of an arrow at t0 ( see the top trace labeled clk in fig9 ). command is active , i . e ., data may be read from or written to the memory arrays 20 , 22 of fig1 . command stays in this state during those subsequent clock cycles in which columns are selected for re - writing a seed row . during the first clock cycle , i . e ., while clk is at logic “ 1 ” following time t0 ( top trace , fig9 ), address corresponds to , for example , row 0 and the word line driver circuit 75 of fig2 for row 0 is activated . in a step 254 , a first word line wl0 is activated on a rising edge ( at t0 ) of the first clock cycle . in a step 256 , a pair of digit lines are set to data values digits ( bottom trace , fig9 ), thereby addressing data to memory cells coupled to the pair of digit lines . in a step 258 , command is set to write and a selected column , for example col 0 , is written on a rising edge t1 of a second clock cycle immediately succeeding the first clock cycle , thereby addressing and writing data to an addressed memory cell . the step 258 also includes providing the row address and the bank address to specify the addressed memory cell to which the data represented by digits is being written . command stays in the write state for the next three clock cycles in the example of fig9 . a query task 262 then determines if all of the desired columns have been written . when the query task 262 determines that not all of the desired columns have been written , a next desired column is selected in a step 264 and control passes back to the step 258 . the steps 264 , 258 and 262 then repeat until the query task 262 determines that all of the desired columns have been addressed , i . e ., the new seed row has had data written to it , or the seed row has been rewritten with new data . in the example of fig8 and 9 , memory cells located at the intersection of columns 0 - 4 and row 0 form at least part of the seed row . then , in a step 266 , command is set to active . in a step 268 , a selected row is activated to copy the data that were written to the seed row into the selected row . a query task 270 then determines if all of the desired rows have been activated . when the query task 270 determines that not all of the desired rows have been activated , a next desired row is selected in a step 272 and control passes back to the step 268 . the steps 272 , 268 and 270 repeat until the query task 270 determines that all of the desired rows have been addressed , i . e ., the data from the seed row have been written to the desired rows ( row 4 and row 8 in the example of fig8 and 9 ). the steps 254 - 270 require that the local phase signals lph * be latched active low during these steps for at least these rows . then , in a step 274 , a pause is introduced ( denoted by slashes in fig9 ) generally on the order of 32 to 100 milliseconds but which may be longer or shorter . the pause in step 274 allows defective memory cells to discharge through high resistance interconnects to memory cells adjacent to the cells to which data were written during the steps 260 - 272 . the precharge command shuts off all row lines at the end of the pause time . in the step 275 , data are read normally ( i . e ., per specifications ) from the memory cells . a query task 276 determines if the read data agree with corresponding expect data . when the query task 276 determines that the read data and the corresponding expect data agree , the process 250 ends . when the read data and the corresponding expect data do not agree , the addresses of failed memory cells are stored in a memory in a step 278 . the process 250 then ends . as a result of the dynamic latching capability of the write line driver circuit 75 of fig2 and the software programmability of the present invention , any row may be used as the seed row and the rows to which data are written from the seed row may be chosen under software control . fig1 is a flowchart of a process 280 that repeatedly uses the rasclobber process 250 of fig8 to test the memory arrays 20 , 22 of fig1 . in a step 282 , the process 250 is invoked to write a first set of data , data , to , e . g ., all the even rows , and to determine which , if any , memory cells 25 fail . for example , all of the even rows could be written to logical “ 1 ” and all of the odd rows to logical “ 0 ,” or a “ checkerboard ” pattern could be used . in a step 284 , the process 250 ( fig8 ) is invoked to write the complement of the first set of data , data , to all of the even rows , and to determine which , if any , memory cells fail . in a step 286 , the process 250 is invoked to write the first set of data , data , to all of the odd rows , and to determine which , if any , memory cells fail . in a step 288 , the process 280 is invoked to write the complement of the first set of data , data , to all of the odd rows , and to determine which , if any , memory cells fail . the process 280 then ends . the process 280 thus tests each memory cell in the memory arrays 20 , 22 of fig1 in each logical state , i . e ., logic “ 0 ” and logic “ 1 ,” to determine if a high resistance interconnection exists between any memory cell and the neighboring memory cells . in a typical rasclobber test , where a 48 millisecond delay is used in the step 272 for the pause , and 16 , 000 rows need to be tested , a total test time of about 800 seconds is required to test the memory arrays 20 , 22 of fig1 if the rows are tested one at a time . prior art approaches turn groups of rows on simultaneously , resulting in large charging currents that may cause interference , and are inflexible in that only predetermined groups of rows may be turned on together . the embodiments of the present invention allow rows to be turned on one at a time , in any order and in any combination . as a result , test time is reduced and flexibility in testing is possible . when a row is initially written to as the chosen seed row and the read data suggest that the seed row may be defective , embodiments of the present invention allow either that seed row to be rewritten or a new seed row to be chosen . for example , when a seed row includes a memory cell that is shorted to ground , all of the other memory cells that are coupled to that memory cell will store a logic “ 0 .” when the data are read from the memory arrays 20 , 22 , the presence of a short circuit will be seen to be likely . although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , the invention is not limited to this preferred embodiment . rather , the invention is limited only by the appended claims , which include within their scope all equivalent devices or methods which operate according to the principles of the invention as described .	6
the following detailed description is of example embodiments of the presently claimed invention with references to the accompanying drawings . such description is intended to be illustrative and not limiting with respect to the scope of the present invention . such embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the subject invention , and it will be understood that other embodiments may be practiced with some variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject invention . throughout the present disclosure , absent a clear indication to the contrary from the context , it will be understood that individual circuit elements as described may be singular or plural in number . for example , the terms “ circuit ” and “ circuitry ” may include either a single component or a plurality of components , which are either active and / or passive and are connected or otherwise coupled together to provide the described function . additionally , the term “ signal ” may refer to one or more currents , one or more voltages , or a data signal . referring to the figure , an lvds signal driver circuit 10 ( preferably in integrated circuit form ) in accordance with one embodiment of the presently claimed invention includes a differential signal driver circuit 12 and feedback circuitry 14 which , as discussed in more detail below , controls the signal driver circuit 12 in such a manner as to provide an output signal voltage vout , in which the peak - to - peak differential signal amplitude vod is maintained at a substantially constant value ( e . g ., approximately 350 millivolts ) notwithstanding pvt variations . the lvds driver circuitry 12 includes p - type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors ( p - mosfets ) m 0 , m 1 , m 2 , m 3 and m 4 , all interconnected substantially as shown . in accordance with well known lvds circuit principles , transistors m 1 , m 2 , m 3 and m 4 form the output signal “ switchbox ” with differential pair transistors m 1 and m 2 receiving the primary differential phase vina and differential pair transistors m 3 and m 4 receiving the inverse differential phase vinb of the input signal vin . ( it should be understood that while this driver circuitry 12 has been implemented using p - mosfets exclusively , similar circuitry can be implemented using n - mosfets exclusively or a complementary arrangement of p - and n - mosfets .) transistor m 0 serves as a tail current source for the driver current id flowing between the positive power supply terminal vdd and the negative power supply terminal vss / gnd . this transistor m 0 is biased , or controlled , by a control voltage vcon which , as discussed in more detail below , establishes and maintains the driver current id such that the output signal vout is maintained at the desired amplitude vod notwithstanding pvt variations . the feedback circuitry 14 includes signal peak detection circuits 16 , 18 , a signal combiner ( e . g ., summer ) 20 and a voltage comparison circuit 22 , all interconnected substantially as shown . in accordance with well known lvds circuit principals , the interconnected drain and source terminals of transistors m 1 and m 3 and transistors m 2 and m 4 provide the differential output signal vout . the gate terminals of transistors m 1 and m 2 receive the primary (“ positive ”) differential signal phase vina and the gate terminals of transistors of m 3 and m 4 receive the inverse (“ negative ”) differential signal phase vinb of the input signal vin . when transistors m 1 and m 4 are turned on , transistors m 2 and m 3 are turned off , while conversely when transistors m 2 and m 3 are turned on , transistors m 1 and m 4 are turned off . accordingly , the driver current id is steered through an external load resister ( not shown ) to produce the output voltage vout . the differential signal components vouta and voutb of the output signal vout are processed by the signal peak detection circuits 16 , 18 . the positive peak detection circuit 16 detects the maximum ( e . g ., most positive or least negative ) signal value of the output signal vout and provides an output signal voh indicative of that value . similarly , the negative peak detection circuit 18 detects the minimum ( e . g ., most negative or least positive ) signal value of the output signal vout and provides an output signal vol indicative of that value . the signal combiner circuitry 20 differentially sums these detection signals voh , vol by subtracting the minimum value detection signal vol from the maximum value detection signal voh and provides a resultant , or difference , signal vres indicative of the difference between these two signals voh , vol . this resultant signal vres is compared against a reference signal vref in the signal comparison circuitry 22 . as a result of this comparison , the control signal vcon is generated to indicate the difference between the resultant signal vres and the reference vref . in accordance with the foregoing discussion , the feedback circuitry 14 monitors the output lvds signal vout and , through the feedback control signal vcon , establishes and maintains the driver current id such that the amplitude vod of the output signal vout is maintained notwithstanding pvt variations , as well as variations in the external load ( not shown ) through which the driver current id flows . various other modifications and alternations in the structure and method of operation of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention . although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments , it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments . it is intended that the following claims define the scope of the present invention and that structures and methods within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby .	7
this invention is broadly directed to the production of thermoplastic foams but is particularly adapted for the production of foams from styrenic resins . styrenic resins include polystyrene and polymers of substituted styrenes particularly para - methylstyrene as well as copolymers thereof . the volatile organic blowing agent which is used preferably a hydrocarbon or a halogenated hydrocarbon . suitable materials include propane , the isomers of butane , the isomers of pentanes and hexanes , and halogenated hydrocarbons such as trichloroflouromethane and dichlorodifluoromethane . the quantity of volatile organic blowing agent which is used can vary depending on the product desired but generally is in the range of 0 . 05 to 0 . 1 mols per 100 grams of the thermoplastic . for isopentane 2 to about 8 weight percent is generally suitable . the amount of water used can vary considerably but amounts which will give a water to organic blowing agent ratio of 0 . 1 : 1 to 0 . 5 : 1 have been found suitable . it is preferred that the composition contain a finely divided solid as a nucleating agent . talc is conventionally used in polymeric foams and is preferred . the films of this invention can be prepared by the use of an apparatus such as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 049 , 768 to luthra , which is incorporated herein by reference . in the system of fig1 resin pellets comprising polystyrene and talc are fed to an extruder 40 to supply hopper 41 . other additives such as colorants , stabilizers , etc . can be added but are not essential for the invention . in extruder 40 , the resin is thoroughly fused at a temperature above its melting point , generally in the range of 150 ° to 250 ° c . the blowing agent mixture is introduced in the downstream end of extruder 40 in two optional systems . for this purpose , feed injection lines 42 and 43 are provided for feeding water and physical blowing agent , respectively . optionally , the water and volatile organic agent can be injected at a common point , and for this purpose valve 44 in line 42 and valve 46 in line 47 are provided . from the extruder , the resin is passed to mixer 48 for thorough mixing and temperature reduction , temperatures of 75 ° and 135 ° c . generally being used . from mixer 48 the mixture passes to a tubing die 49 . for the production that is suitable for use in packaging materials , a circular die is used and the tubular film 50 expanded over a cooled mandrel 51 , cut with a knife 52 , opened up and taken to a take - up system , not shown . the extrusion die is more particularly shown in fig2 which schematically represents a portion of an extrusion and forming line incorporating a cooling arrangement useful in the present invention . thermoplastic material such as polystyrene foam may be extruded through annular extrusion orifice 12 to form tubular foam member 15 which begins to foam immediately upon exit from the annular orifice 12 of die member 11 . as shown in fig2 and 6 , there is an external conventional air ring 13 which surrounds the extruded tube 15 as it emerges from the die orifice and immediately being cooling the extruded surface of foam 15 to retard foaming action on that surface while the internal portion of the layer foam and forms individual foam cells . tubular foam member 15 is next down over the surface of cylindrical drum member 26 which forms , and additionally cools , the foam tube . the cooling action is achieved on the drum surface by the circulation of cooling fluids ( not shown ) in the internal surface of drum 26 . as foam tube 15 is drawn along the surface of drum 26 , it is eventually slit by slitter knives 31 positioned on opposite sides of drum 26 . subsequently , the slit , individual foam sheets are passed to further processing or , alternatively , to a wind - up operation . as also shown in fig2 and in greater detail in fig6 and internal fluid cooling nozzle 16 is positioned interiorly of the foam tube as it emerges from die member 11 . nozzle 16 is positively positioned by having an externally centrally located probe 14 aligned with an inserted into matching engagement with recess 14 located centrally on the face of annular die 32 . hence , nozzle 16 will always be positively centrally positioned with respect to the die and the foam material 15 issuing from the die orifice . radial orifice 27 which surrounds nozzle 16 supples cooling air under pressure to the internal surface of foam layer 15 immediately upon its emergence from die orifice 12 as more clearly shown in fig6 . the direction of the cooling air from orifice 27 is substantially perpendicular to the interior surface of tubular foam element 15 whereby all of the cooling from nozzle 16 is directed at the interior surface of the foam 15 . supply coolants for nozzle 16 may be selected from a variety of gaseous media and particularly air is a preferred coolant . preferably , the air may be chilled by conventional refrigeration exchange means ( not shown ) and is subsequently fed to supply line 17 and through supply line 17 enters nozzle 16 , as shown in fig6 through passage 29 and is distributed through plenum 30 into chamber 28 , which contains baffling material such as copper gauze or polyurethane open cell foam and the like materials to act as a baffle for diffusing the air prior to its exit from orifice 27 of cooling nozzle 16 . the orifice gap 27 of nozzle 16 may have an aperture of from about 7 mil . to about 20 mil . and preferably from about 10 mil . to about 15 mil . it is preferred that relatively high velocity air , i . e ., on the order of from about 600 ft / min . to about 1 , 000 ft / min . to be forced through orifice 27 to effect sudden and rapid cooling of the interior surface of foam tube 15 . the preferred distance intermediate the interior foam surface and orifice gap 27 is about 1 / 8 inches , but may vary from about 0 to 1 inches . it will be noted that the face of forming drum 26 has a protruding lip 25 surrounding its periphery to facilitate passage of the foam tube to and over the surface of drum 26 . the face 20 of drum 26 , as shown in fig3 is provided with a radial aperture 22 . in accordance with one aspect of the device radial aperture 22 is employed to exhaust the cooling air supplied by nozzle 16 out of the interior of the space defined by the die face , the conical portion of tube 15 , and the drum face 20 . for precise control of the rate of exhaust of the cooling air from drum face 20 , radial aperture 22 is baffled with an adjustable baffle plate 21 mounted immediately behind drum face 20 as shown in fig2 . baffle plate 21 is provided with a radial aperture 23 which when in alignment with radial aperture 22 will allow for maximum flow or exhaust of cooling air from the interior of the tube . it will be noted that baffle plate 21 is mounted on a rotatable vent control arm 19 , handle 18 being affixed to vent control arm 19 to adjust movement of baffle plate 21 with respect to drum face 20 . it will be obvious that as aperture 23 of rotatable baffle plate 21 is moved out of alignment with aperture 22 is drum face 20 , the amount of air which is exhausted from the interior of the tube will be decreased proportionately , baffle plate 21 gradually obstructing radial orifice 22 as radial orifice 23 is turned out of alignment therewith . the periphery of aperture 23 of rotatable baffle plate 21 is lined with a sufficient amount of rubber gasket material so as to minimize air leaks and thereby making the control of air through this baffle plate arrangement more effective . fig5 which is a vertical cross - section through drum face member 20 and baffle element 21 , when they are in operative engagement , shows that they are separated by rubber gasketing material 24 to facilitate the turning movement of baffle member 21 against the downstream surface of fixed drum face 20 , and present leakage of air . the commercially available rubber gasketing material of nominal thickness . e . g ., 1 / 8 inches , and width , from about 3 / 8 inches to about 1 / 2 inches has been found to be adequate . a series of extrusions with polystyrene containing 0 . 84 percent by weight of talc into foam sheets were made at pilot plant extruder with an output of 175 lb / hr using various water feed rates . the results are tabulated in tables 1 and 2 . table 1______________________________________ i - pentane flow rate h . sub . 2 o flow rateexample ml / min ml / min______________________________________c - 1 107 01 107 2 . 692 107 5 . 593 88 5 . 59c - 2 88 0______________________________________ for i - pentane and water as blowing agents the total amount of blowing agents ( b . a .) available in molar basis is listed below , using sample a as reference . table 2______________________________________exam - i - pen - total gauge density * ple tane h . sub . 2 o b . a . ( mil )* ( lb / ft . sup . 3 ) ______________________________________c - 1 1 . 0 0 1 . 00 67 5 . 681 1 . 0 0 . 162 1 . 16 91 4 . 502 1 . 0 0 . 336 1 . 34 102 4 . 053 0 . 822 0 . 336 1 . 16 92 4 . 39c - 2 0 . 822 0 0 . 82 58 6 . 27______________________________________ * average value for 4 - 5 samples the foam sheets produced with all the extrusion conditions appeared to have good quality , without corrugation . the comparison in table 2 suggests that there is a direct relation between the gauge and the amount of b . a . available ( in molar basis ), and that water can replace i - pentane successfully within the amounts of blowing agent studied . the samples of examples 1 - 3 made with water as a co - blowing agent exhibited an unusually smooth , lustrous skin on the side adjacent to the drum . although the present invention has been described with preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be restored to , without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention , as those skilled in the art will readily understand . such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims .	1
detailed descriptions of one or more preferred embodiments are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in any appropriate system , structure or manner . fig3 a and 3b are sectional diagrams of one embodiment of controlled cutting apparatus 100 which can be used in the method and apparatus 10 . fig4 is an enlarged view of the cutting head 1000 of cutting apparatus 100 . generally cutting apparatus 100 can comprise body 500 , cutting head 1000 , and elongated cutting member 1500 . tool body 500 can support a supporting a drive system that includes a first motor w - axis drive 600 and a second motor z - axis drive 300 . cutting apparatus 100 can include a reaction member 1800 which is attached to cutting head 1000 . reaction member 1800 can include a reaction bar having first 1810 and second ends 1820 . on the second end can include a contact member 1830 which preferably is comprised of a material adequate to hand reaction forces expected to be encountered by the cutting member 1500 when cutting tubulars . contact member 1830 is also preferably comprised of a material having a relatively small coefficient of friction to reduce reactional frictional forces on cutting head 1000 when the cutting head ( and connected reaction member 1800 ) are moved in the z axis direction during a cut . the length of reaction member 1800 ( e . g ., the length between first end 1810 and contact member 1830 ) is preferably long enough such that contact member 1830 will be below the lower end 77 of the cut in the first nested tubular . cutting apparatus 100 can have , operably connected thereto , a remote control 4000 having a display 4100 from which an operator can program , initiate , control , and / or override one or more of the operations / functions of cutting apparatus 100 , cutting head 1000 , and / or cutting member 1500 . remote control 4000 can have one or more controls 190 operatively connected thereto . a collar 200 can be attached to body 500 of cutting apparatus 100 . referring to fig3 a , a collar 200 can be used to attach the umbilical cord , wireline , and other connecting items to the body of controlled cutting apparatus 100 . collar 200 may be exchanged to adapt to different size work strings ( not shown ). additionally , collar 200 provides a quick disconnect point in case emergency removal of controlled cutting apparatus is necessary . the anchoring system 1100 can have engaged and non - engaged conditions ( e . g ., see expanded packer condition 1110 ), wherein during the engaged condition the tool body 500 is anchored relative to the tubular , and during the non - engaged position the tool body is not anchored relative to the tubular . after cutting apparatus 100 is lowered to a selected cutting location , an anchoring system , such as a hydraulic packer 1100 , can be energized to anchor body 500 of cutter 100 into well bore 60 . other types of conventionally available anchoring systems can be used in place of or in addition to packer 1100 . for example expandable and retractable arms can be used which expand from body 500 to contact the interior of the innermost nested tubular of a plurality of nested tubulars . an anchoring system 1100 allows controlled z and w axis movement of cutting head 1000 ( along with cutting member 1500 ). an anchoring system 1100 also allows controlled y axis movement of cutting member 1500 . an anchoring system also tends minimize harmful vibrations to cutting member 1500 during cuts . elongated cutting member 1500 ( for example , a carbide cutter ) can be mounted to the milling spindle swing arm 1400 , and can be pivoted out in the y - axis by y - axis hydraulic cylinder 1600 into the cut of a tubular member . cutting head 1000 can be operably connected to body 500 such that cutting head 1000 can be controllably moved along a z - axis . the cutting head 1000 can be coupled to the second motor drive 300 , wherein the second motor drive 300 causes the cutting head 1000 to be selectively moved in the z - axis relative to the tool body 500 . the z - axis control unit can comprise z - axis motor 300 and controls , drive cylinder 320 having upper and / or lower threaded areas 322 , 324 , and driving screw 400 . in one embodiment motor 300 is attached to body 500 via mounting plate 350 , and motor 300 rotates screw 400 . because screw 400 is threadably connected to drive cylinder 320 rotation of screw 400 will cause cylinder 320 to move in the direction of the z - axis ( in the direction of arrow 2010 or arrow 2020 depending on the direction of rotation of screw 400 ). additionally depending on the speed of rotation of screw 400 ( along with the pitch of the threads of screw 400 the speed of movement in the z - axis can be controlled ). support bracket 370 connects drive cylinder 320 to w - axis motor 600 . w - axis motor 600 is operably connected to cutting head tube 1010 through transmission 700 , coupling 800 and rotary hydraulic coupling 900 . cutting head tube is connected to cutting head 1000 . cutting head tube 1010 is slidably connected to body 500 such that cutting head tube can , in the interior space of body 500 , slide in the z - axis ( extending and retracting as desired ) along with rotating in the w - axis relative to body 500 . cutting head 1000 can include elongated cutting member 1500 and y - axis actuator 1600 . in one embodiment transmission 700 can be a step down transmission with a 126 : 1 ration . telescoping tubing 360 allow , during the extension and retraction of drive cylinder 320 an extending and retracting connection for fluid and / or electrical controls and / or sensor data to for components lower than mounting plate 350 . cutting head 1000 can be operably connected to body 500 such that cutting head 1000 can be controllably rotated about a w - axis . the cutting head 1000 can be coupled to the first motor drive 600 , wherein the first motor drive 600 causes the cutting head 1000 to be moved in the w - axis of rotation relative to the tool body 500 . elongated cutting member 1500 can be operably connected to cutting head such that cutting member 1500 can be controllably pivoted about a y - axis . an arcuate actuator 1600 can be operatively connected to the spindle housing 1700 , the actuator 1600 having actuator first 1610 and second 1620 end portions , the first end portion 1610 being mounted to the cutting head 1000 at an elevational position ( at pivot 1612 ) which is below the first elevation ( at pivot 1412 ), and at the other of its end portions 1620 being mounted ( at pivot 1622 ) to the spindle housing 1400 at a position also below the first elevation ( at pivot 1412 ), the actuator 1600 moving the spindle housing 1400 and elongated cutting member 1500 between first and second extreme arcuate positions ( fig3 b and fig4 ). elongated cutting member 1500 can be operably connected to cutting head 1000 such that cutting member 1500 can be controllably rotated about an elongated cutting member &# 39 ; s 1500 longitudinal axis . a third motor drive 1220 can be operably connected to the elongated cutting member 1500 causing the elongated cutting member 1500 to rotate about the elongated cutting member &# 39 ; s longitudinal axis 1514 and relative to the spindle housing 1400 . the speed of rotation and force of rotation can be controlled by motor 1220 . the cutting head 1000 can include : a spindle housing 1400 pivotally connected to the cutting head 1000 at a pivot 1412 , the pivot 1412 being located at a first elevation , the spindle housing 1400 having : ( 1 ) an elongated cutting member 1500 with distal 1520 and proximal ends 1510 , and the elongated cutting member 1500 being rotationally connected to the spindle housing 14 , the elongated cutting member 1500 having a longitudinal axis ( axis of rotation 1514 ) spanning between its first 1510 and second 1520 ends , ( 2 ) the spindle housing 14 having a second lower distal end portion 1420 and first upper proximal end portion 1410 , the upper proximal end portion 1410 being connected to the cutting head 1000 at the pivot 1412 , the spindle housing 1400 and elongated cutting member 1500 being able to travel through an arcuate path ( y - axis ) having first and second extreme arcuate positions , wherein the first extreme arcuate position ( fig3 b ) is more closely aligned with the z - axis compared to the second extreme arcuate position ( fig4 ), and the second extreme arcuate position ( fig4 ) is more closely aligned with the w - axis compared to the first extreme arcuate position ( fig3 b ). fig4 a is a sectional view of the cutting bit 1500 separated from the cutting head 1000 . cutting bit 1500 comprises body 1505 having first end 1510 and second end 1520 . between first and second ends are a plurality of teeth 1530 which can spin about axis of rotation 1514 ( arrow 1516 schematically indicating rotation about axis of rotation 1514 , and spinning can occur in the opposite direction of arrow 1516 ). a vibration reduction system can be included in cutting bit 1500 which can comprise an opening 1508 in body 1505 , wherein such opening 1508 is filled with heavy oil 1580 . cap 1570 can be threadably connected to body 1505 at second end 1520 . screw 1560 can be threadably connected to body 1505 at first end 1510 . screw 1562 can be threadably connected to cap 1570 . spanning opening 1508 can be bar 1540 ( which can be kept under tension between screw 1560 and screw 1560 ) causing body 1505 of cutting bit 1500 to be kept under compression . opening . opening 1508 can be sealed by plunger 1550 having o - ring seals 1585 keeping heavy oil 1580 in opening 1508 . the combination of heavy oil 1508 and tension of bar 1540 assists in reducing vibrations in cutting bit 1500 during cutting . in one embodiment body 1505 can be an alloy steel , bar 1540 can be tungsten , and plunger 1550 and cap 1570 can be aluminum bronze . below is included one embodiment of a method for using of cutting apparatus 100 for severing a plurality of nested tubulars 70 ( which can be concentrically or eccentrically nested relative to each other ), each tubular having a tubular bore , the nested tubulars being disposed in a well bore and wherein there is an outer tubular and an inner tubular inside the bore of the outer tubular , method comprising the steps of : ( i ) a tool body 500 configured to be lowered ( such as by wireline 210 ) into the tubular bore of the innermost nested tubular , the tool body 5 having a longitudinal z - axis , a w - axis of rotation generally perpendicular to the z - axis , and an anchoring system 1100 attached to the tool body , the anchoring system 1100 having engaged and non - engaged conditions ( e . g ., see expanded packer condition 1110 ), wherein during the engaged condition the tool body 500 is anchored relative to the tubular , and during the non - engaged position the tool body is not anchored relative to the tubular ; ( ii ) the tool body 500 including a cutting head 1000 movably connected to the tool body 500 in both the z and w axes , the tool body 500 supporting a drive system that includes a first motor w - axis drive 600 and a second motor z - axis drive 300 ; ( iii ) the cutting head 1000 being coupled to the first motor drive 600 , wherein the first motor drive 600 causing the cutting head 1000 to be moved in the w - axis of rotation relative to the tool body 500 ; ( iv ) the cutting head 1000 being coupled to the second motor drive 300 , wherein the second motor drive 300 causing the cutting head 1000 to be moved in the z - axis relative to the tool body 500 ; ( v ) the cutting head 1000 including : a spindle housing 1400 pivotally connected to the cutting head 1000 at a pivot 1412 , the pivot 1412 being located at a first elevation , the spindle housing 1400 having : ( 1 ) an elongated cutting member 1500 with distal 1520 and proximal ends 1510 , and the elongated cutting member 1500 being rotationally connected to the spindle housing 14 , the elongated cutting member 1500 having a longitudinal axis ( axis of rotation 1514 ) spanning between its first 1510 and second 1520 ends , ( 2 ) the spindle housing 14 having a second lower distal end portion 1420 and first upper proximal end portion 1410 , the upper proximal end portion 1410 being connected to the cutting head 1000 at the pivot 1412 , the spindle housing 1400 and elongated cutting member 1500 being able to travel through an arcuate path ( y - axis ) having first and second extreme arcuate positions , wherein the first extreme arcuate position ( fig3 b ) is more closely aligned with the z - axis compared to the second extreme arcuate position ( fig4 ), and the second extreme arcuate position ( fig4 ) is more closely aligned with the w - axis compared to the first extreme arcuate position ( fig3 b ); ( vi ) an arcuate actuator 1600 operatively connected to the spindle housing 1700 , the actuator having 1600 actuator first 1610 and second 1620 end portions , the first end portion 1610 being mounted to the cutting head 1000 at an elevational position ( at pivot 1612 ) which is below the first elevation ( at pivot 1412 ), and at the other of its end portions 1620 being mounted ( at pivot 1622 ) to the spindle housing 1400 at a position also below the first elevation ( at pivot 1412 ), the actuator 1600 moving the spindle housing 1400 and elongated cutting member 1500 between first and second extreme arcuate positions ( fig3 b and fig4 ); and ( vii ) a third motor drive 1220 operably connected to the elongated cutting member 1500 causing the elongated cutting member 1500 to rotate about the elongated cutting member &# 39 ; s longitudinal axis 1514 and relative to the spindle housing 1400 ; ( b ) from a surface location lowering the cutting tool into an innermost tubular of a plurality of nested tubulars ; ( c ) the third drive motor 1220 causing the elongated cutting member 15 to rotate about the rotational cutting axis 1514 ; ( d ) the actuator 1600 causing the rotational cutting axis 1514 to move between the first and second extreme arcuate angles ( fig3 b and 4 with rod 1640 respectively in retracted and extended conditions ); ( e ) the second drive motor 600 rotating the cutting head 1000 in the w - axis ; ( f ) after step “ b ” and before step “ g ” the third drive motor 300 moving the cutting head 17 in the z axis ( in the direction of arrow 380 either upwardly 2010 or downwardly 2020 by turning driving screw 400 to move driving nut 310 ); and ( g ) before raising the tool body 500 to the surface location 30 , completely severing the plurality of the nested tubulars 70 with the elongated cutting member 1500 . in the preferred embodiment , after anchoring body 500 of cutter 100 , z - axis motor 300 causes cutting head 1000 to move in the direction of arrow 2020 to a down position . such initial downward movement of cutting head 1000 permits elongated cutting member 1500 to begin cutting at the lowest point of the cut ( e . g ., point 77 in tubular 75 ) and be raised ( in the direction of arrow 2010 ) as needed to cause a depth of cut ( e . g ., depth 78 in tubular 75 ) sufficient to allow elongated cutting member 1500 access to make cuts in the larger nested tubulars ( e . g ., tubular 80 , 85 , etc .) of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 . fig1 shows a schematic view of a rig 40 which has collapsed with a wellbore 60 ( along with a plurality of nested tubulars 70 ) that will be abandoned . tubular is intended to be broadly construed to include pipe , tubing , casing , conduit , along with other cylindrical items that can be installed in a wellbore 60 . fig2 shows three nested tubulars 75 , 80 , and 85 of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 which are to be cut by cutting apparatus 100 ( where these tubulars are concentrically positioned relative to each other ). in various embodiments the tubulars can have in their annuluses between them combinations of cement and / or formation rock ( although such is not shown in fig2 ). in fig2 , riser 50 shown in fig1 has been previously cut to a height “ h ” above sea floor 20 by conventionally available methods ( such as wireline ) to provide easy access to the interior of the innermost nested tubular 75 . to properly abandon wellbore 60 the plurality of nested tubulars 70 must be cut to a depth d below sea floor 20 which exceeds regulatory requirements . fig3 a and 3b are sectional diagrams of one embodiment of controlled cutting apparatus 100 which can be used in the method and apparatus 10 . fig4 is an enlarged view of the cutting head 1000 of cutting apparatus 100 . fig5 is a side view of one embodiment of a controlled cutting apparatus 100 which can be used in the method and apparatus 10 . cutting apparatus is shown in the state at which it will be lowered into the innermost nested tubular 75 for a cut . in this state cutting member 1500 is in its home position or the smallest y - axis position ( compared to the z - axis ). however , it should be noted that the home y - axis position of cutting member 1500 is not zero degrees . preferably , this home y - axis position can 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , or 10 degrees from the z - axis . in various embodiments the home y - axis position can be a range between any two of the above stated home y - axis positions . the cutting head is also shown in the home z - axis position — where tube 1010 is maximally retracted into body 500 of cutting apparatus 100 . the cutting head is also shown in the home w - axis which can be an arbitrarily chosen position in the w - axis because cutting apparatus 1000 will be lowered on line 210 by vessel 300 , and while being lowered , cutting apparatus 1000 itself can rotate somewhat freely in the w - axis . after cutting apparatus has been put in the anchored state ( such as by inflation of packer 1100 in tubular 75 ), relative movement of cutting head 1000 in the w - axis can be monitored and measured ( i . e ., when cutting apparatus is in place and anchored for a cut ). in fig5 hydraulic packer 1100 is shown deflated or in the non - anchored state . fig6 is an enlarged side sectional view of cutting head 1000 of cutting apparatus 100 where cutting member 1100 is shown in the home or y - axis retracted state . fig7 is an enlarged front view of cutting head 1000 of cutting apparatus 100 . fig8 is an enlarged side view of cutting head 1000 of cutting apparatus 100 taken from the opposing side as that shown in fig6 . arrow 1840 schematically indicates reaction force being placed on cutting head 1000 when cutting member 1500 moves out in the y - axis direction . such reaction force will tend to cause the body 500 of cutting apparatus to pivot about its anchor point ( e . g ., the place of anchor by packer 1100 ) in the direction of arrow 1840 . such pivoting is limited by contact surface 1830 of reaction member 1800 contacting innermost tubular 75 where such contact will cause an equal and opposing reaction force to be applied to contact member 1830 and body 500 . in this manner reaction member 1800 helps stabilizing cutting apparatus 100 during a cut . fig9 is a schematic view of packer system 1100 which can be used by cutting apparatus 100 ( shown in the collapsed or non - anchored condition ) to place cutting apparatus 100 in anchored and non - anchored states relative to the innermost nested tubular 75 . fig1 is a schematic view of packer system 1100 shown in the expanded or anchored condition . fig1 is a schematic view of a vessel 3000 using crane 3050 to lower ( schematically indicated by arrow 110 ) controlled cutting apparatus 100 into a plurality of nested tubulars 70 to be cut at least a specified depth “ d ” below sea floor 20 . this is a schematic figure and not to scale . an operator can control cutting apparatus 100 using remote controller 4000 , with controller having a display 4100 for ease of operation . fig1 is a schematic front view of controlled cutting apparatus 100 after being lowered into an anchoring position for cutting a plurality of nested tubulars 70 ( however , for clarity only one tubular 75 is shown for clarity ) to be cut at least a specified depth “ d ” below sea floor 20 . fig1 is a schematic side view of controlled cutting apparatus 100 after being lowered into an anchoring position for cutting a plurality of nested tubulars 70 ( however , for clarity only one tubular 75 is shown for clarity ) to be cut at least a specified depth “ d ” below sea floor 20 . fig1 is a schematic front view of controlled cutting apparatus 100 after being lowered into an anchoring position for cutting a plurality of nested tubulars 70 ( now with all three of the tubulars 75 , 80 , and 85 shown ) to be cut at least a specified depth “ d ” below the sea floor 20 . in these figures cutting head 1000 is fully retracted and in the home position in the z axis ( schematically indicated by zh ). cutting head 1000 is also in the home position for the w axis ; and cutting member 1500 is in the home position in the y - axis fig1 through 18 schematically illustrate various steps using cutting apparatus 100 to make a cut in the first nested tubular 75 of the plurality of nested tubulars 70 . fig1 is a view which schematically shows the beginning of a cut being made by cutting apparatus 100 in first tubular 75 . fig1 is an enlarged view of cutting head portion 1000 of cutting apparatus 100 in the position shown in fig1 . in these figures cutting head 1000 has extended in the z - axis from the home position ( zh ) to the position to start the first cut ( z 1 ). also in these figures cutting member 1500 has pivoted from the home position in the y axis to the y - axis position y 1 to make the first cut ( schematically indicated by y 1 ). while making the cut cutting member 1500 will be rotated about its longitudinal axis 1514 ( schematically indicated by the arrow about axis 1514 ) at a controlled rotational speed . also while making the cut cutting head 1000 will be rotated in the w - axis at a controlled rotational speed ( schematically indicated by the w - arrow ). also while making this cut , cutting head 1000 will be pulled up in the direction of arrow 2010 along the z - axis from z - axis location z 1 to z - axis location z 2 . in this manner cutting member 1500 will traverse an upward helical or spiral pathway cutting a swath in the tubular . fig1 is a view schematically showing the end of a cut being made by cutting apparatus 100 in the first tubular 75 . fig1 is an enlarged view of cutting head 1000 portion of cutting apparatus 100 in the position shown in fig1 . while making this cut , cutting head 1000 was pulled up in the direction of arrow 2010 along the z - axis from z - axis location z 1 to z - axis location z 2 ( which is more retracted compared to position z 1 ). now a swath or cut has been made in nested tubular 75 from bottom 77 to top 76 making a gap 78 . it is noted that in fig1 length 1850 of reaction arm 1800 is shown where contact member 1830 loses contact with tubular 75 as cutting head 1000 is retracted along the z - axis ( to position z 2 ). it is preferable that length 1850 is long enough so that contact member will maintain contact during the retracting process of the first cut . however , continuous contact of contact member 1830 may not be as important ( compared to tubulars 80 , 85 , etc ) for cutting the first tubular 75 because the first tubular will have the smallest diameter and the smallest vibration issues ( compared to larger tubulars 80 , 85 , etc ). fig1 through 22 schematically illustrate various steps using cutting apparatus 100 to make a cut in the second nested tubular 80 of the plurality of nested tubulars 70 . fig1 is a view which schematically showing the beginning of a cut being made by cutting apparatus 100 in second tubular 80 , after having completed the cut in the first tubular 75 ( with a cut depth 78 in the first tubular 75 ). fig2 is an enlarged view of cutting head 1000 portion of cutting apparatus 100 in the position shown in fig1 . in these figures cutting head 1000 has extended in the z - axis from the home position ( zh ) to the position to start the first cut ( z 3 ). also in these figures cutting member 1500 has pivoted to the y - axis position y 2 to make the second cut ( schematically indicated by y 2 ). while making the cut cutting member 1500 will be rotated about its longitudinal axis 1514 ( schematically indicated by the arrow about axis 1514 ) at a controlled rotational speed . also while making the cut cutting head 1000 will be rotated in the w - axis at a controlled rotational speed ( schematically indicated by the w - arrow ). also while making this cut , cutting head 1000 will be pulled up in the direction of arrow 2010 along the z - axis from z - axis location z 3 to z - axis location z 4 . in this manner cutting member 1500 will traverse an upward helical or spiral pathway cutting a swath in tubular 80 . fig2 is a view schematically showing the end of cut being made by cutting apparatus 100 in the second tubular 80 , after having completed the cut in the first tubular 75 ( with a cut depth 78 in the first tubular 75 ). fig2 is an enlarged view of cutting head 1000 portion of cutting apparatus 100 in the position shown in fig2 . while making this cut , cutting head 1000 was pulled up in the direction of arrow 2010 along the z - axis from z - axis location z 3 to z - axis location z 4 ( which is more retracted compared to position z 3 ). now a swath or cut has been made in nested tubular 80 from bottom 82 to top 83 making a gap 84 . it is noted that in fig2 length 1850 of reaction arm 1800 is shown where contact member 1830 does not lose contact with tubular 75 as cutting head 1000 is retracted along the z - axis ( from position z 3 to position z 4 ). fig2 and 24 schematically illustrate various steps using cutting apparatus 100 to make a cut in the third tubular 85 of the plurality of nested tubulars 70 . fig2 is a view schematically showing a cut being made by cutting apparatus 100 in the third tubular 85 , after having completed the cuts in the first and second tubulars ( with a cut depth 78 in the first tubular 75 , and a cut depth 83 in the second tubular 80 ). fig2 is an enlarged view of cutting head 1000 portion of cutting apparatus 100 in the position shown in the fig2 . in these figures cutting head 1000 has extended in the z - axis from the home position ( zh ) to the position to start the first cut ( z 5 ). also in these figures cutting member 1500 has pivoted to the y - axis position y 3 to make the second cut ( schematically indicated by arrow y 3 ). while making the cut cutting member 1500 will be rotated about its longitudinal axis 1514 ( schematically indicated by the arrow about axis 1514 ) at a controlled rotational speed . also while making the cut cutting head 1000 will be rotated in the w - axis at a controlled rotational speed ( schematically indicated by the w - arrow ). also while making this cut , in one embodiment , cutting head 1000 will be pulled up in the direction of arrow 2010 along the z - axis from z - axis location z 5 to z - axis location z 6 . in this manner cutting member 1500 will traverse an upward helical or spiral pathway cutting a swath in tubular 85 . in one embodiment cutting head 1000 is maintained at a constant position z 5 and cutting member 1500 makes a cut through tubular 85 ( and no spiral motion is seen by cutting member 1500 ). fig2 is a view schematically showing cutting apparatus 1000 being pulled up ( schematically indicated by arrow 2010 ) after having completed the cuts in the first 75 , second 80 , and third 85 tubulars — completely severing the plurality of nested tubulars 70 ( with a cut depth 78 in the first tubular 75 , a cut depth 83 in the second tubular 80 , and a cut depth 87 in the third tubular 85 ). fig2 is an enlarged view of cutting head 1000 portion of cutting apparatus 100 in the position shown in fig2 . the upper portions of the plurality of the plurality of nested tubulars 70 now ready to be pulled out of wellbore 60 . in these figures cutting head 1000 has been retracted to its home position in the z - axis ( to zh ), and cutting member 1500 has also been pivoted in the y - axis to its home position . additionally , hydraulic packer 1100 has been released causing cutting apparatus to enter a non - anchored state . cutting apparatus 100 is now in a condition to be pulled up by vessel 3000 in the direction of arrow 2010 to the surface . in one embodiment from the beginning of the cut of the first tubular 75 to the completion of the cut of the outermost tubular 85 , cutting apparatus remained below the surface of the water 30 . in one embodiment , during this time cutting apparatus remained in well bore 60 . in one embodiment , cutting apparatus remained anchored in a single position in innermost tubular 75 . fig2 is a schematic view of the three nested tubulars 75 , 80 , and 85 of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 which were cut by cutting apparatus 100 ( where these tubulars were concentrically positioned ). in various embodiments the tubulars can have in their annuluses between them combinations of cement and / or formation rock . tubular 75 cut has upper level 76 and lower level 77 , with a height or swath of cut 78 . tubular 80 cut has upper level 81 and lower level 82 , with a height or swath of cut 83 . tubular 85 cut has upper level 86 and lower level 87 , with a height or swath of cut 88 . in one embodiment height of cut 78 is larger than height of cut 83 , and height of cut 83 is larger than height of cut 88 . in one embodiment lower level 77 is lower than lower level 83 , and lower level 83 is lower than lower level 87 . in one embodiment upper level 76 is higher than upper level 81 , and upper level 81 is higher than upper level 86 . in one embodiment lower level 77 is equal to lower level 83 , and lower level 83 is equal to lower level 87 . in one embodiment height of cut 78 is larger than height of cut 83 , and height of cut 83 is larger than height of cut 88 . in one embodiment lower level 77 is lower than lower level 83 , and lower level 83 is lower than lower level 87 . in one embodiment upper level 76 is higher than upper level 81 , and upper level 81 is higher than upper level 86 . in one embodiment lower level 77 is about equal to lower level 83 , and lower level 83 is about equal to lower level 87 ( and z 1 is about equal to z 3 and z 3 is about equal to z 5 ). fig2 is a schematic view of the three nested tubulars 75 , 80 , and 85 of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 which were cut by cutting apparatus 100 ( where these tubulars were eccentrically positioned ). in various embodiments the tubulars can have in their annuluses between them combinations of cement and / or formation rock . in various embodiments the tubulars can have in their annuluses between them combinations of cement and / or formation rock . tubular 75 cut has upper level 76 and lower level 77 , with a height or swath of cut 78 . tubular 75 cut also has upper level 76 ′ and lower level 77 ′, with a height or swath of cut 78 ′. tubular 80 cut has upper level 81 and lower level 82 , with a height or swath of cut 83 . tubular 80 cut also has upper level 81 ′ and lower level 82 ′, with a height or swath of cut 83 ′. tubular 85 cut has upper level 86 and lower level 87 , with a height or swath of cut 88 . tubular 85 cut also has upper level 86 ′ and lower level 87 ′, with a height or swath of cut 88 ′. in one embodiment height of cut 78 is larger than height of cut 83 , and height of cut 83 is larger than height of cut 88 . in one embodiment height of cut 78 ′ is larger than height of cut 83 ′, and height of cut 83 ′ is larger than height of cut 88 ′. in one embodiment lower level 77 is lower than lower level 83 , and lower level 83 is lower than lower level 87 . in one embodiment lower level 77 ′ is lower than lower level 83 ′, and lower level 83 ′ is lower than lower level 87 ′. in one embodiment upper level 76 is higher than upper level 81 , and upper level 81 is higher than upper level 86 . in one embodiment upper level 76 ′ is higher than upper level 81 ′, and upper level 81 ′ is higher than upper level 86 ′. in one embodiment lower level 77 is equal to lower level 83 , and lower level 83 is equal to lower level 87 . in one embodiment lower level 77 ′ is equal to lower level 83 ′, and lower level 83 ′ is equal to lower level 87 ′. fig2 is a schematic view of the upper portions 75 ′, 80 ′, and 85 ′ of the three cut nested tubulars 70 being pulled out of well bore 60 so that the wellbore can be properly abandoned . now from the sea floor 20 to the top of the remaining plurality of nested tubulars 70 is at least a depth d . fig3 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a display 4100 showing ( in substantially real time ) a schematic representation of relative movement of the cutting head 1000 and the cut or cuts made in one or more nested tubulars of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 , shown in the beginning of a cut of the first nested tubular 75 . fig3 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a display 4100 showing ( in substantially real time ) a schematic representation of relative movement of the cutting head 1000 and the cut or cuts made in one or more nested tubulars of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 , shown in the middle of a cut of the first nested tubular 75 . estimated sample times and w - axis times for cuts below are provided some sample estimated cutting times and number of w - axis rotations required for cutting particular sized nested tubulars with the method and apparatus . in one embodiment cutter 100 has tool body 500 pressurized with nitrogen with the advantage of pressurization is that changes in temperature in the well formation do not create condensation inside the tool body while the tool is inside the well formation . in one embodiment , how far in the z - axis ( z 1 ) cutting head 1000 goes down depends on the outer diameter of the outermost nested tubular to be cut . in one embodiment the rate of feed in the z - axis is equal to 2 inches per revolution of the cutting head in the w - axis - or 2 inches per w axis revolution . looking at fig3 and 32 an operator can have a pictorial representation on display 4100 viewing a three dimensional the graphical depiction of the cut being made , along with the relative movements of cutting head 1000 and cutting member 1500 about the y , z , and w axes on such display . one can also visualize the swath or cut made in the innermost nested tubular 75 having a gap 78 ′. fig3 shows cutting head 1000 and cutting member 1500 in a second position for w and z axes ( the y - axis position remained the same ). fig3 also schematically depicts the cut made in tubular 75 from the position shown in fig3 to the position shown in fig3 . the relative y , z , and w axial positions of cutting head 1000 and cutting member 1500 can be obtained from sensor and positional information and / or data from cutting apparatus 100 . fig3 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a display 4100 showing ( in substantially real time ) a schematic representation of relative movement of the cutting head 1000 and the cut or cuts made in one or more nested tubulars of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 , shown in the beginning of a cut of the second nested tubular 80 , after completing the cut of the first nested tubular 75 . fig3 is a schematic view of one embodiment of a display 4100 showing ( in substantially real time ) a schematic representation of relative movement of the cutting head 1000 and the cut or cuts made in one or more nested tubulars of a plurality of nested tubulars 70 , shown in the middle of a cut of the second nested tubular 80 , after completing the cut of the first nested tubular 75 . looking at fig3 and 33 an operator can have a pictorial representation on display 4100 viewing a three dimensional the graphical depiction of cut being made in the second tubular 80 ( along with the cut already made in the first tubular 75 ), along with the relative movements of cutting head 1000 and cutting member 1500 about the y , z , and w axes on such display . the operator can also see the swath or cut made in the second tubular 80 having a gap 81 ′. fig3 shows cutting head 1000 and cutting member 1500 in a second position for w and z axes ( the y - axis position remained the same y 2 ). fig3 also schematically depicts the cut made in tubular 80 from the position shown in fig3 to the position shown in fig3 ( along with the completed cut in the innermost tubular 75 ). the relative y , z , and w axial positions of cutting head 1000 and cutting member 1500 can be obtained from sensor and positional information and / or data from cutting apparatus 100 . viewing of cuts in third , fourth , etc . tubulars can similarly be displayed on display 4100 of controller 4000 . for example , with three nested tubulars 75 , 80 , and 85 , a cut ( cut or swath 87 ′) in the third tubular 85 could be displayed on display 4100 with swaths or cuts already shown for the first and second tubulars ( first tubular having completed swath or cut 78 and second tubular having completed watch or cut 83 ). the following is a table listing the various reference numerals used in this application and a description of each . note that this table describes only the reference numerals for fig1 through 33 . in later figures , similar or identical parts may be identified by different numerals . all measurements disclosed herein are at standard temperature and pressure , at sea level on earth , unless indicated otherwise . all materials used or intended to be used in a human being are biocompatible , unless indicated otherwise . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention set forth in the appended claims . the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only ; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims . although described with reference to specific embodiments , one skilled in the art could apply the principles discussed herein to other areas and / or embodiments . this invention provides a method and apparatus for efficiently severing installed tubing , pipe , casing , and liners , as well as cement or other encountered material in the annuli between the tubulars , in one trip into a well bore . reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the disclosure , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts ( elements ). to help understand the advantages of this disclosure the accompanying drawings will be described with additional specificity and detail . the method generally is comprised of the steps of positioning a robotic rotary mill cutter inside the innermost tubular in a pre - selected tubular or plurality of multiple , nested tubulars to be cut , simultaneously moving the rotary mill cutter in a predetermined programmed vertical x - axis , and also 360 degree horizontal rotary w - axis , as well as the spindle swing arm in a pivotal y - axis arc . in one embodiment of the present disclosure the vertical ( z axis ) and horizontal ( w axis ) movement pattern ( s ) and the spindle swing arm ( y axis ) are capable of being performed independently of each other , or programmed and operated simultaneously in conjunction with each other . the robotic rotary mill cutter is directed and coordinated such that the predetermined pattern is cut through the innermost tubular beginning on the surface of said tubular , with the cut proceeding through it to form a shape or window profile ( s ), or to cut through all installed multiple , nested tubulars into the formation beyond the outermost tubular by making multiple passes and cutting away layer by layer of tubulars and cement until the largest ( outermost ) nested tubular has been severed . in one embodiment of the present disclosure the robotic rotary mill cutter , will cut from the inside of a 8 . 5 inch tubular and cut away layer by layer nested tubulars and cement thus generating larger and larger voids , that will allow the y - axis milling spindle swing arm ( see 5014 of fig3 b ) and cutting device ( see 5015 of fig3 b ) progressively greater swing angles and reach . in three to four passes of cutting away layer by layer of nested tubulars ( see fig3 b ) and cement as above , the cutting device 5015 can cut away tubulars and cement inside a 42 - inch diameter circle . a profile generation system simultaneously moves the robotic rotary mill cutter in a vertical z - axis , and a 360 - degree horizontal rotary w - axis , and the milling spindle swing arm ( see 5014 of fig3 b ) in a pivotal y - axis arc to allow cutting the tubulars , cement , and formation rock in any programmed shape or window profile ( s ). the robotic rotary mill cutter apparatus is programmable to simultaneously or independently provide vertical x - axis movement , 360 - degree horizontal rotary w - axis movement , and spindle swing arm pivotal y - axis arc movement under computer control . a computer having a memory and operating pursuant to attendant software , stores shape or window profile ( s ) templates for cutting and is also capable of accepting inputs via a graphical user interface , thereby providing a system to program new shape or window profile ( s ) based on user criteria . the memory of the computer can be one or more of but not limited to ram memory , flash memory , rom memory , eprom memory , eeprom memory , registers , hard disk , a removable disk , a cd - rom , floppy disk , dvd - r , cd - r disk or any other form of storage medium known in the art . in the alternative , the storage medium may be integral to the processor . the processor and the storage medium may reside in an asic or microchip . the computer controls the profile generation servo drive systems as well as the cutting device speed . the robotic rotary mill cutter requires load data to be able to adjust for conditions that cannot be seen by the operator . the computer receives information from torque sensors ( see 5052 , and 5053 of fig3 a and 35b ) attached to z - axis , w - axis , y - axis , and milling spindle drive motor , and makes immediate adaptive adjustments to the feed rate and speed of the vertical z - axis , the 360 degree horizontal rotary w - axis , the spindle swing arm pivotal y - axis and the rpm of the milling spindle motor . software in communication with sub - programs gathering information from the torque devices , such as a gse model bi - axial transducer model 6015 or a pcb model 208 - m133 , directs the computer , which in turns communicates with and monitors the downhole robotic rotary mill cutter and its attendant components , and provides feeds and speeds simultaneously or independently along the vertical z - axis , the 360 degree horizontal rotary w - axis , as well as the pivotal spindle swing arm y - axis arc movement . the shape or window profile ( s ) are programmed by the operator using a program logic controller ( plc ), or a personal computer ( pc ), or a computer system designed or adapted for this specific use . the integrated software via a graphical user interface ( gui ) or touch screen , such as a red lion g3 series hmi , accepts inputs from the operator and provides the working parameters and environment by which the computer directs and monitors the robotic rotary mill cutter . in the preferred embodiment , the vertical z - axis longitudinal computer - controlled servo axis uses a hydraulic cylinder , such as the parker series 2hx hydraulic cylinder , housing the mts model m - series absolute analog sensor for ease of vertical z - axis longitudinal movements , although other methods may be employed to provide up and down vertical movement of the robotic rotary mill cutter . in a still further embodiment of the present disclosure the vertical z - axis longitudinal computer - controlled servo axis may be moved with a ball screw and a computer controlled electric servo axis motor , the fanuc d2100 / 150 servo , with encoder feedback to the computer system by an encoder ( see 5050 in fig3 a ) such as the bei model h25d series incremental optical encoder . servomotors and ball screws are known in the art and are widely available from many sources . in a still further embodiment of the present disclosure the vertical z - axis longitudinal computer - controlled servo axis may be moved with a ball screw and a hydraulic motor , such as a parker tc0045 , with encoder feedback to a motion controller , similar to a galil dmc - 21x3 series motion controller , that operates a hydraulic servo valve , similar to a parker series dy12 servovalve , or hydraulic proportional valve , that powers the hydraulic motor . servo valves , proportional valves , and motion controllers are known in the art and are widely available from many sources . in a still further embodiment of the present disclosure , the vertical z - axis longitudinal computer - controlled servo axis may be moved with a rack and pinion , either electrically or hydraulically driven . rack and pinion drives are known in the art and are widely available from many sources . in the preferred embodiment , the rotational computer controlled w - axis rotational movement is an electric servomotor , the rotational computer - controlled w - axis servomotor , such as a fanuc model d2100 / 150 servo , provides 360 - degree horizontal rotational movement of the robotic rotary mill cutter through a specially manufactured slewing gear . in a still further embodiment of the present disclosure , the rotational computer controlled w - axis rotational movement is controlled by a hydraulic servo valve that drives a hydraulic motor coupled to the w - axis and has a sensor position feedback encoder connected to the rotational computer controller for closed loop servo operation . closed loop servo hydraulic drives are a known art and are widely available from many sources . also in the preferred embodiment , the y - axis pivotal milling spindle swing arm computer - controlled servo axis uses a hydraulic cylinder for ease of use , although other methods may be employed . the y - axis pivotal milling spindle swing arm computer - controlled servo axis , may utilize the parker series 2hx hydraulic cylinder , housing the mts model m - series absolute analog sensor ( see 5051 in fig3 b ) inside the hydraulic cylinder to provide position feedback to the computer controller for pivotal spindle swing arm y - axis arc movement . in a still further embodiment of the present disclosure an inertia reference system such as , clymer technologies model terrella6 v2 , can provide information that the robotic rotary mill cutter is actually performing the movements sent by the computer controller as a verification reference . the clymer technologies model terrella6 v2 is mounted in the milling spindle swing arm ( see 5014 in fig3 b ) and provides temperature and vibration monitoring to the operators display monitor in real time where that information will be used by the operator to make feed and speed adjustments for best cutting operations . if the reference shows a sudden stop , or any axis is not responding to the programmed feeds and speeds the computer can go into a hold action stopping the robotic rotary mill cutter and requiring operator intervention before resuming milling operations . alarms may be visually shown on the operator &# 39 ; s monitor and / or may have an audible warning . the methods and systems described herein are not limited to specific sizes , shapes , or models . numerous objects and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent as the following detailed description of the multiple embodiments of the apparatus and methods of the present disclosure are depicted in conjunction with the drawings and examples , which illustrate such embodiments . fig3 depicts the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 . the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 , shows the position of the vertical z - axis , and the 360 - degree horizontal rotary w - axis , and the y - axis pivotal milling spindle swing arm . fig3 a and 35b , depict the upper and lower portions , respectively , of the robotic rotary mill cutter of the preferred embodiment . referring to fig3 a , a collar 5002 is used to attach the umbilical cord ( not shown ) and cable ( not shown ) to the body of robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 . collar 5002 may be exchanged to adapt to different size work strings ( not shown ). additionally , the collar 5002 provides a quick disconnect point in case emergency removal of the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 is necessary . in one embodiment , the collar 5002 may be a spring centralizer about three feet long . after the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 is in the cut location , locking hydraulic cylinders 5003 are energized to lock the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 into the well bore ( not shown ). in the preferred embodiment , after the locking hydraulic cylinders 5003 have been energized , z - axis hydraulic cylinder 5006 is moved to a down position by extending piston rod 5004 allowing the z - axis slide 5005 to extend . this permits the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 to begin cutting at the lowest point of the cut and be raised as needed to complete the severance . referring to fig3 b , additional locking hydraulic cylinders 5007 are available should additional stabilization ( if energized ) or movement ( if not energized ) is desired . w - axis servomotor 5008 rotates the w - axis rotating body 5010 under control of the computer ( not shown ). w - axis rotating body 5010 houses the milling spindle swing arm 5014 and the milling spindle swing arm 5014 is driven by motor 5011 also housed in the w - axis rotating body 5010 . milling spindle swing arm 5014 is driven by motor 5011 through a half - shaft 5012 such as motorcraft model 6l2z - 3a427 - aa . half - shaft 5012 has a c . v . joint ( not shown ) that allows milling spindle swing arm 5014 to pivot in an arc from pivot bearing 5013 that goes through w - axis rotating body 5010 . milling spindle swing arm 5014 is moved by y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 . the rotation of w - axis rotating body 5010 requires a swivel joint 5009 , such as rotary systems , inc . model doxx multiple - passage rotary union , to allow power and sense lines ( not shown ) to motor 5011 , y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 , and load cell 5054 sense wires ( not shown ). cutting device 5015 ( for example , carbide milling cutter or solid carbide cutter ) is mounted to the milling spindle swing arm 5014 and is moved by y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 into the cut under computer control . fig3 depicts an expanded view of one embodiment of an inserted carbide mill 5017 that could be attached to milling spindle swing arm 5014 . other milling units with different material and / or cutting orientation could be utilized depending on the particular characteristics of the severance to be performed . fig3 a depicts a top view of nested multiple casings ( tubulars ) 5018 that are positioned non - concentrically . fig3 b depicts an isometric view of nested multiple casings ( tubulars ) 5018 that are positioned non - concentrically . fig3 a depicts a portion of the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 as it enters the nested multiple casings ( tubulars ) 5018 . fig3 b shows the nested multiple casings ( tubulars ) 5018 with the void that has been created by the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 . the profile generation system ( not shown ) simultaneously moved the robotic rotary mill cutter 5001 in a vertical z - axis , and a 360 - degree horizontal rotary w - axis , and the milling spindle swing arm 5014 in a pivotal y - axis arc to allow cutting of the tubulars , cement ( not shown ), and formation rock ( not shown ) in any programmed shape or window profile ( s ) thereby cutting through the multiple casing ( tubulars ) 5018 , cement ( not shown ) or other encountered material in casing annuli ( not shown ) by making multiple successfully larger voids created by the robotic mill cutter as above . fig3 a and 39b depict the upper and lower portions , respectively , of an alternative embodiment of the robotic rotary mill cutter . referring first to fig3 a , the z - axis motor 5060 rotates the ball screw 5062 through the z - axis nut 5064 , which raises or lowers the remainder of the tool . a trombone slide 5066 resides on either side of the ball screw 5062 . the trombone slide 5066 is hollow and carries pressured hydraulic fluid to the remainder of the tool . the trombone slide 5066 is capable of containing and transmitting hydraulic fluid pressurized to around 1 , 000 lbs / in 2 . the w - axis hydraulic motor drives rotation about the z - axis ( w - axis rotation ). anti - torque rails ( not shown ) stop the tool from rotating when the ball screw 5062 is rotated . additionally , tie rods 5068 provide support for the w - axis transmission 5070 . the w - axis transmission 5070 rotates the drive bar 5076 within the packer 5078 thereby providing rotation about the z - axis ( w - axis rotation ). in one embodiment , a transmission is employed . in one embodiment , the transmission is a cluster gear transmission . the transmission is used because of the size and power constraints ( e . g . relatively small size and relatively high power ). additionally , in one embodiment , the hydraulic fluid is returned through the w - axis transmission for lubrication of the transmission 5070 . the shaft coupling 5072 couples the w - axis transmission 5070 to the rotary coupling 5074 that couples to the drive bar 5076 . the rotary coupling 5074 also provides a path for the hydraulic fluid to pass to the remainder of the tool . in one embodiment , the space between the drive bar 5076 and the packer 5078 is filled with pressurized hydraulic fluid ( up to around 1 , 000 lbs / in 2 ). this hydraulic fluid acts as an anti - vibration device . bearings may also be employed between the drive bar 5076 and the packer 5078 to reduce vibration and center the drive bar 5076 . the packer 5078 can be fitted with additional bushings ( not shown ) to accommodate different size tubulars . furthermore , the packer 5078 , when pressurized expands / inflates against the wellbore to provide additional stability and vibration reduction . additionally , for larger wellbores , a spacer or sleeve can be attached about the tool ( relatively near the packer ) to act a centralizer until the packer has expanded / inflated to impact the innermost tubular . in yet another embodiment , a spacer or sleeve could even be placed about the packer to more closely match the inner diameter of a wellbore before expanding / inflating the packer . occasionally a tear or other obstruction or flow anomaly may occur in the fluid delivery lines of a downhole cutter . traditionally , the level of a large fluid tank , for example hydraulic fluid , would be monitored . if the level started decreasing , then the operators knew there was a problem . unfortunately , this routinely occurs only after some significant amount of fluid is lost downhole ( e . g . 20 - 30 gallons ). furthermore , the operators only know there is a problem but ; they have no idea which hose had the leak . contrary to traditional models , in addition to the traditional “ level ” monitoring , each hose to and from the tool is fitted with turbine flow meters to continuously monitor the flow of fluid through each hose . this provides a very early warning system to alert operators to any flow anomalies . for example , should a hose develop a tear and begin leaking fluid into the wellbore , the “ delivery ” hose would have a flow rate in excess of the “ return ” hose . if the difference in the flow meters exceeded a defined threshold , an operator could be alerted . this is an improvement over traditional fluid “ level ” monitoring which could only detect tears after a significant amount of fluid was lost downhole , wasting money and creating potential environmental hazards . further , traditional “ level ” monitoring could only detect flow anomalies that resulted in the loss of fluid . by utilizing turbine flow meters , pinched , partially blocked / clogged , and / or completely blocked / clogged hoses can be detected . also , because each hose has its own turbine flow meter , the operator can immediately identify which hose is having the flow anomaly and how serious the flow anomaly is . the spindle housing 5080 is rigidly attached to the drive bar 5076 such that as the drive bar 5076 rotates , the spindle housing 5080 also rotates in the w - axis ( about the z - axis ). this rotation can occur while the drive bar 76 is moved longitudinally ( up and down along the z - axis ) by the action of the ball screw 5062 . the spindle hydraulic motor 5082 rotates the shaft 5084 and the cutting device 5015 . although indicated as separate items , in one embodiment the shaft 5084 and the cutting device 5015 are made from the same piece of material . this provides the advantage of increased strength and vibration reduction with no connections between the shaft 5084 and the cutting device 5015 . finally , the y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 swings the cutting device 5015 away from the spindle housing 5080 . in one embodiment the ratio of shaft 5084 length to cutting device 5015 length is 1 : 1 to increase the strength of the assembly and reduce vibrations . in another embodiment , the cutting device 5015 may swing away from the spindle housing 5080 to an angle of 45 degrees ( measured from the vertical center line of the spindle housing 5080 to the center line of the cutting device 5015 ) by the extension of the hydraulic cylinder 5016 ; however a wider angle is also achievable . additionally , in one embodiment , a pressure relief hose ( not shown ) is attached to the y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 . this pressure relief hose has a valve ( not shown ) located at the surface that when actuated releases the pressure from the y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 . this could be used for example to allow the cutting device 5015 to retract back ( see fig3 b ) within the spindle housing 5080 should a hydraulic or electrical failure occur while the tool is deployed downhole and cutting . without such a failsafe pressure relief , if the tool failed while cutting , the cutting device 5015 could be extended so far into the formation as to interfere with tool recovery . the pressure relief hose and valve are independent of any electronics on the tool itself or within the wellbore ; therefore , a failure on the tool itself will not interfere with the failsafe pressure relief because it is controlled solely from the surface . another such independent pressure relief hose ( not shown ) and valve ( not shown ) is attached to the packer for similar reasons . in one embodiment , the y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 is capable of providing over 10 , 000 lbs of force . fig4 a , 40 b , and 40 c depict side view , isometric view , and a bottom view of an alternative embodiment of the cutting device 5015 . the shaft 5084 has notches 5100 to enable a sensor ( e . g . proximity switch ) to monitor the cutting device &# 39 ; s 5015 rotational speed . the cutting device of this embodiment has 84 milling inserts 5104 ( although alternate numbers of milling inserts 5104 could be used with success ). in this particular embodiment , the milling inserts 5104 are arranged in 6 rows of 14 ; however , alternative configurations could be used with success . each of the milling inserts 5104 are mounted on individual insert faces 5106 and are removable in case of breakage or wear . the milling inserts 5104 extend partially above the insert faces 5106 to mill away the material being cut . each milling insert 5104 has a life expectancy of about 15 minutes of cutting . by careful technique and using a milling insert 5104 layout and number similar to that disclosed herein , one can make the milling inserts last on the cutting device 5015 for about two hours of cutting ( e . g . each milling insert 5104 sees less than 15 minutes of actual cut time during a two hour cutting episode ). it is important to note that milling through the steel tubulars degrades the milling inserts 5104 ; therefore , to maximize cutting potential , the cutting of the steel tubulars is apportioned across the entire cutting device 5015 . this technique of spreading the tubular cutting across the entire cutting device 5015 is accomplished by making the first cut only using the lower most milling inserts 5104 of the cutting device 5015 for a short period of time by feeding the cutting device 5015 out with hydraulic cylinder 5016 completely through the innermost tubular . once the cutting device 5015 is through the innermost tubular , the spindle housing 5080 is rotated 360 - degrees severing the first tubular . after the first tubular is severed , the spindle housing 5080 is raised vertically up the z - axis while simultaneously rotating in the w - axis to spiral mill cut the innermost tubular the height required to remove the innermost tubular . for example , this would remove the first tubular and a small portion of the cement between the first tubular and the second tubular . when the first upward cut is complete , the spindle housing 5080 would be lowered back down along the z - axis to the start position of the first cut and the y - axis hydraulic cylinder 5016 would move the cutting device 5015 further into the nested tubulars now that the innermost first tubular has been removed . the next cut would use milling inserts 5104 further up the cutting device 5015 to cut the tubulars as the spindle housing 5080 is then feed vertically up the z - axis a height programmed while simultaneously rotating in the w - axis to spiral mill cut the length of the next tubular and cement . this technique is repeated until the final cut . the remaining life of the lower most inserts 5104 are reserved to make the final cut through the tubular that is the farthest into the formation , as the lower most milling inserts are used mostly for cutting cement until the final cut . by continuing in this manner , the tubular cutting is spread across the entire cutting device 5015 to maximize the cutting ability . additionally , this embodiment acts as a type of pump , directing the fluid flow into the wellbore while ejecting any chips or debris resulting from the cutting process down the wellbore . this ejecting action is accomplished by orienting the troughs 5108 between the rows of inserts 5104 backwards ( e . g . reverse cutter ) and rotating the rotary mill cutter 5015 clockwise . traditional cutters are oriented with a “ forward ” cutter . traditional systems have to feed pressurized lubricant from the surface into the bearing assemblies or use sealed bearings . in contrast , this embodiment has a lubricant hole 5110 in the shaft 5084 that traverses from the outside of the shaft 5084 to the inside opening 5112 which allows lubricant to flow onto the shaft 5084 and coat the shaft 5084 to reduce friction as the rotary mill cutter 5015 and shaft 5084 rotates . the rotary mill cutter 5015 and the shaft 5084 contain pressurized lubricant in a reservoir . a piston ( not shown ) is attached to an opening 5112 in the base of the rotary mill cutter 5015 to pressurize the lubricant . when the shaft 5084 is connected to the spindle hydraulic motor 5082 a seal is created below the lubricant hole 5110 such that the lubricant does not leak . when the cutting device 5015 needs to be serviced , the lubricant can be changed by removing the piston . by filling the rotary mill cutter 5015 with pressurized lubricant , additional vibration reduction can be achieved . unlike traditional cutters this embodiment has no connection point between the shaft 5084 and the cutting device 5015 ( e . g . it is made from a single piece of metal ). this increases the strength and decreases the complexity thereby making this embodiment more reliable than traditional cutters . in one embodiment the cutting device 5015 measures approximately one foot in length and approximately four inches in diameter , however other lengths and diameters could be employed depending on the particular application . also in this embodiment , the insert face 5106 is angled about nine degrees off the centerline , although other angles could also be employed depending on the particular application . fig4 a and 41b depict the tool with the steady rest 5120 . the steady rest 5120 provides an offset point to reduce vibration , provide stability for the cutting device 5015 , and counteract the force of the cutting device 5015 pushing against the tubulars and / or formation . as such , the steady rest is positioned such that it impacts the wellbore on the opposite side from the arcing motion of the spindle swing arm 5014 . additionally , the steady rest 5120 provides a safety mechanism in case one or more tubulars shifts during cutting . it is not uncommon for tubulars to shift during cutting for example if the tubular was not cemented well . these shifts could pin the tool in the wellbore and make retrieval difficult or impossible . in one embodiment , the steady rest 5120 is coupled to the tool with shear bolts 5121 and 5122 and extends below the cutting device 5015 . in one embodiment there are two levels of shear bolts . if the first level of shear bolts 5121 gives way , the steady rest 5120 will shift inward ( e . g . the steady rest pivots out of the way of the shifting tubular . this would represent a minor shift in the tubular . if this occurs , the tool and the steady rest are still retrievable . if the second level of shear bolts 5122 gives way , which represents a significantly more violent shift , the steady rest will separate from the spindle housing 5080 and the steady rest 5120 will remain in the wellbore ; however , the robotic rotary mill ( downhole assembly ) would still be retrievable . the steady rest bearing 5123 provides the third major contact point between the tool and the wellbore . the first being the exposed portion of the spindle swing arm 5014 while cutting the first innermost tubular , the second being the milling spindle housing 5080 rubbing on the first innermost tubular as the mill cutter 5015 is cutting the first innermost tubular , and the third being the steady rest bearing 5123 . these three major points of contact provide a very stable cutting platform and significantly reduce unwanted vibration . in one embodiment , the steady rest 5120 is about 42 ″ long . this permits the steady rest to engage against the inner wall of the innermost tubular for the majority , if not all , of the cut . in other embodiments , the steady rest 5120 may be more or less than 42 ″ long . in order to make cuts with a vertical distance ( e . g . along the z - axis ) in excess of 54 ″ ( e . g . 42 ″ travel with the steady rest engaged + 12 ″ for the length of one embodiment of the cutting device 5015 itself ): ( i ) a longer steady rest 5120 could be employed , ( ii ) the top most 54 ″ of the cut may be completed , then the tool repositioned about 54 ″ below the bottom of the first cut to begin a new series of cuts ; ( iii ) the steady rest 5120 could be engaged against the innermost tubular wall only for a portion of the cut ( e . g . the first cut , because it is generally the longest cut , could have some portion of its cut made without the steady rest 5120 engaged ); and / or ( iv ) a longer rotary mill cutter 5015 could be used . it is preferable for the largest diameter cuts that the steady rest be engaged against the innermost wall . in one embodiment , the steady rest is not used if the cutting device 5015 vibrations are small . the clymer technologies model terrella6 v2 ( not shown ) provides vibration graphical displays to the operators monitor ( not shown ). the disclosed subject matter covers the scope of functionality in a holistic way . although described with reference to particular embodiments , those skilled in the art , with this disclosure , will be able to apply the teachings in principles in other ways . all such additional embodiments are considered part of this disclosure and any claims to be filed in the future .	4
the invention suggests an intervention for this problem with a first aspect by suggesting that the structure in the incisal area be designed thicker than typical up to this point . this can be easily seen from fig1 . this can be achieved by a so - called “ global ” modification of the known outer structure surface 13 ′, for example , which belongs to the uniform thickness of the structure 14 ′, by scaling the surfaces of the replica calculated in known manner differently in at least two spatial axes . the surface of the replica representing the outer structure surface 13 of the structure 14 shown in fig1 was more strongly increased in vertical direction for example than in sagittal direction . the veneering 15 of fig1 in the incisor region is significantly thinner as a result than the veneering 15 ′ of fig2 so that a higher stability is obtained . moreover , the dental technician can produce the veneering 15 of fig1 quicker since less material has to be applied to structure 14 . the global modification according to the invention can be performed by the cad systems such that the lower preparation border 16 is not changed . this is important for a precise seating of the structure 14 on stump 10 . moreover , the scaling in a specific spatial axis can be performed not only with a constant scaling factor , but also with a variable scaling factor that depends on the distance from the preparation border 16 , for example . thus , a trapezoidal scaling function can be used for the vertical axis and / or the sagittal axis , for example so that the replica or structure surface 13 are distorted the most in the incisal area . this way , the natural shape of the tooth can be most closely approximated . it is also possible to choose the scaling for the positive and the negative part of a spatial axis different to thereby achieve a different distortion in distal direction than in mesial direction , for example . inputting data via keyboard and / or with a mouse can set the scaling . since a global modification cannot cover all possible optimal cases , the invention provides in a second aspect a so - called “ local ” modification . this can mimic a conventional wax knife , for example , to ease the application for the dental technician . as shown in the image series of fig3 , the practitioner has to mark the areas of the surface with the mouse ( shown in red in fig3 ), which then have to be modified with the previously set parameters . these parameters comprise at least the diameter and the thickness of the local modification . the term thickness describes here the thickness of the applied or removed structure material . a so - called temperature can also be used , which defines how much the surface should be smoothened during the modification . certain conditions have to be fulfilled for any modification to ensure minimum stability requirements of the prostheses are met . for example , a structure has to have a minimum wall thickness to avoid breakage . this can be controlled according to a third aspect of the present invention by creating an additional control surface , which meets the minimal stability requirements and is shown together with the actual surface of the structure . the invention relates in a fourth aspect to a method for the processing of data of the three - dimensional shape of a dental prosthesis ( 14 ), featuring the following steps : a ) input data are provided representing the three - dimensional surface of the stump ( 10 ) prepared for the prosthesis ( 14 ); b ) minimum stability requirements are provided for the prosthesis ( 14 ); c ) control data are generated from the input data , which show the control surface , and which meet the minimum stability requirements ; d ) data of the shape are created showing the three - dimensional shape of the prosthesis ( 14 ); e ) the shape of the prosthesis ( 14 ) is shown together with the control surface . the input data in step a ) can be provided by a scanner , which detects the three - dimensional surface of a dental impression , or by an intra - oral scanner , which captures the three - dimensional surface of the dental situation in the mouth of the patient . the stability requirements in step b ) can be provided automatically for example with the help of a computer , and / or manually by the user . the control data in step c ) can be generated automatically for example with the help of a computer , and / or manually by the user . the shape data in step d ) can be generated automatically for example with the help of a computer , and / or manually by the user . the representation in step e ) can be accomplished with the help of the monitor . the sequence of steps can be chosen as desired or needed . for example , step d ) can be performed before , at the same time , or after step c ). also , the control surface by itself can be shown first in step e ), for example , and then additionally the shape of the prosthesis , for example by super exposure , but a reverse sequence or a simultaneous start of the imaging is also possible . it can be provided that this method features the following additional steps : f ) the shape data are modified ; g ) the actual shape of the prosthesis ( 14 ), which represents the modified shape data , is shown together with the control surface . the shape data can be modified globally in step f ), for example according to the above - given definition , and / or locally , for example , according to the above - given definition , and / or automatically , for example with the help of a computer , and / or manually by the user . the control surface can be shown first by itself in step g ), for example , followed then by the actual shape of the prosthesis , for example by super exposure , but a reverse sequence or the simultaneous start of the imaging is also possible . it can be provided that the shape data in step d ) are generated from the input data . it can be provided that the shape data are modified globally such that a given preparation edge ( 16 ) remains unchanged . it can be provided that the control surface exactly meets the minimum stability requirements . it can be provided that the method according to the invention is performed with the help of a computer program . the present invention relates in a fifth aspect to a data processing system for performing the method according to the invention with : an input device for the data required for the method ; a central processing unit connected to the input device , in which the program runs for processing the data according to the method ; an output device connected to the central processing unit for the shape of the prosthesis ( 14 ) and the control surface . the present invention relates in a sixth aspect to a computer program designed to perform the method according to the invention . the present invention relates in a seventh aspect to a computer program that performs the method according to the invention when it is run on the computer . the present invention relates in an eighth aspect to a computer program featuring commands that perform the method according to the invention . the present invention relates in a ninth aspect to a computer program that implements the method according to the invention . the present invention relates in a tenth aspect to a data storage device , which stores the computer program according to the invention . the data storage device can be a floppy disc , a magnetic tape , a cd , a dvd , a memory stick , a hard drive , a ram component , or a rom component , for example . the present invention has now been described referencing different types of its embodiments . it becomes clear to the expert that many changes can be performed on the described embodiments without deviating from the scope of the present invention . the scope of the present invention shall therefore not be limited to the structures described in this application , but only by the structures described by the verbiage of the claims as well as equivalents of those structures .	6
