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the invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description . fig1 is a schematic diagram showing some components of a camera device 1 and a display device 20 . the camera device 1 comprises a rotatable camera base 3 and a motor 5 connected to the camera base 3 . a first camera 6 a and a second camera 6 b are mounted with a horizontal displacement on the camera base 3 . the first camera 6 a and the second camera 6 b together form a stereoscopic camera pair 10 , allowing three dimensional ( 3d ) image capture . the camera base 3 is any suitable structure suitable for mounting the camera devices 6 a - b upon and which can be controlled by the motor 5 to rotate . the motor 5 is any suitable motor capable of rotating the camera base 3 to a suitable direction . for example , the motor 5 can be an electrical motor such as a dc ( direct current ) motor , e . g . a stepper motor . a communication ( input / output ) interface 57 is provided to allow communication with the display device 20 using wireless or wired communication , e . g . over an internet protocol ( ip ) network . in this way , the camera device can transmit images 31 from the cameras 6 a - b to the display device 20 . also , this allows the camera device 1 to receive movement signals 30 or other commands from the display device 20 . an optional processor 50 is provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit ( cpu ), multiprocessor , microcontroller , digital signal processor ( dsp ), etc ., capable of executing software instructions 58 stored in a memory 54 , which can thus be a computer program product . the processor 50 can be configured to execute the method described with reference to fig5 a - b below . the processor 50 is connected to the motor 5 , the cameras 6 a - b , the communication interface 57 , the memory 54 and a data memory 59 . alternatively , the method described with reference to fig5 a - b below can be performed in the camera device without using software , i . e . using hardware , such as an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) or discrete digital and / or analogue components . also , hardware processing and software processing can be mixed . the memory 54 can be any combination of read and write memory ( ram ) and read only memory ( rom ). the memory 54 also comprises persistent storage , which , for example , can be any single one or combination of magnetic memory , optical memory , solid state memory or even remotely mounted memory . the data memory 59 is also provided for reading and / or storing data during execution of software instructions in the processor 50 . the data memory 59 can be any combination of read and write memory ( ram ) and read only memory ( rom ). other components of the camera device 1 are omitted in order not to obscure the concepts presented herein . the display device 20 comprises its own communication ( input / output ) interface 67 that is provided to allow communication with the camera device 1 , e . g . for transmitting movement signals 30 and receiving images 31 . a processor 60 is provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit ( cpu ), multiprocessor , microcontroller , digital signal processor ( dsp ), application specific integrated circuit etc ., capable of executing software instructions 68 stored in a memory 64 , which can thus be a computer program product . the processor 60 can be configured to execute the method described with reference to fig6 below . the processor 60 is connected to the communication interface 67 , the memory 64 , a data memory 69 a 3d display 61 and an optional directional sensor 65 . the sensor 65 can detect a direction of an operator , e . g . by sensing a rotation of a head of an operator by mounting the sensor 65 to the head or otherwise detecting head rotation of the operator . the memory 64 can be any combination of read and write memory ( ram ) and read only memory ( rom ). the memory 64 also comprises persistent storage , which , for example , can be any single one or combination of magnetic memory , optical memory , solid state memory or even remotely mounted memory . the data memory 69 is also provided for reading and / or storing data during execution of software instructions in the processor 60 . the data memory 69 can be any combination of read and write memory ( ram ) and read only memory ( rom ). a 3d display 61 is provided connected to the cpu 60 . the 3d display 61 can be part of the display device 20 or external to the display device 20 , such as in an operator worn device . the 3d display 61 is capable of providing two stereoscopic images to provide a three dimensional image to a viewer of the 3d display 61 . this can be provided using any existing or future 3d display technology , e . g . separate physical small displays for each eye , polarized images , temporal switched images , etc . polarized images and switched images may require an operator to wear appropriate 3d glasses . other components of the display device 20 are omitted in order not to obscure the concepts presented herein . in this way , images captured by the stereoscopic camera pair of the camera device are provided to the 3d display 61 of the display device 20 . this allows an operator at the display device to experience 3d images of the remote location of the camera device 1 . both the first camera and the second camera are wide angle cameras , providing a sufficiently wide angle image such that an operator only views an operator view being a subset of a resulting image at a time . since impression of depth is proportional to effective distance between two cameras it is not sufficient to place cameras statically in order to achieve 3d vision in all direction . the operator gets full impression of depth only in direction which is close to the image capture direction . but here the two wide angle cameras 6 a - b are placed on the rotatable camera base 3 . once the operator turns his or her head , ( by x radians ) this is sensed by the sensor 65 and the picture corresponding to the new direction is shown to him virtually immediately ( x radians from the central direction ), as long as this can be achieved using the wide angle images from the cameras 6 a - b which are currently present in the display device 20 . if the angle x is relatively large , the 3d picture might lack some depth in it . however , the sensor noticing the new direction also triggers the processor 60 to transmit a movement signal 30 to the camera device 1 to rotate the camera base 3 accordingly . while the camera base 3 is rotating , the operator view , being the section of the picture shown to the operator , also rotates in an opposite direction , to cancel out the rotation of the cameras . the centre direction of the operator view does not change , since the rotation actually occurs after the head turn . once the cameras have turned completely , the operator once again observes a deep 3d picture of the scene . in this way , when the operator makes a sharp head turn and stops in the new direction , he / she more or less instantly gets a picture from this direction ( may be somewhat flat at first ). over time the direction of view stays the same for him ( in case the head is not turned more ) but the picture becomes gradually deeper as the cameras turn . this provides an immersive 3d vision system for an operator , even when the latency would otherwise prevent such immersion . accordingly , the latency in the system will impact only how fast operator gets the fully deep picture with sharp head turning . with small head movement , the lost depth will be unnoticeable . for humans it takes some time to re - focus once we change direction of view , whereby temporal loss of depth after sharp head turn should not have major impact on immersive 3d feeling experienced by operator . optionally , the camera device transmits a lower resolution image while the camera base 3 is in motion , since there is a delay to the eye adjustment anyway , thereby reducing bandwidth usage . moreover , the operator at the display device 20 can send a movement signal 30 ( over the communication link ) to the camera device 1 to rotate to alter its view . the camera device effects this by rotating the camera base 3 , to thereby direct the stereoscopic camera pair to a new angle . fig2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a camera device according to one embodiment . the camera base 3 of the camera device 1 is now seen from above and is rotatable around a coordinate system having its origin aligned with the axis of rotation of the camera base 3 . a first stereoscopic camera pair 10 a comprises a first camera 6 a and the second camera 6 b . the first stereoscopic camera pair 10 a has a first image capture direction 11 a which is defined in relation to the coordinate system . the first image capture direction 11 a can be defined as the mean of the center directions of the two cameras 6 a - b of the first stereoscopic camera pair . for instance , in an example where the center directions of the two cameras 6 a - b are aligned , then the first image capture direction 11 a is also aligned to this direction . the first camera 6 a has a first viewing angle 12 a and the second camera 6 b has a second viewing angle 12 b . a first object 15 a is within view of both cameras 6 a - b . a second object is also within view of both cameras 6 a - b . a third object 15 c , however , is out of view for both cameras 6 a - b . if an operator of the display device 20 connected to the camera device wants to see the third object 15 c , a movement signal is sent to the camera device to rotate the camera base so that the cameras can capture images comprising the third object 15 c , as shown in fig4 a - b and explained in more detail below . in fig3 , compared to fig2 , the camera device 1 comprises is a second stereoscopic camera pair bob comprising a third camera 6 c and a fourth camera 6 d . the second stereoscopic camera pair 10 b has a second image capture direction 11 b which is also defined in relation to the coordinate system . the second image capture direction 11 b is defined analogously with the first image capture direction 11 a . the camera device 1 may comprise further camera pairs to further reduce any required movement angle and / or increase static viewing angles of the camera device 1 . the operation of this embodiment is shown in fig4 c and explained in more detail below . fig4 a - b are schematic diagrams illustrating embodiments of how the camera device of fig2 or 3 is controlled based on a movement signal . in fig4 a , the movement signal comprises an absolute angle 14 . absolute angle is here to be construed as a non - relative angle . in other words , the absolute angle could be positive or negative . the camera device 1 then needs to align the first image capture direction 11 a with the absolute angle 14 by rotating the camera base 3 with a differential angle 17 . the differential angle is calculated as the difference between the first image capture direction 11 a and the absolute angle 14 . the differential angle 17 can be positive ( implying anticlockwise rotation ) or negative ( implying clockwise rotation ), whichever direction results in the shortest magnitude of the rotation angle . in this example , the differential angle is negative whereby the rotation is clockwise . in fig4 b , the movement signal comprises a movement angle 16 . this is a relative signal , whereby the camera device 1 controls the motor to rotate the camera base 3 with an amount which corresponds to the movement angle 16 . the movement angle can be positive , resulting in an anticlockwise rotation , or negative , resulting in a clockwise rotation . in this example , the movement angle 16 is positive , resulting in a clockwise rotation . in fig4 c , the camera device 1 comprises both a first stereoscopic camera pair 10 a and a second stereoscopic camera pair 10 b . in this way , when the display device sends a movement signal with an absolute direction , the camera device 1 selects the stereoscopic camera pair having an image capture direction which is nearest to the absolute angle 14 . in this example , the second image capture direction 11 b of the second stereoscopic camera pair 10 b is closest to the absolute angle 14 . the camera device 1 then controls the motor to align the image capture direction of the selected stereoscopic camera pair with the absolute angle 14 . this is achieved by calculating a differential angle 17 between image capture direction of the selected stereoscopic pair and the absolute angle 14 and controlling a rotation of the camera base 3 in accordance with the differential angle 17 . in one embodiment , the camera device 1 transmits images captured from all cameras to the display device 20 , whereby the display device can process and select what images should be shown on the 3d display . in one embodiment , the camera device only transmits images from the stereoscopic camera pair which is active at the moment , which reduces the bandwidth requirements for the images 31 transmitted to the display device . in one embodiment , the stereoscopic camera pair is only allowed to switch if the velocity of desired rotation is fast enough . fig5 a - b are flow charts illustrating methods performed in the camera device of fig1 , fig2 or fig3 for controlling the camera device . in a receive movement signal step 40 , a movement signal 30 is received from the display device 20 . the movement signal 30 instructs the camera device to rotate the camera base upon which the cameras are mounted . in one embodiment , the movement signal 30 comprises an absolute angle 14 , i . e . instructing the camera device to align its view to the absolute angle 14 . in one embodiment , the movement signal 30 comprises a movement angle , which is a relative movement command , e . g . move x radians ( or degrees ), where x is a positive or negative number . in a control motor step 42 , the motor 5 is controlled to rotate the camera base 3 based on the movement signal 30 . when the movement signal 30 comprises an absolute angle 14 , this step comprises controlling the motor to align the first image capture direction 11 a to correspond to the absolute angle 14 . when the movement signal 30 comprises a movement angle , this step comprises controlling the motor to rotate the camera base an amount which corresponds to the movement angle . fig5 b is a flow chart illustrating a method similar to the method illustrated in fig5 a . only new or modified steps in relation to the method of fig5 a are explained here . in an optional select camera pair step 41 , a stereoscopic camera pair is selected which has an image capture direction which is nearest to the absolute angle . this step is only performed when the movement signal comprises an absolute angle , and the camera device comprises at least two stereoscopic camera pairs . when the select camera pair step 41 is performed , the control motor step 42 comprises controlling the motor to align the image capture direction of the selected stereoscopic camera pair with the absolute angle . in an optional transmit images step 44 , images from the first camera 6 a and the second camera 6 b are transmitted over the communication interface 57 , e . g . to the display device . alternatively or additionally , images from another stereoscopic camera pair are also transmitted over the communication interface . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed in the display device of fig1 for showing stereoscopic images according to one embodiment . in a receive step 70 , stereoscopic images are received from the camera device . the stereoscopic images cover more than an operator view . it is also here received the image capture direction of the stereoscopic images . in a detect step 74 , a new centre direction of the operator view is detected . this can e . g . be performed using the sensor 65 to detect a head movement of an operator . in a display step 75 , a sector of the last received stereoscopic images is displayed on the display 61 of the display device 20 . the centre direction of the sector corresponds to a centre direction of the operator view . it is to be noted that the sector is a strict subset of the complete stereoscopic images . this step involves displaying two images on the 3d display 61 . in a conditional significant movement step 76 , it is determined whether a significant movement of the centre direction of the operator view is detected . for instance , this can involve comparing the centre direction of the operator view of different iterations of the detect step . alternatively or additionally , a significant movement is detected when the sector is closer to the border of the stereoscopic images than a threshold amount . alternatively or additionally , a significant movement is detected when the centre direction of the sector deviates more than a threshold amount from the image capture direction . if there is significant movement , the method proceeds to a transmit movement signal step 78 , otherwise , the method proceeds to a conditional new image available step 79 . in the transmit movement signal step 78 , the movement signal is transmitted to the camera device 1 in order to align an image capture direction to the new centre direction of the operator view . as explained above , the movement signal can comprise an absolute angle or movement angle depending on how much processing the camera device 1 should perform . after the transmit movement signal step , the method proceeds to the conditional new image available step 79 . in the conditional new image available step 79 , it is determined whether there is a new stereoscopic image to be received . it is to be noted that the stereoscopic images can be received as a sequence of individual images or as a media stream . in either case , it is here determined whether a new stereoscopic image is ready to be received . if this is the case , the method returns to the receive step 70 , otherwise , the method returns to the detect step 74 to continue dynamic tracking of operator movement . fig7 is a schematic diagram showing functional modules of the camera device 1 of fig2 or 3 . the modules are implemented using software instructions such as a computer program executing in the camera device 1 . the modules correspond to the steps in the methods illustrated in fig5 a - b . a receiver 80 is arranged to receive a movement signal . this module corresponds to the receive movement signal 40 of fig5 a - b . a selector 82 is arranged to select the stereoscopic camera pair having an image capture direction which is nearest to an absolute angle when present in the movement signal . this module corresponds to the select camera pair step 41 of fig5 b . a controller 84 is arranged to control the motor to rotate the camera base based on the movement signal . this module corresponds to the control motor step 42 of fig5 a - b . a transmitter 86 is arranged to transmit images from cameras of at least one stereoscopic camera pair to the display device . this module corresponds to the transmit images step 44 of fig5 b . fig8 is a schematic diagram showing functional modules of the display device of fig1 . the modules are implemented using software instructions such as a computer program executing in the display device 20 . the modules correspond to the steps in the methods illustrated in fig6 . a receiver 92 is arranged to receive stereoscopic images from a camera device . this module corresponds to the receive step of fig6 . a displayer 93 is arranged to display a sector of the stereoscopic images on a display of the display device , the centre direction of the sector corresponding to a centre direction of the operator view . this module corresponds to the display step of fig6 . a detector 94 is arranged to detect a centre direction of the operator view . this module corresponds to the detect step of fig6 . a transmitter 96 is arranged to transmit a movement signal to the camera device in order to align an image capture direction to the new centre direction of the operator view . this module corresponds to the transmit movement signal step of fig6 . fig9 shows one example of a computer program product comprising computer readable means . on this computer readable means a computer program 91 can be stored , which computer program can cause a processor to execute a method according to embodiments described herein . in this example , the computer program product is an optical disc , such as a cd ( compact disc ) or a dvd ( digital versatile disc ) or a blu - ray disc . as explained above , the computer program product could also be embodied in a memory of a device , such as the computer program products 54 or 64 of fig1 . while the computer program 91 is here schematically shown as a track on the depicted optical disk , the computer program can be stored in any way which is suitable for the computer program product , such as a removable solid state memory ( e . g . a universal serial bus ( usb ) drive ). it is to be noted that while the embodiments presented herein mainly describe horizontal movement , the same principles shown herein can equally well be applied to vertical movement as an alternative or in addition to horizontal movement . the invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments . however , as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art , other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention , as defined by the appended patent claims .	7
the following description encompasses several architectures which are controlled and configured by a primary logic unit , such as dfps , fpgas , dpgas , etc . parts of the primary logic unit may be integrated on the unit . alternatively , the architectures may be dynamically controlled or reconfigured directly through the unit itself ( see , e . g ., fig6 , 7 ). the architectures may be implemented in a permanent form on the unit , or they may be created by configuring and possibly combining multiple logic cells , i . e ., configurable cells which fulfill simple logical or arithmetic functions according to their configuration ( cf . dfp , fpga , dpga ). in accordance with the example embodiment of the present invention , to obtain appropriate bus architectures , a plurality of internal lines are combined in buses ( i - busn , where n denotes the number of the bus ). the lines may be internal bus systems or lines of the edge cells . for write access to the external bus ( e - bus ) over clocked latches or registers ( i - gate - reg ), the individual buses are connected to gates that function as switches to the e - bus . such a unit is called an output cell . access to the e - bus takes place in such a way that the individual latches are switched via the gates to the common e - bus . there is always only one gate open . each i - busn has a unique identification number ( n : e . g ., i - bus1 , i - bus976 , etc .). for read access , the incoming e - bus is stored temporarily in clocked latches or registers ( e - gate - reg ) and then distributed over the gates to the i - busn . such a unit is called an input cell . pick up from the e - bus takes place in such a way that an e - bus transfer is written into one or more e - gate - regs . the e - gate - regs can then be switched either individually or together to their internal bus systems . read - write access can take place in any order . under some circumstances , the internal buses i - busn may be subdivided into two groups , e . g ., writing output buses io - busn and reading input buses ii - busn . for most accesses to external units , addresses are generated for selecting a unit or parts of a unit . the addresses may be permanent , i . e ., they do not change ( this is the case especially with peripheral addresses ) or the addresses may change by ( usually ) fixed values with each access ( this is the case especially with memory addresses ). for generating the addresses , there are programmable counters for read access and programmable counters for write access . the counters are set at a base value by the plu , which is the unit that configures the configurable units ( dfps , fpgas , dpgas , etc .) based on cell architecture . with each access to the gate , the counter is incremented or decremented by a value defined by the plu , depending on the setting . likewise , each counter can also be used as a register , which means that counting is not performed with each access , and the value set in the counter is unchanged . the value of the counter belonging to the gate is assigned as an address to each bus transfer . the counter is set by a setting register ( mode plureg ) to which the plu has write access . each gate is assigned a number of bits in mode plureg ( described below ). the bits indicate whether the gate is active or is skipped by the controller , i . e ., is masked out ( mask ). if a gate is masked out , the gate is skipped in running through all gates to connect to the respective bus system . always skip the input / output cell , skip the input / output cell only in writing , skip the input / output cell only in reading if the e - bus master has not accessed the input / output cell , never skip the input / output cell . each gate is assigned a state register which may be designed as an rs flip - flop . this register indicates whether data have been written into the register belonging to the gate . the mode plureg can be written and read by the plu . it serves to set the bus system . one possible mode plureg architecture from the standpoint of plu is set forth below : bit 1 - m bit k - 1 bit 2 - k bit 1 bit 0 mask predefined step 0 = additive counting 0 = register value length 1 = subtractive counting 1 = counter masking settings for address generator a distinction is made according to whether data is transmitted from the e - bus to the unit ( the component used for this is called the input cell ) or whether data is transmitted from the unit to the e - bus ( the component used for this is called an output cell ). an example embodiment of the input cell is as follows . a latch ( i - gate - reg ) which is controlled either by the external e - bus master or the internal state machine serves as a buffer for the data received from the e - bus . the clock pulse of the latch is sent to ( for example ) an rs flip - flop ( set - reg ) which retains access to the i - gate - reg . downstream from the i - gate - reg is a gate ( i - gate ) which is controlled by the state machine . the data goes from the i - gate - reg to the i ( i )- busn via the i - gate . in addition the example embodiment , there is a programmable incrementer / decrementer in the input cell . the programmable incrementer / decrementer can be controlled by the state machine after each active read access to the e - bus to increment or decrement an adjustable value . it can also serve as a simple register . this counter generates the addresses for bus access where the unit is e - bus master . the addresses are sent to the e - bus via a gate ( adr - gate ). the adr - reg is controlled by the state machine . the e - bus master can poll the state of the set - reg via another gate ( state - gate ). each input cell has a mode plureg in which the plu configures the counter and turns the input cell on or off ( masks it ). an example embodiment of an output cell is as follows . a latch ( e - gate - reg ) which is controlled by the internal state machine provides buffer storage for the data obtained from the i - bus . in addition , a programmable incrementer / decrementer is provided in the output cell . the clock signal of the latch is sent to ( for example ) an rs flip - flop ( set - reg ) which retains access to the e - gate - reg . the programmable incrementer / decrementer can be controlled by the state machine after each read access to the e - bus to increment or decrement an selectable value . it can also function as a simple register . this counter generates the addresses for bus access in which the unit is e - bus master . the data of the e - gate - reg , the addresses and the state of the set - reg are sent to the e - bus via a gate ( e - gate ) which is controlled either by the external e - bus master or the internal state machine . each output cell has a mode plureg in which the plu configures the counter and turns the output cell on and off ( masks it ). at a higher level than the individual gates , address generators and masks , in the example embodiment of the present invention , there is a controller consisting of a simple , conventional state machine . two operating modes are differentiated : 1 . an active mode in which the state machine controls the internal bus ( i - bus ) and the external bus ( e - bus ). this mode is called e - bus master because the state machine has control of the e - bus . 2 . a passive mode in which the state machine controls only the internal bus ( i - bus ). the e - bus is controlled by another external unit . the state machine reacts in this mode to the requirements of the external e - bus master . this mode of operation is called e - bus slave . the controller manages the e - bus protocol . the sequence differs according to whether the controller is functioning in e - bus master or e - bus slave mode . a particular protocol is not described herein , because any one of a number of conventional protocols may be implemented . in the example embodiment , the e - bus control register ( eb - reg ) is provided to manage the data traffic on the e - bus . the e - bus control register is connected in series with the gates and can be addressed and operated from the e - bus . the data exchange may be regulated through the following records : i - write : indicates that the i - bus is written completely into the input / output cells , e - write : indicates that the e - bus has been written completely into the input / output cells , in the example embodiment , the eb - reg is always active only on the side of the e - bus slave , and the e - bus master has read - write access to it . all i - . . . records are written by e - bus slave and read by e - bus master . all e - . . . records are written by e - bus master and read by e - bus slave . an e - bus slave can request control of the e - bus by setting the req master bit in its eb - reg . if the e - bus master recognizes the req master bit , it relinquishes the bus control as soon as possible . the e - bus master relinquishes the bus control by setting the master bit in the eb - reg of an e - bus slave . the e - bus master then immediately switches the e - bus to passive mode . the old e - bus slave becomes the new e - bus master , and the old e - bus master becomes the new e - bus slave . the new e - bus master assumes control of the e - bus . to recognize the first e - bus master after a reset of the system , there is a terminal on each unit which indicates by the preset polarity whether the unit is e - bus master or e - bus slave after a reset . the master record in the eb - reg can also be set and reset by the plu . in the example embodiment , the plu must be sure that there are no bus collisions on the eb - bus and that no ongoing transfers are interrupted . in the example embodiment of the present invention , the e - bus master can write data to the e - bus slave as follows : the data transfer begins when the state machine of the e - bus master selects an output cell that is not masked out . data has already been stored in the i - gate reg , depending on the design of the state machine , or the data is stored now . the gate is activated . the valid read address is transferred to the bus . the data goes to the e - bus and is stored in the e - gate reg of the e - bus slave . the set - reg in the e - bus slave is thus activated . the gate in the e - bus master is deactivated . the address counter generates the address for the next access . the transfer is terminated for the e - bus master . there are two possible embodiments of the e - bus slave for transferring data from the bus to the unit : 1 . the data gate is always open and the data goes directly from the e - gate - reg to the i - busn . 2 . the state machine recognizes that set - reg is activated , and it activates the gate , so that set - reg can be reset . the e - bus master can notify the e - bus slave when a complete bus cycle is terminated a bus cycle is defined as the transfer of multiple data strings to different e - gate - regs , where each e - gate - reg may be addressed exactly once ). the e - bus master sets the e - write bit in the eb - reg of the e - bus slave at the end of a bus cycle . the e - bus slave can respond by polling the input cells . when it has polled all the input cells , it sets the i - read bit in its eb - reg . it then resets e - write and all the set - regs of the input cells . the e - bus master can poll i - read and begin a new bus cycle after its activation . i - read is reset by e - write being written or the first bus transfer . the e - bus slave can analyze whether the input cells can / must be read again on the basis of the status of the eb - reg or the individual set - regs of the input cells . from the standpoint of the e - bus master , there are two basic methods of reading data from the e - bus slave : 1 . method in which the e - bus data goes directly to the i - bus : the data transfer begins with the state machine of the e - bus master selecting an input cell which is not masked out . the i - gate - reg is transparent , i . e ., it allows the data through to the i - busn . 2 . method in which the e - bus data is stored temporarily in the i - gate - reg : the data transfer begins with the state machine of the e - bus master selecting an input cell which is not masked out . all input cells involved in the e - bus transfer , which can be ascertained on the basis of the masks in the mode plureg or the state of the set - reg , are run through and the data is transferred to the respective i - bus . the gate is activated by the e - bus . the data and the state of any set - reg that may be present go to the e - bus . the gate is deactivated . the e - bus master can notify the e - bus slave when a complete bus cycle is terminated . to do so , at the end of a bus cycle , the e - bus master sets the e - read bit in the eb - reg of the e - bus slave . e - bus slave can react by writing to the output cells anew . when it has written to all the output cells , it sets the i - write bit in its eb - reg . in doing so , it resets e - read and all the set - regs of the output cells . the e - bus master can poll i - write and begin a new bus cycle after its activation . i - write is reset by writing e - read or the first bus transfer . e - bus slave can evaluate on the basis of the state of the eb - reg or the individual set - regs of the output cells whether the output cells can / must be written anew . in addition to cascading identical units ( dfps , fpgas , dpgas ), memories and peripherals can also be connected as lower - level slave units ( slave ) to the bus system described here . memories and peripherals as well as other units ( dfps , fpgas ) can be combined here . each connected slave analyzes the addresses on the bus and recognizes independently whether it has been addressed . in these modes , the unit addressing the memory or the peripheral , i . e ., the slave units , is the bus master ( master ), i . e ., the unit controls the bus and the data transfer . the exception is intelligent peripheral units , such as scsi controllers that can initiate and execute transfers independently and therefore are e - bus masters . through the method described here , bus systems can be connected easily and efficiently to dfps and fpgas . both memories and peripherals as well as other units of the types mentioned above can be connected over the bus systems . the bus system need not be implemented exclusively in dfps , fpgas and dpgas . hybrid operation of this bus system with traditional unit terminal architectures is of course possible . thus the advantages of the respective technique can be utilized optimally . other sequencing methods are also possible for the bus system described here . however , they will not be detailed here because they are free embodiment options that do not depend on the basic principle described here . fig1 shows a conventional fpga , where 0101 represents the internal bus systems , 0102 includes one or more fpga cells . 0103 denotes subbuses which are a subset of 0101 and are connected to 0101 via switches ( crossbars ). 0103 can also manage internal data of 0102 that are not switched to 0101 . the fpga cells are arranged in a two - dimensional array . 0104 is an edge cell located at the edge of the array and is thus in direct proximity to the terminals at the edge of the unit . fig2 shows another conventional fpga . this embodiment does not work with bus systems like 0101 but instead mainly with next - neighbor connections ( 0201 ), which are direct connections from an fpga cell ( 0203 ) to a neighboring cell . there may be global bus systems ( 0202 ) nevertheless , although they are not very wide . the fpga cells or a group of fpga cells have a connection to 0202 . the fpga cells are arranged in a two - dimensional array . 0204 is an edge cell located at the edge of the array and thus in close proximity to the terminals at the edge of the unit . fig3 shows a dfp described in , for example , german patent no . 196 51 075 . 9 . the pae cells ( 0303 ) are wired to the bus systems ( 0301 ) via a bus interface ( 0304 ). bus systems 0301 can be wired together via a bus switch ( 0302 ). the pae cells are arranged in a two - dimensional array . 0305 is an edge cell located on the edge of the array and is thus in close proximity to the terminals at the edge of the unit . fig4 a shows an fpga edge according to fig1 . outside the edge cells ( 0401 ) there are arranged a plurality of input / output cells ( 0402 ) connecting the internal bus systems ( 0403 ) individually or in groups to the e - bus ( 0404 ). the number of input / output cells depends on their own width in relation to the width of the internal bus systems . 0405 is an eb - reg . 0406 is a state machine . a bus system ( 0407 ) by means of which the state machine controls the input / output cells runs from the state machine to the eb - reg and each individual input / output cell . there may be several 0405 s and 0406 s by combining a number of 0402 s into groups , each managed by a 0405 and 0406 . fig4 b shows an fpga edge according to fig2 . several input / output cells ( 0412 ) are arranged outside the edge cells ( 0411 ) and are connected individually or in groups to the e - bus ( 0414 ) via the internal bus systems ( 0413 ) and the direct connections of the edge cells ( 0417 ). the number of input / output cells depends on their own width in relation to the width of the internal bus systems ( 0413 ) and the number of direct connections ( 0418 ). 0415 is an eb - reg . 0416 is a state machine . a bus system ( 0417 ) by means of which the state machine controls the input / output cells goes from the state machine to the eb - reg and each individual input / output cell . there may be multiple 0415 s and 0416 s by combining a number of 0412 s into groups , each managed by a 0415 and 0416 . fig5 shows a dfp edge according to fig3 . outside the edge cells ( 0501 ) are arranged several input / output cells ( 0502 ) which are connected individually or in groups to the e - bus ( 0504 ) by the internal bus systems ( 0503 ). the number of input / output cells depends on their own width in relation to the width of the internal bus systems ( 0503 ). 0505 is an eb - reg . 0506 is a state machine . the state machine controls the input / output cells via a bus system ( 0507 ) which goes from the state machine to the eb - reg and each individual input / output cell . there may be multiple 0505 s and 0506 s by combining a number of 0412 s into groups , each managed by a 0505 and 0506 . fig6 shows an output cell 0601 . outside of 0601 there are the eb - reg ( 0602 ) and the state machine ( 0603 ) plus a gate ( 0604 ) which connects the state machine to the e - bus ( 0605 ) if it is the e - bus master . access to the eb - reg is possible via the e - bus ( 0605 ), the i - bus ( 0613 ) and the plu bus ( 0609 ). in addition , when the unit is reset , the master bit can be set via an external terminal ( 0614 ) leading out of the unit . the state machine ( 0603 ) has read - write access to 0602 . in the output cell there is a multiplexer ( 0606 ) which assigns control of the e - gate ( 0607 ) to either the e - bus master or the state machine ( 0603 ). the mode plureg ( 0608 ) is set via the plu bus ( 0609 ) or the i - bus ( 0613 ) and it configures the address counter ( 0610 ) and the state machine ( e . g ., masking out the output cell ). if data of the i - bus ( 0613 ) is stored in the i - gate - reg ( 0611 ), the access is noted in set - reg ( 0612 ). the state of 0612 can be polled via 0607 on the e - bus . read access ( e - gate 0607 is activated ) resets 0612 . the addresses generated by 0610 and the data of 0611 are transferred to the e - bus via gate 0607 . there is the possibility of dynamically reconfiguring and controlling the output cell via the unit itself ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) rather than through the plu . the i - bus connection to the eb - reg ( 0602 ) and mode plureg ( 0608 ) serves this function . fig7 shows an input cell 0701 . outside of 0701 there are the eb - reg ( 0702 ) and the state machine ( 0703 ), as well as a gate ( master gate ) ( 0704 ) which connects the state machine to the e - bus ( 0705 ) if it is in the e - bus master mode . access to eb - reg is possible via the e - bus ( 0705 ), the i - bus ( 0713 ) and the plu bus ( 0709 ). furthermore , when the unit is reset , the master bit can be set via an external terminal ( 0714 ) leading out of the unit . the state machine ( 0703 ) has read - write access to 0702 . in the input cell there is a multiplexer ( 0706 ) which assigns control of the e - gate - reg ( 0707 ) to either the e - bus master or the state machine ( 0703 ). the mode plureg ( 0708 ) is set via the plu bus ( 0709 ) or the i - bus ( 0713 ) and configures the address counter ( 0710 ) and the state machine ( e . g ., masking out the input cell ). if data of the e - bus ( 0705 ) is stored in the e - gate - reg ( 0707 ), this access is noted in the set - reg ( 0712 ). the state of 0712 can be polled on the e - bus via a gate ( 0715 ) whose control is the same as that of the latch ( 0707 ). a read access — e - gate 0711 is activated and the data goes to the i - bus ( 0713 )— resets 0712 via 0717 . as an alternative , 0712 can be reset ( 0718 ) via the state machine ( 0703 ). the addresses generated by 0710 are transferred via the gate ( adr - gate ) 0716 to the e - bus . 0716 is activated by the state machine ( 0703 ) when it is the e - bus master . there is the possibility of dynamically reconfiguring and controlling the input cell via the unit itself ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) instead of through the plu . the i - bus connection to the eb - reg ( 0702 ) and the mode plureg ( 0708 ) serves this function . fig8 shows the mode plureg ( 0801 ) of an input or output cell written by the plu via the plu bus ( 0802 ) or via an i - bus ( 0808 ). the respective bus system is selected by the multiplexer ( 0809 ) ( control of the multiplexer is not shown because an ordinary decoder logic can be used ). the counter settings such as step length , counting direction and enabling of the counter are sent directly ( 0807 ) to the counter ( 0803 ). the basic address can either be written directly ( 0805 ) to the counter via a load ( 0804 ) or stored temporarily in an extension ( 0811 ) of 0801 . records in 0801 that are relevant for the state machine go to the state machine via a gate ( 0806 ) which is opened by the state machine for the input or output cell activated at the time . fig9 a shows a bus interface circuit with a state machine ( 0901 ), master gate ( 0902 ) and eb - reg ( 0903 ). input cells ( 0904 ) transfer data from the e - bus ( 0905 ) to the ii - bus ( 0906 ). output cells ( 0907 ) transfer data from the io - bus ( 0908 ) to the e - bus ( 0905 ). all units are linked together by the control bus ( 0909 ). fig9 b shows a bus interface circuit with a state machine ( 0901 ), master gate ( 0902 ) and eb - reg ( 0903 ). input cells ( 0904 ) transfer data from the e - bus ( 0905 ) to the bidirectional i - bus ( 0910 ). output cells ( 0907 ) transfer data from the bidirectional i - bus ( 0910 ) to the e - bus ( 0905 ). all units are linked together over the control bus ( 0909 ). interface circuits utilizing both possibilities ( fig9 a and 9 b ) in a hybrid design are also conceivable . fig1 a shows the interconnection of two units ( dfps , fpgas , dpgas , etc .) ( 1001 ) linked together via the e - bus ( 1002 ). fig1 b shows the interconnection of a number of units ( dfps , fpgas , dpgas , etc .) ( 1001 ) via the e - bus ( 1002 ). fig1 c shows the interconnection of a number of units ( dfps , fpgas , dpgas , etc .) ( 1001 ) via the e - bus ( 1002 ). this interconnection can be expanded to a matrix . one unit ( 1001 ) may also manage multiple bus systems ( 1002 ). fig1 d shows the interconnection [ of a ] unit ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) ( 1001 ) to a memory unit or a memory bank ( 1003 ) via the e - bus ( 1002 ). fig1 e shows the interconnection [ of a ] unit ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) ( 1001 ) to a peripheral device or a peripheral group ( 1004 ) via the e - bus ( 1002 ). fig1 f shows the interconnection [ of a ] unit ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) ( 1001 ) to a memory unit or a memory bank ( 1003 ) and to a peripheral device or a peripheral group ( 1004 ) via the e - bus ( 1002 ). fig1 g shows the interconnection [ of a ] unit ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) ( 1001 ) to a memory unit or a memory bank ( 1003 ) and to a peripheral device or a peripheral group ( 1004 ) plus another unit ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) ( 1001 ) via the e - bus ( 1002 ). fig1 shows the architecture of the eb - reg . the bus systems e - bus ( 1103 ), the plu bus ( 1104 ) over which the plu has access to the eb - reg , and the local internal bus between the input / output cells , the state machine and the eb - reg ( 1105 , see 0407 , 0417 , 0517 ) and possibly an i - bus ( 1114 ) are connected to a multiplexer ( 1106 ). the multiplexer ( 1106 ) selects either one of the buses or feedback to the register ( 1108 ) and switches the data through to the input of the register ( 1108 ). the master bit is sent to the register ( 1108 ) separately over the multiplexer ( 1107 ). the multiplexer is controlled by the reset signal ( 1101 ) ( resetting or initializing the unit ). if a reset signal is applied , the multiplexer ( 1107 ) switches the signal of an external chip connection ( 1102 ) through to the input of the register ( 1108 ); otherwise the output of the multiplexer ( 1106 ) is switched through to the input of the register ( 1108 ). master may thus be pre - allocated . the register ( 1108 ) is clocked by the system clock ( 1112 ). the contents of the register ( 1108 ) are switched via a gate ( 1109 , 1110 , 1111 , 1113 ) to the respective bus system ( 1103 , 1104 , 1105 , 1114 ) having read access at that time . control of the gates ( 1109 , 1110 , 1111 , 1113 ) and of the multiplexer ( 1106 ) is not shown because an ordinary decoder logic may be used . fig1 shows an example embodiment using a standard bus system rambus ( 1203 ). one unit ( dfp , fpga , dpga , etc .) ( 1201 ) is connected to other units ( memories , peripherals , other dfps , fpgas , dpgas , etc .) ( 1202 ) by the bus system ( 1203 ). independently of the bus system ( 1203 ), this unit ( 1201 ) may have additional connecting lines ( 1204 ), e . g ., for connecting any desired circuits , as is customary in the related art . fig1 shows an example of implementation of an io and memory bus system . 1310 forms the ram bus connecting ram bus interface ( 1308 ) to the ram bus memory . the ram bus interface is connected to a cache ram ( 1306 ). a tag ram ( 1307 ) and a cache controller ( 1305 ) are provided for cache ram ( 1306 ). with the help of the cache controller and tag ram , a check is performed to determine whether the required data is in the cache memory or whether it must be loaded out of the external ram bus memory . cache ram , cache controller and ram bus interface are controlled by a state machine ( 1304 ). the cache is a known implementation . arbiter ( 1303 ) regulates access of individual bus segments to the cache ram and thus also to external memory . in this exemplary implementation , access to eight bus segments is possible . each connection to a bus segment ( 1309 ) has a bus io ( 1301 ) and an address generator ( 1302 ). in addition , each bus io is also connected to the primary logic bus ( 1307 ) and to an internal test bus ( 1311 ). every n - th bus io is connected to the ( n + 1 )- th bus io , where n is defined as n =( 1 , 3 , 5 , . . . ). through this connection , data requested from memory by the n - th address generator is used by the ( n + 1 )- th segment as the address for a memory access . indirect addressing of the memory is thus possible . the value of the counter ( 1509 ) of segment n indicates a memory location in the ram . data from this memory location is transferred to segment ( n + 1 ), where it serves as the basic address for addressing the memory . fig1 shows an example bus io unit . it is connected to the internal bus system ( 1406 ), the test bus system ( 1408 ) and the primary logic bus ( 1407 ). according to an example embodiment , bus ( 1412 ) and bus ( 1413 ) serve to connect the n - th bus io to the ( n + 1 )- th bus io . in other words , bus ( 1413 ) is present only with every n - th segment , and bus ( 1412 ) is present only with every ( n + 1 )- th segment . the n - th bus io sends data over the bus ( 1413 ), and the ( n + 1 )- th bus io receives this data over the bus ( 1412 ). bus systems ( 1406 , 1407 , 1412 ) are connected by gates ( 1401 , 1402 , 1403 , 1411 ) to bus ( 1409 ) which connects the bus io to the address generator . the arbiter ( 1404 ) selects a bus system ( 1406 , 1407 , 1412 ) for data transmission and delivers a control signal to the state machine ( 1405 ) which in turn controls gates ( 1401 , 1402 , 1403 , 1411 ). in addition , state machine ( 1405 ) also sends control signals ( 1410 ) to the address generator and ram . a ) segment n : state machine ( 1405 ) receives from the address generator a configuration signal ( 1415 ) which determines whether indirect addressing is to take place . after a read trigger signal ( 1416 ) from internal bus ( 1406 ) or primary logic bus ( 1407 ), state machine ( 1405 ) enables the respective gate ( 1401 , 1402 , 1403 , 1411 ) and generates control signals ( 1410 ). the memory location addressed by the loadable incrementer / decrementer ( 1509 ) is read out . data contained in the ram memory location is not sent back to the bus but instead is transmitted by the bus ( 1413 ) to the ( n + 1 )- th segment , where it serves as a basic address for addressing the ram . after having received data from the ram , the state machine ( 1405 ) delivers an acknowledge signal for synchronization to state machine ( 1414 ), which controls the sequence in indirect addressing . this state machine ( 1414 ) is referred to below as ind state machine . it generates all the necessary control signals and sends them to the following segment ( 1413 ). b ) segment ( n + 1 ): the ( n + 1 )- th segment receives data transmitted from the n - th segment over the bus ( 1412 ). arbiter ( 1404 ) receives a write signal and sends a request to the state machine , which enables gate ( 1411 ). gate ( 1411 ) adds the internal address of the basic address entry to the data from 1412 , so that decoder ( 1502 ) enables the basic address latches . fig1 a shows the address generator . data and address information is transmitted from the bus io to the address generator over the bus ( 1409 ). bus ( 1410 ) transmits control signals clk ( 1517 , 1508 ) and the output enable signal ( 1518 ) as well as control signals to ram ( 1519 ). the output enable signal ( 1518 ) enables the gates ( 1503 , 1515 ). gate ( 1503 ) switches data from bus ( 1409 ) to data bus ( 1504 ) to the ram . gate ( 1515 ) switches the addresses thus generated to address bus ( 1520 ) leading to the ram . addresses are generated as follows : four entries in the address generator generate addresses . each entry is stored in two latches ( 1501 ), with one latch storing the higher - order address and the other latch storing the lower - order address . the basic address entry contains the start address of a memory access . the step width entry is added to or subtracted from the basic address in loadable incrementer / decrementer ( 1509 ). the ( incrementing / decrementing ) function of loadable incrementer / decrementer ( 1509 ) is coded in one bit of the basic address and transmitted to loadable incrementer / decrementer ( 1509 ). the end address is stored in the end address entry , and one bit is encoded according to whether address generation is terminated on reaching the end address or whether the end address entry is ignored . if the counter counts up to an end address , the value of the end address entry is compared with the initial value of the loadable incrementer / decrementer . this takes place in the comparator ( 1510 ), which generates a high as soon as the end address is reached or exceeded . with an active enable end address signal ( 1507 ), the and gate ( 1512 ) delivers this high to the or gate ( 1514 ), which then relays a trigger signal ( 1521 ) to the primary logic bus . the data count entry contains the number of data transfers and thus of the addresses to be calculated . here again , one bit in the data count entry determines whether this function is activated and the enable data counter signal ( 1506 ) is sent to the and gate ( 1513 ) or whether the data count entry is ignored . counter ( 1505 ) receives the value of the data count entry and decrements it by one with each clock pulse . comparator ( 1511 ) compares the value of counter ( 1505 ) [ with ] zero and delivers a signal to and gate ( 1513 ). if enable data counter signal ( 1506 ) is active , the signal of comparator ( 1511 ) is sent to or gate ( 1514 ) and as trigger signal ( 1521 ) to the primary logic bus . bus ( 1409 ) contains control signals and addresses for the decoder ( 1502 ), which selects one of the latches ( 1501 ) according to the address . configuration register ( 1516 ) can also be controlled by decoder ( 1502 ), determining whether the segment is used for indirect addressing . data of the configuration register is transmitted to the bus io of the segment over connection ( 1415 ). fig1 b shows a modification of the address generator from fig1 a , which deposits the end address of the data block at the beginning of a data block in the memory . the advantage of this design is that ( with ) a variable size of the data block , the end is defined precisely for subsequent access . this structure corresponds basically to the structure of the address generator from fig1 a , but with the addition of two multiplexers ( 1522 , 1523 ) and an additional entry in the configuration register ( 1523 ). this entry is called the calculate end address and determines whether the end address of the data block is deposited as the first entry of the data block at the location defined by the base address entry . these multiplexers are controlled by state machine ( 1405 ). multiplexer ( 1522 ) serves to switch the basic address or output of counter ( 1509 ) to gate ( 1515 ). multiplexer ( 1523 ) switches either data coming from bus ( 1404 ) or the output of counter ( 1509 ) to gate ( 1503 ). fig1 c shows the sequence in the state machine and the pattern of memory access by the address generator shown in fig1 b . state machine ( 1405 ) is first in the idle state ( 1524 ). if the calculate end address entry is set in configuration register ( 1523 ), after writing step width ( 1529 ), state machine ( 1405 ) goes into state ( 1525 ) where the address for ram access is written into the loadable incrementer / decrementer from the basic address entry , and the step width is added or subtracted , depending on counter mode ( incrementing / decrementing ). the ram is accessed and the state machine returns to idle state ( 1524 ). the following data transfers are performed as specified by the basic addresses and step width entries . the pattern in memory is thus as follows . basic address ( 1526 ) has not been written . first entry ( 1527 ) is in the position defined by the basic address plus ( minus ) the step width . the next entries ( 1528 ) follow one another at step width intervals . when the end of the transfer has been reached , a trigger signal is generated ( 1521 ). on the basis of the trigger signal ( 1521 ) or an external trigger signal ( 1417 ), state machine ( 1405 ) goes from idle state ( 1524 ) into state ( 1530 ), where multiplexers ( 1522 , 1523 ) are switched , so that the basic address is applied to the input of gate ( 1515 ), and the address is applied to gate ( 1503 ) after the end of the data block . then state machine ( 1405 ) enters state ( 1531 ) and writes the address to the ram at the position of the basic address after the end of the data block . the pattern in memory is then as follows . the entry of basic address ( 1526 ) indicates the address after the end of the data block . the first entry in the data block is at address ( 1527 ), and then the remaining entries follow . another possible embodiment of the state machine is for the state machine to first correct the count in 1509 on the basis of one of trigger signals ( 1521 or 1417 ) so that 1509 indicates the last data word of the data block . this is implemented technically by performing the inverse operation to that preset in 1509 , i . e ., if 1509 adds the step width according to the presettings , the step width is now subtracted ; if 1509 subtracts according to the presettings , it is added . to perform the correction , an additional state ( 1540 ) is necessary in the state machine described below in conjunction with fig1 c to control 1509 accordingly . fig1 shows the interaction of multiple segments in indirect addressing . segment n ( 1601 ) receives a read signal over the bus ( 1605 ) ( primary logic bus ( 1407 ) or internal bus ( 1406 )). bus io ( 1603 ) enables the respective gate and generates the required control signals . the memory location determined by 1509 is addressed . data ( 1607 ) coming from the ram is sent to segment ( n + 1 ) ( 1602 ). ind state machine ( 1604 ) generates the required control signals and likewise sends them to segment ( n + 1 ) ( 1602 ). in segment ( n + 1 ) ( 1602 ), signals pass through gate ( 1411 ) of bus io ( 1608 ) described in conjunction with fig1 , where an address is added for decoder ( 1502 ) described in conjunction with fig1 , so that the basic address entry of the address generator ( 1608 ) is addressed by segment ( n + 1 ) ( 1602 ). data coming from segment n ( 1601 ) thus serves as the basic address in segment ( n + 1 ) ( 1602 ), i . e ., read - write access over bus ( 1609 ) ( primary logic bus ( 1407 ) or internal bus ( 1406 )) can use this basic address for access to the ram . bus ( 1610 ) serves to transmit addresses to the ram , and bus ( 1612 ) transmits data to and from the ram , depending on whether it is a read or write access . fig1 illustrates the ind state machine . the basic state is the idle state ( 1701 ). it remains in this state until the acknowledge signal of state machine ( 1405 ) from fig1 arrives . then ind state machine goes into a write state ( 1702 ), generating a write enable signal which is sent with the data to segment ( n + 1 ), where it serves to activate the decoder selecting the various entries . next it enters a wait_for_ack state . after the acknowledge signal of segment ( n + 1 ), the ind state machine returns to the idle state ( 1701 ). adr - gate : gate which switches addresses to the e - bus if the unit is in e - bus master mode . dfp : data flow processor according to german patent de 44 16 881 . d flip - flop : storage element which stores a signal at the rising edge of a clock pulse . eb - reg : register that stores the status signals between i - bus and e - bus . e - gate : gate which is controlled by the internal state machine of the unit or by the e - bus master and switches data to the e - bus . e - gate - reg : register into which data transmitted to the e - bus over the e - gate is entered . e - read : flag in the eb - reg indicating that the output cells have been transferred completely to the e - bus . e - write : flag in the eb - reg indicating that the e - bus has been transferred completely to the input cells . handshake : signal protocol where a signal a indicates a state and another signal b confirms that it has accepted signal a and responded to it . input cell : unit transmitting data from the e - bus to an i - bus . i - busn ( also i - bus ): internal bus system of a unit , which may also consist of bundles of individual lines , where n indicates the number of the bus . ii - busn ( also ii - bus ): internal bus system of a unit , which may also consist of bundles of individual lines , with n denoting the number of the bus . the bus is driven by an input cell and goes to logic inputs . io - busn ( also io - bus ): internal bus system of a unit , which may also consist of bundles of individual lines , with n denoting the number of the bus . the bus is driven by logic outputs and goes to an output cell . n indicates the number of the bus . i - gate - reg : register which is controlled by the internal state machine or by e - bus master and into which data transmitted over the i - gate to the i - bus is entered . i - read : flag in the eb - reg indicating that the input cells have been completely transferred to the i - bus . i - write : flag in the eb - reg indicating that the i - bus has been completely transferred to the output cells . edge cell : cell at the edge of a cell array , often with direct contact with the terminals of a unit . configuring : setting the function and interconnecting a logic unit , a ( fpga ) cell ( logic cell ) or a pae ( see reconfiguring ). primary logic unit ( plu ): unit for configuring and reconfiguring a pae or logic cell . configured by a microcontroller specifically designed for this purpose . latch : storage element which usually relays a signal transparently during the h level and stores it during the l level . latches where the function of levels is exactly the opposite are sometimes used in paes . an inverter is then connected before the clock pulse of a conventional latch . logic cells : configurable cells used in dfps , fpgas , dpgas , fulfilling simple logical or arithmetic functions , depending on configuration . master : flag in eb - reg showing that the e - bus unit is a master . mode plureg : register in which the primary logic unit sets the configuration of an input / output cell . output cell : unit that transmits data from an i - bus to the e - bus . pae : processing array element : ealu with o - reg , r - reg , r20 - mux , f - plureg , m - plureg , bm unit , sm unit , sync unit , state - back unit and power unit . plu : unit for configuring and reconfiguring a pae or a logic cell . configured by a microcontroller specifically designed for this purpose . req - master : flag in the eb - reg indicating that the unit would like to become e - bus master . rs flip - flop : reset / set flip - flop . storage element which can be switched by two signals . set - reg : register indicating that data has been written in an i - gate - reg or e - gate - reg but not yet read . gate : switch that relays or blocks a signal . simple comparison : relay . reconfiguring : new configuration of any number of paes or logic cells while any remaining number of paes or logic cells continue their own function ( see configuring ). state machine : logic which can assume miscellaneous states . the transitions between states depend on various input parameters . these machines are used to control complex functions and belong to the related art .	6
the preferred embodiment of the present invention is an electronic restraint system including an electronic shackle or cuff and corresponding electronic key . illustrated in fig1 is an electronic shackle 100 for enhancing the restraint of an individual and the safety of law enforcement personnel . the shackle 100 includes a pair of metal cuffs 102 or manacles adapted to encircle and confine the wrist or ankle of a person in the custody of law enforcement , this person being referred to herein as a prisoner . each cuff 102 includes a cheek plate 104 , ratchet 106 pivotably attached to the cheek plate by means of hinge 109 , and a primary keyway 120 configured to receive a cuff key . the cheek plate 104 conceals a pawl with teeth 130 that engage the teeth 108 of the ratchet 106 . the cuffs 102 are flexibly coupled together with a chain 110 or bolt and swivel eyes 112 to bind the prisoner &# 39 ; s wrists or ankles together . referring to fig2 , each cuff 102 comprises a cheek plate 104 of hardened - steel for housing one or more mechanical and electronic locks , a ratchet 106 rotatably attached to the cuff housing by means of a pivot point 109 , a primary keyway 120 sized to receive a cuff key to disengage a single lock mechanism and double lock mechanism , and a secondary keyway 220 sized to receive the pin of a cuff key to engage the double lock mechanism . in accordance with some embodiments , the cuff further incorporates one or more electronic locks including a first electronic lock 260 and a second electronic lock 270 , each of which is electrically coupled to a passcode processor 250 protectively concealed within the cuff . illustrated in fig3 is an exemplary cuff key 300 , which functions at both a mechanical level and an electrical level to open the electronic restraint system . in the preferred embodiment , the lower portion 310 of the cuff key comprises a form of barrel key with a hollow , cylindrical shaft 312 and a rectangular tooth or bit 316 . the barrel 310 is sized to fit within the primary keyway 120 and over a protrusion 122 that juts into the primary keyway from the inside of the cuff . the rectangular tooth or bit 316 is configured to turn within the cuff housing and unlock the single lock and double lock mechanisms . in addition , the upper portion of the cuff key includes an eye hole 322 and a pin 320 adapted to engage the double lock mechanism and the second electronic lock when inserted into the second keyway 220 . the central portion of the cuff key includes a passcode generator 350 for communicating an internal passcode to the cuff as well as a battery 360 configured to provide operational power to the passcode generator 350 , the passcode processor 250 , the first electronic lock 260 , and the second electronic lock 270 . illustrated in fig4 is a partial cross section of a cuff with the single lock mechanism engaged ( i . e ., locked ) and the double lock mechanism disengaged ( i . e ., unlocked ). the cuff includes a housing defined by wall 402 , a ratchet 106 , a pawl 410 with spring 412 , a lifter arm 420 , and a bolt 430 . consistent with a conventional cuff with the single lock engaged , the spring 412 continually biases the pawl 410 downward toward the ratchet 106 . the pawl 410 , however , may be raised upward when the ratchet 106 is closed if and when the slopped faces of the ratchet &# 39 ; s teeth 108 are forced from right to left . as such , the single lock mechanism of the present embodiment allows the ratchet 106 to freely rotate in a closing direction ( counter - clockwise about hinge 109 ) toward the housing to enable law enforcement personnel to quickly immobilize a prisoner &# 39 ; s wrist or ankle , for example . due to the asymmetric shape of the teeth on the ratchet and pawl , however , the single lock mechanism generally prevents the ratchet 106 from rotating in an opening direction ( clockwise ) unless the single lock mechanism is first disengaged with the cuff key 300 . illustrated in fig5 is a partial cross section of a cuff 102 as the single lock is disengaged . to mechanically disengage the single lock , the cuff key is inserted into the first keyway 120 and the key turned clockwise to engage a flange 423 on the lifter arm 420 . when turned beyond about 135 degrees , the key &# 39 ; s bit 316 pulls the lifter arm 420 away from the ratchet 106 in a generally upward direction . when a torque sufficient to compress the spring 412 is applied , the lifter arm 420 pivots counter - clockwise about its axis 422 , which causes the distal end at the right to push the pawl 410 upward away from the ratchet . the preferred embodiment of the cuff further includes a double lock mechanism for added security . illustrated in fig6 is a partial cross section of a cuff with both the single lock mechanism and double lock mechanism engaged . the double lock is engaged by inserting the cuff key &# 39 ; s pin 320 into the secondary keyway 220 to push the bolt 430 to the right into a position directly between the pawl 410 and housing wall 402 , thereby preventing the pawl from being lifted away from the ratchet 106 . as such , the pawl 410 is held in place to prevent the ratchet 106 from either opening ( loosened ) or closing ( tightened ) until the double lock is subsequently disengaged . to disengage the double lock , the same cuff key used for the single lock is inserted into the primary keyway 120 and turned counter clockwise ( opposite direction needed to unlock the single lock mechanism ), which pushes the bolt 430 back to the left when the key &# 39 ; s bit 316 engages a flange 630 on the bolt 430 . when pushed back to its initial station , the bolt 430 is once again clear of the pawl 410 to permit the pawl to retract from the ratchet 106 . the cuff 102 of the preferred embodiment further includes a first electronic lock 260 and a second electronic lock 270 . the first and second electronic locks are configured to cooperate with and reinforce the single and double lock mechanisms , respectively . both electronic locks are connected to the passcode processor 250 configured to compare the passcode received from a key to a stored passcode before disengaging the electronic locks . the passcode is communicated to the processor 250 by means of one or more electrical contacts 314 in the cuff key &# 39 ; s bit 316 and corresponding electrical contacts in one or more of the keyway 120 , 220 . when the first electronic lock 260 is engaged , for example , the single lock mechanism can only be opened when the processor 250 receives the proper security code from a cuff key inserted into the primary keyway 120 . the electronic cuff cannot , therefore , be opened by a standard cuff key even though it possesses the same physical shape and dimensions as the electronic cuff key 300 depicted in fig3 . the first electronic lock 260 is automatically engaged when the single lock mechanism is engaged ( i . e ., when the ratchet engages the pawl ), and automatically disengaged when the proper key is inserted and / or turned clockwise in the primary keyway 120 . similarly , the second electronic lock 270 is automatically engaged when the double lock mechanism is engaged via the second keyway 220 ( i . e ., when the bolt is slid behind the pawl ), and automatically disengaged when the proper key is inserted and / or turned counter - clockwise in the first keyway 120 . referring to fig4 again , the first electronic lock 260 includes a first actuator while the second electronic lock 270 includes a second actuator , both of which are connected to the passcode processor 250 . in the preferred embodiment , the actuators are electromagnetic solenoids although various other types of linear and rotary actuators known to those skilled in the art may be employed . the first actuator includes a coil 450 and a retractable projection 452 . when engaged , the projection 452 extends into the path of the lifter arm 420 , thereby preventing the lifter arm from pulling the pawl 410 away from the ratchet 106 . referring to fig5 again , if and when the first electronic lock is disengaged , the processor 250 applies a power signal to the first solenoid 260 , which causes the projection 452 to be temporarily retracted . when retracted , the lifter arm 420 may be turned counter - clockwise and the pawl 410 lifted . without the proper key , the projection 452 remains extended to prevent a key from turning the lifter arm 420 to open the ratchet . referring to fig6 again , the second solenoid 270 also includes an electromagnetic coil 460 and a projection 462 adapted to physically obstruct the bolt 430 from sliding in an unlocking direction without the proper cuff key . if and when the second electronic lock is disengaged , the processor 250 applies a power signal to the second solenoid 270 , which causes the projection 462 to be retracted from a recess in the bolt . with the projection 462 clear of the bolt 430 , the bolt may be manually slid to the left and clear of the pawl 410 . without the proper key , the projection 462 secures the bolt 410 to prevent a key from disengaging the second lock mechanism . in accordance with some embodiments , the power to actuate the first and second solenoids is provided by the cuff key 300 , which includes a portable energy source including one or more batteries 360 . the power signal may be transmitted serially after the passcode is transmitted to the cuff 102 , transmitted in parallel via a second channel operably coupling the key and passcode processor , or communicated to the cuff via a capacitive or inductive link . the cuff 102 in the preferred embodiment , however , does not include any internal energy source . the passcode processor 250 in the preferred embodiment is a solid state micro - processor such as a programmed integrated circuits ( pic ), for example . the processor authenticates the passcode by comparing the passcode received from the key to one or more approved passcodes retained in on - board memory in the cuff &# 39 ; s passcode processor 250 , for example . a passcode is preferably a 256 or 512 bit digital code or combination representing an alphanumeric string of characters . the passcode may be stored to on - board memory when the cuff is manufactured ; programmably written to memory using an erasable programmable read - only - memory ( eprom ), for example ; or a combination thereof . the set of passcodes with which the cuff 102 can be opened may consist of a single passcode associated with one or more keys , or comprise multiple passcodes associated with different geographic areas or the different levels of a law enforcement organization . for example , there may be a first passcode associated with the key of an officer ; a second passcode associated with a local law enforcement department , a third passcode associated with a county law enforcement department ; a fourth passcode associated with a state law enforcement department ; or any combination of the above . this avoids the problems associated with the universal key in traditional cuffs . the preferred embodiment also isolates problems due to lost keys , for example , since the loss of a key used in one police department does not affect another department using a different passcode . in some embodiments , the cuff 102 is further adapted to retain a black list including passcodes that are barred from unlocking the cuff , thereby providing a mechanism for neutralizing the passcodes associated with keys that are lost or stolen , for example . the authorized passcodes and black list codes may be periodically uploaded to the cuff using a docking station , such as a cradle maintained by the law enforcement office or manufacturer . the electronic cuff key 300 in the preferred embodiment comprises a traditional skeleton key or barrel key with one or more bits 316 having one or more electrical contacts 314 ; a memory for retaining one or more passcodes ; a processor 350 or circuit board for generating the passcode ; one or more batteries 360 or other power source ; and a cylinder 370 to house the batteries . the key 300 should be sufficiently large to prevent a stolen key from being easily concealed by a prisoner during a pat - down search , for example . this may be effectively achieved using a key with two or more aa or aaa batteries , for example . the key may have assigned to it a unique serial number that is also communicated to the cuff each time the cuff is unlocked . in some embodiments , the cuff key 300 includes a miniature recharging apparatus in the key , the recharging apparatus being consistent with the recharger used in hands - free headsets for cellular phones . a light emitting diode may be used as a low battery charge level indicator , and / or an audible alert used to notify the user of a low battery charge level or malfunction . when low , the batteries can then be recharged with a ac to dc converter , which could save the law enforcement departments the expense of replacing batteries . in some embodiments , the key and / or cuff includes a light emitting diode ( led ) whose light level can be used to indicate to law enforcement personnel whether the first or second locking mechanism has been properly engaged and / or disengaged . similarly , the cuff key 300 and / or cuff 102 may include an audible alarm for generating a beep to indicate when the electronic cuff is locked and / or unlocked . in some additional embodiments , the cuff 102 is adapted to measure , record , and upload information about the cuff and key usage . information indicating the degree to which the cuff is locked may also be recorded to enable law enforcement to reconstruct the conditions under which cuff was applied to a prisoner . that is , the cuff 102 is adapted to indicate the position of the ratchet relative to the housing , thus indicating how much or how little pressure was used to constrain the prisoner &# 39 ; s wrist within the cuff . the position of the ratchet may be measured and recorded in terms of the number and position of the ratchet teeth 108 that engage the pawl 410 when the cuff is secured in the single or double locked position . the information may further include a timestamp and the information periodically uploaded to a cradle or docking station , for example . the information recorded by the cuff for subsequent download may further include the serial number of the previous one or more keys used to unlock the cuff . this information may then be stored in the cuff and retrieved if necessary to identify which key was used to unlock the cuff , determine the identity of the person to whom the key was assigned , and whether the individual with the key was authorized to unlock the cuff . the preferred embodiment of the invention herein is intended for use in a cuff or other restraint system . one skilled in the art , however , will appreciate that the invention is also applicable to numerous other locking applications including automobiles , homes , gates , filing cabinets , lock boxes , safes , chests , briefcases , padlocks , and trigger locks , for example . although the description above contains many specifications , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . therefore , the invention has been disclosed by way of example and not limitation , and reference should be made to the following claims to determine the scope of the present invention .	8
fig1 illustrates a system overview of a network 10 employing a centrally administered directory server for managing the service quality of the network environment , in accordance with the present invention . network 10 includes a network backbone 101 connected between a plurality of network nodes . network 10 also includes several other nodes 105 , 107 , 109 which act as clients ( hereinafter &# 34 ; client ( s )&# 34 ;) of a directory server 103 , such as a workstation . client ( s ) 105 , 107 , 109 interact with directory server 103 , across communication links and nodes of network 10 , to regulate service quality and data transmission , across network backbone 101 . directory server 103 also notifies a designated third - party or parties , generally indicated by the reference numeral 111 , upon an occurrence of a specified event , such as if directory information of directory server 103 is accessed and / or modified , specifically by an untrustworthy client of directory server 103 . the incorporation of such a third - party notification feature allows third party 111 to enforce traffic class priorities and access characteristics and to ensure that an untrustworthy client is not sending improperly marked data , across network backbone 111 . that is , such an arrangement provides a monitoring mechanism for tracking network access requests , particularly those originating from untrustworthy users , such as hackers , who attempt to alter the priority levels of message requests through the network . in such instances , the directory server can notify a third - party in - charge of an occurrence of a particular network access request and other related information ( e . g ., origin , results , etc .). this allows the third party to take preventive measures to maintain the priority levels of message requests through the network , particularly those priority levels defined by service level agreements . such preventive measures may include transmitting a warning message to individual / device ( e . g ., the sender ) that is responsible for the network access request , preventing the responsible individual / device from accessing the network or any other suitable measures that will deter individuals from tampering with the priorities of message requests through the network . the term third - party or third - party node , as used herein , generally refers to any device that is notified by the directory server upon the occurrence of a specified event . a third - party may be a local device connected to the directory server , a remote device connected to the network backbone ( such as a client ), or a device situated at any location , so long as the directory server can communicate with the remote device . fig2 illustrates a directory database 309 for storing directory information ( also referred to as data items ) in a plurality of entries 200 . each entry 200 includes multiple fields for specifying particular attributes of the directory information stored in the entry . for instance , fields 201 through 200 + n can specify different properties about the entry and are representative of fields typically maintained by a state - of - the - art directory . field 211 represents a queryagents field which includes a list of addresses of third parties ( such as their network addresses ) who need to be notified anytime a directory entry is queried by another client of directory server 103 . field 213 represents a updateagents field which includes a list of addresses of third parties ( such as their network addresses ) who need to be notified anytime a directory entry is altered , i . e ., updated or deleted , by another client of the directory . in addition , directory server 103 may also mark some of the entry classes in directory database 309 as being monitored . when a class is designated for monitoring , directory server 103 notifies the registered directory client ( s ) of any actions taken in the specified entry class , such as whenever a new entry belonging to the class is created . although each entry of directory database 309 is shown as including a queryagents field and a updateagents field , each entry may include any number and type of fields to specify other types of situations or operations on a entry which would require notification of a third arty node . as can be appreciated , the fields of selected entries or a class of entries can be employed as a marking mechanism to mark at least selected entries of directory database 309 for third - party notification or monitoring . such entries can thus be marked by entry , fields of entry , entry class and / or the occurrence of a specific event ( e . g ., update request or query request ). it should also be understood that the information stored in queryagents field and a updateagents field may instead be stored as separate entries or in any other suitable arrangement so long as the information can be readily accessed . directory information stored in directory database 309 may include network regulating rules , such as classification rules , policy rules , pacing rules , general network state information , client statistics , and / or any other type of information necessary to regulate the service quality of a network . the directory information may also include client information , such as employee identifiers , phone numbers , application programs or pathways to access such application programs , private keys , a list of the equipment in the network , a list of the properties of the network , or any other type of centrally maintained information . fig3 illustrates a block diagram of the components of directory server 103 which includes two components found in standard directory servers , namely an access protocol processor 303 and the directory database 309 ( as described in fig2 ). directory access protocol processor 303 , connected to network backbone 101 via an interface 311 , is responsible for communicating with directory clients . directory access protocol processor 303 employs known directory access protocols , such as lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) to communicate with directory clients . directory access protocol processor 303 converts requests from a client into directory database access requests , according to a protocol which is associated with database 309 , such as sequential query language ( sql ). directory database 309 stores directory information ( as described above ) preferably in a manner shown in fig2 . directory database 309 may be a database , such as db2 ( a trademark of ibm ) or oracle ( a trademark of oracle corporation ). other commonly used databases can also be employed as the backends of directory server 103 . the protocol employed by directory access protocol processor 303 to access and modify ( i . e ., update , delete or create a new entry ) directory database 309 is generally known in the art and will not be described in further detail herein . directory server 103 further includes a notification manager 307 which is responsible for monitoring specified activities at directory server 103 and notifying a designated third - party upon the occurrence of the specified event through the use of a communication protocol extension or communication means generally denoted by reference numeral 313 . notification manager 307 is preferably arranged as an intermediate layer between directory access protocol processor 303 and directory database 309 to monitor incoming requests received by directory access protocol processor 303 . notification manager 307 interacts with directory database 309 using a database - specific protocol 317 which is identical to the protocol 305 used by directory access protocol processor 303 to communicate with directory database 309 . such protocols are generally known in the art and will not be discussed in further detail herein . fig4 illustrates an embodiment of an algorithm employed to perform third - party notification between directory server 103 and clients ( e . g ., generally indicated by reference numeral 105 , 107 and 109 in fig1 ). when directory server 103 detects an operation on an entry which requires third - party notification , directory server 103 establishes a new connection to a third party 403 to be notified , and sends a notification message 405 informing monitoring node 403 about the triggering event . notification message 405 preferably includes an identity of the directory client accessing directory database 309 , the type of operation requested by the directory client ( i . e ., update , deletion , query or addition ), and the results of the operation . in response to notification message 405 , third party 403 transmits a reply 407 indicating successful receipt of the notification message , or unsuccessful receipt of the notification message ( e . g ., an occurrence of an error ). fig5 describes a flow diagram for performing a query on a directory entry of directory database 309 . the process is initiated in step 501 when a query message is received by directory access protocol processor 303 , and passed onto notification manager 307 . notification manager 307 performs the query on directory database 309 in step 503 , and obtains a resulting list of entries ( or objects ) as a response to the query . notification manager 307 then processes these entries in a loop , shown and described by steps 505 , 507 , 509 and 511 of fig5 . step 505 verifies if the processing has been done for all entries resulting from the query . if so , the query process is terminated in step 513 . otherwise , an entry from the list of entries is extracted in step 507 . in step 509 , notification manager 307 checks to determine whether queryagent field 211 in the entry has been satisfied . if field 211 is empty or not specified , notification manager 307 continues with the loop at step 505 . otherwise , in step 511 , notification manager 307 notifies all third parties listed in queryagent field 211 that a query was made to the specified entry . fig6 illustrates a flow diagram for updating a directory entry of directory database 309 . the process is entered in step 601 when an update message or request is received by directory access protocol processor 303 , and passed onto notification manager 307 . notification manager 307 accesses directory database 309 to obtain the original entry that is to be updated in step 603 , and then retrieves a list of updateagents from updateagents field 213 of directory database 309 in the original entry in step 605 . notification manager 307 then updates the entry in step 607 . notification manager 307 checks if the updateagents list in updateagents field 213 is not empty in step 609 , and if so , transmits a notification message to notify all third - parties enumerated in that list in step 611 . the notification message preferably includes the identity of the client requesting the update operation , and the results of the update . once the notification message is transmitted , the process terminates in step 613 . it is important to note that the determination of the updateagents list is performed prior to the actual update of the entry , since the update may modify this field . fig7 describes a flow diagram of an operational example performed by directory server 103 to notify a third - party as a result of step 609 or 511 of fig6 and 5 , respectively . the process beings at step 701 . in step 703 , directory server 103 checks whether a connection already exists with the third party . if not , in step 705 , directory server 103 establishes a new connection with the third party . then in step 707 , directory server 103 sends an update notification message to the third party . the third party replies with an acknowledgment of the receipt of the notification message in step 709 . after this step , the connection is terminated in step 711 , and the process ends in step 713 . if a connection already exists in step 703 , directory server 103 can send the notification message on the existing connection as indicated in step 715 and receive an acknowledgment in step 717 . thereafter , the process terminates in step 713 . the invention having thus been described with particular reference to the preferred forms thereof , it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	7
in fig1 a subject 100 on a support table 110 is placed in a homogeneous magnetic field generated by a magnet 125 in magnet housing 120 . magnet 125 and magnet housing 120 have cylindrical symmetry and are shown sectioned in half to reveal the position of subject 100 . a region of subject 100 into which a device 150 , shown as a catheter , is inserted , is located in the approximate center of the bore of magnet 125 . subject 100 is surrounded by a set of cylindrical magnetic field gradient coils 130 which create magnetic field gradients of predetermined strength at predetermined times . gradient coils 130 generate magnetic field gradients in three mutually orthogonal directions . an external coil 140 also surrounds the region of interest of subject 100 . coil 140 is shown as a cylindrical external coil which has a diameter sufficient to encompass the entire subject . other geometries , such as smaller cylinders specifically designed for imaging the head or an extremity can be used instead . non - cylindrical external coils , such as surface coils , may alternatively be used . external coil 140 radiates radio frequency ( rf ) energy into subject 100 at predetermined times and with sufficient power at the predetermined frequency that nutates nuclear magnetic spins of subject 100 in a fashion well known to those skilled in the art . the nutation of the spins causes them to resonate at the larmor frequency . the larmor frequency for each spin is directly proportional to the strength of the magnetic field experienced by the spin . this field strength is the sum of the static magnetic field generated by magnet 125 and the local field generated by magnetic field gradient coil 130 . device 150 is inserted into subject 100 by an operator 160 , and may be a guide wire , a catheter , an endoscope , a laparoscope , a biopsy needle or similar device . if it is desirable to follow device 150 in real - time using magnetic resonance , device 150 can be made to contain an rf coil which detects mr signals generated in the subject responsive to the radio frequency field created by external coil 140 . since the rf coil is small , the region of sensitivity is also small . consequently , the detected signals have larmor frequencies which arise only from the strength of the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the coil . these detected signals are sent to an imaging and tracking unit 170 where they are analyzed . the position of device 150 is determined in imaging and tracking unit 170 and is displayed on a display means 180 . in the preferred embodiment of the invention the position of device 150 is displayed on display means 180 by superposition of a graphic symbol on a conventional mr image driven by a superposition means ( not shown ), such as a video graphics subsystem capable of superimposing an icon over an image . in alternative embodiments of the invention , the graphic symbol representing device 150 is superimposed on diagnostic images obtained with other imaging systems such as a computed tomography ( ct ) scanner , a positron emission tomography system or ultrasound scanner . other embodiments of the invention display the position of the device numerically or as a graphic symbol without reference to a diagnostic image . an embodiment of device 150 is shown in greater detail in fig2 . a small rf coil 200 is electrically coupled to the mr system via conductors 210 and 220 . in the preferred embodiment of this invention , conductors 210 and 220 form a co - axial pair . conductors 210 and 220 and rf coil 200 are encased in an outer shell 230 of device 150 . the mr signal arising from the tissue surrounding device 150 is detected . device 150 also incorporates an optical fiber 270 placed so that the distal end of the fiber is near small rf coil 200 . in the current embodiment of the present invention the proximal end is attached to a light source / detector 207 and the distal end of fiber 270 incorporates a small amount of a selected fluorescent substance 275 . fluorescent substance 275 absorbs light propagated to the distal end of fiber 270 and re - emits the light . the re - emission of light occurs over a period of time after the initial light is absorbed with a decay constant which is can be measured and used to compute the temperature of fluorescent substance 275 . this is described in the &# 34 ; fluoroptic thermometer model 790 operator &# 39 ; s guide &# 34 ;, pp . 4 . 1 - 4 . 6 , luxtron corp , 2775 northwestern parkway , santa clara , calif . 95051 - 0903 , copyright december 1992 . wiring within the subject may be replaced with optical fiber , as shown in fig3 for the purpose of preventing rf induced heating . an rf coil 300 is located within the subject . a first transducer circuit 301 is connected to rf coil 300 . first transducer circuit 301 is coupled to an optical fiber 303 , and converts electronic signals to modulated light typically at visible or near - infrared wavelengths . first transducer circuit 301 may be unidirectional passing signal to rf coil 300 , unidirectional passing signals from rf coil 300 to optical fiber 303 , or bi - directional . this includes situations in which rf coil 300 is transmitting , receiving , or both , respectively . rf coil 300 may receive mr signals for mr tracking or for localized mr imaging . at the other end of optical fiber 303 , a second transducer circuit 305 , operates in a manner opposite that of first transducer circuit 301 . for example , if rf coil 300 is receiving an mr response signal , its electrical signal is converted to a modulated optical signal by first transducer circuit 301 passed through optical fiber 303 , converted back to its original electrical signal by second transducer circuit 305 , then passed onto the mr receiver to provide an mr image of the subject and / or rf coil location . first transducer circuit 301 may be powered by a small energy storage device 301b ( battery or capacitor ) and a photo - diode 301a . light may be passed from a light source 307 through optical fiber 303 to first transducer circuit 301 and photodiode 301a , creating current which charges the energy storage device 301b , thereby providing power to first transducer circuit 301 . alternatively , first transducer circuit 301 could have separate optical pathways 303a , 303b or fibers , in which the signal passes through one pathway 303a while power passes to transducer circuit 303b in another separate pathway . fig4 is a block diagram of an mr system suitable for imaging and device tracking . the system comprises a controller 900 which provides control signals to a set of magnetic field gradient amplifiers 910 . these amplifiers drive magnetic field gradient coils 130 situated within magnet housing 120 ( fig1 ). gradient coils 130 are capable of generating magnetic field gradients in three mutually orthogonal directions . controller 900 also generates signals which are sent to a transmitter means 930 . these signals from controller 900 cause transmitter means 930 to generate rf pulses at a selected frequency and of suitable power to nutate selected spins in the region of the subject situated within external coil 140 which , in turn , is situated within the bore of magnet 125 . an mr signal is induced in rf coil 200 , 300 ( fig3 ), ( fig2 ) connected to a receiver means 940 which may be connected through optical coupling of fig3 . receiver means 940 processes the mr signal by amplifying , demodulating , filtering and digitizing it . controller 900 also collects signals from receiver means 940 and propagates it to a calculation means 950 where it is processed . calculation means 950 applies a fourier transformation to the signal received from controller 900 to arrive at a position of coil 200 , 300 . the results calculated by calculation means 950 are displayed on an image display means 180 . the mr system of fig4 also incorporates a safety monitoring subsystem 990 which includes a temperature monitoring means 992 and a safety interlock means 994 . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention a light source / detector 207 of fig2 generates light pulses which are propagated to fluorescent substance 275 located at the distal end of optical fiber 270 located in device 150 . temperature monitoring means 992 of fig4 detects the fluorescent decay , measures the decay rate and computes the temperature of fluorescent substance 275 . it should be noted that the spirit of the present invention is not limited to temperature detection based upon fluorescent decay , but includes all temperature monitoring means , such as a thermistor or thermocouple . in the present embodiment , safety interlock means 994 is connected to controller 900 . if temperature monitoring means 992 detects a rise in temperature in excess of a selected threshold , then a signal is propagated from safety interlock means 994 to controller means 900 causing controller means to either reduce rf power , reduce the rf duty cycle or terminate the current magnetic resonance rf and gradient pulse sequence . temperature monitoring means 992 can also be used to trigger an audio alarm 993 when a threshold has been exceeded to notify the operator of the rise in temperature . while several presently preferred embodiments of the novel temperature monitoring subsystem for magnetic resonance procedures have been described in detail herein , many modifications and variations will now become apparent to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit of the invention .	6
in overview , the preferred embodiments of the present invention are achieved by a miniature flashlight having a cylindrical tube containing one or more miniature dry cell batteries disposed in a series arrangement , a lamp bulb holder assembly including electrical conductors for making electrical contact between terminals of a miniature lamp held therein and the cylindrical tube and an electrode of the battery , respectively , retained in one end of the cylindrical tube adjacent the batteries , a tail cap and spring member enclosing the other end of the cylindrical tube and providing an electrical contact to the other electrode of the batteries , and a head assembly including a reflector , a lens , and a face cap , which head assembly is rotatably mounted to the cylindrical tube such that the lamp bulb extends through a hole in the center of the reflector within the lens . in the principle embodiment , the batteries are of the size commonly referred to as &# 34 ; pen light &# 34 ; batteries . the head assembly engages threads formed on the exterior of the cylindrical tube such that rotation of the head assembly about the axis of the cylindrical tube will change the relative displacement between the lens and the lamp bulb . when the head assembly is fully rotated onto the cylindrical tube , the reflector pushes against the forward end of the lamp holder assembly causing it to shift rearwardly within the cylindrical tube against the urging of the spring contact at the tail cap . in this position , the electrical conductor within the lamp holder assembly which completes the electrical circuit from the lamp bulb to the cylindrical tube is not in contact with the tube . upon rotation of the head assembly in a direction causing the head assembly to move forwardly with respect to the cylindrical tube , pressure on the forward surface of the lamp holder assembly from the reflector is relaxed enabling the spring contact in the tail cap to urge the batteries and the lamp holder assembly in a forward direction , which brings the electrical conductor into contact with the cylindrical tube , thereby completing the electrical circuit and causing the lamp bulb to illuminate . at this point , the lamp holder assembly engages a stop which prevents further forward motion of the lamp holder assembly with respect to the cylindrical tube . continued rotation of the head assembly in a direction causing the head assembly to move forwardly relative to the cylindrical tube causes the reflector to move forwardly relative to the lamp bulb , thereby changing the focus of the reflector with respect to the lamp bulb , which results in varying the dispersion of the light beam admitted through the lens . in certain embodiments , by rotating the head assembly until it disengages from the cylindrical tube , the head assembly may be placed , lens down , on a substantially horizontal surface and the tail cap and cylindrical tube may be vertically inserted therein to provide a miniature &# 34 ; table lamp .&# 34 ; referring first to fig1 a miniature flashlight in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in perspective , generally at 20 . the miniature flashlight 20 is comprised of a generally right circular cylinder , or barrel 21 , forming a battery housing and enclosed at a first end by a tail cap 22 and having a head assembly 23 enclosing a second end thereof . the head assembly comprises a head 24 to which is affixed a face or lens retainer cap 25 which retains a lens 26 . the head assembly 23 has a diameter greater than that of the barrel 21 and is adapted to pass externally over the exterior of the barrel 21 . the barrel 21 may provide a machined handle surface 27 along its axial extent . the tail cap 22 may be configured to include provision for attaching a handling lanyard through a hole 28 in a tab 29 formed therein . referring next to fig2 the barrel 21 is seen to have an extent sufficient to enclose two miniature dry cell batteries 31 disposed in a series arrangement . the tail cap 22 has a region of external threading 32 which engages mating threads formed on the interior surface of the barrel 21 . a sealing element 33 , in the form of an o - ring or one - way valve , is provided at the interface between the tail cap 22 and the barrel 21 to provide a watertight seal . a spring member 34 is disposed within the barrel 21 so as to make electrical contact with the tail cap 22 and a case electrode 35 of an adjacent battery 31 . the spring member 34 also urges the batteries 31 in a direction indicated by an arrow 36 . a center electrode 37 of the rearmost battery 31 is in contact with the case electrode of the forward battery 31 . the center electrode 38 of the forward battery is urged into contact with a first conductor 39 mounted within a lower insulator receptacle 41 . the lower insulator receptacle 41 also has affixed therein a side contact conductor 42 . both the center conductor 39 and the side contact conductor 42 pass through holes formed in the lower insulator receptacle in an axial direction , and both are adapted to frictionally receive and retain the terminal electrodes 43 and 44 of a miniature bi - pin lamp bulb 45 . absent further assembly , the lower insulator receptacle is urged in the direction indicated by the arrow 36 , by the action of the spring 34 , to move until it comes into contact with a lip 46 formed on the end of the barrel 21 . at that point electrical contact is made between the side contact conductor 42 and the lip 46 of the barrel 21 . an upper insulator receptacle 47 is disposed external to the end of the barrel 21 whereat the lower insulator receptacle 41 is installed . the upper insulator receptacle 47 has extensions that are configured to mate with the lower insulator receptacle 41 to maintain an appropriate spacing between opposing surfaces of the upper insulator receptacle 47 and the lower insulator receptacle 41 . the lamp electrodes 43 and 44 of the lamp bulb 45 pass through the upper insulator receptacle 47 and into electrical contact with the center conductor 39 and the side contact conductor 42 , respectively , while the casing of the lamp bulb 45 rests against an outer surface of the upper insulator receptacle the head assembly 23 is installed external to the barrel 21 by engaging threads 48 formed on an interior surface of the head 24 engaging with mating threads formed on the exterior surface of the barrel 21 . a sealing element 49 is installed around the circumference of the barrel 21 adjacent the threads to provide a water - tight seal between the head assembly 23 and the barrel 21 . a substantially parabolic reflector 51 is configured to be disposed within the outermost end of the head 24 , whereat it is rigidly held in place by the lens 26 which is in turn retained by the face cap 25 which is threadably engaged with threads 52 formed on the forward portion of the outer diameter of the head 24 . a sealing element 53 may be incorporated at the interface between the face cap 25 and the head 24 to provide a water - tight seal . when the head 24 is fully screwed onto the barrel 21 by means of the threads 48 , the central portion of the reflector 51 surrounding a hole formed therein for passage of the lamp bulb 45 , is formed against the outermost surface of the upper insulator receptacle 47 , urging it in a direction counter to that indicated by the arrow 36 . the upper insulator receptacle 47 then pushes the lower insulator receptacle 41 in the same direction , thereby providing a space between the forward most surface of the lower insulator receptacle 41 and the lip 46 on the forward end of the barrel 21 . the side contact conductor 42 is thus separated from contact with the lip 46 on the barrel 21 as is shown in fig2 . referring next to fig3 appropriate rotation of the head 24 about the axis of the barrel 21 causes the head assembly 23 to move in the direction indicated by the arrow 36 through the engagement of the threads 48 . upon reaching the relative positions indicated in fig3 by the solid lines , the head assembly 23 has progressed a sufficient distance in the direction of the arrow 36 such that the reflector 51 has also moved a like distance , enabling the upper insulator receptacle 47 and the lower insulator receptacle 41 to be moved , by the urging of the spring 34 ( fig2 ) translating the batteries 31 in the direction of the arrow 36 , to the illustrated position . in this position , the side contact conductor 42 has been brought into contact with the lip 46 on the forward end of the barrel 21 , which closes the electrical circuit . further rotation of the head assembly 23 so as to cause further translation of the head assembly 23 in the direction indicated by the arrow 36 will result in the head assembly 23 reaching a position indicated by the ghost image of fig3 placing the face cap at the position 25 &# 39 ; and the lens at the position indicated by 26 &# 39 ;, which in turn carries the reflector 51 to a position 51 &# 39 ;. during this operation , the upper insulator receptacle 47 remains in a fixed position relative to the barrel 21 . thus the lamp bulb 45 also remains in a fixed position . the shifting of the reflector 51 relative to the lamp bulb 45 during this additional rotation of the head assembly 23 produces a relative shift in the position of the filament of the lamp bulb 45 with respect to a focus of the parabola of the reflector 51 , thereby varying the dispersion of the light beam emanating from the lamp bulb 45 through the lens 26 . referring next to fig4 a partial cross - sectional view illustrates the interface between the lower insulator receptacle 41 and the upper insulator receptacle 47 . the lower insulator receptacle 41 has a pair of parallel slots 54 formed therethrough which are enlarged in their center portion to receive the center conductor 39 and the side contact conductor 42 , respectively . a pair of arcuate recesses 55 are formed in the lower insulator receptacle 41 and receive matching arcuate extensions of the upper insulator receptacle 47 . the lower insulator receptacle 41 is movably contained within the inner diameter of the barrel 21 which is in turn , at the location of the illustrated cross - section , enclosed within the head 24 . referring next to fig5 through 7 , a preferred procedure for the assembly of the lower insulator receptacle 41 , the center conductor 39 , the side contact conductor 42 , the upper insulator receptacle 47 and the miniature lamp bulb 45 may be described . placing the lower insulator receptacle 41 in a position such that the arcuate recesses 55 are directionally oriented towards the forward end of the barrel 21 and the lip 46 , the center conductor 39 is inserted through one of the slots 54 such that a substantially circular end section 56 extends outwardly from the rear surface of the lower insulator receptacle 41 . the circular end section 56 is then bent , as shown in fig7 to be parallel with the rearmost surface of the lower insulator receptacle 41 in a position centered to match the center electrode of the forwardmost one of the batteries 31 of fig2 . the side contact conductor 42 is then inserted into the other slot 54 such that a radial projection 57 extends outwardly from the axial center of the lower insulator receptacle 41 . it is to be noted that the radial projection 57 aligns with a web 58 between the two arcuate recesses 55 . the lower insulator receptacle 41 , with its assembled conductors , is then inserted in the rearward end of the barrel 21 and is slidably translated to a forward position immediately adjacent the lip 46 . the lamp electrodes 43 and 44 are then passed through a pair of holes 59 formed through the forward surface of the upper insulator receptacle 47 so that they project outwardly from the rear surface thereof as illustrated in fig6 . the upper insulator receptacle 47 , containing the lamp bulb 45 , is then translated such that the lamp electrodes 43 and 44 align with receiving portions of the side contact conductor 42 and the center conductor 39 , respectively . a pair of notches 61 , formed in the upper insulator receptacle 47 , are thus aligned with the webs 58 of the lower insulator receptacle 41 . the upper insulator receptacle 47 is then inserted into the arcuate recesses 55 in the lower insulator receptacle 41 through the forward end of the barrel 21 . referring again to fig2 and 3 , the electrical circuit of the miniature flashlight in accordance with the present invention will now be described . electrical energy is conducted from the rearmost battery 31 through its center contact 37 which is in contact with the case electrode of the forward battery 31 . electrical energy is then conducted from the forward battery 31 through its center electrode 38 to the center contact 39 which is coupled to the lamp electrode 44 . after passing through the lamp bulb 45 , the electrical energy emerges through the lamp electrode 43 which is coupled to the side contact conductor 42 . when the head assembly 23 has been rotated about the threads 48 to the position illustrated in fig2 the side contact conductor 42 does not contact the lip 46 of the barrel 21 , thereby resulting in an open electrical circuit . however , when the head assembly 23 has been rotated about the threads 48 to the position illustrated by the solid lines of fig3 the side contact conductor 42 is pressed against the lip 46 by the lower insulator receptacle 41 being urged in the direction of the arrow 36 by the spring 34 of fig2 . in this configuration , electrical energy may then flow from the side contact conductor 42 into the lip 46 , through the barrel 21 and into the tail cap 22 of fig2 . the spring 34 electrically couples the tail cap 22 to the case electrode 35 of the rearmost battery 31 . by rotating the head assembly 23 about the threads 48 such that the head assembly 23 moves in a direction counter to that indicated by the arrow 36 , the head assembly 23 may be restored to the position illustrated in fig2 thereby opening the electrical circuit and turning off the flashlight . referring next to fig8 an additional utilization of the miniature flashlight 20 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated . by rotating the head assembly 23 about the threads 48 in a direction causing the head assembly 23 to translate relative to the barrel 21 in the direction of the arrow 36 of fig3 the electrical circuit will be closed as previously described , and the lamp bulb 45 will be illuminated . continued rotation of the head assembly 23 in that direction enables the head assembly 23 to be completely removed from the forward end of the miniature flashlight 20 . by placing the head assembly 23 upon a substantially horizontal surface ( not illustrated ) such that the face cap 25 rests on the surface , the tail cap 22 of the miniature flashlight 20 may be inserted into the head 24 to hold the barrel 21 in a substantially vertical alignment . since the reflector 51 ( fig2 ) is located within the head assembly 23 , the lamp bulb 45 will omit a substantially spherical illumination , thereby providing an &# 34 ; ambient &# 34 ; light level . in a preferred embodiment , the barrel 21 , the tail cap 22 , the head 24 , and the face cap 25 , forming all of the exterior metal surfaces of the miniature flashlight 20 are manufactured from aircraft quality , heat - treated aluminum , which is anodized for corrosion resistance . the sealing elements 33 , 49 , and 53 provide atmpspheric sealing of the interior of the miniature flashlight 20 which may be to a water depth of 200 feet . all interior electrical contact surfaces are appropriately machined to provide efficient electrical conduction . the reflector 51 is a computer generated parabola which is vacuum aluminum metallized to ensure high precision optics . the threads 48 between the head 24 and the barrel 21 are machined such that revolution of the head assembly 23 through less than 1 / 4 turn will close the electrical circuit , turning the flashlight on , and an additional 1 / 4 turn will adjust the light beam from a &# 34 ; spot &# 34 ; to a &# 34 ; soft flood &# 34 ;. a spare lamp bulb 45 may be provided in a cavity machined in the tail cap 22 . turning to fig9 through 12 , a further preferred embodiment is illustrated . similar numerals define similar components to those referenced in earlier figures . of note is a plastic insert positioned in the tail cap 22 . this plastic insert surrounds the spare bulb 45 for retention thereof . looking in greater detail to the seal 33 between the tail cap 22 and the barrel 21 , a one - way valve 62 is presented in a circumferential channel 63 within the tail cap 22 . a cylindrical inner surface 64 provided on the barrel 21 cooperates with the one - way valve 62 . the one - way valve 62 is provided by a lip seal having a flexible flange 65 which is sized to compress against the cylindrical inner surface 64 of the barrel 21 . as the flexible flange 65 is inclined away from the interior volume of the flashlight , it is oriented to prevent flow from outside into the interior of the flashlight and yet allows overpressure within the flashlight to escape . to insure passage of overpressure gases from the interior volume of the flashlight , a passage is to exist across the one - way valve 62 . in the embodiment illustrated most clearly in fig1 , the interior threads 66 of the barrel 21 have a flattened top , thus creating a spiral passage through the mating threads between the barrel 21 and the tail cap 22 . additionally , radial splines 67 are formed in the tail cap 22 as illustrated in fig1 . these insure multiple paths so that the very end of the barrel 21 does not seal against the associated flange of the tail cap 22 to prevent one - way flow of overpressure gases from the interior of the flashlight . a further embodiment is illustrated in fig1 . this embodiment is substantially like that of fig9 through 12 with the exception that all of the seals 33 , 49 , 53 and 68 are simple o - rings . to form a one - way valve , an insert 69 is positioned within a cylindrical cavity 70 . the insert 69 is similar to that otherwise employed to receive the spare bulb 45 . longitudinal channels 71 extend along the body of the insert 69 . circumferentially placed about the insert 69 is an integral lip seal defined by a flexible flange 72 . this flexible flange 72 extends toward the rear of the tail cap 22 such that air passing through the channels 71 may force the flexible flange 72 inwardly to release overpressure within the interior volume of the flashlight . a hole 73 provides a through passage through the end of the tail cap 22 such that a passage is created from the interior volume and controlled by the one - way valve defined by the flexible flange 72 . a further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . it may be noted that both the seal 33 and the seal 49 include one - way valves . the head assembly is also differently configured and this flashlight is contemplated to use a single cell and be even further miniaturized over the other embodiments . structural details not common to the other described embodiments are similar to those found in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 864 , 474 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . fig1 illustrates yet another embodiment which one - way valves illustrated at seals 33 , 49 and 53 . it is contemplated that only one such seal would be necessary and any one or more of these locations might prove sufficient . it may also be noted in fig1 that the seal 49 is positioned within a channel located in the head assembly 23 rather than in the wall of the barrel 21 . accordingly , improved high quality miniature flashlights are presented in the foregoing disclosure . while described preferred embodiments of the herein invention have been described , numerous modifications , alterations , alternate embodiments , and alternate materials may be contemplated by those skilled in the art and may be utilized in accomplishing the present invention . it is envisioned that all such alternate embodiments are considered to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .	5
a quaternary ammonium phosphate compound having the above formula 1 is prepared as follows . a quaternary ammonium chloride contains a n - benzyl group in a parental core of a quaternary ammonium salt and is preferably selected from the group consisting of n - dimethyl - n -[ p -( α , α , γ , γ )- tetramethyl butyl phenoxy ] ethoxy ethyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , a mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride and n - dimethyl - n - octadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , and 4 - benzyl - 4 - tetradecyl morpholinium chloride . the metal hydroxide contains a mono -, di - or trivalent metal , preferably a monovalent metal , and more preferably sodium or potassium . a step for preparing the quaternary ammonium hydroxide is a typical equilibrium reaction so that the reaction can be optimized by changing the ratio of equivalents of reactants , solvents and conditions of the reaction . the step is preferably carried out in a solvent containing an alcohol with 1 to 4 of carbon atom ( s ), preferably an ethanol , and more preferably an anhydrous ethanol . when a mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride and n - dimethyl - n - octadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride is used as a starting material , the content of water can be minimized and the yield can be maximized by using the solid mixture having been crystallized with a drying method such as a lyophilization method . the metal hydroxide is preferably 1 . 05 ˜ 2 . 0 equivalents to the quaternary ammonium chloride . if less 1 . 05 equivalents , the reaction rate is decreased and if more 2 . 0 equivalents , decomposition reaction may occur . the reaction is performed at 0 ˜ 35 ° c . so that a hofmann elimination and rearrangement reaction occurring under a high - temperature alkaline condition can be suppressed and the reaction can be finished within 8 hours . therefore , a filtrate containing the quaternary ammonium hydroxide is not required to separate and can be used directly in the subsequent step so that the prior filtrate drying step , where a considerable quantity of the quaternary ammonium hydroxide is decomposed , can be omitted . a reaction between a quaternary ammonium hydroxide and a phosphoric acid is a neutralization reaction and even if some heat is generated , another side reaction is not likely to occur and therefore a separate cooling step is not required . if the residual metal hydroxide remains in the solution , it reacts quickly with dihydrogen phosphate ions preferentially and can be extracted and removed easily in the form of a metal phosphate salt . a quaternary ammonium chloride having the above formula 4 is added and dissolved at room temperature in an alcohol solvent with 1 to 4 of carbon atom ( s ). a small quantity of a metal hydroxide containing a mono -, di - or trivalent metal is admixed and the solution is agitated for 1 ˜ 8 hour ( s ). as the reaction is proceeded , a metal chloride is precipitated and the solution becomes turbid . after the reaction ends , the solution is cooled at a low temperature of about 0 ° c . and a white metal chloride is completely removed . then a filtrate containing a quaternary ammonium hydroxide intermediate having the above formula 3 is obtained . a phosphoric acid of equivalents corresponding to those of the quaternary ammonium hydroxide intermediate and the residual metal hydroxide is added with a dropping funnel at room temperature and an acid - base reaction is proceeded . a metal phosphate is extracted and separated with a filter . removal of the solvent from the obtained solution by drying gives an oily paste or a white powdery quaternary ammonium phosphate . a preferred embodiment of this invention will be explained with reference to the following examples . 50 ml of ethanol was added in a 100 ml round flask . 10 . 0 g ( 22 mmol ) of n - dimethyl - n -[ p -( α , α , γ , γ )- tetramethyl butyl phenoxy ] ethoxy ethyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride was added and dissolved at room temperature and then 2 . 21 g ( 33 mmol , 85 %) of ground potassium hydroxide was added . equipped with an anhydrous calcium chloride tube , the solution was agitated at a high rate for 6 hours . precipitates were formed in the solution after the elapse of time . the solution was cooled in an ice bath and filtered off . washing of the precipitates with cold ethanol gave 1 . 6 g of potassium chloride . 4 . 18 g ( 33 mmol ) of 85 % phosphoric acid was admixed with the filtrate and after 1 hour , the residual potassium phosphate was extracted and filtered . removal of the solvent and drying of the solid gave 11 . 0 g of solid n - dimethyl - n -[ p -( α , α , γ , γ )- tetramethyl butyl phenoxy ] ethoxy ethyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate . a result of a 1 h - nmr analysis of the compound is shown as δ 7 . 60 ˜ 7 . 40 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 26 ˜ 7 . 27 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 78 ( d . 2h ), 4 . 93 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 12 ˜ 3 . 90 ( t , 8h ), 3 . 30 ( s , 6h ), 1 . 69 ( s , 6h ), 1 , 69 ( s , 6h ), 1 . 33 ( s , 6h ) and 0 . 70 ( s , 9h ). 9 . 68 g of solid n - dimethyl - n -[ p -( α , α , γ , γ )- tetramethyl butyl phenoxy ] ethoxy ethyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate obtained in example 1 was dissolved in 4 ml of boiling isopropyl alcohol and recrystallized with a boiling ethylacetate solvent . 7 . 50 g of white powdery n - dimethyl - n -[ p -( α , α , γ , γ )- tetramethyl butyl phenoxy ] ethoxy ethyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate was obtained . the melting point of the compound was 188 ˜ 192 ° c . and a result of a 1 h - nmr analysis of the compound is shown as δ 7 . 60 ˜ 7 . 40 ( m , 5h ), 7 . 26 ˜ 7 . 27 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 78 ( d . 2h ), 4 . 93 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 12 ( t , 4h ), 4 . 05 ( t , 2h ), 3 . 30 ( s , 6h ), 1 . 69 ( s , 2h ), 1 . 33 ( s , 6h ) and 0 . 70 ( s , 9h ). preparation of a mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate and n - dimethyl - n - octadecayl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate 1 . 2 l of ethanol was added in a 2 l two - mouthed round flask . a mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate and n - dimethyl - n - octadecayl - n - benzyl ammonium chloride was dried in a lyophilizer of − 50 ° c . and 5 torr . 360 g ( 1 . 02 mol ) of the mixture was added and dissolved at room temperature . 93 . 45 g ( 1 . 42 mol ) of 85 % ground potassium hydroxide was added . equipped with an anhydrous calcium chloride tube , the solution was agitated at a high rate for 8 hours . precipitates were formed in the solution after the elapse of time . the solution was cooled in an ice bath and filtered off . washing of the precipitates with cold ethanol gave 75 g of potassium chloride . 163 . 26 g ( 1 . 42 mol ) of 85 % phosphoric acid was admixed with the filtrate and after 1 hour , the residual potassium phosphate was extracted and filtered off . removal of the solvent and admixing of an ethyl acetate solvent gave a uniform slurry . separation and drying of the slurry gave 390 g of the mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate and n - dimethyl - n - octadecayl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate . a result of a 1 h - nmr analysis of the compound is shown as δ 7 . 48 ˜ 7 . 44 ( m , 5h ), 4 . 52 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 11 ( s , 6h ), 3 . 05 ( t , 2h ) and 0 . 87 ( t , 3h ). 5 ml of ethanol was added in a 50 ml round flask . 4 . 26 g ( 10 mmol ) of 4 - benzyl - 4 - tetradecyl morpholinium ammonium chloride was added and dissolved at room temperature . 420 mg ( 10 . 5 mmol ) of ground potassium hydroxide was added . equipped with an anhydrous calcium chloride tube , the solution was agitated at a high rate for 8 hours . precipitates were formed in the solution with the elapse of time . the solution was cooled in an ice bath and filtered off . washing of the precipitates with cold ethanol gave 550 mg of sodium chloride . 1 . 21 g ( 10 . 5 mmol ) of 85 % phosphoric acid was admixed with the filtrate and after 1 hour , the residual potassium phosphate was extracted and filtered off . removal of the solvent and admixing of 20 ml of an ethyl acetate solvent gave a uniform slurry . drying of the slurry gave 4 . 15 g of yellowish - brown solid 4 - benzyl - 4 - tetradecyl morpholinium ammonium phosphate a result of a 1 h - nmr analysis of the compound is shown as δ 7 . 53 ( m , 5h ), 4 . 68 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 10 ( t , 4h ), 4 . 00 ( t , 2h ), 3 . 39 ( t , 4h ), 1 . 37 ˜ 1 . 29 ( m , 22h ), 1 . 38 ( m , 2h ) and 0 . 88 ( t , 3h ). example 1 was repeated except that the solution was agitated for 30 minutes at room temperature and that after the reaction with the phosphoric acid , the solvent was removed and an ethyl acetate solvent was added to obtain a uniform slurry . filtration and drying of the slurry gave n - dimethyl - n -[ p - n -[ p -( α , α , γ , γ )- tetramethyl butyl phenoxy ] ethoxy ethyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate . example 4 was repeated except that the reaction was carried out in an ice bath containing a saturated sodium chloride solution . 310 mg of potassium chloride was formed as an intermediate and 4 - benzyl - 4 - tetradecyl morpholinium ammonium phosphate was finally obtained . preparation of a mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate and n - dimethyl - n - octadecayl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate example 3 was repeated except that the quaternary ammonium chlorides were not lyophilized and used in the form of a 50 % aqueous solution . a mixture of n - dimethyl - n - dodecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - tetradecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate , n - dimethyl - n - hexadecyl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate and n - dimethyl - n - octadecayl - n - benzyl ammonium phosphate was obtained . the yields of the examples and the comparative examples are shown below in table 1 . this test was carried out for the purpose of measuring an anticorrosive effect of the compounds obtained from examples 1 , 3 and 4 . an anhydrous calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate 7 hydrates were mixed in 1 l of pure water to formulate 15 ppm of magnesium hardness . a test material was added to 20 ppm and the final ph was adjusted to 8 . 5 . a water tank at 40 ° c . was used , 100 cc of air was supplied per minute and the solution was agitated at 150 rpm . a metal test piece used were carbon steel ( c - 1020 ), copper , cast iron , tinning steel plate of which the surface areas were respectively 0 . 21 g / dm 2 , 0 . 20 g / dm 2 , 0 . 22 g / dm 2 , and 0 . 17 g / dm 2 . the rate of corrosion was analyzed from the weight loss of the test piece after 42 hours and the measuring unit was mpy ( mils per year ). this test was carried out for the purpose of measuring a biocidal effect of the compounds obtained from examples 1 , 3 and 4 . a test material was diluted using a serial dilution method in a 96 - multiwelled plate . 10 4 cfu / ml of microbes were inoculated in the diluted solution . after the microbes were cultivated for 48 hours at 30 ° c ., mic ( minimal inhibition concentration of microorganisms ) was visually observed to decide whether or not microbial growth occurred from the turbidity . the growth medium was nutrient broth , difco , and the strains used were as follows . [ 0057 ] enterobacter aerogenes atcc 13048 , escherichia coli atcc 11229 , micrococcus luteus atcc 9431 , pseudomonas aeruginosa atcc 15442 , shigella sonnei atcc 9290 , staphylococcus epidermis atcc 155 , staphylococcus aureus atcc 6538 and bacillus subtilis atcc 6984 . [ 0059 ] candida albicans atcc 10231 , rhodotorula rubra atcc 9449 , cryptococcus neoformans atcc 34144 and saccharomyces cerevisiae atcc 9763 . [ 0061 ] penicillium citrinum atcc 98404 , trichoderma viridae atcc 1287 , rhizopus oryzae atcc 10404 and aspergillus niger atcc 9642 . anticorrosive effect ( mpy ) minimal inhibition carbon cast tinning concentration ( ppm ) steel iron copper steel bacteria yeasts fungi example 4 . 5 1 . 3 0 . 1 1 . 0 6 . 3 ˜ 12 . 5 6 . 3 ˜ 12 . 5 25 ˜ 100 1 example 3 . 7 4 . 6 0 . 2 0 . 3 12 . 5 ˜ 25 12 . 5 ˜ 25 25 ˜ 100 3 example 5 . 1 0 . 8 0 . 1 0 . 1 6 . 3 ˜ 12 . 5 12 . 5 ˜ 25 25 ˜ 100 4 a 7 . 2 6 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 12 . 5 ˜ 25 12 . 5 ˜ 25 25 ˜ 100 b 6 . 8 7 . 1 0 . 4 0 . 7 6 . 3 ˜ 12 . 5 6 . 3 ˜ 25 25 ˜ 100 c 10 . 5 11 . 1 0 . 3 0 . 6 6 . 3 ˜ 12 . 5 12 . 5 ˜ 50 25 ˜ 100 d 18 . 7 13 . 9 0 . 1 0 . 3 — — — e 7 . 6 5 . 1 0 . 2 0 . 3 — — — f 33 . 0 25 . 5 0 . 7 1 . 9 — — — as shown in table 2 , the quaternary ammonium phosphate compounds of the present invention have a high anticorrosive effect on carbon steels , cast irons , coppers and tinning steel plates . this results from a synergic effect between an ether bond of an unshared electron pair in an alkyl group of a parental core of a quaternary ammonium and phosphate of an anion . the compound also has a high anticorrosive effect . the present invention provides a compound which has an anticorrosive effect on a wide range of corrosive metal substances e . g . carbon steels , iron casts , stain steels , coppers ., tinning steel plates and alumina and which has a biocidal effect , a cleaning effect and a low toxicity . the compound is useful where a strong biocidal effect is required , where a cleaning effect is required and where low toxicity and where low skin irritability is required and when applied to equipment , devices or apparatus made of corrosive substances . moreover , the compound has properties to allow performance of a substitution reaction , and provides high purity and low toxicity so that it can be easily used on a commercial scale . while the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and substitutions can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims .	2
fig1 a shows a schematic burner system preferably for operating a stationary gas turbine which comprise a premix burner 4 into which an air flow 5 and a fuel flow 6 is directed in which both flows are mixed for providing a homogenous air - fuel mixture . said flow of air / fuel mixture will be swirled in case of a conically shaped premix burner by the premix burner 4 itself and / or by an additional swirler 7 providing a swirler inlet 7 . 1 and swirler outlet 7 . 2 . typically downstream the swirler 7 a mixing tube 8 is arranged along which the vortex flow 9 establishes before the vortex flow breaks 9 down by entering the combustor 10 forming a central revers flow zone crz in which the flame will occur . ftf which was already discussed in combination with fig1 b depends on the distance l between the swirler 7 and crz as well on the bulk velocity u of the vortex flow 9 along the mixing tube 8 . for affecting the vortex flow 9 actively before entering the combustor 10 the swirler provides means , preferably at the swirler exit 7 . 2 , in which said means change the ftf assigned to the burner system with a proviso of minimizing pulsation amplitudes of the flame transfer function . hereto a control unit c controls the means 11 actively either on basis of stored information and / or on basis of currently measured operation values of the burner system , preferably on basis of sensor signals of a pressure sensor s inside the combustor 10 . in fig2 one embodiment of the means for affecting the vortex flow actively is illustrated . in case of fig2 the swirler 7 is an axial swirler providing swirler vanes 12 being arranged circumferentially around an axis of rotation r . said arrangement of swirler vanes 12 are positioned contactless within an electromagnetic arrangement 13 providing electromagnetic poles 14 which are activated such that the electromagnetic field between the electromagnetic poles 14 interacts with the arrangement of swirler vanes 12 such that the swirler vanes 12 may swing periodically clockwise and counter clockwise within an angle range given by +− θ max . the amount of the angle range and the frequency of the rotatory back and force motion is tuned such to reach a significant reduction of the amplitude of the ftf . fig3 shows a cross sectional view of a swirler vane 12 providing a trailing edge 15 . inside the swirler vane 12 in the region of the trailing edge 15 two separate chambers 16 . 1 and 16 . 2 are provided . chamber 16 . 1 provides at least one flow opening 16 . 11 directed to the suction side of the swirl vane 12 and chamber 16 . 2 provides at least one flow opening 16 . 22 at the pressure side of the swirler vane . preferably both chambers provide a multitude of openings being distributed at least in portions along the axial extension of the swirler vane 12 . both chambers 16 . 1 and 16 . 2 are pressurized with a fluid , for example air , fuel or an air - fuel mixture which can be emitted through the chamber openings 16 . 11 , 16 . 22 under control . both flow directions are directed more or less perpendicularly to the main vortex flow 9 which passes through the swirler 7 . the impact of the additional fluid flow emitted through the chamber openings 16 . 11 , 16 . 22 onto the vortex flow 9 affects the tangential velocity perturbation significantly . in a preferred way the fluid flows which are emitted through the chamber openings 16 . 11 , 16 . 22 are tuned to each other such that the sum total of the fluid flow emitted through all chamber openings is constant . the fluid flow towards the pressure side and also towards the suction side of the swirler vane 12 is harmonically modulated under the proviso that the impact onto the vortex flow 9 associated herewith leads to a velocity fluctuation of the vortex flow 9 so that the phase of the velocity fluctuation of the vortex flow 9 is inverted to the phase of the ftf at least at one phase position on which an amplitude maximum of the ftf occurs . the harmonically modulation of the fluid flows from each chamber 16 . 1 , 16 . 2 through the chamber openings into the vortex flow can be realized by a rotating valve 17 which is illustrated in fig4 providing a pressurized flow chamber 17 . 1 , in which a hole aperture 17 . 2 is arranged rotatable for opening one of two outlet ports 17 . 3 , 17 . 4 alternately . fig3 b shows a schematic cross section of a swirler vane 12 which encloses a fluid chamber 12 . 1 which opens along a slit 18 at the trailing edge 15 . through the slit 18 pressurized fluid emerges in form of a main flow 19 which is not deviated normally . at the trailing edge 15 two opposite actuators 20 . 1 and 20 . 2 are arranged which have influence on the dynamics of the main flow 19 when being activated by the control unit . the actuators 20 . 1 and 20 . 2 being activated harmonically such that the main flow 19 will deviate towards the suction side or towards the pressure side of the swirler vane 12 . the amount and the dynamics of the harmonically modulation of the main flow 19 leads to an impact onto the vortex flow 9 in a way described before with the proviso of minimizing pulsation amplitudes of the flame transfer function . fig5 a shows one example for affecting the flow rate of a main stream 19 emitting straight of the trailing edge of a swirler vane 12 . starting from a pressurized fluid chamber 21 providing one outlet port 22 which divides into two separate flow channels 23 . 1 , 23 . 2 , the amount of fluid flow through each of the flow channels 23 . 1 and 23 . 2 can be controlled by a little control flow 24 which enters the outlet port 22 perpendicularly to the flow direction either from above or below or both . in case of a control flow from the upper side , the main stream 19 will follow the below outlet port 23 . 2 , as shown in fig5 a . this mechanism is also known as coanda effect . on basis of the coanda effect fluidic devices 20 . 1 , 20 . 2 shown in fig3 b can be realized . an alternative fluidic device for modulation of active control of flow rate is illustrated in fig5 b . here a cross sectional view of a swirler vane 12 is shown . within the swirler vane 12 a pressurized fluid chamber 21 is provided having an outlet port 22 which divides into three different flow channels 23 . 1 , 23 . 2 and 23 . 3 . further a control flow device 24 is arranged in the region of the outlet port 22 . in case of an inactivated control flow device 24 the main flow will leave via flow channel 23 . 3 which opens at the trailing edge 15 of the swirler vane 12 . depending on activation of the control flow device 24 the flow shares which flow through the individual flow channels 23 . 1 , 23 . 2 , 23 . 3 can be set individually . the control flow device 24 can be realized by a pressure device or by a plasma or piezoelectric device which generates a pulsed jet as will be described in more detail below . fig5 c shows an embodiment of flow affection onto a primary flow 19 emerging out of an outlet opening 16 . 11 or 16 . 22 like in case of embodiment shown in fig3 a . an actuator 20 . 1 / 20 . 2 generates a synthetic jet which influences the propagation performance of the main flow 19 . in case of jet generation the flow resistance in the region of the jet rises due to local turbulences so that the main stream 19 is deflected in direction of the jet , see fig5 c . fig6 a shows a dielectric barrier discharge device dbd which can be positioned onto the swirler vane 12 in the region of the trailing edge 15 to influence the vortex flow 9 which passes over each swirler vane 12 , see fig6 b . the dbd provides a first electrode e 1 placed onto the surface of the swirler vane 12 being in contact with the main flow 9 . a second electrode e 2 is buried into the vane 12 and being separated from the first electrode e 1 by a dielectric material d . in case of activating the dbd high voltage hv is applied between both electrodes e 1 , e 2 so that plasma is generated which induces via a drag effect an additional velocity into the main flow main 9 . in case of activation of the dbd the main flow 9 separates from the surface of the swirler vane 12 near the trailing edge 15 due to formation of an additional swirl effect s . depending on the activation of the dbd the main flow 9 can be modulated harmonically between separation of the main flow 9 from the vane &# 39 ; s surface and re - attachment to it . fig7 a , b , c illustrates a further alternative of a flow device acting onto the vortex flow directly or acting as a flow separator onto a main flow 19 as it is illustrated for example in fig3 a . concerning fig7 a it is assumed that directly below a surface of a swirler vane 12 at least one closed chamber 24 is provided having an outlet opening 25 at the surface of the swirler vane 12 near the trailing edge . a metal disc 26 is attached opposite to the outlet opening 25 as a part of the chamber wall . the metal disc 26 is driven by a piezoelectric driver ( not shown ) so that the metal disc 26 can be deflected in direction towards the outlet opening 25 and in opposite direction . by actuating the piezoelectric driver jet pulses 28 emits through the outlet opening 25 having an impact of the vortex flow . fig7 b shows an alternative device which also provides a closed chamber 24 beneath the surface of a swirler vane 12 in which a plasma generation device 29 is arranged . in case of activating the plasma generator , see stage 1 , jet pulses 28 emits through the outlet opening 25 into the area of the vortex flow , see stage 2 . due to pressure equalization a revers flow takes place after the discharge step shown in stage 3 . the devices shown in fig7 a and b can be arranged along the trailing edge 15 of the swirler vane 12 distributed axially along the trailing edge 15 as shown in fig7 c . fig8 discloses a part view of a radial swirler in which two flow bodies 30 are shown bordering a flow channel 31 in between . the swirler effect onto the main stream 19 which flows between two neighbouring flow bodies 30 depends on the width w the length l and the orientation of the body flanks relative to the main flow direction . for affecting purposes onto the flow performance of the vortex flow which exits the radial swirler means 32 for affecting the vortex flow 19 are arranged at least at one of the flow bodies 30 along the flow channel 31 . the means 32 of affecting the vortex flow influences the flow dynamics of the flow through each flow channel 31 . for example by providing a synthetic jet generator , such as a piezoelectric driver unit as explained in fig7 a or a plasma generator as explained in fig7 b a dynamical impact can be performed onto the main flow 19 passing through the flow channel 31 . in fact by activating such means 32 of affecting the vortex flow dynamically modulating the flow passage area between the two neighbouring flow bodies 30 along the flow channel 31 can be realized . alternative or in combination with the synthetic jet generators in form of a piezoelectric driver or hot gas plasma generator a dielectric barrier discharge unit as described in fig6 can be applied onto the surface of the swirler body of a radial swirler unit shown in fig8 . also it is possible to provide outlet openings through which a fluid flow can be injected into the flow channel 31 as described in combination with the embodiment shown in fig3 a . fig9 a shows a cross section through a cone shaped premix burner providing four cone shaped shells 33 enclosing in pairs so called inlet slots 34 through which air and / or fuel and / or air / fuel mixture is injected into the conical burner space 35 in which a vortex flow establishes . fig9 b shows a detailed section of two neighbouring burner shells 33 bordering one inlet slot 34 . one of the two burner shells 33 provides at its surface a means 32 for affecting the vortex flow . the means 32 influences the flow performance within the flow passage area along the inlet slots 34 . like described before the means 32 can be realized by synthetic jet generators or outlet opening for injecting a fluid flow into the inlet slots .	5
fig1 schematically depicts the end of the drive shaft 3 of an electric motor , typically a three - phase or one - phase a . c . motor . during operation , the drive shaft 3 rotates uninterruptedly with a constant speed of e . g ., 3000 rpm . mounted on motor shaft 3 is a flywheel 4 , preferably made of cast iron . fixedly secured on flywheel 4 , preferably by means of bolts , is a ring 5 made of magnetically conductive material . in particular , ring 5 is supported upon ribs or spokes 6 of the flywheel 4 , leaving air slots 7 through which a flow of cooling air 8 can pass . the radially outer ends of the ribs or spokes 6 are configured to form a ring of fan blades 9 , operative for sucking in the flow of cooling air 8 . coaxial with the motor shaft 3 is an output shaft 10 , mounted by a ball bearing 11 and a sleeve bearing 12 . the latter bearings are mounted on a bearing structure 15 which is bolted onto the motor housing 14 . wedged on to the left end of output shaft 10 is a guide body 16 . as shown in fig2 guide body 16 has six circumferentially spaced , axially extending openings 17 and an equal number of axially extending cooling - air through - bores 18 . the cooling - air through - bores 18 are located radially inward of the openings 17 and occupy angular positions intermediate neighboring openings 17 . located in the openings 17 are roller - bearing connectors 20 , alternate ones of which are secured to the hub body 21 of a clutch disk 22 and to the hub body 23 of a brake disk 24 , respectively . the hub bodies 21 , 23 are made of magnetically conductive material . each roller - bearing connector 20 comprises a guide sleeve 25 , mounted by means of a screw 26 on the clutch disk or brake disk as the case may be , and a ball - bearing holding sleeve 27 concentric with the respective guide sleeve 25 . each ball - bearing holding sleeve 27 positions a plurality of freely turnable ball bearings 28 . the ball bearings 28 are distributed both axially and circumferentially of each guide sleeve 25 . the ball bearings 28 contact the outer peripheral surface of the respective guide sleeve 25 and the inner peripheral surface of a respective bearing bushing 29 , force fitted into the respective one of the openings 17 . in this way , the roller - bearing connectors make for a non - rotatable connection of the clutch disk 22 and brake disk 24 with the output shaft 10 , while simultaneously permitting a limited movement of the clutch disk and brake disk relative to the output shaft in the axial direction . the hub body 21 of the clutch disk 22 is surrounded by a light - metal carrier plate 32 , the latter being provided , on the side thereof facing the ring 5 , with a friction layer 33 . the peripheral surface of the carrier plate 32 is encircled by four magnetically conductive pole pieces 34 , shown individually in fig3 . the clutch disk 22 is preferably formed by inserting the hub body 21 and the pole pieces 34 , the latter provided with holding noses 35 , into a cast iron mold , and then pouring in the metal which is to form the carrier plate 32 , for example aluminum . the use of a plurality of discrete pole pieces 34 tends to avoid those mechanical stresses which would otherwise develop , due to the differing thermal - expansion coefficients of the material of the carrier plate 32 and the pole pieces 34 , if a one - piece pole ring were utilized instead of the discrete pole pieces 34 . the hub body 23 of the brake disk 24 is surrounded by a light - metal carrier plate 36 . the sides of the hub body 23 and of the carrier plate 36 which face away from the clutch disk 22 are provided with respective friction layers 37 and 38 , the latter being annular , concentric and located in a common radially extending plane . between the motor housing 14 and the bearing structure 15 is mounted a housing part 40 in which is shrink - fitted a magnet housing 41 for a clutch coil 42 . the clutch coil 42 is annular and of generally rectangular cross section , and its radial dimension is greater than its axial dimension . the magnet housing 43 for a brake coil 44 is connected to the bearing structure 15 , for example by mounting bolts . the brake coil 44 is likewise a cylindrical coil , but its larger dimension is its axial dimension . the electrical leads for the clutch and brake coils are indicated at 45 and 46 . the magnet housing 43 bears against the end wall 47 of the bearing structure 15 via ribs 48 , which leave between the magnet housing and the bearing structure a plurality of radial cooling - air channels 49 . additional cooling - air channels 50 and 51 are located radially inward and radially outward of the magnet housing 43 , respectively . these channels communicate with a group of cooling - air openings 52 , 53 in the end wall 47 . a further cooling - air channel 54 is located between the magnet housing 41 and the end face of the brake disk 24 which faces away from magnet housing 41 . cooling - air channel 54 communicates both with the cooling - air channels 50 , 51 and also with the through - bores 18 , which in turn serve to establish communication with the air slots 7 . the part of the structure thus far described operates as follows : in the starting condition , the friction layers 33 , 37 and 38 are axially spaced by small distances from the respective ones of the ring 5 of the flywheel 4 and the stationary magnet housing 43 of the brake magnet . the motor shaft 3 and the flywheel 4 rotate . the output shaft 10 stands still . if clutch coil 42 is now energized , there develops a magnetic force field 57 , whose lines of force attempt to cause the air gap between the ring 5 and the hub body 21 as well as the pole pieces 34 to become smaller . as a result , the clutch disk with its friction layer 33 is pressed against the rotating flywheel ring 5 . clutch disk 22 , which is non - rotatably connected to the output shaft 10 by the roller - bearing connectors 20 , shares the rotation of flywheel 4 and turns output shaft 10 . if brake coil 44 is now energized , there develops a magnetic force field 56 , which causes the brake disk 24 to be pressed with friction layers 37 , 38 against the magnet housing 43 , the latter providing a braking surface . the output shaft 10 is braked . the uninterruptedly rotating flywheel 4 sucks cooling air in through the openings 52 , 53 ; this cooling air circulates about all sides of the heat - generating constituent parts of the clutch and brake units , i . e ., the clutch and brake coils as well as the friction layers and cooperating countersurfaces . ultimately , the cooling air 8 leaves the motor housing through corresponding ( non - illustrated ) openings , the air in so leaving being guided around as indicated at 58 , so as to sweep over the outsides of the clutch and brake units as well . the embodiment of the clutch - brake unit depicted in fig4 and 5 differs from the one just described , only with respect to the connections between the clutch and brake disks , on the one hand , and the output shaft , on the other hand . in this embodiment , the end of output shaft 60 facing flywheel 4 is provided with a series of circumferentially successive axially extending grooves 61 , of generally semicylindrical shape . the clutch disk 62 and the brake disk 64 are provided with respective hub bodies 65 , 66 having central openings configured to receive the grooved end section of output shaft 60 . the peripheral surfaces of these central openings have grooves 67 of substantially the same shape as the grooves 61 and positioned by the latter . the spaces formed by the two groups of grooves 61 , 67 each contain a plurality of freely rotatable bearing balls 68 , which are prevented from rolling out of the grooves 61 , 67 by means of a spacer ring 69 and an end plate 70 . accordingly , the clutch and brake disks are axially shiftable but non - rotatable relative to the output shaft 60 . cooling - air openings 71 , 72 in the hub bodies 65 , 66 provide for the travel of cooling air through the structure , in the same manner as in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 . fig6 and 7 depict the left and right halves of a control circuit operative for controlling the clutch and brake units in either the embodiment of fig1 - 3 or that of fig4 and 5 . mainly , the control circuit comprises a power supply 76 , an angular - position indicator 77 , a frequency - doubling stage 78 , a servo amplifier 79 , a clutch power amplifier 80 , a brake power amplifier 81 , a desired - value amplifier 82 , a desired - rotary - speed transducer stage 83 , an actual - rotary - speed transducer stage 84 , and a logic circuit 85 . the angular - position indicator 77 of the illustrated embodiment can be designed in accordance with german published patent application no . 2 , 416 , 113 or corresponding u . s . pat . no . 3 , 995 , 156 . it includes a light source 86 and two cooperating light detectors 87 . in the beam path between the source 86 and the detectors 87 there rotates a control disk provided with a circumferential succession of alternate light and dark zones . the control disk is mounted on the shaft to be driven , in the case of a sewing machine the armshaft of the sewing machine , which in turn would be driven by the output shaft 10 or 60 . if the shaft in question turns , there appears at the output of an operational amplifier 88 a train of pulses 89 ( fig9 a ) whose repetition frequency is proportional to the rotary speed of the driven shaft . the angular - position indicator 77 additionally includes a second light source 90 and two cooperating light detectors 91 , 92 . a control disk , likewise coupled with the shaft to be driven , has a first track in the beam path of detector 91 and a second track in the beam path of detector 92 . the first track has a light - dark transition , e . g ., in the form of a narrow light zone within an otherwise dark circular track , at one location corresponding to a predetermined angular position of the shaft to be driven . the second track has a corresponding light - dark discontinuity at a location corresponding to a second predetermined angular position of the shaft to be driven . in a sewing machine , where the shaft to be driven is the armshaft , which may for example be coupled to the output shaft 10 or 60 by means of a belt transmission , the two angular positions in question would correspond to the highest and lowest needle positions . the clutch coil 42 is connected in the output circuit of the clutch power amplifier 80 , whereas the brake coil 44 is connected in the output circuit of the brake power amplifier 81 . after the power supply 76 is switched on , bistable circuits formed by gates 95 , 96 ; 97 , 98 ; and 99 , 100 are set to their starting settings via gates 93 , 94 of the logic circuit 85 . a desired - rotary - speed command lever 101 , preferably footpedal - activated , shifts the wiper of an infinite - resolution potentiometer 102 . lever 101 is furthermore mechanically coupled to a set of switches 103 , 104 , 105 in such a manner that switch 103 opens when the footpedal has been depressed to a very small initial extent . this causes an operational - amplifier comparator 106 to change from its positive to its negative state . as a result , via a line 107 , the operational amplifier 108 of a desired - value amplifier 82 is enabled . if the desired - value command lever 101 is moved a further distance in the forward direction , a further operational - amplifier comparator 109 of the desired - value amplifier 82 changes from its negative to its positive state . the output signal of operational amplifier 109 is transmitted via a line 110 to an rpm - measuring stage 84 comprising gates 112 , 113 , 114 . as a result , the output of gate 114 changes over from + 5 v to - 6 v . this output signal of gate 114 is transmitted via line 115 to inputs of gates 95 , 98 and 116 . as a result , the bistable stages 97 , 98 and 99 , 100 convert to their second states . as indicated in fig8 d , there is now present at the output of gate 99 a signal of - 6 v , which , via a line 117 and a resistor network comprising resistors 118 , 119 , 120 , is transmitted to the non - inverting input of an operational amplifier 121 , the latter forming part of the servo amplifier 79 . simultaneously , the output signal of gate 100 is transmitted via a line 122 to the strobe input of operational amplifier 121 , enabling the servo amplifier for operation . due to the now negative voltage applied to the inverting input of operational amplifier 121 , the output signal of this amplifier , depicted in fig8 c , likewise assumes negative potential . this signal is transmitted to the inverting input of an operational amplifier 124 belonging to the clutch power amplifier 80 , and the output signal of amplifier 24 , as shown in fig8 a , converts to its positive value . as a result , the end - stage amplifying transistor 125 is rendered conductive . the clutch coil 42 becomes energized . clutch disk 22 is pressed against the ring 5 on the constantly rotating flywheel 4 . the outut shaft 10 or 60 begins to turn and begins to turn the armshaft of the sewing machine , for example through a belt drive . the control disk in the beam path between the source 86 and the detector 87 of the angular - position indicator 77 rotates synchronously with the driven shaft . at the output of operational amplifier 88 appear actual - rpm signals in the form of pulses , for example having high and low values of + 5 v and - 6 v , and an on - off ration of 1 : 1 , generated at a rate of 240 per rotation of the driven shaft . these pulses are transmitted to the input of a doubly - triggered monostable circuit 126 forming part of frequency - doubling stage 78 . doubly - triggered monostable circuit 126 may , for example , comprise two monostable multivibrators , one triggered by the positive flanks of the output pulses from operational amplifier 88 , the other triggered by the negative flanks . each of these two flanks triggers at the input of a transistor 127 a pulse of constant pulse duration , for example 500 ns . accordingly , there appear in the collector circuit of transistor 127 , per armshaft rotation , 480 pulses , for the control disk assumed above . the frequency - doubling stage 78 additionally includes an impedance - converter transistor 128 . let it be assumed that the shaft to be driven begins to turn subsequent to clutch energization , after the elapse of the clutch &# 39 ; s electromechanical time constant t 1 ( fig8 ), amounting to e . g ., 20 ms ; there then appears at the emitter of transistor 128 the first of the constant - duration pulses , whose high and low values are + 5 v and - 6 v . via a line 129 , a capacitor 130 , connected between the emitter of transistor 128 and the non - inverting input of operational amplifier 121 , begins to charge in a sense to reverse the polarity of its voltage . there is produced at the output of operational amplifier 121 a sawtooth voltage 131 as shown in fig9 b , although there on a greatly expanded time scale . due to the effect of the quickly rising rpm of the driven shaft , the middle value of the sawtooth voltage formed at capacitor 130 shifts towards the positive operating voltage , as shown in fig8 c . from the output of operation amplifier 121 , positive potential is transmitted to the non - inverting input of an operational amplifier 132 , which forms part of the brake power amplifier 81 ; the output signal of operational amplifier 132 is shown in fig8 b , and on an expanded time scale in fig9 d . the operational amplifier 132 renders end amplifier transistor 133 alternately conductive and non - conductive , in dependence upon the sawtooth voltage 131 . when transistor 133 is conductive , brake coil 44 is energized by current . the brake disk 24 is pressed against the stationary magnet housing 43 . in this way , the rpm of the driven shaft is varied , by negative - feedback action , to establish the desired rpm set on potentiometer 102 , until the middle value of the sawtooth voltage reaches the zero voltage level . accordingly , the dynamic phase of operation t 2 ( fig8 ) culminating in achievement of the desired steady state is finished . as shown in fig9 c and 9d , when the desired rotary speed has been achieved and is being maintained , the clutch system is alternately energized and unenergized , the brake system is alternately energized and unenergized , and the energization of the clutch and brake systems is performed alternately and with a phase shift , i . e ., when the sawtooth voltage at the inverting input of operational amplifier 124 becomes more negative than a predetermined negative reference value , e . g ., - 300 mv and the sawtooth voltage at the non - inverting input of operational amplifier 132 becomes more positive than a predetermined positive reference value , e . g ., + 500 mv . if the desired value for rotary speed is changed to a higher value by means of potentiometer 102 , then signals are transmitted to operational amplifier 108 via lines 135 , 136 such that negative potential develops at the output of this operational amplifier . this signal is transmitted via a resistor - diode branch 137 to the junction between capacitor 130 and resistor 120 . as a result , the discharge time constant for the capacitor 130 is changed ; the on - off ratio for the clutch undergoes a corresponding change . the interpulse durations , in particular , are shortened . the resultant increase in the average value of the current for clutch coil 42 makes for a rapid increase of rotary speed . the negative - feedback - controlled increase of speed can proceed up to the point where the operational amplifier 121 goes into saturation and the clutch becomes uninterruptedly energized . the negative - feedback - controlled decrease of speed proceeds analogously , although in the opposite sense . if the desired value of rotary speed is changed to a lower value , the voltage at the non - inverting input of operational amplifier 121 increases . the brake coil 44 is energized to keep the brake operative until such time as the middle value of the sawtooth voltage has returned to the value 0 v . if the driven shaft is to be arrested in a predetermined angular position , the command lever 101 is moved to its 0 - setting . switch 103 closes . the output of operational amplifier 106 goes fully positive . via line 107 , operational amplifier 108 becomes blocked . operational amplifier 109 likewise goes to its positive limit . the rpm measuring stage 84 , connected via a line 139 to the output of operational amplifier 88 , detects when the actual rotary speed has reached a predetermined low value , e . g ., 180 rpm . the output voltage of gate 114 then jumps from - 6 v to + 5 v . after the elapse of a predetermined time delay , e . g ., 10 ms , the output of gate 116 goes from + 5 v to - 6 v . this signal is transmitted via a line 140 to the input of a gate 141 . as soon as the driven shaft has reached a predetermined angular position ( first position ), the operational amplifier 143 connected to the output of light detector 92 produces at its output a signal ( fig8 e ), which is then transmitted via a changeover switch 144 , a line 145 and a gate 146 to the other input of gate 141 . in response to the leading flank of the position signal , the output of gate 141 accordingly jumps from - 6 v to + 5 v . this output signal is transmitted to one input of a gate 147 . as an additional response to the leading flank of the position signal , there is transmitted from the output of gate 146 via a gate 149 an enablement signal in the form of a pulse whose leading flank is constituted by a transition from - 6 v to + 5 v and having a predetermined duration , e . g ., 200 ms . this enablement signal is transmitted to the second input of gate 147 . accordingly , the output of gate 147 , connected to one input of gate 97 , goes from + 5 v to - 6 v for a 200 ms time interval . as a result , the flip - flop constituted by gates 97 , 98 assumes its first stable state . if the optionally provided connecting line 150 between the output of gate 97 and the junction between the two resistors 151 , 52 in the input circuit of operational amplifier 121 is omitted , the output shaft continues to turn at the predetermined shut - off rpm of e . g ., 180 rpm , until the trailing flank of the position signal for the first position appears ( fig8 e ). then a signal is transmitted from the output of gate 97 to one input of a gate 154 , and from the output of gate 146 to a further input of gate 154 . the signal at the output of gate 154 returns the flip - flop constituted by gates 99 , 100 to its first stable state . the signal transmitted from the output of gate 99 ( fig8 d ) via line 117 to the non - inverting input of operational amplifier 121 , causes the output of the latter to be pulled to positive potential . as a result , the operational amplifier 124 causes the clutch to be shut off ( fig8 a ), whereas via the operational amplifier 132 the brake coil 44 becomes fully energized ( fig8 b ). the signal of gate 100 , via the line 122 and the strobe input of operational amplifier 121 , causes the output of the latter to be driven fully positive . the driven shaft is quickly braked to a standstill . the potential change from + 5 v to - 6 v at the output of gate 100 causes the output of a gate 155 , after a predetermined time delay such as 80 ms , to change over from - 6 v to + 5 v . the output of gate 155 is connected via a line 156 to the inverting input of the operational amplifier 132 , so that the output of the latter upon elapse of this time delay jumps over to its fully negative value . accordingly , the brake is now likewise again in unenergized condition ( fig8 b ). in order to further increase the stopping precision of the system , the circuit shown in fig6 and 7 exhibits a further feature . upon the resetting of the desired - rpm command lever 101 to its 0 - setting , there first occurs an rpm drop from the current operating speed down to a predetermined shut - off speed , e . g ., 180 rpm as mentioned above , and this lowered speed is maintained by negative - feedback action until the leading flank of the position signal at the output of operational amplifier 143 appears . at that time , the leading flank of the position signal causes , via the gate 97 and the connecting line 150 , an automatic changeover of the desired - rpm value for the system to a second , still lower shut - off speed of e . g ., 60 rpm . the rpm is brought down to this still lower shut - off speed , by negative - feedback action , within the time interval between the just - mentioned leading flank of the position pulse and the trailing flank thereof , and this still lower shut - off speed is maintained by negative - feedback action until the actual occurrence of the trailing flank , whereupon the drive shaft is brought to a standstill . the cooperation between the light source 90 and the light detector 91 and its associated operational amplifier 158 makes possible the detection of , and the stopping of the driven shaft at , a second predetermined angular position . for the purpose of explanation , assume that the desired - rpm command lever 101 has been moved in forward direction to its top - speed position , determined by a mechanical stop , so that the driven shaft turns at maximum rpm . to achieve the second predetermined angular position , the desired - rpm command lever 101 is pulled back , past its 0 - setting until it reaches it other end stop . as a result , switch 105 closes . firstly , the driven shaft is braked down to the shut - off rpm in the manner already described , this being detected by the rpm measuring stage 84 . when in this way gate 114 becomes enabled , then upon appearance of the leading flank of the first - position position signal at the output of operational amplifier 143 the flip - flop constituted by the gates 97 , 98 returns to its first stable state . accordingly , the middle input of a gate 160 is enabled . gate 160 is also enabled at its upper input via the switch 105 , an operational amplifier 161 and a line 162 . consequently , the output of gate 160 jumps from + 5 v to - 6 v . via a line 163 , the flip - flop constituted by the gates 95 , 96 assumes its second stable state . a signal is transmitted from the output of gate 95 via a line 164 to a gate 165 , thereby enabling transmission of the second - position position signal produced at the output of operational amplifier 158 and transmitted via a switch 166 and a line 167 . the position signal is transmitted via gates 169 , 170 to the gate 146 . after the first flank of the first position signal was detected , there was transmitted from flip - flop 95 , 96 via gate 165 and a further gate 171 a start signal to the flip - flop constituted by gates 97 , 98 , as a result of which the driven shaft continues to turn at the predetermined shut - off speed until the second angular position is reached . the actual arresting operation for the second angular position thereupon proceeds in the manner already described with respect to the arresting of the driven shaft in the first predetermined angular position . by means of a gate 172 , the effectiveness of the desired - rpm selection is blocked , during the travel of the driven shaft from the first to the second angular position . a touch switch 175 creates the possibility of deciding , after the first angular position has been reached , whether the driven shaft should be turned to and then stopped at its second angular position or , alternatively , perform a single complete rotation and then again stop at its first predetermined angular position . a switch 104 and an operational - amplifier comparator 176 can be utilized to trigger the performance of auxiliary functions , e . g ., depending upon the type of device being driven . the relationship between the wiper - position of potentiometer 102 and the different angular positions of desired - value command lever 101 ( or equivalently the angular positions of a footpedal coupled thereto ), and the relationship between the wiper - position and resistance value of potentiometer 102 , establish a predetermined functional relationship between command - lever position and the command desired - speed value . under certain circumstances , it may be desired to alter this functional relationship , e . g ., for the performance of special jobs . in the case of a sewing machine , it may for example be desired , for certain work , that the first half of the angular range of footpedal depression correspond to a low range of speed to permit fine control of low - speed selection , and that the remaining half of the angular range of footpedal depression correspond linearly to further speed increases up to top speed ; this is just one example . to this end , a trimming resistor 179 is connected in parallel to potentiometer 102 . it will be understood that , instead of a trimming resistor , use could be made of a more complex resistor or resistor - diode network comprised of a plurality of series - and / or parallel - connected elements . the potentiometer 102 and trimming resistor 179 can be so designed that , when their movable adjusting components are varied in setting linearly , the resultant effect upon the desired - value to be commanded is linear , quadratic , logarithmic , or the like . in the system depicted in fig6 and 7 , when the driven shaft is to be stopped and the desired - value command lever 101 is for that purpose moved back to its 0 - setting , the driven shaft is braked rather abruptly from its current operating speed down to 180 rpm . fig1 depicts an alternative approach , according to which this decrease from current operating speed down to the 180 rpm shut - off speed is performed in a preprogrammed manner . to this end , the circuit depicted in fig1 includes a counter 180 and , connected to the output thereof , a digital - to - analog converter 181 . the input of counter 180 is connected to the angular - position indicator 77 . counter 180 counts the train of pulses which unit 77 furnishes for actual - rpm indication and resets in response to a position signal indicative of the predetermined angular position at which the driven shaft is sometimes to be stopped . counter 180 begins to count , as soon as the driven shaft after start up has passed through the predetermined angular position . the output signal of counter 180 is converted by converter 181 into a staircase voltage whose elevation corresponds to the momentary count . if the command level 101 is moved to a setting commanding that the driven shaft be stopped at the predetermined angular position , the staircase voltage becomes applied to the servo amplifier 79 , serving as the desired - value or command signal therefor until the time of generation of the next position signal indicating the predetermined angular position , the value of the staircase voltage for the zero - count of counter 180 corresponding to the desired - rpm command value for the preselected shutoff speed , e . g ., 180 rpm . this latter expedient has the advantage that , when arresting of the driven shaft at the predetermined angular position is commanded , the rate at which the speed of the driven shaft decreases from its current operating value down to 180 rpm is made only so great as actually necessary to reach 180 rpm within the time interval remaining before the predetermined angular position is actually reached . i . e ., if arresting of the shaft is commanded just after the shaft has passed through the predetermined angular position , then the time remaining until this position is again reached is maximum , and the deceleration needed to bring the shaft speed down to 180 rpm before this position is again reached can be relatively low ; in contrast , if stopping is commanded shortly before the shaft is about to reach the predetermined angular position , then the deceleration which brings the shaft speed down to 180 rpm before this position is reached will be relatively intense . the value of the staircase voltage , constituting the rpm - command signal for an arresting operation , will correspond to a speed close to 180 rpm if arresting is commanded at a moment when the driven shaft is already closely nearing the predetermined angular position ; the value of the staircase voltage will correspond to a higher speed if arresting is commanded at a moment when the driven shaft has just passed the predetermined angular position and the staircase voltage will then progressively change toward a value corresponding to 180 rpm as the predetermined angular position is neared . as a result , in general , the braking action involved in an arresting operation will be much softer than otherwise . the illustrated circuit embodiment is designed to be readily implemented using mos components . this makes possible a rather simple connecting together of linear amplifiers , comparators and power - amplifier end stages . 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 circuits and constructions differing from the types described above . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a system having particular operational capabilities , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledged , 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 .	1
trees infested with overwintering larvae of eab were located in windsor and toronto , ontario , felled , cut into bolts , transported in secure containers to the great lakes forestry centre in sault ste . marie , ontario , and placed into cold storage in a secure quarantine facility . as required , bolts were removed from cold storage and placed in rearing cages housed at 24 ° c . and a 16 : 8 h light : dark ( l : d ) photoperiod . upon emergence , adult insects were separated by sex . a subset of males and females were frozen on the day of emergence and the rest were reared for 14 days to produce sexually mature adults before being frozen . previous studies have demonstrated that mating only occurs in eab once females are a minimum of 5 - 7 days from eclosion . all adults were maintained for 10 - 14 days at about 21 ° c ., 50 % relative humidity ( rh ) and a 16 : 8 h l : d cycle and were supplied with water and fresh foliage of evergreen ash , fraxinus uhdei ( wenzig ) lingelsh , or green ash , fraxinus pennsylvanica marsh . the relative abundances of cuticular hydrocarbons were determined using a manual solid - phase microextraction ( spme ) assembly with a red 100 - μm polydimethylsiloxane fibre ( supelco , pa ). insects were held with forceps and the fibre wiped across the elytra for about 30 seconds while rotating but not bending it . for each sex and maturity class ( i . e ., 1 - day - old males , 1 - day - old females , 10 - to 14 - day - old males , 10 - to 14 - day - old females ), a minimum of six individuals were sampled and analyzed as composites . the spme samples and solvent extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography / mass spectrometry ( gc / ms ) on a hewlett - packard 5890 gc and a 5971 mass selective detector in the electron impact ( ei , 70 ev ) mode . the column used for analysis was a supelco spb - 5 capillary ( 30 m × 0 . 32 mm × 0 . 25 μm film ) in the splitless mode with helium as carrier gas . the injection port was at 280 ° c . for solvent extracts and 250 ° c . for spme fibres . the oven temperature was programmed from 70 ° c ., held for 1 min and then increased at 10 ° c ./ min to 240 ° c . and held for 30 min . hydrocarbons were identified by comparing mass spectra and retention times with those of synthetic standards with reference to the parent m + and molecular formulae . diagnostic mass spectral fragments unequivocally demonstrated the position of methyl branches synthetic racemic 9 - methyl pentacosane ( 9 - methyl - c 25 ), a racemic mixture of the 9r - and 9s - enantiomers , was prepared from base - catalyzed wittig coupling of 2 - decanone with ( n - hexadecyl ) triphenylphosphonium bromide and concomitant pd / c hydrogenation of the resultant alkene . all other methyl - branched compounds ( see table 1 ) were synthesized in a similar manner . n - alkanes were obtained from sigma aldrich ( oakville , on , canada ) or alltech ( deerfield , ill ., usa ). preparation of dummy females . a total of 78 eab females that emerged from 10 - 15 jul . 2008 were reared for the field bioassay . female eab were reared in the quarantine facilities , as described above , until the age of 14 days , when they were frozen . prior to the field bioassay , females were removed from the freezer and thawed for 2 - 3 h . for 52 of the females , each female was individually rinsed in 1 ml of hexane for about 2 min . females were then allowed to dry for a minimum of 30 min before being rinsed again . females were rinsed a total of three times for 2 min each time and left to dry overnight after the final rinsing . all 78 females were then individually pinned through the right elytra at its base ; the heads of the pins were then snipped off such that the end of the pin was only about 1 mm above the surface of the female &# 39 ; s body and thus would not interfere with approaches by feral male eab . twenty - six of the rinsed females were then treated with 1 μl of racemic 9 - methyl pentacosane ( ca . 5 mg / ml ; one female equivalent ), in solution with hexane , and allowed to dry . this divided the 78 females into three treatment groups ( unwashed , washed , and washed then treated ). the treatment groups were indicated by pinning a small paper insect ‘ point ’ underneath the female that was not visible from above . the points were colored white ( unwashed ), yellow ( washed ) or blue ( washed then treated ). the paper points were shorter and narrower than the females &# 39 ; abdomen , were not visible from above , and did not appear to influence the behavior of the wild males . females were kept at 3 - 4 ° c . in a fridge for 2 days until used in the bioassay and were transported to the field in a cooler . behavioral field bioassay . the field bioassay was conducted from 7 - 11 jul . 2008 at a site about 1 . 8 km northeast of port lambton , on ( 42 ° 40 . 16 ′ n , 82 ° 29 . 56 ′ w ). observations of feral males were made between 1000 and 1830 edt , based on reports of eab &# 39 ; s most active time of day ( lelito et al . 2007 5 ) about 40 h were spent observing feral males and collecting data on mating behavior . dummy females were pinned to foliage on epicormic shoots of infested ash trees , growing from the base of the tree up to about 1 . 5 m above the ground . females were placed and removed from foliage by grasping the pin underneath the female with tweezers and were never touched directly to avoid cross - contamination . trees were chosen based on the presence of both epicormic shoots and feral eab males on the foliage . dummy females were placed in a triangle shape in groups of three ( one of each treatment ) about 20 - 30 cm apart . all females were pinned on south - facing foliage so that they would be in direct sunlight . from nine to 21 females were set up at different times on different trees , based on the amount of foliage available . observations of dummy females began once all females were established on the foliage , and lasted for about 1 h per observation session with breaks of 5 - 10 min in between observation sessions . we recorded the time of arrival of each male observed to land on a female and then the time of departure for that same male to obtain its total time spent in contact with a given female . the locations of the various treatments were not recorded , so the observations on time spent in contact by males was collected by observers who were unaware of the treatment . the treatment group ( unwashed , treated , washed ) was then recorded by checking for the presence of the colored insect point under the female &# 39 ; s abdomen after the male had flown away . for a subset of males that spent several minutes or more in contact with a given female ( n = 7 , 7 , and 10 for unwashed , washed and treated , and washed - only females , respectively ), we were able to record approximately every minute whether the male was attempting to mate with the female or whether he was merely in contact with her ; from this , we were able to calculate the percentage of time spent attempting to mate vs . time spent simply in contact with the females . the amount of time individual males spent in contact , and the percentage of that time spent attempting to mate , with females of the three different treatments were analyzed by one - way anova after logarithmic transformation of data to meet the assumptions of normality of data and equality of variance ; means were compared using the holm - sidak test . all analyses were conducted using sigmastat ( vers . 3 . 5 ). analysis of spme samples from the cuticle of eab revealed no differences in the hydrocarbon profiles of males and females that were 1 day old ( i . e ., sexually immature ) or between 1 - day - old and 10 - to 14 - day - old males , but one compound was present exclusively in 10 - to 14 - day - old ( sexually mature ) females ( fig1 ( a )). this compound was 9 - methyl pentacosane ( 9 - me - c 25 ) located by specific ion scanning and identified by ei mass spectrometry ( fig1 ( c ). the chromatograms appear identical at first sight because , under the conditions used , the 13 -, 11 -, and 9 - me - c 25 isomers do not separate ( fig1 ( a ), peak # 8 ) and the latter was , therefore , cryptically hidden ( cf . fig1 ( b )). the compound was observed exclusively in sexually mature females in spme samples obtained from three cohorts of immature and mature male and female eab and was therefore considered a potential contact sex pheromone for eab . it was estimated to be present on the elytra at ca . 5 - 10 μg / female . ( this estimate was obtained by reapplying 1 . 0 μl hexane solutions of 9 - me - c 25 onto freeze - killed rinsed females from hexane solutions at 0 . 1 , 1 . 0 and 10 . 0 μg / ul and determining and comparing peak areas by resampling with spme and gc / ms analysis as before .) over 100 males were observed to land and make contact with dummy females during the field bioassay . most males were observed to arrive in the “ paratrooper ” manner ( lelito et al . 2007 5 ), flying in suddenly and landing in precise orientation on the pinned female . however , several males landed on adjacent leaves or on a different location on the same leaf as the female and spent several minutes walking around the foliage before they aligned themselves along the length of the pinned female and attempted copulation . when departing , some males immediately flew away from the female , whereas others walked onto the leaf and proceeded to feed along the edge of the leaf for several minutes before flying away . some males were individually recognizable due to characteristic marks on their elytra , and we observed the same male make contact with several different dummy females at different times during the observation periods . similar numbers of wild males landed on females of the three different treatments , with 36 landing on unwashed females , 27 on treated females , and 43 on washed females ( χ 2 = 1 . 809 , df = 2 , p = 0 . 405 ). feral males spent the most time in contact with unwashed females and treated females , and the least time on washed females ( f = 11 . 7 , df = 2 , 105 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) ( fig2 a ). the time that males spent on females treated with 9 - me - c 25 was significantly longer than that spent on washed females ( t = 3 . 817 , p = 0 . 00004 ) and slightly , but not significantly , less than the time spent on unwashed females ( t = 0 . 138 , p = 0 . 89 ) ( fig2 ). in addition , males spent approximately 60 %- 70 % of their time attempting to mate with unwashed and 9 - me - c 25 - treated females compared with only about 20 % of time spent attempting to mate with washed females ( f = 29 . 349 , df = 2 , 21 , p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) ( fig2 b ). the use of cuticular hydrocarbons for mate recognition has been shown in many insect genera but little is known about the chemical ecology and reproductive behavior of buprestids . here , we provide evidence for contact pheromones on the cuticle of female emerald ash borers that signal mate recognition and elicit copulatory behavior in feral males and we identify 9 - methyl pentacosane ( 9 - me - c 25 ) as a contact pheromone — the first contact pheromone chemically identified in the buprestidae family . this discovery improves our understanding of the chemical ecology of the eab and other buprestids and may have potential applications for survey and management of this invasive species . our observations that males remained in contact much longer with unwashed than hexane - washed dead female eab indicate the presence of contact pheromones on the female cuticle and support earlier observations by ( lelito et al . 2007 5 ). analysis of eab cuticular hydrocarbons revealed nearly identical chemical profiles in males and females , except for one compound , 9 - me - c 25 , that was present only in females that were sexually mature . reapplication of synthetic 9 - me - c 25 to hexane - rinsed females restored almost all contact and copulatory activity in field bioassays , i . e ., the time feral males spent in contact with treated females and the percentage of that time spent in attempted copulation was significantly greater than that observed with hexane - washed females and not significantly different from that observed with unwashed females . these data support the hypothesis that 9 - me - c 25 is a contact pheromone that triggers mate recognition and copulatory behavior in eab . our results also confirm previous reports on the importance of visual cues in mate location . we observed feral eab males landing in similar numbers on dead females from the three different treatments . the slightly higher number of male eab landing on washed females in our study may be related to the short period of time that males stayed in contact with females of this treatment group ; males often stayed in contact with unwashed or treated females for 30 min or more during any given observation period , making these treatments relatively less available to other males . tactile cues may also be used by male eab because they immediately aligned themselves with the female &# 39 ; s body upon contact and some males remained in contact for a number of minutes even with washed females . the paratrooper copulation behavior of male eab was the most frequently observed mode of contact , but we also observed males landing either on the same leaf as the pinned females or on adjacent leaves and walking around for several minutes before contacting the female and attempting to mate . this behavior suggests that the visual cue provided by a resting female to a male in flight is an important one , but perhaps is not used exclusively by males to detect females . one major difference between our results and those of ( lelito et al . 2007 5 ) is the length of time males spent in contact with females . ( lelito et al . 2007 5 ) reported that males spent about 4 min on unwashed females and & lt ; 30 s on average with washed females , whereas we recorded contacts at least five times as long for the same treatments . the reason for this is unclear . it is possible that our hexane washes did not remove 100 % of the cuticular hydrocarbons ; we rinsed each female three times in n - hexane for about 2 min , whereas ( lelito et al . 2007 5 ) rinsed their eab twice in dichloromethane for 10 min each . despite the shorter washing time used in our study , it is known that hexane readily dissolves hydrocarbons of this nature , thus effectively removing them from the female &# 39 ; s cuticle . regardless , the washing in hexane definitely removed an important chemical cue , as clearly evidenced by the shorter periods of time males spent in contact with such females . the fact that feral male eab spent a considerable amount of time in contact with the unwashed and treated females supports the use of freeze - killed eab females as an effective technique for observing eab mate location and mating behavior . regardless , using freeze - killed females removes any such additional behavioral or olfactory cues that may be produced by living females , reducing confounding influences . hence , any changes in male response in our experiment were strictly due to the washing and reapplication treatments . the appearance of 9 - me - c 25 on only the cuticle of 10 - to 14 - day - old females suggests its presence may be associated with sexual maturation or , more specifically , vitellogenesis ( egg maturation ) in the eab . biosynthesis of methyl - branched hydrocarbons such as 9 - me - c 25 likely occurs through elongation of fatty acid coas , with the methyl branch arising from methyl malonyl coa in place of malonyl coa at a specific point during chain elongation ( nelson and blomquist 1995 12 ). little is known , however , about the stereochemistry of methyl branches , and this requires investigation because contact chemoreception may have important chiral specificity . 9 - me - c 25 has a chiral carbon , but current technology does not allow separation of the two possible enantiomers . the eab males responded to the racemic synthetic 9 - me - c 25 compound in our field trials , but it is possible that only one enantiomer is present on the unwashed eab female cuticle and that males respond only to that enantiomer . if so , that may explain the slightly lower contact time and copulatory response to females treated with one female equivalent of racemic 9 - me - c 25 ; each enantiomer would be present at only half the concentration of that on an unwashed female if only one enantiomer is naturally present . further work should include optimization of application rate of the contact pheromone and testing of each enantiomer vs . the racemic blend . other orientation mechanisms that need further exploration include potential long - range pheromones that may attract beetles ( bartell et al . 2007 ), attractive host volatiles ( rodriguez - saona et al . 2006 ; crook et al . 2008 ; de groot et al . 2008 ), and other visual and chemical cues ( pureswaran and poland 2008 ) used in mate location , particularly in combination with the active compounds . all these mechanisms have potential for developing improved detection survey and management tools for this damaging invasive species . synthesis of pure 9r - and 9s - enantiomers of 9 - me - c 25 has now been done . based upon ( soon to be published ) research done by the inventors on the 11r - and 11s - isomers ie 11 - me - c 25 , in respect of the related brown spruce longhorn beetle ( bslb ) and the demonstrated activity of the pure 11s - enantiomer as a contact sex pheromone therein , it is expected that the pure 9s - enantiomer would exhibit activity as a contact sex pheromone in the emerald ash borer . ( s )- 9 - methylpentacosane 1 was synthesized using ( r )- citronellyl bromide 2 as the commercially available chiral synthon . this was alkylated with the grignard reagent n - hexylmagnesium bromide 3 ( prepared in situ from n - hexyl bromide and magnesium ) using lithium tetrachlorocuprate as the catalyst to give alkene 4 . ozonolysis of 4 followed by reductive workup with triphenylphosphine cleaved the carbon - carbon double bond of 4 and replaced the isopropylidene group of 4 with an oxygen to give 5 . a wittig reaction with tridecyltriphenylphosphonium bromide 6 ( which was prepared from tridecyl bromide and triphenylphosphine ) and n - butyllithium gave a mixture of cis and trans alkenes 7 , and both of these were converted to ( s )- 9 - methylpentacosane 1 by hydrogenation with a palladium catalyst . ( r )- 9 - methylpentacosane 8 was synthesized in exactly the same way as the ( s )- enantiomer 1 , except ( s )- citronellyl bromide 9 was used as the starting material . aldrich was the source of all commercially available chemicals used . 1 . ginzel m d , blomquist g j , millar j g , hanks l m ( 2003b ) role of contact pheromones in mate recognition in xylotrechus colonus . j chem ecol 29 : 533 - 545 2 . haack r a , jendek e , liu k , marchant t r , petrice t r , poland t m , ye h ( 2002 ) the emerald ash borer : a new exotic pest in north america . newslett mich entomol soc 47 : 1 - 5 3 . otis g w , youngs m e , umphrey g ( 2005 ) effects of colored objects and purple background on emerald ash borer trapping . in : mastro v , reardon r ( eds ) emerald ash borer research and technology development meeting . usda , forest health technology enterprise team , morgantown , w . va ., pp 31 - 32 4 . rodriguez - saona , c , poland t m , miller j r , stelinski l l , grant g g , de groot p , buchan l , macdonald l ( 2006 ) behavioural and electrophysiological responses of the emerald ash borer , agrilus planipennis , to induced volatiles of manchurian ash , fraxinus mandshurica . chemoecology 16 : 75 - 86 5 . lelito j p , frazer i , mastro v , tumlinson j h , boroczky k , baker t c ( 2007 ) visually mediated ‘ paratrooper copulations ’ in the mating behaviour of agrilus planipennis ( coleoptera : buprestidae ), a highly destructive invasive pest of north american ash trees . j insect behav 20 : 537 - 552 6 . lelito j p , frazer i , mastro v , tumlinson j h , baker t c ( 2008 ) novel visual - cue - based sticky traps for monitoring of emerald ash borers , agrilus planipennis , j appl entomol 132 : 668 - 674 7 . francese j a , mastro v c , oliver j b , lance d r , youseff n , lavalee s g ( 2005 ) evaluation of colors for trapping agrilus planipennis ( coleoptera : buprestidae ). j entomol sci 40 : 93 - 95 8 . crook d j , krimian a , francese j , fraser i , poland t m , sawyer a j , mastro v ( 2008 ) development of a host - based semiochemical lure for trapping emerald ash borer agrilus planipennis ( coleoptera : buprestidae ). environ entomol 37 : 356 - 365 9 . de groot p , grant g g , poland t m , scharbach r , buchan l , nott r w , macdonald l , pitt d ( 2008 ) electrophysiological response and attraction of emerald ash borer to green leaf volatiles ( glvs ) emitted by host foliage . j chem ecol 34 : 1170 - 1179 10 . bartelt r , cosse a a , zilkowski b w , fraser i ( 2007 ) antennally active macrolide from the emerald ash borer agrilus planipennis emitted predominantly by females . j chem ecol 33 : 1299 - 1302 11 . dunn j p , potter d a ( 1988 ) evidence for sexual attraction by the twolined chestnut borer , agrilus bilineatus ( weber ) ( coleoptera : buprestidae ). can entomol 120 : 1037 - 1039 12 . nelson d r , blomquist g j ( 1995 ) insect waxes . in : hamilton r j ( ed ) waxes : chemistry , molecular biology and functions . oily press , dundee , scotland , pp 1 - 90	2
fig1 shows a multiple station feeder 1 having a plurality of filling material stations 15 and shows a multiple station feeder 11 having a number of envelope stations 14 . the filling material stations 15 are individually arranged horizontally above one another in the multiple station feeder 1 and accept filling material 9 . the filling material stations 15 are selectively individually addressed with a central controller and the filling material is compiled to form a set with the leading edges of the sheets in the set all in registry ( vertically aligned ). this set is directly supplied to the inserter 2 . changes in the working sequence can be accommodated in the apparatus of fig1 as can the processing of filling materials that differ significantly with respect to number and properties . the arrangement assures the selection of an insertion envelope corresponding to the respective properties of the filling material . the envelope 10 corresponding to the filling material 9 ( i . e ., the envelope into which the filling material is to be inserted ) is likewise automatically fed from the multiple feeder stage 11 that is composed of a number of envelope stations 14 arranged horizontally above one another . the feed of the envelope 10 is coordinated by a central controller 45 which activates the envelope stations 14 individually and independently of one another . the envelopes 10 to be successively supplied in successive processing sequences can have different properties ; correspondingly , the nature of the feed as well as the wrapper removal from the envelope station 14 can be executed in controlled fashion for specific criteria such as , for example , the thickness of the filling material . an envelope tube or holder 12 can be introduced before the admission region 13 of the inserter 2 to collect a plurality of identical envelopes 10 which are then automatically individually taken . in addition to the delivery of filling material from multiple feed devices , the arrangement also assures the manual delivery of enclosures that differ significantly in terms of their properties and , optionally , the manual delivery with a manual enclosure opening 31 . an arrangement of sensors 32 at 33 is provided at every filling material station 15 of the multiple station feeder 1 . the controller 45 supplies to each station 15 via a data bus 47 . upon receipt of a start signal 50 an answerback signal 49 , sets of filling material are generated simultaneously with leading edges in alignment in a known way with the output signals 51 and 52 . the units are supplied with power via a power bus 48 . appropriate information is prevented on a panel display 46 . the distances to be traversed by the individual filling material components are stored in the central controller 45 . the individual sheets of filling material is separated with feeder rollers 34 and separators 36 are continuously compiled with registered leading edges in the multiple station feeder 1 and are supplied by the common roller arrangement 4 directly to the admission region 5 of the inserter without an intermediate stop . it should be possible to produce a tolerance in the coincidence of the leading edges for the constituents of filling material to be compiled within a permissible offset that does not impede the further sequence of processing . this tolerance should be capable of being set dependent on different or identical dimensions and properties of the constituents of the filling material . fig4 a shows a preferred sensor arrangement that achieves this . the index n references the respective number of the filling material feeder station , counted from the top . the geometrical distance of the sensors sn2 and s ( n + 1 ) 1 from the respective point 35 at which the filling material is brought together is known . let the leading edge registration be defined as the criterion of the deviation of a leading edge of filling material from that filling material that projects farthest from a compiled stack of filling material . the tolerance in the leading edge registration represents an allowable maximum value of the defined criterion . this can be prescribed , for example , as parameter 52 via an input module 46 that is then compared to the information calculated by the microprocessor in the controller 45 that corresponds to the temporal difference between the signals of the sensors sn2 ( 32 ) and s ( n + 1 ) 33 . the sensor sn2 ( 32 ) thereby determines the position of the filling material constituent projecting farthest from the stack in the active filling material feeder station 15 . the sensor s ( 8n + 1 ) 1 , which is the first sensor in the filling material station lying directly therebelow , determines the current position of the leading edge 54 of the filling material that has just been separated and is to be added to the stack . when the identified difference exceeds the leading edge registration tolerance that has been entered , then either an error message can be triggered or feed from this filling material station is carried out earlier , or later , in the next compilation run by a time that corresponds to the amount of the measured deviation . since the distance to be traversed by the filling material in the individual stations is stored in a suitable way , the times 37 , 38 and 39 ( tkn , tbn , thn ) required for the individual segments of the distance can be identified by the microprocessor in the controller 45 . the microprocessor of the controller 45 is supplied with a sensor signal 51 and 52 and evaluates the leading edge of the filling material , the length of the filling material and the delivery speed of the removed filling material 9 and correspondingly controls the permissible offset of the following feeds , so that all documents are essentially fed with identically oriented leading edges . an envelope 10 from one of the stations 14 removed from the multiple station feeder 11 is aligned synchronously with the delivery of the filling material 9 and is supplied directly to the admission region 13 of the inserter 2 . the common roller arrangements 4 and 4a respectively employed for the multiple removal and for the feed of the envelope constituents directly connect multiple station feeders 1 and 11 to the admission regions 5 and 13 of the inserter 2 . the roller arrangement 4 receives the compiled set of filling material 9 from the roller arrangement of the multiple station feeder 1 as soon as it has passed the last filling material station 15 , and the roller arrangement 4a receives the envelope 10 from the roller arrangement of the multiple station feeder 11 , at a time predetermined for the filling event , for forwarding to the inserter 2 . each roller arrangement 4 and 4a has one or more belts which are driven by the rollers in opposite directions to transfer the respective sheets of filler material or envelopes . the opposed belts in each arrangement can be merged together by means of spring biasing of the individual rollers . the rollers may , however , be provided with a surface coating which would avoid the necessity of using a belt . for example , the roller surfaces may each be elastically resilient , or may be provided with different surface coatings for accommodating different types of sheet material or envelopes . the rollers in each of the roller arrangements 4 and 4a may be respectively separately driven by their own , dedicated drive , or one or both of the arrangements 4 and 4a can be operated by the same drive which operates the inserter 2 . the filling material 9 is first folded in the inserter and folding device and is subsequently inserted into the envelope 10 . the folding and stuffing unit 18 of fig3 successively produces the folding flap fold 9a and the stuffer / folding funnel fold 9b . when producing the stuffer / folding funnel fold 9b with the stuffer 18a and the folding funnel 21 , the filling material 9 is simultaneously stuffed into the opened envelope 10 . the collaborating inserter units thereby already move relatively toward one another when folding the second fold in the inserter 2 . this relative motion only ends after the filling of the envelope 10 with the folded filling material 9 . it is also possible to forgo the second fold 9b and to produce only a single fold . to this end , the stuffer 18a can have a suitable dog 42 for the trailing edge of the filling material that grasps the filling material folded once by the folding flap 9a at its trailing edge and moves it into the insertion envelope 10 . employing an apparatus that does not fold but that has the advantages of the described invention is likewise possible , as shown in fig3 . such an arrangement has slotted catch hook 40 through which the trailing edge dog 42 moves in order to grasp the filling material at the filling material edge 43 . the common roller arrangements 4 and 4a are operated either with a central drive or with a plurality of drives that are separate from one another for the feed and insertion sequences . the filled envelopes are then ejected into a following device 30 . details of one embodiment of the inserter are shown in fig2 . the apparatus shown in fig2 is a folding unit as disclosed , for example , in german os 4220404 . the folding unit is arranged immediately in the inserter . the insertion region of the inserter and folding means has an acceptance plate 6 having a centering arrangement 16 and guide element 7 for guiding the filling material 9 , whereby a detent element 3 is arranged at the acceptance plate 6 at that end lying opposite the centering arrangement 16 and a folding funnel 21 is arranged opposite the detent element 3 . the opener 26 for the insertion envelope is secured immediately at the folding funnel 21 . the detent element 3 has an adjustment assembly 25 which permits the detent element 3 to be tilted around a rotational axis 41 , or some other suitable arrangement . a slide element 24 is provided for adjusting longitudinal position of the detent element 3 . preferably , the detent element 3 is arranged directly inside the inserter and under the folding and stuffing unit 18 . a hold - down assembly 8 serves the purpose of guiding the filling material from above . the hold - down assembly 8 , however , does not retard the filling material 9 and does not restrain it . there is a small gap ( exaggerated in fig2 ) greater than the thickness of the filling material 9 present between the acceptance plate 6 and the hold - down assembly 8 . the centering arrangement 16 and the guide elements 7 interact with the hold - down assembly 8 in order to guide the filling material 9 directly against the detent element 3 . the filling material 9 is arrested at the detent element 3 with identical leading edges with this arrangement . the folding and stuffing unit 18 is composed of a folding flap 18b having a slide 18a and of the stationary acceptance plate 6 . as may be seen from fig2 the folding and stuffing unit 18 has a dog 17 for the slide 18a that is secured to the bearing 22 . an optical edge monitor 28 below the centering arrangement 16 recognizes the set of filling material that is supplied and triggers the folding event , as shown in fig3 . the folding flap 18b is operated by a folding flap drive 23 that can pivot a folding finger 19 away via a folding finger axis 27 . the vertical dislocation of the slide 18a ensues on the basis of a dog 17 secured to the bearing 22 . the set of filling material is received by the folding and stuffing unit 18 and is arrested with identical leading edges by the detent element 3 . the folding and stuffing unit 18 resides under the set of filling material in the initial position . by turning the folding flap 18b , the set of filling material is folded a first time with the folding finger 19 . parallel to the folding event , the envelope 10 accepted by the inserter folder 2 and is opened by an envelope opener 26 and the filling material 9 is thrust into the insertion envelope by the slide that forms the second fold with the folding funnel 21 . fig3 a shows the inserter and folding means 2 in a different phase of the sequence . fig3 b shows a stuffing machine and folding means given a non - folding or single - folding mode in various motion phases . the catch hook 40 is additionally shown , this being located at the folding flap 18b . an arrangement is also possible wherein the catch hook is located at the acceptance plate 6 , preferably pivotable away therefrom . the slide 18 is also equipped with a trailing edge dog 42 . the folding and stuffing unit 18 enables the production of a fold , for example of a z - fold , volute fold or simple fold of the filling material 9 directly in the inserter . the position of the fold can be directly set on the basis of a suitable adjustment of the detent element 3 that arrests the supplied filling material in the inserter . the folding event is triggered after the selected number of individual documents has been compiled to form a set and this set has passed the edge monitor 28 . parallel with the folding event of the first fold 9a with the folding finger 19 and folding flap 18b , the envelope 10 is opened with the envelope opener 26 and the filling material 9 is stuffed into the envelope by the slide 18a that forms the second fold 9b together with the folding funnel 21 . the filled envelope is then supplied to a following device , for example to a closing device or sorting unit ( device 30 in fig1 ). it is also possible to catch formats , for example 4 &# 34 ;, with the folding flap 9a on the basis of suitable catch hooks that are secured at the level of the pivot point of the folding and stuffing unit 18 and to turn them over . after they have been turned over , a trailing edge dog moves through a slot of the catch hook and pushes the filling material 9 in the direction of the insertion envelope 10 . the described execution , wherein the filling material is conducted to the envelope , is to be understood merely as a possible embodiment . reversing the motion is likewise possible , as is an implementation wherein the filling material and envelopes move toward one another in relative fashion . although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art , it is the intention of the inventors to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution to the art .	1
the present invention will be described below with reference to an automatic cash dispenser embodying the invention . the automatic cash dispenser , which is one of several systems for performing banking transactions , is adapted for use with magnetic cards having magnetically recorded therein the identification number , account number and other data of a particular customer . the invention is of course useful for other systems for performing banking transactions , such as automatic cash depositing machines , etc . fig1 shows the construction of the automatic cash dispenser . as is well known , the automatic cash dispenser includes a magnetic card reader 121 for reading magnetic cards each having magnetically recorded therein the identification number ( id number ), account number and other data of a customer , a receipt issuing device 122 by which transaction data , such as the date of transaction , account number , dispensed sum and balance , are printed on the journal as a record for the bank and also on a receipt which is delivered to the customer as his record , a bank note delivery device 123 for counting the number of bank notes to be dispensed and delivering the bank notes , a customer operation panel and controller therefor 124 , and a monitor panel and controller therefor 125 . the customer operation panel has a keyboard including a ten - key arrangement for entering numerical data such as id number , sum , etc ., a confirming key and other keys , a numerical display for indicating the id number , sum , etc ., and a procedure display for successively showing procedural instructions for the customer to execute the instructions . the monitor panel has a power supply switch , a change - over switch for maintaining or interrupting the transaction service , a test mode setting device , a date setting device and displays for indicating the states selected or set . the customer operation panel , which is handled by the customer , is disposed on the front side of the dispenser . the monitor panel , which is operated by the bank clerk , is disposed on the rearside or a lateral side of the dispenser , i . e . at a location not accessible by the customer . according to the present embodiment , the magnetic card reader 121 and the receipt issuing device 122 constitute a module component 111 , the bank note delivery device 123 constitutes a module component 112 , and the customer operation panel and controller therefor 124 and the monitor panel and the controller therefor 125 constitute a module component 113 . each of the components 111 to 113 is controlled by a slave central processing unit ( termed &# 34 ; s - cpu &# 34 ;) 115 . however , since the card reader 121 , receipt issuing device 122 , bank note delivery device 123 , customer operation panel and controller therefor 124 , and monitor panel and controller therefor 125 are each separate terminal units ( which should be called &# 34 ; input / output units &# 34 ; rather than terminal units but are herein termed &# 34 ; terminal units &# 34 ;), they are given different addresses , &# 34 ; card ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; jnl ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; cash ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; fpnl &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; mpnl ,&# 34 ; respectively . the module components 111 to 113 are each provided with rom 116 storing the program of s - cpu 115 , ram 117 for storing various data , an interface 119 for the communication of data between the component and a main control assembly 100 , and a communication interval watching timer 118 for watching troubles . a remote monitor 126 is disposed also as a terminal unit and given an address &# 34 ; rmc &# 34 ;. as is the case with the monitor panel , the remote monitor 126 is provided with like switches , setting devices , displays , s - cpu , rom , ram and interface . the remote monitor 126 is disposed at a location away from the case dispenser . the card reader 121 , receipt issuing device 122 , bank note delivery device 123 and customer operation panel and controller therefor 124 , which are one group of terminal units , are controlled in a predetermined sequence according to the main program of the main control assembly 100 . the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 are a second group of terminal units which are not included in the sequential processing under the main program . the main control assembly 100 comprises a master central processing unit ( termed &# 34 ; m - cpu &# 34 ;) 101 for controlling the terminal units 121 to 124 in accordance with the main program , for controlling the other terminal units 125 and 126 and for controlling the communication with a control center ( not shown ), ram 104 for storing various data , rom 102 having the main program stored therein , rom 103 having a communication control program stored therein , a program counter 105 , an interface 108 for the communication of data with the module components 111 to 113 , an interface 107 for the communication of data with the control center , an interface 109 for the communication of data with the remote monitor 126 , and a response time monitoring timer 106 . the main control assembly 100 is connected to the module components 111 to 113 and the remote monitor 126 by four communication lines including data sending lines and data receiving lines . serial data is transmitted through these lines . each of the interfaces 107 to 109 and 119 comprises a receiver , driver , parallel - serial and serial - parallel converter and direct memory access ( dma ) control circuit . data is transferred directly from ram to ram under dma control . upon receipt of data , each interface feeds an interruption signal to the corresponding cpu . such dma control is already known and will not be described . the communication between the control center and the main control assembly 100 is effected through a modulator and demodulator circuit ( modem ) 129 . fig2 shows the format of message to be transmitted between the main control assembly 100 and the terminal units 121 to 126 . the format is called &# 34 ; frame &# 34 ; and standardized . one message is transmitted by one frame . the frame is composed of six fields , namely start flag field , address field , control field , information field , check field and end flag field . the start flag and the end flag indicate the beginning and end of the frame . transmission error checking is started with the start flag and terminated with the end flag . the address of the address field always indicates the address of the terminal unit . when a message is sent from the main control assembly 100 to a terminal unit , the address indicates the receiving terminal unit . conversely when a message is sent from a terminal unit to the main control assembly 100 , the address indicates the sender unit . the control field data contains commands including an input / output command ( iopt ), wait command ( wait ) and initial command ( snrm , i . e . set normal response mode ). the information field contains data such as control codes to be given to terminal units for reading ( in , read ), counting ( stor ), printing ( print ), writing ( writ ) and return or delivery ( out ), response data from the terminal units in reply of such control codes , and data indicating malfunctions , errors or the like of terminal units . the check field is used for checking whether or not the contents of the frame have been transmitted correctly . the command ( iopt ) causes a terminal unit to perform the specified operation and is accompanied by the corresponding one of the control codes mentioned above . a message with some data in the information field is an i frame . a message with no data in the information field is an rr frame ( receive ready frame ). the command ( wait ) means waiting for a response . a message containing the command ( wait ) is an rr frame message . when a response or data is to be sent to the main control assembly 100 from a terminal unit , the data is sent in synchronism with the rr frame message from the main control assembly 100 . the initial command ( snrm ) is used when the power supply is turned on or a malfunction is detected . a message containing this command is an im frame . fig3 shows some of contents of the ram 104 in the main control assembly 100 . the ram 104 includes areas m1 and m2 which are used for communication with terminal units , the area m1 being adapted for storing the received messages and the area m2 for storing the messages to send , areas m3 and m4 which are used for communication with the center , the area m3 being adapted for storing the messages to be sent to the center and the area m4 for storing the messages received from the center , and areas m5 to m8 for storing the card data , id number , sum and receipt printing data , respectively , needed for dispensing cash . when a message containing card data , id number or sum is sent from the terminal unit concerned to the area m1 under dma control , the data is stored in the corresponding area of m5 to m7 by the m - cpu 101 and added to the message in the area m3 to be sent to the center during communication with the center . the receipt printing data is contained in the message in the area m4 received from the center and is transferred from the area m4 to the area m8 . when controlling the receipt issuing device 122 , this data is inserted into a message to the device 122 . stored in the outgoing message area m2 are a start flag , address , control bits , information , check bits and end flag like the frame format shown in fig2 . the ram 104 is provided with a scanning table tm1 for the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 , and for the remote monitor 126 , and a malfunction treating table tm2 for all the terminal units . the scanning table tm1 has , for each of the terminal units , a memory location t11 used as a scanning register flag , a memory location t12 for the address of the unit , and a location t13 for storing the address of the location where a subprogram unique to the terminal unit is stored . the subprograms and the malfunction treating programs to be described later are stored in either one of the rom &# 39 ; s 102 and 103 , or in other rom ( not shown ). as already described , the first group of terminal units other than the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 are controlled in a predetermined sequence according to the main program , but the control programs for the other group of terminals comprising units 125 and 126 are not contained in the main program . the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 are concomitantly scanned only during communication with the first terminal units and are allowed to transmit data to the main control assembly 100 only when so scanned . the main control assembly 100 scans only for the registered terminal unit . the presence or absence of register is judged according to the state of the flag at the memory location t11 . when the scanning register flag is &# 34 ; 1 ,&# 34 ; this indicates the presence of register . as will become apparent later , when the main control assembly 100 scans the terminal units 125 and 126 and a message other than an rr frame is returned from these units 125 and 126 , the main control assembly executes the subprogram specified by the address in the memory location t13 . the malfunction treating table tm 2 is provided , for each terminal unit , with a memory location t21 used as a malfunction flag , a location t22 for storing the address of the terminal unit , and a location t23 for storing the address of the malfunction treating program of the terminal unit . fig4 schematically shows the main program of the main control assembly 100 . for convenience , the flow chart does not show the control for the numerical display and procedure display for the customer operation panel and controller therefor 124 . fig4 also shows , on the right side of the blocks , instructions for the processes indicated in the blocks . first , the m - cpu 101 sets the scanning register flags to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at the memory locations t11 for the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 on the scanning table tm1 in the ram 104 to register ( initialize ) these terminal units ( step 1 ). next , whether or not an idle flag ( idl ) has been set is checked ( step 2 ). the idle flag ( idl ) is provided in a non - volatile memory ( not shown ) and is set when the power is turned on by the attendant . since the idle flag ( idl ) is reset during the processing of a transaction ( reset in step 4 and set in step 18 ), the fact that the idle flag is found unset in step 2 means that a power failure occurred during the performance of a transaction , followed by restoration of the power . in this case , the user turns on a buzzer or indicator lamp to call the attendant . the terminal units are controlled , first for the magnetic card reader 121 . step 3 checks whether or not a card has been inserted into the card reader 121 . with the card inserted , the idle flag ( idl ) is reset ( step 4 ), and the card reader 121 reads the card data ( step 5 ). the insertion of the card is detected by a card detector ( not shown ) provided in the reader 121 . the inserted card is checked whether or not it is proper , based on the card data read , for example , by checking whether or not the bank code in the card data is in agreement with the predetermined one ( step 6 ). unless the card is a proper one , the card is returned ( step 7 ). this step is followed by step 3 . when the inserted card is proper , the customer operation panel terminal unit 124 is controlled . the customer keys in his id number ( step 8 ) and subsequently keys in the desired sum ( step 9 ). the data entered is transmitted to the main control assembly 100 , in which the m - cpu 101 edits , in the area m3 of the ram 104 , a message containing transaction data such as the account number and sum . the message is sent to the control center ( step 10 ). the control center has a customer information file which has stored therein banking transaction data including the account number , balance , etc . of each customer . the center checks , for example , whether or not the account number in the data transmitted from the cash dispenser is contained in the file and whether or not the balance of the customer is larger than the requested sum , and transmits to the dispenser a message containing data permitting or not permitting the delivery of the sum . the message is transmitted from the center to the m - cpu 101 ( step 11 ), indicating whether or not the delivery of the cash is permitted ( step 12 ). in the event that the cash delivery is not permitted , the card is returned ( step 7 ). when the delivery is permitted , the bank note delivery device 123 , receipt issuing device 122 and card reader 121 are controlled at the same time . the device 123 is commanded to count the desired sum of bank notes and to temporarily hold the notes ( step 13 ). the issuing device 122 is commanded to print the transaction data on a receipt and the journal ( step 14 ), and the card reader 121 to write the required data , such as the balance , on the card ( step 15 ). this is followed by the return of the card ( step 16 ) and the delivery of the temporarily held bank notes and printed receipt ( step 17 ). the idle flag ( idl ) is set in step 18 . thus sequential control is completed . the subsequent sequential control is started with step 3 . steps 3 and 5 of the main program are performed for the card reader 121 . during these steps , the main control assembly 100 communicates only with the reader 121 with the exception of scanning the terminal units 125 and 126 as will be described later . with reference to fig9 one of the instructions involved in step 3 comprises command iopt , address card and control code in ( detection of inserted card ). when an i frame message containing this instruction is given to the reader 121 according to the data communication program to be described later , the card reader 121 ( the s - cpu 115 for controlling the reader 121 ) starts to detect the insertion of the card and gives the main control assembly 100 an rr frame message for confirming the receipt of the i frame message . upon receipt of the rr frame messages , the main control assembly 100 transmits to the card reader 121 an rr frame message in which an instruction containing command wait and address card is edited . the card reader 121 , when not detecting the insertion of the card , transmits an rr frame message to the assembly 100 again in response to the rr frame message received . upon detecting the insertion of the card , the card reader 121 gives the main control assembly 100 an i frame message to the effect that the insertion of the card has been detected , whereby the communications for step 3 are completed . similarly in step 5 , the main control assembly 100 transmits to the card reader 121 an i frame message having edited therein an instruction comprising a command iopt , address card and control code read ( card data reading ). in response to the message from the assembly 100 , the card reader 121 starts reading the data on the inserted card and transmits a confirming rr frame message to the assembly 100 . while the m - cpu 101 of the main control assembly 100 is thus performing step 3 or 5 of the main program , the communications between the assembly 100 and the terminal units are concomitantly controlled as described hereinafter . thus , it is that the assembly 100 communicates only with the reader 121 for which the instruction for step 3 or 5 is intended . the instructions for steps 8 and 9 contain an address key for the keyboard included in the customer operation panel and controller therefor 124 . in these steps , the main control assembly 100 exchanges messages only with the terminal unit 124 . similarly in steps 13 to 17 , the assembly 100 communicates only with the terminal units for which the instructions of these steps are intended . fig5 shows a communication control program . the m - cpu 101 , after performing the initial malfunction treatment to be described later ( step 20 ), reads an instruction from the main program in the rom 102 ( step 21 ) and checks whether the command in the instruction is iopt or wait ( steps 22 , 31 ). if the command is neither iopt nor wait , an other command will be processed . if the command is iopt , an i frame message is edited in the area m2 of the ram 104 with reference to the address and control code in the instruction ( step 23 ), and is transferred under dma control ( step 24 ). at the same time , the response time monitoring timer 106 is started ( step 25 ). subsequently step 26 checks whether or not the terminal unit designated by the address in the message has responded . upon receipt of a message from the terminal unit , the interface 108 feeds an interruption signal to the m - cpu 101 . when there is no response from the terminal unit before the time set on the timer has elapsed ( step 27 ), the malfunction treatment to be described later will follow . when there is a response from the designated unit , step 28 checks whether or not the response is an rr frame message . if the response is not an rr frame , the message contains some information , so that the information is processed ( step 29 ). for example , when card data is transmitted from the card reader 121 as the information , the data ( in the area m1 ) is written to the area m5 of the ram 104 . if the response is an rr frame which is merely a confirming message and contains no information , step 30 follows instead of step 29 to add &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to the contents of the program counter 105 . similarly step 29 is followed by the addition of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to the contents of the program counter 105 ( step 30 ). step 21 thereafter follows to read out the instruction designated by the contents of the counter 105 and repeat the same operation as above . when the command is wait ( step 31 ), an rr frame message is edited in the area m2 of the ram 104 ( step 32 ) and is transferred to the designated terminal unit under dma control ( step 33 ). at the same time , the response time monitoring timer 106 is started ( step 34 ). if there is a response from the unit designated by the address in the message ( step 35 ), step 37 checks whether or not the response message is an rr frame . if yes , step 41 follows . if otherwise , the received information is processed ( step 38 ) as in step 29 . the contents of the program counter 105 is thereafter advanced by one ( step 39 ), and step 21 follows again . when there is no response from the terminal unit the time set on the timer 106 is over ( step 36 ), malfunction treatment follows . communication control is thus accomplished by steps 21 to 39 for the first group of terminal units 121 to 124 . steps 40 to 49 are performed for the communication control of the second group of terminal units , i . e . the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 , which is executed concomitantly with the communication control for the first terminal units 121 to 124 . when an rr frame message is transmitted to one of the terminal units 121 to 124 ( step 33 ), which in turn delivers an rr frame message ( step 37 ), step 41 follows to initiate communication control for the other terminal units 125 and 126 . the scanning table tm1 in the ram 104 is searched ( step 41 ) to check whether or not the scanning register flag in the memory location t11 for the unit 125 is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( step 42 ). if the flag is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, step 40 follows to search whether or not all terminal units ( i . e . the two units 125 and 126 in the present embodiment ) on the table tm1 have been searched . the main control assembly 100 includes a counter for searching the table tm1 , and every time the table has been searched for one terminal unit , the counter is advanced by one . the contents of the counter than indicate whether or not search for all the terminal units has been completed . when the search for all the units has been completed , the contents of the table searching counter are reset to the initial value , and step 21 follows again . when the scanning register flag is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( step 42 ), the address of the unit stored in the corresponding memory location t12 is read out , and an rr frame message containing the address is edited in the area m2 of the ram 104 ( step 43 ). the message is dma - transferred to the terminal unit ( step 44 ). the response time monitoring timer 106 is also started ( step 45 ). step 46 checks whether or not there is a response , within a specified period of time , from the unit designated by the address of the message ( step 46 ). the response message , if received , is checked as to whether or not the message is an rr frame ( step 48 ). in the absence of the response within the specified time ( step 47 ), malfunction treatment is conducted . the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 are intended for checking and controlling the state of operation of the automatic cash dispenser and are provided with various switches , setting devices , etc . as already described . if there is a change in the state of such a switch or device , the terminal unit 125 or 126 replies to the main control assembly 100 with an i frame message indicating the change ( corresponding to step 46 ), in response to an rr frame messsage from the assembly 100 ( corresponding to step 44 ). when there is no change in the state of the switch , setting device or the like , the unit 125 or 126 responds to the assembly 100 with an rr frame message . when the response message from the terminal unit 125 or 126 is an rr frame in the communication control by the main control assembly , step 48 is followed by step 40 again . if the reply from the unit 125 or 126 is not an rr frame but an i frame containing some information , the received information is processed according to a subprogram with reference to the address stored in the memory location t13 in the table tm1 ( step 49 ). step 49 is followed by step 21 again . when step 37 proves &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; again , steps 40 to 49 are performed . in this way , the communication between the main control assembly 100 and the second group of terminal units 125 and 126 follows the exchange of rr frame messages between the assembly 100 and the first group of terminal units 121 to 124 . thus , although the main program does not include the processing for the terminal units 125 and 126 , the communication between the main control assembly 100 and the terminal units 125 and 126 can be accomplished . fig1 shows how the main control assembly 100 communicates with the monitor panel and controller therefor 125 and the remote monitor 126 , concomitantly with step 17 . when the assembly 100 edited and delivered an i frame message containing an instruction comprising command iopt , address cash and control code out ( delivery of bank notes ) ( steps 23 and 24 ), the bank note delivery device 123 transmits to the assembly 100 an rr frame message confirming the receipt of the i frame message . on receiving the rr frame message ( step 28 ), the assembly 100 adds &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to the contents of the program counter 105 ( step 30 ) and reads out the next instruction ( step 21 ). this instruction is composed of a command iopt , address jnl and control code out ( delivery of receipt ). an i frame message containing this instruction is edited and transmitted ( steps 23 and 24 ), whereupon the receipt issuing device 122 gives the assembly 100 an rr frame message confirming the receipt of the message ( step 28 ). the program counter 105 is advanced again by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( step 30 ). the subsequent instruction is composed of a command wait and address cash . the main assembly 100 edits and gives an rr frame message containing the instruction ( steps 32 and 33 ). in response to the rr frame message , the bank note delivery device 123 replies with an rr frame message . consequently step 37 is yes , followed by step 41 . if the terminal unit 125 is registered in the table tm1 ( step 42 ), the assembly 100 delivers an rr frame message containing a command wait and address mpnl ( steps 43 and 44 ). in response to an rr frame message from the unit 125 ( step 48 ) and if the remote monitor 126 is registered in the table tm1 ( step 42 ), an rr frame message containing a command wait and address rmc is transmitted to the monitor 126 ( steps 43 and 44 ). if the monitor 126 replies with an rr frame message similarly ( step 48 ), step 40 follows . since the table has been completely searched in this way , &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is added to the contents of the program counter 105 ( this block is not shown ). step 21 then follows again . if one of the units 125 and 126 delivers information with a message other than rr frame , the information is processed ( step 49 ), followed by the addition of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; to the contents of the counter 105 and step 21 . a further instruction is composed of a command wait and address jnl . the assembly 100 delivers an rr message containing this instruction ( step 33 ). when there is a response from the issuing device 122 with an rr frame message ( step 37 ), step 41 follows again , and inquires for the units 125 and 126 are made . when the search has been completed ( step 40 ), or information delivered from the units 125 and 126 has been processed ( step 49 ), step 21 follows . the assembly 100 gives an rr frame message containing a command wait and address cash ( step 33 ). when there is a response from the device 123 with an i frame message notifying that the bank notes have been delivered ( no for step 37 ), the attendant process is performed ( step 38 ). similarly when there is a reply from the issuing device 122 to the effect that the receipt has been delivered , in response to an rr frame message transmitted to the device 122 , step 17 is completely terminated . the scanning for the second group of terminal units 125 and 126 is conducted not only during step 17 but also in step 3 , step 5 and other steps , every time when the main control assembly 100 transmits an rr frame message to one of the first group of terminal units 121 to 124 , followed by an rr frame reply from the unit in response to the message . in this case , step 37 is invariably accompanied by step 41 for the scanning . when a terminal unit develops a malfunction ( e . g . power failure ), when the malfunction is remedied and when a terminal unit detects malfunction in the main control assembly , during the control of the first group of terminal units 121 to 124 by the assembly 100 and during the scanning of the other terminal units 125 and 126 by the assembly , the main and terminal units are notified of such a malfunction in the following manner . ( 1 ) when a message transmitted from the main assembly to the terminal unit is not responded to by the terminal unit designated by the address of the message at least for a specified period of time , the assembly judges that a malfunction ( power failure ) occurred in the terminal unit and sets the malfunction flag of the unit to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in the malfunction treating table tm2 for the treatment of the trouble . ( 2 ) when the main control assembly is to transmit a message containing some command to the terminal with a malfunction flag set , the assembly first transmits an im frame message to the unit to check whether or not the unit is responsive . if there is a response from the unit to the im frame message , the assembly resets the malfunction flag , and transmits the message containing the command . ( 3 ) when the power is turned on or restored , the terminal unit remains non - responsive to messages containing any command and given by the main control assembly , until the unit receives an im frame message . ( 4 ) after receiving the im frame message , the terminal unit responds , as usual , to a command - containing message from the main control assembly . ( 5 ) the terminal unit checks whether or not some message is transmitted , within a specified time interval , from the main control assembly to any of the terminal units . if no message is transmitted from the main assembly for more than the specified period of time , the terminal units remain non - responsive until the receipt of an im frame message . fig6 shows the procedures for the initial malfunction treatment ( fig5 step 20 ). first , the malfunction flags on the malfunction treating table ( tm2 ) in the memory locations t21 are set for all the terminal units ( step 51 ). the table tm2 is searched ( step 52 ) to read out the address ( in memory location t22 ) of a terminal with a set malfunction flag , an im frame message containing the address is edited in the area m2 of the ram 104 ( step 53 ), and the im frame message is dma - transferred ( step 54 ). the response time monitoring timer 106 is then started ( step 55 ). the assembly checks whether or not there is a response from the terminal unit designated by the address in the im frame message ( step 56 ). when there is an rr frame response from the designated terminal unit within the time set on the timer 106 ( step 57 ), this indicates that the unit is free of any malfunction , so that the malfunction flag for the unit concerned is reset ( step 60 ). the malfunction treating program designated by the address stored in the corresponding location t23 is then executed ( step 61 ). ( since the unit has no malfunction , nothing is done at this time .) step 62 checks whether or not the malfunction flag search on the table tm2 has been completed for all the terminal units . if the search has not been completed , step 52 follows to repeat the same procedure as above . if the time set on the response time monitoring timer 106 has elapsed without any response from the addressed terminal unit after the delivery of an im frame message ( step 58 ), or if the response from the unit is not an rr frame message ( step 57 ), a transmission error is involved , so that the im frame message is transmitted repeatedly a predetermined number of times ( step 59 ). when step 57 still proves &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; or step 58 &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; despite the repetitions of transmission of the im frame message , the bank attendant is called . fig7 shows the procedures of malfunction treatment . after the transmission of some message from the assembly 100 to a terminal unit , and when the time set on the timer 106 has elapsed with no reply from the designated unit ( fig5 steps 27 , 36 and 47 ), the same message as in step 59 is repeatedly transmitted a specified number of times ( this step is not shown ). if there is no response from the designated terminal unit despite the repetitions of transmission , step 65 follows to set the malfunction flag ( memory location t21 ) of the unit designated by the address of the message . the table tm2 is searched for a malfunction flag ( step 66 ). if there is a set malfunction flag ( step 67 ), the address ( memory location t22 ) of the terminal unit corresponding to the set flag is read out , an im frame message containing the address is edited in the area m2 ( step 68 ) and transmitted to the terminal unit ( step 69 ), and the response time monitoring timer 106 is started ( step 70 ). step 71 checks whether or not there is a response from the designated terminal unit . if the response message is an rr frame ( step 72 ), the malfunction flag corresponding to the unit is reset ( step 75 ), and trouble treatment is conducted under the program designated by the address stored in the memory location t23 ( step 76 ). step 77 thereafter checks whether or not search has been completed for the entire table tm2 ( step 77 ). if the search still remains to be completed , step 66 follows to search for a set malfunction flag . completion of the search is accompanied by step 21 ( fig5 ). after the transmission of the im message , if the time set on the timer 106 is over ( step 73 ) or if the response from the terminal unit is not an rr frame messsage ( step 72 ), the im frame message is transmitted repeatedly a predetermined number of times ( step 74 ). when step 72 still proves &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; or step 73 &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, the attendant is called . when the malfunction flag searched for is not set in step 67 , step 77 follows to check whether or not the search has been completed . fig8 shows the procedures of communication control for each terminal unit . after the power is restored ( or turned on ), and after the malfunction in the main control assembly 100 has been treated ( step 89 ), each terminal unit transmits an rr frame message ( step 82 ) only upon receiving an im frame message having an address identical with its own address ( step 81 ). after the transmission of the rr frame message , the communication interval monitoring timer 118 is started ( step 83 ). each terminal unit checks at all times whether or not some message is transmitted from the assembly 100 to the terminal unit ( step 84 ). when a message is received from the assembly 100 , the interface 119 feeds an interruption signal to the s - cpu 115 , which therefore is notified of the receipt of the message . upon receiving some message from the central control assembly 100 free of any transmission error , the terminal unit checks the received message as to whether or not the message contains the address to identify the message as one intended for that unit ( step 85 ). when the message is not intended for the unit , step 83 is followed to restart the timer 118 and check the message from the assembly 100 again . if the received message is intended for the unit , a message in response to the message is edited ( step 86 ) and transmitted to the assembly 100 ( step 87 ). step 83 thereafter follows to restart the timer 118 . the terminal unit performs processing in accordance with the contents of the received message . the message to be checked for receipt in step 84 may be any message , including one containing the address of another terminal unit or an im frame message . steps 83 to 85 check whether or not some message is transmitted , within a specified time interval , from the main control assembly 100 to a terminal unit . if no message is received within the period of time set on the timer 118 ( step 88 ), the unit judges that a malfunction occurred in the assembly 100 and conducts the specified malfunction treatment , for example , transmission of a message to that effect to the assembly 100 ( step 89 ). step 81 then follows . when a message involving a transmission error is received , step 84 provides &# 34 ; no .&# 34 ; thus each terminal unit resets its communication interval monitoring timer 118 not only when receiving a message of identical address ( i . e . message intended for the unit ) but also when receiving a message addressed to another terminal unit , provided that the message does not involve a transmission error , so that there is no need for the assembly 100 to transmit a message to each terminal unit for the purpose of resetting the timer of the unit . fig1 shows how messages are exchanged between the main control assembly 100 and the terminal unit when a power failure occurs temporarily in the unit and the power is thereafter restored . in the usual state , rr frame and i frame messages are repeatedly exchanged between the assembly 100 and the unit . in the event of a power failure in the unit , followed by restoration , the unit becomes non - responsive to messages other than an im frame message ( fig8 step 81 ). accordingly even when the assembly 100 transmits , for example , an rr frame message ( fig5 steps 32 and 33 ), the receiving unit remains non - responsive even after the lapse of the time t1 set on the timer 106 ( step 36 ). the unit 100 therefore sets the malfunction flag of the unit concerned ( fig7 step 65 ) and transmits an im frame message to the unit ( steps 68 and 69 ). in response to the im frame message , the unit transmits an rr frame message to the assembly 100 ( fig8 steps 81 and 82 ). the assembly 100 , on receiving the rr frame message ( fig7 step 72 ), resets the malfunction flag of the unit ( step 75 ) to restore the usual state . fig1 shows how messages are exchanged between the main control assembly 100 and the terminal unit when a power failure occurs temporarily in the main control assembly and the power is thereafter restored . when a temporary power failure occurred in the assembly , the terminal unit fails to receive messages for more than the period of time t2 set on the timer 118 ( fig8 step 88 ) and consequently becomes non - responsive to messages other than an im frame message ( step 81 ). accordingly even if the assembly 100 transmits , for example , an rr frame message to the unit after the power is restored , the unit remains non - responsive for more than the specified period of time t1 . at this time , therefore , the assembly 100 realizes that the unit is non - responsive due to the power failure of the assembly itself . the assembly then sets the malfunction flag ( fig7 step 65 ) and delivers an im frame ( steps 68 and 69 ), in response to which the unit feeds an rr frame message ( fig8 steps 81 and 82 , and fig7 step 72 ). the flag is reset ( step 75 ) to restore the normal state . after the restoration of the power , the assembly 100 performs the initial malfunction treatment ( fig5 step 20 and fig6 ), in which the assembly 100 gives an im frame message ( steps 53 and 54 ). in fig1 , the assembly 100 , after restoring the power , will not transmit an rr frame . for a clarified description of the operation , fig1 shows rr frame messages . although the above description is given for the case in which power failures occurred in the assembly and terminal unit , this invention is of course useful for other malfunctions . fig1 shows one system controller 140 used for controlling a plurality of automatic cash dispensers 120 and an automatic cash depositing machine 130 . the dispensers 120 have the same construction as the one shown in fig1 . the depositing machine 130 has a bank book reader 131 for reading or writing on the magnetic strips on bank books , a bank note checker 132 for discriminating the face value and genuineness of the bank notes inserted , a customer operation panel 133 , etc . these terminal units are controlled also by s - cpu ( not shown ). the system controller 140 has m - cpu , rom having stored therein various programs , ram for storing data , program counter , monitoring timer , communication controlling interfaces , etc . the present invention is useful also for such a system .	6
reference is now made to fig1 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = underflow , comprised of fine solids and most of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small portion of process liquid . the flow diagram of fig1 is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor for use in a subsequent enzymatic reaction . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , and the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may not be necessary . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 1 . 33 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 18 μm ; range 1 to 120 μm ) was processed according to fig1 . a 355 μm mesh screen was used to separate the two solids . 95 % of the corn mash and 7 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the overflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded set of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 65 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 35 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . 78 % of the process fluid in stream c was directed to stream d . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was , thus , 60 %. with reference to fig1 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = underflow , comprised of fine solids and most of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small portion of process liquid . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , and the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may not be necessary . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 2 . 67 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 18 μm ; range 1 to 120 μm ) was processed according to fig1 . a 355 μm mesh screen was used to separate the two solids . 90 % of the corn mash and 6 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the overflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded set of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 81 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 19 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . 73 % of the process fluid was directed to stream d . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was 76 %. with reference to fig1 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = underflow , comprised of fine solids and most of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small portion of process liquid . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , and the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may not be necessary . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 2 . 0 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 18 μm ; range 1 to 120 μm ) was processed according to fig1 . a 250 μm mesh screen was used to separate the two solids . 100 % of the corn mash and 4 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the overflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded bank of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 71 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 29 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . 82 % of the fluid in stream c was directed to stream d , and 18 % of the fluid went to stream e . the total immobilized enzyme recovery under these conditions was 68 %. with reference to fig4 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = underflow , comprised of fine solids and most of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small fraction of the liquid from stream c . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled . the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may be required to dilute the solids present in stream a , facilitating the separation of fine and coarse solids via the screen . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 2 . 0 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 25 μm ; range 5 to 90 μm ) was processed according to fig4 . after dilution , the feed to the screen contained 15 % corn mash and 1 % immobilized enzyme . a 250 μm mesh screen was used to separate the two solids . 100 % of the corn mash and 1 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the overflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded bank of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 78 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 22 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . 72 % of the fluid in stream c was directed to stream d , and 28 % of the fluid went to stream e . the total immobilized enzyme recovery under these conditions was 77 %. with reference to fig2 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = overflow , comprised of fine solids and 50 - 80 % of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small fraction of the liquid from stream c . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , and the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may not be necessary . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 1 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 18 μm ; range 1 to 120 μm ) was processed according to fig2 . a hydrocyclone with a 3 cm ( dia ) inlet was used to separate the two solids . the feed rate was 6 . 6 l / s , and the pressure drop across the hydrocyclone was 0 . 5 bar . 100 % of the corn mash and 29 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the underflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded set of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 78 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 22 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 3 . 4 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 9 . 4 l / min / cyclone . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was thus 55 %. with reference to fig3 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = overflow , comprised of fine solids and 50 - 80 % of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small fraction of the liquid from stream c . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , and the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may not be necessary . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 1 . 33 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 18 μm ; range 1 to 120 μm ) was processed according to fig3 with sufficient fluid recycle ( stream f ) to reduce the solids loading to the first hydrocyclone to ˜ 20 %. a hydrocyclone with a 3 cm ( dia ) inlet was used to separate the two solids . the feed rate was 10 . 1 l / s , and the pressure drop across the hydrocyclone was 0 . 5 bar . 100 % of the corn mash and 18 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the underflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded set of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 78 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 22 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was , thus , 64 %. with reference to fig5 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = overflow , comprised of fine solids and 50 - 80 % of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small fraction of the liquid from stream d . e ′= underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small fraction of the liquid from stream c . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , although the solid separation of streams c and d via the hydrocyclones may be needed to produce recycle fluid to dilute the solids in stream a . note that fig5 differs from fig3 only by the fact that an additional hydrocyclone is added to improve the separation / recovery of fine particles , and to increase the percentage of process fluid recycled to mix with stream a . as required , additional hydrocyclones / centrifuges beyond the two shown here can be incorporated into the process , adding to the fluid recycle streams f and f ′, and solid recycle streams e and e ′. a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 1 . 33 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 18 μm ; range 1 to 120 μm ) was processed according to fig5 with sufficient fluid recycle ( streams f and f ′) to reduce the solids loading to the first hydrocyclone to ˜ 10 %. a hydrocyclone with a 4 . 8 cm ( dia ) inlet was used to separate the two solids . the feed rate was 21 l / s , and the pressure drop across the hydrocyclone was 0 . 5 bar . 100 % of the corn mash and 8 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the underflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded set of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 78 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 22 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . a second set of hydrocyclones was used to separate the solids in stream d , directing 70 % of the solids to the underflow ( stream e ′), and 30 % to the overflow ( stream f ′). for each of these latter two hydrocyclones , 73 % of the fluid was directed to the overflow ( streams f and f ′), and 23 % was directed to the underflow ( e and e ′). the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was thus 86 %. with reference to fig1 wherein the process steps are as listed hereinbelow . c = underflow , comprised of fine solids and most of the process liquid from stream a e = underflow , comprised of fine solids and a small portion of process liquid . this flow diagram is based on the premise that the immobilized enzyme is present as a fine solid , while the other process solids are present as much larger particles . this implies that stream c contains the immobilized enzyme to ultimately be recycled to the reactor . should the opposite be true , stream b would contain the immobilized enzyme , which would then be recycled , and the solid separation of stream c provided via the hydrocyclone may not be necessary . a mixture of 30 % corn mash ( mean 700 μm ; 98 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 2 . 66 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 140 μm ; range 1 to 220 μm ; median 120 μm ) was processed according to fig1 . a 355 μm mesh screen was used to separate the two solids . 99 % of the corn mash and 1 % of the immobilized enzyme proceeded to the overflow ( stream b ). the balance ( as stream c ) proceeded to a manifolded set of 10 mm hydrocyclones with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet . 96 % of the solids in stream c were directed to the underflow ( stream e ), and 4 % proceeded to stream d , based on a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flow rate of 2 . 8 l / min / cyclone . 71 % of the process fluid in stream c was directed to stream d . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was , thus , 95 %. a mixture of 17 % corn mash ( mean 750 μm ; 85 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 1 . 33 % immobilized enzyme ( mean 120 μm ; range 75 to 200 μm ) was processed according to fig1 at a feed rate of 225 l / min . a screen with d50 = 186 μm was used to separate the solids . ninety percent of the solids & lt ; 355 μm proceeded to the underflow ( stream c ), with 6 % of the immobilized enzyme lost to the overflow ( stream b ). stream c was processed as a batch through a manifolded set of fifteen 10 mm hydrocyclones , with a pressure drop of 5 . 4 bar across each hydrocyclone , and a flowrate of 181 l / min . seventy percent of the process fluid was directed to stream d , and 54 % of the solids in stream c were directed to stream e . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme under these conditions was 50 %. a stream containing 35 % solids ( 96 % corn mash ) was processed according to fig1 with double decked screens . the top screen has a d50 = 562 μm , and the bottom screen has a d50 of 294 μm . the solids are thus subject to a “ rough ” cut on the top screen , and a “ fine ” cut on the bottom screen . eighty nine percent of the solids & lt ; 355 μm proceeded to stream c , and 12 % of the immobilized enzyme was lost to stream b . stream c was subsequently processed at 132 l / min , with a pressure drop of 5 . 6 bar ; 87 % of the fluid was directed to overflow stream d . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme was 69 %. a stream containing 35 % solids ( 96 % corn mash ) was processed according to fig1 modified to use two screens arranged in series on shakers inclined at 30 degrees with respect to horizontal . the first screen had a d50 of 863 μm , and the second screen had a d50 of 387 μm . the solids are thus subject to a “ rough ” cut on the first screen , and a “ fine ” cut on the second screen . the feed rate was 132 l / min to the first screen ; the screen unders were allowed to accumulate and then fed to the second screen at a rate of 107 l / min . eighty seven percent of the solids & lt ; 355 μm and ninety four percent of the immobilized enzyme were ultimately directed to stream c for separation via the hydrocyclones , as described in example 2 , hereinabove . the total recovery of immobilized enzyme was 90 %. an immobilized enzyme was recovered from a soluble substrate stream according to essentially fig1 without the screen . the loading of immobilized enzyme was 2 . 1 g / l . the suspension was fed to a manifolded set of fifteen 10 mm hydrocyclones , at a rate of 147 l / min , with a pressure drop of 3 . 8 bar . approximately four percent of the fluid was directed to the hydrocyclone underflow , wherein the solids concentration was 56 g / l . the recovery of immobilized enzyme was thus 97 %. a stream containing 30 % solids ( 97 % corn mash ) was processed according to fig4 . the screen had a d50 of 387 μm . slurry was fed at a rate of 93 l / min , leading to a screen unders flowrate stream c of 140 l / min with a stream f recycle rate of 76 l / min . eight percent of the solids & lt ; 355 mm were lost to stream b , which included 5 % of the immobilized enzyme . eighty eight percent of the & lt ; 250 μm solids in stream c were recovered in stream e . a stream containing 1 % hardwood pulp and 0 . 5 g / l immobilized cellulase ( mean diameter 6 μm ) was mixed at 800 rpm . the suspension was then rapidly drained through a 100 μm screen . eighty five percent of the immobilized enzyme was recovered in the underflow / filtrate . a mixture of 22 % corn mash ( mean 650 μm ; 93 %& gt ; 350 μm ) and 1 . 6 % immobilized enzyme ( range 850 to 1200 μm ) was processed according to fig1 at a feed rate of 50 l / min . an 850 μm screen was used to separate the solids . virtually all of the solids & gt ; 850 μm proceeded to the overflow ( stream b ); only 0 . 02 % of the solids in stream c were larger than 850 μm . this implies that there was essentially 100 % recovery of the immobilized enzyme in stream b . stream c was sent for further processing , while stream b , with the immobilized enzyme , was recycled for further use . two examples , hereinbelow denoted 16a and 16b describe experiments to establish effect of shear on enzymes . the equipment consisted of a 250 l feed tank with mixer , a positive displacement pump ( maximum 6 . 8 bar discharge , capacity up to 22 l / min ), and a manifolded set of six hydrocyclones ( 10 mm , with a 2 . 5 mm ( dia ) inlet ). the piping was arranged to return the fluid from the overflow and underflow of the hydrocyclone to the feed tank , so that the apparatus was run under a continuous recycle . the feed tank was initially filled with 150 l of soluble enzyme ; a sample of this solution was collected for a subsequent activity assay . in the first experiment , spezyme ® enzyme from genencor international was used , and in the second experiment , liquozyme ® enzyme from novozymes was used . the activity of each α - amylase was determined using a reducing sugars assay , using corn flour as the substrate . an aforesaid soluble enzyme was pumped through the hydrocyclones at a rate of 16 l / min , with a pressure drop of 2 . 7 bar between the inlet and the outlets . seventy percent of the fluid was directed to the overflow , and thirty percent was directed to the underflow . samples of the soluble enzyme were collected at regular intervals , and assayed for enzyme activity , as follows : 1 . 0 ml of enzyme sample was added to 24 . 0 ml of buffer either ph 6 . 9 for spezyme ® enzyme , or ph 5 . 0 for liquozyme ® enzyme . the reaction was initiated by adding 0 . 20 g of corn flour . samples were collected at time zero , and every 3 minutes for 15 minutes . samples were centrifuged to precipitate any suspended corn flour . 1 . 5 ml of the supernatant was mixed with 3 ml of dinitrosalicylic acid reagent in a test tube , and cooked for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath . the mixture was then cooled to room temperature , and the absorbance was determined at 540 nm . the results from experiments with spezyme ® enzyme are presented in fig6 . the data show that processing the soluble enzyme through the hydrocyclone leads to approximately a 40 % reduction in activity within 15 minutes , and approximately a 75 % reduction in activity after 90 minutes . in contrast , under normal storage conditions , the enzyme is expected to remain active over a period of 4 to 6 months ( manufacturer &# 39 ; s technical sheet ). the results from experiments with liquozyme ® enzyme are presented in fig7 below . the data show that processing the soluble enzyme through the hydrocyclone leads to approximately a 25 % reduction in activity within 15 minutes , but no further loss of activity thereafter . in contrast , under normal storage conditions , the enzyme is expected to remain active over 4 to 6 months ( manufacturer &# 39 ; s technical sheet ). thus , it can be seen that the shear results shown in fig6 and 7 for the processing of these soluble enzymes through the hydrocyclone system , leads to a rapid loss of activity , although , liquozyme ® enzyme is less sensitive to shear inactivation than spezyme ® enzyme . although this disclosure has described and illustrated certain embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that the inventions is not restricted to those particular embodiments . rather , the invention includes all embodiments which are functional or mechanical equivalence of the specific embodiments and features that have been described and illustrated .	2
referring to fig1 and 2 , a display control apparatus and program according to one embodiment of the present invention is built in an electronic wristwatch of fig1 . the wristwatch is adapted to be worn on a user &# 39 ; s wrist by a wristband 2 a attached at opposite ends to a case 1 of the wristwatch through corresponding attaching members 2 . a plurality of push button switches 3 are provided on sides of the case 1 to set time , adjust a display brightness , etc . the wristwatch has at the front of the case 1 a display unit 22 ( fig2 ) which is composed of a time display section 4 a , a setting display section 4 b and a “ current date / day of the week / seconds ” display section 4 c . the time display section 4 a is composed of a dot matrix type liquid crystal display mechanism , which will be driven to display “ hours ” and “ minutes ” time information indicated , for example , with numerals / alphabets , by selectively activating associated ones of square display dot areas arranged in rows and columns composing a display matrix . the setting display section 4 b displays icons indicative of a current set ( on or off ) state of an alarm . the “ current date / day of the week / seconds ” display section 4 c displays a current date , a current day of the week and current seconds of time in numerals or alphabetic letters of 7 segments which will be selectively activated or deactivated . as shown in fig2 , in addition to the display unit 22 the wristwatch further comprises a display controller 21 including a computer or cpu 21 and a rom 24 that has stored a display control program to cause the cpu 21 to perform its various functions , including display of current time information on the display section 4 a based on clock pulse signals from a crystal oscillator ( not shown ). the display controller 21 displays numerical time information in a switching manner , as shown in fig7 a - 7c . when the display controller 21 senses that the wristwatch is inclined at a predetermined angle to a horizontal surface during display of the time information in a normal size on the time display section 4 a , as shown in fig7 a , the display controller 21 displays the time information in an enlarged size on the display section 4 a for a predetermined time , for example , of 2 seconds in this embodiment , as shown in fig7 b . thereafter , the size of the displayed time information is returned to its normal size , as shown in fig7 c . display modes involving fig7 a and 7c where the time information is displayed in the normal size are hereinafter referred to as a “ normal display mode ” while the display mode involving fig7 b where the information is shown in an enlarged size is hereinafter referred to as an “ enlarged display mode ”. as shown in fig3 , the time display section 4 a includes a matrix of small square display dot areas 13 arranged in 7 rows ( y 0 - y 6 )× 19 columns ( x 0 - x 18 ) where dot areas forming displayed numerals are activated so as to be displayed emphatically in a different manner from the other dot areas . the areas of the rows y 1 - y 5 compose a normal display subsection 11 which displays time information in the normal display mode . the areas of the rows y 6 and y 0 compose the uppermost and lowermost normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b , respectively , which are not used in the normal display mode . as shown in fig4 , in the enlarged display mode , data on respective activated / deactivated dot areas 13 in the dot areas of the uppermost and lowermost rows y 5 and y 1 of the normal display subsection 11 are copied into as incremental dot data 14 in corresponding dot areas of the uppermost and lowermost normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b , respectively , as shown in fig4 for enlarged display of the time information . as shown in fig2 , in the electronic wristwatch , the rom 24 , the display unit 22 , a working ram 23 , an inclination sensor or switch 25 , a key - in unit 26 and a timekeeping unit 27 are connected to the display controller or cpu 21 . as shown in fig5 , the ram 23 has storage areas arranged in 16 rows × 16 columns including those corresponding to the dot areas of the display matrix of the display unit 22 and time information to be displayed on the time display section 4 a . the time information may include attribute values each , for example , indicative of white or black dot display data . the ram 23 is managed in a hexadecimal system . the ram 23 has storage rows 31 and 32 which store display data for the uppermost and lowermost rows y 5 and y 1 , respectively , of the normal display subsection 11 . in fig5 , note that the storage areas corresponding to rows y 4 - y 2 of the normal display subsection 11 are not shown . the ram 23 further has storage areas 33 and 34 which store display data for rows y 6 and y 0 composing the normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b , respectively . as described above , the rom 24 has stored the display control program in accordance with which the cpu 21 ( or computer ) switches the display mode between the normal display mode and the enlarged display mode , thereby performing a corresponding display operation . when the display unit 22 or its display section 4 a is inclined at a predetermined angle from a horizontal surface , the inclination sensor 25 will sense this state and delivers a corresponding signal to the cpu 21 . the key - in unit 26 senses operation of any one of the push button switches 3 and delivers a corresponding signal to the cpu 21 , thereby causing the cpu 21 to change various settings and sets time . the timekeeping unit 27 includes a crystal oscillator ( not shown ) which provides timekeeping signals cyclically to the cpu 21 . based on these signals , the cpu 21 updates time information displayed on the time display section 4 a and “ seconds of time ” information displayed on the date / second display section 4 c . the cpu 21 updates the display data stored in the rom 24 and hence the time information displayed on the time display section 4 a in accordance with the display control program stored in the rom 24 . the cpu 21 selects the enlarged display mode for the time display section 4 a based on the signal from the inclination sensor 25 for enhancing the visibility of the time information . the cpu 21 comprises a counter 21 a which starts to count up the number of clock pulses from the timekeeping unit 27 when the enlarged display mode is selected . when the counter 21 a indicates a predetermined count , the cpu 21 returns the display mode from the enlarged display mode to the normal display mode . now , operation of the electronic wristwatch will be described with reference to a flowchart of fig6 to be performed by executing the display control program stored in the rom 24 . when failing to sense that the display unit 22 is inclined at the predetermined angle , the cpu 21 displays time information in the normal display subsection 11 in the normal display mode , as shown in fig7 a and 3 . in this case , the cpu 21 recognizes a current time based on timekeeping signals from the timekeeping unit 27 in step s 1 , and updates display data stored in the storage areas , including the storage areas 31 and 32 , of the ram 23 corresponding to the normal display subsection 11 in step s 2 . during display of time information in the normal display subsection 11 in the normal display mode , the cpu 21 determines at predetermined intervals of time whether the electronic wristwatch is inclined at the predetermined angle based on sensing signals coming from the inclination sensor 25 which , produced once , will be detected necessarily by the cpu 21 . when the sensor 25 senses that the electronic wristwatch is inclined at the predetermined angle and delivers a corresponding signal to the cpu 21 , the cpu 21 then responds to this signal and then goes to step s 4 . in step s 4 , the cpu 21 sets 2 seconds as the predetermined duration time for which the time information is displayed in the enlarged display mode , which causes the counter 21 a to count up the number of clock pulse signals . in step s 5 , in order to change the display mode from the normal display mode to the enlarged display mode , the cpu 21 updates the display data in the ram 23 . that is , the cpu 21 copies the display data stored in the storage areas 31 and 32 of the ram 23 corresponding to the uppermost and lowermost normal display row areas of the normal display subsection 11 into the corresponding storage areas 33 and 34 , respectively , of the ram 23 in step s 6 , the cpu 21 reads the display data copied into the display storage areas 33 and 34 in step s 5 and the display data stored in the storage areas corresponding to the normal display subsection 11 and then outputs them to the time display section 4 a . this switches the display of the display unit 22 from the normal display mode where only the normal display subsection 11 of fig7 a and 3 displays time information to the enlarged display mode where a whole of the normal display subsection 11 and the normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b displays time information , as shown in fig7 b and 4 . in step s 7 , the cpu 21 determines whether the counter 21 a has counted up the number of clock pulses corresponding to 2 seconds since the start of the counting thereof . if not , display of the time information in the enlarged display mode continues . when the count of the counter has reached the one corresponding to 2 seconds , the cpu 21 then goes to step s 8 . in step s 8 , the cpu 21 clears the display data stored both in the display storage areas 33 and 34 . then , the cpu 21 reads display data from the storage areas of the ram 23 corresponding to the normal display subsection 11 that includes the storage areas 31 and 32 , and then displays the data on the display unit 22 . thus , the display form of the display unit 22 is changed from that of fig7 b and 4 in the enlarged display mode to that of fig7 c and 3 in the normal display mode . as described above , according to the inventive display control apparatus , the display mode is switched between the normal display mode in which the time information is displayed in the normal display subsection 11 and the enlarged display mode in which the time information is displayed in the enlarged size on the whole of the normal display subsection 11 and the normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b provided at the opposite sides of the normal display subsection 11 . switching of the display mode from the normal display mode to the enlarged display mode occurs when the time display section 4 a is inclined at the predetermined angle to the horizontal surface , for example , by the user bending his or her wrist , on which the wristwatch is worn , before his or her breast to look at the time display well . at this time , the inclination sensor 25 senses that state of the time display section 4 a and outputs a sensing signal . the cpu 21 responds to this signal to cause the time display section 4 a to enlarge and display the time information in the enlarged display mode for the predetermined time , for example , of 2 seconds . that is , according to this wristwatch , when the user behaves so as to look at his or her wristwatch or takes bodily exercise , the display unit of the wristwatch can be inclined at the predetermined angle , thereby enhancing the visibility of the time display section 4 a . enlargement of the displayed time information due to sensing of the predetermined inclination state of the display unit should be preferably performed only while the current time information is displayed on the time display section 4 a excluding while information on any of the various settings being made is being displayed after confirmation of the current operation mode . when sensing the predetermined inclination state of the display unit in the normal display mode , the cpu 21 is only required to copy the display data stored in the storage areas corresponding to the uppermost and lowermost rows of the normal display subsection 11 into the storage areas of the ram corresponding to the normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b of the time display section 4 a , thereby displaying the time information in the enlarged size in the display section comprising a whole of the normal display subsection 11 and the normal non - display subsections 12 a and 12 b . in this case , enlarged display of the time information is performed without the necessity of storing enlarged display fonts beforehand in addition to the normal display fonts . in addition , the information to be displayed may include alphabetical letters . further , according to this wristwatch , the user is able to enjoy enlarged display of time information on the display section 4 a occurring when the predetermined inclined state of the display section 4 a is sensed . while in the above embodiment the electronic wristwatch to which the display control apparatus and program according to the present invention has been applied has been illustrated , the present invention is widely applicable to displays of other electronic devices such as , for example , electronic notebooks and / or mobile phones . various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broad spirit and scope of this invention . the above - described embodiments are intended to illustrate the present invention , not to limit the scope of the present invention . the scope of the present invention is shown by the attached claims rather than the embodiments . various modifications made within the meaning of an equivalent of the claims of the invention and within the claims are to be regarded to be in the scope of the present , invention . this application is based on japanese patent application no . 2007 - 067424 filed on mar . 15 , 2007 and including specification , claims , drawings and summary . the disclosure of the above japanese patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety .	6
the word “ exemplary ” is used herein to mean “ serving as an example , instance , or illustration .” any aspect described herein as “ exemplary ” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects . in this description , the term “ application ” may also include files having executable content , such as : object code , scripts , byte code , markup language files , and patches . in addition , an “ application ” referred to herein , may also include files that are not executable in nature , such as documents that may need to be opened or other data files that need to be accessed . as used in this description , the terms “ component ,” “ database ,” “ module ,” “ system ,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer - related entity , either hardware , firmware , a combination of hardware and software , software , or software in execution . for example , a component may be , but is not limited to being , a process running on a processor , a processor , an object , an executable , a thread of execution , a program , and / or a computer . by way of illustration , both an application running on a computing device and the computing device may be a component . one or more components may reside within a process and / or thread of execution , and a component may be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers . in addition , these components may execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon . the components may communicate by way of local and / or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets ( e . g ., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system , distributed system , and / or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal ). as used herein , the term “ vehicle ” includes any type of vehicle that is typically controlled by an operator , and which may be controlled by an autonomous vehicle control system . by way of example , the term “ vehicle ” may include an automobile , a boat or ship , an airplane , or any other vehicle . as used herein , the term “ operator ” refers to an individual operating a vehicle . an operator may be a driver of an automobile , a captain or pilot of a boat , a captain or pilot of an airplane , or any other vehicle operator . as used herein , the terms “ automated vehicle control ” and “ autonomous vehicle control ” refer to any automated or autonomous vehicle control system that can operate a vehicle without operator input . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an operatorless capable vehicle ( referred to below as “ vehicle ”) 100 in which a system for transitioning from autonomous vehicle control to operator vehicle control can be implemented . in an exemplary embodiment , the vehicle 100 comprises an autonomous vehicle control system 102 and an operator interface 170 . in an exemplary embodiment , the autonomous vehicle control system 102 comprises a processor 106 and a memory 104 operatively coupled together over a system bus 107 . the processor 106 can be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 104 . the processor 106 may also contain on - board memory ( not shown ), and may comprise distributed computing functionality . in an exemplary embodiment , the memory 104 may contain one or more sets of code or executable instructions or modules . in an exemplary embodiment , the memory 104 may comprise an autonomous vehicle control module 110 , an operator tracking module 111 , a compare module 109 and an operator feedback module 108 . each of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 , the operator tracking module 111 , the compare module 109 and the operator feedback module 108 may comprise elements of hardware , software , or a combination of hardware and software configured to perform certain tasks as described herein . in an exemplary embodiment , the operator interface 170 comprises an output element 171 configured to provide output communications to an operator of the vehicle 100 , and an input element 177 configured to provide inputs to the autonomous vehicle control system 102 . the output element 171 may comprise a heads up display ( hud ) 172 , a visual element 174 , a haptic element 175 , and an audible element 176 . the hud 172 can be configured to display , project or otherwise place into the visual path of an operator information related to the vehicle 100 . in an exemplary embodiment , the hud 172 can be configured to visually communicate to an operator the manner in which the operator may be mimicking or tracking the performance of the autonomous vehicle control system 102 as the autonomous vehicle control system 102 is controlling the operation of the vehicle . similarly , the visual element 174 and the audible element 176 can be configured to visually and audibly communicate to an operator the manner in which the operator may be mimicking or tracking the performance of the autonomous vehicle control system 102 as the autonomous vehicle control system 102 is controlling the operation of the vehicle . the haptic element 175 may provide haptic feedback to an operator to communicate the manner in which the operator may be mimicking or tracking the performance of the autonomous vehicle control system 102 as the autonomous vehicle control system 102 is controlling the operation of the vehicle . the input element 177 may comprise a camera 178 , a sensor interface 179 and a safety belt module 181 . in an exemplary embodiment , the camera 178 may comprise one or more still or video cameras configured to observe an operator of the vehicle 100 and communicate this information to the operator tracking module 111 . in an exemplary embodiment , the sensor interface 179 can be configured to receive information from one or more sensors on the vehicle 100 and communicate the state of the sensors to the operator tracking module 111 . in an exemplary embodiment , the safety belt module 181 can be configured to receive information from one or more safety systems on the vehicle 100 and communicate the state of the safety systems to the operator tracking module 111 . an output of the input element 177 , including the outputs from the sensor interface 179 , are provided to the operator tracking module 111 over connection 189 . the vehicle 100 comprises vehicle systems 114 and vehicle controls 141 . the vehicle systems 114 may comprise the actual vehicle systems , such as the accelerator 115 , the brake 116 , the steering 117 , the clutch 118 , and other systems 119 . in an exemplary embodiment , the vehicle systems 114 are the actual vehicle systems , not the controls for those systems . for example , the accelerator 115 may comprise the powertrain of the vehicle 100 that is responsible for propulsion . similarly , the brake 116 may comprise the braking system of the vehicle responsible for slowing and stopping the vehicle 100 . sensors 121 are associated with each of the vehicle systems 114 . for example , a sensor 122 is associated with the accelerator 115 , a sensor 124 is associated with the brake 116 , a sensor 126 is associated with the steering 117 , a sensor 127 is associated with the clutch 118 , and a sensor 128 is associated with the other systems 119 . each of the sensors 121 can be configured to determine and communicate the state of its respective vehicle system to a control by wire system ( referred to as a drive by wire system in the context of an automobile ) 112 . the control by wire system 112 receives electronic control inputs from various vehicle controls , and provides signals used to operate the vehicle systems 114 , generally through actuators 131 . for example , an actuator 132 is associated with the sensor 122 and the accelerator 115 . in an exemplary embodiment , the actuator 132 receives a control signal from the control by wire system 112 and provides a signal that causes the accelerator 115 to control the speed of the vehicle 100 . the associated sensor 122 monitors both the vehicle system ( the accelerator 115 in this example ), and the actuator 132 and provides information to the sensor interface 179 ( connection not shown in fig1 ). similarly , an actuator 134 is associated with the sensor 124 and the brake 116 . in an exemplary embodiment , the actuator 134 receives a control signal from the control by wire system 112 and provides a signal that causes the brake 116 to control the slowing and / or stopping of the vehicle 100 . the associated sensor 124 monitors both the vehicle system ( the brake 116 in this example ), and the actuator 134 and provides information to the sensor interface 179 . similarly , an actuator 136 is associated with the sensor 126 and the steering 117 . in an exemplary embodiment , the actuator 136 receives a control signal from the control by wire system 112 and provides a signal that causes the steering 117 to control the direction of the vehicle 100 . the associated sensor 126 monitors both the vehicle system ( the steering 117 in this example ), and the actuator 136 and provides information to the sensor interface 179 . similarly , an actuator 137 is associated with the sensor 127 and the clutch 118 . in an exemplary embodiment , the actuator 137 receives a control signal from the control by wire system 112 and provides a signal that causes the clutch 118 to engage or disengage drive power to the vehicle 100 . the associated sensor 127 monitors both the vehicle system ( the clutch 118 in this example ), and the actuator 137 and provides information to the sensor interface 179 . similarly , an actuator 138 is associated with the sensor 128 and the other systems 119 . the vehicle controls 141 are also coupled to the control by wire system 112 through the sensors 151 . the vehicle controls 141 are the control systems that receive the control inputs from an operator . for example , the accelerator 142 can be the accelerator pedal of the vehicle 100 that is configured to be operated by the operator &# 39 ; s foot . similarly , the brake 144 can comprise the brake pedal of the vehicle 100 that is configured to be operated by the operator &# 39 ; s foot . similarly , the steering wheel 146 can be the steering wheel of the vehicle 100 that is configured to be operated by the operator &# 39 ; s hands ; the clutch 147 can be the clutch pedal of the vehicle 100 that is configured to be operated by the operator &# 39 ; s foot ; and the other control 148 can be any other vehicle control . the sensor 152 is associated with the accelerator 142 , the sensor 154 is associated with the brake 144 , the sensor 156 is associated with the steering wheel 146 , the sensor 157 is associated with the clutch 147 and the sensor 158 is associated with the other controls 148 . the sensors 151 provide a respective control input to the control by wire system to translate the operator - provided vehicle controls to the actual vehicle systems 114 . sensors 161 are also associated with respective vehicle controls 141 . the sensor 162 is associated with the accelerator 142 , the sensor 164 is associated with the brake 144 , the sensor 166 is associated with the steering wheel 146 , the sensor 167 is associated with the clutch 147 and the sensor 168 is associated with the other controls 148 . the vehicle 100 also comprises an operator input module 182 , a vehicle control interface 184 and an automated system input module 186 . in an exemplary embodiment , the operator input module 182 represents the manual operator inputs provided to the vehicle 100 when the vehicle is under manual operator control , or when the vehicle is under autonomous control and manual operator inputs are being compared against the autonomous control inputs to determine the manner in which a manual operator is mimicking the autonomous vehicle control prior to the autonomous vehicle control module 110 relinquishing control to a manual operator . as such , the operator input module 182 is operatively coupled to the vehicle controls 141 over connection 196 , is operatively coupled to the sensors 161 over connection 194 , and is operatively coupled to the compare module 109 over connection 188 . in an exemplary embodiment , the sensors 161 receive respective inputs from the operator input module 182 and provide an output to the sensor interface 179 ( connection not shown in fig1 ). the vehicle control interface 184 is operatively coupled to the control by wire system 112 over connection 197 , and is operatively coupled to the operator input module 182 over connection 191 , and to the automated system input module 186 over connection 192 . the vehicle control interface 184 is also operatively coupled to the autonomous vehicle control module 110 over connection 199 . when the vehicle 100 is operating in autonomous mode , the autonomous vehicle control module 110 controls the vehicle 100 by sending control signals to the vehicle control interface 184 , which in turn provides control signals to the control by wire system 112 . the control by wire system 112 provides the inputs to the vehicle systems 114 through the actuators 131 and the sensors 121 to autonomously operate the vehicle 100 . the automated system input module 186 monitors the control by wire system 112 over connection 198 and provides information as to how the vehicle is performing over connection 192 to the vehicle control interface 184 . the vehicle control interface 184 provides this information over connection 199 to the autonomous vehicle control system 110 , which also provides this information to the compare module 109 . when the vehicle 100 is operating in autonomous mode and it is desirable to switch to manual operator mode , the autonomous vehicle control module 110 continues to control the vehicle 100 as described above . however , as an operator begins engaging the vehicle controls 141 , the operator input module 182 , together with the sensors 161 begin sensing , recording and providing the manual inputs to the sensor interface 179 over connection 195 . moreover , the sensor interface 179 , the camera 178 and the safety belt module 181 also provide inputs to the operator tracking module 111 . the operator tracking module 111 receives inputs from the input element 177 regarding the manual inputs provided by the operator . the operator tracking module 111 also provides this information to the compare module 109 . in this manner , the compare module 109 receives the automated inputs used to autonomously operate the vehicle 100 by the autonomous vehicle control system 110 , and also receives the manual inputs provided to the vehicle 100 by the manual operator attempting to mimic the autonomous vehicle control . however , at this time , the manual inputs provided to the vehicle 100 by the manual operator are not being used to actually control the vehicle 100 , but instead , are directed to the compare module 109 for comparison against the autonomous vehicle control inputs . the compare module 109 compares the manner in which the manual inputs provided by the manual operator are mimicking , or copying the automated inputs provided to the vehicle 100 by the autonomous vehicle control system 110 , and provides an output to the operator feedback module 108 . depending on the manner in which the manual inputs provided by the manual operator are mimicking , or copying the automated inputs provided by the autonomous vehicle control system 110 , the operator feedback module 108 provides an output over connection 187 to the output module 171 . for example , if the manual inputs provided by the manual operator are not mimicking , or copying the automated inputs provided by the autonomous vehicle control system 110 to within a predetermined threshold , then one or more of the hud 172 , visual element 174 , haptic element 175 and the audible element 176 can be used to communicate to the manual operator that the manual operator is not following the automated inputs at a level and accuracy at which control of the vehicle 100 can be transitioned to the manual operator . conversely , if the manual inputs provided by the manual operator are mimicking , or accurately copying the automated inputs provided by the autonomous vehicle control system 110 to within the predetermined threshold , then one or more of the hud 172 , visual element 174 , haptic element 175 and the audible element 176 can be used to communicate to the manual operator that the manual operator is following the automated inputs at a level and accuracy at which control of the vehicle 100 can be transitioned to the manual operator . fig2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the operator interface of fig1 . elements of the operator interface can be integrated into a vehicle . for example , an operator interface for an automobile may include , cameras 204 and 211 , lights 207 and 208 , a speaker 209 , and a hud 220 . in an exemplary embodiment , the cameras 204 and 211 , lights 207 and 208 , speaker 209 , and the hud 220 are shown relative to a vehicle windshield 202 and a vehicle seat 234 . a steering wheel 231 may include sensors 222 and 224 to sense the position of and contact with the steering wheel 231 of an operator &# 39 ; s hands . an accelerator pedal 226 may include a sensor 227 to sense the position and / or pressure of the user &# 39 ; s foot on the accelerator pedal 226 . similarly , a brake pedal 228 may include a sensor 229 to sense the position and / or pressure of the user &# 39 ; s foot on the brake pedal 228 . a seat belt buckle and sensor 236 may be implemented to sense whether the operator has their seat belt buckled . a haptic feedback element 233 , such as , for example only , a vibratory element , may be located in the seat 234 to provide haptic feedback to the operator . more or fewer of the elements shown in fig2 , and other elements , may be implemented , depending on application . fig3 is a diagram 300 illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a heads up display of fig1 and 2 . in an exemplary embodiment , the operator feedback module 108 ( fig1 ) may generate control signals that cause the hud 220 to display an image of a road 302 having travel lanes 304 and 306 . in this exemplary embodiment , the travel lane 306 can be the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 and the travel lane 304 may be for vehicles traveling in the opposite direction . an image of an automobile 320 may be displayed on the hud 220 in the lane 306 . in an exemplary embodiment , the image 320 represents the vehicle 100 traveling in the lane 306 being autonomously controlled by the autonomous vehicle control module 110 ( fig1 ) represented by the image of the automobile 320 . an image of an automobile 322 may also be displayed on the hud 220 . in an exemplary embodiment , the image 322 represents the vehicle 100 being manually controlled by an operator seeking to transition the vehicle 100 from autonomous control to manual control . the image of the automobile 322 straddling the centerline 305 indicates that the manual user inputs are insufficient to cause the vehicle 100 to mimic the control of the vehicle 100 provided by the autonomous vehicle control module 110 ( fig1 ) indicating that transitioning from autonomous control to manual control should not be permitted . in such a situation , visual and / or audible feedback can be communicated to the operator from the operator feedback module 108 ( fig1 ) alerting the operator that they are not adequately controlling the vehicle 100 in such a way that the autonomous vehicle control module 110 would transition control to the manual operator . in this exemplary embodiment , visual operator feedback providing a corrective warning is provided to the operator on the hud 220 in the form of a flashing arrow 310 informing the operator that they should control the vehicle 100 so as to cause the vehicle 100 to move to the right , that is , away from the centerline 305 and toward the center of the travel lane 306 . in this exemplary embodiment , the operator feedback module 108 ( fig1 ) causing the non - flashing arrow 312 to flash would inform the operator to control the vehicle 100 to move to the left . fig4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a heads up display of fig1 . in an exemplary embodiment , the operator feedback module 108 ( fig1 ) may generate control signals that cause the hud 220 to display an image of a road 402 having travel lanes 404 and 406 . in this exemplary embodiment , the travel lane 406 can be the direction of travel of the vehicle 100 and the travel lane 404 may be for vehicles traveling in the opposite direction . an image of an automobile 420 may be displayed on the hud 220 in the lane 406 . in an exemplary embodiment , the image 420 represents the vehicle 100 traveling on the lane 406 being autonomously controlled by the autonomous vehicle control module 110 ( fig1 ). an image of an automobile 422 may also be displayed on the hud 220 . in an exemplary embodiment , the image 422 represents the vehicle 100 being manually controlled by an operator seeking to transition the vehicle 100 from autonomous control to manual control . in the embodiment shown in fig4 , the operator has acted in response to the flashing arrow 310 ( fig3 ) such that the image of the automobile 422 is no longer straddling the centerline 405 and indicates that the manual user inputs are now sufficient to cause the vehicle 100 to more closely mimic the control of the vehicle 100 provided by the autonomous vehicle control module 110 ( fig1 ) to within a threshold within which control of the vehicle may be transitioned from the autonomous vehicle control module 110 ( fig1 ) to the operator . in this exemplary embodiment , neither the arrow 410 nor the arrow 412 is flashing . in this exemplary embodiment , visual operator feedback is now provided to the operator on the hud 220 in the form of a flashing indicator 414 informing the operator that they are now allowed to switch the vehicle 100 to manual control . although the example of fig3 and 4 uses steering as the only input , it should be mentioned that any number of control factors may be analyzed by the compare module 109 in determining whether manual operator input is sufficient to control the vehicle . for example , the hud 220 may include an “ increase speed ” indicator 326 and 426 as a visual warning to the operator that they are not driving fast enough , and may include a “ decrease speed ” indicator 328 and 428 as a visual warning to the operator that they are driving too fast . other indicators are also possible . fig5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method for transitioning from autonomous vehicle control to operator vehicle control . the blocks in the method 500 can be performed in or out of the order shown . in an exemplary embodiment , the method 500 described in fig5 can be performed by an instance of the autonomous vehicle control system 102 of fig1 . in block 502 , the vehicle is placed in or is previously located in autonomous driving mode . in block 504 , the operator requests to assume manual control of the vehicle 100 . alternatively , in block 506 , the autonomous vehicle control system 102 alerts the operator that they should assume manual control of the vehicle 100 . in block 508 , the operator places their hands on the steering wheel , foot on the accelerator , brake , etc . in block 510 , the operator actuates the controls to “ mimic ” or “ match ” the automated control inputs provided by the autonomous vehicle control module 110 ( fig1 ). in block 512 , audio and / or visual and / or haptic feedback and / or indicators ( which in an exemplary embodiment may be similar to those in a video game ) provide the operator with visual , audible and haptic feedback as to whether their motions are closely approximating those of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within a predefined threshold . this could take the form of active control feedback , a heads - up display ( hud ), lights , chimes , haptic feedback , etc . these prompts continue to provide feedback to the operator as to the areas of manual control ( steering , accelerator , etc .) that do not adequately match the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within a predefined threshold . in block 514 , it is determined whether the operator is adequately following the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within a threshold . if the operator is not adequately following the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 , the process returns to block 512 and the operator continues to receive feedback . the predefined threshold to be measured may comprise one or more measurable parameters such as vehicle location , speed , direction , etc . for example , referring to fig3 and 4 , the predefined threshold may be the accuracy with which the manual operator controls the vehicle to be within the travel lane 306 and 406 and away from the centerline 305 and 405 . moreover , the predefined threshold may change or vary based on various changing conditions , such as changing ambient conditions , changing road conditions , changing weather conditions , or other changing conditions . for example , the predefined threshold may be different on a clear day than on a rainy night . if it is determined in block 514 that the operator is adequately following the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within the threshold , then , in block 516 , an audio and / or visual and / or haptic confirmation may alert the operator that they can transition to manual mode . in block 518 , the operator switches to manual mode by way of a verbal confirmation , button press , etc ., and assumes manual control of the vehicle . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method for executing the compare function of fig5 . the blocks in the method 600 can be performed in or out of the order shown . the method 600 described in fig6 can be performed by an instance of the autonomous vehicle control system 102 of fig1 . in blocks 602 , 604 and 606 , the operator tracking module 111 ( fig1 ) receives camera / visual input ( block 602 ), sensor input ( block 604 and safety input ( block 606 ) from the input module 177 . in block 608 , the autonomous vehicle control module 110 provides automated system input to the compare module 109 . in block 610 , the compare module 109 compares the automated system input against the manual operator input . in block 612 , it is determined whether the operator is adequately following the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within the threshold . if the operator is not adequately following the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within the threshold , the process proceeds to block 616 where the operator feedback module 108 provides audio and / or visual and / or haptic feedback alerting the operator that they are not adequately following the automated control inputs . if it is determined in block 612 that the operator is adequately following the inputs of the autonomous vehicle control module 110 to within the threshold , then , in block 614 , an audio and / or visual and / or haptic confirmation alerts the operator that they can transition to manual mode . in block 618 , the operator switches to manual mode by way of a verbal confirmation , button press , etc ., and assumes manual control of the vehicle . in view of the disclosure above , one of ordinary skill in programming is able to write computer code or identify appropriate hardware and / or circuits to implement the disclosed invention without difficulty based on the flow charts and associated description in this specification , for example . therefore , disclosure of a particular set of program code instructions or detailed hardware devices is not considered necessary for an adequate understanding of how to make and use the invention . the inventive functionality of the claimed computer implemented processes is explained in more detail in the above description and in conjunction with the figs . which may illustrate various process flows . in one or more exemplary aspects , the functions described may be implemented in hardware , software , firmware , or any combination thereof . if implemented in software , the functions may be stored on or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer - readable medium . computer - readable media include both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another . a storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a computer . by way of example , and not limitation , such computer - readable media may comprise ram , rom , eeprom , cd - rom or other optical disk storage , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer . also , any connection is properly termed a computer - readable medium . for example , if the software is transmitted from a website , server , or other remote source using a coaxial cable , fiber optic cable , twisted pair , digital subscriber line (“ dsl ”), or wireless technologies such as infrared , radio , and microwave , then the coaxial cable , fiber optic cable , twisted pair , dsl , or wireless technologies such as infrared , radio , and microwave are included in the definition of medium . disk and disc , as used herein , includes compact disc (“ cd ”), laser disc , optical disc , digital versatile disc (“ dvd ”), floppy disk and blu - ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically , while discs reproduce data optically with lasers . combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer - readable media . although selected aspects have been illustrated and described in detail , it will be understood that various substitutions and alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention , as defined by the following claims .	6
in the preferred embodiments , a case will be described in detail where a mask for vacuum deposition in accordance with the present invention is applied to the vacuum deposition of an organic layer when an organic el display panel is manufactured . fig1 and fig2 illustrate a mask for vacuum deposition in an embodiment in accordance with the present invention . the mask 1 for vacuum deposition in an embodiment in accordance with the present invention is used for forming an organic el device and is held by a mask frame 11 in a deposition process ( mainly in forming an organic layer ) when the organic el device is manufactured . as shown in fig1 , the mask 1 for vacuum deposition has a mask body 10 for deposition , guide members 12 , and tension applying means 14 . the mask body 10 for deposition and the mask frame 11 is formed of stainless steel such as sus344 , sus303 , sus316 , sus430 , ti ( titanium ), other metals , or ceramics . further , the mask frame 11 is formed in a thickness of from 1 mm to 100 mm , preferably , from 4 mm to 30 mm . further detailing the mask for vacuum deposition , as shown in fig1 two sides of the mask body 10 for vacuum deposition , which are opposed to each other , are fixed to the guide members 12 , 12 by spot welding 15 and the like . in fixing the mask body 10 for vacuum deposition to the guide members 12 , 12 , it is essential that the mask body 10 for vacuum deposition be fixed to the guide members 12 , 12 , so that means such as an adhesive or a clamp may be used . then , these guide members 12 , 12 is nearly as long as the mask body 10 for vacuum deposition . moreover , these guide members 12 , 12 are mounted with means 14 for applying a predetermined tension to the mask 10 for vacuum deposition . then , on the mask body 10 for deposition are formed mask patterns 10 a . the mask patterns 10 a are used for depositing pixels for constituting the organic el display and are formed on the mask body 10 for deposition in the shape of a grid having a fine pitch . each of the mask patterns 10 a formed in the shape of a grid has a plurality of apertures arranged in a predetermined pattern . the apertures arranged in the mask pattern 10 a are formed in the shape of a slit , a slot , a circle and the like and are arranged in a square , in a stagger and the like . if a tension is applied to the mask body 10 for deposition in the direction along the arrangement of the apertures of the mask patterns 10 a ( which is shown as streaks in the mask pattern 10 a in fig1 , fig2 ) to stretch the mask body 10 for deposition so as to remove its deflection , it is possible to form the pixels to be deposited in more accurate shapes . for this reason , as shown in fig1 , fig2 , the guide members 12 , 12 are fixed to the two sides of the mask body 10 for deposition which are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the direction of length of the apertures ( which is shown as streaks in the mask pattern 10 a in fig1 , fig2 ) of the mask pattern 10 a and are opposed to each other . then , as shown in fig2 , by mounting the mask 1 for vacuum deposition on the mask frame 11 , a deposition operation can be performed . further , a structure for applying a tension to the mask body 10 for deposition when the mask 1 for vacuum deposition is mounted on the mask frame 11 will be described in detail . fig3 is a perspective view to show a main part of an embodiment in accordance with the present invention in order to describe a structure for applying a tension to the mask body 10 for deposition . fig4 is a cross - sectional view taken on a line a — a in fig3 . fig3 is an illustration to show one side to which the guide member 12 in fig1 is fixed and in which screws 16 , which are the parts of the tension applying means 14 , are fixed to the side surface of the guide member 12 . further , describing the tension applying means 14 in detail , as shown in the cross - sectional view in fig4 , through holes are made in the side wall of the guide member 12 and the tip of the screw 16 passed through the through hole is screwed into a screw hole ( which is not shown ) made in the side wall of the mask frame 11 . that is , by turning the screw 16 , the guide member 12 through which the screw 16 is passed is moved to thereby adjust a tension applied to the mask body 10 . moreover , a compression coil spring 17 that is a spring member shown in fig5 , for example , is put on the screw 16 between the mask frame 11 and the guide member 12 and , the tension of the compression coil spring 17 moves the guide member 12 and can add a tension applied to the mask body 10 . this produces an effect that the screw 16 and the guide member 12 can be prevented from rattling . a method of adjusting the tension of the mask body 10 includes a method of bringing the mask body 10 into a state where the mask body 10 is not wrinkled visually , a method of measuring the torque of the respective screws and making the torque a fixed value , and a method of adjusting the respective screws so that the error between an alignment mark on the mask and an alignment mark on a scale is smaller than a predetermined value . in this respect , the above - mentioned spring member may be a leaf spring in place of the compression coil spring 17 . moreover , it is also recommended that a through hole through which the shaft of the screw 16 is passed be made in the side wall of the guide member 12 and that the tip of the screw 16 be screwed into a screw hole ( which is not shown ) made in the side wall of the mask frame 11 and that the compression coil spring 17 , which is a spring member shown in fig5 , be provided between the mask frame 11 and the guide member 12 . the tensile force of this compression coil spring 17 moves the guide member 12 to add a tension applied to the mask body 10 . here , by adjusting the length of protrusion of the screw 16 from the side wall of the mask frame 11 , a tension applied to the mask body 10 can be adjusted . a standard screw such as m2 to m5 may be used as the screw 16 described above . here , the pitch of m2 is 0 . 4 mm , the pitch of m3 is 0 . 5 mm , the pitch of m4 is 0 . 7 mm , and the pitch of m5 is 0 . 8 mm . as described above , in the mask 1 for vacuum deposition in accordance with the present embodiment , the guide members 12 , 12 can be removed from the mask frame 11 by turning the screws 16 and thus the mask body 10 for deposition can be easily dismounted from the mask frame 11 . therefore , the mask body 10 for deposition and the mask frame 11 can be easily cleaned , and when the mask pattern 10 a is changed , the mask body 10 for deposition can be easily changed by reusing the mask frame 11 . incidentally , in the above - mentioned embodiment , the guide members 12 , 12 are fixed to the two sides of the mask body 10 for deposition which are opposed to each other to apply the tension to the mask body 10 for deposition . by fixing the guide members 12 to the respective four sides of the mask body 10 for deposition , however , it is also possible to apply the tension to the four sides of the mask body 10 for deposition and , in this case , it is possible to more surely prevent the deflection of the mask body 10 for deposition . as described above in detail , according to the mask for vacuum deposition in accordance with the present invention , it is possible to adjust the tension of the mask for deposition in a state where it is held by the mask frame and to easily dismount the mask for deposition from the mask frame . moreover , according to the organic el display panel in accordance with the present invention , deposited pixels can be formed in more accurate shapes , which makes it possible to display an image of high quality .	7
the following illustrative embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present invention , these and other advantages and effects can be apparent to those in the art after reading this specification . it should be noted that all the drawings are not intended to limit the present invention . various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention . further , terms such as “ first ”, “ second ” etc . are merely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention . fig2 a to 2i are schematic cross - sectional views showing a method for fabricating a semiconductor package according to a first embodiment of the present invention and an application example of the semiconductor package . referring to fig2 a , a first substrate 20 is provided , which has a dielectric layer 201 , a first metal layer 202 and a second metal layer 203 sequentially stacked . the dielectric layer 201 can be made of fr4 , the first metal layer 202 can be a copper layer and the second metal layer 203 can be a copper foil . referring to fig2 b , a plurality of first conductive posts 204 are formed on the second metal layer 203 of the first substrate 20 . the first conductive posts 204 can be made of copper . in the present embodiment , a plurality of conductive elements 205 made of such as a solder material are further formed on top ends of the first conductive posts 204 . in another embodiment , referring to fig2 b ′, the conductive elements 205 can be omitted . referring to fig2 c , a second substrate 21 is provided . the second substrate 21 can be , for example , a bt substrate , an fr - 4 substrate or a ceramic substrate . the second substrate 21 has a third surface 21 a and a fourth surface 21 b opposite to the third surface 21 a . a chip 22 is disposed on the third surface 21 a . further , the third surface 21 a has a plurality of conductive pads 211 . further , referring to fig2 c ′, a plurality of second conductive posts 212 can be formed on the conductive pads 211 . furthermore , referring to fig2 c ″, a plurality of conductive elements 213 made of such as a solder material can be formed on the second conductive posts 212 . referring to fig2 d , the first substrate 20 is disposed on the second substrate 21 by correspondingly electrically connecting the first conductive posts 204 to the conductive pads 211 . in another embodiment , referring to fig2 d ′, the first conductive posts 204 are correspondingly electrically connected to the second conductive posts 212 . referring to fig2 e , continued from fig2 d , an encapsulant 23 is formed between the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 21 . the encapsulant 23 has a first surface 23 a adjacent to the first substrate 20 and a second surface 23 b opposite to the first surface 23 a . referring to fig2 f , the dielectric layer 201 and the first metal layer 202 are removed by such as peeling . referring to fig2 g , the second metal layer 203 is removed by such as etching to expose the first conductive posts 204 . if needed , an osp ( organic solderability preservative ) layer ( not shown ) can be formed on the first conductive posts 204 . referring to fig2 h , a plurality of conductive elements 24 are formed on the fourth surface 21 b of the second substrate 21 , thereby forming a semiconductor package 2 . referring to fig2 i , an electronic element 25 , such as another semiconductor package or a semiconductor chip , is disposed on the semiconductor package 2 and electrically connected to the first conductive posts 204 . fig3 a to 3k are schematic cross - sectional views showing a method for fabricating a semiconductor package according to a second embodiment of the present invention and an application example of the semiconductor package . referring to fig3 a , a second substrate 30 is provided , which has a first carrier 301 and an adhesive layer 302 sequentially stacked . the second substrate 30 has a third surface 30 a having at least a chip 22 disposed thereon and a fourth surface 30 b opposite to the third surface 30 a . the first carrier 301 can be made of glass or silicon and in a wafer or panel form . referring to fig3 b , a first substrate 20 is provided , which has a dielectric layer 201 , a first metal layer 202 and a second metal layer 203 sequentially stacked . the dielectric layer 201 can be made of fr4 , the first metal layer 202 can be a copper layer and the second metal layer 203 can be a copper foil . a plurality of first conductive posts 204 are formed on the second metal layer 203 of the first substrate 20 . the first substrate 20 is disposed on the second substrate 20 with the first conductive posts 204 attached to the adhesive layer 302 . referring to fig3 c , an encapsulant 23 is formed between the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 30 . the encapsulant 23 has a first surface 23 a adjacent to the first substrate 20 and a second surface 23 b opposite to the first surface 23 a . referring to fig3 d , the dielectric layer 201 and the first metal layer 202 are removed by such as peeling . referring to fig3 e , the second metal layer 203 is removed by such as etching to expose the first conductive posts 204 . if needed , an osp layer ( not shown ) can be formed on the first conductive posts 204 . referring to fig3 f , a first redistribution layer 31 is formed on the first surface 23 a of the encapsulant 23 . referring to fig3 g , the second substrate 30 is removed . referring to fig3 h , if needed , a second carrier 32 is disposed on the first redistribution layer 31 through an adhesive layer 33 . referring to fig3 i , a second redistribution layer 34 is formed on the second surface 23 b . referring to fig3 j , a plurality of conductive elements 24 are formed on the second redistribution layer 34 , thereby forming a semiconductor package 3 . referring to fig3 k , an electronic element 25 , such as another semiconductor package or a semiconductor chip , is disposed on the semiconductor package 3 and electrically connected to the first conductive posts 204 . referring to fig3 j , the present invention further provides a semiconductor package , which has : an encapsulant 23 having a first surface 23 a and a second surface 23 b opposite to the first surface 23 a ; a chip 22 embedded in the encapsulant 23 and exposed from the second surface 23 b of the encapsulant 23 ; a plurality of first conductive posts 204 formed in the encapsulant 23 and penetrating the first and second surfaces 23 a , 23 b ; a first redistribution layer 31 formed on the first surface 23 a of the encapsulant 23 and electrically connected to the first conductive posts 204 ; and a second redistribution layer 34 formed on the second surface 23 b of the encapsulant 23 and electrically connected to the chip 22 and the first conductive posts 204 . the above - described semiconductor package can further have a plurality of conductive elements 24 formed on the second redistribution layer 34 . according to the present invention , a plurality of conductive posts are formed to electrically connect upper and lower substrates and after an encapsulant is formed between the upper and lower substrates , the upper substrate is removed . since less space is consumed by the conductive posts compared with the conventional solder balls , the present invention meets the fine pitch requirement and prevents solder bridging from occurring , thereby improving the product yield . the above - described descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only to illustrate the preferred implementation according to the present invention , and it is not to limit the scope of the present invention . accordingly , all modifications and variations completed by those with ordinary skill in the art should fall within the scope of present invention defined by the appended claims .	7
in fig1 there is shown a dewatering press having a hopper 11 for receiving wet fibrous material , a feeder ram 10 for forcing the wet fibrous material into a compression chamber 62 , a hydraulic power unit 12 for the driving of the feeder ram 10 and all other hydraulic cylinders of the press , a main compression ram 63 arranged substantially perpendicular to the feeder ram 10 , and a panel box 13 for controlling the driving of the main compression ram 63 toward a press box 54 . as shown in fig2 after the feeder ram 10 has pushed a quantity of wet fibrous material into the compression chamber 62 , the main compression ram 63 forces the wet fibrous material through the compression chamber 62 into a compressed mass in the press box 54 where the wet fibrous material is dewatered in a manner to be described later . a cylinder 84 raises and lowers a door 70 which opens and closes whenever a bale of dewatered fibrous material is ejected from the press box 54 . another view of the dewatering press is shown in fig3 in which the feeder ram 10 is fully extended by control signals sent from the panel box 13 to cylinders 51 in which piston rods 52 reciprocate so that wet fibrous material is pushed from the bottom of the hopper 11 to the left for eventual dewatering by the front face 60 of the ram 63 in the press box 54 . the cylinder 84 has lowered the door 70 into its closed position . as shown in fig4 the feeder ram 10 is constructed of a top plate 43 , a bottom plate 42 , two side plates 41 , a front plate 50 ( fig5 ), and stiffeners 44 for the top plate 43 . two cylinders 51 arranged on opposite external sides actuate the feeder ram 10 . piston rods 52 inside the cylinders 51 are connected to each side plate 41 by eye brackets 47 and a female rod clevis 48 . this external assembly for attaching the piston rods 52 to the feeder ram 10 is located entirely along the outside of the side plates 41 extending from the front plate 50 ( fig5 ) to a back plate 53 ( fig5 ). retraction of the pair of piston rods 52 in the cylinders 51 on the side plates 41 causes the feeder ram 10 to be pulled toward the compression chamber 62 ( fig5 ). as also shown in fig4 the feeder ram 10 has its bottom plate 42 supported by a plurality of bottom liner plates 56 . the bottom plate 42 of the feeder ram 10 extends under side liner plates 55 to guide the feeder ram 10 toward the compression chamber 62 ( fig5 ). side - to - side guidance of the feeder ram 10 is also accomplished by the side liner plates 55 . in fig6 drain slots 24 are shown on a front face 60 of a main compression ram 63 . in fig5 identical drain slots are also located in the bottom plate 33 , the top plate 34 , and in side plates 32 of the compression chamber 62 . liquid is eventually expressed from all sides forming the press box 54 at one end of the compression chamber 62 . it should be noted that the drain slots in the slots in the bottom and top plates of the compression chamber 62 are aligned with each other in order to facilitate the extraction of liquid from the fibrous waste paper being compressed . also as shown in fig5 the drain slots 24 are uniform in width in order to prevent the fibrous material from wedging inside the slots 24 during any motion in the direction of the longitudinal axes of the various drain slots 24 . each drain slot 24 must have its longitudinal axis oriented in the primary direction of motion of the feeder ram 10 which effectively moves along its own parallel longitudinal axis . thus , the orientation of the drain slots 24 aids in the movement of the fibrous material into the press box 54 by not restricting such movement in any way . as best shown in fig7 each drain slot 24 has a straight bored portion 24b and a widened relief portion 24a . thus , a substantially constant flat area or thick portion 25 on a replaceable rear face 79 of a door 70 is provided so that progressive wear of the rear face 79 does not increase the opening 24c in each drainage slot 24 . it has been discovered that the critical dimension of the opening 24c in each drainage slot 24 is 1 / 32 inch which must not be exceeded in order to retain the fibrous waste material under dewatering pressure in the press box 54 . identical dimensions are also necessary for the openings 24c in the drainage slots 24 in the front face 60 of the main compression ram 63 shown in fig6 and as shown in fig5 in the bottom plate 33 , the top plate 34 , and the side plates 32 of the compression chamber 62 . also as shown in fig7 the widened relief portion 24a in each drainage slot 24 is tapered outwardly away from the press box 54 so that there is a low pressure flow path for the water expressed from the fibrous waste material being compressed in the press box 54 . furthermore , the widened relief portion 24a allows any small fibrous waste material which may be forced into one or more of the drainage slots 24 to be freely washed away with the expressed water without causing clogging of the straight bored portion 24b of the drainage slots 24 . alternatively , as shown in the embodiment of fig8 the relief portion 24 of each drainage slot 24 may be widened into a conical shape completely around the straight bored portion 24b so that each drainage slot 24 will have twice the water flow capacity as the drainage slots 24 shown in the embodiment of fig7 . referring again to fig6 a main compression ram 63 is guided on all four sides through a compression chamber 62 . part of the compression chamber 62 includes a charge opening 66 . as shown in fig5 two corner liners 95 are continued above and below the charge opening 66 to assure guidance of the main compression ram 63 . returning to fig6 it may be seen that the amount of material charged into the compression chamber 62 is pushed thereinto by the feeder ram 10 . this charging is accomplished , as shown in fig4 when the feeder ram 10 removes a lower portion of the material in a hopper 11 and charges it into the compression chamber 62 shown in fig1 and 2 . the starting and stopping positions of the feeder ram 10 are controlled by an operator of the feeder control panel box 13 to vary the amount of charge being loaded into the compression chamber 62 . referring again to fig5 the side plates 32 of the compression chamber 62 are symmetrical in their mounting configuration so that they can be assembled to either the left side or the right side . the feeder ram 10 and the hopper 11 can then be mounted for either a right hand or a left hand configuration . the result is that the same parts are used for opposite hand configurations . for example , as shown in fig3 the feeder ram 10 and the hopper 11 are mounted in a configuration on the right hand side of the press box 54 . returning to fig5 provision is made for the collection by water and other liquids during the operation of the machine by directing liquids to various exit locations which may be constituted by a plurality of similar pipe fittings 17 and dams 18 . as indicated earlier in regard to fig6 the main compression ram 63 has drainage slots 24 on its front face 60 . this face 60 is formed by a plurality of spaced wear liners 72 . the main compression ram 63 also has a vertical knife 68 which works against a vertical knife 69 in the edge of the side wall 32 near the entrance to the press box 54 . these knives 68 and 69 provide the cutting edges necessary to separate the moving charged material from the waiting material beneath the hopper 11 . this cutting function becomes important when the feeder ram 10 , as shown in fig1 is not fully stroked underneath the hopper 11 . referring again to fig6 the main compression ram 63 has a side extension 64 which covers the charge opening 66 to keep waiting material in the hopper 11 from falling behind the front face 60 of the main compression ram 63 . thus , inadvertent damage is prevented to a single centered rod 65 which pushes the front face 60 forward . a spherical bearing surface 76 connects the body of the compression ram 63 to the pushing rod 65 in order to isolate the rod 65 from &# 34 ; cocking moments &# 34 ; which the rod 65 would otherwise experience from ram 63 . the &# 34 ; cocking moments &# 34 ; are tendencies of the ram 63 to jerk the rod 65 in various transverse directions due to uneven resistance offered by the material being compressed by the front face 60 of the ram 63 . the isolation of such &# 34 ; cocking moments &# 34 ; is also effected during pull back of the ram 63 and rod 65 because a mounting bolt 71 is likewise provided with a spherical bearing surface 67 . a clearance 73 is provided so that the two spherical bearing surfaces 67 and 76 are not held in contact simultaneously by the mounting bolt 71 which would cause an undersirable rigid point . the provision of only a single centered mounting bolt 71 accessible from the front face 60 of the ram 63 makes it very easy and convenient for the operator to remove the ram 63 from the compression chamber 62 . in the arrangement of the present invention , the door 70 forming one side of the press box 54 in fig7 is not shown at the left hand side of the ram 63 in fig6 . the function of the door 70 in fig7 is to provide a reaction surface to the material being compressed against it by the ram 63 . the door 70 also functions to contain the material being dewatered and aids in the routing of the water by providing exits through the drainage slots 24 discussed earlier and formed by spacing between a plurality of replaceable liners 72 identical to the liners 72 ( fig6 ) on the front face 60 of the ram 63 . another feature of the door 70 , as shown in fig7 is that it is equipped with replaceable wear strips 21 and 22 . these strips 21 and 22 are replaced whenever the edges of the door 70 become worn because of the compression of the edges against the edges of the press box 54 . the replacement of only these strips 21 and 22 saves the cost of replacing the entire door 70 and the cost of rebuilding the edges of the press box 54 . a detailed cross sectional view of the door 70 is shown in fig8 . a knuckle 83 is attached to the door 70 by a pin 82 . a cylinder 84 is mounted to a top wall 86 of the press box 54 and serves to receive the door 70 which is raised to allow the compressed and dewatered fibrous material to be ejected from the press box 54 . the press box 54 also has a bottom wall 87 and a side wall 85 which receives the door 70 whenever it is lowered . in addition to the plurality of replaceable liners 72 on the rear face 79 of the door 70 , there is a plurality of replaceable liners 78 on the side walls 85 , top walls 86 , and bottom wall 87 of the press box 54 for receiving water expressed from the fibrous material being compressed and dewatered in the press box 54 . a catch pan 90 receives the water which has been expressed from the fibrous material and such water exits the catch pan 90 through a pipe connector 91 . a floor 92 for the door 70 serves as a bottom rest for the door 70 when the door 70 is completely lowered . the floor 92 also functions as a cover for the catch pan 90 and as a support for the bale of compressed fibrous material being ejected from the press box 54 . there are three modes of operating the dewatering press : manual , semi - automatic , and automatic . manual operation is intended for setting up and performing maintenance on the dewatering press . semi - automatic and automatic modes are intended for unattended operation of the apparatus . the automatic sequence is described as follows . the operation starts with all elements in the ready position shown in fig1 . the door 70 is down , the feeder ram 10 is retracted , and the main compression ram 63 is also retracted . first , the operator manipulates dials ( not shown ) on panel box 13 to select either full or partial extension of the feeder ram 10 so that the amount of wet fibrous material dropping down from the hopper 11 is limited by the presence of the feeder ram 10 beneath the hopper 11 . upon cycle initilization by the operator , the feeder ram 10 is extended to charge the compression chamber 62 . as shown in fig5 the front face 50 of the feeder ram 10 is held at the charge opening 66 . as shown in fig1 the main compression ram 63 is then fully extended to drive the wet fibrous material from the compression chamber 62 into the press box 54 . actually , as shown in fig6 the press box 54 is a volume of space which extends beyond the charge opening 66 at a far end of the compression chamber 62 . as shown in fig1 the wet fibrous material is held in the press box 54 against the door 70 by the main compression ram 63 preferably for about a minute under about 500 pounds per square inch of pressure . however , any other amount of time and pressure may be selected as long as the wet fibrous material is dewatered . after the selected holding time ends , the ram 63 is retracted a few inches to allow the door 70 , as shown in fig2 to be raised by the cylinder 84 . the main ram 63 on rod 65 then moves forward again until the newly formed block of dewatered fibrous material is completely ejected from the press box 54 . thereafter , the main ram 63 retracts completely to the right hand side of the compression chamber 62 , the door 70 closes , and the feeder ram 10 also retracts . this sequence of steps is repeated automatically until interrupted by the operator . the semi - automatic sequence is the same as the automatic sequence described above except that , during the step of dewatering the wet fibrous material by the fully extended main compression ram 63 , if no pressure exists against the ram 63 , thus indicating that no material is present in the compression chamber 62 , the controls in the panel box 13 will return all elements to the initial ready condition with hydraulic pumps 12 for driving the feeder ram 10 and the main compression ram 63 being unloaded to a low horsepower &# 34 ; idle &# 34 ; position . this initial ready condition will then be maintained until the operating sequence is again commenced by the operator . one other point should also be made in regard to another key operational feature of the present invention . as shown in fig6 during the first step of the extension of the main compression ram 63 before the knives 68 and 69 pass each other , the hydraulic pressure available for cutting the fibrous material in the charge opening 66 is reduced . this reduced pressure prevents damage which may result to the dewatering press if the full force of the main compression ram 63 were immediately applied to cut the solid mass of fibrous material in the charge opening 66 . certain other points should also be made in regard to the construction of the dewatering press . major subassemblies of the invention are made of heavy metal plates which are stress - relieved before being machined to the preferred design dimensions . the main compression ram 63 and the press box 54 are equipped with replaceable shear knives 68 and 69 shown in fig6 . all four edges of the knives 68 and 69 are usable so that the edges of such knives 68 and 69 may be turned into place for shearing purposes after another set of edges is worn out . thus , such knives 68 and 69 last four times as long as conventional knives which have only one set of cutting edges exposed toward each other . also , all piping elements , such as the pipe connection 91 shown in fig8 are electrically welded so as to be securely anchored to the dewatering press . furthermore , any flanges used with such piping elements are made of steel and bolted to the dewatering press with &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;- ring gaskets arranged therebetween . the foregoing preferred embodiment is considered illustrative only . numerous other modifications will readily occur to those persons skilled in the pertinent art . consequently , the disclosed invention is not limited to the exact construction shown and described but is rather defined by the following claims .	1
the present invention is a secure , policy - managed content selection and presentation system for selecting , distributing , and presenting information on computing devices . the policy - managed display is a system consisting of an application or other executing entity or component thereof , running on a computing device and presenting selected information or other content on a display or other output device associated with that computing device , and having the selection of the presented information from one or more content sources performed through the application of rules expressed and organized within a policy - based content selection system . such a content selection system may have a hierarchy of policy owners , for determining precedence of policy application , and may also include a method of ranking or prioritizing individual content items to be shown , given that the size of the display area will generally be constrained . one such policy - based system that could be utilized to perform the required content selection is that presented in international patent application pct / us13 / 78004 (&# 39 ; 004 ) the disclosure of which is included by reference as if fully set forth herein . fig1 presents one potential architecture for such a policy - managed display system , using such a content selection system . in fig1 , a policy decision point ( pdp ) server is compiled from policies and supporting elements in a policy development and code synthesis environment such as that presented in patent application &# 39 ; 004 . the resultant pdp server instance ingests content for selection from one or more content sources , and selects content to be displayed to one or more display devices . each display device may receive a distinct set of information to be displayed , with policy decisions governing which content is to be communicated to , and displayed on the device being made by the pdp server , potentially with consideration of contextual information from each device and other available data relevant to specified policy decisions . fig2 presents a candidate augmented architecture for our invention , beyond that shown in fig1 . in fig2 , candidate content for display is retrieved from content sources and serialized in a database accessible by the pdp server . in this case , temporarily available information can be saved in the database for asynchronous , later display on a device . this suits cases where the device may be temporarily offline or otherwise unavailable . in such an architecture , policy for selecting content for potential display can be applied either at the ingest side , as a filter prior to storage , and / or on the output side , such as via a policy - driven query to pull data from the database before transmission to a device . in the case that the content presentation is accomplished via a visual display , the physical display area being managed may be all or a portion of the available electronic display area on the computing device itself , or of some other external display coupled to the device by wired or wireless means . an alternative or supplementary form of presentation of the selected content would be through the use of audio notifications , either via recorded audio transmissions or synthesized speech ( text - to - speech conversion ), or , some form of alarm sound or warning tone . another alternative form of presentation or notification of content is through the use of variations in adjustments to elastic or other transducers that can then cause a human to react . such transducers might be mounted or otherwise located within clothing such as socks , shirts , trousers , or underwear , or attached to glasses or hats . hardcopy output of the managed display content to a device such as a printer is also contemplated by the invention , and may also be specified by policy . in the case of electronic display , the programmed form of the managed displaying entity may be a widget , applet , tile , application window , desktop or some near - equivalent to these presentation forms , rendered on an end point device or potentially on a customizable notification screen . non - limiting examples of devices on which the display presentation could be made include a tv . pc , tablet , mobile phone , electronic timepiece , electronic billboard , or public news display screen . the present invention also contemplates any other forms of output as the means of information presentation that is controlled by policy . other specific , non - limiting examples include potential presentation devices such as implanted or otherwise human - proximal devices such as hearing aids , inner ear transducers , wearable optical outputting devices such as google glass , pressure transducers , or retinal display . while the system and techniques described herein are notably applicable to mobile handsets , it is also the case that much of what is described can be applied to other areas of information selection and presentation . neither the description nor the examples used in this present document should be taken as limiting the generality or the applicability of the system and the techniques presented to mobile handsets and wireless networks specifically , although they are immediately applicable in those areas . the application would display content gathered from at least one source , and potentially from many , disparate local and / or external sources . apart from common internet - accessible sources such as news sites and news feeds , data to be displayed may also be sourced from other devices and sensors , such as a nearby phone , temperature sensor or traffic flow level indicator . the presence of a known phone could be used to indicate and display the presence of a co - worker . a high temperature reading from a device of a nearby firefighting team member could be the source for a displayed emergency alert . the specific information and / or the format that the information is shown to the user would be based on rules contained within policy and those rules may incorporate use of specific contextual data from the device , and / or from other sources , with the contextual information then being used within policies for content selection . as one non - limiting example of such contextual data , device location data obtained from onboard gps sensors might be used within a policy for deciding on the display of local weather or local emergency information . as a second non - limiting example , the enable / disabled status of a device - borne sensor such as a camera or microphone might be used within a decision to display a privacy or security related warning message in the policy - managed display of the device . one embodiment of the present invention utilizes the policy enforcement point ( pep ) and policy decision point ( pdp ) architecture that sequitur labs has previously disclosed in u . s . application ser . no . 13 / 945 , 677 , the disclosure of which is incorporated as if fully set forth herein , for the purposes of providing the means of policy specification and decision computation , access and control of contextual data sources such as device - borne sensors , and the secure content dissemination to the managed display . the present display application in this embodiment is therefore an extension of that core technology . policies can also be utilized to control not only the content of the display , but also to prescribe formatting and layout of the content to be presented . for example , individual formatting elements such as character sizes and line spacing may be dynamically specified by policy decisions to cause visible highlighting of high priority information , or to optimize the available display area . such formatting specification could be expressed , in the case of html content , in the form of dynamically written cascading style sheets ( css ) defined from policy and supporting contextual information . other content display attributes such as paging , scrolling controls and scrolling rates , and content navigation controls may also be defined and decided upon from policy , and then communicated to the device . the display of information on the receiving device may be time - dependent , and updates may be triggered by events on the device or elsewhere . for example , an “ unlock ” of the device from a gesture such as a finger swipe or button press may trigger a request from the device to the pdp server , for new content to be displayed . conversely , policy may express that notification of a major news event or emergency be “ pushed ” to the device from the pdp server , or that news presentation be refreshed at specific times of day or at specific intervals . one non - limiting example of such a presentation of emergency alert information is illustrated in fig3 , in this case , the content source is a traffic condition alert service , and the content consists of a traffic emergency incident . a policy exists that specifies that in the case of the handset being within a distance such as 5 kilometers of the incident , and not connected to an 802 . 11 fixed network , the traffic incident alert plus helpful warning information is to be shown on the managed handset display . upon receipt and ingest of the incident information , the pdp applies the policy using the latest reported handset position and connectivity status , and pushes an alert to the handset , to be displayed to the user in the managed display area . an audible alert tone is also issued using the handset speaker and supporting audio capabilities . a second non - limiting example of our invention , using data local to the device , combined with policy housed in the pdp , is a scheduled event alert coupled with location information , is presented in fig4 . in this example , the handset user has previously entered in their schedule that they have a meeting at location l 1 , at a time t 1 . policy housed in the pdp states that the handset is to present a reminder notice in the managed display , informing the user to commence travel to a scheduled meeting , if the handset location is determined to be further than a distance x , such as 100 m , from l 1 , at a time t 2 where t 2 is within some time interval such as 5 minutes , of t 1 . on examination of the policy in the context of the handset location information recently received , the pdp will push a notice to the handset triggering a reminder notice to be displayed in the managed display , along with the playing of an audible alert using the handset speaker and supporting audio capabilities . many application areas exist for our invention . the following is a non - limiting list of application examples . in some cases , policy is utilized to link together related content from distinct sources : 1 ) executive dashboards : high priority or strategic corporate summary information is presented 2 ) email ( and other messaging ) prioritization : policy is applied to rank and present important messages 3 ) linking and displaying data for meeting reminders : one content source may have a meeting schedule for a customer , and another , information that the customer has an overdue bill 4 ) policy reminders : a mobile employee travelling to a foreign country is notified of intellectual property policy in regard to the destination country 5 ) healthcare reminders : linking medical records to patient scheduling and location 6 ) emergency services : all employees devices would warn of inclement weather policies or tell them to call police or other parties based on contextual data and policy requirements 7 ) advertising : this display technology could be used as a method for more quickly and securely displaying ad content to users 8 ) regulatory compliance : policy can be applied to appropriately manage and control certain types of information that could be presented to certain individuals , as regulated by privacy laws or other standards . for example hipaa compliance requires that nurses have one set of information while physicians have another . authentication and policy are therefore very important , and our invention is well suited to this purpose .	6
referring to the figures for a clearer understanding of the invention , it may be seen in fig1 that the invention is an apparatus for handling large rolls of web like material w . the apparatus has a large support frame which shall be indicated in common by the numeral 11 . this frame 11 may take on many configurations and have many subparts which are not germane to the instant invention other than to provide support to the operative components , therefore in the interest of clarity and conciseness , specific frame members are not recited or indicated by separate numerals . as may be seen frame 11 supports idler rollers 12 and 12 &# 39 ; in appropriate bearings . idler rollers 13 , 13 &# 39 ; and nip rollers 14 , 14 &# 39 ; are mounted on adjustment plate 16 which can be used to adjust tension in the web w as shown in fig4 . a knife roll 17 is supported for selective driven rotation on frame 16 in appropriate bearings and is flanked by the idler rollers . superjacent knife roll 17 is a vacuum transfer roll 18 , which is also supported on frame 16 for driven rotation such that the adjacent surfaces of knife roll 17 and transfer roll 18 move in the same direction . superjacent vacuum transfer roll 18 is a winding drum 19 , which is likewise driven for cooperative rotation with transfer roll 18 . roll 18 and drum 19 constitute transfer surfaces over which the web must move to reach a winding core . each surface rotates about a fixed axis on the frame 11 . in fig2 it may be seen that a dc motor 21 drives an endless belt 22 which drives vacuum transfer roll 18 and winding drum 19 . inasmuch as the winding drum 19 rotates about a stationary axis , it can be seen that the cores onto which the web must be wound must be movable relative to the winding drum 19 . this is accomplished using cooperative carriages 23 and 23 &# 39 ;. carriage 23 has complimentary components on the operator side and drive side of the apparatus , as does carriage 23 &# 39 ;. the complementary component will be designated as d or o , when it is necessary to differentiate the side of the apparatus being discussed . the carriages 23 , 23 &# 39 ; are each supported on frame 11 on a set of vertically spaced guide tracks , as seen in fig1 , & amp ; 4 . as may be seen , each carriage includes a carriage frame 24 which has affixed thereto an angle 26 in cooperative relation to an angle 27 mounted to main frame 11 . intermediate angles 26 and 27 is a linear bearing 28 such that the carriage frame 24 is supported on the flanges and bearing for horizontal linear motion along the bearing . a second linear bearing 29 is mounted between a lower guide track 31 and frame 24 at the bottom thereof . each carriage frame is thus mounted to the frame 11 in a manner that allows smooth linear reciprocal motion relative to the winding drum 19 . the drive mechanism for the carriages is seen in fig1 - 4 . for each carriage we provide a servo drive 41 , connected via a gear box 42 to a transverse drive shaft 43 and a first vertical drive shaft 44 . transverse drive shaft 43 extends across the width of the apparatus and is connected to a second gear box 46 , which transfers drive force to a second vertical drive shaft 47 . each vertical drive shaft 44 and 47 terminates in an upper gear box 48 and 49 , respectively , which is operatively connected to a drive screw 51 and 52 respectively . the drive screws are supported for rotation on main frame 11 parallel to the upper linear bearings 28 supporting the associated carriage frames 24 . each drive screw has mounted thereon a drive nut 53 which moves linearly along the screw responsive to rotation of the screw . each drive nut is mounted to a drive plate 54 , which is connected to a mounting plate 56 affixed to carriage frame 24 . the drive screw 51 or 52 extends through an opening in the mounting plate , but does not interact directly with the mounting plate 56 . drive plate 54 is connected to mounting plate 56 by a plurality of spacer rods 57 which are affixed to one plate and slidably received through the other plate . the rods 57 may in reality be bolts threadably received in one plate and passing through apertures in the other plate such that the other plate is movable along the length of the rod and captured thereon by the head of the bolt . intermediate the drive plate and the mounting plate is a toriodal compressible bladder 58 , which may be pneumatically filled to provide an elastic spacer intermediate the drive plate 54 and the mounting plate 56 . the separation between plate 54 and plate 56 with bladder 58 filled is precisely known , such that a transducer assembly 59 may be used to sense compression of the bladder caused by force applied to the mounting plate and output an electrical signal in accordance with the sensed compression . as will be described hereinafter , this signal may be used as a control signal for the servo drive 41 to rotate the screw and move the drive plate 54 therealong . as shown in fig3 carriage frame 24d supports a dc motor 61 which is used to rotate the core on which a web w is received . the output of motor 61 is to a gearbox 62 also supported on carriage 24d , to a spindle 63 on which a core chuck 64 is mounted . on carriage frame 24o a cooperative core chuck 66 is mounted such that a core 67 may be affixed intermediate chuck 64 and chuck 66 for driven rotation , about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of winding drum 19 . as will now be appreciated , a core 67 mounted on a carriage 23 or 23 &# 39 ; is movable relative to the winding drum in response to rotation of drive screws 51 and 52 . accordingly , a web w may be delivered to the core by passing over the idler rollers , the transfer surfaces of roll 18 and drum 19 to the core . in one mode of operation , the core 67 is in a nip relation with the winding drum 19 which is rotating about a fixed axis . as the web accumulates on the core 67 , the diameter of the core and layers of web and hence the thickness of the web passing between the core and the winding drum increases , thus applying force to the carriage which is transferred to the bladder 58 by mounting plate 56 , compressing the bladder and thereby outputting an analog control signal via transducer assembly 59 to a motion control processor 68 which also controls the servo drive 41 ( see fig4 & amp ; 8 ). servo drive 41 then continuously receives signals representative of the compression of the bladder which are proportional to the accumulation of web on the core . the servo drive responds to position the core in a null signal position . accordingly , as the web accumulates the core is moved appropriately . in some instances it may be desirable to wind a web onto a core without contact between the accumulated web and the winding drum . in such cases the core needs to be moved to maintain a gap between the surface of the accumulated web and the drum . accordingly , in our invention we include a means for controlling the position of the core which is dependent on the rate at which the web accumulates on the core and the thickness of each layer as it accumulates . in one embodiment the rotational speed of the core is used to determine the rate of accumulation and a constant for the thickness of the web is incorporated into the calculation of the thickness of the accumulated web . in another form of calculation , the rotational speed of the winding drum is used to determine the rate of accumulation . in either case , the desired gap is known , the linear rate of feed of the web is known and size and position of the core relative to the drive screw and winding drum at the start of accumulation is known . accordingly , the movement of the core is calculated in accordance with the formula : where d = the distance from the winding drum to the core surface with the core in the home position , g = the gap desired between the winding drum and the surface of the web , wherein r varies proportionally with the thickness of the web and the linear rate feed of the web to the core . when the desired length of web w has been accumulated on a core supported on one winding station between the chucks of one carriage , the present invention allows for the web to be severed and the leading edge thereof to be carried to another core supported on the other winding station mounted on the other carriage . a clearer understanding of the structure and method embodying this invention will be had by reference to fig5 & amp ; 6 . in the sectional view of fig5 it may be seen that vacuum transfer roll 18 is a perforated roll having a plenum therewithin . the plenum is divided into longitudinal segments by a series of vanes 71 extending from a stationary vacuum tube 72 with the largest being a vacuum plenum , extending over 270 degrees of angular measure within the roll . each vane carries a seal 73 which is interposed against the interior of the roll . in addition to the vacuum plenum 70 a pair of blow off plenums 77 and 78 are formed at right angles to each other and adjacent the walls of plenum 70 . conduits for delivery of forced air from a remote source extend within vacuum tube 71 in communication with blow off plenums 77 and 78 . an anvil slot 79 is formed longitudinally in vacuum transfer roll 18 to receive a knife 80 carried by knife roll 16 . knife roll 16 embodies the teachings of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 529 , 141 in terms of urging the knife into a cutting position , however , the actual control of the knife roll is somewhat different . in the present invention the knife roll is driven by a direct drive d . c . motor 81 coupled to the axis and controlled by a servo drive and encoder circuit 83 , such that a pacer encoder 84 on the vacuum transfer roll 18 axis can be used to provide a signal to a motion control processor 68 to determine the relative position of the slot 79 to the closest point of approach ( cpa ) of the surfaces of the knife roll and the vacuum transfer roll . in operation , the knife roll 17 starts at a home position 240 degrees from the cpa and at rest . upon receiving a signal that the web w is to be severed , the motion control processor 86 determines the speed and position of the slot 79 based on the pacer encoder 84 signal . at the appropriate time motor 81 accelerates the knife roll 17 such that after 320 degrees of rotation the knife roll surface speed is matched to the vacuum transfer roll surface speed at 10 degrees before the knife reaches the cpa . the knife engages the slot within +/- 0 . 005 &# 34 ;. at 10 degrees past the cpa the knife roll 17 begins to decelerate such that it stops within 330 degrees of travel . after stoppage the d . c . motor 81 is reversed to return the knife to the home position . winding drum 19 is also of a special construction , as may be seen in fig5 & amp ; 6 . winding drum 19 defines a tubular plenum , and is perforated to allow a radial airflow . the drum 19 is concentric with a vacuum tube 91 which is in communication with the drum plenum and a remote vacuum to induce air flow into the plenum . a pair of diametrically opposed vanes 92 and 92 &# 39 ; extend radially from tube 91 and bifurcate the plenum externally of tube 91 . wiper seals 93 and 93 &# 39 ; close the space between vanes 92 , 92 &# 39 ; and the inner surface of drum 19 to define an upper vacuum chamber 94 which extends over the upper 180 degrees of the winding drum 19 . a subtending vane 96 spaced along a radian bisecting the lower 180 degrees of the winding drum 19 carries a wiper seal 97 and defines a pair of lower vacuum chambers 98 and 99 which extend over the lower arcuate quadrants of the winding drum . while there are numerous details of construction which have been omitted , the forgoing description is deemed sufficient to enable the artisan to construct the apparatus . the operation of the apparatus is as follows . with reference to the figs ., one core 67 has been designated a and the other b . with core a winding in the nip winding mode , core a and the web w accumulating thereon is in contact with the winding drum and no vacuum is applied to any drum or roll . core b is an empty core carried by carriage 23 &# 39 ; and has a splice tape affixed thereto such that it may adhere to the leading edge of the web to be wound . core b is moved to a reload position , such as 12 inches from the web on the winding drum 19 , under the control of motion control processor 86 . core b has it &# 39 ; s own d . c . drive motor 61 &# 39 ; which is a variable speed motor and is initially set to match the surface speed of the core to the winding drum 19 . the vacuum is applied to the vacuum transfer roll 18 and to the winding drum 19 . the knife roll 17 is at the home position and accelerates to line speed such that the knife blade 80 mates with the anvil slot 79 and severs the web just after core b is nipped to the winding drum . a positive air flow is introduced through the blow off conduit and plenum intermediate the cpa and core b such that the leading edge of the web w is carried by the winding drum to nipped core b for adhesion to the transfer tape as the trailing edge of the web on core a is carried past core b by the winding drum . core b is positioned to wind web thereon in a nip position or a gap position and motion control processor signals the drive for carriage 23 to move core a to the home position as the core coasts to a stop . as will be understood the vacuum applied by the vacuum transfer roll 18 is applied from the nip roller 14 past the cpa to the nip of the winding drum 19 , thus the vacuum is applied over about 270 degrees of rotation of the roll . the blow off plenum 78 is positioned downstream of the winding drum nip such that the leading edge of the web is positively lifted from the transfer surface of the roll . simultaneously , the vacuum within the winding drum 19 is applied from the nip of the vacuum transfer roll 18 to the nip of the fresh core , through the lower vacuum plenum and , if necessary , the upper vacuum plenum . the vacuum is adjustable to permit clockwise or counter clockwise rotation of the transfer surfaces as desired . from the foregoing description of the structure and the operation , it should be clear that we have provided a web splicing device which is amenable to large capacities in terms of web weight and size , and which can provide continuous operation of the web winding apparatus with virtually no folds at the core interface . while we have shown our invention in one form , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited , but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof .	1
in the drawings , the various embodiments of distillation installations are shown in diagrammatic representations , with which a liquid which has been supplied , can be distilled by using only the energy of solar light . in this connection , utilization to obtain distilled water is just as possible as the distillation of other starting liquids . for the sake of simplification , the distillation is always started out from water in the following ; however , the invention is not limited to this . fig1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a distillation installation 10 . as is evident , first of all from the diagrammatic cross - sectional representation in fig1 , the water 12 which is to be distilled is in the interior of an absorber tube 14 . the absorber tube 14 is disposed within a gas tight transparent sleeve 16 which may be formed , for example , from glass . the absorber tube 12 accordingly is located in a closed - off insulated space 18 in the interior of the sleeve 16 . the absorber tube 14 is connected with a first condensation tube 22 via several distillation bridges 20 , of which one is shown in fig1 . sunlight radiation , shown here by arrows , is reflected by a suitably curved mirror surface 24 and focused in the direction of the absorber tube 14 . by these means , the absorber tube 14 , is heated up for evaporating the liquid 12 contained therein , the vapor of which then passes through the distillation bridge 20 into the condensation tube 22 . the sleeve 16 is fastened directly to the condensation tube 22 , with which it is in direct thermal contact . if the vapor condenses in the condensation tube 22 , an amount of heat of condensation , corresponding to the evaporation enthalpy , is transferred to the condensation tube 22 and to the sleeve 16 which is coupled thermally thereto . accordingly , the sleeve 16 is heated , so that the absorber tube 14 is in the interior of the heated insulated space 18 . due to this arrangement of the absorber tube 14 in the heated insulated space 18 within the also heated sleeve 16 , the absorber tube 14 emits less thermal energy to the surroundings . with that , the absorber tube 14 attains a higher temperature with the same solar radiation , than would be the case with an arrangement without the sleeve 16 , that is , if the absorber tube 14 were to be exposed directly to the external environment . accordingly , by utilizing the heat of condensation , the distillation installation 10 with the construction shown diagrammatically in fig1 achieves a clear increase in efficiency due to the utilization of the heat of condensation . this can be used , on the one hand , in order to achieve a high throughput during the distillation , even if the solar radiation is relatively slight . on the other hand , the higher temperature at the absorber tube 14 can also be used for the distillation of liquids , the boiling point of which is above that of water . the further construction of the installation 10 is shown in longitudinal section in fig2 . the mirror reflector 24 is constructed in the shape of a trough . the absorber tube 14 and the first condensation tube 22 are disposed at a distance from and parallel to one another and coupled with one another by several distillation bridges 20 . water ( or a different liquid which is to be distilled ) is passed via an inlet 26 and through a float valve 28 to the absorber tube 14 . with the help of the float valve 28 , it is ensured that a desired liquid level is always maintained within the absorber tube 14 . if the whole of the liquid does not condense in the first condensation tube 22 , the excess vapor can be passed into a second condensation tube 30 . the second condensation tube 30 extends parallel to the first condensation tube 22 , as well as to the absorber tube 14 and is disposed directly at the mirror surface 24 , so that it is in thermal contact with the mirror surface 24 . by these means , a large surface for delivering heat is available to the second condensation tube 30 , so that it is ensured that the excess vapor will condense . the distillate , obtained in the first condensation tube 22 and in the second condensation tube 30 , is passed via a pipeline 32 into a collection container 36 . moreover , a heat exchanger 34 is provided , the details of which are not shown , with which the fresh water , supplied to the absorber tube 14 , is heated by the condensate . the collection container 36 forms a foundation for the installation 10 . the mirror surface 24 and the unit of absorber tube 14 , first condensation tube 22 , and the sleeve 16 , are supported on the collection container 36 . moreover , the whole trough from the mirror reflector 24 and the sleeve 16 , with the tubes 14 , 22 therein , can be rotated about a longitudinal axis , so that tracking relative to the position of the sun is made possible . a second embodiment of a distillation device 10 a is shown in fig3 . the water 12 a which is to be distilled is disposed in an absorber tube 14 a with a triangular cross - section , the center of which is at the focal point of a curved mirror 24 a . the absorber tube 14 a is connected with a condensation tube 22 a which extends parallel to the absorber tube 14 a and has a rectangular cross - section in the example shown , via distillation bridges 20 a one of which is shown here . the absorber tube 14 a , as well as the condensation tube 22 a is disposed in an insulated space 18 a which is surrounded by a partially transparent sleeve 16 a . a partition 21 a extends into the absorber tube 14 a and leaves a region in the tip of the latter free . in the absorber tube 14 a , this partition 21 a differentiates a region with liquid from a passage to the distillation bridge 20 a . as a result , the liquid cannot reach the distillation bridge 20 a directly . in the example shown , the sleeve 16 a is formed by a rear wall 25 a of the mirror 24 a and two transparent elements 17 a , b which consists of a glass with a high transmission . the one transparent element 17 a is disposed as an outer pane between the upper and lower mirror sides , so that rays of light , incident frontally on the distillation installation 10 a , hit them perpendicularly . the other transparent element extends as an inner pane 17 b from the outer pane 17 a to the rear wall 25 a of the mirror 24 a and forms a right angle with the outer pane 17 a . as a result , the inner pane 17 b separates the insulated space 18 a from a region 19 . the inner pane 17 is in contact with the condensation pipe 22 a , with which it is coupled thermally by these means . incident light rays are focused by the mirror 24 a onto the absorber tube 14 a . due to the triangular acute angled cross section of the latter , most of the rays , preferably , strike the two long sides and , in this way , heat the absorber pipe 14 a uniformly . at the same time , the water 12 a evaporates in the absorber tube 14 a . the vapor flows around the partition 21 a and reaches the condensation tube 22 a by way of the distillation bridges 20 a . the vapor may condense once again in the condensation tube 22 a . the thereby released energy of condensation can then heat the condensation tube 22 a which transfers this heat to the inner pane 17 b , and with that to the sleeve 16 a . in addition , the condensation tube 22 a is coupled thermally with the rear wall 25 a . due to the delivery of the energy of condensation to the mirror 24 a , on the one hand , passive cooling can be achieved and , on the other , the region of the mirror 24 a which forms part of the sleeve 16 a , is heated with the rear wall 25 a . by these means , the sleeve 16 a can be heated further . in addition to being heated by solar radiation , the insulated space 18 a is therefore also heated by way of the sleeve 16 a . owing to the fact that it is disposed within the insulated space 18 a , the absorber tube 14 can therefore reach higher temperatures than if it were outside of this space 18 a . in addition to the thermal insulation by the sleeve 16 a , this effect is increased even more by the thermal coupling of the condensation tube 22 a with the sleeve 17 a . the region 19 a forms a further insulation chamber which can also be heated and functions as a thermal reservoir for the insulation space 18 a . by these means , weather - related fluctuations in the temperature and solar radiation can be intercepted , so that a more uniform operation of the solar still 10 a is ensured . this second embodiment therefore offers a similar gain in efficiency when the solar radiation is utilized , like the first embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 . this gain in efficiency can therefore also be used in order to distill relatively larger amounts in a corresponding time with a relatively low solar radiation or to make possible the distillation of liquids , the boiling points of which is above that of water . the second embodiment may also comprise further elements which are described for the first embodiment . for example , a heat exchanger ( not shown ), with which the freshwater , supplied to the absorber tube , is heated by the condensate , may be provided at a pipeline to a collection container for the distillate . in addition , a floating valve may be provided in the inlet to the absorber tube 14 a . with the help of the floating valve , it is ensured that a desired water level ( or a level of a different liquid which is to be distilled ) is always retained within the absorber tube 14 . moreover , in the second embodiment , a second condensation tube may be provided which extends parallel to the first condensation tube 22 a as well as to the absorption tube 14 a and is disposed directly at the mirror surface 24 , so that it is in thermal contact with the mirror surface 24 . a large area for emitting heat is therefore available to the second condensation tube . this ensures that the excess vapor is condensed . the decisive improvement of these distillation installations , 10 , 10 a over known solar stills lies in the utilization of the heat of condensation . this is achieved by the sleeves 16 , 16 a . because of the airtight construction thereof , heat losses are minimized . moreover , the sleeves 16 , 16 a , are heated in particular by conduction by being disposed at the first condensation tube 22 , 22 a . depending on the design , the sleeve 16 , 16 a may consist partly or completely of a special solar glass ( such as a low iron glass or a borosilicate glass ) for optimized thermal radiation properties . a plurality of supplements or respectively modifications is possible in addition , and / or , alternatively to the versions and elements shown . for example , the curved mirror surface 24 may be constructed in different shapes , for example , as a parabolic trough . all parts which are in contact with the liquid or the vapor , may be produced from appropriate stainless steel ( such as wnr . 1 . 4301 x5crnii8 - i0 , aisi 304 ( v2a )) which is resistant to foods as well as to corrosion and , at the same time , has good stability . the absorber tube 14 , 14 a may be blackened for better light absorption and , with that , easier heating . a third embodiment of an installation 110 , based on the first embodiment shown in fig1 , is shown in fig4 - 6 . the installation 50 is intended for the extraction of substances from a material , by using the vapor obtained during the distillation . in the third embodiment , distillation bridges 120 which connect an absorber tube 114 with a first condensation tube 122 , are expanded into connection spaces 120 in comparison to the distillation bridges 20 of the first embodiment . sunlight radiation , shown by arrows in fig4 , is reflected by a suitably curved mirror surface 124 and focused in the direction of the absorber tube 114 . the absorber tube 114 , is heated by the sunlight until the liquid 112 , contained therein , starts to evaporate and the vapor of the liquid 112 then passes through the connection space 120 and reaches the condensation tube 122 . in the example shown , the condensation tube has a cross section which , instead of being round , is in the shape of a segment of a circle . in the connection space 120 between the absorber tube 114 and the condensation tube 122 , a material ( not shown ), from which a substance is to be extracted , is disposed in an insert 121 . the insert 121 , is constructed so that the material to be treated is held therein and itself does not reach the absorber tube 114 or the condensation tube 122 . however , the vapor flowing through the connection space 120 , can pass through the insert 121 and comes into contact with the material , resulting in the desired effect of extraction of the material . the material which is not shown in the drawings , may , for example , be a plant material , from which contents are to be extracted . this is accomplished by means of the vapor flowing through which in contact with the material within the insert 121 extracts the contents there and transports them into the condensation tube 122 . the extracted substance is then dissolved in the condensate which forms there . in a different application example , the insert 121 contains a material which is to be purified , such as spent activated charcoal which previously was used as a filter and therefore is interspersed with impurities . here also , the vapor , flowing through the connection space 120 , comes into contact with the activated charcoal in the insert 121 , dissolves the impurities there and transports them away . the activated charcoal can be purified and regenerated in this way , so that it can subsequently be used once again as a filter material . the inserts 121 in the respective connection spaces 120 are shown only diagrammatically in the figures between the absorber tube 114 and the condensation tube 122 . several inserts 121 ( four separate inserts 121 in fig6 ) are shown over the length of the device in the example . of course , a different number of passages 120 with inserts 121 therein may be provided . likewise , the connection space 120 , and the insert 121 may extend therein continuously over the whole length . the inserts are to be adapted to the material which is to be treated . in the example shown , the inserts 121 are constructed as closed containers with a perforated wall , so that vapor can flow through them , but any solids , such as activated charcoal are retained . in general , the wall of the insert 121 should be constructed so that it retains the material which is to be treated , but permits passage of the vapor and of the substance which is to be extracted . depending on the material to be treated and the substance to be extracted , an insert 121 may be equipped , for example , with a membrane which is permeable for the vapor and for the material to be extracted . this membrane may , for example , be a silicone material . preferably , the insert 121 can be exchanged . for example , the tubular or trough - shaped device may be hinged as a whole , so that the inserts 121 can be exchanged in order to remove material which has been treated and to insert new material which is to be treated . the inserts 121 can be used as cartridges so that , for example , filled inserts are removed and replaced by newly filled inserts 121 . in an alternative embodiment ( not shown ), the different inserts 121 or respectively a continuous insert 121 can be pushed in the longitudinal direction into the device . there has thus been shown and described a novel device and method for solar distillation which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefor . many changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will , however , become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof . all such changes , modifications , variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention , which is to be limited only by the claims which follow .	8
fig1 shows vehicle 1 , in particular motor vehicle 2 , in the form of hybrid vehicle 3 powered by internal combustion engine 4 and electric motor 5 , internal combustion engine 4 and electric motor 5 being controlled and switched between their operational states by control unit 6 or by an array of control units and deliver their mechanical output through transmission 7 and drive shafts 8 to wheels 9 in order to propel the vehicle . internal combustion engine 4 , electric motor 5 , transmission 7 , drive shafts 8 and wheels 9 form drive train 10 . vehicle 1 has passenger compartment 11 to accommodate driver 12 and other occupants , not shown , and / or loads . driver &# 39 ; s seat 13 is provided for driver 12 , and is placed in the normal location in front of dashboard 14 and steering wheel 15 . motor vehicle 2 may be propelled by internal combustion engine 4 , electric motor 5 or both , the selection among the modes being made by control unit 6 as a function of the state of charge of the batteries , not shown , for electric motor 5 . alternatively or additionally , the selection between the propulsive modes may also be made by driver 12 . when drive train 10 is ready for operation , in other words when propulsion is supplied to wheels 9 by at least internal combustion engine 4 or electric motor 5 , driver 12 may , by pressing , for example , an accelerator pedal , not shown , send a torque request to control unit 6 , whereupon the latter , through transmission 7 and either internal combustion engine 4 or electric motor 5 or alternatively both , converts the torque request into a rotary movement of wheels 9 and thus sets vehicle 1 in motion . in particular when vehicle 1 is operated by electric motor 5 , driver 12 does not detect the patterns of noise and / or vibration that are usual for internal combustion engine 4 , and in consequence in unfavorable situations or in the case of severe inattention on the part of driver 12 it may be unclear to him what is the state of drive train 10 , and in particular whether the vehicle will react to a torque request , in other words whether the vehicle is ready for operation . for this reason a signaling device 17 is situated under driver &# 39 ; s seat 13 as an item of the vehicle &# 39 ; s equipment 16 , in particular a vibration device 18 , that is linked with control unit 6 by suitable connecting wires , not shown . the state of drive train 10 is communicated to vehicle equipment 16 . when the operational readiness of drive train 10 , in particular following a restart of electric motor 5 , is provided to control unit 6 , which has the role of controlling and switching internal combustion engine 4 and electric motor 5 , vibration device 18 under driver &# 39 ; s seat 13 is activated via the appropriate electrical connections , not shown , so that driver feedback 19 is applied to driver 12 by vibration device 18 or , alternatively , by signaling device 17 via vehicle equipment 16 , specifically driver &# 39 ; s seat 13 . driver 12 thus detects , by means of his sitting in driver &# 39 ; s seat 13 , driver feedback 19 through the vibration of vibration device 18 , thereby becoming aware that drive train 10 is in an operationally ready state . alternatively or additionally , steering wheel 15 may also be used as a further item of vehicle equipment 16 , acting by way of signaling device 17 or a further signaling device 17 ( not shown here with reference to steering wheel 15 ) to generate driver feedback 19 . in particular it may be provided that driver feedback 19 is provided periodically , in other words at essentially identical intervals , for a specified duration , in order to give driver 12 regular feedback on the operational readiness of drive train 10 for setting vehicle 1 in motion . here the driver feedback takes the form of vibration - based communication 20 . this has the advantage that it may be detected by driver 12 even unintentionally and without his paying specific attention . it also has the advantage that it may be designed in such a way that it is similar or identical to the sensations coming from conventionally propelled vehicles equipped with internal combustion engine 4 and habitually detected when operating a hybrid vehicle running on internal combustion engine 4 . thus driver 12 has no need to learn the system and needs no time to get used to it . driver feedback 19 may additionally also be an acoustic communication 21 , and in that case both vibration - based communication 20 and acoustic communication 21 may be present as alternatives or in conjunction , or may be combined with other communications , not shown , in particular visual signals , for example by way of displays , not shown , on dashboard 14 or other suitable devices .	1
control valve 42 , which moves an actuator 14 , is used for transmission of a deflection of a piezoelectric element 10 to actuator 14 . this direct transmission mode is depicted in fig1 . the transmission mode according to the present invention is depicted in fig2 and is explained in detail in the following . for the transmission of the deflection of piezoelectric element 10 to control valve 42 , a hydraulic coupler 28 is interposed . subsequently , the actuating motion of hydraulic coupler 28 is transmitted to actuator 14 via control valve 42 . a nozzle needle 44 , which opens injection orifices 64 for a predetermined time period , is moved by the deflection of actuator 14 in both transmission modes . [ 0015 ] fig3 shows a schematic illustration of a fuel injection system . a supply voltage 12 feeds a direct voltage source 13 which in turn supplies a charging and discharging unit 40 . data from fuel injection systems , which is used for triggering a trigger module 46 , may be parameterized for controlling and regulating in a microcontroller 34 of a control unit . a first operating mode 16 and a second operating mode 32 , which are explained in detail later , are formed for triggering trigger module 46 . in both operating modes 16 and 32 , charging and discharging unit 40 may be activated via trigger module 46 . electric charge carriers of direct voltage source 13 are transmitted to and from piezoelectric element 10 . the transmission takes place within a control cycle 20 ( fig4 and 5 ) which may be formed by a charging operation 22 , a holding operation 24 , and a discharging operation 26 . in both operating modes 16 and 32 , charging operation 22 and discharging operation 32 may be implemented in an identical time period . during charging operation 22 , and generally during holding operation 24 , piezoelectric element 10 is mechanically deflected . the deflection is transmitted to hydraulic coupler 28 via a piston 50 . then the transmission takes place from hydraulic coupler 28 to piston 52 and subsequently to control valve 42 . different responses of control valve 42 and consequently of actuator 14 , or of nozzle needle 44 , take place as a function of selected operating mode 16 or 32 . the following explanation of the example embodiment is based on a constant rail pressure of a rail chamber 60 . the explanation is also based on piezoelectric element 10 , piston 50 , hydraulic coupler 28 , and piston 52 , which together with the moving discrete masses inside the control valve up to nozzle needle 44 form the complex spring - mass system . as described above , both operating modes 16 and 32 operate according to control cycle 20 on which the following description of operating modes 16 and 32 is based . as shown in fig3 a valve element 43 rests in a first seat 66 and seals a return line 54 in second operating mode 16 before the triggering of piezoelectric element 10 . due to the pressure of rail chamber 60 , nozzle needle 44 is kept in its closed state . as shown in fig4 charging operation 22 of piezoelectric element 10 takes place via a variable voltage gradient 18 until a voltage level u 1 is reached . holding operation 24 follows on the same voltage level u 1 . charging operation 22 and holding operation 24 are implemented observing a lower time threshold 30 . lower time threshold 30 is the sum of the time periods of charging operation 22 and holding operation 24 , during which the spring - mass system has just not yet started to oscillate . as shown in fig3 starting from the deflection of piezoelectric element 10 , hydraulic coupler 28 is mechanically deflected via piston 50 and piston 52 . after being deflected from first seat 66 by piston 52 inside control valve 42 , valve element 43 is displaced into a middle position 68 between seat 66 and seat 70 without sealing rail bypass 62 . return line 54 is simultaneously opened . depressurization via return line 54 takes place via an intake throttle 58 , a discharge throttle 56 , and rail bypass 62 . intake throttle 58 has a smaller cross section than discharge throttle 56 . the rail pressure of rail chamber 60 acts on the back of discharge throttle 56 via opened rail bypass 62 and on the front of discharge throttle 56 via intake throttle 58 . the pressure in the area of nozzle needle 44 drops only to the point where nozzle needle 44 opens in a partial lift or at least opens more slowly than it would at a lower pressure , and injection orifices 64 are opened . the spring - mass system does not oscillate since , for implementation of a partial lift , voltage gradient 18 has been changed within charging operation 22 of control cycle 20 observing lower time threshold 30 . as shown in fig4 voltage level u 1 drops back during discharging operation 26 and the deflection of piezoelectric element 10 goes back to zero . as shown in fig3 hydraulic coupler 28 and pistons 52 and 50 yield to the rail pressure of rail chamber 60 via rail bypass 62 following valve element 43 . valve element 43 seals return line 54 and is replaced into first seat 66 . nozzle needle 44 is simultaneously closed again by the restored rail pressure of rail chamber 60 inside of control valve 42 . as shown in fig3 a valve element 43 rests in the first seat and seals return line 54 in first operating mode 32 , conventionally , before the triggering of piezoelectric element 10 . due to the pressure of rail chamber 60 , nozzle needle 44 is kept in its closed state . as shown in fig5 charging operation 22 of piezoelectric element 10 takes place until predetermined voltage level u 2 is reached . holding operation 24 follows on the same voltage level u 2 . charging operation 22 and holding operation 24 are implemented observing lower time threshold 30 . as shown in fig3 hydraulic coupler 28 is mechanically deflected , due to the deflection of piezoelectric element 10 , via piston 50 and piston 52 . after deflection from first seat 66 via piston 52 inside of control valve 42 , valve element 43 is displaced into second seat 70 so that rail bypass 62 is sealed . return line 54 is simultaneously opened . depressurization via return line 54 takes place via intake throttle 58 and discharge throttle 56 . intake throttle 58 having a smaller cross section than discharge throttle 56 creates a pressure drop on nozzle needle 44 in a time period that is predefinable via the throttle cross sections . since in this operating mode 32 the rail pressure of the rail chamber does not act upon the back of discharge throttle 56 via opened rail bypass 62 , the pressure on nozzle needle 44 drops to the point that nozzle needle 44 opens in a full lift and injection orifices 64 are opened completely . the spring - mass system does not oscillate , because in order to implement the full lift , according to fig5 charging operation 22 and holding operation 24 within control cycle 20 has been performed on a predetermined voltage level u 2 observing lower time threshold 30 . subsequently , voltage level u 2 drops back during discharging operation 26 and the deflection of piezoelectric element 10 moves back to zero . as shown in fig3 hydraulic coupler 28 and pistons 52 and 50 yield to the rail pressure of rail chamber 60 following valve element 43 via rail bypass 62 . valve element 43 leaves second seat 70 and seals return line 54 , being re - placed into first seat 66 . nozzle needle 44 is simultaneously closed again by the restored rail pressure of rail chamber 60 inside of control valve 42 . the device for charging and discharging a piezoelectric element 10 , shown in fig6 and described in detail in the following , has charging and discharging unit 40 . direct voltage source 13 , situated between supply voltage 12 and charging and discharging unit 40 , is assigned to charging and discharging unit 40 . direct voltage source 13 together with charging and discharging unit 40 and microcontroller 34 are parts of the control unit . a piezoelectric element 10 , connected to a hydraulic coupler 28 , is assigned to charging and discharging unit 40 in a conventional manner . piston 50 on the input side of hydraulic coupler 28 and piston 52 on the output side of hydraulic coupler 28 are situated between hydraulic coupler 28 and piezoelectric element 10 ( fig3 ). control valve 42 is assigned to piston 52 on the output side of hydraulic coupler 28 . control valve 42 has an actuator 14 , which may be , for example , a nozzle valve 44 . the device also includes microcontroller 34 and trigger module 46 and is directly assigned to charging and discharging unit 40 . microcontroller 34 has a controller 36 with which , in the second operating mode , an actuating motion of actuator 14 is modifiable by variation of the control voltage applied , the voltage gradient also being changed simultaneously . within controller 36 , microcontroller 34 has the first operating mode , using which an actuating motion of actuator 14 may be determined as a function of a holding operation 24 over time . operating modes 16 and 32 in microcontroller 34 may be selected as a function of the recorded and parameterized data of microcontroller 34 . this makes it possible to determine which operating mode 16 or 32 is subsequently assigned to trigger module 46 . in accordance with microcontroller 34 and controller 36 , the sequence of operating modes 16 or 32 may be combined freely and are transmittable to charging and discharging unit 40 via trigger module 46 .	5
referring to fig1 disposed on a base plate 1 of copper is a semiconductor member 2 , which may be alloyed , soldered or glued to the base plate . the semiconductor member 2 may comprise a semiconductor component element or an integrated circuit . disposed on the semiconductor member 2 are respective contact members or pads 3 connected to respective elements of the semiconductor component element or the integrated circuit , which contact pads are illustrated as being disposed at the top face of the semiconductor and may consist of a suitable metal , such as gold . also disposed on the plate 1 are plastic films 4 and 5 , which may be so - called &# 34 ; hot glue foils &# 34 ;, and which are glued to the base plate 1 at opposite sides of the semiconductor 2 . electrical connections are made to the respective contact pads 3 by means of metal films 6 , 16 which are carried by a plastic foil 7 , the metal films 6 and 16 , for example , being evaporated upon the plastic foil 7 . the plastic foil 7 will be provided with a number of metal films 6 , 16 , etc . corresponding to the number of contact pads 3 of the semiconductor member 2 . as will be apparent from reference to fig1 and 2 , the plastic foil 7 is provided with an opening 10 therein directly above the semiconductor member 2 , and finally the latter and the adjacent face of the base plate 1 are covered with a plastic mass or drop 9 , whereby the semiconductor member and the associated contacting metal films are encased by the base plate 1 and the cooperable plastic mass 9 . the base plate 1 thus may serve as a heat conducting member whereby the semiconductor may be cooled , as a result of the conduction of heat therefrom through the directly connected base plate 1 , which thus also forms a part of the housing . to provide additional heat dissipation , the base plate 1 , as illustrated in fig2 may be provided with additional cooling fins or wings 12 , thereby providing additional heat exchange surface . it will be apparent from the above that the described housing is suitable for inclusion into both layer and conductor - board circuits without change in the basic construction of the housing . the metal films 6 , 16 may comprise tinned copper and , in lieu of the use of evaporation process , they may also be formed from a metal film initially applied upon the entire surface of the cooperable plastic film 7 and subsequently etched in correspondence to the desired physical configuration . the securement of the plastic films 5 and the metal films 6 , 16 can be effected by means of heat , for example , suitable heat impulses . advantageously , the base plate 1 may be produced from a strip of metal having applied thereto continuous plastic films disposed adjacent the strip margin , which will later form the plastic films 4 and 5 following severance of the individual base plates from the strip . the semiconductor member is disposed upon the metallic strip and is subsequently connected therewith by means of gluing , alloying or soldering . a strip of plastic film , carrying the metal films 6 , 16 is then disposed adjacent and at a right angle to the metallic strip and following connection of the metal films 6 , 16 with the contact pad 3 , for example by impulse soldering , and following connection of the metal films 6 and 16 with the plastic films 5 by means of the heat impulse , the individual foil 7 is severed from the strip thereof . the plastic mass 9 , for example in the form of a drop , is then applied to the strip and adjacent structure to encase the respective elements , following which the individual plates 1 are severed from the strip stock from which they are formed . in the event the complete semiconductor structure is to be employed in layer - type circuits , the base plate 1 may be provided with a coating of film 11 of tin or suitable solder alloy on its exposed lower face whereby the housing structure may be mounted into a layer circuit by a soldering operation or the like . in the event the structure is to be inserted in a conductor board , the base plate 1 may be suitably punched out to provide one or more connection pins 17 , 18 and 19 , by means of which an electrical as well as mechanical connection may be effected with such a circuit board . as illustrated in fig3 the plate 1 may be provided with both the connection tins and the wings 12 , both of which may be produced by suitable bending operations . having thus described our invention it will be obvious that although various minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art , it should be understood that we wish to embody within the scope of the patent granted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art .	7
the rack 10 in accordance with fig . i is assembled with the frame legs 11 to 22 , wherein preferably profiled sections of the same cross section are used . these frame legs 11 to 22 can be embodied as open or closed hollow profiles and are connected in a known manner , in corner areas by means of corner connectors . with the rack 10 in fig1 the frame legs 11 , 14 , 15 and 19 can also be connected into a solid frame . the same applies to the frame legs 12 , 13 , 17 and 21 . but the frames can also be formed from the four lateral frame legs 11 , 12 , 16 and 20 or 13 , 14 , 18 and 22 . the two frames are then connected with each other by means of four connecting struts 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 or 15 , 17 , 19 and 21 . finally , the upper or lower four frame legs 15 , 16 , 17 and 18 or 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 can be connected to form solid frames , so that the four vertical frame legs 11 to 14 connect the two frames . the frame legs 11 to 22 can be provided on inward - facing profiled sides with rows of fastening receptacles , so that mounting chassis , fastening rails , build - ins and the like can be installed in the rack 10 . the horizontal center plane m is shown in fig1 which divides the frame legs 11 to 14 into two sections of equal length . the upper cabinet half is also divided into two sections of equal size by the horizontal center plane mo , and the lower cabinet half by the horizontal center plane mu . each vertical frame leg 11 to 14 now supports two pairs of connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 . the pairs of connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center plane mo . the pairs of connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 are also arranged in the assigned cabinet halves with respect to the center planes mo and mu of the cabinet halves . a door element extending over the entire height of the switchgear cabinet can utilize all four connecting elements 30 . 1 to 30 . 2 for the hinge or closure side , which will be explained below . the frame legs 11 to 22 of the exemplary embodiment are embodied as open hollow profiled sections , as shown in fig3 and 3a . in this case the outer edges of the frame legs are beveled by means of the profiled corner sections 46 . this profiled corner section 46 makes a transition into the exterior profiled sections 43 and 44 by means of the transition sections 45 and 47 . these transition sections 45 and 47 are preferably placed vertically with respect to the adjoining exterior profiled sections 43 and 44 . the adjoining exterior profiled sections 43 and 44 are placed at right angles with respect to each other . a continuous axial receptacle , which provides space for the connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 , is thus created in the exterior corner area of the frame legs 11 to 22 . the connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 are designed to end flush with the exterior profiled sections 43 and 44 . as fig2 shows , connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 are used , which have a length b and are attached to the vertical frame legs 11 to 14 at a distance a from the top or underside of the switchgear cabinet . the respective other connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 keep this distance a from the center plane m , as can be seen in fig1 . the door element 40 in fig4 is laid out in such a way that the door element 40 completely covers the cabinet side . four hinge elements are attached in the area of the closure side on the inside of the door element 40 , which has a beveled edge 41 , each oriented toward one of the four connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 . as shown by the hinge element 42 , it can be designed as a double sleeve , wherein the two sleeves are spaced apart and can receive a connecting element 30 of the dimension b . the hinge elements can also be embodied as single sleeves as shown by the hinge elements 42 . 1 . the orientation of these hinge elements 42 . 1 can be selected to be such that they adjoin one of the front ends of a connecting element 30 . 1 or 30 . 2 . the connecting elements 30 . 1 and 30 . 2 and the hinge elements 42 and 42 . 1 have receptacles of the same size , into which a hinge bolt can be inserted . therefore the door element 40 can be hinged at four sides on a vertical frame leg 11 to 14 . in the area of the closure side , the inside of the door element 40 has closure elements 63 , which adjoin the facing front ends of the pairs of connecting elements 30 . 1 or 30 . 2 of a frame leg when the door element 40 is closed . the upper half of the door element 40 has a first pushrod closure with the closure 60 and the two pushrods 61 and 62 , whose end is guided in the associated closure elements 63 . if the closure is brought into the locked position , the pushrods 61 and 62 are inserted into the closure elements 63 . in the lower cabinet half the door element 40 is connected by means of a further pushrod closure with the facing vertical frame leg . because the door element 40 is embodied symmetrically with respect to the center plane m , the door element 40 can be fastened both on the right as well as the left . to this end it merely needs to be rotated by 180 °. in this case it is preferably equipped with uniform closure elements 42 or 42 . 1 . outside of the area of the hinge elements 42 or 42 . 1 and of the pushrod closure , the door element 40 can be reinforced by means of a reinforcement and assembly frame 55 . in the exemplary embodiment the pushrods 61 and 62 form the counter - closure elements . a door element 40 can be similarly employed for closing the respectively opposite side of the rack 10 . thus , a door element 40 can close the front or the back of the rack 10 , for example . it is also possible to use two of the same door elements 40 in a freely selectable fastening mode for closing the front and back of the rack 10 . in place of the front and back of the rack 10 it is also possible to close the two remaining sides of the rack 10 with one or two door elements 40 of appropriate size . the attachment of the closure elements 63 and the hinge elements 42 or 42 . 1 must always be matched to the arrangement of the connecting elements 30 . 1 or 30 . 2 at the vertical frame legs 11 to 14 . as shown in fig5 a small door element 70 can also be used for closing the upper or lower cabinet half . the hinge elements 42 on the hinge side are arranged in accordance with the distance a and the length b and are oriented toward the pair of connecting elements 30 . 1 or 30 . 2 in such a way , that the door element 70 can be hinged to the vertical frame legs 11 to 14 . on the closure side , the closure elements 63 , the pushrods 61 and 62 and the closure of the pushrod lock are oriented toward the pair of connecting elements 30 . 1 or 30 . 2 , so that the pushrods 61 and 62 can be inserted into the facing connecting elements 30 . 1 or 30 . 2 of a vertical frame leg 11 to 14 as locking bolts . thus it is possible to arrange two door elements 70 on one cabinet side , one above the other , and the door elements 70 can be closed and opened independently of each other . the smaller door element 70 is also reinforced on an inside by means of a reinforcement and assembly frame 55 .	7
referring to fig4 a 1 - bit signal at an input 40 has a sampling rate of for example 64 fs where fs is a standard audio signal sampling rate fs is for example 44 . 1 or 48 khz . an up converter 41 increases the sampling rate in this example to 128 fs . the up converter increases the sampling rate by repeating sample values or by inserting zeroes into the bit stream . the up converted signal is processed by a series of delta - sigma modulators ( dsms ) 42 , 43 , only two being shown . up converting spreads the noise power over a larger bandwidth and improves signal to noise ratio in the signal band . a down converter 44 reduces the sampling rate back to 64 fs . in a preferred embodiment , at least the series of dsms 43 , 44 are implemented on a silicon integrated circuit . by up converting better use is made of the frequency characteristics of the integrated circuit . the up converter and / or the down converter may also be implemented on the integrated circuit . the down converter 44 operates to reduce the sampling rate to a desired value , e . g . 64 fs . it does that preferably without reducing the signal - to noise ratio in the signal band . it avoids folding out - of - band noise into the signal band . fig5 shows an example of a down converter in the form of a first order fir filter . the 1 - bit signal from e . g . dsm 43 is fed to scaling circuit 58 which scales the input signals by ½ to compensate for the subsequent summing of odd and even samples . the scaled input samples are then fed to a unit 50 which down converts the sampling rate by providing odd samples on output 501 and even samples on output 502 each odd sample being output simultaneously with its corresponding even sample at a sampling rate of 64 fs . the outputs of the unit 50 are coupled to an adder 52 via coefficient multipliers 54 , 56 . the output of the adder is a signal at 64 fs , adjacent odd and even samples of the input signal being combined . a disadvantage of the fir filter 50 to 58 is that it converts the 1 - bit signal to p bit form ( p & gt ;& gt ; 1 ). a 1 - bit converter 59 is thus provided at the output of the fir filter to convert the p bit signal to 1 - bit form . fig6 illustrates a dsm configured as a down converter . the dsm of fig6 is a modification of the dsm described in co - filed uk application 9624674 . 9 attorney reference p / 1508 . gb ( i - 96 - 16 ) ( co - filed u . s . ser . no . 08 / 979 , 761 incorporated herein by reference ), to which attention is directed . it is modified by the addition of a unit 50 similar to unit 50 of the filter of fig5 which supplies even samples to input 4 and simultaneously odd samples to input 4 ′ at a sampling rate of 64 fs and by the addition of coefficient multipliers b 1 - b 4 connecting the second input 4 ′ to adders 61 - 64 of a linear signal processing stage 650 of the dsm . the linear signal processing stage 650 operating at 64 fs combines the odd and even samples of the bit stream . the output of section 650 is a p - bit signal where p & gt ; 1 . the output of the linear signal processing stage 650 is filtered by a low pass filter 652 and fed via an adder 653 to a quantizer q . quantizer q quantizes the output of the adder 653 to one bit form to provide the output signal at output 5 of the dsm . the output signal is fed back to the summer 653 via a noise shaping section 651 . the low pass filter 652 is an fir filter as shown at 50 to 58 of fig5 . the coefficients a 1 - a 4 , b 1 - b 4 , c 1 - c 4 and the low pass filter 652 are chosen to provide the desired filter characteristic . the coefficients a 1 - a 4 and b 1 - b 4 scale the samples so combined samples have unity magnitude . the dsm has the advantage that both the input and output signals are in 1 - bit form . fig7 shows another dsm configured as a down converter . the dsm of fig7 is a modification of the dsm described fig7 of co - filed uk application 9624673 . 1 attorney reference p / 1510 . gb ( i - 96 - 25 ) ( co - filed u . s . ser . no . 08 / 979 , 726 incorporated herein by reference ) to which attention is directed . it is modified by the addition of a unit 50 a first output of which supplies odd samples to a first input 4 of the dsm and a second output of which supplies even samples simultaneous with the odd samples to a second input 4 ′ of the dsm . the odd and even samples have a sampling rate of 64 fs . the dsm operating at 64 fs combines odd and even samples of the bit stream . the coefficients a 1 - a 6 , b 1 - b 6 and c 1 - c 5 are chosen to provide the desire frequency characteristic . coefficients a 1 to a 6 and b 1 to b 6 also scale the odd and even samples so combined samples have unity magnitude . the dsm of fig7 is an nth order ( where n is greater than or equal to 3 ) dsm having a first input 4 for receiving odd signal samples and a second input 4 ′ for receiving even signal samples . a quantizer q requantizes a p bit signal to 1 - bit form the requantized signal being the output 5 signal of the dsm . a plurality of signal combiners are provided . a first combiner 61 , 71 , a 1 , c 1 forms an integral of an additive combination of the product of the odd samples and a first coefficient a 1 , of the product of the even samples and a second coefficient b 1 and of the product of the output signal and a third coefficient c 1 . at least two intermediate combiners form an integral of an additive combination of the product of the odd samples and a first coefficient a 2 - a 5 and of the product of the even samples and a second coefficient b 2 - b 5 and of the product of the output signal and a third coefficient c 2 - c 5 and of the integral of the preceding stage . a final combiner 66 , a 6 forms an additive combination of the product of the odd samples and a first coefficient a 6 and of the product of the even samples and a second coefficient b 6 and of the integral of the preceding stage to form the said p bit signal which is requantized by the quantizer . the dsm of fig7 maybe regarded as a 3rd order modulator having a second order filter section , although it will be appreciated that physically the 2nd order filter section is not separate from the 3rd order modulation , the filter and modulator being distributed over the 5th order dsm shown . although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims . this annex outlines a procedure for analysing a fifth order dsm and for calculating coefficients of a desired filter characteristic . a fifth order dsm is shown in figure a having coefficients a to f and a to e , adders 6 and integrators 7 . integrators 7 each provide a unit delay . the outputs of the integrators are denoted from left to right s to w . the input to the dsm is a signal x [ n ] where [ n ] denotes a sample in a clocked sequence of samples . the input to the quantizer q is denoted y [ n ] which is also the output signal of the dsm . the analysis is based on a model of operation which assumes quantizer q is simply an adder which adds random noise to the processed signal . the quantizer is therefore ignored in this analysis . the signal y [ n ]= fx [ n ]+ w [ n ] i . e . output signal y [ n ] at sample [ n ] is the input signal x [ n ] multiplied by coefficient f plus the output w [ n ] of the preceding integrator 7 . applying the same principles to each output signal of the integrators 7 results in equations set 1 . these equations are transformed into z - transform equations as well known in the art resulting in equations set 2 . w ( z )( 1 − z − 1 )= z − 1 ( ex ( z )+ ey ( z )+ v ( z )) v ( z )( 1 − z − 1 )= z − 1 ( dx ( z )+ dy ( z )+ u ( z )) u ( z )( 1 − z − 1 )= z − 1 ( cx ( z )+ cy ( z )+ t ( z )) t ( z )( 1 − z − 1 )= z − 1 ( bx ( z )+ by ( z )+ s ( z )) s ( z )( 1 − z − 1 )= z − 1 ( ax ( z )+ ay ( z )) the z transform equations can be solved to derive y ( z ) as a single function of x ( z ) ( equation 3 ) y  ( z ) = fx  ( z ) + z - 1 ( 1 - z 1 )  ( ex  ( z ) + ey  ( z ) + z - 1 1 - z - 1  ( dx  ( z ) + dy  ( z ) + z - 1 1 - z - 1  ( cx  ( z ) + cy  ( z ) + z - 1 1 - z - 1  ( bx  ( z ) + by  ( z ) + z - 1 1 - z - 1  ( ax  ( z ) + ay  ( z ) ) ) ) ) ) this may be reexpressed as shown in the right hand side of the following equation , equation 4 . a desired transfer function of the dsm can be expressed in series form y  ( z ) x  ( z ) given in left hand side of the following equation and equated with the right hand side in equation 4 . y  ( z ) x  ( z ) =  α 0 + α 1  z - 1 + α 2  z - 2 + α 3  z - 3 + α 4  z - 4 + α 5  z - 5 β 0 + β 1  z - 1 + β 2  z - 2 + β 3  z - 3 + β 4  z - 4 + β 5  z - 5 =  f  ( 1 - z - 1 ) 5 + z - 1  e  ( 1 - z - 1 ) 4 + z - 2  d  ( 1 - z - 1 ) 3 +   z - 3  c  ( 1 - z - 1 ) 2 + z - 4  b  ( 1 - z - 1 ) + z - 5  a ( 1 - z - 1 ) 5 - z - 1  e  ( 1 - z - 1 ) 4 - z - 2  d  ( 1 - x - 1 ) 3 -   z - 3  c  ( 1 - z - 1 ) 2 - z - 4  b  ( 1 - z - 1 ) - z - 5  a equation 4 can be solved to derive the coefficients f to a from the coefficients α 0 to α 5 and coefficients e to a from the coefficients β 0 to β 5 as follows noting that the coefficients α n and β n are chosen in known manner to provide a desired transfer function . f is the only z 0 term in the numerator . therefore f = α 0 . the term α 0 ( 1 − z − 1 ) 5 is then subtracted from the left hand numerator resulting in α 0 + α 1 z − 1 . . . + . . . α 5 z − 5 − α 0 ( 1 − z − 1 ) 5 which is recalculated . similarly f ( 1 − z − 1 ) 5 is subtracted from the right hand numerator . then e is the only z − 1 term and can be equated with the corresponding α 1 in the recalculated left hand numerator .	7