fig5 , fig6 , and fig7 show a typical implementation of the proposed cell and technology for high speed , low voltage and low power applications using the combination of the two technologically innovative methods that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art . fig8 and fig9 with the fig7 show a second typical implementation . these are shown to explain the structure and operation of the technology and is not limiting in that other implementations of the technology are possible , for example with the floating gate implemented inside a trench , on a single side wall or both side walls , with select gate outside , or using a p - channel cell instead of the described n - channel cell by changing the doping of the layers as is well known in the industry . these and other implementations will be known to practitioners of the art and will be covered by the description provided . the technologies that enable this advance are , the channel accelerated carrier tunneling method and the tunnel - gun method , both of which have been patented and the patents are incorporated by reference . structure of cell : the typical cell in fig5 , 6 and 7 will be explained with an n - type cell for clarity . this does not limit the technology or the cell being made an n - type using processing that is well known in the industry . the typical cell consists of a silicon wafer with a p - type doping ( not shown ) which has a deep well implant with an n - type dopant ( 10 ) into which a shallow well implant is done converting the type in the regions where the cell or group of cells forming an array is to be formed to the opposite polarity namely p - type (( 8 ). a shallow trench is cut into the silicon that extends through the shallow well into the deep n - well . a n - type implant may be made optionally into the bottom of the well to enhance the conductivity of the region . the deep well at the bottom of the trench forms a common source contact for the cells in the well . a sidewall oxide is grown in the trench ( 1 a ) which will act as the isolation and gate oxide for a vertical select device in the trench . at the same time a surface isolation oxide or field oxide ( 11 ) is grown on the silicon to isolate the trench and active regions . the trench itself is then filled with polysilicon ( 1 ) that extend over isolation oxide layer ( 11 ). this poly is masked and etched to form the select gate poly connection or row select poly connection ( 2 ). the polysilicon may be covered by a polycide or metal silicide layer to reduce the series resistance of the select gate / row select . the poly surface is oxidized to form a protective layer of oxide ( 12 ). a thin gate oxide or tunnel oxide ( 3 a ) active region is now formed on silicon adjacent the trench side wall oxide in a direction perpendicular to the row select polysilicon such that it is isolated from the adjacent active region by isolation oxide or field oxide . a polysilicon layer is now deposited and defined to form a floating gate silicon or floating gate ( 3 ) such that it is over the thin gate oxide region and extends over the poly oxide over the trench to overlap the trench side wall / gate oxide edge as shown . the floating gate also extends and covers the thin oxide and extends over the field oxide . standard ldd process with ldd implant followed by a source / drain implant using an n - type dopant is done to form a doped drain junction ( 4 ) in the shallow p - well . the intersection of the floating gate channel with the select gate channel , in the integrated channel between the substrate / well source at the bottom of the well and the doped drain exist , becomes the discontinuity in the channel ( 1 c ) where the carriers have a velocity in the select channel that is directed at the tunnel oxide and the floating polysilicon gate during operation as a cact device . an oxide layer on the floating gate silicon formed by growing and deposition form the charge retention oxide ( 12 a ). a tun - gun structure is now established over the top of the floating gate polysilicon . this is done by deposition of a thin collector grid ( 6 ), typically a metal with high work function like w in the thickness typically less than 60 a - 150 a followed by a barrier material ( 6 a ) or oxide typically silicon dioxide or aluminum oxide of 30 to 70 a and an injector ( 7 ) layer which may typically be a thicker layer of metal or doped polysilicon doped to provide the right type of carriers . this sandwich of layers is now masked and etched to form the tun - gun . this sandwich of three layers comprising the collector grid ( 6 ), the barrier material ( 6 a ) and the injector ( 7 ) will be designated and act as the control gate in normal operation and program using cact method of the cell and as a ballistic tunneling gun ( tun - gun ) providing the carriers for erase during the erase operations as will be explained later . inter layer dielectric ( 13 ), typically silicon dioxide is now deposited over the structure and planarized to provide a level surface for interconnect metalization ( 9 ) which is connected to a contact etched to the source diffusion and refilled with conductive material to form the contact refill ( 5 ) which makes contact to the diffusion ( 4 ), in this case the drain diffusion . this is the structure of a typical catt1 cell . in the catt1 cell the function of the select gate is defined for two adjacent cells . the cells are differentiated by having individual staggered bit line connections as shown in fig1 . ( alternating connection of the bit line metal to the source contacts ). in catt2 implementation the select gates are for individual cells and it allows the use of a metal bit line ( 9 ) per column connected to all the source diffusions in the column as shown in fig8 . both these implementations allow the cell to be in depletion during read operation . if a program using pulsed voltage and verify is used as typical in flash which prevents the cells from over erase and over program , catt1 cells can be used with single bit line , there by reducing the area of the cell further . this and other modifications to the structure and operation are possible to those who are practitioners of the art and the examples are not intended as limiting the application of the combined methods to any specific implementation . operation of the cell : the typical catt1 cell is used to explain the operation of the cell to erase the cell and to store or write in data and to read out data from the cell . the cells in the typical example are n - channel cells . typically the first step is to erase the cells ( remove electrons from the floating gate or supply holes to the floating gate to charge it positive ) to a fixed positive voltage . this can be done for a byte , row of cells at a time , a block of cells or for the whole array as required using the direct hot carrier injection ( in the present case holes ) or ballistic injection of holes using the tun - gun structure . this operation of generating carriers is similar to the operation of a mim diode . this is done for the selected cell or cells by application of a differential voltage to the tun - gun structure providing a 4 . 2 v to 5v potential difference across the thin barrier ( 6 a ) from the injector ( 7 ) to the collector grid ( 6 ) and providing an additional fixed voltage difference of approximately a volt between the injector and the floating gate electrode . typically the channel formed in the channel region ( 3 b ) under the floating gate by application of the coupled down turn on voltage to the floating gate from the collector grid is kept at 0v or a slightly positive potential through the drain diffusion ( 4 ) through the bit line ( 9 ) and contact fill ( 5 ) with the select device in the off condition during this ( erase ) operation . the necessary voltage to produce hot carriers is provided by applying progressively positive voltages to the grid electrode and the injector electrode . a part of the injected holes that have enough energy to pass through the collector grid without getting absorbed over come the oxide barrier between the collector grid and the floating gate and are collected by the floating gate to charge the gate positive . this collection of holes by the floating gate ( hole mean paths of 400 a have been typically seen in metal ) is a self - limiting process depending on the applied voltage on the floating gate . note that by changing the voltage differential between the floating gate and the collector grid the total charge on the floating gate can be modified . as the efficiency of collection is high the process is fast . by reducing the thickness of the collector grid and optimizing it , a higher charging current can be achieved for fast erase . ( by changing the doping of the injector in the tun - gun and applying a different polarity of voltage across the tg , electrons can be injected and be made available for collection by the floating gate . this helps to implement alternate types of catt cells using the same principle used in the catt1 cells ) the cell or cells are now ready for program ( accumulation of negative carriers in the floating gate ). programming is done by selective application of a voltage , typically in the 1 to 1 . 8v to the drain diffusion ( 4 ) through the contact fill ( 5 ) and the bit line connection ( 9 ), applying sufficient voltage typically of the order of 1 to 1 . 8v , to turn on the select gate , forming a channel adjacent the oxide in the channel region ( 1 b ), and applying a higher voltage , typically 4 to 7v , to control gate . the control gate voltage gets coupled down to the floating gate and turns on the channel in the channel region ( 3 b ) adjacent the floating gate . the source which is the deep well is kept at ground potential during program . a discontinuity ( 1 c ) exists in the channel where the velocity of carriers , in this case electrons , occur due to change in direction of the combined channel between the source and the drain of the cell . the carriers from the source are accelerated along the select gate channel adjacent the side wall ( 1 ) of the trench and acquire a velocity component in the direction of the carrier flow . this velocity component is enhanced by the acceleration in the depletion region existing due to the control gate ( 6 & amp ; 7 together ) voltage , which is capacitively coupled down and applied to the floating gate ( 3 ) and is directed towards the floating gate as the carriers approach the discontinuity in the channel . this velocity component with the accelerating component will provide enough energy for the carriers to overcome the barrier or tunnel through the barrier into the floating gate using the “ channel accelerated carrier tunneling ” method and so program the cell . the use of the velocity of the carriers directed at the floating gate oxide at the discontinuity in the channel provide a large volume of carriers having sufficient velocity to be accelerated in the floating gate depletion region to program the cell . hence the programming efficiency and the speed of programming can be fast , while allowing use of a lower control gate voltage which is sufficient to allow the carriers to over come the gate oxide ( 3 a ) barrier separating the channel ( 3 b ) from the floating poly - silicon ( 3 ). the elimination of the drain voltage , or the use of low control gate voltage ( below that needed to cause tunneling or the turning off of the select gate , can all prevent the programming of the cell . it is also to be noted that the programming is self limiting and the total charge in the floating gate can be controlled by the voltage applied to the control gate . ( here again the cells can be made p - channel cells by process steps well known in the industry . these cells will then have the polarity of applied voltages different to attract holes to the floating gate during the cact process to charge the gate positive .) hence by choice of device type and appropriate voltage polarity selections p - type cells can also be programmed and erased using the tun - gun and cact method combination proposed in this disclosure . since the tun - gun method is capable of injecting holes or electrons based on the doping of the injector and the polarity of the applied voltage an n channel cell can be made that is erased by holes injected from the tun - gun and programmed by electrons from the channel using cact method . similarly a p channel cell can be made that is erased by holes from the channel using cact method and programmed by electrons from the tun - gun method . the use of the select gate during read operation allow the cells to be insensitive to over - erase and over - program states , unlike the normal flash cell . the cell is also capable of being erased in a bit , byte , page or block level and programmed in a bit , byte or page level . hence this nor type cell is very versatile and can be used in applications where the individual prior art nor or nand cells where only used . multibit operation of the cells : as explained in the cell operation , the erase operation can be controlled and is self limiting based on the voltage difference between the collector grid and the floating gate during the carrier collection . by varying this voltage , while keeping the net differential between the injector and the collector grid same , different amounts of charge can be stored in the floating gate allowing the cell to have multiple thresholds in the erase region . similarly by varying the control gate voltage during programming , there by increasing the coupled down voltage on the floating gate to values above the minimum needed to over come the barrier , the amount of charge accumulation during program can be changed in a manner that is again self limiting depending on the voltage . this will allow multiple levels or thresholds to exist in the program region of the cell . the fact that both program and erase are self limiting operations allow multiple levels of charge to be stored and hence vt covering the full band of available vt shift in the erase and program regions for multi - bit operation . standard array and operation : an array of cells using the catt1 cell is shown in fig5 and a similar array with catt2 is shown in fig8 . the catt1 array ( nor array ) has all the sources of all cells connected together through the deep well contact . the select device is common to two two adjacent cells and has the gate poly in the well and running in the row direction connecting all the trenches in a row forming the select line for two adjacent rows of devices adjacent the trench . the control gate of the device is made of the tunnel gun stack of two metal layers , the collector grid and the injector with a barrier in between . these also run in the row direction across the top of the floating gate of all cells in a row . the bit line is a conducting metal line running in the vertical or column direction and connecting to the staggered drain contacts of adjacent cells from two different rows as shown in fig5 . the voltages applied to each of the connections in a typical catt1 during erase , program and read applications are shown in fig1 . cell size : one of the problems with the prior art flash memory is that the cells cannot be scaled effectively . this is due to multiple considerations . the lateral scaling is limited by the need for the contacts and also the spacing between devices needed to achieve high voltage isolation . typical cell size is between 8 and 12 f ^ 2 , where f is the minimum feature size . the current technology that uses the combination of novel methods for program and erase can substantially reduce the size of the cell due to use of lower voltages for erase and program . even the medium voltages used are only applied to the gates and not to the junctions of the devices eliminating any high voltage breakdown issues of the junctions . the reduced high voltage requirement reduces the peripheral complexity of the circuits needed to program and erase the memory cells and the peripheral area of the chip designed using this disclosed technology . a typical cell size is shown in fig5 for the catt1 cell and fig8 for the catt2 cell . the advantages of the proposed catt cells using the combination of tun - gun method and the cact methods for charging and discharging the cells are : 1 . low voltage operation . 2 . the medium program erase voltages , where they are used are only applied to the elements in the control gate of the devices . 3 . no cell drain engineering is needed . 4 . cell can be implemented as a p or n device — only changes will be in the tun - gun materials and the applied voltage polarities for operation , which are well established in the industry . 5 . no new process technology development is needed , standard process steps used for cell . 6 . low power operation due to lower voltage and currents from pump circuits during program and erase . 7 . low voltage devices in the data path allow high speed access to data . 8 . high efficiency erase and programming schemes using reduced currents . 9 . high speed erase and program operations possible . 10 . high density memory possible — cell sizes 6 to 8 f { circumflex over ( 0 )} 2 . 11 . can be configured for bit , byte or page mode operation . 12 . versatile cell capable of performing in a page mode flash environment for bulk storage as the cell provides : a . small foot print similar to nand and b . high density due to close packing capability c . fast program and erase for photo applications . d . fast data access .	6
a portion of the conveyor belt embodying features of the invention is shown in fig1 . the belt 10 is constructed of a series of rows 12 of one or more belt modules 14 , such as a short edge module 14 ′ and a long edge module 14 ″. the edge modules have edge structure 16 that gives the belt relatively flat - surfaced side edges 18 , 19 and serves to restrain a hinge rod 20 from migrating past the belt edge . one or more internal modules similar in structure to the edge modules , but without edge structure may be positioned between the two edge modules in each row to construct a wider belt . for belts constructed of more than one module per row , the modules are preferably arranged in a bricklay pattern with laterally offset seams 22 from row to row for strength . each row includes an intermediate portion 24 , in this case , a lateral strip . a first set of hinge elements 26 extends from the intermediate portion longitudinally in the direction of belt travel 28 . a second set 27 extends longitudinally in the opposite direction . the first and second sets of hinge elements define first and second ends of the rows . as shown in fig2 , apertures 30 , 31 through the first and second sets of hinge elements receive the hinge rod 20 . the apertures 30 along the first end are preferably circular with a diameter just greater than that of the hinge rod . the apertures 31 through the second set of hinge elements are longitudinally elongated to allow the belt to negotiate turns . but both sets of apertures could be circular for a straight - running belt or shaped otherwise for other hinge rod cross sections or special purposes . the first set of hinge elements of a row are interleaved with the second set of hinge elements of an adjacent row . the aligned apertures of the interleaved hinge elements form a lateral passageway for the hinge rod , which connects adjacent rows together at a hinge joint 32 . the belt is able to articulate at its joints about sprockets or drums that drive the belt . a high - friction attachment member 34 is shown in fig1 attached at a conveying surface 36 , of the belt . as shown in fig2 , the attachment member includes a body 38 having an outer surface 40 and a base surface 41 . an interaction element in the form of a high - friction element 42 is attached , preferably by bonding , to the outer surface of the attachment body . ( an interaction element means an element that interacts with an external object not part of the belt . a conveyed article and conveyor frame structure are examples of external objects .) a t - shaped beam 44 upstanding from the outer surface provides the wide attachment member with beam strength to prevent the attachment member from warping under molded - in stresses and also adds more surface area to improve the attachment of the high - friction element to the attachment body . first legs 46 and second legs 47 extend from the base surface 41 of the attachment element . each leg is much narrower than the lateral dimension of gaps 48 formed between consecutive hinge elements that accommodate interleaved hinge elements of an adjacent row . as shown in fig3 , the narrow legs leave enough space in the gap to accommodate the interleaved hinge elements . at the distal end of each leg is a foot 50 that extends from the leg . the foot is a slight projection that hooks under a hinge rod in the lateral passageway . a narrow neck 52 of each hinge element extends longitudinally from the intermediate portion of each belt module to a wide distal head 54 . each hinge element extends in thickness from a first side 56 nearer the first edge 18 of the belt to a second side 57 nearer the opposite second edge . the first leg 46 is separated laterally from the second leg 47 so that , when the attachment member is installed in the belt , the first leg contacts the first side of a hinge element , e . g ., hinge element 26 ′ in fig3 , and the second leg contacts the second side of a hinge element , e . g ., hinge element 26 ″. this spacing registers the attachment member in position with its base surface 41 supported a top the conveying surface of the belt . the hinge rod hooked under the feet of the legs resides between the feet and the base surface of the attachment member . the attachment member shown in fig2 and 3 has three pairs of legs . the lateral spacing between adjacent legs alternates between wide spacings and narrow spacings . in this example , the narrow spacing corresponds to the lateral thickness of the neck of a hinge element . it can also be seen that the legs &# 39 ; longitudinal extent generally matches the longitudinal extent of the neck of the hinge elements . the wide attachment element can span a seam , such as seam 22 ′ in fig1 , and thereby provide additional beam strength to the row . the belt is preferably a modular plastic conveyor belt constructed of modules made of a thermoplastic polymer such as polypropylene , polyethylene , acetal , or a composite polymer in an injection - molding process . the hinge rod may be stainless steel , but is preferably a thermoplastic rod molded or extruded . the attachment member body may likewise be molded out of a thermoplastic polymer . belts and hinge rods of this kind are manufactured and sold by intralox , l . l . c ., of harahan , la ., usa . the high - friction material may be a rubber or elastomer that is bonded to the outer surface of the attachment body by co - molding , welding , adhesives , or mechanical connection . another version of attachment member is shown in fig4 and 5 connected into a similar belt . the attachment member 60 includes a body having an outer surface 62 and an opposite base surface 63 . an interaction element in the form of holddown wing 64 with a lateral wingspan extends from the base surface via a central post 66 . first and second legs 46 , 47 extend from the base surface . each leg has a foot 50 protruding at its distal end . the holddown attachment member 60 is inserted into a single gap 48 between adjacent hinge elements . the first leg 46 contacts the first side of the hinge element 26 ′, and the second leg 47 contacts the second side 57 of hinge element 26 ″ to register the holddown member in place . a hinge rod inserted in the lateral passageway through the interleaved hinge elements retains the attachment member in place . the base surface of the attachment member is flush with the opposite surface 37 of the belt from the conveying surface 36 . in operation , the wing 64 hooks under a horizontal ledge of a conveyor guide 68 to hold the belt down in turns . the wing shown in the figures is two - sided , but a one - sided wing is also possible . yet another version of an attachment member is shown in fig6 and 7 . in this version the attachment member 70 is a lane divider . the attachment member has a body with an outer surface 72 and an opposite base surface 73 . an interactive element in the form of an upstanding plate 74 extends from the outer surface of the body . first and second legs 46 , 47 extend from the base surface . feet 50 project outward from the legs . the legs slip directly into the gaps 48 between adjacent hinge elements with the base surface supported on the conveying surface 36 of the belt . in this version , the first and second legs fit into adjacent gaps separated by a hinge element 26 ′. the first leg 46 contacts the first side 36 of the hinge element , and the second leg 47 contacts the second side of the same hinge element . a hinge rod inserted into the lateral passageway at the hinge joint 32 between the base surface and the feet 50 straddling the hinge element retains the attachment member firmly in position . like the legs of the other attachment members , these legs have a flat wall 76 that does not contact the hinge element and an opposite contoured wall 77 that matches the shape of and contacts the side of the hinge element . as shown in fig7 , a series of sideguards or lane dividers 70 along the length of the belt can divide the belt into longitudinal lanes , such as an edge lane 78 at each edge and one or more interior lanes 79 . the edge lanes can serve as product - free belt regions , while multiple interior lanes can separate product laterally into individual flows . although the invention has been described with respect to a few preferred versions , other versions are possible . for example , the attachment member could include an interaction element consisting of a lateral plate to form a flight . as another example , a variety of surfaces could be attached to a bas surface as on the body of fig2 . rollers and other elements could be attached in an assembly to a belt using the attachment scheme shown . so , as these few examples suggest , the scope of the claims is not meant to be limited to the preferred exemplary versions described .	1
metal oxide - or lithium - metal - oxide electrodes that provide a high electrochemical potential , typically above 3 v , against lithium metal , such as oxides containing the first - row transition metal ions , v 5 + , mn 4 + , co 4 + and ni 4 + ions tend to be strong oxidizing agents and therefore can react with the non - aqueous electrolytes of lithium cells , particularly at the surfaces of electrode particles . for example , highly delithiated layered li 1 − x mo 2 and spinel li 1 − x mn 2 − y m y o 4 electrodes can react spontaneously with the organic - based electrolyte solvents such as ethylene carbonate , diethyl carbonate or dimethyl carbonate ; in extreme cases , the electrodes can release oxygen into the cell compartment that may cause possible thermal runaway , venting or explosion , sometimes with fire . even without the catastrophic failure described above , the release of oxygen from the electrode lowers the average oxidation state of the electrochemically active transition metal ions , particularly at the electrode surface , which can increase cell impedance , and reduce the capacity and long term cycling stability of the cells . it is therefore important to find effective methods to reduce the high activity of charged metal - oxide - and lithium - metal - oxide electrode surfaces without compromising the energy and power of the cells , while at the same time enhancing safety . this invention relates , in general , to uncycled preconditioned metal - oxide or lithium - metal - oxide electrodes , including cathodes and / or anodes for non - aqueous lithium electrochemical cells and batteries , the electrodes being preconditioned in an aqueous or , preferably , a non - aqueous solution containing stabilizing cations and anions , such as phosphorus , titanium , silicon , zirconium and aluminum cations and fluoride anions , that are chemically etched into the surface of the electrodes to form a protective layer in order to improve the electrochemical properties of said cells and batteries and to methods of making same . the invention relates , more specifically , to electrodes that are preconditioned prior to cell assembly or in situ in an electrochemical cell to improve the capacity , cycling efficiency and cycling stability of lithium cells and batteries when charged to high potentials . the invention relates , in particular , to metal oxide - and lithium - metal oxide electrode materials that in their unconditioned , charged state are strong oxidants . in a first embodiment , the invention relates to preconditioned lithium - metal oxide electrodes selected from the family of layered compounds , limo 2 , including lithium - rich materials , li 1 + z m 1 − z o 2 , that can be represented , alternatively , in two - component notation as xli 2 m ′ o 3 . ( 1 − x ) limo 2 ( 0 ≦ x & lt ; 1 ) in which m ′ is one or more metal ions with an average tetravalent oxidation state , selected preferably from mn , ti , and zr , and in which m is one or more metal ions with an average trivalent oxidation state , and m is selected preferably from mg , al , ti , v , cr , mn , fe , co , and ni . in a second embodiment , the invention relates to preconditioned lithium - metal oxide electrodes selected from the family of spinel lithium - metal - oxides , lim 2 o 4 , in which m is one or more metal cations , selected preferably from the subset of substituted spinel lithium - manganese - oxides limn 2 − y m y o 4 , in which m is one or more metal ions selected preferably from li , mg , al , ti , v , cr , mn , fe , co , ni , cu and zn , and two - component xli 2 m ′ o 3 . ( 1 − x ) lim 2 o 4 ( 0 ≦ x & lt ; 1 ) composite electrodes in which m ′ is one or more metal ions selected preferably from mn , ti , and zr . the relative amounts of m ′ and m cations are selected such that there is charge balance in the electrode . the xli 2 m ′ o 3 . ( 1 − x ) limo 2 and xli 2 m ′ o 3 . ( 1 − x ) lim 2 o 4 ( 0 ≦ x & lt ; 1 ) composite electrodes have complex and disordered structures , as described in detail by thackeray et al . in j . materials chemistry , volume 15 , page 2257 , ( 2005 ) and references cited therein . in a third embodiment , the invention relates to preconditioned metal - oxide - or lithium - metal - oxide electrodes from the family of v 2 o 5 - containing and mno 2 - containing compounds , such as v 2 o 5 and mno 2 themselves , and lithium and silver derivatives thereof , such as liv 3 o 8 ( li 2 o . 3v 2 o 5 ), ag 2 v 4 o 11 ( ag 2 o . 2v 2 o 5 ), li 2 o . xmno 2 and ag 2 o . xmno 2 ( x & gt ; 0 ) compounds . in a fourth embodiment , the invention relates to methods for fabricating the preconditioned metal - oxide and lithium - metal - oxide electrodes by treating the metal - oxide - and lithium - metal - oxide electrode particles prior to cell fabrication and assembly with either an aqueous or a non - aqueous solution containing dissolved salts containing stabilizing cations and anions . in a preferred embodiment , the solutions are mildly acidic , for example , with a ph between 4 and 7 , preferably between 5 and 7 , and most preferably between 6 and 7 . because water reacts readily with lithium at the negative electrode and can result in undesirable h + — li + ion - exchange reactions at lithium - metal - oxide electrodes , it is preferable to precondition the electrodes in non - aqueous solutions , such as alcohols , for example , methanol , ethanol and the like . combinations of aqueous and non - aqueous solvents for dissolving the salts can be used , for example , methanol and water . if aqueous solutions are used , then it stands to reason that the electrodes must be sufficiently heated and dried to reduce the water content as much as possible without damaging the electrochemical properties of the electrode . the invention relates more specifically to preconditioned metal - oxide - and lithium - metal - oxide electrode particles with surfaces etched by solutions , preferably mildly acidic solutions with 4 & lt ; ph & lt ; 7 , more preferably 5 & lt ; ph & lt ; 7 , and most preferably 6 & lt ; ph & lt ; 7 , the solutions containing stabilizing ammonium , phosphorus , titanium , silicon , zirconium , aluminum and boron cations and fluoride anions , such as those found in nh 4 pf 6 , ( nh 4 ) 2 tif 6 , ( nh 4 ) 2 sif 6 , ( nh 4 ) 2 zrf 6 , ( nh 4 ) 3 alf 6 , nh 4 bf 4 salts or derivatives thereof , to improve the capacity , cycling efficiency and cycling stability of lithium cells and batteries when charged to high potentials . these preconditioning reactions can take place optionally in the presence of lithium ions . the following examples describe the principles of the invention and possible methods for synthesizing the pre - reduced electrodes of this invention as contemplated by the inventors , but they are not to be construed as limiting examples . synthesis of 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 and preconditioned 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9 lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrode materials electrode materials with the formula 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 are prepared typically as follows . first , a mn 0 . 33 ni 0 . 33 co 0 . 33 ( oh ) x precursor is prepared by co - precipitation of the required stoichiometric amounts of metal nitrates m ( no 3 ) 2 . xh 2 o ( m = mn , ni , and co ). li 2 co 3 is then intimately mixed with the ( mn 0 . 330 ni 0 . 335 co 0 . 335 )( oh ) x ( x approximately 2 ) precursor in a ratio of li 2 co 3 :( mn 0 . 330 ni 0 . 335 co 0 . 335 )( oh ) x = 0 . 55 : 1 ( or li :( mn + ni + co )= 1 . 1 : 1 ). the powder mixture is calcined at 700 ° c . for 16 hours in air and then at 950 ° c . for 12 hours in air to make 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 . for the experiments of this invention , parent 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrode samples , referred to as sample a , were preconditioned prior to cell assembly with various mild acids . for example , sample a was treated with a 2 . 5 × 10 − 3 m nh 4 f solution in laboratory grade methanol containing trace amounts of water ( typically up to 0 . 1 %), the ph of which was approximately 6 . 5 . the sample was stirred in the solution at room temperature for 12 hours and then dried ( still under stirring ) at about 50 ° c ., prior to heating at 600 ° c . in air for 6 hours ( sample b ). in a second example , sample a was treated with a 2 . 5 × 10 − 3 m nh 4 pf 6 solution in laboratory grade methanol containing trace amounts of water ( typically up to 0 . 1 %), the ph of which was approximately 6 . 5 . the sample was stirred in the solution at room temperature for 12 hours and then dried ( still under stirring ) at about 50 ° c ., prior to heating at 600 ° c . in air for 6 hours ( sample c ). in a third example , sample a was treated with a 2 . 5 × 10 − 3 m ( nh 4 ) 3 alf 6 solution in water , the ph of which was approximately 6 . 5 . the sample was stirred in the solution at room temperature for 12 hours and then dried ( still under stirring ) at about 50 ° c ., prior to heating at 600 ° c . in air for 6 hours ( sample d ). in a fourth example , sample a was treated with 1 wt % h 3 po 4 aqueous solution together with a 2 . 5 × 10 − 3 m nh 4 pf 6 solution in laboratory grade methanol containing trace amounts of water ( typically up to 0 . 1 %), the ph of which was approximately 6 . 5 . the sample was stirred in the solution at room temperature for 12 hours and then dried ( still under stirring ) at approximately 50 ° c ., prior to heating at 600 ° c . in air for 6 hours ( sample e ). in a fifth example , sample a was treated with a 2 . 5 × 10 − 3 m nh 4 bf 4 solution in laboratory grade methanol containing trace amounts of water ( typically up to 0 . 1 %), the ph of which was approximately 6 . 5 . the sample was stirred in the solution at room temperature for 12 hours and then dried ( still under stirring ) at approximately 50 ° c ., prior to heating at 600 ° c . in air for 6 hours ( sample f ). the x - ray diffraction patterns of samples a , c and d are shown , by way of example , in fig1 ( a - c ). there were no significant differences in the x - ray patterns of samples a , c and d , indicating that no significant changes had occurred to the bulk structure of the individual compounds during the preconditioning reactions . the x - ray diffraction patterns of samples b , e and f were essentially identical to those of samples a , c and d . electrochemical evaluation of 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrodes and preconditioned 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrodes electrochemical evaluations of 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrodes and preconditioned 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 positive electrodes were carried out as follows . the electrodes for the lithium cells were fabricated from an intimate mixture of 84 wt % of 0 . 1 li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrode powder ( or preconditioned 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrode powder ), 8 wt % polyvinylidene difluoride ( pvdf ) polymer binder ( kynar binder , elf - atochem ), 4 wt % acetylene black ( cabot ), and 4 wt % graphite ( sfg - 6 , timcal ) slurried in 1 - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidinone ( nmp ) ( aldrich , 99 +%). an electrode laminate was cast from the slurry onto an al current collector foil using a doctor - blade . the laminate was subsequently dried , first at 75 ° c . for 10 hours , and thereafter under vacuum at 70 ° c . for 12 hours . the electrolyte was 1 m lipf 6 in ethylene carbonate ( ec ): ethylmethyl carbonate ( emc ) ( 3 : 7 mixture ). the electrodes were evaluated at room temperature in lithium half cells ( coin - type , size cr2032 , hohsen ) with a lithium foil counter electrode ( fmc corporation , lithium division ) and a polypropylene separator ( celgard 2400 ). they were also evaluated at room temperature in full , lithium - ion - type coin cells against a mcmb 1028 graphite electrode . cells were assembled inside an argon - filled glovebox (& lt ; 5 ppm , h 2 o and o 2 ) and cycled on a maccor series 2000 tester under galvanostatic mode using a constant current density initially of 0 . 1 ma / cm 2 for the first two cycles and , thereafter , at a higher current rate of 0 . 5 ma / cm 2 . lithium half cells were cycled between 4 . 6 and 3 . 0 v , whereas lithium - ion full cells were cycled between 4 . 5 and 3 . 0 v . the charge / discharge voltage profiles of lithium half cells after the initial charge / discharge cycle containing an untreated 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrode ( sample a ) and 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrodes that had been preconditioned with mildly acidic solutions containing various stabilizing cations and stabilizing fluorine anions ( samples b - f ) are shown in fig2 ( a - f ), respectively . the figure demonstrates unequivocally that the initial discharge capacities of the preconditioned electrodes ( samples b to e ) are superior to that of the parent , unconditioned electrode ( sample a ). the charge and discharge voltage profiles of the 3rd and 42nd cycles of lithium half cells containing electrode samples a to f between 4 . 6 and 3 . 0 v at 0 . 5 ma / cm 2 at room temperature are shown in fig3 ( a - f ), respectively . it is clear from these data that the preconditioned electrodes ( samples b to f ) provide enhanced capacity compared to the parent , untreated electrode ( sample a ). the cycling stability of untreated electrode ( sample a ) and preconditioned electrodes ( samples b - f ) in lithium half cells are compared graphically in capacity vs . cycle number plots in fig4 . it is clearly evident from the data that the preconditioned electrodes provide significantly superior capacity and cycling stability to the parent , untreated electrode . the data also show that slightly superior cycling stability is achieved from samples c , d , e and f that had been preconditioned with solutions containing stabilizing p , al , and b cations as well as nh 4 cations and stabilizing f anions , compared to sample b that had been preconditioned with nh 4 f . in this respect , it is noted that any basic ammonium or residual nitrogen - containing species will likely remain on the surface of the electrodes and may serve to counter acid attack from the electrolyte , rather than being etched into the electrode surface as occurs with the p , al and b cations that stabilize the electrode surface structure . the capacity delivered by samples a - e as a function of current rate is shown in fig5 . these data also clearly demonstrate the superior electrochemical properties of the preconditioned electrodes ( samples b - e ) that are able to withstand higher current discharge rates than the parent , untreated electrode ( sample a ). the charge and discharge voltage profiles of the 3rd and 102nd cycles of lithium - ion ( full ) cells containing electrode samples a , c , d , e and f between 4 . 5 and 3 . 0 v at 0 . 5 ma / cm 2 at room temperature are shown in fig6 ( a - e ), respectively ; corresponding capacity vs . cycle number plots for the full 102 cycles are shown in fig7 . they demonstrate that significantly improved capacity is obtained from cells containing the preconditioned electrodes ( samples c — f ) compared to the parent , untreated electrode ( sample a ); moreover , the lithium - ion cells containing the preconditioned electrodes of the invention cycle with excellent capacity retention / stability . in a further embodiment of the invention , it was discovered that instead of chemically preconditioning the electrodes with acid prior to cell assembly , the electrodes can be chemically conditioned , in situ , in an electrochemical lithium cell by salts containing one or more cations of ammonium , phosphorus , titanium , silicon , zirconium , aluminum and boron cations and stabilizing fluoride anions , for example , nh 4 pf 6 , ( nh 4 ) 2 tif 6 , ( nh 4 ) 2 sif 6 , ( nh 4 ) 2 zrf 6 , ( nh 4 ) 3 alf 6 and nh 4 bf 4 . two lithium - ion cells were assembled containing an mcmb 1028 graphite anode , a 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 cathode and an electrolyte comprising 1 . 2 m lipf 6 in ethylene carbonate ( ec ): ethylmethyl carbonate ( emc ). one of the cells contained 2 wt % nh 4 bf 4 as an additive to chemically precondition the cathode surface in situ in the electrochemical cell . the two cells were subjected to 3 formation cycles during which the cells were charged and discharged between 4 . 1 and 3 . 0 v at approximately 0 . 2 ma ( approximately c / 10 rate ). the cells were subsequently cycled and aged at an accelerated rate between 3 . 9 and 3 . 6 v at 55 ° c . at 2 ma ( approximately c / 1 rate ) for 2 weeks . the impedance of each cell was measured before and after the aging process at 3 . 72 v at room temperature . it was observed that the impedance growth of the cathode in the cell containing the nh 4 bf 4 electrolyte additive was significantly suppressed during the aging process , thereby providing evidence that the cathode surface had been passivated , confirming the beneficial effects of preconditioning the electrodes of this invention with mild acid , as described hereinbefore . the examples and results described in this application clearly demonstrate the principles and advantages of this invention . it has been shown , in particular , that superior electrochemical properties , for example , enhanced capacity and cycling stability , can be obtained from 0 . 1li 2 mno 3 . 0 . 9lico 0 . 372 ni 0 . 372 mn 0 . 256 o 2 electrodes that are preconditioned in aqueous or non - aqueous solutions containing both stabilizing cations and anions , such as phosphorus , aluminum and boron cations and fluoride anions as well as ammonium ions , particularly when cells are cycled between 4 . 6 and 3 . 0 v . the superior electrochemical properties are attributed particularly to etched electrode surfaces that contain both stabilizing cations and anions , the stabilized surface layer being robust to the diffusion of lithium ions from the electrode / electrolyte interface into the bulk of the electrode structure and vice versa to those skilled in the art , it is easy to recognize that the principles of this invention in forming protective surfaces can be extended to other high potential metal - oxide and lithium - metal - oxide electrodes , such as the family of lithium - manganese - oxide spinels and v 2 o 5 - based or mno 2 - based electrode materials , as described herein . this invention therefore relates to preconditioned metal - oxide and lithium - metal - oxide electrodes for both primary and secondary ( rechargeable ) lithium cells , a typical cell being shown schematically in fig8 , represented by the numeral 10 having a negative electrode 12 separated from a positive electrode 16 by an electrolyte 14 , all contained in an insulating housing 18 with suitable terminals ( not shown ) being provided in electronic contact with the negative electrode 12 and the positive electrode 16 . binders and other materials normally associated with both the electrolyte and the negative and positive electrodes are well known in the art and are not fully described herein , but are included as is understood by those of ordinary skill in this art . fig9 shows a schematic illustration of one example of a battery in which two strings of electrochemical lithium cells , described above , are arranged in parallel , each string comprising three cells arranged in series . the invention also includes methods of making the preconditioned electrodes , cells and batteries including the same . while there has been disclosed what is considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention , it is understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit , or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention . it is also understood that additional improvements in the capacity and stability of the electrodes can be expected to be made in the future by improving and optimizing the processing techniques whereby metal - oxide and lithium - metal - oxide electrode materials are chemically etched in an aqueous or a non - aqueous solution containing stabilizing cations and anions to form a protective layer prior to their incorporation as electrodes in electrochemical lithium cells .	7
fig1 shows a block diagram of an electronic system 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure . the electronic system 100 operates based on an alternating current ( ac ) voltage v ac provided by an ac power supply 101 with or without a dimmer 102 . the ac voltage v ac can be 110v 50 hz ac supply voltage , 220v 60 hz ac supply voltage , and the like . according to an aspect of the disclosure , the electronic system 100 is operable with or without a dimmer 102 . when a dimmer 102 exists , the dimmer 102 includes a triode for alternating current ( triac ) having an adjustable dimming angle α . the dimming angle α defines a size of a phase - cut range during which the triac is turned off . during an ac cycle , when the phase of the ac voltage v ac is in the phase - cut range , the triac is turned off . thus , an output voltage of the dimmer 102 is about zero . when the phase of the ac voltage v ac is out of the phase - cut range , the triac is turned on . thus , the output voltage of the dimmer 102 is about the same as the ac voltage v ac . in an embodiment , the electronic system 100 is configured to detect whether the dimmer 102 exists , and to operate accordingly to achieve improved performance in either situations . for example , when the dimmer 102 exists , the electronic system 100 is configured to support the operations of the dimmer 102 , such as disclosed in assignee &# 39 ; s co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 676 , 884 , filed nov . 14 , 2012 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . when the dimmer 102 does not exist , the electronic system 100 is configured to perform power factor correction ( pfc ) and total harmonic distortion ( thd ) reduction to improve energy efficiency , for example . according to an embodiment of the disclosure , the electronic system 100 has multiple operation modes , such as a first operation mode and a second operation mode , and operates in one of the multiple operation modes based on existence of the dimmer 102 . when the dimmer 102 exists , the electronic system 100 operates in the first operation mode to support the operations of the dimmer 102 . when the dimmer 102 does not exist , the electronic system 100 operates in the second operation mode to improve energy efficiency . during operation , in an example , at power - up , the electronic system 100 enters an initial operation mode . in the initial operation mode , the electronic system 100 detects whether the dimmer 102 exists , and accordingly determines the suitable operation mode to enter . in addition , the electronic system 100 can determine suitable values of operational parameters for the operation mode considering a smooth transition from the initial operation mode to the suitable operation mode and considering various variations in the system . then , the electronic system 100 enters the suitable operation mode and configures the operational parameters using the determined values to enable a smooth turn - on of the electronic system 100 . it is noted that the initial operation mode can be one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode . in an example , at power - up , the electronic system 100 enters the first operation mode assuming that the dimmer 102 exists . it is noted that when the dimmer 102 does not exists , the electronic system 100 is operable in the first operation mode , but may have a relatively low power factor and a relatively large total harmonic distortions . when the electronic system 100 detects that the dimmer 102 does not exist , the electronic system 100 enters the second operation mode with suitable values for the operational parameters to enable a smooth transition from the first operation mode to the second operation mode , for example , without being noticeable to a user . in the fig1 example , the electronic system 100 includes a rectifier 103 , a damping circuit 105 , a circuit 110 , an energy transfer module 120 , a current sensor 107 , and an output device 109 . these elements are coupled together as shown in fig1 . the rectifier 103 rectifies an ac voltage to a fixed polarity , such as to be positive . in the fig1 example , the rectifier 103 is a bridge rectifier . the bridge rectifier 103 receives the ac voltage , or the output voltage of the dimmer 102 , and rectifies the received voltage to a fixed polarity , such as to be positive . the damping circuit 104 is configured to filter out high frequency components and smooth the rectified voltage v rect . the rectified voltage v rect is provided to following circuits , such as the circuit 110 , the energy transfer module 120 , and the like , in the electronic system 100 . the energy transfer module 120 transfers electric energy provided by the rectified voltage v rect to the output device 109 under the control of the circuit 110 . in the fig1 example , the energy transfer module 120 includes a transformer t and a switch s t . the energy transfer module 120 also includes other suitable components , such as a diode d t , a capacitor c t , and the like . the transformer t includes a primary winding ( p ) coupled with the switch s t to receive the rectified voltage v rect and a secondary winding ( s ) coupled to the output device 109 to drive the output device 109 . in an embodiment , the circuit 110 provides control signals to control the operations of the switch s t to transfer the electric energy from the primary winding to the secondary winding . in an example , the circuit 110 provides a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) signal with pulses having a relatively high frequency , such as in the order of 100 khz , and the like , to control the switch s t . specifically , in an example , when the switch s t is switched on , a current i p flows through the primary winding of the transformer t , and the switch s t . the polarity of the transformer t and the direction of the diode d t can be arranged such that there is no current in the secondary winding of the transformer t when the switch s t is switched on . thus , the received electric energy is stored in the transformer t . when the switch s t is switched off , the current i p becomes zero . the polarity of the transformer t and the direction of the diode d t can enable the secondary winding to deliver the stored electric energy to the capacitor c t and the output device 109 . the capacitor c t can filter out the high frequency components and enable a relatively stable load current i load to be driven to the output device 109 . the output device 109 can be any suitable device , such as a lighting device , a fan and the like . in an embodiment , the output device 109 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes ( leds ). the output device 109 and the other components of the electronic system 100 are assembled into a package to form an led lighting device to replace , for example , a fluorescent lamp , a halogen lamp , and the like . the current sensor 107 is configured to sense the current i p flowing through the primary winding , and provide the sensed current to the circuit 110 . in an example , the current sensor 105 includes a resistor having a relatively small resistance such that a voltage drop on the resistor is small compared to the rectified voltage v rect . the voltage drop is indicative of the current i p . in an example , the voltage drop is provided to the circuit 110 as the sensed current . it is noted that the electronic system 100 also includes other sensor circuits . for example , the electronic system 100 includes a triode for alternating current ( triac ) sensor 105 , and a high voltage sensor 106 . the triac sensor 105 is configured to provide a voltage signal to the circuit 110 to detect whether a triac type dimmer exists . the high voltage sensor 106 is configured to provide a voltage signal to the circuit 110 to monitor the voltage level at the input of the energy transfer module 120 . according to an embodiment of the disclosure , the circuit 110 includes a detector 140 and a controller 130 . the detector 140 is configured to receive signals provided by sensors , such as the triac sensor 105 , the high voltage sensor 106 , and the like , and detect various parameters from the signals , such as existence of a triac type dimmer , and the like . the controller 130 is configured to adjust control signals , such as the pwm signal , and the like , based on the detected parameters to control the operations of the energy transfer module 120 . specifically , in an example , the controller 130 has multiple control modes that generate the pwm signal according to different algorithms . in an example , the controller 130 has an initial control mode 150 that generates the pwm signal according to a first algorithm , and has a control mode 160 that generates the pwm signal according to a second algorithm . in this example , the first algorithm is used to generate the pwm signals to enable the operations of the dimmer 102 , and the second algorithm is used to generate the pwm signal to achieve improved power factor and total harmonic distortion when the dimmer 102 does not exist . in an embodiment , according to the first algorithm , the controller 130 provides the pwm signal to the switch s t to maintain a relatively constant peak current in the primary winding when the triac in the dimmer 102 is turned on . in an example , when the controller 130 detects that the triac in the dimmer 102 is turned on , the controller 130 provides the pwm signal to the switch s t to repetitively turn on and off the switch s t to maintain the relatively constant peak current . for example , at a time , the controller 130 changes the pwm signal from “ 0 ” to “ 1 ” to turn on the switch s t . when the switch s t is turned on , the current i p starts to increase . the current sensor 107 senses the current i p , for example , in a form of a voltage drop on a resistor , and provides sensed voltage drop to the controller 130 . the controller 130 receives the sensed voltage drop , and changes the pwm signal from “ 1 ” to “ 0 ” to turn off the switch s t when the sensed voltage drop is substantially equal to a threshold , such as 0 . 4v , and the like . in an example , the first algorithm is implemented as a state machine to detect the on / off state of the triac based on the sensed current i p and then generates the pwm signal according to the detected state , such as disclosed in assignee &# 39 ; s co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 676 , 884 , filed nov . 14 , 2012 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . further , in the embodiment , according to the second algorithm , the controller 130 provides the pwm signal to control the switch s t to have a relatively constant turn - on time over the switching cycles in an ac cycle . for example , in an ac cycle , the pwm signal includes pulses to repetitively switch on and off the switch s t . the controller 130 can maintain the pulses in the pwm signal to have the same pulse width during the ac cycle , such that the turn - on time of the switch s t over the switching cycles in the ac cycle is about the same . it is noted that , according to an aspect of the disclosure , the turn - on time in different ac cycles can be different . in an example , the turn - on time and switching frequency are fixed during an ac cycle , but are adaptively changed over time . fig2 shows a plot 200 of voltage and current waveforms for the electronic system 100 when the dimmer 102 does not exist and the controller 130 is in the control mode 160 and performs the second algorithm . the plot 200 includes a first waveform for the rectified voltage v rect and a second waveform for the current i p . the first waveform shows that the rectified voltage v rect has a rectified sinusoidal curve . the second waveform shows that the peak current of the switching cycles follows the shape of the first waveform due to the fixed turn - on time for the control mode 160 during an ac cycle . thus , the average of the current i p has substantially the same phase as the rectified voltage v rect , and the power factor correction can be achieved , and the energy efficiency can be improved . fig3 shows a plot 300 of voltage and current waveforms for the electronic system 100 when the dimmer 102 exists , and the controller 130 is in the initial control mode 150 and performs the first algorithm . the plot 300 includes a first waveform for the rectified voltage v rect and a second waveform for the current i p . the first waveform shows that the rectified voltage v rect can be zero during a phase - cut range when the triac in the dimmer 102 is turned off . the second waveform 320 shows that the peak current in the switching cycles is about the same in an ac cycle due to the constant peak current control of the initial control mode 150 . it is also noted that the controller 130 also controls the pwm signal based on other parameters . for example , according to the first algorithm , the controller 130 can control the pwm signal based on , for example , a maximum on time ( i . e ., 10 μs ), a minimum frequency ( i . e ., 70 khz ), a maximum frequency ( i . e ., 200 khz ), and the like . further , in an example , according to the second algorithm , the controller 130 limits a maximum peak current in the primary winding . for example , the current sensor 107 senses the current i p , and provides a sensed voltage drop indicative of the current i p , to the controller 130 . in a switching cycle , when the controller 130 changes the pwm signal from “ 0 ” to “ 1 ” to turn on the switch s t , the sensed voltage drop is monitored . when the sensed voltage drop is lower than a threshold , such as 0 . 6v , the controller 130 changes the pwm signal from “ 1 ” to “ 0 ” to turn off the switch s t in a manner to maintain the relatively constant turn - on time . when the sensed voltage is equal or above the threshold , the controller 130 changes the pwm signal from “ 1 ” to “ 0 ” to turn off the switch s t earlier than the constant turn - on time to avoid the current i p to further increase . in another example , according to the second algorithm , the controller 130 uses a quasi - resonant control method . according to the quasi - resonant control method , a frequency of the pwm signal is not fixed , and is synchronized with a resonance frequency governed by inductance and capacitance in the electronic system 100 . in this example , a voltage across the secondary winding of the transformer t is sensed and provided to the controller 130 . when the switch s t is turned off , the voltage across the secondary winding resonates . the controller 130 changes the pwm signal from “ 0 ” to “ 1 ” when the voltage across the secondary winding is at the valley . according to an aspect of the disclosure , due to the difference in the control algorithms , when the controller 130 switches from one control mode to another control mode , the transition can be noticeable and can affect user experience . for example , when the dimmer 102 does not exist , the controller 130 changes from the initial control mode 150 to the control mode 160 . when the two control modes control the energy transfer module 120 to deliver significantly different energy per ac cycle to the output device 109 , the leds in the output device 109 may flash at the time of control mode transition , and cause unpleasant user experience during the transition . in addition , various variations in the power supply and the electronic system 100 may also cause smooth transition to be challenging . for example , the ac voltage v ac may vary from 90v ac voltage to 135v ac voltage , the inductance in the electronic system 100 may have over 20 % variation , and a frequency of a system clock used by the circuit 110 may have over 20 % variation . according to an embodiment of the disclosure , during the initial control mode 150 , the controller 130 determines suitable values for operational parameters for the control mode 160 based on the values in the initial control mode 150 to enable the energy transfer module 120 to transfer about the same amount of energy per ac cycle during the transition from the initial control mode 150 to the control mode 160 . as a result , the leds emit about the same amount of light during the transition , and thus the transition is not noticeable . in an example , the controller 130 is configured to search for a minimum turn - on time during the initial control mode 150 , and then determines the initial turn - on time for the control mode 160 based on the minimum turn - on time . for example , the controller 130 includes a counter circuit ( not shown ) that counts in response to pulses in the pwm signal during the initial control mode 150 . the counter circuit can count based on a system clock used by the circuit 110 . in an example , the counter circuit starts counting from zero in response to a leading edge of a pulse , and stops counting in response to a trailing edge of the pulse . the counted value is indicative of the pulse width , and is indicative of the turn - on time of the switch s t . because the turn - on time of the switch s t is a function of the inductance and the voltage level of the power supply , and the counter circuit counts based on the system clock , the variations in the inductance , voltage level of the power supply and the system clock have been taken account into the counted value . based on the counted values in one or more ac cycles , the controller 130 searches a minimum counted value . based on the minimum counted value , the controller 130 determines a counting value for the control mode 160 that can be used to control the turn - on time of the switch s t in a switch cycle . in an example , the counting value is determined to match the transferred energy per ac cycle for the initial control mode 150 and the control mode 160 . in an example , the counting value is about one and a half of the minimum counted value . accordingly , the maximum peak current in the control mode 160 is one and a half of the peak current in the initial control mode 150 , and the maximum delivered energy in a switching cycle is about twice of the energy delivered in a switching cycle of the initial control mode 150 . during the initial one or more ac cycles of the control mode 160 , the controller 130 can use the same switching frequency as the last switching frequency of the initial control mode 150 . further , because the minimum energy delivered in a switching cycle is zero in the control mode 160 , thus the average transferred energy per ac cycle is about the same for the initial control mode 150 , and the initial ac cycles of the control mode 160 . according to an aspect of the disclosure , in the control mode 160 , the controller 130 generates the pwm signal based on the determined counting value for one or more initial ac cycles to enable smooth transition . for example , when the controller 130 generates a leading edge of a pulse , the counter circuit starts counting from zero for example . when the counter circuit counts to the determined counting value , the controller 130 generates the trailing edge of the pulse . it is noted that the counting value can be adaptively changed after the initial ac cycles in the control mode 160 . it is noted that the electronic system 100 can be implemented using one or more integrated circuit ( ic ) chips . in an example , the circuit 110 is implemented as a single ic chip . further , the switch s t can be implemented as a discrete device or can be integrated with the circuit 110 on the same ic chip . the controller 130 can be implemented as circuits or can be implemented as a processor executing instructions . fig4 shows a flowchart outlining a process example 400 executed by the controller 130 according to an embodiment of the disclosure . the process starts at s 401 and proceeds to s 410 . at s 410 , the electronic system 100 is powered up , and the controller 130 enters the initial control mode 150 . in an example , in the initial control mode 150 , the controller 130 generates a pwm signal according to the first algorithm , which is based on using a constant peak current to drive the energy transfer module 110 to enable the operations of the dimmer 102 assuming the dimmer 102 exists . at s 420 , the controller 130 searches for a minimum turn - on time . in an example , the controller 130 includes a counter circuit to count in response to pulses in the pwm signal during the initial control mode 150 . the counter circuit can count based on the system clock used by the circuit 110 . in an example , in a switching cycle , the counter circuit starts counting in response to a leading edge of a pulse , and stops counting in response to a trailing edge of the pulse . the counted value is indicative of the pulse width , and is indicative of the turn - on time of the switch s t in the switching cycle . then , the controller 130 searches for a minimum counted value in one or more ac cycles . the minimum counted value is indicative of the minimum turn - on time . at s 430 , the controller 130 determines whether the dimmer 102 exists . in an example , the controller 130 includes a state machine to implement control functions of the initial control mode 150 . the state machine detects the on or off state of the triac in the dimmer 102 . when a triac off state has been consistently detected , the controller 130 determines that the dimmer 102 exists ; and when the triac off state is not detected for one or more ac cycles , the controller 130 determines that the dimmer 102 does not exist . when the dimmer 102 exists , the process proceeds to s 460 that the controller 130 stays in the initial control mode 150 ; otherwise , the process proceeds to s 440 . at s 440 , the controller 130 determines a turn - on time for the control mode 160 based on the minimum turn - on time from the initial control mode 150 . in an example , the controller 130 determines a counting value indicative of the turn - on time based on the minimum counted value . for example , the counting value is about one and a half of the minimum counted value . at s 450 , the controller 130 enters the control mode 160 to generate the pwm signal based on the determined turn - on time for one or more initial ac cycles . in an example , during an initial ac cycle , when the controller 130 generates a leading edge of a pulse , the counter circuit starts counting from zero for example . when the counter circuit counts to the determined counting value , the controller 130 generates the trailing edge of the pulse . because the counting value is one and a half of the minimum counted value , the maximum peak current in the control mode 160 is about one and a half of the peak current in the initial control mode 150 , and the maximum delivered energy in a switching cycle is about twice the delivered energy in a switching cycle of initial control mode 150 . in addition , the minimum delivery energy in the control mode 160 is about zero . when the switching frequency is about the same for the initial ac cycle in the control mode 160 and the initial control mode 150 , the average transferred energy per ac cycle is about the same for the initial control mode 150 , and the initial ac cycle of the control mode 160 . thus , the leds emit about the same amount of light during the initial ac cycle of the control mode 160 and during the initial control mode 150 , and the transition from the initial control mode 150 to the control mode 160 can be smooth and not noticeable . then the process proceeds to s 499 and terminates . fig5 shows a plot 500 of simulation waveforms for the electronic system 100 with 120v ac input voltage . the plot 500 includes a first waveform 510 for the rectified voltage v rect , a second waveform 520 for the current i p , a third waveform 530 for a signal ( triac off ) in the electronic system 100 that is indicative of triac on / off state , and a fourth waveform 540 for the load current i load to the output device 109 . at power up , during the first three half ac cycles , the controller 130 is in the initial control mode 150 and the electronic system 100 is in the first operation mode to support the operations of the dimmer 102 assuming the dimmer 102 exists . in the initial control mode 150 , the controller 130 generates the pwm signal to turn on and off the switch s t to maintain a relatively constant peak current , as shown by 521 . further , in the initial control mode 150 , the controller 130 searches for a minimum turn - on time . based on the minimum turn - on time , the controller 130 determines a turn - on time for the control mode 160 . in the fig5 example , the controller 130 detects the on / off state of the triac based on the triac off signal . when the triac off signal indicates no triac off state for half an ac cycle for example , the controller 130 determines that the dimmer 102 does not exist and switches to the control mode 160 . the electronic system 100 then operates in the second operation mode to improve energy efficiency . for example , the average current i p has about the same phase as the rectified voltage v rect , as can be seen by 523 , and the energy efficiency can be improved . in the initial cycles of the control mode 160 , the controller 130 generates the pwm signal based on the determined turn - on time to enable a smooth transition from the initial control mode 150 to the control mode 160 . as can be see , the average load current i load per ac cycle is about the same before and after the transition . fig6 shows a plot 600 of simulation waveforms for the electronic system 100 with 230v ac input voltage . similar to the waveforms in fig5 , the average load current i load per ac cycle is about the same before and after the transition . according to an embodiment of the disclosure , because the minimum turn - on time in the initial control mode 150 is a function of the input voltage , when the turn - on time for the control mode 150 is determined based on the minimum turn - on time , the voltage variation is taken into consideration in the turn - on time , and the smooth transition from the initial control mode 150 to the control mode 160 can be performed . while aspects of the present disclosure have been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments thereof that are proposed as examples , alternatives , modifications , and variations to the examples may be made . accordingly , embodiments as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative and not limiting . there are changes that may be made without departing from the scope of the claims set forth below .	8
the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail , with reference to the accompanying drawings . the first embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig3 to 6 . fig3 shows a recording medium 15 related to the first embodiment . the recording medium 15 is constituted by laminating a charge holding layer 16 and a photo - modulation layer 17 . a charge latent image is conventionally recorded on the recording medium 15 . fig4 shows a reproducing system for the recording medium 15 . there are electrodes 18 and 19 electrically connected to each other and arranged forward and backward of the recording medium 15 with proper spaces . the electrode 19 is arranged to vibrate substantially perpendicular to the recording medium as depicted by an arrow a4 . fig5 shows the state of the incident reading light in the reproducing system . arrows a5 and a6 depict two ways for the reading light to pass through the recording medium as well as the two electrodes 18 and 19 . while , arrows a7 and a8 depict two ways for the reading light to be reflected at the electrodes 18 or 19 . fig6 shows a vibration unit for the electrode 19 . in fig6 the electrode 19 is affixed , at both ends thereof , to piezoelectric resonators 20 and 21 , respectively . the piezoelectric resonators 20 and 21 are constituted by providing bimorph - type resonating elements 24 to 27 on the both surfaces of suppoters 22 and 23 , respectively . the supporters 22 and 23 at both ends thereof are affixed to fixing members 28 to 31 , respectively . voltages applied across the resonating elements 24 and 25 and also 26 and 27 cause the piezoelectric resonators 20 and 21 to vibrate as depicted by the dashed and solid lines . this further causes the electrode 19 to vibrate in the directions depicted by the arrow a4 . next , the operation of the first embodiment will be explained . firstly , the electrode 19 is vibrated by the vibration unit shown in fig6 in the vertical direction to the surface of the recording medium 15 ( the directions depicted by the arrow a4 ) as shown in fig4 . the reading light is then incident to the photo - modulation layer 17 as depicted by either the arrows a5 or a6 in fig5 . the charge latent image corresponding to the object ( not shown ) has preliminarily been recorded as latent charges q on the charge holding layer 16 . the electric field due to the latent charges 0 on the surface of the charge holding layer 16 subjects the photo - modulation layer 17 which is laminated to the charge holding layer 16 , to cause an electro optic effect in the incident light . in this case , the vibrating electrode 19 causes the capacitance across the electrodes 18 and 19 to be varied , whereas the amount of the charges held on the charge holding layer 16 is constant . as a result , an alternating electric field two dimensionally corresponding to the potential distribution of the latent charges q is applied to the photo - modulation layer 17 , to cause the electro - optoc effect in the reading light . this has already been described in detail in japanese patent application no . 1988 ( 63 )- 334939 . the reading light thus modulated accordingly with the electro - optic effect is then incident to a photo - detection unit ( not shown ) which in turn converts the modulated light into an intensity modulated light resulting in a pattern of intensity distribution corresponding to the preliminary recorded latent charges q , thus detecting the charge latent image . next , the variations of the first embodiment will be explained . firstly , the variations of the recording medium will be explained with reference to fig7 to 13 . fig7 shows the configuration that an electrode 32 is laminated to the photo - modulation layer 17 of the recording medium 15 in fig3 . an aluminum film to reflect light , an ito film through which light passes , etc . may be selected as the electrode 32 , according to the nature of the incident reading light . fig8 and 9 show other configurations that a dielectric mirror 33 which reflects the reading light is disposed between the charge holding layer 16 and the photo - modulation layer 17 in the configurations in fig3 and 7 , respectively . fig1 to 13 show further configurations that a charge holding layer 34 which holds charges inside thereof is provided , instead of the charge holding layer 16 on which charges are held , in the configurations in fig3 and 7 to 9 . the variations of the electrode vibration will be explained with reference to fig1 to 17 . fig1 shows the configuration that the recording medium shown in fig7 is employed and the electrode 18 vibrates in the directions depicted by an arrow a9 . fig1 and 16 show the configurations that the electrodes 35 and 36 vibrate along the surface of the recording medium in the directions depicted by arrows a10 and a11 , instead of the electrodes 19 and 18 in fig4 and 14 , respectively . each of the electrodes 35 and 36 is composed of a flat insulative support sp and a plurality of conductive stripe se spaced with a distance δa from each other and formed on the insulative support sp , extending horizontally to form a striped pattern which confronts the recording medium . when the electrodes 35 or 36 vibrates , each of the stripes se displaces to go in and out of a space equal to the distance δa . this causes in effect that each of the conductive stripes se , when observed from a line of the charges on the charge holding layer 16 in fig1 , displaces off and on the line alternately as the electrode 35 or 36 vibtates . as a result , an alternating electric field is generated in the photo - modulation layer 17 . next , the variations of the reading light incident to the reproducing system will be explained with refernece to fig5 and 18 to 24 . as is shown in fig1 to 20 , in the case of excluding the dielectric mirror 33 , the configuration is the same that shown in fig5 . whereas in fig2 to 24 , the dielectric mirror 33 is included , the reading light passes the photo - modulation layer 17 and is reflected at the dielectric mirror 33 , as depicted by arrows a12 . in this case , the reading light is not optically affected by the charge holding layer 16 so that information recorded as the charge latent image is read out more precisely . the variations of the electrode vibration unit are explained with reference to fig2 to 27 . fig2 shows the configuration that the electrode 19 is formed on a piezoelectric resonator 37 . the thickness of the resonator 37 is varied in response to a driving voltage applied thereto . this causes the electrode 19 to vibrate in the thickness directions depicted by an arrow a13 . fig2 shows the configuration that the electrode 35 is affixed to the ends of two bimorph - type resonating elements 40 and 41 which are rooted to members 38 and 39 , respectively . the electrode 35 vibrates in the lateral directions depicted by an arrow a14 as applying a proper driving voltage thereto . fig2 shows the configuration that the piezoelectric resonators 20 and 21 shown in fig6 are vertically arranged and the electrode 35 is mounted thereon at both ends thereof . the vibration of the resonators 20 and 21 as depicted by the dashed and solid lines causes the electrode 35 to vibrate horizontally as depicted by an arrow a15 . in fig6 and 27 , the piezoelectric resonator may be composed of two pieces of piezoelectric resonating elements or more . either one of the resonating elements may be replaced with a leaf spring . as is described above , the photo - modulation layer is laminated to the charge holding layer and the electrode vibrates to generate the alternating electric field applied to the photo - modulation layer , according to the first embodiment and the variations thereof . this enables reading of the charge latent image with high gain and resolution using the photo - modulation layer and the dielectric mirror both with finite impedances . the second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig2 . in fig2 , a recording medium 42 having at least a charge holding layer on which frames of charge latent images are prerecorded is formed to a tape , like a film for a still camera . each frame 43 of the charge latent image is arranged to advance vertically in the direction depicted by an arrow a16 . a reproducing head 44 for the recording medium 42 is constituted as a line head capable of one - line ( horizontal ) reproduction of the charge latent image and is arranged to face and scan vertically the recording medium 42 as the recording medium 42 is transported vertically . the reading light is allowed to be incident to the reproducing head 44 and to scan horizontally the frame 43 in the direction depicted by an arrow a18 . the frame 43 is thus entirely scanned by this scanning and the transport of the recording medium 42 in the direction depicted by the arrow a16 . the operation of the second embodiment will be explained . a construction of the reproducing head 44 is conventional i . e . the reproducing head in composed to have at least a photo - modulation layer . every time the reading light scans horizontally the recording medium 42 in the direction depicted by the arrow a18 , a corresponding line of the charge latent image is reproduced . moreover , as the recording medium 42 is transported in the direction depicted by the arrow a16 , the charge latent image is successively reproduced line by line . the charge latent image of full frame 43 is thus reproduced . this process is like beam scanning in a television system . in this arrangement of fig2 , the reproducing head 44 faces the charge latent image prerecorded on the recording medium 42 only once at every scan of the reading light . in other words , the reproducing head 44 is subjected by the electric field of the charge latent image only upon the charge latent image is reproduced . this prevents the degradation of the electric field intensity of the charge latent image due to the finite impedance of the photo - modulation layer . therefore , the reproduction gain and the resolution is improved . the variations of the second embodiment will be explained with reference to fig2 and 30 . fig2 shows the configuration that a reproducing head 45 is provided , which is capable of reproducing one full frame 43 of the charge latent image at a time , and is composed of at least a photo - modulation layer . the scanning by the reading light in the direction depicted by the arrow a18 in fig2 is not required in this case . the recording medium 42 is transported frame by frame in the longitudinal direction of the recording medium depicted by the arrow a16 . the reading light having a large enough section irradiates the entire surface of the reproducing head 45 , upon the instance that the frame 43 and the reproducing head 45 fully confront each other . or , as an alternative , the reproducing head 45 being irradiated by the reading light is brought into the position to confront the frame 43 for reproduction as the frame 43 is intermittently transported . fig3 shows the further embodiment that the present invetion is applied to a disktype recording medium 46 having at least a photo - modulation layer . a reproducing head 47 successively reproduces the charge latent image recorded on a recording medium 46 while rotating in the direction depicted by an arrow a20 . the reading light irradiates the entirety of the reproducing head 47 from the top as depicted by an arrow a21 upon the instance that the reproducing head 47 confronts the frame 43 same as in the embodiment of fig2 . or , the recording medium 46 may be rotated intermittently to alight the frame 43 with the recording head 47 which is constantly irradiated by the reading light . a position of the reproducing head 47 is controlled radially as depicted by an arrow a22 to track the frames aligned circumferencially in this embodiment . as for the recording medium and the reproducing head in the second embodiment and the variations thereof , such devices described in the conventional reproducing appratus already explained , the first embodiment or u . s . pat . no . 437 , 479 may be applied . and the reproducing head may be separated from the recording medium except for performing a reproduction . as is described in the second embodiment and the variations thereof , the reproducing head having at least a photo - modulation layer is brought to confront the charge latent image intended to be reproduced , upon the instance of the reproduction , and is displaced off the charge latent image right after the reproduction . the adverse effect on the electric field of the latent charges from the photo - modulation layer is thus reduced , so that the detection gain and the resolution of the charge latent image are improved . the present invention may be practiced or embodied in still other ways without departing from the sprit or essential character thereof . for instance , the polarity of the latent charges can not only be positive but also negative . the information intended to be recorded / reproduced may be voices , data , etc ., other than images . the recording medium may be formed in a card , etc ., other than the sheet , the tape , and the disk described in this specification . the medium may futher be constituted so as to be flexible or solid .	7
fig1 is a top flow plan illustrating the use of the present product forming invention to make fresh pork sausage . it has been found that the present invention is particularly adaptable to making fresh pork sausage and a detailed description of the invention will be made with respect to production of pork sausage from warm semi - fluid pre - rigor pork . however , it will be apparent that the present invention may also be utilized to form discrete products from other semi - fluid materials . for the purposes of this invention , the term semi - fluid is defined as material which is pumpable through conduits . the present system may thus be utilized to extrude hot or chilled ground meat , or other types of pumpable material . referring to fig1 freshly killed hogs are dressed , skinned and cut shortly after slaughter . the still warm pre - rigor pork is cut on a boning table 10 and all cuts including the ham , loins and the like of the hogs are utilized in making the sausage . the hot boned meat coming off the boning table 10 is fed into a grinder 12 and is checked for fat content to maintain the fat content at 35 %. a fat analysis unit , not shown , is maintained near the grinder 12 in order to make rapid fat checks regarding the fat content of the sausage being ground . the output of the grinder 12 is applied to two blenders 14a and 14b which form the sausage into a semi - fluid fluent material which will not retain its shape after being extruded . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , it is necessary that the hogs be boned and ground within about four hours from slaughter before rigor mortis , and the temperatures of the boned meat be maintained at as near body temperature as possible , and at any rate above 80 ° f ., such that the rended pork output from the blenders 14a and 14b is semi - fluid so as to freely flow . the process should be carried out in a room having an ambient temperature of not under 50 ° f . in the preferred embodiment , it is preferable to bone , grind , chill and sever the pork sausage within 90 minutes after slaughter . alternatively , the present system may utilize chilled raw material which becomes semi - fluid after blending in the blenders 14a and 14b . in the preferred embodiment , the blenders 14a and 14b may comprise , for example , two 3 , 000 pound rietz blenders . the semi - fluid material output from the blenders moves through conduit 15 and is applied through a pump 16 , which may comprise , for example , an auger feed pump including a de - aerating head . pump 16 applies semi - fluid pork sausage through a distribution line 18 at a predetermined flow rate to an extrusion manifold 20 . although only a single manifold 20 is illustrated , it will be understood that two or more manifolds may be utilized , depending upon the desired quantity of material to be handled . the manifold 20 extrudes a continuous sheet of semi - fluid material which is applied through flexible conduit 22 . flexible conduit 22 includes a nozzle on the end thereof to form and extrude a continuous sheet 23 of pork sausage having a predetermined uniform cross - section , the continuous sheet being moved through a freezer 24 . the continuous sheet moves at 15 - feet per minute through freezer 24 , whereupon the continuous sheet is quickly chilled to an extent that it maintains its extruded cross - sectional shape . freezer 24 may comprise any suitable type of freezer , but in the preferred embodiment comprises a liquid nitrogen freezer such as the cyro - quick freezer manufactured and sold by air products corporation . in some cases , it may be desirable to spray a refrigerant such as nitrogen or fluorocarbon upon the sausage or on the underside of the moving conveyor belt in order to quickly chill the sausage . the chilled pork sausage exits freezer 24 at an internal temperature of - 10 ° f . the chilled sausage is continuously sliced into equal width continuous lengths by a slicer 25 and periodically severed into desired lengths by a cutter 26 to form a plurality of discrete sausage products each having a predetermined weight and volume . for example , the width and length of the final product may be controlled to produce a product having a weight of one - ounce . sausage patties may be produced by the system having a weight of from 11 / 2 to 5 - ounces . if desired , the present device may be utilized to produce square sausage patties having any desired width to generate a specific weight . an important aspect of the present invention is that a very high degree of portion control may be achieved by the present system to provide products of uniform size , shape and weight . the emulsion density , emulsion flow speed , freezer belt speed , the slicer operation and cutoff blade operation may be varied in order to maintain the exact desired weight , or to change to a different desired weight or size . if desired , the width of one of the continuous lengths may be increased in order to produce one lane of heavier lengths which may then be used to increase the weight of light sausage packages . the severed sausages formed by the cutter 26 unit are applied to a loader 28 which accumulates predetermined numbers of sausages and applies them to a fill and seal station 30 . the station 30 fills cartons with predetermined numbers of frozen sausages and seals the cartons . the cartons are then directed to a weighing station 32 and then to a metal detector station 34 . a plurality of cartons are loaded into cases at stations 36 and the cases are then sealed for transport . the present hot molding process , in combination with the present extrusion system , enables the production of packages of frozen pork lengths or sausage patties within 70 to 90 minutes after live hogs enter the restrainer in the slaughtering department . the present system can thus produce over 3 , 000 pounds an hour of sausage in a nonstop process which requires only a few workers for maintaining operation of the machine . with the addition of additional extruders , greater yields may , of course , be provided . the present process is extremely economical , in that no storage space is necessary , as the sausages may be packaged and loaded onto a truck within several hours of the time the hogs are slaughtered . the present system is extremely accurate in the control of portions , as sixteen one - ounce lengths may be packaged to a package to provide a very close tolerance to a one - pound meat package . the present system provides very low waste , as there is no discard of bits and pieces , which occurs with prior techniques . the present system provides an increased yield , as the meat is not continuously handled after slaughter . fig2 illustrates in detail the extrusion system of the invention . the semi - fluid sausage material is applied from pump 16 through the distribution line 18 to extrusion manifold 20 . the extrusion manifold has a generally conical configuration at inlet 38 connected to distribution line 18 . the manifold gradually flattens to a rectangular outlet 40 which is joined to flexible conduit 22 having an identical rectangular configuration for maintaining the semi - fluid material in the shape generated by passage of the fluid through the extrusion manifold . the cross - sectional area of the rectangular outlet of extrusion manifold 20 is slightly smaller than that of the inlet end 38 connected to distribution line 18 . in this way , a rectangular sheet 23 of semi - fluid material extruded from manifold 20 is continuous without voids which would otherwise occur . a metering pump 42 is interconnected between extrusion manifold 20 and flexible conduit 22 and is mounted on support brackets 44 . metering pump 42 maintains the flow rate of material from extrusion manifold 20 into conduit 22 . extrusion manifold 20 is supported by support 46 . a base 47 supports the support 46 and support brackets 44 . base 47 includes the drive motor ( not shown ) for the metering pump 42 . an extrusion nozzle 48 is attached to the outlet end of conduit 22 and is received in a nozzle support housing 50 . nozzle support housing 50 is mounted on a parallelogram linkage including arms 52 and 54 which are pivotally joined by the horizontal bars 56 . the parallelogram linkage may be moved from the illustrated lower position to an upper position , to be subsequently described , in order to move nozzle 48 into and out of contact with a material conveyor 58 . conveyor 58 comprises a metal mesh conveyor belt which conveys the extruded semi - fluid material into nitrogen freezer 24 . fig2 further illustrates the pump of the present extruder . semi - fluid material is applied through a conduit 15 from the blenders 14a and 14b ( fig1 ) to pump 16 . pump 16 may comprise any suitable type of pump , such as a crepaco auger feed pump with a de - aerating head , which may be operated to force the semi - fluid material through the distribution line 18 at a prescribed flow rate . a pressure gauge 59 communicates with the distribution line 18 in order to enable pump 16 to be manually adjusted to maintain the desired pressure and flow rate . semi - fluid material flows through the distribution line 18 to extrusion manifold 20 in the manner previously described . as previously described , rectangular outlet 40 is smaller in diameter than inlet 38 to the manifold 20 . outlet 40 is connected to flexible conduit 22 which leads to metering pump 42 . pump 16 , distribution line 18 , extrusion manifold 20 and pump 42 are preferably comprised of stainless steel for cleanliness of operation . metering pump 42 is commonly driven from a dc motor ( not shown ). the metering pump operates to provide equal pressure , flow rate speed and consistency of the semi - fluid material across extrusion nozzle 48 . the head pressure applied to metering pump 42 is greater than the output from the pump in order to enable constant extrusion and to enable control of the density and weight of the resulting emulsion extruded . for example , the head pressure applied to pump 42 may be 40 psi , with the output pressure from the pump being 10 psi . nozzle 48 is particularly designed to provide even extrusion distribution and to prevent uneven density throughout the extruded product . fig3 illustrates in greater detail extrusion manifold 20 used to mold the semi - fluid material from the configuration defined by distribution line 18 to the continuous rectangular sheet of material extruded from outlet 40 of the manifold . manifold 20 is provided with a generally conical cross - sectional configuration at inlet 38 . inlet 38 includes thread 62 for threadedly receiving distribution line 18 . the conical end of manifold 20 gradually flattens to become rectangular outlet 40 opposite inlet 38 . as previously noted , outlet 40 is connected to flexible conduit 22 by way of metering pump 42 as shown in fig2 . referring to fig3 guide ribs 64 are provided on the inner surface of manifold 20 to guide the sausage material evenly from inlet 38 to rectangular outlet 40 opposite thereto . these ribs assure the movement of the semi - fluid material to the full length of rectangular outlet 40 of the manifold and eliminate any voids which might otherwise result from the passage of the material through the manifold . fig4 shows a sectional view of manifold 20 in the intermediate transition area between inlet 38 and outlet 40 . ribs 64 are shown extending from both the upper and lower walls of the manifold . fig5 illustrates the configuration of the extrusion manifold near outlet 40 . at this point , ribs 64 are tapered away so as not to interfere with the rectangular configuration discharged from the manifold . thus , as the semi - fluid material passes out of the manifold , it takes the form of a relatively thin evenly distributed rectangular sheet of material . fig6 illustrates extrusion nozzle 48 which forms the continuous sheet of semi - fluid material to be delivered into freezer 24 . flexible conduit 22 has been eliminated from fig6 for clarity of illustration . referring to fig6 it will be seen that nozzle 48 slants downwardly toward the metal mesh , endless belt conveyor 58 which travels into freezer 24 . nozzle 48 is removably mounted in a housing 72 , mounted on rod 74 ( fig7 ) to form the previously described nozzle support housing 50 . fig7 illustrates in greater detail the interconnection of nozzle 48 to rod 74 . rod 74 extends horizontally across the belt conveyor 58 and is attached at opposite ends to the parallel linkages comprising arms 52 , 54 and bar 56 ( fig6 ) previously described . housing 72 is rigidly mounted along the rod 74 . housing 72 includes two mating sections 72a and 72b interconnected by suitable means such as bolts 80 . the lower section 72a of housing 72 is provided with a rectangular cutout along its entire upper length for receiving nozzle 48 therein . nozzle 48 includes an enlarged front portion 48a for abutting with the front edge of lower section 72a and upper section 72b . nozzle 48 includes a rearwardly extending portion 48b for connection to flexible conduit 22 . this rearwardly extending portion also includes an enlarged section in order to facilitate a fluid - tight connection to the flexible conduit . therefore , by positioning nozzle 48 within the rectangular cutout of housing 72 and assembling the upper section 72b thereabove , nozzle 48 is securely attached within housing 72 . lower section 72a is further adapted with a circular bore 82 extending along its entire longitudinal length and below the rectangular cutout provided for nozzle 48 . bore 82 is adapted to receive rod 74 into frictional engagement . in addition thereto , set screws 84 may be provided for insertion through the lower side of housing 72 to engage rod 74 to maintain rod 74 fixed within housing 72 during operation . when it is desired to clean the system , the upper portion of housing 72 is simply removed by removing bolts 80 and releasing nozzle 48 for cleaning . all of the elements shown in fig7 are made of stainless steel to facilitate cleaning . as shown in fig6 in operation of the invention , continuous sheet 23 of semi - fluid material is extruded from nozzle 48 . a stainless steel extrusion form 90 may be attached to conveyor 58 in order to guide continuous sheet 23 into the freezer while maintaining the sheet in the configuration in which it is extruded . form 90 has a flat lower surface 90a and upright side members 90b to prevent the semi - fluid material from spreading out of its extruded configuration prior to chilling . form 90 also facilitates the subsequent step of slicing the material as will hereinafter be described . alternatively , conveyor 58 may be adapted with vertical side members corresponding to the edges of the extruded continuous sheet of material . in this embodiment , the extruded material is deposited directly on the belt conveyor and carried into freezer 24 . referring to fig6 conveyor 58 is moving at the same speed as continuous sheet 23 is being extruded or in the preferred embodiment , at approximately 15 feet per minute . similarly , form 90 , where used , moves at the same speed as belt conveyor 58 . the extruded continuous sheet 23 is promptly moved by conveyor belt 58 into the nitrogen freezer 24 ( fig1 ) whereupon the continuous sheet is immediately chilled to an extent that it maintains its cross - sectional shape . the present process is carried out in a room having an ambient room temperature of approximately 50 ° f . the freezer is provided with a temperature of approximately - 170 ° f . in order to chill the interior of continuous sheet 23 to approximately - 10 ° f . nitrogen or fluorocarbon liquid may be sprayed on the sausage or underneath the conveyor in order to quickly chill the sausage . when the system is initially turned on for operation , continuous sheet 23 initially extruded may not be of a desired consistency or at the desired flow rate . thus , a handle 98 is provided on the parallelogram linkage comprised of arms 52 , 54 and bar 56 in order to enable nozzle 48 to be raised away from contact with conveyor 58 . referring to fig9 the dotted line position illustrates the upward position of nozzle 48 when in the raised position . in this position , the extruded material may be extruded into a dump bucket ( not shown ), until the material reaches the desired consistency or flow rate . at such time , the dump bucket may be removed and the parallelogram linkage moved downwardly by grasping handle 98 and pushing downwardly until nozzle 48 is again oriented at the desired angle to the conveyor as shown in fig6 . referring to fig1 , slicer 25 and cutter unit 26 of the invention are illustrated in detail . as previously noted , cutter unit 26 is located at the output of freezer 24 which delivers the continuous sheet 23 of chilled pork sausage to the cutter unit . chilled sheet 23 is directed to extrusion form 90 which includes base 90a and vertical sides 90b corresponding to the width of the continuous sheet . the sheet is thus guided past a plurality of vertically suspended rotatable cutting disks 102 where the sheet is sliced into a plurality of equal width continuous lengths 104 of chilled material . lengths 104 are then carried by conveyor 58 to an elongated vertical knife blade 106 which is reciprocated in a manner to be subsequently described in synchronism with a horizontal bed 108 . a hold - down roller 110 is disposed in front of blade 106 in order to hold the continuous links down during the severing operation by knife blade 106 . a back board 112 is disposed over blade 106 . as indicated above , slicing of the continuous sheet 23 into a plurality of equal width continuous lengths 104 is accomplished by the action of rotatable cutting disks 102 . as shown in fig1 , disks 102 are rotatably assembled along horizontal bar 116 . the ends of bar 116 are fixedly supported by a sleeve support member 118 which slidingly engages upper rod 120 . sleeve member 118 is adapted with a collar 122 and rod 120 is adapted with a corresponding flange 124 to permit limited translation of sleeve 118 along rod 120 . a compression spring 126 is assembled between the lower end of rod 120 and a seat 118a provided at the lower end of sleeve support member 118 . compression spring 126 acts against rod 120 to apply a downward force upon rod bar 116 and thus engage cutting disks 102 against the chilled sausage material passing below disk 102 . rod 120 is rigidly supported from arms 130 which extend from a suitable frame structure 132 . an identical connection exists between bar 116 and frame structure 132 on the opposite end of bar 116 . in this way , the cutting disks 102 are kept in proper slicing engagement against the chilled sausage material moving on conveyor 58 . as is seen in fig1 , form 90 is adapted with longitudinal indentions 134 which correspond with the cutting edge of cutting disk 102 . these small indentions facilitate severing of the chilled sausage material into continuous lengths . vertical sides 90b of form 90 can also be seen to prohibit the lateral flow of sausage material during cutting . fig1 further illustrates the action of compression springs 126 against bar 116 in order to engage cutting disks 102 against the sausage material . likewise , the compression springs may be adapted with an adjustment for selectively increasing or decreasing the force applied to cutting disks 102 as necessary to effect a proper cut . referring to fig1 , bed 108 reciprocates in a horizontal plane over rollers 142 and 144 . the cutting assembly is mounted on a horizontal platform 146 supported by legs 148 . the reciprocating movement of knife blade 106 and bed 108 is provided by an electrical motor 150 which operates a drive motor 152 . the output shaft of motor 152 rotates a gear 154 which operates a timing belt 156 . belt 156 operates a gear 158 of a linear displacement cam 160 . the output shaft of the motor 152 also rotates a gear 162 which operates a timing belt 164 . belt 164 rotates a gear 166 attached to a second linear displacement cam 168 . the output of motor 152 also rotates a gear 170 which moves a timing belt 172 which rotates a gear 174 of a third linear displacement cam 176 . the three linear displacement cams 160 , 168 and 176 operate in the known manner to translate rotary motion to linear motion . suitable linear displacement cams are manufactured and sold by the stelron corporation . a block 180 is mounted above the linear displacement cam 168 , while a block 182 is mounted above the cam 176 . a vertical post 184 is pivotally mounted at pivot point 186 to block 180 . similarly , a vertical post 188 is pivotally mounted at pivot point 190 to block 182 . the tops of posts 184 and 188 are connected to blade 106 . operation of the linear displacement cams 168 and 176 thus serve to provide vertical movement to blade 106 . operation of the linear displacement cam 160 operates to provide horizontal reciprocational movement to the cutting blade 106 and bed 108 . the back board 112 is shown interconnected with knife blade 106 . posts 188 and 184 operate to provide vertical movement to knife blade 106 in order to sever the continuous lengths of sausage in the manner to be subsequently described . the bed 108 rides upon rollers 142 and 144 in the manner previously described . a rod 200 includes a plurality of rollers 202 thereon in order to hold the continuous lengths down during the cutting operation . as previously noted , the linear displacement cams 168 and 176 operate to cause reciprocating vertical motion to the posts 184 and 188 . knife blade 106 is attached to the top of posts 184 and 188 by bolts 220 ( not shown ) and 222 such that blade 106 is moved up and down in order to cut the continuous lengths . inasmuch as the continuous lengths are traveling perpendicular to the orientation of blade 106 , blade 106 cuts each of the continuous lengths simultaneously . linear displacement cam 160 reciprocates a block 224 in a horizontal plane . block 224 is attached by arms 226 and 228 to posts 184 and 188 . thus , arms 226 and 228 are moved horizontally , thereby causing the posts 184 and 188 to pivot about pivot points 186 and 190 . the posts 184 and 188 thus swing back and forth in a limited arc in order to move knife blade 106 in a horizontal plane . this mechanism also causes the movement of the bed 108 on a horizontal plane . it will be seen from fig1 that the posts 184 and 188 and the arms 226 and 228 may be selectively adjusted to any of several desired positions in order to allow the movement of blade 106 and bed 108 to be selectively adjusted . in this manner , the length of cuts made by the cutting blade may be selectively adjusted in order to enable the weight of the final discrete product to be selectively adjusted . fig1 a - 13d illustrate the cutting operation of blade 106 and bed 108 . referring to fig1 a , blade 106 is shown in its initial starting position just behind roller 142 which operates to maintain continuous length 104 against bed 108 . during operation of the device , knife blade 106 covers a reciprocating path indicated by the dotted line 234 . that is , knife 106 moves along with length 104 for a short distance and is then moved downwardly in order to sever length 104 . subsequently , knife blade 106 is moved upwardly and is then raised and moved to the original starting position shown in fig1 a . roller 142 rotates in the direction illustrated during operation of blade 106 . fig1 b illustrates how the knife blade 106 has been moved to the right in synchronism with movement of bed 108 and then moves downwardly in order to sever length 104 . inasmuch as blade 106 and bed 108 are traveling at the same rate as the length 104 , the lengths do not have to be stopped to enable severing thereof . fig1 c illustrates the final severing of length 104 . as shown in fig1 c , bed 108 includes a depression 236 which receives the foremost edge of blade 106 in order to insure that the blade passes completely through length 104 . moreover , fig1 c illustrates the particular shape of knife blade 106 . the lower - most portion 238 of the blade is relatively narrow and is maintained with a very sharp lower point . the upper portion 240 of the blade is wider than the lower portion . the two portions are separated by a beveled portion 242 . the lower portion 238 is thus utilized to make the initial cut through length 104 . the upper and wider portion 242 acts to push the severed portion of length 104 away from the uncut portion , and thus tends to break and completely sever any fibers which would tend to prevent clean cutting . after the blade has made its downward descent as shown in fig1 c , the blade is raised while still traveling in the direction and at the same rate as length 104 until it reaches the position shown in fig1 d . at this position , blade 106 and bed 108 change horizontal direction as shown by arrow 246 ( fig1 d ) and move back to the original starting point as shown in fig1 a . continuous length 104 has thus been severed by the knife blade 106 . the blade 106 is continuously moved in the path shown by the dotted line 234 in order to periodically cut off identical lengths of product . in this way , products of exact weight , volume and consistency may be maintained . if desired , the volume , consistency , flow rate or length of cutting path of blade 106 may be varied in order to change the volume or weight or consistency of the final product . for a more detailed description of the operation of knife blade 106 and bed 108 , during severing of continuous length 104 , reference can be made to copending application , ser . no . 610 , 301 , filed sept . 4 , 1975 , which is incorporated herein by reference . fig1 illustrates the output at cutter unit 26 which operates in the manner previously described . a downwardly sloping dispensing surface 260 extends from the output of the cutter unit and a plurality of discrete sausage lengths 262 may be seen to be dispensed from cutter unit 26 . the products 262 roll and slide downwardly to a conveyor 264 whereupon products are conveyed to loading station 28 . as previously noted , a particular advantage to the present invention is that very accurate portion control may be provided for the present products . thus , each of the products 262 may be formed with the same volume and size and weight so that a discrete number of the products may be packaged in individual cartons . for example , each of the products 262 may be cut in weigh one - ounce , and thus sixteen one - ounce products may be packaged together to provide a one - pound package . with the use of the present invention , a very accurate weight is maintained with each product . however , if the weight is desired to be changed , the system may be easily varied to change the weight . the product 262 is already frozen when packaged , and thus additional hard freezing is not required after packing . fig1 illustrates another embodiment of the cutter unit . a continuous sheet 270 , having a rectangular cross - section , is illustrated as having been extruded and then chilled as previously described . the sheet is applied through a cutting station which includes a rotating cutting drum 272 including a cylindrical drum 273 having a plurality of slicing disks 274 equally spaced along a longitudinal length thereof and a plurality of equally spaced cutting blades 276 along the longitudinal length thereof . the cutting drum 272 is rotatably supported on axis rod 278 which is supported in a fashion similar to the support and spring structure defined with respect to the cutting disks illustrate and described with respect to fig1 . thus , cutting drum 272 is engaged against the continuous sheet of chilled material which passes beneath the cutting drum as it is carried by the belt conveyor 58 . the pressure of the cutting drum against the sheet of chilled material results in the severing of a plurality of rectangular products 280 which are then carried on the conveyor to a packaging station . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view taken along a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of cutting drum 272 . in this embodiment of the invention , belt conveyor 58 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal indentions 282 corresponding to the cutting edges of the slicing disks 274 in order to facilitate the complete severing of the chilled pork sausage . similarly , the conveyor surface may likewise be adapted with transverse indentions 284 corresponding to the longitudinal cutting blades 276 extending longitudinally along cutting drum 272 ( fig1 ). in this case , the rotation of the cutting drum must be synchronized with the movement of conveyor 58 in order that longitudinal blades 276 mate with transverse indentions 284 . fig1 illustrates another embodiment of the severing device used in the present invention . again , a continuous sheet 270 of chilled sausage material is illustrated as it moves on conveyor 58 from freezer 24 . the continuous sheet of chilled material is carried on conveyor 58 through a cutting station which includes a dual conveyor system for stamping discrete predetermined shapes of sausage material and carrying the severed shapes to an appropriate packaging station . the first conveyor system includes an endless conveyor 300 entrained for continuous movement around drums 302 and 304 which are powered by an appropriate power means , such as an electric motor ( not shown ). conveyor 300 has its longitudinal axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of material conveyor 58 and is positioned for rotation directly above conveyor 58 , but having an opposite rotational direction . conveyor 300 is adapted with a plurality of annular chambers extending the full width of the conveyor , such as chamber 300a , between its inner and outer surfaces . a plurality of stamping modules 306 extending perpendicularly from the outer surface of conveyor 300 and communicate with one of the annular chambers as hereinafter described . stamping modules 306 are adapted with a cutting configuration having a cylindrical or other desired shaped face 308 and corresponding cutting sidewall 309 extending therefrom to form a cup - like cutting unit 310 . a tubular shaft 312 is connected to the outer surface of face 308 and is joined to conveyor 300 by way of an actuator valve 314 which is capable of extending the cutting module in response to a predetermined signal applied thereto . tubular shaft 312 also communicates with one of the annular chambers between the inner and outer surfaces of conveyor 300 . a second conveyor 320 is rotatable about motorized drums 322 and 324 ( not shown ). conveyor 320 has its longitudinal axis transverse to the axes of conveyors 58 and 300 with its upper path of travel between conveyors 58 and 300 . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view taken along the longitudinal axis of conveyor 320 and showing the relationship of the stamping modules 306 with respect to the material conveyor 58 and conveyor 320 . in operation of the unit , belt conveyor 300 is moved at a rate of speed equal to the speed of travel of conveyor 58 on which the continuous sheet of chilled pork sausage is carried . a predetermined signal is applied to selected rows of actuator valves 314 attached to each of the cutting units 310 as conveyor 300 moves over a predetermined point of its course . while not so limited , the signal may be an electrical signal communicated to a selected number of rows of stamping modules 306 by way of electrical leads 325 pass an electrical connection 327 supplying electrical current from a power source 329 . referring to fig1 a - 19c , in response to the signal , tubular shaft 312 is extended , forcing the stamping module 306 against the chilled sausage material . the action of the cutting sidewall 309 against the chilled material results in the severence of a discrete portion of the material in the configuration defined by the cutting unit 310 ( fig1 b ). simultaneously therewith , an opening 323 in annular chamber 300a moves into communication with a vacuum line 316 connected to an appropriate vacuum drawing system 317 for applying suction through each cutting unit 310 communicating with annular chamber 300a . this suction creates a vacuum to facilitate the withdrawal of the sausage material with the cutting unit . the cutting units 310 are withdrawn from the sheet of sausage ( fig1 c ) as conveyor 300 moves past the point at which the predetermined signal is communicated to actuator valves 314 . it will be understood that the extension of the cutting units is carried out by simultaneously actuating a group of cutting units such that one area of the continuous sheet is stamped at one time . the cycle is repeated sequentially with respect to successive groups of units as they pass over the sheet of sausage material . after withdrawal of the cutting units 310 , the cutting units pass above transverse conveyor 320 which is continuously rotating therebelow . it will be noted that the cutting heads normal retracted position is a sufficient distance above material conveyor 58 such that the heads are above transverse conveyor 320 which passes above material conveyor 58 . as the cutting units pass above transverse conveyor 320 , annular chamber 300a moves out of communication with the vacuum source . thus , the vacuum drawn above the severed material is removed and the discrete sausage products contained therein are ejected onto belt conveyor 320 . it may be found benefical in some instances to apply air pressure against the back side of the severed material retained in the cutting units by applying a positive pressure through annular chamber 300a in order to assure the discharge of the discrete sausage products contained therein onto conveyor 320 . the discharge of the discrete products onto the transverse conveyor 320 is accomplished without the interruption of the movement of the cutting units on conveyor 300 . the cutting units continue to move about conveyor belt 300 and the process of stamping discrete sausage products from the continuous chilled material sheet 270 is continued on an uninterrupted basis . it will be noticed that the cutting units 310 are closely positioned so as to minimize materials which are not severed in the stamping process . where rectangular configurations are stamped from the continuous sheet of chilled material , the sausage material not cut by the stamping units will be minimized or eliminated altogether . where a circular or other irregular design is desired , the sausage material not stamped by the cutting units 310 is recycled and fed back through extrusion manifold 20 ( fig1 ). the discrete sausage products discharged onto conveyor 320 are carried on the conveyor to an appropriate packaging station where the products are packaged in desired quantities . it will be appreciated that in the above described embodiment , the severing and discharge steps are carried out without interrupting the movement of the cutter units on conveyor 300 or the conveyors 58 or 320 . as previously mentioned , although the present invention has been described with respect to preparing chilled pork sausage , it will be understood that the present apparatus and method may be utilized to produce a wide variety of products when it is desired to form a plurality of discrete products having the same weight , size and characteristics from a semi - fluid material . whereas the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art , and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims .	0