an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below on the basis of the attached drawings . as shown in fig1 a to 1e , a wavelength domain optical switch 100 according to the present invention includes an integrated element 110 , a first lens 130 , a polarization separation element 140 , a second lens 150 , a first reflective optical phase modulator 160 , a ½ - wavelength plate 170 , and a second reflective optical phase modulator 180 . the integrated element 110 includes five input / output ports # 1 to # 5 such that an input / output optical fiber 101 can be connected to each input / output port # 1 to # 5 . any of the input / output ports # 1 to # 5 may be used as an input port or an output port . in this embodiment , the wavelength domain optical switch 100 is a 1 × 4 optical switch having one input port and four output ports . the structure of the integrated element 110 will now be described in further detail using fig2 a to 2d . the integrated element 110 is formed by laminating five waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 , in which a core 112 having a high refractive index is buried in cladding 113 having a lower refractive index , onto a substrate 111 . the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 includes five input / output waveguides 115 , a slab waveguide 116 that is connected to the input / output waveguides 115 and structured such that light is held therein in only a thickness direction , and an array waveguide 118 that is connected to the slab waveguide 116 and constituted by a plurality of waveguides 117 that differ in length sequentially by a fixed length . the five waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 are laminated in close proximity in a thickness direction of the substrate 111 at intervals of 25 μm , for example . here , the interval is a distance between an upper end of the core 112 in the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 positioned on a lower side and a lower end of the core 112 in the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 positioned on an upper side in fig3 l . the cladding 113 is interposed between overlapping cores 112 . as a result , a demultiplexing side entrance / exit end surface 120 in which entrance / exit ends 119 of the respective waveguides 117 in the array waveguide 118 are arranged in the thickness direction of the substrate 111 ( a lamination direction ) is formed on one side of the integrated element 110 , and a multiplexing side entrance / exit end surface 122 in which entrance / exit ends 121 of the plurality of input / output waveguides 115 on each layer are arranged in the thickness direction of the substrate 111 is formed on another side of the integrated element 110 . hence , the integrated element 110 is formed by laminating the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 in an integrated fashion on the single planar substrate 111 . as shown in fig2 b , the entrance / exit ends 121 of five input / output waveguides 115 are arranged on each of the five layers of waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 on the multiplexing side entrance / exit end surface 122 . the five optical fibers 101 are connected to the entrance / exit ends 121 to be used as the input / output ports # 1 to # 5 . an optical fiber array 123 is formed by fitting the five optical fibers 101 into a plurality of parallel v grooves , and the optical fiber array 123 is attached to the multiplexing side entrance / exit end surface 122 at an incline relative to an upper surface of the integrated element 110 . it is known that when the input / output ports are varied in this type of waveguide type demultiplexing circuit , demultiplexed wavelengths also typically vary . in the present invention , however , the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 is used , and therefore the varied demultiplexed wavelengths are corrected . note that alignment marks 124 are used in a manufacturing method to be described below to realize mask alignment when the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 are laminated with a high degree of precision . a method of manufacturing the integrated element 110 will now be described using fig3 a to 3l . note that in fig3 a to 3l , the number of cores 112 in the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 has been reduced to two . as shown in fig3 a , to form the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 of a first layer , first , a core glass 301 constituted by a core film is formed on the substrate 111 , which is constituted by silica glass , using a method such as cvd ( chemical vapor deposition ). a refractive index of the core glass 301 is set to be approximately 0 . 2 to 3 % higher than that of the silica glass forming the substrate 111 . as shown in fig3 b , a metallic film 302 is formed on the core glass 301 using a sputtering method or the like in order to etch the core glass 301 into a shape having a rectangular cross - section . as shown in fig3 c , a resist film 303 is then applied , whereupon photoresist is formed by exposing the resist film 303 through a photomask 305 having an alignment mark pattern 304 . a resist pattern is then formed by developing the photoresist , whereupon the metallic film 302 is etched . by means of the alignment mark pattern 304 , the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 of the first layer and the alignment marks 124 ( see fig2 a ) can be formed simultaneously , and therefore the optical circuits of the subsequently formed second layer , third layer , and so on can be laminated with a high degree of precision . as shown in fig3 d , the core glass 301 is then etched using the metallic film 302 as a mask such that the cores 112 of the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 of the first layer and the alignment marks ( not shown ) remain on the substrate 111 . as shown in fig3 e , a cladding film 306 covering the cores 112 is formed by coating . the cladding film 306 is constituted by silica glass , and therefore the periphery of the cores 112 having a high refractive index is surrounded by silica glass having a low refractive index . an upper surface of the cladding film 306 is textured to correspond to the cores 112 having a rectangular cross - section . as shown in fig3 f , the upper surface of the cladding film 306 is flattened using a polishing method such as cmp ( chemical mechanical polishing ). as a result , the cladding 113 is formed . as shown in fig3 g to 3l , the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 of the second layer is formed on the cladding 113 in a similar manner to the first layer . at this time , the alignment mark pattern 304 of the photomask 305 is positioned in alignment with the alignment marks of the first layer . the integrated element 110 in which the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 are laminated integrally on a plurality of layers is then manufactured by repeating a similar process . in contrast to a method of forming an integrated element by forming the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 of the first layer on the substrate 111 and then laminating together similar components using an optical adhesive , the manufacturing method for the integrated element 110 described above does not require an optical adhesive , and therefore a corresponding increase in compactness can be achieved in the lamination direction , as shown in fig3 f . description will now return to the wavelength domain optical switch 100 shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 a and fig8 , a center of the first lens 130 is disposed at a distance f1 from the entrance / exit end 120 of the integrated element 110 . the first lens 130 collects light emitted from the entrance / exit ends 119 of the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 in the integrated element 110 and therefore functions to collimate light in the lamination direction and a width direction of the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 in the integrated element 110 . a spherical lens , a cylindrical lens , and so on may be used as the first lens 130 . a focal length of the first lens 130 is f1 on both sides . one end surface of the polarization separation element 140 positioned on the first lens 130 side is disposed at the distance f1 from the center of the first lens 130 . the polarization separation element 140 is constituted by a wollaston prism and is used to separate mutually orthogonal x polarization and y polarization in the lamination direction of the integrated element 110 . a center of the second lens 150 is disposed at a distance f2 from a center of the polarization separation element 140 such that an upper half of the second lens 150 faces the polarization separation element 140 . the second lens 150 collects both x polarization and y polarization and therefore functions to collimate light in a parallel direction to the substrate 111 of the integrated element 110 . a spherical lens , a cylindrical lens , and so on may be used as the second lens 150 . a focal length of the second lens 150 is f2 on both sides . in a normal lcos slm , a refractive index can only be varied in a uniaxial direction , and therefore only the phase of polarization in a uniaxial direction can be varied . for example , when only the refractive index in a y axis direction can be varied , only the phase of y polarization can be varied . however , light typically includes both x polarization and y polarization components , and moreover , a ratio thereof varies over time . it is therefore necessary to subject the x polarization and the y polarization to similar phase control . accordingly , the ½ - wavelength plate 170 is disposed between the second lens 150 and the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 on either an optical path of the x polarization or an optical path of the y polarization so as to cover only one of the polarizations , and makes the polarization directions of the x polarization and the y polarization the same by rotating one of the x polarization and the y polarization emitted from the second lens 150 spatially by 90 degrees . a reflective film 404 of the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 positioned on the second lens 150 side is disposed at the distance f2 from the center of the second lens 150 . note , however , that since the distance f2 is in the order of centimeters whereas respective films 403 to 408 constituting the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 are in the order of several microns , an end surface of the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 positioned on the second lens 150 side can be disposed at the distance f2 from the center of the second lens 150 with substantially no problems . the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 reflects the y polarization collected by the second lens 150 and y polarization obtained when the x polarization collected by the second lens 150 is converted by the ½ - wavelength plate 170 at an arbitrary angle in each cell . the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 is constituted by a plurality of cells and has a variable refractive index in each cell . by controlling a refractive index distribution of the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 using a control circuit , not shown in the drawings , phase variation can be applied to reflection light in each cell . the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 , similarly to the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 , is constituted by a plurality of cells and has a variable refractive index in each cell . by controlling a refractive index distribution of the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 using a control circuit , not shown in the drawings , phase variation can be applied to reflection light in each cell . the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 reflects light reflected by the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 and collimated by the second lens 150 at an arbitrary angle in each cell such that the reflected light enters one of the plurality of waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 . the reflective film 404 of the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 positioned on the second lens 150 side is disposed at the distance f2 from the center of the second lens 150 on the same side as the polarization separation element 140 so as to face a lower half of the second lens 150 . note , however , that for the same reasons as the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 , substantially no problems arise when an interval between an end surface of the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 positioned on the second lens 150 side and the center of the second lens 150 is set at the distance f2 . hence , the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 is disposed substantially parallel to the polarization separation element 140 . identically constituted reflective optical phase modulators do not have to be used as the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 and the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 , but it is assumed here for ease of description that identically constituted reflective optical phase modulators are used . this reflective optical phase modulator will now be described in detail using fig4 a to 4e . as shown in fig4 a , a reflective optical phase modulator 401 is formed by laminating an electrode ( an ito , for example ) 403 , the reflective film 404 , an sio 2 film 405 , an alignment film 406 , a liquid crystal layer 407 , the sio 2 film 405 , the electrode 403 , and a thin film - form glass substrate 408 in sequence on an si substrate 402 formed with an electronic circuit . as shown in fig4 b , the reflective optical phase modulator 401 includes a plurality of cells 409 arranged horizontally and vertically such that the refractive index of each cell 409 can be controlled independently . more specifically , by applying a voltage to each cell 409 , an alignment direction ( birefringence ) of the liquid crystal layer 407 is controlled , and as a result , the phase of a light beam that enters and is reflected by an upper surface of the reflective optical phase modulator 401 can be modulated in each cell 409 . a phase variation required to reflect light beams entering the respective cells 409 of the reflective optical phase modulator 401 is at most approximately 2π . therefore , in the cells arranged in the x axis direction , as shown in fig4 c , the phase applied to the light beam does not exceed 2π , and a phase distribution is set at a saw tooth - shaped phase distribution 411 that is equivalent to a linear phase distribution indicated in the drawing by a broken line 410 . further , in locations removed from a central portion of a lens , it is typically impossible to collect light in an ideal manner , and as a result , aberration occurs . therefore , a parabola - shaped phase distribution 412 , as shown in fig4 d , is applied to the cells arranged in the y axis direction by varying the voltages applied to the respective cells 409 of the reflective optical phase modulator 401 , and as a result , a collection deviation caused by aberration between the first lens 130 and the second lens 150 can be corrected . by superimposing a similar saw tooth - shaped phase distribution to the x axis phase distribution 411 on the parabola - shaped phase distribution 412 , phase distributions 413 a , 413 b , 413 c are obtained . fig4 d shows only the three phase distributions 413 a , 413 b , 413 c in the x axis direction , but since these three distributions are located respectively on an a - a line , a b - b line and a c - c line of fig4 b , in actuality , phase variation in the entire reflective optical phase modulator 401 forms a two - dimensional distribution . the x axis direction positions are varied in accordance with the lamination positions of the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 such that the distribution on the a - a line corresponds to the input / output port # 2 , for example , and the distribution on the b - b line corresponds to the input / output port # 3 , for example . the phase distributions 413 a , 413 b , 413 c are formed by superimposing a saw tooth - shaped phase distribution on the parabola - shaped phase distribution 412 , and the resulting phase distribution corrects a demultiplexing characteristic of the corresponding waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 . by applying a refractive index distribution that brings about the phase distributions shown in fig4 d to the reflective optical phase modulator 401 , the y axis direction phases of light beams of each wavelength are varied such that the light beams exit the reflective optical phase modulator 401 at different angles . in other words , as shown in fig4 e , equiphase surfaces l 1 , l 2 , l 3 of the light beams reflected by the reflective optical phase modulator 401 during spatial propagation are different at each wavelength . as a result , a light beam of a predetermined wavelength , from among the light beams emitted by the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 having the input port , enters a desired waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 having an output port . note that the reflective optical phase modulator 401 used as the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 and the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 is preferably subjected to temperature control using a heater or a peltier element so that a temperature thereof remains constant . next , functions and an optical signal transmission method of the wavelength domain optical switch 100 according to the present invention will be described . when a beam ( a wavelength multiplexed optical signal ) of various wavelengths input from the optical fiber 101 enters the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 directly in the middle of the integrated element 110 in the lamination direction , beams are emitted from the entrance / exit ends 119 of the respective waveguides 117 arranged on the multiplexing side entrance / exit end surface 120 in different directions for each wavelength . when these beams pass through the first lens 130 , the beams of the respective wavelengths enter the polarization separation element 140 as mutually offset parallel beams . the beams that pass through the polarization separation element 140 are separated into two groups , namely an x polarization group and a y polarization group , whereupon the respective groups enter the upper half of the second lens 150 . having passed through the second lens 150 , the two polarization groups ( the x polarization group and the y polarization group ) respectively form parallel beams that enter the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 . at this time , the x polarization group forming one of the two separated polarization groups passes through the ½ - wavelength plate 170 before entering the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 . in the ½ - wavelength plate 170 , the polarization direction of the x polarization group is rotated 90 ° spatially to become y polarization , whereupon the y polarization enters the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 . the reason for having the x polarization group pass through the ½ - wavelength plate 170 but having the y polarization group enter the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 without passing through the ½ - wavelength plate 170 is to ensure that the reflective optical phase modulator 401 acts on ( controls the reflection light direction of ) only one type of polarization ( here , the y polarization ). in a case where the reflective optical phase modulator 401 is to be applied only to the x polarization , the y polarization should be passed through the ½ - wavelength plate 170 . a case in which light enters all of the input / output ports # 1 to # 5 of the integrated element 110 will now be considered . beams are emitted from the respective entrance / exit ends 119 of the multiplexing side entrance / exit end surface 120 in different directions for each wavelength , and therefore images # 1 bu to # 5 bu generated by five beams of the x polarization group that is separated by the polarization separation element 140 and spatially rotated 90 ° by the ½ - wavelength plate 170 are projected onto the upper half of the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 . meanwhile , images # 1 bl to # 5 bl generated by five beams of the y polarization group separated by the polarization separation element 140 are projected onto the lower half of the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 . the images # 1 bu to # 5 bu , # 1 bl to # 5 bl generated by the total of ten beams are analogous to the distribution of the beams emitted from the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 of the integrated element 110 but disposed upside - down . the reason why the images formed by the beams are analogous to the beam distribution is that the images formed by the beams are subjected to fourier transform twice by the first lens 130 and the second lens 150 . a magnification ratio b of the images formed by the beams and the beam distribution is given by b = f2 / f1 . hence , the phase distribution of the beam distribution projected onto the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 is identical to that of the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 . therefore , since the phase distribution of the liquid crystal cells in the parts , onto which the respective beams are projected , is changed to a complementary distribution , the center wavelength , which varied previously among the respective beams , is corrected . this will be explained below using fig1 c . the beam image # 1 bu and the beam image # 1 bl , for example , are converted images obtained by converting the beam distribution emitted from the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 corresponding to the port # 1 , and therefore collecting positions thereof are different whereas amplitudes and phases thereof are identical . as shown in the drawing , the phase distribution of the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 deviates from a desired phase distribution ( broken line ) due to manufacturing process variation . by applying a phase distribution that has been inverted relative to this phase distribution to the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 , the resulting phase distribution can be substantially aligned with the desired phase distribution , and therefore the varying phase distributions of the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 can be corrected to substantially perfectly aligned phase distributions . in other words , the demultiplexed wavelengths ( determined by the incline of the phase distribution ) of the five waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 can be corrected so as to match each other . a beam reflected by the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 passes through the lower half of the second lens 150 and is projected onto the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 . here , an image formed by the projected beam is a fourier - transformed image of the beam distribution from the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 ( which is analogous to the beam distributions from the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 of the integrated element 110 ), and therefore , if the image formed by the beam projected onto the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 has an elliptical gauss distribution in which the x axis is the long axis , the image formed by the beam projected onto the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 has an elliptical distribution rotated 90 ° such that the y axis is the long axis . as a result , beams of respective wavelengths are projected onto locations corresponding to respective wavelengths on the y axis . the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 performs phase correction such that the demultiplexed wavelengths of the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 all match , and therefore the total of ten beam distributions ( including polarization ) relating to the respective wavelengths form a single beam distribution that is projected onto the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 . fig1 d shows the manner in which the ten beams enter the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 . one of the two polarization groups separated by the polarization separation element 140 ( light beams # 1 du to # 5 du corresponding to the beam images # 1 bu to # 5 bu ) enters the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 in a downwardly oriented diagonal direction , while the other polarization group ( light beams # 1 dl to # 5 dl corresponding to the beam images # 1 bl to # 5 bl ) enters the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 in an upwardly oriented diagonal direction . in the respective polarization groups , entrance angle differences between the respective light beams are determined in accordance with the lamination intervals between the respective waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 such that if the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 are laminated at equal intervals , the entrance angle differences take an identical angle α . as shown in fig1 d , an angle between the two separated polarization groups is set at θ . the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 is constituted by a plurality of liquid crystal cells , and by varying the refractive indices of the respective cells , a virtual mirror is realized . as shown in fig1 e , when an angle φ of a mirror surface of this virtual mirror is inclined downward by the angle α from a vertical plane ( when φ = α ), the light beam (# 1 dl ) is reflected at an angle of the light beam (# 2 du ), and the light beam (# 1 du ) is reflected as the light beam (# 2 dl ). in other words , the light beams (# 1 dl , # 1 du ) indicated by solid lines in fig1 e are switched to the light beams (# 2 du , # 2 dl ) indicated by broken lines . description will now return to the method of transmitting an optical signal employed in the wavelength domain optical switch 100 . here , the wavelength domain optical switch 100 is a 1 × 4 optical switch in which the central input / output port # 1 is used as the input port and the remaining input / output ports # 2 to # 5 are used as the output ports . the following description will focus on a single wavelength demultiplexed by the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 . a beam input into the central input / output port # 1 serving as the input port from the optical fiber 101 is demultiplexed by the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 . a beam of a single wavelength , from the demultiplexed beam , passes through the first lens 130 and is then separated into two by the polarization separation element 140 . one of the two beams passes through the second lens 150 and the ½ - wavelength plate 170 while the other passes through the second lens 150 alone . thus , the two beams are formed into identical polarization that is projected onto the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 ( as the beam images # 1 bu , # 1 bl ). the two projected beams are reflected after undergoing phase correction , thereby passing back through the second lens 150 so as to enter the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 at different angles ( as the light beams # 1 du , # 1 dl ). the two light beams are projected onto the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 as a single beam distribution . here , as shown in fig1 e , by applying an appropriately inclined phase distribution to the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 , the light beam # 1 dl , for example , is reflected as the light beam # 2 du , whereupon the light beam # 2 du travels back along the optical path shown in fig1 . more specifically , the beam that is reflected as the light beam # 2 du forms the beam image # 2 bu on the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 and is then reflected thereby . the beam that is reflected as the beam image # 2 bu is subjected to 90 ° polarization rotation by the ½ - wavelength plate 170 and then passes through the second lens 150 and the polarization separation element 140 so as to enter the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 connected to the input / output port # 2 . the beam is then output from the input / output port # 2 . meanwhile , in the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 , the light beam # 1 du is reflected as the light beam # 2 dl , whereupon the light beam # 2 dl travels back along the optical path shown in fig1 . more specifically , the beam that is reflected as the light beam # 2 dl forms the beam image # 2 bl on the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 and is then reflected thereby . the beam that is reflected as the beam image # 2 bl then passes through the second lens 150 and the polarization separation element 140 so as to enter the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 connected to the input / output port # 2 . the beam is then output from the input / output port # 2 . a switching operation in which both the x polarization and the y polarization of a beam input into the input / output port # 1 are emitted from the input / output port # 2 is thus completed . thus , switching can be performed independently of the input polarization . a switching operation from the input / output port # 1 to the input / output port # 2 was described above , but by varying the phase distribution incline applied to the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 , switching can also be performed from the input / output port # 1 to the input / output ports # 3 , # 4 , # 5 . more specifically , when the angle of the virtual mirror surface is φ , the entrance angle difference between the respective light beams is α , and the angle between the polarization groups is θ , the following effects are obtained . when φ = 0 , the light beam # 1 du is reflected at an angle θ + 4α to become the light beam # 1 dl and the light beam # 1 dl is reflected at an angle θ + 4α to become the light beam # 1 du . therefore , the beam output from the input / output port # 1 returns to the input / output port # 1 . this corresponds to a case in which switching is not performed . when φ = α / 2 , the light beam # 1 du is reflected at an angle θ + 5α to become the light beam # 3 dl and the light beam # 1 dl is reflected at an angle θ + 3α to become the light beam # 3 du . therefore , the beam output from the input / output port # 1 returns to the input / output port # 3 . in other words , switching is performed from the input / output port # 1 to the input / output port # 3 . when φ = α , as described above , the light beam # 1 du is reflected at an angle θ + 6α to become the light beam # 2 dl and the light beam # 1 dl is reflected at an angle θ + 2α to become the light beam # 2 du . therefore , the beam output from the input / output port # 1 returns to the input / output port # 2 . in other words , switching is performed from the input / output port # 1 to the input / output port # 2 . when φ =− α / 2 , the light beam # 1 du is reflected at an angle θ + 3α to become the light beam # 4 dl and the light beam # 1 dl is reflected at an angle θ + 5α to become the light beam # 4 du . therefore , the beam output from the input / output port # 1 returns to the input / output port # 4 . in other words , switching is performed from the input / output port # 1 to the input / output port # 4 . when φ =− α , the light beam # 1 du is reflected at an angle θ + 2α to become the light beam # 5 dl and the light beam # 1 dl is reflected at an angle θ + 6α to become the light beam # 5 du . therefore , the beam output from the input / output port # 1 returns to the input / output port # 5 . in other words , switching is performed from the input / output port # 1 to the input / output port # 5 . further , beams of a large number of wavelengths are projected onto the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 , and therefore , by subjecting cell groups in regions of the respective projected wavelengths to phase distribution control independently , the beams of the respective wavelengths can be switched independently . as described above , according to the present invention , an expensive aspherical lens array that was problematic in the related art is not used to collect light from the plurality of laminated waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 , and instead , the single inexpensive first lens 130 is used . as a result , a reduction in cost is achieved . this reduction in cost is made possible by employing the integrated element 110 in which the laminated waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 are laminated at extremely narrow intervals of 5 μm to 100 μm to form an integrated body . this lamination interval can only be realized through a similar microprocessing technique to that used for a semiconductor lsi , such as photolithography or dry etching . conventionally , when a plurality of optical fiber arrays are overlapped , the lamination interval is several hundred μm , and therefore , when a plurality of waveguides are adhered to each other , the waveguide interval reaches several thousand μm . in such a case , a lens array must be used to limit the device to practicable dimensions . further , in the integrated element 110 manufactured using a similar microprocessing technique to that of an lsi , it is important to align the demultiplexed wavelengths ( center wavelengths ) of the respective laminated waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 strictly ( to a demultiplexing interval of no more than 1 %) because when the demultiplexed wavelengths are not aligned , extremely large loss occurs . with a conventional microprocessing technique , it is extremely difficult to align the demultiplexed wavelengths strictly , and therefore , in order to align the demultiplexed wavelengths strictly , the demultiplexed wavelengths must be corrected using a certain method after the integrated element 110 is manufactured . in the present invention , the first reflective optical phase modulator 160 is used to perform wave surface correction such that beams emitted from the respective laminated waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 have identical demultiplexed wavelengths . with this technique it has become possible for the first time to use an integrated element 110 manufactured through a microprocessing technique . according to the present invention , an inexpensive , small , high - performance , flexible wavelength domain optical switch can be realized , enabling great advancements in optical systems and optical networks of the future . the light emitted from the waveguide type demultiplexing circuit 114 has an elliptical beam distribution , and therefore , when an ellipticity thereof is large , a semi - cylindrical lens may be used as the first lens 130 . alternatively , semi - cylindrical lenses may be combined . in the wavelength domain optical switch 100 shown in fig1 a , two three - dimensional lenses ( the first lens 130 and the second lens 150 ) are used , but the respective lenses may be realized by combining semi - cylindrical two - dimensional lenses . furthermore , inexpensive lenses are more likely to include aberration . therefore , lens aberration is preferably corrected by providing each cell of the second reflective optical phase modulator 180 with an aberration - correcting phase distribution , as in the embodiment described above . in the embodiment described above , the waveguide type demultiplexing circuits 114 are laminated on five layers in the integrated element 110 , but by laminating three layers , an optical switch having one input and two outputs can be formed , and by laminating three or more layers , an optical switch having one input and two or more outputs can be formed . next , a method of using the wavelength domain optical switch 100 according to the present invention will be described . as shown in fig5 , the wavelength domain optical switch 100 may be used in each node of a metro core 501 , and may also be applied to a normal optical signal splitting / inserting ( an optical add / drop ) system or an optical cross - connect system . note that a conventional wavelength domain optical switch is used in a comparatively large - scale system such as a main line system or a metro core , but since a large cost reduction can be achieved with the present invention , the wavelength domain optical switch can be introduced into a wide range of systems such as a metro edge and an access system , thereby enabling groundbreaking developments in the field of optical networks . while the present invention has been illustrated and described with respect to a particular embodiment thereof , it should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications to this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present .	6
referring to fig1 , a toilet facility ( 10 ) includes a toilet bowl ( 12 ) having a water tank ( 14 ), a raisable toilet seat ( 16 ) with a toilet seat cover ( 18 ), with both the toilet seat ( 16 ) and the cover ( 18 ) being pivotable about the hinge ( 17 ). in accordance with the invention , there is also provided a ventilation system ( 20 ) that is coupled to a venting tube ( 22 ) and is also provided with vent openings ( 27 ). when the tube ( 22 ) is lead into a vertically rising venting tube ( 26 ), which is located behind a lavatory wall ( 24 ), the suction force exerted by the fan ( 28 ) will draw air through the vent openings ( 27 ). thereby , a person sitting on the toilet seat and covering its opening will cause the air from within the air space of the toilet bowl ( 12 ) to be immediately directed behind the wall ( 24 ) and out of the lavatory room . optionally , odor removing filter ( 19 ) can be provided in the path of the tube ( 22 ) together with motor ( 23 ), in which case the end of the tube ( 22 ) may vent inside the lavatory room ( not shown ) or into the rinsing tube ( 26 ). the filter ( 19 ) may be located in a removable and periodically replaceable manner , in a slot of the housing of filter device ( 19 ). the motor ( 23 ) may be battery operated , so no special electrical wiring is necessary and the motor ( 23 ) is activated when one sits on the toilet seat , and optionally for a short period , e . g ., 1 - 5 minutes thereafter ( by means of a delayed turn - off circuit , e . g ., one including a delay timer ). referring to fig2 , shown therein is a conventional toilet seat ( 16 ), which comprises on the bottom side thereof a plurality of spacers ( 16 a , 16 b ), which locate the toilet seat ( 20 ) at some spacing above the rim of the toilet bowl ( 12 ). openings ( 16 c ) allow bolts to pass through the toilet bowl and thereby fix the toilet ( 16 ) thereto , allowing the toilet ( 16 ) to be raised by being pivoted around the hinge ( 16 d ), all in well known manner . a basic arrangement of the toilet bowl ( 12 ) is shown in fig3 , whereby the toilet bowl ( 12 ) is shown sitting on the lavatory floor , with toilet seat ( 16 ) and its cover ( 18 ) illustrated to be located above the ventilation system ( 20 ) which is coupled via the pipe ( 22 ) to the air vent ( 26 ), as previously described . referring now to a more detailed depiction of the ventilation system ( 20 ) in fig4 , note that the ventilation system can be generally in the shape of a toilet seat and of similar dimensions , wherein the body of the ventilation system ( 20 ) can be solid , sandwiched between and slightly raising the height of the toilet seat by the thickness dimension of the ventilation system ( 20 ). incorporated in the ventilation system is a central ventilation tube ( 29 ), which is coupled with other interior tubes , such as air tubes ( 30 a , 30 b , 30 c , 30 d ) each of which is open into the interior of the toilet bowl . when the tube ( 29 ) is coupled to the motor ( 23 ) it will draw the air from the interior of the toilet bowl as previously described . alternatively , the air will be sucked by the fan motor ( 28 ) shown in fig1 . optionally , openings ( 20 a and 20 b ) are large enough to receive therein the spacers ( 16 a and 16 b ) shown in fig2 so that the weight of the person sitting on the toilet seat will be born entirely by the toilet seat ( 16 ), via the spacers ( 16 a , 16 b ) which contact the rim of the toilet bowl via these openings ( 20 a , 20 b ) ( without pressing on the ventilation system ( 20 )). optionally , spacer extensions for the toilet seat may be provided for increasing the height of the spacers ( 16 a and 16 b ) beyond their original size , for example , by providing small rectangular boxes which are taller than and receive within the spacers ( 16 a ) to increase their height dimension , while still being able to pass through the openings ( 20 a and 20 b ). in accordance with another embodiment , the material of the ventilation system ( 20 ) can be resilient plastic which is somewhat compressed by the weight of the person sitting on the toilet bowl , so that the air spaces between the toilet seat ( 16 ) and the toilet bowl ( 12 ) are sealed , whereby air cannot pass from the toilet bowl to the outside . the openings ( 20 c ) in the ventilation system can be made to accommodate bolts that typically pass through the holes ( 16 c ) in fig2 . a switch ( 21 ) may be provided in the ventilation system , which becomes activated by the weight applied to the ventilation system ( 20 ), providing a turn on signal via wire ( 25 ) to the motor ( 23 ), so that it automatically turns on when a person sits on the toilet seat . the switch ( 21 ) can have a slightly raised component , which allows the switch to become engaged only when the weight of a person bears on the toilet seat . in another embodiment , the ventilation system ( 20 ) shown in fig4 can be made of a hard material and configured to serve both as the toilet seat and the ventilation system . also , the ventilation apparatus , being shaped generally like a toilet seat may have a pivoting hinge ( 20 e ). fig5 is a cross - section through the tube ( 29 ) and shows it to be square shaped . however , any shape can be provided with assurances being made that when and if the ventilation system , which may be made of a resilient material body is squeezed , the vent openings therein remain open . although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof , many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art . it is preferred , therefore , that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein , but only by the appended claims .	4
fig1 illustrates a termination assembly 100 useful in connection with a two - dimensional arrangement 140 of optical fibers 150 . in some implementations of the invention , termination assembly 100 includes a fiber ferrule 110 and a compensating wedge plate 130 . in some implementations of the invention , a fiber array 105 is formed by inserting optical fibers 150 through multi - channel fiber ferrule 110 and by affixing them therein using conventional techniques . in some implementations of the invention , fiber ferrule 110 has circular holes , or other regulating channels , such as triangular or hexagonal channels , formed therein in a desired two - dimensional arrangement , where each of such holes / channels accommodates a single optical fiber 150 . in some implementations of the invention , fibers 150 are bundled next to each other with minimal gaps to form a high density fiber array . a surface 120 ( also referred to herein as a “ single - plane ”) of fiber ferrule 110 is formed by grinding and / or polishing surface 120 of fiber ferrule 110 ( now also referred to as fiber array 105 ), including ends of fibers 150 at a polish angle θ 1 . according the various implementations of the invention , fiber array 105 , due to angled , polished surface 120 , provides high return loss capabilities . in other words , that portion of optical signals travelling through fiber 150 ( also referred to herein as “ optical beam ( s )”) that are reflected off terminated end 220 ( illustrated in fig2 ) do so at an angle that reduces or eliminates such reflected signals from being reflected back into fiber 150 . fig2 illustrates surface 120 from perspective perpendicular to surface 120 after fiber ferrule 110 and fibers 150 are polished ( or more particularly , ends 220 of fibers 150 are polished ). in some implementations of the invention , surface 120 of fiber array 105 includes two - dimensional arrangement 140 of terminated ends 220 of fibers 150 . as illustrated in fig2 , surface 120 includes a 2 - row - by - 3 - column arrangement 140 of fibers 150 ; other two - dimensional arrangements 140 may be used including two - dimensional arrangements other than row - by - column arrangement as would be appreciated . compensating glass plate or wedge plate 130 has a mating surface that mates wedge plate 130 to surface 120 of fiber ferrule 110 , including ends 220 of fibers 150 . according to various implementations of the invention , wedge plate 130 is formed having a wedge angle θ 2 between mating surface and an emergent surface 170 as will be described in further detail below . in some implementations of the invention , wedge plate 130 is formed from a material that matches various optical and mechanical properties of fibers 150 . in some implementations of the invention , wedge plate 130 is formed from silica glass to match various optical and mechanical properties of fibers 150 also formed from silica glass . other materials may be used as would be appreciated . in some implementations of the invention , wedge plate 130 is attached to fiber array 105 . in some implementations of the invention , wedge plate 130 is affixed to fiber array 105 using epoxy or other affixing agents . in some implementations of the invention , the epoxy or other affixing agents matches an index of wedge plate 130 and fibers 150 to minimize insertion loss as would be appreciated . in some implementations of the invention , the epoxy or other affixing agent encloses ends 220 of fibers 150 and / or conceal any imperfections in the surfaces of ends 220 of fibers 150 to further improve return loss performance . in some implementations of the invention , ends 220 of fibers 150 directly affix to wedge plate 130 ( via epoxy or other affixing agent ). in some implementations of the invention , ends 220 of fibers 150 may be detached from wedge plate 130 ; doing so should not significantly affect return loss performance or imaging condition . optical beams carried by fibers 150 embedded in fiber ferrule 110 emerge from ends 220 of fibers 150 and enter wedge plate 130 as optical beams 155 . in some implementations , these optical beams 155 pass through epoxy or other affixing agents after emerging from ends 220 of fibers 150 and prior to entering wedge plate 130 . optical beams 155 pass through wedge plate 130 and emerge from emergent surface 170 as optical beams 160 at an angle θ 3 from an original path of fibers 150 . from a perspective in an exterior medium ( i . e ., from a medium outside of wedge plate 130 , such as air ), each of ends 220 projects back into wedge plate 130 onto a single apparent plane 180 . apparent plane 180 may be adjusted ( i . e ., tilted ) by changing wedge angle , θ 2 . in some implementations of the invention , an optimal wedge angle , θ 2 , occurs when apparent plane 180 is normal to ( i . e ., perpendicular to ) a chief ray direction of optical beams 160 emergent from wedge plate 130 as illustrated in fig1 . when an imaging lens ( not otherwise illustrated ) is aligned to the chief ray directions of optical beams 160 , optical beams 160 may be focused onto a target plane normal to the optical axis with minimal image degradation . however , in some implementations of the invention , optical beams 160 emerging from wedge plate 130 may be bent relative to the parallel fibers 150 . in some implementations of the invention , other wedge angles may be used to tilt the target plane for a various reasons , including , but not limited to compensating for aberration or to accommodate various optical components such as lens arrays , fresnel lens structures or grating structures ( none of which are otherwise illustrated ). a total apparent length of a refracted optical array is given by σ i l i / n i , where l i is the segmental ray distance and n i is the local refractive index . the apparent lengths may be equalized even through optical signals travel along different paths . employing snell &# 39 ; s law and some elementary geometry , an optimal relation between surface 120 and emergent surface 170 may be expressed as 2 sin θ 2 = n 2 sin 2 ( θ 2 − θ 1 ), where n is the common refractive index of fibers 150 and wedge plate 130 . for a standard polishing angle of eight degrees ( i . e ., θ 1 = 8 °, wedge angle θ 2 is approximately fifteen degrees ( i . e ., θ 2 ≈ 15 ° and optical signals 160 emerge from emergent surface 170 bent at an angle of approximately three and one half degrees ( i . e ., θ 3 ≈ 3 . 5 °. in some implementations of the invention , because the compensation provided by wedge plate 130 is not affected by translation of wedge plate 130 and not sensitive to a roll of wedge plate 130 , aligning and affixing fiber ferrule 110 with wedge plate 130 may be quite straight - forward and robust . in some implementations of the invention , emergent surface 130 may be coated with an anti - reflective coating to reduce insertion loss . in some implementations of the invention , emergent surface 130 may be left uncoated for attaching additional optical components as would be appreciated . fig4 illustrates a process 400 for forming a termination assembly according to various implementations of the invention . in an operation 410 , a plurality of optical fibers 150 are inserted into a fiber ferrule 110 . in an operation 420 , a surface 120 of fiber array 105 ( including a surface of ferrule 110 and ends 220 of fibers 150 ) are ground and / or polished at polish angle θ 1 . in an operation 430 , a wedge plate 130 is affixed to fiber array 105 , where wedge plate 130 has a wedge angle of θ 2 . fig3 illustrates a termination assembly 300 useful in connection with a two - dimensional arrangement 140 of optical fibers 150 . in some implementations of the invention , termination assembly 300 includes a polished , single - plane fiber ferrule 310 and a glass plate or plane window 330 . in some implementations of the invention , a fiber array 305 is formed by inserting optical fibers 150 through a multi - channel ferrule 310 and by affixing them therein using conventional techniques . in some implementations of the invention , ferrule 310 has circular holes or other regulating channels , such as triangular or hexagonal channels , formed therein in a desired two - dimensional arrangement , where each of such holes / channels accommodates a single optical fiber 150 . in some implementations of the invention , fibers 150 are bundled together with minimal gaps . a surface 320 ( also referred to herein as a “ single - plane ”) of single - plane fiber ferrule 310 is formed by grinding and / or polishing fiber ferrule 110 , including ends 220 of fibers 150 at a polish angle θ 1 , which in these implementations of the invention , is zero degrees ( i . e ., θ 1 = 0 °. in some implementations of the invention , plane window 330 may be directly affixed to surface 320 of fiber ferrule 310 ( now also referred to as fiber array 305 ). in some implementations of the invention , plane window 330 may be directly affixed to surface 320 of fiber array 305 310 using index matching agents to minimize surface reflection ( i . e ., reflection of optical signals off of plane window 330 and back into fibers 150 ). in some implementations of the invention , plane window 330 is formed from silica glass . in some implementations of the invention , for a single mode fiber or a small core fiber , whose raleigh range is roughly 100 μm , plane window 330 may be a few millimeters thick . such a thin plane window 330 should result in little , if any , fresnel reflection that would couple back to fibers 150 . in some implementations of the invention , emergent surface 380 of plane window 330 may be coated with an anti - reflective coating to reduce any return loss from emergent surface 380 . in some implementations of the invention , further improvements may be achieved if an index matching film 340 is precisely controlled to create destructive interference between two fresnel reflections occurring at index matching film 340 . when fibers 150 and plane window 330 are formed from the same material , complete cancellation may occur . in some implementations , a thickness of index matching film 340 may be actively controlled during manufacturing by using a sensor to monitor a return loss as would be appreciated . in some implementations of the invention , uv epoxy may be used because its curing process may be readily controlled as would be appreciated . implementations of the invention illustrated generally in fig1 may have return losses better than − 60 db , whereas implementations of the invention illustrated generally in fig3 may have return losses approaching − 50 db . hence , for less stringent applications , the implementations of fig3 may be attractive over the implementations of fig1 due to simpler manufacturing processes . further , the implementations of fig3 provide a straight - line optical path through termination assembly 300 whereas , the optical path is bent by termination assembly 100 . while the invention has been described herein in terms of various implementations , it is not so limited and is limited only by the scope of the following claims , as would be apparent to one skilled in the art . these and other implementations of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the disclosure provided above and the accompanying figures . in addition , various components and features described with respect to one implementation of the invention may be used in other implementations as well .	6
2 , 2 ′, 7 , 7 ′- tetrabromo - 9 , 9 ′- spirobifluorene ( 10 g , 15 . 8 mmol ), di - p - tolylamine ( 14 . 2 g , 72 . 1 mmol ) and sodium tert - butoxide ( 9 . 6 g , 100 mmol ) are stirred in 100 ml of anhydrous toluene under nitrogen at 60 ° c . for 1 h . subsequently , tri - tert - butylphosphine . ( 200 mg , 1 . 0 mmol , 6 . 3 % based on tetrabromospitobifluorene ) and palladium ( ii ) acetate ( 92 mg , 0 . 4 mmol , 2 . 6 % based on tetrabromospirobifluorene ) are added and the reaction mixture is heated to reflux under nitrogen . the progress of the reaction is monitored by thin - layer chromatography ( eluent : 50 % hexane in dicchloromethane ). after 2 . 5 h , no reactant can any longer be detected in the tlc . the reaction mixture is cooled , admixed with a solution of 100 mg of kcn in 20 ml of water and stirred at 60 ° c . for another 1 h . after cooling to room temperature , the phases are separated , and the organic phase is dried over sodium sulphate and the solvent is removed . the crude product is recrystallized twice from dioxane and subsequently reprecipitated from a little dichloromethane in hexane and dried under reduced pressure . yield : 15 . 0 g ( 13 . 8 mmol , 87 % of theory ) of slightly greenish powder . 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cdcl 3 + hydrazine hydrate ): 7 . 40 ( d , 1h , j = 7 . 8 ), 7 . 00 ( d , 4h , j = 8 . 3 ), 6 . 88 ( d , 4h , j = 8 . 3 ), 6 . 85 ( dd , 1h , j = 8 . 3 , j = 2 . 0 ), 6 . 67 ( d , 1h , j = 2 . 0 ), 2 . 30 ( s , 6h ). 13 c nmr ( 127 . 5 mhz , cdcl 3 + hydrazine hydrate ): 149 . 8 , 146 . 7 , 145 . 3 , 136 . 1 , 131 . 5 , 129 . 5 , 124 . 0 , 123 . 2 , 119 . 9 , 119 . 3 , 65 . 3 , 20 . 6 . 4 - isopropylaniline ( 49 . 5 g , 366 mmol ) is suspended in 200 ml of dist . water and admixed gradually under ice cooling with 200 ml of semiconcentrated sulphuric acid . subsequently , a solution of sodium nitrite ( 25 . 5 g , 370 mmol ) in 200 ml dist . water is added dropwise at such a rate that the temperature does not rise above 20 ° c . on completion of the dropwise addition , the mixture is stirred at 2 ° c . for another 20 min . the resulting clear reddish diazonium salt solution is now added through a filter to a solution of potassium iodide ( 135 . 0 g , 813 mmol ) in 200 ml of dist . water . the reaction mixture is stirred at 80 ° c . for 1 h . in the course of this , the solution becomes black with vigorous gas evolution and an oily organic phase separates out . after cooling , the organic phase is removed and the aqueous phase is extracted four times more with 100 ml of ether . the combined organic phases are washed with dilute sodium hydroxide solution and dist . water , and dried over sodium sulphate . after the solvent has been removed , the crude product is distilled in a membrane - pump vacuum . the slightly reddish target product distils over at a temperature of 100 - 105 ° c . ( 15 mbar ). yield ; 75 . 3 g ( 310 mmol , 83 % of theory ) of slightly reddish liquid . 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 7 . 60 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 3 ), 6 . 98 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 3 ), 2 . 85 ( q , 1h , j = 6 . 8 , 1 . 22 ( d , 6h , j = 6 . 8 ). 13 c nmr ( 127 . 5 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 148 . 4 , 137 . 3 , 128 . 6 , 90 . 6 , 33 . 7 , 23 . 8 . acetic anhydride ( 26 . 0 g , 254 mmol ) is slowly added dropwise to a solution of 4 - isopropylaniline ( 17 . 2 g , 127 mmol ) in 80 ml of chloroform . in the course of this , intense heating of the reaction mixture occurs . on completion of the dropwise addition , the mixture is stirred at room temperature for another 2 h . the reaction mixture is concentrated to dryness and the resulting , reddish - white solid is recrystallized from hexane . 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 7 . 88 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 40 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 3 ), 7 . 14 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 3 ), 2 . 86 ( q , 1h , j = 6 . 8 ), 1 . 21 ( d , 6h , j = 6 . 8 ). 13 c nmr ( 127 . 5 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 168 . 6 , 144 . 9 , 135 . 6 , 126 . 7 , 120 . 2 , 33 . 5 , 24 . 3 , 23 . 9 . melting point : 107 ° c . ( literature ( dyall , aus . j . chem . 17 , 1964 , 419 ): 104 - 105 ° c .). 4 - isopropyliodobenzene ( 29 . 2 g , 118 mmol ), n - acetyl - 4 - isopropylaniline ( 21 . 0 g , 118 mmol ), copper powder ( 15 . 0 g , 237 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 65 . 4 g , 474 mmol ) and 18 - crown - 6 ( 2 . 9 g , 12 mmol ) are heated to reflux in 200 ml of 1 , 2 - dichlorobenzene . the reaction is monitored by thin - layer chromatography ( eluent : 10 % thf in dichloromethane ). after 48 h , the still - hot reaction mixture is filtered , the filter residue is washed thoroughly and the solvent is removed on a rotary evaporator . the crude product is chromatographed on silica gel using 10 % thf in dichloromethane . the product fractions are concentrated to dryness , recrystallized from hexane and dried under reduced pressure . yield : 14 . 31 g ( 48 mmol , 41 % of theory ) of slightly brovish solid . 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 7 . 21 ( m , 8h ), 2 . 90 ( s ( br . ), 2h ), 2 . 04 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 23 ( s ( br . ), 12h ). n - acetyl - n , n - di ( 4 - isopropylphenyl ) amine ( 5 . 4 g , 18 . 4 mmol ) are heated to reflux in 100 ml of 20 % aqueous ethanol . the reaction is monitored by thin - layer chromatography . after 30 h , no reactant is any longer detectable in the tlc . the ethanolic solution is poured into dist . water , and the brownish precipitate is filtered off with suction , dissolved in dichloromethane and dried with sodium sulphate . the solution is concentrated and chromatographed through a short silica gel column with 50 % dichloromethane in hexane . the product fractions are concentrated to dryness and the product is dried under reduced pressure . yield : 4 . 0 g ( 16 mmol , 86 % of theory ) of slightly brownish solid . 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 7 . 12 ( d , 4h , j = 8 . 3 ), 6 . 99 ( d , 4h , j = 8 . 3 ), 5 . 55 ( s ( br . ), 1h ), 2 . 86 ( q , 2h , j = 6 . 8 ), 1 . 24 ( d , 12h , j = 6 . 8 ). 13 c nmr ( 127 . 5 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 141 . 3 , 127 . 1 , 117 . 7 , 33 . 4 , 24 . 1 . 2 , 2 ′, 7 , 7 ′- tetrabromo - 9 , 9 ′- spirobifluorene ( 1 . 7 g , 2 . 6 mmol ), n , n - di - 4 - isopropylphenylamine ( 3 . 0 g , 12 . 0 mmol ) and sodium tert - butoxide ( 1 . 6 g , 17 mmol ) are stirred in 100 ml of anhydrous toluene under nitrogen at 60 ° c . for 1 h . subsequently , tri - tert - butylphosphine ( 4 . 8 mg , 0 . 24 mmol , 9 . 2 % based on tetrabromospirobifluorene ) and palladium ( ii ) acetate ( 27 mg , 0 . 12 mmol , 4 . 6 % based on tetrabromospirobifluoreie ) are added and the reaction mixture is heated to reflux under nitrogen . the progress of the reaction is monitored by thin - layer chromatography ( eluent : 20 % dichloromtethane in hexane ). after 3 . 5 h , no reactants can any longer be detected in the tlc . the reaction mixture is cooled , admixed with a solution of 100 mg of kcn in 20 ml of water , and stirred at 60 ° c . for another 1 h . after cooling to room temperature , the phases are separated , and the organic phase is dried over sodium sulphate and the solvent is removed . the crude product is recrystallized twice from dioxane and subsequently dried under reduced pressure . yield : 2 . 8 g ( 2 . 1 mmol , 81 % of theory ) of slightly yellowish , finely crystalline powder . 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 7 . 41 ( d , 1h , j = 8 . 3 ), 7 . 05 ( d , 4h , j = 8 . 3 ), 6 . 90 ( m , 5h ). 6 . 72 ( s ( br .) 1h ), 2 . 85 ( q , 2h , j = 6 . 8 ), 1 . 24 ( d , 12h , j = 6 . 8 ). 13 c nmr ( 127 . 5 mhz , cdcl 3 ): 150 . 7 , 147 . 5 , 146 . 3 , 143 . 3 , 137 . 2 , 127 . 6 , 125 . 3 , 123 . 8 , 120 . 8 , 120 . 7 , 66 . 2 , 34 . 1 , 24 . 8 . the two organic materials spiro - ttb and spiro - ipr - tad were each doped with f4 - tcnq and tested in conductivity measurements . for these measurements , the doped layer was applied by coevaporation under reduced pressure over two approx . 5 mm - wide contacts ( made of indium tin oxide , ito ) which , were applied to a glass substrate at a distance of 1 mm from one another . the contacts were connected externally to a current - voltage measuring instrument , which allowed the lateral current to be measured at a fixed applied voltage . from this lateral current , the conductivity of the layer is then calculated by a simple resistance relationship . the conductivity can be determined with the aid of the following equation : fig1 and 2 each show the increase in the lateral current with the layer thickness for the two doped matrix materials . the conductivity of a 50 nm - thick layer of spiro - ttb doped with 2 . 5 % f4 - tcnq is approx . 1 . 6 e - 5 s / cm , while the conductivity of a 50 nm - thick layer of spiro - ipr - tad doped with 5 % f4 - tcnq is approx . 8 e - 7 s / cm . one embodiment of an inventive electronic component in the form of an oled with an organic matrix material , as is to be used in accordance with the invention , can be produced and comprises , in the case of normal design emitting through the substrate , the following layer arrangement : 1 . carrier substrate : glass , 2 . bottom electrode ( anode a ): ito , 3 . p - doped , hole - injecting and - transporting layer : spiro - ttb : f4tcnq ( 2 . 5 % molar doping concentration ), 4 . thin bole - side intermediate layer of a material whose band positions match the band positions of the layers surrounding them : spiro - tad , 5 . light - emitting layer ( possibly doped with emitter dye ): tcta ( 4 , 4 ′, 4 ″- tris ( n - carbazolyl ) triphenylamine ): irppy 3 ( fac - tris ( 2 - phenylpyridine ) iridium ), 6 . thin electron - side intermediate layer of a material whose band positions match the band positions of the layers surrounding them : bphen ( 4 , 7 - diphenyl - 1 , 10 - phenanthroline ), 7 . n - doped , electron - injecting and - transporting layer bphen doped with caesium ( approx . 1 : 1 molar concentration ), 8 . top electrode ( cathode k ): aluminum , and 9 . encapsulation for exclusion of environmental influences : covering glass a thus produced organic light - emitting diode was examined with regard to the luminance voltage and current efficiency voltage characteristics , the results of which are shown in fig3 . due to the doping of the organic hole transport layer , his exhibits a very steep current - voltage characteristics and thus a very steep luminance voltage characteristics ( left - hand axis ). the luminance of 100 cd / m 2 and 1000 cd / m 2 are attained at voltages of 2 . 75 v and 3 . 1 v . owing to the ideal arrangement of the doped hole and electron transport layers and of the two intermediate layers , the current efficiencies of light generation are likewise very high and constant over a wide brightness range : 46 cd / a and 45 cd / a . owing to the stable hole transport layer , this oled can be operated stably at relatively high temperatures ( up to above 100 ° c .) without a reduction in the optoelectronic properties . features of the invention disclosed in the above description , in the claims and in the drawings may be essential either individually or in any combination for the realization of the invention in its different embodiments .	8
surprisingly , the topical administration of a composition comprising or consisting essentially of an effective amount of telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , provides an effective therapeutical or preventive treatment for a variety of dermatological diseases and disorders . accordingly , the present invention is directed to a composition suitable for topical administration , which composition comprises telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient . the present invention is also directed to a composition suitable for topical administration , which composition consists essentially of telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient . in certain embodiments , the composition is in the form of a cream , gel , lotion , suspension , spray or ointment . the compositions of the invention can be used by themselves or in admixture with one or more medicaments , excipients and / or adjuvants , preferably forming a viscous and lubricating substance that remains adherent to the surface epithelium . these compositions are suitable for topical administration to epithelial surfaces such as the skin . optionally , the compositions of the present invention may further contain one or more other ingredients , such as an antibacterial , disinfectant , antifungal , analgesic , emollients , local anaesthetics and the like . suitable antimicrobials include , but are not limited to , quaternary ammonium salts such as benzalkonium chloride . in particular embodiments , the compositions of the invention do not contain a proanthrocyanidin compound and / or glycyrrhetinic acid . various topical delivery systems are known and can be used to administer a composition of the present invention , e . g ., encapsulation in liposomes , microparticles , microcapsules , etc . in preferred embodiments , it is desirable to administer the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention locally to the area in need of treatment ; this may be achieved by , for example , and not by way of limitation , topical application , e . g ., in conjunction with a wound dressing after surgery , by means of a suppository , or by means of an implant , said implant being of a porous , non - porous , or gelatinous material , including membranes , such as sialastic membranes , or fibers . for topical administration , the compositions can be formulated in the form of , e . g ., an ointment , cream , transdermal patch , lotion , gel , shampoo , spray , aerosol , solution , emulsion , or other form well - known to one of skill in the art . see , e . g ., remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences and introduction to pharmaceutical dosage forms , 4th ed ., lea & amp ; febiger , philadelphia , pa . ( 1985 ). for non - sprayable topical dosage forms , viscous to semi - solid or solid forms comprising a carrier or one or more excipients compatible with topical application and having a dynamic viscosity preferably greater than water are typically employed . suitable formulations include , without limitation , solutions , suspensions , emulsions , creams , ointments , powders , liniments , salves , and the like , which are , if desired , sterilized or mixed with auxiliary agents ( e . g ., preservatives , stabilizers , wetting agents , buffers , or salts ) for influencing various properties , such as , for example , osmotic pressure . other suitable topical dosage forms include sprayable aerosol preparations wherein the active ingredient , preferably in combination with a solid or liquid inert carrier , is packaged in a mixture with a pressurized volatile ( e . g ., a gaseous propellant , such as freon ), or in a squeeze bottle . moisturizers or humectants can also be added to pharmaceutical compositions and dosage forms if desired . examples of such additional ingredients are well - known in the art . in another embodiment , the composition of the invention can be delivered in a vesicle , in particular a liposome ( see langer , science 249 : 1527 1533 ( 1990 ); treat et al ., in liposomes in the therapy of infectious disease and cancer , lopez - berestein and fidler ( eds . ), liss , new york , pp . 353 365 ( 1989 ); lopez berestein , ibid ., pp . 317 327 ; see generally ibid .). in preferred embodiments , the compositions of the present invention do not contain allergenic substances , derivatives from animal sources ( such as lanolin , beeswax , animal fat ), and certain preservatives ( such as parabens , isothiazolones , phenol derivatives , and the like ) which are often responsible for allergic contact dermatitis . examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts include , but are not limited to , sulfate , citrate , acetate , oxalate , chloride , bromide , iodide , nitrate , bisulfate , phosphate , acid phosphate , isonicotinate , lactate , salicylate , acid citrate , tartrate , oleate , tannate , pantothenate , bitartrate , ascorbate , succinate , maleate , gentisinate , fumarate , gluconate , glucaronate , saccharate , formate , benzoate , glutamate , methanesulfonate , ethanesulfonate , benzenesulfonate , p - toluenesulfonate , and pamoate ( i . e ., 1 , 1 ′- methylene - bis -( 2 - hydroxy - 3 - naphthoate )) salts . the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable salt ” also refers to a salt prepared from a compound having an acidic functional group , such as a carboxylic acid or sulfonic acid functional group , and a pharmaceutically acceptable inorganic or organic base . suitable bases include , but are not limited to , hydroxides of alkali metals such as sodium , potassium , and lithium ; hydroxides of alkaline earth metal such as calcium and magnesium ; hydroxides of other metals , such as aluminum and zinc ; ammonia , and organic amines , such as unsubstituted or hydroxy - substituted mono -, di -, or trialkylamines ; dicyclohexylamine ; tributyl amine ; pyridine ; n - methyl , n - ethylamine ; diethylamine ; triethylamine ; mono -, bis -, or tris -( 2 - hydroxy - lower alkyl amines ), such as mono -, bis - or tris -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine , 2 - hydroxy - tert - butylamine , or tris -( hydroxymethyl ) methylamine , n , n ,- di - lower alkyl - n -( hydroxy lower alkyl )- amines , such as n , n ,- dimethyl - n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine , or tri -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine ; n - methyl - d - glucamine ; and amino acids such as arginine , lysine , and the like . the present invention is also directed to a method of treating or preventing a dermatological disease or disorder comprising topically administering to the site of the dermatological disease or disorder a composition comprising telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient in an amount effective to treat or prevent such disease or disorder . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method of treating or preventing a dermatological disease or disorder comprising topically administering to the site of the dermatological disease or disorder a composition consisting essentially of telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient in an amount effective to treat or prevent such disease or disorder . the present invention is directed to a method of ameliorating at least one symptom of a dermatological disease or disorder comprising topically administering to the site of the dermatological disease or disorder a composition comprising telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient in an amount effective to ameliorate at least one symptom associated with such disease or disorder . in another embodiment , the present invention is directed to a method of ameliorating at least one symptom of a dermatological disease or disorder comprising topically administering to the site of the dermatological disease or disorder a composition consisting essentially of telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , as the active ingredient , and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient in an amount effective to ameliorate at least one symptom of such disease or disorder . more particularly , the compositions of the present invention are useful for the treatment or prevention of pathologies such as irritative and eczematous dermatitis , as moisturizers and lenitive for sensitive , delicate skins ; in allergic irritations caused by medicaments , detergents , solvents ; in erythema subsequent to excessive exposure to sun radiations ; in case of insect bites , redness of various origin , post - shaving irritations , slight burns , cutaneous hyper - reactivity ; as normalizers after treatments of aesthetic medicine , such as peeling with glycolic acid or laser therapy . exemplary , non - limiting dermatological diseases and disorders include , but are not limited to , dermatitis conditions and skin impairments such as atopic dermatitis , contact dermatitis , allergic contact dermatitis , allergic dermatitis , seborrheic dermatitis , nummular dermatitis , chronic dermatitis of hands or feet , generalized exfoliative dermatitis , stasis dermatitis , neonatal dermatitis , pediatric dermatitis , localized scratch dermatitis , toxic / irritating contact eczema , allergic contact eczema , type i or type iv photoallergic contact eczema , contact urticaria , dyshidrosiform eczema , age - caused wrinkles , sun damage and itching . other dermatological disorders which may be treated by a composition of the present invention , include : photodermatosis : radiodermatitis acuta and chronica ( uv and ionizing radiation therapy ), chronic actinic dermatitis , photouticaria ( uticaria solaris ), polymorphic photodermatosis ; acne : acne vulgaris , juvenile and adult ( acne with comedones , papulous , pustulous , nodose , i . e ., nodular , nodulocystic acne ), acne conglobata ( special form : hidradenitis suppurativa ), acne fulminans , acne tetrad , acne neonatorum , senile acne , mechanical acne forms ( excoriated acne ), acne cosmetica , folliculitis with superinfected acne ( staphylococci ), occupation - related acne forms ( for example chlorine acne ); the precise dose to be employed in the composition will depend on the seriousness of the disease or disorder , and should be decided according to the judgment of the practitioner and each patient &# 39 ; s circumstances . in principle , however , a cream , lotion or ointment containing about 0 . 001 % to about 50 % telmesteine , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , in an oil base or an emulsion base , including oil - in - water type and water - in - oil type emulsions , applied two to three times or more daily , will be sufficient to provide an optimal therapeutic or preventive response . the treatment can be protracted until remission of symptoms , usually for at least 2 days , but preferably 5 - 10 days . more prolonged treatments are not contraindicated , considering the low , if any , toxicity of the components of the compositions of the invention . in preferred embodiments , the composition of the invention contains about 0 . 01 % to about 25 % telmesteine , about 0 . 1 % to about 10 % telmesteine , about 0 . 1 % to about 5 % telmesteine , about 0 . 1 % to about 2 % telmesteine , about 0 . 1 % to about 1 % telmesteine , or about 0 . 5 % to about 1 % telmesteine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . in other preferred embodiments , the composition of the invention contains about 0 . 01 %, 0 . 1 %, 0 . 5 %, 1 %, 2 %, 5 %, 10 %, 20 %, 25 % telmesteine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . in alternative embodiments , other active ingredients can be co - administered to treat or prevent a dermatological disease or disorder in the same composition with telmesteine or in a separate composition . preferably , the additional active ingredients are co - administered in a separate pharmaceutical composition . in other embodiments , the additional active ingredients are co - administered in a separate composition at the same time or a later time as administration of a composition of the present invention containing telmesteine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . examples of other topical agents include , but are not limited to emolliments , salicyclic acid , coal tar , anthralins , topical steroids , topical corticosteroids ( e . g ., difloroasone diacetate , clobetasol propionate , halobetasol propionate , betamethasone dipropionate , fluocinonide , halcinonide desoximetasone , triamcinolone , fluticasone propionate , fluocinolone acetonide , flurandrenolide , mometasone furoate , betamethosone , fluticasone propionate , fluocinolone acetonide , aclometasome dipropionate , desonide and hydrocortisone ), topical vitamin d3 analogs ( e . g ., calcipotriene ), topical retinoids ( e . g ., tazarotene ). in certain embodiments , another agent is a systemically administered agent . examples of agents administered systemically include , but are not limited to , systemic corticosteroids ( e . g ., triamcinalone ), folic acid antagonists ( e . g ., methotrexate ), retinoids ( e . g ., acetretin ) and cyclosporine . the present invention also provides a pharmaceutical pack or kit comprising one or more containers , e . g ., a tube , vial , ampoule , bottle and the like , filled with one or more of the ingredients of the compositions of the invention . optionally associated with such container ( s ) can be a notice in the form prescribed by a governmental agency regulating the manufacture , use or sale of pharmaceuticals or biological products , which notice reflects approval by the agency of manufacture , use or sale for human administration . in a preferred embodiment , the compositions of the present invention can be presented as single - or multi - dose forms in a flexible packet . preferably , the compositions of the present invention are packaged as a cream suitable for topical administration for use by the patient . thirty patients are evaluated . all patients in the study are affected with dermatitis of various causes . patients are treated with the composition described in example 1 . the composition is topically applied to the site of dermatitis for one to four times a day . at the end of the treatment , the extent of the dermatitis is evaluated . the use of the composition will show a reduction in the severity of the dermatitis as evaluated by any of the following factors : redness , inflammation , dryness , itchiness , scaling , etc ., of the skin . many modifications and variations of this invention can be made without departing from its spirit and scope , as will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the specific embodiments described herein are offered by way of example only , and the invention is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims , along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims . all references , patent and non - patent , cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes .	0
the storage tray a shown in the figures exhibits many elements already known from the storage tray of the runged stepladder from the document de 20 2007 002 103 u1 . the storage tray features without limitation two extensions 3 by which the storage tray can be inserted into the upper ends of rails of a fly section of a runged stepladder , and can then be secured on these upper ends of the rails . the two extensions 3 are connected by a center section 1 , in which the design provides a compartment 2 a for storing objects . the design also provides two circular through holes 2 b , which can be used as receivers for portable tools , such as a battery - powered screwdriver . the storage tray furthermore features two as such already known through holes 4 , which can accommodate rods 7 of a bar 7 , 8 , which is slidingly guided in the rails of the runged stepladder , which is as such already known from the document de 20 2007 002 103 u1 . appropriate reference is made to the document de 20 2007 002 103 u1 . the storage tray features a first receiver 5 . this is formed by a through hole that extends from an upper side to a bottom side of storage tray a , having an essentially rectangular cross - section . fig7 to 9 a show that a buckle closure s is arranged in the first receiver 5 . a first element s 1 of the buckle closure s is in this case attached in receiver 5 . if the first element s 1 of the buckle closure s represents the male element the buckle closure s , a lock can be achieved by pressing inward two outwardly arched prongs s 10 of the first buckle closure element s 1 while inserting the male element of the buckle closure s 1 in order to move the latter past a catch 50 , which is arranged in the first receiver 5 . as soon as the outwardly arched regions of the prongs s 10 have moved past the catches 50 , a support s 11 of the first buckle closure element s 1 can come to rest on the catch 50 . the first element of the buckle closure s 1 of the depicted exemplary embodiment is inserted into the first pocket 5 from below . two smaller through holes 52 , which extend through the walls 53 of the storage tray delimiting the first receiver 5 , are arranged transverse to the first receiver 5 at a distance to each other . the through holes 52 also extend through a wall 53 delimiting the compartment 2 and through a wall 53 on the rear of the storage tray . the first element s 1 of the buckle closure inserted into the first receiver 5 features through holes or a through slot s 12 . the legs of a u - shaped clamp k can be inserted through these holes or slot s 12 in the first element s 1 of the buckle closure s and the through holes 52 in the area of the first receiver 5 , in order to secure the first element s 1 of the buckle closure s in the receiver 5 . a first end of a belt g is attached on the first element s 1 of the buckle closure s on the side facing away from the prongs s 10 . a second buckle closure element s 2 — the female buckle closure element in the present example — is attached on a second end of belt g . this second buckle closure element s 2 has a receiver into which the prongs s 10 of the first buckle closure element s 1 can be inserted and engaged in the manner known as such . for this purpose , the second element s 2 of the buckle closure s can be inserted from above into the first receiver 5 of storage tray a , and can then be pushed onto the prongs s 10 of the first element s 1 of the buckle closure s . belt g then forms a loop that can be used to hang and secure objects . the storage tray a also features second receivers 61 , 62 for hooks h , which can be attached to storage tray a . four second receivers 61 that feature a receiving direction for hooks h vertical to the upper side of the storage tray a are located under the second receivers 61 , 62 . two additional second receivers 62 have a receiving direction extending parallel to the upper side of the storage tray a . this allows hooks h to be attached in various orientations to the storage tray a . whereas the hooks h inserted into the four first second receivers 61 are oriented in a manner that the user can hang objects into these , the two second second receivers 62 are oriented in a manner that the user can hang a tool handle with hook h , for instance the broomstick of a broom , as is known from the prior art . in at least a region 610 , 620 , the second receivers 61 , 62 feature a first non - circular cross - sectional area ( see in particular fig2 a , second receivers 61 , 62 ). this first cross - sectional area is selected such that it is adapted to a section h 10 with a first cross - sectional area of an insert section h 1 of hooks h . the insert section h 1 has this first cross - sectional area in section h 10 , which is inserted first into the second receivers 61 , 62 when the user attaches a hook h in the second receiver 61 , 62 . this end section h 1 with the first cross - section area interacts similarly to a key and a keyhole with the region 610 , 620 of the second receivers 61 , 62 with the first cross - section area . an insertion is possible only in certain orientations . in the same manner , a hook can only be disengaged , that is to say the insert section of the hook can only be pulled out in certain orientations . while this does not completely prevent an accidental falling out , this is at least drastically restricted . preferably , it is possible that the first cross - sectional area in end section h 10 of the insert section h 1 is additionally slightly oversized , thus only permitting the insert section h 1 to be inserted into the second receivers 61 , 62 based on a slightly elastic deformation . this also secures the hook h against accidentally falling out . the two second receivers 62 can feature a region 620 with a first cross - sectional area both in a beginning region as well as in an ending region ( when viewed in insert direction of the insert sections of hook h ). in addition to the insert section h 1 , the hooks h have an interim section h 2 angled at approximately 90 ° to insert section h 1 . hook section h 3 in turn extends at a 90 ° angle from the interim section h 2 . hook section h 3 is used to hang into or onto objects to be attached on storage tray a . this hook section h 3 essentially features a u - shaped bend and is equipped with a slip - reducing plastic coating .	4
the description that follows is related to one embodiment of the present invention . it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited merely to this description , but only to that which is claimed . for purposes of explanation and discussion , the present invention is described in a particular environment . the description of the present invention provides for use in a biomedical - related environment . ultrasound imaging is widely used in biomedical applications and the present invention provides advantages in this environment . the present invention contemplates , however , that the present invention may be used in other environments and for other applications . in order to overcome the problems in the art , a motion mechanism is combined with an imaging array . although an actuator is used in this embodiment , the present invention contemplates any number of other means of movement , including any other motion mechanism . where an actuator is used , the actuator may be a piezoelectric actuator , a bimorph , or other actuator or motion mechanism . further , the present invention contemplates that motion may be in one axis or in more than one axis . the imaging array used may be a one - dimensional array or a multi - dimensional array . fig1 illustrates the system 10 of one embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 an actuated synthetic array 12 is shown . the actuated synthetic array 12 includes an actuator 14 and a high frequency imaging array 16 . the actuator 14 moves the array 16 in short , precise , incremental steps and enables an increased spatial sampling density . the actuator 14 is electrically connected to the actuator control 18 through cable 19 . the imaging array 16 is electrically connected to a multiplexer 20 with a coaxial cable 17 . the actuator 14 moves the imaging array 16 through a variety of intermediate positions . at each of these intermediate positions , pulse - echo data is sampled . the pulser 22 is electrically connected to the multiplexer 20 to create and send the pulse . the receiver and analog - to - digital converter ( a / d ) 24 receives the echo data and sends the echo data to the control unit 26 . the control unit 26 may be a computer or embedded computer . the control unit 26 provides for control functions , data storage , and synthetic aperture reconstruction . because an imaging array is used , instead of a single element , the required travel distance is less than the element pitch . this is shown in fig2 . in fig2 a six element array 12 is shown with elements 28 a , 28 b , 28 c , 28 d , 28 e , and 28 f . the element - to - element spacing ( pitch ) 30 is set at twice the wavelength of the high frequency signal or 2λ . in fig2 eight different positions are shown for bi - directional motion of an actuator in the direction represented by arrow 32 . the incremental distance or spatial sampling index 34 shown is one quarter of a wavelength or λ / 4 . the total travel distance required by the actuator is equal to the difference between the element - to - element pitch 30 and the desired spatial sampling index 34 . since the travel distance is quite small , the actuated array can be coupled to tissue , as evidenced by the fact that single - element transducers in ultrasound backscatter microscopes routinely travel several millimeters when acquiring images . the data acquired at each element location is then used in a synthetic aperture algorithm employing either a monostatic ( each element receives only its own transmit pulse ) or multistatic ( more than one element receives each transmit pulse ) reconstruction method . there are several advantages to using this hybrid approach . imaging with arrays at frequencies above 30 mhz is possible because of the increase in allowable interconnect pitch and element width . as shown in fig2 spatial sampling is increased without decreasing the element size or spacing . active channel count and element count are reduced over a fully sampled array ; in fact , only one channel is needed if a monostatic technique is used . the one channel can then be multiplexed to acquire the full set of radio frequency ( rf ) lines . the element count is reduced over a fully sampled array by a factor of ( t + s )/ s , where t is the travel of the actuator and s is the desired spatial sampling index . thus there are numerous advantages gained with the present invention . as shown in fig1 the control unit 26 provides synthetic aperture image reconstruction . synthetic aperture processing for ultrasound imaging is known in the art as it generally applies to ultrasound imaging . ( c . h . frazier and w . d . o &# 39 ; brien , “ synthetic aperture techniques with a virtual source element ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control , vol . 45 ( 1 ), pp . 96 - 207 , 1998 ; j . t . ylitalo and h . ermert , “ ultrasound synthetic aperture imaging : monostatic approach ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control , vol . 41 ( 3 ), pp . 333 - 341 , 1994 ; p . d . corl , p . m . grant , and g . s . kino , “ a digital synthetic focus acoustic imaging system for nde ,” 1978 ieee ultrasonics symposium , pp . 263 - 266 , 1978 ; m . l . dick , d . e . dick , f . d . mcleod , and n . b . kindig , “ ultrasonic synthetic aperture imaging ,” acoustical holography vol . 7 : 327 - 346 , 1977 ; g . r . lockwood , j . r . talman , and s . s . brunke , “ real - time 3 - d ultrasound imaging using sparse synthetic aperture beamforming ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control , vol . 45 ( 4 ), pp . 980 - 988 , 1998 ). in one example of synthetic aperture imaging , image reconstruction can be accomplished in the time - domain using a backprojection technique . fig3 illustrates how the monostatic synthetic aperture algorithm is used to reconstruct an image . the reconstruction method is described using an array of elements e 1 through e n , where a single point target 36 is located at coordinate x o , z o in object space . fig3 includes six elements , e l 28 a , el + 1 28 b , e l + 2 28 c , e l + 3 28 d , e l + 4 28 e , and el + 5 28 f . if each element 28 is used as a separate transmitter - receiver pair , the response for each element 28 is simply the pulse reflected by the point target 36 . assuming omni - directional response , the reflected pulses recorded for the elements are identical in amplitude and shape but shifted in time according to the distance from the element to the point . backprojection is accomplished by summing contributions to each pixel in the time domain according to the relationship : p  ( x i , z i ) = ∑ e = e   1 e = en   w e  r e  [ t - 2 c * ( x e - x o ) 2 + z o 2 ] ( 1 ) where x i , z l is the pixel location in image space , w e is the apodization , r e is the time - domain response , t is the time , c is the propagation velocity , and x e is the element position . one data point from each rf line contributes to each pixel in the beamformed image . from the perspective of a lone element , the actual position of the point is determined in terms of the “ arc ” 38 over which the point reflector may be located ( g . s . kino , acoustic waves : devices , imaging , and analog signal processing , prentice hall , 1987 ). this concept is shown in fig3 for six array elements , where each element has a corresponding arc 38 a - 38 f . the arcs from each element will overlap in only one point , the actual position of the reflector . in some sense this process resembles a form of triangulation . by using many elements and forming a coherent sum , the entire image is mapped with minimal ambiguities . for an aperture size of a and an object distance of z the transverse resolution ( tr ) is determined by the following relationship ( r . n . thomson , “ transverse and longitudinal resolution of the synthetic aperture focusing technique ,” ultrasonics , vol . 32 , pp . 9 - 15 , 1994 ): tr = λ   z 2  a ( 2 ) the aperture size a is limited by the number of elements capable of transmitting or receiving from the pixel of interest . a very large acceptance angle is desired when performing synthetic aperture imaging , since the number of pulse - echo positions used to reconstruct each image point is limited by the element directivity . a reconstruction angle θ , the angle where the one - way element response drops to a specified db level , may be used as the cut - off to determine whether an element contributes to form the coherent sum for each image pixel . the previous equation can therefore be modified to obtain : tr   ( asa ) = λ 4   tan   θ ( 3 ) the element directivity also affects the size of the image , since beam steering will be limited . in this manner , processing takes place so that an image is reconstructed from the data obtained from the actuated synthetic array according to one embodiment of the present invention . two potential limitations to the actuated synthetic array include increased side lobe levels and decreased signal - to - noise ratios ( s / n ). acceptable side lobe levels may be achieved at the expense of main lobe width using apodization ( c . h . frazier and w . d . o &# 39 ; brien , “ synthetic aperture techniques with a virtual source element ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control , vol . 45 ( 1 ), pp . 96 - 207 , 1998 ). reduced s / n ratios do not present a severe obstacle , since the wide elements trade reduced angular response for increased transmit amplitude ( j . t . ylitalo and h . ermert , “ ultrasound synthetic aperture imaging : monostatic approach ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control , vol . 41 ( 3 ), pp . 333 - 341 , 1994 ). the angular acceptance is still sufficient for high resolution imaging . the reduced electrical impedance of the wide elements also results in improved impedance matching to the electronics and reduced noise . since only one channel is necessary , the highest quality components can be incorporated without concern for overall system cost ( p . d . corl , p . m . grant , and g . s . kino , “ a digital synthetic focus acoustic imaging system for nde ,” 1978 ieee ultrasonics symposium , pp . 263 - 266 , 1978 ). if necessary , the present invention contemplates that further improvement in signal - to - noise can be realized by receiving on multiple elements for each transmit event . therefore , the present invention can compensate for the inherently low signal - to - noise ratios . in developing the actuated approach , a 50 mhz actuated synthetic array ( asa ) was analyzed for signal - to - noise ratio , resolution , sidelobe level , and simulated phantom imaging performance . for purposes of estimating signal - to - noise ratio , a number of assumptions are made . first , it is easiest to define signal - to - noise relative to a standard . a 50 mhz , 64 - element phased array is selected as the reference . note that such an array is beyond the capability of current manufacturing methods known to those skilled in the art . it is known in the art that relative signal - to - noise ratios can be found by assuming uncorrelated electrical noise ( g . r . lockwood , j . r . talman , and s . s . brunke , “ real - time 3 - d ultrasound imaging using sparse synthetic aperture beamforming ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control , vol . 45 ( 4 ), pp . 980 - 988 , 1998 ; m . karaman , p . c . li , and m . o &# 39 ; donnell , “ synthetic aperture imaging for small scale systems ,” ieee trans on ultr ., ferr ., and freg . control , vol . 42 ( 3 ), pp . 429 - 442 , 1995 ). for a phased array ( pa ), the relationship is s / n ( pa )∝ 20 log └ nt pa ( nr pa ) 1 / 2 ┘ ( 4 ) where nt is the number of elements used for transmit and nr is the number of receive elements per transmit event . for the asa , the relative signal - to - noise is determined by the square root of the product of the number of transmit and receive channels . s / n ( asa )∝ 20 log ( nt asa × nr asa ) 1 / 2 ( 5 ) correction should be applied for differences in element width , where wider elements cause a reduction in beam divergence ( and therefore increased signal amplitude ) and decreased noise . assuming a line source , the signal amplitude is proportional to the element width . the correction for noise assumes that johnson noise , which is proportional to the square root of the element impedance ( and therefore inversely proportional to the square root of the width ), is the dominant noise source . including these terms and dividing equation ( 5 ) by equation ( 4 ) results in a relative signal - to - noise ratio : s / n   ( relative ) = 20   log  ( ( nt asa × nr asa ) 1 / 2 × ( w asa w pa ) 3 / 2 nt pa  ( nr pa ) 1 / 2 ) ( 6 ) where w asa and w pa refer to the widths of the synthetic aperture and phased array elements respectively . equations ( 2 ), ( 3 ), and ( 6 ) were used to analyze the performance of a representative 50 mhz asa . the following table lists the important design parameters of both the asa and the reference array . at 50 mhz , a wavelength in tissue is 30 microns , and a spatial sampling of 7 . 5 microns is desired . given the 105 micron element pitch , a total actuator travel distance of 97 . 5 microns is needed . in addition to the discrete relationships above , the field ii program ( j . jensen , “ field : a program for simulating ultrasound systems ,” medical & amp ; biological engineering and computing , vol . 34 ( 1 ), pp . 351 - 353 , 1996 ) was used to determine the three - dimensional point spread function for a representative asa . a simulated 50 mhz asa array was scanned across the image region using λ / 4 spatial sampling and a 50 % bandwidth impulse response . rf lines were acquired at a 1 ghz sampling rate and coherently summed at points in image space using a λ / 4 pixel size . point reflectors were imaged at two points located 4 mm axially from the face of the array , with one position along the array centerline and the other at the edge of the image region . before forming the coherent sum the amplitude of each rf - line was corrected for element directivity , and hanning apodization was applied during beamforming to reduce side lobe levels . the resolution was measured based on the full - width , half maximum ( fwhm ) of the main lobe . sidelobe levels were determined from the amplitude of the first distinguishable peak apart from the main lobe . the signal - to - noise ratios for five image points were calculated using equation ( 6 ), with results shown in the following table . the image width was the width of the array ( 3 . 2 mm ), while the image depth extended from 1 mm to 6 mm . the actuated array uses an interconnect pitch and element width that can easily be achieved . the pitch and element width of the phased array are beyond current fabrication capabilities . a 10 ° reconstruction angle θ was assumed for all points , resulting in larger numbers of elements being used for more distal points in the image . the s / n ratio for more distal points is therefore improved . in all cases the s / n ratios for the asa are within 10 db of the values predicted for the phased array . more importantly , the actuated synthetic array ( asa ) only requires 30 elements , while the phased array ( pa ) has 64 elements . although this reduction in the number of elements is not remarkable , the pa requires 64 channel electronics ( with time delays ) for beamforming , while the asa requires only one channel ( without time delays ) and a multiplexer . if a larger reconstruction angle is used the relative s / n will increase , although element directivity must be taken into account . a further increase in transmit amplitude is also possible with a synthetic array , since the excitation of individual elements results in a low intensity , diverging beam . this is in contrast to the phased array , which displays high transmit intensities near the focus . the small element size for the phased array points to difficulties with electrical impedance matching , complex acoustic impedances , and low element capacitance . all of these factors are in favor of the asa design . signal averaging may also be possible , further enhancing the signal - to - noise ratio . in summary , the s / n ratio of the indexed synthetic array will approach that of a conventional phased array system , and may exceed it if transmit amplitudes are increased and averaging is used . the image resolution was also estimated for the five image points using equation ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). an angle of 10 ° ( without apodization ) was assumed . the use of a fixed reconstruction angle resulted in consistent resolution for points along the image centerline , since the quantity z / a remained constant . for the off - axis point , the active aperture was truncated by a factor of two due to the limited extent of the array . the anticipated tradeoffs between main lobe width and side lobe level were evident in the plots of the 3 - d point spread functions . the following table lists the amplitudes of the side lobes as well as the main lobe widths for one on - axis ( point c ) and one off - axis ( point e ) image point . a reconstruction angle of 19 ° ( the − 12 db point in the one - way angular response ) was used for maximum aperture size and highest resolution , since the hanning apodization increased the main lobe width considerably . reconstruction angles significantly larger than this become impractical due to pulse distortion resulting from the frequency dependent angular response . the beam widths demonstrate resolution comparable to the values calculated using equation ( 2 ) with a 10 ° reconstruction and no apodization . the side lobe levels for points within the majority of the image are similar to those observed for single - element transducers (− 35 db ), and contrast with the asa should be comparable to that observed for single - element ultrasonic backscatter microscope ( ubm ) systems . in summary , beam widths from 50 to 100 microns ( depending on the position within the image ) and low side lobes can be realized . in addition to simulating the point spread function , the field ii program was used to simulate imaging the phantom shown in fig4 . the phantom incorporated regions of random scatterers to generate speckle , several point targets spread laterally and axially throughout the depth of field , cyst regions , and lines of scatterers designed to simulate closely spaced tissue interfaces as observed in the skin or the cornea . the phantom was designed with a mean tissue attenuation of 3 db / mm at 50 mhz and a frequency dependent value of 0 . 08 db /( mm mhz ), values similar to those reported for ciliary muscle and blood . time gain compensation was used to both compensate for attenuation in an average sense and account for diffraction . individual rf - lines were again corrected for element directivity , and hanning apodization was applied during beamforming . the resulting images were displayed over a 50 db dynamic range using 50 gray levels . as shown in fig4 the phantom 40 has a scattering region 50 . within the scattering region 50 are cysts 52 of varying sizes . cyst 52 a has a diameter of 0 . 6 mm . cyst 52 b has a diameter of 0 . 4 mm . cyst 52 c has a diameter of 0 . 2 mm . in region 52 , a number of sets of point targets 54 are shown , the point targets separated by a distance of 56 . distance 56 a is 400 μm . distance 56 b is 200 μm . distance 56 c is 100 μm . distance 56 d is 50 μm . the simulated image of the phantom is shown in fig5 . the point targets separated laterally by 50 microns cannot be distinguished , as expected from the main lobe widths previously presented . the lines of scatterers ( interfaces ) are all distinguishable , including the ones spaced only 50 μm apart . this good axial resolution is a result of the high absolute bandwidth of 25 mhz and the lack of range side lobes in the reconstruction algorithm . the borders of all cysts are clear and the interior regions appear anechoic . the actuator can be moved either incrementally or continuously . incremental movement results in well - defined element locations if position sensing and closed - loop feedback are incorporated , but actuator acceleration / deceleration may significantly increase the time required to obtain the image . it is contemplated that certain applications will be sensitive to motion artifacts , mandating the shortest possible data acquisition time . continuous movement of the actuator may therefore be implemented . under the condition of continuous movement , pulse - echo data pairs will be collected while the array is translating . any of a number of control architectures can initiate pulsing and receiving on each element at the appropriate times . assuming an n element array connected to an actuator which travels a linear distance t , a simple computational correction for the element position x ( i , j ) can be used during the reconstruction process . x ( i , j )= x 0 +( i − 1 ) p +( i − 1 ) tu +( j − 1 ) s ( 9 ) where p is the element to element pitch , u is the velocity of the actuator , t is the time needed to acquire one rf line , and s is the desired spatial sampling index . because of the shift caused by the actuator movement , the actual spatial sampling index will be slightly greater than the desired value s , but this deviation is easily accommodated . the minimum time needed to acquire one rf line is determined by the extent of the image along the z - axis ( the imagedepth ) according to : t = imagedepth × 2 1540   ( m  /  s ) ( 10 ) equation ( 10 ) assumes a sound propagation velocity of 1540 m / s . the minimum time required to obtain the entire dataset for one frame of an image is therefore : time_for  _one  _frame = t × n × p s ( 11 ) for the 30 element array example described , the time to acquire one frame of data in a 6 mm deep image region is only 3 . 3 msec . only one possible implementation of the asa approach is described . since there are a number of tradeoffs involved each application may require a unique configuration . for example , a larger array could scan a wider field with minimum additional complexity , since only the number of array elements needs to be increased . if higher resolution is desired , smaller elements with increased angular response will allow a larger aperture size to be used during reconstruction . the resultant decrease in sensitivity may be partially compensated by increasing the transmit amplitude . of course , different imaging algorithms may also be used . in addition the effects of tissue motion and / or phase aberration can be compensated for if necessary . for example , it is known in the art shown that axial motion caused by tissue motion can degrade image quality , but that correction can be applied using correlation of adjacent a - lines or other methods ( l . f . nock and g . e . trahey , “ synthetic receive aperture imaging with phase correction for motion and for tissue inhomogeneities - part ii : effects of and correction for motion ,” ieee trans . on ultr ., ferr ., and freq . control ., vol . 39 ( 4 ), pp . 489 - 495 , 1992 ). furthermore , synthetic aperture techniques have been applied successfully to intravascular applications at 20 mhz frequencies even given the problems of phase aberration and motion ( m . o &# 39 ; donnell , b . m . shapo , m . j . eberle , and d . n . stephens , “ experimental studies on an efficient catheter array imaging system ,” ultrasonic imaging , vol . 17 , pp . 83 - 94 , 1995 ; m . o &# 39 ; donnell , m . j . eberle , d . n . stephens , j . l . litzza , b . m . shapo , j . r . crowe , c . d . choi , j . j . chen , d . m . w muller , j . a . kovach , r . l . lederman , r . c . ziegenbein , c . c . wu , k . sanvincente , and d . bleam , “ catheter arrays : can intravascular ultrasound make a difference in managing coronary artery disease ,” proceedings of the 1997 ieee ultrasonics symposium , pp . 1447 - 1456 , 1997 ). a high frequency synthetic ultrasound device and method have now been disclosed . the present invention contemplates numerous variations including those mentioned ; the type of motion mechanism ; the type of actuator when an actuator is used ; the configuration of the elements , including configuration in an array of one or more dimensions ; the motion being either continuous or in discrete steps ; the motion being along one or more of the axes ; the number of channels used ; the frequency used ; the reconstruction methods used ; and other variations within the spirit and scope of the invention .	6
fig1 shows a tool measuring device 5 suitable for use on a machine tool for example a computer controlled machine tool having a machine tool controller 56 and an automatic tool changer 54 . in operation the device 5 emits a beam of light 20 . a light emitting unit 12 emits the beam and light detecting unit 32 detects the beam . the two units are disposed within housings 10 and 30 respectively and are each mounted to a base 40 . in use , a tool for , example tool 50 is moved by its holder 52 toward ( or away from ) the beam 20 until it obscures ( or restores ) the beam . measurement of the tool takes place at the instant the light beam is broken or restored . conventionally a trigger signal is sent from the device to the machine controller 56 to indicate that the beam is broken or restored . the trigger signal is produced when a voltage at the detector is exceeded . fig2 shows a section through the centre of a measuring device of the type shown in fig1 . in this device the light emitting unit is sealed within its housing 10 . the unit has a laser diode 16 which emits light beam 20 . the width of the light beam 20 can be restricted by one of a number of light restrictor caps 14 . the caps 14 are shown in more detail in fig3 a , b and c , but in essence they have an aperture 11 for restricting the amount of light passing therethrough . the aperture 11 is open to an internal cavity 18 within the housing 10 which is pressurised by a pressurised air supply 42 . thus air bleeds constantly from the aperture 11 to the outside of the housing , so that the aperture does not become blocked by contamination . the light beam may propagate to a further cap 34 mounted at the light detecting unit 32 housed in housing 30 . a photodiode 36 detects the light beam when it is present . the amount of light and thus the photodiode voltage is controllable in this embodiment by the size of aperture in caps 14 and / or 34 . an autogain circuit is provided to take account of variation in light levels so that fewer caps 14 have to be used . air bleeds also from an aperture 31 in cap 34 from pressurised cavity 38 . pressurised air , power and signals are supplied via supply 42 and cables 44 respectively within the base 40 . each of the housings 10 and 30 are in this instance secured to the base 40 also . however , the housings may be fixed directly to a machine surface for example the machine tool surface 58 shown in fig1 . now , for versatility the distance between the housings 10 and 30 can be varied . this can be done for example by re - securing the housings at different positions on the base 40 or by using different length bases 40 . a few millimetres to 5 m or more separation is possible . changing the distance between the emitting unit 12 and the detecting unit 32 changes the amount of light incident at the detecting unit , possibly causing an excess or a deficiency of light at the detector . this problem is overcome by providing a range of light restricting caps shown in fig3 a , b and c which alter the width of the beam detected . in addition a narrower beam is more useful for measuring smaller tools . a range of caps allows just one type of emitter and detector to be made and fitted with an appropriate cap . no adjustments to the circuits of the emitter and the detector need be made after manufacture . fig3 a , b and c show examples of restrictor caps 14 and 34 . in fig3 a a small distance ‘ a ’ between the caps is present so a narrower beam 20 a can be used because light losses in the beam path e . g . due to divergence of the beam are small . fig3 b shows a larger distance ‘ b ’ between the caps 14 b and 34 b . as a larger distance ‘ b ’ results in losses so a wider beam of light 20 b is required . this is achieved in this embodiment by providing larger apertures 11 b and 31 b . likewise fig3 c shows a yet larger distance ‘ c ’ and yet larger apertures 11 c and 31 c . to the side of each fig3 a , b and c is shown a view of each cap in the direction of the axis of the respective beams 20 a , b and c . the different sizes of apertures are apparent from these figures . it will be noted that the axis of each of the apertures is offset relative to the axis of the beam 20 ( by an angle θ shown in fig4 ) it is known that air passing in the same axis as the beam causes noise in the signal at the detector , whereas air passing through the aperture obliquely has far less effect . a typical aperture used is shown in fig4 . until now a circular aperture has been used which has resulted in an eyelid shaped beam when viewed in the direction of the beam . the present invention provides an aperture or other light transmissive area having major and minor axes ( for example x and y ), where the major axis is longer than the minor axis , the aperture or other radiation transmissive area extending obliquely ( e . g . by the angle θ ) to the axis of radiation propagating through the aperture in use and the major axis extending also obliquely ( e . g . at 90 degrees ) to the axis of the radiation . preferably the angle θ is about 5 - 45 degrees , more preferably about 15 - 30 degrees , yet more preferably about 30 degrees . whilst the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to specific embodiments , variants of the invention will be readily apparent to the skilled addressee . whilst a tool detector for use on a machine tool has been described and illustrated the invention extends to a detector for any object . whilst use with a light detecting beam has been shown it will be apparent that any beam of electromagnetic radiation could be utilised , e . g . infra - red radiation . rather than an aperture in a series of caps , a variable size aperture could be used . alternatively a light transmissive window could be used e . g . glass . the window might be different sizes in a series of caps and / or might have varying degrees of light transmission so that varying amounts of light can pass through each window . a variable size window could be used for example in the form of a light valve of variable size e . g . a liquid crystal display which has segments operable to increase or decrease the amount of light passing therethrough . the embodiments show both housings having a cap 14 and 34 . however an aperture or window as described above may be provided on only one of the housings so as to achieve the desired amount of light at the detector . the cap shown in fig3 a , b and c might be replaced by an exchangeable planar sheet having an aperture or window therein . adjustment of the spacing between the housings 10 and 30 may be achieved by any suitable means for example by securing those housings at various positions on a base 40 , by fixing at a desired spacing directly to a machine tool bed 58 or providing bases which have the desired spacing . a wide range of spacings between the housing ( a few millimetres to 5 m or more ) can be achieved with only three different cap apertures as shown . autogain circuitry is used to correct the operating voltage when different spacings are used with the same cap . this circuitry helps to increase the spacing range which can be accommodated by one cap . fewer or more caps could be used . fewer or more than three light restrictors could be employed also . different size light transmissive areas can be used where two areas are employed . the light emitting unit 10 and the light detecting unit may be disposed side by side , perhaps in the same housing . in this case the light detecting unit will be looking for light or other radiation reflected off an object as it passes the beam emitted by the light emitting unit 10 . thus , it may be necessary to alter the quantity of radiation in the beam dependent on the approximate distance between the object and the emitter / detector 10 / 30 . so , it is the distance of propagation of the radiation which defines the required quantity of radiation of the beam , not solely the distance between the two housings of the emitter and detector units .	8
the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to figures . fig1 a diagrammatically shows a view in cross - section of a catheter 101 . the catheter 101 includes a catheter shaft having a shaft wall 102 and a first lumen 104 which is enclosed by the shaft wall 102 . disposed in the lumen 104 are wires 106 which can be in the form of electrical feed lines . disposed in the lumen 104 there is also a second lumen 105 which is enclosed by a second shaft wall 107 . a wire 103 to be cooled is disposed in the second lumen 105 . the shaft walls 102 and 107 are of fluid - tight nature . when using a catheter with such a catheter shaft cross - section , a fluid , for example a cooling fluid , can flow , for example through , the second lumen 105 . the through - flow of fluid can be in the form of a unidirectional flow . for that purpose , in the region of the proximal end , the catheter has an intake for the fluid , while in the region of the distal end it has an outlet for the fluid . the through - flow of fluid can also be in the form of a counter - flow . for that purpose , in the region of the distal end the catheter has a fluid passage ( not shown in this figure ) through which the lumens 105 and 104 are in fluid communication in the region of the distal end . the fluid can now flow , for example , in the second lumen 105 in the direction of the distal end and can flow back through the first lumen 104 by way of the fluid passage to the proximal end of the catheter . it is also possible to conceive of a reversed direction of flow so that the fluid flows in the first lumen 104 to the distal end and back in the second lumen 105 to the proximal end . fig1 b shows a view in cross - section through a catheter shaft 121 with a shaft wall 122 which encloses a first lumen 127 and a second lumen 126 . the first lumen 127 and the second lumen 126 are separated from each other by a separating wall 125 . an electrically conductive wire 123 and electrical feed lines 124 are disposed in the second lumen 126 . the shaft wall 122 and the separating wall 125 are of a fluid - tight nature . by way of example , a fluid can flow in the second lumen to the distal end of the catheter , it can be passed in the region of the distal end through a fluid passage ( not shown ) into the first lumen 127 and there it can flow back to the proximal end of the catheter . fig1 c shows a view in cross - section through a catheter shaft 131 with a fluid - tight shaft wall 132 which encloses a lumen 135 . the lumen 135 can have , for example , a heat - insulating foam . the lumen 135 contains a first lumen 134 enclosed by a first shaft wall 138 . the lumen 135 further contains a second lumen 133 which is enclosed by a second shaft wall 137 and has a wire 136 . for example , a fluid can flow through the second lumen 133 and the first lumen 134 . in that case , for example , the fluid flows in the first and second lumens in respectively opposite directions . for that purpose , the first shaft wall 138 and the second shaft wall 137 are of fluid - tight nature . fig1 d shows a view in cross - section through a catheter shaft 141 having a shaft wall 142 which encloses a first lumen 146 . arranged in the first lumen 146 is a second lumen 143 which is enclosed by a second shaft wall 147 . a wire 144 is mounted by means of a heat - conductive adhesive 145 on the surface of the second shaft wall , which faces towards the first lumen . the second lumen 143 can guide a fluid . in this embodiment , the fluid in the second lumen can receive heat which is given off by the wire 144 and which is passed by way of the heat - conductive adhesive 145 and the second shaft wall 147 to the fluid . for that reason , the second shaft wall 147 is of a fluid - tight and heat - conducting nature . the heat - transmission resistance formed in this arrangement in respect of the lumen 146 from the wire 144 to the shaft wall 142 is higher than the heat - transmission resistance from the wire 144 to the lumen 143 , formed by the heat - conductive adhesive 145 and the heat - conductive second shaft wall 147 . fig1 e shows a view in cross - section through a catheter shaft 151 with a fluid - tight shaft wall 152 which encloses a lumen 153 . the lumen 153 can have for example a heat - insulating foam . the lumen 153 contains a first lumen 158 which is enclosed by a first shaft wall 157 . the lumen 153 further contains a second lumen 154 which is enclosed by a second shaft wall 155 and has a wire 156 . the lumen 153 further contains a third lumen 159 which is enclosed by a shaft wall 160 . the three lumens 154 , 158 and 159 can have a fluid flowing therethrough . in that case , the fluid flows , for example , in the first lumen 158 and in the second lumen 154 in the same direction , for example , to the distal end of the catheter , and in the third lumen 159 in the opposite direction thereto , for example to the proximal end of the catheter . for that purpose , the shaft walls 155 , 157 and 160 are of a fluid - tight nature . fig2 a is a diagrammatic view in longitudinal section of the distal end of an ablation catheter 201 with a shaft wall 203 which extends from the distal end of the catheter to the proximal end thereof and which encloses a first lumen 209 and a second lumen 207 . the lumens 209 and 207 are separated from each other by a separating wall 211 arranged along the catheter longitudinal axis , wherein the separating wall 211 at the distal end of the catheter has a fluid passage in the form of an aperture 208 . mounted to the outer distal end of the catheter is an electrode 205 which , by way of a heat - conductive , electrically insulating layer 206 , is in thermal contact with the lumen 207 and with the lumen 209 . the shaft wall 203 , the separating wall 211 and the insulating layer 206 are of fluid - tight nature . the electrode 205 has an electrode temperature sensor 222 which is connected to an electrical connecting line 220 which extends along the catheter longitudinal axis to the proximal end of the catheter and which is arranged in the second lumen 207 . the catheter also includes a fluid temperature sensor 226 which is arranged in the region of the distal end of the catheter 201 in the first lumen 209 and which is connected to an electrical connecting line 227 extending along the catheter longitudinal axis to the proximal end of the catheter in the first lumen . in the region of the distal end , the catheter also includes a wire temperature sensor 228 which is connected to a connecting line 229 extending in the second lumen to the proximal end of the catheter and which is arranged in the second lumen 207 . when a fluid flows in the second lumen 207 to the distal end of the catheter and flows back by way of the aperture 208 and the first lumen to the proximal end of the catheter , the increase in temperature of the fluid caused by the wires is detected by the temperature sensor 228 , the temperature of the electrode 205 is detected by the electrode temperature sensor 222 and the temperature of the fluid after receiving the heat of the electrode head , which is given off by way of the insulating layer 206 , is detected by the temperature sensor 226 . the catheter also has a feed line wire 224 which is passed in the second lumen 204 from the distal end of the catheter to the proximal end thereof along the catheter longitudinal axis and is fixed at the distal end of the catheter . the feed line wire 224 is of an electrically conducting nature and is electrically connected to the electrode 205 . in this embodiment , high - frequency energy can be fed to the electrode 205 by way of the electrically conducting feed line wire 224 . fig2 b diagrammatically shows a view in longitudinal section of the distal end of an ablation catheter 230 with a shaft wall 203 which extends from the distal end of the catheter to the proximal end and which encloses a lumen 237 . mounted to the outer distal end of the catheter is an electrode 235 , which is electrically connected to the proximal end of the ablation catheter 230 by way of a feed line wire 238 . the feed line wire 238 extends in the lumen 237 . the shaft wall 203 is of a fluid - tight nature . the electrode 205 has an electrode temperature sensor 252 which is connected to an electrical connecting line 250 extending along the catheter longitudinal axis to the proximal end of the catheter and which is arranged in the lumen 237 . the catheter also includes a wire temperature sensor 255 , which is arranged in the lumen 237 in the region of the distal end of the catheter 230 and which is connected to an electrical connecting line 257 extending to the proximal end of the catheter in the first lumen along the catheter longitudinal axis . the electrode 235 has openings 234 which are in fluid communication with the lumen 237 so that fluid can flow outwardly through the openings . fig3 shows an arrangement 301 with a supply device 330 and an ablation catheter which is connected to the supply device 330 by way of a socket 332 . the ablation catheter includes a catheter shaft 306 which opens into a handle 336 , the handle 336 being connected to a flexible hose 333 . mounted to the flexible hose 333 at the end is a plug 331 which can be connected to the socket 332 . the distal end of the catheter shaft 306 is shown in an enlargement window 302 in fig3 . the catheter shaft 306 has a shaft wall 303 which encloses a first lumen 309 and a second lumen 307 . the first lumen 309 and the second lumen 307 are separated from each other by a separating wall 311 . the arrangement of the shaft wall 303 , the first lumen 309 , the second lumen 307 and the separating wall 311 is similar to the structure shown in cross - section in fig1 b . the first lumen 309 , the second lumen 307 and the separating wall 311 are provided from the distal end of the catheter shaft 306 to the proximal end of the catheter shaft 306 . the catheter shaft has a control wire 328 which is fixed at the distal end of the catheter shaft and which is guided along the catheter longitudinal axis in the first lumen 309 into the handle 336 , the control wire 328 being connected to the slider 337 in the handle 336 . actuation of the slider 337 causes curvature of the distal end of the catheter with a directional component in orthogonal relationship with the catheter longitudinal axis . an ablation electrode 305 is mounted at the outer distal end of the catheter shaft . the ablation electrode is in the form of a bipolar electrode , and for that purpose , includes a counterpart electrode 304 which is in the form of a ring electrode at the distal end of the catheter shaft . the catheter shaft has an electrode temperature sensor 322 , which is mounted to the high - frequency electrode 305 and connected to a temperature sensor line 320 , which opens through the second lumen 307 into the handle 336 , along the catheter longitudinal axis . a wire temperature sensor 325 is arranged in the region of the distal end in the second lumen 307 and is connected to the temperature sensor line 320 , which is in the form of a two - channel temperature sensor line . a fluid temperature sensor is arranged in the region of the distal end of the catheter in the first lumen and is connected to an electrical fluid temperature sensor line 327 , which is guided along the catheter longitudinal axis in the first lumen and which opens into the handle 336 . the high - frequency electrode 305 and the counterpart electrode 304 are connected to a two - channel high - frequency line 324 , which is guided in the second lumen along the longitudinal axis of the electrode line and opens into the handle 336 . the first lumen 309 , the fluid temperature sensor line 327 and the temperature sensor line 320 are brought together in the handle 336 to constitute a line bundle 335 , which communicates with the plug 331 . a first fluid line 353 , a second fluid line 352 , an electrical high - frequency line 368 and a three - channel temperature sensor line 366 open into the socket 332 of the supply device 330 . when the plug 331 is coupled to the socket 332 the first fluid line 353 is in fluid communication with the first lumen 309 , the second fluid line 352 is in fluid communication with the second lumen 307 , the electrical high - frequency line 368 is electrically connected to the high - frequency line 324 and the three - channel temperature sensor line 366 is electrically connected to the fluid temperature sensor line 327 and the temperature sensor line 320 . the supply device 330 includes a fluid feed unit 344 having a . circulation pump 374 connected to fluid lines 355 and 354 . the supply device 330 also has a controllable cooling unit 342 with a control input having a thermostat for maintaining a predetermined fluid temperature . the cooling unit 342 is connected to the fluid lines 354 , 355 , 352 and 353 , wherein the fluid line 355 is in fluid communication by way of the cooling unit 342 with the second fluid line 352 and the fluid line 354 is in fluid communication by way of the cooling unit 342 with the first fluid line 353 . the cooling unit 342 is preferably in the form of a peltier cooling unit and for that purpose includes at least one peltier element . the arrangement 301 also includes a fluid feed container 358 which is connected by way of a fluid feed line 356 to the fluid feed unit 344 and there is connected by way of an inlet valve 378 contained in the fluid feed unit to the pump intake 377 to which the fluid line 354 is also connected . the arrangement 301 also includes a fluid discharge container 359 into which opens a fluid discharge line 357 , which , by way of an excess pressure valve 376 contained in the fluid feed unit 344 , is in fluid communication with the circulation pump outlet 375 upon opening of the excess pressure valve 376 . the circulation pump outlet 375 is connected to the fluid line 355 . the valves 376 and 378 as well as the pump 374 are adapted to be controllable . for that purpose , the fluid feed unit 344 has a control input and is connected by way of a control line 360 to the control output of a temperature monitoring and control unit 346 . the fluid feed unit 344 is adapted , on the basis of the control information of a control signal received by way of the control line 360 , selectively to set the pump volume of the circulation pump 374 or to open or close the valves 378 and 376 . the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 is connected at the output side by way of an electrical connecting line 362 for controlling the cooling unit 342 to the control input thereof . the cooling unit 342 is adapted to cool a fluid flowing through the cooling unit 342 , on the basis of a control signal received by way of the control line . the cooling unit 342 can also be adapted to set a fluid temperature or cooling efficiency corresponding to the control signal . for that purpose , the cooling unit 342 can include a temperature regulator . the temperature monitoring and control unit is operatively connected by way of a three - channel temperature sensor line 366 to the temperature sensors 325 , 326 and 322 contained in the catheter shaft . the fluid temperature sensor 326 can also be arranged in the handle 336 alternatively to the arrangement in the first lumen 309 of the catheter shaft 306 and there is also arranged in the first lumen 309 or is connected in heat - conductive relationship to the first lumen 309 . the supply device 330 also includes a high - frequency generator 340 which is connected by way of an electrical high - frequency line 368 and by way of an electrical high - frequency line 324 to the high - frequency electrode 305 and the counterpart electrode 304 . the electrical high - frequency lines 368 and 324 are of a two - channel configuration for that purpose . the high - frequency generator 340 is connected by way of a high - frequency control line 364 to the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 . the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 is connected to an input unit 380 by way of a bidirectional data bus 381 , the input unit being connected to a display 382 by way of a connecting line 383 . the mode of operation of the arrangement will now be described in greater detail : operating parameters for operation of the ablation catheter can be input into the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 by way of the input unit 380 which includes , for example , a keypad . the parameters are , for example , switching a high - frequency power on or off or preselecting a predetermined high - frequency power which is to be delivered by way of the high - frequency electrode 305 or preselecting a desired ablation electrode temperature . the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 , which , for example , comprises a microprocessor , is adapted , in accordance with the setting by the input unit 380 , to send a signal corresponding to the input value to the high - frequency generator 340 by way of the high - frequency control line 364 for producing a high - frequency power corresponding to the input value . the high - frequency generator 340 is adapted , on the basis of the control signal received by way of the high - frequency control line 364 , to deliver a high - frequency power corresponding to the input value by way of the electrical high - frequency line 368 and the high - frequency electrode 305 operatively connected thereto . the temperature sensors 325 , 326 and 322 are adapted to produce a temperature signal representative of the detected temperature . the temperature signals respectively produced by the temperature sensors are available to the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 by way of the temperature sensor lines 327 and 320 respectively connected to the temperature sensors and by way of the three - channel temperature sensor line 366 . the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 is adapted to evaluate the temperature signals received by way of the three - channel temperature sensor line 366 and to control the pump volume of the circulation pump 374 by way of the connecting line 360 , the cooling output of the cooling unit 342 by way of the connecting line 362 and the high - frequency power by way of the high - frequency control line 364 , in accordance with a regulating algorithm which is predetermined in the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 , and to produce control signals corresponding thereto . the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 can send signals corresponding to items of status information by way of the bidirectional data bus 381 , the input unit 380 and the connecting line 383 to the display 382 which can display those items of status information . the items of status information can be for example the temperature of the high - frequency electrode 305 , the temperature , detected by the fluid temperature sensor 326 , of the fluid 370 which is in the first lumen 309 , and the temperature , detected by the wire temperature sensor 325 , of the fluid 370 , which is in the second lumen 307 . the temperature monitoring and control unit 346 is also adapted to evaluate a signal received by way of the connecting line 366 from a fluid sensor , which is mounted in the fluid feed unit and to monitor the fluid filling level and / or the fluid pressure in the fluid circuit formed by the fluid lines and the lumens and to suitably control the inlet valve 378 for the intake of a fluid 370 into the fluid circuit by way of the fluid feed line 365 . in the event of an excess pressure in the fluid circuit , produced by the rise in temperature of the catheter shaft , the excess pressure valve 376 is adapted to open at a predetermined excess pressure and thus to discharge excess fluid 372 into the fluid discharge container 359 by way of the fluid discharge line 357 . the features set forth in the specific description can also be embodied considered in themselves independently of the other features set forth in this connection on a catheter or an arrangement with a catheter .	0
throughout all the figures , same or corresponding elements may generally be indicated by same reference numerals . these depicted embodiments are to be understood as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way . it should also be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols , phantom lines , diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views . in certain instances , details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted . turning now to the drawing , and in particular to fig2 , there is shown an axial section of a first embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention . the overload coupling includes a pipe 3 which rests radially from outside on a ring flange 120 of a gear - side hub 1 and a generator - side hub ( only gear - side hub 1 is shown here by way of example ). it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that a description of the gear - side hub 1 is equally applicable to the generator - side hub so that in the following description any reference to a “ hub ” is to be understood in a generic sense , and the hub can be a gear - side hub 1 or a generator - side hub of a wtg coupling . a ring flange 120 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the remaining components of the gear - side hub 1 and the generator - side hub . the pipe 3 has a sliding surface 31 , which is embodied on the inner periphery of the pipe 3 and rests on a corresponding sliding surface 121 of the ring flange 120 , which sliding surface 121 is embodied on the outer periphery of the ring flange 120 . assembly of the pipe 3 on the ring flange 120 takes place by the pipe 3 being pressed onto the ring flange 120 using press fitting . the pipe 3 as a result expands within permissible limits . the sliding surfaces 121 , 31 , the axial length of which is indicated by the vertically running dashed lines in fig2 , are pressed against one another with a specific force by the press fit so that a defined friction force acts there between . when the torque acting between the gear - side hub 1 and the generator - side hub and the pipe 3 exceeds the friction force between the sliding surfaces 31 , 121 , the pipe 3 and the ring flange 120 rotate relative to one another , as the sliding surfaces 121 , 31 slide on one another . fig3 shows an axial section of a second embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention . parts corresponding with those in fig2 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . in this embodiment , the pipe 3 rests radially from inside upon the ring flange 120 . the ring flange 120 is comparable to that in fig2 . the difference between the embodiment variants in fig2 , in which the pipe 3 touches the ring flange 120 radially from the outside , resides in that the pipe 3 rests here radially from the inside on the ring flange 120 . assembly of the pipe 3 in the ring flange 120 is realized by pressing the pipe 3 into the ring flange 120 using press fitting . as a result the pipe 3 expands within permissible limits . fig4 shows an axial section of a third embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention which is similar to the axial section shown in fig2 . parts corresponding with those in fig2 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . the description below will center on the differences between the embodiments . in the embodiment of fig4 , the pipe 3 in the axial section of the sliding surfaces bears a bearing ring 6 on its outer periphery . the bearing ring 6 counteracts the pressure exerted by the ring flange 120 radially from the inside onto the pipe 3 and prevents the pipe 3 from impermissibly wide expansion . assembly of the combination of pipe 3 , ring flange 120 and bearing ring 6 is realized by initially moving the bearing ring 6 over the pipe 3 . then the pipe 3 is pressed with press fitting onto the ring flange 120 , with the bearing ring 6 resting thereupon . the pipe 3 then expands within the limits predetermined by the bearing ring 6 . fig5 shows an axial section of a fourth embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention which is similar to the axial section shown in fig3 . parts corresponding with those in fig3 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . the description below will center on the differences between the embodiments . in the embodiment of fig5 , the pipe 3 in the axial section of the sliding surfaces bears a bearing ring 6 on its outer periphery . the bearing ring 6 counteracts the pressure exerted by the ring flange 120 radially from the inside onto the pipe 3 and prevents the pipe 3 from an impermissibly large radial constriction or squashing . assembly of the combination of pipe 3 , ring flange 120 and bearing ring 6 is realized by initially moving the bearing ring 6 into the pipe 3 . then the pipe 3 is pressed with press fitting into the ring flange 120 with the bearing ring 6 resting thereupon . the pipe 3 then constricts within the limits predetermined by the bearing ring 6 . fig6 shows an axial section of a fifth embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention . parts corresponding with those in fig2 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . in the embodiment of fig6 , the pipe 3 rests radially from the outside on the ring flange 120 and an annular clamping element 5 expands the ring flange 120 radially from the inside . the clamping element 5 has the form of a conical ring and has a radial surface 51 , which points outwards and expands conically . the peripheral surface 122 of the ring flange 120 pointing toward the clamping element 5 is embodied counter - directionally conically to the clamping element 5 . the ring flange 120 and the clamping element 5 can be displaced axially relative to one another along their two conical surfaces 51 , 122 . the relative displacement can take place in that the clamping element 5 is pulled in the direction of a facing element 13 of the hub 1 by a clamping screw 52 . the relative displacement causes a radial deformation of the ring flange 120 . on account of the length of the axial displacement , this deformation and thus the bracing of the ring flange 120 can be adjusted against the frp pipe 3 . fig7 shows an axial section of a sixth embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention . parts corresponding with those in fig2 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . in the embodiment of fig7 , the pipe 3 rests radially from the inside on the ring flange 120 and a clamping element 5 constricts the flange 120 radially from the outside . the difference between the embodiments of fig6 and 7 resides only in that the ring flange 4 is not radially expanded , but instead radially constricted , i . e . squashed . otherwise , the description with respect to the overload coupling of fig6 applies also to the overload coupling of fig7 . fig8 shows an axial section of a seventh embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention which is similar to the axial section shown in fig6 . parts corresponding with those in fig6 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . the description below will center on the differences between the embodiments . in the embodiment of fig8 , the pipe 3 in the axial section of the sliding surfaces bears a bearing ring 6 on its outer periphery . the bearing ring 6 counteracts the pressure exerted by the ring flange 120 radially from the inside onto the pipe 3 and prevents the pipe 3 from an impermissibly wide expansion . fig9 shows an axial section of an eight embodiment of an overload coupling according to the present invention which is similar to the axial section shown in fig7 . parts corresponding with those in fig7 are denoted by identical reference numerals and not explained again . the description below will center on the differences between the embodiments . in the embodiment of fig9 , the pipe 3 in the axial section of the sliding surfaces bears a bearing ring 6 on its inner periphery . the bearing ring 6 counteracts the pressure exerted by the ring flange 120 radially from the outside onto the pipe 3 and prevents the pipe 3 from an impermissibly large radial constriction or squashing . while the invention has been illustrated and described in connection with currently preferred embodiments shown and described in detail , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims and includes equivalents of the elements recited therein :	5
referring to the structure of the shaft of the hand brake shown in fig1 the structure is enveloped in a conventional housing , and is comprised of a shaft of the hand brake 10 , a linkage 20 , a hooking pawl 30 and a ratchet 40 . the shaft of the hand brake 10 is formed by bending an iron sheet , the top of which is a round hollow tube 11 . the lower end portion thereof is a flat shaft seat 12 having therein a receiving space . a slit 13 is formed by the lateral sides thereof extending from the round hollow tube 11 through the bending portion 14 to the shaft seat 12 . the linkage 20 is provided in the shaft of the hand brake 10 . an upper push button 21 is exposed above the top end thereof , biased by a spring 22 provided in the round hollow tube 11 . a link 23 is connected to the bottom end of the push button 21 , and extends through the round hollow tube 11 into the shaft seat 12 . the hooking pawl 30 is provided within the shaft seat 12 and beneath the link 23 , having an engaging hook 31 extending outwardly . the ratchet 40 is provided fixedly at the bottom of the shaft and is provided with a series of saw teeth 41 on the top thereof . the engaging hook 31 engages in a root of one of - the teeth 41 . when the shaft of the hand brake 10 is pivotally moved upwardly , the engaging hook 31 of the hooking pawl 30 is moved over the teeth 41 of the ratchet 40 . when the shaft 10 is released , the engaging hook 31 is engaged in one root of the teeth 41 and cannot be moved . the brake cable is therefore pulled tight . when the push button 21 of the linkage 20 is pressed down , the link 23 is moved down to pivot the hooking pawl 30 to lift up the engaging hook 31 free from engagement with the teeth 41 , and the shaft of the hand brake 10 can thereby be pivotally moved back to its lower position . it can be seen that when releasing of the shaft of a conventional hand brake structure , it is necessary to press down the link 23 by means of the push button 21 to lift up the engaging hook 31 of the hooking pawl 30 . hence , as long as the push button 21 is fixed , the engaging hook 31 is unable to be moved , and after the hand brake is pulled up , it cannot be put down . thereby , a thief will be unable to drive away or tow away the car . the present invention comprises a lock structure which can be attached to the above stated conventional hand brake structure , and by which , when the lock structure is unlocked , the hand brake can keep the functions of pulling and releasing . when it is locked , the hand brake can only be pulled up , and cannot be put down by pressing down the push button 21 , thus locking is assured . as illustrated in fig2 and 3 , the hand brake lock of the present invention is comprised of an external sleeve 50 and a lock head member 60 . the external sleeve 50 is slipped over the hand brake 10 and is in conformity to the shape of the latter ( fig1 ). the top section thereof is a receiving portion 51 which is exposed to the top of the hand brake 10 . both sides of the internal walls thereof are provided each with a vertical slot 511 and a horizontal slot 512 which crosses with the vertical slot 511 at the middle thereof . the bottom of the external sleeve 50 extends down to the upper surface of the shaft seat 12 of the hand brake 10 as a fixing portion 52 for fixing the external sleeve 50 . the lock head member 60 is placed in at the upper section of the receiving over portion 51 on the top of the external sleeve 50 , i . e ., on top of the push button 21 of the hand brake 10 ( fig3 ), and is further comprised of a lock housing 61 , a lock core 62 and a lock plate 63 . a limiting flange 611 protrudes from the top edge of the lock housing 61 and is engageable into , and movable upwardly and downwardly in the upper section of the vertical slots 511 , so that the lock head member 60 is movable up and down along the vertical slots 511 ( fig4 a , 4b ). the lock core 62 is received in the lock housing 61 , such that the top extends above the lock housing 61 . when it is unlocked and is pressed , the whole lock head member 60 can be moved up and down , and can press the push button 21 of the hand brake 10 to unbrace the hand brake 10 ; when the lock core 62 is locked while the lock housing 61 is limited by the vertical slots 511 , the lock core 62 is rotatable in relation to the lock housing 61 ( fig5 ). the lock plate 63 is connected with the bottom of the lock core 62 and is located at the junction of the vertical slots 511 and the horizontal slots 512 ( fig3 ). when the lock core 62 is rotated with a key during unlocking or locking ( fig5 ), the lock plate 3 is rotated therewith and is moved in the horizontal slots 512 . when the lock core 62 is not locked , pressing will cause the lock plate 63 to move up and down in the lower section of the vertical slots 511 ( fig4 ). by the above stated construction , when the lock core 62 exposed from the top of the lock housing 61 ( fig4 ) is pressed , the lock head member 60 can be moved down to press the push button 21 . if the hand brake 10 has been pulled up now , the hooking pawl 30 can be disengaged from the guide sheet 40 now via movement of the linkage 20 ( fig1 ). thus the hand brake can be released . when the lock core 62 is released , the hand brake 10 will restore its function . the lock head member 60 can be pushed up by the push button 21 , therefore , the lock head member 60 recovers its original state . at this time , if a user pulls up the hand brake 10 for locking a key is be inserted into the lock core 62 to rotate the lock core ( fig5 ). the lock plate 63 is rotated therewith to be engaged in the horizontal slots 512 . the lock core 62 then is prevented from moving down by engagement of the lock plate 63 in the horizontal slots 512 . hence the push button 21 cannot be pressed , and the hand brake 10 cannot be released . in this way , a locking function is achieved . referring to fig2 the above stated fixing portion 52 on the bottom of the external sleeve 50 is fixed on the upper surface of the shaft seat 12 of the hand brake 10 ( fig3 ). a vertical protruding strip 521 is provided to engage a slit 13 provided on the hand brake 10 ( fig1 ), then a clamping slit 522 is provided at a suitable position on the fixing portion 52 , and a pair of protruding clamping strips 523 are provided at the two lateral sides of the clamping slit 522 . clamping strips 523 are tightly clamped with screws 524 to be close to each other to narrow the width of the clamping - slit 522 , and thereby affix portion 52 on the shaft seat 12 . assembling of the lock therefore is convenient . as shown in fig1 due to the slit 13 provided on the hand brake 10 , a thief may attempt to press the hooking pawl 30 by extending a long strip into the slit 13 when he cannot press the hooking pawl 30 via the linkage 20 . therefore , a guard plate 70 is fixed to cover the shaft seat 12 ( fig2 and 3 ) to protect the hooking pawl 30 from pressing by an external force . also as shown in fig2 and 3 , because the external sleeve 50 is fixed on the hand brake 10 and receives the lock head member 60 , if an undue external force is exerted to pry or knock off the external sleeve 50 , the whole lock set will be null . to prevent prying , an impediment member 53 extends through the external sleeve 50 and one of the protruding clamping strips 523 to be fixed on the shaft of the hand brake 10 . thereby , the external sleeve 50 can be prevented from loosening by knocking and prying . having now particularly described and ascertained the technical structure of my invention with practicability and in what manner the same is to be performed , what i claim as new and desire to be secured by letters patent of the united states is set forth in the appended claims :	8
as is shown in fig1 and 2 , the anti - skid device 10 comprises an annular supporting disk 20 provided with a central opening to which are fixed a plurality of radially oriented anti - skid arms 40 , which are equidistantly spaced from one another and are pivotable in a small region about axes 41 running parallel to the wheel disk bearing axis . this pivotability of the anti - skid arms within a small range makes it possible to fit the anti - skid device with the vehicle stationary . during the first revolutions of the vehicle wheel , anti - skid arms 40 all assume an equidistant spacing , even if during fitting in the region of the tire tread on a substrate , such as e . g . a road , the anti - skid arms are positioned laterally of the tire tread . the anti - skid device is fixed to a wheel provided with a tire 13 and which simultaneously represents the rim . wheel 11 is provided with a brake part not shown in the drawing . the tread area of tire 13 is designated 14 and the outside tire surface 15 ( fig1 ). each anti - skid arm 40 is fixed to the supporting disk 20 by means of stud - like or rivet - like connecting means . a detachable fixing of arms 40 to supporting disk 20 is also possible , in order to be able to replace the worn arms 40 . as is shown in fig2 there are eight anti - skid arms 40 on supporting disk 20 , but the number of such arms can be of a random nature . however , there must be at least two anti - skid arms . all the anti - skid arms are at the same angular distance from one another . each anti - skid arm 40 is made from a resilient elastic material , such as e . g . spring steel , so that an elastic bending down of the free edge portion of each anti - skid arm 40 is possible in the region of tread 14 of tire 13 . anti - skid arms 40 are preshaped in such a way , that after attaching the anti - skid device 10 to a vehicle wheel , the arms overlap the tire tread 14 by their free ends . other suitable materials can be used for making the anti - skid arms 40 , apart from spring steel . thus , the anti - skid arms 40 can be made from corresponding suitable plastics material . on the free ends , the anti - skid arms 40 externally have gripping profiles , so that a good grip is obtained . these gripping profiles can also be in the form of spikes . the fixing means for the anti - skid device 10 on a vehicle rim 11 comprises a fixing disk 50 and retaining ring 150 ( fig3 and 7 ). according to another embodiment of the invention , the fixing disk 50 is an integral component of the vehicle wheel . the wheel and fixing disk then form a rolled or shaped part . fixing disk 50 is provided with a plurality of openings 51 , which are used for the passage of rim screws , wheel studs , etc . 18 . as is shown in fig1 for fixing the fixing disk 50 , the rim screws or wheel studs 18 have bores with an internal thread for receiving the fastening screws 85 , by means of which the fixing disk 50 can be fixed to wheel rim 11 . the circular fixing disk 50 centrally has a cross - sectionally circular hub 52 , which is constructed as a cylindrical shaped member and forms an integral part of the fixing disk 50 . hub 52 has a diameter , which is smaller than the radially outer diameter of fixing disk 50 . on its outer circumference and in fact adjacent to the upper all - round edge 53 , hub 52 has a plurality of equidistantly spaced bulge - like shoulders 55 . in the embodiment of fig3 there are four bulge - like shoulders 55 projecting laterally from the hub circumference on hub 52 of fixing disk 50 . below each bulge - like shoulder 55 is formed a sliding and guiding path 60 , which is constructed as a recess and has an insertion opening 56 , on which the path 60 tapers conically towards the end area , so that the insertion opening 56 is larger than the end area 56a . the recess forming the sliding and guiding path 60 then has a wedge - shaped configuration and is bounded in the area adjacent to fixing the disk 50 by a torus 57 . the end area 56a of the sliding and guiding path 60 also has a limitation in the form of a stop member , although this is not absolutely necessary . the torus 57 , which is shaped on to the outer circumference of hub 52 , simultaneously constitutes the upper boundary for the supporting disk 20 mounted on hub 52 of fixing disk 50 ( fig3 ). in the vicinity of the openings 51 , torus 57 is interrupted , because part of each opening 51 passes as a partial bore into hub 52 ( fig3 ). all the sliding and guiding paths 60 below the bulge - like shoulders 55 are so constructed and arranged , that their insertion openings 56 face in each case the preceding end area 56a . each bulge - like shoulder 55 is advantageously provided in the upper area with a bent portion 55a to facilitate the fitting of retaining ring 150 . hub 52 of fixing disk 50 is used for receiving the supporting disk 20 with the anti - skid arms 40 of the anti - skid device 10 and for receiving the retaining ring 150 . supporting disk 20 of anti - skid device 10 is fitted to fixing disk 50 secured by means of retaining ring 150 . the external diameter of ring 150 is somewhat smaller or the same as the fixing disk diameter , has on its radially inner wall face 150a a plurality of locking webs 155 , whose number corresponds to the number of bulge - like shoulders 55 or the number of sliding and guiding paths 60 on the hub 52 of fixing disk 50 . these locking webs 155 are constructed in such a way , that they can be so inserted into the sliding and guiding paths 60 , that there is a bayonet - like locking between retaining ring 150 and hub 52 or fixing disk 50 ( fig7 ). the locking webs 155 have a wedge - shaped configuration so that with the retaining ring 150 mounted on fixing disk 50 , the conically tapering end portions of each locking web 155 faces the insertion opening 56 of the recess forming the sliding and guiding paths 60 between the bulge - like shoulder 55 and torus 57 , so that on rotating retaining ring 150 about its vertical central axis in the direction of arrow x , locking webs 155 are introduced into the sliding and guiding paths 60 , so that the bayonet - like locking is achieved ( fig6 and 7 ). in order to be able to fix the retaining ring 150 on hub 52 of fixing disk 50 in such a way that the locking webs 155 of retaining ring 150 can be introduced into the sliding and guiding paths 60 , the locking webs 155 have a length corresponding to the distance between two bulge - like shoulders 55 of fixing disk 50 . in this way , the locking webs 155 can be passed between in each case two bulge - like shoulders 55 when the retaining ring 150 is in the fitted position , until said ring engages with torus 57 and the locking webs 155 can be introduced into the recesses forming the sliding and guiding paths 60 . in order to prevent automatic detachment of retaining ring 150 from hub 52 or fixing disk 50 , ring 150 is provided with additional arresting means , which are constructed as leaf spring - like latches 160 in the form of resilient elastic tongues , which are arranged in recesses 156 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . the arrangement and construction of these leaf spring - like latches 160 is such , that when the retaining ring 150 is mounted on hub 52 of fixing disk 50 , but is still in the unlocked position , the leaf spring - like latches 160 are pressed by the bulge - like shoulders 55 on hub 52 into their recesses 156 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . on locking retaining ring 150 by rotating it , the leaf spring - like latches 160 come to rest in the vicinity of recesses 152 which are formed on the circumference of hub 52 . as latches 160 have the natural tendency to spring out of their recesses 156 in the direction of arrow x1 , latches 160 come to rest in recesses 152 on hub 52 and form there the locking system provided that the free ends of the leaf - spring - like latches 160 engage with stop members 153 , which define the recesses 152 in hub 52 . the free ends of latches 160 engaging in these recesses with stop members 153 consequently ensure that the retaining ring 150 is released counter to its rotation direction for locking and cannot be removed from hub 52 . there can be a random number of leaf spring - like latches 160 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . in the embodiment of fig7 there are two leaf spring - like latches 160 , which are arranged equidistantly on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . the number of recesses 152 on the circumference of hub 52 of fixing disk 50 corresponds to the number of latches 160 . the spring - like latches 160 are manufactured simultaneously with the retaining ring 150 , the latter being made from plastics with a resilient elastic behaviour in the case of tongue - like constructions , and this also applies to the latches 160 . in place of the leaf spring - like latches 160 , it is also possible to use differently constructed locking means . thus , for example , it is possible to use radially displaceable and spring loadable pins , which engage in corresponding recesses of the circumference of hub 52 of fixing disk 50 . special precautions must then be taken to prevent unlocking , in that the locking pins must be drawn back into their initial position to enable retaining ring 150 to be moved from fixing disk 50 . to be able to remove retaining ring 150 from fixing disk 50 , it is necessary to transfer the leaf spring - like latches 160 from their locking position into their initial position in the recesses 156 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . for this purpose a locking key 70 of fig8 and 9 is provided and comprises a grip - like handle 71 , on whose one free end there are two spaced pressure tongues 72 , 73 , which are arranged approximately perpendicularly to the handle 71 . the distance between these two pressure tongues 72 , 73 corresponsds to the spacing of the facing leaf spring - like latches 160 , so that the pressure tongues 72 , 73 can be introduced into the two recesses 152 on hub 52 . according to fig7 the two recesses 152 have additional recesses 75 on hub 52 , into which can be introduced the two pressure tongues 52 , 53 of unlocking key 70 . when pressure tongues 72 , 73 of unlocking key 70 have been introduced into the recesses 75 , and key 70 is rotated in the direction of arrow x2 ( fig7 ), the two leaf spring - like latches 160 located in recesses 152 of hub 52 are forced out of said recesses 152 and moved into recesses 156 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . latches 160 are introduced into their recesses 156 until , in the end area of the movement path of the two pressure tongues 52 , 53 a stop member 76 is released , against which the two pressure tongues 72 , 73 are engaged . tongues 72 , 73 have engaged with the stop members 76 and the unlocking key 70 is rotated further in the direction of arrow x2 , then the pressure tongues 72 , 73 also move the retaining ring 150 and on further rotation move the locking web 155 out of the sliding and guiding paths 60 of fixing disk 50 until the locking webs 150 come to rest between the bulge - like shoulders 55 , so that in this position it is possible to remove retaining ring 150 from hub 52 . the mounting of retaining ring 150 on hub 52 also takes place by means of unlocking key 70 , by introducing pressure tongues 72 , 73 of key 70 , into recesses 75 and on turning key 70 in the direction of arrow x ( fig7 ), the tongues 72 , 73 move the retaining ring 150 until locking webs 155 are located in the sliding and guiding paths 60 and the bayonet joint has been formed . in the fixing area of the leaf spring - like latches 160 , recesses 75 have stop members 78 for the movement of retaining ring 150 by pressure tongues 72 , 73 of unlocking key 70 ( fig7 ). as is shown in fig1 on its wall face 50a remote from hub 52 , fixing disk 50 has in the vicinity of the rim screw or wheel stud openings 51 spacing rings 80 , which are constructed as interchangeable adapters . this makes it possible by using spacing rings 80 of different sizes , to adapt the fixing means to different tire sizes . the fixing of an anti - skid device 10 comprising the supporting disk 20 with the anti - skid arms 40 to the rim or wheel 11 of a vehicle , whilst using the fixing means comprising fixing disk 50 and retaining ring 150 takes place in such a way that after fixing fixing disk 50 by means of the rim screws , wheel studs etc . 18 to rim 11 , the supporting disk of the anti - skid device 10 is fitted to the hub 52 of fixing disk 50 . the retaining ring 150 is then fitted , so that its locking webs 155 are placed in the gaps between the bulge - like shoulders 55 on hub 52 . this is followed by the insertion of pressure tongues 72 , 73 of unlocking key 70 into recesses 75 and then the rotation of key 70 in the direction of arrow x ( fig7 ), so that the retaining ring 150 is rotated about its central axis until the locking webs 155 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 come to rest in the recesses forming the sliding and guiding paths 60 . this is followed by the simultaneous self - resilient engagement of the leaf spring - like latches 160 in recesses 152 on hub 50 , thereby bringing about locking against the unintentional release of retaining ring 50 . due to the fact that the free ends of the leaf spring - like latches 160 are located in stop - like recesses 152 , a reliable locking is ensured . due to the fact that these stopping recesses 152 are constructed in undercut manner and the free ends of the latches 160 have an approximately wedge - shaped configuration , it is ensured that latches 160 with their free ends cannot spring out of these stopping recesses 152 . thus , the anti - skid device 10 is secured on the vehicle wheel rim 11 by means of the fixing means formed by the fixing disk 50 and retaining ring 150 , in such a way that the anti - skid arms 140 of anti - skid device 10 engage over the tire tread . the anti - skid device 10 is removed with the aid of unlocking key 70 , which is once again introduced into recesses 75 with its pressure tongues 72 , 73 . through the rotation of unlocking key 70 , the leaf spring - like latches 160 are moved out of their locking position into their initial position in the recesses 156 on the inner wall face 150a of retaining ring 150 . this is accompanied by a simultaneous rotation of retaining ring 150 until the locking webs 155 of said ring are removed from the sliding and guiding paths 60 on hub 52 after which ring 150 can be removed . this is followed by the removal of the supporting disk of the anti - skid device 10 from hub 52 of fixing disk 50 . if the anti - skid device 10 remains out of use , but whilst keeping the fixing means ready , retaining ring 150 is merely mounted and locked on to the fixing disk 50 , so that it is always possible to fit the anti - skid device 10 , if this should prove necessary . the supporting disk 20 of anti - skid device 10 is provided with a central opening so that the supporting disk 20 can be mounted on hub 52 of fixing disk 50 . the diameter of this central opening is , however , larger than the diameter of hub 52 , so that the supporting disk 20 of anti - skid device 10 held on hub 52 can perform eccentric movements . this makes it possible for the anti - skid arms 40 overlapping the tire tread and in conjunction with supporting disk 20 , to adapt to the squeezing movements of the revolving tire . the diameter of the central opening in the supporting disk 20 is also dimensioned in such a way that the supporting disk 20 cn be guided by means of torus 57 on hub 52 . the upwards securing of supporting disk 20 takes place by means of retaining ring 150 which sectionally overlaps said disk , whilst the fixing disk 50 exercises the necessary securing action towards the rim .	8
an image management apparatus and method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 is an external view of an image management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an image management apparatus 100 . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the image management apparatus 100 is shared , for example , by family members and manages private images of each member . it comprises an ic card reader 102 , a card access controller 104 , a memory card reader / writer including a memory card slot 110 and memory card controller 112 , a wired communications device including a usb connector 120 and usb controller 122 , a wireless communications controller 130 for radio or infrared communications , a display controller 140 which makes a display unit 200 display images , a memory 150 , a hard disk 160 , a hard disk drive 162 , an encryption controller 170 , operation keys 180 , and a central processing unit ( cpu ) 190 which totally controls various parts in the apparatus . the ic card reader 102 is controlled by the card access controller 104 . it contactlessly reads user identification information from a contactless ic card and outputs it to the cpu 190 . the ic card reader 102 has a communications range ( e . g ., several 10 cm or less ) which does not support communications with ( scanning of ) anything other than a contactless ic card in its vicinity . the contactless ic card may be , for example , suica ( trademark ) of jr east , felica ( trademark ) developed by sony corp ., an employee card , or the like . besides , it may be a contactless ic card embedded in a cell phone and used as electronic money . fig1 shows how user identification information is read from a contactless ic card embedded in a cell phone 210 . the memory card reader / writer reads and writes images from / into a memory card inserted in the memory card slot 110 . the wired communications device captures images by communicating with an apparatus ( such as digital camera , camera - equipped cell phone , personal digital assistant ( pda ), or mobile personal computer which has images ) connected to the usb connector 120 . a wireless communications device captures images through wireless communications with an apparatus which has images . incidentally , available wireless communications devices include uwb wireless communications devices , bluetooth - compliant wireless communications devices , and irda - compliant infrared communications devices . the memory 150 stores firmware and user management information of the image management apparatus . the hard disk 160 driven by the hard disk drive 162 stores users &# 39 ; images . the encryption controller 170 includes a generating device which generates a cryptographic key and decryption key based on the user identification information read from the contactless ic card . it encrypts users &# 39 ; images to be stored in the hard disk 160 using the generated cryptographic key and decrypts encrypted images read out of the hard disk 160 using the decryption key . incidentally , a cryptosystem according to the encryption controller 170 can use either of a public - key cryptosystem and secret - key cryptosystem , but this embodiment employs a cryptographic system in which the cryptographic key and decryption key are identical and both of them are secret keys . the operation keys 180 include a power switch and a button group used to play back and edit images , and so on . in response to manipulation of operation keys 180 , the cpu 190 reads a desired image out of the hard disk 160 by the operation input and displays it on the display unit 200 via the display controller 140 or outputs it to a printer ( not shown ). next , description will be given of how images are captured into the image management apparatus 100 . referring to fig3 , to capture user &# 39 ; s images into the image management apparatus 100 , the user turns on the image management apparatus 100 and brings his / her contactless ic card ( or a cell phone with a built - in contactless ic card ) close to the ic card reader 102 , allowing the latter to read the user identification information contained in the contactless ic card ( step s 10 ). the cpu 190 of the image management apparatus 100 acquires the user identification information from the contactless ic card via the ic card reader 102 and card access controller 104 ( step s 12 ). the cpu 190 determines whether the user identification information has already been registered ( step s 14 ) and registers it if it is yet to be registered ( step s 16 ). the user registration process in step s 16 involves registering the user identification information acquired from the contactless ic card in a user management table by associating it with a folder name for exclusive use by the user as shown in fig4 . if the user has already been registered or if the user is registered in step s 16 , the cpu 190 acquires the appropriate user &# 39 ; s folder name from the user identification information ( step s 18 ). subsequently , the cpu 190 outputs the user identification information acquired from the contactless ic card to the encryption controller 170 , which generates a cryptographic key from the user identification information ( step s 20 ). also , the cpu 190 searches the hard disk 160 for a folder corresponding to the user &# 39 ; s folder name acquired in step s 18 ( step s 22 ). if it is determined in step s 24 that a folder corresponding to the user &# 39 ; s folder name exists on the hard disk 160 , the cpu 190 goes to step s 28 to capture image data . if it is determined that no folder corresponding to the user &# 39 ; s folder name exists on the hard disk 160 , the cpu 190 creates a folder corresponding to the user &# 39 ; s folder name on the hard disk 160 ( step s 26 ) and then goes to step s 28 . in step s 26 , a folder unique to the user and corresponding to the user &# 39 ; s folder name acquired in step s 18 is 190 generated on the hard disk 160 . that is , a folder with a tree structure shown in fig5 is generated . in step s 28 , the user &# 39 ; s images are captured via a memory card reader / writer , usb communications device , or wireless communications device . the captured user &# 39 ; s image data are encrypted using the cryptographic key generated in step s 20 ( step s 30 ) and saved in the user &# 39 ; s folder corresponding to the user identification information ( step s 32 ). that is , when saving image data in the image management apparatus 100 , the user identification information of the user &# 39 ; s contactless ic card is read via the ic card reader 102 , and then the user &# 39 ; s image data are read from the digital camera or memory card and saved in encrypted form in the user &# 39 ; s folder unique to the user . incidentally , when saving image data in the user &# 39 ; s folder , the folder is divided according to shooting dates as shown in fig5 to make it easier for the user to view the images . shooting dates recorded in headers of image files can be used for this purpose . next , description will be given of procedures for viewing images saved in the image management apparatus 100 , using fig6 . steps in common with the flowchart in fig3 will be designated by the same step numbers , and description thereof will be omitted . the image management apparatus 100 reads the user identification information from the contactless ic card owned by the user using the ic card reader 102 as in the case of image capture , and allows the user to view the images . that is , in step s 20 ′, a decryption key is generated from the user identification information . incidentally , according to this embodiment , since the cryptographic key and decryption key are identical , the process in step s 20 ′ is identical to the process in step s 20 in fig3 . the cpu 190 searches the hard disk 160 for a folder of a folder name corresponding to the user identification information read from the contactless ic card . if a folder exists , the cpu 190 reads image data out of the folder and decrypts them using the decryption key generated in step s 20 ′ ( step s 40 ). the decrypted image data are outputted to the display unit 200 which displays them ( step s 42 ). incidentally , to display a desired image on the display unit 200 , the user displays sub - folders of the user &# 39 ; s folder classified according to shooting dates as shown in fig7 a . a representative image ( e . g ., the first image in the sub - folder ) is shown on each sub - folder , and the shooting date is shown on the selected sub - folder . when the user selects and opens a desired sub - folder from among the sub - folders in the user &# 39 ; s folder classified by shooting dates , index images ( thumbnail images ) of the images in the selected sub - folder are listed as shown in fig7 b . the user can display a desired image as shown in fig7 c by selecting it from the index images and specifying zoom - in . incidentally , to display the desired image , operation keys 180 and a screen of the display unit 200 can be used . also , operation keys 180 can be used for frame advance and automatic playback ( slide show ). although according to this embodiment , the image capture process and image viewing process have been described separately with reference to the flowcharts in fig3 and 6 , respectively , these processes can be performed concurrently . specifically , when the user identification information is read from the contactless ic card , if a user &# 39 ; s folder exists , images in the folder become available for viewing , and while images are displayed , images are captured automatically in the background at the same time if a digital camera or the like is connected to the image management apparatus 100 and ready to capture images . by reading the user identification information from the contactless ic card , the image management apparatus 100 allows the user to login the user &# 39 ; s folder corresponding to the user identification information and manipulate the images in the user &# 39 ; s folder freely until logout and power - off . also , the user is allowed to modify the user identification information . also , a digital camera can be configured by combining the image management apparatus 100 according to this embodiment with an image pickup device which picks up and captures images . in that case , user identification information recorded on a contactless ic card can be read by the digital camera and images captured by the image pickup device can be stored in a user &# 39 ; s folder corresponding to the user identification information . even when the digital camera configured in this way is shared by multiple people , the users can prevent images they shot from being viewed by others . the images saved in the image management apparatus 100 are not limited to still images , and may be moving images .	7
[ 0016 ] fig1 illustrates a phase lock loop circuit 9 which produces a clock signal phase locked to a source of as sine wave signals 11 . the source of sine wave signals 11 constitutes a reference frequency which , in accordance with the principle of phase lock loop operation , controls the operating frequency and phase of voltage control oscillator ( vco ) 14 . the voltage controlled oscillator 14 produces a clock signal which has a sufficient power output capability to drive a plurality of integrated circuit chips . as noted in the previous sections , the phase of the clock signal produced by vco 14 is delayed with respect to the phase of the reference signal oscillator 11 , producing a skew between the two signals . eliminating skew is desirable in high frequency communications systems which utilize digital to analog conversion devices , as the skew is responsible for an increase in signal to noise ratio for the digital to analog converter ( dac ) where high resolution is sought . as will be evident with respect to the discussion of fig2 the sin dac architecture is used in applications requiring a low signal to noise ratio output and a reduced sensitivity to clock jitter . the phase lock loop 9 which includes a phase detector 12 , low pass filter 13 and voltage control oscillator 14 is of a conventional design , having a loop bandwidth and performance selected for a specific application . additionally , the phase lock loop 9 includes , in accordance with the present embodiment , a delay circuit 16 which introduces a fixed amount of delay between the clock signal from vco 14 , and the input of phase detector 12 . the fixed delay is used to change the time origin for the clock signal , and permit the clock signal delay to be shifted in time by delay circuit 17 , so that skew between the clock signal and reference signal can be reduced . the skew , or a relative time difference between the reference signal produced by sine signal source 11 , and the clock signal output from vco 14 , is shown in trace a and trace e of fig2 . a represents the sine reference signal from source 11 , and e represents the input to the phase detector 12 , which is a delayed version of d , the signal from voltage controlled oscillator 14 . the error signal produced by phase detector 12 , is filtered in filter 13 and is shown in c . the clock signal d produced from vco 14 is illustrated as d in fig3 and has a leading relationship with respect to the reference sine signal a due to the delay imposed by delay circuit 16 . delay circuit 17 is controlled by a control voltage which , in accordance with the preferred embodiment , reduces the time difference between the signal f produced from the output of the voltage controlled delay circuit 17 and the sine reference signal from reference signal source 11 . a delay circuit 16 similar to delay circuit 17 has the input control voltage set at a common potential , so that v con is fixed , providing a fixed delay to the clock signal which is applied to phase detector 12 . as a result of the additional delay provided by delay circuit 16 , the time margin is shifted by a value td zero . by selecting the variable delay of delay circuit 17 , tdo , to be less than the fixed delayed of delay circuit 16 , the effective delay of the vco 14 output provided by variable delay network 17 is td - tdo . accordingly , the phase of the signal shown in fig2 as f , can be adjusted so that it coincides with the new time reference . the edge of the clock signal from vco 14 can thereafter be adjusted , with respect to the new time reference , depending on the control signal v con provided by the slew controller 19 . the correction voltage for eliminating the skew between the sine reference signal a and delayed clock signal f is derived , in accordance with the preferred embodiment , from a skew controller 19 which receives an error signal , representing the skew between the sine reference signal and clock signal d . the skew controller 19 includes a skew calibrating algorithm which generates a correction voltage based on signal to noise ( snr ) information derived from a sin dac 18 . the sin dac 18 has a least significant bit output , representing the signal to noise ratio of an analog quantity converted from a digital input . in practice , the digital input g is set to zero , and the digital to analog converter output changes in accordance of its least significant bit . the architecture for the previously known sin dac 18 is shown more completely in fig3 . referring now to fig3 a digital signal is shown as one input to multiplier 20 , and a sine wave signal with a d - c component , 1 + cos ( 2πωt ) is shown as a second input to the multiplier 20 . the output comprises the product of the digital data signal a ( t ) and the sine signal 1 + cos ( 2πωt ). the sin dac 18 provides pulse shaping , wherein the data signal is multiplied with the sine reference signal having the same frequency as the clock for the dac . the output signal is a pulsed sin wave , wherein at the zero crossing point , the pulse has a zero slope which minimizes the circuit sensitivity to clock jitter . the output of the multiplier 20 is filtered in low pass filter 21 to produce an amplitude signal which is representative of the input digital data . the sin dac 18 output voltage signal to noise ratio is adversely affected by clock skew . as the clock skew increases , the difference in phase between the clock signal applied to the sine dac 18 and reference sine wave signal from sine source 11 , will increase the signal to noise ratio of the analog signal produced by the sine dac 18 . the measure of the signal to noise ratio for the sine dac 18 is , therefore , an indication of the measure of skew between the clock signal and reference signal from the sine signal source 11 . in the embodiment shown of fig1 the data input g is held to zero , representing an idle input condition and an output signal produced by the sin dac 18 is detected , as an indication of the signal to noise ratio and applied to the skew controller 19 wherein each value of snr is determined as : snr  [ k ] = 1 m  ∑ i = k - m k   x -& gt ; noise  2 , where k is a current sample , m is a running average range and { right arrow over ( x )} noise is an analog to digital converted output vector of said digital to analog converter having an idle input . the skew controller 19 produces a control voltage based on the input signal to noise ratio , or some other indicator of the clock skew . the algorithm used to derive a control voltage in accordance with the preferred embodiment , based on signal to noise ratio is given as follows : v con [ k + 1 ]= v con [ k ]+ μ · sign ( δ snr [ k ])· sign ( δ snr [ k − 1 ]) where v con is the control signal , snr is a value of said signal to noise ratio signal , and δis the difference between k samples of consecutive snr values . in the foregoing , each sample instant is represented by k , and the control voltage is updated each sample instant based on the change in signal to noise ratio from the previous sampling instant . a maximum control voltage step change , μ , forms part of the algorithm . the value of μ , the maximum step change size in control voltage , is selected as a tradeoff between resolution and performance . [ 0027 ] fig4 illustrates the relationship between the measurement of system performance , i . e ., in the preferred embodiment , snr , whereby position 1 depicts an initial starting point . once the algorithm has calculated a control voltage based on the measured signal to noise ratio , the next calculated value of control voltage results in a signal to noise ratio of the sign back 18 identified by position 2 . the step wise change from position 1 to position 2 is based on the value of μ and , the system will control the clock skew , such that it operates on either side of the signal to noise ratio peak , represented in fig4 . the smaller the value of μ , the less isolation , and smaller the clock skew . to obtain the delay change , of +/− 10ps , the step size μ is selected to be +/− 10 mv , with the relationship that 1 ps / 1 mv produces the delay change . the delay controller 17 is shown more particularly in fig5 . referring now to fig5 a differential amplifier is shown , receiving as inputs the clock signal v in +, and inverted clock signal v in − on the base connections of transistors 23 and 24 . the differential transistor pair 23 and 24 are connected in the conventional manner to receive a current from current source 25 which is divided between each of the differential transistors 23 and 24 . control over the current source 25 by the skew calibration circuit increases and decreases the delay of signals v in + and its complement v in − . output driver amplifiers 26 and 27 provide the amplified outputs of a clock signal which has been delayed in accordance with the current level set by current source 25 . [ 0029 ] fig6 illustrates the result of controlling skew with respect to the signal to noise ratio . the solid line x shows how the skew of approximately 30 picoseconds for a phase lock loop without compensation . the dashed line v , shows how the skew can be reduced over time to zero , as the skew controller 19 operates to reduce the skew to zero . thus , there has been described with respect to one embodiment of the invention a circuit for calibrating skew . the foregoing description of the invention illustrates and describes the present invention . additionally , the disclosure shows and describes only the preferred embodiments of the invention but , as mentioned above , it is to be understood that the invention is capable of use in various other combinations , modifications , and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein , commensurate with the above teachings and / or the skill or knowledge of the relevant art . the embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain best modes known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such , or other , embodiments and with the various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the invention . accordingly , the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein . also , it is intended that the apended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments .	7
[ 0026 ] fig1 and 2 show prior art laser devices lasers of the kind utilizing the monolithical solution ( based on a dbr ). laser structures according to the invention utilize microring resonators instead of at least superstructure or sampled gratings . the lasers can be fabricated by an epitaxial growth on inp , or other materials . in the non - limiting examples presented below , the inp based lasers that dominate the optical communications lasers are emphasized . the active laser layer and waveguide is referred to as 1 . 55 layers ( the material composition made to emit light at 1 . 55 micrometer ). other waveguide layers are denoted as a 1 . 3 layer and a 1 . 4 layer , both transparent to the laser wavelength . they are deposited by a process of epitaxial regrowth over the processed wafer . referring to fig3 a and 3b , a laser structure according to one embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated . this configuration is generally similar to the prior art sgdbr or ssgdbr structures , but differs therefrom in that one of the two gratings ( fig3 a ) or both of them ( fig3 b ) is replaced by microring resonator ( s ). imposing a small difference between the free spectral range of the ring and the second tuning element ( another microring or bragg grating ) results in vernier turning . this difference can be generated by a material selection or by size difference . [ 0028 ] fig4 a and 4b illustrate more specific designs of the above configuration . the example of fig4 a shows that the diameter of the microring resonator can be selected such that the spacing of the spectral peaks ( the “ free spectral range ” or fsr ) can be the actual spacing required from the laser ( e . g . 25 ghz ). a large ring is required to accomplish this feature . here , the tuning is performed only by a very slight tuning of the rings relatively to each other to apply the vernier effect , and due to this small tuning , only a very small amount of power ( current ) is required . thus , by using a large ring with small fsr , the small tuning is required only for the vernier effect . the example of fig4 b shows that the ring can be made smaller , such that the free spectral range is higher ( e . g . 200 ghz ). in this case , to address each spectral line ( e . g . the same 25 ghz grid ), one has to tune the spectral sequence to the selected spectral line ( 8 such lines within the 200 ghz ) and then select a single line by the vernier effect . in other words , by using a smaller ring with higher fsr , the tuning is required both for shifting the comb and for the vernier effect . this flexibility does not exist for the sampled or superstructure lasers , because implementation of e . g . 25 ghz spaced spectral lines over the band of interest will require the implementation of about 150 different grating periods , which is not feasible in manufacturing , since the most commonly implemented sampled gratings support 500 ghz spacing . however , rings that support a dense comb of frequencies are large rings that are very easy to fabricate . this configuration is best implemented if rings are realized as a passive waveguide structure to allow for current tuning . fig5 a - 5 e show some examples of suitable configurations of the current embodiment of the invention . in the figures , 1 . 55 layer is an active layer , 1 . 3 and 1 . 4 layers are passive layers . the phase element is a conventional element in dbr like lasers and its functionality is to match the overall phase of the laser cavity . in the example of fig5 a , passive rings ( e . g . 1 . 4 layer ) are horizontally coupled to laser waveguide ( 1 . 55 layer ) and a passive or auxiliary waveguide ( e . g ., the same 1 . 4 layer of the rings ) is coupled to the passive rings . in the example of fig5 b , passive rings ( e . g . 1 . 4 layer ) are horizontally coupled to passive waveguides ( e . g ., 1 . 4 layer ), which are the continuation of the laser active waveguide ( 1 . 55 layer ). according to the example of fig5 c , passive rings ( 1 . 3 . layers ) are directly vertically coupled to the laser waveguide ( 1 . 55 layer ). fig5 d exemplifies passive rings ( 1 . 3 . layer ) coupled vertically to the passive continuation ( 1 . 4 . layer ) of the laser waveguide ( 1 . 55 layer ). the vertical coupling can be wavelength independent or dependent . in fig5 e , passive rings ( 1 . 3 layer ) are coupled horizontally or vertically to passive waveguides ( 1 . 3 layer ), and the latter are vertically coupled to either the laser waveguide ( 1 . 55 layer ) or the passive waveguides ( 1 . 4 . layer ) that are continuations of the laser waveguide . a coupler with or without ( w / wo ) spectral bandpass can be used , namely , a coupler either with an additional filtering element or without spectral characteristics . reference is now made to fig6 showing a laser structure according to another embodiment of the invention . this configuration is generally similar to the prior art gcsr structure , but differs therefrom in that the sampled or superstructure grating is replaced by a ring cavity . similar to the examples of the previously described embodiment , in the embodiment of fig6 the diameter of the microring resonator can be selected such that the spacing of tile spectral peaks ( the “ free spectral range ”) can be the actual spacing required from the laser ( e . g . 25 ghz ). here , in distinction to the previous examples , the tuning can be performed by a slight tuning of the bandpass filter only . due to the slight tuning , only a very small amount of power ( current ) is required . the ring can be made smaller , such that the free spectral range is higher ( e . g . 200 ghz ). in this case , to address each spectral line ( e . g ., on the same 25 ghz grid ), one has to tune the ring in order to shift the spectral sequence to the selected spectral line ( 8 such lines within the 200 ghz ) and then shift the bandpass filter accordingly . this flexibility does not exist for the sampled or superstructure , because the implementation of 25 ghz spaced lines over the entire frequency band of interest ( e . g . the band of optical communication ) requires about 150 different grating periods which is not feasible in manufacturing . the ring that supports this feature , is a large ring that is very easy to fabricate . since the ring filter cannot be used directly as a mirror , one has to provide a pass for the light to be coupled back to the laser cavity . it should be noted , although not specifically shown , that the device of fig6 can be terminated with gratings ( on the top wg ) similar to that of fig3 a . the principles of the embodiment of fig6 have several possible implementations . according to one of them , the device may be generally similar to the cgsr configuration but with a ring replacing the sampled gratings , and using the facet as a reflector . other possible implementations are shown in fig7 a and 7b . in the example of fig7 a , in addition to the most general configuration of fig6 the bandpass filter is replaced by a small ring ( with large fsr ). this allows also direct back coupling to the laser without the use of the facet reflector . in the example of fig7 b , an arc segment is used for directly returning the filtered light back into the laser waveguide , thus eliminating the need for facet or gratings reflection . turning now to fig8 a to 8 d , there are illustrated four designs , respectively , of a laser device according to yet another embodiment of the invention utilizing a tunable filter within the laser cavity . here , the vernier effect is implemented by a dual ring based tunable filter ( at least two rings are required but more rings can be used as well ) located on the right side of the top waveguide . this tunable filter module replaces the functionality of the two separated ring mirrors of the configuration of fig3 . in the examples of fig8 a and 8b , facet reflection is utilized , while the devices of fig8 c and 8d need no facet reflection due to the use of an arc segment . those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modification and changes can be applied to the embodiments of the invention as hereinbefore exemplified without departing from its scope defined in and by the appended claims .	7
u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 729 , 414 and 2 , 092 , 111 illustrate the general arrangement of a rotary drum vacuum filter , these two patents being hereby incorporated by reference . the figures included in the instant specification emphasize those portions of the filter which are important to the instant invention . the remainder of the filter was excluded from the figures for ease of comprehension and illustration . fig1 a illustrates the most complete view of the present invention . fig1 a illustrates many features common to most rotary drum vacuum filters . a rotary drum ( 16 ) is revolved clockwise by a motor ( not shown ). the rotary drum ( 16 ) supports a screen ( 1 ), the screen acting as the filter medium ( 1 ). both the screen ( 1 ) and supporting structure ( 16 ) are permeable to water and air due to a multiplicity of passageways therethrough . the drum ( 16 ) has a vacuum applied thereto by a vacuum pump ( not shown ). the six radial direction indicating arrows ( 2 ) illustrate the movement of fluid and gas through the drum ( 16 ) and the screen ( 1 ), this movement being caused by the vacuum within the drum . the drum ( 16 ) is partially immersed in an open container ( 6 ) containing liquid ( 4 ) having particulates ( 5 ) therein . the vacuum within the drum pulls both liquid ( 4 ) and air through the filter medium ( 1 ) towards the vacuum pump ( not shown ). the liquid filtrate ( 14 ) is drawn out of the drum , and towards a second vacuum pump , by a pipe ( not shown ) connected to the second pump . as the liquid ( 4 ) travels through the filter medium ( 1 ), particulates ( 5 ) within the liquid ( 4 ) are pulled against , and held against , the filter medium ( 1 ) as a result of the inward flow of liquid ( 4 ). the particulates ( 5 ) form a cake ( 9 ) on the surface of the filter medium ( 1 ). as a given point on the surface of the drum rotates through the liquid and emerges from the liquid , particulates are held on the surface of the filter medium ( 1 ). these still &# 34 ; wet &# 34 ; particulates rise out of the liquid as a cake ( 9 ) and are then held on the surface of the filter medium by airflow , along with possible attractive forces between the filter medium and the particulates ( depending on the materials present ), and the surface tension created by the liquid remaining on the particulates ( again , depending on the materials present ). as the drum continues to rotate the cake ( 9 ) is subjected to a rinse spray ( 7 ) emitted from a spray jet ( 8 ). the rinse liquid , most preferrably in the form of atomized spray , impinges upon the cake ( 9 ) and thereby dilutes any residual liquid ( 4 ) remaining on the cake ( 9 ). as the cake ( 9 ) travels clockwise upward , it is continuously subjected to the spray until it reaches its highest point on its rotational path of travel . at this &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ;, the cake is two inches or less ( but remains separated ) from the lowermost portion of a spray blocking means . the spray blocking means is most preferrably a continuous vertical wall ( 10 ), the wall being high enough to catch the hightest portion of the spray ( 7 ), and long enough to extend the full length of the drum ( 1 ). the spray strikes the wall ( 10 ) and runs down into the particulate layer ( 9 ), herein termed the particulate cake ( 9 ). the portion of the spray ( 7 ) which strikes the wall forms a steam ( 11 ) which travels from the bottom of the wall ( 10 ), the stream ( 11 ) traveling onto the cake ( 9 ) surface as can be easily seen in fig1 b , the stream ( 11 ) creating a region of very heavy rinse compared to the direct spray ( 7 ). by contacting the cake ( 9 ) on the &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ; of the drum , the stream ( 11 ) is pulled directly downward with virtually no flow parallel to the surface of the cake . this process creates very little tendency for erosion of the particulates . once rinsed , the cake ( 9 ) continues to revolve clockwise until it reaches about &# 34 ; 3 o &# 39 ; clock &# 34 ;, at which point the particulates forming the cake ( 9 ) are ejected by a jet of air ( 12 ), the jet of air being emitted by a jet nozzle ( 13 ). the jet nozzle is supplied with compressed air . the jet nozzle ( 13 ) is positioned inside the drum , and the jet of air ( 12 ) emitted is directed radially outward through the drum ( 1 ). the jet of air ( 12 ) blows particulates off of the surface of the screen ( 1 ), thereby disintegrating the cake ( 9 ). once ejected , the particulates ( 5 ) are blown into a chute ( 15 ) which guides them to a desired location ( not shown ), such as a hopper , a dryer , etc . fig1 b illustrates a close - up view of fig1 a , this close - up view focusing on the &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ; of the drum and on the spray blocking wall ( 10 ). note the flow of blocked spray down the wall , and the stream ( 11 ) traveling onto the cake ( 9 ). the stream ( 11 ) may form droplets or may be a steady , continuous , substantially uniform flow . whether the stream ( 11 ) &# 34 ; drips &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; flows &# 34 ; depends upon , among other things : it is most preferred , especially with an easily eroded particulate cake ( 9 ), that the stream be a continuous , uniform flow , rather than a &# 34 ; drip &# 34 ;. a &# 34 ; flow &# 34 ; tends to disturb the cake less than a &# 34 ; drip &# 34 ;, due to less impact of the rinsing fluid . the &# 34 ; flow &# 34 ; is created by bringing the blocking wall ( 10 ) very close to the surface of the cake , preferably approximately 1 / 16th of an inch from the cake surface . this requires that the cake surface be smooth , which is often the case for the easily erodable , small particulates . it has been conceived that the wall must be within two inches or less from the cake surface in order to avoid undesired disturbances of easily eroded cakes . thus , an easily eroded cake is defined as one which is eroded by droplets coming from a height more than two inches above the surface of the cake . fig2 a and 2b illustrate the filter of fig1 in perspective views . fig2 a and 2b show a continuous vertical plate ( 10 ) traveling the full length of the drum . just as in fig1 a and 1b , fig2 a and 2b illustrate the wall ( or plate , or &# 34 ; blocking means &# 34 ;) above the &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ; of the drum , as is most preferred . it is also conceived that many filtration processes could be operated with the wall ( 10 ) located so that the flow travels onto the cake ( 9 ) as much as 10 degrees from the &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ;, this region being defined as the &# 34 ; uppermost &# 34 ; portion of the filter drum . in reailty , it is conceived that many filtration processes could be carried out with the flow of blocked spray traveling onto the cake from any point which is ( less than two inches ) above the cake , depending upon , among other factors : ( c ) the distance of the blocking wall ( 10 ) from the cake surface ; and it has also been conceived that it would be advantageous to have vertical channels in the spray blocking wall , these vertical channels herein being called vertical corrugations . fig3 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention . the device of fig3 includes two sprayers ( 8 and 8 1 ) and two walls ( 10 and 10 1 ). as can be seen in fig3 the walls can be positioned at locations other than the &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ;, as more than one sprayer may be utilized at a single point along the axis of the filter . also note that a single wall ( 10 ) can block spray on both of its major surfaces . design of the optimal filter for filtration of particulates that form an easily eroded cake requires a recognition of several factors which are closely related to cake erosion . first , the drop size and flow rate emitted by the spray nozzles is critical , as flow rates too high and / or drop sizes too large will favor cakr erosion . the distance of the nozzle from the cake surface determines the &# 34 ; spray density &# 34 ; impacting the cake . the closer the spray nozzle to the cake surface , the higher the spray density , and the greater the chance for cake erosion . when using two or more sprayers , spray overlap can create greater spray density in the area of overlap , with the possibility of generating erosion . thus care must be taken in the placement of the nozzles within the filter unit . secondly , the placement of the wall , i . e . the spray blocking means , affects the potential for erosion . a wall placed at the &# 34 ; peak &# 34 ; is the least likely to create erosion , whereas a wall coming closest to the drum at about &# 34 ; 10 o &# 39 ; clock &# 34 ; is much more likely to create erosion as can be understood by considering the more rapid flow of fluid down the steep slope of that point of the filter surface . in addition , as mentioned above , the distance from the lowermost point on the wall to the cake surface determines the amount of impact of the rinse liquid on the cake , with the greater distances favoring more erosion . it has been conceived that the angle ( with respect to vertical ) of the plane of the wall is not critical so long as the rinse runs down onto the drum at the desired location . of course , the amount of rinse traveling down the wall affects the erosion potential , with greater amounts of rinse again favoring greater erosion . thus wall placement with respect to spray pattern placement must be considered . in addition , as known to those of skill in the art , and as discussed in detail in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 008 , 154 , any structure supplying rinse to the cake should distribute that rinse as evenly as possible . thus the lowermost surface of the wall should be as close to horizontal as possible , so that rinse will not tend to run along the bottom edge of the wall , but instead will continue to travel downward upon encountering the lowermost surface of the wall . ( b ) affinity of particulates within the cake to one another ; and affect the potential for erosion . all of these should be considered in designing and system to achieve maximum rinse efficiency with minimum erosion . the term &# 34 ; suspension &# 34 ; has been used herein to include liquids having solid particulates dispersed therein . although classically a suspension is meant to include only liquids having uniformly dispersed , non - settling particulates therein , the term suspension , as used herein , is meant to include mixtures of solids and liquids in which it is necessary to mechanically disperse the particulates . the following example is intended to illustrate a preferred embodiment of carrying out the present invention and the utility of the present invention , and is in no way intended to limit the realm of applicability of the concepts described above . a rotary drum vacuum filter was used to filter a platinum coated graphite catalyst from an acidic slurry which contained 5 % graphite by weight . the liquid ( 4 ) was water . the liquid contained approximately 1 . 25 % free sulfuric acid ( by weight ), and about 12 % hydroxylamine sulfate . the graphite particulates varied in size , up to a maximum of about 100 microns . a 30 micron screen was used as the filter medium in order to separate out all particulates from 30 - 100 microns in size . the rotary drum vacuum filter was obtained from the bird machine company of south walpole , mass . the rotary drum had a diameter of 18 inches and a length of 24 inches . the filter unit had a motor for drum rotation , a vacuum pump for creation of vacuum within the drum , a pump for filtrate removal , and a 4 - inch pulsair valve for particulate ejection , the pulsair valve being supplied with compressed air from a compressor . the filter was operated with an internal pressure of - 12 inches hg , and the drum was rotated at 1 . 0 rpm . under these conditions , the filter separated about 200 pounds per hour of graphite , which contained about 25 % water on a dry weight basis . without rinsing the graphite , the particulates contained about 2 % sulphuric acid . application of a highly dispersed atomic water spray using 2 bete type p 40 impingement nozzles ( obtained from bete fog nozzle inc ., 324 wells street , p . o . box 311 , greenfield , mass . 01302 ) and 3 bete type p 48 impingement nozzles ( also obtained from bete fog nozzle inc .) was done at flow rates low enough to cause no erosion of the graphite cake . this occurred at a maximum water flow of about 1 . 4 gallons per minute , and under these conditions 91 % of the acid was rinsed off of the particulates . the geometry of the spray pattern and the velocity of the water leaving the sprayer caused an estimated 50 % of the water leaving the sprayers to fail to penetrate the graphite cake . a vertical wall was installed directly above the drum , the wall being spaced about 1 / 16th of an inch from the graphite cake . it was found that this wall provided a smooth , gentle flooding of the catalyst surface without erosion , and that 97 . 5 % of the acid was removed with the wall addition , as compared to 91 % acid removal without the wall . it was estimated that an approximately 4 - fold increase in the amount of rinse water would be necessary to achieve this degree of acid removal without the wall , but it was kown that an increase of this magnitude would result in substantial erosion of the cake . the spray nozzles were located at the following points within the housing surrounding the rotary filter : ( a ) &# 34 ; outside &# 34 ; nozzles were positioned three inches from each end of the drum , the nozzles being pointed at about &# 34 ; 11 o &# 39 ; clock &# 34 ; on the screen surface as shown in fig1 a . these &# 34 ; outside &# 34 ; nozzles were of the bete p40 type . these &# 34 ; outside &# 34 ; sprayers were positioned 3 inches from the screen surface . ( b ) three &# 34 ; inside &# 34 ; nozzles were positioned between the &# 34 ; outside &# 34 ; nozzles , these three inside nozzles being 4 . 75 inches from one another . these three inside nozzles were located on a straight line , with the middle inside nozzle being located at the mid - point along the screen length . the inside sprayers were of the &# 34 ; bete p48 type &# 34 ;. the inside sprayers were positioned five inches from the drum surface , these inside sprayers also being pointed at approximately &# 34 ; 11 o &# 39 ; clock &# 34 ; on the screen surface . a 27 psig water line supplied water to all five nozzles . the outer nozzles had a flow rate of 0 . 22 gallons per minute and the inside nozzles had a flow rate of 0 . 26 gallons per minute .	1
for purposes of clarity only , the following description includes the following headers : i . document processing management environment overview ; ii . front - end document generating system ; iii . back - end document processing system ; iv . operation ; and v . conclusion . with reference to the accompanying drawings , fig1 shows an example document 2 to be processed in the form of a personal check . a document may include content 6 and background data . “ background data ” may include a background image ( s ) 8 or layout matter 4 , or a combination thereof . as noted above , “ layout matter ” includes text and / or layout objects that are provided on a document to provide the document &# 39 ; s look - and - feel . in terms of the check , layout matter may include , for example , bank name ( e . g ., county bank and trust company ), terms such as “ date ” and “ pay to the order of ,” routing number ( e . g ., 867549521 ), account number ( e . g ., 123 456 789 ), payer name ( e . g ., tim cann ), entry lines and boxes , etc . “ content ” is any matter on the document that is specific to the individual document &# 39 ; s use . in the example shown , content 6 includes the handwritten insertion of payee name ( e . g ., “ moe ola co .”), date ( e . g ., “ december 25 ” and “ 44 ”), check amount ( e . g ., “ 98 . 00 ” or “ ninety eight dollars ”) and signature , and the printed check number ( e . g ., 1000 ). “ background image ” 8 is anything provided that does not constitute layout matter 4 or content 6 . background image 8 , in the example shown , includes a landscape picture including a house and surrounding area . it should be recognized that background data may take a variety of forms not shown , and may contain any number of layers . background data may include , for example : image ( s ), pattern ( s ), hatching , shading , half - tones , or a combination thereof . layout matter 4 may or may not be considered part of background data . for purposes of description , however , the invention will be described as though layout matter is background data except where advantageous to distinguish . fig2 shows a block diagram illustrating a document processing management environment 10 of the invention . document processing management environment 10 generally includes three stages : the front - end generation stage 12 , usage of document stage 14 , and the back - end processing of the used document stage 16 . processing of two types of documents can be managed : a “ printed document ” 22 and a “ preprinted document ” 23 . where necessary , the description that follows will refer to the individual type of document . otherwise , these documents shall be referred to herein collectively as “ documents ” or “ a document .” as used herein , a “ printed document ” 22 is a complete document in which all matter on the document is generated at generation stage 12 . in contrast , a “ preprinted document ” 23 is a complete document in which some matter on the document is generated prior to generation stage 12 . a preprinted document 23 may take at least two forms : first , preprinted document 23 may include a complete document that is generated with preprinted matter in the form of a background image 8 ( fig1 ) only , e . g ., a background image as provided on a paper stock . second , preprinted document 23 may include a completed document that is generated with preprinted matter in the form of a background image 8 ( fig1 ) and layout matter 4 ( fig1 ). in this case , only content 6 ( fig1 ) is added by a user , e . g ., by handwriting or by printing onto the preprinted document . referring to fig1 , document 2 in the form of a personal check is a preprinted document having its layout matter 4 and background image 8 preprinted , and its content 6 handwritten thereon . a printed document 22 ( fig2 ) of a personal check would look fairly similar to that shown in fig1 , except content 6 would also be printed . while the invention will be explained herein with reference to the personal handwritten check , it should be recognized that a personal handwritten check is only illustrative and that the invention applies to any variety of document , e . g ., with or without handwritten matter . returning to fig2 , the general movement of a document in environment 10 includes generation of a document 22 , 23 at front - end generation stage 12 by a front - end document generating system 20 , usage of document 22 , 23 by a user at usage stage 14 , and then processing at back - end processing stage 16 by a back - end document processing system 21 . with special regard to preprinted documents 23 , such as the personal check shown in fig1 , document generating system 20 may be embodied by a user handwriting or printing content 6 ( fig1 ) into preprinted document 23 . in this case , as will be explained in more detail below , generating system 20 may be provided with background data 30 used on preprinted documents 23 for recordation so they can be processed as though they originated therein . processing may also occur at generating system 20 , if desired . each system 20 , 21 will be described in greater detail below . the substance of each stage varies depending on industry . as an overview , the invention captures electronically and saves print data 28 used to print a document 22 , i . e ., at stage 12 . co - pending us patent application entitled “ joined front - end and back - end document processing ,” incorporated by reference herein , describes how back - end processing stage 16 can use print data 28 with image data 68 that is obtained when a used document 46 is scanned . the invention described herein records background data 30 used on a document 22 , 23 , or is provided with background data 30 used on preprinted document 23 for recordation thereof at front - end generation stage 12 . background data 30 may be used with back - end processing stage 16 , for example , by removing background data 30 from image data 68 to leave only a foreground image . referring to usage stage 14 , the stage may include simple transfer of a document , or may include filling in blank spaces , marking up the document , adding signatures and / or stamps , and / or otherwise altering the document . as noted above , at generation stage 12 , a front - end document generation system 20 ( hereinafter “ generating system 20 ”) is provided to generate an original printed document 22 and / or a preprinted document 23 . it should be recognized that while one generating system 20 has been illustrated , that a number of generating systems 20 may exist within environment 10 . for example , in the banking and finance industry , a number of check writing entities such as individuals , corporations , payroll management companies , e . g ., paychex ®, etc ., exist . document generation data 24 is used to build a document , and may take different forms depending on whether the document is a printed document 22 or a preprinted document 23 . in terms of a printed document 22 , document generation data 24 may exist as a variety of text data ( e . g ., ascii ), graphics , and base images that are combined to form the entire printed document 22 . in terms of a check , document generation data 24 may include , for example : text data such as a check amount , date , bank name , payer , payee , etc . ; graphics data such as a verifying watermark , bank logo , insertion lines or boxes , etc . ; and base images such as a background image or other image ( s ). in terms of a preprinted document 23 , document generation data 24 may simply include content 6 ( fig1 ) to be printed , or handwritten , on a preprinted document 23 that includes layout matter 4 ( fig1 ) and background image 8 ( fig1 ). alternatively , in terms of a preprinted document 23 that includes only a background image 8 ( fig1 ), document generation data 24 may include layout matter 4 ( fig1 ) ( i . e ., further background data ) and content 6 ( fig1 ). as known in the art , document generation data 24 may be extracted from multiple databases ( not shown ) when in electronic form . generating system 20 includes a printing system 26 , a background recorder 32 , a bgd identifier inserter 34 , a front - end access module 36 , processing application ( s ) 38 and other system component ( s ) 40 . printing system 26 includes any now known or later developed mechanisms for generating print data 28 that is usable for printing a document 22 , 23 . printing system 26 may include mechanisms to actually print document 22 , or may include a processor ( s ) to generate print data 28 without actually printing the document . accordingly , print data 28 does not necessarily need to be used to actually print a document . “ print data ” is any data generated by printing system 26 usable for physically generating printed document 22 including data that is normally only stored temporarily or non - persistently , e . g ., pixel data in a print buffer . that is , print data 28 includes print - ready data including at least one of image data , pixel data ( aka pels ) and language data that is transformed from document generation data 24 ( raw data ) by printing system 26 . print data 28 may be in any format desired , e . g ., ibm &# 39 ; s mixed object document content architecture ( mo : dca ). print data 28 may include data to print everything on printed document 22 , or data to print certain things on a preprinted document 23 . where a preprinted document 23 includes all background data ( e . g ., layout matter 4 , background image 8 or a combination thereof as illustrated in fig1 ), printing system 26 may be used to fill out the document with content . alternatively , where a preprinted document 23 includes background data ( e . g ., layout matter 4 , background image 8 or a combination thereof ( fig1 )) and content 6 ( fig1 ) is filled in , for example , by handwriting , generating system 20 may not be used other than as a background data recorder , as will be described below . in these cases , although a preprinted document 23 is not printed by printing system 26 , generating system 20 may also be used to insert a background data identifier ( s ), as will also be described below . background data recorder 32 ( hereinafter “ bgd recorder 32 ”) is configured to determine and save background data 30 used on a respective printed document 22 . in terms of a preprinted document 23 that is not entirely generated by generating system 20 , bgd recorder 30 may be used to determine ( i . e ., be provided with ) and save background data 30 . background data 30 may be saved , for example , in a background data memory 42 . memory 42 may comprise any now known or later developed data storage system and / or transmission media , including magnetic media , optical media , random access memory ( ram ), read only memory ( rom ), a data object , etc . moreover , memory 42 may reside at a single physical location comprising one or more types of data storage , or be distributed across a plurality of physical systems . background data 30 used on a document 22 , 23 may be determined by bgd recorder 32 in a number of ways depending on the type of document 22 , 23 . first , background data 30 may be known based on the paper stock used for a partially preprinted document 23 , i . e ., one that includes only a background image and , perhaps , some layout matter . for example , a number of check writing entities such as paychex ® use a particular paper stock ( s ) having counterfeiting prevention background images thereon . from this information , background data 30 can be easily ascertained . second , document generation data 24 may include background data 30 to be printed with a printed document 22 , e . g ., layout matter , background image , shading or a combination thereof . third , where background data 30 is not explicitly known at generation stage 16 , it may be determined by knowing the content to be inserted in a printed document 22 . in this case , anything that is not content is considered background data . fourth , where , for example , a preprinted document 23 has content and background data inserted therein outside the parameters of generating system 20 , background data 30 may be provided to generating system 20 for recordation and / or insertion of a background data identifier . this may be the case for the handwritten personal check shown in fig1 . once bgd recorder 32 determines background data of a document 22 , 23 , an association of background data 30 with document 22 , 23 is saved in background data memory 42 . association is made via use of a background data identifier ( s ) 44 on a document 22 , 23 . implementation of a background data identifier ( s ) 44 , allows association of a single , saved background data 30 with a large number of documents 22 , 23 for reduced data storage ( i . e ., background data is saved once ), and easy retrieval . association may be either explicit or implicit . implicit association denotes that a background data identifier 44 is inconspicuously incorporated in document 22 , 23 . for example , the date that a printed document 22 was printed may be a background data identifier 44 . in another example , layout matter may provide a background data identifier 44 , e . g ., for a check : a routing number and / or an account number . this may be the case for a preprinted document 23 in the form of a personal handwritten check ( fig1 ). as another example , imaging and optical character recognition ( ocr ) of preprinted text could provide a background data identifier 44 . in any case , a background data identifier 44 is easily attainable by imaging a used document 46 ( fig2 ), especially if magnetic ink character recognition ( micr ) toner is used . in terms of an explicit association , a background data identifier inserter 34 (“ bgd identifier inserter ” in fig2 ) may be provided to physically insert a background data identifier ( s ) 44 into a document 22 , 23 . in one embodiment , shown in fig1 , background data identifier 44 may be text that identifies corresponding background data 30 . in an alternative embodiment , a digital watermark can be printed on document 22 , 23 or embedded in the preprinted background data 30 to identify the background . as known to those in the art , there are a variety of mechanisms for generating watermarks that are invisible to the human eye , but will survive scanning and lossy compression . a background data identifier 44 may be used alone or in combination with other background data identifier ( s ) 44 . front - end access module 36 includes any hardware and / or software configured to make background data memory 42 accessible to back - end document processing system 21 . front - end access module 36 may include , for example , a security login package for generation system 20 and / or background data memory 42 , an encryption key supplier so data is transmitted securely , sending third party destination information if the front - end and back - end processing is to be handled elsewhere , etc . processing application ( s ) 38 may provide a variety of mechanisms to process documents 22 , 23 and / or a used document 46 when data collected at processing system 21 is communicated to generating system 20 . other system components 40 may provide any other functionality now known or later developed for document generating system 20 or ancillary services . one illustrative other system component 40 may be a digital compression package for print data 28 and / or background image ( s ) 30 . it should be recognized that generating system 20 may take a variety of forms beyond a system that simply generates documents . for instance , generating system 20 may take the form of a point - of - sale terminal that prints receipts and stores print data 28 and background data 30 about the receipts . back - end document processing system 21 ( hereinafter “ processing system 21 ”) is designed to receive a used document 46 after usage stage 14 , and conduct any of a variety of processing tasks on , or based on , used document 46 . it should be recognized that while one processing system 21 has been illustrated , that a number of processing systems 21 may exist within environment 10 . for example , in the banking and finance industry , a number of banks exist that each receive checks from any check writing entities such as individuals , corporations , payroll management companies such as paychex ®, etc . in this industry , each bank may represent a processing system 21 . each processing system 21 includes : an imager 50 including an image processor 52 , a background data retriever 54 , a background data remover 56 , a background data verifier 58 , an archiver 60 , at least one ( and usually a variety of ) processing application ( s ) 62 , and any now known or later developed other system components 66 used for processing used documents . imager 50 is configured to receive a used document 46 and create an image thereof by scanning used document 46 . the image , parts thereof or processed portion ( s ) of the image are referred to herein as “ image data ” 68 . image data 68 may be stored in back - end data memory 70 . as with background data memory 42 , back - end data memory 70 may comprise any now known or later developed data storage system and / or transmission media , including magnetic media , optical media , random access memory ( ram ), read only memory ( rom ), a data object , etc ., and may reside at a single physical location comprising one or more types of data storage , or be distributed across a plurality of physical systems . it should be recognized that if image data 68 is available without the need for an imager 50 , then imager 50 may be omitted . image processor 52 is capable of conducting any image data - related processing of the image such as optical character recognition ( ocr ), rotation correction , image aliasing correction , error correction , image size scaling , thresholding to convert binary image , converting to a binary image to a smaller grayscale image , color space conversion , magnetic ink character recognition ( micr ), etc . this information may then be stored as image data 68 . background data retriever 54 includes any hardware and / or software configured to evaluate image data 68 to determine / find background identifier ( s ) 44 , and retrieve corresponding background data 30 from background data memory 42 based on background data identifier ( s ) 44 on used document 46 . as discussed above , background data identifier ( s ) 44 may be explicit such as text or a watermark , or implicit in other data ( e . g ., for a check : date , routing , account and / or check number ). once background data identifier ( s ) 44 has been determined , background data retriever 54 retrieves corresponding background data 30 . in this regard , background data retriever 54 may include a mechanism ( s ) to access background data 30 in background data memory 42 and / or generating system 20 . background data retriever 54 may include , for example , security login package for generating system 20 and / or background data memory 42 , an encryption key supplier so data is transmitted securely , sending third party destination information if the front - end and back - end processing is to be handled elsewhere , etc . once background data 30 has been retrieved , it may be verified by a background data verifier 56 by comparing image data 68 , which contains background data along with everything else on used document 46 , with the retrieved background data 30 . if , for any reason , background data 30 cannot be reliably identified or verified on a particular used document 46 , then processing using the retrieved background data 30 may be avoided and the document can be processed and stored in a conventional manner . with regard to background data remover 56 , after background data 30 used in a used document 46 has been identified and / or verified , it can be removed from image data 68 to create a foreground image . an illustrative foreground image 80 of the personal check shown in fig1 is shown in fig3 . foreground image 80 includes everything on document 2 except for background data 30 . in the example of fig3 , background data 30 includes layout matter 4 ( fig1 ) and background image 8 ( fig1 ), so what remains is content 6 ( fig1 ). the content for a handwritten personal check includes the handwritten insertion of payee name ( e . g ., “ moe ola co .”), date ( e . g ., “ december 25 ” 19 “ 44 ”), check amount ( e . g ., “ 98 . 00 ” or “ ninety eight dollars 00 / 100 ”) and signature , and the printed check number ( e . g ., 1000 ). if background data 30 did not include layout matter 4 ( fig1 ), then layout matter 4 ( fig1 ) would also be part of foreground image 80 . in the case of a check , layout matter 4 ( fig1 ) includes , for example , bank name ( e . g ., county bank and trust company ), terms such as “ date ” and “ pay to the order of ,” routing number ( e . g ., 867549521 ), account number ( e . g ., 123 456 789 ), payer name ( e . g ., tim cann ), entry lines and boxes , etc . foreground image 80 can be saved using archiver 60 . background data 30 may also be saved with image data 68 in back - end data memory 70 , if desired , using archiver 60 . with special regard to archiver 60 and use with checks , instead of saving both sides of the check as grayscale , only image data 68 without the background data on each side can be archived , together with background data identifier ( s ) 44 . this technique reduces data storage requirements , especially where only a few background images and layouts are used by a large number of checks . as an option , “ imaging settings ,” describing the scanning process that was used by imager 50 , may also be saved by archiver 60 so that used document 46 can be rebuilt , if necessary . in this case , appropriate background data 30 can be retrieved from back - end data memory 70 or background data memory 42 , modified based on the imaging settings and joined with image data 68 that does not include the background data . since the retrieved background data used to rebuild used document 46 has not been actually scanned , the reconstructed used document 46 should have better quality than conventionally scanned used documents . in addition , being able to retrieve background data 30 allows for creation of a ‘ family ’ of related re - creations including , for example : foreground image 80 only , foreground image 80 with background data 30 as retrieved and added to foreground image 80 , and / or foreground and background as imaged . processing application ( s ) 62 provide any of a variety of industry - specific document processing or analysis tools . for example , processing system 21 , via processing application ( s ) 62 , can process using print data 28 and image data 68 as described in co - pending u . s . ser . no . 10 / 428 , 709 . it should be recognized that while processing applications 62 are part of processing system 21 , that data can be communicated to generating system 20 and processing applications 38 therein can be used to provide the same functionality , and vice versa . illustrative processing application ( s ) 62 include mechanisms for investigating tampering of used document 46 , fraud detection and forgery detection . for example , for commercial checks , the payee and amount can be ocr - ed and compared to print data 28 ( fig2 ) of the originally printed check to detect if any changes have been made . other industries may carry out other processes . with regard to background data memory 42 and back - end data memory 70 , it should be recognized that memory 42 can be located at generating system 20 location ( s ) and accessed when needed by background data retriever 54 of processing system 21 . similarly , memory 70 can be located at processing system 21 location ( s ) and accessed when needed by generating system 20 . alternatively , a packet of background data 30 may be communicated to a processing system 21 for comparison to image data 68 stored in back - end data memory 70 . similarly , a packet of image data 68 may be communicated to a generating system 20 for comparison to background data 30 stored in background image memory 42 . in another example , a third party ( ies ) may be implemented to collect data from any number of generating system ( s ) 20 and / or processing system ( s ) 21 and control accessibility to the data . for example , document generation could occur at a number of generating systems 20 , e . g ., in facsimile machines , at multiple vendor printers , or at multiple local printers . this front - end data could be collected into a single source by a third party , and thereby made easily accessible to processing system ( s ) 21 . a document may include embedded therein information about where to find the original printed document &# 39 ; s electronic version . collection of data may also occur in reverse relative to an environment having a number of processing systems 21 for easy access by generating system ( s ) 20 . in any case , the “ original ” front - end print data 28 and background data 30 is made available for processing with image data 68 . other system components 66 provided at processing system 21 may include , for example , a sorting mechanism . referring to fig2 and 4 in combination , document processing management according to the invention will now be described . steps s 1 - s 2 represent processes that take place at a front - end generating stage 12 . in step s 1 , a document 22 , 23 may be generated , e . g ., has print data 28 generated ( not actually printed ), is actually printed by printing system 26 , filled in by a user , etc . this step may optionally include inserting a background data identifier ( s ) 44 into document 22 , 23 . background data identifier ( s ) 44 may include , for example , at least one of a watermark , text on the document or a combination thereof . each background data identifier 44 is indexed relative to corresponding background data 30 . in step s 2 , background data 30 of document 22 , 23 is recorded in background data memory 42 by background data recorder 32 along with corresponding background data identifier ( s ) 44 . in step s 3 , document 22 , 23 is used for its intended purpose , i . e ., at usage stage 14 . in terms of a check , the check would be sent to the payee and taken to his / her bank for cashing . steps s 4 - s 7 represent processes that take place after usage stage 14 , e . g ., at back - end processing stage 16 . in step s 4 , used document 46 is imaged by imager 50 to create image data 68 , which may be saved . in terms of a check , the receiving bank would image the check to create image data 68 thereof . the imaging step may also include conducting image processing such as optical character recognition using image processor 52 . in step s 5 , background data 30 of used document 46 is retrieved by background data retriever 54 from background data memory 42 based on a background data identifier 44 used on the document . in step s 6 , background data 30 is removed from image data 68 by background data remover 56 to create foreground data 80 ( fig3 ). this step may also include saving foreground data 80 using archiver 60 . in step s 7 , processing using foreground data 80 is conducted . one example processing step may include archiving foreground data 80 , perhaps with imaging settings used during step s 4 for use with later re - building of used document 46 . other processing steps are also possible . in the previous discussion , it will be understood that the method steps discussed are performed by a processor , such as central processing unit of system 20 or 21 , executing instructions of program product stored in memory . it is understood that the various devices , modules , mechanisms and systems described herein may be realized in hardware , software , or a combination of hardware and software , and may be compartmentalized other than as shown . they may be implemented by any type of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein . a typical combination of hardware and software could be a general - purpose computer system with a computer program that , when loaded and executed , controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein . alternatively , a specific use computer , containing specialized hardware for carrying out one or more of the functional tasks of the invention could be utilized . the present invention can also be embedded in a computer program product , which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods and functions described herein , and which — when loaded in a computer system — is able to carry out these methods and functions . computer program , software program , program , program product , or software , in the present context mean any expression , in any language , code or notation , of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after the following : ( a ) conversion to another language , code or notation ; and / or ( b ) reproduction in a different material form . while this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments outlined above , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , the embodiments of the invention as set forth above are intended to be illustrative , not limiting . various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	6