the following detailed description is made with reference to the figures . preferred embodiments are described to illustrate the present invention , not to limit its scope , which is defined by the claims . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a variety of equivalent variations on the description that follows . further , the preferred embodiments are described with reference to a substrate . it will be obvious to one ordinary skill in the art that said substrate may be a reflective substrate or a transmissive substrate . fig1 illustrates a classic measurement concept , i . e ., a coordinate measurement system , for instance a xy coordinate system , where registration of marks 120 arranged on a substrate 100 are calculated from measurement of absolute positions relative an origo 130 . fig2 illustrates a measurement method according to an example embodiment of the present invention . in the inventive method measurement is based on measuring distance between marks 220 provide on a substrate 200 , i . e ., mutual distances instead of absolute positions relative an origo as in the prior art method . fig3 illustrates a view from above of an example embodiment of a measurement apparatus 300 according to the present invention . said measuring apparatus 300 comprising a distance measuring device 305 , a support frame 310 , a first detector 315 , a second detector 320 , a rotatable stage 325 , optional stage alignment marks 330 . the distance measuring device may for instance be an interferometer laser . in the illustrated example embodiment in fig3 , said distance measuring device 305 is arranged fixed on said support frame 310 . said distance measuring device keeps control of the distance between said first detector 315 and said second detector 320 . this is accomplished by measuring the distance between to said first detector 315 and said second detector 320 at each moment in time . the distance between said first detector 315 and said second detector 320 is provided by computing the difference between said distances . in an alternative embodiment a distance measuring device is provided on one of said first detector 315 or said second detector 320 . in such an embodiment one will be provided with the absolute distance between said first and said second detector immediately without any calculation as in the previous example . the support frame supports in this example embodiment the first detector 315 , the second detector 320 and said distance measuring device 305 . the support frame is provided to move in a first direction 340 over a substrate 350 . said first detector and said second detector are movable in a second direction 335 , said second direction 335 may in an example embodiment be essentially perpendicular to said first direction 340 . the stage 325 , upon which said substrate 350 may be provided , may be rotatable , denoted in fig3 by reference numeral 360 , around its central axis . said stage may optionally be provided with alignment marks 330 . said alignment marks together with alignment marks provided on said substrate 350 may be used in order to align said substrate 350 on said stage 325 , or for calibration purposes . fig4 a illustrates a view from above of a plate 400 to be measured . said plate 400 comprises 9 alignment marks denoted a - i in fig4 a . fig4 b - d illustrates how a relative distance between alignment mark a and some other alignment marks are measured . to start with one of the detectors , the first detector 315 or the second detector 320 , detects alignment mark a . the detector , who has detected alignment mark a , is fixed to said alignment mark while the other detector is locating another alignment mark . in fig4 b the other detector , first or second depending on which detector is fixed on alignment mark a , is detecting alignment mark b . the first and second detectors may be moved relative to each other in order to located said alignment mark b . it may also be that the support frame 310 is moved during said location of said alignment mark b as well as a possible rotation of the support upon which said plate is arranged which is currently measured . so , it may be a cooperation of three movements in order to find an alignment mark while fixing one of the detectors on another alignment marks , these movements are 1 ) the relative movements of the first detector 325 to the second detector 320 ; 2 ) the stage rotation ; and 3 ) the movement of the support frame 310 . it is to be noted that the first and second detectors may be moved relative to each other so that its relative distance may be enlarged or reduced . the stage may be rotated in a clockwise fashion or in an ant - clockwise fashion . the support frame may be moved in a positive first direction or in a negative first direction . in fig4 c one of the detectors are still fixed on alignment mark a while the other detector is detecting alignment mark c . compared to fig4 b , the distance between the first detector and the second detector has been changed , enlarged distance , the stage has been rotated clockwise and the support frame has been moved slightly to the right , i . e ., in the positive direction . in fig4 d one of the detectors are still fixed on alignment mark a , and the other detector is detecting alignment mark i . a movement of the support frame 310 , a rotation of the stage and movement of the first and second detectors relative to each other may detect any mutual distance between any two alignment marks . the only restrictions are the minimum distance between two alignment marks which have to be larger than the possible minimum distance between said first and said second detector and the maximum distance between two alignment marks , which is defined as the maximum distance between said first and second detectors , i . e ., the width of the support frame 310 . fig5 a and 5 b depict an example embodiment of a two mark reference method . in this method the distance is firstly measured between a first alignment mark and all other alignment marks and secondly the distance is measured between a second alignment marks and all other alignment marks . the invention is not limited to the use of only two detectors . a plurality of detectors for measuring distance may be used to optimize throughput and / or accuracy . in the illustrated embodiment said first alignment mark is alignment mark a , and said second alignment mark is alignment mark e . note that it is just the distance and not vectors in fig5 b . in fig5 a a list is provided with two columns . a first column represent the distance from alignment mark a to all other alignment marks , each distance to respective alignment mark arranged in separate lines . in a second column the distance from alignment mark e to all other alignment marks , each distance to respective alignment marks in separate lines . from this list of distances from two alignment marks it is possible to determine all other relative distances between all alignment marks , the following illustrations will show how this may be accomplished . fig6 a illustrates that alignment marks a end e may be placed in an imaginary coordinate system where rotation of said alignment marks are not important . this is because we only measure the mutual distance and not the distance relative to a fixed origo . fig6 a also illustrates that the distance between a and e should be equal to the distance between e and a . due to misperfection in any measurement system , a mean value of two measurement may better represent the reality than a single measurement . fig7 illustrates how a position of a third alignment mark may be found out of the list of measurement from two alignment marks . the alignment mark to be found its position of is alignment mark b . a first circle 710 with a radius equal to the distance from alignment mark a to alignment mark b is made with its center coinciding with alignment mark a . a second circle 720 with a radius equal to the distance from alignment mark e to alignment mark b is made with its center coinciding with alignment mark e . the first and second circles 710 , 720 intersect with each other in this embodiment at two points . fig8 depicts that alignment mark b may be found at any of these intersection points b ′, b ″ of said first circle 810 with sad second circle 820 , however one of the intersection points b ′, b ″ represent a false position of the alignment mark b . fig9 illustrates how a position of alignment mark c may be determined . i third circle 930 having a radius equal to the distance from alignment mark a to alignment mark c is made with a center coinciding with alignment mark a . a fourth circle 940 having a radius equal to the distance from alignment mark e to alignment mark c is made with a center of said circle coinciding with alignment mark e . the third circle 930 and the fourth circle 940 intersect with each other at two points c ′ and c ″. one of these intersections c ′, c ″ represent the true position of alignment mark c . in the same figure the first circle 910 and the second circle 920 are drawn and the intersection points b ′ and b ″ of the first circle 910 with the second circle 920 . fig1 illustrates how the true positions of the alignment marks may be found . alignment marks are provided on a substrate in predetermined positions . if two positions are known , as in this case , one may determine which of the two alternatives b ′ and b ″ will represent the true and false position respectively . in the leftmost picture in fig1 five alignment marks are illustrated , a , e , b ′, b ″, c ′, c ″, f ′ and f ″. by comparing the known predetermined positions of alignment mark , i . e ., a sort of map where an alignment mark should appear with respect to substrate edges and other alignment marks , with the measured alternatives of the same alignment marks , one may determine which of the alternatives is true or false . in the leftmost picture in fig1 b ″, c ″ and f ″ represent a false position and they are therefore over marked with a cross . in the rightmost picture in fig1 b ′, c ′ and f ′, together with alignment mark a and e represent true alignment mark positions . the dashed alignment marks in the right most figures represent the positions of the rest of the alignment marks on the substrate . fig1 illustrates a side view of an example embodiment of a measuring apparatus 1100 according to the present invention . said measuring apparatus 1100 comprising a first measuring detector 1110 , a second measuring detector 1120 , a support frame 1130 , a first illumination source 1140 , a second illumination source 1150 , a substrate 1160 , and a transparent support 1170 . the first measuring device 1110 and the second measuring device 1120 are movable along a positive and a negative first direction . the support frame 1130 is movable in a second direction , which is essentially perpendicular to said first direction . the first illumination source 1140 and the second illumination source 1150 are movable in the positive and negative first direction . the motion of said first and second illumination sources correlated to the motion of the first and second measuring detectors respectively . the illumination sources illuminate the substrate 1160 from beneath , i . e . in a transmission mode . the transparent support is rotatable , for instance by rotating the transparent substrate support 1170 . this rotation can be made according to fig1 which comprises no central shaft . in the inventive example embodiment illustrated in fig1 a stage 1210 is driven by means of perimeter drive , i . e ., rotatable wheels 1220 , 1222 , 1224 contacting an outer rim of the stage 1210 . rotating said wheels 1220 , 1222 , 1224 in a clockwise fashion will rotate said stage 1210 in a anti - clockwise fashion and vice versa . a light source 1230 is provided beneath / under the stage 1210 . said rotatable wheels may not only have the functionality of contacting and rotating said stage . said wheels 1220 , 1222 , 1224 may also function as to support said stage , i . e ., there is no need of a central shaft . in yet an alternative embodiment according to the present invention said detectors 315 and 320 may be provided on a rotatable gantry , i . e ., said detectors may not only be capable of moving back and forth from each other but they may also be rotatable around a point above said stage 325 . in such an embodiment said stage 325 may be fixed or rotatable . in the illustrated embodiment only two measurement detectors are used . in alternative embodiment more than two measurement detectors may be used to speed up the measurement time . while the present invention is disclosed by reference to the preferred embodiments and examples detailed above , it is 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 and the scope of the following claims .	6
referring to the drawings , there is shown a drum mixer 10 comprising a drum 11 mounted on a frame 12 which is adapted to be supported by a series of wheels 13 at one end and may be adapted to be supported at its other end 14 by the fifth wheel of a wheeled tractor for towing the drum to any point of use . the intake end 15 of the drum includes a fire wall 16 with an opening therethrough through which the flame and hot gases may enter the drum . the hot gases and flame are created by a burner 17 and blower 18 as is well understood in this art . the ignited fuel and air mixture from the burner 17 pass through the ignition port 19 and thus into the drum interior . disposed underneath the burner 17 is a conveyor belt 21 that carries the raw material such as gravel aggregate , or broken up parts of asphalt pavement which are to be re - cycled , into the intake of the drum , the aggregate or re - cycled asphalt pavement being designated by the reference character 22 . the raw material 22 may be supplied to the input of the apparatus by a further supply conveyor shown by the reference character 23 . adjacent the forward end of the drum 11 are a series of blades , or flights , 24 that are in effect spirally formed on the interior of the drum surface . this is shown by the fact that the flights 24 are disposed at an angle as may be seen in fig1 . because of the angular disposition of the flights 24 , the material 22 conveyed into the interior of the drum and falling on to its interior surface is picked up by the flights 24 and is moved through the interior of the drum to the point at which further mixing flights 25 are disposed . the exterior surface of the drum includes a pair of tires 27 and 28 that surround the circumference of the drum . the tires 27 and 28 rest on rollers 29 of which only one is shown . the roller 29 may be driven by a suitable motor 31 and gear box 32 so that the drum 11 may be rotated during the mixing process . for controlling the amount of particulate matter introduced into the heated gas current and for controlling the temperature across the interior surface of the drum to prevent combustion of the bituminous or asphaltic material , the water spray system of the invention is introduced into the input area of the drum . vertically extending pipes 33 and 34 are disposed at the respective sides of the drum interior and are connected together by a common pipe 35 and are supplied from a supply pipe or conduit 36 . small holes 37 are formed in each of the vertical pipes 33 and 34 and are relatively closely spaced together . the axes of the holes 37 are disposed at an angle of about thirty - five degrees to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the drum . thus , when water squirts out of holes 37 a curtain of water in effect , is formed whose sides are at thirty - five degrees as indicated . the sides of the water curtain are shown by the dotted lines 38 . the combined streams of water 38 form , in effect , a water shield protecting the environment exterior thereto from the intense heat of the flame and heated gases formed by the burner . if additional water shielding is necessary , a further pair of water pipes 39 and 41 are disposed in line with each other and further downstream with respect to the vertical pipe 34 . the pipes 39 and 41 are disposed at only one side of the drum as may be seen in fig3 and 4 . each of the vertical pipes 39 and 41 include a series of small holes 42 from which water may squirt directly across the drum 11 , that is to say in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the drum . the additional streams of water or water shields may be designated by the reference characters 43 and 44 . disposed between the conduit or pipe 35 and the intake of the drum is a further pipe or conduit 45 extending transversely of the drum and underneath the area where the material being conveyed into the drum by the conveyor 21 falls into the drum . the pipe 45 has a series of small holes 46 disposed therein which holes are disposed with their axes vertically , that is to say that a stream of water coming from them will project vertically into the pathway of the falling raw material . in this manner any fine particles which may be in the form of dust , for example , come into contact with the water spray and are settled down into the interior of the drum for exposure to the temperature inside of the drum to be appropriately melted rather than to be picked up and swept along by the current of heated gases moving through the drum . particulate contamination of the atmosphere is thus avoided . the pipe 45 is connected to a supply pipe 47 through which water is supplied . appropriate valves , shown diagrammatically , are provided for all of the supply pipes as will be understood . it has been found that for best results the holes 37 , 42 and 46 should be about one - sixteenth of an inch in diameter and should be supplied with water at about one hundred fifty pounds per square inch . if too much water is delivered , the capacity of the unit to deliver properly mixed materials is apt to be reduced . water supplied at a rate of about thirty to fifty gallons per minute will enable the apparatus to deliver about three hundred to three hundred fifty tons of mixed aggregate per hour . referring to fig2 there is shown diagrammatically a temperature profile of the flame and heated gases in the interior of a conventional drum relative to the distance of the intake end of the drum . the temperature at the peak 48 which may exist at about the end of the flights 24 , in the absence of the water curtain of the invention , can reach the vicinity of twenty - two hundred degrees fahrenheit . flame and gases at this temperature , of course , will burn small particles of asphalt or the like and cause heavy dense smoke to come out of the exhaust 49 of the drum . the emission of such heavy smoke is , of course , objectionable under governmental and other regulations and has to be prevented . when water is supplied under the pressure and volume as indicated above through the conduits 33 , 34 and 35 and , if necessary , 39 and 41 the maximum temperature in the profile of temperature is much reduced . this is shown in fig7 where the maximum temperature would be the greatest extent of the curve 51 which can be seen is of much lesser magnitude than the peak 48 shown in fig6 . the maximum temperature with the water curtain apparatus of the invention functioning would be about 1200 ° f . under these conditions the particles of asphalt or the like would not burn and dense smoke would not emit from the exhaust 49 . an experienced observer can , by observing the density of the exhaust at 49 , conclude whether or not more or less water should be applied to the various pipes of the system as disclosed . it has also been observed that supplying too much water can reduce the capacity of the unit to produce appropriately mixed aggregate and asphalt . having the water spray vertically through the openings 46 from pipe 45 into the pathway of the particles of asphalt or the like falling from the conveyor 21 into the interior of the drum 11 , dampens these particles and causes them to collect in the interior of the drum as already described . there is no tendency for these fine particles or fines as they are known in the trade to accumulate on the conveyor belt , for example , which could necessitate frequent cleaning thereof as has been the case with some known systems . the piping system of the present invention can be easily retrofitted into existing drum mixer units . it is likewise less expensive than other known drum mixer systems in the first instance . the invention also enables drum mixer units to re - cycle one hundred percent of used material without having to add some additional new or virgin material at the very beginning . in those instances where additional asphalt or the like needs to be added , it may be added near the middle or toward the end of the drum mixer as through a conduit or pipe 51 . along with these advantages the production rate of units is dramatically increased from known capacities of about one hundred seventy - five tons per hour to three hundred to three hundred fifty tons per hour . while one form of the invention has been disclosed it will be understood that other modifications may be made that come within the spirit and scope of the disclosure .	4
reference is made herein to the attached drawings . like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the object - carrying device . for the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention , the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for transporting service items and other small , portable items . the figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a perspective view of the lower surface 12 of the serving tray platform 11 . a plurality of finger shaped depressions 13 is radially disposed along the lower surface . at least four inner finger depressions 14 are radially positioned according to a center axis of the tray . on either side of the inner finger depressions , at least one thumb depression 15 is disposed . a palm depression 16 is connected to the inner finger and thumb depressions , creating a hand shaped depression . optionally , the palm depression may also include an area for a user &# 39 ; s wrist . together , the depressions look like a mold of a left and right hand with the inner fingers overlapping each other . in the embodiment shown , there are seven finger depressions , but more may be used to increase the possible positioning of a user &# 39 ; s hand under the tray . for example , two additional inner finger depressions may be added , along with an additional thumb depression on either side . in smaller embodiments of the device , one of the inner finger depressions may be removed so that there are only four , reducing the total number f finger depressions to six . the outer edge of the lower surface may have a plurality of rim depressions 19 , for resting fingers if the tray is being carried by an edge rather than from underneath . users can place either their right or left hand 17 within the depression regions in any desired configuration . shown in fig2 , is a user &# 39 ; s right hand aligned within the finger shaped depressions 13 on the lower surface 12 of the tray platform 11 . the user &# 39 ; s index , middle , ring , and pinky fingers are placed within the inner finger depressions 14 and the thumb is placed within the left thumb depression 15 . a free inner finger depression is open to the left providing a user with additional room to maneuver his index finger into another position . thus the molded depressions provide a customizable gripping experience and facilitates the comfortable placement of a user &# 39 ; s fingers along the lower surface of the tray platform . the positioning is reversed if a person chooses to use their left and rather than their right turning now to fig3 there is shown a perspective view of the side and upper surface 18 of the serving tray platform 11 . the platform is balanced on a user &# 39 ; s hand 17 with the upper surface directed upwards . in a preferred embodiment the upper surface is smooth and flat to provide a stable surface for objects such as drink glasses and food dishes . in an alternative embodiment , shown in fig4 , the upper surface 18 is concave , with a small lip . this structure is ideal for placing food directly on the upper surface . the tray platform 11 is smaller in this embodiment so that the device may be used as a plate . it will be appreciated by partygoers and barbeque attendees , who are forced to stand with a plate of food balanced on one hand while they attempt to eat with the other . the present invention facilitates easy balancing of the plate because of the finger depressions on the lower surface . a variety of concave designs may be used for the construction of the dinner plate embodiment . different sizes and shapes of concave region may be used . additionally , a divider may be used to organize the upper surface into concave sections , for placement of multiple food items . referring now to fig5 , there is shown a cross - sectional view of the service tray device . the device is generally constructed of a hard material such as plastic , rubber , wood , or metal , though it is preferable that the device be constructed from a thermal insulator to protect a user &# 39 ; s hand from extremes of heat or cold . in a primary embodiment the tray platform 11 is made from a single material throughout the device . alternatively it made be constructed of a base material and then coated in a high - friction substance such as rubber or plastic . coating the device in a high - friction material further reduces the likelihood that the tray will slide around on a user &# 39 ; s hand while in use . the coating will make it easier for persons with wet or sweaty hands to carry the tray safely . whether the tray is made of one material or coated in a high - friction material layer , the thickness and shape of the platform may vary according to the intended use of the tray . in the primary embodiment the tray is similar in size to most wait staff trays , approximately 12 - 16 inches in diameter . the thickness of the tray platform may range from a few centimeters to a few inches this embodiment will be useful to waiters , waitresses and party hosts who wish to serve food and drink items to their guests . in an alternative embodiment the tray is smaller in diameter and may also have a reduced height . this embodiment provides a portable hot plate that can be placed under extremely hot or cold items . food dishes served in hot bakeware or sizzling saucepans can be easily carried with the smaller hotplate tray . the hotplate embodiment should be constructed of a thermal insulator to protect the user &# 39 ; s hands from extreme temperatures . in another alternative embodiment the diameter and width of the tray platform is reduced and the upper surface of the device is concave to form a portable plate . as discussed above the concavity may have a variety of shapes and organizations . in use an individual places the device on its upper surface so that the lower surface is facing upwards . the user then places either his right or left hand within the depressions on the lower surface of the tray , aligning the index , middle , ring and pinky fingers with inner finger depressions . the users thumb is placed in the corresponding thumb depression and the palm rests in the palm depression . next , the user flips the tray platform over so that the upper surface is directed upwards . while maintaining balance of the tray with the hand settled within the finger depression , the user places objects on the upper surface of the tray . the tray can then be carried to a destination and the objects placed on the upper surface removed for use . the present invention thus provides an easy to use object - carrying device that reduces the chance that the tray will slide around on a user &# 39 ; s hand . it comprises a tray platform with an upper and lower surface . objects can be placed upon the upper surface for easy transport to a nearby location . multiple items may be placed on the tray at the same time , thus negating the need for a user to carry items individually . in this manner , the tray reduces the amount of time needed to carry items . the lower surface of the tray features a set of molded depressions or cutouts of human hands . the hands , a right hand and left hand are oriented so that the thumbs face away from each other , the palms overlap and some of the inner fingers overlap . there may be ridges in the thumb and finger depressions that correspond to indentations between the sections of a human finger . alternatively each finger depressions may be smooth on the interior . there may be six or more depressions for fingers and thumbs , but in the preferred embodiment there will be seven , two thumbs and five fingers . the size and number f finger depressions will vary according to the embodiment of the device . fingers placed within the depressions are less likely to slide around because they are somewhat restricted to the depressed spaces . the present invention does not require straps or any other securing means , making it easy for the tray platform to be transferred from one hand to the other . servers , party hosts , and anyone else who need to balance awkward or fragile items during transit will appreciate the invention . to this point , the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments . it is recognized , however , that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . therefore , the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .	1
all figures either depict components in isolation or with breast pump accessory attachments or funnels , for use with a vacuum style breast milk pump that is hand powered or machine powered . the system is operable with suction and attachment to a breast to express the milk or colostrum through a funnel contacted to the breast . embodiments allow for the capture of colostrum or milk into a collection device , which is then detached from the remainder of the system in order to deliver the milk or colostrum to the newborn , infant , or baby . in various exemplary embodiments , the components of a device or system may be press fit together , glide , screw in , or otherwise attach . in addition , in some embodiments , some components may rotate or glide and experience varying degrees of frictional resistance . fig1 depicts an exemplary funnel ( 101 ) for capture of milk or colostrum . the funnel ( 101 ) also has a hole to allow suction through a block ( 102 ) that , in addition or in absence of an indentation ( 103 ) serves as a catchment area which concentrates and guides milk or colostrum to a connector that facilitates transfer into a delivery device such as a syringe . fig2 a and 2b depict an exemplary funnel ( 201 ) with a catchment reservoir that is at least partially formed with a block ( 204 ) that has a vent hole ( 205 ) and may or may not have a depression ( 203 ). the catchment has a connector ( 202 ) meant for connection to a delivery device , such as a syringe . the connection can be made through a luer connector , screw connector , press fit connector , or a hybrid of two or more connection mediums comprising multi - connector functionality to work with multiple delivery devices . fig3 a and 3b depict an embodiment of an adaptor ( 301 ), which includes a front connection ( 307 ) to a collection mechanism , such as a funnel , and a rear connection ( 306 ) that connects to a flow driver source such as a vacuum pump . the adaptor also comprises a connector to a delivery device ( 302 ) and a catchment area ( 303 ) that is at least partially formed by a block ( 304 ) that has a partial opening or hole ( 305 ) that allows for flow force such as suction to pass through . fig4 depicts an exemplary side view of an embodiment of a system ( 400 ) to collect and dispense milk or colostrum using a funnel ( 402 ) with a connector or with an adaptor ( 401 ) comprising a connector ( 403 ) to a delivery device ( 404 ). the system ( 400 ) has a port to allow for a flow force such as vacuum ( 405 ) and it may or may not have a one way valve ( 406 ) or an attachment for a larger container . the smaller delivery device ( 404 ) may be used to collect small quantities of liquid or more viscous liquid such as but not limited to colostrum , or it may be used to periodically sample small quantities from the flow stream into the larger container . additionally the delivery device ( 404 ), if pre - filled with air before attachment , may be used to force air into the funnel section ( 402 ) in order to build positive pressure that would facilitate the detachment of the breast from the suction of the funnel ( 402 ) by neutralizing the vacuum force . the delivery device ( 404 ) in another scheme is connected with syringe piston fully extended such that there is limited free volume within the barrel of the syringe . then , after expression of material , the syringe plunger is pulled back to allow for expelled material in the catchment area to be drawn into the syringe ( 404 ) or other attached delivery device . fig5 depicts another embodiment of a system ( 500 ) that captures and dispenses breast milk and or colostrum . a funnel ( 502 ) collects material from a breast or nipple . the material passes through an adaptor ( 501 ) to reach a catchment area that facilitates flow to a connector ( 503 ) that is in connection with another adaptor ( 508 ) by using a bypass tube ( 507 ). the bypass tube ( 507 ) allows for the suction force to pull pooled material into a delivery device ( 504 ) instead of having to go through the one way valve ( 506 ) comprised on the connector to the second adaptor ( 508 ). there is also a connector for applying a suction or vacuum force ( 505 ) constant or pulsatile through the system ( 500 ). fig6 depicts an exemplary side view of another alternative embodiment of a system ( 600 ) to collect and dispense colostrum and / or breast milk . the system ( 600 ) includes a one - piece adaptor ( 601 ), which includes a central portion that braches into : a port ( 605 ) to allow for a flow force , such as vacuum ; a one way valve portion ( 606 ); a breast shield connection portion ( 607 ) for connecting to a breast shield ( 602 ) ( or “ funnel ” or “ flange ”); and a connector ( 603 ), for connecting to a colostrum / breast milk collection / delivery device , such as but not limited to a syringe ( 604 ) ( as illustrated ). the adaptor ( 601 ), in this embodiment , combines the features of the adaptor ( 401 ), port ( 405 ) and valve portion ( 406 ) of the embodiment illustrated in fig4 in one part . the one - part adaptor ( 601 ) may also include an inner wall ( 608 ) with a small aperture ( 609 ). the inner wall ( 608 ) blocks colostrum and / or breast milk expressed from the breast and directs it through the connector ( 603 ) into the collection / delivery device ( 604 ). the aperture ( 609 ) allows suction to be applied via the port ( 605 ), through the adaptor ( 601 ), to the breast shield ( 602 ). as illustrated in fig6 , the breast shield connection portion ( 607 ) may comprise a slightly widened , open end of the adaptor ( 601 ), sized and configured so that the breast shield ( 602 ) may be inserted into it . in some embodiments , the breast shield ( 602 ) may fit into the breast shield connection portion ( 607 ) via a press fit connection . in alternative embodiments , the breast shield ( 602 ) may attach to the breast shield connection portion ( 607 ) via threads or any other suitable connection means . the collection / delivery device ( 604 ) may be used to collect small quantities of liquid or more viscous liquid such as but not limited to colostrum , and / or it may be used to periodically sample small quantities from the flow stream into the larger container . in various embodiments , any suitable size of syringe may be used as collection / delivery device ( 604 ). also , as mentioned above , other types of collection / delivery devices may alternatively be used . additionally , the collection / delivery device ( 604 ), if pre - filled with air before attachment , may be used to force air into the breast shield ( 602 ) in order to build positive pressure that would facilitate the detachment of the breast from the suction of the breast shield ( 602 ) by neutralizing the vacuum force . the collection / delivery device ( 604 ), in some embodiments , may be connected with the connector ( 603 ) with the syringe piston fully extended , such that there is limited free volume within the barrel of the syringe . then , after expression of material , the syringe plunger is pulled back to allow for expelled material in the catchment area to be drawn into the syringe ( 604 ) or other attached delivery device . any one or more of the teachings , expressions , embodiments , examples , etc . described herein may be combined with any one or more of the other teachings , expressions , embodiments , examples , etc . that are described herein . the above - described teachings , expressions , embodiments , examples , etc . should therefore not be viewed in isolation relative to each other . modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the application . any patent , publication , or other disclosure material , in whole or in part , that is said to be incorporated by reference herein is incorporated herein only to the extent that the incorporated material does not conflict with existing definitions , statements , or other disclosure material set forth in this disclosure . as such , and to the extent necessary , the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference . any material , or portion thereof , that is said to be incorporated by reference herein , but which conflicts with existing definitions , statements , or other disclosure material set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material . having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention , further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention . for instance , the examples , embodiments , geometrics , materials , dimensions , ratios , steps , and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required . accordingly , the scope of the present invention is not limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings .	0
the preferred embodiment of the present invention , which is illustrated in fig1 through 14 , uses a single spherical roller to support the puck body above a paved surface on which the roller hockey puck is gliding . to maintain the faces of the puck body above the paved surface , runners made of a material having a low coefficient of friction are disposed in an annular configuration on each of the opposing faces of the puck body . a variety of alternate embodiments illustrative of a number of different manners in which the principles of the present invention may be utilized will also be provided , particularly with regard to fig1 through 35 . referring first to fig1 through 4 , a puck body 40 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is illustrated . the puck body 40 is essentially cylindrical in configuration , and it may be made of plastic material such as polyurethane or of rubber . the puck body 40 is preferably approximately the same size as a regulation ice hockey puck , which is three inches in diameter and one inch thick . the puck body 40 has a cylindrical cavity 42 which is centrally located therein and which extends therethrough , as best shown in fig1 and 2 . located in the opposing faces of the puck body 40 around the cavity 42 in the puck body 40 are annular recesses 44 and 46 , the depths of which are best illustrated in fig4 . four apertures 48 located in spaced - apart fashion extend between the bottom of the annular recess 44 and the bottom of the annular recess 46 . located in the face of the puck body 40 shown in fig1 near the outer edges thereof is a shallow annular recess 52 , the depth of which is best illustrated in fig4 . similarly , located in the face of the puck body 40 shown in fig2 near the outer edges thereof is a shallow annular recess 54 , the depth of which is best illustrated in fig4 . four apertures 56 located in spaced - apart fashion extend between the bottom of the shallow annular recess 52 and the bottom of the shallow annular recess 54 . referring now just to fig4 an annular metal ring 60 is shown to be molded into the puck body 40 . the annular metal ring 60 is spaced midway between the opposing faces of the puck body 40 , and is located near the side edges of the puck body 40 . the annular metal ring 60 , which may be made of a relatively heavy metal such as steel or lead , provides stability to the roller hockey puck of the present invention as it moves . the weight of the annular metal ring 60 may also be used to weight the roller hockey puck to a desired weight , such as the regulation six ounces of an ice hockey puck . the utility of the annular metal ring 60 may be described briefly as follows . as a pass is made , a roller hockey puck slides from the heel to the toe of a hockey stick , thereby putting a spin on the roller hockey puck . with the annular metal ring 60 being located around the outer edge of the puck body 40 , the annular metal ring 60 will act like a gyroscope to help stabilize the roller hockey puck and prevent it from flipping and turning on edge . this is especially important when making a flip pass , in which the roller hock puck is lifted off of the paved surface and over an opposing player &# 39 ; s stick ( typically four to ten inches in the air ), landing in front of a teammate &# 39 ; s stick . when making such a pass , additional spin placed on the roller hockey puck of the present invention makes it stay flat during its flight , and also makes it land flat . referring next to fig5 and 6 , a bearing support cap 70 is shown ; two of the bearing support caps 70 will be used in the preferred embodiment roller hockey puck of the present invention , one being mounted in each of the opposing faces of the puck body 40 illustrated in fig1 through 4 . the top surface of the bearing support cap 70 consists of a circular plate 72 which is of a size to be received in either the annular recess 44 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig1 ), or in the annular recess 46 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig2 ). the bearing support cap 70 has four apertures 74 which are located in spaced - apart fashion around the edge of the circular plate 72 . the apertures 74 in the circular plate 72 of the bearing support cap 70 are located so as to be aligned either with the ends of the apertures 48 located in the annular recess 44 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig1 ), or with the ends of the apertures 48 located in the annular recess 46 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig2 ). note that the apertures 74 are countersunk on the top side of the bearing support cap 70 . the bearing support cap 70 has a cylindrical segment 76 extending from the bottom of the circular plate 72 . the circular plate 72 of the bearing support cap 70 has a centrally located circular opening 78 located therein . the circular opening 78 is tapered to widen on the inside of the circular plate 72 to closely fit a spherical roller ( not illustrated in fig5 or 6 ), as will become apparent with respect to the discussion of fig1 below . the circular opening 78 is also tapered to widen on the outside of the circular plate 72 slightly , to prevent the inside of the circular opening 78 from being damaged and contacting the spherical roller . referring now to fig7 and 8 , an annular bearing array 80 is illustrated which includes a plurality of ball bearings 82 mounted in an annular race member 84 . the ball bearings 82 and the annular race member 84 may each be made of either metal or plastic , with the ball bearings 82 being installed in the annular race member 84 by pressing them in . once the ball bearings 82 are so inserted into the annular race member 84 , they will be retained therein , it being understood that they are free to move around the annular race member 84 . the outer diameter of the annular race member 84 is sized to closely fit the interior diameter of the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 ( illustrated in fig6 ). referring next to fig9 and 10 , a thin , annular resilient washer 88 for installation between the annular race member 84 of the annular bearing array 80 illustrated in fig7 and 8 and the bearing support cap illustrated in fig6 is illustrated . the resilient washer 88 has inner and outer diameters which are approximately the same as the inner and outer diameters of the portion of the annular race member 84 which will bear against the resilient washer 88 when both are installed within the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 adjacent to the circular plate 72 . the resilient washer 88 is preferably made of a resilient foam material such that it may be compressed somewhat , at which time it will urge the annular bearing array 80 away from the interior of the circular plate 72 . referring now to fig1 and 12 , an annular circular runner 90 which will be used with the roller hockey puck of the present invention to provide a low friction gliding surface and to stabilize the roller hockey puck as it glides over a paved surface is illustrated . the circular runner 90 is of a size to fit partially into either of the shallow annular recesses 52 and 54 in the puck body 40 illustrated in fig1 , and 4 . both the top and bottom surfaces of the circular runner 90 are flat , with four recessed areas 92 being located in the top surface of the circular runner 90 at 90 degree intervals . a countersunk aperture 94 is centrally located in each of the recessed areas 92 , with the countersunk apertures 94 being located so as to be aligned with the apertures 56 , either in the shallow annular recess 52 on one side of the puck body 40 , or in the shallow annular recess 54 on the other side of the puck body 40 . the circular runner 90 is preferably made of a durable material having a very low coefficient of friction , such as , for example , a selected fluoropolymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene , such as the material marketed by dupont under the trademark teflon , a synthetic polymide such as nylon , or another hard plastic material . note that other types of runners could be used instead of the circular runner 90 , and such alternate types of runners are mentioned later in this specification . similarly , other manners of affixing a circular runner could also be used , and one alternate technique for doing so is also mentioned later in this specification . referring next to fig1 and 14 , the assembly of the various parts illustrated in fig1 through 12 together with a spherical roller 100 to make the roller hockey puck of the present invention is illustrated . the spherical roller 100 is of a diameter larger than the thickness of the puck body 40 , such than when the spherical roller 100 is installed inside the puck body 40 , it extends both above and below the puck body 40 . the spherical roller 100 is made of a tough , durable material such as a hard plastic like nylon , delrin , polypropylene , or polyurethane , or a high density hard rubber material . the roller hockey puck illustrated in fig1 and 14 is assembled in the following manner . a resilient washer 88 is placed into the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 adjacent the inside of the circular plate 72 . an annular bearing array 80 is then placed into the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 on top of the resilient washer 88 . the bearing support cap 70 is then placed into one side of the puck body 40 , with the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 fitting into the cavity 42 in the puck body 40 , and the circular plate 72 of the bearing support cap 70 fitting into the annular recess 44 in the puck body 40 . the spherical roller 100 is then placed into the cavity 42 in the puck body 40 . another resilient washer 88 is then placed into the cylindrical segment 76 of another bearing support cap 70 adjacent the inside of the circular plate 72 . another annular bearing array 80 is then placed into the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 on top of the resilient washer 88 . the bearing support cap 70 is then placed into the other side of the puck body 40 to retain the spherical roller 100 therein , with the cylindrical segment 76 of the bearing support cap 70 fitting into the cavity 42 in the puck body 40 , and the circular plate 72 of the bearing support cap 70 fitting into the annular recess 46 in the puck body 40 . four flat - head bolts 110 are inserted through the apertures 74 in the bearing support cap 70 , and then into the apertures 48 in the puck body 40 . four flat - head female bolts 112 ( female bolts have a hollow cylinder extending therefrom with a threaded interior in the hollow cylinder ) are inserted through the apertures 74 in the bearing support cap 70 , and are then into the apertures 48 in the puck body 40 . the flat - head bolts 110 are then screwed into the flat - head female bolts 112 . a circular runner 90 is then placed into the shallow annular recess 52 on one side of the puck body 40 . another circular runner 90 is then placed into the shallow annular recess 54 on the other side of the puck body 40 . four flat - head bolts 114 are inserted through the countersunk apertures 94 in the circular runner 90 in the shallow annular recess 52 , and then into one end of the apertures 56 in the puck body 40 . four flat - head female bolts 116 are inserted through the countersunk apertures 94 in the circular runner 90 in the shallow annular recess 54 , and then into the other end of the apertures 56 in the puck body 40 . the flat - head bolts 114 are then screwed into the flat - head female bolts 116 . note that when the preferred embodiment roller hockey puck of the present invention is assembled , the spherical roller 100 will extend slightly above the level of the circular runners 90 on each side of the roller hockey puck . the spherical roller 100 will be mounted between the two annular bearing arrays 80 in the roller hockey puck , and will be able to move quite freely . when the roller hockey puck of the present invention is airborne and falls to the paved surface on one side of the spherical roller 100 , the resilient washer 88 furthest from the paved surface will momentarily compress , and then spring back to its normal configuration , thereby acting as a resilient suspension . referring next to fig1 and 16 , an alternate embodiment puck body 140 is illustrated . the puck body 140 is similar in configuration to the puck body 40 illustrated in fig1 through 4 , and has a cylindrical cavity 142 which is centrally located therein and which extends therethrough . located in the opposing faces of the puck body 140 around the cavity 142 in the puck body 140 are annular recesses 144 and 146 , the depths of which are best illustrated in fig1 . note that in the puck body 140 , no apertures are located in either the bottom of the annular recess 144 or the bottom of the annular recess 146 . located in one face of the puck body 140 near the outer edges thereof are eight small , shallow circular recesses 152 located in a circular ( or annular ) array near the outer edges of the puck body 140 . located in the opposing face of the puck body 140 near the outer edges thereof are eight small , shallow circular recesses 154 located in a circular ( or annular ) array near the outer edges of the puck body 140 . an aperture 156 extends between each of the shallow circular recesses 152 and a corresponding oppositely located one of the shallow circular recesses 154 , with the ends of the apertures 156 being centrally located in the bottoms of the shallow circular recesses 152 and 154 . referring now just to fig1 , an annular metal ring 160 is shown to be molded into the puck body 140 . the annular metal ring 160 is spaced midway between the opposing faces of the puck body 140 , and is located near the side edges of the puck body 140 . referring next to fig1 and 18 , an alternate embodiment female bearing support cap 170 is shown . the top surface of the female bearing support cap 170 consists of a circular plate 172 which is of a size to be received in either the annular recess 144 of the puck body 140 ( illustrated in fig1 and 16 ) or in the annular recess 146 of the puck body 140 . the female bearing support cap 170 has a cylindrical segment 176 extending from the bottom of the circular plate 172 , which is threaded on the inside thereof . the circular plate 172 of the female bearing support cap 170 has a centrally located circular opening 178 located therein . the circular opening 178 is tapered to widen on the inside of the circular plate 172 to closely fit the spherical roller 100 ( not illustrated in fig1 or 18 ), as will become apparent with respect to the discussion of fig2 below . the circular opening 178 is also tapered to widen on the outside of the circular plate 172 slightly , to prevent the inside of the circular opening 178 from being damaged and contacting the spherical roller 100 . an annular bearing array is illustrated which includes a plurality of ball bearings 182 mounted in an annular race member 184 which is built into the female bearing support cap 170 on the inside of the circular plate 172 and inside the cylindrical segment 176 . the ball bearings 182 are installed in the annular race member 184 by pressing them in . once the ball bearings 182 are so inserted in the annular race member 184 , they will be retained therein , it being understood that they are free to move around the annular race member 184 . referring now to fig1 and 20 , an alternate embodiment male bearing support cap 171 is shown . the top surface of the male bearing support cap 171 consists of a circular plate 173 which is of a size to be received in either the annular recess 144 of the puck body 140 ( illustrated in fig1 and 16 ) or in the annular recess 146 of the puck body 140 . the male bearing support cap 171 has a cylindrical segment 177 extending from the bottom of the circular plate 173 , which is threaded on the outside thereof . the circular plate 173 of the male bearing support cap 171 has a centrally located circular opening 179 located therein . the circular opening 179 is tapered to widen on the inside of the circular plate 173 to closely fit the spherical roller 100 ( not illustrated in fig1 or 20 ), as will become apparent with respect to the discussion of fig2 below . the circular opening 179 is also tapered to widen on the outside of the circular plate 173 slightly , to prevent the inside of the circular opening 179 from being damaged and contacting the spherical roller 100 . an annular bearing array is illustrated which includes a plurality of ball bearings 183 mounted in an annular race member 185 which is built into the male bearing support cap 171 on the inside of the circular plate 173 and inside the cylindrical segment 177 . the ball bearings 183 are installed in the annular race member 185 by pressing them in . once the ball bearings 183 are so inserted in the annular race member 185 , they will be retained therein , it being understood that they are free to move around the annular race member 185 . referring next to fig2 , an alternate embodiment runner 190 of the &# 34 ; puck rivet &# 34 ; type is illustrated . the runner 190 has a rounded circular head 192 , which is supported by a serrated shaft 194 . the runner 190 is preferably made of a durable material having a very low coefficient of friction , such as , for example , a selected fluoropolymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene , such as the material marketed by dupont under the trademark teflon , a synthetic polymide such as nylon , or another hard plastic material . referring now to fig2 and 23 , the assembly of the various parts illustrated in fig1 through 21 together with the spherical roller 100 to make an alternate embodiment roller hockey puck is illustrated . the female bearing support cap 170 is then placed into one side of the puck body 140 , with the cylindrical segment 176 of the female bearing support cap 170 fitting into the cavity 142 in the puck body 140 , and the circular plate 172 of the female bearing support cap 170 fitting into the annular recess 144 in the puck body 140 . the spherical roller 100 is then placed into the cavity 142 in the puck body 140 . the male bearing support cap 171 is then placed into the other side of the puck body 140 to retain the spherical roller 100 therein , with the cylindrical segment 177 of the male bearing support cap 171 fitting into the cavity 142 in the puck body 140 , and the circular plate 173 of the bearing support cap 171 fitting into the annular recess 146 in the puck body 140 . the outwardly threaded cylindrical segment 177 of the male bearing support cap 171 may then be screwed tightly into the inwardly threaded cylindrical segment 176 of the female bearing support cap 170 , thereby retaining the female bearing support cap 170 and the male bearing support cap 171 in place with the puck body 140 located therebetween , with the spherical roller 100 being located inside the puck body 140 . eight of the runners 190 are then mounted by inserting the serrated shafts 194 into the ends of the apertures 156 in one side of the puck body 140 , with the rounded circular heads 192 being partially installed in the shallow circular recesses 152 . similarly , eight of the runners 190 are then mounted by inserting the serrated shafts 194 into the ends of the apertures 156 in the other side of the puck body 140 , with the rounded circular heads 192 being partially installed in the shallow circular recesses 154 . by having the apertures 156 extend through the puck body 140 , a runner 190 having a broken - off rounded circular head 192 may be removed by removing the corresponding runner 190 on the opposite face of the puck body 140 , and then inserting a small rod ( not shown ) through the aperture 156 to remove the broken - off serrated shaft 194 . note that when the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck illustrated in fig2 and 23 is assembled , the spherical roller 100 will extend slightly above the level of the runners 190 on each side of the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck . the spherical roller 100 will be mounted between the two annular bearing arrays in the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck , and will be able to move quite freely . referring next to fig2 , another alternate embodiment female bearing support cap 270 is shown . the top surface of the female bearing support cap 270 consists of a circular plate 272 which is of a size to be received in either the annular recess 144 of the puck body 140 ( illustrated in fig1 and 16 ) or in the annular recess 146 of the puck body 140 . the female bearing support cap 270 has a cylindrical segment 276 extending from the bottom of the circular plate 272 , which is threaded on the inner portion thereof . the portion of the cylindrical segment 276 immediately adjacent the circular plate 272 is cylindrical , and is designed to hold a resilient washer 88 ( illustrated in fig9 and 10 ) and an annular bearing array 80 ( illustrated in fig7 and 8 ) therein . the circular plate 272 of the female bearing support cap 270 has a centrally located circular opening 278 located therein . the circular opening 278 is tapered to widen on the inside of the circular plate 272 to closely fit the spherical roller 100 ( not illustrated in fig2 ). the circular opening 278 is also tapered to widen on the outside of the circular plate 272 slightly , to prevent the inside of the circular opening 278 from being damaged and contacting the spherical roller 100 . referring now to fig2 , another alternate embodiment male bearing support cap 271 is shown . the top surface of the male bearing support cap 271 consists of a circular plate 273 which is of a size to be received in either the annular recess 144 of the puck body 140 ( illustrated in fig1 and 16 ) or in the annular recess 146 of the puck body 140 . the male bearing support cap 271 has a cylindrical segment 277 extending from the bottom of the circular plate 273 , which is threaded on the outside thereof . the inner portion of the cylindrical segment 277 adjacent the circular plate 273 is cylindrical , and is designed to hold a resilient washer 88 ( illustrated in fig9 and 10 ) and an annular bearing array 80 ( illustrated in fig7 and 8 ) therein . the circular plate 273 of the male bearing support cap 271 has a centrally located circular opening 279 located therein . the circular opening 279 is tapered to widen on the inside of the circular plate 273 to closely fit the spherical roller 100 ( not illustrated in fig2 ). the circular opening 279 is also tapered to widen on the outside of the circular plate 273 slightly , to prevent the inside of the circular opening 279 from being damaged and contacting the spherical roller 100 . the assembly of the female bearing support cap 270 and the male bearing support cap 271 is identical to that described in fig2 and 23 , except that a resilient washer 88 and an annular bearing array 80 are placed into each of the cylindrical segment 276 of the female bearing support cap 270 and the cylindrical segment 277 of the male bearing support cap 271 prior to their assembly together on the puck body 140 with the spherical roller 100 located therebetween . referring next to fig2 , an alternate embodiment puck body 340 is illustrated . the puck body 340 is similar in configuration to the puck body 40 illustrated in fig4 and the puck body 140 illustrated in fig1 , and has a cylindrical cavity 342 which is centrally - located therein and which extends therethrough . located in the opposing faces of the puck body 340 around the cavity 342 in the puck body 340 are annular recesses 344 and 346 . an annular metal ring 360 is shown to be molded into the puck body 340 . the annular metal ring 360 is spaced midway between the opposing faces of the puck body 340 , and is located near the side edges of the puck body 340 . a circular runner 390 is molded into each of the opposing faces of the puck body 340 near the outer edges thereof . the circular runners 390 illustrated each have small annular flanges 391 and 393 extending respectively from the inside diameter and the outside diameter of the portion of the circular runner 390 which is located beneath the surface of the puck body 340 . these annular flanges 391 and 393 act to retain the circular runners 390 within the puck body 340 , and prevent them from coming out of the puck body 340 due to the forces exerted on the roller hockey puck when it is hit or strikes the playing surface , a goal post , or the boards of a hockey rink . note that , like the preferred embodiment of roller hockey puck of the present invention illustrated in fig1 and 14 , when the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck shown in fig2 is assembled , the spherical roller 100 will extend slightly above the level of the circular runners 390 on each side of the roller hockey puck . the circular runners 390 are preferably made of a durable material having a very low coefficient of friction , such as , for example , a selected fluoropolymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene , such as the material marketed by dupont under the trademark teflon , a synthetic polymide such as nylon , or another hard plastic material . referring now to fig2 , another alternate embodiment runner 490 of a modified &# 34 ; puck rivet &# 34 ; type is illustrated . the runner 490 has a rounded oval head 492 , which is supported by two spaced - apart serrated shafts 494 . the runner 490 is preferably made of a durable material having a very low coefficient of friction , such as , for example , a selected fluoropolymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene , such as the material marketed by dupont under the trademark teflon , a synthetic polymide such as nylon , or another hard plastic material . referring to fig2 , an alternate embodiment puck body 440 is illustrated with eight of the oval runners 490 installed thereon . referring next to fig2 , an alternate embodiment bearing support cap 570 is illustrated . the top surface of the bearing support cap 570 consists of a circular plate 572 which is of a size to be received in either the annular recess 44 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig1 ), or in the annular recess 46 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig2 ). the bearing support cap 570 has four apertures 574 which are located in spaced - apart fashion around the edge of the circular plate 572 . the apertures 574 in the circular plate 572 of the bearing support cap 570 are located so as to be aligned either with the ends of the apertures 48 located in the annular recess 44 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig1 ), or with the ends of the apertures 48 located in the annular recess 46 of the puck body 40 ( which is illustrated in fig2 ). note that the apertures 574 are countersunk on the top side of the bearing support cap 570 . the bearing support cap 570 has a cylindrical segment 576 extending from the bottom of the circular plate 572 . the circular plate 572 of the bearing support cap 570 has a centrally located circular opening 578 located therein . the circular opening 578 is tapered to widen on the inside of the circular plate 572 to closely fit the spherical roller 100 , which is shown in phantom lines . the circular opening 578 is also tapered to widen on the outside of the circular plate 572 slightly , to prevent the inside of the circular opening 578 from being damaged and contacting the spherical roller 100 . the bearing support cap 570 has an inwardly - projecting annular brush member 579 located in the circular opening 578 , the free ends of the annular brush member 579 being oriented to extend close adjacent the spherical roller 100 shown in phantom lines . the annular brush member 579 may be molded into the bearing support cap 570 . referring next to fig3 and 31 , an alternate embodiment roller hockey puck is illustrated in which three spherical rollers 100 and three pairs of the annular bearing arrays 80 are used . the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck uses a puck body 640 which has three cylindrical cavities 642 , the locations of which are disposed in and extend through the puck body 640 at the locations in which the spherical rollers 100 are shown in fig3 . one of the cavities 642 in the puck body 640 is illustrated in fig3 . located in the opposing faces of the puck body 640 around each of the cavities 642 in the puck body 640 are annular recesses 644 and 646 , the depths of which are illustrated in fig3 . located in each of the opposing faces of the puck body 640 just inside the side edges of the puck body 640 are large circular recesses 645 and 647 . note that the puck body 640 has four apertures 648 extending between the large circular recesses 645 and 647 , only two of which are illustrated in fig3 . also shown in fig3 is an annular metal ring 660 , which is molded into the puck body 640 midway between the opposing faces and near to the side edges of the puck body 640 . since no runners are used with the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck illustrated in fig3 and 31 , no recesses for runners are required . the three spherical rollers 100 are each placed into one of the cavities 642 in the puck body 640 , and annular bearing arrays 80 are then placed into each of the annular recesses 644 and 646 . a circular bearing support cover 672 is then installed into each of the large circular recesses 645 and 647 . the circular bearing support covers 672 each have four countersunk apertures 674 which are located therein , only two of which are illustrated in fig3 . the circular bearing support covers 672 each have three circular openings 678 located therein at the locations of the cavities 642 in the puck body 640 . the circular openings 678 are tapered to widen on the inside of the circular bearing support covers 672 to closely fit the spherical rollers 100 . note that although resilient washers 88 ( illustrated in fig9 and 10 ) are not used in the embodiment illustrated in fig3 and 31 , they could be if so desired . a flat - head bolt 675 is inserted into each of the apertures 674 in one of the circular bearing support covers 672 , and then into the corresponding one of the apertures 648 in the puck body 640 . a flat - head female bolt 677 is inserted into each of the apertures 674 in the other of the circular bearing support covers 672 , and then into the corresponding one of the apertures 648 in the puck body 640 . the flat - head bolts 675 are then screwed into the flat - head female bolts 677 , thereby retaining the circular bearing support covers 672 on the puck body 640 . referring next to fig3 and 33 , a roller assembly 700 is illustrated which uses an alternate manner of support for a spherical roller 710 . the spherical roller 710 is pre - assembled into a combination race / cup 720 . the base of the combination race / cup 720 has a circular flange 722 extending outwardly therefrom . the interior of the combination race / cup 720 has a hemispherical race 724 located therein , with a plurality of ball bearings 726 located therein to support the spherical roller 710 . the combination race / cup 720 also includes an inwardly extending flange 728 located at the top thereof to retain the spherical roller 710 in the combination race / cup 720 . referring now to fig3 and 35 , another alternate embodiment roller hockey puck is illustrated in which six of the roller assemblies 700 are used . this alternate embodiment roller hockey puck uses a puck body 740 in which six cylindrical cavities 742 are disposed therein and extend partially therethrough in an annular array as best shown in fig3 . each of the six cylindrical cavities 742 is open onto one face of the puck body 740 and has a closed end located within the puck body 740 . three of the six cylindrical cavities in the puck body 740 open to one face of the puck body 740 , while the other three cylindrical cavities in the puck body 740 open to the opposing face of the puck body 740 . the six cylindrical cavities 742 are arranged so that adjacent cylindrical cavities 742 alternate in their configuration . two of the cylindrical cavities 742 in the puck body 740 are illustrated in fig3 . located in the opposing faces of the puck body 740 around the annular array of the six cavities in the puck body 740 are large circular recesses 745 and 747 . note that the puck body 740 has seven apertures 748 extending between each of the large circular recesses 745 and 747 , only one of which is illustrated in fig3 . also shown in fig3 is an annular metal ring 760 , which is molded into the puck body 740 midway between the opposing faces and near to the side edges of the puck body 740 . since no runners are used with the alternate embodiment roller hockey puck illustrated in fig3 and 35 , no recesses for runners are required . a coil spring 738 is inserted into each of the cylindrical cavities 742 , with the coil springs 738 bearing against the closed ends of the cylindrical cavities 742 . note that for clarity , the coil springs 738 are shown in their entirety , and thus are not shown in cross - section . the six roller assemblies 700 are then placed into the cylindrical cavities 742 with the circular flange 722 first , such that the spherical rollers 100 and the tops of the combination race / cups 720 are biased out of the cylindrical cavities 742 by the coil springs 738 . the circular flanges 722 of the combination race / cups 720 are sized to fit within the diameter of the cylindrical cavities 742 . note that for clarity , the roller assemblies 700 are also shown in their entirety , and thus are not shown in cross - section . two circular bearing support covers 772 may then be respectively installed into the large circular recesses 745 and 747 . the circular bearing support covers 772 each have three circular openings 778 located therein at the locations of the cylindrical cavities 742 in the puck body 740 . extending inwardly from the circular bearing support covers 772 around each of the circular openings 778 are cylindrical segments 779 . the cylindrical segments 779 fit within the cylindrical cavities 742 , and act to retain the combination race / cups 720 in the puck body 740 since the circular flanges 722 of the combination race / cups 720 are larger than the inner diameter of the cylindrical segments 779 . the circular bearing support covers 772 each have seven countersunk apertures 774 which are located therein , only two of which are illustrated in fig3 . a flat - head bolt 775 is inserted into each of the apertures 774 in one of the circular bearing support covers 772 , and then into the corresponding one of the apertures 748 in the puck body 740 . a flat - head female bolt 777 is inserted into each of the apertures 774 in the other of the circular bearing support covers 772 , and then into the corresponding one of the apertures 748 in the puck body 740 . the flat - head bolts 775 are then screwed into the flat - head female bolts 777 , thereby retaining the circular bearing support covers 772 on the puck body 740 . the circular bearing support covers 772 retain the coil springs 738 inside the wider cavities 742 , where the coil springs 738 urge the roller assemblies 700 to the positions illustrated in fig3 , with the spherical rollers 710 extending just above the surfaces of the circular bearing support covers 772 . the coil springs 738 act to absorb shock when the roller hockey puck illustrated in fig3 and 35 is airborne and falls to the paved surface . referring finally to fig3 , an alternate embodiment bearing housing member 880 is illustrated . the bearing housing member 880 supports two spaced - apart annular races 884 therein , each of which is filled with ball bearings 882 . the spherical roller 100 is rotatably supported within the two arrays of ball bearings 882 . the bearing housing member 880 may be substituted for the two annular bearings arrays 80 ( which are illustrated in fig8 ) and used , for example , in the assembled roller hockey puck illustrated in fig1 and 14 . it may therefore be appreciated from the above detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention that it teaches a roller hockey puck which will glide relatively freely over the irregularities inherent in a paved surface , thereby gliding in a manner similar to the way an ice hockey puck glides on ice . the roller hockey puck of the present invention does so because of its low coefficient of friction even when gliding over a paved surface , approaching the low coefficient of friction exhibited by an ice hockey puck when gliding over ice as closely as is possible . the roller hockey puck of the present invention is highly resistant to deterioration in this low coefficient of friction due to its construction , which uses ball bearings to support its spherical rollers . the roller hockey puck of the present invention is also highly resistant to use - related wear , and its runners , which will exhibit the most wear , are quickly and easily replaceable . due to its design , the roller hockey puck of the present invention behaves remarkably like an ice hockey puck behaves on ice when it is hit . in this regard , the roller hockey puck of the present invention exhibits a high degree of stability when hit , not flipping over and tumbling as easily as previously known roller hockey pucks . depending on the choice of materials used to manufacture the roller hockey puck of the present invention , it may also be of a similar size and weight to an ice hockey puck . the roller hockey puck of the present invention is of a construction which is both durable and long lasting , and which will require essentially no maintenance , other than replacing the worn runners as needed . the roller hockey puck of the present invention is also of inexpensive construction to enhance its market appeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market . finally , all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the roller hockey puck of the present invention are achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage . although an exemplary embodiment of the roller hockey puck of the present invention has been shown and described with reference to particular embodiments and applications thereof , it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes , modifications , or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made , none of which depart from the spirit or scope of the present invention . all such changes , modifications , and alterations should therefore be seen as being within the scope of the present invention .	0
these and other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following written description , and from the drawings , in which : fig1 is a perspective view of the known method of chip breaking described above ; fig2 is a graph depicting the out - of - phase relationship created by the known chip breaking method . ; fig3 is a partially schematic representation of a workpiece and the apparatus of the invention ; fig4 is a cross sectional view of the tool holder , cutter support , cutter and force application means ; fig5 is a graph depicting the chip breaking action provided by the invention . referring first to fig1 the known method of chip breaking described above is illustrated . a workpiece ( 10 ), which is cylindrical metal bar stock , is to be turned down from a rough , initial diameter to a final , finished diameter . to accomplish this , workpiece ( 10 ) is rotated about it &# 39 ; s central axis by a standard lathe or the like , not illustrated , while a cutter ( 12 ) is moved parallel to the axis of workpiece ( 10 ). before moving axially , cutter ( 12 ) is radially advanced to a point where it is radially inboard of the outer surface of workpiece ( 10 ), and so will engage its surface . cutter ( 12 ) is adjusted and moved by a conventional tool holder , which is not illustrated , but well known to those skilled in the art . how far cutter ( 12 ) is advanced radially , how fast it is rotated , and how far it is fed axially per rotation depend on the cutter ( 12 ), the workpiece material , and the surface finish required . basically , experience will tell how hard cutter ( 12 ) can be driven without causing excess cutting forces , chatter , or excessive tool wear , and this can be determined by one skilled in the art . whatever the parameters of cutter ( 12 )&# 39 ; s operation , it will continuously produce a chip ( 14 ) from workpiece ( 10 ), which curls out and away from cutter ( 12 ) as illustrated . still referring to fig1 the width of chip ( 14 ) corresponds to the radial advance of cutter ( 12 ), and its axial thickness corresponds to the axial feed per rotation , but it &# 39 ; s length may vary considerably . in the absence of some mechanism to actively break it up , chip ( 14 ) could conceivably be as long as the entire linear surface seen by cutter ( 12 ) in each pass , especially with ductile materials . illustrated is a known method of repeatedly breaking chip ( 14 ). the successive circular lines on the finished surface of workpiece ( 10 ) represent the path that would be followed by the point of cutter ( 12 ) if it had no axial vibration superimposed on its axial feed . this would leave the familiar threaded pattern that can be seen on many machined shafts . instead , cutter ( 12 ) is vibrated back and forth in the axial direction as it advances , with an amplitude close to the degree of axial advance per revolution of workpiece ( 10 ). cutter ( 12 ) vibrates constantly , that is , it is never still relative to it &# 39 ; s tool holder . this constant vibration , coupled with the rotation of workpiece ( 10 ), causes cutter ( 12 ) to describe a sinuous wave pattern on the machined surface , as shown by the wavy lines . this superimposed vibration of cutter ( 12 ) will break the chips ( 14 ), but only if the vibration can be kept deliberately out - of - phase with the rotation . referring next to fig2 the out - of - phase relation is shown graphically . the x axis represents the axial vibration amplitude , y represents distance along the surface of workpiece ( 10 ), x i and x i + 1 represent successive rotations , and y represents the phase shift between them . a deliberate phase shift assures that peaks and valleys of successive cuts are nearly aligned . thus , the cutter ( 12 ) will be pushed into the thinnest part of the chip that was created on the prior pass , which will cause it to break . otherwise , the wave patterns would be always parallel , producing a chip that was wavy , but still continuous . the apparatuses and methods used to assure a phase shift are complex and expensive , but necessary . referring next to fig3 and 4 , a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown . the same workpiece , indicated at 10 &# 39 ;, is machined , with the same rates of rotation , radial advance , and axial feed . a tool holder , indicated generally at ( 16 ), is basically a hollow steel cylinder , capped at one end by a steel plate ( 18 ) that is bolted on its lower side at ( 20 ) and free on the opposite side . plate ( 18 ) is thus capable of bending to an extent about the single bolt ( 20 ). the free side of plate ( 18 ) also supports a cutter ( 22 ), which could be any commercially available cutter , generally referred to as an insert . cutter ( 22 ) is oriented so that its cutting edge is clear of and leads the tool holder ( 16 ). the interior of tool holder ( 16 ) comprises a stepped bore that contains an impulse actuator ( 24 ), which closely fills much of the bore . impulse actuator ( 24 ) as disclosed is a cylindrical block of a piezoelectric material , such as pbzro 3 - pbtio 3 . piezoelectrics are capable of very rapid expansions and contractions in length in response to a rapid applied voltage change , which results from shape deformations induced in their crystalline structure . specifically , it would expand in response to a raised voltage , and contract in response to a lowered voltage , to a degree of perhaps 0 . 1 or 0 . 2 percent . while the percentage change is not great , the response time is rapid , on the order of a millisecond . ahead of actuator ( 24 ) is a master piston ( 26 ), which engages the end of actuator ( 24 ), and a radially offset , smaller diameter , slave piston ( 28 ), which engages plate ( 18 ) near cutter ( 22 ). separating pistons ( 26 ) and ( 28 ) is a chamber ( 30 ) filled with hydraulic fluid . an adjusting set screw ( 32 ) threaded through plate ( 18 ) engages the end of slave piston ( 28 ). completing the apparatus is a controller ( 34 ), a commercially available impulse voltage generator which is generally called a fast switching controller . controller ( 34 ), as its name indicates , is normally used to provide ultra fast on - off switching of electrical components , and is capable of dropping and reapplying a required voltage and current , in less than a millisecond . still referring next to fig3 and 4 , the operation of the invention is described . when tool holder ( 16 ) is moved , cutter ( 22 ) engages the surface of workpiece 10 &# 39 ; and produces a chip as in any conventional turning operation . the chip breaking motion superimposed on cutter ( 22 ) is different , however . a constant voltage is normally applied to actuator ( 24 ) by controller ( 34 ). the normal voltage keeps actuator ( 24 ) in an expanded condition . the expansion of actuator ( 24 ) pushes master piston ( 26 ) forward , a motion that is amplified by chamber ( 30 ) into a greater axial advance of slave piston ( 28 ). slave piston ( 28 ), in turn , pushes plate ( 18 ) out and away slightly , advancing cutter ( 22 ), and putting plate ( 18 ) under residual tension . set screw ( 32 ) is adjusted so as to assure that plate ( 18 ) responds quickly to slave piston ( 28 ), with no lost motion . when the voltage is removed , actuator ( 24 ) contracts just as quickly , and cutter ( 22 ) withdraws as plate ( 18 ) springs back . when the voltage is dropped and reapplied during the cutting process , cutter ( 22 ) is withdrawn from the cut slightly , and then pushed back quickly into it . if the increment of superimposed axial motion is sufficient , the chip will be severed with a quick , chopping action . the increment of axial movement of cutter ( 22 ) need not be very great , perhaps only 80 % of the axial feed per revolution , which could be in the order of 0 . 01 inches . referring next to fig5 the result of the operation described is shown graphically . the axial feed per revolution is indicated at d . as noted above , the speed at which controller ( 34 ) switches is very rapid , indicated at δt , and the wave form that results is correspondingly sharp and choppy , not sinusoidal . this is because cutter ( 22 ) is normally still ( relative to tool holder ( 16 )), and is withdrawn and returned in impulsive , rapid fashion , rather than continually moving . the frequency with which controller ( 34 ) would be switched off and on would be determined only by how frequently it was desired to break the chip , which would , in turn , simply depend on how short a chip was desired . the surface speed at which cutter ( 22 ) moves relative to workpiece ( 10 &# 39 ;) is calculable for any given rotation rate and circumference of workpiece ( 10 &# 39 ;), and , divided by the desired chip length , yields the necessary pulsing frequency . there is no need to synchronize the impulse frequency with the rate of rotation of workpiece ( 10 &# 39 ;), because the chopping action works independently from one rotation to the next . there is no need to avoid in - phase sinusoidal patterns , as with the known methods of chip breaking . variations of the embodiment disclosed could be made . the same principal of impulsive , short burst actuation of a tool holder , resulting in equally fast , incremental motion of a tool , could be applied to other machining processes in which a chip is continuously formed . for example , in boring or drilling operations , chips are continuously formed by the drill cutting edges as they turn against a cone shaped cutting interface at the bottom of the hole . it is far easier to flush and expel chips from the hole if they are broken up into smaller pieces , and drill wear and penetration rates depend on efficient chip flushing . in boring , the tool rotates , rather than the workpiece , but if the same impulsive chopping motion could be created in the drill , its edges could accomplish the same chopping action . such an apparatus would require some kind of support mechanism , such as a slip ring , which would allow the axial motion of a non rotating impulse actuator to be effectively applied to the rotating drill , in the same way that the pushing force of a stationary clutch release lever is applied to a spinning clutch through the medium of a clutch release bearing . as well as boring and drilling , the same basic concept could be applied to any operation where a continuous chip is formed by a cutter , such as grooving , broaching , or cut off operations . the common thread is the impulsive actuation of the cutting tool in a direction generally perpendicularly to the direction the chip that the tool is continuously forming , thereby creating the chopping , chip cutting action . in the turning operation illustrated , or other chip forming process , impulse actuators made of different materials could be used , so long as they had the same characteristic response of rapid , impulsive expansion and contraction . for example , magnetostrictive materials exist which expand and retract quickly in response to an applied magnetic field . a different means could be used to amplify the action of the actuator , such as a lever . or , in other cases , especially with small rates of axial feed , no amplification might be necessary , and the actuator could act directly on the cutter . through a multiplexing arrangement , the signal from one controller could be fed to several tooling stations . therefore , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to just the embodiment disclosed .	8