the following terms shall be used throughout the specification to describe the present invention . the term “ non - reactive ” is used throughout the specification to describe compounds or portions of molecules ( moieties ) which do not participate in the reaction ( s ) to form an intermediate or polymer according to the present invention . examples of non - reactive groups for use in the present invention include , for example , alkyl , aryl or aralkyl groups or substituted alkyl , aryl or aralkyl groups . it is noted here that most of the reactions to produce intermediates or polymers according to the present invention proceed through a heat initiated nucleophilic / electrophilic polymerization reaction as opposed to a radical intiated polymerization reaction . consequently , those moieties which are preferably non - reactive fall within this definition . it is noted here that in certain instances , hydroxyethyl methacrylate ( hema ) or other — c ═ c — containing monomer or a group containing a blocking group ( which can be removed to produce a reactive entity subsequent to intermediate or polmer formation ) may also be used , for example , to initiate polymerization of monomers to produce an a block , or for inclusion in one or more other segments of triblocks , diblocks , multiblocks or polymers according to the present invention . such a — c ═ c — containing moiety may be used in a subsequent coupling or crosslinking reaction to produce polymer compositions according to the present invention . despite such reactivity in “ radical polymerizable reactions ”, these monomers may be used in “ non - reactive groups ” according to the present invention . non - reactive groups may also be “ inert ”, i . e ., they contain groups which are not reactive under any conditions . examples of such inert non - reactive groups are alkyl groups , aralkyl groups or aryl groups , whether substituted or w - substituted , which do not contain blocking groups , — c ═ c — groups or other groups which can reactive further . the term “ diol ” is used throughout the specification to describe any molecule or compound ( such term including monomers , oligomers and polymers ) containing two alcohol groups which can react with electrophilic groups ( e . g ., isocyanates , esters , acyl halides , activated esters , etc .) to produce compounds according to the present invention . representative diols for use in the present include , for example , c 2 to c 24 ( preferably , c 2 to c 12 ) diols , alkanols , aryl alcohols , aralkyl alcohols , substituted alkyl , substituted aryl and substituted aralkyl alcoholes , including for example , ethylene glycol and butanediol , oh - terminated polycaprolactone and other oh - terminated polyesters and oligoesters , polyethers , such as poly ( oxyalkylene ) including poly ( ethylene glycol ), poly ( proplylene glycol ), poly ( ethylene glycol )- co - poly ( propylene glycol ) and other hydroxyl - containing compounds such as , for example , proteins , enzymes , growth factors , bioactive agents , polysaccharides and aca triblocks , where a is a polyester unit and c is itself a diol , including a poly ( oxyalkylene ). the term “ diamine ” is used throughout the specification to describe any molecule or compound ( such term including monomers , oligomers and polymers ) containing two amine groups ( including primary and secondary amines , but preferably primary amines ) which can react with electrophilic groups to produce compounds according to the present invention . representative diamines for use in the present invention preferably include , for example , c 2 to c 24 ( preferably , c 2 to c 12 ) diamines including alkyl amines , aryl amines , aralkyl amines , substituted alkyl , substituted aryl and substituted aralkyl amines , amino acids , oligopeptides and polypeptides , proteins , enzymes , bioactive agents . lysine , oligolysine and polylysine may be used preferably as amino acids , oligopeptides and polypeptides in the present invention . the term “ dicarboxylic acid ” is used throughout the specification to describe any molecule or compound ( such term including monomers , oligomers and polymers ) containing two carboxylic acid groups which can react with electrophilic groups or be converted to an electrophilic group such as an activated ester or acyl halide for reaction with nucleophilic groups to produce compounds according to the present invention . representative dicarboxylic acids for use in the present invention preferably include , for example , c 0 to c 24 ( more preferably , c 0 to c 12 ) dicarboxylic acids , including alkyl carboxylic acid , aryl carboxylic acid , aralkyl carboxylic acid , substituted alkyl , . substituted aryl and substituted aralkyl carboxylic acid , including succinic acid , sebacic acid , adipic acid , malic acid , oxalic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid , cooh - terminated polycaprolactone , and cooh - terminated polyesters or oligoesters . the term “ polymer ” is used to describe compositions according to the present invention . polymers according to the present invention may range in molecular weight ( average molecular weight ) from about 1 , 000 - 3 , 000 to several milliion or more and as described , include oligomers of relatively low molecular weight . the terms “ poly ( ethlyene glycol )”, “ poly ( oxyethylene )” and poly ( ethylene oxide ) are used interchangably to describe certain aspects of the present invention . these polymers , of varying weights , may be used in the b block of aca triblocks and ab diblocks and multiblocks , thereof according to the present invention as well as in chain extenders , coupling agents and crosslinking agents which may also be used in the present invention . the terms “ poly ( oxyalkylene ) containing ” and “ poly ( ethylene oxide ) containing ” and are used to describe certain polymeric chains which contain at least some amount of poly ( oxyalkylene ) or poly ( ethylene oxide ). the terms “ poly ( oxyalkylene ) rich ” and “ poly ( ethylene oxide ) rich ” are used to describe certain polymeric chains containing at least 50 % by weight ( of the total weight of the polymeric chain described ) poly ( oxyalkylene ) or poly ( ethylene oxide ). the term “ polyester ” is used to describe polyester compounds found in a blocks of ab diblocks , multiblocks , or aca triblocks or , although not present in diblocks , multiblocks or triblocks are nonenthleless present in polymeric compositions according to the present invention where the “ polyester ” is a polymeric unit which may be derived from an aliphatic hydroxy carboxylic acid or a related ester , lactone , dimeric ester , carbonate , anhydride , dioxanone or related monomer and may be preferably derived from an aliphatic hydroxy carboxylic acid or related ester , such units derived from the following : including , for example , lactic acid , lactide , caprolactone , glycolic acid , glycolide , or a related aliphatic hydroxycarboxylic acid , ester ( lactone ), dimeric acid or related compound such as , for example , β - propiolactone , ε - caprolactone , δ - glutarolactone , δvaleri ) lactone , β - butyrolactone , pivalolactone , α , α - diethylpropiolactone , ethylene carbonate , trimethylene carbonate , γ - butyrolactone , p - dioxanone , 1 , 4 - dioxepan - 2 - one , 3 - methyl - 1 , 4 - dioxane - 2 , 5 - dione , 3 , 3 ,- dimethyl - 1 - 4 - dioxane - 2 , 5 - dione , cyclic esters of α - hydroxybutyric acid , α - hydroxyvaleric acid , α - hydroxyisovaleric acid , α - hydroxycaproic acid , α - hydroxy - α - ethylbutyric acid , α - hydroxyisocaproic acid , α - hydroxy - a - methyl valeric acid , α - hydroxyheptanoic acid , α - hydroxystearic acid , α - hydroxylignoceric acid , salicylic acid and mixtures , thereof . the use of α - hydroxyacids or related hydroxy acids and their corresponding cylic dimeric esters , especially lactide , glycolide and caprolactone in the present invention , is preferred . it is noted that in using certain of the described monomers according to the present invention , the monomeric units which are produced are not specifically ester groups , but may include such groups as carbonate groups , urethane groups , anhydride groups and related groups which are derived from the above - described monomers . it will be understood that the term polyester shall encompass polymers which are derived from all of the above monomers , with those which actually produce ester units being preferred . preferably , polyesters which are used in the present invention are biodegradable and / or bioabsorbable . the term “ oligoester ” is used to describe compounds which contain at least two ester groups ( dies , ter ) to about 10 or more ester groups and are used in the present invention . oligoesters tend to be shorter ( have lower molecular weights ) and contain fewer ester groups than polyesters . the terms “ poly ( hydroxy carboxylic acid )” or “ poly ( α - hydroxy carboxylic acid )” are used to describe polyester a blocks of ab diblocks , ac ) triblocks or multiblocks , thereof used in polymeric compositions according to the present invention where a is a polymeric polyester unit derived from an aliphatic hydroxy carboxylic acid or a related ester , dimeric ester or oligoester and is preferably derived from an aliphatic α - hydroxy carboxylic acid or related ester , including a cyclic dimeric ester , such as , for example , lactic acid , lactide , glycolic acid , glycolide , or a related aliphatic hydroxycarboxylic acid or ester ( lactone ) such as , for example , ε - caprolactone , δ - glutarolactone , δ - valerolactone , γ - butyrolactone and mixtures , thereof , among numerous others as set forth herein . the use of α - hydroxyacids and their corresponding cylic dimeric esters , especially lactide and glycolide in the present invention , is preferred . the term “ diblock ” is used to describe polymeric units which comprise an a block and a b block as described in general hereinabove . ab diblocl , s according to the present invention comprise a first polyester a block [ preferably , a poly ( hydroxy carboxylic acid ) polyester ] covalently linked to a b block which is comprised of a monofunctional amine , hydroxyl or carboxyl containing monomeric or polymeric compound , in certain aspects , preferably comprising poly ( oxyalkylene ) as described above . in the present invention , diblocks may be formed , for example , by initiating a polymerization of hydroxy carboxylic acid ( or equivalent monomeric , dimeric or related building blocks ) with a hydroxyl , amine or carboxyl - terminated compound block which is end - capped ( on one end of the polymer ) with a non - reactive group ( for example , an alkyl , aryl or aralkyl group or substituted alkyl , aryl or aralkyl group , preferably , a c 1 - c 12 alkyl group or an equivalent , or a protecting group which can be removed to provide a free nucleophilic moiety at a later time ). the diblocks which are produced may then be further reacted with coupling reagents in a coupling reaction ( preferably , in which the coupling agent and diblock are reacted in a 1 : 2 molar ratio ), crosslinking agents and the like to produce polymers according to the present invention having favorable eo / la ratios for use in reducing and / or preventing adhesion or for numerous other uses . diblocks may be used in much the same way that aca triblocks are used in the present invention , i . e ., as building polymeric units of the polymers according to the present invention . the term “ di - diblock ” is used to describe compounds according to the present invention which are produced by coupling ( using a coupling agent ) iwo ab diblocks pursuant to the present invention . the terms di - diblock and coupled di - blocks are used synonymously to describe the present invention . di - diblocks according to the present invention may be represented by the general structure : where w is derived from a simple diisocyanate or diacid ( or related ester , activated ester or acyl halide ), if b initiated polymerization to produce a using a hydroxyl or amine group ( the a block has a terminal hydroxyl group to perform the coupling reaction in this case ). alternatively , w may be derived from a simile diisocyanate , or a diol or diamine , if b initiated polymerization of the a block using a carboxylate ( carboxylic acid ) as the initiating group . the term “ multi - diblock ” is used to describe compounds which contain ab diblocks according to the present invention which have been linked through complex couplers to produce multiblocks according to the structure : where v is a variety of more complex “ couplers ” which could be any one or more of the following :: an isocyanate or acid terminated triblock or other molecule ( which may be monomeric , oligomeric or polymeric ), if the polymerization of the a block is initiated using a hydroxyl or amine terminated b block ( after polymerization , the a block is terminated with a hydroxyl group which can be used to perform the coupling reaction ; an isocyanate , amine or hydroxyl terminated triblock or molecule ( which may be monomeric , oligomeric or polymeric ), if the polymerization of a is initiated using a cooh - terminated b block ( after polymerization , the a block is terminated with a cooh group to perform the coupling reaction ). the term “ triblock ” is used to describe polymeric units which are used in certain embodiments to produce the polymers according to the present invention which comprise a first polyester a block covalently linked to a diol , diamine or dicarboxylic acid compound c block ( which block , in certain applications preferably includes poly ( oxyalkylene ) which is , in turn , covalently linked to a second polyester a block . triblocks according to the present invention may be terminated by hydroxyl , amine , or carboxyl moieties , but in preferred embodiments , are terminated with hydroxyl groups which can be readily covalently linked to chain extenders , crosslinking agents or other groups which contain electrophilic moieties , to produce the final polymers which are used in the present invention . it is noted that the use of the term aca to designate a trildlock , in contrast to the term ab for a diblock is done to merely distinguish between the di - functionality of the c block of the aca triblock and monofunctionality of the b block of the diblock . whereas the c block is derived from a difunctional diol , diamine or dicarboxylic acid molecule , the b block by design ( other than in cases where the b block contains for example , a blocking group or a — c ═ c — group , which may participate in additional reactions after an intermediate or polymer is first synthesized ) is monofunctional ( i . e ., is derived from a compound containing only one hydroxyl , amine or carboxylic acid moiety which participates in a reaction to initiate the polymerization of or bond to an a block ). the term “ star - like molecule ” or “ star polymer ” is used throughout the specification to refer to a type of molecule which is star - like in character . this type of compound may be made by using a tri - or higher function b block ( e . g . an oligopeptide with at least three amine groups ) such that each functional group initiates the formation of an a block . without further modification , the resulting product is a star polymer . alternatively , if ab diblocks are reacted with higher functional crosslinking agents or the formation of the a block is initiated with a tri - or polyfinctional agent , such as trimethylolpropane , the result will also be a star polymer . if we start with a polyfunctional agent , for example , polyhema , or other polyfunctional molecule such a poly acrylic acid to initiate the a block polymerization , the result would be a star or “ comb ” polymer , if the a block was simply generated . if the a blocks are coupled , the result would be crosslinked materials . the term “ non - water soluble ” or “ substantially non - water scluble ” is used to describe certain preferred aca triblocks or ab diblocks used in various forms according to the present invention . in the present invention , in forms such as viscous solutions , gels , pastes or emulsions in which the polymers are substantially water soluble , the ab diblocks , ab multiblocks or aca triblocks may be water soluble or non - water soluble . non - water soluble diblocks or triblocks according to the present invention are soluble in water up to a limit of no more than about 0 . 5 - 0 . 6 g per 100 ml of water , preferably less than about 0 . 2 g per 100 ml of water . in determining water solubility , diblocks or triblocks according to the present invention are dissolved in , agitated or mixed in water at room temperature ( i . e ., at a temperature of about 20 - 23 ° c .) for a period of two hours . it is noted that in the present invention , chain extended triblocks which are used to produce structures such as films according to the present invention are also preferably substantially non - water soluble , i . e , they are limited in water solubility to no more than about 0 . 2 mg / ml . this limitation of water solubility reflects the fact that in certain embodiments according to the present invention which relate to the anti - adhesion aspect of the present invention , substantially non - soluble triblocks or diblocks which are preferably used in the present invention comprise at least about 25 - 30 % by weight of a blocks . an amount of the a blocks in the ab diblocks or aca triblocks comprising at least about 25 - 30 % by weight generally renders the triblocks or diblocksaccording to the present invention substantially non - water soluble . it is to be noted that water solubility or the absence of water solubility of the triblocks or diblocks may depend upon the molecular weight of the material . this characteristic is advantageous in the present polymeric compositions because the length and / or size of the a block instills structural integrity and biodegradability to the final polymer , but also , by virtue of the relative hydrophobicity of the block , tends to reduce the water solubility of the ab diblock or acid triblock . consequently , polymeric compositions according to the present invention which contain a proper balance of a block or blocks to b block have a slow rate of biodegradability and consequently , a longer period of interaction with tissue to be protected from adhesion formation . in aspects according to the present invention which utilize a b block which contains ( poly ) ethylene oxide , this is reflected overall in the eo / la ratio of the polymers according to the present invention . polymers to be used in viscous solutions , dispersions and / or gels according to the present invention are preferably water soluble and / or water dispersible and may use many of the same or similar ab diblocks or aca triblocks used in polymeric structures such as films according to the present invention . in certain applications of the present invention in an anti - adhesion method , in particular , in producing a liquid version which is substantially non - water soluble , having acceptable viscosity and flow characteristics for favorable administration , the polymers are actually substantially non - water soluble . consequently , in applications such as films as well as in certain embodiments of the gel , dispersion and viscous solution applications , regardless of the way the polymers are administered , the aca triblocks or ab diblocks which are preferably used are substantially non - water soluble . in certain alternative embodiments of the gels , dispersions and viscous solutions of the present invention , especially where the polymers are to be readily water dispersible , water solubility of the ab diblocks or aca triblocks may be an advantageous characteristic , in which case , the inclusion of a blocks which comprise as little as about 1 - 5 % by weight of the ab diblock or aca triblock may be useful in the present invention . the term “ storage stable ” is used to - describe polymeric compositions according to the present invention in solid , liquid , gel or related forms . polymeric compositions which are end - capped with non - reactive groups ( i . e ., cannot further participate in a reaction ) tend to be significantly more stable than polymers which are end - capped with reactive groups , particularly hydroxyl , amine or carboxylic acid groups . in the present polymers , the non - reactive groups which cannot further participate in reactions such as transesterification or tranamidation reactions , where the polymer may change in chemical and / or physical character over time , and consequently are preferbly long - tern storage stable , i . e ., stable for a period of at least one month , preferably at least 6 months , a year or even longer , are preferred . storage stable polymer compositions according to the present invention may also more easily comply with quality control . the term “ adhesion ” is used to describe abnormal attachments between tissues or organs or between tissues and implants ( prosthetic devices ) which form after an inflammatory stimulus , most commonly surgery , and in most instances produce considerable pain and discomfort . when adhesions affect normal tissue function , they are considered a complication of surgery . these tissue linkages often occur between two surfaces of tissue during the initial phases of post - operative repair or part of the healing process . adhesions are fibrous structures that connect tissues or organs which are not normally joined . common post - operative adhesions to which the present invention is directed include , for example , intraperitoneal or intraabdominal adhesions and pelvic adhesions . the term adhesion is also used with reference to all types of surgery including , for example , musculoskeletal surgery , abdominal surgery , gynecological surgery , ophthalmic , orthopedic , central nervous system , cardiovascular and intrauterine repair . adhesions may produce bowel obstruction or intestinal loops following abdominal surgery , infertility following gynecological surgery as a result of adhesions forming between pelvic structures , restricted limb motion ( tendon i adhesions ) following musculoskeletal surgery , cardiovascular complications including impairing the normal movement of the heart following cardiac surgery , an increase in intracranial bleeding , infection and cerebrospinal fluid leakage and pain following many surgeries , especially including spinal surgery which produces low back pain , leg pain and sphincter disturbance . the term “ eo / la ratio ” is used to describe the relative amount of poly ( ethylene oxide ) or poly ( ethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propylene oxide ) and ester units ( such term including monomeric units which are not technically ester units , as described in greater detail herein but preferably , are hydroxy carboxylic acid units , even more preferably , α - hydroxy carboxylic acid units and most preferably , lactic acid units ) which are used in ab diblock or aca triblock copolymers and chain - extended or coupled polymers according to the present invention . this term refers to the length ( number of monomeric units ) of the b or c block [ preferably , poly ( ethylene oxide ), the monomeric units being ethylene oxide units ] divided by the total number of hydroxy acid ( ester ) units in both a blocks ( preferably , lactic acid ) of the aca triblock or in the a block of the ab diblock as described hereinabove . polymers comprised of ab diblocks or aca triblocks which contain significant ( poly ) ethylene oxide ( in b or c blocks or in other components of the present composition ) which are chain extended pursuant to the present invention are also described in terms of an eo / la ratio . the eo / la ratio for preferred polymers for use in the anti - adhesion aspect according to the present invention generally ranges from about 0 . 1 to about 100 or more , preferably ranges from about 0 . 5 to about 30 or more , more preferably from about 0 . 5 to about 10 . 0 , more preferably about 1 . 0 to about 5 . 0 , more preferably about 1 . 5 to about 4 . 5 , even more preferably about 2 . 5 to about 3 . 5 and most preferably about 3 . 0 . in certain instances , the eo / la ratio may fall outside of these ranges , depending upon the final characteristics of the polymers which are desired and the application for which the polymer is used . in the case of polymeric films to be utilized in anti - adhesion aspects according to the present invention , the eo / la ratio preferably ranges from about 0 . 1 to about 25 or more , more preferably about 0 . 5 to about 10 , even more preferably about 1 . 0 to 5 . 0 , even more preferably about 1 . 5 to about 4 . 5 and even more preferably about 2 . 5 to 3 . 5 , with about 3 . 0 within this range being particularly preferred . in the case of viscous solutions , dispersions and / or gels which are utilized in the anti - adhesion aspect , the polymers may contain eo / la ratios which range up to 30 or more . it is noted that in the case where a hydrophobic unit is used in the b or c block ( for example a propylene oxide unit or higher alkylene oxide unit , this unit is considered as being a component in the denominator ( la ) of the eo / la ratio . the term “ prepolymerized ” is used to describe the polymers according to the present invention which have been completely reacted before being introduced or administered in an application , for example , to a patient to be treated . prepolymerized polymers according to the present invention stand in contrast to polymers which may be polymerized _situ , i . e ., at the site of administration in the patient . i ? repolymerized polymers of the present invention are utilized to create both preformed strucrtiires , e . g ., compositions having three - dimensional structure such as films , cylinders , spheres , rods , blocks , tubes , beads , foam or rings , etc . and related structures , and non - preformed compositions such as sprays , gels , liquid polymers , pastes , viscous solutions and dispersions , among others . the term “ crosslinked ” or “ crosslinker ” is used to describe agents which covalently bond the aca triblocks or ab diblocks to other triblocks , diblocks or other moieties in the present polymers . as used herein , a crosslinker refeirs to a chemical compound which contains at least three ( 3 ) reactive moieties , for example , nucleophilic and / or electrophilic moieties , or moieties such as double - bonds , which can react through a radical initiated mechanism . in preferred embodiments , crosslinking agents according to the present invention have at least three of the same type of moieties , for example nucleophilic , electrophilic or radical - initiated moieties in order to facilitate the reaction of the crosslinker with triblocks and diblocks according to the present invention . in many respects , crosslinking agents are related to chain - extending agents in the present invention except that chain - extending agents contain only two reactive moieties , whereas crosslinking agents contain at least three reactive moieties . exemplary crosslinking agents which can be used in the present invention include those which contain at least three isocyanate moieties , for example , isocyanurate , among numerous others , or a mixture of reactive moieties , such as carboxylic acid and hydroxylic groups ( an example being citric acid or tartaric acid , among numerous others ) and amine groups . one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to readily determine the type and amount of crosslinking agent which may be used in the present invention in order to facilitate the therapeutic method according to fie present invention and the delivery of the polymers to a treatment site in a patient . in the present invention , reaction of an ab diblock with a crosslinking agent may produce a star molecule or , in other instances , different structures such as a comb polymer , for example , but not a crosslinked system per se . inasmuch as the ab diblock will generally contain only one reactive moiety per molecule ( except in the case where one of the two blocks contains a blocking group which may be removed and then reacted subsequent to the initial formation of the ab diblock ), the use of crosslinkers will produce predetermined structures such as star or comb molecules . the inclusion or incorporation of an additional moiety in the diblock to which a crosslinking agent can react will generate a more elaborate crosslinked system akin to that produced with the aca triblocks of the present invention . the term “ non - crosslinked ”, “ substantially non - crosslinked ”, “ crosslinked ” or “ substantially crosslinked ” are used to describe the polymers according to the present invention which exhibit or display a substantial absence of crossliniking or , in other embodiments , substantial crosslinking . polymers according to the present invention are advantageously associated with substantial post - surgical adhesion prevention or reduction as well as numerous other applications . in certain embodiments , the present polymers actually prevent adhesions . polymers according to the present invention which are considered substantially non - crosslinked preferably contain less than about 1 . 0 % crosslinking , more preferably less than about 0 . 5 % by weight crosslinking , even more preferably less than about 0 . 1 % by weight crosslinking , most preferably less than about 0 . 05 % by weight crosslinking are advantageously employed in the present invention . as used herein , reference to 1 . 0 %, 0 . 5 %, 0 . 1 % etc . crosslinking refers to the amount by weight of a crosslinker which may be found in the polymers of the present invention . in other embodiments , polymers may be crosslinked , i . e ., they may contain substantially more crosslinking agent than 1 . 0 % by weight crosslinking agent . the polymeric compositions according to the present invention may be chain - extended or coupled rather than crosslinked , but may be crosslinked in addition to being chain extended or coupled . it is also possible to produce crosslinked , non - chain extended polymers according to the present invention , but these polymers , if used in anti - adhesion aspects of the present invention , are preferably crosslinked with more hydrophilic chain extenders in order to maintain a favorable eo / la ratio . in certain preferred embodiments , the polymers may be both chain extended and crosslinked . in the present compositions , chain extension provides the type of structural integrity and uniformity associated with the exceptional performance of the polymers of the present invention as anti - adhesion barriers . while not being limited by way of theory , it is believed that chain extension alone or in combination with crosslinking , in contrast to mere crosslinking with hydrophobic chain extenders without chain extension , allows a degree of mobility and flexibility of the hydrophilic b block which is consistent with anti - adhesion activity . in the anti - adhesion aspect of the present invention , the polymeric compositions according to the present invention provide an environment in which the a blocks ( of the aca triblock or ab diblock ) will form hydrophobic , and often partially crystalline , hard microphases of high structural integrity and the b or c blocks will form hydrophilic , flexible phases , which are believed to be primarily responsible for good anti - adhesion activity . the formation of this microstructure , which is believed to be associated with polymeric compositions according to this invention and in particular , the flexibility of the peg b or c blocks where used , produces excellent barriers for the reduction or prevention of post - surgical adhesions . hydrophobic crosslinking of the triblocks according to the present invention without chain - extension ( in contrast to hydrophilic crosslinking which may be used advantageously ) not only limits molecular mobility , of special importance being its effect on the peg segments , but also hampers or in certain instances , is believed to prevent microphase segregation from taking place . these two phenomena are believed to be associated with the production of less successful anti - adhesion barriers . in certain polymers according to the present invention which are used in the anti - adhesion aspect according to the present invention , crosslinking , especially if crosslinking density is high , prevents or at least substantially limits phase separation and to a greater extent , crystallization . in the present invention , the limitation of phase separation and crystallization will depend on the crosslinking density which is a function not only of the number of trimers which are crosslinked to those which are chain exctended , but also on the molecular weight of the diblock or triblock and mw weight of its different components . in addition , the degree to which crosslinking will limit phase separation ( and also crystallization ) will depend on the molecular weight and flexibility of the crosslinker . clearly , the shorter the crosslinker , the greater the decrease in molecular mobility and therefore , phase separation . the effect of the crosslinker being hydrophobic or hydrophilic on phase separation and molecular or segmental mobility is two - fold : a ) hydration wil render the crosslinker more flexible and b ) if the crosslinker is crystalline , its crystallinity will be destroyed by hydration . one is therefore , not limited to relatively low molecular weights of the crosslinker where , due to perturbations of the short chain , the polymer is unable to crystallize . the term “ coupler ” is used to describe a difinctional compound which couples two ab diblocks together to produce coupled di - diblocks or multi - blocks according to the present invention . couplers and chain - extenders are similar compounds , but a coupler is a difunctional compound which couples two diblocks together , whereas a chain - extender is used to extend the aca triblocks into very high molecular weight polymeric chains . as used in the present invention , the ab diblocks or aca triblocks used in the present polymers are preferably chain extended or coupled . the chain extenders or couplers which are used are difunctional compounds ( nucleophilic or electroplhilic ) which react with the end - cap reactive group of the diblocks or triblocks to produce di - diblocks , multiblocks or chain extended triblocks according to the present invention . electrophilic couplers include , for example , diisocyanates , diacids , diesters , active diesters and acyl halides ( all of which may be derived from dicarboxylic acids ), among others , and nucleophilic couplers , which may include diols , diamines ( as otherwise described herein ) and hydroxyl amines . electrophilic couplers are useful for coupling hydroxyl or amine - capped diblocks or triblocks , the resulting products containing urethane groups , urea groups ( from the diisocyanate ) and ester groups or amide groups ( from the diacids , diesters , or related coupling agents ). in addition , diisocyanates are useful for coupling or chain - extending diblocks or triblocks which are capped with carboxylic groups , such coupling reaction resulting in the formation of an amide group . nucleophilic couplers such as diols and diamine are useful for coupling diblocks or triblocks which are end - capped with carboxyl groups , the resulting products containing ester groups or amide groups . couplers may be simple , e . g ., a simple monomeric compound containing two functional groups , or complex , e . g ., containing oligomeric or polymeric moieties such as polyesters or polyethers , or may be based upon the reaction of a number of coupling agents to such as diols or diamines and diisocyanates or diacids , etc . to produce complex coupling agents . in the present invention , the amount of coupling agent or chain extender which is included within the polymers according to the present invention may vary . in the case of polymers which incorporate an aca trimer , the molar ratio of chain extender or coupler to aca triblock in the present polymers varies from about 1 . 25 to aboiit 2 . : 1 , more preferably about 1 . 5 : 1 to about 2 : 1 , most preferbly about 2 : 1 . in the case of ab diblocks , the coupler is used preferably in a molar ratio of about 2 : 1 ( ab diblock to coupler ) in order that virtually all or nearly all of the functional groups on the end of the diblock are reacted with coupling agent . in the case of diblocks , the preferred molar ratio of co upling agent to ab diblock varies from about 0 . 25 to about 1 . 0 , with a more preferred ratio of about 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 . when used with diblocks , the couplers form a di - diblock . it is noted that in synthesizing the present chain - extended polymers , the amount of chain extender which is reacted with ab diblock or aca triblock to produce compositions according to the present invention is generally slightly higher than the amount which is expected to be included in the final synthesized polymers . chain extenders or couplers which are used in the present invention , preferably contain no more than about 1 % by weight of a crosslinking compound ( such term signifying a compound containing at least 3 functional groups which can react with the end - cap group of the triblock and which generally appear in a chain extender sample as a side product of the synthesis or production of the chain extender ), more preferably , less than about 0 . 5 % by weight of a trifinctional compound and even more preferably less than 0 . 1 % by weight . in certain embodiments , it is preferable to employ a difunctional chain extender which contains as little trifunctional ( or higher functionality ) compound as is practical . also , the occurrence of side reactions which would lead to crosslinking of the polymers is negligible , due to both compositional as well as experimental parameters of the synthesis of the polymers of the present invention . of course , in certain embodiments which separately employ crosslinking agents ( either alone or in addition to chain extenders ), the inclusion of weight percentages of crosslinking agents outside of the above - described weight ranges is within the scope of the present invention . in the case of polymers which are used in structures such as films , the chain extenders are preferably non - water soluble . in the case of polymers which are used in systems such as water soluble gels , dispersions or viscous solutions , the chain - extenders are preferably highly water soluble . preferred water soluble chain - extenders include , for example , polyethylene glycol diisocyanates or poly ( ethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propylene oxide ) copolymer diisocyanates , with the polyethylene glycol or poly ( ethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propylene oxide ) copolymer chain ranging in molecular weight 1from about 200 to about 20 , 000 or more with a preferred molecular weight ranging from about 600 to about 15 , 000 , even more preferably about 600 to about 10 , 000 . in cases where the preferred embodiment is a non - water soluble polymer in a liquid form , the chain extenders may also be substantially non - water soluble . the role of the chain extenders in the gels and / or viscous solutions according to the present invention is to promote the water solubility / dispersibility of the polymers and affect their viscosity in an effort to provide polymers which are readily deliverable to a site in a patient &# 39 ; s body and also to fine tune the kinetics of degradation , the dilution and / or the solubilization of these polymers , to obtain optimal residence time and enhance the performance of the polymer as a barrier between tissue planes . as an advantageous feature of the present invention , certain preferred polymers of the present invention are employed in the present invention to substantially reduce or prevent adhesions . while not being limited by way of theory it is believed that the polymers according to the present invention which have a favorable eo / la ratio allow greater mobility of polyoxyalkylene blocks ( and in particular , polyethylene oxide blocks ) within the ab diblock or aca triblocks used in the present invention , a condition which is believed to at least partially explain the favorable results obtained by the present polymers in substantially reducing or preventing adhesions . chain extended polymers according to the present invention are more likely to enhance phase separation of the distinct a and b blocks which comprise the triblocks , a condition which is associated with the superior performance of the polymers of this invention as anti - adhesion barriers . it is preferred that the polymers of the present invention should be chain extended and substantially non - crosslinked , or chain extended and crosslinked while maintaining a favorable eo / la ratio of the entire polymer as well as preserving flexibility and segmental mobility , as much as possible . polymers which are simply crosslinked ( without chain extension ) are also useful in the present invention , provided that the crosslinking agent is substantially hydrophilic in composition and allows the retention of the required degree of flexibility and segmental mobility ,. the term “ integral ” is used to describe polymers according to the present invention which are substantially non - permeable to mesenchymal cells , platelets , blood cells and other cells which are involved in the biology of adhesion formation . integral polymers preclude cells which are involved in the adhesion process from crossing the polymer barrier and initiating the adhesion process . integral polymers also exhibit favorable physical characteristics and mechanical properties consistent with substantially reducing or eliminating adhesions . the term “ coupled ” or “ chain - extended ” is used to describe polymers according to the present invention wherein the basic diblock or triblock is reacted with a difunctional ( preferably , containing two electrophilic groups such as isocyanates , activated esters and acyl halides , among others , but also possibly containing two nucleophilic groups such as alcohols , amines and carboxylates ) chain extender to increase the molecular weight of the present polymers . preferred chain extenders or couplers for use in the present invention include , for example , diisocyanates , activated esters or acyl halides , but may include diols , diamines , dicarboxylates and hydroxylamines , among others . in certain preferred embodiments , especially in the form of films , the present polymers may be substantially non - crosslinked and are instead , chain - extended to provide sufficiently high molecular weight polymer chains to enhance the strength and integrity of the final polymer film compositions as well as affecting the rate of degradation . it is noted that chain extension of the polymers provides adequate stength and integrity of the final films and other structures , yet allows a degree of motility of the individual polyoxyalkylene b blocks within the aca triblock or ab diblock in order to maximize the adhesion inhibiting characteristics of the films . in contrast , hydrophobically crosslinked polymers which are not chain extended , provide a more rigid structure which may limit movement of the individual polymeric blocks . preferred chain extenders or couplers for use in the present invention include diisocyanates of the general formula : where r ′ is a c 2 to c 12 , preferably a c 2 to c 8 alkylene group , a cycloalkyl or cycloalkyl - containing group , an aryl or aryl - containing group , 4 , 4 ′- diphenylmethane , toluene , naphthalene , 4 , 4 ′- dicyclohexylmethane , cyclohexyl , 3 , 3 ′- dimethylphenyl , 3 , 3 ′- dimethyl - diphenylmethane , 4 , 6 ′- xylylene , 3 , 5 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexyl , 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethylhexamethylene or p - phenylene . equivalents of diisocyanates may also be used as chain extenders in the present invention . addtional chain extenders may include macrodiisocyanates including isocyanate terminated poly ( oxyalkylene ) including isocyanate terminated polymers comprising poly ( ethylene oxide ) and polyethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propylene oxide ), among others . additional preferred chain extenders for use in the present invention include , for example , those according to the formula : where r ″ is a co to c 12 , preferably a c 2 to c 8 , alkylene group or a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid substituted alkylene group , alkene , a cycloalkyl , hydroxyl or carboxylic acid - containing cycloalkyl or cycloalkyl - containing group , an aryl or aryl - containing group or a polyoxyalkylene chain comprised of poly ( ethylene oxide ), poly ( ethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propylene oxide ) or other poly ( ethylene oxide ) rich chains and l is hydroxyl , a halide such as c1 , i or br or an ester group which can be prepared from a hydroxyl group such as an alkyl , phenyl , benzyl or substituted alkyl , phenyl or benzyl group , including activated ester groups such as a tosyl group , mesyl group or related activating groups . may be derived from numerous di - and tricarboxylic acids including , for example , citric acid , malic acid and tartaric acid , among numerous others such as oxalic acid , malonic acid , succinic acid , 2 , 3 - dimethylsuccinic acid , glutaric acid , 3 , 3 - dimethylglutaric acid , 3 , 3 - dimethylglutaric acid , 3 - methyladipic acid , adipic acid , pimelic acid , suberic acid , azelaic acid , sebacic acid , 1 , 9 - nonanedicarboxylic acid , 1 , 10 - decanedicarboxylic acid , 1 , 1 - undecanedicarboxylic acid , 1 , 12 - dodecanedicarboxylic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid , diglycolic acid , hydromuconic acid , among others , including equivalents of these acids . these di - and tricarboxylic acids may be used to chain extend or couple the ab diblocks or aca triblocks under controlled conditions so that crosslinking is substantially prevented . alternatively , the use of the tricarboxylic acids may result in substantial crosslinking in certain aspects of the present invention . in the case of using dicarboxylic acids containing additional carboxylic acid groups and / or other polar groups such as hydroxyl groups , as in the case of citric acid or malic acid , among others , these will tend to enhance the water solubility of the final polymeric compositions . the term “ biodegradable ” relates to the characteristic whereby a polymer will degrade . preferred polymers according to present invention are biodegradable . preferred polymers according to the present invention which are utilized in vivo readily degrade in vivo and breakdown readily into monomeric units such as hydroxy acids . in the case of the use of peg chains ( b or c blocks ) with polymers which are utilized within the body , although these chains are not biodegradable , they are readily excreted by the patient upon degradation of the a block . the degradation of the present polymers mainly takes place through the hydrolysis of reactive bonds in the a block , such as aliphatic esters . the hydrolysis reaction is generally dependent upon ph . the rate constant for hydrolysis tends to be much higher at high ph ( greater than 9 . 0 ) and low ph ( less than 3 . 0 ) than at neutral ph ( 6 . 0 to 8 . 0 ). the rate constant for hydrolysis tends to be higher under basic conditions than under acidic conditions . the a blocks of the diblocks and triblocks of the present polymers tend to be biodegradable , whereas the b or c blocks of the triblocks , diblocks and chain extenders tend not to be biodegradable . in the case of water - soluble chain extenders and crosslinking agents which are preferably utilized in gels and viscous solutions according to the present invention , these chain extenders and crosslinking agents , which generally are highly water soluble , tend not to be biodegradable . in addition , when using polymers containing a blocks derived from α - hydroxy acids , the polymeric a blocks will degrade to individual α - hydroxy acids which are biosynthetically useful and may be involved in the patient &# 39 ; s “ biochemistry ”. in contrast , however , although the poly ( oxyalkylene ) polymeric b or c blocks are biocompatible , they are neither biodegradable nor bioabsorbable . thus , in using the polymers according to the present invention it is recognized that the poly ( oxyalkylene ) blocks will remain as polymeric units in vivo until such time as the blocks are excreted . consequently , the choice of an upper molecular weight range of the polyoxyalkylene block in the polymers according to the present invention which are to be used in vivo will very much depend on the ability of the body to excrete or otherwise rid the body of the material . the term “ strength ”, “ mechanical strength ” or “ sufficient suture - holding ablity ” describes favorable mechanical and / or physical characteristics of the present polymers and reflects the fact that preferred polymers for use in the present invention ( generally , as films ) having a mechanical strength which is sufficient to allow a suture to be used to anchor the polymer to a tissue site without appreciable tearing or ripping of the film . these preferred polymers according to the present invention have an ultimate tensile strength value preferably within the range of about 5 - 35 mpa and elongation at break values generally within the range of about 400 - 2000 %. the term “ flexible ” is used with respect to a physical description of the polymers of the present invention to reflect the fact that the present polymers are essentially non - rigid and non - brittle , and generally display an elastomeric behavior and tend to be conformable to a tissue surface to be treated . that is , the present polymers contain sufficient flexibility and are pliable enough to substantially conform to the cortours of the tissue surfaces to be treated . thus , polymeric compositions according to the present invention have a young &# 39 ; s modulus preferably within the range of about 50 - 150 mpa . the term “ homogeneous ” is used to describe preferred polymers according to the present invention . the term homogeneous is associated with the inclusion in the final polymer compositions of a population of diblocks and triblocks which are generally of the same size and preferably have a polydispersity of between about 1 . 0 and 2 . 0 , more preferably about 1 . 1 to about 1 . 5 and even more preferably about 1 . 1 to about 1 . 2 . homogeneous triblocks and diblocks are associated with reproducible mechanical and physical characteristics and favorably consistent biodegradability . the term “ structure ” is used to describe polymers according to the present invention which have form , size and dimensions which are established outside the body and will not significantly change upon being placed inside the body of the patient to be treated . the term structure embraces not only flat surfaced structures ( i . e ., films ) in the traditional manner , but also cylinders , tubes and other three dimensional structures which are not substantially changed by the anatomy of the patient into which the structure has been placed . the term “ gels ” is used to describe dispersions or suspensions of polymer which have been formed by dissolving , suspending or dispersing polymer in an aqueous solution for delivery to a site within the patient &# 39 ; s body in order to prevent adhesions . gels of the present invention typically contain polymer in a sterile aqueous solution ( such solution comprising saline solution , sterile water or a water / ethanol mixture ) at a viscosity ranging from about 100 to about 150 , 000 or more , preferably about 500 centipoise units up to about 50 , 000 centipoise units or more . more preferably , the gels are delivered in sterile , isotonic saline solution at a viscosity ranging from about 2000 centipoise units up to about 30 , 000 centipoise units depending upon the application . in certain aspects according to the present invention , liquid polymeric compositions comprising non - water soluble polymers may also be used . gels according to the present invention may be used in numerous applications to reduce or prevent adhesions , but preferably are employed to reduce or prevent adhesions following general surgical procedures and related surgeries which are minimally invasive . gels may utilize non - water soluble aca triblocks which are chain extended with water - soluble or hydrophilic chain extenders in order to render the overall polymeric composition water dispersible or water soluble . ab diblocks may also be used in this gel aspect according to the present invention without limitation . certain phases within the gel polymer compositions will be advantageously non - water soluble in order to promote the structural integrity and reduce the overall rate of biodegradability of the gel formulations in the body . the term “ viscous solution or suspension ” is used to describe free - flowing solutions or suspensions of polymers according to the present invention wherein the solution has a viscosity which is greater than about 1 centipoise unit and less than about 60 , 000 or more centipoise units , more preferably about 1000 centipoise units to about 40 , 000 centipoise units or more , even more preferably about 2 , 000 centipoise units to about 20 , 000 centipoise units and above within this range . viscous solutions or suspensions , of polymers according tso the present invention at viscosities approaching the high end of the range of viscosities may be indistinguishable from gels at the low end of a viscosity range . the present invention also contemplates liquid polymeric compositions having appropriate viscosity and flow characteristics and their use to reduce and / or prevent adhesions . in the anti - adhesion aspect of the present invention , the ab diblock or aca triblock is a unit which is preferably comprised of ester units derived from a variety of monomers as described hereinabove and preferably comprises poly ( hydroxy acid ) polymers in the a block and poly ( oxyalkyelene ) polymers in the b or c block . the a block is however , substantially biodegradable and ranges in size from one monomeric unit up to about 400 or more monomeric units , with a preferred size ranging from about 4 to about 50 units , more preferably about 6 to about 30 units , even more preferably about 8 to 16 units . in this aspect of the present invention , the a block preferably is derived from an alpha - hydroxy acid or a related ester or lactone which produces monomer units of alpha - hydroxy acid within the polymeric chain as will be described in greater detail below . more preferably , the a block is derived from units of glycolic acid , lactic acid or mixtures thereof , in the form of glycolide or lactide reactants ( dimeric α - hydroxy acids as explained in greater detail hereinbelow ). in this anti - adhesion aspect of the present invention , the b or c block preferably comprises poly ( ethylene oxide ) or poly ( ethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propyleneoxide ) block copolymers . in certain aspects of the present invention , for example , where a polymer comprises a sufficient weight percent of poly ( ethylene oxide ) units in chain extenders and / or crosslinking agents to instill the overall polymer with a favorable eo / la ratio , the b or c block may be hydrophobic or hydrophilic and derived from , for example , diols , diamines and dicarboxylic acids , among other equivalent compounds . in certain preferred aspects according to the present invention , for example , where the polymer is used in an anti - adhesion application in vivo , examples of diol , diamine and dicarboxylic acid compounds which may be used in the present invention include , for example , oh - terminated diol molecules such as ethylene glycol , butanediol ( generally a c 2 to c 12 unsubstituted or substituted , saturated or unsatured , preferably a saturated , linear diol ), oh - terminated polycaprolactone chains ranging in molecular weight from several hundred up to several thousand or more ( 4 , 000 +), polypropylene glycol ) also ranging in molecular weight from several hundred to several thousand or more ( 4000 +), oh - terminated polyesters or oligoesters such as oh - terninated poly ( ethylene succinate ) or pcoly ( hexamethyleneadipate ) or polyfimctional diols such as tartaric acid ( containing two oh groups which are reactive with isocyanates and two carboxylic acid groups , which , in carboxylate form , will function to enhance the overall hydrophilicity of the composition and can serve to provide a material with ph dependent water solubility ). additional examples of such compounds include amine - containing compounds ( preferably , a c 2 to c 12 diamine ) such as ethylene diamine , hexamethylene diamine , amino acids , such as lysine ( where two amine groups react leaving an unreacted carboxylic acid group ) and oligopeptides ( such term including compounds containig from one to 100 peptide units ) with two reactive amino groups , among numerous others . examples of difunctional carboxylic acid - containing compounds include , for example any c 2 to c 24 , preferably a c 2 to c 12 , saturated or unsaturated dicarboxylic acid , including succinic acid , sebacic acid , among numerous others , including adipic acid , succinic acid , malic acid , or fumaric acid , maleic acid , cooh - terminated polycaprolactone , cooh - terminated polyesters or oligoesters such as cooh - terminated poly ( ethylene succinate ) or poly ( hexamethylene adipate ). additional examples of such compounds include , for example , c ═ c containing groups such as fumaric acid ( trans ) and mraleic acid ( cis ), among others which react with the diisocyanates via their cooh groups which leave unreacted double bonds available for fiuther derivation by different mechanisms . indeed , a large number of molecules are able to start the polymerization step including polyaminoacids , saccharides , etc . one example may be a polymer where lactide dimer ( ld ) is not started by a peg chain , but rather by butane diol . a pentamer will be formed with hdi and chain - extended using , for example , peg 6000 . alternatively , one can generate the hdi - peg6000 - hdi macrodiisocyanate and react such a molecule with , for example , ( la )- bd -( la ) 4 triblock to produce the material -( hdi )-( la )- bd -( la ) 4 - hdi - peg6000 -. a huge number of alternative embodiments are contemplated by the present invention . when such compounds are used to make ab diblocks , the difunctional diol , diamine or dicarboxylic acid compounds may be terminated with an unreactive or blocking group at one end of the compound , or , alternatively , the compound may simply be end - capped with an unreactive group such as an alkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl , aralkyl or related group including a substituted alkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl or aralkyl group . in such a case where a blocking group is used , the blocking group may be “ deblocked ” thus producing an ab diblock which has reactive groups at the terminal end of the a block and at theterminal end of the b block . alternatively and preferably , where the b block is simply end - capped with an unreactive , inert group , the resulting ab diblock will have but one functional group at the terminal end of the a block , which is chain - extended , coupled or crosslinked to multi - diblocks according to the present invention . the b or c block may vary in size from about 100 da ( dalton units ) up to about 200 , 000 da or higher , with a preferred range of about 1 , 000 da up to about 20 , 000 da . most preferably , the b block is a poly ( ethylene oxide ) ranging in size from about 3 , 000 to about 10 , 000 da . it is unexpectedly found that the poly ( ethyleneoxide ) b ( or c ) block provides the greatest inhibition or reduction in adhesion in the present invention . the ab diblock or aca triblock is preferably end - capped with nucleophilic moieties such as hydroxyl or amine groups . alternatively , these diblocks and triblocks may be end - capped with carboxyl groups as well . with the preferred nucleophilic end - capping groups in place , the ab diblock or aca triblock may be readily coupled or chain extended using difunctional electrophilic compounds such as diisocyanate or dicarboxylic acid compounds ( or derivatives of dicarboxylic acids such as esters or diacyl halides ). more preferably , the diblocks and triblocks are end - capped with hydroxyl groups and coupled or chain extended with diisocyanate compounds in order to produce the preferred polymers according to the present invention . in one aspect , therefore , the present invention relates to a method of substantially reducing or preventing tissue adhesions in patients comprising exposing damaged tissue in a patient to a polymeric composition in a structure such as a film , gel , dispersion , liquid polymer , spray or viscous solution form comprising a multiblock polymer according to the present invention . structures such as films which incorporate the polymers according to the present invention are preferably characterized by their favorable flexibility , mechanical strength and suture - holding ability as well as being substantially non - water soluble , chain extended , integral and biodegradable . other structures used in the present invention , as well as gels &# 39 ; viscous solutions and emulsions , incertain aspects , may be preferably water soluble . in all aspects according to the present invention , certain embodiments may be substantially non - water soluble or water soluble , depending upon a variety of factors which may be influenced by treatment and / or delivery of the present compositions to a site of activity . preferably , the molecular weight of triblocks , diblocks and polymers used in the present invention are relatively homogeneous which provides for advantageous characteristics in films and related structures , gels , dispersions , sprays , liquid polymers and solutions / emulsions . in various materials according to the present invention which are included in preformed and non - preformed materials such as films , viscous solutions , suspensions and gels , among others , the polymers may comprise aca triblocks or ab diblocks as disclosed hereinabove , which may be chain extended , coupled and / or crosslirlked using a highly water soluble / water dispersible chain extender or crosslinking agent . although in many preferred embodiments the b ( or c ) block of the aca triblock or ab diblock is hydrophilic and will have a high degree of compatability with water , thus allowing certain of the polymeric films according to the present invention to absorb large quantities of water or dissolve in water , it is the hydrophilic chain extender or coupler used in various polymers according to the present invention which utilize hydrophobic and hydrophilic b blocks , which allows delivery of these polymer compositions in aqueous solutions . although in certain aspects of the present invention the aca triblocks and ab diblocks are preferably non - water soluble ( especially , for example , in the case of films and in other aspects of the present invention ), in a number of aspects of the present invention including films , or other preformed structures , and in viscous solutions , gels , dispersions and sprays , the use of aca triblocks and ab diblocks which are substantially water soluble may be advantageous . one of ordinary skill will readily know how to modify the polymers according to the present teachings in an effort to adjust the formulations to maximize delivery within a particular treatment context . in the present application , the following chain extenders or coupinig agents find use in preparing pre - polymerized , non - preformed polymers such as gels and viscous solutions having desirable characteristics for reducing or preventing post - operative adhesion : where r ′ is a c 2 to c 12 , preferably a c 2 to c 8 alkylene group , a cycloalkyl or cycloalkyl - containing group , an aryl or aryl - containing group , 4 , 4 ′- diphenylmei ,, hane , toluene , naphthalene , 4 , 4 ′- dicyclohexylmethane , cyclohexyl , 3 , 3 ′- dimethylphenyl , 3 , 3 ′- dimethyl - diphenylmethane , 4 , 6 ′- xylylene , 3 , 5 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexyl , 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethylhexamethylene or p - phenylene . equivalents of diisocyanates may also be used as chain extenders in the present invention . preferred chain extenders may include water soluble macrodiisocyanates including isocyanate terminated poly ( oxyalkylene ) diisocyanates or isocyanate - terminated polymers comprising poly ( ethylene oxide ), polyethylene oxide )- co - poly ( prop , ylene oxide ) and poly ( ethylene oxide ) containing and poly ( ethylene oxide ) rich schains , which may be water - soluble or non - water soluble , among others . additional preferred chain extenders for use in the present invention include , example those according to the formula : where r ″ is a c 0 to c 12 , preferably a c 2 to c 8 alkylene group or a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid substituted alkylene group , alkene , a cycloalkyl , hydroxyl or carboxylic acid containing cycloalkyl or cycloalkyl - containing group , an aryl or aryl - containing group or a poly ( oxyalkylene ) chain comprised of poly ( ethylene oxide ), poly ( ethylene oxide )- co - poly ( propylene oxide ) or other poly ( ethylene oxide ) containing or poly ( ethylene oxide ) rich chains [ i . e ., where poly ( ethylene oxide ) is included in an amount ranging from at least about 50 % by weight of the polymeric chain and ] l is hydroxyl , a halide such as cl , i or br or an ester group which can be prepared from a hydroxyl group such as an alkyl , phenyl , benzyl or substituted alkyl , phenyl or benzyl group , include activated ester groups such as a tosyl group , mesyl group or related activated groups . it is noted that diacids according to this aspect of the present invention may also find use as c blocks in certain aca triblocks and ab diblocks according to the present invention . it is noted that in choosing aca triblocks or ab diblocks for formulating viscous solutions and gels according to the present invention , care must be given to providing a good balance of strength / structural integrity and biodegradability from the a block , hydrophilicity / anti - adhesion activity from the c block and further hydrophilicity in the form of water solubility / water dispersibility from the chain extender , ccupling agent and / or crosslinking agent , where such agent is used . notwithstanding certain of the embodiments previously discussed , in the present invention , non - water soluble iriblocks or diblocks such as are utilized in film applications according to the present invention also may be advantageously employed in viscous solution / gel applications . the above - described chemical formulas provide insight into the chain extended and crosslinked polymers which are used in the present invention . in the case of polymers which are preferably used in non - preformed polymers such as gels , dispersions , sprays and / or viscous solutions according to the present invention , the ultimate polymeric composition is preferably water soluble / dispersible and the polymers are preferably chain extended or crosslinked utilizing hydrophilic chain extenders or crosslinking agents , for example , diisocyanate terminated poly ( alkylene glycol ) chains comprising a central polyalkylene glycol chain such as poly ( ethylene oxide ), capped by two diisocyanate compounds , among numerous others . examples include the use of poly ( ethylene glycol ) chains with a molecular range between 200 and 20 , 000 , hexamethylene diisocyanate or a related diiisocyanate as previously described being the diisocyanate . by employing non - water soluble or water soluble aca triblocks or ab diblocks and preferably employing water soluble / dispersible chain extenders and / or crosslinking agents , polymer compositions which are used in viscous solution and gel applications provide favorable strength and structural integrity , biodegradability ( the rate of which may be influenced by the length and hydrophobicity of the a block and the overall hydrophilicity of the polymer ), flexibility and anti - adhesion activity from the peg segments in the polymer and water solubility / dispersibility from the selective chain extenders which arn used . in addition to being useful for substantially reducing , or preventing adhesions , the present polymers may also be used to deliver bioactive compositions to a site of activity within the patient &# 39 ; s body . this aspect of the present invention is secondary to the anti - adhesion characteristics of the inventive polymers . it is particularly advantageous that the present polymers may be used to deliver bioactive agents which may serve to enhance the healing of the wounds created by a surgical procedure , a disease state or other condition associated with the tissue to be treated . exemplary bioactive agents which may be delivered pursuant to the methods according to the present invention include , for example , anticoagulants , for example heparin and chondroitin sulphate , fibrinolytics such as tpa , plasmin , streptokinase , urokinase and elastase , steroidal and non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents such as hydrocortisone , dexamethasone , prednisolone , methylprednisolone , promethazine , aspirin , ibuprofen , indomethacin , ketoralac , meclofenamate , tolmetin , calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem , nifedipine , verapamil , antioxidants such as ascorbic acid , carotenes and alpha - tocopherol , allopurinol , trimetazidine , antibiotics , especially noxythiolin and other antibiotics to prevent infection , prokinetic agents to promote bowel motility , agents to prevent collagen crosslinking such as cis - hydroxyproline and d - penicillamine , and agents which prevent mast cell degranulation such as disodium chromolglycate , among numerous others . in addition to the above agents , which generally exhibit favorable pharmacological activity related to promoting wound healing , reducing infection or otherwise reducing the likelihood that an adhesion will occur , other bioactive agents may be delivered by the polymers of the present invention include , for example , amino acids , peptides , proteins , including enzymes , carbohydrates , antibiotics ( treat a specific microbial infection ), anti - cancer agents , neurotransmitters , hormones , immunological agents including antibodies , nucleic acids including antisense agents , fertility drugs , psychoactive drugs and local anesthetics , among numerous additional agents . the delivery of these agents will depend upon the pharmacological activity of the agent , the site of activity within the body and the physicochemic al characteristics of the agent to be delivered , the therapeutic index of the agent , among other factors . one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to readily adjust the physicochemical characteristics of the present polymers and the hydrophobicity / hydrophilicity of the agent to be delivered in order to produce the intended effect . in this aspect of the invention , bioaetive agents are administered in concentrations or amounts which are effective to produce an intended result . it is noted that the chemistry of polymeric composition according to the present invention can be modified to accommodate a broad range of hydrophilic and hydrophobic bioactive agents and their delivery to sites in the patient . in general , the synthesis of the present polymers proceeds by first synthesizing an ab diblock . in this general reaction , a monofunctional amine , alcohol or carboxyl containing compound is ( which preferably includes a compound containing a polyoxyalkylene group ) is preferably reacted with a hydroxyacid , its cyclic dimer or a related monomer as previously described herein , to produce the ab diblock . essentially , the monofunctional amine , alcohol or carboxyl containing compound reacts with the hydroxyacid or its cyclic dimer to produce an ab diblock which is end - capped with a hydroxyl group or other functional group ( s ) capable of reacting with a coupling agent cr crosslinking agent . once the ab diblock is formed , the hydroxyl groups at the end ( s ) of the molecule are reacted with difunctional chain extenders or couplers , ! for example , diisocyanates . this reaction produces a chain extended polymer ( e . g . a diblock or a star or comb polymer ) which is readily used to prepare films and various re lated structures , gels , dispersions , suspensions , pastes and viscous solutions of the present invention . in the case of certain polymers , these are of sufficiently low molecular weight so that they are in liquid form without the need to add additional solvent . generally , during the first stage of the reaction in which the low molecular weight ab diblock is formed , the overall molecular weight and the length of the different segments will be determined by the molecular weight of the b block chosen to initiate the reaction , by the number of moles of hydroxyacid , its cyclic dimer or related compounds used to form the a block , which is reacted with the b block . thereafter , the ab diblock is chain extended , coupled and / or crosslinked to produce polymers containing ab diblocks . in the case of the use of aca triblocks , the triblock is first synthesized utilizing a c block which is difunctional diol , diamine or dicarboxylic compound , preferably , a ( poly ) oxyalkylene diol , most preferably a ( poly ) ethylene oxide - containing diol which is preferably reacted with a hydroxyacid , its cyclic dimer or a related monomer as previously described herein , to produce the aca triblock . once the triblock is formed , it is reacted with a molar excess ( most preferably , a 2 : 1 molar ratio ) of chain - extender or coupling agent to produce an intermediate aca block which is end - capped with coupling agent having on each end a reactive group , which is further reacted with a monofunctional amine , alcohol or carboxyl containing molecule to produce an aca triblock containing pentameric polymer composition . in this reaction , essentially , the monofunctional amine , alcohol or carboxyl containing compound reacts with chain - extended or coupled aca triblock to produce the pentamer accordingly . a particularly preferred synthesis according to the present invention relies on the use of the cyclic ester or lactone of lactic acid and glycolic acid . the use of lactide or glycolide as the reactant will enhance the production of aca triblocks or ab diblocks which have relatively narrow molecular weight distributions and low polydispersity . in this preferred method , lactide or glycolide ( the cyclic dimer of lactic acid or glycolic acid , respectively ), rather than lactic acid or glycolic acid , is first used to synthesize the aca triblock or ab diblock from the starting poly ( oxyalkylene ) block . once the triblock or diblock is obtained , the hydroxyl end - capped triblock or diblock is reacted with a diisocyanate , preferably hexamethylene diisocyanate . the synthesis of the aca triblock or ab diblock preferably proceeds by way of a ring - opening mechanism , whereby the ring opening of the lactide or glycolide is initiated by the hydroxyl end groups of the diol , diamine or dicarboxyl ( preferably , peg ) chain under the influence of a catalyst such as stannous octoate . an aca type triblock or ab type diblock is generated at this point , the molecular weight of which is a finction of both the molecular weight of the central bor c block , preferably a peg chain , and the length of the polyester , preferably pla , lateral block ( s ). typically , the molecular weight of the triblock ranges from about 4 , 000 to about 30 , 000 ( but may be as low as 1 , 000 or less and as high as 250 , 000 or more ). in the case if the diblock , the molecular weight may range as low as several hundred to upwards of 50 , 000 or more . after synthesis of the aca triblock or ab diblock , the final polymer is preferably obtained by chain extending the hydroxyl terminated triblocks with difunctional reactants such as isocyanates , most preferably hexarnethylene diisocyanate . the chemical and physical properties of the different polymers will vary as a function of different parameters , the molecular weight and composition of the b ( or c ) block and a block segments along the backbone of the ab diblocks and aca triblocks being of particular importance . 1 . a rapid , nearly quantitative reaction which is complete in from 1 to 3 hours ; 2 . the reaction takes place under moderate reaction conditions ( 140 ° c .) thus minimizing side reactions ; 3 . the resulting triblock or diblock contains an extremely narrow polydispersity ( p = 1 . 3 - 1 . 4 or better ; and barrier structures ( which term includes films as well as cylinders and related three - dimensional structures ) for use in the present invention are prepared by first producing the polymer according to the present invention and then dissolving the polymer in a solvent , such as chloroform , methylene chloride or a related organic solvent . films , for example , are preferably prepared by placing the solution containing polymer in a mold or a related receptable and then allowing the solvent to evaporate . the resulting film is homogeneous and of uniform thickness and density . the film may be used as prepared or cut into segments for application to a desired site in a patient . in addition to the above - described solvent cast method , a continuous solvent cast process , a thermal cast method or related methods well known in the art may be used to make films and other structures according to the present invention . in order to prepare other three dimensional structures of polymer , such as cylinders and related shapes , these may be cast or molded using various techniques , starting with solid polymer . methods to produce these structures using these techniques are well known in the art . in order to prepare the gels , viscous solutions , pastes and dispersions according to the present invention , polymer in powder , flakes or other related form is dissolved or suspended in an aqueous solution , preferably sterile iso . onic saline solution , generally at room temperature and then mixed in the solution to produce the final gel , viscous solution or dispersion . viscosity of the system is readily adjusted by adding further polymer or aqueous solution . the gels , viscous solutions , pastes and dispersions are utilized under sterile conditions when they are applied in medical applications . while not being limited by way of theory , it is believed that the chain extended polymers of the present invention form integral layers in films , gels or viscous solutions when applied to tissue for surgical applications . the resulting integral polymers provide an excellent barrier which substantially reduces the formation of post - operative adhesions . having generally described the invention , reference is now made to the following examples intended to illustrate preferred embodiments and comparisons but which are not to be construed as limiting to the scope of this invention as more broadly set forth above and in the appended claims . the synthesis of the polymers is presented in the following examples . in general , where solvent is used , it is dried and distilled prior to use . nitrogen is used dry at all times . all other materials are dried and distilled prior to use . the synthesis consisted of two consecutive stages , namely the diblock synthesis and the consequent di - diblock formation . 80 gr . of poly ( ethylene glycol ) methyl ether of molecular weight 750 ( mpeg 750 ), was dried under vacuum at 100 + c . for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 32 . 26 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide were then added , corresponding to an la : peg molar ratio 4 : 1 , including an excess of 5 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of { fraction ( 1 / 400 )} of the amount of added lacitide , i . e . 0 . 3 gr . the reaction was carried out in a sealed flask , under a dry nitrogen - saturated atmosphere , for two hours at 145 ° c . the diblock obtained in the first step was reacted with 17 . 92 gr . of hexamethylene diisocyanate ( hdi ) ( at a molar ratio of 1 : 2 ) in a three - necked flask for 1 hour under mechanical stirring and dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 85 ° c . the material is a water - soluable viscous liquid , at room temperature . same as in example 1 , except for the use of 64 . 51 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide , corresponding to an la : peg molar ratio of 8 : 1 , and 0 . 43 gr . of catalyst , in the first stage of the synthesis . same as example 1 , except for the use of 96 . 77 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide corresponding to an la : peg molar ratio of 8 : 1 and 0 . 68 gr . of catalyst , in the first stage of the synthesis . the material is a water - insoluable viscous liquid , which does not flow at room temperature . 70 gr . of poly ( ethylene glycol ) methyl ether of molecular weight 500 ( mpeg 550 ), was dried under vacuum at 100ic for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 42 . 15 gr . of ( 1 ) lactide were then added , corresponding to an la : peg molar ratio of 4 : 1 , including an excess of 15 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ration of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 296 gr . the reaction was carried out in a sealed flask , under dry nitrogen - saturated atmosphere , for 150 min . at 150 ° c . 23 . 87 gr . of dried poly ( ethylene glycol ) of molecular weight 400 ( pieg 400 ) were reacted with 20 . 07 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , including a 10 % excess of hdi , by adding the peg 400 to the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring ( 80rpm ) at room temperature and the reaction was carried out for 10 min . under a dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 75 ° c . 100 gr . of dried diblock were added to the macrodiisocyanate , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio . catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added simultaneously at a molar ratio of 1 / 100 of the amount of the added diblock , i . e . 0 . 48 gr . the reaction took place under the same conditions as described in step 2 . thermal analysis of the material showed a glass transition temperature around - 41 ° c . the viscosity of this material was 22000 cps and 5000 cps at 22 ° c . and 3 ° c . respectively . the product exhibited a translucid , yellowish color . nmr analysis showed the average number of la units as 4 . 06 . 55 gr . of monomethyl ether - terminated poly ( ethylene glycol ) of molecular weight 550 ( mpeg 550 ), was dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 14 . 4 gr . of ( 1 ) lactide were then added , corresponding to a molar ratio la : peg of 2 : 1 , including an excess of 15 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 1 gr . the reaction was carried out in a sealed flask , under dry , nitrogen - saturated atmosphere , for 150 min . at 140 ° c . 20 gr . of dried peg 400 were reacted with 16 . 82 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , by adding the peg 400 at the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring and nitrogen atmosphere , at 70 ° c . the reaction was carried out for 4 min . 69 . 4 gr . of diblock were added to the macrodiisocyanate , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio . the reaction took place under the same condition as described in step 2 , for one hour . the product was a yellowish liquid at room temperature . 140 gr . of poly ( ethylene glycol ) methyl ether weight 550 ( mpeg 550 ), was dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 126 gr . of l lactide were then added , corresponding to an la : peg molar ratio of 6 : 1 , including an excess of 15 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 89 gr . the reaction was acrried out in a sealed flask , under a dry , nitrogen - saturated astmosphere , for 150 min . at 150 ° c . 61 gr . of dried peg 400 were reacted with 37 . 62 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , including a 10 % excess of hdi , by adding the peg 600 to the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring at 80 rpm and dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 85 ° c . the reaction was carried out for 10 min . 200 gr . of dried diblock were added to the macrodiisocyanate , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio . catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added simultaneously at a molar ratio of 1 / 100 of the amount of added diblock , i . e . 0 . 82 gr . the reaction took place under the same conditions as described in step 2 . 40 gr . of poly ( propylene glycol ) of molecular weight 1000 ( ppg 1000 ), were dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 25 . 8 gr . of ( l ) lactide were then added , corresponding to an la : peg molar ratio of 8 : 1 , including an excess of 12 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 181 gr . the reaction was carried out in a sealed flask , under a dry , nitrogen - saturated atmosphere , for 150 min . at 150 ° c . 2 . macroisocyanate formation 34 . 87 gr . of dried mpeg 550 were reacted with 11 . 2 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 1 molar ratio , by adding the mpeg 550 to the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring and dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 75 ° c . catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 100 of the amount of added diblock , i . e . 0 . 82 gr . the reaction was carried out for an hour . 50 gr . of dried diblock were added to the macroisocyanate corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio . the reaction took place under the same conditions as described in step 2 . thermal analysis of the triblock showed a glass transition temperature around − 44 ° c . and two melting endotherms at 11 ° c . and 34 ° c . the viscosity was 43000 cps at 27 ° c . the product exhibited a translucid white color . 4 . 4 gr . of poly ( ethylene glycol ) methyl ether of molecular weight 550 ( mpeg 550 ), was dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 19 . 8 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide were then added , corresponding to a molar ratio la : peg of 30 : 1 , including an excess of 15 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 12 gr . the reaction was carried out in a sealed flask , under a dry , nitrogen - saturated atmosphere , for 150 min . at 140 ° c . 5 gr . of dried polycaprolactone of molecular weight 1250 ( pcl 1250 ) were reacted with 1 . 34 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , by adding the pcl 1250 to the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring and dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 70 ° c . the reaction was carried out for 30 min . 24 . 2 gr of dried diblock were added to the macrodiisocyanate , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio . the reaction took place under the same condition as described in step 2 , for one hour . the nmr spectrum showed a 1 : 4 ratio and the product exhibited a viscosity of 40000 cps at 80 ° c . at room temperature it appeared as a hard sticky solid . 17 gr . of triblock were reacted with 6 . 26 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , including a 7 % excess of hdi , by adding the triblock to the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring and a dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 85 ° c .). the reaction was carried of for one hour . 8 . 71 gr . of dried peg 1000 were added to the reaction , corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , and reacted under the same conditions as described in step 2 . 13 . 05 gr . of dried peg750m were added to the reaction , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio , and reacted under the same conditions as described in step 2 . same as example 4 , except for the use of 4 . 73 gr . of hexanol and 40 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide , corresponding to a hexanol : lactide molar ratio of 1 : 12 and 0 . 28 gr . of catalyst in the first stage , the use of 20 gr . of pcl 4000 and 1 . 68 gr . of hdi in the second stage , to which 44 . 73 gr . of triblock were added in the third stage . same as example , except for the use of 20 gr . of mpeg 500 and 36 . 13 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide , corresponding to a hexanol : lactide molar ratio of 1 : 12 and 0 . 21 gr . of catalyst in the first stage , the use of 20 gr . of pcl 2000 and 3 . 36 gr . of hdi in the second stage , to which 56 . 13 gr . of triblock were added in the third stage . 35 gr . of peg 400 were dried as in example 1 , to which 55 . 9 gr . of ( l ) lactide were added , including an excess of 5 % 0 . 0355 gr . of catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) were added at a molar ratio of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide . reaction was carried out under the same conditions as described in example 1 . 30 . 72 gr . of dried peg 6000 were reacted with 2 . 94 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio , including a 7 % excess of hdi ), by adding the peg 6000 to the hdi in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring and nitrogen atmosphere , at 85 ° c . the reaction was carried out for an hour . 2 . 5 gr . of triblock were added to the macrodiiscoanate corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio and reacted under the same conditions as described in step 2 . 3 . 84 gr . of dried mpeg750 were added to the reaction , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio , and reacted under same conditions described in step 2 . the material is a white , crystilline , water - soluble solid at room temperature , displaying a melting endotherm at 56 ° c . the synthesis consisted of four stages as example 4 , except for the use of 41 gr . of dried peg 2000 and 7 . 38 gr . of hdi in the second stage , 10 gr . of triblock la4 - peg400 - la4 in the third stage and 15 . 38 gr . of dried peg 750m in the fourth stage . molar ratios between reagents were the same as in example 4 , absolute amounts , however , were normal zed to enable the use of 10 gr . of triblock , for convenience purposes the material is a white , crystilline , water - soluable solid at room temperature displaying a melting endotherm at 50 ° c . the synthesis consisted of four stages as in example 1 , except for the use of 40 gr . of dried peg 1000 and 14 . 38 gr . of hdi in the second stage , 19 . 52 gr . of triblock la4 - peg400 - la4 in the third stage and 30 gr . of dried peg 750m in the fourth stage . the material is a yellowish , crystilline , water - soluable solid at room temperature , displaying a melting endotherm at 43 ° c . the synthesis consisted of four stages as in example 4 , except for the use of 35 gr . of dried peg 600 and 20 . 96 gr . of hdi in the second stage , 28 . 45 gr . of triblock la4 - peg400 - la4 in the third stage and 43 . 73 gr . of dried peg 750m in the fourth stage . the material is a yellowish , water - soluable solid at room temperature , displaying a melting endotherm at 22 ° c . the synthesis consisted of four stages as in example 4 , except for the use of 24 gr . of dried peg 400 and 22 . 47 gr . of hdi in the second stage , 30 . 5 gr . of triblock la4 - peg4la4 in the third stage and 46 . 88 gr . of dried peg 750m in the fourth stage . the material is a yellowish , water - soluable solid at room temperature , displaying a melting endotherm at 19 ° c . the synthesis consisted of four stages as in example 4 , except for the use of ( d , l ) lactide for the triblock preparation , instead of ( l ) lactide . 40 gr . of poly ( propylene glycol ) of molecular weight 1000 ( ppg 1000 ), were dried under vacuum at 100 ° c . for 1 hour , under constant stirring . 25 . 8 gr . of ( d , l ) lactide were then added , corresponding to a molar ration la : peg of 8 : 1 , including excess of 12 %. catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 400 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 181 gr . the reaction was carried out in a sealed flask , under a dry , nitrogen - saturated atmosphere , for 150 min at 150 ° c . 20 gr . of dried triblock were reacted with 4 . 57 gr . of hdi ( corresponding to a 1 : 2 molar ratio ), by adding the triblock to the hdi (+ 1 ml of chloroform , used to quantitatively add the hdi and catalyst ) in a three - necked flask , under mechanical stirring and dry nitrogen atmosphere , at 75 ° c . catalyst ( stannous 2 - ethyl hexanoate ) was added at a molar ratio of 1 / 50 of the amount of added lactide , i . e . 0 . 103 gr . the reaction was carried out for 15 min . 15 . 23 gr . of dried peg 600 were addded to the macrodiisocyanate , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio . the reaction took place under the same conditions as described in step 2 . 1 . 14 gr . of hdi , corresponding to a 2 : 1 molar ratio in relation with the triblock , including an excess of 7 % were added (+ 1 ml of chloroform , used to quantitatively add the hdi and catalyst ) and reacted for an hour as described before . the material exhibited a translucid white color . the triblock showed a glass transition temperature of − 39 ° c ., the average number of la units being 5 . 2 , as determined by nmr . it is to be understood that the examples and embodiments described hereinabove are for the purposes of providing a description of thepresent invention by way of example and are not to be viewed as limiting the present invention in any way . various modifications or changes that may be made to that described hereinabove by those of ordinary skill in the art are also contemplated by the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and the following claims .	2
reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout . the present general inventive concept relates to a method , system , and computer readable storage which allows a casino to offer to player ( s ) a fig1 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention . the method can start with operation 100 , wherein five cards ( although any number of cards can be used ) are dealt to a first player face up ( where they can be viewed by all players ) from a deck of cards . from operation 100 , the method can proceed to operation 102 , wherein one or two ( or any number ) of “ switch cards ” are dealt to each player . note that the switch cards are typically dealt face down ( although in an alternative embodiment they can be dealt face up ), and each player can only view his or her respective switch cards . from operation 102 , the method can proceed to operation 104 , wherein the first player calls a hand out and bets ( chooses how much to bet ). the first player may also exchange any selection and any number of cards in the hand from the deck . the second player ( player sitting next to the first player in either clockwise or counterclockwise order ) is now considered the “ current player .” from operation 104 , the method proceeds to operation 106 , wherein the current player now determines his or her action . the current player may either accept the hand or fold . if the determination in operation 106 results in the current player accepting the hand , then the method proceeds to operation 108 , wherein the current player accepts the hand and much match the caller &# 39 ; s bet . if the current player is the second player and the third player has not taken action yet , then the first player can be considered the caller . from operation 108 , the method can proceed to operation 110 , wherein the current player can exchange any number / selection of the cards in the hand and can also exchange any selection of his or her switch cards for cards in the hand . all cards in the hand are visible to all players . if the player uses his or her switch card ( s ), then once used the cards now become visible ( along with the rest of the hand ). from operation 110 , the method can proceed to operation 112 , which determines if the current player has improved the hand from the last called hand . if the current player did not improve the hand , then the method proceeds to operation 116 , wherein the current player drops out . note that in this game , there is no bluffing , as all cards of the hand are visible by all players . if the current player did improve the hand , then the method proceeds to operation 114 , wherein the current player calls the current hand and places a new bet . the method then proceeds to operation 122 , wherein the player successive to the current player is not considered the “ current player ” and the method then returns to operation 106 . if the determination in operation 106 determines that the current player will fold , then the method proceeds to operation 116 , wherein the current player drops out . an example of the game will now be presented using four players ( although any number of players can be used , e . g . 2 - 10 ). a hand of five cards is dealt to the first player ( although any number of cards can be dealt ). two switch cards ( although any number of switch card ( s ) can be used ) are dealt to each player . the player &# 39 ; s can view their own respective switch cards at any time , although players are not allowed to see other player &# 39 ; s switch cards . the five cards dealt to the first player are q / spades q / hearts k / diamonds 2 / clubs 5 / clubs , and the first player &# 39 ; s switch cards are j / spades ten / hearts . the first player calls a “ pair ” since he has a pair of kings and bets $ 1 . alternatively , the first player can call “ a pair of queens ” as well . now play continues to the second player . the second player may either accept the hand or fold . the second player decides to accept the hand and bets $ 1 . thus , he then views the hand . the second player decides to exchange the q / spades , q / hearts , 2 / clubs and 5 / clubs ( keeping only the k / diamonds ) with the deck in hopes to improve the hand . those four cards are discarded and four new cards are dealt to replace them : 5 / hearts , k / clubs , 8 / hearts , 9 spades . player two has improved the previous hand ( which was a pair of queens ) to a pair of kings ( since a pair of kings ranks higher than a pair of queens ). player two then calls a “ pair of kings ” and bets $ 2 . in this case the player specifies the rank ( king ) since the hand is still a pair just higher than the prior rank ( queens ). the player also may call out the former rank (“ pair of queens ”). play now continues to the third player . the third player decides to fold . thus , the third player does not need to put any money into the pot , and this player is now out of the game . play now continues to the fourth player . the fourth player decides to accept the hand and bets $ 2 . alternatively , the fourth player may be required to match every prior bet placed ( before it was his turn ) which would amount to $ 3 in this case ( player one &# 39 ; s bet and player two &# 39 ; s bet ). player four now views the hand ( 5 / hearts , k / clubs , 8 / hearts , 9 / spades , k / diamonds ) and decides to replace the 5 / hearts , 8 / hearts , 9 / spades . these three cards are discarded and the hand then receives a two / hearts , four / hearts , jack / spades . this has not improved the hand . player four has switch cards of : k / hearts , and 7 / spades . player four decides to use the k / hearts and he switches this card with the 9 / spades . thus , the hand now has the following cards : k / clubs , k / diamonds , k / hearts , 5 / hearts , 8 / hearts , which has a rank of three of a kind . the player then calls , “ three of a kind ” and bets $ 1 . 50 . play now goes back to the first player , who decides to accept the hand and bets $ 1 . 50 ( alternatively , player one could be required to match all bets after his last turn which would amount to $ 3 . 50 ). the first player views the cards in the hand : k / clubs , k / diamonds , k / hearts , 5 / hearts , 8 / hearts . the first player discards the 5 / hearts and 8 / hearts and replaces the , with 6 / spades 9 / clubs . this has not improved the hand . the first player &# 39 ; s switch cards are 4 / diamonds and 3 / clubs . these also would not improve the hand . thus , player one drops out . play continues to player two , who drops out . thus , player four is the last player standing , thus player four wins the pot . the game is now over and a brand new game can begin . a variation can also be played with dice as opposed to cards . each die can have a card image on each side . thus , rolling five dice can form a five card poker hand . a sixth die can have six sides as follows : 1 ) a termination card ; 2 ) a wild card ; 3 ) a switch card ; 4 ) a second switch card ; 5 ) a play card ; and 6 ) a second play card . the operations of these faces on the sixth die will be explained below in further detail . of course , this is just one example of a sixth die , and other dice can be used as well . fig2 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method of implementing a dice variation , according to an embodiment . the method can start with operation 200 , wherein all players ante and post big and small blind bets , as known in poker . the method can then proceed to operation 202 , wherein a first player rolls five dice to form a first hand and the first player also announces a first bet amount after viewing the first hand . the method can then proceed to operation 204 , wherein each player in turn must either check , fold , match the first bet amount , or raise . this is done as known in the art in a standard poker betting round . from operation 204 , the method can proceed to operation 206 , wherein the dice are passed to a current player . if this is the first time this operation is being executed , then the current player is the player who follows the first player ( e . g . sitting next to him in the play direction ( e . g . clockwise or counterclockwise )). otherwise , the current player is defined in other operations . the current player then rolls only a sixth die . from operation 206 , the method can proceed to operation 208 , which determines whether a sting symbol is rolled . if a sting symbol is rolled , then the method proceeds to operation 210 , wherein the current player is eliminated ( drops out of the game ). from operation 210 , the method can proceed to operation 212 , which determines whether all other players have been eliminated . if all other players have been eliminated , then the method proceeds to operation 216 , wherein the last player remaining wins the pot and the game is over . if in operation 212 , it is determined that not all player have been eliminated , then the method proceeds to operation 214 , wherein the player after the eliminated player is now considered to be the current player . the method then continues to operation 206 . if , in operation 208 , a sting symbol is not rolled , then the method proceeds to operation 218 , wherein the current player selects a die or dice to roll and rolls to form a new hand . the current player is attempting to improve the last rolled hand ( poker hand value ). the player can choose any die or dice out of the five dice ( not including the sixth die ) to roll . from operation 218 , the method proceeds to operation 220 , which determines whether the hand is improved or not . if the new hand is not improved , then the method proceeds to operation 210 . if , in operation 220 , the new hand is improved over the previously rolled hand , then the method proceeds to operation 222 , wherein the current player declares his hand and amount to bet . a hand is improved if the new hand has a higher rank than the prior hand . in an embodiment , a “ kicker ” ( the highest card in a hand not part of a pair / three of a kind / four of a kind / two pair ) would not matter ( e . g . 10 h / 10 c / 10 s / 4 h / 3 s is the same rank as 10 h / 10 c / 10 s / ah / 3 s ), wherein in another embodiment , the kicker would matter ( in the prior example , the latter is hand , because the kicker ( the ace ) is higher than the four in the prior hand ). from operation 222 , the method can proceed to operation 224 , wherein the player after the current player is now considered the current player and play continues to operation 204 . an example of the game illustrated in fig2 will now be presented using five players ( although of course any number of players can be used ). the poker dice used can , for example be as follows : die 1 : 9 h , 10 c , jd , qs , kh , ac ; die 2 : 9 c , 10 d , js , qh , kc , ad ; die 3 : 9 d , 10 s , jh , qc , kd , as ; die 4 : 9 s , 10 h , jc , qd , ks , ah ; and die 5 : 9 , 10 , j , q , k , a wherein all sides are “ all suited .” all players put in an ante ( any amount can be used , e . g . $ 1 ), and a first player can be selected ( e . g . randomly ) and the players next to the first player can post big and small blinds ( e . g . $ 3 and $ 2 ). player one then rolls five poker dice and rolls : 9 h , 10 d , 10 c , qd , and a . the poker hand rank of this outcome is a pair of tens . player one decides to bet $ 1 . player 2 bets $ 1 . player 3 bets $ 1 . player 4 bets $ 1 and raises $ 1 ( for a total of $ 2 ). player 5 now drops out ( since he does not want to be $ 2 ). player 1 puts in $ 1 ( to match player 4 &# 39 ; s raise ). player 2 puts in $ 1 . player bets $ 1 . the dice are now passed to player two who only rolls a sixth die . the outcome of the sixth roll is a “ switch card .” this allows the player one extra roll of one of the die of the player &# 39 ; s choice in an attempt to improve his hand . thus , in this case , the player decides to re - roll the fourth die ( qd ). the outcome of the roll is a ks . thus , the five dice now show : : 9 h , 10 d , 10 c , ks , and a . the hand rank is still a pair of 10 &# 39 ; s ( the “ kickers ” or other cards not in the pair do not matter ). thus , player two has not improved the rank of the hand and thus player two is eliminated . play then proceeds to player three , who then rolls the sixth die . the player rolls a “ play ” which means the player just continues to play as normal . the five dice show : 9 h , 10 d , 10 c , qd , and a . player three then decides to roll the first die ( 9 h ), the fourth die ( the qd ) and the fifth die ( a ). the outcome of these rolls are : 9 h ( first die ); 10 h ( fourth die ), and k ( fifth die ). the dice now read : 9 h ; 10 d ; 10 c ; 10 h ; k . player three has now made three of a kind ( three 10 &# 39 ; s ). this is improved over the prior hand ( two 10 &# 39 ; s ). the player declares three tens and bets $ 2 . all of the other remaining players ( player one , player four ) bet $ 2 . play now proceeds to player four . player four rolls the sixth die . the outcome is a termination symbol ( or “ sting ” card ). this eliminates player four . only player one remains in the game . thus , player one has won the pot and the game is over . a further variation of a wagering game can be played using termination (“ sting ”) cards . a standard deck of 52 cards can be used with four additional sting cards ( cards that say “ sting ” on them ). two optional jokers can also be mixed into the deck . fig3 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating an embodiment using termination cards . the method can start with operation 300 , wherein each player antes and a hand is dealt to each player ( e . g . five cards ). if a sting card is dealt to a player it can serve as a wild card for that player . alternatively , in a further variation , the sting card dealt to a player can immediately eliminate that player from the game ( and he loses his ante ). then the method can proceed to operation 302 , wherein a betting round is held . this is done as known in the art . from operation 302 , the method can proceed to operation 304 , which deals two ( or any other number ) of community cards . if a sting card appears during this operation , then it can be used as a wild card for all players . from operation 304 , the method proceeds to operation 306 , wherein the current player takes an action ( the current player can either : fold , continue player , or stay the hand ). if , in operation 306 , the current player decides to fold , then the method proceeds to operation 326 , wherein the current player drops out . the method then proceeds to operation 328 , which determines if there is more than one player left . if there is more than one player left , then the method proceeds to operation 332 , wherein the player next to the current player is now the current player , and the method returns to operation 306 . if the determination in operation 328 determines that there is not more than one player left , then the method proceeds to operation 330 , wherein the last player remaining wins the pot and the game is over . in operation 306 , if the current player &# 39 ; s action is to stay the hand , then the method proceeds to operation 318 , wherein the hand is stayed . this means that the current player &# 39 ; s hand is fixed at its current rank and can no longer be improved . from operation 318 , the method then proceeds to operation 320 , which deals additional cards ( e . g . one or any other number ). from operation 320 , the method proceeds to operation 322 , which determines who has the best and then the best hand wins . the additional card ( s ) dealt in operation 320 can be used by all of the players except for the current player in order to improve their hand . out of all of the players still remaining in the game ( which does not include players that have dropped out ), the player with the highest hand rank then wins the pot and the game is over . if a sting card is dealt in operation 320 , then the player that stayed his / her hand wins and the other players are eliminated ( in an alternative embodiment , if a sting card is dealt in operation 320 , then it serves as a wild card for all of the players that did not stay their hand ). the current player would typically choose in operation 306 to stay his hand if he or she feels that their hand will be better than all of the other live players even though the other players will have the benefit of the additional card ( s ) dealt in operation 320 ( wherein the current player that chose to stay the hand cannot use these cards ). from operation 306 , the player can also choose to continue play , which proceeds to operation 308 . the current player now checks , bets , or raises . from operation 308 , the method proceeds to operation 310 , wherein the player successive to the current player is now considered the current player . from operation 310 , the method proceeds to operation 312 , which determines if the betting round is over . if not all live players have checked , raised , or called ( as known in poker ) after the last card was dealt , then the betting round is not over , and the method returns to operation 306 . if the determination in operation 312 determines that the betting round is over , then the method proceeds to operation 314 , which deals additional community card ( s ), such as one . there is no limit to the number of times this operation can be reached ( and hence the number of community cards dealt ), and the players attempt to make the best hand out of their own cards and all of the community cards . from operation 314 , the method proceeds to operation 316 , which determines whether the card ( s ) dealt in operation 314 contain a “ sting ” ( or termination ) card . if it does not , then the method proceeds to operation 306 , which can start a new betting round with the current player . if the determination in operation 306 determines that a sting card was dealt in operation 314 , then the method can proceed to operation 324 , which determines a best poker hand from all of the live players ( players which did not drop out ) and that player with the best poker hand wins the pot . an example of the embodiment illustrated in fig3 will now be presented with six players . a dealer “ button ,” antes , and blind bets , as known in the poker art , are used in this embodiment . each player antes $ 1 into the pot ( or any other amount ). three cards are dealt face down to each player , wherein each player is permitted to view only his / her own cards . player one is dealt : 7 d / 8 d / 3 s ; player two is dealt : ks / qh / 3 c ; player three is dealt : 2 h / 2 c / 6 d ; player four is dealt : as / 10 h / 5 c ; player five is dealt : 10 d ; 5 d ; as ; player six is dealt : 4 d / 9 d / 7 h . the betting round starts with player one : player one checks ; player two bets $ 1 ; player three calls for $ 1 ; player four calls for $ 1 and raises $ 1 ; player five calls for $ 2 ; player six folds ( and loses her ante ); player one calls for $ 2 ; player two calls for $ 1 ( since player two already bet $ 1 ); player three calls for $ 1 ( since player three already bet $ 1 ). thus , each live player has put $ 2 into the pot . now that the betting round is over , player one decides to continue player and checks . player two checks . player three raises $ 1 ; player four calls ( puts in $ 1 ); player five calls ( puts in $ 1 ); player one folds ; and player two calls ( puts in $ 1 ). only players two , three , four , and five are still live . now that the betting round is over ( all players have had a chance to check , call , or raise , a community card is dealt : 3 d . player two now has to decide whether to play , stay the hand , or fold . player two checks . player three decides to stay the hand . an additional community card is dealt : 3 h . since player three has stayed the hand , player three is not allowed to benefit from the 3 h . thus , player three &# 39 ; s final hand is 2 h / 2 c / 6 d / 3 d or a pair of twos . player two &# 39 ; s final hand is : ks / qh / 3 c / 3 d / 3 h , or a three threes . player four &# 39 ; s final hand is : as / 10 h / 5 c / 3 d / 3 h ( ace high ). player five &# 39 ; s final hand is : 10 d / 5 d / as / 3 d / 3 h ( ace high ). any embodiments described herein can be played with a standard deck of cards or any type of special deck ( e . g . a spanish deck , etc .) the game can also be played with a single deck or multiple decks ( e . g . 1 - 8 decks or more ). poker hands can be ranked as well known in the art . for example see “ scarne &# 39 ; s new complete guide to gambling ,” by john scarne , 1986 , isbn 0 - 671 - 21734 - 8 , which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes . further , the order of any of the operations described herein can be performed in any order and wagers can be placed / resolved in any order . any embodiments / features described herein can be combined with any other embodiments / features described herein ( this includes any document incorporated by reference ). any embodiments herein can also be played in electronic form and programs and / or data for such can be stored on any type of computer readable storage medium ( e . g . cd - rom , dvd , disk , etc .) the many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and , thus , it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope 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 illustrated and described , and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .	0
the diagram presented in fig1 includes a comparison of the swirling or peripheral velocities in a finned tube according to the invention ( profile 3 ) with 8 fins and a fin pitch of 30 ° and two comparison tubes ( profiles 4 and 6 ), each with a fin pitch of 16 ° and 3 or 8 fins , respectively , over the tube cross section . the curves clearly demonstrate the significantly higher circumferential velocity in the edge zone of the composite tube according to the invention of at most approximately 2 . 75 or 3 m / s compared to the maximum velocity of only approximately 1 . 5 m / s in the edge zones of the two comparison tubes . the diagram presented in fig2 shows the distribution of the circumferential velocity over the tube radius for the profile 3 of a composite tube according to the invention . the two — coinciding — upper curves were each measured on a radius which ran through a fin valley on the light side and on the dark side , respectively , while the two lower curves were each measured along the radii which ran through the fin peaks on the light side and dark side , respectively . fig3 illustrates three test tubes , including their data , in cross section , including the profile 3 according to the invention the diagrams each indicate the temperature profile across the tube radius on the dark side and the light side . a comparison of the diagrams reveals the lower temperature difference between tube wall and tube centre and the lower tube metal temperature in the case of the profile 3 according to the invention . the swirling flow produced with the use of the composite tube according to the invention ensures that the fluctuation in the inner - wall temperature over the circumference of the tube , i . e . between the light side and the dark side , is less than 12 ° c ., even though the tube coils , which are customarily arranged in parallel rows , of a tube furnace are heated or acted on by combustion gases with the aid of side wall burners only on opposite sides and the tubes therefore each have a light side , facing the burners , and a dark side , which is offset through 90 ° with respect thereto . the mean tube metal temperature , i . e . the difference in the tube metal temperature on the light and the dark side , leads to internal stresses and therefore determines the service life of the tubes . therefore , the reduction in the mean tube metal temperature of a composite tube according to the invention with eight fins with a pitch of 30 °, a tube internal diameter of 38 . 8 mm and tube external diameter of 50 . 8 mm , i . e . a difference in height between fin valleys and fin peaks of 2 mm , of 11 ° compared to a smooth tube of the same diameter , based on a mean service life of 5 years , which can be seen from the diagram presented in fig4 , results , at an operating temperature of 1050 ° c ., in a calculated increase in service life to approximately 8 years . the temperature distribution between the light side and the dark side for the three profiles shown in fig3 is to be found in the diagram shown in fig5 . the lower temperature level of the temperature curve for the profile 3 compared to the smooth tube ( profile 0 ) and the considerably narrower fluctuation range for the profile 3 curve compared to the profile 1 curve are noticeable . a particularly expedient temperature distribution is established if the isotherms run in circles in the core zone and follow the inner profile of the composite tube only in the swirl zone . a more uniform distribution of the temperature over the cross section results in particular if the swirling flow increases by 1 . 8 to 20 m / s per metre of tube length and if it covers 7 % to 8 % of the clear cross section , calculated from the entry of the gas mixture to the profiled tube . with the use of the composite tube according to the invention , with a view to achieving a high ethylene yield with a relatively short tube length , the temperature homogeneity factor over the cross section and the temperature homogeneity factor referenced on the hydraulic diameter should be over 1 in relation to the homogeneity factors of a smooth tube . in this context , the homogeneity factors are defined as follows : the composite tube according to the invention can be used particularly successfully in all high - temperature processes , such as those in which the tube , in particular on the outer side , is exposed to high temperatures of , for example , 800 to 1000 ° c . in particular , the composite tube according to the invention can be used in the production of coloured pigments , in rotary tubular kilns , for example for the combustion of substances from the chemical industry or pharmaceutical industry , or in refuse incineration plants . fig6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the composite tube according to the invention . it has a first part - tube 10 and a second part - tube 20 with fins 30 which has been produced by pressure treatment from a powder .	5
in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a session key is employed , but not utilized for encrypting a plaintext payload . instead , the session key is designated as a base session key (“ bsk ”) and is shared by both sides of the communication link . the bsk is used to create a new per - packet key for each data packet transmitted . in such an embodiment , an offset value that changes with each packet is logically added to the bsk such that a new per - packet key , offset from the session key , is used to encrypt and decrypt plaintext data . embodiments of the present invention may provide such an offset from a smart - card - enabled random number generator independently on each side of the communications link such that the per - packet key is not only different for each packet but also different in each direction of communication . the bsk is not exchanged , but instead calculated as a result of a mutual authentication process occurring on both sides of the communications link . this entirely prevents dictionary attacks , as the encryption keys for each packet and in each direction are different and never utilized in succession . the mutual authentication process referred to above , by the way of non - limiting example , may be enabled using a smart card . although certain embodiments of the present invention include computing devices such as personal computers and network - based lock devices , the invention is not so limited . by way of non - limiting example , devices communicating in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention include headless devices where there may be no user or user input device present , e . g ., sensor devices , supervisory control and data acquisition (“ scada ”) devices , video or audio surveillance systems , home control or alarm systems , lighting systems , etc . other devices communicating in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention include mobile communications devices such as , by way of non - limiting example , personal digital assistants and mobile phones . although certain embodiments of the present invention include tokens such as smart cards , the invention is not so limited . by way of non - limiting example , tokens and techniques for their connection according to certain embodiments of the invention include network - based smartcards that are connected to devices over a network connection , subscriber identity modules , secure digital devices , fpga devices , asic devices , etc . although certain embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of a remote access network , embodiments of the present invention are applicable to any communication networks where two or more parties communicate using encrypted communications . by way of non - limiting example , the present invention may enable secure end - to - end access between a remote client and any computer residing on a network backbone . although certain embodiments of the present invention include communications channels such as computer networks , the invention is not so limited . for example , communications channels according to certain embodiments of the invention include computer memory devices ( e . g ., hard drive , flash devices , floppy disks , optical devices such as optical disks , shared memory , etc .). these memory devices may be transferred from one device to another or may be used to pass data from one environment to another , where the environments may or may not reside on the same physical machine . furthermore , the invention is not limited to communications . rather , certain embodiments of the present invention encrypt stored data that is later retrieved according to features described herein . fig1 illustrates a network connection between a remote user and office local area network according to an embodiment of the present invention . in particular , the present embodiment implements a technique of per - packet keying . the present embodiment employs a combination of software routines and physical tokens in the form of easy - to - use client adapters ( 103 ), each containing a smart card ( 101 ), that attach to existing computing devices ( 105 ) and network - based lock devices ( 150 ), each containing an embedded smart card ( 102 ). a lock ( 150 ) is a device that authenticates users and bridges their ethernet traffic onto a network . these smart cards are secure , tamper - resistant , and pre - provisioned with secure authentication keys . in reference to the embodiment of fig1 , no encryption keys are stored in the smart cards , instead the encryption keys are calculated as a result of authentication at the edge of the network . “ edge ” refers to authentication of client devices taking place at the edge or outer boundary of the network , i . e ., at the lock ( 150 ), rather than centralized within the network using a server . client computing devices ( 105 ) are authenticated across wired or wireless links ( 125 ) using secret cryptographic authentication keys , which are pre - stored in the smart cards ( 101 , 102 ) installed at both the client &# 39 ; s computing device and the network - based lock device ( 150 ). according to the embodiment of fig1 , a lock device ( 150 ) is installed in the network providing a terminus of the communication between the local area network ( 135 ) and the remote user ( 105 ). in other embodiments , the lock may be a standalone device such as a koolspan secureedge lock , or an appliance containing lock functionality such as a dell poweredge server running koolspan software . in yet other embodiments , the lock may be of the form of a client , which would allow for peer - to - peer secure communication . fig2 illustrates certain elements of an end - user system with smart card authentication and security according to an embodiment of the present invention . in particular , fig2 shows an end - user configuration consisting of a personal computer (“ pc ”) ( 105 ) and smart card ( 101 ) inserted into a universal serial bus smart card reader or client token ( 103 ). the actual interface between the smart card and pc can be implemented in numerous ways known to those of ordinary skill in the art . for example , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 679 , 371 , entitled “ localized network authentication and security using tamper - resistant keys ,” discusses exemplary techniques . varied implementations may include serial readers , parallel readers , personal computer memory card international association (“ pcmcia ”) readers , etc . the client token may even be embedded directly into the pc itself . the end - user configuration also contains client driver ( 210 / 220 ) software installed on pc ( 105 ). client driver ( 220 ) is designed such that it will recognize the insertion and removal of client token ( 105 ) containing smart card ( 101 ). when inserted into pc ( 105 ), client driver ( 220 ) will present a personal identification number (“ pin ”) entry dialog to the user via the operating system ( 230 ). one purpose of the pin - entry dialog is to “ unlock ” the token by the legitimate user . incorrect entry of the pin after a preset number of attempts will cause smart card ( 101 ) to “ lock up ” and be of no further use . once the pin process is completed , the authentication sequence to remote lock device ( 150 ) is initiated . fig3 illustrates certain elements of a smart card equipped lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention . in particular , fig3 shows network - based lock device ( 150 ) attached to local area network ( 135 ), which also contains an embedded smart card ( 102 ). the operating system of the lock ( 320 ) and driver ( 330 ) process received ethernet frames from the ethernet interface ( 300 ). the lock device ( 150 ) can be implemented in numerous ways known to those of ordinary skill in the art . for example , u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 935 , 123 , entitled “ subnet box ,” discusses exemplary techniques . fig4 illustrates an authentication sequence of two smart - card enabled endpoints according to an embodiment of the present invention . in particular , fig4 shows a successful authentication sequence involving the exchange of an encrypted random number generated by the smart cards on each side of the link ( the lock smart card ( 102 ) and the client smart card ( 101 )) and sent to the other side for decryption . in the present embodiment , the exchange of encrypted random numbers is achieved by allowing the lock to retrieve the client &# 39 ; s secret encryption key and use it for encrypting and decrypting data sent back and forth . an exemplary authentication process begins when a first random number ( step 401 ) is generated by the client smart card ( 101 ) and is encrypted by the secret key pre - stored in the client smart card yielding ciphertext . the secret encryption key , the nk_uids , is the client &# 39 ; s secret key that is only assigned to authorized client tokens , and is mapped to a unique serial number that identifies the client token . once the ciphertext is generated , it is sent to the lock along with the serial number of the client smart card in a first authentication packet ( step 405 ). during authentication , the client driver ( 220 ) sends a first encrypted random number along with the plaintext serial number of the user &# 39 ; s smart card ( 101 ). the lock is provisioned with a database of serial numbers of authorized users and their corresponding nk_uids keys . when the lock receives the first authentication packet ( step 415 ) it uses the serial number of the client smart card contained in the first authentication packet to retrieve the enciphered version of the client smart cards &# 39 ; n_uids in the lock database . the lock database contains a mapping of client smart card serial numbers to corresponding nk_uids keys . during authentication , the user &# 39 ; s serial number is utilized to retrieve the enciphered version of the user &# 39 ; s nk_uids key from its database and is then written in enciphered form into the lock &# 39 ; s smart card ( 102 ) where it is automatically deciphered by the lock &# 39 ; s smart card ( 102 ). at that instant in time , the lock &# 39 ; s smart card ( 102 ) contains exactly the same nk_uids key of the authenticating user . then the lock &# 39 ; s smart card decrypts the first encrypted random number in step 415 . appropriate checks and balances are incorporated to ensure that a successful decryption can be detected . in step 420 , a second random number is generated by the lock &# 39 ; s smart card ( 102 ) and encrypted with the same user &# 39 ; s nk_uids key still in the lock &# 39 ; s smart card . the ciphertext is then returned to the user in a second packet ( step 425 ). the client driver software ( 220 ) utilizes the client smart card ( 101 ) to decrypt the ciphertext , yielding a second random ( step 430 ). both the lock ( 150 ) and client driver ( 220 ) then calculate the session key by a multi - step process ( step 440 ). both sides concatenate the two 256 - bit random numbers exchanged across the link . the 512 - bit concatenated string is then hashed eight times in succession with the digests of each of the eight hash operations themselves concatenated . the resulting 1280 - bit digest is then “ collapsed ” by using the exclusive - or function on each group of five bits . this results in the 256 - bit session key . authentication according to embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the techniques of fig4 . the authentication sequence can be implemented in numerous ways known to those of ordinary skill in the art . for example , u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 001 , 084 , entitled “ remote , secure authorization ,” discusses exemplary techniques . as illustrated in fig5 and fig6 , a session key is designated as the bsk . the session key is identical on both sides of the link and , in the prior art , could be utilized for all subsequent communications . however , the present embodiment provides a series of steps to encrypt bulk plaintext data that avoids using the session key . in such embodiments plaintext data is instead encrypted with a changing per - packet key . fig5 and 6 illustrate a step - by - step procedure of calculating a per - packet key according to an embodiment of the present invention . after the 256 - bit session key is generated on each side , each smart card ( 101 , 102 ) independently generates a further random number . the random number is known as the starting sequence number (“ ssn ”) ( 605 ). the random number on each side is then incremented for each transmitted packet starting with the number zero ( step 606 ). this number becomes the sequence number (“ sn ”) ( 610 ). the sn is then encrypted with the bsk to yield the initialization vector (“ iv ”) ( 620 ). any encryption algorithm may be used in this capacity , including , by way of non - limiting example , aes , des , or 3 des . the iv is then concatenated with the two &# 39 ; s complement of itself ( step 625 ) to form the offset ( step 630 ). then the offset is exclusive - or &# 39 ; d with the bsk ( 600 ) to form the ppk ( 640 ). the exclusive - or step is very fast in hardware and ensures that the resulting ppk can be anywhere in the 256 - bit key space as it avoids the “ carry ” bit that would normally have to be dealt with if the function were a straight binary addition . however , certain embodiments utilize such binary addition . the ppk is different on each side of the link as the ssn is different on each side . note that even though the bsk is identical on both sides of the link , the ppk will be different in each direction as it is based on a different ssn . further , as the sn is incremented with each packet , the ppk is further differentiated . next , the plaintext data ( 645 ) is encrypted with the ppk ( 440 ) to yield ciphertext ( 650 ). any existing encryption algorithm may be used in this capacity , including , by way of non - limiting example , aes , des , or 3 des . the ciphertext is then pre - pended with the sn ( 611 ), which is the same sn used in the calculation ( 610 ) to form the data packet ( 660 ) transmitted across the link . finally , the sn ( 610 ) is incremented for calculating the next ppk for the next packet ( step 675 ). although the one embodiment illustrates a simple increment of the sn , any method of sequencing can be utilized such that the other side , if knowing the sequence allows for obtaining the sn utilized to calculate the ppk . for example , the sn can be a simple sequential number starting from zero or some random number generated by the smart card . the sequence number transmitted may even be the index of the sn utilized in the calculation . by the way of a non - limiting example , if the sequence number for each packet were simply 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 etc ., these may be transmitted as is , one number for each packet . however , this number may be used as an index to a fibonacci sequence where “ 3 ” represents the third number in a fibonacci sequence (“ 3 ”→“ 5 ” and “ 4 ”→“ 7 ” etc .). the receiving side would know the algorithm by which the sn in the computation ( 610 ) is derived from the sn used in transmission ( 611 ). as another example of incrementing , squaring the number and calculating a remainder after dividing by a particular , fixed , number may be used at each increment . that is , if sn n represents a session number and sn n + 1 represents its increment , then sn n + 1 may be calculated according to the formula : sn n + 1 =( sn n ) 2 mod x , where x denotes a fixed number , which may be a prime number , and “ mod ” indicates modular arithmetic . in certain embodiments , exponents other than two may be used . fig7 illustrates steps in recovering the plaintext data on the receiving side of a communications link according to an embodiment of the present invention . as seen in fig7 , on receipt of the data packet ( 660 ), the sn is extracted and encrypted ( using the same encryption algorithm as in the embodiment of fig5 and 6 ) with the bsk yielding the iv ( 665 ). the iv ( 665 ) is concatenated with the two &# 39 ; s complement of itself ( 666 ) to form the offset ( 670 ). the offset ( 670 ) is then exclusive - or &# 39 ; d with the bsk ( 680 ) to form the ppk ( 685 ). the ciphertext portion ( 662 ) of the received data packet ( 660 ) is then decrypted with the ppk ( 695 ) in step 690 . this yields the plaintext data ( 695 ) originally encrypted by the sending side . various techniques known by those of ordinary skill in the art may be used to verify packet integrity . by way of non - limiting example , techniques such as embedding a crc - 32 or hash in the decrypted data may be used to verify packet integrity . a further benefit of this invention is that the sequence numbers ( 610 ) are incremented , in one embodiment , such that each packet is uniquely identified . properly implemented , the sequence number is never repeated in succession nor utilized again during the course of an authenticated session . as such , the sequence number ( 610 ) can be utilized to mitigate replay attacks . replay attacks often succeed by recording transmission for replay later . even though the attacker might not be able to decrypt a packet , the attacker will replay the packets later to spoof legitimate transmission . for example , an encrypted video feed might prevent an interloper from viewing the actual encrypted video transmission . the interloper could simply record the encrypted data and play it back later while disabling the legitimate encrypted video feed . the security station would receive the unaltered ( but old ) encrypted video data and think operation is normal and thus not realize the security threat . the embedded , non - repeating sequence numbers ( sn , 610 ) can be utilized by the receiving side to ensure that once a legitimate packet is received , any attempt to replay a previously received packet will be detected . although aes is disclosed at various stages herein , other embodiments of the present invention may use other methods of modern symmetric key algorithms . any encryption algorithm where the sender and receiver share a secret key that is set up in advance may be employed . for example , symmetric key algorithms such as des , 3 des , aes , or international data encryption algorithm ( idea ) may be used . as used herein , the term “ packet ” embraces a single datum or group of data enveloped for transfer over a communications network . an entire file or collection of files enveloped together in may also be considered a packet . in general , the invention includes the ability to provide keys used for the ciphering or authentication that are generated or derived per datum , packet , or session .	7
a total hip arthroplasty can be performed , according to the teachings of the current invention through two incisions , each no more than 5 centimeters ( 2 inches ) in length . an anterior incision is made along the axis of the femoral neck , while a posterior incision is made generally in axial alignment with the femoral shaft . referring to fig1 a partial illustration of a patient 40 including torso 52 , buttock 50 , and leg 48 illustrates prior art incision 42 as well as anterior incision 44 and posterior incision 46 of the current invention . prior art incision 42 is approximately 25 centimeters ( 10 inches ) long , while anterior incision 44 and posterior incision 46 are each no more than 5 centimeters ( 2 inches ) in length . according to the method of total hip arthroplasty of the current invention , patient 40 is initially placed in a supine position on an operating table . either a standard operating table or , alternatively , a radiolucent jackson table is used . a radiolucent jackson table is preferred if the surgical team intends to use intraoperative image intensification . in one exemplary embodiment , a storz viewsite endoscopic system can be used . a storz viewsite endoscopic system provides a sterile viewing screen for endoscopic images . the sterile viewing screen of a storz viewsite endoscopic system can be positioned within the surgical field immediately adjacent to anterior incision 44 . other known endoscopic systems may further be utilized during the total hip arthroplasty of the present invention . referring now to fig2 with ipsilateral leg 48 in a neutral position , two prominent bony landmarks are palpated , the anterior superior iliac spine ( asis ) 59 and the greater trochanter 58 of femur 62 . ilium 64 and pubis 66 of hip 68 are shown to better illustrate the relevant area of the body . in one exemplary embodiment , the approximate anterior incision starting point 71 is identified two fingerbreadths inferior and two fingerbreadths anterior to the tubercle of the greater trochanter 58 . the approximate finish point for the anterior incision is identified three fingerbreadths inferior and two fingerbreadths lateral to the anterior superior iliac spine ( asis ) 59 . in another exemplary embodiment , the approximate anterior incision starting point 71 is identified 3 - 4 centimeters inferior and 2 centimeters lateral to asis 59 . having identified starting point 71 3 - 4 centimeters inferior and 2 centimeters lateral to asis 59 , the path of anterior incision 44 is extended obliquely from starting point 71 toward the prominence of greater trochanter 58 along the axis of femoral neck 60 . with the use of a spinal needle , the appropriate starting point 71 and the path of the anterior incision are identified by impaling the skin down to bone to confirm the central axis 70 of femoral neck 60 . an oblique incision of approximately 3 . 75 - 5 centimeters ( 1 . 5 - 2 inches ) is made from the starting site 71 toward the prominence of the greater trochanter along the axis 70 of the femoral neck 60 and the central axis of acetabulum 54 . the incision is extended along the same plane through subcutaneous tissues , exposing the underlying fascia lata . the internervous plane between the tensor fascia lata muscle and the sartorius is identified by palpation and developed by curved scissors and blunt dissection . the sartorius can be made more prominent by externally rotating the leg to apply tension on the muscle . deep to the tensor fascia lata and the sartorius is an internervous interval between the rectus femoris and the gluteus medius . this plane is developed by blunt dissection . a lateral retraction of the tensor fascia lata permits a visualization of the capsule 74 of the hip joint as illustrated in fig2 a . leg 48 is externally rotated to create tension on capsule 74 . capsule 74 is incised along the axis 70 ( fig2 ) of femoral neck 60 from the equator of femoral head 56 to the intertrochanteric ridge on the femur 62 . the capsular incision takes the form of an “ h - shaped ” window formed by incisions 72 . the h - shaped window is formed by adding supplementary perpendicular limbs around the equator of the femoral head 56 and the base of the femoral neck 60 to the initial incision along the axis 70 of femoral neck 60 . as a form of retraction , heavy sutures are used to provisionally attach the capsular flaps 73 to the subcutaneous tissues . as illustrated in fig3 retractors 76 are placed inside capsular flaps 73 and underneath the superior and inferior borders of femoral neck 60 to expose the entire length of femoral neck 60 from the inferior aspect of femoral head 56 to the intertrochanteric ridge . retractors 76 can be , e . g ., cobra retractors . in one exemplary embodiment , each retractor houses a light source and can also serve to anchor an endoscope . retractors 76 thereby provide continuous visualization and illumination of the wound . in one exemplary embodiment , jakoscope retractors having integral fiberoptic light sources are utilized in accordance with present inventions . referring now to fig4 a femoral cutting tool 86 , e . g ., an oscillating saw or a power burr is used to excise femoral neck 60 . a custom osteotomy guide 78 is placed through anterior incision 44 ( fig1 ) and functions to guide the femoral neck cut . alignment portion 82 of osteotomy guide 78 is aligned with the longitudinal axis of femur 62 , while cut guide 84 is positioned on femoral neck 60 . handle 80 of osteotomy guide 78 facilitates positioning and repositioning of osteotomy guide 78 through anterior incision 44 . after placement of osteotomy guide 78 , cut line 85 is scored as is known in the art . osteotomy guide 78 is thereafter removed through anterior incision 44 and femoral cutting tool 86 is inserted through anterior incision 44 and utilized to cut along cut line 85 and displace portion 88 ( fig6 ) from femur 62 . retractors 76 are repositioned around the anterior and posterior rims of the acetabulum . a custom curved cutting tool . ( i . e ., the “ ligamentum teres cutter ”) is passed behind femoral head 56 to sharply incise the ligamentum teres , thus mobilizing cut portion 88 as illustrated in fig6 . cut portion 88 includes femoral head 56 as well as a portion of femoral neck 60 ( fig4 ). cut portion 88 is thereafter removed through anterior incision 44 with a custom femoral head bone grasper 94 ( fig7 ). if there is difficulty removing cut portion 88 in one piece , it may be in situ morselized using cutting tool 87 ( fig6 ), e . g ., a power burr . morsels 92 may then be removed through anterior incision 44 . morselizing of cut portion 88 is accomplished making cuts which substantially mirror the cuts in hip capsule 74 . in one exemplary embodiment , a corkscrew and hip skid removes the entire femoral neck , as in hip fracture . irrigation and suction devices can be used to cool the bone and facilitate the removal of bony debris in hip capsule 74 . in one exemplary embodiment , a fiberoptic endoscope is placed into the hip joint to confirm the complete removal of bony debris . as illustrated in fig8 a , the fibro - fatty tissue within the cotyloid fossa of acetabulum 54 is removed with the use of , e . g ., a high - speed acorn - tipped cutting tool 96 , rongeur forceps , and a curette . thereafter , the acetabular labrum is trimmed with a scalpel . as illustrated in fig8 b , acetabulum 54 is then progressively reamed with standard acetabular reamer 98 . acetabular reamers within a predetermined size range are utilized until the optimal size of the acetabulum is reached . sizing of the acetabulum is facilitated by the use of pre - operative templates and radiographs as is known in the art . once again , an endoscope can be used to aid in visualization during the reaming process . typically the acetabulum is under reamed by approximately 2 mm with respect to the diameter of the anticipated acetabular cup so as to create an interference fit . high speed acorn - shaped cutting tool 96 , and acetabular reamer 98 enter the body through anterior incision 44 . after a trial fitting , a press - fit acetabular cup of the appropriate size is firmly seated with a standard cup inserter 100 as illustrated in fig9 and impacted into the acetabular recess as is known in the art . acceptable press fit acetabular cups include the zimmer hgp ii or trilogy cups . proper positioning of the acetabular cup is achieved with a custom anteflexion and pelvic alignment guide . patient 40 is placed in supine position on operating table 102 . aligning rod 104 is aligned with the mid lateral axis of torso 52 while main shaft 105 is maintained approximately 30 ° from operating table 102 for proper seating of the acetabular cup . to augment fixation of the cup , a flexible drill can be used to guide the placement of one or more acetabular screws . in some cases , acetabular screws will not be necessary . the insertion of the acetabular liner is deferred until the proximal femur has been prepared for the insertion of a trial stem . as illustrated by the anterior elevational view of fig1 , patient 40 remains in the supine position on operating table 102 ( fig9 ) while cup inserter 100 is utilized to seat the acetabular cup . for preparation of the femur , the patient is repositioned with a pad placed under the ipsilateral hip . the hip is slightly flexed , adducted approximately 30 °, and maximally externally rotated . retractors 76 are repositioned around the medial and lateral aspects of femur 62 . alternatively , a self - retaining retractor with a light source attachment and an endoscope holder can be positioned in anterior incision 44 to provide constant visualization and illumination of femur 62 . with a scalpel or curved osteotome , the soft tissues along the anterior surface of femur 62 just inferior to the intertrochanteric ridge are subperiosteally reflected to expose the bone for a width of approximately 1 cm . this sharp subperiosteal elevation continues superolaterally onto the anterior margin of the greater trochanter . then with curved mayo scissors a pathway is developed by blunt dissection that is directed superficially to the anterior fibers of the gluteus minimus towards buttock 50 ( fig1 ). as illustrated in fig1 , awl 106 is inserted through the anterior incision 44 , directed through the cleft between the gluteus medius and maximus in line with the shaft of the femur and piriformis fossae region , and advanced into the soft tissues of buttock 50 until its pointed distal end 108 can be palpated on the surface of the skin . distal end 108 of awl 106 is generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of femur 62 . at the point where distal end 108 is palpated , posterior incision 46 of approximately 2 - 3 cm ( 0 . 8 - 1 . 2 inches ) is made and extended through the subcutaneous tissues and fascia lata to expose the underlying gluteus maximus . a tract to femur 62 is developed along the path created by awl 106 . the gluteus maximus is split bluntly in line with its fibers with curved mayo scissors . finger dissection may be utilized to reach the posterior piriformis fossa region . into this pathway , via posterior incision 46 , custom elliptical posterior retractor 122 , complete with its inner sleeves , is threaded ( fig1 ) down to the osteotomized femoral neck . in one exemplary embodiment , elliptical posterior retractor 122 includes posterior lip 128 ( fig1 ). in this embodiment , retractor 122 is threaded down to the osteotomized femoral neck until posterior lip 128 lies beneath the posterior intertrochanteric ridge . fig1 a illustrates an embodiment of rasp tunnel 130 without posterior lip 128 . in an alternative embodiment , each component of posterior retractor 122 ( i . e ., guide tube 124 , reamer tunnel 126 , and rasp tunnel 130 ) is individually inserted and removed as necessary . in an embodiment in which guide tube 124 , reamer tunnel 126 , and rasp tunnel 130 are individually inserted and removed into posterior incision 46 , each individual tunnel may be provided with a posterior lip similar to posterior lip 128 illustrated in fig1 . rasping and reaming of the femur will now be described . the posterior capsule will be entered to facilitate rasping and reaming of the femur . referring now to fig1 , blunt tipped guide wire 146 is inserted through guide tube 124 of posterior retractor 122 and advanced into femoral canal 148 . while fig1 illustrates guide tube 124 nested in reamer tunnel 126 and rasp tunnel 130 , guide tube 124 may be directly inserted through posterior incision 46 . if the cancellous bone of femur 62 is too dense to permit insertion of blunt tipped guide wire 146 , then a conical cannulated reamer or end mill is used to prepare the femoral metaphysis . if a nested posterior retractor configuration is utilized , guide tube 124 must be removed so that the reamer can be inserted through reamer tunnel 126 of posterior retractor 122 . similarly , if a nested configuration is not utilized , reamer tunnel 126 must be inserted into posterior incision 46 . in any event , blunt tipped guide wire 146 is inserted about halfway down femoral canal 148 . the following detailed description of the invention makes reference to a nested posterior retractor configuration . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that if the nested configuration is not utilized , each individual component of posterior retractor 122 will be inserted and removed through posterior incision 46 as necessary . [ 0076 ] fig1 illustrates preparation of femoral canal 148 to receive rasp 204 ( fig1 ). guide tube 124 is removed from posterior retractor 122 and end cutter 150 ( fig1 a ) is inserted through reamer tunnel 126 . fig1 illustrates end cutter 150 positioned within reamer tunnel 126 . end cutter 150 includes elongate aperture 160 through which guide wire 146 passes and guides end cutter 150 . end cutter 150 is actuated by any of the many actuating devices known in the art . after end cutting is complete , end cutter 150 is removed through reamer tunnel 126 and reamer 151 ( fig1 b ) is inserted therethrough . reamer 151 includes reamer guide aperture 161 through which guide wire 146 passes and guides reamer 151 as it reams femoral canal 148 . reamers of progressive increase in their outer diameter are sequentially placed over guide wire 146 and femoral canal 148 is reamed until cortical “ chatter ” is felt . as is known in the art , the optimal diameter of femoral canal 148 is provisionally determined by preoperative templating . some surgeons may choose to avoid reaming of the femoral shaft and instead utilize a broach as is known in the art . a broach may be inserted in accordance with the current invention as described hereinbelow with respect to rasp insertion . after the correct diameter of femoral canal 148 is reamed out , reamer tunnel 126 ( fig1 ) is removed from posterior retractor 122 so that rasp 204 and rasp handle 212 ( fig1 ) can be inserted over guide wire 146 to complete preparation of femur 62 . guide wire 146 is inserted into rasp guide aperture 214 and rasp handle guide aperture 202 to guide rasp 204 to prepared femur 62 . impact surface 164 is struck , as is known in the art , to place rasp 204 in femur 62 . while rasp 204 is being impacted , the rotational alignment can be assessed by direct visual scrutiny of femur 62 through anterior incision 44 . furthermore , assessment of the alignment of rasp handle 212 with respect to the patella , lower leg , and foot facilitates alignment . on the normal proximal femoral metaphysis , a flattened area of anterior bone provides a highly reproducable landmark for the rotational alignment . this may not be true if the patient has experienced prior surgery or trama . progressively larger rasps are inserted to achieve the optimal fit and fill in femur 62 . once the final rasp is fully seated , rasp handle 212 is removed along with guide wire 146 and posterior retractor 122 , leaving distal end 208 of flexible cable 192 ( fig1 a ) attached to the proximal end of rasp 204 and proximal end 194 of flexible cable 192 protruding from posterior incision 46 . the operation of rasp handle 212 will be further explained below . after the final rasp is seated in femoral canal 148 , a trial acetabular liner is placed through anterior incision 44 and into the seated acetabular cup with the use of a liner inserter as is known in the art . provisional neck 222 is inserted through anterior incision 44 and locked to the top end of the seated rasp , as illustrated in fig2 . a trial femoral head is placed on the morse taper of provisional neck 222 through anterior incision 44 . the hip joint is reduced for an assessment of stability of the hip joint and limb length . where necessary , a second assessment is made . once the trial reduction is satisfactorily completed , the hip is dislocated and the provisional head and provisional neck 222 are removed . rasp handle 212 is reinserted through posterior incision 46 over the free end of flexible cable 192 . rasp handle 212 is advanced until it can be locked with the seated rasp so that impact surface 164 can be impacted and the entire tool ( i . e ., rasp 204 and rasp handle 212 ) can be removed . the trial acetabular liner is removed through anterior incision 44 . in an alternative embodiment , a trial reduction can be performed utilizing the final femoral implant and a trial femoral head . via anterior incision 44 , the final acetabular liner 252 ( fig3 ) is seated into acetabular cup 250 ( fig3 ) with a liner inserter that permits its impaction in place , as is known in the art . femoral implant 238 ( fig3 ) is anchored to femoral stem insertion tool 240 ( fig2 ) and placed through posterior incision 46 . femoral implant 238 can be , e . g ., a versys fiber metal taper , or a versys fiber metal midcoat available from zimmer , inc . as illustrated in fig2 , femoral implant 238 is placed in protective , disposable bag 242 prior to its introduction into posterior incision 46 . protective , disposable bag 242 keeps femoral implant 238 clean as it is inserted through posterior incision 46 . note that fig2 illustrates femoral implant 238 oriented as it will be when placed in femur 62 . to insert femoral implant 238 through posterior incision 46 , femoral implant 238 must be rotated 180 ° from this position to prevent impingement on the body . femoral implant 238 is then rotated 180 ° after being completely inserted through posterior incision 46 . [ 0081 ] fig2 illustrates femoral stem 238 and bag 242 inserted through posterior incision 46 . when the tip of femoral stem 238 approaches the osteotomized femoral neck , the distal end of bag 242 is incised as illustrated in fig2 . scalpel 246 is inserted into anterior incision 44 to incise bag 242 . as femoral stem 238 is driven into femoral canal 148 , bag 242 is progressively removed through posterior incision 46 as illustrated in fig2 . after femoral stem 238 is fully seated , femoral stem insertion tool 240 ( fig2 ) is removed through posterior incision 46 . through anterior incision 44 , the final femoral head is positioned on the femoral neck morse taper using a standard holding device and secured with a standard impaction tool and mallet . the hip is then reduced and assessed for stability . after appropriate antibiotic irrigation and pulsatile lavage , the hip capsule and the soft tissues are repaired with heavy sutures or staples . a suitable local anesthetic solution is injected into the closed hip joint as well as the capsular layer and the subcutaneous tissues , allowing superior postoperative pain relief . the fascial layers , subcutaneous tissues , and skin of both anterior and posterior wounds are closed in a conventional method and dressings are applied . a suction drain may be used at the discretion of the surgeon . osteotomy guide 78 , illustrated in use in fig4 includes handle 80 , alignment portion 82 , and cut guide 84 . in one exemplary embodiment , cut guide 84 and alignment portion 82 form a 60 ° angle . in one exemplary embodiment , alignment portion 82 includes a tapered distal end as illustrated in fig5 a and 5b . osteotomy guide 78 is inserted through anterior incision 44 and is positioned with alignment portion 82 being placed on femur 62 so that alignment portion 82 generally aligns with the longitudinal axis of femur 62 . handle 80 protrudes through anterior incision 44 and may be utilized to position osteotomy guide 78 . after osteotomy guide 78 is properly positioned , cut guide 84 is utilized to mark cut line 85 on femoral neck 60 as illustrated in fig4 . osteotomy guide 78 can be formed to function on either side of the body . fig4 illustrates an osteotomy guide designed to function on the right femur , while fig5 b illustrates an osteotomy guide operable to function on the left femur . as discussed supra , awl 106 ( fig1 ) is designed for insertion through anterior incision 44 to locate posterior incision 46 ( fig1 ). awl shaft 116 includes proximal end 110 designed for insertion into handle 112 . handle 112 includes a longitudinal channel 120 into which proximal end 110 of awl shaft 116 may be inserted . locking screw 118 is operably positioned in handle 112 and may be actuated by locking knob 114 . locking knob 114 is utilized to place locking screw 118 in locking engagement with proximal end 110 of awl 106 . in one exemplary embodiment , proximal end 110 of awl 106 includes a flat portion to engage locking screw 118 and facilitate the locking engagement of awl shaft 116 to handle 112 . awl shaft 116 further includes distal end 108 . distal end 108 is generally straight and is utilized to generally align with a longitudinal axis of femur 62 ( fig1 ). as illustrated in fig1 , distal end 108 of awl shaft 116 includes a tapered end to facilitate insertion of awl 106 through anterior incision 44 to locate posterior incision 46 . additionally , distal end 108 of awl 106 may be of smaller diameter than the body of awl shaft 116 as illustrated in fig1 . in an alternative embodiment , awl 106 is formed in one piece and is disposable . referring now to fig1 , posterior retractor 122 comprises three nested parts . guide tube 124 is nested in reamer tunnel 126 while reamer tunnel 126 is nested in rasp tunnel 130 . when posterior retractor 122 is threaded into posterior incision 46 , guide tube 124 , reamer tunnel 126 , and rasp tunnel 130 can be nested together to form a single unit . rasp tunnel 130 includes exterior threads 132 to facilitate threading of posterior retractor 122 through posterior incision 46 . rasp tunnel 130 includes rasp aperture 134 through which reamer tunnel 126 may be inserted and , in one alternative embodiment , posterior lip 128 for positioning posterior retractor 122 , as discussed above . reamer tunnel 126 includes flange 136 which is operable to retain the position of reamer tunnel 126 within rasp tunnel 130 . reamer tunnel 126 includes reamer aperture 138 through which guide tube 124 may be inserted . guide tube 124 includes a tapered distal end 140 to facilitate its insertion into reamer aperture 138 . guide tube 124 includes guide wire aperture 144 through which guide wire 146 ( fig1 ) may be inserted . reamer aperture 138 is sized to allow insertion of end cutter 150 ( fig1 ), or femoral reamer 151 as discussed above . as illustrated in fig1 , guide tube 124 is removed from reamer tunnel 126 and end cutter 150 is inserted through reamer aperture 138 . longitudinal reamer aperture 138 is sized to accommodate guide cylinders 156 and to thereby provide guidance and stability to end cutter 150 . after end cutting ( and reaming , if desired ) is complete , reamer tunnel 126 is removed from rasp tunnel 130 . rasp aperture 134 is sized to accommodate insertion of rasp 204 as well as cannular insertion member 168 of rasp handle 212 . for surgeries which do not utilize reaming , the posterior retractor can comprise a rasp tunnel with a guide tube nested therein and not include a reamer tunnel as described above . as described above , posterior retractor 122 is not always utilized in its nested configuration . in one exemplary embodiment , guide tube 124 , reamer tunnel 126 , and rasp tunnel 130 are each inserted into and removed from posterior incision 46 as necessary . referring now to fig2 , rasp handle 212 includes cannular insertion member 168 , impact surface 164 , grip 166 , elongate guide aperture 202 , elongate aperture 200 , and engagement channel 190 . rasp 204 includes an aperture 216 sized to receive and retain retainer 210 on distal end 208 of flexible cable 192 . retainer 210 is placed in aperture 216 and flexible cable 192 follows cable channel 217 to exit rasp 204 . proximal end 194 of flexible cable 192 is inserted through elongate aperture 200 of cannular insertion member 168 and distal rasp engagement guide 206 is piloted to guide channel 215 of rasp 204 . after exiting the proximal end of elongate aperture 200 , proximal end 194 of flexible cable 192 may be received in engagement channel 190 . engagement channel 190 is sized to accommodate and retain retainer 196 . after retainer 196 is operably positioned in engagement channel 190 , grip 166 may be actuated to tension flexible cable 192 . referring now to fig2 b , retainer 196 is operably positioned in engagement channel 190 . attaching means 184 , such as , e . g ., rivets , belts , etc . are utilized to affix biasing elements 172 to grip 166 and internal handle surface 182 . grip 166 is outwardly biased by handle biasing elements 172 and pivots about pivot point 198 . grip 166 includes tensioning member 188 and ratchet 174 . ratchet 174 is designed for engagement with tapered end 186 of pawl 176 . pawl 176 includes pawl flange 178 . spring 180 engages internal handle surface 82 and pawl flange 178 to bias pawl 176 toward cannular insertion member 168 . actuation of grip 166 against the biasing force of biasing elements 172 rotates grip 166 about pivot point 198 , causes ratchet 174 to come into operative engagement with tapered end 186 of pawl 176 , and causes tensioning member 188 to contact flexible cable 192 . fig2 a illustrates grip 166 retained by pawl 176 in the closed position . as illustrated , tensioning member 188 contacts and tensions flexible cable 192 , thus locking rasp 204 to rasp handle 212 . lock disengagement knob 170 can be pulled against the biasing force of spring 180 to unlock grip 166 . referring now to fig2 , provisional neck 222 can be locked to rasp 204 utilizing forceps 220 . forceps 220 include blade ends 230 , 232 . blade ends 230 , 232 are sized for insertion into provisional head apertures 234 , 236 , respectively ( fig2 b and 24c ). as illustrated in fig2 a , provisional neck 222 includes locking cylinder 224 and spring 228 . spring 228 upwardly biases locking cylinder 224 . upon insertion into apertures 234 , 236 , blade ends 230 , 232 can contact tapered portion 226 of locking cylinder 224 . actuation of blade ends 230 , 232 against tapered portion 226 causes locking piston 224 to move in a direction opposite to the biasing force of spring 228 . provisional neck 222 is clamped to forceps 220 and slid in a radial direction into provisional neck engagement area 218 ( fig2 and 21a ) on rasp 204 . after provisional neck 222 is fully slid onto rasp 204 , forceps 220 may be released , thereby allowing locking piston 224 to return to its locked position under the biasing force of spring 228 . rasp 204 includes circular cut outs 217 which can be engaged by locking cylinder 224 to lock provisional neck 222 in place . channels 225 ( fig2 a ) on provisional neck 222 accommodate protrusions 219 ( fig2 ) on rasp 204 . provisional neck 222 is slid onto rasp 204 with protrusions 219 occupying channels 225 of provisional neck 222 . stop 223 of provisional neck 222 abuts protrusions 219 when provisional neck 222 is completely slid onto rasp 204 . when stop 223 abuts protrusions 219 , locking cylinder 224 may be locked ( i . e ., forcep blades 230 , 232 released ) so that locking cylinder 224 engages circular cut outs 217 , locking provisional neck 222 to rasp 204 . while the method of the current invention has been described with reference to a particular hip prosthesis , this is not meant to be limiting in any way and it will be understood that the method of the current invention could be used with many prosthetics , including , e . g ., a cementless prosthesis , a hybrid prosthesis having a cemented stem and a cementless acetabular cup , a cemented prosthesis having both a cemented stem and a cemented acetabular cup , or an endo prosthesis for replacing only the femoral head . in a procedure in which a cemented femoral stem is utilized , the bone cement will generally be inserted through the anterior incision . it should also be understood by those skilled in the art that in a smaller patient the method of the current invention could be performed entirely through the anterior incision with no need to make a posterior incision as described above . while this invention has been described as having a preferred design , the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure . this application is therefore intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention using its general principles . further , this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims .	0
now , the present invention will be described more detailedly below with reference to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings and given in the form of the following numerical data : ______________________________________embodiment 1f = 18 . 363 ( 10x ), na = 0 . 25 , io = 210shielded ratio = 42 % wfa = 0 . 001 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 60 . 0 r . sub . 1 = - 2760 . 047 d . sub . 1 = - 40 . 0 r . sub . 2 = 89 . 774 d . sub . 2 = 40 . 0 r . sub . 3 = - 2760 . 047 d . sub . 3 = - 24 . 824 r . sub . 4 = - 29 . 936 d . sub . 4 = 24 . 824 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 23 = 64 . 82 , \| r . sub . 2 / r . sub . 3 \| × ( f / l . sub . 23 ) = 8 . 5 \| 2 / r . sub . 1 \| × ( l . sub . 23 . sup . 2 / f ) ______________________________________ = 0 . 17embodiment 2f = 18 . 0 , na = 0 . 25 , io = ∞ shielded ratio = 42 %, wfa = 0 . 001 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 58 . 184 r . sub . 1 = - 2544 . 113 d . sub . 1 = - 40 . 184 r . sub . 2 = 90 . 384 d . sub . 2 = 40 . 184 r . sub . 3 = - 2544 . 113 d . sub . 3 = - 25 . 440 r . sub . 4 = - 29 . 502 d . sub . 4 = 27 . 256 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 23 = 65 . 62 , \| r . sub . 2 / r . sub . 3 \| × ( f / l . sub . 23 ) = 8 . 39 \| 2 / r . sub . 1 \| × ( l . sub . 23 . sup . 2 / f ) ______________________________________ = 0 . 16embodiment 3f = 9 . 424 ( 20x ), na = 0 . 4 , io = 210shielded ratio = 21 % wfa = 0 . 003 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 54 . 747 r . sub . 1 = - 17554 . 737 d . sub . 1 = = 32 . 719 r . sub . 2 = 76 . 396 d . sub . 2 = 32 . 719 r . sub . 3 = - 17554 . 737 d . sub . 3 = - 27 . 693 r . sub . 4 = - 14 . 685 d . sub . 4 = 32 . 946 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 23 = 60 . 41 , \| r . sub . 2 / r . sub . 3 \| × ( f / l . sub . 23 ) = 8 . 11 \| 2 / r . sub . 1 \| × ( l . sub . 23 . sup . 2 / f ) ______________________________________ = 0 . 044embodiment 4f = 18 . 0 , na = 0 . 4 , io = ∞ shielded ratio = 21 %, wfa = 0 . 008 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 52 . 921 r . sub . 1 = - 9702 . 702 d . sub . 1 = - 33 . 565 r . sub . 2 = 77 . 199 d . sub . 2 = 33 . 565 r . sub . 3 = - 9702 . 702 d . sub . 3 = - 28 . 319 r . sub . 4 = - 14 . 387 d . sub . 4 = 35 . 398 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 23 = 61 . 88 , \| r . sub . 2 / r . sub . 3 \| × ( f / l . sub . 23 ) = 7 . 81 \| 2 / r . sub . 1 \| × ( l . sub . 23 . sup . 2 / f ) = 0 . 088embodiment 5f = 20 . 45 ( 10x ), na = 0 . 3 , io = 210shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 002 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 59 . 957 r . sub . 1 = - 72 . 673 d . sub . 1 = - 37 . 030 r . sub . 2 = - 245 . 472 d . sub . 2 = 31 . 735 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 19 . 662 r . sub . 4 = - 135 . 812 d . sub . 4 = 25 . 0 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 01 = 59 . 957 , \| φ . sub . 2 \| = 0 . 167 , \|. phi .. sub . 3 \| = 0 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| · f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 030embodiment 6f = 4 . 079 ( 50x ), na = 0 . 6 , io = 210shielded ratio = 42 %, wfa = 0 . 012 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 38 . 026 r . sub . 1 = - 42 . 132 d . sub . 1 = - 32 . 341 r . sub . 2 = - 3416 . 091 d . sub . 2 = 7 . 257 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 2 . 755 r . sub . 4 = - 10 . 271 d . sub . 4 = 49 . 813 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 01 = 38 . 026 , \| φ . sub . 2 \| = 0 . 0012 , \|. phi .. sub . 3 \| = 0 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| · f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 071embodiment 7f = 4 . 09 ( 50x ), na = 0 . 6 , io = 210shielded ratio = 42 %, wfa = 0 . 011 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 38 . 778 r . sub . 1 = - 42 . 897 d . sub . 1 = - 31 . 292 r . sub . 2 = ∞ d . sub . 2 = 6 . 981 r . sub . 3 = 1630 . 314 d . sub . 3 = - 4 . 815 r . sub . 4 = - 10 . 294 d . sub . 4 = 50 . 347 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 01 = 38 . 778 , \| φ . sub . 2 \| = 0 , \| φ . sub . 3 \| = 0 . 0025 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| · f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 066embodiment 8f = 2 . 597 ( 80x ), na = 0 . 65 , io = 210shielded ratio = 42 %, wfa = 0 . 047 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 29 . 943 r . sub . 1 = - 35 . 184 d . sub . 1 = - 14 . 931 r . sub . 2 = - 143 . 845 d . sub . 2 = 10 . 011 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 8 . 634 r . sub . 4 = - 9 . 838 d . sub . 4 = 53 . 622 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 01 = 29 . 943 , \| φ . sub . 2 \| = 0 . 036 , \|. phi .. sub . 3 \| = 0 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| · f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 043embodiment 9f = 2 . 25 , na = 0 . 65 , io = ∞ shielded ratio = 42 %, wfa = 0 . 048 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 28 . 422 r . sub . 1 = - 33 . 757 d . sub . 1 = - 23 . 22 r . sub . 2 = - 113 . 118 d . sub . 2 = 11 . 189 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 11 . 034 r . sub . 4 = - 9 . 721 d . sub . 4 = 54 . 644 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 01 = 28 . 422 , \| φ . sub . 2 \| = 0 . 04 , \|. phi .. sub . 3 \| = 0 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| · f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 034embodiment 10f = 2 . 091 ( 100x ), na = 0 . 7 , io = 210shielded ratio = 42 %, wfa = 0 . 077 λ______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 27 . 524 r . sub . 1 = - 32 . 864 d . sub . 1 = - 22 . 524 r . sub . 2 = - 101 . 946 d . sub . 2 = 11 . 817 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 11 . 817 r . sub . 4 = - 9 . 663 d . sub . 4 = 55 . 0 r . sub . 5 = ∞ l . sub . 01 = 27 . 524 , \| φ . sub . 2 \| = 0 . 041 , \|. phi .. sub . 3 \| = 0 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| · f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 03embodiment 11f = 18 . 9 ( 10x ), na = 0 . 25 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 009______________________________________ ∞ d . sub . 0 = 60 . 000 r . sub . 1 = ∞ d . sub . 1 = - 40 . 000 r . sub . 2 = 91 . 595 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 40 . 000 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 29 . 333 r . sub . 4 = - 33 . 09 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 29 . 333 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 2nd surface ) k = - 0 . 009124 ( e = 0 . 0955 ) a = 0 . 1176 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 1238 × 10 . sup .- 10c = 0 . 2238 × 10 . sup .- 13 , d = - 0 . 1295 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 4th surface ) k = 6 . 0263 ( e = 0 . 9261 ) a = 0 . 1751 × 10 . sup .- 4 , b = 0 . 1051 × 10 . sup .- 6c = - 0 . 5134 × 10 . sup .- 9 , d = - 0 . 5469 × 10 . sup .- 17l . sub . 01 = 100 , \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 1 . 241 × 10 . sup .- 4 \| δ . sub . 4 \| = 2 . 772 × 10 . sup .- 4 ) σopd × ( f / l . sub . 01 ). sup . 2 = 1 . 08 × 10 . sup .- 5______________________________________embodiment 12f = 9 . 53 ( 20x ), na = 0 . 4 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 30 %, wfa = 0 . 003______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 50 . 265 r . sub . 1 = ∞ d . sub . 1 = - 30 . 392 r . sub . 2 = 70 . 783 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 30 . 392 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 25 . 431 r . sub . 4 = - 15 . 065 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 35 . 166 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 2nd surface ) k = 0 . 000067 ( e = 0 . 0082 ) a = 0 . 4477 × 10 . sup .- 8 , b = 0 . 1077 × 10 . sup .- 11c = 0 . 2065 × 10 . sup .- 15 , d = 0 . 5609 × 10 . sup .- 19 ( 4th surface ) k = 0 . 4134 ( e = 0 . 541 ) a = 0 . 1631 × 10 . sup .- 5 , b = - 0 . 6342 × 10 . sup .- 7c = - 0 . 1338 × 10 . sup .- 16 , d = 0 . 1159 × 10 . sup .- 22l . sub . 01 = 80 . 7 , \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 1 . 904 × 10 . sup .- 4 \| δ . sub . 4 \| = 7 . 961 × 10 . sup .- 4σopd × ( f / l . sub . 01 ). sup . 2 = 1 . 60 × 10 . sup .- 5______________________________________embodiment 13f = 9 . 00 , na = 0 . 4 , image height = 0 . 525io = ∞, shielded ratio = 30 %, wfa = 0 . 003______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 45 . 715 r . sub . 1 = ∞ d . sub . 1 = - 30 . 766 r . sub . 2 = 69 . 755 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 30 . 766 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 25 . 805 r . sub . 4 = - 15 . 090 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 40 . 090 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 2nd surface ) k = - 0 . 007044 ( e = 0 . 0836 ) a = 0 . 5054 × 10 . sup .- 8 , b = 0 . 3564 × 10 . sup .- 11c = - 0 . 2448 × 10 . sup .- 14 , d = 0 . 1160 × 10 . sup .- 17 ( 4th surface ) k = 0 . 3426 ( e = 0 . 505 ) a = - 0 . 1049 × 10 . sup .- 4 , b = - 0 . 8342 × 10 . sup .- 7c = - 0 . 1337 × 10 . sup .- 16 , d = 0 . 1160 × 10 . sup .- 22l . sub . 01 = 76 . 5 , \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 2 . 896 × 10 . sup .- 4 \| δ . sub . 4 \| = 1 . 151 × 10 . sup .- 3σopd × ( f / l . sub . 01 ). sup . 2 = 2 . 28 × 10 . sup .- 5______________________________________embodiment 14f = 3 . 98 ( 50x ), na = 0 . 65 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 13 %, wfa = 0 . 004______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 37 . 559 r . sub . 1 = - 31 . 612 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 24 . 429 r . sub . 2 = - 5 . 805 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 46 . 869 r . sub . 3 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = - 0 . 0031 ( e = 0 . 0556 ) a = 0 . 1178 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = 0 . 2067 × 10 . sup .- 10c = - 0 . 2617 × 10 . sup .- 13 , d = 0 . 4283 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 2nd surface ) k = 0 . 3756 ( e = 0 . 523 ) a = 0 . 1579 × 10 . sup .- 3 , b = - 0 . 1191 × 10 . sup .- 5c = - 0 . 9051 × 10 . sup .- 8 , d = - 0 . 3210 × 10 . sup .- 9l . sub . 01 = 37 . 6 , \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 2 . 867 × 10 . sup .- 5 \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 2 . 739 × 10 . sup .- 3σopd × ( f / l . sub . 01 ). sup . 2 = 4 . 89 × 10 . sup .- 5______________________________________embodiment 15f = 3 . 98 ( 50x ), na = 0 . 65 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 13 %, wfa = 0 . 009______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 38 . 510 r . sub . 1 = - 32 . 405 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 25 . 114 r . sub . 2 = - 5 . 796 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 46 . 604 r . sub . 3 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = - 0 . 0014 ( e = 0 . 0376 )( 2nd surface ) k = 0 . 350 ( e = 0 . 510 ) l . sub . 01 = 38 . 5 , \| δ . sub . 1 \| = 1 . 576 × 10 . sup .- 4 \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 4 . 90 × 10 . sup .- 3σopd × ( f / l . sub . 01 ). sup . 2 = 7 . 98 × 10 . sup .- 5______________________________________embodiment 16f = 2 . 02 ( 100x ), na = 0 . 8 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 7 %, wfa = 0 . 004______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 35 . 12 r . sub . 1 = - 30 . 712 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 25 . 728 r . sub . 2 = - 3 . 141 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 50 . 607 r . sub . 3 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = - 0 . 00066 ( e = 0 . 0256 ) a = - 0 . 8066 × 10 . sup .- 9 , b = 0 . 1422 × 10 . sup .- 10c = - 0 . 2514 × 10 . sup .- 13 , d = 0 . 2349 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 2nd surface ) k = 0 . 4915 ( e = 0 . 574 ) a = 0 . 1816 × 10 . sup .- 3 , b = - 0 . 1191 × 10 . sup .- 5c = - 0 . 9051 × 10 . sup .- 8 , d = - 0 . 3210 × 10 . sup .- 9l . sub . 01 = 35 . 1 , \| δ . sub . 1 \| = 2 . 874 × 10 . sup .- 4 \| δ . sub . 2 \| = 1 . 142 × 10 . sup .- 2σopd × ( f / l . sub . 01 ). sup . 2 = 5 . 37 × 10 . sup .- 5______________________________________embodiment 17f = 18 . 616 ( 10x ), na = 0 . 3 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 002______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 57 . 647 r . sub . 1 = - 89 . 073 d . sub . 1 = - 26 . 544 r . sub . 2 = 171 . 562 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 20 . 419 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 16 . 522 r . sub . 4 = - 45 . 147 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 25 . 0 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 2nd surface ) k = - 2 . 426a = - 0 . 4935 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = 0 . 1232 × 10 . sup .- 9c = - 0 . 5092 × 10 . sup .- 12 , d = 0 . 7575 × 10 . sup .- 15 ( 4th surface ) k = 2 . 164a = - 0 . 1053 × 10 . sup .- 5 , b = - 0 . 1804 × 10 . sup .- 7c = 0 . 2249 × 10 . sup .- 9 , d = 0 . 1365 × 10 . sup .- 17 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 825 , l . sub . 01 = 57 . 65 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 034embodiment 18f = 10 . 081 ( 20x ), na = 0 . 4 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 002 r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 49 . 705 r . sub . 1 = - 66 . 745 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 31 . 705 r . sub . 2 = 251 . 254 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 16 . 016 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 16 . 257 r . sub . 4 = - 27 . 017 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 42 . 241 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = 0 . 1254a = - 0 . 5416 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 7677 × 10 . sup .- 11c = - 0 . 7486 × 10 . sup .- 13 , d = 0 . 3679 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 2nd surface ) k = - 144 . 7a = 0 . 379 × 10 . sup .- 6 , b = - 0 . 1154 × 10 . sup .- 8c = 0 . 1337 × 10 . sup .- 12 , d = 0 . 8476 × 10 . sup .- 15 ( 4th surface ) k = - 0 . 040a = - 0 . 9085 × 10 . sup .- 5 , b = 0 . 1759 × 10 . sup .- 7c = 0 . 1817 × 10 . sup .- 15 , d = 0 . 7730 × 10 . sup .- 20 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 746 , l . sub . 01 = 49 . 71 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 064 embodiment 19f = 9 . 914 ( 20x ), na = 0 . 4 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 43 %, wfa = 0 . 001______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 51 . 515 r . sub . 1 = - 65 . 533 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 33 . 025 r . sub . 2 = 325 . 343 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 16 . 172 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 13 . 80 r . sub . 4 = - 26 . 169 d . sub . 4 = 39 . 138 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = 0 . 149a = - 0 . 759 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 1344 × 10 . sup .- 10c = - 0 . 9162 × 10 . sup .- 13 , d = 0 . 7886 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 2nd surface ) k = - 232 . 7a = - 0 . 3437 × 10 . sup .- 6 , b = - 0 . 7614 × 10 . sup .- 9c = - 0 . 1791 × 10 . sup .- 11 , d = 0 . 6422 × 10 . sup .- 14 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 758 , l . sub . 01 = 51 . 52 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 063embodiment 20f = 10 . 02 ( 20x ), na = 0 . 4 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 041 r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 53 . 514 r . sub . 1 = - 65 . 241 d . sub . 1 = - 35 . 514 r . sub . 2 = 430 . 57 d . sub . 2 = 13 . 888 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 13 . 189 r . sub . 4 = - 26 . 095 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 41 . 301 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 4th surface ) k = - 1 . 68a = - 0 . 4481 × 10 . sup .- 4 , b = - 0 . 1879 × 10 . sup .- 7c = 0 . 4261 × 10 . sup .- 15 , d = 0 . 1125 × 10 . sup .- 19 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 768 , l . sub . 01 = 0 53 . 51 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 076embodiment 21f = 4 . 108 ( 50x ), na = 0 . 6 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 43 %, wfa = 0 . 001 r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 42 . 262 r . sub . 1 = - 48 . 054 d . sub . 1 = - 34 . 308 r . sub . 2 = 1100 . 224 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 8 . 231 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 7 . 251 r . sub . 4 = - 10 . 470 d . sub . 4 = 51 . 066 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = 0 . 0467a = - 0 . 7787 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 4891 × 10 . sup .- 10c = - 0 . 2253 × 10 . sup .- 13 , d = - 0 . 3260 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 2nd surface ) k = - 0 . 00002a = - 0 . 6849 × 10 . sup .- 5 , b = 0 . 4602 × 10 . sup .- 8c = - 0 . 394 × 10 . sup .- 10 , d = 0 . 1116 × 10 . sup .- 12 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 785 , l . sub . 01 = 42 . 26 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 060embodiment 22f = 4 . 089 ( 50x ), na = 0 . 6 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 001 r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 39 . 884 r . sub . 1 = - 43 . 884 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 31 . 390 r . sub . 2 = ∞ d . sub . 2 = 6 . 919 r . sub . 3 = 804 . 006 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 3 = - 5 . 717 r . sub . 4 = - 10 . 320 d . sub . 4 = 50 . 304 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = 0 . 0244a = - 0 . 3625 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 4297 × 10 . sup .- 10c = 0 . 2185 × 10 . sup .- 15 , d = - 0 . 3072 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 3rd surface ) k = - 0 . 00006a = 0 . 3436 × 10 . sup .- 4 , b = 0 . 2182 × 10 . sup .- 7c = - 0 . 3958 × 10 . sup .- 9 , d = - 0 . 3153 × 10 . sup .- 18 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 793 , l . sub . 01 = 39 . 88 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 063embodiment 23f = 3 . 60 , na = 0 . 6 , image height = 0 . 21io = ∞, shielded ratio = 43 %, wfa = 0 . 001______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 39 . 363 r . sub . 1 = - 45 . 347 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 31 . 477 r . sub . 2 = ∞ d . sub . 2 = 8 . 574 r . sub . 3 = 491 . 5 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 3 = - 9 . 028 r . sub . 4 = - 10 . 347 d . sub . 4 = 52 . 569 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = 0 . 024a = - 0 . 403 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 4432 × 10 . sup .- 10c = - 0 . 1792 × 10 . sup .- 14 , d = - 0 . 2659 × 10 . sup .- 16 ( 3rd surface ) k = 0 . 0a = 0 . 2302 × 10 . sup .- 4 , b = 0 . 2549 × 10 . sup .- 7c = - 0 . 9781 × 10 . sup .- 10 , d = 0 . 2618 × 10 . sup .- 19 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 696 , l . sub . 01 = 39 . 36 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 053embodiment 24f = 2 . 09 ( 100x ), na = 0 . 7 , image height = 10 . 5io = 210 , shielded ratio = 49 %, wfa = 0 . 005______________________________________ r . sub . 0 = ∞ d . sub . 0 = 51 . 916 r . sub . 1 = - 58 . 137 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 1 = - 43 . 901 r . sub . 2 = - 112 . 443 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 2 = 14 . 640 r . sub . 3 = ∞ d . sub . 3 = - 17 . 614 r . sub . 4 = - 8 . 792 ( aspherical surface ) d . sub . 4 = 54 . 959 r . sub . 5 = ∞ aspherical surface coefficient ( 1st surface ) k = 0 . 131a = 0 . 1035 × 10 . sup .- 7 , b = - 0 . 9119 × 10 . sup .- 12c = 0 . 1038 × 10 . sup .- 14 , d = - 0 . 1298 × 10 . sup .- 17 ( 2nd surface ) k = 18 . 612a = - 0 . 3451 × 10 . sup .- 5 , b = 0 . 4787 × 10 . sup .- 9c = - 0 . 1035 × 10 . sup .- 10 , d = - 0 . 182 × 10 . sup .- 13 ( 4th surface ) k = - 5 . 297a = - 0 . 8828 × 10 . sup .- 3 , b = - 0 . 1174 × 10 . sup .- 12c = - 0 . 1286 × 10 . sup .- 20 , d = 0 . 119 × 10 . sup .- 24 \| φ . sub . 4 \| = 0 . 475 , l . sub . 01 = 51 . 92 (\| δm . sub . 13 \| × f )/ l . sub . 01 . sup . 2 = ______________________________________0 . 023 wherein the reference symbols r 0 , r 1 , r 2 , . . . represent radii of curvature on the surfaces of the respective reflecting mirrors , and the reference symbols d 0 , d 1 , d 2 , . . . designate intervals reserved between the respective reflecting surfaces , the reference symbol r 0 denoting a specimen surface . the reference symbols d 0 , d 1 , . . . are preceded by the positive sign when light travels rightward in the drawings or the negative sign when light travels in the reverse direction . in the numerical data , the shielded ratios represent values of ( na min / na max ) 2 wherein the reference symbols na max and na min designate the maximum value and the minimum value of the numerical aperture for the light bundles allowed to pass through the respective reflecting objective systems as shown in the drawings illustrating the fundamental compositions thereof ( fig1 fig2 fig3 and fig4 ). out of the preferred embodiments , the embodiments 2 , 4 , 9 , 12 and 23 are of a type which forms an image at infinite distance , and aberrations of these embodiments are illustrated as those of the reflecting objective systems having an additional aplanatic lens system having a focal length of f = 180 . the numerical data list the wavefront aberrations ( wfa ) in axial values thereof which are calculated taking the shielded ratios into consideration and evaluated on a surface which is different from specimen surface selected for evaluating the aberrations indicated on the drawings illustrating aberration characteristics determined by tracing rays in the reverse direction so as to form images on the specimen surfaces . each of the embodiments 11 through 13 is designed as a reflecting objective system wherein the reflecting mirrors m 2 and m 3 shown in the drawing ( fig1 , fig1 or fig1 ) are used as the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror respectively , and the reflecting mirror m 1 is adopted for turning back the light . in each of the embodiments 11 through 16 , both the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror have aspherical surfaces . the embodiment 17 comprises aspherical surfaces on the second reflecting mirror and the third reflecting mirror , the embodiment 18 comprises aspherical surfaces on the first reflecting mirror , the second reflecting mirror and the fourth reflecting mirror , the embodiment 19 comprises aspherical surfaces on the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror , the embodiment 20 adopts an aspherical surfaces on the fourth reflecting mirror , the embodiment 21 uses aspherical surfaces on the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror , each of the embodiments 22 and 23 comprises aspherical surfaces on the first reflecting mirror and the third reflecting mirror , and the embodiment 24 adopts aspherical surfaces on the first reflecting mirror and the second reflecting mirror . as is understood from the foregoing description , the reflecting objective system according to the present invention has excellent optical performance . in the first and second types of the reflecting objective system according to the present invention , spherical aberration is corrected very favorably by using only the spherical surfaces , whereas in the third and fourth types , not only spherical aberration but also the offaxial aberrations are corrected very favorably by using the aspherical surfaces .	6