the above described drawing figures illustrate the invention in at least one of its preferred embodiments , which is further defined in detail in the following description . those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications in the present invention without departing from its spirit and scope . therefore , it must be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been set forth only for the purposes of example and that they should not be taken as limiting the invention as defined in the following . the present invention is a mesh jewel pouch 10 formed using a bottom ring 20 of sufficient rigidity and strength for closing a bottom end 12 of the jewel pouch 10 , which as described below , will support and enclose a jewel 5 of a significant weight ( fig4 ). the word “ jewel ” in this specification and in the claims to follow shall include in its meaning , precious and semi - precious gems , stones , crystals and like objects without exception . attached to , and extending upwardly from the bottom ring 20 are a plurality of highly flexible , jewelry quality metal chain strands 30 forming a mutually spaced - apart chain - strand adjacency relationship around the bottom ring 20 as shown in fig1 and 2 . that is , the strands 30 are movable on the bottom ring 20 and are preferably attached to the bottom ring 20 using rings 21 somewhat larger than the links of the strands 30 . preferably , the strands 30 are made up of chains having a length equal to the length of two of the strands 30 , and the chains are then folded in half at a midpoint 35 of the chains to form two v - shaped strands 30 . in one approach , the midpoint 35 of the strands is attached to the bottom ring 20 , as shown in fig1 , while in a second embodiment , the free ends of the v - shaped strands 30 are attached to the bottom ring 20 as shown in fig2 . in either case , each one of the chain strands 30 is joined to another strand ( e . g . an adjacent / neighboring one ) of the chain strands , identified by the numeral 30 ′ in fig3 , by one of a plurality of attachment rings 40 at spaced - apart intervals 50 , and to a second adjacent one of the chain strands , identified by the numeral 30 ″ in fig3 , at points 55 within the intervals 50 . the intervals 50 may be of a constant dimension , or may vary across the pouch 10 . likewise , the pattern of the strands 30 may be of various shapes and other than the diamond shape shown in fig4 . in this manner , the jewel pouch 10 is constructed with a plurality of apertures which may be of any one of a wide range of shapes and said shapes may vary within a pouch . when the midpoint 35 of each chain is fastened to the bottom ring , as defined in fig1 and 3 , the terminal ends 32 of each of the chain strands 30 , 30 ′, 30 ″ is engaged with a slider ring 60 and is therefore slidingly engaged with a pouch support means , typically a necklace 70 , having a clasp means 72 for closing the necklace 70 in a continuous loop ( fig5 ), or with a bracelet 75 ( fig7 ) or with an anklet 80 ( fig8 ). however , when the midpoint 35 is fastened to the slider ring 60 ( fig2 ), the free ends 32 of chain strands 30 are attached to the bottom ring 20 , via rings 21 , and indeed , may extend below as a fringe 31 ( fig4 ). the jewel 5 is held within the jewel pouch 10 , wherein with the jewel pouch 10 suspended from the jewel support means by the slider rings 60 , the weight of the jewel 5 is sufficient to cause the slider rings 60 to slide along the jewel support means into mutual adjacency for closing a top end 14 of the jewel pouch 10 for capturing the jewel 5 therein . preferably , a safety clasp 100 ( fig4 ) is engaged with at least two of the slider rings 60 for securing the jewel pouch 10 in a top - closed attitude as shown in fig5 - 8 . a plurality of the jewel pouch 10 , as described above , may be mounted onto a single necklace ( not shown ), bracelet ( fig7 ) or anklet ( fig8 ) and these are preferably placed in fixed , spaced apart locations as shown in the figures . the enablements described in detail above are considered novel over the prior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of the instant invention and to the achievement of the above described objectives . the words used in this specification to describe the invention and its various embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings , but to include by special definition in this specification : structure , material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings . thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning , then its use must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word or words describing the element . the definitions of the words or elements of this described invention and its various embodiments are , therefore , defined in this specification to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth , but all equivalent structure , material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result . in this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements in the invention and its various embodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim . changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art , now known or later devised , are expressly contemplated as being equivalents within the scope of the invention and its various embodiments . therefore , obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements . the invention and its various embodiments are thus to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptually equivalent , what can be obviously substituted , and also what essentially incorporates the essential idea of the invention . while the invention has been described with reference to at least one preferred embodiment , it is to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto . rather , the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear , here , that the inventor ( s ) believe that the claimed subject matter is the invention .	8
the first embodiment of the present invention will be explained hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings . the laser annealing process without moving a glass substrate , not shown , is applied to a region 11 in fig1 ( b ) where a - si films have been deposited on the substrate . that is to say , a pulse - like laser beam is applied only once to the region . the surface situation of the p - si film is visible as shown in fig1 ( b ) when the film is etched in secco &# 39 ; s solution . the excimer laser beam size is approximately 200 mm × 0 . 4 mm ( the longer and shorter axes of the laser applied region 11 , respectively ), although the shorter axis along the substrate moving direction is enlarged for the sake of easy understanding . the laser applied region 11 indicates all the area where the a - si films have been made into the p - si films . the region 12 represents the plateau . the secco &# 39 ; s etching of the region 11 provides visualization of the grain sizes of p - si films in the plateau region 12 . the region 11 is divided into two sections at a reference line 13 perpendicular to the glass substrate moving direction . the upper half of the region 12 has larger grain sizes . an average grain size in each divided region by the line 13 is obtained from the grain distributions . there are many methods of calculating the average grain size . a computer software used in this embodiment is image - pro ® plus , version 1 . 2 for windows ™, media cybernetics , 8484 georgia avenue , silver spring , md . 20910 , u . s . a ., which analyzes distance from the center of gravity in each crystal in a designated region . this software can be applied to figure out the average grain size of the crystal and also its statistical average . the region 12 is divided into two sections by the line 13 perpendicular to the axis along the substrate moving direction . the average grain size of the p - si in each divided section is calculated with the software . as a result , the average grain size in the upper half section is 0 . 2 μm and that in the lower one is 0 . 15 μm . this operation is carried out for regions where laser beams are applied in accordance with sequentially increased fluence . in particular , the fluence is successively increased to shift the plateau p1 to an upper position shown in fig1 ( a ). the grain size difference in the sections on both sides of the line 13 shown in fig1 ( b ) is not found in the section to which very low fluence laser beams are irradiated . the grain size difference becomes more distinctive in the sections as the fluence of the applied laser beams becomes higher . thus , the comparison between grain sizes can be done in the above - mentioned way . further , when much higher energy fluence beams are applied to the regions , it is observed that the grain size distribution in the sections becomes reversed to that shown in fig1 ( b ) on both sides of the line 13 . this is because excessive cooling takes place with melted silicon in the regions of the higher energy fluence within the plateau . thus , micro - crystalline silicon is formed so that its grain size becomes extremely small . yet further , when the fluence is higher than in the previous cases , the micro - crystalline silicon is observed in the sections on both sides of the dividing line 13 , i . e ., substantially through the regions of laser irradiation . thus , the average grain size in the upper half section is not significantly different from that in the lower half section . in this embodiment , the energy fluence is changed one after another to such an extent that the micro - crystalline silicon is almost made in either one of the sections on both sides of the dividing line 13 . the average grain size in each one of the sections is calculated at every intensity of fluence . the average grain size in the upper half section is compared with that in the lower half section . the substrate moving direction is decided in such a direction as taken from the section of the larger grain size to that of the smaller grain size . in the case shown in fig1 ( b ), for instance , the substrate is moved in the direction taken from the upper section to the lower one . as shown in fig2 a micro - crystalline portion 24 with much smaller grain sizes sometimes appear in the small grain size section of the two sections into which a plateau region 22 in a laser beam applied region 21 is divided by a dividing line 23 . this is because the beam energy is so high in the lower half section of the plateau region that quite smaller grain sizes of micro - crystalline silicon 24 are formed there . in this case , the laser beam fluence in the plateau region 22 is such a plateau p2 as shown in fig1 ( a ), i . e ., extremely higher energy beams are applied at the front edge of the substrate moving direction . in this situation , when the laser annealing process is carried out for the a - si film deposited substrate which is moved in the direction taken from the larger grain size section to the smaller grain size one , micro - crystalline silicon is made in such a region at every beam irradiation . since the next laser beam is not applied to that region , p - si films with low electron mobility under electric fields is partially made there . if tfts are formed by using the p - si films , defects take place with driver circuits and pixel tfts . where the micro - crystalline silicon 24 is made at the front edge of laser beams corresponding to the front end portion of the glass substrate carrying direction , the optical system and plateau p1 are adjusted in order for the laser beams to make such a crystal distribution as in fig1 ( b ). the test is there after carried out again for determination of a proper substrate moving direction as explained above . laser beams are applied to anneal an a - si film deposited substrate without moving the substrate in the way similar to the embodiment 1 . crystalline grain sizes are observed as the laser beams are varied from higher fluence to lower one . if the fluence is set to be extremely high , micro - crystalline silicon with smaller grain sizes than 0 . 1 μm is formed almost all over the laser irradiated region and there is no significant difference with grain sizes in the sections on both sides of the line 13 . next , the grain size observation is performed with the fluence lowered . a larger grain size region is observed in one of the sections at some lower fluence . if the laser beams have such energy distribution in the plateau as shown in fig1 ( a ), for instance , it means irradiated laser beam fluence in which that the upper half of the plateau has the energy to generate micro - crystalline silicon while the lower half thereof has that to make larger grain size p - si . then , yet lower fluence is set so that the energy in the upper half of the plateau is approximately equal to that in the lower half . the observation shows that the laser beam irradiated region is substantially the same grain size distribution as in fig1 ( b ). this is because the grain size in the upper half section becomes large , the irradiated laser beams in the lower half section have the energy to make the grain size smaller than in the upper half , and the grain size distributions on both sides of the divided line 13 are reversed with respect to the substrate moving direction as set forth above . the grain size distributions of the laser beam irradiated region have been analyzed in the same method as in the embodiment 1 just before the occurrence of such a reverse . it has been found that the average grain size in the upper half of the plateau is 0 . 1 μm because the upper half still has the energy to make micro - crystalline silicon , and that the average grain size in the lower half of the plateau is 0 . 2 μm because the lower half has the lower energy to make the grain size larger than the micro - crystalline silicon . in this embodiment 2 , the fluence is varied from higher value to lower one . in response to the fluence , the laser beam irradiated region is divided into larger and smaller grain size sections on both sides of the divided line 13 and , then , the grain sizes in those sections are reversed . the average grain sizes therein are calculated and compared to each other in that range of fluence . the substrate moving direction is determined in accordance with such comparison data , i . e ., the direction is taken from the smaller average grain size section by the higher energy in the plateau to the larger one with the lower energy therein . if micro - crystalline silicon , however , appears at the edge of the larger grain size section in the half way through the manufacturing process , the micro - crystalline poly - silicon remains in each laser beam irradiated region . it is because the laser annealing is carried out in the direction taken from the smaller average grain size section to the larger average grain size one . in this case , the optical system is adjusted to make the laser beam shaped in order to obtain such a crystal distribution as in fig1 ( b ) and the method set forth above in embodiment 2 is repeated to determine the substrate moving direction . in this embodiment 3 , the intensity profile of laser is analyzed by a profiler using a fluorescent plate or a charge coupled device ( ccd ) and the substrate moving direction is determined in accordance with its result . the plateau region is analyzed by the ccd profiler . the plateau region is divided into two sections to compare heights of the divided plateau therein . the higher and lower portions of the plateau are detected so that the substrate moving direction is taken from the higher portion of the plateau to the lower one . since , for instance , the left portion of the plateau p1 in fig1 ( a ) ( the upper section of the region 12 in fig1 ( b )) is slightly higher than the right portion , the substrate moving direction is determined to be taken from the left portion to the right one . next , a method of making a tft array is explained hereinafter with reference to fig3 . in order to drive a liquid crystal display device , the tft array is made of a p - si film manufactured on a glass substrate by using a method of the present invention . an undercoat layer 43 consisting of sinx and siox is formed on a glass substrate 38 by a plasma enhanced chemical deposition ( pecvd ) process . the size of the glass substrate 38 is 400 mm × 500 mm . a 55 nm thick a - si film is then also deposited by the pecvd process . the a - si film is heat - processed for one hour at 500 ° c . of nitrogen atmosphere to reduce hydrogen density in the film . the a - si film thickness is measured by ellipsometry . its actual value has been 54 . 5 nm . an xecl excimer laser annealing process is applied to the a - si film and makes the same into a p - si film 31 . the irradiated laser is a linear beam of 200 mm × 0 . 4 mm . the fluence on the glass substrate 38 is 350 mj / cm 2 . two successive laser beams are overlapped at 98 % by moving the glass substrate 38 . the laser operates at 300 hz . the xy stage carrying the substrate is moved at 6 mm / s in such a direction as determined in accordance with the method of embodiment 1 . a photolithography is applied to the p - si film 31 to make a p - si source 32 a and a p - si drain 32 b therein . a gate oxide layer 33 and a gate electrode 34 are formed in turn on them to make a thin film transistor . the p - si source 32 a , the p - si drain 32 b , the gate oxide layer 33 and the gate electrode 34 are entirely covered by an insulation layer 36 . contact holes are perforated so that a source electrode 35 a and a drain electrode 35 b are connected to the p - si source 32 a and the p - si drain 32 b through the holes , respectively . the source and drain electrodes 35 a and 35 b and the insulation layer 36 are covered by a protection layer 37 . adjacent to the thin film transistor portion , a conductive layer 39 a connected to the drain electrode 35 b and a pixel electrode 39 are provided for a tft array substrate . a counter electrode 41 and a counter substrate 42 are provided opposite to the tft array substrate . a liquid crystal material 40 is held between the tft array substrate and the counter electrode 41 . an active matrix - type liquid crystal display device is , thus , manufactured . according to the present invention , since a grain size distribution in the p - si film is substantially uniform and appropriate , the tfts have excellent characteristics and are manufactured at very high yield rate . a high quality liquid crystal display device can be manufactured . according to the present invention , tfts with high carrier mobility under an electric field are uniformly manufactured on the entire surface of a glass substrate . the method of manufacturing a poly - crystalline silicon in accordance with the present invention can advance the experimental stage of a high performance liquid crystal display device to its practical stage .	2
the preferred embodiment of the invention is discussed in detail below . while specific implementations are discussed , it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only . a person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention . laser delete of metal fuses becomes more difficult as the thickness of the metal fuse increases . a section of last metal ( lm ) line is formed which is left intact in an unblown fuse and is removed in a blown fuse , in order to provide a high resistance . a fuse is blown by shining an infrared ( ir ) laser on the metal line . to make the line high resistance , all the metal of the fuse must be removed . this becomes difficult as the fuse gets thick , i . e ., becomes deeper and deeper , requiring a higher energy ir laser . after sufficient depth , the metal line can not be removed without seriously damaging surrounding and underlaying structures . this invention provides a structure which creates a locally , thin , easy - to - delete line section and provides for the use of very thick wiring everywhere else on the circuit , chip or wafer . the present invention enables the use of very thick wiring to carry large amounts of current about the chip from one area to another , while still providing functional fuses , i . e . functional at low laser energies , such that no damage is sustained by surrounding circuitry . two exemplary fabrication sequences are described herein , both of which result in a thin fuse embedded in a thick wiring layer . the present invention advantageously permits the thickness of a fuse to be controlled , decoupled from the surrounding metallic wire line by varying the thickness of an upper nitride layer . the invention includes a metal wiring line containing a fuse link segment where the fuse link segment is thinner than the adjacent fixed wiring line of which it is a part . the thickness of the fuse link segment can be adjusted independent of the remainder of the wiring line . fuse link horizontal dimensions can be adjusted independently of the wiring line dimensions if desired . the present invention is particularly useful for back end of line ( beol ) wiring structures , where a “ thick ” wire option is employed . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art , that the present invention is not restricted to lm or lm − 1 wiring layers , but can be used at any wiring layer . an example embodiment of the structure of the present invention can be formed using a technique including the following steps of : 1 . forming an lm − 1 wiring layer and its overlaying dielectric layer using conventional techniques ; 2 . depositing a layer of silicon nitride ( i . e . referred to as the “ nitride layer ”) using conventional techniques , such as , e . g ., chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), wherein the thickness of the silicon nitride layer is the approximate thickness desired for the “ thin ” fuse segment that will be formed in the last metal ( lm ) wiring line , e . g . less than or equal to 0 . 5μ ; 3 . defining the lm wiring line that will contain the fuse link , but not imaging the fuse link , at this time ; 4 . etching the nitride and an underlying interlayer dielectric ( ild ) ( such as , e . g ., silicon dioxide ) ( i . e . referred to as “ the oxide layer ”) to form a thick line trench , typically of greater than or equal to (& gt ;=) 0 . 8μ ; stripping the resist ; 5 . applying a new layer of resist and opening an image to define the fuse link that overlaps adjacent ends of the interrupted lm trench ; 6 . etching the silicon nitride using an etchant that is relatively selective to the silicon nitride , wherein if the silicon nitride is thin , selectivity is not required ; stripping the resist ; 7 . applying a new layer of resist and image and etching the via contacts that will connect lm to lm − 1 wiring layers ; stripping the new layer of resist ; and 8 . filling the wiring trench with the metal or metals of choice and chemically and / or mechanically polishing ( stopping on the nitride ), removing unwanted and / or excess metal . the preceding process is described further with respect to fig1 a - 1g and fig2 below . in an alternative embodiment , after defining the trench which will hold the conductor line ( i . e ., step 4 above ), applying a new layer of resist ( step 5 ) and opening images defining the vias and fuse link . specifically , using an etch selective to oxide the technique first etches the vias , then using an etch selective to nitride the tehnique creates the shallow trench for the fuse link . the resist can then be stripped and the wiring trench can then be filled with one or more metals . the preceding alternative process is described further with reference to fig3 a - f and 4 . fig1 a through 1g depict a cross - section of an integrated circuit during fabrication of the fuse of the present invention . fig2 depicts a flowchart 200 illustrating an example technique of fabricating the structure depicted in fig1 a through 1g . fig2 begins with step 202 which can continue immediately with step 204 . in step 204 , an interrupted fuse line is formed including a resist layer , a nitride layer , an oxide layer and a last metal minus one ( lm − 1 ) layer . specifically , interrupted fuse line is formed by placing a resist layer over the previously deposited nitride layer . the nitride layer can include a material such as , e . g ., silicon nitride , deposited using conventional methods such as , e . g ., chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), over the previously deposited oxide layer . the oxide layer can include a material such as , e . g ., silicon dioxide , deposited using a conventional method such as , e . g ., chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) on the previously deposited lm − 1 layer . the thickness of the silicon nitride layer can be selected according to the approximate thickness desired for the resulting “ thin ” fuse segment ( see fig1 g , below ) which is to be formed in the last metal ( lm ) wiring line . in one embodiment , the desired thickness of the “ thin ” fuse segment can be , e . g ., 0 . 5μ or less . in another embodiment , the desired fuse segment can be , e . g ., 0 . 8μ or less . in yet another embodiment , the desired fuse segment can be , e . g ., 0 . 3μ or less . fuse thicknesses can be adjusted to provide advantageous chip yields . table 1 , below , illustrates exemplary fuse thicknesses and some observed fuse yields associated with certain example fuse segment thicknesses . an example of the structure formed by step 204 is depicted in fig1 a . fig1 a illustrates a semiconductor structure including resist segments 102 a , 102 b and 102 c formed on a thin upper nitride layer 104 which overlays an inter layer dielectric ( ild ) oxide layer 106 which in turn overlays last metal minus 1 ( lm − 1 ) layer segments 108 a and 108 b . from step 204 , flowchart 200 can continue with step 206 . in step 206 , the nitride layer and oxide layer can be etched to create a “ line ” trench , and the resist layer can be stripped . the structure formed by step 206 is depicted in fig1 b . fig1 b illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig1 a following etching of the nitride and oxide layers 104 and 106 , yielding oxide layer 106 a including exemplary line trenches and pedestals . nitride 104 is etched leaving nitride segments 104 a , 104 b and 104 c remaining capping the pedestals of oxide layer 106 a , formed by stripped resist segments 102 a , 102 b and 102 c . lm − 1 segments 108 a and 108 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer 106 a . from step 206 , flowchart 200 can continue with step 208 . in step 208 , resist can be applied and an image can be opened using a mask or reticle over resist segments and interrupted center pedestal oxide segment , leaving uncovered the interrupted center pedestal oxide segment and covering the other oxide pedestal portions where the nitride layer will be retained . the resulting structure of the material is illustrated in fig1 c . fig1 c illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig1 b following application of resist segments 110 a and 110 b and opening an image mask over interrupted center oxide segment of oxide 106 a having nitride segment cap 104 b , leaving resist segments 110 a and 110 b , protecting nitride segment caps 104 a and 104 c , respectively . lm − 1 segments 108 a and 108 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer 106 a . photoresist can be dispensed with a wafer structure stationary or rotating . a uniform resist thickness is preferred . after resist coating is complete , the wafer can be transported to a softbake station which can bake by direct conduction at a specified temperature and time . the resist film is sensitive to specific wavelengths of ultraviolet light ( uv ). the wafer / resist combination can be inserted into a mask aligner , which can contain optics , a uv light source , and the circuit layer image contained on a mask or reticle , which is to be transferred to the resist film . a development step can form the mask image by selectively removing exposed ( or unexposed ) regions in the positive ( or negative ) photoresist film . wafers can be cassette loaded onto a developer / hardbake track and can be sent to a developer station . developer solution can be dispensed to flood the wafer , and the wafer can remain idle while development proceeds for a time , and then a spin / rinse cycle or cycles can complete the process . an alternate technique can employ a temperature controlled bath where wafers are batch developed using agitation . from step 208 , flowchart 200 can continue with step 210 . in step 210 , the center nitride cap segment over center interrupt pedestal can be selectively etched away and the resist layer can then be stripped away . the center nitride cap segment , if sufficiently thin , can be etched without a selective etchant . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that part of the oxide layer adjacent to the center pedestal can be removed during this etching process , if not covered by resist segments 110 a and 110 b , as shown in fig1 d . the resulting structure formed by step 210 is illustrated in fig1 d . the patterned photoresist can expose the underlying material to be etched . the photoresist can be robust enough to withstand wet ( acidic ) and dry ( plasma or reactive ion etching ( rie )) etching environments with good adhesion and image continuity , as well as the force of an implanter beam when used as an implantation mask . resist stripping can include complete removal of the photoresist after the masking process to prevent contamination in subsequent processes . there are many photoresist solvent ( premixed ) strippers available that will remove positive and negative photoresist (+ pr and − pr ) without adversely affecting the underlying material . a temperature controlled bath can be used for batch stripping of photoresist followed by appropriate rinsing . ozone plasma ( o 3 ) can also be effective in removing photoresist . fig1 d illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig1 c following etching of interrupted nitride cap segment 104 b of oxide 106 a , and stripping of resist segments 110 a and 110 b , leaving exposed the center pedestal portion of oxide 106 a and nitride caps 104 a and 104 c . lm − 1 segments 108 a and 108 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer 106 a . from step 210 , flowchart 200 can continue with step 212 . in step 212 , resist can be applied and an image can be opened using a mask for defining vias to the lm − 1 layer forming resist segments leaving uncovered the intended locations of the vias and covering the center pedestal portion of the oxide and the two nitride capped pedestals . the resulting structure formed by step 212 is illustrated in fig1 e . fig1 e illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig1 d following application of resist segments 112 a , 112 b and 112 c over pedestals portions of oxide 106 b including nitride cap segments 104 a and 104 c and opening an image mask so as to leave uncovered by resist portions of oxide 106 a intended as locations of vias to lm − 1 segments 108 a and 108 b . lm − 1 segments 108 a and 108 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer 106 a . from step 212 , flowchart 200 can continue with step 214 . in step 214 , the oxide segments intended as locations of vias to lm − 1 can be selectively etched away and the resist segments can then be stripped away , leaving a structure include vias and line trenches ready for a damascene metallization fill . various etching techniques can be used including , e . g ., wet etching and dry etching . wet etching can use various mixtures of hydrofluoric acid and water ( e . g ., 10 : 1 , 6 : 1 , 100 : 1 ), and can include a buffering agent such as ammonium fluoride for a slower , more controlled etch rate . although relatively inexpensive , wet etching can also lead to severe undercutting since it is an isotropic process , i . e . proceeding at nearly equal rates in all directions , which can make it impractical . to avoid encroachment , dry , or plasma etch technology , using , e . g ., a glow discharge to ionize an inert gas ( i . e . reactive ion etching ( rie ) physical sputtering ) can be used to set up very anisotropically ( i . e . directional ) etched features , providing for higher circuit densities . when multiple layers are involved in dry etching process , such as silicon nitride over silicon dioxide , it is important to know the relative etch rates of the two materials in the available etchants . this “ selectivity ” will determine if significant etching of underlying layers will occur . plasma etch processes , since they are basically chemical by nature exhibit better selectivity as compared to rie physical sputtering processes . to etch the oxide layer using plasma etch cf 4 , chf 3 and nf 3 gases can be used , for example , with an etch rate of greater than 5000 angstrom per minute . the resulting structure formed by step 214 is illustrated in fig1 f . fig1 f illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig1 e following etching of oxide 106 b to form vias therein . fig1 f depicts oxide 106 b with etched vias yielding oxide portions 106 c , 106 d and 106 e . oxide portions 106 c and 106 e have nitride segments 104 a and 104 c capping them , respectively . and center pedestal 106 d is now ready for damascene fill to form a thin line fuse of thickness approximately equal to original nitride segment 104 b . the vias formed by etching in - step 214 of oxide 106 b provide access to lm − 1 segments 108 a and 108 b as shown . from step 214 , flowchart 200 can continue with step 216 . in step 216 , the trench formed by the preceding steps can be filled with one or more layers of metal or barrier layers followed by metal and can be polished using a chemical , mechanical polishing process to form a last metal ( lm ) damascene fuse line link having a thin region of thickness approximately equal to the nitride layer thickness . metal is used in semiconductor processing for creating low resistance paths . barrier layers are used to prevent metal interaction with the surrounding dielectric . metal and barrier layers can be put down by , e . g ., the chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) process , physical vapor deposition ( pvd ) sputtering process , evaporation , and plating . for example , using cvd , wf 6 can be used to deposit tungsten ( w ). copper can be deposited using a sputtering process or plating . physical vapor deposition can be done by an evaporation metallization process and a sputtering deposition process . copper deposition can include depositing ta or tan as a liner or barrier layer between cu and si . the resulting structure formed by step 216 is illustrated in fig1 g . from step 216 , flowchart can immediately end with step 218 . fig1 g illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig1 e following filling of the trench formed in fig1 a - 1f with metal forming thin fuse link segment 114 b , and thick wire lines 114 a and 114 c , adjacent to segment 114 b . following filling of the metal by damascene process , the top surface of the structure can be polished . chemical mechanical polishing can be used to form the last metal ( lm ) damascene fuse line 114 having thin region 114 b . polishing is the process of grinding flat , microsanding and / or planarizing the resulting surface to obtain a structure of uniform thickness . polishing can include chemically removing variations left after grinding including chemical etching using acid formulations , and can include a chemical / mechanical process to produce a polished , highly reflective , damage free surface . the damascene process includes the process of filling in with metal and polishing the resulting - surface of the structure . resulting thin fuse link segment 114 b is approximately the same thickness as nitride cap segment 104 b of fig1 b . fig3 a through 3f depict a cross - section of an integrated circuit during an alternative fabrication technique embodiment of the fuse of the present invention . fig4 depicts a flowchart 400 illustrating an example technique of fabricating the structure depicted in fig3 a through 3f . fig4 begins with step 402 which can continue immediately with step 404 . in step 404 , an interrupted fuse line is formed including a resist layer , a nitride layer , an oxide layer and a last metal minus one ( lm − 1 ) layer . specifically , interrupted fuse line is formed by placing a resist layer over the previously deposited nitride layer . the nitride layer can include a material such as , e . g ., silicon nitride , deposited using conventional methods such as , e . g ., chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ), over the previously deposited oxide layer . the oxide layer can include a material such as , e . g ., silicon dioxide , deposited using a conventional method such as , e . g ., chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) on the previously deposited lm − 1 layer . the thickness of the silicon nitride layer can be selected according to the approximate thickness desired for the resulting “ thin ” fuse segment ( see fig3 f , below ) which is to be formed in the last metal ( lm ) wiring line . in one embodiment , the desired thickness of the “ thin ” fuse segment can be , e . g ., 0 . 5μ or less . in another embodiment , the desired fuse segment can be , e . g ., 0 . 8μ or less . in yet another embodiment , the desired fuse segment can be , e . g ., 0 . 3μ or less . certain thicknesses can provide advantageous chip yields . table 1 , above , illustrates exemplary fuse thicknesses and some observed fuse yields associated with certain example fuse segment thicknesses . an example of the structure formed by step 404 is depicted in fig3 a . fig3 a illustrates a semiconductor structure including resist segments 302 a , 302 b and 302 c formed on a thin upper nitride layer 304 which overlays an inter layer dielectric ( ild ) oxide layer 306 which in turn overlays last metal minus 1 ( lm − 1 ) layer segments 308 a and 308 b . from step 404 , flowchart 400 can continue with step 406 . in step 406 , the nitride layer and oxide layer can be etched to create a “ line ” trench , and the resist layer can be stripped . the structure formed by step 406 is depicted in fig3 b . fig3 b illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig3 a following etching of the nitride and oxide layers 304 and 306 , yielding oxide layer 306 a including exemplary line trenches and pedestals . nitride 304 is etched leaving nitride segments 304 a , 304 b and 304 c remaining capping the pedestals of oxide layer 306 a , formed by stripped resist segments 302 a , 302 b and 302 c . lm − 1 segments 308 a and 308 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer 306 a . from step 406 , flowchart 400 can continue with step 408 . in step 408 , resist can be applied and an image can be opened using a mask or reticle over resist segments and interrupted center pedestal oxide segment , leaving uncovered the interrupted center pedestal oxide segment and covering the other oxide pedestal portions where the nitride layer will be retained . the resulting structure of the material is illustrated in fig3 c . fig3 c illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig3 b following application of resist segments 310 a and 310 b and opening an image mask over interrupted center oxide segment of oxide 306 a having nitride segment cap 304 b , leaving resist segments 310 a and 310 b , protecting nitride segment caps 304 a and 304 c , respectively . lm − 1 segments 308 a and 308 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer 306 a . from step 408 , flowchart 400 can continue with step 410 . in step 410 , the technique can selectively etch the exposed oxide layer forming vias to the lm − 1 layer , leaving exposed the nitride cap segment protecting the center pedestal oxide segment , and leaving covered the two other pedestal portions of the oxide and their two nitride caps . the resulting structure formed by step 410 is illustrated in fig3 d . fig3 d illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig3 c following selective etching of oxide 306 a forming vias to lm − 1 segments 308 a and 308 b . resist segments 310 a and 310 b protect pedestal portions of oxide 306 b and 306 d and nitride cap segments 304 a and 304 c , and lm − 1 segments 308 a and 308 b are overlaid by the oxide ild layer segments 306 b and 306 d . from step 410 , flowchart 400 can continue with step 412 . in step 412 , the center nitride cap segment over the center interrupt oxide pedestal can be selectively etched away and the resist layer can then be stripped away . the center nitride cap segment , if sufficiently thin , can be etched without a selective etchant . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the oxide layer segments 306 b and 306 d could be etched if not covered by resist segments 310 a and 310 b , as shown in fig3 e . the resulting structure formed by step 412 is illustrated in fig3 e . fig3 e illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig3 d following etching of interrupted nitride cap segment 304 b of center pedestal oxide 306 c . lm − 1 segments 308 a and 308 b remain overlaid by the oxide ild layer segments 306 b and 306 c . from step 412 , flowchart 400 can continue with step 414 . in step 414 , the resist is stripped away , including resist segments 310 a and 310 b , leaving the structure ready for damascene fill . the resulting structure includes vias and line trenches ready for a damascene metallization fill . the resulting structure formed by step 414 after damascene filling is illustrated in fig3 f . from step 414 , flowchart 400 can continue with step 416 . in step 416 , the trench formed by the preceding steps can be filled with metal and can be polished using a chemical , mechanical polishing process to form a last metal ( lm ) damascene fuse line link having a thin region of thickness approximately equal to the nitride layer thickness . the resulting structure formed by step 416 is illustrated in fig3 f . from step 416 , flowchart can immediately end with step 418 . fig3 f illustrates the semiconductor structure of fig3 e following filling of the trench formed in fig3 a - 3e with metal forming thin fuse link segment 312 b capping pedestal oxide portion 306 c , and thick wire lines 312 a and 312 c , adjacent to segment 312 b . following filling of the trenches with the metal by damascene process , the top surface of the structure can be polished . chemical mechanical polishing can be used to form the last metal ( lm ) damascene fuse line 312 having thin region 312 b . resulting thin fuse link segment 312 b is approximately the same thickness as nitride cap segment 304 b of fig3 b . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and not limitation . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents .	7
reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below . while the invention will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments , it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments . on the contrary , the invention is 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 . hereafter , with reference to the attached drawings , the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail . before proceeding , it should be noted that the terminologies and words used on this specification and in the claims are not to be interpreted solely as the general or dictionary meanings , and they should be interpreted as the meanings and the concept which correspond with the technological ideas of the present invention based on the principle that the inventor can properly define the concept of the terminologies in order to explain his own invention in the best possible way . therefore , the compositions described in the exemplary embodiments and the drawings of this specification are merely the most preferred types of embodiment and they do not represent the entire technological ideas of the present invention , and thus , it should be understood that there can be a variety of equivalents and alterations , which can replace these embodiments at the time of filing this application . fig2 is a perspective view of a thermoelectric generator of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , and fig3 is a cross sectional view of fig2 cut through the line a - a ′. as illustrated , a thermoelectric generator of a vehicle 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has the exhaust gas of the engine running through its inside and includes , a high temperature member 120 , which works as the vehicle &# 39 ; s silencer reducing the noise of the engine , low temperature members 130 installed outside the polygonal high temperature member 120 , and a multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 , which lies between the high temperature member 120 and the low temperature members 130 , and which generates electricity using the temperature difference between the high temperature member 120 and the low temperature members 130 . the high temperature member 120 has a hexagonal cross section , and the high - temperature exhaust gas , which is emitted from the vehicle &# 39 ; s engine , runs through its inside . the high temperature member 120 is made of a material with a large heat - transfer coefficient such as copper and is easily heated by the high - temperature exhaust gas running through its inside so it conveys thermal energy of the exhaust gas to the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 . on each of the exterior of the high temperature member is installed the low temperature member . the low temperature member 130 includes a first cooling pipe holder 132 , which covers and supports cooling pipes , which coolant runs through , a heat transfer plate , which extends to the cooling pipe holder 132 , and a second cooling pipe holder 136 formed on the heat transfer plate 134 and covers another cooling pipe 135 . the heat transfer plate 134 of a high temperature member is cooled by coolant , which runs inside the cooling pipe 135 as the first cooling pipe holder 132 and the second cooling pipe holder 136 come into contact with the cooling pipe 135 . the heat transfer plate 134 and the first and the second cooling pipe holders 132 , 134 are made of metals such as cooper , which has high heat conductivity , and the heat transfer plate 134 and the first and the second cooling pipe holders 132 , 134 are formed as one body . the low temperature member 130 lies between a coolant distribution member 133 , which distributes the coolant to each cooling pipe 135 , and a catchment member 137 , which collects the coolant that passes through the cooling pipe 135 . the low temperature member 130 is fixed on the exterior of the high temperature member 120 by a pair of clamps 116 lying between the coolant distribution member 133 and the coolant catchment member 137 . in a low temperature member 130 formed as described above , the coolant flows to the exit of the high temperature member 120 through the coolant distribution member 133 and runs through the cooling pipe 135 . the coolant that passes through the cooling pipe 135 is collected at the entrance of the coolant catchment member 137 and is circulated by the coolant circulation system of the engine . while the coolant passes through the cooling pipe 135 , it cools down the heat transfer plate 134 , and one side of the multitude of the thermoelectric modules 140 in contact with the heat transfer plate 134 is cooled down . the multitude of thermoelectric modules includes a pair of terminals , each of which is connected to a p - typed semiconductor and an n - typed semiconductor respectively , as well as the semiconductor member , to which a p - typed semiconductor and an n - typed semiconductor are attached . since the shape of the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 is already publicly known , its detailed explanation is omitted here . the multitude of thermoelectric modules is interconnected to each other electrically and lies between each of the exterior sides of the high temperature member 120 and each of the heat transfer plates 134 to generate electricity using the thermoelectric phenomenon caused by the temperature difference between the high temperature member 120 and the low temperature members 130 . the electricity generated by the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 is used to charge the batteries of the vehicle . one side of each of the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 is attached to each of the exterior side of the high temperature member 120 by means of welding or a conductive tape , and the other side of each of the multitude of thermoelectric modules is attached to each of the interior side of the heat transfer plate 134 by means of welding or a conductive tape so that thermal energy of the high temperature member 120 is sufficiently conveyed . in order to more efficiently convey thermal energy of the exhaust gas to the thermoelectric modules 140 , as illustrated in fig3 , the high temperature member 120 includes a heat exchange mesh 122 , which lies between the bypass pipe 110 and the high temperature member 120 itself and conveys thermal energy from the exhaust gas and the bypass pipe 110 to the thermoelectric modules 140 , and a bypass valve 124 , which is installed on the end of the bypass pipe 110 and controls the emission of the exhaust gas that is bypassed . the bypass valve 124 is installed on the end of the bypass pipe 110 by a spring 126 . a spring 126 elastically supports the bypass valve 124 on the end of the bypass pipe 110 . the heat exchange mesh 122 has a hive - shaped cross section . by having the hive - shaped cross section , the heat exchange mesh 122 increases the contact area with the exhaust gas , and therefore , the heat exchange with the exhaust gas is activated even more . thermal energy is exchanged with great efficiency to the heat exchange mesh 122 so the thermal energy of the exhaust gas is eventually conveyed to the high temperature member 120 connected with the heat exchange mesh 122 . thermal energy of the exhaust gas conveyed to the high temperature member 120 is conveyed to the multitude of the thermoelectric modules . also , the noise of the engine in the process of the exhaust gas passing through the heat exchange mesh 122 is reduced . when the temperature of the engine is low , i . e . when the temperature of the exhaust gas is lower than a predetermined degree , the bypass valve 124 is closed , and the exhaust gas flows outside the bypass pipe 110 , i . e . in between the exterior of the bypass pipe 110 and the interior of the high temperature member 120 . on the other hand , when the temperature of the exhaust gas is equal to or higher than the predetermined degree , the bypass valve 124 is opened , and the exhaust gas is bypassed to the exterior of the bypass pipe 110 and the bypass pipe 110 itself and is emitted outside . now , the application of a thermoelectric generator of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention described above will be explained . when the engine is run , the exhaust gas is emitted from the engine , and at the same time , it runs through the low temperature members 130 and the bypass pipe 110 . at this moment , the temperature of the exhaust gas is low in general , so the bypass valve 124 is closed by the elasticity of the spring 126 . therefore , the exhaust gas cannot pass through the bypass pipe 110 and instead passes in between the exterior of the bypass pipe 110 and the high temperature member 120 . the thermal energy of the exhaust gas is conveyed to the high temperature member 120 via the heat exchange mesh 122 . at this moment , the exhaust gas passes through the little spaces formed in the heat exchange mesh 122 , and hence , the noise of the engine is reduced . when the temperature of the engine is high , i . e . when the engine runs at high rpm , the exhaust gas supplied through the bypass pipe 110 pushes the bypass valve 124 to beat the elasticity of the spring 126 and thus opens the bypass pipe 110 as shown in fig4 to release the exhaust gas to the outside . in this case , the exhaust gas passes through the bypass pipe 110 and the heat exchange mesh 122 , and thermal energy of the exhaust gas is conveyed to the multitude of thermoelectric modules . as the exhaust gas passes through the heat exchange mesh 122 , the noise of the engine is reduced as well . in an aspect of the present invention , the spring 126 may be made up of a shape memory wire such that the bypass pipe 110 may be selectively closed according to temperature of the exhaust gas . following phenomena take place at the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 lying between the high temperature member 120 and the low temperature members 130 . one side of the multitude of thermoelectric modules in contact with the high temperature member 120 is heated to a high temperature , and the other side of the multitude of thermoelectric modules in contact with the low temperature members 130 is cooled down to a low temperature . therefore , a temperature difference arises on both ends of the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 , and inside the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 including a p - typed semiconductor and an n - typed semiconductor takes place a thermoelectric phenomenon so that electricity is generated . the generated electricity charges the vehicle &# 39 ; s batteries electrically connected with the multitude of thermoelectric modules 140 . as such , a vehicle &# 39 ; s batteries can be charged using the vehicle &# 39 ; s exhaust gas , which can generate electricity , and this helps increase the fuel efficiency . moreover , in accordance with a thermoelectric generator of a vehicle of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the thermoelectric efficiency is enhanced as the contact area between the high temperature member and the thermoelectric modules is large and the other side of the multitude of the thermoelectric modules is cooled down quickly by the low temperature members . thus , a thermoelectric generator of a vehicle smaller than one by the prior art can be realized . for convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims , the terms “ upper ”, “ lower ”, “ inner ” and “ outer ” 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 .	8
hereinafter , a semiconductor device design system of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the semiconductor device design system of the present invention . the semiconductor device design system 1 is realized by a computer system ( cad : computer aided design ). the semiconductor device design system 1 is provided with a storage unit 10 , a processing unit 20 , an lpe tool 30 , a verifying tool 40 , an input unit 50 , and a display unit 60 . the storage unit 10 is realized by a hard disk unit , for example , and configured to store an rc library 11 , a netlist 12 , a layout data 13 , a netlist with parasitic rc 14 , and an interconnection length data 15 . as described later in detail , the rc library 11 is referred to at the time of a lpe process , showing a parameter ( referred to as an “ rc parameter ” hereinafter ) relevant to a parasitic capacitance and a parasitic resistance of an interconnection ( referred to as a “ parasitic rc ” hereinafter ). the netlist 12 is a data showing connection relationship between logic elements in a semiconductor device ( lsi ) under design . the layout data 13 shows a layout of the lsi under design . the layout data 13 is generated by an automatic layout tool ( not shown ), and is stored in the storage unit 10 . the netlist with parasitic rc 14 is a netlist having a parasitic rc obtained by lpe process to be mentioned later . the interconnection length data 15 shows a length of each interconnection in the layout . the processing unit 20 can access the storage unit 10 . the lpe tool 30 is a computer program ( software product ) executed by the processing unit 20 . the lpe tool 30 is provided with a library building section 31 having a function of building up the rc library 11 , and an rc extracting section 32 having a function of carrying out the lpe process . the verifying tool 40 is a computer program executed by the processing unit 20 , having a function of carrying out an operation verifying process ( delay verifying process and timing verifying process ) of the designed lsi . as the input unit 50 , a key board and a mouse are exemplified . a user ( designer ) can input various data and commands by using the input unit 50 , while viewing information displayed on the display unit 60 . by using the semiconductor device design system 1 described above , the lpe process and the operation verifying process are carried out . fig2 is a flow chart showing an operation of the semiconductor device design system 1 of the present invention . the overall flow of the present invention is briefly surveyed by referring to fig2 . details of the present invention are described later . the processing unit 20 carries out a process shown below in accordance with commands of the lpe tool 30 and the verifying tool 40 . first of all , the rc library 11 is built up by the library building section 31 in the lpe tool 30 . the rc library 11 stores an rc parameter showing the parasitic rc of an interconnection ( wiring ) from which the rc parameter should be extracted ( referred to as “ target interconnection ” hereinafter ). as the rc parameter , a value of the parasitic rc itself may be stored , or a ratio of the parasitic rc to a predetermined reference value may be stored . the rc parameter is calculated for each of various interconnection layers , various shape ( width and thickness ) of the target interconnection , and various types of interconnection environment around the target interconnection . such shape and peripheral interconnection environment are referred to as a “ pattern ( interconnection structure or wiring structure )” hereinafter . fig3 a and 3b illustrate various patterns , showing various interconnection structures including a target interconnection 70 . the pattern is shown in a cross - sectional structure . in fig3 a and 3b , a plurality of interconnection layers m 1 to m 3 are shown as examples . also , the target interconnection 70 is formed in the interconnection layer m 2 , for example . another interconnection 71 is formed around the target interconnection 70 , and an interlayer insulating film 72 is formed between the interconnection layers . the shape ( width and thickness ) and peripheral environment of the target interconnection 70 are different between fig3 a and 3b , and the parasitic rc of the target interconnection 70 is also different . the library building section 31 automatically generates various possible patterns , and calculates ( simulates ) the parasitic rc for each of the various patterns . the calculated parasitic rc ( rc parameter ) is stored in the rc library 11 in the storage unit 10 . that is , the rc library 11 shows the rc parameters for the various patterns . here , according to the present invention , the rc library 11 shows a plurality of rc parameter under “ a plurality of conditions ” for a single pattern . the plurality of conditions correspond to various types of variation at the manufacturing ( process variation ). the plurality of conditions will be described later in detail . additionally , the rc library 11 just needs to be carried out only once in advance for one technology ( process ). the same rc library 11 is used for all the products that are based on the same technology . a layout of an lsi that corresponds to the netlist 12 is determined by an automatic layout tool and manual operation not shown . the layout data 13 showing the determined layout is stored in the storage unit 10 . next , the lpe process ( parasitic rc extracting process ) is carried out by the rc extracting section 32 in the lpe tool 30 . first , the rc extracting section 32 ( the processing unit 20 ) reads the netlist 12 and the layout data 13 stored in the storage unit 10 . secondly , the rc extracting section 32 extracts ( calculates ) the parasitic rc for every interconnection contained in a layout shown by the layout data 13 . fig4 is a conceptual diagram showing the parasitic rc extracting process . a layout of one target interconnection 70 is shown in fig4 . this target interconnection 70 includes a first interconnection formed in an interconnection layer m 1 and a second interconnection formed in an interconnection layer m 2 , for example . in the parasitic rc extracting process , the target interconnection 70 is analyzed , as shown by an arrow in fig4 , for example . here , a pattern that is in accordance with an interconnection structure ( cross - sectional structure ) at each point is selected by referring to the above rc library 11 . for example , patterns different from each other are selected for the first interconnection and the second interconnection . by reading the rc parameter corresponding to the selected pattern , the parasitic rc relevant to the target interconnection 70 is calculated . the parasitic rc of all the interconnections is calculated by considering each of the interconnections in the layout as the target interconnection 70 in order . the rc extracting section 32 generates the netlist with parasitic rc 14 , by adding the parasitic rc calculated at the step s 40 , to the netlist 12 . fig5 a and 5b are conceptual diagrams showing the netlist 12 , and the netlist 14 with parasitic rc , respectively . as an example , fig5 a and 5b show the netlist 12 and the netlist with parasitic rc 14 relevant to the target interconnection 70 shown in fig4 . as shown in fig5 a and 5b , a parasitic resistance and a parasitic capacitance are added to the netlist with parasitic rc 14 . the rc extracting section 32 outputs the generated netlist with parasitic rc 14 to be stored in the storage unit 10 . next , the operation verifying process ( the delay verifying process and the timing verifying process ) of the designed lsi are carried out by the verifying tool 40 . the verifying tool 40 ( the processing unit 20 ) reads the netlist with parasitic rc generated at the step s 50 from the storage unit 10 , and carries out the operation verifying process based on the read - out netlist with parasitic rc 14 . when the result of the operation verifying process indicates a “ fail ” state ( step s 70 : no ), the step s 20 is again carried out . that is , correction of the layout is carried out based on the verifying process result , and the layout data 13 is again generated . after that , the lpe process and the operation verifying process are again carried out . when the result of the operation verifying process indicates a “ passed ” state ( step s 70 : yes ), the layout data 13 generated at the step s 20 is adopted as a final layout data . as would be clarified later , the present invention makes it possible to reduce a process time at the step s 40 . also , the number of times to return from the step 70 to the step 20 is reduced . as a result , the design time of the semiconductor device is greatly reduced . detailed description of the present invention is given below , based on the above overview . first , “ process variation ” relevant to the present invention will be described in detail . in an actual manufacturing process of a semiconductor device , a structure of an interconnection and so on , may not be manufactured as precisely as is intended . in other words , a cross - sectional area ( width and thickness ) of the interconnection , a thickness of an interlayer insulating film , and so on may give variation from a desired value . such a process variation affect the parasitic rc of the interconnection , further affecting a delay . fig6 a and 6b are conceptual diagrams of cross - sectional structures showing the process variation , and shows a “ certain pattern ” that includes the target interconnection 70 . fig6 a shows a pattern desired in the design , while fig6 b shows a pattern that is actually manufactured . in fig6 a and 6b , the target interconnection 70 is formed in the interconnection layer m 1 , and interconnections 71 a to 71 c are formed therearound . the interlayer insulating film 72 is formed between the interconnection layers m 1 and m 2 . as shown in fig6 a , a desired width and film thickness of the target interconnection 70 are w 0 and t 0 , respectively . also , a desired thickness and dielectric constant of the interlayer insulating film 72 are d 0 and ε 0 , respectively . a set of these desired values is referred to as a “ center condition ” hereinafter . in general , the structure of the semiconductor device actually manufactured does not perfectly satisfy the center condition . then , the width and film thickness of the target interconnection 70 , and the thickness and dielectric constant of the interlayer insulating film 72 become w , t , d , and ε , respectively , as shown in fig6 b . in fig6 b , a dotted line indicates the center condition . the width w and thickness t of the interconnection layer have the greatest influence among factors relevant to the parasitic rc . variations of the width w and the thickness t from the center condition differ according to a chip . therefore , a standard deviation σ w of a width distribution , and a standard deviation σ t of a film thickness distribution in the target interconnection 70 in the manufacturing can be defined . at this time , the width w and the film thickness t are expressed by the following equations ( 1 ) by use of predetermined coefficients α w and α t . each of the coefficients α w and α t can take a value in a range of − a to + a . the value a is 3 , for example . at this time , the width w is expressed in a range of ± 3σ w ( a range of 99 . 7 %) from a central value w 0 , which is statistically enough . the same is applied to the film thickness t . a case where the coefficient α w is ± a corresponds to a case where the width w varies to a maximum extent . also , a case where the coefficient α t is ± a corresponds to a case where the film thickness t varies to a maximum extent . according to the present invention , correlation mentioned below is considered for the width w and the film thickness t . a correlation does not exist between the width w variation and the film thickness t variation with respect to a certain interconnection . in other words , an event “ width w variation ” and an event “ film thickness t variation ” are independent of each other . that is to say , the coefficients α w and α t are variables independent of each other . this could be understood from the fact that a process of determining the thickness of an interconnection layer and a process of determining the width of the interconnection are separate in a general manufacturing process of the semiconductor device . for example , as shown in fig6 a and 6b , the width w of the target interconnection 70 is larger than the center condition w 0 , but the film thickness t is smaller than the center condition t 0 . a correlation exists between the width w variation of the interconnection with respect to the same interconnection layer . this could be understood from the fact that an interconnection is formed by using a mask and etching in the general manufacturing process of the semiconductor device . for example , when the width w of the target interconnection 70 is larger than the center condition w 0 in the interconnection layer m 1 , the width of the interconnection 71 a is also increased as shown in fig6 a and 6b . also , a correlation exists between the film thickness t variations of the interconnection with respect to the same interconnection layer . this could be understood from the fact that the interconnection layer is formed by using a cmp ( chemical mechanical polishing ) process in the general manufacturing process of the semiconductor device . for example , when the film thickness t of the target interconnection 70 is smaller than the center condition t 0 in the interconnection layer m 1 , the thickness of the interconnection 71 a is also decreased as shown in fig6 a and 6b . a correlation does not exist between the width w variations of the interconnection with respect to a different interconnection layers . also , a correlation does not exist between the film thickness t variations of the interconnection with respect to the different interconnection layers . this could be understood from the fact that the different interconnection layers are formed in different processes in the general manufacturing process of the semiconductor device . for example , the width w of the target interconnection 70 formed in the interconnection layer m 1 is larger than the center condition w 0 , while the width of the interconnection 71 b formed in the interconnection layer m 2 is smaller than the center condition , as shown in fig6 a and 6b . also , the film thickness t of the target interconnection 70 formed in the interconnection layer m 1 is smaller than the center condition t 0 , while the film thickness of the interconnection 71 b formed in the interconnection layer m 2 is larger than the center condition . next , the building - up of the rc library 11 according to the present invention , namely , the step s 10 in fig2 will be described in detail . the rc library 11 stores an rc parameter under a “ plurality of conditions ” for a single pattern . in addition to the above center condition , the plurality of conditions include a condition for the process variation . here , factors relevant to the process variation are various , and it is not practical to consider all the combinations of the factors . since the result of the lpe process is used for the delay verifying process , it is just necessary to know only the conditions in which a delay is maximized and minimized ( referred to as a “ corner conditions ” hereinafter ), among the process variation . fig7 is a diagram showing a method of determining the corner conditions according to the present invention . in fig7 , the horizontal axis and the vertical axis show the width w and the film thickness t of the interconnection ( the target interconnection 70 ), respectively . an origin o shows the center condition ( w 0 , t 0 ). in fig7 , therefore , a distance from the origin o indicates the “ process variation ”. by referring to the equations ( 1 ), a coordinate of a point p on the plane in fig7 is expressed as ( α w σ w , σ t σ t ). as stated above , each of the coefficients α w and α t can take a value of − 3 to + 3 , for example . at this time , the width w is expressed in a range of ± 3σ w ( range of 99 . 7 %) from the center condition w 0 , which is statistically enough . the same is applied to the film thickness t . a case where the coefficient α w is ± 3 corresponds to a case where the width w varies to a maximum extent . also , a case where the coefficient α t is ± 3 corresponds to a case where the film thickness t varies to a maximum extent . it should be noted here as stated above , that the correlation does not exist between the width w variation and the film thickness t variation , and that the coefficients α w and α t are the variables independent of each other ( the correlation 1 ). this means that a probability p that both of the width w and the film thickness t vary to a maximum extent at the same time ( α w =± 3 , α t =± 3 ) is extremely small . for examples , variation shown by the point q (+ 3σ w , + 3σ t ) in fig7 is overly negative . if such an extreme case is taken into consideration , it is necessary to generate a layout data that supports the extreme case . this means increase in the number of times to repetition of a layout generating process and a verifying process , and indicates increase in the tat . according to the present invention , therefore , the extreme case as mentioned above is excluded from consideration , though the process variation is taken into consideration . such exclusion is referred to as “ statistical relaxation ” hereinafter , in the specification . more specifically , restriction expressed by the following equation ( 2 ) is imposed on the coefficients α w and α t . in other words , the restriction that a sum of squares of ratios of the process variations ( α w , α t ) to the standard deviations is constant , is imposed to the width w and the film thickness t . under this restriction , it is sufficient that the corner conditions in which the delay of the target interconnection 70 is maximized and minimized is calculated . that is , the point p on a circle circ in fig7 that corresponds to the case where the delay is maximized or minimized is searched through a simulation calculation . as a result , the case where both the width w and the film thickness t simultaneously vary to a maximum extent is excluded . in that simulation calculation , other factors such as a thickness d and the dielectric constant ε of the interlayer insulating film 72 are assumed to be the center condition . fig8 shows one example of the result of the above simulation . in fig8 , the vertical axis shows a delay time obtained through the simulation for a certain pattern . the horizontal axis shows an angle θ from the w axis of the point p ( see fig7 ). as shown in fig8 , the delay time changes in a sine curve form in accordance with the angle θ . in this example , the delay time is maximized when θ is 30 degrees , and is minimized when θ is 210 degrees . therefore , a point p 1 ( θ is 30 degrees ) and a point p 2 ( θ is 210 degrees ) shown in fig9 correspond to the corner conditions of the simulated pattern . the point p 1 in which the delay is maximized and the point p 2 in which the delay is minimized are away from each other by 180 degrees . fig1 a is a graph showing dependency of the parasitic resistance on the angle θ , and fig1 b is a graph showing dependency of the parasitic capacitance on the angle θ . in fig1 a , the vertical axis shows a ratio β r of a parasitic resistance calculated through the simulation , to the parasitic resistance in the center condition ( w 0 , t 0 ). also , in fig1 b , the vertical axis shows a ratio β c of a parasitic capacitance calculated through the simulation , to the parasitic capacitance in the center condition . the ratios β r and β c are referred to as “ corner ratios ” hereinafter . as shown in fig1 a and 10b , the parasitic resistance and the parasitic capacitance relevant to the target interconnection 70 change in a sine curve form to the angle θ . in this example , the parasitic resistance is minimized and the parasitic capacitance is maximized at the point p 1 ( θ is 30 degrees ). on the other hand , the parasitic resistance is maximized and the parasitic capacitance is minimized at the point p 2 ( θ is 210 degrees ). the reason why the changes in the parasitic resistance and the parasitic capacitance are opposite is that the resistance is expressed as a decreasing function to an interconnection cross - sectional area , while the capacitance is expressed as an increasing function to the interconnection cross - sectional area . also , the change in the parasitic resistance shown in fig1 a is same as the change of the parasitic resistance multiplied by the parasitic capacitance ( r multiplied by c ). this is because the resistance is more sensitive to the change of the form than the capacitance , as seen from comparison of the amplitude of the lines shown in fig1 a and 10b . additionally , in the pattern of this example , the case where the parasitic resistance is minimized and the parasitic capacitance is maximized , corresponds to the case where the delay time is maximized ( the point p 1 ). also , the case where the parasitic resistance is maximized and the parasitic capacitance is minimized , corresponds to the case where the delay time is minimized ( the point p 2 ). this tendency depends on kinds of patters . in some cases , the correspondence is opposite to the correspondence relation shown in fig1 a and 10b . however , the positions ( angles ) of the points p 1 and p 2 do not change even if the correspondence is opposite . according to the present invention as described above , the “ statistical relaxation ” is taken into consideration , and the corner conditions are calculated in which the delay time is maximized and minimized . in other words , the conditions that take process variation into consideration include two corner conditions ( first and second conditions ) at least . although only the width w and the film thickness t of the interconnection are taken into consideration in the above description , other factors relevant to the delay time may be considered as well . examples of the other factors are such as the thickness of the interlayer insulting film , the dielectric constant of the interlayer insulating film , and a via - contact resistance . at this time , each of the other factors is set to vary to a maximum extent (± 3σ ). fig1 is a table showing the corner conditions in the present invention . for example , under the first condition , the width w , and the film thickness t are given as α w 1 · σ w , and α t 1 * σ t , and the thickness of the interlayer insulating film , the dielectric constant , and the via - contact resistance are given as − 3σ , + 3σ , and + 3σ , respectively . the coefficients α w1 and α t1 correspond to the point p 1 , for example , and correspond to a case where the parasitic capacitance is maximized and the parasitic resistance is minimized ( c max and r min ). under a third condition , the width w , the film thickness t , the thickness of the interlayer insulating film , the dielectric constant , and the via - contact resistance are given as α w 3 * σ w , α t 3 * σ t , + 3σ , − 3σ , and − 3σ , respectively . the coefficients α w3 and α t3 correspond to the point p 1 , and correspond to the case where the parasitic capacitance is maximized and the parasitic resistance is minimized ( c max , and r min . that is , the coefficients α w1 and α w3 are equal , and the coefficients α t1 and α t3 are equal . however , variation of the other factors are different between the first and third conditions . the variation of the other factors are set to one of + 3σ or − 3σ in the first condition , while the variation of the other factors are set to the other in the third condition . therefore , the calculated parasitic rc are different between the first and third conditions . under the second condition , the width w , the film thickness t , the thickness of the interlayer insulating film , the dielectric constant , and the via - contact resistance are given as α w 2 * σ w , α t 2 * σ t , − 3σ , + 3σ , and + 3σ , respectively . the coefficients α w2 and α t2 correspond to the point p 2 , for example , and correspond to the case where the parasitic capacitance is minimized and the parasitic resistance is maximized ( c min and r max ) under a fourth condition , the width w , the film thickness t , the thickness of the interlayer insulating film , the dielectric constant , and the via resistance are given as α w4 * σ w , α t 4 * σ t , + 3σ , − 3σ , and − 3σ , respectively . the coefficients α w4 and α t4 correspond to the point p 2 , and correspond to the case where the parasitic capacitance is minimized and the parasitic resistance is maximized ( c min and r max ) that is , the coefficients α w2 and α w4 are equal , and the coefficients α t2 and α t4 are equal . however , variation of the other factors are different between the second and fourth conditions . the variation of the other factors are set to one of + 3σor − 3σ in the second condition , while the variation of the other factors are set to the other in the fourth condition . therefore , calculated parasitic rc are different between the second and fourth conditions . in this way , the four corner conditions of the present invention are determined . it is sufficient that the parasitic rc is calculated through simulation for each of the five conditions of the center condition ( the zero condition ) and the four corner conditions ( the first to fourth conditions ). consequently , the rc library 11 of the present invention is built up . fig1 is a flow chart briefly showing a building method of the rc library 11 in the present invention , and showing the contents included at the step s 10 . first of all , a plurality of patterns that include the target interconnection 70 ( see fig3 a and 3b ) are prepared ( step s 11 ). then , one pattern is selected from the plurality of patterns ( step s 12 ). subsequently , a point at which a delay is maximized and minimized is searched under the condition shown by the above equations ( 1 ) in consideration of the statistical relaxation ( step s 13 ). consequently , the four corner conditions are determined ( see fig1 ). subsequently , the parasitic rc under the center condition is calculated , and the parasitic rc under each of the four corner conditions is calculated ( step s 14 ). next , an rc parameter showing the calculated parasitic rc is stored in the rc library 11 ( step s 15 ). with respect to the center condition , for example , the calculated parasitic rc is stored as the rc parameter with no change . on the other hand , with respect to the four corner conditions , the ratio ( corner ratios β r and β c ) to the parasitic rc under the center condition is stored as the rc parameter . as a result , a calculation time in the lpe process is reduced as described later . when a calculation process is not completed for all the patters ( step s 16 : no ), the above steps s 13 to s 15 are repeated for patterns where calculation is not yet completed . if the calculation process is completed for all the patterns ( step s 16 : yes ), the rc library 11 of the present invention is completed ( step s 17 ). fig1 shows an example of the completed rc library 11 . as shown in fig1 , the rc library 11 stores the rc parameters ( a parasitic capacitance parameter and a parasitic resistance parameter ) for a plurality of patters . here , one data block is allocated to each of the patterns , and each data block stores the rc parameter for a plurality of conditions . that is , the rc library 11 stores the rc parameter under the center condition ( center ) and the four corner conditions ( max , min , max ′, and min ′) for a single pattern . under the center condition in a pattern no . 1 , for example , a capacitance value c 1 ( center capacitance value ) is stored as the parasitic capacitance parameter , and a resistance value r 1 ( center resistance value ) is stored as the parasitic resistance parameter . under the four corner conditions , a corner ratio β c 1 ( β c 1 - 1 to β c 1 - 4 ) is stored as the parasitic capacitance parameter , and a corner ratio β r 1 ( β r 1 - 1 to β r 1 - 4 ) is stored as the parasitic resistance parameter . in this way , according to the rc library 11 of the present invention , the process variation is taken into consideration , but is narrowed down to the four corner conditions . therefore , a memory capacity can be saved . also , the time for the lpe process is reduced by using the rc library 11 built in the above way , as described below . additionally , the rc library 11 just needs to be carried out only once beforehand , for one technology ( minimum size ). the same rc library 11 is used for all the products that are based on the same technology . next , the lpe process of the present invention , namely , the step 40 in fig2 , will be described in detail . fig1 is a flow chart briefly showing the lpe process in the present invention , and shows the contents included at the step s 40 . in this lpe process , the rc library 11 built in the above way , is referred to . first , one target interconnection 70 is selected from a plurality of interconnections included in a layout of an lsi under design ( step s 41 ). subsequently , the rc library 11 shown in fig1 is referred to extract a parasitic rc of the target interconnection 70 under the center condition center ( step s 42 ). the extracting process of the parasitic rc is built in the method shown in fig4 . that is , various patterns is referred to in order , for one target interconnection 70 . for example , fig1 conceptually shows the extracting process of the parasitic rc in this embodiment . in this example , the target interconnection 70 includes a first interconnection formed in an interconnection layer m 1 , a second interconnection formed in an interconnection layer m 2 , and a third interconnection formed in an interconnection layer m 3 . at this time , the center capacitance value c 1 and the center resistance value r 1 in the pattern 1 shown in fig1 are used as parasitic rc relevant to the first interconnection , for example . in the same way , the pattern 2 is referred to extract the parasitic rc of the second interconnection , and the pattern 3 is referred to extract the parasitic rc of the third interconnection . thus , the parasitic rc of the target interconnection 70 under the center condition is extracted . next , a parasitic rc of the target interconnection 70 under the corner conditions is extracted . more specifically , the corner ratios β r and β c ( rc parameters ) are read for each of the plurality of patterns that are referred to at the step s 42 ( step s 43 ). for example , corner ratios β c 1 - 1 to β c 1 - 4 , and β r 1 - 1 to β r 1 - 4 in the pattern 1 are read out . then , it is selected whether or not a correction process is carried out for the read - out corner ratios ( step s 44 ). in the first embodiment of the present invention , the correction process is not carried out , and the read - out corner ratios β r and β c are used for the next calculation with no change ( step s 44 : no ). more specifically , a resistance value r ( corner ) under a certain corner condition is calculated by multiplying the center resistance value r ( center ) obtained at the step s 42 and a certain corner ratio β r together . also , a capacitance value c ( corner ) under a certain corner condition is calculated by multiplying the center capacitance value c ( center ) obtained at the step s 42 and a certain corner ratio β c ( step s 45 ) for example , a case is discussed here , where the parasitic rc under the first condition relevant to the target interconnection 70 shown in fig1 is calculated . in that case , the calculation shown by the above equations ( 3 ) is carried out for each of the first to third interconnections . more specifically , the parasitic resistance under the first condition is calculated by multiplying the center resistance value r 1 and the corner ratio β r 1 - 1 , in case of the first interconnection in the pattern 1 . also , the parasitic capacitance under the first condition is calculated by multiplying the center capacitance value c 1 and the corner ratio β c 1 - 1 . also , for the second interconnection adaptable for the pattern 2 , the parasitic resistance under the first condition is calculated by multiplying the center resistance value r 2 and the corner ratio β r 2 - 1 . also , the parasitic capacitance under the first condition is calculated by multiplying the center capacitance value c 2 and the corner ratio β c 2 - 1 . as for the third interconnection adaptable for the pattern 3 , the parasitic resistance under the first condition is calculated by multiplying the center resistance value r 3 and the corner ratio β r 3 - 1 . also , the parasitic capacitance under the first condition is calculated by multiplying the center capacitance value c 3 and the corner ratio β c 3 - 1 . the same process is carried out for the other corner conditions ( the second to fourth conditions ) as well . thus , the parasitic rc of one target interconnection 70 under the four corner conditions is extracted . it has already been carried out at the step s 42 , which of the plurality of patterns stored in the rc library 11 is adaptable for an interconnection . at the step s 45 , therefore , it is not necessary to carry out a matching process of interconnection and any of the plurality of patterns stored in the rc library 11 . additionally , it is possible to calculate the parasitic rc under the four corner conditions with the easy calculation shown by the equations ( 3 ), since the rc parameter relevant to the four corner conditions is stored in the form of the corner ratios β r and β c . therefore , the load on a computer is reduced , and a calculation speed is improved . when the rc extracting process is not yet completed for all the interconnections included in the layout ( step s 46 : no ), another interconnection is set as the target interconnection 70 , and the steps s 42 to s 45 are repeated . if the rc extracting process is completed for all the interconnections included in the layout ( step s 46 : yes ), the lpe process is finished . as described above , according to the present invention , various conditions showing the process variation are narrowed down to the above first to fourth conditions . at the step s 50 shown in fig2 , therefore , only four kinds of the netlists with parasitic rc 14 are generated in one lpe process . then , it is sufficient that at the step s 60 , the delay verifying process is carried out only to the four kinds of the netlists with parasitic rc 14 . consequently , the times for one lpe process and delay verifying process are reduced . that is to say , reduction in the design time of the semiconductor device is realized . further , according to the present invention , the “ statistical relaxation ” is taken into consideration when the rc parameter under the first to fourth conditions is calculated . that is , a case that a probability is statistically very low is excluded from the process variation . since it is not necessary to support unnecessary cases , a fail rate in the delay verifying process can be reduced . because of the reduction in the fail rate of the delay verifying process , the number of times to correct the layout and again carry out the delay verifying process is greatly reduced . in other words , the number of times to repeat the layout process and the verifying process is greatly reduced , since it is not necessary to generate the layout data 13 that supports extreme cases . therefore , the tat can be reduced , and the design time of the semiconductor device is reduced . according to the second embodiment of the present invention , a correction process to be mentioned later is carried out to the corner ratios β r and β c read out at the above step s 43 shown in fig1 ( step s 47 ). as a result of the correction process , a correction ratio β r ′ is derived from the corner ratio β r , and a correction ratio β c ′ is derived from the corner ratio β c . then , by using the derived correction ratios β r ′ and β c ′, the parasitic rc of the target interconnection 70 under the corner conditions is extracted . more specifically , a resistance value r ( corner ) under a certain corner condition is calculated by multiplying the center resistance value r ( center ) obtained at the step s 42 and a certain correction ratio β r ′. also , a capacitance value c ( corner ) under the certain corner condition is calculated by multiplying the center capacitance value c ( center ) obtained at the step s 42 and a certain correction ratio β c ′ ( step s 45 ). in the second embodiment , the correction ratios β r ′ and β c ′ are given by the following equations ( 5 ) by use of predetermined correction parameters γ r and γ c . the correction parameters γ r and γ c are determined based on the idea of the “ statistical relaxation ”, as shown below . fig1 is a conceptual diagram showing the extracting process of a parasitic rc in the second embodiment . in fig1 , a node 80 includes an interconnection element 81 formed in an interconnection layer m 1 , an interconnection element 82 formed in an interconnection layer m 2 , and an interconnection element 83 formed in an interconnection layer m 3 . here , a node means a group of interconnections electrically connected . in the node 80 , the interconnection elements 81 to 83 are connected in series . the lengths of the interconnection elements 81 to 83 are l 1 , l 2 , and l 3 , respectively . a data on the interconnection length can be obtained from an interconnection length data 15 stored in the storage unit 10 . according to the present invention , the “ statistical relaxation ” is carried out based on the structure of the node 80 , and the correction parameters γ r and γ c are determined . as stated above , in case of different interconnection layers , there is no correlation between variations of the widths w of the interconnections , and between variations of the film thicknesses t of the interconnections ( correlation 3 ). that is , “ independence ” exists between interconnection layers . therefore , a probability that a delay is maximized and minimized in all the interconnection layers at the same time , is considered to be extremely small . in other words , it is overly negative to consider that the corner conditions are satisfied in all the interconnection layers at the same time . in fig1 , for example , the interconnection elements 81 to 83 are arranged in different interconnection layers m 1 to m 3 , respectively . therefore , it is not necessary to apply the above corner conditions to all the interconnection elements 81 to 83 . according to the present invention , relaxation of the corner conditions is carried out based on the independence between the interconnection layers . here , calculation of a parasitic capacitance will be discussed . in each interconnection layer , a parasitic capacitance per unit length is assumed to be given as a common value c 0 . also , in each interconnection layer , a corner ratio β c is assumed to be given as a common value β . although such assumption is not always satisfied in reality , an error derived from this assumption is considered not to be large . what affects the change in delay is a long interconnection . however , various patterns exist in the long interconnection and the changes in delay are averaged . therefore , the above assumption is likely to be satisfied in case of the long interconnection . under the assumption , a total of parasitic capacitance c tot under the center condition is given as c tot = c 0 ( l 1 + l 2 + l 3 ). on the other hand , the total of parasitic capacitance c tot under the corner conditions is given as c tot = β c 0 ( l 1 + l 2 + l 3 ). a change in capacitance that results from the interconnection layers m 1 to m 3 is given as δc 1 = c 0 ( β − 1 )* l 1 , δc 2 = c 0 ( β − 1 ) l 2 , and δc 3 = c 0 ( β − 1 ) l 3 , respectively . since the independence exists between the respective interconnection layers , a total of the changes is statistically given as the following : ( δ c 1 2 + δc 2 2 + δc 3 2 ) 1 / 2 /( δ c 1 + δ c 2 + δ c 3 )= c 0 ( β − 1 ) γ c that is to say , in the example shown in fig1 , the correction parameters γ r and γ c are given by the following equation ( 6 ). γ r = γ c = l ⁢ ⁢ 1 2 + l ⁢ ⁢ 2 2 + l ⁢ ⁢ 3 2 l ⁢ ⁢ 1 + l ⁢ ⁢ 2 + l ⁢ ⁢ 3 ( 6 ) as seen from the equation ( 6 ), the correction parameters γ r and γ c are larger than 0 and smaller than 1 . when all the interconnection lengths l 1 to l 3 are equal , the correction parameters γ r and γ c are 0 . 58 . therefore , as seen from the equation ( 5 ), the correction ratio β r ′ is smaller than the corner ratio β r ′ and the correction ratio β c ′ is smaller than the corner ratio β c . this means that the corner conditions are relaxed . that is , variation resulting from the center conditions to be considered , can be further reduced . the corner conditions originally obtained based on the statistical relaxation in the first embodiment , can be further reduced in the second embodiment . since it is not necessary to support unnecessary cases , the fail rate in the delay verifying process is further reduced . consequently , the number of times to repeat the layout process and verifying process can be further reduced . more generally , it is assumed that the node 80 includes an interconnection group in each of n layers ( n is a natural number ) of interconnection layers . the interconnection group in a certain interconnection layer may include a plurality of interconnection elements . it is assumed that a sum of the lengths of interconnection elements in an interconnection group in each interconnection layer , is given as li ( i is an integer number equal to or larger than 1 , and equal to or smaller than n ). at this time , the correction parameters γ r and γ c are given as the following equation ( 7 ). γ r = γ ⁢ c = ∑ n ⁢ l i 2 / ∑ n ⁢ l i ( 7 ) fig1 a and 17b are conceptual diagrams showing an example of the correction process . in fig1 a , a node includes nine interconnection groups arranged to the first interconnection layer m 1 to the ninth interconnection layer m 9 . the sum of the lengths of interconnection elements in each interconnection group is equal . in this case , the correction parameters γ r and γ c are calculated to be 0 . 33 , from the above equation ( 7 ). in fig1 b , a node includes two interconnection groups arranged in the first interconnection layer m 1 and the second interconnection layer m 2 . a ratio of the sum of the lengths of interconnection elements in the interconnection group arranged in the first interconnection layer m 1 , to the sum of the lengths of interconnection elements in the interconnection group arranged in the second interconnection layer m 2 , is assumed to be 2 : 1 . in this case , the correction parameters γ r and γ c are calculated to be 0 . 75 from the equation ( 7 ). effect of the statistical relaxation is more apparent in the example of fig1 a than in the example of fig1 b . this is because a case where variation are maximized “ at the same time ” in all the nine independent interconnection groups is practically very rare . fig1 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the correction process in this embodiment . in fig1 , a branching point is present in the node 80 . more in detail , the node 80 includes interconnection elements 85 to 87 . the interconnection elements 85 and 86 are connected in series through the connecting node 84 . also , the interconnection elements 85 and 87 are connected in series through the connecting node 84 . the interconnection elements 86 and 87 are connected in parallel . each length of the interconnection elements 85 to 87 is given as l 1 to l 3 , respectively . in this case , the correction parameter γ c for the parasitic capacitance is given by the same equation as the above equation ( 6 ) or ( 7 ). however , the correction parameter γ r for the parasitic resistance is different for each of the interconnection elements . more specifically , as for a line that includes the interconnection elements 85 and 86 , the existence of the interconnection element 87 is ignored , and the correction parameter γ r is given as γ r ( a ) in the following equations ( 8 ). on the other hand , as for a line that includes the interconnection elements 85 and 87 , the existence of the interconnection element 86 is ignored , and the correction parameter γ r is given as γ r ( b ) in the following equations ( 8 ). γ r ⁡ ( a ) = l ⁢ ⁢ 1 2 + l ⁢ ⁢ 2 2 l ⁢ ⁢ 1 + l ⁢ ⁢ 2 ⁢ ⁢ γ r ⁡ ( b ) = l ⁢ ⁢ 1 2 + l ⁢ ⁢ 3 2 l ⁢ ⁢ 1 + l ⁢ ⁢ 3 ( 8 ) as for the interconnection elements 85 located on the uppersteam side from the connecting point 84 , two kinds of correction parameters γ r ( a ) and γ r ( b ) are calculated as candidates . in this case , the larger one of the two correction parameters is adopted as the correction parameter γ r relevant to the interconnection element 85 . thus , when the connecting node is provided in the node 80 , the correction parameter γ r is calculated separately for each of the lines connected in series . for example , when all the interconnection lengths l 1 to l 3 are equal in the example shown in fig1 , the correction parameter γ r for the parasitic resistance is 0 . 71 , respectively . more generally , it is assumed that the node 80 includes an interconnection group in each of n ( n is a natural number ) interconnection layers . in the node 80 , a certain line is assumed to include a “ sub interconnection group ” connected in series in n ( n is an integer number equal to or larger than 1 , and equal to or smaller than n ) interconnection layers . also , it is assumed that a sum of the lengths of the interconnection elements in the interconnection group is given as lj ( j is an integer number equal to or larger than one , and equal to or smaller than n ). at this time , the correction parameter γ r for the line is given by the following equation ( 9 ). γ r = ∑ n ⁢ l j 2 / ∑ n ⁢ l j ( 9 ) fig1 shows a structure of another node 80 . this node 80 includes interconnection elements 90 to 99 . the lengths of the interconnection elements 90 to 99 are all equal . in the node 80 , the interconnection elements 90 and 94 to 96 are arranged in a first interconnection layer m 1 . the interconnection elements 91 and 97 to 99 are arranged in a second interconnection layer m 2 . the interconnection elements 92 and 93 are arranged in a third interconnection layer m 3 . therefore , a ratio of the sum of the lengths of the interconnection elements in the interconnection group in each of the interconnection layers m 1 to m 3 is 2 : 2 : 1 . consequently , the correction parameter γ c for the parasitic capacitance is calculated to be 0 . 6 based on the above equation ( 6 ) or ( 7 ). also , the correction parameter γ r for the parasitic resistance is calculated for each of the lines based on the above equation ( 9 ). when a plurality of correction parameters γ r are calculated for a certain interconnection element , the largest one of the plurality of correction parameters is selected . as a result , a distribution of the correction parameters γ r shown in fig1 can be obtained . fig2 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the correction process in this embodiment . in fig2 , a first node 101 includes an interconnection arranged in an interconnection layer m 1 , and a second node 102 includes the first interconnection arranged in the interconnection layer m 1 and a second interconnection arranged in an interconnection layer m 2 . in the first node 101 , the correction parameter γ c for the parasitic capacitance is calculated to be 1 . 00 . in the second node 102 , the correction parameter γ c for the parasitic capacitance is calculated to be 0 . 71 . at this time , the larger correction parameter 1 . 00 is adopted for a coupling capacitance 110 between the first node 101 and the second node 102 . that is , the largest among a plurality of correction parameters γ c calculated for each node , is adopted for a coupling capacitance between nodes . by using the correction parameters γ r and γ c described above , the corner ratios β r and β c are corrected , and the correction ratios β r ′ and β c ′ are calculated ( see the equation ( 5 )). then , by using the calculated correction ratios β r ′ and β c ′, the parasitic rc under the corner conditions is calculated ( see fig1 and the equation ( 4 )). thus , the lpe process in this embodiment is carried out . according to the second embodiment , the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be attained . further , according to the second embodiment , the “ statistical relaxation ” is further carried out for a corner ratio β . as a result , the fail rate in the delay verifying process is further reduced . consequently , the tat can be further reduced , and the design time of the semiconductor device can be further reduced . according to the design technique of the semiconductor device of the present invention , the number of a plurality of conditions showing process variation is limited . in particular , the conditions that show the process variation are narrowed down to the four conditions which are necessary and sufficient . as a result , a time for one lpe process is reduced . that is to say , reduction in the design time of the semiconductor device is realized . further , according to the design technique of the semiconductor device of the present invention , a case that has statistically very low probability among the process variation is excluded in carrying out the lpe process . that is , the “ statistical relaxation ” is applied to the lpe process . since it is not necessary to support unnecessary cases , the fail rate in the delay verifying process is reduced . the number of times to correct a layout and again perform the delay verifying process is greatly reduced , since the fail rate in the delay verifying process is reduced . that is , the tat can be reduced , and the reduction in the design time of the semiconductor device can be realized . further , according to the manufacturing method of the semiconductor device of the present invention , it is possible to prevent an over margin of the design , since the method of the statistical relaxation is used , and variation of an interconnection delay time is estimated through exclusion of conditions that seem rare as actual manufacturing conditions . it is also possible to expect a high manufacturing yield and provide a high - quality semiconductor device , since variation of manufacturing conditions that seem possible in reality are take into consideration . that is to say , when layout design of a semiconductor device is carried out , a design rule and manufacturing conditions ( requirement specifications for a manufacturing process for satisfying the design rule ) of the semiconductor device are usually determined in advance . the design rule includes minimum patterns of an interconnection width , interconnection space , and so on . thus , it is determined in advance , to which extent of variation interconnection width , capacitance film thickness , layer resistance value , and dielectric constant should be manufactured . in carrying out the layout design of the semiconductor device , an interconnection pattern is determined based on the design rule such that functional specifications of the semiconductor device to be designed are realized . generally , if the layout design of the semiconductor device is seemingly completed , manufacturing variation of the semiconductor device is considered , and variation of actual interconnection delay is estimated from the layout pattern . then , a simulation is carried out to see whether or not the predetermined functions are realized . according to the present invention , it is possible to conduct the simulation under the consideration of actual manufacturing variation . then , the pattern is formed on a semiconductor substrate to manufacture the semiconductor device in accordance with the verified layout pattern , by use of known methods . consequently , it is possible to prevent an over margin of the layout design , and realize a space - saving layout , since variation of manufacturing conditions rare in reality are excluded . at the same , it is possible to expect a high manufacturing yield , and provide a high - quality semiconductor device , since the layout pattern takes variation of manufacturing conditions possible in reality , into consideration . according to a semiconductor device design technique of the present invention , the number of a plurality of conditions showing process variation is limited . in particular , conditions showing the process variation are narrowed down to four conditions which are necessary and sufficient . consequently , the time taken for one lpe process is reduced . that is , reduction in a design time of the semiconductor device is realized . further , according to the semiconductor device design technique of the present invention , the lpe is carried out with exclusion of a case that is statistically very low in probability among the process variation . that is to say , “ statistical relaxation ” is applied to the lpe . since it is not necessary to support unnecessary cases , a fail rate in the delay verifying process is reduced . because of the reduction in the fail rate in the delay verifying process , the number of times to correct the layout and again perform the delay verifying process is greatly reduced . in other words , tat ( turn around time ) is reduced , realizing a reduction in the design time of the semiconductor device .	6