it is the object of the present invention to provide a ski exercising apparatus similar to that apparatus covered in cross - related documents above that is modularly enhanced such that , among other improvements , changing applications on the apparatus may be performed with minimal effort . it is also an object of the present invention that the above apparatus be generally and innovatively improved to accomplish a goal of maintaining a light weight while increasing strength and durability of the apparatus . a further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus as described above having a lower profile , improved safety features , and having fewer assembly parts with which to contend . it is also an object of the present invention to more accurately simulate the motions and dynamics of skiing in terrain , which varies in steepness , bumpiness and other aspects of the terrain , as well as skiing in such terrain at varying speeds and aggressiveness . yet another object of the present invention is to provide a ski apparatus having a monitoring system integrated therein which provides the user with information pertaining to the workout in order to enable the user to best utilize the apparatus and maximize effectiveness of the workout or training . such information may include elapsed time from start to finish of the workout , goal determination and accomplishment , energy or calories expended by the user , speed of turns , side travel distance of the wheeled carriage , and so on . it is still further an object of the present invention to provide such a ski exercising apparatus which , when used with special attachments and other new and novel apparatus , becomes a versatile rehabilitation and training tool that simulates the range of motion and balance required in many sports other than downhill skiing . such an apparatus is enabled for selectively stretching , strengthening or rehabilitating specific areas of the body , core stabilization , balance training and many other aspects of selected training and exercise . such an apparatus and system accurately reproduces the lateral movements required in most sports , thereby optimizing rehabilitation and helping to prevent injury to the user . such a ski - exercising apparatus is described in enabling detail below . fig1 is an elevation view of a frame structure 11 of a ski - exercising apparatus 9 according to an embodiment of the present invention . apparatus 9 is provided having a generally similar frame - architecture to previously described exercisers disclosed in related u . s . patents issued to the inventor except for novel improvements that are described below . for the purpose of clarification , only a frame structure 11 of apparatus 9 is described in this embodiment . additional components not seen here are described later in this specification . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , frame structure 11 comprises a pair of semi - arcuate rails 22 that are held parallel to each other and are affixed at either end of each rail to a pair of transverse end - members 27 . as this is an elevation view , only one of the pair of rails is seen . the spacing and parallelism is seen in plan view fig2 . this arrangement of rails 22 affixed to members 27 forms the basic frame - structure of apparatus 9 . one notable difference between semi - arcuate rails 22 and the fully arcuate rails disclosed in related patents such as rails 15 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 , is as the respective descriptors imply . that is , as in fig1 a , rails 22 are arced only in their center portions 23 and illustrated by a dimensional notation e . the dimension lines associated with portion 23 mark the locations where the arced portion of each rail 22 ends at positions sharing an equal distance from a theoretical vertical center of rails 22 . the total distance e in a preferred embodiment is approximately 26 inches , defined as that portion of each rail 22 that is arced . the stated arc of arcuate portion 23 has a radius of approximately 76 inches although a somewhat higher or lower radius may be used in other embodiments . non - arcuate portions of rails 22 are witnessed by element numbers 19 and 21 on the left and right side of apparatus 9 as seen in this view . the lengths ( taken horizontally ) for rail portions 19 and 21 are approximately 15 inches respectively . rail portions 19 and 21 are substantially straight from their junctures with arcuate portion 23 . the dimensions cited above are intended to be approximate only . when including an approximate 2 . 36 - inch ( 6 cm ) diameter for each transverse member 27 , the approximate overall length of frame structure 11 is about 61 inches . semi - arcuate rails 22 may be manufactured from heavy - gauge steel tubing as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 . in one embodiment , rails 22 may be made of extruded steel or aluminum bars rather than steel tubing , and rails may be solid or hollow in different embodiments . such rails may often also be formed in a forming die to manufacture tracks . solid aluminum bars may in some circumstances offer more strength than steel tubing in terms of flexing or bending while retaining a lightweight characteristic . moreover , such bars may be extruded to comply with varied shapes as may be desired , and may also be produced in hollow configurations . in this particular embodiment , rails 22 are solid and round in cross - section ( rods ). the semi - arcuate design and solid structure of rails 22 adds considerable strength and durability causing less flex when rails are in use . it is not specifically required that rails 22 be of round cross - section in order to practice the present invention . the inventor intends merely that keeping a round cross - section consistent with previously used steel tubing is consistent with conventional wheels used on wheeled - carriage assemblies such as carriage 11 described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 . in another embodiment , rails 22 may be extruded and then die - formed to a shape that may conform to an alternate wheel design . such an embodiment is described later in this specification . the size of rails 22 is approximately 2 . 5 cm . ( 1 - inch ) in diameter as is consistent with previous related embodiments . however , this should not be construed as a limitation in diameter but only a preference in balancing durability with lightweight characteristics . other diameters for rails 22 are plausible . transverse members used in an embodiment where rails are aluminum will also be made of aluminum tubing to facilitate welding . however , where rails are steel tubing or rods , transverse members will typically be manufactured from steel tubing . a durable polymer coating is applied to all visible parts and surfaces of apparatus 9 in order to provide a resistance to corrosion and for appearance purposes . the straight portions of rails 22 to each side of arcuate portion 23 provide a carriage movement in operation that more nearly simulates an actual skiing experience , as has been testified to by users of the apparatus . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , rails 22 are welded to transverse members 27 to form a one - piece truss - frame insuring long life and durability along with ease of assembly of associated elements . however , many fastening methods are known and practiced in the art and could also be used to affix rails 22 to transverse members 27 . the frame structure 11 of apparatus 9 also comprises belt guides 24 located in a substantially centered and parallel position in - between rails 22 and welded , at opposite ends , to transverse members 27 and to a support frame member 31 supporting the rails in the centered arcuate portion . belt guides 24 allow a power band such as element 23 of fig5 a of &# 39 ; 257 to be separated from the floor or carpet during operation , thus contributing to longer life and sparing wear and discoloration of the floor or carpet . a belt guide of the type disclosed herein has not been previously taught . a pair of raised ribs 26 running the length of belt guides 24 on each side of member 31 are provided and adapted to allow a power band to avoid contact with the bottom of belt guide 24 further reducing wear and noise . support member 31 is provided for the purpose of lending additional support to the frame structure 11 of apparatus 9 , and for housing mechanisms associated with operation of the exerciser . a structure of the same name is illustrated in fig5 a ( element 55 ) of &# 39 ; 257 and member 31 is analogous to that member , but improved in function . for example , support member 31 as illustrated herein , is longer in length than the aforementioned member 55 thereby supporting more area of rails 22 . support member 31 may be provided as one piece or as a plurality of components welded together such that one single piece is formed . support member 31 is made wider than previously disclosed support members such that it may be welded in some embodiments to the outside edges of rails 22 instead of having rail - inserted tabs as described with member 55 of fig5 a in &# 39 ; 257 . welding support member 31 to the outside edges of rails 22 increases the strength and durability of frame structure 11 , and allows further improvements described more fully below . support member 31 is further welded to belt guides 24 as previously described , effectively adding these components to frame structure 11 so as to form a single contiguous and integral frame , thereby lending strength , durability , and eliminating assembly requirements . also welded to support member 31 is a tension - adjustment structure 25 . structure 25 in this embodiment is a u - shaped structure welded to the bottom of member 31 such that two vertical planes are presented , one on each side of the power band path , with holes for positioning rollers for adjustment of power band tension . the length of structure 25 is such that it extends beyond each side of member 31 , as shown , and guides 24 weld to structure 25 . in this manner structure 25 becomes a part of the overall welded structure 11 adding durable strength to the structure as a whole . additionally , two roller brackets 34 are illustrated , housing rollers 35 in this embodiment , and these are also welded to transverse members 27 and to belt guide 24 , and are part of frame structure 11 of apparatus 9 . much assembly is avoided and much durability and strength is added by providing a multi - component but single piece welded frame architecture for apparatus 9 as will readily be appreciated by one with skill in the art . a protective resilient , non - skid pad 29 is provided and mounted in a position beneath support member 31 . pad 29 may be affixed to support member 31 by gluing , fastening such as by recessed screws , or other known methods . the purpose of pad 29 is to protect floor coverings from contact with support member 31 so as to avoid scratching and the like , as well as to keep apparatus 9 from skidding when in use . this pad also provides service in reducing vibration and noise . four resilient end - caps 17 are provided to cover the ends of transverse members 27 . end - caps 17 provide non - skid contacts between apparatus 9 and a floor or other support surface . another component illustrated in this embodiment is an optional support frame 14 for a novice user to hold on to for stabilization while using apparatus 9 . support frame 14 , termed an assistant coach by the inventor , comprises a tubing structure 16 , a cross member 13 , and padded gripping areas 15 . tubing structure 16 may be a one - piece tube bent to form structure 16 , or a combination of straight and curved pieces , which are provided and assembled to form structure 16 . steel or another form of durable tubing of an approximate 1 - inch diameter may be used . other sizes are also useful . gripping areas 15 ( one on each side ) may be formed of a durable synthetic material such as a dense polyurethane foam , vinyl , or other materials known for providing a gripping surface to tube handles and the like that are common in the field of exercise equipment . in one embodiment , gripping areas 15 may be removed such as by conventional methods known in the art . in another embodiment , gripping areas 15 are permanent such as sprayed on or glued . cross member 13 may be manufactured from a durable plastic or other material such as sheet steel or aluminum . cross member 13 may in some embodiments be welded to tube structure 16 . in other embodiments , other known fastening techniques such as nut and bolt , or metal screws may be used . there are many possibilities . support frame 14 is welded or fastened to two transverse members similar to members 27 but not seen here because of the direction of view ( see fig2 element 49 ). such members act as an optional extension to transverse members 27 at the rear of apparatus 9 . by removing resilient end - caps 17 from the rear or front of apparatus 9 , support structure 14 may be connected to the transverse members 27 of frame structure 11 . in some embodiments an additional interface and support element is added between elements 11 and 27 . fig2 is a plan view of the frame structure 11 of apparatus 9 of fig1 with added components illustrated according to an embodiment of the present invention . as previously described , support frame 14 is an optional extension to frame structure 11 of apparatus 9 . a user wishing to install support frame 14 simply removes two end caps 17 from the rear of frame structure 11 and connects the support frame . the point of connection for the two structures is illustrated as line 51 at either end of device 9 . transverse members 49 each have a fitting end 52 that is of a smaller diameter over a suitable length than the inside diameter of transverse members 27 . the diameter is small enough so that transverse members 49 may be easily fit into transverse members 27 such that when fully inserted lines 51 are formed representing the joining of each structure . circular shims ( not shown ) that are once split through along a longitudinal edge of each shim are used to obtain a snug fit between transverse members 27 and 49 . such shimming methods are well known in the art . setscrews ( not shown ) or other known types of fasteners may be used to secure the installation . as seen in this overhead view , power band guides 24 extend from each end of the structure ( members 27 ) toward the center and are welded at opposite ends to structure 25 , which in turn welds to member 31 ( fig1 a ). roller brackets 34 are welded to transverse members 27 and to belt guide 24 as previously described above . two rollers 47 and 45 are illustrated as mounted to tensioning structure 25 . rollers 47 and 48 are provided and adapted to support a central power band 46 . likewise , a power band 43 is supported by rollers 35 and 37 . an additional roller ( not shown ) is provided for further support of power band 46 and is centered in - line and in - between rollers 47 and 45 at a raised position such that a triangular configuration of the three rollers is formed . power bands 43 and 46 are manufactured of a proprietary rubber compound or similar material as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 . aforementioned rollers such as rollers 35 and 37 are manufactured of polypropylene or similar material in a preferred embodiment . tension - adjustment structure 25 acts as a rigid mounting location for rollers 47 and 45 . a plurality of openings provided in collinear arrangement through opposite - facing sides of structure 25 are used to mount rollers 47 and 45 via a quick - release pin - and - shaft mounting technique that is described in detail later in this specification . by removing and re - mounting rollers in different positions on structure 25 , tension adjustments to power band 46 may be affected . a wheeled lower carriage assembly indicated as element 33 in fig2 , but best seen in fig4 , rides on rails 22 . this carriage is described in further detail below with reference to fig4 . foot platforms 39 and 41 are mounted to an upper platform unit 89 , which in turn mounts to the lower wheeled carriage assembly by fasteners 53 . the arrangement of an upper platform for footpads mounting as a unit to a lower wheeled carriage allows different footpad arrangements to be quickly and easily traded on a standard wheeled carriage . center fastener 54 is not used when installing and removing upper foot platforms , because it is a mounting fastener for a power - band roller beneath carriage 33 . a clearance hole is provided in the upper platform for this fastener . foot platforms 39 and 41 , in the arrangement shown , provide a parallel skiing simulation that is one option for mode of operation with apparatus 9 . by swapping upper platforms with different foot interface arrangements the overall apparatus can be quickly adapted to other applications , as will be clearer with following description . in the embodiment shown , foot platforms 39 and 41 each have a footpad surface thereon . footpad surface 38 is affixed to platform 39 , and footpad surface 42 is affixed to platform 41 . footpad surfaces 38 and 42 are preferably made of a non - skid durable rubber material . surfaces 38 and 42 may be installed using an adhesive , or other known methods such as screw fasteners or the like . similarly , other materials may be used instead of rubber as long as a non - skid effect is maintained . rollers 35 , 37 , 47 , 45 , and the previously described roller ( not shown ) that completes a triangular configuration with rollers 47 and 45 are now significantly larger in diameter than rollers previously disclosed in related applications . whereas previously disclosed rollers were described as having about a 1 - inch ( 2 . 5 cm ) diameter , the rollers of the present invention have substantially a 2 - inch ( 5 cm ) diameter and are crowned . that is , the rollers are somewhat curved on the outer surface that meets the power band , so there is a marginally larger diameter at the center plane of the roller than at the roller edges . this improvement in design ensures that the power bands always remain centered on the rollers , which obviates contact with roller brackets and the like , reducing frictional wear to the power bands , and leads to smoother and quieter operation of apparatus 9 . fig3 is a perspective view of the center portion of frame structure 11 of fig1 with covering components removed to show the elements beneath . as previously described , support member 31 is welded to rails 22 . in this example , a plurality of individual welds 55 is placed symmetrically along the length of support member 31 . there are three welds 55 shown in this example , however , there may be more or fewer such welds without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . in one embodiment , a continuous weld may run the entire length of support member 31 . also in this example , welds 55 are illustrated as being placed from the outside edges ( rear - edge welds not visible ) of support member 31 to the outside of rails 22 . there are many possibilities regarding number of and location of welds 55 . tensioning structures 25 , as described with reference to fig1 and 2 , are welded to belt guides 24 and to support member 31 . brackets 25 are shown with rollers 47 and 45 mounted thereon . a suitable thickness for the material used to manufacture support member 31 and belt guide 24 is about 3 mm , or ⅛ of an inch . in one embodiment of the present invention , aircraft quality aluminum may replace sheet steel for such components where possible . using high quality aluminum instead of materials such as steel cited in related applications helps to strengthen frame structure 11 as well as to reduce weight . yet another marked improvement over the prior art is in the method of clamping the ends of power bands . in related documents it is described that the central resilient element has it &# 39 ; s ends clamped at one location while a second resilient element has its ends clamped at locations on either side of the central clamp . therefore three clamping locations exist for securing the free ends of power bands . in this example , only one clamping location 57 is required . clamp 57 secures both the ends of power band 43 and those of power band 46 of fig2 . this method reduces work - steps required to install power bands . a single clamping location also ads considerable safety in that only one clamp must be checked for integrity therefore lessening the possibility of error in set - up . in this particular example , clamp 57 is a bar clamp utilizing two standard hex - head nuts and bolts to effect tightening . fig3 also illustrates the positioning of rollers 45 and 47 in structures 25 . the position of the rollers in this embodiment can be changed into any other of the holes in the sides of structures 25 to adjust the tension on the inner power band . fig4 is a perspective view of wheeled carriage - assembly 33 shown without an upper foot - platform 89 according to an embodiment of the present invention . as disclosed in related applications such as u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 , for example , there are four main weight - bearing wheels that are mounted to the carriage body and adapted to make contact on the upper surfaces of rails 22 such that the carriage assembly may ride side - to - side on the rails as urged by a user . the wheels are approximately 2 cm wide and are machined using an ultra high molecular weight ( uhmw ) long - chain polymer material as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 . a standard button - head shoulder - bolt ( not shown ) forms the shaft of each wheel . ball bearings , washers , a lock washer , and a castle nut complete the assembly components for mounting wheels to the carriage body as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 . as in &# 39 ; 257 , there are four main wheels that ride on upper surfaces of rails 22 . two are visible in this embodiment and are represented by element numbers 67 and 68 . the remaining two main wheels are located toward the rear portion of carriage assembly 33 and are therefore hidden from view by carriage body 70 , and are not represented in fig4 to avoid unnecessary detail . these main wheels are mounted rotationally to carriage body 70 . wheels 67 and 68 in a preferred embodiment are mounted at an approximate 12 degree angle from vertical with the angle toward the space in - between rails 22 such that they make contact with a more inwardly surface of each rail . the rolling surface of each wheel is concave such that the radius across the width of each wheel substantially matches the cross - sectional radius of rails 22 . wheels 67 and 68 as well as two main wheels that are not visible here are mounted through provided openings strategically located on carriage body 70 . in this embodiment , an additional set of four keeper wheels is provided of which two wheels 71 and 69 are visible in this view . two other keeper wheels are located toward the rear of carriage assembly 33 and are hidden in this view by carriage body 70 . components forming the shaft and mounting hardware for keeper - wheels 71 and 69 are the same as those already described for wheels 67 and 68 . keeper wheel 71 and 69 are strategically located beneath rails 22 at angled positions that are inverted from the angled positions of main wheels 67 and 68 , and directly below weight - bearing wheels . two angled mounting brackets 75 and 73 are provided and adapted to secure keeper wheels 71 and 69 by being also mounted to upper wheels 67 and 68 . wheels at the rear of carriage assembly 33 ( not shown ) are similarly secured as brackets 75 and 73 run the entire length of carriage assembly 33 . in this embodiment brackets 73 and 75 are secured to the upper wheels and the lower wheels , so the lower keeper wheels are positioned by the upper wheels , which are mounted to the carriage body . in other embodiments brackets 73 and 75 may extend further upward and be fastened to the underside of the carriage , such as by rivets or welding . the brackets may , for example , be fastened by any convention joining means . angled mounting - brackets 75 and 73 assume an inclusive angle of approximately 140 degrees such that each wing is substantially parallel to desired wheel positions when mounted . ideally , carriage assembly 33 will remain resident on rails 22 when changing applications . this will allow for interchangeability of pre - assembled modules that are complete with selected foot platforms mounted . upper platforms such as platform 89 of fig2 may vary in physical appearance depending on the application ; however , identical fastening locations allow interchangeability with carriage assemblies such as carriage assembly 33 . there are yet additional improvements made to assembly 33 over the prior art . one such improvement is the provision of two clamping locations 63 a and 65 a located on the under - surface of carriage body 70 for the outer power band . a clamp bar 63 is illustrated as one of two such clamp bars that are used to secure resilient element 43 . a second clamp bar for clamping location 65 a is not shown , but may be assumed to be present . previous embodiments disclosed in related documents describe only one clamping location located directly beneath the center of the carriage assembly . an advantage of having power band 43 clamped in two locations is that noise caused by a resilient element flapping against the underside of the carriage body is eliminated , and the carriage is stabilized even further . roller 59 is a third roller previously described to form a triangular configuration of rollers to support power band 46 of fig2 . like all rollers described in this specification , roller 59 is crowned for the purpose of guiding resilient member 46 such that it remains centered on the rollers . in this embodiment , roller 59 assumes a position much nearer in proximity to the underside of carriage body 70 than in the cross - referenced patents . this is due in part to the larger diameter ( 2 inch ) attributed to rollers of the present invention as opposed to previously disclosed 1 inch diameter rollers in related documents . in addition , roller 59 is simply mounted in a position that is nearer the underside of carriage body 70 by means of a roller bracket 61 . this is done to reduce wear caused by resilient members rubbing and slapping against each other , and also , to reduce associated noise . the clearance is carefully designed as well so that , as the roller carriage moves to each side and back on the rails , the slack portion of the outer power band is carried to the side in the direction of carriage motion , which also reduces noise and sudden engagement . it will be apparent to one with skill in the art that there are other possible wheel arrangements that may be used with carriage assembly 33 than the one illustrated herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , the tilt angle of main and keeper wheels may be more or less than 20 degrees as mentioned in this embodiment . there may also be more or fewer main and or keeper wheels than is illustrated here . in one embodiment , independent wheel pairs comprising one main wheel and an associated keeper wheel may be bracketed independently such that there are four independently movable wheel sets . fig5 is a perspective view of an upper platform assembly 90 supporting a suspended footpad 79 mounted to a carriage assembly 33 ( wheels and brackets not shown ) according to an embodiment of the present invention . in this example , a single suspended footpad 79 is provided and adapted to be pivotally suspended over upper platform assembly 90 , termed a cradle in related u . s . pat . no . 5 , 020 , 793 , by means of two pivot points 85 and 87 . each pivot point 85 and 87 , in a preferred embodiment , comprises a journal bearing , a spacer bushing , and a threaded stud with suitable lock washers and a nut fastener . there are equivalent ways known in the art to accomplish such a pivot . a suitable rubber cover is provided and adapted to fit over pivot points 85 and 87 to protect components from corrosion and general exposure . pivot points 85 and 87 are arraigned in collinear fashion on opposite facing support wings represented by element number 81 . the pivots are fixedly mounted in vertical structures 83 , which are a part of the platform that mounts to carriage 33 . as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 020 , 793 , footpad 79 may swing freely about pivot points 85 and 87 as illustrated by double arcs that represent direction of swing . the general application illustrated in this example is as stated in the aforementioned related document whereas a user places only one foot in footpad 79 after it is installed on apparatus 9 of fig1 . by traversing back and forth over rails 22 of fig1 , he or she experiences a benefit of simulated edging . as the length of traversing approaches maximum length of rails 22 , footpad 79 pivots maximally about pivot ends 85 and 87 . also noted herein is a no - skid surface 93 provided in the same fashion as previously disclosed in fig2 ( elements 38 and 42 ). the fasteners for mounting the upper platform to carriage 33 are not seen in this view , but are the same as previously described for upper platforms in this disclosure . according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention , footpad 79 with upper platform assembly 90 may be removed as one unit from and installed as one unit onto any wheeled carriage assembly having suitable mounting locations . in this way , a carriage assembly such as assembly 33 of fig2 may be kept resident on apparatus 9 of fig2 with the loosening , removing , and re - tightening of only two hex - head nuts being required to change applications . this method reflects the modular nature of accessories such as footpad 79 mounted to upper platforms according to a preferred embodiment . loosening and tightening bolts may be performed with the aid of a convenient t - handle socket tool ( not shown ) adapted to fit hex - head nuts 53 . in a preferred embodiment , all hex - head nuts subject to requirements of being removed and replaced due to the change of applications are the same size fitting the t - handle socket tool . carriage assembly 33 is shown in this example to illustrate orientation of footpad 79 . carriage assembly 33 may be of a different overall length than assembly 33 of fig2 . for example , a single footpad such as footpad 79 does not require a longer carriage assembly whereas a dual footpad installation would require a longer carriage assembly . in a preferred embodiment , carriage assembly 33 of fig2 has a maximum length such that all modular accessories are supported . that is not to say , however , that a modular accessory cannot have it &# 39 ; s own carriage of a different overall length . carriage assembly 33 of fig2 would preferably remain resident on rails 22 of apparatus 9 ( fig2 ), especially if keeper wheels are used as previously described . however , in an alternate embodiment where keeper wheels are not used , the carriage assembly illustrated in this example may have main wheels installed and may be thought of as one module comprising assembly 33 , upper platform 90 , and footpad 79 . in this embodiment , a roller such as roller 59 of fig4 may be shared between different applications . a quick release of roller 59 and removal of bar clamps such as clamp 63 a of fig4 will also allow removal and replacement of different modules . however , removing bar clamps entails much more effort on the part of a user . the added effort may be offset by the fact that different applications may require different tensioning adjustment with respect to a resilient member such as member 46 of fig2 . in addition to providing a single footpad in modular fashion as illustrated herein , in a further embodiment an upper platform is provided having two such single suspended footpads may be mounted in spaced - apart fashion . in yet another embodiment an upper platform assembly is provided wherein the spacing between suspended footpads is adjustable , and the adjustment apparatus is described further below with reference to fig1 . also , because of added keeper wheels such as wheels 69 and 71 of fig4 , retaining a wheeled carriage on rails 22 , footpad ( s ) 79 may be significantly extended in length without the risk of tipping carriage 33 off of rails when in use . fig6 is an elevation view of wheeled carriage - assembly 33 , upper platform 89 , and mounted foot platforms 39 and 41 of fig2 according to an embodiment of the present invention . part of the upper carriage walls are broken out in this figure for the purpose of enabling a view of inner components , and the bottom plate of upper platform 89 is therefore shown partially in cross - section . as with previously disclosed embodiments described in related documents , footpads 39 and 41 are pivotally mounted to pivot supports 103 and 105 respectively . supports 103 and 105 are part of the upper - platform assembly not removed in this example . there are four pivot supports such as supports 103 and 105 with the remaining two identical supports positioned directly behind and to the backside of assembly 33 and therefore not seen in this view . pivot pins 102 and 111 form a pivotal connection between depended ears 109 and 110 and an identical set of depended ears ( not shown ) located at the backside of footpads 39 and 41 respectively . a section - view of this relationship is detailed and described in &# 39 ; 257 fig6 . footpads 39 and 41 are die - cast in one embodiment to include the described depended ears . a link - rod 115 is provided and attached to pivot points 104 and 113 . the above - described configuration including components is duplicated at the backside of the assembly . the connected link - rod assembly enables footpads 39 and 41 to pivot in unison during operation of apparatus 9 of fig2 . resilient blocks 97 and 95 are provided as shock absorbers and are made of rubber or other suitable resilient materials . link - rod 115 is of a length such that when attatched to pivot points 104 and 113 with footpads 39 and 41 brought to their center - most position about pivot rods 102 and 111 , that each footpad is canted , in some embodiments , somewhat toward the center ( canted positions not specifically shown ). however , in other embodiments it is desired that footpads 39 and 41 may be adjusted to assume a more level profile to facilitate use by more experienced users . there are two ways to accomplish this task . in one embodiment , a second set of link - rods ( not shown ) is provided of a shorter overall length than the set represented by link - rod 115 . by replacing link - rods 115 with the shorter rods , footpads 39 and 41 may be canted to a more level position . this , of course assumes that footpads 39 and 41 as used , in this embodiment , with link - rod 115 are canted in as described above . this method requires that four link - rods be provided with the modular footpad - assembly , two for the canted - in configuration , and two for the more level configuration . in another embodiment link rods are provided that are themselves adjustable , so the effective length of the rods , and therefore the degree of cant of the footpads may be adjusted within certain limits . fig7 a is perspective broken - view of a portion of a rail 22 , transverse end - member 27 , and end - cap 17 according to an embodiment of the present invention . in a preferred embodiment , rails 22 are welded to a location ( w ) above the longitudinal centerline of transverse end - members 27 . the higher location allows keeper wheels such as wheels 71 and 69 of fig4 from coming in contact with the floor at maximally traversed locations on rails 22 . end - cap 17 now has a corrugated bottom for shock absorption as well as additional no - skid protection . fig7 b is an elevation view of an end - side of end cap 17 of fig7 a . end - cap 17 is molded of rubber - like material as described in previous embodiments . in order to improve over previous designs , a series of alternating raised portions 119 and grooves 117 are provided to form a corrugation feature extending across the bottom surface of cap 17 . as described above , this adds a no - skid enhancement and a shock absorption enhancement . fig7 c is a plan view of a bottom - side of end cap 17 of fig7 b . in addition to a corrugation formed by hills 119 and valleys 117 , a pattern containing a plurality of through openings is provided generally through the bottom surface of end cap 17 and extending into the inner space reserved for housing the circular end of transverse member 27 of fig7 a . these openings are also illustrated in fig7 b as vertical dotted lines but are not described or witnessed . openings 121 provide additional shock absorption capability . there are nine such openings in this example , however , it will be apparent to one with skill in the art that more or fewer openings 121 may be provided . moreover , differing patterns may be used as well . fig8 is a perspective view illustrating components of a quick - release roller - assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention . as previously described in fig2 and 4 above , rollers supporting power bands such as roller 47 illustrated here , are crowned . such a crowned area is labeled and illustrated by an accompanying witness arrow . a dimension c represents the diameter of roller 47 at the crowned area . it has been described above that a preferred diameter is 2 - inches for rollers , which is assumed to be taken at the crowned area leaving the end diameters of each roller less than two inches in diameter . however , in some embodiments , the crowned area of a roller such as roller 47 may be larger than 2 - inches . a roller shaft or pin 123 is provided and adapted to be an axle for roller 47 between elements of structure 25 of which broken portions are represented here . pin 123 has a spring - loaded detent 125 in one end and a pull ring 124 through a hole in the other end . through - openings in elements 25 , each having a polymer bushing 127 , are provided to receive pin 123 . by placing a roller in position between brackets 25 , pin 123 may be placed through selected collinear bracket - holes with bushings 127 and roller 47 . pin 123 is of sufficient length such that it protrudes past the outer surfaces of structure 25 on both sides , and when in place detent 125 prevents accidental withdrawal . the quick - release pins for rollers provide a means of quickly re - positioning rollers in structure 25 for tensioning adjustment . in an alternative embodiment later described , the rollers may be adjustably spaced even more simply using a dialed adjustment mechanism . fig9 a is a plan view of an elongated footpad 133 and carriage - assembly 33 according to an embodiment of the present invention . a single footpad 133 is provided and adapted as a snowboard simulator presented as an option for apparatus 9 of fig2 . footpad 133 is pivotally mounted to an upper platform assembly 89 in much the same fashion as footpads 39 and 41 of fig6 except that footpad 133 is centrally mounted and there is no link - rod assembly required . carriage assembly 33 is also illustrated in this example to show orientation only . a non - slip surface 135 , preferably made of rubber - like material , is provided as in other embodiments previously described . raised edges 131 are provided around the outer edges of footpad 133 for added protection from slipping . a dimension l ( length ) is provided to be sufficient for allowing a user to place both feet on footpad 133 in positions similar to those used in snowboarding . a standard example would be standing sideways one foot spaced apart from the other about shoulder width . the exact dimension may vary according to application , however 25 inches should be sufficient for most users . a dimension w ( width ) is provided to be sufficient for covering the length of a users shoe or boot , about 15 inches . in some embodiments not shown , there may be molded or otherwise formed positions to engage a user &# 39 ; s feet , and fastening arrangements are also possible . in another preferred embodiment of the invention the mounting of the single footpad for simulating operation of a snowboard is as shown for the footpads of fig5 , with the footpad suspended from pivots higher than the foot position . the application presented here is only possible in an embodiment wherein keeper wheels are used such as wheel 71 and 69 of fig4 . footpad 133 and upper platform 89 is a modular accessory and may be easily mounted to carriage assembly 33 of fig2 by removing two hex - head nuts 132 , placing the unit over carriage assembly 33 of fig2 and then replacing and re - tightening the nuts . clearance holes 134 are provided through footpad 133 to allow access for a t - handle socket - tool such as the one previously described in fig5 . fig9 b is an elevation view of mounted footpad 133 of fig9 a . as described in previous embodiments , footpad 133 is die - cast . however , other suitable materials and forming methods may also be used . depended ears 137 are provided at either end on the underside of footpad 133 for the purpose of accepting a pivot rod 141 through collinear and opposite facing openings . pivot rod 141 also extends through collinear openings provided in support wings 142 arranged in similar opposite facing fashion as depended ears 137 . when mounted , pivot rod 141 extends through all four collinear openings in depended ears 137 and support wings 142 . pivot rod 141 also extends through both walls of the upper platform assembly 89 of fig9 a ( not shown ). pivot rod 141 may be secured to the above mentioned carriage walls by castle nuts or other types of fastening nuts ( not shown ) as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 147 , 257 . in this example , there are no link - rods or other required hardware to direct rotation of footpad 141 . rather , a resilient stop is provided and adapted to stabilize the rotation of footpad 133 while in use . stop 139 is analogous to resilient blocks 97 and 95 of fig6 in that it acts to impede and direct rotation . however , resilient stop 139 is provided as one piece rather than two pieces in this example . stop 139 also extends the length of carriage assembly 89 such that maximum support is afforded . when not in use , footpad 133 rests against stop 139 in a centered and level position . in one embodiment , stop 139 has two areas within its molded architecture that are hollow or perhaps filled with a less dense material than rubber . these areas are shown here by dotted polygonal shapes . the respective areas lie , one beneath the left side of footpad 133 , and one beneath the right of footpad 133 . when footpad 133 is in use such as on apparatus 9 of fig2 , the areas within stop 139 are caused to collapse under pressure of a respective side of footpad 133 during normal rotation . for example , each time a user traverses to one side of apparatus 9 , the opposite - side area is caused to collapse . several factors dictate the amount of collapse . these factors include a user &# 39 ; s weight , speed of traverse , and any hard motions urged on footpad 133 by the user . preferably , resilient stop 139 is manufactured to withstand sudden shock , and be strong enough to support a considerable stress without complete collapse . advanced users may simulate back and forth movements experienced in snowboarding . fig1 is an elevation view of frame structure 11 of fig1 illustrating an optional roller / band tensioning hardware 143 according to an embodiment of the present invention . according to this embodiment of the present invention , an optional apparatus and method is provided for tensioning a central power band such as band 46 of fig2 . instead of a quick - release method for rollers as described in fig5 , whereby rollers are removed and then re - mounted in different positions , structure 25 on each side now has an elongated slot 153 for enabling a mounted roller such as roller 45 to be loosened and slidably positioned . each structure 25 has opposite slots 153 on either side of belt - guide 24 such that a pair of slots 153 may accept a roller assembly such as for rollers 45 and 47 . rollers 47 and 45 are , in this embodiment , held by an upper toothed - rail 145 for roller 45 , and a lower toothed - rail 147 for roller 47 , further illustrated in following fig1 a . bracketed roller mounts ( not detailed ) on the roller side of each toothed rail form a rigid connection between the roller shafts of respective rollers to respective toothed rails . toothed rail 145 is rectangular in cross - section and has a plurality of gear - teeth ( not shown ) arraigned along its length in the manner of a gear rack . in some embodiments a standard gear rack may be used . when positioned properly , toothed rail 145 presents its gear teeth in a downward direction or along its bottom surface . toothed rail 147 is identical to toothed rail 145 and they are , in fact , interchangeable . an inverse positional relationship exists with toothed rails 145 ( top rail ) and 147 ( bottom rail ) such that respective gear tracks will face each other . toothed rails 145 and 147 are held parallel and in position by a rail guide 150 , as shown in fig1 and 11c and d . rail guide 150 has two rail - keepers installed thereon and adapted to hold toothed rails 145 and 147 in a parallel relationship and at the required distance apart . these are a rail keeper 149 positioned left of center , and a rail keeper 151 positioned right of center . the above - mentioned components of hardware 143 are manufactured of a durable material to provide wear resistance , for example , and there are several suitable materials for such applications . a gear ( pinion ) 159 , as shown in fig1 a and b , is provided and adapted to mesh with opposite - facing gear tracks as presented on toothed rails 145 and 147 . in this example , the gear is positioned directly behind of and forms a part of a gear - handle assembly 155 . hardware 143 may be conveniently mounted to the inside front surface of u - shaped support member 31 with conventional fasteners as known in the art . a cutout opening 157 is provided through the front wall of u - shaped support structure 31 to enable user access to a gear - handle assembly 155 for the purpose of adjusting tension . in some embodiments there is an access door . in operation , a user adjusts power band tension to a greater or lesser amount by turning gear - handle assembly 155 clockwise ( more tension ) or counterclockwise ( less tension ). when the desired tension is achieved , he or she then releases a spring - loaded handle , and the positions are maintained . it may be assumed , of course , that a power band such as band 46 of fig2 is in place during this operation . an incremental scale is preferably provided as a stamped or otherwise marked convention on the front face of support member 31 , or along surfaces of the guides for the adjustment assembly . this will allow a user to return to known tension amounts without experimentation . it will be apparent to one with skill in the art that a method for mounting hardware 143 to frame structure 11 may differ from the specific apparatus illustrated here without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , u - shaped support member 31 may have a suitable slot running along its length for hardware 143 to fit into . there are other possibilities . fig1 a is a broken view of a portion of toothed rails ( racks ) 145 and 147 and a toothed gear ( pinion ) 159 of fig1 according to an embodiment of the present invention . gear 159 , as previously described in fig1 , is positioned between and meshes with toothed rails 145 and 147 . fig1 b is an elevation view of the handle assembly 155 of fig1 , and its integration with gear 159 and its mounting and operation . in this embodiment gear 159 is fixedly mounted to a shaft 173 that extends through opposite frame members 167 and 175 carried by bearings 177 . a serrated wheel 165 is slidably mounted to shaft 173 outside the area of gear 159 by a spline on the shaft and the wheel . shaft 173 has an end 161 and a compression spring which urges wheel 165 toward frame member 167 . pins 169 fit into matching holes in frame member 167 , urged by spring 165 . a user may grasp wheel 165 , pull it toward end 161 against spring 165 , whereby pins 169 are withdrawn from the matching holes in frame member 167 , and the wheel is free to turn the gear . by turning the gear in either direction the user can then move rollers 47 and 45 either closer together or further apart , thus adjusting the tension on the power band . when the user releases the wheel , the spring causes the pins to re - engage , and the rollers are then retained in the new positions . it will be apparent to one with skill in the art that there are many other mechanisms that may be employed to create a spring - loaded engagement handle for gear 159 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . other handle functions and assembly requirements may differ from the example shown here . the inventor intends the above - described handle assembly to be only one example . the skilled artisan will understand that supporting guide 150 , as shown in fig1 c and fig1 d , and other supporting elements for the rack - and - pinion mechanism described above may be accomplished in a number of different ways , and is within the skill of engineering practitioners . detailed description of this portion of the mechanism is therefore not undertaken here . fig1 e is a broken view of a portion of lower rack 147 , roller 47 , and a bracketed roller - mount 187 of fig1 . as previously described , a roller such as roller 47 is mounted to a rack such as rack 147 by means of a bracketed roller mount shown here as element 187 . roller mount 187 is adapted to fit over the ends of a roller axle by virtue of a forked construction , similar in some respects to a mount for a paint roller , for example . fig1 f is a plan view of the assembly of fig1 e . as can be seen in this view , roller mount 187 is a simple forked bracket structure fastened to the end of rack 147 . guide ends 188 are provided for guiding in slots of the rail guides 150 to constrain the translation direction in operation . in a preferred embodiment these guides are of a uhmw material for low - friction and for noise and vibration reduction . fig1 is a perspective view of an adjustable double - footpad upper module 195 according to a further embodiment of the present invention . this model is termed the double black diamond model by the inventor . as previously noted in fig5 , a suspended footpad assembly such as footpad 79 may be double mounted in an adjustable manner . two suspended footpads 79 are illustrated in this embodiment mounted in a locked position on an adjustable plate assembly 189 . footpads 79 are similar in construction to footpad 79 of fig5 ; hence they retain the same element number here . plate assembly 189 is an intermediary base that bolts on to a wheeled carriage such as carriage 33 of fig4 . plate 189 has two opposite facing edges that provide guide channels 193 and 194 for movable suspended footpad assemblies . channel 193 on one side is best illustrated in fig1 . channel 193 is adapted to house a slotted cam - rod 191 , which is adapted to lock the movable footpad assemblies in place . cam - rod 191 has a plurality of slots 192 arranged in equally spaced and collinear fashion , and presented over the entire length of channel 193 along one side of the plate assembly . the purpose of slots 192 is to engage a plurality of equally spaced teeth provided on one edge each of two toothed base - plates ( not shown here but illustrated below ), one each affixed to the bottoms of footpad assemblies 79 . a spring - loaded lever 197 is provided on one end of cam - rod 191 and is adapted to cause rotation of cam - rod 191 within channel 193 enabling slots 192 to be presented inward as shown or rotated back into channel 193 as directed by a user . spring lever 197 in this embodiment fastens to channel 193 such that a wound spring engages a fixed location in the channel while the opposite end of the spring is retained by lever 197 creating a spring tension . there are several ways known in the art for a spring lever to be mounted such that a shaft or other part is put under spring tension . the spring - loaded arrangement provides for the cam rod to be always urged into the locked position for the footpad assemblies , so these assemblies may only be moved to adjust center distance under positive direction of the user . by manually rotating spring lever 197 a user can unlock the footpad assemblies and manually move each to a new position as desired . in this way , footpads may be slidably inserted from either end of adjuster - plate 189 , as indicated by directional arrows , and adjusted to any desired spacing related to center distance . when desired positions are attained , letting go of spring lever 197 locks the footpads in place on plate assembly 189 . in one embodiment , a safety lock is provided to give added assurance that the footpad assemblies will stay in position during operation . channel 194 on the opposite side is adapted to house non - toothed edges of the aforementioned toothed base - plates . fig1 a is a plan view of a toothed base - plate 199 according to an embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b is a side view of the base plate of fig1 a . as previously described , footpads 79 of fig1 each have a toothed base - plate 199 installed on the bottom surfaces of associated footpad assemblies 79 ( fig1 ). each base - plate 199 has a row of equally spaced teeth 205 presented along one edge for the purpose of engaging slots 192 of fig1 in cam 191 . in this embodiment , base - plate 199 has two spacer bars 201 and 203 adapted to space it from the underside of the outer frame member of a footpad assembly when mounted . bars 201 and 203 are , in this example , formed of one piece with base - plate 199 , however , in other embodiments , they may be separate mounted structures . there are four threaded holes 207 ( two for each spacer bar ) provided through base - plate 199 and spacer bars 201 , and 203 for mounting purposes . machine screws or the like may be used for mounting plate 199 to the outer frame member of each footpad assembly . as seen in fig1 b , bolt holes 207 are chamfered on the side making contact with carriage assembly 33 such that they lay flat and may slide without scratching or marring the surface . fig1 c is an end - view of the slotted cam - rod 191 of fig1 in this embodiment . cam - rod 191 has a slotted portion 192 as previously described , a radiused back - grind 209 , and a flat portion 207 . as slots 192 are rotated in the direction of the arrow , engaging teeth 205 on base - plate 199 of fig1 a are released at the beginning point of back - grind 209 . as flat 207 rotates so as to face teeth 205 , a small amount of space is created between the top land portions of teeth 205 and the surface of flat 207 enabling footpad assemblies such as footpads 79 to be moved to a different position or removed altogether . it will be apparent to one with skill in the art that there may be more than one general configuration of slots and teeth than is illustrated here without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , a base - plate such as plate 199 may be slotted while a cam - rod such as rod 191 is toothed . there may be more or fewer slots and teeth presented , and so on . in an alternate embodiment , footpad assemblies may be lowered in from the top with teeth and slots remaining in a rigid configuration on both sides of a base - plate and on opposite facing structures mounted to an adjuster - plate wide enough to support this type of fitting . clamps could be used to secure the footpad assemblies after lowering them into place . in another embodiment of the present invention an alternative adjustment mechanism for footpads may be used comprising one or more spring - loaded pop - up detents . a first footpad assembly may be mounted to the plate assembly separately , allowing for individual adjustment , or with a second footpad as an assembly . a pop - up detent can be mounted on an edge of a footpad assembly in a position so that when a user manually pulls back and then releases a spring - loaded pin within the detent assembly , the pin slides in and out of a slot or hole on the face or edge of the plate assembly , the pin and slot or hole being in - line when the desired footpad position is attained . the plate assembly can have a plurality of such slots or holes arranged in equally spaced and collinear fashion . a spring - loaded detent assembly could comprise a cylindrically shaped casing open on the end facing the hole or slot and containing a pin that slides in and out in both directions . a protrusion or attachment to the pin serves as a handle enabling a user to manually pull the pin back within the casing . within the casing and located behind the pin a spring of roughly the same diameter of the pin provides outward tension to the pin when a user manually pulls it back using the handle . when a user manually releases the pin in the mounted detent assembly the spring tension behind the pin pushes the pin into the aligned slot or hole and locks the footpad assembly into the desired position . once locked into the desired position by the pin assembly , the footpad assembly may be otherwise mainly secured to the plate assembly by utilizing many different methods . by again pulling back the pin a user can unlock the footpad assembly and adjust to another position as desired . this manner of spring - loaded pin arrangement within the detent assembly provides for the locking pin to be always urged into the outer or locked position . in addition to the footpad adjustment functionality of the pop - up detent assembly , in various alternative embodiments the detent assembly may have more or less of an integral role of securing the footpad assembly to the plate assembly . it will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there are alternative arrangements and mechanisms that might be used to allow the footpads to be spaced and secured with the new spacing . the mechanisms described above are but a few of the possibilities . there are many others . for example , an intermediate plate assembly could be provided wherein there are two plates with one telescoping into the other , and having a locking apparatus to fix the relative positions when the desired separation is achieved . in this embodiment one footpad would be mounted to one of the telescoping plates and the other footpad to the other . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a semi - arcuate rail 217 with a main wheel 213 , and a keeper wheel 215 in position according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention . as previously described in fig1 above , semi - arcuate rails , shown round in fig1 and other figs . in embodiments described above , may also be extruded to provide opposite channels for wheels , and then die - formed to obtain a desired semi - arcuate shape . this embodiment is especially useful for applications having footpads or platforms of exceptionally large dimensional features ( length and width ) than standard assemblies . keeper - wheels such as wheels 215 and wheels 71 and 69 of fig4 provided added restraint in order to prevent an assembly from tipping or otherwise being lifted from rails during operation . rail 217 is shown welded in this illustration to frame member 31 , and in embodiments of the overall apparatus using such extruded rails , the rails would also be welded to end rails 27 as described previously for rails 22 . wheels 213 and 215 are not shown as assembled to a wheeled carriage in this illustration , but would in practice be mounted to such carriages in much the same manner as already described for wheels used with round rails . fig1 is a cross - section view through a rail 219 in yet another embodiment of the invention , showing a wheel assembly 221 having a shaft 223 , with the wheel engaged in rail 219 . in this embodiment rails 219 replace rails 22 or 217 shown in other embodiments , and are formed in an arc or an arc with straight - leg portions as taught elsewhere in this disclosure . rails 219 may be extruded from suitable material , or may be formed by bending a plate and then forming the necessary arc using a die or other suitable tool . in preferred embodiments rails 219 are welded to structure 31 as shown , and also to end rails 27 ( not shown ). in this embodiment wheels 221 are mounted to a wheeled carriage by shafts 223 in various positions to support the carriage in its to - and - fro movements on ( in ) rails 219 . some wheels are mounted to contact the upper portion of rails 219 as shown in fig1 , and others are mounted to contact the lower portion of rails 219 , thus accomplishing the functions of the wheeled carriage taught with reference to fig4 having keeper wheels . it will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there are a variety of positions wheels may be mounted to accomplish the purpose . fig1 is an elevation view of a ski - exercising apparatus 301 according to an embodiment of the invention illustrating an optional third power band . apparatus 301 is provided having elements similar to those of exercisers previously described herein except for novel improvements described below . for this reason only the improvements are described . to better illustrate elements within , additional roller - mount openings similar to those of tensioning structure 25 of fig1 a are not shown but may be assumed to be present , and cut - away views are shown of the wheeled carriage and support member . apparatus 301 provides a third power band 302 assembled between the first , or outer , power band and the second , or inner , power band . in this embodiment the free ends of third power band 302 are illustrated as fastened at clamp 306 , having one end clamped between the free ends of the outer band and the other end in between the ends of the outer and inner bands . it will be apparent that the clamping locations of power bands and positions of clamped free ends may vary . a tensioning structure 303 is provided , illustrated as a modification to a tensioning structure such as that of fig1 a , having a longer length and properties to support a third power band and hardware . tensioning structure 303 is welded in this embodiment to the bottom surface of the central frame structure similarly to embodiments previously described . rollers 304 and 305 are rotatably mounted to the outer positions of tensioning structure 303 providing support to third power band 302 , third power band 302 extending from clamp 306 passing under the inner rollers mounted between rollers 304 and 305 and passing under and over rollers 304 and 305 back toward center , over a third roller rotatably mounted under the wheeled carriage and fastened with the outer power band to the underside of the wheeled carriage by clamps 307 and 308 . fig1 is an elevation view of a ski - exercise apparatus 401 illustrating adjustable tensioning structures for an optional third power band according to an embodiment of the present invention . apparatus 401 in this embodiment provides many of the features and elements of apparatus previously described herein except for new and novel improvements described in detail below , therefore , only the improvements are described . apparatus 401 provides a third power band 302 assembled between the first , or outer power band , and the second , or inner power band , as described previously for apparatus 301 of fig1 . however , apparatus 401 provides a pair of improved tensioning structures for the optional third power band . tensioning structure 405 is illustrated as a modification to a tensioning structure such as structure 303 of fig1 , and is provided as a separate structure which , in the embodiment illustrated is affixed at each end to the bottom surface of the central frame structure 404 in similar locations to embodiments described in previous embodiments , utilizing a common fastener such as a bolt and nut . in alternative embodiments , tensioning structures 405 may be welded directly to central frame structure 404 . tensioning structure 405 is somewhat longer in length and has a lower profile than that of structure 303 of fig1 . tensioning structure 405 , in a preferred embodiment , is manufactured of strong , lightweight aluminum material , and may be die cast , machined , or otherwise formed utilizing similar strong , lightweight material in alternative embodiments . tensioning structure 405 differs significantly , however , from that of fig1 in that a second tension roller 409 is provided to increase smoothness of operation of the ski apparatus under extreme tensioning as the wheeled carriage travels from side to side on the parallel rails during operation . as shown in the illustration , the optional third power band 302 is assembled between the first , or outer power band , and the second , or inner power band , the ends clamped at the bottom of the central frame structure 404 , and the upper portion of the power band clamped at two locations under the wheeled carriage , similarly to apparatus 301 of fig1 . the routing of power band 302 differs , however , from that of apparatus 301 of fig1 in that it passes under the second tension roller 409 , and then over and under the main roller 407 and then back towards the center of the central frame structure where it is clamped along with the ends of the first , outer power band and second , inner power band . a plurality of through openings 411 are provided for tensioning structure 405 enabling the resistance point to be altered , thereby enabling the user to adjust the amount of tension encountered by the wheeled carriage when it travels to the outermost lateral positions . a total of three through openings 411 are provided in the embodiment illustrated , located near the upper edge of the body of structure 405 starting near the center and linearly arranged towards the outer edge of the structure . however , in alternative embodiments number and exact location of through openings 411 may differ to provide a varying range of tension adjustment positions . fig1 a is an elevation view of adjustable tensioning structure 405 of fig1 , and a roller axle . the support structure of tensioning structure 405 is provided by bracket 425 which is unshaped , comprising a base 426 and a pair of walls 427 extending upward from base 426 on either side . through openings 420 extend through base 426 for the purpose of fastening tensioning structure 405 to the bottom of the central frame structure of the ski apparatus . structure 405 utilizes an improved roller axle 413 for rotatably securing roller 407 to the structure through one of the sets of through openings 411 . through openings 412 are provided at the opposite end of bracket 425 for rotatably securing tension roller 409 utilizing a standard clevis pin fastener 421 . a plate 417 is provided for adding stability and preventing flexing of walls 427 of tensioning structure 405 . another function is to prevent the third band from interfering with the second band . plate 417 is rectangular in shape and substantially flat , and has a plurality of through openings located near each of the corners for accommodating screw fasteners ( not shown ), securing plate 417 is adapted to fasten down to the upper surface of each wall 427 , utilizing holes 419 which extend down into walls 427 for accommodating the screw fasteners , and once fastened , bridges the gap between the inner surfaces of each wall 427 . tensioning structure 405 is adapted to mount to the bottom of the central base structure of ski apparatus previously described in the present application and in related patents and applications referenced herein , using standard fasteners inserted through openings 420 , which extend through the thickness of base 426 , and a slight modification to the existing bottom central base structure of existing ski apparatus by adding mounting holes for such fasteners , or in other embodiments , tensioning structure may be fixedly attached by welding structure 405 to the central base structure of existing ski apparatus , for example . fig1 b is an elevation end view of tensioning structure 405 and roller axle 413 of fig1 a and a roller axle nut . in this view , walls 427 are shown extending up from either end of base 426 forming the u - shape of the overall structure of the bracket , and conical roller 407 is located in its mounting position between the inner surfaces of each wall 427 . roller 407 is rotatably secured to walls 427 by inserting roller axle 413 through a first opening 411 of wall 427 , completely through passage 423 extending through the center of roller 407 , and is then secured with roller axle nut 414 . roller axle 413 and roller axle nut 414 each have a collar , collar 416 and 423 respectively , each of which has a diameter somewhat less than that of through openings 411 of walls 427 , such that a snug fit is achieved when roller axle 413 and roller axle nut 414 are inserted into walls 427 . roller axle 413 has an internally - threaded end portion 422 on the opposite end of roller axle 413 from collar 416 , matching and externally - threaded end portion 424 of roller axle nut 414 , for enabling roller axle nut 414 to be securely affixed to the threaded end of roller axle 413 . roller axle 413 is of such a length that when fully inserted through the first opening 411 in wall 427 , the far edge of threaded portion 422 extends only to the edge of roller 407 , stopping just short of the inner surface of the opposing wall 427 through which roller axle nut 414 is inserted , such that roller axle 413 and roller axle nut 414 may be securely tightened together when attaching roller 407 to walls 427 , and still allow for free rotation of roller 407 around shaft portion 418 of roller axle 413 . in some embodiments a clevis pin with an r - clip is used instead . when securely tightened together through openings 411 of walls 427 and through roller 407 as described above , the roller axle assembly additionally becomes a stabilizing cross member adding strength to the overall structure at one end of structure 405 , and adds significantly to the overall structural integrity also enhanced by cross member plate 417 at the opposite end of the structure . a pair of slots 428 extend up into the bottom of each wall 427 of tensioning structure 405 at each edge of base 426 and extend along the entire length of structure 405 , and are adapted to fit snugly over the upwardly extending portions of power band guide 24 of ski apparatus 9 , for example , of fig1 b and fig2 . power band guides 24 , as is more clearly seen in fig1 b , has sides on either end that extend upward from the base of the frame structure . slots 428 of tensioning structure 405 extend up into walls 427 to a distance somewhat greater than the height of the overly extending sides of power band guide 24 , thereby allowing the bottom surface of base 426 to securely rest upon the upper surface of the bottom of power band guide 24 , and enabling for a more secure attachment of tensioning structure 405 to the bottom central frame structure of the ski apparatus . in alternative embodiments of the present invention , slots 428 of tensioning structure 405 may also enable the user to slide structure 405 in its aligned position along band guides 24 , for example , and relocate structure 405 towards the center of the frame structure of the ski apparatus , or outward , in various predetermined attachment locations , thereby enabling still further adjustability of the location of the additional tension point provided by tensioning structure 405 in embodiments herein described . fig1 is an elevation view of the frame structure of ski - exercising apparatus 401 of fig1 . frame structure 404 is provided in this embodiment having generally similar frame architecture to frame structure of ski apparatus described in the present application and in related u . s . patents and applications referenced herein except for novel differences relating to the parallel rails described below . for clarity , only the frame structure is described in this embodiment , as additional elements , such as power bands , and wheeled carriage assembly and related hardware have been adequately described herein in the preceding specification , and are removed in the present illustration . frame structure 404 comprises a set of semi - arcuate rails 415 , only one of which is visible as this is an elevation view , which are held parallel to each other and affixed to transverse members at either end of frame structure 404 , generally similar to previous embodiments , along which a wheeled carriage assembly , such as carriage assembly 33 of fig4 , travels during normal operation of the ski exercising apparatus , as described herein for other embodiments . rails 415 , however , have several notable differences when compared to rail sets utilized in ski apparatus of previous embodiments described thus far . rails 415 extend at an angle upward beginning at either end of frame structure 404 , towards the center , and are held parallel to each other and affixed at either end of each rail to a pair of transverse end - members , the center portion supported by support members 440 , similarly to that for previous ski apparatus embodiments . as this is an elevation view , only one of the pair of rails is seen . one notable difference between semi - arcuate rails 415 and those disclosed in the present and related patents is that rails 415 are arced in their center portions 447 , as illustrated by a dimensional notation f , and the arcuate portion of rails 415 is substantially shorter than that of previous embodiments . the dimension lines associated with arcuate portion 447 mark the locations where the arced portion of each rail 415 ends at positions sharing an equal distance from a theoretical vertical center of rails 415 . the total dimension f in a preferred embodiment is substantially less than the approximately 26 inches defined by dimension ( e ) of frame structure 11 of fig1 a of the present application , for example . non - arcuate portions of rails 415 are witnessed by element numbers 443 and 445 on the left and right side of frame structure 404 as seen in this view . non - arcuate rail portions 443 and 445 are substantially straight from their junctures with arcuate portion 447 . the lengths ( taken horizontally ) for rail portions 443 and 445 are substantially longer than the approximately 15 inches respectively , of rails portions in previous embodiments , such as non - arcuate portions 19 and 21 of frame structure 11 of fig1 a , for example . it must be noted that the dimensions cited above are intended to be approximate only , and may vary somewhat in alternative embodiments . the approximate overall length of frame structure 404 is about 61 inches , similar in length to frame structure 11 of fig1 a . another notable difference between rails 415 and those of previous embodiments , such as those of frame structure 11 of fig1 a , is that non - arcuate portions 443 and 445 of rails 415 each extend upward from the transverse members at the outward ends of frame structure 404 , at a steeper angle towards the center compared to previously described embodiments , and the arcuate portion , which is substantially shorter than those of previous embodiments , has a maximum height at the center which is measured substantially higher , approximately three inches in this example , than the maximum arcuate portion height of rails 19 of fig1 a , for instance . the steeper angle and longer length of non - arcuate portions 443 and 445 of rails 415 , and the shorter length and increased height of arcuate portion 447 provides for a faster descent of a wheeled carriage assembly traveling from side - to - side along rails 415 , thereby enabling a stronger more abrupt stop at the end of each lateral stroke , particularly when an optional third power band , as shown for ski exercise apparatus 401 of fig1 , is utilized . the inventor has discovered that operating a ski exercise machine utilizing rails having such an increased angle and height more closely simulates the increased lateral dynamic forces actually encountered during extreme downhill skiing , and other sports requiring explosive power in lateral movements , and therefore provides exercise for a participant in such activity , having maximum benefit to the user of such an exercise machine . such specific high - intensity training for the enhancement of explosive power is often termed plyometric training in the art , and it is to exercise apparatus improvements in this field of exercising that many of the embodiments described presently and subsequently in the specification are related . the plyometric training method utilizing exercise apparatus elements in embodiments of the present invention is to be used in conjunction with other power development methods in a complete training program to improve the relationship between maximum strength and explosive power . emphasis in such a training method is placed on generating the highest possible force in the shortest period of time , and reducing or stopping this force at the end of the action . plyometric training has a primary role in training as well as rehabilitation programs , and , as will be further detail below , apparatus and methods of the present invention provide improvements to the current art relating to exercise apparatus and other hardware providing such training capability . it is known in the art that plyometric training may be applied in various exercises which specifically target certain areas of the body for muscle strengthening or rehabilitation . the specific areas of the body often include those other than areas of the legs or hips , for example . in these cases it is desirable to be able to quickly and easily interchange exercise attachments utilizing a single exercise apparatus , and be able to utilize a single exercise apparatus , such as that described herein having a tensioned lateral movement primarily designed for ski exercising , for providing such varied exercises targeting different specific areas of the body . fig2 a is a plan view of an adjustable slide plate according to an embodiment of the present invention . slide plate 451 is provided for enabling the user to quickly and easily interchange exercise attachments utilizing a ski exercise apparatus and wheeled carriage assembly of the present invention . slide plate 451 is adapted for mounting to a wheeled carriage assembly , such as carriage assembly 33 of fig4 , and allowing exercise attachments to be adjustably mounted to plate 451 , easily repositioned at different locations along slide plate 451 , and quickly remove for interchanging with other additional exercise attachments , and further is provided with additional safety features not disclosed in previous embodiments , such as plate assembly 189 of fig1 . slide plate 451 is preferably manufactured of strong , lightweight aluminum material , or other suitable material having similar properties providing the best combination of strength , rigidity , and light weight , and has an elongated , rectangular shape having a length substantially greater than the width , the length being such that a pair of footpad assemblies may be mounted at the desired width stance in accordance with that used typically for downhill skiing , for example or for other sports and exercise motions , as will be further detail below in other embodiments of the present invention . slide plate 451 is adapted for mounting to the upper surface of a wheeled carriage assembly , such as carriage assembly 33 of fig4 , in a location centered on the carriage assembly . a pair of through openings 457 are provided in the center of plate 451 for slide plate 451 to the upper platform of the wheeled carriage , and are spaced apart from each other at a distance equal to the spacing between the pair of mounting holes for carriage 33 of fig2 , fastened by the pair of nuts 53 . slide plate 451 in the present embodiment described , however , improves significantly over upper mounting platform 89 of carriage 33 of fig2 , for example , in that slide plate 451 allows a pair of footpad assemblies , or other exercise attachments , to be independently and adjustably mounted to the carriage assembly such that various width stance positions can be utilized , and each independently mounted attachment assembly may be quickly repositioned along plate 451 and then re - secured in the new position . slide plate 451 has a center through opening 458 for allowing access to the center fastener used as previously described for mounting the power band roller bracket 61 to the underside of carriage 33 as shown for fig4 . a plurality of holes 455 extending partially down into the upper surface of plate 451 , are arranged linearly along the length and on either side of the center of plate 451 , and each hole 455 is equally spaced from an adjacent hole 455 on either the left or right side of through holes 457 . holes 455 represent the locations for a wide choice of width stance positions for mounting a pair of footpad assemblies , as will be described further below in enabling detail . slide plate 451 , has on each side extending along the length , a rounded edge 453 , the rounded portion extending somewhat upward from the upper flat surface of slide plate 451 . the rounded shape of edges 453 is better illustrated in fig2 b . edges 453 provide a guide rail on each longest side of plate 451 , and have the purpose of locating and guiding an attachment plate for mounting a footpad assembly , or other exercise attachment assembly , as will be shown in further embodiments presented below . plate 451 also has a push - pin safety button 452 located near each end , provided as an additional safety feature in the embodiment presented . safety buttons 452 , are standard spring - tensioned push - pins which , in their normal relaxed position , extend upwardly from the surface of plate 451 by the spring tension . safety buttons 452 may be manually depressed into a cavity which extends down into the surface , such that the upper surface of the pin portion of safety pin 452 is at least flush with the surface of plate 451 . the safety function of these pins is to retain any carriage unit engaged to the slide plate from moving off the ends of the plate after assembly , unless the pin is intentionally depressed . this function is described and illustrated additionally in description below . plate 451 has a groove channel 459 extending along the entire length of plate 451 in a center location . channel 459 comprises a slot opening 461 which opens into an internal passage 466 ( hidden view ) beneath the surface of plate 451 . the internal space formed by passage 466 is substantially wider than slot opening 461 , and has the purpose of allowing a special nut fastener , fastened to a standard bolt fastener , to slide freely within passage 466 along the entire length of plate 451 , enabling adjustability in mounting positions for attaching a sliding attachment plate . fig2 b is a section view of plate 451 of fig2 a taken along section line 20 b — 20 b . the inventor provides fig2 b to better illustrate several of the elements described above for fig2 a , as well as additional elements not shown in fig2 a . plate 451 has a rectangular central structure 464 , which protrudes down from the bottom surface of plate 451 , and extends along the entire length of plate 451 . structure 464 encompasses internal passage 466 , and additionally provides added strength and rigidity to the overall structure of plate 451 . plate 451 also has a pair of l - shaped side structures 462 extending down from the bottom of plate 451 to a distance equal to that of structure 464 , and located approximately midway between edges 453 and central structure 464 , on either side of structure 464 . structures 462 also extend the entire length of plate 451 , adding still further to the overall structural rigidity of plate 451 , and accommodate push - pin safety buttons 452 . structures 462 each have a substantially flat and level bottom surface 454 , and central structure 464 has a bottom flat surface 456 , which is flush with bottom surfaces 454 of structures 462 . bottom surfaces 456 and 454 form the base surface which contacts the upper surface of a wheeled carriage assembly to which plate 451 is mounted according to an embodiment of the present invention , detailed further below . through openings 457 are shown extending completely through side structures 462 and width stance adjustment holes 455 are shown extending partially down into plate 451 from the surface . through opening 458 is shown extending down from the bottom of passage 466 , providing an opening through flat bottom surface 456 of structure 464 . the rounded shape of guide rail edges 453 on each side of plate 451 , and the substantially flat upper surface are readily apparent in this view . safety buttons 452 are shown in their relaxed positions , extending upwardly from the surface of plate 451 . as described above , safety buttons 452 may be manually depressed down into cavities ( not shown ) within structures 462 adapted for the purpose . slot opening 461 is shown extending down into the surface of plate 451 , opening into internal passage 466 , the internal rectangular space formed by passage 466 having a width substantially greater than that of slot opening 461 . fig2 a is a top view of a sliding attachment plate according to an embodiment of the present invention . attachment plate 460 is provided in a preferred embodiment of the present invention as an interface for adjustably mounting various independent exercise attachments , such as a suspended footpad assembly as described above , to the wheeled carriage assembly of a ski exercise apparatus . attachment plate 460 is provided to enable the user to quickly and easily attach , reposition or remove such exercise attachments to plate 451 , which attaches to a wheeled carriage assembly . plate 460 is manufactured similarly to slide plate 451 , utilizing strong , lightweight material such as aluminum , or some other material having similar properties . plate 460 is substantially rectangular in shape , substantially flat , and has a pair of edge channels 469 , one on each side of plate 460 , extending along the entire length of plate 460 . edge channels 469 are rounded on the outside surface , extending somewhat down from the bottom surface of plate 460 , and are adapted to closely fit over the rounded edges 453 of slide plate 451 . each edge channel 469 has a rounded inner surface , whose dimensions closely equal the outer dimensions of edges 453 of plate 451 . attachment plate 460 is adapted for sliding over an end of slide plate 451 , and , guided by rounded edge channels 469 encompassing rounded edges 453 of plate 451 , is enabled to freely slide back and forth along the length of plate 451 . plate 460 has a plurality of mounting holes 465 , arranged on either side from the center of plate 460 , which are provided for attaching such as an independent suspended footpad assembly , or some other attachment , to upper surface of plate 460 utilizing standard bolt or screw fasteners . mounting holes 465 are spaced apart on either side of the center of plate 460 , at a distance defined by dimension ( s ). plate 467 is also provided with through opening 467 located in the center , and passing completely through the thickness of plate 460 . through opening 467 has the purpose of enabling insertion of a bolt fastener through plate 460 , for attaching plate 462 slide plate 451 , utilizing a special nut , as will be detailed further below . a pair of pull - pins 463 are provided for the embodiment shown , one pull - pin 463 located on either side of the center of plate 460 , near one end . pull - pins 463 are standard , spring - tensioned devices which are provided for locating attachment plate 460 in the exact desired position on slide plate 451 , according to the various positions of width stance adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 . pull - pins 463 , each have a pin portion ( not shown ) which extends below the bottom surface of plate 460 , adapted to fit securely into locator holes 455 of plate 451 . spring tensioning of each pull - pin 463 urges the pin portion into the extended position , and by manually raising pull - pins 463 from above , the pin portions may be retracted up into the body of attachment plate 460 . fig2 b is a section view of attachment plate 460 of fig2 a taken along section line 21 b — 21 b . in this view , the rounded out and inner surfaces of edge channels 469 are clearly visible , the inner rounded surface of each edge substantially equaling the dimensions of the outer rounded surface of edges 453 of plate 451 . through opening 467 is shown passing completely through the thickness of plate 460 , and mounting holes 465 are shown extending through plate 460 . mounting holes 465 in this embodiment are threaded holes for which standard bolt fasteners may be threaded for attaching such as an independent footpad assembly . in alternative embodiments however , mounting holes 465 may or may not be threaded , depending on whether or not only a threaded bolt , or bolt and nut combination is utilized for mounting the attachment to attachment plate 460 . pull - pins 463 , located on either side of the center through opening 467 , are clearly shown in this view mounted to the upper surface of plate 460 , each pull - pin 463 having a pin portion 468 which , in the relaxed position , are urged downward by spring tensioning , extending to a distance somewhat below the bottom surface of plate 460 . pull - pins 463 are provided with handle grasps 464 enabling the user to easily grasp the pull - pins and raise the mechanism such that the bottom of each pin portion 468 may be elevated above the bottom surface of plate 460 . a clearance channel is designed into plate 460 , located directly below each row of width stance adjustment holes 465 , providing clearance for the lower end of a bolt fastener , and possibly a nut fastener if so incorporated , when an attachment such as a footpad assembly is secured to the upper surface of plate 460 . in such a manner , plate 460 , with pull - pins 463 raised , may freely slide along the length of slide plate 451 of fig2 a , b while the footpad assembly is secured to plate 460 . fig2 is a top view of slide plate 451 of fig2 a and a pair of sliding attachment plates 460 a and b of fig2 a according to an embodiment of the present invention . the manner in which attachment plates 460 a and b are adjustably mounted to slide plate 451 is illustrated in this view . for the purpose of clarity , attachment plates 460 a and b are shown not to have an exercise attachment , such as a suspended footpad assembly affixed thereto . as mentioned above , plates 460 a and b are adapted to slide over the ends of slide plate 451 , guided by rounded edges 453 of plate 451 which are encompassed by the rounded edge channels of each plate 460 . in attaching attachment plate 460 a to slide plate 451 , first the user manually raises both pull - pins 463 at the same time , allowing plate 460 a to slide over the end of plate 451 . next , the user releases pull - pins 463 into the relaxed , extended position , and then depresses push - pin safety button 452 , such that clearance is provided for sliding attachment plate 460 a further onto plate 451 towards the center . although pull - pins 463 of attachment plate 460 a are naturally extended due to the spring tensioning , plate 460 a still freely slides along plate 451 until the lower pin portions of pull - pins 463 encounter one set of width stance adjustment holes 455 . attachment plate 460 b is shown in this view after sliding it over the left end of plate 451 , located in a desired stance position , in this case , the sixth position to the left of center . once attachment plate 460 b slides over the end of plate 451 towards the center , the user may hold pull - pins 463 in the raised position while sliding plate 460 b , until pull - pins 463 align directly above the desired set of adjustment holes 455 , at which time the user releases pull - pins 463 , which urges the lower pin portion of the pull - pins down into adjustment holes 455 . repositioning attachment plate 460 simply involves manually raising pull - pins 463 , sliding plate 462 new desired position , aligning pull - pins 463 with the new set of adjustment holes 455 at the new location , and then releasing pull - pins 463 , thereby locking plate 460 into the new position . fig2 is an elevation view of a suspended footpad assembly 470 and a sliding attachment plate 460 of fig2 a . suspended footpad assembly 470 is similar to suspended footpad assemblies previously described herein , such as footpad 79 of fig1 , and in related u . s . patents and applications , comprising a footpad support structure 473 , a pivoting footpad 476 which has support wings 475 extending upward from footpad 476 on either side , suspended within support structure 473 by a pair of pivot points 474 a set of four through holes 471 ( only two of which are shown in this elevation view ) pass through the base of support structure 473 , and are aligned with a set of four mounting holes 465 of attachment plate 460 . footpad assembly 470 is lowered down onto the upper surface of attachment plate 460 , holes 471 of support structure 473 aligned with holes 465 of plate 460 , and footpad assembly 470 is then affixed to plate 460 utilizing standard screw fasteners 479 . although a suspended footpad assembly is shown in the illustration for attaching to attachment plate 460 , a variety of attachments other than a suspended footpad assembly as shown , such as are described further in detail , may be attached to attachment plate 460 , according to alternative embodiments of the present invention , thereby providing the user the ability to perform exercises on a ski apparatus such as has been described , in training for sports other than downhill skiing , and for strengthening and rehabilitation exercises as well , without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention . fig2 is an elevation view of footpad assembly 470 and attachment plate 460 of fig2 and slide plate 451 of fig2 a attached to a wheeled carriage assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention . for simplicity , not all of the elements previously described are shown in this view , only those elements pertinent to the present description . as shown in the illustration , slide plate 451 is attached to carriage assembly 484 utilizing bolt fasteners 486 , which are inserted up through openings in the upper surface of carriage assembly 484 , and are then secured by nut fasteners 487 . the manner in which slide plate 451 attaches to carriage 484 is not limiting , however , in describing embodiments of the present invention . for example , bolt fasteners 486 may be inserted down through the provided openings of slide plate 451 , and secured with a nut fastener from below the upper surface of carriage assembly 484 , or alternatively a type of fastener other than bolt fasteners 486 and nut fasteners 487 may be utilized in various embodiments . what is important , however , is that whichever type of fastener is used , the nut fastener or head of a bolt fastener must not project substantially above the upper surface of slide plate 451 , so as not to interfere with the sliding of attachment plate 460 . suspended footpad assembly 470 is affixed to attachment plate 460 utilizing screw fasteners 479 , thereby forming a footpad / plate assembly 472 . assembly 472 is adjustably mounted to plate 451 according to an embodiment of the present invention , with edge channels 469 of attachment plate 460 neatly encompassing the rounded outer edges 453 of plate 451 , guiding attachment plate 460 as it slides along the length of plate 451 . once assembly 472 is positioned on slide plate 451 at the desired width stance location according to location adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 , pull - pins 463 ( not shown ) are released , urging the lower pin portions into the adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 , thereby locking assembly 472 into the desired position on plate 451 . assembly 472 is fixedly attached to slide plate 451 utilizing bolt fastener 480 , which is inserted down through center hole 467 of attachment plate 460 , before assembly 472 is mounted to plate 451 . in practice of mounting footpad / plate assembly 472 to plate 451 , suspended footpad assembly 470 is pre - attached to attachment plate 460 utilizing screw fasteners 479 , as described above . bolt fastener 480 is then inserted down through center opening 477 of the base of footpad support structure 473 , through center opening 467 of attachment plate 460 , and a special nut fastener 482 is then partially threaded onto the threaded portion of bolt fastener 480 . footpad / plate assembly 472 , with bolt fastener 480 extending below the bottom surface of attachment plate 460 , then slides onto the end of slide plate 451 , as described above , such that the threaded portion of bolt fastener 480 passes along in between slot opening 461 of plate 451 , and the attached nut fastener 482 slides along the rectangular passage 466 within the center structure 464 of plate 451 . once assembly 472 has been positioned as desired , and pull - pins 463 have released down into the proper set of adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 , locking assembly 472 into position on plate 451 , bolt fastener 480 may then be tightened from above the base of support structure 473 of suspended footpad assembly 470 , thereby securing assembly 472 to plate 451 . nut fastener 482 , in the embodiment shown , is square in shape and substantially flat , and is prevented from rotating within passage 466 while bolt fastener 480 is tightened , due to the width dimensions of nut fastener 482 being just somewhat less than the width of passage 466 . fig2 a is a top view of slide plate 451 and attachment plate 460 to of fig2 , a pair of suspended footpad assemblies of fig2 attached to a wheeled carriage assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention . in this view a pair of independent footpad / plate assemblies 472 , each comprising a suspended footpad assembly 470 attached to attachment plate 460 , are mounted to plate 451 , each assembly 472 located at the desired width stance position by aligning pull - pins 463 over the desired set of adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 . in the example shown , each assembly 472 is first slid over each end of plate 451 after manually depressing each push - pin safety button 452 , and is then slid towards a center of plate 451 and located at the third position outward from the center of slide plate 451 . once pull - pins 463 are centered over the desired set of adjustment holes 455 , pull - pins 463 are released , thereby urging the lower pin portions down into their respective adjustment holes 455 , securing each footpad assembly in its location . each assembly 472 is then secured to plate 451 using the bolt fastener 480 and nut fastener 482 , combination ( not shown ) as described above for fig2 . slide plate 451 is shown in this view mounted to the upper surface of wheeled carriage assembly 484 as described for fig2 , utilizing bolt fasteners 486 and nut fasteners 482 ( not shown ). in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , width stance adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 , which correspond to the various different width stance locations , are sequentially numbered , or otherwise similarly marked , outward from the center on the upper surface of plate 451 , such that the width stance position of the pair of footpad / plate assemblies may always be centered on plate 451 , regardless of the width stance chosen . for example , in the illustration given , footpad / plate assembly 472 a his located at the third width stance position to the left from the center position of plate 451 , and assembly 472 b is located at the third position to the right of the center position of plate 451 . for proper centering and balance each assembly 472 is located at the same numbered or marked position outward from the center . for instance , for a wider width stance position , assembly 472 a may be positioned at the sixth set of adjustment holes 455 to the left of the center of plate 451 , as shown in fig2 , and assembly 472 b would then be located at the six set of adjustment holes 455 to the right of the center of plate 451 . the distance from the first footpad assembly from the center of plate 451 should always be equal to the distance between the second footpad assembly from the center of plate 451 , for proper centering and balance . if , for any reason , attachment bolt fastener 480 securing assemblies 472 to plate 451 loosens inadvertently , or the pull - pins somehow dislodge , during operation , push - pin safety buttons 452 , always protruding upward from the upper surface of plate 451 in their normally relaxed position , will stop assemblies 472 from sliding of the end of plate 451 , thereby providing an additional safety feature for the user if such an instance occurs . fig2 b is an elevation view of slide plate 451 , attachment plates 460 , suspended footpad assemblies 470 and wheeled carriage assembly 484 of fig2 a . again , for simplicity , many elements previously described herein are not shown in this view , such as fasteners , elements of carriage assembly 484 , and so on . only elements pertinent to the present description are illustrated and described here . both footpad / plate assemblies 472 , each comprising a suspended footpad assembly 470 attach to an attachment plate 460 per shown mounted to plate 451 according to an embodiment of the present invention , each assembly 472 located at the third position outward from the center of plate 451 . pull - pins 463 of plates 460 are shown in the relaxed extended position , the lower pin portions of each extending down into the respective adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 . assemblies 472 may be easily and quickly repositioned inward or outward along the length of plate 451 simply by loosening bolt fastener 480 ( not shown ) which fixedly attaches each assembly 472 to plate 451 , raising pull - pins 463 such that the lower pin portions are elevated above adjustment holes 455 of plate 451 , and sliding assemblies 472 along plate 451 to the new positions , with pull - pins 463 and the desired set of adjustment holes 455 aligned with each other at the new positions , at which time pull - pins 463 will naturally extend down into the new adjustment holes 455 as described above . push - pin safety buttons 452 are shown at each far end of plate 451 , in their relaxed extended positions , which prevent assemblies 472 from sliding of the ends of 451 . safety buttons 452 may be depressed to allow assemblies 472 to slide of the end allowing the user to quickly and easily interchange various sliding attachment assemblies formed by attachment plate 460 and a suspended footpad assembly , such as assembly 470 , or other attachments for different exercises , as described previously . as described above for previous embodiments illustrated , attachment plate 460 is adapted for mounting footpad assemblies for ski exercises , as shown in previous illustrations , and may also be used for fixing other exercising attachment elements for providing a variety of different exercises possibilities to the user utilizing a ski apparatus as described herein and in related u . s . patent and applications referenced herein . the inventor of the present invention has discovered that the ski apparatus embodied in the present application and related patents and applications , may be effectively used for allowing advanced upper body conditioning ( ubc ) and core muscle and body strengthening exercises . the ski apparatus of the present invention , when used with special exercise attachments as are subsequently described , provides what is known in the art as neuromuscular training . it is for this area of exercising that the following new and novel attachments , used with the ski apparatus of the present invention as described herein , are provided . such attachments , as will be described below in enabling detail , allow the exercise therapist or trainer to accomplish a number of exercises including shoulder strengthening and stabilization , as well as alternate core muscle conditioning , while allowing the therapist / trainer to spot control upper body movements . fig2 a is an elevation view of an upper body conditioner ( ubc ) elevated grip according to an embodiment of the present invention . ubc elevated grip 490 is provided as one part of a dual - handle attachment system allowing such exercises and strengthening / rehabilitation as described above , which can be adjusted quickly into several different width settings for providing different exercises specific to different areas of the body . ubc grip 490 in aid for embodiment comprises a hollow , lightweight tubular metal structure formed by tubing 493 , having a grip covering 498 formed of rubberized foam material or similar material providing a comfortable but secure grip to the user . ubc grip 490 as a straight portion on the upper end defined by dimension ( g ), which forms an upper grip portion which allows the user to grasp the attachment directly from above . angled portions , defined by dimensions ( h ), extend downward from the ends of the upper grip portion g , which provide the user with an elevated gripping portion accessed from the side . each angled portion h then curves downward and inward towards the center , and then angles perpendicular to the straight upper grip portion g , forming mounting extensions 495 , which are clearly illustrated in fig2 b . mounting extensions 495 provide the mounting interface with which to mount ubc grip 490 to an attachment plate 460 , such as described previously . each mounting extension 495 has a set of through openings 496 , each opening 496 passing completely through tubing 493 , for accommodating standard bolt fasteners . fig2 b is a top view of ubc elevated grip 490 of fig2 a . from this vantage point , mounting extensions 495 can now clearly be seen extending perpendicular to the direction of upper grip portions of dimensions ( g ) and ( h ). a pair of through openings 496 are shown extending through each mounting extension 495 . the distance between the center of each set of through openings 496 , defined by dimension ( k ), is equal to the distance between the center of each opposing set of mounting holes 465 of attachment plate 460 , defined by dimension ( s ), of fig2 b , such that the mounting holes 496 of mounting extensions 495 aligned with a set of mounting holes 465 of attachment plate 460 . fig2 a is a top view of a ubc lower grip according to an embodiment of the present invention . ubc lower grip 510 is formed of lightweight metal tubing 513 of similar composition and diameter of that of ubc elevated grip 490 of fig2 a , b , and also comprises a grip covering 517 covering a substantial portion of the length of grip 510 in two sections . a pair of through openings 515 are provided for mounting grip 510 to an attachment plate assembly for ultimately mounting to a wheeled carriage assembly of a ski apparatus as will be further described herein . through openings 515 extend completely through both sides of tubing 513 , and have a center - to - center distance , defined by dimension ( l ), equal to that of dimension ( k ) of elevated grip 490 of fig2 b . a grip portion 519 , opposite of the mounting end , having a length substantially greater than the portion defined by dimension ( k ), provides a large gripping area enabling the user to fully grasp grip 510 by hand . fig2 b is an elevation view of ubc lower grip 510 of fig2 a . lower grip 490 is provided as a second part of a dual - handle attachment system allowing such exercises and strengthening / rehabilitation as described above , the system being quickly and easily adjustable into several different width settings for providing different exercises specific to different areas of the body . in this view the lower grip portion 519 is shown having an angled portion extending downward from one end of the mounting portion , the angled grip portion defined by dimension ( j ). lower grip portion 519 is angled such that the user is enabled for gripping from the side , at a lower level than back at which grip 510 is mounted , providing the user with varying grip positions for strengthening and rehabilitation of different parts of the body . upper grip 490 and a lower grip 510 , when used with the ski apparatus and wheeled carriage and attachment mounting apparatus described herein , provide a new and unique dual - handle gripping system mountable to the wheeled carriage of the ski apparatus of the present invention , having the benefits of being quickly adjustable into many different width positions and quickly and easily interchangeable with , such as , ski footpad assemblies as described herein . the user is thereby enabled for achieving a number of advanced lateral - motion strengthening , stretching , stabilization and rehabilitation exercises not previously available for any lateral - motion ski apparatus of the prior art , as well as for minimizing the time and effort involved in changing the exercise function of the ski apparatus . fig2 a is a top view of ubc elevated grips 490 of fig2 a and ubc lower grips 510 of fig2 a , attachment plates 460 , slide plate 451 and wheeled carriage 484 of fig2 a , assembled according to an embodiment of the present invention . slide plate 451 is affixed in the center position to the upper surface of roller carriage 484 utilizing standard bolt fasteners passed through openings 457 in the center , as described previously for fig2 a , b . also described in fig2 a , b , suspended footpad assemblies are attached to the slide plates 460 forming a footpad / plate assembly 472 , and the assembly then slides over the ends of plate 451 towards the center for mounting on slide plate 451 at the desired position according to width stance adjustment holes 455 . however , in the embodiment presently illustrated the suspended footpad assemblies have been replaced with two upper body conditioning ( ubc ) grip assemblies each comprising one elevated grip 490 and one lower grip 510 , each set of grips mounted to a sliding attachment plate 460 , thereby forming ubc attachment assemblies 491 . ubc attachment assemblies 491 , as seen from the perspective given in this view , are formed by first placing elevated grip 490 atop an attachment plate 460 , aligning the four through openings of the mounting portions of grip 490 with four mounting openings of attachment plate 460 , the length of the upper grip portion of grip 490 perpendicular to the longer length of attachment plate 460 . a set of standard bolt fasteners 514 secure the portion of grip 490 towards the grip portion , securely to the upper surface of attachment plate 460 . before securing the other end of the mounting portion of grip 490 , a lower ubc grip 510 is placed atop each end of the mounting portion of ubc grip 490 , the length of each lower grip 510 parallel to that of upper grips 491 , and its pair of mounting through openings 515 aligned with the end pair of through openings 496 of upper grip 490 , which align with mounting holes 465 of plate 460 . a pair of standard bolt fasteners 516 , significantly longer than bolt fasteners 514 , having sufficient length to pass completely through the thickness of both lower grip 510 and upper grip 490 , are then used to secure grips 510 over grips 490 and then to plate 460 . in a preferred embodiment , as is true for suspended footpad assemblies 472 of fig2 a , each attachment assembly 491 comprising an elevated grip 490 , lower grip 510 and sliding attachment plate 460 is pre - assembled , and therefore quickly and easily interchangeable on slide plate 451 with those of suspended footpad assemblies 472 of fig2 a , for example , or other attachment assemblies in alternative embodiments , and may also be quickly relocated to different positions on slide plate 451 as desired . fig2 b is an elevation view of slide plate 451 , attachment plates 460 , wheeled carriage 484 , ubc elevated grips 490 and ubc lower grips 510 of fig2 a . the inventor provides the elevation view to clearly illustrate the multiple gripping locations provided by the ubc system described herein , and the mounting configuration when attached to attachment plate 460 . slide plate 451 is attached to carriage assembly 484 in a similar manner to that described herein for fig2 above , and attachment plate 460 is shown as it fits over slide plate 451 , also similar to that previously described for fig4 . lower grip 510 is shown secured atop the mounting extensions of upper grip 490 secured with standard bolt fasteners 516 which are tightened into the mounting holes of attachment plate 460 . as can be seen in this view , a void is formed by the rectangular indention into the under surface of plate 460 , allowing bolt fasteners 516 to be tightly secured ubc assembly 491 is free to slide back and four along the length of slide plate 451 . the lower angled portion of lower ubc grip 510 provides the user with a gripping position from the side which positions the grip lower than the level of the upper surface of wheeled carriage 484 , for enabling such exercises which require the body of the user to be at a low angle to the floor . ubc upper grips 490 provide several additional gripping angles including at least two gripping positions at different angles on either angled side , and a straight upper portion spanning the angled ends providing a lengthy gripping portion from directly above . the variety of such upper and lower gripping areas provided by ubc assembly 491 enable many different additional lateral stretching and stabilization exercise movements using the ski apparatus of the present invention , as will be apparent to the skilled artisan . in embodiments of the present invention described herein , or part of or related to u . s . patents and applications referenced herein , independent - action suspended footpad assemblies for mounting on a wheeled carriage of the ski apparatus have been described previously utilizing embodiments of the present invention . referring out to fig2 a , b , the independent footpad assemblies , such as assemblies 472 of fig2 a may be adjusted to different width stances on the slide plate which attaches to the wheeled carriage assembly , by means of the sliding attachment plate coupled to the suspended footpad assemblies , which forms the interchangeable footpad assembly unit . footpad assemblies 472 slide along the length of slide plate 451 until locked into their position according to the width stance adjustment holes of the sliding plate , and are then locked into the desired location by pull - pins 463 , and a securing bolt fastener as described previously , thereby preventing forward , backward or lateral of the footpad assembly 472 on plate 451 . referring again to fig2 a , the suspended footpad assemblies 472 comprise a suspended footpad which pivots from side to side within the structure of the frame of the footpad assembly , to more closely simulate , during operation of the ski apparatus , at least the lateral motions , forces and dynamics exerted on the lower extremities of the user during actual downhill skiing . however , it is known that there are many other forces other than lateral forces , which exert on the lower extremities of the user during downhill skiing , particularly over steep and sharply variable terrain . during such conditions , the users feet are not held parallel for any significant period of time , and particularly when skiing over steep , bumpy terrain , the tips of the skis are constantly moving up and down , thereby pivoting each ski independently at the skiers ankles . a significant need thereby exists in the field of ski training apparatus for such extreme conditions , and in many other conditions as well , for the capability in a ski exercise machine to accurately reproduce such forces and movements other than lateral pivoting of the footpad assembly , as described thus far . applicant &# 39 ; s invention , in embodiments presented below in enabling detail , provides a new and novel interface for mounting a footpad assembly to the wheeled carriage of the ski apparatus of the present invention , providing the tensioned lateral movement and footpad pivoting action of embodiments disclosed herein , and also incorporating the ability for each footpad to slide forward and backward independently from one another , and still further incorporating independent front to back pivoting of each footpad assembly . the user of such an improved apparatus is enabled to better simulate the actual movements , forces and dynamics of the sport , to a significant degree , and further achieve a level of balance controls , due to the front to back sliding and pivoting action of each independent footpad assembly , that is not achievable in prior art ski exercise apparatus . fig2 a is a top view of a footpad pivot base according to an embodiment of the present invention . pivot base 520 is preferably manufactured of strong , lightweight metal such as aluminum or some other material of similar strength and rigidity , and provides the supporting base structure portion for a sliding / pivoting footpad attachment interface system , as well as enabling a front to back sliding action for the footpad assembly , as will be shown in the embodiments detailed below . pivot base 520 is rectangular in shape , having outside dimensions approximately equal to that of sliding attachment plate 460 of fig2 ( a , b ). the pivot base 520 comprises a support base portion 533 , which is substantially flat and has a material thickness of approximately ½ – ¾ in ., sufficient for substantial overall strength and rigidity of the structure . a set of through openings 529 extend completely through the thickness of base portion 533 located near each of the corners of base 533 , located to correspond with the mounting holes of the upper surface of the sliding attachment plate 460 disclosed herein , enabling mounting of pivot base 520 to attachment plate 460 using standard bolt fasteners . pivot base 520 is also provided with a center through opening 531 enabling access to the center sliding securing bolt and nut fastener for securing attachment plate 460 to slide plate 451 , as described above . pivot base 520 comprises a pair of elongated support structures 523 protruding upward from base 533 to a height substantially greater than the thickness of base 533 , and extending parallel to the length of base 533 . structures 523 are preferably attached permanently to the upper surface of base 533 , or in alternative embodiments may be otherwise securely affixed to the upper surface of base 533 using standard fasteners , and so on . each support structure 523 resembles a rectangular bar having a thickness approximately equal to the thickness of base 533 , and a height approximately twice that distance . located near the outward opposite ends of each structure 523 , a pair of elongated slots 525 are formed completely through the thickness of structures 523 , the set of elongated slots of one structure 523 aligned with those of the opposite structure 523 . each elongated slot 525 is adapted to accommodate the wheels of a roller assembly supporting a rolling footpad pivot support structure , as will be further detailed below . fig2 b is an elevation side view of footpad pivot base 520 of fig2 a , which illustrates the height and shape of structure 523 and location of elongated roller slots 525 . in the example shown , a pair of elongated slots 525 are shown , each slot 525 identical in size to the other within each support structure 523 , the left ends of each slot 525 distanced from each other as defined by dimension ( m ). dimension ( m ) is equal to the distance between the rollers of a pair of roller assemblies on one side of a rolling footpad pivot support structure , as will be shown below , such that the outer ends of each elongated slot 525 provide a stop point for the rolling footpad pivot support structure , providing the range limit for the rollers traveling within slots 525 . the inner surfaces of each slot 525 form a roller surface 527 providing a smooth surface onto which a roller may travel . in alternative embodiments , however , the size and number of elongated roller slots 525 may vary depending on the size of the roller assemblies adapted to travel within , and their distance apart from each other , as well as the distance of travel desired . in some alternative embodiments support structures 523 may be secured to base 533 utilizing such as standard bolt fasteners , for example , allowing the user to interchange existing structures with other structures which may have elongated slots of different length , size , location and so on , to accommodate different rolling pivot support structures , for example . the preferred embodiment illustrated utilizes a pair of elongated slots 525 which are located within structure 523 so as to form a large supporting bridge of material between each elongated slot within a structure 523 . the inventor has determined that two such slots are the preferable configuration for the preferred embodiment , combining sufficient roller travel distance defined by the length and location of slots 525 , with substantial structural integrity . through openings 529 are shown ( hidden view ) extending completely through the thickness of base 533 for accommodating bolt fasteners for securing structure 520 to an attachment plate 460 , in one embodiment , and through opening 531 is seen extending through the thickness of base 533 at the center , allowing access from above to the sliding securing bolt and nut fastener for attachment plate 460 . fig2 c is an elevation end view of footpad pivot base 520 of fig2 a . from this perspective the pair of elongated support structures 523 can be seen extending up from support base 533 near each edge , with the elongated slots 525 shown extending completely through each support structure 523 , forming the inner roller surfaces 527 . the center - to - center distance between each elongated slot 525 , as defined by dimension ( l ) is equal to the center - to - center distance between opposite rollers on a rolling support pivot plate adapted to travel within slots 525 , as will be shown further in detail . the width of dimension ( l ) may vary , however , in alternative embodiments depending on the width of the rolling support plate utilized . for example , as mentioned above , support structures 523 may be removably and adjustably attached to base 533 using bolt fasteners such that the support structures may be repositioned at different widths on support base 533 and re - secured utilizing different sets of mounting holes in support base 533 . fig3 a is an elevation end view of a footpad pivot support structure according to an embodiment of the present invention . footpad pivot support structure 540 is a further key element in the new and innovative dual - action footpad assembly attachment system which enables an attached footpad assembly to slide forward and backward as well as pivot forward to backward , to a predetermined degree . pivot support structure 540 is manufactured using similar materials and process as for support base 520 , having the best combination of light weight and overall structural rigidity . pivot support structure 540 comprises a base portion 541 having a thickness approximately equal to that of base 533 of support structure 520 , approximately ¾ inches in the embodiment presented , and having a rectangular shape also having similar in dimensions to that of rectangular shape of support structure 520 . a center through opening 554 is provided in base 541 for allowing the user access from above to the center sliding securing fastener , such as fastener 480 describe for fig2 . a pair of vertical support members 547 forms walls extending upward from the upper surface of base 541 along each opposite edge , forming a distinct u - shaped structure , support member 547 extending to a height approximately equal to half the width of base 541 in the embodiment shown , and extending along the entire length of base 541 . support member 547 has a thickness somewhat greater than that of base 541 , and are preferably permanently attached to base 541 by welding , or casting , or the like , or in alternative embodiments may be removably attached to base 541 using standard bolt fasteners , for example , and the width distance between support member 547 may also be adjustable by utilizing different sets of mounting openings ( not shown ) through base 541 , for instance , similarly to structures 523 of support structure 520 , so as to accommodate additional elements of different sizes , and so on . each vertical support member has a large , arcuate slot 543 , curving somewhat upward at each end from the center , extending completely through the thickness of walls 547 . the inner surface 544 of each arcuate slot 543 is modified to provide a smooth roller surface , similarly to that of elongated roller slots 525 of fig2 b , except for the outer opening of arcuate slot 543 is somewhat greater than the opening to the inside of support members 547 , adapted as such for accommodating a roller assembly while minimizing lateral movement of the rolling assembly , as will be shown in greater detail in embodiments presented below . dimension ( q ), as shown in the illustration , defines the distance between the beginnings of the larger outward - facing opening of arcuate slots 543 of opposing vertical support structures 547 . a plurality of through openings 545 extend completely through the thickness of one wall 547 , shown on the left in fig3 a , and a corresponding number of threaded openings 546 , having the same number and pattern of through openings 545 , extend into the opposite support member 547 . arcuate slot 543 and openings 545 and 546 are better illustrated , however , in the following figures . pivot support structure 540 is provided with a pair of roller support structures 549 which are similar in size and rectangular bar - shape to structures 523 of support structure 520 of fig2 c , and are also , in a preferred embodiment , permanently attached by welding or formed by other permanent means on the bottom surface of base 541 , and extend along the entire length of base 541 . roller support structures 549 extend down from the bottom surface of base 541 , and are provided with a plurality of mounting holes 555 , in this case a total of four , for the purpose of rotatably attaching four roller assemblies 552 , one pair of roller assemblies 552 attached to each roller support structure 549 , facing outward . roller assemblies 552 comprise a roller 551 rotatably secured to support structures 549 utilizing roller axles 553 secured within mounting holes 555 of structures 549 . in the embodiment presented roller assemblies 552 heavy - duty , high - performance rollers designed to withstand substantial downward force while still rotating freely . roller assemblies 552 are designed to at least support the weight of any exercise user adding that additional lateral forces related to the tensioned side - to - side action operation of a wheeled carriage assembly during operation of a ski apparatus as previously described . in the embodiment presented footpad pivot support structure 540 is adapted to roll freely back and forth within the set of elongated roller slots 525 of support structure 520 of fig2 , supported by roller assemblies 552 . roller assemblies 552 are located beneath base 541 on structures 549 such that the center - to - center distance between each opposing roller 551 , defined by dimension ( n ) in the example presented , is equal to dimension ( l ) between structures 523 of support structure 520 of fig2 c . in alternative embodiments however , dimensions ( n ) and ( l ) may vary somewhat , as long as they are equal in dimension to each other . fig3 b is an elevation side view of footpad pivot support structure 540 of fig3 a . the size and shape of arcuate slot 543 is clearly seen in this view , as are the locations of through openings 545 . as mentioned previously , although only one vertical support member 547 is visible in this elevation view , threaded openings 546 extending into the opposite ( hidden ) support member 547 are located and spaced identically to through openings 545 . the grooved roller surface formed by the inner walls of arcuate slot 543 is also clearly visible in this view . two of the four roller assemblies 552 are visible in this view attached to facing side of one of structures 549 , near the forward and rearward ends of structure 549 , approximately halfway between the top and bottom of structure 549 . as mentioned previously relative to support structure 520 of fig2 b , elongated slots 525 each provide a forward or rearward stopping point for roller assemblies traveling back and forth within . dimension ( m ) defines the distance between the left edge of a first elongated slot 525 , and that of the second slot 525 . in the embodiment presently illustrated , the center - to - center distance between the forward and rearward roller assemblies 552 , defined by dimension ( p ) in the illustration , is exactly equal to that of dimension ( m ) of fig2 b . as with the center - to - center width dimensions of opposing roller assemblies , as shown in fig3 a , the center - to - center length dimension ( p ) of fig3 b may vary in alternative embodiments as long as it equals dimension ( m ) of fig2 b , as it is preferable that when footpad pivot support structure 540 is rolling back and forth within elongated slots 525 of support structure 520 , the stopping points provided by the ends of elongated slots 525 should stop both rollers at exactly the same time when the rolling travel distance of support structure 540 has reached the limit . fig3 c is a top view of footpad pivot support structure 540 of fig3 a . in this view , the rectangular shape of base 541 is now clearly seen , and with vertical support members 547 located at each opposite edge of base 541 . all four roller assemblies 552 are seen in the hidden view , rotatably to roller support structures 549 attached near each end , structures 549 each having a thickness approximately equal to vertical support members 547 , and extending along the entire length of base 541 approximately halfway between the center and either edge of base 541 . through opening 554 is shown extending completely through the center of base 541 for accessing the sliding attachment plate securing fastener as described above . fig3 a is a top view of a pivot roller base assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention . pivot roller base assembly 560 is provided as a further key element in the new and novel dual - action pivoting footpad attachment assembly of the present invention . base assembly 560 is provided as essentially a rolling base adapted for attaching an exercise attachment such as suspended footpad assembly 470 , shown in fig2 . base assembly 560 comprises a base portion 563 , which is rectangular in shape , substantially flat and manufactured of strong , lightweight aluminum or similar material similarly to other footpad pivot system elements described above . base 563 has a width dimension , which is somewhat less than the distance between the internal walls of vertical support members 547 of pivot support structure 540 of fig3 a , enabling roller base assembly 560 to freely move forward and backward between vertical support members 547 , while minimizing side play . a distance ( s ) defines the distance between the inner edges the rollers of each set of forward or rearward roller assemblies 565 on opposing sides of base 563 , a distance defined as dimension ( r ) in the illustration , is equal to dimension ( q ) of fig3 a defining the distance between the beginning of the larger outward - facing openings of arcuate slots 543 of vertical support members 547 . rollers 565 of roller base assembly 560 travel along roller surface 544 , as shown for support structure 540 of fig3 b , within the larger outward - facing openings formed in arcuate slots 543 . a plurality of threaded mounting holes 566 , one located near each corner of base 563 , extend somewhat down into the surface of base 563 , and are positioned on base 563 in accordance with the location of the mounting through openings 471 of footpad support structure 473 of fig2 , such that suspended footpad assembly 470 , for example , may be mounted in a center position to the upper surface of base 563 , aligning four through openings 471 of footpad assembly 470 with the four corresponding mounting holes 566 , and securing with standard screw or bolt fasteners , as described for fig2 . as with previous elements illustrated above , a center through opening 564 is also provided extending completely through the thickness of base 563 allowing the user to access the sliding securing faster for the sliding attachment plate 460 described previously pivot roller base 560 also comprises a set of four roller assemblies 565 rotatably mounted to the sides of base 563 near each of the forward and rearward corners , utilizing roller axles 567 and threaded openings , ( not shown ), extending into the sides of base 563 . roller base 560 is provided in this embodiment as essentially a sturdy , rolling platform adapted to travel forward and backward within arcuate slots 543 of vertical support members 547 of footpad pivot support structure 540 of fig3 , while an independent footpad assembly is mounted thereupon as described above . as described for footpad pivot support structure 540 of fig3 , roller assemblies 565 are heavy - duty , high - performance roller assemblies known in the art , capable of supporting at least the weight of exercising user as well as the additional forces placed thereupon by operation of the ski apparatus machine . fig3 b is an elevation end view of pivot roller base assembly 560 of fig3 a , clearly showing the thickness of base portion 563 and two of the four threaded mounting holes 566 ( hidden view ) extending somewhat down into the upper surface of base 563 , and center through opening 564 can be seen extending completely through the thickness of base portion 563 . two of the four roller assemblies 565 are shown in this elevation view , rotatably attached to the sides of base 563 , each roller assembly 565 positioned approximately level with base portion 563 . fig3 c is an elevation side view of pivot roller base assembly 560 of fig3 a . from this perspective only two of the four roller assemblies 565 are shown rotatably mounted on one side of base 563 , secured with roller axles 567 . mounting holes 566 can be seen at their locations near the front and rear ends of base 563 , with through opening 564 extending through the thickness of base 563 at its center . fig3 a is an elevation view of footpad pivot base 520 of fig2 b , footpad pivot support structure 540 of fig3 b , and pivot roller base assembly 560 of fig3 c , assembled according to an embodiment of the present invention . footpad pivot roller assembly 580 is provided as a new and novel dual - action pivoting mounting interface for attaching such as a suspended footpad assembly 470 to a sliding attachment plate 460 , and ultimately to a wheeled carriage of a ski exercise apparatus such as described herein . as shown in this view , and described previously , footpad pivot support structure 540 rolls back and forth freely within elongated roller slots 525 of roller base 520 , suspended by roller assemblies 552 rotatably attached to the sides of roller support structures 549 of pivot support structure 540 . the distance range of travel for pivot support structure 540 within roller base 520 is limited by the length of each elongated roller slot 525 . although it is not shown in this view for reasons of simplicity , roller base 520 , in practice of the invention , may be preassembled to a sliding attachment plate 460 for adjustably mounting onto a slide plate 451 mounted to a wheeled carriage 484 , as described for previous figures , or alternately , may also be mounted directly to the upper surface of the wheeled carriage of the ski apparatus exercise machine . in either application , pivot support structure 540 travels freely within elongated slots 525 , providing the free range of motion forward and backward for pivot support structure 540 . pivot base assembly 560 is shown in this view positioned between vertical support members 547 , only one of which is seen in this elevated view , supported by roller assemblies 565 rotatably attached to each side of base assembly 560 , which travel freely within arcuate slots 543 along roller surface 544 adapted for the purpose . as can be seen in this view , base assembly 560 is enabled to travel within arcuate slots 543 , a distance range defined by the outer ends of arcuate slots 543 , and in doing so , enables a tilting action forward or backward for base assembly 560 . in practice of the invention , a suspended footpad assembly , such as footpad assembly 484 of fig2 is secured to the upper surface of base assembly 560 , and therefore , when attached , tilts forward and backward in accordance with base assembly 560 within arcuate slots 543 . the purpose and function of the plurality of through openings 545 of vertical support members 547 also now becomes apparent in this view . from this perspective , through opening 545 are shown arranged linearly , at a slight angle , near each end of arcuate slot 543 . as mentioned previously for fig3 b , a corresponding set of threaded openings 546 ( not shown ) extending into the opposing vertical support member 547 ( also not shown ), arranged according to the locations of through openings 545 . through openings 545 accommodate insertion of a threaded pivot stop bolt 585 , which is of sufficient length such that when fully inserted through an opening 545 the threaded end of pivot stop bolt 585 extends to a corresponding threaded hole 546 in the opposite vertical support member 547 , such that pivot stop bolt 585 may be secured to the threaded hole 546 . an identical pivot stop bolt 585 may also be inserted and threaded as described above that the opposite end of arcuate slot 543 , such that a stop bolt 585 is secured at either end of arcuate slot 543 . the purpose of stop bolts 585 is to provide the user a means for limiting the amount of travel of base assembly 560 within arcuate slot 543 , thereby limiting the tilting action of base assembly 560 , and ultimately an attached suspended footpad assembly . the travel of base assembly 560 within arcuate slot 543 is limited by the bottom corner of base assembly 560 making contact with an inserted pivot stop bolt 585 , as shown in the example presented . the travel / tilting range of base assembly 560 within arcuate slots 543 is increased by inserting pivot stop bolts 585 through outward sets of through openings 545 and threaded holes 546 of vertical support members 547 , and is thereby decreased by inserting pivot stop bolts 585 through inward sets of openings 545 and threaded holes 546 . the number and location of through openings 545 and threaded holes 546 in vertical support members 547 may vary in alternative embodiments of the present invention , those shown in this view are only exemplary . fig3 b is an elevation end view of footpad pivot base assembly 520 , footpad pivot support structure 540 , and pivot roller base assembly 560 of fig3 a . in this view , roller assemblies 552 are shown rotatably attached to roller support structures 549 , and positioned within the elongated slots of structures 523 of support structure 520 . roller assemblies 565 , rotatably attached to pivot base assembly 560 , are positioned within arcuate slots 543 of vertical support members 547 of pivot support structure 540 . one of stop bolts 585 is shown in this elevation view inserted through opening 545 of a first vertical support member 547 , and its threaded end secured into threaded hole 546 of the second vertical support member 547 . the assembly shown in fig3 a and 32b is meant to be mounted in pairs in a preferred embodiment to a wheeled carriage in the exercise apparatus such that the direction of translation of support structure 540 and of pivot base 560 is at right angles to the direction of travel of the wheeled carriage side - to - side . this arrangement allows a foot pads engaged to elements 560 , thus to a user &# 39 ; s two feet , to translate to a limited degree forward and backward independently and to also rock arcuately , adding these degrees of freedom to the action of the overall apparatus , simulating much more truly the actual experience of slalom skiing . as mentioned above in the background section of the present application , one object of the present invention is to provide a ski apparatus having a monitoring system integrated therein which provides the user with information pertaining to the workout in order to enable the user to best utilize the apparatus and maximize effectiveness of the workout or training . such information may include elapsed time from start to finish of the workout , goal determination and accomplishment , energy or calories expended by the user , speed of turns , side travel distance of the wheeled carriage , and so on . it is preferable that such a monitoring system is electronic and capable of being retrofitted to all ski exercise apparatus described herein in the present application and in related u . s . patents and applications included herein by reference . elements of such a new and novel electronic monitoring system and apparatus , termed lifebeat ( lb ) by the inventor of the present application , are disclosed in the following figures in enabling detail . fig3 a is an elevation side view of a lifebeat ( lb ) cable - securing axle according to an embodiment of the present invention . lifebeat ( lb ) axle 610 is provided in this embodiment as a roller axle mechanism which enables the connection of an optical sensor actuating cable ( not shown ) to the underside of a wheeled carriage assembly of a ski exercise apparatus as described herein . lb axle 610 is designed to replace an existing roller axle mounted beneath the wheeled carriage assembly of a ski exercise apparatus which is being retrofitted with monitoring sensor elements as will be described further below in enabling detail . lb axle 610 comprises an axle shaft portion 611 onto which an existing carriage roller , such as roller 59 of fig4 , is rotatably mounted . lb axle 610 also comprises an enlarged stop collar 615 adapted for preventing lb axle 610 from rotating within the carriage roller bracket beneath the wheeled carriage . lb axle 610 comprises an internal threaded portion 614 on one end for securing lb axle 610 to the roller bracket utilizing a standard threaded nut fastener , and an external threaded portion at the opposite end of axle shaft portion 611 , for securing the end of an actuating cable for the optical sensor system as will be described below . fig3 b is an elevation end view of cable - securing lb axle 610 of fig3 a . stop collar 615 of lb axle 610 is clearly shown in this view having a flat portion 617 on either side for preventing lb axle 610 from rotating within the roller mounting bracket of the wheeled carriage assembly , once lb axle 610 is attached . fig3 is an elevation side view of a lifebeat ( lb ) carriage wheel roller axle assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention . lb roller axle 590 is adapted for retrofitting with roller axles securing existing end rollers of a ski exercise apparatus being retrofitted with the monitoring system of the invention , such as those securing rollers 35 and 37 of ski apparatus 9 of fig2 . however , lb roller axle assemblies 590 provide a carriage wheel rotatably mounted to roller axle 595 at one end , secured by lock nut 597 and washers 591 and 596 . roller axle 595 is shown in this embodiment as an existing roller axle securing the end power band rollers , such as rollers 35 and 37 of apparatus 9 of fig2 . lb axle 610 of fig3 a is shown in this view threaded onto the threaded end of existing roller axle 595 , and a carriage wheel 593 is rotatably mounted over lb axle 610 , secured by lock nut 597 . star washers 599 are provided for more securely attaching roller axle 595 to the end power band roller mounting brackets , as is illustrated further below . fig3 is an elevation side view of an optical sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention . lb sensor assembly 600 comprises an optical sensor unit 601 , which senses rotational changes of an attached sensor carriage wheel 603 , secured to optical sensor unit 601 by roller axle bolt 605 . a monitor wire 607 carries the sensed signals from the optical sensor unit to a conventional electronic monitor display unit ( not shown ) which may be attached to the frame of the ski apparatus , or may otherwise be provided with its own stand , enabling viewing of the displayed monitoring results by the exercising user , and enabling the exercising user to enter information into the monitor display unit . such a unit and display is common to , for example , commercially - available treadmills . fig3 is an elevation view of frame structure 404 of fig1 , wheeled carriage assembly 484 , slide plate 451 , attachment plate 460 , and suspended footpad assemblies 472 of fig2 a , incorporating an electronic monitoring sensor system according to an embodiment of the present invention . as previously mentioned , elements comprising the lb monitoring system herein described may be retrofitted to existing ski exercise apparatus described in and in related u . s . patents and applications . ski apparatus 701 is one such machine , comprising a set of semi - arcuate rails 415 upon which wheeled carriage 484 travels back and forth as described herein . for simplicity , a broken view is given for wheeled carriage 484 to show hidden elements , and many other elements such as the three power bands have also been omitted from this view for enabling a detailed view of the key components of the lb monitoring system . suspended footpad assemblies 470 are mounted to sliding attachment plates 460 , which in turn are mounted to slide plate 451 , which is mounted to the upper surface of wheeled carriage 484 , as previously described herein . wheeled carriage 484 has a power band roller bracket extending down from the underside containing a mounted power band roller , but in the embodiment shown the existing power band roller axle has been retrofitted with lb axle 610 , as shown in fig3 a . at each end of apparatus 701 , the existing roller axles rotatably mounting the outer power band rollers at each end , have been replaced with lb roller axle assemblies 590 as shown in fig3 . lb sensor assembly 600 is mounted to the lower frame structure , near the center , as shown in the illustration , and be attached monitor wire leads away from lb sensor assembly 600 to an external monitor display and input device , as described above . an actuating cable 620 is attached at one end of lb axle 610 under wheeled carriage 484 , and is then routed to a first lb roller axle assembly 590 as shown , around the carriage wheel of the first roller axle assembly 590 , and then towards the lb sensor assembly 600 . cable 620 is then wrapped once around sensor carriage wheel 603 of lb sensor assembly 600 , and then routes on towards the second lb roller axle assembly 590 securing the opposite end roller , where it is routed up and over the carriage wheel of the second lb roller axle assembly 590 , and then back up to lb axle 610 under carriage 484 . the second end of cable 620 is then secured along with the first end to lb axle 610 utilizing standard lock nut fasteners . spring 623 provides constant tension to lb cable 620 once it is properly routed as described around the carriage wheels of lb roller axle assemblies 590 at each end of apparatus 701 , around sensor carriage wheel 603 of lb sensor assembly 600 and attached at both ends at lb axle 610 under carriage 484 . during operation of ski apparatus 701 wheeled carriage travels laterally along rails 415 , as described previously , but sensor carriage wheel 603 of lb sensor assembly 600 is now rotated in one direction or the other in direct relation to physical movements of wheeled carriage 484 along rails 415 . lb sensor assembly 600 and its monitoring display device ( not shown ) are adapted to interpret the signals provided by the rotating carriage wheel of lb sensor assembly 600 and reproduce the signals on the display monitor in meaningful information readable by the user , such as elapsed time from start to finish of the workout , goal determination and accomplishment , energy or calories expended by the user , speed of turns , side travel distance of the wheeled carriage , and so on . fig3 is a top view of the frame structure and sensor system of fig3 . in this view , lb cable 620 is clearly shown as it routes over carriage wheels 593 of end lb roller axles 590 , and once around sensor carriage wheel 603 of lb sensor assembly 600 , each free end of lb cable 620 attached to lb axle 610 . for simplicity , wheeled carriage 484 is not shown in this view . as shown in the illustration , roller axle carriage wheels 593 , sensor carriage wheel 603 , and a cable attach point of lb axle 610 or all aligned with each other such that lb cable 620 routes over and around them in a straight line . fig3 is a perspective view of an adjustable flag assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention . flag assembly 702 is provided by the inventor as part of the lifebeat monitoring system described thus far , and has the purpose of giving the exercising user a clear visual and audible indication when the wheeled carriage assembly reaches a certain lateral range limit . flag assembly 702 comprises a mounting base 715 having an upper clamp 713 secured to mounting base 715 by four bolt fasteners 709 . clamp 713 is adapted to fit snugly over the rounded shape of transverse end - members 27 of the frame structure of the ski apparatus , a shown in fig7 a , b . flag assembly 702 is also provided with a plurality of flag locator holes 711 extending down into the upper surface of mounting base 715 , adapted for attaching a flag 705 by inserting flag stem 707 into one of locator holes 711 , providing a wide choice of flag stem mounting positions on mounting base 715 . fig3 is an elevation view of the frame structure , wheeled carriage assembly , slide plate , attachment plate , suspended footpad assemblies , and sensor system of fig3 incorporating a pair of flag assemblies 702 of fig3 according to an embodiment of the present invention . the manner in which flag assemblies 702 are attached at each end of frame structure 701 in one embodiment is clearly seen in this view , utilizing clamp 713 and bolts 709 , which secure mounting base 715 to each rounded transverse member at either end of frame structure 701 . in this example flag 705 are inserted into locator holes near the outermost locator hole position . in other embodiments the method and apparatus for holding flags may be different . during operation of the ski exercise apparatus , carriage 484 travels laterally along rails 415 , and when the outermost travel distance range is achieved by the user , the end of plate 451 mounted on wheeled carriage 484 makes physical contact with flag 705 , giving the user an instant visual and audible indication that the desired outermost travel distance range has been achieved . as previously mentioned , a still further object of the present invention to enable the ski exercising apparatus of the present invention to be used with additional special attachments and other new and novel apparatus , to become a versatile rehabilitation and training tool that simulates the range of motion and balance required in many sports other than downhill skiing , and for selectively stretching , strengthening or rehabilitating specific areas of the body , core stabilization , balance training and many other aspects of selected training and exercise , not possible with using only the ski apparatus as described thus far in the present application . such a ski exercise apparatus used with such special attachments accurately reproduces the lateral movements required in most sports , thereby optimizing rehabilitation and helping to prevent injury to the user . the inventor of the present application has discovered that the ski apparatus of the present invention , in addition to providing the tensioned lateral movement and balance exercises described herein utilizing suspended footpad assemblies and dual - action pivoting independent footpad attachment mechanisms , may also be used for exercises which create progressive resistance to the knee , hip and pelvic core musculature , allowing the user and therapist / trainer the option of implementing isolated progressive resistance at different levels . fig4 is an elevation view of the frame structure , wheeled carriage assembly , slide plate , attachment plate , suspended footpad assemblies , sensor system and flag assemblies of fig3 , an optional support frame and an exercising user , incorporating a progressive - resistance cord system according to an embodiment of the present invention , for providing such isolated progressive resistance exercises , as described above . ski exercise apparatus 801 comprises the frame structure 701 previously described , including improved semi - arcuate rails 415 , and wheeled carriage assembly 484 utilizing a set of suspended footpad assemblies adjustably attached to carriage 484 , as described above . the embodiment illustrated however , comprises an optional support frame 803 for a novice user to hold on to for stabilization while using ski apparatus 801 . support frame 803 , termed assistant coach by the inventor , is equivalent to support frame 14 as described for fig1 a , comprising a set of arcuate rails 807 , each having a grip covering portion , and a transverse cross member 811 which provides stability to the overall frame structure . an exercising user 805 is shown operating ski exercise apparatus 801 according to embodiment of the present invention described herein thus far , except that additional resistance is incorporated into the lateral movements of the user , by using the new and unique attachment cord with pulley system , anchor straps and resistance cords designed to be used with support frame 803 . core muscle strengthening may be accomplished utilizing the ski exercise apparatus of the present invention with the use of resistance during exercises on the machine . resistance cords attached to the upper leg of the user , for example , provide resistance for internal and external rotation , abduction and adduction of the femur during the lateral movements . resistance cords may also be alternatively attached to a waist strap worn by the exercising user giving resistance to the pelvis and lumbar spine through lateral movements on the exercise apparatus . in the embodiment shown , a strap 815 is attached around the upper thigh of the user , and attached to strap 815 is an attachment cord 821 . attachment cord 821 is routed to and through pulley 817 , which is anchored to support frame 803 just below where it meets cross member 811 , utilizing anchor strap 819 . cord 821 is routed around the wheel of pulley 817 and then down at an angle where it is attached to an adjusting strap 823 . an elastic resistance cord 825 is anchored at one end to the lower straight portion of support frame 803 opposite from pulley 817 , utilizing another anchor strap 819 , and is connected at the other end to adjusting strap 823 . as user 805 moves wheeled carriage assembly 804 laterally across rails 415 , added resistance is selectively applied to the upper thigh area of user 805 , by virtue of the resistance of cord 825 . resistance cords 825 may be supplied with varying lengths and elasticity to allow the option of implementing isolated progressive resistance at different levels . the length of adjusting strap 823 may also be adjusted to further add to the choice of resistance options . the system comprising movable anchor straps 819 cord 821 , pulley 817 and adjusting strap 823 allow the option of implementing isolated progressive resistance from multiple heights and angles along support frame 803 . further , a larger version of strap 815 may be used to secure cord 821 to the user &# 39 ; s hip , waist , or chest area , depending on the selective training preference . it is noted that the example shown in fig4 is exemplary only , as the possibilities for achieving different resistance and selectively applying the resistance to specific areas of the body while exercising are plentiful . for example , the user may attach strap 815 to the opposite leg , switch locations of anchor straps 819 and pulley 817 for adding resistance to the other leg while exercising , or in other instances , cord 821 , pulley 817 and adjusting strap 823 may not be used at all , and the user may wish to anchor a resistance cord by one end to each side of a waste belt , and anchor the other ends of the resistance cords directly to frame 803 to the side , giving resistance to the pelvis and lumbar spine through the lateral movements to both sides of the ski apparatus . it will be apparent to the skilled partisan that the possibilities for applying selective resistance to specific parts of the body utilizing the elements described herein is virtually unlimited . it will also be apparent to one with skill in the art that the many improvements to existing ski - exercising equipment described as separate embodiments herein add durability , safety , much - improved operating characteristics which more closely simulate the lateral movements required in many sports , adjustability of footpad or other exercise attachments , manufacturability , and convenience over apparatus of the prior art . moreover , future applications may now be implemented by developing new upper platform assemblies , and still be integrated easily with the improved rail and carriage apparatus , and improved adjustable attachment mechanisms as taught herein . therefore , the present invention should be afforded the broadest scope possible . the spirit and scope of the present invention is limited only be the claims that follow .	0
in fig1 the manufacturing apparatus 1 substantially completes the undergarment assembly shown in fig4 while materials are in web form , and delivers the product assembly in stacks of unfolded flat form , or in another embodiment , as stacks of longitudinally and transversely folded product . in fig1 . web w 2 is unwound from supply roll 2 by belt 3 . web w 1 and w 2 are referred to as first and second webs herein . web w 2 is advanced through a 3 - roll constant tension system 4 by a set of pull rolls 5 . concurrently , a set of three coacting rolls 6 draw a pair of elastic strands 7 from supply roll 8 . elastic strands 7 pass through the nip of s - wrap roll set 6 which are arranged to advance the elastic at a velocity lower than the velocity of web w 2 thus inducing tension in the elastic strands . the elastic strands pass under adhesive application means 9 for spaced adhesive and subsequent spaced attachment at roll set 5 to a central crotch portion of web w 2 under tension . in fig1 a narrow web strip w 3 is unwound from supply roll 10 by belt 11 and passes throught the nip of pull roll pair 12 mounted above folding plate 13 . a second pair of draw rolls 14 at the tip of folding plate 13 has a variable speed drive ( not shown ) to create tension in the web moving over folding plates 16 . the apex of the folded web is along margin 15 . referring briefly to fig2 and 3 , the v - folded web is advanced from pull rolls 14 ( see fig2 ) over guide rolls ( not seen ) to the incoming web position w 3 a , advanced over the top and bottom outside surfaces of inverse folding plates 16 , around the 45 degree angles edges 17 , and is reverse folded to slide over inside surfaces and exit from plate pair 16 with the web w 3 b directed 90 degrees from the direction of the incoming web — in effect , a 90 degree turn involving a reversal of inside and outside surfaces before and after the web fold . the apex of the folded web is along edge 18 after its exit from plates 16 . in fig2 and 5 , the second web w 2 is shown entering the space between the reverse folded portions of strip w 3 and is enclosed therebetween . the reinforcing strip w 3 is attached to adhesive applied to both sides of w 2 with applicators 19 and 20 . in fig5 means to change spacing between upper and lower angled plates 16 can be provided ( not shown ) to increase spacing when w 2 or w 3 spliced joints are sensed upstream , and can be reduced to normal spacing using automatic controls . it is further noted that while strip reinforcing web is shown being added to one web , duplicate but oppositely handed means can be used to add a strip to web w 1 . in fig1 first web w 1 is concurrently fed from supply roll 21 by unwind belt 22 and passes through a 3 - roll constant tension system 23 . with a system 24 similar to elastic feed and tensioning apparatus described above for web w 2 , the elastic is tensioned and adhesive is applied at spaced intervals before it is attached to web w 1 at pull roll set 25 . intermediate guide rolls 26 can be grooved to prevent adhesive offset to roll surfaces . before being joined to web w 2 , the underluying web w 1 ( see fig3 and 6 ) has adhesive applied to a restricted spaced area 27 in the central overlapped region by printer 28 . the spaced area of adhesive 27 ( see left side of fig3 ) joins the two half width webs into a full width web at spaced intervals of the overlapped portions between plies of the rear panel , and by leaving a portion not printed ( space between areas 27 ), the unbonded overlap becomes the front panel opening . it is noted that when the longitudinal dimension of printed area 27 exceeds 50 % of product length , a limited but beneficial bonding occurs between 2 plies of the front panel near the crotch . in fig1 web w 1 is advanced to the nip between rolls set 29 and bondably joined in the spaced apart areas 27 to web w 2 including the reinforcing strip w 3 that encloses one margin . in fig2 and 3 , the conjoined webs are viewed with web w 2 overlapped as the top web . before reaching die cutting rolls , a releasable closure tape 30 ( see fig3 ) is attached to the top of web w 2 and extends over the folded edge of the reinforcing strip for attaching connection between the two half width webs which become the front panel when the briefs are folded around the crotch by the user . in the top left of fig1 a closure tape supply roll 31 is pulled by nip rolls 32 and threaded around s - wrap roll set 33 . the web for tapes 30 is flexible but substantially non - extensible . with a disc brake or equal means to provide resistance , the tape web being fed into roll set 32 and s - wrap rolls 33 has enough tension to prevent overfeed while advancing ( for example ) a 1 ″ long segment into the space between anvil roll 34 and coacting knife roll 35 when the knife - anvils are not in contact between cuts . vacuumized anvil roll 34 advances the tape segment to vacuum transfer roll 36 for extending attachment to web w 2 . in fig1 two webs for tapes 37 , 37 ′ are advanced from supply roll 38 , threaded over guide roll ( not referenced ) and around s - wrap pull rolls 39 for segment transfer to cutoff roll set 40 in a segment feeding system similar to u . s . pat . no . 3 , 728 , 191 and other prior art . referring to fig1 an absorbent pad p of conventional design can be manufactured by upstream apparatus and adhesively attached to areas 41 ′ on the inside of the garment ( see fig3 ) by adhesive applied at applicator 41 . in another embodiment , applicator 41 can be located to the left of roll set 29 ( not shown ) for addition of the pad to the underside of web w 2 . after side margin and closure tapes , waistbands , etc . are added , the overlapped webs ( adhesively bonded between plies of the rear panel and tape connected on the front panel ) pass through the nip between coacting die cutting roll 42 and anvil roll 43 to shape typical leg cutouts 44 in both sides of the web assembly ( see fig3 and 10 ). referring briefly to fig4 pad securement flaps 45 , 45 ′ ( shown phantom ) can be shaped by die cutting set 42 , 43 to extend from the central crotch region . means to fold these flaps for ‘ temporary ’ deployment before use are not shown but would be similar to the longitudinal folding system 51 in fig1 . in fig4 cover strips 46 , 46 ′ are removed from tapes 37 , 37 ′ respectively and connect rear panel 47 to front panel 48 after the front panel is folded back and superposed against the rear panel . the perspective view of fig4 illustrates the addition of side margin tapes 46 , 46 ′ ( means not shown fig1 ) and front panel closure tape 30 as viewed from sight line 3 — 3 in fig1 . in fig3 the rear panel leads in the direction of movement and tapes are upward as the web assembly approaches die roll 42 . as the assembly advances through the die cutting set 42 , 43 it passes around vacuum transfer roll 52 and tapes are downwardly facing as shown in fig9 . referring back to fig1 after side tapes 37 , 37 ′ are in place , segment feeding apparatus 50 adds waistband 49 ( see fig3 ) to the rear panel between the side tapes . in fig1 after system 50 adds a waistband , folding device 51 folds the ‘ wing ’ portions to reduce produce width ( fold rods shown staggered in fig1 ). fig5 is a detailed perspective view of the inverse folding device for the reinforcing strip as illustrated in fig1 and 2 . in fig6 web components are shown on one side of ( above ) the fold line f 1 - f 1 ′ as a complete product in flat form . any folds and side tape connections for completion of the leg and waist apertures occur below the fold line and are completed by the user ( like disposable diapers ). tape 30 is attached to release area 30 ′ in fig7 an s - wrap feed roll couple 54 advances a web at a slow speed to advance a portion that protrudes downwardly in the space between the knife cutoff roll 55 and the coacting anvil roll 56 . during the interval between cuts , the advanced segment is in sliding contact with anvil roll 56 which has vacuum ports at small segment repeats , and when the cutoff roll roates to the cut position , a small segment ( such as a tape ) is free to advance at web speed on the surface of anvil roll 56 for transfer to the web via rolls 57 and 58 . in fig8 a similar feed , cutoff and transfer system 59 advances and cuts a cover strip segment 59 ′ shorter than product length and die cuts a shape in the segment with die roll 60 before vacuum roll 61 transfers the shaped cover strip for attachment to pad adhesive 27 on the underside of web w 2 . referring to fig9 and 10 , the web assembly ( w 1 , w 2 , and w 3 ) is advanced around transfer roll 52 with tapes now on the underside of the web assembly . knife roll 62 severs the web assembly into segments s . anvil roll 63 is vacuumized and advances the leading cut edge to a roll position at about 280 degrees as viewed . the leading rear panel portion 47 is held to anvil roll 63 until vacuum is stopped at about 275 degrees . the trailing front panel portion 48 is held by vacuumized apertures shown solid in fig1 , and as folding roll 64 rotates , a plurality of vacuum ports 65 along fold line f 1 - f 1 ′ holds the trailing panel 48 near the fold line and causes rear panel 47 to be slidably pulled from the surface of roll 63 , resulting in a half fold to reduce packaging size . in fig1 , vacuum ports for rear panel 47 are shown as circles whereas ports to hold the front panel are shown solid , noting that the same pattern of ports is on both rolls 63 , 64 and 66 . referring again to fig9 roll 66 is a vacuum transfer roll for flat delivery and stacking of the product . for reduced package size , roll 64 half folds the product and advances it until orbital packer fingers 67 strip the product into stacks . in fig9 products with defects can be detected upstream and culled in direction c by intermittently interrupting vacuum for roll 66 ( for flat pack ) or roll 64 ( for stacks of folded product ) fig1 shows a typical plurality of ports 68 communicating with vacuum manifold 69 in a typical rotating roll . the circular free end of manifold 69 rotates in sliding contact with annular vacuum groove 70 in stationary valve half 71 , as viewed from sight line 12 — 12 of fig1 . annular groove 70 communicates with the central hollow shaft 72 via radial channels 70 ′. for example , in fig1 , vacuum v is only available in the groove between positions 73 to 74 and 74 to 74 ′. referring to fig1 , the crosshatched slug in position 74 is connected to and movable with actuator solenoid rod 75 , and by slideable retraction into slug cutouts in the frame , ( not referenced for clarity ), slug 74 can be moved to restore the full vacuum path between 73 and 74 ′. in effect , the solenoid actuator causes variable duration of the effective vacuum , and in reverse , interruption of the vacuum path 73 - 74 ′ would result in shorter groove and vacuum from 73 to 74 . interruption of vacuum causes defective product to be culled along paths c . fig1 shows size reduction in length without longitudinal panel folds for width reduction . in fig1 , folding roll 76 has a plurality of vacuum ports 77 arranged along fold line f 1 - f 1 ′ of fig1 for folding a previously cut rectangular segment . the arrangement of fig1 die cuts a symmetrical ‘ hourglass ’ shape after folding , therefore , this embodiment is limited to webs not being longitudinally for width reduction . in fig1 anvil roll 78 and knife roll 79 sever the web into rectangular segments . the leading panel 47 of fig1 and 15 adheres to the surface of vacuumized anvil roll 78 until vacuum is stopped at about 260 degrees as shown . the trailing panel 48 is held securely by a greater plurality of ports in roll 76 so when lead panel 47 is stripped from roll 78 and superposed on top of the trailing panel , the greater vacuum area now holds the mult - ply folded product against anvil roll 76 . external belts 81 can also be used . the folded product is shaped by coacting anvil roll 76 and die roll 82 and advanced by transfer roll 83 to delivery roll 84 for stacking as described above . in fig1 , belt transport / folding system 51 includes plenum 85 with open top slot 86 and exrended protrusions 87 which support screen belt 88 . web assembly 89 is supported and advanced by belt 88 , and during advancement has longitudinal side panels 90 and 90 ′ folded upward and toward the center by folding rods 91 and 91 ′ respectively for product width reduction . it is further to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or special attributes ; and it is , therefore , not restrictive , reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention .	0
the present invention is characterized by controlling the titanium structure and the bonding thereof to the backing plate by simultaneously carrying them out in a heating step using a hot isostatic press machine . the inventors found that the size of the recrystallized titanium grains greatly depended on the press temperature and that the grain size did not show a remarkable growth within a few hours of the diffusion bonding process . they thus accomplished this invention wherein the regulation of the titanium crystal structure and the bonding thereof to the backing plate can be simultaneously carried out in a heating step . use of the heating step process can increase the productivity , eliminating the preliminary recrystallization process of titanium . the condition of the isostatic press machine is set to a condition required to control the titanium structure , which can solve the problem of excessive crystal growth through heating after the structure control . when diffusion bonding takes place at the same time as recrystallization , a strain in the recrystallized titanium structure can be relaxed to render the atoms more mobile . thus , diffusion bonding occurs more readily than during a simple heating without accompanying the recrystallization of titanium . further , the present invention is also characterized by the use of an isostatic press machine . in a single - axis press - forming , pressure is perpendicularly applied to the bonded surfaces of the titanium target material and the backing plate , while a small deviation of the axis , if any , causes an uneven distribution of pressure on the bonded surface . when the bonding is carried out at low temperatures for prevention of the excessive growth of crystals , the diffusion rate of the atoms on the boundary surfaces is greatly dependent on the pressure applied on the surface . because of this , an uneven pressure distribution directly leads to an uneven bonding with unbonded parts remaining . thus , the obtained target assembly can not be used for those applications requiring high conductivities of heat and electricity . on the other hand , an isostatic press machine gives an even distribution of pressure on the surfaces of the target material and the backing plate material , and prevents an uneven bonding between the two materials . as mentioned earlier , the isostatic press temperature used in this invention should preferably be 300 ° through 450 ° c . at a lower temperature than 300 ° c ., diffusion bonding hardly takes place even after a long retention of the temperature , while at a higher temperature than 450 ° c ., coarsening of crystal grains tends to occur in the structure . more specifically , a total reduction of 75 % or higher of cold - rolling and an isostatic - press temperature of 450 ° c . or lower should preferably be required to obtain a metal structure of an average grain size of less than 10 μm . also , as mentioned earlier , the isostatic pressure should preferably be 50 to 200 mpa . a lower pressure than 50 mpa can hardly result in excellent bonding , while a higher pressure than 200 mpa is not practical because of limitations of press machine performance . according to the method described above , a sputtering titanium target assembly comprising a titanium target material and an aluminum base backing plate can be obtained , wherein the titanium material has a recrystallized structure and the both are diffusion - bonded with each other . the aluminum base backing plate used in the invention is selected from backing plates made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy such as duralumin . aluminum is preferable because of its high electric conductivity . not higher than 10 % by weight of other elements , such as si , cu , mn , mg , cr , zn , ti , and zr , can be added to the aluminum base to increase the strength of the backing plate , which is required for large targets . the pressure - transferring vessel used in the isostatic press machine of this invention should preferably be as flexible and deformable as possible at low temperatures , because low temperatures and high pressures are used in this invention , as mentioned earlier . in more detail , flexible aluminum vessels or pressure - transferring vessels made of metal foils not thicker than 0 . 5 mm should preferably be used . the metal foils used include pure iron , stainless steel , and aluminum . to prevent contamination of the target material , high - melting niobium or molybdenum can also be used . when aluminum base vessels are used , the vessel itself can also be used as a backing plate material ; a usual independent backing plate is not necessary , and the vessel can be diffusion - bonded to the titanium target material . after an isostatic press treatment , the vessel can be processed into a backing plate . the surface of the titanium material used in the invention should preferably be roughened into a roughness level of 6s through 12s before bonded to a backing plate material . this is because titanium is harder than aluminum , whereby the uneven surface of the harder titanium intrudes into the softer aluminum base backing plate under a high isostatic pressure and works as an anchor , and also because an increased surface area of the roughened surface facilitates a diffusion - transfer of materials to increase the bonding strength . thus , a low temperature bonding is accomplished by this invention . also , this unevenness of the roughened surface can break the oxidized layer which is readily formed on the surface of a backing plate in the bonding process . thus , an exposed active surface of the backing plate also facilitates the material transfer . this also may increase the bonding strength . a 5n grade titanium ingot ( purity : 99 . 999 %) was cold - forged , and cold - rolled into a plate used as a titanium material . the obtained titanium material was machined to have a diameter of 300 mm , a thickness of 8 mm , and a surface roughness of 3 . 2 s . on the other hand , an aluminum plate having an alloy number of 1050 and a duralumin plate having an alloy number of 2017 were machined into a backing plate having a diameter of 300 mm , a thickness of 25 mm , and a surface roughness of 2 s . the bonding surfaces of the titanium material and the backing plate material were washed with 10 % fluoronitric acid for removal of the oxidized layer and other contaminants . then the surfaces were washed with pure water , and were dried with argon - blowing . table 1______________________________________target specimen total reduction of cold - rollingnumber cold - rolling (%) temperature (° c . ) ______________________________________t1 76 room temp . t2 80 &# 34 ; t3 85 &# 34 ; t4 76 150t5 80 150t6 85 150t7 70 150______________________________________ then , the bonding surfaces of the titanium material and the backing plate were put together face to face , and were enclosed in a pure - aluminum capsule having a thickness of 3 mm . this capsule was put into a furnace of a hot isostatic press machine , depressurized down to 5 × 10 - 3 pa , and the capsule was sealed . then , the hot isostatic press machine was gradually heated up to 400 ° c ., whereby both surfaces were diffusion - bonded with each other and the titanium material was recrystallized at the same time in 5 hours under a pressure of 140 mpa . after the treatment , a target assembly was obtained by lathing off the aluminum capsule wherein the titanium target material and the backing plate had been bonded with each other . a sonic flaw - detector measurement indicated that the bonding rate was 100 %. at the machining stage , a tensile specimen having a length of 30 mm , a width of 30 mm , and a thickness of 12 mm was cut out of the bonded part of the target material , and the backing plate was combined to measure the bonding strength by perpendicularly applying a tensile load to the bonded surfaces . the average crystal grain size was also measured . table 2 shows the results . table 2______________________________________specimen target backing bonding strength average crystalno . material plate ( mpa ) grain size ( μm ) ______________________________________1 t1 aluminum 87 102 t2 &# 34 ; 92 83 t3 &# 34 ; 94 54 t4 &# 34 ; 85 105 t5 &# 34 ; 89 76 t6 &# 34 ; 91 67 t7 &# 34 ; 86 178 t1 duralumin 67 89 t2 &# 34 ; 68 810 t3 &# 34 ; 65 611 t4 &# 34 ; 67 1012 t5 &# 34 ; 64 913 t6 &# 34 ; 62 714 t7 &# 34 ; 63 20______________________________________ as shown in table 2 , duralumin backing plates had slightly lower bonding strengths than aluminum . nevertheless , the bonding strengths were at least as high as 50 mpa , which is sufficiently high . also as shown in table 2 , bonding of the target material to the backing plate at 400 ° c . using an isostatic press machine induced no growth of crystal grains , and accomplished a well - regulated structure of the target material and an excellent diffusion bonding at the same time . using the obtained target assembly , the film - formability was evaluated with a vacuum of 5 × 10 - 5 pa , an argon pressure of 5 pa , an electric power supply ( per unit area of the target ) of 15 w / cm 2 , and a substrate temperature of 200 ° c . table 3 shows the results . the numbers of &# 34 ; particles &# 34 ; shown in table 3 represent the numbers in a 6 - inch wafer of the particles which are 0 . 3 μm or larger . the bottom - coverage rates were calculated as the ratio of the film thickness at the bottom to / the film thickness at the top , wherein the both film thicknesses were measured in a contact hole having a diameter of 0 . 5 μm and an aspect ratio of 1 . 5 . table 3______________________________________specimen no . number of &# 34 ; particles &# 34 ; bottom coverage (%) ______________________________________1 11 242 12 233 9 284 14 255 10 236 10 257 19 228 12 249 14 2410 11 2711 15 2412 12 2513 10 2414 20 22______________________________________ as shown in table 3 , the bottom coverage was 20 % or higher for all the specimens , and the number of &# 34 ; particles &# 34 ; were 20 or less . a high bottom coverage means that much more sputtered grains reached the bottom of the contact hole and that sputtered grains from the target material were made to fly in a uniform direction target materials t1 through t6 wherein the average crystal - grain size could be advantageously controlled to not greater than 10 μm , advantageously had less &# 34 ; particles &# 34 ; compared with the target material t7 which had a larger grain size than 10 μm , and advantageously gave higher bottom coverages . a titanium material was prepared in the same way as t1 in invention example 1 , and was heated at 400 ° c . for recrystallization . an obtained titanium target material had a fine structure of 8 μm in average crystal grain size . the titanium target material and a aluminum backing plate material were enclosed in a aluminum capsule having a wall thickness of 3 mm . after depressurizing to 5 × 10 - 3 , the capsule was sealed , the furnace internal temperature of the hot isostatic press machine was gradually raised , and the diffusion bonding was carried out in 5 hours at 500 ° c . under a pressure of 120 mpa . after the diffusion bonding treatment , the aluminum capsule was cut off , and a target assembly was obtained , wherein the titanium target material and the aluminum backing plate were bonded with each other . the sonic flaw - detector measurement indicated that the bonding rate was 100 %. at the machining stage , a tensile specimen , 30 mm in length , 30 mm in width , and 12 mm in thickness , was cut out of the bonded body of the target material and the backing plate material , a tensile load was applied perpendicularly to the bonded surface , and the tensile bonding strength was measured . the average crystal grain size was also measured after the heat treatment . the bonding strength was 94 mpa , which was excellent , while the average crystal grain size was 25 μm , which indicated a growth to a much larger size compared with the size in the original target material . fig2 is a photograph of the grown - up microstructure in the target of the comparative example . this target material was subjected to a film - formability test as in invention example 1 . the number of &# 34 ; particles &# 34 ; not smaller than 0 . 3 μm were 24 in a 6 - inch wafer , and the bottom - coverage rate was 20 %, which results were inferior to the results in invention example 1 . the same titanium materials t1 through t3 and the same pure - aluminum backing - plate both as in invention example 1 were prepared . the bonded surfaces were put together , and were enclosed in capsules . these capsules were put into a furnace of a hot isostatic press machine , and after being depressurized to 5 × 10 - 3 pa , the capsules were sealed . then , the furnace temperature of the hot isostatic press machine was gradually raised , and the final temperature was retained for 5 hours . the pressure and the temperature were changed for confirmation of the effects of temperature and pressure in an isostatic press machine . the capsule used was an aluminum can having a thickness of 3 mm , when the isostatic - press temperature was 400 ° c . or higher . when the temperature was 400 ° c . or lower , a molybdenum foil having a thickness of 0 . 1 mm was used . after the treatment , the aluminum capsules were lathed off and target assemblies were obtained wherein the titanium target material and the aluminum backing plate were bonded with each other . a sonar flaw - detection proved that the bonding rates were 100 % for all the target specimens . at the machining stage , tensile specimens having a length of 30 mm , a width of 30 mm , and a thickness of 12 mm were cut out of the bonded target . tensile loads were perpendicularly applied to the bonded surfaces to measure bonding strengths . the average crystal grain diameters were also measured . table 4 shows the results . fig1 shows a typical microstructure of the target material of this invention . table 4__________________________________________________________________________ isostatic press bondingspecimentarget tempera - pressure strength average crystalno . material ture (° c .) ( mpa ) ( mpa ) grain size ( μm ) note__________________________________________________________________________15 t1 280 150 failed to failed to comparative bond recrystallize specimen16 t1 350 150 56 10 invention specimen17 t1 400 150 85 10 invention specimen18 t1 400 120 82 10 invention specimen19 t1 450 120 90 16 invention specimen20 t1 500 120 90 31 invention specimen21 t3 350 150 60 4 invention specimen22 t3 400 150 91 6 invention specimen23 t3 400 120 86 5 invention specimen24 t3 450 120 92 17 invention specimen25 t3 500 120 96 33 invention specimen26 t3 450 45 38 16 invention specimen__________________________________________________________________________ as shown by specimen no . 15 in table 4 , the titanium material and the backing plate could not be bonded with each other at 280 ° c . under a pressure of 150 mpa . at 300 ° c . or higher , bonding between the target material and the backing plate was excellent , while a temperature as high as 500 ° c . caused crystal grains to grow to considerably larger sizes ( see sample numbers 20 and 25 ). an isostatic pressure of 50 mpa or lower gave a lower bonding strength ( see sample no . 26 ). as shown in table 4 , a regulated target material and a diffusion bonding can be accomplished at the same time , and by changing the conditions of the isostatic press machine , the bonding strength and the average crystal grain size could be controlled . the same target material as t1 in invention example 1 was produced , and the same aluminum backing plate as in the invention example 1 was prepared . the bonding surface of the target material was processed to the roughnesses shown in table 5 . the diffusion - bonded titanium target material was recrystallized at 400 ° c ., under 140 mpa , and in 5 hours in the same way as in the invention example 1 . a titanium target material and an aluminum backing plate material of the same size and grade were prepared . the surface roughness of the titanium target was changed to 1 s , 2 s , 6 . 3 s , 12 s as shown in table 1 , and the surfaces were diffusion - bonded with other conditions kept unchanged from those in the invention example 1 , and the combined parts were machined into targets . the target material had an average grain size of 10 μm , showing that no grain growth of crystals occurred . the bonding strength was measured for confirmation of the effect of roughness on the bonding of the titanium surface in the same way as in the invention example 1 . table 5 shows the results . as shown in table 5 , an increased surface roughness increased the bonding strength . table 5______________________________________surface roughness bonding strengthno . target material backing plate ( mpa ) ______________________________________27 1s 2s 6828 2s 2s 8329 6 . 3s 2s 9130 12s 2s 94______________________________________ according to the present invention , wherein a hot isostatic press machine is used to accomplish regulation of the titanium material structure and to bond the titanium material and the backing plate together at the same time , a preliminary regulation of the titanium material structure becomes unnecessary , which can curtail a processing stage and thus can increase the productivity . by setting the isostatic press to the conditions necessary for regulating the titanium target material structure , a problem can be solved , which is the coarsening of crystal grains due to heating after the regulation of the material structure . thus , a fine titanium structure can be correctly obtained , by which &# 34 ; particles &# 34 ; generation is restrained and the sputtered grains are made to fly in a uniform direction .	2
referring now to the drawings , and first to fig1 , a system according to the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 100 . in the illustrated embodiment , system 100 is a web - based interactive voice response ( ivr ) server farm . system 100 includes a plurality of servers coupled to a network 101 . network 101 may be a local area network ( lan ), a wide area network ( wan ), the internet , or any other network . the servers of system 100 include a plurality of speech recognition servers 103 , a plurality of web servers 105 , and a plurality of ivr servers 107 . as is known to those skilled in the art , the various servers cooperate with each other to perform automated interactive voice response services . system 100 includes an administration server 109 coupled to network 101 . as will be explained in detail hereinafter , administration server 109 is programmed according to embodiments of the present invention to facilitate dynamically removing , replacing , or upgrading the servers of system 100 . according to the present invention , each server 103 - 107 includes an administration client 111 . each administration client 111 is programmed according to embodiments of the present invention to process and act on update messages from administration server 109 . fig2 illustrates an example of an update message package 201 according to the present invention . update message packet includes a header 203 , which contains control information . the body portion 205 of update message packet is segregated by servertype . servertype may have values like ivr , web , and reco . different servers 103 - 107 of system 100 are consumers of different services . for example , ivr servers 107 may be consumers of services provided by speech recognition servers 103 and web servers 105 . however , speech recognition servers 103 are not consumers of the services provided by web servers 105 . also , the system of servers may be configured such that certain ivr servers are consumers of services provided by some web servers or speech recognition servers , but not others . service type enables an administration client 111 to determine whether it needs to be concerned with server name changes for particular servers . within each server type of update message packet 201 there is listed the servers of that type that will be removed , replaced , or upgraded . according to an embodiment of a messaging protocol according to the present invention , the server to be taken out of service is identified as oldhostname . the server that will replace oldhostname is identified as newhostname . the time at which the change will occur is identified as newhostavailabletime . fig3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of administration client processing according to the present invention . the administration client receives a packet , at block 301 . the administration client parses the packet and determines , at decision block 303 , if there are any more servertypes . if not , as indicated at block 305 and at decision block 307 , the administration client determines , for the first or next servertype in the packet if the server upon which it is installed is a consumer of services provided by that servertype . if not , processing returns to decision block 303 . if , as determined at decision block 307 , the server is a consumer of services provided by that servertype , the administration client determines for the first or next server within that servertype if the oldhostname is in the local configuration of the server upon which it is installed , as indicated at block 309 and decision block 311 . if so , the administration client schedules a local configuration update for the server upon which is installed to change oldhostname to newhostname at the newhostavailabletime , as indicated at block 313 . if , as determined at decision block 315 , there are more servers within the servertype , processing returns to block 309 . if not , processing returns to decision block 303 . processing continues according to fig3 until there are no more servertypes . at the newhostavailabletime scheduled , the administration client changes the oldhostname to the newhostname in the local configuration of the server upon which is installed . thereafter , whenever the server requires services that it would have received from the oldhostname it will receive the services of the newhostname . fig4 and fig5 illustrate an example of the operation of the present invention in which one server will be replaced by an existing server . in fig4 and 5 , speech recognition servers 103 , ivr servers 107 , web servers 105 , and administration server 109 are all networked together . however , the actual communication channels between servers 103 - 107 within the network are indicated by solid lines . thus , ivr server 107 a communicate with speech recognition servers 103 a and 103 b , but not with speech recognition servers 103 c - 103 f . similarly , web server 105 a communicates with ivr servers 107 a - 107 c , but not with ivr servers 107 d - 107 f . administration server 109 communicates with each server 103 - 107 . however , lines indicating communication channels have been omitted for the sake of clarity . in the example of fig4 and 5 , administration server 109 would broadcast an update message packet including , in addition to a header , the following information . since ivr servers 107 d - 107 f communicate with web server 105 b , the administration clients installed on those wr servers would schedule a change of hostname 105 b to hostname 105 a at time ts . at time ts , the system of servers would assume the configuration shown in fig5 . thereafter , old web server 105 could be taken off the network . fig6 and fig7 illustrate an example of the operation of the present invention in which web servers 105 a and 105 b are replaced by new web servers 105 c and 105 d , respectively , which were not previously part of the system of servers 103 - 107 . in the example of fig6 and 7 , administration server 109 would broadcast an update message packet including , in addition to a header , the following information . since ivr servers 107 a - 107 c communicate with old web server 105 a , the administration clients installed on those ivr servers would schedule a change of hostname 105 c to hostname 105 c at time ts . similarly , since ivr servers 107 d - 107 f communicate with old web server 105 b , the administration clients installed on those ivr servers would schedule a change of hostname 105 b to hostname 105 d at time ts . prior to time ts , new web servers 105 c and 105 d would be connected to the network . at time ts , the system of servers would assume the configuration shown in fig7 . thereafter , old web server 105 b is could be taken off the network . referring now to fig8 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a generic information handling system 800 capable of performing the server and client operations described herein . computer system 800 includes processor 801 which is coupled to host bus 803 . processor 801 preferably includes an onboard cache memory . a level two ( l2 ) cache memory 805 is also coupled to host bus 803 . a host - to - pci bridge 807 is coupled to host bus 803 . host - to - pci bridge 807 , which is coupled to main memory 809 , includes its own cache memory and main memory control functions . host - to - pci bridge 807 provides bus control to handle transfers among a pci bus 811 , processor 801 , l2 cache 805 , main memory 809 , and host bus 803 . pci bus 811 provides an interface for a variety of devices including , for example , a local area network ( lan ) card 813 , a pci - to - isa bridge 815 , which provides bus control to handle transfers between pci bus 811 and an isa bus 817 , a universal serial bus ( usb ) 819 , and an ide device 821 . pci - to - isa bridge 815 also includes onboard power management functionality . pci - to - isa bridge 815 can include other functional elements not shown , such as a real - time clock ( rtc ), dma control , interrupt support , and system management bus support . peripheral devices and input / output ( i / o ) devices can be attached to various interfaces or ports coupled to isa bus 817 . such interfaces or ports may include a parallel port 823 , a serial port 825 , an infrared ( ir ) interface 827 , a keyboard interface 829 , a mouse interface 831 , and a hard disk drive ( hdd ) 833 . a bios 835 is coupled to isa bus 817 . bios 835 incorporates the necessary processor executable code for a variety of low - level system functions and system boot functions . bios 835 can be stored in any computer readable medium , including magnetic storage media , optical storage media , flash memory , random access memory , read only memory , and communications media conveying signals encoding the instructions ( e . g ., signals from a network ). in order to couple computer system 800 to another computer system to copy files or send and receive messages over a network , lan card 813 may be coupled to pci bus 811 . similarly , a fibre channel card may be coupled to pci bus 813 . additionally , a modem 839 may be coupled to isa bus 817 through serial port 825 to support dial - up connections . while the computer system described in fig8 is capable of executing the invention described herein , the illustrated system is simply one example of a computer system . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other computer system designs are capable of performing the invention described herein . one of the preferred implementations of the invention is an application , namely , a set of instructions ( program code ) in a code module that may , for example , be in the random access memory of the computer . until required by the computer , the set of instructions may be stored in another computer memory , for example , on a hard disk drive , or in removable storage such as an optical disk ( for eventual use in a cd rom ) or floppy disk ( for eventual use in a floppy disk drive ), or downloaded via the internet or other computer network . thus , the present invention may be implemented as a computer program product for use in a computer . in addition , although the various methods described are conveniently implemented in a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by software , one of ordinary skill in the art would also recognize that such methods may be carried out in hardware , in firmware , or in more specialized apparatus constructed to perform the required method steps . from the foregoing , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that systems and methods according to the present invention are well adapted to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art . while the present invention has been described with reference to presently preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art , given the benefit of the foregoing description , will recognize alternative embodiments . accordingly , the foregoing description is intended for purposes of illustration and not of limitation .	7
patient &# 39 ; s legal representative : an individual with legal standing to represent a patient and provide consent on a patient &# 39 ; s behalf . third party : anyone other than the patient , a patient &# 39 ; s legal representative , or a care provider . a third party may be another healthcare professional . phi : protected health information , defined generally in the art as information associated with health - related data , such as medical imaging studies , that could enable a third party to identify the patient represented in the health - related data , or said patient &# 39 ; s relatives , employers , or household members . am : associated metadata , the metadata associated with a given medical imaging study . all medical imaging studies contain two distinct ( possibly null ) sets of am : cleared imaging study : a medical imaging study that may be legally shared with a third party . cleared imaging studies include : cleared imaging study without phi : the imaging study has had all am + phi removed ; or cleared imaging study with phi : the patient represented in the medical imaging study has signed or otherwise provided a hipaa waiver for the purpose of transferring their medical images to designated third parties . pacs : picture archiving and communications system , a system known in the art for local storage and local network communication of medical imaging studies . dicom : digital imaging and communications in medicine , a file format and file transfer protocol known in the art for the exchange of digital medical imaging studies with am . hipaa : the u . s . health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996 , pub . l . 104 - 191 , 110 stat . 1936 , enacted aug . 21 , 1996 , and any subsequent amendments as may arise from time to time . effective waiver — legal authorization to share or communicate information regarding a patient . in various embodiments , the present invention is a method for accessing and transforming medical imaging studies that cannot be shared legally with third parties into medical imaging studies that can be shared legally and securely with third parties . in various embodiments , the invention provides receiving by a computer a request from a user to share medical imaging studies , determining whether one or more rules associated with said sharing apply to the request from the user , processing the request if all rules determined to be applicable are satisfied , and denying the request if one or more rules determined to be applicable are not satisfied , wherein said processing comprises transforming said medical imaging studies that cannot be shared legally with third parties into medical imaging studies that can be shared legally and securely with third parties . in various embodiments , the invention provides a computer - based system capable of accessing and transforming medical imaging studies , said system comprising a processor coupled to a memory , the memory having computer readable code , which when executed by the processor causes the computer system to perform the method for accessing and transforming medical imaging studies that cannot be shared legally with third parties into medical imaging studies that can be shared legally and securely with third parties . in preferred embodiments , a method is provided for electronic transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies , facilitating secure sharing of medical imaging studies by care providers or patients , wherein care provider , patient , or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative is provided with computer network - based transmission , storage , and sharing of cleared medical imaging studies wherein one or more third parties are provided with cloud - based viewing of medical imaging studies after care provider or patient grants permission to share medical imaging studies in a cloud - based system for transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies , and multiple third parties with granted viewing permissions are provided with viewing , simultaneously or independently , of medical imaging studies in the cloud - based system for transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies with the capability to exchange information regarding medical imaging studies over data streams not used for transmission of medical images . in various embodiments , a method for accessing and transforming medical imaging studies that cannot be shared legally with third parties into medical imaging studies that can be shared legally and securely with third parties is provided wherein medical imaging studies that cannot be shared legally with third parties are identifiable imaging study files . in various embodiments , medical imaging studies that can be shared legally and securely with third parties are cleared imaging study files . in various embodiments , access to medical imaging studies or transformation of medical imaging studies employs software resident on a computer local to a user . in preferred embodiments , said access to medical imaging studies or transformation of medical imaging studies employs networked devices to upload , transmit , download , store , view , annotate , or otherwise use the studies . in various embodiments , the invention provides an automated method for transforming one or more identifiable imaging studies into one or more cleared imaging studies without phi to transfer said studies , legally and securely , from a user to one or more third parties . said automated method comprises receiving a request from said user to transfer said one or more medical imaging studies to said one or more third parties , performing automated removal of am + phi from said one or more identifiable imaging studies to generate one or more cleared imaging studies without phi , and transmitting said one or more cleared imaging studies without phi to said one or more third parties . in various embodiments , a method is provided wherein a care provider or other user is provided with cloud - based transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies with am / phi but without am + phi . in said method , software installed locally on care provider or other user &# 39 ; s facility or computer possesses capability to receive identifiable imaging studies from a network , storage media or other means of electronic communication . said method provides for automatic and selective removal of am + phi , selective retention of am / phi , generating cleared imaging studies without phi . said method provides for transmission of cleared imaging studies without phi to a cloud - based service for the purpose of transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies . in various embodiments , said method further comprises generating a unique identification for said one or more cleared imaging study files . in various embodiments , said unique identification is associated with said one or more cleared imaging study files . in various embodiments , said care provider or other user is a healthcare provider or healthcare researcher . in various embodiments , said user is the patient from whom said one or more medical imaging study files are derived . in various embodiments , said one or more third parties are healthcare providers or healthcare researchers . in preferred embodiments , said one or more medical images are transmitted to each user &# 39 ; s device from one or more networked servers and cached in each user &# 39 ; s device in unaltered form . in alternate embodiments , said one or more medical images are subjected to image compression and then transmitted to each user &# 39 ; s device from one or more networked servers and cached in each user &# 39 ; s device . in various embodiments , one or more users accessing cleared imaging studies are provided capability to enter data in the form of database entries , annotations , comments , tags , or other information to organize one or more studies in a medical image repository . in preferred embodiments , one or more users accessing cleared imaging studies are required to provide electronic agreement that they will not enter any patient - identifying information into such data entry fields . in various embodiments , an automated method is provided for transforming one or more identifiable imaging studies associated with a patient into one or more cleared imaging studies with phi to transfer said studies from said patient to one or more third parties , said method comprising receiving a request from said patient to transfer said one or more identifiable imaging studies to said one or more other users , verifying that said one or more identifiable imaging studies are of said patient , verifying that said patient has signed or otherwise provided an effective waiver , such as a hipaa waiver , and transmitting said one or more cleared imaging studies with phi to said one or more third parties . in other embodiments , patient &# 39 ; s legal representative is provided with means to act on behalf of said patient to transform one or more identifiable imaging studies associated with a patient into one or more cleared imaging studies with phi to transfer said studies from said patient to one or more third parties . in preferred embodiments , said third parties are healthcare providers or healthcare researchers . in various embodiments , patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative is provided with transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies with am + phi by means of local software , installed on patient &# 39 ; s computer or device , with capability to receive medical imaging studies and associated metadata from storage media , verify that said medical imaging studies belong to the patient and that the patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative has electronically provided consent to use the cloud - based service for the purpose of transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies with am + phi , and transmit cleared imaging studies with phi to a cloud - based service for the purpose of transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies . in various embodiments , patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative is provided with transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies with am + phi , by means of local software , installed at a medical facility , with capability to receive medical imaging studies and associated metadata from a network or storage media , verify that patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative has electronically provided consent to use the cloud - based service for the purpose of transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies with am + phi , and transmit medical imaging studies with am + phi to a cloud - based service for the purpose of transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies . in various embodiments , one or more users of network - enabled devices who have been granted viewing access permissions by a care provider , patient , or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative are provided with cloud - based medical image viewing of one or more cleared imaging studies in the cloud - based system for transmission , storage , and sharing of medical imaging studies . in various embodiments , a method is provided wherein two or more users of network - enabled devices view cleared imaging studies simultaneously , and one or more medical images are transmitted to each user &# 39 ; s device from one or more networked servers and cached in each user &# 39 ; s device , and additional data streams are exchanged between devices by network connections to one or more networked servers to communicate additional data to support image viewing . in various embodiments , said additional data to support image viewing provides transmission of audio , video , or textual communication streams . in various embodiments , said additional data to support image viewing comprises variables specifying current image to be viewed , image position , image zoom , window width and level , image brightness and contrast , position of user - controlled cursors , position of user - controlled reference lines , position of user - controlled regions of interest , user - determined image - derived measurements , number of images to be simultaneously viewed , and image position and location references between images being viewed simultaneously . in various embodiments , said additional data to support image viewing provides for user - initiated and user - controlled adjustments to medical image appearance that affect display parameters without durably altering the medical image . in various embodiments , additional data to support image viewing comprises transmission of audio , video , and text communication data streams that support real - time collaboration between users viewing medical imaging studies . the invention will now be described in further detail by reference to the drawings , which illustrate alternative embodiments of the invention . the drawings are diagrammatic , showing features of the invention and their relation to other features and structures , and are not made to scale . for improved clarity of presentation , in the figs . illustrating embodiments of the invention , features corresponding to features shown in other drawings are not all particularly renumbered , although they are all readily identifiable in all the figs . in various embodiments shown in fig1 , medical imaging studies are stored behind the firewall of a hospital , imaging center , or other medical facility 101 on various computers 102 and servers 103 networked together to form a pacs . on one or more computers 105 networked to the pacs servers 103 behind the facility firewall 101 , a software program 104 is installed with capabilities for automated extraction by computer algorithm of medical images 109 , am / phi 108 , and am + phi 110 . in these embodiments , medical images , am / phi , and am + phi are transmitted to the software program 104 electronically by means of digital media 106 or electronically from computers on a local network 102 or server 103 or other transmission system behind the facility firewall by means of dicom protocol transmission or by means of another electronic communications protocol for transmission of medical imaging studies . by means of a secure two - way network communication 107 , a software program 104 behind the facility firewall 101 algorithmically determines that the receiving account in a cloud - based medical image repository 111 is capable and appropriately credentialed to receive medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 , but without am + phi 110 . medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 , but without am + phi 110 , are then transmitted electronically over the internet or another electronic networking system to cloud computing servers 112 supporting a cloud - based medical image repository 111 . accordingly , in these embodiments , no metadata containing phi 110 is transmitted outside of the facility firewall 101 . in various embodiments , specific am + phi 110 fields are used , by means of automated computer algorithm , to generate specific am / phi 108 fields prior to transmission outside of the facility firewall . for example , dicom metadata fields encoding , in binary form , the birth date of the patient and the date of the study performance are processed to determine current age of the patient at the time of the study , and if age is 89 or less , the computer algorithm stores that resulting value as the patient &# 39 ; s age , but if the age is order than 89 years of age , “ 90 or older ” is stored and subsequently transmitted as the patient &# 39 ; s age . in various embodiments shown in fig1 , viewing and sharing of medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 , but without am + phi 110 , is performed by means of cloud medical image viewing and sharing software 113 that may be accessed simultaneously or independently by web - browser software or other local software on one or more devices with internet access , for instance , laptop computers 114 , desktop computers 115 , tablet computer 116 , smartphones 117 , or other internet - enabled appliances . in various embodiments shown in fig1 , access to view medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 , but without am + phi 110 , is established by electronic permissions exchanged between users of the system by means of interface with the cloud medical image viewing and sharing software 113 from one or more devices with internet access , for instance , laptop computers 114 , desktop computers 115 , tablet computers 116 , smartphones 117 , or other internet - enabled appliances , wherein a single user is designated the controlling entity or study owner and exerts control electronically over designation of sharing and viewing permissions . in various embodiments shown in fig2 , a patient or legal representative in possession of digital media 106 containing said patient &# 39 ; s medical imaging studies uses a software program 119 configured to process and transmit medical imaging studies together with am / phi and am + phi that is installed on a personal computer 120 or other computing device networked by means of the internet or another communications system to cloud computing servers 112 supporting a cloud - based medical image repository 122 . in these embodiments , wherein it is advantageous for a patient or their legal representative to retain all metadata associated with their personal medical imaging studies , the patient or legal representative uses embodiments of the software program specifically configured to process all metadata ( am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 ) and medical images from the source media 106 and the patient or legal representative provides specific legal consent to use the software program 119 and their account in the cloud - based medical image repository 122 to retain am + phi 110 in association with their medical imaging studies 109 . in embodiments illustrated in fig2 , the software program 119 installed on the patient or legal representative &# 39 ; s personal computer 120 algorithmically determines , by means of a secure two - way network communication 121 , that the receiving account in the cloud - based medical image repository 122 is capable and appropriately credentialed to receive medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 . medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 are then transmitted electronically over a secure network connection to the appropriately credentialed receiving account in the cloud - based medical imaging repository 122 , supported on cloud computing servers 112 . accordingly , in various embodiments , such as illustrated in fig2 , am + phi 110 is transmitted to the cloud after patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative provides legal consent to transmit said patient &# 39 ; s am + phi 110 in association with said patient &# 39 ; s medical imaging studies 109 and am / phi 108 . in various embodiments shown in fig2 , access to view medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 , is established by electronic permissions exchanged between users of the system by means of interface with the cloud medical image viewing and sharing software 113 from one or more devices with internet access , for instance , laptop computers 114 , desktop computers 115 , tablet computers 116 , smartphones 117 , or other internet - enabled appliances , wherein patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative is designated the controlling entity or study owner and exerts control electronically over designation of sharing and viewing permissions . in various embodiments shown in fig3 , medical imaging studies stored on networked computers 102 or servers 103 within a pacs or similar medical image storage system within a facility 123 capable of performing and storing medical imaging studies are transmitted by dicom or other medical imaging transfer protocol to a software program 119 installed on a computer 105 behind the firewall of medical imaging facility 123 . in the embodiments shown in fig3 , the software program 119 installed on the imaging center computer 105 determines , by means of a secure two - way network communication 121 , that the receiving account in the cloud - based medical image repository 122 is capable and appropriately credentialed to receive medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 . as shown in fig3 , a pacs administrator or other appropriately credentialed individual 124 verifies the identity of the patient and enters the patient &# 39 ; s account name on the cloud - based medical imaging system 122 into the software program 119 , enabling the software program 119 to transmit the medical imaging studies to the correct account in the cloud - based medical image repository 122 . medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 are then transmitted electronically over a secure network connection to the appropriately credentialed receiving account in the cloud - based medical imaging repository 122 , supported on cloud computing servers 112 . accordingly , in various embodiments , such as illustrated in fig3 , metadata containing phi 110 is transmitted to the cloud after the patient or legal representative provides legal consent to transmit said patient &# 39 ; s metadata containing phi 110 in association with their medical imaging studies 109 and metadata not containing phi 108 . in various embodiments shown in fig3 , access to view medical imaging studies 109 together with am / phi 108 and am + phi 110 , is established by electronic permissions exchanged between users of the system by means of interface with the cloud medical image viewing and sharing software 113 from one or more devices with internet access , for instance , laptop computers 114 , desktop computers 115 , tablet computers 116 , smartphones 117 , or other internet - enabled appliances , wherein the patient or patient &# 39 ; s legal representative is designated the controlling entity or study owner and exerts control electronically over designation of sharing and viewing permissions . in fig4 , the process by which two study types may be shared with a single viewing account in the cloud - based medical image repository is illustrated . the determination of whether the user is the patient ( or the patient &# 39 ; s legal representative ) 125 is made according to the embodiments illustrated in fig1 - 3 and described with reference to those figs above . as shown in fig4 , in the circumstance in which the medical images do not belong to the user 126 ( for example , the studies belong to the patient of a doctor using the system ), computer - automated removal of phi is performed 127 and then the cleared imaging studies without phi are transmitted 128 to an account in the cloud - based medical imaging repository capable and appropriately credentialed to receive studies with am / phi but without am + phi . the study can then , at the controlling user &# 39 ; s discretion , be shared 129 with another account in the cloud - based medical imaging repository . as shown in fig4 , in the circumstance in which the medical images do belong to the user 130 ( for example , the user is the patient represented in the studies or said patient &# 39 ; s legal representative ), the cloud - based medical imaging system verifies that the appropriate account has an electronically signed permission to retain phi ( for example , a signed hipaa waiver 131 ). phi is retained 132 and then the cleared imaging studies with phi are transmitted 133 to an account in the cloud - based medical imaging repository capable and appropriately credentialed to receive studies with associated phi . the study can then , at the controlling user &# 39 ; s discretion , be shared 134 with another account in the cloud - based medical imaging repository . as shown in fig4 , when medical imaging studies of the two types ( cleared imaging studies without phi and cleared imaging studies with phi ) are shared 129 , 134 with another account , the viewer of these studies may easily differentiate the two study types in an electronic study list 135 by study attributes such as phi status , study owner , and the presence or absence of displayed values in data fields representing am + phi 136 ( such as name , medical record number ( mrn ), and study date ). in other fields displaying am / phi 137 , all studies display values . fig5 illustrates various embodiments of the method by which two or more users of network - enabled devices view unaltered medical images at the same time , with exchange of additional data streams to support image viewing . in various embodiments , as illustrated in fig5 , several network - enabled devices 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 are shown viewing the same medical imaging study 143 on the cloud - based medical imaging system 142 . the medical images 143 are transmitted to each of the connected devices and stored locally on each device , for example , in the cache of a web browser or other application being used to run the cloud - based medical image viewing software and display the medical images . in the embodiment illustrated in fig5 , one device 138 is the controlling device and transmits data streams comprising image window width and level , image pan , and image zoom 144 to the cloud - based imaging system 142 and from the cloud based imaging system 142 to the other devices 139 , 140 , 141 . position of cursors 145 and additional data streams comprising text , video , and audio 146 are shared among the devices 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 by exchanging data with the cloud - based medical imaging system 142 . in other embodiments , controlling status is exchanged from one device to another . in other embodiments , multiple devices may have controlling status over one or more additional data streams . as illustrated in the embodiments in fig5 , separation of medical image data and additional data streams provides a method wherein medical images are transmitted to multiple user &# 39 ; s devices without alteration of the medical images and adjustments to the local appearance of the medical images are communicated by exchange of additional data without durably altering the medical images .	7
referring now to the figures , in which like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout , fig1 depicts a representative pmosfet device 10 , which may be a discrete device or part of an integrated circuit . cross sections through the device 10 are shown schematically in fig2 and 3 . in this particular embodiment of the pmosfet device 10 , the device 10 has been constructed on the surface of a piece of single crystal silicon 12 surrounded by an isolation oxide 20 . this type of design and construction is often termed shallow trench isolation ( sti ), or local oxidation of silicon ( locos ). during manufacturing of the device 10 , the surface of the single crystal silicon 12 is doped with an element such as phosphorus , arsenic , or antimony to create a zone of n - type silicon 14 ( see fig2 and 3 ). an electrically nonconductive substance , typically silicon dioxide , which represents a preferred embodiment of the present invention , is used as the isolation oxide 20 to provide electrical isolation from other active devices fabricated on the same silicon substrate . a thin insulation layer 30 , typically silicon dioxide or silicon nitride , is applied to the top of the single crystal silicon 12 ; portions of this oxide insulation layer 30 are subsequently stripped away to expose source and drain regions of the device , 40 and 50 , respectively . the remaining portion of the insulating layer 30 may be termed the gate oxide layer . a layer of polycrystalline silicon is applied above the gate oxide layer forms the gate 60 . electrical connections between other components of an integrated device and the source 40 , drain 50 , and gate 60 are shown schematically at 42 , 52 , and 62 , respectively . in practice , these connections may be layers of metallic materials deposited onto selected portions of an integrated circuit to interconnect the various elements of the circuit , as required by the design of the circuit . the source 40 and drain 50 are doped , typically by the diffusion of boron , to become p - type semiconductors . a region of the single crystal silicon lying between the source 40 and drain 50 and beneath the gate insulation layer 30 is carefully maintained as n - type material and forms the channel 45 . electric current can flow through a pmosfet between the source and drain when a sufficiently small negative voltage is applied to the gate . this is the basic function of the fet . the particular problem addressed by the present invention exists at the sidewall corner interfaces 64 and 66 shown in fig1 . ( the sidewall corner interface 64 is shown in cross section in fig3 .) the sidewall corner interfaces 64 and 66 are located at both ends of the gate 60 and are distinguishable from the main section 68 of the gate 60 between the two sidewalls . each sidewall has a generally vertical orientation , and the combination of that orientation , plus structural characteristics of the materials in the sidewall comer areas , lead to electrical functionality that differs from performance in central portions of the device 10 . a pmosfet device has a characteristic threshold voltage ; when such a voltage is applied to the gate , the device is shifted into an activated or “ on ” state . a less negative threshold voltage implies that the device is readily turned on . if operating conditions of a device admit to its being activated inadvertently , the device cannot function according to its design intent . in particular , for a pmosfet device that can be activated ( i . e ., allowing holes to flow from source to drain ) despite a normally high voltage applied to its gate , a significant parasitic current or “ off current ” can flow through the device . the “ off current ” represents a characteristic of the device itself , rather than the operating parameters imposed on the device . thus , if a device with a high “ off current ” is part of a computer memory chip , that device will always provide an output indicative of a high gate voltage , independently of whatever information was stored there by the computer operator or the computer operating system . obviously , this situation is unacceptable . the solution to the pmosfet sidewall corner interface hot carrier - induced instability is attained using a localized nitrogen implantation into the interface area between the isolation oxide 20 and the single crystal silicon 12 along the active channel 45 of the device 10 , which results in an elevated nitrogen content within the portion 70 of the channel 45 nearest the sidewall ( see fig3 ). this implant must be done at least locally along the interface . a block mask is required to protect the channel area from the nitrogen implant while implanting in the channel region along the interface . the block mask assures that the threshold voltage of the main device is not perturbed by the nitrogen implant . in technologies using uniform nitrogen implantation to grow a thin gate , the same nitrogen implantation used to grow the oxide can be used to implant the sidewall comer interface reducing the parasitic sidewall comer pmosfet instability . if the dose and energy selected for the uniform nitrogen implant to grow the gate oxide are not adequate to reduce the sensitivity to the parasitic pmosfet sidewall corner activation , then an extra localized nitrogen implant along the sidewall corner and silicon interface is needed . this procedure represents a second sub - step in the process . although manufacturing processes commonly used in the industry are more complicated than the following outline , the key manufacturing steps in the manufacturing process of the present invention include the following : masking and etching a silicon wafer to create a series of openings upon the wafer ; filling the openings with insulating material to provide electrical isolation between adjacent exposed regions of the silicon wafer ; growing a sacrificial oxide layer upon the exposed regions of the silicon wafer ; doping the exposed regions of the single crystal silicon wafer , to produce n - type material in those regions , using dopants such as phosphorus , arsenic , or antimony ; implanting nitrogen into an interface area between the insulating material and the single crystal silicon along an active channel of the device ; stripping away at least a portion of the sacrificial oxide layer ; doping regions of silicon adjacent to the gate oxide insulator to produce p - type material ( boron is the dopant typically used to obtain p - type material ). as indicated above , additional manufacturing steps are typically used to produce pmosfet devices . note that the same process may be used to produce either discrete devices or integrated circuit devices . in the context of the present invention , the term “ device ” includes both discrete devices consisting of a single transistor , or integrated circuit devices comprising many transistors . the present invention is particularly applicable to integrated circuit devices , and the manufacture of such devices , and that application constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention . in the most preferred form of the present invention , the nitrogen implanted in the pmosfet device 10 is preferably supplied to the implantation apparatus in the molecular form ( n 2 ). the following example is included to more clearly demonstrate the overall nature of the invention . this example is exemplary , not restrictive , of the invention . to test the theory of the present invention , several pmosfet devices were manufactured and tested . the devices were buried channel dynamic random access memory ( dram ) devices . dram cells can retain information only temporarily , on the order of milliseconds , even with power continuously applied . therefore , the cells must be read and refreshed at periodic intervals . although the storage time may appear to be short , it is actually long enough to allow many memory operations to occur between refresh cycles . the advantages of cost per bit , device density , and flexibility of use ( i . e ., both read and write operations are possible ) have made dram cells the most widely used form of semiconductor memory to date . the earliest dram cells were three - transistor cells . today , dram cells consisting of only one transistor and one capacitor have been implemented . a control group of four devices was made using customary production line technology . two groups , containing five and nine devices , were subjected to nitrogen molecule implantation doses of 1 . 0 × 10 14 and 1 . 5 × 10 14 ions per square centimeter , respectively . all implantation was done at an energy level of 12 kev . the sidewall threshold voltage was measured for each device . these data are presented in fig4 . note that there was a clear decrease in sidewall threshold voltage , v th ( sidewall ), as the dosage of nitrogen ion implantation was increased . in addition , the threshold voltage sidewall shift , vth ( sw ) shift , was measured . these data are presented in fig5 . there was a clear reduction in the threshold voltage sidewall shift as a function of increasing nitrogen implantation . these data were interpreted as confirming the correctness of the theory , and establishing a range of workable ion implantation doses . on the basis of the results of the experiments conducted during development of the present invention , it was concluded that an ion implantation dose of nitrogen molecules of 1 . 0 to 1 . 5 × 10 14 ions per square centimeter , at an energy level between about 10 and about 1 . 5 kev , represents a preferred embodiment of the invention . the experiments provided no indication , however , that these values represent maximum and minimum allowable values . satisfactory results may presumably be achieved outside the range of values determined in this example , and are considered within the scope of the present invention . although illustrated and described above with reference to certain specific embodiments and an example , the present invention is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the spirit of the invention .	7
the figures illustrate several means for radially compressing inward a slit cylindrical tube . referring to fig1 and 2 , a preferred embodiment of the invention configured as a heater clamp is shown and is designated with the numeral 20 . the heater clamp functions to radially compress a coiled heater element 24 onto a plastic injection molding nozzle 26 . the nozzle 26 is generally cylindrical in shape and has a tip end 28 , a base end 30 , threads 32 on a threaded portion 34 and a duct 36 for the passage of molten plastic resin . the heater clamp 20 principally comprises a tube portion 38 , first collar or ring portion 40 and a second collar or ring portion 41 . tube portion 38 has a first end 42 , a first end edge 43 , a second end 44 , and a second end edge 46 . as shown in fig3 the end edges 43 , 46 may have ramps or tapered surfaces 48 , 49 . as shown in fig2 and fig6 the tube portion may have a single slit 52 extending from first end edge to the second end edge or a plurality of slits 54 each which extend only partially the distance . referring specifically to fig2 , 4 , and 5 , the collar or ring portions 40 , 41 have tapered surfaces 58 , 60 which angle inwardly towards the intermediate portion of the tube portion and the nozzle . additionally , the second ring portion 41 has a threaded portion 64 which has internal threads 65 , and a exterior surface 66 which will typically include a gripping portion such as a knurled surface 66 or recesses 67 or a hex head 68 . the second ring portion 41 may be integral with the nozzle and / or base as illustrated in fig5 . this embodiment operates as follows : the second ring portion is positioned at the base end of the nozzle . if the ring portion is not already integral with said nozzle . the coiled heater element 24 is placed on said nozzle with the tube portion 38 substantially covering said coiled heater element . the first ring portion 40 is engaged with the threads on the tip end of the nozzle . the first edge 43 of the tube portion is engaged with the ramp surface 58 of the second ring portion and the second end edge 46 of said tube portion is engaged with the ramp surface 60 of the first ring portion . the first ring portion is rotated while engaged with the threaded portion of the nozzle thereby causing the diameter of the tube portion to be reduced as the tube portion and edges 48 , 49 follow the ramps 58 , 60 radially inward . as the tube portion is thus compressed the heater element coil 24 is correspondingly compressed onto the exterior surface of the nozzle . referring to fig6 , 8 , and 9 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is portrayed and comprises a tube portion 74 , a first ring portion 76 , and a second ring portion 78 , and a base sleeve portion 80 . in the embodiment shown in fig7 the second ring portion 78 is integral with the base sleeve portion 80 to form the base sleeve 82 . the tube portion has a first end 83 and a second end 84 . the first ring portion 76 and second ring portion 78 have respective ramp surfaces 87 , 88 . said base sleeve has slots 86 extending from a first end 90 and a second end 92 into the intermediate portion 94 . this embodiment can be utilized on the same nozzle configuration as shown in the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , although the threaded portion 34 of the nozzle , if present , would not be utilized . rather the base sleeve portion 80 has at least one threaded portion 96 for receiving the first ring portion 76 which has a threaded portion 100 with threads 102 . the tube portion 74 which compresses the coiled heater element 108 may have a single slit 112 or multiple slits as shown in fig6 . similarly , the base sleeve portion can have a single slit extending from the first end 90 to the second end 92 or a plurality of slits extending from one or both ends terminating in the intermediate portion of the base sleeve portion . note as shown best in fig8 and 9 , the threaded portion 96 is tapered such that when the first ring portion 76 is tightened thereupon said base sleeve portion is compressed . note that the second ring portion 78 may also be a distinct component from the base sleeve portion with the base sleeve portion having a second threaded portion as illustrated by the dotted line with the numeral 115 on fig8 . in such a configuration , the second ring portion could be essentially identical to the first ring portion 76 , that is without the additional slit 86 which is shown extending through said ring portion . this embodiment functions as follows : the coiled heater element 108 is positioned on the base sleeve portion 80 with the slit tube portion 74 extending over same . the first ring portion 76 is engaged with the threaded portion 98 and is tightened while engaging the first end and second end of the tube portion . further tightening of the ring portion 76 causes the first end and second end of the tube portion 74 to follow the ramp surfaces 87 , 88 thereby reducing the diameter of the tube portion 74 thereby radially compressing the heater coil element 108 . simultaneously the tightening of the first ring portion onto the threaded portion of the base sleeve causes the compression of the diameter of said base sleeve thereby tightening , securing , and compressing said base sleeve portion and the entire heater unit onto the nozzle . the lead wires 108 , 110 of the coiled heater element extend out an appropriately sized recessed 112 in the tube portion . note that in the figures , particularly fig2 , 4 , 8 , and 9 , the ring portions are shown with the ramp surface and the threaded portion as part of a single integral ring portion . it is also contemplated and ring portion is defined to include embodiments where such ring portion is , for example , more than a single unit . referring to fig3 the dotted lines with the element number 116 illustrate that the ring portion can be two components , with one component having the circumferential ramp surface and the other component having the threaded portion . this type of configuration could minimize the torque provided on the second end of the tube portion as the ring portion is rotated and tightened on the nozzle or base sleeve portion . referring to fig1 and 14 , further embodiments are illustrated utilizing a base sleeve which is exterior to the tube portion with respect to the nozzle . fig1 , the heater generally comprises a base sleeve 120 , a first tube portion 122 and a coiled heater element 124 . the second ring portion 126 is integral with the base sleeve portion 128 . the base sleeve has the second ring portion 126 at its base end 130 and has a threaded portion 132 at its tip end 134 . the first ring portion has a cooperating threaded surface 140 as well as a ramp surface 144 . both the threaded portion 132 and the base sleeve 120 and the threaded portion on the first ring portion may be tapered where a slit such as shown in fig1 a is provided such that the first ring portion is compressed onto the nozzle as it is turned inwardly with respect to the base sleeve 120 . the second ring portion also has a ramp surface 150 which engages one edge of the tube portion . this embodiment provides the advantage of having the coiled heater element compressed directly on the nozzle as opposed to separating the heater element from the nozzle by way of the base sleeve portion as shown in the embodiment of fig9 . referring to fig1 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , and 17 , a further embodiment of a heater clamp according to the invention is shown . this embodiment comprises a base sleeve 160 , a tube portion 162 , coiled heater element 164 and a first ring portion 166 . the second ring portion 168 is integral with the base sleeve portion 170 to form the base sleeve . in this embodiment , the tube portion 162 has a first anchoring member configured as a tab 174 and a second anchoring member configured as a second tab 176 which attach to the first ring member 166 and the second ring member 168 respectively . this embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that the compression of the coiled heater element radially inward is provided by an axial lengthening of the tube portion provided by an axially force outward . this compares to the compression of the tube portion provided by an axial compression by ramp members which compress the tube portion in the previously described embodiments . fig1 , 15 , 16 , and 17 , show details of the respective components of this embodiment . referring to fig1 , 19 , and 20 , a further embodiment of the invention is shown and generally comprises a tube portion 190 , a first ring portion 192 and a second ring portion 194 . the first ring portion 192 is comprised of a compressing member 196 and a tightening member 198 . the compressing member 196 has a pair of ramps 202 , 204 . the tightening member 198 has a threaded portion 210 which engages with the thread on the nozzle or on a separate base sleeve ( not shown for this particular embodiment ). the second ring portion 194 also has a pair of ramp surfaces 216 , 218 . the tube portion shown in isolation in fig2 has tapered surfaces 230 , 232 , 234 , 236 which cooperate with the ramps on the ring portions . this embodiment functions as follows : the second ring member 194 is put on the nozzle followed by the coiled heater element 250 which is covered by the tube portion 190 . the first ring portion 192 is then engaged with the tube portion and a nut is secured to axially compress the tube ring portions with respect to each other . this causes the ramp surfaces 202 , 204 , 216 , 218 to impart a compressive tangential force on the tabs 262 , 264 , 266 , 268 of the tube portion thereby decreasing the diameter of said tube and compressing the tube radially inward on the heater element 250 , thus compressing the heater element on the nozzle . the dashed lines in fig1 enumerated 230 , 232 show the potential positioning of an additional ramp surface which can provide simultaneous inward radial compression of the tabs as they are being forced circumferentially together . it should be noted that this embodiment utilizes the ramp structure positioned at the ends of the tube as do the other embodiments , however , the embodiment operates by providing the compressing force at a more restricted area then in the previous embodiments . also , it is evident that this particular embodiment could be combined with the other embodiments such that the rate tangential compressive force is provided as well as the circular compressive radially forces as shown in the earlier embodiments . referring to fig2 a further embodiment of a heater clamp is shown . this embodiment has a slit cylindrical tube 260 with a pair of frusto conical threaded portions 264 , 266 and a pair of nuts 270 , 272 . the nuts would appropriately also have frusto conically shaped threaded portions 276 , 278 . gripping means 282 , such as holes 286 or hex faces , knurling or the like can be utilized to secure a components as a cooperating component is engaged and tightened thereto . although the frusto conical threaded portions are shown at the ends of the slit cylindrical tubing , such portion could also be position intermediate , i . e . at the middle of the tubing . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof , and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention .	7
in the fig1 and 2 , the tv receiver is depicted without illustration of mechanical structure , user interface , control apparatus and provision of energizing power . these features of television receivers are generally well known and are not farther mentioned unless such may be beneficial to an understanding of the invention . furthermore those elements of substantially similar structure and function in the various drawings are similarly labelled . although discussed in the forgoing , by way of reminder it is noted that in the typical tv receiver as shown in fig1 , the microcomputer chip 24 is an integrated circuit , the bulk of which provides the tv processor 26 . one of the advantageous of the tv processor 26 is that it consists solely of digital circuit elements . the a / d circuit 25 converts if analog signals from the tuner integrated circuit 10 . the if analog signals are converted to corresponding digital signals for processing by the tv processor 26 . the a / d circuit 25 includes essential analog circuitry , which although seemingly insignificantly small in bulk as compared with the digital circuitry of the chip 24 , the analog circuitry of the a / d circuit disproportionately complicates and compromises the design and manufacture of the microcomputer chip 24 . in contrast , as illustrated in fig2 a , the a / d circuit is integrated in an analog circuit environment in a tuner chip 40 , thus freeing the microcomputer chip from analog circuitry and the accompanying constraints and compromises . in fig2 a , the television receiver includes a tuner chip 40 for supplying digital representations of a tv signal to a microcomputer chip 28 which includes the tv processor 26 for processing the tv signal preparatory to visible and audible presentation , via tv display and sound elements 27 . the microcomputer chip 28 consists solely of digital circuit elements . the tuner chip 40 is an integrated circuit manufacturable in accordance with any preferred analog integrated circuit technology . external connections and or beam lead connections with elements in the tuner chip are expensive and by design are minimized . each of the illustrated external or beam lead connection with the tuner chip 40 is indicated in the drawings by a hollow dot . the tuner chip 40 includes a frequency conversion circuit 41 , an analog to digital ( a / d ) converter circuit 45 and a local oscillator 48 . the frequency conversion circuit 41 basically includes a low noise amplifier ( lna ) 42 , a mixer 43 and a buffer amplifier 44 . in this example it is preferred that the mixer 31 be a balanced mixer . in operation , any signals passed from an input terminal 20 a , via a band pass filter 20 , are amplified by the lna 42 and applied to a terminal of the mixer 43 . automatic gain control circuitry , not shown , may be used to regulate the amplification of the lna 42 so that it will not be overdriven in the presence of strong signals at the input terminal 20 a . the local oscillator 48 is responsive to a control signal , on a lead 49 , for supplying a local oscillator signal , to the mixer 43 , at a selected frequency . a mixed signal from the output of the mixer 43 is transferred , by the buffer amplifier 44 , to a 6 mhz band width pass filter 31 which attenuates signals outside of a 6 mhz channel . any signals with frequencies within the pass band are transmitted to the a / d converter circuit 45 . the a / d converter circuit 45 provides encoded digitized samples of the passed signals at a rate of at least twice that of the highest frequency required to be passed by the pass filter 31 . the encoded digitized samples are passed from the tuner chip 40 to the microcomputer chip 28 which prepares signals for operation of the tv display and sound elements 27 , based on information having been encoded in the digitized samples . the design of the a / d converter circuit 45 includes some digital circuitry for briefly storing digital information prior to it being transferred to the microcomputer chip 28 . a / d converter designs are available wherein the extent of the digital portion is preferably minimized , however such is not essential to the manufacture and operation of the tuner chip 40 in any of the example embodiments . of course the particular design of the a / d converter 25 is consequent upon a form of the digital signal output required from the a / d circuit 45 . the form of the digital output signal may be chosen according to that which is convenient for the operation microcomputer chip 28 , having consideration for the minimum nyquist sampling rate required for encoding signals from the pass filter 31 . for example the 6 mhz channel of the pass filter 31 may be readily centred in a surface acoustical wave ( saw ) device at about 500 mhz , to select a mixed difference signal from the balanced mixer 43 . the local oscillator 48 is controlled by a capacitance diode , biased by a voltage on the lead 49 , to supply a local oscillator signal of a selected frequency in a range of 547 – 1370 mhz . in this example , the minimum sampling rate at which the a / d converter circuit 45 must operate is over 1 ghz . if linear encoding were to be used to generate at least 13 bit encoded samples , a serial digital signal output bit rate of more than 13 ghz would be required . this serial output rate could be impractical . one solution is substituting a parallel output bus for the serial output , however the added expense , of a multitude of external terminals renders such a solution impractical . more likely , a differential or so called delta encoding signal format , yielding a serial bit rate of no more than twice the sampling rate , would be practical . in fig2 b , a more expensive variation is shown . a double conversion tuner chip 50 requires an additional local oscillator 51 and mixer 53 , as well as an additional filter 54 to generate a channel signal at a reduced carrier frequency . consequently the input sampling rate and the serial bit rate of the output of the a / d converter circuit 45 are correspondingly reduced . in another example , as illustrated in fig3 , the 6 mhz channel of the pass filter 31 may be readily centred at about 10 mhz . the frequency conversion circuit 41 provides difference signals representing a selected channel from the balanced mixer 43 in response to a local oscillator frequency selected from a range of frequencies of 37 – 860 mhz . the local oscillator must operate over a range spanning more than 5 octaves . as a capacitance diode oscillator operational over several octaves is difficult to provide , the local oscillator signal is generated by a digital frequency synthesizer 29 in the microprocessor chip 28 . a minimum sampling rate of the a / d converter circuit 45 is about 20 mhz . linearly encoded samples producing 14 bit words would produce a more modest serial bit rate of 280 mhz . nonlinear encoding such as a standard pulse code modulation ( pcm ) can be used to further reduce the serial bit rate while yet retaining the information content of each sample . further considering fig3 also with reference to fig6 , in operation the tv processor 26 a is responsive to user control signals ( not illustrated ) such that a person is able to select a television channel for viewing . if a control signal indicates a selected channel , it is translated into a corresponding control code and coupled to the frequency synthesizer 29 . the frequency synthesizer 29 relies upon a local clock signal provided in the normal function of the microcomputer chip 28 to generate a local oscillator signal for use by the frequency conversion circuit 41 . however , the frequency of a local clock signal , so provided , although fairly consistent is often inaccurate and consequently the local oscillator signal is likewise inaccurate . to compensate during reception of a selected channel , the tv processor 26 a compares a characteristic , of the received tv signal as represented by the digitized signal samples , with a preferred parameter . the preferred parameter may be the picture frame rate for example , or some other characteristic which is independent of the effects of frequency conversion . any significant difference is useful for amending the digital control code . from time to time the tv processor 26 a transmits an amended or modified digital control code to effect fine tuning of the frequency of the frequency synthesizer 29 such that the tv receiver more optimally receives the selected channel . in a variation of the tv receiver illustrated in fig3 , the local oscillator signal frequency corresponds to the frequency of a selected carrier frequency so that the balanced mixer 43 performs a direct conversion to baseband . the pass filter 31 and the a / d converter , operate at base band with a serial output bit rate of the a / d converter circuit 45 being likewise reduced . in fig4 , a control signal for selecting the frequency of the local oscillator signal is determined in the microcomputer chip 28 by a tv processor 26 b . an analog digital coder decoder 46 , more typically referred to as a codec , provides digitized signal samples , via an external connection 28 a , for processing by the tv processor 26 b , preparatory to visible and audible presentation via tv display and sound elements 27 . in this example the signal path provided via the external connection 28 a is a bidirectional signal path , such that a control code for influencing the operation of an element in the tuner chip is decoded by the codec 46 . also with reference to fig5 , in operation the tv processor 26 b is responsive to user control signals ( not illustrated ) such that a person is able to select a television channel for viewing . if a user control signal indicates a selected channel , it is translated into a corresponding digital control code by the tv processor 26 b and transmitted via the bidirectional signal path . the codec 46 responds by converting the code into an operating control voltage for the local oscillator 48 . during reception of a selected channel , the tv processor 26 b compares a characteristic , of the received signal as represented by the digitized signal samples , with a preferred parameter . the characteristic of the received tv signal may be the carrier frequency or the audio subcarrier frequency , for example . the preferred parameter may be the picture frame rate for example , or some other characteristic which is independent of the effects of frequency conversion . any significant difference is useful for amending the digital control code . from time to time the tv processor 26 b transmits an amended or modified digital control code to effect fine tuning of the frequency of the local oscillator signal such that the tv receiver more optimally receives the selected channel . one of the advantages envisaged in the architectures of the invention , relates to what might be described as the evolutionary process of integrated digital circuitry shrinkage . historically from time to time in the integrated circuit semiconductor industry , precision of manufacture is improved to such extent that very large scale integrated ( vlsi ) circuits can be redesigned by using smaller elements to produce a smaller , faster , integrated circuit of improved production yield , reduced power consumption and higher profit margin . in at least one circuit technology , cmos for example , the shrinkage can often be achieved by reducing the dimensions of the circuitry geometry by simply scaling or blowing down the production masks or masking data . this shrinkage is most economically attractive , provided the integrated circuit is exclusive of analog circuit elements . this process is not useful if applied to analog circuits . thus it behooves tuner chip manufactures to incorporate an appropriate a / d converter circuit or codec into the tuner chip , in accordance with the invention , in order to liberate the evolution of digital tv processors from the constraint of otherwise essential analog circuit elements . another significant advantage of the present invention is that it supports a single stage television tuner by providing a conversion / mixer circuit operating at sufficiently high frequency to avoid mixer induced noise within the converted signal . typically , in order to avoid such noise , an upconverted signal should have at least a frequency of half the bandwidth of the data signal . thus , for typical cable bandwidth of about 850 mhz , an upconverted signal at about 500 mhz is desirable to account for band pass filter imperfections . in order to achieve this limit , prior art tuner circuits upconvert to about 1 ghz and then downconvert to about 45 mhz . this requires two conversion processes . of course , since each conversion process is an analog circuit operating at high frequency and implemented in integrated circuit component ( s ) the resulting cost is increased as is the complexity of the overall circuit . further , the current limitation of 43 . 75 mhz for the output television signal is restricting in some ways on available features and functions of the television tuner itself . therefore , eliminating this limitation is advantageous for other reasons as well . alternatively , a microprocessor or a microcontroller is included for providing a control signal for controlling an integrated active lc filter , for example one with a value of greater than 100 for q . of course a value of q less than 100 may be used in some applications . typically , when using an active lc circuit , a feedback loop is used to stabilize same . that said , should a more stable lc circuit exist or be developed , it will obviate a need for dynamic stabilization in some applications . alternatively , a microprocessor or a microcontroller is included for providing a control signal for controlling a tracking filter . of course , once a microcontroller type circuit is integrated within the tuner , configurability of the tuner is optionally enhanced . for example , the tuner is useful in providing several configurable or selectable modes of operation . for example , mode selection between performance , power conservation , minimized functionality , or any level of compromise therebetween is supportable . accordingly , a mode supporting full functionality with high quality and maximum power consumption is selectable . such a mode of operation is typically selected when power is available from a power grid . of course , optionally a user is provided a facility to select the performance mode even absent connection to a power grid . another mode of operation for use , typically , during a power outage , provides minimum functions such as bidirectional communication functions with reduced quality to maximize battery life . yet another mode of operation supports battery operation of a mobile device wherein quality and performance are each set to a level to provide a desired level of performance to power consumption — battery life . alternatively , the processor adjusts the performance and power consumption levels based on the function undertaken . for example , a music channel — only music — could be “ watched ” using a lower performance mode of operation than an audio / visual television channel . other examples and variations within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims will become apparent to persons of skill in any of the related arts in view of the forgoing description .	7
turning to the drawings and in particular fig1 through 4 , the universal upright interface bracket consists of 4 basic components : a fixed bracket member 10 , a sliding bracket member 12 , a locking assembly 14 and a sliding shim 16 . a right handed upright bracket will be described . the fixed bracket member 10 ( fig1 ) has three distinct regions : an upper vertical portion 18 , a middle horizontal portion 20 , and a lower vertical portion 22 . the three regions may be formed from a single piece where the upper and lower vertical portions lie in parallel planes and are connected by and are substantially perpendicular to the middle horizontal portion . the upper vertical portion is composed of a rectangular body 23 with a top surface 24 , and having a tab 26 extending rearwardly and downwardly . a downwardly opening channel 34 is defined by the fixed bracket vertical back surface 28 , the fixed bracket tab inner horizontal surface 30 , and the fixed bracket tab inner vertical surface 32 . the middle horizontal portion 20 shares back surface 28 with the upper and lower vertical portions and has a centrally located finger slot 36 running from front to back . the lower vertical portion 22 consists of a rectangular body 37 with the back surface 28 . it has a finger portion 38 at its bottom bent outward to the right and then downwards forming an angle - iron type construct . at the top and bottom of the rectangular body 37 are upper and lower horizontal guides 40 , 42 running from front to back . there is also a forwardly , centrally located vertical slot 44 . the sliding bracket member 12 ( fig2 ) is composed of a vertical rectangular body 46 having a vertical back surface 48 . it is bent at the bottom to form a horizontal foot portion 50 extending perpendicularly to the left . extending rearwardly and downwardly from the back of the middle of the rectangular body is a tab portion 52 having an inner horizontal surface 54 and an inner vertical surface 56 . a downwardly opening channel 58 is defined by the vertical back surface 48 , the tab inner horizontal surface 54 , and the tab inner vertical surface 56 . at the top of the rectangular body is a finger portion 60 bent outward to the left and then upwards forming an angle - iron type construct . in the middle of the rectangular body is a forwardly , centrally located vertical guide 62 with upper and lower inner surfaces 64 , 66 . in the foot portion is a centrally located finger slot 68 running from front to back . the locking assembly 14 ( fig3 ) is composed of a screw 70 and a rectangular nut 72 with an upper surface 74 and a lower surface 76 . the height and width of the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 ( fig1 ) should be just larger than the height and depth of the nut so when the nut is inserted in the slot it fits snugly . the width of the sliding bracket vertical guide 62 ( fig2 ) should be just wider than the depth of the nut . the height of the slot should be significantly more than that of the nut so when the nut is inserted into the guide , it can be freely moved vertically along the length of the guide with minimal front to back movement . the sliding shim 16 ( fig4 ) is a vertical body 78 having the appearance of a right - angled ` c ` with the open end of the ` c `, the shim channel 80 , facing forwards . the channel has an inner vertical surface 82 and a height larger than that of the nut 72 . the shim also has an outer vertical back wall 84 . extending outward to the left from the top and bottom of the sliding shim , perpendicular to the shim body , are forwardly located upper and lower shim finger portions 86 , 88 . the bracket is assembled so that the sliding shim 16 is sandwiched between the fixed and sliding bracket members 10 , 12 ( fig5 ). the upper and lower shim finger portions 86 , 88 are inserted in the upper and lower fixed bracket horizontal guides 40 , 42 so the shim body 78 is adjacent and parallel to the fixed bracket member lower vertical portion 22 . the fixed bracket upper and lower horizontal guides 40 , 42 have heights just larger than that of the upper and lower shim finger portions 86 , 88 while the length of the guides is significantly longer than the front - to - back length of the finger portions . the guides are positioned so that each shim finger portion can be inserted in its corresponding horizontal guide , and the shim can move front to back when seated in the guides with minimal vertical movement . the vertical position and depth of the shim channel 80 is chosen so that when the shim is seated in the fixed bracket horizontal guides 40 , 42 , the channel is aligned with the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 and the slot is not covered by the shim body 78 at any point along the shim &# 39 ; s full range of motion within the horizontal guides . the sliding and fixed bracket members 10 , 12 are fitted together by inserting the fixed bracket finger portion 38 into the sliding bracket finger guide 68 while simultaneously inserting the sliding bracket finger portion 60 into the fixed bracket finger slot 36 . the bracket finger portions have sufficient vertical length to allow substantial vertical motion of the sliding bracket member 10 with respect to the fixed bracket member 12 without the bracket members disengaging . the bracket finger slots 36 , 68 and bracket finger members 38 , 60 are positioned on the bracket members so that when the bracket members are engaged , the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 and sliding bracket vertical guide 62 are aligned . the positions of the bracket finger slots 36 , 68 and horizontal extensions of the bracket finger portions 38 , 60 are chosen so that when the fixed and sliding bracket members are engaged , the fixed bracket upper vertical portion 18 and the sliding bracket body 46 and thus the fixed bracket tab 26 and sliding bracket tab 52 lie in the same plane ( fig6 a ). the rearward extension of the fixed bracket tab 26 and then sliding bracket tab 52 is chosen so that when the fixed and sliding bracket members are engaged , the fixed bracket tab inner vertical surface 32 and the sliding bracket tab inner vertical surface 56 lie along the same vertical axis . the rectangular nut 72 ( fig5 a ) is fitted snugly in the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 passing through the shim channel 80 and into the sliding bracket vertical guide 62 . the nut is positioned so that a screw passing rearwardly through the nut will lie in the plane of the shim body 78 ( fig6 a ). the insertion of the screw 70 into the nut keeps the nut positioned between the two bracket members while the walls of the shim channel prevent the nut from rotating . the vertical length of the sliding bracket vertical guide 62 ( fig6 b ) is just short enough so that when the sliding bracket member 12 is moved downwards in relation to the fixed bracket member 10 , the sliding bracket vertical guide upper inner surface 64 hits the nut &# 39 ; s upper surface 74 just before the bracket members would disengage . the position of the screw 70 in the nut is used to limit how far forward within the horizontal guides 40 , 42 the sliding shim 16 can travel . the sliding shim can move forward until the shim channel inner vertical surface 82 hits the tip of the screw . a downward opening adjustable channel 90 ( fig6 b ) is then defined by the outer vertical shim wall 84 , the sliding bracket tab inner horizontal surface 54 and the sliding bracket tab inner vertical surface 56 . the assembled bracket ( fig6 b ) is secured to a vertical slotted wall 92 having a front surface 94 , a back surface 96 and a thickness 98 . the bracket is secured within a pair of vertically aligned slots in the wall -- an upper slot 100 having inner bottom surface 102 and a lower slot 104 having inner bottom surface 106 , both slots having a depth equal to the wall thickness . the fixed bracket tab 26 is seated in the upper slot 100 so that the tab &# 39 ; s inner horizontal surface 30 rest on the slot &# 39 ; s bottom surface 102 and the tab &# 39 ; s inner vertical surface 32 abuts the back of the vertical slotted wall 96 . the upper tab is held in place via a cantilever force . the width of the fixed bracket channel 34 is substantially greater than the thickness of the vertical wall 98 allowing the tab to be easily seated and removed . the sliding bracket member 12 is adjusted vertically with respect to the fixed bracket member 10 so that sliding bracket tab 52 engages the lower slot 104 and the sliding bracket tab &# 39 ; s inner horizontal surface 54 rests on the slot &# 39 ; s bottom surface 106 . the width of the sliding bracket channel 58 is substantially greater than the thickness of the vertical wall 98 . the depth of the adjustable channel 90 is reduced moving the sliding shim 16 back so the outer vertical shim wall 84 abuts the front surface of the vertical slotted wall 94 and the sliding bracket tab &# 39 ; s inner vertical surface 56 abuts the back surface of the vertical slotted wall 96 forming a snug fit . the screw 70 is adjusted until the its end hits the shim channel inner vertical surface 82 , holding the shim in position and locking the assembled universal upright bracket in place . a left handed upright bracket can be constructed in a similar manner . the bracket member tabs would then lie along the plane of an outer wall formed by the left handed fixed bracket member &# 39 ; s upper vertical portion 18 &# 39 ; and the left handed sliding bracket member &# 39 ; s body 46 &# 39 ;. left and right handed universal upright brackets can be placed side by side so that the fixed bracket member &# 39 ; s upper vertical portions and the sliding bracket member &# 39 ; s bodies are flush with each other and the left and right bracket &# 39 ; s tabs are flush and aligned with each other . in this configuration , a left and right upright bracket can engaged a single pair of vertically aligned slots in a vertical slot wall . it should be understood , of course , that the specific form of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only , as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure . accordingly , reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention .	0
fig1 represents a prior art view of a portion of a leading edge of a wing and slat and has already been described above . referring now to fig2 and 3 , there is shown a simplified cross - sectional view through a slat track support assembly 20 according to an embodiment of the invention . this cross - section is taken through the curved slat support arm or slat track 21 viewed from the front , i . e . looking towards the leading edge of the wing , and so the slat itself , which is attached to the front end of the slat support arm 21 is not visible in these drawings and the slat support arm rotates 21 about its theoretical centre or axis ( not shown in the figures ), in a direction out of the sheet towards the viewer , when a slat 2 attached to the slat support arm 21 is deployed . as in the prior art view of fig1 , the curved slat support arm 21 has an arcuate groove or recess 22 along its length in which is received a slat rack 23 attached to the slat support arm 21 . the slat rack 23 has teeth 23 a extending along its lower exposed surface for engagement with a drive pinion ( not shown but similar to drive pinion 8 shown in fig1 ), to drive the slat support arm 21 between slat deployed and slat retracted positions , as is conventional . the slat support arm 21 extends within a space formed between two ribs 24 forming part of the structure of the aircraft wing and an upper bearing yoke 25 is rigidly attached to and extends between the ribs 24 . a shaft 26 is also rigidly mounted and extends between the ribs 24 below the slat support arm 21 . two bearings 27 a , 27 b are rotatably mounted on the shaft 26 and lie in rolling contact with corresponding bearing surfaces 28 a , 28 b on the slat support arm 21 . it will be appreciated that the axis of rotation ( a - a — see fig2 ) of the bearings 27 a , 27 b , and corresponding bearing surfaces 28 a , 28 b are both parallel to the axis of rotation ( x - x ) of the slat support arm 21 as it moves between its deployed and retracted positions . these bearings are therefore only able to resist loads applied to the slat support arm 21 in a vertical direction , i . e . in the direction of arrow “ f ” in fig2 , but cannot support any side loading of the slat support arm 21 . however , the upper side of the slat support arm 21 is divided into two bearing surfaces 29 a , 29 b that each extend upwardly from the side of the slat support arm 21 at an angle towards a tip 30 . in effect , the upper edge of the slat support arm 21 has a triangular profile in cross - section , although it is envisaged that the bearing surfaces 29 a , 29 b need not meet at a tip and there could be a region between the two bearing surfaces that extends parallel to the axis of the slat support arm 21 . a pair of upper bearings 31 a , 31 b are rotatably mounted on separately angled shafts 32 a , 32 b , received within the upper bearing yoke 25 and bearing 31 a lies in rolling contact with angled bearing surface 29 a whilst bearing 31 b lies in rolling contact with angled bearing surface 29 b . the shafts 32 a , 32 b are angled such that the axis of rotation ( b - b and c - c ) of each bearing 31 a , 31 b is parallel to its corresponding bearing surface 29 a , 29 b . it will be appreciated that , as a result of orientating the upper bearings 31 a , 31 b so that the contact face between the bearings 31 a , 31 b and their corresponding bearing surfaces 29 a , 29 b , are no longer parallel to the axis of rotation of the slat support arm 21 , the upper bearings 31 a , 31 b are now able to counteract side - loading forces applied to the slat support arm 21 , i . e . forces applied in the direction of arrows “ l ” in fig2 , in addition to vertical loads . therefore , the additional side - load bearings conventionally used in the prior art slat support assemblies are no longer required , thereby reducing weight and saving space and cost . it will be appreciated that as the bearing surfaces 29 a , 29 b are not parallel to the axis of rotation of the slat support arm , the radial distance from the axis x - x of the slat support arm changes in a direction along the axis between a maximum distance d 1 and a minimum distance d 2 , as indicated in fig2 . it will be noted that the radial distance decreases in a first direction ( right to left , as shown in fig2 ) for the lefthand bearing surface 29 a and that the radial distance decreases in a second direction ( left to right , as shown in fig2 ) for the righthand bearing surface 29 b . fig3 shows a similar arrangement to that shown in fig2 , except that the lower bearings 27 a , 27 b are arranged in the same way as the upper bearings 31 a , 31 b ( and now have separate axes a 1 - a 1 and a 2 - a 2 ) and the lower bearing surfaces 28 a , 28 b of the slat support arm 21 are also angled relative to the axis of rotation of the slat support arm 21 . each of the lower bearings 27 a , 27 b are also rotatably mounted on individual shafts 32 a , 32 b received in a lower yoke 33 that extends between ribs 24 of the aircraft wing . in this embodiment , both the lower and upper bearings 27 a , 27 b ; 31 a , 31 b are able to counteract both side and vertical loads applied to the slat support arm 21 . although the lower and / or upper bearing surfaces 28 a , 28 b ; 29 a , 29 b are shown as being angled at 45 degrees relative to the axis about which the slat support arm 21 rotates , it will be appreciated that the bearing surfaces 28 a , 28 b ; 29 a , 29 b could assume any angle between 0 and 90 degrees depending on the loading that the bearings need to withstand . for example , the side - loading forces will be substantially less than the vertical loading forces and so the bearing surfaces will be angled so that their associated bearings are positioned so as to counteract a greater vertical loading force than a side - loading force . a generalised side view of the arrangement shown in fig2 is illustrated in fig4 , and in which the slat 2 can be seen in its retracted position in which it sits against the leading edge of the wing 1 . in this embodiment , there are three upper yokes 25 arranged spaced by an angle about the theoretical centre or axis of rotation “ x ” of the slat support arm 21 above the slat support arm 21 , each of which receive two bearings 31 a , 31 b , as shown and described with reference to fig2 . also shown is three lower bearings 27 a spaced from each other by an angle about the axis “ x ” of rotation of the slat support arm 21 and corresponding to each of the upper sets of bearings 31 a , 31 b . a drive pinion 33 in engagement with the teeth 23 a on the slat rack 23 is also shown positioned between two of the lower bearings 27 a to drive the slat support arm 21 between its deployed and retracted positions . the same generalised side view is shown in fig5 , except that in this view , the slat 2 is shown in its maximum deployed position . to achieve this position , the slat support arm 21 has rotated about its axis “ x ” by an angle of approximately 24 degrees ( indicated by angle α in fig4 and 5 ). it can be seen that , in this position , the trailing set of bearings 27 a , 27 b ; 31 a , 31 b , i . e . those furthest from the leading edge of the wing or the slat 2 , are redundant because the slat support arm 21 is no longer engaged with these bearings and is entirely supported by the remaining two sets of bearings closer to the leading edge of the wing 1 . it is envisaged that this trailing set of bearings could be omitted altogether , although it may be advantageous to provide the trailing set of bearings to provide additional support for the slat during cruise , when the slat 2 is retracted . to guide the free end of the slat support arm 21 back into engagement with the trailing set of bearings when the slat support arm 21 is retracted , the free end of the slat support arm 21 may have a slight chamfer or beveled surface 35 . as there is no longer any requirement to provide additional side - load bearings between the vertical load bearings , the bearing sets can be placed much closer together , thereby saving space within the wing structure and allowing for a consequential reduction in the length of the slat support arm 21 because the slat support arm 21 can still be supported by two bearing sets even at full deployment of the slat 2 . as a consequence of the reduction in the length of the slat support arm 21 , there is no longer any need to penetrate the spar 6 and a track can is also no longer required . as an additional advantage , it is also possible to arrange corresponding upper and lower bearings so that a line extending from the theoretical centre or axis of rotation of the slat support arm 21 extends through the axis of both the lower and upper bearings because the bearings can be placed on the true radial centre lines that pass through the theoretical centre of rotation of the slat support arm , thereby improving load carrying capability . in the prior art configuration , this is not possible due to the shortage of space and the requirement to provide additional side - load bearings between the vertical load bearings . reference will now be made to fig6 and 7 which illustrate a more practical configuration of the generalised embodiment of fig3 and in which can be seen the slat support arm 21 having upper bearing faces 29 a , 29 b and lower bearing faces 28 a , 28 b . the slat rack 23 is received in groove 22 and has teeth 23 a for engagement with a drive pinion ( not shown ). the bearings 27 a , 27 b ; 31 a , 31 b of each set are mounted within a unitary yoke 40 which has an opening 41 shaped to receive the slat support arm 21 therethrough . the yoke 41 has recesses 42 in its end faces 43 to facilitate insertion and removal of the bearings 27 a , 27 b ; 31 a , 31 b , which can be seen more clearly in fig7 , which shows the same view as fig6 , but with the yokes 40 omitted for clarity . each bearing 27 a , 27 b ; 31 a , 31 b comprises a bearing element 43 ( see fig7 ) which is rotatably mounted on a shaft 44 . the shaft 44 has an end cap or head portion 45 and the end of the shaft 44 remote from the cap 45 is part - threaded at 46 for threaded engagement with a corresponding threaded aperture ( not shown ) in the yoke 40 , when the shaft 44 , together with the bearing element 43 mounted thereon , is inserted through the aperture 42 in the end faces of the yoke 40 . the cap 45 is supported within the recess 42 in the yoke and may be provided with a sealing element to seal any gap between the cap 45 and the wall of the recess 42 to prevent ingress of dirt . the upper face 47 of the cap 45 may be provided with holes 48 for engagement with a tool for inserting it into and mounting it to the yoke 40 . the yoke 40 may also be provided with drainage holes 40 a to allow egress of water out of the yokes 40 . the end faces 43 of the yoke 40 are provided with shoulders 49 . it is envisaged that these will be shaped to enable each yoke 40 , complete with its internally mounted bearings 27 a , 27 b , 31 a , 31 b , to be inserted into the aircraft wing 1 during assembly so that the shoulders 49 engage between corresponding ribs 5 , thereby locating respective yokes 40 in the correct position to receive the slat support arm 21 . embodiments of the invention essentially reduce the number of bearings required over a conventional slat support assembly by up to 50 %, because the side - loads are now counteracted by the same bearings that counteract the vertical loads and so there is no longer any need to provide separate side - load bearings . this may enable a significant weight reduction and / or greatly reduce the design space constraints in the densely populated leading edge of the wing . it will be appreciated that the foregoing description is given by way of example only and that modifications may be made to the slat support assembly of the present invention without departing from the scope of the appended claims . for example , it should be noted that , in the above described embodiment of the invention , the slat support arm is curved about an axis and rotates about said axis between its stowed and deployed positions . however , it is envisaged that the slat support arm could follow a non - circular path such as an elliptical or linear path and / or that the slat support arm may not be curved .	1
fig1 illustrates a mr compatible patient monitoring system 10 . a patient monitor 12 is mounted at one end of a patient transporter 14 . the patient transporter 14 has a patient tray 16 which slides into a bore of a magnet 18 . a system interconnect 20 connects between the patient transporter 14 and the magnet 18 . fig2 illustrates a functional block diagram for the mr compatible patient monitoring system 10 shown in fig1 . a processor / memory block 22 is connected to a magnetic field sensor 24 , a lcd display 26 , a control panel 28 , physio module block 30 , power supply 32 , and a fiber optic data link 34 . the magnetic field sensor 24 is further connected to the power supply 32 . the power supply 32 and the fiber optic link 34 are connected to a system interconnect 20 . all of the aforementioned components are contained within a shielded enclosure 36 . the processor / memory block 22 provides the central computing and control function required for the monitoring system 10 . this includes the acquisition and processing of the patient &# 39 ; s physiological signals , the control and verification of the various subsystems as well as the display 26 and user control panel 28 . in this embodiment , this block is based on a high performance 32 bit microprocessor . the associated program and data memory requirements are provided by the processor / memory block &# 39 ; s ram and eeprom memory arrays . the magnetic field sensor 24 senses the ambient magnetic field that the patient monitor is operating in . it calculates the absolute magnitude of the ambient field by using a cartesian coordinate field sensor . the absolute magnitude of the ambient field is then compared against three threshold values . as the patient transporter 14 is moved through the mr scanner room , the patient monitor may be subject to magnetic field levels which would adversely affect its operation . the magnetic field sensor 24 warns the user by visual and audio indicators if the ambient field strength is approaching the level ( the first threshold ) at which operation of the monitor would be affected . if the field continues to increase and then exceeds the second threshold , the magnetic field sensor 24 will disable the operation of the patient monitor until the field level falls below a preset value ( the third threshold ). the sensor 24 continues to provide the user with an indication of the ambient field level even when the monitor is disabled . the power supply 32 provides the power requirements for the patient monitor . in this embodiment , the power supply 32 consists of a dc - to - dc converter , battery charger , and rechargeable battery . the dc - to - dc converter converts the battery voltage into the various voltages required by the patient monitor . the battery charger maintains the battery &# 39 ; s charge when the monitor is connected to either the mr scanner or to an external charging port . the fiber optic data link block 34 provides the data and control link between the patient monitor and the mr scanner . the fiber optic data link block 34 supports remote displays and control of the patient monitor , as well as the exchange of data , control and status information between the mr scanner and the patient monitor . the block features a high speed , duplex long wavelength fiber optic transceiver . the interface between the fiber optic transceiver and the processor subsystem is handled by a set of specialized receive and transmit integrated circuits . this chip set provides the parallel - to - serial and serial - to - parallel data conversion , data formatting , clock recovery , and link control logic . the system interconnect 20 provides the connection between the patient monitor and the mr scanner . it consists of an umbilical cable 20a and a connector 20b featuring both electrical and optical contacts . the cable 20a is routed through the patient transporter 14 where it is then mated to the matching receptacle on the mr scanner 18 . the umbilical cable 20a consists of a duplex fiber optic cable pair and a pair of electrical conductors surrounded by a common pvc outer jacket . each of the fiber optic cables has a core diameter of 62 . 5 micrometers and a cladding diameter of 125 micrometers . these fiber optic cables are used to support the duplex data and control link between the patient monitor and the mr system . the electrical conductors are used to supply the patient monitor &# 39 ; s dc to dc converter / battery charger . the connector 20b features a pair of fiber optic contacts . these contacts are capable of repeated mate / demate cycles while maintaining the required optical performance . the connector body is made of a structural plastic , i . e . peek , to minimize the production of particulate during the mate / demate cycle . these particulates and environmental factors , such as dirt , dust , and smoke , could reduce or obscure the transmission of light through the connector . to safeguard against the environment factors , the connector uses a sealing cap that retracts during the mating cycle . the matching receptacle on the mr scanner uses a set of shutter doors which prevent degradation of the contacts due to environmental factors . the shutter doors swing aside during the mating cycle . in one embodiment , the system connector 20b is a cable / connector assembly that the user can plug into a matching receptacle on the mr scanner once the patient transporter has &# 34 ; docked &# 34 ; with the mr scanner . the user will unplug the cable when the transporter has been &# 34 ; undocked &# 34 ;. the cable is managed by a cable retraction system on the patient transporter to prevent the cable from damage when not in use . alternately , the system connector can be part of a docking mechanism which automatically makes and breaks contact as the transporter is &# 34 ; docked &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; undocked &# 34 ; with the mr scanner . the lcd display 26 presents the patient parameter data to the clinicians . an lcd type display was selected because the strong magnetic fields in proximity of the mr scanner make use of a crt type difficult . the control panel 28 allows the user to control the operation of the patient monitor . it contains an array of keys and indicator leds . the shielded enclosure 36 serves two major functions . the first is to reduce the radiated emissions from the patient monitor internal circuits to a level where they will not cause any interference to the operation of the mr scanner . the second function that it serves is to reduce the internal level of the ambient electrical fields . fig3 is a system diagram of the physio - module block 30 shown in fig2 . the physiomodules support the acquisition and conditioning of several patient parameters . three such modules , such as 30a - c , are shown by way of illustration . the ecg physio - module 30a handles the patient &# 39 ; s ecg signal . it contains isolation amplifiers , filter states , analog to digital convertors , and adaptive filtering stages . the adaptive filters use knowledge of the operation of the mr scanner to filter the gradient noise components from the ecg signal . the pulse oximeter block 30b handles the patient pulse oximeter parameter . it uses a transducer which uses fiber optic cables to send the light from a set of visible and infrared light sources to the measuring site and to return the transmitted component to a photo detector . this transducer is usually applied to a finger and the ratio of transmission of the visible and infrared light sources to the finger is measured . this ratio is used to calculate the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin for the patient . the block contains a light source driver stage , photo detector amplifier , and filter stages , and analog to digital convertors . the non - invasive sphygmomanometer 30c handles the measurement of the patient &# 39 ; s blood pressure . it uses an inflatable cuff which is applied to the patient &# 39 ; s arm or leg . the cuff is connected to the monitor via a non - conductive air tube . the block contains the cuff pump , pressure sensor , and analog to digital convertor . the cables which are used to connect the patient to the three parameter blocks are integrated into the patient transporter with a cable management system . this system protects the cables during transport to and from the mr scanner and while the patient table is sliding in and out of the magnet . fig4 illustrates the fiber optic data link 34 shown in fig1 . an electrical / optical ( eo ) block 38 is connected to a serial - to - parallel block 40 and a parallel - to - serial block 42 . a link control block 44 is connected to the serial - to - parallel block 40 and the parallel - to - serial block 42 . the link control block 44 is further connected to a microprocessor interface controller 46 . the microprocessor interface controller 46 is further connected to a receive data demultiplexor 48 , a transmit data multiplexor 50 , and a voltage level translator block 52 . the voltage level translator block 52 is further connected to the receive data demultiplexor 48 and the transmit data multiplexor 50 . the receive data demultiplexor 48 is further connected to an analog - to - digital converter block 54 . the eo block 38 converts the incoming optical signal to a serial electrical signal and conversely , the serial electrical signal into an optical output signal . the optical signals are coupled to and from a duplex fiber optic cable . in this embodiment , this block is comprised of an hewlett - packard hfbr 5205 multi - mode fiber transceiver that operates at a wavelength of 1300 nm . the serial - to - parallel block 40 converts the serial electrical output signal from the eo block into a parallel digital signal . this block contains the clock recovery , signal detect , and framing circuits . the link control block 44 controls the operation of the fiber link . upon being connected to the fiber optic link cable through the system interconnect , it outputs a series of unique data packets which are designed to facilitate synchronization with the matching fiber link subsystem at the other end of the fiber cable . it also initiates a search for these synchronization packets on the incoming optical path via examining the eo serial output . upon detection of the synchronization packets , it enables data to be sent to and received from the link . the link control block 44 monitors the operation of the operation of the link and flags any data errors . for non - recoverable errors , it disables local use of the link and periodically attempts to re - establish connection . in this embodiment , the serial - to - parallel 40 , parallel - to - serial 42 , and the link control 44 blocks were implemented using the hewlett - packard hdmp1012 and hdmp1014 integrated circuit chipset . the voltage level translator block 52 bidirectionally translates the data , control , and status signals from one set of logic levels to another . in this embodiment , the logic voltage levels are ttl and pecl . the transmit data multiplexor 50 organizes the parallel data which is to be sent as output on the fiber link . there are several sources for this data . these include the remote display video data , physio data , and monitor status data . the receive data demultiplexor 48 inputs the received and translated parallel data from the serial - to - parallel block 40 . the data is demultiplexed and sent to a number of outputs . the outputs include video update data , remote keyboard and system control data and external data . the analog - to - digital converter block 54 converts the externally received digital data via the link into an analog signal . this signal is output to an analog multiplexor and it can be used by the patient monitor to provide local audio annunciation , as well as an analog source useful for signal injection and system verification . the microprocessor interface controller block 46 provides two major functions . the first function is to support the patient monitor interface to the fiber data link . it contains several state machine logic circuits which in conjunction with the control logic of the link control block 44 , determine the operation of the fiber link . it coordinates the synchronization of the operation of the transmit data multiplexor 50 and the receive data demultiplexor 48 to ensure the correct data position in the multiplexing cycle . the second function of this block is to support access to the fiber link and it &# 39 ; s operation by the patient monitor resident microprocessor . it provides an interface that appears to the microprocessor as a series of registers . read and write cycles to these registers allow the microprocessor to send and receive data , control the mode of operation as well as to examine the status of the fiber data link .	0
since the electrochemical lithium intercalation / de - intercalation properties of carbon materials greatly depend on their morphology , crystallinity , orientation of crystallites , and even defects , the capacity of a lithium ion battery can be enhanced by the choice of an appropriate nano - structured carbon material . an important aspect of the present invention , at least in its preferred forms , is that the carbon nanostructured material ( which may be nano - sized graphite , nanofibres , isolated single walled carbon nanotubes , nano - balls , nano - sized amorphous carbon ) comprises very small carbon nanostructures in which no dimension is greater than about 2 μm . the carbon nanostructured materials may be formed using the synthesis method described in the aforementioned co - pending application filed on even date by the same inventors and entitled “ synthesis of carbon nanostructures ” under ( filed sep . 3 , 2004 , and assigned ser . no . 10 / 933 , 779 ), the contents of which are incorporated by reference . in summary , this related application discloses the synthesis of very small - sized carbon nanostructures ( no dimension being greater than about 2 μm , typically 2 μm × 2 μm × 0 . 5 μm ) using a correspondingly sized zeolite template material such as afi ( or preferably afi with the incorporation of another element such as si - afi , co - afi , cr - afi or ti - afi ). a carbon precursor material may be incorporated into the template material and the carbon nanostructures are formed by calcinations ( at between 500 ° c . and 900 ° c .) under the protection of an inert gas , optionally a mixture of an inert gas and a carbon containing gas . after calcinations the material is cooled , subject to mechanical grinding and sieving , and then acid washing ( eg in hci ) to remove the template material . the resulting carbon nanostructures may be amorphous , or they may be very short carbon nanotubes or other structures . for example analysis of a sample synthesized as described above with a high resolution transmission electron microscope found amorphous carbon nanoparticles ( about 10 nm in diemnsion ) and isolated single walled carbon nanotubes ( diameter of 0 . 4 nm ). the following is an example of a technique for synthesizing carbon nanostructures suitable for use as an electrode material or as an additive for an electrical material : nanocarbons were fabricated using a 3 % si - afi zeolite template material ( si 0 . 03 alp 0 . 97 with a feedstock recipe of 0 . 03 ( sio 2 ): 1 ( iso - propanol ) 3 al : 0 . 97 ( h 3 po 4 )). 3 % si - afi zeolite ( 2 μm × 2 μm × 0 . 5 μm ) was loaded into a quartz vessel and then placed into a high - temperature reaction chamber . in a pre - heating step , the heating rate was controlled at 1 ° c . per minute from room temperature to 250 ° c . with an inert gas flow over the chamber at 400 ml / min . from 250 - 550 ° c ., the heating rate could be increased to 5 ° c . per minute . at 550 ° c ., 3 % si - afi is calcined for 5 hours with a mixed gas of argon 200 ml / min and methane 300 ml / min . the as - obtained nanocarbons @ zeolite was post - treated with hcl - washing for 48 hours , vacuum drying at 140 ° c . and a high - temperature treatment at 900 ° c . nanocarbons were observed by hrtem , and were seen to comprise more than 92 % amorphouse nano - particles ( about 10 nm ) and less than 8 % nanotubes . in the following example of an embodiment of the invention , carbon nanostructured material was formed in accordance with the above described synthesis technique and was then washed with distilled water and dried in a vacuum oven before being used . all electrochemical measurements of present invention were carried out using coin type cells . the assembly of these cells was finished in an ar - filled glove box . the electrolyte was 1 m lipf 6 dissolved in a 50 / 50 ( wt %) mixture of ethylene carbonate ( ec ) and diethyl carbonate ( dec ). the copper foil acted as a current collector and support in the investigation . in the figure , sample 1 is a conventional lithium ion battery in which graphite is used as the negative electrode material , while sample 2 is an embodiment of the present invention in which the negative electrode material is a mixture of a nano - carbon material as described above ( 50 % by weight ) mixed with graphite ( 50 % by weight ). in the measurement , nano - carbon and lithium foil were used as working electrode and counter electrode respectively . constant current ( 80 ma / g ) cycled charge / discharge was operated between 0 . 005 to 2 . 8 v ( versus li / li + ) with pc control in room temperature . the measurement was carried out with a conventional two - electrode coin cell , wherein the working electrode comprises nanocarbon / graphite and the counter electrode was lithium metal . after soaking with an electrolyte , a celgard polypropylene separator was sandwiched between the two electrodes . the electrolyte was 1 m lipf 6 dissolved in a 50 / 50 ( wt %) mixture of ethylene carbonate ( ec ) and diethyl carbonate ( dec ). nanocarbons were mixed uniformly with graphite at 50 / 50 proportion by weight . then the binder solution of polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf , aldrich ) in 1 - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidone ( nmp , aldrich ) was added into the mixture of nanocarbons / graphite . the slurry of the mixture was coated on copper foil , the electrode film is about 30 - 40 microns thickness . after half - dry , the film was tailored to match the coin - cell mould . in the measurement , a constant current ( 80 ma / g ) cycled charge / discharge was operated between 0 . 005 to 2 . 8 v ( versus li / li + ) with pc control at room temperature . it can be clearly seen that the reversible capacity of the conventional graphite sample 1 for the first 10 cycles is about 280 - 300 mah / g . however , subsequently the capacity decays to about 250 mah / g in the following cycles . for sample 2 with the introduction of the nano - carbon material , the capacity increases significantly to about 450 mah / g ( corresponding to li 1 . 2 c 6 ), which is about 1 . 5 - 1 . 8 times to that of graphite , and furthermore excellent cycle - ability is obtained for sample 2 at least over 30 charging cycles and even over 50 cycles ( bearing in mind that the experimental data was obtained using a half - cell ). in other words the incorporation of small - sized nano - carbon materials into the negative electrode material can enhance the specific capacity and cycle - ability simultaneously . this is very important for application in the commercial batteries . the very small size of these nano - carbon materials is probably a crucial reason for above effect on reversible specific capacity . at the same time , the interconnection between nano - carbon and graphite is a feasible matrix for the intercalation / deintercalation of lithium ion with the introduction of nano - carbons . in summary , the present invention provides a lithium - ion battery using a nano - structured carbon based material for the negative electrode with a reversible capacity of approximately 400 - 800 mah / g . the nano - structured carbon is very small - sized ( no dimension greater than about 2 μm ) and may , for example , be synthesized by means of a template and chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) technique . the carbon nano - structured material may be nano - sized graphite , nanofibres , isolated single walled carbon nanotubes , nano - balls or nano - sized amorphous carbon . the nano - structured carbon material may be treated before use such as by means of an acid wash , high - temperature anneal , hydrogen activation , mechanical milling and drying in vacuum . the nano - structured carbon material may be used as an additive ( for example to graphite ) comprising about 10 wt %- 90 wt % of the negative electrode material , though a 50 : 50 wt % ratio is particularly preferred as it is found to give good results . alternatively the negative electrode may be fully composed of the said nano - structured negative electrode material with a plastic binder .	7
the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely exemplary in nature , and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its application or uses . the same parts are given identical labels in the different figures , so that , as a rule , they will each only be described once . as shown in the drawing , a first embodiment ( fig1 and 2 ) of a countersunk head screw in accordance with the invention features a head 1 , a shank 2 , and a thread 3 extending at least partially over the shank 2 . the head 1 , in turn , features a bearing surface 4 that , at least in sections , tapers conically toward the shank 2 . cutting ribs 106 are arranged in a lower region 105 of the bearing surface 4 that is facing , or adjacent , the shank . six cutting ribs 106 are represented in the illustrated embodiment , but there also could be more or fewer , such as three , four , eight , or more . the desired removal of material , while a screw in accordance with the invention is being screwed in , can be increased or reduced based on the number and design of the cutting ribs 106 , and can thereby be adapted to the material . the bearing surface 4 , tapering conically toward the shank 2 , converges at an angle a of approximately 90 ° in a first head section 5 a turned away from the shank 2 and , at an angle β of approximately 50 ° to 65 °, in a second section 5 b facing the shank 2 . in this manner , enough room is attained in the head 1 for a cross recession for engaging a screwdriver , in spite of the relatively narrow shape of the head 1 . the cross recession is not drawn in detail in fig1 but indicated with dashed lines . the region 105 of the bearing surface 4 , in which the cutting ribs 106 are arranged , thereby is the second head section 5 b facing the shank 2 . in addition , the cutting ribs 106 extend up into a region 2 a of the shank 2 near the head , where the shank 2 has a radius r s that is larger than a core radius r e of shank 2 in the region 2 b of the thread 3 . the cutting ribs 106 are each attached to the shank 2 in the region 2 a near the head , thereby assuring a high mechanical stability for the cutting ribs 106 . the axial length h f of the region 105 of the bearing surface 4 , in which the cutting ribs 106 are arranged , is no longer than approximately 60 percent of an axial length h a of the conically tapering bearing surface 4 . moreover , the region 2 a near the head has an axial length h t which can be approximately one third of the axial length h f of region 105 lying within the bearing surface 4 . the cutting ribs 106 will preferably thus only work to advantage when the head 1 of the countersunk head screw in accordance with the invention begins to penetrate the material . material destruction , in the sense of splintering , tearing , or undesired deformation , is thereby prevented . the longitudinal extents l f of the cutting ribs 106 can , as illustrated , follow surface lines of the bearing surface 4 , with their projections falling on a section of the screw &# 39 ; s longitudinal axis x — x of the screw in accordance with the invention , which runs through the head 1 . in this manner , the milling and scraping effect , which the cutting ribs 106 exercise on the material , is particularly large . the thread 3 features an edge 7 , which , in its main region , maintains a constant clearance ( outer radius a of thread 3 ), in the shape of a helix , to a section of the screw &# 39 ; s longitudinal axis x — x running through the shank 2 . the edge 7 of the thread can also feature a decreasing height h k in an end region 8 of the thread 3 facing the head 1 . considering their optimal arrangement for effectiveness , the cutting ribs 106 ( as seen in a bottom view or in the cross sectional view shown in fig2 ) can extend into an annular area , approximately bounded on the outside by the outer radius a of thread 3 , and approximately bounded on the inside by the external radius r s of the shank 2 in the region 2 a near the head . there is moreover an additional advantage when the cutting ribs 106 feature a variable height h rf across their longitudinal extent l f . in the shown drawing , the height h rf of the cutting ribs 106 increases along the outside of the longitudinal extents l f of the cutting ribs 106 , starting first with a value of zero relative to the bearing surface 4 , and then staying approximately constant relative to the bearing surface 4 . a steady milling effect is thereby achieved along the longitudinal extent l f of the cutting ribs 106 . the maximum value of the height h rf of the cutting ribs 106 relative to the surface 4 can thereby favorably be approximately 0 . 3 mm , especially when the external radius r k of the head 1 is approximately 4 to 5 mm . an optimal design for the cutting ribs 106 occurs when , as illustrated in the drawing , they each feature an outline approximately in the shape of a circular segment , wherein the edge 106 a of the segment that &# 39 ; s facing the direction of screwing e is designed flat or concave . fig3 and 4 show a second embodiment of a countersunk head screw in accordance with the invention . as far as the cutting ribs 106 are concerned , this embodiment does not differ form the first embodiment described above . however , additional restraint ribs 6 have been installed in a top region 5 of the bearing surface 4 that &# 39 ; s turned away from , or adjacent , the shank 2 . when a screw in accordance with the invention is being screwed in , these restraint ribs 6 cause increased compression of the surface between the screw and the material that it &# 39 ; s being screwed into , a fitting &# 39 ; s metallic surface for example . this increases the frictional resistance and counteracts the screwdriver &# 39 ; s moment of rotation , whereby spinning of the screw can be efficiently prevented . four restraint ribs 6 are provided in the illustrated embodiment , but there could be more or fewer , such as two , three , six , etc . the region 5 of the bearing surface 4 , in which the restraint ribs 6 are arranged , is the first head section 5 a turned away from the shank 2 . the axial length h b of the region 5 of the bearing surface 4 , in which the restraint ribs 6 are arranged , is no longer than approximately 60 percent of an axial length h a of the conically tapering bearing surface 4 . the restraint ribs 6 thus only work to advantage after the countersunk head screw in accordance with the invention has been almost completely screwed in . this prevents spinning of the screw and protects turns of the threads that have been shaped or cut into the material . the longitudinal extents l r of the restraint ribs 6 can , as illustrated , follow surface lines of the bearing surface 4 , with their projections falling on a section of the longitudinal axis x — x of the screw in accordance with the invention which runs through the head 1 . in this manner , the effect of the restraint ribs 6 , increasing the compression between screw and material , is particularly large . considering their optimal arrangement for effectiveness , the restraint ribs 6 ( as seen in a bottom view or in the cross sectional view shown in fig2 ) can extend into an annular area , approximately bounded on the outside by the outer radius r k of head 1 , and approximately bounded on the inside by the outer radius a of the thread 3 . there is moreover an additional advantage when the restraint ribs 6 feature a variable height h rb across their longitudinal extent l r . in the shown drawing , the height h rb of the restraint ribs 6 extends along the longitudinal extent l r of the restraint ribs 6 , starting with a value of zero relative to the bearing surface 4 , proceeding in the shape of an arc , and then ending again with a value of zero relative to the bearing surface 4 . the maximum value of the height h rb of the restraint ribs 6 relative to the surface 4 can thereby favorably be approximately 0 . 1 to 0 . 2 mm , especially when the external radius r k of the head 1 is approximately 4 to 5 mm . as illustrated , the restraint ribs 6 can each feature two lateral faces 6 a , 6 b of convex shape , in the shape of discuss segment in particular . the faces 6 a , 6 b thereby adjoin each other at an edge 6 c , located at their center in particular . on the one hand , a high frictional resistance is thereby attained , especially when screwing in . however a cutting effect from the restraint ribs will be largely avoided , whether screwing or unscrewing a screw in accordance with the invention . the invention is not limited to the described examples , but includes all embodiments that work the same way as the idea of the invention . for example , the shape and arrangement of the cutting ribs 106 can deviate from the embodiment described . thus it can be appropriate , depending on circumstances , that the longitudinal extents l f of the cutting ribs 106 do not , as illustrated , follow surface lines of the bearing surface 4 , with their projections falling on a cross section of the longitudinal axis x — x of the screw in accordance with the invention which runs through the head 1 , but ( similarly to thread 3 ) follow a helically shaped path that runs at least partially in the direction of the perimeter . the foregoing discussion discloses and describes a preferred embodiment of the invention . one skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion , and from the accompanying drawings and claims , that changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the true spirit and fair scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	5
as used above , and through the description of the invention , the following terms , unless otherwise indicated , shall be understood to have the following meanings : “ alkyl ” means a saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon group which may be straight or branched and having about 1 to about 20 carbons in the chain . branched means that a lower alkyl group such as methyl , ethyl , or propyl is attached to a linear alkyl chain . preferred straight or branched alkyl groups are the “ lower alkyl ” groups which are those alkyl groups having from 1 to about 6 carbon atoms . “ alkenyl ” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group defined the same as for “ alkyl ” plus at least one double bond between two carbon atoms anywhere in the hydrocarbon . “ alkynyl ” means an aliphatic hydrocarbon group defined the same as for “ alkyl ” plus at least one triple bond between two carbon atoms anywhere in the hydrocarbon . “ aryl ” represents an unsubstituted , mono -, di - or trisubstituted monocyclic , polycyclic , biaryl aromatic groups covalently attached at any ring position capable of forming a stable covalent bond , certain preferred points of attachment being apparent to those skilled in the art . aryl thus contains at least one ring having at least 5 atoms , with up to two such rings being present , containing up to 10 atoms therein , with alternating ( resonating ) double bonds between adjacent carbon atoms . aryl groups may likewise be substituted with 0 - 3 groups selected from r s . the definition of aryl includes but is not limited to phenyl , biphenyl , indenyl , fluorenyl , naphthyl ( 1 - naphtyl , 2 - naphthyl ). heteroaryl is a group containing from 5 to 10 atoms , 1 - 4 of which are heteroatoms , 0 - 4 of which heteroatoms are nitrogen , and 0 - 1 of which are oxygen or sulfur , said heteroaryl groups being substituted with 0 - 3 groups selected from r 8 . the definition of heteroaryl includes but is not limited to pyridyl , furyl , thiophenyl , indolyl , thiazolyl , imidazolyl , benzimidazolyl , tetrazolyl , pyrazinyl , pyrimidyl , quinolyl , isoquinolyl , benzofuryl , isothiazolyl , benzothienyl , pyrazolyl , isoindolyl , isoindolyl , purinyl , carbazolyl , oxazolyl , benzthiazolyl , benzoxazolyl , quinoxalinyl , quinazolinyl , and indazolyl . “ azacycloalkane ” means a saturated aliphatic ring containing a nitrogen atom . preferred azacycloalkanes include pyrrolidine , piperidine and azepine . “ cycloalkyl ” means a saturated carbocyclic group having one or more rings and having 3 to about 10 carbon atoms . preferrd cycloalkyl groups include cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloheptyl , and decahydronaphthyl . “ heterocyclyl ” means an about 4 to about 10 member monocyclic or multicyclic ring system wherein one or more of the atoms in the ring system is an element other than carbon chosen amongst nitrogen , oxygen or sulfur . the heterocyclyl may be optionally substituted by one or more alkyl group substituents . examplary heterocyclyl moieties include quinuclidine , pentametliylenesulfide , tetrahedropyranyl , tetrahydrothiophenyl , pyrrolidinyl or tetrahydrofuranyl . “ carbocyles ” means one or more rings having 5 to about 10 carbon atoms that possess at least one degree of unsaturation . preferred carbocylces include cyclopentene , cyclohexene , cycloheptene , indene , di -, tetra -, and hexahydro - indene , naphthalene , and hexa - and octahydro - naphthalene . “ saturated ” means that the atom possesses the maximum number of single bonds either to hydrogen or to other atoms , eg . a carbon atom is sp 3 hybridized . “ unsaturated ” means that the atom possesses less than the maximum number of single bonds either to hydrogen or to other atoms , eg . a carbon atom is sp 2 or sp 3 hybridized . ( iv ) amino , amidino , bromo , chloro , carbony , carboxamido , thiocarboxy , cyano , fluoro , guanidino , hydroxy , iodo , nitro , oxo , thiol , trihalomethyl , trihalomethoxy “ alkyl ” and “ aryl ” used for any of the groups in the above list also means substituted alkyl or substituted aryl , where substituted means groups selected from the same list . a preferred solid support template of the present invention is the template of formula 1 wherein r 1 is a covalent bond and a is derived from an n - protected a - amino acid can be presented as formula 1a , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 and r 5 are independently selected from a group consisting of hydrogen , substituted alkyl , substituted alkenyl , substituted alkenylaryl , substituted alkynyl , substituted aryl , substituted heteroaryl , substituted alkylaryl , substituted cycloalkyl and substituted cycloalkenyl , substituted heterocyclyl ; or r 4 and r 5 taken in combination , are substituted saturated heterocyles ; another preferred solid support template of the present invention is the template of formula 1 wherein r 1 is derived from an α - or β - amino acid , can be presented as formula 1b , wherein pg is a protecting group which includes but not limited to fmoc , boc , alloc ; r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , r 6 , r 7 , r 10 and r 11 are independently selected from a group consisting of hydrogen , substituted alkyl , substituted alkenyl , substituted alkenylaryl , substituted alkynyl , substituted aryl , substituted alkylaryl , substituted cycloalkyl and substituted cycloalkenyl ; or r 10 is selected from a group consisting of substituted amino , substituted hydroxyl , substituted sulfhydryl , substituted alkyl sulfonamido , substituted alkyl carboxamido , substituted alkyl ureido , substituted alkyl sulfamido , substituted alkyloxycarboxamido , substituted arylalkyl sulfonamido , substituted arylalkyl carboxamido , substituted arylalkyl ureido , arylalkyl sulfamido and substituted arylalkyloxycarboxamido ; or r 4 and r 5 taken in combination , are substituted saturated heterocyles ; or r 6 and r 7 taken in combination , are substituted cycloalkyl and substituted saturated heterocyles ; r 8 and r 9 taken in combination are substituted aromatic or heteroaromatic rings ; another preferred solid support template of the present invention is the template of formula 1 wherein r 1 is derived from an 2 - amino - benzoic acid and a is derived from an α - amino acid , can be presented as formula 1c , pg is a protecting group which includes but not limited fmoc , boc , alloc ; r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , and r 5 are independently selected from a group consisting of hydrogen , substituted alkyl , substituted alkenyl , substituted alkenylaryl , substituted alkynyl , substituted aryl , substituted alkylaryl , substituted cycloalkyl and substituted cycloalkenyl ; or r 4 and r 5 taken in combination , are substituted saturated heterocyles ; r 12 is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen , hydroxy , thio , cyano , halogen , nitro , substituted alkylamino , substituted arylamino , substituted alkylcarbonylamino , substituted arylcarbonylamino , substituted alkyloxy , substituted aryloxy , substituted thioalkyl , substituted thioaryl , substituted alkyl , substituted alkenyl , substituted alkenylaryl , substituted alkynyl , substituted aryl , substituted alkylaryl , substituted cycloalkyl and substituted cycloalkenyl . solid support is a substrate consisting of a polymer , cross - linked polymer , functionalized polymeric pin , or other insoluble material . these polymers or insoluble materials have been described in literature and are known to those who are skilled in the art of solid phase synthesis ( stewart j m , young j . d . ; solid phase peptide synthesis , 2nd ed ; pierce chemical company : rockford . ill ., 1984 ). some of them are based on polymeric organic substrates such as polyethylene , polystyrene , polypropylene , polyethylene glycol , polyacrylamide , and cellulose . additional types of supports include composite structures such as grafted copolymers and polymeric substrates such as polyacrylamide supported within an inorganic matrix such as kieselguhr particles , silica gel , and controlled pore glass . examples of suitable support resins and linkers are given in various reviews ( barany , g . ; merrifield , r . b . “ solid phase peptide synthesis ”, in “ the peptides — analysis , synthesis , biology ”. vol 2 , [ gross , e . and meienhofer , j ., eds . ], academic press , inc ., new york , 1979 , pp 1 - 284 ; backes , b . j . ; ellman , j . a . curr . opin . chem . biol . 1997 . 1 , 86 ; james , i . w ., tetrahedron 1999 , 55 , 4855 - 4946 ) and in commercial catalogs ( advanced chemtech , louisville , ky ; novabiochem , san diego , calif .). some examples of particularly useful functionalized resin / linker combinations that are meant to be illustrative and not limiting in scope are shown below : ( 1 ) aminomethyl polystyrene resin ( mitchell , a . r ., et al ., j . org . chem ., 1978 , 43 , 2845 ): this resin is the core of a wide variety of synthesis resins . the amide linkage can be formed through the coupling of a carboxylic acid to amino group on solid support resin under standard peptide coupling conditions . the amide bond is usually stable under the cleavage conditions for most acid labile , photo labile and base labile or nucleophilic linkers . ( 2 ) wang resin ( wang , s . s . ; j . am . chem . soc . 1973 , 95 , 1328 - 1333 ). wang resin is perhaps the most widely used of all resins for acid substrates bound to the solid support resin . the linkage between the substrate and the polystyrene core is through a 4 - hydroxybenzyl alcohol moiety . the linker is bound to the resin through a phenyl ether linkage and the carboxylic acid substrate is usually bound to the linker through a benzyl ester linkage . the ester linkage has good stability to a variety of reaction conditions , but can be readily cleaved under acidic conditions , such as by using 25 % tfa in dcm . rink resin is used to prepare amides utilizing the fmoc strategy . it has also found tremendous utility for a wide range of solid phase organic synthesis protocols . the substrate is assembled under basic or neutral conditions , then the product is cleaved under acidic conditions , such as 10 % tfa in dcm . ( 4 ) knorr resin ( bernatowicz , m . s ., et al . tetrahedron lett ., 1989 , 30 , 4645 ). knorr resin is very similar to rink resin , except that the linker has been modified to be more stable to tfa . ( 5 ) pal resin ( bernatowicz , m . s ., et al . tetrahedron lett ., 1989 , 30 , 4645 ). ( 6 ) hmba - mbha resin ( sheppard , r . c ., et al ., int . j . peptide protein res . 1982 , 20 , 451 ). ( 7 ) hmpa resin . this also is an acid labile resin which provides an alternative to wang resin and represented as : ( 8 ) benzhydrylamine copoly ( styrene - 1 or 2 %- divinylbenzene ) which referred to as the bha resin ( pietta , p . g ., et al ., j . org . chem . 1974 , 39 , 44 ). ( 9 ) methyl benzhydrylamine copoly ( styrene - 1 or 2 %- divinylbenzene ) which is referred to as mbha and represented as : ( 10 ) trityl and functionalized trityl resins , such as aminotrityl resin and amino - 2 - chlorotrityl resin ( barlos , k . ; gatos , d . ; papapholiu , g . ; schafer , w . ; wenqing , y . ; tetrahedron lett . 1989 , 30 , 3947 ). ( 11 ) sieber amide resin ( sieber , p . ; tetrahedron lett . 1987 , 28 , 2107 ). ( 12 ) rink acid resin ( rink , h ., tetrahedron lett ., 1987 , 28 , 3787 ). ( 13 ) hmpb - bha resin ( 4 - hydroxymethyl - 3 - methoxyphenoxybutyric acid - bha florsheimer , a . ; riniker , b . in “ peptides 1990 ; proceedings of the 21 st european peptide symposium ”, [ giralt , e . and andreu , d . eds . ], escom , leiden , 1991 , pp 131 . a carboxylic acid substrate is attached to the resin through nucleophilic replacement of chloride under basic conditions . the resin is usually stable under acidic conditions , but the products can be cleaved under basic and nucleophilic conditions in the presence of amine , alcohol , thiol and h 2 o . ( 15 ) hydroxymethyl polystyrene resin ( wang , s . s ., j . org . chem ., 1975 , 40 , 1235 ). the resin is an alternative to the corresponding merrifield resin , whereas the substrate is attached to a halomethylated resin through nucleophilic displacement of halogen on the resin , the attachment to hydroxymethylated resins is achieved by coupling of activated carboxylic acids to the hydroxy group on the resin or through mitsunobu reactions . the products can be cleaved from the resin using a variety of nucleophiles , such as hydroxides , amines or alkoxides to give carboxylic acids , amides and esters . ( 16 ) oxime resin ( degrado , w . f . ; kaiser , e . t . ; j . org . chem . 1982 , 47 , 3258 ). this resin is compatible to boc chemistry . the product can be cleaved under ( 16 ) photolabile resins ( e . g . abraham , n . a . et al . ; tetrahedron lett . 1991 , 32 , 577 ). the products can be cleaved from these resins photolytically under neutral or mild conditions , making these resins useful for preparing ph sensitive compounds . examples of the photolabile resins include : ( 17 ) safety catch resins ( see resin reviews above ; backes , b . j . ; virgilio , a . a . ; ellman , j . am . chem . soc . 1996 , 118 , 3055 - 6 ). these resins are usually used in solid phase organic synthesis to prepare carboxylic acids and amides , which contain sulfonamide linkers stable to basic and nucleophilic reagents . treating the resin with haloacetonitriles , diazomethane , or tmschn 2 activates the linkers to attack , releasing the attached carboxylic acid as a free acid , an amide or an ester depending on whether the nucleophile is a hydroxide , amine , or alcohol , respectively . examples of the safty catch resins include : tentagel resins are polyoxyethyleneglycol ( peg ) grafted ( tentagel ) resins ( rapp , w . ; zhang , l . ; habich , r . ; bayer , e . in “ peptides 1988 ; proc . 20 tth european peptide symposium ” [ jung , g . and bayer , e ., eds . ], walter de gruyter , berlin , 1989 , pp 199 - 201 . tentagel resins , e . g . tentagel s br resin can swell in a wide variety of solvents and the bead size distribution is very narrow , making these resins ideal for solid phase organic synthesis of combinatorial libraies . tentagel s br resin can immobilize carboxylic acids by displacing the bromine with a carboxylic acid salt . the products can be released by saponification with dilute aqueous base . ( 19 ) resins with silicon linkage ( chenera , b . ; finkelstein , j . a . ; veber , d . f . ; j . am . chem . soc . 1995 , 117 , 11999 - 12000 ; woolard , f . x . ; paetsch , j . ; ellman , j . a . ; j . org . chem . 1997 , 62 , 6102 - 3 ). some examples of these resins contain protiodetachable arylsilane linker and traceless silyl linker . the products can be released in the presence of fluoride . also useful as a solid phase support in the present invention are solubilizable resins that can be rendered insoluble during the synthesis process as solid phase supports . although this technique is frequently referred to as “ liquid phase synthesis ”, the critical aspect for our process is the isolation of individual molecules from each other on the resin and the ability to wash away excess reagents following a reaction sequence . this also is achieved by attachment to resins that can be solubilized under certain solvent and reaction conditions and rendered insoluble for isolation of reaction products from reagents . this latter approach , ( vandersteen , a . m . ; han , h . ; janda , k . d . ; molecular diversity , 1996 , 2 , 89 - 96 .) uses high molecular weight polyethyleneglycol as a solubilizable polymeric support and such resins are also used in the present invention . this template can be assembled in one step on the solid support as described in scheme 1 . under the standard ugi four - component condensation reaction , a polymer - bound free amine 1 - 1 reacts with an α - ketoaldehyde , an isocyanide and an n - protected amino acid to give the desired template of formula 1 . a variety of solvents are suitable for this reaction , such as thf , meoh , mecn or a mixture of thf and meoh , etc . scheme 2 - 4 outline the application of the solid support template to the synthesis of a variety of novel scaffolds containing pharmaceutically important heterocyclic rings , such as imidazole , pyrazinone , diazepinone and benzodiazepine . as shown in scheme 2 , cleavage of the n - protecting group leads to the corresponding free amine intermediate of formula 2 - 1 which is simultaneously cyclized to a dihydropyrazinone or a diazepinone of formula 2 - 2 . the dihydropyrazinone may be oxidized in air resulting in a pyrazinone . the cyclization as well as the oxidation may be catalyzed in the presence of an appropriate acid , such as hoac . the oxidation can be pushed to completion by using an oxidizing agent , such ddq or ammonium cerium nitrate ( can ). the products , such as example 8 , example 9 and example 11 , can be released under appropriate cleavage conditions . scheme 3 refers the method for the preparation of imidazole - based scaffolds . under an appropriate condition , such as nh 4 oac / hoac , the formula 1 is converted into an imidazole intermediate which is then deprotected to give an intermediate of formula 3 - 2 . subsequently , the amino group reacts with a variety of electrophilic reagents , such sulphonyl chloride , isocyanate , acid chloride and aldehyde , to give a polymer - bound product which can be cleaved under appropriate conditions ( example 10 and example 12 ). a cyclative cleavage strategy can be applied if r 1 group links to the linker l through an ester bond as shown in scheme 4 . from the polymer - bound intermediates of formula 4 - 1 and 4 - 3 , the cyclative cleavage under appropriate conditions gives lactam products such as example 13 and example 14 shown in scheme 4 . cleavage of compounds from solid support depends on the nature of the solid support used in the synthesis . the react and release strategy can be performed on a merrifield ( hydroxymethyl polystyrene resin ), wang resin , hydroxymethylbenzoic ( hmba ) acid resin and hydroxymethylphenoxy functionalized tentagel resin to name a few . cleavage of compounds under mild acidic conditions like trifluoroacetic acid ( 20 - 95 %) is done with benzhydrylamine or rink type resins and wang resins among others . cleavage of substrates from solid support by reaction with nucleophiles like ammonia , methylamine , hydroxylamine , methanol and triethylamine is done from hydroxymethylpolystyrene and hmba resins to give compounds as their carboxamides , hydroxamic acids and methyl esters . other known or commercially available resins are considered within the scope of this invention . the following examples ( fig1 and 2 ) are by way of illustration of various aspects of the present invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof . anhydrous solvents were purchased from aldrich chemical company and used directly . resins were purchased from advanced chemtech , louisville , ky ., and used directly . the loading level ranged from 0 . 60 to 1 . 0 mmol / g . unless otherwise noted , reagents were obtained from commercial suppliers and used without further purification . preparative thin layer chromatography was preformed on silica gel pre - coated glass plates ( whatman pk5f ) 150 å , 1000 μm ) and visualized with uv light , and / or ninhydrin , p - anisaldehyde , ammonium molybdate , or ferric chloride . ir spectra were obtained on a midac m1700 and absorbencies are listed in inverse centimeters . hplc / ms analysis were performed on a hewlett packard 1100 with a photodiode array detector coupled to a micros platform ii electrospray mass spectrometer . an evaporative light scattering detector ( sedex 55 ) was also incorporated for more accurate evaluation of sample purity . reverse phase columns were purchased from ymc , inc . ( ods - a , 3 μm , 120 å , 4 . 0 × 50 mm ). solvent system a consisted of 97 . 5 % meoh , 2 . 5 % h 2 o , and 0 . 05 % tfa . solvent system b consisted of 97 . 5 % h 2 o , 2 . 5 % meoh , and 0 . 05 % tfa . samples were typically acquired at a mobile phase flow rate of 2 ml / min involving a 2 minute gradient from solvent b to solvent a with 5 minute run times . resins were washed with appropriate solvents ( 100 mg of resin / 1 ml of solvent ). technical grade solvents were used for resin washing . fmoc - protected rink resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 6 mmol / g , 0 . 30 mmol ) was first treated with 5 ml of 20 % piperidine in dmf for 30 minutes at room temperature and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . the deprotected resin was then treated with 5 ml of a keto - aldehyde solution ( 0 . 8m in meoh / thf , 1 : 1 ), 2 ml of zncl 2 solution ( 1m in ether ), 5 ml of fmoc - protected α - amino acid solution ( 0 . 8m in thf ), and 2 ml of isocyanide solution ( 2m in meoh ). the reaction mixture was mixed for 2 days at room temperature . the resin was collected and washed with dmf , meoh , dcm several times . the same procedure described above for the preparation of example 1 was followed except that an α - or β - amino acid rink amide resin was used instead of rink resin . the same procedure described above for the preparation of example 1 was followed except that an α - or β - amino acid wang resin was used instead of rink resin . the same procedure described above for the preparation of example 1 was followed except that an α - or β - amino acid merrifield resin was used is instead of rink resin , and a boc - protected α - amino acid was used in the 4 - component condensation reaction instead of an fmoc - protected amino acid . the same procedure described above for the preparation of example 1 was followed except that an α - or β - amino acid rink amide resin was used instead of rink resin , and a boc - protected 2 - aminobenzoic acid was used in the 4 - component condensation reaction instead of an fmoc - protected amino acid . the same procedure described above for the preparation of example 1 was followed except that an α - or β - amino acid wang resin was used instead of rink resin , and a boc - protected 2 - aminobenzoic acid instead ofa fmoc - protected amino acid . the same procedure described above for the preparation of example 1 was followed except that a 2 - amino benzoic acid merrifield resin was used instead of rink resin , and a boc - protected α - amino acid was used in the 4 - component condensation reaction instead of an fmoc - protected amino acid . synthesis of a pyrazinone derivative . example 8 , via a solid support template ( example 1 ) wherein r 2 = phenol , r 3 = n - butyl , r 4 = h and r 5 = benzyl ( also see scheme 2 ): 1 . ugi reaction : the solid support template , example 1 , prepared as described in scheme 1 . the de - protected rink resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 8 mmol / g ) was treated with 5 ml of phenylglyoxal solution ( 0 . 8m in meoh / thf , 1 : 1 ), 2 ml of zncl 2 ( 1m in ether ), 5 ml of fmoc - phe - oh solution ( 0 . 8m in thf ), and 2 ml of n - butylisocyanide solution ( 2m in meoh ). the reaction mixture was mixed for 2 days at room temperature . the resin was collected and washed with dmf , meoh , dcm several times . 2 . deprotection : the resin from the previous step was treated with 5 ml of 20 % piperidine in dmf for 30 minutes at room temperature to remove fmoc protecting group , and then washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 3 . cleavage : prior to cleavage , the resin was treated with 5 ml of 10 % acetic acid in dcm over night and washed with meoh / dcm , dcm . the resin was then mixed with 5 ml of 20 % trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ) in dcm for 30 minutes at room temperature . the cleavage solution was collected via filtration and concentrated to afford the desired product (& gt ; 90 % purity based on lc - ms analysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 362 ( m + h + , 50 ). synthesis of a pyrazinone derivative , example 9 , via a solid support template ( example 3 ) wherein n = 1 . r 2 = phenol , r 3 = t - butyl , r 4 = h and r 5 = benzyl , r 10 = r 11 = h ( also see scheme 2 ): ugi reaction and deprotection : the same procedure described in the steps 1 and 2 of example 8 was followed except that the polymer - bound amine obtained from the corresponding β - ala - wang resin was used instead of rink resin . oxidation : the above resin was treated with 0 . 2m ddq in benzene ( 2 ml / 100 mg of the resin ) at room temperature for 8 h . the resin was filtered and washed with dmf ( 3x ), meoh ( 3x ), dcm ( 3x ), 0 . 2 m diea in dce ( 2x ), meoh / dcm ( 3x ), and dcm ( 3x ). after drying in vacuo for 2 h , the resin was subjected to the cleavage . cleavage : the resin was then mixed with 20 % trifluoroacetic acid in dcm ( 2 ml / 100 mg of the resin ) for 30 minutes at room temperature . the cleavage solution was collected via filtration and concentrated to afford the desired product product (& gt ; 85 % purity based on lc - ms analysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 434 ( m + h + , 80 ). synthesis of an imidiazole derivative , example 10 , via a solid support template ( example 4 ) wherein n = 1 . r 2 = phenol , r 3 = n - butyl , r 4 = h r 5 = methyl , r 10 = r 11 = h ( also see scheme 3 ): 1 . imidiazole formation : the resin - bound template , example 4 , prepared from the corresponding β - ala - merrifield resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 6 mmol / g , 0 . 3 mmol ), was reated with 5 ml of 4m ammonium acetate solution in acetic acid at 105 ° c . for 20 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the resin was filtered and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 2 . deprotection : the resin obtained above was treated with 5 ml of 20 % tfa in dcm and mixed at room temperature for 30 minutes . the resin was then filtered and washed once with meoh and 1m diea in dce , 3 times with meoh and dcm . the resin was finally dried at room temperature by purging nitrogen gas for 10 minutes . 3 . sulfonylation : the dried resin from step 2 was treated with 4 ml of phenyl sulfonylchloride solution ( 0 . 5m in dce ) and 4 ml of dmap solution ( 0 . 1m in pyridine and dce , 6 : 4 , v / v ). after mixing at room temperature for 16 h , the resin was filtered and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 4 . cleavage : the resin from step 3 was treated with 5 ml of a 1 : 1 mixture of 40 % aqueous methylamine and thf and mixed at room temperature overnight . the cleavage solution was collected in cleavage vials and concentrated to give the expected crude imidiazole derivative (& gt ; 70 % purity based on lc - ms analysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 512 ( m + h + , 100 ). synthesis of a benzodiazopinone derivative . example 11 , via a solid support template ( example 6 ) wherein n = 1 . r 2 = phenol , r 3 = tert - butyl . r 4 = h r 18 = h , r 10 = r 11 = h and pg = boc ( also see scheme 2 ): the polymer - bound template , example 6 , prepared from the corresponding β - ala - merrifield resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 6 mmol / g , 0 . 30 mmol ), was treated with 5 ml of 20 % tfa in dcm and mixed at room temperature for 30 minutes . the cleavage solution was collected in cleavage vials and concentrated to give the expected crude benzodiazepinone derivative (& gt ; 85 % purity based on lc - ms analysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 408 ( m + h + , 60 ). synthesis of an imidiazole derivative . example 12 , via a solid support template ( example 4 ) wherein n = 1 . r 2 = phenyl . r 3 = n - butyl , r 4 = h r 5 = methyl , r 10 = r 11 = h ( also see scheme 3 ): 1 . imidiazole formation : the polymer - bound template , example 4 , prepared from the corresponding boc - ala - merrifield resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 6 mmol / g , 0 . 30 mmol ), was treated with 5 ml of 4m ammonium acetate solution in acetic acid at 105 ° c . for 20 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the resin was filtered and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 2 . deprotection : the resin obtained from step 1 was treated with 5 ml of 20 % tfa solution in dcm and mixed at room temperature for 30 minutes . the resin was then filtered and washed once with meoh and 1m diea in dce , 3 times with meoh and dcm . the resin was finally dried at room temperature by purging nitrogen gas for 10 minutes . 3 . urea formation : the dried resin from step 2 was treated with 5 ml of phenyl isocyanate solution ( 0 . 5m in dce ). after mixing at room temperature for 6 h , the resin was filtered and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 4 . cleavage : the resin from step 3 was treated with 5 ml of a 1 : 1 mixture of 40 % aqueous methylamine and thf and mixed at room temperature overnight . the cleavage solution was collected in cleavage vials and concentrated to give the expected crude imidiazole methyl amide derivative (& gt ; 70 % purity based on lc - ms ananlysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 491 ( m + h + , 100 ). synthesis of a diazepine - imidiazole derivative , example 13 , via a solid support template ( example 4 ) wherein n = 1 . r 2 = phenyl , r 3 = n - butyl , r 4 = h r 5 = benzyl , r 10 = r 11 = h ( also see scheme 4 ): 1 . imidiazole formation : the polymer - bound template , example 4 , prepared from the corresponding boc - phe - merrifield resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 8 mmol / g , 0 . 40 mmol ), was treated with 5 ml of 4m ammonium acetate solution in acetic acid at 100 ° c . for 12 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the resin was filtered and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 2 . deprotection : the resin from step 1 was treated with 5 ml of 20 % tfa in dcm and mixed at room temperature for 30 minutes . the resin was then filtered and washed once with meoh and 1m diea in dce , 3 times with meoh and dcm . the resin was finally dried at room temperature by purging nitrogen gas for 10 minutes . 3 . cleavage : the resin obtained from step 2 was treated with 5 ml of a 2 : 1 : 1 mixture of dea / tea / thf and the slurry was mixed at room temperature for 3 ˜ 4 days . the cleavage solution was collected in cleavage vials and concentrated to give the expected diazepine - imidiazole derivative (& gt ; 90 % purity based on lc - ms ananlysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 417 ( m + h +, 100 ). synthesis of a benzodiazepine - imidiazole derivative , example 14 , via a solid support template ( example 7 ) wherein r 2 = phenyl , r 3 = n - butyl , r 4 = h , r 5 = benzyl , r 18 = h ( also see scheme 4 ): 1 . imidiazole formation : the polymer - bound template , example 7 , prepared from the corresponding 2 - aminobenzoate merrifield resin ( 500 mg , 0 . 8 mmol / g , 0 . 40 mmol ), was treated with 5 ml of 4m ammonium acetate solution in acetic acid at 100 ° c . for 12 hours . after cooling down to room temperature , the resin was filtered and washed several times with dmf , meoh , and dcm . 2 . deprotection : the resin from step 1 was treated with 5 ml of 20 % tfa in dcm and mixed at room temperature for 30 minutes . the resin was then filtered and washed once with meoh and 1m diea in dce , 3 times with meoh and dcm . the resin was finally dried at room temperature by purging nitrogen gas for 10 minutes . 3 . cleavage : the resin from step 2 was treated with 5 ml of a 2 : 1 : 1 mixture of diethylamine / triethylamine / thf and mixed at room temperature for 3 ˜ 4 days . the cleavage solution was collected in cleavage vials and concentrated to give the expected benzodiazepine - imidiazole derivative (& gt ; 95 % purity based on lc - ms ananlysis ). ms ( es ) m / e ( relative intensity ): 465 ( m + h + , 80 ). solid phase synthesis of an array of pyrazinone derivatives via a solid support template . example 2 ( n = 1 ). based on the method described in scheme 2 : step 1 : a library of 96 compounds was synthesized based on the scheme described above , wherein 3 - aminobutyramide rink resin , cyclohexylisocyanide , 12 boc - protected α - amino acids ( r 2 ) in row and 8 ketoaldehydes ( r 3 ) in column were used in the first step , the four - component ugi condensation reaction in a 96 - well reaction block on an act synthesizer . step 2 ( cyclization and cleavage ): in each well 1 ml of 25 % tfa solution in dcm was dispensed and shaken for 30 min at room temperature over a cleavage block . the cleavage solutions were collected in 96 cleavage vials by vacuum filtration , then washed twice by 1 ml of 5 % tfa solution in dcm . to the combined filtrate was added 0 . 25 ml toluene and evaporated under reduced pressure in genevac . acetonitrile / water mixture ( 1 : 1 , 0 . 5 ml ) was added to each well and the solutions were evaporated to give a library of 96 pyrazinone derivatives . as will be understood by those skilled in the art , various arrangements which lie within the spirit and scope of the invention other than those described in detail in the specification will occur to those persons skilled in the art . it is therefor to be understood that the invention is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto .	2
the individual skis of a pair of skis are identified by the reference numerals 1 and 1 &# 39 ;. each ski has a ski brake 2 or 2 &# 39 ; mounted thereon by conventional devices , as by not illustrated screws . each ski brake is of a common construction and , therefore , is not discussed in detail . the braking mechanism of each ski brake 2 or 2 &# 39 ; consists of a pedal 3 or 3 &# 39 ; and two braking mandrels 4 or 4 &# 39 ;, which are manufactured of a spring steel wire . a braking blade 5 or 5 &# 39 ; made of plastic is injection molded onto each wire braking mandrel 4 or 4 &# 39 ;. a notch or recess 6 or 6 &# 39 ; is provided at the end region of each braking blade remote from the braking mandrel . each notch is in the form of an inwardly facing groove , the length of which extends transversely of the length of each blade . each notch is also open at the opposite ends thereof . as shown in fig2 each braking blade 5 or 5 &# 39 ; has a longitudinal length l . the width w of the notch 6 or 6 &# 39 ; is slightly greater than the diameter d of the braking mandrel 4 or 4 &# 39 ; ( see fig3 ). the depth of the notch t is slightly greater than the radius r of the braking mandrel 4 or 4 &# 39 ;. more specifically , and referring to fig3 the two side walls 6a and 6b of the notch 6 are spaced from the outside diameter d of the braking mandrel 4 &# 39 ; by the distance x / 2 . thus , w = d + x . the depth t of the notch 6 is deeper than the radius r of the braking mandrel 4 &# 39 ; by a distance y so that t = r + y . further , the location of each notch 6 or 6 &# 39 ; along the length of the braking blade is within distance m which is 1 / 4 to 1 / 3 the length l from the free end , namely , that end remote from the braking mandrel . if now the two skis 1 and 1 &# 39 ; of a pair of skis , as shown in fig1 are hooked or connected together , then one ski 1 &# 39 ; is first shifted approximately 1 - 2 cm . in the longitudinal direction thereof relative to the other ski 1 . this causes the notches 6 &# 39 ; in the braking blades 5 &# 39 ; on the shifted ski 1 &# 39 ; to receive directly therein the braking mandrels 4 on the other ski , namely , that portion of the mandrels 4 intermediate the braking blades 5 and the pedal 3 . a locking engagement is thus created . if now the hooking together of the two skis 1 and 1 &# 39 ; is to be released , then the two braking mandrels 4 &# 39 ; of the one ski 1 &# 39 ; are manually urged outwardly against the force of their own elasticity until the recesses 6 &# 39 ; on the braking blades 5 &# 39 ; become disengaged from the braking mandrels 4 of the other ski . in this manner , the two skis 1 and 1 &# 39 ; are separated from one another . in the embodiment according to fig2 the reversed position is illustrated , namely , the notches 6 of the braking blades 5 on the ski 1 receive therein the braking mandrels 4 &# 39 ; of the other ski 1 &# 39 ;. otherwise , the manner of use corresponds with the embodiment according to fig1 . for a better handling , the two braking mandrels 4 or 4 &# 39 ;, as is illustrated only on the mandrels 4 in fig1 each have a horizontal axle portion 4b and a section 4c that is inclined to the axle portion at an angle of 45 °. the inclined section 4c is positioned intermediate the axle portion 4b and the mandrel segment 4a on which the braking blades are mounted . however , they can also be arcuately bent . although particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes , it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus , including the rearrangement of parts , lie within the scope of the present invention .	0
referring to fig1 , there is shown a simplified datapath block diagram for detecting the a1a2 boundary in a sonet frame according to one embodiment of the present invention . serial data p0 [ 127 : 0 ] arrives on an input line 1 after having undergone optical - to - electrical conversion . the incoming data p0 [ 127 : 0 ] is loaded sequentially into two multi - bit ( e . g . 128 bit ) data registers , datareg 1 6 and datareg 2 7 as shown . various specific embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of a sonet framer implemented using 128 bit wide bus . it is to be understood , however , that the specific bus width or other implementation - specific values and numbers provided herein are for illustrative purposes only , and that the invention applies to telecommunication systems with other implementations . in the exemplary implementation shown in fig1 , each of the registers datareg 1 6 and datareg 2 7 is a 128 bit register accommodating 16 8 - bit bytes of data . the registers are designed to store two consecutive 128 - bit data with datareg 2 storing the first 128 - bit data , and datareg 1 storing the immediately following 128 - bit data . breaking down the data stream into pairs of bytes , the data flow in time at the inputs and outputs of the registers is as follows : where p2 [ 127 : 112 ] arrives at the framer &# 39 ; s input first , and p0 [ 15 : 0 ] arrives at the framer &# 39 ; s input last . fig2 provides a depiction of the data flow through the registers in time . a lower block 110 of 64 bits of p0 [ 127 : 0 ] data on the data input line 1 is defined by byte number 9 and below , and an upper block 100 of 64 bits of p1 [ 127 : 0 ] data is defined by byte number 10 and above , as shown . these 64 bit blocks are designated p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 and p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 , respectively . in terms of the sequence of arrival , p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 arrives first , followed by p1 [ 63 : 0 ] 101 , followed by p0 [ 127 : 64 ] 111 , followed by p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 . when the header of an oc - n frame arrives , at some point in time , each byte in p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 will have a value of a2 * and each byte in p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 will have a value of a1 . a2 is either a2 itself , or a2 bit shifted in binary . a1 * is either a1 itself or a1 bit shifted in binary . in the exemplary embodiment described herein , a1 * is defined as any of the following binary values : a1 itself : 1111 — 0110 , a1 left shifted 1 bit : 1110 — 1101 , a1 left shifted 2 bits : 1101 — 1011 , a1 left shifted 3 bits : 1011 — 0111 , a1 left shifted 4 bits : 0110 — 1111 , a1 left shifted 5 bits : 1101 — 1110 , a1 left shifted 6 bits : 1011 — 1101 , or a1 left shifted 7 bits : 0111 — 1011 . similarly , a2 * is defined as any of the following binary values : a2 itself : 0010 — 1000 , a2 left shifted 1 bit : 0101 — 0000 , a2 left shifted 2 bits : 1010 — 0000 , a2 left shifted 3 bits : 0100 — 0001 , a2 left shifted 4 bits : 1000 — 0010 , a2 left shifted 5 bits : 0000 — 0101 , a2 left shifted 6 bits : 0000 — 1010 , or a2 left shifted 7 bits : 0001 — 0100 . when each byte in the block p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 equals a2 * and each byte in the block p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 equals a1 , the a1a2 boundary must be somewhere among the 136 bits formed by p1 [ 63 : 0 ] 101 and p0 [ 127 : 56 ] 112 . one extra byte is included in this window because of the possibility that a1 and a2 * will actually be shifted 7 bits from the a1 and a2 values . according to this embodiment of the present invention , the data in p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 of the first data register 6 and the data in p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 of the data input are compared by a comparator 8 ( in fig1 ) with a1 * and a2 , respectively . when matches between all 8 bytes in p1 [ 127 : 64 ] and a1 and all eight bytes in p0 [ 63 : 0 ] and a2 * are detected by the comparator , the a1a2 boundary has been detected . fig8 depicts an exemplary condition whereby the a1a2 boundary is detected according to the present invention . there is shown the situation where the a1a2 boundary 113 occurs among the first 64 bits of the 128 - bit bus , which is to say , somewhere in p0 [ 127 : 64 ]. referring to fig8 , at time t = 0 , p0 [ 127 : 0 ] 9 is composed entirely of a1 * bytes . at time t = 1 , the subsequent clock cycle , the prior p0 [ 127 : 0 ] values have been clocked into the first data register and are now represented by p1 [ 127 : 0 ] 10 . the a1a2 boundary 113 now occurs on the incoming data bus among the block p0 [ 127 : 64 ] 111 . under these conditions , detection of the a1a2 boundary 113 occurs at time t = 1 since p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 all equal a1 * and p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 all equal a2 . fig9 illustrates how the method of the present invention detects the a1a2 boundary when it occurs among the last 64 bits in the data bus , p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 . at time t = 0 , p0 [ 127 : 0 ] 9 is composed entirely of a1 . at time t = 1 , the subsequent clock cycle , p0 [ 127 : 0 ] 9 contains the a1 a2 boundary in the last half of the register p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 . at time t = 2 , the prior values p0 have been clocked into the first data register and are represented by the values p1 [ 127 : 0 ] 10 . at time t = 2 , the a1a2 boundary 113 occurs in the lower half of p1 or p1 [ 63 : 0 ] 101 . when this occurs the blocks of the upper half of p1 , p1 [ 127 : 64 ] 100 all equal a1 * and the blocks of the lower half of p0 , p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 110 all equal a2 . the detection condition , in this case , occurs after 3 clock cycles rather than in 2 , as in fig8 . referring again to fig1 , there is shown a comparator 8 receiving input from the incoming data bus 1 and datareg 1 6 according to the method described above . the comparator compares the values of the lower half of the data input bus p0 [ 63 : 0 ] 9 with the values of the upper half of datareg 1 10 with eight bytes of a2 and eight bytes of a1 * respectively . in one embodiment of the invention , the comparator is realized by an array of eight 128 - bit comparators ( not shown ). based on the values of a1 * and a2 *, the comparator 8 generates output control bits on a bit selection control bus , bitselect [ 7 : 0 ] 5 . these control bits are used to shift the data in each byte , so that the data in each byte is either a1 or a2 in the method of the invention described above , it was demonstrated that the a1a2 boundary occurs among the 136 bits formed by p1 [ 63 : 0 ] 2 , and p0 [ 127 : 56 ] 1 . since the comparison takes one clock cycle to generate the control signal on bitselect [ 7 : 0 ] 5 , one clock cycle delay is needed to compensate the clock difference between the bitselect [ 7 : 0 ] and the data bus . in order to realign the data in accordance with the extent of the bit shift , the invention reconfigures p2 [ 63 : 0 ] 3 and p1 [ 127 : 56 ] 4 to form a single realigned 128 bit long data . fig3 shows in more detail how an exemplary embodiment of the present invention accomplishes the bit alignment of the data . in this example , a multiplexer array 14 includes 128 8 - to - 1 multiplexers and receives signals p2 [ 63 : 0 ] 3 and p1 [ 127 : 56 ] 4 at its inputs as shown . these values represent portions of the contents of datareg 1 6 and datareg 2 7 respectively . together , p2 [ 63 : 0 ] 3 and p1 [ 127 : 56 ] 4 represent 136 sequential bits from the original serial data stream . multiplexer array 14 receives the bit select [ 7 : 0 ] signal at its select input 11 . the control signal bitselect [ 7 : 0 ] is used to shift the data in the new data bus 26 at the output of the multiplexer array 14 . in the exemplary embodiment described herein , the shift amount is from 0 to 7 bits , so that each byte in the 128 bit output data bus 26 is either a1 or a2 , as shown in fig4 . the multiplexer array 14 thus shifts the data p2 [ 63 : 0 ] 3 and p1 [ 127 : 56 ] 4 into a third 128 - bit register 15 such that each 8 - bit block of datareg 3 15 contains only a1 or a2 . the shifted data are stored in datareg 3 15 as well as another sequential register , datareg 4 16 . the values of these two registers are represented by f0 [ 127 : 0 ] 12 and f1 [ 127 : 0 ] 13 , respectively . the bit alignment step according to this embodiment of the invention requires two clock cycles to complete . the values of datareg 3 and datareg 4 are shown in fig4 . the final alignment step in a method according to the present invention , byte shifts the data so that it is aligned along the a1a2 boundary . fig5 shows byte select logic 19 , which takes input f0 [ 127 : 0 ] 12 from datareg 3 15 . the data f0 [ 127 : 0 ] 12 , is examined to determine the location of the a1a2 boundary , in terms of number of bytes , from the edge of the bus . a 16 - bit byte select control signal byteselect [ 15 : 0 ] 17 is generated onto bus 17 by the byte select logic 19 . fig5 also shows an array 20 of 128 16 - to - 1 multiplexers accepting both f0 [ 127 : 0 ] 12 and f1 [ 127 : 0 ] 13 as inputs . the multiplexer array 20 shifts the input data onto an output 128 - bit register 21 in accordance with the byteselect [ 15 : 0 ] signal on bus 17 such that the output register 21 contains either a1 only or a2 only as is shown in fig6 . this final alignment step requires 2 clock cycles to complete . fig1 is a block diagram of a sonet line card 200 that includes a framer implemented according to one embodiment of the present invention . line card 200 includes an optical transceiver 202 that receives optical data from the fiber channel 204 and converts it to an electrical signal . the output of the optical transceiver 202 connects to an electrical transceiver 206 that performs the ser / des functionality among others . the deserialized data at the output of electrical transceiver 206 is applied to a framer 208 . framer 208 detects the a1a2 boundary and realigns the data as described above , and forwards it to a network processing unit npu 210 . the npu 210 interfaces with the switch fabric and performs various functions such as traffic control , protocol conversion and the like . the sonet line card 200 using the framer 208 according to the present invention has a superior performance due to the speed and efficiency of the framer . the method of the instant invention as applied , for example , to the framer 210 of line card 200 , has at least two distinct advantages over prior art methods of aligning data along the a1a2 boundary . first , the method of the present invention as demonstrated in the exemplary embodiment above can accomplish the alignment in as few as five clock cycles . second , the exemplary implementations of the present method presented herein are far more cost effective in terms of hardware requirements . simulations have shown that the boundary detector according to the present invention can reduce the amount of circuitry down to as much as only 10 % of the logic required by prior art implementations to perform the same function in a similar amount of time . in conclusion , the present invention provides method and circuitry for detecting a boundary between two bytes of received data . in a specific implementation , the invention detects the a1a2 boundary of a sonet oc - n frame within a reduced number of clock cycles requiring significantly smaller circuitry to implement . while the above provides detailed description of specific embodiments , it is to be understood that various modifications , alternative implementations and equivalents are possible . the scope of the invention should therefore not be limited by the embodiments described above , and should instead by determined by the following claims and their full breadth of equivalents .	8
referring to fig1 , the present invention is adapted to a bike , a light - duty motorcycle or any other light - duty vehicle provided with both left and right brake levers to respectively control braking a front wheel and a rear wheel , and the bike is taken as an example for the purpose hereunder . as illustrated , the bike is provided with a right handlebar and a left handlebar 91 respectively mounted with a manual brake lever 92 ; and a brake cable 93 connects both brake levers 92 to a safety braking system 1 of the present invention . the safety braking system 1 is mounted to a head tube 96 or where between both handlebars 91 , or coupled to a stem 94 and connected to a lead cable 951 and a lead cable 952 respectively of a front wheel brake 941 and a rear wheel brake 942 . accordingly , when either of both brake levers 92 is pulled , the rear wheel brake 942 applies first a brake on the rear wheel and then the front wheel 941 applies a brake on the front wheel . in a first preferred embodiment of the safety braking system 1 of the present invention as illustrated in fig2 , the safety braking system 1 mounted to the head tube 96 is comprised of two arc levers 10 , 20 pivoted to each other at a pivoting point 30 ; two brake cables 93 are connected to one side of both arc levers 10 , 20 to form a primary mechanism . on the opposite side of the pivoting point 30 are respectively provided with two rollers 11 , 21 to form a secondary power transmission mechanism . now referring to fig3 , each roller 11 , 21 includes a larger wheel a and smaller wheel b with each provided with a groove on its edge ; both larger wheels a hold the lead cable 952 of the rear wheel brake ; and both smaller wheels b hold the lead cable 951 of the front wheel brake . according to the operating status respectively illustrated in fig4 and 5 , a distance between centers of both rollers 11 , 21 is designated as l 1 when the brake cable 93 connected to the brake lever is not yet pulled as illustrated in fig4 ; when the brake cable 93 is pulled in a direction marked by an arrow g 1 in fig5 , a braking force is created to move the primary mechanism comprised of both arc levers 10 , 20 . the primary mechanism transfers the braking force to the secondary power transmission mechanism , and the distance between both centers of rollers 11 , 21 disposed on the opposite side of both arc levers 10 , 20 relatively increase to that as designated by l 2 . meanwhile , both of the lead cable 952 of the rear brake held by both larger wheels a of two rollers 11 , 21 and the lead cable 951 of the front brake held by both smaller wheels b of two rollers 11 , 21 create a pull force ( as designated by arrows g 2 and g 3 ) for the secondary power transmission mechanism to respectively transfer the braking force to the front and the rear brakes ; and the rear wheel brake 942 will first brake the rear wheel before the front wheel brake 941 applying a brake on the front wheel . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in fig6 and 7 , a safety braking system 2 is disposed with a holding base 40 fixed to the head tube 96 ; an upper roller 41 and a lower roller 42 are provided on the holding base 40 ; the lower roller 42 may be provided as a stationary roller or a roller permitted to move downwardly ; the upper roller 41 against the lower roller 42 displaces along a channel disposed on the holding base ; and the brake cable 93 of the brake lever is directly connected to the upper roller 42 . when the brake lever is applied , the brake cable 93 pulls the upper roller 42 to move upwardly . each of both the upper and the lower rollers 41 , 42 includes a larger wheel a and a smaller wheel b each having a groove along its edge ; both larger wheels a hold a lead cable 952 of the rear brake and both smaller wheels b hold a lead cable 951 of the front brake ; and both lead cables 951 , 952 pass through a lead cable holding frame 44 . according to an operating status respectively illustrated in fig8 and 9 , a relative distance between both centers of the upper and the lower rollers 41 , 42 is designated as l 3 as illustrated in fig8 when a brake cable 93 connected to a brake lever is not yet pulled . when the brake cable 93 is pulled in a direction marked by an arrow g 4 as illustrated in fig9 , a braking force is created , the upper roller 41 moves upward for the relative distance between both centers of the upper and the lower rollers 41 , 42 is increased up to l 4 ; and the braking force is transferred to both lead cables 951 , 952 respectively of the front and the rear brakes . meanwhile , both of the lead cable 952 of the rear brake held by both larger wheels a of two rollers 11 , 21 and the lead cable 951 of the front brake held by both smaller wheels b of two rollers 11 , 21 create a pull force ( as designated by arrows g 5 and g 6 ) and the rear wheel brake 942 will first brake the rear wheel before the front wheel brake 941 applying a brake on the front wheel . alternatively , the safety braking system 2 of the present invention is mounted to at where appropriately between the right and the left handlebars 91 or the stem 94 connecting both handlebars and the head tube ; and the safety braking system 2 may be mounted horizontally as illustrated in fig1 or vertically as illustrated in fig6 . the brake cable of the brake lever may be connected to a rack , i . e ., the primary mechanism ; and a gear set connected to both rollers bits the rack . each roller includes a larger wheel and a smaller wheel with each having a groove along its edge , and a distance between both centers of two rollers relatively increases when the brake cable pulls both rollers on the rack , a variable summary design of the present invention protected by a patent . according to another preferred embodiment yet of the present invention as illustrated in fig1 , 12 . the safety braking system 2 mounted to the head tube 96 has two arc levers 10 , 20 pivoted to each other at a pivoting point 30 . one side of both arc levers 10 , 20 is connected to a brake cable 93 of the brake lever to form a primary mechanism ; on the opposite side of the pivoting point 30 are respectively provided with two rollers a , b , with each having a groove along its edge , to form a secondary power transmission mechanism . both wheels a hold a lead cable 952 of the rear wheel brake and another two wheels b hold a lead cable 951 of the front wheel brake . as illustrated , when the brake cable 93 connected to the brake lever is not pulled , a distance between both centers of two wheels a is designated as l 5 and a distance between both centers of two wheels b , l 6 . when the brake lever is applied by a rider to pull the brake cable 93 in a direction marked g 7 as illustrated in fig1 , a braking force is generated for the primary mechanism comprised of both arc levers to move for transferring the braking force to the secondary power transmission mechanism and both distances l 5 , l 6 on the opposite side of both arc levers increase up to that respectively designated as l 7 and l 8 . meanwhile , both of the lead cable 952 of the rear brake held by both wheels a and the lead cable 951 of the front brake held by both wheels b create a pull force ( as designated by arrows g 8 and g 9 ) for the secondary power transmission mechanism to respectively transfer the braking force to the front and the rear brakes ; and the rear wheel brake 942 will first brake the rear wheel before the front wheel brake 941 applying a brake on the front wheel . in the preferred embodiment , a distance d 1 between an axes of the wheel a and the pivoting point 30 is greater than d 2 , a distance between an axis of the wheel b and the pivoting point . according to the law of tangent of trigonometric function : 2 ⁢ d 1 × sin ⁢ ⁢ θ 1 2 = l ⁢ ⁢ 5 2 ⁢ d 2 × sin ⁢ ⁢ θ 1 2 = l ⁢ ⁢ 6 therefore , when θ 1 is enlarged to θ 2 , both distances l 7 , l 8 between wheels a and wheels b are respectively : 2 ⁢ d 1 × sin ⁢ ⁢ θ 2 2 = l ⁢ ⁢ 7 2 ⁢ d 2 × sin ⁢ ⁢ θ 2 2 = l ⁢ ⁢ 8 accordingly , when d 1 is greater than d 2 , the distance increased between two wheels a is greater than that between two wheels b . that is , amount of change in the length of the lead cable 952 is greater than that of the lead cable 951 , so that when both brake levers are pulled at the same time , the rear wheel brake operates first to brake . referring to fig1 and 14 , a locating mechanism is disposed to both arc levers 10 , 20 to allow both wheels a , b to adjust their positions on the arc levers as desired . as illustrated in fig1 , multiple holes 101 , 201 are provided on both arc levers 10 , 20 ; and a locking member s penetrates through selected holes 101 , 102 on both arc levers 10 , 20 and those wheels each having a groove along its edge to secure both arc levers 10 , 20 to those wheels . the locking member s may be related to a screw or a fast connector . alternatively as illustrated in fig1 and 15 , a chute f and a slide v combined with and placed in the chute f are disposed on each of both arc levers . when a locking member s is released , the wheel slides in the chute f to reach a preset location , and the locking member s pulls closer the slide v to compress with those wheels on a wind f 1 of the chute f so to locate the arc levers to those wheels . the locking member s may be related to a screw or a fast connector . with the locating mechanism , the rider may adjust the position of each wheel having a groove along its edge according to his / her particular riding behavior to achieve the optimal braking effects . now referring to fig1 , one wheel a and one wheel b on one arc lever are locked at a same point ( concentrically ) to achieve purpose of having the amount of change of the lead cable 952 become greater than that of the lead cable 951 thus to allow the rear wheel brake connected to the lead cable 952 to act first . furthermore , as illustrated in fig1 , both ends respectively of the lead cable 951 and the lead cable 952 are directly fixed to the arc lever 20 to achieve the same purpose . the preferred embodiment illustrated in fig1 and 17 may be provided with the same locating mechanism as that mounted to the preferred embodiment illustrated in fig1 , 14 , and 15 to achieve the purpose of adjusting the position of each wheel having a groove along its edge on the arc levers . the safety braking system 2 of the present invention may be mounted to where appropriately between both handlebars 91 , on the stem 94 that connects both handlebars 91 and the head tube vertically or horizontally . it is to be noted that the preferred embodiments disclosed in the specification and the accompanying drawings are not limiting the present invention ; and that any construction , installation , or characteristics that is same or similar to that of the present invention should fall within the scope of the purposes and claims of the present invention .	1
the present invention can best be understood by reference to the attached figure . it will be understood that the invention is not thereby intended to be limited to the specific embodiment shown , and that the scope of the invention includes alternatives , modifications and equivalents of the depicted embodiment encompassed in the appended claims . referring now to the figure , radial flow reactor 1 contains an annular fixed bed 2 of subdivided contact material longitudinally traversed by perforate center pipe 3 along the axis of the bed . if desired , center pipe 3 may be covered with a screening material . center pipe 3 is supported at its lower end by socket 4 in the lower end of cylindrical vessel 7 . the top of fixed bed 2 is covered by cover 5 . the sides of the bed are supported and retained by screen material 6 . screen 6 rests upon support ring 17 and extends vertically within vessel 7 generally coextensively with the perforated length of center pipe 3 . although screen 6 may in its simplest form be cylindrical , forming with the wall of vessel 7 an annular longitudinal passageway , another commonly used construction for screen 6 is the &# 34 ; scalloped &# 34 ; screen arrangement in which the screen has a scalloped appearance when viewed in transverse section . fixed bed 2 and screen 6 enclosed by vessel 7 , and the top of vessel 7 is provided with access manway 8 . inside manway 8 is a fluid inlet distributor 9 which is connected with the usual process piping outside of the reactor . at the bottom of the reactor , a conduit 10 may be provided for withdrawing subdivided contact material from bed 2 , and a conduit 11 may be provided for sampling the contact material . an outlet passageway 12 communicating with the socket 4 for center pipe 3 is provided in vessel 7 for removing liquid effluent from the reactor . concrete refractory material 13 is provided at the lower end of vessel 7 . refractory material may also be provided on the inside of cylindrical sidewalls of vessel 7 . attached to a lower portion of screen 6 are feet 14 which project into bed 2 and are spaced apart from refractory material 13 . feet 14 support a portion of the weight of some of the contact material above them in bed 2 . at a lower portion of center pipe 3 , a disk - shaped flange 15 rests upon support ring 16 which is fixed to a lower portion of center pipe 3 . flange 15 supports a portion of the weight of some of the contact material above it in bed 2 . the open space between feet 14 or flange 15 and refractory material 13 may be filled with a resilient filler material to keep the space free from contact material . other restraining means which may be used in place of feet or flanges include shelves or annular sections of flanges . whichever restraining means is chosen , it should have a horizontally projecting surface for supporting at least a substantial portion of the weight of said contact material . a flange surrounds a member and may be of any suitable shape , for example , discoid , polygonal , rectangular , or irregular . an annular section of a flange only partially surrounds a member . a shelf is a horizontal projection , usually but not necessarily rectangular in shape . a foot is a shelf positioned at the lower end of a member . the restraining means is operably attached to said member at a lower portion thereof . the restraining means may be releasably attached to the member , for example , by means such as bolts and screws , or when the restraining means is a flange , by resting it upon a support ring fixed to the member just underneath the flange . alternatively , the restraining means may be permanently attached to said member by such methods as welding , if such is desired . when the member is a center pipe , it is preferable for the restraining means to be releasably attached . the substantially horizontal portion of the restraining means should be adapted to receive at least a substantial portion of the force exerted by gravity on the contact material . a &# 34 ; substantial portion of the force exerted by gravity &# 34 ; is sufficient force to counterbalance the force causing upward movement of the member . the surface area necessary to receive this force will vary , depending upon such factors as the service to which the apparatus is put , particle depth , density , and the angle of repose , which in turn depends upon particle size and shape . the surface area needed for a particular member may be determined readily by calculation or experiment . a representative area of the restraining means surface may vary from 0 . 005 to 0 . 1 times the surface area of said member in contact with the contact material , and preferably the range is from 0 . 015 to 0 . 04 . the weight of the contact material on the restraining means of the present invention acts to countermand upward vertical movement of the member . the restraining means of the present invention apparently acts as an anchor which forces the neutral point ( point of no movement ) of the member to remain at or very near the same location during thermal expansion as during contraction and thereby prevents net movement of the member . this explanation is not considered definitive , only illustrative , and applicants do not wish to be bound by it . the following example is a comparison between a reactor of traditional design and one which employs the hold - down device of the present invention . a radial flow catalytic reforming reactor has a removable center pipe 57 cm ( 22 . 5 inches ) outside diameter and a removable scalloped particle - retaining screen , each section (&# 34 ; scallop &# 34 ;) of which is approximately 25 cm ( 10 inches ) across and 10 cm ( 4 inches ) wide at the ends . the scallops are supported by a scallop support cylinder at the lower end of the reactor . the center pipe is supported by a 9 cm ( 3 . 5 inch ) deep , slightly tapered socket at the lower end of the reactor . the reactor contains a fixed bed of extruded catalyst having a 1 . 6 mm ( 1 / 16 inch ) nominal diameter , a 6 mm ( 1 / 4 inch ) average length , an apparent bulk density of about 0 . 6 grams per cc and a depth of 8 . 2 meters ( 27 feet ). the reactor was placed in service and while in service was subjected to a number of thermal cycles of up to 500 ° c . ( 900 ° f .). after nine months in operation , the reactor was removed from service and inspected . the center pipe was found to have risen out of its socket , causing a loss of almost two tons of catalyst . the scallops were found to have risen from 18 to 23 cm ( 7 to 9 inches ), allowing catalyst to fill the space between the scallops and the vessel wall , thus causing a further decrease in the level of the catalyst bed . the cover plate over the catalyst was jammed in place by the center pipe and scallops at 5 to 12 . 7 cm ( 2 to 5 inches ) above its normal level , preventing an inspection of the vessel interior until the catalyst was removed . the following modifications are made to the reactor : ( a ) a support ring 70 cm ( 27 . 5 inches ) outside diameter and 1 . 26 cm ( 1 / 2 inch ) thick is welded to the center pipe at a location about 2 cm ( 3 / 4 inch ) above the top of the socket . a flange having an inside diameter of 65 cm ( 25 . 6 inches ), an outside diameter of 107 cm ( 42 inches ) and a thickness of 2 . 5 cm ( 1 inch ) is placed on the supporting ring ; ( b ) at the bottom of each scallop , at the side facing the catalyst bed , a foot having the following dimensions is welded : 46 cm ( 18 inches ) long , about 23 cm ( 9 inches ) wide and 3 . 8 cm ( 11 / 2 inches ) thick . the foot has a slight taper in the direction of the center pipe . the reactor is placed into service , and withdrawn from service after a number of temperature cycles have taken place . upon inspection of the reactor , no apparent upward movement of either the scallops or the center pipe is found . thus , the restraining means of the present invention prevents unwanted upward movement during thermal cycles of a member in an apparatus filled with contact material . although only specific arrangements and modes of construction and operation of the present invention have been described and illustrated , numerous changes could be made in those arrangements and modes without departing from the spirit of this invention . all such changes that fall within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be embraced thereby .	1
the present invention relates to the use of cyclopentane heptan ( ene ) oic acid , 2 - thiocarbamoyloxy and 2 - carbamoyloxy as therapeutic agents , e . g . as ocular hypotensives . the compounds used in accordance with the present invention are encompassed by the following structural formula i : wherein the substituents and symbols are as hereinabove defined . the dotted line on the bond between carbons 5 and 6 ( c - 5 ) indicates a single or double bond . if two solid lines are used at c - 5 , it indicates a specific configuration for that double bond . a preferred group of the compounds of the present invention includes compounds that have the following structural formula ii : wherein n is 0 or 1 , 2 or 4 ; hatched lines at position c - 8 , c - 9 and c - 11 indicate the α configuration ; and the triangle at position c - 12 represents β orientation . preferably y is ═ o . more preferably , ar is selected from the group consisting of phenyl , furyl and thienyl . in compounds of formula iii , preferably x is — or 1 or n ( r 1 ) 2 and y is ═ o , e . g . the 1 - position is a carboxylic acid or carboxylamide radical . preferably x is oh , nh 2 , nhc 2 h 5 or nhc 2 h 4 oh the above compounds of the present invention may be prepared by methods that are known in the art or according to the working examples below . the compounds , below , are especially preferred representative of the compounds of the present invention . a pharmaceutically acceptable salt is any salt which retains the activity of the parent compound and does not impart any deleterious or undesirable effect on the subject to whom it is administered and in the context in which it is administered . of particular interest are salts formed with inorganic ions , such as sodium , potassium , calcium , magnesium and zinc . pharmaceutical compositions may be prepared by combining a therapeutically effective amount of at least one compound according to the present invention , or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt thereof , as an active ingredient , with conventional ophthalmically acceptable pharmaceutical excipients , and by preparation of unit dosage forms suitable for topical ocular use . the therapeutically efficient amount typically is between about 0 . 0001 and about 5 % ( w / v ), preferably about 0 . 001 to about 1 . 0 % ( w / v ) in liquid formulations . for ophthalmic application , preferably solutions are prepared using a physiological saline solution as a major vehicle . the ph of such ophthalmic solutions should preferably be maintained between 6 . 5 and 7 . 2 with an appropriate buffer system . the formulations may also contain conventional , pharmaceutically acceptable preservatives , stabilizers and surfactants . preferred preservatives that may be used in the pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention include , but are not limited to , benzalkonium chloride , chlorobutanol , thimerosal , phenylmercuric acetate and phenylmercuric nitrate . a preferred surfactant is , for example , tween 80 . likewise , various preferred vehicles may be used in the ophthalmic preparations of the present invention . these vehicles include , but are not limited to , polyvinyl alcohol , povidone , hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , poloxamers , carboxymethyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose and purified water . tonicity adjustors may be added as needed or convenient . they include , but are not limited to , salts , particularly sodium chloride , potassium chloride , mannitol and glycerin , or any other suitable ophthalmically acceptable tonicity adjustor . various buffers and means for adjusting ph may be used so long as the resulting preparation is ophthalmically acceptable . accordingly , buffers include acetate buffers , citrate buffers , phosphate buffers and borate buffers . acids or bases may be used to adjust the ph of these formulations as needed . in a similar vein , an ophthalmically acceptable antioxidant for use in the present invention includes , but is not limited to , sodium metabisulfite , sodium thiosulfate , acetylcysteine , butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene . other excipient components which may be included in the ophthalmic preparations are chelating agents . the preferred chelating agent is edentate disodium , although other chelating agents may also be used in place or in conjunction with it . ingredient amount (% w / v ) active ingredient about 0 . 001 - 5 preservative 0 - 0 . 10 vehicle 0 - 40 tonicity adjustor 1 - 10 buffer 0 . 01 - 10 ph adjustor q . s . ph 4 . 5 - 7 . 5 antioxidant as needed surfactant as needed purified water as needed to make 100 % the actual dose of the active compounds of the present invention depends on the specific compound , and on the condition to be treated ; the selection of the appropriate dose is well within the knowledge of the skilled artisan . the ophthalmic formulations of the present invention are conveniently packaged in forms suitable for metered application , such as in containers equipped with a dropper , to facilitate the application to the eye . containers suitable for dropwise application are usually made of suitable inert , non - toxic plastic material , and generally contain between about 0 . 5 and about 15 ml solution . the invention is further illustrated by the following non - limiting examples , which are summarized in the reaction scheme of fig1 wherein like numbers refer to the same compounds . phenylisocyanate ( 68 μl , 0 . 63 mmol ) was added to a solution of 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( 76 . 5 mg , 0 . 68 mmol ) and alcohol 1 ( 250 mg , 0 . 57 mmol ) in thf ( 3 . 0 ml at 23 ° c . after 16 h the reaction was concentrated in vacuo and the residue was purified by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 3 : 1 hexane / etoac ) to afford the title compound . a solution of bis - thp ether 2 a obtained above and pyridinium p - toluenesulfonate ( 150 mg , 0 . 60 mmol ) in meoh ( 6 . 0 ml ) was stirred at 23 ° c . for 12 h . the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was diluted with etoac and washed with 1n hcl , saturated aqueous nahco 3 and brine . the organic portion was dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ) of the residue provided 208 mg ( 93 % over two steps ) of the title compound . a mixture of ester 3 a ( 64 mg , 0 . 163 mmol ) and lithium hydroxide ( 0 . 66 ml of a 0 . 5 n solution in h 2 o , 0 . 33 mmol ) in thf ( 1 . 3 ml ) was stirred at 23 ° c . for 12 h . the reaction was acidified with 1n hcl and extracted with etoac . the organic portion was washed with brine ( 2 ×), dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was purified by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 9 : 1 etoac / meoh ) to afford 55 . 3 mg ( 90 %) of the title compound . according to the procedures described for 2 a the reaction of alcohol 1 ( 275 mg , 0 . 63 mmol ), 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( 83 . 6 mg , 0 . 75 mmol ), and benzylisocyanate ( 99 . 3 mg , 0 . 75 mmol ) afforded 182 . 6 mg ( 51 %) of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 2 : 1 hexane / etoac ). according to the procedures described for 3 a the reaction of bis - thp ether 2 b ( 240 mg , 0 . 42 mmol ) and pyridinium p - toluenesulfonate ( 100 mg , 0 . 40 mmol ) afforded 153 . 1 mg ( 90 %) of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 1 : 1 hexane / etoac ). according to the procedures described for 4 a the reaction of ester 3 b ( 40 mg , 0 . 99 mmol ) and lithium hydroxide hydroxide ( 0 . 40 ml of a 0 . 5 n solution in h 2 o , 0 . 20 mmol ) afforded 35 . 6 mg ( 92 %) of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). according to the procedures described for 2 a the reaction of alcohol 1 ( 300 mg , 0 . 68 mmol ), 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( 153 . 0 mg , 1 . 36 mmol ), and benzylthioisocyanate ( 0 . 14 ml , 1 . 02 mmol ) afforded 380 . 3 mg ( 95 %) of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 3 : 1 hexane / etoac ). according to the procedures described for 3 a the reaction of bis - thp ether 2 c ( 380 . 3 mg , 0 . 65 mmol ) and pyridinium p - toluenesulfonate ( 200 mg , 0 . 7 8 mmol ) afforded 246 . 4 mg ( 91 %) of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 1 : 1 hexane / etoac ). according to the procedures described for 4 a the reaction of ester 3 c ( 60 mg , 0 . 142 mmol ) and lithium hydroxide ( 0 . 57 ml of a 0 . 5 n solution in h 2 o , 0 . 29 mmol ) afforded 9 . 7 mg ( 17 %) of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). according to the procedures described above in examples 1 , 2 and 3 for conversion of alcohol 1 to 4 a , the use of ( 2 - thiophen - 2 - ylethylimino ) ethenone afforded 80 mg of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). according to the procedures described above in examples 1 , 2 and 3 for conversion of alcohol 1 to 4 a , the use of ( butylimino ) ethenethione in refluxing thf afforded 20 mg of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). according to the procedures described above in examples 1 , 2 and 3 for conversion of alcohol 1 to 4 a , the use of ( 3 - chlorobenzylimino ) ethenethione in refluxing thf afforded 30 . 5 mg of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). according to the procedures described above in examples 1 , 2 and 3 for conversion of alcohol 1 to 4 a , the use of ( 3 - trifluoromethylbenzylimino ) ethenone afforded 20 mg of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). according to the procedures described above in examples 1 , 2 and 3 for conversion of alcohol 1 to 4 a , the use of ( 3 - trifluoromethylbenzylimino ) ethenethione in refluxing thf afforded 22 . 7 mg of the title compound after purification by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac ). ( 3 - chlorobenzylimino ) ethenethione ( 826 . 6 mg , 4 . 5 mmol ) was added to a solution of alcohol 5 ( 717 mg , 1 . 54 mmol ) and 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( 345 . 5 mg , 3 . 08 mmol ) in thf ( 10 ml ) and refluxed for 24 h . the mixture was concentrated in vacuo and the residue was purified by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 2 : 1 hex / etoac ) to afford 614 mg ( 63 %) of the above titled compound . a solution of ester 6 ( 614 mg , 0 . 97 mmol ) and lithium hydroxide ( 62 mg , 1 . 5 mmol ) in thf / h 2 o ( 1 : 1 , 20 ml ) was stirred at 23 ° c . for 72 h . the mixture was acidified with 1n hcl and extracted with etoac . the organic portion was washed with brine , dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo to give 430 mg of the above titled compound . ( 3 - chlorobenzyl ) thiocarbamic acid o -[( 1s , 2r , 3s , 5r )- 2 -[( z )- 6 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl - carbamoyl ) hex - 2 - enyl - 3 , 5 - bis -( tetrahydropyran - 2 - yloxy ) cyclopentylmethyl ] ester ( 8 a ) a solution of acid 7 ( 60 mg , 0 . 10 mmol ) and triethylamine ( 30 mg , 0 . 30 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 2 ml ) was cooled to 0 ° c . and ethylchloroformate ( 11 μl , 0 . 12 mmol ) was added . after 0 . 5 h ethanolamine ( 7 . 2 μl , 0 . 12 mmol ) was added and the reaction was allowed to warm to room temperature for 12 h . the reaction was diluted with etoac and washed with 1n hcl , saturated aqueous nahco 3 and brine . the organic portion was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . purification of the residue by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac followed by 19 : 1 etoac / meoh ) provided 40 mg of the above titled compound . ( 3 - chlorobenzyl ) thiocarbamic acid o -{( 1 s , 2r , 3 s , 5r )- 3 , 5 - dihydroxy - 2 -[( z )- 6 -( 2 - hydroxyethylcarbamoyl ) hex - 2 - enyl ] cyclopentylmethyl } ester ( 9 a ) a solution of bis - thp ether 8 a ( 40 mg , 0 . 062 mmol ) and pyridinium p - toluenesulfonate ( 5 mg ) in meoh ( 1 . 5 ml ) was stirred at 23 ° c . for 16 h . the solvent was removed in vacuo and the residue was diluted with etoac and washed with 1n hcl , saturated aqueous nahco 3 and brine . the organic portion was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered and concentrated in vacuo . purification of the residue by flash column chromatography ( silica gel , 100 % etoac followed by 9 : 1 etoac / meoh ) provided 20 mg of the above titled compound . according to the procedures described above in examples 17 and 18 acid 7 was converted with use of ethylamine to 30 mg of the above titled compound . according to the procedures described above in examples 17 and 18 acid 7 was converted with use of ammonia to 10 mg of the above titled compound . certain of the above compounds were tested for activity in the various in vitro assays described below and the results are reported in table 1 , below . activity at different prostanoid receptors was measured in vitro in isolated smooth muscle preparations . fp - activity was measured as contraction of the isolated feline iris sphincter . activity was also measured as relaxation of smooth muscle of isolated rabbit jugular vein a preparation which appears to contain a unique pgf 2α - sensitive receptor provisionally termed fp vasc . tp - vasoconstrictor activity was measured as contraction of rings of the isolated rat thoracic aorta . other potential therapeutic applications are in osteoporosis , constipation , renal disorders , sexual dysfunction , baldness , diabetes , cancer and in disorder of immune regulation . many examples also have pronounced activity at the fp receptor , provisionally termed fp - associated with the vascular endothelium in the rabbit jugular vein preparation . since such agents would be vasodilators they have potential in hypertension and any disease where tissue blood perfusion is compromised . such indications include , but are not limited to , systemic hypertension , angina , stroke , retinal vascular diseases , claudication , raynauds disease , diabetes , and pulmonary hypertension . the effects of the compounds of this invention on intraocular pressure are also provided in fig3 and 4 . the compounds were prepared at the said concentrations in a vehicle comprising 0 . 1 % polysorbate 80 and 10 mm tris base . dogs were treated by administering 25 μl to the ocular surface , the contralateral eye received vehicle as a control . intraocular pressure was measured by applanation pneumatonometry . dog intraocular pressure was measured immediately before drug administration and at 6 hours thereafter . the compounds of examples 9 and 12 both lowered intraocular pressure . the compounds of the invention may also be useful in the treatment of various pathophysiological diseases including acute myocardial infarction , vascular thrombosis , hypertension , pulmonary hypertension , ischemic heart disease , congestive heat failure , and angina pectoris , in which case the compounds may be administered by any means that effect vasodilation and thereby relieve the symptoms of the disease . for example , administration may be by oral , transdermal , parenterial , subcutaneous , intravenous , intramuscular , intraperitoneal , transdermal , or buccal routes . the compounds of the invention may be used alone , or in combination with other of the known vasodilator drugs . the compounds of the invention may be formulated into an ointment containing about 0 . 10 to 10 % of the active ingredient in a suitable base of , for example , white petrolatum , mineral oil and petroatum and lanolin alcohol . other suitable bases will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . the pharmaceutical preparations of the present invention are manufactured in a manner which is itself known , for example , by means of conventional dissolving or suspending the compounds , which are all either water soluble or suspendable . for administration in the treatment of the other mentioned pathophysiological disorders . the pharmaceutical preparations which can be used orally include push - fit capsules made of gelatin , as well as soft , sealed capsules make of gelatin and a plasticizer such as glycerol or sorbitol . the push - fit capsules can contain the active compounds in liquid form that may be mixed with fillers such as lactose , binders such as starches , and / or lubricants such as talc or magnesium stearate and , optionally , stabilizers . in soft capsules , the active compounds are preferably dissolved or suspended in suitable liquids , such as in buffered salt solution . in addition , stabilizers may be added . in addition to being provided in a liquid form , for example in gelatin capsule or other suitable vehicle , the pharmaceutical preparations may contain suitable excipients to facilitate the processing of the active compounds into preparations that can be used pharmaceutically . thus , pharmaceutical preparations for oral use can be obtained by adhering the solution of the active compounds to a solid support , optionally grinding the resulting mixture and processing the mixture of granules , after adding suitable auxiliaries , if desired or necessary , to obtain tablets or dragee cores . suitable excipients are , in particular , fillers such as sugars , for example lactose or sucrose , mannitol or sorbitol , cellulose preparations and / or calcium phosphates , for example tricalcium phosphate or calcium hydrogen phosphate , as well as binders such as starch , paste using for example , maize starch , wheat starch , rich starchy , potato starch , gelatin , tragacanth , methyl cellulose , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , and / or polyvinyl pyrrolidone . if desired , disintegrating agents may be added such as the above - mentioned starches and also carboxymethyl - starch , crosslinked polyvinyl pyrrolidone , agar , or algenic acid or a salt thereof , such as sodium alginate . auxiliaries are , above all , flow - regulating agents and lubricants , for example , silica , talc , stearic acid or salts thereof , such as magnesium stearate or calcium stearate , and / or polyethylene glycol . dragee cores are provided with suitable coatings which if desired , are resistant to gastric juices . for this purpose , concentrated sugar solutions may be used , which may optionally containing gum arabic , talc , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyethylene glycol and / or titanium dioxide , lacquer solutions and suitable organic solvents or solvent mixtures . in order to produce coatings resistant to gastric juices , solutions of suitable cellulose preparations such as acetylcellulose phthalate or hydroxypropylmethyl - cellulose phthalate , are used . dye stuffs or pigments may be added to the tables or dragee coatings , for example , for identification or in order to characterize combinations of active compound doses . suitable formulations for intravenous or parenteral administration include aqueous solutions of the active compounds . in addition , suspensions of the active compounds as oily injection suspensions may be administered . aqueous injection suspensions may contain substances which increase the viscosity of the suspension include , for example , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , soribitol , and / or dextran . optionally , the suspension may also contain stabilizers . the foregoing description details specific methods and compositions that can be employed to practice the present invention , and represents the best mode contemplated . however , it is apparent for one of ordinary skill in the art that further compounds with the desired pharmacological properties can be prepared in an analogous manner , and that the disclosed compounds can also be obtained from different starting compounds via different chemical reactions . similarly , different pharmaceutical compositions may be prepared and used with substantially the same result . thus , however detailed the foregoing may appear in text , it should not be construed as limiting the overall scope hereof ; rather , the ambit of the present invention is to be governed only by the lawful construction of the appended claims .	2
fig1 is a schematic view showing a pixel portion of a liquid crystal display device which forms one embodiment of the present invention . in the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention , to enhance viewing angle characteristics , such as transmittance , contrast , and the like , the rubbing treatment direction is set to a direction ( direction shown by an arrow 4 ) parallel to a long side direction of comb - shaped electrodes 2 . accordingly , in the off state where no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal 3 , the liquid crystal 3 is homogeneously aligned parallel to the long sides of the comb - like electrodes 2 as shown by black matted portions . due to such a constitution , when the conductive member 1 is tilted by an angle θ 4 relative to the direction of the long side of the comb - like electrode between the comb - like electrodes , in the on state , the electric field in the vicinity of the surface of the electrode substrate 5 is formed in the directions indicated by numerals 11 d , 11 e and 11 f and hence , the liquid crystal 3 is twisted in the direction shown by white matted portions in a stable manner . therefore , the formation of the reverse twisted region at the distal ends of the comb - like electrodes can be suppressed . fig2 ( a ) and fig2 ( b ) are cross - sectional views showing the pixel portion of the liquid crystal display device which is an example of the embodiment of the present invention . fig2 ( a ) shows the off state where liquid crystal molecules 3 are homogeneously aligned as shown by black matted portions . further , fig2 ( b ) shows the on state where the electric fields are generated not only between the comb - like electrodes 2 but also between the comb - like electrodes 2 and the conductive members 1 in the vicinity of the surface of the electrode substrate 5 . due to the electric fields which are formed between the comb - like electrodes 2 and the conductive members 1 , the liquid crystal gives rise to a stable twisting thereof in a constant direction . then , the twisting of the liquid crystal is further largely increased by the strong electric field formed between the comb - like electrodes 2 . the constitution and the method for manufacturing the liquid crystal display device ( pixel size : 100 μm × 300 μm ) of the present embodiment are as follows . firstly , the comb - like electrodes 2 and the conductive members 1 are formed by sputtering and patterning chromium with photolithography on the electrode substrate 5 . in the comb - like electrodes , the elongated electrode portions have a length of 250 μm , a width of 5 μm and a thickness of 100 nm respectively . the distance between a pair of opposing elongated electrode portions which face each other in an opposed manner is 15 μm . the size of the conductive members 1 is set to a width of 1 μm , a length of 120 μm , and a thickness of 80 nm . the long sides of the conductive members 1 make an angle θ 4 of 5 ° relative to the long sides of the comb - like electrodes . a horizontal alignment layer al1000 of jsr ltd . is formed on the comb - like electrodes 2 and the conductive members 1 by a transfer method ( flexography ). further , a horizontal alignment layer al1000 of jsr ltd . is also formed on the counter substrate 6 by the transfer method ( flexography ). both substrates are subjected to the homogeneous alignment layer treatment by rubbing them in the alignment layer treatment direction indicated by an arrow 4 , that is , in the direction parallel to the long sides of the comb - like electrodes . subsequently , these substrates are combined while sandwiching resin - made spacers between them such that a gap between them becomes 4 . 0 μm and a p type liquid crystal having a double refractive index anisotropy δn of 0 . 08 ( 589 nm , 20 ° c .) and a dielectric anisotropy δε of + 12 . 0 is injected into the gap . then , the polarization film 8 b having a transmission axis perpendicular to the long side direction of the comb - like electrodes is adhered to the electrode substrate 5 side and the polarization film 8 a which becomes the “ crossed nicols ” state relative to the polarization film 8 b is adhered to the counter electrode 6 side . subsequently , a backlight 10 is disposed at the electrode substrate 5 side so as to prepare the liquid crystal display device . the pretilt angle in the used alignment film and the used liquid crystal is 2 °. fig7 shows the distribution of the equi - potential lines and the direction of the applied electric field around the conductive member 1 in the vicinity of the surface of the electrode substrate 5 when the liquid crystal display device is at the on state . in the drawing , numeral 14 indicates the equi - potential lines and numeral 15 indicates the direction of the applied electric field . as can be understood from the drawing , in the vicinity of the surface of the electrode substrate 5 , the equi - potential lines 14 between the electrodes are aligned in parallel with the long side direction of the conductive member 1 due to the conductive member 1 formed between the comb - like electrodes 2 , and the applied electric field direction 15 is not perpendicular to the long sides of the comb - like electrodes 2 . accordingly , even when the alignment layer treatment direction is parallel to the long sides of the electrodes ( perpendicular in case of using n type liquid crystal ), the liquid crystal layer is uniformly twisted ( in the clockwise direction in the drawing ) so that the twisting direction of the liquid crystal layer can be controlled in a stable manner . with respect to the liquid crystal display device having the above - mentioned constitution , the aligning condition of the liquid crystal molecules are observed by using a polarizing microscope . from the result of the experiment , it has been confirmed that , in the off state , the liquid crystal molecules 3 are aligned in the alignment layer treatment direction as indicated by black matted portions in fig1 and that , in case the voltage is applied , the twisting deformation is generated in the direction controlled by the direction of the conductive member 1 ( direction indicated by white matted portions in fig1 ). further , fig8 shows the viewing angle characteristics of the liquid crystal display device of the present invention , wherein numeral 22 indicates equi - contrast lines at a contrast ratio of 10 and numeral 23 indicates equi - contrast lines at a contrast ratio of 15 . ez contrast 160 d made of eldim ltd . is used to measure the viewing angle . as a result , the equi - contrast lines become symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction . the contrast ratio of 15 is achieved at 80 ° in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction . further , no color change is observed in all directions . although the conductive members 1 are arranged on the electrode substrate 5 on which the comb - like electrodes are formed in the embodiment 1 , the conductive members 1 may be formed on the surface of the counter electrode 6 at relative positions which correspond to the comb - like electrodes . due to such a constitution , as in the case of the embodiment 1 , the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized . further , although the conductive member 1 is made of chromium having a width of 1 μm , a length of 120 μm and a thickness of 80 nm in the embodiment 1 , the conductive member 1 may be formed of a transparent ito ( indium tin oxide ) having a width of 3 μm , a length of 120 μm and a thickness of 80 nm . by using the transparent material , the decrease of aperture ratio by the conducive members can be prevented and the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized and hence , the front face transmitted light amount at the on state ( at the time of the white display ) can be enhanced . further , although the conductive member 1 is made of chromium having a width of 1 μm , a length of 120 μm and a thickness of 80 nm in the embodiment 1 , the conductive member 1 may be formed of chromium having a width of 3 μm , a length of 120 μm and a thickness of 80 nm . in this case , although the front face transmitted light amount at the on state ( at the time of white display ) may be decreased by approximately 15 %, the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized as in the case of the embodiment 1 . further , although a plurality of conductive members 1 sandwich the comb - like electrode and are formed in the symmetric directions in the embodiment 1 , as shown in fig9 the conductive members 1 may be formed in the same direction within the pixel and can realize the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction as in the case of the embodiment 1 . as shown in fig1 , the shape of the conductive member 1 may be formed of chromium having a width of 1 μm , a length of 240 μm and a thickness of 80 nm and an angle which the long side of the conductive member 1 relative to the long side of the comb - like electrode maybe set to 3 °. in this case , although there exists a possibility that the intensity of the front face transmitted light at the on state ( at the time of the white display ) is reduced by several % due to the disclination in the periphery of the reverse twisting region which occurs in the vicinity of the comb - like electrodes , the symmetric viewing angle characteristics in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized as in the case of the embodiment 1 . further , as shown in fig1 , the shape of the conductive members 1 is formed of a thin line having a width of 1 μm , a length of 30 μm and a thickness of 80 nm and an angle which the long side of the conductive member 1 and the long side of the comb - like electrode make may be set to 25 °. in this case , although there exists a possibility that the drive voltage is increased by approximately 20 %, the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized as in the case of the embodiment 1 . further , the shape of the conductive members 1 may be formed of chromium having a width of 1 μm , a length of 120 μm and a thickness of 150 nm and the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized as in the case of the embodiment 1 . further , as the aligning layer 7 , al3000 made by jsr ltd . can be used in place of al1000 . in this case , although there exists a possibility that the intensity of the front face transmitted light at the on state ( at the time of the white display ) is reduced by several % due to the disclination in the periphery of the reverse twisting region which occurs in the vicinity of the comb - like electrodes , the symmetric viewing angle characteristics in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized as in the case of the embodiment 1 . further , in this embodiment , although the thickness of the conductive members 1 is set to approximately 80 nm , it has been already confirmed that so long as the thickness of the conductive members 1 is set to approximately not more than 100 nm , the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized . still further , in the above embodiment , when the angle made by the long side of the conductive member 1 and the long side of the comb - like electrode 2 approaches 25 °, there is a possibility that the drive voltage of the liquid crystal display device which can realize the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction is elevated by approximately 20 %. however , it has been already confirmed that in case the angle which the long side of the conductive member 1 and the long side of the comb - like electrode 2 make is held approximately from 5 ° to 20 °, it substantially does not bring about the elevation of the drive voltage and hence , an effect that the contrast is improved can be obtained . the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention has the effect that by forming conductive members between the comb - like electrodes , the liquid crystal display device which is capable of suppressing the disclination is obtained . in the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention , by setting the angle which the long side of the conductive member and the long side of the comb - like electrode make to not less than 5 ° and not more than 20 °, the rubbing treatment direction can be set to a direction parallel to the long side direction of the comb - like electrode and hence , the viewing angle characteristics which are symmetric in an up and down direction as well as in a left and right direction can be realized . accordingly , the effect that the viewing angle characteristics in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction which are essential for the display device are improved can be obtained . in the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention , the conductive member is made of transparent material and hence , the reduction of aperture ratio of the liquid crystal display device which is caused by the conductive member can be suppressed . accordingly , it gives rise to an effect that the luminance at the time of the white display can be increased so that the high contrast can be obtained . in the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention , by restricting the width of the conductive member 1 to not more than 3 μm , even in case the conductive member is made of opaque or non - transparent material , the reduction of aperture ratio of the liquid crystal display device due to the conductive members can be suppressed to approximately not more than 20 %. accordingly , it gives rise to an effect that the luminance at the time of the white display can be increased so that the high contrast can be obtained . in the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention , the conductive members are formed in a plurality of directions within one pixel and hence , the twisting deformation of the liquid crystal layer can be induced in a plurality of directions within one pixel . accordingly , it gives rise to an effect that the color change which is generated in the specific viewing directions can be suppressed .	6
referring now to the drawing , and in particular to fig1 in a preferred embodiment the junction block 10 of the invention provides a t - connection to a communication line . ( other configurations such as an l - connetion or a four port connection can be provided , by appropriate modifications of the junction block described .) the network line 12 described herein comprises an outer insulation 14 , a shield 16 within the outer insulation , and at least two conductors 18 and 22 , each conductor being separately enclosed in an insulation layer 20 or 24 , and carried within shield 16 . shield 16 may be a conductive braid or foil . a network line of shielded twisted pair , coaxial cable , or of other similar type , may also be used with the junction block of the invention . block 10 comprises a base 26 and cover 28 , mutually engageable to define junction block body 10 in an assembled condition . in the assembled condition of block 10 , the block provides at least two , and in a preferred embodiment three , line - entrance structures connecting the interior and exterior of block 10 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 structures 34 and 36 are generally aligned , and admit sections of the main network line ( 12 - 1 and 12 - 2 ), while structure 38 admits the drop line ( 12 - 3 ). referring now to fig7 base 26 has an interior floor 30 and perimeter wall portions 32 . base floor 30 provides first bus receiving means 40 comprising elements 40 - 1 , 40 - 2 , 40 - 3 , 40 - 4 , 40 - 5 , and 40 - 6 . an electrically conductive shield bus 42 is positioned generally vertically with respect to base floor 30 in first bus receiving means 40 , and is heat - staked to base floor 30 at elements 43 and 45 . in the preferred embodiment , bus 42 is u - shaped as seen in , for example , fig2 or 7 , and comprises two leg portions 80 and 82 and an included portion 85 between them , portions 80 , 82 and 85 being of generally equal length . in the assembled condition of block 10 , shield bus portions 80 , 82 and 85 together define a generally rectangular area 41 , in the plane of floor 30 , effectively enclosed within bus 42 , but open on its fourth side ( along a line connecting means 40 - 1 and 40 - 6 ). bus 42 is seen in unfolded form in fig5 the fold lines being indicated by dashed lines . bus 42 has a lower edge 39 and an upper edge 41 of uneven height , and in the preferred embodiment provides three major slots 44 , 46 , and 48 in the taller portions of bus 42 , and two minor slots 50 and 52 in the shorter portions , all opening from upper edge 41 . each bus portion ( 80 , 82 , 85 ) provides one of the major slots 44 , 46 , 48 . when the lower edge 39 of bus 42 is positioned in bus receiving means 40 , each major slot is aligned with a line - entrance structure and extends generally vertically away from base floor 30 , as seen , for example , in fig1 . thus major slot 48 is aligned with line - entrance structure 34 ; major slot 44 is aligned with line - entrance structure 36 ; major slot 46 is aligned with line - entrance structure 38 . each major slot is sized to displace the outer insulation 14 and engage the shield 16 of a network line . in the preferred embodiment , in the assembled condition of the junction block , shield bus receiving means components 40 - 1 and 40 - 2 are adjacent major slot 48 , shield bus receiving means components 40 - 3 and 40 - 4 are adjacent major slot 46 , and shield bus receiving means components 40 - 6 and 40 - 5 are adjacent major slot 44 . all the receiving means components extend upwardly from base floor 30 and are of a height generally equal to that of the shield bus at a major slot . by this means , support is provided to bus 42 particularly at the major slots , stiffening bus 42 for the insulation displacement process . considerable force is required to penetrate the insulation 14 of a network line of the kind described . the described bus receiving means structure makes possible the use of a lighter stock than otherwise could be employed . in a preferred embodiment , a phosphor bronze stock 20 / 1000 inch thick has been used . the described configuration of the shield bus , being taller adjacent the major slots and shorter adjacent the minor slots , can be used because of the advantageous support provided by the first bus receiving means , and by reducing the quantity of metal employed in the junction block reduces its cost , without degrading the quality of the connection achieved . means 40 is spaced inwardly of perimeter wall portions 32 , thereby providing room for the placement of resistors , as will be described . base floor 30 further provides conductor bus receiving means . in the preferred embodiment , adapted for use with a two - conductor network line , there are two conductor buses 54 and 56 ( fig2 ). conductor bus 54 is seen in fig4 by way of example ; conductor bus 56 is identical to it . each of conductor buses 54 and 56 has a lower edge 55 and an upper edge 64 , and provides at least one slot 62 opening from upper edge 64 . in the preferred embodiment , five slots 62 are provided . each slot 62 is sized to displace the inner insulation 20 or 24 and engage the conductor 18 or 22 of a network line . in the assembled condition of block 10 , lower edge 55 of conductor bus 54 is positioned in conductor bus receiving means 58 of base 26 ; lower edge 55 of conductor bus 56 is positioned in conductor bus receiving means 60 ( fig2 or fig7 ). the conductor buses are retained in the bus receiving means by an interference fit . means 58 and 60 are so positioned as to place conductor buses 54 and 56 in close proximity to shield bus 42 in the assembled condition of the junction block . such an arrangement is effective to minimize electrical noise generation from the junction in the network line . further , conductor bus receiving means 58 and 60 preferably receive buses 54 and 56 in such a manner that the bus lower edges 55 are spaced inwardly from the inner surface of base floor 30 . by this means , should it be desirable in a particular application of the junction block of the invention , an additional conductive shield plate ( not shown ) can be placed adjacent the inner surface of floor 30 , in electrical contact with shield bus 42 , while buses 54 and 56 are spaced from it , maintaining electrical isolation between the conductor buses and the shield plate . in the preferred embodiment , shield bus 42 and conductor buses 54 and 56 are symmetrically placed with respect to a line of symmetry , indicated by the dashed line 74 ( fig2 ). in particular , each of buses 54 and 56 is positioned at the same distance from shield bus 42 and in the same orientation with respect to it . further , conductor buses 54 and 56 are placed adjacent the open fourth side of area 81 effectively enclosed by shield bus 42 . in the preferred embodiment , the two conductor buses 54 and 56 are oriented by means 58 and 60 to define a &# 34 ; v &# 34 ;, the point of the v being a continuation of the lines of the buses , which do not , of course , make contact with one another . the ends 88 and 90 of buses 54 and 56 are the portions of the buses that approach one another most closely . accordingly , the electric field between buses 54 and 56 is strongest adjacent ends 88 and 90 , and is less strong away from these ends . according to a preferred embodiment of the invention , at least the ends 88 and 90 of buses 54 and 56 are placed within area 81 effectively enclosed by shield bus 42 . such an arrangement tends desirably to limit the radiation of electrical energy from the junction block . referring now particularly to fig6 cover 28 has an inner surface 66 , and provides on inner surface 66 conductor keepers 68 and 70 . in the assembled condition of the junction block , conductor keeper 68 is generally aligned with conductor bus 56 , and conductor keeper 70 is generally aligned with conductor bus 54 . in a preferred embodiment , each conductor keeper comprises two extended parallel bosses , spaced apart to permit the conductor bus upper edge 64 to be placed between them ; the bosses extend towards base floor 30 by a distance less than the depth of a slot 62 . in the preferred embodiment , block base 26 provides three network line receiving slots 76 , extending from base perimeter wall 32 inwardly . block cover 28 provides for each slot 76 a corresponding network line retaining leg 78 , extending , as most clearly seen in fig1 , downwardly from cover 28 and received in the corresponding slot 76 in the block assembled condition to comprise one of the line - entrance structures 34 , 36 or 38 . legs 78 and slots 76 together define a polarized assembled position of cover 28 with respect to base 30 . preferably , as seen in fig1 , slot 76 provides a surface 84 concave away from base floor 30 , while leg 78 provides a surface 86 concave away from cover 28 . each of surfaces 84 and 86 provide a plurality of ridges 94 oriented parallel with the direction of extension of the line - entrance structure from exterior to interior of block 10 ; in the assembled condition of the block , ridges 94 engage the outer insulation 14 of the network line , as seen in fig1 , and limit or prevent its rotation within the line - entrance structure . ridges 94 of surfaces 84 and 86 together comprise line rotation - limiting structure . such structure advantageously reduces the possibility that exterior twisting forces on the line will dislodge the shield and inner conductors from their respective buses , thereby degrading the connection . in assembling the junction block , the base and cover are separated . depending on the configuration to be used , the network line and the drop line , as appropriate , are prepared for assembly . the block can be used for a t - connection , as shown in the drawings , in which case two network line ends and a drop line end are prepared . alternatively , in the end position of the network line , only one network line end and a drop line end are assembled . if the junction block is employed for splicing , no drop line end is assembled . a conventional stripper tool is used to remove the outer insulation and with it the conductive sheath from the two severed ends of the line . no special preparation of the braid is required . the network line is forced into the insulation displacement ( major ) slots of shield bus 42 , using a needlenose pliers or other suitable tool to exert the needed force . shield bus 42 thereby engages shield 16 . the drop line is similarly assembled to the block . the free ends of the inner conductors require no special preparation . according to indicia preferably displayed on the inner surface of base floor 30 , the blue insulated conductors of the the lines are forced into any of slots 62 in conductor bus 54 ; the white insulated conductors are forced into any of slots 62 of conductor bus 56 . cover 28 is then assembled to base 26 . retaining legs 78 are received in slots 76 , and ridges 94 engage outer insulation 14 of the lines to secure the lines against twisting caused by external forces . keepers 68 and 70 overlap the corresponding conductor buses and retain the engaged conductors within slots 62 . if the block is used to terminate the line , no drop line is assembled to it . in this case suitable resistors are used to simulate a full line , as is well understood in the art . one resistor 96 is connected between any of slots 62 in conductor buses 54 and 56 ; a second resistor is connected between a minor slot 50 or 52 in shield bus 42 and either of the conductor buses . in an embodiment of the invention suitable for use with communications line having more than two inner conductors , for example , a line having three conductors , an additional conductor bus may be provided in base 26 , for example , aligned along the axis of symmetry 74 . all of a first color ( or otherwise designated class ) of conductor are connected together by conductor bus 54 ; all of a second class are connected together by conductor bus 56 ; all of the third class of conductor are connected together by the third conductor bus . further conductors may be accommodated by obvious modification of the junction block disclosed herein , employing the advantageous structures of the invention . the assembled block is mounted to a building stud by a screw through turret 92 . in alternative embodiments , where greater ruggedness is desired , additional assembly screws may be employed .	7
an unfunctionalized polyolefin is conventionally a homopolymer or a copolymer of alpha - olefins or of diolefins , such as for example : alpha - olefins , advantageously those having from 3 to 30 carbon atoms , which include polypropylene , 1 - butene , 1 - pentene , 3 - methyl - 1 - butene , 1 - hexene , 4 - methyl - 1 - pentene , 3 - metlhyl - 1 - pentene , 1 - octene , 1 - decene , 1 - dodecene , 1 - tetradecene , 1 - hexadecene , 1 - octadecene , 1 - eicocene , 1 - dococene , 1 - tetracocene , 1 - hexacocene , 1 - octacocene and 1 - triacontene . these alpha - olefins may be used individually or as a mixture of two or more of them ; polyethylene homopolymers and copolymers , in particular high - density polyethylene ( hdpe ), low - density polyethylene ( ldpe ), linear low - density polyethylene ( lldpe ), very low - density polyethylene ( vldpe ) and metallocene polyethylene , that is to say polymers obtained by the copolymerization of ethylene with an alpha - olefin , such as propylene , butene , hexene or octene in the presence of a single - site catalyst generally consisting of a zirconium or titanium atom and of two alkyl cyclic molecules linked to the metal . more specifically , the metallocene catalysts are usually composed of two cyclopentadiene rings linked to the metal . these catalysts are frequently used with aluminoxanes as cocatalysts or activators , preferably methylaluminoxane ( mao ). hafinium may also be used as the metal to which the cyclopentadiene is attached . other metallocenes may include transition metals of groups iva , va and via . metals from the lanthanide series may also be used : dienes , such as for example 1 , 4 - hexadiene ; propylene homopolymers or copolymers ; ethylene / alpha - olefin copolymers , such as ethylene / propylene copolymers , ethylene - propylene - rubber ( epr ) and ethylene / propylene / diene monomer ( epdm ) elastomers ; blends of polyethylene with an epr or an epdm ; styrene / ethylene - butene / styrene ( sebs ), styrene / butadiene / styrene ( sbs ), styrene / iso - prene / styrene ( sis ) and styrene / ethylene - propylene / styrene ( seps ) block copolymers ; and copolymers of ethylene with at least one product chosen from salts or esters of unsaturated carboxylic acids , such as alkyl ( meth ) acrylates ( for example methyl acrylate ), or vinyl esters of saturated carboxylic acids , such as vinyl acetate ( eva ) or vinyl propionate , the proportion of comonomer possibly reaching 40 % by weight . examples that may be mentioned include ethylene copolymers , such as copolymers obtained by high - pressure radical polymerization of ethylene with vinyl acetate , of ( meth ) acrylic esters of ( meth ) acrylic acid and of an alcohol having from 1 to 24 , and advantageously 1 to 9 , carbon atoms . the term “ polyolefins ” is also understood to mean blends of two or more of the abovementioned polyolefins . ethylene / alkyl ( meth ) acrylate copolymers may be more particularly used as olefin copolymer according to the invention , it being possible for the alkyls to have up to 24 carbon atoms , and preferably 10 carbon atoms , and to be linear , branched or cyclic . examples of alkyl acrylates or methacrylates are preferably methyl methacrylate , methyl acrylate , ethyl methacrylate , ethyl acrylate , n - butyl acrylate , isobutyl acrylate , 2 - ethylhexyl acrylate and cyclohexyl acrylate . among these ( meth ) acrylates , methyl acrylate , ethyl acrylate and n - butyl acrylate are preferred . advantageously , these copolymers comprise from 2 to 40 %, and preferably 3 to 35 %, by weight of alkyl ( meth ) acrylate . their mfi ( melt flow index ) is advantageously between 0 . 1 and 50 g / 10 min ( measured at 190 ° c . and at a load of 2 . 16 kg according to astm d 1238 ). their weight - average molecular weight m w is preferably equal to 30 000 or higher . these copolymers may be manufactured by high - pressure autoclave or tube radical polymerization . according to a preferred embodiment of the invention , these compositions are obtained by compounding , preferably by extrusion , in the form of masterbatches . these may preferably have organophilic filler contents of at least 20 %, and ranging up to about 90 %, by weight . the term “ nanofillers ” thus denotes particles of any shape having at least one of their dimensions of the order of one nanometer . advantageously , these are lamellar exfoliable fillers . in particular , the lamellar exfoliable fillers are silicates and especially organophilic treated clays . these clays , which are in the form of sheets , are rendered organophilic by intercalation between them of swelling agents , which are organic molecules or polymers , and are obtained in particular using the process as described in patent us 5 578 672 . preferably , the clays used are of the smectite type , either of natural origin , such as in particular montmorillonites , bentonites , saponites , hectorites , fluorohectorites , beidellites , stibensites , nontronites , stipulgites , attapulgites , illites , vermiculites , halloysites , stevensites , zeolites , diatomaceous earths and mica , or of synthetic origin , such as permutites . for example , mention may be made of the organophilic clays described in patent us 6 11 7 932 . preferably , the clay is modified by an organic substance by ionic bonding with an onium ion having 6 or more carbon atoms . if the number of carbon atoms is less than 6 , the organic onium ion is too hydrophilic and therefore the compatibility with the olefin copolymer may decrease . examples of organic onion ions that may be mentioned include : hexylammonium ions , octylammonium ions , 2 - ethylhexylammonium ions , dodecylammonium ions , laurylammonium ions , octadecylammonium ( stearylammonium ) ions , dioctyldimethylammonium ions , trioctyl - ammonium ions , distearyldimethylammonium ions , stearyltrimethylammonium ions and ammonium laurate ions . other ions may be used , such as phosphonium or sulfonium ions . amphoteric surfactants , derivatives of aliphatic , aromatic or arylaliphatic amines , phosphines and sulfides may also be used . it is recommended to use a clay having the highest possible area of contact with the polymer . the larger the contact area , the greater the separation between the clay lamellae . the cation exchange capacity of the clay is preferably between 50 and 200 milliequivalents per 100 g . if the capacity is less than 50 , there is insufficient onium ion exchange and it may be difficult to separate the clay lamellae . on the other hand , if the capacity is greater than 200 , the bonding force between the clay lamellae is so high that separation of the lamellae may be difficult . examples of clays that may be mentioned include : smectite , montmorillonite , saponite , hectorite , beidellite , stibensite , nontronite , vermiculite , halloysite and mica . these clays may be of natural or synthetic origin . the proportion of organic onium ion is advantageously between 0 . 3 and 3 equivalents of the ion exchange capacity of the clay . if the proportion is less than 0 . 3 , separation of the clay lamellae may be difficult . if the proportion is greater than 3 , there may be degradation of the polymer . the proportion of organic onium ion is preferably between 0 . 5 and 2 equivalents of the ion exchange capacity of the clay . these organophilic clays have a high capability of being dispersed in polymeric media with a low shear rate and they modify the rheological behavior of these media . however , types of lamellae fillers , such as zirconium or titanium phosphates , may be used according to the invention . another subject of the invention is the use of the compositions according to the invention in the form of masterbatches , the introduction of which into thermoplastic olefin resins such as polyethylene or polypropylene , by extrusion , gives them improved thermomechanical properties , intrinsic to what are called “ nanocomposite ” filled resins . preferably , the thermoplastic resin is a polyethylene chosen from the group comprising high - density polyethylene , low - density polyethylene , linear lower - density polyethylene , very low - density polyethylene and polyethylene obtained by metallocene catalysis . however , other types of polyolefins , such as those described above , and especially alpha - olefin homopolymers or copolymers , are also suitable . the applicant has found that parts or articles obtained by injection - molding such a nanofilled thermoplastic resin exhibit mechanical properties , such as the dynamic elastic modulus or the tensile modulus , which are substantially improved over those of the thermoplastic resin with no additive . furthermore , the materials obtained from the thermoplastic resin compositions according to the invention exhibit high barrier properties with respect to fluids , that is to say a reduced permeability to said fluids , which may be gases or liquids . these materials , hereafter called barrier materials , may be used in particular in the field of food packaging and in the field of transporting and storing liquids , such as solvents or hydrocarbons . among the gases to which the barrier materials present a low permeability , mention may especially be made of oxygen , carbon dioxide and water vapor . such an oxygen / carbon dioxide barrier material is of considerable interest for applications in the packaging field , especially for packaging food . as liquids to which the material has to be impermeable , mention may be made of hydrocarbon compounds , such as solvents or gasoline ( s ), and one advantageous application of said materials is in the automobile field , in particular from a manufacture of fuel tanks or fuel supply tubing . lotryl ® 29ma03 , an ethylene copolymer containing . 29 % methyl acrylate by weight , with an mfi of3 g / 10 min ( measured at 190 ° c ./ 2 . 16 kg according to astm d 1238 ); lotryl ® 28ma07 , an ethylene copolymer containing 28 % methyl acrylate by weight , with an mfi of 7 g / 10 min ( measured at 190 ° c ./ 2 . 16 kg according to astm d 1238 ); lotryl ® 9ma02 , an ethylene copolymer containing 9 % methyl acrylate by weight , with an mfi of 2 g / 10 min ( measured at 190 ° c ./ 2 . 16 kg according to astm d 1238 ); and lacqtene ® 2040ml55 , a high - density polyethylene ( hdpe , injection - molding grade ), having a density of 0 . 955 and an mfi of 4g / 10 min ( measured at 190 ° c ./ 2 . 16 kg according to astm d 1238 ); nanomer ® 1 . 44pa clay ( montmorillonite intercalated by dimethyl dialkyl ( c 14 - c 18 ) ammonia ( 30 - 40 % by weight )); nanomer ® 1 . 31ps clay ( montmorillonite intercalated by octadecylamine ( 15 - 35 % by weight ) and y - aminopropolytriethoxysilane ( 0 . 5 - 5 % by weight )), nanocomposite pe masterbatch : nanomer ® c . 30pe ( ldpe and montmorillonite ( maximum content 50 % by weight )) from nanocor . ash content : obtained by direct calcination , that is to say by burning the organic substance and treating the residue at a temperature of 600 ° c . until a constant mass is obtained . we will distinguish the filler content corresponding to the amount of material ( organophilic clays in powder form or masterbatch in granule form ) incorporated into the masterbatch and the ash content corresponding to the mineral composition of the nanocomposite ( equivalent to the mineral part of the clay ); transmission electron microscopy ( tem ): the micrographs are obtained using an apparatus of the zeiss cem 902 type on specimen sections produced by low - temperature ultramicrotomy ; gas ( o 2 / co 2 ) permeability : permeability measurement for the purpose of determining the gas flux ( in cm 3 ) that can diffuse over 1 day through a . membrane of given area . the flux is expressed in cc / m 2 . 24 h . this measurement is carried out on an apparatus of the lissy gpm 500 type ( chromatography detection ) on 150 to 250 μm films obtained by compression molding on a darragon press ( 220 ° c ./ 100 bar maximum ); and water vapor ( h 2 o ) permeability : measured using a gravimetric method on 150 to 250 μm films obtained by compression molding on a darragon press ( 220 ° c ./ 100 bar maximum ). the purpose of the measurement is to determine the mass of water vapor ( in g ) that can diffuse through a membrane of given area ( in m 2 ) over 1 day ( astm e96 and nf iso 2528 ( august 1989 ) standards ). the first three tests were obtained by the extrusion of lotryl ® 29ma03 in the presence of the fillers nanomer ® 1 . 30p , nanomer ® i . 44pa and nanomer ® i . 3 . 1ps , respectively . this operation was carried out in two steps : coarse introduction of the clay into the lotryl ® copolymer matrix by means of the internal mixer at 100 ° c . ( material temperature : 110 to 150 ° c .) for 15 minutes followed by granulation and extrusion of the precompound in the twin - screw extruder at a temperature of 180 ° c . ( flat temperature profile ) at 60 rpm ( residence time around 2 minutes ) so as to improve the exfoliation and the dispersion of the fillers . the content of organophilic clay introduced was 20 % by weight of the compound . the compound obtained was analyzed by tem , the micrographs obtained being shown in fig1 and 3 . examination of these micrographs reveals the perfect state of exfoliation of the clay sheets and their good dispersion ( preferably in the case of nanomer ® i . 44pa and nanomer ® i .. 31ps ). a lotryl ® 29ma03 / nanomer ® i . 31ps masterbatch having an organophilic filler content of 50 % by weight was also produced according to the procedure described in examples 1 to 3 . the ash content measured was 27 . 6 %, corresponding to an effective treated - clay filler content of 42 . 4 %. the tem micrograph obtained is given in fig4 and shows good exfoliation of the clay and uniform distribution of the filler . two other masterbatches were prepared by introducing 50 % by weight of nanomer ® 144pa clay using the same procedure as in the case of examples 1 to 4 with lotryl ® 9ma02 and lotryl ® 28ma07 , respectively . the respective measured ash contents were 30 . 3 % and 30 . 2 %, corresponding to effective treated - clay filler contents of 47 . 5 % and 47 . 3 %, respectively . examination of the tem micrographs given in fig5 and 6 , respectively , shows good intercalation , and better exfoliation of the clay within the lotryl - based masterbatch than in a commercial masterbatch based on nanomer ® c . 30pe - type polyethylene ( fig7 ). the xr diffractograms show an increase in the inter - sheet distance from 25 . 2 å in the case of nanomer ® i . 44pa to 36 . 73 å and 45 å , respectively , for the lotryl ®- based masterbatches , whereas the xr diffractogram corresponding to the ldpe - based masterbatch shows only a signal at 22 - 24 å , which clearly demonstrates much greater intercalation by the polymer between the clay sheets in the case of lotryl ®. the filled materials corresponding to examples 7 to 9 were prepared , respectively , by incorporating 12 % by weight - of the masterbatches of examples 5 and 6 , or of a polyethylene ( nanomer ® c . 30pe )- based masterbatch , into a lacqtene ® 2040ml55 ( hdpe ). this incorporation was carried out using a haake 16 - type twin - screw extruder at a temperature of 200 ° c . ( material temperature varying from 210 to 235 ° c . ), with a screw rotation speed of 120 rpm and a material throughput of 500 g / h . the hdpe and the various masterbatches were introduced at a single feed in the form of a dry blend . fig8 to 10 , which show the tem micrographs at moderate magnification ( 50 000 times ) of the various hdpe - based materials ( corresponding to examples 7 and 8 and to comparative example 9 , respectively ), reveal a substantially finer state of dispersion of the fillers ( disintegration of the clay lumps ) in the first two cases ( use of the lotryl ®- based masterbatches ). the tem micrograph at a higher magnification ( 140 000 times ) of example 8 , shown in fig1 , and the results of the xr analysis ( inter - sheet distance of around 40 å ) clearly demonstrate that a nanocomposite is obtained with intercalation of the polymer matrix within the interlamellar space . in the case of the hdpe - based masterbatch , analysis of the xr diffractograms of the composite of example 9 shows a very small broadening of the interlamellar distance ( 26 . 3 a ) compared with the nanomer ® c . 30pe masterbatch ( 24 å ), corresponding to the small degree of intercalation by the pe matrix . direct introduction of 6 % nanomer ® 144pa organophilic clay into the same hdpe , with the lacqtene ® 2040ml55 reference , under the same operating conditions as those described in examples 6 to 8 , resulted in a product in which there was no intercalation of the clay , as shown by the tem micrographs ( 140 000 x magnification ) of fig1 and 13 . this absence of intercalation was also confirmed by analyzing the xr diffractograms of the composite material of comparative example 10 and of the pure nanomer ® 144pa clay . the difference in distance between clay sheets for each of the two compounds was not significant : 25 . 2 å in the case of nanomer ® 144pa and 26 . 6 å in the case of example 10 . comparative example 11 corresponds to hdpe alone ( lacqtene ® 2040ml55 ) and comparative examples 12 and 13 correspond to the respective compound of 6 % by weight of lotryl ® 9ma02 and lotryl ® 28ma07 in this same hdpe . these three products were also extruded under the same operating conditions as those described in examples 7 to 10 . to evaluate the barrier properties of the compounds of example 7 and of comparative examples 11 and 12 , tests were carried out on 150 μm thick films prepared by compression molding , so as to determine the permeability to gases h 2 o , o 2 and co 2 . the results are indicated in table 1 below . it will be noted that the addition of a small amount of lotryl ( amorphous pe ) results in an increase in the permeability ( ex . 12 compared with ex . 11 ). the change in permeability is with reference to the corresponding control specimen , namely ex . 11 in the case of ex . 10 and ex . 12 in the case of ex . 7 . it should be noted that there is a significant increase in impermeability ( ⅓ change ) in the case in which the clay is introduced in the form of a lotryl ®- based masterbatch . the better dispersion of the fillers within the material , obtained by using the lotryl ® masterbatch , leads to better results in terms of impermeability .	2
in accordance with the invention , instead of an operator manually entering the variables for each server , the process is largely automated . the individuals items of data needed by the load balancer ( parameters ) will vary for different load balancing schemes . for instance , in a web site having only one server group with each clone in that group being able to perform all tasks , the load balancer would not necessarily need to perform any content - based routing . other factors that would affect the type and amount of data needed by the load balancer in order to perform load balancing include ( 1 ) session and or cookie affinity rules , if any applied at the server farm , ( 2 ) time of day rules , if any , applied at the server farm , ( 3 ) server health information , which is typically made available by polling of a health url and ( 4 ) all content - based rules . the foregoing is merely exemplary and other possible variables would be well known to persons of skill in the art of web development . in accordance with the invention , all of the jewels needed by the load balancer are stored in a file , preferably in the data format used by the server farm for communications over the network to which it is coupled . for instance , in a web server farm , the configuration files might be in html or xml format . in at least one preferred embodiment , the health information remains in a separate health url and the configuration file contains the health url ( i . e ., the address of the file containing the health information , not the health information itself ). the load balancer would then retrieve the file at the health url in a separate get operation after it determines the health url from the configuration file . also in a preferred embodiment of the invention , each server contains the configuration file in its own memory having a path in accordance with a predefined standard . for instance , that standard path may be the server address in the server farm followed by the file name config . htm . the invention has at least two major advantages . first , it eliminates the need for the operator of the load balancer to manually enter the information . this saves time and also reduces or eliminates errors in data entry . secondly , the operator does not need to have in - depth knowledge of the web site in order to properly configure the load balancer since the manufacturer of the server can provide the information needed by the load balancer within the memories of the servers when they are delivered to the web site operator . either at predetermined intervals or in response to events that are either manually detected or automatically detected by the load balancer , the load balancer 210 can run a configuration ( or reconfiguration ) operation in which all of the configuration files are polled to retrieve all the variables used in defining the load balancing algorithm software 226 . examples of events that might be automatically detected by the load balancer 210 are a server going down , and instantaneous traffic volume at the server farm . either of the above also might be manually detected . examples of events that typically would be manually detected , but could be automatically detected , if desired , include the addition or removal of a server or server group from the server farm and / or the intentional bringing down of a server , such as may be necessary for routine and / or unscheduled maintenance . among clones , the variables in the configuration file will largely be the same . one notable exception is that the session affinity cookies will be unique to each server . fig2 is a flowchart illustrating a load balancing configuration / reconfiguration operation in accordance with at least one preferred embodiment of the present invention . it is merely exemplary and many other embodiments are possible and would be apparent those of skill and the art . in step 100 , the load balancer software 220 is initialized by manually inputting the address information of all of the servers in the server farm . this includes their cluster address ( their external internet protocol address ) as well as the individual server addresses within the cluster . flow then proceeds to step 102 where each server defined in the initialization process will be individually polled for its configuration file assuming there are servers that have not yet been polled , process flows from step 102 to step 104 . of course , after the last server has been polled , the process simply flows from step 102 to step 128 where the process is terminated . in step 104 , the load balancer software 220 sends an http request , for instance , “ get / _svr_lb_ . cfg http / 1 . 0 ”, for the configuration file of the particular server which is being polled in this round , where “ svr_lb ” is the particular server path . the load balancer software 220 then waits for a reply . in step 108 , it determines whether it received a proper reply or a “ http / 1 . 0 404 not found ” reply . if it receives a 404 reply , flow proceeds to step 116 where the load balancer software 220 generates an error report and stores it in an error log in its memory . flow then returns to step 104 to determine whether there are any other servers that need to be polled . if , on the hand , the server returns a proper reply in step 108 , flow proceeds to step 110 , where the load balancer software 220 validates the received data . the validation process essentially can comprise checking whether the data is in the proper language and includes an expected minimum set of parameters . if the data is not valid , then flow proceeds to step 116 , where error information is written to the error log . flow then proceeds back to step 102 to determine whether there are any more servers which must be polled . if , on the other hand , the data is validated in step 110 , flow proceeds to step 112 . in step 112 , the load balancer software 220 configures its load balancing algorithm software 226 in accordance with the parameters that were read out of the configuration file for that particular server . flow then proceeds to step 114 , where that server is brought on line . step 114 is not necessarily a function of the load balancing software 220 . nevertheless , it is shown in the flow chart for sake of completeness . load balancer 210 also includes a cpu 230 , ram 232 and rom 234 and bus 236 , and a disk storage 238 coupled to the bus . load balancer software 220 and load balancing algorithm software 226 are stored on disk storage 238 for execution by cpu 230 via 232 . having thus described a few particular embodiments of the invention , various alterations , modifications , and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art . such alterations , modifications and improvements as are made obvious by this disclosure are intended to be part of this description though not expressly stated herein , and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the foregoing description is by way of example only , and not limiting . the invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and equivalents thereto .	7