the preferred embodiments of wavelength tunable semiconductor lasers according to the present invention will be discussed in detail with . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . it will be obvious , however , to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instance , well - known structures are not shown in detail in order to unnecessary obscure the present invention . fig4 shows the first embodiment of a construction of a wavelength tunable dbr laser having a wavelength in 1 . 55 μm range according to the present invention . on a portion corresponding to a dbr region on a n - type inp substrate , a diffraction grating 310 ( having 240 nm period ) is formed . on the entire surface of the diffraction grating 310 , n - type ingaas guide layer 302 ( having 0 . 1 μm thickness ) having wavelength composition of 1 . 3 μm . a tuning and active layer 307 consisted of ingaas / ingaasp multiple - quantum well layer ( mqw ) which has ten well layers , and p - type inp cladding layer 305 ( in a thickness of approximately 2 μm ) are formed . a p + - type ingaas cap layer 306 formed over the p - type inp cladding layer 305 is removed for electrical isolation at the position between a phase control region and an active region . on the active region , an electrode 311 is formed . similarly , on the phase control region and the dbr region , an electrode 315 is formed . beneath the n - type inp substrate ( semiconductor substrate ) 301 , a grounding electrode 314 is formed . the lengths of the active region , the phase control region and the dbr region are respectively l a = 300 μm , l pc = 300 μm and l dbr = 200 μm . also , i a denotes a laser current and i t denotes a tuning current . the tuning and active layer 307 is grown by selective movpe method . the wavelength compositions ( effective band gap wavelength ) is 1 . 55 μm at the active region , 1 . 47 μm at the phase control region and 1 . 40 μm at the dbr region . the layer thicknesses of the active region , the phase control region and the dbr region are respectively 0 . 3 μm , 0 . 23 μm and 0 . 15 μm . since the lasing wavelength determined by the period of the diffraction grating is 1 . 55 μm , the tuning and active layer 307 operates as active layer for generating an optical gain by injection of current in the active region and also acts as a passive tuning layer at the phase control region and the dbr region . in the construction set forth above , an optical confinement factor γ pc of the phase control region is greater than an optical confinement factor γ dbr of the dbr region ( γ pc & gt ; γ dbr ). also , variation of refraction index δn pc in the tuning layer in the phase control region upon injection of the current is greater than variation of refraction index δn dbr in the dbr region ( δn pc & gt ; δn dbr ). as a result , the term of the foregoing equation ( 2 ) can be satisfied . fig5 a to 5c respectively show process steps in fabrication of the first embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser according to the invention . at a step illustrated in fig5 a , the diffraction grating 310 is partially formed on the n - type inp substrate 301 . on the substrate 301 with the diffraction grating 310 , sio 2 stripes 320 extending in parallel relationship to each other with defining a stripe region of 1 . 5 μm width , is patterned . the stripe region forms an optical waveguide . the width of each of the sio 2 stripe 320 is the narrowest in the dbr region . the width of the sio 2 stripe 320 is increased in stepwise fashion to have greater width in the phase control region and to have the greatest width in the active region . in concrete , the widths of the sio 2 stripes 320 are respectively 8 μm , 20 μm and 30 μm . at a step illustrated in fig5 b , the n - type ingaasp guide layer 302 , the mqw tuning and active layer 307 and p - type inp first clad layer 305 are formed by way of movpe method . since the width of the sio 2 stripe 320 is differentiated at respective regions , the layer thickness of the mqw tuning and active layer 307 of the stripe region defined by the sio 2 stripes 320 , becomes thicker from the dbr region to the active region . then , the wavelength composition is varied toward long wavelength from the dbr region to the active region in stepwise fashion . at a step illustrated in fig5 c , by performing etching of sio 2 stripes 320 for both sides of the optical waveguide region for re - patterning into the stripe form . then , by way of selective movpe method , p - type inp second clad layer 305 &# 39 ; and p + - type ingaas cap layer 306 are selectively grown . then , by forming the electrodes at the desired regions , the first embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser can be completed . the threshold current of the shown embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser is approximately 30 ma . fig6 shows a characteristics of the wavelength upon injection of the tuning current to the electrode 315 is shown . in fig6 the vertical axis represents a wavelength variation and the horizontal axis represents the tuning current it . thus , approximately 7 nm of continuous wavelength control operation can be obtained without causing mode jump . fig7 shows the structure of the second embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser according to the invention . on the substrate partially formed with a diffraction grating 410 , wavelength composition 1 , 3 μm of a n - type ingaas guide layer 402 ( having a thickness of 0 . 1 μm ), and n - - type ingaas tuning layer 404 are formed . the layer thickness of the tuning layer 404 is 0 , 3 μm at the phase control region , 0 . 2 μm at the dbr region , and 0 . 1 μm at the active region . on the tuning layer 404 in the active region , ingaas / ingaasp mqw active layer 403 having ten wells is selectively formed . then , on the overall surface , p - type inp cladding layer 405 ( in the layer thickness of 2 μm ) is formed . also , in the active region , p + - type ingaas cap layer 406 and the electrode 411 are formed . likewise , in the phase control region and the dbr region , the cap layer 406 and the electrode 415 are formed . on the other hand , beneath the substrate 401 , a grounding electrode 414 is formed . the lengths of respective of the active region , the phase control region and the dbr region are l a = 300 μm , l pc = 300 μm and l dbr = 200 μm . i a is the laser current and i t is the tuning current . fig8 a to 8c respective show process steps in fabrication of the second embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser according to the invention . at a step illustrated in fig8 a , the diffraction grating 410 having period of 240 nm is partially formed on the n - type inp substrate 401 . on the n - type inp substrate 401 with the diffraction grating 410 , sio 2 films 440 are patterned with defining window therebetween . the window width defined by the sio 2 films 440 is the narrowest in the phase control region ( approximately 10 μm ) and wider ( approximately 30 μm ) in the dbr region . no sio 2 film is formed in the active region . at a step illustrated in fig8 b , the n - type ingaasp guide layer 402 , the n - - type ingaasp tuning layer 404 and p - type inp first cladding layer 405 are selectively formed by way of movpe method . subsequently , the sio 2 film 440 is removed . at a step illustrated in fig8 c , the first cladding layer 405 in the active region is removed by etching . thereafter , again by selective growth , a stripe form mqw active layer 403 of 1 . 5 μm width and thin p - type inp cladding layer 405 &# 39 ; are formed . then , at a step illustrated in fig8 d , a stripe form p - type inp second cladding layer 405 &# 39 ; of 5 . 0 μm width and p + - type ingaas cap layer 406 are formed by selective growth through all of the regions . at this time , the second clad layer 405 &# 39 ; covers the active layer 403 in the active region , and formed ridge waveguide in the phase control region and the dbr region . by subsequently forming the electrodes in the desired regions , the second embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser is completed . the second embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr laser has the tuning layer which is thicker in the phase control region than that in the dbr region , and has longer wavelength composition than the latter . therefore , the relationship of the foregoing equation ( 2 ) can be satisfied . thus , similarly to the first embodiment , continuous wavelength control without causing mode jump can be realized . it should be noted that while the foregoing first and second embodiment have been discussed in terms of the wavelength tunable semiconductor laser based on ingaasp / inp compound semiconductor having lasing wavelength in 1 . 55 μm range , the present invention is effective for lasers formed with other compound semiconductor in other wavelength range . also , while the foregoing discussion has been given for the buried - heterostructure laser utilizing the selective growth for the lateral mode control of the laser , the lateral mode control structure should not be specified to the shown structure but can be any other structures , such as the buried - heterostructure formed after mesa etching . also , the active layer and the tuning layer may be either bulk semiconductor or mqw structure . also , the positions of the active region and the phase control region may be reversed . as set forth above , the first and second embodiments of the wavelength tunable dbr lasers according to the present invention may continuously control the wavelength by uniformly injecting tuning current to the phase control region and the dbr region . also , the first and second embodiments of the wavelength tunable dbr lasers may overcome the problems of mode jump which is caused in wavelength control in the conventional dbr laser employing the resistance for dividing tuning current and of impedance miss - matching which cause a problem in high speed wavelength switching . the continuously tunable range of the wavelength can be improved from conventional 3 . 8 nm to 7 nm . fig9 a and 9b are respectively a lateral section and a perspective view as viewed from the light discharge direction , of the third embodiment of the wavelength tunable semiconductor laser according to the present invention . by mploying movpe method , a light emitting wavelength of the mqw layer can be controlled by varying the width of a mask 510 for selective growth at respective regions . the fabrication process of the element is as follows . at first , on a n - type inp substrate 501 having ( 100 ) surface orientation , on which a diffraction grating 502 having a period of 240 nm is partly formed , sio 2 is grown over the entire surface . then , two parallel stripes with an interval of 1 . 5 μm are patterned in the orientation of 011 !. at this time , the widths of the mask 510 for selective growth are set respectively at 30 μm , 15 μm and 8 μm respectively for an active region 511 ( 200 μm length ), a phase control region 512 ( 200 μm length ) and a dbr region 513 ( 500 μm length ). on these regions , an ingaasp guide layer 503 having 1 . 2 μm wavelength composition , an mow waveguide layer 520 forming an active layer 504 , a phase control layer 505 and a dbr waveguide layer 506 , and p - type inp clad layer 507 ( 0 . 6 μm thick ) are grown . by employment of the selective movpe method , in the same growth process , the light emitting wavelength and thickness of the mqw waveguide layer 520 can be varied . the mqw waveguide layer 520 has a structure constituted of since levels of an ingaas well region 521 ( 9 nm thick ) having tensile strain of 0 . 6 %, an ingaasp barrier layer 522 ( 10 nm thick ) having wavelength composition of 1 . 2 μm , and ingaasp sch layer ( 100 nm thick at one side ) having the same composition to the barrier layer , as shown in fig1 . in the active region 511 , the light emitting wavelength of the overall mqw layer is 1 . 55 μm . in respective of the phase control region 512 and the dbr region 513 , the wavelength compositions are respectively 1 . 48 μm and 1 . 45 μm . at this time , owing to the characteristics of the selective growth , in the phase control region 512 and the dbr region 513 having narrower mask width , introduction ratio of in into the crystal layer becomes small to make tensile strain greater . in practice , the tensile strain of the ingaas layer becomes - 0 . 9 % and - 1 . 2 % in the phase control region 512 and the dbr region 513 . the energy band structure of the mqw structure in respective regions have been analyzed to be in the configurations as illustrated in fig1 a and 11b . in particular , in the phase control region , it has been analyzed to have the configuration illustrated in fig1 a . in such case , as shown in the commonly owned japanese patent application no . 5 - 153049 , disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference , it has been made clear through calculation that the energy distribution of the valence band is formed in the region other than the point γ where k = 0 to cause abrupt rising of the state density to cause significant variation of the refraction index by injection of current . growth by the selective growth , the in composition of the well in the dbr region becomes smaller than that in the phase control region . in case of the shown embodiment , the tensile strain of 1 . 2 % has been caused . while variation magnitude of the refraction index in response to injection of the current is relatively large , hen the current is applied with the same current density , the variation magnitude of the refraction index in the dbr region becomes smaller than the variation magnitude of the refraction index in the phase control region . therefore , the foregoing equation ( 1 ) can be satisfied . in the shown embodiment , after formation of mesa stripe including the mqw layer , the masks at both sides are removed in the extent of approximately 2 μm . then , by similar selective growth method , a p - type inp buried layer 508 , an ingaasp contact layer 509 having wavelength composition of 1 . 3 μm are deposited in respective thicknesses of 1 . 5 μm and 0 . 4 μm . over the phase control region 512 and the dbr region 513 a common electrode is formed to form a wavelength adjusting region . thus , desired wavelength tunable dbr - ld is attained . in the shown embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr - ld constructed as set forth above , when a control current is not supplied , 10 ma of the threshold value of the oscillation current , 0 . 2 w / a of slop efficiency and approximately 30 mw of maximum light output could be obtained . when the control current is supplied , as shown in fig1 , 7 . 1 nm of continuous wavelength tuning operation can be obtained by injecting approximately 50 ma of control current . fig1 is a plan view of a substrate where a mask 610 for selective growth is formed before growth of mqw layer , as employed the fourth embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr - ld according to the present invention . similarly to the foregoing third embodiment , the lengths of respective of an active region 611 , a phase control region 612 and a dbr region 613 are 200 μm . 200 μm and 500 μm , respectively . in the shown embodiment , a region in the dbr region 613 defined by the mask 610 is set to be narrower than the width in other regions . in practice , the width in the dbr region 613 is set at 0 . 5 μm , while the widths in remaining regions are set at 1 . 8 μm . above these , an ingaasp guide layer 503 , a mow waveguide layer 520 , a p - type inp cladding layer 507 are grown in the same process to the foregoing third embodiment ( see fig1 a , 10b ). thereafter , by removing the masks at both sides of the mesa stripe in the extent of 3 μm in width , p - type inp buried layer 508 , a p - type ingaasp contact layer 509 are grown . then , the electrodes are formed on the active region 611 , the phase control region 612 and the dbr region 613 . for the phase control region 612 and the dbr region 613 , a common electrode is formed to establish the wavelength control region . in the shown embodiment , an ingaas well layer substantially establishing lattice - matching is employed in the active region 611 . evaluation of the characteristics was made by forming the laser - chip with these elements . then , threshold value , the light output characteristics and approximately 6 nm of continuous wavelength tuning operation substantially comparable to the third embodiment could be attained . fig1 shows a section of the element in the lateral direction in the fifth embodiment of the wavelength tunable dbr - ld according to the present invention . the shown embodiment is characterized by a second phase control region 714 on the end face of an active region 711 . the lengths of the active region 711 and the second phase control ration 714 are respectively 160 μm and 40 μm . the lengths of the phase control region and the dbr region are respectively 200μm and 500 μm . the fabrication process is the same as the third embodiment except for formation of the second phase control region . in this embodiment , in the active region 711 , the mqw waveguide having the ingaas well layer substantially establishing lattice - matching , is employed . the manner that after growth of the mqw waveguide and the cladding layer and so forth along resonance direction of the light having different wavelength composition by selective growth , a part of the mask is removed to grow the buried layer and the contact layer , is the similar to the fourth embodiment . in case of the shown embodiment , the electrodes are formed only on the active layer 711 and a wavelength control region , but also on the second phase control region 714 . therefore , three in total mutually independent electrodes are present . evaluation was made by forming the individual chip of the laser . it has been found that the threshold current , the slop efficiency and the maximum light output are respectively 15 ma , 0 . 18 w / a , and 25 mw . such values have been attained with high reproductivity . the wavelength tuning characteristics of the element is as shown in fig1 . when the current is not supplied to the second phase control region , as shown by the curve of i p2 = 0 in the drawing , the equation ( 1 ) may not be satisfied at certain control current value to cause mode jump . on the other hand , when setting is made for i p2 = 3ma , the equation ( 1 ) can be satisfied in the wide range of the control current . then , smooth wavelength tuning operation in the extent of 6 . 2 nm can be obtained . in the foregoing embodiment , while discussion has been given for the case where the semiconductor material of a long wavelength band by forming the substrate with inp and the waveguide with the ingaasp , the semiconductor material is not specified to the shown materials , but can employ any other semiconductor material , such as gaas type , inalas type and so forth . as the structure of the waveguide , buried - heterostructure has been disclosed in all of the embodiments , it is possible to form the dbr region in the ridge structure to improve wavelength setting . such element can be easily fabricated by the selective movpe method . also , the construction may be used with arbitrary combination as set forth above , in the foregoing third to fifth embodiments , ( a ) a semiconductor layer having an energy band structure which becomes negative effective mass at the valence band , ( b ) the width of the phase control layer is set to be greater than the width of the dbr layer , and ( c ) the second phase control region is formed . by these , the continuous wavelength tuning operation in the wide wavelength range which could not be achieved by the prior art . such semiconductor laser should be a key device in application of the wavelength divided multiplying communication system . although the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to exemplary embodiment thereof , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes , omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto , without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . therefore , the present invention should not be understood as limited to the specific embodiment set out above but to include all possible embodiments which can be embodies within a scope encompassed and equivalents thereof with respect to the feature set out in the appended claims .	7
in fig1 there is shown a side elevation view of the machine 10 . the machine is positioned above a concrete casting pallet 12 upon which a concrete cast panel has been previously cast . a suitable casting machine which may be used for casting such a concrete panel is shown in co - pending application ser . no . 257 , 781 , filed apr . 27 , 1981 , entitled machine for casting concrete members , assigned to the assignee of the present invention . although the preferred embodiment of the invention , shown in fig1 and 2 , is illustrated for use in a procedure in which the concrete panel is cast on a movable casting bed by a casting machine which remains stationary and in which the aggregate exposing machine 10 also remains stationary during its operation on the top surface of the concrete plank , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can also be adapted to be moved by conventional means along a concrete panel resting upon a stationary casting pallet . in the side view of the machine shown in fig1 the side of the casting pallet has been removed to expose the edge of the panel 14 , and the concrete plank is shown in phantom outline only . the panel is a sandwich panel comprised of a bottom concrete layer 16 , an insulating layer 17 and an upper layer 18 . a method for manufacturing such a structure is disclosed , for example , in co - pending application ser . no . 239 , 330 , filed mar . 2 , 1981 , and assigned to the assignee of the present invention . when it is desired to manufacture concrete panels having an exposed aggregate finish , it is necessary to apply a suitable retarder , such as those manufactured by preco , inc ., plainview , n . y ., to the top layer 18 of concrete before the concrete panel is cured . after the surface of the concrete panel has been cured for by conventional means , such as the application of a controlled amount of heat to accelerate the normal concrete curing process , the extreme top layer of concrete is then removed by the aggregate exposing machine utilizing a pair of counter - rotating cylindrical brushes 20 and 21 . the brushes have polypropylene double wrapped bristles from shaeffer brush co . of milwaukee , wis . the aggregate exposing machine is moved over the movable casting bed 12 on transverse rails 24 and 26 , which are supported , respectively , on i beams 28 and 30 , which are suspended above the casting bed 12 from suitable footings or support means , not separately shown herein . the frame 32 of the aggregate exposing machine has flanged wheels 34 and 36 which allow the aggregate exposing machine 10 to be moved along rails 24 and 26 to position the aggregate exposing machine above the casting bed 12 when it is desired to manufacture exposed aggregate panels and to move the machine to adjacent parallel casting beds or a machinery storage area when the use of the aggregate exposing machine is not desired . brushes 20 and 21 are mounted for rotation on a frame 38 which is suspended from the upper frame 32 by vertical supports 40 and 42 . the height of the lower frame 38 and hence of brushes 20 and 21 above the casting bed 12 can be varied by raising and lowering the vertical members 40 and 42 . those members are connected to jack screws 44 and 46 , respectively , which are , in turn , operated by a shaft 48 which is driven by a motor 50 . as is best seen in fig2 brush 20 is mounted on a shaft 52 which is , in turn , mounted for rotation in pillow block bearings 53 and 54 . the drive for shaft 52 is provided by motor 56 through a gear reducer 58 and a coupler 59 . similarly , brush 21 is mounted on a shaft 60 supported by pillow block bearings 61 and 62 which is driven by a motor 64 through a gear reducer 65 and a coupler 66 . in order to provide a uniform and attractive exposed aggregate facing on the panel , it is necessary that the concrete surface treated with retarding agent is removed totally from the surface of the panel , leaving the aggregate below the surface in place and uniformly exposed . this is accomplished by the deflector and conveyor structures shown in fig1 and 2 . concrete removed by brushes 20 and 21 is thrown or directed upwardly from the surface of the panel 14 and onto the surface of a continuous conveyor belt 70 . in the preferred embodiment shown , the conveyor belt is a chatland self - powered car unloader and has an overall length of about 11 feet , several feet more than the nominal 8 - foot width of the concrete panel being treated . in order to prevent the concrete material removed from the plank by brushes 20 and 21 from being thrown beyond the conveyor 70 , a spatter board 72 is suspended from a frame 74 which is , in turn , suspended from the lower frame 38 . in addition to the spatter board 72 , individual deflector sheets 76 and 78 are provided to cover the brushes 20 and 21 and assure that concrete thrown by the brushes is directed to the spatter board and onto the conveyor 70 . additional deflectors 80 and 82 are also suspended from frame 74 and directed downwardly toward the surface of the panel 14 to deflect thrown concrete fragments which impinge upon the deflectors upwardly onto conveyor 70 . conveyor 70 is driven to transport concrete deposited on its surface to the side of the bed where the waste concrete can be deposited into a waste gutter or onto any other conveying means for removal . in addition to the brushes , the surface of the retarded set concrete is removed from the panel by use of water nozzles 86 and 88 , as shown . in normal operation of the aggregate material exposing machine , there is relative movement occuring between the plank and the machine with the plank moving left relative to the frame of the exposing machine . in addition to the two rotary brushes 20 and 21 and the two water spraying nozzles 86 and 88 , a fixed brush 90 depending from the frame is utilized after the spray bar 88 to loosen the concrete from the surface of the panel before the surface is engaged by the first rotary brush 21 . to assure adequate coverage of the water from nozzles 86 and 88 to the surface of the concrete panel , the nozzles are mounted on six - inch centers to cover the entire width of the panel . the fixed brush 90 may also be described as a steel broom mounted on the frame member with slotted holes to provide for relatively simple vertical adjustment of the tip of the broom to provide for wear of the brush 90 .	1
in order for optical pattern recognition systems to be practical , they must be able to accurately identify the pattern of interest subjected to various geometric distortions . examples of such distortions are changes in position of the target in the field of view , rotation , scale , and intensity . the present invention provides a method which detects a specific target pattern regardless of position , rotation , and intensity of the target pattern in the input field of view . an optical correlation system with input f ( r ) and filter g ( r ) evaluates the inner product between these two functions for all points in an input image . a suitable optical correlation system 10 is depicted including an input plane 12 for incident coherent illumination . lenses 14 are provided on either side of a frequency plane 16 of the optical correlation system 10 . as explained subsequently , a holographic filter 18 produces a correlation signal 20 in an output plane 22 of the optical correlation system 10 . in use , for filter 18 to be invariant in a target recognition system , it is required that the amplitude of the inner product be a constant independent of the distortion . this implementation is satisfactory if the location of the constant amplitude inner product can be found . this is accomplished using a procedure called &# 34 ; spanning the distortion space &# 34 ;, a generalized concept used in connection with rotation invariant filters which means spinning or rotating the filter or using a &# 34 ; library &# 34 ; of , or multiple , filters to obtain the invariance . in the situation where a library is used , each of the multiple filters are a different rotation of the invariant filter . this procedure is also discussed in the following references , which are herein incorporated by reference : &# 34 ; an iterative technique for the synthesis of optical correlation filters &# 34 ;, g . schils and d . sweeney , journal of the optical society of america - a , vol . 3 , 1433 ( 1986 ); &# 34 ; iterative technique for the synthesis of distortion - invariant optical correlation filters &# 34 ;, g . schils and d . sweeney , optics letters 12 , 307 ( 1987 ); and &# 34 ; experimental application of iteratively designed rotation invariant correlation filters &# 34 ;, d . sweeney , e . ochoa , and g . schils , to appear in applied optics , 15 aug . 1987 . the design methodology for , and fabrication of , the holographic filter 18 is described below . the invariant modes for rotation are fourier angular harmonics . as indicated in the hsu and arsenault reference discussed above , filters fabricated from one of these angular harmonics creates a rotationally invariant filter . since these circular harmonic filters are related to linear combination filters as also indicated in the above - identified references , a filter containing all the information about the target image may be fabricated from a linear combination of these angular harmonics . the angular fourier series expansion of the target image f ( r , θ ) is ## equ2 ## the filter is defined to be a weighted linear combination of the target image modes , that is ## equ3 ## where the complex coefficients ( 2πa m * ) are unknown linear weights . the filter is a generalized template for the target image . note that if 2πa m = 1 for all m , the filter is a matched filter . as shown in the last mentioned schils and sweeney reference , an input target rotated by an angle α and correlated with the filter described by the above equation produces an output of the form ## equ4 ## the objective is to find the proper sequence of weighting functions ( 2πa m ) that provides the desired constant - amplitude response . that is , the phase of c fg ( α ) is arbitrary , so there may be many solutions . this degree of freedom in the phase of c fg ( α ) is used to introduce an added restraint on the filter . the filter is thus required to contain all of the angular modes with about the same weight as the original target image f . mathematically , this is expressed by the requirement the requirements on the filter expressed by the above two equations are constraints that appear in opposite fourier domains . the phase distributions for the 2πa m and c fg ( α ) are free parameters that can be adjusted to satisfy the constraints given by equation ( 6 ) and ( 7 ). the objective , therefore , is to find a fourier transform pair that has a specified amplitude in each domain . the phases in each angular domain are found by an iterative technique . the synthesis method is the one - dimensional analogue of the iterative techniques used for phase determination . the iterative synthesis begins with a 2πa m coefficients of unit amplitude and random phase . using the initial 2πa m coefficients , the rotational response c fg ( α ) is constructed by the above - identified equation . the constraint on the rotational response ( absolute value = constant ) is imposed by forcing the amplitude to be unity while preserving the phase . this modified response is decomposed into angular harmonics to form a new set 2πa m . the constraints in the angular harmonic domain ( absolute value = approximately 1 ) are imposed by setting the amplitude of 2πa m to unity while preserving the phase . this modified set of 2πa m terms is used once again to construct a rotational response , and the iterations through the loop are repeated . the numeral computation of the angular series expansion is truncated to a finite number of angular harmonics . in general , termination of the angular series expansion at 256 terms is satisfactory . the number of angular harmonics present in the filter is manipulated by adjusting the weighting factor constraint in equation ( 7 ). to improve filter performance , the m = 0 term is eliminated . after several hundred iterations , the weighting coefficients are no longer changing and the iteration process is terminated . further details concerning convergence are shown in &# 34 ; an iterative technique for the synthesis of optical correlation filters &# 34 ; identified above . rotationally invariant filters have been designed and fabricated using these methods . the filters are complex valued and are not themselves rotationally symmetric . the rotational invariant filter 18 is implemented by rotating it in the fourier or frequency plane 16 of optical correlation system 10 . rotation of filter 18 computes its rotational response to the input image contained in input plane 12 . only the target image in input plane 12 properly produces a constant - amplitude rotational response or correlation signal 20 . thus , targets are located at those points in the correlation or output plane 22 where the intensity is constant . detection of this constant intensity condition is equivalent to performing a full three - dimensional correlation operation . detection is translationally and rotationally invariant and yet is fully specific to the target image . the optimum linear technique for detecting the constant intensity signal is to correlate the data with a filter matched to a constant . thus , at each point a correlation coefficient ρ is evaluated as the normalized inner product between the constant c and the intensity values i k at that point from every frame where ## equ5 ## denoting the mean intensity as μ and the standard deviation of the intensity as σ results in ## equ6 ## at most pixels , the variation in intensity between frames resembles speckle for which the mean and the standard deviation are equal . however , at points of constancy , the standard deviation approaches 0 and ρ approaches unity . from equation 9 , it is seen that detection of the target is performed using only two buffers to process the data recognized by digitizer 24 and a suitable optical detector ( 23 ). as filter 18 is rotated in frequency plane 16 , the two buffers accumulate the intensity and the intensity - squared at each pixel in correlation output plane 22 . the correlation coefficient is then computed by use of computer 26 from these two moments as indicated by the equation . the added complexity introduced by rotation of filter 18 is justified for several reasons . first , it is required to make the filter rotationally invariant . second , signal integration over rotation is responsible for the excellent performance of the filter in a noisy environment . lastly , the target is detected by its temporal signal rather than a maximum signal level so that energy normalization is not required . as noted above , a critical issue of the present invention concerns the ability of the invariant filter to detect target images that are corrupted by noise . to study this question , optical correlation system 10 was digitally simulated . the input seen was sampled at 256 × 256 locations and correlated ( using fft routines ) with holographic filter 18 . the rotated filter 18 was computed using bi - linear interpolation . as mentioned above , only two image buffers are necessary to process the output data . as filter 18 was rotated in the frequency plane , the two buffers accumulated the intensity and intensity - squared at each pixel . from these two moments , the mean and the standard deviation were computed . the ratio of the mean to the standard deviation forms a final output image . the ratio is quantitatively related to the correlation coefficient ρ of eq . ( 10 ). if a target image is located at a particular pixel , this ratio is large ; whereas at other locations , the signal is speckle - like and the ratio is approximately unity . this is easily seen in a suitable isometric or three - dimensional plot of the ratio μ / σ . the simulation required about 10 hours of cpu - time on a dedicated decμvax ii computer . it should be appreciated that all of these computations can be performed in an optical system as rapidly as the filter 18 can be rotated and the intensities digitized into the frame buffers . thus , the holographic filter is naturally implemented in an optical system because it relies on multiple correlation computations with large complex kernel functions . three different simulation tests were made with the system depicted in the figure . each test used input images differing only in the amount and type of noise added . four distinct images were present in the input image , with two of the images being the same but rotated relative to one another and of the type which is desired to be identified . the other two images were of the same general form , but different in a number of details . an isometric or three - dimensional plot of the final system output ( i . e ., the accumulated mean to standard deviation ratio ) was obtained . two peaks were clearly indicated at the location of the two targets in the input plane . the two non - target images in the input scene did not produce any noticeable response . using the same input scene , uniformly distributed , spatially uncorrelated noise was added . the input targets had an amplitude of 1 . 0 , and a noise range between +/- 1 . 0 . the system output obtained showed the maxima locating the targets to be reduced , but that the targets were still clearly detected . a third test was also made with the same input image but with structured noise added . the noise was in the form of a bar pattern across the target images . in addition , the left side of the targets included a 2 : 1 variation in intensity to represent nonuniform illumination ( i . e . glint ). additive noise ranges were between +/- 0 . 5 . the final input again showed the peak value to be decreased , but the targets were still easily detected . these examples demonstrated the noise robustness of the optical correlation system 10 . similar results were also obtained with other input images . the rotating filter described above is naturally implemented in the frequency plane of an optical correlator . computer generated holograms of both spatial plane and frequency plane filters have been constructed . with spatial plane filters , the holograms are used indirectly . in particular , the reconstructed holographic image is used as the input image for an optically recorded frequency plane filter . this method is convenient because the optical wavelength does not determine the hologram scale . thus , generating holograms using high - quality mechanical plotters followed by photo - reduction is reasonable . in practice , however , the indirectly - fabricated filter is difficult to align . the best results have been obtained using frequency filters generated directly using an electron beam . the e - beam computer generated holograms are encoded using the projection technique described in &# 34 ; nondetour phase digital holograms : an analysis &# 34 ;, n . gallagher and j . bucklew , applied optics , vol . 19 , p . 4266 ( 1980 ). the hologram contained 512 × 512 cells . each cell contained four phase quantization subcells and 32 amplitude quantization levels . the phase and amplitude were computed at the center of each subcell . an e - beam data file was generated in standard mebes format and written onto magnetic tape . the final hologram was generated by a perkin - elmer electron beam system . the e - beam spot size was typically 0 . 25 microns . the quartz holographic substrate was flat to within 2 microns over the 5 centimeter square surface . standard mask processing resulted in a 5 millimeter square , binary hologram recorded in chromium with an optical density of about 3 . 0 . it should be appreciated that many filters can be written on a single substrate . each hologram contained the filter information in the center and an alignment grating around its perimeter ( discussed subsequently ). the quantization error was reduced and the diffraction efficiency of the computer generated hologram was increased by clipping the maximum computed amplitude of the filter to 0 . 7 of the maximum before encoding . digital simulations showed that the clipping did not affect the performance of the filter . as shown in the figure , optical correlations system 10 is schematically depicted to show that the rotation of filter 18 causes a complication . in particular , as holographic filter 18 is rotated about its center , the diffracted correlation term or signal 20 in output plane 22 orbits about the optical axis . fortunately , the correlation signal orbits in a ferris - wheel fashion , that is , the vertical axis remains vertical . there are several procedures to eliminate the output image motion . one method is to fold the optical system immediately after the filter plane using two orthogonal mirrors which pivot in synchronism with the filter to remove the orbit . another method is to attach a refracting wedge to the hologram to remove the offset angle . in early experiments , the two mirror system was used with the mirrors manually adjusted as the hologram rotated . it should be appreciated that in these experiments , the data was collected rather arbitrarily , usually at eight angular positions spaced approximately 45 ° apart . data could also be collected as the filter is rotating . the requirement that the filter be rotated complicates the experimental system in two ways . first , the holographic filter must be rotated exactly about its center . second , care must also be taken to insure that the center of the hologram and the center of the fourier transform the input are aligned at each rotation . the e - beam computer generated hologram had two special alignment aids to allow easy adjustment . first , the exact center of the hologram was marked with a small alignment fiducial . second , as mentioned above , the outside border of the hologram contained a grating at the carrier frequency of the hologram . when this grating was illuminated , the diffracted beam focused at the exact center of the correlation image . these critical alignment marks were easily incorporated in the e - beam hologram . in the experiments described above , the target image at input plane 12 was about 5 millimeters high . an input transparency was placed in a liquid gate to eliminate phase errors . alternately , an image from a spatial light modulator could have been used . optical correlation system 10 included two 3 inch diameter , f / 5 fourier transform lenses 14 . a rubicon camera was placed at output plane 22 , and each correlation image or frame of data was digitized to 8 - bits at 768 × 512 pixel locations . as described earlier , two buffers were used , one to accumulate the intensities of the frames and one to accumulate the square of the intensities . the spacing of the angles was not monitored except that it is desirable to have sufficient angular separation to decorrelate successive frames . the digitizer was on the bus of a dec pdp 11 - 73 computer . the accumulated intensity data required more than 8 - bit storage to avoid overflow . the image statistics were calculated on the computer . it should be appreciated that these operations could have been computed at video rates with the arithmetic logic unit on a dedicated image processing system . with the present invention as described above , it should be appreciated that filter 18 contains all the information about the target pattern so that correlation system 10 is target specific and does not produce any false alarms . in addition , the target pattern is detected by monitoring discrete samples of the temporal pattern of the optical correlator system output so that detection is intensity invariant . thus , the system of the present invention avoids the difficult energy normalization required by many other systems . the rotation of the filter to produce the temporal signature in the output plane also allows for simple signal processing procedures for detecting the required temporal signature . furthermore , the data is taken at discrete arbitrary rotation angles further simplifying the system . the orbit of the correlation image as the filter is rotated in the frequency plane of the optical correlator system is advantageously removed as described above . while the present invention has been developed primarily for military target recognition , it should be appreciated that the uses of the present invention are not restricted to such targets . thus , while the present invention has been described with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope and spirit of the invention .	8
the following detailed description illustrates the disclosure by way of example and not by way of limitation . the description clearly enables one skilled in the art to make and use the disclosure , describes several embodiments , adaptations , variations , alternatives , and uses of the disclosure , including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the disclosure . the disclosure is described as applied to a preferred embodiment , namely , a process of forming composite armor laminates . however , it is contemplated that this disclosure has general application to manufacturing components and assemblies where materials may be joined to form larger subsystems of panels and / or sheets that heretofore required significant manual labor to assemble . fig1 is a perspective view of an exemplary preform 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . preform 100 includes a sidewall 102 that is configurable to a plurality of different shapes . preform 100 is illustrated in fig1 in a hexagonal shape , but any shape or amorphous contour is contemplated . perform 100 is formed in a closed configuration such that a cell 104 is circumscribed by preform 100 . preform 100 may include a single cell 104 or may include a plurality of cells . in the exemplary embodiment , cells 104 are sized and shaped complementary to a predetermined size and shape of a tile of armor material to be received therein . in one embodiment , preform 100 is formed from a web of material in a desired shape . in other embodiments , preform 100 is formed from a continuous composite fiber wound through a form or mandrel ( not shown ) having the desired shape . a number of passes or turns of the continuous composite fiber that are channeled through each leg of the cell is determined based on a force absorption or strength requirement of the preform . the continuous composite fiber may comprise , but is not limited to a carbon fiber , a fiber glass fiber , an aromatic polyamide fiber such as aramid ™, other fiber filaments or combinations thereof . the continuous composite fiber may also comprise , but is not limited to , a thread , a tow , or a web comprising the above materials . the fiber , web , or tow may be impregnated with an adhesive , a thermoplastic , or a thermoset . in the exemplary embodiment , sidewall 102 includes a first edge 106 , a second edge 108 , and a sidewall 110 extending therebetween . in the exemplary embodiment , each of edges 106 and 108 include a flange 112 extending substantially perpendicularly away from sidewall 110 . in various embodiments , flange 112 comprises a single toe extending from one or both of edges 106 and 108 , in other embodiments , flange 112 comprises a pair of toes extending in opposite direction from one or both of edges 106 and 108 . in the exemplary embodiment , preform 100 is a rigid free - standing body . in other embodiments , is a fiber or fabric form that is flexible . the fiber or fabric may comprise dry carbon , carbon fiber impregnated with an epoxy or resin , or various combinations thereof . fig2 is a perspective view of a partially assembled armor system 200 that may be used with preform 100 ( shown in fig1 ). system 200 includes a face sheet 202 that includes a length 204 , and width 206 , and a thickness 208 . although illustrated in fig2 as being substantially rectangular , face sheet 202 may be any shape including regular and irregular shapes . in the exemplary embodiment , preform 100 is integrally formed with face sheet 202 . preform 100 is woven with face sheet 202 or is otherwise formed with face sheet 202 . face sheet 202 may comprise woven carbon fibers , carbon fiber sheet or fabric . face sheet 202 may comprise dry fabric for infusion of resin or epoxy using a vacuum process such as but not limited to a vacuum - assisted resin transfer molding ( vartm ) process . face sheet 202 may also include a fiber such as carbon pre - impregnated with for example but not limited to resin , epoxy or combinations thereof . system 200 includes one or more armor tiles 210 within cells 104 in complementary mating engagement . in the exemplary embodiment , cells 104 are substantially hexagonal in cross - section and tiles 210 are also substantially hexagonal in cross - section . tiles 104 are positioned within cells 104 until all cells are filled with tiles 210 . in the exemplary embodiment , armor tiles 210 comprise a ceramic material for example , but not limited to boron carbide , silicon carbide , aluminum oxide , and titanium boride . each armor tile 210 includes perimeter surface portions 212 for mating juxtaposition with perimeter surface portions 212 of adjacent armor tiles 210 through the segments preform 100 that lie between the perimeter surface portions 212 to provide a composite layer of armor capable of withstanding and dissipating large forces , for example , upon ballistic impact and shattering of an adjacent tile . separation of adjacent tiles 210 by preform 100 facilitates absorption of forces transmitted toward an adjacent tile and facilitates dispersing the forces towards other tiles . fig3 is another perspective view of partially assembled armor system 200 ( shown in fig2 ). in the exemplary embodiment , system 200 includes a second face sheet 300 coupled to preform 100 . second face sheet 300 is substantially similar to first face sheet 202 , however second face sheet 300 may include differences from first face sheet 202 in various embodiments . for example , in one embodiment , described above , preform 100 is formed integrally with first face sheet 202 . moreover , face sheets 202 and 300 may comprise different materials to permit optimum performance for their respective roles . for example , face sheet 202 may be exposed to weather or the elements to a greater degree than face sheet 300 because of the orientation of system 200 on a vehicle . face sheet 202 may require a greater uv , abrasion , and chemical resistance than face sheet 300 . in the exemplary embodiment , face sheet 300 is coupled to preform 100 through flanges 112 extending from second edge 108 using stitching 302 . in another embodiment , face sheet 300 is coupled to flanges 112 using an adhesive . fig4 is a longitudinal cross - section view of a segment 400 of preform 100 that may be used with system 200 ( shown in fig2 ). in the exemplary embodiment , preform 100 includes first edge 106 , second edge 108 , sidewall 110 , and flanges 112 . tile 210 is positioned in abutting relationship with sidewall 110 ( gap shown in fig4 for clarity ) such that a portion of tiles 210 are covered by flanges 112 . sidewall 110 tends to provide cushioning and force dissipation between adjacent tiles 210 . flange 112 is flexible at second edge 108 such that during installation of tile 210 , flange 112 is positioned vertically and when tile 210 is positioned within cell 104 , flange 112 is folded perpendicular to sidewall 110 to cover a portion of tile 210 . second face sheet 300 is then coupled to flange 112 using , for example , stitching , or adhesion . during assembly , perform 100 may be substantially rigid or semi - rigid to facilitate positioning tiles 210 within cells 104 automatically using a pick - and - place machine including for example , a robotic arm . after positioning tiles 210 within cells 104 , flange 112 is folded down to be substantially flush with tiles 210 . second face sheet 300 is then stitched or otherwise attached to flange 112 . if face sheets 202 and 300 , and preform 100 are fabricated from dry composite material , system 200 is further infused with a resin or an epoxy using a vacuum process such as , but not limited to a vacuum - assisted resin transfer molding ( vartm ) process . in another embodiment , face sheets 202 and 300 , and preform 100 may be formed of a fiber such as carbon pre - impregnated with , for example , but not limited to resin , epoxy or combinations thereof . further processing includes curing the impregnated carbon components . fig5 is a perspective view of an exemplary armor system 200 . after curing , face sheets 202 and 300 , preform 100 , and tiles 210 form a rigid composite armor laminate , which may be cut or machined to further match desired dimensions . fig6 is a perspective view of a light weight high mobility vehicle 600 that includes a hull 602 mounted on a series of driven wheels 604 or tracks , and turret 606 on hull 602 . hull 602 is constructed of steel armor plate 608 . composite armor laminate system 200 may be formed to a specific contour of a specific vehicle of area on a vehicle . in the exemplary embodiment , system 200 provides energy absorption from detonation of an explosive missile on an adjacent armor tile through preform 100 . forces applied to tiles adjacent to tiles 210 may be moderated by energy transfer to adjacent tiles through preform 110 . the above - described methods of fabricating composite armor laminate structures are cost - effective and highly reliable . the methods and systems include using a composite preform to facilitate reducing hand labor during the assembly process . the preform includes composite fabric or thread that when cured provides strength , absorption of forces between tiles and redirection of forces between tiles to transmit forces over a wider area . accordingly , the methods and systems facilitate assembly of composite armor laminate systems in a cost - effective and reliable manner . while embodiments of the disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims .	1
referring to the drawings , there is illustrated a hair washing unit 10 that consists of a hollow shell 12 rotationally moulded of linear low - density polyethylene . the shell has a peripheral wall 14 surrounding a central oval well or basin 16 . the wall 14 has a top panel 18 that slopes downwardly from the outside of the wall to the inside . the wall is bounded on the outside and inside by an outer panel 20 and an inner panel 22 . the wall 14 includes a front section 24 that has a central , u - shaped neck depression 26 . leading from the front section 24 of wall 14 is a shoulder ramp 28 that includes a panel 30 that slopes outwardly away from the outer panel 20 of the wall front section 24 . the panel 30 merges at its upper end into the panel 20 and the depression 26 . the shell is completed with a stepped base panel 32 . as illustrated in fig4 and 5 , the base is a series of short rearwardly directed steps 34 interrupted by an upwardly and forwardly sloping panels 36 . the steps extend from side to side of the unit . these act to inhibit sliding of the unit when in use . the well 16 is formed with side lobes 38 at the front , on opposite sides of the neck depression 26 . the outline of the well and the portions of the front wall section 24 on opposite sides of the depression 26 then converge towards the rear from the side lobes , giving the well an overall generally triangular outline . in the base of one of the lobes is a drain opening 40 that leads from the well into the interior of the hollow shell 12 . the drain opening is closed by a valve 42 that will be described in more detail in the following . the floor of the well slopes towards the drain opening to assist in complete drainage of liquid from the well into the shell . the shell is equipped with a drain 44 adjacent one rear corner of the shell . the drain has a valve fitting 45 that is normally closed and can be opened as desired to allow water in the shell to be drained . along the front of the shell is an elongate through opening 46 that provides a hand grip 47 along the front edge for carrying the unit . at the rear corners of the top panel 18 are triangular wells 48 for holding bottles of shampoo or other hair treatment materials . as illustrated most particularly in fig6 the wells 48 slope towards the front of the unit . this particular configuration of the well has been found effective in housing hair care product bottles of most shapes and retains them securely whether the unit is the horizontal , in - use position or in a vertical position , suspended by the hand grip 47 . as will be noted from fig6 the base of each well 48 is generally horizontal , that is parallel to a plane containing the basis of the steps 34 in the base panel 32 . the configuration of the drain valve 42 from the well is illustrated most particularly in fig8 and 9 . the valve includes a circular drain plate 50 with one segment having a series of drain openings 52 . these are normally closed by a circular valve plate 54 superimposed on the plate 50 . the valve plate has two segmental openings 56 that , when rotated from the closed position illustrated in fig8 uncover the drain openings 52 in the drain plate 50 . the drain plate and valve plate 54 are held together with a stud 58 extending through the centers of two plates and a coil spring 60 on the stud beneath the drain plate 50 . the spring is held in place on the stud using a washer 62 and a cotter pin 64 . the valve is held in place in the drain opening in the base of the well using a backing plate 66 extending across the opening inside the shell and two screws 68 through openings in the drain plate 50 into nuts 70 carried on the backing plate . the heads of the screws 68 are located in the openings 56 in the valve plate and act as stops to limit rotation of the valve plate . as illustrated most particularly in fig9 the drain plate 50 and valve plate 54 have bevelled edges 72 and 74 that mate with corresponding bevelled edges of the drain opening in the well 16 . the shell drain 44 is illustrated most particularly in fig7 . it includes a recess 76 in the side wall of the shell 12 to accommodate the valve 45 . in the base of the recess is an opening 77 that accommodates a valve sleeve 78 . the sleeve extends into the opening 77 and has diametrically opposed openings 80 inside the well . a flange 82 on the sleeve adjacent its outer end engages the outer face of the shell within the recess 76 and is secured to the shell to hold the valve in place . a groove 84 is formed on the inside of the sleeve 78 , adjacent its outer end . the sleeve accommodates a valve body 86 having a shaft 88 which extends into and rotates within the sleeve . a cross bore 90 through the shaft 88 communicates with the opening 80 in the sleeve in one orientation of the shaft , while rotation of the shaft in the sleeve closes off this communication to close the valve . an axial bore 92 in the valve body communicates with the cross bore to allow liquid to run through the cross bore and the axial bore to drain the interior shell 12 . a circumferential rib 94 on the shaft is a snap fit into the groove 84 in the sleeve 78 to hold these components together . the valve body 86 has an enlarged head 96 on the outer side . on the inside of the head is a boss 98 of the reduced diameter . this boss has a radial bore 100 that accommodates the end of a radially projecting stop pin 102 . the stop pin engages two stops 104 ( one shown ) molded in to the recess 76 to limit rotation of the valve to a partial rotation between the closed and open position . it is preferred that the capacity of the unit below the drain 44 is about two and one - half imperial gallons , so that the weight of the unit when full is approximately 30 pounds . in most cases this will be manageable by hand without the use of auxiliary wheels or the like . in the use of the unit , the rounded top surface of the depression 26 supports the neck , while the long , sloping surface of the support ramp 28 engages a large area of the neck and shoulders to provide a comfortable support for the neck and shoulder area of a patient . while one particular embodiment of the invention has been described in the foregoing , it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention . the invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims .	0
turning now to the drawings , fig1 and 2 as described above illustrate a storage container system in which a plurality of essentially identical storage containers 10 - i for file folders capable of being electronically addressed by an associated local controller are arranged in a stacked configuration and electrically interconnected by means of data and power cables . each storage container 10 - i is provided with a storage container indicator 25 - i , which in the preferred embodiment is an led with a current draw when activated of about 15 . 0 ma . located within each storage container 10 - i is a storage container indicator activation circuit illustrated in fig3 . as seen in this fig ., a circuit board 50 has mounted thereon a resistor 51 , an amplifier 52 , a microcontroller unit ( mcu ) 53 , and an isolator circuit 58 . in the preferred embodiment , resistor 51 is a 0 . 5 ohm one watt resistor ; amplifier 52 is a type mcp6002 operational amplifier ; and mcu 53 is a type pic 16f1823 microcontroller unit available from microchip technology , inc . of chandler , ariz . isolator circuit 58 is used to isolate incoming signals on positive data conductor 55 from outgoing response signals generated by mcu 53 , such as the identification of the storage container in which mcu 53 is located ( the id send signal ). one terminal of resistor 51 is connected to the positive data conductor 55 of a usb bus . the other terminal of resistor 51 is coupled to the active signal input of amplifier 52 and to electrically conductive rail 17 . the output of amplifier 52 is coupled to a data input of mcu 53 . a control output of mcu 53 is coupled to the anode of indicator 25 of the associated storage container . the cathode terminal of indicator 25 is connected to the negative data conductor 56 of the usb bus . in operation , an incoming address on positive data conductor 55 is coupled via resistor 51 and rail 17 to the electronic circuitry in brace 21 of all folders operationally installed in all storage containers interconnected in the manner described above with reference to fig2 . when the incoming address matches the address stored in the electronic circuitry in one of the braces 21 , such as the brace 21 illustrated in fig3 , the visible address match indicator 24 on that brace 21 is activated . activation of the visible address match indicator 24 causes substantial current to flow through resistor 51 of the storage container containing the addressed brace 21 . this causes the output of amplifier 52 to change state , which signals mcu 53 to generate a signal to activate the storage container visible indicator 25 . since the incoming address is unique , no other folder brace visible indicator 24 will be activated . consequently , only the storage container visible indicator 25 in the storage container in which the addressed folder is located will be activated . as a result , a human operator can merely look for the storage container having the activated visible indicator 25 and proceed to that storage container to retrieve the sought file folder 20 . as noted above , each file folder 20 is provided with a visible power on indicator 23 which is activated whenever the associated file folder 20 is operationally installed in the storage container . in establishing the initial parameters for the storage container indicator activation circuit , the total current draw of the visible power on indicators 23 for the maximum number of file folders 20 which can be accommodated by a given storage container is calculated and the resultant value is used to set the operating threshold of amplifier 52 . this ensures that amplifier 52 will only signal mcu 53 to generate the activation signal for visible indicator 25 when an address match has occurred within a file folder 20 in that storage container . as will now be apparent , storage containers incorporating the invention afford the advantage of providing a unique observable response to the presentation of a file folder address to a file folder having electronic circuitry containing that file folder address . in particular , one and only one of the storage container visible indicators 25 will be activated in response to an address match between an address presented on the data conductor 55 of the data bus and a folder address stored in the folder brace circuitry . since only one storage container visible indicator 25 will be activated , locating the storage container housing the sought folder identified by the presented address on the bus is reduced to a simple matter of looking for the storage container with the activated visible indicator 25 . although the above provides a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention , various modifications , alternate constructions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art . for example , while the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to a visible indicator 25 , it is equally applicable to storage container arrays having audible indicators , or a combination of both visible and audible indicators . in addition , while the invention has been described and illustrated in the context of an array of vertically stacked storage containers , it is equally applicable to an array of storage containers which are arranged horizontally or both horizontally and vertically . moreover , the invention is also conformable to other types of storage container bus interconnection arrangements than the cable arrangement shown and described . one such alternate interconnection arrangement is shown and described in commonly - assigned , co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 987 , 352 filed jul . 16 , 2013 for “ two stage draw latch for stackable storage box with removable cover ”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . therefore , the above should not be construed as limiting the invention , which is defined by the appended claims .	7
in the summary of the invention above , the detailed description of the invention , the examples , and the claims below , and the accompanying drawings , reference is made to particular features ( including for example components , ingredients , elements , devices , apparatus , systems , groups , ranges , method steps , test results , etc .) of the invention . it is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features . for example , where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect , a particular embodiment , a particular claim , or a particular figure , that feature can also be used , to the extent appropriate , in the context of other particular aspects , embodiments , claims and figures , and in the invention generally . the invention disclosed includes embodiments not specifically described herein and can for example make use of features which are not specifically described herein , but which provide functions which are the same , equivalent or similar to , features specifically disclosed herein . the term “ comprises ” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that , in addition to the features specifically identified , other features are optionally present . for example , a composition or device “ comprising ” ( or “ which comprises ”) components a , b and c can contain only components a , b and c , or can contain not only components a , b and c but also one or more other components . the term “ consisting essentially of ” and grammatical equivalents thereof is used herein to mean that , in addition to the features specifically identified , other features may be present which do not materially alter the claimed invention . the term “ at least ” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number ( which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit , depending on the variable being defined ). for example “ at least 1 ” means 1 or more than 1 , and “ at least 80 %” means 80 % or more than 80 %. the term “ at most ” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number ( which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit , or a range having no lower limit , depending upon the variable being defined ). for example , “ at most 4 ” means 4 or less than 4 , and “ at most 40 %” means 40 % or less than 40 %. when a range is given as “( a first number ) to ( a second number )” or “( a first number )-( a second number )”, this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number . for example , “ from 8 to 20 carbon atoms ” or “ 8 - 20 carbon atoms ” means a range whose lower limit is 8 carbon atoms , and whose upper limit is 20 carbon atoms . the terms “ plural ”, “ multiple ”, “ plurality ” and “ multiplicity ” are used herein to denote two or more than two features . where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps , the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously ( except where the context excludes that possibility ), and the method can optionally include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps , between two of the defined steps , or after all the defined steps ( except where the context excludes that possibility ). where reference is made herein to “ first ” and “ second ” features , this is generally done for identification purposes ; unless the context requires otherwise , the first and second features can be the same or different , and reference to a first feature does not mean that a second feature is necessarily present ( though it may be present ). where reference is made herein to “ a ” or “ an ” feature , this includes the possibility that there are two or more such features ( except where the context excludes that possibility ). where reference is made herein to two or more features , this includes the possibility that the two or more features are replaced by a lesser number or greater number of features providing the same function ( except where the context excludes that possibility ). the numbers given herein should be construed with the latitude appropriate to their context and expression ; for example , each number is subject to variation which depends on the accuracy with which it can be measured by methods conventionally used by those skilled in the art . this specification incorporates by reference all documents referred to herein and all documents filed concurrently with this specification or filed previously in connection with this application , including but not limited to such documents which are open to public inspection with this specification . in its first aspect , the invention provides a float which can be used for any purpose , including for example as a buoy ( or part of a buoy ) or as part of a wpv . the term “ orientation ” denotes the angular relationship between the body and the upper member . the term “ configuration ” denotes the dimensions ( e . g . height and / or width ) of the upper member , and includes the presence or absence of auxiliary members , e . g . sensors . the float can optionally have one or more of the following characteristics : a1 . ( a ) when the float is floating in still water , the upper member has a rest orientation relative to the water ; and ( b ) when the float is floating in wave - bearing water , the controlling means reduces movement of the upper member away from the orientation position . a2 . ( a ) the upper member is secured to the body so that it can be rotated relative to the body , e . g . by means of a pivot joint which allows pitch motion and / or roll motion , or by a gimbal joint such as a ball and socket ( a pivot joint which allows only pitch motion may be adequate when the float is relatively long and narrow ); and ( b ) the controlling means comprises a lower member which ( i ) is secured to the body , ( ii ) extends downwards from the body , ( iii ) is linked to the upper member , and ( iv ) when the float is in wave - bearing water , causes rotation of the upper member relative to the body when the float is in water and is subject to wave motion . a3 the lower member can for example have one or more of the following characteristics : a3a it is secured to the upper member so that , when the float pitches , the lower member reduces the movement of the upper member away from the rest orientation . alternatively or additionally , it is secured to the upper member so that , when the float rolls , the lower member reduces the movement of the upper member away from the rest orientation ; this feature is particularly appropriate when the float has two or more hulls , e . g . is a catamaran , in which case the upper member will generally be placed between the hulls . a3b it has a weight and / or moment of inertia which is substantially greater than the weight and / or moment of inertia of the upper member . for this purpose , a weight can optionally be secured to the lower member , preferably at its lower end , either directly or through a flexible cable . when the float as part of a wpv and the tether is secured to the lower member , the desired weight can be partly or completely supplied by the weight of the tether and the swimmer . a3c it is secured to the upper member so that the upper and lower members form a single body ( a “ pole ”). in one embodiment , the pole passes through a hinge socket in the float body when the float is floating in water , and can be pulled up through the hinge socket for storage when the float is not floating in water or for deployment . in another embodiment , the pole can be secured to the float at two or more different levels so that the height of the upper member can be increased , e . g . to place a sensor at a desired high level ( or decreased ), and the length of the lower member can be correspondingly decreased ( or increased , e . g . to lower the swimmer when the tether is attached to the lower member , as may be desirable when the waves are large ). a3d when the float is in still water , it lies in a vertical plane which includes the longitudinal axis of the body of the float and / or is substantially vertical , or , when the float is used as the float in a wpv , is inclined to the vertical towards the forward end , for example at an angle of up to 12 °, e . g . 3 - 8 °, e . g . about 5 °, to the vertical . a4 the upper member can optionally have one or more of the following characteristics : a4a it has a height or other dimension which can be changed . for example , the upper member can be telescopic ( i . e . comprise two or more units which slide relative to each other and thus change a dimension of the upper member ), and / or can comprise two or more units which can fold and unfold and thus change a dimension of the upper member . the float can include a motor to change a dimension of the upper member . the float can include one or more sensors which activate actuators to change a dimension of the upper member , for example sensors ( which may be on the upper member ) which sense the height of the waves , so that the height of the upper member can be reduced as the height of the waves increases , and vice versa . an advantage of an upper member whose height or other dimension can be changed is that its wind resistance can be minimized . a4b it carries one or more accessories selected from the group consisting of cameras , radio antenna , radio transmitters , radio repeaters , meteorological sensors , carbon dioxide sensors , and beacons , and sensors for sensing heat and gas flux between the atmosphere and the ocean . a4c it passes through or around the body of the float . a4d when the float is in still water , it has an axis which lies in a vertical plane including the longitudinal axis of the float and / or is substantially vertical . a4f it comprises one or more flexible portions so that it can bend in overload situations . a5f it is not associated with a lower member as described above , for example is fixed to the body of the float so that its orientation does not change when the float is in wave - bearing water , or makes use of a different mechanism to control its orientation . a6 the float has a length of 2 - 30 feet , e . g . 5 - 15 feet , and a width which is 0 . 1 to 0 . 6 times , e . g . 0 . 2 to 0 . 3 times , the length of the float . a7 the float is the float in a wpv as hereinbefore defined . in such a wpv , the tether can be connected to the lower member , preferably to the lowest point of the lower member , or to the float body . the connection can for example be through a universal joint . preferred embodiments of this aspect of the invention are particularly useful in supporting sensors and other equipment at a desirable and preferably relatively constant level above the water . for example , some embodiments of this aspect of the invention reduce ( including in some cases , substantially eliminate ) the swaying motion of an upper member which is fixed to a float in wave - bearing water . if desired , the upper member can be maintained in a substantially vertical position . him him such swaying motion distorts wind measurements and reduces the efficacy of radio communications . many of the instruments which are conventionally mounted on data buoys and data collection water vehicles operate best at relatively high levels above the surface of the water . the standard height for reporting wind speed is 10 m above water level , but in prior art practice wind speeds are often measured at lower levels and then corrected . when measuring wind speeds using a float according to the present invention , the measurements are preferably taken at a level at least 1 . 5 m above the water , and can generally be taken at substantially higher levels ; if desired , the wind speeds can be corrected to take account of information provided by sensors on the float which observe the height of the waves . for line of sight radio communications , the greater the height of the transmitter and receiver , the greater the possible range . preferred embodiments of the present invention make it possible to create a radio communications repeater network comprising a plurality of antenna - bearing wpvs which are separated by a substantial distance , for example 10 - 20 miles . the number and separation of wpvs can be chosen so that there is redundancy , so that the absence of one or a small number of the wpvs does not prevent the network from operating . camera observations are best taken at a level above the waves and spray . for the measurement of air / sea heat flux ( which is important to climate models and meteorological models ) sensors that measure temperature or carbon dioxide concentration are placed at various heights above and below the surface of the water . it has been found that carbon dioxide flux can be characterized by positioning sensors at suitable heights , e . g . about 2 m and about 4 m , above the water surface . in one embodiment of the floats of the present invention , the upper member comprises carbon dioxide sensors placed at different heights , e . g . about 2 and about 4 m , above the water surface . the float can also include a carbon dioxide sensor below the surface of the water . when the float is part of a wpv , carbon dioxide sensors can also be placed on the swimmer and / or on the tether and / or on a towed array . the towed array can be a towfish which has buoyancy controls which enable it to sweep up - and - down from the surface to a depth of 30 - 100 m ( or even more ). the invention disclosed herein includes not only a wpv which has an upper member as disclosed above and which is fitted with carbon dioxide sensors , but also any wpv which is fitted with carbon dioxide sensors as disclosed above . the float can include sensors ( e . g . accelerometers or rate sensors such as rate - sensitive gps ) which cause equipment on the upper member to operate only when the float is at or close to a wavecrest . preferred embodiments of this aspect of the invention make it practical to use upper members having a height which is greater than is practical when using an upper member which is fixed to the float . for example , the upper member can optionally have a fixed height ( or , if the upper member has an adjustable height , a maximum height ) which is at least 0 . 5 times the length of the float , e . g . at least 0 . 8 times the length of the float , e . g . 0 . 8 - 3 times the length of the float or 1 - 2 times the length of float . thus , the height can be at least 6 feet , or at least 10 feet , e . g . 6 - 15 feet , or even more when the height is adjustable , for example a height of 3 - 10 feet when fully collapsed , and a height of 10 - 30 feet when fully extended . the cables of the second preferred aspect of the invention are useful in a wide variety of situations in which it is useful to reduce the drag on a cable when the cable moves relative to water or other liquid in which it is immersed . in one such use , the cable is used as a tether in a wpv . the cable can optionally have one or more of the following characteristics b1 it has a cross - section which has a chord length which is 0 . 8 to 1 . 5 inch . b2 it has a greatest width which is at most 0 . 3 times the chord length of the cross - section . b3 it has a cross - section which includes a tapered trailing edge section . b4 it has a relatively rounded leading edge and sharp trailing edge such that the cross section is similar to a tear - drop or airfoil shape . b5 the jacket is composed of a polymeric composition e . g . a composition which comprises an epoxy resin or a polyurethane . b6 the jacket has been prepared by extruding or otherwise molding a polymeric composition around the tensile member ( s ) and the additional elongate member ( s ), preferably by a process which does not result in residual stresses in the jacket , for example by casting the composition around the elongate components , or which includes a step , after the jacket has been formed around the elongate components , in which any stresses in the jacket are reduced ( including removed entirely ). b7 the jacket comprises additives which inhibit marine growth and other fouling . b8 the additional elongate member comprises one or more of insulated electrical conductors , optical fibers and acoustic cables , e . g . an insulated ribbon cable . b9 the cable carries identification , e . g . visible markings , which enable the cable to be inspected to determine whether it is twisted , for example by a camera on the float body . b10 the cable further comprises fins extending from the insulating jacket at spaced - apart intervals ; the fins can for example be 1 - 5 in . 2 in area , and the distance between adjacent fins can for example be 2 - 12 feet . b11 the cable further comprises a second elongate tensile member which carries load when the cable is under tension and which passes through the leading edge portion of the cable . b12 the elongate tensile member ( s ) is ( are ) surrounded by a tube which enables the tensile member ( s ) to move independently of the remainder of the cable , for example a tube composed of a polymeric composition comprising a fluorinated polymer , e . g . polytetrafluoroethylene . when there is more than one tensile member , there can be such a tube around each of the tensile members , or a single tube around all the tensile members . this expedient enables the tensile member ( s ) to stretch without stretching the other elongate components , e . g . electrical conductors . it also enables the remainder of the cable to rotate around the tensile member ( s ) and feather into a reduced drag orientation . b13 the cable comprises a braided component which resists twisting , e . g . a braided sleeve surrounding some or all of the tensile member ( s ) and additional elongate member ( s ). the braided component can for example be composed of a high - strength polymeric material , e . g . kevlar or another aramid polymer . b14 the cable comprises a water - blocking component to prevent any water which penetrates the jacket from traveling along the cable . b15 the tensile member is composed of stainless steel or a high - strength polymeric material , e . g . an aromatic polyester such as vectran , for example in the form of multiple strands twisted together . in some cases it is desirable to stretch the tensile member under an appropriate load before it is made up into the cable , to ensure that it does not undergo substantial stretching in when it is used as a tether . the tensile member may have a diameter of , for example , 0 . 1 to 0 . 3 inch . b16 the cable is used as the tether in a wpv , the cable being aligned so that its leading edge portion is oriented towards the front of the wpv , and being connected to the body of the float and to the swimmer so that the loads are carried by the tensile member . b17 the cable is used as the tether in a wpv and is attached to the float and / or to the swimmer by a swivel joint that allows the tether to rotate relative to the float and / or swimmer . the third preferred aspect of the invention is concerned with wpvs which comprise means for determining whether the tether is twisted . it is possible to design a wpv which , under most operating conditions , will not cause the tether to become twisted . however , the tether may become twisted during deployment , or in very flat calm seas , or in very violent seas . a twisted tether creates undesirable drag . it is , therefore , desirable for the wpv to comprise means for determining whether the tether is twisted . such wpvs can optionally have one or more of the following characteristics . c1 the tether includes at least one identifier , e . g . markings which can be identified by suitable equipment ( e . g . each side having a different color , or a stripe along one side only ), and the float or the swimmer or both comprise such suitable equipment , e . g . a still or video camera mounted on the float or the swimmer , which can inspect the identifier to determine whether or not the tether is twisted , and communicate the results of the inspection , e . g . via radio to an observer . c2 the means for determining whether the tether is twisted comprises at least two compasses which are placed at vertically spaced - apart locations on the wpv . for example , one compass can be placed on the float , another compass on the swimmer , and at least one other compass somewhere along the tether ( preferably not at the midpoint of the tether ). in another example , only two compasses are used , one on the swimmer and the other on the float , and the compasses are monitored on an ongoing basis to keep track of the total amount of rotation relative to the earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field . each compass reports a rotation to a controller , and the controller compares the two to determine if twisting has occurred . this system has the benefit of using only two compasses and placing them in locations where electronics may already be present . c3 the float and the swimmer include equipment which detects and reports relative rotation of the float and the swimmer . c4 the wpv can deliberately induce one or more twists , see how the speed is affected , and then continue with the number of twists which optimizes the speed , which can be assumed to be when the tether is not twisted . if the wpv includes wave characterization sensors , wind sensors , and water speed sensors so that it can determine the expected speed under the observed conditions , this procedure can be followed when the speed is less than the expected speed . the fourth preferred aspect of the invention is concerned with wpvs which comprise means for untwisting the tether when the tether has become twisted . such wpvs can optionally have one or more of the following characteristics . d1 the means for untwisting the tether comprises a motor - driven thruster on the float which can spin the float around and untwist the tether . d2 the means for untwisting the tether comprises a retractable fin at the front of the float . the fin is normally retracted but can be deployed to create drag at the front of the float ; this causes the float to rotate through 180 °; the fin is then retracted , and a fin at the rear of the float causes the float to continue rotating through a further 180 °. d3 the means for untwisting the tether comprises a motor - driven rotation coupling at the junction of the tether and the float , or at the junction of the tether and the swimmer , or at an intermediate point of the tether . if the tether includes electrical wires , the rotation coupling preferably includes a break in the wires , for example as may be achieved by a sliding contact slip ring or a by device that does not maintain electrical contact throughout the rotation but does so at one point of each revolution . the motor driven rotation coupling may comprise a geared electric motor that is either in line or proximal to the rotation joint and is capable of rotating the cable relative to the float or swimmer . when the motor is not driven it may include a brake or other means to prevent the rotation joint from moving , in order to reduce wear on sliding electrical contacts . the fifth preferred aspect of the invention is concerned with wpvs which comprise a pressure - sensitive connection which is triggered by excessive water pressure . such wpvs can optionally have one or more of the following characteristics . e1 the pressure sensitive connection comprises a piston with a radial seal inside a cylinder and encloses an air chamber . air pressure inside the chamber and a coil spring urge the piston to extend . in the extended position the piston prevents a latch or other mechanical element from allowing the cable to release . water pressure urges the piston to retract . in the retracted position , the piston allows the latch or other mechanical element to release . e2 the pressure - sensitive connection is at the junction of the float and the tether . e3 the pressure - sensitive connection comprises an eye in the tensile member of the tether , a pin which passes through the eye and which is withdrawn from the eye by the release of a spring . e4 the pressure - sensitive connection is triggered when it is at a depth of 30 feet or more , for example at a depth of 50 feet or more , or at a selected depth which is between 30 feet and 90 feet . the sixth preferred aspect of the invention is concerned with wpvs in which the tether is secured to the float and / or to the swimmer through a two - axis universal joint which pivots when the float / swimmer pitches or rolls but does not pivot when the float / swimmer yaws . this guides the tether to remain aligned with the float and thus reduces the tendency of the tether to twist . the universal joints may comprise two hinges at right angles to each other , with the tensile loads from the tether being transmitted through the hinges to the float or swimmer . any electrical components of the tether are routed around or through the universal joint so that they do not see tensile loads and bend in a controlled manner consistent with their bending ability and fatigue strength . the seventh preferred aspect of the invention is concerned with wpvs in which the tether is connected to the float , or to the swimmer , or to both , through elastic elements which can absorb snap loads created when the tether is converted from a slack state to a load - bearing state . referring now to the drawings , fig1 shows a wpv incorporating the first aspect of the invention . the wpv is made up of a float 1 , a tether 2 and a swimmer 3 . the float comprises a body 11 and a pole 12 which passes through the body 11 and is secured to it by a pivot joint . the pole 12 thus provides an upper member 121 and a lower member 122 . phantom lines show the outline of the float as it pitches as a result of wave motion . the pole 12 , however , does not follow the pitching of the float . the swimmer is shown directly below the float , with the tether vertical . in practice , the swimmer will tend to be forward of the float , and if it is desired to keep the upper member vertical , the bottom member may angle forward from the upper member by an appropriate angle , for example about 5 °. fig2 is a cross - section through a cable according to the second preferred aspect of the invention . the cross section is to scale , and the chord length of the cross - section can for example be 0 . 8 to 1 . 5 inch . the cable comprises a tensile member 21 , a ribbon cable 22 which is surrounded by a braided polymeric sleeve 221 , and a streamlined polymeric jacket 23 . the tensile member 21 can for example be a 0 . 09375 inch diameter 316 stainless steel wire rope , 7 × 7 construction . the ribbon cable 22 can for example comprise a plurality , e . g . 14 , 22 awg tinned copper wires each surrounded by fluorinated ethylene propylene ( fep ) installation . the braided sleeve 221 can for example be composed of kevlar strands . the polymeric jacket 21 can for example be composed of a marine grade polyurethane having a shore a 80 durometer . fig3 is a cross - section through another cable according to the second preferred aspect of the invention . the cross section is to scale , and the chord length of the cross - section can for example be 0 . 8 to 1 . 5 inch . the cable comprises a tensile member 21 , a plurality , e . g . 8 , of conductors 22 , each surrounded by a braided stainless steel sleeve , and a streamlined polymeric jacket 23 . the tensile member 21 and jacket 23 can for example be as described for fig2 . each of the conductors can for example be a 20 awg tinned copper wire . fig4 is a perspective view of another cable according to the second preferred aspect of the invention . the cable comprises two tensile members 21 , a ribbon cable 22 , and a polymeric jacket 23 . particularly when the tensile member is liable to stretch significantly under load , for example when it is a synthetic fiber rope , e . g . composed of vectran , preferably each of the tensile members is surrounded by a tube of a suitable polymeric material , e . g . polytetrafluoroethylene , so that it can stretch and rotate independently of the remainder of the cable . fig5 is a perspective view of another cable according to the second preferred aspect of the invention . the cable comprises two tensile members 21 , two cables 22 , each containing multiple individually insulated electrical conductors , a trailing edge member 24 , a braided sleeve 221 which surrounds components 21 , 22 and 24 , and a polymeric jacket 23 . the tensile members 21 can for example be as described above . each of the cables 22 can for example comprise four individually insulated copper alloy conductors spiraled around a synthetic fiber rope , all surrounded by a further layer of insulation and / or a braided wire shield , e . g . of copper or stainless steel . the braided sleeve 221 can for example be composed of a metal or polymeric composition , e . g . kevlar or nylon . the trailing edge member 24 can for example a metal or synthetic fiber rope ; it does not carry load , but helps to maintain the structural integrity of the cable during handling and use . fig6 is a cross - sectional view , and fig7 is a perspective view of a driven rotation coupling which can be used in the fourth preferred aspect of the invention . the figures show a tether 2 which is terminated in a driven rotation coupling 6 . the electrical conductors in the tether are connected to exiting electrical wires 100 through solder joints in electrical connection area 101 which is filled with potting compound ( not shown ) and a sliding contact slip ring 102 . the tensile member in the tether is terminated at location 103 . the coupling comprises a housing 61 and a gear motor 62 whose output is fixed to the housing 61 and whose body is fixed to a center post . the coupling comprises an output hollow shaft 63 , a load carrying bearing 64 , a plastic bushing and primary wiper 65 , a primary seal 66 and a secondary seal 67 . fig8 - 10 illustrates a pressure - sensitive connection for use in the fifth preferred aspect of the invention . the pressure - sensitive connection 7 is mounted on a baseplate 8 which is secured to the float . the connection comprises a pressure activated cylinder 71 , a latch bar 72 and a hinge pin 73 . the tensile member 21 of the tether is terminated with an eye and a pin . the latch bar 72 supports both the eye and the pin , and allows both to pull free when the pressure piston collapses the air chamber .	8
referring first to fig1 , an embodiment of the threadless quick connect tubular coupling disconnection tool 10 is generally illustrated . the various components of the disconnection tool 10 include a head portion 20 , a shank portion 40 and a handle portion 42 . the shank portion 40 connects the head portion 20 to the handle portion 42 . the head portion may be forged or formed of metal and suitably heat treated . the handle portion 42 may by covered or coated with a comfort - grip material 44 . the head portion 20 of the tool has a pair of engagement projection fingers 22 . the inner walls 23 of the engagement projection fingers 22 generally form a v - like shape , namely , the opposing inner walls 23 lie at about forty - five degrees from each other . the bottom of the generally v - shaped opening of the head portion forms a curved line 30 resembling a half circle . the curved line 30 may or may not have a uniform radius , but does not intersect to create a sharp point . the engagement projection fingers 22 have two plane face surfaces 24 and 25 . the plane face surfaces 24 and 25 lie at an acute angle to one another and terminate in a transverse edge 26 . the distance between the two plane face surfaces 24 and 25 provide the disconnect width needed for disengagement of the connected components of a threadless quick connect tubular coupling . again referring to fig1 , to create the threadless quick connect tubular coupling , an exemplary male shoulder 32 is inserted into an exemplary female connector 34 . the male shoulder may spread a latching ring 16 open . when the latching ring 16 is in its open position , the male shoulder 32 can slide past the latching ring . the male shoulder 32 and female connector 34 are then locked into place . as fluid pressure is applied , the latching ring 16 becomes wedged between the male shoulder 32 and the female connector 34 . referring now to fig2 , the threadless quick connect coupling disconnection tool 10 is shown inserted behind a release sleeve 12 . during the disconnection action utilizing the disconnection tool 10 , a steel insert may push the latching ring 16 forward into a groove ( not shown ) in the female half inner diameter , allowing a male shoulder 32 and a female connector 34 to be disconnected . the disconnection tool 10 may be left inserted to aid disassembly , or immediately released from the threadless quick connect tubular coupling . to help avoid release sleeve tearing , a disconnection tool insertion gap ( not shown ) may be created by moving the release sleeve in the release direction using a single projection of the threadless quick connect tubular coupling disconnect tool 10 , prior to completely inserting the disconnection tool 10 . the overall dimensions of the tool may vary according to need ; however , the overall width ( thickness ) of the tool 10 is appropriately sized to move the release sleeve 12 forward far enough to make the disconnection , so that prying sideways with the tool 10 is unnecessary . the overall length of the disconnection tool is appropriate to hold comfortably in the hand and reach the areas for disconnection . the dimensions and orientation angles on the handle may also vary according to need to reach inaccessible areas of the machine and make it most ergonomically friendly for the technicians . referring now to fig3 , an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure is shown that includes a threadless quick connect tubular coupling disconnection tool 10 with at least two head portions 20 . more specifically , this embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least one generally v - shaped head portion 20 with smooth inner walls 23 , and at least one generally v - shaped head portion 20 where the inner walls form steps 50 . on the head portion where the opposing inner walls form steps 50 , each of the steps 50 have a stepped edge 52 . different widths w 1 and w 2 are defined between the stepped edges 52 , and each opposing stepped edge is cooperatively aligned directly across from the other on the opposing inner wall . the stepped edges 52 may have sharp or rounded edges . optionally , the difference between a first width w 1 of the step and a second width w 2 of the step is between 0 . 1 and 0 . 5 inches . it is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the threadless quick connect tubular coupling disconnection tool as shown in the preferred and other exemplary embodiments is illustrative only . although only a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail , those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible ( e . g ., variations in sizes , dimensions , structures , shapes and proportions of the various elements , values of parameters , mounting arrangements , use of materials , etc .) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited . for example , the length or width of the projections or fingers or head portions may be varied , and / or the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied . it should be noted that the elements of the threadless quick connect tubular coupling disconnection tool might be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability , and in any of a wide variety of colors , textures and combinations . accordingly , all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure . other substitutions , modifications , changes and omissions may be made in the design , operating conditions and arrangement of the preferred and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the sprit of the present disclosure .	5