illustrative embodiments of the present invention will be described below from the perspective of a file and its context menu ; however , it is to be understood that principles of this invention are generally applicable to other context structures associated with other computer objects . it is realized that the file context menu is a very handy tool to perform operations on files in a file system , such as is supported by an operating system . the context menu depends upon the type of file and , in some cases , some applications are able add their own items . however , existing context menus are not dependent on the content of the files with which they are associated . since a given file extension can contain two types of files , principles of the invention realize that it would be advantageous for each file to have its own context menu wherein content of the files is taken into account in creating the separate context menus . thus , a main idea of the present invention is to enable customization of file context menu based on file content analysis . before describing detailed methodologies for achieving such an advantageous result , we give a few examples of files and how they are treated with respect to existing context menu approaches : 1 . mp3 files can contain voice and music . files which contain voice might have options which are not relevant to music , such as transcription , and vice versa . however , under existing approaches , they are treated the same way from the file system perspective , and therefore have the same context menu . 2 . xml ( extensible markup language ) is a general file type for structured and semi - structured data . there are many types of data stored in xml files . they can be web - services , electronic health record of patients , configuration files for java project , etc . however , under existing approaches , they are treated the same way from the file system perspective , and therefore have the same context menu . principles of the invention realize that it would be better that a double - click on an electronic health record would open the file in an electronic health record viewer , while the configuration java project file would best be opened in a java integrated development environment ( ide ), e . g ., such as the open source software platform known as eclipse . 3 . java files can contain a main method and will therefore be able to be run , while some others do not . the first type would rather have a “ run ” option , while the others would not . there are many ways to determine the file type . some rely on the file extension , and some on some file content . different operating systems have traditionally taken different approaches to this problem , with each approach having its own advantages and disadvantages . among these , the well - known approaches use the file - extension , use so - called “ magic numbers ,” or use file metadata . the unix ( a trademark of the open group , san francisco , calif .) utility program file can read and interpret magic numbers from files , and indeed , the file which is used to parse the information is called magic . for windows ™, there is a freeware utility called “ trid ” that has a similar purpose . on top of these technologies , we propose to add an additional layer of content analysis in order to extend the classification granularity . the results of the analysis could be cached with the file using file system extended attributes or other mechanisms in order to offset the cost of analysis . file - system notification mechanisms such as “ inotify ” ( linux ) could be used to invalidate the cached data once the file content changed . we propose to use content analysis technologies in order to customize the file context menu according to the file classification . once files have been classified based on their content , many new operations become possible and can be added to the content - sensitive context menu , by way of example only : “ show me all other files which have pictures of grandma ,” or more generally , “ do to this file whatever i did to the last file that had the same content .” we present the following example . assume we have two xml files . an operating system would recognize them both as the same type , i . e ., xml files . however , content - based analysis would infer that : xml documents similar to the first one are opened with an application for clinical documents ; and xml documents similar to the second one are opened with a uima ( unstructured information management architecture ) plug - in of eclipse . for example , in the context menu of the two xml files respectively shown in fig1 a and 1b , the “ open ” command will open the xml files using a different application — a clinical application in fig1 a and a uima application in fig1 b . as we describe illustrative embodiments for customizing a context menu based on a content analysis , we use the following illustrative definitions : event : an event is an occurrence in a file , and is associated with a certain function of an application . example : speech , music , uima xml file , etc . function : a function is a portion of code within a larger application , which performs a specific task . example : play , transcribe , open , etc . analyzer : a program that performs tests ( one or more ) and assigns their results as events of the file . in a narrative way , such tests could answer the following questions when examining the file : “ is it a speech file ?”, “ is it a clinical document ?”, etc . the events could be , again in a narrative way , “ it &# 39 ; s a speech file ”, etc . the operating system will save such events as codes , with an appropriate name explaining the event , as shown in fig2 . application software : application software is a subclass of computer software that applies the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to tasks ( associated to functions ) that the user wishes to perform . description file : a description file is a metadata file associated to a content file f in which the events of f are stored . association file : the operating system owns a relation & lt ; event , function & gt ; storing the association between any event and the list of functions that are able to support it . this function name will appear in the context menu opened when the file is clicked . for example : when the event “ medical document ” was determined , it is associated with the function “ summarize ” of the application “ mymedicaldocument ”. this relation is being updated dynamically , and is stored as a dynamic xml document , called association file , as shown in fig2 . in accordance with an illustrative embodiment , as illustrated in fig3 , operating system 30 stores a set of one or more analyzers in container 32 which will be run on any file being uploaded to the system from applications 33 - 1 through 33 - n . when a file is uploaded to the file system , the operating system runs the set of analyzers , in order to identify the list of events 34 - 1 through 34 - p , that occur in the file . it can be done during idle time or at the time of upload . the analyzer &# 39 ; s results , i . e ., the events , are cached in a description file 35 which is associated with the file . on a modern linux file system , we could use the file &# 39 ; s extended attributes to store the analysis , and then use “ inotify ” to invalidate them when the file &# 39 ; s contents changed . the flow chart of fig4 describes the list of actions being performed when a file is uploaded to the file system . as shown , file 41 is uploaded to operating system 42 . the operating system runs a set of one or more tests being provided by analyzer 43 . a successful result from a test produces an event 44 which is being stored in the file &# 39 ; s description file 45 . as shown in fig5 , when right - clicking 52 on file 51 , the operating system reads from description file 53 the associated event ( s ) 54 and then extracts from association file 55 the relevant functions and / or applications 56 . these functions and / or applications are then added to the context menu 57 . 2 . the list of events is extracted from the description file of the file being clicked . 3 . the functions associated with the events are extracted from the association file . 4 . the functions context menu items are being added to the context menu of the file . when a new application is added to the system , the type of events it supports and the functions that will be invoked when these events are determined , are extracted from its specification . the association file is updated with the matching record of association : if the event exists , the application is added as one that supports it . if not , a new event is added to the file , associated with this application as supporting it . in this case where the event is new to the system , the application should also provide the analyzer ( s ) that , given a file , can identify whether this event occurs . furthermore , analyzers could be associated with the file based on the known metadata — e . g ., file name extension , magic signature and known patterns . on a linux machine , one could run magic ( 1 ) and then based on its output run a type - specific analyzer . the list of analyzers is handled by the operating system . in case the analyzer is new to the system , the list of analyzers is updated with the name and path of the new analyzer . referring lastly to fig6 , an exemplary implementation 60 of a computing system in accordance with which one or more components / methodologies of the invention ( e . g ., components / methodologies described in the context of fig1 - 5 ) may be implemented , according to an embodiment of the present invention . for example , the exemplary implementation may represent the computing system used to implement a customization of a context menu . as shown , the context menu customization techniques may be implemented in accordance with a processor 61 , a memory 62 , i / o devices 63 , and a network interface 64 , coupled via a computer bus 65 or alternate connection arrangement . it is to be appreciated that the term “ processor ” as used herein is intended to include any processing device , such as , for example , one that includes a cpu ( central processing unit ) and / or other processing circuitry . it is also to be understood that the term “ processor ” may refer to more than one processing device and that various elements associated with a processing device may be shared by other processing devices . the term “ memory ” as used herein is intended to include memory associated with a processor or cpu , such as , for example , ram , rom , a fixed memory device ( e . g ., hard drive ), a removable memory device ( e . g ., diskette ), flash memory , etc . it is understood that a memory device mentioned here is example of “ computer readable storage medium ,” which may constitute an article of manufacture when software instructions or code for implementing techniques of the invention are stored for execution thereon . in addition , the phrase “ input / output devices ” or “ i / o devices ” as used herein is intended to include , for example , one or more input devices ( e . g ., keyboard , mouse , scanner , etc .) for entering data to the processing unit , and / or one or more output devices ( e . g ., speaker , display , printer , etc .) for presenting results associated with the processing unit . still further , the phrase “ network interface ” as used herein is intended to include , for example , one or more transceivers to permit the computer system to communicate with another computer system via an appropriate communications protocol . thus , as mentioned above , software components including instructions or code for performing the methodologies described herein may be stored in one or more of the associated memory devices ( e . g ., rom , fixed or removable memory ) and , when ready to be utilized , loaded in part or in whole ( e . g ., into ram ) and executed by a cpu . although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various other changes and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention .	6
the present invention is an intelligent mission critical environmental monitoring and energy management system for monitoring mission critical environments with volume sensors , and using the measured data for visualization , alarming , fault detection and controlling of computer room air conditioners to ensure safe environment and energy efficiency , comprising a data acquisition system 100 , a local display and control system 200 and cloud based display and control 300 . the data acquisition system 100 is a group of sensors , gateways and routers , for sensing environmental data , conducting local data analysis and transmitting it to the database server 210 . it is comprised of a group of temperature and humidity sensor modules 110 , intelligent gateways 120 , air speed sensors 121 , particulate matter ( pm ) sensors 122 , routers 130 , bas data 150 , and power meter 140 . the temperature and humidity sensor module 110 is rigid , wireless , long life , battery powered , for collecting temperature and relative humidity data simultaneously , and wireless transmitting the data to the intelligent gateway 120 . the intelligent gateway 120 is wireless , multi - channel , multi - protocol , multi - sensor , for acquiring and processing sensor data , and transmitting data to the database server 210 through various communication protocols , coordinately connected to said temperature and humidity sensor module 110 . the air speed sensor 121 is part of the intelligent gateway 120 , for measuring air speed , firmly mounted to said intelligent gateway 120 . the pm sensor 122 is part of the intelligent gateway 120 , for measuring particulate matter , firmly mounted to said intelligent gateway 120 . the router 130 is with wifi protocol , with ethernet protocol , for receiving and transmitting the data package from the intelligent gateway 120 to the database server 210 , continuously connected to said intelligent gateway 120 . the bas data 150 is building automation system data , for supplying electrical and crac data to the database server 210 for integrated analysis , continuously connected to said router 130 . the power meter 140 is installed in racks or column of racks , for measuring electrical power and energy consumption of individual / group racks and cracs , continuously connected to said router 130 . the local display and control system 200 is comprised of data analyzer , web server 220 , adaptive group controller 230 , terminal browser 250 , for systematically analyzing volume sensor data , visualizing 3d data vividly and using the measured data to implement feedback control . the database server 210 is a mysql database and daemon in a local or wide area network , for collecting data from various sensors and organizing the data into the correct database tables , continuously connected to said router 130 . the web server 220 is in a local or wide area network , for providing internet information services to client station / terminal browsers , concurrently interconnected to said database server 210 . the web server also provides user management to allow authorized users to view and control the racks / equipment owned or rented by these users . the terminal browser 250 is compatible with internet explorer , google chrome and firefox , for providing user interactive display of measured data , calculated indices and processed data in various formats such as 2d and 3d graphs , dashboard , historical curves , tables , reports , etc ., safely interconnected to said web server 220 . the adaptive group controller 230 is a software program , using adaptive algorithm to control group of cracs , for automatically controlling each crac &# 39 ; s on / off , return temperature set point and fan speed , to secure the mission critical thermal environment for server &# 39 ; s secure running and optimizing the energy use , concurrently interconnected to said web server 220 . the computer room air conditioner 240 is the control object , for providing cooling , heating , ventilation , humidification and dehumidification to the mission critical facility , coordinately connected to said adaptive group controller 230 ; the cloud based display and control 300 is cloud database , software and apps , big data analytics , for visualizing data in the cloud and implementing cloud level control strategies . it is comprised of the cloud server 310 , client browser 320 and mobile app 330 . the cloud server 310 is an internet server and a remote daemon , for providing data storage , and processing for the data arrived from mission critical facilities distributed in the world , safely interconnected to said database server 210 . the cloud server also provides user management to allow authorized users to view and control the racks / equipment owned or rented by these users . the client browser 320 is a browser based software program , can be located anywhere , for providing user interactive display of measured data , calculated indices and processed data in various formats such as 2d and 3d graphs , dashboard , historical curves , tables , reports , etc ., safely interconnected to said cloud server 310 . the mobile app 330 a mobile device application , for providing user interactive data display similar to the client browser 320 , safely interconnected to said cloud server 310 . in some embodiments , the described systems and methods can be implemented using one or more computer systems . the system can be a microprocessor - based device , such as a personal computer , workstation , server , handheld computing device such as a phone or tablet , or distributed computing system ( e . g ., cloud computing system ). the system can include , for example , one or more processors , communication devices , input devices , output devices , storage , and / or software stored on storage and executable by the processors . the components of the computer can be connected in any suitable manner , such as via one or more physical buses or wirelessly . in some embodiments , the system may include server - side computing components as well as client - side computing components . in some embodiments , some or all components may be part of a distributed computing system ( e . g ., a cloud computing system ). in some embodiments of the techniques disclosed herein , for example , storage may be storage provisioned by a cloud computing system , such that a user may send instructions to the cloud computing system over one or more network connections , and the cloud computing system may execute the instructions in order to leverage the cloud computing components in accordance with the instructions . in some embodiments , cloud computing systems may be configured to be capable of executing the same or similar program code in the same programming languages as other systems ( e . g ., servers , personal computers , laptops , etc .) as discussed herein . the processors may be any suitable type of computer processor capable of communicating with the other components of system in order to execute computer - readable instructions and to cause the system to carry out actions in accordance with the instructions . for example , the processors may access a computer program ( e . g ., software ) that may be stored on storage and execute the program to cause the system to perform various actions in accordance with the program . in some embodiments , a computer program or other instructions executed by the processors may be stored on any transitory or non - transitory computer - readable storage medium readable by the processors . a communication device may include any suitable device capable of transmitting and receiving signals over a network , such as a network interface chip or card . system may be connected to a network , which can be any suitable type of interconnected communication system . the network can implement any suitable communications protocol and can be secured by any suitable security protocol . the network can comprise network links of any suitable arrangement that can implement the transmission and reception of network signals , such as wireless network connections , t1 or t3 lines , cable networks , dsl , or telephone lines . an input device may be any suitable device that provides input , such as a touch screen or monitor , keyboard , mouse , button or key or other actuatable input mechanism , microphone and / or voice - recognition device , gyroscope , camera , or ir sensor . an output device may be any suitable device that provides output , such as a touch screen , monitor , printer , disk drive , light , speaker , or haptic output device . storage can be any suitable device the provides storage , such as an electrical , magnetic or optical memory including a ram , cache , hard drive , cd - rom drive , tape drive or removable storage disk . software , which may be stored in storage and executed by the processors , may include , for example , the programming that embodies the functionality of the methods , techniques , and other aspects of the present disclosure ( e . g ., as embodied in the computers , servers and devices as described above ). in some embodiments , software may include a combination of servers such as application servers and database servers . software can also be stored and / or transported within any computer - readable storage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device , such as those described above , that can fetch instructions associated with the software from the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device and execute the instructions . in the context of this disclosure , a computer - readable storage medium can be any medium that can contain or store programming for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . software can also be propagated within any transport medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device , such as those described above , that can fetch instructions associated with the software from the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device and execute the instructions . in the context of this disclosure , a transport medium can be any medium that can communicate , propagate or transport programming for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the transport readable medium can include , but is not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic or infrared wired or wireless propagation medium . the system can implement any one or more operating systems suitable for operating on the network . software 112 can be written in any one or more suitable programming languages , such as c , c ++, java or python . in various embodiments , application software embodying the functionality of the present disclosure can be deployed in different configurations , such as in a client / server arrangement or through a web browser as a web - based application or web service , for example . the foregoing description , for purpose of explanation , has been described with reference to specific embodiments . however , the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the techniques and their practical applications . others skilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniques and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . although the disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying figures , it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art . such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined by the claims .	5
referring to fig1 the reference numeral 10 generally designates a vehicle air conditioning system , including a refrigerant compressor 12 coupled to a drive pulley 14 via an electrically activated clutch 16 . in the illustrated embodiment , the compressor 12 has a variable stroke for adjusting its capacity , and includes a stroke control valve 17 that is electrically activated to effect capacity control . the pulley 14 is coupled to a rotary shaft of the vehicle engine ( not shown ) via drive belt 18 , and the clutch 16 is selectively engaged or disengaged to turn the compressor 12 on or off , respectively . the system 10 further includes a condenser 20 , an orifice tube 22 , an evaporator 24 , and an accumulator / dehydrator 26 arranged in order between the compressor discharge port 28 and suction port 30 . a cooling fan 32 , operated by an electric drive motor 34 , is controlled to provide supplemental air flow through the condenser 20 for removing heat from condenser 20 . the orifice tube 22 allows the cooled high pressure refrigerant in line 38 to expand in an isenthalpic process before passing through the evaporator 24 . the accumulator / dehydrator 26 separates low pressure gaseous and liquid refrigerant , directs a gaseous portion to the compressor suction port 30 , and acts as a reservoir for the reserve refrigerant charge . in an alternative system configuration , the orifice tube 22 is replaced with a thermostatic expansion valve ( txv ); in this case , the accumulator / dehydrator 26 is omitted , and a receiver / drier ( r / d ) is inserted in line 38 upstream of the txv to ensure that sub - cooled liquid refrigerant is supplied to the inlet of the txv . the evaporator 24 is formed as an array of finned refrigerant conducting tubes , and an air intake duct 40 disposed on one side of evaporator 24 houses an inlet air blower 42 driven by an electric blower motor 43 to force air past the evaporator tubes . the duct 40 is bifurcated upstream of the blower 42 , and an inlet air control door 44 pivoted at point 46 is adjustable as shown to control inlet air mixing ; depending on the door position , outside air may enter blower 42 through duct leg 44 a as indicated by arrow 48 , and passenger compartment air may enter blower 42 through duct leg 44 b as indicated by arrow 50 . an air outlet duct 52 disposed on the downstream side of blower 42 and evaporator 24 houses a heater core 54 formed as an array of finned tubes that conduct engine coolant . the outlet duct 52 is bifurcated with the heater core 54 disposed in one air stream of duct 52 . a temperature control door 56 pivoted at a point 84 near the heater core 54 is adjustable as shown to control what proportion of air must pass through the heater core 54 . air passing through heater core 54 is indicated by the arrow 58 , while air by - passing the heater core 54 is indicated by the arrow 60 . the heated and un - heated air portions are mixed in a plenum portion 62 of outlet duct 52 downstream of temperature control door 56 , and a pair of mode control doors 64 , 66 direct the mixed air through one or more outlets , including a defrost outlet 68 , a panel outlet 70 , and a heater outlet 72 . the mode control doors 64 and 66 , pivoted at points 74 and 80 , respectively , are adjustable as shown to switch the outlet air between various combinations of defrost outlet 68 , panel outlets 70 and heater outlet 72 , as indicated by arrows 76 , 78 and 82 , respectively . the system 10 is controlled by the microprocessor - based control unit 90 based on various inputs . in the illustrated embodiment , such inputs include : passenger compartment air temperature pcat , vehicle speed vs , outside air temperature oat , and the usual operator demand inputs , such as the desired cabin temperature , and override controls for the speed of inlet air blower motor 43 . in an automatically controlled system such as illustrated in fig1 the selected blower motor speed sbms is obtained from the control unit 90 itself , which either sets sbms in accordance with a base control or in accordance with an operator override of the base control . in a manually controlled system , sbms is provided as input to control unit 90 based on the position of an operator manipulated blower motor speed selector switch ( not shown ). in response to the above - mentioned inputs , the control unit 90 develops output signals for controlling the compressor clutch 16 , the capacity control valve 17 , the condenser blower motor 34 , the inlet air blower motor 43 , and the air control doors 44 , 56 , 64 and 66 . in fig1 the output signal cl for the clutch 16 appears on line 100 , the output signal stroke for the stroke control valve 17 appears on line 102 , the output signal fc for the condenser blower motor 34 appears on line 104 , and the blower motor speed signal bmss for the controlling the speed of inlet air blower motor 43 appears on line 106 . finally , the output signal iacd for positioning the inlet air control door 44 appears on line 108 , and is applied as an input to an actuator such as stepper motor sm that is mechanically coupled to door 44 . for simplicity , output signals and actuators for the air control doors 56 , 64 , 66 have been omitted from fig1 . according to the present invention , the control unit 90 regulates the speed of inlet air blower motor 43 and the position of inlet air control door 44 based on sbms and vs so that the inlet air comprises only a predetermined amount of outside air for any combination of sbms and vs . in the preferred embodiment , the predetermined amount depends on the number of occupants of the vehicle in which the system 10 is installed . a generally accepted guideline is that at least 15 cubic - feet - per - minute ( cfm ) of outside air should be provided for each of the vehicle occupants . for example , the predetermined amount of outside air may be set to 90 cfm for a , six - passenger vehicle . at the lowest blower motor speed ( 120 cfm , for example ), the predetermined amount of outside air represents a relatively high percentage ( 75 %) of the air supplied to the cabin , whereas at the highest blower motor speed ( 300 cfm , for example ), the predetermined amount of outside air represents a relatively low percentage ( 30 %) of the air supplied to the cabin . when the system is operated in the “ recirculation ” or “ max a / c ” modes , the percent of outside air increases as vehicle speed increases . when the system is operated in the “ outside air ” mode , the total volume of air increases as the vehicle speed increases . the psychrometric chart of fig2 illustrates the significance of the above - described control . the chart depicts the absolute humidity of air as a function of dry bulb temperature , with the curved broken lines representing lines of constant relative humidity , and the straight broken lines representing lines of constant enthalpy . the various data points a , a ′, b , b ′, c and d represent the condition of air outside the vehicle , at various points in the ducts 40 , 52 , and in the passenger compartment . the point a represents a traditional system at a low blower , stabilized condition , with a dry bulb outside air temperature of 100 ° f ., at 40 % relative humidity . as the air passes through the evaporator 24 , its dry bulb temperature decreases with no change in absolute humidity until the relative humidity rises to 100 %, as depicted by the line segment a - b . as the air is further cooled , water vapor condenses on the surface of evaporator 24 , with the relative humidity remaining at 100 %. under a given set of conditions , the control unit 90 regulates the compressor stroke to control the dew point temperature of evaporator 24 to approximately 38 ° f ., so that air at the evaporator outlet is represented by the point c . then , the air is re - heated by the heater core 54 so that the air temperature in the passenger compartment has a dry bulb temperature of 72 ° f ., as represented by the point d . as the air is re - heated , its absolute humidity remains the same , but its relative humidity drops , as indicated by the line segment c - d , providing a cabin relative humidity of approximately 30 %. in accordance with the present invention , a similar cabin temperature and relative humidity level is achieved , but with reduced energy consumption , by adjusting the blower motor speed and the position of inlet air control door 44 as a function of sbms and vs , as described above . in this illustration , the outside air constitutes approximately 70 % of the inlet air mixture , and is represented by the point a ′. significantly , the enthalpy , temperature , dew point and absolute humidity of the inlet air mixture are all decreased due to the influence of the cabin air ; as a result , the net work performed by the compressor 12 to drop the temperature and humidity to the level designated by the point c is substantially reduced , as indicated by the difference in enthalpy between point a ( 42 . 6 btu / lb ) and point a ′ ( 37 . 5 btu / lb ). when the cooling capacity of the system 10 is limited ( due to low compressor speed , for example ), the passenger comfort is also improved because the inlet air mixture can be cooled and de - humidified to lower levels than outside air alone . [ 0018 ] fig3 depicts a flow diagram representative of computer program instructions executed by the control unit 90 for determining appropriate control settings door_pos and cbms for the inlet air control door 44 and the inlet air blower motor 43 . the parameter door_pos is used to schedule the output iacd on line 108 , and the parameter cbms is used to schedule the output bmss on line 106 . the block 110 is first executed to obtain the previous position command door_pos ( old ) for the inlet air control door 44 and the previous speed command cbms ( old ) for blower motor 43 . the block 112 then determines if the compressor 12 is running ( that is , whether clutch 16 is engaged ) and the system 10 is operating in a panel discharge mode , as opposed to a defrost mode , for example . if not , the control of this invention is not enabled , and the block 114 is executed to set door_pos to auto ( a position dictated by an automatic climate control algorithm carried out by control unit 90 ), and to set cbms equal to the selected blower motor speed sbms . if block 112 is answered in the affirmative , the block 116 is executed to determine if the air conditioning load is high . the outside air temperature oat is measured for control purposes , and the air conditioning load is determined by comparing oat to a reference temperature oat_ref . in other systems , an equivalent indication of high load may be obtained based on another load - indicative parameter , such as incoming air enthalpy , condenser outlet pressure or temperature , or compressor outlet pressure or temperature . in the illustrated embodiment , the reference oat_ref is initialized at a relatively high value , such as 80 degrees f ., and if oat exceeds this value ( indicating high air conditioning load ), the blocks 122 , 123 and 124 are executed to select new or target values door_pos ( new ) and cbms ( new ) for inlet air door 44 and inlet air blower motor 43 , and to set oat_ref to a lower value , such as 75 degrees f . if the load is subsequently reduced , and oat falls to the lower value , the blocks 118 , 119 and 120 are executed to set door_pos ( new ) to full outside air , to set cbms ( new ) to the commanded blower motor speed in outside air mode cbmsoa , and to restore oat_ref to the high value ( 80 degrees f .). as indicated at block 119 , cbmsoa may be determined by table look - up as a function of the selected blower motor speed sbms and the vehicle speed vs . as indicated at blocks 122 - 123 , door_pos ( new ) and cbms ( new ) under high air conditioning load are determined by table look - up as a function of the selected blower motor speed sbms and the vehicle speed vs . the table values may be determined empirically based on measured air flow through the ducts 44 a , 44 b under various combinations of sbms and vs , so that the values of door_pos ( new ) and cbms ( new ) obtained from the look - up tables will result in an inlet air mixture comprising a predetermined amount ( flow ) of outside air , as explained above . once door_pos ( new ) and cbms ( new ) have been determined , the blocks 126 , 128 , 130 , 132 , 134 , 136 are executed to carry out required changes in inlet air door position and blower motor speed at a controlled rate . the block 126 determines if the count of an inlet control timer exceeds a reference count ref . if not , blocks 128 , 130 and 132 are executed to retain the current door position and blower motor speeds ( i . e ., door_pos is set equal to door_pos ( old ), and cbms is set equal to cbms ( old )), and to increment the inlet control timer . once the count of the inlet control timer exceeds ref , the block 134 resets the inlet control timer to zero , the block 136 updates door_pos and cbms , and the block 132 increments the inlet control timer . thus , the inlet control timer limits the updating of the inlet air door position and inlet air blower motor speed during inlet air mixture control to a desired maximum rate , such as one unit of adjustment per second . [ 0022 ] fig4 illustrates block 136 of fig3 in further detail . referring to fig4 the block 150 determines the required changes in blower motor speed and inlet air door position , the blocks 152 , 154 , 156 , 158 , 160 update cbms , and the blocks 162 , 164 , 166 , 168 , 170 update door_pos . the required change δcbms in blower motor speed is determined according to the difference [ cbms ( new )− cbms ( old )], and the required change δdoor_pos in inlet air door position is determined according to the difference [ door_pos ( new )− door_pos ( old )]. in the illustrated embodiment , both the blower motor 43 and the inlet air door 44 are controlled in step - wise fashion . in the case of blower motor 43 , for example , there are a predetermined number of speed settings ( sixteen , for example ), each associated with a corresponding blower motor speed signal bmss . if block 152 determines that acbms is positive , the block 160 increments the speed setting by setting cbms equal to the sum ( cbms ( old )+ 1 ). if acbms is negative , blocks 152 and 154 will be answered in the negative , and the block 156 decrements the speed setting by setting cbms equal to ( cbms ( old )− 1 ). if δcbms = 0 , the block 158 retains the current speed setting by setting cmbs equal to cbms ( old ). similarly , if block 162 determines that δdoor_pos is positive by an amount at least as great as an actuator step in that direction motor_step_pos , the block 170 sets door_pos equal to the sum [ door_pos ( old )+ motor_step_pos ]. on the other hand , if δdoor_pos is negative by an amount at least as great as an actuator step in that direction motor_step_neg , as determined at block 164 , the block 166 sets door_pos equal to [ door_pos ( old )− motor_step_neg ]. if δdoor_pos is less than the minimum step size of actuator sm , block 168 is executed to retain the current door position by setting door_pos equal to door_pos ( old ). thus , the control unit 90 gradually adjusts the speed of blower motor 43 and the position of inlet air control door 44 under conditions of high or low air conditioning load to increase the amount of recirculated cabin air in the inlet air mixture , while retaining a predetermined amount of outside air regardless of the selected blower motor speed and the vehicle speed , thereby improving both the efficiency and performance of the air conditioning system 10 . while described in reference to the illustrated embodiment , it is expected that various modifications in addition to those mentioned above will occur to those skilled in the art . for example , the control of this invention may be applied to air conditioning systems having a fixed displacement compressor , other expansion devices , or utilizing a different capacity control methodology . also , blower motor voltage , power or current , or an anemometer , could be used instead of blower motor speed as an indicator of the desired air flow rate , and the control could also be compensated for the mode and temperature door positions . thus , it will be understood that methods incorporating these and other modifications may fall within the scope of this invention , which is defined by the appended claims .	1
attention is directed to fig1 of the drawings where the numeral 10 identifies a drilling rig . the rig will be described first to provide the context of the present invention which will be described in detail with the understanding that it is placed on a typical drilling rig where fire protection is needed . the drilling rig 10 incorporates an upstanding derrick 12 which is assumed to have four edges which extend upwardly to the crown ( not shown ). obviously , the rig can have other types of construction including the typical tilt up rig where the derrick is constructed differently . the numeral 12 identifies a rig floor which supports a drive system connected with a rotary table ( not shown ). the rig floor is located several feet above the ground and is supported on a support structure 14 . the floor is sufficiently high above the structure 14 that there is room beneath the rig floor for the bop equipment 16 . that is normally installed below the rig floor to clamp around the drill pipe . that is , the bop equipment 16 is installed around the drill pipe . there is a flow pathway downwardly through the drill string for drilling mud which is delivered by a mud pump where the mud circulates downwardly through the drill bit , and flows back up in the well . this return flow is in the annular space on the exterior of the drill pipe and the drilling fluid returns to the surface and is removed to the side for recycling . the drilling mud flow normally directs the mud through various recovery devices such as shale shakers or desanders . in addition , a degasser may also be connected with the mud flow . in any event , the bop 16 is normally located beneath the rig floor and immediately adjacent to the upper end of the borehole to operate in the intended fashion . the drilling mud is directed through the various pieces of equipment identified at 18 which includes the choke , the shaker , and other mud handling equipment . these are normally deployed in a group , and typically includes two or three mud pits . in particular , there will be a mud pump , the choke and the control equipment for the choke , degasser , desander , or shale shaker . the present apparatus is generally identified by the numeral 20 . this equipment is preferably installed somewhat remote from the rig floor 12 . in the event of fire , the fire will normally occur at two or three locations and the protective equipment 20 is located remote from these locations to assure that it is clear of the fire so that it can operate to provide fire protection . thus , the protective equipment 20 is positioned somewhat remote from the bop 16 and is also remote from the mud handling equipment indicated generally at 18 . the present apparatus is ideally portable , at least portable by means of a flatbed trailer , and to this end , it incorporates a skid 22 which supports the pump 24 and a diesel engine 26 . these are commonly mounted on a single skid . a second skid is normally included to support a fuel tank 28 . the fuel tank 28 provides sufficient fuel for operation for several days , e . g ., 7 days . the remainder of the equipment shown in the drawing is relatively small and normally located on the skid 22 as will be detailed . the fire protection equipment utilizes a large water tank 30 . preferably , a closed tank can be used , typically one that holds about 500 barrels of water . such tanks are routinely available . the tank 30 is provided with an optional heater 32 . in northern climates , it may be necessary to add the heater so that the water is sufficiently heated that it does not freeze . of course , the heater can be omitted should this not be a problem . the tank 30 is connected with a large diameter hose extending to the pump 24 . a typical pump provides an output of 1200 gallons per minute with a discharge pressure of about 130 psi . the preferred form of pump is relatively simple , and to this end , a centrifugal pump will suffice . to handle this kind of flow , a flow line 34 is connected from the tank to the pump 24 . typically , the flow line is perhaps a 6 inch suction line . the pump 24 is connected directly to the engine 26 . in the preferred form of equipment , both units are mounted on the common skid which is equipped with eyelets at the top so that the skid mounted equipment can be lifted as a unit . a suitable engine is a 6 cylinder diesel provided by cummings engine company , inc . capable of 177 bhp . this typical engine has an idle speed of about 800 rpm . it has an adjustable throttle which permits it to be set at desired speeds , and in this particular embodiment , it is operated at a continuous speed of perhaps 1500 rpm . maximum output with peak torque is obtained at about 2500 rpm . more will be noted regarding these throttle settings hereinafter . the skid mounted engine 26 normally requires a specified quantity of lubricating oil in the crank case . a supplemental lube oil supply is finished at 36 . in addition , the fuel for the engine 26 is provided by the large tank 28 mounted on a separate skid . the engine is normally operated at one of three speeds . idle speed was mentioned above and that occurs when the equipment is first switched on . the speed is set to a higher level , perhaps 1200 - 1500 rpm , by an engine control unit 40 . this accomplishes that speed simply by positioning the throttle for operation at a selected speed . the engine control unit adjusts the speed to full power at about 2500 rpm . the engine control unit is provided with a radio receiver 42 . when a signal is provided by the receiver 42 to the engine control 40 , the engine throttle is moved to the higher speed , namely 2500 rpm . this setting will be described as maximum power output . the engine control unit really has two operative states . one which is at the standby speed , and the other is at maximum power . the engine control unit is also connected with a siren or other alarm device . the siren 44 is included to provide a clear warning to rig personnel including those remote from the rig floor , e . g ., those sleeping in temporary quarters nearby . the skid 22 supports a running light 46 . the running light is duplicated at two locations . there is one immediately on the skid . it is sufficiently large that it can be viewed even in the darkest of conditions , even when obscured with fog , etc . there is a parallel light 48 which is located on the rig floor . both lights are operated when the engine 26 is running . this provides a positive signal to personnel that the equipment is operating . the rig floor is the location of two important pieces of equipment involved in the fire protection system 20 . one is the running light . it provides the clear indication to personnel on the rig floor that the equipment is successfully operating to provide a fail safe warning . thus , if the engine 26 stops operating for any reason , the lights 46 and 48 go out and that provides the necessary safety feedback for personnel . assume for purposes of description that the tool pusher is the person in charge . the tool pusher will watch the running light 48 at all times . in addition to that , the tool pusher is usually adjacent to a switch 50 which connects with the engine control unit 40 . that is , the switch can be wired directly to the engine control 40 . the switch does not switch the engine control off ; rather , it switches the equipment from the standby speed to maximum power operation . the switch 50 is connected by means of a fixed wire which is safely installed out of harms way extending from the rig floor . it is available for operation by the tool pusher at any time . a duplicate switch can be placed on the rig floor if desired so that the driller might also operate the equipment . an alternate mode of asserting control over the fire protection equipment 20 is accomplished by a hand held portable transmitter 52 . it is a portable device which communicates with the receiver 42 . it provides an alternate signal . the transmitter 52 can be implemented by means of a relative small hand held transmitter which fits in the pocket of a key or selected personnel around the rig . the transmitter 52 can be placed in the pocket of any roughneck anywhere on the rig even up in the derrick , for instance , up on the monkey board . first and second separately located switches can be included for different personnel to operate , e . g ., one for the driller , and another for the tool pusher . also , the alarm devices are at spaced locations . the present equipment utilizes selected nozzles with standpipes . a standpipe 54 supports a nozzle 56 under the rig floor 12 directed at the area of the bop 16 . in similar fashion , a standpipe 58 extends well above the rig floor and supports a nozzle 60 above the rig floor , perhaps 10 feet over the floor . a third standpipe 62 supports a nozzle 64 directed at the choke and other equipment . all three of the nozzles are directed in a fixed direction . all three are provided with an outlet to provide a broad spray as opposed to a narrow stream of water . all three are constructed with the standpipes momentarily or temporarily anchored in position and of sufficient strength to resist the reaction force that arises from operation . all three are connected by means of fire hoses line extending from the three respective standpipes to the pump 24 . the pump is provided with an outlet header which connects with the three fire hoses identified at 66 , 68 , and 70 . deployment of the equipment is accomplished along the lines described hereinabove , namely , at an early point in the drilling routine when the derrick and drilling rig are first installed and the safety equipment of the present disclosure is installed and switched on . the tanks 28 and 36 are filled and the engine is turned on . of course , the water tank 30 is also filled . it is characteristic of a centrifugal pump that it will not provide an output flow at an idle speed . accordingly , the hoses 66 , 68 , and 70 are installed by connection with the pump outlet header and are extended to the respective nozzles deployed as illustrated . these hoses are substantially empty of water at this juncture because the pump 24 has no output flow . by contrast , when the engine 26 is raised to maximum power output , the pump 24 will speed up to provide full suction at the input and will deliver several hundred gallons per minute through the three hoses . the water flows through the hoses and is delivered through the three respective nozzles to form a sprayed fog or mist of substantial water volume directed to the suspect fire areas . several options can be incorporated in the present apparatus . for instance , the number of nozzles can be varied and additional nozzles can be located as desired . in another modification , a foaming agent can be added to the water either at the tank 30 or otherwise input to the pump 24 along with the flow of water . when the water flow starts , the siren 44 is triggered . this provides an alarm device to all personnel . in addition to that , an important feature is the provision of the signal , typically a visual signal , provided by the running lights 46 and 48 . these two signals are useful to assure rig personnel at all times that the equipment is in a ready to operate condition . obviously , if the fuel tank 28 is emptied and the engine switches off for lack of fuel , the absence of that light is an alarm condition suggesting to rig personnel that they ought to stop drilling and restart that equipment to assure the continued provision of safety at the rig site . the present apparatus can provide a spray of water within about 1 . 5 seconds of providing the signal . thus , the switch 50 is operated forming a signal to the engine control unit . this changes the speed of the engine 26 and initiates water pumping from the pump 24 . there is only a modest time delay as water is drawn from the tank 30 into the pump 24 and then is delivered through the fire hoses 66 , 68 , and 70 . the 1 . 5 second time delay is typical where the hoses are approximately equal in length and are approximately 200 feet or less in length . preferably , the hoses have a nomimal size of 3 inches and the nozzles are compatible for this size . with three hoses and a nominal 3 inch nozzle , approximately 1200 gallons per minute through put can be provided . while the foregoing is directed to the preferred embodiment , the scope is determined by the claims which follow .	0
fig1 shows an exemplary view of a portion of a run of a papermaking felt . in this embodiment , the felt 10 runs in the direction of arrows 12 over various rollers ( not shown ). a high pressure oscillating needle shower 14 applies chemical to felt 10 immediately upstream of double uhle box 16 . the particular location of the high pressure shower is a matter of choice . further , various low pressure showers are typically used to treat the felt 10 . the selection and location of these is determined by the particular application , and forms no portion of the present invention . further , as shown in fig2 , a chemical feed system 40 includes apparatus to introduce one or more cleaning fluids into the high pressure flow of liquid to the oscillating shower 14 . as shown in fig2 , there are two cleaning chemical reservoirs 42 and 44 both with pumps 46 and 48 used to draw cleaning solution from reservoirs 42 and 44 and direct these upstream of a high pressure pump 50 which directs liquid , generally water , from a reservoir 51 or other source to the needle shower 14 . pumps 46 and 48 are controlled by a plc 52 which controls the amount of chemical pumped as well as the timing of the introduction of the chemicals , as discussed below . although fig2 shows two chemical reservoirs 42 and 44 , it is possible to have only one chemical reservoir with one pump , or , alternately , three or more selected chemicals . however , the selection of two chemicals , as discussed below , is preferred . according to the present invention , a cleaning chemical is forced through the high pressure needle nozzles 14 as paper is being manufactured . however , the chemicals are introduced on an intermittent basis . as discussed above , the needle showers produce a very small , approximately 0 . 04 inch diameter , spray of water at a very high pressure , generally 150 to 250 psi , directly against the felt . typically , the oscillating needle showers include a series of the needle nozzles spaced 3 inches to 6 inches apart , each with a 0 . 04 inch spray diameter . thus , at any one time , the needle shower contacts only a small portion of the felt . therefore , the nozzles are oscillated back and forth as the felt moves . over a period of time , which depends upon the speed of the felt and the speed of the oscillation , the entire felt will be uniformly contacted with the spray from the needle showers . this period of time is referred to hereinafter as the full coverage period . the needle showers themselves are operated continuously during the entire period of time that paper is being manufactured . therefore , any time that the felt is moving , the needle showers should be applying the high pressure spray of material against the felt , and should be oscillating back and forth to ensure full coverage . a cleaning solution is added intermittently through the needle showers as paper is being manufactured . the cleaning solution must be injected through the nozzles for a period of time at least equal to the full coverage period , and , preferably , for twice the full coverage period . this ensures that the entire felt is contacted with the cleaning solution . subsequent to this period of time , the addition of the cleaning solution through the needle shower is discontinued . however , the papermaking process and the application of water without cleaning solution through the needle nozzle continues . the actual duration of the full coverage period depends upon the felt rotation speed so as to achieve full coverage with the oscillating needle shower ( the stroke timed to speed matching of the felt rpm per 0 . 040 inches movement ). for a four felted machine at higher operating speeds , i . e ., 3000 - 3600 fpm , the cleaning solution feed is on for about 15 minutes maximum each hour . this provides for double full coverage . for a three - felted machine at the same speed , 20 minutes per hour is sufficient . for slower speeds , i . e ., 2200 - 2800 fpm , 24 minutes of treatment each hour is optimal . generally , the minimum off time between cleaning applications will be at least one full coverage period . the inactive time , i . e ., the period of time between cleaning times , should be no longer than 50 minutes . if the period of time between cleaning is too long , too much soil will fill the felt . applying the cleaning chemical operation at least once per hour causes a cumulative effect on the felt providing significant cleaning for the felt . the cleaning solution used in the present invention can be any cleaning solution typically employed to clean papermaking felt . depending upon the chemistry of the particular equipment , these cleaning compositions can be alkaline , acid , anionic , or nonionic . therefore , one will select one or more cleaning compositions , based on the particular papermaking operation . generally , they will include , in addition to surfactants and the requisite acid or base wetting agents , chelants and sequestrants . exemplary formulations for both acid and alkaline cleaning compositions are set out below ( parts by weight ). the chemical compositions are generally added at about 200 to 600 ppm on a 100 % actives basis . the detergent compositions themselves , however , are generally diluted and contain about 15 - 20 % actives . since the total amount of soil which is deposited within a press fabric is basically proportional to the felt area , and since all press fabrics on a given machine are the same width ( differing by their length ), then the amount of press felt cleaner for each press felt can optimally be applied in proportion to the fabric &# 39 ; s length , to achieve the same degree of cleanliness . it is best to adjust the concentration of the detergent applied to each felt based upon relative length and soil loading , rather than adjusting detergent feed duration . if the detergent feed duration were varied proportionally in the following example , the coverage of the oscillating needed shower coverage would not result in uniform application of the cleaner . for instance , for a given tri - nip press on a fine paper machine , the pickup , first bottom press , and third top press felts all have a width of 320 ″, and the following lengths respectively : 76 ′, 55 . 5 ′ and 46 feet . thus , in proportion to their area , the press felts would be allocated approximately : 43 %, 31 % and 26 % respectively , of the daily detergent allotment . in a preferred embodiment , two different cleaning agents are applied alternately with spaced time intervals between the applications . as shown in fig2 , in a preferred embodiment the two different cleaning agents , one alkaline the other acid , or , alternately , one anionic and one nonionic , or one alkaline or acid and the second one neutral , are applied by apparatus 40 shown in fig2 . in this embodiment , the two different chemicals are stored in reservoirs 42 and 44 controlled by pumps 46 and 48 , which , in turn , are controlled by a plc 52 . pumps 46 and 48 inject the chemical into the inlet line 60 between the pump 50 and the needle shower 32 . in a preferred embodiment , one of the cleaning solutions is applied for a period of time , preferably equal to twice the full coverage period . the plc will discontinue the flow of the cleaning solution for a period of time , generally for the remaining portion of the hour . next , the plc will inject the second cleaning solution through the needle shower 14 , preferably for twice the full coverage period . the plc will then discontinue application of cleaning solution for a period of time . this will be repeated continuously while the papermaking machine is producing paper . the invention will be further appreciated in light of the following example . a test was performed on a fine paper machine equipped with a twin - ver press , plus straight - through third press and smoothing press , which produced light and medium basis weight free sheet paper grades . previously , this machine had attempted to enact soils prevention by use of a cleaner continuously , through the high - pressure showers , with insufficient results . as a result , downtime cleaning of the press fabrics ( no paper being manufactured on the reel ) was required with an alkaline detergent . this not only caused loss of paper production , but also led to culled production during manufacturing , due to sheet defects that occurred in between the intervals of downtime washing events . these defects , i . e ., corrugations , wrinkles , and ridges were caused by variation in cross - direction ( cd ) moisture content of the sheet . this was caused by soiling of the press felts , and due to the fact that no “ on - the - run ” felt washing capability was available to correct the problem . additionally , no machine moisture adjustments were available other than dry weight headbox control . the test consisted of application of alternating two cleaning compounds through the high pressure showers of each press fabric at various frequencies and durations , and measuring the effects upon felt uhle box vacuums , press filtrate de - watering rates , press felt water permeability profiles , press felt service life , sheet quality , and machine runnability and up - time . the best results were observed when an acid and alkaline cleaner were alternated every other hour , at the rate of 24 minutes on and 36 minutes off , each hour ( 12 feed cycles each , per day ), at a concentration in the range of 0 . 12 - 0 . 15 %. this novel cleaning program resulted in huge improvements to the paper machine &# 39 ; s production and quality yield , buy lowering cd sheet moisture variation ( improvement in reel - shape , and fewer sheet breaks during felt washing ). the overall results of the new cleaning program were as follows : the trial machine monthly total losses for wrinkles were reduced to 19 . 1 tons during the 4 - month trial period , from 58 . 2 tons ( pre - trial ) and a monthly average of 54 . 3 tons . annualized this would result in a reduction of cull loss for wrinkles of 469 . 2 tons . the trial machine monthly total losses for ridges was reduced to 7 . 8 tons during the 4 month trial period , from 71 . 1 tons ( pre - trial ) and a monthly average of 34 . 8 tons . annualized this would result in a reduction of cull losses for ridges of 759 . 6 tons . the trial machine monthly total losses for corrugations was reduced to 41 . 5 tons during the 4 - month trial period , from 65 . 6 tons ( pre - trial ) and a monthly average of 38 . 8 tons . annualized this would result in a reduction in culls for corrugations of 289 . 2 tons . the sum total of estimated reductions in annual culls for ridges , wrinkles and corrugations is 1 , 518 tons for this trial machine . total cull losses for ridges , wrinkles , and corrugations on the trial machine &# 39 ; s winder and super calendar were substantially lower in almost every category , during the trial period . the present invention , when compared to standard cleaning methods , provided significant improvement in water permeability of the press fabric over its entire service life . there was , further , a significant reduction in the vacuum as measured at the uhle box . further , alternating alkaline and acidic cleaners utilizing the method of the present invention further provided significantly improved results versus using only alkaline or only acidic cleaners . hence , alternating cleaning chemistry types can increase felt void volume and improve felt dewatering performance over the useful life of the felt . further , due to the fact that the present invention uses relatively low concentration of cleaning solution , generally around 0 . 2 percent , whereas a standard cleaner might be used at a much higher rate , such as 3 percent , has relatively no impact on paper quality . thus , the cleaning can be conducted while paper is being manufactured without causing sheet defects or sheet breaks . further , since a relatively small amount of cleaning is applied , there is minimal impact on the cost of the paper . further , the cost in chemicals is significantly less than the expense occurred in down time required to clean the felt off line . this has been a description of the present invention along with the preferred method of practicing the invention . however , the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims .	3
fig1 shows an engine 10 having an exhaust system 12 . the engine 10 is disposed in fluid communication with a fuel reservoir 14 via fuel supply line 16 a and fuel return line 16 b . the exhaust system 12 has a plurality of diesel particulate filters (“ dpfs ”) including a first dpf 18 a and a second dpf 18 b . the exhaust system 12 includes an exhaust manifold 20 , and a turbocharger 22 disposed in fluid communication with the exhaust manifold 20 . the turbocharger 22 may be directly connected to the exhaust manifold 20 . exhaust flows from the turbocharger 22 via a first portion 24 a of an exhaust pipe 24 . the first portion 24 a of the exhaust pipe 24 runs from an outlet of the turbocharger 22 to a flow control valve 26 . the flow control valve 26 is adapted to control the flow of exhaust to a second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 forms a plurality of fluid flow paths . as shown in fig1 , the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe is generally y - shaped and forms a first passage leading to the first dpf 18 a and a second passage leading to the second dpf 18 b . the flow control valve 26 may be positioned to generally three positions to allow exhaust gas to flow in generally three ways : to both the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b ; to the first dpf 18 a ; or the second dpf 18 b . the exhaust system 12 includes a turbocharger bypass 28 that connects the exhaust manifold 20 to the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the turbocharger bypass 28 includes a bypass valve 30 that is adapted to allow exhaust gas to flow to either the first dpf 18 a , or the second dpf 18 b without passing through the turbocharger 22 . the bypass valve 30 may also be closed to prevent exhaust that has not passed through the turbocharger 22 from entering the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b . exhaust that passes through the turbocharger bypass 28 generally has a higher temperature than exhaust that passes through the turbocharger 22 . the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 additionally has a first fuel dosing input 32 a and a second fuel dosing input 32 b . the fuel dosing inputs 32 a , 32 b are adapted to supply fuel from the fuel reservoir 14 to the exhaust system 12 during regeneration of the first dpf 18 a , and the second dpf 18 b to assist in combusting the particulate matter during the regeneration . downstream of the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b of the exhaust system 12 is a third portion 24 c of the exhaust pipe 24 . the third portion 24 c of the exhaust pipe 24 recombines the exhaust flow from the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b . the third portion 24 c of the exhaust pipe 24 is also generally y - shaped . the third portion 24 c of the exhaust pipe 24 runs to an exhaust mixer 34 . the exhaust mixer 34 is adapted to cause turbulent flow such that exhaust that has passed through the first dpf 18 a mixes thoroughly with exhaust gas that has passed through the second dpf 18 b . therefore , exhaust leaving the exhaust mixer 34 will generally be of the average temperature of exhaust passing through the first dpf 18 a , and the second dpf 18 b when exhaust is flowing through both dpfs 18 a , 18 b . while the engine 10 is operating normally , exhaust gas flows from the exhaust manifold 20 through the turbocharger 22 and into the first portion 24 a of the exhaust pipe 24 . the flow control valve 26 is positioned to allow exhaust gas to flow to both the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b from the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the turbocharger bypass valve 30 is closed during normal engine operation , such that no exhaust flows through the turbocharger bypass 28 . additionally , no fuel is provided to the fuel dosing inputs 32 a , 32 b during normal engine operations . during regeneration of the first dpf 18 a when the engine is operating under normal or higher loads , exhaust gas flows from the turbocharger 22 and into the first portion 24 a of the exhaust pipe 24 . the flow control valve 26 is positioned to allow exhaust gas to flow to both the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b from the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the turbocharger bypass valve 30 is positioned to allow exhaust to flow to the first dpf 18 a via the turbocharger bypass 28 . fuel is provided to the first dpf 18 a from the fuel reservoir 14 from the first fuel dosing input 32 a . the fuel that enters the first dpf 18 a from the first fuel dosing input 32 a ignites and raises the temperature within the first dpf 18 a such that particulate matter within the first dpf 18 a combusts . the exhaust from the first dpf 18 a mixes with the exhaust from the second dpf 18 b within the exhaust mixer 34 , such that at the temperature of exhaust at an output of the exhaust mixer is generally the average temperature of the exhaust from the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b . therefore , the temperature of the exhaust leaving the mixer 34 is significantly lower than the exhaust leaving the first dpf 18 a . during regeneration of the second dpf 18 b when the engine is operating under normal or higher loads , exhaust gas flows from the turbocharger 22 and into the first portion 24 a of the exhaust pipe 24 . the flow control valve 26 is positioned to allow exhaust gas to flow to both the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b from the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the turbocharger bypass valve 30 is positioned to allow exhaust to flow to the second dpf 18 b via the turbocharger bypass 28 . fuel is provided to the second dpf 18 b from the fuel reservoir 14 from the second fuel dosing input 32 b . the fuel that enters the second dpf 18 b from the second fuel dosing input 32 b ignites and raises the temperature within the second dpf 18 b such that particulate matter within the second dpf 18 b combusts . the exhaust from the first dpf 18 a mixes with the exhaust from the second dpf 18 b within the exhaust mixer 34 , such that at the temperature of exhaust at an output of the exhaust mixer is generally the average temperature of the exhaust from the first dpf 18 a and the second dpf 18 b . therefore , the temperature of the exhaust leaving the mixer 34 is significantly lower than the exhaust leaving the second dpf 18 b . during regeneration of the first dpf 18 a when the engine is operating under idle or light loads , exhaust gas flows from the turbocharger 22 and into the first portion 24 a of the exhaust pipe 24 . the flow control valve 26 is positioned to allow exhaust gas to flow to only the first dpf 18 a from the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the turbocharger bypass valve 30 is positioned to allow exhaust to flow to the first dpf 18 a via the turbocharger bypass 28 . as exhaust is only flowing through the first dpf 18 a , additional back pressure formed within the exhaust pipe 24 raises the temperature of the exhaust , and causes additional flow through the turbocharger bypass 28 , additionally raising the temperature of the exhaust gas within the first dpf 18 a . fuel is provided to the first dpf 18 a from the fuel reservoir 14 from the first fuel dosing input 32 a . the fuel that enters the first dpf 18 a from the first fuel dosing input 32 a ignites and raises the temperature within the first dpf 18 a such that particulate matter within the first dpf 18 a combusts . the use of the flow control valve 26 and the turbocharger bypass 28 raises the temperature of the exhaust within the first dpf 18 a to a sufficiently high temperature to ignite the fuel from the first fuel dosing input 32 a even during idle loading . similarly , during regeneration of the second dpf 18 b when the engine is operating under idle or light loads , exhaust gas flows from the turbocharger 22 and into the first portion 24 a of the exhaust pipe 24 . the flow control valve 26 is positioned to allow exhaust gas to flow to only the second dpf 18 b from the second portion 24 b of the exhaust pipe 24 . the turbocharger bypass valve 30 is positioned to allow exhaust to flow to the second dpf 18 b via the turbocharger bypass 28 . as exhaust is only flowing through the second dpf 18 b , additional back pressure formed within the exhaust pipe 24 raises the temperature of the exhaust , and causes additional flow through the turbocharger bypass 28 , additionally raising the temperature of the exhaust gas within the second dpf 18 b . fuel is provided to the second dpf 18 b from the fuel reservoir 14 from the second fuel dosing input 32 b . the fuel that enters the second dpf 18 b from the second fuel dosing input 32 b ignites and raises the temperature within the second dpf 18 b such that particulate matter within the second dpf 18 b combusts . the use of the flow control valve 26 and the turbocharger bypass 28 raises the temperature of the exhaust within the second dpf 18 b to a sufficiently high temperature to ignite the fuel from the second fuel dosing input 32 b even during idle loading . the first and second dpfs 18 a , 18 b are generally each about 70 % the size of a single dpf that would be required for the exhaust system 12 . while two dpfs are shown in fig1 , it is contemplated that the number of dpfs used may increase . the greater the number of dpfs utilized in an exhaust system , the smaller each individual dpf may be . for example , if three dpfs are utilized , each dpf is about 60 % the size of single dpf that would otherwise be needed , and if four dpfs are utilized , each dpf is about 50 % of the size of a single dpf . if more than two dpfs are utilized , additional flow control valves and portions of the exhaust pipe will be required to control the flow of exhaust to specific dpfs . the use of more than two dpfs helps to keep exhaust temperatures from rising to a temperature that may cause damage during high load dpf regeneration , while also ensuring that exhaust temperatures will remain high enough for dpf regeneration to occur under idle loads .	5
the following examples set forth preferred methods in accordance with the invention . it is to be understood , however , that these examples are provided by way of illustration and nothing therein should be taken as a limitation upon the overall scope of the invention . an anti - reflective coating was prepared according to prior art procedures in order to provide a control standard for spin bowl compatibility tests . a mixture containing the following ingredients was prepared : 11 . 60 % by weight polymer solids ( 50 % by weight benzyl methacrylate and 50 % by weight hydroxypropyl methacrylate ); 0 . 58 % by weight of powderlink ® 1174 ( a crosslinking agent obtained from cytec ); 0 . 1 % by weight p - toluenesulfonic acid ( ptsa ); 9 . 69 % by weight propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate ( pgmea ); 77 . 96 % by weight propylene glycol monomethyl ether ( pgme ); and 0 . 07 % by weight surfactant ( fc - 171 , obtained from 3m ). the mixture was stirred for one hour to yield a clear solution followed by ion exchange with 650c beads . the formulation was then filtered through a 1 × 0 . 2 μm absolute filter and a 2 × 0 . 1 μm absolute filter . the filtered material was spincoated onto a silicon wafer at a speed of 2500 rpm for 60 seconds followed by baking at 175 ° c . for one minute . the resulting anti - reflective film had a thickness of about 880 å . the absorbance of the film was as follows : about 9 . 06 / μm at a wavelength of 193 nm ; about 0 . 09 / μm at a wavelength of 248 nm ; and about 0 . 038 μm at a wavelength of about 365 nm . a mixture of the following ingredients was prepared : 11 . 60 % by weight polymer solids ( 50 % benzyl methacrylate and 50 % hydroxypropyl methacrylate ); 0 . 58 % by weight powderlink 1174 ; 0 . 075 % by weight bisphenol s ( obtained from aldrich ); 0 . 025 % by weight ptsa ; 9 . 69 % by weight pgmea ; 77 . 96 % pgme ; and 0 . 07 % by weight fc - 171 surfactant . the mixture was stirred for one hour to yield a clear solution followed by ion exchange with 650c beads . the formulation was then filtered through a 1 × 0 . 2 μm absolute filter and a 2 × 0 . 1 μm absolute filter . the filtered formulation was spincoated onto a silicon wafer at a speed of 2500 rpm for 60 seconds followed by baking at 175 ° c . for one minute . the resulting anti - reflective film had a thickness of about 880 å . the absorbance of the film was as follows : about 13 . 66 / μm at a wavelength of 193 nm ; about 0 . 54 / μm at a wavelength of 248 nm ; and about 0 . 10 / μm at a wavelength of about 365 nm . an anti - reflective coating was prepared following the procedure described above in example 2 , but with 0 . 1 % by weight bisphenol s being used in place of 0 . 075 % by weight bisphenol s and 0 . 025 % by weight ptsa . an anti - reflective coating was prepared following the procedure described above in example 2 , but with substituting 0 . 1 % by weight phenol novolak in place of 0 . 075 % by weight bisphenol s and 0 . 025 % by weight ptsa . in this test , four - inch sample wafers were individually coated with the anti - reflective coating compositions prepared in examples 1 - 4 above . one sample wafer was prepared for each solvent to be tested . after coating , the wafers were not baked , but were instead placed in a wafer cassette . the coated surfaces were positioned upward in order to prevent film flow , and the samples were allowed to dry for about 24 hours in a cleanroom to yield films around 1300 å thick . the sample thickness was measured on each wafer and was designated as the initial sample thickness . the coated wafer was then exposed to the particular test solvent . this was accomplished by centering a sample wafer on a spinner , followed by coating with the solvent evenly over the entire surface of the wafer . the sample was allowed to soak for three minutes (± five seconds ) followed by spinning for 15 seconds at 1500 rpm ( 20 , 000 rpm ramp ) and then for 30 seconds at 2500 rpm ( 20 , 000 rpm ramp ). after spinning , the wafer was baked at 100 ° c . for 30 seconds . the thickness of the sample on the wafer was measured and designated as the final thickness . this procedure was repeated for each solvent to be tested . % ⁢ ⁢ solubility = [ ( initial ⁢ ⁢ sample ⁢ ⁢ thickness - final ⁢ ⁢ sample ⁢ ⁢ thickness ) ( initial ⁢ ⁢ sample ⁢ ⁢ thickness ) ] * 100 . if the percent solubility of the tested wafer was ≧ 90 %, then the sample was deemed to be spin bowl compatible for that particular solvent . however , if the percent solubility was & lt ; 90 %, then that sample was not considered to be spin bowl compatible for that solvent . the results from these tests are depicted in table 1 . in this example , 20 g of glycidylmethacrylate was reacted with 0 . 25 g of azobisisobutyronitrile in 81 g of pgmea under nitrogen atmosphere at 75 ° c . for 24 hours to yield polyglycidylmethacrylate polymer . next , α - cyano - 4 - hydroxycinnamic acid dye ( see scheme a ) was grafted to the epoxy functionality of polyglycidylmethacrylate polymer ( 20 % solids in pgmea ) in the presence of benzyltriethyl ammonium chloride ( bteac ) catalyst . the grafting reaction was carried out by dissolving the ingredients in a solvent system comprising ethyl lactate and pgmea at a weight ratio of 75 : 25 ( ethyl lactate : pgmea ). the dye dissolved in the solution at approximately 90 ° c . the reaction was carried out at 120 ° c . for 4 - 5 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere . the amounts of the ingredients used are set forth in table 2 . after the grafting reaction was complete , the dye - grafted polymer ( mother liquor , see scheme b ) was formulated into an anti - reflective coating composition . this was accomplished through the addition of a melamine crosslinker and the appropriate amounts of solvents to achieve the desired film thickness upon baking at elevated temperatures . table 3 sets forth the amounts of the ingredients in the anti - reflective coating composition . this formulation was spincoated onto silicon wafers at 2500 rpm for 60 seconds followed by baking on a hotplate at temperatures ranging from 120 ° c . to 205 ° c . the film thickness was measured using standard ellipsometric methods . the film was then exposed to an organic solvent ( i . e ., ethyl lactate ) which is commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing processes . the anti - reflective film did not exhibit any appreciable film thickness loss , thus indicating that the crosslinking reaction had occurred . crosslinking resulted because of the acidity imparted by the hydroxy group of the dye , thus yielding an inert , thermoset polymer film that is also spin bowl compatible . a photoresist composition ( pfi - 88 , obtained from sumitomo chemical co .) was applied to the cured anti - reflective layer by spincoating of at 3000 rpm for 60 seconds followed by baking at 90 ° c . for 60 seconds . all wafers were coated and developed on a dns 80b . exposures were carried out with a nikon nsr at 365 nm for 360 msec . the photoresist was then baked at 110 ° c . for 60 seconds and developed with cd26 developer ( obtained from shipley company ). fig1 shows the cross - sections of several different wafers at varying feature sizes . this novel anti - reflective coating composition exhibited the same lithographic performance with commercial i - line photoresists as those containing an acid catalyst . the photoresist profiles of the non - acid anti - reflective coating compositions did not show any intermixing with the photoresist , thus confirming that the film was crosslinked into thermoset . an anti - reflective coating was prepared following the procedure described in example 6 , with the quantities of ingredients used being set forth in table 4 . wafers were coated with the anti - reflective composition and a photoresist and were processed as described in example 6 . fig2 shows the cross - sections of several different wafers at varying feature sizes . the anti - reflective coatings prepared in examples 6 and 7 were subjected to the spin bowl compatibility test procedure described in example 5 . the results from these tests are set forth in table 5 .	8
referring to fig1 and 2 , there is shown the vertical conveyor furnace of the present invention . the vertical conveyor furnace 10 includes an input unit 100 , a heating unit 200 , and an output unit 300 . the input unit 100 includes a raw material hopper 104 , a raw material feed tube 108 , a raw feed conveyor screw 110 , a heater intake tube 112 , a vertical conveyor screw 114 , and a delivery cone 116 . the raw material hopper 104 is isolated from ambient gasses by intake valve 102 which allows raw material 122 to be added to the raw material hopper 104 followed by a purge cycle using process - neutral gasses such as n 2 and ar or mixtures thereof . the raw material hopper 104 includes a raw material level sensor 106 . the raw feed conveyor screw 110 is situated within the raw material feed tube 108 , which is in communication with the raw material hopper 104 . the raw feed conveyor screw 110 is driven by a motor at one end to transport the raw material 122 from the raw material hopper 104 to the heater intake tube 112 . the heater intake tube 112 is in communication with the raw material feed tube 108 and encloses the vertical conveyor screw 114 . the heater intake tube 112 is sealed at the lower end to prevent material from falling through . the vertical conveyor screw 114 is driven at one end to transport preprocess material 124 in the upward direction into the delivery cone 116 . the delivery cone 116 includes a pre - furnace portion 118 and a furnace portion 120 . the pre - furnace portion 118 is somewhat cooler than the furnace portion 120 and therefore may be made of a metal such as steel . the furnace portion 120 may require high temperature resistant materials such as graphite for high temperature processes . the furnace portion 120 has an increasing diameter in the upward direction in order to reduce the outward pressure on the walls of the delivery cone 116 . the heating unit 200 may be one of many types of furnaces , for example resistance heaters , natural gas heaters , and induction furnaces . by way of example , an induction furnace is described here and shown in the drawings . the heating unit 200 includes a processing chamber 202 , an inner liner 204 , an outer liner 206 , insulation 208 , a structural heater wall 210 , and a heater cover 212 in sealing engagement with the heater wall 210 . the inner liner 204 and the outer liner 206 act as the suseptors in the induction heater and are preferably made of graphite . the insulation 208 may be a material such as carbon black insulation material sold under the trademark thermax n991 ( ultrapure ) owned by cancarb limited corporation canada . induction coils 214 surround the heater wall 210 in proximity to the processing chamber 202 . cooling coils 216 surround the remainder of the heater wall 210 and carry a coolant such as water . a coil retaining wall 218 secures the induction coils 214 and the cooling coils 216 . a pyrometer port 220 and the exhaust ports 222 a and 222 b penetrate the heater cover 212 and the insulation 208 into the processing chamber 202 . the output unit 300 includes a cooling wall 302 , an output passage 304 formed between the cooling wall 302 and the heater intake tube 112 , an output tube 306 , an output conveyor screw 308 , an output isolation chamber 310 , and a product hopper 316 . the cooling wall 302 is preferably made of steel and is cooled by a coolant such as water . the cooling wall 302 includes a flange at the top end to support the heating unit 200 . the output tube 306 is in fluid communication with the cooling wall 302 and is cooled by a coolant such as water . the output conveyor screw 308 is driven by a motor at one end to transport the cooled processed material 320 to the output isolation chamber 310 . the output isolation chamber 310 includes a chamber input valve 312 and a chamber output valve 314 . the chamber output valve 314 normally isolates the cooled processed material 320 and the product 322 from the ambient gasses in the product hopper 316 . the chamber input valve 312 closes when the chamber output valve 314 opens so that the cooled processed material 320 remains isolated from the ambient gasses . in use , granular material is fed in a feedstock hopper ( 104 ) and the feedstock reserve ( 122 ) may be purged with a desired gas or gas mixture by flowing such gas through the intake valve ( 102 ) after purging the hopper . the feedstock is then fed into raw feed tube ( 108 ) and advanced by the raw feed conveyor screw ( 110 ) into the heater intake tube ( 112 ) of the thermal processor ( 226 ). the vertical conveyor screw ( 114 ) advances the feedstock up the heater intake tube into the delivery tube ( 116 ) which is made of a high temperature compatible material such as graphite or ceramic . the delivery tube may be conical with an increasing radius it projects further into the heating section of the apparatus . the granular feedstock is pushed through the heater intake tube into the heating section , and out of the top of the intake tube falling into the output means that gravitationally feeds the thermally treated feedstock into the cooling portion of the output passage ( 304 ) downward to means for transporting the thermally treated feedstock away from the thermal treatment apparatus . the feedstock material when thermally treated may produce unwanted gas by products . the present method anticipates this concern and allows for venting of unwanted gases by streaming relatively inert gases over the head of the feed stock in the heating section ( 324 , 326 ). the treated feedstock may be transported from the thermal treatment unit by a water cooled conveyor means so that the heat build up is minimized . the feedstock can then be further cooled in an isolation chamber 310 and allowed to cool to a desired temperature limit and then released to a final product hopper 316 . in instances where the method is employed to thermally treat coke powder or granules , the feedstock is held in the intake hopper , purged and filled with nitrogen . after the purge and nitrogen flow , the hopper is sealed and the intake hopper is opened and material is advanced through the raw feed conveyor by the screw . the conveyor may have a flow of inert gas introduced to insure against seal imperfections . the screw in the raw feed conveyor is designed to compact the feed material flow to insure some degree of compaction of the feedstock into the vertical conveyor . the vertical conveyor takes the feedstock into the heating section of the equipment where the coke is heated to 900 to 2500 degrees centigrade for a relatively short period of time to graphitize the feedstock into a finished product . typical time periods can be as short as a few minutes to complete the thermal conversion process . an advantage of this method is that heat can be transferred from the treated product stream both in the insulated portion ( 330 ) and the heated portion ( 328 ) to the feedstock in the feed tube ( 108 ). this heat transfer increases the efficiency of the treatment process . furthermore , the fact that the system is a continuous treatment process provides a significant increase in energy efficiency and lowers setup and labor cost relative to the state of the art batch processes . the following examples comprising numeric models of the present invention specifically show the method and apparatus in use in order to thermally process milled coke and crushed coke . referring to fig4 and tables 1 and 2 , example 1 is illustrated . the maximum upflowing coke , bulk upflowing coke , and the bulk downflowing coke temperatures are plotted as a function of height . the vertical conveyor screw 114 terminates at 2 . 0 - m , at which the temperature is predicted to be no more than 500 ° c . the bulk downflowing coke , after it has passed the processing surface 224 is greater than 2500 ° c . the upflowing coke profile demonstrates how efficient the invention is in heat recovery . the upflowing coke has been heated to at least 1000 ° c . by the downflowing coke before the upflowing coke reaches the actively heated processing chamber 202 . this equates to about a 40 % heat exchanger effectiveness between the upflowing coke and the downflowing coke . [ 0028 ] table 3 example 2 material parameters stock material 122 milled coke stock material 122 bulk density 670 - kg / m 3 max particle size 20 - μm to 40 - μm referring to fig5 and tables 1 and 3 , example 2 is illustrated . the milled coke is known to have a lower thermal conductivity than the crushed coke , and this is demonstrated in fig5 . the upflowing coke preheats to approximately 900 ° c . therefore , more energy is required to bring the bulk upflow temperature to the required degree in the processing chamber 202 than in example 1 . further , the downflowing coke does not cool down as readily and thus more work is required of the cooling output tube 306 to cool the processed material 318 . while the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope and spirit of the appended claims .	2
referring now to fig4 there is schematically illustrated an arrangement of a track - counting system according an embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 illustrated at numeral 1 is an optical disk having thereon a number of tracks and illustrated at numeral 2 is an optical head for tracing the tracks to read out data recorded on the tracks . the optical head 2 is driven through an optical head drive section 4 operable in accordance with a command from a drive control section 3 . when the optical head 2 detects an access code as indicated in fig3 an access code demodulation section 7 outputs an interrupt signal irq1 and an access code number gc . further , when the optical head 2 reads out an address , an address demodulation section 8 outputs an interrupt signal irq2 and an address pa . still further , a central processing unit ( cpu ) 9 is arranged so as to output a target address ta . a track counting section 10 calculates the number of the tracks to be traversed on the basis of the target address ta from the cpu 9 and the current position of the optical head 2 so as to output a movement command to the drive control section 3 and , in addition , calculates the number of the tracks to be further moved whenever the interrupt signal irq1 and the access code number gc are inputted thereto to give a command corresponding to the calculation result to the drive control section 3 . on the other hand , in response to the inputs of the interrupt signal irq2 and the address pa , the track - counting section 10 calculates the position of the optical head 2 on the basis of the address pa so as to calculate the remaining moving amount to give a command corresponding to the calculation result . fig5 shows the positions of the access code regions ac on the optical disk 1 and the positions of the address regions ad thereon . on the optical disk 1 there are provided 22 sectors each comprising 1 address region and 75 data regions , and at the head portion of each region there is provided the access code region . that is , on 1 track there are provided 22 address regions and 1672 access code regions . each of the access code regions has the pit arrangement as illustrated in fig3 . the operation of the track - counting system according to this embodiment will be described hereinbelow with reference to fig6 a to 6e . in fig6 a , this operation starts with a step 40 to set the access code number gc to the previous access code number gc1 sampled one time before , then followed by a step 41 to take v0 as the access code difference between the present access code number and the previous access code number and take v1 as the previous access code number difference to set the previous access code number v1 to 0 . a step 42 follows to take the difference between the target address ta outputted from the cpu 9 and the address pa read out through the optical head 2 so as to calculate the number of the tracks to be traversed and then set as a count value tcnt a value obtained by adding the negative sign to the calculation value . since the count value tcnt is a negative value , the counting operation is effected so that the count value tcnt becomes 0 when the optical head 2 traverses the tracks whose number is represented by the count value tcnt . when in a step 43 the interrupt signal irq1 is inputted from the access code demodulation section 7 , the operational flow jumps to a step 46 in fig6 b , and when in a step 44 the interrupt signal irq2 is inputted from the address demodulation section 8 , the operational flow jumps to a step 56 in fig6 e , the steps 46 and 56 will be described hereinafter . a step 45 is provided in order to display the track count value so representing the number of the remaining tracks to be further traversed . fig6 b illustrates the operation to be executed when the interrupt signal irq1 is inputted from the access code demodulation section 7 . the step 46 is executed in order to check whether the access code number ( 0 to 15 ) from the access code demodulation section 7 is correctly read out . if so , a step 47 follows to obtain the difference between the currently read access code number gc and the previously read access code number gc1 so as to take the logical product ( and ) of the obtained difference and 000f . this is for accurately obtaining the difference therebetween , for example , in the case that the previous access code number gc1 is 15 and the present access code number is 2 , i . e ., in the case of jumping - over to the distant track . that is , gc = 2 = 00000010 and - gc1 =- 15 = 11110001 result in 2 +(- 15 )= 11110011 . the logical product of this value and 000f becomes 00000011 = 3 which is a correct access code number difference . this access code number difference is set to v0 . in a subsequent step 48 , the absolute value of the access code number difference variation v1 - v0 which is the difference with respect to the previous access code number difference v1 obtained in the step 41 is compared with a value amax which is a value to be determined on the basis of the mechanism of the optical head drive section 4 and which is a maximum value to be taken . thus , if it exceeds this value amax , the decision is made such that an abnormality occurs . if it is below the value amax , a step 49 follows to add the present access code number difference v0 to the count value tcnt ( actually , the subtraction therebetween because the count value tcnt is a negative value and the number difference v0 is a positive value ) so as to update the count value tcnt . further , the access number gc is updated in a step 50 and the access code number difference v0 is updated in the next step 51 . on the other hand , if in the step 46 the reading - out of the access code is abnormal , the operational flow goes to a step 52 in fig6 c in order to update the count value tcnt using the previous access code number difference v1 and then advance to a step 53 to similarly update the access code number gc1 using the previous access code number difference v1 . taking the logical product with 000f is for correction in the case of jumping from the unit to the different unit . if in the step 48 of fig6 b the absolute value of the access code number difference variation exceeds the value amax , the operational flow goes to a step 54 in fig6 d in order to decide that the optical head 2 has moved in the direction opposite to the counting direction due to eccentricity of the optical disk 1 at the time of the setting ( or that the tracks have moved in the direction opposite to the counting direction due to the eccentricity with respect to the optical head 2 . in this case , the operation is executed so as to take the logical sum ( or ) of the access code number difference gc - gc1 and fff0 to calculate the moving amount to the opposite direction . for example , in the case of gc = 15 and gc1 = 1 , it becomes gc - gc1 = 14 which exceeds the value amax . it is considered that this is because of the opposite - direction movement from gc = 1 to gc = 15 in the case of the track numbers 14 , 15 , 0 , 1 . in this case , the logical sum 11111110 of 15 - 1 = 14 = 00001110 and 11110000 represents - 2 and further indicates the movement in the opposite direction . in a step 55 , under the consideration , the absolute value of the access code number difference variation obtained is again compared with the value amax . if smaller than the value amax , under the decision that the opposite - direction movement actually occurs , the operational flow returns to the step 49 in fig6 b to add the access code number difference v0 to the count value tcnt . on the other hand , if exceeding the value amax in the aforementioned step 55 , under the decision that the abnormality occurs , the operational flow goes to the step 52 in fig6 c to perform the calculation using the previous access code number difference v1 . in the case that the interrupt signal irq2 is generated in the step 44 of fig6 a , the operational flow goes to a step 56 in fig6 e in order to check whether the address is correctly read out . if so , a step 57 follows to take the difference between the target address ta and the currently read address pa s as to obtain the number of the remaining tracks . if the answer of the step 56 is negative , the operational flow directly returns to the step 45 in fig6 a . in the above - described operation , when the address of the address segment can be read ( decoded ) during the track - counting operation , the calculation is effected by preferentially using the read address to count the number of the tracks on the basis of the calculation result . it should be understood that the foregoing relates to only preferred embodiments of the present invention , and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiments of the invention herein used for the purposes of the disclosure , which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , although in this embodiment the previous value is used in the case of the occurrence of abnormality or incorrect reading of the access code number , it is appropriate to use an adequate estimation value .	6
approximately 400 cc of blood is taken from a goat under sterile technique . the animal may typically be re - bled in 10 to 14 days , once the volume of blood is replenished . a pre - bleeding regime may be useful to stimulate production of the active components of the serum . the blood is then centrifuged to separate the serum , and the serum filtered to remove large clots and particulate matter . the serum is then treated with supersaturated ammonium sulphate ( 47 % solution at 4 ° c .) to precipitate antibodies and other material . the resulting solution is centrifuged in a beckman j6m / e centrifuge at 3500 rpm for 45 minutes , after which the supernatant fluid is removed . the precipitated immunoglobulin and other solid material are resuspended in pbs buffer ( phosphate buffered saline ) sufficient to redissolve the precipitate . the solution is then subjected to diafiltration against a pbs buffer with a molecular weight cut - off of 10 , 000 daltons . at 4 ° c . after diafiltration the product is filtered through a 0 . 2 micron filter into a sterile container and adjusted to a protein concentration of 4 mg / ml . the solution is put into vials to give single doses of 1 ml , and stored at − 22 ° c . prior to use . the effects of the serum have been previously described , while determination of the active components has not previously been effected . a sample of the composition was size fractionated on a gel , and a western blot performed using antibodies to β endorphin . a strong signal was detected , indicating the presence of β endorphin , although the apparent molecular weight was approximately 31 kda , far larger than the expected size of β endorphin . this suggested that β endorphin was present in the sample as part of a larger peptide ; the size being consistent with that of pomc . we have also carried out mass spectrometry on the composition , and have detected at least two pomc - derived peptides , β endorphin and corticotrophin - related molecules . crh - bp ( corticotropin releasing hormone binding protein ) has also been identified . pomc peptides and crf - bp have been identified in the product by thermofinnegan lcq mass spectrometry . crf mainly regulates the synthesis and secretion of acth in the anterior pituitary . the administration of pomc and / or its component peptides in addition to crf and crf - bp is thought to initiate a cascade effect thus enhancing the production of systemic and sustained elevated concentrations of pomc peptides . crf - bp has the ability to act as a reservoir for crf . fig1 to 4 show the hits obtained from mass spectrometry analysis of tryptic digests from the product separated from contaminating proteins by sds - page . as mentioned above , some of these molecules are inducers and regulators of the pomc cascade . further investigation using more focused analysis ( e . g . peptide fractionation , immunoprecipitation and concentration ) will reveal more of the peptides present . fig1 indicates the presence of a pomc - derived corticotropin , fig2 that of crf - bp , fig3 that of proenkephalin a , and fig4 that of proenkephalin b . the presence of crf - bp suggests that the product contains some crf , while pomc and related peptides are also clearly present . we have also investigated the effects of treatment with the serum composition on patients &# 39 ; own sera . these effects are described below . fig5 shows mass spectrometry of patients &# 39 ; sera before and after treatment . the spectra from 2 to 10 kd are compared . this molecular weight range is associated with the bioactive peptides of interest . clear differences in the peptide expression in the 2 to 6 kd region can be seen by comparing the profiles in the pre and post treatment sera . for ease of comparison an overlapping view of the profiles is also provided . fig6 shows comparative peptide / protein expression in six treated patients . each patient shows increased levels of induced peptide / protein expression particularly in the 4 kd region . fig7 a shows the mass spectrometry profiles of unprocessed goat serum before vaccination ( pre - immune profile , top panel ), unprocessed serum 53 days post - immunisation , and the processed product . it can be seen that in the lower two panels the profile of the serum is significantly different to that of the pre - immune profile , indicative of the induction of protein expression . the profiles present here represent the active product , and a specific immunisation / bleed protocol has been shown to be useful in the induction of this serum profile . an overlapping view of the profiles is shown ( fig7 b ). fig8 shows comparative levels of acth in the sera of patients before and after receiving treatment . this is also compared with levels of acth in serum from healthy volunteers and in the product administered to patients . sera were diluted 1 : 100 and quantified by an elisa of sera compared with the product . data are the mean of three determinations +/− standard errors . post treatment n = 5 ; pre treatment n = 3 ; normal human sera n = 5 . the data show that treatment increases acth levels . fig9 compares levels of p endorphin in the serum of treated patients with that in the sera of the same patients before treatment . this is compared with levels in the sera of healthy volunteers and in the product . sera were diluted 1 : 100 and quantified by an elisa of sera compared with the product . data are the mean of three determinations +/− standard errors . the data show that treatment increases β endorphin levels . evidence for a switch from a pro - inflammatory th - 1 profile to an anti - inflammatory th - 2 cytokine profile in treated patients fig1 shows the levels of tgf - β in the serum of two groups of patients before and after treatment . the two groups of patients ( n = 3 for each group ) show differing responses with respect to the concentrations of tgf - β produced , but all patients showed an increase in serum levels in response to treatment ( pre sera = patients &# 39 ; serum levels before treatment ; post 2 nd and post 5 th = after the 2 nd and 5 th administration ). the data show that treatment induces increased concentration of the anti - inflammatory cytokine tgf - β . fig1 shows the levels of il - 4 in the serum of one group of patients before ( pre - sera ) and after treatment . it can be seen that after treatment ( post 2 nd ), the levels of il - 4 are significantly increased in the patients &# 39 ; sera ( n = 5 ). however , following the 5 th administration , the levels of il - 4 had dropped in all patients , but remained higher than they had been pre - treatment . il - 4 is known to downregulate the production of the pro - inflammatory cytokines from th - 1 cells . it may be that the consistent changes in concentration seen in all patients is consistent with il - 4 &# 39 ; s role in the th - 1 to th - 2 switch . fig1 shows the levels of il - 6 in the serum of one group of patients before and after treatment . it can be seen that after treatment ( post 2 nd and post 5 th ) the levels of il - 6 are reduced in the patients &# 39 ; sera ( n = 4 ). fig1 shows the levels of ifn - γ in the serum of one group of patients before and after treatment . it can be seen that after treatment ( post 2 nd and post 2 th ) the levels of ifn - y are reduced in the patients &# 39 ; sera . fig1 shows that treatment of human peripheral blood cells ( pbmcs ) induces the production of the anti - inflammatory cytokine il - 10 in the monocyte sub population . t and b lymphocytes and monocytes were separated from pbmcs obtained from human volunteers . all cell types were treated with equivalent doses of product for 16 h , and their supernatants assayed for il - 10 content using elisa . it can be seen that il - 10 levels produced by the t cell population were unaffected by treatment and that only a small increase in il - 10 was induced in the b cells . however , a significant elevation of il - 10 concentration was induced in the monocytes population by the treatment . all determinations were made in triplicate +/− standard deviations . these data are representative of at least three separate experiments . fig1 shows the comparative levels of vasopressin in the product , control patients and patients treated with the product and pre - treatment . the figure shows that there is no significant difference between any of the serum groups , however the product contains significant levels of vasopressin , sufficient to elicit a response in the patients . it is known that vasopressin acts synergistically with crf to release pomc . all determinations were made in triplicate +/− standard deviations . these data are representative of at least 3 separate experiments . patients pre - treatment n = 3 ; treated patients n = 6 . fig1 shows the increased presence of crf in the product compared with the placebo and the increase in the treated patients compared with the non - treated individuals ; the latter is evidence for the induction of crf in the patients in response to treatment . all determinations were made in triplicate +/− standard deviations . these data are representative of at least 3 separate experiments . control individuals n = 4 ; treated patients n = 13 . although preliminary , the evidence to date is therefore consistent with the major active component being crf acting in concert with other components , which is thought to induce pomc production . there is also evidence that pomc itself and pomc - derived peptides may be used as a treatment . this suggests new pharmaceutical compositions and uses for crf and pomc , as well as indicating additional disorders which may be treatable using crf and pomc . we have also provided a convenient method of producing crf and pomc from goats . the data so far suggests that the product not only contains crf , pomc peptides and anti - inflammatory cytokines ( il - 10 and tgf - β ) but also induces the expression and release of crf and hence pomc peptides in the patient which then transform the patients &# 39 ; immunological profile from a th - 1 pro - inflammatory profile to a predominantly th - 2 anti - inflammatory profile . other observations on the composition effects are consistent with the active component being crf which leads to pomc production . for example , effects on leukocyte adherence may be attributable to beta endorphin . the serum product increases il - 10 production by human pbmc ; alpha msh affects il - 10 production . effects on nerve conduction and neuroprotective effects may be ascribed to acth and vasopressin ; effects on appetite may be due to alpha msh . the product itself also contains significant levels of il - 10 and tgf - β ( data not shown ). alpha msh has potent anti - inflammatory effects in all major forms of inflammation and it antagonises the effects of pro - inflammatory cytokines such as tnfα and il1 - β . cross talk exists between the cytokine systems and the pomc system which has been observed in patients treated with the composition to result in the reduction of pro - inflammatory cytokines and the establishment ( retained over the course of treatment ) of a th - 2 anti - inflammatory cytokine profile including elevated levels of il - 10 and tgf - β . we have also identified increased levels of il1 - β in the serum product . the serum product has previously been shown to be very sensitive to proteolytic degradation ; this is consistent with the theory that the pomc is proteolysed to give individual hormones on administration , but that further degradation destroys activity . in particular , alpha msh is believed to have significantly reduced activity if a terminal tripeptide sequence is removed ; again , this is consistent with the active component including pomc . the product itself is unstable by nature as its active components are short - lived , but exhibit powerful effects . we have also conducted experiments which suggest that the serum modulates nitric oxide production by leukocytes ; this is consistent with effects of beta endorphin . we also believe that the serum inhibits pha - induced pbmc proliferation , suggesting an explanation for the serum &# 39 ; s immunomodulatory effects . we have also seen a reduced response of pbmcs in the presence of the product to lps - induced stimulation and mixed lymphocyte reactions ( data not shown ). the product may also induce tyrosine phosphorylation in human brain microglial cells , and has been shown by western blotting to modulate the nfκb pathway ( data not shown ). nfκb is known to regulate the transcription of genes involved in the regulation of pro - inflammatory cytokines , hence the inhibition of nfκb would act to reduce the pro - inflammatory cytokine response in autoimmune disease and reduce inflammatory responses . further experiments to investigate this are underway . receptors ( mcr3 and mcr4 ) for some pomc peptides are found in the retinal ganglion cells that form the optic nerve and may be stimulated by pomc peptides produced after treatment . this may account for some of the rapid improvements in vision experienced by ms patients with optic neuritis which have previously been described . it is known that acth triggers the corticosteroid pathway which can exert effects in as little as 20 to 30 minutes . preliminary data suggests that the concentrations of the peptides in the product may be insufficient to elicit therapeutic responses in patients after dilution in the blood volume of the patient . however , the product could act locally ( as it is injected in a subcutaneous bolus ) to induce a biochemical cascade which triggers the synthesis and release of the bioactive peptides in the treated patients . it is now known that any medical treatments that interfere with the product , for example by competing for receptors or blocking molecules in the hpa should be avoided . in support of this hypothesis mass spectrometry of the product has identified additional molecules some of which are involved in the induction and regulation of the corticotropin system ; namely crh binding protein and leu - enkephalin , corticotropin - lipotropin precursor and pro - enkephalin a precursors ( see fig1 to 4 ). in addition , and perhaps more importantly , we have discovered that two of the major pomc peptides are upregulated significantly in treated patients &# 39 ; sera compared with levels before treatment , and also compared with levels from healthy control volunteers . this finding , together with immunological data , suggests that the treatment induces the expression and release of pomc peptides in the patient , which then transforms the patients &# 39 ; immunological profile from a th - 1 pro - inflammatory profile to a th - 2 anti - inflammatory profile . the further elucidation of the cascade mechanism in the patients is currently under investigation . it should be noted that although the product is anti - inflammatory in nature it does not completely inhibit the inflammatory response . our data suggest that the product induces a shift from the unfavourable th - 1 cytokine profile seen in auto - immune diseases to a more favourable balanced cytokine level . this may appear initially after treatment as a rapid anti - inflammatory th - 2 shift as the th - 1 network is turned off . later on after treatment the th - 1 network operates albeit at a lower level . the reported effects of the serum product on tumours leads us to consider the possibility of anti - angiogenic effects of the serum . in this regard , the proteins thrombospondin - 1 ( tsp - 1 ) and platelet factor 4 ( pf - 4 ) have been identified in the product by mass spectrometry of tryptic digests from sds page gels . computer database searches using biowork browser for peptide identification yielded strong matches across several species including homo sapiens . although precise quantification of the tsp - 1 and pf - 4 protein content of the product has not yet been established , the visible nature of the protein bands on sds page gels indicates that the proteins are present in biologically significant ( upper nanogram ) quantities . a summary of the hypothesised components of the product , and the method of action , is shown in fig1 . the product is thought to contain crf , with some levels of crf - bp , beta endorphin , vasopressin , and enkephalins . crf induces production of further crf in the patient , as do beta endorphin and the enkephalins . endogenous crf causes production of pomc , which gives rise to among others acth , alpha msh , and beta endorphin . this last product acts in a feedback loop , with low levels stimulating further crf release , while high levels inhibit crf release . this whole crf / pomc cascade is thought to induce an immunological switch in the patient , which could explain the surprising beneficial effects seen in a variety of conditions .	0
referring to fig1 the optical components of a luminaire for stage , studio or other entertainment use comprise a light source 100 ( typically a 500 w - 5 kw incandescent lamp ) located at one focus of an ellipsoidal reflector 110 . light from the light source 100 and reflector 110 is projected forwardly through a central circular aperture in a gate plate 120 . the gate plate is positioned so that substantially all the beam passes through the central aperture . a projection lens system 130 , 140 collects the light passing through the gate plate 120 and provides a generally focussed beam , with the edges of the aperture of the gate plate approximately in focus on the stage . the components 100 - 140 are housed within a luminaire housing ( not shown ) and the shutter blades are provided adjacent the gate plate 120 . the mounting of the luminaire 100 may be as described in our uk patent application no . 9207085 . 3 filed on mar . 31 , 1992 ( agents ref 3251701 ) incorporated herein by reference . referring to fig2 in one particular known structure ( employed in the strand lekolite registered trade mark ! spotlight available from strand lighting ltd , the present applicants ) a rear luminaire housing portion 200 receives the reflector 110 surrounded by a heat 105 . the gate assembly comprises a rear mounting collar 24 secured to the rear luminaire housing portion 200 , and carrying four mounting posts 23a , 23b , 23c , 23d . to these a forward luminaire housing portion ( not shown in fig2 ) is secured by screws , to mount the projection lenses 130 , 140 shown in fig1 . within the mounting collar 24 is provided an inner ring plate 22 which receives five separator plate 30a - 30e between which are sandwiched four shutter blades 32a - 32d , their handles projecting between the mounting posts 23a - 23d which define four slots by virtue of the separation between the rear luminaire housing portion 200 and the forward luminaire housing portion . optionally provided adjacent the shutter assembly is an iris 28 , located against an upper pressure plate 29 , and the upper pressure plate 29 is urged against the separator plates by a collar 27 carrying a plurality of leaf springs 33 and secured to the lower inner ring plate 22 by a screw fitting 25 , 26 . referring to fig3 in an embodiment of the invention the luminaire housing comprises a rearward portion 200 and a forward portion 210 ; although not shown , the rearward portion 200 includes the reflector 110 and bulb or lamp 100 as in fig2 and the forward portion 210 extends forwardly to include the lenses 130 , 140 shown in fig1 . the rearward portion 200 includes two circumferential slots 201a , 201b , and the forward portion 210 includes likewise a pair of slots 202a , 202b . each slot extends over an angle of greater than 360 °/ 4 ( where 4 is the number of slots ), so that no lands exist between the slots . the structural connection between the rear portion 200 and the forward portion 210 is provided through the gate plate 120 , in other words , the forward and rear halves 200 , 210 are only mechanically interconnected through the gate plate 120 . in a preferred embodiment , the luminaire housing 200 , 210 and gate plate 120 are formed in a single casting operation , with an inner core and two outer moulds . however , gate plate 120 could equally be welded to the rear portion 200 and forward portion 210 or any other method of providing an integral whole could be adopted . the gate plate 120 is therefore of sufficient thickness to provide a reliable structural connection between the two halves 200 , 210 of the luminaire housing . the housing / gate plate assembly may conveniently be formed from aluminium ; suitable aluminium die casting techniques are well known . into each slot 201a , 201b , 202a - 202b a shutter plate is insertable , as shown . the shutter plate 132a , 132b is generally similar to the construction employed in the prior art ; that is , it has a handle portion projecting through the slot for manipulation by the operator , and a straight edged blade portion transverse to the axis of the handle portion . in the embodiment shown , the slots 202a - 202b are sufficiently wide that the blades 132a , 132b etc can be inserted and withdrawn through the slots ; this is generally not possible with currently available luminaire constructions . referring to fig3 a in embodiments where the slots 201 , 202 are provided in opposed pairs , the shutter blades 132a etc are maintained flat within the plane of the gate plate 120 by providing , for each pair of slots , a pressure plate 127 acting as a spring urging the blades and gate plate together ; the pressure plates 127a , 127b ( not shown ) therefore fulfill the general function of the collar 27 of fig2 . each plate 127 is arranged to be insertable through a respective slot to engage the slot on the opposite side of the luminaire housing ( as shown , the plate 127a is insertable through slot 202b so as in use to engage the edges of the slots 202b and 202a ) and to exert resilient pressure between the edges of those slots and the shutter blades 132 inserted through those slots . referring to fig4 the assembly of fig3 is shown in greater detail . a shutter blade 132 comprises a handle portion 133 which is elongate and extends backwardly generally transverse to the straight shutter edge 134 ( although the handle 133 could be inclined , it is preferred for ease of operation to provide the handle portion 133 normal to the blade 134 ). the land between the edge 134 and handle portion 133 is sufficiently broad that when the blade 134 is extended in normal use into the centre of the aperture within the gate plate 120 , the rear edge of the land is not visible within the central orifice ; some degree of curvature of the trailing edge is also preferred to reduce friction on the inner surface of the luminaire assembly . in other respects , the shape of the land is not critical . according to this embodiment , a pair of edge retaining features 135a , 135b are provided which prevent the edges of the shutter blade 134 projecting through the central orifice in the gate plate 120 . as shown the edge retaining features 135a , 135b are conveniently provided as upturned tabs at the edge of the shutter plate 132 . in this embodiment , since the shutter plate 132 is of narrower overall width than the width of the slot 202 through which it is inserted , a blade retention feature is provided on the plate 132 ; the blade retention feature 136 conveniently comprises a barb sloping backwardly towards the handle portion 133 , so as to allow the shutter blade to be readily inserted but not removed . the shutter blade 132 is conveniently provided as a stainless steel pressing , and the barb 136 as a semi - pierce on the pressing . referring to fig4 b , the spring plate 127 comprises an upper land 128 in the form of a generally ring shaped flat sheet , of outer diameter corresponding to that of the luminaire housing 210 ; the opposed sides of the ring 128 are truncated so as to limit the width of the plate 128 to be smaller than that of the slots 202 so that the plate 127 is insertable through the slots . the upper land 128 bears against the edges of the slots 202 in use . a pair of upturned rims 129a , 129b are provided at either end of the plate 127 , to engage the edges of the slots 202 on the outside of the luminaire housing 210 and laterally retain the plate 127 within the housing in use . continuous with the inner edge of the ring 128 is a frustoconical surface 150 at the lower edge of which is an inner annular ring 151 of inner diameter equal to or greater than the central aperture within the gate plate 120 , so as not to obtrude into the central aperture of the gate plate . splits ( not shown ) in the edges of the inner ring 151 and for 127 and 150 may be provided to localise the pressure exerted on the shutter blades 132 so that distortion of one shutter blade does not affect the retention of the other . conveniently , the pressure plate is formed as a stainless steel pressing . referring to fig4 c , the arrangement in use of the components of fig3 and 4 is shown . the pressure plate 127 shows , in cross - section , a lazy - z shape providing a spring force between the upper land or ring 128 and the inner ring 151 ; since the upper ring 128 bears against the forward part of the luminaire housing at the forward edge of the slots 202 , the inner ring 151 is urged towards the shutter blade 135 and gate plate 120 , biassing the two together . the frustoconical portion 150 has a height corresponding generally to the height of the slot 202 , and thus prevents light loss through the slots 202 . it will be seen that the pressure plate 127 exerts a resilient force which not only retains the shutter blade 132 within the luminaire housing , but also retains the pressure plate 127 itself , by virtue of the rims 129 . this will be seen to greatly reduce the complexity of the assembly , as compared with the prior art for , for example , fig2 enabling this embodiment to operate entirely without screws or bolts , which thus greatly reduces the complexity of assembly and disassembly of the luminaire . typically , the number of components to be disassembled is reduced from 10 to three and the need for screwdrivers or other tools is greatly reduced with consequent reduction in the time for which the luminaire is inactive whilst the blade and pressure plate is replaced . the assembly of the gate and shutters is as follows . firstly , the pressure plate 127 is inserted through a first slot 202b until the rim 129b engages the outer surface of the luminaire housing 210 ( forward portion ); as shown , a recessed ring may be provided at the forward edge of the slot 202a to accommodate the rim 129b . then a shutter blade 132 is inserted through a slot 202b , between the gate plate 120 and the inner ring 151 , and urged forward so that the barb 136 enters within the inner ring 151 , trapping the shutter blade against accidental removal . the next shutter blade 132 is then inserted through the other slot 202b . a further spring plate 127b ( not shown ) is likewise inserted through the other pair of slots 201a , 201b with the outer rims 129a , 129b bearing this time against the backwards edges of the slots 201a , 201b and the inner edges 151 towards the shutter plate 120 , and a corresponding further pair of shutter blades 132 are inserted between the second pressure plate 127 and the gate plate 120 . to disassemble the components , the shutter plates are withdrawn until the barb 136 locates against the inner rim 151 . a convenient tool ( for example , a screwdriver ) is then used to urge the inner rim 151 away from the shutter blade 132 to the extent necessary to withdraw the barb 136 . after the blades 132 are withdrawn it is then possible to remove the pressure plate 127 through one of the slots 202a or 202b . it is necessary to replace the shutter blades 132 relatively frequently because of the shape degradation caused by the heating to which they are subjected in use . referring to fig5 it will be seen that in use , a blade 132 can be rotated through an angle of 90 ° ( or , in general , 360 °/ n where n is the number of blades ) by manipulation of the handle 133 , and that the tabs 135 engage with the shutter plate 127 to prevent the corners of the blade entering within the gate aperture . the edges of a pair of blades through opposed slots 202a , 202b may therefore be brought parallel to one another if desired , or even manipulated further so that the two handle portions 133 define an acute angle , rather than the obtuse angles necessary in the prior art . a much greater range of beam shapes are therefore available to the lighting designer . by way of example only , the shutter blades and pressure plate may be of stainless steel sheet thickness of swg24 . 22 and the luminaire housing and gate plate assembly 210 , 120 of aluminium alloy thickness 2 . 0 - 2 . 5 mm , die cast . however , any other materials suitable for the mechanical and thermal conditions well known to exist within luminaires could equally be used . it will be understood that many alternative embodiments and departures from the above construction will be possible to the skilled person . for example , although the above described embodiment provides a simple one piece luminaire assembly the principle of overlapping , radially , the edges of the adjacent slots to provide greater ease of manipulation could be employed even with other types of luminaire housing in which the shutter plate 120 does not bear any mechanical load . although only four shutter blades and slots have been shown , a greater or lesser number could , of course , be employed . although the above described embodiment utilises a pair of shutter blades generally in the same plane inserted through opposed slots , more complex arrangements in which each shutter blade is in a separate plane could be provided . although four shutter blades are shown , other numbers would be possible . although the invention is described with reference to a luminaire for stage and studio lighting , it could equally be applied in other optical instruments . the pressure plate 127 is conveniently inserted through the same slots as the shutter blade , but separate slots could be provided if desired for this purpose , or alternative fastenings provided internally within the housing 200 . turning now to fig6 , 8 , in an alternative embodiment each pressure plate 127a , 127b is provided with a series of slats 261 formed from the frustoconical surface 150 and upper land surfaces 158 by piercing a corresponding series of slots 263 . the slats 261 are designed to have differing lengths and are arranged over the plate 127 so as to ensure that there is a substantially even spring pressure over the contact surfaces , avoiding the problem of tight or loose spots . furthermore , the corresponding slots 263 enable better ventilation of the housing 200 .	5
a permanent magnet turbogenerator 10 is illustrated in fig1 as an example of a turbogenerator utilizing the hydrostatic augmentation system for a compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing of the present invention . the permanent magnet turbogenerator 10 generally comprises a permanent magnet generator 12 , a power head 13 , a combustor 14 and a recuperator ( or heat exchanger ) 15 . the permanent magnet generator 12 includes a permanent magnet rotor or sleeve 16 , having a permanent magnet disposed therein , rotatably supported within a permanent magnet stator 18 by a pair of spaced journal bearings . radial permanent magnet stator cooling fins 25 are enclosed in an outer cylindrical sleeve 27 to form an annular air flow passage which cools the permanent magnet stator 18 and thereby preheats the air passing through on its way to the power head 13 . the power head 13 of the permanent magnet turbogenerator 10 includes compressor 30 , turbine 31 , and bearing rotor 36 through which the tie rod 29 passes . the compressor 30 , having compressor impeller or wheel 32 which receives preheated air from the annular air flow passage in cylindrical sleeve 27 around the permanent magnet stator 18 , is driven by the turbine 31 having turbine wheel 33 which receives heated exhaust gases from the combustor 14 supplied with air from recuperator 15 . the compressor wheel 32 and turbine wheel 33 are rotatably supported by bearing shaft or rotor 36 having radially extending bearing rotor thrust disk 37 . the bearing rotor 36 is rotatably supported by a single journal bearing 38 within the center bearing housing 39 while the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 at the compressor end of the bearing rotor 36 is rotatably supported by a bilateral thrust bearing . the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 is adjacent the thrust face 46 at the compressor end of the center bearing housing 39 while a bearing thrust plate 42 is disposed on the opposite side of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 relative to the center housing thrust face 46 . intake air is drawn through the permanent magnet generator 12 by the compressor 30 which increases the pressure of the air and forces it into the recuperator 15 . in the recuperator 15 , exhaust heat from the turbine 31 is used to preheat the air before it enters the combustor 14 where the preheated air is mixed with fuel and burned . the combustion gases are then expanded in the turbine 31 which drives the compressor 30 and the permanent magnet rotor 16 of the permanent magnet generator 12 which is mounted on the same shaft as the turbine 31 . the expanded turbine exhaust gases are then passed through the recuperator 15 before being discharged from the turbogenerator 10 . as illustrated in fig2 ( and fig3 which includes arrows indicating the flow of the bleed air from the compressor ) compressed air at approximately nineteen ( 19 ) psig is bled from near the tip 34 of the compressor impeller 32 through a gap between the compressor diffuser plate 35 and the outer periphery 47 of the thrust plate 42 through a plurality of radially extending orifices 41 in the thrust plate 42 to a plurality of axially extending feeder holes 43 . the dead airspace between the compressor diffuser plate 35 and the center bearing housing 39 forces the bleed air to move into the radially extending orifices 41 . the feeder holes 43 supply bleed air to a pattern of channels 45 in the thrust face 44 of the thrust plate 42 adjacent to the compressor side of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing . the bleed air passes through the cavities and / or slots in the spring foil elements and then through the fixed orifice holes in the fluid foil member to impinge upon the compressor side face of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 to force the rotor assembly axially in the opposite direction ( towards the turbine 31 ). the air then bleeds out of the compressor side of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing which has been caused to function as a variable orifice by virtue of the and around the bearing r then flows outward over and around the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 , around the turbine side of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing , and exits the thrust bearing area by flowing through the compliant foil journal bearing cartridge , and over and through the cartridge &# 39 ; s external and internal cooling passages and through the bearing rotor . after cooling the journal bearing 38 , the air then exits the turbogenerator 10 in the exhaust gas stream as shown by the arrows in fig3 . in addition , some bleed air is vented radially inward ( recirculated ) through the space between the thrust plate 42 and bearing rotor thrust disk 37 , this space functioning as a variable orifice , and radially outward through the space between the thrust plate 42 and the back of the compressor wheel 32 . the thrust bearing fluid foil member 48 and thrust bearing spring foil member 49 , including three ( 3 ) spring foil elements 60 , 61 , and 62 , are disposed on either side of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 . on the turbine side , the fluid foil member 48 and spring foil member 49 are positioned on the thrust face 46 of the center bearing housing 39 and on the compressor side they are adjacent to the thrust plate 42 . it should be recognized that the space between the thrust bearing plate 42 and the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and the space between the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and the thrust face 46 of the center bearing housing 39 is shown as enlarged for purposes of illustration . a cooling air passage 58 may extend from the base of the turbine side of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 to the compressor end of the bore in the bearing rotor 36 . in addition , a cooling air vent 59 may be included in the turbine end thinned down section of the bearing rotor 36 to allow the flow of cooling air to traverse the bearing rotor 36 and exit adjacent to the heat shield 57 . the thrust bearings would be of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film type of bearing , an example of which can be found in u . s . pat . application ser . no . 08 / 363 , 540 filed dec . 23 , 1994 by robert w . bosley , entitled &# 34 ; compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing &# 34 ; ( issuing as u . s . pat . no . 5 , 529 , 398 on jun . 25 , 1996 ) and is herein incorporated by reference . likewise , the journal bearings should be of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film type of bearing . an example of this type of bearing is described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 427 , 455 issued jun . 27 , 1995 , to robert w . bosley , entitled &# 34 ; compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film radial bearing &# 34 ; and is also herein incorporated by reference . fig4 and 5 illustrate an alternate journal bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ; in which there are a plurality ( shown as six ) peripheral slots 90 extending the entire length of the journal bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ;. a like plurality of radial end slots 91 connect the peripheral slots 90 with the interior of the journal bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ;. each end of the cartridge 38 &# 39 ; is cut back to form smaller diameter ends 92 and 93 . the slots 90 and 91 and smaller diameter ends 92 and 93 together facilitate the flow of compressor air from the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing around the journal bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ; and provide substantial cooling of the bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ; and bearing rotor 36 . the slots 90 and 91 can also function as fixed orifices to control the hydrostatic augmentation of the thrust bearing . an exploded end view of a portion of the cartridge 38 &# 39 ; is shown in fig6 . the fluid foil member 54 and spring foil member 55 are shown in the bore of the cartridge 38 &# 39 ; near a diverging ramp 72 . an enlarged generally arcuate cavity 75 communicates with the bore of the cartridge 38 &# 39 ; by means of a radial slot 76 near the base of the diverging ramp 72 . the arcuate cavity may be larger towards the diverging ramp 72 since that will normally be the hottest area of the bore . an arcuate cavity 75 may be located at each intersection of the base of a diverging ramp 72 and the beginning of the next converging ramp , but not at the preload bar where there is already greater clearances for cooling air flow . these arcuate cavities 75 can be produced with a small edm entry slot which is then enlarged beyond the slot width . although the area at the base of the diverging ramps 72 would be the preferred location for the slot 76 and cavity 75 , they can also be situated at other locations around the bore . a bore liner might , however , be required at other locations to prevent the cantilever beam from getting into a slot 76 . the thrust face 44 of the thrust plate 42 is shown in detail in the exploded perspective of fig7 . the plurality of radially extending orifices 41 are shown spaced around the periphery 47 of the thrust plate 42 . as best illustrated in fig8 the channels 45 in the thrust face 44 of the thrust plate 42 consist of four ( 4 ) circumferential channels or rings 50 , 51 , 52 , & amp ; 53 interconnected by a plurality of generally radially extending arcuate channels 56 . the feeder holes 43 provide bleed air from the radially extending orifices 41 to the arcuate channels 56 . each arcuate channel 56 may be supplied by a single feeder hole 43 or there may be a plurality of feeder holes for each arcuate channel 56 . in fig8 some arcuate channels 56 are shown as being fed by a single feeder hole 43 while other arcuate channels are shown as being fed by four ( 4 ) feeder holes 43 , one for each circumferential channel 50 , 51 , 52 , & amp ; 53 . the number of feeder holes 43 can be selected based upon bleed air flow and distribution requirements . the bleed air distributed by the channels 45 in the thrust face 44 of the thrust plate 42 flows through the thrust bearing spring foil member 49 which consists of outer support foil 60 , spring foil element 61 , and inner support foil 62 before acting upon the fluid foil member 48 . the fluid foil member 48 , best illustrated in fig9 is integrally formed from a flat sheet of a nickel steel such as inconel 750x by room temperature pressing steeply sloped joggles to function as diverging wedge channels or ramps while allowing the hydrodynamic gradually converging wedge channel ramps to result without plastic deformation as the straight line connection between the joggles . the fluid foil member 48 would normally be annealed both during forming and use and may be coated prior to forming the joggles with any number of a myriad of low friction or friction reducing coating materials which can protect the metal from abrasion during starting and stopping , and inadvertent and occasional high speed touch - downs . the coating would also provide for some imbedment of contamination particles . the fluid foil member 48 includes a plurality of individual fluid foil pads 65 which are generally chevron shaped and connected to an outer self shimming ring 68 by support webs 69 . each fluid foil pad 65 has a trailing edge 71 with a rounded trailing point and a leading edge 74 . a generally scoop shaped hydrodynamic converging ramp 73 is formed with a generally straight ramped contour from the leading edge 74 to the trailing edge 71 and a rounded concave contour from the circumferential line of the trailing edge 71 to the outer diameter of the fluid foil pad 65 and to the inner diameter of the fluid foil pad 65 . as best illustrated in the two sectional views of fig1 and 11 , the generally scooped shaped hydrodynamic converging ramps are separated by diverging ramps 72 . on the compressor side of the bilateral compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing , a plurality of air flow orifices 77 are arranged at the base or beginning of each of the hydrodynamic converging ramps 73 of the fluid foil pads 65 . the air flow orifices 77 allow the bleed air that has passed through the spring foil members 49 to pass through the fluid foil member 48 to apply a force against the compressor side face of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and establish a hydrostatic bearing function . the pressure drop across air flow orifices 77 establishes an air spring function supporting the fluid foil pads 65 of the fluid foil member 48 . both the hydrostatic bearing function and the hydrostatic spring function drive the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 towards the turbine . when the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 moves towards the turbine , more air bleeds outward and over the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and around the turbine side thrust bearing and more air bleeds inward and between the compressor wheel back plane and thrust plate 42 causing the force exerted on the thrust disk surface to be somewhat diminished . the initial axial thrust from the hydrostatic bearing function ( and the hydrostatic spring function ) will be reduced until it nearly matches and opposes the net thrust of the compressor and turbine wheels . the turbine side of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing will be conventional without the air flow orifices in the fluid foil pads . bleed air flowing through the spring foil members 49 and the fluid foil member 48 on the compressor side of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 causes the fluid foil member 48 to deflect towards the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and causes the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 to move towards the turbine 31 . movement of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 towards the thrust plate 42 and the compressor 30 will serve to increase the hydrostatic forces on the compressor side of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 by narrowing the flow vent path for the bleed air out of the thrust bearing . since the compressor discharge pressure varies with the square of turbomachine speed , the hydrostatically generated thrust forces will also be proportional to the square of turbomachine speed . also , the hydrostatically generated thrust forces will be a function of the axial position of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 . the flow of bleed air through the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing will be affected by the axial position of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and this relative position will serve as a variable orifice flow control of the bleed air used to attenuate the hydrostatically generated thrust forces . the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic thrust bearing forces cooperate and function integrally together . the fixed orifices of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film journal bearing will work in series with the variable orifices of the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing to jointly control the differential pressure across the rotating bearing thrust disk and the resulting hydrostatic thrust bearing force . fig1 is a schematic illustration of the fluid servocontrol for the hydrostatic augmentation air flow through the bilateral compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film thrust bearing . the left arrow identified as a represents compressor wheel static pressure discharge before the compressor diffuser . this pressure would be on the order of nineteen ( 19 ) to twenty - four ( 24 ) psig . the fixed orifice 80 represents the radially extending orifices 41 , the axially extending feeder holes 43 , and channels 45 , all in the thrust plate 42 together with air flow orifices 77 in the fluid foil pad 65 . pressure arrow b , on the order of sixteen ( 16 ) psig is directed to the thrust disk 37 and to the thrust bearing variable orifices 82 and then to the bypass passages 83 around the turbine side thrust bearing before reaching pressure arrow c , which is on the order of eight ( 8 ) psig . since the bearing rotor thrust disk will be moved axially by the net aerodynamic and hydrostatic thrust forces acting thereon , the orifices 82 are indeed variable . when the bearing rotor thrust disk is moved to the left by these net thrust forces , the hydrostatic pressure on the left or compressor side of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 will be increased , thus effectively balancing the net thrust forces . the variable orifices 82 , interacting with the fixed orifices , effectively control the level of balancing hydrostatic thrust forces that are generated . the differential pressure across the rotating bearing rotor thrust disk 37 , and thus the hydrostatic thrust forces , are a function of the axial position of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 . the variable orifices 82 represent the distance between the thrust bearing fluid foil member 48 and the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 . the bleed air then proceeds around and through the compliant foil hydrodynamic fluid film journal bearing represented by fixed orifices 85 , 86 , and 87 before reaching a pressure on the order of four ( 4 ) psig at arrow d . in addition to the variable orifices 82 , the downstream fixed orifices 85 , 86 , and 87 will also impact the differential pressure across the rotating bearing rotor thrust disk 37 and will function in concert with the variable orifices 82 . fixed orifice 85 represents the flow of cooling air between the bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ; and the center bearing housing 39 , fixed orifice 86 represents the flow of cooling air through the bearing cartridge 38 &# 39 ;, including slots 90 and 91 and arcuate cavities 75 , and fixed orifice 87 represents the flow of cooling air between the bearing rotor 36 and the tie bar 29 . as best shown in fig3 the air then flows past the turbine wheel back face before it is mixed with the turbine exhaust gases to be discharged to atmosphere with the recuperator discharge . the pressures stated above would be typical for full speed operation of the turbomachine and would obviously be less for partial speed operation . pressure in pounds per square inches ( psig ) is plotted against axial deflection of the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 from center location in inches in fig1 for each of the pressure arrows or points of fig1 . line a represents the pressure at point a , line b represents the pressure at point b , line c represents the pressure at point c , and line d represents the pressure at point d . the distance between lines b and c represents the pressure differential across the bearing rotor thrust disk 37 . while specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , it is to be understood that these are provided by way of example only and that the invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto but only by the proper scope of the following claims .	5
the recording - tape - reel assembly of the present invention may be detected in a presence detection system , as shown in fig1 . such system includes a transmitter 10 , a recording - tape - reel assembly 11 containing an electronic tag 12 , and a detection system 14 . the electronic tag included in the preferred embodiments of the recording - tape - reel assembly of the present invention includes a frequency divider , such as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 481 , 428 to lincoln h . charlot , jr . the transmitter 10 transmits an electromagnetic radiation signal 16 of a first predetermined frequency into a surveillance zone 18 . the tag 12 detects the signal 16 and responds thereto by radiating electromagnetic radiation 20 of a second frequency that is one - half the first predetermined frequency . the detection system 14 detects the electromagnetic radiation 20 at the second frequency , and thereby detects the presence of the recording - tape - reel assembly 11 containing the electronic tag 12 within the surveillance zone 18 . referring to fig2 the preferred embodiment of the frequency divider included in the electronic tag 12 includes first and second coils l1 and l2 , first and second capacitances c1 and c2 and a transistor q1 . the coil l1 and the capacitance c1 are connected to form a first resonant lc circuit that detects electromagnetic radiation at the first predetermined frequency . the coil l2 and the capacitance c2 are connected to form a second resonant lc circuit that is coupled to the first resonant lc circuit by the transistor q1 to respond to detection of electromagnetic radiation at the first predetermined frequency by the first resonant lc circuit by radiating electromagnetic radiation at the second frequency . one preferred embodiment of a recording - tape - reel assembly according to the present invention is shown in fig3 and 5 . the assembly includes a reel 21 for holding a recording tape 22 . the reel includes a hub 24 on which the tape 22 is wound and two flanges 26 and 28 attached on opposite sides of the hub 24 . the flanges 26 , 28 restrain lateral movement of the tape 22 as the tape is being wound onto or unwound from the hub 24 . one flange 26 is transparent for viewing how much tape is on the reel 21 . the exterior side of the hub 24 that is attached to the flange 26 includes a pair of coaxial walls 30 , 32 that define a slot 34 , which is circular and coaxial with the hub 24 . the slot 34 is coaxial with the hub 24 so as not to unbalance the hub 24 with respect to its axis . the first coil l1 of the electronic tag has a diameter that is less than the outside diameter of the slot 34 and is coaxially positioned in the slot 34 . the hub 24 further defines a depression 36 in the slot 34 , which is radially equidistant from the hub axis as the slot 34 . the depression 36 includes a first section 38 and a second section 40 . the second coil l2 of the electronic tag has a diameter that is less than the width of the slot 34 and is positioned in the first section 38 of the depression 36 in the slot 34 orthogonally to the first coil l1 . the other components of the electronic tag , the capicitances c1 , c2 and the transistor q1 , are embodied in a printed circuit board 42 which is positioned in the second section 40 of the depression 36 in the slot 34 . the volume of the depression 36 is such as to replace a portion of the hub 24 having a mass sufficiently close to the combined mass of the second coil l2 and the printed circuit board 42 so as not to substantially unbalance the hub 24 when the electronic tag is positioned therein . the flange 26 covers the slot 34 to isolate the electronic tag l1 , l2 , 42 from the tape 22 and to make the tag inaccessible to users of the assembly . the assembly is completed by connecting the flange 26 to the flange 28 by means of studs 44 extending from the flange 26 , which pass through holes 46 and the slot 34 of the hub 24 and are seated in sockets 48 in the flange 28 . if the hub 24 is chosen from hub stock containing twice as many holes 46 as there are studs 44 , and the sections 38 and 40 of the depression 36 are on opposing sides of one of such holes , it is important that such hole in the stock hub be filled in so that a stud 44 does not pass therethrough and sever a connection between the second coil l2 and the circuit board 42 when the flanges 26 , 28 are connected together . another preferred embodiment of a recording - tape - reel assembly according to the present invention is shown in fig6 , 8 and 9 . in this embodiment , a reel 52 is contained in a cassette 54 . a tape 56 is wound on the reel 54 . the cassette 54 has interior segmented generally circular sidewalls 58 for restraining tangential movement of the tape as it is being wound onto or unwound from the reel 52 . there are recesses 60 within the cassette 54 between the sidewall segments . the electronic tag , which consists of coil l1 , coil l2 and a printed circuit board 61 containing the capacitances c1 , c2 and the q1 , is positioned in an enclosed compartment that is defined by sealing an integral component 62 about its periphery to an inner wall 64 of the cassette 54 to isolate the tag from the tape 56 and to make the tag inaccessible to users of the cassette 54 . the component 62 has both a ring - shaped portion 66 and a box - shaped portion 68 at the outer edge of the ring . when the component 62 is sealed to the inner cassette wall 64 , the ring - shaped portion 66 defines a first chamber 70 parallel to the cassette wall 64 ; and the box - shaped portion 68 defines a second chamber 72 . the first coil l1 has a flat planar configuration and a diameter corresponding to that of the ring - shaped first chamber 70 . the first coil l1 is secured to the ring - shaped portion 66 on the inside of the chamber 70 . the second coil l2 and the printed circuit board 61 are secured within the box - shaped portion 68 . the second coil l2 is positioned orthogonally to the first coil l1 . the box - shaped portion 68 of the integral component 62 is positioned within one of the recesses 60 inside the cassette 54 . the integral component 62 has ridges 74 , 76 about both its inner and outer periphery to define the depth of the compartment formed when the integral component 62 is sealed to the inner cassette wall 64 . the ridges 74 , 76 terminate in 90 degree cones for facilitating ultrasonic sealing of the integral component 62 to the inner wall 64 . the first chamber 70 and the second chamber 72 are interconnected so that the first coil l1 can be connected to the other components of the electronic tag . the outer casings 78 and 80 of the cassette 54 are ultrasonically sealed together to complete the assembly of the cassette .	6
referring more particularly to the drawings , and initially to fig1 there is shown a gun assembly 1 with a breech 2 attached to a barrel 3 which is slidably mounted in a cradle 4 . the gun assembly is mounted by trunnions 5 on opposite sides of the cradle . the assembly 1 includes a rod 6 and cylinder 7 that cooperatively function as a shock absorber 8 . the rod 6 could be conveniently attached to the breech 3 and the cylinder 7 attached to the cradle 4 . recoil energies created by the firing of the gun are absorbed by the shock absorber 8 by resisting , through rod 6 and cylinder 7 , as described hereinafter , the sliding movement in cradle 4 of the barrel 3 and breech 2 combination in the direction of breech 2 . a counterrecoil cylinder 9 , which will not be further described , returns the barrel 3 to the original position . referring to fig2 the shock absorber 8 includes cylinder 7 containing a piston assembly 10 attached to rod 6 . the piston assembly 10 includes an actuator cup 11 with a substantially cylindrical bore 12 that slidably retains a backup cup sleeve 13 subject to an axial force toward a backup cup 14 . this force is provided by an actuator return spring 15 held in compression between sleeve 13 and an actuator cap 16 . in the preferred embodiment , the actuator cap 16 is threaded into actuator cup 11 to define a spring chamber 17 . the actuator cup 11 is provided with an actuator lip 18 consisting of an annular region of gradually increasing inner diameter toward backup cup 14 . the backup cup 14 is retained on sleeve 13 by the threaded backup cup retainer nut 19 . a split piston ring 20 is held between actuator cup 11 and backup cup 14 . the ring 20 is provided with a piston ring shoulder 21 consisting of a substantially annular region of gradually decreasing outer diameter toward the actuator cup 11 . the change in diameter of the shoulder 21 matches the change in diameter of the actuator lip 18 such that the lip 18 and shoulder 21 form mutualsliding , camming surfaces whereby piston ring 20 is radially compressed by movement of actuator cup 11 toward backup cup 14 . referring to fig3 expansion notch 22 is formed by the split ends of piston ring 20 to allow the expansion and contraction of the diameter and circumference of ring 20 . continuing to view fig2 the piston assembly 10 divides the interior of cylinder 7 into a high - pressure region 23 on the actuator - cup side and a low - pressure region 24 on the backup - cup side of the assembly 10 . the piston assembly 10 is retained on rod 6 by threaded piston retaining nut 25 which secures sleeve 13 in a press - fit manner on rod 6 . actuator ports 26 ( see fig4 ) communicate between the high - pressure region 23 and the largely annular piston interior 27 of piston assembly 10 defined by actuator cup 11 , piston ring 20 , backup cup 14 and sleeve 13 . a pressure port 28 in actuator cup 11 communicates between the piston interior 27 and an annular pressure chamber 29 formed as shown between backup cup sleeve 13 and actuator cup 11 . the pressure chamber 29 is slidably sealed by an annular actuator seal 30 and an annular sleeve seal 31 . a vent passage 32 communicates between spring chamber 17 and the low - pressure region 24 . the rod 6 is slidably sealed in the bore 12 by seal rings 30 and 33 . as shown in fig2 and 5 , a check valve ring 34 is slidably mounted on guide pins 35 attached to backup cup 14 . the ring 34 is axially urged by check valve springs 36 compressively retained on guide pins 35 to sealingly cover check valve ports 37 that communicate between piston interior 27 and low - pressure region 24 . lugs 38 on backup cup 14 extend radially toward the cylinder wall 39 and generally center the piston assembly 10 radially in cylinder 7 . as shown in fig2 cylinder end cap 40 seals the backup cup 14 end of cylinder 7 . the rod 6 is provided with a generally conical tapered rod extension 41 that acts with cylindrical cavity 42 in cap 40 to form a dashpot . turning to fig6 a gland 43 substantially closes the cylinder 7 between rod 6 and cylinder 7 at the rod end . the rod 6 is slidably positioned within the gland 43 and the high - pressure region 23 is further sealed by an annular gland gasket 44 . an annular accumulator sponge 45 is mounted to cylinder wall 39 , abutting gland 43 . returning to fig2 when an axial force , such as the recoil force of a gun ( as in the configuration shown in fig1 ), is applied to rod 6 toward the left , rod 6 and piston assembly 10 attempt to move to the left also . as is well - known , this estabilishes a high pressure in the region 23 of the cylinder 7 as the piston assembly 10 attempts to displace the hydraulic fluid in the cylinder . initially , there is essentially no passageway between high - pressure region 23 and low - pressure region 24 , as piston ring 20 is expanded essentially to the circumference of cylinder wall 39 and check valve ports 37 are covered by ring 34 held against the ports by springs 36 . however , the high pressure in region 23 is communicated to the interior 27 of the piston assembly 10 through actuator ports 26 . the high pressure therein is then communicated through pressure port 28 to pressure chamber 29 . meanwhile , low - pressure fluid in region 24 is communicated through vent passage 32 to spring chamber 17 . in conjunction with chamber 29 , bore 12 and sleeve 13 constitute a piston and cylinder combination . sufficient pressure differential between pressure chamber 29 and spring chamber 17 acts in opposition to spring 15 to axially slide actuator cup 11 on sleeve 13 toward backup cup 14 . as shown in fig6 movement of actuator cup 11 toward back up cup 14 causes a camming action between lip 18 and shoulder 21 as piston ring 20 is held between cups 11 and 14 . expansion notch 22 shown in fig3 allows this camming action to compress the circumference of piston ring 20 . this results in an annular aperture 46 between the compressed ring 20 and cylinder wall 39 . the inner radius of aperture 46 is proportional to the amount of movement by actuator cup 11 toward backup cup 14 , which is in turn proportional to the pressure differential between pressure chamber 29 and spring chamber 17 . aperture 46 provides a passage for the displacement of hydraulic fluid between high - pressure region 23 and low - pressure region 24 , thus allowing the piston assembly 10 and rod 6 to move in the direction of the applied force . as is well - known , movement of a piston in a fluid - filled cylinder is opposed by a force proportional to the effective aperture available for the displacement of the fluid . aperture 46 is variable depending on the pressure differential between pressure chamber 29 and spring chamber 18 , as the distance between cups 11 and 14 determines the circumference of ring 20 . this varying of aperture 46 as a function of the pressure differential between regions 23 and 24 allows the invention to maintain a constant force in opposition to the applied external force . referring to fig7 the piston assembly 10 is shown starting to return to its initial position ( fig2 ) after a shock - absorbing stroke . aperture 46 is no longer present absent high pressure in pressure chamber 29 and external means apply an axial force to the right on rod 6 . this creates a high pressure in former low - pressure region 24 , thereby forcing check valve ring 34 away from check valve ports 37 , overcoming the closing force of springs 36 . this allows a low constriction path for displacement of the fluid from region 24 to region 23 through ports 26 and 37 . accumulator sponge 45 is provided to compensate for internal volumetric changes caused by ingress and egress of the rod 6 from cylinder 7 . referring to fig2 the motion of returning rod 6 and piston assembly 10 is cushioned by the dashpot - line action of rod extension 41 entering cavity 42 . it should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding , modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure . the invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited .	5
referring to fig1 a perspective view of a holder 20 according to the present invention is illustrated . the holder 20 is adapted for supporting a disposable microorganism culturing medium having a substantially planar substrate 21 ( shown in fig1 ), and has a generally planar bottom 22 . rising from the bottom 22 is a side wall 24 for retaining the substantially planar substrate over the bottom . side wall 24 has an overhanging portion 26 parallel to the bottom 22 for further restraining the substantially planar substrate . it will be observed that the bottom 22 conveniently has openings 28 positioned under the overhanging portion 26 which facilitates the injection molding of the depicted embodiment . it will also be observed that the side wall 24 extends slightly below the bottom 22 all around . this allows several advantages : frictional force is reduced when it is desired that the holder 20 be ejected from the apparatus , air is allowed to circulate under the holder , allowing a more consistent incubation of the substantially planar substrate 21 , and less plastic dust is generated by repeated sliding of the holder in and out of the apparatus . such dust can accumulate and make the counting of colonies more difficult . the side wall 24 has ends 30 and 32 defining a gap in the side wall positioned so as to facilitate sliding the substantially planar substrate between the bottom 22 and the overhanging portion 26 . a pair of projections 34 are attached to the bottom 22 . conveniently , the substantially planar substrate to be used with holder 20 has a certain stiffness which urges it into a position so as to be restrained within the holder , bound between bottom 20 , side walls 24 , overhanging portion 26 , and projections 34 . however , preferred substantially planar substrates are not so stiff as to resist an operator bending one slightly so as to clear projections 34 , permitting the substantially planar substrate to be withdrawn from holder 20 . in order to facilitate bending of the substantially planar substrate by an operator , holder 20 is conveniently constructed with a cut - out 36 in the bottom 22 . referring to fig4 a perspective view of an apparatus 40 for counting microorganism colonies according to the present invention is illustrated . the apparatus 40 includes an incubator enclosure 42 , which has mounted on it an enclosure 44 for the imaging system , a shelf 46 adapted for supporting holders which are to be inserted into the incubator enclosure , an enclosure 48 for an input mechanism 50 ( seen in fig8 ) for introducing holders on the shelf 46 into the incubator enclosure 42 , and a hopper 52 for receiving holders that have been ejected from the incubator enclosure . an alternative input means , not illustrated , includes a cartridge capable of containing a plurality of holders in a stack . such a cartridge may be attached or fitted to the input mechanism in order to transfer holders from the cartridge into the incubator enclosure . a microprocessor 53 is connected to the mechanisms within the incubator enclosure 42 . with multi - tasking , the microprocessor can provide several control functions , serving as a control means for the mechanisms which move and queue the holders within the incubator enclosure , as a way of controlling the timing of the taking of images by the camera , and as the counting means . the above referenced u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 061 , 678 , method for the early detection of colony growth , now u . s . pat . no . 5 , 510 , 246 , describes programming suitable for detecting and enumerating microbial colonies ; the programming required to control the holder positioning means and the timing of the taking of video images depends on the user interface desired and on the exact physical arrangements and sizing of components , but the expedients required are well known to those of ordinary skill in the programming art . referring to fig5 a cut - away , perspective side view of the apparatus 40 of fig4 is illustrated . within incubator enclosure 42 is a frame 54 , whose walls define a first queuing area 56 and a second queuing area 58 . these queuing areas have a cross - section sized to support and contain a stack of trays 60 each sized to support one of the holders 20 . while trays are not actually necessary for apparatus to work for its intended function , without them when adding or removing a holder from the stack in second queuing area 58 , the viewing distance from the imaging means and the top holder in the stack changes and must be compensated for in other ways . with trays that are just slightly taller than the holders supporting the holders , the stack height is always the same no matter how many trays are filled with holders at the moment . a hoist means 62 is provided for lifting the stack of trays within the first queuing area 56 , and a set of leaf springs 64 serve as a detent means so that the stack within the first queuing area may be lifted and held temporarily . a first conveyor means 66 is provided for displacing a tray 60 at the bottom of a stack within said second queuing area 58 to the bottom of the first queuing area 56 into the space provided when the rest of the stack of trays within the first queuing area 56 is being held in a raised position by the detent means 64 . a second conveyor means 68 is provided for moving a tray 60 at the top of a stack of trays within the first queuing area 56 to the top of the second queuing area 56 . a stepper motor of conventional type , directed by microprocessor 53 , is used to form a motive means which operates the various mechanical expedients above described in the proper order and manner to accomplish the task of moving trays bearing the appropriate holder to the predetermined position 70 when required for imaging . as will be described with more particularity below , a geneva mechanism is a useful expedient for cycling the hoist means 62 and the proper time within the cycle of the first 66 and second 68 conveyor means . a conventional d . c . motor may substitute for a stepper motor if some arrangement ( e . g ., a notched wheel and a photodetector looking for the notch ) is provided to signal the microprocessor 53 when the conveyors have finished their cycle . when activated , an input conveyor 50 ( illustrated in fig9 ) draws a holder 20 from a position at the bottom of a stack in shelf 46 into contact with drive wheels 74 and 76 . the drive wheels 74 and 76 act to insert the new holder into an empty tray 60 within the stack of trays supported by the time 54 at the top of second queuing area 58 . when it is desired to eject a holder 20 from the apparatus 40 , ejection actuator 77 ( illustrated in fig8 ) is activated to move that holder into contact with drive wheels 76 and 80 , which moves the holder out of its tray 60 , through slot 82 ( illustrated in fig4 ) and into hopper 52 . a simple solenoid , which extends to nudge the holder 20 into contact with the drive wheels 76 and 80 , will be sufficient . an alternative input mechanism is illustrated in fig1 and 14 . in this embodiment , a holder 20 is inserted in an empty tray 60 in a direction which is perpendicular to the input direction illustrated in fig5 and 9 . in order to very accurately position the tray 60 and holder 20 which is in predetermined position 70 , a support cradle 78 is provided . the cradle 78 is closed to receive a tray 60 which has been delivered by the second conveyor means 68 , and remains closed during the imaging of the holder 20 . this careful positioning allows a very consistent focal length as each holder 20 is imaged several times . after the imaging is complete , cradle 78 opens and allows the tray 60 within it to fall a short distance onto the stack within second queuing area 58 . a driven motor shaft 124 attached to a main motor for providing energy to the first conveyor means 66 , the second conveyor means 68 , and the hoist means 62 can be seen . a system of timing belts , removed for visual clarity , connects motor shaft 124 to wheels 122 , 135 , and 106 ( illustrated in fig6 ), respectively . referring to fig6 a cut - away perspective view of hoist 62 and first conveyor means 66 at the bottom of the queuing areas is illustrated . various structures , including a portion of the frame 54 have been removed for visual clarity . the hoist means 62 is conveniently constructed with a first 94 and second 96 lift trucks being moved via eccentric cams 98 acting on a slot 100 in each lift truck . the movement can be regulated by such expedients as a vertical rod 102 which is disposed within guide holes 104 on the lift trucks . actuation of the hoist means 62 is conveniently accomplished via a timing belt around wheel 106 . once the lift trucks 94 and 96 have lifted the stack of trays upwards , the trays push past leaf springs 64 , which then spring back to support the weight of the stack on their top surfaces 108 , creating a gap at the bottom of the first queuing area 56 , into which first conveyor means 66 can move one of the holders 20 . the first conveyor means 66 includes a belt 110 having a raised projection 112 on its outside , positioned so that when belt 110 is moved in direction 114 around pulleys 116 and 118 , the projection 112 will engage a holder 20 lying on platform 120 and move it along the platform and onto lift trucks 94 and 96 . motive power for the first conveyor 66 is conveniently provided via a timing belt engaging wheel 122 , which turns pulley 118 via axle 124 . a single motor can control the motion of the hoist means 62 via wheel 106 and the first conveyor means 66 via wheel 122 if the power for the hoist means 62 is transduced through a geneva mechanism to rapidly move the hoist means through its cycle at the proper moment in the first conveyor means &# 39 ; cycle and be stationary at other times . input power to the geneva mechanism 125 ( located under platform 120 , is delivered via a timing belt ( removed for visual clarity ) around wheel 127 . referring to fig7 a cut - away perspective view of second conveyor means 68 , predetermined or viewing position 70 , and cradle 78 at the top of the queuing areas are illustrated . various structures , including a portion of the flame 54 have been removed for visual clarity . the second conveyor means 68 includes a belt 126 having a raised projection 128 on its outside , positioned so that when belt 126 is moved in direction 130 around pulleys 132 and 134 , the projection 128 will engage a tray 60 , which may or may not be supporting a holder 20 , from the top of the stack in the first queuing area 56 and move it across to the top of the stack in the second queuing area 58 . motive power to move the second conveyor means 68 is supplied via a timing belt over wheel 135 . referring to fig8 a cut - away side view of the area depicted in fig7 is illustrated . this view , particularly illustrates how a holder which has been moved by the input conveyor 50 ( illustrated in fig9 ) into contact with drive wheels 74 and 76 would be moved towards predetermined position 70 and inserted into an empty tray 60 within the stack of trays supported by the frame at the top of second queuing area 58 . a microprocessor controlling the apparatus may be programmed to only activate the input conveyor 50 when an empty tray is in the predetermined position 70 . this may be accomplished either by storing the status of the trays in data memory , or by using the imaging means to view the tray briefly to determine whether it is empty . when it is desired to eject a holder 20 from the tray 60 in position 70 , ejection actuator 77 is activated to move that holder past the open end 137 of tray 60 and into contact with drive wheels 76 and 80 , which moves the holder out of its tray 60 and from there out of the incubator enclosure 42 . referring to fig9 a cut - away top view of the area depicted in fig8 is illustrated . the input conveyor 50 has moved a holder 20 along shelf 46 and into contact with drive wheel 74 so that holder 20 can be inserted into tray 60 in predetermined position 70 . input conveyor 50 is moved by a motor 136 , under control of a microprocessor , when insertion of a new holder 20 into the apparatus is desirable . motor 136 turns driven wheel 138 , moving belt 140 around idlers 142 and 144 , causing projection 146 to engage the end of holder 20 , moving it towards drive wheel 74 . referring to fig1 , a light source 84 is mounted above position 70 for producing light so as to strike the upper surface of a substantially planar substrate which is in a holder 20 in that position . a video camera 86 will be positioned so as to view a substantially planar substrate which is in a holder 20 in that predetermined position 70 . a carousel 88 having several optical filters 90 is mounted between the predetermined position 70 and the video camera 86 to allow the image to be filtered when the chemistry of the growth and indicating media in the substrate is such that filtering the light reaching the video camera 86 enhances the ability of a computer to interpret the image generated . the carousel 88 is mounted on a stepper motor 92 so that it can be rotated as needed to provide any of several modes of filtering , or none . referring to fig1 , a perspective view of a holder 20 with a substantially planar substrate 21 installed is illustrated . the natural stiffness of the substantially planar substrate 21 causes it to be captured behind projections 34 . referring to fig1 , a top plan view of a tray 60 which is preferably used to support each holder 20 within the holder positioning means is illustrated . the tray 60 has a side wall 150 around three sides of its periphery , except for open end 137 , which needs to be open to allow holder 20 to pass through and contact drive wheels 76 and 80 when it is desired to eject the holder from incubator enclosure 42 . the trays are sized to fit within the first 56 and second 58 queuing areas , and sized to closely , but not bindingly , receive one of the holders 20 . in order to reduce weight , a cut - out portion 152 may be provided in the bottom 154 of the tray . holders and trays suitable for use with the present invention can be fabricated from numerous materials , but rigid thermoplastic polymers which can be formed by injection molding are considered preferred . a certain amount of toughness in order to endure repeated handling by the operator and by the moving and queuing means is desirable , so plastics such as polycarbonate are considered particularly preferred . many different sorts of incubators are suitable for use with the present invention . in particular , the suitability of the &# 34 ; model 2 &# 34 ; gravity convection incubator commercially available from precision scientific , inc . of chicago , ill . has been demonstrated by a physical trial . with regard to the imaging system , a very steady fight source is particularly desirable . considered suitable for use with the present invention are &# 34 ; f6t5 - cw &# 34 ; fluorescent tubes , commercially available from general electric co ., driven by a precision power source , model &# 34 ; fx0416 - 2 &# 34 ;, commercially available from mercron , of richardson , tex . charge coupled video cameras are considered particularly suitable for use with the present invention , such as the &# 34 ; xc - 77 &# 34 ; black - and - white camera commercially available from sony corp ., of japan . when filtering is desirable , band - pass interference filters are preferred , such as those commercially available from corion , of holliston , mass . a more complete description of disposable devices for culturing microorganism such as petrifilm culture plates is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 565 , 783 to hansen et al . additional chemistries which may be used with the imaging means contemplated by the present invention are reported in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 364 , 766 and u . s . patent applications ser . no . 08 / 292 , 494 filed aug . 18 , 1994 now abandoned , and ser . no . 08 / 292 , 784 filed aug . 18 , 1994 , now u . s . pat . no . 5 , 601 , 998 . while certain embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein and as shown in the accompanying drawings , it will be evident that various further modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , alternative holder and queuing systems such as specifically adapted carousel apparatus may be combined with the presently described holders , imaging means , and counting means of this invention .	6
to make the drawings easier to understand , only those elements needed for understanding the invention have been depicted . the same elements bear the same references from one drawing to another . throughout the present text “ vertical ”, “ horizontal ” or any other similar qualifier is to be understood as indicating the spatial positioning of the component in question in the most customary ( but not necessarily only ) configuration of operation of the torque - transmitting device , this configuration corresponding to the one depicted in fig1 . the torque - transmitting device 1 illustrated in fig1 , is , for example , a locomotive reducer . this reducer 1 comprises a casing 2 formed of two half - parts , an upper part 4 and a lower part 8 , and of a cover 10 . once closed , the casing 2 has two side walls running in a substantially vertical direction . the side wall 6 facing toward the engine ( not depicted in the figure ) comprises a rolling bearing 12 , for example a ball bearing or roller bearing . the outer ring 16 of the rolling bearing 12 is secured to the side wall 6 , while the inner ring 18 of the rolling bearing is secured to the hub 20 of a gearwheel 22 . the gearwheel 22 is rotated by one end of a drive shaft 24 fitted with a pinion . the lower part 8 of the casing is filled with oil to form a reserve of oil in which at least part of a pinion 26 of the gearwheel 22 is immersed . the side wall 6 housing the rolling bearing 12 comprises an oil recuperator wiper 28 . this is arranged in the upper part 4 , between the cover 10 and the outer ring 16 of the rolling bearing 12 , so as to face the periphery of the pinions 26 of the gearwheel . between the recuperator wiper 28 and the outer ring 16 , at least one spout 30 is made on the inner face 31 of the side wall 6 , the spout 30 opening onto the rolling element 32 ( ball or roller ). under the outer ring 16 , the side wall 6 has a duct 34 leading from the rolling bearing 32 and opening into the lower part 8 . the bottom of the lower part 8 optionally comprises a projection 36 extending substantially in the vertical direction parallel to the side wall 6 and dividing the bottom into two oil pans forming a reserve . one or two orifices 38 are created in the projection 36 to allow flow between this reserve and the part from which the gearwheel picks up . the choice of the diameter of these openings sets the flow parameters . as illustrated in fig1 to 3 , the recuperator wiper 28 comprises a substantially toric body 40 , the axis of revolution of which is parallel to the axis of rotation a of the gearwheel 22 , and housed in the side wall 6 . a first end 42 of the body emerges out of the casing 2 and a second end 44 emerges inside the casing 2 . the substantially toric body 40 of the recuperator wiper has at its first end 42 a cavity 46 housing a spring 48 . the body 40 of the recuperator wiper also comprises an annular groove 50 in which an o - ring 52 is mounted , to seal the casing 2 . a plate 54 of substantially circular shape is attached to the first end 42 of the recuperator wiper emerging from the casing 2 . the plate 54 thus rests against the spring 48 and compresses it . the end 42 of the recuperator wiper and the plate 54 comprise removable means of attachment to one another , for example formed of notches on the body of the recuperator wiper and mating pins on the plate . other means of attachment may be imagined , such as a system of paired bores on the body of the recuperator wiper and the plate . the plate 54 on its peripheral perimeter comprises a series of bores 56 . the exterior face of the side wall of the casing housing the recuperator wiper also comprises a series of identical bores 58 , which therefore complement one another when the bores 56 of the plate are positioned facing the bores 58 of the casing . removable attachment elements 60 such as screws are positioned through the coaxial bores 58 , 56 of the plate and of the casing in order to join the recuperator wiper 28 to the casing 2 , via the plate 54 . these attachment elements 60 are accessible from outside the casing . the second end 44 of the recuperator wiper body , which emerges inside the casing 2 , comprises a blade 62 extending substantially in a vertical direction d which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation a of the gearwheel which is itself horizontal in this instance . this blade at its free end 64 has a surface collaborating with the lateral periphery of the pinions 26 of the gearwheel 22 situated facing the side wall 6 . the free end 64 of the blade , in a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the bottom of the casing , has a substantially convex cross section . the blade on its vertical faces comprises a groove 66 of convex shape , substantially horizontal near the contact surface 64 and substantially vertical near the flanks of the end 44 , so as to guide the oil wiped from the wheel 22 into the spout 30 . the blade has symmetry with respect to the plane p perpendicular to the plane p ′ containing the gearwheel ( here passing through the front face thereof ), and this allows it to perform its function irrespective of the direction in which the wheel rotates with respect to its axis a . in a variant depicted in fig3 , the blade 62 has no groove 66 . the blade is connected to the body 40 by two connecting flanks 68 of substantially concave cross section . the recuperator wiper 28 additionally comprises a circular ring 70 arranged on the blade 62 in such a way as to touch neither the gearwheel 22 nor the body of the recuperator wiper 40 . the way in which the torque - transmitting device works will now be described . when stationary , at least one pinion 26 of the gearwheel 22 is immersed — or partially immersed depending on the oil level — in the reserve of oil . the end 64 of the blade 62 of the recuperator wiper 28 is kept pressed against the wheel 22 by the compressive stress exerted by the plate 54 on the spring 48 . when the engine starts , the drive shaft 24 turns the gearwheel 22 . right from the first turn of the wheel , the end 64 of the blade rubs against the periphery of the gearwheel 26 laden with oil . thanks to the groove 66 in the blade 62 — or thanks to the shape of the blade 62 and to the circular ring 70 which acts as a ducting means in the second variant — the wiped oil is guided toward the spout 30 positioned under the recuperator wiper , into which it falls under gravity . again under gravity , the oil passes across the rolling elements 32 and returns to the bottom of the casing via the duct 34 formed in the side wall 6 . the projection 36 is arranged in such a way as to create a pan independent of the reserve of oil in which part of the gearwheel 22 is immersed . under steady state conditions the oil , the temperature of which has increased , is guided toward the spout 30 by the recuperator wiper 28 and is also thrown against the side walls of the casing 2 by pick - up lubrication . a device such as this makes it possible , in extremely cold weather , right from the first turn of the wheel and even at very low speeds ( typically of below 10 km / h ) for the spout 30 to be filled and the rolling elements 32 lubricated effectively . the spring 48 housed in the recuperator wiper 28 allows the recuperator wiper 28 always to be kept in contact with the gearwheel 22 , even in the event of geometric defects with the wheel or wear of the contacting parts . the load generated by the spring is rated to avoid premature recuperator wiper wear . the recuperator wiper 28 or one of the components thereof can easily be changed or undergo maintenance by removing the attachment elements 60 which are accessible from outside the casing 2 , without any need to open up the casing 2 of the torque - transmitting device . the torque - transmitting device 1 according to the invention is of a simple design , is easy to maintain , and lubricates the rolling bearings even when the oil is viscous , right from the first turn of the wheel . the device remains effective at very low speeds and becomes surplus to requirement at higher speeds , without disrupting the splash lubrication . of course , the invention is not in any way restricted to the embodiments described and illustrated which have been given merely by way of examples .	5
with regard to fastening , mounting , attaching or connecting components of the present invention , unless specifically described as otherwise , conventional mechanical fasteners and methods may be used . other appropriate fastening or attachment methods include adhesives , welding and soldering , the latter particularly with regard to the electrical system of the invention , if any . in embodiments with electrical features or components , suitable electrical components and circuitry , wires , wireless components , chips , boards , microprocessors , inputs , outputs , displays , control components , etc . may be used . generally , unless otherwise indicated , the materials for making embodiments of the invention and / or components thereof may be selected from appropriate materials such as metal , metallic alloys , ceramics , plastics , etc . unless otherwise indicated specifically or by context , positional terms ( e . g ., up , down , front , rear , distal , proximal , etc .) are descriptive not limiting . same reference numbers are used to denote same parts or components . the injection device illustrated in fig1 comprises a drive unit , which , in some embodiments , can be used more than once , and a product container 27 connected to it , which is accommodated in a sleeve - shaped product container holder 16 which can be used multiple times , for example , and which can be secured to the drive unit with the aid of the product container holder 16 . the product container 27 can be removed from the injection device after it is empty , disposed of and replaced with a new one . with a view to simplifying the manufacturing and assembly processes , the housing 12 is of a multi - part design comprising housing elements 12 a , 12 b connected to or inserted in it , although in principle , the housing could also comprise a single part . the product container 16 is attached to the drive unit by a bayonet fitting , which is formed by the housing 12 , product container holder 16 and sleeve 50 . the product container holder 16 is covered by a cap 31 , which is fitted on the housing 12 , and can be removed in preparation for using the injection device and then fitted back on it . fig2 to 5 illustrate elements of the fixing device provided in the exemplary form of a bayonet fitting . the product container holder 16 has a cam 16 c extending radially outwardly and at its proximal ( rear ) end face is designed so that it can be connected in a positive fit , i . e . in a fixed torque - transmitting fit , to the distal ( forward ) end face of the sleeve 50 , as illustrated in fig5 where housing part 12 a has been omitted for illustration purposes . the sleeve 50 has at least one cam 50 c extending radially outwardly , which forms a part of a cam ( which may be thought of as comprising cam elements 16 c , 50 c ) for the fixing device . the cam 50 c locates or is positioned in a guide track 12 e formed in the housing 12 , e . g . in housing part 12 a , which has at least one inclined surface 12 g . when the sleeve 50 is moved in rotation , the sleeve 50 moves axially relative to the housing part 12 a as well as moving in rotation , due to the locating cam 50 c . as will be described below , the axial movement of the sleeve 50 results in various advantageous effects . to fit the product container 27 on the drive unit , it may be introduced into the product container holder 16 via the proximal end . the product container holder 16 is then snap - fitted onto the sleeve 50 by an axial movement resulting in a fixed torque - transmitting fit ( fig5 ), so that the cams 16 c are inserted through the opening 12 f ( fig2 ) into the guide track 12 e . fig2 illustrates the bayonet fitting in a locked state without the product container holder 16 . in an unlocked state in which the cams 50 c are disposed in the region of , and axially flush with the openings 12 f , the product container holder 16 can be push - fitted . the cams 16 c and 50 c then lie one against the other and form a common cam ( fig5 ). a rotation of the product container holder 16 causes the sleeve 50 to be driven . due to the inclined faces 12 g , the sleeve 50 and the product container holder 16 are also moved axially . at the end of the rotation , i . e . on reaching the locked position , the common cam ( comprising cam elements 16 c , 50 c ) is disposed in the region 12 h of the guide track 12 e in which the two cams 16 c and 50 c are axially clamped together by the sides of the guide track 12 e . to this end , the axial width of the guide track in the region 12 h is approximately as wide as that of the joint cams 16 c , 50 c . as illustrated in fig4 , a guide sleeve 26 is accommodated in the sleeve 50 , which may also be thought of and / or referred to as the bayonet sleeve . the guide sleeve 26 is connected to the housing 12 so that it can not rotate but can move axially and is connected to the bayonet sleeve 50 so that it can rotate but can not move axially . as a result , when the bayonet sleeve 50 is moved from the unlocked to the locked position and vice versa , the guide sleeve 26 effects a longitudinally guided movement relative to the housing 12 . as may be seen from fig1 , a threaded insert 6 is connected and / or latched to the guide sleeve 26 so that it can not rotate or move axially . the threaded insert 6 and guide sleeve 26 may be thought of and / or referred to as a locating element ( comprising insert and sleeve elements 6 , 26 ). the threaded insert 6 has an internal thread 6 a in which the external thread 2 a of an output element 2 , which might also be called a plunger rod in this example , is guided so that when the output element 2 is rotated , it is guided by the internal thread 6 a of the threaded insert 6 in the proximal direction or in the distal , i . e . opposite , direction , as it is screwed , depending on the direction of rotation . on its external face , the output element 2 has a thread 2 a , which is interrupted by two grooves 2 b extending in the axial direction lying opposite one another on the circumference . a coupling sleeve 5 constituting part of a transmission ( comprising elements 7 , k 2 , 5 ) has two projections 5 a , 5 b directed radially inwardly lying opposite one another on its distal end which project into the grooves 2 b of the output element 2 . the coupling sleeve 5 is connected to the locating element so that it can rotate but is not able to move axially . accordingly , the output element 2 is locked to prevent it from rotating relative to the coupling sleeve 5 but is able to move axially relative to the coupling sleeve 5 when it is rotated relative to the locating element . the coupling sleeve 5 is not able to move axially expect for when the product container 27 is being replaced . a drive shaft 7 provided at the proximal end of the injection device and forming part of the transmission has teeth 7 a extending radially inwardly which constitute a coupling element of the coupling k 2 . when operated , i . e . when an operating element 15 is pushed in the distal ( forward or injection ) direction , the drive shaft 7 and as a result also the teeth 7 a are moved in the distal direction , as result of which the teeth 7 a locate in the proximal end of the coupling sleeve 5 and establish a fixed torque - transmitting , positive connection . a spring element or drive spring 3 , which may be provided in the form of a helical spring or clock spring , is connected to the housing 12 by one end via a spring sleeve 8 on the external face of the spring 3 . the spring sleeve 8 is prevented from rotating relative to the housing 12 but is able to move axially . at the other end , the drive spring 3 is connected to the drive shaft 7 . as a result , energy stored in the spring 3 can be output as a rotating movement of the drive shaft 7 relative to the housing 12 . to dispense a product , the energy of the spring element 3 is transmitted via the transmission element in the form of a rotating movement to the output element so that the latter is screwed relative to the locating element in the distal direction , i . e . in the dispensing direction , and pushes the plunger 28 , causing the product to be dispensed from the product container 27 . to set a product dose to be administered , a user can rotate the dose setting element 9 provided in the form of a dose setting button , which is axially fixed relative to the housing 12 . the dose setting element 9 is coupled with a coupling element 10 via the coupling k 3 so that it is prevented from rotating . the coupling k 3 is formed by webs or grooves or teeth of the dose setting button 9 , which co - operate in a positive fit with webs or grooves or teeth of the coupling disc 10 to establish a coupling which can be released by a movement of the coupling element 10 in the distal direction . the coupling element 10 can be moved and thus released by operating the operating element 15 . when in a state of not being operated , the coupling k 3 is held in a coupled state and the coupling k 2 in an uncoupled state by a spring element 19 , which pushes the drive shaft 7 in the proximal ( rear or rearward ) direction . during the dose setting operation , the coupling k 3 is coupled , i . e . a rotating movement of the dose setting button 9 is transmitted to the coupling element 10 . the coupling element 10 is connected to the drive shaft 7 so that it can not move axially and can not rotate and could also be an integral part of the drive shaft 7 . the rotating movement of the dose setting element 9 is not transmitted to the coupling sleeve 5 because the coupling k 2 is uncoupled . when the drive shaft 7 is rotated , the drive spring 3 connected to the drive shaft 7 is tensed . to prevent the dose setting button 9 from being turned back due to the drive spring 3 as it is tensed during the setting operation , a ratchet 11 or a ratchet mechanism , which may comprise a ratchet spring 11 a , e . g . for clamping retaining elements , may be provided between the housing 12 of the injection device , the components of which might , for example , be a mechanical holder 12 a and a mechanical holder 12 b and the dose setting button 9 . the ratchet mechanism may be designed so that a rotation and / or a tensing of the drive spring 3 is possible in only one direction . in some preferred embodiments , however , the ratchet mechanism is designed so that the rotating action is possible in both directions , e . g . tensing and relaxing of the drive spring 3 . due to the fact of being able to rotate in both directions , a product dose can be both increased and reduced when setting the product dose . a currently set product dose can be read through the window 12 d of a display barrel 4 . the rotating movement of the drive shaft 7 is also transmitted to the threaded sleeve 13 , which is connected to the drive shaft 7 so that it is not able to move axially or rotate and may also be an integral part of it . the threaded sleeve 13 has at least one groove on its external circumference 13 a in which at least one web 4 a of the display barrel 4 locates so that a rotating movement of the threaded sleeve 13 is transmitted to the display barrel 4 by the anti - rotation coupling , permitting an axial relative movement between the display barrel 4 and threaded sleeve 13 . the display barrel 4 has a thread 4 b on its external face which locates in an internal thread 12 c of the housing part 12 b so that the display barrel 4 is moved due to a rotating movement in the axial direction relative to the housing 12 , e . g . in the distal direction . in some preferred embodiments , the display barrel 4 moves in the distal direction of the injection device ( towards the left in fig1 ) during the process of setting and priming the dose by rotating the dose setting button 9 . a marking may be provided on the external face of the display barrel 4 , such as print , a dose display or a scale , which can be read through an opening or a window 12 d in the housing 12 b of the injection device , and the marking of the display barrel 4 is moved relative to the window 12 d . the display barrel 4 has a rotation stop on its distal end acting in the circumferential direction which moves into an abutting contact with a co - operating complementary stop disposed on the housing part 12 a on reaching the maximum dose . the complementary stop is formed by a terminal end of an annular gap of the housing part 12 a . an advantage of using a stop which acts in the circumferential direction rather than an axial stop is that the forces acting on the stop are weaker . the display barrel 4 also has another rotation stop on its proximal end acting in the circumferential direction , which moves into an abutting contact with a co - operating complementary stop on the housing 12 b on reaching a minimum dose . the complementary stop is formed by the proximal end of the thread 12 c . once the dose has been set and the drive spring 3 primed by rotating the dose setting button 9 , the setting operation is complete . in some preferred embodiments , the dose is primed as the spring 3 is tensed . to correct or adjust the dose , the dose setting button 9 simply has to be rotated in the opposite direction , e . g . to reduce a dose which might have been set too high . in some embodiments , the ratchet 11 may be designed as illustrated in fig1 and 15 of patent application pct / ch2007 / 000243 and / or us publication 2009 / 0254035 , the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference . during the dispensing process , which is triggered by depressing the push button 15 , the display barrel 4 is rotated back in the opposite direction and is moved back in the proximal direction due to the thread engagement with the internal thread 12 c of the injection device ( to the right in fig1 ). as this happens , it reaches a stop of the display barrel 4 acting in the circumferential direction on the housing of the injection device , e . g . on the housing part 12 b . in an unbraked dispensing movement in which the threaded rod 2 is moved in the distal direction without any opposing force , e . g . when no product container has been inserted , this operation may result in too high a strain and , in an extreme situation , deformation or even damage to the display barrel 4 or co - operating part 12 b . a brake mechanism ( e . g . comprising brake elements , e . g . shoe halves and disc 17 , 18 ) acting on the driving movement is therefore provided , which will be described below . the coupling k 1 , comprising the coupling element acting as a lock sleeve 14 and the coupling sleeve 5 , is used to couple the coupling sleeve 5 with the housing 12 so that it can not rotate in specific operating modes or to release it to permit a rotation relative to the housing 12 . the coupling k 1 is uncoupled when the product container 27 is being replaced to enable the output element 2 to be pushed back or screwed in the proximal direction again and to enable the output element 2 to be screwed in the distal direction while product is being dispensed . the coupling k 1 is coupled when the product container is attached to the drive unit and the operating element 15 is not being operated . the coupling k 1 is provided in the form of teeth on the external face of the coupling sleeve 5 , which mesh in teeth on the internal face of the lock sleeve 14 . as a result , the coupling sleeve 5 is prevented from rotating relative to the lock sleeve 14 . the lock sleeve 14 is mounted in the injection device so that it can not rotate but can move axially relative to the housing 12 and the coupling sleeve 5 . during a dispensing operation , the threaded sleeve 13 is moved in the distal ( forward or injection or delivery ) direction by operating the operating element 15 . as this happens , the threaded sleeve 13 pushes on the bearing 29 , which is provided in the form of a ball bearing in this example but may also be a simple slide bearing , so that the bearing 29 pushes against the lock sleeve 14 , thereby moving it in the distal direction for a dispensing operation , and holds it in a distal position during a dispensing operation . the coupling element 14 is therefore disposed distally of the projections of the coupling sleeve 5 for the coupling k 1 . as a result , the coupling k 1 remains uncoupled for the duration of the dispensing operation . when the operating element 15 is operated , the couplings k 1 , k 2 and k 3 operate as follows . by depressing the push button 15 seated on the coupling element 10 and / or drive shaft 7 , the coupling element 10 is pushed in the distal direction together with the push button 15 and the drive shaft 7 . as a result , the coupling k 2 is coupled so that the drive shaft 7 is prevented from rotating relative to the coupling sleeve 5 . the coupling k 1 is then uncoupled due to the movement of the lock sleeve 14 , against which the threaded sleeve 13 connected to the drive shaft 7 pushes via the axially displaceable bearing 29 . alternatively , the couplings k 1 and k 2 may be connected in the reverse sequence . once k 2 is coupled and k 1 is uncoupled , the coupling k 3 is also uncoupled due to the movement of the coupling element 10 relative to the dose setting button 9 . the coupling element 10 , which is connected to the drive shaft 7 , is able to rotate relative to the housing 12 once the coupling k 3 is uncoupled . the energy or force stored in the drive spring 3 during priming can be transmitted to the drive shaft 7 . accordingly , a torque is applied to the drive shaft 7 , which is transmitted by the coupled coupling k 2 to the coupling sleeve 5 , which rotates in unison with the drive shaft 7 and transmits this rotating movement to the output element 2 , which is coupled with the coupling sleeve 5 so that it can not rotate . the output element 2 , provided in the form of a threaded rod in this example , converts the rotating movement into an axial movement in the distal direction due to the thread engagement 2 a , 6 a with the locating element ( comprising elements 6 , 26 ), so that the flange 1 provided on the distal end of the threaded rod 2 , which may also be construed as part of the output element , is moved in the distal direction of the injection device . since , during the product dispensing operation , the threaded sleeve 13 moves in the direction opposite that in which it moves during priming , the display barrel 4 likewise moves in the direction opposite that of the priming operation . in the normal situation , i . e . when a pre - set product dose has been fully dispensed , the dispensing operation and the movement of the output element 2 in the distal direction continues until the display barrel 4 makes contact with the above - mentioned stop acting in the circumferential direction . in some embodiments , this happens when the value which can be read through the window 12 d has been rotated back to 0 . in the situation in which the user of the device releases the operating element 15 as the product is being dispensed , the couplings couple in the order which is the reverse of that in which they uncoupled or coupled during operation . the product dispensing operation is interrupted , as a result of which the value may be seen through the window 12 d represents the amount still to be dispensed had the pre - set dose been fully dispensed . the product dispensing operation can be continued by depressing the operating element 15 again , and dispensing can be stopped again by releasing the operating element 15 or the user can wait until the product has been fully dispensed . in the situation in which the product container contains less product than the maximum dose indicated on the display barrel , the injection device based on this example has an additional device for limiting the maximum dose which can be set for the last time , to prevent the possibility of a bigger product dose being set than that which is still in the container . to this end , a traveller 30 is provided , which at least partially surrounds the coupling sleeve 5 and locates with the coupling sleeve 5 in such a way that the traveller 30 is not able to rotate relative to the coupling sleeve 5 but is able to move axially . the traveller 30 also locates or is positioned by a thread on its external circumference that engages with an internal thread of the threaded sleeve 13 . this arrangement causes an axial movement of the traveller 30 when there is a relative rotation between the threaded sleeve 13 and coupling sleeve 5 , and when there is no relative rotation the traveller 30 does not effect an axial movement . when setting a product dose , the threaded sleeve 13 turns relative to the coupling sleeve 5 so that the traveller 30 moves in the proximal direction . during dispensing , on the other hand , no relative movement takes place between the coupling sleeve 5 and threaded sleeve 13 due to the coupled engagement of the coupling k 2 . accordingly , the traveller does not move . after setting doses and dispensing product several times , the traveller 30 moves into an abutting contact with the drive shaft 7 , so that it is no longer possible to increase the dose , even if the display would actually permit this . the user can replace the product container 27 with a new one . to this end , the product container holder 16 may be removed by rotating the drive unit relative to the housing 12 . as the product container 27 is moved from the secured position into the non - secured position , e . g . as the bayonet fitting is released , the locating element is moved together with the output element 2 and the coupling sleeve 5 in the distal direction relative to the housing 12 and to the coupling element 14 , thereby releasing the coupling k 1 . the projections of the coupling sleeve 5 pointing radially outwardly to establish the coupling k 1 are now disposed distally of the coupling element 14 . the output element 2 can now be screwed into the drive unit with a relatively slight force acting in the proximal direction because the thread of the output element is not retained by friction . as the output element 2 is screwed back , the coupling sleeve 5 is turned relative to the threaded sleeve 13 and so in the direction opposite that during product dispensing , causing the traveller 30 to be pushed back in the distal direction again . the screwing - back operation may take place against the force of a spring element , at least across a part of the total distance , which tries to push the output element in the distal direction , for example . the spring element may act or be disposed between the output element 2 and the drive shaft 7 for example . other possible spring elements will be described below specifically with reference to fig6 . it is generally preferred if the force of such a spring element is weaker than the force needed to produce an interaction via the plunger from the output element 2 onto the product . also during the process of removing the product container 27 , the retaining element 25 used to secure the product container 27 in the product container holder 16 is pushed in the distal direction by the spring 19 until it makes contact with the locating element 6 , 26 . this contact prevents the spring 19 from fully relaxing when the product container 27 is removed . this is of advantage because the spring 19 should be able to apply sufficient force to hold the coupling k 3 in a coupled engagement even when a product container 27 has been removed . by virtue of another aspect , a spring - mounted flange may be used , as illustrated in fig6 for example . after replacing the product container 27 , e . g . an ampoule , capped vial or the like , the user is prompted to proceed with priming , as may be described in operating instructions . this is useful on the one hand because there may be air in the product container 27 and on the other hand because the output element 2 may have been previously pushed fully into the drive unit and a certain amount of clearance may have been created between the plunger 28 and the flange 1 due to the different level to which the product container 27 is filled . fig6 illustrates an output element 2 with a flange 1 attached to its front or distal end , which is non - displaceably connected to the threaded rod . disposed between the flange 1 and the threaded insert 6 illustrated in fig6 is a spring element 38 , which may be provided in the form of resilient arms 38 a extending out at an angle , for example . these resilient arms 38 a may be secured to the flange 1 or / and to the threaded insert 6 . another option would be to injection mold a suitable elastomer onto the flange 1 or / and onto the threaded insert 6 . after a new product container 27 has been inserted , a clearance may occur between the flange 1 and the plunger 28 , which may be attributable to a difference in the level to which product containers 27 have been filled when full , given that they have a certain tolerance . after pushing in the flange 1 connected to the threaded rod 2 , the flange 1 based on the embodiment illustrated in fig1 lies directly against the threaded insert 6 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig6 , the at least one spring element 38 has pushed the flange 1 away from the threaded insert 6 in the distal direction by a predefined distance . this means that when a product container 27 has been inserted or while a product container 27 is being inserted , the flange 1 will move into contact with the proximal end of the plunger 28 , even if the plunger 28 is pushed into the product container 27 by differing distances caused by manufacturing tolerances of different product containers . conventional means for eliminating the clearance between the flange 1 and plunger 28 are therefore no longer absolutely necessary and may even be dispensed with , for example . as may be seen from fig1 , the injection device , e . g . the drive unit , comprises a brake ( which may be thought of as comprising brake elements or components 17 , 18 ) which decelerates a rotating part , in this example the transmission element or / and the driving movement . if conventional injection devices are used incorrectly , i . e . if no product container has been inserted , but the device is nevertheless operated , there is a risk of placing too high a strain on or even damaging the components of the injection device . when a product container 27 is inserted , the forces and movements which occur are damped by the viscosity of the product during the product dispensing operation . in the absence of a product container , there is no such damping effect . it is the brake in accordance with the present invention which is used for this purpose , thereby preventing excessive strain . fig7 a , 7 b and 8 are diagrams on a larger scale illustrating embodiments of a brake mechanism suitable for the device illustrated in fig1 , e . g . a first and second embodiment , respectively , each of which operates in a similar manner . the first embodiment illustrated in fig7 a , 7 b has two brake shoe halves 17 latched to one another so that they can not rotate and so that they can also not move axially , which have profiled portions directed toward one another , between which an annular gap is formed in which a brake disc 18 is accommodated . the annular gap is of a defined width and , in an alternative arrangement , the brake shoe halves could move axially relative to one another . the brake shoe 17 could be of an integral design . the brake disc 18 is accommodated so that it can not rotate relative to the housing 12 but can move axially , due to the profiled external circumferential surface of the brake disc locating in a profiled inner circumferential surface of the housing part 12 b . at least one brake shoe half 17 or the entire brake shoe is mounted at least so that it can not rotate in the drive train or transmission element . the sleeve - shaped brake shoe 17 has projections pointing radially inwardly , which locate in a matching profile of the drive sleeve 7 . the brake disc 18 is able to move between the brake shoe halves 17 . the brake disc 18 is mounted so that it can not rotate , e . g . is guided in a groove , and so that it is able to move axially in the injection device or housing part 12 b . the brake disc 18 is toothed on the top and bottom face with teeth 18 a , 18 b on the end face projecting circumferentially in both directions and having an identical or different tooth height zh , and is mounted or displaceably clamped between the threaded sleeve 13 and the brake shoe 17 , e . g . with a small clearance of approximately a tooth size or tooth height zh or bigger , the latter having co - operating complementary teeth 13 b respectively 17 a , e . g . with a corresponding or identical tooth height zh . due to the fixed torque - transmitting connection between the transmission element ( which , again , may be thought of and / or referred to as comprising elements 7 , k 2 , 5 ) during a dispensing operation or when what may be thought of and / or referred to as “ firing blank ,” i . e . when no product container has been inserted , the brake shoe 17 is moved in rotation relative to the brake disc 18 . when this happens , the disposition of the brake shoe teeth 17 a , 17 b ensure that the brake disc 18 oscillates axially between the threaded sleeve 13 and the brake shoe 17 . as a result , the distal teeth 18 a and proximal teeth 18 b of the brake disc 18 move alternately into contact with the co - operating complementary teeth 17 b and 17 a . due to one or more of the resultant friction , elastic deformation and the oscillating mass , a corresponding loss occurs , thereby limiting the maximum angular speed ω of the rotating parts 13 and 17 . the embodiment illustrated in fig8 operates on a similar principle , the difference being that one of the two brake shoe halves and / or its end - face tooth profile is formed by the transmission element or the threaded sleeve 13 connected to the transmission element so that it cannot rotate . a fixed , defined distance may be provided between the profiles 17 a and 13 b , or alternatively a variable distance , because the brake shoe half 17 is able to move axially relative to the threaded sleeve 13 . due to the spring 19 , the profiles 13 b and 17 a can be pushed toward one another so that they move into a meshing contact with the profiles 18 a and 18 b . due to the vibration or oscillation of the brake disc 18 between the threaded sleeve 13 and brake shoe 18 which increases with the angular velocity ω , the braking force increases disproportionately as the angular velocity ω increases , so that the curve bs of braking forces schematically illustrated in fig9 can be achieved . fig9 is a schematic illustration plotting the curve of the braking force which can be achieved by a brake mechanism in accordance with the present invention , from which it may be seen that the braking force rises to an increasing degree with the angular or rotational velocity ω . in some preferred embodiments , the braking force is relatively low or zero up to the maximum permissible angular velocity ω max and rises sharply with effect from the maximum permissible angular velocity ω max . fig1 illustrates the angle of rotation of the display barrel 4 as a function of time , which is able to effect three full revolutions ( 3 × 360 °) in the embodiments illustrated as an example . as may be seen from fig1 , the display barrel 4 has completed three full revolutions after the time t non - braked , which is shorter than the time t invention in the case of a decelerated rotating movement of the display barrel 4 during which the angle of rotation increases linearly as a function of time . due to the braking force generated by the oscillating brake disc 18 , the maximum possible angular velocity ω max of a dispensing movement can be reduced or limited so that the backward - rotating display barrel 4 is able to move into an abutting contact with the stop acting in the circumferential direction or the housing part 12 b at only a maximum speed predefined by the brake . if the brake is designed accordingly , the maximum possible contact speed of the display barrel 4 is so low that there is little chance of deformation or damage occurring due to the impact . other brake mechanisms may also be used as an alternative to a brake disc 18 oscillating between the threaded sleeve 13 and brake shoe 17 . for example , as an alternative or in addition , the brake may be based on another embodiment in the form of a centrifugal brake as illustrated in fig1 . in this case outwardly displaceable brake shoes 41 are mounted on the transmission element or / and the drive shaft 7 and / or another part which rotates with the drive shaft 7 , for example the coupling element 10 , the threaded sleeve 13 or the display barrel 4 , which have a mass and which effect the same rotation as the rotating part . the brake shoes 41 may , but need not necessarily , be inwardly or outwardly biased by a spring . the brake shoes may be pivoted or moved radially outwardly by the centrifugal force to move into a braking engagement with a sleeve 42 , for example the housing 12 . in this embodiment , pins 40 or fasteners extending radially outwardly are provided , the ends of which are provided with brake pads 41 biased by the spring , for example . when the rotation speed of the non - braked or only partially braked rotating element is sufficiently high , the brake pads 41 are moved radially outwardly by the centrifugal force , optionally also assisted by the spring - biased support , and can move into contact with an outer static sleeve 42 , thereby producing the desired braking effect due to friction . the outer static sleeve may also be formed by the housing 12 or housing part 12 b . in another embodiment illustrated in fig1 a and 11b , the brake may be provided in the form of an eddy current brake 20 , in which case a brake disc 21 may be connected to a rotating part which has to be decelerated , for example the transmission element , drive shaft 7 , threaded sleeve 13 or display barrel 4 , and the elements interacting with the brake disc may be connected to the housing or an element fixedly disposed on the housing or to an element rotating relative to the brake disc . in some preferred embodiments , the brake disc 21 is made from a good electrical conductor , such as pure aluminium or copper , for example . rare earth alloys may be used as the material for the axially magnetised magnets 22 , neodymium for example . the permanent magnetic field may be linked by a magnet yoke 23 made from iron to the air gap , where it extends through the brake disc 21 as vertically as possible . the braking force is created by the surface and flow density in the air gap and the rated current in the brake disc 21 , for which purpose the surface should be as large as possible , the air gap should be as small as possible and the disc thickness should be as big as possible . the braking torque occurs over the averaged radius ( working radius ). brakes may be designed with several magnet systems which act on a disc 21 . the usual approximation calculations are used to calculate the current density , braking power and hence braking torque of an eddy current brake . leaving aside the effect of the air gap , it is assumed that there will be a standard cylindrical magnetic flow and it is stipulated as a condition that the pole diameter should be sufficiently small compared with the radius of the disc 21 . at high speeds , the approximation is inaccurate , among other reasons because the magnetic fields caused by the eddy currents cause a not inconsiderable feedback and hence non - linearity . in some preferred embodiments , the magnets 22 and the magnet yoke 23 are connected to the housing 12 of the injection device or the housing part 12 b or another non - rotating part to be able to generate the desired eddy current braking effect of the brake disc 21 . in another embodiment illustrated in fig1 and 14 , the brake may be provided in the form of a fluidic or hydrodynamic brake . if a standard fluid is used as the braking medium , the linear braking curve fb indicated in fig4 can be obtained for the eddy current brake . however , if the intention is to achieve a braking force which rises more sharply as a function of angular velocity ω , so - called non - newtonian fluids may be used , as a result of which , unlike a newtonian fluid , the viscosity does not remain constant but increases when a shearing force acting on the fluid is increased , which is the case as the speed increases . these are what are known as anomalous viscous fluids . in the case of the fluidic brake , the braking force is generated by two fluid surfaces moving against one another . in particular , the braking force is generated by a fluid volume which is sheared by a relative movement . the shearing stresses which occur during such movements correspond to the braking force . the volume is provided in the form of a chamber split into two parts 45 a , 46 a , in which the fluid is disposed . one chamber part 46 a is disposed in a rotating part 46 and the other chamber 45 a is disposed in a part 45 relative to which the rotating part 46 is able to rotate . the part 46 may be connected so as to rotate in unison with the drive shaft 7 or to the transmission element or another part which rotates when product is being dispensed . the part 45 rotates in unison with at least the housing 12 or a stationary part on the housing . furthermore , the part 45 may be able to move axially or may be axially immobile relative to the housing 12 . the sleeve - shaped part 45 may be thought of and / or referred to as a brake housing and the part 46 mounted in the sleeve 45 as a brake shaft . when the brake is in the assembled state , the fluid chamber halves 46 a distributed axially around the external circumference of the brake shaft are axially on a level with the fluid chamber halves 45 a distributed around the internal circumference of the brake housing . more , the same number or fewer fluid chamber halves 45 a may be provided than 46 a . in the assembled state , a slim gap is disposed between the internal diameter of the brake housing 45 and the external diameter of the brake shaft 46 in the region of each of the fluid chamber halves 45 a , 46 a , which may be dimensioned so that fluid is conveyed into the gap or no fluid or virtually no fluid is conveyed into the gap when the brake shaft 46 is rotating relative to the brake housing 45 . the brake housing 45 may be axially sealed at both ends with sliding seal elements 47 so that no fluid is able to escape from the brake . the seal elements 47 may be provided in the form of a lid . the lid may be provided as a separate part or serve as the coupling shaft , for example . embodiments of the present invention , including preferred embodiments , have been presented for the purpose of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms and steps disclosed . the embodiments were chosen and described to illustrate the principles of the invention and the practical application thereof , and to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . all such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth they are fairly , legally , and equitably entitled .	0