reclaimed material means a substance that has been at least once formed into an article by a shape - transforming process . usually as applied to this invention , shape - transforming process includes thermoplastic processing such as film extrusion of a polymeric composition . virgin material means a raw material synthesized or refined from a crude mixture and which has not been processed to form an article . the reclaimed material can be recovered from manufactured articles and recycled for use as a raw material to make another product . the reclaimed material can be combined with a virgin material to form a part or a whole of the product or it can be incorporated by itself , i . e ., without combining with a virgin material . this invention particularly relates to reclaimed material that includes both polymer and metal components , and especially to reclaimed metalized polymer film , i . e ., a composite film having a layer of polymer and a metal layer positioned thereon . the metalized reclaimed film contemplated for use according to this invention typically has a polymeric layer of about 1 - 1000 μm thickness , and preferably about 1 - 100 μm thickness . the metal component of the reclaimed metalized film is usually a distinct layer of the composite . the typical purposes of the metal component layer are to provide a moisture and / or gas barrier or for aesthetic decoration of the film . hence the metal layer can be any thickness consistent with these utilities . although the metal layer could be as thick as foil in the range of about 1 - 10 μm , usually the metal layer of the film being reclaimed is ultra thin . preferably the metal of the reclaimed film was applied by a type of deposition technique such as vapor , chemical or electrical deposition . the resulting metal layers are usually less than about 1 μm thickness , and therefore , metal layers applied in these ways are determined by such analytical techniques as optical density . the preferred metal layers of reclaimed polymer film suitable for use with this invention have optical density in the range of about 1 - 50 , more preferably about 1 - 20 , and most preferably about 1 - 10 . the metal content on a mass basis of metalized reclaimed film generally contemplated for use with this invention is about 0 . 05 - 1 wt %, preferably about 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 wt % and more preferably about 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 wt %. as will be explained in more detail in this disclosure , according to this invention , the reclaimed metalized polymer film is incorporated as a raw material for the polymeric component of a newly made article . it is contemplated that the composition of the newly made article can contain up to about 95 wt % of a reclaimed metalized polymer film component , preferably 2 - 90 wt %, and more preferably 5 - 50 wt %. this invention is very useful for consuming waste material from the production of metalized polymeric film . sources of such waste material include scrap product generated during deviations from normal operation conditions , such as occur at production line startups , shutdowns and unexpected machine failures . also in film production it is typical to generate scrap product by trimming film product to specification sizes . still further , waste material can include finished product returned to the factory by distributors and customers , for example because of damage in shipment . the present invention can be used to recycle waste material that would otherwise be unreusable as raw material because of the metal coating on the polymer . fig1 illustrates a metalized film 10 according to the present invention in which a polymeric base layer 2 is in direct contact with a layer of metal 1 . the metal layer is usually very thin relative to layer 2 and is deposited onto the polymer layer by conventional methods such as vapor deposition . the polymeric base layer includes metalized polymer reclaimed material . the metalized polymer reclaimed material is a blend of polymer and metal particles . the composition of the polymeric base layer may be exclusively metalized polymer reclaimed material . usually , the polymeric base layer includes some metalized polymer reclaimed material and other polymer material . the other polymer material may be virgin material polymer , nonmetalized polymer reclaim material , metalized polymer reclaim material or a mixture of them . typically , the source of the metalized polymer reclaim material is a metalized polymer film . the metalized polymer film is usually shredded to a particulate form , sometimes referred to as “ flake ”. the flake may be further processed to pellet form for ease of material handling and crystallized to reduce agglomeration . the metalized polymer reclaim material can be fed into melt processing equipment to form end use products , such as films and articles , for example molded parts . preferably the metalized polymer reclaim material is extruded to form a polymeric base layer 2 which can then be coated with a layer of metal 1 to produce a composite film as illustrated in fig1 . according to this invention , a two - layer metalized film structure as seen in fig1 can be combined with a substrate layer 4 to form a composite film 20 as illustrated in fig2 . in the drawing figures , like parts have the same reference numbers . the substrate layer is usually polymeric and free of metal . preferably , the polymer is virgin material , nonmetalized polymer reclaim material or a mixture of them . the two - layer metalized film structure contributes enhanced barrier resistance to the composite film 20 . the composite film can be formed by adding a preformed metalized film 10 onto a substrate layer 4 either as the substrate layer is formed , e . g ., by film extrusion , or after the substrate layer is formed . alternatively , the composite film 20 can be formed in situ in a coextrusion and coating process in which the substrate layer 4 is first extruded as a film , the polymeric base layer 2 is coextruded onto the substrate layer , and finally the metal layer 1 is deposited onto the surface of the polymeric base layer . in another embodiment of this invention there is a multilayer film structure 30 as seen in fig3 . in this embodiment , there is a core layer 3 interposed between the polymeric base layer 2 and the substrate layer 4 . the polymeric base layer , which comprises metalized polymer reclaim material is sometimes referred to herein as a skin layer . in preferred utilities , the core layer provides unique qualities to the composite 30 such as strength , puncture resistance and the like . it is contemplated that the core layer is greater thickness than the skin layer or the substrate layer . preferably , the polymer composition suitable for use with this invention is pet . it is contemplated that the novel use of metalized polymer reclaimation can also be used with other polymers such as oriented polypropylene “ opp ”, oriented high density polyethylene “ ohdpe ”, and oriented polyamide ( nylon ). for example , it is contemplated to shred and pelletize a film of opp film metalized on one side by vapor deposition to an optical density ranging from 0 . 5 - 5 . 0 . this pelletized material can then be used as a portion or the whole of the core and / or skin layer of a newly made opp film . the reclaimed metalized opp replaces at least a portion of the virgin polypropylene resin in such a film for cost - reduction purposes . in a preferred embodiment , metalized polymer reclaim material comprises polymer of pet and metal of aluminum . when the pelletized or densified reclaimed material is a component in the skin layer 2 of a pet film , the aluminum particles are thought to have a beneficial effect upon subsequent aluminum metalization of the skin . that is , the aluminum particles affect the film surface of the side to be metalized so as to provide anchoring points for the aluminum vapor being deposited in a vacuum onto the film surface . this use of reclaimed metalized pet can thus improve the bond force and applied aluminum layer density compared to pet films that do not have the aluminum particles within the pet layer . having increased bond strength and metal density , the aluminum layer provides remarkably higher barrier properties then traditionally prepared metalized pet at the same aluminum layer thickness . when pelletized or densified metalized reclaim material is a component in the core layer of a pet film , that is , a non - surface - metalized polymer film , the dispersed aluminum particles within the reclaim material seem to provide improved barrier properties to the resultant pet film without subsequent metalization . a tortuous path for migrating species to transfer across through the film that is created by higher levels of metal particles of the core layer improves moisture vapor transmission rate “ mvtr ” and oxygen transmission rate “ otr ” relative to conventional pet film shown in fig1 . in addition , at sufficiently high concentrations of metalized reclaim , the film can act as a susceptor for microwave “ mw ” radiation . a susceptor is a material that absorbs electromagnetic energy and converts it to heat . typical susceptor uses are browning food products in mw ovens and it is a common use of very low optical density aluminum deposition ( very thin layer ) on pet films . the use of aluminum reclaim material in the core of pet film is contemplated to perform the same function as the very thin layer of aluminum in the mw field with the advantage that the pet film does not need to be subsequently metallized for added expense . thus according to this invention a polyester film that has been evaporatively metalized can be reclaimed by shredding and densifying . the reclaimed material is subsequently used as a reclaim feed stream in production of biaxially oriented polyester film which can be metalized on the surface containing the metalized reclaim stream . the resulting metalized polyester film including metalized polymer reclaim material in the polyester layer provides improved oxygen barrier , compared to an equivalent structure film of polyester that does not contain such reclaim stream . this invention is now illustrated by examples of certain representative embodiments thereof , wherein all parts , proportions and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated . the term “ gauge ” in this disclosure means a measure of plastic sheet thickness and corresponds to 3 . 94 gauge units per p . m . polyethylene terephthalate pet film was continuously cast and stretched to form an oriented pet film of 36 gauge ( 9 . 1 μm ) nominal thickness . the polymer contained no metalized reclaim . this oriented pet sheet was plasma treated on one side and then aluminum was placed by vapor deposition on the treated side to a nominal thickness of about 3 . 0 optical density (“ o . d ”). ten randomly located sample swatches of the metalized film were obtained and subjected to analyses for moisture vapor transmission rate (“ mvtr ”) by astm method f1249 and for optical density (“ od ”) by method cmp od - 1 . results are shown in table i , below . reclaimed metalized pet was obtained by trimming pet film on which had been deposited a layer of aluminum metal of about 3 . 0 nominal optical density . the pet of this film contained no metalized reclaim material , i . e ., there was no aluminum in the pet . this metalized film was shredded into a flake and densified to form pellets . the densified reclaimed metalized pet contained 0 . 33 wt % aluminum . the reclaimed metalized pet pellets were melt blended with non - metalized reclaimed pet film at a 1 : 9 weight ratio . the melt blend was cast and stretched to form pet film containing 10 wt % of metalized reclaimed pet . the plasma treatment and aluminum deposition procedure of comp . ex . 1 was repeated to place an aluminum layer on the this pet film to form an aluminum metal - coated film . three randomly located sample swatches of the metalized film were obtained and sampled for mvtr and od . results are also shown in table i . the film preparation procedure of comparative example 1 was repeated except that the pet film was not plasma treated before aluminum layer deposition . three randomly located sample swatches of the metalized film were obtained and subjected to analysis for mvtr and od . results are also shown in table i , below . reclaimed metalized pet was obtained from trimmings of pet film containing no metalized reclaim material and coated with aluminum to a nominal optical density of about 3 . 0 . this reclaimed metalized film was shredded and densified to form pellets as in ex . 2 . the reclaimed metalized pet pellets were melt blended with pellets formed from the non - plasma treated pet of comp . ex . 3 at a 1 : 19 weight ratio to produce 5 wt % reclaimed metalized pet . the metalized film preparation procedure of comp . ex . 3 was repeated using the 5 wt % reclaimed metalized pet blend to form an aluminum metal - coated oriented pet film . three randomly located sample swatches of the metalized film were obtained and sampled for mvtr and od . results are also shown in table i . average mvtr values were calculated from each of the multiple sample performance analyses for comp . exs . 1 , and 3 , and exs . 2 and 4 . as seen from table i , the mvtr value for the treated pet film having 10 % reclaimed metalized film dropped from 0 . 2677 of the metalized virgin pet film to 0 . 1281 ( reduction of 52 %). similarly , for the untreated pet film , the mvtr reduction was from 0 . 2158 to 0 . 1357 ( reduction of 37 %). a metalized treated virgin pet film was prepared similarly as in comp . ex . 1 . multiple random sample swatches were taken and analyzed for oxygen transmission rate (“ otr ”) by method astm d3985 and for od . data are shown in table ii . oxygen transmission of metalized pet film with 5 % and 10 % reclaim reclaimed metalized pet was obtained from trimmings of pet film coated to a nominal optical density of about 3 . 0 with aluminum metal . this metalized film was shredded into a flake and densified to form pellets having 0 . 33 % aluminum . the reclaimed metalized pet pellets were melt blended with pellets of non - metalized pet film reclaim material of the cast and stretched pet film described in comp . ex . 5 . the metalized film production procedure of comp . ex . 5 was repeated using the oriented pet film containing reclaimed metalized pet to form aluminum metal - coated films . for ex . 6 , the reclaimed metalized pet was blended with non - metalized pet at a 1 : 19 weight ratio to produce 5 wt % reclaimed metalized pet . for ex . 7 , the ratio was 1 : 9 to produce a 10 wt % reclaimed metalized pet . randomly located sample swatches of the metalized films were obtained and sampled for otr and od . results are also shown in table ii . results of table ii show that the virgin pet film metalized with aluminum to an optical density of about 3 . 0 , had an oxygen transmission rate of 0 . 082 cc / 100 in 2 / day on average . the average oxygen transmission rates for similarly metalized pet films that included 5 and 10 wt % reclaimed metalized pet in the polymeric layer were reduced to about half that value . a metalized virgin pet film was prepared similarly as in comp . ex . 3 . multiple random sample swatches were taken and analyzed for otr and od . data are shown in table iii . oxygen transmission of metalized pet film with 5 % and 10 % reclaim reclaimed metalized pet was obtained from trimmings of pet film of polymer containing no metalized reclaim material and with an aluminum coating of 3 . 0 nominal optical density . this metalized film was shredded into a flake and densified to form pellets containing 0 . 33 wt . % aluminum . the reclaimed metalized pet pellets were blended with pellets of non - metalized pet film of the cast and stretched base film described in comp . ex . 8 and melt blended therewith . the metalized film production procedure of comp . ex . 8 was repeated using the pet blends to form aluminum metal - coated films . for ex . 9 , the reclaimed metalized pet was blended with virgin pet at a 1 : 19 weight ratio to produce 5 wt % reclaimed metalized pet . for ex , 10 , the ratio was 1 : 9 to produce a 10 wt % reclaimed metalized pet . randomly located sample swatches of the metalized films were obtained and sampled for otr and od . results are also shown in table iii . results of table iii show that the virgin pet film metalized with aluminum to an optical density of about 3 . 0 had an oxygen transmission rate of 0 . 069 cc / 100 in 2 / day on average . the average oxygen transmission rate for similarly metalized pet films that included 5 % reclaimed metalized pet in the polymeric layer was reduced to about 62 % of that value . moreover , increasing the reclaimed metalized pet content of the polymeric layer to 10 % reduced the otr value to 45 % of the virgin pet metalized film otr . although specific forms of the invention have been selected in the preceding disclosure for illustration in specific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of the invention fully and amply for one of average skill in the pertinent art , it should be understood that various substitutions and modifications which bring about substantially equivalent or superior results and / or performance are deemed to be within the scope and spirit of the following claims . all u . s . patents named in this disclosure are hereby fully incorporated by reference herein .	8
the manipulator as shown in fig1 to 3 serves to position a test head 40 on a device handler ( not shown ) for example for ics or wafers . for this purpose , the manipulator comprises a column 10 composed of two upright posts 11 a and 11 b spaced away from each other . the column 10 is arranged on a rotational plate 50 which is secured to a bedplate 60 . by means of the rotational plate 50 the column 10 is rotatable about its vertical axis . depending on the particular application , the rotational plate 50 may also be additionally guided on rails secured to the bedplate 60 to ensure maximum possible positioning of the column 10 in its entirety . arranged on each upright post 11 a , 11 b of the column 10 is a linear guide 12 a , 12 b respectively by means of which a slave actuator 13 clasping two opposing outer faces 15 a , 15 b of the upright posts 11 a , 11 b can be travelled along the column 10 vertically . in this arrangement , the slave actuator 13 may be powered manually , hydraulically and / or pneumatically or electrically . in the latter case , the linear guides 12 a , 12 b are expediently components of a linear motor . by means of an arresting lever 16 a the slave actuator 13 can be locked in each position . referring now to fig1 there is illustrated in particular how positioning means 20 are arranged on the slave actuator 13 for travelling in the horizontal plane . the positioning means 20 comprise articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b disposed in pairs one above the other . each of the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b is hinged at one end to a mount 31 and connected by its other end to the carriages 23 a , 23 b . assigned to the carriages 23 a , 23 b are guides 14 a , 14 b by means of which the carriages 23 a , 23 b can be travelled horizontally . the guides 14 a , 14 b configured as linear guides are arranged on the slave actuator 13 for travelling each independently of the other . the carriages 23 a , 23 b may be powered by known ways and means manually , pneumatically and / or hydraulically or electrically . when powered electrically the guides 14 a , 14 b and the carriages 23 a , 23 b are expediently components of a linear motor . in this case it is good practice in a kinematic inverse assembly to arrange the carriages 23 a , 23 b on the slave actuator 13 and to connect the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b to the ends of the guides 14 a , 14 b . each of the carriages 23 a , 23 b can be locked in position by an arresting lever 26 a . each of the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b arranged pivotable about a vertical axis on the carriages 23 a , 23 b and the mount 31 can be likewise locked in position . for this purpose at least one clamping plate 24 a is provided on which an arresting lever 25 a preferably configured as an eccentric gear is arranged and which locates the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b positively connected . at its upper end the mount 31 comprises a horizontally extending transverse axis 32 on which pivot arms 36 a , 36 b connected to the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b are hinged . arranged at each lower end of the pivot arms 36 a , 36 b is an adjustable spacer 33 a for precisely setting the inclination of the pivot arms 36 a , 36 b relative to a holder 30 secured to the mount 31 for the test head 40 . the holder 30 is arranged by means of pivot bearing 35 on the side of the mount 31 opposite the pivot arms 36 a , 36 b . the pivot bearing 35 permits rotation of the substantially bifurcated holder 30 about its longitudinal centerline extending in the y direction . in addition , the test head 40 is arranged on the holder 30 for pivoting about an axis of rotation 41 extending horizontally in the y direction so that a face 42 of the test head 40 is able to assume any position three - dimensionally . the holder 30 and the mount 31 are provided with a through - passage 34 , as is particularly evident from fig2 b . the through - passage 34 serves to receive the cable assembly of the test head 40 for leading it out between the upright posts 11 a , 11 b . referring now to fig3 there is illustrated in particular how the slave actuator 13 is connected to a counterweight 73 by a belt 72 guided over a pulley 71 at the upper end of the column 10 . the counterweight assembly 70 formed in this way serves to compensate the load on the positioning means 20 caused by the , as a rule , relatively heavy weight of the test head 40 by known ways and means . to make for balanced loading , the counterweight 73 is split in two parts , each of which moves within the upright posts 11 a , 11 b . the manipulator as described above is characterized by precise repeatability in smooth motion of the test head 40 . the reason for this is the ability to position the slave actuator 13 vertically in the z direction . in addition to this the test head 40 can be reproducibly positioned in the horizontal plane by the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b and carriages 23 a , 23 b . referring now to fig4 a to 4 d there are illustrated various positions of the positioning means 20 . in fig4 a the positioning means 20 are in a home position , i . e . the carriages 23 a , 23 b are retracted on the slave actuator 13 and the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b are parked in a position parallel to the carriages 23 a , 23 b . in fig4 b the positioning means 20 are positioned for linear travel relative to the test head 40 , i . e . the position of the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b is unchanged but the carriages 23 a , 23 b are travelled somewhat further in the y direction . referring now to fig4 c there is illustrated the positioning means 20 positioned so that although the test head 40 is pivoted in both the x direction and y direction , its face 42 always remains oriented parallel to the column 10 . to ensure shifting of the test head 40 exclusively in the x direction , the shift in the y direction prompted by pivoting the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b can be compensated by a corresponding shift in the movement of the carriages 23 a , 23 b . referring now to fig4 d there is illustrated another positions of moving the test head 40 by the positioning means 20 showing the carriages 23 a , 23 b each positioned independently of the other differingly far from the home position as shown in fig4 a . it is in this way that the articulated arms 21 a , 22 a , 22 b are pivoted such that the test head 40 is rotated relative to its starting position as shown in fig4 a . in the position as shown in fig4 d the face 42 of the test head 40 is oriented inclined to , for instance , the side of the slave actuator 13 opposing the test head 40 . rotation of the test head 40 solely by the positioning means 20 can be combined with rotation of the column 10 by the rotational plate 50 for speedy , convenient movement of the test head 40 into any position three - dimensionally . the manipulator as described above is characterized in addition by a simple and compact configuration . this is primarily due to splitting the column 10 into two upright posts 11 a , 11 b spaced away from each other since this now makes it possible to route the cable assembly of the test head 40 through the through - passage 34 without kinking between the two upright posts 11 a , 11 b . the spacing of the upright posts 11 a , 11 b from each other is expediently selected as a function of the thickness of the cable assembly . it is in addition useful to arrange the upright posts 11 a , 11 b symmetrically on the rotational plate 50 for kinkless cable routing . furthermore , the pivot arms 36 of the mount 31 permit precise orientation of the holder 30 relative to the positioning means 20 which due to the relatively heavy weight of the test head 40 in general are subjected to quite considerable flexural loading . last but not least , providing the counterweight assembly 70 makes for comparatively smooth positioning of the positioning means 20 .	1
preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings . in the following description , a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein has been omitted for conciseness . an mimo system including n t transmission antennas and n r reception antennas , to which a signal detection method according to the present invention is applied , is expressed as equation ( 1 ): ( y 1 y 2 ⋮ y n r ) ︸ y = ( h 11 h 12 ⋯ h 1 ⁢ n t h 21 h 22 ⋯ h 2 ⁢ n t ⋮ ⋮ ⋰ ⋮ h n r ⁢ 1 h n r ⁢ 2 ⋯ h n r ⁢ n t ) ︸ h ⁢ ( x 1 x 2 ⋮ x n t ) ︸ x + ( z 1 z 2 ⋮ z n r ) ︸ z equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 1 ) where x i indicates a transmission signal transmitted from an i th transmission antenna ( where i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n t ), y i indicates a reception signal received from an i th reception antenna ( where i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n r ), and z i ˜ n ( 0 , σ z 2 ) indicates a gaussian noise ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n r ). herein , n ( 0 , σ z 2 ) is a normal distribution of which the average is “ 0 ” and the standard deviation is σ 2 . on the assumption that x i is an m - qam ( m - order quadrature amplitude modulation ) signal , a maximum likelihood ( ml ) can be expressed as follows using equation ( 2 ). x ml = arg ⁢ ⁢ min x ⁢  y - hx  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 2 ) for an exhaustive search , m n t combinations for a transmission symbol should be considered . theorem 1 . necessary and sufficient condition to calculate an ml ( maximum likelihood ) solution in a linear system of equation ( 1 ), when i ={ 1 , 2 , . . . , n t } is defined and ml solutions for jεi are assumed to be x i , ml ( iεi \{ j }), an ml solution is x j , ml if x j satisfies the equation ( 3 ): x j = q ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) ) equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 3 ) where q (•) indicates a slicing function and h i indicates an i th column of a system matrix h ( iεi ). equation ( 4 ) can be induced from the definition of the ml solution . min { x i ❘ i ∈ i } ∈ c n t ⁢  y - hx  = min x j ∈ c ⁢  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - h j ⁢ x j  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 4 ) herein , c represents constellation . therefore , if equation ( 5 ) is satisfied , x j is also the ml solution . x j = ⁢ arg ⁢ ⁢ min x j ⁢  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - h j ⁢ x j  = a ⁢ ⁢ arg ⁢ ⁢ min x j ⁢  h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) - x j  = b ⁢ ⁢ q ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) ) equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 5 ) the relationship a is proved using equations 6 - 9 below , and the relationship b is true based on the definition of the slicing function . y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml = αξ j + βξ ⁢ 1 j equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 6 ) where α , β , and ξ j are defined as follows . α = ξ j h ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 7 ) β =  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - αξ j  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 8 ) ξ ⁢ 1 j = y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - αξ j β equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 9 ) thus , the objective function of equation ( 6 ) can be expressed as equation ( 10 ).  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - h j ⁢ x j  =  αξ j + βξ ⁢ 1 j -  h j  ⁢ x j ⁢ ξ j  =  ( α - x j ⁢  h j  ) ⁢ ξ j + βξ ⁢ 1 j  =  α -  h j  ⁢ x j  2 +  β  2 equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 10 ) where the square root function is a cumulative function and the ∥ β ∥ term is a constant for the given x i , ml ( iεi \{ j }). thus , by minimizing ∥ α −∥ hj ∥ xj ∥, the same effect as when minimizing the objective function of equation ( 11 ) can be achieved .  α  h j  - x j  =  h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) - x j  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 11 ) it can be seen from equation ( 6 ) that the last element is acquired from maximal ratio combining ( mrc ) and slicing when ml solutions x i , ml ( iεi \{ j }) are the same as transmission signals . in a signal detection method according to a first embodiment of the present invention , an improved ml decoding method is suggested . thus , according to the present invention , the ml problem for jεi in the linear system expressed as equation ( 1 ) can be re - arranged as equation ( 3 ). { x i , ml \| i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } } = arg ⁢ ⁢ min { x i \| i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } } ⁢  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i - h j ⁢ q ⁡ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i ) )  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 12 ) the ml solution x j , ml is calculated by theorem 1 . min { x i \| i ∈ i } ⁢  y - hx  =  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - h j ⁢ q ⁡ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) )  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 13 ) thus , equation ( 14 ) can be acquired for jεi and x i εc ( iεi \{ j }).  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - h j ⁢ q ⁡ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) )  ≤  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i - h j ⁢ q ⁡ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i ) )  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 14 )  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml - h j ⁢ q ⁡ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , ml ) )  = min { x i \| i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } } ⁢  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i - h j ⁢ q ⁡ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i ) )  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 16 ) thus , by theorem 1 , equation ( 17 ) and the ml solution for x j can be acquired . { x i , ml \| i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } } = arg ⁢ { x i \| i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } } min ⁢  y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i - h j ⁢ q ⁢ ( h j h  h j  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ i ∈ i ⁢ \ ⁢ { j } ⁢ h i ⁢ x i ) )  equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 17 ) by using the mml theorems according to the present invention , it is necessary to calculate only m n t − 1 matrices for the exhaustive search , thereby reducing the number of matrix calculations by the coefficient of a constellation size m . for example , in the case of a 2 × n r mimo system , m matrix calculations are required for an ml search . hereinafter , a signal detection method for an mimo system employing spatial multiplexing according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described . even if the number of matrix calculations according to the mml algorithm is reduced by the coefficient of a constellation size , the complexity of matrix calculation increases with an increase in n t . when n t is large , recursive spatial demultiplexing can be used in the second embodiment of the present invention to further reduce the complexity of the mml algorithm . to formulate the recursive mml problem for n t ≧ 3 , a system in which n t = n r = 3 will be used for the sake of clarity . to calculate the sub - optimal solution of the 3 × 3 ml problem , the 3 × 3 ml problem is not directly solved . instead , the solution of the ml problem of a 2 × 2 sub - system of a 3 × 3 system is calculated . when the signal detection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used , matrix calculation amounting to \| c \| 2 is required to calculate the solution of the 3 × 3 ml problem . if the ml problem is solved using six 2 × 2 sub - systems , matrix calculation amounts to 6 ×\| c \|. thus , computational complexity in a system using large constellation sizes such as 16 - qam or 64 - qam can be reduced about to 6  c  ⁢ ⁢ ( i . e . , ⁢ respectively ) ⁢ ⁢ 3 8 ⁢ ⁢ and ⁢ ⁢ 3 32 , ⁢ respectively ) . fig1 a and 1b are diagrams illustrating matrixes for explaining the signal detection method for an mimo system employing spatial multiplexing according to the first embodiment of the present invention . in the signal detection method according to the second embodiment of the present invention , some of elements of the original channel matrix are forcedly set to 0 to select a 2 × 2 sub - system . to this end , a givens rotation is used . through two givens rotations , both a reception signal and a noise component are transformed . however , since a givens rotation matrix is an identity matrix , noise remains unchanged . in fig1 a , h 21 and h 31 among elements of a 3 × 3 channel matrix are set to 0 and a 2 × 2 sub - system 11 composed of h 22 , h 23 , h 32 , and h 33 is selected . in fig1 a , { circle around ( x )} represents to be set as ‘ 0 ’. once the 2 × 2 sub - system 11 is configured , it is solved using the mml algorithm according to the first embodiment of the present invention in order to determine two transmission symbols as shown in fig1 b . if solutions in transmission symbol determination are assumed to be the ml solutions of the original system , the solution for the last symbol can be calculated by theorem 1 as equation ( 13 ): x 1 , opt = q ⁡ ( h 1 h  h 1  2 ⁢ ( y - ∑ t = 2 , 3 ⁢ h i ⁢ x i , opt ) ) equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 18 ) if solutions in symbol determination are assumed to be the ml solutions of the 3 × 3 system , the last estimated component is also the ml solution of the 3 × 3 system . however , it may be difficult to ascertain whether solutions in symbol determination are the same as the ml solutions of the original large system . thus , the ml solution of the 3 × 3 system can provide a diversity degree of 3 , whereas the ml solution of the 2 × 2 sub - system can only provide a diversity degree of 2 . when solutions in transmission symbol determination are not the ml solutions of the original 3 × 3 system , a solution in the last step , ( i . e ., equation 18 ), is not the ml solution , either . to compensate for a diversity loss in transmission symbol determination , several 2 × 2 sub - systems may be configured from the original 3 × 3 system . fig2 illustrates 2 × 2 sub - systems that can be configured from a 3 × 3 system in the signal detection method according to the second embodiment of the present invention , in which nine 2 × 2 sub - systems are configured from the 3 × 3 system . a single candidate set is calculated for each of the sub - systems and a calculation result is stored for subsequent matrix comparison . a set having the minimum matrix is selected from among the candidate sets . hereinafter , a process of forming sub - systems and solving each of the sub - systems to calculate the solution of the entire system in the signal detection method according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be generalized . if a channel matrix is hε n r × n t \| in a system in which n r ≧ n t & gt ; 3 , several sub - systems in a hε n r × n t \| dimension can be configured . ( n r − 2 )×( n t − 2 ) sub - systems may be configured to solve a ( n r − 1 )×( n t − 1 ) system , and a sub - system of a smaller size may be configured until a ( n r − n t + 2 )× 2 sub - system that can be solved using the mml theorems is acquired . considering a givens rotation required to configure the ( n r − 1 )×( n t − 1 ) system from the ( n r − 2 )×( n t − 2 ) sub - systems , the original system matrix hε n r × n t is multiplied by the following matrix of equation ( 19 ): ∏ { p , q } n r - 1 ⁢ g ⁡ ( p , q , k ) equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 19 ) if p & lt ; q in g ( p , q , k ) of equation ( 19 ), a givens rotation matrix is expressed as equation ( 20 ). if p & lt ; q in g ( p , q , k ) of equation ( 19 ), the givens rotation matrix is expressed as equation ( 21 ). g ⁡ ( p , q , k ) = [ 1 0 ⋯ 0 ⋰ c s ⋰ - s c ⋰ 0 ⋯ 0 1 ] ⁢ ← p ← q equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 20 ) ↑ ↑ p q g ⁡ ( p , q , k ) = [ 1 0 ⋯ 0 ⋰ c - s ⋰ s c ⋰ 0 ⋯ 0 1 ] ⁢ ← q ← p ↑ ↑ q p equation ⁢ ⁢ ( 21 ) c = h ⁡ ( p , k )  h ⁡ ( p , k )  2 +  h ⁡ ( q , k )  2 ⁢ ⁢ and ⁢ ⁢ s = h ⁡ ( q , k )  h ⁡ ( p , k )  2 +  h ⁡ ( q , k )  2 . g ( p , q , k ) causes an ( q , k ) th element of a subject matrix to be 0 if p & lt ; q and an ( p , k ) th element of the subject matrix to be 0 if p & gt ; q . table 1 shows a recursive mml ( rmml ) in the signal detection method according to the second embodiment of the present invention . table 2 shows a comparison between computational complexities when signal detection methods according to the present invention and a conventional signal detection method are applied to a 4 × 4 spatial multiplexing mimo system . as can be seen from table 2 , the signal detection methods using the mml algorithm and the rmml algorithm according to the present invention require fewer calculations than the conventional signal detection method using the ml algorithm . the signal detection method using the rmml algorithm according to the second embodiment of the present invention requires fewer calculations than the conventional signal detection method when constellation size is small . as described above , according to the present invention , by minimizing decoding complexity while maintaining the optimal decoding performance of ml decoding , system performance can be improved . moreover , according to the present invention , a sub - system composed of some of elements of a channel matrix is selected in a system having a large number of transmission / reception antennas and a decoding operation is performed . the entire signal is then detected using a signal acquired from the sub - system , thereby further reducing decoding complexity . furthermore , according to the present invention , the entire signal is detected using a plurality of sub - system channel matrices selected from a channel matrix of the entire system , thereby minimizing both a diversity loss , caused by sub - system selection , and decoding complexity . while the present invention has been shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
in fig1 there is shown the basic element 11 of a single station in the preferred embodiment of the invention . element 11 comprises a crystal 12 of electro - optic material , preferably lithium - niobate ( linbo 3 ) having first and second titanium optical waveguides 13 and 14 different therein . such devices and the methods of making them are shown and described in &# 34 ; integrated optical circuits and components , design and applications &# 34 ; edited by lynn d . hutcheson , marcel dekker , inc ., 1987 , chapter 6 ; and in &# 34 ; optical fiber telecommunications ii &# 34 ;, academic press , inc ., 1988 , chapter 11 . as is pointed out in those references , other types of materials , such as fe - doped in ga as p / inp might also be used , but ti i linbo 3 is the preferred material in the present invention . as shown in fig1 waveguides 13 and 14 are , at the input end 16 of crystal 12 , spaced apart a sufficient distance to enable reliable coupling thereto by means of a coupler 17 . coupler 17 may be any of a number of types , that are shown being similar to the coupler types having low insertion loss shown in &# 34 ; fiber attachment for guided wave devices &# 34 ; by edmond j . murphy , journal of lightwave technology , vol . 6 , no . 6 , june , 1988 , pp . 862 - 871 . coupler l7 comprises first and second silicon chips 18 and 19 which precision couple an input optical fiber 21 to waveguide 13 and an output optical fiber 22 to waveguide 14 . as can be seen in fig1 waveguides 13 and 14 which typically are separated by 250 microns center to center bend inward toward the centerline of crystal 12 and extend parallel and in close proximity to each other , i . e ., from 2 to 10 microns , along the length of the crystal , thereby forming within the crystal - waveguide member a directional coupler . directional couplers of this type are shown and described in &# 34 ; switched directional couplers with alternating δβ &# 34 ;, by herwig kogelnik et al . ieee journal of quantum electronics , vol . qe - 12 , no . 7 , july 1976 , at pp . 396 - 401 . in the element 11 of fig1 the length l of the region wherein the guides 13 and 14 couple is preferably made to be approximately one - half or odd multiple thereof of the coupling length l as discussed in the kogelnik et al . article , hence , an optical wave inputted on guide 13 will not completely transfer to guide 14 before the end 23 of crystal 12 . end 23 has affixed thereon a partially reflecting mirror 24 which passes approximately five percent ( 5 %) of the light impinging thereon and reflects the remainder . as a consequence , the reflected light continues to couple from guide 13 to guide 14 , and , in the absence of any modulating signal , emerges from crystal 12 via guide 14 . thus , the directional coupler is , in effect , folded by the action of mirror 24 . folded directional couplers are shown in &# 34 ; 180 °-- turns in integrated optics &# 34 ; by tietgen et al ., optics communications , vol . 36 , no . 4 , 1981 , pp . 281 - 284 . as was discussed hereinbefore , and will be further discussed hereinafter , the light passing through mirror 24 and existing crystal 12 is detected by detection means 26 , which may take any one of a number of forms known in the art . detector 26 is of a size and nature such that it does not need to be precisely aligned with the axis of crystal 12 . deposited or otherwise mounted on crystal 12 are first and second modulating electrodes 27 and 28 in the form of flat plates which extend parallel to guides 13 and 14 along at least a portion of the coupling region . electrodes 27 and 28 are spaced from each other by a gap 29 which is centered over the centerline of crystal 12 and extends parallel thereto . connected to electrode 27 is an electrical lead 31 , and electrode 28 has connected thereto a lead 32 , for the application of modulating voltages , as will be discussed more fully hereinafter . in fig2 there is shown a block diagram of a station network embodying the principles of the present invention , comprising four substantially identical stations , i , ii , iii and iv . each of the stations has the basic station 11 , connected via input optical fiber 21 and output optical fiber 22 to an optical fiber bus 36 . the number of stations will , in practice , depend upon the extent of the network , those shown in fig2 being for illustrative purposes only . a source 37 of optical waves or energy is connected at one end of the bus 36 and directs light therealong . located along bus 36 between stations are erbium doped amplifier sections 38 , 38 which , as pointed out hereinbefore , amplify the signals traveling along the bus . the exact number and location of the sections 38 , 38 depends upon the extent of the system or network and the demands thereof , those shown in fig2 being for illustrative purposes only . at each station , the output of the detector 26 is connected directly to a computing or command module 39 which operates in the csma / cd protocol , as discussed in the preceding . also , each station has a signal processing module 41 for signal processing , i . e ., sending and receiving signals on bus 36 . module 41 is connected to the modulating or basic unit 11 via leads 31 and 32 , and also is directly connected to module 39 via lead 42 for receiving command signals from the module 39 . signal inputs and outputs to the individual stations are applied to or extracted from module 41 by means of connections 43 and 45 respectively . a beam dump 44 or other means of disposing the light waves on bus 36 is provided at the far end of bus 36 . it is understood that module 41 has memory or other means for storing the signal until transmission is enabled by control 39 through connection 42 . in operation , where there is no modulating signal , e . g ., telephone conversation , digital data , or the like , on any of the stations , the optical energy from light source 37 is applied to station i via fiber 21 , reflected by mirror 24 shown in fig1 and exits station i via fiber 22 . a small fraction of the energy is detected by detector 26 and applied to module 39 . if none of the stations ii , 1ii and iv is transmitting , module 39 recognizes that the bus is clear for signal transmission , as is the case at stations ii , iii and iv . when one of the stations , e . g ., station 1ii , receives a signal for transmission , module 39 &# 34 ; orders &# 34 ; signal processing module 41 to transmit , and the unit 11 receives a modulating voltage from module 41 which is applied to electrodes 27 and 28 , shown in fig1 . the electric field thus applied to the electrodes varies the transmission characteristics of the guides 13 and 14 , shown in fig1 i . e ., the index of refraction of the guides , to a different degree due to the direction of the field on one guide being different from the direction of the field on the other guide , and hence , the coupling between the guides is varied . these variations constitute a modulation of the power on bus 36 . the modulated power exits station iii via lead 22 and is applied to station iv , which detects the modulated signal and its command module 39 prevents signal processing module 41 from applying any signals to unit 11 . at the same time , an inverted modulated signal exits station iii via lead 21 and is applied to station ii which likewise goes into a &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; mode . the modulated optical wave is reflected by station ii and applied to station i which also goes into the &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; mode . thus , with the arrangement of fig2 wherein each station comprises the basic element 11 of fig1 and the detector 26 and command modules 39 , for the example just discussed , where only one station is transmitting , there can be no collision by definition . on the other hand , in the case where stations ii and iii , for example , simultaneously , or nearly so , commence to transmit , such transmission is virtually immediately detected by both stations , indicating a collision , and both stations are immediately stopped from transmitting by their respective command modules 39 , 39 . the delay for each station is random in nature , and usually different from the other station , hence , after a delay , one of the stations will commence transmitting again before the other , thereby blocking that other station from transmitting . the system shown in fig2 is a highly reliable and efficient arrangement , whether there are only two stations on the bus or a multiplicity of stations , for example , eight , eleven , twelve , fifteen , or even twenty - four , or more . the system of fig2 can be made even more reliable by the introduction of redundancy . thus , instead of a single light source 37 , two or more light sources might be used , connected in parallel , with a switching arrangement for switching therebetween . in fig3 there is shown a preferred arrangement for introducing redundancy into the system , thereby increasing its reliability . the system of fig3 comprises the station arrangement as shown and described with regard to fig2 . however , the optical energy from source 37 first passes through a 2 × 2 optical switch 44 before entering onto bus 36 , and at the far end of the array through a second 2 × 2 optical switch 46 and to a detector 47 . a detector 49 is also connected to one port of switch 44 , and a light source 48 is connected to one port of switch 46 . the fourth ports of the two switches 44 and 46 are connected together by a test bus 51 . in operation , light wave energy passes from source 37 along bus 36 to stations i , ii , iii and iv , and through switch 46 to detector 47 . if source 37 fails or its light output otherwise becomes inadequate , detector 47 and its associated circuitry sends a signal to light source 48 over lead 53 , turning it on , and to switch 46 over lead 52 to switch the light output of source 48 onto bus 36 . when this occurs , a signal may also be sent to detector 49 , over test bus 51 , for example , causing it to send a switching signal to switch 44 over lead 56 to switch light source 37 out of the circuit and detector 49 into the circuit to monitor the light output of source 48 . thus , the system is protected against a breakdown or failure of a light source , and operation continues substantially without interruption . test bus 51 also makes it possible to test light source 48 &# 34 ; off - line &# 34 ;, i . e ., even while light source 37 and the remainder of the systems are operating normally . the system of the present invention using the basic element 11 shown in fig1 is capable of high speed operation with a high degree of reliability , does not require multiple light sources , does not require large amounts of power , : and is both simple and economical . it retains all of the advantages of fiber optic performance in adapting a csma / cd type network to fiber optic operation . the system of the invention has been shown wherein the csma / cd protocol is used . the invention is also adaptable for use with other protocols as well . the invention has been disclosed in a preferred embodiment thereof for purposes of illustrating the features and principles involved . numerous changes or modifications might readily occur to workers in the art without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the various components of each station have been shown separately . with the state of technology today , many of these components and their functions might be embodied in , for example , a single integrated circuit chip having the capability of performing the numerous disclosed functions . in those instances where more than one bus is involved , a plurality of the directional couplers can be ganged on a single substrate , and operate either independently of or in a coordinated manner with each other .	7
fuel delivery system 10 , shown in fig1 includes fuel tank 12 coupled to fuel line 14 for delivering fuel to engine 16 . fuel vapor in fuel tank 12 may be stored in charcoal canister 18 for use by engine 16 . as the pressure in tank 12 builds , sensor 20 , which is mounted to tank flange 21 , senses the pressure therein and relays the information to controller 22 . if the pressure is above a predetermined threshold , controller 22 signals solenoid valves 24 and 26 to purge the stored fuel vapor from canister 18 so that the vapor flows from canister 18 through line 28 to intake manifold 30 of engine 16 . alternatively , a direct purge line ( not shown ) with a solenoid valve ( not shown ) may extend from tank 12 to manifold 30 . in this case , should the vapor pressure exceed a predetermined threshold , controller 22 signals the solenoid valve ( not shown ) to allow the vapor in tank 12 to flow though the purge line ( not shown ) to manifold 30 . turning now to fig2 - 7 , fuel tank pressure sensor assembly 20 is described in greater detail . sensor assembly 20 includes body 40 defining axis 42 . body 40 may be molded of an acetyl material or any other material which provides good fuel permeability . that is , a material that is not effected by fuel thereby undesirably allowing liquid or vapor fuel to permeate through body 40 . body 40 further includes fuel tank mounting ledge 44 defining fuel tank mounting ledge plane 46 . internal facing portion , such as a boss 48 , is formed on body 40 and extends into fuel tank 12 when pressure sensor assembly 20 is mounted thereon . boss 48 includes proximal end 50 lying adjacent fuel tank mounting ledge plane 46 and distal end 52 extending into fuel tank when assembly 20 is mounted thereon . boss 48 includes mounting tabs 54a and 54b integrally formed to distal end 52 . mounting tabs 54a and 54b are radially flexibly cantilevered away from boss 48 and extend in a direction substantially toward proximal end 50 . accordingly , when sensor assembly 20 is axially inserted into fuel tank 10 , mounting tabs 54a and 54b engage fuel tank flange 21 . to seal assembly 20 to flange 21 , o - ring 55 may be used ( see fig4 - 6 ). pressure sensor assembly 20 further includes an external facing portion , shown as recess 60 , formed on body 20 . recess 60 includes mounting surface 62 adjacent boss 48 and axially extending sidewall 64 having outer edge 66 . according to the present invention , sidewall 64 includes a weakened zone 68 , preferably of reduced cross - section , formed between outer edge 66 and fuel tank mounting plane 46 . weakened zone 68 allows recess 60 to shear from body 20 as will be further described hereinafter . those skilled in the art will recognize in view of this disclosure that , although an area of reduced cross - section is preferred to provide weakened zone 68 , other methods of creating a weakened zone may be used . for example , during molding of body 40 , the characteristics of the material content at weakened zone 68 may be changed from the characteristics of the material forming the remainder of body 40 . that is , weakened zone 68 may be treated , physically or chemically , to change the material characteristics so that weakened zone 68 may be produced with the desired effect of providing for a controlled fracture of recess 60 from body 40 . sensor assembly 20 further includes port 70 extending through boss 48 into recess 60 substantially alone axis 42 . according to the present invention , as best shown in fig7 substrate 72 is adhesively mounted with adhesive 74 over port 70 . pressure sensor element 76 is mounted on substrate 72 . substrate 72 may be formed of a ceramic material or any other material which will effectively isolate stresses on pressure sensor element 76 , withstand temperatures ranging from -- 40 ° f . to + 120 ° f ., and dissipate heat quickly . pressure sensor 76 is responsive to fuel vapor pressure within tank 12 . according to the present invention , pressure , as best shown in fig4 and 7 , sensor element 76 defines pressure sensor element plane 78 , which lies between boss 48 and fuel tank mounting ledge plane 46 . thus , in the event that , under adverse conditions recess 60 is separated from body 40 desirably and controllably through weakened zone 68 , port 70 effectively remains sealed by element 76 and substantially restricts liquid fuel from flowing through port 70 from tank 12 because pressure sensor element plane 78 is below mounting ledge plane 46 and also below the weakened zone 68 , pressure sensor assembly further includes electrical bus 80 integrally formed in body 40 . bus 80 is connected to pressure sensor element 76 . electrical connector portion 82 is integrally formed on body 40 and envelops a portion of electrical bus 80 to form a female electrical connector 86 for ready connection to a connector ( not shown ) of controller 22 . as best shown in fig5 electrical connector portion includes extension portion 90 and recess portion 92 which cooperate with the mating connector ( not shown ) such that the attachment between the connectors occurs in a predetermined orientation . sensor assembly may also include cover 94 to cover recess 60 ( see fig4 and 6 ). cover 94 may include a male tab 96 engaging socket 98 ( see fig4 and 6 ). while the best mode for carrying out the invention as described in details , those skilled in the art in which this invention relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments , including those mentioned above , in practicing the invention that has been defined by the following claims . in particular , while the example shown herein is described with reference to a pressure sensor assembly , other sensors may used .	1
for years paper towels have generally been located in the kitchen and therefore have not been easily accessible to clean up liquid spills in other areas of a home or business . by simply placing paper towels in areas where liquid spills most commonly occur , it becomes more convenient and efficient to clean up liquid spills . let &# 39 ; s visualize a liquid spill that occurred in a home , living room setting . the props in this scenario include a spilled glass of red wine , an upholstered chair , a set of drapes , a lap top computer , and carpet . to clean - up this spill , a person rushes to the kitchen to obtain paper towels and then returns to the liquid spill . due to the severity of the spill , an additional trip to the kitchen is required to obtain additional paper towels . meanwhile , the spilled liquid continues to spread and soak - in . damage assessment concludes that time and money will be required to repair or replace the lap top computer , and a professional cleaning service will be required to restore the upholstered chair , the drapes and the carpet to their original condition . the decorative paper towel dispensing system is designed to assist in resolving this issue by providing immediate access to paper towels . the decorative paper towel dispensing system includes four elements , that provide for the product &# 39 ; s effectiveness . by distributing boxes of the decorative paper towel dispensing system to selected locations throughout a home or business , the stage is set for the convenient , on - demand , easy access , to variable length , rolled paper towels . reference : the decorative paper towel dispensing system — drawings , page 1 / 2 and 2 / 2 . the box and lid are designed to operate as a unit , for the dispensing of rolled paper towels . each unit is specially designed to be a welcome addition to any decor . the decorative box is produced entirely in a matte black finish . the box includes one , enclosed , 9⅛ ″ wide by 6 ″ long , white , select - your - size , absorbent , roll of paper towels , affixed to one left and one right , paper towel roll holder , which provides for the smooth extraction of variable length paper towels . reference : the decorative paper towel dispensing system — drawings , page 1 / 2 and 2 / 2 . is designed to blend - in with any decor by providing a wide array of decorative pictorial choices ; contains one convenient paper towel extraction slot , which is used to extract the variable length paper towels from the box , and ; is the access device , used to efficiently remove and replace paper towels from the box . reference : the decorative paper towel dispensing system — drawing , page 1 / 2 and 2 / 2 . with all four elements working in harmony , the paper towel dispensing system provides an attractive , convenient , method to assist in protecting valuable possessions while removing the drudgery required to clean up liquid spills . manner of using each paper towel unit to dispense paper towels when clean up of liquid spills is required initially , the user may desire to place one paper towel unit in each area where liquid spills commonly occur . then later , for further convenience , the user may desire to add additional units in other selected locations within a home or business , as experience dictates . upon occurrence of a liquid spill the user extracts one or more , variable length paper towels from the top of the paper towel dispenser to assist in cleaning up the liquid spill . by providing on - demand , convenient access , to paper towels , this invention assists in protecting valuable possessions while reducing the time , money , and effort , to clean - up liquid spills . the best mode contemplated by the inventors to carry out the paper towel dispensing system invention prepare a needs analysis detailing the investment funds required to manufacture and sell the invention over the internet . management planning and control website — design , development , testing , implementation and control sales analysis , planning and control inventory establishment , monitoring and control manufacturing quality control warehouse establishment and control product delivery and control accounting payroll implementation and control etc . . . . . upon receipt of the required investment funds evaluate each manufacturer for the purpose of carrying out the invention , contractually sign with one or more approved manufacturers and commence with the product manufacturing . establish the required company accounting and control structure by evaluating , testing and selecting a vendor to perform the following required computer services : build , stress test , and approve the decorative paper towel dispensing system — retail website for the selling , inventory control and effective processing of sales received directly from retail clients , over the internet . after conducting a thorough business evaluation , build , stress test , and approve the decorative paper towel dispensing system — wholesale website for the selling , inventory control , and processing of sales received directly from purchase orders received from wholesale clients . the planned approach for evaluating each manufacturer for the purpose of carrying out the invention one of two methods will be considered , by the inventors , for the purpose of implementing this invention . evaluate manufacturers who possess the required quality , expertise , and equipment to efficiently manufacture and deliver one or more invention sub assemblies to the inventors &# 39 ; warehouse , based upon mutually agreed upon details . manufacturers &# 39 ; under consideration must provide written assurance that they can fulfill the inventors &# 39 ; expanding production requirements to satisfy the inventors &# 39 ; desire to expand nationally and internationally . evaluate manufacturers &# 39 ; who desire to negotiate for primary control of the invention , for an agreed upon contractual arrangement . the inventors &# 39 ; most desirous choice in carrying out the invention is method 1 . present an overview of the invention . determine each manufacturer &# 39 ; s interest level . schedule a formal presentation meeting at a mutually agreed upon location . on the appointed day of the presentation formally present the details of the invention to the manufacturer , and his / her associates , and invited guests . include the inventors &# 39 ; prototype for close visual examination , with a request that the manufacturer use it to create a manufacturer &# 39 ; s prototype , to inventors &# 39 ; specifications . upon conclusion of the presentation , privately present the manufacturer with a formal handout , which includes the invention title , background of the invention , the invention brand name , and a summary of the details covered in the presentation . kindly answer any questions and positive ideas for carrying out the invention . within three work days , send an e - mail to the manufacturer requesting a written manufacturer &# 39 ; s price quote for each applicable sub - assembly . formally request that pricing be displayed by desired inventors &# 39 ; production quantities and forecasted delivery dates , from date of order . also request a copy of each completed manufacturer &# 39 ; s prototype for each specific sub - assembly . select one or more manufacturer &# 39 ; s to proceed with the implementation of the invention . formally write each selected manufacturer acknowledging our interest in moving forward with the manufacturing and delivery of their portion of the invention . reduce all details for each selected manufacturer into a legally written and signed contract . graciously proceed by mutually assisting each accepted manufacturer in fulfilling all required contractual agreements . graciously contact each manufacturer who was not chosen and thank them for participating in this effort .	0
the invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants , plant parts , seeds and progenies of tomato variety n 6416 . variety n 6416 is most similar to the commercially available variety heinz 8504 . however , n 6416 differs from heinz 8504 in one or more , e . g . at least two , at least three , at least four , or more , optionally all morphological and / or physiological characteristics listed in the following ( see usda criteria and also table 1 ), when grown under the same environmental conditions : i . n 6416 has a mature fruit length that is at least 2 %, or preferably 2 . 5 %, 3 %, 3 . 5 %, 4 %, or even about 4 . 2 % shorter than the mature fruit length of heinz 8504 . ii . n 6416 has between 1 and 4 nodes before the first inflorescence , e . g . 2 . 4 , whereas heinz 8504 has between 4 and 7 nodes e . g . 6 . 6 . iii . n 6416 has a mature plant height that is at least 5 %, or preferably 6 %, 7 %, 8 %, 9 %, 10 %, or even about 10 . 3 % shorter than the mature plant height of heinz 8504 . iv . n 6416 has a large sized canopy , whereas heinz 8504 has a medium sized canopy . v . n 6416 has whole - pack canning , concentrated products and dicing as principle uses , whereas heinz 8504 only has concentrated products as principle use . vi . n 6416 has a number of nodes between early inflorescences that is at least 50 %, or preferably 55 %, 56 %, 57 %, 58 %, 59 %, 60 %, 61 %, or even about 61 . 5 % lower than the number of nodes of heinz 8504 , e . g . between 1 and 2 , whereas heinz 8504 has 2 . 6 . vii . n 6416 has a light gray - green fruit base color ( mature - green stage ), e . g . rhs yellow green 149d , whereas heinz 8504 has a light green fruit base color , e . g . rhs yellow green 144d . viii . n 6416 has a very concentrated fruiting season , whereas heinz 8504 has a short , concentrated fruiting season . ix . n 6416 has early relative maturity in areas tested , whereas heinz 8504 has late relative maturity . x . n 6416 has simple inflorescence , whereas heinz 8504 has a combination of simple and forked ( 2 major axes ) inflorescence . in another preferred embodiment , further characteristics are resistance to tomato spotted wilt , bacterial speck ( pseudomonas tomato ), fusarium wilt race 1 ( f . oxysporum f . lycopersici ), verticillium wilt race 1 ( v . dahliae ), and root knot nematode ( m . sp .). one aspect of the current invention concerns methods for crossing a tomato variety provided herein with itself or a second plant and the seeds and plants produced by such methods . these methods can be used for propagation of a variety provided herein , or can be used to produce hybrid tomato seeds and the plants grown therefrom . such hybrid seeds can be produced by crossing the parent varieties of the variety . the development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties is well known in the art . in accordance with the invention , novel varieties may be created by crossing a plant of the invention followed by multiple generations of breeding according to such well known methods . new varieties may be created by crossing with any second plant . in selecting such a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel varieties , it may be desired to choose those plants that either themselves exhibit one or more selected desirable characteristics or that exhibit the desired characteristic ( s ) when in hybrid combination . once initial crosses have been made , inbreeding and selection take place to produce new varieties . for development of a uniform variety , often five or more generations of selfing and selection are involved . uniform varieties of new varieties may also be developed by way of double - haploids . this technique allows the creation of true breeding varieties without the need for multiple generations of selfing and selection . in this manner , true breeding varieties can be produced in as little as one generation . haploid embryos may be produced from microspores , pollen , anther cultures , or ovary cultures . the haploid embryos may then be doubled autonomously , or by chemical treatments ( e . g . colchicine treatment ). alternatively , haploid embryos may be grown into haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling . in either case , fertile homozygous plants are obtained . in accordance with the invention , any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plant of the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous variety . backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant . backcrossing transfers one or more heritable traits from one inbred or non - inbred source to an inbred that lacks those traits . the exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristic ( s ) or trait ( s ) being altered to determine an appropriate testing protocol . when the term variety n 6416 is used in the context of the present invention , this also includes plants modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait such as one , two or three desired heritable trait ( s ). this can be accomplished , for example , by first crossing a superior inbred ( recurrent parent ) to a donor inbred ( non - recurrent parent ), which carries the appropriate genetic information ( e . g ., an allele ) at the locus or loci relevant to the trait in question . the progeny of this cross are then mated back to the recurrent parent followed by selection in the resultant progeny ( first backcross generation , or bc1 ) for the desired trait to be transferred from the non - recurrent parent . after five or more backcross generations with selection for the desired trait , the progeny are heterozygous at loci controlling the characteristic being transferred , but are like the superior parent for most or almost all other loci . the last backcross generation would be selfed to give pure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred . the parental tomato plant which contributes the desired characteristic or characteristics is termed the non - recurrent parent because it can be used one time in the backcross protocol and therefore need not recur . the parental tomato plant to which the locus or loci from the non - recurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol . many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularly selected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improved by backcrossing techniques . single locus traits may or may not be transgenic ; examples of these traits include , but are not limited to , male sterility , herbicide resistance , resistance to bacterial , fungal , or viral disease , insect resistance , restoration of male fertility , modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism , and enhanced nutritional quality . these comprise genes generally inherited through the nucleus . direct selection or screening may be applied where the single locus ( e . g . allele ) acts in a dominant fashion . for example , when selecting for a dominant allele providing resistance to a bacterial disease , the progeny of the initial cross can be inoculated with bacteria prior to the backcrossing . the inoculation then eliminates those plants which do not have the resistance , and only those plants which have the resistance allele are used in the subsequent backcross . this process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations . although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele , recessive , co - dominant and quantitative alleles may also be transferred . in this instance , it may be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desired locus has been successfully transferred . in the case where the non - recurrent variety was not homozygous , the f1 progeny would not be equivalent . f1 plants having the desired genotype at the locus of interest could be phenotypically selected if the corresponding trait was phenotypically detectable in a heterozygous or hemizygous state . in the case where a recessive allele is to be transferred and the corresponding trait is not phenotypically detectable in the heterozygous of hemizygous state , the resultant progeny can be selfed , or crossed back to the donor to create a segregating population for selection purposes . non - phenotypic tests may also be employed . selected progeny from the segregating population can then be crossed to the recurrent parent to make the first backcross generation ( bc1 ). molecular markers may also be used to aid in the identification of the plants containing both a desired trait and having recovered a high percentage of the recurrent parent &# 39 ; s genetic complement . selection of tomato plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent on the phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on genetic investigations . for example , one can utilize a suitable genetic marker which is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest . one of these markers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait in the offspring of a particular cross , and can be used in selection of progeny for continued breeding . this technique is commonly referred to as marker assisted selection . any other type of genetic marker or other assay that is able to identify the relative presence or absence of a trait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes . procedures for marker assisted selection applicable to the breeding of tomato are well known in the art . such methods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traits and variable phenotypes , or where conventional assays may be more expensive , time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous . types of genetic markers which could be used in accordance with the invention include , but are not necessarily limited to , simple sequence length polymorphisms ( sslps ), simple sequence repeats ( ssr ), randomly amplified polymorphic dnas ( rapds ), dna amplification fingerprinting ( daf ), sequence characterized amplified regions ( scars ), arbitrary primed polymerase chain reaction ( ap - pcr ), amplified fragment length polymorphisms ( aflps ), and single nucleotide polymorphisms ( snps ). tomato varieties can also be developed from more than two parents . the technique , known as modified backcrossing , uses different recurrent parents during the backcrossing . modified backcrossing may be used to replace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain more desirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtain different desirable characteristics from each . tomatoes are grown for use as rootstocks or scions . typically , different types of tomatoes are grafted to enhance disease resistance , which is usually conferred by the rootstock , while retaining the horticultural qualities usually conferred by the scion . it is not uncommon for grafting to occur between solanum lycopersicum varieties and related solanum species . methods of grafting and vegetative propagation are well - known in the art . the varieties and varieties of the present invention are particularly well suited for the development of new varieties or varieties based on the elite nature of the genetic background of the variety . in selecting a second plant to cross with n 6416 for the purpose of developing novel tomato varieties , it will typically be preferred to choose those plants that either themselves exhibit one or more selected desirable characteristics or that exhibit the desired characteristic ( s ) when in hybrid combination . examples of desirable characteristics may include , but are not limited to herbicide tolerance , pathogen resistance ( e . g ., insect resistance , nematode resistance , resistance to bacterial , fungal , and viral disease ), male fertility , improved harvest characteristics , enhanced nutritional quality , increased antioxidant content , improved processing characteristics , high yield , improved characteristics related to the fruit flavor , texture , size , shape , durability , shelf life , and yield , improved vine habit , increased soluble solids content , uniform ripening , delayed or early ripening , reduced blossom end scar size , seedling vigor , adaptability for soil conditions , and adaptability for climate conditions . qualities that may be desirable in a processing tomato are not necessarily those that would be desirable in a fresh market tomato ; thus , the selection process for desirable traits for each specific end use may be different . for example , certain features , such as solids content , and firm fruit to facilitate mechanical harvesting are more desirable in the development of processing tomatoes ; whereas , external features such as intensity and uniformity of fruit color , unblemished fruit , and uniform fruit size are typically more important to the development of a fresh market product that will have greater retailer or consumer appeal . of course , certain traits , such as disease and pest resistance , high yield , and concentrated fruit set are of interest in any type of tomato variety or variety . many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing , as well as directly into a plant , are those that are introduced by genetic transformation techniques . genetic transformation may therefore be used to insert a selected transgene into the tomato variety of the invention or may , alternatively , be used for the preparation of varieties containing transgenes that can be subsequently transferred to the variety of interest by crossing . methods for the transformation of plants , including tomato , are well known to those of skill in the art . techniques which may be employed for the genetic transformation of tomato include , but are not limited to , electroporation , microprojectile bombardment , agrobacterium - mediated transformation , pollen - mediated transformation , and direct dna uptake by protoplasts . to effect transformation by electroporation , one may employ either friable tissues , such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogenic callus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or other organized tissue directly . in this technique , one would partially degrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them to pectin - degrading enzymes ( pectolyases ) or mechanically wound tissues in a controlled manner . to effect pollen - mediated transformation , one may apply pollen pretreated with dna to the female reproduction parts of tomato plants for pollination . a pollen - mediated method for the transformation of tomato is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 806 , 399 . a particularly efficient method for delivering transforming dna segments to plant cells is microprojectile bombardment . in this method , particles are coated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propelling force . exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten , platinum , and preferably , gold . for the bombardment , cells in suspension are concentrated on filters or solid culture medium . alternatively , immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culture medium . the cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriate distance below the macroprojectile stopping plate . an illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering dna into plant cells by acceleration is the biolistics particle delivery system , which can be used to propel particles coated with dna or cells through a screen , such as a stainless steel or nytex screen , onto a surface covered with target tomato cells . the screen disperses the particles so that they are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates . it is believed that a screen intervening between the projectile apparatus and the cells to be bombarded reduces the size of projectiles aggregate and may contribute to a higher frequency of transformation by reducing the damage inflicted on the recipient cells by projectiles that are too large . microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable , and may be used to transform virtually any plant species . agrobacterium - mediated transfer is another widely applicable system for introducing gene loci into plant cells . an advantage of the technique is that dna can be introduced into whole plant tissues , thereby bypassing the need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast . modern agrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in e . coli as well as agrobacterium , allowing for convenient manipulations . moreover , recent technological advances in vectors for agrobacterium - mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide coding genes . the vectors described have convenient multi - linker regions flanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptide coding genes . additionally , agrobacterium containing both armed and disarmed ti genes can be used for transformation . in those plant species where agrobacterium - mediated transformation is efficient , it is the method of choice because of the facile and defined nature of the gene locus transfer . the use of agrobacterium - mediated plant integrating vectors to introduce dna into plant cells is well known in the art ( see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 563 , 055 ). transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methods based on calcium phosphate precipitation , polyethylene glycol treatment , electroporation , and combinations of these treatments which are well known in the art . transformation of plants and expression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in choi et al . ( 1994 ), and ellul et al . ( 2003 ). a number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for any gene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers , scoreable markers , genes for pest tolerance , disease resistance , nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest . examples of constitutive promoters useful for tomato plant gene expression include , but are not limited to , the cauliflower mosaic virus ( camv ) p - 35s promoter , which confers constitutive , high - level expression in most plant tissues , including monocots ; a tandemly , partially duplicated version of the camv 35s promoter , the enhanced 35s promoter ( p - e35s ) the nopaline synthase promoter , the octopine synthase promoter ; and the figwort mosaic virus ( p - fmv ) promoter ( see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 378 , 619 ) and an enhanced version of the fmv promoter ( p - efmv ) where the promoter sequence of p - fmv is duplicated in tandem , the cauliflower mosaic virus 19s promoter , a sugarcane bacilliform virus promoter , a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter , and other plant dna virus promoters known to express in plant cells . a variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response to environmental , hormonal , chemical , and / or developmental signals can be used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells , including promoters regulated by ( 1 ) heat , ( 2 ) light ( e . g ., pea rbcs - 3a promoter ; maize rbcs promoter ; or chlorophyll a / b - binding protein promoter ), ( 3 ) hormones , such as abscisic acid , ( 4 ) wounding ; or ( 5 ) chemicals such as methyl jasmonate , salicylic acid , or safener . it may also be advantageous to employ organ - specific promoters . exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to the tomato varieties of this invention include , for example , dna sequences or genes from another species , or even genes or sequences which originate with or are present in the same species , but are incorporated into recipient cells by genetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction or breeding techniques . however , the term “ exogenous ” is also intended to refer to genes that are not normally present in the cell being transformed , or perhaps simply not present in the form , structure , etc ., as found in the transforming dna segment or gene , or genes which are normally present and that one desires to express in a manner that differs from the natural expression pattern , e . g ., to over - express . thus , the term “ exogenous ” gene or dna is intended to refer to any gene or dna segment that is introduced into a recipient cell , regardless of whether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell . the type of dna included in the exogenous dna can include dna which is already present in the plant cell , dna from another plant , dna from a different organism , or a dna generated externally , such as a dna sequence containing an antisense message of a gene , or a dna sequence encoding a synthetic or modified version of a gene . many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and could potentially be introduced into a tomato plant according to the invention . non - limiting examples of particular genes and corresponding phenotypes one may choose to introduce into a tomato plant include one or more genes for insect tolerance , such as a bacillus thuringiensis ( b . t .) gene , pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control , herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance , and genes for quality improvements such as yield , nutritional enhancements , environmental or stress tolerances , or any desirable changes in plant physiology , growth , development , morphology or plant product ( s ). for example , structural genes would include any gene that confers insect tolerance including but not limited to a bacillus insect control protein gene as described in wo 99 / 31248 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 689 , 052 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 500 , 365 and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 880 , 275 , herein incorporated by reference it their entirety . in another embodiment , the structural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate as conferred by genes including , but not limited to agrobacterium strain cp4 glyphosate resistant epsps gene ( aroa : cp4 ) as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 633 , 435 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety , or glyphosate oxidoreductase gene ( gox ) as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 463 , 175 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . alternatively , the dna coding sequences can affect these phenotypes by encoding a non - translatable rna molecule that causes the targeted inhibition of expression of an endogenous gene , for example via antisense - or cosuppression - mediated mechanisms . the rna could also be a catalytic rna molecule ( e . g ., a ribozyme ) engineered to cleave a desired endogenous mrna product . thus , any gene which produces a protein or mrna which expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is useful for the practice of the present invention . a total of 2500 seeds of the hybrid variety n 6416 were deposited according to the budapest treaty by nunhems b . v . on may 25 , 2016 , at the ncimb ltd ., ferguson building , craibstone estate , bucksburn , aberdeen ab21 9ya , united kingdom ( ncimb ). the deposit has been assigned accession number ncimb 42577 . a deposit of n 6416 and of the male and female parent line is also maintained at nunhems b . v . access to the deposit will be available during the pendency of this application to persons determined by the director of the u . s . patent office to be entitled thereto upon request . subject to 37 c . f . r .§ 1 . 808 ( b ), all restrictions imposed by the depositor on the availability to the public of the deposited material will be irrevocably removed upon the granting of the patent . the deposit will be maintained for a period of 30 years , or 5 years after the most recent request , or for the enforceable life of the patent whichever is longer , and will be replaced if it ever becomes nonviable during that period . applicant does not waive any rights granted under this patent on this application or under the plant variety protection act ( 7 usc 2321 et seq .). although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding , it will be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the invention , as limited only by the scope of the appended claims . the hybrid n 6416 was developed from a male and female proprietary inbred line of nunhems . the female and male parents were crossed to produce hybrid ( f1 ) seeds of n 6416 . the seeds of n 6416 can be grown to produce hybrid plants and parts thereof ( e . g . tomato fruit ). the hybrid n 6416 can be propagated by seeds or vegetative . the hybrid variety is uniform and genetically stable . this has been established through evaluation of horticultural characteristics . several hybrid seed production events resulted in no observable deviation in genetic stability . coupled with the confirmation of genetic stability of the female and male parents the applicant concluded that n 6416 is uniform and stable . heinz 8504 is considered to be the most similar variety to n 6416 . heinz 8504 is a commercial variety from heinz . in table 1 a comparison between n 6416 and heinz 8504 is shown based on a trial in the usa . trial location : acampo , calif ., usa ( coordinates : 38 . 192873n , 121 . 232637w ). transplanting date : apr . 17 , 2013 . two replications of 50 plants each , from which 15 plants or plant parts were randomly selected , were used to measure characteristics . in table 1 the usda descriptors of n 6416 ( this application ) and reference heinz 8504 ( commercial variety ) are listed . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , there is provided a plant having the physiological and morphological characteristics of tomato variety n 6416 . a description of the physiological and morphological characteristics of tomato variety n 6416 is presented in table 1 . the following references , to the extent that they provide exemplary procedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein , are specifically incorporated herein by reference :	0
the following sections describe an exemplary general - purpose computer and further exemplary implementations of a set - top box computer appliance within a media system . it should be understood that the various methods and arrangements described herein are not limited to these particular computers , appliances , or systems , but are adaptable to any arrangement of mechanisms that is capable of performing the applicable exemplary functions described herein . with this in mind , as shown in fig1 , computer 20 includes one or more processors or processing units 21 , a system memory 22 , and a bus 23 that couples various system components including the system memory 22 to processors 21 . bus 23 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures , including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , an accelerated graphics port , and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . the system memory includes read only memory ( rom ) 24 and random access memory ( ram ) 25 . a basic input / output system ( bios ) 26 , containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 20 , such as during start - up , is stored in rom 24 . computer 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk , not shown , a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from and writing to a removable magnetic disk 29 , and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31 such as a cd rom , dvd rom or other optical media . the hard disk drive 27 , magnetic disk drive 28 and optical disk drive 30 are each connected to bus 23 by applicable interfaces 32 , 33 and 34 , respectively . the drives and their associated computer - readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules and other data for computer 20 . although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk , a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removable optical disk 31 , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer , such as magnetic cassettes , flash memory cards , digital video disks , random access memories ( rams ) read only memories ( rom ), and the like , may also be used in the exemplary operating environment . a number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk , magnetic disk 29 , optical disk 31 , rom 24 , or ram 25 , including an operating system 35 , one or more application programs 36 , other program modules 37 , and program data 38 . a user may enter commands and information into computer 20 through input devices such as keyboard 40 and pointing device 42 . other input devices ( not shown ) may include a microphone , joystick , game pad , satellite dish , scanner , or the like . these and other input devices are connected to the processing unit 21 through an interface 46 that is coupled to bus 23 . a monitor 47 or other type of display device is also connected to bus 23 via an interface , such as a video adapter 48 . in addition to the monitor , personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices ( not shown ) such as speakers and printers . computer 20 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers , such as a remote computer 50 . remote computer 50 may be another personal computer , a server , a router , a network pc , a peer device or other common network node , and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to computer 20 . the logical connections depicted in fig2 include a local area network ( lan ) 51 and a wide area network ( wan ) 52 . such networking environments are commonplace in offices , enterprise - wide computer networks , intranets , and the internet . when used in a lan networking environment , computer 20 is connected to the local network 51 through a network interface or adapter 156 . when used in a wan networking environment , computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network 52 , such as the internet . modem 54 , which may be internal or external , is connected to bus 23 via interface 46 . in a networked environment , program modules depicted relative to the personal computer 20 , or portions thereof , may be stored in the remote memory storage device . it will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used . fig2 is a block diagram depicting a media system 100 having a television 102 or like monitor device operatively coupled to a set - top box appliance 104 . set - top box 104 can include all or part of personal computer 20 . in this example , set - top box 104 is operatively coupled to receive televised information from at least one external broadcast source 106 . set - top box 104 is configured to store mpeg or like forms of received video streams ( including audio , and other associated information ) to a hard disk and retrieve them whenever required . in the case of a digital broadcast ( e . g ., as transmitted over cable / fiber , the internet , terrestrial , satellite , etc . ), the signal is typically broadcast in an mpeg format . thus , set - top box 104 need only store all or part of the received signal . in the case of an analog broadcast , set - top box 104 encodes the received signal as an mpeg signal or other like signal , thereby converting the analog signal to a corresponding digital signal . it is necessary to have the televised signal in a digital form so that it can be stored to disk . the mpeg format ( or other like format ) is preferably implemented to provide the requisite compression based on the computational capabilities of the processor and / or the storage capability of the memory and / or storage device / medium . the ability to record program content in mpeg ( or other applicable compressive format ) to a hard disk coupled with suitable software provides a potential mechanism for decoupling the viewer &# 39 ; s schedule from the broadcaster &# 39 ; s schedule . a tv viewing system , for example , typically has an electronic program guide ( epg ) database that identifies what programs are on each tv channel and at what times . many epgs also include information about the program content , such as , e . g ., title , hosts , stars , guests , synopsis , summary , producer , director , photographer , cinematographer , author , writer , date / time , rating , etc . in accordance with certain implementations , viewers are able to manually search through a user - displayed grid of tv programs and to select candidate programs that are to be recorded for subsequent viewing . this capability is similar to that provided by tivo and other like devices . the exemplary improved methods and arrangements provided herein , however , provide several additional capabilities for the viewer . one of the problems with tivo is that many external broadcasters provide an overabundance of channels and it may take a viewer a great deal of time to search through the epg , a printed channel guide , etc ., to determine what programs to record . a relatively unsophisticated method is also provided to get the system to record additional programs of interest for the viewer , but this clearly does not match the more sophisticated exemplary content buffering schemes presented herein . rather than the viewer having to search through the epg , it would be more convenient to have an intelligent media system or set - top box that automatically suggests several interesting programs / channels , all of which may be of keen interest to the viewer . set - top box 104 can be configured this way . consequently , a selected subset of selectable programs / channels is automatically presented to the viewer , for example , using an on - screen display capability . fig3 is an illustrative block diagram further depicting certain devices / functions associated with set - top box 104 . as depicted , set - top box 104 receives broadcast signals from one or more external broadcast sources 106 ( a - 1 ). here , for example , 106 ( a ) includes an analog terrestrial broadcast source , 106 ( b ) includes a ( digital or analog ) cable / fiber broadcast source , 106 ( c ) includes a digital terrestrial broadcast source , 106 ( d ) includes a telecommunications line broadcasting source , 106 ( e ) includes a local transmitting source , 106 ( f ) includes a satellite transmitting source , 106 ( g ) includes a video optical disc source , 106 ( h ) includes a video tape source , 106 ( i ) includes a video camera source , 106 ( j ) includes a digital camera source , 106 ( k ) includes an audio optical source , and 106 ( l ) includes a still image source . the broadcast signals are selectively identified as being candidate programs by an intelligent content agent 108 and using an epg database 112 . other semi - automatic mechanisms such as an epg bubbling agent 110 can also be used . intelligent content agent 108 is configured to confidentially keep track of the types of programs that a particular viewer watches . this information is maintained in a corresponding viewer profile 114 . the information in viewer profile 114 is then used to identify candidate programs , for example , based on similarities in program content entries of epg database 112 . by way of example , let us assume that the viewer instructs the intelligent content agent 108 , for example , through an on - screen user interface and remote control mechanism , that he / she is interested in any televised programs identifiably associated with the actress ms . julia roberts . given this task , intelligent content agent 108 will monitor information in epg database 112 for future programs having something to do with ms . roberts . thus , for example , if ms . roberts were to appear as a guest on the next episode of the late show with david letterman , then intelligent content agent 108 would automatically identify the next episode of the late show with david letterman as a candidate program for recording . similarly , a motion picture starring ms . roberts would also be identified as a candidate program for recording as might also a multimedia broadcast having content about ms . roberts . at a later stage , the viewer may further modify intelligent content agent 108 by identifying that he / she is only interested in motion pictures starring ms . roberts and not guest appearances on talk shows or other multimedia presentations . for example , the viewer may specify a minimum time period for candidate programs that , in essence , excludes talk shows and the like . conversely , a maximum time period may also be used to exclude motion pictures . in still other implementations , the viewer may configure intelligent content agent 108 to expressly include or exclude certain channels and / or certain programs by any identifiable characteristic ( content ) that can be found in the epg database . preferably , intelligent content agent 108 maintains the selection criteria associated with a viewer in a secure manner . for example , the selection criteria can be maintained in an encrypted viewer profile stored on a disk drive or on a smart card or like device that operatively interfaces with the set - top box 104 and / or media system 100 . bubbling agent 110 is another form of an intelligence that can be provided within set - top box 108 . bubbling agent 110 is configured to modify a viewer &# 39 ; s profile information and identify candidate programs for recording by observing how the viewer responds to recorded programs . thus , for example , bubbling agent 110 can monitor the content of recorded programs and look for patterns or similarities that point towards potential candidate selection criteria for future programming . in the previous examples , therefore , bubbling agent 110 may recognize that the viewer has never replayed or archived a recorded program of the late show with david letterman with or without ms . roberts as a guest . this being the case , then bubbling agent 110 may decide to modify the viewer &# 39 ; s profile accordingly to expressly exclude future broadcasts of the late show with david letterman . the reverse is also possible , in that bubbling agent 110 may recognize that a viewer appears to like watching major league baseball games , for example . in this case , bubbling agent 110 may add selection criteria to the viewer &# 39 ; s profile that causes intelligent content agent 108 to select major league baseball games as candidate programs for recording in the future . in addition to epg database 112 and viewer profile 114 , intelligent content agent 108 and / or bubbling agent 110 may also access a select library list 116 that includes identifiable characteristics associated with recorded programs that have been recorded in the past . thus , for example , bubbling agent 110 may examine information in select library list 116 for program similarities , viewer watching patterns , etc . those skilled in the art will recognize that epg 112 can be provided to set - top box 108 through a variety of communication channels . for example , epg 112 may be broadcast along with cable television services , terrestrial broadcasting services , satellite services , telecommunication services , network provider services , etc . referring once again to fig3 , set - top box 104 further includes a time - dependent content buffer arrangement 118 . content buffer arrangement 118 is configured to substantially function as a fifo content buffer that includes candidate information 120 about candidate programs for recording , one or more recorded program information 122 , currently playing program information 124 , and previously played program information 126 . content buffer 118 is operatively responsive to a viewer interface 128 . content buffer 118 is also operatively configured to selectively output information to viewer interface 128 , television 102 ( or other like device ), and an on - line library 130 . in accordance with certain implementations , content buffer 118 is a fifo ( first in first out ) buffer that is essentially a shift register , in this case for content items . thus , as time advances , the content items within content buffer 118 also advance and eventually pass through the pipe as graphically depicted in fig3 . information identifying candidate programs for recording is “ loaded ” into the top of content buffer 120 . this can be via manual means , i . e ., using viewer interface 128 , the viewer clicks ( e . g ., using a mouse , a remote control , etc .) on a program in epg database 112 thereby requesting that the program be recorded . more likely , however , programs will be identified as candidates for recording automatically , as described above . based on candidate information 120 , when a candidate program to be recorded is broadcast it will be recorded . the resulting recorded content is included in recorded program information 122 . viewer interface 128 is configured to present the viewer with a listing of recorded programs within recorded program information 122 that have not been viewed . if the viewer does nothing , then the programs will be played back in the order in which they were recorded when the media system was turned on and in a sequencer content buffer mode . after a program has been watched by the viewer , the program &# 39 ; s contents are moved into previously played program information 126 . eventually , if the user does nothing , the program content in previously played program information 126 will be automatically erased ( or otherwise overwritten ) to provide disk space for recording more recent candidate programs . since , in this example , content buffer 120 is a fifo by default information is moved through the content “ pipe ” in a linear fashion . consequently , media system 100 can be used in a default manner to automatically keep a viewer supplied with a constant stream of programs that more closely match their preferences . moreover , intelligent agent 108 and bubbling agent 110 may utilize a feedback mechanism such as a viewer profile 114 or library list 116 to refine the candidate program selection process or moderate the recording of programs . for example , the feedback mechanism may be based on how quickly content in recorded program information 122 is watched by the viewer . if the content is being watched quickly then intelligent content agent 108 may not be as selective about which programs it selects as candidate programs to record . in certain implementations , the viewer is allowed to proactively and / or dynamically manage the contents of content buffer 118 and viewer profile 114 . through viewer interface 128 , for example , the viewer can choose to selectively edit a list of candidate programs to be recorded . this is especially useful in the beginning when many of the programs automatically selected by intelligent content agent 108 may not actually be of interest to the viewer . intelligent content agent 108 can become more refined in its candidate program selection capability after bubbling agent 110 begins to assist , and / or it “ learns ” the programs that the user keeps deleting , and therefore stops selecting them as candidates . a more frequent managing function will be for the viewer to examine a list of recorded programs and to select which recorded programs ones to watch . here , the viewer may decide to discard some of the recorded programs without watching them . some of the recorded programs may remain recorded program information 122 for a while as the viewer selectively moves other recorded programs in front of them to configure a particular viewing sequence . in certain implementations , intelligent content agent 108 may automatically delete a recorded program from content buffer 118 , even though there is no shortage of storage space therein . for example , intelligent content agent 108 may monitor the closed caption text or like supplemental information associated with a program while its being recorded or after it has been recorded . thus , in the earlier example of ms . roberts appearing on the late show with david letterman , intelligent content agent 108 may be configured to monitor the closed caption text for certain terms . hence , for example , should ms . roberts or mr . letterman fail to mention “ major league baseball ” during the program then intelligent content agent 108 may decide to delete the recorded program entirely . similarly , intelligent content agent 108 may be configured to automatically select a particular program / channel as a candidate program for recording and monitor a separate audio program for english translation ( e . g ., using textual outputs from an applicable english language voice recognition application ). if the recorded program / channel does not include english text , then the recorded program / channel may be automatically deleted . in the exemplary media system 100 as depicted in fig3 , the viewer may choose to have a particular recorded program archived in library 130 . programs in library 130 are not deleted from hard disk unless the viewer specifically decides to delete them . in practice , it is expected however that the viewer will need to do some clean - up / deleting for disk space usage reasons , but at least the viewer has fill control of the process . archiving is accomplished through viewer interface 128 . in this manner , with regard to program content a single hard disk has two different portions . the first portion includes a time - dependent content buffer 118 and the second portion includes a permanent storage library 130 . in certain implementations , recorded content in content buffer 118 can be moved quickly / dynamically to library 130 by the viewer . for example , when watching a recorded program , i . e ., when media system 100 is in the sequencer mode , the viewer can initiate a ‘ record ’ mechanism control that causes the recorded program to be archived to library 130 . it is also possible to archive a recorded program from previously played program information 126 to library 130 , assuming of course that the recorded program has not yet been erased to free up disk space . archived programs in library 130 can be further transferred to an offline library 132 , e . g ., a conventional removable recording media , such as , a digital or analog vhs / s - vhs , optical disc , dat , etc . although some preferred embodiments of the various methods and arrangements of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description , it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the exemplary 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 .	7
is a key intermediate in the present invention , and is prepared in high purity and good yield starting from tert - butyl acetoacetate ( ref u . s . pat . no . 5 , 095 , 149 ). tert - butylacetoacetate has been prepared from tert - butylacetate per organic synthesis coll . vol .- v , p - 156 and references cited therein . this is converted into a corresponding acid chloride of the formula by using halogenating agents such as oxalyl chloride , phosphorous pentachloride , phosphorous oxychloride , etc . acid chloride may be isolated prior to condensation with a cephem moiety or may be generated in situ and used as such . acid chloride of formula vi is reacted with a silylated furaca in a suitable solvent ( s ). suitable solvents include methylene chloride , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide , acetonitrile , toluene or mixtures thereof . particularly preferred solvent is methylene chloride . silylation of furaca is effected using silylating agents such as hexamethyl disilazane , trimethylsilyl chloride , bistrimethylsilyl urea , n , o - bistrimethylsilyl acetamide or monotrimethylsilyl acetamide in the presence of a catalysts such as acetamide and imidazole . choice of silylation conditions and silylating reagent is found by us to be critical for achieving the desired purity during condensation with acid chloride of formula ( vi ). it is observed by us that the monotrimethylsilyl acetamide in methylene chloride at 20 - 25 ° c . silylates furaca in 1 hour . longer periods during silylation leads to impurities which are subsequently very difficult to eliminate during workup and further contaminate the finished product . imidazole has been found to be the catalyst of choice in the silylation step . condensation of the compound of formula vi with silylated furaca gives the bromo intermediate of formula iv . the bromo intermediate of formula iv is cyclized in - situ with thiourea in the presence of sodium acetate . however the ceftiofur obtained is impure and further purifications are difficult , time consuming and do not result in a product of good quality . we have found that surprisingly the bromo intermediate of the formula iv is not reported in the literature and hence constitutes the novelty of our invention . the present inventors have also found that the bromo compound of formula iv can be isolated in pure form and only this pure form of the compound gives ceftiofur of high purity after cyclization with thiourea . isolation of the bromo intermediate forms the inventive step of our process . in a further aspect of the present invention 7 -[ 4 - chloro - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyramido ]- 3 -[ 2 - furylcarbonylthiom ethyl ]- 3 - cephem - 4 - carboxylic acid of the formula herein referred to as the chloro intermediate has also been prepared starting from 4 - chloro - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyric acid and constitutes the novelty of this invention . this is also cyclized to yield ceftiofur sodium . the examples below illustrate our invention without limiting the scope in spirit and content . the examples are described as two stage processes where the first stage forms the preparation of the inventive intermediate , and the second stage is the conversion to ceftiofur sodium . to a suspension of furaca ( 3 . 4 g , 0 . 01 moles ) in methylene chloride ( 35 ml ) at room temperature , added monotrimethylsilyl acetamide solution ( 3 . 94 g , 0 . 03 moles ), catalytic amount of imidazole and stirred for 1 h 15 min to get a clear solution . this solution is cooled to − 20 to − 24 ° c . until use . 4 - bromo - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyric acid ( 2 . 57 g ) is added to methylene chloride ( 20 ml ) and the solution is cooled to − 20 ° c . phosphorous pentachloride ( 2 . 5 g ) is added in small lots over a period of 5 min while maintaining the temperature between − 20 ° c . and − 15 ° c . thereafter , the temperature is slowly raised to − 5 ° c . and the reaction mass is stirred at − 5 ° c . to 0 ° c . until the starting material &# 39 ; s absence is noted with tlc in about 30 mins . aqueous workup was done to remove inorganic impurities and byproducts and the organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate . this solution is taken as is for the next stage . solution b is added to solution a , while maintaining the temperature below − 18 ° c . in a period of about 5 minutes . the temperature of the reaction mass is allowed to rise to − 10 ° c . to − 5 ° c . and the stirring is continued until the starting material , furaca is less than 2 % by hplc analysis . chilled water ( 35 ml ) is added and the reaction mass is stirred at 3 - 5 ° c . for 10 min and the suspension filtered . organic layer is separated and stirred at 3 - 5 ° c . whereupon the bromo intermediate precipitates out . the filtered solid is stirred for 1 h at 3 - 5 ° c ., filtered , washed with methylene chloride and dried to yield 3 . 6 g of the bromo intermediate having a purity of & gt ; 93 % by hplc analysis . ( 65 . 9 % of theory ). the structure is confirmed by spectroscopic data . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ) ( dmso - d 6 ) delta : 3 . 57 ( dd , 2h , sch 2 ), 4 . 11 ( dd , 2h , ch 2 sco ), 4 . 04 ( s , 3h , och 3 ), 4 . 64 ( s , 2h , ch 2 - br ), 5 . 14 ( dd , 1h , 6 - h , j = 4 . 85 hz ), 5 . 78 ( dd , 1h , 7 - h , j = 4 . 78hz , 8 . 24 hz ), 6 . 77 ( dd , 1h , furyl - h ), 7 . 44 ( d , 1h , furyl - h ), 8 . 06 ( d , 1h , furyl - h ), 9 . 46 ( d , 1h , conh j = 8 . 38 hz ) mass ( positive ion mode ): 546 , 548 ( m + 1 ), 563 , 565 ( m + na ) corresponding to 35 cl , 37 cl isotopes . a solution of bromo intermediate ( 3 g , 5 . 49 m . moles ) in teterahydrofuran ( 7 . 5 ml ) is added to a mixture of water ( 15 ml ), tetrahydrofuran ( 7 . 5 ml ), thiourea ( 0 . 63 g , 8 . 29 m . moles ) and sodium acetate trihydrate ( 3 g , 22 m . moles ) at 10 ° c . over a period of about 15 min . ph drops slowly to 5 . 5 - 6 . 0 . the reaction mass is stirred until the hplc analysis confirms the disappearance of the starting material in about 4 - 5 hours . sodium chloride is added and the ph lowered to 3 . 0 by the addition of conc . hydrochloric acid . the tetrahydrofuran layer is separated , treated with activated carbon and converted into ceftiofur sodium by adding sodium 2 - ethylhexanoate ( 5 . 5 g , 24 . 6 % w / w solution in thf ). the precipitation of ceftiofur sodium is carried out by adding the solution to tetrahydrofuran ( 80 ml ). the precipitated solid is filtered , washed with acetone ( 20 ml ) and dried to get 2 . 7 g of ceftiofur sodium ( 90 % of theory ). 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ) ( dmso - d6 ) delta : 3 . 32 ( dd , 2h , sch 2 ) 3 . 83 ( s , 3h , och 3 ), 4 . 1 ( dd , 2h , ch 2 sco ), 4 . 98 ( d , 1h , 6 - h ), 5 . 55 ( dd , 1h , 7 - h ), 6 . 73 ( s , 1h , thiazolyl - h ), 6 . 75 ( dd , 1h , furyl - h ), 7 . 23 ( s , 2h , nh 2 ), 7 . 38 ( d , 1h , furyl - h ), 8 . 03 ( s , 1h , furyl - h ), 9 . 52 ( d , 1h , conh ) 4 - bromo - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyric acid ( 14 . 8 g , 0 . 066 moles ) is dissolved in methylene chloride ( 90 ml ) at 0 ° c . this solution is cooled to − 20 ° c . and to it is added n , n - dimethylformamide ( 4 . 92 g ). oxalyl chloride ( 8 . 55 g , 0 . 067 moles ) is added slowly maintaining the temperature at − 20 ° c . to − 18 ° c . the reaction mixture is stirred for 45 min at − 15 ° c . to − 20 ° c . to ensure completion of the reaction . the resulting product 4 - bromo - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyryl chloride is taken as is for the step of condensation . furaca ( 20 . 4 g , 0 . 06 moles ) is suspended in methylene chloride ( 120 ml ) at 25 ° c . and to it is added trimethylsilylacetamide solution in methylene chloride ( 90ml containing 23 . 6 g of trimethylsilylacetamide ; 0 . 18 moles ). stirring the reaction mass at 25 ° c . for 75 - 90 min resulted in a clear solution containing silylated furaca . the reaction mass is cooled to − 20 ° c . and to is added acetamide ( 10 . 62 g ). 4 - bromo - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyryl chloride prepared in step a above is added to silylated furaca made in step b above at − 18 ° c . to − 20 ° c . in a period of about 10 min . the temperature of the reaction mass is slowly raised to − 5 ° c . to − 10 ° c . and stirred for 1 hour at this temperature . thereafter cold water ( 180 ml , 5 ° c .) is added to the reaction mass and stirred at 2 ° c .- 3 ° c . for about 5 min and the suspension is clarified . separated the organic layer and extracted aqueous layer with methylene chloride ( 20 ml ). combined organic layer is washed with cold water ( 150 ml , 5 ° c .) and the organic layer is stirred at 2 - 5 ° c . bromo intermediate precipitates within 5 min . continued stirring at 2 - 5 ° c . for 30 min and filtered the solid . the product is successively washed with cold water ( 40 ml , 5 ° c .) followed by methylene chloride ( 40 ml ) and dried under reduced pressure to get 25 g of bromo intermediate ( 75 % of theory ). the bromo intermediate obtained in stage i steps above is converted into ceftiofur sodium by following the procedure outlined in the corresponding step of the previous example 1 . phosphorous oxychloride ( 11 . 13 g , 0 . 073 moles ) is added slowly to a mixture of n , n - dimethylformamide ( 5 . 96 g , 0 . 081 moles ) and methylene chloride ( 110 mil ) at 5 - 10 ° c . the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 2 hours and cooled to 0 ° c . 4 - bromo - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyric acid ( 14 . 8 g ) is added in small lots to vilsmeier reagent and stirred for 1 hour at 3 - 5 ° c . tlc analysis showed a complete disappearance of the starting material . this acid chloride is used for preparing ceftiofur sodium as described in example 1 . 4 - chloro - 2 - methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutynic acid ( 2 . 06 g , 0 . 0115 moles ) is dissolved in methylene chloride ( 20 ml ) and cooled to − 20 ° c . phosphorous pentachloride ( 2 . 5 g , 0 . 012 moles ) is added in small lots over a period of about 5 min and the temperature of the reaction mass is allowed to rise to − 5 ° c . to − 2 ° c . stirring is continued for 45 min for completion of the reaction . cold water ( 10 ml , 5 ° c .) is added , separated the organic layer and dried over sodium sulfate . this acid chloride is reacted with silylated furaca ( 3 . 4 g ) as per procedure given in example 1 to get the chloro intermediate 7 -[ 4 - chloro - 2methoxyimino - 3 - oxobutyramido ]- 3 -[ 2 - furylcarbonylthiome thyl ]- 3 - cephem - 4 - carboxylic acid with a yield of 3 g ( 60 % of theory ) and an hplc analyzed purity of 95 %. 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz ) ( dmso - d 6 ) delta : 3 . 57 ( dd , 2h , sch 2 ), 4 . 10 ( dd , 2h , ch 2 - s ), 4 . 04 ( s , 3h , och 3 ), 4 . 85 ( s , 2h , ch 2 - cl ), 5 . 15 ( d , 6 - h , j = 4 . 85 hz ), 5 . 79 ( dd , 1h , 7 - h , j = 4 . 82 hz , 8 . 35 hz ), 6 . 77 ( dd , 1h , furyl - h , j = 1 . 67 , 3 . 62 hz ), 7 . 44 ( d , 1h , furyl - h , j = 3 . 61 hz ), 8 . 06 ( d , 1h , furyl - h , j = 1 . 03 hz ), 9 . 45 ( d , 1h , conh , j = 8 . 36 hz ) the chloro intermediate is converted into ceftiofuir sodium by following the same corresponding procedure shown in example 1 in 85 % yield .	2
like features are identified in the drawing in each case by like reference numerals . a drum brake module 1 that can be actuated by means of an electric motor and is to be arranged on axle components of a motor vehicle comprises an anchor plate 2 having brake shoes 6 a , b that are mounted thereon and are provided within a brake drum that is not illustrated . an actuator 3 that is operated by an electric motor is attached to an opposite lying face of the anchor plate 2 and said actuator engages one or more of the brake shoes 6 a , b by way of a gear 4 and an actuating pull 5 , which is connected downstream , in such a manner that this / these brake shoe ( s ) 6 a , b can perform an actuating movement b in the direction towards the brake drum , in order to perform the function of a service brake and / or a parking brake . a supporting device 11 can be provided between the brake shoes 6 a , b . the gear 4 comprises a gear housing 8 that receives the motor 7 or at least supports the motor 7 . the motor 7 consumes dc voltage , is mechanically or electronically commutated and is a favorably priced type that is available as standard . fig1 a , b illustrates that an axis a 1 of the motor 7 is arranged at a distance x and also parallel with respect to an axis a 2 of a spindle arrangement 9 . it is common to all embodiments or solutions that an adaptor 10 is provided between the actuator 3 and the anchor plate 2 in order to render it possible to make adjustments and adaptations in a simple manner to suit different space and installation conditions in a motor vehicle . the adapter 10 is either a one - part component of the gear housing 8 or a separate component . a further feature of all the solutions resides in the fact that the actuator 3 is arranged opposite to the forwards travel direction of a vehicle , in other words it is arranged in relation to the forwards travel direction behind a wheel hub approximately in the 3 o &# 39 ; clock position with respect to the wheel hub and also tight against the anchor plate 2 . as a consequence of which , the actuator 3 is particularly well protected against the environmental influences , such as weathering and stone - chippings . the short structural length of the actuator with a slight overhang u ( by virtue of the parallel positions of the axes a 1 , a 2 ) and the flexibility of the actuating pull 5 render it possible fundamentally to position said actuator on the anchor plate 2 in a freely adaptable manner . the drive train and gear train of the solutions according to fig1 - 4 comprise in this connection a multi - stage , in particular 2 - stage toothed wheel gear and / or a belt gear and / or a worm gear and / or a planetary gear ( mixed combinations of the aforementioned types are possible and desired ) as a torque converter of the reduction type . a preferably two - stage gear train renders possible a reduction gear ratio in the range between approx . 7 : 1 to 25 : 1 . if the lever gear that is connected downstream in the region of the brake shoes 6 a , b achieves a reduction of approx . 5 : 1 , a reduction gear ratio of approx . 125 : 1 is achieved . added to this is an additional reduction effect of the rotation to translation converter that renders possible a total reduction effect by way of the overall drive train in a magnitude of at least approx . 250 : 1 . in addition , this gear train considerably reduces the requirements with regard to costs and energy output of the motor 7 . the construction of the actuator is clearly visible in detail in fig1 - 4 . the actuator 3 is provided as a separate manageable component on a face 12 of the anchor plate 2 . it is possible to integrate the rotation to translation converter as a spindle arrangement 9 in the gear housing 8 and in accordance with fig2 - 4 to guide it in the gear housing in a rotatably fixed manner , in an easy accessible manner and also in a manner free of play . a modification to the embodiment resides in the fact that the rotation to translation converter is provided outside the gear housing 8 within the brake drum , and comprises as shown in fig6 a spindle arrangement 9 or a pivotable lever 50 that is mounted on the anchor plate 2 . the fastening arrangement is preferably provided in a flanged and releasable manner . details of the fastening arrangement are provided with reference to the description of the fig4 a - c hereinunder . as is evident from fig1 a , b , the gear housing 8 is constructed from multiple parts . the gear housing 8 receives a plurality of gear components that are primarily used to convert the torque ( low inlet torque , high outlet torque ) and can also render it possible to perform a currentless parking brake function by means of a self - locking arrangement . axes a 1 , a 2 of the motor shaft and gear shaft are offset parallel to one another and at a distance x from each other . at least specific gear components can comprise at least in parts cost - effective synthetic material . it is preferred that a currentless self - locking arrangement is provided in the rotation to translation converter ( spindle arrangement 9 ), so that the remainder of the gear train is in principle to a great extent relieved of the application forces . in accordance with fig1 - 5 , the gear housing 8 receives at least partially in addition a rotation to translation converter assembly having the spindle arrangement 9 for converting the rotary drive rotational movement into a translation driven movement . as a consequence , the converter is inserted in order to be integrated in a space - saving manner in the known drum brake arrangements in a cost - effective and space - saving ( compacted ) manner in an interface between the actuator 3 and the anchor plate 2 and nonetheless guided in the gear housing so that it is not necessary at all to make any changes to the drum brake mechanics , in particular to the lever gear or to the anchor plate 2 , in order to convert to an electromechanical actuating system . for those applications that have a particularly effective , friction - reduced , electromechanical brake function , several rolling bodies are located between a mainly metallic drive nut and a mainly metallic spindle arrangement 9 . a parking brake function is rendered possible in the case of “ currentless variants of the solution ” by means of a separate holding , locking or blocking device . a particularly advantageous device is , for example , known from de 19826785 a1 , which is incorporated by reference , the disclosed content of which is included herein in its full scope with respect to the principles of this holding device . the force flow of the brake actuating force is — as is clearly evident in fig2 b as follows . starting from the brake shoe 6 a , b and the actuating pull 5 , the pulling force passes by way of the spindle arrangement 9 into the drive nut 11 . the metallic spacer bushing 34 is used to assist the brake force in a direct and rigid manner on a planar contacting surface 16 . said spacer bushing supports an outer ring of the bearing 15 . the spacer bushing 34 is preferably formed from a synthetic material as an insertion part that is inserted in the gear housing 8 . the bearing 15 is advantageously embodied as a low - friction roller bearing ( inclined bearing , shoulder bearing , axial bearing or grooved ball bearing ). the described bearing 15 also renders it possible to provide a radial facing bearing arrangement for the drive nut 14 . as a modification to the embodiment , it is possible in order to support the drive nut 14 in a particularly precise and tilt - resistant manner to provide in each case a drive - side bearing and in addition an output - side bearing without having to abandon the invention . a guide 17 and a change in direction of the actuating pull 5 is achieved to a great extent in a friction - free manner , in that a layer of lubricant is provided and / or the actuating pull 5 is carefully routed in a curved manner with or without a sleeve 18 . the sealing arrangement is tailored to suit the specific construction of the actuating pull 5 with or without a sleeve 18 , as is evident by way of example in fig3 a , b . the spindle arrangement 9 engages with the drive nut 11 and is positioned in the gear housing 8 in a rotatably fixed manner and also guided in an axially displaceable manner . for this purpose , the gear housing 8 comprises a prismatic or cylindrical guide 19 that comprises at least one or more connecting link elements that are tailored to suit and as positive fitting effective means contribute to the function of guiding and rotatably fixing said spindle arrangement . in order to render it possible to favorably disconnect the electrical supply to the actuator 3 , the spindle arrangement 9 is provided with a stop 20 that is used for abutting against a housing - side counter bearing 21 . furthermore , at least one elastic element 22 is provided between the counter bearing 21 and the stop 20 . the elastic element 22 is preferably embodied as a plate spring arrangement that renders it possible to achieve a rigid spring characteristic curve whilst requiring little installation space . this renders it possible in conjunction with a process of measuring and observing the current required by the motor 7 for the control unit 63 to automatically disconnect the electrical supply to said actuator in a favorable manner and in a good time . the construction of the actuator in accordance with the invention and particularly in a compacted manner includes the fact that the spindle arrangement 9 is received at least partially and guided in a displaceable manner in a connecting piece 23 of the gear housing 8 . the connecting piece 23 is arranged centrally in relation to a through - going orifice 24 of the anchor plate 2 . it is preferred that the connecting piece 23 engages through the through - going orifice 24 in such a manner that at least a part of the spindle arrangement 9 can be pushed into the inside of the brake drum . this is also used to automatically center the actuating pull 5 . the actuator 3 is completely protected against the penetration of foreign media ( contamination , wear debris , fluid ) or to prevent the provided lubricant from escaping . in order to seal the gear housing 8 , at least one sealing element 26 is provided for this purpose in the region of an outlet orifice 25 of the actuating pull 5 . the sealing element 26 comprises at least one base body 27 that is fixed in place and at least one sealing lip that is essentially fixed in place and blocks a gap between the gear housing 8 and the actuating pull 5 . in the case of a static arrangement of the sealing element 26 , the actuating pull 5 — whilst performing an actuating stroke — moves relative to the sealing lip ( cf . fig2 a ). in the case of another embodiment of a sealing arrangement as shown in fig3 a at least one elastic portion , which can move together with actuating pull 5 , roll bellows or concertina bellows is provided in order to compensate in an elastic compensating manner for the actuating stroke . another embodiment of a sealing arrangement ( fig3 b ) resides in the fact that the entire actuating pull 5 is provided with a sleeve 18 . the sleeve 18 is arranged at the connecting piece 23 in a fundamentally hermetically sealed manner and terminates with a hermetically sealed arrangement in the region of an end fitting . the sealing arrangement is , like the guide 17 of the actuating pull 5 , to a great extent embodied in a friction - free manner ( coated with lubricant or lubricating means ). low priced fastening interfaces between the anchor plate 2 and the actuator 3 are evident by way of example in fig4 a - 4 b . in accordance with fig4 a , a cylindrical flange component 29 for receiving the actuator 3 is in addition arranged for the purpose of adapting to the actuator 3 in a through - going orifice 24 of an anchor plate 2 of the conventional hydraulically actuated type . the connecting piece 23 is provided with a sealing element on the radial outer face and is inserted into the flange component 29 in a sealing manner . a plurality of screw fastening means 30 are used to provide the releasable fastening of the actuator 3 to the flange component 29 , which screw fastening means are , in addition to the actuator 3 , accessible in a maintenance friendly manner , in other words from outside the brake drum . the variant has the advantage that the anchor plate 2 for receiving the actuator 3 is adapted in a simple manner by means of the additional flange component 29 , in other words the anchor plate 2 can still be produced and shaped using known tools fundamentally without a cutting process . in the case of cost - effective , exemplary variants as shown in fig4 b , in order to provide a releasable fastening between the connecting piece 23 of the gear housing 8 and the anchor plate 2 , a fastening means 31 is provided that is effective in a positive - locking or elastically clamping manner , said fastening means preferably being embodied as a retaining ring that engages in the inner region of the brake drum in a groove , or similar , of the connecting piece 23 . it is necessary in order to dismantle the actuator 3 to remove the brake drum from the hub first . it is expedient to elastically pre - stress and seal the arrangement . in the case of an embodiment as shown in fig4 c , the one outer thread 32 is provided on the connecting piece 23 and wherein a central threaded nut 33 is screwed onto the connecting piece 23 . it goes without saying that a sealing arrangement is expedient for all the variants . the above described drum brake module 1 having the actuating pull 5 can be combined with a defined elastically embodied lever gear as described below , said lever gear being integrated within the brake drum . the lever gear comprises at least one defined elastic - resilient lever arm 40 that is articulated on the one hand to the of the actuating pull 5 and on the other hand to a brake shoe 6 a , b , and wherein the lever arm 40 comprises a pre - defined spring characteristic curve . when the drum brake performs the function of a parking brake in the hot state , and the brake drum subsequently cools , which causes the brake drum to contract , the defined elastic resilience of the lever characteristic curve as shown in fig5 b prevents the drum brake from sticking or being damaged . the elastic lever arm 40 can be provided in particular in an elastic pre - stressed manner . for this purpose , a pre - stressing element 41 is provided that is embodied by way of example as a screw so that the pre - stressing effect can be adjusted . a stop that defines the deformation of the elastic lever arm 40 can be allocated to the lever arm 40 . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig5 b , a lever 40 comprises two fork - shaped , separate limbs of which one limb has the elastic function , and the other limb can assume a stop function for the other limb . the two limbs are arranged in the region of the stop 42 at a defined distance v from each other . by virtue of the pre - stressing arrangement and the stop 42 of the lever arm 40 it is possible using simple constructional means to recognize the application force in an improved manner on the basis of monitoring the current demand of the motor 7 . it is not necessary to provide separate force sensors . the reason for this is that , as shown in fig5 b ( middle image ), the pre - stressing arrangement and the stop 42 cause considerable and therefore comparatively easy - to - sense changes ( sharp bends ) in an application force actuating path diagram , the progression of which corresponds essentially to a current demand actuating path diagram . the pre - stressing element 41 is provided in a pre - stressed state between the two limbs . it is preferred that the lever arm 40 is embodied from a planar flat material , in particular from a steel plate and that it comprises an essentially sickle - shaped outer contour , and wherein an essentially sickle - shaped cutout 43 is provided in order to form the two limbs . it is possible to make adjustments for wear in principle electronically with reference to adjusting a restoring position of the actuator 3 , wherein an idle travel is performed to a certain extent successively as the wear on the friction lining progresses . in the event that the drum brake module 1 together with a hydraulic actuation is integrated in a motor vehicle brake system , wherein the electromechanical actuator is to perform exclusively the function of an electromechanical parking brake , and wherein a service brake function is performed in principle in a hydraulic manner , in each case in addition at least one wheel brake cylinder 62 having a piston is provided and also an automatic adjusting device is provided that can preferably be combined with the supporting device 11 . the wheel brake cylinder 62 is located in relation to an axis of rotation d of the brake drum in the region of the supporting device 11 to a certain extent opposite the actuator 3 , which can be operated by an electric motor . the electromechanical actuating device and the hydraulic / mechanical actuating device are arranged in parallel with each other . the description hereinunder relates to another solution as shown in fig6 . a rotation to translation converter is provided separately from the actuator 3 , said rotation to translation converter being placed with a spindle arrangement 52 within the brake drum , which further reduces the amount of installation space required . only the differences with respect to the fig1 - 5 are described in this connection . like features are provided with like reference numerals in the fig6 . the rotation to translation converter of the actuator 3 is embodied without a drive nut . the reason for this is that a rotation to translation converter having at least one lever 50 that is articulated in a pivotable manner to the anchor plate is provided in the actuating pull 5 between the actuator 3 and the brake shoes 6 , said lever being fully integrated within the brake drum . this reduces in addition the structural length of the actuator 3 and renders it possible to produce a type of construction of the solution , wherein the gear components for converting the torque are separate from those gear components for the conversion into the translation movement . in a further embodiment of the invention , a driven shaft 51 of the actuator 3 having a thread - shaped spindle arrangement 52 is provided . the spindle arrangement 52 comprises an end 53 that is arranged in a rotatable manner in a bearing 54 — preferably a roller bearing . the bearing 54 is fastened to or in the anchor plate 2 or is integrated in the anchor plate 2 . in order to form a pivot lever gear , the spindle arrangement 52 is placed in the brake drum in such a manner that it meshes with a toothed arrangement 55 of the lever 50 . the pitch of the toothed arrangement 55 is advantageously embodied in such a manner that a currentless self - locking arrangement is provided for the parking brake function . a defined elastic embodiment of the articulated lever 40 improves electronic switching processes and electronic control processes , because as a consequence it is possible to change the characteristic curve in a current progression in dependence upon the deformation . the lever 40 can be allocated one or more stops 42 in order to change the elastic deformation behavior that cause a change in the characteristic curve and as a consequence render it possible to perform a control process and an adjusting process in a simplified manner — without force sensors that perform direct measurements . a stop 42 can be embodied as a separate limb of the lever 40 . a separate elastic element is allocated to the lever 40 in order to increase the influence . it goes without saying that all solutions and embodiments can comprise a plurality of elastic elements that are connected in series . in order to provide an electrical connection to an electronic control unit 63 and / or to an electric switch , the actuator is provided with at least one electric female connector interface or electrical male connector interface 60 . metallic conductor rails ( printed circuit ) can be used to convey current in a gear housing 8 that is embodied from a synthetic material . it is possible by means of a replaceable pluggable adaptor part , which is inserted , to tailor the electric interface 60 in a simple manner to suit different requirements such as positions , precise connector embodiments or other customer requirements . the actuator 3 is operated in the brake actuating direction in order to perform a brake application . as a consequence , the spindle arrangement 9 is displaced in fig1 - 4 - or the lever as shown in fig6 - against the elastic pre - stressing force of one or more spring elements 61 in the axial direction in such a manner that the required pulling force fs is built up in the actuating pull 5 . the brake shoes 6 a , 6 b are held against the brake drum and the application force is increased until an electronic control unit 63 emits a switch - off signal and the current supply is interrupted . the motor 7 can be closed for a short period of time for the purpose of ensuring a brake actuation ( parking brake operation ). if the gear is designed in a self - locking manner , a currentless self - locking arrangement is consequently provided . it is possible to provide a separate parking brake locking device for other application cases . in order to release a parking brake actuation , the actuator 3 is operated in reverse in the release direction . each release operation is supported by an elastic restoring deformation — at least of the pre - stressed spring element 61 — and is therefore performed in a particularly rapid manner . an elastic restoring deformation of the lever arm 40 or other elastic elements support the release process fundamentally in the identical manner . overall , the invention provides the vehicle manufacturer with the opportunity to produce a particularly cost - effective , simple installation of an electromechanically actuated drum brake module 1 in accordance with a so - called plug - and - play principle , by virtue of the fact that the drum brake module 1 is fastened in a simple mechanical manner to an axle component , and wherein only one electric interface 60 is produced in order to provide the electric supply to the actuator 3 having a control unit 63 and / or a switch . the result is that the necessary complexity of production for the vehicle manufacturer is as a consequence considerably reduced .	5
the reactants comprised 146 . 14 g of adipic acid , 120 g of hexamethylene diamine , 49 g of water , and 0 . 276 g of sodium hypophosphite . after the reactants were charged into the reactor , nitrogen gas was introduced into the reactor several times to purge air from the reactor . then the reactor was closed and the external temperature of the reactor was maintained at 250 ° c . for 1 hour . subsequently , the external temperature of the reactor was raised to 270 ° c . for 1 hour . thereafter , the temperature was raised to 320 ° c . during the temperature increase sequence , if the pressure inside the reactor exceeded 3 kg / cm 2 , the pressure would be released to 0 kg / cm 2 . finally when the temperature inside the reactor reached 260 ° c ., the reactor pressure was released to 0 kg / cm 2 , and the material was removed from the reactor . this completed the polymerization reaction . after the polymerization reaction , nylon 66 prepolymer was produced which has a relative viscosity of 1 . 36 . the relative viscosity assumed that the viscosity of concentrated sulfuric acid ( more than 96 %) is 1 g / dl in a cannon ubbelohde size 200 ( b194 ) capillary viscometer at 30 ° c . prepare prepolymers which are synthesized according to the method described in example 1 . add 0 . 3 g to 0 . 4 g of the nylon 66 prepolymer into a stainless steel tube reactor . seal the stainless steel tube reactor , and place the reactor into tin bath at 360 ° c . for 6 minutes . the inner temperature of the reactor is approximately 260 ° c . the inner pressure of the reactor is approximately 73 cm hg ( 76 cm hg being absolute vacuum ). remove the reactor from tin bath and cool the reactor in the air for 1 minute . then cool the reactor with water until the temperature of the reactor reached room temperature . open the reactor to remove the sample . the product is a nylon 66 polymer . measure the relative viscosity of the sample . the relative viscosity of the polymer is 1 . 56 . prepare the nylon 66 prepolymer which is synthesized according to the method described in example 1 , and all the reaction conditions are the same as those in example 2 , except that 2 phr ( parts per hundred parts of reactants , by weight ) of bis ( 1 , 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - pentamethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate ( commercial name tinuvin 292 , a hindered amine derivative ) were added into the reactor . after the reaction is completed according to the method described in example 2 , the relative viscosity is measured . the product is a nylon 66 polymer . the relative viscosities of reaction products from examples 1 through 3 are listed in table 1 . the relative viscosities of the nylon 66 polymers that are synthesized using the amine compound as cocatalyst are higher than those without the cocatalyst , indicating a more complete reaction within the same reaction time by the addition of the amine cocatalyst disclosed in this invention . table 1______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________1 nylon 66 prepolymer 1 . 362 nylon 66 polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 1 . 563 nylon 66 polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 1 . 83______________________________________ the reactants comprised 160 g of isophthalic acid , 120 g of hexamethylene diamine , 49 g of water , and 0 . 276 g of sodium hypophosphite . after the reactants were charged into the reactor , nitrogen gas was introduced into the reactor several times to purge air from the reactor . then the reactor was closed and the external temperature of the reactor was maintained at 250 ° c . for 1 hour . subsequently , the external temperature of the reactor was raised to 270 ° c . for 1 hour . thereafter , the temperature was raised to 340 ° c . during the temperature increase sequence , if the pressure inside the reactor exceeded 3 kg / cm 2 , the pressure would be released to 0 kg / cm 2 . finally when the temperature inside the reactor reached 270 ° c ., the reactor pressure was released to 0 kg / cm 2 , and the material was removed from the reactor . this completed the polymerization reaction . after the polymerization reaction , nylon 6i prepolymer was produced which has a relative viscosity of 1 . 96 . use nylon 6i prepolymer from example 4 instead of the nylon 66 prepolymer in example 2 . all the other conditions are the same as those in example 2 . the relative viscosity of nylon 6i polymer from this reaction is 4 . 0 . use nylon 6i prepolymer in example 4 instead of nylon 66 prepolymer in example 2 . the reactants are nylon 6i prepolymer and 1 phr of bis ( 1 , 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - pentamethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate ( commercial name tinuvin 292 , a hindered amine derivative ). all the other conditions are the same as those in example 2 . the relative viscosity of the nylon 6i polymer prepared using the amine compound as cocatalyst is higher than that of the nylon 6i polymer prepared without cocatalyst . table 2 compares the relative viscosities of nylon 6i polymers from examples 4 through 6 . table 2______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________4 nylon 6i prepolymer 1 . 965 nylon 6i polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 4 . 006 nylon 6i polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 4 . 26______________________________________ the reactants comprised 3650 g of adipic acid , 4150 g of terephthalic acid , 6000 g of hexamethylene diamine , 2450 g of distilled water , and 13 . 8 g of sodium hypophosphite . the diamine was first added to the distilled to make a mixture solution . after the reactants were charged into the reactor at room temperature , nitrogen gas was introduced into the reactor several times to purge air from the reactor . then the reactor was closed and the external heat was applied to the reactor . after about 50 - 60 minutes , the external temperature of the reactor reached 240 ° c . and the internal temperature of the reactor was about 200 ° c . subsequently , the external temperature of the reactor was maintained at 240 °- 250 ° c . for thirty minutes . at this time , the internal temperature of the reactor was about 200 °- 210 ° c . thereafter , the external temperature of the reactor was raised to 250 °- 260 ° c . and the internal temperature increased to 210 °- 230 ° c . finally when the temperature inside the reactor reached 230 ° c . ( the external temperature was at 270 ° c . ), the reactor pressure was released to 0 kg / cm 2 , and the material was removed from the reactor . at anytime during the reaction stage , the pressure would be released to 3 kg / cm 2 if the pressure exceeded 10 kg / cm 2 . this completed the polymerization reaction . after the polymerization reaction , nylon 66t prepolymer was produced which has a relative viscosity of 1 . 13 g / dl . prepare prepolymers according to the procedures described in example 7 . add 0 . 3 g to 0 . 4 g of the nylon 66t prepolymer into a stainsteel reactor . seal the stainsteel reactor , and place the reactor into a tin bath at 385 ° c . for 20 minutes . the inner temperature of the reactor is approximately 320 ° c . the inner pressure of the reactor is approximately 30 cm hg ( 76 cm hg being absolute vacuum ). remove the reactor from the tin bath and cool the reactor in the air for 1 minute . then cool the reactor with water until the temperature of the reactor reached room temperature . open the reactor to remove the sample . the product is a nylon 66t polymer . measure the relative viscosity of the sample . the relative viscosity of the polymer is 2 . 75 . the prepolymer is synthesized according to the method described in example 7 , and all the reaction conditions are the same as those in example 8 , except that 0 . 5 phr of various amine cocatalysts of this invention were added into the reactor . the compositions of the amine cocatalysts are shown in table 3 . after the reaction is completed according to the method described in example 8 , the relative viscosity is measured . the product is a nylon 66t polymer . the relative viscosities of reaction products from examples 7 through 9 are listed in table 4 . the relative viscosities of the nylon 66t polymers that are synthesized using the amine compound as cocatalyst are higher than those without a cocatalyst , indicating a more complete reaction within the same reaction time by the addition of the amine cocatalyst disclosed in this invention . table 3______________________________________exampleno . amine composition______________________________________9 - a n - phenyl - n &# 39 ;-( 1 , 3 - dimethylbutyl )- p - phenylene diamine ( a phenylene diamine derivative ) 9 - b bis ( 1 , 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - pentamethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate ( a hindered amine derivative ) 9 - c poly ( 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 2 - dihydroquinoline ) ( a poly ( hindered amine ) derivative ) ______________________________________ table 4______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________7 nylon 66t prepolymer 1 . 138 nylon 66t polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 2 . 759 - a nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 3 . 039 - b nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 4 . 509 - c nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 3 . 22______________________________________ prepare prepolymers according to the procedures described in example 7 . add 0 . 3 g to 0 . 4 g of nylon 66t prepolymer into a stainsteel reactor . seal the stainless steel tube reactor , and place the reactor into a tin bath at 380 ° c . for 12 minutes . the inner temperature of the reactor was approximately 312 ° c . the inner pressure of the reactor is approximately 30 cm hg ( 76 cm hg being absolute vacuum ). remove the reactor from the tin bath and cool the reactor in the air for 1 minute . then cool the reactor with water until the temperature of the reactor reached room temperature . open the reactor to remove the sample . the product is a nylon 66t polymer . measure the relative viscosity of the sample . the relative viscosity of the polymer is 1 . 67 . the prepolymer is synthesized according to the method described in example 7 , and the other reaction conditions are the same as those in example 10 , except that 0 . 5 phr of various types of amine cocatalysts were added into the reactor . the compositions of the amine cocatalysts are shown in table 5 . after the reaction is completed according to the method described in example 10 , the relative viscosity is measured . the product is a nylon 66t polymer . the relative viscosities of reaction products from examples 7 , 10 and 11 are listed in table 6 . the relative viscosities of the nylon 66t polymers that are synthesized using the amine compound as cocatalyst are higher than those without a cocatalyst , indicating a more complete reaction within the same reaction time by the addition of the amine cocatalyst disclosed in this invention . table 5______________________________________example no . amine composition______________________________________11 - a bis ( 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate ( a hindered amine derivative ) 11 - b 2 -[ 2 - hydroxyl - 3 , 5 - di -( 1 , 1 - dimethyl - benzyl ) phe - nyl ]- 2h - benzotriazole ( benzotriazole group ii ) ______________________________________ table 6______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________ 7 nylon 66t prepolymer 1 . 1310 nylon 66t polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 1 . 6711 - a nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 2 . 3911 - b nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 3 . 11______________________________________ the reactants comprised 120 g of hexamethylene diamine , 116 . 2 g of isophthalic acid , 49 . 8 g of terephthalic acid , 49 g of water , and 0 . 276 g of sodium hypophosphite . after the reactants were charged into the reactor , nitrogen gas was introduced into the reactor several times to purge air from the reactor . then the reactor was closed and the external temperature of the reactor was maintained at 250 ° c . for 40 minutes . subsequently , the external temperature of the reactor was raised to 270 ° c . for 40 minutes . thereafter , the temperature was raised to 340 ° c . during the temperature increase sequence , if the pressure inside the reactor exceeded 3 kg / cm 2 , the pressure would be released to 0 kg / cm 2 . finally when the temperature inside the reactor reached 290 ° c ., the reactor pressure was released to 0 kg / cm 2 , and the material was removed from the reactor . this completed the polymerization reaction . after the polymerization reaction , nylon 6it prepolymer was produced which has a relative viscosity of 2 . 04 . prepare prepolymers which are synthesized according to the method described in example 12 . add 0 . 3 g to 0 . 4 g of the nylon 6it prepolymer into a stainless steel tube reactor . seal the stainless steel tube reactor , and place the reactor into tin bath at 360 ° c . for 6 minutes . the inner temperature of the reactor was approximately 260 ° c . the inner pressure of the reactor is approximately 73 cm hg ( 76 cm hg being absolute vacuum ). remove the reactor from tin bath and cool the reactor in the air for 1 minute . then cool the reactor with water until the temperature of the reactor reached room temperature . open the reactor to remove the sample . the product is a nylon 6it polymer . measure the relative viscosity of the sample . the relative viscosity of the polymer is 2 . 58 g / dl . use nylon 6it prepolymer in example 12 . the reactants are nylon 6it prepolymer and 2 phr of 2 -[ 2 - hydroxyl - 3 , 5 - di -( 1 , 1 - dimethyl - benzyl ) phenyl ]- 2h - benzotriazole ( commercial name tinuvin 900 , a group ii benzotriazole ). all the other conditions are the same as those in example 13 . the relative viscosity of nylon 6it polymer synthesized with the amine cocatalyst is higher than those of nylon 6it polymer without the amine cocatalyst . the comparison is shown in table 7 . table 7______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________12 nylon 6it prepolymer 2 . 0413 nylon 6it polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 2 . 5814 nylon 6it polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 2 . 72______________________________________ the reactants comprised 120 g of hexamethylene diamine , 73 g of adipic acid , 40 g of isophthalic acid , 43 g of terephthalic acid , 49 g of distilled water , and 0 . 276 g of sodium hypophosphite . after the reactants were charged into the reactor , nitrogen gas was introduced into the reactor several times to purge air from the reactor . then the reactor was closed and the external temperature of the reactor was maintained at 250 ° c . for one hour . subsequently , the external temperature of the reactor was raised to 270 ° c . for one hour . thereafter , the temperature was raised to 340 ° c . during the temperature increase sequence , if the pressure inside the reactor exceeded 3 kg / cm 2 , the pressure was released to 0 kg / cm 2 . finally when the temperature inside the reactor reached 275 ° c ., the reactor pressure was released to 0 kg / cm 2 , and the material was removed from the reactor . this completed the polymerization reaction . after the polymerization reaction , nylon 66it prepolymer was produced which has a relative viscosity of 2 . 26 . prepare prepolymers which are synthesized according to the method described in example 15 . add 0 . 3 g to 0 . 4 g of the nylon 66it prepolymer into a stainless steel tube reactor . seal the stainless steel tube reactor , and place the reactor into tin bath at 360 ° c . for 8 minutes . the inner temperature of the reactor is approximately 285 ° c . the inner pressure of the reactor is approximately 72 cm hg ( 76 cm hg being absolute vacuum ). remove the reactor from tin bath and cool the reactor in the air for 1 minute . then cool the reactor with water until the temperature of the reactor reached room temperature . open the reactor to remove the sample . the product is a nylon 66it polymer . measure the relative viscosity of the sample . the relative viscosity of the polymer is 5 . 96 g / dl . the reactants are nylon 66it prepolymer and 1 phr of 2 -[ 2 - hydroxyl - 3 , 5 - di -( 1 , 1 - dimethyl - benzyl ) phenyl ]- 2h - benzotriazole ( commercial name tinuvin 900 , a group ii benzotriazole ). all the other conditions are the same as those in example 16 . the relative viscosity of nylon 66it polymer synthesized using the amine compound as a cocatalyst is higher than those of nylon 66it polymer without the amine cocatalyst . the comparison is shown in table 8 . table 8______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________15 nylon 66it prepolymer 2 . 2616 nylon 66it polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 5 . 9617 nylon 66it polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 6 . 90______________________________________ grind the nylon 66t prepolymer from example 7 into powders , and feed the powder into a twin screw extruder ( w & amp ; p zsk 30 model , with a diameter of 30 mm and an l / d of 27 ). then extrude the reactants . the conditions of extrusion are described in the following paragraph . the reaction temperatures are 280 ° c . in the first stage , 320 ° c . in the second stage , 340 ° c . in the third stage , 340 ° c . in the fourth stage , and 340 ° c . in the fifth stage . the temperature of the die is 340 ° c . the pressure of the fourth stage is 30 cm hg . the rotation speed of the screw is 100 rpm , representing an average resident time of about two minutes . the reactants are nylon 66t prepolymer and 0 . 3 phr of amine cocatalyst ( their compositions are shown in table 9 ). all the other conditions are the same as in example 18 . their relative viscosities are shown in table 10 . table 9______________________________________example no . amine composition______________________________________19 - a bis ( 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate ( a hindered amine derivative ) 19 - b poly ( 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 2 - dihydroquinoline ) ( poly ( hindered amine ) derivative ) ______________________________________ table 10______________________________________example relativeno . polymer composition viscosity______________________________________ 7 nylon 66t prepolymer 1 . 1318 nylon 66t polymer ( w / o amine cocatalyst ) 2 . 7719 - a nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 3 . 8119 - b nylon 66t polymer ( with amine cocatalyst ) 2 . 82______________________________________ from all the tables shown above , it is evident that the addition of amine cocatalyst , in the presence of a primary catalyst , increases the reaction rate to produce polyamide and / or copolyamide .	2
this invention is based on the discovery that pharmaceutical agents ( both diagnostic and therapeutic ) may be derived by chemically bonding a pharmaceutical agent to a photographic coupler molecule , which can be precipitated as micro - nanoparticles with z - average particle diameter to as small as 10 nm by homogeneous nucleation and precipitation in the presence of surface active surface modifiers , and that such particles are stable and do not appreciably flocculate or aggregate due to interparticle attraction forces and can be formulated into pharmaceutical compositions exhibiting unexpectedly high bioavailibility . while the invention is described herein primarily in connection with its preferred utility , i . e ., with respect to nanoparticulate substances for use in pharmaceutical compositions , it is also believed to be useful in other applications such as the formulation of particulate cosmetic compositions and the preparation of particulate dispersions for use in image and magnetic recording elements . the particles preferred by this invention comprise a pharmaceutical agent substance by chemically bonding them to a photographic coupler molecule . the invention can be practiced with a wide variety of pharmaceutical agent substances . the said agent substance preferably is present in an essentially pure form . the agent substance must be poorly soluble and dispersible in at least one liquid medium . by &# 34 ; poorly soluble &# 34 ; it is meant that the said substance has a solubility in the liquid dispersion medium of less than about 10 mg / ml , and preferably of less than about 1 mg / ml . a preferred liquid dispersion medium is water . however , the invention can be practiced with other liquid media in which a pharmaceutical agent is poorly soluble and dispersible including , for example , aqueous salt solutions , safflower oil , and solvents such as ethanol , t - butanol , hexane , and glycol . the ph of the aqueous dispersion media can be adjusted by techniques known in the art . suitable pharmaceutically useful chemical compositions ( pucc ) can be selected from a variety of known classes of drugs including , for example , analgesics , anti - inflammatory agents , anthelmintics , anti - arrhythmic agents , antibiotics ( including penicillins ), anticoagulants , antidepressants , antidiabetic agents , antiepileptics , antihistamines , antihypertensive agents , antimuscarinic agents , antimycobacterial agents , antineioplastic agents , immunosuppressants , antithyroid agents , antiviral agents , anxiolytic sedatives ( hypnotics and neuroleptics ), astringents , beta - adrenoceptor blocking agents , blood products and substitutes , cardiac inotropic agents , contrast media , corticosteroids , cough suppressants ( expectorants and mucolytics ), diagnostic agents , diagnostic imaging agents , diuretics , dopaminerigics ( antiparkinsonian agents ), haemostatics , immuriological agents , lipid regulating agents , muscle relaxants , parasympathomimetics , parathyroid calcitonin and biphosphonates , prostaglandins , radio - pharmaceuticals , sex hormones ( including steroids ), anti - allergic agents , stimulants and anoretics , sympathomimetics , thyroid agents , vasodilators and xanthines . preferred drug substances include those intended for oral administration and intravenous administration . a description of these classes of pucc and a listing of species within each class can be found in martindale , the extra pharmacopoeia , twenty - ninth edition , the pharmaceutical press , london , 1989 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the drug substances are commercially available and / or can be prepared by techniques known in the art . representative illustrative species of substances useful as diagonostic agents are x - ray contrast agents that can act as suitable pharmaceutically useful compositions ( pucc ) are as follows : ## str2 ## in the above structures , r can be or &# 39 ;, oh , or ## str3 ## wherein r &# 39 ; is alkyl , and r 2 and r 3 are independently h or alkyl . each alkyl group can independently contain from 1 - 20 , preferably 1 - 8 , and more preferably , 1 - 4 carbon atoms . the alkylene group preferably contains from 1 - 4 carbons atoms such as methylene , ethylene , propylene and the like , optionally substituted with for example an alkyl group , such as methyl and ethyl . particularly preferred contrast agents include the ethyl ester of diatrizonic acid , i . e ., ethyl - 3 , 5 - diacetamido - 2 , 4 , 6 - triiodobenzoate , also known as ethyl - 3 , 5 - bis ( acetylamino )- 2 , 4 , 6 - triodobenzoate or tehyl diatrizoate , having the structural formula a above wherein r =-- och 2 ch 3 the ethyl glycolate ester of diatrizoic acid , i . e ., ethyl ( 3 , 5 - bis ( acetylamino )- 2 , 4 , 6 - triiodobenzoyloxy ) acetate , also known as ethyl diatrizoxyacetate , having the structural formula a above wherein ## str4 ## and ethyl - 2 -( 3 , 5 - bis ( acetylamino )- 2 , 4 , 6 - triiodobenzoyloxy ) butyrate , also known as ethyl - 2 - diatrizoxybutyrate , having the structural formula a above wherein ## str5 ## in addition , it is expected that the invention can be practiced in conjunction with the water insoluble iodinated carbonate esters described in pct / ep90 / 00053 . the above described x - ray contrast agents are known compounds and / or can be prepared by techniques known in the art . for example , water - insoluble esters and terminal amides of acids such as the above - described iodinated aromatic acids can be prepared by conventional alkylation or amidation techniques known in the art . the above - noted acids and other acids which can be used as starting materials are commercially available and / or can be prepared by techniques known in the art . the examples which follow contain illustrative examples of known synthetic techniques . it is to be noted that agents ( therapeutic or diagnostic ) that are suitable for this invention must be soluble but remain relatively unhydrolyzed in aqueous alkaline solutions . compounds described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 264 , 610 , 5 , 260 , 478 ( bacon ) and ( application ) prf - 469 / 92 ( bacon , et al .) that are unhydrolyzable in aqueous alkaline solutions are also included herein by reference as agents suitable for the practice of this invention . the x - ray contrast agent can be an iodinated compound . the iodinated compound can be aromatic or nonaromatic . aromatic compounds are preferred . the iodinated compound can comprise one , two , three , or more iodine atoms per molecule . preferred species contain at least two , and more preferably , at least three iodine atoms per molecule . the iodinated compounds selected can contain substituents that do not impart solubility to the compound , such as , for example , alkylureido , alkoxyacylamido , hydroxyacetamido , butyrolactamido , succinimido , trifluoroacetamido , carboxy , carboxamido , hydroxy , alkoxy , acylamino , and the like substituents . a preferred class of contrast agents includes various esters and amides of iodinated aromatic acids . the esters preferably are alkyl or substituted alkyl esters . the amides can be primary or secondary amides , preferably alkyl or substituted alkyl amides . for example , the contrast agent can be an ester or amide of a substituted triiodobenzoic acid such as an acyl , carbamyl , and / or acylmethyl substituted triiodobenzoic acid . illustrative representative examples of iodinated aromatic acids include , but are not limited to , diatrizoic acid , metrizoic , iothalamic acid , trimesic acid , ioxaglic acid ( hexabrix ), ioxitalamic acid , tetraiodoterephthalic acid , iodipamide and the like . it is contemplated that poorly soluble derivatives of iodamide and iopyrol can be used herein . the invention can also be practiced with poorly soluble derivatives , e . g ., ester and ether derivatives , of hydroxylated nonionic x - ray contrast agents . illustrative nonionic contrast agents include , but are not limited to , metrizamide ; ioglunide ; iopamidol ; iopromide ; iogulamide ; iohexol , and other compounds described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 250 , 113 ; ioversol , and other compounds described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 396 , 598 ; nonionic triiodinated compounds , such as described in investigative radiology , vol . 19 , july - august 1984 ; and nonionic dimers , such as described in radiology , 142 : 115 - 118 , january 1982 . the invention can be practiced with poorly soluble derivatives of iodomethane sulfonamides , iodinated aromatic glucoanilides , 2 - ketogulonamides , reversed amides , peptides , carbamates , esters , glycoside and glucose derivatives , benzamide derivatives , isophthalamides , bis compounds , and bis - polyhydroxylated acylamides , such as described in volume 73 of the handbook of experimental pharmacology , entitled radiocontrast agents , edited by m . sovak , 1984 , springer - verlag , berlin , pages 56 - 73 . many of the iodinated molecules described above , if in monomeric form , can also be prepared as dimers ( sometimes referred to as bis compounds ), trimers ( sometimes referred to as tris compounds ), etc ., by techniques known in the art . it is contemplated that this invention can be practiced with poorly soluble - iodinated compounds in monomeric , dimeric , trimeric and polymeric forms . representative illustrative compounds are described by sovak , cited above , pages 40 - 53 . other examples of diagnostic pucc are fluorescent molecules , dyes , radioactive atoms and electronic spin labeled compounds . the coupler moiety in the pcmpa could be any photographic coupler including dye - forming couplers , colored couplers , development inhibitor release coupler or development inhibitor anchimeric release couplers as disclosed in &# 34 ; the theory of the photographic processes &# 34 ;, 4ed , by t . h . james , macmillan , new york , 1977 ; &# 34 ; photographic silver halide emulsions , preparations , addenda , systems , and processing &# 34 ;, research disclosure 36544 , september 1994 , p . 501 , disclosed anonymously ; &# 34 ; small format film &# 34 ;, research disclosure 36230 , january 1994 , p . 317 , disclosed anonymously ; &# 34 ; typical and preferred color paper , color negative , and color reversal photographic elements and processing &# 34 ;, unpublished ek docket # 71 , 600 by j . pawlak et al ., are included herein by reference . to illustrate typical pcmpa some of their structures are listed in the following : ## str6 ## wherein ballast is a chemical group , ring on chain which renders desired solubility criterion to the pcmpa , typical &# 34 ; links &# 34 ; are ## str7 ## where , ballast is the same as before and cog is a leaving group such as substituted phenol or nitrogen hetorocycle . ## str8 ## where r 1 , r 2 , can be cl ,-- och 3 , -- so 2 nh -- ch 3 , -- co 2 ch 3 , h etc ., and &# 34 ; link &# 34 ; is -- conh -- or -- so 2 nh -- ## str9 ## where x is -- o -- or -- nh -- and &# 34 ; link &# 34 ; is a chain or a ring . ## str10 ## where &# 34 ; link &# 34 ; is a phenyl ring . ## str11 ## where r 1 may be ch 3 or t - butyl and r 2 is a long chain alkyl group ## str12 ## where &# 34 ; link &# 34 ; is a substituted phenyl ring . ## str13 ## where &# 34 ; link &# 34 ; if a substituted phenyl ring . ## str14 ## wherein cog ═ h or a leaving group such as substituted phenol . specific examples of photographic coupler modified pharmaceutical agents ( pcmpa ) given below are diagnostic x - ray contrast agents . ## str15 ## in this work we have used compound 1 as the example to illustrate this invention and its utility . the photographic coupler and pharmaceutical agent are linked by suitable chemical moieties as described earlier . the non - toxic solvent which is miscible with the liquid medium can be methanol , ethanol , n - propanol , isopropanol , acetone , etc . by miscible with the liquid medium is meant that they are miscible at all proportions . in a preferred embodiment , the above procedure is followed with step 4 which comprises removing the formed salts and solvent by diafiltration or dialysis . this is done in the case of dialysis by conventional dialysis equipment known in the art . by diafiltration by conventional diafiltration equipment known in the art . preferably , the final step is concentration to a desired concentration of the agent dispersion . this is done by conventional diafiltration equipment known in the art . the second step of this invention comprises adding an aqueous solution of a surface modifier to be adsorbed on the surface of the pharmaceutical agent . useful surface modifiers are believed to include those which physically adhere to the surface of the drug substance but do not chemically bond to the pharmaceutical agent . suitable surface modifiers ( the term &# 34 ; surface modifiers &# 34 ; is used interchangeably with &# 34 ; surfactants &# 34 ;) can preferably be selected from known organic and inorganic pharmaceutical excipients . such excipients include various polymers , low molecular weight oligomers , natural products and surfactants . preferred surface modifiers include nonionic and anionic surfactants . representative examples of excipients include gelatin , casein , lecithin ( phosphatides ), gum acacia , cholesterol , tragacanth , stearic acid , benzalkonium chloride , calcium stearate , glyceryl monostearate , cetostearl alcohol , cetomacrogol emulsifying wax , sorbitan esters , polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers , e . g ., ethylene castor oil derivatives , polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters , e . g ., the commercially available tweens , polyethylene glycols , polyoxyethylene stearates , colloidal silicon dioxide , phosphates , sodium dodecylsulfate , carboxymethylcellulose calcium , carboxymethylcellulose sodium , methylcellulose , hydroxyethylcellulose , hydroxypropylcellulose , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose phthalate , non - crystalline cellulose , magnesium aluminum silicate , triethanolamine , polyvinyl alcohol , and polyvinylpyrrolidone ( pvp ). most of these excipients are described in detail in the handbook of pharmaceutical excipients , published jointly by the american pharmaceutical association and the pharmaceutical society of great britain , the pharmaceutical press , 1986 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the surface modifiers are commercially available and / or can be prepared by techniques known in the art . particularly preferred surface modifiers include polyvinyl pyrrolidone , pluronic f68 and f108 , which are block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide , tetronic 908 , which is a tetrafunctional block copolymer derived from sequential addition of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide to ethylenediamine , dextran , lecithin , aerosol ot , which is a dioctyl ester of sodium sulfosuccinic acid , available from american cyanamid , duponol p , which is a sodium lauryl sulfate , available from dupont , triton x - 200 , which is an alkyl aryl polyether sulfonate , available from rohm and haas , tween 80 , which is a polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester , available from jci specialty chemicals , and carbowax 3350 and 934 , which are polyethylene glycols available from union carbide . surface modifiers which have found to be particularly useful include polyvinylpyrrolidone , pluronic f - 68 , and lecithin . the surface modifier is adsorbed on the surface of the pharmaceutical agent in an amount sufficient to maintain an average particle size of less than about 100 nm . the surface modifier does not chemically react with the drug substance or itself . furthermore , the individually adsorbed molecules of the surface modifier are essentially free of intermolecular crosslinkages . when particle size is measured by photon correlation spectroscopy ( pcs ) the average particle size is the z - average particle diameter , known to those skilled in the art . in some preferred embodiments of the invention , the z - average particle diameter of less than about 50 nm . in some embodiments of the invention , the z - average particle diameter is of less than about 10 nm . additional surface modifier may be added to the dispersion after precipitation . thereafter , the dispersion can be mixed , e . g ., by shaking vigorously . optionally , the dispersion can be subjected to a sonication step , e . g ., using an ultrasonic power supply . for example , the dispersion can be subjected to ultrasonic energy having a frequency of 20 - 80 khz for a time of about 1 to 120 seconds . the relative amount of agent substance and surface modifier can vary widely and the optimal amount of the surface modifier can depend , for example , upon the particular agent substance and surface modifier selected , the critical micelle concentration of the surface modifier if it forms micelles , etc . the surface modifier preferably is present in an amount of about 0 . 1 - 10 mg per square meter surface area of the drug substance . the surface modifier can be present in an amount of 0 . 1 - 90 %, preferably 2 - 60 % by weight based on the total weight of the dry particle . the resulting dispersion of this invention is stable and consists of the liquid dispersion medium and the above - described particles . the dispersion of surface modified pharmaceutical agent micro - nanoparticles can be spray - coated onto sugar spheres or onto a pharmaceutical excipient in a fluid - bed spray coater by techniques well - known in the art . pharmaceutical compositions according to this invention include the particles described above and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier therefore . suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are well - known to those skilled in the art . these include non - toxic physiologically acceptable carriers , adjuvants or vehicles for parenteral injection , for oral administration in solid or liquid form , for rectal administration , and the like . a method of treating a mammal in accordance with this invention comprises the step of administering to the mammal in need of treatment an effective amount of the above - described pharmaceutical composition . the selected dosage level of the agent substance for treatment is effective to obtain a desired therapeutic response for a particular composition and method of administration . the selected dosage level therefore , depends upon the particular drug substance , the desired therapeutic effect , on the route of administration , on the desired duration of treatment and other factors . as noted , it is a particularly advantageous feature that the pharmaceutical compositions of this invention exhibit unexpectedly high bioavailability as illustrated in the examples which follow . furthermore , it is contemplated that the drug particles of this invention provide more rapid onset of drug action and decreased gastrointestinal irritancy . it is contemplated that the pharmaceutical compositions of this invention will be particularly useful in oral and parenteral , including intravenous , administration applications . it is expected that poorly water soluble drug substances , which prior to this invention , could not have been administered intravenously , may be administered safely in accordance with this invention . additionally , drug substances which could not have been administered orally due to poor bioavailability may be effectively administered in accordance with this invention . while the applicants do not wish to be bound by theoretical mechanisms , it is believed that the surface modifier hinders the flocculation and / or agglomeration of the particles by functioning as a mechanical or steric barrier between the particles , minimizing the close , interparticle approach necessary for agglomeration and flocculation . alternatively , if the surface modifier has ionic groups , stabilization by electrostatic repulsion may result . it was surprising that stable drug particles of such a small effective average particle size and free of unacceptable contamination could be prepared by the method of this invention . the process of this invention involves a method of preparing stable dispersions of pharmaceutical agents ( therapeutic or diagnostic ) in the presence of a surface modifying and colloid stability - enhancing surface active agent free of trace any toxic solvents or solubilized heavy metal impurities by the following procedural steps . 1 . dissolving the said drug a pharmaceutical agent in aqueous base and a non toxic water miscible solvent with stirring and heat and then cooling the solution to room temperature , 2 . adding above # 1 formulation , with stirring , to a surface active surfactant ( or surface modifier ) solution to form a clear solution and , 3 . neutralizing above formulation , with stirring , # 2 with an appropriate acid solution and optionally , the process of this invention is illustrated in fig1 . the process of this invention produces dispersion of photographic agent with z - average particle size , less than 100 nm in diameter as measured by pcs that are stable in particle size upon keeping under room temperature or refrigerated conditions . such dispersions also demonstrate limited particle size growth upon autoclave decontamination conditions used for standard blood - pool pharmaceutical agents . preferred z - average particle size of the micro - nanoparticle of this invention is less than 50 nm by pcs . further preferred z - average particle size of the invention may be less than 10 nm by pcs . this invention can also be performed in semicontinuous , continuous , or continuous batch methods . such methods provide numerous advantages over prior processes of forming dispersions of pharmaceutical agents . the invention provides continuous or semicontinuous methods in which the particle size of the formed dispersions will be reproducible from run to run . shutdowns of the system can be accomplished with minimum waste or growth of particle size . these and other advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description below . the schematic of fig2 illustrates apparatus 80 for performing the process of the invention . the apparatus is provided with high purity water delivery lines 12 . tank 14 contains a solution 11 of surfactant and high purity water . jacket 15 on tank 14 regulates the temperature of the tank . surfactant enters the tank through line 16 . tank 18 contains a pharmaceutical agent solution 19 . jacket 17 controls the temperature of materials in tank 18 . the tank 18 contains a port for delivery of the pharmaceutical agent and water miscible solvent entering through manhole 20 , a base material such as aqueous sodium hydroxide solution entering through line 22 . the solution is maintained under agitation by the mixer 26 . tank 81 contains acid solution 25 such as propionic acid solution entering through line 30 . the tank 81 is provided with a heat jacket 28 to control the temperature , although with the acids normally used , it is not necessary . in operation , the acid solution is fed from tank 81 through line 32 to mixer 34 via the metering pump 86 and flow meter 88 . a ph sensor 40 senses the acidity of the dispersion as it leaves mixer 34 and allows the operator to adjust the acid pump 86 to maintain the proper ph in the dispersion exiting the mixer 34 . the pharmaceutical agent 19 passes through line 42 , metering pump 36 , flow meter 38 , and joins the surfactant solution in tank 14 . in tank 14 , the alkaline pharmaceutical agent is mixed with the surfactant solution and is pumped using pump 29 and flow meter 31 into the mixing chamber 34 . the particles are formed in mixer 34 and exit through pipe 48 into the ultrafiltration tank 82 . in the preferred process , tank 82 , the dispersion 51 is held while it is washed by ultrafiltration membrane 54 to remove the salt from solution and adjust the material to the proper water content for makeup at the proper concentration . the source of high purity water is purifier 56 . agitator 13 agitates the surfactant solution in tank 14 . agitator 27 agitates the acid solution in tank 81 . the generated salts are removed during the ultrafiltration process through permeate ( filtrate ) stream 58 . in some instances , the suitable surface modifier is the surface active agent in an ester that may be base hydrolyzable . an example of such surfactant is aerosol a102 or aerosol a103 , manufactured by american cyanamid . ## str16 ## during small - scale laboratory precipitation scheme described in fig1 preparation time is short enough such that hydrolysis of the surfactant in alkaline solution is virtually undetectable . however , during manufacturing , mixing and holding time could extend to 1 - 2 hours . in such case , hydrolysis of the surfactant is substantial and needs to be eliminated by reducing the contact time of the surfactant with the alkali . to accomplish this , the following manufacturing schemes are adopted . in the following embodiment of the invention , the alkaline pharmaceutical agent solution is mixed with the surfactant solution continuously and neutralized within less than a second of mixing in a continuous reactor with acid solution to eliminate surfactant hydrolysis . the schematic of fig3 illustrates apparatus 10 for performing the process of the invention . the apparatus is provided with high purity water delivery lines 12 . tank 14 contains a solution 11 of surfactant and high purity water . jacket 15 on tank 14 regulates the temperature of the tank . surfactant enters the tank through line 16 . tank 18 contains a pharmaceutical agent solution 19 . jacket 17 controls the temperature of materials in tank 18 . the tank 18 contains a port for delivery of the pharmaceutical agent and water miscible solvent entering through manhole 20 , a base material such as aqueous sodium hydroxide solution entering through line 22 . the solution is maintained under agitation by the mixer 26 . tank 81 contains acid solution 25 such as propionic acid entering through line 30 . the tank 81 is provided with a heat jacket 28 to control the temperature , although with the acids normally used , it is not necessary . in operation , the acid is fed from tank 81 through line 32 to mixer 34 via the metering pump 86 and flow meter 88 . a ph sensor 40 senses the acidity of the dispersion as it leaves mixer 34 and allows the operator to adjust the acid pump 86 to maintain the proper ph in the dispersion exiting the mixer 34 . the pharmaceutical agent 19 passes through line 42 , metering pump 36 , flow meter 38 , and joins the surfactant solution in line 44 at the t fitting 46 . the particles are formed in mixer 34 and exit through pipe 48 into the ultrafiltration tank 82 . in tank 82 , the dispersion 51 is held while it is washed by ultrafiltration membrane 54 to remove the salt from solution and adjust the material to the proper water content for makeup at the proper concentration . the source of high purity water is purifier 56 . agitator 13 agitates the surfactant solution in tank 14 . agitator 27 agitates the acid solution in tank 81 . the generated salts are removed during the ultrafiltration process through permeate ( filtrate ) stream 58 . in some cases , the alkaline pharmaceutical agent , the surfactant solution , and the acid solution may be directly and continuously mixed in the continuous mixer to obtain nanoparticulate dispersions . in such a case , the following manufacturing scheme is adopted . the apparatus 70 schematically illustrated in fig4 is similar to that illustrated in fig3 except that the acid solution in pipe 32 , the surfactant solution in pipe 44 , and the pharmaceutical agent solution in pipe 42 are directly led to mixing device 34 . corresponding items in fig3 and fig4 have the same numbers . in this system , all mixing takes place in the mixer 34 rather than joining of the surfactant solution and the pharmaceutical agent solution in the t connection immediately prior to the mixer as in the fig3 process . the previously described methods of this invention find their most preferred use in large - scale production such as in a continuous commercial process . however , preparation of dispersions in ph - controlled conditions can also be practiced on a smaller and / or slower scale in a semicontinuous or continuous manner . the devices of fig5 and 6 illustrate equipment that is in accordance with the invention for smaller scale production . the device of fig5 was designed for continuous ph - controlled precipitation of dispersions . the apparatus 90 of fig5 provides a continuous means for precipitation of nanoparticulate dispersions . container 92 is provided with an aqueous surfactant solution 94 . container 96 is provided with an acid solution . container 100 contains a basic solution 102 of the pharmaceutical agent water containing a water miscible solvent . container 104 provides a mixing and reacting chamber where the dispersion formation takes place . container 106 is a collector for the dispersed suspensions 158 . in operation , the surfactant solution 94 is metered by pump 108 through line 110 into the reactor vessel 104 . at the same time , the basic pharmaceutical agent solution is metered by pump 112 through line 114 into the reactor 104 at a constant predetermined rate . the solutions are agitated by stirrer 116 , and acid 98 is metered by pump 118 through line 121 into the reactor 104 to neutralize the solution . the pumping by metering pump 118 is regulated by controller 120 . controller 120 is provided with a ph sensor 122 that senses the ph of the dispersion 124 in reactor 104 and controls the amount and the rate of the addition of acid 98 added by pump 118 to neutralize the content of the reaction chamber . the drive for stirrer 116 is 126 . the recorder 130 constantly records the ph of the solution to provide a history of the dispersion 124 . metering pump 132 withdraws the dispersion solution from reactor 104 and delivers it to the container 106 using pump 132 and line 150 where it may exit from the outlet 134 . in a typical precipitation , there is a basic pharmaceutical agent solution 102 , sodium hydroxide solution , and the surfactant . the surfactant is in water , and the neutralizing acid is an aqueous solution of acetic or propionic acid . the reaction chamber has a capacity of about 800 ml . pharmaceutical agent solution tank 100 has a capacity of about 2500 ml . the surfactant solution tank 92 has a capacity of about 5000 ml . the acid solution tank has a capacity of about 2500 ml , and the dispersion collection tank has a capacity of about 10 , 000 ml . the temperature is controlled by placing the four containers 92 , 96 , 104 , and 100 in a bath 136 of water 138 whose temperature can be regulated to its temperature up to 100 ° c . usually , precipitation is carried out at 25 ° c . the temperature of the bath 138 is controlled by a steam and cold water mixer ( not shown ). the temperature probe 140 is to sense the temperature of the reactor . this is necessary for correct ph reading . the neutralization of the basic pharmaceutical agent solution in the reaction chamber 104 by the proportionally controlled pump 118 which pumps in acid solution 98 results in control of ph throughout the run to ± 0 . 2 of the set ph value which is usually about 6 . 0 . fig6 schematically illustrates a semicontinuous system for forming nanoparticulate dispersions of pharmaceutical materials . identical items are labeled the same as in fig5 . because of reduced scale , the sizes of acid kettle 96 and the pharmaceutical agent kettle 100 are smaller ( about 800 ml each ). in the system of fig6 the reactor 104 is initially provided with an aqueous surfactant solution . in this is pumped a basic solution of photographic agent 102 through pipe 114 . 112 is a ph sensor that , working through controller 120 , activates pump 118 to neutralize the dispersion to a ph of about 6 by pumping acetic acid 98 through metering pump 118 and line 121 to the reactor 104 . reactor 104 must be removed , dumped , and refilled with the aqueous surfactant solution in order to start a subsequent run . the base used to solubilize the photographic agent could be any strong alkali as nh 4 oh , naoh , koh , lioh , rboh , or csoh , or organic bases as amines such as trialkyl amines or pyridine , etc . the acids used for neutralization in this invention preferably could be any weak acids such as formic , acetic , propionic , butyric acids , etc ., or in some cases , mineral acids such as hcl , h 2 so 4 , hno 3 , hclo 4 , may be preferred . typical water miscible solvents of this invention are ch 3 -- oh , c 2 h 5 -- oh , butanol , isobutanol , propanol , isopropanol , acetone , etc . other modifications of this invention could be performed according to the processes described in other patents of bagchi , et al ., such as u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 933 , 270 ; 4 , 970 , 131 ; 4 , 900 , 431 ; 5 , 013 , 640 ; 5 , 089 , 380 ; 5 , 091 , 296 ; 5 , 104 , 776 ; 5 , 135 , 884 ; 5 , 158 , 863 ; 5 , 182 , 189 ; 5 , 185 , 230 ; 5 , 264 , 317 ; 5 , 279 , 931 ; 5 , 358 , 831 and are hereby incorporated herein by reference . another preferred modification of the precipitation device of this equipment , 700 , of this invention is shown in fig7 . fig7 schematically depicts a batch system for precipitating crystalline nanoparticulate pharmaceutical agent suspensions . the reactor 701 is initially provided with an aqueous solution of surfactant , or a surface modifier and ph buffer . the reactor is equipped with a magnetic stirring bar 702 , a temperature probe 703 , and a ph sensor 704 . the revolutions of the magnetic stirring bar are maintained at a medium - high level , as controlled by a magnetic plate regulator 705 . a strongly basic , particle - free aqueous solution ( containing a water miscible solvent ) of the pharmaceutical agent is delivered by a pump , 706 , with a flow rate control , via tubing 707 , to the reactor . simultaneously , an aqueous acid solution is delivered to the reactor by a pump 708 with a flow rate control via tubing 709 . the flow rate of both streams , their concentration , and the duration of their subsurface delivery are carefully selected in such a manner that the final ph is restricted between 3 . 0 and 7 . 0 , and the final concentration of the suspension is between 0 . 5 % to 10 %. containers 710 and 711 hold the pharmaceutical agent solution and acid solution , respectively . in another preferred embodiment of the invention continuous precipitation may be carried out in a tubular reactor 800 of fig8 . the neutralization reaction takes place in a tubular reactor , which consists of a tubing or pipe 801 equipped with a static mixer 802 . the inlet section of the tubular reactor allows for an influx of three streams through three connectors 803 , 804 , and 805 . initially , the tubular reactor is supplied with a stream of an aqueous carrier solution of surfactant and ph adjusting buffer , by a pump 806 , with a flow rate control , via tubing 807 , and the connector 803 . a strongly basic , particle - free aqueous solution ( containing water miscible solvent ) of the pharmaceutical agent is delivered by a pump 808 with a flow rate control , via tubing 809 and the connector 804 , to the tubular reactor . simultaneously , an aqueous acid solution is delivered to the reactor by a pump with a flow rate control 810 , via tubing 811 and the connector 805 . the flow rate of the influx streams and their concentration are selected in such a manner that the final dh is less than 7 . 0 , and preferably is between 3 . 0 and 7 . 0 , and the final concentration of the suspension is between 0 . 5 % to 10 %. containers 812 , 813 , 814 , and 815 hold carrier solution , pharmaceutical agent solution , acid solution , and the product suspension , respectively . the total length of the tubular reactor is such that the reaction is completed before the suspension reaches the outlet of the reactor , at the flow rates of the influx streams and the diameter of the reactor used . in an alternate embodiment of the above apparatus , only two inlet streams are simultaneously delivered to the tubular reactor . the connector 803 is plugged off , and the pump 806 is not shut off . since the carrier solution is not used , the aggregate volumetric flow rate of the two reactant streams is higher than that typically employed in the three - stream configuration described above . a mixture of 50 g ( 0 . 075 moles ) of sulfonyl chloride i and 29 g ( 0 . 059 moles ) of ii were stirred in 250 mls of dry pyridine overnight at room temperature . the reaction solution was then added to 1000 ml of ice water containing 250 mls of concentrated hcl . the mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate . the ethyl acetate layer was separated , washed with 10 % hcl , brine and dried over mgso 4 . the solution was filtered through a small plug of sio 2 and stripped to an oil in vacuo . the oil was dissolved in 160 mls of warm ether followed by 500 mls of 30 °- 60 ° ligroine . stirring overnight and filtering gave 62 g of a white solid . this solid was slurried with 500 ml of hot methanol . after cooling to room temperature and stirring overnight , filtering gave 43 . 8 g of white solid . finally , the material was recrystallized from 200 mls of toluene and 100 mls of heptane . after collection and drying in vacuo at 40 °, there was obtained 40 . 8 or 62 . 3 % of the desired product . micro - nanoparticulate dispersion of pcmpa # 1 was prepared by the method of this invention as follows : ______________________________________agent solution______________________________________pcmpa # 1 - 5 gn - propanol - 5 g20 % naoh ( aqueous ) - 1 g______________________________________ the above mixture was heated to 55 ° c . to dissolve then cooled to room temperature . ______________________________________surfactant solution______________________________________distilled water - 125 gaerosol a012 33 % in water ( basf ) - 45 g______________________________________ the agent solution was added to the surfactant solution and then immediately neutralized with 15 g of 15 % propronic acid . the formed dispersion was dialyzed against distilled water for 24 h and then concentrated by hanging the dialysis bag in a well ventilated hood for 4 days . resultant dispersions was analyzed for pcmpa # 1 concentration by hplc and was found to be 11 . 3 %. a particle size distribution of the dispersion as measured by pcs is shown in fig1 . it is seen that 90 % of the particles are between 8 and 15 nm in diameter . the z - average particle size of the dispersion was 12 nm . even though there are a very few particles at the tail end of the distribution of 50 nm in diameter such particles are indeed very small and are expected to provide very high bioavailability . fig9 shows a cyro transmission electron photomicrograph of the dispersion of this example . micro - nanoparticulate dispersion of pcmpa # 1 was prepared by the method of this invention as follows : ______________________________________agent solution______________________________________pcmpa # 1 - 20 gn - propanol - 20 g20 % naoh ( aqueous ) - 5 g______________________________________ the above mixture was heated to 55 ° c . to dissolve then cooled to room temperature . ______________________________________surfactant solution______________________________________distilled water - 500 gaerosol a012 33 % in water ( basf ) - 14 . 3 g______________________________________ polystep b23 nc . sub . 12 h . sub . 25 -- o --( ch . sub . 2 -- ch . sub . 2 -- o ). sub . 12 -- so . sub . 3 . sup .- na ( stephen chemicals ) the agent solution was added to the surfactant solution and then immediately neutralized with 60 g of 15 % propronic acid solution to form the micro - nanoparticulate pharmaceutical agent dispersion . the formed dispersion was continuously dialyzed against distilled water for 24 h and then concentrated by hanging the dispersion in the dialysis bag in a well ventilated hood for 7 days . the resultant dispersion was analyzed for pcmpa # 1 concentration by hplc and was found to be 14 . 2 %. a cryo - transmission photoelectron micrograph of the dispersion particle is shown in fig1 . a pcs particle size distribution of the dispersion is shown in fig1 . in this distribution it is seen that 90 % of particles lie between 7 and 12 nm with a z - average particle size of 8 nm . from the micrograph of fig1 , it appears that the dispersion particles are fairly uniform , although very few particle as large as 35 nm diameter is observed . a suspension prepared as described in example 2 was used to image the lymph system ( approximately 3 kg rabbits ) by computed tomography ( ct ). the suspension was dosed by percutaneous administration via the foot pads of the rabbits at 0 . 03 ml / kg animal body weight and imaged 9 hours after administration . the ct images demonstrated enhanced x - ray contrast of the lymph nodes responsible for clearance from the anatomical areas of the rabbit injected with this formulation . enhanced density was observed for times as long as 1 week after which the x - ray density of the lymph nodes returned to normal levels . the invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , but it will be understood that various variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