the present invention is directed to vaginal delivery systems . the systems are characterized by their ability to deliver agents to a specific site , the vaginal cavity , in a controlled manner over a prolonged period of time . the systems are bioadherent to the epithelial tissue and are comprised of at least two phases . the systems when in a vaginal environment retain their integrity and display physical stability for an extended residence time within the vaginal cavity . as discussed above , the vaginal cavity produces an aqueous environment which is conducive to the growth of bacteria , fungi , yeast and microorganisms . the systems of the prior art are not optimally effective for treating such conditions either due to their water miscibility , lack of bioadhesion , or lack of physical stability in the vaginal environment of 37 ° c . the vaginal cavity as defined herein not only includes the vagina , but also associated surfaces of the female urinary tract , such as , the ostium of the urethra . delivery systems are a combination of non - active ingredients which serve to solubilize , suspend , thicken , dilute , emulsify , stabilize , preserve , protect , color , flavor and fashion an active agent into an acceptable and efficacious preparation for the safe and convenient delivery of an accurate dose of said active agent . it is important that a system not only release an active agent , but that it release the agent in a controlled manner to a site of optimal absorption or action . that is , an agent is made available for absorption , pharmacological or other effect at a site of absorption or action , in an amount sufficient to cause a desired response consistent with the intrinsic properties of the agent and which provides for maintenance of this response at an appropriate level for a desired period of time . thus , the systems described herein are characterized by the controlled release of an active substance from a delivery system at a receptor site , site of action , site of absorption , or site of use and the achievement of the desired effect at that site . the systems of the invention are not miscible in water and are not harmful for use in the vaginal cavity . the systems are comprised of unit cells . these unit cells are the basic , nondivisible , repeating unit of the systems . the unit cells have internal and external phases which represent the internal and external phases of the systems . the systems may be described in conventional classifications , such as emulsions , emulsions / dispersions , double emulsions , suspensions within emulsions , suppositories , foams , etc . the systems are usually in the form of emulsions either of medium or high internal phase ratio , preferably greater than 70 % and more preferably greater than 75 % by volume . the delivery systems are liquids or semi - solids with viscosities that range from 5 , 000 to 750 , 000 centipoise , preferably 350 , 000 to 550 , 000 centipoise . the systems in order to adhere to the vaginal cavity must have sufficient viscosity to retain their integrity . the unit cells have an internal phase which may be discontinuous and which is nonlipoidal . the nonlipoidal character of the phase renders it miscible with water . preferably the internal phase comprises water , glycerine , or combinations thereof . generally , it is desirable that the internal phase be of high osmotic pressure . the internal phase may be multiphasic and may be a solution , suspension , emulsion or combination thereof and it contains at least a portion of the active agent . also , the internal phase may contain suspended solids , emulsions , osmotic enhancers , extenders and diluants , as well as fragrances , colors , flavors , and buffers . the unit cells also have an external phase . this phase is lipoidal and is the continuous phase of the systems . the term lipoidal pertains to any of a group of organic compounds comprising the neutral fats , fatty acids , waxes , phosphatides , petrolatum , fatty acid esters of monoprotic alcohols and mineral oils having the following common properties : insoluble in water , soluble in alcohol , ether , chloroform or other fat solvents , and which exhibit a greasy feel . examples of oils suitable for use in these delivery systems are mineral oils with viscosities of 5 . 6 to 68 . 7 centistokes , preferably 25 to 65 centistokes , and vegetable oils illustrated by coconut , palm kernel , cocoa butter , cottonseed , peanut , olive , palm , sunflower seed , sesame , corn , safflower , rape seed , soybean and fractionated liquid triglycerides of short chain ( naturally derived ) fatty acids . this external phase may also contain fragrances , colors , flavors , and buffers . the active agent may be any of those which are approved for or used for the treatment , prophylaxis , cure or mitigation of any disease of the vagina , urinary tract , cervix or other female reproductive organ or inducement of conception ; for aesthetic or cosmetic usage , for diagnostic purposes ; for systemic drug therapy ; or for sex determination of offpsring . the agent must have utility when administered by delivery to all or a portion of the vaginal surfaces . potential agents are normally well - known due to their need for governmental approval or common usage . at least a portion of the active agent must usually be contained in the internal phase in order to obtain the release characteristics of the systems . adjacent unit cells have common external phases . the external phase of the unit cells provides the continuous phase of the system . the unit cells may utilize emulsifiers . preferably , the emulsifiers are soluble in the lipoidal or external phase . suitable emulsifiers are those oil miscible surface active compounds which are acceptable for use in foods , pharmaceuticals , and / or cosmetics . examples of such emulsifiers are low molecular weight polyglycerols which have been esterified with fatty acids or fatty acid esters , or mono and diglyceride mixtures alone or with the addition of metallic soaps , such as , aluminum stearate . the metallic soaps appear to improve the characteristics of some of the emulsions . the systems can be introduced into the vaginal cavity by the use of conventional applicators or other coating or spraying means . although the systems are deformable at physiological temperatures , approximately 37 ° c ., they do not lose their integrity as do the systems of the prior art . these delivery systems , unlike other systems are not characterized by offensive leakage from the vaginal cavity following the insertion of the system . since these systems break down over an extended period , nonaqueous components are either absorbed or released from the vaginal cavity at an unnoticeable rate which makes no significant increase in normal secretions . the characteristics of these systems are a result of their inherent integrity under vaginal conditions . the systems release the active agent in the vaginal cavity due to diffusion of the active agent , rupture of the unit cells and / or a combination of these two mechanisms . this release of active agent can be linear or non - linear depending on the composition of the system . factors which effect the release rate are the percentage of active agent contained in each of the phases ; and the type of system , such as , emulsion , double emulsion , suspension ; thickness of the external membrane ; amount and nature of emulsifier in the external phase ; osmotic pressure of the internal phase ; ph of the internal phase ; diffusibility of the active species through the external phase membrane ; etc . within the physiological environment of the vaginal cavity all of the chemical and physical forces present , including fluids , enzymes , ph , chemical balance , temperature , and shear forces from body movement , effect the rate of breakdown of the system . these forces do not destroy the integrity of the systems at the same rate as other systems . the systems may be prepared by continuous or batch processes . as in preparing conventional emulsions , shear force is applied to the system components by use of homogenizers , mills , impingement surfaces , ultrasound , shaking or vibration . unlike conventional emulsions , the mixing shear should be at low levels in order to prevent destruction of the system by imparting excess energy . temperature is not usually a critical factor in the preparation of the systems . the temperatures utilized will be dependent upon the final end product desired . the systems may be prepared by mixing the internal with the external phase in a planetary - type mixer . another manner of preparing the system is by use of a continuous mixer which comprises multiple impellers . the external phase is first introduced into the continuous mixer until it reaches the level of the lowest impeller in the mixing chamber . the two phases are then simultaneously introduced through the bottom of the mixer in proper proportion as its impeller or impellers rotate to apply a shear to the components . the finished product emerges through the top of the mixer . the actual speed of the impeller or impellers will vary , depending upon the product produced as will the rate of flow of the two phase streams . method of preparation : the active agent , and ingredients of the internal phase were mixed together at room temperature . the ingredients of the external phase were mixed together in a one - gallon vessel . the internal phase composition was slowly added to the external phase composition as the two phases were mixed together with a split disc stirrer at low shear until the desired viscosity was obtained . the same products were also prepared by introducing the internal and external phases continuously into the bottom of a mixer following the initial introduction of the external phase . the finished product emerged through the top of the mixer at one liter / minute . ______________________________________ingredients % wt ./ wt . ______________________________________spermicideviscosity - 168 m centipoiseinternal phasenonoxynol - 9 2 . 83deionized water 42 . 22sucrose 15 . 32sorbitol 15 . 75glycerine 8 . 73agar 1 . 13starch 1 . 13citric acid 1 . 42external phasemineral oil 7 . 37polyglycerol ester 3 . 90methylparaben 0 . 13propylparaben 0 . 07 100 . 00nystatinviscosity = 400 m centipoiseinternal phasenystatin 2 . 16sucrose 30 . 26deionized water 60 . 43external phasemineral oil 5 . 48polyglycerol ester 1 . 50methylparaben 0 . 13propylparaben 0 . 04 100 . 00vaginal bufferviscosity = 424 m centipoiseinternal phasecitric acid 4 . 04sodium citrate 1 . 22deionized water 44 . 77sucrose 16 . 25sorbitol 16 . 70glycerine 9 . 25external phasemineral oil 5 . 91polyglycerol ester 1 . 66methylparaben 0 . 13propylparaben 0 . 07 100 . 00______________________________________ each of the above compositions following introduction into the vaginal cavity continued to release its active agent at effective levels for a period of between three hours and ten days . systems of the prior art containing the same active agent had completely released their active agent within a three hour period . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .	8
the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings , wherein the same reference numerals will be used to identify the same or similar elements throughout the several views . it should be noted that the drawings identify the preferred components to be used in the present invention ; however , it will be readily understood to one having ordinary skill in the art that other similar components can be easily substituted . referring to fig1 of the present invention , a first embodiment of the closed system for sampling blood components of the present invention is illustrated . the device is generally identified by the reference numeral 1 . the device 1 is attachable to a primary container , which contains a blood component , for example , platelets , concentrated red blood cells , blood , etc . the device 1 is pre - sterilized and can be attached to the primary container by a sterile docking device to ensure that the connection between the primary container and the device 1 remains sterile . a sterile docking device manufactured by terumo is preferred ; however , it should be understood that other docking devices could also be used . the device 1 of the present invention includes a needle assembly 3 and a syringe 5 . the needle assembly 3 is attached to a piece of tubing 7 by , for example , a swivel lock connector 9 . the syringe 5 is also connected to a piece of tubing 11 by , for example , a female luer lock assembly 13 . the two pieces of tubing 7 and 11 are attached to another piece of tubing 15 by a 3 - way connector 17 . a fill chamber 19 is connected between the piece of tubing 15 and a piece of tubing 21 . the piece of tubing 21 includes an rf weld 23 at an end thereof . a pinch clamp 25 is mounted to the pieces of tubing 7 and 11 , respectively , in order to open and close the pieces of tubing . the device 1 is connectable to the primary container at the end of the tubing 21 , which includes the weld 23 . an explanation of the first embodiment of the present invention will now be described . a sterile docking device receives an end of the tube 15 , which includes the weld 23 and a welded end of a tube extending from the primary container . as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art , the weld 23 and the weld on the tube extending from the primary container are cut off as the tubes are axially aligned and are welded together . the weld between the tube 15 of the device 1 and the tube extending from the primary container is a re - openable weld , which can be opened by an end user by merely pinching the weld . once the device 1 is mounted to the primary container in the above manner and all connections are secure , an operator opens the weld between the tube 15 and the tube extending from the primary container to allow flow of material into the device 1 . the fill chamber 19 is then squeezed to prime the device 1 . the pinch clamp 25 , which is mounted to the piece of tubing 11 is opened to allow the flow of material through the piece of tubing 11 and into the syringe 5 . at this time , the syringe 5 is operated to fill the syringe with the material from the primary container . once a sufficient quantity of material is received into the syringe 5 , the tubing 15 is then sealed by , for example , a heat seal or some other clamping device . for example , a dielectric sealer can be used to seal the tubing 15 ; however , it should be understood that other heat sealers or clamping devices are within the scope of the present invention . at this time , the cover on the needle assembly 3 is removed and the needle is inserted into a vacutainer or a sample vile . the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 7 is then opened to allow flow therethrough . operation of the plunger of the syringe 5 forces the material out of the syringe 5 , through the piece of tubing 11 , through the 3 - way connector 17 and into the piece of tubing 15 . since the piece of tubing 15 is sealed as mentioned above , the material then flows through the 3 - way connector 17 again and into the piece of tubing 7 . the material then flows through the needle assembly 3 and into the vacutainer or sample vile . at this time , the needle of the needle assembly 3 can be removed from the vacutainer or sample vile to obtain a sample , which has not been contaminated . the device 1 can then be disconnected from the primary container and discarded without any contamination to the primary container . the disconnection from the primary seal can be performed by cutting the heat seal in the piece of tubing 15 . this procedure separates the two components , while ensuring that the two components remain sealed to prevent contamination . it should be noted that the above procedure does not have to be followed in the exact order described above . for example , the device 1 can be detached from the primary container prior to supplying the material into the vacutainer or sample vile . this procedure would typically be used for bacterial testing . once the device 1 is disconnected , the device 1 can be brought to a testing station where the material from the syringe 5 is supplied into the vacutainer or sample vile . the vacutainer or sample vile is receivable in a testing device in order to perform a desired test to the material therein . it should be noted at this time that the fill chamber 19 is not a necessary element of the device 1 of the present invention . as will be readily understood to one having ordinary skill in the art , the fill chamber 19 is merely used to prime the device 1 . if a fill chamber is not utilized , the device 1 will still operate sufficiently , since the material will flow into the device 1 through the force of gravity when the weld 23 is opened and toward the syringe once the pinch clamp 25 is operated to open the piece of tubing 11 . the fill chamber 19 can be used to limit the amount of air in the device 1 before the pinch clamp 25 is opened . however , if the fill chamber 19 is not included , any air that gets pulled into the syringe 5 can be pushed out by operating the plunger of the syringe . the air will merely flow up the tubing 11 , 15 and 21 and into the primary container to allow space for additional material to be sucked into the syringe 5 through operation of the plunger . the flow of air into the primary container will not pose a risk of contamination of the material in the primary container , since the device 1 and the connection between the device 1 and the primary container are sterile . the above will be easily understood with reference to fig2 of the present invention , which illustrates a modified form of the first embodiment . the device 10 includes a piece of tubing 15 with a weld 23 at an end thereof . a pinch clamp 25 is preferably mounted to the piece of tubing 15 in order to open and close the piece of tubing 15 . it is unnecessary to provide a pinch clamp on the piece of tubing 11 . furthermore , the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 15 is not a required element , since the opening of the weld between the tube 15 and the tube extending from the primary container will be sufficient to perform this function . however , if the pinch tube 25 on the piece of tubing 15 is not included , it will be necessary to heat seal the tube 15 after the material is supplied to the syringe 5 , as will be further described below . the remainder of the device 10 is the same as the device 1 and therefore will not be further described . an explanation of the modified version of first embodiment of the present invention will now be described . once the device 10 is mounted to the primary container such that all connections are secure in the manner described above with regard to the first embodiment , an operator opens the weld between the piece of tubing 15 and the tube extending from the primary container to allow flow of material into the device 1 . the pinch clamp 25 ( if provided ), which is mounted to the piece of tubing 15 is opened to allow the flow of material through the pieces of tubing 15 and 11 and into the syringe 5 . if the pinch clamp 25 is not provided on the piece of tubing 15 , opening the weld will allow the flow of material into the pieces of tubing 15 and 11 . at this time , the syringe 5 is operated to fill the syringe with the material from the primary container . once a sufficient quantity of material is received into the syringe 5 , the piece of tubing 15 is then closed by the pinch clamp 25 or sealed by , for example , a heat seal if the pinch clamp is not included . at this time , the cover on the needle assembly 3 is removed and the needle is inserted into a vacutainer or a sample vile . the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 7 is then opened to allow flow therethrough . operation of the plunger of the syringe 5 forces the material out of the syringe 5 , through the piece of tubing 11 , through the 3 - way connector 17 and into the piece of tubing 15 . since the piece of tubing 15 is closed by the pinch clamp 25 or sealed as mentioned above , the material then flows through the 3 - way connector 17 again and into the piece of tubing 7 . the material then flows through the needle assembly 3 and into the vacutainer or sample vile . at this time , the needle of the needle assembly 3 can be removed from the vacutainer or sample vile to obtain a sample , which has not been contaminated . the device 10 can then be disconnected from the primary container and discarded without any contamination to the primary container . as mentioned above , it is also possible to disconnect the device 10 from the primary container prior to supplying the material to the vacutainer or sample vile . the device 10 can then be moved to a testing station where the material can be supplied to the vacutainer or sample vile to test the material . referring to fig3 a second embodiment of the present invention will be described . the device 100 includes a transfer bag 27 connected to a piece of tubing 11 . the tubing 11 is connected through a 3 - way connector to pieces of tubing 7 and 15 . the tubing 7 is connected to a needle assembly 3 and the piece of tubing 15 has a weld 23 at an end thereof . two pinch clamps are mounted to the pieces of tubing 7 and 15 , respectively , to open and close the tubing . the piece of tubing 15 is connectable to a primary container in the same manner described above with regard to the first embodiment with a sterile docking device in order to provide an openable weld between the piece of tubing 15 and the tubing extending from the primary container . an explanation of the second embodiment of the present invention will now be described . once the device 100 is mounted to the primary container such that all connections are secure , an operator opens the weld between the piece of tubing 15 and the tubing extending from the primary container to allow flow of material into the device 1 . the pinch clamp 25 , which is mounted to the piece of tubing 15 is then opened to allow the flow of material through the piece of tubing 11 and into the transfer bag 27 . once the transfer bag is filled to the desired amount , the pinch clamp 25 is closed to close the flow of material through the piece of tubing 15 . at this time , the cap on the needle assembly 3 can be removed and the vacutainer or sample vile can be attached to the needle of the needle assembly 3 . the transfer bag 27 is then turned upside down and the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 7 is opened to allow flow of the material out of the transfer bag . since the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 15 is closed , the material flows into the piece of tubing 7 toward the needle assembly 3 and into the vacutainer or sample vile attached to the needle of the needle assembly 3 . once the vacutainer or sample vile receives a desired amount of material , the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 25 is closed . it should be noted that the pinch clamp 25 on the piece of tubing 15 is also not a required element of the second embodiment of the present invention . as mentioned above with regard to the modified version of the first embodiment , the opening of the weld between the piece of tubing 15 and the tubing extending from the primary container can be used to open the piece of tubing 15 to allow flow into the device 100 . however , if the pinch clamp is not included , it will be necessary to provide a heat seal or other clamping device to close the piece of tubing 15 after the material is supplied into the transfer bag 27 . it should also be noted that the use of a vacutainer will aid the flow of material through the needle due to the suction within the vacutainer . in view of this , depending on the amount of material to be sampled , it may not be necessary to turn the transfer bag upside down . however , it is preferred to turn the transfer bag upside down , since this will limit the amount of air within the piece of tubing 7 . at this time , the needle of the needle assembly 3 can be removed from the vacutainer or sample vile to obtain a sample , which has not been contaminated . the device 100 can then be disconnected from the primary container and discarded without any contamination to the primary container . it should be noted that the specific order of steps in also not required . as mentioned above , the device 100 can be removed from the primary container prior to supply the material into the vacutainer or sample vile . it is then possible to move the device 100 to a testing area and supply the material into the vacutainer or sample vile at the testing station . alternative arrangements of the needle assembly of the first and second embodiments will now be described with reference to fig9 and 10 . it should be noted that the same reference numerals have been used to identify the same or similar elements of the previous embodiments . referring to fig9 the device 1 a , 10 a can be arranged to have a fill chamber 19 as in the device 1 of fig1 or can be arranged to have a pinch clamp 25 as in the device 10 of fig2 . the operation of the devices 1 a , 10 a of fig9 are generally the same as the operation of the first embodiment of fig1 and the modified first embodiment of fig2 except that a needle assembly 3 a is included in place of the needle assembly 3 of fig1 and 2 . in view of this , only the needle assembly 3 a will be further explained here . referring to fig9 the swivel lock connector 9 and needle assembly 3 of fig1 and 2 is replaced with a luer adaptor 4 , which supports the needle assembly 3 a . the needle assembly 3 a includes an adaptor cap 6 and a needle 8 supported therein . the adaptor cap is designed to fit over a culture bottle ( not shown ) and the needle 8 is receivable within the culture bottle . as is well known to those having ordinary skill , a culture bottle includes a rubber stopper through which the needle 8 can penetrate by pushing down on the adaptor cap 6 . referring to fig1 , an alternative arrangement of the needle assembly 3 of the second embodiment of fig3 will now be described . the same reference numerals have been used to identify the same or similar elements of the second embodiment . the device 100 a is substantially the same as the second embodiment and it operates in generally the same manner as the second embodiment . in view of this , the operation will not be further described . the only difference between the device 100 a of fig1 and the device 100 of fig3 in the substitution of the needle assembly 3 a for the needle assembly 3 of fig3 . as in the devices 1 a , 10 a of fig9 the needle assembly 3 a includes an adaptor cap 6 and needle 8 , which are supported by a luer adaptor 4 . the adaptor cap 6 is received over a culture bottle ( not shown ) and the needle penetrates a rubber stopper of the culture bottle to gain access to the interior of the culture bottle to take a sample . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	0
firstly , a description will be given of a method of melt - adhering a hard resin product to a substrate including silicon in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention . in the first embodiment of the present invention , a primer is applied to the surface of the substrate including silicon . the substrate including silicon can be formed by ceramics including silicon such as glass . the glass which can be used in the present invention includes silicon glass , hydrogen bonding glass including silicon , oxide glass such as silicate glass ( e . g ., silicic acid glass , alkali silicate glass , soda - lime glass , potash lime glass , lead ( alkali ) glass , barium glass , borosilicate glass ). the primer includes a silane coupling agent . as the silane coupling agent , vinyltriethoxysilane , vinyltris ( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) silane , 3 - methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane , 3 - glycydoxypropyltrimethoxysilane , 2 -( 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexyl ) ethyltrimethoxysilane , n - 2 -( aminoethyl )- 3 - aminopropyltrimethoxysilane , n - 2 -( aminoethyl )- 3 - aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane , 3 - aminopropyltriethyoxysilane , n - phenyl - 3 - aminopropyltrimethoxysilane , 3 - mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane , 3 - chloropropyltrimethoxysilane , and the like may be used . in addition to the silane coupling agent , the primer includes a material , which has a solubility parameter similar to that of a resin product material such as polyamide , epoxy compound , and pvc , and solvent such as ethanol and the like . a material which has a solubility parameter similar to that of a resin product material can improve the adhesive strength between the resin product and the pruner . application by brush or roller , a dip coating method , a spray coating method , and the like can be used as the method of application . in order to dry the primer quickly , it is preferable that the substrate be heated in advance by a heater , warm air , and the like before the application of the primer . next , in the first embodiment of the present invention , the hard resin product contacts the portion to which the primer has been applied . the hard resin product can be formed from a thermoplastic resin such as polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), polybutylene terephthalate ( pbt ), and the like . in order to reduce melt - adhering time , it is preferable that a melt - adhesion accelerating layer be interposed between the primer and the resin product . the melt - adhesion accelerating layer is preferably formed from a soft material ( e . g ., soft pvc or the like ) which is compatible with , and melted quicker than , the material of the resin product . the soft pvc has an impact absorbing function in addition to the function of accelerating melt - adhesion . moreover , in the first embodiment of the present invention , the resin product is vibrated while pressure is applied thereto , and the resin product is melt - adhered to the substrate . the frequencies at the time of melt - adhesion can be appropriately selected . for example , an ultrasonic wave of 20 khz or more , a high frequency wave of 3 to 30 mhz , or a frequency of 100 to 120 hz and the like can be used . further , the applied pressure and the melt - adhering time at the time of melt - adhesion can be appropriately selected by experiments and the like . fig1 shows the relationship between the melt - adhering time of an ultrasonic wave and melt - adhesive strength wherein the applied pressure is 1 . 5 kgf / cm 2 , the temperature of a glass is 50 ° c ., and the frequency is 40 khz . in fig1 it is found that up to 3 seconds , the longer the melt - adhering time , the higher the adhesive strength , and after 3 seconds , the longer the melt - adhering time , the lower the adhesive strength . this is because the resin is melted in about 3 seconds and , if melt - adhesion is effected for more than 3 seconds , the horn bites into the melted resin due to the applied pressure at the time of melt - adhesion , and the thickness of the resin becomes partially thin . therefore , under the above conditions , the suitable melt - adhering time is from 0 . 5 to 3 . 0 seconds , as far as high adhesive strength and low energy are taken into account . further , fig2 shows the relationship between the temperature of a glass and the adhesive strength wherein the applied pressure is 1 . 5 kgf / cm 2 , the melt - adhering time is 0 . 5 seconds , and the frequency is 40 khz . in fig2 it is found that up to about 70 ° c ., the higher the temperature of the glass , the higher the adhesive strength , and when the temperature of the glass is 80 ° c . or higher , the adhesive strength remains the same as the strength at 70 ° c . this is because the horn begins to bite into the resin when the glass temperature is 80 ° c . or more . therefore , it is considered that the suitable glass temperature is about 70 ° c . under the above conditions . in addition to a case in which a resinous stopper is melt - adhered to the front glass , the method of melt - adhering a hard resin product to a substrate having silicon in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention is applicable to a case in which a resinous glass holder is melt - adhered to a raising / lowering type door glass , a case in which a resinous stay of an internal rear view mirror is melt - adhered to a front glass , a case in which a resin product is melt - adhered to a window glass of a high - rise building , and the like . next , an explanation will be given of a method of manufacturing a window glass in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention . fig3 shows a stopper 14 which is a hard resin product and is melt - adhered to a glass substrate 20 for a window glass 10 . the stopper 14 is formed of pbt or hard pvc and is formed by a substantially rectangular parallelopiped base portion 14a , arms 14b and 14c which extend horizontally from the side surfaces of the base portion 14a , and a hook portion 14d which extends upward from the upper surface of the base portion 14a . further , the bottom surface of the stopper 14 is adhered to a plate - shaped soft pvc sheet 22 so as to accelerate the melt - adhesion . in the second embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig4 firstly , a primer 24 which includes a silane coupling agent is applied to the predetermined position of the glass substrate 20 . the glass used for the glass substrate 20 includes known glass for vehicles , e . g ., sandwich glass and tempered glass . further , the silane coupling agent and the primer 24 including the same can be formed of the materials described hereinbefore . since it is necessary to apply the primer 24 selectively within the predetermined n arrow area , a brush is preferably used . any known material can be used for the brush , however , durable synthetic fiber is more preferable . in order to dry the primer 24 quickly , it is preferable to heat the glass substrate 20 in advance by warm air or the like before the primer 24 is applied thereto . next , in the second embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig3 and 5 , the stopper 14 is disposed on the position of the glass substrate 20 to which the primer 24 has been applied , the stopper 14 is vibrated while pressure being applied thereto , and the stopper 14 is melt - adhered to the glass substrate 20 . the frequency , the applied pressure , and the melt - adhering time can be selected appropriately . next , in the second embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig5 and 6 , a molding 13 is adhered to the edge portion of the glass substrate 20 . an adhesive agent , an adhesive tape , and the like can be used for adhesion of the molding 13 . fig5 shows the window glass 10 which is manufactured in accordance with the method of the second embodiment . in the window glass 10 , the stopper 14 is melt - adhered to the vicinity of the corner of the glass substrate 20 . fig7 through 13 show a melt - adhering apparatus 30 of the third embodiment of the present invention which can be used in the above methods . as shown in fig7 the melt - adhering apparatus 30 includes a supporting stand 32 , which is provided at an upper side portion , a balancer 34 , a melt - adhering portion 36 , an ultrasonic wave generator 38 ( fig8 ), an operation switch 40 ( fig8 ), and a controller 41 ( fig1 ). as shown in fig7 the balancer 34 includes a substantially cylindrical main body 42a , in which an opening ( unillustrated ) is formed at the lower end portion of the outer periphery , and a rod - shaped supporting portion 42b , which extends directly upward from the upper portion of the main body 42a . a wire winding device ( unillustrated ), which normally urges a wire in the winding direction , and a wire 44 , which is taken up onto the wire winding device , are accommodated within the main body 42a . one end of the wire 44 is exposed from the opening formed at the main body 42a , and when the wire 44 is pulled downward , the wire winding device automatically takes up the wire 44 . a supporting stand 32 includes a pipe - shaped air cylinder 46 which is provided horizontally , and the end portions of the air cylinder 46 are continuous with a pair of plates 48a , 48b which are provided in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the air cylinder 46 . an unillustrated slit is formed at the lower portion of the air cylinder 46 in the axial direction thereof , and the upper end portion of the supporting portion 42b of the balancer 34 penetrates through the slit and is accommodated within the air cylinder 46 . further , openings are formed on the upper surface of the air cylinder 46 at positions in the vicinities of the end portions thereof , and air hoses 50a , 50b are attached to the openings . the air hoses 50a , 50b are connected to a first air source 54 via a solenoid valve 52 . as air is blown from the air hoses 50a , 50b to the air cylinder 46 , the balancer 34 can move along the air cylinder 46 . further , limit switches 56a , 56b , for detecting the position of the balancer 34 , are provided on the inner sides of the air cylinder 46 on the sides which are further toward the center of the air cylinder 46 than the openings , to which the air hoses 50a , 50b are attached . on the other hand , the end portion of the wire 44 , which is exposed from the main body 42a of the balancer 34 , is connected to the melt - adhering portion 36 . in this way , the melt - adhering portion 36 can be moved from an upper position ( standby position ), shown by a solid line in fig7 to a lower position , and the melt - adhering portion 36 can be moved horizontally in accordance with the horizontal movement of the balancer 34 . at the upper end portion of the melt - adhering portion 36 and the lower end portion of the balancer 34 , proximity switches 37a , 37b are mounted so as to detect when the interval between the upper end portion of the melt - adhering portion 36 and the lower end portion of the balancer 34 is smaller than a predetermined value . in this way , it can be confirmed that the melt - adhering portion 36 has returned from the lower position to the standby position . as shown in fig9 the melt - adhering portion 36 includes a cylindrical lower case 58 which is disposed in a vertical direction , and a pair of plate - shaped bases 60a , 60b horizontally extend outward from the upper end portion and the central portion of the lower case 58 . circular holes are formed in the bases 60a , 60b at the positions which are the same when viewed from directly above . a substantially cylindrical melt - adhering gun 62 whose outer diameter is substantially the same as those of the holes penetrates through the bases 60a , 60b , and the melt - adhering gun 62 is supported on the bases 60a , 60b so as to be parallel to the lower case 58 . the melt - adhering gun 62 includes a cylindrical converter 64 , which converts electrical vibration to mechanical ultrasonic wave vibration , and a horn 66 , which is connected to the lower portion of the converter 64 . the converter 64 is connected to the ultrasonic wave generator 38 ( fig8 ) via an ultrasonic ( or high frequency ) wave cable 68 . on the other hand , as shown in fig7 through 12 , the horn 66 includes a rectangular parallelopiped first base portion 70 , and a rectangular parallelopiped second base portion 72 , which is continuous with the lower end of the first base portion 70 , and is smaller than the first base portion 70 . as shown in fig1 through 12 , a concave portion 72a , which corresponds to the configuration of the resinous stopper 14 , is formed at the bottom portion of the second base portion 72 . further , at the horn 66 , a first hole 72b is formed directly upward from the upper portion of the concave portion 72a , and a horizontal second hole 72c which intersects the upper end portion of the first hole 72b is formed . as shown in fig9 a hose 74 for suction is attached to the second hole 72c and is connected to a second air source 80 via an ejector 76 and a solenoid valve 78 . as a result , when the stopper 14 is positioned on the glass substrate 20 , the stopper 14 can be suctioned to the horn 66 . a shaft 82 is inserted into the underside of the lower case 58 so that the lower end thereof is exposed from the lower case 58 . a base 84 , which is a supporting stand for disposing the glass substrate 20 , is horizontally attached to the lower end portion of the shaft 82 , so that the base 84 is disposed below the horn 66 . moreover , on the base 84 , an extending portion 88 for positioning is formed extending directly upward at a position which abuts an edge portion 20a ( fig5 ) of the glass substrate 20 when the portion of the glass substrate 20 , to which the primer 24 has been applied , is disposed directly below the horn 66 . the extending portion 88 includes a micro switch 90 for detecting the abutment of the glass substrate 20 and the extending portion 88 . further , a urethane pad 86 , which absorbs impact when the horn 66 presses the glass substrate 20 , is fixed to the distal end portion of the base 84 . on the other hand , the upper end portion of the shaft 82 is connected to a cylinder rod 92 . the cylinder rod 92 is inserted into the lower case 58 so that the upper end portion thereof is exposed from the lower case 58 . a flange ( unillustrated ), which extends in a radial direction and has a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the lower case 58 , is formed a t the upper end portion of the cylinder rod 92 . as a result , the cylinder rod 92 is engaged at the upper end of the lower case 58 . above the cylinder rod 92 , there is a box - shaped upper case 94 which is mounted on the upper surface of the base 60a and is provided with a cylindrical concave portion ( unillustrated ) having a diameter larger than that of the flange of the cylinder rod 92 . on the side wall 94a of the upper case 94 , through - holes are formed in the vicinity of the upper end portion and in the vicinity of the lower end portion respectively . these through - holes are connected to air hoses 96a , 96b , and the air hoses 96a , 96b are connected to a third air source 100 via a solenoid valve 98 . as air is blown into the upper case 94 via the air hoses 96a , 96b , the cylinder rod 92 is moved vertically . moreover , the shaft 82 is moved vertically in accordance with the vertical movement of the cylinder rod 92 . as a result , the base 84 is moved vertically and the glass substrate 20 can be nipped between the base 84 and the horn 66 . further , a magnetic scale 102 for measuring the distance the cylinder rod 92 is moved , i . e ., the distance between the base 84 and the horn 66 , is mounted on the upper case 94 . moreover , as shown in fig8 one end of a gas suction duct 104 for suctioning the gas generated by the melt - adhesion is disposed in the vicinity of the horn 66 , so that the gas suction duct 104 can be moved integrally with the melt - adhering gun 62 . the other end of the gas suction duct 104 is connected to a vacuum type suction device 106 . the suction device 106 includes an ejector 108 , a solenoid valve 110 which is connected to the ejector 108 , a pipe 112 which is connected to the ejector 108 and whose one end is opened , and a fourth air source 114 which is connected to the solenoid valve 110 . activated carbon for adsorbing chlorine or the like from the exhaust gas is loaded into the suction device 106 . the melt - adhering portion 36 also includes a cover 116 which covers the lower case 58 and the melt - adhering gun 62 for preventing diffusion of gas . a handle ( unillustrated ) which an operator grips to pull the melt - adhering portion 36 downward is mounted on the cover 116 . the operation switch 40 is provided so that , when one hand of the operator is gripping the handle mounted to the cover 116 and the other hand of the operator is placed between the horn 66 and the urethane pad 86 , the other hand can not reach the operation switch 40 and that , when the one hand of the operator is gripping the handle mounted to the cover 116 and the other hand is not placed between the horn 66 and the urethane pad 86 , the hand which is not gripping the handle can reach the operation switch 40 . as shown in fig1 , the controller 41 includes a cpu , a memory , a timer , and the like , and is connected to an ultrasonic wave generator 38 which is connected to the converter 64 of the melt - adhering gun 62 , the micro switch 90 of the melt - adhering portion 36 , the magnetic scale 102 of the melt - adhering portion 36 , the operation switch 40 , the third air source 100 , and the solenoid valve 98 . the melt - adhering position of the glass substrate 20 is beneath the above - described melt - adhering apparatus 30 , and a conveyor ( unillustrated ) is provided therebelow , so that the glass substrate 20 , to which the primer 24 has been applied to the predetermined position of the upper surface , is conveyed to the melt - adhering position , and so that the glass substrate 20 , to which the stopper 14 has been melt - adhered , is conveyed from the melt - adhering position to a subsequent operating position . the glass substrate 20 is conveyed so that , when the glass substrate 20 is disposed in the melt - adhering position , the edge portion 20a ( fig5 ) of the side of the glass substrate 20 , to which the primer 24 has been applied , is disposed near the operator . moreover , the melt - adhering apparatus 30 is provided so that the axial direction of the air cylinder 46 is substantially orthogonal to the conveying path of the conveyor and that , when the glass substrate 20 is disposed in the melt - adhering position , the limit switch , which is disposed on the operator &# 39 ; s side ( in the present embodiment , the limit switch 56a is disposed near the operator ), is disposed further toward the side opposite the operator than directly above the position of the glass substrate 20 to which the primer 24 has been applied . fig1 shows a flowchart for explaining a control routine of the controller 41 . when an unillustrated power supply is turned on , the fourth air source 114 ( fig8 ), which is connected to the suction device 106 , and the second air source 80 ( fig9 ), which is connected to the hose 74 for suction , are driven so that discharge and suction are started . next , when the glass substrate 20 is disposed in the melt - adhering position , air is blown into the air cylinder 46 ( fig7 ), and the balancer 34 and the melt - adhering portion 36 are disposed directly below the limit switch 56a which is disposed on the operator &# 39 ; s side . the control routine is thereby started . the operator pulls the melt - adhering portion 36 from the standby position shown by a solid line in fig7 to the diagonally downward side ( the operator &# 39 ; s side ) via the unillustrated handle which is mounted to the cover 116 ( fig8 ) so as to cause the stopper 14 to be suctioned to the lower end portion of the horn 66 . next , the operator attaches the melt - adhering gun 62 to the glass substrate 20 so that the portion of the glass substrate 20 , to which the primer 24 has been applied , is nipped between the horn 66 and the urethane pad 86 and that the edge portion 20a of the glass substrate 20 abuts the extending portion 88 . in this way , the micro switch 90 is turned on . in step 150 , a determination is made as to whether the micro switch 90 is turned on . when the micro switch 90 is not turned on , the process waits . on the other hand , when the micro switch 90 is turned on , the process goes to step 152 where the solenoid valve 98 is opened , the third air source 100 is driven so that air is injected from the air hose 96b ( fig9 ) to the upper case 94 and is discharged from the air hose 96a , and the base 84 is moved upward . in a subsequent step 154 , a distance k between the base 84 and the horn 66 is measured by the magnetic scale 102 and a determination is made as to whether the distance k is smaller than or equal to a predetermined value l 0 ( sum of the thickness of the glass substrate 20 and the urethane pad 86 ), i . e ., whether a foreign object is caught between the glass substrate 20 and the horn 66 , or between the glass substrate 20 and the urethane pad 86 . when the answer to the determination in step 154 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, in step 156 , a determination is made as to whether a predetermined time ( the time which is necessary to move the base 84 from the position in fig9 to the position at which the distance between the urethane pad 86 and the horn 66 is equal to the thickness of the glass substrate 20 ) has passed since the movement of the base 84 was started . when the answer to the determination in step 156 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, the process returns to step 152 . further , when the answer to the determination in step 156 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, in step 158 , the third air source 100 is driven for a predetermined time so that air is injected from the air hose 96a ( fig9 ) to the upper case 94 and discharged from the air hose 96b , and the base 84 is lowered to the position in fig9 . then , the process returns to step 152 . on the other hand , when the answer to the determination in step 154 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, in step 160 , the third air source 100 is stopped , the solenoid valve 98 is closed , and the movement of the base 84 is stopped . then , the process goes to step 162 . when the glass substrate 20 is nipped between the horn 66 and the urethane pad 86 , the operator presses the operation switch 40 with the hand not holding the handle , and at the same time releases the handle . in step 162 , a determination is made as to whether the operation switch 40 is pressed . when the answer to the determination in step 162 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, the process waits . when the answer to the determination in step 162 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, in step 164 , the ultrasonic wave generator 38 is made to oscillate ultrasonic waves for a predetermined time after a predetermined time has passed from the time in which the operation switch 40 is pressed . an electrical signal oscillated by the ultrasonic wave oscillator 38 is sent to the converter 64 of the melt - adhering gun 62 and is converted into a mechanical ultrasonic wave vibration by the converter 64 . the mechanical ultrasonic wave vibration is transmitted to a soft pvc sheet 22 , which is adhered to the bottom surface of the stopper 14 , and the glass substrate 20 via the horn 66 . as a result , frictional heat is generated between the soft pvc sheet 22 and the glass substrate 20 so as to melt the soft pvc sheet 22 . when the vibration of the horn 66 is stopped , the soft pvc sheet 22 sets and the glass substrate 20 and the stopper 14 are adhered . in the subsequent step 166 , the solenoid valve 98 is opened for a predetermined time , the third air source 100 is driven for a predetermined time so that air is injected from the air hose 96a into the upper case 94 and discharged from the air hose 96b , and the base 84 is lowered to the position in fig9 . accordingly , the control routine ends . when the melt - adhesion is completed , air is blown into the air cylinder 46 , and the balancer 34 and the melt - adhering portion 36 are disposed further toward the operator &# 39 ; s side than the limit switch 56a . in this way , the melt - adhering portion 36 is separated from the glass substrate 20 , and is returned to the position shown by a dashed line in fig7 by its own weight . at the same time , the wire winding device within the balancer 34 takes up the wire 44 and raises the melt - adhering portion 36 to the standby position . next , air is blown into the air cylinder 46 , and the balancer 34 and the melt - adhering portion 36 are horizontally moved to the limit switch 56b side ( the side which is away from the operator ). since the melt - adhering apparatus 30 can achieve shorttime and partial melt - adhesion by using the ultrasonic waves , deformation of the stopper 14 due to the heat can be prevented . further , because the glass substrate 20 is nipped between the horn 66 and the urethane pad 86 , the operator can release the melt - adhering gun 62 during the melt - adhering time and can do the other work , and further , the ultrasonic waves are prevented from acting on the operator . moreover , because the melt - adhering portion 36 is disposed near the operator only during the melt - adhering operation , the melt - adhering portion 36 does not disturb the operator &# 39 ; s work and the operational efficiency can be improved . further , the distance between the horn 66 and the base 84c is measured by the magnetic scale 102 , and melt - adhesion is not effected when a foreign object is caught between the glass substrate 20 and the horn 66 , or between the glass substrate 20 and the urethane pad 86 . furthermore , chlorine or the like , which is included in the gas generated during the melt - adhering operation , is adsorbed by the activated carbon loaded into the suction device 106 , the exhaust gas does not adversely affect the environment . still further , since the melt - adhering gun 62 is supported by the balancer 34 and weighs little to the operator , it is easier to carry out the melt - adhering operation . in the melt - adhering apparatus 30 , the respective members are moved by air . however , the members may be moved by a moving means such as a solenoid . further , in the melt - adhering apparatus 30 , the stopper 14 is suctioned by air . however , the stopper 14 may be held by a frictional charge or the like . moreover , in the melt - adhering apparatus 30 , the magnetic scale 102 is used as a sensor for detecting the distance between the horn 66 and the base 84 . however , a known location sensor can be used as the sensor . furthermore , the melt - adhering apparatus 30 includes one melt - adhering portion 36 . however , a melt - adhering portion 36 may be provided on both sides of the operator . when one of the melt - adhering portions 36 effects melt - adhesion , the operator attaches the other of the melt - adhering portions 36 to the glass substrate 20 , thus improving the operational efficiency even further .	1
[ 0019 ] fig3 depicts a base station 30 employing code division multiple access ( cdma ), a form of phase sweep transmit diversity ( pstd ) referred to herein as biased pstd , and space time spreading ( sts ) or orthogonal transmit diversity ( otd ) in accordance with the present invention . cdma , pstd , sts and otd are well - known in the art . base station 30 provides wireless communication services to mobile - stations , not shown , in its associated geographical coverage area or cell , wherein the cell is divided into three sectors α , β , γ . base station 30 includes a transmission architecture that incorporates sts or otd and biased pstd , as will be described herein . base station 30 comprises a processor 32 , a splitter 34 , multipliers 36 , 38 , 40 , adder 42 , amplifiers 44 , 46 , and a pair of diversity antennas 48 , 50 . note that base station 30 also includes configurations of splitters , multipliers , adders , amplifiers and antennas for sectors β , γ that are identical to those for sector α . for simplicity sake , the configuration for sectors β , γ are not shown . additionally , for discussion purposes , it is assumed that signals s k are intended for mobile - stations k located in sector α and , thus , the present invention will be described with reference to signals s k being processed for transmission over sector α . processor 32 includes software for processing signals s k in accordance with well - known cdma and sts / otd techniques , where sts / otd indicates sts and / or otd . the manner in which a particular signal s k is processed by processor 32 depends on whether mobile - station k is sts / otd compatible , i . e ., mobile - station capable of decoding signals processed using sts / otd . processor 32 may also include software for determining whether mobile - station k is sts / otd compatible . if mobile - station k is not sts / otd compatible , then signal s k is processed in accordance with cdma techniques to produce signal s k - 1 , which is also referred to herein as a non - sts / otd signal s k - 1 . note that , in another embodiment , processor 32 is operable to process signals s k in accordance with a multiple access technique other than cdma , such as time or frequency division multiple access . in this embodiment , when mobile - station k is not sts / otd compatible , then signal s k is processed in accordance with such other multiple access technique to produce the non - sts / otd signal s k - 1 . if mobile - station k is sts / otd compatible , then signal s k is processed in accordance with cdma and sts / otd . specifically , if mobile - station k is sts compatible , then signal s k is processed using sts . such process includes alternately dividing signal s k into signals s e and s o , wherein signal s e comprises even data bits and signal s o comprises odd data bits . signal s e is multiplied with walsh code w 1 to produce signal s e w 1 , and a conjugate of signal s e is multiplied with walsh code w 2 to produce s e * w 2 . signal s o is multiplied with walsh code w 1 to produce s o w 1 , and a conjugate of signal s o is multiplied with walsh code w 2 to produce signal s o * w 2 . signal s e w 1 is added to signal s o * w 2 to produce signal s k - 2 ( a )= s e w 1 + s o * w 2 . signal s e * w 2 is subtracted from signal s o w 1 to produce signal s k - 2 ( b )= s o w 1 − s e * w 2 ). signals s k - 2 ( a ), s k - 2 ( b ) are also referred to herein as sts signals , and together signals s k - 2 ( a ), s k - 2 ( b ) collectively comprise an sts pair . if mobile - station k is otd compatible , then signal s k is processed using otd . orthogonal transmit diversity involves dividing signal s k into signals s e and s o , and multiplying signals s e and s o using walsh codes w 1 , w 2 to produce signals s k - 3 ( a ), s k - 3 ( b ), i . e ., s k - 3 ( a )= s e w 1 and s k - 3 ( b )= s o w 2 , respectively . signals s k - 3 ( a ), s k - 3 ( b ) are also referred to herein as otd signals , and together signals s k - 3 ( a ), s k - 3 ( b ) collectively comprise an otd pair . for illustration purposes , the present invention will be described herein with reference to sts and signals s k - 2 ( a ), s k - 2 ( b ). it should be understood that the present invention is also applicable to otd and signals s k - 3 ( a ), s k - 3 ( b ). the output of processor 32 are signals s α - 1 , s α - 2 , where signal s α - 1 comprises of signals s k - 1 and s k - 2 ( a ) and signal s α - 2 comprises of signals s k - 2 ( b ), i . e ., s α - 1 = σs k - 1 + σs k - 2 ( a ) and s α - 2 = σs k - 2 ( b ). that is , signals intended for sts compatible mobile - stations are included in both output signals s α - 1 , s α - 2 and signals intended for non - sts compatible mobile - stations are included in only signal s α - 1 . alternately , signal s α - 1 comprises of signals s k - 1 and s k - 2 ( b ) and signal s α - 2 comprises of signals s k - 2 ( a ). signal s α - 1 is split by splitter 34 into signals s α - 1 ( a ), s α - 1 ( b ) and processed along paths a and b , respectively , by multipliers 36 , 38 , 40 , adder 42 and amplifiers 44 , 46 in accordance with bias pstd techniques . basically , biased pstd involves transmitting a signal and a frequency swept version of the same signal over diversity antennas at different power levels . advantageously , biased pstd is backwards compatible from the perspective of mobile - stations and does not degrade performance as much as pstd in additive white gaussan noise ( awgn ) conditions . in one embodiment , signal s α - 1 is unevenly power split by splitter 34 such that the power level of signal s α - 1 ( a ) is higher than the power level of signal s α - 1 ( b ). for example , signal s α - 1 is power split such that signal s α - 1 ( a ) gets ⅝ of signal s α - 1 &# 39 ; s power and signal s α - 1 ( b ) gets ⅜ of signal s α - 1 &# 39 ; s power , i . e ., s α - 1 ( a )={ square root }{ square root over ( ⅝ )} ( s α - 1 ) and s α - 1 ( b )={ square root }{ square root over ( ⅜ )} ( s α - 1 ). in another example , signal s α - 1 is power split such that signal s α - 1 ( a ) gets ⅔ of signal s α - 1 &# 39 ; s power and signal s α - 1 ( b ) gets ⅓ of signal s α - 1 &# 39 ; s power . in another embodiment , signal s α - 1 is evenly power split by splitter 34 . note that signal s α - 1 ( a ) is identical to signal s α - 1 ( b ) in terms of data . signal s α - 1 ( a ) and carrier signal e − j2πf c t are provided as inputs into multiplier 36 to produce signal s 36 , where s 36 = s α - 1 ( a ) e − j2πf c t , e − j2πf c t = cos ( 2πf c t )+ j sin ( 2πf c t ), f c represents a carrier frequency and t represents time . signal s α - 1 ( b ) and phase sweep frequency signal e − jθ 3 ( t ) are provided as inputs into multiplier 38 where signal s α - 1 ( b ) is frequency phase swept with signal e − jθ s ( t ) to produce signal s 38 = s α - 1 ( b ) e − jθ s ( t ) , wherein θ s = 2πf s t , e − jθ s ( t ) = cos ( 2πf s t )+ j sin ( 2πf s t ) and f s represents a phase sweep frequency . signal s 38 is added to signal s α - 2 by adder 42 to produce signal s 42 = s α - 1 ( b ) e − jθ s ( t ) + s α - 2 . signal s 42 and carrier signal e − j2πf c t are provided as inputs into multiplier 40 to produce signal s 40 , where s 40 =( s α - 1 ( b ) e − jθ s ( t ) + s α - 2 ) e − j2πf c t . signals s 36 , s 40 are amplified by amplifiers 44 , 46 to produce signals s 44 and s 46 for transmission over antennas 48 , 50 , respectively , where signal s 44 = a 44 s α - 1 ( a ) e − j2πf c t , s 46 = a 46 ( s α - 1 ( b ) e − jθ s ( t ) + s α - 2 ) e − j2πf c t , a 44 represents the amount of gain associated with amplifier 44 and a 46 represents the amount of gain associated with amplifier 46 . in one embodiment , the amounts of gain a 44 , a 46 are equal . in this embodiment , signal s α - 1 is split by splitter 34 such that the power level of signal s α - 1 ( a ) is higher than the power level of signal s α - 1 ( b ) so that differences in power level between signals s 44 and s 46 are not as large compared to an even power split of signal s α - 1 . in another embodiment , the amounts of gain a 44 , a 46 are different and related to how splitter 34 power splits signal s α - 1 . specifically , the amount of gain a 44 , a 46 applied to signals s 36 , s 40 should be an amount that would cause the power levels of signals s 44 and s 46 to be approximately equal . for purposes of this application , power levels are “ approximately equal ” when the power levels are within 10 % of each other . for example , suppose the power levels of both signals s α - 1 , s α - 2 are x and splitter 34 splits signal s α - 1 such that the power levels of signals s α - 1 ( a ), s α - 1 ( b ) are 7 / 8x and 1 / 8x , respectively . after signal signals s α - 2 is added to signal s 38 by adder 42 , the power level of the resultant signal s 42 is 9 / 8x . in this example , the amount of gains a 44 , a 46 might be 8 / 7 and 8 / 9 , respectively . in the case where signal s α - 1 and / or signals s 36 , s 40 are not biased or unevenly split or amplified , sts performance will degrade because signal s 44 will be transmitted at approximately ⅓ of the power at which signal s 46 will be transmitted . advantageously , biasing or unevenly splitting signal s α - 1 and / or biasing or unevenly amplifying signals s 36 , s 40 mitigates this degradation to sts performance relative to the case where neither signal s α - 1 nor signals s 36 , s 40 are biased or unevenly split or amplified . [ 0036 ] fig5 depicts a base station 70 employing cdma , biased pstd , sts / otd and split shift pstd in accordance an embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , , a form of pstd referred to herein as split shift pstd in also utilized . spilt shift pstd involves shifting both signals split from a single signal using phase sweep frequency signals that sweeps both signals in opposite direction . as shown in fig5 signals s α - 1 ( a ), is phase swept by multiplier 39 using phase sweep frequency signals e jθ s ( t ) . although this embodiment depicts phase sweep frequency signal e jθ s ( t ) equal and opposite to phase sweep frequency signals e − jθ s ( t ) , it should be understood that the phase sweep frequency signal used to phase sweep signals s α - 1 ( a ) need not be equal in magnitude . in another embodiment , signal s α - 1 ( a ) is phase swept using a phase sweep frequency signal that results in phase swept signal s α - 1 ( a ) with a desired or other phase difference to phase swept signal s α - 1 ( b ). note that that the phase sweep frequency signal used to phase sweep signals s α - 1 ( a ), s α - 1 ( b ) may be phase shifting at an identical or different rate from each other , may be phase shifting at fixed and / or varying rates , or may be phase shifting in the same or opposite direction . although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments , other versions are possible . for example , phase sweeping may be performed along path a instead of path b , i . e ., signal s α - 1 ( a ) is phase swept with signal e − jθ s ( t ) . fig4 depicts a base station 60 in which phase sweeping is performed along path a instead of path b . therefore , the spirit and scope of the present invention should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein .	7
embodiments according to the invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings . first of all , the circumstances in which the invention has been made and the principle of the embodiment will be described before explanation of the embodiments . the inventors of the invention paid attention to the fact that a reliability for a result of a position measurement is varied due to a difference in a position measuring environment or the like also in the case in which the same result of the position measurement is obtained . for example , in the case in which a position measurement for a person is carried out by using a person image recognition , a situation of an occlusion ( concealment ) of persons or the degree of matching with a person template are varied every position measurement . therefore , a position measurement error also takes a different value each time so that a reliability for a result of the position measurement is also changed . in the case in which a position measurement for a person is carried out by using a wireless apparatus such as a wireless tag , moreover , a position measuring environment is varied every position measurement by an influence of a wave absorber such as a human body containing a large quantity of moisture or a conductor such as a metal . therefore , a position measurement error also takes a value varied each time so that a reliability for a result of the position measurement is also changed . in the invention , therefore , there is set a possible existing region of a target on which a reliability for a result of a position measurement is reflected , and entering and / or leaving of a target into and / or from a specific area are / is decided based on an overlapping state of the possible existing region and the specific area . also in the case in which a position measurement error is made , consequently , it is possible to detect entering and / or leaving of a detecting target into and / or from a specific area with high precision . fig1 shows an image for a detection of entering and / or leaving according to the embodiment . a black circle indicated as the reference symbol p 1 denotes a position measuring point to be a result of a position measurement of a target . a circle having position measuring point p 1 as a center which is indicated as the reference symbol ar 1 denotes a possible existing region for a target . moreover , the reference symbol l 0 indicates a flow line to be an actual moving locus of the target , and the reference symbol l 1 indicates a flow line connecting position measuring points p 1 at a plurality of times . possible existing region ar 1 is a smaller circle with an increase in a reliability for a result of a position measurement , and conversely , is a larger circle with a reduction in the reliability for the result of the position measurement . in the embodiment , any of the following decisions ( i ) to ( vi ) is carried out . thus , it is decided that a target enters monitoring area ( specific area ) ar 0 . ( i ) if a part of single possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 , it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 . ( ii ) if an area of a portion in which single possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 is equal to or larger than a threshold , it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 . ( iii ) possible existing region ar 1 is defined as a probability density , and it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 if an integrated value ( a cumulative probability density ) of a probability density of a portion in which single possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 is equal to or greater than a threshold . ( iv ) if the number of times a part of possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 in respect of a plurality of position measuring points p 1 for a predetermined period is equal to or larger than a threshold , it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 . ( v ) if a sum of areas of the portions in which possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 at a plurality of position measuring points p 1 for a predetermined period is equal to or greater than a threshold , it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 . ( vi ) possible existing region ar 1 is defined as a probability density , and it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 if a sum of integrated values of the probability densities of the portions in which possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 at a plurality of continuous position measuring points p 1 for a predetermined period is equal to or greater than a threshold . it is also possible to select any of the methods ( i ) to ( vi ) which is to be used depending on a relationship between a calculating resource and a calculating cost ( a quantity of a calculation or a time required for a calculation ), the degree of precision or immediacy which is required for deciding entering and / or leaving , or the like . since ( i ) is the simplest and has the smallest calculation cost , it is optimum in the case in which hardware having a small calculation resource is used to constitute an apparatus . however , it is decided that entering is carried out even if the possible existing region slightly overlaps with the monitoring area . referring to the method ( i ), thus , it is decided that entering is carried out even if a probability of existence in the monitoring area is low . for this reason , the method ( i ) has lower precision in the decision than the other methods . as compared with ( i ), ( ii ) has an advantage that it is possible to easily vary the precision in the decision of entering and / or leaving with a change in the threshold . however , it is necessary to carry out a calculation for obtaining an area . as compared with ( ii ), ( iii ) has an advantage that it is possible to obtain more accurate precision in the decision of entering and / or leaving based on a existence probability . however , it is necessary to carry out a complicated integrating calculation related to a probability density distribution function . accordingly , it is preferable to determine any of ( i ), ( ii ) and ( iii ) which is to be used with a trade - off between the quantity of a calculation or the time required for a calculation and the decision precision . as compared with ( i ), ( ii ) and ( iii ), moreover , ( iv ), ( v ) and ( vi ) have an advantage that the precision in the decision of entering and / or leaving is enhanced because they use a plurality of position measuring points respectively . however , a long time is required for collecting a plurality of position measuring point data . for this reason , it is preferable to determine any of the deciding methods which is to be used depending on whether a decision for an immediacy is required or not . furthermore , it is preferable to select the deciding method or the threshold depending on the required precision in the detection in the following manner . in the case in which a detection failure ( a false negative ) caused by the precision in the detection is to be deceased , it is preferable to use ( i ) or to set the thresholds of ( ii ) to ( vi ) to be rather low . consequently , also in the case in which the result of the position measurement has an error and position measuring point p 1 is detected on the outside of the monitoring area though the entrance into monitoring area ar 0 is carried out , actually , possible existing region ar 1 taking an error into consideration is included in monitoring area ar 0 . therefore , it is possible to prevent a detection failure . in the case in which an erroneous detection ( a false positive ) is to be decreased , it is preferable to set the thresholds of ( ii ) to ( vi ) to be rather great . consequently , also in the case in which the result of the position measurement has an error and position measuring point p 1 is detected on an inside of the monitoring area though an entry into monitoring area ar 0 is not carried out , actually , possible existing region ar 1 taking an error into consideration does not exceed a certain area ( an integrated value ) in monitoring area ar 0 . therefore , it is possible to prevent an erroneous detection . when the overlap of monitoring area ar 0 and possible existing region ar 1 in ( ii ) is to be utilized as a specific threshold , for example , an overlapping portion of an area is 0 . 5 ( a slight shift might be caused depending on a shape of the monitoring area ) in case of a position measuring point on a boundary line of monitoring area ar 0 if the threshold is set to be 0 . 5 . thus , there is obtained precision in a detection which is almost equivalent to that in the case in which only the position measuring point is used according to the related art . when the detection failure is to be decreased , the threshold is set to be 0 . 01 , for example . consequently , it is possible to decide that entering is carried out including the case in which entering into monitoring area ar 0 might be performed in consideration of an error . in the case in which the erroneous detection is to be decreased , moreover , the threshold is set to be 0 . 99 , for example . consequently , it is possible to decide that the entrance is carried out only in the case in which entering into monitoring area ar 0 is surely performed in consideration of an error . the area of the portion in which possible existing region ar 1 and monitoring area ar 0 overlap with each other indicates an area shown in shading at a lower side of fig2 ( an area in monitoring area ar 0 of possible existing region ar 1 ). the integrated value of the probability density of the portion in which possible existing region ar 1 and monitoring area ar 0 overlap with each other indicates a value obtained by integrating a probability density of a portion shown in shading at an upper side of fig2 with respect to the portion in which possible existing region ar 1 and monitoring area ar 0 overlap with each other . moreover , the portion in which possible existing region ar 1 and monitoring area ar 0 overlap with each other at a plurality of position measuring points p 1 for the predetermined period indicates a portion shown in shading of fig3 . next , a way of obtaining possible existing region ar 1 will be described with reference to fig4 . depending on an environment in a position measurement , a position measuring situation or the like , a value σ 2 corresponding to a variance of a position measuring result ( position measuring data ) is obtained as a reliability . in an example of the embodiment , it is assumed that the same variance σ 2 is taken in x - axis and y - axis directions and a covariance is zero ( position measuring precision in each of the x - axis and y - axis directions is independent ). position measuring coordinates ( μx , μy ) are set to be a mean value and a probability density function of a normal distribution setting a reliability σ 2 as a variance , for example , the following equation is introduced to obtain a probability distribution ( for example , a normal distribution ). fig4 a shows an example in which a region of a reliability interval of 95 % (= a significance level of 5 %) in a probability distribution is set to be possible existing region ar 1 . in the example , the variances on the x and y axes are set to be the same σ 2 and a covariance is set to be zero . therefore , possible existing region ar 1 is a circle . as shown in fig4 b , moreover , a region having a certain probability ( p = 0 . 01 in the example of the drawing ) or more may be set to be possible existing region ar 1 . a ratio of the reliability interval ( a existence probability reference ) may be varied depending on a security level of monitoring area ar 0 . if the existence probability reference is increased , possible existing region ar 1 related to the same position measurement result is enlarged so that the security level can be increased ( in other words , there is a high possibility that a doubtful position measurement result in the vicinity of a boundary on the outside of monitoring area ar 0 might be decided to be an entry ). furthermore , a two - dimensional normal distribution ( a probability distribution ) to be used for setting possible existing region ar 1 may be calculated by the following equation in place of the equation 1 . in the following equation , μx represents an x coordinate of a position measurement result , μy represents a y coordinate of the position measurement result , σx 2 represents a variance of x , σy 2 represents a variance of y , and ρxy represents a covariance of x and y . it is preferable that the equation 1 be applied to the case in which x and y components can be independently subjected to a position measurement and have the same precision . it is preferable that the equation 2 be applied in the case in which the x and y components have a correlation in the position measurement and have a difference in the precision in the position measurement . possible existing region ar 1 to be set by using the equation 2 is an ellipse . fig5 shows a state of a detection of entering and / or leaving according to the embodiment . fig5 a - 1 shows possible existing region ar 1 to be set in the case in which the reliability of the position measurement is low , and fig5 b shows possible existing region ar 1 to be set in the case in which the reliability of the position measurement is high . as shown in fig5 a - 2 and 5 b - 2 , a part of possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 when the reliability of the position measurement is low even if a position of position measuring point p 1 is the same ( fig5 a - 2 ), and the part of possible existing region ar 1 does not overlap with monitoring area ar 0 when the reliability of the position measurement is high ( fig5 b - 2 ). accordingly , in the case in which there is used a criterion of “ it is decided that the target enters monitoring area ar 0 when a part of possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 ” as in ( i ), for example , it is possible to obtain different decision results ( a decision result that entering is carried out in case of fig5 a - 2 and a decision result that entering is not carried out in case of fig5 b - 2 ) even if the position of point measuring point p 1 is identical . in the embodiment , thus , there is set possible existing region ar 1 to be a target on which the reliability of the result of the position measurement is reflected , and entering and / or leaving of the target into and / or from monitoring area ar 0 is decided based on the overlapping state of possible existing region ar 1 and monitoring area ar 0 . also in the case in which the position measurement error is made , consequently , it is possible to detect entering and / or leaving of the detecting target into and / or from monitoring area ar 0 with high precision . in order to decide entering and / or leaving ( that is , entering / leaving ), it is decided whether a target is positioned on an inside or outside of the monitoring area at a specific time . if it is decided that the target is positioned on the inside of the monitoring area , it is decided that the state of the entry is set . if the target is positioned on the outside of the monitoring area , it is decided that the state of leaving is set . in other words , the decision of entering and / or leaving ( that is , entering / leaving ) according to the invention is equivalent to the decision whether the target is positioned on the inside or outside of the monitoring area at the specific time . fig6 shows a structure of an apparatus for detecting entering and / or leaving according to the embodiment . description will be given to the case in which apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving according to the embodiment is applied to a monitoring system . apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving is not limited to the monitoring system but can be applied to various uses such as a content delivering system for delivering a content related to a specific area wirelessly to only a person whose entry into a specific area is detected , for example . in the following , description will be given to the case in which a target of which entering and / or leaving is to be detected is a person . however , the detecting target is not limited to a person but the invention can be applied to a moving object which can be subjected to a position measurement , for example , an article , a vehicle , a movable monitoring robot and the like . monitoring system 110 photographs a video including target ( person ) 130 by means of photographing section 121 of camera 120 , and transmits the photographed video to person position calculating section 101 , reliability extracting section 102 and decision result reporting section 103 in apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving . person position calculating section 101 calculates a position of person 130 when person 130 is taken in the video acquired from photographing section 121 , and transmits position information thus calculated as position measurement information to possible existing region creating section 104 . reliability extracting section 102 extracts a reliability of the position measurement in person position calculating section 101 based on the video acquired from photographing section 121 , and transmits the extracted reliability to possible existing region creating section 104 . the reliability of the position measurement indicates a value corresponding to a variance of a position measurement result ( position measurement data ) which is varied depending on an environment in the position measurement , a situation of the position measurement or the like as described above . reliability extracting section 102 extracts a reliability ( a variance ) based on a position measurement situation parameter such as the number of pixels constituting person 130 in the video , a situation of an occlusion ( a concealment ) of the persons , a distinction of a contour or the like . more specifically , it is possible to obtain a reliability ( a variance ) by referring to a reliability table which is prepared in advance ( a table indicative of a corresponding relationship between the position measurement situation parameter and the reliability or variance ). a reliability table may be obtained from a theoretical model of image position measuring method or through an actual measurement in preliminary sampling . in other words , reliability extracting section 102 outputs a result that a reliability is higher ( a variance is smaller ) if the number of the pixels constituting person 130 is larger ( that is , person 130 is taken in a larger size ), a result that the reliability is higher ( the variance is smaller ) if the occlusion ( the concealment ) of the persons is smaller , or a result that the reliability is higher ( the variance is smaller ) if the distinction of the contour of person 130 is higher . although the reliability of the position measurement is extracted based on the video acquired from photographing section 121 in the embodiment , it is also possible to extract the reliability based on a matching degree with a person template in person position calculating section 101 . in other words , it is assumed that the reliability is higher ( the variance is smaller ) if the matching degree is higher . also in this case , it is possible to obtain the reliability ( the variance ) by preliminarily preparing a reliability table ( a table indicative of a corresponding relationship between the matching degree with the template and the reliability or variance ). a way of extracting the reliability is not limited thereto . fig7 shows an example of the person position calculated by person position calculating section 101 and the reliability extracted by reliability extracting section 102 . for each person ( person id ), there is obtained a probability density function representing a time that the person is detected , coordinates of the position of the person , and the reliability . a method for representing the reliability through the probability density function will be described . in the embodiment , a variance of a two - dimension normal distribution is used as an index representing a degree at which the result of the position measurement is reliable . probability density functions f 1 ( x , y ), g 1 ( x , y ) and the like in the embodiment are two - dimensional normal distributions expressed in the equation 1 , respectively . in the case in which a number of the function or a subscript is different , it is indicated that the variance σ 2 to be the parameter of the two - dimensional normal distribution is different . possible existing region creating section 104 creates possible existing region ar 1 ( fig1 to 5 ) for deciding entering and / or leaving based on the position measurement information acquired from person position calculating section 101 and the reliability of the position measurement which is acquired from reliability extracting section 102 , and transmits possible existing region ar 1 thus created to entry deciding section 105 . a way of creating possible existing region ar 1 has been described above with reference to fig4 or the like . monitoring area database ( db ) 106 holds area information indicative of monitoring area ar 0 and offers the monitoring area information to entering and / or leaving deciding section 105 . fig8 shows an example of the monitoring area information to be stored in monitoring area db 106 . in the example of fig8 , two monitoring areas ( nos . 1 and 2 ) are stored . the monitoring area is expressed in a square coordinate in the example of the drawing . as a matter of course , however , it may take a shape other than the square . a user may set the monitoring area by utilizing a gui ( graphical user interface ), for example . entering and / or leaving deciding section 105 decides any of ( i ) to ( vi ) based on possible existing region ar 1 acquired from possible existing region creating section 104 and monitoring area ar 0 held in monitoring area db 106 , thereby deciding whether person 130 enters monitoring area ar 0 or not and transmitting a result of the decision of the entry to decision result reporting section 103 . decision result reporting section 103 acquires the result of the decision from entry deciding section 105 , and gives marking to the video acquired from photographing section 121 in such a manner that an entering person is known when the result of the decision indicates an entry , and outputs the video to monitor 141 , thereby presenting , to manager 142 , that person 130 enters monitoring area ar 0 . fig9 shows an example of an entry warning image to be displayed on monitor 141 . in the example of the drawing , person 130 who is decided to enter monitoring area ar 0 is surrounded by a frame . in addition , the characters “ invader is found ” are displayed in the example of the drawing . consequently , manager 142 can specify person 130 entering monitoring area ar 0 . next , an operation according to the embodiment will be described . apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving according to the embodiment has a feature in the processings of possible existing region creating section 104 and entry deciding section 105 . therefore , procedures for the processings will be described . fig1 shows a processing procedure for possible existing region creating section 104 . possible existing region creating section 104 acquires position measurement information from person position calculating section 101 in step st 11 , and furthermore , acquires a reliability from reliability extracting section 102 in step st 12 . possible existing region creating section 104 creates a region having a reliability interval of 95 % as possible existing region ar 1 with respect to a position measuring point as shown in fig4 a based on the position measurement information and the reliability in step st 13 , for example . as a matter of course , possible existing region ar 1 to be created is not limited to a region having the reliability interval of 95 %. fig1 shows a processing procedure for entry deciding section 105 . entry deciding section 105 acquires information about possible existing region ar 1 from possible existing region creating section 104 in step st 21 , and furthermore , acquires information about monitoring area ar 0 from monitoring area db 106 in step st 22 . at step s 23 , it is decided whether possible existing region ar 1 overlaps with monitoring area ar 0 or not . although there is shown the case in which the decision of ( i ) is carried out in step st 23 in the example of fig1 , any of ( ii ) to ( vi ) may be employed in place of the decision of ( i ). if a negative result is obtained in step st 23 ( step st 23 : no ), the processing proceeds to step st 24 in which it is decided that person 130 does not enter monitoring area ar 0 . if a positive result is obtained in step st 23 ( step st 23 : yes ), the processing proceeds to step st 25 in which it is decided that person 130 enters monitoring area ar 0 . for example , in the case in which a possible existing region generated from f 1 ( x , y ) to be a reliability of user id 001 has a radius of 35 and a possible existing region generated from f 2 ( x , y ) to be a reliability of user id 003 has a radius of 15 , the possible existing region having user id 001 overlaps with monitoring area no . 1 if the decision of ( i ) is carried out . consequently , it is decided that entering is carried out . since the possible existing region having user id 003 does not overlap with any monitoring area , it is not decided that entering is carried out . as described above , according to the invention , there are provided reliability extracting section 102 serving as position measurement reliability detecting section , possible existing region creating section 104 that determines possible existing region ar 1 based on a result of a position measurement and a reliability ( position measuring precision ), and entry deciding section 105 that decides entering and / or leaving of a target into and / or from monitoring area ar 0 based on an overlap of possible existing region ar 1 and monitoring area ar 0 . also in the case in which a position measurement error is made , consequently , it is possible to detect entering and / or leaving of detecting target 130 into and / or from monitoring area ar 0 with high precision . although the description has been given to the case in which the target is subjected to the position measurement by using the video obtained by camera 120 in the embodiment , a position measuring method is not limited thereto . for example , it is also possible to carry out the position measurement by using a signal sent from a wireless tag attached to the target . it is possible to attach , to the target , anything which can cause apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving to identify the target and can measure the position of the target in a space . for example , an rfid ( radio frequency identification ) may be used in addition to the wireless tag . moreover , the wireless tag attached to the target may transmit , to apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving , a result of the position measurement carried out independently through a gps ( global positioning system ) or the like . in this case , it is preferable to detect a position measurement reliability based on a situation of a radio receipt from the wireless tag . the situation of the radio receipt includes an rssi ( received signal strength indicator ), a wei ( word error indicator ), a bei ( bit error indicator ), a ber ( bit error rate ), an snr ( signal to noise ratio ) or the like for a received signal , for example . also in this case , it is possible to obtain a reliability ( a variance ) from a parameter of a situation of a radio receipt by referring to a reliability table prepared preliminarily based on a theoretical calculation or a sampling measurement ( a table indicative of a corresponding relationship between the parameter of the situation of the radio receipt and the reliability or the variance ). moreover , position measurement data may be obtained by using a sensing signal sent from a sensor group embedded in a ground , a floor , a table or the like , for example . alternatively , they may be obtained by using another sensor such as an image sensor or an ultrasonic sensor . also in those cases , it is possible to obtain a reliability for the position measurement in the same manner . in a monitoring apparatus , it is important to ( 1 ) detect an entry of a suspicious person without fail and ( 2 ) avoid an unnecessary entry decision , thereby decreasing a wasteful warning output . by using the structure and the method according to embodiment 1 , both of the requests of ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) can be met . in the embodiment , however , there are presented an apparatus and a method which can meet the request of ( 2 ) more fully . in other words , in the embodiment , there is presented a monitoring apparatus capable of accurately deciding entering and / or leaving without fail , and furthermore , giving only a necessary and sufficient warning notice without an unnecessary warning notice . a black circle indicated as the reference symbol p 1 denotes a position measuring point of a person having no authority for entering monitoring area ar 0 that is an entry detecting target . the reference symbol l 1 indicates a flow line connecting position measuring points p 1 at a plurality of times . the reference symbols p 2 - 1 and p 2 - 2 indicate a position measuring point of a person ( for example , an employee or the like ) having an authority for entering monitoring area ar 0 . in the drawing , there are shown position measuring point p 2 - 1 of an employee having a person id of “ 001 ” and position measuring point p 2 - 2 of an employee having a person id of “ 002 .” regions indicated as reference symbols f 1 and f 2 are visible regions , and f 1 denotes the visible region of the employee having the person id of “ 001 ” and f 2 denotes the visible region of the employee having the person id of “ 002 .” in the embodiment , also in the case in which it is detected that a person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 as shown in fig1 , an warning output is not carried out when position measuring point p 1 of the person exists in visible region f 1 of a person having the entry authority . consequently , it is possible to decrease an unnecessary warning notice . a way of obtaining the visible region will be described with reference to fig1 . first of all , a visual line direction is obtained by connecting a position measuring point at time t and a position measuring point at time t − 1 to extend a line toward time t side . next , a region placed apart from the position measuring point at time t by y cm is set to be a visible region in a visual line direction of ± x °. although the visual line direction is obtained from the line ( the flow line ) connecting the position measuring points at the different times in the example of fig1 , the way of obtaining the visual line direction is not limited thereto . for example , it is also possible to attach a plurality of wireless tags to a person , thereby obtaining the visual line direction based on a difference in a result of a position measurement for the tag . moreover , it is also possible to carry out an image processing over a camera image , thereby deciding a direction of a face to obtain the visual line direction . furthermore , it is also possible to directly acquire the visual line direction by using a gyrosensor , a magnetic field sensor or the like . although a fixed visible region is created in the example of fig1 , moreover , the visible region may be changed depending on a peripheral situation of a person ( for example , there is a shielding object or the like ) or a personal attribute ( a value of an eyesight or the like ). the peripheral situation may be acquired by referring to a peripheral situation database storing three - dimensional arrangement data of the shielding object or the like , for example . it is preferable to obtain the personal attribute by acquiring a person id through a position calculating section or a photographing section and referring to a personal attribute database storing the person id and the attribute data which correspond to each other , for example . furthermore , it is more preferable that the visible region be created in consideration of a reliability for a position measurement . in other words , in the example of fig1 , the visible region is created based on only the position measuring point . by creating the visible region in consideration of the reliability for the position measurement , however , it is possible to set , as the visible region , only a region which can surely be recognized visually also in the case in which a position measurement error is made . consequently , it is possible to avoid a situation in which a person having an authority misses seeing a suspicious person and an warning is not output , for example . therefore , a security can be enhanced . in other words , since the visible region establishes the premise that an employee or the like can monitor a suspicious person , a visual recognition has to be surely carried out therein . in the case in which the visible region is created in consideration of the reliability for the position measurement , only a region which surely enters a field of view is defined to be the visible region for any position measurement error . fig1 shows an example of a way of obtaining the visible region . in other words , there is shown an example of a way of obtaining a region entering a field of view irrespective of the position measurement error . lines 1 and 2 are inscribed lines of a possible existing region at time t 1 for a person having an authority and a possible existing region at time t 2 for the person having the authority . region 1 is disposed at a view angle of 60 degrees around a direction of line 1 from a contact point of line 1 and the possible existing region at time t 2 (± 30 degrees at left and right side of line 1 ) by a distance of 3 m . region 2 is created in the same manner as region 1 with respect to line 2 . region 3 is disposed at a view angle of 60 degrees around the direction of line 3 by a distance 3 m . a region overlapping with all of these three regions is set to be a visible region . it is preferable that the possible existing region be obtained by the same method as possible existing region ar 1 . fig1 shows an example of a monitoring state according to the embodiment . as shown in fig1 a , also in the case in which position measuring point p 1 of a person having no authority is detected in monitoring area ar 0 , an warning ( an entry notifying warning ) is not output when position measuring point p 1 exists in visible region f 1 of a person having an authority such as an employee . on the other hand , in the case in which position measuring point p 1 of the person having no authority is detected in monitoring area ar 0 and position measuring point p 1 does not exist in visible region f 1 as shown in fig1 b , an warning indicating that an invader exists ( the entry notifying warning ) is output . in fig1 showing corresponding portions to fig6 which have the same reference numerals , there is illustrated a structure of a monitoring system according to the embodiment . monitoring system 210 has camera 120 , monitoring apparatus 200 and monitor 141 . monitoring apparatus 200 has the same structure as that of apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving in fig6 except that there are provided position measurement information history database ( db ) 201 , visible region forming section 202 and warning necessity deciding section 203 . position measurement information history db 201 holds position measurement information sent from person position calculating section 101 and offers a history of a position measurement to visible region forming section 202 . visible region forming section 202 inputs , from entry deciding section 105 , a position measuring point of a person decided to carry out an entry and having no entry authority and furthermore , inputs , from position measurement information history db 201 , a history of a point measuring point for a person having an entry authority , and forms , from them , a visible region for a person having an entry authority and positioned in the vicinity of the person decided to enter monitoring area ar 0 and having no entry authority and transmits the visible region to warning necessity deciding section 203 . visible region forming section 202 may obtain the visible region as shown in fig1 or may obtain the visible region taking a reliability of a position measurement into consideration as shown in fig1 . in the case in which the visible region taking the reliability of the position measurement into consideration is to be obtained , it is preferable to obtain possible existing region for a person having an entry authority by reliability extracting section 102 and possible existing region creating section 104 , thereby inputting the possible existing region to visible region forming section 202 . warning necessity deciding section 203 inputs , from entry deciding section 105 , a position measuring point of a person decided to carry out an entry and having no entry authority , and furthermore , inputs a visible region from visible region forming section 202 , and decides whether a person having an entry authority visually recognizes the entry of the person having no entry authority or not . if it is decided that the person having the entry authority visually recognizes the entry , warning necessity deciding section 203 outputs , to decision result reporting section 103 , a decision result indicating that an warning is unnecessary . on the other hand , if it is decided that the person having the entry authority does not visually recognize the entry , warning necessity deciding section 203 outputs , to decision result reporting section 103 , a decision result indicating that the warning is necessary . fig1 a shows an example of a person position and a reliability for an invader having no entry authority . fig1 b shows a first example of a person position and a reliability for a person having an entry authority . fig1 c shows a second example of the person position and the reliability for the person having the entry authority . fig1 d shows an example of monitoring area information to be stored in monitoring area db 106 . in the case in which the person having the entry authority in the position measuring point data of fig1 b exists in contrast with the invader in the position measuring point data of fig1 a , it is decided that the warning is unnecessary in warning necessity deciding section 203 . on the other hand , in the case in which the person having the entry authority in the position measuring point data of fig1 c exists in contrast with the invader in the position measuring point data of fig1 a , it is decided that the warning is necessary in warning necessity deciding section 203 . next , an operation according to the embodiment will be described . monitoring apparatus 200 according to the embodiment has a feature in the processings of visible region forming section 202 and warning necessity deciding section 203 . therefore , procedures for the processings will be described with reference to fig1 . in step st 31 , visible region forming section 202 acquires information about a position measuring point of a person decided to carry out an entry by entry deciding section 105 and having no entry authority . in step st 32 , visible region forming section 202 refers to position measurement information history db 201 to retrieve whether a person having an entry authority exists within a range of a radius 300 [ cm ] around the position measuring point acquired in step st 31 , for example . if visible region forming section 202 decides that the person having the entry authority does not exist within the range of the radius of 300 [ cm ] in step st 33 ( step st 33 : no ), the processing proceeds to step st 34 in which visible region forming section 202 reports to warning necessity deciding section 203 that the invader is an warning target and warning necessity deciding section 203 decides that the invader is the warning target . on the other hand , if visible region forming section 202 decides that the person having the entry authority exists within the range of the radius of 300 [ cm ] ( step st 33 : yes ), the processing proceeds to step st 35 in which an extended line connecting a position measuring point at a pertinent time of the person having the entry authority and a last position measuring point is calculated as a visual line direction ( see fig1 ). in step st 36 , visible region forming section 202 forms a region having a length of 300 [ cm ] in the visual line direction and an angle of ± 30 ° with respect to the visual line direction as a visible region of a person having an entry authority , for example ( see fig1 ). in step st 37 , warning necessity deciding section 203 decides whether a position measuring point of an invader having no entry authority exists in the visible region or not . if a negative result is obtained in step st 37 ( see fig1 b ), the processing proceeds to step st 38 in which warning necessity deciding section 203 decides that the invader is an warning target . on the other hand , if a positive result is obtained in step st 37 ( see fig1 a ), the processing proceeds to step st 39 in which warning necessity deciding section 203 decides that the invader is not the warning target . as described above , according to the embodiment , there are provided visible region forming section 202 and warning necessity deciding section 203 . also in the case in which it is decided that a target having no entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 enters monitoring area ar 0 , an warning is not output if a position measuring point of the entering target is included in a visible region of a person having an entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 . consequently , it is possible to actually prevent an unnecessary warning from being output . in the embodiment , an apparatus and a method which can meet the request of ( 2 ) ( that is , to avoid an unnecessary entry decision , thereby decreasing a wasteful warning output ) more fully are presented in the same manner as in embodiment 2 . in other words , in the embodiment , there is presented a monitoring apparatus capable of accurately deciding entering and / or leaving without fail and giving only a necessary and sufficient warning notice without an unnecessary warning notice . fig1 shows an image of the present embodiment . in the embodiment , also in the case in which it is detected that a person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 , an warning is not output if the person is accompanied by a person having an entry authority . a black circle indicated as the reference symbol p 1 denotes a position measuring point of a person having no entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 that is an entry detecting target . the reference symbol p 2 indicates a position measuring point of a person having an entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 ( for example , an employee or the like ). in the embodiment , a line connecting position measuring points before and after the position measuring point at which a person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 by several position measuring points is used as similarity deciding line l 1 . moreover , a line connecting position measuring points at a plurality of times of a person having an entry authority at the same time as position measuring points which are a basis of similarity deciding flow line l 1 is used as similarity deciding line l 2 . the similarities of similarity deciding flow line l 1 and similarity deciding line l 2 are decided so that it is decided whether a person having no entry authority is accompanied by a person having an entry authority or not . as shown in fig1 , also in the case in which it is detected that the person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 , an warning output is not carried out if it is decided that the person is accompanied by the person having the entry authority . consequently , it is possible to decrease unnecessary warning notices . although a method for deciding that a person having no entry authority is accompanied by a person having an entry authority includes the following methods ( i ) to ( iv ) in the embodiment , for example , the invention is not limited thereto . a distance between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 which will be described below indicates a distance between position measuring points at an identical time in distances between the position measuring point of the person having the entry authority and the position measuring point of the person having no entry authority which are a basis of similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 . moreover , it is also preferable to actually use , for the distance , a mean value of the plurality of position measuring points . ( i ) if the distance between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value , it is decided that the accompaniment is carried out . ( ii ) if the distance between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value and an angle formed by similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value , it is decided that the accompaniment is carried out . ( iii ) if the distance between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value and a difference in length between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 ( or a difference in speed between a person having an entry authority and a person having no entry authority ) is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value , it is decided that the accompaniment is carried out . ( iv ) if the angle formed by similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value and the difference in length between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 ( or the difference in speed between the person having the entry authority and the person having no entry authority ) is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value , it is decided that the accompaniment is carried out . fig2 shows an image of an warning necessity decision according to the embodiment . in the case in which the criterion of ( iv ) is used among ( i ) to ( iv ), it is decided that the person having no entry authority is accompanied by the person having the entry authority and the warning is unnecessary because the distance between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value and the angle formed by similarity deciding flow line l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value in fig2 a . on the other hand , in fig2 b , the difference in length between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value but the angle formed by similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is greater than the predetermined value . therefore , it is decided that the person having no entry authority is not accompanied by the person having the entry authority and the warning is necessary . the invention is not limited to the similarity decision based on only the position measuring point but the similarity decision may be carried out in consideration of a reliability of a position measuring point . with reference to fig2 and 22 , description will be given to a way of deciding an accompaniment in consideration of a reliability of a position measuring point in the case in which the criterion of ( iv ) is employed . first of all , description will be given to a way of obtaining the angle formed by similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 in consideration of the reliability . as shown in fig2 , circles 11 and 12 to be possible existing regions at times t 1 and t 2 for a deciding target ( a person having no entry authority ) are set , and circles 21 and 22 to be possible existing regions at times t 1 and t 2 for an accompanying candidate ( a person having the entry authority ) are set . next , tangential lines 11 and 12 to be inscribed lines of circles 11 and 12 are drawn , and tangential lines 21 and 22 to be inscribed lines of circles 21 and 22 are drawn . a possible existing range of similarity flow line l 1 of the person having no entry authority is provided between tangential lines 11 and 12 . a possible existing range of similarity flow line l 2 of the person having the entry authority is provided between tangential lines 21 and 22 . accordingly , an angle in any of combinations of the tangential lines including tangential lines 11 and 21 , tangential lines 11 and 22 , tangential lines 12 and 21 , and tangential lines 12 and 22 in which an angle formed by the tangential lines is the greatest is set to be a deciding target angle . in other words , an angle on a condition that a position measurement error is the greatest is used as the deciding target angle . next , a way of obtaining the difference in length between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 as in ( iii ) and ( iv ) will be described with reference to fig2 . in fig2 , when a distance between centers of circles 11 and 12 is represented by r 1 , a distance between centers of circles 21 and 22 is represented by r 2 , a total of radii of the possible existing regions in circles 11 and 12 is represented by a 1 , and a total of radii of the possible existing regions in circles 21 and 22 is represented by a 2 , a difference between ( r 1 + a 1 ) and ( r 2 − a 2 ) or a difference between ( r 1 − a 1 ) and ( r 2 + a 2 ) which is greater is set to be a deciding target line length . in other words , in the case in which a position measurement error is considered , the difference in length between similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 on the condition that the position measurement error is the greatest is obtained in the case in which one of similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is the shortest and the other is the longest . more specifically , either a difference between the length ( r 1 + a 1 ) in the case in which similarity deciding flow line l 1 of the person having no entry authority is the longest and the length ( r 2 − a 2 ) in the case in which similarity deciding flow line l 2 of the person having the entry authority is the shortest or a difference between the length ( r 1 − a 1 ) in the case in which similarity deciding flow line l 1 of the person having no entry authority is the shortest and the length ( r 2 + a 2 ) in the case in which similarity deciding flow line l 2 of the person having the entry authority is the longest is set to be a maximum length difference . therefore , it is preferable to use the maximum length difference as the deciding target . although the length difference in a single interval has been described for simplicity of the explanation , it is a matter of course that a decision may be made based on a difference in length between a plurality of intervals . by making the decisions of ( i ) to ( iv ) on the condition that the position measurement error is the maximum in consideration of the reliability of the position measuring point , thus , it is possible to decide that the accompaniment is carried out only when the person having no entry authority is surely accompanied by the person having the entry authority . as a result , it is possible to avoid a decision that the accompaniment is carried out though the accompaniment is not carried out due to the position measurement error . consequently , it is possible to avoid an warning failure . in fig2 showing corresponding portions to fig6 which have the same reference numerals , there is illustrated a structure of a monitoring system according to the embodiment . monitoring system 310 has camera 120 , monitoring apparatus 300 and monitor 141 . monitoring apparatus 300 has the same structure as that of apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving in fig6 except that it has position measurement information history database ( db ) 301 and similarity deciding section 302 . position measurement information history db 301 holds position measurement information sent from person position calculating section 101 and offers a history of a position measurement to similarity deciding section 302 . similarity deciding section 302 inputs , from entry deciding section 105 , a position measuring point for a person having no entry authority that is decided to carry out an entry , and furthermore , inputs , from position measurement information history db 301 , a history of position measuring points of a person having an entry authority and the person having no entry authority . similarity deciding section 302 decides whether the person having no entry authority is accompanied by the person having the entry authority or not by using the criteria of ( i ) to ( iv ). similarity deciding section 302 outputs , to decision result reporting section 103 , a decision result indicating that an warning is unnecessary if it is decided that the person having no entry authority is accompanied by the person having the entry authority . on the other hand , similarity deciding section 302 outputs , to decision result reporting section 103 , a decision result indicating that the warning is necessary if it is decided that the person having no entry authority is not accompanied by the person having the entry authority . fig2 a shows an example of a person position and a reliability for an invader having no entry authority . fig2 b shows a first example of the person position and the reliability for a person having an entry authority . fig2 c shows a second example of the person position and the reliability for the person having the entry authority . fig2 d shows an example of monitoring area information to be stored in monitoring area db 106 . in the case in which the person having the entry authority in position measuring point data of fig2 b exists with respect to an invader in position measuring point data of fig2 a , it is decided that an warning is unnecessary by similarity deciding section 302 . on the other hand , in the case in which the person having the entry authority in position measuring point data of fig2 c exists with respect to the invader in the position measuring point data of fig2 a , it is decided that the warning is necessary by similarity deciding section 302 . next , an operation according to the embodiment will be described . monitoring apparatus 300 according to the embodiment has a feature in the processing of similarity deciding section 302 . therefore , a procedure for the processing of similarity deciding section 302 will be described with reference to fig2 . in the following , description will be given by taking , as an example , the case in which the criterion of ( iv ) is used . in step st 41 , similarly deciding section 302 acquires information about a position measuring point of a person having no entry authority that is decided to carry out an entry by entry deciding section 105 . in step st 42 , similarity deciding section 302 refers to position measurement information history db 301 , thereby retrieving whether or not a person having an entry authority exists within a range of a radius of 100 [ cm ] around the position measuring point acquired in step st 41 , for example . if similarity deciding section 302 decides that the person having the entry authority does not exist within the range of the radius of 100 [ cm ] in step st 43 ( step st 43 : no ), the processing proceeds to step st 44 in which similarity deciding section 302 decides that an invader is an warning target . on the other hand , if similarity deciding section 302 decides that the person having the entry authority exists within the range of the radius of 100 [ cm ] ( step st 43 : yes ), the processing proceeds to step st 45 in which similarity deciding section 302 calculates , as similarity deciding flow line l 2 , a line connecting a position measuring point at a pertinent time of the person having the entry authority and a position measuring point provided before four position measuring points therefrom ( see fig1 ). in step st 46 , similarity deciding section 302 calculates , as similarity deciding flow line l 1 , a line connecting a position measuring point of the person having no entry authority and the position measuring point provided before four position measuring points therefrom ( see fig1 ). in step st 47 , similarity deciding section 302 decides whether a difference in length between two similarity deciding flow lines l 1 and l 2 is equal to or smaller than 100 [ cm ] and an angle in an adjustment of a visual point is equal to or smaller than 30 ° or not . when a negative result is obtained in step st 47 , the processing proceeds to step st 48 in which similarity deciding section 302 decides that an invader is an warning target . on the other hand , when a positive result is obtained in step st 47 , the processing proceeds to step st 49 in which similarity deciding section 302 decides that the invader is not the warning target . as described above , according to the embodiment , also in the case in which similarity deciding section 302 is provided and it is decided that the target having no entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 enters monitoring area ar 0 , an warning is not output if it is decided that the target is accompanied by the person having the entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 . consequently , it is possible to actually prevent an unnecessary warning from being output . in the embodiment , an apparatus and a method which can meet the request of ( 2 ) ( that is , to avoid an unnecessary entry decision , thereby decreasing a wasteful warning output ) more fully are presented in the same manner as in embodiments 2 and 3 . in other words , in the embodiment , there is presented a monitoring apparatus capable of accurately deciding entering and / or leaving without fail and giving only a necessary and sufficient warning notice without an unnecessary warning notice . fig2 shows an image of the present embodiment . in the embodiment , also in the case in which it is detected that a person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 , an warning is not output if it is decided that entering is carried out to avoid a collision with another person . a black circle indicated as the reference symbol p 1 denotes a position measuring point of a person having no entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 that is an entry detecting target . the reference symbol p 2 denotes a position measuring point of another person that exists in the vicinity of the entry detecting target . in the embodiment , a segment having a certain length from a last position measuring point ( a line of direction in which an advance should be carried out if there is no collision ) in an extended line of a flow line formed by connecting a last position measuring point from a position measuring point at which a person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 and a further position measuring point provided before the last position measuring point is used as collision deciding line l 1 ′. referring to another person that exists in the vicinity of the entering person , similarly , collision deciding line l 2 ′ is formed based on a position measuring point at an identical time to a position measuring point which is a basis of the formation of collision deciding line l 1 ′. in the case in which collision deciding line l 1 ′ crosses collision deciding line l 2 ′, it is decided that the person having no entry authority enters monitoring area ar 0 in order to avoid a collision and an warning is not output . fig2 shows an image for an warning necessity decision according to the embodiment . in fig2 a , collision deciding line l 1 ′ crosses collision deciding line l 2 ′. therefore , it is decided that entering is carried out to avoid a collision and an warning is unnecessary . on the other hand , in fig2 b , collision deciding line l 1 ′ does not cross collision deciding line l 2 ′. therefore , it is decided that entering is not carried out to avoid the collision and the warning is necessary . the collision decision is not limited to one based on only the position measuring point but the collision decision may be made in consideration of a reliability of the position measuring point . the method will be described with reference to fig2 . first of all , there are set circles 11 and 12 to be possible existing regions of position measuring points at times t 1 and t 2 of a deciding target ( a person having no entry authority ), and inscribed lines 11 and 12 of circles 11 and 12 are drawn . contact points of inscribed lines 11 and 12 and circles 1 and 2 are defined as in the drawing . a distance between contact point 11 and contact point 21 is represented by r , and a point on inscribed line 11 at a reverse side to contact point 11 at a distance of a × r (“ a ” is a constant ) from contact point 21 is represented by point 1 . “ a ” denotes a parameter representing a point of time where a collision is to be taken into consideration . if a value of “ a ” is small , only an immediately following collision is decided . if the value of “ a ” is great , succeeding collisions are also decided . in a circular arc having a radius of “ a distance of contact point 21 from intersection point + distance ar ” around an intersection point of inscribed lines 11 and 12 , a circular arc at a short side which is surrounded by inscribed lines 11 and 12 is set to be circular arc 1 . in a circular arc formed by circular arc 1 , inscribed line 11 , inscribed line 12 and circle 12 , a region surrounded by a longer circular arc divided by contact point 21 and contact point 22 is set to be a collision deciding region . referring to a position measuring point of a collision target person ( another person that exists in the vicinity of an invader ), similarly , a collision deciding region is obtained . referring to the collision deciding region of each of the deciding target and the collision target which is thus obtained , next , it is decided whether an overlap is caused or not . thus , the collision decision is made . as a method for making the collision decision , it is also possible to employ a method for deciding whether an overlapping area is equal to or larger than a certain value in place of a method for deciding whether an overlapping region partially exists or not . by making the collision decision considering a reliability for a position measuring point , thus , it is possible to precisely detect only an entry for avoiding a collision even if an error is made on each position measuring point . as a result , it is possible to prevent the decision that entering is carried out for avoiding a collision though entering is not intended for avoiding a collision due to a position measurement error . therefore , it is possible to avoid an warning failure . in fig2 showing corresponding portions to fig6 which have the same reference numerals , there is illustrated a structure of a monitoring system according to the embodiment . monitoring system 410 has camera 120 , monitoring apparatus 400 and monitor 141 . monitoring apparatus 400 has the same structure as that of apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving in fig6 except that it has position measurement information history database ( db ) 401 and collision deciding section 402 . position measurement information history db 401 holds position measurement information sent from person position calculating section 101 and offers a history of a position measurement to collision deciding section 402 . collision deciding section 402 inputs , from entry deciding section 105 , a position measuring point of a person decided to carry out an entry and having no entry authority , and furthermore , inputs a history of position measuring points of a person having an entry authority and a person having no entry authority from position measurement information history db 401 . entry deciding section 105 decides whether an entry of the person having no entry authority is intended for avoiding a collision or not . if it is decided that entering is intended for avoiding a collision , collision deciding section 402 outputs , to decision result reporting section 103 , a decision result indicating that an warning is unnecessary . on the other hand , if it is decided that entering is not intended for avoiding a collision , collision deciding section 402 outputs , to decision result reporting section 103 , a decision result indicating that the warning is necessary . fig3 a shows an example of a person position and a reliability for an invader having no entry authority . fig3 b shows a first example of a person position and a reliability for a person having an entry authority . fig3 c shows a second example of the person position and the reliability for the person having the entry authority . fig3 d shows an example of monitoring area information to be stored in monitoring area db 106 . in the case in which the person having the entry authority in the position measuring point data of fig3 b exists with respect to the invader in the position measuring point data of fig3 a , it is decided that the warning is unnecessary in collision deciding section 402 . on the other hand , in the case in which the person having the entry authority in the position measuring point data of fig3 c exists with respect to the invader in the position measuring point data of fig3 a , it is decided that the warning is necessary in collision deciding section 402 . next , an operation according to the embodiment will be described . monitoring apparatus 400 according to the embodiment has a feature in the processing of collision deciding section 402 . therefore , a processing procedure for collision deciding section 402 will be described with reference to fig3 . in step st 51 , collision deciding section 402 acquires information about a position measuring point of a person decided to carry out an entry by entry deciding section 105 and having no entry authority . in step st 52 , collision deciding section 402 refers to position measurement information history db 401 to retrieve whether another person exists within a range of a radius of 100 [ cm ] around the position measuring point acquired in step st 51 , for example . if collision deciding section 402 decides that another person does not exist within the range of the radius of 100 [ cm ] in step st 53 ( step st 53 ; no ), the processing proceeds to step st 54 in which collision deciding section 402 decides that an invader is an warning target . on the other hand , if collision deciding section 402 decides that another person exists within the range of the radius of 100 [ cm ] ( step st 53 ; yes ), the processing proceeds to step st 55 in which a line connecting a last position measuring point from a position measuring point at a pertinent time of another person and a second position measuring point from the last is extended toward the last position measuring point side by twice the length of the line , thereby calculating collision deciding line l 2 ′. in step st 56 , collision deciding section 402 extends a line connecting a last position measuring point of a person having no entry authority and a second position measuring point from the last toward the last position measuring point side by twice the length of the line , thereby calculating collision deciding line l 1 ′. in step st 57 , collision deciding section 402 decides whether two collision deciding lines l 1 ′ and l 2 ′ cross each other or not . if a negative result is obtained in step st 57 , the processing proceeds to step st 58 in which collision deciding section 402 decides that the invader is an warning target . on the other hand , if a positive result is obtained in step st 57 , the processing proceeds to step st 59 in which collision deciding section 402 decides that the invader is not the warning target . as described above , according to the embodiment , there is provided collision deciding section 402 . also in the case in which it is decided that the target having no entry authority into monitoring area ar 0 enters monitoring area ar 0 , an warning is not output if it is decided entering is carried out to avoid a collision with another person . consequently , it is possible to actually prevent an unnecessary warning from being output . apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving , and monitoring apparatus 200 , 300 and 400 described in embodiments 1 to 4 can be executed by a general purpose computer such as a personal computer , and each processing included in apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving , and monitoring apparatus 200 , 300 and 400 is implemented by reading a software program corresponding to a processing of each processing section stored in a memory of a computer and carrying out an execution processing through a cpu . moreover , apparatus 100 for detecting entering and / or leaving , and monitoring apparatus 200 , 300 and 400 may be implemented by a dedicated apparatus provided with an lsi chip which is compatible with each processing section . moreover , the apparatus for detecting entering and / or leaving and the monitoring apparatus according to the embodiments have a feature that entering and / or leaving of a target into and / or from monitoring area ( specific area ) ar 0 can be detected with high precision , and a way of using a detection result is not limited to the way of using according to the embodiments . for instance , a notice of the entry into the specific area may be wirelessly given to a target decided to carry out the entry by entry deciding section 105 ( for example , a portable wireless terminal ). furthermore , a content related to the specific area may be delivered to only the target decided to carry out the entry by entry deciding section 105 ( for example , a portable wireless terminal ), for instance . in addition , by providing the apparatus for detecting entering and / or leaving and the monitoring apparatus according to the embodiments in a portable terminal and displaying a detection result of entering and / or leaving and a monitoring result on a monitor of the portable terminal or making an warning sound corresponding to the detection result of entering and / or leaving and the monitoring result from the portable terminal , it is also possible to inform a user holding the portable terminal of entering and / or leaving into and / or from the specific area . the disclosure of japanese patent application no . 2009 - 055591 , filed on mar . 9 , 2009 , including the specification , drawings and abstract , is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the invention has an advantage that entering and / or leaving of a detecting target into and / or from a specific area can be detected with high precision also in the case in which a position measurement error is made , and is suitable for a monitoring system , for example .	6
in the practice of the method , marine nodules are used in essentially the state in which they are recovered from underwater . no drying step is generally necessary to remove the moisture content , and in fact it has been found beneficial to wash the nodules with sufficient fresh water to remove soluble chloride salts . such a wash eliminates the uptake of soluble minerals into the leach solution and their carryover into subsequent processing steps . it has also been found helpful to crush or grind larger nodules , either before or after water washing , to reduce their average size . since the nodules have porosities of about 60 percent by volume , crushing is not required to assure efficient leaching , however such a step does make handling more convenient . due to their extreme porosity the nodules are friable and easily ground , so that this step does not involve significant investment in equipment or power . reduction of the nodules to an average size of about 4 mesh has been found to facilitate processing . the step of leaching the nodules is conducted with an aqueous solution of nitrous acid ( hno 2 ) and nitric acid ( hno 3 ), usually prepared by the dissolution of nitrogen dixoide in water . this no 2 , and additional hno 3 if required , can be recycled to the leach solution from the later decomposition and reclamation steps , thus eliminating the necessity for frequent replenishment of the leach solution with fresh reagents . for the most efficient extraction of manganese , copper , nickel and cobalt from the nodules , coupled with the least dissolution of iron , the ph of the leach solution should be maintained below about 2 . 5 . leach efficiency as a function of ph is shown in fig . ii . preferably , the solution will be maintained at a ph of 1 . 0 - 2 . 0 . using the preferred conditions , the extraction of mn , cu , and ni as soluble nitrates will be better than 87 percent . the extraction of co will be in the range of 80 - 85 percent . better than 99 percent of the fe will be retained in the gangue . the overall leaching step is similar in theory and operation to that described by welsh in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 780 , 159 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . as noted in this patent , advantageous leach conditions may also include parameters such as maintaining a quantity of nodules in the leach solution sufficient to provide a stoichiometric excess of manganese dioxide equivalent in relation to the nitrous acid content of the aqueous solution , maintaining a leach solution temperature below about 80 ° c ., and maintaining the equilibrium partial pressure of a combination of nitric oxide and water vapor over the solution at less than atmospheric pressure . such parameters , while not critical , are conducive to a much more efficient leaching of marine nodules . upon completion of the leaching step , the resulting slurry is treated to remove the insoluble iron oxides , minerals and gangue . the usual treatment is filtration , carried out with conventional apparatus , at a ph of less than 2 . 5 . the gangue and iron oxides are normally discarded as tailings . the filtrate , containing the mn , cu , ni , co and alkali and alkaline earth metals as their nitrates , is treated with manganous hydroxide [ mn ( oh ) 2 ] to adjust the ph and precipitate principally the cu , ni , and co as hydroxides . it is standard practice in the production of electrolytic manganese metal to adjust the ph of recycle electrolyte solutions to a value of 6 or higher with lime or nh 4 oh . the heavy metal impurities are then precipitated by the addition of sulfide ion added either as h 2 s or ammonium sulfide . in the preparation of purified manganese salt solutions , the general practice is to use either reduced ore or mno to adjust the ph to values of 4 to 6 . it is apparent from the chemistry of the overall nitrate process as outlined above and as described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 780 , 159 , that the addition of ammonium , alkali or alkaline earth compounds constitute undesirable process impurities . the ph adjustment of the nitrate leach solution in order to either precipitate hydroxides , or as a preliminary step to the addition of sulfide ion , should therefore be done with a basic manganese compound . the use of mn ( oh ) 2 as the precipitating agent is essential to commercial success of the method for a number of reasons . the precipitation should be effected at a ph of 6 or slightly below in order to insure selective separation of the cu , ni and co , and mn ( oh ) 2 is a buffering alkaline agent inherently capable of achieving and maintaining the desired ph . the mn ( oh ) 2 also is non - contaminating in the sense that no extraneous ions are introduced into the solution , i . e . no additional base need be added to adjust ph which would be carried into the subsequent processing steps . the only metal introduced into the manganese nitrate solution is additional manganese , which is of course conserved by conversion to mn ( no 3 ) 2 . although prior practice has utilized mno for ph adjustment of manganese salt solutions , it is neither the preferred alkaline agent nor the most efficient . it is necessary to use an excess of mno in order to attain the required ph adjustment causing a substantial manganese contamination in the ni , co , cu concentrates . further , the neutralization reaction with mno is slow and introduces a time consuming step in the process . it is an advantage of this invention to improve markedly this neutralization and precipitation step by using mn ( oh ) 2 instead of mno . the following table clearly shows the significant improvement in stoichiometric efficiency using mn ( oh ) 2 for ph adjustment , as compared to mno . equal amounts of mn equivalent were initially added as mn ( oh ) 2 and mno to 250 ml portions of a 35 weight percent mn ( no 3 ) 2 leach solution . the initial solution ph was 1 . 0 , and the ph was measured as a function of time . the table shows that the neutralization is practically instantaneous with mn ( oh ) 2 , while the mno neutralization is excessively slow and requires substantially more mn equivalent . table______________________________________ mnoh . sub . 2 addition mno additiontime mn added ph mn added ph______________________________________0 min 1 . 3 gm 1 . 0 1 . 3 gm 1 . 010 -- 4 . 8 0 . 19 2 . 720 -- -- 0 . 37 3 . 130 -- -- -- 3 . 3110 -- -- 0 . 37 3 . 9130 -- -- -- 4 . 5180 -- -- 0 . 37 4 . 5240 -- -- -- 4 . 8 1 . 3 gm total 2 . 6 gm total______________________________________ manganous hydroxide prepared by any of the several known methods is suitable for use , however , it is preferred to use mn ( oh ) 2 prepared as described by sochol in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 950 , 505 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . mn ( oh ) 2 prepared by this method is of particularly high purity , containing no salt contaminants . the use of mn ( oh ) 2 in conjunction with h 2 s provides a preferred precipitation system for co , ni , and cu from the nitrate solutions of this process . neutralization is rapid and efficient while the metallic sulfide precipitation occurs at ph values ≧ 5 . this ph range prevents oxidation of sulfide ion by the nitrate ion with its resulting loss of reagent . furthermore , with h 2 s there is no process contamination from the introduction of extraneous metal ions . the amount of h 2 s used for this optional precipitation is not critical , and generally will range up to or in slight excess of the mn ( oh ) 2 . the combination of mn ( oh ) 2 and h 2 s to precipitate cu , ni , and co may be done in either one or two steps . in the one - step procedure , the mn ( oh ) 2 is added in a quantity equal to or in slight excess of the stoichiometric value of metals other than manganese ( principally cu , ni , and co ) present in the filtrate , in order to insure substantially complete precipitation of these metals . h 2 s is then added in an amount equal to the stoichiometric value of metals present . the presence of mn ( oh ) 2 acts as a buffer and prevents the ph from becoming acidic . a shift in ph thus becomes an indication of the consumption of mn ( oh ) 2 and the complete precipitation of cu , ni and co . in a two - step procedure , the nitrate solution is treated with mn ( oh ) 2 as before . the precipitated hydroxides are then removed by filtration . in many instances this single treatment will remove substantially all of the cu , ni , and co , and additional treatment is not necessary . however , under some conditions a small amount of these metals may remain in solution under equilibrium conditions . if more complete separation is desired , the optional second step of a combined mn ( oh ) 2 / h 2 s precipitation may be carried out to scavenge any remaining cu , ni , and co . such a two - step process has the additional advantage of requiring the use of considerably less h 2 s , with the resulting generation of less metallic sulfides . the reduced amount of sulfides minimizes potential sulfur pollution problems in the recovery of the metals from their respective hydroxide / sulfide concentrations . by use of the foregoing steps , virtually 100 percent of the cu , ni and co is separated from the manganese nitrate solution . the metal hydroxides or mixed hydroxides and sulfides are removed by filtration . subsequent processing to separate the cu , ni and co and to recover the pure metals may utilize any of several well - known techniques . the most common methods involve liquid ion exchange to separate the materials , followed by electrowinning to obtain the pure metals . after removal of the cu , ni and co concentrate from the leach solution , the filtrate contains predominantly manganese nitrate along with lesser amounts of soluble alkali and alkaline earth metal nitrates . this filtrate is concentrated and the mn ( no 3 ) 2 is thermally decomposed to recover high purity mno 2 . the thermal decomposition can be carried out by methods such as those described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 779 , 659 and 2 , 681 , 268 . a decomposition process similar to that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 780 , 158 is preferred . the decomposition of manganese nitrate yields not only manganese dioxide , but also nitrogen dioxide gas . this no 2 , along with associated water vapor , can be conveniently recycled to the leach solution and used in the formation of nitrous and nitric acids . the alkali and alkaline earth nitrates present in the mn ( no 3 ) 2 solution , which are normally not decomposed , are removed from the mno 2 product by a countercurrent wash . these materials may then be mineral acid treated , for example with h 2 so 4 , to reclaim the no 3 value as hno 3 . the hno 3 is then recycled to the leach solution , and the alkali and alkaline earth sulfate can be discarded as non - polluting tailings . the method of the invention can be conducted in a batchwise manner , or more advantageously in a continuous fashion with recycle of the no 2 and hno 3 reagents . pacific marine nodules ( 800 gm ) analyzing approximately 29 % mn , 1 . 4 % ni , 1 . 1 % cu , and 0 . 25 % co were ground and leached in an agitated solution of nitrous and nitric acids resulting from the absorption of no 2 in water . the ph of the slurry was adjusted to 2 . 0 using hno 3 , and the final volume of the leach solution was 2 . 2 liters . after leaching , the solids were separated and both the liquid and solid phases were analyzed . ______________________________________element solid liquid______________________________________mn 21 . 9 gm 215 gmni 0 . 46 9 . 7cu 1 . 18 7 . 8co 0 . 27 1 . 5fe -- ( nil ) ______________________________________ from this analysis , the following leaching efficiencies were calculated -- mn ( 90 . 7 %), ni ( 95 . 5 %), cu ( 86 . 9 %), and co ( 85 . 0 %). the filtered leach solution was then treated with about 44 grams of mn ( oh ) 2 , resulting in a solution ph of 5 . 8 . the precipitate which formed was separated by filtration , washed , and found to contain 9 . 1 gm mn , 9 . 2 gm ni , 7 . 8 gm cu , and 1 . 3 gm . co . the filtrate contained 0 . 3 gm ni , 0 . 2 gm co , and undetectable cu . a second addition of 2 . 9 grams of mn ( oh ) 2 was made to the filtrate , followed by sufficient h 2 s to shift the solution ph to 5 . 0 . the liquid phase of the resulting slurry contained less than 1 ppm ni and co .	2
one aspect of the invention is a digital controller 100 which is added to the switching rotary phase shifter driver 50 circuit between the analog front - end ( d / a converter 58 and comparator 58 ) and the analog back - end ( level shifters 68 , 70 , gate drives 72 , 74 , and switches / fets 64 , 66 ). fig2 illustrates the resulting circuit . the controller 100 can be implemented in many low - cost / low power cmos plds or asics . the functions of the controller 100 can be broken down into three blocks , the current mode mapping function 102 , the test counter function 104 and finite state machine ( fsm ) function 106 . the current mode mapping function 102 examines the desired current word that is being applied to the d / a converter 58 , and encodes it into a 2 - bit variable ( current -- zone ) to indicate if the desired load current ( in amps ) is either positive , negative , or zero . a typical code translation is shown in fig4 where only mnemonics p , z and n are shown for the 2 - bit variable ; the actual binary code assigned to the particular mode is arbitrary . this 2 - bit variable current -- zone is applied to the fsm function 106 . depending on the timing relationship between clk -- data ( the signal clocking the register 52 ) and clk -- execute ( the signal clocking the fsm 106 and the test counter function 104 ), the value of current -- zone may have to be re - synchronized to clk -- execute before entering the fsm 106 . the test - mode timeout counter 104 is used to achieve a deterministic , regular pattern of switching for one of the output switches 64 , 66 , when the fsm 106 is in the test mode . this aids in debugging by breaking the normal functional feedback loop 110 . the counter 104 generates a 1 - clk -- execute clock wide terminal count flag called test -- cycle , that occurs at a duty cycle less than 50 % ( i . e . the test counter must have a minimum of 3 states , only one of which can assert the test -- cycle ). in test mode , with the signal test asserted , this causes the fsm 106 to break out of the idle state and spend one clk -- execute clock interval in the s -- p or s -- n state , before unconditionally returning to the idle state , where it waits again for test -- cycle , as further illustrated in fig5 and 7 . the duty cycle of test -- cycle is less than 50 % in order to insure that the switch being regularly toggled or pulse - width - modulated does not allow a buildup of current in the load that would lead to destruction of the switches and / or the load . the test - mode timeout counter 104 does not need to be initialized to the fsm 104 or any of its inputs , since in test mode , the fsm self - synchronizes to the counter . the test - mode timeout counter should be initialized in response to enable = 0 . an important aspect of the invention is the fsm 106 . it consists of three legal states , the idle state , the s -- p state and the s -- n state , encoded by a minimum of two state variables . the fsm has two outputs , cmd -- pos and cmd -- neg , which respectively command the positive and negative switches 64 and 66 to be on . under no circumstances are both switches ever commanded to be on simultaneously . fig6 a - 6h are waveform diagrams illustrating the timing of the various control signals for the circuit of fig2 and the resulting output voltage ( fig6 g ) and measured load voltage level ( fig6 h ). the state diagram for the fsm 106 is shown in fig7 . the enable signal ( e ) takes precedence over all others and , when off ( e = 0 ) sends the machine 106 to the idle state 120 , wherein both cmd -- pos and cmd -- neg are set to zero . second in priority is the test signal ( t ), which forces the machine into the test mode ( t = 1 ) or the normal mode ( t = 0 ). in test mode , the machine toggles between the idle state and either the s -- p state 122 ( cmd -- pos = 1 , cmd -- neg = 0 ) or the s -- n state 124 ( cmd -- pos = 0 , cmd -- neg = 1 ), in response to test -- cycle ( tc ) and the value ( p , n or z ) of current -- zone . in normal mode , the machine toggles between idle 120 and either s -- p 122 or s -- n 124 , depending on the values of compare ( c ) and current -- zone in order to regulate the current to the target value represented in data -- stored ( n ). the equations of fig7 use the palasm ( tm ) ( programmable array logic assembly language , monolithic memories / advanced micro devices , inc .) convention , that sum - of - products logic statements can be interpreted as follows . a = b • d + c • d means that the output a will be true ( asserted ) if input b is true and d is false , or if input c is true and d is true ; otherwise ( else ) output a will be false ( not asserted ). thus , the notation + represents the logical or operation , * or • represents the logical and operation , and / represents the not asserted state . as indicated by the state equations of fig7 the fsm 106 will remain in the idle state when ( 1 ) enable is not asserted , or ( 2 ) enable is asserted and test is asserted and test -- cycle is not asserted , or ( 3 ) enable is asserted and test is not asserted and z ( the zero current code of current -- zone ) is asserted , or ( 4 ) enable is asserted and test is not asserted and p ( the positive current code of current -- zone ) is asserted and the reference current is below ( less than ) the measured current , or ( 5 ) enable is asserted and test is not asserted and n ( the negative current code of current -- zone ) is asserted and the reference current is above ( greater than ) the measured current . the fsm 106 will change states from the idle state 120 to the s -- p state 122 when ( 1 ) enable and p and test and test -- cycle asserted , or ( 2 ) enable and p are asserted and the reference current is above ( greater than ) the measured current , and test is not asserted . the fsm 106 will change states from the idle state 120 to the s -- n state 124 when ( 1 ) enable , test , n and test -- cycle are asserted , or ( 2 ) enable and n are asserted and test is not asserted and the reference current is below ( less than ) the measured current . once in the s -- p state 122 , the machine 106 will remain in state 122 if enable and p are asserted and the reference current is above ( greater than ) the measured current , and test is not asserted . the machine will change states from the s -- p state 122 to the idle state 120 when ( 1 ) enable is not asserted , or ( 2 ) enable and test are asserted , or ( 3 ) enable and z are asserted and test is not asserted , or ( 4 ) enable and p are asserted and test is not asserted and the reference current is below ( less than ) the measured current , or ( 5 ) enable and n are asserted and test is not asserted . once in the s -- n state 124 , the machine 106 will remain in state 124 if enable and n are asserted and test is not asserted and the reference current is below ( less than ) the measured current . the machine will change states from the s -- n state 124 to the idle state 120 when ( 1 ) enable is not asserted , or ( 2 ) enable and test are asserted , or ( 3 ) enable and z are asserted and test is not asserted , or ( 4 ) enable and p are asserted and test is not asserted , or ( 5 ) enable and n are asserted and the reference current is above ( greater than ) the measured current , and test is not asserted . it is assumed that the signals enable and test are generated in such a way as to meet the timing constraints of the fsm , otherwise they may have to be re - synchronized to clk -- execute before entering the fsm . all sequential logic devices have timing constraints defined by the device manufacturer which declare that certain inputs must behave a certain way with respect to other inputs in order for the device to work properly . this is a conventional consideration in all logic design , and is not peculiar to this invention . the fsm 106 of this exemplary embodiment ( fig7 ) is a moore machine . if no combinatorial output decoding is performed on the state variable outputs , then an illegal state with cmd -- pos = 1 and cmd -- neg = 1 may be unavoidable . in that case , the logic power supplies should be valid before the v -- pos and v -- neg power supplies , to avoid actively driving both switches 62 and 64 . other types of state machines can alternatively be employed , such as a mealy machine . the particular number of state variables , and the specific encoding of the state variables , can vary , depending on the particular application . if the particular implementation of the machine includes illegal states that can cause both outputs to be turned on , then in that case , the logic power supplies should be valid before the v -- pos and v -- neg power supplies , to avoid actively driving both switches 62 and 64 simultaneously . if the specific implementation of the machine includes output decoding , then the outputs must be either registered or made hazard / glitch - free . this is because , when one or more inputs to a combinatorial logic cloud changes , the output ( s ) can briefly change to values other than their final , steady state value depending on how the logic function is constructed , the propagation delays of the elements that make up that function , and the relative times that the input ( s ) change state . such intermediate logic states on the output ( s ) are known as logic hazards , and can sometimes be eliminated by adding functionally redundant terms to the combinatorial logic . if the application can tolerate it , the logic hazards can also be eliminated by putting a register after the combinatorial logic output and clocking it after intermediate / hazard logic states have disappeared . note that the diodes across the switches act to conduct the inductive kickback when relaxing the circuit . this allows discharging of the load current when the modulating switch is off , without causing breakdown of the modulating switch . this diode can be discrete , but historically is inherent to the semiconductor switch , i . e . the body diode of a mosfet . although the driver circuit of fig2 does add circuitry above and beyond the driver circuit of fig1 this circuit is small ( fits into small programmable logic devices ( plds )) and dissipates much less power ( cmos ) than the switching power that it saves by pulse - width - modulating only one switch and eliminating the simultaneous conduction power loss . also , the extra clock ( clk -- execute ) can be a phase - shifted version of the existing latch clock ( clk -- compare ), time - delayed such that fsm timing constraints are met . power is reduced by not toggling the redundant switch , and by not toggling any switch when the commanded current is zero ( current -- zone = z ). reliability is improved by eliminating the cross - over current phenomena , i . e there are no transitions between the states s -- p 122 and s -- n 124 . it is understood that the above - described embodiments are merely illustrative of the possible specific embodiments which may represent principles of the present invention . other arrangements may readily be devised in accordance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .	7
an example of an embodiment of the present invention is described below . fig1 is a plan view schematically showing a semiconductor device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . fig2 ( a ) is a cross - sectional view taken along lines a — a of fig1 , and fig2 ( b ) is a cross - sectional view taken along lines b — b of fig1 . a gate dielectric layer 20 and a gate electrode 22 are formed on a semiconductor layer 10 . as shown in fig1 , a drain region 26 b is provided in one area of semiconductor layer 10 and a source region 26 a is provided in the other area of the semiconductor layer 10 across the gate electrode 22 . contact sections 40 a and 40 b are formed in the source and drain regions 26 a and 26 b for connecting to wirings to be provided in an upper layer ( not shown ). the source region 26 a is divided by the body contact region 30 . the body contact region 30 is composed of semiconductor of the semiconductor layer 10 and a metal , and is provided for connecting the body region 12 and the contact sections 40 a . the compound of semiconductor and a metal composing the body contact region 30 can be a silicide , for example . in this case , the impurity concentration of the body region is set to be 10 19 [ cm − 3 ] or lower to adjust the threshold value of a semiconductor device ( transistor ), such that the body region 12 composed of semiconductor and the body contact region 30 composed of silicide have a schottky contact . also , a silicide layer 32 is formed over the source region 26 a and the drain region 26 b . the silicide layer 32 is formed from a material having a work function different from that of a silicide layer that can compose the body contact region 30 . more specifically , the silicide layer 32 is formed from a material that forms an ohmic contact with the source region 26 a . the contact section 40 a provided in the source region 26 b is provided in a manner to contact both of the source region 26 b and the body contact region 30 . with such an implementation , one contact section 40 a can also serve to absorb holes from the body contact region 30 . advantages of the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment are as follows . the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment has a source - body - tie type transistor in which the body region 12 and the source region are connected , wherein the body contact region 30 is formed from a compound of semiconductor of the semiconductor layer 10 and a metal . to show advantages of the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment compared to an example of a conventional semiconductor device , for example , n - channel type transistors are described with reference to fig1 and 11 . fig1 show energy band diagrams of the body region 12 and the body contact region 30 of the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment , wherein ( a ) shows a state before a gate voltage is impressed , and ( b ) shows a state after a gate voltage is impressed . fig1 shows an energy band diagram of the body region 112 and the body contact region 130 when the mos transistor of the exemplary conventional semiconductor device shown in fig8 and 9 is operated . as shown in fig1 , in the semiconductor device of the conventional example , holes generated by impact ionization at a boundary between the drain region and the body region must travel through a long and gentle potential . for this reason , even when a source - body - tie structure is adopted for suppressing the substrate floating effect , a sufficiently high speed operation may not be secured depending on the voltage impressed to the drain region . next , the features of the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment are described . as shown in fig1 ( a ) , due to the fact that a fermi level of a low concentration p - type impurity region of the body region 12 and a fermi level of the silicide layer of the body contact region 30 are matched with each other such that a schottky barrier is formed . when the transistor is operated , the energy band is modified as shown in fig1 ( b ) due to the influence of an electric field from the gate electrode 22 . as a result , the barrier disappears , and holes generated by impact ionization can flow into the body contact region 30 that is formed from the silicide layer . in the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment , by this phenomenon , holes generated by impact ionization can be excellently absorbed by the body contact region 30 . as a result , it is possible to provide a semiconductor device that can suppress kink effects such as the substrate floating effect and achieve lower power consumption and higher speed operation properties . it is noted that the advantages described above are not limited to an n - channel type . next , a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig3 – 7 . in the manufacturing method described below , numerical values recited as embodiment examples indicate values when an n - channel type mos transistor is formed . it is noted that figures ( a ) in fig5 – 7 indicate steps of manufacturing a section corresponding the section shown in fig2 ( a ) , and figures ( b ) indicate steps of manufacturing a section corresponding to the section shown in fig2 ( b ) . ( 1 ) first , as shown in fig3 , a soi substrate formed from a semiconductor layer 10 provided on a dielectric layer 8 on a support substrate 6 is prepared . as the soi substrate , an example using a substrate on which the dielectric layer 8 and the semiconductor layer 10 are laminated on the support substrate 6 is described . however , without being limited to this example , a simox ( separation by implanted oxygen ) substrate , a laminated substrate or a laser anneal substrate can be used . as the semiconductor layer 10 , for example , si , si — ge , gaas , inp , gap , gan , or the like can be used . also , when the film thickness of the semiconductor layer 10 of the prepared soi substrate is different from a desired film thickness , sacrificial oxidation , wet etching with hydrofluoric acid , or the like may be conducted to adjust the film thickness . then , as shown in fig3 , an impurity of a prescribed conductivity type is introduced into the semiconductor layer 10 for adjusting the threshold value . the impurity can be introduced by an ion implantation method . for example , when an n - channel type mos transistor is formed by using a single crystal silicon layer having a film thickness of 50 nm as the semiconductor layer 10 , bf 2 is used as the impurity , which may be implanted with the energy of 30 kev in the amount of about 1 through 5 e 12 / cm 2 . ( 2 ) next , as shown in fig4 , a gate dielectric layer 20 and a gate electrode 22 are formed . the gate dielectric layer 20 can be formed from a silicon oxide film by a thermal oxidation method . then , a conductive layer ( not shown ) for the gate electrode 22 is formed on the gate dielectric layer 20 . as the conductive layer , for example a polycrystal silicon layer may be deposited to about 200 nm . then , the conductive layer is patterned by known lithography and etching techniques , thereby forming the gate electrode 22 . ( 3 ) next , as shown in fig5 ( a ) and ( b ), sidewall insulation layers 24 are formed on side surfaces of the gate electrode 22 . for example , the sidewall insulation layers 24 may be formed as follows . an insulation layer ( not shown ) is formed over the entire surface of the semiconductor layer 10 . as the insulation layer , a silicon nitride film , a silicon oxide film , or a laminated film of these films can be used . then , the insulation layer is anisotropically etched , whereby the sidewall insulation layers 24 can be formed on side surfaces of the gate electrode 22 . then , as shown in fig5 ( a ) , a protection film m 1 is formed in a region where a body contact region is formed ( see fig1 ). at this time , the protection film m 1 is not formed in a region where a source region is formed , as shown in fig5 ( b ) . the protection film m 1 can be formed through , for example , forming an insulation layer ( not shown ) such as a silicon oxide layer over the entire surface of the semiconductor layer 10 , and patterning the insulation layer . then , to form source / drain regions 26 a and 26 b , an impurity of a prescribed conductive type is introduced in the semiconductor layer 10 . for example , p may be used as the impurity , and implanted with the energy of 10 kev in the amount of about 2 e 15 / cm 2 . at this time , the impurity is not introduced in the region that is covered by the protection layer m 1 . also , in this ion implantation , an angled ion implantation method may be used , such that the impurity can also be introduced in the semiconductor layer 10 that is covered by the sidewall insulation layers 24 . then , a heat treatment is conducted to activate the introduced impurity . the heat treatment can be conducted by , for example , a rta method , at a treatment temperature of 1000 ° c ., for a treatment time of 30 seconds . ( 4 ) next , a silicide layer 32 ( see fig2 ) is formed on the source region 26 a and the drain region 26 b . this step is described with reference to fig6 ( a ) and ( b ). this step is conducted in a state in which the protection film m 1 formed in the previous step ( 3 ) still remains . the silicide layer 32 can be formed , for example , as follows . first , as shown in fig6 ( a ) and ( b ), a metal layer 32 a for forming the silicide layer 32 is formed over the entire surface of the semiconductor layer 10 . as the metal layer 32 a , for example , ti is deposited to about 20 nm by a sputter method . as the silicide layer 32 , a material that ohmically contacts the source region 26 a can be used . according to this embodiment , the body region 12 can have an impurity implanted in an amount just enough to be able to adjust the threshold value , and an impurity of high concentration does not need to be implanted in the body region 12 . also , the metal layer 32 a may be formed of ti , co . ni , mo , pt or rb . ( 5 ) next , a first stage heat treatment is conducted , to cause a silicidation reaction between the metal layer 32 a and the semiconductor layer 10 . as a result , a silicide layer 32 is formed on the source region 26 a and the drain region 26 b , as shown in fig7 . this first stage heat treatment can be conducted by using , for example , a rta method , under conditions with the treatment temperature of 600 ° c .– 700 ° c . then , unreacted portions of the metal layer 32 a are removed . the removal of unreacted portions of the metal layer 32 a can be conducted by wet etching with a mixed solution of nh 4 oh , h 2 o 2 , and h 2 o . then , a second stage heat treatment is conducted , to thereby further stabilize the silicide layer 32 , and form the silicide layer 32 with a low resistance . the second stage heat treatment can be conducted under conditions with a treatment temperature of 800 ° c . or higher . then , the protection film m 1 is removed . this step is conducted in a state in which the body contact region is covered by the protection film m 1 , such that the silicide layer 32 would not be formed . then , a body contact region 30 ( see fig2 ) is formed . the body contact region 30 is formed of a compound of a semiconductor of the semiconductor layer 10 and a metal . for example , a silicide layer can be used as the body contact region 30 . in the present embodiment , a case where a silicide layer is formed is described . first , a metal layer 34 a is formed over the entire surface of the semiconductor layer 10 , as shown in fig7 . for example , as the metal layer 34 a , pt can be formed by a sputtered method . then , a heat treatment is conducted to cause a silicidation reaction . the heat treatment to cause a silicidation may be conducted through heat - treating in two stages as described in the step ( 4 ) described above . only a first stage heat treatment may be conducted depending on the material of the metal layer , if only the first stage heat treatment is sufficient . then , unreacted portions of the metal layer 34 a are removed . the removal of the metal layer 34 a can be conducted in a similar manner as the method conducted in the step ( 4 ) described above . the compound composing the body contact region 30 may preferably be a material that can match with a fermi level of the body region 12 . more preferably , the compound may be a material that can be in a flat band state with the body region 12 , when the mos transistor is not operated . next , contact sections 40 a and 40 b ( see fig1 ) are formed on the source region 26 a and the drain region 26 b . the contact sections 40 a and 40 b are formed through forming a conductive layer and patterning the conductive layer . at this time , the contact sections 40 a formed in the source region 26 a are formed in a manner to come in contact with both of the source region 26 a and the body contact region 30 . according to the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment , after forming the protection layer ( mask layer ) m 1 that covers an area where the body contact region 30 is formed , the source region 26 a and the drain region 26 b are formed . then , the semiconductor of the semiconductor layer in the area that is covered by the protection layer m 1 is silicidized , whereby the body contact region 30 is formed in a manner to divide the source region 26 a . as a result , a semiconductor device having the body region 12 and the body contact region 30 that are connected through a schottky junction can be manufactured . as a result , as described above , it is possible to manufacture a semiconductor device having a mos transistor with a source - body - tie structure whose efficiency to absorb holes generated by the impact ionization phenomenon is improved . the present invention is not limited to the above - described embodiment , and can be modified within the scope of the subject matter of the present invention . as a modification example , for example , a semiconductor device shown in fig1 – 14 can be enumerated . fig1 is a cross - sectional view schematically showing a semiconductor device in accordance with a first modification example . fig1 is a cross - sectional view schematically showing a semiconductor device in accordance with a second modification example . fig1 is a plan view schematically showing a semiconductor device in accordance with a third modification example . it is noted that the cross - sectional views in fig1 and 13 indicate the same sections as those shown in the cross - sectional view of fig2 ( a ) . as shown in fig1 , the semiconductor device in accordance with the first modification example can be provided with an ldd ( lightly doped drain ) region 28 between a drain region 26 b and a channel region ( a semiconductor layer 10 under a gate dielectric layer 20 ). in this embodiment , the electric field can be alleviated in a boundary section between the drain region 26 b and a body region 12 , such that generation of the impact ionization phenomenon can be suppressed . as a result , generation of holes that cause the substrate floating effect can be suppressed , and therefore a semiconductor device that achieves lower power consumption and high - speed operation properties can be provided . when the semiconductor device of the present example is manufactured , an impurity of a prescribed conductivity type is introduced before forming sidewall insulation layers 24 in the step ( 3 ) of the present embodiment described above . the semiconductor device in accordance with the second modification example is different from the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment in that an extension region 29 is formed between a drain region 26 b and a channel region , as shown in fig1 . this embodiment has an advantage in that the short - channel effect can be suppressed . for this reason , a semiconductor device that is much smaller and is capable of high - speed operation can be provided . it is noted that , when the semiconductor device in accordance with the second modification example is manufactured , an impurity of a prescribed conductivity type is introduced before forming sidewall insulation layers 24 in the step ( 3 ) of the present embodiment described above . a semiconductor device in accordance with a third modification example has a contact section 40 a that is different from the semiconductor device in accordance with the present embodiment , as shown in fig1 . the contact section 40 a may be in any shape without any particular limitation as long as it is in contact with both of a source region 26 a and a body contact region 30 . for example , as shown in fig1 , the contact section 40 a may have a shape that extends across the body contact region 30 .	7
the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . in particular , an input buffer of a semiconductor memory device capable of improving a signal transmission speed without increase of voltage level variation for an input signal is described herein . referring to fig4 , the input buffer 200 includes a differential amplification unit 21 , an internal buffer 22 , a reference voltage adjusting unit 23 and a multiplexer 24 . the reference voltage adjusting unit 23 receives a reference voltage signal vref and generates a first reference voltage signal vref + and a second reference voltage signal vref −. the first reference voltage signal vref + has a higher voltage level than that of the reference voltage vref whereas the second reference voltage signal vref − has a lower voltage level than that of the reference voltage vref . the multiplexer 24 selectively outputs the first reference signal vref + or the second reference signal vref − in response to an internal signal int , which is an output signal of the input buffer 22 . the selectively outputted first or second reference signal vref + or vref − is applied to the negative terminal (−) of the differential amplification unit 21 , and an input signal in is applied to a positive terminal (+) of the differential amplification unit 23 . when the input signal in of a logic high level is supplied to the input buffer 200 , outputs of the differential amplification unit 21 and the internal buffer 22 become a signal of a logic high level . the internal signal int is the output of the internal buffer 22 , which is used as a selection signal of the multiplexer 24 . if the output signal of the internal buffer 22 having a logic high voltage level is applied to the multiplexer 24 , the multiplexer 24 outputs the first reference voltage signal vref + from the outputs of the reference voltage adjusting unit 23 . on the other hand , if the output signal of the internal buffer 22 having a logic low voltage level is applied to the multiplexer 24 , the second reference voltage signal vref − is outputted . a voltage level of the input signal in applied to the positive terminal (+) of the differential amplification unit 21 may become an opposite voltage level . if the reference voltage signal is adjusted in advance , the voltage level difference between the input signal and the reference signal ( vref + or vref −) is increased when the voltage level of the input signal in is adjusted to an opposite voltage level and then applied to the positive terminal (+) of the differential amplification unit 21 so that a voltage level of the output signal of the input buffer may be rapidly adjusted to the opposite voltage level . if the input signal of a logic high level is applied to the differential amplification unit 21 , the first reference signal vref + is selected as the reference signal . therefore , if the voltage level of the input signal is adjusted to a logic low voltage level , the difference between the first reference signal vref + and the input signal increases . referring to fig5 , the reference voltage adjusting unit 23 includes a first reference voltage adjusting unit 23 a and a second reference voltage adjusting unit 23 b . the first reference voltage adjusting unit 23 a includes a first resistance r 1 , a first nmos transistor t 1 , a second nmos transistor t 2 , and a second resistance r 2 connected in series between a power supply voltage vdd and a ground gnd . two nmos transistors t 1 and t 2 are diode - coupled , and the reference voltage vref is applied to a junction of the two nmos transistors t 1 and t 2 . two resistances r 1 and r 2 are used for a current source flowing through the first and second nmos transistors t 1 and t 2 . a first voltage vref + vt , which is higher than the reference voltage vref by a threshold voltage vt of the first nmos transistor t 1 , is outputted from a junction of the first resistance r 1 and the first nmos transistor t 1 . a second voltage vref − vt , which is lower than the reference voltage vref by a threshold voltage vt of the second nmos transistor t 2 , is outputted from a junction of the second nmos transistor t 2 and the second resistance r 2 . the second reference voltage adjusting unit 23 b includes third and fourth resistances r 3 and r 4 coupled in series between the first voltage vref + vt and the reference voltage vref , and fifth and sixth resistances r 5 and r 6 coupled in series between the reference voltage vref and the second voltage vref − vt . the third and fourth resistances r 3 and r 4 may operate as a voltage divider . the first reference signal , which is outputted from a node between the third and fourth resistances r 3 and r 4 , is determined by the following equation . the fifth and sixth resistances r 5 and r 6 are also operated as a voltage divider . the second reference signal vref −, which is outputted from a junction of the fifth and sixth resistances r 5 and r 6 , is determined by the following equation . referring to the above equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), the levels of the first and second reference signals vref + and vref − are determined by a predetermined resistance ratio . if a resistance value of the third resistance r 3 is identical to that of the fourth resistance r 4 , the equation ( 1 ) becomes the following equation . further , if a resistance value of the fifth resistance r 5 is identical to that of the sixth r 6 , the equation ( 2 ) becomes the following equation . even if there is a plurality of input buffers in one semiconductor device , it is not necessary to set the reference voltage adjusting unit 23 per each input buffer . that is , one reference voltage adjusting unit 23 may be configured to one semiconductor device . on the other hand , the number of the multiplexer 24 is determined according to the number of the input buffers . as shown in fig6 , the multiplexer 24 includes a first transmission gate tg 1 configured to output the first reference signal vref + in response to the internal signal int , a second transmission gate tg 2 configured to output the second reference signal vref − in response to the internal signal int , and a third inverter inv 3 configured to generate an inverted signal of the internal signal int . herein , the first and second transmission gates tg 1 and tg 2 are configured with an opposite type so that one of reference voltage signals vref + and vref − is selectively outputted . if the internal signal int is a logic low level , the second transmission gate tg 2 is turned on and the first transmission gate tg 1 is turned off so that the second reference signal vref − having a voltage level lower than that of the reference voltage vref is outputted . on the contrary , if the internal signal int is a logic high level , the first transmission gate tg 1 is turned on and the second transmission gate tg 2 is turned off so that the first reference signal vref + having a voltage level higher than that of the reference voltage vref is outputted . even if the differential amplifier of an nmos bias type is used , a differential amplifier of a pmos bias type may be applied . to generate the reference voltages vref + and vref −, an example is introduced according to the equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). however , any reference voltage adjusting unit configured to generate the reference voltage signals , which have a higher or lower voltage level than that of the reference voltage vref , may be applied to the input buffer 200 . accordingly , when the input signal of a logic high level is applied to the input buffer , the first reference voltage signal vref + is selected by the internal signal as the reference voltage of the differential amplifier . therefore , when the voltage level of the input signal is adjusted to a logic low level because the voltage level difference between the input signal and the first reference voltage signal vref + is high , a signal transmission speed effectively is improved in the input buffer so that the input buffer may be applied to the high frequency operation of the semiconductor device . many changes and modifications to the embodiments described herein could be made . the scope of some changes is discussed above . the scope of others will become apparent from the appended claims .	7
the invention is described referring to fig1 to 9 as follows . the present invention has been achieved by means of a cleverly conceived structure and profile where the devices such as semiconductor memory devices or elements are mounted on the conventional substrates and in accordance with the fact that a non - volatile semiconductor memory device or element with a capacity of 16 m - bits per chip corresponds to a 2 m - byte floppy disk . fig1 to 3 shows examples of an external storage device module constituting essentials of the thin type external storage device main according to the invention , where fig1 is a perspective view on one - side surface which is one - sided sealed by a transfer mold , fig2 a perspective view of rear - side surface which is one - side sealed by the transfer mold , and fig3 is a sectional view taken along line a — a of fig1 . in this example , a card type external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) is constituted in that a storage medium series element including a 16 m - bit nand flash type non - volatile semiconductor memory device 2 is connected on surface of the so called through hole type resin based wiring substrate 3 by wire - bonding 4 . the storage medium series element is , if required , allowed to include an anti - electrostatic element for preventing electrostatic destruction , the element being used for input and output of the non - volatile semiconductor memory device 2 . instead of the wire bonding 4 , flip chip bonding may preferably be performed to directly adhere the memory element rear - side on the resin based wiring substrate 3 , which is a thin wiring substrate , for example , using insulative substrate member made of glass - epoxy resin or the like . the resin based wiring substrate 3 , a surface of which is mounted with the storage medium series element and includes the nand flash type non - volatile semiconductor memory device 2 , is one - side sealed by a transfer mold layer 5 . more specifically , the external storage device module 1 ( it sometimes becomes the external storage device main as it is ) is sealed of its one - sided surface and formed into a flat plate shaped thin type package with an entire thickness of less than about 1 mm . the transfer mold layer 5 may generally be formed of epoxy based resin or the like , however , it may preferably be formed of composition containing inorganics . on the other hand , the one - side sealed through hole type resin based wiring substrate 3 , in other words , the backside surface of the external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) is arranged with a plane shaped or flat type terminal 1 b taken out through the through hole to form the external storage device main 1 . the plane shaped terminal 1 b is gold ( au )- plated on its surface , and functions as an external connection terminal for electrically connecting to a contact member of an external storage device unit which is described later . in this example , the plane shaped terminal 1 b is gold - plated to raise reliability of electrical connection , however , such plating is not always required . fig4 and 5 shows a structural example of the card type external storage device main 1 ′ in which the thin type external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) is attached on a card shaped supporter 6 , where fig4 is a perspective view , and fig5 is a sectional view taken along line b — b of fig4 . the card shaped supporter 6 is , for example , an insulative resin plate . in the example above , for a simplified operation the thin type external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) is incorporated into the card shaped supporter 6 sized of length 42 . 8 mm , width less than 27 mm , and thickness 0 . 76 mm each half the card size regulated in accordance with jeida . in more detail , the external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) is assembled into the card shaped supporter 6 having a recessed portion in which the external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) can previously be inserted and attached . in this assembling , a surface of the external connection terminal 1 b of the external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) is inserted and attached in an exposed shape in a manner of forming the same plane as a main surface of the card shaped supporter 6 , thereby forming the card type storage device main 1 ′. fig6 and 7 shows a structural example wherein the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is attached on the external storage device unit 7 , where fig6 is a plan view , and fig7 is a sectional view taken along line c — c of fig6 . in this example , the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is a one - sided constituent element . the external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ), in which the storage medium series element including at least the non - volatile semiconductor memory chip 2 is one - side sealed by the transfer mold , is inserted and attached into the card shaped supporter 6 to produce the card type external storage device main 1 ′, which is premised on this example as described . the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is releasably attached on and assembled into the external storage device unit main 7 to form an external storage device 8 , where the external storage device unit main 7 can electrically be connected for the plane shaped external connection terminal 1 b provided on the external storage device module 1 a ( 1 ) on the card type external storage device main 1 ′, and simultaneously the external storage device unit 7 has a structure that the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is releasably attached . the attaching structure for releasably attaching and detaching the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is that the external storage device unit main 7 is provided on its surface with a recessed portion corresponding to shape and dimension of the card type external storage device main 1 ′, a surface on the recessed portion is arranged with a contact 7 a which is allowed to correspond to the external connection terminal 1 b of the card type external storage device main 1 ′. to attach and detach the card type external storage device main 1 ′ smoothly , a guide structure 7 b and a one touch structure 7 c are provided . when the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is inserted , attached or removed in an arrow mark direction , then a smooth insertion and extraction is available by the guide structure 7 b placed on side - surface of the insertion and extraction direction . simultaneously , the one touch structure 7 c placed on a tip end in the insertion direction provides the secure attaching and electrical connection or the releases thereof . if required , a micro - switch system for supplying electricity to the card type external storage device main 1 ′ may preferable to be provided the one touch structure 7 c . in fig6 and 7 , 7 d depicts an ic element group constituting a part of a drive and control circuit of the storage medium series elements including the non - volatile semiconductor memory chip 2 which the card type external storage device section 1 ′ possesses . a contact 7 a for electrically connecting to the external connection terminal 1 b is made , for example , a pin type contact having a spring mechanism . the external storage device 8 attached with the card type external storage device main 1 ′ according to the invention is not limited to the example as described above . for example , the structure shown in a plan view of fig8 and in a sectional view of fig9 taken along line d — d of fig8 may preferably be taken into the present invention . the card type external storage device main 1 ′ may preferably be inserted or extracted from side - surface of a case 9 to be attached in the casing 9 provided on one side with a pin connection 9 a , for example , a casing 9 sized of length 85 . 6 mm , width 54 . 0 mm , and thickness 3 . 3 mm . in more detail , the casing 9 is provided with an insertion and extraction section 9 b such as space or gap for attaching through inserting and extracting the card type external storage device main 1 ′ from the side - surface of the casing 9 . a push button 9 c may preferably be arranged previously on the casing 9 to achieve attaching or detaching to the external storage device unit 7 . in particular , in structure where the card type external storage device main 1 ′ is attached by inserting and extracting from the side surface of the external storage device unit main 7 , compared to the structure having the surface recessed portion for attaching the card type external storage device main 1 ′, it is correspondingly not required to enlarge an outer surface required for attaching the external storage device . thus , this easily realizes a compact size , fine view , and high reliability due to incorporation ( inside mount ) of the card type external storage device main 1 ′. it is understood that the present invention is not limited to the example as hereinbefore described . for example , the card type external storage device main according to the invention may be used , as it is , without attaching on the card shaped supporter 6 . as is apparent from the description above , the external storage device according to the present invention has a higher integration and provides even in one chip a larger memory capacity of non - volatile semiconductor memory device as a main memory . in addition , the basic construction is employed in that the external storage device main is attached with a compact structure where the main memory described is one - side sealed by transfer mold . the use of the one - side sealing system and the non - volatile semiconductor memory device simply provides a thin structure and compact size of the external storage device . a releasability on attaching and easiness on carrying provide simple operation and handling , and result in a lower cost . when forming the external storage device by combining with the external storage device unit , reliability in the card type external storage device can be improved preventing damage or connection failures of the external connection terminal with a graded releasability due to satisfactory slidability . in particular , a large amount of advantages in practical use are obtained , in optionally detaching or easily carrying the external storage device main without the possibility of outer damage , or in a larger capacity of recording or saving the data even in a compact size .	6
referring now in detail to fig1 of the drawings , a snow vehicle or snowmobile , generally designated by the numeral 10 , is shown generally as comprising a chassis 12 having an operator and passenger seating or riding area 14 and a manually operable steering mechanism 16 . the vehicle 10 also includes a pair of terrain engaging steerable skis 18 , 20 and motive power is provided by an engine operated endless drive track 22 located beneath the seating area 14 , as is conventional in the art . in accordance with the principles of the present invention , the vehicle 10 is provided with a new and improved suspension system 24 that includes a pair of suspension struts , generally designated by the numeral 26 , which function to operatively connect the skis 18 , 20 with the chassis 12 and generally function to cushion the impact of the skis 18 , 20 traveling over irregular terrain so as to assure rider stability , etc ., as will hereinafter be described in detail . the suspension system 24 is intended to provide not only improved performance , but also an improved appearance as compared to prior art type suspension systems of the type shown in fig3 which typically utilized an elongated leaf spring 28 connected at its opposite ends to the associated ski and to the vehicle by means of a steering spindle or the like 30 . the suspension struts 26 of the present invention incorporate shock absorbing means interiorly thereof so as to virtually eliminate the exposure of said shock absorbing means to the elements and provide for improved geometry of operation as compared to prior art snowmobile shock absorbers such as is designated by the numeral 32 in fig3 . as shown in fig3 the prior art type of snowmobile suspension has the shock absorber thereof arranged in almost a horizontal configuration and mounted by means of aesthetically objectionable and expensive mounting brackets 34 , 36 , all of which have been eliminated in accordance with the principles of the present invention , as best illustrated by comparing the side elevational view of the present invention in fig2 with that of the prior art shown in fig3 . by virtue of the fact that the suspension struts 26 are identical in construction and operation , a detailed description of only one of the struts 26 will be presented herein for purposes of conciseness of description . more particularly , and as best shown in fig4 the suspension strut ( s ) 26 comprises a generally cylindrically shaped strut housing 38 which includes an enlarged thickness cylindrical side wall 40 defining an internal cylindrical chamber or cavity 42 . the housing 38 includes an integral lower end section 44 which closes the lower end of the cavity 42 and includes a reduced size attachment section 46 formed with a bore 48 adapted to be secured to a clevis type mounting bracket 50 by means of a cross bolt or the like 52 . the bracket 50 is secured by any suitable means , such as welding or the like , to the associated of the vehicle skis , such as the ski 18 , and suitable cushioning means ( not shown ) fabricated of a natural or synthetic rubber , for example , may be provided interjacent the outer periphery of the end section 48 of the housing 38 and the mounting bracket 50 . the strut housing 38 is adapted to be longitudinally slidably mounted within a generally cylindrically shaped housing 54 defining a cylindrical bore 56 and mounted within a suitable opening 58 formed in the forward portion of the snowmobile frame 60 . the housing 54 may be secured within the opening 58 by any suitable means , such as by welding , as designated at 62 . as seen in fig4 the strut housing 38 is telescopically received within the bore 56 of the housing 54 , with suitable anti - frictional sleeve bearings 54 or 56 being mounted within radially outwardly extending recesses 68 , 70 , respectively , interjacent the inner periphery of the housing 54 and outer periphery of the housing 38 to provide for low friction sliding movement of the strut 26 within housing 54 . if desired , a lubricant fitting 72 may be provided within a radial bore 74 in the housing 54 for introducing a suitable anti - friction lubricant into the cylindrical bore 56 within which the housing 38 is slidably mounted . disposed interiorly of the cavity 42 is a shock absorbing means in the form of a tubular direct acting hydraulic shock absorber , generally designated 76 , which includes fluid cylinder 78 arranged coaxially within the housing 38 and having a valved piston 80 or the like reciprocably mounted therewithin . the piston 80 is mounted on the lower end of an elongated axially upwardly extending piston rod 82 that is secured to the snowmobile chassis or frame 60 in a manner hereinafter to be described . the shock absorber 76 is retained within the cavity 42 by means of an annular retaining or ring nut 84 having a central bore or opening 86 through which the piston rod 82 extends , the ring nut 84 being threadably received within an internally threaded upper end portion 88 of the housing 38 . it will be noted that the shock absorber 76 may be of any one of a variety of different types or constructions and may be in the form of a removal cartridge that may be conveniently removed for purposes of repair , replacement or the like by simply disassembling the ring nut 84 . additionally , instead of the shock absorber 76 having its own cylinder 78 , the housing 38 , per se , may serve as the shock absorber cylinder with the piston 80 being reciprocably disposed directly within the cavity 42 , and it is to be noted that the term &# 34 ; shock absorber means &# 34 ; as used herein is intended to encompass both types of construction . the upper end of the piston rod 82 is formed with a reduced diameter end portion 90 that is adapted to be fixedly secured to an upwardly projecting support bracket 92 that is secured as by bolting , welding or the like to a suitable portion of the vehicle chassis 12 , such as the frame 60 thereof . more particularly , the end portion 90 of the piston rod 82 extends upwardly through a central opening 94 of a mounting plate 96 that is secured by suitable screws , bolts or similar fastening means 98 to the upper side of the bracket 92 . means in the form of a pair of resilient , deformable doughnut - like cushioning elements 100 , 102 are mounted on the end portion 90 on the opposite sides of mounting plate 96 and are retained between a pair of retaining discs 104 that are also mounted on the end portion 90 . the entire assemblage of the elements 100 , 102 and retaining discs 104 is secured between a radial shoulder 106 on the piston rod 82 and a suitable retaining nut 108 that is threadably received on an externally threaded terminal end portion 110 of the piston rod 82 . a compression bumper 112 fabricated of a suitable resilient deformable material is mounted on the piston rod 82 below the end portion 90 thereof . the upper end of the compression bumper 112 bears against a retaining cup 114 having an inner peripheral portion 116 secured within a suitable annular recess 118 of the piston rod 82 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the compression bumper 112 is adapted for engagement with the upper side of the ring nut 84 upon compression of the strut 26 , i . e ., when the piston rod 82 moves axially inwardly of the cylinder 78 during the compression stroke , whereby to pevent any damage to the various components of the strut 26 . a helical coil spring , generally designated 120 , is disposed coaxially of the piston rod 82 and extends between the upper end of the housing 54 and the mounting plate 96 . more particularly , the upper end of the suspension spring 120 bears against an annular shoulder 122 on the underside of the plate 96 , while the lower end of the spring 120 bears upon and is supported by an annular spring retaining ring 124 located adjacent the upper end of the housing 54 . means in the form of a suitable anti - friction thrust bearing ring 125 is provided interjacent the underside of the retaining ring 124 and the upper end of the housing 38 , as illustrated . in a preferred construction of the present invention , the coil spring 120 is maintained under a predetermined state of compression , whereby to exert a resilient downwardly directed force against the strut 26 , with the result that the associated ski 18 is resiliently urged into engagement with the terrain over which the vehicle 10 is travelling . this construction , of course , provides for greater stability and operator control since the skis are in contact with the terrain a greater period of time as compared to the various snowmobile suspensions heretofore known in the prior art . the suspension strut 26 is provided with a steering arm , generally designated by the numeral 126 , which generally functions to rotate the strut 26 relative to the housing 54 in response to operator actuation of the steering mechanism 16 , i . e ., handlebars , steering wheel , etc . such rotational movement of the strut 26 in turn causes rotation of the associated ski 18 to provide for directional control of the vehicle 10 . typically , the steering arm 126 associated with each of the struts 26 includes an outwardly extending portion 128 connected to the steering tie rod ( not shown ) of the vehicle , with the tie rod in turn being connected to the operator controlled steering mechanism 16 . the steering arm 126 , along with having the outwardly extending section 128 , comprises an annular section 130 which defines a central opening 132 within which the upper end of housing 138 is received . more particularly , and as best seen in fig6 and 7 , the opening 132 is generally circular in shape , with the exception of being formed with a pair of &# 34 ; flats &# 34 ; or non - circular , generally diametrically opposed surfaces 134 , 136 . the opening 132 is complementary in shape with respect to the cross sectional shape of the outer periphery of the housing 38 , and as such , the housing 38 is also formed with a pair of diametrically opposed , axially extending flat surface portions 138 , 140 which are circumferentially aligned with the surfaces 134 , 136 , respectively , when the steering arm 126 is operatively assembled on the upper end of the housing 38 . with this construction , the housing 38 is longitudinally slidable relative to the steering arm 126 ; however , rotational movement of the arm 126 under influence of the movement of the associated steering tie rod will cause concomitant rotational movement of the housing 38 and hence rotation of the entire strut 26 and ski 18 associated therewith . means in the form of a suitable anti - friction bushing or bearing 142 is preferably provided around the inner periphery of the opening 132 in order to provide for low friction sliding movement of the housing 38 relative to the arm 126 . the steering arm 126 is operatively supported adjacent the upper end of the housing 54 by means of a steering arm retainer member 144 which is of a generally circular configuration , as seen in fig6 and 7 and includes an outwardly projecting mounting section 146 adapted to be secured by a suitable screw , bolt or the like 148 , for example , to the frame or other portion of the vehicle 10 . the main body of the retainer member 144 , herein designated as 150 , extends around the upper end of the housing 38 directly above the section 130 of the steering arm 126 and is formed with a circumferentially extending slot 152 in one side thereof through which the arm section 138 extends . as will be apparent , the circumferentially opposite ends of the slot 152 act as a stop means to limit rotational movement of the steering arm 126 . suitable thrust bushings or bearings 154 , 156 are provided between the opposite sides of the steering arm 126 and the underside of the retainer member 144 and upper end of the housing 54 as best seen in fig4 . fig8 and 9 illustrate a slightly modified embodiment of the suspension strut of the present invention wherein a strut 26 &# 39 ; is shown consisting of a reciprocable piston rod 82 &# 39 ;, suspension spring 120 &# 39 ; and mounting plate 96 &# 39 ;, which components are identical to the components of the aforedescribed strut 26 having like numerals , with the exception that strut 26 &# 39 ; is adapted to be operatively associated with a lower control arm or element 160 which functions in a controlling or stabilizing capacity and is secured to the strut 26 &# 39 ; by means of a suitable ball joint or universal type connection 162 associated with an outwardly projecting lug or shoulder 164 on the outer periphery of the housing 38 &# 39 ; of the strut 26 &# 39 ;. the end of the control arm 160 opposite that which is connected to the strut 26 &# 39 ; may be connected to any suitable structural portion of the associated snowmobile or snow vehicle , as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art . it will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention provides a new and improved snow vehicle suspension system which overcomes a number of objections to suspension systems of prior known vehicles , which objections relate not only to the unsightly appearance of the leaf spring and shock absorber arrangement , but also to the unsatisfactory performance achieved with prior known shock absorber arrangements . in the present invention , the suspension springs and shock absorber means per se are essentially concealed within the snowmobile housing and as such are not subject to adverse climatic conditions . by virtue of the preloaded coil springs , increased stability at the front end of the snow vehicle will be achieved which , as previously mentioned , assures improved steering , reduced rider fatigue and increased rider safety . while it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated , it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification , variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims .	1

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