as described herein , the invention relates to a retroreflective sheeting which has an image . the image is a portion of the reflective layer which does not conform or is less conforming to the back surface of the microsphere lenses . the portion of the reflective layer , which is out of conformity , does not provide the same magnitude of retroreflectivity as the conforming areas . this non - conforming area can range from a “ dead ” or nonreflecting , to a less reflecting portion , to a greater reflecting portion of the retroreflective sheeting . this difference in reflective characteristic leads to the image &# 39 ; s viewability . the apparent intensity of the image is related to the degree of non - conformity of the spacing and / or the reflective layers . as described above the retroreflective sheeting has a layer of transparent microsphere lenses . the microsphere lenses may have any refractive index or average diameter provided that the beads provide the necessary refraction for the retroreflective application . typically the microsphere lenses are characterized as having an average refractive index in the range of about 1 . 8 to about 2 . 5 , or from about 1 . 9 to about 2 . 4 , or from about 2 . 1 to about 2 . 3 and an average diameter of about 35 to about 100 , or from about 45 to about 90 , or from about 55 to about 80 microns . here and elsewhere in the specification and claims the range and ratio limits may be combined . the transparent microsphere lenses utilized in the retroreflective sheeting of the present invention may be characterized as having average diameters in a range of from about 25 to about 300 , 30 to about 120 microns , and more often in a range from about 40 to about 80 microns . the index of refraction of the microsphere lenses is generally in the range from about 1 . 9 to about 2 . 5 , more typically is in the range from about 2 . 0 to about 2 . 3 , and most often between about 2 . 10 to about 2 . 2 . glass microspheres are typically used although ceramic microspheres such as those made by sol / gel techniques can also be used . the index of refraction and the average diameter of the microspheres , and the index of refraction of the topcoat and / or cover sheet and space coat dictate the thickness of the spacing film . the microspheres can be subjected to chemical or physical treatments to improve the bond of the microspheres to the polymeric films . for example , the microspheres can be treated with a fluorocarbon or an adhesion promoting agent such as an aminosilane to improve the bond , or the space coat layer in which the lenses have been embedded can be subjected to a flame treatment or corona discharge to improve the bond between the space coat and lenses to the subsequently applied topcoat and or cover sheet . the retroreflective sheeting also has a spacing layer generally conforming to the bottom surface of the microsphere lenses . the thickness of the polymeric spacing layer or space coat is from about 25 % to about 100 %, or from 40 % to about 60 % of the average diameter of the microsphere lenses . various thermoplastic polymeric resins have been used previously in forming the spacing layer of embedded lens retroreflective sheeting , and such resins can be used in the sheeting of the present invention . the resins that may be used for the spacing layer include a variety of partially amorphous or semi - crystalline thermoplastic polymers which generally have a soft stage during which the lenses can be embedded in the films . the material used to form the spacing film or layer should be compatible with the topcoat material and adapted to form a good bond with the topcoat ( and the microsphere lenses ). preferably , the adhesion between the materials is greater than the tensile strength of the materials . acrylics , polyvinyl butyrals , aliphatic urethanes and polyesters are particularly useful polymer materials because of their outdoor stability . copolymers of ethylene and an acrylic acid or methacrylic acid ; vinyls , fluoropolymers , polyethylenes , cellulose acetate butyrate , polycarbonates and polyacrylates are other examples of polymers that can be used for the topcoat and spacing layers of the sheeting of the invention . in one embodiment it is desirable to use materials having elastomeric properties to provide retroreflective sheeting which may be repeatedly stretched or flexed , and upon release of the stretching or flexing tension , rapidly return to substantially their original dimensions without significant loss of retroreflectivity . polyurethanes are available which possess such elastomeric properties and these materials can be used as space coat materials . in another embodiment it is desirable to use two or more layers to form a topcoat / cover sheet layer . these may consist of any of the aforementioned materials in combination with a transparent pressure sensitive adhesive ( such as as352rx acrylic adhesive from avery chemical in mill hall pennsylvania ) underlying the cover sheet and in intimate contact and conforming to the microspheres . the cover sheet or pressure sensitive adhesive can be colored with a transparent pigment or dye or even be printed with a graphic which can be located on the interior or the exterior of the cover sheet . in yet another embodiment the pressure sensitive adhesive can be replaced by a thermal bonding layer , a heat activated adhesive , or a material which forms chemical bonds to the cover sheet . the retroreflective sheeting has a topcoat or cover sheet overlying and conforming to the top surface of the microsphere lenses . the coating weight of the topcoat may range from about 25 to 175 gms / m 2 . preferably the coating weight is about 50 to 150 gms / m 2 and more preferably is from about 60 to 120 gms / m 2 . the topcoat thickness may range from 25 to about 125 microns and more often is from about 50 - 100 microns . the cover may comprise various thermoplastic polymers including acrylic polymer such as polymethylmethacrylate , vinyl polymers such as pvc and vinyl acrylic copolymers , or polyurethanes such as aliphatic polyether urethanes . cover sheets include an impact modified polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ) ( e . g ., plexiglas ™ acrylic dr , mi - 7 ( rohm & amp ; haas ), perspex ™ acrylic hi - 7 ( ici ), or blends thereof ), a vinyl acrylic formulation ( methyl methacrylate / butyl methacrylate ) copolymer and a pvc homopolymer ) or a polyurethane . the aliphatic polyurethane cover sheet is produced by casting the urethane onto a polymer coated paper casting sheet or onto a polymer casting sheet . casting sheet products are well known to the industry and supplied by companies such as felix schoeller technical papers , pulaski , n . y ., s . d . warren of newton center , mass . and ivex corporation of troy , ohio . the urethane coating is coated onto the casting sheet by standard coating methods such as curtain coating , slot die coating , reverse roll coating , knife over roll coating , air knife coating , gravure coating , reverse gravure coating , offset gravure coating , meyer rod coating , etc . to achieve proper performance and coat weight thickness in each of the coating operations , technical expertise is applied to determine the optimal urethane solution viscosity . the application of these coating techniques is well known in the industry and can effectively be implemented by one skilled in the art . the knowledge and expertise of the manufacturing facility applying the coating determine the preferred method . further information on coating methods can be found in “ modern coating and drying technology ”, by edward cohen and edgar gutoff , vch publishers , inc ., 1992 . extrusion or extrusion coating are alternate methods of forming a urethane film . the retroreflective sheeting may also include a pressure sensitive adhesive and optionally a release liner . for example , an adhesive layer can be applied over the reflective layer to protect the reflective layer and to serve a functional purpose such as adhering the sheeting to a substrate . conventional pressure - sensitive adhesives such as acrylic - based adhesives , or heat - or solvent - activated adhesives are typically used and may be applied by conventional procedures . for example , a preformed layer of adhesive on a carrier web or release liner can be laminated to the reflective layer . conventional release liners can be utilized in the formation of the retroreflective sheeting of the present invention . the retroreflective sheeting is further illustrated in reference to the drawings . in fig1 retroreflective sheeting 10 has a cover sheet , e . g . a polyurethane 11 , in which are embedded glass microspheres 12 . the glass microspheres are also adhered to spacecoat , e . g . polyvinylbutyral , 13 . reflecting surface ( vapor deposited aluminum ) 14 is attached to spacecoat 13 . a pressure sensitive adhesive 15 and release liner 16 are adhered to reflecting surface 14 . images 17 and 18 are portions of the reflective and spacecoat layers which are non - conforming to the glass beads 12 . [ 0022 ] fig2 illustrates a retroreflective sheeting which does not have a pressure sensitive adhesive . retroreflective sheeting 20 has cover sheet 21 attached to glass microspheres 22 , which are also attached to spacecoat 23 . a reflecting surface 24 is on spacecoat 23 . images 25 and 26 are non - conforming sections of the reflective and spacecoat layers 23 and 24 . [ 0023 ] fig3 illustrates a retroreflective sheeting which has a multilayer covering . retroreflective sheet 30 which has cover sheet 31 which is adhered to pressure sensitive adhesive 32 . adhesive 32 is bonded to glass microspheres 33 , which are also attached to spacecoat 34 . a reflecting surface 35 is on spacecoat 34 . the reflecting surface 35 is adhered to pressure sensitive adhesive 36 which is also releasably adhered to release liner 37 . the retroreflective sheeting has images 38 and 39 . the images of the present invention may be prepared by using embossing or flexographic printing techniques . the images may be prepared by pressing a pattern into the retroreflective sheeting at the pressure and temperature necessary to provide the desired image . the retroreflective sheeting can be made by procedures normally used in the industry . for example , the sheeting of the invention can be prepared by first extruding or casting a space coat layer of desired thickness on a polymer coated casting sheet and drying if necessary . the space coat layer is reheated to provide a tacky surface upon which microspheres are cascade - coated to form a monolayer of the microspheres . typically , heat and / or pressure can be applied at this stage to facilitate microsphere embedding . the microspheres generally are embedded into the layer to a depth of about one - half of the average diameter of the microspheres . it is important that the space coat adapts a contour parallel to the microsphere surface . the topcoat is then applied over the top of the exposed and partially embedded microspheres . the topcoating is applied by standard coating methods such as those described above . it is also possible to cast the topcoat as a separate , single layer film using these coating techniques . to achieve proper performance and coat weight thickness in each of the coating operations , technical expertise must be applied to determine the optimal solution viscosity . the application of these coating techniques is well known and is described above . extrusion or extrusion coating are alternate methods of forming a topcoat . if required , the topcoat and the base coat layer are then subjected to an elevated temperature to dry or cure . the polymer coated casting sheet then is stripped from the space coat layer , and a reflective layer is subsequently applied over the back surface of the space coat . for example , a reflective layer of silver or aluminum metal can be applied by vapor deposition over the back surface of the space coat . the thickness of the reflective layer depends on the particular metal used and is generally between about 500 and 1000 nanometers . the topcoat layer then can be printed ( e . g . with uv radiation curable inks ) to provide monocolor or multicolor images with the optional transparent overcoat . an alternate manufacturing process for enclosed bead - type retroreflective products can be used by first applying a polyurethane mixture onto a casting sheet and exposing the newly cast film to heat for solvent evaporation and urethane curing . after the film is formed , a bead bonding layer is applied and typically exposed to elevated temperatures for curing and / or evaporation of a carrier vehicle , such as solvent . though many materials may be used for the bead bond layer , a thermoplastic polymer is preferred . the bead bond layer can then be partially cured or re - softened by the application of heat to allow cascade coated microspheres to form a monolayer of microspheres . the microspheres generally are embedded into the bead bond layer in a process that uses the application of heat and / or pressure . the space coat layer of desired thickness is then applied over the exposed microspheres . next , the space coat and base coat layers are subjected to elevated temperatures to complete solvent drying and / or curing and to provide adequate conformation of the spacecoat to the microsphere surface . as described above , a reflective layer is subsequently applied over the back surface of the space coat layer . after the original casting sheet is stripped from the product , the top aliphatic polyurethane layer can be printed ( e . g . with uv radiation curable inks ) to provide monocolor or multicolor images with the optional transparent overcoat or overlaminate film . in another embodiment , the retroreflective sheeting described in a previous paragraph is provided with a pressure - sensitive adhesive construction . in this embodiment , a pressure - sensitive adhesive is coated onto a release coated liner ( paper or polymer ) thereafter the adhesive coated liner is pressure laminated to the exposed surface of the reflective layer . this embodiment is illustrated in fig1 . the release coated liner can subsequently be removed and the retroreflective sheeting can be adhesively applied to other surfaces . the validation image has at least one portion which is non - conforming to the lenses . in one embodiment , the image is prepared by pressing the image design into the reflective surface of the retroreflective sheeting . the reflective layer of retroreflective sheeting is forced against a heated roll , such as a heated steel roll , by another roll , such as a rubber embossing or a flexo printing roll , containing the design of the image . the pressure and temperature as well as the speed of the roll affect the flattening of the crowns of the reflective layer . the pressure is typically from about 5 to about 75 , or from about 10 to about 35 , or from about 15 to about 25 pounds per linear inch ( pli ). the temperature of the heated roll is from about 85 to about 130 , or from about 90 to about 120 , or from about 95 to about 110 degrees c . the speed of the roll is typically from about 5 to about 100 , or from about 8 to about 80 , or from about 10 to about 60 ft / min . in one embodiment , the mechanical stops on the embossing and flexographic printing equipment are set to control the depth of the impression of the image . the mechanical stops are set so that the roll with the image design is not forced onto the heated roll when between the raised image designs . the roll with the image design then just touches or kisses the surface of the retroreflective sheeting , thus forming the image . [ 0032 ] fig4 illustrates the method of imparting the image . heated steel roll 41 contacts the reflective side of retroreflective sheeting 42 . the topcoat side of sheeting 42 is pressed against flexographic roll 43 bearing the raised impression 44 of the desired image . after being subjected to the heating and pressing step , the sheeting 42 has images . the roll used for the image design may be any roll used for embossing or flexo printing . the advantage of the present process is that the relatively inexpensive equipment may be used for preparing the retroreflective sheeting with the image . with the use of the heated roll the present process provides a simple means to prepare a retroreflective sheeting with an image . an alternative method of imparting an image can be made by first embossing an image into the face of the polymer coated surface of a casting sheet . this can easily be done into thermoplastic materials using the techniques for embossing holographic images . for example , the sheeting of the invention can be prepared by first extruding or casting a space coat layer of desired thickness on an imaged polymer coated casting sheet and drying if necessary . the space coat layer is reheated to provide a tacky surface upon which microspheres are cascade - coated to form a monolayer of the microspheres . typically , heat and / or pressure can be applied at this stage to facilitate microsphere embedding . the microspheres generally are embedded into the layer to a depth of about one - half of the average diameter of the microspheres . it is important that the space coat adapts a contour parallel to the microsphere surface and that the image substantially remains intact . the topcoat is then applied over the top of the exposed and partially embedded microspheres . the topcoating is applied by standard coating methods as described above . extrusion can be considered as an alternate method of forming a topcoat . if required , the topcoat is then subjected to an elevated temperature to dry and / or cure the mixture . the polymer coated casting sheet then is stripped from the imaged space coat layer , and a reflective layer is subsequently applied over the back surface of the space coat as described above . the topcoat layer then can be printed as described above . [ 0037 ] fig5 illustrates an alternative method of imparting the image . in fig5 a , article 50 has a substrate 51 which is adhered to polymer film ( e . g . polyethylene ) 52 . heat and pressure are used to emboss an image 53 , such as a holographic image into the surface of a polymer film 52 . in fig5 b , spacecoat ( e . g . polyvinylbutyral ) 54 is coated on to polymer film 52 . the image 53 in polymer 52 is replicated in the bottom surface of spacecoat 54 . in fig5 c , glass microspheres 55 are embedded into spacecoat 54 , the spacecoat is molded by the polymer layer 52 to a contour parallel to the microsphere surface and the image substantially remains intact . in fig5 d , a topcoat 56 is coated on the exposed surface of the glass microspheres 55 . in fig5 e , the substrate 51 and polymer film 52 are removed from the construction . the spacecoat 54 with holographic images 53 is metallized as described above to form a reflective layer 57 . another alternative method of imparting an image can be made by first printing an image using a transparent polymer or a transparently colored polymer onto the face of the polymer coated surface of a casting sheet . the printing can be done using common printing techniques such as flexography ( flexo ) and rotogravure ( gravure ). heat and pressure are used to press the image into the face of the polymer coated substrate so that the top of the print is substantially level with the polymer coated surface . for example , the sheeting of the invention can be prepared by first extruding or casting a space coat layer of desired thickness on an imaged polymer coated casting sheet and drying if necessary . the space coat layer is reheated to provide a tacky surface upon which microspheres are cascade - coated to form a monolayer of the microspheres . typically , heat and / or pressure can be applied at this stage to facilitate microsphere embedding . the microspheres generally are embedded into the layer to a depth of about one - half of the average diameter of the microspheres . it is important that the space coat adapts a contour parallel to the microsphere surface and that the image substantially remains intact . the topcoat is then applied over the top of the exposed and partially embedded microspheres . the topcoating is applied by standard coating methods as described above . extrusion can be considered as an alternate method of forming a topcoat . if required , the topcoat and the base coat layer are then subjected to an elevated temperature to dry or cure . the polymer coated casting sheet then is stripped from the imaged space coat layer , and a reflective layer is subsequently applied over the back surface of the space coat as described above . the printed image is non - conforming with the microspheres . the topcoat layer then can be printed ( e . g . with uv radiation curable inks ) to provide monocolor or multicolor images . [ 0041 ] fig6 illustrates an alternative method of imparting the image . in fig6 a , article 60 has a substrate ( e . g . paper ) 61 which is adhered to polymer film ( e . g . polyethylene ) 62 . an image is printed using a transparent or transparently colored polymer ( e . g . polyvinylbutyral ) on the surface of polymer 62 . in fig6 b , the image 63 is embedded into polymer layer 62 using heat and pressure . in fig6 c , spacecoat ( e . g . polyvinylbutyral ) 64 is coated onto the surface of polymer film 62 containing embedded images 63 . in fig6 d , glass microspheres 65 are embedded into spacecoat 64 , the spacecoat is molded by the polymer layer 62 to a contour parallel to the microsphere surface and the image substantially remains intact . in fig6 e , a topcoat ( e . g . aliphatic polyurethane ) 66 is coated on the exposed surface of the glass microspheres 65 . in fig6 f , the substrate 61 and polymer film 62 are removed from the construction . the spacecoat 64 with images 63 is metallized as described above to form a reflective layer 67 . while the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that various modifications thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification . therefore , it is to be understood that the invention disclosed herein is intended to cover such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims .	8
fig1 shows an upper portion of a vehicle cooler having a tank according to a first embodiment of the invention , which tank is generally denoted by 1 . the vehicle cooler is made from an aluminum alloy . the tank 1 consists of a u - shaped middle piece 2 , two end pieces 3 , 4 and an end plate 5 , which is connected to pipes 6 belonging to a heat - exchanger assembly 7 . the end piece 3 is cup - shaped and has a downward - sloping wall 8 , two slightly rounded side walls 9 , 10 and a u - shaped connecting flange 11 , which forms the mouth of the end piece 3 . the end piece 3 is further provided with two guide flanges 12 , 13 , which extend along the sides and downwards from the side walls , and a fixing tongue 14 , which extends downwards from the rear end of the end piece 3 , i . e . oppositely to the mouth . extending in the direction essentially perpendicularly inwards from the respective guide flange 12 , 13 there are fixing lips 15 , 16 . the second end piece 4 , which is clearly apparent from fig2 is identical to the first end piece 3 , with the exception of a pipe socket 26 connected to the top wall 8 of the end piece 4 . the middle piece 2 consists of a u - shape bent sheet , having a web 17 and two flanges 18 , 19 . the end plate 5 also consists of a u - shape bent sheet , having a web 20 and two flanges 21 , 22 , which however , approximately half - way across the width , are bent outwards and upwards to form a groove 23 , 24 . the length of the groove 23 , 24 corresponds to the length of the middle piece 2 . openings 25 are further incorporated in the web 20 of the end plate 5 for reception of the pipes 6 in the heat - exchanger assembly 7 . all parts belonging to the vehicle cooler tank are preferably formed in an aluminum alloy to enable them to be joined together by hard - soldering . the flanges 18 , 19 of the middle piece , the flanges 21 , 22 of the end plate and the guide flanges 12 , 13 of the end pieces are all slightly conical , ca . 1 °, for simplified fitting - together . the assembly of the cooler tank is effected as follows . the middle piece is placed on top of the end plate 5 such that its flange edges are received in the grooves 23 , 24 . the lower portions of the flanges of the middle piece are brought to lie tight against the inner walls of the respective groove , i . e . the non - bent - up part of the flange 21 , 22 of the end plate . this is realized by the inner distance between the flanges 18 , 19 of the middle piece being equal to the web 20 of the end plate , the flanges of the middle piece being forced somewhat apart to enable them to be placed in the grooves . the end pieces are then slid on from the ends of the end plate 5 , so that their guide flanges 12 , 13 lie tight against the flanges 21 , 22 of the end plate 5 and their tongue 14 bears against that edge of the web 20 which is situated against the end piece . the connecting flange 11 is of a dimension which enables the edge of the u - shaped middle piece to be connected up and the latter to be pressed down against the end plate 5 . the connecting flange therefore overlaps the middle piece in a grip fitting . this latter is clearly apparent from fig3 . from fig3 it can also be seen that the end pieces 3 , 4 are fixed in the horizontal and vertical positions by the tongue 14 being folded in under the web 20 of the end plate and by the guide lips 15 , 16 being bent around the flanges of the end plate 5 . fixation of the middle piece in the vertical direction is realized , moreover , by the connecting flange being pressed down over the web of the middle piece , see fig3 and by clamping of the groove for contact - bearing against that portion of the flanges of the central portion which is situated in the respective groove . joining - together of the parts belonging to the cooler tank is realized by hard - soldering in a vacuum furnace . a thin surface coating of the respective component part melts and forms solder material , the parts being connected along the mutually overlapping portions of the parts . here it is desirable if the overlapping portions lie tight against one another in order to obtain a better soldering result . a small air gap can be allowed , but it must not then exceed 0 . 1 mm . fig4 shows a second preferred embodiment of a heat - exchanger tank according to the invention which utilizes the end pieces 3 , 4 , these being identical to those described in the preceding embodiments so that they are omitted from the figure . the cooler tank also comprises a middle piece 30 , which is u - shaped and has a web 31 and two flanges 32 , 33 . the flanges 32 , 33 , unlike the first - described embodiment , have guide flanges 34 , 35 . similar to the guide flanges 12 , 13 of the end pieces 3 , 4 , the guide flanges 34 , 35 of the middle section have an in - bent fixing lip 36 , 37 . the cooler tank further has an end plate 38 , which is bent in a u - shape and therefore has a web 39 , forming the base of the tank , and two flanges 40 , 41 . the assembly of the middle piece on top of the end plate is realized either by the flanges 32 , 33 of the middle piece being forced outwards apart to the point where the guide flanges 34 , 35 of the flanges 32 , 33 can be snapped in place over the flanges 40 , 41 of the end plate 38 so that the guide flanges 34 , 35 bear tightly against the flanges 40 , 41 , or by the middle piece 30 being slid on from the end of the end plate 38 with the guide flanges situated outside the end plate 30 in bearing - contact against its flanges , i . e . in the same way as the end pieces 3 , 4 in the preceding embodiment . after this , the fixing lips 36 , 37 are folded or bent upwards and inwards to the point where they are bearing against the respective inner side of the flanges 40 , 41 of the end plate 38 . the end pieces 3 , 4 are then slid on in the same way as in the first - described embodiment , after which hard - soldering of the entire tank assembly is carried out in a vacuum furnace . by virtue of the invention , a large number of advantages are attained over known methods . the splitting of the cover of the vehicle cooler tank into a middle piece and two end pieces enables middle pieces to be made to meter - length specification , i . e . they can be manufactured in large lengths and then cut to a length suitable for a specific cooler . the end pieces can also be made in standard construction for different longitudinal dimensions of the vehicle cooler . a tool can thereby be produced for deep - drawing of the end pieces , whilst the tool is totally eliminated in the production of the middle piece , since this is bent or rolled from a flat tube blank . the u - shaped profile of the end plate also allows it to be made to meter - length specification , followed by cutting to a desired length , and the flanges to be possibly bent over to form a groove , i . e . according to the first - described preferred embodiment . the end plate is also produced by bending or rolling , thereby allowing expensive tools to be eliminated . by virtue of the design of the middle piece and of the end plate and the standard construction of the end pieces , the cooler tank is entirely adaptable in its length , which is wholly determined by the necessary length of the vehicle cooler . the design of the parts and their joining - together is also such that the parts are fixed together in such a way that the need for special fixtures in a subsequent hard - soldering procedure is eliminated . it is recognized , however , that the invention can be modified in a large number of ways within the scope of that which is expressed in the patent claims . even though the cooler tanks shown in the two preferred embodiments are designed in aluminum and their parts , in assembly , are hard - soldered together , it is fully possible with the same inventive concept to produce a tank in another material , such as stainless steel or plastic . in assembling a correspondingly designed plastic tank , a different joining method would obviously have to be used , such as gluing , for example .	5
there are a variety of products including food products which are conveniently packaged in cup - like or bowl - like containers molded of plastic . such containers are sealed to form packages for the shipment of the products using closure caps . a convenient and effective means for removably attaching the closure caps to the containers uses cooperating ribs and grooves on the containers and caps . these closure caps are pressed onto the containers during the sealing operation and are thumbed or pried off when the containers are opened . the preferred embodiment illustrated in fig1 - 10 , has a press - on closure , however , it is clear that other forms of closures including threaded or twist - on closures may be used in practicing the invention . a preferred embodiment of a tamperproofing means , in accordance with the invention , is illustrated in fig1 through 10 and will now be described with reference to these figures . a package 1 comprises a hollow or tub - like container 2 sealed with a closure cap 3 . the container 2 is formed of a molded plastic such as polyethylene or polystyrene or another suitable plastic by known forming procedures with the usual bottom 4 , side walls 5 , and closure cap receiving rim or open top portion 6 . a preferred embodiment of the closure cap 3 , which is also conveniently molded of plastic , is illustrated in detail in fig6 through 10 . the closure cap 3 includes a cover 7 and a depending container engaging skirt 8 including a bead receiving groove 9 in the skirt 8 . a circular sealing rib or plug 10 is positioned on the underside of the closure cap cover 7 which preferably has an outward flare . the flared rib 10 and the cap skirt 8 forms a pinched seal at points 8a and 10a ( fig9 ) making it unnecessary to have a seal at the rim top or finish of the container . other sealing gaskets may be used with or in place of the rib 10 . the groove 9 in the closure cap skirt 8 engages an outwardly projecting integral bead 11 on the container 2 when the cap 3 is pressed downwardly onto the container during the initial sealing or thereafter . the closure cap 3 is removed from the container 2 by being thumber or pried upwardly off of the container 2 . the upper surface of the bead 11 has a steep slope to facilitate cap application while the undersides of the bead 11 and the cap groove 9 have more generally horizontal slopes for better cap retention . a flared lower inner surface 12 on the cap skirt 8 also facilitates the cap application . a tamperproofing band 14 which prevents an undetected opening of the container 2 and which is formed integrally with the container 2 will now be described . as illustrated in fig1 and 6 , the tamperproofing band 14 has a ring - like outer guard portion 15 whose lower edge 16 is detachably connected with the side walls of the container 2 . the upper portion of the band 14 engages or nearly engages the outer lower edge 17 of the cap skirt 8 for concealing the edge 17 and for preventing access to it . it is impossible to engage the skirt 8 of the closure cap 3 with an adequate thumbing or prying force to lift the closure cap 3 clear of the container bead 11 as long as the tamperproofing ring 14 remains in position . the detachable coupling may comprise a number of spaced bridges 18 or it may comprise other means such as a thin web - like member or a scored area . fig1 illustrates the action of the band 14 in maintaining its protective function of preventing cap removal from the container 2 even though the side wall 5 of the container 2 is pressed inwardly in an attempt to expose the lower edge 17 of the cap skirt 8 . the overlapping relationship of the band 14 and the cap skirt 8 causes them to bend in also while retaining their same protective overlapping relationship as the skirt 8 moves inwardly with the band 14 . the package 1 is opened by first partially or completely removing the tamperproofing band 14 . this is done by gripping the tab 19 on the band 14 in the manner illustrated in fig2 and by tearing the band 14 from the container 2 as the score line 20 or other line of weakness breaks as illustrated in fig3 . this removal of the band 14 exposes the lower edge 17 of the cap skirt 8 permitting the cap 3 to be thumbed or pried off in the manner illustrated in fig4 and 9 . the closure cap 3 is removed by forcing its skirt 8 clear of the closure retaining bead 11 on the container 2 . fig1 illustrates another package having the same general tamperproofing arrangement with a band 21 . an inwardly projecting bead 22 is provided on the skirt 23 of the closure cap 24 for engaging a cooperating groove 25 in the rim of the container 26 . the detachable connection between the band 21 and the container 26 is a thin integral plastic web 27 or bridge 32 . fig1 through 16 illustrate another embodiment of the invention having a modified tamperproofing band where only an end portion of the band need be removed for cap removal . this embodiment has a container 30 formed of molded plastic . it also includes an integrally formed tamperproofing band 31 connected to the container 30 by a suitable zone of weakness which is shown as bridge members 32 . the tamperproofing band 31 has vertical score lines 33 and 34 , or other lines of weakness , provided on opposite sides of a gripping tab 35 . this permits an end portion of the band 31 to be broken off when the portion including the thumb gripping tab 35 is removed as illustrated in fig1 . this exposes a sufficient portion of the lower edge 36 of the skirt 37 of the closure cap 38 to permit the closure cap 38 to be thumbed or pried off as illustrated in fig1 . fig1 illustrates a cross - section of the closure cap 38 and the adjacent tamperproofing band 31 for the sealed package 39 . fig1 , which is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 16 -- 16 on fig1 , illustrates the spaced scored lines of weakness 33 and 34 which in this embodiment are spaced about 15 ° apart thereby exposing a lower edge portion 36 of the cap skirt 37 which is an inch or so in length to provide a suitable prying or thumbing zone for the opening action as illustrated in fig1 and 16 . fig1 illustrates another embodiment of the invention . the package 40 has a tamperproofing band 41 which is shaped and formed as described above and which is attached to the container 42 by a line of weakness in the form of a score or groove 43 . the closure cap 44 is detachably fastened to the container 42 by threads 45 and 46 on the closure cap 44 and the container 42 . the band 41 covers a substantial portion of the cap skirt 47 so that the removal of the cap must be preceded by the removal of the band 41 . it will be seen that an improved package has been provided which is adapted for being formed from plastic , such as polyethylene or polystyrene or other flexible plastics , and which has an improved tamperproof feature . the positioning of the tamperproofing feature on the container or tub portion of the package permits the use of a relatively simple closure cap and thus facilitates the package manufacture , handling , and sealing . the improved package is useful in a large number of packing operations including food packing operations where the simplified handling of the package and closure facilitates a high speed and sanitary filling and sealing operation . the tamperproofing feature forms an integral part of the molded container so that it is easily provided on the container by conventional container forming methods . as various changes may be made in the form , construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages , it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	1
in general , the instant invention relates to irrigated ablation electrode assemblies , to catheter assemblies , as well as ablation systems employing the irrigated ablation electrode assemblies , 10 and 10 ′, in connection with catheter assemblies . for purposes of this description , similar aspects among the various embodiments described herein will be referred to by the same reference number . as will be appreciated , however , the structure of the various aspects may differ with respect to alternate embodiments . as generally shown in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the ablation electrode assembly 10 may comprise part of an irrigated ablation catheter assembly 12 . the embodiments describe rf ablation electrodes and assemblies , but it is contemplated that the present invention is equally applicable to any number of other ablation electrodes and assemblies where the temperature of the device and the targeted tissue area may be factors during the procedure . fig3 - 8 as discussed in more detail below , illustrate ablation electrode assemblies 10 , 10 ′ according to alternate embodiments of the present invention . in accordance with an embodiment , fig1 generally illustrates an ablation electrode assembly 10 connected to catheter shaft 14 as part of irrigated ablation catheter assembly 12 . the assembly 12 includes at least one fluid delivery tube 16 . ablation electrode assembly 10 includes a proximal member 18 , also referred to as an irrigation member or manifold , and a distal member 20 , also referred to as an ablation electrode member . proximal member 18 and distal member 20 are configured to be connected together . the orientation of members 18 , 20 are generally such that distal member 20 , which provides an ablation electrode or an ablative surface , is situated at the distal end of assembly 10 . proximal member 18 , or irrigation member , is located at the proximal end of assembly 10 , although for some embodiments the orientation could be reversed . proximal member 18 includes an outer surface 22 . proximal member 18 further includes at least one fluid or irrigation passageway 24 , also referred to as proximal passageway 24 , that extends from an inner lumen 26 , for example as generally shown in fig5 - 7 , to outer surface 22 of proximal member 18 . inner lumen 26 is in fluid communication with fluid delivery tube 16 . as can be further seen in fig2 - 4 , distal member 20 includes a distal passageway 28 that extends to distal end 30 of electrode assembly 10 . fluid passageways 24 of proximal member 18 and distal passageway 28 allow for increased irrigation of electrode assembly 10 during the ablation of tissue . proximal passageway 24 is separated from and does not come in contact with distal member 20 . distal member 20 , as shown in fig3 and 4 , is generally comprised of an electrically , and potentially thermally , conductive material known to those of ordinary skill in the art for delivery of ablative energy to target tissue areas . examples of electrically conductive material include gold , platinum , iridium , palladium , stainless steel , and various mixtures and combinations thereof . in an embodiment , the distal member may be hemispherical or semispherical in shape , although other configurations may be used . distal member 20 may further include an inner cavity 32 for receiving a portion of proximal member 18 , as further discussed below . distal member 20 further includes an aperture 34 therein forming distal passageway 28 . aperture 34 extends through distal member 20 to distal end 30 therein providing an opening or outlet for distal passageway 28 on the surface of distal member 20 . distal member 20 may further be configured with one or more component cavities 36 for receiving and / or housing additional components within distal member 20 . as can be seen in fig4 , at least one temperature sensor 38 , also referred to as a temperature or thermal sensing device , may be provided within a portion ( e . g ., cavity 36 ) of distal member 20 . in an alternate embodiment , two temperature sensors may be provided within cavities 36 of distal member 20 . various configurations of distal member 20 may include temperature sensor 38 in different locations and proximities within distal member 20 . in an alternate embodiment , the temperature sensor 38 may be either partially or completely surrounded by or encapsulated by an insulation liner 40 that is made of thermally conductive and electrically non - conductive materials . insulation liner 40 may be provided in various configurations , such as provided by a tube - like configuration , as shown in fig4 . liner 40 may be comprised of various materials , such as for example polyimide tubing . as generally illustrated in fig4 , distal member 20 , may further include an insulating member 42 , i . e . thermal liner , disposed within aperture 34 , forming distal passageway 28 of distal member 20 . insulating member 42 may be comprised of a non and / or poor thermally conductive material . such material may include , but is not limited to , high - density polyethylene , polyimides , polyaryletherketones , polyetheretherketones , polyurethane , polypropylene , oriented polypropylene , polyethylene , crystallized polyethylene terephthalate , polyethylene terephthalate , polyester , polyetherimide , acetyl , ceramics , and various combinations thereof . insulating member 42 may be generally provided in a configuration that reflects the size and shape of aperture 34 , although the insulating member 42 generally extends to meet and connect to inner lumen 26 of proximal member 18 . distal passageway 28 is therein created for the flow of fluid from proximal member 18 , for example , as generally shown in fig5 - 7 , through distal passageway 28 to distal end 30 of assembly 10 . an alternate embodiment of distal member 20 includes a cavity 44 for receiving a power wire 46 ( see , e . g ., fig5 - 7 ) for connecting distal member 20 to an energy source , such as an rf energy source . in an alternate embodiment , cavity 44 may further include a non and / or poor thermally conductive material . furthermore , in an alternate embodiment , power wire 46 may be soldered directly to distal member 20 , or attached and / or connected to distal member 20 through the use of an adhesive or any other connection method known to one of ordinary skill in the art . fig5 - 7 generally illustrate alternate embodiments of electrode assembly 10 , 10 ′ of the present invention . as previously described , proximal member 18 , 18 ′ and distal member 20 are configured to be connected and / or coupled together with one another . proximal member 18 , 18 ′ is comprised of a thermally nonconductive or reduced ( i . e . poor ) thermally conductive material that serves to insulate the fluid from the remaining portions of electrode assembly 10 , in particular distal member 20 . moreover , proximal member 18 , 18 ′ may comprise an electrically nonconductive material . comparatively , overall , proximal member 18 , 18 ′ may have lower thermal conductivity than distal member 20 . in an embodiment , proximal member 18 , 18 ′ is made from a reduced thermally conductive polymer . a reduced thermally conductive material is one with physical attributes that decrease heat transfer by about 10 % or more , provided that the remaining structural components are selected with the appropriate characteristics and sensitivities to maintain adequate monitoring and control of the process . one reduced thermally conductive material may include polyether ether ketone (“ peek ”). further examples of reduced thermally conductive materials useful in conjunction with the present invention include , but are not limited to , high - density polytheylene , polyimides , polyaryletherketones , polyetheretherketones , polyurethane , polypropylene , oriented polypropylene , polyethylene , crystallized polyethylene terephthalate , polyethylene terephthalate , polyester , polyetherimide , acetyl , ceramics , and various combinations thereof . moreover , proximal member 18 is substantially less thermally conductive than distal member 20 . as a result , the irrigation fluid flowing through proximal member 18 has very little thermal effect on distal member 20 due to the poor thermal conductivity of proximal member 18 ( e . g . less than 5 % effect ), and preferably nearly 0 % effect . in general , characteristics and descriptions ( e . g . composition and materials ) regarding proximal member 18 and 18 ′ may be used interchangeably , among various embodiments except for the specific descriptions provided regarding the design of proximal member 18 ′ in accordance with the embodiment provided in fig7 . the proximal member 18 may further be configured to include a coupling portion 48 that extends into inner cavity 32 of distal member 20 . proximal member 18 may be generally cylindrical in shape . moreover , for some embodiments , distal member 20 of ablation electrode assembly 10 may have a generally cylindrical shape terminating in a hemispherical distal end 30 . the cylindrical shape of proximal member 18 and distal member 20 may be substantially similar to one another and generally have the same overall diameter , which can provide or create a smooth outer body or profile for electrode assembly 10 . distal member 20 may be configured to accept portion 48 of proximal member 18 for attachment thereto . the distal member 20 may be connected by any known mechanism including adhesives , press - fit configurations , snap - fit configurations , threaded configurations , or any other mechanism known to one of ordinary skill in the art . proximal member 18 may further include an inner lumen 26 that is connected to fluid delivery tube 16 . the inner lumen 26 may act as a manifold or distributor for transporting and / or distributing fluid throughout electrode assembly 10 . in particular , proximal member 18 may be configured to receive a fluid delivery tube 16 carried within at least a portion of catheter assembly 12 . proximal member 18 includes a plurality of passageways 24 . proximal member 18 may serve as a manifold or distributor of fluid to electrode assembly 10 through the use of passageways 24 . proximal passageways 24 may extend from inner lumen 26 axially toward outer surface 22 of proximal member 18 . in an embodiment , a plurality of passageways 24 are substantially equally distributed around proximal member 18 to provide substantially equal distribution of fluid to the targeted tissue area and / or the outside of electrode assembly 10 . electrode assembly 10 may be configured to provide a single , annular passageway 24 , or a number of individual passageways 24 equally distributed around the proximal member 18 . moreover , the passageways 24 may be generally tubular and may have a constant diameter along the length of the passageway . alternate configurations having various diameters along all or portions of the length of the passageways may be used . as shown in fig5 - 7 , proximal passageways 24 may be directed towards or extend towards distal member 20 of electrode assembly 10 at an angle ( θ ) less than 90 degrees from the central longitudinal axis of proximal member 18 . in an embodiment , passageways 24 extends at an angle ( θ ) between about 20 to about 70 degrees , and for some embodiments , between about 30 to about 60 degrees . alternate positions and angles of the passageway ( s ) 24 may be provided in alternate embodiments of electrode assembly 10 . distal passageway 28 is provided for and extends along the central longitudinal axis of proximal member 18 through distal member 20 to distal end 30 of electrode assembly 10 . as shown in fig5 and 6 , distal passageway 28 may further be fully or partially surrounded by a thermally non - conductive material , such as that provided by insulating member 42 . insulating member 42 prevents saline or any other biocompatible fluid from coming in contact with distal member 20 . insulating member 42 may be comprised of a thermally non - conductive material such as , but not limited to , high - density polyethylene , polyimides , polyaryletherketones , polyetheretherketones , polyurethane , polypropylene , oriented polypropylene , polyethylene , crystallized polyethylene terephthalate , polyethylene terephthalate , polyester , polyetherimide , acetyl , ceramics , and various combinations thereof . distal passageway 28 extends from inner lumen 26 provided by proximal member 18 . in general , the diameter of distal passageway 28 is less than the diameter of inner lumen 26 of proximal member 18 . accordingly , in one embodiment , inner lumen 26 and distal passageway 28 may be connected by a tapered transition portion 50 therein providing constant fluid communication . the angle of the tapered transition portion may vary depending on the diameters of the inner lumen 26 and distal passageway 28 , as well as the length of proximal member 18 . the presence of the tapered transition portion 50 between inner lumen 26 and distal passageway 28 prevents air bubbles from being trapped inside the proximal member during fluid flow through the lumen and passageways . in an embodiment , distal passageway 28 is slightly larger in diameter than passageways 24 provided by the proximal member . the diameter of passageways 24 and distal passageways 28 may vary depending on the configuration and design of electrode assembly 10 . in an embodiment , distal passageway 28 includes a diameter within the range of about 0 . 012 to about 0 . 015 inches , more particularly about 0 . 013 to about 0 . 014 inches . in another embodiment , proximal passageways 24 include a diameter within in the range of about 0 . 011 to about 0 . 014 inches , more particularly about 0 . 011 to about 0 . 013 inches . in another embodiment , the inner surface of inner lumen 26 may be either coated with a hydrophilic coating or surface treated to create a hydrophilic surface . the treatment of inner lumen 26 with a hypdrophilic surface or coating results in another method of preventing air bubbles from becoming trapped inside proximal member 18 . the hydrophilic coating materials may include , but are not limited to , block copolymers based of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide , polymers in the polyethylene glycol family and silicone . for example , those materials selected from the group including pluronic ® from basf , carbowax ® from dow chemical company and silastic mdx ® from dow corning . alternate embodiments of the present invention provide the incorporation of at least one temperature sensor 38 in combination with distal passageway 28 . in particular , an embodiment , as shown in fig5 , includes two temperature sensors 38 provided within cavities 36 of distal member 20 . in an alternate embodiment , as shown in fig6 , one temperature sensor is provided within a single cavity 36 . temperature sensors may include various temperature sensing mechanisms , such as a thermal sensor , disposed therein for measurement and control of electrode assembly 10 . the temperature sensor 38 can be any mechanism known to one of skill in the art , including for example , thermocouples or thermistors . the temperature sensor 38 may further be surrounded , or encapsulated , by a thermally conductive and electrically non - conductive material , as previously discussed . this thermally conductive and electrically non - conductive material can serve to hold temperature sensor 38 in place within distal member 20 and provide improved heat exchange between temperature sensor 38 and distal member 20 . this material may be comprised of a number of materials known to one of ordinary skill in the art , including for example , thermally conductive resins , epoxies , or potting compounds . in another embodiment of electrode assembly 10 , as seen in fig7 , proximal member 18 ′ includes proximal end 52 and an extended distal end 54 that is received within aperture 34 of distal member 20 when proximal member 18 ′ and distal member 20 are configured for connection . distal member 20 provides a proximal surface 56 and well the surface 60 provided by inner cavity 32 that may be connected to proximal member 18 ′ through the use of bonding or adhesive 58 , therein coupling and / or connecting proximal member 18 ′ with distal member 20 . inner lumen 26 ′ extends from proximal end 52 to distal end 54 of proximal member 18 ′. accordingly proximal member 18 is configured to provide the insulating portion of distal passageway 28 through distal member 20 . as a result , the non - thermally conductive material of the proximal member , as previously described above , insulates distal passageway 28 through distal member 20 . proximal member 18 ′ further includes proximal passageways 24 , as described above that allow fluid flow from inner lumen 26 ′ to outer surface 22 ′ of proximal member 18 ′. passageways 24 are directed towards distal member 20 to increase the fluid flow around the intersection of the proximal member to the distal member . the flow of fluid through inner lumen 26 ′ provided by fluid tube 16 and ultimately through proximal passageways 24 and distal passageway 28 is reflected in fig7 . in particular , fig8 provides an irrigation flow visualization wherein the fluid from proximal passageways 24 is directed at a 30 degree angle from the central longitudinal axis of proximal member 18 , as shown in fig7 . the flow visualization further shows the flow of fluid out of distal passageway 28 , as shown in fig5 - 7 , from distal end 30 of electrode assembly 10 ′. fig9 graphically depicts bench test results for ablation electrode assemblies in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the purpose of the testing was to confirm that adequate temperature control was being accomplished through the use of the irrigated electrode including a distal passageway as the ablation system was subjected to an overall increase in power ( w ) ( e . g . wattage ). overall , the testing was performed using an embodiment of the present invention wherein ablation was being performed using an electrode assembly that maintained irrigation flow of fluid was 13 ml / m at a perpendicular orientation to the muscle tissue being ablated . the testing showed , as reflected in fig9 , that an adequate temperature response was exhibited by the ablation electrode assembly , upon the continued increase of power ( w ) provided to the ablation system . overall , the ablation electrode , as provided by the present invention , having a distal irrigation passageway was able to maintain adequate temperature control , for performing ablation , while at the same time sufficiently cooling the electrode tip . accordingly , it is desirable to provide an irrigated ablation electrode assembly in accordance with the present invention that can achieve adequate temperature response within a desired range for performing ablation procedures . as previously discussed , the ablation electrode assembly 10 , 10 ′ of the present invention may comprise part of an irrigated ablation catheter assembly 12 , operably connected to a pump assembly and an rf generator assembly which serves to facilitate the operation of ablation procedures through monitoring any number of chosen variables ( e . g . temperature of the ablation electrode , ablation energy , and position of the assembly ), assist in manipulation of the assembly during use , and provide the requisite energy source delivered to the electrode assembly 10 , 10 ′. although the present embodiments describe rf ablation electrode assemblies and methods , it is contemplated that the present invention is equally applicable to any number of other ablation electrode assemblies where the temperature of the device and the targeted tissue areas is a factor during the procedure . in addition to the preferred embodiments discussed above , the present invention contemplates methods for improved measure and control of a temperature of an irrigated ablation electrode assembly 10 , 10 ′ or a target site and minimization of coagulation and excess tissue damage at and around the target site . according to one method , an ablation electrode assembly 10 , 10 ′ is provided , having at least one temperature sensor 38 within distal member 20 and proximal member 18 is separate from distal member 20 . an irrigation pathway 24 is provided within the proximal member 18 for delivery of fluid to the outer surface 22 of the proximal member 18 . a distal passageway 28 is further provided for delivery of fluid to the distal end of distal member 20 , thereby allowing for the benefits of irrigation of the target site and external portions of electrode assembly 10 , such as minimizing tissue damage , such as steam pop , preventing rising impedance of the ablation assembly , and minimizing blood coagulation . other embodiments and uses of the devices and methods of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . the specification and examples should be considered exemplary only with the true scope and spirit of the invention indicated by the following claims . although a number of embodiments of this invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity , those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention . all directional references ( e . g ., upper , lower , upward , downward , left , right , leftward , rightward , top , bottom , above , below , vertical , horizontal , clockwise , and counterclockwise ) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader &# 39 ; s understanding of the present invention , and do not create limitations , particularly as to the position , orientation , or use of the invention . joinder references ( e . g ., attached , coupled , connected , and the like ) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements . as such , joinder references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other . it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting . changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	0
tetrabutylammonium iodide ( 1 . 0 g ) was dissolved in 2 . 0 ml of methanol at room temperature . iodine ( 0 . 688 g ) dissolved in methanol ( 7 . 0 ml ) was added to the iodide solution when , on mixing , dark reddish - black crystals immediately separated . after twice washing with methanol this crystalline material was dried at 50 ° c . to constant weight . yield 1 . 40 g of tbati ( 83 %). melting point 70 . 5 to 71 . 5 ° c . found : c = 30 . 65 %, h = 5 . 75 %; n = 1 . 92 %; i = 61 . 2 % c 16 h 36 ni 3 requires : c = 30 . 84 %; h = 5 . 82 %; n 2 . 25 %; i = 61 . 09 % ( b ) preparation of indocyanine tri - iodide salts from the perchlorate salts by precipitation in the presence of an excess of the i3 - ion . tetrabutylammonium tri - iodide ( 25 × 10 - 3 moles ) and the perchlorate salt of compound no . 1 reported in table 1 ( 2 . 25 × 10 - 3 moles ) were dissolved in dichloromethane ( 100 ml ). the volume of solvent was reduced to about 50 ml on a steam bath when 50 ml of methanol were added to the solution . further reduction of the resultant methanol / dichloromethane solvent mixture on a steam bath ( to about 50 ml ) resulted in the formation of dye crystals . the solution was then removed from the steam bath and allowed to cool to ambient temperature . the precipitated dye crystals were filtered , twice washed with methanol and , finally , recrystallised from a methanol dichloromethane solvent mixture to give 1 . 7 g of the triiodide dye salt of compound 1 ( yield -- 64 %). found : c = 46 . 82 %; h = 4 . 06 %; n = 2 . 0 %; cl = 2 . 96 %; i = 32 . 08 %: c 46 h 48 n 2 cls 2 o 4 i 3 requires ; c = 47 . 09 %; h = 4 . 12 % n = 2 . 38 %; cl = 3 . 02 %; i = 32 . 45 %. ( c ) preparation of tri - iodide salts during the coupling reaction in acetic anhydride . acetic anhydride ( 100 ml ), 1 - ethyl - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 5 - phenylsulphonyl indolenium iodide ( 10 g ) and 2 - chloro - 1 - formyl - 3 - hydroxymethylene cyclohexene - 6 - aldehyde were heated at 80 ° c . for 8 hours . after cooling the reaction mixture to ambient temperature , methanol ( 200 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture . the precipitated dye crystals were filtered , washed with methanol , then twice recrystallised from a dichloromethane / methanol solvent mixture to give 2 . 1 g dye . spectrophotometric analysis indicated than anion content of this dye was 75 % triiodide and 25 % iodide ( figures ± 5 %). the tri - iodide salts of compounds 1 to 5 in the following table 1 were prepared from the perchlorate salts by the method ( b ) described above . the compounds were of formula ( ii ) defined herein in which r 10 is hydrogen . table 1______________________________________compound no . r . sup . 5______________________________________1 phso . sub . 22 cf . sub . 3 so . sub . 23 phoso . sub . 24 ch . sub . 3 so . sub . 25 no . sub . 2______________________________________ qualitatively , the tri - iodide ion species was detected using thin layer chromatography , elemental analysis and difference spectra . quantitative data on the amounts of tri - iodide present in individual dyes was obtained from uv / visible spectral analysis and / or elemental analysis . the tri - iodide dye salts reported in table 1 were dissolved in acetone and samples of each solution were &# 34 ; spotted &# 34 ; onto reversed phase tlc plates ( whatman chemical separations ltd ., type kc18f ). after drying , the plates were developed in solvent comprising methanol ( 90 parts ), water ( 8 parts ) and glacial acetic acid ( 12 parts ). in each case , the tri - iodide ion separated as a bright yellow spot ( r f = 0 . 93 ), the identity of which was confirmed by extraction into dichloromethane : acetic acid ( 4 : 1 ) solvent mixture and comparison of its uv / visible absorption spectrum with that of an authentic tri - iodide salt ( tetrabutylammonium tri - iodide ) in the same solvent . the r f values for the cationic dye species were as follows : compound 1 ( r f = 0 . 46 ), compound 2 ( r f = 0 . 35 ), compound 3 ( r f = 0 . 38 ) and compound 4 ( r f = 0 . 67 ). the uv / visible absorption spectra of the dyes before and after tlc separation showed changes consistent with the loss of i 3 - in chromatographic materials ; an example is shown in fig1 of the accompanying drawings in which the concentration of compound no . 2 was 3 × 10 - 5 molar in chcl 3 solution , 0 . 1 cm pathlength cell . estimation of tri - iodide in indocyanine dye salts from the uv / visible absorption spectra anions such as clo 4 - and i - do not contribute significantly to the absorbance of the indocyanine dyes at 294 nm or 364 nm ( solvent : dichloromethane containing 20 % glacial acetic acid ). the only contributors to the absorbance at either of these wavelengths will be from the dye cation and the i 3 - anion . using the extinction coefficients for i 3 - and the dye cations obtained from tbati and indocyanine dye perchlorate solutions , the i 3 - content of a dye can be calculated from : a = absorbance of dye solution at any wavelength greater than 270 nm . . sup . ε t = extinction coefficient of i 3 - at that wavelength . m 1 = molecular weight of the dye perchlorate salt ( or iodide etc . as appropriate ). m 2 = molecular weight of the i 3 - salt of the dye . the above method was used to estimate the i 3 - content in several indocyanine dye samples prepared via procedure ( c ) followed by anion exchange of residual i - by clo 4 - : these results are given in table 2 . table 2______________________________________compositions of various indocyanine dyes as estimatedby uv / visible absorption spectroscopy mole % ascompound mole % as i . sub . 3 . sup .- clo . sub . 4 . sup .- saltno . salt (± 5 %) (± 5 %) ______________________________________4 75 253 85 152 90 101 75 25______________________________________ the absorption spectra for layers ( 9 . 0 micron thick ) containing 50 % ( w / w ) bis -( n - ethylbenzo - 1 , 2 - carbazolyl ) phenylmethane ( bbcpm ) and 0 . 5 % ( w / w ) of the tri - iodide and perchlorate salts of compound no . 2 in goodyear company vitel pe200 ( polyester ) resin binder are shown in fig2 of the accompanying drawings . the higher absorbance for the short wavelength shoulder at 750 nm exhibited by the perchlorate salt is indicative of a greater degree of dye association . the photoconductive response of these layers is shown in fig3 a and 3b of the accompanying drawings where the enhanced stability of both charge acceptance and photoresponse following a charge / discharge cycle is apparent for the layer sensitised with the tri - iodide dye salt . here the flash exposure intensity was 38 erg / cm 2 at 820 nm and 5 minutes dark adaption was allowed between cycles . table 3 compares the cycling stability of a similar pair of samples to those in example 2 sensitised with either the perchlorate salt or the tri - iodide salt of compound no . 1 . in these evaluations a continuous , unfiltered source of illumination derived from a hot filament lamp supplying about 4 × 10 - 3 watts / cm 2 at the sample surface was used . the samples were charged for 10 seconds ( 6 . 0kv corona , 1 . 0kv grid ), allowed to dark decay for 3 seconds , exposed to the light source for 10 seconds then dark adapted for 50 seconds before recycling . as indicated in table 3 , the photoconductor layer sensitised with perchlorate dye salt showed a significant loss of charge acceptance on recycling whereas the sample sensitised with the tri - iodide dye salt gave a constant charge acceptance under the same conditions . also significant is the lower rate of dark decay observed for the layer sensitised with the tri - iodide dye salt . the absorption spectra for these two layers are shown in fig4 where , again , the lower absorbance of the short wavelength at 750 nm shoulder is indicative of a reduced degree of dye association . table 3______________________________________initial surface voltage ( v . sub . s ) and dark decay rate ( dd ). tri - iodide salt perchlorate salt ddcycle dd ( volts / ( volts / no . v . sub . s ( volts ) sec ) v . sub . s ( volts ) sec______________________________________1 955 5 . 2 975 2 . 53 895 7 . 4 975 4 . 35 850 9 . 4 980 5 . 57 830 11 . 8 980 5 . 89 805 12 . 5 975 5 . 8______________________________________ ______________________________________compound no . r . sup . 5 r . sup . 11 r . sup . 12______________________________________6 no . sub . 2 t - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 h7 no . sub . 2 h ch . sub . 38 phso . sub . 2 t - c . sub . 4 h . sub . 9 h______________________________________ preparation of 5 - tert - butyl - 2 - chloro - 1 - formyl - 3 - hydroxymethylene - cyclohexene intermediate ( d ) into a 500 ml 3 - necked round bottomed flask equipped with magnetic stirrer , nitrogen blanket , condenser , thermometer and pressure - equalizing addition funnel , was placed 40 ml ( 37 . 76 g , 0 . 517 mol ) of dry dimethyl - formamide . the material was cooled in an ince bath and 37ml ( 60 . 87 g , 0 . 400 mol ) of phosphorus oxychloride was slowly added over 45 min through the addition funnel . the temperature was kept at 10 ° to 15 ° c . throughout the addition . upon completion of the addition , the ice bath was removed , replaced with a water bath , and the reaction mixture allowed to warm to room temperature . the reaction was then kept at room temperature for 30 min . to the thus formed villsmeier adduct was slowly added a solution of 7 . 42 g ( 0 . 10 mol ) of 4 - tertiary - butylcyclohexanone in 55 ml of dry dimethyl - formamide ( dmf ). this addition was carried out using a clean pressure - equalizing addition funnel . a water bath was kept under the reaction vessel to control the exotherm . the addition was carried out over 30 min and the final temperature was 30 ° c . the water bath was removed , replaced by a heating mantle and the orange solution kept between 50 ° and 60 ° c . for 3 hours . the orange - red solution was poured onto 300 ml of ice , 200 ml of water was added , and the solution stirred . after about 20 min , a yellow precipitate began to develop . a yellow mass also formed . the reaction was allowed to stir overnight . the crude product was filtered off , redissolved in dmf and reprecipitated into water to give the product . the yellow powder was filtered off and washed with copious amount of water until the washings were neutral to ph paper . the material as vacuum dried , dried in air , and finally dried in a vacuum oven at 50 ° c . to afford 15 . 80 g ( 68 % of pure product , melting point = 154 ° to 157 ° c .). tlc indicated the compound to be very pure . ir , uv and nmr were in agreement with the proposed structure . intermediated ( a ) to ( c ) disclosed hereinafter are prepared by analagous methods using the appropriate substituted cyclohexanone . into a 250 ml beaker were placed 5 . 41 g ( 0 . 015 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 5 - nitroindolenium iodide , 1 . 72 g ( 0 . 0075 mol ) of intermediate ( d ), 50 ml of acetic acid , and 50 ml of acetic anhydride . a magnetic stirrer was added and stirring and heating were begun . heating to boiling resulted in a dark brown solution which turned green as the reaction occurred . boiling for 30 min followed by cooling to room temperature resulted in crystallization of the dye as fine yellow crystals . drying in vacuo afforded 5 . 12g of pure dye ; melting point 193 ° c . ( dec ), λmax = 803 nm . ir , uv and nmr spectra were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 657 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 750 amu indicated that some of the chlorine in the central ring had been replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . this dye was prepared in an identical manner to compound no . 6 from 5 . 41g ( 0 . 015 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 5 - nitroindolenium iodide and 1 . 40 g ( 0 . 0075 mol ) of 6 - methyl - 2 - chloro - 1 - formyl - 3 - hydroxymethylenecyclohexene ( intermediate c ) ( melting point = 135 ° to 137 ° c .). the yield was 3 . 64 g ; melting point = 246 ° c . ( dec ), max = 801 nm . ir , uv and nmr spectra were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 615 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 707 amu indicated that some of the chlorine in the central ring had been replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . ______________________________________c h n cl i______________________________________calcu - 42 . 16 4 . 04 5 . 62 3 . 56 38 . 2latedfound 41 . 3 3 . 9 5 . 5 3 . 4 39 . 6______________________________________ this dye was prepared in an identical manner to compound no . 7 from 4 . 55 g ( 0 . 01 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 5 - phenylsulfonylindolenium iodide and 1 . 14 g ( 0 . 005 mol ) of compound ( a ). the yield was 3 . 22 g ; melting point = 200 ° c . ( dec ), λmax = 796 nm . ir , uv and nmr spectra were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 847 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 939 amu indicated that some of the chlorine in the central ring had been replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . ______________________________________c h n cl i______________________________________calcu - 48 . 85 4 . 59 2 . 28 2 . 88 30 . 97latedfound 50 . 70 4 . 8 2 . 3 3 . 3 27 . 1______________________________________ to solutions 1 , 2 and 3 were added 0 . 065 g of compound nos . 5 . 6 and 7 respectively . to solutions 4 and 5 were added 0 . 0050 g of compound nos . 1 and 8 respectively . all solutions were ˜ 6 . 5 × 10 - 6 m in dye ( if the dye were the iodide ). each coating was made in a 5 inch ( 12 . 7 cm ) wide strip of aluminized polyester using a 4 inch ( 10 . 2 cm ) wide knife coated set at a wet thickness of 4 mil ( 100μ ). each coating was air dried and then oven dried at 80 ° c . for 15 min . the dry thickness was approximately 10μ . the sample was charged for 4 sec , allowed to dark decay for 2 sec and then exposed to light of 820 and 830 nm for 10 sec . the amount of energy needed to half discharge the photoconductor is taken as a measure of the photosensitivity of the photoconductor . results are shown in the following table . table______________________________________compound charge energy to vo / 2 ergs / cm . sup . 2no . acceptance at 820 nm at 830 nm______________________________________5 700 v 79 . 9 58 . 16 750 v 80 . 9 78 . 57 750 v 48 . 1 53 . 81 775 v 65 . 6 62 . 28 725 v 105 . 124 . ______________________________________ vo is the initial charge acceptance voltage . the following dyes were used in this example : compound no . 9 : ## str5 ## compound no . 10 : ## str6 ## compound no . 11 : ## str7 ## a 20 % by weight solution of polymethyl methacrylate ( elvacite 2008 ) low mol . wt ) was prepared in a solvent mixture comprising 30 % dimethyl formamide and 70 % chloroform . 0 . 5 % w / v solutions of the compound nos . 9 , 10 and 11 were then prepared . to a separate set of 0 . 5 % solutions of compound nos . 9 to 11 was added tetrabutylammonium tri - iodide in equimolar ratio to the compound . coatings of these six solutions were then made on polyester base at 100 micron wet thickness , using a wire wound rod . after drying transmission spectra were run between 400 and 800 nm . the ratio of absorbances of the peak and shoulder was measured and the results are reported in the following table . table______________________________________compound max peak max shoulder peak / shoulderno . nm nm absorbance______________________________________9 740 695 l . 149 plus tri - 740 695 1 . 37iodide10 770 675 1 . 0910 plus tri - 770 675 1 . 21iodide11 734 680 0 . 96 * 11 plus tri - 734 680 1 . 12iodide______________________________________ * 690 nm absorbance shows a shoulder in absence of triiodide , which increases on triiodide addition . these results indicate addition of tri - iodide causes an increase in absorbance ratio and this is consistent with deaggregation occurring . poly ( n - vinylcarbazole ) ( pvk ) layers sensitised with ( 1 ) the perchlorate salt and ( 2 ) the tri - iodide salt of compound no . 5 were prepared by solvent coatings onto aluminised polyester film base . the dye concentration in each coating was 0 . 8 % ( w / w ) and the layer thicknesses were 5 micrometers . absorption spectra for the two layers are shown in fig5 of the accompanying drawings in which the higher absorbance of short wavelength shoulder ( measured at 750 nm ) for the dye perchlorate sensitised layer ( 1 ) indicates a greater degree of dye association . the measured peak : shoulder ratios for the two spectra were ( 1 ) 2 . 2 and for ( 2 ) 3 . 6 . the following table compares the electrophotographic cycling stability of these layers under the following test conditions : 4 seconds charge ( 6 kv corona / 1 kv grid ), 4 seconds dark decay , 10 seconds exposure ( hot filament source supplying 4 milliwatts / cm 2 at the sample surface ). two seconds dark adaption was given between repeat cycles . table______________________________________ initial surface voltagecycle variation on cyclingno . clo . sub . 4 . sup .- salt i . sub . 3 . sup .- salt______________________________________1 265 3552 192 3373 170 3374 156 3355 143 3326 135 3307 125 3308 120 3329 117 33010 115 330______________________________________ the results clearly show how the tri - iodide ion assists maintenance of the initial surface voltage on repeated cycling . the following examples 8 to 14 illustrate the preparation of tri - iodide cyan dyes of the structures shown below . the structures of intermediates a to c are also indicated . ## str8 ## into a 100 ml beaker were placed 20 ml of acetic acid , 15 ml of acetic anhydride , 0 . 866 g ( 0 . 005 mol ) of 2 - methylene - 1 , 3 , 3 - trimethylindolenine , 0 . 622 g ( 0 . 0025 mol ) of intermediate ( a ) and 0 . 4 g ( 0 . 061 mol ) of sodium acetate . a magnetic stirrer was added , stirring was begun , and 1 . 00 g ( 0 . 006 mol ) of potassium iodide was added . heating was begun . as the temperature rose , the reaction mixture went from brown to green . boiling for 30 minutes was followed by cooling . no crystals formed , so the solution was transferred to a flask and solvent removed at reduced pressure to afford a solid . addition of ether was followed by filtration and washing of the solid with methanol to afford the dye as bronze crystals . the material was air dried to give 0 . 92 g ( 39 %) of the desired dye ; melting point = 173 ° to 175 ° c . ( compound turned from green to red between 130 ° to 140 ° c .). nmr was in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 559 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . into a 150 ml beaker were placed 25 ml of acetic acid , 25 ml of acetic anhydride , 1 . 810 g ( 0 . 005 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 5 - nitro - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethylindolenium iodide , 0 . 622 g ( 0 . 0025 mol ) of intermediate ( a ). a magnetic stirrer was added and stirring and heating were begun . boiling for 30 minutes was followed by cooling , very little precipitate formed . addition of ether resulted in precipitation of the dye . filtration followed by washing and trituration with ether was followed by washing with a small amount of methanol to afford the dye as a dark blue powder . the material was air dried to give 0 . 57 g ( 22 %) of the desired dye ; melting point = 234 ° c . ir and nmr were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 677 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 769 amu indicates some of the chlorine in the central ring was replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . into a 150 ml beaker were placed 25 ml of acetic acid , 25 ml of acetic anhydride , 1 . 810 g ( 0 . 005 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 5 - nitro - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethylindolenium iodide , 0 . 47 g ( 0 . 0025 mol ) of intermediate ( b ). a magnetic stirrer was added and stirring and heating were begun . boiling for 30 minutes resulted in the formation of a green solution . cooling , followed by addition of ether resulted in the precipitation of the dye . filtration followed by washing and trituration with ether afforded the dye as a dark green - black powder . the material was air dried to give 0 . 81 g ( 33 %) of desired dye ; melting point = 244 ° c . ( dec ). ir and nmr were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 615 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 707 amu indicated some of the chlorine in the central ring was replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . into a 150 ml beaker were placed 20 ml of acetic acid , 20 ml of acetic anhydride , 1 . 14 g ( 0 . 0025 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 5 - phenylsulphonyl - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethylindolenium iodide , 0 . 31 g ( 0 . 00125 mol ) of intermediate ( a ). a magnetic stirrer was added and stirring and heating were begun . boiling for 30 minutes resulted in the formation of a green solution . cooling to room temperature and cooling in ice was followed by filtration . washing with a small amount of methanol and trituration with ether afforded the dye as bronze crystals . concentration of the mother liquors and washings gave a second crop . the combined crops were air dried to give 0 . 96 g ( 61 %) of the desired dye ; melting point = 166 ° c . ir and nmr were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 867 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 959 amu indicated some of the chlorine in the central ring was replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . this dye was prepared in an identical manner to that for cyanine dye ( 15 ), but using 0 . 24 g ( 0 . 00125 mol ) of intermediate ( b ). the combined crops were air dried to give 0 , 96 g ( 65 %) of the desired dye ; melting point = 279 ° c . ir and nmr were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 805 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 897 amu indicated some of the chlorine in the central ring was replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . this dye was prepared in an identical manner to that for cyanine dye ( 15 ), but using 0 . 77 g ( 0 . 002 mol ) of 1 - butyl - 5 - nitro - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - indolenium iodide , 0 . 187 g ( 0 . 001 mol ) of intermediate ( c ) and 10 ml each of acetic acid and acetic anhydride . after cooling , filtration and washing with ether , methanol and ether again , dye was air dried to give 0 . 478 g ( 46 %) of the desired dye ; melting point = 201 ° to 214 ° c . ( dec ). ir and nmr were in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 671 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additiional cationic peak at 763 amu indicated some of the chlorine in the central ring was replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion . this dye was prepared in an identical manner to that for cyanine dye ( 15 ), but using 0 . 911 g ( 0 . 002 mol ) of 1 - ethyl - 5 - phenylsulphonyl - 2 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl indolenium iodide , 0 . 187 g ( 0 . 001 mol ) of intermediate ( c ) and 10 ml each of acetic acid and acetic anhydride . after cooling , filtration and washing with ether , methanol and ether again , dye was air dried to give 0 . 75 g ( 63 %) of the desired dye . nmr was in agreement with the proposed structure . mass spectrum of the compound gave a positive ion at 805 amu indicative of the cation portion of the molecule . an additional cationic peak at 897 amu indicated some of the chlorine in the central ring was replaced with iodine . negative ions found at 127 and 381 amu are indicative of the tri - iodide anion .	6
in the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the specification and is to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views : fig1 is a sectional view of a smoke suppression device constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention ; fig2 is a sectional view taken generally along line 2 -- 2 of fig1 in the direction of the arrows , with a portion broken away for purposes of illustration ; and fig3 is a sectional view taken generally along line 3 -- 3 of fig1 in the direction of the arrows . referring now to the drawing in more detail , numeral 10 generally designates a device which produces a fine spray of electrically charged water droplets used primarily for the suppression of smoke . the device 10 has a generally cylindrical casing or housing 12 which is formed from a plastic material or another suitable material having good electric insulating properties . formed integrally on the forward end of housing 12 is a frustoconical air nozzle 14 which is open on its forward end 16 . the nozzle 14 gradually tapers as it extends toward the open end 16 . a circular end cap 18 covers the opposite or rearward end of the housing 12 . the end cap 18 is constructed of a suitable plastic having electrical insulating properties , and it is provided with an opening 20 in its center . an elongate metal shaft 22 is supported for axial rotation in the housing 12 . shaft 22 extends along the longitudinal center line of housing 12 and nozzle 14 and is supported for rotation by a pair of bearings 24 and 26 . the bearings are preferably precision , sealed ball bearings , and they are pressed into respective stainless steel plates 28 and 30 . as shown in fig3 four nylon screws 32 are extended through the housing 12 and are threaded into the periphery of each plate 28 and 30 in order to hold the plates in place in the housing . the forward plate 30 is located adjacent to the end of nozzle 14 , while the rear plate 28 is spaced behind and is parallel to plate 30 . on its forward end , shaft 22 carries a brass cup 34 which is located within the nozzle 14 . a pair of set screws 36 are used to secure cup 34 on the end of shaft 22 . the outside surface of cup 34 flares outwardly as it extends forwardly , and the cup is spaced inwardly from the inside surface of nozzle 14 in order to form an annular air channel 38 between the nozzle and cup . the air channel 38 is gradually reduced in size as it extends toward the forward or discharge end 16 of the nozzle . cup 34 has a frustoconical inside surface 40 which flares as it extends forwardly toward the forward end 16 of the nozzle . the flared surface 40 is preferably smoothly polished , and it terminates in an annular lip 42 located on the forward end of cup 34 . the lip 42 includes a beveled surface 44 which flares outwardly at a more extreme angle than surface 40 and which terminates in a sharp circular edge 46 which is adjacent to the forward end 16 of nozzle 14 . the annular air channel 38 surrounds lip 42 at its open discharge end . water is supplied to the device 10 from a water supply 48 which is electrically isolated from ground potential . water is pumped or otherwise delivered from the water supply 48 through a supply line 50 which extends through opening 20 and connects with a metal fitting 52 . the end of fitting 52 is threaded into a thick metal disk 54 which is located within the housing 12 of the device . the disk 54 may be held in place by nylon screws such as the screws 32 shown in fig3 . disk 54 has a central passage 56 which receives water from fitting 52 and delivers the water to the inlet end of an internal passage 58 which extends axially the entire the length of shaft 22 . a water seal 60 provides a dynamic seal between the stationary disk 54 and the rotating shaft 22 . the seal 60 includes a spring loaded wear ring 62 which is urged by a spring 64 against another ring 66 carried on the end of shaft 22 . an o ring 68 carried by ring 66 provides a seal against the outside surface of shaft 22 . the opposite or outlet end of the axial passage 58 terminates in an annular enlargement or disc 59 in a liquid collection chamber 70 formed in the brass cup 34 adjacent to the end of the flared surface 40 . disc 59 is attached to the end of shaft 22 and closes the end of passage 58 in chamber 70 . a plurality of peripherally spaced apart small bores 61 extend radially through disc 59 and communicate passage 58 with chamber 70 for liquid to flow from the passage into the chamber . in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention , eight such bores are provided at uniformly spaced intervals around the disc . a flat annular surface formed internally on cup 34 provides a weir 72 which extends from the outside wall of the collection chamber 70 to the end of the flared surface 40 . a lip 74 is formed at the intersection between the weir 72 and surface 40 . housed between plates 28 and 30 is an air driven turbine which is generally designated by numeral 76 . the turbine 76 has an impeller 78 which is mounted on shaft 22 by a pair of keys 80 . impeller 78 has a plurality of vanes 82 which turn the impeller when air is directed against them . the impeller 78 is located within a housing 84 for the turbine . the housing 84 extends around the inside surface of the outer housing 12 at a location between plates 28 and 30 . compressed air which serves to drive the turbine 76 is supplied from a suitable compressed air source ( not shown ) to a flexible air line 86 . the air source can be an air compressor or compressed air tank . line 86 connects with a fitting 88 ( see fig2 ) which is threaded through the outer housing 12 . the inside surface of housing 12 is provided with an annular groove 90 which receives air from fitting 88 . extending through the turbine housing 84 are a plurality of angled air passages 92 having their inner or discharge ends located adjacent to the vanes 82 of the turbine impeller . the air passages 92 are spaced equidistantly from one another around the turbine housing , and their angled orientation results in the compressed air being applied generally tangentially to the vanes 82 . the forward bearing plate 30 is provided with a series of openings 94 which provide the air with access from the inside of the turbine housing 84 to the nozzle 14 . the air which is exhausted from the turbine 76 flows through the openings 94 and into nozzle 14 where the air is then directed through the air channel 38 prior to being discharged from the device . the entire metal assembly which is housed within the electrically insulated housing 12 is maintained at an elevated electrical potential by a conductor 96 which connects with disk 54 . a source 98 of direct current power connects with line 96 . preferably , the source 98 is a 50 or 60 kilovolt source of power which is able to maintain the metal assembly of the device constantly at an elevated potential of about 50 - 60 kilovolts . internal connections such as the wire 100 are provided to make certain that the metal parts within housing 12 are all electrically connected with one another , especially the metal shaft 22 and the brass cup 34 . the conductor 96 may extend into housing 12 through the opening 20 in end plate 18 . in operation , the compressed air which is applied to vanes 82 causes impeller 78 to rotate at a high rate of speed , and this in turn rotates shaft 22 and the brass cup 34 at a high speed . with compressed air applied at approximately 165 psig , shaft 22 is turned at approximately 25 , 000 rpm . as the shaft and cup are rotated , water ( or another liquid ) is applied from the water supply 48 through line 50 , fitting 52 and passage 56 to the inlet end of passage 58 . the water flows through passage 58 along the entire length of shaft 22 and is discharged from the passage through the radial bores 61 into the collection chamber 70 . the water which enters the collection chamber is urged outwardly by centrifugal force and eventually covers the entirety of weir 72 before it can flow past the weir . the weir 72 acts to accurately control the flow of liquid out of the collection chamber 70 and past lip 74 onto the flared surface 40 in a thin film . due to the high rate at which cup 34 is spinning and the configuration of the flared surface 40 , centrifugal force causes the water to flow forwardly and outwardly along surface 40 in a thin film which eventually reaches the lip 42 . due to the elevated potential at which shaft 22 and cup 34 are maintained , the water is electrically charged as it flows through passage 58 and along surface 40 . when the water reaches lip 42 , it flows along the beveled surface 44 and reaches the circular edge 46 at which point the water is discharged from lip 42 and flows generally outwardly due to the centrifugal force . the water is thus discharged outwardly either in thin sheets as ligaments , or in individual drops across the outlet end of the air channel 38 through which the compressed air is flowing in a high velocity annular jet . the air jet impacts against the water sheets and ligaments and applies a shear force which breaks the water up into extremely fine droplets . the air stream additionally projects the droplets forwardly in a spray which is consistent and which is projected a considerable distance . the device 10 is well suited for suppressing smoke and is light enough and small enough that it can be hand held and used by firefighters and others engaged in the suppression of smoke . to use the device for suppressing smoke , the spray is directed into the smoke and the fine water droplets in the spray mingle intimately with the particulate matter in the smoke . the small particles ( 1 - 2 microns ) of soot are usually positively charged , and they are attracted to and collect on the negatively charged water droplets , along with larger particulate matter in the smoke cloud . the particles thus are removed from the smoke cloud as the droplets settle to the floor under the influence of gravity . in this manner , the device 10 can be used to suppress smoke , and it also has use in other applications which required the application of a fine spray of electrostatically charged liquid droplets . the weir 72 functions in an effective manner to maintain a consistent flow rate of liquid onto and along the flared surface 40 of cup 34 . the metering function performed by the weir maintains a thin and uniform film of liquid on surface 40 so that the liquid is discharged in a thin and uniform sheet from lip 42 . this decreases the size of the water droplets that are produced and maintains the size consistently within a relatively small range of 10 - 100 microns . the mean diameter of the water droplets that are produced is about 47 microns . it has been found that the presence of the weir decreases the particle size by a factor of nearly two . the small size of the water droplets not only makes them more effective in mingling with and collecting relatively small soot particles , but it also results in the droplets being projected well beyond the forward end of the device in a consistent spray pattern . the water which flows through the device is maintained in contact with metal surfaces of shaft 22 and cup 34 for a relatively long duration . since the shaft and cup are maintained at a high potential , the water droplets are highly charged by contact charging , and this , in combination with the relatively small size of the water droplets , results in a high charge to mass ratio of the droplets in the spray . for example , experimentation has shown that the results shown in the following table can be achieved with the device : ______________________________________results of charge to mass measurements water total charge mass ofapplied flow rate measured water charge / masspotential to fogger ( 10 . sup .- 6 collected ratio ( kv ) ( l / min ) coulombs ) ( grams ) ( 10 . sup .- 6 c / g ) ______________________________________ 0 0 . 95 7 . 5 3 . 4 2 . 2 - 20 0 . 95 35 . 8 3 . 3 10 . 9 - 40 0 . 95 227 5 . 7 39 . 8 - 60 0 . 95 182 2 . 7 67 . 5______________________________________ these results are to be compared with charge to mass ratios of no more than about 11 ( 10 - 6 c / g ) that are achieved with other known devices . consequently , the charge to mass ratio of 67 . 5 which can be achieved with the subject device when a negative potential of 60 kilovolts is applied represents an improvement by a factor of more than 6 . the improvement in the charge to mass ratio provides the device with the capability of removing more and smaller particles than has been possible with other known devices . the charge to mass ratio should be maintained at a level in excess of about 40 × 10 - 6 coulombs / gram in order for smoke to be effectively suppressed . it is additionally pointed out that the device 10 is much lighter and less bulky than other devices that are known . for example , one known device weighs more than 100 pounds , whereas the present device weighs approximately 40 pounds so that it can be hand held by firefighters in the suppression of smoke . the preferred embodiment of the invention has a length of approximately fifteen inches and a diameter of approximately eight inches , and its relatively small size also lends itself well to handling for smoke suppression . the air turbine 76 is particularly advantageous for driving of the atomizing cup 34 and uses for its motive power the compressed air that is already present because of its need for atomizing the liquid . the air turbine is also more amenable to being electrically isolated so that the device can be operated at the high potential required for a high charge to mass ratio of the droplets . from the foregoing , it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure . it will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations . this is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims . since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof , it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	1
referring now to the drawing figures , where the same reference numbers are used for the same features throughout all of the drawings , fig1 shows a transverse cross - sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the hose coupler according to the present invention . the coupler is designed to work in conjunction with hose 10 . the hose itself forms no part of the claimed invention . the coupler includes collar 20 , the collar having an internal , circumferential locking flange 21 ( see fig3 ); stem 12 ; and split compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′. the stem 12 , shown in isolation in fig2 includes shoulders 14 and 16 , as well as external threading , teeth , or barbs 13 ( preferably contiguous ). the portion of the stem with the external teeth 13 is dimensioned and configured with an outer diameter substantially complementary to the inner diameter of the hose 10 into which the stem is placed ( see fig1 ). flange 16 is provided on the stem to abut the end of the hose . the flange 16 also acts as a link or collar to maintain the connection between the stem 12 , hose 10 , and split compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′. split compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′ ( see fig4 a and 4b ) are disposed about hose 10 and stem 12 . the compression sleeves cooperatively encircle the end of the hose and stem . as shown in fig4 a , there are two sections 18 and 18 ′ that cooperatively form a complete split compression sleeve unit . a small gap 24 between the two sections allows them to be compressed toward one another , thereby compressing the hose 10 between the sections of the compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′ and the stem 12 . alternatively , the complete split compression sleeve unit can be divided into more than two sections , to accommodate hoses of different inside and outside diameters . for example , the complete split compression sleeve unit can be comprised of three , four , or even more sections , each akin to sections 18 and 18 ′, and together cooperatively engaging to define the complete split compression sleeve unit . the compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′ include internal threading or teeth 19 . each of 18 and 18 ′ are dimensioned and configured to have an inner diameter that will fit snugly about the outer diameter of hose 10 and stem 12 . the compression sleeves also includes an external circumferential depression 21 ′ dimensioned and configured to engage the flange 21 on the collar 20 . as the collar is placed over the split compression sleeves , the hose is compressed between the outer diameter of the stem and the inner diameter of the split compression sleeves . the pressure of the collar forces the split compression sleeves toward one another . as the sections of the split compression sleeves are forced toward one another , the gaps between them are filled with the outer surface of the hose , thereby sealing the gaps 24 . lastly , a rubber bumper 22 is provided to protect the coupler during rough use and to act as a seal to meet sanitary requirements . the bumper 22 is fabricated of a suitable flexible material , such as synthetic rubber , and is dimensioned and configured to fit snugly in the space between shoulder 14 and the proximal end of the collar 20 . in operation , the coupler is used as follows : first , the collar 20 is placed around the hose 10 and positioned at a point removed from the end of the hose . the stem 12 is then inserted into the end of the hose so that the hose end abuts flange 16 . split compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′ are then positioned about the hose 10 and stem 12 such that a portion of the combined split compression sleeves contacts the outer diameter of the hose , while another portion of the combined split compression sleeves abuts the area of the stem 12 between flanges 16 and 14 . at this point , the bumper 22 is installed to help hold the split compression sleeves together during assembly . ( once fully assembled , the bumper will then serve its dual role of bumper and seal .) the collar 20 is then urged against the combined split compression sleeves , thereby engaging flange 21 of the collar within the depression 21 ′ of the split compression sleeves , in the process thereby securely fixing the hose 10 between the stem 12 and the split compression sleeves 18 and 18 ′.	5

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.